#as someone who works an aquarium where we give shark tours - yeah

[dork-empress]

Singing in the Dead of Night Pt 3

Lucy and Damian visit Metropolis.

Past chapters are under my tag 'lucy quinzel' and the whole fic is on my AO3 (url in my description). Please reblog and leave comments.

Flock of Robins

Timtiminey:Guys. Guys. Guess what???

Jason: I thought I deleted this chat.

Timtiminey: Ha funny you think I’d allow you to do that

Timtiminey: And you didn’t guess.

Dickbutt: Tim I’m on a mission.

Dickbutt:.....

Dickbutt: TIM CHANGE MY NAME

Timtiminey: You’re still not guessing.

Dick Grayson’s name was changed to DickiestButtiest

Stephaluffagus: Whatever Is It, Tim?

Jason: Why is Stephanie even on here?

Stephaluffagus: I was a Robin!

Timtiminey: And she asks the questions. Well, you SEE

Timtiminey: DAMIAN GOT A GIRLFRIEND

Stephaluffagus: WHAAAA?!:?HSLHFADSKLJFKL?????

Dick Grayson’s name was changed to DatAssTho

DatAssTho: Awwwww, that’s so cute!!!

DatAssTho: Our little hellion is growing up

DatAssTho: It’s like it was just yesterday he was threatening to stab us all

Jason: That was last week at dinner.

Jason: Who the hell said yes to go out with him?

Timtiminey: That’s the best part! The old man set them up.

Stephaluffagus: ALKSDAN LFKSNDAFLKNDASKLF

DatAssTho: Well thats just not fair. He never set up me on a date.

Jason: He put you on the Titans.

DatAssTho: Watch it, Todd

DatAssTho: Also, you type like an old man

Jason: With proper punctuation?

Stephaluffagus: Guys, we’re straying from the topic: Who is it??

Timtiminey: Harley’s niece, she’s got some like, clown ballerina thing going

Jason: QUINN?!?!?!

Jason: LIKE JOKER’S GIRLFRIEND????

DatAssTho: Dude, they broke up ages ago

Stephaluffagus: Yeah, she’s basically more hero than you are

Jason: You really want to go down THAT route Brown?

Timtiminey: OOOOHKAYYY

Timtiminey: Rest assured, the old man vetted the girl. She’s…..unique? I’ve only seen her file, or part of it anyway

DatAssTho: Bruce has secret files doesn’t he

Timtiminey: I think I made it through the first encryption, but I’m working on the next between other cases.

Timtiminey: After all, we have to make sure she’s alright for our little Dami-kins

Stephaluffagus: Isn’t he on this chat?

Timtiminey: He’s had this muted for ages

Jason: YOU CAN DO THAT?!

Timtiminey: I mean, YOU can’t. I will turn it off for you

Jason: …….

Jason: Well you know it’d be a shame if I

Jason: @DamianWayne

Timtiminey: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!

Damian: You’re dead Drake

DatAssTho: RIP

Stephaluffagus: He will be remembered

Jason: Prick.

“Get on already,” Damian said, exuding as much disinterested and grumpy energy as his body could manage.

Lucy skipped over to him, and looked at the seating arrangement on the Robin Cycle. “Hmm”, she said, “I don’t know if I’ll fit.” She climbed up to the back of the cycle only for her tutu to spring her backwards.

“What the hell is in that thing?” Damian asked, scowling. whatever had hit him was way more solid than fabric.

“Oh all sorts of things!” she said, “It’s my utilitutu!”

Damian really should have been used to this by now. “Your what.”

“Utility Tutu. I’ve got my balloon animals, my gas bouquet, my tamborine…”

“Well get rid of it or something,” Damian said, and was somehow surprised she did as was asked. Left in just a leotard, she hooked the tutu around her arm and jumped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Luckily, he was wearing his helmet, so no one could see him blush.

He revved up the motorcycle to try and drown out his thoughts. They’d been particularly loud ever since Tim said what he said...and, maybe since Lucy said what she said.

Were they dating? Is that what was happening? Lucy had called it a date, but Lucy was weird. It wasn’t like Damian understood how these things were supposed to work. This was super not in the training regime for the League of Assassins.

Did he...want it to be a date? He was even less sure. Lucy was...odd, but she had grown on him. She was the exact opposite of him, cheery where he was brooding, she was peaceful, he was violent. She was...kind and funny and playful. He was super not. they were both smart, but that seemed to be where the similarities ended.

And yet, it kinda worked. She was pretty, in a girly way, or at least thats what he could tell from under her makeup. He’d never been...really interested in girls or anyone. He didn’t know what it was supposed to feel like. If this was how it was supposed to feel like.

Well, he wasn’t going to be forced to be in a relationship with anyone. If she tried anything, he would tell her no, in no uncertain terms. Then he could get Tim and the others to shut up.

Once the decision was made, of course, he was left to ruminate for the remainder of the ride. He might have welcomed some of Lucy’s chatter, just to get his mind off things. Damn Bruce, not letting him use the batmobile…

Finally, a blur appeared beside him. “Need a lift?” Jon asked, rushing along beside him. Damian couldn’t help a smirk as he followed him through the city.

They came to a stop in an alleyway, though it didn’t hide much. “Whoa,” Jon said, eyebrows raised, “Hello, who’s this?”

Lucy stood on the top of the motorcycle, slipping her tutu back on and giving a deep curtsy, “Greetings! I am Commedia, The Dancing Delight, Columbina of Gotham and--”

“She’s Harley Quinn’s niece,” Damian said, cutting her off, “Lucy, Superboy, Superboy, Lucy.”

Lucy jumped down, eyebrow raised, “Now, come on. Surely you boys know how hard it is being defined by those who came before you.”

“Yeah, Robin,” Superboy said, holding out his hand for her to shake, “Honestly, no manners. Nice to meet you, Comme...Colum..um.”

“Lucy’s fine,” she said, “Aunt Harley said it’d be good for me to go and see some of Metropolis, maybe get some shopping done.”

Jon smiled, “Well, there’s plenty to do around here, and you picked the perfect tour guide! Come on, Mom and Dad are working today. I’ll show you around.”

Damian followed the pair of them around at a pace where you could just barely tell he was part of the same group. He was in his black outfit again, with sunglasses so that Lucy couldn’t tell who he was, and all of Metropolis wouldn’t know Robin wasn’t in Gotham.

Jon took them on the full tourist tour, going to see the many wonders of Metropolis. Though, a few stops Damian was pretty sure weren’t on the main route, like when they went to the top of the Daily Planet building. Other than that, though, it was a lot of pretty buildings, old buildings, the Superman memorial/dedication (they just left it up when Superman came back) and other sites that were considered important.

Damian sulked, having seen all these before and not finding them any more impressive than the first time or any time after that. What did surprise him was that Lucy didn’t seem any more impressed than him. He would have thought she’d go Gaga over the tourist trappings, considering she react to abandoned (allegedly) mines like a family at Disney World.

But she looked at each one, nodded in appreciation, and went onto the next thing.

Jon was kinda weirded out by it too, Damian could tell, not that Jon was ever subtle. He kept looking to Damian as if to try and explain her behavior, not that he was ever going to be doing that.

“Ok,” Jon said, as they sat outside the capitol, “Is there anything you WANT to see?”

Lucy shrugged, “To be honest, buildings don’t really interest me that much. But I’m glad to have gone with you, of course.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Damian said, “What’s the point of going around like this if you don’t even like it? We went around all damn day for YOU!”

Lucy tilted her head, “We went so that Superboy could show us things and we could get to know him.” She smiled at him, “You clearly admire Superman a lot, and you’re clearly like him. I’m glad you get along with your dad so well.”

Jon smiled, confused, but appreciative, “Thanks?” Damian grumbled. “But, I’d like to get to know YOU better as well. So if there’s something you like, the city has everything.”

Lucy hummed, “I honestly mostly just like to people watch in my free time.”

Jon beamed, “Oh man, I have the perfect place then.”

With a hop, skip, and a kryptonian-powered jump, the three of them were in the rafters of the Metropolis Subway station, looking down at everything and everyone as they went by. Damian was just glad they were inside, and being underground had him feeling a bit more at home.

