#and then next time she hung out i was like oh dude nice haircut! i knew itd look good

[computerpeople]

ive thought about becoming a babysitter full time id really enjoy it, i love child care and i think im pretty good at it! i couldnt raise a kid of course but im really good at interacting with them and teaching them stuff and keeping them entertained. my friends always liked my littlest sister better, but my friends siblings always liked ME better and thought i was the coolest thing theyve ever seen. every kid ive ever met has thought i was the coolest person theyve ever met and i tend to work really well with them

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

WPP - Kenny (We’re The Millers)

This has been sitting in my drafts for months and I was struggling to finish it, but, a bright light ascended from the heavens, in the form of an angel, and that angel’s name is @gladerscake

Big thanks to them for helping me out and finishing this imagine. Go follow them and give all the love and support you can muster!

~~~~~~~~~~

Being in the witness protection program was...interesting.

It definitely was not what you were expecting, but then again, you didn’t know helping out a person you cared about would get you involved in a murder, yet here you are.

You had to leave everything behind, not that you had that much of a life to begin with, but it was comfortable. Now, everything was different. New home in a new state, even a new last name. Thankfully, you got to keep your first name, you were grateful for that at least.

You were surprised to find the most annoying thing was the neighbourhood that the program placed you in. It’s like it was made for Mormons or something, your neighbours were too nice, at least the house to the right of yours. You didn’t really know who lived in the house to the left, working from home had the benefit of never going outside and the only reason you knew who lived to your right was cause those neighbours were the type of people to introduce themselves.

Yuck.

But still, you couldn’t help but be a little curious.

You did know, however, that they had only recently moved in since the one morning truck woke up before your alarm rang that morning. You were grouchy the rest of the day, thus you’ve been slightly petty towards your “new” neighbours since then. You definitely needed to work on your attitude...one day.

After being inside your house for more than a week, you decided you wanted some vitamin D, which you rarely ever did so you must’ve been seriously deprived.

You walked out of the door leading to the backyard with a book in hand, frowning when you saw how overgrown the grass was from your laziness. You told yourself you’d do it later, and by later you meant you would mow your yard when you started to hate yourself enough to the point where you felt too guilty leaving it alone.

You huffed as you sat in one of your lawn chairs that you bought when you moved in, lying to yourself that you were going to spend more time outside when you knew you wouldn’t. A first for everything, you supposed.

A few chapters in, you heard a door open and shut in your neighbour’s backyard, but you thought nothing of it, almost too entranced in your book.

You smiled to yourself when you started to hear 1990s R&B playing softly, not your cup of tea but you enjoyed it occasionally. Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls had just started playing when you heard the neighbour’s back door slammed. “Dude, turn that shit off! You’ve been playing that song constantly and I’m actually getting sick of it. God.” You heard an angsty female voice.

Oh no...you lived next a family.

“Hey!”

You flinched, noticing a blonde girl was talking you. “Uh, hey?” You slowly closed your book, reluctantly walking over to the fence separating the backyards when the girl motioned you over.

“Haven’t seen you around before, just move in?” She asked, smirking slightly, looking you up and down.

You mocked her smirk, not liking the almost condescending look she was giving you. “No, been here for awhile. That’s how I know you’ve only just moved in a few weeks ago.”

The girl’s smirk only grew. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N. Yours?”

“Casey, and that loser is Kenny.” She pointed to the table behind her, seeing a blonde boy sitting somewhat dejectedly in one of the chairs fiddling with a small CD player. “Hey, TLC, get over here!” The boy looked to Casey with a panicked expression, visibly looking like he wasn’t sure if the girl meant it or not. She rolled her eyes, “Come on, dude!”

The boy nodded, frantically walking away to join Casey at the fence. “Hey.” He stuttered, blushing when he noticed your eyes on him.

Casey rolled her eyes yet again. “Yeah, this is Kenny.”

Kenny waved quite adorably, giving you a tight lipped smile. “Did you just move in?”

“No, I-”

“We’ve already had this talk, she’s been here longer than we have.” Casey interrupted, making your blood boil a little bit, her attitude almost worse than yours.

Kenny frowned slightly, but covered it up with a smile. “Oh.”

“Yep. We’ve already become besties.” You said sarcastically, grinning widely, making Kenny genuinely smile a little.

“Kids!” A middle aged man with a stupid haircut, to you anyway, walked over with hesitant look on his face. “Who’s this?”

“Y/N, your neighbour that’s lived here longer than you have. Saved you the trouble of telling him yourself, Casey.” You sneered.

“Oh. Well, I’m David and we’re the Millers! My wife, Sarah, is at the market right now, but I’m sure she’d be glad to meet you sometime.” He smiled widely, making you uncomfortable.

“Uh, dad, chill out. You’re gonna scare away the only girl I find suitable to be friends with in this shit neighbourhood.” Casey whispered harshly.

You didn’t really want to be friends with Casey, you never really got along with girls. Clearly, reading outside was a bad choice...

“Ha ha, if you sass me one more time today, you will be grounded young lady.” David forced another smile.

“Uh, Dad...”

“Shut up, Kenny.”

You quickly realized where the Kenny kid was in the family food chain. It was a shame, the dude was pretty easy on the eyes and seemed nice from what you’ve seen. “Look, I’m just gonna go. Nice meeting you fine folks...” You waved awkwardly, turning around and practically speed walking inside your house.

Well, that was fun...never going outside ever again.

The overall encounter put you in a sour mood, so when the doorbell rang you prayed to god that it wasn’t the yearly check in with law enforcement cause you’d probably get yourself in trouble with that attitude of yours.

You were mildly shocked to see that awkward Kenny guy outside your door, his eyes trained on his feet before you opened the door. “Kenny Miller, right?”

“Uh...yeah, Miller. Uh, I just want to apologize for my, uh, family’s behavior. They don’t have the best of manners, but they’re good people, I swear!” He ranted at such a quick pace that it almost flew right over your head. “So, yeah, sorry.”

You chuckled at his nervousness. “You don’t have to be sorry, especially on the behalf of your family. They don’t seem like the type to appreciate it anyway.”

His eyes widened, holding up his hands and shaking his head. “No, no, no, it’s not like that! They, uh, appreciate me.” You kept your mouth shut, giving him a sympathetic look with a soft smile. He sighed. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“To me, it is. I’ve been in that situation before, so it’s not that hard to notice.”

“Oh...well, they can be nice sometimes I guess.”

“I hope so. Well, it was nice to meet you, Kenny.” You stuck your hand out, smiling when he hesitated but shook your outstretched hand gently.

A week later, you and Kenny actually became friends despite the two of you being almost complete opposites. He was able to poke through your cynical exterior, which was extremely rare for someone to do. He made you laugh, smile, and actually enjoy life when you were with him. You didn’t like it at first, but his adorkable personality won you over.

Kenny was more than overjoyed, he finally had a friend, not one out of pity anyway. The first time you two had hung out, he came “home” with a huge grin on his face. Of course, Casey had to tease him about it all the time.

“I still don’t understand how she can be friends with that loser and not me!” Casey ranted. “It doesn’t make sense!”

“Casey, stop calling Kenny a loser, please.” Sarah sighed, tapping away on her keyboard.

As soon as Sarah said that, Kenny walked through the door with another grin on his face. “Hey, Ma!”

“You don’t have to call me that here, hon.” Sarah voiced, shutting her laptop and walking out of the kitchen, but she smiled to herself.

“Pop your cherry yet?” Casey smirked evilly.

Kenny immediately blushed. “I told you, we’re just friends...”

She rolled her eyes. “You obviously want to be more than just friends with her. You should just ask her out and get it over with.”

“But...Melissa...”

Casey huffed loudly. “Dude, I already told you, she’s probably moved on by now. She was a total babe, she can and probably has done way better than you.”

“Hey...” Kenny frowned, to which Casey just shrugged, her eyes training back to her phone. He sighed as he sat down across from his “sister.” “I do like her...but I don’t know how to bring it up. I’m awful at talking to girls about...that kind of stuff.”

Casey snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.” But she dropped her amused smirk when she saw Kenny glaring. “Sorry, sorry.” She sassed. “I mean, it did work out with the ginger to be fair, but we have to stay in this shithole until further notice. But I really do think you should shoot your shot with what’s her name.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “Y/N.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just-”

“That girl is bad news.” David suddenly voiced, walking into the kitchen.

“What do you mean by that?” Casey asked.

“Uh, hello? Pay attention to your surroundings instead of that stupid phone of yours to see that we are in witness protection. We can’t trust any of these creepy neighbours.”

“Uh, I think you’re a tad bit paranoid, father dearest.”

“Y/N’s really cool though!” Kenny expressed.

David rolled his eyes. “But we don’t really know her, we don’t know if she’s a snitch or something.”

Casey laughed. “Wow, you really are paranoid, dude.”

“Ha ha, very funny, just go to your room and listen to your Metallicas and AC/DCs.”

Casey’s face contorted into a disgusted scowl. “I don’t listen to that garbage.”

“Shut up.” David simply replied, making Casey stand up and storm out of the room and up the stairs. “Look, Ken, I get you like this girl, but you need to be careful. Don’t say things you shouldn’t and all that. You have a tendency to not know when to shut your mouth. So, don’t do that, kay?”

Kenny nodded curtly, avoiding David’s eyes as he felt his face heat up in slight anger. He knew he had some...issues with keeping his mouth shut about things that should be kept a secret, but he grew up, right? He’s not as naïve as he was before they went to Mexico, but his “family” still treated him like he was five. Plus, he knew you weren’t the type to be a snitch.

While Kenny was dealing with feeling underappreciated, you were having your own set of issues to handle. Today was the day for a check up with law enforcement to make sure you were on your best behavior. You always were, but it still made you anxious to no end. And you prayed that Kenny wouldn’t rush in to your house like he got into the habit of doing when you were interrogated.

Of course, that didn’t happen. 

“For fuck’s sake...” You muttered under your breath when you saw Kenny’s shocked and scared face when he saw you sitting with a couple local police officers.

On your end, it just looked like he was scared of police officers. But Kenny’s mind immediately went haywire, thinking that you called them over to investigate them even though the police were already informed of “the Millers” situation. 

“Kenny, now’s not a good time.” You sighed.

“No, no, it’s okay.” The police officer in front of you said. “We’re done here anyway.” He walked out of your house with his partner, leaving you and Kenny in an awkward silence.

“What was that all about?” Kenny asked, not being able to control the bitter tone in his voice. “Did you think we’re that bad or something?”

“Kenny, I-”

“We’ve been doing really well here!” Kenny interrupted. “No problems with anybody, been on our best behavior.”

“Kenny.”

“I don’t wanna go to jail. I can’t go to jail. We’ve only been here for a couple months.”

“Kenny, stop!” You finally yelled, losing your temper. “They were here to check up on me, for fuck’s sake.”

Kenny’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but still had a slight expression of panic. “Here for you? B-But-”

“I’m in witness protection, you dweeb, same as you.”

“Oh...Wait, how did you know I’m in witness protection?”

“Your family,” You finger quoted, “looks nothing like you. All of you don’t look anything alike. How paranoid and secretive that David is, it wasn’t too hard to put things together. You rambling off like an absolute moron a minute ago just reaffirmed my theory.”

Kenny frowned. “Dang, I thought I had worked on that.”

You smiled slightly. “It’s alright, Ken. I’m no snitch, and I’m not very judgmental about someone’s past. What did you even do though? You’re definitely not the type to break the law.” You chuckled.

“Oh, well, we kinda smuggled some drugs across the Mexican border.” He stuttered.

“Holy shit, dude! That’s sick! What was it? Was it coke?” You grinned, eager to learn.

Kenny blinked at your excitement, but obliged to all your questions, sitting down next to you. “No, it was marijuana.”

Your face slightly dropped in excitement. “Oh. I really think weed should be legal. It’s stupid, it’s not even a hard drug.”

“Well, we’re lucky we even made it out alive. But what did you go through to get yourself here?”

Now, you definitely didn’t judge past crimes of others, if they’ve atoned for it and changed that is, but you had no idea if Kenny would judge you. You actually found yourself not wanting him to look at you in a different light, and you’ve never felt that way before. 

Kenny seemed perfectly sweet, almost too sweet to judge anyone, but on the other hand...the stuff that had landed you in the program was definitely heavier than some weed smuggling. 

Maybe it would be too much for him. Maybe it would be best to just make something up, something less horrible, something he wouldn’t be too shocked by.  As tempting as that route felt, the idea of lying to him weirdly didn’t sit well with you, though. 

Kenny was quick to notice the lengthy pause that followed his question, as well as the way your shoulders tensed and your eyes averted to the parquet floor. Oh no. Had he pried into something too personal? Was he an idiot for asking?

“Oh, um...you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” Kenny hurried to assure you, slight panic beginning to etch his bluish-green eyes, his fists clenching and unclenching involuntarily. “I was just curious, is all! I’m sorry if it’s too persona-“ 

“It’s okay!” To his surprise, you pulled on a tight-lipped smile, giving him a look as nonchalant as you could manage at the moment. “Really, you don’t have to apologize for asking. Plus, you already told me about your thing, so...” You trailed off, softly, wondering how to proceed. 

As much as you resented the thought of Kenny seeing you differently, you decided even that unpleasant outcome would still be better than lying to him. You’d rather not. You liked Kenny. Despite not having spent a tremendous amount of time together, you could tell he was a genuinely good person, and you definitely enjoyed his company. Not to mention, it would be a blatant lie if you said you weren’t at all attracted to him. 

