#bro i spent way too much time on that damn pier

[i-eat-deodorant]

DAY 2: GLUTTONY

“You’ll feed me well, the two of you.”

[enjennie]

The Dreamies as types of dates

Mark

Carnival piers, ice cream and stuffed toys.

The shy date who planned and overthought things beforehand. Simple things like a date by the pier, winning you stuff toys at the carnival and stopping by the ice cream shop are the small things in which Mark would like to spend his day doing with you. Would most likely end the day with a ride on the Ferris wheel because he wanted to see the sunset from up high with you, but didn’t realize how crammed the carriage is, which means awkward glances and accidental hand brushes. He’s debating if it’s the right time to hold your hand, and panicking deep inside. In the end, he takes the leap and places his hand on top of yours, looks at you if it’s okay, before knitting your fingers together. He smiles to himself when you lie your head on his shoulder. “Is this okay?” “It’s perfect,”

Renjun

Museum and art gallery dates, pottery places or just somewhere to get your creative juices going.

Renjun’s the type to make up stories about the paintings displayed on the wall, claiming that the man in the canvas was a spy for the government, or that the picture of the chapel was an old cult gathering place. You think it’s definitely dorky, but don’t hesitate in joining in on making up the stories with him and by the end of the date, you’ve made countless of inside jokes and a bunch of plots you both made up, calling for a memorable date. Renjun would probably walk you home afterwards, and try to steal a kiss on the cheek (or on the lips if he’s brave). “Goodnight, I had fun today,” “I didn’t, the terrible fate you gave old man Harris in that one painting was harsh,” “Can I kiss you to make up for it?”>

Jeno

Karaoke, photo booths and record stores.

The date who surprises you with his singing skills at the karaoke/coin noraebang. Belting out to ballads as if his wife and three kids left him. Spontaneous plans and being pulled into every photo booth he sees, where you make kissy faces and silly expressions for the camera. Jeno wouldn’t want to pressure you in dressing up, insisting that you look lovely in anything you put on. At the vintage record store, he’d pick out his favourite album and put the headset on for you as you both listen. On the way home, he’d share his earphones with you and play the playlist he made for you while playing with your fingers and drawing on your palm. “Guess what I’m drawing,” “A flower?” “It’s my cat bongsik, but okay,”

Haechan

Amusement parks, rollercoasters and street food.

Extremely loud screaming that turn into high notes at the rollercoaster, almost punching the haunted house actor for being too scary and several failed attempts at the claw machine. These are some of the many things that goes on in a date with Hyuck. He wants to try every ride with you, and taste all the food the park has to offer. Won’t leave the claw machine alone until he gets you one of the ‘special’ prizes, which turned out to be a blender. “Seriously, who gives away blenders as  prizes in an amusement park?” “Hey if you don’t like it then I’ll give it to my mom,”.  The laid back date who treats you like a bro, but offers his jacket to you when it gets chilly at night accompanied by a scolding as to why you didn’t bring your own, then takes you to a 7/11 to eat ramyeon because he wasted all his money on the damn claw machine.

Jaemin

Puppies, charity work and coffee breaks.

The date with the biggest heart who takes you to the puppy adoption center to volunteer because he wants to share his happiness with you. Stealing glances at you as you play with puppies and bathe them, seeing you being loving to the animals makes Jaemin fall deeper in love with you. You almost don’t want to leave the dogs and almost took one with you at the end of the day. Once you finish up, he takes you to a neighboring café and talk about the fun day you’ve had. Jaemin can’t keep the smile from appearing on his face, hearing you say how much fun you had and seeing how happy you are doing the thing that brings him the most joy. “I already miss the pups,” “What do you say we come back again tomorrow?” “Are you asking me for a second date, or do my ears deceive me?”

Chenle

Lightsticks, concerts and being the only person he sees in the sea of people.

You can never tell what’s coming next with Chenle. When he says he’s taking you to a concert, you have to ask if it’s a recital, orchestra or a band because you really don’t know what to expect from the boy. Chenle would buy the tickets on a whim and would be at your front door an hour before it starts. Screaming over the music, or whispering into your ear as you both danced together. Chenle the type to keep his eyes on you while you have the time of your life, spinning you around and asking for your hand to slow dance when the band plays a romantic song. Afterwards he’ll take you home and cook you dinner as you both recap the night you spent together. “I don’t even know the band,” “You’re kidding,” “I wish I was,”

Jisung

Arcades, dance machines and afterschool dates.

The type to hold your backpack for you and awkwardly walk with you. Lots of back of the head scratches and lame jokes to fill the silence between you both which still makes you laugh anyway. Challenges you to the dance machine but loses on purpose. He wants to break the record for the basketball machine to impress you, but gets pressured with you watching him, therefore only getting a certain amount in. Very student friendly budget date, he probably saved up his allowance weeks before. “I’m sorry, I’ll take you on a proper date next time,” “Are you kidding? I’m having so much fun,” hearing you say this would really boost his confidence, and he’d ask for a second date before this one even came to an end. Would take the bus home with you, offer you a hot pack to keep you warm and get flustered when your hands come in contact with one another. Shy side glances and a lot of blushing. You end the night eating snacks in a minimart and you listen to him geek out about the latest released video game.

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

The Sacrifice of Lila Rossi

Cyberpunk Mafia AU:

The small Medbay of The Garden had always been cramped, but ruthlessly organized to be the most efficient center for treatment in the city. Max, despite being someone that cared vary little for the acclaim and praise of others found joy in knowing that if he was known for anything, it was how well he could help people, especially since he was so often without the best methods to tackle a problem. He’ll often claim that when there are a thousand and one ways to use a paperclip, he could do the impossible with whatever he had on hand, he just wishes the universe didn’t actively try to test that theory…

In a rush a panic the crew of The Garden wheeled in a stasis pod, the contents of which was one Aurore frozen in a single moment within the chamber. Her eyes were wide in a mixture of fear and panic, several small burns littered her skin, a sign of far too many close calls at the wrong end of a plasma rifle, but the most prominent injury was the practical crater where her heart should have been the deep red of blood already overpowered the light blues of her usual attire well before she could make it into stasis.

“Alright I need a full report of the incident, no detail is too small.” Max rattled off to the panicked crew, already descending into his cocoon of holoscreens, processing information far faster than any normal human could. “Markov, activate ALL emergency protocols, I want to be prepared for the slightest hiccup.”

“Affirmative” a monotone synthetic voice rang out in the laboratory as several pieces of advanced equipment sprang to life.

“Please Doctor, you have to help her.” Sabrina begged as she refused to leave the side of pod. “I can’t just get my emotions back just to hurt like this. Please…”

“It’ll be ok Sabrina. Max is the best at what he does. Just let him do his thing” replied Rose who gently guided her away from the pod and into the arms of Chloe who hugged the girl with everything she could. “Alya, if you want your friend to get better, I suggest you answer his questions.”

“R-right” said Alya, snapping her attention from the pod, her whole body still shaking. “It was a mark III plasma rifle, like a really modified, really illegal model. We were so close to getting tangible proof that Argeste Industries was running corrupt experiments for the Mayor, we could finally put an end to the missing person posters…  but there was this huge gorilla looking dude that attacked us. He looked like he was being mind controlled since his eyes were blank. He decked me and sent me flying into a wall. He was about to blast me point blank when Aurore blocked the shot with her umbrella. The blast tore right through it and got her in the heart. Thankfully, the broken umbrella made some kind of flashbang so I used a stasis capsule to try and stop the bleeding and got us here as fast as I could. She… She saved my life…” she took a moment to compose herself, trying to ground herself in the present. “I… I have the footage. Here.” Placing her palm on a terminal, a copy of the footage began playing on one of Max’s screens.

“Looks like you’ve found Gordan Rillan,” said Max. “He was a dock worker that used to work at the pier before the mayor allowed a competitor to take the whole thing over and put Gordan in serious debt. Argeste industries offered him a position and then he was reported missing shortly after. Scans seem to show he’s suffered an even more advanced version of whatever the hell they did to Kim… As for the blaster well, its partially radioactive and goes against several international laws. Her heart can’t be salvaged. The stasis prevented the spread of radiation but… there’s no fixing this without an outright replacement.”

“Please there has to be something!” Sabrina begged. What if I gave her my heart, I can survive being shut down for a while and we can fix me up later.”

 “Unfortunately, since she doesn’t have a single interface, I can’t implant an artificial replacement. By the time I’ve put in the tech needed for a mechanical heart to work she’d already be gone. Unless we manage to find an organic option, and soon, I can’t do more than this and the stasis won’t hold forever.”

“Max.” everyone’s attention was brought to the main terminal which was glowing a bright pinkish orange, Lila’s true avatar on the screen. “What about project phoenix. I looked at the stats. They’re a match.”

“Lila… you do realize what you’re asking right?” Max asked, concern heavy in his voice.

“I do.”

“Alright…” inputting a few commands from his chair, a storage compartment opened up revealing a similar pod, only this one housed the same girl on the screen.

“Is that-” Alya began but couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“Yeah, it is.” Lila replied as she seemed to stare sadly at her own corpse. “when Gabriel, did what he did… he sold my body on the black market. Me and Max managed to find it before it was cut up, but the damage to the brain was too much. Max has been trying to hide that bit of info from me, maybe even try to lie to himself, but I already know the truth. I’m not coming back, at least not this way.” Her attention drifted to Sabrina who was beginning to understand the implications of what was about to happen. “The old me, the one long dead in that pod, she never once went out of her way for someone else, she never really could. She spent every day living by lying through her teeth. Other people were either targets or threats.”

“Sounds like a pretty lonely way to live…” commented Rose with sad compassion, remembering some of the patrons she couldn’t manage to save over the years.