Lucy practically sparkled, leaning way too far over to look at everyone. “What are they saying? Can you hear them?”

“Uh, which ones?” Jon said. She pointed aggressively. “Well, that one’s a family on vacation, the dad there is going over the itinerary, he’s got it printed out. The daughter there is trying to get him to skip the museums so they can get to the aquarium faster.”

“Ohh, what’s at the aquarium?” Lucy asked, kicking her feet like a child.

“Some fish, jelly fish are cool...Oh, they got a new shark there, I think.”

Damian groaned again, “Ugh, who CARES? If you wanted to go to the aquarium, then lets go to the aquarium! Instead of just watching someone TALK about it! These are all just normal people!”

“Robin, dude,” Jon said, “If it’s what she wants, why not? We are here for HER after all.”

That in of itself would have been enough to shame Damian, but Lucy was staring at him. She stared unblinking, and unsmiling. It was actually creepy. Like she was staring through him.

“Nobody’s normal.” She said, very seriously, her voice no longer taking on the cheery affectation. “Not a single one that I’ve ever met. Many of them TRY to be normal, but it is an illusion. A moving target, an ideal that doesn’t exist and people are shamed for not attempting to achieve.”

Damian could feel himself resist leaning away from her. “Uh, Lucy?” Jon said, “Something you want to talk about?”

Lucy blinked like she was remembering she was supposed to. “I suppose it is personal to me,” she said, “My…mother was always a little scared of Aunt Harley. First scared of her success, then scared of her villainous career. She always wanted to be normal. She wanted…me to be normal. She was scared of what I’d be. Who I’d be like.” She smiled, an echo of her previous smile, “It’s not quite the same as being a disciple for a great hero like Superman or Batman.”

Jon was suddenly looking very awkward. “Well,” He said, “I mean, having Harley Quinn as your aunt isn’t that bad. And you’re good anyway! So, no need to worry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lucy said, “It doesn’t matter if I was good or bad. It just matters that I was strange.” She tilts her head, looking down at the mass of people rushing back and forth. “Ever since I was little, people didn’t feel…real. They’re just. Stories. I couldn’t relate to my peers, as my teachers would say. I don’t know how to explain it. The only time I tried, my mom was so scared she sent me to a camp. One of those meant for bad kids to help them behave.” She tilted her head, “But they weren’t bad. They all had different stories. I realized there were no normal people. Just people with stories.”

Damian couldn’t have spoken if it was to yell for help. He stared at Lucy, trying to decide if he should be concerned or sympathetic.

Jon cleared his throat. “Well, I think you’re nice. And that’s what’s important. No problem with learning more about people and helping them.”

Lucy smiled, “Thank you.”

Jon’s head whipped to the side. “Ah, shoot, Dad’s calling me. I’ll be right back.” Lucy’s cheery attitude was back and she nodded, as Jon took off.

Lucy looked over at Damian for a moment. Damian felt he should say something. Apologize, maybe? He wasn’t sure what would be appropriate, and if it was appropriate, would Lucy want it. She worked on a whole other level, that was clear.

Lucy went back to watching people below her.

“My mom,” Damian started, not sure where he was going to end his sentence. Rule one of being in his family was to not reveal details about himself. But it was Lucy and she…she was his friend. “She was a…she’s a villain. I was supposed to be too. Maybe would have been if I didn’t go to live with Batman.”

Lucy nodded, “That sounds like a very interesting story,” Lucy said, “Thank you for telling me.” She tilted her head towards him. “Hey Robin, there’s this comedy place here in Metropolis I looked up. I was hoping maybe we could go tonight? I’m kind of a comedy nerd, and it’s always good to support people at an open mic. Maybe you’d even laugh once.”

Damian braced himself. This was a date. She was asking him on a date. He had prepared himself for this. “I can’t,” Damian said, the words practiced, “I don’t think of you that way. We can hang out and…be friends, but no.” There. No question about it.

Lucy looked at him, and tilted her head, thinking. “Ok,” She said, simply. Didn’t seem too heartbroken. It was a relief. “Hey Superboy,” She said, voice raise just slightly on the sounds of trains, “Do you want to go on a date to a comedy club tonight with me?”

There was a brief pause, then with a burst of wind, Jon jumped up back to the rafters. “Yeah, that sounds good,” and they shared smiles, “Robin, I can get her back to Gotham if you want to head home.”

Damian blinked, trying to process what exactly was happening. “I–,” technically, he wasn’t supposed to leave Lucy, for reasons Batman hadn’t been overly clear about. But if something was going to happen, she’d be plenty safe with Jon. Still, he wanted to argue this, even though he had nothing, and he knew he had nothing. “Sure, that sounds fine.”

Jon held out his hand to help him down, but he could easily get out by himself. And so, alone, he went home. And he didn’t understand the strange feeling in his gut.

Bruce stretched his neck coming down to the batcave, seeing Tim on the computer. “Commissioner Gordon has kindly invited Batman and Robin to the Wayne charity Christmas Party on my behalf,” he said, “I’ve got Dick coming down to wear the Batsuit for me. I’m going to work to have Damian as Robin, but would you and Steph take on patrols that night? At least some of us should actually be doing work.”

Tim didn’t answer. He stared blankly into the computer. Bruce sighed, most likely he didn’t hear him. “How long have you been down here? You’re going to ruin your–”

“Are you planning on telling Damian?” Tim asked.

Bruce paused and looked at what Tim was staring at. It was medical records of Delia Quinzel, specifically of her pregnancy.

Specifically the fake pregnancy records that Bruce had made. “What are you talking about?” Bruce asked.

“Please don’t insult me,” Tim said, face stoic, “You really think I can’t recognize your digital fingerprint all over these files?”

Bruce took a few deep breaths. “Have you told anyone?”

“Hell no,” Tim said, finally looking up, “And I cleaned up your mess. But I don’t know if anyone else has looked into this before now.” Tim glared at Bruce, “So I ask again, are you planning on telling Damian that you’ve put him in charge of protecting Joker’s biological daughter from her own father?”

Bruce came over and looked at the corrected records. They were, in fact, cleaner. Bruce’s were too normal. Tim added in complications that could have happened, just enough to make people think they’d already found what was wrong. “We don’t know what Joker knows.”

“Oh, and he just happened to escape Arkham and disappear at around the same time a teen starts hanging around his ex-girlfriend.” Tim said, dryly.

“If he does know,” Bruce said, “Then its our job to stop him. If he doesn’t, then we still stop him. But Lucy has a target on her back one way or another.”

“Which is why you put Damian in front of it?” Tim said.

“I trust Damien,” Bruce said, “To protect her. But I don’t want him to be biased against her because of her parents.”

“So, you’re putting him at risk, so that he can make friends?” Tim demanded, arms crossed.

Bruce took a deep sigh. “One day,” he said, “Lucy is going to have to confront where she’s come from. And the rest of us are too. I’m trying to give us all the best chance.” Bruce said, “Besides, Damian needs more friends other than Jon.”

Tim screwed up his face, then snorted. “Alright, old man,” he said, “I’ll go with your plan for now. But if something goes belly up, I reserve the right to at least one ‘I told you so.’”

“A fair compromise,” Bruce said, “What have you found about Joker’s movements?”

“He’s going quiet right now, which isn’t much like him,” Tim said, “But I think I’ve tied him to this fancy surgical robot that’s gone missing from Gotham Hospital.”

“Well, I’m sure there’s nothing mind-breakingly awful he can do with that,” Bruce said, sarcastically. “Let’s take it to the streets.”

Tim jumped up and followed him to the batmobile.

[anna-justice]

Light My Fire - 1

Summary: Millie Halstead is just a girl finally coming home, Blake Gallo is just a boy looking for one. *Blake Gallo x OC Halstead/UPSTEAD 

...

1 - It’s the Wind

...

O’Hare was buzzing with it’s normal chaotic energy, the business of traveling near the holidays lost on no one. Millie Halstead raced down her terminal, barely phased by the craziness. She couldn’t contain her smile as she saw a familiar redhead standing at baggage claim, she was home. 

“Mildred.” Will said, holding his arms open.

