#but then i thought no maybe not and got rid of it

[mimiiiiiiiiisstuff]

I keep rereading "This is me trying" and I have a questions.

Did the Family set the dinner up as a test? At least, once Reader was late getting to the dinner. They had assumed she would run, not fight, and then they'd have an excuse to get rid of her permanently.

Or, on the other hand, the one time Reader isn't watching over the maid kitchen is the time the Family gets attacked? Perhaps Reader was, accidentally, guarding the one entrance no one expected. Maybe even the one entrance that was guarded? But the Family doesn't believe in coincidence. So they put together 'evidence' of Reader protecting them. (Reader asking why a maid was being shady. Closing the door when one purposely left it open. Or any other thing that Reader views as common sense that the Bat Family sees as directly protecting them, especially if outside cameras of the same timestamps show mobilized groups.)

(Hell, maybe the maids waited until Reader was obviously not showing up because they like her?)

I also am wondering if Bruce immediately tried to change Reader's school, or if he forgets he never enrolled her in Gotham Academy?

It'd be kinda funny for Duke or Damian's to search their school for Reader, only to realize she was never there. They just thought she had been good at hiding for years. The two question it, but don't say anything to Bruc. And then they see her as the captain of the cheer team of a rival school they're going against. Gotham Academy loses to Gotham Public and everyone goes wild.

But Duke and Damian, and anyone of the Family that came to watch with them, notice how the Football team acts towards Reader. When they try to confront Reader about it, Reader laughs at them.

Or maybe, when Bruce does try to enroll them and give Reader the Wayne name, and the Reader gets told, she rushes to get re-enrolled in her school? She scrubs the Wayne off her name and goes on like usual. Which gets her dragged in front of Bruce by Tim.

When confronted, Reader tells Bruce, "You said I earned the name Wayne. Because I showed loyalty and a willingness to protect you at all costs to myself. Correct?"

"Yes."

"Why would I want the Wayne name?"

"Excuse you?" Tim interjects incredulously.

"None of you have ever shown loyalty towards me. I haven't even been living in the Manor. Most of my stuff has been moved out since I was 11. I only come back because I hoped that I could have a family in any of you. I hate coming back. I hate staying here. I rarely ever do, unless I'm called back by Alfred for one of your parties that I'm not even allowed to show my face at. It's the one time that I don't 'sit guard' in the maid's kitchen that all of you got attacked. I could have left you to yourselves. I was tempted."

"So." Bruce leaned back in his chair, fingers digging into the arms of his seat. "Why didn't you?"

"Because, I didn't want you to die. I may not trust you. But I am loyal to you, even if it's only to the extent of caring whether you live or die. Something you've never directed towards me. Why would I take the Wayne name when you've never done anything to win my loyalty? You already know I'm loyal. But I'm not loyal to you the way I could be if I considered you family."

"You'd kill for us. You'd sacrifice your life and die for us. But you do not consider us family?"

"I didn't come to your gala to begin with because I was with people I consider family. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, after all. The bonds I've forged with others will always be stronger than the ones I carry out of obligation. I'm not even on your insurance. I've been getting medical care from back alley clinics or through the people who decided I was worth caring about. For now, I'm an easily disposable tool to you. As a tool, I don't want your name. It'll only cause more issues."

"Issues? What issues could you possibly have being called a Wayne?" Tim cut in again.

"A lone and very disposable Wayne, with no support system, no underlings, no money, and very little power. One would think this is you trying to get me killed or trafficked. A mutt in a den of wolves."

"Alone and disposable. That's quiet the statement, (Y/N). What makes you think that?"

"Years of me being loyal. Of trying my best. Of desperation to simply be looked at as more than a burden or the daughter of a whore, as you all love to call my mother. You have shown, time and again, that I am not worth any amount of loyalty. Why should I trust you? I know you don't you trust me. You only trust I'd die for you. Kill for you. Why would I live for you? You have never earned it."

And goes to walk out like a badass. Only to pause at the door, as Bruce and Tim are staring at her in stunned silence. "My name is (Y/N) (L/N). And until you can earn more than my loyalty, I refuse to bear yours."

Reader's face breaks from being just as stone cold as Bruce's, revealing a soft smile.

"When I first came to the Manor, I wanted to be a Wayne. Not for money or power. But because I loved my father, on the principle that that was what he was. My father. When I finally realized you'd never see me as a daughter, I stopped seeing you as anything more than a sperm donor. Earn being my father, or stop pretending you want me to have your name."

Ho is you a mind reader?