“It was” replied Lila, a hollow chuckle punctuating her point. “It wasn’t until I ‘died’ that I finally found out that sometimes… people aren’t so bad. I somehow got myself a little brother in desperate need of my street smarts, but with a heart of absolute gold, and a Mom in desperate need of a vacation, but who actually looks at me, the absolute mess of a girl, and saw a daughter she actually said she was proud of… Heck if Clara keeps it up I might even have a second mom in the works.” There were some distortions to her avatar and you could swear they looked like tears. “and now that I know what it feels like to care about someone, I’m not about to let you lose the one you care about. Besides, we still need ‘Chameleon’ right now if we’re going to set things right after this.”

“Thank you so much Lila,” Sabrina replied, she reached a hand out to the terminal and her hand glowed ever so slightly the same color. It wasn’t a perfect touch, but Lila could feel the hand all the same, and Sabrina could the slightest sensation of someone grasping it.

“Lila,” Max caught her attention, “the promise still stands, I WILL bring you back one day.”

“I know you will Max. I’ll be looking forward to it. But for now we have a life to save, and the girl I once was deserves to do at least one good deed before she’s retired.” ———

Oh shit-

Well- damn Lila

Now that’s a fucking redemption arc holy shit

Thank you. That was fucking amazing.

I feel so bad for Aurore- what a trooper though- bitch got her heart exploded and she’s fucking fine

God dang

Poor Lila too—Holy shit I made her suffer in this au. Chameleon baby needs a break. Her accidentally becoming Adrien’s sister is really cute. I’m proud of her development, I hope I give her a happy ending.

Max and Lila being bro’s is lovely and fun. They’re too smart for their own good. This was amazing, thank you so much for this, I’m glad you guys like this au, I know I do.

[crossdressingdeath]

(1/3) It always amuses me how stans try to justify JC actions by his abusive upbringing while there were 3 children in that family and both others turned very kind and/or very moral and not at all like JC (and frankly, he didn't even have the hardest position in the dysfunctional dynamic). Or LXC and LWJ whose upbringing was even more screwed up with a LQ who was certainly playing favorites and wanting perfection, and yet this never draw a wedge between them or created any jealousy.

(2/3)LXC loves for LWJ to excel! Same with "but JC had it so hard rebuilding Lotus Pier, WWX was goofing off with the Wens"...JC was paying people to do that for him, yes, while WWX was trying to start from scratch a settlement over a mountain of corpses with a bunch of weak or old people and not to die of hunger comes winter. While separated from all his friends and hated as a monster by the cultivation world. "But JC was so lonely during the 13/16y, so that justifies him lashing out" And WWX

(3/3) was dead, killed by his brother and thinking that there was not a person left on his side in the end, and yet, that didn't make him act like a dick? Or athg else really, because everything that JC went through in the past, WWX did also, but in a worse way because he lost his parents young, lived in the streets, didn't have JC societal privilege or money and has to harness an unstable necromancy practice on top of that. And yet no one uses it as arguments to explain his actions, only for JC 

Honestly? While none of the Jiang kids were in a good position, out of the three of them... JC did have it the easiest. It was still awful for him, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting his childhood didn’t suck, but given it was made very clear to JYL that her only purpose was to be married off to JZX so her mother could tie her bloodline to her best friend’s and WWX was treated like a servant at best... Yeah. If I had to pick, I’d choose having a distant father and dealing with a mother who’s constantly emotionally abusive over having a distant father and dealing with a mother who’s constantly emotionally abusive and being treated like a bargaining chip/treated like a servant and/or bastard and being whipped for actions that would get the rest of the clan a lecture at worst. Again, I’m not saying JC didn’t have it bad, but his siblings having it worse is... interesting, given neither of them decided to be dicks to Literally Everyone over it.

I do have to say, even though this is about JC, there’s nothing suggesting LQR was playing favourites with LXC and LWJ. He was strict, yes, probably stricter than he should’ve been, and LXC probably did get more one-on-one interaction with him, but given LXC was going to be sect leader/became sect leader at a young age that makes sense. This is not super important to the point of this post, but I do find it odd how often people make LQR out to be this horrible person who’s always awful to his nephews because he’s Strict when we... don’t actually know anything about how he raised them. I don’t like him all that much, and he probably didn’t do a fantastic job of raising them, but the man did try, and he clearly wants his nephews to be safe and happy (even though he has inaccurate views of what that entails...), and given how the parents/parental figures of the cast generally act he deserves some credit for that. Also the Twin Jades ended up considerably better-adjusted than most of their age group, which... isn’t saying much all things considered but it does say something. If nothing else neither of them seem to feel actively unsafe around him, so he’s definitely not the worst parental figure in this novel.

...I had a surprising number of thoughts on LQR there. Whoops, sorry about the tangent. Maybe I’ll make a post about him at some point. Anyway, yeah, LXC and LWJ clearly adore each other! LXC would be delighted if LWJ surpassed him at something! Same with Nie bros; they argue a lot, but there’s no denying that they love each other. That’s what insults and threats out of love look like; NMJ threatens NHS all the time, but NHS clearly isn’t all that bothered by it until JGY starts fucking with NMJ’s mind and the threats become more serious, which really isn’t NMJ’s fault. It’s because in the other sibling relationships both parties are invested in staying close. They love each other and want to be close for the rest of their lives! Meanwhile JC is obsessed with WWX outperforming him at Literally Everything, and WWX genuinely believes that JC is allowed to treat him the way he does and it’s fine and healthy.

And yeah, JC wasn’t exactly rebuilding Lotus Pier all by his lonesome with his own two hands. In fact, going by what we see all the rebuilding was done well before WWX left! And I don’t doubt for a second that WWX was involved in that process; I have very mixed feelings about the scene in CQL where he blows off his duties to go and get drunk, because on the one hand it does do a good job of showing just how bad his mental state is getting (and how JC refuses to acknowledge it despite WWX obviously being Not Okay), but on the other hand... I just can’t see WWX not throwing himself into helping JC with everything he’s got even while his mental state is coming crashing down around him. I mean, this is the guy who created an incredibly powerful weapon that even he couldn’t fully control, not knowing what using it would do to him, to help his brother win a war. I’m pretty much certain that WWX ran himself into the ground helping JC rebuild and run the sect... then when he found himself in charge of a small group of desperate people, scrambling to keep them fed and clothed and healthy, JC just abandoned him to deal with it on his own.

And the whole “Oh, but JC was so lonely, don’t you feel bad for him?” shtick. I hate it so much. If he didn’t want to be lonely, he should’ve considered that before alienating everyone in his age group and leading an army to murder his brother, the only person left who was willing to put up with him! It’s... really hard to feel bad for someone who’s brought most of their suffering on themselves through a series of generally shitty and frequently downright cruel actions with easily foreseeable consequences. If he got sick of being alone, he should’ve apologized to his peers for being a dick to... literally all of them and tried to make amends and strike up some sort of relationship. Or, if that didn’t work, go out! Meet new people! Try not to be as awful to them! Also, he’s a sect leader. If he couldn’t even maintain a positive relationship with other sect leaders, people who, let me remind you, he has to work with on a regular basis and several of whom are actually nice and friendly people, that is on him. If you are awful to people you will end up alone. And then JC decided to respond to learning that the people he was a dick to every time he saw them (and, in LWJ and NHS’s cases, caused the death of someone they cared about) wanted nothing to do with him... by whining about how lonely he was as if that wasn’t largely his fault. Like, he lost his family and that’s awful, but he could have had friends to help him through his grief, and it’s his own damn fault that he doesn’t.

WWX’s life was miserable. He had plenty of friends, yeah, but he spent years on the streets after his parents died brutal deaths; was raised in a family where he was treated like a servant and a scapegoat; lost everything in an event he was blamed for despite having nothing to do with the attack; had to sacrifice his incredibly powerful golden core (thereby losing his primary means of defending himself while on the run and drastically shortening his lifespan) to keep his brother from letting himself die; was thrown into a corpse pit for three months where he had to create an entirely new and experimental (and as such incredibly dangerous) form of cultivation and probably resort to cannibalism just to survive; had to fight a war almost immediately after escaping; spent a... good portion of time (not sure how long exactly because the MDZS timeline is more a suggestion than an actual coherent timeline) being treated alternately as a tame pet or a rabid animal and having to pretend everything was just fine while everyone tried to either control him or remove him and his brother very obviously got increasingly resentful of his skill and power; had to abandon his home, his family, and everything he had left of his old life to save a bunch of innocent people while everyone, including his brother, acted like he’d gone mad for not wanting to let them die horribly; had to go back to the corpse pit he spent three months in because it was the only place where they might be safe; accidentally killed his brother-in-law due to losing control after being ambushed on the way to a celebration for his nephew that he was invited to by people he trusted, almost certainly making him wonder on at least some level if that was why he was invited; lost two members of his new family who he clearly loved because of said accidental murdering; learned their deaths were for nothing and, when he retaliated against the planned attack that shouldn’t have happened because that’s what WQ and WN gave their lives to prevent, saw his beloved sister die to save him; and, after all that, lost the rest of his new family to a siege on a civilian population led by his brother. And after all that, his response was... to destroy the incredibly dangerous weapon he’d made because he didn’t trust the sects to not destroy each other and themselves with it and kill himself rather than risk losing control again and hurting anyone else. In the novel too; I don’t doubt for a second that WWX planned on dying in that siege, even if he didn’t expect destroying the seal to do it.