Millie rolled her eyes, “William.” They both laughed before embracing, it had been six months since they had seen each other last. “I missed you.” She said, pulling away.

Will reached out and grabbed his sister’s bag off the floor where she had dropped it. “I missed you too.” He nodded towards the doors, “Let’s get out of here.” 

The two siblings navigated the sea of people out of the airport and headed for Will’s car, which was conveniently (not) located at the far end of the parking garage. When they finally got there, Millie was out of breath, thankful that her brother had decided to take her bag. 

“This is weird.” She said, sliding into the passenger seat. 

“What is?”

Millie shrugged, “Being home.” She watched the city fly by out the window.

Will laughed at his sister’s dramatics, “Mill, this isn’t the first time you’ve come home…”

“Yeah, I know.” She said, glaring at him. “This is just the first time I’ve come home for good.” She peeked at her brother and watched his face go from very confused to shocked, she grinned.

“What?” Will asked, “You decided to take the job here?” Millie nodded, her heart swelling at her older brother’s joy. “The Halsteads,” He sighed, “All back together again.”

Millie laughed, “Looks like it.”

“Seattle not as fun as it used to be?” Will teased. 

She watched the buildings go by, it was similar in some ways to Seattle, but Seattle would never be Chicago. “Seattle is beautiful and I will always love it there, but it’s too far away…” She explained. Millie had attended the University of Washington for biology (specializing under a professor in marine biology), and she would forever say that it was one of the best decisions she had ever made. She had just finished an expedition in the pacific, working with an organization called OCEARCH for shark conservation. When she got back to land, there was a job offer for her from the Shedd Aquarium. 

As amazing as it was to live at sea, Millie missed her family and the decision to move back was a no-brainer. “I’m glad you're back, for good.” Will said, smiling.

“Yeah, me too.” She agreed. 

A few minutes later, Will pulled into the parking lot of the district. “I’ve got night shift tonight, so you are Jay’s problem until tomorrow.” Will joked, putting the car in park. “I’ll leave your stuff at my apartment and you can come grab it later.” 

Millie nodded, “Thanks Will.” She said, pushing the door open. “I’ll see you later.” Will waved before she shut the door, turning to make her way up the concrete steps. 

The 21st district was just how she remembered it, hectic and full of life. “Millie Halstead.” She heard and her head snapped up, meeting her favorite desk sergeants eyes. “Look at you.” She said, rounding the massive desk and wrapping her in a hug.

“Hi Sergeant Platt.” She said, smiling. 

Trudy pulled away, giving the much younger girl a fake stern look. “What have I told you? You aren’t your brother.”

Millie nodded, laughing. “You’re right. It’s good to see you, Trudy.”

“You too, it’s been too long since I’ve seen my favorite Halstead.” Trudy said quietly, “I’ll buzz you up.” 

“Thanks!” Millie threw over her shoulder, before walking up the stairs. She was a lot younger than her brothers, a product of a time where Pat and Jane were happy again. Her mom died when she was still in middle school and Trudy had become a sort of mother figure afterwards. Jay had been in intelligence for a long time and before that he was still at the 21st, she spent a lot of late nights with the resident desk sergeant when she wanted to be anywhere but home. 

She pushed the metal gate open and ascended the marble staircase to the bullpen. As room as she reached the top, her brother jumped up from his desk to greet her. Millie grinned, running past him and embracing his partner who was waiting for her with open arms. “Hey Mill.” Hailey said, hugging the girl tightly.

“Hey Hailes.” She replied. 

Someone cleared their throat behind her, Millie pulled away and rolled her eyes. “Hi Jay.” She said, walking over to hug her brother. 

“If it isn't baby Halstead?” Kevin asked, walking out of the interrogation room. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey Kev.” She said before going to hug Kim. “Hey.”

Kim gave her a kind smile. “Hi Mill, how are you?”

Millie grinned, she had some news to share. “I’m great.” 

The members of intelligence had become her family over the years, most of them had attended her high school graduation, Hailey flew out with Jay and Will to watch her walk in Washington. They had all been there for her every step of the way. Like when Jay was shot, Kim sat in the hospital on facetime with her for almost two days while he was in and out of surgery. 

“Hey kid.” Adam said, ruffling her hair. Millie faked a punch and Adam jumped back putting his hands up in surrender. “Woah-wee, did you get taller? I think she got taller.” He said pointing at her.

Millie backed away from Adam, “Shut up.” She turned her attention back to Hailey, leaning against her desk next to her. “So, do you still have that extra room?” She asked and Jay’s eyebrows shot up.

Hailey grinned, “Yeah, it’s been empty since Vanessa left.”

“You feel like having a roommate again?” Millie asked.

“Only if it’s you.” Hailey said, wrapping her arm around the younger girl. 

“Wait.” Jay said, moving his crossed arms to slightly point at his little sister. “Does this mean you are moving back?” Jay asked, his voice getting higher and more excited as he went.

Millie nodded, “Yeah. I took the job,” She took a step forward, almost like she was presenting herself to the room. “You are looking at the Shedd Aquarium’s new resident shark biologist!” 

The room erupted with claps, Jay coming to stand beside her. “I’m so proud of you.” He said quietly before hugging her once again. As much as Millie loved Will, she and Jay had always been closer. Jay was the token middle child, she always hated the way their dad treated him, but they bonded growing up. They were closer in age and even as a kid Jay had a slight hero complex, so when he enlisted Millie was anything but surprised. She was ten when he left, Will had already been gone for a while, he was in New York, but Jay leaving hit her much harder.

When their mom got sick he came home, but he wasn’t the same. Something in him had changed, he was still her Jay: loving, protective, responsible...but there was a darkness that he brought with him. There were many times that year before their mom died that she would sit outside of his bedroom door in the middle of the night, listening to him thrash around. She would stay until she knew he had fallen back asleep and then sneak back to her room. 

He left again for another tour after she died, that was the hardest. Pat was always distant, but after Jane died he wasn’t much of a father at all. Will visited, but he was living a new life far away so when he did come home, the time was short and few and far between. 

Jay joined the force after his second tour, telling Millie that he was home for good. She moved in with him for her last two years of high school, with little interference from their father. They were happy, Jay was pulled into a unit, where he met Antonio Dawson and Millie got a few more people to call family. She even babysat Eva and Diego sometimes. 

Choosing to go to Seattle for college was a hard decision, but she got a full scholarship and she had Jay’s full support, how could she not take it? That was the last time that she lived in Chicago, so Jay was ecstatic that she was back for good. “Let’s go get coffee, I’ve got some time and we need to catch up.” Jay said, grabbing his coat off his chair. 

“Sounds great.” Millie said. 

Jay looked at his partner, “Hailey?”

“I’m good, have fun.” She said, waving them off.

Jay nodded and Millie waved goodbye as they disappeared down stairs to the drive-by. “So…” Millie said as she hopped into the passenger seat of the truck. 

“So?” Jay asked.

Millie sighed, her brother was so dense sometimes. “Hailey…”

Jay laughed, “Yeah, what about her?”

“Jay. In the past two weeks you have called me three times about her.” 

Jay took a deep breath, he didn’t know how, but Millie could always see right through him, no matter how good the lie was. “And? She’s my partner.”

Millie laughed, “I know that excuse works for everyone else, but it doesn’t work for me.” She shifted in her seat to face him, “Plus, you called me about what to get her for Christmas, what I thought her favorite scent was and if asking her to go shopping with you was too much. Those aren’t really partner things Jay.” 

Jay thought long and hard, trying to find something to say. “I hate it when you are right.”

“That must be why you are so grumpy all the time.” Millie teased.

They reached the local coffee shop, ordering quickly (and of course Jay still got Hailey a cup). Even though the walk from the building to the truck was brief, Millie still shivered. “Cold?” Jay asked, smirking.

“You know, after living in Washington for five years, you’d think I’d be used to Chicago winters.” She said, sighing at the heat in the truck.

Jay shook his head, “It’s the wind.”

They rode in comfortable silence for a little while before Millie spoke up. “I was thinking...maybe we could go to Mom and Dad’s grave later? It’s been a while since we cleaned it.”