Casey may have spent most of their interactions calling him a “loser” in some form or another, but you couldn’t be farther away from agreeing with her. A part of you was positively annoyed with the way she treated him. Then again, taste is subjective. It wasn’t Casey’s fault if she didn’t have a good sense of it. 

With a deep intake of air, you nervously flipped a loose strand of hair over your shoulder, still avoiding direct eye-contact with Kenny. “I, uh...It’s a rough one, really. And kind of a long story. I wouldn’t wanna dump something like that on you, if you’d rather not hear it” 

He tentatively pursed his plump lips, but nonetheless nodded for you to keep going. “I’m sure I can handle it! Whatever it is, I’m not gonna judge you, Y/N. I promise!” 

Promise, huh? Guess you were going to have to see about that. 

Trying to ignore the rapidly increasing pace of your heart and slight tremble in your fingers, you began your story. 

You didn’t want to go into too much detail, for the fear of oversharing, but you did tell him as much as you felt you could. About how you used to have a friend...a pretty close friend, who you cared about a great deal, who had always been kind and generous, alas, a bit of a troublemaker.

About how she had fallen in with the wrong crowd, something you admittedly failed to see coming. How that crowd turned out to be a notoriously vicious gang that had it out for some other poor girl, who had apparently slept with one of the gang leaders’ boyfriend without realizing it. 

How that gang, your friend included, lured her onto a rooftop to “fuck with her” and “teach her a lesson.” Only that night, they went too far and ended up pushing her off. The girl died instantly, and due to the heaping pile of evidence, it wasn’t a particularly long investigation. Almost everyone involved were arrested shortly after, and you, having been brought in as one of the witnesses, had a choice whether you wanted to testify against your friend or not. 

At first you weren’t sure if you wanted to do that and make matters worse for her. However, after some much-needed reflection and consideration, you decided it would be the right thing to do. Someone had died, and your friend played a part in it. You couldn’t turn a blind eye to something that big simply because you two were close. 

Your friend was put away, along with several other gang members. Still, quite a few of them were still out there, and they definitely seemed like the type to hold serious grudges. You were no longer safe at your former home, and now...well, there you where. 

Kenny listened intently all the while, not once daring to interrupt, not even to ask a question. By the way your breathing had hitched and your lips had stuttered at certain parts, he could tell how hard that must’ve been for you to go through in the first place, and how unsettling it was for you to revisit those moments in order to share your story with him. 

You didn’t notice, but as you were nearing the end, Kenny had inched to sit closer to you, his large hand carefully landing on your shoulder with a soft but warm-hearted squeeze. He had briefly hesitated in making that move, but the need to offer you comfort and reassurance overpowered his nervousness. His only hope was that you wouldn’t flinch at his touch, and so he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when you did no such thing. 

“So...that’s about it. Sorry, I know it’s a fucking bummer story, compared to your weed smuggling adventure.” You attempted a chuckle, only it came out as more of a sad scoff. 

Your heart was still pounding and you were still reluctant to look up at him. Although, as you finally noticed Kenny’s warm hand gently squeezing your shoulder, you felt a soothing brush of comfort spread through your limbs, and you couldn’t deny how nice it felt. 

“Whoa...that’s...I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Kenny frowned, unsure of what the right thing to say could be. 

“It’s okay, really. I’ve had some time to process it and move on. Well...not completely, but I’d say I’m doing much better now.” 

Kenny went silent for a minute, clearly still digesting the information, and the worries you had about him looking at you differently came back in full force. You opened your mouth to ask him about it, but he beat you by a millisecond, speaking first. “Why...why were you so nervous about telling me?” 

So he had noticed. Figures. The art of the poker face wasn’t something you’d ever truly mastered. It sometimes annoyed you how easy your anxious state was to spot, but there wasn’t much you could do about that. 

“I don’t know, I...I guess I didn’t want you to see me as a snitch or judge me-“

“Judge you?” Kenny interrupted, sounding confused about the mere insinuation. “For what, not sticking up for your friend when she had got herself involved in a murder?” 

“I mean, she was still my friend, so...” 

“So what? That doesn’t change the fact that she got in the middle of something so horrible, that could’ve been avoided, if she had paid more attention to who she hung around.” 

You couldn’t say you had expected that. It was almost weird hearing Kenny talk that way, but you were definitely relieved to hear where he so firmly stood in regards to the whole “judging you” idea. 

You bit your bottom lip in agitation as a thought you had been wrestling with for a while creeped its way into your mind again. “Sometimes I feel like maybe I could’ve done something...could’ve checked up on her more or somehow stopped her from hanging out with them...maybe I could’ve kept her from having anything to do with it.” Your voice grew quieter, sounding barely above a whisper as guilt flashed through your eyes, your muscles tensing, uneasily, at the thought. Kenny was immediately closer, his arm wrapping around you, as if trying to shelter you from your own thoughts. 

“Come on, don’t do that to yourself, Y/N. You can’t control the actions of others, not even your friends. Least of all your friends, probably.” 

You allowed a small smile to touch the corner of your lips as you instinctively leaned into Kenny, his closeness calming you, his soft reassurances shushing the self-deprecating thoughts he could sense looming over you. 

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I just try not to think about it often, it really sucks diving into that stuff.” 

“Of course it sucks. I just hope you know that none of it was even a little bit your fault. From what I can tell after spending some time with you...you’re a really good person, Y/N.” 

You looked up at him, noting the way your faces were only a few inches apart by that point. The close proximity brought a rosy tinge to your cheeks. “You think so?” 

“I do! Why wouldn’t I? You’re smart, you’re funny when you want to be, you’re great to be around, and heck, you’re one of the very few people I know who doesn’t make me feel like I’m constantly doing something wrong.” 

Hearing that made you simultaneously happy and sad. With the way Kenny’s “family” treated him almost around the clock, it was no wonder he felt that way. You wished he didn’t have to. You believed someone as wonderful as him deserved so much better. If only he had at least one person close to him who would tell him how much better he was than most guys out there, how anyone should be lucky to call him a friend... or maybe more than just a friend. 

In that moment, you found yourself thinking what it would be like if you were that person. You imagined it would feel the same way it always did when you were around Kenny, only better. In all honesty, you couldn’t find a single reason not to try. What harm was there in trying? Oh, that’s right...something could go badly wrong, and then whatever friendship you had with him would be in shambles.

That’s what the pessimistic side of you thought about it. But the other side, the more hopeful and affectionate side, had other ideas. 

Even though you and Kenny were brought into the witness protection program by very different circumstances, you were still in it together. You didn’t have to hide your true identities or your past, at least not from each other. That had to count for something, right? 

While you were taking a second to collect your thoughts, Kenny was facing some inner turmoil of his own. With the newfound closeness of the two of you, his cheeks were positively crimson, his pulse quickening, heart thumping against his rib cage. Any doubts he’d had about whether or not he wanted to ask you out had vanished - he absolutely wanted to do that. But how? When? Would now be a good time? He wasn’t sure. Yet, he was very aware of the fact that if he were to lean in just a little bit closer, he could just kiss you right then and there... 

Kenny briefly remembered David’s “count to three” method, but for some reason it didn’t feel right to use. Not with you, not like that. All he wanted was to just go with the feeling, and that feeling was beckoning him to your lips. 

Oh, screw it. If you were to push him away, so be it. He would probably die a little inside and never attempt to do anything like that ever again, but at least he would know your immediate answer. 

“Kenny...?” 

Your soft questioning voice reached his ears as his gaze trailed over your delicate face, taking in every feature, and with a soft but resolute breath, he leaned in. 

Your eyes went wide when Kenny’s lips landed on yours. You froze for a second, not knowing what to do. Luckily, your instantly skipping heart gave you the hint you needed to flutter your eyes closed and melt into it. 

He kissed you so gently, so carefully, but not like he was afraid of scaring you away. More like he wanted you feel completely safe and give you every chance to stop it the second you wanted to. 

You didn’t. 

Instead, you wrapped an arm around his neck, your fingertips brushing the ends of his short sandy hair, your lips moving seamlessly and warmly against his own.

Kenny couldn’t believe you were actually kissing him back, but damn, he was thrilled that you were. He felt the affection in him surge as the softness of your lips put his mind in a haze. His hand timidly slid down to your waist, bringing you closer to him, and you willingly went, deepening the kiss as you did. 

After a few blissful moments you finally broke away from his lips, your noses nearly brushing each other as you looked up at him through glimmering eyes. “I was almost convinced I would have to do that myself...” 

Kenny breathed a soft chuckle, not taking his gaze off of yours. “To be honest, so was I...” 

You grinned at his burning cheeks, releasing a light chuckle of your own before reconnecting your lips for another kiss, swallowing the muted grunt that rumbled from Kenny’s throat. 

Things were going to get better now. For both of you, you were sure of it. Kenny was finally going to have someone who would show him what it’s like to be truly wanted and appreciated, and you were going to have someone who wouldn’t dream of hurting you and who you knew would always do his best to understand you, give you everything he could give. 

Maybe this whole witness protection program thing wouldn’t be such a tedious affair, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again for helping me @gladerscake​ , you’re the sweetest ❤

[yespolkadotkitty]

i think it’s fair to say that i’ve fallen far too in love with your zach one shots — not only do you capture his persona so well, it genuinely feels like i’m watching an episode of brothers & sisters

also, your ricky one shot was also so so so good!! you have no idea how grateful we all are that you pluck these characters from obscurity and portray their defining characteristics so accurately while also adding the loveliest fluffiest fluff of all time

i was wondering if you would consider writing a jealous!zach one shot? ngl, the (mutual) pining mixed with jealousy trope is my guilty pleasure and i feel like jealous zach would be 11/10

anyway, just wanted to say you’re fucking amazing and i adore your writing — i hope you’re having a great day!!

THANK YOU FOR THIS LOVELY ASK

(NB: Ok I know this is not Zach but it COULD be. It’s the right year. There are SO FEW pics of Zach so let’s just go with it).

Words: 1700 ~ Warnings: jealousy, pining, angst, fluff, one awesome kiss

Pairing: Zach Wellison x gn!reader

************

YOU: Is it wrong to be attracted to the super in my building?

BFF: Why would it be wrong? Use it to curry favour! Get stuff fixed faster! What is he/she like?

YOU: Tall. Tanned. Dark blond. Has a tattoo - military maybe? Sexiest voice ever.

BFF: If you don’t get him, I will.

You set your phone down and smiled.

Maybe I should say something.

Zach had been the building super of your apartment block for the last three months. He was a massive improvement on the last guy, who spent his days playing Zelda and smoking weed and very occasionally getting off his ass to fix stuff.

He’d been to your place - conveniently next door to his, he had a live-in type gig - four times. The garbage disposal, the leaky faucet, the faucet again, and then the window.

Notes could be left in his mailbox downstairs by tenants who needed assistance. He always responded the same day, the next day at the very latest, and he always tried to arrange a time with the occupant that suited them.

He’d gotten all greasy and wet fixing the faucet, his plaid button-down clinging to him, and eventually he’d stripped it off, revealing a tattoo you hadn’t been brave enough to try and examine properly, and some serious biceps.

Next time I see him, you promise yourself.

BFF: Btw, what’s happening with the dude at no 16?

YOU: Nothing.

You’d engaged in a mild flirtation with the well-built guy across the hall. Sometimes he got your mail in his box by mistake and he dropped it off, but lately he hadn’t engaged with you, and you began to think he was just being friendly.

The next day, before you could properly think of what to write down for Zach, the washing machine that came with your place started to leak. You noticed when trying to take your clothes out of it.

“Crap!”

Rather than put a note in his box, you knocked on Zach’s door.

He opened it after a minute, surprise sketched on his handsome face, hair ruffled, sweat beading at the neck of his t-shirt. Past him, you could see weight lifting equipment on the floor, along with a small speaker playing 70s rock.

“Fleetwood Mac?” You ask, smiling. “They’re my favourite.”

“No kidding?” A smile tipped up one corner of his mouth. “So... “ His brown eyes met yours, warm, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I hate to bother you directly, but my washer’s busted - leaking.”

“It’s no bother.” He glanced behind him. “Give me five, okay? I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks so much, Zach.”

He nods and closes the door. You’re about to turn back to your apartment when Well Built Guy - Damon, you think his name is - comes out of his own apartment.

“Hey,” he greets you.

“Oh, hey. How are you?”

He pushes a hand through his short, black hair. His single earring glints in the daylight; gives him a pleasingly piratical look. “I’m good. How are you?”

“Yeah, good - thanks.” You move again.

“Wait.” He takes a step closer in the small hall. “I was wondering if you - if you wanted to get coffee sometime? This place two blocks over does an amazing dark roast.”

“Oh, well-”

You’re cut off when Zach’s door swings open. He’s changed into a clean shirt, a forest-green henley, and he carries a faded red toolbox. His gaze darts between you and Damon, wary, and for a second, his mouth turns down.

As quickly as you see it, it’s gone.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he mutters, to you. “Can I go in?”

“I’ll let you in, Zach.” You turn your attention to Damon.”Catch you later?”

“Sure, sweet thing.”

He’s called you the nickname before but it’s never chafed until today.

Zach doesn’t react as you come to the door and let him in.

“Thanks for coming by so quickly.”