Take a look at that paragraph. All those things that happened to WWX. And in the end, he was kind. He was so, so kind, and remains kind even after thirteen years of being dead. He would have been well within his rights to go all “Then let me be evil” on the sects, but every time he attacked them they struck first, and most of the serious damage he did happened as a direct result of losing control of his experimental and mostly unknown new cultivation, which is a real risk even with spiritual cultivation; NMJ probably would have happily killed everyone in Qinghe if the qi deviation hadn’t gotten to him first, given how easy it was for him to attack even his beloved little brother. Everything bad that happened to JC is on that list, pretty much. Everything that JC suffered WWX did too, with some variations in the details (and of course dead versus alone for the same period of time). JC had the advantage of a sect at his back and a high rank by virtue of his birth, while WWX’s position was entirely reliant on JFM and, later, JC. And yet some people insist that WWX’s trauma doesn’t excuse his actions but JC’s somehow does. Now, some people argue it’s different because WWX was a mass murderer. Yeah, well, JC’s a fucking serial killer, and he doesn’t have the excuse of losing control due to using resentful energy to cultivate and being attacked by everyone he’d ever known and trusted.

...I’ve kind of lost track of where I’m going with this. Short version: I very strongly disagree with anyone who insists WWX’s trauma doesn’t excuse his actions while bending over backwards to argue that JC’s trauma excuses his.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 25: Oh Hai Mai

Heyyy we’re back. Thank for bearing with me, it’s been kind of chaos over here. Everything from a pandemic (we are very sloooowly reopening over here but I’ve been quarantined so long I can french braid my damn leg hair.) to important political protests, to getting an evacuation order because an arsonist burned down 90 acres in the heat of summer (luckily we’re all fine), to a vole that ate everything in my pandemic self-care garden so I lost my entire mind and waged war and dug so many holes and put out 17 mouse traps and set off so many critter bombs under the ground trying to kill the little bastard like it was Caddyshack (It’s still alive, ps, I lost that war). These last 3 months have been the longest decades of my life. The only month longer was the one where I’m pretty sure I had mono and it made me positive that my basement was haunted.

Man, bring back my haunted basement, Sorry if this comes through in my writing, I tried but, I can’t edit it out. You get FML-Rachel today.

Lets get back to a good, mindless distraction, lets turn on Yugioh.

BUT------->it just so happens that this episode of Yugioh has cop stuff in it, I’m just going to be blunt. We’re going into Valon’s backstory, he’s very much a victim of problems within the bizarre Yugioh legal system, and much like a Gotham supervillain, he is a symptom of the problem more than the cause.

I’m not going to ignore that, but in case you are overwhelmed about that right now, if you want to like...save this for later--I have another FMA recap coming out soon that I wrote in a simpler time before....the corona freakin ruined us all.

Last we left off, we were on the heels of Joey Wheeler, who decided to book it down the street because he wants to murder the hell out of Valon.

Youknow...Joey is one hell of a protagonist. He just does...so MANY antagonistic things.

Joey has decided that although the world is ending, and everyone left alive will be absorbed into the Great Leviathon’s big yummy tummy, which can only be prevented by three people, of which he is one of--he’s going to go sprint in completely the other direction.

We even managed to get Kaiba on board. We were ready. We were done, but then Joey had to lose his freakin mind because that’s just what Joey Wheeler does sometimes.

Normally heroes avoid the call to duty because of a severe lack of self confidence, but this is Joey, and he’s going to avoid the call to duty because of too much self confidence.

And so Joey and his Chaperone turn a corner and walk into this random orc who’s just casually living his best life and touring SF.

One of my worst fears walking through SF, tbh. Running into high school people. Not so much the orcs.

Yo, I wonder what the bushman was doing through all of this? So IRL, we have this guy who just...hides in a bush and jump-scares tourists. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a bush and then just...all these orcs show up and you’re all.

...oh no, now I’m the fool...

I just want to know if bushman made it, or if he’s in a paper card that’s just a picture of foliage.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Joey was already in the process of running, so they just turned around on this street of...so much parking.

Like y’all there is SO MUCH PARKING this episode. I was trying to pay attention to anything else, but like...do you see this!? It takes nearly half an hour usually to get a spot but this--this right here?

And the crazy thing is, recently my bro had to go pick up some old guy from a cruise that...got quarantined...and so bro had to go the Pier and like--this is what the city looked like. This is a pandemic, it’s just lots of parking, so I want to criticize Yugioh, and I normally would, but I can’t. I’ve seen the receipts. They called it. This is what the endtimes look like and it’s so much parking.

Also, they were too lazy to draw cars but damn, they called it.

So, left with no other option, Joey decides to...be Joey, and punches a huge orc covered in armor.

So Valon’s here, because apparently SF has just...no one left alive in it except for these few kids and that one Uber Eats driver. I imagine it’s a lot easier to find Joey if you just follow the only one screaming in Japanese in a Brooklyn accent at the top of his lungs.

And Valon decides that this one way street isn’t good enough, and that they must duel somewhere else.

I assumed it would be a tall structure, but considering Kaiba just blew up the tallest structures in the Financial District...I was like...what else is tall? And bear in mind, I’m a mess, so I was like...OMG I wish it were Macy’s!!!

Now I hear you saying that’s weird, and we shouldn’t have a very fancy Macy’s in 2020, and you’re correct. but we still have one, and the top floor is just...a massive Cheesecake factory, and I can’t think of anything more 00′s than a Yugioh duel on top of that specific Cheesecake Factory.

And I’ve never really thought before about where the best Yugioh duel would be, and it’s there. It’s at the high rise Cheesecake. Listen Yugioh, if you need an insider to choose locations for your Netflix remake of S4--call me.

So anyways, instead of doing the right thing and going to the Cheesecake Factory on top of Macy’s like any other self respecting 00′s teenager, Valon and Joey are going to drive through the most boring parts of town.

They had an opportunity to go chase eachother through any tourist attraction, Lombard street, Ghirardelli Square, the Palace of Fine Arts, China town, reuse some assets and drive through Japan town, that fountain that looks like Yoda--but no...they decided to drive through literal trash.

Just...a missed opportunity, and it should have been a Cheesecake Factory.

Also, I totally and fully acknowledge that a strange nostalgic affection for the Cheesecake Factory is a weird Millennial thing (much like our weird encyclopedic knowledge of Sailor Moon) but listen. You have your thing, too. You go do you, I’m gonna soak my sorrows in a bowl of Chinese chicken salad so wide, it’ll last me 3 days.

Anyways, Joey’s gonna steal that guy’s bike.

Yugioh just predicting the future in 2003. We actually have a HUGE problem right now with vehicle theft in the city to an almost comedic degree, which is partly why the parking situation has gotten so incredibly dire. It’s kind of incredible that this guy left his bike out because after about 1 day in the city you learn pretty fast that you need to be constantly checking on your street parked vehicle--I mean, that guy was just asking for it, honestly. If Joey hadn’t taken it, some other guy would have absolutely taken it, (even that orc would’ve taken it, the city has no consideration for cars.)

Sorry --one sec-- that was an earthquake just now. As I’m typing this. Just a little guy. Just a little treat for me...

...but still like...c’mon. I’m also getting this weird issue where Tumblr doesn’t save my drafts so like...this is like the 3rd time I’ve had to write this like...I just want to make a Yugioh post for my tiny funtime tv blog, Universe. Don’t @ me right now, Universe.

SO MUCH FREAKIN PARKING.

...is it the space between two piers? What is this? We don’t have rivers in SF, it is a peninsula covered in very steep hills. Like very VERY steep hills. All water just rolls into the ocean and there’s a couple of lake thingies but...no rivers that I know of (And like maybe this is a thing, and I just haven’t seen it? Learn something new every day.)

*loud, audible sigh* home. Where we belong. At the warehousssssssse.

Back at the RV base, Duke Devlin is still babysitting. Maybe this is to make up for the two seasons he spent trying to date a girl Rebecca’s age, that they felt like going out of their way to show that he has indeed no longer horny now. Got to hand it to them, that’s a lot of character development right there. Although at the same time, it has made Duke Devlin a very non-character.

But imagine how insanely complicated would it have been if Duke got involved in that bizarre love-square that is Yugi, Tea, and the Ghost that killed Yugi by accident.

PS that’s either a freeway onramp (which is too far South from where they were, I think) or it sure does look like old Embarcadero behind them. Youknow, that lifted street from the 80′s that fell down in Loma Prieta and was never rebuilt? I just freakin love that it’s still here in 2003. This bizarre Yugioh alternate California.

Anyway, because this is alternate California, Seto set a massive fire and the entire city didn’t immediately go up in flames. Apparently they just kinda ran away from the explosion and damage before anyone noticed.

Probably because most people on Earth are dead anyway, so what more can these two actually do?

And so Yami ends up getting lectured by the wife.

And justifiably, the wife seems to have absolutely no confidence that Yami will be able to do a damn thing right.

Wifes all around this episode.

Speaking of,

At this point, Arthur Hawkins senses that Yami’s nearby, so he opens the door just to freakin dump some guilt on him.

...Rebecca seems to be a character that’s mostly there to recap the lore and also to dump on Yami. I don’t mind that. Yami needs to get dunked more often, and I’m saying that in S4, where the entire season’s tagline is “how many times can we dunk on Yami?”

So lets check on Yugi, how’s that kid doing? It’s been quite a number of episodes since we last saw him.

Yep, still hanging out in the Han Solo cosplay room.

And then, because I guess everyone is just hanging out in the same 4 blocks, Mai and Tristan have a heart-to-heart.

In the show, this conversation was Mai (who is now a serial killer) saying “Oh hey, Tristan, where’s Joey?” and Tristan saying “It’s ALL YOUR FAULT he wants to kill Valon--thanks a lot, Mai! GODS!” all indignant like.

Not how you would ordinarily talk to a serial killer, just saying. No one from the Yugi crew fears this woman...at all...and she has killed over 20 people in front of them and is trying very hard to kill Joey Wheeler all the time.

