#comfortable conference venue

[luvrxbunny]

gullible

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x F!Reader

Prompt: Breeding

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, a lot of body descriptions, reader is on the curvier side, some grinding/dry humping, male masturbation (barely), ovulation, piv, unprotected sex (lmk if I forgot anything)

WC: 4.7k

A/N: lets say spider society is funded by the most rish spider-people and thats what the dinner was for. also this is long asf- i blacked out im so sorry 

It’s a formality. This whole dinner party. It’s something Miguel gets invited to every year and every year he dreads going to it, having to play posh in order to get some extra funding from the higher-ups. Although, he doesn’t mind too much this year because he’s bringing you. 

He’s fidgeting, and complaining about his collar when you come out of the bathroom, you’re asking him if you look okay and he knows his answer before he looks at you. He knows you look good, he tells you so before turning to you and only reassures you upon gazing at the outfit. 

This dress is new, and you’re worried your tummy might be too big for it so you’ve thrown a coat over to hide it. Miguel knows what the coat is really for but doesn't mention it, not wanting to risk making you so uncomfortable you change out of everything. He compliments your new perfume instead, winning a confused smile from you. You’re fidgeting with the coat on the ride to the venue, saying that it’s itchy and you’re getting too warm. He suggests you take it off but you gently refuse and stop complaining. 

He gets dragged away from you the moment he walks through the door. He hates leaving you alone at these things, he knows you don’t socialize well and he knows the men here want a taste of you. He’s anxious to get back to you for the entire hour these deep pockets talk his ear off. He hasn’t been listening, he’s thinking about you. He’s almost overwhelmed at the love he has for you, he’s never felt this way before. He’s missing you even though you guys are in the same place, even though he’s only been away from you for an hour. He can’t get out of there fast enough, shoving the doors of the conference room open and searching for you immediately. 

When his eyes find you, they find that you’ve already taken your jacket off and you’re socializing with an entire group of people. They’re conversing with you comfortably. You bring a smile to his face as you laugh at someone’s joke. His eyes rake over your body, finally taking in your true outfit. 

It has him stiffening in his pants. You’re wearing a dark red pencil dress, the same color as his suit. It hugs your curves perfectly, doing justice to your plush thighs, your ass and showcasing the curve of your back. His favorite part though, is the way it hugs your front. Your boobs look great, sure, but it’s emphasizing the little pooch that sits at the bottom of your stomach. 

You hate it, saying it makes you look fat, that you wish you could get rid of it… but in Miguel’s eyes? It’s just proof you’re the perfect woman to mother his children. He came to this conclusion before he even knew about your tummy. He had seen your wide hips, your care toward others, how good you are with children, and decided he wanted you. 

Once he got you to date him, to fall in love with him, he found out about your little belly fat. You’d been sucking it in as much as you could whenever you were around him, sometimes wearing higher pants than necessary in hopes of the jeans pushing your stomach down. It broke his heart to hear you so insecure but there was also a little flame igniting in his stomach. 

The flame never left. He didn’t tell you about it, but every time he noticed your belly pushing against your tank top, or a tight shirt, whenever he felt your soft tummy on his hard stomach- through the t-shirt you insist on wearing while he fucked you- the fire raged brighter. He added it to the list of reasons you’d be an amazing child-bearer. He’s obsessed with the protective fat over your womb. 

He watches you cover your stomach with your arm as you laugh, not even realizing you’re trying to hide his favorite part of you. He’s walking over to you before he plans out what he’ll say. He just stands beside you, inhaling your sweet perfume, and waiting for you to feel his presence, it doesn't take long. You turn to him with a surprised smile and give him an excited hug. “Miguel!”

His heart expands at your excitement upon his arrival, he wraps an arm around your waist and presses you against him. Your voice is muffled as you speak to him. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” He’s not listening though. 

To any outsider, it looked like Miguel just really missed you, when in reality, he was making sure you could feel what you do to him. You let out a pretty sigh into his ear once you feel his bulge press into you. Your eyes are on his as you pull away, searching them for a reason as to why he’s hard but all he’s too busy taking in every piece of you. 

You’re both lost in your own world, you don’t realize the people you were talking to have moved on from your conversation, talking with some other people now and leaving you and Miguel to your moment. 

His hands are resting on your hips before one slides behind you, pressing his open palm against the small of your back before the other presses against your lower stomach, right over your uterus. Miguel can feel your stomach tense under his hand as you suck in, tightening your muscles but Miguel just tuts and tilts his head at you, disappointed. “Don’t do that, cariño. I love her.” Your gaze is on the floor as you listen to him, he sounds drunk, his voice is distant and hazy. 

His head is cloudy with fantasies. He can see your stomach, how it would grow and swell as you create his child inside you. He thinks about how beautiful you would look with your womb stuffed full of him. He swears she’s calling for him- your womb- begging him to fill her up, paint your walls white until his seed takes, maybe a little more after that just to be safe. 

You can see his thoughts racing, you can tell he’s working himself up, you just don’t understand what is doing this to him. His hand on your stomach is making you a bit self-conscious, but your muscles have been too tight for too long, and they give out. Your soft tummy relaxes and presses into his hand, pulling a relieved sigh from Miguel. His breathing picks up and his eyebrows furrow before he looks up from your stomach, looking into your eyes instead. “You know I love this, right?”

He looks back down at your belly as he readjusts his palm, opening his hand wider to cover more of your pooch. You whine and shift uncomfortably, the way his hand is resting over your womb is hot, it’s turning you on but you’re barely aware of that fact because anxiety is overrunning everything. You’re waiting for Miguel to slip up, for you to see a crack in his lies. You appreciate the attempt at making you feel better about your body but you don’t- you can’t believe him. 

Until you look up into his eyes. 

They’re drowning in need, his pupils entirely blown out, covering most of the red in his eyes. He’s gazing at you as he slowly pulls you in and presses his plump lips against yours with a moan. You pull away quickly and look around, a few people looking your way at Miguel’s louder-than-safe moan. You look back up at him to warn him, tell him to keep it down but the words die on your tongue. His eyes are hazy and confused, still looking at your lips like he can’t figure out why you pulled away. You smile at him incredulously and pull his hand away from your back but he whimpers when you try and take his hand off your womb. 

“Miguel, we’re public, baby.” Your voice is soft yet frantic, and his eyes are still begging you. “People are staring…” That gets a reaction, his face twitches and his eyes clear and harden a bit. He looks around the room with a snarl and you have to pull his gaze back to you. 

“Hey! What’s gotten into you?” The question hurts him a bit as he thinks it over, he really is trying to pinpoint why this is affecting him so much.  All he can focus on is you though, your scent enveloping him like a cloud. It smells like everything good, like flowers and honey, but also clean like soap and linen. It’s suffocating him, stopping all thought. 

“You smell so good, amor. What is that? I don’t recordar buying este para ti.” His voice is muffled as he buries his face in the top of your head, looking for the source of your scent. You’ve had enough, he’s doing all of this in the middle of the party, and you’re starting to feel a bit embarrassed. You’re pushing him back, slowly walking him to the edges of the party. You feel people staring until you finally hit a wall, pushing a grunt from Miguel. “What is up with you?” Your tone is gentle but you’re getting concerned, you’ve never seen him like this.

His eyes are shut tightly as his brows furrow and he lets out a pathetic whimper. “I’m sorry. I- I don’t know.” His hand leaves your stomach to bury in his hair and you instantly miss its warmth. You take a step closer to him, waiting for him to say more. “Can we leave? I think we’ve been here long enough, yeah?” He’s already pulling your hand to the exit. 

He’s silent in the car and on the drive home, constantly running his hand through his hair, and bouncing the leg that isn't on a pedal. You’re taking in his frantic state and notice that through all this, he’s still hard. “Miguel…” He gasps softly and turns to you for a moment. “What’s wrong?

“I don’t-” His eyes dart to your form. “ Your dress for one.” You glance down and wish you hadn’t, you see your stomach split into rolls, folding the fabric of your dress, accentuating the it’s softness. Your arms cross over it, trying to hide and Miguel groans.

“Don’t do that, I told you.” His voice sounds painful and strained. You look back at him to see a distressed look on his face and his hand palming his throbbing cock through his suit pants. “I fucking love her.” His breathing gets heavy, causing him to inhale more of your painfully sweet perfume. “What the fuck is that smell, baby?” 

You can hear him take a big inhale of the air in the car and a shiver runs up his spine. “I’m…” You struggle to round up enough thoughts to answer him, too distracted by the way he crushes his dick against his thigh and the little moans that accompany his movements.  “I’m not wearing perfume, Miguel.”

That's when it hits him. Why he’s so desperate for you, why your scent is clouding his every thought and taking over his mind… You’re ovulating. 

A broken groan rips from his throat at the realization, he speeds the rest of the way home. When you guys finally arrive he parks in the driveway and unlocks the doors, but doesn’t move. “I need you to get out, bonita.”

You feel arousal settle in your stomach as you press your legs together. Miguel’s head falls back, and his hair falls with his head, revealing his red-tipped ears. His hips are still gently thrusting into his hand, the other is squeezing the wheel so hard you thought it might crack. “I- I need a moment, baby. I’ll explain everything, just go inside and-” He lets out a breathless curse and his hips stutter against his palm. “And go change and just- just wait for me, okay? I’ll be there in a moment, go.” You’re in a trance as he speaks but the force in his command shakes you out of it. 

You leave the car silently and make your way to his place. You change out of your clothes in a daze, putting on a tank top and one of his sweatpants as you try to process what just happened. You grab a blanket and wait for Miguel on the couch. 

It’s only a few minutes before you hear his footsteps approaching the door. You stand in front of the doorway, oddly nervous as you watch the knob turn. His eyes meet yours the moment the door opens, his eyes stay on yours as he ducks through the frame, and takes his shoes off. They only tear from yours to take in your new outfit, your lower belly is the first place his eyes land. He gets that weak look in his eye you’ve been seeing all night and his breathing picks up.

Miguel notices the way your stomach sucks in for a moment before relaxing, letting your body be as she is and it making him feral. He needs you so bad, he wants to just take you right here but he promised you an explanation. His eyes flicker up to you and he takes a shaky deep breath and tries to keep his voice steady. “Have a seat, hermosa.”

He looks nervous, he keeps wiping his hands on his suit pants as you walk over to sit on the couch, he seats himself at the other end, across from you. You’re turned to him, legs crossed and laying in his lap. He turns to face you more and accidentally places your legs over his bulge, you can feel his thighs tense as he folds in half, letting out a choked moan that he tries to cover as a cough. You let him think he got away with it, he leaves your legs over his bulge, giving him enough stimulation to think straight. 

You’re looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain and he decides to just rip the band-aid off. “You’re-” Arousal stabs in his stomach at the sentence he has to utter. He bites into his lip and tries to regulate his breathing. “You’re o- ovulating.” Your legs shift in his lap as your expression falls, embarrassed. “And I can smell it.” 

Your legs pull out of his lap quickly and you bring your knees to your chest. “What?!” You sit up and tuck your legs under you, sitting on your calves. “You can smell it? I’m- God that’s so- I’m so sorry.”

His mind is getting hazy again without your contact. “No. Cariño, not that. It’s not like that.” He sighs at your confusion, he wishes you understood how desperate he was, maybe then you wouldn’t ask him to talk so much, maybe you’d just let him fuck you already. “It’s more like pheromones.”

His hand slides across the couch cushion, wraps around your ankle and slowly drags you toward him. “It’s a change in your personal scent. Your body is trying to trick mine into breeding you, and guess what?” He’s pulled you straight and is crawling up your body, slowly lowering himself against you so his bulge is pressing against your pussy, right over your clit.

 He’s so hard he’s able to split your lips, rubbing the cloth of his sweatpants against your naked pussy and you gasp at the feeling. Your hands slide up from his biceps to pull his head in, anxiously awaiting the rest of his sentence. He smirks at the eager look on your face and leans in, just inches from your lips, and whispers against them. “My body is so gullible for you.” You whimper.

You can feel your entire being heating up as he kisses you so intensely, like he’s trying to devour you. He’s groaning against your lips and licking into your mouth as he wrestles his jacket off. Your hands shoot to his belt and struggle to get it off, whining into the kiss when his belt gets caught on the loops. He smiles into you and his hands come to rest over yours. “Tranquila, bebe. I’m the desperate one, remember?”

You shake your head his words and let him take his pants off while you wiggle out of his sweats. He moans at your bare pussy and his arms give out for a moment, almost dropping his weight on you before catching himself. “N-no panties?” His fingers are on you, rubbing your clit and spreading your slick all over you, coating his fingers in it. He’s being downright messy.

“Miggy- Miguel, I need it so bad- need you so bad. I love you so much. You’re so-” Your mind is already gone as you grind up into his fingers, overwhelmed by the added pleasure of his desperation. He’s groaning into your ear as he humps himself against your thigh in time with his fingers. 

“I don’t know. I need-” You cut him off with a moan and he smiles as you apologize in between whimpers. “I think I’d need to cum in you, cariño. I need- My brain can only focus on-” He groans as you writhe against him, pushing your thigh into his crotch. His head lowers to rest against yours as his fingers speed up inside you. He can feel the way you’re coating them, soaking every crevice with your sweetness. He can feel the way they’re sliding inside you, the way your walls are squeezing him, it’s too much. “I can only think about cumming in you, bebe.” 

Truthfully, his thoughts were more focused on what would come afterward, watching you swell with his child but you guys haven’t even had a conversation about kids yet.

“No.” You whine at him, he feels sadness shoot through his stomach but he tries to mask it. “Just fuck me, please?” You’re looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, your hands around his neck pulling his face impossibly closer as your lips try and lock with his. He nods at you gently, he wants to give you anything you could possibly want.

“Okay, amor.” He kisses you quickly before taking his hands off of you and starts unzipping his pants, pulling himself out of his boxers while you wait. You watch him for a bit as he gets undressed before a thought pushes into your head.

What if I took my top off this time? 

You think it over for a second, you want to be yourself with him, completely and he’s explained his love for your tummy over and over again. 

What could be the worst that happens?

Images of Miguel’s face twitching in disgust flash through your head. Unrealistic scenarios of Miguel pulling away, starting to reject your advances and your kisses plague your brain. 

He wouldn’t do that. 

You take a deep breath and bite the bullet, pulling your tank top over your head quickly and Miguel freezes, causing an abundance of discomfort on your end. You thought this was something he’d want, something he’d like, now that you’ve exposed yourself though, he’s silent. 

You try to stand strong, but your hands are twitching at your sides to cover your stomach. You pray to whatever god there may be that you somehow gain the ability to read his mind, to see his thoughts, to force him to say something… anything. 

His cock pulsing. He’s never seen you completely shirtless, despite being together for over a year. He never wanted to push you, too scared that he’d push you away. He’s seen you with no top but only with a towel over your stomach, or pants pulled over your stomach as you change. But now? Her full glory was on display, there’s a little curve underneath, separating your tummy from your pussy and he’s in love. 

His eyes are zeroed in on your naked stomach and your hands come up to cover it, legs pulling inward as you fold into yourself. He can’t have that. “Don’t” 

His voice is sharp and dark, a strong command but you don’t listen, covering your stomach fully. “It was a bad idea. I’m so uncomfortable, Mig. Can-” You let out a heartbreaking sigh. “Can you just pass me my top?” You threw it down just out of reach and your hands are occupied covering your stomach. Embarrassment is coursing through every vein.

How are we gonna move on from this? I fucking killed the shit out of the mood. Fuck. God, I hate this. 

“No.” He’s moving back toward you, climbing up your body again, ignoring the obvious confusion you’re facing. You curl in even more which just upsets him. He grabs your leg and pulls, forcing you out of your ball before pinning it under his own. “Uh-” You let out a noise of surprise but Miguel pays it no mind as he reaches for your arms. He takes both of your wrists in his hand and pins them above your head, holding them there as he admires your tummy. 

Your heart is racing but you don’t struggle. Miguel is looking at you like to most amazing piece of art and you’d do anything- anything- for him to keep going. You feel yourself leaking between your legs as he just stares. His breathing is slow and shaky and his brows keep furrowing, like he’s having an internal battle with himself. He takes another breath and exhales through his mouth, letting his breath fan over your face before releasing your wrists and leg. 

He’s waiting for you to pull your hands back down, cover one of your most beautiful features… but you don’t. 

Instead, you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in. “Can you please, please, fuck me now?” His face twitches before he smiles, taking a deep breath as he pulls away. He kisses your chest as he slowly rises, his hand already on his cock, pumping himself gently as he aligns himself with your entrance. You’re gripping the cushions with all your strength as he works himself in. 

He’s worried. You feel insane around him, the softest thing he’s ever felt, extra wet and open for him to breed you. His mind keeps wandering back to cumming inside you, even though you said no. He’s walking the line of some dangerous thoughts. 

I am stronger than her…

He shakes the thought out of his head and focuses on you. The way you’re moaning his name like it’s the only thing you know, your hips are growing frantic as the grind up against him. “Miggy-“

“Amor.” He smiles at the moan that rips from your chest as you bury yourself in his neck. His hips speed up at the sounds of your moans right next to his ear, your breath tickling the shell of it.  

“‘M gonna- “ Miguel cuts you off with a growl and his brows furrow. He doubles down on his thrusts, bringing his hands to the small of your back, gripping you hard and fucking you into his cock. 

It’s going to take a serious amount of focus to keep his orgasm at bay until you’re done. “Go- Fuck. No, just wait, baby.” You let out a confused noise at his command. He’s never asked you to hold it before. 

“Fuck! Mi- I don’t know how!” Your sentence turns into a sob as he watches your body tense up, pulling all your muscles tight and gripping the roots of his hair. “Haah- Miguel. Baby, I ca- an’t. Please let-“ 

A moan stops your sentence as Miguel presses onto your womb, forcing his cock against your walls, stretching you even more. You feel so full you don’t know what’s happening. Your eyes are wide as you stare at his hand, slowly looking up to meet his eyes. They’re frantic, desperate and wild when they meet yours. 

His panting aggressively, intermittently pausing so he can try and regulate his breathing. You’re staring into his eyes, shocked at his reaction and a smirk pushes its way into your face before you moan at him again. He pulls his hand away from your womb like it burned him and pulls out, gripping the base of his cock so hard it must hurt. 

You were so close, teetering on the edge, just hearing Miguel utter your name could’ve tipped you over… but he pulled out instead. “Miguel!!! Why? I- I’ve been good, haven’t I?” 

Your desperate pleads are worsening his situation. He ignores your words and starts rubbing your clit, his fingers moving over the little bud lightning fast. “I’m not punishing you, bebé bonita”

You whine at the love name and grip his arm, trying to pull him closer to you. “No puedo correrme dentro de ti and I’m… I’m too close right now, cariño.”

You’re trying to push his hand away now, shaking your head and whining. “S’okay”

Your yanking at his arm, trying to get him back over you. “Cum inside, Miggy.” 

His eyes widen and he doesn’t move. He honestly thinks he’s hearing things at this point, fantasizing without realizing but you’re look at him all shy and expectant. So you actually said something… “W-“ He takes a deep breath. “What?”

You whine at him and avert your eyes as your legs slowly spread for him. “You- You wanted to, right? I want it…” You whine at the thought. “I need it, Miggy.”

His vision blurs as he reaches out for you, lining himself up as quickly as he can. He can already feel his balls pulsing, tensing and preparing a load for you, for your pussy, your womb. 

It’s worse than the first time he ever had sex with you. Every nerve is alight, he can feel every little detail in your pretty, perfect pussy. On top of that, you’re moaning like he’s never heard before, louder, more high pitched, more desperate than earlier and they’d already shocked him then. He can’t. 

“Mm- Not- fuck. I’m not gonna last. Not even a min- shit. Oh my god, cariño. Not even gonna last a minute. Fuck me, niña bonita.” Your almost screaming his name at his words, his languid pace and the way he’s literally shaking for you. “Gonna- shi-it.” His words sound like broken sobs as his tip gently abuses your cervix. 

You’ve pulsing around him, trying everything you can to wait for him so you can milk him while he pumps you full. “I’m gonna cum. Fuck. I’m gonna cum in- in you, baby. Voy a follarte un bebé, amor. Te dejaré embarazada, te mantendré llena de mí en todo momento. Mierda. Te verás tan hermosa, manteniendo a nuestro bebé protegido en tu grueso útero. Oh, joder"

(“I'm going to fuck a baby into you, love. I will get you pregnant, I'll keep you full of me at all times. Shit. You will look so beautiful, keeping our baby protected in your thick womb. Oh fuck.”)