No they definitely didn't do it as a test, Bruce would never willingly put himself in a position where he's vulnerable and have his family 'rely' on Reader, even if it's just a test.

Ok so, for the maid thing, ur on the right track!! I don't wanna spoil too much so i'm not gonna say anything!!!!

Also Bruce kinda just forgot about reader going to school period, and you're so right about the WHOLE school thing!! it's like you took it right out my drafts LMAO!!!

You predicted a lot of future chapter plot points ngl but with the whole Bruce and Reader confrontation, you wrote it really good but thats more IBLD reader vibes! This reader is more scared of Bruce, she won't outright challenge or disobey him, she knows better. This version of Batfamily is darker and crueler than IBLD bc they're not heroes. Also, reader is 15, she's not gonna talk to the Godfather of the American mob like that, father or not! This was beautifully written though!! Thank you so much ily <3333

[imaginespazzi]

Alright so I slept on it, distracted myself and I have now cooled down considerably. Since I am no longer looking at the game through completely rage-filled glasses, I can vent coherent thoughts now.

LAYUPS

FUCKING LAYUPS

Listen losing games is always hard, but the sheer stupidity that lost us this game is hard to discern in words and really starts with layups. We make literally 3 more, and we would have won. The most simplest there is in basketball and we decided that we wanted to suck at it. And look you don't make every shot, of course you don't but HOW MANY FUCKING OPEN LAYUPS CAN A TEAM MISS?

Brief positive interlude, before I start yelling: KK ARNOLD I LOVE YOU. I am so proud of this girl. A true competitor from start to finish. Never fucking scared of the moment, always ready to do everything she can.

Aubrey Griffin is starting to look like herself again. She was so good last night and everything we're used to seeing. Just keep healing bbg, we're gonna need you real bad.

Sarah Strong, consistent queen as per always but she made that freshman mistake at the end and while it would be hypocritical not to acknowledge it, I really can't hold it against her because homegirl was the only starter locked in from start to finish and for some fucking reason we didn't go to her nearly enough in the second.

And now let's get to the venting

Jana El Alfy I cannot keep defending this. YOU ARE 6 FUCKING 5. Look I have had so much to say about her not getting the time she deserves but oh my fucking god, I don't know if I can defend this anymore. Missing easy ass layups, somehow letting people a feet shorter shoot over you like??? I cannot

Kaitlyn Chen girl what the fuck are you here for? Cardio. She pleasantly surprised for me exactly two games but nope, I was right the first time. There is absolutely no reason, other than a likely promise Geno made while recruiting her, for her to be starting over KK.

Ashlynn Shade, you are so lucky girlie that you play with Paige and Azzi and they also both had shitty as fuck nights that I will address in a second because girl, that's the only thing saving you from not being lashed out into oblivion on other social media sites right now. I have absolutely no idea she was ever in the game let alone how she was getting minutes over KK. Defense? Atrocious. Offense? MISSING WIDE OPEN LAYUPS AND THREES. No one pissed me off more this game than Ash because shit should've been easy for her and instead she missed every single chance she had.

Paige saw all those tweets manifesting her freshman year Tennessee performance by a bunch of people who don't know anything else about that game except for the magical shot at the end and voila, she performed exactly like that. Maybe worse. And don't worry friends, I'll be yelling at her coach in a second but the one thing I can't complain about today is that he didn't put the ball in her hands because he did and we saw it in the assists but she didn't play up to the mark at all. And for as much as her performance was a classic case of shots not falling, her shot selection was uncharacteristically bad last night.

Y'all know that look Paige talks about when it comes to Azzi? The soft one? I saw that look on her face immediately as soon as her first shot didn't go in. And I knew it especially when KC was wide open under the basket and Azzi somehow missed her, that she was most definitely in her head. But the worst thing is, that I actually think she almost got back in rhythm, almost got rid of that look, almost got out of her head, by the end of the 2nd with the sequence of FTs > deflection > 3 and then all of that went to shit because she picked up those two quick fouls. And then she never got back into it again, partially because of her own self, partially because this team still isn't doing enough to screen for her/run plays for her and partially because her coach was doing the most ridiculous subbing routine with her. Making her play the third with 3 fouls, then she finally hits a 3 at the end AND THAT'S WHEN HE BENCHES HER? Keeps her out of the game in first 5 minutes of the 4th, lets her lose any semblance of rhythm and then subs her in? I don't even know what to say.