Like what would it actually take for them to fear this woman? They can’t, right?

Meanwhile, Valon is trying to explain to Joey that his obsession with Mai is in fact damaging any relationship they could have had.

So then when you’re like OK...this is actually very valid points on Valon’s part, and Joey really does need to step back and let people make their mistakes considering Joey was barely a part of her life to begin with. But then, Valon just turns a 180 and...it becomes a catty love triangle where only one person in the triangle even feels romantic emotions.

I just...so Valon is doing this fight because he thinks Mai is in love with Joey.

This whole time I was like “well maybe it’s more that Valon is trying to defend Mai’s right to make her own choices” but no...he just straight up thinks Mai is in love with Joey. And, in fighting Joey, Valon himself is ignoring Mai’s life choices

Just a whole lot of misunderstanding that would have been fixed with better ways than dueling with cards. At least that one guy in S2 who tried to marry Mai actually dueled HER instead of some random guy.

It just really feels like these boys are having a pissing contest and Mai was never let in on the deets that this was even happening.

Mai needs to hang out with older men. Set her up with Roland, this is ridiculous.

Back at the RV, which got very, very big in this shot, Seto has an odd convo with Mokuba about how they are probably not going to get Kaiba Corp back. And then no one really argued with him about that.

He’s taking it really well. Maybe because this isn’t even the first time or the second time or even really the third time Seto’s lost everything. Kid’s really freakin great at failure. At least this time Mokuba isn’t currently abducted, which is really good improvement for these two.

Outside the RV, Tristan has decided to...give up as well, just right here, in the middle of traffic. Then he gets Orc’d...these orcs are kind of like Slenderman, in that they kinda...show up...but then that’s all they do because the designers didn’t actually want to animate anything.

And then this happens.

God bless this story boarder for this random series of events presented in just this way.

Also here’s yet another example where Tea just has...no fear. She’s actually only out here because she was like “that’s it, we’re getting another driver” and was going to chew out Duke Devlin. The Orc being in the middle of the road was not the reason she walked out here.

Anyways, Yami killed it because everyone here can just throw cards forever, these things are not threatening.

The subplot of everyone refusing to drive with Duke Devlin after he busted his car in Death Valley is still ongoing, and it’s still low key hilarious that no one will outright say “Duke, your driving is just so bad” and instead, Duke just has to sit there and watch Joey STEAL A MOTORCYCLE just so he won’t have to drive shotgun with Duke Devlin.

Rebecca, our plot-dump device, then informs us that Valon has Special Rules.

Because Valon, if you’ve forgotten, has a card that allows him to physically punch his opponent in the face.

They should have invented that card a long time ago TBH.

SO, lets get into Valons tragic backstory. First off, go turn on your Les Mis Soundtrack, because this is some old school cop stuff.

So apparently Valon, as a child just...stayed in the system forever. We don’t know why yet, but lets just assume that it’s tragic and heavy handed. If he steals a loaf of bread and ends up in 12 Juvies (which is a line from the show and not an exaggeration--12 Juvies) then I will expect him to be singing by the end of this and I will be very disappointed if he does not.

Anyways, he was such an asshole, that he caught the attention of some very illegal rich bastard who was trying to turn prisoners into...card murders. (it was Dartz.) because apparently...Dartz also funds prisons and that is...that is some deep lore.

And so probably about the same time that Yugi was Dueling to the death on Pegasus’ Island, and about the same time that Marik was hanging out in the ocean next to Pegasus’ Island with a pair of binoculars, and about the same time that Noah was underneath Pegasus’ Island just watching Pegasus steal KaibaCorp, Dartz decided to make his OWN murder island--because I guess he got jealous.

Anyway, Valon won, and didn’t even need to set anyone on fire.

Those little green things there--those are all souls of prison inmates.

YUGIOH.

Millennials got DARK, OK? Freakin...we had a show for 9 year olds that went deep into the school-to-prison pipeline and didn’t even try to hide it under any layers of symbolism. Like Hunger Games at least had two people survive.

This was a show to sell PAPER CARDS.

+++++++++++THIS IS A RANT WHERE I WENT OFF ABOUT PRISON TALK IN KID’S SHOWS FEEL FREE TO SKIP++++++++++++++++++++

Now, there’s a lot of good conversation going on right now about errors in the modern justice system on not just a local scale, but on a global scale, especially regarding racial profiling and criminalization of poor, sick, and young, and we better keep pushing it. But it’s surprising when people pretend like this hasn’t been talked about for a long time. Because...we’ve been talking about it in kids and YA shows for a long time. This is not something that just popped up in 2020.

Like millennials didn’t invent this obsession with dark and gritty stories with uncomfortable themes. It’s been around for thousands of years, but back in the 90′s and 00′s, a lot of shows for YA and younger enjoyed talking about the problems with prisons and abuse of power with our justice systems--a lot. Batman, X-men, Death Note, so so many, hell, even the OC.

And like, don’t get me wrong, we still have these shows running around, but I’ve been there’s been a trend of stories (not saying names) where just...nothing bad happens. And, that’s kind of sad because...they CAN have small elements that are more progressive in them, but only brought forth with a very risk-free cotton candy fluffy coating to make the majority of the population happy.

I could go long about this, and I’m getting very cryptic. If a kid escapes to more colorful worlds where nothing bad ever happens, that’s OK--sometimes you need that, but when nothing bad ever happens surrounding certain experiences where bad things normally happen--the meaning of the story changes because it isn’t a real experience anymore.

Like I don’t want to tangent too much, and I just had to delete a lot of examples, but I know a lot of people want to write stories about misrepresented minorities and about real deal serious situations and are just so afraid of misrepresentation that they go in completely the wrong direction by not putting in anything uncomfortable at all. I think it’s important to look at the work and ask yourself is this about the minority the work should be about--or is this work about patting the majority of the population on the back and saying neat, we’ve achieved utopia without having to even do anything?

...anyway, obvi I’m ranting, but I feel like we’re taking a step backwards when it comes to the importance of kids programming and that we do need to talk to kids about prison again. This is a show about paper cards, and they don’t do a great job at talking about...the reality of prison, this was exaggerated with genre stereotypes, but at least they didn’t cover it with rainbows and unicorns, because this isn’t about how great Joey and the “normal” people are at saving Valon, this is about how society screwed Valon beyond repair, and I am 99% certain we will see this guy’s soul stuffed in a brick above Dartz’ snake fireplace.

Like, yeah he duels to the death on an island, but that’s imagery that is very close to real life prison issues. We don’t talk to kids a lot about how a lot of inmates get enlisted into the military during war times (and quite literally...duel to their death...on islands). We don’t talk about how we use inmates to betray eachother for a chance at maybe getting amnesty. We don’t talk about how a lot of the victims of this system are essentially children, and have been caught in a system of endless prison for what will probably be the rest of their lives. We don’t talk about how we’re systematically turning kids into criminals so much in kid’s shows of late...and Freakin Yugioh just did in a filler season. 

....................I think our standard for modern kids programming to talk about serious issues is way too low if Yugioh just threw this out there in a filler season, is all I’m saying.

++++++++++++++++++END OF PRISON RANT++++++++++++++++++++++

 So, Valon is free but...is he?

Not really, he’s just gone from one jailer to another, but at least this time he gets his own room. Don’t blame him for latching onto Dartz’ dream to end the world, because the world for him has been one behind bars. He doesn’t know it. Never been there.

It’s just interesting juxtaposed to Joey because Joey had some sort of Season Zero history with a gang and I haven’t watched that episode yet.

So that’s it for now, again, I’m very slooow lately. I slept for 3 hours today...and I don’t know why. But hey--we all got through three (four???) months of this...we just gotta go...one month at a time.

That and I accidentally did my taxes early so there’s that. See? Good things still happen.

Also, because I only slightly referenced the most incredible movie ever made on San Fransisco soil, I’ll just leave this here. The true hallmark of our city.

Anyway you know the drill, here’s the link

[bloodiedskirtts]

Little Love Affair | Chapter Two: It’s Better To Forget Me

Summary: After leaving Paris, Y/N bumps into a handsome man with just what she needs to get to her dream destination

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Fluff and smut

A/N: TAG LIST IS OPEN!

Feedback is always appreciated! Thanks for reading. I hope you guys like it! Gif not mine, credit to owner.

Little Love Affair Masterlist

‘No, no, no, no,’ she shouted as she ran down the jetty to the edge of the water. Her suitcase in hand, her legs carrying her as fast as they would go. She was waving her arms and jumping when she reached the edge, but it was too late - the ferry had left. All her planning, all her dreams of reaching the island had been quashed. The next ferry wasn’t for another week! 

What was she supposed to do for a week? She let out a defeated groan, before letting her slump to the ground. She put her head in her hands, of course she missed the ferry! It was just so typical.

She had spent a week roaming around Athens and then taken a train all the way to the coast, just to miss her ferry. That she had specifically planned her whole trip around. She huffed out, she shouldn’t have stopped to try those oysters. They weren’t even nice! 

And now she was stranded! 

‘Well I’ll be damned!’

She recognised that voice, shit! Her head whipped up to see the smirking face of Samuel Wilson. She tried to contain her eye roll. Sam’s parents were rolling in money, his dad was some big shot movie producer and his mother was an actress. They ran in the same circles as Y/N’s mother, so she bumped into Sam more often than she would like. Although she had managed to stay out of the playboy’s way for a few years.

Sam was a handful of years older than her, but it didn’t stop him from being a shameless flirt. He was known for his Casanova ways back in LA - he spent half of the year in the south of France or Italy on a yacht. She hadn’t expected to see him off the coast of Greece, but it looked like she couldn’t catch a break today.