Your eyes roll back and the coil in your stomach snaps as Miguel rambles, hips thrusting into yours gently, his gaze on the back of his skull. You’re fucking yourself on him as best you can in this position. It’s awkward and over-exerting but completely worth it when you hear a whine of your name and Miguel’s cock starts throbbing inside you. 

Twitching once, twice, before hardening even more and pouring a torrent of cum into your waiting pussy. He’s the loudest you’ve ever heard. Moaning out your name on repeat, thanking you for letting him cum in you with a lot of other Spanish sentences in between. 

His hand presses to your womb as he winds down but his cock twitches out another load as he pushes down, fucking into you slowly again. “Te amo tanto, mi querida. No puedo imaginar la vida sin ti. Una vida en la que no tendrás mis hijos, en la que no estemos casados…” His entire body shudders as he finally stops pouring into you. 

(“I love you so much, my dear. I can’t imagine life without you. A life where you don’t bear my children, in which we aren’t married…”)

He leans down and kisses you slowly, eyes hooded but still focused on you. Your eyes are teary and trying to shut, exhausted from the entire night. Miguel keeps pressing kisses all over you as you drift off. 

“Un mundo sin ti es uno en el que no podría vivir, amor.”

(“A world without you is one I couldn't live in, love.”)

Thank you so mcuh for reading! If you enjoyed, here's the rest of my Kinktober Works and be sure to check out my Main Masterlist!!

[butcharium]

Honestly I love being a bit of a boring butch. No tattoos no piercings never even coloured my hair. I love solid (menswear) clothes in solid, often somber colours. Business casual is my comfort wear. Bad at small talk and if you bring up a pop culture reference from the last 50 years I'll most likely not have a clue what you're talking about. The most daring you'll see me is in a striped shirt, and sometimes I will wear a Venus symbol necklace. You'll never find me at the club, but I bloom socially at academic conferences and the like (I'm not even in academia). I'm never able to pick up gossip and shy drama like a fire. I'll go to the gym, but listen to classic literature while working out. I'm standoffish but not hot so that it's mysterious. I am just a bit of a boring butch. I guess I have some niche appeal, and luckily I've found people who appreciate me as I am!

[yukioos]

HIIII can u write a wrestling! leon one shot?? where he and his college team are on the way to a tournament and they have to stop at the gas station to fuel up and whatever and readers family owns the station and when he sees her it’s like love at first sight (if you’re comfortable with it, can u make it suggestive?)

MALBORO NIGHTS

SUMMARY: college wrestler leon kennedy x reader // leon is on his way to a wrestling tournament when he stops at the gas station for some snacks. he encounters you, a worker, and things turn into a hot mess.

AUTHORS NOTE: hi! i don’t know a lot about wrestling so i had to research a bit on the topic. sorry if i got some information wrong!

WARNINGS: suggestive!! modern au, leon’s fear of failure and embarrassment, kinda sexual thoughts from leon but he feels bad about it, making out, reader and leon are both consenting adults, not proofread

leon’s wrestling team had won their conference tournament and now had to travel across the country to another tournament. this time, it was national. he had already flown across the country to another state with his teammates. they stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights, extending their visit to explore the state and its historical sites.

but when the morning came, and he had to travel to the venue, he surprisingly wasn’t nervous. it wasn’t unlike any of his other tournaments, and he was confident he will win. despite his young age, he was one of the best on the team.

the one thing he hated about traveling across the country for a tournament was the people. having to appear all mighty, strong, and perfect made him freeze in his tracks, and his stomach would flip. he was fine when he was just around his teammates, hell, when he was with them, it was a judgment-free zone.

even as he and his teammates packed up and brought their bags, laid them in a bus, and drove to the venue, he couldn’t ignore the agonizing feeling. he didn’t want to be embarrassed, and he didn’t want to fail in front of thousands of people! and as much as he loved seeing people do good at something they liked, he despised seeing people do better than him at wrestling.

wrestling was his sport, his passion. he claimed he’d lose his sense of self and confidence without it. but of course, chris always told him he’d be the same person with or without the wrestling.

despite his dreading feeling in his stomach, he talked with chris the whole ride. even as hours passed on the bus, even as chatter died down then people wouldn’t stop talking, he always had him by his side. leon admitted, chris always found a way to make him feel better.

leon’s chuckles become silenced once the driver announces, “alright, we’re gonna have to stop by a gas station of some sort! fuel’s gettin’ low!”

groans erupt from the rows of seats, and chatter fills his ears. many complaints are heard from his teammates around him, and even chris rolls his eyes at the announcement.

leon glances around the bus, seeing nothing but roads, cars, and trees for miles. he then shouts to chris, over the loud noises, “we’ll be fine. the tournament can’t start without us!”

he responds and continues ranting, “yeah, you’re probably right. better not start the tournament without us—“

minutes pass, and the bus suddenly halts to a stop. leon glanced out the window to see a gas station, remembering the bus is low on fuel. he feels a tap on his shoulder, so he turns around.

“leon, chris, i, and three other guys are gonna head into the store while the bus driver’s fillin’ up the tank. wanna come with?” carlos asks, smiling at the blonde and brunette.

leon doesn’t waste a second as he begins agreeing, commenting on how sitting in his ass for so long hurts. chris bellowed, and carlos said the same as they walked off the bus and into the store.

the six men split up to find snacks for their teammates, wandering around the isles to find their desired candy or chips. leon’s feet stomp against the red and white tiles. he settles on a protein bar, a bag of skittles, and a bottle of water for the trip. he then travels around the store to find more snacks for his teammates then calls out for his brunette friend.

chris quickly responds, “yeah?”

the blonde nods to the register, “you ready?”

a smirk appears on the brunette’s face, and leon looks puzzled. he asks what he’s smirking about, and turns around to see what gained chris’ attention.

there you stand, sucking on a lollipop as you meticulously flip through the pages of a thick book. your light pink nails came up to the lollipop stick every couple of seconds, popping it out of your mouth and wrapping your lips against it again. of course, you aren’t aware of your effect on the blonde wrestler standing many feet away from you.

leon begins to slouch and tries to shrink his frame. he nervously comments, “i don’t feel like going up to the register—“

he yelps when chris grabs him by the hood and pushes him to you, muting his protests as he tries to not any of the snacks. he shakes his head with wide eyes, then is suddenly met face-to-face with you and your book.

chris grins, teeth shining, “hey, leon, can you check these out for me? i’m gonna go to the bathroom.” chris taunts, winking as he pulls cash from his wallet.

he places it on top of leon’s snacks, held in his arms, all while dropping his items on the counter. leon’s cheeks warm up, and he hears his heart beating fast.

when you look up at him, he gives a lovesick smile. your eyes are the most beautiful he’s ever seen. the way you’re looking at him with a sultry smile causes him to nervously glance at the floor, unable to hold eye contact. once he

you take the items from the counter and scan them, starting up a conversation, “seems like there’s a whole lot of people out there,” referencing to the loud noises from the bus, “are you with them?”

leon’s eyes widen, and he fidgets with his fingers. his throat tightens, and he stutters, “oh— oh, um, yeah. i’m with them. we’re heading over to a wrestling tournament a few hours away.”

you pause in your tracks, not scanning the items anymore. he’s a wrestler? well, it does make sense. he looks incredibly muscular and well-built, but you have to admit, he is the finest man you’ve ever seen.

you notice he starts to appear nervous when you stare at him, so you continue placing the items in a bag and ask, “where are you coming from?” afterward, you place your hands on the counter in front of you and look up at the blonde.

leon blushes at your sudden change of position and your interest in learning more about him. he glances down at you more, gulping when he sees a peek of your cleavage. he loses his train of thought and forgets all about your question.

he begins to observe you, your shirt doesn’t fully cover your shoulder, and your bra strap peeks out. the way your heart necklace rests perfectly on your chest drives him crazy. your eyes have a certain glint in them, a seductive one.

you tilt your head, smirking as you realize he’s analyzing everything about you. he must’ve noticed your smile because he finally answers your question, “raccoon city—“

you roll your eyes and grab him by his hood, pulling him into a kiss. it’s almost as if you could read his mind because he was about to slowly lean in. he whimpers, wanting to be closer to you, so he puts his hand over yours on the counter.

your lips push against each other’s, but you pull away, groaning as you’re making out in a public space. you ask, out of breath, “break room?”

he quickly nods and you grab his sleeve, dragging him to the room behind the register. twisting the knob, you gently push him inside, and he feels a surge of confidence, pushing you against the nearby wall. he hadn’t had time to look around. he didn’t care if anyone was watching, he didn’t care that he didn’t know you as well as he wanted to. all he knew was that he needed you, and he needed you now.

he grabs your hip with his large hand, and you pull him in for another kiss. you take a fistful of his blonde hair, and he moans into the kiss. your bodies are heated and burning with anticipation, but you both want more. you know you do.

you raise your leg to his hip, almost wrapping it around his waist. he understands and places his hand on your ass, then picks you up. you wrap both of your legs around his waist, smiling into the kiss. he places you on a table and momentarily breaks away from the kiss.

saliva connects to your lips, and as disgusting as it is, it’s sure as hell hot, and you still want more.

he takes his sweatshirt and his shirt off then mumbles, “is this okay,” gripping your thigh and kissing your neck tenderly.

you gently scratch his scalp and nod, taking your shirt off, leaving only your bra and jeans to view. his abs glisten with sweat, and he leans down again, pushing his warm hand onto your stomach. you lay flat on the table and pull him in closer with your legs.

your lips intertwine and the action intensifies. you both moan, but suddenly you hear a sound that makes you both pause.

“leon, where are ya? we need to go!” a voice shouts.

leon sighs and closes his eyes, laying his head on your chest momentarily. he groans, “fuck,” and you giggle, relishing in how much he wants to continue. his hands still lay on your thighs, a silent reminder of what you were about to do.

you scratch his scalp and neck, then, with your other hand, you pick up your phone. you open the contacts app and tap his cheek, causing him to look up at you.

his cheeks and lips are red, both flushed and hot. his eyes look tired and begging, he wants more but needs to get to his tournament.

he grabs your phone and enters his phone number and his name. he then grumbles, “promise i’ll be back after the tournament.”

he picks up his clothes and your shirt, placing it on your lap. once he’s done dressing, you place your hand on his chest, “take the snacks for free. it’s on me.”

he opens his mouth to interject, but you shake your head and guide him to the register, “don’t forget to win, ‘kay? you’ll do great.”

he smiles and smoothens your messy hair, agreeing, “i’ll do my best. i’ll text you right after.”

you look up and tilt your head again, slowly standing on your tiptoes and wrapping your arms around his neck. you gently place your lips on his, and it’s much more relaxed and loving than before.

but leon hears another call of his name, and he kisses you back. he smiles and walks away, but before he leaves, he yells, “i’ll be back, y/n!”

as he jogs the short distance to the bus, he notices chris standing right outside the entrance to it. the brunette notices his disheveled hair and points it out, “you look like you just got banged,” and walks onto the bus, sitting in their seats next to each other.

he mumbles, “wait,” then his eyes widen. his pearly whites shine, realizing what leon just did.

this was gonna be a long ride.

[queenimmadolla]

A little sneak peak of a request! I was trying to finish this one before I got smashed but SOME PEOPLE did not like certain details, so I have to fix it. BUT this is proof that I do indeed be writing, I swear, I just grow very intensely annoyed when something doesn't turn out perfect and the way I want it immediately, so I throw it in The Vault! Just know, everything in The Vault will be released :)

𝐃𝐚𝐝!𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫!𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐱 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭!𝐌𝐨𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - angst, hurt/comfort 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 ♡

You’d expected it to be dramatic.

  Your water breaking that is, but as you stared down at your toes, barely visible past your baby bump, pants darkening around your crotch and the liquid trailing down your leg to gather in a small puddle beneath you, you almost felt nothing, save for ennui. 

  Your last two pregnancies had been quite the spectacle; your first being dramatic in itself for the sole reason of being your first time bringing a child into the world. The second time almost killed you and your baby.

  You’d been wary of having any more after that, fearful you wouldn’t be able to carry to term and the possibility of losing your own life. It would mean you wouldn’t get to see Penny and Wayne grow up.

  It brought both you and your husband a sense of responsibility with your sex life that you hadn’t quite possessed before. There had been almost a four year gap between your oldest and (now) middle child and the gap between he and this baby would be even longer at about six.

  Pretty good luck, considering you hadn’t wanted to get pregnant for a third time, at all. Yes, you had been wary before but now, with things between you and your husband as they were, it seemed irresponsible and senseless to bring another child into the picture.

  Hell, conceiving your baby alone was a miracle. All you did was fight and ignore each other, made easier with the fact that Eddie was always away. Always missing school awards, always missing dance recitals and shows, parent teacher conferences, always missing out on your family. 

  Ever since Corroded Coffin broke through mainstream music, you and your children had to share your husband with the world. More often than not, it was the world who got to have him.

  It led to fights, vicious ones. Words and insults thrown out, screaming, accusations ranging from spite to infidelity, and magazines thrown around with their intentionally triggering headlines featuring pretty women in the same vicinity as the man who shared your vows. 

  The man who once was just a boy you greatly admired in school, sat a couple of desks ahead of you. The boy who approached you and then followed from then on. The boy who was the first to make love to you, not fuck. The boy whose heart you had broken in the past. The boy who welcomed you back with open arms. The boy who asked you the most important question of your life while surrounded by a sea of high school graduates, caps and gowns. The boy whose baby you had a year after that.

  You’d dreamt of a life with him, at his side while he pursued music with his band. And then life happened, and you were both surprisingly at ease with putting those dreams to rest, in favor of the new ones you welcomed in little bundles of blankets, smelling of baby powder.

  You never let Eddie fully give up on pursuing music, he still played shows whenever he could, waving and blowing kisses from the stage at the tiny people in your arms with large headphones over their sensitive ears to protect them.

  But that had been small venues, overnight trips at best.

  Fame was an entirely different monster.

  Fame was weeks away, and on occasion, months. When you had imagined your future with Eddie as a teen, traveling the world with him, there hadn’t been a family in tow. Kids.

  You had them now, and you couldn’t imagine your life without them. Wouldn’t want to. It was unfair of you, and completely untrue, but you thought Eddie might.

[geminiwritten]

this means war ; bones

fandom: star trek

pairing: bones x reader

summary: based on this song but incredibly drawn out and long winded (you're reuniting with the enterprise crew for jim's birthday almost six months after leaving for a job at the academy because of a messy breakup)

notes: hey, i'm back! life has been super busy but i was listening to this song a few months ago and decided that i had to write something for it... and then a few months and thousands of words later... here you go! it is a little bit messy, but i can't not post it. let me know what you think! please!

warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, sexual references (i promise i am working on writing actual smut and not this fade to black crap), and lots of words i'm sorry if it sucks

word count: 10749 (i have no self control)

The birth date of James Tiberius Kirk is either a taboo subject not to be mentioned or alluded to for the entire month of March, or an intergalactic holiday that must be celebrated for a full two weeks straight. This year, it’s a celebration. The USS Enterprise is docked at Starbase Yorktown after doubling back due to an unfortunate encounter in unfriendly space, but not even a month's setback on the starship’s five-year journey could put a damper on her captain’s birthday. In fact, the party itself was arranged in all its grandeur after the unlucky incident, seeing that shore leave provided the perfect opportunity to drink and be merry in celebration of Jim’s ageing.

So it was your best friend’s birthday celebrations that finally dragged you out of your dark and comforting office at Starfleet Academy for the first time in four months, all the way to Starbase Yorktown. It was a long journey, which you were thankful for, because despite it being almost half of a year since you left your post on the USS Enterprise, you’re still not sure if you’re ready to face her crew again. Of course you miss them, they were your closest friends long before the Enterprise’s five-year assignment, but when Starfleet made you an offer you couldn’t refuse, well... you couldn’t refuse it. Or at least, that was the story you stuck to when your friends begged you to stay. It most definitely had absolutely nothing to do with a saga of heartbreak and animosity.

“Okay, breathe,” you tell your reflection, watching the colour in your cheeks deepen the more you reminisce. The black dress you’re wearing is perfectly complimentary, accentuating all the right parts and boosting your confidence just enough to get you out the door. The hallway wasn’t too difficult, but the elevator descent awakens the anxious butterflies in your stomach, and the hotel lobby has your heartrate rising with every click of your heels against the polished marble floor.

“This is ridiculous,” you sigh, earning a few odd glances from passersby as you exit the hotel’s main doors. The artificial air outside is warm and the sky mimics a pink and orange sunset that casts long shadows on the pavement. You watch your own move as you head toward the party venue; a Federation building purpose-built for conferences and training seminars that Jim had somehow convinced someone to let him use. You often forget how respected the captain really is.

The walk isn’t long, and before you can even attempt to quell the nausea rising up from your stomach, you find yourself standing in the foyer of the building. The reception desk is empty except for a small sign atop it with an arrow pointing down the corridor, reading ‘Captain Kirk’s Birthday Extravaganza’. You have to force your feet to move in the direction of the music and chatter, despite every fibre of your being telling you to turn around.

The doors to the room are open, so you have absolutely no time to steel your nerves before the first person recognises you. A cadet from the MedBay, of course, you spent enough of your time there for every medical crew member to know who you are. His face is a mixture of confusion and delight as he calls out your name, “Y/N!”

You plaster on a smile, push your shoulders back, and walk into the party.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” the cadet, Trevor, says, “Doctor McCoy said you-” Before he can finish his sentence, another body slams into yours, knocking the breath out of you and almost knocking you clean off your feet.

You stumble back but catch yourself, suddenly wrapped in the familiar smell of wild berry scented shampoo with a ponytail full of brown hair in your face. You hug her back, fighting tears as you mumble into her hair, “Nyota.”

“I can’t believe you came!” she says as she pulls away, her own eyes glassy with moisture, “how long did it take to get here?”

“Not that long,” you shrug, “and it was nice to see the stars again.”

She frowns, “you can still see the stars from the academy.”

“Not from behind my desk, you can’t,” you say through a forced smile, trying to make your sad reality sound like a jest. You truly did hate your dark little office; the only window was facing right at a brick wall of the next building and one of the two ceiling lights had died within a month of you moving in. It was always dark, always cold, and so far from anyone else, you often felt as if you were living in an apocalyptic world.

You only catch a glimpse of Nyota’s sympathetic stare before you’re wrapped in another pair of arms. “Y/N!” Jim exclaims, right into your ear, “you’re here!”

Tears threaten to fall once again as you hug your used-to-be captain back. “I’m here,” you mutter into his shirt.

He pulls back, his blue eyes practically glowing as he takes you in, “you look incredible.”

“Thanks,” your cheeks warm, “not looking so bad yourself, Captain.”

He chuckles, “you can’t call me that anymore, remember. You’re not a part of my crew.”

You know he’s only joking, but the words still cause a small fissure in your already fragile heart. “You’re still a captain, and didn’t you promise to keep my post vacant?”

His previously easy smile falters, but only slightly. “I did, in case you change your mind,” he sighs, “but only for six months.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t hold the position longer than six months,” he puts a hand on your shoulder as if he’s giving you the worst news of your life, “if you decide to stay at the academy, I have to replace you.”

“Wait,” you frown up at him, “is that why you asked me to come, so you could tell me to officially sign off of the Enterprise?”

“No, of course not, I just-” he hesitates before sighing again, “let’s not talk about this now, okay? I invited you here because I miss you.” He pulls you back against his chest and you let yourself relax, allowing the familiarity of your best friend to soothe the fresh wave of anxiety coursing through your veins.

“Now,” as he pulls away, Nyota puts a flute of champagne in your hand, “there are a few people who would really like to see this gorgeous face.”

You roll your eyes as he slides you under one arm and walks further into the crowd. “Even though I know you’re talking about yourself,” you say, “I’ll still pretend I’m flattered.”

It doesn’t take long for the rest of your friends to realise you’re here. Sulu and Chekov are first, each wrapping you in a tight hug before Scotty appears. You didn’t expect him to be that emotional, but you find it difficult to hold back your own tears as he sniffles against your shoulder. Keenser isn’t far behind, holding another full glass for you and taking the empty one back to the bar, no doubt about to retrieve more drinks for himself and Mr. Scott.

The more you watch the grins on your friends’ faces, the more your heart aches to return to them. It feels as if you never left, aside from a few funny stories from the last couple of months that Jim reenacts for you with tipsy enthusiasm. You almost forget about the reason that nearly stopped you from being here; the reason your whole body wanted to turn and run with every inch closer you came to this place.

