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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 21: Playdate (originally posted on August 2, 2021)

AN: After that really long chapter last week, time for something that's hopefully a lot shorter. And as I write this, I finally saw Space Jam: A New Legacy in theaters, which was a lot of stupid fun in my opinion, so I might have a lot to work with in terms of basketball stuff here. But enough about the movies I've seen, let's see how Spinel is doing.

Synopsis: Spinel comes to Earth to have fun the human way.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Jim Conroy as Radio announcer

Jeff Bennett as Fanny pack seller

Tom Kenny as Pepe's Burgers cashier

Daran Norris as Basketball Commentator

Kari Wahlgren, Eden Riegel, Erica Lindbeck & Grey DeLisle as Empire City Vipers cheerleaders

Neil Flynn as The Officer

Featuring Hugh Jackman as Beckham Jordan

James Monroe Iglehart as Coach Matt Monroe

Karen Fukuhara as Makoto Fuji

Jeff Bergman as Ben "Bugs" Avery, Referee

Michelle Creber as Chloe

Kacey Musgraves as Yvonne

And Rhiannon Giddens as Herself

One afternoon in Beach City, Steven was once again left alone in the beach house. However, there thankfully was no sociopathic Rutiles wanting to break in and gaslight him into turning against his friends today. Instead, he stood in his room while gazing at a sign that said "Days since Turning Pink" hanging on his wall, with a blank spot that had the number 3 written on it.

"Wow, three days since my last outburst." Steven congratulated himself before patting his shoulder. "Good job Steven, making real progress." However, his pride soon turned into worry as he began contemplating how long it would take before he would explode again. "At least, for now."

Suddenly, Steven heard a loud rumbling sound coming from outside that made everything in his room shake, and he raced outside to find a massive yellow arm descending from the skies and heading straight for him. "Yellow?"

The arm immediately stopped itself before turning over and opening its palm, allowing Yellow Diamond to emerge with her arms folded behind her back and a genial smile on her face. "Good day to you Steven." The Diamond greeted Steven. "I suppose you're probably wondering why I come here today."

"If you're asking for any of the Gems, I don't think they can come today." Steven answered. "They're on the hunt for Black Rutile's current whereabouts, but every time they think they found her, she's always one step ahead of them."

"Everyone on Homeworld is still doing their part to quell her uprising," Yellow responded. "but one of us just wants to see you again." Once Yellow finished speaking, a pink and white blur bounced up from behind her and tackled Steven to the ground.

"Steven!" Spinel cried, wrapping Steven into a tight hug. "It's been so long! How you been buddy?!"

"I'm doing good Spinel." Steven laughed nervously, both at once again hiding everything he's been through recently and at how the last time Spinel's been on Earth, she nearly destroyed it, before disentangling himself from the stretchy Gem's embrace. "So, how have things been going for you on Homeworld? The Diamonds treating you okay?"

"Oh, it's fine Steven, no need to worry!" Spinel assured Steven. "Sure, they do coddle me a bit, but I'm overall livin' the dream there! I get to meet so many new Gems, learn about everything that's happened while I was stuck in the garden, and I also get to use Pink's old room! But I thought it would be nice to get a real taste of Earth without, y'know, trying to destroy it because I was left behind."

"I figured that since I'll be busy all day searching for more Gems allied with Black Rutile, Spinel could use what you humans call a babysitter." Yellow stated. "Would you be willing to watch over her here?"

"Sure, it'd be nice to catch up with Spinel." Steven agreed to the offer before he got an idea. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't I take you to Empire City?" he asked Spinel. "It's an Earth city not too far from here, and I think you'd really like the sights there."

"Wow, a new place?!" Spinel cheered. "That'd be so much fun!"

"Yes, that would be delightful." Yellow smiled before she retreated into her ship. "Now I'll be back by nightfall, so do come back by then."

"Bye Yellow!" Spinel waved the Diamond goodbye as it flew away from Earth. "So, when can we leave Steven?"

"We can leave right now if you want," Steven answered. "I just gotta get ready first."

"Yay!" Spinel cheered.

A few minutes later, Steven led Spinel into the Dondai Supremo and drove away from Beach City to Empire City, and Spinel was super excited to get there.

"Are we there yet?" Spinel asked.

"No." Steven laughed.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"How about I turn on the radio to pass the time?" Steven offered before adjusting the dials on the car radio.

"-nd that was Royalty with My Lord." The radio announcer declared. "And coming up next on 13.2 "The Band", we got Rhiannon Giddens with her hit single Wandering Roads!"

"Wandering roads that carry me home, lead me through both right and wrong." Rhiannon Giddens sang over the radio. "I may love and I may lose, still I know I'll always choose."

"What kinda music is this?" Spinel asked Steven while the song continued.

"This is what humans call country music." Steven answered. "Not a lot of people like it very much."

"Well, I like it." Spinel said before she began to sing along with Rhiannon. "Since the day that you were born, footsteps fall on a path well-worn. Strings that pull, you'll never see. Chains that bind you, set you free. All on your journey home."

"I thought you'd like it." Steven chuckled at the singing Gem as they passed a sign saying "Now entering Jersey", signifying that their long journey to Empire City was almost at an end. "Hey, wanna head to a rest stop?"

"Do I?!" Spinel took a break from singing to answer Steven's question. "Uh, what's a rest stop?"

"That's a rest stop." Steven pointed to a rest area that he pulled the car into before the two got out. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom, be back soon."

"Sounds good to me." Spinel agreed as she leaned against the Supremo while Steven walked away to the restroom. Although the pink Gem obediently stayed behind at the car, her curiosity of the world around her got the better of her and Spinel decided to look around the rest stop.

Touring the oasis around her, Spinel could see many humans milling about the establishment. Some came alone, while others had friends, family, or both to spend time with at the included restaurants, arcades, and gift shops. And there was one item at the gift shop that caught her eye.

"Find something you like little girl?" the burly gift shop owner with a massive blonde pompadour asked Spinel while she gazed at his inventory.

"Yeah, what's that supposed to be?" Spinel inquired, pointing at a white bag with red heart designs in front of her.

"That fanny pack?" the salesman replied. "It can be yours for only $14.99."

"Sorry pal, I don't have any of that." Spinel declared. "What else can I use to get it?"

"You got a credit card?" the seller asked, and Spinel shook her head. "Check?" Spinel shook her head again. "Lotto ticket?" Again. "Any possessions you can trade me?"

"Still no." Spinel admitted. "I barely know what you're talking about, I just want that bag."

Just then, Steven finally emerged from the rest stop bathroom and found Spinel conversing with the gift shop owner, so he walked up to the pair to see what's going on. "Anything the matter here?"

"I want this thing, but I don't got any of what this guy's talking about!" Spinel explained while sticking a thumb out to the seller and the fanny pack.

"She some kinda hobo?" the seller asked Steven.

"No, she's just an alien with barely any knowledge about our Earth currency." Steven said while pulling out his wallet. "How much for the fanny pack?"

"$14.99." the seller answered, and Steven replied by handing him fifteen dollars. "Thank you kid, here's your butt sack."

"Hehe, butt sack!" Spinel giggled at the name of her new fanny pack while she put it on around her waist. "So what do you think Steven," she asked Steven while showing off her new accessory by swinging her hips. "do I make this look good or what?"

"Yeah, it really suits you." Steven answered before the two began walking back to the Dondai Supremo. "But why do you want that?"

"I just thought the butt sack looked cool." Spinel answered. "Plus, that's what I'm calling it from now on, my butt sack."

"Aside from looking cool, the butt sack can also be really useful." Steven said while turning on the car and driving away from the rest stop. "It's basically a bag, but you wear it around your waist so you can carry stuff while keeping your hands free."

"Sounds neat!" Spinel exclaimed. "So, how much longer till Empire City?"

"Not too long." Steven answered while checking the map between Beach and Empire City on his phone. "The trip usually takes around three hours, so we can find ways to spend the time until we get there."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's have some fun!" Spinel declared before she switched on the radio to a country music channel and began singing along, and Steven soon joined in.

A few hours later, Steven and Spinel finally arrived in Empire City. The metropolis itself was utterly mindblowing to Spinel, as she saw seemingly endless skyscrapers outside the window and all sorts of humans wandering the streets. Some looked a little like Steven, and others were completely different.

"So this is Empire City?" Spinel asked Steven while he parked the car.

"You bet it is." Steven declared before the two got out. "We're currently in one of its boroughs, Brooklyn. Here you'll find Coney Island, the House of Yes, DUMBO, and many more." He said while gazing at his phone to look up things to do during their trip. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I wanna go to that Coney Island place." Spinel answered as she gazed over Steven's shoulder at his phone. "Are there actual cones there?"

"No, it's only one of the most famous amusement parks in the world!" Steven declared. "I think you'd like it there. Besides, it's only a forty-minute drive."

"Aw, another drive?! But we just got here!" Spinel complained before the two got back in the Supremo.

"Oh, don't get so down," Steven assured as he started the car again and set off for Coney Island. "The journey will surely be worth it."

And indeed, the journey was worth it. As soon as the two reached Coney Island and Steven paid for admission into one of the amusement parks, Spinel raced in to try out as many rides & games as she could and won as many prizes as she could fit into her new fanny bag, and Steven indulged in her excitement all the way.

Unfortunately for Spinel, the fun could only last for so long and the pair had to leave to see some of the other sights of Empire City, but she still found it all worth it for all the fun she had at Coney Island.

Steven and Spinel's tour of Empire City soon took them to the Bowery, where Steven decided that they should take a break to eat at Pepe's Burgers, the same restaurant that used one of Greg's songs in their commercials which made him a millionaire.

"Here you go miss, five triple-decker cheeseburgers and two large fries." The cashier announced while handing Spinel five large burgers & two packs of French fries that she happily took away from the counter and back to the table where Steven was sitting.

"Thank you so much for taking me out Steven," Spinel said gratefully while stuffing her mouth full of burgers and tenderly stroking a stuffed rabbit poking out of her fanny pack. "this is the most fun I've ever had in thousands of years!"

"You're very welcome Spinel." Steven smiled happily. "I'm glad you're having fun here, but me? I'm getting kind of tired. We should probably head back to Beach City soon."

"Geez, no need to be a buzzkill." Spinel complained again while eating another cheeseburger. "But then again, we never did something you wanted to do, this has been all about me today. What do you think we should do next?"

"WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY!" an announcer on a television behind the duo yelled, taking them by surprise. "Hey you, sitting down! You on a trip with a friend and they ask what you want to do?!"

"Why, yes!" Steven answered. "That's a little convenient."

"Well, I know what you're going to do today!" the television continued before cutting to an aerial shot of a massive basketball stadium, the sight of which made Steven excited. "Come on down to Maramba Stadium, home to the Empire City Vipers where they'll be playing their most important game this season! It's ECV versus the Keystone Coyotes! Be there, be there, be there!"

"The Vipers, that's it!" Steven realized happily and burst from his seat. "Come on Spinel, let's go see the Empire City Vipers!"

"YEAH!" Spinel exclaimed as she jumped out after Steven. "Uh, who are the Vipers?"

"The Empire City Vipers are my favorite basketball team ever!" Steven explained while pulling out his wallet to show off a basketball card depicting a middle-aged man with large sideburns dribbling on the court. "Their star player is one of my heroes, Beckham "Muttonchops" Jordan!"

"Nice hair." Spinel commented on Beckham's trademark sideburns.

"Come on, let's go!" Steven said while taking Spinel's hand, but the game would have to wait.

"Hold on a second kid!" the cashier stopped Steven and Spinel in their tracks. "You still need to pay for your meal."

"Sorry sir, got a little excited." Steven apologized as he took some money and left it at the table before getting back to racing out of the restaurant.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in-between, welcome to the grand playoffs between Empire City and Keystone!" a basketball commentator announced at Maramba Stadium, where dozens of excited fans gathered to watch the epic basketball game, Steven and Spinel included. "We're bound to have a good day today folks, so without further ado, your starting line-up for the Empire City Vipers!"

First off was a young man in a blue and yellow basketball uniform with a smug grin on his face who strolled into the arena with a stride in his step. "BEN "BUGS" AVERY!"

Next up was an excitable dark-skinned fellow who put up peace signs for his adoring fans. "DANIEL "DAFFY" JONES!"

A stout and meek man was up next, giving a polite wave to the spectators. "PERCY "PORKY" FRELENG!"

A much skinner guy was up next, excitedly jogging in place with his tongue out. "RORY "THE RUNNER" MCKIMSON!"

Finally, a much taller, hairier, and more muscular man emerged from the corner to join his teammates on the court, waving to the fans along the way. "AND FINALLY, THE MAN HIMSELF! HIS ROYAL SLAM-JESTY, BECKHAM "MUTTONCHOPS" JORDAN!"

"MUTTONCHOPS! MUTTONCHOPS! MUTTONCHOPS!" the crowds began cheering for Beckham Jordan as the Empire City Vipers took their places on the court, standing face to face with their rivals from Keystone. Although Steven was joining in on the chanting, Spinel was left completely lost.

"I don't get it. What's so appealing about this?" Spinel asked out loud. "What is it about these guys that makes everyone so excited?"

"It's the intensity of the game that gets everyone on the edge of their seats Spinel." Steven replied as the big game began. "Two teams of five players compete to see who can score the most points by dunking the ball into either team's hoop."

"So that's it, just throwing a ball around?" Spinel muttered. "Puh-lease, I did the exact same thing with Pink, and there weren't thousands of humans to watch me!"

"You'll learn to like it Spinel, I'm sure of it." Steven assured his mom's old best friend while the game continued, and Beckham quickly scored a point for the Vipers. "WOO, GO BECKHAM!"

As the game went on, Steven and Spinel's reactions were as different as night and day. While Steven continued cheering on his favorite player, Spinel just watched with a mild interest in the event while stroking the head of the stuffed bunny in her fanny pack. "Hey, I got a question. What's with all the funny names these players have?"

"Those are all nicknames Spinel." Steven explained once again. "For example, The Runner gets his name because he's so fast on the court, Daffy is absolutely unpredictable, and Bugs really likes getting under his opponents' skins."

Down below in the grand game between the Vipers and the Coyotes, Bugs Avery demonstrated just how annoying he could be to his rivals while snatching the ball out of an enemy player's hands. "Gotcha doc!"

"Hey, that's my ball!" the Charm City Coyotes' power forward bellowed.

"No, it ain't!" Bugs sneered.

"Yes, it is!" the other player yelled.

"No, it ain't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it ain't!"

"Yes, it is!" Bugs declared.

"No, it ain't!" the enemy player said before he suddenly realized that Bugs had played him for a fool. "Wait, what?!"

"And Bugs employs his classic reverse psychology!" the commentator declared as Bugs made a bank shot, scoring a point for the Vipers. "How despicable!"

"That's Bugs's signature move!" Steven exclaimed. "He doesn't even need to use his hands for that one, just a little way with words!"

Just then, a horn sounded as the score was displayed as 25 for the Vipers and 15 for the Coyotes, and below it was a sign declaring "HALFTIME!"

"I say, I say, time out!" the referee exclaimed while forming his hands into a T.

"Looks like we got halftime, folks!" the announcer boomed while the players stopped what they were doing and returned to their respective locker rooms. "Let's allow our stars to relax for a bit while taking a moment for the ECV cheer squad to take the stage!"

As soon as both basketball teams left the court, a group of young women in midriff-baring tops bearing the colors of the Vipers & blue skirts holding matching-colored pom-poms marched out onto the court and got ready to perform.

"Ready?" the head cheerleader, an olive-skinned Asian woman with spiky red hair in a high ponytail asked her squadmates.

"OKAY!" the other cheerleaders yelled as they began to dance. "Come on Vipers, you can't miss! Show them how you really hiss! Just like a rattlesnake, you know how to make them shake!"

"What are those humans doing?" Spinel gasped in amazement at the cheerleaders as they started stacking themselves into a pyramid.

"That's just the Empire City Vipers' cheerleading team," Steven said. "They're really good at pumping up the crowd."

"Please, I can do better!" Spinel boasted before she took off her fanny pack. "Hold my butt sack." Spinel then started glowing and changed her attire to be an exact copy of the cheerleaders' uniform, though with her heart-shaped gem in place of the ECW on the top, while tying her hair into a heart-shaped ponytail. "How do I look?"

"Uh…." Steven muttered confusedly while Spinel struck a few poses in her makeshift cheerleading costume before she bounced away. "Spinel, wait!" Steven called out to the elastic Gem as Spinel took over the cheer squad's pyramid while turning her hands into pom-poms.

"WOO, GO VIPERS!" Spinel yelled as she stood on top of the head cheerleader at the tip of the pyramid, making everyone go deathly silent. "Hey, come on guys! You all love the Vipers, don'tcha?"

"Who's this chick?" one of the cheerleaders at the bottom of the pyramid whispered to another.

"I think she jumped out of the audience." The other cheerleader replied.

"Okay girls, let me down." The head cheerleader commanded her squadmates to carefully carry her down the pyramid and back onto the floor. "Megaphone." She then asked for a bullhorn to speak into. "Will whoever's watching over this stretchy pink girl please come down to pick her up?"

"Spinel!" Steven facepalmed at Spinel's disruption and got up from his seat. "Excuse me, you guys." He apologized to the spectators he sat between before hopping up in the air and hovering over to the court.

"WITCHCRAFT!" one audience member yelled, inciting mutters of shock and amazement at Steven's abilities as he landed next to Spinel, and some even took out their phones to record.

"Spinel, did you really have to do that?" Steven groaned exasperatedly at the pink Gem, who was looking very apologetic. "You just made a big scene all because you just wanted to show off!"

"I'm sowwy Steven!" Spinel apologized while sounding like a little kid. "I thought we were gonna have fun here!"

"I'm sorry too Spinel," Steven replied. "But-"

"Something the matter here?" the voice of a black man wearing a T-shirt bearing the colors of the Vipers asked as he stepped out into the court with Beckham Jordan.

"Hey Monroe, this girl here just hijacked our routine." The Vipers' head cheerleader said, gesturing to Spinel.

"And I see she's got a friend, Makoto." Beckham Jordan replied as he turned his attention to Steven & Spinel, the former left to gasp and gape in utter shock at his favorite basketball player looking right at him. "Something the matter, sport?"

"Sorry, he's a real big fan." Spinel laughed before slapping Steven in the face, bringing him back to reality.

"Thanks Spinel." Steven said gratefully before his jaw dropped again at the sight of Beckham. "Beckham Jordan is talking to me?!"

"Yes, Beckham Jordan is indeed talking to you." The star player of the Vipers beamed. "This is our coach, Matt Monroe." He then introduced the black man. "And I suppose you're familiar with my good friend here, head Vipers cheerleader Makoto Fuji."

"Nice to meetcha, I'm Spinel!" Spinel introduced herself by shaking Beckham's hand and giving him a big kiss that covered most of his head. "And this is my buddy, Steven! Say hi Steven!"

"Uh, uh, hi." Steven sheepishly greeted his Royal Slam-Jesty.

"Looks like lil' flyboy here's a bit starstruck." The commentator pointed out. "Anyone got anything to say or are we just gonna keep up the silent treatment?"

"Come on boy, say something ya big shnook!" the referee called out to Steven, giving him the courage to properly speak to his basketball idol.

"My name's Steven Universe." Steven introduced himself to Beckham. "I'm a super huge fan of you Mr. Jordan, loved you ever since I watched you with my dad on TV back in 2006, I think."

"Ah yes, the good ol' Jayhawk Pussycats." Beckham declared nostalgically. "Nice place, Jayhawk was. If you're ever in the area, come on down to a little place called Los Pollos Hermanos and tell 'em Beckham sent ya."

"So, are we in trouble?" Spinel nervously asked.

"Naw, it's okay girlie." Matt chuckled deeply. "This ain't the first time it happened this season."

"I still recall when we had to call security on that girl." Makoto added. "Though we did give her a free uniform as compensation."

"Hey, I got an idea." Beckham stated. "Steven, why don't you and Spinel come on over to my place after the game so we can shoot some hoops together?"

"Me, play against you?!" Steven gasped excitedly. "It would be an honor, Mr. Jordan!"

"Pleasure's all mine, little guy." Beckham replied gratefully. "And please, just call me Beck."

"Well, that was certainly the weirdest halftime we've gotten this season!" the announcer boomed over the speakers as Steven and Spinel returned to their seats and Beckham to the locker room. "Not only did we get another cheerleader hijacking, but a flying Beckham fanboy too, and a lucky one at that!"

"You still mad about what just happened?" Spinel asked remorsefully.

"It's alright Spinel." Steven laughed. "Besides, thanks to you, I'm gonna play with Beckham Jordan and see his penthouse!" he added before giving Spinel a big hug. "Thanks so much!"

"No prob Bob." Spinel replied just as happily while wrapping Steven in her extendable arms while the game started back up.

Eventually, the big basketball game ended with the Empire City Vipers winning against the Charm City 55-49, to the delight of their fans. As soon as Beckham Jordan, Matt Monroe, and Makoto Fuji left the stadium with Steven & Spinel in tow, a limousine was there to drive the five away from Maramba Stadium to their destination at Beckham's penthouse.

"Well, here we are you two." Beckham, now having switched his uniform for a T-shirt & jeans, announced as they got off the elevator at an opulent apartment building and he turned on the lights, revealing a grand living room before them all. "Welcome to my pad and our favorite hangout spot."

"Like what you see?" Makoto, now clad in a burgundy sports bra underneath a tank top with a picture of a dancing frog holding a top hat & cane and some spandex shorts, asked the pair.

"Like it? I love it!" Steven exclaimed while looking around at the big screen TV, massive couch, refined kitchen, an entrance to what he assumed to be Beck's training court, and many, many posters depicting his accomplishments, including one featuring Dogcopter that caught his eye. "Wait, is that the Vipers vs Dogcopter movie?!"

"Yeah, good ol' basically a commercial for my line of sneakers." Beck answered. "I was young and needed the money, but I still had a fun time nonetheless." He then motioned towards a picture of himself shaking hands with a man in a suit who was pointing at Beck with a cheerful smile. "And this is me with Secretary of Health Benjamin Rouleau. Real talkative fellow, he was."

"Protein shake?" Makoto offered while getting some milk from the fridge.

"I'll take one!" Spinel accepted. "Gems don't need to eat, but I'd sure like to."

"Don't need to eat?" Makoto gasped after pouring the milk in a blender and turning to get some more ingredients for the shake like fruit, yogurt, and peanut butter. "Wow, sometimes I wish I didn't need to eat either so I wouldn't hog all the snacks!"

"So, a Gem, eh?" Matt asked while fishing a diamond ring from his pocket. "You mean like this?"

However, the sight of the ring made Spinel very confused and start questioning everything. "Uh, where did you get that?"

"I think it's best we don't ask any questions Spinel." Steven declared just as nervously as he sat Spinel down on the couch. "But to answer your question, Gems are not entirely like your jewelry. They're immortal light-based beings that come in pretty much every color you can think of. Their powers depend on what kind of Gem they are. Like for example, Spinel can stretch her body and bounce around since she was made to be a playmate for my mom."

"And I'm going to assume your mom was a Gem too?" Matt asked while sitting down next to their two new friends as Makoto served the shakes.

"Yeah, she was one of the rulers of all Gems, the Diamonds." Steven continued explaining to the trio. "However, she got tired of her life, combined with being mistreated by her fellow Diamonds, so she disguised as another Gem, faked her death, and started a war."

"And left me behind in the process." Spinel added sadly, eliciting feelings of sympathy and curiosity. "I was made to be Pink's best friend, but she started getting sick of me after she got her own colony, which was Earth by the way, until one day she left me in this garden we played in for the next six thousand years while she went off fighting wars to protect Earth. Then when Steven made his little message to the universe, it happened to reach me and really set me off, causing me to come down with a massive Injector to try and poison Earth."

"Parent issues, huh?" Beckham said while placing a hand on Spinel's shoulder. "Kinda reminds me of my relationship with my dad. Well, minus the whole wanting to destroy Earth because you were made about being left stranded for thousands of years thing. He was really harsh on me, sometimes even a little too harsh. I turned to basketball to vent my frustrations, and with help from friends I made over the years," Beck then pointed to Makoto & Matt, who grinned happily. "I was able to turn that anger around and make myself a legend. Just goes to show no matter how garbage your life is, you can get back up no matter what."

"Wow, neat story." Steven said while sipping his protein shake.

"Indeed," Matt replied before hugging Beck from the side. "Beck and I have been thick as thieves ever since he was starting out."

"And I first met him when I wasn't even team captain of the Vipers cheer squad." Makoto added. "I was super awkward and unsure I even had a future in cheerleading, but Jordan was there to pick me up and help me become a superstar."

"But enough about us, let's get to why you wanted to be here." Beck emerged from the warm embrace of his two friends to point at Steven. "You still ready to shoot some hoops?"

"You bet I do!" Steven answered, dramatically slamming his almost empty drink on the table in front of them before turning to Spinel. "And you and Makoto can cheer from the sidelines Spinel, without interrupting anything."

"Sounds good to me!" Spinel cheered as she assumed her cheerleader outfit once again and bounced on over to Beck's personal court.

"This is going to be so much fun." Makoto said while doing some stretches to limber herself up as Steven and Beck took their places on Beck's training court.

"Let's see if you can bend as much as I can, sweetie." Spinel taunted good-naturedly.

"I got some frequently washed yoga pants that'll prove you wrong." Makoto replied.

"Okay ladies, focus on the real competition here." Matt chuckled while getting between Steven and Beck. "Y'all ready for this, boys?"

"I'm so ready!" Steven answered.

"Just give it your all, Steven." Beck told his young fan.

"Now let's slam!" Matt declared before blowing his whistle, cuing the game to start. Steven gunned for the ball first and dribbled it to the basket on the left side of the court, scoring him a point.

"WOO, GO STEVEN!" Spinel cheered while waving her pom-pom hands around.

"Come on Jordan, you can beat him!" Makoto yelled, raising her pom-poms in the air, causing the two to glare at each other.

"Please, I can cheer better!" Spinel bragged to Makoto.

"Wanna bet?" the cheerleader challenged the Gem and pulled her phone from her gym bag to play some music.

"Go go Steven, you're the man! If you can't do it, who else can?!" Spinel began singing while Steven scored another point. "Beckham is still pretty neat, but my pal Steven can't be beat!"

"Come on Beckham, you can do it! You're so good, there's nothing to it!" Makoto began swaying her toned body to the beat as Beckham scored for the first time. "Steven may be your biggest fan, but to me, you are the man!"

"What makes you think he can win this? You are sadly mistaken, miss!" the two began harmonizing. "We could cheer till the end of the night, hope you're ready for a fight song fight!"

"Nice music girls!" Steven called out to the cheerleaders, allowing Beckham to catch him off guard and steal the ball away to score a point.

"Too slow Steven!" Beckham laughed.

"Two to two, gang!" Matt called out. "We're at a tie here, but let's see who can turn this around!"

"Jordan's been doing this for years, and I've been there to give him cheers!" Makoto continued singing as Beckham scored his third point. "Your friend is pretty good little bud, but he ain't got the sweat, tears, and blood!"

"Well cutie-pie, you're dead wrong! Allow me to end this song," Spinel replied while Steven scored his third point as well. "by telling how much Steven can fight! He can take a hit and get up right!"

"What makes you think he can win this? You are sadly mistaken, miss!" Spinel and Makoto declared. "We could cheer until the end of the night, who's the winner of this fight song fight?!"

"AAAAAND the game goes to Beckham!" Matt yelled as his buddy won the fourth point, winning the game. "Good try Steven, but you can't beat the pros!"

"Good game Steven." Beck complimented his young opponent by shaking his hand.

"Yeah, good game." Steven replied, returning the handshake before looking at his watch. "Oh my, Yellow Diamond could be coming back soon! We gotta go!"

"Already?" Makoto said in mock disappointment. "But we were having so much fun!"

"I agree, but I still have a family of my own to come back to." Spinel said. "Hopefully we can do this again someday!"

"Yeah, maybe I could properly introduce you to the rest of the cheer team." Makoto replied.

"By the way, let me get something to remember us by." Beckham said before walking away and coming back with a dirty white & red jersey. "This is my uniform from back when I played for the Jayhawk Pussycats. Be sure to take good care of it, Spinel."

"I will." Spinel smiled before packing the jersey into her fanny pack. "Well, see y'all real soon!"

"Wait, let's take a selfie first!" Makoto offered, pulling out her phone and bringing Steven, Spinel, Beck, and Monroe in for a picture while making some duck-lips. "My thousands of followers are gonna love this!" With that, the selfie was taken.

When Steven and Spinel finally left the apartment building that Beck's penthouse suite stood on top of, night was beginning to fall, yet the city still shined brightly like thousands of lanterns all around them.

"This is so beautiful." Spinel muttered in amazement at the pretty lights around them.

"I know." Steven said, just as astonished. "Now, the Dondai shouldn't be too far. I think it's back at Maramba Stadium, which hopefully shouldn't be too far from-"

"Wait wait wait, you hear that?" Spinel asked, turning her finger into a horn that she put up to her ear as she faintly heard someone crying. "Come on, have a listen!" She then put the horn to Steven's ear, making him hear the crying too.

"I think someone needs help." Steven realized before the two began walking closer to the source of the crying, which turned out to be a little blonde girl playing with a cube while she kept on sniffling.