‘Samuel Wilson, I can’t say it’s a pleasure,’ she hissed, looking up at him as he stood over her. 

‘Oh, you’re still denouncing the life of the one per cent?’ he said, lowering his sunglasses to take in her outfit over the frames. She was wearing cut off jean shorts and a loose fitting white shirt, that was so worn it was basically sheer. She rolled her eyes at his comment.

‘Yes, well some of us don’t want to live off mummy and daddy’s money forever,’ she replied.

Now it was his turn to scoff at her, ‘Ah, yes, because you’ve paid for your world trip out of your own pocket.’

She opened and closed her mouth at this. Shit. He was right, there was no way she could have made it to Greece if her mother wasn’t rich and famous.

‘How do you know that I’m travelling around the world?’ she asked instead.

‘Hollywood isn’t as big as you’d like to think,’ he replied with a shrug. ‘So, princess, what are you doing crying your eyes out on the pier?’

She narrowed her eyes, Sam was handsome, she wasn’t going to deny it. But he was insufferable - end of discussion. Even though she had drunkenly admitted that if she had to, like gun to her head, last man on earth, she may consider having sex with him. Maybe!!! 

‘And why would I tell you, Samuel?’ 

‘First off, princess, it’s Sam, Samuel is my father,’ he winked at her and she scoffed. ‘Secondly, it seems as though you need to get somewhere. And, you, my dear, are in luck.’

‘Sam, what are you talking about?’ she groaned out, shaking her head.

He stepped back, making a swooping gesture with his hands at a boat moored in the marina. She was laughing, holding her belly, almost rolling on the ground laughing. She had tears streaming down her face by the time she composed herself, and looked at the very grumpy looking Sam.

‘You expect me to get in a boat with you? The biggest Lothario in the whole of the northern hemisphere?’ she gasped out.

He smirked at her, ‘Don’t think you’ll be able to resist my charms, princess?’

‘Oh I can resist all of you, Sam. I just don’t want to spend any time with you in a confined space!’ she snapped back.

‘You just don’t trust yourself around me,’ he teased.

‘No I just don’t trust you!’ she retorted.

‘You wound me, princess. But if you want to wait on the dock for seven days and seven nights, all alone, then so be it!’ he said with a shrug.

She was certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place, but she stood up, placing her hat on her head, sticking her chin out and gathering her bags.

‘Okay, Samuel, let’s do this. No funny business!’ she said with pure determination covering his face.

‘I would never try anything with the ice queen herself, don’t you fret!’ he teased as he began to walk back up the pier. ‘I have dozens of gorgeous models waiting for me back in Cannes anyway.’

She rolled her eyes again as she followed him.

‘So why are in you Greece?’ she asked.

He turned to look at her, throwing her a cocky smile as he did, ‘There’s a sailing competition here every year. I’ve been coming since I was a kid and I think I could win this year.’

She nodded, trying to hide her own smile as Sam began to passionately talk about his love for sailing. She knew that he had competed in races his entire life, there had even been talk about him going to the Olympics at one point. That never panned out, and she was left wondering why. He was a strong sailor, she had seen him at several races growing up in LA. But somethings just weren’t meant to be. But as he spoke about his passion for sailing, a tiny part of her hoped that he would win the race.

And as he helped her onto his boat, she couldn’t help but think maybe Sam Wilson wasn’t as bad as she thought he was. He was definitely much more interesting when he wasn’t trying to get a girl into bed. And she didn’t mind helping him get the boat moving, she liked how serious he was about it. It was a side of Sam she had never seen before. He was always the one goofing off or making a joke of things. But seeing him take control of a situation and actually care, truly care about something...well...She shook off the thought as he finally set the boat on route. Sam Wilson was still despicable.

She was giggling as he refilled her wine glass - making it across to the island had been longer than she had thought. It was dark by the time they arrived, Sam had offered to let her sleep on the boat because they was no way she could find somewhere to sleep now. She had reluctantly agreed - but now after almost a full bottle of wine she was feeling a lot better about the situation.

‘Okay, okay, let me get this straight,’ he gasped out, tears forming in his eyes again. ‘The first time you gave a guy a blowjob, you didn’t realise you had to move your head?’

She nodded, tears rolled down her cheeks as she laughed at the memory. 

‘So, what, you just sat there with a dick in your mouth?’ he asked.

‘Basically, yes,’ she replied before laughter over took them both. Being with Sam was a lot easier than she had thought it was going to be. Reminiscing about school days was something she hadn’t expected, he had been a senior when she was a freshman so they never really spoke in school. But they knew each other regardless. Their private school wasn’t that big.

‘Okay so who was it?’ he asked a few moments later.

‘Oh, no! Nope I am not telling you that,’ she replied with a smirk.

‘I’m not going to give up til you tell me. And I obviously know him,’ he said, leaning back in his chair. ‘Okay. Thor?’

She shook her head.

‘He’s not really your speed is he? Loki? Loki is definitely more your type.’

‘No!’

‘Okay...Pietro Maximoff?’

She shook her head, continuously as he listed boy after boy from their school.

‘I’m running out of people. Rhodey? Bruce? Tony? Bro- TONY!’

‘I didn’t say that!’ she gasped, eyes wide.

He laughed, ‘Oh my God. You tell me that I’m a playboy and yet, Tony fucking Stark is all good?’

‘I was young and naive!’ she responded.

‘Okay, Tony had to be at least a sophomore in college when that party happened!’ 

She nodded slowly, sipping her wine.

‘Oh my God, you little player,’ he teased.

She kicked him under the table, ‘Anyway, my blowjob skills have improved immensely since I was sixteen!’

This caused Sam to smirk, ‘Care to put that to the test.’

She didn’t know how it happened but her lips were suddenly on his, her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom. Clothes were being torn off, until she was in nothing but her bikini top and panties, while Sam hovered above her in his tight fitting boxers. She bit her lip as she noticed the growing bulge covered in the designer underwear. She had heard stories about Sam’s infamous...well...She had thought, no she had vowed, to never see it in the flesh. But as she crawled up the bed to him, her mouth was actually watering.

She pulled down his boxers and without hesitation took him in her mouth. She knew there was no hope in hell that she would fit him all in, so as she began to bob her head painfully slowly, she wrapped her hand around the base of his cock. Her tongue was swirling as she moved over his cock, dragging along the underside of his thick length. She was soaking wet, her hips grinding of their own accord, trying to get some friction as she traced patterns over the veins of his cock. She pulled almost completely off, her hand following her mouth to keep pulling him off as her tongue kitten licked his tip which was leaking pre-cum. He was groaning loudly, causing the wetness between her legs to grow. She reached down into her panties to tease her clit as she continued her blowjob. She moaned softly at the release of tension as she grinded against her hand.

‘Fuck,’ he hissed pushing her away, back onto the bed. His brown eyes were filled with lust and her panties and bikini top were flung across the room before she could think about it. He rubbed his cock over her soaking folds, she was aching for him, aching to feel him inside her. She didn’t care that she was just another name on Sam’s lists of conquests. She honestly in that moment couldn’t have cared less.

A loud, ‘yes’ slipped from her mouth as he pushed inside her, and she didn’t miss the smirk that covered his face. As he began to fuck her mercilessly into the mattress she knew what all the fuss was about. Sam really had a magic fucking cock! She was seeing sparks like she never had before, he was kissing her neck, kneading her tits, hitting every single button she needed to reach her orgasm. He knew exactly what she needed and how to give it to her. And as he pounded into her, her hips rose to meet him, her release coming closer and closer until she screamed out his name as she was overcome with pleasure. Her legs tighten around his waist and her pussy clenching his cock and the way her voice broke with pleasure was enough to send Sam over the edge just moments after her. He collapsed on top of her as his cock twitched and they both came down from their highs.

They lay there for a few moments before, Sam rolled off her onto his back. They slowly caught their breath, before sleep quickly overtook both of them. She was tired from travelling and had probably more wine than was sensible, so sleep came quickly to her. And Sam was snoring loudly just a few minutes later. 

The next morning they said their goodbyes, a smirk on Sam’s face as she waved him off. He had told her that he would be back on the island by the end of the mouth after the race. She laughed at him, telling him that once was enough. But she did admit that she would miss him. That night with Sam may not have been anything more than a fling, but she saw him in a completely different light now. He was sailing away and she turned on her heels, suitcase in hand, head full of dreams and as she took in the island she knew this is where she was meant to be.

TAG LIST

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[percywinchester27]

Tic Tac Toe (Part-14)

Word count: 4.7k 

Pairing: Sam X Reader

Warnings: Angst, Feels, Fluff

Series Summary: The reader shifts into a new city after being offered a dream job by a big firm. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect after an ugly break-up with a douche-bag Ex. But things turn out not as dreamy as she’d want them to be and the only thing that keeps her smiling is a totally coincidental game of Tic Tac Toe.

A/N: Please do leave some feedback? I LOVE YOU guys!!

Beta: The forever awesome @sdavid09 and my darling @deanssweetheart23. You guys rock, you guys rule!!

Catch up: Part 1, Tic Tac Toe Masterlist

You woke up to an empty bed, the sheets besides you cold and smoothed. Your mind immediately replayed the conversation from last night trying to figure out if you'd said anything that could have been taken in a wrong way, finally deciding that it must be something else. After all, you really had no clue how Sam's mornings usually started.

Ambling out of the bed, you stepped into the soft carpet, shivering lightly in the cold that hung in the room despite the heater. Outside the window, the sky was overcast. It looked like it was about to snow. You pulled the fluffy robe from Sam's bathroom and pulled it over you. Given the lack of sweaters, this would have to do.