Jay nodded immediately, “I took tomorrow off, we could go in the morning after Will gets off shift.” He looked at his sister for approval..

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Millie said, taking a breath. She sipped her hot drink, watching the building fly by. 

“Hey Mill.” Jay said, grabbing her attention. “I’m really glad you’re home.”

Millie smiled softly, “Yeah, me too.”

…

A/N: I am SO so excited for this story. I’ve been toying with the idea for a while now and I have finally have the time to write it! I know the backstory is a little jacked, but with a new character and timeline, I needed it to make sense. Also, I can’t decide if this is a fire or pd story, so let’s just call it both! Thanks for reading! <3

P.S. Comment to be added to the tag list!

[aurorawest]

can you also do a director's commentary on "Fool for You"? 🐠 this is one of my favs 🥰

Yeah! Thank you for asking about this one! Since it’s over 6k words I’ll just grab the interesting parts, I hope that’s okay! Link on AO3.

First of all, I will just say, I was shocked by the response to this fic. I wrote it for Froststrange Week earlier this year, and it was by far the fluffiest fic I wrote for that event. It’s one of the fluffiest things I’ve written ever. I was actually nervous to post it...and I’ve written some very dark stuff that didn’t even give me pause before hitting the post button on AO3, haha. But this one? I distinctly remember my palms getting sweaty (gross) and having to walk away from my computer after I posted it, because I was so freaked out. But people liked it! It was probably my most popular Froststrange Week fic.

Onto the fic...

Loki craned his head, staring upwards as the massive shark moved smoothly and silently through the water overhead. He’d never seen anything like it, despite his one thousand and sixty years in the universe. It moved off, disappearing over rocks dappled with slow, turquoise sunlight.

“It’s a whale shark,” Stephen informed him, staring down at an informational plaque posted along the walkway. Loki had read all of them so far, but he’d stopped dead in his tracks in the glass tunnel when he’d seen the shark, too awed by it to move. Ahead of them and behind them, the screams and excited voices of school groups echoed, but the two of them were in a lull between throngs.

The prompts for the day that I used were ‘firsts’ and ‘aquarium date.’ The aquarium part was a no brainer for me, because I head canon that Loki is a big nature lover, and that he particularly loves the ocean.

Rays sailed through the water alongside the shark. Those, Loki was more familiar with. They’d had them on Asgard. Extinct now, of course. All of Asgard’s species, all its plants, animals, insects, all of it, were extinct. It was a depressing thought.

Okay, well, this is a fluffy fic, but obviously I’m incapable of writing pure fluff. It’s Loki, so there has to be some angst.

Always prone to depressing thoughts, Loki was. He looked at the whale shark again, then at Stephen, leaning over the plaque and reading it—mostly for Loki’s benefit, so the two of them could talk about it. That made Loki’s heart swell. His sadness would always be with him, but his happiness sat next to it, bright and blinding. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, Guardian of the New York Sanctum, human sorcerer and ridiculously, heart-poundingly beautiful man, was responsible for much of it.

Loki is really, really in love. And he can finally be free about admitting it.

Turning around, Stephen met Loki’s eyes and said, “So, the Georgia Aquarium was a good choice?”

In preparation to write this fic, I googled what the world’s best aquariums were. I knew the Georgia Aquarium was a big deal (both from living in north Florida for a time and just...being a person who likes zoos and aquariums), but I wanted to see if there were others. Obviously, Stephen can go anywhere, so for their first date, he would take Loki to the best of the best. The Georgia Aquarium does consistently appear at the very top of aquarium lists (others were Monterey Bay and one in...Dubai, I think?).

I spent a lot of time on the Georgia Aquarium’s website. It’s a huge place and has lots of different aquariums, so I had to choose the one they would spend most of their time at. The website has webcams on a lot of the aquariums, so I actually watched them while I was writing.

[...] This place made one want to learn about Earth’s oceans, which might make them less prone to destroying them. Since he’d taken up permanent residence on Earth, Loki had learned to love it—and he’d grown increasingly aware that humanity was rather short-sighted about the planet they lived on.

Loki the environmentalist.

Then again, somehow he doubted that if Hela had been better educated about Asgard’s mollusk population, she would have decided not to take over and kill everyone.

This line always makes me laugh.

[...] “Good,” Stephen said. “I figured you’d like it. But, you know. First date and everything. I wanted to get it right.”

The squirming in Loki’s stomach turned to a full explosion of butterflies. First date. Could two people have a first date when they’d already exchanged avowals of love? Hadn’t that been the first date? Or perhaps their first date had been years ago, without either of them quite knowing it?

It’s always a balance for me to write these fics that take place in the ‘future,’ as compared to where I am in the chronological writing of this verse. I just finished fic #6 in my series, which takes place in 2027. This fic takes place in 2030. The avowals of love Loki refers to hear is from the end of the last fic in the series, ‘The General Mess and Imprecision of Feeling,’ and is when the two of the officially get together. They unknowingly going on their first date years ago is a reference to the fact that the two of them have been doing date-like activities with each other for years, just with neither of them admitting it. One of my other fics for Froststrange Week is actually one of these instances (‘far away from here and closer to somewhere else,’ where they run into each other in Hong Kong and get drunk together). In fic #8 (which I’m working on now), they end up spending the day together in London. In fic #9, they spend a lot of Thor and Jane’s wedding together.

He craned his head up to stare at the top of the glass tunnel, 

They’re in the Ocean Voyager aquarium.

suddenly not knowing what to say, feeling as though he might make a fool of himself. A sea turtle swam by slowly, the underside of its shell gleaming like the moon. The truth was that he’d probably made a fool of himself in front of Stephen so many times that it no longer even registered to him.

Or maybe… Loki looked over at him. Stephen was watching him, a look in his eyes that made warmth spread through Loki. Maybe Stephen didn’t actually find Loki foolish. Maybe he never had.

The idea of Loki being a sentimental fool is something that pops up pretty constantly in my fics. Here, Loki is thinking of times he’s actually looked stupid in front of Stephen, real and imagined. He has the wherewithal to recognize that maybe a lot of them are imagined, and that even the real humiliations don’t make Stephen view Loki as a fool.

“How did you know I would like this?” Loki asked.

[...] “Remember the time we went to the Museum of Natural History?”

“Yes.” Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “You really played tour guide quite often, didn’t you?”

Giving Loki an amused look, Stephen said, “It seemed like the decent thing to do. I had royalty living at my house.”

[...] “Silly me,” Loki said. “I thought it might be because you had a bit of a thing for me back then.” Stephen shot him a crooked smile. It wasn’t agreement. But it certainly wasn’t denial, either.

Stephen definitely did have a thing for Loki back then. Loki had a thing for him, too. By the time Loki leaves the Sanctum, they’re in love with each other, though neither of them has quite realized it yet. Stephen realizes much sooner then Loki (surprise).

[...] If Loki was being honest, he’d been mildly terrified that he would arrive at the Sanctum and Stephen would do something—look at him in some way, speak to him in a way that was just a bit false—that Loki would know that Stephen had thought about it and decided that they’d made a terrible mistake and he was looking for a way to extricate himself from their new…relationship. Romance. Whatever it was.

This is Loki’s constant fear. It takes him a long, long time to stop worrying about it. It’s his fear with everyone, though. Boil Loki down to his bare essentials, and you get a giant heart and massive abandonment issues.

Loki snorted with laughter and then grinned at Stephen. “Your expression, honestly, Strange. I’ve seen you face far greater foes with much less fear.”

[...] Shrugging, Stephen said, “Kids. Not really my thing.”

“It’s not as though you need to bring them home.”

[...] “I enjoy the chaos that children cause.”

“You might be the only person here who’s enjoying the decibel level of that pack of kids,” Stephen said.

Loki actually really likes kids! And Stephen doesn’t at all.

Loki flashed a grin at him, thought about making a joke about having children, and then dismissed it. It would be a joke, because the last thing Loki wanted right now, possibly ever, was a child that he could pass all his hang-ups to. His own upbringing had been…a challenge. He doubted his ability to overcome it.

My main interest in the two of them ever having a child lies in exploring Loki’s issues with his own father.