He doesn’t look at you. “You didn’t have to cut your time with your boyfriend short.” He sets his toolbox down by the washer and kneels, unbothered by the pool of water that begins to leech into the pale denim of his jeans.

“He isn’t my boyfriend.”

Zach sets about exploring the washer. “Okay.”

“He isn’t.” You stuff your hands in your pockets. “You want some coffee?”

For the first time, he looks up at you, and the expression in his honey-brown eyes is scraped bare, and then he looks away and the connection is lost. “Sure. Thanks. Black, one sugar.”

You busy yourself, just a few feet away - your kitchen is not big by any stretch of the imagination.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.” He’s absorbed, only his waist and ass sticking out from the drum of the washer.

You potter off to do some work.

An half hour later, Zach knocks on the door of your tiny office - the only other “room” of your studio aside from the bathroom. 

“All fixed.”

“Thank you so much, Zach.”

He swipes the back of his hand over his forehead, leaving a smear of grease. “No problem.”

“You’ve got a-” You reach up, every nerve on end, wanting to touch him.

A knock sounds at your door.

Dammit.

“Sorry,” you mutter.

You swing the door open and Damon is there with two coffees.

“I was on my way back from the office,” he says. “I thought you might like to - oh, the super’s still there. Not fixed yet, pal?”

Damon says it innocuously but you see Zach’s shoulders tense.

“Nope, all good.” He rubs the palms of his hands together in a “that’s done” gesture. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“... Place next door is this amazing Italian,” Damon is saying, oblivious. “It’s pretty pricey but I’d love to take you there.”

Zach pushes between you and out of the door, but you see the crestfallen set of his shoulders as he goes.

The door swings shut behind him and you turn back to Damon, resigned to see this conversation out, and to make it clear that he’s kind, but you aren’t interested.

*******

That evening, you take the stairs down to the communal gym in your building. Well. Gym is stretching it. There’s one ancient rowing machine, one treadmill, a barbell that has seen much better days, and a CRT TV that only shows Judge Judy. But, you don’t have to pay for it, so it beats a gym contract elsewhere in the city.

When you push through the door, Zach is on the treadmill, earphones in. He’s wearing a sleeveless vest and your gaze is drawn to his intricate tattoo - an eagle perched on a world, an anchor hugging the globe. Marines.

Wow, you think - wow.

Sweat trickles down the back of his neck, and his thick, dark gold hair curls around his nape.

Now or never.

You walk over to the treadmill and drop your gym bag to announce your presence.

Zach turns, does a double take, and then presses a button on the treadmill to slow it down. He pulls his earphones out.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Zach.”

Curiosity flits across his features. “Something you need?”

You swallow. He looks so good, his pale gold skin slick with clean sweat, his breath coming in soft pants, his chest rising and falling, lean muscles delineated by the clinging vest.

“No. I mean, yes.”

“And you can’t get the guy at 16 to help?” he snarks.

You step back.

“Sorry,” Zach says, immediately. “I just…”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you assure Zach.

Above his head, on the TV, Judge Judy silently reprimands a woman with six face piercings.

“He could be. Guy like him. Good job. He’d take you to fancy Italian places.”

You curl your hand around the arm of the treadmill. “Maybe I don’t want to go to fancy Italian places.”

Zach huffs out a breath, but you have his interest.

“Maybe I’d just like to hang out with you.”

Suspicion narrows his eyes. “Why?”

“Maybe I like you? Did you consider that? Maybe, for some bizarre reason, I think you’re nice and attractive?” you wave your arms, frustrated.

Zach folds his arms across his chest, pursing his lips. “I used to be a Marine, but I had to resign my commission because I got hit hard with PTSD. I lived on the street for two years.”

You hold his gaze as he speaks. 

“Why are you telling me this?”

But then you know. He’s telling you so you’ll turn tail and go back to Damon, with his suits and fancy haircut and ability to take you out for $100 dinners.

He expects you to turn him down.

Because that’s what happens. What has happened and what he thinks will happen now.

Zach firms his lips and shakes his head slightly.

“Just go,” he says, so softly, mistaking your silence for pity, rather than resolve.

“No.” Instead, you lean up on your toes and touch your lips to his.

He starts, and then holds perfectly still. You break the kiss, and look up into his face, and he’s gazing at you like you hung the moon and all the stars.

“I like you, Zach,” you whisper. “And I don’t care if our first date is a picnic in the park.”

He blinks, turning away from you for a second, and then he ducks under the arm of the treadmill, and he’s so close that you breath catches. 

“I’ve thought about this,” he murmurs, and then he cups your face in his hands and kisses you like he means it, lips and teeth and tongue, and it’s everything.

You spear your fingers into his hair and breathe him in, press yourself against the hard wall of his chest, sigh his name against his lips.

“I gotta shower,” he says, with clear reluctance, his voice half an octave lower, unsteady from a kiss that has rocked both your worlds. “Then, let’s see about that picnic.”

**********

Zach Pit & permanent taglist: @mrschiltoncat @astroboots @songsformonkeys @biblioworm @aeryntheofficial @thirstworldproblemss @wheresarizona @pedropascalito @knittingqueen13 @alwaysbethewest @agirllovespancakes @f0rever15elf @heatherbel @frannyzooey @lannister-slings-and-arrows @sarahjkl82-blog @thedazeinmylife @holographic-carmen @idreamofboobear @fromthedeskoftheraven @disgruntledspacedad @chicken-nugget-puta @miulola @nelba @alienprincesspoop @tardisfangurl @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @mylonelylittleappreciation @filthybookworm @absurdthirst @thestrawberry-thief @lilangeldevil006 @marydjarin @jedi-mando @havenforafrazzledmind @myoxisbroken @10-96dispatcher @stormtrooperofficerbrowneyes @mrsparknuts @roxypeanut

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, a-wolf-and-his-boy!

For @a-wolf-and-his-boy. I hope you enjoy this work, I had fun writing it.

Read On AO3

*****

A Summer Night's Ball

Chapter 1 - The Ball and Garden

“Come on, Stiles. Everybody is going to be there and who knows, you might run into your mate!” Scott said. He was (unsuccessfully) trying to tug Stiles from his bed without ripping any blankets. “Sitting in a ball of misery isn’t going to help things. So Lydia isn’t the one for you, so what? You’ll find someone just as good.”

Stiles poked his head out of the cocoon of blankets he’d made to say, “Scott, there’s not going to be anyone as good as Lydia and I’m probably doomed to be alone for the rest of my very short life. Just because you met your mate at the masquerade ball doesn’t mean I’ll meet mine. Why is that even still a thing? There are better ways to meet people than dancing with a bunch of masked strangers that you’ll never see again.”

Scott made a grab for Stiles’ head, getting a handful of hair before Stiles could retreat back into his cocoon. “It’s the biggest event in the country and plenty of people go to see if they might find their mate.” Scott grew claws on the hand not holding Stiles and slowly brought it closer to the chunk of hair in his grasp. “So get out of bed or you’ll be getting a new haircut this minute.”

“Don’t mess with the hair, dude!” Stiles tried to toss the covers off, knocking Scott off-balance who ended up falling on top of him.

“No crushing the Stiles either. Get off of me.” Stiles shoved Scott to the side, who ended up on the floor given how small the bed was. Stiles got up and reached for his closet doors only for Scott to stop him.

“Dude, my mom and your dad got something for you to wear to it so go to the bathroom and change into the clothes hanging in there and then we can go.” Scott turned Stiles around and shoved him out of his bedroom. Stiles mumbled as he walked to the bathroom about the traitor keeping him out of his own kingdom, got in and saw a full suit hanging. Never had Stiles felt so betrayed since that time in school when Scott refused to watch Star Wars with him, only to end up watching it with Allison later that year. After changing into the uncomfortable outfit, Stiles got out and saw Scott in a similar suit, though thankfully not matching like a couple. Both of them were wearing half-masks covering only the upper half of their faces, one of the more traditional choices. The bright red mask Stiles wore was slightly less traditional but he’d already given in to wearing appropriate clothes, he wasn’t going to wear a boring white mask too. He’d worn it to every ball and he wasn’t going to break that streak for anyone, luckily it looked like their parents knew that since the mask matched with his suit.

“Well, let’s get going. Sooner I’m done with this, sooner I can go back to my den of despair, misery and hopeless pining.” Stiles said.

“That’s the spirit! Who knows, I still think you might meet someone.” Scott said.

“And that’s why I have you, a ball of infinite optimism and sunshine.” Stiles said. The pair got into Stiles’ old beaten jeep and went to the old castle near the center of Beacon Hills. The country’s royal family lived elsewhere (nobody sure where the Hales currently lived after their last home burned down. Luckily, none of them were hurt.) but the castle itself was still used for major events like the Annual Ball that happened in the summer on the solstice. Being a spark, Stiles knew it was one of the major days of performing magic and the ball was originally a ritualistic event performed by the community to shelter them from anything evil. Nowadays, there were quicker, easier and safer methods so the ritual itself had stopped but the gatherings took on a new purpose. They were a chance for people to get together and possibly meet their mate or let people gossip about the latest incident or talk business. It was a day devoted to love according to the romantics like Scott or business to the less romantic like Stiles.

They pulled into the designated parking lot, almost full because it had taken Scott a long time to drag Stiles out so the pair were late since it started at six pm and it was close to eight and sunset. Stiles was feeling a little jitterier than normal, his spark was acting up a little but he put it down to what always happened at this event. It wasn’t like that last year when part of the Hale family didn’t show up but that was a coincidence as far as Stiles was concerned. After walking past the security, they entered the crowded ballroom.

“I’m supposed to meet Allison near the refreshments table so I’ll be heading on over. Go socialize a little, maybe dance a bit. My mom should be floating around if you are really bored but I think she finally got your dad off for one of these things and invited him.” Scott said.

“Dude, you should’ve told me that earlier and I would’ve come without a fight!” Stiles said. He gestured a little too strongly and almost hit a woman next to the pair. She glared at him and walked away so he turned back to Scott. “We’ve been trying to get them together for ages now, I thought it was agreed we tell each other any developments pronto.”

“I thought you already knew! You always seem to know everything before I find out so I thought you knew about them coming together too. Look on the bright side, we might be brothers soon!” Scott held his hand out with Stiles giving him a high five. Scott turned and his face took on a dopey grin.

“Guess I can’t bother Melissa then. She’d kill me if I ruined her chance.” Stiles noticed Scott was no longer paying attention to him. He shoved Scott and said, “Go on, I know where your mind is.”

“Thanks, Stiles. I’ll see you in a couple hours. My mom said we could be out as late as we want so don’t expect me to ride back with you.” Scott blurted out and then took off running, knocking a couple people over in his rush to get to his mate. Stiles shook his head and walked the opposite direction, the band switching over from the high-paced song they had been playing when the pair walked in to something slower. Stiles spotted his dad and Scott’s mom on the dance floor, swaying to the song, his dad in a similar suit to him and Scott while Melissa was in a matching dress. It was obvious they have been planning this for some time now and Stiles was pretty disappointed he hadn’t seen this before Scott.

The area near the dance floor was crowded as can be, a mix of people leaving the floor and trying to get on causing a traffic jam with no end in sight so Stiles gave up on dancing after trying for a few minutes. Spotting an exit nearby, Stiles took it to get some fresh air and maybe see what else he could see in the castle. While it was generally open to the public, there were still some parts that were off limits that he might be able to see this time around, even though he’d tried last year and failed so badly his dad had to bail him out. The exit he took led to a hallway he’d been in before, with less guards around to block him from snooping luckily. He peaked in a few doors only to see empty rooms with no furniture. Some had obvious cobwebs in the doorways and dust stir after he opened the door so that was a major disappointment for Stiles. He’d been hoping for something interesting given he was never allowed in but the rooms were filled with nothing after nothing after nothing.

His last hope for anything of interest was the last door at the end of the hall. With a quick charm, he was able to unlock the door and exit into what must have been a garden. He hung his jacket from a nearby tree branch and placed his mask on top of it, glad for some cool air after being inside the hot room. Most of the gardens were open to the public so he figured he’d probably seen this place before during daytime. He turned to leave until he noticed the large white wolf statue in the center straight ahead on the path from the door. That was something he had never seen before. Stiles approached the statue, noticing that the fur was extremely detailed, every strand was lovingly carved. The wolf was posed as if to threaten any intruders, teeth bared as if in anger.

He was almost to the statue when he heard a growl which he jumped and thought came from the statue itself until he heard it again. Turning around, he saw a large black wolf, eyes glowing a haunting yellow, staring right at him and felt a shock at the sight from his spark. He froze and saw the wolf do the same before it took a deep breath and softly whined at him. Stiles had no clue what to do about the obvious werewolf and stood still, slightly trembling. The wolf crouched down and approached him, Stiles wanted to back away but doing that now would be a giant mistake. He had to hope that the wolf wouldn’t do anything to him for obviously trespassing on Hale property.

“Nice sourwolf. No need to get violent. I can go back to the party and we can forget I ever did something this stupid, okay?” Stiles held his hands up in surrender. The wolf was almost to him, still taking what he thought looked like a submissive stance, before it reached him and shoved its nose up against him and loudly breathed in. “Whoa there, don’t you think that’s a little too personal? Buy a guy lunch before you start sniffing him like that at least.”