Geno Auriemma WHEN I FUCKING CATCH YOU

This man had the audacity to sit in the press conference and blame every fucking thing on Paige when he, our hall of fucking fame coach, made the most costly mistake of this whole game with that dumb as fuck timeout. STUPID STUPID STUPID

And then of course the lineups and substitutions, ridiculous shit.

SIGH

The worst thing is, I don't think Tennessee beat us last night. We broke the press. We held them to 7-28 from 3. The boxscore has us beating them in so many places but at the end, we beat ourselves.

And it all comes down to the fact that maybe we just don't have the mentality.

Last night really drained a lot of optimism from me but these are my girls and the potential is infinite. I'm always gonna be rooting for them and little itty bitty hopeful part of me will always think we can win it all but I think, we're gonna need a lot of things to just miraculously go right.

[egrettacaerulea]

Tim tried his best to bring Jason back to the family and when it finally worked, slowly he started to disappear. Because Jason was back so of course they no longer needed the placeholder, right? He was sad that he needed to leave, but he didn't want to impose the family any longer when he was no longer welcomed. He already had a plan anyway. He would stay with Kon and Bart for a little while, maybe continued being Red Robin or find another thing to do.

He thought everything went well. Until on the last leg of his packing--it was his last safe house in Gotham that needed to be rid off--Jason barged in. He saw the state of the safe house, and glared at Tim.

"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded, didn't bother with any preambles. "I checked all of your other safe houses and all is clean--you haven't even come to the manor for weeks! What the fuck are you doing, baby bird?"

Tim felt guilty. Jason sounded angry and the way he used the nickname made Tim unable to do anything but tell him the truth. "Um, I'm gonna leave? I mean--you're back. So my job as a placeholder is done."

Anger flashed on Jason's eyes but it was quickly morphed into sadness and guilt.

"You're not a placeholder, Tim. You're part of the family too."

"But--"

"Shut up and don't leave," Jason cut him off. "Because you're the reason why I'm staying in the family too, so if you're going then I'm going with you."

"What, Jason, you can't--"

"Stay, or I'm going with you," Jason cut him off again, giving no room for him to argue.

Tim should insist, but he knew how stubborn Jason could be and he was also aware that nothing he could say would change Jason's mind. He couldn't make Jason leave again because Bruce and the others would be so heartbroken.

"Okay. Fine. I'm staying."

Jason's hard stare changed into a happy smile. "Good. Now come with me to the manor. You need to explain to the worried Bruce and Alfred, and Dick also has been dying to give you a hug."

Tim's eyes widened. Jason was probably lying. There was no reason for them to be worried or looking for him now that Jason was back, right?

Somehow Jason saw right through his mind because he pulled Tim into a gentle headlock and ruffled his hair. "And apparently we need to try harder to instill into your thick skull that you're family too, baby bird."

Jason knew that Tim wasn't really convinced yet, but Jason could be very persuasive. Tim got his family back after all, so it was his time to return the favor.

[ishasturnz]

Cookies ‘n Head

based off this post @sunrisemill and this fic.

contains: porn with plot, counter head?, some fluff, i think thats it, male receiving.

Bsf!Reader x bsf!Chris

authors note: it took me like an hour to figure out a plot just for this because i wanna spoil you guys. Also click on the first message to see the full thing. And RUSHED and maybe a part 2.

wc: 579

character count: 2635

4:36

My car started to pull into his driveway, the smell of freshly baked cookies filling my nose slightly making me lightheaded.

I parked and stepped out of the drivers seat and headed to the front door. Before I could even knock the door swung open revealing a very excited Chris.

“Thank you! thank you! thank you!” He squealed like a girl before attempting to take the white box away.

“Hey! Calm down, you get fed every day I think you’ll be fine without COOKIES for a few seconds.”

5:48

“Can I eat them now?” Chris persistently asked repeatedly like a child. “Okay go ahead and eat some since you want them so badly.”

I grabbed one for myself since I was a bit hungry since I didn't eat lunch.

I took a small bite of the soft food, Chris just stared at my lips the whole time.

Noticing how plump my lips were, how smooth my brown skin was, but his thoughts shifted from something else.

And wasn't appropriate once so ever.

“Chris dude, are you even gonna eat the cookies? I’m only saving them because I want you to have some, secondly, I’m hungry too” My voice chose to get a slight attitude and sassiness added into it.

“Well first off lose the fucking attitude, secondly, M’not hungry. Not for food at least.” His accent started to slip out slowly the deeper his voice got.