Almost forgot.

“Bones!” Jim exclaims, throwing his arms up and almost spilling his entire drink, “what took you so long?”

Your heart leaps into your throat, stopping your breath as fire spreads across every inch of your skin. You know your face must be glowing red, but you can’t help that, so you focus on keeping your expression calm as you try to remember how to breathe.

Leonard hesitates, his eyes lingering on you before he clears his throat and turns to Jim. “Sorry, medical emergency.”

Jim scoffs, “I can tell when you’re lying. You’re a very bad liar.”

Leonard takes the drink Sulu offers him and clinks it against Jim’s outstretched glass, “well, we can’t all be talented liars,” he glances quickly at you before turning back to the captain. “Happy birthday.”

His words punch you right in the chest, and you’re sure you can feel another piece of your heart break, but you can’t let it show. You tip the rest of your drink to your lips, sculling almost a full glass of champagne while the others take turns greeting Leonard. When you lower your empty glass, the group is standing in awkward silence, each of them watching either you or the doctor to see who will draw their weapon first.

You take a deep breath before meeting his eyes, offering a tight smile, “it’s nice to see you here.”

“Impolite would only be beneath us,” he remarks, before finishing his own drink in one gulp.

“It’s been what? Like, half a year,” you can barely hear your own words over the thrum of your heartbeat.

He considers you for a moment, his gaze tracing up and down your body before he response, “like nothing ever happened between us.”

Once again, your choke on your breath, his words not only hurting you but throwing fuel on the little flame of anger growing in the pit of your stomach.

“Another round?” Sulu asks suddenly, snatching the empty glass from your hand.

Chekov nods enthusiastically, “I will help you.”

As the two of them walk toward the bar, Scotty and Keenser shuffle away and strike up their own conversation, and Nyota mumbles something about Spock before disappearing into the crowd. You’re left with only Jim and Leonard.

“So,” you clear your throat, “how have you been?”

Like he said, impolite would be beneath you, and you can't let him know how much he hurt you. Even though, if he asked, you would tell him anything he wanted to hear because you can’t help the way you still feel about him. The way you know you’ll always feel about him, even if you’ll never know what actually happened between the two of you.

- 6 months & 2 weeks earlier -

Your boots hit the floor with force as you run down the corridor, narrowly dodging startled Enterprise crew until you reached the rear-most turbolift on the ship. Unable to contain your excitement, you continue mashing the button for the MedBay even as the lift descends, only stopping when the doors begin to open. You slip out as soon as the gap is wide enough and continue your run all the way through the MedBay toward Leonard’s office door.

You swipe your card and the door slides open, and you can’t help the way your heart leaps when you first see him. You’re not sure you will ever be used to the way he makes you feel.

“Len,” you exclaim, gasping for breath, “you won’t believe... I got it... the... the thing!”

He leans back in his desk chair, chuckling, “I gave you access to my office for emergencies.”

“This is an emergency,” you say between breaths, holding your chest with one hand while the other hits the button for the door to close.

“Are you going into cardiac arrest? Because you look like you’re going into cardiac arrest.”

You try to regulate your breathing as you give him your most unimpressed stare, “I just ran over half the ship, I’m allowed to be a little out of breath.”

He laughs again, “a little?”

“Would you stop being a smartass and let me speak,” you say as you round his desk and lean against it.

He pushes his chair back to properly look at you, a devilish grin curling his lips, telling you exactly where his mind had gone seeing you atop his desk.

“I had my meeting with the admiral,” you explain, “about the grant.”

His cheeky grin vanishes, replaced by an anticipatory frown as he leans forward with his elbows on his knees, “and?”

“They said yes.”

“They said yes?” he echoes, standing from his chair.

“They said yes!” you exclaim, jumping into his open arms and pressing your lips against his. It takes a moment for him to respond, but when he does, he kisses you back with fervour.

“You are incredible,” he mumbles against your mouth, “did you know that?”

You pull back giggling, “I know.”

“Did they have any questions?” he asks, “any conditions?”

“Nope, they loved it.”

"They loved you,” he says before kissing you again, muttering against your lips, “I love you.”

You freeze and your eyes snap open, staring up at him as his cheeks turn red. He hesitates before taking a step back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“Didn’t mean it?”

“No, I-” he rubs the back of his neck, “I definitely mean it, I just don’t want you to think I expect you to feel the same way.”

You step forward to close the distance between you, “of course I love you,” you stretch onto your toes and press a kiss against his lips, “more than anything.”

His eyes darken and his hands grab your waist as he steps forward. You stumble back until your backside hits the desk, and before you realise what is happening, he lifts you onto it and positions himself between your legs. One hand stays on your waist while the other cups you jaw, “you locked the door?”

Your mind races with filthy thoughts as his thumb traces your bottom lip, and the best response you can must is a soft whisper, “not sure.”

He chuckles, “then we better hope there are no medical emergencies.”

©

You knew exactly how you looked as you leant against the back of the turbolift – your hair a mess, cheeks rosy, and lips swollen – but you didn’t care; you just had mind-blowing sex in your boyfriend's office. You nod politely at the two other lieutenants in the lift as you step out, unable to hold your giggles at their uneasy smiles once you turn down the hall.

Nyota was waiting for you in the mess hall, tucked into a small booth on the edge of the room with her nose almost pressed to her PADD as she scrutinised its content. You slide into the seat opposite her, “hey, sorry I’m late.”

She takes one look at you before smirking, “have fun?”

“Lots,” you reply with a grin.

She shuts off her PADD and slides it aside, “so, how did it go?”

“The sex, or?”

“You know what I mean,” she says, rolling her eyes.

You laugh before replying, “it was amazing, actually; I can’t believe how stressed I was for nothing. They listened to my whole pitch, asked all the questions that I had answers for, and then said yes.”

Although her smile is still wide, she doesn’t quite leap for joy the way you had when you ended your meeting with the admiral. You frown, “what?”

“I’m waiting for the ‘but’.”

“Who said there’s a ‘but’?”

Her smile turns sheepish, “Jim.”

"Oh, for fuck’s sake,” you sigh, “I told him to keep it to himself, because I-”

“Told them no?” she interrupts, “and you said you want to stay on the Enterprise despite their generous offer?” Her tone tells you that she already knows what you said, which was, in fact, the exact opposite of what she just said.

One tiny piece of information that you intentionally omitted when you celebrated with Leonard was that in order to win the admiral’s approval for the grant, you might have accidentally accepted a job offer back at the academy. In your defence, it was almost impossible not to say yes. You were asking some of the most senior offices in Starfleet for a huge quantity of additional resources in order to run a twelve-month biomechanical programme aboard the Enterprise. How were you supposed to know they would offer you a position at the academy? And how were you supposed to say no?

By the time you finish telling Nyota about your meeting with the admiral from start to finish the mess hall is much quieter, and you’re surprised at how late it really is when you check your communicator. There is a long, awkward pause while you wait for her to respond, and you begin to feel like a child waiting for their punishment.

“I can’t believe you said that,” Nyota sighs, resting her elbows on the table and holding her head in her hands, “you can’t just say something like that knowing you don’t mean it.”

“I know, I just freaked out.”

“Freaked out?” she echoes disapprovingly.

“Yes!” you snap, “it was awkward. What was I supposed to say?”

She rolls her eyes, “I don’t know, maybe ‘I’m flattered, but sorry’.”

“Nyota, seriously.”

“I am serious!” she exclaims, “you can’t just take something like that back.”

You sit back and cross your arms, “yes, I can.”

She mimics your body language, raising her brows, “how?”

“Jim is going to talk to him.”

She scoffs, “oh, great idea. You know everyone already thinks Jim favours you?”

“I know how it’s going to look,” you sigh, “but if it gets me out of this mess, I don’t care what anyone thinks about Jim and me.”

Her scowl softens ever so slightly, “so, you got what you wanted and now you’re just going to back out?”

“Well, yeah,” you shrug, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Your communicator chirps and buzzes on the table, breaking both of you out of the intense staring competition you hadn't realised you were in.

“You better hope so,” Nyota says as she slides out of the booth, “and pray they don’t reconsider the grant.”

You check your communicator as you reply, “it’s going to be fine, Nyota, they’ll understand.” There are no missed calls or alerts, but the time reminds you just how tired and ready for bed you are.

The two of you leave the mess hall, walking together until you come to Nyota’s quarters where she bids you a good night. You continue in the direction of your own residency, flipping open your communicator along the way and calling Leonard. You listen to the dial tone for almost a minute before giving up and deciding to wait until he calls you back. Once inside your quarters, you shed your uniform and jump in the shower, scrubbing the stress of the day off before wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel. You check your communicator to find no missed messages, so you try calling Leonard again. No luck.

After an hour of flicking through data on your PADD, you begin to worry. You try calling a third time before you realise how late it is and your panic spikes, so you slip into your shoes and shuffle out the door. The halls are empty as you make your way down to the MedBay, only to find it just as desolate with a single nightshift nurse idly sorting different bits of equipment.

Two more unanswered calls and another half-hour of walking through the quiet ship has your heart racing anxiously, but its late and there’s no one else you can call without being a nuisance and waking them up. You make your way back to your room, dragging your feet until you’re close enough to fall into your bed face first and let out a few tears before exhaustion takes over.

You barely sleep, spending most of the night half-conscious worrying about Leonard. By the time your alarm goes off, you’re already dressed and slipping into your shoes. You shut it off before rushing out the door in the direction of the MedBay, retracing your steps from last night.

Relief washes over you when you see him standing in the doorway of his office, but a new kind of worry settles like a stone in the pit of your stomach. He’s not hurt or missing, so... was he ignoring you?

“Len,” you call as you walk through the MedBay, “hey.”

The look on his face is far from familiar; his hazel eyes seem darker and the circles beneath them are a deep purple, “mornin’.”

“Where have you been?” you ask, unable to mask the worry in your voice, “I was looking for you last night. I called a few times, but you never answered, I was so worried.”

He keeps his eyes on his PADD as he turns and walks further into his office, “sorry, medical emergency.”

You follow him in, trying not to choke on the panic rising in your throat, “oh, I didn’t hear about anything. Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he mumbles, “just busy.” He refuses to look up at you, keeping his eyes trained on the device in his hands and moving as if you’re both the south ends of two opposing magnets.

“Okay,” you say, your voice even weaker than before, “well, I spoke to Jim yesterday and he said we should break out the scotch tonight. You know, have a little celebration?”

“Can’t, I’m on call.”

"You could still come and hang out,” you force a smile onto your lips, “come on, don’t make me admit that I miss you.”

He only scoffs, his attention unmoving from his PADD.

You swallow the lump in your throat, “are you sure you’re alright?”

He sighs and finally looks up, his brows knit tight and something akin to resentment behind his glare, “Jim told me.”

“Told you what?”

“About the job offer.”

The stone in your stomach grows three sizes, sending a wave of nausea through your whole body and you have to lean against the wall to steady yourself. “He wasn’t supposed to,” you mutter, “he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone because I’m not taking it.”

“I think you should.”

His words feel like a knife being plunged into your chest, knocking you breathless and turning your voice into a whisper, “what?”

“I think you should take the job,” he says.

You blink back your tears, “why?”

“It sounds like a great opportunity, and you’re young, so you should take it.”

If it weren’t for your shoulder leaning against the wall, you could almost be sure the room itself is starting to spin. You can feel your heartbeat in every inch of your skin, heat spreading like wildfire through your whole body as your heart begins to tear itself in two.

“Just so I’m clear,” your words are soft and unsteady, “you want me to take the job and leave the Enterprise?”

He nods once, opening his mouth to reply but hesitates, as if suddenly deciding not to say whatever was on the tip of his tongue. Only then do you realise that tears are streaming down your cheeks.

“Okay, fine,” you say, wiping your face with the back of your hand, “I’ll take the job, and since you can’t seem to stand the sight of me, I’ll start in three weeks instead of six.”

You can barely see his face through the blur of tears, so you turn sharply toward the door and storm out, trying your best to keep your sobs muffled as you move through the ship and back to your room.

-

Those three weeks were the closest thing to hell that you’ve ever known. At first you were devastated, locking yourself in your room for four days straight, refusing to talk to anyone and living off half a meal a day. Everyone was worried but knew you needed space, especially after they heard you accepted the job at the academy. After the fourth day of wallowing, you got angry. You finally showered, dressed, and ate a full meal before deciding you would demand Leonard to tell you what the fuck you did wrong.

Jim said he could hear that first ‘conversation’ between you and the doctor all the way from the bridge... you were in the MedBay. You’re not sure you’ve ever yelled at someone so much, let alone someone you love, but it was like that for the rest of your time on the Enterprise. You couldn’t be amicable with one another, no matter how hard you tried.

“Y/N,” Jim nudges you with his elbow, “do you remember that?”

You blink away your daydream to find four sets of eyes on you and one pair intentionally avoiding you, “remember what?”

“When you weren’t wearing underwear and we-”

“Jim!” you smack his arm, “I thought you promised not to bring that up ever again.”

He wraps an arm around your shoulder, chuckling, “I’m sorry but I have a duty to never let that story die, it has to be one of the best days of my life.”

You roll your eyes but still join in the laughter of the captain, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty. You’re almost positive you see Leonard’s lip twitch, but he quickly lifts his glass and takes a huge gulp of beer. Once the laughter subsides, Jim squeezes you closer and sighs, “you know, it’s just not the same without you on the ship. I actually miss you, like, a lot.”

You gasp dramatically, “did James Tiberius Kirk just admit to feeling something?”

“I’m serious,” he says, “don’t you miss me?” His blue eyes are wide and pleading, tugging at your heartstrings.

“Of course I miss you,” you quickly look around your circle of friends, “I miss everyone. It wasn’t easy to leave, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

“Aw,” Jim coos, “do you mean it? You really miss me?”

You roll your eyes again despite the smile on your face, “yes, I really mean it.”

Leonard scoffs, “are you sure about that?”

You can feel the energy shift, everyone suddenly tense as you finally look up at him, “about what?”

“That you mean it.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” you ask, pulling away from under Jim’s arm.

Leonard shrugs, “sometimes people say things they don’t mean.”

“I guess,” you frown, “but why would I lie?”

“You tell me,” he replies, his expression unreadable as he takes another sip of beer.

You hesitate for a moment, the tension tangible as you scramble for words. “I’m confused,” you finally say, “Did I do something in the last twenty seconds to piss you off?”

He chuckles bitterly, “you know what? Don’t worry about it.”

The angry flame in your belly bursts into a bonfire, heating you from the inside and bordering your vision with red. “No,” you step forward ever so slightly, “you can’t just call me a liar and then tell me not to worry about it. What did I do?”

“Nothing, just forget about it. I’ll see you around,” he says, moving as if he intends to walk away.

“No!” you snap, taking another step toward him, “I won’t ‘forget about it’ either. This is not what I came here for, but if you have something to say, then say it. Or better yet, if you have something to feel, then feel it and stop pretending to be so fucking indifferent.”

He frowns, his hazel eyes full of an emotion you can’t seem to place. “Would you stop?” he murmurs, “you’re making a scene.”

Jim mumbles sarcastically behind you, “oh, how I miss the war.”

You ignore him, your glare locked on Leonard, “I’m making a scene? You’re the one that started it, but- oh wait,” you pause for dramatic effect, “that’s right; you can’t finish anything you start.”

The blow lands, because you can see the vein in his neck pulse even faster. Neither of you like to play too dirty, most of your ‘fights’ are just petty arguments, but every now and then a carefully crafted comment will remind each of you that if you wanted to, you could really hurt one another. You know Leonard isn’t proud of his divorce, and you know that bringing it up in any negative context can really get to him.

“Maybe you’re right,” his says in a low voice, “but at least I have the decency to walk away before I make a mess.”

It takes all of your self-control not to speak any louder than he did, “oh, you want to talk about making a mess?”

“No, because I’m going to leave before I say something I don’t mean.”

He turns and walks away before you can fully process what just happened. You can feel the red-hot colour of your cheeks as blood pumps through your veins twice as fast as normal, both from anger and embarrassment. Luckily, not many others noticed your little spat, and your friends had to deal with so much of that during your final weeks on the Enterprise that they’re not even phased.

You turn to Jim, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckles, once again wrapping an arm around your shoulders, “on the scale of Y/N versus Bones, that was like a four.”

You can’t help but giggle as he guides you toward the bar.

“It would have been a three,” you continue, “but I’ll award an extra point for the jab at his divorce.”

“Jim!” you scold, nudging his rib with your elbow.

He laughs again, louder, “what? If I have to deal with my two favourite people at war, then I’m going to make a game of it.”

You spend the rest of the night right beside Jim, trying to ignore the guilt growing bigger and uglier inside your stomach. Leonard doesn’t leave until a few hours later, having been caught by a group of his MedBay buddies who insist on fetching him drinks, and you can’t help from keeping him within your sight. You’re jealous of every single person who gets even a second of his attention or a smile directed their way, and when one of the cute young nurses leans in a little too close to him, you feel your drinks bubbling up your throat.

You decide to say goodbye mere minutes after you see the doctor walk out the door, leaving Jim to his merriment with the rest of the crew who are more than a little inebriated, though he doesn’t let you walk away until you pinkie-promise to join your friends at breakfast in the morning. That should be fun.

The walk back to your hotel feels longer than it did on the way to the party. Your feet are sore and heavy, and your stomach feels like its full of toxic waste that isn’t going to stay there for long. You didn’t even drink that much, you just can’t help feeling sick over your argument with Leonard and the way that nurse touched his arm.

You kick your shoes off the second you step into your room and wriggle out of your dress, throwing it on the floor along with everything else you can remove from your body before falling on the bed. Just as you’ve done for the past five months, you begin to play back every interaction you’ve had with Leonard since he told you to take the job at the academy, starting with the newest addition to the library from this evening. The first time you did this was the first night you spent at your cramped apartment on the academy’s campus; you thought if you dissected enough of the interaction, you might be able to figure out what went wrong. After a while you realised it had become a sort of comfort, simply remembering that Leonard did still exist and he is still out there. You often wonder if he thinks of you just as much, but you try not to feed the hope that still burns at the back of your chest, which is exactly why you’re only allowed to remember the fights and arguments. If you let your mind wander further back than that, you might not ever return to reality.

A chirp from your communicator wakes you, so you rub your eyes until you can read the cheeky message from Jim reminding you about your breakfast plans. You groan loudly as you throw the comforter back and quite literally roll out of bed. You’re not ready for another battle, but you do have unfinished business with Jim relating to your status of employment aboard the Enterprise, or lack thereof.

You hadn’t mentioned it last night because of, well, obvious reasons, but there is another factor contributing to your decision whether or not to forfeit your post as a part of Jim’s crew. Before you left, as if your boss knew this trip would tempt you to return to your friends, the academy offered you another position co-leading a brand-new programme for aspiring mechatronic engineers. It’s not necessarily your strength, but it sounds incredible, and to be amongst some of the most intelligent people in Starfleet would be nothing short of inspiring, but that meant giving up the Enterprise (and her crew) for good.

You quickly shower and change into comfortable clothes before packing most of your belongings into your duffel bag. You do have another night booked, but you’re not sure you’ll want to stay on Yorktown much longer if this morning doesn’t go well.

Unsurprisingly, Jim decided to have breakfast at the Starfleet base where most of the crew would be staying during their time on the starbase. It was just the same as the mess hall on the ship or at the academy, just a little newer with better food because most people passing through Yorktown were high-ranking or dignitaries from the Federation, and apparently, Jim Kirk was also one of those important people. The Enterprise crew were given a private buffet on the mezzanine level of the huge eating area, where two long tables were laid out with all the breakfast food you could imagine.

“I think we might have to warn Starfleet about giving the captain a big head,” Nyota says, falling into step beside you, “or soon there won’t be room for anyone else on the bridge.”

You giggle, “but if there’s no one else on the bridge, who’s going to compliment his luscious hair and his humble courage?”

She laughs too and even Spock cracks a tiny smile beside her.

“Hey Spock.”

“It is nice to see you again, Y/N,” he responds with a nod, “I regret not being able to spend more time with you last night.”

You wave your hand dismissively and continue toward the tables of food. Sulu soon joins the three of you and you chat idly while loading up plates full of food. Jim is standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall with a coffee in one hand and using the other to animate whatever intriguing conversation he and Scotty were having. You try not to acknowledge Leonard as you approach them.

“Hey,” Nyota whispers, “we don’t have to join them.”

You shake your head, “I’m calm, I’m sure of it.”

She can’t help but snicker quietly at the comically wide smile you force across your face as you reach your group of friends.

