#at this rate i might just end up doing a seasonal swathe of boys. one spring one summer one autumn or something | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

argylemnwrites · 5 years ago

Text

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment - Chapter 20

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Canon Divergent from Book 2, Chapter 15)

Word Count: ~6100

Rating: R (language, explicit 30 diamond content)

Summary: Reunited

Author’s Note: Just one more chapter and the epilogue after this, folks.

This series diverges from TRR canon, where instead of waiting to discuss his relationship with Riley until their last night in NYC, leaving her a note while Liam is proposing to her, Drake tackles this topic as soon as possible after Tariq makes his statement and Riley’s name is cleared. To catch up on this series, you can find the previous chapters in my masterlist (link is located in my bio).

Drake didn’t know what to do, what to say. The greeting had been obvious, but now he stood there, just staring at her as she did the same. It was so uncomfortable, and Drake had no idea how to make it better. Maxwell and Liam had both said it was in his power to make things right. But they had way too much faith in him here. He was absolute shit when it came to talking about things. Feelings. Emotions. All that crap. Yet, that was what he had to do here. Man, he just knew he was gonna screw everything up.

Taking a deep breath, Drake tried to find some words. “Do you think… I mean… we should probably… why don’t we… I guess-”

“Come on,” said Riley, spinning on her feet, “I have a place we can go.”

Drake felt his eyebrows scrunching together at that. He hoped they would head back to her place, but maybe she didn’t want him there. Regardless, she was striding with purpose towards the escalators, so he grabbed his bag and hurried after her. He couldn’t get left behind.

He followed her, not to the train, as he’d expected, but to the taxi bay. He loaded his luggage into the trunk before joining her in the backseat. She sat behind the driver, fingers drumming on her knees. The middle seat between them felt like some sort of clear barrier. Drake kept glancing over at Riley, but felt like it would be wrong to reach out and touch her.

Every time she turned to look at him, he found himself quickly jerking his head over to look out the window. It was like they were back in the social season, back when he wouldn’t realize he was staring at her at some ball or bullshit event until she locked eyes with him. It had been an annoying realization back then - how much his eyes drifted to her.

The ride to wherever Riley had told the cab to go was shockingly short, so soon Drake was grabbing his suitcase out of the trunk, taking in their surroundings. He had no idea where they were. It didn’t feel like New York City. There was a giant parking lot off to one side, and a swath of brush to the other. Drake didn’t see any other people around. He would have been sure they’d left the city if the ride had been any longer.

“It’s just a bit of a walk,” said Riley, gesturing through the brush.

“Should I bring this with me?” asked Drake, holding up his suitcase.

“Shit, I didn’t think about your luggage,” she said, “But yeah, bring it with unless you want it stolen.”

So Drake hefted up his suitcase and followed Riley across the stretch of land until they reached a small beach. It was quiet and isolated, not at all the type of place Drake would imagine finding in this city. The wind whipped off the water carrying a cool moisture and adding a deeper chill to the late fall evening. He instinctively glanced over at Riley, noting that she was just wearing a sweater. Clearly, either she hadn’t planned on taking him here initially, or she just didn’t think things through at all. She was gonna freeze.

“Here,” said Drake, dropping his suitcase into the sand, “take a seat. I’ll get a bonfire started.”

After he gathered some scattered driftwood and dry brush for kindling, Drake pulled out his lighter, nursing the flames to life before making his way back over to Riley, sitting down on the relatively flat rock next to his suitcase. The fire wasn’t large, but the warmth from the flames helped somewhat.

He looked over at Riley. She didn’t look too cold, but she did have her sweater wrapped around her tightly. She was staring straight ahead, almost through the flames. She was silent for a long time. Drake wasn’t sure if he was supposed to talk first, but since she was the one who wanted to come out here, he figured he would follow her lead, so he just sat there, staring out at the water with her.

“I used to come out here all the time when I was a teenager.”

Her words were quiet and small, but clear. Drake didn’t look at her. When she got like this, it was always because she was sharing something she’d rather forget, and he knew eye contact might scare her off at this point. So he just sat there, still and silent, waiting for her to continue.

“It was my mom’s fourth stint in prison, and I was with a family that lived not too far from JFK. The Grissoms. They were probably the worst foster family I was with. Nasty people, absolutely hated kids, just wanted the tax break. There were three other teenagers in the house and everyone was just mean and cruel. This one boy, Jason, was 16, and he stole all my clothes a couple of times and tried to get me to… well, let’s just say, I hated it there.

“So, I tried to run away. I figured I could keep getting food at school and just live on the streets, but little Chinese girls tend to get a lot of unwanted attention if they’re out at night, so I just kept moving until I found this place. I just wanted somewhere remote, somewhere where no one would find me. It was peaceful. No one was harassing me. I would watch the planes take off from JFK and feel like maybe someday I’d really be able to get away from it all. I don’t know, I guess it gave me hope. I managed four nights out here when I was fourteen before a couple found me and called the cops.

“I got moved to a different home, at least. The Grissoms didn’t want to deal with an ‘ungrateful runaway bitch’ so they told my case worker that I was causing problems, hitting the other kids in their home, stealing from them, that sort of shit. I don’t know if the case worker believed them, or if it was easier just to get me out of there to not have to deal with their complaints, but she placed me with a different family for the last couple of months of my mom’s sentence.

“But no matter where I went for the next few years, no matter what neighborhood I got placed in or if I was back in Chinatown with my mom, I would come out here when I wanted to be alone and just think. It’s quiet, you know, and there’s rarely anyone else here.

“I haven’t been back here in a few years. The last time was after my mother’s funeral, when I realized I was gonna have to drop out of college because I didn’t have a dime left to my name after her bare-bones funeral. But since then, I don’t know. I guess I just avoided thinking about things too deeply. It was easier just to drift along, never dealing with anything serious. Never letting things get serious.

“I probably should have come out here more, ya know? I should have maybe actually dealt with some of my shit. But Drake, you have to understand that my experience in Cordonia, getting to know you guys… well it was nothing like anything I’d ever had before. I’d never had friends who actually gave a damn about me. And sometimes it still feels like it’s all going to come crashing down and leave me all alone. I’ve always ended up alone before.

“I panicked when you told me you were going to stay in Cordonia, and I assumed that I would never see you again. But I shouldn’t have ignored all your texts. That was… well, a mad shitty thing to do. So I’m sorry.”

“Riley, come on. I should be the one apologizing,” Drake began, turning his head to face her, watching her shake her head lightly.

“For what? Spending a week and a half with your best friend after his father died while he was under threat of attack? Come on, Drake. You know that was a reasonable thing to do.” Her head dropped slightly at that, staring down at the sand beneath her feet.

“Maybe not for that,” Drake acquiesced, turning back to face the fire, “But for acting like I didn’t want to be here with you? For letting you think that I wanted out? Well, I could probably stand to apologize for that.”

He noticed Riley shift in his peripheral vision. He felt her eyes on him, her gaze practically burning a hole into the side of his head. She didn’t say a damn thing, though. Well, that must mean it was his turn to talk.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about… well, my life, I guess,” Drake started, dropping his head down to stare at his shoes. “I dunno, I think that I’ve been pretty… aimless, I guess is the right word, for about eight years. All I’ve really done is just kinda vaguely be there for Liam.

“Liam… well he kind of pointed out that I often tried to keep things that were bothering me from him. He just had so much stressful shit on his plate already, I didn’t ever want to add to that, you know? But he said it didn’t do us any favors in the long run that I kept everything hidden away. He was right, of course. It turned our friendship into some sort of duty in my mind. And that’s not fucking healthy. Since I left university, I’ve basically made myself his emotional guardian at the expense of every fucking other thing in my life.