The wolf rolled its eyes before it gently grabbed his vest and tugged him away from the statue and away from the door he had come from. He followed along since he didn’t have much choice, ending up approaching a small bench that was hidden further into the garden. He saw a basket full of clothes next to a small bump on that side of the bench but ignored it as the wolf shoved him at the bench. He flailed for a moment before landing on the bench, mostly upright. “Hey, be gentle! You could have nudged me and I’d have sat down.” The wolf turned, grabbed the basket by the handle with its mouth and walked behind a bush. “Oh, so that’s for you to change back. Might actually get to talk to the man behind the wolf, huh? Don’t take too long.”

A couple branches shifted and one cracked loudly while he waited, probably the wolf turning back into human form while crouched down, Stiles guessed. A hoarse masculine voice said, “You aren’t in trouble for coming back here. I didn’t expect to find my mate here but I’m glad to see the white wolf is still looking out for my family.”

The man came out fully only in a shirt and jeans, eyes no longer glowing a bright gold. It was hard to tell what his looks were from how late it was getting until the man walked right by Stiles and pressed something on the other side of the bench and lights sprang to life in the garden. The gentle glow illuminated all the flowers, breathtaking in how they were arranged like rays of the sun coming from the center where the wolf statue was vaguely seen from where they were.

Stiles looked the man over, his shirt was tight against muscles he’d love to see, stubble he’d love to rub his face against but the eyes were the man’s best feature. They sparkled in the light, flecks of gold and possibly other colors glittering within. His admiration of the man’s perfect body halted when he registered what he said. “What do you mean, mate?”

“Can’t you feel the bond? I knew from your scent you were my mate. I have been catching your scent at these things for years, today was the first time I’ve seen you. I never expected my mate to be the local sheriff’s son.”

“And who are you? You’re obviously a werewolf, you are allowed back here and are an unmated man so you have to be a Hale but there are a couple it could be.”

“Derek Hale.” Derek stepped forward, hand out for Stiles to grab. “Grab my hand and you should recognize the pull if you haven’t already.

Stiles looked at him, eyes slightly squinted, before grabbing Derek’s hand and felt his spark leap out of his skin, reaching deep inside the werewolf to embrace Derek, both man and wolf. Stiles lost his footing but Derek pulled him close, holding him steady against his chest.

“Now do you feel it?” Derek said.

“Yeah.” Stiles breathed out. It took a couple moments for him to steady himself but he didn’t leave Derek’s embrace. “So what do we do next?”

“I was hoping you can come meet my family, they’ll be thrilled to see I’ve found my mate. It will have to be after the ball ends, could I convince you to stay until then?”

“I think that can be arranged.” Stiles said, pulling Derek down to sit next to him on the bench. “Why don’t we sit here and get to know each other a little before you drag me in front of your family.”

“Deal.” Derek said. “But can I have a kiss first so we can seal the deal? I’d rather do that here under the stars, in the garden, with nobody around to see.”

“Fine with me, dude.” Stiles said.

“Don’t call me dude.” Derek said.

“I’ll call you dude if I want, sourwolf. Guess you’ll have to shut me-” Stiles said before Derek interrupted by kissing him, slightly too forceful and at an awkward angle that soon changed to something much more enjoyable.

Derek pulled away and said, “Good to know that works.” He kissed Stiles again, the garden hiding the pair from other eyes while they found ways to entertain themselves while waiting for the party to end.

TBC On AO3!

[vidkid20ssimblrlair]

Episode 15: The Dinner (Part 1)

I can't remember the last time I dressed up. I was never the type. A black t-shirt, a nice pair of jeans, and some jewelry was my formal wear. Instead, I was sitting here in an itchy blue knit sweater and dress pants. I felt ridiculous.

"You look nice...for once," Matthew said sounding almost sincere.

I looked up to see Matthew. He wore a brown sweater, slacks, and glasses. He looked strangely normal. Like someone's douchey dad. He sat down one chair away from me at the end of the table. Too close for comfort for my liking. I turned my back to him ignoring him. As expected he wouldn't take such an insult quietly.

"You know this dinner is for you. I agreed to this," he said scowling. "Just so you know."

I scoffed. "Oh and I'm supposed to thank you or something? Fuck off."

"Well, getting along I see..."

We both looked up to see Madison standing over us now. She sat down between us. She looked different. Less boyish. She was all dolled up in a floral dress, earrings, and heels. Makeup adorned her face. It even smelled like she was wearing perfume. I caught myself staring at her in shock and looked away. Matthew, on the other hand, look like an idiot with his mouth hanging open. He was practically drooling.

"You look...well...um nice," I mumbled blushing. Too chicken shit to even look her way.

"Wow. Thank you, Vince," she said smiling.

"You look better than nice. You look beautiful," Matthew burst. He then looked over her shoulder and smirked at me. The smug bastard.

"Thank you, Matt. Very nice of you. You look nice as well actually. Both of you," she said studying us. "Those are nice sweaters"

"Yeah. Yeah. Where's Audrey?" I said waving her away.

"Always the gentleman," Matt scoffed. He pointed at the archway. "She's over there talking to Aaron."

I quickly spotted her and was completely taken aback. Gone were her jeans, messy hair, and blood-soaked oversized jackets. She was dressed to the nine's in a little red dress and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. No bandage in sight. She even had makeup on. She looked like an actual chick for once.

I caught her eye as I gaped at her like an idiot and she looked embarrassed looking away. I cringed staring at whatever I could to hide my own embarrassment, but I glanced over to see she was headed my way. I cursed under my breath and sat up with my back to her. When she stood over me I turned around as if I hadn't seen her.

"Hey. Sup! Didn't know you were there."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

"So um...you look...decent."

She shook her head and smirked. "Decent. Well, you look pretty decent yourself."

"So how's the head?"

She smiled and turned around. She pointed to a partially shaved head and in the back was stitches. "It's better. Said the stitches should be coming out soon.

"That great."

"Yeah, and I got a cool haircut out of it too. It's probably going leave a gnarly scar. It's going to be badass."

Madison chuckled. "Would you like to sit here, Audrey? I can move."

"No. I don't think so," she said cutting her eye at me and frowning. "I promised to sit next to Grace's tonight. Besides, I'll be right across from you."

She didn't utter another word. She nodded and took her place across the table next to Grace. The two exchanged pleasantries as Omar joined them. Her gaze making sure not to meet mine.

"Decent?" Madison reiterated. She laughed. "I hope she looks better than decent. I helped pick out her outfit and did her makeup."

"I think she looks lovely," Matt injected grinning stupidly.

I rolled my eyes at him choosing to keep my mouth shut. It was then I was greeted by two morons arguing behind me. Not loud enough to wake the dead or garner the attention of the rest of the room, but loud enough to get the attention of the three of us. We all turned around to see it was Nathan and Aaron. Both in grey suits bickering.

"You said once she was better, you would give me my letter. That was the terms of our agreement! Now she's better, so please give it to me!"

"I'll give it to you after dinner."

"No. I want it now. That letter is very dear to me."

He frowned searching around in his pockets. "Look, it's somewhere here. I just got to find..."

"You lost it?!"

I groaned. "Can you two shut the fuck up?"

"He has my letter," Aaron continued to whine.

"What letter?" Matthew inquired.

"I found a love letter in Aaron's room and decided to use it as an incentive..."

"More like blackmail!"

Matthew stared at the two of them looking utterly confused while Madison seemed amused watching them.

"Who's it from?" she asked completely enthralled. "Sounds romantic."

Nathan shrugged. "Some chick named Alex."

"Parker!"

"Oh, is that your wife?"

He sighed. "No. Just someone very dear to me."

Nathan then pulled a small letter out of his pocket and held it up. "Found it."

"Give it to me!"

Matthew seemed to be growing just as annoyed as me. "Just give him the letter already, Nate. Dinner will be starting."

"She must be really hot to be this hung up on a letter though," Nathan said cheekily. He held the letter up just out of the doctor's reach. "Come on give me the details. Is she hot?"

"Parker, please!"

He winked. "I'll give you a letter if you tell me."

"It was a he! A ‘he’! Are you happy now?! I loved him and that letter was the last thing he gave to me. Now please give it here and leave me be!" he cried loudly.

Everyone seemed to hear him and froze. The room grew completely silent. Matthew and Maddison looked stunned. Nathan stood wide-eyed and held out the letter looking dazed. The doctor snatched it glaring at all of us.

“Thanks a lot,” he snarled. He stuffed the note in his suit pocket and stormed up the stairs. His face a mask of anger. 

Nathan stammered. “Wait. Aaron..I..I..”

Lin stood in the doorway with a glass in her hand. She took a drink and smirked. “Well, this is an interesting dinner already.”

Wade then entered the room. He joined us at the table and sat down next to Nathan looking like a country hick straight out of the 70s in his formal attire.

"Hey, I just ran into Aaron in the hall. He looked pissed. Did I miss something?" he perplexed.

"You missed everything and nothing", Lin cooed sitting down next to him.

"I don't know what the hell that means, but did you have anything to do with you huh?" he asked leaning over to Nathan. He smirked. "You look like you lost a bet and some, boy."

"Wade...now is not the time," Nathan mumbled looking utterly miserable with a full glass of wine beside him.

"Leave him alone, Wade," Lin said rasing to her feet. "He a wounded animal who stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. You know how that feels right? Being an animal and all."

"Oh, real funny. A real comedian you are," he huffed as he watched silver tongue Lin slink away.

The awkwardness of earlier dissipated and our host, Mr. Jones entered the room garnering everyone's attention. The only remnants left was Nathan's unusually quiet and sadden demeanor. Then there was Audrey making it a point to ignore me again despite sitting across from each other. She talked gleefully with Grace and even sprung up a conversation with DJ at some point as dinner was being served. In fact, both DJ and Tao seemed to be all over her fighting for her attention. Pretty typical for young little dudes, but I couldn't help but be annoyed as she chatted with him as if I wasn't there.

"Vince... Vince!"

"What?!"

"The least you can do is answer me," Lin spat. "I'm trying to serve you, dickhead."

To my amazement, I was served three slices of roast meat. I look around to see the table with servings of food scattered about and plates in front of each individual. It was no giant feast, but I was pretty impressed. It almost looked like a dream. I picked up the fork ready to dig in. Not even paying attention to my surroundings, but Madison slapped my hand bringing me back to reality.

"Wait," she whispered pointing at the head of the table beside me where Mr. Jones now stood. "Prayer."

I bowed my head and closed my eyes as prayer was said. I don't think I’ve heard prayer or even had anything close to this in a while. The last time I had sat down for a proper family dinner was at my Mom's house for Thanksgiving. My daughter, Mya. My girlfriend and Mya's mom. Uncles. Aunts. Cousins. My grandmother. They were all there. All so vivid, but simply memories now. Would I ever see them again?

Once prayer was done, we all proceeded with dinner. I wasted no time digging into my plate while some took small bites cautiously. Things went pretty typical from there. A few laughs were shared. Lin teased Wade as usual. DJ and Tao took a break from fawning over Audrey to fling food at each other. Everyone just basically goofing off and chatting. It felt nice. It felt normal. It felt comfortable.

Mr. Jones stood up clearing his throat and the chatter died down. He beamed. "This has been quite an evening and it's all thanks to our two newest friends, Vince and Audrey."

"They didn't fill those bellies though," DJ joked loudly causing some to chuckle.

"Oh, hush you," his grandfather said smirking. "Now's let's go around the table. Each say something about ourselves."

"Yeah. How about our professions? I often wonder what the hell you all got up to before the dead took over," Madison said. "I know some of your stories, but not everyone. I'm especially curious about you, DJ."

"Being as fly as fuck was my job," DJ jested winking.

"Oh, give me a break," Jones moaned causing everyone to laugh again. He sat down in his chair and leaned over to me. "How about you, Mr. Martez?"

I stared at him at feeling beads of sweat form on my face.

"How about you go first?"

Previous Episode

All Episodes

Part 2 is next. More to be revealed and not the last you’ll see of an Aaron. Bringing back the vote/poll soon too. :)

[roggling]

I really like this police officer Lance thing you’ve got going on! Dispatch tells him of a dispute between two people (Lotor and Sendak) and hunk and Keith show up to give Lance some backup (no ships required, tho I am a HUGE fan of heith, hunk x Keith)

Of course! 

Lance drives his Dodge Charger police car through the streets, munching on a donut. The police scanner giving off a monotonous background while notifying him of the “action”. Most calls were just about noise complaints (which is, coincidentally, how he met his girlfriend, Katie), car crashes (not his department) and drunk parties (again, reminds him of his girlfriend.

He’s currently on his lunch break and, even though he doesn’t have to continue his patrol, he doesn’t mind driving ‘round the streets. He could have gone to visit Katie, but she’s taking a final for her class in a few minutes. Once she passes, because there is no doubt she will, she’ll get her masters in computer engineering two years early. He smiled and pulled into the gas station to send another supportive text to his girlfriend.

Knock ‘em dead, babe.

He walked into the gas station and paid for numerous Reese’s peanut butter cups for Katie. After paying for five (yes, he likes spoiling his little genius) he looks down at his phone and chuckles when he reads her snappy remark.

I swear to the ancients, Lance. If you continue sending me more “supportive” texts, I will castrate you in your sleep.

Lance smirked as he sent another text.

Awwww, babe, then you’ll never get to show me what you can do.

It was an inside joke from the first time they met and, although it was four months ago, Lance still found amusement in the quip.

Lance threw the Reese’s in the passenger seat and sat comfortably in his seat before he heard his phone yell the Captain America theme song. 

