#anyway I just yeeted off my writing training wheels that I put back on

[vipers-hat]

'' permission to lean in? '' '' permission granted. ''/'' i'm not a delicate flower. kiss me like you mean it. '' for Chris x Price too!!

John Price x Christine Argent

Come Back to Me

Christine glanced up from the cake she was decorating when the shop entry bell jingled. “I’ll get it,”  She set the piping bag down and quickly dust off most of the mess that had found its way onto her clothes as she headed out of the back. “Morning, welcome to Cornflower -” she stopped short at the sight of the customer. She was expecting on of her regulars, Nancy. Not the guy she had met a few months ago when she was on a trip in London, who she’d exchanged numbers with, and then had basically been a penpal up until now.  “John!” she gaped at him for a moment, then snapped out of it. “This is a surprise!” 

She heard at least a couple of her coworkers suddenly stop what they were doing. 

HIs answering smile was warm. “Hi. Sorry. Work… thing. Ended up stateside for… reasons. Realized I wasn’t too far from the address you mentioned. Here I am.” 

“Oh, very vague, very mysterious,” she teased. 

He had simplified his career to ‘being in the military’ during the first hours of knowing each other, and in the time since he had apologetically explained it further as 'Very Secret Stuff, Unfortunately.' He was grateful she accepted the vagueness as enough of an answer, and there was no heat behind her reaction to him dodging the question.

“You remembered this place, huh?” she leaned over the counter.

John shrugged and smiled. “I do recall saying I’d stop by if I ever had a chance. Kept the address handy.”

If that didn’t make her feel all sorts of special. She ducked her head to hide the resulting blush.

“Hey Christine, you gonna let your handsome gentleman friend order something already?!” her coworker Libby called.

Christine grimaced, hissed Libby’s name towards the back, then turned back, grateful John just offered another smile. “Well, you are welcome to anything. It’s on the house.” 

John gave a momentary glance at the display case, then shrugged. “Surprise me. Can I get it to go?” 

“Oooh, you stop by but you’re in too much of a rush to stay?” She asked, still teasing. She understood. Having Kate as a sister made it easy to accept the mad dashes military people had to do. It stung a bit, but she understood. He was often apologizing for being ‘too damn busy.’ 

He shrugged, seeming to contemplate something, then straightened out. “Wanted to see if you could step out for a bit, actually.” 

Oh? Oh. She tried not to stare again. Was that a date or a friendly chat? Hell, had their second hangout in London count as a date? Was this their first or second, if it was? What was she, a freshman in high school? “I think we’re a bit busy at the moment-” 

“No we’re not!” Libby called from the back again. “She’ll be happy to step out, Sir.” 

Christine flinched again, then sighed. “Then I’ll get us something. Hold on.” She stepped over to the display case, sidestepping all the frilly desserts. Didn’t seem to be the type. She glanced at him and squinted, and she tried not to feel too giddy when he squinted back, apparently catching onto the theatrics of humoring his request to surprise him. 

“Any allergies or diets I should know about?” 

“None at all. Clear across the board.” 

Christine looked at the clock over his shoulder. Just past noon. “Lunchy…” she decided, then settled for a cheese and prosciutto pinwheel. One of their new creations. And she loved her some prosciutto, she had half a mind to joke that it would’ve been a dealbreaker if he didn’t like it. She dropped a couple in a bag, then handed them over. “Give me a sec, I’ll be right out.” 

He nodded and left.

She took a moment and then took her apron off before Libby promptly snuck up behind her and practically shoved her towards the door, muttering something about ‘doing it for all of us.’ She shot her assistant a warning look, but went all the same. She stepped out, and John fell easily into step with her as she started walking, explaining there was a spot with a few tables around the corner that she often suggested to regulars. Once they reached it, she sat down, hardly surprised when he moved his own chair so he was directly across from her but was also facing where he could see most of the traffic- both foot and car coming from both directions. She watched him watching everybody around them in turn. “Looking for escape routes or scoping everybody out?”

John offered a false wounded look. “Second one. Maybe first, depending how this goes.” 

It was her turn to act offended, then grinned and leaned back. Her smile faded slightly as she watched his eyes flick back and forth from passersby, back to her, and back again. “Does that Soldier Brain of yours ever turn off? Do you ever let yourself relax?”

“Not when I’m awake. Eh, not even then.” 

“John,” Christine chided. 

His answering smile was gentle. He appreciated the tone and what it meant. She had proven over the last few months that she had a begrudging respect for his career and all of the quirks that came with it. She wasn’t judging, she was concerned. It would’ve been endearing, had some part of him not been convinced he didn’t deserve it. “Part of the job,” he responded. To fill the answering silence, he took the pinwheel out of the bag, setting it back on the table.