“And I was really damn good at it. It turns out that I’m a fucking champ at repressing all the shit I’m feeling. At least I was until I dumped years of crap on Liam the day you left Cordonia.”

“Drake, are you guys…?” she asked, reaching over and grabbing his wrist. It was the first time she’d touched him since she’d gotten on that plane, and even though she was trying to be reassuring and gentle, he still almost felt as if her fingers carried an electric jolt. He swallowed roughly, trying to gain a better grasp on his emotions. Talking about all this shit was hard enough without him freaking out like a thirteen year old whose crush waved at him.

“We’re okay now. He uhhh… well, he had a bunch of shit to unload on me, too.”

“About… us?”

Drake glanced over at Riley. She looked so nervous, her brow furrowed and her lips scrunched together. She obviously felt guilty that she might have in any way played a role in the shit that went down between him and Liam. Drake’s instinct was to reassure her, tell her what she needed to hear to get that look off her face. But hiding the truth because it wouldn’t be pleasant for her was the type of shit he knew he needed to stop doing. So he took a deep breath and started talking again.

“I mean, that was part of it. More so that I didn’t tell him something was going on between us earlier than us actually being together, but yeah. We were… a topic of conversation. But Liu, it went a lot deeper than us. I mean, we both had stuff from years and years ago we threw at each other. Shit from long before we even met you.

“I told you about the assassination attempt, how I left university to be there for him and all that? Well, I don’t think I ever really let myself move on from that decision. I just fucked around for almost a decade. I didn’t make life plans, I didn’t move forward. I just was there for Liam. And somewhere along the way, I don’t know, I stopped even thinking about what I might want out of life. It’s like I didn’t let myself have a future.

“I guess I kind of fell into this pattern where I just hung around in case Liam needed me for something. I didn’t give it much thought. I don’t know. I just kind of… existed. I was really stuck. But then you came along, and I got to know you. It actually felt like someone got me. I could talk to you. I could drink with you. I didn’t hate myself when I was around you, and for the first time in a long time, I wanted something for myself.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when he realized how bad they sounded. He scrambled, quickly saying, “Shit. Liu, I didn’t mean that I saw you as some sort of object to own or keep or-” but Riley squeezed the wrist she was still holding, sliding her hand down into his, effectively cutting off his rambling apology.

“I know what you meant, Drake.”

He nodded and took another deep breath, “Right. Well, you know all this anyway. As much as I wanted to be with you, I just didn’t feel like there was any way you would ever want to be with me. Not when Liam was right there, and certainly not when no woman had ever wanted to stick around before. So I shoved you away. I pushed you towards Liam. But even with all that shit, you still somehow saw me. You stuck around. And I’m not used to anyone sticking around.”

Drake let his words hang there, the wind whipping across the beach and the crackle of the bonfire the only sounds. He was tempted to light up a cigarette, something to distract himself from the weird mix of emotions he was experiencing from talking about all of this, but Riley kept holding onto his hand. And if she wasn’t letting go, he certainly wasn’t going to either, particularly for something as trivial as a cigarette. So they just sat there together. It was a few minutes before Riley spoke again.

“I feel the same way, Drake. Before this past year, I didn’t have anyone I was even remotely close to. I never talked about my past with any of my friends, if you can even call them that. And sometimes the way you look at me, the way you listen to me, well… it scares the shit out of me. Because I finally know what it feels like to have someone understand me and still care about me, and all my mind does is worry how I am going to go back to not having someone like that in my life when I end up all alone. Because that’s what’s always happened before - I end up all alone.”

Drake wanted to wrap his arm around her, assure her that he was never going anywhere, but just like he hadn’t believed her during the social season or on the engagement tour when she said she wanted him, not Liam, he knew that ultimately, his words would do little to eliminate years of pain, worry, and insecurity. That healing from that and moving forward was not going to magically happen because he loved her. If it did, he probably wouldn’t have wasted so much time shoving her away from him and towards Liam.

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” she asked, leaning against his side, placing her head on his shoulder.

“Heh. Well, at least we understand where the other one’s coming from.”

He could feel her cheek raising as she smiled, and it brought a smile to his own face. “Hana told me I should stop acting out of fear just to avoid the possibility of anything negative. And I’m trying, Drake. I really am. But it’s hard for me, and I can’t promise that it won’t take a long time for me to get there.”

She pulled away slightly, so Drake turned his head. Her dark eyes were staring at him, staring straight through him almost.

“That’s fine with me,” he said, “I don’t have anywhere else I need to be.”

“Drake…”

“Seriously, Liu. I think it’s clear after tonight that we both are trying to make some changes for the better in our lives. I could have just as easily told you that it was going to take me a long time to figure out what I want to do with my life going forward. So, what do you say? Are you okay with me being a nearly 30 year old unemployed man without a degree who’s trying to figure his shit out?”

She nodded gently, reaching out to cup his cheek with her free hand. Drake closed his eyes at her touch, feeling like weight after weight had been shed with their conversation. When he opened his eyes, she was there, looking at him expectantly.

He leaned forward at the same time she did, and when they finally kissed, it wasn’t desperate or intense. It was calm, like they were testing the waters, rediscovering each other in light of everything. And for now, it felt like more than enough. They might be stumbling forward in their lives, but it was clear they both wanted to do so with each other.

When they broke apart, Drake pressed his forehead against hers, trying to soak her in. “Riley…”

“We face our struggles together from now on, right?”

“Yeah, Liu. Together sounds good.”

She pulled away from him and pushed herself off his suitcase, extending her hand to him and helping him to his feet as well, “Why don’t you put out the fire, and I’ll call us a ride. I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to go home.”

The cab ride into Manhattan, back to her apartment, was a much different sort of silent from the one an hour earlier. Riley sat right next to him, clutching the hand he’d flung over her shoulder, leaning up to kiss him every so often. They got stuck in traffic several times, but the tension and stress of earlier was gone. For all the work that lay ahead of both of them, it just felt nice to know that they wanted to go through it as a couple.

When they finally arrived at her building, Riley told him she was going to go check the mail while he grabbed his suitcase. After paying the driver, Drake made his way to the building entrance. He moved to pull his keys out of his pocket, but Riley noticed him and pushed the door open for him, a small frown on her face and a little slip of paper in her other hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s a delivery attempt notification. It was taped to the mailbox. It says they tried to deliver a package that was too big for the parcel box, but I didn’t order anything.”

“Oh, well… that’s probably for me.”

She turned and stared at him, her forehead deeply wrinkled as she gave her head a little shake, but she said nothing, so Drake quickly scrambled to explain himself.

“Yeah, so I couldn’t fit some of the things I’d packed up in my luggage. I just put your address, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you ahead. Bastien must have rush shipped them-”

Her lips were on his, his back hitting the metal of the mailboxes on the opposite wall and his suitcase falling to the ground before he could fully process Riley lunging at him. Unlike the kisses at the beach or in the cab, this was raw. Aggressive. Possessive. He felt himself responding before he could even fully mentally process what was going on, his hands sliding across her waist and down to her ass, holding her tight against him. She clung to his jacket, tugging him off the wall just slightly.

It was all fire and heat, intense enough to burn away the last traces of stilted awkwardness that had settled over their dynamic. Drake felt like his hands were moving of their own accord, tracing over her body, grabbing, pulling, cementing her as close to him as possible. At some point, he slid his hands down her back, over her ass and to her thighs, at which point she jumped just enough to wrap her legs around his hips as he held her tight.