"Where are you?" the little girl quietly sobbed, not even noticing Steven and Spinel before her.

"I think I can handle this one Steven." Spinel declared before she walked up to the girl and got super close to her face. "Hey kid, can you stop crying and look at me?!" However, the girl yelped in fright and suddenly went quiet. "Oy, eyes up here sport!" Spinel continued with a snap of her fingers, but the girl refused to speak. "Not that much of a talker, are ya?"

"I think it's because you're being a little too direct. Let me try." Steven suggested before he sat down next to the child. "Hello, sorry about my friend. I'm Steven, what's your name?"

"Chloe." The girl said quietly. "Are you here to help me?"

"Of course we are." Steven smiled. "Can you tell me where your mother is?"

"I don't know." Chloe answered. "I only turned around and she was gone, and I have no idea where she is."

"It's alright, just stay calm and let us help you." Steven said before pulling out his phone. "Here, I'll call the police to help us out."

"You rang?" a police officer asked while appearing from seemingly out of nowhere, taking the three by surprise. "Apologies for the scare, I just heard someone say police officer and rushed right on over. What seems to be the matter?"

"This kid lost her mom." Spinel answered the officer. "Can you help us find her?"

"Oh sure," the Officer replied. "Just come with me to the station and we'll get to work!"

"Yay!" Chloe cheered, flapping her hands.

"I didn't know humans could do that!" Spinel said before beginning to flap her hands as well. "Am I doing it right?"

"Doesn't matter." Chloe beamed. "Some people always thought my hand flapping was strange, but my mommy always helped me learn how to be myself."

"Sounds like you got a pretty good mom Chloe." Spinel said before she hoisted Chloe over her shoulders and took her for a piggyback ride. "I know what it's like to be left behind, and I won't let it happen to anyone else."

"Thank you so much!" Chloe said and gave Spinel's head a big hug as the two of them, along with Steven and the Officer, began walking to the police station. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Call me Spinel." Spinel answered.

Later at the Empire City police station, Steven was having a talk with the Officer in another room while Spinel played with Chloe's cube outside, and Chloe was drawing something.

"So what's with this thing anyways?" Spinel asked Chloe. "Why did I see you playing with it?"

"That's my fidget cube." Chloe replied. "My mom got a few of them to help me focus because I sometimes have a hard time paying attention to things."

"Where can I get one of these?" Spinel asked again more eagerly.

"Maybe when Mom comes, I can ask her to give you one." Chloe suggested before Steven and the Officer emerged from the other room. "Anything Mr. Steven?"

"I was mostly just telling the Officer here about myself, since he did meet my friends in Los Diego." Steven answered.

"Now, all we need to do is get your mom's phone number and she'll be right on over." The Officer said as he picked up a phone. "Could you tell us to the best of your ability?"

"Of course!" Chloe said eagerly. "It's 1 (723) 201-1995."

"Nine-nine-five." The Officer repeated to himself and put the phone up to his ear. "Hello? Yes, this is the Empire City Police Department. Are you the mother of a little girl named Chloe?" he asked someone on the other end. "Good, cause a couple of tourists found her all alone and helped me bring her to the station. Can you come pick her up?"

"There, your mom should be comin' for ya tout sweet!" Spinel declared before Chloe gave her a big hug. "Aw, you're so nice."

"How are you able to memorize her number?" Steven asked Chloe.

"I just have a knack for those kinds of things." Chloe responded before a blonde woman, presumably her mother, came barging into the station. "Mommy!"

"Chloe!" Chloe's mother cried as her daughter came racing up to hug her. "Oh, I'm so sorry for leaving you behind like that! I didn't even notice I left you until the police called me!"

"You can thank us for that ma'am." Spinel stated, introducing herself and Steven.

"You truly are a lifesaver." The mother thanked the Gem. "My name's Yvonne, and thanks again for helping my daughter."

"Oh, that reminds me, Mom." Chloe said. "Would it be okay if Spinel got one of my fidget cubes as thanks?"

"I don't see why not." Yvonne agreed before fishing through her purse and finding a pink cube. "Here, I think it suits you."

"Aw shucks miss, you're making me blush!" Spinel thanked the mother sheepishly when she got an idea of her own. "Here, you can have this Chloe." She said, pulling the stuffed rabbit from her fanny pack and giving it to her new friend. "The least I can do."

"Thanks Spinel." Chloe said, swapping her drawing for the bunny before she and her mother began to leave the station. "Goodbye!"

"You're very welcome!" Steven called after the mother and daughter while Spinel gazed tenderly at the drawing of her and Chloe in her hands. "So Spinel, ready to go?"

"Of course." Spinel sniffed loudly and put the drawing and the cube in her pack.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Steven, tell those Gems I said hi." The Officer told Steven. "And by the way, don't start cracking up too much, if you get what I'm saying."

"I'm sorry, what?" Steven asked, but instead of a proper answer, the Officer disappeared like he was never there. "Who was that guy?" he muttered as he and Spinel left to go find the Dondai Supremo.

Soon, the Dondai Supremo finally returned to Beach City, and Yellow Diamond once again parked her ship in front of the beach house as she waited for Steven and Spinel.

"Now what could be keeping those two?" Yellow asked somewhat impatiently while gazing at the night sky when suddenly, she spotted a little car driving towards her. "Oh, there they are."

"Hi Yellow!" Spinel exclaimed, bursting from the car and racing towards the Diamond. "You'll never guess the fun day I had with Steven today! I got a ton of cool stuff from some people we met along the way and learned about human sports!"

"Oh that's delightful, I'm glad you had a good time today." Yellow grinned before becoming more serious. "Now come along, we still have work to do regarding a certain Rutile."

"Okay!" Spinel answered and then turned to Steven. "Thanks for everything today Steven."

"Pleasure's all mine Spinel. Maybe we can do this again someday." Steven said gratefully before Spinel gave him another big hug and then raced back to Yellow's side. "Don't be a stranger you guys!"

"We won't." Yellow shouted back before she and Spinel entered her arm ship and it finally took off into the night sky.

"So, what did you and Steven do today Spinel?" Yellow asked Spinel as the ship cruised back to Homeworld.

Spinel took one look at everything in her butt sack, from the Coney Island prizes to Beckham Jordan's Pussycats jersey, the fidget cube, and Chloe's drawing, before giving her answer with a smile.

"Everything."

And that's enough of Spinel, Pink Diamond's playmate turned near-destroyer of Earth turned companion of the Diamonds, country music fangirl, wannabe cheerleader and friend to the neurodivergent! Well, for now at least, she will be making a comeback in Part 4. And speaking of Part 4, that Secretary of Health that met Beckham will be making an appearance there as well and played by Ryan Reynolds. Yes, THAT Ryan Reynolds, so technically Deadpool and Wolverine met without even needing to speak to each other onscreen. But anyways, we've all had our fun with Spinel, but next chapter is when we start getting into what I call the Tearjerking Three, consisting of Pumpkin Patch, Mr. Universe and Fragments. Your bodies better be ready, because I'm bringing the feels!

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #spinel #yellow diamond

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blissfulalchemist · 3 years

Text

Don’t know how but this came in as a submission Stella way back when. Either way it is finished after so long!

“is that blood?”, “yes, but that doesn’t matter right now, what does matter is-” “you are literally bleeding.” + red brooks bros

It was always a good thing to get out of the house, especially to a place that felt like some kind of home. The tension at the ranch was starting to become too much and Cat just needed a little air to breathe. She was still attempting to wrap her mind around the idea that Raf didn’t hate her or find her completely out of her mind for her stunt a few weeks ago. The alcohol took the fall for that kiss which was fine with her so long as she didn’t have to be reminded of that moment for the rest of her life. Not that Lance was helping any as the two took a break at his temporary house, Cat lying against the couch letting her mind wander as Terminator 2 played.

“Think I should start making some kind of dinner for us?” Cat asked hand feeling the kernels of the now empty bowl of popcorn.

“Was under the impression we were doing pizza,” Lance said, eyes never leaving the television, “Thought your boyfriend Rafael was bringing some?”

Cat rolled her eyes, Kill me, “Yeah when he was planning on coming over,” she sat up, setting the bowl on the coffee table, “he canceled, remember.”

Lance took a sip from the beer bottle in his hand, a smile playing on his lips, “Not good boyfriend material if he cancels like that.”

“Would you stop with that?”

“Just looking out for you is all,” Lance laughed as a throw pillow came for his face, “That boy may think he’s perfection but-.”

“He’s still human and therefore impossible to be perfect,” Cat finished, tone laced with mockery. “I know that,” she scoffed, “but that stuff would only really matter if he was interested in me. He’s fine with our relationship as is so therefore I am too.”

Lance laughed, spitting up a little of his drink, “And I’m set to win the lotto.” Cat narrowed her eyes, mouth ready to argue when the sound of a bike overtook the sounds of gunfire from the movie. Lance let out a sigh, “I sure hope that kid slowed down to park in the garage this time.”

“Wes? Slowing down?” Cat smiled, “The day he does you better buy a lotto ticket.”

She opened the front door, hearing the clattering of a shelf falling, “How in the hell does he manage to hit the same damn shelf every time?”

Cat looked up at Lance, raising a brow, “Maybe you should move it Old Man.”

“I have,” he let out a breath, “Come on let’s go get him.” The two walked into the garage, watching as Wes pulled off the helmet, shaking out his hair, “I thought you were a pro on that thing?”

“I am,” Wes answered looking at the fallen shelf and its contents, “It jumped out at me.”

“Uh-huh, sure Wes,” Cat laughed, eyes assessing him, widening in horror, “Oh my god!”

The two men looked up at her change in pitch, “What?”

“Wes-. You-. How-. Wes- You’re-.” He lifted an arm looking down his body, meeting her eyes as he pointed to the dark stain on his shirt, “Are you? Is that blood?!”

He gave a shrug, Lance moving to take a closer look, “Probably.”

“Probably. Wes! You are literally bleeding!”

Lance gave a small shake of his head, “Yeah, but that doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is-.”

“Is I took down that big ol’ YES sign,” Wes finished triumphantly.

Cat’s shoulders sagged, “Let me guess you’re homemade explosives?” Wes nodded, Lance pushing him towards the house. “Wes,” she glanced up to the mountain watching as the black smoke rose, heart falling as she placed a smile on her face, “Good job taking that eyesore down.” It's not that she didn’t want to see that Hollywood wannabe gone but it did mean John would be in an even more sour mood. Never a danger to herself, but it didn’t make for very pleasant conversation either given her friendships.

If Wes noticed anything a miss with her, he didn’t get much of a chance to voice it, “What I was going to say was that we need more of an actual dinner,” Lance continued, ushering his two children inside.

“You want to go and get pizza,” Cat asked.

“I’m going to get pizza while you clean him up,” Lance picked up his canvas jacket and car keys gesturing to Wes, “Now before you say anything you can stitch him up just fine. I’ve shown you how and seen you do it.”

“But-.”

“If you mess up I’ll just open them and do it myself,” Lance lowered his voice, eyes watching as Wes took out the first aid kit, laying the towel out on the couch, “‘Sides I think you should talk to him. He’s holding something in and he ain’t going to talk to me about it.”

Cat exhaled through her nose, nodding, shutting the door behind Lance, gathering a bowl of warm water and some rags. “You think it's a good or bad thing that you know exactly what to do when you come over after your injuries?” Cat joked, sitting next to Wes on the couch tossing the dirtied shirt to the side.

“Depends on who you ask really,” Wes paused the movie before he moved, giving Cat a better look at the wound. It wasn’t as deep as the amount of blood would indicate but still was a few inches long moving along his right ribs. Cat set the bowl in his lap, gentle in her movements as she cleaned the blood away, “Might be some shrapnel still.”

“I’ll pick out what I can,” he flinched, letting out a yelp, making Cat jump. Wes laughed, “Don’t do that,” she chastised, lightly hitting his arm, “You know you’re just gonna give me a heart attack one of these days.”

“You were being too serious,” Cat picked up the tweezers spotting the small glimmer of metal.

“Cause I’m concentrating,” Cat pulled back grabbing the bottle of alcohol, “This is gonna sting.” Wes sat still as she brought the soaked cloth to the open wound, “I’m still not one hundred percent used to this kind of first aid.”

“Here I thought you were certified.”

“Yeah for the basics,” she snorted, “Other than that it had to be left to the real medical staff.” She gave a small smile, “Only thing I can really claim competency in is healing the mind.” Wes grew silent, turning his head away from her as she gathered the needle and thread, Cat’s smile fading, “You know you don’t have to keep it all in. Suffering alone isn’t a good thing.”

“You let Raf do it,” he countered, lifting his arm to rest on the back of the sofa.

“Don’t think I wouldn’t or won’t get on his case too,” she winced as the needle pierced his skin, pausing to take in Wes. He stayed still through it, calming the shaking wanting to start in her hands, “And if we’re being honest I let you get away with a lot more than him.” He gave a smirk, “So the YES sign,” the smirk evaporating quickly, “You and John still-.”

“Don’t,” he said quickly, “I’m not talking about that.”

So much for Lance’s belief, Cat nodded, “Okay. We don’t have too.” Silence fell as she worked on the stitches, slower than was necessary, but she didn’t want to make a mistake forcing Wes to have to go through the process again. She was nearing the last two needed when Wes shifted, “Careful, I don’t want to hurt you on accident.”

“You ever think about us?”

“Like what we’ll do after this whole thing is over,” she gave pause, pursing her lips, “Or do you mean that night?” Cat glanced up at his face, unreadable, “Because I thought we were never going to talk about it.”

“Guess it does play into it,” he mused, “But no. I mean us as in you and me. Together.”

Oh, Cat concentrated on the last stitch picking her words carefully, “Why does that matter to you all of a sudden? Did it get real bad with John this time?”

“Humor me,” he answered, ignoring her question.

Cat let out a sigh, wiping at the now closed wound, “Guess I’d be lying if I said it never crossed my mind.”

“Had ample opportunity to act on it,” he tilted his head, eyes following as she put everything away.

“I said it crossed my mind,” she gave a smirk, “not that it was anything more serious than that.” Cat got up from the sofa quickly hiding the small blush that was coming to her cheeks, grabbing a new shirt for Wes, tossing it his way, “I don’t think we’d work out in the long run in a romantic way.”

He pulled the shirt on, careful of the stitches on his ribs, “What makes you say that?”

His face took on a hurt expression, hands looking for something to mess with, shoulders slumped over. Her face softened, lightly touching his shoulder as she sat next to him, “I say that because you deserve better than me.” The corners of Cat’s lips turned upward into a quick smile as she watched his mouth start to open in protest, “Let me explain what I mean before you start trying to correct me.”

His golden eyes glanced her way before giving a quick nod, Cat settled herself more going over her thought process. “Don’t get me wrong Wes, we’d be happy, on top of the world, and so in love that people would get cavities just being in proximity,” she grabbed his hand, “But that love isn’t sustainable, not for either of us. When you love someone like that, you have to feel like there’s a balance in all aspects.”

“I feel like you do sometimes,” Wes said softly.

“And there it is, sometimes. Wes it has to be all the time. You and I don't have balance where it’s most important.” Cat paused, “We both are very giving in nature and in turn will take whatever is given back to us because we need to feel some kind of connection. We would have too much of that and we need people that will tell us when to stop.” She turned his face towards hers, “Wes I can’t ever really say no to you and that’s not what you need in a long term partner. Sure from a friend it's okay but not when it comes to life long commitment. Does that make sense?”

Wes gave a shrug, “A little.”

“In essence you need someone that will challenge you, make you see life a little differently so you can grow into it the way you were meant to. I’m more of a support while you figure that out, I can try but I know I won’t be the best at it, not in the way that you need.” Cat looked down to his hand in hers, continuing, “I’m also not someone you deserve because there are some things about you that I could never fully and truly understand. I can empathize with so many things Wes, but there are some life experiences that I can only sympathize with and you need and deserve someone that can.”

“Someone like, John,” Cat nodded, “It doesn’t feel the same with him, not like how you love me.”

“No two loves are going to feel the same, Wes,” she countered, “I love both you, Raf, and Lance the same amount and I’ll tell you now each one feels different. Lance is protective, stable, and parental like my own dad. That feeling of being noticed when you’re lost from your parents at a busy mall, you trust them because they have kind eyes and stay until your parents come back for you. Raf is structure, helpful, and,” All consuming, “consistent. Like testing to see if a video game has fall damage and then the relief when you find out that it doesn’t because you now know the parachute is going to open each time just before you hit the ground. It also feels like light that someone left behind just for you.”

“You though,” Cat looked up into his eyes, “that love feels soft, warm, hopeful, and like peace, our own little treehouse overlooking the field behind a house. It's hard to describe just right but it's something you come back to because there's a sense of safety in it that can only come from that one place. That’s what it feels like for me to love you.” She smiled, “I bet if you really look at all the people that you love and care for you’ll find that each one feels different in some way and that’s okay. That’s kind of how it's supposed to be.”

“How do you know which one’s the right one?” Wes looked at her expectantly as Cat searched for the feelings that had her marrying Theo. Searching for the right word that would convey the unique feeling into something that could resonate with Wes. Some way that would be easy to understand and simplify the complexity.

“You’ll feel….some kind of….whole.”

“Whole,” he repeated.

“Yeah, whole,” she smiled as his face showed signs of disbelief and confusion, “Every person that you love and loves you in return contributes to this puzzle that is you, but there will be spaces open for that one person that will complete the whole thing. That can be yourself, a friend, or a romantic partner. Once they’re there, you won’t really feel like there are any open spaces left, you’ll feel whole.”

“You think people can find it again if they lose it?” Wes asked eyes flicking down for a millisecond to the leather bracelet Cat moved to cover up on instinct at the question.

Her fingers playing with the metal circle, “I want to believe so. That answer though is up to you at that point.”

Wes let out a huff sitting back in the chair, eyes turned upward at the ceiling, “Not really meant to be simple is it,” Cat stayed silent, watching him, “This is why feelings are the worst.”

“Well we have them and we can’t really put them back,” Cat laughed, “Just give it some time Wes. You’ll figure it all out in the end, just have to remember to not run away this time.”

“Nah, couldn’t do that to you Catnip,” he turned smirking, “Pretty sure you’d follow me and drag me back.”

She shook her head, “Not what I meant, Wes. You’re right, but not what I meant.” Wes waved her words off, Cat exhaling slowly, “Well I think that’s enough therapy for the night.” Cat stood moving to the table holding stacks of tapes and dvds, “Music or movie while we wait for dinner?”

“Movie? You pick though.”

“Your suffering Brooks,” Cat mumbled, looking through settling on The Goonies. “Here this one shouldn’t be so bad.”

He glanced at the summary on the back of the case, “A bunch of kids go treasure hunting?”

“Yeah,” she answered, loading the movie, “So many quotable parts about that movie! Trust me you’ll have a good time.” Wes shook his head settling into the couch more as Cat took her place laying her head in his lap. His fingers started to run through her hair as the car chase began in the movie, “Wes, you may forget your worth and what you deserve, but I never will,” she looked up to his face, “So I’ll remind you until it sticks in that big brain of yours.”

#brotp: red brooks bros #brains and disaster #catlina rojas oc #deputy hwes #submission

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bellakitse · 5 years

Text

The Marriage Tamales

Answering a call, TK and 126 meet Carlota Reyes, Carlos' mother, and his three sisters. While there, TK learns some very important information about his and Carlos' relationship.

* “You made this pretty little gringo, our mother’s marriage tamales?” Lola looks at him amazed.

Valentina smirks at him, the only way the oldest can. “When’s the wedding?”

“Wedding?” Sofiá repeats, scoffing. “Where’s their kid? Obviously, he already married this white boy if he made him mama's marriage tamales."

Carlos gets the text from his older sister just as he’s leaving the station for the day; he lets out a groan before he reads it, remembering as he sees her name that he’s supposed to go to their mother’s house for dinner. His workday has been a long one, and it’s completely slipped his mind. Valentina was probably texting to know when he would be getting there, since his mother doesn’t like to serve unless all her four children are at the table on family night.

He opens his messages, ready to shoot a quick text that he’s on his way when he reads what exactly she’s sent him.

‘The fire department is here, Mami almost burned the house down, get here now.’

Carlos feels the blood in his body go to his toes as he rereads the text before letting out a curse. He rushes to get into his squad car, turning on the light bar and the sirens as he goes. He tries not to speed, the last thing he needs is another lecture from his mom about it, between the squad car and his Camero, his mother is always giving him the stink-eye, and lecturing him about being a speed demon who is giving her grey hairs with his driving.

Carlota Reyes knows how to turn on the mom guilt like a pro when she needs to.

He gets to the simple ranch house his mother moved them into when he was a teenager to find a fire truck, EMS, and his sisters’ vehicles all in front of it. He’s barely turned his car off before he’s already out the door. Seeing the badge on the truck, he spots the engine number and instantly realizes that it’s the recently rebuilt fire engine 126 that has been called to his mother’s house. He’s worked a few calls with the new crew in the last few months since the firehouse opened their doors again, he likes them, and Michelle who works with them as EMS Captain seems to have good things to say about them too.

He relaxes slightly now that he knows it’s them who answered the call, it also helps that the house seems to be fine except for the emergency vehicles gathered around, and a few EMTs by their rig. No one makes a move to stop him as he makes his way up the stone pathway to the front door. Be it because he’s still in uniform, or because his face says ‘get the fuck out of my way,’ he’s not sure.

“Mami?” he calls out as he walks into the house, the smell of smoke hitting him the second he’s through the door. “Valentina?” he shouts next as he enters the living room, stopping short at what he finds inside the family room.

His oldest sister Valentina is there alright, as are his other two sisters Sofía and Lola, and they aren’t alone. Members of the 126, Mateo, and Marjan are sitting on the couch with them, while Judd and Paul stand behind it, all drinking what looks to be horchata like it’s a party.

“What the hell?” he gets out, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Hey, bro!” Lola speaks up first, flashing him a shit-eating grin as she raises a glass to him as a toast. Lola is the one he’s closest to age-wise, with her being only two years older than him, as opposed to Sofía, who is five years older or Valentina, who at 34 is eight years older. “Finally, you’re late.”

“Seriously, what the fuck,” he repeats himself, looking away from his troublemaking sister to the more responsible ones. “I get a text saying Mami almost burned the house down, and I come to find you guys drinking horchata with the 126?”

“And chicken empanadas,” Captain Strand adds in from where he’s sitting next to Valentina, a smile on his face as he bites into the empanada, letting out a joyful sound. He’s not surprised, his mom’s empanadas are delicious, but that’s beside the point.

“I’m going to ask one more time, and I expect an answer,” Carlos tells them all sternly, placing his hands on his gun belt. “What the fuck is happening here, and is everyone okay?”

“Everyone is fine, Carlitos, which is more than I can say for you if you curse in my house one more time, Nene.”

Carlos spins on his heel to find his mother over by the archway mimicking his pose by having her hands on her hips.

“Mami,” he exhales, he crosses the distance between them and pulls her small frame against his, holding her tight. He feels her chuckle softly as she rests her head on his chest, hugging him back. The top of her head barely grazes his chin, and he leans down to accommodate her. “Are you okay? Valentina said there was a fire.”

Carlota Reyes pulls back from the hug, throwing a glare over his shoulder, no doubt at his older sister. “Your sister is melodramatic, Tu sabes como es.”

“I’m sorry, did you or did you not start a fire in the kitchen?” Valentina asks the room at large, getting an echo of agreement from his other two sisters, though the 126 seem to be smarter by keeping their mouths shut when Carlota shoots them all another look.

“Mami?” he questions her, giving her his cop face in hopes that she’ll cave and tell him the truth. Rolling her eyes at him, she turns to the man beside her, and for the first time, Carlos notices who it is. He can feel his face go hot as he looks at him.

TK Strand.

He shouldn’t be surprised he’s here; he should have realized that TK would probably be responding to the call the moment he saw the 126 truck, he definitely should have anticipated it after seeing TK’s dad.

“Hey, TK,” he gets out, his face goes redder still at the way his voice cracks, but he can’t help it. He and TK have been messing around, keeping it strictly friends with benefits since his failed dinner attempt and then their darts date. They hang out; they’re friends, they have sex – really good, out of this world, mind-melting sex – and now TK is standing next to his mother, while he has to get through this without her figuring out all the dirty things he’s been doing with the guy she’s smiling up at so sweetly.

“Hey, Carlos,” TK smiles at him as he tries not to react too much. There is a way that TK sometimes looks at him, that makes Carlos forget that the guy is not his boyfriend, it always makes him want to press him into the nears wall and lick his way into that smile.

“TK, tell my Carlitos, that everything is fine,” Carlota nudges at TK with her elbow like they’re already best friends, Lord help him. “He’s always worrying so much. You’re going to get wrinkles, Bebé.”

TK grins at him with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes that Carlos is sure is from the way his mom talks to him. It doesn’t matter that he’s 26 and a Police Officer. As the youngest of four, his mother and to an extent, his sisters have always babied the crap out of him. He’s learned to ignore it until people outside the family get a front-row seat to his embarrassment.

“The stove caught fire,” TK starts telling him, raising his hands to calm him down when Carlos makes a panicked sound. “It’s all good, we put it out and checked-out your mom and sisters,” he looks over at the couches where everyone is seated. “Everyone is fine, and there’s not much damage, though the stove will have to be replaced.”

“See, the handsome firefighter says everything is fine. You can stop worrying now, mijo,” Carlota says to him, turning back towards TK with a smile. “You’ve met my son before, TK?”

Carlos feels his skin heat up as TK looks over at him, a slow-building smile working its way to his face. “Yes, ma’am, Carlos and I know each other from work, he’s an excellent officer.”

“And handsome?” his mom questions hopefully, a sly grin on her face as she looks over at him like she knows she’s killing him with embarrassment and is okay with it.

TK lets out a chuckle, his eyes crinkling at the corners from his grin, he leans down closer to his mother to speak in a stage-whisper. “He certainly makes some of the calls we’ve been on, way prettier.”

Carlota lights up like she has won the lotto, and Carlos instantly understands what his mother is playing at.

Carlos groans loudly, earning himself a snort from more than one of his sisters. “Oh my god, this isn’t happening,” he says, turning away from TK and his mom to find his sisters, Captain Strand and the rest of the crew watching them with entertained looks on their faces, empanadas in hand.

“What?” his mom asks innocently like she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

Carlos ignores her as he takes a step back towards the couches and the food, if he’s going to be embarrassed in front of his siblings, the people he works with, and the guy he has a massive crush on; at the very least, he’s eating.

“She zeroed in on him the second she saw his eyes, kid,” Valentina tells him.

Carlos shakes his head, holding out a hand to Sofía, grateful when she passes him an empanada. “Of course she did, Mami likes green eyes.”

Valentina, Sofía, and Lola all nod in agreement, while everyone else in the room looks on curiously.

“Mom’s scoping him out for Carlos,” Lola explains because she’s a horrible, horrible sister who he is going to smother with a couch cushion. “Valentina and Sofía are married, and I’m a lost cause, so Mami is checking out if TK is available for Carlos.”

“I am not!” Carlota protests, which sets her and his sisters off, in between the snippets of conversation he learns that his mother latched on to TK since the second he walked through her door.

Turning his gaze towards the man in question, he finds TK has taken a few steps closer to him, looking at him with humor and a little shyness as his family really gets into it. The rest of the 126 looks on, riveted by the show, the Reyes women are entertaining if nothing else. Taking the plate of leftover empanadas, he passes it to TK, letting him take one.

Biting into it, TK lets out a moan that stops all conversations and makes Carlos’ pulse spike.

Jesus Christ, this man lives to wreak havoc on him.

“Oh my god, that’s delicious,” TK says happily, closing his eyes as he chews, missing the grin Carlota is sporting, pleased as punch by TK’s reaction. “No wonder you’re such a good cook, you got it from your mom.”

Carlos stares at TK and nowhere else, as the rest of the ones gathered stare holes into the both of them. TK looks back at him, and the little shit dares to smile at him like he hasn’t just unleashed mayhem with his words.

“Carlos has cooked for you?” Sofía asks, the glee in her voice proof that while she might be the quietest of them all, she still has an evil streak a mile long.

“Mmhmm,” TK says around another bite, raising his fingers to count off. “He’s made me fish, didn’t eat that time though, my fault, not his. He’s made me carbonara; that was pretty simple, but he was coming off a 16-hour shift, and it was still delicious. He also made me some tamales to die for,” TK continues, not realizing what he's done by mentioning them. Carlos cringes as his sisters look at him with unholy excitement. He turns to look over at his mom, shaking his head as he takes in the way she looks ready to cry, she’s so happy.

“He said it was your recipe, ma’am,” TK tells his mom, flashing her a bright smile. “You taught him well. It’s the best food I have ever had, besides these empanadas, of course.”

His mom makes a squeak like noise, before slapping her hands over her mouth in what Carlos thinks is an attempt not to start squealing. As is, she looks to be vibrating with unbridled happiness.

“You made this pretty little gringo, our mother’s marriage tamales?” Lola looks at him amazed.

Valentina smirks at him, the only way the oldest can. “When’s the wedding?”

“Wedding?” Sofía repeats, scoffing. “Where’s their kid? Obviously, he already married this white boy if he made him mama's marriage tamales. You guys adopting or going with surrogacy?”

"Marriage tamales?" TK asks with a small confused smile on his face, while his sisters nod in his direction.