“Good morning gorgeous,” Jim greets you as you join them, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m surprised you’re here,” you say.

He rolls his eyes, “please, I have a liver of steel.”

You can’t hold back your laughter, “is that what that was on New Year’s Eve? It was your liver of steel that made you fall off the toilet and page Len because you couldn’t feel your left butt cheek?”

You laugh a little harder as you vividly recall the state Jim had been in that night, but the laughter from the rest of the group is soft and awkward, and only then do you realise what you said. Len. Only you called him that.

Jim clears his throat before it gets too uncomfortable, “uh, anyway, have you thought about your decision?”

“Oh,” you quickly swallow the piece of pancake you put in your mouth, “right into it, then.”

He shrugs sheepishly, “I kind of have to have an answer once I’m back on duty.”

“Well,” you sigh, “then I have to tell you about something else.” You steal a glance at Leonard, noticing his cheeks a darker shade of pink than usual and you wonder if it’s because of your slip up.

You explain the offer from your boss and the programme you’d be running to the group in front of you, trying to keep your voice neutral. You don’t want to seem too resentful of the tiny apartment and dark office you currently have, but you definitely don’t want any of them to think you’re more interested in the academy’s new initiative than returning to the Enterprise.

To everyone’s surprise, Leonard is the first to speak, “it’s a good programme, I’ve heard of it.”

“You’d leave for good?” Nyota asks, “give up your position on the Enterprise?”

“And surrender from the battle,” Jim chuckles, glancing between you and Leonard with a smirk. Nyota and Spock both give him their most disapproving parent stares, and his grin disappears, “sorry, not the time.”

“Well, I was kind of hoping my friends would help me decide,” you say, looking to each of them except Leonard.

“But you know what we’re going to say,” Nyota shrugs, “we want you to come back to the Enterprise.”

“I know, but,” you look pointedly at Scotty, “you can also understand that this is a huge opportunity. I just need some advice.” You know that above the rest, Scotty is the biggest advocate for your career, and you knew he would be the most excited about the programme at the academy.

“You’re right, lassie,” he sighs, “and I’d like to say I’ve missed you the most – it’s been hell down there with just Keenser – but I could never tell you not to take this offer. You’re young, and they’ve noticed you. If you go for this now, you’ll have endless opportunities at Starfleet.”

“But you also have endless opportunities on the Enterprise,” Jim argues. “The resources for your programme only just came in and we’re in the early stages of setting it up; you could take over and lead it. It is your baby.

Your pulse quickens with excitement at the idea of running your programme, but it’s been months since you had anything to do with it. “I’d feel bad taking it over from someone else,” you say, “I couldn’t do that.”

He shakes his head, “no one has been appointed to lead it yet.”

Sulu clears his throat, “well, Captain, we do have Mr. Scott and Dr. McCoy who could lead the programme aboard the Enterprise, and the offer Y/N has is huge. There are thousands in Starfleet who would kill for this opportunity. I miss her as much as anyone else, but she could assist remotely if we need her.”

Jim frowns at his lieutenant for not picking the same side of the argument.

“You’re right, Sulu,” you smile at him before countering Jim’s scowl, “Scotty and Dr. McCoy can run it. They’re the brains behind the whole thing anyway. All I did was pitch it, so really, my job is done.”

“Your job is not done,�� Nyota butts in, “you have no idea how hard the last few months have been without you.”

“That’s because I haven’t been replaced, the crew is down a man.”

“You’re not replaceable,” Jim states, his brows even closer than before, “no one could-”

“I’ll stop you right there, Captain,” you interrupt, “because there are plenty of incredible people in Starfleet who could do more than simply fill my shoes.”

Jim huffs, failing to find another counter argument.

“If I may, Y/N,” Spock says, taking half a step forward, “but you are seeking advice to assist in making the decision, are you not? Though you argue only with those who advise you to return to the Enterprise, which would suggest that you have already made this decision. Unless you are simply waiting for a better reason to return, or perhaps, for the right person to ask you to,” he pauses and turns to Leonard, “Dr. McCoy?”

The air is suddenly thick with tension, everyone gaping at Spock and wondering if they might have imagined what they just heard.

“Fire in the hole,” Jim murmurs into his cup as he takes a swig of coffee.

Leonard clears his throat, “I don’t particularly care what Y/N does, so I don’t think my opinion should matter.”

Jim coughs, almost choking on his drink, “and take cover.” He pats his chest and turns to Spock, “have I introduced you to our newest cadet in the archaeological research division? He’s amazing. Nyota, Scotty, you too.”

Without so much as a hint of subtlety, everyone disperses, leaving you and Leonard alone in the corner of the huge room.

Somehow, you find enough courage to turn to him and ask, “why did you tell me to leave?”

“I’ve answered this question a hundred times,” he sighs, “it was a great job opportunity. You would have been stupid not to take it.”

“No, this time I want the truth.”

He rolls his eyes, “why do you repeatedly insist on having this conversation, knowing exactly how it's going to end?”

You can only just hear him over the pounding of your heartbeat in your ears; rage and anticipation coursing through you as you stand between the doctor and the rest of the Enterprise crew. You’ve already embarrassed yourself last night, you might as well give it one last go before you make your decision.

“Because I want the real answer,” you reply, keeping your voice even, “so we’re going to keep having it until you tell me the truth.”

“Okay, you want my advice?” he says, “take the job and give up your position on the Enterprise so that I can be rid of you and this conversation for good.”

Once again, his words knock the breath from your lungs. You can almost feel the new fractures splitting your heart into even smaller pieces, but the pain moves to the back of your mind as you realise that he did just admit something that he hasn’t before.

“So…” you whisper, searching frantically for your voice, “it was about getting rid of me, not about the job.”

An array of emotions you can’t even attempt to read cross his face in less than a second before he settles on a frown, “look, I don’t have to explain myself to you. If anything, you owe me.”

“I owe you what?”

“An explanation.”

You frown too, “what for?”

“For what you said before you left!” he snaps.

You can practically feel the sets of eyes on your back multiply, more bystanders finding interest in the exchange happening at the back of the room.

“Len, we were at each other’s throats before I left,” you say, lowering your voice, “I’m sure we both said things we didn’t mean.”

You try for a second to remember something deep and personal he’d said to you in your final weeks on the ship, but nothing comes to mind. In fact, all you can remember is petty fighting and childish arguments. It was almost as if neither of you truly wanted to hurt the other, or at least, not acutely. You never brought up the deepest and darkest pieces of pain from each other’s history, knowing it would irreversibly damage the relationship between you. The closest you’ve gotten was last night when you hinted at his divorce, saying he couldn’t finish anything he started, and even then, you felt awful.

“Not that,” he mutters, "what you said after your meeting with the admiral.”

You frown again, “that I got the grant?”

“After that.”

You have to think for a minute, playing back that day in your head as you’ve done a thousand times. Only this time, you allow yourself to remember all of it, without blocking out the parts that made your heart hurt. You gasp quietly when you realise, slowly looking up at him, “y-you’re angry because I said I loved you?”

His expression is the softest you’ve seen it in months, his hazel eyes almost green behind the sadness filling them, “I’m not angry that you said it, I’m angry because you lied.”

Tears begin to blur your vision, but you refuse to let them fall, “why would I lie about that?”

“Don’t bother, alright?” he says before clearing his raspy throat, “I heard you talking to Nyota.”

“When?”

“When you went to meet her, after we- you know, in my office,” his cheeks turn the faintest shade of pink.

You shake your head, as if it should help clear your thoughts, “I’m confused.”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” he snaps again, though this time with a little less bite.

“Well clearly, I have no idea what is going on!” You don’t care who’s watching anymore, this is the closest you’ve ever been to actually finding out what happened.

He sighs, “You called me, by accident I guess, and I heard you. You told her that you only said it because it was awkward, that you were going to take it back because you got what you wanted, and that Jim-”

“I’ll get Jim to talk to him,” you cut him off, realisation smacking you across the face. You feel dizzy as everything hits you at once and a montage of memories rush through your head. The pieces of the puzzle you’d been trying to solve for months finally fall into place, and you finally know why Leonard broke your heart that day.

“Exactly,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

You’ve spent months wondering whether it was because of the job offer itself, or because you got the grant on his behalf, but Leonard wasn’t the type to be jealous of his friends. You wondered if he simply wasn’t ready for a new relationship, or if you’d scared him when you told him you loved him, but he said it first. You even wondered, very briefly, if he’d heard some stupid rumour about you and Jim, since you knew there were some of those around, but you’d spoken about it before, even laughed about it. You never considered that the whole thing could have been one, big, stupid misunderstanding.

Leonard frowns, “You can’t seriously tell me that you had no idea what happened until now.”

“Len, I-”

“No,” he shakes his head, “I really don’t want to-”

“Leonard, please,” you sigh “would you just give me five seconds.”

“You’ve had five months,” he exclaims, “and you still can’t admit it to my face?”

“Because you’re wrong,” you snap.

His frown disappears, “I’m what?”

“You don’t know what you think you know,” you say, clasping your hands over your stomach as another wave of nausea hits you.

"I heard you say it.”

You take a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves coursing through your veins like an electric current. “Yes,” you begin, “I said those things, but not about you. I-It was about the job, I… when I was in the meeting with the admiral, he offered me the job before he approved the grant, and I said yes... but I didn’t mean it. It was awkward and I needed him to say yes, so I accepted, but I never wanted the job. I didn’t want to leave the Enterprise; I didn’t want to leave you. I was in love with you. Jim was going to speak to the admiral for me, say that he couldn’t let me go, the ship needed me, and I had to run the programme, but then... well, you told me to go, so I-”

“Left,” he finishes for you, his eyes glassy as his mind wanders back to that night.

Your heart is thundering so loud you can’t even hear the commotion of the people behind you over the thrum of your pulse. Neither of you dare to speak, you don’t even know what to say. Six whole months of pain and anger, all because of a misunderstanding. If Leonard had asked you about the conversation he overhead, or if you asked him what was wrong instead of just leaving... you could have avoided the worst six months of your life. You feel stupid.

“You must hate me,” he finally says, every bit of anger gone from his voice, “I’m so sorry.”

Before you can respond, he steps to the side and strides right past you. He passes easily through the groups of people enjoying their breakfast, down the stairs, and out of the building.

-

“Ye’re barely off the ground for six months and ye already forget how ta solder straight,” Scotty shouts from the deck below.

You put down your tools and take two steps to lean over the railing and glare down at him, “for your information, I was never very good at soldering.”

He chuckles and waves a hand, returning his attention to the open machinery in front of him, ready to remedy your errors from attempting to fix it earlier. In your defence, you weren’t usually on the tools, but you wanted to be able to join in on the practical portion of the new programme when the time came, so you agreed to a month down in the warp core with Scotty to brush up on your skills. It’s been almost a week without incident, which you considered to be a personal record. Though you’re fairly sure it has nothing to do with your skills and everything to do with not wanting to end up in the MedBay.

Jim’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and you still haven’t spoken to Leonard since that morning. After he left, you went straight to Jim and told him you’d be back aboard the Enterprise effective immediately. You quit your job at the academy – luckily you were still within the probationary period – and had all of your belongings packed and shipped to the next Federation planet that the Enterprise is due at. You’ll be picking them up in a few days, but you honestly wouldn’t be too worried if they never showed up. You’re just happy to be home; it’s as if you never left. That is, except for Leonard.

You know you have to give him space, and obviously he wants nothing to do with you right now, so you can’t force yourself upon him even if you’d settle for just friends at this point. Your heart aches in a whole new way whenever you hear his name, but you haven’t yet run into him, and you’re not sure what will happen when you do.

“Shit,” you hiss, quickly pulling away from where you’re working to watch blood drip from your hand, “of course.”

“I told Scotty that it wasn’t a good idea putting a pretty girl like you down here,” Jim says as he wanders in from the corridor.

You scowl at him, “I’ll ignore the misogyny because I’m in pain. Can you get me the first aid kit?”

He chuckles, “I don’t think a bandage is going to cut it; you need stitches.”

“I do not,” you argue, despite the blood creating a small puddle at your feet.

“Yes, you do,” he insists, “and as a bonus, you can give Bones a heart attack.”

You take a clean rag and wrap it around your hand, allowing Jim to help as you ask him, “why would I give him a heart attack?”

He shrugs, “I’m not sure he knows you’re back aboard the ship.”

“Excuse me?”

“I haven’t spoken to him since Yorktown,” he clarifies, “I made sure he was okay after breakfast, but I didn’t tell him that you’d decided to return to the Enterprise. It didn’t seem like the time.”

You’re almost positive if looks could kill, Jim would dead on the floor right now. “But he’s the Chief Medical Officer,” you stress, “he has to know everyone aboard the ship.”

“Yes,” Jim says, “and no, there are a lot of crew members.”

“He would have had to sign me back on!”

Jim can’t help but laugh again at the way your voice cracks. “He’s been sick,” he states, “since we boarded. Doctor Gronan has been standing in for him until yesterday.”

“Doctor Gronan signed me back on,” you mutter to yourself.

“Yep.”

“Then why wouldn’t you tell him?” you exclaim.

Your captain laughs once again, shrugging as he replies, “I thought it would be fun to see how long it took him to find out.”

“This isn’t a game!”

“But it is fun.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“After you get stitched up, come on,” he sighs, guiding you toward the corridor by your shoulders, “I assume you know the way?”

“I’m familiar,” you reply, dragging your feet into the bright white hallway.

“Excellent, no detours, but first, where’s Scotty?”

“Deck below,” you mumble.

“Thank you,” he gives you a cheeky wink, “now, on your way.”

Your pulse quickens with every step you take toward the MedBay, which you’re pretty sure is why the rag you’re holding begins to soak with blood. Other crew members watch you hurry through the ship with concern, and by the time you reach the MedBay, you’re trailing little red droplets across the floor. The moment Leonard looks up from his PADD, he goes paper white and his eyes practically double in size. Despite being obviously unsettled, he looks good; you could never get sick of seeing him in his uniform.

“Hey,” you say, stepping closer to him in order to deter bystanders from eavesdropping.

He swallows thickly, “hi.”

Another beat of silence passes because you hold up your injured hand, “um, I’m bleeding.”

“Shit, sorry,” he finally notices the bloody rag, “come with me.”

You follow him into one of the treatment rooms and sit on the bed, legs swinging over the side as he pulls the stool and cart over to you.

“Sorry,” he says again as he arranges the equipment on the cart, “I- um, I didn’t know you were back.”

“I know, Jim thought it would be funny.”

He looks up suddenly, that familiar frown knitting his brows.

“I didn’t know,” you clarify, “I assumed you had signed me aboard and were just avoiding me.”

His frown softens and he opens his mouth to reply but hesitates, instead returning his attention to the bloody rag wrapped around your hand. He nods for you to show him, so you extend your arm and allow him to remove the make-shift bandage. You try not to wince when the material pulls on a dried bit of blood, but you can’t help your hand from twitching. Leonard’s own hand cups yours out of instinct; a comforting gesture that wouldn’t mean a thing to you from any other doctor but means everything from Leonard. He looks up at you, as if asking permission to continue touching you, waiting for you to nod before he starts cleaning the cut.

“Let me know if I hurt you,” he mutters.

Ironic... you think, though choose not to say it aloud. You nod again, “okay.”

Another few minutes pass as he finishes cleaning the cut, numbs your skin, and prepares to stitch it closed. He holds the dermal regenerator a few inches from your hand and it begins to whir softly, shooting out a blue beam that sews the skin back together. You let your eyes wander from the healing cut to where the doctor is touching you, his warm skin beneath the glove making yours tingle all the way up your arm and into your chest, waking up the butterflies that live in your rib cage. Their fluttering wings make it hard to breathe, and that familiar sense of anticipation and giddiness takes over any feelings of contempt or anger.

The regenerator stops and he looks up to meet your gaze, his pupils doubling their size, “all done.”

You flex your hand, “feels brand new.”

 “Give it a minute,” he says, “keep stretching, and I’ll check it over before you go.”

You watch him pack away the cart and dispose of all the bloody gauze. His hands work fluidly, not once hesitating as his muscle memory tells them where to put each tool or piece of equipment. He pulls his gloves off and for some stupid reason your heart leaps; heat flushes through your whole body, concentrating in a tight ball just below your belly as your mind replays all the things those hands have done to you.

“Let me have a look.”

You willingly put your hand back in his, praying your cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. He presses gently around the faint line where your cut had been, glancing up with each new area he pushes on to see if you wince or react at all.

“Looks good,” he lets go of you hand and rolls back on the stool, “you can go back to work, just don’t lift anything heavy and please wear gloves.”

You try to fight the sheepish grin tugging at your lips, “yes, sir.”

His cheeks flush pink and you can’t help being a little proud. He stands up, avoiding your gaze as he picks up his PADD to check off a few more things, no doubt clearing you to return to work. You slide off the bed and straighten your uniform, trying to think of something else to say so you don’t have to leave. Should you make up an illness, or is that too desperate? This is the most amicable interaction you’ve had in months; you don’t want it to end.

“I jus’ want to say,” he clears his throat, “I am really-”

“I know,” you interrupt, “and it’s okay, you don’t have to apologise.”

He frowns, “you’re not angry?”

You sigh and lean back against the bed, “well, I thought about it, at first, but then realised that I gave up on us just as quickly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You told me to leave, and I left,” you reply, “I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t argue, I didn’t fight it, I just left.”

His frown doesn’t move, only his eyes, raking up and down your body twice before settling on your lips and turning that warmth below your belly into a full-blown bonfire.

“Besides,” you continue, your nerves forcing you to fill the silence, “if I honestly believed I'd heard my boyfriend tell someone that he regretted saying he loved me, I’d probably react the same way... or worse.”

He cracks a small smile and your heart races as if you’d just run five miles, but the light-heartedness on his face disappears just as quickly as it had come. “Ex-boyfriend,” he says.

You frown, “what?”

“You said boyfriend, you meant ‘ex-boyfriend’.”

“Oh,” you nod slowly, “well, actually, I don’t think I remember breaking up.”

He actually laughs, only a short chuckle, but it’s the best thing you’ve heard in months.

“I’m serious!” you insist, laughing despite your words, “neither of us actually said the words.”

His smile fades, and he looks back down at his PADD before you can figure out the new expression on his face, “regardless of words being said, I’m sure other things happened that-”

You cut him off, “what ‘other’ things?”

“I’m not naive,” he chuckles bitterly, “I’m sure there were plenty of Starfleet’s finest that were more than eager to meet the gorgeous new engineer.”

“Oh,” you know your cheeks are now glowing red, “thanks, I think, but- uh, no, I didn’t sleep with anyone.”

He looks up again, a mixture of confusion and something else you can’t quite place written across his face. Panic clouds your thoughts as you wonder whether he has slept with anyone in the time you were away. You hadn’t even considered it, hadn’t tortured yourself with that possibility because deep down he was still yours, it was almost as if a part of you knew it wasn’t over.

“Why not?” he asks.

You shrug, “too heartbroken.”

He drops his PADD on the nearest tabletop, sighing, “you have no idea how sorry I am.”

“Len, I told you-”

“Let me apologise,” he demands, stepping forward until his chest is an inch from your nose, “I need to apologise, because I don’t think I will ever stop hating myself for losing my one reason for existing.”

You gasp and then quickly forget how to breathe, holding the air in your lungs as if the slightest movement would wake you up from whatever wild dream you’d fallen into. You stare up at him, unblinking.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, hooking a finger beneath your chin.

You still can’t breathe, and your head starts to spin as he slowly closes the distance between your mouths.

“If you want me to stop,” he murmurs, his lips practically brushing yours, “just tell-”

“Shut up,” you mutter, before pushing up onto your toes and pressing your mouth against his.

His hands find your waist and your bodies snap together, like two magnets alone in their own field void of any other gravitational pull. His lips taste the same, his tongue moves exactly the way you know, and he feels like home.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers again, your mouths barely parting before his lips catch your breath again.

You step back until your bum bumps into the bed, and with the slightest effort, he lifts you onto it. His hands spread your knees, allowing him to nestle between them as his touch makes its way up your body to your neck, the heat of his skin on yours pulling the knot below your belly even tighter. You slide forward ever-so-slightly, unable to stop yourself from grinning when you feel the hardness of him rub between your legs.

He groans and tightens a hand around the front of your neck, “careful, darlin’.”

Your grin grows wider, “I missed you.”

He pulls back and his hands return to your waist. His skin is flushed and his pupils blown wide, his lips swollen and red, and you’re almost convinced you’ve died and gone to heaven. “I missed you too,” he says, before pressing a gentle kiss against your lips.