After a few more moments of desperate kissing, Drake took a step forward, ready to move things upstairs. But he’d barely started to walk when he felt his balance completely falter as his foot collided with something. He didn’t have time to give Riley much of a warning, just tearing his lips away from hers as he yelled out “What the fuck?” His grip on her slipped and she tumbled off his hips and onto the floor with a surprised little yelp as Drake stumbled into the wall next to him.

“Riley, are you okay?” he asked, cringing as he moved aside his suitcase, the source of their current predicament. He crouched down next to her, scanning over her quickly, looking for any injuries, but Riley just threw her head back and laughed. After a few seconds, when he was sure the most damaged thing was his ego, Drake joined her, chuckling deeply.

“Moves like that are always a bit sexier in the movies, huh?” she choked out between her bouts of laughter. “It’s probably for the best. I don’t think we would have made it up three flights of stairs like that.”

“Are you doubting my strength, Liu?”

“No, but after that demonstration, I am doubting your coordination.”

Drake just shook his head. He ran a hand over his face before extending it to her, helping her to her feet as he stood up. She kept holding onto his hand, even when he took a small step away from her to pick up the suitcase that had interrupted them.

“You think you’re up to try walking again?” she asked, her eyes wide in mock-innocence.

“Oh ha ha.”

“Come on,” she said, tugging him along behind her up the narrow staircases and down the hallway to her apartment. She didn’t let go of his hand until she had to get her keys out. But she unlocked the door swiftly, then grabbed his hand again, pulling him in and closing the door.

Her lips were back on his in an instant, her hands grabbing the suitcase from him and setting it on the floor right by the door before she started pushing against his shoulders, navigating him backwards towards the bed. In two steps he felt the mattress against the back of his legs, so he sat down, his hands settling on her waist as she straddled him a moment later.

She rolled her hips down against him as she tugged her sweater over her head, leaving her in a simple black tank top, before she kissed him again, dropping her hands to his shoulders. He ran his hands through her hair, moving his lips across her jaw to her neck, desperate to retaste every square centimeter of her body. The little groan she let out only drove him on further, bucking his hips up against her.

It didn’t take long for the heat building between them to escalate, both of them grabbing, biting, pulling. As she slid her hands under his shirt and dragged her nails across his stomach, he tugged her tank top off. In an instant, her lips were back on his, rough and demanding as he dragged his hands across her torso, cupping her breasts.

From that point, it was a scramble to get all their remaining clothing off. As Riley hopped off his lap to shimmy out of her jeans, Drake threw his shirt onto the floor and started to undo his belt, but he was distracted when Riley scampered over to the closet. She opened the door and crouched down in just her bra and panties, clearly digging through something.

“Uhh, Liu? What the fuck are you doing?”

After a few seconds, she spun around, holding up a foil packet in triumph. “Looking for this,” she said as she walked back over to the end of the bed, “unless you don’t want to have sex tonight?”

“You don’t have to take so much pleasure in teasing me, you know.”

“Well, unless you give me another pleasure, it’s all I’ve got,” she said, grabbing his belt buckle and pulling him up to standing.

“God, your dirty talk is terrible,” he laughed, but it quickly turned into a groan as she undid his jeans and slid her hand over the front of his boxers.

“Yeah, thought that might stop your complaints,” she said, throwing him a wink as she yanked down his pants and pushed on his chest, nudging him back toward the bed. He pulled her panties off as he sat down, tugging her onto his lap as he slid fully onto the bed.

His fingers fell between her legs and he started stroking her as she groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him sloppily. He moved his hand slightly to slide a finger inside her, but she pulled away and shook her head.

“I just want to be closer to you right now, okay?” she said as she handed him the condom and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. Drake had wanted to take his time with her, but her request was so sweet, so much more vulnerable than he was used to seeing her, that he just nodded, kicking off his boxers and rolling on the condom, and then she wrapped her legs around his waist and lowered herself onto him.

They both groaned at the sensation, Riley dropping her face to the crook of his neck and clawing her hands into his back. She clung to him tightly as she started to ride him, Drake raising his hips to match her rhythm and wrapping his arms around her. It was like they both were desperate to somehow be closer to each other, even though they were touching everywhere already. Riley eventually pulled her head back, sliding one hand up into his hair and staring right into his eyes before she tipped her head slightly and kissed him roughly.

It was overwhelming, feeling her wrapped around literally every part of him. He wasn’t sure if anything in his life had ever felt this damn good. It wasn’t the best sex he’d ever had, but somehow it just felt like more. A stray thought drifted through his mind that it felt like being home, but a slight tug on his hair from Riley as she ground against him drove everything but his physical pleasure from his mind.

“Riley,” he breathed out, “I’m not… gonna last. Are you… are you close?”

She nodded, biting her lower lip as she slid one hand off of his shoulder and down to just above where they were joined. He felt her fingers moving between their bodies, in time with their thrusts, and he closed his eyes, trying to stave off his inevitable release until she got there. He didn’t have to wait long, because a few moments later, she was clenching around him as she moaned out one of the most erotic noises he’d ever heard. He clutched at her hip and thrust up into her wildly, joining her as he fell over the edge, muttering her name into her neck over and over and slumping back against the wall behind him.

They stayed tightly wrapped around each other for several long moments, neither seeming to want to end their connection, but eventually, Drake felt Riley shift off him, moving her legs slightly, causing Drake to realize he kind of had her trapped. He leaned forward and she unwrapped her legs, sliding back further and straddling his knees as she stretched a bit. Drake grabbed the condom and leaned over to toss it into the trash. With his movements, he noticed Riley rising up as if to move away from him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked as he clutched her wrist, finishing disposing of his mess and leaning forward to kiss her gently.

She smiled at him lightly once he pulled back, “It felt like you were trying to move.”

“Hell no. I’m not going anywhere,” he sighed out, sliding down and sinking into her crappy ass mattress, pulling her down to lay on top of him, her arms sprawling around his head and her legs tangling with his, “I’ve never been more comfortable.”

They laid like that, calm and relaxed for several minutes, Drake tracing his hand along her spine and Riley playing with his hair. It was so peaceful, Drake nearly felt himself drifting off to sleep when Riley spoke.

“Not to kill the mood, but I don’t think we can stay here.”

Drake shook his head, trying to follow her train of thought. He still felt stupid, like he was drunk, on her, on them, on being together, so it wasn’t surprising that his response was far from eloquent. “Huh?”

Riley smiled and batted her eyelashes before she answered, “I don’t mean we have to go anywhere right now. But I don’t think this apartment is going to work well for us going forward.”

“This is what you were thinking about during sex?”

“No, it’s what I’m thinking about after sex. What I didn’t let myself think about while you were gone.” She trailed off at the end, burying her face in his chest. Drake understood these admissions weren’t easy for her, to talk about the uncomfortable realities instead of just marching forward and pretending everything was just fine, so he tried to soothe her, running his hand between her shoulder blades and dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

“Okay, so why can’t we stay here?”

“Drake, do I really have to tell you that?” she asked, pushing up slightly to look him in his eyes. “There’s barely enough space for one person here, much less two plus a dog.”

At the mention of Anderson, Drake lifted his head up, glancing around the studio, “Hey, where is your dog?”

Riley laughed at that, “You’re just noticing he isn’t here now?”

“I had a few other things on my mind when we got up here.”

She laughed harder, “No, I think you had one thing on your mind. To answer your question, Daniel had been asking me to take Anderson for a weekend. He and his boyfriend have been talking about getting a dog, and they wanted to do a trial run. This weekend seemed like a good choice.”

“So, you’re telling me it’s just the two of us for the next two days?” His hand trailed down her back and across her hip with his question, ready to continue reacquainting himself with her body, but she playfully swatted at his chest.

“Yes, so there will be time for more of that later, after we finish talking about this.”