"Mami taught all of us with the condition that we can only make them for someone truly special to us," Valentina tells him, as TK looks at him with wide eyes, his mouth parted in surprise. "I made them for my husband when I realized I loved him, Sofía, did the same with her husband."

"I have never made the tamales for anyone," Lola adds. "Cause like I said, a lost cause."

TK continues to look at him, shocked, and suddenly Carlos doesn't care that his family or TK’s crew is watching; all he cares about is that TK doesn't freak out, and as a result, Carlos loses him. "Tyler, I –" he starts only to stop when he hears choking happening next to Valentina.

Looking over, he finds Captain Strand staring at them. "He called you by your name."

TK snaps out of his daze and looks back at his dad, his face turning red. "Dad," TK hisses in warning, but Owen doesn't listen.

"He knows your first name, TK," Owen continues, making significant eyes at his son. "He knows it and just used it. Does he know what the K stands for too?"

TK doesn't answer, his face is a pretty shade of pink, and Owen turns his eyes to him, waiting for an answer.

"Yes," Carlos starts, making TK’s gaze go back to him. "It's –"

TK takes two steps towards him, placing his hand over his mouth. "Don't you dare, Carlos Reyes," TK warns him gravely, but Carlos can't help but smile at how flustered TK looks.

He tugs the hand off his face, grinning at him. "I didn't realize using your name was such a big deal," he teases him, smirking as TK gives him a scowl. "I feel special."

TK narrows his eyes at him in response. "Marriage tamales, Reyes."

Carlos loses his smirk, giving him a nod when TK raises an eyebrow at him. Fair enough.

"So, you're dating?" Mateo asks, reminding them that the crew is still very much in the room watching this all go down like a telenovela. Marjan, Judd, and Paul all look on in interest with small smirks on all their faces.

"We're –" TK starts, looking around the room, then back at him. There is a vulnerable look in TK's pretty green eyes, and Carlos feels like an idiot. He has spent the last few weeks that they have been doing this, trying to keep it all light and easy, as not to spook TK. And while doing so, he hasn't been looking for a sign that maybe things have changed, that possibly TK might finally be ready for more.

"We're not, not dating," Carlos says for him, the words feeling really inadequate, but it's the best he can do with everyone around them right now.

They need to talk alone and give this a new definition, but for the first time, Carlos is hopeful that it will include the words relationship and together.

TK looks at him with a small smile, giving him a slight nod of his head, silently agreeing with him.

His mother, though, of course, isn't satisfied with the answer. "I'm sorry, but that is young people speak for what exactly?"

Carlos opens his mouth only for Lola to cut in.

"It means Carlitos has been hitting it with the gringo, but not putting a label on it, Mami," Lola informs her while smirking in his direction. "He's been doing a whole lot of sinning, but it also seems like he wants to bring this cutie into the family."

TK blushes again at his sister's words, while Carlos narrows his eyes at Lola who keeps looking at him completely pleased with herself.

"Lola, how's Leticia from the good market Mami likes?" Carlos questions, a victorious grin on his face as she loses her smile and glares at him. Valentina and Sofía let out amused 'oohs,' respectively.

"Lola?" Carlota questions, groaning when Lola gives her a hesitant smile. "If you break that girl's heart, her dad isn't going to sell me the good peppers anymore, and I’ll make you go across town to get me some from that fancy organic place that pisses you off,” she warns her.

The comment gets his sister, and his mother started again, his other two sisters joining the fray.

Captain Strand proving to be a good Captain who knows when to get his people out of the fire, begins signaling for them to leave. One by one, the firefighters each head for the front door, each thanking his mother for the food.

TK is the last to go, still looking at him and no one else. "We'll talk later?" he asks, his expression tentative, and Carlos can't let him leave like that. Ignoring his family, he leans down to give TK a quick kiss. He lets out a surprised sound when TK touches the back of his neck, holding him there for a moment to make the kiss last.

When they break apart, the room is completely silent, but Carlos can't hear anything but their breathing and his heart beating.

"I finish my shift in three hours," TK tells him quietly, and Carlos nods, understanding him.

"Come by after; I'll be home."

TK smiles at him before turning around; he lets out a nervous chuckle as he finds his sisters and his mother watching them. "It was nice meeting you all," TK starts, walking back towards them to get to the door. He stops in front of his mother, holding out his hand. "Ma'am it was a pleasure, thank you for the food."

Carlota smiles up at TK, taking his hand before pulling him in for a hug. TK lets out a surprised noise, whether it's from the unexpected strength his mother has, or the hug itself, Carlos isn't sure.

Letting him go, Carlota points a finger in TK's face. "I better see you again, guapo, soon."

TK looks at him, smiles, and then looks back at his mom. "I'll make sure it happens, ma'am."

֎֍֎

Carlos is a mess of nervous energy as he paces back and forth in his apartment. TK texted him twenty minutes ago, asking if it was still okay for him to stop by, and now Carlos was waiting for him, every second that past putting him more on edge.

He has a feeling that the conversation they need to have is going to go his way. TK put down all the signals before he left his mom’s house, but that doesn’t stop him from being nervous. He wants this, wants TK so bad. More than he’s ever wanted anything, and knowing that there might actually be a chance he gets to have him completely sends his pulse racing.

The rest of his time at the house had been interesting. His sisters and his mother grilled him about TK to the point that he had to ask who was the cop, him, or them? They’re amazing interrogators and cracked him like an egg. In the end, he told them how he met TK, keeping some of the more salacious aspects of their relationship to himself for his mother’s sake, though given the leers his sisters gave him, they weren’t fooled at all.

Finally, though, all it boiled down to for his mom and his sisters is how he feels. His mom softly asking him, ‘Lo quieres, Carlitos?’ her warm hands holding his. Valentina playing with his hair, Lola with her head on his knee as she sat on the floor, while Sofía stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders, he couldn’t deny the truth.

The hug that came from all sides as he let out a quiet, ‘Si, mucho’ soothed him the only way his family’s love could.

He couldn’t hide it anymore. He cared about TK, given half the chance he could love him forever, and he really wants that chance.

The knock on the door pulls him away from his thoughts, taking a breath he crosses his living room to open it, finding a soft-looking TK, who gives him a nervous half-smile as he takes him in.

“Hey,” he says quietly, stepping to the side to let TK in, only TK doesn’t do that; instead, he steps into Carlos’ space, his face inches away from his.

He looks at him for a moment, his green eyes searching for something before he closes the distance between their lips. Carlos sighs into the kiss, bringing his arms around TK’s back as TK wraps his arms around Carlos’ neck. TK’s tongue runs over the stem of Carlos’ lips, and with a soft moan, Carlos opens his mouth. TK kisses him the way he does everything else, one hundred percent in, his tongue dances against his as he deepens the kiss, and all Carlos can do is hold him closer as he gets lost in the taste and feel of TK. He feels perfect in his arms, and it’s all he wants, to keep TK close to him. Jesus, he’s in love, without meaning to, he's fallen in love with this beautiful man, and he just wants to keep him.

Carlos has them pressed against his door when they break the kiss, both breathing heavy. TK keeps a firm grip on him like Carlos has any interest in stepping away from him. He looks at Carlos; his bright, colorful eyes have a soft hazy look to them.

“The marriage tamales, Carlos,” TK whispers, there’s almost a pleading quality to his tone. “What do they mean?”

Carlos inhales sharply, his heart pounding in his ears as TK looks at him earnestly. Licking his lips, he closes his eyes for a moment, and he feels the way TK runs his fingers at the top of his spine, almost petting him to calm him down. Opening his eyes, he looks back into TK’s, time to lay it all out on the table, and hope he’s not wrong in his optimism.

“It means,” he starts, his voice not much more than a whisper. “It means I want to be yours, and you be mine. It means that I want what I have wanted from the moment I met you.”

“What’s that?” TK whispers back, his eyes are large, and he looks at Carlos like he’s genuinely seeing him for the first time.

“A chance to love you the way you deserve,” he tells him, smiling at TK when he lets out a sharp breath. “If you let me, I’ll love you the way you should always be loved, Tyler. Entirely and with my whole heart.”

“What if I don’t deserve that?” TK asks, swallowing hard, his eyes glassy from unshed tears.

“I’ve never heard a bigger untruth in my life, you deserve everything good this world has to offer,” Carlos brings his hands to TK’s face, cradling his cheeks, his thumb under his eyes, ready to wipe away the tears. He hates that someone made TK feel like this. “I’m not saying I’m the best thing that will ever happen to you. All I can say is that I’ll treat you like you’re the best thing that’s happened to me, because you are, we aren’t even together, and you already are.”

TK closes his eyes, and more tears spill, but there is also a blinding smile on his face as he pulls Carlos even closer, resting his forehead against his. “When your sisters said that the tamales are only for people you guys think are special and love,” TK opens his eyes, and Carlos has never seen anything more beautiful than the man standing in front of him. “I wanted that. I want to be special to you, loved by you. I want it so bad, Carlos. I think I have wanted it from the start and it scared the fuck out of me, it still scares me.”

TK pauses, taking a breath. He lets his hand slide down from Carlos’ neck to his chest, letting it rest over Carlos’ heart, he smiles up at him when Carlos covers his hand with his, holding it to his chest. “But I want it more than it scares me, Carlos.”

“Yeah?” Carlos asks, his cheeks hurting from smiling so hard.

TK grins back at him, a soft laugh falling off his smile as he nods. “Yeah.”

֎֍֎

Carlos pulls his car up in front of the house; the driveway is already full of vehicles. Turning his head to look at the house, he makes a vague note that the house could use a paint job. It’s not bad, but a touch-up is needed. Looking next to him, he takes in his passenger. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks for the third time since he started his car. TK flashes him a smile, it’s a little nervous but mostly amused at his expense. He shifts the package he has in his hands, drawing Carlos’ attention to it, it makes him smile.

“Yes, I’m sure,” TK answers firmly, the same way he has since Valentina called this morning to ask if he was with his white boy, and if he had finally declared his love for him, then their mom insisted he bring TK to a late lunch at the house since dinner didn’t happen the night before.

He’d had the phone on speaker when speaking with his sister, and before Carlos could weasel out of it, TK answered they would be there, asking if he should bring anything.

Valentina had gone silent for a second, before letting out a loud laugh, telling him that bringing his pretty self was more than enough.

“Okay,” Carlos takes a deep breath as TK flashes him another smile, his hand going for the door handle, but Carlos can’t help but stop him.

TK gives him a curious look; his brow pinched softly in the middle. “Carlos?”

“Just don’t break up with me now that we’re finally together because my family is crazy, please?” Carlos rushes out to say, only half-joking. He adores his family; he’d give his life for them. But they’re nuts, and last night was only a taste of it, now that they know he and TK are together, he can only imagine how extra crazy they’re going to be.

TK’s expression softens, he lets go of the handle, turning his body back towards Carlos. “Come here,” he commands softly, his hand reaching for Carlos’ cheek to pull him close. Carlos goes as he’s asked, sighing as TK presses his forehead against his.

“I’m not going to change my mind about this,” TK tells him quietly, his thumb drawing circles on his cheekbone. “I know I have been hot and cold with you.”

Carlos opens his mouth to argue only for TK to cover it with his hand.

“But,” TK emphasizes. “I know what I want now, okay?”

“And it’s me, right?” Carlos askes, needing to be sure, the smile TK gives him is bright and sweet.

Carlos’ eyes shut a second before TK’s lips touch his. The kiss TK gives him is gentle, a soft press of his lips, it’s after Carlos lets out an impatient sound that TK deepens it. Still, Carlos can feel TK’s smile against his lips as he licks into his mouth, the temperature in his car rising with every swipe. Carlos grabs at the back of TK’s head, pulling him closer, moaning as the action makes TK suck on his bottom lip.

“Tyler –,” he groans out as TK pulls his mouth off his, starting to kiss his way down his neck. “Baby, please.”

He’s not even sure what he’s begging for, and neither have time to find out when there is a sharp knock at the hood of his car, startling them enough to jump away from each other.

Looking over towards the passenger side window, Carlos lets out a deep mortifying groan as he takes in the smirking faces of his three sisters watching them.

“Heeey, bro,” Lola starts, her eyes flickering from him to TK and back again, her grin growing, while Sofía places a hand over her mouth, and Valentina shakes her head, rolling her eyes. Carlos looks at TK to find him blushing, his eyes a little hazy, and though he’s embarrassed himself, he’s also more than a little proud by the expression he’s put on his boyfriend’s face.

“So we can see you’re having a real good time out here,” Lola continues, and Carlos hears one of his other sisters snort. “But we’re kind of hungry, and you know Mami doesn’t serve unless we’re all sitting down, so if you could stop eating your gringo’s face, we’d appreciate it. Mami made carne asada and raja con papas.”

Sofía leans down to speak to them. “She said he’s too skinny, so she went dish heavy and made a lot,” she looks at TK, giving him a shrug. “You better be ready to roll out of here, she’s going to stuff you.”

TK laughs, giving his sisters a nod he opens the door to the car and steps out. Carlos follows, going around the car quickly to take his hand.

They start towards the house only for Valentina to hold up a hand to them. “What’s that?” she points at what TK is carrying in his other hand even though it’s obvious what it is.

TK looks down at his hand and grins when he looks back up at his sister. “You said I didn’t need to bring anything, but I was taught not to come into a house empty-handed,” he smirks when Lola and Sofía start laughing as he shows them the gift he got their mother.

“No mames!” Lola gets out through her chuckles, setting Sofía off again.

Valentina shakes her head again, also smiling. “He’s a smartass little shit,” she looks over at him with approval. “Good job with this one, Nene. Mom might box his ears, though.”

Carlos shrugs, he’s not worried, he saw the way his mother looked at TK the night before, and he knows he’s already won her over.

Walking into the house, they find Carlota Reyes standing in the foyer, a smile on her face, and the house smelling amazing. Leave it to his mom to have a kitchen fire the night before and now a little over twelve hours later have lunch ready.

“Mami,” he greets her, letting go of TK’s hand to hug her, leaning down so she can kiss his cheek.

“Carlitos,” she greets him back before looking over at TK with an even wider smile. “Welcome back, guapo.”

“I did say I would make it happen, ma’am,” TK grins at her. He holds up the small home extinguisher he’s been holding, presenting it to her, his lips twitching as Carlota narrows her eyes at him and his present. “Valentina said no flowers.”

Carlota stares at it for another few seconds; everything is quiet as she purses her lips. “Que suerte la mia,” she starts, rolling her eyes when the girls start laughing. “Another smart ass, not like I already have four.”

“That means she’s adopting you,” Lola tells TK as she throws an arm around his shoulder for a moment. Valentina and Sofía nod in agreement, grinning at TK as he smiles back at them. Carlota shakes her head at all of them, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

“Enough standing around, let's eat,” she orders them, waving towards the dining room. They all listen and start to make their way into the room.

Carlota stops TK with a touch of her hand on his arm, Carlos stops too, watching TK with his mother. “Thanks for the gift, mijo, I appreciate it.”

TK looks over at him and then back at his mother, a soft smile on his face as he covers her hand with his. “Gotta keep you safe, ma’am, you’re my boyfriend’s mother after all.”

Carlos watches as his mother lights up, and he feels something warm spread through him as he watches two people he loves get along. Behind him, he knows his sisters are also listening; he can feel their approval too.

“Call me Carlota, ojos bonitos, Carlota.”

#911 lone star #tarlos #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #tk x carlos #carlos' mom and sisters #my writing

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juniebjoneswrites · 4 years

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Bring Me Home // Harry Styles

Hey Harry? (6)

On this particularly nice evening I drove up to the station to see Seb. The sun will be setting soon meaning the golden hour before a lovely cotton-candy-like sunset is soon upon us, and my depressed ass wasn’t going to miss my chance for a moment of calmness. My car tire hits one of the big potholes and I curse this place for its dismissiveness of vehicle safety and my wallet. Getting out I see Seb inside filling the candy at the counter. I pull my supplies from my trunk and place the chairs near the door under the lotto sign. As I open the beach umbrella I hear a car pull up to a pump; I look to see if they need help but it seems they’re competent so I focus back on the task at hand.

“June, dear, what are you doing?”

“Ah yes, Sebastian, thank you for joining me here today,” I drag the cooler from my back seat and place it in front of the umbrella, between the chairs. “You see tonight is supposed to be a very special night,” I sit in one of the chairs and crack open a soda. Seb waits for me to finish but picks up a drink and takes a seat anyway. “It’s the night before summer.” I toast him.

He chuckles and sips his lemonade. “You know you could have bought these here and given the store money,”

“Where else would I have gotten them?” I tsk. “I bought them before closing last night.” We wave as the gas pumper drives off, then sit in silence for many moments while the golden sun creeps up on us. The rattling in my chest has turned into the slow drip of an hourglass. I’m not sure how much time it has given me but I’m determined to use every last grain.

“I am very proud of you and your friends, you know,” he says. “He was a good man.” My eyes are closed and I stay in this moment a little longer before responding.

“Thank you, Seb. He was.” We sit in silence again as I watch the waves roll softly in.

Moments before a black Range Rover drives up, Seb goes inside. Too much time spent in the sun thinking of loss can turn a person away. So he goes back into the cool shop where he can look at a picture of his wife and be distracted by a game show. The man waves, putting the nozzle in the tank and walking over.

“Yeah no, you really shouldn’t leave it like that,” I call. I hold my hand above my eyes, shielding the sun.

He turns back to the car and then back to me, “Eh, I think it’s probably okay,”

Why am I always telling this man what to do? “Ah,” I say when he’s in front of me, “It’s you,”

He laughs, “I hope that’s okay.”

I just shrug and offer him the other beach chair. “Unless it’s you know, not up to your standards,” He raises an eyebrow in defiance and takes a seat. I open the cooler and he picks out water. Boring. “I hope you at least turned it off,” I motion toward his car.

“Of course,” he holds up his keys. I’m taking a drink but I give an enthusiastic thumbs up for a job well done. “You seem better than the last time I saw you,” he says carefully.

“Yeah, well. Time heals all wounds,” I look back at the sea and play with the latch on the cooler. “That’s what they say at least,” I take another drink. He doesn’t say anything, and we spend a moment in silence. I wonder what L’s he might be remembering. His pump stops and I instinctively stand to take care of it. He catches my arm before I get far.

“I got it,” he states.

“We offer assistance to those clients who,” I pause for effect, “Need it,” I give a small but reassuring pout and rub his forearm. “And, well, seeing as how you left your pump unsupervised one can only assume this may be new to you,”

“Mm,” He hums, “Then by all means,” he steps out of the way and allows me to pass.

“Thank you,” I say courteously. I return the nozzle and cap his tank, closing the latch. To drag it out I take the squeegee from its holder and wash his window as well, making sure to get his lights. Then remembering this is a very expensive car, I pray I didn’t ruin anything by doing that. Putting the squeegee away I make a quick glance at him, he isn't angry so I let out the breath I've been holding. “Well there you are,” I say, trying to Vannah White his car but probably looking more like Will and Jada Picekett Smith at the red carpet.

“You’re very good at your job,”

“Well, to be fair, it is not hard,”

I stand near his driver side mirror as he walks closer. “Why don’t you get one that’s more challenging?” His question sounds sincere but playful. “I already have that,” I counter. And I do, but it doesn’t pay well. Or at all. He tilts his head and raises an eyebrow questioningly. “Maybe I’m a hitman?” A lie too close to the truth. “Or maybe I’m not. You know I can’t really talk about it,” I give a defeated shrug.

“I suppose that’s not something one should reveal. But a very interesting secret indeed,” his eyes are too green, too intense. I fold under their weight so I refocus my energy. I look back at the sun giving me peak golden hour vibes, I smile and release some tension. “You like watching the sunset?” he asks.

“I do, I came up here for it,”

He frowns, “I don’t want to stop you enjoying it,” he turns slightly, giving me an exit that I take.

I smile at him and continue on my way. I get a few steps and almost turn but I hear his door open and close. His car starts driving as I get to the chairs; I go to wave but he’s gone.

“Okay, then,” I grumble and grab a book from my bag.

“You know he dies at the end?” He calls a few moments later.

I throw my arms up then slam the book shut. “Why?” I ask incredulously. “You were gone, you should have stayed gone,” his head dips as he laughs. “And a little rude without a thank you or goodbye, might I add,” I throw the ruined book back in my bag.

“I like the dramatics a little,” He takes the other chair again. “I think this would be nicer on the beach, yeah?”

A small shiver runs through me, “Yeah,” I manage out. We grab everything and take it down. As I set it up he disappears back up to the station, probably securing his car. I take that moment to enjoy the silence and the secret between Elijah, the Ocean, and I. If the three of us can work together we can make retribution happen. But for now I watch the pink and peach sky marry the water in a beautiful matrimony.

A can opening pulls me back as Harry hands me a beer. A beer? A gas station beer. I look at him confused. I make direct eye contact with his “You Booze You Lose” tattoo and give a small laugh.

“I thought it was the right occasion,” he sounds a little disheartened as he brings the can back to him.

I quickly grab it, “Thank you,” I rush out, not trying to seem ungrateful. “Thanks.” I take a drink. “Wait, what’s the occasion? The sunset?”

He looks instantly uncomfortable as if maybe this was all a bad idea. “Your friend, Seb, said it's the night before summer,” I nodded. “And that it's… also.. Uh,”

“Eli’s birthday,” I sit back in the chair and take another drink. I didn’t think he’d remember. That old man is full of surprises.

“Sorry,” he slides in the chair, still stiff and uncertain.

“Thank you for this,” I smile at him, making both of us more at ease. Funny to me that he’d be the nervous one.

We watch the sunset with easy conversation and laughs. It lights us up and gives our bodies warmth like we're old friends. I thank it in my mind, and I thank Seb for his words, I thank this beer for warming my mind, I thank Harry’s voice for it’s steadiness, I thank the waves. I watch him talk, a little rose tint to his cheeks, his dimples forming with smiles, he's happy and animated. I haven’t been his kind of carefree for a long time. The cold in the pit of my stomach threatens to ice over so I take another sip, and another, and another. I imagine my cheeks match his now. I rest my head back on the seat and for a time I don’t feel the coldness. He stops talking so I lazily turn to him. His smile reaches his eyes with curiosity so I have to admit that I may have drifted off in my own mind.

He laughs lightly and pats my hand, “It’s okay, June.”

The sun has left us, replaced by the moon. There’s no fire to keep us warm this time, no dancing or singing, no other friends. But there is a plan now. I stare back at the moon and dare it to tell me not to, naturally it doesn’t. It will keep my secrets.

“Hey Harry?”

“Mm?”

“Should we run tomorrow?

(1) / (2) / (3) / (4) / (5) / 6

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry 1d #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #one direction #one direction fanfic #onedirection #fanfic #1directionfanfic #1direction #niall horan #zayn mailk #liam payne #louis tomlinson

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clansayeed · 4 years

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Bound by Destiny ― Chapter 15: The Storm

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny ⥽

Nadya Al Jamil (MC) has been struggling from the day she moved to Manhattan, but her new job as assistant to the mysterious CEO of Raines Corp was supposed to turn her luck around. Until she finds herself caught in the middle of a war involving the Council of Vampires who secretly run the city. An evil from the birth of Vampire-kind stirs beneath, feeding on the conflict, and finds Nadya bound to a destiny she never asked for.

Bound by Destiny and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Valdas and Isseya come to collect Nadya as a witness for Adrian’s trial. Tired of things being out of her control, she takes matters into her own hands with Kamilah.

WARNING: this chapter contains explicit sexual content

[READ IT ON AO3]

In everyone else’s defense she is just as surprised as they are by her howling laughter.

Not really the reaction one would be expected to have after getting another heaping pile of bad news on top of the garbage landfill that’s become her life recently. But the brain works in mysterious ways.

Lily, the only one even remotely qualified to try and dissect the strange being Nadya’s found herself becoming, pulls her close with a glare at the intruders. She looks rapidly between Valdas and Isseya — can’t seem to figure out which one she wants to direct her hatred at more.

“Yeah well since that’s not happening I guess you can take your leave. Buh-bye now.”

They don’t move. Literally — from here it looks like they aren’t even breathing. It makes Nadya’s skin crawl; just another weird emotion in the unstable bowl of soup inside her.

Valdas removes his sunglasses — sunglasses, underground, when he can’t even go into the sunlight; the mark of the douchebag — and cocks them in the dip of his silken dress shirt.

“This isn’t a voluntary matter. Even if it were I’m rather surprised you wouldn’t want to leap to Raines’ aid.”

His flippant tone helps Nadya calm her laughter enough to compose herself.

“Adrian’s — I mean that means he’s alive. That does mean he’s alive, right?” His curt nod makes her feel weak in the knees. “And Kamilah…?”

“If you keep standing here fretting there are no guarantees. On both the lives of your friends and your own.” Isseya yawns as she says it; like this entire ordeal bores her.

To Nadya’s surprise it’s Jax who steps around — places himself between her and the other vampires.

He reaches for the sword at his back; lets it rest on the hilt. “Is that a threat?”

The couple laugh in sync. Isseya rolls her eyes. “When we threaten you, pet —”

And witnessing such speed again makes Nadya sweat — reminds her of Isseya’s nails digging into her neck. Makes her practically crush herself against the safety of Lily’s side.

Valdas holds Jax several inches off the ground. Just enough for his boots to scrape by with the promise and denial of stability. He struggles to pry the man’s hand from his throat. Lashes out with fangs and red eyes that show no sign of deterring Valdas in the slightest.

“— you’ll know it.” He finishes his partner’s sentence. Opens his hold like one might a machine for Jax to fall and walks at a human pace back so Isseya can wrap herself around his arm.

Jax rubs his throat and makes a real move for his katana. Behind him Maricruz looks ready to jump one — or both — of them from behind.

Isseya rolls her eyes.

“Are you all really so foolish? Or is it that you hate your grimy lives down here so much that you’d use us as a way to set you free of it?”

Maricruz actually growls. “¡No mames! Shut up if you know what’s good for you.”

But before the Clanless can make a move Nadya rushes out with her arms extended.

“Don’t! Jax… don’t. You don’t know who they are.”

He scoffs. “I don’t need to. I know their type.”

“No, you don’t,” and she lowers her voice, “they’ll kill you. Just stop.” But before any more quips can spark the blaze she gives a glare to the Trinity. “Insulting my friends is probably not the best way to get me to go with you. I want to help Adrian — but they’re not wrong either. So talk.”

They look at one another without a word. Maybe two thousand years with someone erases the boundaries of language — or maybe they’re actually telepathic. The second thought feels intrusive and upsetting so Nadya pushes it aside with all her might.

“We will be happy to explain on the way.” Valdas says finally. “Is that enough of a compromise?”

Not even close, Nadya thinks, but if her stubbornness is what makes the difference between Adrian living and dying she’ll never forgive herself for sticking to her scruples.

Then Lily’s at her arm and interlaces their fingers. “No way she’s going with you creeps alone. I’m coming with.”

“Hell no.”

Mari appears at her side in a blur with a concerned frown. She cups her girlfriend’s cheek and Lily leans into it with a tiny smile.

“She’s my best friend. I’ll be fine.”

“Friend or not, mi amor, walking into a Council trial is suicide for the likes of us.”

Lily falters slightly — as if the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. “Oh.”

Jax agrees. “As it is I’m still deciding if we’re going to let you leave here at all.” Did he not just almost die for saying that stuff? Nadya doesn’t even try anymore. “The Council can’t know where we are. Not after everything we’ve done to make this place safe.”

“I don’t know which is more amusing,” croons Isseya, “that you think you could stop us or that you think we care about your menial cluster of vagabonds. You swarm like insects hiding in plain sight and call yourselves hidden.”

Her scorn dies with Valdas’ stare. “What my beloved means is that your existence; your little hidey-hole, is inconsequential to us. We are here on behalf of the Council — not as part of it.”

“Then promise not to tell the Council the location of the Shadow Den,” demands Nadya, “it’s that simple.”

Because she knows Lily and her humor she’s glad that Valdas answers, gaze locked with Jax’s, before she has the chance to make a joke about a measuring contest.

“Very well. If we’re through wasting time, then, ladies?”

The Trinity and their luxury look more suited to a runway in Paris than the Spartan lives of those in the Shadow Den. It’s no wonder every conversation stops and any witnesses stare openly while their leader and his deputy, along with the strange human girl, head towards the exit closest to the city center.

Maricruz steals Lily for one more goodbye — not a last one, just one more — with an embrace that could break bones and a kiss filled with so much longing that even Valdas looks away after several seconds.

All Nadya can think is why she didn’t do that to Kamilah when she thought it might really be the last, and not just one more.

Jax rests his hand on Nadya’s shoulder; makes her flinch briefly and actually seems remorseful over it.

“Lily knows how to contact us. The second anything seems fishy you run like hell, got it?”

“I think I know how to deal with vampires by now. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“As I seem to recall you were being locked in a dungeon at your first rodeo.”

She huffs.

“Well I’ve learned a lot since then.”

A strange look comes over him; concern, maybe? She’s not used to it being directed her way so it throws her off her game.

“I hope so,” he replies, “but from everything I’ve seen so far…”

“Watch how you finish that.”

“Stop — please just listen, will you? Any vampire you meet is going to be stronger, smarter, faster than you. That’s just the way it works. But you can’t let that stay your hand and keep you from fighting. You have to try — even if the chances are slim to none. ‘Slim’ is better than ‘impossible’ in my book.”