Christine made a show of planting her elbows on the table and practically shoving her chin into her hands to watch the verdict.

He took a bite,  chewed carefully, and then watched her watching him. 

After a few seconds of dead silence, Christine was the one to crack. “Talk, you jerk!”

“It’s actually very good.”

“ ‘Actually’?” When he smirked in response, she jabbed a finger at him. “You’re meaner than I remember.” She went to take the bag off the table and grinned when he grabbed it before he could. 

“Back off. You handed these over fair n’ square. This might be the only trace of absolutely wonderful food I might have for the foreseeable future.”

“That’s more like it.” 

The conversation shifted into general catch-up after that. What she had been doing. Recalling what a couple of demanding customers had asked of her the previous week. He had relayed a story about some of Soap’s latest antics. They had gotten up to walk after a while, continuing the chat as they made their way around the block a couple of times. John found the whole thing… nice. The town was quaint and reminded him of home a fair bit.  It was calming in a strange way, most like Christine’s presence in general. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but at one point he was suddenly aware that her arm was hooked around his elbow and she was leaning into him as she pointed out a handful of the shops, telling him about little quirks of the workers or whose family she had made baked goods for. Another testament to how strangely right this all felt- the domesticity of it all. He tried to listen as best he could as the possibilities swam in his head. There was… something here between them. Deeper than a friendship. And he was… cautious, not blind. He found her attractive. The selfless part of him insisted that if he pursued it, there was a chance it could end badly- for both of them, but namely her. Hell, he had done it to others, what was to stop an enemy from finding her and using her as leverage? A far more selfish part of him reminded him that she had acknowledged knowing some of the dangers. She had come from a multi-generational military family. She had rolled with all his dismissals and still kept up contact. Them talking so easily, her being there with him felt right. 

Still, the Universe had a strange sense of humor, because he heard a car approaching from behind, slowing down the closer they got. Out of instinct, he stopped, slanting himself in front of her and nudging her thigh so she would turn into him, more shielded. He glanced back, making it as natural as possible- only to make eye contact with Kyle, behind the wheel of the truck. 

“Hey Cap!” Kyle greeted, then looked at Christine. “Cap’s… friend,” he added. 

“Gaz,” Price nodded, flinching a bit when Christine waved and offered a bright, cheerful “Hi!” of her own. Sure, there was no threat but now the boys would know about whatever this was in a matter of hours. 

“They need us back at base in a bit. Came to fetch you. Also, American roads are shit.” 

“Right. Give us a minute. I’ll meet you around.” 

Kyle nodded, then grinned, looking a little too pleased with himself: “Just one?” 

“Garrick.” 

“Yeah,” Kyle rolled the car window back up after a moment of struggling, then drove off. 

John sighed. “Sorry about him. Not properly house trained.” 

“Aw, he seemed nice enough.” 

“He is the most well-behaved of my bunch.” He sighed and shifted a bit, unsure of exactly how to proceed. 

Thankfully, Christine took over: “Duty calls?” 

“Duty calls.” 

Christine grimaced sympathetically, then reached up to fix something on his collar. “Whatever it is, be careful, alright? Stay safe. And I want to do this more, so you better come back to me, you hear me?” she looked up at him, but then her smile turned teasing again and she poked him in the chest. “That’s an order. See, I get to do that, I’m a civilian.” 

John stepped closer to her. “Is that right?” 

“Uh huh.” 

Fuck it.  John took another step closer and took hold of her hip, emboldened when she leaned into the touch and glanced at his mouth before looking back at his eyes. “Permission to lean in, then?”

“Granted.”

He did so, tilted her chin up with his free hand and kissed her once, twice, a third time- quick chaste little things with some heat behind them- he didn’t dare pursue it when they were pressed for time. That same selfish part of him that had encouraged this earlier took satisfaction in the fact that she chased his mouth for a moment when he pulled back. He pressed his forehead against hers, still unwilling to part quite yet. He supposed that had solved his struggle from it before. 

Christine was the first to lean out of the embrace, then fixed his collar again. “I mean it. Stay safe.” 

“I’ll try my very best.” He couldn’t help the morbid honesty, but he didn’t dare lie to her and make a promise he knew he couldn’t exactly keep, so he settled for that one.