“Do you two know there are cameras in here?” Jim asks, appearing at the door and startling both of you, “or do you just have some kinky preference for being watched?” His smirk stretches from one ear to the other, and he attempts to appear casual by leaning against the door frame but his bright eyes are sparkling with mischief.

“Do you watch all the surveillance footage, or do you just have some kinky preference for the MedBay?” you retort, your fingers curling into the fabric of Leonard’s shirt to keep him in place.

He doesn’t even try to turn around for obvious reasons in his pants, but throws an irritated scowl over his shoulder, “really, Jim?”

Jim chuckles, “what’s the matter, Bones?”

“You,” Leonard snaps, “you’re the matter!”

“Why can’t you turn around?” he asks, his voice laced with evil intent.

You reach for the small pillow at the top of the bed and lob it across the room at him, “would you fuck off?”

He laughs again, “no need to be so rude, I just wanted to see my two best friends!”

Leonard rolls his eyes, his grip on your hips tightening, “you’re about to see a lot more than you’ve bargained for if you don’t fuck off.”

Your stomach flips and a warm, tingly sense of anticipation spreads throughout your whole body.

“Fine,” Jim sighs, pushing off the door frame and taking a step back, “I’ll just watch the cameras.”

“Get out!” Leonard exclaims, turning around as Jim cackles and hurries away.

Leonard presses the button for the door to slide shut and another button to lock it.

“You don’t think he’s really going to watch the cameras, right?” you ask.

He returns to the space between your legs, splaying his hands across your thighs where your dress has ridden up, “probably.” His hands slide up under your dress and you instinctively straighten your spine, tilting your head back in a desperate attempt to get your mouth closer to his.

He stays just out of reach, his breath hot on your lips as he speaks, “so you better be a good girl and put on a show.”

END.

[otomiyaa]

Arataki Misfortune

A/N: This fic just kinda feels like it wrote itself, and it's a little nuts. But I had fun with it! Still a little bit more until the poll ends, but I officially declare Aether the winner lololol.

Summary: Aether finds himself in quite the situation when he accidentally assists in the Arataki Gang's mischief and gets caught and interrogated for it. (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 4.9K

The situation was... not ideal, to say the least. Aether squirmed a little. His hands were bound behind his back and his ankles were tied together as well, making it difficult to move around without hopping and tripping awkwardly.

While the officers were unaware of his identity and had treated him a little harshly, they'd put him in quite an okay room with comfortable tatami floor, albeit a bit small, but it wasn't a prison cell. Not yet.

Aether managed to get himself in a sitting position on the floor and he sighed. He couldn't believe he got himself in this situation. He had been an invitee. An invitee, official guest, for this special international conference that was being held in Inazuma.

Multiple people from all over Teyvat were here, including some of his own friends. But instead of attending the event normally, Aether got caught up in shady activities with the Arataki Gang.

Without an invitation, Arataki Itto had urged Aether to cleverly sneak him inside, without giving the details of his plan. He was just so eager to meet Aether's foreign friends, and although he did admit that besides the connections he was especially interested in the yummy snacks the event would provide, Aether hadn't really thought much of it.

Itto was a professional at bugging Paimon and him, so they agreed to help him out just this time and be rid of the whining. Naive as he was, Aether just didn't see the problem of one more guest at the event, and that guest was someone he considered a friend who deserved a nice evening out.

Besides, even though Aether was a normal guest and not a guest of honor or something, a lot of people knew him well so he figured they would get away with it even if they got caught.

It wasn't that simple. It appeared that the Oni's plan was not to only attend the conference as he had claimed, but to sneak out some of the international food and beverage, and apparently bring them to the gang's own secret event venue where they hosted a similar conference, but for 'lower class' merchants, assistants and other people, to celebrate the international relations in true fashion.

Not just by merely stuffing his pockets. More like a suitcase full. And here Aether thought Itto had been trying to appear all fancy to blend in, with his pretty suitcase and formal outfit.

Three other problems added to Aether's case of misfortune.

Problem 1: In his 'innocent' attempts at merely raiding the yummy edibles, Arataki Itto had actually also confiscated some high class supply of rare liquor from Liyue and Fontaine. Not just some simple foreign alcoholic drinks to drink at the pub, but high-end bottles worth tons of mora. He probably didn't even have a clue.

Problem 2: Aether was not informed about the details of Itto's plan at all, that sneaky bastard. He trusted Aether enough to assist, but not to be entrusted with the details of it, including the location of this event they were organizing, and not even inviting him to join it!

Problem 3: Aether was acknowledged as an official member of the Arataki Gang, even if he didn't see it that way himself. He only joined some of their activities and was definitely friends with Itto, but a real member of the gang? Questionable. Unfortunately the Tenryou Commission wasn't stupid. They had seen him with Itto, and witnesses could link Itto's attendance to Aether as they both stood out.

And they did what was only logical to do in this situation. They captured him!

"Traveler," Heizou said formally. He just arrived in the room and faced Aether while holding a notebook.

They had taken Paimon into custody in a separate room to question her, and Aether felt bad for getting even Paimon in this situation when she had been the most reluctant to help Itto and his cute puppy eyes.

"Heizou," Aether said with a smile. It was a relief that Shikanoin Heizou came to meet him first, and he trusted he would let him go easily. It wasn't that much of an interesting case for the talented detective after all, and even though Heizou was loyal to his job, he was also Aether's friend, and not even necessarily on real bad terms with Gang Leader Itto.

But Aether then remembered that the Tenryou Commission was more about rules than friendship and they hadn't really hesitated to put some gang members into prison before, including Itto himself, so he held his breath. He was probably safe, but still needed to take care of this situation with grace and care.

Heizou sighed. "As you know, we have captured you due to your connections with the Arataki Gang and your involvement in today's crime."

So formal. And crime? Wasn't that a bit heavily worded? Heizou didn't even address his uncomfortable position; tied up as if he posed a threat, but Aether also didn't feel like complaining about it. Heizou's colleagues had done what they needed to do, which included tying him up.

"Right?" Heizou demanded. Oh, Aether wasn't even aware this was something he should answer, and he nodded politely.

"Yes. I'm aware." He was unable to completely deny his involvement after all, and Heizou continued.

"Of course we won't just arrest you and send you to prison, that's not really what I wish to do. But since you are the Arataki Gang's accomplice, I can't say you are completely risk-free."

Hmm.

"However, if you cooperate with us, I'm confident we can find our way around the rules and let you off with a warning. So, it would be appreciated if you help us interrupt their unauthorized event, catch the gang, and retrieve the stolen goods. They are guilty of theft among other crimes."

Aether was sure Itto didn't see it as theft. The food and drinks at the event were provided for free to the attendees. And even though yes, he attended without invitation thanks to Aether, the Oni probably would laugh it off and claim he just had a little more of a snack! He was a big guy! Hungry and thirsty! Aether chuckled at that thought.

"So you think that's funny?"

Oh shit. Aether quickly held back his grin, but he now understood how smug he must've appeared.

"N-no, sorry," he apologized, feeling guilty if it seemed that he disrespected Heizou and his job. The young detective sighed.

"If you and Paimon cooperate, we can settle this with ease. But you'll need to tell me of the gang's plans and whereabouts."

See, that was the problem. "I don't know."

It was the truth, but Heizou glared at him. "I was afraid that was going to be your answer," he sighed. Especially after his accidental chuckle, Aether realized he wasn't very convincing.

"I swear I don't know," he said. This interrogation was going to be short and easy if he didn't know where Itto and his gang were anyway.

"Besides, I'm sure thatー" Aether was going to say that if they were going to be patient, the gang would return the valuables of their own accord at some point, since they were really not that vile.

They were wild, chaotic, a pain to deal with yes, sometimes, but they were not evil criminals. If they knew they stole bottles that expensive, they would make it their dramatic mission to return them even if it meant breaking into the event venue again, rather than sell the loot or keep it to themselves.

But Aether then realized they weren't just valuables. They were valuable liquor bottles. Without knowing their worth, he was sure the gang would pour glasses full, treating their guests and themselves to these luxurious drinks as if they were cheap wines and beers, until the last drop. Aether chuckled again. Shit, that wasn't supposed to be so funny in his head.

Heizou squinted his eyes at Aether's second chuckle. "Fine then. Well. Since some of your closer friends and acquaintances are actually attending this conference, we have taken the liberty to question a couple of them. Of course they all claim that you are innocent and not deserving of even a day in prison. But... Like I said, if you refuse to cooperate, I am afraid it's going to be difficult to defend your position."

He paused for a moment. "And so, your friends are willing to help. I was hoping you'd be honest with me since we are quite familiar, but if this is not the case, let's see if you can keep up your act in the presence of your dear friends."

Heizou went back to the door and called out: "Let them in!"

Aether was impressed to see who they chose to involve. Kamisato Ayato seemed like a logical choice, but with him were also Kaeya and Childe, of all people.

With the nature of today's event, it wasn't surprising to have the Knights of Favonius, Fatui and Yashiro Commission all represented, but seeing them together in this specific setting and walk in like some sort of comedic trio, Aether raised his eyebrows in surpise and couldn't help but giggle.

Sadly Heizou noticed that and he glared again, probably suspecting him of seeing this case as a joke and holding back information on purpose.

"Report to me when he speaks," Heizou ordered them. He eyed Aether one more time before heading out. Pfft, so cold, Heizou! He must be hurt and disappointed that Aether was lying to him. Probably also a bit torn between their friendship and his duty. If only he knew Aether really wasn't lying.

Aether smiled innocently. "Well hello there. Are you here to free me?" Ayato, Childe and Kaeya exchanged glances.

"Of course we are," Ayato said. Aether had hoped the commissioner would simply say that he had enough influence in Inazuma to free him right away, untie him and invite him for drinks, but sadly he didn't.

"As soon as you tell us where Itto took the valuables, we can free you and you'll be enjoying the conference by our side in no time. Right? You are still our distinguished guest after all, Traveler," Ayato said politely.

Childe smirked. "Exactly. You know we wouldn't want to see you and the little fly (Paimon) in prison for a crime you didn't commit. You don't need to stick up for that lousy gang. It's alright to save your own butt, Traveler~" What was he so smug about?

Kaeya nodded. "I didn't come all the way to Inazuma to see my dear friends get arrested. So tell us, where are the Oni and his gang hiding? It's all they need to know. Say it, and you're both free to go."

Feeling slightly disappointed in them, Aether sighed. Did they really think he was lying? They should question Paimon instead then. She would have even less reason to defend Itto and his gang, but she wasn't going to speak either because they didn't know!

"I swear I don't know," he insisted.

Childe chuckled and turned to the others. "He's always been so loyal. If it were me, he would've protected me too."

Aether wouldn't doubt it. Even if he and Childe didn't always see eye to eye, he couldn't imagine ratting him out in a similar situation. So he nodded in agreement, but then quickly shook his head. The fact that he would protect his friends did not exactly defend his case here!

"I am really telling the truth!"

He really tried. He was telling the truth, but it still wasn't convincing enough.

"Are you? I doubt it. We're doing this for your own good, you know."

Aether knew and trusted that fully. None of them were the kind of people who would betray their friend, nor fear their reputation might be ruined if said friend turned out to be a bad person. Well, of course surely Childe wasn't, but Ayato and Kaeya despite their positions were definitely not like this either.

The only reason why they would cooperate with the Tenryou Commission like this was because they wanted to keep him out of prison and help him out, for his own sake, which was actually sweet.

Aether smiled fondly. Sadly despite their attempts, he could not give them information he didn't have.

"I know. And I'm thankful. But I don't know where the gang is. All I know is that they would not steal such expensive liquor on purpose." He decided to leave out the little detail that he feared they might obliviously consume all of it. Other than that he was still honest.

"If you would convince them to let me go, I can maybe help find them."

"And escape, to join their little party? I think not," Childe said. Aether gasped in surprise, offended by the accusation.

"I wouldn't!"

Childe gave a nod in the others' direction. "If you don't mind, I think I know a way to make him speak." As if Aether wasn't already speaking! Well, not the things they wanted to hear, but still!

"W-what....?" Aether eyed the Harbinger suspiciously as he approached. Childe chuckled and grabbed his bound hands, pulling him forward.

"Just a little something to convince you with~" he sang. With his free hand he reached out, and Aether did not really expect any of this until the touch landed.

"HIAYh!" He spazzed and let out the weirdest noise as soon as Childe grabbed his side. No way. Satisfied with his reaction to the mere touch, Childe turned to smile at the others.

"He's ticklish, you know?" Childe slowly traced his fingers from Aether's side towards his bare stomach, making him shudder and giggle.

Oh they knew. Aether's eyes widened, his life flashing by - or well, the specific moments when Kaeya, Ayato and Childe had all separately teased him with this specific weakness of his.

They had made him laugh, jump and giggle on multiple occasions, and although yes he was deadly ticklish, he also didn't mind it that much. In fact, he enjoyed a good tickle fight, especially if there was a chance to win it, even if the chance was small. All fun and games.

But now, he was tied up and it was three against one. There was zero chance to win or even avoid it. Were they really going to do this? As a means to interrogate him? Gain information from him which he didn't even have?

Kaeya and Ayato smirked knowingly.

"I like the way you think," Kaeya said.

Ayato also gave a humble nod. "Hm.. Tickle him until he speaks the truth? Not a bad idea," he agreed.

This was not the way Aether had thought to see the Cavalry Captain, Yashiro Commissioner and Eleventh Harbinger collaborate! But the moment the tall men approached him, he jumped up like a wild rabbit and tried to gracelessly hop away, only to trip immediately and he fell right into Ayato's arms.

"Got him," he said calmly, and he turned Aether around, pinning him against his chest. Meanwhile Kaeya and Childe approached him with wiggling fingers.

"Now laugh a little, then tell us the truth, you loyal little Traveler," Childe sang. As if Childe cared anything about the Arataki Gang or the liquor theft in general.

Besides protecting him from Inazuma's law, Aether also knew that Childe was just having way too much fun with this, which only decreased his chances of getting out of this predicament without laughing himself to death first.

"Wahahait nohoho! Y-you can't dohoho this!" he cackled, struggling against Ayato, but Childe already ran his fingers up and down his ticklish sides.

"You barely started," Kaeya commented, chuckling at Aether's response to the soft tickle. No shit! They knew he was this ticklish, they shouldn't be this surprised!

Ready to pull out a bratty attitude, Aether tried to protest, but to his surprise, Ayato simply reached under his arms and dug in, gently, but also firm enough for it to tickle. A lot.

"WAhhhah!" Aether jumped against him and twisted from side to side. His hands that were trapped behind his back could do nothing to defend his underarms from those sneaky fingers that wriggled around there to tickle him.

Meanwhile Kaeya stood on the side as if he was the interrogation master of all.

"Already willing to tell us some more?" he asked. Aether shook his head and laughed loudly.

"Nohoho! I cahahan't!" He caught the amusement in Childe's eyes. He must be relieved that he wasn't cooperating, for he loved to bully him like this and most likely wanted it to last as long as possible.

When Ayato was too busy tickling his armpits without holding him steady, Aether found himself stumbling forward, and because he desperately tried to avoid Childe and his villain aura, he turned into Kaeya's direction. A mistake.

Catching him around the middle, Kaeya held him almost as if welcoming a friendly hug, but he immediately clawed at both sides of Aether's ribcage, making him shriek.

"I suspected you were going to be tough, but I admire your efforts, Traveler," he complimented. Besides blushing and laughing, Aether couldn't do much else.

"Let me," Childe demanded, simply taking Aether from Kaeya and holding him tightly as if he was just an item to be claimed. With both hands he reached for Aether's tummy and tickled him mercilessly. They were so mean!

"Chihihilde! No-nohoho! D-don't ahahaha!" Aether was a mess already, and bound to become a bigger mess when his legs lost their strength to keep him upright. He sank through his knees, but Childe moved along with him and lowered Aether into his lap.

"You can try to keep up your act, Traveler. But I'll assure you, you're way too ticklish for this," he said, pinning Aether down on top of him and tickling him without mercy.

To Aether's horror, both Ayato and Kaeya knelt down as well, cornering him completely in between them. When kneeling down, the three of them were not as tall and threatening, but definitely not less dangerous.

While Kaeya decided to dig his fingers into his thighs which he could reach very well from his position, Ayato sat at his feet, and Aether only needed to glance at him and see the way he stared at his feet, to know he was screwed.

In Inazuman style, the officers hadn't trapped him in a tatami floor- room without taking off his boots first, so now his poor unprotected feet suffered from Ayato's death stare before he finally reached for them and made him yelp already with a single touch.

"Let's try this differently," Ayato started while he raked his fingers up and down Aether's bare soles.

"Do you confess that you fabricated an invitation, aided in Arataki Itto's disguise, lied to the officers and snuck him into the conference?"

Aether's eyes widened and he threw his head back when the tickling on his feet got just as demanding as the questioning.

"YEHe-yehehes!" he admitted. Being phrased and summed up like this, it sounded worse than it actually was. To him it was just dress-up and a little prank. Not that serious.

"Hmm, alright then. Do you also admit that you knew about the gang leader's intentions of stealing food and drinks from the event?"

More tickling. Not just Ayato, but still all three of them, wrecking his sensitive body with their evil fingers.

Aether gasped and let out a helpless shriek. "N-nohoho! I dihihidn't knooow!" he howled. He could hear hums of disapproval from all three.

"And we were going so well," Childe sang. Aether shook his head again.

"I reheheally dihidn't knohohow! H-he dihihidn't tehheell mehehe!"

Kaeya responded by moving a hand under his legs to lift them slightly, so he could slip his fingers under his knees to tickle that awfully ticklish area. Aether went from widening his eyes to squeezing them shut while he howled like an animal.

"Excuses, if you ask me. Do you really claim you were not aware at all that he was stuffing his suitcase? With the liquor in particular," he questioned.

"Did you not help cover this up?"

W-wah! No, he had not been aware! But in his defense, no one had been aware! There were people everywhere at this conference! Crowds! No one saw!

"I swehehear I dihihidn't! N-no one dihihid ahahaha!" Itto was a sneaky Oni after all. Clumsy maybe and a chaotic mess, but at the same time calculated, clever and sneaky. At this point, Aether still had no idea how he managed it behind everyone's back.

Childe shook his head. "Is it me or are you enjoying this? You're, as we can see, laughing and lying a lot after all."

Mean! Laughing, yes. Lying, no!

"Plehehease belieheheheve mehehe!" Aether laughed. "Ahahask Pahahaimon!"

If they asked Paimon and heard the same answers it had to be convincing!

"Do not worry, Paimon is getting questioned as we speak. But don't forget that both of you are in trouble," Ayato said in a bossy tone, and that while tickling his soles with the quickest most ticklish scribbles.

"Nooooohoho!" Aether wailed. It tickled so much, and he could still handle it, but perhaps not for long if this would go on and on.

"While time is ticking away and you are laughing to your heart's content, the valuables are in danger. I suggest you speak up soon," Kaeya said. He did not go easy on Aether's poor ticklish legs in the meantime.

"Naaahahaha!" Aether cried. "It's so duhuhumb!" Overwhelmed by hysterical laughter and ticklish reactions, he accidentally spoke these words. One by one they stopped tickling him and he gasped for air.

"Dumb?" Ayato asked.

Aether nodded tiredly. "W-why would there be such expensive liquor a-at the event anyway?" he panted. It didn't make sense to him. But to his surprise, the look on Childe's face darkened.

"Why do you think?"

O. Probably, Childe brought them. Probably as a gift. Typical. Aether glared at him, still blushing and wheezing.

"Were you even invited? Or - did you also sneak in?" he asked the Fatui Harbinger. Again, slip of the tongue, but how could he not? The Fatui was literally everywhere they could go, including places where they weren't allowed. Childe looked at Kaeya and then at Ayato.

"Sorry, but he's giving me an attitude," Childe chirped, and before Kaeya and Ayato responded, he gathered Aether's bound hands in one of his larger hands and he yanked them to the side, pinning them even more firmly. With his free hand he started to tickle his now helplessly exposed underarm and ribs without mercy.

Aether let out an uncharming scream in surprise. "CHiiiiiiiilde ahhaha nohoho dohohon't!"

"Who's doing the questioning here, Aether? I'm sure it isn't you," Childe said vengefully. Since Childe seemed to do plenty of the job by himself, Aether noticed vaguely that Ayato and Kaeya both released him again.

"Plehehehease- I'm sohohorry!"

"Oh, you're sorry now?"