When Captain America throws his mighty shield, All those who chose to oppose must yield-

Lance chuckled and picked up the phone, “What’s up, Doc?”

He could hear Shiro sigh from the other side of the call and he anticipated his next words, “Stop with the Looney Tunes references, you’ve got an assignment.”

Lance pulled out of the gas station, “And why didn’t you call my radio?”

Shiro sighed again, “Because we both know you are more likely to answer the phone than the radio. You need to work on that by the way.”

Lance rolled his eyes and changed the subject, “Whatever, what happened?”

“Lotor got into another ‘discussion’,” Shiro’s exasperation was evident in his voice.

Lance groaned, “Ugh, okay. That dude has got to learn to keep his anger down. He always acts all cool and stuff, but when it comes to his ‘honor’, he’ll stab a guy.”

“Lance,” Shiro warned, “Don’t talk about Lotor like that. He’s a nice dude.”

“He almost killed us,” Lance deadpanned.

“That’s an exaggeration, the bullet missed our heads by an inch,” Shiro answered quickly, “Just get there and break it up before it goes too far.”

Lance groaned again, “I’m a police officer, not a babysitter.”

Shiro didn’t get to hear that part since he already hung up. Lance sighed and turned on the police lights and siren and sped towards the address Shiro sent him.

“I was your father’s right-hand man!”

“You may have been my father’s favorite nephew, but you do not inherit my father’s wealth. My father put my name on the papers. The company is mine!”

Lance sighed in annoyance and pulled up to the curb. He saw Sendak, Lotor’s sociopathic cousin waving a gun at Lotor, who was holding a machete. He could see teens peering through their windows with their phones. There was a nearby playground where some neighborhood kids played without their parents.

Lance shrank into his seat when he heard Sendak shoot at Lotor, who dodged, followed by a threat, “Fine! If I can’t inherit the company while you’re alive, maybe I’ll get it once you’re dead!”

Sendak shot again at Lotor, who dodged again, and he began shooting blindly, almost hitting the window to kid��s room.

Lance went into action and sprinted out of the car, “TPD, put the gun down!”

Lance stood firm in Lotor’s front lawn and had the gun aimed right at Sendak’s head. Sendak smirked at Lance’s smaller figure and spat, “You think you can stop me, McClain. You couldn’t stop me from beating you up in high school, you think you can stop me now that I have a gun aimed at your heart?”

Lance shot a bullet, hitting the wall right next to Sendak’s ear, “Yes.”

“Oh God, that was so hot,” a teen next door yelled from her room (Lance smirked, but now was not the time to be smug about his good looks).

Sendak only got even angrier and aimed the gun at Lance, “Get outta here, officer, before things get ugly.”

Suddenly, a flash behind Sendak caught Lance’s eye and he smirked when the new ally spoke up, “They already have douchebag.”

Behind Sendak, a big, burly, Hawaiian stood with his arms crossed, displaying his huge muscles. Hunk narrowed his eyes at the equally large enemy and Lance smiled, “You think you can take us now, tough guy!”

Sendak roared and threw a punch at Hunk and shooting at Lance. Lance rolled over the grass on the lawn, his police cap falling, and shot back. He was careful to not hit Hunk and aimed for key points that won’t kill Sendak. He didn’t earn the title of the PD’s best aim for no reason.

Dodging Sendak’s blind shots were tricky and he was hit a few times (he thanked the bulletproof vest Allura recently developed for the PD). Lance paused for a while to catch his breath and he saw Lotor helping people out of the way and leading them to safety.

Lance panted, “Least he could do, jerk.”

Lance waited for a second too long and he was hit in the shoulder. He groaned and fell on his side, his hand grabbing the wound and pressing on it as he tried to get up.

“Lance!” Hunk yelled as he tackled Sendak to the ground. Lance looked at his surroundings, Lotor was desperately trying to get the kids away from the scene and he turned their heads when they tried to see what all the yelling was about.

Lance got up on his feet and he took aim, but the world was starting to seem blurry and he fell on his side again. Sendak, even though he was tackled down, was still able to shoot Lance’s side one more time. Lance screamed in pain and brought his hand up to muffle it, still aware that the teenaged neighbor was watching the scene. He looked up and saw that Lotor also evacuated the girl.

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted off the floor and he saw the blurred image of a terrible haircut. Lance smiled and quipped, “About time mullet.”

He could have sworn he heard Keith chuckle, but he wasn’t sure.

“Sorry, that car chase was longer than I thought it was going to be. Don’t worry, Hunk and I will handle this, just focus on breathing, buddy.”

Lance smiled and let Keith take him to the ambulance Lotor called.

Yep, another day at work.

“And then Keith beat the crud out of Sendak. I seriously thought the dude was done for,” Hunk debriefed Katie as she jogged to her boyfriend’s hospital room.

Behind the two followed Keith, Lotor, Shiro, and Allura as they tore through the halls looking for room 108. The group reached the room and Katie stood in the doorway, sighing as she saw her boyfriend stuffing a garlic knot in his mouth.

Lance froze mid-chew and swallowed his mouth’s contents in one gulp before smiling, “Hey, babe.”

Pidge rolled her eyes and walked up to Lance’s side and bending down to give him a few short kisses before lightly slapping him, “Idiot.”

Lance’s jaw dropped in offense and he pointed at Shiro, “He ordered me to!”

Shiro rose his hands in surrender before a fight can start, “Lance was the best man for the job at the time. We weren’t expecting him to shoot.”

Lotor glared at Shiro, “I didn’t tell you that my cousin was a power-sociopath for nothing,” Lotor gave Lance a guilty look, “I’m just glad there were no casualties.”

Lance glared at Lotor, “I still don’t like you.”

Lotor sighed, “I am aware.”

Allura walked up to Lotor and grabbed her boyfriend’s hand, “Well, it’s all over now. You don’t have to worry about your cousin going after you and you can tend to Galra Enterprises’s business deals.”

Lance glared at the couple and was about to say something before Pidge changed to subject. She looked at Keith and Hunk and thanked them, “Thanks, you two. For making sure he comes back to me. And, thanks, Keith, for calling me right after.”

Keith shrugged and Hunk smiled, his black beard following his mouth and bending up as well.

Katie glared at Shiro, “And, you mister,” she pointed, “You may be my brother’s best friend, but I will not hesitate to end you if you send my man on another dangerous mission alone.”

Lance blushed and Shiro nervously chuckled at Katie’s threat, having known her longer than the rest of the group, he grew up with her empty threats, but that one seemed genuine.

Katie then smiled innocently, “Well, if that’s all over,” she gave Lance a longer kiss, “I’m going to smuggle in a beer for us so we can celebrate my aced computer science final.”

Katie left with a triumphant smile, four cops wondering whether they should tell her she’ll get kicked out. It’s not like she cared anyway.

[abdicatedarchive]

nessvul vs. edcom || eddie and vanessa

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: litwaks arcade and the icecream place // spring 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: eddie x vanessa.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: eddie runs into vanessa unexpectedly after a bad day. it becomes one of his favorite days of all time.

Vanessa loved coming to the arcade, of course she had a gaming system set up and it was top of the line but nothing was better than this ambience. Marvel vs. Capcom: infinite was the game she choice to play today. Beating multiple people with Morrigan alone she was feeling herself. People looked at her and assumed she didn't know how to play, one person told her she looked to soft to be into video games. That was dumb. She just smiled, batted her lashes and destroyed them. "Okay who next, I promise to go easy on you." She clapped her hands, having a ball.  

Eddie had been at the arcade for a while, playing his comfort game. There was nothing like playing Dragons Lair. It brought him back to when his step-dad was trying to get to know him. So when he would ask what Eddie specifically wanted to do once a month ... Eddie always chose the arcade. He didn't want his new dad to teach him to ride a bike or anything like that, he wanted the crowd funding (aka a guilty guy dating his mom) to improve his experience. Eddie had been staring at his friend for a while. She was one of those really cool people that Ricki had introduced himself to, someone Eddie would never have the confidence to approach. But now they were friends. And it turns out she was even cooler than just being a hot girl. She was into all the stuff that they were into. He glanced over to see that the que of people who had lined up to play against her had settled down. Ed heard the call for who was next, and this was his moment. His hands were a little sweaty from being glued to the arcade machine, so he wiped them off on his jeans and headed over to her. "Hey Nessa" said Eddie as casually as possible. She's your friend dude, chillax, he thought to himself. "No need to go easy, I want to get absolutely wrecked" he said with a smile. He had played plenty of Marvel vs Capcom, but this was clearly her game of choice.

The skatepark and the arcade was her first stop even before checking in and doing the tours and the other welcome things. After that she was in the arcade atleast twice a week. At first most people didn't take her seriously, she wore designer clothes and they said she looked like she should be in a mall or a club somewhere. It made her happy to show the nay sayers just how wrong about her they were. Even entering some of the tournaments when it suited her not always winning but being a force to be reckoned with. Hearing her name Ness looked over and smiled brightly at him. "Eddie!" She hugged him before returning ro the controls. "I am in love with that whole sentence." She focused back on the screen. Nessa had met Eddie through a mutual friend and she was sure he would take one look at her and think she was not his cup of tea. She was happily wrong. "Finally someone who can give me a challenge and not just try and check me out the whole time." Nessa was being dramatic she didn't mind it, it was just thay they made it obvious. "We should make this interesting if I win, you have to buy me a well deserved ice cream and brownie."

Eddie smiled when she got all excited, he had done it right. "Totally dude, eyes on the prize" he said, fuck, why did I call her dude? Eddie thought to himself, stupid!. He brushed it off, he was going to be fine. They were friends and that was good. No reason to mess anything up by getting himself rejected. She might not look like a gamer, but she had the heart of one. If she wasn't in this packaging, Eddie probably would have been obsessed in a more realistic way. He just knew she was too far out of his league to even really worry about getting a shot, but then she basically proposed a date after this. "I don't want to take your money, but I'm more than happy to" he said with a laugh, they were going to hang out after this. That was cool. They didn't really ever hang out without Ricki there. He felt his heart rate pick up, but this was about the game. It was focus time. Eddie didn't usually take well to losing, but he figured losing to her best game wasn't too much of an ego hit. He put his hands on the controllers, "Ready when you are" he said giving her a thin lipped smile.

Nessa liked that Eddie didn't treat her like she was some spoiled princess. Maybe cause he didn't know that side of her? Nah she carried that around like a badge of honor. She was a little take back by being called a dude no one ever in her life has called her that but she thought it was cute. "Oooh I love it when you talk shit, so much more satisfying when you lose." She picked her characters. Eddie was cute like could be pretty popular cute but he was smart and the guys she knew never hung out with guys smarter than themselves. Vanessa was smart and she was pretty, plus her parents had money so she could do whatever she wanted. She loved that. Looking over her team again she nodded feeling comfortable in her selection. She moved her hair behind her ear so it wouldn't distract her.  "Let's do this." She pressed the start button and started the fight.

The real reason Eddie treated her like one of the guys is that he didn't really know any other way to do it. If he pursued her, both him and Ricki would probably lose a friend. "I'm just a simple man who likes free ice cream" he joked, putting his hand over his heart, "humbled already, and looking forward to you being humbled". Eddie selected his team and focused in on the game. She wasn't even here, just an NPC like usual. No pretty girl sitting next to him at all, no pretty nails or nice perfume. Just Ed and an old arcade game. The game began, and he put up a good fight but she ultimately did win. There was a lot of yelling, they were probably the loudest people in there. He let out an exhausted breath after they were done, "Fair is fair. Ice cream and a brownie from me to you" he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Me humbled?" She scoffed playfully. Tossing her hair over her shoulders she looked him and flashed him her sweetest smile. "I can taste my victory now." She started looking at the screen. Nessa liked being able to be competitive without being judged. Eddie always matched her energy when it came to playing. Jumping and clapping her hands when she won she looked over him. "Yessir, I humbly accept." She teased. "Before I forget, I went to text you last night and I don't have your number. I wanted to know of you wanted to do D&D. I was going to ask Ricky too." She grabbed her purse and slid the things strap onto her shoulder. " I know you two are a pair." She wasn't sure if they were dating or just really good friends.

She looked cute when she had won, not that she didn't always. Eddie smiled when she remembered that he had mentioned D&D offhandedly. "Yeah man, that would be fucking amazing" he said, not thinking about his language again. Why did he keep reaffirming that she was a man? Clearly not a man. He knew he was gonna beat himself up over that later tonight when he was trying to sleep. "Yeah, has Ricki told you the backstory on that? So we're sort of related in the least related way possible" he said as the two headed out of the arcade. The night air was kind of cold and he had a light jacket with him so he passed it to her nonchalantly. "So his bio dad that helped his moms get pregnant is my step dad. He's never been like in the family, but I like to think he's my brother" he said, giving the shortest version of it that he could.

Every time she hung out with Eddie she got a warm feeling in her body.  She wasn't sure why though, but she did know that he always had her smiling and she actually liked that. " We just need to find some time do campaigns and stuff. I'm free all summer." She wasn't going back home to be bored and she could start the next semesters work a little bit early  "No. He didn't." She felt dumb for her assumption after he told her. " Honestly I thought you two were like together, together." She tried not to laugh. "I'm so sorry babe. It's just that yall are always together and I don't know." She touched his arm. "I'm glad that you guys are close. It's cute."