[Stephen reveals his big surprise...is that he booked an aquarium sleepover] It was more than Loki didn’t know what to think. What was an aquarium sleepover? Sleeping here? They allowed people to do that? Had this cost extra money? Stephen didn’t have any money, so why would he spend extra on something like this?

You really can do aquarium sleepovers at the Georgia Aquarium! It’s actually not that expensive, but Loki knows that Stephen’s only income is a stipend from Kamar-Taj. Stephen has nothing at all left over from his pre-wizard days and he depends entirely on that stipend.

[...] The two of them continued through the aquarium, visiting each gallery in turn. Even though Loki was quite sure Stephen’s interest in all of this was limited, he never gave any indication that he was bored. He seemed, actually, entirely taken by Loki’s enthusiasm, and that was a feeling that Loki had certainly never experienced. 

I really tapped into that brand-new relationship feeling for this fic, haha.

The number of healthy romantic relationships that Loki had experienced was…pretty close to zero, so there had never been someone who had been interested both in sleeping with him and in seeing him enjoying his interests.

It actually is zero. Loki has never had a healthy romantic relationship. He’s hedging here because the romantic encounters he’s had that approach healthy count to him as relationships.

They ate dinner at the aquarium café, which was serviceable but nothing special. At least, the food was nothing special. It was the first time Loki and Stephen had eaten dinner together as a couple. Gods. Loki felt like an adolescent. He was eating a veggie burger and Stephen was eating chicken tenders, with drinks they’d filled themselves out of a fountain machine, and somehow it was the most romantic dinner he’d ever had. Stephen’s knee pressed against Loki’s under the table and he leaned forward like he couldn’t stand that the table top had put a couple feet of space between them.

In other words, Loki could have been eating just the ketchup packets that had been provided to him on his tray, and he would have been happier than he’d ever been in his life.

This is one of my favorite parts of the whole fic. Anyone who’s ever been crazy about a new romantic partner has had this experience, I think.

[Stephen conjures butterflies for the kids they encountered earlier] Suddenly, thousands of blue butterflies burst from within the half-spheres, swirling in a bright blue stream across the ceiling and amongst the children, whose delighted shrieks made their teachers wilt. The butterflies flitted, azure and lapis, iridescent, bobbing on air currents, until they turned to wisps of light and disappeared.

I rarely make use of the whole butterfly thing with Stephen, primarily because I tend to associate it with another Stephen ship (which is one of my NOTPs), but...it’s nice, right? I wanted to use it. A butterfly also appears in Doctor Strange, so it’s imagery that seems to be sort of associated with him.

[left alone in the gallery for their sleepover...] Loki looked around. “Shouldn’t there be other people here?” he asked.

Stephen looked immensely satisfied with himself. “Nope. We get the whole gallery to ourselves.”

Furrowing his brow, Loki asked, “How? Did you buy all the tickets?” This seemed as though it would have been exorbitantly expensive.

Still looking enormously pleased, Stephen said, “I might have played the Sorcerer Supreme card.”

“No one knows what the Sorcerer Supreme does.”

“Okay, fine. I said I was an Avenger.”

My head canon is that Stephen is pretty disdainful of the Avengers. He definitely doesn’t want to be part of the ‘team.’ He’s a loner by nature. Definitely the guy who hated group projects, because he was the one that got stuck doing all the work. This loner quality is something that Loki and Stephen have in common.

[...] Loki buried his nose in Stephen’s hair and breathed in his scent, his shampoo that smelled like sandalwood, the cologne he had definitely put on today, cedar and faintly citrusy. Norns, he smelled good.

Loki first associates the smell of sandalwood with Stephen in Sleight of Hand (it’s right at the end of chapter 12). His cologne makes an appearance in my fic ‘Afterimage,’ which is the fifth fic in my series.

[...] Loki took the sleeping bags from Stephen and undid the ties on them, which were knotted far too tightly for Stephen to loosen.

Stephen actually being affected by his disability is always important for me to include.

[...] Loki laughed. Maybe none of the other Masters thought Stephen was funny, but Loki had always found his sense of humor addictive, sly and surprising, and perfectly suited to Loki’s own.

This is a callback to Stephen’s and Wong’s exchange in Doctor Strange:

“People used to think I was funny.” “Did they work for you?”

[...] There were other things in the bag—a change of clothes for tomorrow, toothbrushes, toothpaste, some over-the-counter medications. When Stephen went to the bathroom to change, Loki snooped more thoroughly. Razor blade, shaving cream, nail clippers, a little bottle of mouthwash, a bottle of cologne. Loki decided to pop the cap open and smell that, then tried to tell himself that the feeling that washed over him could be described in some other way than ‘a swoon.’ There was nothing in the bag that implied Stephen thought they’d be doing anything tonight but sleeping.

I really love this because it’s really not particularly above board for Loki to snoop through Stephen’s bag...but it is a very Loki thing to do. And pretty human. Especially because he’s looking for condoms and lube. Of course he is! They’re spending the night together...are they Spending The Night Together?

[...] Stephen looked at the foot of empty space separating the two sleeping bags, then glanced up at Loki. “Are you comfortable with…” he began, then trailed off, before trying again, “I mean, do you want to be…further away…?”

“Do you?” Loki asked. When Stephen hesitated, Loki took a guess about what the honest answer was, then reached out and tugged Stephen’s sleeping bag until it was right next to his.

Stephen is big on enthusiastic consent. Loki is far more willing to take his chances and guess based on body language.

Eventually, they drew apart, and Loki couldn’t help suspecting it had something to do with the way Stephen seemed to be keeping his hips pulled back just a little. Temptation. If Loki reached down…

But no. Instead, he very deliberately folded an arm under his head, resting his head on his bicep. Stephen did something that looked like it was probably a clothing or anatomy adjustment to accommodate a situation, but Loki didn’t comment. Quite honesty, he had his own situation down there, and it just felt like good manners not to say anything.

I honestly have no idea what guys would do in this situation. Just guessing based on both of their personalities. Is a first date too soon to admit, ‘Hey, you just gave me a boner?’ It feels like it is?

Neither of them spoke for a minute or two. They simply stared at each other. Then, Stephen said gently, “I know you’re worried.”

“Worried?” Loki raised an eyebrow. “What do you think I’m worried about?”

Stephen’s gaze didn’t waver. “This.” When Loki pressed his lips together, Stephen added, “You think I’m going to change my mind. Right?”

No one has ever gotten Loki the way Stephen gets him. And Stephen is very patient, very gentle, and very like...you know when you pspspspsps and hold your hand out to a cat? That’s Stephen with Loki, haha.

[...] “The reasons are myriad, of course [for Loki’s insecurity]. I’ve made poor choices. But yes. In part, it’s because I’m…challenging. And people change their minds.”

Oh hey look, it’s the author projecting.

[...] But Loki was greedy. He didn’t want to say in a few months, or a few years, This was great while it lasted. 

There’s something kind of sad to me about the idea that Loki can’t even view his love for Stephen as an entirely good thing. He’s a sentimental fool, he’s overly romantic, he’s greedy. And if I wanted to go this route, I could easily make Loki very co-dependent in this relationship; it would be easy to turn it really unhealthy. But I don’t want to, haha. It makes sense that Loki would feel like he has to gorge himself on Stephen’s adoration of him, because he’s never really had this before, not from someone he wants to be with (other people have loved him, but he hasn’t loved them back).

He would already have to give it up too soon, because he would outlive Stephen by such a long time. And he already knew there would never be anyone else.

There isn’t. Stephen will die, and Loki won’t ever be with anyone else. Luckily for him, he gets Stephen back eventually.

Stephen leaned forward and kissed Loki softly; the most tender, most heartfelt kiss Loki had ever experienced. “Don’t worry,” he murmured, his lips warm against Loki’s.

It was difficult not to deepen the kiss, difficult not to kiss Stephen harder. He’d never needed anything to be true as much as he needed this to be true, or at least it felt like it. Don’t worry. But Loki always worried. All the good things in his life still felt so fragile, as though they could implode at any moment.

Though—he supposed he was getting better at not actively sabotaging them himself.