The session turned from an interrogation into some cheap tickle torture, and Aether swore he would get Childe back someday for this stunt.

Even when the door opened, Childe didn't stop tickling him.

"The questioning next door has ended." Aether could barely hear Heizou's voice. He glanced tiredly into their direction, at the way Heizou mumbled inaudible words to inform Ayato and Kaeya while Childe took the liberty of tickling Aether to death.

"Plehehease hehehehelp mehehe!" Aether kicked out his bound legs and flopped helplessly in Tartaglia's clutches.

Finally, Heizou's conversation with the others finished and he clapped his hands.

"Alright. That's enough."

Childe pouted. "Awww," he whined, but he did stop the tickle attack, allowing Aether to catch his breath.

"Release him," Heizou said. Wait, what? Childe was also confused.

"But why?" he asked. Did he sound... disappointed?! Kaeya and Ayato stepped forward and helped free him from Childe's clutches. They untied his hands and feet and patted him on the back. Just before Aether could ask what the hell was going on, Paimon appeared, together with... Oh.

"Hello," they all greeted stiffly. Alhaitham, Zhongli and Neuvillette? These were the people who had been questioning Paimon?

"Traveler!" Paimon fell dramatically in Aether's arms.

"What happened?" Aether asked, still a bit in a tickle-daze.

"They just asked me everything that happened! They said if I told them the truth, they would treat me to a free luxury meal later!"

In other words, they bribed her. Aether chuckled and looked at the three men. Neuvillette smiled.

"The whole situation was explained and we came to the conclusion it was an accident."

Aether gaped at him and then at Heizou. The detective nodded. "They were all convinced. So was I."

They believed Paimon, but not him? Zhongli gave a nod. "Paimon was truthful, we could tell by how much she wanted the reward."

"B-but I was truthful too!" Aether squeaked. Heizou bowed his head and looked like he felt bad.

"The Arataki Gang is still guilty, but we will deal with them when we track them down. It is no longer right to punish you, if you were not involved. I mean, not involved completely," he said.

Aether still felt Ayato and Kaeya's hands supporting him. He then glared at Childe who stood sheepishly on the side.

"O-oh? Well, it's solved then. Right?" he said with a merry smile. Aether clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He then smiled.

"Heizou."

The detective froze. "Y-yes?" Aw, he really did feel guilty for treating Aether the way he did.

"If you promise not to get me arrested after I'm finished with him, we're even," Aether said, pointing at Childe. Heizou looked at the both of them and nodded politely.

"It's a deal."

"Wait why just me?! No waaait!" Childe yelled, but now that Aether's hands were untied and he had the elements under control again, he was determined to chase Childe for a suitable revenge. As for Kaeya and Ayato, well. He would deal with them some other time.

Epilogue

Inazuman prison wasn't all that bad actually. At least, not this section of it. Aether walked through the corridors as he was guided to his visitee.

Finally reaching his cell, he was left alone with him, and he gazed through the bars at Itto's back.

Aether stared at him, feeling a little guilty. This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't agreed to letting him into the event.

Itto was bending forward, his back still towards Aether, and he didn't even seem to notice he was here.

Or was he upset, and did he know Aether was here and was he angry? Before Aether was about to call out his name, Itto suddenly screeched.

"IT'S A WIN FOR BOBO NO. TWO WOOHOOOHOOOO!"

..... Everyone in prison should have heard that. Itto then turned around and noticed Aether.

"Oh, Traveler! Hello!" Aether gaped at the two beetles before him. Was Itto having a solo Onikabuto brawl? Aether snorted.

"Hello," he greeted, still grinning despite feeling guilty. "Are you... alright?"

In the end the misfortune was as bad as it could be. As Aether had feared, all of the liquor had been consumed at the party, but at least they had fun. While the confessions of each gang member resulted in a pretty convincing story that they really were not aware, it didn't change the fact that Itto infiltrated the event and did some bad things.

Result? One night in jail (next to a longer time of community service). Well, it could be worse. But still, it was a night, and Aether felt obliged to visit him there. Luckily, Itto didn't seem to care at all.

"Are you worried about me? Of course I'm alright! Don't worry. They just want to assert dominance. Keeping me in here for one night won't change anything. I'll entertain myself anyway."

Aether laughed and felt relieved. "But why didn't you tell me? Any of it. From the event to the plan in general," he asked, still curious. Itto looked like a guilty dog, but if he had a tail, it would be wagging.

"I'm sorry, Traveler. I just didn't want to get you into trouble. You already helped me so much. Besides, you were going to have fun at the event with your friends. Don't mind me - is what I thought. In the end it brought you only more trouble, and I'm sorry," Itto sighed.

Well, a surprise tickle torture and interrogation, but Aether couldn't really call it trouble. He smiled.

"It's okay. No need to apologize." The mood lifted again when Itto raised his head, smirking.

"One little secret between you and me though," he hissed, and he signaled Aether should come closer. Aether stepped closer to the cell and listened.

"That oh-so expensive, rare, luxurious liquor? ......Tasted like dog piss. Hahaha!" Itto's laugh was so loud Aether flinched because of it, but soon he joined in and laughed along.

Well, even though Arataki Itto along with the gang had gotten him in that crazy situation, looking back, Aether didn't regret any of it. Besides, he got to have some fun, and a lot of laughs out of it. Rather than misfortune, what he thought at first, he would consider it just fortune, and he could only smile at the fun memory.

[hazelsmirrorball]

The Bodyguard | Hazel Callahan 

summary: Hazel Callahan has a love-hate relationship with her bodyguard, Y/n.  pairings:  Fem!Bodyguard reader x Rockstar!Hazel Warnings: English isn’t my main language so excuse any errors.  a/n: watched bottoms again with my mom! She couldn’t understand a word because she isn’t that good in english. Hope you guys like it!

Y/n stepped out of the venue escorting Hazel Callahan out with her hand resting firmly on her lower back. Both of them headed towards the tour bus so they could finally end their long night. That was Y/n’s job, keeping sensational rockstar Hazel Callahan safe away from harm's way, not being in annoying phone calls about her boss’s attitude. Y/n held onto Hazel’s bag while she pinched her phone between her shoulder and her ear, attending a conference meeting with Hazel’s team. 

She stopped in her tracks as she let out a sigh, nodding at the words coming out of the phone. Y/n quickly removed her hand from Hazel back to rub her temples clearly annoyed out of her mind.  Hazel followed her actions noticing that her footsteps had stopped. She turned around to face Y/n with an exhausted look on her face. She had been doing shows back to back, getting little to no sleep. All she wanted to do was go to bed and rest. But she was grateful that Y/n decided to take the meeting knowing that she couldn’t hear the bitching voice of her manager telling her what she did wrong the night before.  Hazel’s eyes tried searching for Y/n’s but it was useless due to the black sunglasses that rested on her nose. 

Y/n could feel the anticipation bottling up in her chest as she and the person in the other line let out an exhausted sigh. It felt like the short conference call had turned into a serious two hour meeting  revolving around Hazel's attitude. Things weren’t looking good for Hazel and even though she worked for her she still deeply cared about her. 

“Yes. I’m aware of everything that’s happening, sir. I’ve been keeping an eye on her. I promise you guys she will be on her best behavior. As of now, I will  need to hang up so she gets safely to her next destination. I’ll keep in touch. She’ll be at the meeting at eight am sharp. Good Night.” Y/n hung up the phone, slipping it into her back pocket while recomposing herself.  “Hazel, where do you want to ea… Shit!” Y/n exclaimed a river of curse words following as she took in her surroundings, noticing that Hazel had slipped from her eyesight. 

The cold winter breeze hit her body, making her shiver. Y/n regretted only wearing her uniform, her black suit didn’t do anything for her in the cold weather. Why Hazel wanted her to wear a stereotypical body suit uniform was beyond her  but right now that should be the least of her worries. It was around one am in the morning and Hazel’s show had just finished an hour and half ago. Both of the girls were standing outside of the venue waiting for the crowd of fans to disappear so she could get her safe and sound to the tour bus not before stopping for some food. Y/n was never distracted but after receiving an urgent call from Hazel's manager she had moved her eyes away from her one second, but that was all Hazel needed to slip out of her hold.  

Y/n L/n had known Hazel  Callahan ever since she started her music career.  Both of them were around the same age but Hazel had insisted she felt more comfortable with a body guard around her age. So night after night she would stand near Hazel to guarantee her safety but quite recently things had changed. Y/n’s job had become harder adding more responsibilities to her job that were never in her contract. She had become not only Hazel’s bodyguard but her assistant. Hazel had entered her “Frat boy” era or at least that’s what the PR management had informed Y/n.  

Y/n was tired. Tired of having to drag a drunk or high Hazel out of the bar. Having to wait outside of the hotel room while she hooked up with a random stranger. But most importantly she was tired of having to deal with her management. They wanted Hazel to be perfect and all her little hiccups all lead to Y/n, because she wasn’t “mature” enough to control her. Yet there she was doing her job while attempting to save what was left of Hazel’s reputation doing her management work. She couldn’t even think of the last time she had a vacation. She didn’t mind having Hazel close, she actually enjoyed her presence but the past months she was acting like a brat and she couldn’t stand it anymore. 

Y/n moved quickly on her feet going to God’s knows where as she gripped on Hazel’s bag. Pissed off out of her mind she could see the flashing red lights from afar. Her once chill demeanor turned into a rough glare as she stomped  towards the bar near the venue.  As she pulled the door open she could see Hazel dancing in the middle up the dance floor with someone with a drink tightly gripped on her hand. She left her for about an hour. How was it possible that she was already fucked out of her mind. Y/n pushed up her sunglasses to see better with the flashing lights as she slipped through the drunken bodies. 

“Y/n,  you finally decided to join the fun! I thought you were going to stay outside doing boring things. I’m really glad you're here. Here try my drink, you’re going to love it” Hazel said quickly losing her attention on the girl next to her leaning towards Y/n to push the drink towards her lips. Y/n moved her hand away, taking the drink out of Hazel’s hand making her pout. Before Hazel could even say another word Y/n took her hand pushing past the people surrounding them. 

“Let’s go before someone recognizes you and gets the both of us in trouble.” Y/n said but before she could reach the door, the sea of people split them up. Hazel’s drunk body hit someone else spilling their drink. Hazel’s hands quickly tried to dry the owner's shirt and mutter a river of apologies but before she could do anything else the owner of the drink pulled Hazel by the shirt. Y/n attempted to pushed past the excited people trying to see what was the hold up. 

“What the fuck is your problem?” 

“Nothing! You're the one that’s fucking gripping on my shirt. Do you know how expensive this shirt is? It’s literally worth more than your own life so do me a favor and  let go of me. Do you even know how I am? Your dirty little han…” and with those words escaping Hazel’s lips, she quickly found herself on the floor with a bloody nose and a throbbing pain in her left eye.  Y/n once again pushed through the people shielding Hazel’s face from the cameras not wanting her to be in the news the next day. She quickly got her on her feet quickly reaching the door. 

“Miss Callahan, do you know what time it.. Are you insane? Going to a bar? Getting into a fight? You have your team working hard as it is but now?  No, you know what, I'll ask you a better question: are you aware of who you are?” Y/n said seriously when they finally got out of the small bar. Hazel scoffed, rolling her eyes at Y/n.

“Of course I know who I am, Y/n. I’m a fucking star and I deserve to have fucking fun. I’m not a machine and management needs to get that through their thick skulls.” Hazel muttered as she stomped angrily towards the tour bus. Y/n followed her steps closely not wanting to lose her again. 

“Let’s just go to the tour bus, you have a long day ahead of you and now you’ll have to deal with a hangover.” Y/n responded softly trying to put her hand once again on her lower back. Hazel quickly moved, pushing her hand away, her steps being quicker and stronger than before. 

“You sound just like them. I thought you were on my side, but all I see now is you bitching and moaning. What happened with the Y/n that actually enjoyed spending time with me? The one that actually liked doing her job? You act like being with me is a burden, do you think I’m dumb enough to not notice?”  Y/n followed her steps closely not wanting to lose her again. 

“With all the respect. I’ve defended you relentlessly with your managers, I’ve protected you with my life, Hazel. I put your needs before me. Have you noticed that I don’t have a social life because I’m twenty four seven with you? I’ve done everything to keep your career intact. Ask your other celebrities friends what fucking body guard stays outside of their fucking hotel room so they could have a quick fuck? Don’t compare me to the management team that doesn’t care about your well being. I’m not going to fight with you, Callahan. I’m just doing my job.” Y/n responded in her calm tone as both of them continued walking towards the bus. Hazel laughed sarcastically as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. 

“You are acting as if we aren’t friends, Y/n why are you being like this now? Is it because you're jealous that everyone can have me and you can’t? Ever since I started what the stupid pr calls my “frat boy” era you become a bitch. I’m sorry that you don’t get laid, maybe it’s because of your lack of personality. ” Hazel yelled once again, turning around to face Y/n. Hazel quickly fell when she heard the words that slipped out of her mouth instantly regretting it. Her eyes follow Y/n’s body watching as she opens the tour bus door. 

“Get in. You have a meeting at eight am and you’re not going to miss it.” Y/n replied dryly wanting for her to enter the tour bus. Hazel’s feet felt as if they were glued onto the floor not being able to move. 

“I’m sorry, Y/n. I really didn’t mean it! Please don’t quit” Hazel said quickly knowing that half of her staff had left her already and she couldn’t bear losing Y/n. 

“Callahan, whatever we have is professional. We aren’t friends so whatever you say doesn’t affect me whatsoever. I need this job. So get it” 

Hazel knew that after tonight things were going to be different and she hated herself for that. 

...

Thank you for reading

[vclvetfleur]

Obedient Chapter 11

roman roy x fem!reader

Summary: You were invited to come with Roman to Argestes. Unknowingly to you, a huge scandal was about to drop onto the company. Roman needs to land a deal with another nepo baby that would finally make Logan think he was good enough. And you were challenged by juggling your relationship with Roman and friendship with Jess.

TW: Sexism, Alcohol use, nepotism, jealousy, smut MDNI

Word Count: 5.6K

Notes: This took a while, but I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the story. I already have another idea for another story. So once this is done, I will be starting another. Also the Cruises scandal is about to break.

Chapter 11: Billionaire Nepo babies.

You and Roman spent most of your days together once again. You both had kept whatever this was between the two of you extremely private just to save you both from some kind of explosive drama that would definitely arise if you were both found out. You were happy with this agreement and Roman was happy to just finally be able to hold you in his own arms. He could fully be himself without a single judgment.

You weren’t just two people hooking up though, in fact, you haven’t even had any sexual contact with him rather than feeling him once that completely freaked him out. He wasn’t ready, but he had never told you that. He just gave the excuse of wanting to take it slow with you. But he had continuously made sexual innuendos and constant references, without acting or doing anything. You tried not to get hurt by it. I mean- Roman did nearly lose it over the fact you wouldn’t be with him in the first place. It was obvious that he did want you. Plus, you were his assistant, you had access to all his messages and emails. Roman had no one else to hide.

You both had spent the entire morning, making fuck me eyes at one another and light flirting within the privacy of his office. You were just always a little too close to him and vice versa.

You hated that you had to lie to Jess though. That’s what you did every day though. You lied to her face every time you saw her, never mentioning you and Roman’s weird relationship. You never had to do that before. Whenever you were in a relationship, Jess was always the first to know when you were seeing someone new or if you even had feelings for another person. It felt wrong to keep it from her, but you knew it would be for the best.

You even lied to Kendall, saying nothing at all happened and that you just went home. But you ended up apologizing to Roman. Kendall didn’t entirely believe you, but there wasn’t much he could do to pry the real details from you.

Either way, you and Roman were happy with your arrangement. It was the most stable ‘relationship’ if you could even call it that, you’ve ever been in. And this was the most Roman had ever put out of his way for someone he liked.

You were both were finally comfortable for the first time in your lives.

But a scandal was soon to break out on the Roys and one branch of their company, Cruises. None of the kids, except Kendall were filled in yet. Only the PR team and certain members of the board. They were trying to make it go away just before the conference that the family was going to, but it just was getting worse and worse as more people came out against the family. You sat in the back seat with Roman, driving to this conference together, a little late to it. There were a ton of reporters outside the venue, trying to snap pictures of the car and what was inside. Roman couldn’t help but laugh and point at them. “Look at these fucking idiots.” He giggled again before leaving the car and posing for the camera before dismissing them. You quickly followed behind though. “Looks like there’s not going to be much privacy this weekend. Maybe we could get some really sexy pictures out of it though.” Roman whispered to you. You gave him a look and just went through the building, ignoring his flirtatious comment. Kendall left right after us with Jess, getting his badges with you and Roman, but Roman just made ignorant comments to the worker. You left with Jess to get everything settled for the event. This was the way for the Roys to finally get back in with Nan.

You watched a few people along with Logan and Kendall rush into a room as if they knew something really important. “Uh-Jess why are they?” You pointed out. Jess looked just as confused as you were. Roman was out there still making fun of Tom and Greg to their face, while everyone else was talking about something that Roman had no idea about. “What the fuck?” You whispered.

Logan had left the room, and everyone broke out to work on their own way of shutting this scandal down.

Gerri left, looking for Roman. Gerri had tried to get Roman involved. She needed to find a way to make Roman seem more worthy than his dad thought he was. She had been eyeing this billionaire son for a bit, knowing they could possibly buy them out and it would be huge for Waystar incase Pierce dropped out, which was likely. You couldn’t help but stare, Jess catching you.

“Roman’s playing mommy again.” Jess giggled. You looked at her, holding back your laugh. “Uh-wait are you still meeting with me to get ready to the party?” She asked you. You stopped to think but nodded.

“Of course, we gotta see what looks good on each other if we wanna manipulate them to buy us a new wardrobe.” You joked. It was your lifestyle you use to live with Jess from when you guys had first met, probably the first three years of your relationship consisted of it. You and Jess would flirt with promoters to get into clubs or message them to boost their egos. You both eventually got into very exclusive clubs and parties and had led rich men into thinking they were going to get anything out of you for luxurious stuff like dinners or other social events or even just items. You weren’t a sugar baby, just you were able to talk your way into certain things with these men. Jess had to break away from you and scheduled to see you at 6:30 at her hotel room. You just planned on getting the two of you tequila in the room before she got there so you both could also drink beforehand. You found Roman, standing with himself as he had just given up on talking to others at the party.

Gerri had to remind him that despite having Shiv be her dads right hand man, it could change if Roman was more serious. Roman wasn’t taking it too well. You’ve seen how the toll of this entire thing had taken on him. He was upstairs, with a green Perrier bottle in his hand, bringing it over to his lips every so often. He leaned on the railing, scanning the room. “Hey. You done overlooking the party batman?” You teased him.

“Fucking haha- uh- I’m just tryna think… Thought if I posed like this, you’d find it sexy and wouldn’t be able to control yourself.” He lied, his sad pouty lips curling into a smirk as he brought the green bottle to his lips again and sipped on it.

You giggled, leaning on the railing the same as him, looking over the party. “What were you looking at?” You asked. You scanned the room to see potential people for Roman to eventually fuck over. Roman pointed the man sitting down in some leather chair talking to some women.

“Eduard. He’s some rich dickhead Gerri thinks I should talk to to win daddy’s love.” Roman scoffed. You eye the man down, asking why Gerri would ask. Roman went into the same details, all be it more melo-dramatic, that Gerri had before. You nodded, trying to think it over.

“I think it could work. Just don’t be an asshole.” You warned him. “You could do it at the party.” You shrugged. It could work. There was enough time, it would be a friendly setting. Roman was better at informal meetings than formal ones. He was way better at the casual ‘im your friend’ kind of parts of the business. Kendall just came off as too intimidating or too much of a kiss up for his dad. It made the deals usually seem so artificial.

You went out of your way to make Roman actually speak to other though. He had never been so reserved until this massive ego bruise that his dad had left him. You had to push Roman back out of his shell. But before you knew it, you had to go meet with Jess. “Uh Rome- I will see you after at the party, okay? Uh- good luck.” You gave him a gentle longing hand hold, something discreet enough to remind Roman you weren’t leaving him. “I’m gonna just meet with Jess and get ready. It’ll be worth it. I promise.” You winked before leaving him behind. He looked completely lost without you. You felt bad for him. He had been on autopilot since Nan’s. You were just the one steering along with Gerri sometimes coming in as well. She had been the only one who believe in him before you came. She could see him actually growing up and doing the work that his siblings were set to do. She saw Roman’s potential. Despite all the sexual advancements in the past and the flirting Roman did, they did have that mother-son dynamic. But y’know, Romans’ mommy issues couldn’t help himself from sexualizing a motherly figure in his life.