The bathroom was empty, which wasn't a surprise since there was pin drop silence in the room, but the house seemed quiet too. You figured that John and Mary might still be sleeping. They must have stayed up late with all the guests.

Not knowing where else to look, you decided to take a small walk to the pier. Even if Sam wasn't there, it was a peaceful place and it was bound to look beautiful in the thickly settled fog. As you walked down the curved, winding foot-trodden road, you decided that you really liked this place. The house had an old charm and the wide back yard with the pier jutting over the stream made it look surreal.

What made it even surreal in that moment was Sam Winchester's stretched body as he bent down to touch his fingers to his feet. He was standing at the far end of the pier, legs spread apart, stretching his limbs.

Right then, even the cold seeping through the robes into your skin didn't mean a damn thing because you could stand there and stare at him all day long. Sam was dressed in a light grey, loose sweater over darker sweatpants. His long hair was slightly disheveled, and beading with sweat despite the chill. Even though the clothes were a loose fit, seeing him stretch like that, you didn't have to stretch your imagination as to what lay underneath it. Those bulging arms, thick thighs and broad chest were painfully obvious. And then there was that slim waist, pink lips and cheeks flushed because of the exercise. So lost were you in admiring both the man, and your insane luck at finding him, that it totally missed your attention that he was now looking at you.

"Like what you see?" He asked, trying to appear causal, but his already flushed cheeks deepened in their shade of red. He could flirt yeah, but not without blushing apparently. It was adorable.

"Sure," you murmured, walking up to him. "Last I checked, it wasn't a capital crime to shamelessly objectify your boyfriend." You inspected your nails. "Was it now?"

His fingers found your lower back as he pulled you to his chest. "Nope. Last I checked, it wasn't a crime. But I haven't checked in a while you know…. maybe now it is."

His face was very close to yours now, close enough for his foggy breath to mingle into yours.

You couldn't take your eyes off his lips. "What are you gonna do about it?" You gulped.

He didn't answer, just dipped his head and quickly captured your lips into his, kissing you sweetly and softly.

"That's the punishment?" You breathed, arching an eyebrow.

Sam's face split into a wicked grin, as his he dragged his knuckles along the sides of your stomach. "Nope, that was just the teaser!"

Peals of laughter erupted from you as you tried to escape his relentless hands. But Sam was so much stronger than you. You pushed against him, luckily catching him off guard and made a run for the huge white house.

You were athletic, and pretty fast when it came to running, but Sam had the advantage of his height. In spite of the initial surprise, he soon overcame it. You could hear booming laughter as he called after. Just when you had reached the back door of the house, his strong hand gripped you across your torso and easily lifted you off your feet.

"And where do you think you are going, missy?" He playfully growled in your ears, making you giggle breathlessly.

It wasn't before he hastily opened the door and pushed you against the wall of the passage that you finally caught your breath, but not for too long. Sam swooped down and met your lips with his again. This time you moved first, bracing yourself against the wall raising up enough to tangle your arms around his neck. His hot skin burned against your cold fingers and you felt a tremor run down his body.

It was like being back in high school. The two of your couldn't stop panting, or even laughing, but neither of you wanted to stop kissing. It felt so good, it was almost juvenile.

A loud throat clearing made you spring apart. John was standing at the foot of the staircase looking everywhere but at the two of you. You heard Sam groan a little, and it made you giggle all over again.

"Ahh… Sam," John cleared his throat again. "There's something I need to talk to you about, regarding the move. I have to leave in an hour, so now might be a good time for that."

You turned around and deliberately kissed Sam on the corner of the mouth, not caring what John Winchester made of it, and whispered in his ears. "I'll see you later."

Sam leaned into you longingly. He looked like he wanted to follow you, that having a breakfast discussion about work was the last thing he wanted, but you blew him a kiss and walked past him. When you reached the foot of the stairs you turned to look John straight in the eye. "Morning, Mr. Winchester."

You could still see Sam mischievously eyeing you, ruffling the hair at the back of his neck as you rounded the corner and into the hallway leading to his room.

Once in, you stripped out of your clothes, almost wishing that Sam would walk in. A girl could hope right? A quick shower later, you threw on one of the only pieces of outgoing clothing you had. Jeans and a beige turtleneck. You were in half minds to pull on that robe again, but the phone pinged just in time to save you from donning bathroom wear.

It was Jo.

*I know you barely have any clothes. How about we go out shopping today?*

She was a girl after your own heart.

You quickly typed back-

*Yes girl, yes!*

The reply was instantaneous.

*Pick you up in 15. Don't bother with the breakfast. Waffle house it is*

You gave the robe a smug look, pulling on Sam's sweater over the turtleneck and quickly ransacked through your bag to find the stash of cash. It wasn't much, but it'll have to do till you got to your mom's place for New Year. You bounced down to the living room after 15 minutes.

Sam and John were in a deep conversation and you slowed your speed. You were tempted to go bounding up to Sam and give him a steamy kiss right in front of his judgmental father, but thought better of it. He was discussing work and he needed to concentrate.

You had every intention of just slipping out without him noticing. You could always text and tell him where you were. But Sam saw you out of the corner of his eye.

"Y/N?"

"Uhhgg yes?" You asked, stopping in your track.

"Heading out?" He stood up and slowly walked towards you.

"Yeah, Jo is taking me out for breakfast and I have to get myself a new sweater," you pointed towards his stolen one.

Sam laughed. "You could keep that one. All my clothes look better on you anyway."

You bent forward and whispered in his ear. "But when you take them back, I'll be left with nothing."

The blush on Sam's face was worth the overt flirting. He looked down and pulled the phone out of your hand.

"I'm turning the GPS on and syncing it with my phone. So that way when you're done, I'll come find you. It's better this way than you having to find addresses around an unknown city. Just text me when you're finished with all the shopping." He kissed you softly on your cheek.

As you walked out of the door, you thought back to the time when you were in a shitty relationship with Mark. He would never let you go out with your friends without making a big deal about it. You would have turned your GPS off without wasting time if Mark had done this,  because he was exactly the sort of controlling jerk to track you with your phone and harass you with it. But not Sam. On the contrary, Sam was worried about you stumbling around the city alone. He was completely fine with you getting your ‘me’ time with Jo. Sam Winchester, you decided as you climbed into Jo's car, was a gift to humanity.

"What are you so happy about?" Jo enquired, hitting the pedal.

"Ya know, about being in love with the best guy ever!" You sighed dreamily.

She rolled her eyes. "And Dean thought Sam had it bad. You have it so much worse, girl."

You weren't going to deny that.

Jo drove in silence for a while, and you did not break it, lost in your thoughts, before she spoke.

"Hey, I'm sorry about the other day."

"About what?" You asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You know, John being a dick to you…" She hesitated, afraid that you'd get offended.

"No, it's cool," you brushed it off. "I can't change what he thinks about me. But I ain't changing myself for his sake either. I guess John will have to learn to deal with me being in his son's life!"

"That's my girl," Jo smirked.

The rest of the day was spent mostly laughing. Jo told you all the embarrassing stories from their childhood. Your favorite was one where Dean had dressed as Superman for Halloween and Sam had dressed as Batman. Now Dean had been older, so when he jumped of the roof, he had landed on all four, while poor Sam had broken his arm. A because he was a kid and B cause Batman can't fly.

You found yourself an adorable Navy blue sweater that went well with a lot of your things, and Jo found herself an obscenely sexy pair of lingerie. You were both giggly and breathless by the time you stepped in front of a huge auto-body shop.

"C'mon, let's go find Dean!" Jo tugged at your arm and pulled you inside.

"Dean owns this?" You asked incredulous, looking at the sheer size of the place.

"Part owns this," Jo corrected. "Dad is still a 40% partner. They have this along with a couple other workhouses, few garages and repair shops in and around the state. It's a big business."

It was so different from what Sam did but it seemed so exciting. Both John and Mary must be so proud of what their boys had achieved. Your eyes flitted towards the glass doors on the side leading into a couple formal cabins at the side. You wanted to see Dean, because even though it had only been two days, he felt more of a friend to you than most people in your life… almost like a brother.

"Where are you going?" Jo tugged at your hand.

You pointed towards the cabins, confused. "To see Dean. That's where we're going right?"

Jo laughed. "Oh no…he's not gonna be in there with a suit on. Come!"

She dragged you along a set of expensive cars to the very end of the work shop. Dean was bent over the front of a vintage car with its hood popped open, dressed in coveralls. His hands and cheeks were stained in grease and he had look of utmost concentration on his face. Of course he was just as humble. You could see where Sam got it from.

Jo sneaked up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands. Dean laughed, easily pulling her around and kissing her on the lips.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Hell yeah!" She smiled.

That's when Dean noticed you.

"Y/N!" His face lit up in a genuine smile, as he hugged you tight. "There's the girl who puts up with my brother."

"Hush," you admonished him but laughed nevertheless. "It's not his fault that he's so busy lately."

"It's not always going to be like that you know," Jo ran her hand up and down your arm soothingly. "This move is a big deal. It'll keep him hella busy for a month or so. But things will settle eventually."

You sighed. More than wanting to spend time with him, you were just worried. Everything was changing too fast around him, he was bound to be scared.

"While we are on the topic of the move…" Jo hesitated, wrapping her arms around Dean's waist. He, in turn, looked very apologetic. "I'm shifting here permanently. Not only am I getting promoted, I'm also moving in with this dude here." Jo pecked Dean on the cheek.

You just stared at her in stunned silence. Of course you were happy for her. They were getting married now after all, but you would miss her so much. She'd been so genuine and had stood up for you. She was a very good friend and you were just getting to know her better.

"I'm so happy for you guys," you said sincerely. "But ain't gonna lie, I'll miss the hell out of you, girl!"