She thinks back to his readiness to threaten Valdas — not just once but twice and that following nearly having his head ripped off his neck. It sucks to admit but he kinda-sorta has a point.

There’s an uncomfortable feeling inside her chest; makes Nadya frown down at her shoes before she can muster up the words.

“I’m not strong enough. You said it yourself — I’m just a human.”

“Hey, humans have been a thorn in our sides since the dawn of time, or civilization, or whatever.” He squeezes her again and she can feel it; the power lurking beneath his skin — and the restraint he shows with it, too. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”

“It’s more than that, Jax. It’s —”

“Stop.”

He interrupts her curtly. Makes her have to look him in the eyes before carrying on. “When I asked Espinoza how all that went down with Lily you know what she told me? She said that the same human who let herself be captured and rescued looked a vampire right in the eyes — looked Council member Adrian Raines right in the eyes — and told him that she wasn’t taking no for an answer. I don’t see that human right now — but I saw her back at the train station. And she’s probably shown up other times too — whenever her friends have needed her.

“We all need something to fight for. For me it’s everyone in the Shadow Den; everyone forced into a life on the run with no say in their lives. For you, Nadya, it seems like it’s your friends. So if thinking about your friends gives you the balls to tell the Council to ‘fuck off’ then start putting together a photo album or something, you know? Whatever it takes.”

Whatever it takes. The tightness in her chest isn’t gone but it’s definitely easier to breathe. Was he actually being… nice to her? Telling her how she needed to find the strength to help her friend a Clan Leader?

She makes a mental note to buy a lotto ticket when they’re back on the surface.

“You were a motivational speaker before you were Turned,” she teases, “weren’t you?”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. I bet there’s a self-help book hidden in the back corner of every bookstore. What’s it called… ooh, I bet it’s something like —”

He stops her with a hand over her mouth but the mirth in his eyes is genuine. Jax may not find it nearly as funny but at least he’s not glaring at her any longer. And honestly his advice is comforting. Enough to help her find the strength to turn around and join the vampires by the service stairwell towards the subway above.

“Be safe.” Lily says to Jax and throws one last parting kiss at Mari.

The Trinity has had enough of their sentiments. Evidenced by the groan of the metal handle under Isseya’s grip. “Come. A car will be waiting for us.”

With Isseya at the lead and Valdas behind them the four begin the winding path up into the world.

Lily holds her hand the whole way — and she couldn’t ask for a better best friend.

The driver steps out onto the curb and opens their door. The rush of noise and light takes a second to get used to but it soothes Nadya like a long-lost home. Thunder rumbles up above, bounces off every building around them in a drumming tune.

She looks around the crowded sidewalk — turning this way and that to get her bearings — but quickly realizes she doesn’t have to and ducks her head to see where Valdas and Isseya remain seated.

“What’s going on? I thought you were taking us to Adrian’s trial.”

“The Council requires all those giving testimony to be in their personal hands at least twenty-four hours before proceeding,” Valdas states with boredom. Beside him Isseya picks up her vibrating phone from her lap and answers with a sultry purr.

“Impatience is an ugly thing, Priya. We’ve just finished dropping them off. You’ve saved me the blond one, haven’t you?”

Nadya recoils in disgust at Priya’s name. “That answers who you’re staying with, then.”

While his partner continues making demands on the phone Valdas gives a lazy salute to the pair of them.

“It’s been a pleasure, Miss Nadya. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.”

She doesn’t get the chance to respond — the driver slams the door practically in her face and when he peels away from the curb at least half a dozen taxi horns screech in protest to his blatant disrespect of the rules of the road.

That’s when the skies open up; slowly and then all at once. The first drop that tickles Nadya’s nose is soon joined by another, then another, and then the storm blankets New York in a sheet of water.

Lily breathes in the night and rain with a stretch and gusto. “God I missed this! And good riddance! I don’t know if I could have spent a whole day with them.” She looks around for the street intersections — tries to place where they are. “So… you know where we’re going, right? And is it like… safe for someone like me? Because I’m kinda hungry — if you know what I mean.”

“You know, I think I do.” There’s teasing behind her sarcasm. Nadya jerks her head to the glossy black doors of the skyscraper they were dropped in front of. “Let’s get inside.”

Lily cranes her neck up and up with awe. Nadya, though — she’s grown familiar with the view. It’s even better up top.

The same security guard lazes around at the same desk. Stops not-so-sneakily watching The Crown and the Flame on his phone as Nadya approaches.

“Haven’t seen you in some time, Miss Al Jamil.”

“Hi Doug.” She greets back and offers her best and most innocent smile. “Would you hate me if I said I left my key at the office?”

Doug gives a jovial, if exasperated, sigh. “I could never hate you, dear. I just wish you’d be honest with me and say you lost it again so we can change the code. You know how she values her privacy.” He looks over his glasses at Lily with a trained, if borderline retired, scrutiny. “Can’t say I’ve ever met you before little lady but judgin’ by that hair your name is Lily.”

“Uh — yeah…?” Lily gives Nadya a wary look that makes the guard chuckle.

“Miss Al Jamil’s told me all about you. Next time you gotta go through the proper channels though, you know that.”

Nadya nods. “I promise. It was… a sort of last-minute thing. She’ll be okay with it.”

“Welp, still gotta have you sign her in.” He taps a clipboard on the ledge in front of him and Nadya hastily writes in Lily’s name. “You gals planning on going out before dawn?”

“Yeah—no thanks.” Lily seems positively disgusted at the thought.

Nadya elbows her gently. “No, but thank you for checking.”

Doug types up Lily’s name on the computer and hits a button on the underside of his large obsidian desk. Behind him the glass doors click and begin to open automatically. He tips his hat off to them.

“Have a good evening Miss Al Jamil, and friend Lily!”

“You too, pal.”

“See you tomorrow Doug.”

Once they’re clear of the lobby, elevator button alight and calling one down, Lily gives Nadya a light shove.

“Dude!”

“What? And ow!”

“I was sort of making fun of you when I went on about your fancy life but… dude.”

“This isn’t me. This is the people I know.”

Lily takes in the luxury of the atrium around them with awe she doesn’t even try to contain. “Still… it’s a step up from a broken fire escape ladder and homophobic neighbors.”

They enter the elevator together and Lily’s whistle when she hits the ‘P’ for penthouse doesn’t go unheard.

Her eyes flick upwards to the building name in large gold block-letters on the far wall. She holds the gaze of ‘AHMANET FINANCIAL’ until the doors close them off.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Gerard has the door open before she can even give Lily the low-down on what to expect.

She greets him with a wide and genuine smile; it quickly falters when she sees him hastily dab at his eyes with his pocket hanky.

“What’s wrong, are you okay?” She hovers her hands over his arms, doesn’t know how to help but wants to, and then finds herself in a crushing hug. He smells of fresh baking with just a hint of mothballs. Like how someone’s grandpa is supposed to smell in an ideal world.

“Forgive my impropriety, Miss,” his voice wavers both with emotion and his age, “I promised I’d hold myself intact. But seeing you unharmed after everything that happened…”

Nadya squeezes him tight. Didn’t know how much she needed the comforting touch of another human being after all that’s happened until that moment.

“I’m okay, Gerard. And I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

She introduces Lily — the butler looks ready to reaffirm his ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality but Lily doesn’t give him the chance and greets him in a hug of her own. She’s told him enough about how much she missed her friend that he doesn’t particularly mind.

“I only expected Miss Nadya here — but let me get you something to warm your bones.” Gerard pauses and shakes his head; laughs at himself. “Silly me. Well — you know what I mean.”

But when he goes to lead them into the kitchen Nadya stops — looks around the penthouse with haste to try and find some small indication Kamilah’s been there.

Stupid butler keeps everything spotless, though. No, she doesn’t think he’s stupid. But a little mess never hurt anyone.

Then a weathered hand on her shoulder makes her jump a mile.

“Lady Kamilah’s gone up for a swim,” Gerard whispers in her ear, “lots on her mind — you know how she can be.”

Nadya nods; resigns herself to waiting for Kamilah… again.

“I’ll give her some time then…”

But he stops her from turning around. Fixes Nadya with a stern look.

“I rather think you should go to her instead.”

“But —”

“Don’t worry about Miss Lily. She’s in good hands. You and Lady Kamilah need one another right now, I should think. Could do you both some good.”

She’d never say it — but she needs you, say Gerard’s eyes. Nadya finds herself hugging him again before rushing out the back balcony door and into the rain.

When she was thirteen Nadya’s mother forced her to go to a two-week sleepaway camp in the mountains. It was something her mom had done as a young girl with her sister, and something her cousins had been doing since they were old enough to beg for the chance.

Nadya was never an outdoors-y person though, and dreaded every hour of her summer up until the time when she was watching her mother drive down the gravel road; leaving her behind.

She learned a lot of things at that camp — all of them useless in the long run but seemed so vital and important while there. And she only looked forward to one thing: the pool. Unfortunately that summer—the summer of her thirteenth year—Colorado had never seen so much rain.

“Why can’t we go in when it’s raining?” Asked every girl in the same whining preteen voice.

And the counselors would always reply with the same stern tone of an adult. “Because it isn’t about the rain, it’s about the lightning. That would be quite a shock in the end!” And the adults would laugh at their glorious joke and move on to something else entirely.

But every time it rained, even when there wasn’t a bolt of lightning in sight, Nadya would lean against the windowsill of the dining cabin and stare at the pool with a sigh of longing.

Though the rain tries to diminish the bright city lights it only makes everything look glassy. It clings to Nadya’s glasses and runs down in trails — she has to squint to see but can make her way up well enough.

The sight of Kamilah laying spread-eagled on the dark surface of the pool reminds her of that camp; the rules of the water driven home in her skull.

“Kamilah!”

The woman’s hair spreads in inky tendrils just under the surface of the water. Nadya stands soaked to the bone and shivering yet Kamilah’s eternal beauty is as still as it is naked.

Nadya’s voice cracks when she calls out again. “Kamilah!”

Through the rain she thinks she might catch the vampire’s eyes opening but doesn’t have a chance to call out again. Suddenly there’s a hand around her throat and she’s pinned to the stone wall near the stairs.

The corner of the brick is sharp and digs into her back and the press of Kamilah’s grasp against her neck is a hundred lifetimes of pressure keeping her from breathing. She forces her eyes up; wants to take into her memory the sight of Kamilah’s bare body but what use will it have if she’s not alive to remember it?

Kamilah’s eyes are dark and hazy. She looks both at Nadya and through her. No fangs in sight. Her hair clings soaked to her shoulders.

When she tries to say Kamilah’s name again nothing comes out. She doesn’t choke — just simply can’t find the word. What is a name compared to the creature of beauty in front of her? Instead her words surprise even her.

“I’m here. It’s okay.”

Like a golem brought to life without a purpose Kamilah stares vacant. Her hand falls back to her side; allows Nadya to take a large gulp of air and taste the salt of the rain on her tongue.

“I’m here,” she repeats; doesn’t know where or how or if to touch Kamilah in her fragile state but if she’s right, if Kamilah’s having her own response to being thrust into the void with nothing to cling to, then she’ll risk her life a hundred times over to stop her from falling.

Nadya delicately cups Kamilah’s cheeks. The rain looks like teardrops falling down her curved expression. Nadya knows better. “I’m here,” again, “I’m here… I’m here for you I swear. I’m not going anywhere ever again a-and I’m… I’m here Kamilah so—so please just… just know I’ve got you. I’ve got you — I’ve got you.”

The first time she kisses Kamilah it’s not like any of her dreams at all. Taking into account some of her more recent nightmares though… well it’s bittersweet.

It’s like kissing a statue — cradling the Venus de Milo in her hands and hoping she might have the magical affinity to turn the marble into flesh. She doesn’t stop — hopes she’s doing the right thing somewhere in the back of her mind.

Hopes—prays—that she’s right. That the rain is only acting as a curtain. That Kamilah might feel the sa—

The stone melts away and soft lips begin to kiss back. First with gentle touches. Trying to understand what’s happening, who they are — discovering something for the first time in thousands of years.

Like a waltz Kamilah steps back and Nadya moves with her — desperate to seek out her mouth, her taste. And to get away from the brick digging into her back.

Her hands rest chastely on the vampire’s bare hips. Electricity sparking in every touch and threatening to gather its own thundercloud over their heads.

This time when their eyes meet she knows Kamilah is looking at her. Not just that — but deep into her soul with that slight tick in her perfect brow and those plush lips turned down. Confusion, retaliation, denial beginning to bubble up to the surface.

Nadya doesn’t think she’d be able to survive Kamilah retreating. Her heart couldn’t take it.

“I’m here.” She whispers; a final plea. I’m here. See me. Have me. I’m yours.

Kamilah’s reply is almost lost in the howling wind.

“If you truly knew what you’re asking for…”

“Stop —” she pushes a rain-slicked palm across Kamilah’s head to move her hair out of her eyes, “— don’t. I’m here, that’s all. I’m here.”

There’s rueful regret in the way Kamilah’s expression softens — in the way her eyes roam over Nadya’s desperate face to try and latch onto one single speck of hesitation or regret and use it as a way to push them apart.

She doesn’t find any. So she leans forward and meets their lips. Marble on flesh, eternity on youth. Nadya doesn’t spare a thought to yielding.

The path back to the penthouse is a struggle not only because Nadya is clumsy even when she’s paying attention but also because sometimes movement requires pulling away — and neither of them can be fussed with a concept so awful — so impossible. Now that they’ve discovered what it feels like to kiss one another they have the same singular thought that means they have to catch up on every time they could have—should have, would have—done this before.

At this rate it might be more than Nadya’s oxygen-starved brain can handle. She’s okay with that.

Then her clothes go from sopping wet and a mild nuisance to utterly please-get-off-me and Kamilah, somehow developing a psychic tendency between the pool and the doorway, agrees. Tears her shirt quite literally off except for one lone short sleeve.

Well as long as it isn’t in the way.

The same strong grip finds her jeans and Nadya finds enough of herself to reach down and cover those hands with her own. “C-Carefu—hh,” she tries; can’t exactly manage to speak with the way Kamilah intends to suck her soul out through her mouth. But the point is made; because when her zipper catches on soaked-through denim Kamilah rips it hard enough for the clink of metal to sound off in the distance.

Nadya fumbles for purchase on anything when Kamilah’s cold hands dig into her bottoms. Find the scalding heat between her folds and drag the soft tips of her nails along Nadya’s clit. It’s too much unreleased tension at once for Nadya to even think about trying to keep her voice down but there Kamilah is ready to drink up every decibel like the best wine in the world.

The door jamb digs into her back; makes Nadya arch her spine as much as she can with a whine of complaint — until there’s no doorway under her hand, rather a pillow instead, and the soft press of a mattress bends with her and takes Nadya from Cloud Nine to Heaven itself.

Three miracles happen at once.

The first is a crack of lightning against the window-wall of Nadya’s room. Gerard’s kept the curtains pulled back — knows she likes seeing the city at night to help her fall asleep. The brightness blinds her now but who needs sight when she can feel—touch—taste all that’s atop her.

The second is the tentative exploration and press of Kamilah’s fingers inside her. Cold as ice yet slick with her arousal Nadya keens loud, unabashed. Suddenly wishes she hadn’t said a thing about the jeans because they’re too tight—too cold—they need to be gone.

And the third scares her; Kamilah pulling away and the rush of air in her lungs making her dizzy but the vampiress holds herself just out of reach of a ravishing. She looks down at her prone, human form and suddenly Nadya wants to cover up — hide in the darkness and away from the omniscient quality of Kamilah’s eyes. She can see herself reflected back in them and she looks…

With a cocked head Kamilah crooks one finger inside her and Nadya stops caring what she looks like. Settles instead on how incomparable this right here is to any ridiculous notion her imagination may have had before because the real thing is leagues better. Leagues.

With desperate, high-pitched noises Nadya tries to shimmy her hips on the bedspread. Either to strip or encourage Kamilah to keep with the ripping of the clothes.

She doesn’t. Just bends her other finger and draws a lazy circle with the pad of her thumb that Nadya weeps for.

Time might keep going around them but it certainly doesn’t mean a whole lot. The world outside the confines of the bed, through the door and out of the building where Adrian isn’t safe and her friends mourn their losses and plotters of evil lurk in the shadows — it surrounds them and it’s still important but it just doesn't seem to matter.

Not when the dexterous goddess above her maneuvers a third finger in the continued pursuit of exploring all the ways to drive Nadya absolutely wild.

Kamilah’s nail scrapes along her clit again — sends shocks of pleasure-bordered-pain that she would howl into the air above them if familiar lips weren’t suddenly suffocating her.

Oh my god oh my god ohmygod — Is she saying it out loud? Does it really matter? Because Kamilah isn’t stopping and Nadya doesn’t want her to stop — not ever. Wants the rest of her life to be frozen in this exact moment in time until Death comes a-knocking.

She’s digging her fingertips into Kamilah’s back; writhing underneath her with wordless sounds and the imprint of lightning behind her closed eyelids. Everything hurts only because it’s too much and that’s the best way to be.

Slowly Kamilah peels her lips away — replaces it with a steady but soft grip on Nadya’s jaw. Her forefinger strokes along the damp curve of her human cheek.

Nadya tries not to think about the vulnerability of the moment. Of how Kamilah can see her clear as day yet she has to squint in the black to try and make out the woman’s expression — to know if she’s doing something right.

Don’t grow tired after this… Don’t become bored of me.

The hand tilts Nadya’s jaw. Urges her to the side to expose the pounding veins in her neck.

There’s a small bit of rational Nadya left in her brain and she sets off the bells and whistles while screaming with a bullhorn. Stop! Danger! Alert! Vampire!! VAMPIRE!!! She doesn’t know whether it wants her to stop or to get Kamilah to stop but it nearly wins — nearly convinces her to take a metaphorical step back and turn back to better things like kissing. Kissing was excellent.

Instead, and in contrast to everything safe, she holds her breath — closes her eyes. Lets Kamilah take the lead (like she hasn’t been already?) because not only does she deserve to be eaten if this is what everything has been leading to but she trusts the woman above her.

She trusts her with her blood. With her life.

Despite the pool of molten pleasure she’s drowning in Nadya can’t help but tense when Kamilah descends on her neck. Readies herself the only way she knows how — thinks of all the times she’s had shots or stitches in her life and tries to put them all together at once and imagines that is what being bitten by a vampire feels like.

Being bitten by a vampire feels extremely soft, actually. Then she realizes she’s not being bitten at all but instead just kissed somewhere new.

Her pulse thunders under Kamilah’s lips; trying to stop it only makes her heart race faster, her blood pump harder. Then there’s a hot breath and warm scrape that makes her cringe but Kamilah’s teeth stay blunt on her skin. The warmth of her tongue drags along goosebumps and makes Nadya briefly consider passing out to stop herself from having the opportunity to do something embarrassing.

Below her belt Kamilah’s fingers begin to move faster. Slick and sticky; warmed to the inside of Nadya’s body and eager for something very nearly in sight. She trails kisses mouthed along the human’s sweaty neck. There’s something building up inside her — but doesn’t that something mean there might be an end?

God, please never let this end. Please.

Faster and faster — there’s no way a human would be able to match that speed and if she could form words she’d accuse Kamilah of cheating. Lucky for her Nadya can’t form words. Legs trembling in oscillating waves; so violent she’s fearful of actually kicking the woman then in such small movements her muscles strain with the effort.

Kamilah’s lips stop at their goal. Playfully nip the lobe of Nadya’s ear before she noses the shell with a cat-like purr.

Desperately Nadya tries to turn her head, feels that something with one foot off of the cliff; wants to see the look in Kamilah’s eyes — or vice versa.

She’s one strangled breath away from begging for the woman’s attention when there’s a sigh in her ear. Kamilah’s voice is dark and somehow forbidden. It rasps heavy on her heart and brings up a literal geyser of emotions — all wordless in nature — that lock her limbs and god they hurt but she never wants them to go away.

“I’m here,” whispers Kamilah, “I’ve got you.”

Yes, Nadya has cried more in the last few days then she has in her entire life and yes she’s pretty tired of it. But when she literally sobs her release with shuddering hips and thighs clenching around Kamilah’s hand she doesn’t mind one bit.

Doesn’t mind the light, torturous way the woman peppers kisses down her neck to her heart hammering between her sweat-slicked breasts and kisses there, too. Right on the flat of her sternum. Piercing it like a knife to the heart.

Kamilah rides her through her orgasm like she’s taming a beast — shushes Nadya’s fumbled failed attempts at words and caresses her soaked hair with a free hand. Playfully (maybe, because there has to be some torture technique achingly similar and if anyone would know it, Kamilah would) flicks Nadya’s clit with lazy strokes of her thumb until it’s no longer an aftershock but the pain of going too hard for too long and being too exhausted to get the good things going.

When Kamilah speaks again the calm demand of her tone is gone; replaced by something that maybe—possibly—once upon a time could have been called affection.

Even now—especially now—she’s just not sure.

“I’ve got you, Nadya.”

Like a trigger pulled exhaustion falls down on her chest in a weight. Makes it hard to breathe, think, do anything other than curl into herself as tightly as she can and press against Kamilah’s solid presence.

Something that sounds vaguely like “stay” rolls off her tongue tasting of heavy cotton. Kamilah shushes her and mindlessly Nadya obeys.

“I’m here…”

The dark that claims her is warm; inviting.

Kamilah kisses her forehead.

“I’ve got you.”

#bloodbound #kamilah x mc #kamilah sayeed #playchoices fanfiction #playchoices #bloodbound mc #lily spencer #jax matsuo #mc: nadya al jamil #oc: maricruz espinoza #oc: isseya #oc: valdas #oblv: bound by destiny #oblv: new chapter

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waywardnerd67 · 5 years

Text

Fast Cars & Bleeding Hearts

Summary: (Y/N) was living her best life. Friends, love and fast cars. Then the one person in the world she never expected to shows up does and throws a wrench into her perfect life. Will she be able to resist what her heart desperately desires, or will she crash and burn. Characters: Charlie (OMC), Jessie (OFC), Kyle (OMC), Joel (OMC), Reader Pairing: Charlie x Reader / Joel x Reader Warnings: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 1826 A/N: A few things about this little one shot. This is all based off a vivid dream I had that I have been thinking about nonstop all day. In my dream the main man looked like Charlie Hunnam (not one of my top celebrity crushes but that is who my brain drummed up). So I used his aesthetic for the board and his name for the character. I am not tagging anyone since this is just for me to try to get this dream off my mind. I am embellishing it for the purpose of good story telling since I have been thinking about it all day. If you like it then awesome, if not I do mind if it gets zero notes as long as I stop thinking about it. Love Nerdy <3

(Y/N) grabbed her bookbag from the side of her desk stuffing her planner and black flats into it. Slipping on her Chucks, she waved to her co-worker in the next cubical as she made her way out the door on a gorgeous fall afternoon. She could not wait to get home and fine tune her beautiful ’72 Chevelle SS for tonight’s race. It was the one night out of the week that she felt more like herself being surrounded by friends and fast cars.

The trip home was quick as she walked inside the large multi-family building her best friend’s family owned. In this building was her two best friends Jessie and Kyle. Next to their unit was (Y/N)’s boyfriend, Joel along with his buddy Corey. Her unit was above his and then an empty unit next to her since Jessie’s friends had found a place nearby. It was nothing for (Y/N)’s apartment door to be open with her friends inside and today was no different as she saw Kyle sitting on her couch.

“How was work hon?” he asked looking over the back of the couch.

(Y/N) flopped down next to him, “Exhausting. People are so ungrateful and mean. One day I’ll find a job I love but for now I’m stuck answering calls from assholes.”

“Well at least now you can go do some real work and make some real money.” (Y/N) looked over at her friend smiling from ear to ear.

“Damn right I can. Hey, speaking of work, did you find a new tenant yet?” she asked getting up walking into her room to change.

Kyle was silent for a moment before he sputtered out, “Uh… y-yeah. Well, um, the new guy will actually be there tonight to meet everyone. So, yeah… hey I’ll see ya downstairs in the garage.”

(Y/N) peeked out from behind her door to see Kyle hurriedly getting up and walking out. She thought that was kind of strange of him but immediately lost all thoughts when she heard her car roar to life behind their building. She quickly put on an old pair of jeans and flannel rolling up the sleeves then slipped back into her Chucks. As she rushed downstairs, (Y/N) nearly knocked Joel over.

“Whoa there baby!” he said chuckling, “Where’s the fire?”

Joel slipped his arms around her waist pulling her in close and kissing her. She sighed happily leaning against him, “Kyle and guys are getting my car ready for tonight. You gonna make it this time?” she asked.

Joel looked down pulling away from her slightly, “Sorry babe. I have to work a double tonight. Text me though to keep me updated.”

She nodded trying not to show her disappointment, “I get it. No worries handsome and I’ll make sure to text you proof of life.”

He smiled leaning down to kiss her again and she made her way to the detached garage behind the building. Her disappointment was washed away when she saw her gorgeous glossy black Chevy shining in the evening light. Kyle was jacking it up while Corey was hovering over the motor. She smiled seeing Kyle’s daughter, Belle, helping him jack the car up into the air.

“Make sure your daddy doesn’t drop my baby.” (Y/N) said as Belle smiled widely at her.

“Got it Auntie (Y/N/N).” she said as Kyle flipped her off.

(Y/N) grabbed a milk crate to stand on next to Corey, “How’s she looking?”

Corey was a computer geek by trade but the only one she ever trusted with the mechanics of her car. He hummed before answering, “She’s looking good. Changing the fluids and a few minor things then she is good to go. Do you know where yet?”

(Y/N) scoffed, “Yeah. Right. Like King would tell us where the race will be before dark. If that ever happens I think I will play the lotto and give up racing.”

Corey laughed, “True. Alright get underneath and let’s change out her oil.”

This was (Y/N)’s favorite part getting down under her car and getting dirty. There was no bigger turn on than the smell of gasoline and car grease. After a couple of hours going over every inch of her Chevelle she went back into her apartment to get cleaned up. When she walked in there was a note pinned to her door.

“Keep your head clear, drive straight and be safe. Love ya babe, J.” she smiled reading it and set it on her kitchen table while she went to take a shower.

Sure enough Sean aka King texted her the location of the race tonight. It was a two hour drive into the country where there would be little chance of getting caught. That meant a major racer was in town and King wanted to see some good matches. Grabbing her lucky black hoodie she held onto the silver chain around her neck holding the only piece she cared about from her past and made her way back down to the garage.

“Where’s Jessie?” she asked only seeing Kyle and Corey loading up everything.

Kyle looked nervous again, “She and the kids are meeting us there. Come on we need to hit the road.”

She climbed into the big pick up truck that pulled her car and trailer with Corey on her left and Kyle on her right. The drive was filled with laughter and headbanging as they blared the music out the open windows. (Y/N) loved nights like tonight with a cold bite to the wind and crisp smell in the air. It reminded her of the good ole days before everything crashed around her.

Pulling up there were already many of the regular drivers and crews apart of King’s group. Most of them driving car half the weight of hers but none more powerful. Once they were parked and unloading, (Y/N) spotted Jessie with Belle and their youngest Rose walking up the main pit area.

She scooped up Rose twirling her around as she giggled, “I missed you Rosie!”

“She missed you too. Sorry we didn’t ride out with you but had to meet the new tenant here to sign the papers.” Jessie said looking anywhere but at (Y/N) and that is when she knew something was up.

“What is going on? Kyle is acting all squirrely and so are you. Who’s the new ten…” her sentence dropped off upon seeing the car driving up the pit road.

(Y/N)’s heart thumped wildly in her chest making it ache. It did not matter how long it had been since she seen that car she would never forget it. She knew it better than her own car and the driver behind the wheel. She looked over to Jessie whose face was bright red and suddenly everything made sense.

“No.” she said as Jessie bit her lip, “Oh hell no.”

(Y/N) handed Rose to Jessie and started to march over to Kyle her fist clenched at her side. Kyle’s eyes went wide when he saw her coming, “Whoa (Y/N), calm down before you…”

Before she knew it her fist was swinging towards Kyle as he dodged it, “You bastard! You knew it was him and didn’t tell me!? How could you?”

“(Y/N), calm down. He called me out of the blue and asked if I knew of a place he could crash at while getting back on his feet. We need the money to keep the building up to snuff so I couldn’t turn him down no matter your past with one another. I-I’m sorry.” He explained as she took a deep, shaky breath.

Turning around she watched as the man she has loved from childhood until the day of her accident got out of the cherry red ’70 Chevelle and started walking towards her. “I can’t do this.” She said walking off to clear her head.

She had been twenty-one, racing to pay her way through college. Charlie had helped her build her car right along his own. Hours of getting greasy and making love in his garage. He was the only man her dad approved of when he saw Charlie working on his car. A few words were exchanged, and her dad smiled at her saying he was a keeper. They grew up together living only a block from one another and in high school they had fallen in love.

That was until the day of her accident. The whole day had been bizarre starting with a classmate trying to pick a fight with her as she walked to home with Jessie. Never once did (Y/N) back down from the girl but she also never laid a finger on her. When she got home, Charlie was waiting for her in her room. He was tall and lean with shaggy blond hair that was usually under a black ball cap. His ocean blue eyes were always shining and his skin always sun-kissed from working on cars outside.