This is part of Loki’s arc in my fic. Stephen and he aren’t together until Loki heals in a lot of other ways. One of them is not trying to blow things up so he can control their destruction.

Thank you so much for asking!! Sorry for the delay in responding.

Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut

[jiemba]

Sanvers Week Day 2 - Nerd Girlfriends

In all her years of being wined and dined by well-intentioned young men she tried so hard to love, Alex hoped she’d learned a thing or two about how to treat a lady. But when Maggie first came over to her apartment with pizza and beer, to make all her hopes come true and kiss her for what felt like the first time, Alex had blurted out that she wanted to take her on a date before she even realised that she’d never planned one in her life. Where the hell did lesbians go for dates anyway? She didn’t think she’d ever seen any at the movies, at a restaurant… Did they just go to gay places? Is that why she’d never noticed? The doubt must have shown on her face, because Maggie had smiled a little and tucked some of Alex’s hair behind her ear. “Danvers, you really don’t have to. I feel like I should take you out first. You know, to show you how the other half live,” she joked. “Pfft, thank you, but I’ve got this,” Alex chuckled, eyes flitting anywhere but into the too-warm intensity of Maggie’s. “I can plan a date. I’m the best at planning dates. I’m…I’m known for it.”

But the next day, she’d shown up on her sister’s doorstep in a flurry of God, Kara, what have I done? Maggie was right, what do I know about taking out girls? Should I bring flowers? Do lesbians even get girls flowers? And who pays? What do I wear? They’d settled it all over potstickers, Kara actually letting Alex have some for a change as she tried to assure her that the dating etiquette was probably the same, that Maggie wouldn’t expect her to toss her money around and kiss the ground she walked on. Just something simple. Genuine. Something that taught her a bit about Alex. You deserve some fun in your life, Kara had said. Just treat her how you want to be treated and you’ll be fine. She did bring Maggie flowers, in the end – not without an internal panic that it was just a straight guy thing, that it was too much for a first date. But Maggie had beamed when she saw her, and she’d worn a skirt tonight, and Alex was the reason she’d worn a skirt tonight, the realisation entirely unbelievable. “You gonna tell me where we’re going?” Maggie tried as they headed outside to Alex’s bike. “Yeah, right. It’s all in the suspense, Sawyer.” “If you say so, Danvers,” she chuckled, tugging on her leather jacket in a way that Alex was sure was the sexiest way to put on clothes. “I suppose it’s worth the risk, to share a ride with such a beautiful girl.” As if that wasn’t enough, Alex felt Maggie hike up her skirt a little to sit behind her, and had to fight to keep her balance. It was entirely distracting, in the most deliciously dangerous way, to have Maggie literally wrapped around her, so close her perfume mixed with the pine of trees as they climbed the hills on the edge of the city, the bike’s headlamp their only light. “You’re not gonna dump my body out here, are you, Danvers?” Maggie shouted over the engine, arms tight around her waist. Alex just smirked, deciding it was more fun to pretend she never heard. At the top of the hill, an enormous old building sat on the edge cliff, looking over the sparkling city. Realising where they were, Maggie chuckled as she climbed off the bike and shook out her hair from her helmet. “Excellent choice,” she teased with a smirk. “Nerd.”