"Hey," Dean said, "Look at the bright side, almost that entire office is shifting. Most of them were originally from here, and they'll all either wanna come back home or move to Chicago for better opportunities. It'll be a new crowd that won't judge you. Hell, they wouldn't know you and Sam are seeing each other."

You thought about it for a minute, surprised that it didn't matter to you anymore. Fuck what people had to say. But maybe it wasn't so bad either. Sam had made it crystal clear that you'd be treated like any other employee. No special treatment, and no mention of your relationship. A clean slate. It would be relieving to say the least. It would actually be like a first day of work, but without Gordon and with a completely new team. Kinda exciting.

You looked up at them with a smile. Maybe it would be good for you.

"And hey Charlie is still there. The IT department would die without her. Besides, she is too good friends with Sam to leave him to deal with a brand new staff."

"We'll be there for a while too," Dean added. "I'm gonna help her move in the second week of Jan. We can catch up then."

"That would be great, guys," you said gratefully. "I will look forward to it."

Dean reached out and ruffled your hair, just like he did with Sam, and it made you immediately feel warm and homely inside.

"C'mon, let's get back to the Christmas tree. We haven't put up one piece of decoration on it," Dean suggested and the three of you nodded. You immediately texted Sam to let him know that you were going back to the family house.

Sam wasn't there. He'd had to rush to office, but you never felt lonely even for a second. The evening was spent amazingly. Mary was a fantastic cook and they had a massive Christmas tree which the three of you pulled from the backyard and into the house with additional help from Cas. The four of you had a great time between being bruised by the tree and decorating it. Cas was one of his kind. He was more serious but also somehow very innocent. Every innuendo that Dean made had to be explained to him, and Dean made a lot of innuendos, especially because Cas didn't understand him.

Cas also told you a lot about the company policy and gave you the highlights about all the associates, and the couple partners, while Jo gave you the dirty laundry. You didn't remember the last time you'd laughed so much. This felt like being home, like being amidst family.

By the time the tree was decorated, all of you were tired, and too giggly, in a way that one person laughing was setting everyone off. You clutched at your stomach, falling back on the sofa exhausted, your hair splaying behind you.

"Gosh… y'all need to stop laughing. Because I need to stop laughing," you laughed.

"Oh no, don't." You felt his hands trailing along your shin before your eyes met with his beautiful hazel ones.

"You're back," you squealed, jumping up from the sofa and straight into his arms. The shenanigans from the afternoon had made you very bold somehow.

Sam was pleasantly surprised, but his strong arms caught you the moment you landed against his chest, your legs swinging in the air behind you.

Sam didn't give you the time to think about it, or even catch your breath before his lips crushed to yours in a bruising kiss. His fingers dug into your skin almost welding you to his body while his lips moved passionately against yours, almost forcefully. It reminded you of the kiss you had shared three nights ago, after Sam's nightmare, and it scared you because you knew he was scared of something.

"Get a room y'all," Dean catcalled from the other side, and Sam finally broke his kiss.

"I put up with you and your fiancée making out like it was a college frat party all day long. You can shut it, Dean!" You yelled back distractedly, making him chuckle.

Sam looked back at you with a politely amused expression, not expecting you to be so informal so soon with his brother, but it did not completely hide the sad look in his eyes.

You touch his cheek softly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He put you down, but his hand didn't leave yours, while his eyes found a spot on his spotless shoe.

"Sam?" You shook him lightly.

"I'm not around for the next few days, Y/N," he finally sighed. "I have to fly back home and then to Chicago for work."

"So you're not gonna be here even tomorrow? For Christmas?" You asked, the heartbreak clear in your voice.

He was quiet for a moment, still not looking up. Oh no, it was worse.

"I have to leave right now, Y/N. It's important, there's no way around it."

"You can't be serious man. You brought her here to spend the Christmas with her, and you're off to work?" Dean questioned. "C'mon!"

Sam said nothing. It was obvious that he was beating himself up over it.

You put a finger underneath his chin and made his look up. "It's okay. You do you, Sam. I understand that this is important."

He was so shocked at your response that words failed him, so you continued.

"I know you wouldn't leave me here if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I get it. The last thing you need worry about is that I'll be angry, because I'm not. It's your responsibility, and I am glad that you're not shirking it off to play hooky with your girlfriend."

Sam gave you the most tender look. Like it was ripping his heart into two to leave you behind for most of your holiday. This was not acceptable to you.

So you leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Actually you being all businessman like this is big turn on. What can I say? It's a kink."

And in spite of himself, Sam laughed. It was an unexpected and breathy sound, but happy nevertheless.

He looked deep in your eyes, and kissed you softly on the lips once more. "You are something else, woman."

"I know right!" You smiled brightly. "You are a very lucky man."

"That I am," he whispered, before backing a little. "I need to go up and pack my stuff."

You watched as he made his way up the stairs.

"You did a good thing, kid," Dean said from behind you and you dropped back on the couch, putting your head in your hands. "This sucks!"

"I'm sorry," Cas said soothingly. "Hopefully he'll be back soon."

Sam was already upset about leaving you. The last thing you wanted to do was let him go with a guilty conscience. He didn't need that too. He'd been pretty vague about when he'd be back, but you were scared to ask him about the New Year. The prospect of facing New Year's Eve alone was marginally better than the prospect of knowing five days in advance that you'd be spending in alone in your hometown. It was the absolute last thing you'd wanted. Maybe, just maybe he'd find time to see you.

It was with slumped shoulders that he came back down, into the now morose room. An idea struck you and you ran back up the stairs muttering a "be back soon." The moment you were inside, you rummaged through your tiny back pack and pulled out the rectangular package.

You rushed down and handed it to a very confused Sam. You pulled his phone out of his hands much like how he'd done it in the morning, and furiously began clicking on the screen.

"What's this?" He asked, looking at the dully wrapped package.

"It's your Christmas present. Open it tomorrow morning," you said, not taking your eyes off the screen.

When you were done, you handed his phone back to him with a somewhat satisfied smile on your face. "Here!"

"What did you do?" He asked.

"I installed tic tac toe on your phone. That way I can play and finally beat you at it!"

It was probably the last thing he expected, which was why his cheeks pulled up into those adorable dimples. "You can try," he said, pecking you once more.

"It's so on!" You giggled, and Sam's eyes softened. "Now go!" You pushed him lightly, before the urge of whisking him off to the bedroom and hiding him there forever overpowered you. "I can't wait to beat you!"

"We'll see about that, O," he smirked as he turned around and walked out of the door without a backward glance. Which worked well because tears sprung up in your eyes the moment he rounded the corner.

It was late and you'd already had enough food. "I'm gonna turn in guys," you smiled half heartedly and hugged everyone, wishing them a Merry Christmas.

You'd already kept everyone's presents under the tree long back. Sam's had been still up cause you had been hoping to give it to him personally. Once you were up, you stripped down completely and stepped into the shower, washing both the day’s excitement and disappointment off you.

When you walked back in the room, you noticed that Sam had left his soft cotton shirt and sweatpant for you there. Without hesitation, you pulled them on and dived under the blankets, trying to selfishly surround yourself with everything Sam. It worked for a while till your senses got accustomed to the smell of him, but fizzled out soon, even though you tried to cling to it.

The bed that had been all too constricting last night seemed too big tonight without him next to you. You wanted more than anything to be able to curl up to him, and the thought made you sad.

Sleep did find you eventually after some trying, but it was fitful and you were very cold. You didn't know if it was that or something else, but after a while something made you suddenly bolt upright in your bed, your eyes wild in the darkness. It took you a moment but you recognized a silhouette standing by the edge of the bed. After a mini heart attack, your vision cleared enough to recognize the wide frame and the bowed legs.

"Dean! What the fuck? You scared the hell out of me!" You yelled in a whisper which was pointless because there was no one else to wake up.

"Don't go swearing on Christmas Eve. Santa won't toss your present down the chimney." He chuckled, extending his hand. "C'mon, come down."

The fluorescent clock by the bed read 00:44.

"Nope!" You put your hands up. "It's so cold outside. I ain't moving my already frozen ass."

He laughed again at your petulance. Bending down to take your hand and pull you up anyway. "Why are you doing this to me?" You whined. "I thought we are friends!" But you stepped out of your bed anyway, pulling the newly bought sweater around you.

"If you are making me sneak away with you to spy on Santa, I'm suing you!"

He only chuckled.

When you stepped into the living room, the first thing you saw was a bright roaring fire in the fireplace.

"Wow! We are barbecuing Santa now, are we?" You muttered, but immediately after, your eyes slid down to the rest of the room. Huge fluffy blankets and mattresses had been spread out around the tree and the couch, soft Christmas lights twinkling above them. The whole place looked so fluffy. Jo was already lounging on one of the fluffy blankets, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, and Cas was trying to not look out of place with blankets covering him. They were all dressed in comfortable sweats.

They were all staying here… for you. Not celebrating with their parents or privately. They had scrapped all their plans so you wouldn't feel lonely tonight. The tears that had threatened all night, finally spilled over.

Jo was quick to put the mug down and be by your side. She pulled you into a tight hug.

"Thanks guys," you blubbered. "You didn't have to do this for me!"

"Sure did!" Dean chimed in. "It's the least we can do."

Cas was up too. He handed you another mug of hot chocolate. "This is Ellen's recipe. It will make you feel better in a sip. I drove down to get it for us."

You were so overwhelmed by the gesture that you threw your hands around him. "Thanks Cas. You all… this is just…"

"You don't have to thank us sweetheart," Dean said, giving you a side hug. "We wanted to do this. Besides it would be worth it when dad wakes up in the morning and finds us all passed out on his living room floor." That made you laugh.