Before a race they always spent time together alone snuggling or talking to just relax. Being with him was as easy as breathing to her but that night he was tense. He asked her not to race but she had played it off as boyfriend nerves. (Y/N) would remember that conversation for the rest of her life since it was the last memory she had before her crash.

“Please sweetheart let’s just stay in tonight. I made enough this month to pay for your tuition. Let’s just lay here all night together.” He said turning on his side looking down at her.

(Y/N) raked her fingers through his thick hair moving it from in front of his crystal eyes, “Pretty boy, I’m not backing out now. Everything is set and it’s the first clear night we’ve had in weeks to race. I promise to be safe and with you there nothing can go wrong.”

His lips pursed before letting out a long sigh, “Alright we’ll go. I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling.”

“Everything will be fine.” She pulled his lips to hers trying to distract him from his thoughts.

Of course everything was not fine. According to all her friends, the car she raced slide sideways clipping the back end of her car sending it flying through the air. (Y/N) remembers nothing of the crash or the next six weeks after. What she did remember was never seeing Charlie when she woke up in the hospital weeks later. Never hearing from him over the next year she was in recovery or the year after that when she started to rebuild her car from the frame up. Nothing for five years until tonight.

“Hey (Y/N).” Charlie’s raspy voice send shivers down her body.

Turning around she found him wearing a black ball cap and hoodie like he always did five years ago. All the resentment and anger melted away as soon as he eyes connected with his blue ones.

“Hi Charlie.”

#not spn #fiction #dream #original work

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honeyfreckled · 5 years

Note

we have talked a few times and im sorry for this but you are the most accepting and easiest person to talk to honestly i dont have many people in my life i can tell anything real to. but the thing is ive been thinging about relapsing a lot more since i broke up with my boyfriend and i work with him so it makes work depressing and impossible to get through a day without crying sorry this is anon but i am scared ily dont hate me i am not trying to stress you out

ok wow first lemme just say: I DO NOT HATE U. EVER.

and don’t be srry i don’t have a lotta ppl irl i can tell my shit to so i get it. pls know u can always ALWAYS ALWAYS come to me, and u dont gotta be scared to come off anon. i get it and it’s ok if u prefer it that way- but pls know i dont keep it on alot bc i get hate and then i turn it off bc i gotta look out for myself and dont post all the hate bc i dont wanna bring yall down or give them the satisfaction of knowing i have given it a read and response. so u can message me or make a sideblog or idk im just saying this so if it’s off later u dont blame yrself or feel scared to come off anon. ok sorelapse is a real thing and it’s fucked and hard and addiction is fucked up and a real life struggle and we dont treat addicts w the real tenderness, respect, kindness, and acceptance they deserve. but u DO deserve it. and there are hotlines, apps, churches, groups, chatrooms/boards, and sites that are more versed in what are the appropriate things to say to u- i say this bc while i’ve been thru it w loved ones i have not myself struggled w addiction w substances. my addictions were to self harm and victimhood so those are the things i searched for help on. but if it’s alright i’d like to give u some tips or things i used and have heard work for addicts of substances

places like i said like churches, groups, chatrooms, sites, apps, hotlines the apps and hotlines are good if u cant travel or want to talk to ppl who wont share their story bc maybe u cant hear it like its not the kinda help ur looking for. hotlines are sometimes tricky bc some of those folks are not educated they are volunteers so judgment leaks thru and in that case u ask to be redirected and report that volunteer so hopefully they dont repeat that kinda mess to other vulnerable folks looking for help

make a list of things, anything. list of foods u like to order, list of things that make u clench yr teeth, what were yr fave gifts you’ve ever got, style icons of urs, hobbies u tried that annoyed u, movies u can always watch, places on yr skin u hate being touched, any list of anything it doesnt have to be the usual thing of “what to live for” bc when yr depressed those kinds of things arent easy to think of. but if u get a list going of like “best things ive ever touched” “sounds that make me laugh” “trends that were stupid af” “popular things that i didnt like n couldnt figure out why they were popular” “weirdest ppl ive met” well those things might get u on a roll of good memories or laughing or seeing that theres more to yr life than what has been occupying yr thoughts

dancing. dance in yr room in the dark. clear some space. put on some headphones. lock yr door. do it in the shower. just dance. i had to start w closing my eyes and picking songs that i was taken by emotionally. songs that made me jump and slamdance tbh and then it’s just gotten more and more something im not as ashamed w. i spent a date night w james just dancing and then we ya know ya know bc the dancing got so wild. now i make playlists of songs that set moods for diff kinds of dancing

watch shows w ppl who arent doing better than u. they dont live in fancy places, they dont do much w their lives, they dont dress better than u, they struggle, they arent eating good food u dont have access to. iasip. freaks and geeks. letterkenny. undeclared. jake and amir. tpb. the state. youtube. tiktok/vine comps. lots of these kinds of vibes on youtube

podcasts. improv comedy podcasts tbh saved my life. comedy bang! bang! has best of’s those are good ones to start w. improv4humans bc matt besser has great guests of some of the best improvisers out there and he has musical guests and they’ll play a song and the improvisers will use it as inspo for a scene

make things. moodboards. pinterest. playlists. fill a shopping cart and tell yrself “i’ll get it when i win the lotto and move away from anyone who knows me so i can be the me i wanna be w/out judgement” make tea. make a meal if u can. make yr bed. clean one thing. clean the sink. hang some clothes or go thru yr drawers and clean them out. throwing things out feels hard at first but then it’s nice bc u feel less bogged down

find something to throw yr obsession at for a bit. something that wont hurt u as bad, being obsessed in general isnt good. everything in moderation irl. too much of something is bad just as much as too less of it can be bad. but yr looking for something lower risk here and if u gotta be obsessed w a celeb or a song or a food that’s ok. yr focusing the energy on something that isnt a substance so be proud of it

give yrself a break. give yrself some credit. everyday isnt gonna be on the “best of your name here’s days” but sometimes u just live to live bc that’s what u do. u wait it out and get thru it and wait for the sun to come back out. and if u cant get outta bed. or if you hate yr job and wanna scream- that’s normal it’s more normal than always being happy ppl just dont like talking abt bc society kinda trains us to hide our fucked upness idk why but thats how it is. they dont wanna tell us to do preventative care until we’re in the pits

all in all- it comes down to (at least for me) not planning w an endgoal in mind. it’s not over til it’s over and rlly we dont know. it’s all fluctuating and not meant to be a finish line we cross and then suddenly we’re done and we dont suffer anymore and the feeling of shit is gone or the risk of relapse is gone and the depression is cleared away never to be seen again. it’s not realistic. bc it isnt real. on the real- risk is always there and the downs and ups mix and run together and depression is not curable (this isnt something to be miserable over tho) depression isnt curable, yeah ok, but it is manageable. it can be quieted down from time to time and if u keep up w yr healthy routines and coping mechanisms- depression will still find its way to u bc the real world is not something u can manage. death in the family, loss of money or job, car breaking down, sickness outta nowhere, depression grows wild when these very real life stressors come into our lives. but all that too eventually gets easier and easier at least from a “ok i have some distance now” standpoint. and then as those days get more and more btwn it u can then be like “oh wow, ive made it thru X amount of days! ive put up w it this long! whats one more day, whats one more week, hell might as well see how much prouder i can feel once ive got a year under my belt!” plus u will be more capable of handling the bullshit if u know u can still find some safe places in yr coping skills or friends or resources.

ok so this is prob a mess but bottomline know this:

I love you and i will be here the best i can should u ever wanna come spill or if u need me to just send u pics of my dog or boring pics of knickknacks or selfies or memes or links or anything just tell me what u need and i will try my best to show u my love. i hope u can see that u reaching out is just already a HUGE major step in the right direction, give yrself credit! thats amazing! yr already doing it pumpkin look at u! it’s hard ik. but i also know if u are capable of saying u have this problem going on, u are capable of getting thru this. u are a light in the world. u offer goodness and u offer yrself and that’s enough. even if yr fucked up right now- u are contributing to the world by simply being u. there is literally NO ONE ELSE WHO IS YOU. so u are unique by definition. i hope u get something from this post and if not i hope it strikes an idea or thing u can do that will help. i hope u know im here and i hope u see this.

i am sending u all my light and love and good vibes and i can’t wait to see or hear from u again. u are never bothering me, a burden, or stressing me out. tbh it stresses me more that u might be struggling and not telling me or anyone. i dont ever want u to suffer in silence bc u feel guilt or scared or anything. u deserve to have a place to voice yr shit. im here to listen if u do wanna tell me anymore.

everyone else-if this helped or if u can think of anything that might help anon or anyone else- feel free to reblog and get some good NONJUDGMENTAL advice or tips and tricks going, but please please please remember to not come off as judgey or flood it with your drama. keep ur drama out of this post so anon or anyone else doesn’t get triggered by it.

and dont ignore my rule and do it anyway and then say some shit like “ik u said not to but i think this will help lol sorry” like we need this post to stay on this vibe that i set in motion and not a struggle contest or dick measuring or all sad personal reminiscing. go make yr own post for that this is NOT the space.

#Anonymous #sorry if this is a mess but i got a lot of feelings abt the shitty advice that's out there for addicts and i dont know shit except my ideas #and all i can do is pass it along but pls still remember there are plenty more things that could work so if these dont strike a chord lmk #and i can try to think of more and reach out to my friends who are addicts and see what works for them #i love you i love you and i love you and i like you

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loveseungs · 6 years

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irony p. ii

a/n: heck here it is i just love words dont i also note: tumblr is being BadTM and broke all links so if u want p 1 just pls search for it on my blog

↠ pairing: lee felix x reader ↠ word count: 13.07k ↠ warnings: female reader ↠ genre: fluff, angst, soulmate au ↠ part: one, two ↠ summary:

In a world where soulmates exist, love is still a gamble.

Bus rides home were usually filled with white noise and thoughts about work. But there was something about the steady pitter-patter of the rain and the hazy blur of life around you that lead you to plug in your earphones and listen to music.

It was tormenting. The catchiest beats were also the saddest ones, making your heart swell up at every relatable lyric. It was as if Spotify was playing with the strings of your heart, plucking them like an instrument every time a song about heartbreak came into your queue.

You were stuck in a state of paradox. The more you tried to forget, the more you tried to erase him who was in your heart, the more you remembered. You hated him because you knew that you couldn’t truly bring yourself to hate him.

Timing never seemed to be right with the two of you. If only you’d discovered that he was your destiny a few years later, maybe everything would have worked out, but since you found out a little bit too early, the problem then became you being too late to tell him.

A full year had already passed, and it felt like time was stretched. Graduation seemed so long ago after the ball started rolling on your career life. Once you moved to Busan and getting a great albeit stressful job, so many things just seemed to have happened. You convinced yourself of the fact that this was life now, and if this was all you were going to get, you were going to make it as spectacular as possible. Moving on from the mess that was Lee Felix was dealt and done with, however, it’d be a lie if you said you didn’t think about him every once in a while.

Twelve months ago, your arm was always covered in ink. The week you stopped talking to Felix, that’s when they started to appear. A thousand little messages written on your arm every single morning was what you had to wake up to. You’d seen your fair share of ‘I’m sorry’s and ‘I miss you’s, but you weren’t taking any of it. You knew that if you dared to reply once, even just once, you knew you’d just get hurt all over again—it was not something you were willing to risk, even if those annoying writings on your arm caused you to buy more long-sleeved shirts.

Gradually, their appearances lessened until the messages stopped altogether. Something about the absence of the all-too-familiar handwriting finally settled the fact that he was all but a memory that you were to leave in the past.

Occasionally, there were times that the memory of him would be jogged once again, like on this particular bus ride home. Truly, the blame was to be put on the meaningful lyrics and solemn melodies.

Chhhh. This was the part where you got off the bus and shook whatever bad vibes you were feeling out of your mind. This was not the time to feel sad. Not today, not today.

“Oh, you’re home already. How was work?” your grandma greeted from the kitchen, the sound of sizzling oil faintly echoing through the house.

“Shall I tell you over dinner?” You pursed your lips into a smile. “Or do you want to be spoiled? Just a hint, today was fantastic.”

“Well, if that doesn’t tickle my fancy. If you’re gonna start it off like that, sweetie, you might as well just tell me now,” she answered.

You entered the kitchen with a dramatic stride. You stopped for a second to pose, then you took a loud, deep breath. “Your grandkid made it, Nana. I, [L/N] [F/N], have been promoted to the Assistant Brand Manager of the department. Boss said I get a bonus on every third Friday of the month. Isn’t that something?”

“My, my. Won’t you treat your old woman out for dinner one of these days, since you’re now swimming in money? I’d love a steak, dear,” she smiled. “I’m only joking. I am so, so proud of you, darling! We need to celebrate! Come give me a hug!”

You wrapped your arms tightly around your grandmother. “Agh, I’m beyond elated! Shall we go somewhere special?”

“Would you care for some wine, perhaps? I’m cooking beef, so I think it would taste great. Set out the table outside, let’s enjoy the evening breeze. Let’s talk more about your promotion later. Who’s going to take your previous spot on the team?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Boss said there were some very promising newcomers, and I can only hope they’ll be a good addition and not a downfall to our team. Did you know that our department is one of the most productive ones? Ever since the PR department waged war on us, our productivity rate has doubled in number.”

“Why would you want to wage war on other departments? Mustn’t you work together for the better of the company?”

“Yes!” you replied. “It’s mostly to see who can boost the company’s sales better. We usually compete when we do our weekly reports to the boss. I think Boss secretly knows about the Marketing-PR war because he hasn’t said a word about any of our shenanigans, even if we blatantly express our friendly rivalry. There’s a small scoreboard in the conference room to tally which department did better that week, and it’s updated by the secretary. Boss didn’t order it to be put there, but he hasn’t said anything about it either.”

“It sounds wonderful. That’s quite a great way to promote efficiency in the company,” your grandmother commented, plating the dishes she had prepared for dinner.

“I know! Rumor has it that Boss is planning a company outing where all the departments will go on a head-to-head competition. I don’t know the details, but my co-worker said that she heard it from the janitor who heard it from the secretary,” you went on, “anyway, I’ll save more of the talk for later. Where do you keep the candles? I’ll put some outside as I set the tables.”

“In the left-most wooden drawer—no, not that one. Yes, that one. Glad to hear that work is good for you, honey. Makes me very glad.”

How could you stop a smile from making its way to your face? When you stepped into work the next day, you wore a grin like an expensive article of clothing.

“Somebody’s cheerful today,” your co-worker, Yugyeom mentioned, looking up from his desk. “what’s with the happy demeanor, [Y/N]?”

“Can’t I revel in the fact that I’ve finally been promoted?” you answered, taking a seat at your desk.

“Come on. There must be something else that’s up. Did you get a boyfriend? Meet a soulmate? Win the lotto? Your smile’s so bright, I think I’m going to go blind.” He rolled his eyes.

“No! Gross, I don’t have time for things like that,” you huffed. Leaning in, you whispered, “Listen. There’s a newcomer that’s going to be added to our team. Apparently, he’s from the Daejeon branch of the company, and he’s being transferred here to the Busan office because apparently, he did very well. Do you realize what this means for us? If we get another good employee, we’ll have one more person to help tackle PR on the scoreboard.”

“Damn, girl! Talk about competitive!”

“You know you’re excited, too.”

“Okay, fine. I am. Let’s teach this newcomer to help us in the quest to out-produce PR.”

“Morning, guys,” a familiar voice greeted. You and Yugyeom stood up to bow to your superior.

“Morning, Chan,” you greeted back.

“Woah, no ‘Sir’ for you, huh, [Y/N]?” Yugyeom snickered.

You hit him playfully. “I’ve known Chan since high-school. He’s the one who told me not to call him ‘Sir’. Anyway, is it true that the newcomer’s a good one? Gosh, I can’t wait. This is like fresh meat for us, you know? Do you know his name?”

“How do you know he’s a guy?” Yugyeom asked, raising a brow.

“Heard it from the janitor. Swear the janitor knows everything. Need info? I can get it for you. The janitor makes a pretty good friend,” you explained. “Anyway, like I asked, Chan. Do you have info on him?”

“Actually, [Y/N], I don’t. The Chief of Staff has yet to introduce me to him, which is kind of surprising. But to be fair, I’ve been out on business trips lately, so I’m not all too shocked,” Chan explained. “I hope this person is what make him out to be. Oh, speak of the devil.”

“Hello, all. Good morning. As you know, I’m Mr. Park, Chief of Staff, and I’m here to bring to you the latest addition to your team. As some of you may have heard, he is from our Daejeon branch and is a very capable man. I hope you will all take care of him.”

Chan took one glance at you to make sure you were doing alright, but all he saw was your jaw suspended in the open air, eyes wide.

You felt everything and nothing all at once.

“Everyone, this is Lee Felix, and he will be in charge of product marketing.”

You slammed the door to the office pantry behind you, Chan following inside. As you finished downing an entire cup of coffee, you sputtered, “How could this have happened? Chan! You’re like, the only person who knows what happened between Felix and I during high-school and college!”

“I swear, I didn’t know!” Chan defended, handing you a glass of water to calm you down. “I’m just as shocked as you are, alright? Drink this.”

“Is the world seriously against me?” you grumbled, burying your face in your hands. “Just as things have been looking up, he walks back into my life just like that! Here! In Busan! Where I purposely went so that I could get away from him!”

“Calm down, [Y/N]. Let’s sort this out. But you have to promise me that you won’t let your personal problems get in the way of professionality. I know you’re in shock, but let’s try not to let this get the best of you. Remember, PR’s been on the top of the leaderboard for two weeks straight, and we really need to step up our game,” the older boy spoke, rubbing your shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll try to fix this, yeah?”

“Dear goodness, I sure hope so,” you muttered, setting down the second empty paper cup as you looked at the office through the pantry blinds.

“I knew Felix had a job in marketing, but I didn’t know it was for our company, nevertheless did I expect him to end up here with us. I thought he got hired back in Seoul,” Chan commented, also watching the newcomer through the blinds.

“Right?” you sighed. “What on this good, green earth am I going to do know? I’m going to have to engage in conversation, you know?”

“Well, I suppose you can’t hide from him forever. After all, he… is your—”

“God, Chan. Don’t say it, please. Please don’t remind me,” you begged, shoulders going down in a slump.

Just like that, your joyful morning mood was dampened like the imminent grey clouds on a sunny June day, and now you were left with a situation you couldn’t run from.

A couple of days passed and you successfully avoided having to make any contact with Felix.

Surprisingly, things weren’t as bad as you had expected. You only had to do that obligatory bow when you greeted each other in the hallways, but that was it. You could not have it any other way.

“So… how’s stuff? You doing okay?” Chan asked one lunchbreak, grabbing his chopsticks from the lunch tray.

You gulped the rice in your mouth. “Could not be better. Can you believe it? One week went by without anything more than a couple of seconds of eye-contact and a bow.”

Yugyeom, who was sitting beside you, squinted his eyes. “Wait. Who are we talking about?”

“Uh,” you began, shooting a glance at Chan. “N-No one important, really. Just this person I met.”

“What, blind date outside of work?” he asked.

“No, I don’t have time for dates.”

Your co-worker gave you a goofy smile. “Aw, sucks for me, I just lost my shot.”

“Gross, Mr. Kim!” you laughed.

“I’m joking, I’m joking. Anyway, what’s your soulmate link?”

Great. The taboo question. It was cool, it was cool, you were chill, you were chill. “Oh, uh… why? What’s yours? Have you met your soulmate?”

“I’m a late bloomer, I guess. Lots of my friends have met their soulmates already, but my link says I’m still meeting my soulmate in… a couple of months. I’d show you the tattoo, but no one can see it anyway,” Yugyeom shared, taking a bite of his lunch. “How about you? I asked you first.”

“It’s a drawing link. Whatever’s drawn on my skin shows up on my soulmate’s or vice versa,” you said quietly, sipping your water. “But I’m not too hung up on the soulmate idea. Did you know that Chan’s real lucky? He scored a jackpot. Have you seen his girlfriend? She’s super nice. She and Chan are like the older siblings I never had.”

“Hey, but it was hard. You know, I had such a hard time with visual projects back in school before I met her. I had to keep asking my friends to tell me if my presentations looked good because really, I couldn’t tell. If I worked on them alone, they’d probably have the color scheme of ugly sweaters. So glad I can see color now, or else I probably would have a difficult time here in the company,” Chan chuckled at the thought. “By the way, she’s asking if you wanna come over some time for dinner. She misses hanging out with you, you know.”

“Oh for sure. How about this Saturday evening? I need to tell her about the recent news. Unnie’s gonna freak,” you asked Chan while you noted the schedule down on your phone.

“Hey, I thought you were gonna help me that evening with the project Boss assigned us?” Yugyeom piped up. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna cancel!”

“Relax, Mr. Kim. Let’s do that over lunch. No need to worry,” you told him.

Just then, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder and you turned around hastily, wiping your mouth.

Standing there with a hand at the back of his head was He-Who-Shan’t-Be-Named.

“Uh… Ms. [L/N]?”

‘Ooh, never thought I’d hear my last name roll off his tongue. Whatever, that’s to be expected,’ you thought.

“Sorry to bother you during lunch, but I need you to look over some paperwork that you submitted. Some of it wasn’t completed,” the freckled boy announced, handing you a folder.

You raised a brow. “Have I not? I could have sworn that I checked over these twice. I never submit incomplete paperwork.”

“A-Ah, is that so? But look here, there’s a blank space.”

You scanned the papers in your hands thoroughly. Glancing beside you, you inquired, “Mr. Kim, I thought this section of the paperwork was your job?”

Yugyeom took the folder from you. “What’s this? I didn’t send you the complete copy?”

“No?”

“Sorry, Mr. Lee. This was a fault on my part. It’s true, Ms. [L/N] never submits incomplete paperwork. I’ll have these files ready by 13:30, after lunch. Apologies for the inconvenience,” Yugyeom apologized, bowing.

Felix sported a polite smile. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m so sorry for the confusion, Miss [L/N]. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Um, you’re welcome.”

Caw. Caw. Caw.

“Well, I’ll be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, Ms. [L/N], Mr. Kim, Sir Bang,” Felix bowed, dragging his legs towards the opposite direction.

When he was out of sight, you leaned in to whisper, “If that wasn’t the most awkward two minutes of my entire company experience! I was doing so well up until this moment. I told you it’s best if I don’t talk to him!”

“What’s up with you and Mr. Newbie? You two know each other?” Yugyeom pressed, letting his chin rest on his hand. “Oh my. Don’t tell me—he’s the guy you went on a blind date with!”

“Lower your volume!” you scolded. “And ew, no! I already told you, I don’t have time for blind dates.”

“So give me a good reason as to why you’re apparently avoiding him!”

Chan came to the rescue. “Oh, we all went to the same high-school. [Y/N] and Feli—Mr. Lee used to go to the same college. She’s just had some weird encounters with him, is all.”

You nodded as if to agree with your superior. “Yup. Although don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to let it affect my work. Professionalism is professionalism.”

“Oh, is that right? Mm, didn’t know that,” Yugyeom answered, “anyway, let’s head back to our department. Lunch break is ending and I gotta fix this paperwork.”

The conference room door closed slowly behind as you and Chan made your way out from the most recent meeting. People from PR gave you both a smirk before heading towards their department. You clutched your fists in frustration and bore holes into their backs while stomping to the opposite direction.

“Just because they’ve gotten a lead on the scoreboard makes them think they can act like that, huh,” you hissed, rolling your eyes. “I swear, I’m working overtime this week.”

Chan placed a hand on your shoulder and stopped you. “Calm down, it’s gonna be alright, okay? Besides, we should be happy that they’re doing good for the company. Don’t get me wrong, I hate their department with my guts, but it’s nice to see Boss smiling at the good reports. But here’s the catch. Next week, we’re having the company outing. I’ve yet to announce it to the department, so keep your mouth quiet. I received the e-mail this morning, and it’s going to be held in Jeju island. There’s going to be lots of activities. Boss thinks it’s a good investment to have a fun company outing to, quote unquote, ‘promote bonding in the workplace’.”

You gasped and pointed at Chan. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We get to totally mow down PR in competition?”

“The prize is yet to be announced, and yes. We’re going to kill it. Of course, that means everyone in the department has to double-time this week so that we can enjoy the outing without thinking of work. How’s the project I assigned you doing?” Chan questioned.

From behind you, a voice spoke. “Uh, sorry to intrude, but I couldn’t help but overhear you two talking about the company outing. According to Secretary Bambam, each department is going to stay in separate guest houses. Do you need some help, Ms. [L/N]?” Yugyeom brought up, joining in on the conversation.

“Help? For what?” you asked, raising a brow.

Yugyeom put a hand to his mouth. “Don’t you have some kind of uncomfortable business with Mr. Lee, the newbie? I don’t know, I thought you’d be bothered.”

“Mr. Kim!” Chan boomed. “Don’t let [Y/N]’s personal matters affect how you interact with the people on our team. The least we need is division amongst ourselves. Where even did you get the information on the outing? You’re not supposed to know yet.”

“Why hide it? As I was making coffee in the staff room, Secretary Bambam offhandedly mentioned it to me,” Yugyeom answered, holding his clipboard.

“I’m sure it’s not going to be so bad,” you reassured the two boys, heading over to your desk. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kim.”

“This is so bad,” you grumbled, throwing different articles of clothing on your bed. There were all sorts of knick-knacks flying around your tiny room, scattered any place a knick-knack could be.

Just then, the door to your room opened and your grandma stepped in, raising her hands in surprise. “Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on in here? Your room looks like a jungle of clothes! I said pack for your trip, not unleash the beast, sweetie.”

You let out an exasperated groan as you shut the door of your closet. “Sorry, grandma. I’m just a little stressed thinking about the trip.”

“Come sit,” the older woman insisted, patting the empty spot on your bed beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong. To think this trip is supposed to be a celebration for the numerous victories your company has been making these past few months.”

“It’s not the company, grandma,” you admitted, taking a seat beside her. “It’s…it’s just that I have to deal with being stuck in a house with someone I wish I didn’t need to be with.”

“Hmm? That’s strange, I always thought you to be one of the more amiable people at work. Are you not friends with everybody?”

You sucked in your breath and prepared for what was about to come. “There’s this one guy. His name is Lee Felix… and… he’s… my soulmate.”

“Oh my.”

Right then and there, you decided that you could no longer keep up the bubbling vexations you buried deep in your chest. From the moment you met him until the very moment those years of friendship ended, you told her everything, not sparing a single important detail. By the time you finished up your story, your face was puffy and your eyes were red. The nighttime breeze howled quietly in the background, enveloping you in a chill.

“A-And recently, I thought I was doing okay, but he decided to take another stride back into my life. I mean, it’s all good at work, but it’s been so hard to focus lately and I don’t know why. I know I’m over him, and I’ve resigned to not thinking about soulmates or finding love or whatever. But every time I see that damned face of his, things come flooding into my mind,” you sniffled, blowing your nose. Your grandma rubbed soothing circles on your back, listening to every word that you spoke. “It doesn’t help that PR is doing better than Marketing lately, and I can’t help but think that maybe I’m slacking off a bit or something.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Here, drink some water,” your grandma began, “if you’ll let me, may I share what I think about your situation?”

“Go ahead, grandma. I’m so sorry for crying.”

“Sweetie, no, don’t do that. It’s okay to cry. But you know, I think the reason why you’ve become so competitive at work, the reason you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, the reason why you hold anger in your heart towards Felix despite saying that you’ve moved on from him, even the reason why you always apologize for crying—all those reasons are the same. From what I’ve been hearing, I think you need to re-examine what’s really in there,” she explained, pointing at your left chest where your heart was. “Ever since Felix, you’ve blamed yourself for everything. Because you knew you got hurt, you sorta… how should I say this… resigned yourself into thinking ‘I’m never going to get hurt like that again’. You made that mistake, and you’ve been beating yourself over it for these past few years.”

“I-I have?”

“Honey, I have to tell you. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay,” your grandma said, pulling you into a hug. “And honestly, I think the person who needs forgiveness most now isn’t Felix, but you. Forgive yourself, [Y/N]. It’s alright that you stumbled along the way.”

Your face crumpled. It was true. You felt so… so raw in front of your grandmother who saw right through you, who saw right through your heart. Everything somewhat fell into place, and you realized the reason you were hurting. And it felt good, to have finally admitted what you were hiding deep down for so long.

“So… what do I do now, grandma?” you asked, voice coming out as a choke. “What now?”

“It’s your choice if you want to, at the very least, tolerate him or let him go. Whatever you choose, know that I’m proud of you for taking those steps. Now go pack, it’s getting late and you’re supposed to meet up with the team early tomorrow. Please bring a jacket.”

“I will,” you replied, watching your grandmother get up and head out of your room. “Hey grandma?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Thank you.”

The sun was barely out, but you and your team were already outside the company building waiting for the van. The sounds of yawning and drowsy morning chatter filled the atmosphere.

Just before you left the house, your grandma left you some rice cakes on the table. A note saying ‘Eat well and enjoy <3’ came with it, helping you start your day off with a smile. As your team lined up to board the ferry, you bit into a rice cake, letting your teeth sink into the soft delicacy. Wow. It was beyond scrumptious.

The vicinity was getting a little bit warm as the sun began its ascent into the higher areas of the sky, causing you to remove the jacket you were wearing, As you tied the piece of clothing to your waist, you couldn’t help but notice a scribble on your left arm, just below your wrist.