“What’s to talk about? You just said we don’t have to go anywhere tonight. I agree. Let’s not leave this bed.”

“Drake! I’m serious, what do you think about us finding a different apartment when the lease is up?”

Drake shrugged slightly, “I can’t say I’ve thought about it at all. Why do you want to move, anyway?”

“Well, there’s the whole size thing like I said. Also, you know, you hate it here.”

“I don’t hate it-”

“Yeah, you do. I love being this close to bars and restaurants, but you hate the noise and the crowds. Plus, they keep you up at night, and I hate to break it to you, but when you’re sleep deprived, you cross the line from lovable grump to straight up asshole.”

Drake just shook his head, “But like you said, you love this location. I’m not gonna ask you to leave it.”

“You aren’t asking, Drake. I’m bringing it up. And as the person here who actually has some experience living in different parts of the city, I think we should move somewhere that’s a fit for the two of us.”

“Liu we can barely afford this place. How the hell are we supposed to afford a bigger apartment?”

“I don't know if you realize this, but New York City does have more neighborhoods than the Lower East Side.”

“Haha,” he replied dryly. “I seem to remember the rental costs all over the island were obscene.”

“Well I know you're practically a native New Yorker at this point, what with your one month of living here, but there are other boroughs besides Manhattan.”

Drake widened his eyes, thinking back on everything she had said about Brooklyn, Queens, basically any place that wasn't Manhattan. Riley, upon seeing his reaction, just rolled her eyes.

“I may have been a touch dramatic in the past in regards to the surrounding metro area.”

“Well, that’s the motherfucking understatement of the year. You said that living in New Jersey was the same as choosing to live in a fucking armpit.”

“I stand by that statement. But I am willing to move out of Manhattan to get us a little more space and you a little more quiet.”

“But you’ve always said you're a Manhattan native.”

“So maybe it’s time to try something new.”

“Liu, you work four blocks from here.”

“Well, good thing that there’s this little thing called the subway that I could take to get to and from work.”

“But this is a convenient, practical location that you obviously chose for a reason. I won’t have you giving that up just because you think I’m uncomfortable here or whatever.”

Riley shrugged, “You gave up Cordonia for me. This is nothing.”

“But, Liu-”

“And,” she continued, ignoring his attempts to cut her off, “I don’t just think you’re uncomfortable here. I know you are. Drake, to this day you keep referring to it as my apartment. I don’t think you’ve called it ‘ours’ even once. You’re right, this location works for me. But it doesn’t work for you, and that means it won’t work for us. Someone very wise once told me that relationships require compromise and that there would be a time going forward where I would be in the better position to make that compromise. So I’m making it.”

Drake blinked a few times, trying to wrap his head around this turn of events. She was putting them first, something she’d done time and time over, but it still humbled him, to think that someone like her would see enough value in him to make sacrifices to accommodate him. But she had always seen him as better, more deserving, than he saw himself. And maybe it wouldn’t do well to question whatever good luck had put him in this place, to meet someone like her.

“Someone wise, huh?”

“He can be. When he’s not being a stubborn idiot.”

Drake let out a few chuckles at that. “I’ll take it. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to move to accommodate my grumpy ass.”

“Drake, don’t you want a place that feels like it’s ours? Why are you fighting me on this?”

“Because I’m an insecure mess who doubts anything good in his life,” ran through his mind, but he knew she was right. “As long as you’re sure, Riley.”

“I am. You aren’t going to talk me out of this, Drake Walker. You should know, you aren’t very good at talking me out of anything.”

“Really.”

‘Absolutely. I’m almost as stubborn as you, so you’re at a disadvantage from the start. And really, look at your track record. You repeatedly tried to talk me out of falling for you, and we know how that turned out.”

“I am rather glad you ignored me on that one.”

With that, she leaned down, tossing her hair to the side and kissing him again. He clutched her neck, moaning as she deepened the kiss. Eventually she pulled back, bracing herself on her elbows above him.

“I love you. You know that, right?”

He swallowed roughly, her long black hair forming a surreal sort of curtain off to the side, her face the only thing he really saw. “Yeah, I do. I love you, too.”

Permatag: @speedyoperarascalparty @mfackenthal @lilyofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @jamesashtonisbae

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie @octobereighth

Drake x MC only: @jovialyouthmusic @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @riley--walker @notoriouscs @butindeed @addictedtodrakefanfic

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices @cosigottahavefaith @thequeenchoices @katedrakeohd @feartheendlesssummer @ao719 @ooo-barff-ooo @sunnyxdazed

#drake walker #drake x mc #trr fanfic #trr #the royal romance #choices fanfiction #choices #choices stories you play #playchoices #n*fw #30 diamonds

38 notes · View notes

arcadianambivalence · 5 years ago

Text

World on Fire, Episode 4, or How We React to “Normal” in a Crisis

Spring 1940

Months have passed since the last episode, and characters have had time to steady their nerves. Kasia’s previous reservations about killing Germans is largely gone, Lois has decided to have the baby and not involve Harry in her life, Webster and Albert have resolved to stay together, and Nancy has repeatedly tried to sneak her discoveries into her broadcasts (or to smuggle her research out of Germany) despite blackmail.

Other characters have started to lose their determination. Claudia and Uwe’s marriage is falling apart over their differing ideas about how to protect Hilde, Harry is struggling with his responsibilities in combat, and Grzegorz is grappling with his empathy and endurance.

(More under the cut)

The Winter of 1939 – 1940 has ended, and with it, the illusion of peace for Western Europe. Stationed in Belgium, Harry’s group retreats closer and closer to the French border as the German army arrives with far more resources.

Meanwhile, the American hospital in Paris receives wounded soldiers from the front. Refugees fleeing the war need attention too, like a Jewish emigree couple attacked by Anti-Semites, much like Albert was attacked by fascists in the first episode. Henriette, a nurse and Webster’s friend, confides in him that she is Jewish and had hidden that fact when she applied for work at the hospital.

Albert and Webster count their days left together. Webster is happy just to be with him, but Alfred is afraid of being seen. They’ve been together for half a year, and the closest Alfred can get to public displays of affection is a brief kiss after a furtive look around. The reasons for this become all too clear when they return to his apartment to find a swastika on the door and a severed pig’s head on the doorstep.

“I’ll never be safe anywhere in this world,” he tells Webster. “People have got plenty choice of what they might hate me for.”

(I would like to take a moment and appreciate this show for pointing out the fascist movements and rising acts of intolerance all over Europe in the late 1930s and 1940. This is especially visible in the Paris subplot, drawing attention to the wide swath of cultures in the city without entirely romanticizing it as a place of absolute refuge from prejudice. It makes me think the show is laying the foundation for exploring Occupied France and Vichy France next season...)

The German gains in the invasion bring new worry to the Rosslers. “The better the war goes, the worse for Hilde,” Claudia says. Uwe is not happy that Nancy and Claudia continue to meet. Claudia discovers Uwe has registered as a Nazi to cover the family after his conversation with the workers last episode. She is horrified, and the two have a big argument with Nancy uncomfortably caught in the middle. “The Nazis are going to win,” Uwe says. They must appear to be on their side.

Claudia refuses to take the same course of action. She brings Hilde to Nancy to say goodbye, perhaps permanently. Mother and daughter will be staying in a little cabin far away from the city and its watchful denouncers.

Uwe will not be joining them.

Nancy gifts Claudia a bottle of spirits and Hilde American candy, then asks them to listen to her radio show and toast to a better future.

The way Nancy makes sure to place her hand firmly over Claudia’s hurts.