"Yeah I'm just doing some papers and stuff for kids in summer classes, but other than that I'm free" said Eddie, he was excited about what summer with more friends than just Ricki was going to look like. "It actually happens a lot. We have couple energy apparently, but just best friends" he clarified with a nervous laugh. Did Nessa think he was gay? Well he wasn't not gay, he is bi. But still. Just another little friendzone moment as they were heading down the street to the icecream parlor. He opened up the door for her, "after you" he said as he gestured her to go in.

"Oh good So i won't be alone this summer. Most people are doing the summer camp thing." She shook her head. " I'm kind of hyped were gonna chill. I love Ricky to death but we need to chill just the two of too." She looked up at him. "Unless you don't want to." She hoped that wasn't the case. "I see that I misunderstood but I think it's cute how close you guys are. "She walked into the parlor. "Thank you babe." She went to the counter and ordered a ice cream they could share. "Free for the cute couple." The older lady said giving a wink to Eddie.

This girl wanted to hang out with Eddie one on one? Now this, this was something different. "I'm down, for sure" he said, swallowing hard afterwards. His throat felt really dry. The woman at the register thought they were a couple. How could she possibly think that when Eddie was so awkward. It made him feel pretty good about himself though, like maybe he wasn't. His haircut was in right now, fun when the things you were bullied for in middle school become trendy according to tiktok. "Thank you so much, this one drags me all over town but I insisted we come here" he said with a laugh as he put a big tip into the tip jar. The two headed to the back booth, and Eddie was very confidently ignoring the fact that he was lactose intolerant. The small things you do.

Nessa was happy that he agreed, she didn't want to be bored all summer since most people left and did the counselor thing. She liked kids just not enough to spend hours around them, especially in that summer heat she wasn't sure her hair would agree. She wasn't going to correct the woman it got her a free snack and he looked happy to go along with it. She couldn't help but smile, she shrugged flipped her hair, "I'm going to start listening to him, he knows how to make me happy in more than one way." She winked and watched the lady giggle and her face turned red.  She sat down next to him. " You still owe me, you got lucky with the free snack."

Eddie let out a laugh at Nessa's comment, absolutely uncomfortable at the prospect but intrigued at the idea that he could actually be seeing her. As they sat down next to each other, he nodded, "I do still owe you. A bet is a bet" said the boy. He liked the idea of hanging out with Vanessa again, just the two of them. He hadn't been too painfully awkward yet. "What are you doing this summer? If you're not doing the counselor thing?" he asked, hoping that was a normal enough question.

"I love it when a man can keep his word." she said simply, "Just got to tell me if I get too clingy, I don't want to ruin anything you got going on." she didn't know to much about him or the things that he did besides the whole paper thing. She knew he was smart and liked games. "Do you want some?" she pointed to the ice cream with her spoon. "I get intern at a company, but their pretty chill so I come and go as please. So i do what I need to then I bounce and hit the park or the beach.

Eddie took the other spoon and had a bite of ice cream, "I've got nothing going on really. Just having fun, writing papers and working on some projects. Personal projects, not projects for other people" he clarified. He didn't waste all of his potential on others. "That's cool" Ed responded as he took another bite of ice cream. "Is that typical for you?" he asked, "like a relaxed work environment. I feel like that suits you. No 9-5 for this lady" he said, realizing that he sounded like a total dork. There was nothing smooth about this encounter except for the ice cream, which was totally going to give him hell later.

Nessa nodded as she took a bite of the brownie. "Wow I have like one solid thing and you have like a whole list." She had to hand it to him not many people their age wanted to do more than just chill out for the summer. She nodded as she wiped off some ice cream with her thumb off the corner of his mouth. "Relaxed and gorgeous is my preferred work environment." She teased. A airy chuckle left her lips. " You get me. That 9 to 5 is so 1999." She put down her spoon. " I have a question I have to ask, do you have a significant other that's going to be mad you're spending your summer with me?"

Her hand was touching his face, and how did even her hands smell good?! It was intoxicating. "I mean thank god 9 to 5's do exist, or we wouldn't have gotten the Dolly anthem of the century" said Eddie, a natural smile forming on his face. His cheeks were a little flushed from the physical contact. Now she was asking if he had a significant other, and his cheeks burned redder. "Oh nobody, just vibin right now" said the boy, wondering why that was the verb he chose. And if he truly had been vibin with being single, then he had been straight chillin for the last 20 years. "What about you? Cool guy going to be coming around, upset you're playing DND with a bunch of dorks and skaters?" he asked, trying to see what the situation was. Any and all advice Ricki had given him in the last 20 years falling to the wayside as he forged his own awkward path.

"You listen to Dolly Parton? That's a  huge check in my book." She didn't know to many people that even knew who that was. He kept surprising her, she liked it. It was nice to be around people who weren't trying to impress other people. He blushes, she wasn't sure she saw anyone blush around her. She bit her lip, was it weird she liked that but not in a friend way, like a crush.'You vibe?" She raised her brow in amusement. She wondered if he was really out here vibing with other people or did he mean it in another way. "No, I'm single, single. No one is even looking my way. Its summer and no one is trying to...well you know with me.  It's weird. Hold on sir I also  play dnd, games and skate does that make me a dork too?" She shook her head or am I not cool enough for the whole dork squad.

"Of course I listen to Dolly. She invented theme parks, literacy for children, and fake boobs all while being a really nice person. Dolly Parton is the greatest living legend of all time, take a back seat Bezos. Earth already has a savior" Eddie replied, the statement flowing out of him at a rate which he could not stop. He kind of shrugged when she asked him if he vibed. Vibing wasn't really the term to explain hopeless romantic turned cynic turned hopeless romantic every second of the day. Wake up? Love is dead. See a pretty person on the street? Love is alive. The birds are chirping. Life is here to live it. Don't talk to her? Love is dead. It was a vicious cycle with a very quick return rate. "Queen of the dorks" said Eddie with a kind smile. She really was queen of the dorks. Vanessa enjoyed everything that they liked, and did it while being hot and funny and smart. It was intimidating, but at least the dork stuff made her feel human to him. Like she was one of the guys, just in hot girl packaging.

Nessa listened as she took a bite of the brownie. He had a point Dolly was iconic and the whole world should appreciate her more.  "You're like a true fan, that's kinda hot Eddie." She complimented. He was unapologetically himself and she could learn from that. She was too but he was a better person than her. He wasn't materialistic or unrationally dramatic.  She was happy he didn't see that part of her ge might not want to hang out with her. Ricki was way more laid back so she didn't care he wasn't going to stop being her friend but Eddie was more together. "I like that." She looked at him proudly. She liked being called a Queen mostly, it boosted up her ego. " Thank you, that just made my whole week." She gave him a sweet smile. She wondered if he was this nice to all hos friends or just her? Did it matter?!

He laughed when she said he was hot. Eddie was not hot, at least he assumed not because no one had ever taken an interest in him. It was kind of hard to hit on people, especially when his wingman was really charismatic and cool. Girls always went for Ricki, it was part of the cycle. Like a girl? She goes for your brother who is not your brother. "I'm just saying the truth" he said, grinning at her. This was a moment he was going to remember. A moment where he didn't have any rage inside of him. Just Ed. "This campaigns gonna be a lot of work. Are you ready for the grind?" he teased her. A good DND campaign meant a lot of hours on the table and behind the scenes. Eddie realized he wasn't going to mind much, especially if she was going to be there. He couldn't help but stare at her, he liked her ears. Weird thing to be attracted to, but they were just so ... cute? Was Eddie having a stroke? Because it sort of felt like it.

Nessa ate some more of the ice cream saving him half the brownie. It was nice to see Eddie out of his element, usually he wasn't spotted without Ricki and if Ricki wasn't around she didn't know what he was doing. She adored Ricki but she didn't want to think about him now. She was sure that they probably didn't like it when people compare them to each other. "I'm so ready, so my parents rented me a  condo and i have a room dedicated to this, you can come by and see the set up and help me make it better." she looked over at him. "I mean obviously  we're going to have food but i don't know i it needs fairy lights. I'm trying to make it more cool and so much me." she knew they weren't going to want glittery and cute, soft and comfortable maybe. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at him, "You okay babe?" she could tel he was staring, omg was their something on my teeth or my face? she thought as she panicked internally.

"Yeah I just was disassociating there for a second" said Eddie, the light coming back into his eyes. "I'd love to come over and see it. Even help make dinner, or pick up the takeout. Whatever works for everyone" the boy replied as he took a large spoonful of brownie. "I feel like whatever your vibe is for how you want to decorate is going to be great, don't even think about the boys. It's your space" he encouraged her. If there was one thing he knew nothing about it was how to decorate a space. His whole room at home was just covered in tech and LED lights. Sometimes it was hard to even get to the bed with all the boxes of random things he was working on and had abandoned. Once something became too frustrating, he either broke it or he put it in a box or both. It wasn't exactly an effective system.

Was she that boring he was disassociating, at that moment she didn't know what that actual meant and she would have to to go and Google that later. "Wait can you cook?" She said a bit surprised, Nessa was good at alot of things but cooking was not one of them. "Maybe you could teach me something because honestly I can't cook to save my life."She wasn't even trusted to make scrambled eggs. She was thankful for her Doordash and cafeteria, or she would of starved. "No,I know I just don't want to suffocate you with vanilla candles and Lavender scented beanbag chairs. "Plus your opinion matters to me." Down to earth wasn't her thing she liked the whole drama of it all. Her board was rose gold and glittery.

Eddie smiled at her, "I was a busboy in high school. The kitchen guys let me make my own meals on long shifts. You pick up a few things" he replied, "I would be more than happy to help you out a little." He liked the idea of getting to spend more time with her, especially in her apartment. It would feel like playing couple to some degree. Eddie cocked his head to the side, "they make scented beanbag chairs?" he questioned, never having heard of such a thing ... but honestly it sounded kind of nice. "Anytime you want my opinion, just text me" Eddie encouraged, excited about the DND sanctuary this girl was putting together. She was so fucking cool, how did he ever even become friends with her? Well ... Ricki. But besides that.

Nessa never had a job before, her mother said she didn't have the temperament for someone telling her what to do. Nessa wasn't sure if that was true or not but she didn't question it." Thank you I think its a life skill that I desperately need to learn  if I ever plan on being truly independent or stuck on a island or a zombie apocalypse." She tapped her chin as she thought about it. "Yeah it's suppose to help mellow people out while they sit on them." She started to think it was too much, boys didn't care what things smell like. Well except for her, she always made sure she smelled good. " Don't tell me that and then get mad when I text you for every decision that I need help with." She said seriously. She looked at him and touched his arm softly.

"Cooking lessons it is. We can start easy with a bowl of cereal. I'm pro cereal into the bowl first, oat milk second" said Eddie, "but there are some crazy people that are milk first cereal second". He thought the whole idea was preposterous, but to each their own. Eddie thought about it for a second, "that sounds ... kinda nice actually" he responded in regards to the scented bean bag chair. He thought about how you could definitely get away with farting on it. Then she was touching his arm, and he felt his stomach drop. "Y-you can seriously hit me up anytime with questions" he said, stumbling a little on his words. She was touching him, and she smelled so good.

Nessa couldn't help but chuckle. "I can make cereal and I don't trust anyone that puts milk first, i'm pretty sure that they're psychopaths." she wasn't sure if that was true or not but it was a very strong belief of hers. "I'm thinking of something like Ramen or scrambled eggs. " she wasn't that thrilled to work with a stove but the thought also excited and gave her a reason to get cute aprons. "You'll love it as soon as you sit in them, its so comfy."  she knew they would love it and that the beanbags could be cleaned at a dry cleaners just in case sauce or something spilled on it.  "Just know you can't take it back now, this is now a sealed deal." she joked.

"Right? It's just so ridiculous, and what if there's a splash when you put the cereal in?" Eddie replied, doing his best to be normal like he was talking to one of the guys. Because that's what this was. She was one of the guys, just that one of his friends who smelled good and was really hot. "We can definitely start there" said the boy as he ran his hands through his hair. It was getting longer, maybe he should cut it. Would she like his hair if he cut it? Maybe just a trim, maintain the flow. "It's a pact" he said as he put out his hand to shake hers.

"I just don't get it like I pour enough for the cereal I poured but if you do it the other way then you might have to add more of one or the other and that's just too much extra work for cereal." she shook her head. "Good my parents are going to love you." she watched him run his hands through his hair. He had such nice hair, the volume alone was a dream. Would it be rude to just start playing in his hair, she just wanted to see i it was as soft as it looked. Snapping out of her thoughts she looked at his hand and touched his chin then shook his hand." Deal."

Eddie grinned when she touched his chin, thinking about how her parents would love him. He could do that. Meet someone's parents and be normal. Right? Maybe. Probably. Not likely. Perhaps. He was torn. "How about Friday, we start our first lessons?" he suggested, wanting to see her as soon as possible. But he had also heard Ricki say things like don't be too eager. So he was keeping his distance, four days was a good amount of time ... right? He was unsure, but their hands were still in the shake. He didn't know how to let go.

Vanessa wasn't sure she had plans on Friday, she might of gone shopping or maybe get her nails done, Maybe get her hair done. That wasn't a Friday thing it could be done any day and she looked goo regardless. "I will make time for you, we can do a little food shopping. It's going to be so cute." she said thinking of the instagram pics she post of her little adventure. She pulled her hand back and ran her fingers through his hair like she wanted to from the beginning." What conditioner do you use?"  this was rude right? she was already doing it though.