‘Would you ever consider giving me one of your rice cakes? I’m so sorry, I saw you eating some and I haven’t had breakfast. It’s alright if you decide not to. I’ll wash off the ink with hand sanitizer.’

You jerked your head up, scanning the crowd for a certain someone. When your eyes landed on an all-too-familiar freckled boy, he reciprocated your stare with a sheepish smile.

You did a double-take. Should you forfeit your streak of barely having to interact with him or offer a rice cake to your hungry co-worker who would probably really need to eat something before leaving to engage in several tiring activities? Damn it, you knew he loved rice cakes.

Hesitantly, you shuffled over to Felix, who waved to you and bowed as you approached him. “Uh, good morning, Fe—Mr. Lee.”

“Hi, Miss [L/N]. Get my note?” the boy asked, pointing to your arm. Damn, you knew about his booming voice, but you’d forgotten just how deep his pitch was.

“The chicken scratch handwriting was quite hard to miss.”

“I’m sorry for using this particular means of communication. I just… I’m finding it a little difficult to talk to you, no offense.”

“None taken,” you answered, handing him a rice cake. “You’ll just really do anything for a rice cake, huh?”

In seconds, the poor rice cake was scarfed down. Felix wiped his mouth with his jacket sleeve. “I’m surprised you remember.”

“Like I’ll ever forget the reason half my lunch was always missing back in high-school,” you scoffed. “Here, you can have one more. I have more food in my bag anyway. Why’d you skip breakfast?”

‘Damn it, [Y/N]!’ you thought to yourself. ‘What the hell is up with you? I thought we agreed to just hand him a rice cake and leave?!’

“I live a bit far from here. I couldn’t miss the bus,” he answered, adjusting the neck pillow sitting comfortably on his shoulders. It was sort of endearing, how the neck pillow was themed to be a cute teddy bear design. Felix yawned. “And I didn’t sleep too well last night. Had to do some last-minute paperwork because somebody turned in their files late. Thank you so much, by the way. Your kindness will not be forgotten.”

“You’re welcome. And oh, I can imagine how awful that is. Late paperwork, I mean. I feel bad for nagging our co-workers to send me files, but in the end, it gets the job done, you know,” you replied, straightening your back. “Anyway, if that will be all, I’m just gonna—”

“Wait, don’t go!” Felix sputtered, grabbing a hold of your arm. He quickly released it, ears turning red. “A-Ah, sorry. I just wanted to ask you something about PR.”

“PR? Huh. Go shoot,” you mused, and you could still feel the burning spot where Felix’s hand collided with your arm.

“What’s up with this thing I hear about a Marketing-PR war?”

As you opened your mouth to speak, Chan interrupted you with a tap. “Hey, [Y/N], I need to borrow a pen.”

You fished for your trusty gel pen from your backpack and handed it to Chan, who began to look around and tick off boxes on his clipboard. Taking a peek at the clipboard, you saw that he was just doing a headcount.

“That’s our leader-nim, huh?” you teased, playfully giving Chan a nudge. He rolled his eyes.

“I’ll give your pen back later, I need it for a while. Go line up over there already, the van is leaving in ten minutes,” Chan answered, walking away.

Felix began to make his way to the spot that Chan had instructed you both to go to, and you followed right behind. As soon as he set his luggage down on the floor again, he turned to you. “So… Marketing-PR war?”

“Oh yeah,” you nodded, remembering. “It’s kind of a long story, but I guess it’s important to know the origins of the great Marketing-PR battle. I can tell you about it on the way, but only if you’re truly ready to hear the origins.”

“I mean sure. We’re spending a lot of time in the van anyway, so we have plenty of time to kill.” Felix suggested. “I’m so glad Boss booked the high-speed car ferry. A trip that would usually take five hours is cut down to two.”

“Good, good, sure. I only have so much downloaded drama on my phone to kill time. So anyway, since we have a lot to cover, I better start. It begins when Sir Park Jinyoung—not the CEO, the head of PR—gets one of Marketing’s most competent workers, Choi Youngjae.”

“Thank everything we’re here,” Yugyeom breathed, grabbing his duffle bag from the trunk. “I thought we’d never make it.”

“On the bright side, Mr. Lee finally knows the deep, dark past of Marketing and PR,” Chan mentioned, helping Yugyeom get his bags.

“Yeah, um, after we got interrupted like, ten times.” You rolled your eyes. “I could have told the whole story in one hour, but you kept cutting in and getting side-tracked. Did Mr. Lee have to know about the Ramen Incident?”

“Okay, fine, whatever. Let’s go settle in the guest house. Boss wants us to meet in the conference hall at 1:00 sharp. He’s going to brief everyone on the activities,” Chan retorted.

“Boss is here?” Felix questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah, he’s here to oversee the activities. Usually, he’d send the secretary, but since two entire departments are here, he came,” Yugyeom answered.

The four of you wheeled in your luggage into the cozy-looking cabin, which turned out to be more modern and restful that you’d expected. The inside was simple and minimalistic but sported a few home-esque touches. There were four bedrooms to be split between the team, but Chan had already assigned them. The girls would have the rooms upstairs while the guys would stay in the two downstairs. You were more than thankful to have a sensible roommate—her name was Jihyo and she was one of the more responsible ones on the marketing team.

“I’m relieved that we got here in one piece,” Jihyo commented, setting down her bags in the closet. “I’m surprised that Mr. Kim didn’t blow up the van.”

You chuckled. “Sometimes, I wonder how he’s even considered a grown man.”

“Right? Also, would you like some mosquito spray? I hear that it gets very bugsy outside,” she offered, holding up a bottle.

“How could I have scored such an awesome roomie? Thank you so much,” you grinned, spraying the product on your skin.

As soon as you both finished settling down, you made your way downstairs to meet the others. Once everyone was there, the Marketing team headed outside towards the conference hall, where your boss was waiting.

“Oh, nice. We made it first,” Chan mentioned, taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs.

You plopped down beside him. “Plus points to Marketing for being punctual.”

In a few seconds, a group of people started to pile into the venue one by one, and you recognized them as the terrible faces of PR. The engine of competitiveness was revving up as the minutes passed.

“Welcome to the long-awaited JYP company outing,” the one and only CEO boomed into the mic, “it’s nice to see that many of you were able to come.”

An applaud echoed throughout the hall.

“Anyhow, I’d not like to keep you here any longer. I’m sure that you are all famished by the travel and have not gotten the chance to eat a proper lunch yet. Worry not and let that be one of the driving forces for you all to give your best at the activities. The schedule is as follows: at 1:30 PM, the Relay Race will start. It will take around one to two hours, so I expect it to be over at around 3:00 PM. I will now announce the mechanics of the Race. Secretary Bambam, please flash the slides,” your Boss announced.

“Alright. You are now here,” he stated, pointing a laser at a spot on the screen. “Each team will go through a series of obstacles throughout the area. All these obstacles have been tailored to test your skills as employees, of course, as to not waste such a valuable opportunity to incorporate training and recreation. Some of these include creating a campaign for a product on the fly and trying to persuade me, who will act like a customer, to buy the said product. Each time you beat one obstacle better than the other team, you gain one point. Whoever gains the most points by the end of the Race gets quite the grand prize. At JYP, we don’t plan shabby company outings. At JYP, we allow our employees to have a chance at a fabulous prize, and this year, the winning department not only gets a delicious barbeque sponsored by our clients but also a bonus for next month’s paycheck.”

The entire hall erupted in cheer, everyone clearly enthused at the sound of the word ‘bonus’, which was just like an angelic choir.

“Right now, you all have a couple of minutes to plan out your strategies. Here are the list of ‘obstacles’ you will be facing, and I suggest you take time to assign your best people to the activities that they are most likely to do well at. At 1:30 sharp, Secretary Bambam will ring a bell and everyone should be off. Time starts now! Enjoy, everyone. See you at the finish line.”

You took one look at the screen in front and Chan was already motioning for your department to come and huddle.

“Alright, so for activity one, we need our most persuasive members. Ms. Park, Mr. Yang, I think you’d be most suited for that. Mr. Kim, I’m assigning you to face off in that dance battle,” Chan instructed.

“Are you kidding me?” Yugyeom shrieked. “Actually, you know what, sure. I’d rather do that than try to come up with a marketing scheme for Boss. Did you know I’ve won several awards for dancing in college? If I wasn’t in this company, I’d probably rocking the stag—”

“Not now! Anyway, Ms. Im, I’ll trust you to activity three. We all need to work together for activity four, then for the final activity—oh.”

Chan glanced at you, then glanced at Felix. You caught sight of that began to shake your head vigorously.

“Chan, whatever you’re thinking, NO.”

Your superior walked over to you and whispered, “[Y/N], we both know you and Felix can annihilate anyone in a three-legged race.”

“That was in high-school!” you defended, rubbing your palms together. “There’s no way—why is that activity even on the list?! Everyone knows the three-legged race is just so that people can poke fun at the contestants.”

“Think about PR winning that sweet, sweet bonus that we’re supposed to snag,” Chan tempted, etching a horrible image in your mind.

You did a double-take. “Fine, fine! But only because I hate PR’s guts more than I can humanely bear. Damn it.”

The score was currently tied, and it was down to the last obstacle: the dreaded three-legged race. ‘Of course this was how it was going to pan out,’ you thought to yourself, ‘because the universe hates me and loves to play with my life.’

While Yugyeom was busy bragging about his epic win at the dance show-off, you were bent down, tying a ribbon around your leg and Felix’s.

“Hey,” Felix began, clearing his throat. “Sorry you had to end up with me. I can tell you’re pretty bummed out.”

You whipped your head to him and your cheeks started to flush. “U-Uh, that isn’t it. It’s fine, really. Let’s just totally kill PR, alright?”

“You still got that three-legged race spirit in you?” he asked, stretching his arms. “Or has it withered away over the years?”

“I will never, ever give up my secret talent for three-legged races.”

“We’ll see about that. Wanna test it out? Let’s walk from here to there. No stumbling.”

You scoffed and nodded. In a few seconds, Felix found a way to snake his arms around your waist and a glare was quickly sent in his direction.

“What? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that this is the only way we can advance faster. Tried and tested, remember?” Felix piped up, adjusting his footing. “It’s how we beat that loser from Class B in high-school.”

“Alright already, let’s get this over with. Test from here to the water bottle?”

“Yup. One, two, three, go.”

Just like he said, the extra support from his grasp allowed for you both to move swiftly. It wasn’t long until you were able to reach the water bottle finish-line.

“See, told you.”

“Okay, contestants! Please make your way to the starting line now for the final battle, the tiebreaker!” Secretary Bambam announced over a microphone.

“How are you guys doing? You alright?” Chan’s voice came from behind you, causing you both to turn your heads in unison.

“Still got it, Sir Bang. The three-legged race has always been something me and Ms. [L/N] will always conquer with flying colors. Watch us win the department a bonus and a barbeque,” Felix grinned, giving Chan a thumbs-up.

“Can’t wait to see PR’s crushed faces. This is gonna be a breeze.” You saluted.

“Actually,” Chan started, leaning into a whisper. “You might wanna look over there. This is actually going to be quite close.”

Turning your head to the other side, you caught a glimpse of two familiar men. A gasp escaped your mouth.

“Wang and Tuan?!” you screamed, making Chan shoot you a look that said ‘shut-up’.

“What’s wrong with Wang and Tuan?” Felix questioned, head still turned in their direction.

You rubbed your temples in frustration. “Um, yes, you heard me. It just had to be the damned Wang and Tuan! They’re notorious for being one of the company’s most athletic individuals. We might as well surrender now because Mr. Tuan used to be in the track team back in the day and Mr. Wang once tried to match the speed of a moving car.”

“Hey, I used to be in Taekwondo! I have legs, Ms. [L/N]. Legs for days,” Felix replied.

“It’s indeed going to be a tough one, but we don’t know how well Mr. Wang and Mr. Tuan can run as a duo. For all we know, they’re amazing solo runners but terrible once their legs are tied together,” Chan encouraged.

“Nope.” You pointed at the two men who were jogging together in place. “Look at that coordination.”

“Okay, I hate to do this, but I know spite is the greatest motivator for you, [Y/N],” Chan started, balling his hands into a fist. “Remember when you were stressing over late paperwork the other day and wanted chocolate milk but found out there were none left in the staff room?”

“Yeah, and?”

“Wang took the last one,” Chan stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

“He didn’t.”

“Oh, but he did. When I went over to PR to hand in some files, I saw him sipping the last carton of chocolate milk.”

“That piece of scum,” you seethed, grabbing on to Felix’s waist. “That’s it, Felix. We’re taking them down.”

“Oh, we’re on first-name basis now?” the freckled boy asked innocently, putting his arm on your waist as well.

“This is war,” you declared, “we’re partners now. And today, we’re going to wipe off the dregs of society from this earth.”

Crackle. Crackle. A wave of heat kissed your face as a puff of smoke danced with the air. And the smell of charcoal was absolutely disgusting, but it was the single sweet reminder that everybody needed and deserved.

“Are we ready?” Yugyeom whispered, hiding behind your back.

“Let’s get cooking.”

Within seconds, the entirety of the Marketing team was scrambling to grab a hold of a piece of barbeque, hungry employees bustling left and right. After winning the competition, food was screaming to be devoured. It was three in the afternoon and nobody’d eaten lunch yet.

“Wait!” Chan cleared his throat. “Do we have drinks? I would like to make a toast.”

“Uh…” Jihyo drawled, eyeing the vicinity. “We have paper cups, but no drinks. Seriously? Who plans a barbeque with no drinks?”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll go to the store. I heard it’s not far from here,” you offered, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jacket.

“I’ll go with you in a second,” Chan answered, grabbing a paper cup, “but before we eat, to [Y/N] and Felix! The ones who trampled over PR during the tiebreak! Raise a glass!”

A cheer erupted from everyone’s mouths as empty paper cups were raised in the air to honor the victory that belonged to the team.

“Oh, can I come with? There’s a couple of things I wanna buy, too,” Yugyeom asked, walking towards you.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll save you some barbeque,” Felix suggested, waving. “Congrats to us. Go get the team some refreshing stuff!”

The three of you made your way out of the area and onto the streets, searching for a nearby grocery or convenience store.

After what seemed like miles of walking, your feet finally brought you in front of a small grocery. You didn’t hesitate to walk right in and pick up a basket.

The humble store consisted of a few shelves with worn-out paint lined up neatly in rows and holding all kinds of snacks and delights. The gentle whirring coming from the back lead you to a clear refrigerator with different drinks, and pretty soon, the metal basket in your hands was filled with several bottles. These were piled onto the counter along with a couple bags of chips, courtesy a snacky Yugyeom.

“What?” he said when you started to eye him judgingly, throwing the chip bags on the cashier tabletop. “It’s for my midnight cravings and the trip back home.”

You rolled your eyes, handing the cashier your credit card in exchange for your purchases. After getting your card back, the three of you headed back outside. Chan stopped in his tracks.

“Wait, so from here, did we take a left turn or a right turn? Right, right?”

“Pretty sure it was a left turn, Chan.”

“What?! You two are crazy, we came from straight ahead! I saw that sign with the cute cats earlier.”

“Okay, Mr. Kim, we’re trusting you.”

“Just drop the honorifics already. It’s alright.”

A minute passed… then two… then five…

“This isn’t the way that we came from.”

“You know what? This is why we live in a technological world. Let me just Google Maps this,” Yugyeom scoffed, pulling out his phone. “Aaaaaand… it says my line was cut off because I forgot to pay the bill. Cool, cool. Chan?”

“I left my phone in the room earlier because I didn’t want it to be hurled around during the race,” Chan answered. “[Y/N], you?”

A trickle of sweat slipped down your forehead. “Phone’s been dead for over an hour. I used it to record Wang and Tuan’s devastated faces after the competition.”

“Um, excuse me,” Chan attempted, trying to ask an elderly lady for help. She waved him off, muttering something about dangerous strangers.

“Right, so we’re lost, no help, and completely foreign-looking streets. What could get worse?” Yugyeom mumbled all pessimistic.

The clouds rumbled above.

“Seriously?!” Chan breathed out, gesturing for you three to wait under the shade of the grocer’s storefront. “Situational irony? Isn’t this just fantastic?”

“Hold on,” you began, turning to the oldest of you three. “Chan, do you still have the pen I lent you earlier before you left? You said you needed to check attendance.”

“Oh yeah, as a matter of fact, I do,” he replied, fishing in his pocket for the said pen. “Here.”

You took it hastily, taking a deep breath before engaging in the one thing you had never thought you’d do in your lifetime. Flipping the cap open, you began to write down a couple of words on your arm.

“Hi, Felix. Please tell me when you see this. It’s really urgent. Chan, Yugyeom, and I are stranded in a grocery, phones dead. Could you come pick us up at XX Grocer with umbrellas?”

“What? How’s that supposed to help us? It’s not like the words will magically float off into cyberspace,” Yugyeom commented, confused.

Your cheeks began to feel warm. After casting a worried look to Chan, you shut your eyes and began to spill your secret.

“I-It’s…um… whatever I write on my arm will show up on Felix’s arm and vice versa,” you explained quietly, keeping your eyes fixated on your arms for any sign of response.

“Don’t tell me,” Yugyeom gasped, “he’s the one you’re soulmates with?!”

“She’s known since high-school,” Chan sighed, “but there are reasons as to why they’re not… you know. Together. [Y/N] doesn’t particularly like to talk about it.”

“No, it’s alright,” you waved it off, “I can tell you, just please don’t tell anyone. Um, actually, Felix and I used to be best friends, but some complicated things happened and we fought. After college, I went to Busan to try to start a new life, but in the end, I couldn’t escape him.”

“O-Oh, were you guys dating? Did he know you were here?” Yugyeom inquired, genuinely curious.

As the drops of rain started to pour around, you answered, “No, we never dated. And it’s all been purely coincidence. I didn’t know he was coming and neither did he. That’s why it was so difficult for us to interact when he first came.”

“Everything makes sense!” Yugyeom exclaimed, making an explosion gesture with his hands. “Wait, did he reply to your arm message?”

You looked down at you arm again and sure enough, the familiar chicken scratch writing appeared.

“I’ll be there in a bit. Stay dry! I’ll try to be as quick as possible.”

“Okay, good. We’re saved.” Chan let out a breath of relief.

In fifteen minutes, Felix was shuffling across the street towards you three, an umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Why’d you guys go so far? There was literally a convenience store right beside the place we’re staying at,” Felix questioned, unzipping his bag. “Here’s an extra umbrella.”

“Sir Bang—Chan… can I speak with you for a bit on the way home? There’s a bit of concern with one of the Marketing members and I need to discuss it with you,” Yugyeom piped up, grabbing the umbrella from Felix’s hands. “If you don’t mind, I’ll share this with Chan. It’s a personal matter.”

Chan didn’t even get a chance to object before he was pulled away by a swift Yugyeom, who began to babble about his concerns. You and Felix watched them mosey away, chattering about whatever was to be chattered about.

“Uh, let’s go?” Felix cleared his throat, holding the umbrella. You stepped in and began to walk back to the company outing’s venue.

For a while, all that could be heard was just the pitter-patter of the rain as you trudged on in silence. The quietness was so suffocating, you swear you could hear the cawing of a crow muffled beneath the sounds of the rain.

“Hey… you’re getting wet,” the freckled boy mentioned, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to him. He dropped his hand quickly after, opening his mouth to speak. “Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable to be so near me, but I just don’t want you to get wet.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s okay. Thank you for being so considerate. And for picking us up.”

“It’s no problem, although this?” he said, riding up his jacket sleeve to expose the scribbles on his arm. “A message saying that you were stranded wasn’t exactly what I hoped your first ever arm message to me would be. I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I really wished you might’ve saved it to notify me that you brought rice cakes to work or something.”

A giggle escaped your lips as the thought entered your mind. “Well, sorry that an emergency message isn’t as cool as rice cakes. But now that you’ve expressed your sentiments, maybe I will bring rice cakes and use our connection to notify you.”

“I can’t believe you thought of contacting me that way. Couldn’t you have texted?”

“Well, Chan’s phone was left behind, Yugyeom hasn’t payed his bills, and mine’s dead. And even if mine wasn’t dead, I don’t have your number.”

“Ouch, you deleted my number after moving?”

“…I uh… got a new phone?”

“Nah, I’m just kidding you. It’s alright, I totally get it.”

Just as you arrived at the entrance of the recreation center, you halted your steps and turned to Felix.

For the first time in a very, very long time, you found the strength to look him in the eyes. “Uh… wait. I just wanted to tell you something.”

“Hm?” He turned to you as well, matching your stare. Why were your legs feeling wobbly? Your palms were starting to sweat as well, and you cursed yourself for it. Speaking to Felix properly and serious was something you found extremely difficult to do, but you decided to stop acting like he was a disease you didn’t want to catch.

With a deep breath, you began, “So… it kinda felt nice to be able to talk to you again. You know, not about work. Just…normally. I guess, what I wanted to say was, uh, well, is it okay if we restart? Be friends, maybe? I really hate this discomfort between us, and I think it would be better, even for work, if we got along.”

Silence enveloped the air once again, leaving the both of you in the company of the rain and the passing cars. Thoughts of Felix lashing out and angrily speaking back to you flashed in your head; suddenly, you wanted to scurry off and never see his face again. What if he called you out on all the horrible things you’d done to him in the past? You braced yourself for anger, for rejection.

But instead, the boy in front of you broke into a grin. He even chuckled a little, reaching out his hand.

“Well, in that case,” he spoke, “hi. I’m Lee Felix, it’s nice to meet you. You can call me Felix.”

You grabbed his hand and shook it. “Hey, Felix. I’m [L/N] [Y/N], but feel free to just stick with [Y/N]. Friends?”

“Sure. Friends.”

Months after declaring the newfound restart, the budding flower of friendship began its ascent into full bloom. Often times, you asked your grandmother to make you some extra rice cakes to bring to work, that of which you shared with Felix. Sure enough, you kept your promise of notifying him through a small doodle of a rice cake on your wrist. You could have sworn you saw his eyes light up every time he noticed what was on his wrist. There were even nights that you two would stay behind to work on projects together, bringing snacks and drinks to keep you guys powered throughout the extra hours. Productivity rate in your team increased due to you and Felix’s hard work, and this did not go by unnoticed.

As he was passing by Felix’s desk, Chan couldn’t help but notice that Felix’s usually busy computer screen was shut off and that his freckled junior was staring intently at something in his hands. One look over his shoulder and Chan couldn’t help but smile.

He cleared his throat. “What’s that?”

The poor boy almost leaped out of his seat. Shoving the object behind his back, Felix responded, “What’s what?”

Chan motioned to Felix’s hands. “Whatever’s behind you.”

A trickle of sweat dripped down Felix’s clammy fingers. “Just a photo.”

“Ooh, can I see?” Chan pressed on, already knowing exactly what it is the boy held.

“N-No, hyung.”

“Come on. Don’t make me pull the superior card.”

“Fine!” Felix revealed the photo to the man in front of him, ears turning crimson. “Look, I found our graduation picture while rummaging through some of my old stuff, okay? It’s just got me thinking, like…I didn’t realize how much I missed [Y/N] over time. It seems like forever since we graduated high-school, and I still remember how it felt being her best friend. Sometimes, when I see her laugh with Yugyeom, I’m reminded of the times I used to be able to make her laugh like that. I don’t know, I sorta miss it, um, a lot.”

“Hold up, are you jealous of Yugyeom?” Chan raised a brow.

Felix hesitated, turning away. “Don’t phrase it like that, please.”

“Felix,” Chan started, breaking into a grin. “Do you like [Y/N]?”

“Is that so weird?” Felix huffed, burying his face in his arms. “I mean like, she’s my soulmate. But more than that, she’s a friend I really, really treasure. Like, I’ve been thinking about it and it would really suck if she wasn’t in my life. So I kinda came to the conclusion that okay, fine. When I talk to her, it’s not as much so to ask for rice cakes but to actually converse with her. And that I um, do like her. But honestly, between you and me?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a chance this whole ‘liking [Y/N]’ thing isn’t new news.”

Now Chan could only be relieved that his team members (namely you and Felix) were finally getting along well, but Yugyeom, on the other hand, would often sometimes send a wiggle of brows in your direction. Of course, this led you to throw crumpled balls of scratch paper at him, but deep down, you too were glad that the office became a more bearable workplace. You were more than thankful to have a good superior, good co-workers, and even a good boss.

On Tuesdays, you’d bring homemade lunch instead of buying from the office canteen. One fateful Tuesday noon, you stood up as soon as lunchbreak started and headed to the staff room to pick up your boxed lunch to heat it up in the microwave. On your way, you thought about handing some extra gimbap to Chan, Yugyeom, and Felix in gratefulness for being good to you. A smile made its way to your face as you entertained the thought, feeling appreciative and enthused that life had been looking up lately.

Just as you were about to open the door to the staff room, a familiar laugh rang in your eyes. Inside the room happened to be your freckled friend, smiling towards a female employee. You easily recognized her to be one of those PR scumbags, and once the realization hit that Felix was mingling with someone from that bloody department, your blood began to boil.

To make matters worse, you caught sight of him handing her what seemed to be a box—and that was all it took for you to storm into the staff room, take your lunch, and stomp outside in the direction of the canteen.

Once you got to your usual table, you plopped down in front of Yugyeom and hastily opened your lunch box.

“Woah there, tiger. What’s with the attitude?” Yugyeom asked, fiddling with his chopsticks. “Oh and by the way, Chan won’t be joining us. He’s in a meeting.”

“Felix is mingling with a girl from PR!” you huffed, stabbing a slice of gimbap and shoving it in your mouth. Between frustrated chews, you managed to sputter, “I’m so ticked off! He gave her a gift, or something!”

Yugyeom almost spit out his water. “What?! No way.”

“Yes way,” you nodded, wiping your mouth. “Saw them in the staff room being all friendly. I mean come on, ugh!”

“Hold on.” Yugyeom squinted his eyes. “Are you jealous?”

This time, it was your turn to almost spit out your water. “Excuse me? Yugyeom, you know how bad it is for someone to flirt with the enemy!”

“Yeah, but like, you sure you’re not just…I don’t know…pissed that Felix was flirting with someone who isn’t you?”

“The hell?” you hissed. “Felix does not flirt with me.”

Yugyeom sighed and rolled his eyes. “If that’s how you think, you are a lost cause, woman. When you write him notes or whatever on your wrist—which by the way, talk about cheesy!—his face lights up like a Christmas tree. And your banter as you do paperwork? Don’t get me started.”

“He gets excited because goodness knows Felix loves rice cakes more than anything. And office banter is nothing but what it is! What, I can’t argue about the better way to appeal to customers? What’s so romantic about different marketing topics? Seriously, do you know how un-sexy ‘Geographic Segmentation’ sounds? Anyway, I’m still upset that loverboy’s sucking up to PR. I mean, really?” you scoffed.

“Who’s sucking up to PR?” A deep voice came, startling you. When Felix took a seat next to you, you rolled your eyes and stood up. Petty, but absolutely necessary. You weren’t going to stand for anyone who mingled with PR. And just like that, you strut off towards your department, deciding that your table was the best place to eat lunch for now.

“I cannot even bear to see you guys sometimes,” Yugyeom exhaled, watching Felix try to comprehend what had just taken place in front of his eyes.

One entire week had passed since you started to act cold towards Felix, who had not a single clue what on earth was going on. Every time he tried to speak to you, you brushed it off with some lame excuse about having to think of the best way to brand the company’s latest product or that you were busy with paperwork.

“Chan, did I do something?” Felix questioned one Thursday, leaning on his superior’s desk. His face seemed to be clearly distraught by the furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips.

“Why? Did you do something?” Chan shot back, typing away at his laptop.

“I don’t know, man! [Y/N]’s been avoiding me like the plague. And she only does that if I do something wrong. Remember when I didn’t show up to our reunion in high-school? When you and the alumni hyungs wanted to hang at the amusement park but I didn’t go? Yeah, she wouldn’t talk to me because she was so upset,” Felix sighed, rubbing his temples. “This time, I don’t even know what’s up. And it sucks. I miss her rice cakes. It’s been a week.”

“Well, try to think of anything that you might’ve done to piss her off. Take her stapler? Send a late file?” Chan suggested, still not looking up from his screen.

“None of that! I swear, I blinked, and then she was mad. This is such bad timing because I want to ask her out for the holidays, and the break is starting soon. I don’t wanna end the year this way!” Felix whined, shoulders slumping.

“Thank me later,” Chan told him, raising his voice, “[Y/N]! Please come over here. There are some files to be looked over pronto!”

“Coming!” you replied, getting off your chair and walking to your superior’s table. But just as you came, he stood up and grabbed his clipboard.

“Actually, I have a meeting about now. But don’t worry, the file that needs to be looked over is—oh wow! Lee Felix.pdf is right here. Amazing. Love you both, see you at lunch!” With a grin, Chan sauntered off.

You folded your arms and tapped your shoes indignantly. “What, Felix?”

“I’m so sorry about Chan,” he apologized, rubbing his hands together. “But I do need to talk to you. Why have you been ignoring me?”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, Felix. Maybe because someone was being all buddy-buddy last Wednesday with some girl from PR. I mean, are you even for real? How could you flirt with someone from PR?!”

“Wait… are you jealous?”