Douglas has concern for his own children’s safety. Tom returns home on leave and confesses that he is thinking about deserting and becoming an official conscientious objector. His father has reservations. Tom could be executed for desertion, and then there are the political ramifications of a pacifist letting his own son into the movement. Hurt and betrayed, Tom leaves home as if he does not plan on returning.

Things fare little better between Douglas and Lois. Although Lois adamantly states that she does not want Harry or his mother involved in her life anymore, Douglas tells Robina that Lois is pregnant in the hopes that Robina’s sense of social (and financial) duty to her grandson will override any qualms about class.

(The cautious back-and-forth between Douglas and Robina is great, as always, and if Harry and Lois don’t get back together, can their parents have something?)

In the middle of these life-changing historical events, characters continue to talk about relationships and their social lives. Lois can’t bring herself to sing one night because she’s heartsick over the realization that her feelings for Harry was a love for a person that never truly existed. Robina and Douglas still have small talk while the latter spoons cubes of sugar into his tea. Stan teases Harry for his two girls back home. Thomasz and Kasia’s interactions are sweet when they get to act like two young adults who aren’t in an occupied country with their lives at risk every minute...then they casually discuss killing a soldier like it’s a fact of life.

Moments like this feel like a kick in the teeth.

On one hand, you could argue that the characters are too blasé about the killings and the risks involved. At one point, Thomasz arrives late to a rendezvous and gives “There was a round-up” as his explanation, almost as if it’s a regular occurrence. On the other hand, wouldn’t it have been? Poland had been occupied for half a year by this point, and maybe Robina was right last episode (to a degree), you do get used to it...or at least, you continue to live alongside it.

All characters undergo a great change in this series, but it’s still startling to see how they react to their circumstances, especially when their reactions are so different from who they were before or how we expected them to be.

Kasia, Harry, and Grzegorz are all placed in perilous situations that ultimately lead to the decision of whether or not to take someone’s life.

Kasia lures an SS officer to a secluded part of town with the expectation that Thomasz will kill him, but when Thomasz has not arrived and the officer starts to go too far, Kasia draws a gun from her purse and kills him. In retaliation for the death of an officer, a new raid is carried out, leading Kasia to come face-to-face with the family of an innocent woman executed for what she did.

The moral quandary in her storyline returns: if killing the enemy results in the death of innocents, do you kill the enemy?

When Harry kills the German sniper, he does it to save his own life, but he also does it to save the lives of the men in his troop. It is one of the few sequences in this show that has the kind of heroics expected of war depictions. But what could in other hands be cathartic violence against non-character antagonists in battle is undercut by Harry’s emotional reaction after the skirmish and the way he freezes at the beginning of the conflict.

He’s not calm-under-fire war hero of fiction, but he’s not exactly a romantic hero, either. Yes, he is the romantic lead of the show, but unlike last episode, he spends his few moments of quiet dealing with his deep-seated familial issues brought out by his powerlessness.

On the run from a death squad, Grzegorz holds a German soldier at gunpoint. The soldier, barely an adult and crying in fear, lowers his jammed weapon. But instead of killing the soldier like Kasia and Harry do, Grzegorz offers his hand. Despite all of the atrocities he has witnessed in the past year: his father’s death, people burned alive in Danzig, narrowly escaping execution, the massacre on the farm, the starvation and sleeping in the woods...and there is still a kind little boy thrown into something much bigger and meaner than he is underneath the exhaustion and self-preservation.

It’s Konrad who kills the soldier, to Grzegorz’s horror.

“I killed one German, just like a German killed your dad.” “Not that German.”

The landscape of the woods around them changes. Snow dusted ground gives way to moss and mud. A spring fog cloaks their journey. And just as the natural landscape subtly changes, so does their luck.

The two stumble across a troop of British soldiers (wait, where are they?) and quickly join the men. Their relief is short-lived, though, and they are soon back in combat. Konrad is shot through the head.

In order to air with a certain rating, World on Fire has to clean up some of the images of violence. You don’t see blood spurt out of people when they’re shot. The scenes of death are not drawn out.

But the image of Konrad, dead before he hits the ground, blood covering face, with a stunned Grzegorz kneeling over him shocked me.

When Grzegorz grieves, the loss of his family comes out, too, for his father Stefan and father figure Konrad.

In Grzegorz’s final scene, he stumbles through a forest, the British soldiers long gone. Spring is here and beautiful, the snow has melted away, the birds are chirping, and green has returned to the Earth. Grzegorz seems unaware of the world around him, only the journey ahead in the middle of anywhere and nowhere.

Spoiler

The next episode’s promo places him on a beach. Is he transported out of Poland by a ship on the Baltic sea? Or are we supposed to believe Grzegorz and Konrad have spent all winter and spring walking through Poland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and finally into France?

Notes

Konrad calls Grzegorz son...

After a disastrous cup of tea with Douglas, Robina makes sure to pay for the both of their orders before leaving

Tom brings the canary home, a visual connector between Jan and his bird in the pilot and Tom now

When Kasia breaks the news to the Polish family of the executed woman, Thomasz notices a German officer kissing a Polish woman next door, which indicates that not all Poles consider Germans the same way they do (and raises the threat of someone recognizing them later)

Robina casually mentions the newly-appointed Churchill to see Douglas’s reaction

#world on fire #world on fire pbs #world on fire bbc #world on fire masterpiece

11 notes · View notes

petri808 · 6 years ago

Link

Fandom: ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga) Rating: Mature Relationships: Iki Hiyori/Yato

@noragamisecretsanta2018 Merry Christmas! @justebisuthings Yatori angst with a fluffier ending. I have no idea what city Noragami takes place in lol, so I just set this is Tokyo and nearby Kanagawa. I guess you could set the timing of the story after the latest chapter. I had fun writing this one so I hope you like it too :)

Echoed in the Night

It was Christmas Eve in Japan, but unlike in the west it was a day for couples…. Sharing a meal at KFC, maybe a Christmas Cake or some Wagashi… Strolling along the park hand in hand amidst the lighted displays of the Sagamiko Illumillion…. But, for a lonely young girl saddened by the disappearance of her first true love, it was like her heart was being ripped to shreds by all the festivities surrounding her.

Bless his heart that Yukine had tried to cheer her up by taking her to see the show and ride the rides. He too missed the days when the trio would venture forth like a family, all smiles and laughter through the streets of Tokyo and its surrounding cities. If it wasn’t for Heaven’s stupid wars or this ‘Father’ guys desire for its destruction, the young Regalia believed those moments wouldn’t be like a fleeting memory and ‘he’d be damned if he was gonna let it die just because Yato was too stupid to realize how much pain he was causing them by keeping them in the dark about it all,’ end quote.

And so here is where she found herself, feeling like a third wheel behind Yukine and Nora who’d decided to come along. They were kind of cute, Hiyori realized as the two children sat in the forward sky lift tittering and giggling to one another…. Oh, how sweet, now Nora had her head on the Yukine’s shoulder, and a blush no doubt flushed along his cheeks. Just wonderful, Hiyori glances away and focuses on all the lights gliding by below them. As much as she wanted to support their increasing rapport, all Hiyori wanted to do was cry, scream, and run as far away as she possibly could.

Once the ride was over, Yukine points out the swings and Hiyori just smile’s hiding her true feelings from the boy. “You guys go on ahead and have fun, I’m kind of tired of going on rides.”

“Are you sure Hiyori?” The concerned young man was hesitant to leave her side.

“Yeah, go have fun, show Nora what it’s like to be a kid,” the crinkling around her eyes seems to reassure him. “I’d like to just relax here for a spell and look at the lights.”

“Okay,” he grabs Nora’s hand and heads off towards the swings.