You had grabbed a bottle of Don Julios with a liter of coke for the chasers that you were prepped to take. You knocked on Jess’ bedroom door and had it opened for you by Jess. She couldn’t keep her excitement to herself, letting out a little sequel as you both walked into her room. It was like old times. You had left your bag in Jess’ room and grabbed it, pulling out outfits you had prepared. Jess did the same and you both started with trying each thing you had on for one another to rate. After going back in forth for a while, you both came to your conclusions of what you were wearing for the night. You put music on, trying to skip through whatever sad song came up if it ever did. “Fuck.” You mumbled, getting up again after just sitting down to redo your makeup to change the song. “No- it’s fine. It’s a good song.” Jess laughed loudly at how many depressing songs kept coming through. You both had probably taken 3 shots together each at this point. “Yea cause listening to Mitski is really what I want to hear while getting drunk off of tequila.” You giggled.

You heard Jess singing along to the song, hoping you’d join her. Her hands extended out to you and sang loudly. You couldn’t help but take her hand and sing with her. “You’re coming back and IT’S THE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEND!” You both shouted, pulling each other close. Your arms wrapped around each other, swaying each other and singing the song with each other. “This is way too intimate.” Jess laughed, pulling away. There was such a closeness to you and Jess. Maybe could you had met her at such a sore spot in your life.

You had just dropped all contact with your parents. You had left them as soon as you could. You moved into your dorm and now had no reason to ever be around them or speak to them. You even had changed your number. It’s not like it mattered to them though. You had already spent a year not speaking to them. But it was a lot harder than you thought it would be. You thought you’d be so happy as soon as it was over with, but you weren’t. You had gone to your dorm that night, moving all your stuff and still felt so incredibly empty. You spent the week crying. You would roll up in your bed, clinging to your stuffed animal, wishing it could’ve been different. But this was it. And jess was there. And she listened. In fact, she had brought you around her family. Credit, they weren’t incredible, they fought with Jess, but they were a normal family. They were only angry with her when they wanted the best for her. You wanted that. And you were glad Jess was there to give you that. You were essentially indoctrinated in her family as if you were an adoptee. It felt nice. And Jess never made you feel bad about your family life. Or how you grew up. Or your other fairly obvious traumas that arised from time to time. Jess was here to listen and comfort and help you with your outbursts and emotions. You weren’t a perfect person, but Jess loved you for you.

The song changed to something you had forgotten you had in your music. “AHH!” You screamed in excitement. Mariah Carey’s ‘We Belong Together’. Jess laughed, getting up, pouring you both a shot to get you both more hyped for the party. You rushed over, downing it quickly. You swayed your hips to the song, using your hand as if it was a microphone. You both went to trying to get ready without getting so distracted, but you both did end up getting fairly distracted every so often depending on what song came through.

Jess saw your phone buzzing a few times, seeing Roman’s name come up. “Incoming, your boss needs you!” Jess threw your phone to you. You grabbed it, answering the call.

“Where are you? I’ve been here for half an hour. Wait- are you at another party?” He asked you. The music was apparently louder than you thought. You lowered the music, pulling the speaker closer to you.

“Ya, sorry. Me and Jess got distracted. We’re heading over now.” You couldn’t help but laugh as Jess was rushing to put her heels on, tripping in the process.

“Okay- I can’t wait to see for what you told me was worth it.” Roman made an attempt at flirting that wasn’t extremely vulgar. Somehow it was worse than just his extremely explicit flirtatious comments.

“Okay Roman. I’ll see you. Don’t keep me on the phone too long.” You said, pulling your shoes on. You left the room with Jess, trying to find where the party was being held. You met Roman out at front though. He seemed like a nervous wreck. He had no idea how to make the deal with Eduard. He didn’t know how he was going to do it. He needed you to calm his nerves.

“Romyyyy” Jess sang, she had a lot to drink or else she would barely acknowledge him. He looked at you, not able to keep his eyes off of how you looked. His lips slightly parted in an amused smile, making sure he got every detail down on how you looked tonight. “She had 5 shots before this. She isn’t that good with liquor.” You apologized for her, hugging Roman casually. His hand rested on your lower back, knowing Jess wouldn’t remember anyways. Or at least wouldn’t question it since it was a party after all.

Jess wondered and began her night. “So, I was looking at Eduard’s way and I just- fuck- the guys a douche.” He was flustered. You looked his direction, rolling your eyes almost immediately. He looked like the guys you would mess with in college. He was surrounded by women, his clothing was even pretentious looking, as if he had to show off everything to others.

“Look, you’re gonna be great. Just go for it. You both fit each other’s type too. Sleezy Billionaire nepo babies.” You joked, undoing his shirt a bit and making him look ready or as if he had actually been going around the party tonight. “Perfect.” You smiled.

“You sure we can’t just casually kiss? I mean assistants do that all the time. I know Greg and Tom do.” He joked, but really wishing he could kiss you in front of people. But he knew he shouldn’t. Not just for your sake but his as well. He couldn’t be too identical to his dad. “Okay fine. Meet me in the bathroom in like 15 minutes. I’m pretty sure we could play it off as a glory hole situation” Roman continued to play around before leaving you to play business flirting with Eduard. No matter how disgusting Roman could be it made him kind of endearing. It such a shameful disgusted way.

You looked for Jess but had seen her already chatting up with some guy. You left her be, going to get yourself a drink. You sipped on your colorful drink, looking around. Roman had gone in the bathroom with Eduard. You just laughed to yourself. You watched Roman come back, slightly defeated. “What happened?” You asked to be informed.

“I don’t know anything about the jackass.” He ran his fingers through his hair, letting air out. “The dumbass basically told me to make the news less sad. No one wants to watch fuckin firefighters saving babies. Or priests not diddling kids.” Roman was annoyed. You rubbed his back, pouting at how upset he seemed.

“Well if you guys are gonna talk..” You tried to make light of it. “I didn’t get his number. He did give me his cocaine though. Did he confuse me for my brother or something?” You wished you could help. You had an idea though.

“Just sit here. Here. Have my drink. I’m gonna work the deal.” You smiled, leaving a kiss onto Roman’s cheek before leaving him at the bar.

You had gone up to Eduard’s table, laying your hand on his shoulder and modeling your body down to him. This was usually your move. You leaned down, tits first, making your hips or ass look incredible as you asked for something small. “Hey, what’s your name?” You asked. You tucked your hair back, looking up at him, giving him fuck me eyes. He immediately fell into the bait. His hand rested on your waist and told you his name. You gave him yours before he insisted you sat down. He leaned forward to make you a drink. You took it, sipping on it as you laid your body close to his. You ran your fingers through his hair as he talked about whatever he was going on about. “Yeah- that’s so fucking awful…” You pitched your voice up, as if you ever really gave a fuck. “God- I mean people only really talk about negativity nowadays. I was just talking about that today with my boss.” You brought Roman up. He asked who your boss was. “I work at Waystar. But yea- we had this conversation about how we only bring up the negative bullshit in politics rather than celebrate our politicians’ achievements.” You lied. You had to play into this billionaire weridos fantasy. “Normally, I don’t even support any of that.” You continued. You knew Eduard was barely paying any attention, but whatever that would make you sleep with him was what he was willing to do. “But yea- no one fits our vision.” You lied which only prompted Eduard to put himself in on the deal.

“I would love to talk about this more tomorrow when I’m sober. But here give me your phone.” He mentioned. You did as he said and saw him put his number in along with a text sent to himself. He picked up his phone and sent you his room number, hoping you’d come. You fake laughed, running your hand down his arm.

“Well, I do think I have to go soon. I have to make sure my bosses don’t make a fool out of themselves. But I’ll try to make it over tonight. If you’re still awake.” You lied before getting up from his booth and over to Roman. He watched the whole interaction with a whole bunch of feelings being brought up. He was completely stunned at how you were. A hint of jealousy even arose. A lot actually. He was a bit turned on, but only cause of how you were even acting. He wasn’t sure if he liked watching you flirt and play around with other people. Especially since he knew you could do better. I mean- they could probably fuck you properly. But you looked so good. He was also embarrassed he couldn’t make the deal as quickly as you did. But still impressed that you managed to.

“You’re a fucking succubus. I hope you didn’t play the same little game with me.” He laughed, trying to hide the fact he was upset about it.

“Shut up. Buy me a shot for my win.” You insisted tapping him on the chest. He did just that. Along with one for him. You both downed it quickly, your face scrunching up once the taste came up on your tongue. “Besides, I actually wanna fuck you. Not that dick.” You mentioned in passing. You never really expressed yourself to Roman that way. But you had a few drinks in you to make you a bit more confident in saying so.

Roman always had this look of desperation whenever he wanted to make those fantasies a reality. You could always see him going into his own head and his dirty thoughts of what he would actually do if he actually could perform. But you assumed it was you.

Jess came over though, interrupting the two of you. “Y/n. Come on. Let’s dance!” She giggled, grabbing your hands. You looked at Roman, you two of sharing a look to her about how drunk she had been. “Come on Roman, let her have fun.” She teased.

“I-uh- I actually need to do something quickly though. But uh- yea go ahead. Have fun.” Roman shooed you two off before leaving the party. Roman’s insecurities got the best of him and he had gone off to speak to Gerri for some encouragement. He knocked on the door, making his way in. “How’d it go?” she asked concerned about his visit to her room. He sat on the kitchen counter and went into what had occurred. Mostly with you. “I mean- is it cause I don’t have tits? Is that what it is?” He tried to hide his insecurities with another reason of why his deal didn’t go perfectly.

“You should be grateful you have her Roman. She can work out the deals you can’t.” Gerri told him harshly. She saw him shifting, knowing exactly what it meant. “Roman- no.” She sighed. “Are you both fucking?” She began to parent him, knowing in the scandal they’re about to get into, this would be the worst thing to happen to the company if the news broke out. Cruises Waystar involved with sexual assault and hiding it along with the CEO’s son and possible new CEO, fucking his assistant, abusing his power.

“We’re not fucking-“He tried to explain. A silence came over him before he finally explained. “We’re… mutually… just… rubbing privates in private.” He shrugged. He couldn’t explain it better than that.

“Roman- you cannot just- “Gerri continued but Roman interrupted. “She came on to me. This wasn’t just- “Roman defended himself, but Gerri was not gonna listen. She knew how badly this could turn out. “Roman, the public won’t see it that way. Just- don’t get caught. You both deny this for however long this last.” Gerri gave him advice. Roman just nodded, staying quiet about it. He just vented to Gerri about the CEO position hoping they could come to a conclusion. Gerri cared too much for him, agreeing to his compromise of whoever became CEO would make the other one Chair.

Gerri sent him on his way, giving him one more warning. He decided to go back to the party, seeing you and Jess just having the best time. Roman was ready to just leave the scene. But you didn’t like you were. “Rome!” You called out, telling him to come over. He shook his head, turning down the offer. You pouted, going over to him and pulled on his hand. “Come ooooon, just relax. What’s got you so uptight?” You asked him.

“Uh- I think I’m just gonna go to my room.” He admitted. You didn’t want to leave, but didn’t want to not be around him.

“Just give me 5 minutes. I’ll meet you there.” You promised him. He let a smile creep up before nodding, leaving quietly.

You decided to make your escape and try to make Jess think you were going on your own. After dancing with her for one more song, you lied to her about being tired. “I’ll see you in the room, right?” Jess asked.

“Uh- no. I’m going to mine.” You continued to lie. She seemed disappointed, but you tried to get out of it quickly. “Oh please- you and the guy were hitting it off. I don’t wanna disrupt your night.” You giggled. You gave her a hug before leaving her. You walked the hall, trying to find Roman’s room. Unknowing to you, Jess got bored without you and decided to make her way to your room. She saw you make the wrong turn to your room and decided to make sure you got to your room safely.

You turned the corner, knocking on Roman’s room. He opened it, put his hand around your waist, laying a kiss on you before you both walked into his room. Jess had just turned the corner to witness it all. Her jaw dropped in complete horror, turning around and going to her room. She was hurt and frustrated. She immediately sobered up after witnessing it. You had been lying to her. She had no idea how long this was even lasting. It hurt. She felt betrayed. Someone she promised to always protect you and be there for you was lying to her. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. But it made sense now, seeing all the patterns of behavior you both displayed.

You laid down on Roman’s bed, staring at him as he was pouring himself a scotch.

“Roman..” You mumbled. He turned to you, his eyebrows raising up to wonder what you needed. “I really… really… want you to fuck me.” You were more confident after taking a shot with him earlier.

He didn’t know how to properly react. He wasn’t ready to go into his own fucked up issues with you tonight, especially now. “Uh- why?” He laughed, not knowing what else to really say. You looked at him confused, assuming he was joking with you.

“Cause- I think you’re incredibly sexy and I just know you’d listen to what I need.” You sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Uh… alright.” He wanted to do this with you just as badly, just not wanting to disappoint. He knew as soon as it would come time to actually perform, he would maybe get soft and get lost and freak out and then just ruin the experience for the both of you.

“Do you just not want me” You began to question. He shook his head no, putting his glass down. He stood in front of you, cupping your cheeks, making you look at him.

“I want to do everything to you.” He promised. “Just- I don’t- I can’t…” he tried. You looked so pretty with his hands on your face. The way you looked at him quickly made him go into his own fantasies. “Can we maybe- uh-“ He tried to find the words to say without making it sound gross.

“What? I’ll do anything you want my love.” You submitted. That was probably the first time any of you had used a pet name with one another. Roman cursed under his breath, his breath getting heavy.

“Take the dress off.” He told you. You nodded, slowly stripping down for him, making eye contact as the straps of your dress came down your shoulders. You slowly unzipped the dress and had it fall down to reveal your chest. Roman moved his hand down to touch himself and watch you. You giggled, pulling the dress fully of, only revealing yourself in a thong.

“What else do you need me to do?” You asked.

“Alright… well me and my other- fuck.. this is so fucking- alright just fucking touch yourself. That’s it. Just fucking watch me and I watch you.” Roman tried to make this not sound as weird as he could but making it weirder by how nervous he had been.

You nodded, following his instructions, moving your underwear off to the side. You took two fingers, making circular motions over your folds, legs spread wide enough for Romans viewing. He put his hands under his pants, stroking himself as he kept his eyes in view of you. He was too embarrassed to reveal himself in front of you. But you weren’t taking too much into mind. You weren’t going to push. You just wanted to make him feel good.

You slid your fingers inside of yourself, another hand taking over to continue to rub circular motions onto your clit. Roman let out heavy gasps, his hand moving faster, watching you intensely, lust blinding everything around his view of you.

You moved your fingers quicker, your moans being high pitched the close you got, gasps leaving your lips as you felt yourself getting there. Roman felt himself getting on the edge before you had. His body twitched, removing his hand from his pants. His breathe was heavy as he now needed to clean himself off.

“Please let me finish you off.” He grew a sudden confidence. You nodded, moving your hands away. He sat down in front of you, laying his hands over your legs, bring a hand up. “Just fucking tell me what to do.” He warned you.

“Okay- well, first you can…” You began to guide him, moving his hand up, playing it where you had them recently. You moved his hand to the pressure that felt comfortable to you and the speed. Your breathing became irregular again, throwing your head back, holding on his wrist to let him know he was doing good. Roman wanted to learn every part of you. He needed to learn your body better than you. You moved your hips against his hand, looking over at him. “Okay, now just come closer.” You instructed. You held his head, moving it towards between your thighs. You tried to instruct him on what you exactly like. “Just whatever sound I make that doesn’t sound uncomfortable, just keep doing it.” You teased before leaving him to do what had had learned. He pressed his lips against your cunt, moving his tongue to whatever he thought he should. You moved his head to whatever felt good and Roman followed your lead. Roman eventually got the hang of it, watching your body and seeing what response you gave him that seemed good. Your breathing quickened, your hands gripping his hair, pulling him closer to you, begging him to do what you wanted to get you there. And he did everything you asked. Pleasure took over your body, your back arching and your thighs tightening around Roman. He pulled away as you seemed to be done. You tried to catch your breath, staring at the ceiling. Once your heart rate reached a normal rate, you looked over at him, still sitting in front of you. “You did so good Roman.” You praised, sitting down and leaning down to kiss him.

“Of course, I did.” He boosted his own ego. He was just glad he was able to do something for you. He was scared, but it was good enough that you didn’t need to touch or look at him. It was about you. There was no pressure on his body. He had gotten up and grabbed a change of clothes before going to the bathroom. You hadn’t brought anything to change into, just deciding to pull on one of Roman’s plain shirts.

Roman came back to see you in his shirt. “You are so fucking sexy.” He mumbled, coming to you, pulling you into another kiss. “You’re also disgusting for kissing me know where my mouth just was.”

“You say that now until you kiss me after I blow you.” You joked back. Roman wasn’t sure when he’d be ready for that to ever happen yet. But this was a major step for him. In the past year, he’s only had sex maybe twice. Once after his ego bruise made him finally attempt to fuck his ex, but that just was more of an ego bruise since she just made him feel embarrassed. And the other was with his ex-girlfriend who he had been in a long term relationship with. It was just another way to prove something. He barely finished. The rest of his experiences were resorted to him jerking off in the other room with whoever he was with in the other room doing the same.

You sat down on his bed, moving over to give him room. “Let me show you that show finally! Log into your Netflix.” You laughed, giving him the remote.

Roman was happy to even be here with you. You were nothing like anyone he had ever met. You were normal. Not in a bad way. Just in the sense of you weren’t constantly craving some greedy need. You just wanted to do whatever came up. You weren’t fixated on luxuries. You weren’t around Roman for anything other than someone that made you smile and laugh. This was the first sense of normalcy Roman had ever felt.

This was what a normal relationship felt like.

Roman had never been more satisfied.

Notes: a lot happened in this chapter. this also was the most i’ve ever written. 5.6k words is crazy i’m so happy.

Chapter 12

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 43

First / Previous / Next

Fen and the others - except Stormy - looked blankly at the former Empress.

She raises her eyebrow and puts her hands down. "Come on, really? I thought it was a good reveal." Helen pouts a tiny bit and takes another sip of her coffee.

"I'm surprised." Stormy counters. She looks pointedly at the closed conference room door. "Are we going to survive this encounter?"

"Why wouldn't you? It's not like I'm going to space you all."

"You have to admit, you might have gained that reputation."

Helen rolls her eyes. "Okay, maybe back in the beginning before I became Empress and before I went to Melody I had a reputation of being a little... intense. And Maybe after Melody's death I fell back into that way of thinking while I was getting Sol under my thumb and maybe I was directly or indirectly responsible for some deaths." She shrugs. "Show me a ruler that wasn't."

Fen sat forward. "But, why are you out here? Why aren't you on a resort over Venus partying all day long?"

Helen waves her hand dismissively, and reaches for the carafe of coffee and pours more into her mug. "Boring. Dull. I don't work that way, never have. If I'm not doing something I find something to do, and my daughter didn't want to deal with that, so she let me take an officer's commission again. Everyone here calls me Admiral and just between you and me, I think like half the kids on this boat don't even realize who I am." She takes another sip of coffee and smiles. "I like it just fine like that." She gestures to the window in the conference room. "This is where I am meant to be. Not on some throne, ordering people around, and not sitting on a chair by a pool slowly becoming one with the fruit flavored drinks."

Northern crosses her arms. "So you're telling me it's purely coincidence that you and your ship find us as we link into a random system where the Heap is and without radio contact you link next to us and grapple us aboard? Just 'in the neighborhood'?"

"No of course not. We were going to pick you up one way or the other, it was only a matter of time" Helen takes another sip of coffee.

"Is this about the current Empress? We don't know where she is. We left before they decided where they were going to go." Zhe says. She can't drink coffee, but it still toying with an empty mug.

"No, it's not about my great-granddaughter. I know she's off galavanting with the remnants of the AIs, probably trying to move against the Nanites."

"How do you know that?" Fen asks.

Helen taps the side of her head. "The Nanites told me. Unlike my daughters and granddaughters, I do what the Nanites ask. They still speak to me. They have never asked me to do anything I wasn't comfortable doing, never asked me to do something that wasn't right."

While Helen says this, Stormy's face radiates rage. Fen notices her, and it looks like she's working very hard to control her self. "So you were okay with the AI purge a few centuries ago?"