This time around, you didn't talk much, just listened to their friendly banter, simply happy to share the moment with them. When you all fell into bed at 4, all exhausted, you couldn't fight your drowsy eyes anymore. Just when you were about to fall asleep, a ping sounded from your phone. Opening one eye, you clicked on the notification to see the game screen.

Followed by a message. *Your turn, Sweetheart. By the way, I love you.*

You could help the smile that stretched your lips, as you marked an "O" right next to his "X"

Quickly typing: *Oh it's so on! I love you too, Sam. So much...*

He was probably on a connecting flight so the quick reply didn't come, but you hugged the phone tightly to yourself, hoping as you closed your eyes that you'd see the man you loved sooner than you thought.

A/N 2: PLEASE do consider leaving some feedback! One word, an essay... anything! :) It adds years to my life! Y’all are the fucking BEST!

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[xquakerider]

Back Home (Quakerider)

“Now before we go it only makes sense that our dear Quake say some words. Quake, would you like to add some final words before we go?” Mace said, looking over to Daisy. Daisy, who had long zoned out and was far gone in her own thoughts was no longer paying attention to the ridiculous ceremony and didn't hear the director speaking to her. “Daisy,” he said, making her snap out of her thoughts and repeating the question though she could tell it wasn't quite optional. “Sure,” she said walking over to the podium, there was a sea of people and they all went quiet the moment she stood behind the podium. Her heart began to race and stomach was in knots,she wasn't much of a public speaker nor was she prepared to say much. “Hello everybody, uh… thank you for coming. I don't want to take up too much of your time but uh, I just wanted to say thanks for the support, I wasn't quite expecting it and thanks-” she paused, feeling herself tripping over her words and not making any sense. I should just end this before I embarrass myself and am headlining TMZ tomorrow, she thought glancing around the crowd trying to think of something to say. Her mind went blank and she felt as though she was going to pass out if she stood behind that podium for another moment. “So, yeah thanks for not being assholes, bye.” She stepped away and realized what she just said, Mace looked at her as if he could strangle her but the crowd didn't seem upset, they started laughing and cheering to her relief. “Alright, thanks for the honors and all but I’m out,” she told Mace as they were walking off stage. “Sure, after we talk to the press.” “What? No, no way, I’m terrible at these things, just say I felt sick or something and left.” “Look Quake-” “Daisy.” “Daisy, just stand there, answer a few questions, I’ll do the majority of the talking, it'll be over in no time.” After an hour she realized that was far from true. She stood there awkwardly dodging as many questions as possible as Mace went on talking about her, inhumans, SHIELD, and teamwork; he’d repeated that saying of his more times than she could count already. After some time the crowd finally began to clear and she noticed a car in an empty parking lot across the street and could vaguely make out its features. She could tell it was sleek and black like the one Robbie drove and could make out a figure in a black jacket that seemed similar the one he wore. The person was coolly leaning against the car and reminded her of Robbie. She remembered when Coulson told her not to give up on him and impulsively made up her mind that she was going to find out whether it was him or not, all that was left for her to think of was a way to escape without making a scene. “Wow Quake,” a reporter said holding a microphone up to her. “What’s it like working with the director?” “Well,” she said seeing her opportunity. “It's just so interesting, you know? He is so interesting, in fact- enough about me, I have work to get to, but please keep speaking to him, he's so informative.” The reporters didn't care much that she left and continued questioning Mace and as far as him whether or not he was upset he was too busy answering questions to show it or stop her. She ran away from the reporters and straight to the parking lot across the street, not stopping for anyone or thing, and the closer she got the more positive she was that it was Robbie. In what seemed like seconds she was standing at the beginning of the parking lot, the person took off his sunglasses and looked at her with a soft smile. It was Robbie. She ran up to him and he held her so tight it seemed like he was holding her so close out of fear of letting her go and losing her once again. Fearing he’d slip away from her to some lonely dimension he had only vague memories of but enough scars and bruises on him to know something happened. “Te extrañe,” he whispered. “I missed you.” “I missed you too Reyes,” she said holding onto his hand. They got into talking about where he’d been the past months, he confessed he had little memory of the past months, just that it was not of this planet and hell like. “I can tell,” she said, looking at his hands full of scratches and scars. They looked in each other's eyes for a moment and she felt her heart race. “So,” she awkwardly coughed. “How long have you been here?” “Long enough and I must say, you have a true talent for public speaking- the ‘thanks for not being assholes’ really touched my heart.” She laughed, “shut up.” “Hey, look on the brightside- I bet you’ll be headlining TMZ by tomorrow.” She playfully punched him, “come on,” he said. “Let's go somewhere.” “Where?” “Anywhere, let's just get out of here, and maybe get something to eat- I don't think I ate much in hell.” “Can I drive?” He just laughed and rolled his eyes, “Get in the car.” “Ok whatever hot head,” she said, getting in the passenger's side. They both agreed on getting out of the city and left to the beach, finally after much bickering on where to eat they agreed on In N Out. When they sat down to eat not much was said at first since Robbie was eating as if he hadn't in years. “You know the burger isn't going anywhere, you don't have to devour it all at once,” Daisy laughed. “I know, but damn I missed these,” he said taking another bite. They sat in a comfortable silence mostly, making small talk and joking now and then. At one moment when Robbie was looking out the window watching the water she caught a long glimpse of him and she felt as though she'd seen him a way she never had before. She noticed the freckles on his skin, and how he was rather scratched and bruised on his face. His hair was a little longer since she last saw him and more unkempt than usual, though it didn’t look bad on him. And lastly his eyes, his eyes his sad, sweet brown eyes, appeared more weary and burdened, adorned with faint dark circles surrounding them like dark crescent moons. He turned from the window to look back at her. “You staring at me?” he asked with a smile. “You wish, let’s go walk the pier or something, it’s still early.” “Alright.” They spent the day at the pier and Robbie spoke often of Gabe, telling her about how this has always been is his favorite place to go. Daisy noticed how whenever he spoke of him his eyes would light up and lose that tired, burdened look to them they almost always seemed to have. As the day progressed she found herself growing even more comfortable around him, she also found it harder to deny she had deep feelings for him. She didn't want to, she'd had such bad luck in love, all her past relationships ended so badly and she felt like everyone she loved was put in danger the moment she acknowledged she had feelings for them. But the way she felt for him felt stronger than any of the loves she'd felt before. It was like the stone walls she'd set up around her heart would crumble more and more every time he'd look at her with his eyes like dark coffee. She felt almost like denying her feelings for him were a lost cause and pushing him away was impossible, it was almost like he knew what she was trying to do and wouldn't let her. It was like him and the feelings she felt for him were stronger than any of the fears she'd known. They left the pier as it started to get dark since Robbie wanted to be home before Gabe who'd been at a friends house. By the time they got home Gabe was arriving too, though he'd known Robbie was home since yesterday it still seemed like he couldn't believe his brother was back home with him, that he'd no longer have to have family he couldn't stand hovering over him 24/7 and treating him like he was broken. It was easy to see Robbie and Gabe felt like they were all the family they really needed and that they both had grown comfortable around Daisy. They spent the night watching movies and ordered pizza, the night flew by and Gabe fell asleep around ten. “Gabe, man, go to bed you're snoring, I can't hear the movie,” Robbie said, waking Gabe. “I'd fight you, but I'm too tired,” Gabe said. “Shit man, what’ve you been doing these past months? Partying every night? It's like this is the first time you've actually rested.” “Yea right, you try spending months living with abuela and you’d be pretty tired too.” “Gabe I was in hell and have more energy than you.” ”I know and you're not going to let that go now are you?” Gabe laughed. Robbie helped him off the couch and Gabe grabbed his hand, “It's just good to have you back bro, goodnight you two.” They continued watching the movie, it was some crazy thriller Daisy picked out at the redbox. At one point Robbie stretched out his arm and put it around Daisy’s shoulders. “I thought your game was better than that,” she laughed. “Well did it work?” “You tell me,” she said, moving closer to him. Eventually she was resting her head comfortably on his shoulder and was rather invested in the movie. Though a few times she caught herself looking at Robbie, she felt safe and comfortable with him. She didn't know why but she did, it almost felt like when they were together their own universes would collide and make one. One where they were safe and away from the outside world and all the shit they'd each been through. “So what'd you think of the movie?” Daisy asked as Robbie made coffee and was rearranging the cabinets back to how he liked them. “You like some creepy ass movies Daisy.” “So the guy who's been in hell and made a deal with the devil is freaked out by clowns?” “Hell yea, especially those ones,” he said, handing her the coffee. They sat on the porch steps drinking their coffee together. When it started getting colder she moved closer to him, once again resting her head on his shoulder and clutching the hot cup in her hands for warmth as he held her tight. “Damnit Robbie, you're pissing me off.” He looked at her confused, “what? Why?” “You know,” she said. “You know from the moment I saw you I cared for you and you know how much I can't stand that. I can't get hurt again, I just can't, and I'm so afraid of endangering you, you know that, I know you do. When I’m with you all feels right and no matter how hard I try to keep my guard up, ignore my feelings, put a wall around my heart… all it takes is you looking at me for me to know that's impossible.” “And you don't think I feel the same way? I felt a spark the moment I saw you and that sparks become a wildfire by now and that scares the hell out of me. I'm afraid of the same things as you, hell maybe even more, but I'd never hurt you though nor put you in harm's way, because,” he sighed, finally letting the words slip from his mouth. “Well damn, because I love you.” “Well aren't we the world's biggest messes when it comes to each other.. We might as well just be together,” she laughed, then kissing him on the lips. “I love you too Reyes,” she added pulling away for just a second to admit to him what she'd known for so long.