Spending time together was cute? What did that even mean? He knew she was cute and going to be there, but he didn't really think that spending time with him was a cute activity. Maybe cute in the pitying way. What was cute about the grocery store? His brain flatlined when she put her fingers in his hair, it felt so good to be in her space like this, "um" he said trying to remember what he even put in his hair. "It's a little douchey, but 2-in-1 caused my sister Natalie to flip out one time when she had to use my shower. So I use ogx coconut milk now, and I oil my hair once a week with the same brand" he said, because she genuinely wanted to know. Maybe they used the same one. He wanted her hands to stay in his hair, "you can do that whenever, consider it the other side to our texting agreement" he said almost robotically.

She didn't move her hands as she continued, taking his umm as her saying it was going to be cute. "I mean it like we're doing something cute together, Like I've never been grocery shopping so I imagine as it being cute. Not us cute we're hot." she wasn't sure how her explanation was going over with him, she didn't think she just wanted him to be walking around taking pics.  She wanted to explain it better but his hair was calming to her. "Text that to me later I'm going to try it." she slid a little bit closer to him, I use Dr carol's deep conditioner and a hair mask i make myself but it doesn't make me want to play in my hair like this." she looked at hi realizing how close she had gotten. "I could do this all day but i just realized how uncomfortable this might be for you."

Hot? She think's they're hot? He's hot? This day was overwhelming. He would touch her hair, but he had heard from his sisters that touching a girls hair could be bad. Hand oils and things, and hair washing schedules. A whole thing. "Nah, I'm good. Just touch my hair whenever you want or need to" he said as he took a breath. "May I touch yours? To see the softness difference" he asked, consent was very important to him. It made him feel like a dork having to ask before anything, but he wasn't exactly the maker of grand moves. Not that this was a move. Well, he'd like it to be. But he wasn't going to get his hopes too high. He'd had a crush on her for a while, but he did his best to shove it down for the sake of everything. Usually his crushes sent him soaring, and he would burn out quick. This had been more of a slow burn.

Nessa could be a little self absorbed she knew she was hot, being rich and a spoiled  that gave her a certain kind of confidence.  Now she wasn't sure if it was her being into herself or it was forreal but she had a nagging feeling that he might actually like her. Why else would he let her play in his hair like this. "You're spoiling me." she teased. He didn't seem to mind so she wasn't about to make a fuss for something that she so obviously wanted to do.  "Go for it." she hadn't put any product in it, she just brushed it and left.  Lucky for her it curled up on it's own.  "If it didn't look like it before they definitely looked like a couple now. She didn't care  it wasn't like she knew any of these people and they should be so lucky to witness anything she was doing.

Eddie put his hand through her hair, realizing he had never been this close to a girl for so long. Laney had given him his first kiss earlier in the week, but that had only been a few moments. He had wanted his first kiss so that if he were to get to kiss someone (specifically Nessa) then he would be prepared. He had been pretty sulky about it for the last 10 years, but every time he caught feelings for a new girl the shame of not having his first kiss just skyrocketed. "It is soft" said Eddie, "but hair like this ... it's an art" he said, in a moment of fake cockiness. "I'm kidding, but forreal. Your hair is great". Was great a good way to describe someone's hair? He definitely could have given her a bigger compliment.

Vanessa liked her hair being played with it, it always made her feel calm and relaxed she didn't want him to stop. The only thing men wanted to do with her hair most of the time was pull it. Nothing was wrong with that and she liked it but this felt good, it was making her a little weak in the knees. "Thank you." She rolled her eyes at his comment. Oh that was cocky, she thought as she smirked. He was coming out of his shell. Her hair was great, marvelous if you will. She was very proud of it but she wasn't playing in her hair shebwas playing with his. " I think we should stop before the nice people here get a different kind of show." She winked pulling her hands away even though she didn't want to.

"And what kind of show is that?" he asked, almost naively. He thought he was sure what she meant, but he wanted the clarity on it anyways. Because if he was reading into this wrong he was going to look like a total loser. As he said this he took his hand out of her hair but stayed sitting just as close. Part of his brain told him to back up, but he didn't want to. She smelled so good, his brain was shutting down.

She wasn't sure if he really didn't catch on to what she was saying or he just wanted her to tell him.  She studied him for a second before leaning in so no one else could hear what it is that she was saying. She started whispering some sexual things that would make a nun blush red. Slowly pulling away she moved back tobher spot . "That kind of show."She bit her lower lip. She didn't worry about embarrassing herself with what she said.

Eddie's ears were glowing red, and his cheeks grew red to match. He took a hard swallow and a deep breath "that's exactly what I was thinking" he replied, letting out an awkward laugh. He really didn't know what to say. Eddie rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and looked over at her. "You um... you do that often in the middle of the ice cream parlor?" he said, doing his best to make a joke. He was a funny guy, but his brain felt like it was on fire and all the blood in his body was definitely elsewhere.

Nessa watched as he turned red, like he got really red it made her smirk. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen anyone that red before she liked that she could make him do that. She wondered if she could do it again, she wanted to do it again. Nessa wasn't sure but she was going to see, you know for science. "Well." she moved closer to him her lips close to his, Nessa was always one to tease, she was known for it all through ice cream. "No but i'm more than willing to give it a go if you are." she whispered so only he could hear her.

Eddie looked down at her lips and then back up to her eyes. He thought about how he'd had his first kiss only a few nights ago. How he had wanted to get it out of the way so that he could do this. He could do this. "As long as it doesn't impact the party" said Eddie quietly in reference to their DND group, his hand touching the nape of her neck as he pulled her in for a small soft kiss. He looked back at her, she was so beautiful. He couldn't believe that had actually happened, that he had been able to kiss a girl like that. Vanessa was nothing like he'd ever met before.

She wasn't sure what he was going to do, he wasn't really an easy one to read. If this what mysterious guys were like, it was so much better than the ones who she could read like a book. Plus she never gave a guy like Eddie the time of day, she was shallow and went for the buff, jock types.  Maybe he could change that.  "I never let anything ruin my parties." She said truthfully, she had been waiting forever play DND, nothing was coming to change that. She was taken back by the kiss, his lips were so soft it felt almost unreal. "Wow." She whispered.

He was on cloud 9, this whole afternoon had been confusing as hell. Was he the kind of guy who just kisses the girl? What did it mean? Did it mean anything to her? It kind of was everything to him. His chest felt tight, he was so anxious about all of it. "Wow in the good way, right?" he asked insecurely, "because I'm always willing to try again". He wanted to kiss her again, he was worried he would never get the chance. Part of this felt like an elaborate prank, like Ricki was going to pop up any second and yell gotcha.

"I've never kissed anyone's who lips were as soft as yours. It's incredible." She said softly. " so yeah that wow was an amazing wow but I think you need a few follow up kisses just make sure." She looked at him, this time she initiated slipping her tongue between his lips. She wondered how many other girls he's kissed, how many other people got witness his lips on theirs. She could do this all day, it might lead to other things but maybe she shouldn't fuck it up  by being her.

For his first proper makeout, things seemed to be going well. Eddie mimicked her exact moves and put his tongue into her mouth, keeping his hand on the back of her neck while making sure not to tug on her much. He became very aware that while there were only a few people in here, this was a lot of PDA. Affection. He was receiving affection from Vanessa. This was already the most amazing day of his summer by far, and there was no way that he was going to top it. But he had to remain cool, girls like this did not like guys making a huge deal out of everything. They were in their 20s, he couldn't be a dweeb about this. "Do you want to get out of here? I think we might be overstaying our welcome" said Eddie with a smile as he looked around. He was glowing almost, his cheeks still red.

This was definitely the right way to start off her summer, making out with a hot guy who doesn't know that they are hot in front of people and making them uncomfortable.  Vanessa slid her fingers in his hair as she continued to kiss him. She knew all eyes on her but when wasn't that the case, that's how she liked it...it was part of who she was. She whined when he broke the kiss again. Her eyes moved to look on the side of her, he was right people were staring but it probably bothered him. She looked up and smiled. "Yeah, let's go." she pulled back and standing up, putting her hand into his. They had just made out hopefully holding hands was okay. Aha she did make him blush again. He was too cute when he blushed, not that he didn't have a reason. It was a steamy exchange.

Eddie wasn't a suave man, but having her hand in his made him feel on top of the world. Like he could do anything, so, once he held the door for her and they were both outside he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before they kept walking and holding hands. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met" said Eddie awkwardly as the thought came into his mind and out of his mouth before he could even think about whether or not he wanted to say it out loud. It was the truth, so he wasn't too embarrassed, but his ears that turned bright red were giving him away.

Nessa strutted out of the ice cream parlor and into the welcomed heat.  She looked up and smiled after he kissed her on her cheek. He was sweet, she didn't attract sweet, she attracted jerks and players. She was lost in her thought when she heard him speak. "Inside or out?" she inquired. Seeing how red he got was the best thin. She wondered how long until she wasn't able to do it anymore. "You're the only guy that treated me like this, sweet, like i'm more than  my jimmy choo's and Fenty lingerie." she admitted. "I like you Eddie." she said softly. She never liked admitting things but what was the harm since the were getting to know each other.

"My money is on both" said Eddie honestly. He liked that there was someone who understood him and his hobbies. Someone who could get down with the guys but could also embrace her femininity. "Well, not to play my cards too right or too wrong but I don't know what either of those things are" said Eddie, running his tongue over his teeth inside his mouth before cracking a smile. "I like you too, Vanessa. I can already tell this is going to be the best summer ever" he replied, swinging their hands a little. He felt normal, like he wasn't some alien tasked with the impossible of getting to know people. Like a regular human boy who liked a regular human girl.

"I'm still working on the inside part." being spoiled didn't exactly her a terrible person but she likes to call herself difficult. Anything she wanted she could get, her parents never told her no so she wasn't accustomed to hearing it and it ade her feel like she was better than most. A trait she carried all through her school years. "My shoes." she lifted up her leg and showed her heels. and my bra and make up." she pulled down her shirt to show her bra, winking as she fixed her clothing. "We can make it one that we can never forget." she moved in front of him, leaning up to kiss him again. Maybe this summer would be like the lays she liked, love, sex, pain, joy and she gets to be the main character.

Eddie looked over at her, "I think working on it is the mark of a good person. If you have nothing to work on then you're not being honest with yourself." Eddie had been in and out of therapy for years, but every time he got a new one it was always the promise that he was good if he would just keep working. He had a bit of a jolt when she showed him her bra, like a deer caught in headlights. Eddie took a deep breath and looked back as quickly as he could to make eye contact, "It's uh, nice makeup" he said, still a little flustered. Before he could even think much, she was kissing him again, and he moved his hands onto her waist, pulling her in and kissing her softly. "Can I walk you home?" he asked as the kiss broke.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "You sound like my therapist." she had to go to therapy not because her parents thought there was something  that she needed to work on but because there were complaints that she was a bully and her school said it was that or expulsion. She liked that he was surprised, he was not like any other guy that she was used to.  "Thank you, I'm glad you like it." she tossed her hair over her shoulder. His damn lips, why were they s damn soft. she thought to herself. "Yeah." she grinned. The last time someone walked her home was high school maybe if even that. She didn't know why but it was giving her butterflies in her stomach.

"This way?" Eddie asked before they started walking in the right direction. "So, weird question. But if you could go back to any day on your timeline and just get to watch for the sheer joy of it. What day would it be?" Eddie really liked the idea of perfect days. Sometimes he would only realize he was having the perfect day after it had already happened, but today he already recognized it. Well ... his afternoon hadn't been perfect but it had led him to Litwaks which led him to kissing a girl that he never thought he'd get the chance to kiss in this lifetime. So today definitely counted, every thing happens for a reason.

Nessa nodded, taking his hand again. "Hmm." Nessa said as she thought for a second. "Well when I was 9 my grandmother took me to this like garden slash park thing. She thought my parent were turning me into a diva. We sat under a cherry blossom tree talking, she taught me how to rollerblade, gave me these rollerblades that she drew blossoms on. They were used but oh they were perfect." she looked at the ground still smiling." It was the perfect day, but she passed soon after and my dad threw away the skates, so i learned how to skateboard until i got another pair." she shrugged it off. "What about you Eddie, what's your perf day?"

"There's nothing like a pair of already broken in skates" said Eddie before she shared that her grandmother had passed, "I'm really sorry to hear that. Maybe sometime you could paint cherry blossoms on your new skates" he suggested. People talking about death made him think about his dad. He felt like every day he remembered less and less about the man. "My perfect day to watch would probably be the last day of school in 8th grade. We had field day outside and it was just insane, and then Ricki and I went to the skatepark until after dark because we were technically high schoolers and our curfews had changed. I don't remember what we talked about, but I know I laughed so hard I thought I might have to go to the hospital because it hurt so bad" said Eddie, leaving out the detail that if he could watch a day back it would be this one. He would want to watch to see how he could pull off this caper again, to ensure that he wasn't making it all up.

She adored the skates, but her parents were snobs and though they came from old money they didn't believe on hand me downs or having used things. "I would but I can't draw plus it was knowing someone loved me enough to actually give me something sentimental instead of just the most expensive whatever." Vanessa loved being rich, and she loved her parents and she knew they loved her but their love languages was gifts and she liked acts of service and things like that. She smiled hearing his perfect day, it sounded perfect.  One of those days that you would remember in twenty years and smile at your youth. "I don't know if I'm entertaining enough to make you almost die laughing but I will make me my business to make a memory that you always want to come back to. Something you'll never forget." She squeezed his hand and jumped to kiss his cheek.