“Why does everybody automatically assume that I’m jealous?” you snapped. “The answer is no, you idiot! I’m angry because you were mingling with our rivals, our arch nemeses!”

When Felix remembers the events of last Wednesday, a laugh escapes his mouth. “W-What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. I clearly saw you being all generous and handing one of the PR girls a gift in the staff room. I have eyes, you know!”

“[Y/N]… no…” Felix started, trying to stifle more laughter. “I wasn’t flirting with her. That girl’s a family friend and I had to return a book that my mom borrowed from her mom. She told me that just because we’re family friends didn’t mean that her department would go easy on us. And I told her, ‘of course’, because I’m loyal to Marketing—I’m loyal to our team. Besides, I already have someone else in mind that I’d like to flirt with.”

You were taken aback. Somewhere deep in the crevices of your heart was a wave of relief mixed with disappointment, but you waved it off and let a giant smirk rest on your lips. “Woah, woah, woah, Lee Felix! Who’s the special someone?”

“Like I’d tell you, cheesebrain.”

“You suck.”

“No, not really. Anyway, you’re going back to Seoul for the break, right?”

“Oh yeah, why?”

“Wanna meet up on the 26th? I’m going home, too,” Felix invited.

“Oh shoot, yeah, sure! I’ll be sure to mark my schedule. I’m free that day anyway. What time to what time?”

“Just keep it flexible. I’ll text you or you know,” Felix motioned to his arm, “maybe I’ll write.”

“Just text me, I might accidentally wash it off.”

“See you then!”

The cold winter air was not the only thing that greeted you once you arrived back in Seoul, no. As soon as you set foot into the familiar gates of your home, your parents and relatives showered you with tight squeezes, slobbery kisses, and all sorts of questions. Were you eating properly? Did you have time to go Christmas shopping? How was work? Did you meet your soulmate yet? Was Busan better than Seoul, or Seoul better than Busan?

As much as you wanted to entertain your family with tales of Busan, settling in after a long travel sounded too good to pass. Once you spent an ample amount of time with them, you headed upstairs to your room.

Ah, your room. Upon opening the door, you took a whiff of the comforting scent of your original room, familiarity embracing you like an old friend. You flopped down on the fluffed-up sheets and could not resist a grin.

It was good to be home.

In a few hours, the grandfather clock in the living room would chime, signaling the start of a new day and the beginning of Christmas itself. But for now, you wanted nothing more but to put your mind at rest, leaving all thoughts of work behind at the doorstep. It was just you, your bed, and the chilly winter weather.

But someone—no, rather something—came to join your cozy trio, and it was right there in bright blue ink on your left wrist.

“Hey there. Get home safely?”

With a smile, you grabbed the gel pen in your bag and started to jot down a response.

“I thought you preferred text.”

“My head hurts and I don’t want to use my phone. I’m just resting in my room and hiding from my sisters, who won’t stop asking me about you.”

“Oh, so you’ve discussed me?”

“[Y/N], you never answered my first question.”

“Righty-o, Sir Lee. I did, indeed, come home fine with Grandma. It was fun to bring her home. The family’s stoked we’ve come.”

“Can I have permission to erase lines with wet wipes every few messages? My arm gets crowded. Also, please use a water-based pen. It makes it easier to wipe off.”

“Just text, then.”

“I deleted your number, too.”

“What the hell, Felix?”

“I’m kidding! See you on Kakao!”

“So, do I wear this sweater or this blouse? Kinda think the blouse is cute, but the sweater’s practical since the weather’s begging to freeze my butt,” you spoke into your laptop, which displayed a video of Chan furrowing his eyebrows as he took a look at your choices.

“You’re worrying too much. Just go with the sweater, it doesn’t make you look any less cute,” Chan snickered, “it’s so fun to watch my little [Y/N] put so much effort into this.”

Your cheeks flushed. “Just shut up and help me, Chan! Skirt, jeans, or leggings?”

“Skirt? Why would you even suggest a skirt? Damn, girl, you’re asking for frostbite at this point. Go with the leggings and make sure to wear leg warmers. Bring a thick coat, too.”

“Okay, mom. But are you sure this doesn’t make me look like a Christmas tree? Maybe a CHRISmas tree!”

Chan rolled his eyes and sighed. “It won’t be cute if your teeth are chattering and your skin begs to be kept warm. Just dress warmly. Hey, hey, what’s with the sigh?”

“Wait. Yo, yo, I just realized something. It’s just going to be me and Felix I think tomorrow. I-Is that a date or something? What if it is?!”

“Calm down. Did he say if it was or not?”

“I don’t know! He just said he was going to spend the day with me!”

A 480p-quality simper sat on Chan’s lips on the screen. “Are you scared because it might be a date or because he might just be asking you out as a friend?”

“I’m not SCARED, Chan! You know what, that’s honestly the least of my concerns!” you answered indignantly. “What if he stands me up? Remember the amusement park fiasco?”

“Relax, [Y/N]. He will NOT stand you up. Have you seen the way he’s been lately? Felix has been overtiming a lot, he’s always punctual and/or early for meetings, and he makes sure to go to all the places he’s assigned to. Whenever he can’t make it, he always messages a day or two in advance. I think that says something.”

“Okay, okay. You’re right. Anyway, I’m going to wash up and go to sleep. Thank you so much for taking the time to video chat me. I’m going to go now, merry Christmas! Say hi to unnie for me, please. Love you, bye.”

“Bye, [Y/N]! Good luck. Text me the details of it all! Merry Christmas. Love you too!”

Was it irregular to be having hands this clammy, to be having palms this sweaty? Felix pressed two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. Okay, great. It was good to know that he was still alive.

‘Agh! This is going to kill me! Please, please, please come soon,’ Felix thought, checking his phone for a new notification. Just in case, he rolled up his padded jacket’s sleeve and checked his arm. Both were devoid of any sign from you.

As if on cue, the freckled boy felt a tap on his back and there you were, bundled up in a cozy outfit. Holy. Crap. He had to fight the urge to squeeze you in his arms.

“H-Hey, [Y/N]. Glad you could make it.” Felix cleared his throat, offering his arm for you to hold. “Um, shall we? Have you eaten lunch?”

“Yeah, I have. You?”

“Same. Anyway, is there anywhere you want to go to?” Felix asked, starting to walk.

You squinted your eyes in thought. “Hmm… I don’t have anything particular in mind.”

“Alright, so it’s 2:45 now. I was thinking that maybe you wanna go to the old arcade? We can spend some time there, then maybe go around the area. Look at a museum if you want.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Laughter filled the air as you clutched your stomach, trying to stop yourself from giggling too much. At this point, you were borderline gasping for air with every guffaw. Felix was doing the same, and he had to hold onto your shoulder to keep himself from stumbling onto the concrete ground.

“I can’t believe you did that, Felix! We could have gotten kicked out of the museum, damn it!” you commented between laughs. “I’m so embarrassed by you now!”

“Not my fault that the little kid wanted to see me bust some dance moves. Yugyeom isn’t the only one in Marketing who can dance, you know,” Felix answered, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Whatever, you doofus. What’s next? It’s pretty dark already, so maybe dinner?” you asked, checking your watch.

Felix cleared his throat and his back started to stiffen. “Actually, I have a place in mind.”

You nodded and proceeded to hail a taxi from the waiting stand. Felix whispered something to the driver and you were off, silently sitting in the backseat.

“Where are we going?”

“Shhh, you’ll see,” was all Felix managed to reply before he looked out the window thoughtfully.

As soon as you arrived at the mystery place, Felix payed the cab driver and helped you get out. When you stepped out of the car, your eyes widened. You’d recognize this area anywhere.

For a little, silence was all that was shared between you two as you walked alongside the riverbank, the one place you knew had a special space for in your heart. Back then, this had been you and Felix’s favorite spot to go to after a tiring school day. And on one fateful December 26th, you were back, walking beside him once again.

The frigid wind left you to huddle a little closer than usual to Felix, who didn’t seem to mind. Gentle brushing of the hands led your fingers to intertwine with his, locking safely in his cozy yet sweaty palms; you could only hope he would not hear the erratic beating of your heart pounding against your ribcage with every passing second. This was happening, this was happening, this was happening—and oh dear, you didn’t dislike it.

A few minutes seemed like eternity with Lee Felix. But eternity wasn’t going to cut it for the scene that lay in front of you, the scene he had brought you to.

Sitting on the riverside was a small tent lit dimly by the soft glow of fairy lights, a sight you’d only managed to conjure up in your head once, long ago. But there it was, every bit of it as real as the warm feeling of Felix’s hands in yours.

Your lips parted. “F-Felix, is this…?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, leading you to the small tent and helping you take a seat inside. “Uh, there’s some soju in that cooler and some gimbap over there if you want. And japchae. Chopsticks are here.”

“When did you have the time to even prepare this? I swear, you’ve been with me all day,” you questioned, reaching for the chopsticks as Felix cracked open the plastic container of gimbap.

He smiled. “Oh, I called for help from people I know who’d never pass up the chance to aid in this surprise.”

You gasped. “Let me guess. Hyunjin? Jisung? Seungmin, Jeongin?”

He gave you thumbs-up. “My boys.”

“Our boys,” you corrected, shoving a piece of kimbap in your mouth.

A few gimbaps and bites of japchae later, you found yourselves in silence once again, sipping soju from little paper cups.

“So…I think this is the part where I start talking,” Felix began, wiping his mouth. He directed his gaze right at your eyes.

“I hope you liked the little surprise, [Y/N]. Even though… technically… it wasn’t my idea, but yours. Actually, the reason I brought you here was because it’s finally time for me to give something to you, very, very long overdue,” he continued, “when we were in highschool, I didn’t expect us to become friends. Frankly, I though that I annoyed you every time I talked to you at the 4419 bus stop. Remember when we first had a proper conversation? Man, after that, the ball just speeded downhill. Before I knew it, we were an inseparable duo. [Y/N] and Felix. Felix and [Y/N]. Hell, I remember getting poked fun at for it, and people were teasing me that I liked you. Which… honestly, I’ve come to realize…was true. I admit, they were right. It’s actually kind of weird, I’ve only known since recently that I caught some real, big feelings for you back then.”

Here Felix paused to take a sip of water before he went on. “I haven’t forgotten the first time I found out my soulmate link. Blue ink, wrist, all-caps: ‘STUDY’. When I found out that a girl from our school had a similar link, I almost freaked out. But honestly? I only started to flirt with her to um—wow, this is embarrassing—make you jealous. Childish, right? And after a while, ironically, it backfired. ‘Cause I started to like her. Anyway, fast forward, college, right? We all know what happened… then what happened after graduation. I lost you. My soulmate, but most importantly, my best friend. It was the worst because I lost you, and I could have avoided that,” he sighed, “and so here we are. Somehow, life has given us a second chance, and I don’t want to screw this up. So [Y/N], I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry that I did so many stupid things in the past, I’m sorry that I was an awful best friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t fight harder to keep you in my life. I’m sorry for hurting you.”

“Felix,” you piped up suddenly, “Look, I’m sorry too. I think it’s a failure on both parts because really, maybe if I wasn’t so selfish, we could have avoided the whole fight. I didn’t know you were willing to wait for me until, you know, then. I’ve blamed myself a lot for that, but I’ve come to realize that you know what? It’s alright to make mistakes, and I forgive myself for doing that. And if I can forgive myself, I can forgive you. When we decided to restart our friendship, honestly, I was more than relieved to hear you were on board for it as well. So, can we agree to put all our mistakes in the past?”

“Yes. I’d love that. Man, thank you so much, [Y/N], for giving me another chance. I, too, forgive you for everything. And I’m so glad that you’re back in my life.”

“Aw, come here,” you grinned, opening your arms for a hug. Felix wrapped his arms around you tightly, and for a while, that’s how you two stayed.

“Wait, I’m actually not done,” Felix announced, pulling away. As he opened his mouth to speak, his hands started to shake a little bit.

“Oh?” You tilted your head to the side, curious as to what the boy would say next.

“I can’t promise you that I won’t make any more mistakes in the future, but for what it’s worth, I’ve learned from the past. And if anything, anything, happens that causes me to stumble and hurt you, I’m willing to put up a fight to make it right. I can’t promise you that the future holds all flowers and sunshine, but if there’s one thing that I am absolutely, terribly sure of, it is that [Y/N]?”

“Mm?”

“I’m in love with you.”

All you could hear was the faint howling of the wind as you were rendered absolutely speechless. It took minutes to process the words Felix had just spoken, and when you managed to grasp the idea of it, all you could sputter out was, “Really?”

Felix nodded. “Yes. Really.”

“I’ve waited since third-year of highschool for you to say that,” you admitted, mustering all your strength not to smile. “So, can I…kiss you?”

“Yes, yes you can,” he answered, leaning in.

So, slowly, surely, you kissed him. You let the gentle caress of his lips speak for themselves as they locked with your own, causing your heart to beat fervently in your chest. It may have been short, chaste even, but one kiss was all it took for you to confirm the vehemence that had been lurking deep down in the crevices of your entire being.

“I’m sorry that this isn’t as grand as you’d hoped. I remember you told me that you wanted big sparks to fly when you met your soulmate,” Felix laughed nervously, taking the opportunity to rest his hand on top of yours.

You shook your head. “No, I’m glad that it’s you, and I’m glad that this is how it turned out.”

Perhaps if it had been another day in another place at another time, you’d say that loving Lee Felix was quite full of irony. But since you were here, at this specific moment on this specific day in this specific place at this specific time, you could truly and sincerely say that there was nothing ironic about it, that there was nothing paradoxical about loving Lee Felix.

There was only bliss. There was only certainty.

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prorevenge · 6 years

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Make me quit the day before my birthday? Have fun getting fired.

TL;DR at the bottom.

Quick background: From 2009-2012 I worked at a local quick lube chain. Oil changes in under 20 minutes only using a trusted oil brand etc. etc. Going into this job I assumed that’s all I’d be doing. Quick oil changes & the occasional tire rotation. I was wrong. Working for this specific chain its all about the extra services and products to bang customers over the head for that they might actually need, but not for double the price of the local auto parts store. Maintaining a higher average sale every month was very important for keeping your job. And just for reference the district managers wanted all service techs to at least have a $60+ average every month. A basic oil change was $35. On average we would do anywhere from 20-50 cars a day depending on the day of the week in a 3 bay garage. Its also worth noting that if you maintained a high monthly sales average consistently, you were considered better than everyone else and put at the front of the line for promotions. It was also very common for someone with a high average to go from a tech to being a manager of their own store within a year. Yes, there was a high turnover rate. And yes, it was most certainly due to management consistently hiring drug addicts and not running background checks on people. Now starts my story.

Over the course of my employment I worked my way up to being a shift supervisor. This was one position below assistant manager, but I still held keys to the shop and had the alarm systems code. I opened and closed the shop regularly and if I wasn’t too busy with college I could have been an assistant manager any time I wanted. Managers i worked with loved me & the district manager as well. It was honestly a fun job made a lot of friends working there that I still am friends with to this day. But then we got a new manager we’ll call Johnny.

Johnny was a dick. Younger guy, 25 at the time, thought he was hot shit cause he held an $80+ sales average consistently since he started. Some people considered him a blessing because he helped other techs get their averages up too. Turns out he only helped them to make himself look better for raises and promotions.

Heres a quick list of things Johnny did once he took over my store. Consistently disappeared while working for hours at a time to go walk around talking to the local college girls. Left every Saturday (the shops busiest day) 3-5 hours early and would have someone else clock him out at the end of the day. I soon discovered he lived in the next town over from me and knew people that knew him. “Johnny? A manager? Last time i saw him he was so coked up he punched himself in the face till he bled. He dropped out of high school and ended up living in the park for a while. How’d he get the job with no diploma?” He was bipolar so screaming matches and temper tantrums became a regularity. We had an employee that I believe had some form of autism and Johnny would make him do dumb stuff cause he thought it was funny. He dumped a mop bucket filled with dirty water on the shops floor as soon as I finished mopping it at the end of the day cause I pissed him off somehow. He got people that he didn’t like fired by making fake schedules showing they were off for 3 days straight when they were actually on the schedule to work and when the employee didn’t show up for the shifts he would write them up in secret for a no call no show for each day but didn’t tell the employee until they came in for their supposed shift and would fire them on the spot. “If you want to argue call corporate.” And now my favorite thing he did often that I walked in on him doing. Remember how I said he held a $80+ average? Well he did that by ripping off elderly customers by lying to them about their cars selling them services that either weren’t actually getting done or weren’t even needed and selling parts weren’t even parts the car had that could even be replaced or just wouldn’t be getting replaced.

I discovered his little scam by getting stuck closing the shop so he could go home a few hours early. I decided to use the time to go through the days invoices and finding two huge sales on cars that I worked on. Only problem was that I didnt do any of the services on either of those cars. Hell, one of the invoices said the transfer case & rear differential were serviced. Those dont exist on 2011 Honda Civics. I then started watching the customers he would ring up and write down notes like the car, time, and customer. At the end of the day Id find those invoices and get the internal numbers. At the time I didnt think I’d ever use these notes, but 100% thought they would be useful. And it certainly was useful the day before my birthday.

I requested my birthday off 2 months in advance by submitting a formal request form and handed it to the assistant manager who just started learning how to make the schedule and left a copy on Johnny’s desk. The day before my birthday Johnny and the assistant manager were looking over the schedule in front of everyone to see who was working the next day and when he discovered I was off he asked why. To which the AM replied, “well yeah he requested it a while ago didn’t you see the form?” Johnny replies with, “Yeah I did....fuck that. Request denied fa**** you’re working tomorrow. Got a problem with it turn in your keys now cause if you don’t show up you’re fired.”

I promptly changed into my street clothes, took the key off my key ring, handed it to Johnny, and left. He called me back a few hours later begging me to come back but I would still have to work on my birthday. I laughed for a few seconds and hung up. Now its time for the revenge.

I got in contact with someone in the corporate office a few hours away, explained the situation that had occured in the morning, and gave a few examples of what Johnny was doing wrong at the store. They asked if I could email them everything I had and promised they would look into it. The DM gave me a call asking if I wanted to work at a different store, but I turned it down deciding its time for me to move on. The job made me hate cars and people so it was time to move on. I didnt hear anything about it for a while till the guy who is now my best friend calls me laughing hysterically with news about Johnny.

Apparently Johnny had been begging for a raise or a promotion to start training people to become managers so he would be out of the stores & customer service completely. One day he got a call from the corporate office to discuss this. He was beyond elated and told everyone who would listen. Turns out that was a lie. They had him drive 3 hours away to sit him down to review footage of the things he’s been doing, going over those bogus invoices, and listen to voicemails of customers calling and complaining about getting ripped off. He was immediately fired.

Found out he ended up never finding work in the state again and actually ended up moving a few states away.

Myself I ended up in a different industry working for the state making way more money with a ton of benefits. Unless Johnny hit the lotto, the winner is me.

TL;DR Jerkoff manager acted like a jerk and ripped off old people to make himself look good. After he forced me into a position to quit I snitched. Few weeks later he drives 3 hours away to corporate a meeting where he thinks hes getting a raise or a promotion, but he actually ended up getting fired.

(source) (story by TonyDimelo)

#prorevenge #by TonyDimelo #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #last10

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diaryofanormalkid · 5 years

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Yesterday was another CRAZY day with my American Dragon Crush ‼️😳

{okay so to be clear, I’ve been progressing SO much with my American Dragon crush these past couple weeks but I haven’t been able to write it all because 1) It’s a lot!

And 2) I have so little energy to because I’ve been working so much. Like last week I worked a full 7 days in a row, and I’ve never done that EVER. I always have days off inbetween.

So when I finally did get my day off last week Friday, I was running errands and by the time I got home I was too tired to type it all. But sooo much has happened this whole time}

Anyways yesterday was so intense with like progression with him that I just couldn’t wait to share. Even though there’s so much other things that happened, I’m like so conflicted.

So yesterday I had an evening shift and he was working until 8. We had about 4 hours before he was going home, but BOI did he utilize those 4 hours to his advantage.

So when I came, right off the bat we broke the ice which is always better if he expects me to talk to him for majority of the shift. So good on his part I guess.

So I was at his section/station of where he works and as I was walking by, he literally tickled my side 😧 mind you, this is not the first time he’s done this.

It might be the first time I’m documenting it though! If it is, well looool this might be a surprise then. But yeah, so I was kinda not into but I was into it at the same time?

Because I lowkey hate when ppl touch me in general, no matter who it is. So the principle still kinda applies to him. Honestly, I’m not even sure how I felt about it.

I just smiled because he was doing it as a greeting. The whole time though, whenever we were near each other he would ask “what’s up?” Repetitively, as he always does, just to annoy me.

And it kinda worked, I was responding “you know what’s up!” Or just imitating him in his voice and saying it back to him, finding something clever to respond back.

My other coworker joined in on it because at this point many of our coworkers know about our little back-and-forth thing with that, so they eventually have started joining him in making me annoyed.

Sooo THEN my one coworker who was there was on break and I was just passing by to put away some stock and get other stuff, and he was also there, so they felt the need to ask:

“You working tomorrow? What are you gonna do on your day off? You have a date?” And these two ALWAYS like to ponder on my dating life, which I am always so flustered with.

But I’ve gotten used to them by now that it doesn’t fluster me as much as it used to anymore. Regardless, I was still unsure of how to answer, so I just played along and said I do.

And they kept probing and asking, “you have a date? Where are you gonna go?! What time is it?” Things of that nature, and I was like “10!”

So they go, “10am? So early!” And I laughed because i actually meant pm, so they’d leave me alone, but they just assumed it was 10 in the morning.

So after that, he would do or say any little thing to get my attention. Like, “britney, why you so tall? Britney, what’s up?” And at these points I was just shrugging because I was tryna do my job.

Later now, I had to go in the back to wash the salad bar dishes and put them away. So he would pop by every few mins to check in on me and hand me more dishes to wash.

He started asking me what my age was. I was like “we already talked about this, I’m older than you?” And when I wouldn’t answer a specific age, he kept asking and asking.

“How old are you, for real, Britney?” So I just kept saying, “older than you!” Repetitively. But he wouldn’t budge. So then I finally just told him, “I’m 21!” And he’s like “???????” Finally.

Like idk why he acted so shocked, I told him, “we already talked about this. I’m older than you!” And he was like, “this whole time I thought you were in high school, gr. 12”

And I was like naw that’s gotta be a lie/joke because he’s asked me about my major in the past before? Anyways, so I wanted to mess with him so I went to say, “actually, I’m 12.”

So he’s like, “no seriously, you’re 21 though? You were born in 1997?” And I was like, “actually, no, I was born in 2006.” Just to keep up the joke about me being 12.

And he’s like, “no, like forreal, you’re born in 1997?” And finally I was like, “yeah, 1997. I’m older than you by a little over a year. You’re 20, right? Or 19?” Because I wasn’t sure of his birthday.

So he goes, “I’m 20. Turning 21 in December.” And I actually didn’t remember his birthday was that late until now. “Oh yeahhh.” I go. “Your birthday is when?” He asks. I told him it’s in September.

After that refresher of our ages, he would pop in to check on me every once in a while and bother me, etc. And then I finally finished my stuff in the back.

I was getting ready to go on break and my other coworker and him were headed to get some scratch and win lottery tickets at the gift shop across the hall from us.

So my one coworker asked me to scratch one of hers for her. We were unfortunate, and lost. We decided we would buy some more right before I go on break.

I offered to buy it for her with my $1 that I had in my purse since they only cost a loonie, and she accepted. So I went to go get my money and as I was heading there, he was trying to stop me.

I was like pushing him away and trying to go around him but he wouldn’t let me pass. So then he starts to ask me if I can buy him some of his lotto tickets too, but I declined.

He was like, “please. Here I’m handing you the money.” But I still declined just to mess with him. I proceeded to tell him I’m going on break so he needed to me and then he let me pass.

So I went over and bought the ticket, my coworker and I scratched it and we lost yet again. And then I took my break, but majority of the time I spent talking with all my coworkers.

They came over to where I was sitting half the time and we were all roasting each other and messing with each other. It was nice having them all there.

That was one of the first times we all felt that chill and relaxed at work, having a good time on a slow day. I really appreciated that moment because those are rare moments I hardly get.

Anyways, so after my break was gonna be around the same time that him and one of my other coworkers were going home, so they were basically just counting down the time to go home.

And then time came around for them to leave and he kept saying he was tired and he had to drive but he didn’t know if he could because of how tired he was.

But eventually he left and just left me and my one coworker alone. We both were having a fun time by ourselves because it was literally the slowest day ever and nobody was there.

For some reason, we just had so much free time so we talked a LOT about deep stuff and like it got so intense and then somehow my coworker just ended up

coming out to me.

So I asked who else knows and she said no one, but her sister knows and her best friend, but her parents don’t. So I was shocked she told me, and... like overwhelmed a little.

But I hardly acted surprised, even though I was. I literally didn’t pick up on that vibe WHATSOEVER, so I can’t believe how blind I was to that?

I think I reacted pretty calmly, actually. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, so I didn’t either. And like she trusted me enough to tell me, so I think that’s why it wasn’t dramatic.

It doesn’t always have to be. Sometimes it’s a big deal, other times, it’s not. This one was one of those times where it wasn’t, and she said she respected my opinion on how I felt about it.

As a Christian, I mean. As I was explaining to her how I truly felt about LGBTQ prior to that since she was asking me a lot of questions about how I felt.

It was a very intense secret to share with me though, ngl. Like I just feel a lot of pressure in a sense, to not share that with anyone. I’m the kind of person who would never dare anyways.

But still, I can’t believe she trusted me with that info. Anyways, she was telling me how she experienced a break up recently and I felt so bad. In hindsight, I realized when it happened.

Because one of the days at work she showed up in kind of a bad mood and was talking on the phone while on the job and then came back in an even worse mood it seems.

And she’s the type of person where if she’s in a bad mood, to just leave her alone and let her be. She gets over it quickly and will come back to you. But that day, it was pretty bad.

Pretty much lasted majority of the shift. She even had to text me and apologize because she felt bad at how she acted. I could tell something was up and msged her if it’s all good.

She never ended up never responding to that text which meant everything was not all good. And we can see that now with the info she told me.

So yeah, the end of our night was us kinda just talking about that, and my surprise at it all. And her appreciating me being a Christian but still being as accepting as I am of LGBTQ.

In retrospect, I can tell she was trying to feel out how “harsh” of a Christian I am to see if I would be fully accept of her if I were to find out she was LGBTQ.

Which I get. This topic is sort of tricky for me as a Christian because as much as there is progression with the LGBTQ community, there are still Christians that don’t accept them.

And it’s complicated for me. Because I don’t believe I am homophobic. I’m not discriminatory towards them, I don’t go out of my way to be rude or do bad things to them.

And I explained all of this to here as she was asking me, but she still said as an LGBTQ person she respected my answers even if I don’t believe being gay is natural.

Because I still treat everyone all the same and kindly. I don’t do anything rude or disrespectful to LGBTQ. I was even explaining how half the time you can’t even tell, much alike with her‼️

I treat everyone the same, no matter what they identify as. But also, being a christian, as controversial as this might be to a lot of you and as hard as this is to say and not offend:

I don’t believe being LGBTQ is natural or something you are born with. And I’m sorry if that lets anyone down/makes anyone uncomfortable. But I have to speak my truth.

I just don’t. If any of you feel like this will be a problem for you in the future and it makes you uncomfortable, then feel free to unfollow. I’m inclusive towards everyone, but I don’t promote LGBTQ on my blog, if you haven’t noticed.

As in, I’m not necessarily going to partake in the celebration of it. And that’s just me and my truth. I can’t be anybody but myself. On a different note, as a Christian:

You’re also taught to love your neighbour as you would love yourself. And that’s why I said what I said about me not just going to mistreat LGBTQ just for being who they are.

I love everyone. And everyone deserves to be treated with respect and be treated equally. Because then what msg am I spreading as a Christian by being hateful toward LGBTQ?

That’s literally the point of being a Christian. To spread love! Jesus didn’t say spread love only to those who are similar to you, He said to spread love in spite of your differences.

And if I can’t freely spread love to ppl just because of their label, then the msg I’m spreading is actually hate and that would be hypocritical of me as a Christian.

So I’m proud to call myself a Christian that can love anyone and accept anyone with open arms. But I will stand by my thought that I don’t believe being LGBTQ is natural.

And it’s not a matter of anyone trying to convince me otherwise, you can tell me all the stories you’d like, but it won’t change what I know and believe is the truth.

Everyone is allowed to have their opinion and I would hope me expressing that on my online diary isn’t going to get me hate. But the point of me expressing it also is so that I am honest.

And ppl can realize my character, who they’re following. Get insight into what I actually think of certain issues and topics and social activism etc.

Again, truly, I’m sorry if you end up actually reading this far down and you read this and this offends you. But I’m not on here to be fake, this is a diary to express my innermost thoughts.

If I can’t be myself on here, then I can’t be it anywhere. And I can’t please everyone. So please don’t try to come for me just because you don’t agree.

Seriously, you can simply unfollow/block if you have a real problem with my words. I’m not here to bash or offend anyone here, but I’m also not gonna filter/sugarcoat my opinion.

I’m gonna be unapologetically myself and that may not be okay with you so if that’s the case, that is fine. Like I said, feel free to disregard my blog/unfollow/block. I won’t hate you.