Hiyori’s body deflates against the bench and she pulls the coat tighter around her frame. The evening air was definitely cold, but it was the chill through her soul that left her freezing. She closes her eyes, unwilling to allow any tears to be shed lest it reflect the icicles growing in her heart. Yato…. Things were so much easier when she’d been blind to her budding love of the stray god. Why did Kazuma have to dash her hopes like that! At least Tenjin alluded to the possibilities of a god loving, like he did for Tsuyu. Let Yato himself tell her he didn’t care for her! Yato…. Where the hell are you!

Since late that afternoon he’d felt a powerful sting in his chest, like a thousand daggers running their blades through his flesh. At first, he thought maybe Yukine was upset and blighting him again, but a quick check around his body revealed no tell-tale marks. It wouldn’t have surprised him if Yukine had been behind the stings for he knew his young Regalia was very upset by his actions of late. Though the longer he thought about it, and the deeper the pains began to center in one location, maybe this was something completely different.

What day is it, Yato wondered as he travelled along the tops of the buildings, noticing a flurry of activities and lights near Midtown. Holiday’s didn’t mean much to him aside from all the delicious seasonal treats that abounded during this time, so of course he hadn’t realized today was December 24th. Hundreds of couples of all ages were gathered on the streets, some with families, many without. Aww, look at them, he first thought, I wonder if anyone has any wishes…. And that’s when it finally hits him…. The couples… The families…. Yukine…. Hiyori….

Another sting, worse than any before it stabs him with such ferocity, he almost falls off the powerline he’d been running along. Yato drops to the ground, clutching his shirt above his heart. Oh, Heaven’s, was this because of Hiyori! Was she the cause of all the pain he was experiencing? It was hard for a man who didn’t quite understand human emotions such as love. He knew what it was, he wasn’t blind to it, in fact he was pretty sure that’s exactly what he’d been developing for the young human girl, but since he’d never been in love before, the idea that it could actually cause pain was enigmatic. Hiyori wasn’t a spirit he was attached to, so she couldn’t blight him. Then how is she reaching out to me like this?

“Are you okay?” Kazuma drops down beside his master. “You don’t look so well, should we return to the shrine?”

“I think….” Yato turns to his friend, “I think I need to find Hiyori…”

“Hiyori, Yato I don’t think…”

“I’m sorry Kazuma, you head back to the shrine, but I need to find her!” Another deep sting pierces through him and Yato buckles at the knees, cringing through the pain.

“You are not in any condition to travel, let’s just go back to…”

Yato grabs Kazuma’s ankle, “If you’re really my friend,” his voice strained from the searing pain in his heart, “you’ll help me find Hiyori now!”

“Just call her or Yukine,” Kazuma helps Yato to his feet, helping to steady him, “or can you feel where Yukine might be?”

The stray god closes his eyes, “He’s not too far… if we take the train to Sagamiko station. He won’t always answer my calls right now, but he texts me if he leaves the area…”

After an unknown amount of time, Hiyori finally glances up from the ground at her surroundings. Considering how brightly lit most of the area was, the young girl had barely given any of the attractions much attention. It wasn’t worth it to take in a sight, only for a young couple around her age to walk by and dim the view. At least if she looked at the ground, she wouldn’t notice the hands being held, the embraces being shared, or worse….

She shivers again, if only the memories of her first kiss wasn’t such a hurtful one. Fujisaki had stolen what he had no right to take, but like an idiot, she had been too shocked and nervous to pull away. Maybe if he’d been just another classmate it wouldn’t be as painful. Ugh! ‘Father’ knew the knowledge of stealing my first kiss would enrage his son and that just isn’t right! I hate him! Hiyori’s fists clench at her sides, she needed to do something to take her mind of…. everything.

Once a quick text was sent to Yukine so he didn’t worry, Hiyori heads down the path towards the illuminated forest hoping that all the bright colors would shine a bit of light into her otherwise dreary mood. The dazzling LED’s covered trees in a rainbow of hues, even the ground was swathed in light so mesmerizing she had to shield her eyes or be blinded. Reds, Orange, Yellows, Purples, Greens, and Pinks… But strangely no blues.

Through twists and turns, up slight inclines or valleyed displays, Hiyori continued along the forest path, following the signs towards the exit. Rounding another bend, she reaches the famous tunnel of light, but the spectacle was not what made her pause. Blue. Light Blue. Just like Yato’s eyes. Heaven help her now she knew why the color had been devoid along the way! There was no way to avoid passing through it unless she wanted to walk all the way back to the entrance.

Hiyori merely sighs and trudges forward, keeping her eyes low to the ground. Pulling up the edges of her collar, Hiyori hides her peripheral view. She should have guessed that the color would reveal itself sooner or later. And why not to throw a wrench in her mood that had actually been a little better for the last 20 minutes or so… the rest of her life was throwing her curve balls one after the other.

As the tunnel curves slightly, something catches her attention, a scent she’d not expected nor picked up in weeks and it was growing stronger with every step she took forward. Hiyori shakes her head, it must be her imagination. Maybe there was a flower or plant nearby, or someone who just so happened to smell similar to him. He’d had no reason to be in the park, didn’t know she’d be there… Right? But as the exit appears, a shadowed outline of a man leaning against a pillar comes into view. Her breathing stills, feet still moving forward despite reservations telling her to run in the opposite direction. Fear that her mind was playing tricks on her run rampant. No, it could be, it shouldn’t be…. Her hands raise up to cover the gasp she didn’t know she was making. It was.

“Hi Hiyori,” Yato smiles weakly.

It was obvious from the look on the young girls face that his appearance was triggering a multitude of emotions. From surprise to anger, her blood begins to boil red hot! This bastard disappears for weeks with no contact and suddenly appears with just a Hi Hiyori?

“Is that all you have to say to me!” she screams uncaring of any onlookers. “You leave me all alone then show up unexpectedly with just hi Hiyori!? What about I’m sorry Hiyori, or better yet please forgive me Hiyori!”

He’d expected a bit of anger, but this girl was furious! Yato flinches back a step, though he knew the pain in her heart wasn’t from anger. Her fury was hiding the real emotion that had brought him there tonight.

“Please Hiyori,” he reaches out tentatively, “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.” She draws back causing a new ripple of stings to attack his body. Yato’s drops to his knees, keeling over in pain. He was right, it was from Hiyori’s shattering heart.

But seeing the man she still cared so much about fall to the ground in anguish flips a switch in her brain. She was angry yes, sad and hurt most definitely, but she had no idea that those feelings were somehow being conveyed to him. Was it because their fates had been entwined? Tears flood her vision as Hiyori drops before him and throws her arms around his body. “Oh Kamisama, am I doing that to you? Yato I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you…”

“S-Stop apologizing Hiyori. It’s not your fault. I don’t even understand why this is happening but it’s just… it’s not your fault.” He cradles her face in his hands as the waves of painful stings slowly subside. “Everything that’s happening to you is all my fault. If only I’d cut your ties immediately, none of this…”

“Don’t say it!” she shakes her head. “Don’t you dare say it Yato! If you had granted that first wish I never would have fallen in love with you, I never would have met Yukine, or Kofuku, or been a part of this amazing realm. I don’t want to lose you! Don’t you get it!”

“But you wouldn’t be sad right now, you’d be living a normal teenage life with your friends.”

“I don’t want a normal life!” Hiyori slumps in his arms, sobbing heavily. “I understand why you left us Yato…” her voice trailing and softened, “I know you are just trying to protect us and that you think it would be okay if you were reborn, but that’s not what we want…” She looks up and fixes his eyes upon hers, “we want you as you are now!”

“But Hiyori…”

“Could you just shut up for a moment Yato and let me process all of this.”