Years ago, in the first half of college, Alex used to work here at the National City Museum of Science. On the weekdays, she ran workshops for school groups where she’d show kids how to make baking soda volcanoes, how to pet a sloth, calculating how much they would weigh if they lived on other planets. But her favourite shifts were Thursday evenings, when she’d take tour groups up to the telescopes and show them her favourite planets. And on the first Thursday of the month, the centre ran late adults-only nights where, away from the usual running and screaming children, people could wander the museum with a glass of wine, dance to live music in the main hall, snuggle in the planetarium. The only thing Alex didn’t like about working those events was seeing so many couples out, not understanding the twinge in her chest seeing pretty girls holding their boyfriends’ hands, wishing she could ever be as happy. But whenever a cute NCU student would flirt with her, feigning interest in whatever animal she was wrangling that night, she found herself blushing, hands shaking too much to hold the poor thing with any stability, talking endlessly about their physiology to distract herself from the expectation in his smile. How different things were, now, to have Maggie distract her from all else. How even in the rainforest dome, surrounded by butterflies, hands outstretched, she was by far the most beautiful thing.   “Oh my god, Alex, I got one!” she giggled, showing Alex the feather-light creature that had settled in her palm. “Hey there, gorgeous…” “He’s beautiful,” Alex agreed, their shoulders brushing as they watched it tilt its wings, happy in its new home. “It’s a boy?” “Yeah, you can tell from the colouring – gotta look sexy for the ladies. He’s also larger than the females of his species.” “Nerd,” Maggie teased. “He is pretty sexy. Hope he procreates.” Alex laughed as the butterfly fluttered away to a nearby tree. “Fly free, little dude. Go get laid.” Immediately she blushed at her words, realising what she’d said. Thankfully, Maggie just laughed along, giving her a nudge. “Come on, smartypants, let’s go down to the aquarium.” On the way, they were impossibly close, shoulders bumping, Alex hiding her hand in her pocket so it didn’t brush Maggie’s. But the pull was undeniable, like the tug of an approaching wave, and emboldened by Maggie’s jokes, Maggie’s smiles, she decided to be brave, letting her knuckles just barely graze Maggie’s from time to time. “God, I haven’t been here in years,” Maggie told her, glass of wine in her other hand as they passed walls of fish, dolphins, sharks. “We had nothing like this back home.” “What did you have in Nebraska?” “Horses. About the only thing I miss,” Maggie replied, and when she smiled, it was almost wistful. “It was sweet of you to bring me here. Thank you.” “Anytime. It’s been ages for me too. I loved working in this section. We used to have to get in in the pool with the manatees to help the vets do their health checks, but they always just wanted to play. They’re like big sea puppies.” Maggie grinned. “I can totally imagine baby nerd Alex losing her mind, thinking she had the best job in the world.” They settled on a bench in the snow exhibit, a chilled enclosure with penguins on the other side of a small barricade. “You cold?” Alex asked, noticing Maggie shiver a little. “I’m OK.” “No you’re not,” Alex chuckled, draping her own jacket around Maggie’s shoulders. “Alex, you don’t hav-” “Yes I do. Had to learn something from the guys I dated, after all,” she joked. The jacket was too big on Maggie, and Alex restrained herself from teasing her tiny date. Maggie had to admit, it was pretty smooth, and she had to turn her face to the penguins to hide her blush. “Looks like we’re not the only ones on a date,” she said, noticing that they were all in pairs, building nests. “You know when a penguin likes someone, he gives her a pebble? If the girl accepts it then they use it to build a nest together.” Maggie chuckled. “So heteronormative. Must be sad to be a gay penguin, all alone and pebble-less.” “There used to be a gay couple in a New York zoo. The staff gave them abandoned eggs to raise.” “That’s so cute.” Maggie nudged her a little, almost conspiratorially. “You think any of these ones are gay?” “So gay,” Alex laughed. “If not, we could always recruit them to the dark side.” On the other side of the barrier, one penguin followed another down a slide and into the water. “I remember the first time we visited National City from Midvale,” Alex said, “we brought Kara here. I don’t know if I told you, but she’s adopted, and we’d just got her. She was always so fascinated as a kid by how the world worked, all the animals. In Midvale, turtles were her favourite, but here... She’d never seen a penguin or a snake or a platypus. Everything was new. It was like her brain exploded. I was… I was jealous. But it was nice too, being able to show her, you know?” “You guys sound really close.” “We are.” Noticing Alex starting to tremble, Maggie handed her back her jacket. “We should go somewhere warmer before you freeze. I’d like to return the favour after tonight and I’d prefer my date to be alive.” Alex almost stammered. “You would?” Grinning cheekily, Maggie used her foot to nudge a pebble into Alex’s shoe. “That answer your question?” Alex raised her eyebrows. “That was such a poor effort. You’d have zero game in the penguin world.” “What! Come on.” “You have to at least find a nice one! Do you know how long penguins search for the right -” “Eugh fine, so high maintenance,” Maggie groaned, leaning over to inspect the ground before finding a rounder, smoother pebble and handing it to Alex with exaggerated care. “M’lady.” “Oh why thank you, nerd,” she teased, but truly Alex was touched by the gesture. They caught eyes for a moment, and Alex knew enough about dating to understand that this was an opportunity. Anticipation hung in the air between them, a restrained sparkle Alex couldn’t quite decipher in Maggie’s eyes. But nerves took her, and Alex pocketed the stone in her jacket. Sensing her hesitation, Maggie stood up and offered Alex her hand. The sensation was entirely overwhelming. As they continued through the water animals section, past otters and seals, Alex’s brain overloaded at the soft warmth of Maggie’s hand in hers, the tenderness of her touch, the fact that she was holding a woman’s hand at all, and she couldn’t bring herself to lift her eyes from the floor in case people were staring, and god this felt like nothing she’d ever felt before but what if it was a mistake, what if it was wrong, what if it wasn’t safe – “Alex? You still with me?” “What?” Alex asked, blinking away tears as fast as she could. Maggie stopped them near the touch pool, her hand out of Alex’s now, gently cradling her elbow. “I lost you for a sec there. You OK?” “Yeah, I…” Alex started to say, but her face burned, and her eyes stung. “I’m just being stupid, I -” “No, Alex - I’m sorry. If that was too much, we don’t have to.” Alex let a shaky breath out of her chest, watching the jellyfish bob past her in the next window. “I want to,” she said slowly. “I just… I’ve never properly held a girl’s hand before. I didn’t expect it to feel so…” Terrifying. Strange. Beautiful. “Different?” “Yeah.” “Alex, that’s OK. You’ve been literally trained not to do this you’re whole life. It’s gonna take a little getting used to.” Smiling softly, shyly, Alex let her eyes flit to Maggie’s just for a second, before slipping her hand back into hers, this time interlocking their fingers. Squeezing tight. “I could get used to this.” “Me too,” Maggie replied, squeezing a little in return. Once Alex took those first few steps holding Maggie’s hand, and hardly anyone was noticing, she started to feel less like the roof was about to cave in on her head and more like the room didn’t even matter at all. Soon enough they were both laughing again, Alex holding Maggie close as they approached a rockpool full of crabs (“They’re like giant spiders of the sea, Danvers, I can’t deal”), Maggie later soothing her while she held a snake for the first time in years, figuring tonight was a night for facing fears. Eventually, they settled with their wine glasses on a bean bag in the planetarium, while a lone guitarist was playing acoustic covers in the corner. Alex could hardly concentrate on the projections above her, the supernovae on the ceiling, because Maggie was tracing golden ratio swirls over the inside of her wrist, and all she could do was let her eyes flutter shut and sigh out a breath. She felt the trace of her everywhere, somehow both gentle and powerful, and when she opened her eyes, Maggie was smiling gently, eyes bright. “You’re really beautiful, you know that?” Alex shifted a little to face her, letting Maggie trace a single finger over her hairline. “So are you.” When they finally kissed, Alex felt every place their bodies touched, and every place they didn’t. Maggie seemed to warm her from the inside out, to fill all of her senses, and they naturally edged closer together, forgetting the sky above them, and before long, Alex was breathless, needing to pull away. “You OK?” Alex nodded, releasing something between a sigh and a laugh, still holding the woman’s face in her hands. “Yeah just… It’s never been like this. I feel so much… I didn’t know… God, this is what it was supposed to feel like the whole time?” Maggie nodded, smiling against her lips, and when she kissed Alex again, it felt like a welcome home. They kissed long, and slow, and tender, winding fingers through hair, gently tugging at collars. Like a revelation, Alex finally understood why girls wore skirts. Maggie’s thigh slid against hers, perhaps accidentally, but the warmth of her skin, the sheer expanse of it, was dizzying, destabilising. Alex knew then that if she kissed her neck, Maggie would arch for her. If she slid her hand up her thigh, toyed with the edge of that skirt, she would tremble. Wherever Alex went, Maggie would follow. It was a chain reaction as true as any physics. God, it would be easy, so easy, to keep going. But Maggie smiled against her mouth, peppered kisses along her jaw. “We shouldn’t get carried away,” she murmured. Alex nodded, but in truth she barely heard her, drunk on a heady sort of pleasure she’d never felt, and could only compare to hunger. After that, it was like they’d woken something they couldn’t put back to sleep. Alex took Maggie by the hand through every hallway, pulling her close to share coy kisses against the wall of the shark tunnel, against the railing in the rooftop garden. At the close of the night, they joined the other couples slow-dancing under the whale skeleton in the main hall, and kissed like it was a mistletoe of bones, and Alex felt no shame, no fear. Sharing liquid nitrogen ice cream on the balcony over the city, they talked about home, about each other, seeking out all the things they had to learn before walking back to the bike, high on sugar and kisses. “OK, I’ve got another one. You’re so hot you denature my proteins.” Maggie cringed through her laugh. “That was worse.” “Hey babygirl,” Alex teased. “Are you a charged atom? Because I've got my ion you.” “Enough, seriously.” “If you were a concen-” “You have to stop now.” Alex grinned, tugged her to a halt. “Make me,” she told her, her voice low with the challenge. Never one to back down, Maggie pulled her close, kissed her soft and sweet, and the head rush came on so strong that Alex had to pull away. “Wow.” “Yeah.” Alex smirked. “We really do have good chemistry.” “Oh my God, Danvers.” Alex’s laughter hit her in one bright rush. Because for all those years, she thought she’d never have this. All those years kissing boys, then men, feeling nothing but chemiluminescent reactions – the kind that produced light but not heat. Maggie felt like the opposite. All heat, but no light, no light, no light. But that was OK. Because she’d hold Alex’s hand through the dark.  

[thirstyfortom]

I have been thinking of this Headcanons for a while now and I hope u can bring my imagination into light! what if rfa+v+Searan first meeting with MC at an aquarium where she works as a diver and saw her for the first time behind the glass diving with sharks and small fishies and stuff~ maybe she looked like a mermaid :P I'm sorry if it's complicated and it's ok if u don't want to do it~ love u~

I love these scenarios when they meet before RFA

I wrote this when I was really sleepy and slightly drunk, so I have no idea if any of this makes any sense lololol. Anyway, hope u like it! ^^

RFA + Saeran and V meet MC at an aquarium

Zen

He was there for a photo shoot and decided to take a look at the place

You passed by his side wearing your scuba suit, talking to a colleague about checking on the sharks

He followed you, he just… felt this urge to go after you.

And he watched you mesmerized, you were so elegant… and so brave for being that close to the sharks!

“Isn’t it scary?” he had to ask when you got out, you looked at him puzzled. “The… sharks?”

“Oh… no, not at all! They don’t do anything if they’re fed properly and… if you’re not bleeding.” you say this so naturally and with this huge smile, it’s adorable! “Don’t tell anybody, but… they’re my favorites!”

He felt warm inside about you sharing this secret with him. “Wh-why is that?”

“I don’t know, there’s something exciting about fearing them, you know? Being around something so majestic and dangerous. It’s like…” “Liking someone and being afraid of hurting them with all of your passion?” SHIT! What is he saying? This isn’t one of his musicals!

“Yeah… something like that…” you chuckle. Oh, did you really get it or are you just being polite? “Hey, do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar…”

“I get that a lot, actually.” nah, he wouldn’t brag right now, it was time to know more about you. “So… what’s y-?” one of the sharks bump into the glass and he yelps.

“Oh, shit, Hercules! He’s a little blind, I… I should go, he gets all disoriented when this happens. See ya!” you run without even looking at him.

“Yes… see ya.” Well, he would actually see you a few weeks later standing at his door.

Yoosung

He’s there on a tour promoted by one of his teachers

He’s not really interested in any of this. Sea animals are not really his thing. Then he gets to the dolphin area.

Then you show up and greet his class, and the tour guide introduces you. “This is MC, she usually works with the dolphins and the other mammals.”

“Do you feed them?” somebody asks. “Well, that too, but I mainly provide activities to stimulate their brains. You see, dolphins are extremely smart creatures, and…” you go on talking about dolphin’s brains, and Yoosung is… really interested in all you have to say, he’s even taking notes.