This day was folding out better than he could have ever imagined. "I think you already have" said Eddie with a smile as she kissed his cheek. He wasn't sure if she usually did this: the wholesome kind of dating. But it felt like he was really checking all the boxes at the moment. Eddie didn't necessarily identify as a hopeless romantic, but he was romantic comedy inclined. He mostly resonated with the first 30 minutes of the movie when people are awkward or fuck up. "You're really cool, ya know. For a geek" he teased her, running his thumb over hers as they held hands. He was starting to feel more comfortable, and able to open up. It wasn't like she was going to regret kissing him now, right? What if tomorrow she regretted it? It would feel like his whole ego was crumbling, she'd already done so much reparations to it tonight alone.

She blushed slightly, he was so sweet it was so unreal. That meant one thing something was wrong with him, maybe he had a temper or maybe he was no good in bed. Wait maybe he wouldn't want to take you into bed. Nah she was gorgeous why wouldn't he want to get up in her sheets.  Maybe he was too good for her and he would realize it.  Why was she overthinking this, he was walking her home, they made out in a ice cream parlor in front of old people that meant something to some people. "If you give me a chance I bet I can one up this day." she smiled, playfully hitting him. "Geek?" she scoffed." The hottest geek you know." she stuck out her tongue, She didn't want this day to end. She would not bet one of her Birkin bags that she would be here with him, happier than she had been in awhile.

"One up this day? I'd like to see you try" Eddie said with a little surprise in his voice. This day was already too good for him. Any more and he would be outed as desperately inexperienced. He didn't want her to know that. "You took the words right out of my mouth" he agreed with her as he shoved her a little as they took up most of the sidewalk. It felt like the end credits, but he knew this was only the start. He was going to fuck up and then it was all going to be over, and Ricki was going to shake his head and tell him that he shouldn't shit where he eats. The friendships between them and Vanessa severed. And it would be all his fault because he wasn't enough. But for now, he thought he just might be.

Taking his hand and twirling she smiled at him. "Just you wait Mr Dalton, you'll be fifty married with children and you'll be sitting telling your grandchildren about this summer. How a girl named Vanessa Samson was one of the most exciting things to ever happen to you." She walked in front of him taking his arms and wrapping them around her as they reached her apartment building. She hoped they would still be friends at least for that long but Nessa was a realist. She believed in the magic of summer and all that. You find love in heartache or whatever, she believed she was around to be memories. Anything more or longer didn't seem real to her, she knew they would bore of her. She didn't want him to, she wanted him to like her.. always.

He smiled at the idea. "I hope you're still around to tell them yourself" said Eddie hopefully, there was no reason to be realistic about anything. They could be empty promises ... but they didn't need to be. "This you?" he asked as he looked up at the apartment building, "nice digs". He wasn't going to invite himself up. He didn't want to ruin the perfect night by fumbling around or telling her that he didn't know anything about how to make her feel good. He was gonna go home with a smile on his face and then frantically be online all night looking for the solution to his problems. Eddie pulled her in for another kiss before he knew he was heading out, "I'll call you" he said with a smile as he pulled his baseball cap out of his back pocket and put it on his head backwards.

Her smile spread when he said that, a girl could only hope.  She was going to daydream about them in 50 years given secret looks if they were married or hooking up at the reunion. She was going to call her mother and annoy her with her head in the clouds, but this time she could actually her that he's a good guy.  She looked back at her building and nodded, she had a nice condo her parents paid for, so much better than dorm living. "Yes it is, remember how to get here for our little lessons." she smiled. She wondered if he wanted to come up, while she kissed him like she didn't want to stop. She wanted to whine but she nodded okay and walked backwards, watching him walking away and bumping into the door. Squealing as she went into the building hoping he didn't hear her. //END

[goatsandgangsters]

so I had a very full day today, where I did many things, including experience nature and witness a comically ill-timed police chase

alright so, whole day, all of which was good:

the awful 90 degree heat finally broke and it was so pleasant to sleep comfortably with my window open and not feel like a disgusting bog of sweat and exhaustion

woke up and decided to go outside and enjoy the nature, because it was pleasantly lovely instead of disgustingly hot

BECAME FRIENDS WITH A DOG! some frat-looking dude was walking his dog and when the dog saw me, it stopped and waited for me and was doing the whole “dog is smiling at you” face and the guy was like “come oooon” and tugging the leash but the dog wanted to say hi to me, and then it did and it went to catch up with Frat Boy but THE WHOLE TIME THEY WERE WALKING DOWN THE STREET, the dog kept stopping to turn and look back at me and smile and the dude was getting so annoyed and I was in heaven because this dog Chose Me. like sorry dude, your dog likes me more 

got refreshing beverage from Starbucks and walked around a lake, enjoying the sunshine and the weather and the lake (and catching lots of cool Pokemon)

Got my haircut and I always love a fresh haircut

when I was leaving the haircut place and approaching the train, there were two guys in the middle of a VERY HEATED ARGUMENT on the other side of the track. they were going the opposite way from me and I have no idea what started it, but they were YEEEELLING and I was like “mm awkward” and one dude happened to be holding two hammers (why??) and at one point got so angry that he hit one against the plexiglass window of the waiting area? but the train going their way arrives and I’m like “okay awesome, phew.” but then, literally AS SOON as the train starts to leave, like three cop cars come ZOOMING UP and park in the middle of the street and these cops come running over to the station literally the second the train starts pulling out and they see the empty platform and the one dude radios “they’re on the train!!” and then I hear this chain of “they’re on the train! they’re on the train!” from all the cop cars and they all go rUNNING BACK and clamor into their cars and zoom off after the train. and like a minute passes and another cop car goes whizzing by. I have no idea what ended up happening at the next stop, but o h  m y  g o d

like it wouldn’t have been funny if I’d just witnessed two guys fighting and then the cops showed up, but they were literally just a few SECONDS too late and this sudden outpouring of cops followed by a chain reaction of everyone going THEY’RE ON THE TRAIN and then tripping over themselves to go chasing after a train. oh my god.

I’m on my way back from this incident. I’m walking to my apartment. I’m in front of my apartment. I’m walking past my apartment. On a whim, I decide “it’s nice out, so I’m just going to keep walking around”

@meyerlansky lives really close by and I’m walking past her apartment when she JUST HAPPENS TO, AT THAT VERY SECOND, GO TO THE WINDOW TO OPEN IT AND SEES ME WALKING BY ON THE STREET

like I was only planning on taking a walk but she literally went to the window right as I was walking by, so hey why not, and we hung out for a few hours and researched my ancestry, because also why not

no seriously, so, my last name is very not-Italian, but it was originally and got changed upon arrival to the US, and my dad and I don’t know what it was. but we’re the only living relatives from that part of the family, so with minimal information, I wound up finding a 1910 census record that seems REALLY HIGHLY probable that it was my family, so now I know my great-great-grandfather’s name (with last name already changed) and when he was born and when he immigrated, so I’m gonna try and see if I can find records of him before he changed the last name

Made myself a pizza and watched Doctor Who and Class, both of which were AMAZING episode

But Class especially oh my god I’m DYING it was literally... all of my favorite tropes. my most beloved tropes. it was like the most finely crafted piece of indulgent fanfic specifically tailored to my interests... only I got to watch it

when ur fave gay alien is having a panic attack on TV and you’re like “wow this is My Brand. this is what media representation feels like”

so yeah. I got out in the nature. I watched some cops have comically bad timing. Then I had ridiculously awesome timing of happening to walk past Kara’s apartment while she was opening the window. And somebody in some television producing world somewhere loves me very much and knows literally all of my favorite things to put into an episode specifically for me

a Good Day

[linkspooky]

"Now, what Furuta did to Rize was horrible, but I think the fandom forgets she wasn’t exactly a saint before that point." I tend to disagree there. Everyone knows what Rize was capable of and what she famous for or they have never read TG. I think people are very much free to point said atrocity with keeping the narrative and personality of these two in mind and I have yet to read or hear from a good portion of people who are hypocrites in that regard. Also, Ui's love for Hairu and Saiko's

love for Urie are still not quite clear, so if it’s romantical feelings you are pointing out (or I might have interpteted your chart wrongly, which might be possibly the case) then I would say these feelings for said characters are pretty ambigious at best, although I agree with your overall premise that their find unfullfillment in their love because of stated factors.

I wasn’t really calling the fandom hypocrites. What happened to Rize is an atrocity regardless of what kind of person she was, there are some things you just don’t do to a person. However, I don’t think there are many fandom works that take Rize for more than she is at face value or take deeper looks at her character, mainly because she doesn’t get as much screentime as other characters. That was all I meant by that remark. Sometimes in writing you try to pick a nice transition for a sentence or introduction to a topic and it comes across as something other than you intended, my apologies. 

As to your second remark first for Saiko while I don’t think it’s completely romantic in nature I still think the love Saiko holds for Urie is unrequited. I didn’t talk about Saiko much because as you said she’s not that clear, of all the 4 quinxes she has the least distinct character arc and I’m including the mess that is now Mutsuki. If I were to guess at what her character arc is though she has an obvious tendency of attaching herself to male authority figures. Especially after having been failed, and basically sold by her female authority figure into a surgery and career she didn’t want for a measly compensation check. 

This is shown with Shirazu:

Haise: This moment is especially potent, because Saiko is shown observing Haise being tortured earlier and effectively doing nothing about it, as opposed to Hinami who stepped in at risk of herself and her current safety at Aogiri for the body of a man who no longer remembered her. However, the moment it looks like Kaneki might surface and Haise will be thrown aside, Saiko appears to beg him not to leave and Haise reasserts himself. This scene also repeats in a way with Tsukiyama later on, but one theory early in these two arcs was Saiko’s dependency on him was one major reason that kept Haise around. 

Then again with Urie:

While saiko undoubtably does care about these people as people too, she pretty much needs them around so she can attach herself to them and still function. That’s the iron of Shao’s description of her in this chapter.

Saiko’s freedom comes at the cost of giving up her individual willpower. It’s why she attaches herself to others, it’s so she doesn’t have to make decisions for herself or assert her own personal responsibility, because as somebody who was effectively sold to the CCG academy her freedom is what she values the most because it was threatened to her.

That’s also why this specific piece of advice was given to Saiko, because Saiko has a tendency to not think about things. She was complaining that maybe ghouls aren’t the bad guys in this situation one arc, and then slaughtering members of Aogiri alongside Urie’s side, because that’s how she could best support Urie the next arc. 

Now returning to the point, what Saiko wants the most is that sense of stability which is why she attaches herself to others. In essence she’s the one who right now most seeks the Quinx as a family, because that’s what she wants. However, Urie is not on that level of understanding yet. Remember, this was said about him not two chapters ago, and I doubt one hug is going to fix Urie’s deeply ingrained in mindset.

So whatever notion of love, familial or romantic Saiko has towards Urie is going to be unrequited at the moment. Saiko wants to think of the Quinx as a makeshift family, Urie wants to think of them as Squad Members he has to raise into faithful CCG members and protect. Both of them are blurring the lines into what they want to see out of their connections rather then what is reality at the moment. 

As for Hairu and Ui, it’s arguably not necessarily romantic either but I am basing this off of the omake which I read as pretty clearly romantic. 

(Translations by Randomthoughtpatterns [x])

In the first one Ui invites Take out on Christmas Eve to “Drink to Loneliness”, as Christmas is generally a lover’s holiday in Japan. Ui however, being his normal lonely self (his hobbies are karaoke, and scrapbooking alone activities you normally do with others) seems to regret not planning enough work to have an excuse to be alone on the holidays. 

Then when Hairu does show up both of the 4 panel omakes are jokes based upon romantic misunderstandings, because they are a guy and girl alone together on Christmas. First is that Hairu says “Walking side by side like this” where it sounds like she’s referring to how flustered she is that they might be mistaken for lovers, or that they feel like lovers in the moment, only for her to bring up kokeshi dolls instead because they both have short haircuts. The next is Ui getting Hairu a gift, and then after trying it on her first thoughts go to Arima instead of Ui, to which Ui looks obviously disappointed but answers “Oh, right.” The punch line being those were two situations where romance might have blossomed for lonely Ui, but Hairu’s eccentric personality changed the subject too quickly.

Omake also totally counts for establishing character relationships too, because Naki and Miza was established in an omake before getting an entire chapter dedicated to it in canon. 

Also Ui allowed Hairu to call him by first name, and it was something they did only in private as evidenced by her almost doing it in front of the quinxes and then retracting it.

Now that I’m done ruining jokes by explaining them however, I’ll admit this also works for a narrative where Hairu and Ui are just friends, and Hairu was just the closest thing Ui had to an equal among his coworkers because they were direct partners, rather than subordinate. Ui’s thing seems to be wanting intimate relationships with his coworkers in general because he is a lonely dude. I would say that’s still unrequited love though, because Ui is arguably the most hung up on Hairu of all the people he’s lost. Here’s the face Ui makes in F’s lie when Tsukiyama reminds him of what he lost at the Rose raid.

Here’s Ui, about one step away from a mental breakdown upon discovering Hairu’s body.

Here’s Ui instantly being shut upwhen Matsuri rubs the failure of the operation in his face.

In comparison, the arguably second most important person to Ui, Arima, only got one panel time of reaction compared to the rest. In a story basically, the more time you show to something, the more important it is. Therefore Hairu’s probably the most important person Ui ever had in his life, while to Hairu Arima was her most important person. Therefore the feelings Ui had towards her, romantic or platonic, was an unrequited love. 

At the end of the day though, this is a chart based upon personal interpretation of romantic subtext. It’s always going to be biased no matter how objective I try to be, but as long as I get the point across that this arc is about people projecting idealized version’s of love onto others, while also suppressing themself then I think the chart has succeeded even if a few details are off.