Yato opens his mouth to retort but quickly slams it shut. She was right, he’d caused her enough grief, so the least he could do was let her vent and figure out how to deal with it all. But as he glanced around and realized the spectacle they were making, he bundles her into his arms to find somewhere a little more private. Hiyori makes no move to resist, simply resting a hand on his shoulder and turning her face into his shawl.

Once out of view of any onlookers, he makes a few leaps until he spots a secluded area along the waterfront just outside of the resort. Hiyori takes out her phone, remembering that Yukine must be wondering where she might be. “Don’t worry,” Yato puts her down and gently places a hand over it, “Kazuma went to find them.”

A soft, “Oh,” is all she responds with and turns away to stare out over the water. The far shores were ominous, but the lake itself was glistening from all the lights of the park. It’s gently lapping waves shimmering, creating beautiful reflections like the stars above them. Hiyori was still so confused about it all, her feelings, humans, spirits, gods, and all the rules that seemingly bound each world. She was but one young girl just trying to navigate it all and she knew what her heart desperately wanted, but was that enough to somehow override everything that was working to keep them apart?

He just stood back and let her settle into her skin. This whole situation was something Yato had never in a thousand years has ever had to deal with, so he too was trying to process it all. In fact, it was basically unheard of for a God to fall in love with a human, at least not romantically. Sure, Gods cared for humans, Bishamon truly loved her Regalia’s, but they didn’t fall in love with them like he had for Hiyori. There wasn’t any God he could even consult with over this predicament which left him to handle it all on his own. Obviously, he wasn’t doing such a great job.

As he watched her eyes shutter through a light sigh, and the coat is pulled tighter against the chilly air, Yato moves in closer to wrap his arms around her waist. She startles at first but the added warmth along with his scent calms her enough to settle against him. This was the first time he’d held her like this and although awkward, it felt nice. He closes his eyes too. If only they were simply two humans bumbling their way through life and not star-crossed beings from separate worlds. For a fleeting second, he almost wished he could just be human.

Yato releases a vested sigh into her hair. “I don’t know what to do Hiyori,” he finally relents and lets all the fears locked away in his mind pour out. “I need to stop my father, I need to fight against Heaven’s stupidity, but all I really want to do is make you happy… And I don’t know how to do it all without someone getting hurt.” Another sigh escapes, “I’m so tired of people I care about getting hurt…”

Hiyori sucks in a breath and hesitates before placing her hands over his arms. With an exhale, she squeezes, “I don’t know what to do either.” She tilts her head back slightly, resting it against his chest, “I wish I could say just let it all go, let Heaven deal with your father and we go back to the way things were before it all started…. But I know that’s not possible anymore. I wish I could say that pain is just a part of life and we just have to learn to deal with it…. But that wouldn’t be fair either when there is something that can be done.” Hiyori let’s out a drawn-out exhale, “it’s selfish of me to force you to endure this just because I don’t want to let go…. But I can’t bring myself to severe our bond…. I don’t want to lose you…”

“I don’t want to lose you either Hiyori.”

Her eyes squeeze tight as a flood of emotions threaten to spill out. She takes a shaky breath, “Yato…. What am I to you? I-I mean, how do you feel towards me? I need to just know the truth because everyone is telling me that Gods are incapable of…”

“Love,” he finishes her sentence, “I love you Hiyori.” Yato buries his face into her hair. “If there’s only one thing that I am sure of it’s that. I don’t know what will happen…. Everything is so chaotic right now, but I don’t want to lose you either.”

“Then why is everyone saying God’s can’t love?”

“I don’t really care what everyone is saying,” he turns her around, “all I can know is what I’m feeling.” Yato tips her face up as a few drops of tears leak down her cheeks. “Hiyori open your eyes,” she shakes her head. He kisses the tears on either side of her face, “why won’t you open your eyes?”

“In case this is all just a dream, I don’t wanna wake up from it.” Yato chuckles and pinches her cheek, “Hey!” her eyes fly open, “what was that for!”

“It’s not a dream.” Pulling her face up to meet his own, Yato presses his lips against hers in a soft kiss. Hiyori freezes momentarily, the sudden warmth and knowledge that he was kissing her almost too much on her psyche. But as his hands weave around her body, smoothing against the small of her back in comfort, her own encircles his neck, fingers lacing through his hair. Small sighs and mewls of contentment, break the otherwise silence of the moment and remove any lingering doubts that what they were feeling were genuine.

He wipes away any traces of moisture from around her eyes, placing chaste little kisses on her lips before pulling back to gaze upon the flushed young woman standing before him. Yato smiles sweetly, “you are so beautiful to me Hiyori.”

“Oh stop!” her cheeks growing ever more crimson and heated, “I’m sure you’ve met plenty of pretty girls over the years.”

“Yeah, but you’re the first one I fell in love with in a thousand years, that makes you pretty friggen special don’t ya think?”

“I…” Hiyori gives up, there was no way to respond to that!

Yato just laughs, knowing he won that round. He takes her hand, squeezing lightly, “come on let’s get you home. I don’t need you catching a cold.”

“Where do we go from here?” she wonders aloud, “you’re just gonna disappear again aren’t you and leave Yukine and I in the dark again.”

He sighs, “I’m not doing it because I want to. It’s to protect you both from father and from Heaven. Kazuma is determined to fight no matter what I tell him, but you two…. It’s safer that you stay away.”

“Yukine is your blessed Regalia, surely…”

“Yukine means more to me than just some Regalia and that’s exactly why I don’t want him anywhere near my father if I can help it. Father’s just too dangerous.”

“You’re talking about the God’s Secret thing?”

“Yea… how’d you know that?”

“I figured it out.” Hiyori pulls Yato to a stop, “you need to realize we’re not stupid. Why don’t you just try talking to us for once because not knowing anything only drives us to think the worst and end us up in predicaments like tonight.”

“But…” Yato exhales and hangs his head, “you’re probably right.”

Hiyori leans in, pulling his face down to rest his forehead to hers, “come on, let’s go get Yukine and go back to Kofuku’s. We’ll sit down and figure this out as a family.”

Yato closes his eyes, Heaven’s was he really deserved of this girl? “I’m so sorry I ruined your Christmas Eve.”

She smiles and pats his cheek, “You managed to make it up to me in the end. Now let’s go home…”

KFC & Wagashi info https://favy-jp.com/topics/1421

Sagamiko Illumillion info https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1606/

#noragamisecretsanta2018 #yatori #noragami #fan fic #yatori fanfic #sfw #yato #hiyori

19 notes · View notes

preciousmetals0 · 5 years ago

Text

Sprin(T)-Mobile; This Dish Is Bananas

Sprin(T)-Mobile; This Dish Is Bananas:

The Un-Network Is Now THE Network

And then there were three…

The wireless market got a touch smaller and far more interesting this morning. A U.S. federal judge ruled in favor of the $26 billion merger between Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile US Inc. (Nasdaq: TMUS).

The ruling shut down a multistate challenge to the deal’s approval by both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. According to Judge Victor Marrero: “The resulting stalemate leaves the Court lacking sufficiently impartial and objective ground on which to rely in basing a sound forecast of the likely competitive effects of a merger.”

Marrero continued that the states failed to convince the court that a combined company would “pursue anticompetitive behavior.” Furthermore, the judge noted that, if left alone, Sprint could “cease to be a truly national [mobile network operator].”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is considering appealing the ruling. “From the start, this merger has been about massive corporate profits over all else, and despite the companies’ false claims, this deal will endanger wireless subscribers where it hurts most: their wallets,” James said.