She smiled, though there was a sadness to it, and then he let her pull him into another kiss, firmer than the others, sealing the promise. She pulled back again and started to walk backward, offering a gentle wave before she turned back fully and headed back around the corner. He turned back towards the road and exhaled sharply. They had kissed. That changed things. And now he… basically had someone to come home to. Now that was a thought he never thought he’d entertain a matter of months ago. He was surprised once again that the thought didn’t put a knot of dread in his stomach. He spotted Kyle driving up, and once the younger man had pulled up, he got in the car, very aware of Kyle staring at him. 

“So,” Kyle finally spoke after a minute of loaded silence, sounding once again far too pleased with himself:  Was that your Chris friend?” 

“Not a word, Gaz. Not a bloody word.” 

[princess-peregrine]

Hi! So I always like the requests you've sent my way so I'm yeeting one back to you. Lark and Piper sleepover? If you're still looking for promts for writing and want too.

@grimm-the-6th Thanks for the first (and only) prompt (so far) I would have this done sooner and finished but there was an issue, I've never been to a slumber party or a sleepover. I wont be finishing it as I also had no ideas at any point during it. My mind was a complete blank. I also don't know how to like, format on tumblr.

Anyone, feel free to send me Storm Hawks prompts, I'll try to get at least 500 words out of it.

Lark and Piper sleepover, 1.5K words, sfw, and heavy on references

“Master Cyclonis, are you sure you don't need to take anyone with you?” Commander Ravess asked the young girl getting onto her sky bike.

“For the last time, No.” Cyclonis spat. “I am simply doing something that requires my personal attention. If you need something to do I'm sure the Dark Ace would be happy to have a training partner.” She said, making Ravess salute and ramble off platitudes of disagreement. Cyclonis unhooked her cape and handed it off to a night crawler before heading off. The wheels making a satisfying purr as they left the ground. After making sure that she was far off enough and wasn't being followed, she took out her shielding crystal. After donning her Lark disguise and changing the appearance of her bike, she changed course for a little shop. She hoped it would still be there, the map she had was a little outdated.

After only around an hour of flying Cyclonis had reached her destination. As she landed she was surprised by how small the terra was. And more surprised someone would want to build a shop here in the first place. She kicked off her bike and double checked her disguise before she walked inside.

“You made it!” Piper shouted from inside. There was no reason to, the only other person in the store was the clerk behind the counter. “Come on, come on.”

Cyclonis gave herself one more reminder that she's allowed to smile in this disguise and have fun, and made her way to the counter. “I'm here already, what's the rush?” she said, maneuvering her leg over the stool before sitting down.

“In case you forgot, I signed you up to buy the dessert.” Piper said as she leaned against the counter. “I ordered the stuff and it's all here. All you have to do is pay for it.”

“Hey I didn't ask before but,” The clerk said from behind the counter, eying the cart stacked three layers high of frozen yogurt and ice cream. “What's all this stuff for?” He asked in a heavy accent neither of them could place.

“We're going to a sleepover.” Lark answered.

“A sleepover?” The clerk said perplexed. “Ain't you two's a little old for sleepovers?”

“True.” Piper answered. “But a friend of mine arranged it, there are supposed to be quite a few people showing up. Hence the large order.” Piper and Lark received a look from the clerk before being given a satisfied gruff and their order. Lark exchanged the gold and paper, doing her best not to touch the clerks hand during the hand off. Received a complimentary 'Have a nice day' and was off.

Piper had brought along one of the other Storm Hawks bikes, modified to carry the load under them. The ride wasn't long, to Lark surprise. The ship they were headed for was already coming towards them. A large orange ship, clearly meant for civilian flights, probably a moving ship. Everyone else had arrived earlier than the host expected and had decided to come pick up Piper from the store.

“Piper!” A voice called out from the crowd of people in the bridge, Lark assumed it was the host. A light skinned girl with large brown hair that seemed to sphere off in different directions wearing a very large green shirt came out of the crowd. With the smile on her face as she approached Lark could tell she was the host. Especially to know all these people and invite them one had to have a smile like that. “I'm so glad you could make it!” She gave Piper a firm hug and immediately moved over to Lark. “And who's you're friend?”

“Uh,” Lark started. She was distracted by the shirt the girl was wearing. She hadn't ever been to a gathering that wasn't formal attire only and was put off by the dress code. The hem of the girls shirt went past her waist but just barely below anything important. She wondered if the girl had anything on under.

“Don't stare.” Piper chastised before turning to the girl. “Rhondie, this is Lark. Lark, Rhondie.”

“Well it's nice to meet you Lark.” Rhondie said giving her hand a shake. Just as soon as the handshake started it was over as the girl turned back to the crowd of other girls and started over. “I'm still making sure everyones getting along. Why don't you two put that stuff” She pointed towards the desserts they brought, “and put it in the freezer for later. I'll get bowls out when it's time.” She said before making her way back to the larger group.