I still respect and appreciate everyone of you who are LGBTQ and follow me 100% even if I don’t actually agree with one aspect of your lifestyle. It’s not that big a of deal to me.

But who even DOES agree with all aspects of othe ppl’s lifestyles? No one. I would just like to further express that even if I don’t agree with your opinion on this topic, you still matter.

Like you and your life as an LGBTQ person still matter. Your feelings and your experiences are valid and I’m in no way trying to invalidate what you feel or experience.

Your lifestyle is YOUR lifestyle just like my diary is MY diary. And what you do with your life is your business. I can’t tell you how to live it at all because at the end of the day it’s you and God.

And God is there to judge you for the life you’ve lived, not me. So that’s not for me to be judging you, it’ll be God. Heck, but some of you don’t even believe in God.

That’s okay too! Because you know, God gave us free will. And so, even if you so choose to not believe in Him, He’s still there and He loves you sooo much that he wanted you to have free will.

To be able to choose whether or not you’re going to accept Him into your life and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Because if you do, it makes it that much more significant.

If God were forcing us to just love Him and accept Him as our saviour without any sayso or free will to choose, there would be no significance or meaning to our actions.

It would mean absolutely nothing that we believe in Him. That’s why free will is such a blessing. Because making that choice to accept God as your Lord and Saviour is the best choice you can ever make.

And I don’t mean that fake deep surface level spiritual relationship with God. I mean a REAL relationship where he’s living on the inside of you and you feel sooo alive and grateful.

Grateful to be alive and to be able to live for Him in the best way possible by bringing more followers to Him. Utilizing your gifts and talents for Him. Serving Him.

When you make that choice, your life changes around for the better. It does a full 180 and all the storms and bad breaks and cloudiness and dark times become happiness, peace joy love.

Once you get a taste of that, you’ll just want more and more. And you’ll do everything to chase after God and build the best relationship you can with Him.

He’d restore you spiritually and fills you whole with the Holy Spirit. And put His anointing and blessing and favour over your life so you can live abundantly.

You will always have a friend to rely on in difficult times. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be difficult times, it means He’ll be with your every step of the way during them.

And help guide you and build your strength and deliver you out of it. So you become a better person coming out of the storm, because your faith in Him built your character.

See, because sometimes God will allow these storms to happen so He can test you. Test your faith to see if you will pass. He wants to feel out how much faith you have in Him.

And as long as you trust and believe in Him, He will always deliver you out and conquer your battles for you. But faith sometimes takes patience. So prayer always help with that.

That’s why it’s important to develop the fruits/virtues of patience, kindness, gratitude, and generosity. Because God desires those characters, because they are like God

So, on that note:

{please be kind to everyone. No matter what label, denomination, race, class status, occupation, etc you have/are. Spread love and not hate. Love and peace to everyone ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜}

And that is my message to you. Now that I’ve gotten that about the LGBTQ community I actually sort of feel a burden lifted off my shoulders. Like I wasn’t able to be my authentic self even on my blog! It’s like a sigh of relief. Even if this ends up getting a lot of hate, or if no one ever see’s it and reads it all, at the very least I’ll still be glad that I spoke my truth in a respectful manner and was able to fully show who I am as a person on my online diary.

I want to end it off here now because that was super long and I didn’t even know I’d be putting all this religious stuff at the end but maybe God had a msg for me.

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derped-ranter · 6 years

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Allen x Reader

Hey @keyblade-loser im your secret santa! for the @dgmsecretsanta2018 I hope you like it, sorry if it feels rushed

The sound of the train fell on deaf ears as Allen, Lavi, Kanda and Lenalee were briefed on their mission. Kanda had forced his way to have his own separate room as per usual so Allen being the kind gentleman he is, invited the finder into the shared cart.

“What’s the use of having four exorcists? This mission can’t be all too hard, right?” Lavi leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms

“We have intel warning us that swarms of akuma are heading to the destination. There have been rumors of a noah possibly showing up but we’ve debunked them as they are-rumors” Devon, the finder, sighed. “We just want to be thorough with the mission” “I'm sure we didn’t need that bakanda coming with us” Allen grumbled a little, his elbow on the window sill. Lenalee frowned, looking at Devon “What is the place we’re going to anyway? Why are the akuma so interested in it?” “Well of course you may know there are signs of innocence at play. In fact it seems to have synched with the user without realizing it” Lavi flipped through the booklet he was given, taking in all the information he could

“The innocence user is a young royal who goes by the name (y/n) (l/n). (y/n) seems to be stuck in an infinite loop, similar to the miranda lotto case but rather than time rewinding, it’s the same event happening every night almost as if it never happened. Illusionary people go into the castle, along with normal high class people who don’t seem to understand what’s happening would join them for celebration. The only things that don’t seem to be an illusion are (y/n), (y/n)’s staff and the food and drinks the staff would prepare for any real guests that might come. You’re going to have to go in disguise as the parties always favor a masquerade. We aren’t entirely sure if (y/n) is completely aware that the same party just repeats itself except for the one fact that the next party that’s tonight will be christmas themed.”

“Holy shit. How long has this been going on for?”

“12 years. Ever since (y/n)’s parents died. One weak before (y/n)’s birthday”

It was a long day for you. Your parents were dead, your birthday was forgotten and everyone seemed to only talk about your parents. It sucked. They hadn’t asked how you felt, just wondered when you would inherit all their money and prized possessions. The only one that cared about you was your personal servant/best friend (f/n). They were only a few years older than you but they understood. After comforting you with a blanket, stuffed animal and a pillow they left you alone to grieve. You hadn’t noticed until around midnight that they left a present on your dresser. You left everything on your bed, shoving your feet into your slippers and shuffling over to the dresser, grabbing the nicely wrapped gift. You flipped the card over to read it

‘Dear (y/n). I’m really sorry that everyone seemed to forget your birthday, even me. I’ve just been very busy keeping everything together and making sure you were ok. I don’t know if this is enough but this was passed down in my family and I find it really pretty so...happy birthday ~(f/n)’

Your brows furrowed as you read the card, setting it down and opening the box. It was a very intricate and ornate masquerade mask with (f/c) gems decorating it. In the middle of it was a sea green gemstone that glowed dully. You could practically feel the warmth the mask seemed to radiate.

‘Wear me’

Your face went confused. Did the mask just...talk to you?

‘If you wear me, I promise your troubles will melt away. You’ll be happy again. Forever.’

You hesitated, biting your lip before shaking your head and putting the mask on.

Allen re adjusted his mask as he looked at the door. Lack stood to his left and Lenape at his right. Kanda refused to get dressed up in a disguise so he decided to stay behind, ready to jump in if any fighting started.

The orchestra was playing some nameless melody, the guests dancing with each other to the tune. Allen ran when he saw the giant buffet table covered in what seemed to be childish food. It had French fries, chicken nuggets, burgers, pizza-every child's dream buffet. Of course it also had seafood and more refined food for the older and mature guests but the majority stuck out like a sore thumb. While Allen was piling his plate with as much food as he could, you came up from behind him. You had a black suit on with a red shawl-like scarf tied on your waist. The suit was unbuttoned slightly, revealing a white and red striped button up underneath. Your hair was (f/s), going perfect with the suit. You smiled as you stole a French fry from the tray “hello”

Allen jumped a little, not expecting you to be there

“Oh hello-I’m sorry, am I in your way?” He quickly stepped out of his spot but moved back when you shook your head

“No. You just seem really hungry for such a small guy” you grinned, snickering a little

“Wha-hey! I’m not that small-I’m average.”

“It’s cute though.”

Allen blinked a few times “oh..Thankyou” he wasn’t sure whether or not to take the compliment until you held out your hand “I know you were just getting food but would you dance with me? Please?”

Allen was surprised again before nodding, setting his plate to the side “Yeah, sure” he smiled a little, taking your hand and leading you to the other dancers. The dancers noticed you two, specifically you though and quickly cleared the way for you, opening up in the middle.

Allen’s earpiece beeped in his ear before a voice came through “nice work mr walker, now try to convince them to come back with us to the order” it was Devon

Allen nodded, trying to not make it obvious and put a hand on your waist, his other hand still holding yours. Your free hand went to his shoulder and you both swayed to the music. Your grin turned to a soft smile and you leaned your head to rest on his shoulder, still swaying to the music. He was glad for the mask he was wearing or else his blush would be visible to everyone. He moved his hand so his arm could go around your waist, his fingers intertwining with your own. The song slowed to a stop and the crowd watching you both clapped and cheered for you. Allen pulled away from the dance, bowing and smiling. You smiled back but before you could say anything, there was a loud explosion on the other side of the ball room.

Some of the guests saw the slums, screaming and starting to run. Other guests didn’t really...see it? It was like it didn’t exist to them and they continued to dance to the still playing music

“Could I please have your name sir?” You said, taking Allen’s hand

“Uh-its...it’s Allen” he bit his lip, looking towards the akuma. It was only level one but it could still do some pretty harsh damage. Thankfully, lavi and Lenalee quickly acted, killing it almost instantly. Other Kaunas started to emerge though, keeping lenalee and lavi busy

“Really? Is that English? I’m (y/n) (l/n), the host of this party” you bowed “I’ve been in this stuffy room all day, what do you say to following me to the balcony?” You grinned mischievously, not waiting for an answer before quickly dragging him away from the ballroom and up the stairs to your balcony.

Your best friend however, saw and was panicking

“Fuck fuck-those things are back and they’re attacking-and people are fighting back? With giant glowing weapons? What the fuck is this? Why the hell is (y/n) dragging off some white haired guy?!” They kept dodging and hiding here and there, trying their best to follow after you.

“So Allen, What makes you happy?”

“What?”

“what makes you happy? Like...what makes you move forward in life?” You leaned against the railing, looking out at the stars

“Uh...my friends? Oh-and timcanpy-my uh-close friend.”

“That’s nice” you leaned your chin on your hand

“What about you (y/n)?”

“My friend (f/n) and their willingness to help me with these parties every night”

Allen nodded, going to the railing and standing next to you. He looked back at the party, thankful to hear that it seemed to calm down. For now.

“Hey Allen?”

“I know I just met you but can I tell you a secret?”

“Uh...sure?”

“I know most of the parties are fake.” You sigh, pulling off your mask

Allen blinked a few times, staring at you “...what?”

“This mask has the power to make illusions...things have been coming after me ever since I put this mask on...that’s why I brought you out here-the things came back for me again” you looked at the mask before looking at the ground “they’re like...demons...they just keep coming back-tormenting me…”

“They’re akuma.”

Allen took you off guard, making you look up. He took off his glove, showing you his deformed hand. You gasped, seeing the similar sea green stone glowing in his hand

“What you have is called innocence...you can use it to kill the akuma. I’m what they call an exorcist-I specialize in killing akuma”

“Wait...what?” You tried to process everything until a purple hand shot out, wrapping around your throat

“I got the innocence! I got the innocence!” The akuma grinned, flying up into the air with you in its grasp

“A-ALLEN!” You choked out

“Hold on (y/n)! Innocence, activate!” Allen shot up after you, his arm shifting into what looked like a giant cannon.

“Allen...Allen Wait Maybe that’s not a good-“

He shot his arm

“IDEA!”

You were now free falling, the akuma that was previously holding you was shrieking in pain. You shut your eyes right, bracing yourself to hit the ground but you didn’t. You opened your eyes to see your best friend had caught you “oh thank god (f/n) you saved me-“

Hey dropped you to the ground, making you groan in pain “that...fuckin hurt…”

“That’s what you get for running off with some white haired guy” They huffed a little, rolling their eyes “Sorry..” you said, rubbing the back of your head “and his name is allen-wait! Allen?!” you look up to see him absolutely obliterate the akuma, landing gracefully near you and (f/n). You grinned and quickly got up on your feet, rushing over to him and hugging him “that was amazing! You just-demolished it! Like it was a little bug compared to you-it was amazing!” he breathed. Allen seemed a little surprised you were suddenly hugging him before smiling and hugging you back

“it’s what i do for a living….you can too. With your innocence.”

“Excuse me hold on you are not doing anything like that. You can get hurt! You’ve never fought a day in your life! And what about your family fortune? What will you do with it!” your friend came up behind you, trying to talk sense into you. “Shit..you’re right...maybe...i should think about this..” you pulled away from Allen, biting your lip. Allen was about to speak before another explosion went off “I’ll be right back” allen ran off to handle the other akumas appearing.

“(y/n) we need to get you to safety” (f/n) took your hand and quickly started dragging you away. A wave of exhaustion hit you and before you knew it, you collapsed onto the ground.

You later woke up in an unfamiliar room. It looked sort of like yours but...a complete disaster. Everything was old and dusty, some of it destroyed beyond recognition. This room looks like its been abandoned for years.

“So (y/n)’s mask was just making an illusion of the castle this whole time? How could it still be up when (y/n) took it off…?” “Taking it off could still work but it must’ve used much more energy than it normally would’ve which could explain why (y/n) passed out…” “It makes sense..”

You could hear voices outside your door talking about you. One of them sounded like allen but you couldn't really pinpoint the other voices. You got up and went to the door, opening it. You saw a girl with long green hair up in pigtails, a guy with spiky red hair pushed back by a green hair band, Allen and a guy with long blue hair that seemed like he didn't want to be there… “Allen?...what’s going on? How long was I asleep..?” “Oh! (y/n), you’re awake! I thought we were gonna have to carry you out..” “Oh good if they’re awake then we can leave” the guy with the blue hair turned and started walking away

“Bakanda! You can’t just walk away they hadn’t even agreed to go yet!” “Then drag them out if you have to. You know the order won’t care if they want to come or not.” “Come where-the place that tells you to fight akuma?” “Oh look they’re not completely braindead” “Hey-fuck you!” And with that the guy ‘bakanda’ had walked off completely. You growled a little before huffing “that guy’s an asshole…” The girl with green hair smiled and nodded “yeah...that’s Kanda for you. I’m lenalee but he is right...you have to come with us” You frowned “what about (f/n)? Can they come too?” The three looked at each other with that look of ‘oh no we gotta tell them’ “what? Don't tell me-no-an akuma didn’t get them-right?” you could already feel tears welling up in your eyes. Allen quickly shook his head “No no-it seems uh…(f/n) was part of the illusion ...they were fake….they’ve been gone for a while now…”

“O-oh” you said quietly, looking at the ground. In the next few hours Allen helped you gather what you wanted to bring before leading you out of the castle. You also learned the ginger haired man was named lavi. Lavi was a mischievous bunny so when he ‘accidentally’ bumped into you, knocking you into Allen who just so happened to be under a mistletoe, it didn’t seem all too much of an accident. You both were flustered, stammering and trying to get a grip on yourselves until you shook your head, grabbing the front of his shirt and kissing him softly. Allen noted that it seems you like to catch him off guard before kissing you back just as sweet.

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elaianna · 6 years

Text

Friends in Unlikely Places

[ Music | Part One ]

With the departure of the block captain things settled back in to the mundane ritual one could expect of the cell block. The torches were snuffed. Guards became a scarce presence that rotated on the half-hour. Then most of all the air became filled with the coughs of sickly prisoners awaiting the block, or the jostle of chains as bodies rattled beneath the heft of their heaving bodies. When the final guardsman finished his rounds and began his traipse down the long tunnel a sound came more closely to Anna's cell.

The newest arrival, a man known by frame only began to move three cells down. Though separated by a room and two stone walls he knew well where he was, and why he was here. Assured that the room was clear his head came to press against the bars though he'd never lay eyes on the woman two cells down for him. In a deep voice he tempted to whisper.

"Hey...psst...you're that Duchess what was taken from Stormhollow, aye?"

Elaianna wasn't sure she had heard it at first. She lifted her head and squinted, looking around for the source. Was she hallucinating now? It wasn't a far stretch. With rations as poor as she had, and with how sparse they had been for her, it would have been acceptable-- normal even.

"Beg pardon?" she murmured.

"That Duchess-"

The man's face forced further into the bars as if that might somehow allow him to see who he was speaking to. Removing himself moments later when his ears denied him going any further he began to shift further to his left, all the way until he'd reached the wall and could get no closer before leaning back in to the bars.

"Mainlander what came to Stormhollow just before that right jammy bastard came in and started sendin' good folk t' the Wash left and right, aye?"

His voice raised and lowered every few words as his eyes would bulge in search of some unknown presence in the room.

"I've never been a mainlander," she grumbled. "Kul Tiran born and raised." Her head tilted to the side. "But.. I suppose aye. I am." She was looking in the general direction of the voice. "To the Wash?"

" 'Pologies then there m'lady but, s' not what I've heard. Here more folk tell tale you was born on the mainland, brought over here t' be raised proper but it didn't work right so's they sent ya back."

His grip of the bars in either hand wrung gently as he watched the nothingness of the room in full detail. The sinking dread filling him, the hesitance in his eyes as the situation settled more with him nearly brought a quiver to his lip before he'd snarl one nostril to mask it.

"Aye, the Wash. The Timber-ticker, Liar's lotto, the Woody- the Wash. Place what where they're sendin' fools off to waste away buildin' ships for the fleet, I've heard the stories. I was supposed t' be going there before that man cut me a deal for ya."

So that's what they think of me.

Her heart sunk. They truly believed she was from the mainlands, that she wasn't a Kul Tiran. Ever since leaving for Stormwind at her Father's orders to extend their network, she hadn't fitted in any land. Not as a mainlander, and now not as her own people.

"...Cut a deal?"

"Aye, aye- got everything here too just as I was told. Followed the instructions just like I was told, told the man named Philbert my name and gave him the coin, gave the man Linus his paper, and told that skinny fella on the dock his brother's been released. Yer man could have been a bit more polite about it, talked ta' me real slow like, felt like he thought I'd drank too much sea water...but I've got all yer thin's."

For a brief moment the man's chains could be heard skittering away as if he went to gather something before returning shortly thereafter.

"So we're square, aye? Barty is gonna be alright, aye? I don't know what I'd do if somethin' happened t' my boy, I'm all he's got left, m'lady. No family left, cousin's already goin' for the Wash and I was 'sposed to too...now I'm here 'an...we're square aye? I'll be gettin' out? M' boy's bein' taken care of?" It was clear he was beginning to get choked up now by the wavering in his voice. While one could assume by the deep tone of his voice he was a big man, his blubberings only made that more clear.

"All my.. things?" she asked slowly, trying to understand.

"Slow down, slow down. Who'd you speak to? Who? I need to know which man," she told him, before breaking off to cough painfully. She was talking too much for a dry throat. "Describe what man told you this."

"The little man. Well, lad's pretty tall but...pretty skinny, he could stand ta eat more s' all I'm saying there m'lady. Got himself some of them spectacles, fancy pants, quiet, looks more like a reader than a man what works with his hands."

While she couldn't see it the man was loudly beginning to scratch the side of his head, letting out long stints of the word 'uhm' before returning to whispered shouts over.

"One of the mainlanders who got off with ya there m'lady. He's the man what got me off the list t' the Wash, said he'd take my boy and put him up nice in Boralus until things settle, and sent me here- I swear to ya I did everythin' he told me you wanted, I've got everything and I'll keep doin' my part, I swear it Miss, swear on me little Bartleby. But please m'ady, I just need ta know he's gonna be alright, I been scrapin' by as it is for so long with the taxes and...I just, I can't stand ta think what would happen if m' boy ever gets his ticket called."

Eidrich.

Elaianna settled back against the stone, a sigh of relief leaving her as she closed her eyes. He was effective and able to be under the radar. If anyone could pull off what this man claimed, it'd be him.

"That man is amazing at what he does. I trust my own daughters with him. He should be able to be sure Bartleby is safe."

The lump he'd held back thus far was finally swallowed. The first breath of relief he'd taken since he was put to cart felt beautiful, like he could finally live again as if he'd been stuck in worry and dismay from the second he'd been torn away from his life. Sniffling quietly the man's chains began to jingle as he reached upward to swipe at his eyes. Sobbing quietly a moment his chains jerked more loudly as he began to nod out of joy and relief.

"Thank ya, m'lady, thank ya, m' forever grateful to ya. I've...I've got what ya wanted then." He sniffled again, harshly sucking in once with both nostrils to try and halt it.

"Don't have an easy way so I'm goin' ta have to slide it...think I saw how far things reached but ya may be needin' to catch it in case happens to get to slidin' too fast."

What did she want? She tried to rack her brain for what Eidrich could have possibly sent her.

Shrugging off her shawl-- something she had used as a makeshift blanket when it got cold, dingey and dirty as it was now-- she wrapped it around her chains to control the steady clink and clank of them. She shuffled forward, closer and closer to the edge of her cell. At least, as close as she could get and leaned as far as she could. "I'll do my best. -- What's your name?"

Picking at the thread of fishing line he'd wrapped around his waist numerous times just as instructed, the man began tying one end off to a tightly wrapped bundle no bigger than a half-eaten loaf of bread. One he felt it was secure enough, the man placed the bundle outside of the bars in the flat of his palm while the other hand wrapped the opposite end of the string around his finger for a safer recall if it should fail to reach her.

"The name's Gregory, m'lady. Gregory Corrinster, worked the market in Stormhollow shucking clams on the east end." Gently tossing the bundle up and down a few times in his hand to get a feel for it's weight he leaned far to the right to get as much of a gauge as possible.

"Incomin' to ya..." He signaled before skidding it down the hall in her cell's direction.

"Shucking clams? I'm fairly certain my husband used to do that at one point... He's always been on the move though. Never long for one place." Until he met her, at any rate. With a grunt she threw herself as far forward as she could, ignoring the cutting metal into her limbs. She had to twist her arm awkwardly to pull and nudge the package with her elbow closer to her, and closer still until she had the slack to use her hands to pick it up and open it.

"Got it? Aye...there it is, there we are." Gregory began to smile as he felt the line go taught then pull away from him. Pulling himself away from the bars, Gregory began to unwind the bit of fishing line still connected to his finger until the package was entirely in her control. Listening to her mention of her husband, Gregory began to nod whilst turning to plant his back squarely to the bars while calling back over-shoulder.

"That right then? It's nothing amazing, and it's not butcher coin I'll tell ya, those lads down at the slop shop don't have to be worryin' about bringin' home the bacon, aye? Aye?" He poked as if looking for confirmation in his joke.

"Pays well enough at least...or it did. Mary-Ann passed not too long ago though, m'wife...been hard on one lump o've coin to keep things goin' fer me and 'ol Barty but we get by. He's a good lad...good lad he is. Strong as an oarsman, stubborn as a mule to match it."

As Gregory became lost in reminiscing his words mostly muddled together in recounts of stories regarding his son as though it were all he could talk about, or perhaps all that had been on his mind the last few days.

"Sounds like he'll be a strong man," she murmured to him, trying to give the man some consolation for what he went through to come here. If there was one thing she could sympathize with, it was wanting the best for their children.

The package that reached the Duchess did not appear much, nor did it weigh more than it appeared. Soft, in some parts, crunchy in others, then hard as a rock in another it had a differing texture in every turn of the hand. Bound by twine and a brown parcel-paper it was tightly compacted which certainly took some digging to tear open. Inside she'd find one note wrapped in a tight roll, a photograph stolen from her desk that showed herself, her children, and her husband, and then lastly a tiny linen bag filled with herbs and two bottles of a strange liquid of indiscernible color in the low light.

Carefully, with shaking hands, she pulled the twine loose, and unwrapped the package. All contents were forgotten when she saw the photograph. She felt like the world had been kicked from beneath her. As she picked up the photo, she felt the hot prick of tears in the corner of her eyes. Her babies... Her love. Her family. Her entire reason for pushing onward.

Blinking back the tears, she sniffled, swallowing back a sob, as she grabbed the note, and unrolled it, reading it through blurry eyes.

On the small piece of torn parchment Eidrich's handwriting could be seen tightly compacted yet neatly presented to relay as much information as he could in such a short allotted space.

Your family is safe. Few company members taken, most are free of Stormhollow. It proved too expensive and difficult to bribe assistance for you directly, instead I've sent you help through this man. Should you need anything, ask, and he shall relay. Drink the potions, one now, one if you grow ill. Take herbs. Do not stir the pot, hide what you're given, help will come. More to follow soon.

On each of the bottles given Eidrich had been kind enough to label them with but three words; For immune system.

As the man two cells down continued to prattle on another 'flap' of a sound hit the ground but a few inches from Elaianna's cell, followed by a tough hunk of bread skidding in beside it moments later.

"Almost forgot about that bit- said it'd be waitin' smuggled in to this here cell for you m'lady."

The item in question? A waterskin.

Elaianna's eyes closed and she held the letter and photograph close to her chest, to her heart as she allowed herself a small moment of relief. They were safe. Everything she had been fed through these bars was a lie. Not that it should surprise the noblewoman. The photograph was folded up and tucked into the bosom of her dress. The letter she read over once more, committing the instructions to memory before she tore it up into tiny shreds. It wasn't the best meal but, it would make her stomach feel like something was in it, and make it so that the guards couldn't find the letter. Shred by shred, she ate the parchment, ignoring the taste of the ink on her tongue. The less evidence the better.

She uncorked the vial and swallowed it back in one slow gulp, letting the moisture of it's contents wet her whistle, and swish back the taste of ink. The second vial was similarly stowed away on her person.

"You'll be getting out of here then?" she inquired, wondering how this man was going to relay anything back to Eidrich.

As she spoke, she went about portioning a pinch of the herbs to take now, knowing she'd need some later on as well.

"That's what yer man told me, m'lady."

Gregory began to nod if only to himself. Hiking his knees to rest against his chest the prisoner leaned further back into the bars of his cell, head finding a place within a pair of bars as he talked off absently to the Duchess he'd been sent for.

"Six weeks he said to me. In the mean time I'm just here ta be hearin' what you need, forkin' over rations, and sendin' word through the man what tossed me in here yer boy paid off."

"...Have you any rations for yourself?" she asked, with a raised brow. Six weeks of giving his rations over to her and he'd be dead.

Still, she found herself breaking off at least a bit of the bread, sprinkling the herbs on it and taking a bite. All the while, she was careful to eat slow, so as not to shock her stomach.

"Oh aye."

Gregory responded, his face scrunching and giving a highly positive tone. Pulling his head free with a few tugs from the bars that had suction-cupped his head inward, Gregory's pants could be heard sliding across the floor before pushing himself to a knee beside the far wall. His voice coming a little more faded he called once more.

"Said he'd switch my name from the lotto list ta the list headed here. Offense he put me under's supposed ta be light so m' gettin' m'self no limits on muh meals. I fork over half mah food, pass along what ya need done and he'll pay m' fine and keep m' boy above water."

Clever.

Eidrich deserved a raise after all this was said and done, and maybe a vacation. If she survived for all of his hard work to be paid off.

"I need word to my lawyer. He'll know the one. Is that a message you can relay? To get word to my lawyer?" Not that she was sure he could do anything. She wasn't even sure what to do. "And... and make sure he can get whoever else out he can. Not much to be done for me down here, but people up above? ...Sounds like it's bad."

"Been pretty bad a while now there, m'lady, but aye, I can get word back ta your man, you just let old Gregory know what needs tellin'."

Coming back across the room, Gregory approached the spot he'd formerly been sitting. Hands wrapping around the bars he pressed his ear closely to the bar waiting for if any instructions were to come.

What needed to be done? How could she even process that? She didn't know the exact layout of everything above her. Everything beyond this cell. She didn't know what resources they still had. Who they still had.

"Use the invested money to get away and shelter people from the labor camps. Use Barrowfield, make temporary tent camps, if none of the other Kul Tiran Lords and Ladies will shelter the people."

"Can do, anythin' else yer needin' to tell? Anythin' ya need down in here?"

Gregory paused in silence for a moment as the sound of a clanging door echoed down from one of the halls far in the distance.

"Might be a bit before I'm gettin' any information sent, have ta wait on specific guard and I don't know how much I can tell 'm. Wanna make sure I get all yer needin' fer now."

"I imagine a lock pick would be asking too much?" she inquired with a tired voice.

"I uh..."

By his tone it was clear Gregory was contemplating it, or perhaps contemplating why he wasn't sent in with one in the first place. Stroking his hand down his beard, Gregory's lips pulled aside with a dragged down brow.

"I mean I could ask but...feel like me tellin' that to a guard, even one on the take might uh...might quickly be gettin' me in hot water."

"Fair, fair," she mumbled. "Not sure what else I'd need then, other than food and water, and that's covered. -- Not unless a letter can be reached to my husband, but that's not a need. That's a want."

"M'lady, m' just at your disposal here. I can understand y' wantin' ta tell anything ta your hoosband. If my wife were still with us, tide's be kind ta her, I'd be wantin' ta tell her many thin's in here. So likes I said, you say it, I pass along anything ya need sayin' or doin'."

Her eyes closed as she envisioned her family, particularly her husband. "Tell him... I love him. I'll be anchored back to him soon... but, not to do anything foolish. Keep the girls safe. Sing them a song for me."

There was silence for a time following her request. Silence, then the sound of a man audibly blowing his nose into his shirt with a weepy mumble briefly.

"Oh aye, aye... 'll pass it along there, m'lady."

That was the first night that even the faintest traces of a smile graced Elaianna's lips since she had been taken from her family. There was some semblance in knowing that her family would at least hear once more about how she had loved them.

@atc-wra @eidrich-crone @thomasstalsworth

#Anchor Trading Co #WRA #IC #Canon #RP

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