“Okay, then what are you hungry for? Because you’re not the only one hungry. But I’m hungry for food so what do you wanna eat then?” I started to slowly get hangry and sassier by the second.

“I got something that’ll make you full.” Those were his last words before I somehow ended up on my knees in front of him.

6:09

"y-yeah—shiit, juuust like tha--mmpfh-ah," Chris’s head fell back against the white cabinet behind him.

His rough hands pulled my hair into a makeshift ponytail, guiding my movements as I continued sucking him off.

His eyes hooded, making it seem like they’ve rolled back completely. His hips started to buck into my mouth making the tip of his oversized cock nudging against the back of my throat making me continuously gag around him.

The noise of gargling filled the entire kitchen "fuuuck, I’m right there, just... just—shit," he groaned out loud.

Hot tears spilled down my face as he continued to face-fuck me. Until the tight coil in his lower stomach started getting tighter and tighter by the second.

and his climax hit him hard, his whole body shuddering, hips twitching into your mouth uncontrollably.

his hips twitching almost involuntarily as he spilled deep down your throat, he held your head down by the makeshift ponytail to make sure you swallowed all of his sticky release a quiet moan left his mouth “..Shittt…”.

6:40

I wiped the corners of my mouth getting rid of access cum and licking it off my thumb. “You should drink more water or something chris— your cum tastes like ass.” My tone playful but I wasn’t joking at all.

“Yeah I don’t think now’s the best time to mention that.” Chris spoke while catching his breath yet munching on one of the soft cookies.

“Yeah sure buddy” I paused before speaking again, “Also who knew Christopher Sturniolo whimpers, more blackmail for me”

“Oh fuck you Y/n.” He uttered with a mouthful of chewed-up cookies in his mouth.

“I mean you can if you want to, I’m not saying no.”

taglist: @tezzzzzzzz @chrepsi @angvl3tears @theylovedemi @sturnshood @sturnberries @sturniologirlzz @muwapsturniolo @dykes4chris @chrisisadilf @chrissturniolossidebitch @baileysturnz @slut4christopherr @slxt4chriss @slvtf0rchr1s @slxtarchive @raesturns @hjvi @starkeyszn @audreyscave @lailasnight @sturns-mermaid @ikyoudreamofme @sturnsmadl @ohmanareyoucereal9 @sossturn @blushsturns @rcklessheavn @55sturn @phone4pills @cupiidk1lls @bsturnzmtts @wh0remikasas @sfoiasturn @trevorsgodmother @bluestriips

MASTERLIST

[neuvilletteswife4ever]

Hii! Could I pretty please with cherry on top get a yan! Mavuika(if u write for her, if not, then please just take her out), Jean, Diluc and Ningguang(separate) with a darling who manadged to escape them and moved to another nation only to be found 2 years later-by which I mean the darling got kidnapped by the yandere but manadged to escape-(bonus points if darling was found while in another relationship)?

Tsm 4 reading my requests!

YAN! MAVUIKA & YAN! NINGGUANG X READER (SEPERATE)

Warnings:

Yandere themes, mentions of killing readers family, obsession, basically they are a warning themselves. If you do not feel comfortable reading this, then please click off and don't read.

Have fun!

YANDERE MAVUIKA

Realistically, it'd be impossible to escape from her, but let's pretend you managed to somehow.

The day that you had escaped was the worst day ever for Mavuika. She loved you so much, did everything for you, gave you everything (execpt freedom) and you had the audacity to leave her?! The pyro archon went absolutely insane after your dissapearance, day and night, she'd look for you, but there was no trace of you left.

She was so furious, she couldn't believe it. Why..why on earth would you do such a thing to her? She hasn't done anything wrong, she was just protecting you from the outside world.

But of course, her role as the pyro archon remained and she was forced to fake a smile and be the perfect archon for her nation.

Yet, that didn't stop her from making her whole nation look for any traces of you, and how could Natlan disobey their archon who has done everything for them?

2 whole years had passed, and you couldn't believe you had made it so far, you couldn't believe how she hadn't found you yet. You were so...so happy. Something happened to you, ever since you escaped Mavuika's grasp, you had turned into a whole different person. So happy. You had even managed to get yourself a new partner, a partner who didn't kidnapp you and murder your whole family.

But little did you know that happiness would come crashing down soon.

Mavuika had some business to do outside of Natlan, and she took it as an opportunity to look for you. Maybe you weren't in Natlan, maybe you were in another nation. Of course you were! How could she be so stupid? She had already looked through the entire nation (Natlan), of course you weren't there! And even if you were, she would've found you a long time ago.