“But enough talking, do any of you want to see how we do it? Let’s see… hum, how about you in the back? The blond one?” he’s so taken aback by your face he doesn’t even notice you’re talking about him, his buddy nudges him and he notices you’re looking straight at him… SHIT

He goes to you hesitantly, your smile is so beautiful and… your curves on this tight scuba suit… wait, what? “What’s your name?”

“Y-Yoosung.” “Cool! So our friend Yoosung here will shuffle these numbers and our other friend Chi Chi will put them in the right order. Here you go, buddy.” shit, you’re so nice! He’s trembling while shuffling the cards. “Okay, Yoosung, you can give to her.”

“M-me?” “Yeah! Don’t worry, she won’t bite! Well, she does sometimes and it hurts as hell, but…” you see his eyes widening. “I’m kidding!” he hears his mates laughing, ugh…

He hands the cards to Chi Chi and she quickly puts them in order, then you explain this isn’t training like in the circus, it’s just a method to stimulate their memory.

After the demonstration is over, the teacher calls a a little break for the students to explore as they please, but Yoosung wants to stay right there.

“Good job, she really liked you!” you say enthusiastically, are you just being nice or are you genuinely this bright? Either way, your smile is beautiful. “I’m so lame for being afraid, I… I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Yoosung! It can be a little intimidating at first…” oh, you remember his name! He wants to know more about you, but then you get a call and run quickly. Well, he would have another chance pretty soon in the chat room.

Jaehee

Well, this was the oddest meeting Mr Han’s associate could ever come up with

Then she sees the jellyfishes and this diver swimming right beside them.

It’s… beautiful! And the diver moves as flowing and elegant as them.

And then the diver looks through the glass, straight at… her? And waves for her? She awkwardly waves back.

“Hey! Did you like the jellyfishes?” you ask her coming from behind. You’re still on your scuba suit. Oh… were you that elegant diver from before?

“Yes, they’re… beautiful! Isn’t it dangerous? I mean… don’t their tentacles burn?” “Oh, my suit protects me, see?” you grab her hand and make her squeeze your arm. She blushes.

“It’s made of a special material, they just bought it thanks to this new investor.” “Yes, it was… my boss, actually.”

“Oh… cool! Your boss is sickening!” is… that a good thing? Judging from your huge smile, it is, she frowns her forehead and you chuckle. “Oh… maybe not?”

She gives this weird smile. “Yeah, my boss is a pain in the ass sometimes too.” how can you talk so easilly to a stranger? But she can’t stop listening to you, for some reason…

She would like to hear more, and talk more. Maybe venting to an outsider about how stressed she was would bring her some relief?

“Oh… speaking of the devil…” you fidget your walkie talkie on your hand. “Gotta go!”

Well… too bad! It wasn’r right now she would have the chance to vent. Gladly she does much more than that when you two meet again.

Jumin

He heard about this aquarium getting closed and thought about investing in it.

He has his aquarium at home and… well, he really appreciates these creatures, he doesn’t like to think what could happen to the animals if the aquarium gets closed.

So he goes there to see what exactly he’s dealling with. And then he sees this diver surrounded by colorful seahorses.

It’s almost like a mirage, and this diver is apparently having lots of fun. Yes, working with something you love is really fulfilling.

“Hi! We’re… closed right now.” “I’m here to see the admnistrator, actualy.” “I’ll take you there, come on”

He’s a little uncomfortable about walking side by side with this woman all wet, aren’t you cold? “So… may I ask why do you want to see the boss?”

“Well, this is… I would rather not talk about it for now.” Yes, he shouldn’t be discusing this with one of the employees.

“Okay… just know we’re doing our best here, but it’s really hard to keep things in order with such a low budget, I’m saving up as much as I can with the seahorse’s food, for example and…”

“Don’t worry about it. Keep doing your best and it will pay off, I can guarantee.” “Okay, I guess…” he wanted to know more, what were your position here exactly, your name…

“Here you go, sir!” you patted his shoulder friendly and turned around.

He was impressed at how much you cared for this job and for the animals, if every employee was this hardworking, he would be more than happy to buy the place.

And he did, but you just got to know that when you went to his penthouse a couple of weeks later.

Saeyoung

That was a weird mission, the thugs were getting more and more creative about places to do money laundering. An aquarium?

He wasn’t sure where to start looking, so he was just strolling around, looking for places he could infiltrate.

Then he saw this girl feeding the seals. Five of them all around you.

He couldn’t hold back a chuckle when he saw you doing this weird dance and the seals mimicking you.

You heard him chuckle and quickly turned around, looking straight at him and blushing. How… adorable!

“Hi! Can I help you?” “Oh… I’m… I’m from supervision, they sent me… to supervise?” WTF? He usually comes up with good stories, why couldn’t he lie properly staring at your curious face?

“So, uhm… about the seals. Are they getting the right treatment?” and you suddenly started talking about their feeding, their meds, even some biology jargons, it looked nothing like the girl who blushed before noticing she was being observed.

“Do you… like working here?” “Well, I… I’m a little worried about the new administration, but sure. I love this so much!” you eyes gleamed. Shit! Now he was the one blushing.

“About the new administration…” “I shouldn’t probably talk about this. Be careful on what you write on your report.” were you… worried for him? You didn’t even know him!

He knew he shouldn’t, but he really wanted to catch at least your name. Hell, now he was worried for you working for thugs! Was there nothing he could do to protect you?

Well, after the background check, he took the liberty to send your resumé to another aquarium, one with honest administrators. You didn’t remember sending any resumé to that place, so you knew it could only be his doing. Yes, even pushing you away like this at Rika’s apartment, you knew how much he cared about you…

Saeran

He heard about the ice cream they were selling at this aquarium

But the restaurant there would open a little later, ugh… crap!

Well, since he’s here, why not take a look at what these children are making such a fuss about?

Then he sees you explaining to the kids about the starfishes and other animals at these interactive tanks.

“Be gentle, guys! Though it doesn’t show, they can feel everything!” he could see you were trying to be nice to the children, but you were more concerned about the animals.

“Yay! Now let’s take a look at the turtles?” they ran away from the tank.

“Why do they let animals like this for these brats to touch it?” “Well, it’s a… sensorial experience or… some bullshit like this.” Oh! Did you just swear? How feisty! “If you ask me, I think this is ridiculous and just stresses the animals, but… I don’t make the rules.”

“So why do you follow them?” “Well, isn’t it how society works?”

“What if there’s a place you don’t need to follow those rules?” “Well, this sound very utopic, but… I think it would be nice to me…and to the animals…”

Well, he couldn’t do much about the animals, but about you… did he just find his target to help him destroy RFA?

Yes, as he managed to hack into your phone, he knew! You were perfect to be taken to paradise!

V

He felt really inspired to take some pictures of this wonderful place with such wonderful creatures.

Well, he didn’t expect the most wondeful one to be a human.

He took pictures of this diver moving with the rays like they were all floating, it was amazing!

“My camera loves you… miss.” he took the initiative to talk to you when you came down, you looked puzzled, so he showed you the pictures.

“Oh, the rays are the fotogenic ones, actually.” “Yes, they move beautifully, it’s a shame I can’t really capture the whole movement of them.”

“Dude, are you kidding me? Look at this! You can feel the motion! It’s amazing! You’re… amazing!” and you blushed, he smiled softly, you were even more charming like this.

“Thank you, I’m just really lucky that sometimes I find just the right model.” “Oh yeah, the rays are great models!” he laughed, in addition to all of that, you were still funny? You were the amazing one here.

“You’re the guy they hired to take the promo pictures?” “Oh no, I’m just doing this for fun…” “So you’re a tourist?”

“I guess you can say that. Aren’t we all tourists when it comes to getting involved with these creatures?” “I don’t feel like a tourist around them.”

“Yes, you really look like one of them, look at this, it’s almost like a mermaid.” you blush furiously, and he grins, you’re definitely enchanting as a mermaid, at least.

He could talk to you all day if you let him, but then you got a call and ran without even saying goodbye. Well, maybe you two could meet up again one day? Who knows?