The Takeaway:

Let’s start off with a great big “Well, duh!” for Attorney General James. Of course this deal is about massive corporate profits. All deals are.

Corporations exist to generate massive profits. That’s their job. That’s what they do. (They’re like the Conway Twitty of the business world — yes, that’s a country song reference, y’all.)

I won’t comment on the antitrust implications of the Sprint/T-Mobile deal … or whether it’s ultimately bad for customers or not. I’ll leave that to Banyan Hill expert Ted Bauman, who’s sure to comment on this merger sooner or later.

By the way: Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger by dropping me a line at [email protected].

What I will say is that this deal is big trouble for moose and squirrel … er, rather, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The pair have dominated the wireless world for years, gobbling up subscribers left and right.

Now, however, there’s a serious contender to deal with.

After AT&T failed to take over T-Mobile back in 2011, the latter used the $3 billion in breakup fees to launch a serious bid to dominate the wireless market. However, T-Mobile lacked in spectrum — i.e., the wireless airwaves that connect your devices.

Sprint has oodles and oodles of spectrum, including a broad swath of 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum that’s critical for 5G wireless. Unfortunately for Sprint, it has no cash to take advantage of this spectrum.

That’s what the Sprint/T-Mobile merger is all about, Charlie Brown: spectrum. And now, T-Mobile has both key 5G spectrum and the cash to further its nationwide 5G rollout plans.

What’s more, the new company is truly a pure play on the wireless market. There’s no debt-burdened Time Warner content or streaming package like at AT&T, or failed AOL/Yahoo content like at Verizon.

Just pure, unadulterated and unfettered wireless.

So, while AT&T struggles to pay down the cost of buying content and Verizon rides the fence on what to do with its media division, the new T-Mobile will solely focus on rolling out 5G to the world.

That focus is truly great stuff for investors. I look forward to seeing how the combined company’s stock trades once the merger is complete. It’s certainly on Great Stuff’s future watch list.

In the meantime, there’s work to do to bring 5G to the masses.

I mean, you can have all the G’s you want, but without a ground network to transfer that signal from the tower to the internet at high speed … well, you’re SOL.

That means fiber optics, and rolling out such a network doesn’t happen overnight — unless you’re out there unspooling cable … you aren’t, are you?

So, let’s stay crafty and find some real 5G profits.

And boy, are there profits to be had! The great wireless migration could generate over $12 trillion in new industry wealth … from telecoms to consumer 5G devices and more.

Many Great Stuff readers know Ian King and his incredible eye for picking tipping-point tech trends. The 5G explosion is no different. Ian just spotted one company that’s at the forefront of the 5G transition.

If you click here now, he will show you just how huge the 5G trend is … and why this tiny stock is setting up to clutch that $12 trillion windfall.

The Good: Hasbro Ain’t Toyin’ Around

After nearly a year of dominance by plastic figurines and bobble heads bobbleheads, actual toys are back!

Hasbro Inc. (Nasdaq: HAS) reported that net income skyrocketed to $2.01 per share in the fourth quarter from just $0.07 per share last year. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.24 per share, blowing past the consensus estimate for $0.91 per share.

(Pssst … net revenue was a little light at $1.43 billion, versus Wall Street’s target of $1.44 billion … but no one’s talking about that.)

Driving Hasbro’s success were strong sales of partner brands such as Frozen 2, Star Wars, Spider-Man and the Avengers. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) toy sales — ahem, I mean “partner brand” revenue — spiked 24% to $1.22 billion for the year.

“We’re incredibly excited that ‘The Mandalorian’ season two will come to Disney+ this fall,” said Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner.

Umm … Mr. Goldner? Maybe you could get some freakin’ Baby Yoda merch on the shelves soon, please? Honestly, your revenue could’ve been millions higher already!

The Bad: M-m-m-my Corona

What do you get when you cross a Chinese pandemic with a struggling “premium” athletic clothing retailer?

You get a hot mess, that’s what you get. Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) not only missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter revenue target, it also lowered sales guidance for 2020. The company expects revenue to fall between $50 million and $60 million for the first quarter … and that’s just from lowered sales expectations.

Sure, Under Armour has about 600 stores in China, but about 60% of the company’s products are manufactured in China, Jordan, Vietnam and Malaysia. With the exception of Jordan, the rest of those countries are smack in the middle of coronavirus central. That means lowered productivity and potential supply disruptions as this epidemic grows.

And as for that “premium brand” thing: “We believe prior promotional activity has impacted the consumers’ willingness to pay full price for our brand to a higher degree than we originally anticipated,” said CEO Patrik Frisk.

So, part of Frisk’s excuse is that customers don’t want to pay full price for the company’s stuff? I think the market is telling you something, man.

For now, I’ll avoid Under Armour stock like I avoid paying full price for its clothes.

The Ugly: Dish Is a Mess

Did you think I forgot about Dish Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH)?

No, sir. Dish is crucial to the whole Sprint/T-Mobile merger. As part of the deal with the Department of Justice, Dish will buy Sprint’s prepaid wireless business — aka Boost Mobile.

Let’s make no bones about this: Dish is getting screwed. The company already struggles with falling subscriber numbers for its pay-TV business. Dish’s old-school satellite service is worse than cable, after all. It’s all the content you’ll never watch (but still pay high prices for) … all bundled up in a service that screws up in the rain.

The bright idea to fix this is for Dish to buy Boost Mobile — a 4G mobile service on Sprint’s old network in a 5G world. Why not just start rolling out Betamax tapes as well, Dish?

Not only does Dish get the short end of the stick on the wireless deal, it’ll also soon face serious competition from Starlink — Elon Musk’s new satellite-based internet service.

I know, you’re thinking: “Starlink isn’t a pay-TV service, why should Dish worry?”

The answer’s simple: video streaming. The only thing that prevents some customers from moving away from Dish is the fact that they can’t get shows any other way. With Starlink and a Roku Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) player, all that changes.

I have to think that the only way Dish survives in the new Starlink and 5G world is for someone to buy out the company. Although, what company has such poor judgement that it’d even consider buying Dish? (No AT&T, don’t even think about it!)

5G! 5G! 5G! All we ever hear about is 5G! What’s so great about 5G anyway?

I mean, sure, 5G has never had its picture on bubblegum cards … so you’ve got me there.

That said, today’s Chart of the Week details some of the key benefits that the average smartphone user will notice right away when switching to 5G:

Now, if that doesn’t mean a whole lot to you … let’s just say that 5G is stupidly faster than your current 4G wireless service. That real-world speed of 100 megabytes/second is faster than most people have from their landline-based internet provider.

In other words, if you aren’t a data hog like yours truly, you might even be able to ditch your internet landline, just like you ditched your phone landline years ago. (Please tell me you don’t still have a phone landline…)

When it comes to 5G, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re in a Big Data world now, and Big Data needs high-speed transfer rates. As you can see from the chart, 5G has all that covered and more.

Great Stuff: Marco?

It’s that time again!

That’s right, it’s time to feed the Great Stuff beast!

This week, we’re focusing on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger — surprise! Be sure to write in to [email protected] and let us know your thoughts!

Here are some of this week’s topics:

Do you think the Sprint/T-Mobile merger will have a negative or positive impact on the wireless market?

Do you have any antitrust concerns?

Are you itching to invest in the combined company?

Which wireless carrier do you believe is the better investment: AT&T, Verizon or Sprint/T-Mobile?

Now, you know the drill. You have about two days to drop me a line at [email protected] to make this week’s edition of Reader Feedback.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Great Stuff on social media. If you can’t get enough meme-y trade war goodness, follow Great Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Great Stuff Managing Editor, Banyan Hill Publishing

0 notes

goldira01 · 5 years ago