It was raining heavily in Liyue, she had to get some shelter. To her luck, she noticed a small cabin, it seemed like some people were living theres, she sighed and knocked on the door.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

The door finally opened.

And there you were.

Your eyes widened, your heart stopped.

Mavuika's eyes widened aswell, but she quickly regained her composure. She was so furious...but so happy..so happy to finally see the love of her life.

Until...

She saw a man behind you, his hands were wrapped around your waist..

You tried slamming the door quickly, but she stopped you.

And in a less than a second, your partners head was ripped of at a speed you couldn't even comprehend.

He laid there, lifeless.

You began screaming, crying.

But Mavuika held so tightly on to you, you thought she was gonna rip off your arm.

She gave you the tightest hug ever, and began kissing you repetitevly.

"I missed you so much, Y/N."

She sounded so..kind...

But this was the last amount of kindess you were gonna see from her for a while, because as soon as she let go of you, you'd wish you were dead.

YANDERE NINGGUANG

Ningguang, the richest woman in Teyvat. Who would've known she was such a lovesick and posessive woman?

She'd spoil you daily, as if trying to make up for kidnapping you and getting rid of your friends and family.

"Oh love! Look what I got you, the most beautiful and expensive jewlery in Teyvat! Aren't you happy?" She'd give you a creepy lovesick glare and the most unsettling smile ever. Forcing you to say "yes".

"Yes.." You'd say, looking away.

"Have you forgotten something my dear?" She'd ask, continuing to stare into your soul.

"Yes..love."

"Much better!" She'd immedietaly grin and give you a kiss.

This was a normal day for you.

It's been so long since you saw the outside world.

One day, Ningguang was forced to leave the Jade Chamber for some business, so she told everyone there to NOT let you out of your room.

And everyone obeyed, but you had planned this for a long time.

The ESCAPE.

You hid behind every object, sneaking QUIETLY, one could even think you were a ninja because of your hiding skills. Finally, you escaped the interior of the jade chamber...

But..

Your head went empty.

You looked down, how would you escape from THIS place?

It was so high up.

Just as you looked around for anything that could help you,

you saw HER.

"My oh my, what do we have here?"

She'd grip tightly onto your shoulder, not letting you take a step further

"I thought we talked about trying to leave me, dear."

Her voice was calm, but underneath the calm exterior, she was absolutely FURIOUS.

The simple thought of you leaving her made her want to do some unthinkable things.

"I-uh..." You said, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Ah, ah, ah" She stopped you from talkng, before continuing

"No need to make excuses, i understand dear. I'll just have chain you to your bed from now on, with the strongest chains in Teyvat."

You sobbed and cried, begged for help.

But everyone in the Jade Chamber acted as if you were invisible.

Say hello to your new and even worse life.

You would NOT be able to escape this woman. I'm sorry but I could NOT even imagine the thought of you being out of her sight for less than a minute.

[sunlit-mess]

[suitsofarmour]

blurrrrrrrrrr

[rari0516]

too many feelings ☔️

[odysseys-blood]

ive been wondering forever about when exactly levi was kidnapped and taken to the heaven lab and this bit from his new unit's board here doesnt help much but i wonder if those are just the first words he remembers learning and not the first words hes learned overall.

mainly this is all just speculation based on 2 things:

1) he ofc had some sort of childhood before the heaven lab from how old he looked at the time, plus his selfie comic art looking younger than his sprite art from ch5 (look at his little horns plus his hair's grown out)

2) he does also just say straight up that he doesn't remember his life from before the lab

i wonder if that means he had to get reacquainted with the kings all over again too. like he wouldnt recognize them at all even with how it looks like they often played together. (tho i do suspect a little that some comics might have been done before there was a more coherent story put together but thats whatever)

[w1ldf1r3s-0pl1z3-th3-sk13s]

I wonder what she's listening too

[ganondoodle]

i dont know if anyone from not here is awake but .... yesterday i had the idea to perhaps bind the champions 2.0 abilities to the inventory/weapons