“Boo!” A slight push on the shoulders just to startle her got the effect the person wanted. Lark turned around clutching at her necklace. “Ooh, a jumpy one. She didn't tell you where the freezer is did she?” The girl was dressed just like Rhondie only this time in a purple shirt. Her hair was much more simpler and far less physics defying as her solid black hair just fell below her shoulders. “Name's Tish, come one I'll show you where it is.”

Piper and Lark followed the girl and unloaded the desserts into an ice room not far from where everyone else was. When they finished the girl giggled and grabbed both Piper and Lark by the wrists. “Work's done now get dressed, you two look like you're going into a fight.” And shoved them into a bathroom together.

After only a few seconds of stunned awkward silence Piper started to get undressed. Lark, doing her best not to stare started messing with her shielding crystal as her clothes started to change.

“Seriously?” Piper asked. “Do you really plan on wearing armor under that the whole night?” Piper had stripped by now, only wearing boxers she supposedly was already wearing. She took a blue Tee from a pouch from her armor and threw it on, it made for a very comfortable look Lark could not deny.

“I plan on always wearing my armor no matter what.” Lark said. “What if we're attacked and I need to get away so you can fend for yourselves.”

“Okay sure, but what if someone pats you on the back and wonder why you feel like metal?”

“Accident when I was younger, metal in my back.” Lark answered with a nod. She had settled on her new clothes. A sleeveless Tee with purple sweats. “How do I look?”

“Ready for a fight.” Piper groaned. “Let's go.”

they left the bathroom and started to mingle. Everyone else already had a few hours head start on getting to know each other, leaving Piper and Lark the odd ones out. After a while the group became much smaller as most of them moved to a higher room. Tish grabbed Lark away to help make snacks as Piper went upstiars.

“Having fun?” Tish asked as lark watched the popcorn spin in the microwave. Unsure if she was doing this right, doing her best not to claim this was beneath her. How tough, the life of a royal, Lark lamented to herself.

“Yuh-huh.” Lark answered, squinting at the bag that slowly began to pop and grow with pressure. She started to wonder if she could use a similar principle with people on ships, perhaps one where a party was going on.

“You already pushed popcorn, staring isn't going to help.” Tish hip checked Lark out of the way as she passed. “Why don't you get a bowl of pretzels ready?” Lark walked aimlessly around the kitchen in a rather dull search for the snacks before. “Top shelf of the closet!”

“Why am I helping with this anyway?” Lark said as she popped the bag open.

“Well you didn't look like you were doing too well in a crowd.” Tish answered, she had been making bowls of frozen yogurt for everyone. Pre made bowls so everyone could just grab whatever flavor off the table. Lark had a feeling that wouldn't last and the girl would be taking orders pretty quick. “You and Piper came together right?”

“We did.” Lark answered.

“I saw you two were both wearing some nice looking necklaces. Anything going on between you two?” Lark was about to answer before a loud beep went off and a strong scent reached both their noses. “Popcorns done. Why don't you take that on up. I'll finish down here.”

Lark took the bowl of popcorn up the stairs and quickly found Piper. She was talking to a girl in a red onsie with long blonde hair. “Oh Lark, this is Ameil. Ameil, Lark. Her sisters a guitar player and singer, Finns a huge fan.”

“Oh he's a fan alright.” Ameil said, seemingly just including Lark within the conversation as soon as she arrived. Not even slowing down to introduce herself. “There was this one time, oh we were like what, eight? He came over and tried to give her flowers and ask her on a date. I remember it was so funny, she had to explain that she was too old for him.”

“He didn't tell me that part.” Piper giggled. “How are you doing Lark. Feel like any imminent attacks are about to happen?”

“Ha-Ha.” Lark mocked. “If one does happen it'll be egg on your face.”

“Attacks?” Ameil asked. “Rhondie said she was flying us well behind atmosian lines.”

“Oh no,” Piper said. “Lark doesn't get out much, she's a bit paranoid.”

“I'm only paranoid until we get attacked. Then I'm right, and prepared.” Lark answered smugly.

Piper thought for a few seconds before laughing. “Too bad Storks not here, you two would have a great time talking about that stuff.”

“I once thought the same thing about my friend Peggie.” Ameil said. “She sleeps with a dagger under her pillow just in case of a break in. Told her she was insane. But a few months ago someone broke into my place so I know where she's coming from.”

“I do the same thing.” Piper said.

“Well that's different. You're a Sky Knight, you have to have weapons around. Peggie's just a seamstress.”