(totk rewrite "botw2")

so, for example, yunobos would be tied to a permanent two handed weapon (his signature weapon for example) in your inventory that doesnt break and doesnt need repairing (considering my craft and repair system otherwise) but instead needs recharging to recast the ability somwhat like when the master sword looses its power, but instead it just deals the base or reduced weapons damage (perhaps using the ability function via the throwing mechanic, like the MS swordbeams? or a different way to control it when using that speciffic weapon)

teba/tulins would be either a magic bow or arrow that similarly doesnt break/run out (unsure whether arrow or bow is better)

sidons water shield + heal would be tied to a shield

rijus would be tied to the hookshot, when aiming it thered be a button prompt to switch to send the lightning instead, thought to tie it to this bc i wanted it to be aimable similar to the hookshot and combining them saves you from making yet another aiming system and menu

the idea was that i could also use the tie to a weapon as an explanation for how they give it to you without repeating botw but worse (since in botw they are ghosts of the dead and a spirit knowing how to give an abilitiy tied to their spirit to you is more sensical than your childhood friend that didnt even have an ability at all even after a hundred years time last game suddendly not only mastering one but also somehow knowing how to give it to you within .. 5?) the explanation being that the weapon has been charged with their magic over the course of using it for so long or doing so during the dungeon

(like in yunos case, he was the only one that actually had the ability in botw, he always used a .. stone breaker weapon thing, and he gifts it to you at the end; teba/tulin would discover charging their arrows with magic during it and give you the bow at the end (perhaps them having to pull on the same bow to shoot it during a miniboss fight in the dungeon makes it charged with it); sidon would use your shield to channel his magic in a way to make it useful for you and since hes still new to using it, perhaps he gives you the permanent one at the start of the dungeon bc its the one hes been practising it with and at the end gifts it to you since its charged with it (if you leave the dungeon before beating it hed want it back sicne .. its his practice tool); riju charges your shiekah arm with lighting, like overcharging a device just before it breaks, perhaps discovered accidentally during her dungeon ? so we have a variety and not all work the same ... and overcharging bricks your arm for a short time lol)

the possible downside of this is the menuing, but you dont really have to use all of them all the time (maybe longer cooldown but more powerful anyway just like in botw- also each permanent weapon would be the first in the row) and .. anythign is better than those god awful sage ghost controls of canon totk imo lol

other idea would be that its NOT tied to a specific weapon, but just to the category in general, so when you got a shield out you get an extra button prompt to activate sidons ability (very similar to botws system but giving you the control of activating it or not) BUT that has the issue of lacking the explanation on how they give it to you and the downside of not having anything permanent, and while i like my reworked weapon system, also givign players a permanent thing even if not very powerful sounds kinda right to mitigate those complaints without destroying the system outright

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Akechi voice: “Haha I’m fucking miserable :) Anyways nice café! Did you know that my mom died and nobody ever wanted me. This is some really nice coffee. I think we must be connected by fate. Hi Futaba-chan. Thoughts on the Phantom Thieves? Anyways, this place is lovely. I’ll be back.”

[maldupay]

hypocrite

[actmale]

I went through all the Splatoon website and downloaded every* asset I could get

Don't ask me why I did this... I hardly know either

[mercless]

🗡 mad cowboy disease....

[howthesleeplesswander]

@sansgout bc Rody wanted to do something sweet 🥺 but naturally in the dumbest way possible X'D

It was really weird to be here so late.

Sneaking into the restaurant after midnight was a new, strange experience that Rody had never expected to have, but he wouldn't let the uncanny vibe stop him! Not when he was on a mission that would make it well worth it.

With the dining room cloaked in darkness, Rody tiptoed at a snail's pace. He didn't think Vincent would still be down here at this hour, but even if not, he was just upstairs. Rody couldn't afford to make a peep if his surprise was going to work. One arm cradled a vase of flowers while the other felt around blindly for obstacles. After what felt like a lifetime, he finally made it to the kitchen without incident. He poked his head in, and, after making sure the coast was clear, ducked into Vincent's...thankfully unlocked office. (He hadn't thought far enough ahead to what he would've done if it hadn't been open.)

Relief rushed through him as the door swung shut. (Strong enough that he didn't question why the light was already on when he entered.) That was the hardest part out of the way—the rest should be a piece of cake! There was a giddy little bounce in his steps as he approached the desk at the center of the room. Some paperwork was strewn across it, so Rody shuffled them into a few messy stacks with his free hand. But once he cleared a space at the center—

The click of the door handle nearly made him jump a foot in the air. He spun around just as it opened, hiding the flowers out of sight with both arms behind his back.

"H-hey, Vince!" he squeaked at a much higher pitch than usual, all while trying to look casual despite the tension stringing his shoulders and how odd it was for him to be here. Still, Rody's smile was warm and genuine, if not a bit strained. He may have been caught in the act, but seeing Vincent was always a happy thing. And besides, he could still save this! All he had to do was play it cool! "What, uh...what are you doing here so late?"