Helen turns and regards Stormy coolly. "Two things. One, That wasn't me, that was Meredith's mother. Two if I was asked to do that, then I would. If you recall your history, you would remember that I banned AIs from operating in Sol. I left it at that. I didn't go after them, I didn't persecute them, I felt no ill will towards them. I have to admit, that it was a little tougher getting around the galaxy without them, but we managed."

Fen has been eyeing the carafe of coffee this whole time. Finally she reaches over and Helen slides it to her. She fills up her mug. "So why did you capture us then? Because the Nanites told you to?"

She nods. "Basically. They said "The clone of Melody is important. We still need her. We last saw her outside of Picaresque." So I went. Then you avoided our attacks - nice work by the way - and linked away."

"But how did you find out we went here?"

Helen puts her mug down and leans towards Fen. "Because we can track wormhole links Fen. It takes a lot of energy and computation and I'll admit it's relatively new technology, but it's doable. More than three or four links in quick succession is tricky, but even that isn't impossible." She leans back and looks at Fen. Her expression softens slightly. "Fen, you're not getting out of this that easily. This is much bigger than you realize. Things were set in motion back when I was Empress. You can get up and walk out of this room, I won't stop you. You and your friends can link away to anywhere in the galaxy. Sooner or later, someone tangentially related to the Nanites is going to find you and rope you in. You can't stop this."

Fen sat in her chair, stunned. She stared ahead, eyes unfocused as she heard Helen's words. It would explain a lot. How no matter how often she tried to get away, things would coincidentally rope her back in. She hung her head.

"What do I do?" She whispered. Tears fell from her cheeks and splashed onto the conference table.

"Fen, you're missing it. When you're Empress you can do whatever you want."

She looks up, her eyes red rimmed, her cheeks wet. "What do you mean?"

"Fen, when you're Empress? Everyone will do what you say. Everyone. Want to go kill what's his name - that gangster that killed your wife - Tam'itarr?" Helen laughs.

She nodded.

Helen snaps her fingers. "Just like that, not only is he gone, but his entire familial line is gone. His memory is erased. Do you want to open up a dialog with the AI? Do it. Nobody will stop you. Nobody can stop you. Voice aside, you'll be Empress of Sol and her Protectorates. You'll have fleets at your command. You could crust the K'laxi, or the Xenni, or the Gren, or any of them." She forms her hand into a fist.

"Just like that?"

"Quite. You'd be the richest human alive. Do you want to be plastered on every screen in the Galaxy? On all the chat shows, on all the casts? You can. Do you want none of that, and just live a quiet life in the Palace, never having to lift a finger for your own self? You can. Do you want to decide the fate of trillions? You can. Do you want to delegate that decision to someone else that you can conveniently 'get rid of' when the people turn against the decision? You. Can."

Helen is on a roll now. Not even checking to see if anyone else is paying attention, she stands and starts pacing the conference room.

"The problem Fen, is your upbringing. You were raised on a Gren station, far away from Colonial space, far away from human culture. You were raised by K'laxi. You were far from your birthright. On the Gren station you had to keep your head down, think fast, avoid conflict. You did these things to survive, and what did it get you? It got your wife murdered. It got you set adrift by Gord. It got you with a ragtag bunch of friends who - yes - will stick with you through it all, but you keep having to go through it." She stopped and stared at Fen, her eyebrows raised, and her eyes bright.

"What if you didn't have to go through it?"

Fen looked at her friends. They were staring at her, except for Stormy who was watching Helen like a mouse watches a cat. Anything. She could do anything.

"It wouldn't be me doing those things though, it would be the Nanites." Fen slumps in her chair.

"No!" Helen pounds the table with her fist, and they all jump. "You know better than that Fen. You've had Nanites. You are you. They're... more like an advisor. They offer suggestions, hints, recommendations. They can't stop you if you don't take them." Helen's face softens. "Fen, I've had them for almost five hundred years. Do you know what they want? They want more gates to be built. That's how they reach into our dimension. If you built Gates, you will rule the Galaxy, and they will help you."

Helen stopped pacing and sat back into her chair. She reached for her coffee cup and Fen noticed her hand was shaking slightly. "Melody had them too. She started from nothing, and was ruler of Sol before she was killed. She was going to do so much to help everyone. That's all she ever wanted. To help. They never changed her into someone, something she wasn't." She shook her head and tossed back the coffee.

"Why me though?"

"Really Fen?" Helen sighed. "You already know you're a clone of Melody. You've met my great granddaughter; If it's not at the bottom of a wine bottle, she's not interested in it. We're stagnating. We haven't built a new Gate in a century. The Nanites grow impatient. Take your rightful place, build the Gates. All will follow that."

Helen stood up and walked to the window in the conference room. She stared out into space. Without turning back she said. "I'm sorry. I've been ranting. It's been a while since I was so animated about something, it feels good." She turned. "Take the night, sleep on it. You and your friends are welcome to rooms on my Ship, or you can go sleep in your frigate."

She strode to the door, and it opened for her. "I'll see you in the morning." The door hissed closed behind her.

Fen stared at her empty coffee cup. When did she finish it? How many did she drink? She looks up at Northern and Stormy. Northern makes a face like she ate something she didn't like, and Stormy's face is blank.

Zhe looks at Fen and smiles brightly. "If you rule the Galaxy, can I have a job?"

A giggle escapes Fen's lips. She smirks. Eventually she collapses into laughter. After a few seconds, the laughter turns to sobs. She lays her head onto the conference room table and gulps air in huge wracking sobs.

Northern stands up and walks over to Fen. She sits next to her and puts her hands out, then stops, then puts them out, then pats Fen's back awkwardly. Fen looks up at her, and Northern swears. "Fuck," and hugs Fen tightly. "Whatever you pick Fen, we're here for you."

"But you and Stormy are AIs" Fen says, muffled under Northern.

"And like the old Empress said, you can do whatever you want." She released the hug. Fen sniffed. "Make it so we're not frightened to be anywhere with the Empire's Hegemony, and I guarantee the AIs will be friendly."

"Ahhhh" Stormy raises a finger. "Best not make promises you can't keep, Northern. It will probably take more than a Nice Empress to undo centuries of persecution."

"We'll figure something out."

Fen stands up. She feels suddenly weary, and the weight of these decisions on her shoulders. "Let's go back to the ship. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, and tired."

[bethaven]

2024

“I know there's been pain this year, but it's time to let it go Next year, you never know” - Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran and Elton John

Mostly when we look back during new years we tend to think about this past year; what we've done, what we’ve accomplished and which people we've met (though, there will be some of that here too). In the last few years I've learned that a good fallback is thinking “where was I at the same time last year”, to get the best perspective on what this year's actually been giving you. Like when I celebrated the new year 2016, realising that nothing whatsoever that I’d imagined for 2015 had become what I thought it would when it started. I'd lost friends, community and context, but gained new friends, a job and lots of life lessons. 

When a year ago we turned our clocks into 2024 I just took a deep breath of relief. 2023 was a shit year filled with death, depression, anxiety and sickness. I couldn't wait for it to be over. But it also made me come into 2024 quite humble and not expecting that much. Maybe because of that, it actually turned into quite a good year, with some big and small milestones. I'm standing here, going into 2025 with a very different feeling than a year ago, and that in Itself is actually my greatest success of 2024. 

More than that, 2024 was filled with this:

In the winter and spring I:

Continued having gallstone-attacks, but finally got time for surgery in late april. It all went well and it was a huge weight off my shoulders to be able to eat decent food again. 

Officiated my 100th roller derby game, at the same venue I got an in-game panic attack at just six months earlier, which felt like a comeback in many ways.

Became more and more comfortable in the realisation that I’m heterosexual panromantic, so much that I did a tumblr-post about it, but not so much to be out in public. That's ok.

Got a new job and quit my old one. Even though I liked my old one and was scared about the change, I'd never been this sure about switching jobs before.

Had to experience my parents’ barn burning down to the ground at the blink of an eye. It was terrifying, but could have gone so much worse. 

Except for the usual travelling around Sweden I got to travel to Vienna and Hamburg for friends and derby which was amazing. 

Crocheted a lot, finished some smaller projects and started a big one. 

Made a lot of travel plans for the summer.

In the summer I:

Worked my very last days at my old workplace, which was filled with mixed feelings. Directly started my new one and shortly after went into vacation with a good feeling. 

Went on a two week long train vacation through Germany with my boyfriend. One of the best vacations I've ever had! Highlight was the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal.

Ended summer vacation with friends and family back in Sweden. Then back to start my new job for real in August. 

This fall and winter I:

Finished two crochet projects, thought I finished another one but realised I'd miscalculated and also started another one.

Used the then upcoming season 3 of Heartstopper as a remedy for another slump in my mental health (no, a tv-series is not supposed to be used as the only help for mental health, get help if you need it, I will too, I promise!)

Had a deep talk with two of my best friends about our relationship. I was scared as hell, but it worked out very well. 

Continued the first months of my new job and it's been a whirlwind of goods, bads and inbetweens. 

Continued weaving, finished two rugs and a cloth.

Saw season 3 of Heartstopper for the first time at a hotel room by myself crying while at a conference. It was still one of the best times of my life. 

Listened to **it gets better by Martin Luke Brown on repeat to try to convince myself that's true. 

Watched, and liked, not one but two Marvel-series (WandaVision and Agatha All Along). Sounds like nothing, but this is so far from everything else I watch, so it's really outside my comfort zone. 

Travelled to Finland for the first time, and loved it. 

Travelled to Bergen for the second time and loved it even more.

Generally travelled a lot, mainly for derby officiating, which has been educative, superfun, draining and exhausting, all at once. 

Made a plan to not travel as much in 2025, but I've already broken that promise...

I've also been neglecting tumblr and my writing a lot in 2024 and if it's something I hope for in 2025 it's that I'll be able to do it more this year. I know it makes me feel good and does good to my mental health. Plan is to finish my first fanfic in the next months.

[reallygroovyninja]

Lexa's eyes followed the streaks of light as they zipped past the limousine window. Tonight, she was on her way to a company dinner, an event meant to forge and strengthen alliances in the corporate world. Yet, the leather seat beside her felt glaringly empty without Clarke, who was currently presenting at a medical conference across the country.

The first time they had attended an event together, Clarke was there as her escort—an arrangement born out of necessity rather than choice. Lexa had needed an alpha to accompany her, someone who could play the part convincingly in a world where appearances were paramount. Clarke had been poised and perfect, her professionalism indistinguishable from genuine affection, making everyone believe they were indeed a couple.

But what had started as a mere facade had blossomed into something incredibly real and deep. Over time, their initial arrangement gave way to a genuine connection, to laughter shared and nights spent talking about hopes and fears. They had grown from strangers playing a role to partners bound by love, leading to marriage and the joyous chaos of raising children together.

Sitting in the limo, Lexa let her mind drift to those early days—the ease of their first genuine conversation, the way Clarke's smile had slowly stopped being just part of the act, and how naturally her hand had found Lexa's during those events, a comforting anchor amidst the social whirlpool.

Pulling out her phone, Lexa sent a quick message to Clarke, a simple heart and a picture of the seat beside her. She smiled softly as her phone buzzed with Clarke's immediate response, a string of emojis that spoke of love and mutual longing.

As the car pulled up to the venue, Lexa gathered herself, smoothing her dress and checking her reflection one last time. She might have entered their first event on Clarke's arm as part of an arrangement, but tonight, as every night since they truly found each other, she carried Clarke's love and support with her. Even in absence, Clarke was her strength, and with that, Lexa was ready to face the evening ahead.

[dreamypisces888]

Venus 1st House Overlay : Synastry

Today I would like to talk about the planet of love and Romance in Synastry :

Venus Overlay in the 1st house :

The house person finds the Venus person gorgeous , this is the least I can say . They find the planet person elegant , gracious , beautiful and with high aesthetic . On the other hand the Venus person feels admired and appreciated and they enjoy the attention given to them . There is a mutual admiration and harmony between those individual .

For some people with Venus in the 1st house, the appreciation and positive regard from their partner can boost their self-worth and make them feel more comfortable in themselves. This placement may confer extra ease and confidence in the relationship for those who are prone to gain self-esteem from external validation.

The attraction between them is strong and beautiful The energy flows easily between them and they form a harmonious couple :)

I will come back for more on Venus Overlays stay Tuned !!!

[haylie0-o]

This is for @periwinkle-the-11th

Warnings: Panic Attacks (not entirely but an almost panic attack)

Original Characters: None :)

Things To Know: Nothing :)

••••

It wasn't new. Speeches. Lena has given a lot of them in her 27 years of life.

Her valedictorian speech, her testimony at Lex's trial, panel speeches, and like today, a speech to kick off the gala she's hosting.

So, in short. She has done this a lot, so she is utterly confused at why her hands get suddenly all sweaty and her heart kicks the second a man in the audience asks her a question.

She answers, it takes a while for her panicked brain to realize a question is being asked, and understand the question being asked. When she does she stutters out a answer, she doesn't stutter a ton and she is oh so thankful for such.

When she steps of the stage at the venue she rented for the night she immediately looks around panicked.

Where is Kara?

She sifts through the crowd, ignoring the questions being asked and investors trying to have a moment with her. She sees the blonde but shes just to far.

"Kara.."

Her voice is broken and weak as unwanted tears sting her eyes. Kara, with the help of super hearing hears the girl, turning around as concern enters her face. She walks over, putting her hands on her best friends arms.

The relief Lena feels is so great she collapses into Kara's chest with a sigh. Kara holds her and leads her from the prying eyes.

Once in a conference looking room. Alone. Kara starts talking.

"What happened up there Lee?"

Lena however can't hear a thing, zoning out every few seconds as the tears in her eyes build up to much and start striking down her cheeks.

"Hey.. Hey it's ok."

Kara starts rubbing up and down her arms in a comforting manner.

"I..."

Lena tries, she really tries, but she can't get words out no matter how hard she does try.

"It's ok hey... focus on my breathing... can you breathe Lena..?"

Kara asks frantically, though her tone is calm and it's calming Lena even though her word choice and speed is frantic. Lena nods in affirmative, and Kara exhales a breath of relief she very much knew she was holding in.

"Good... good.."

Kara keeps running up and down her back. Seeing Lena's red -not from blush, which is common around Kara- cheeks and clicks her tongue, Putting her hand against her friends forehead.

"Your burning up.."

Not a feverish burn, more of a panic blush, or something along the lines, Kara assumes.

She blows a cool breeze on Lena and her friend hums in appreciation.

"Thank you.."

There is a voice crack in the beginning of the sentence, but ultimately she gets the words out.

"It's no problem. It's what friends are for."

Fuck Lena hates that word, she hates being Karas friend. She wants more than friendship from the blonde. She wants a relationship. A real relationship.

She thinks, Like.... what would life be like if she liked me too? she internally laughs at herself.

Kara? Liking you back? As if.

But she daydreams all the same.

"Kara! Stop!" Lena yells through giggles and laughter as her girlfriend pokes at her sides.

—

"I love you."

—

Lena gets spun around a smile plastering her face as the love song sounds through their apartment.

—

"Your the best thing that's ever happened to me Lena."

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

Lena

"Lena..? you zoned out there."

Kara says when Lena comes to from her fantasies.

"Oh.. sorry."

Lena tries to stand only to get pushed down gently by Kara.

"Lee you just rimmed a panic attack... rest for a little."

Lena scoffs.

"Im fine."

"Lena no."

Kara is cut off by a angry Lena.

"I said I'm fine!"

She knows why she did it, shes made a rash decision and she's going with it.

The rash decision?

Ghosting Kara so the thoughts fucking stop.

Kara backs off and lets Lena get up and go to the door.

"And Kara?"

A beat goes by.

"Yeah..?"

Another longer, more painful beat goes by.

"I love you"

Lena turns to leave, opening the door, forgetting the friend she just proclaimed her love to has superpowers, more specifically? Superspeed.

The door slams back shut before it's even opened an inch, and Lena is spun so she's looking at Kara.

"What?!?! What's wrong with you"

She's cut off again, this time however it's because Karas lips are pressed gently against her own.

She melts into Karas arms, wrapping her arms around her "friends" neck pulling her closer.

Kara groans lowly into the kiss and they pull back only when air becomes a problem not sooner.

"Hey lee..?"

A no longer tense beat goes by.

"Yes Kara..?"

"I love you too."

[jules-has-notes]

2019 VoicePlay fall travels — projects, plaudits, and parties

A comfortably busy summer for the guys rolled straight into autumn at a similar pace. Between music videos, concerts, educational outreach, and spending time with friends and family, they had plenty to do, but weren't caught up in quite as much of a whirlwind as they had been in previous years. (Well, except J.None. That guy just wouldn't sit still.)

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Mostly treats

Layne and Tony spent the first day of October in the PattyCake studio filming not one but two new videos. They did a tasty collaboration with Jillian Hopke, baking Hocus Pocus themed cupcakes as a tie-in for their new Halloween video. They also got a solo Maleficent version of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" ready to release on the same day as Disney's sequel film.

Some of the other guys had a more leisurely day, allowing Geoff, Eli, and sound guy Paul to catch up with Chris Rupp over lunch while he was in town.

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Mysterious and spooky

A few days later, VoicePlay truly kicked off their Halloween season with the release of "Trapped – Billie Eilish in 3 Minutes", a music video that's basically a short horror film set to a medley of the pop star's eerier songs. (And a prequel to their "Panic! in 4 Minutes" piece from the year before.)

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But wait, there's more

Since YouTube had rolled out channel memberships in order to capture some of the crowdfunding cash that was mostly going to Patreon at the time, VoicePlay added that option for their fans.

They had filmed the announcement video for it at the same time as their new Patreon promo that they'd put out in August, but waited a couple months before letting the public know so that they could ensure everything was ready behind the scenes.

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That same night, J.None headlined a local showcase show at The Abbey to perform some of his solo music.

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The next day, YouTuber Malinda Reese released the fairy tale inspired video for her song "Don't Make Me", featuring Thomas Sanders and produced by PattyCake.

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On Saturday, J.None ran his first 5K in nearby Sanford. He was in good company with a couple friends and his track star nephew, and even managed to place well enough for a medal.

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Creepy and kooky

The following weekend, the spookiness continued twofold. VoicePlay released their long-requested version of "Oogie Boogie's Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and PattyCake put out their sorcerous "Bad Guy" video.

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Bits and bobs

A few days later, Geoff hopped online for a brief interview about VoicePlay with the Living 757 news magazine show based in southeastern Virginia.

J.None continued the spoopy theme when his second JamSchooled music video was released. He and Nikita turned "Old Town Road" into a handy guide to the "Bones in the Body", complete with skeleton onesies.

Then on Sunday he ran his second 5K, this time with longtime buddy Antonio Fernandez down in Clermont.

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That's a lot of eyeballs

Near the end of the month, VoicePlay hit a massive milestone of a hundred million views on YouTube!

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That night, J.None took part in a showcase show headlined by rapper Bezz Believe at a local venue called Soundbar.

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One last shiver

On the day before Halloween, Geoff uploaded his first short story narration, a seasonally appropriate recitation of Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Raven".

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Noses to the grindstone

The guys seem to have spent most of November preparing for the holiday season. Although their concert schedule was fairly light compared to previous years, they had a number of video projects to complete in the final two months.

They started by announcing one last stop on their Warm Up tour in Tempe, Arizona.

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J.None had two mid-week shows with different gig bands. First was an annual school supply conference with Paradigm.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paradigm Party Band (@paradigmpartyband)

The next night brought some serious party time with yacht rock group Summer Breeze.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Entertainment Central (@entertaincentral)

.

All of the guys went pretty quiet on social media for about a week and a half in the middle of the month. Judging by the timing of other things, that time was probably dedicated to filming and editing various video projects, and rehearsing for their holiday shows.

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Can't stop, won't stop

J.None reappeared first, releasing the video for his introspective single, "Back At Home". The day after that, he hit the road with Paradigm for a swanky wedding at a museum down in St. Augustine. He then spent his Sunday running yet another 5K, this time at Lake Nona, and wearing a weighted vest for an extra challenge.

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Mission accomplished

The next weekend started a little early with some unexpected kudos. VoicePlay's "Mission: Jingle Bells" music video from the year before won a bronze in the home entertainment category at the Clio Awards, the industry accolades for advertising. (It had been commissioned to promote the home video release of Mission: Impossible – Fallout.)

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Tally ho ho ho!

With that wind at their backs, the boys popped up north for a show just outside Chicago. It wasn't officially part of their holiday tour, but they snuck some jolly tunes into the setlist anyway.

While they were in transit, the next episode of PattyCake's Villains Lair series went live. It was a crossover with their other ongoing series, The Princess Academy, and introduced their version of Megara from Hercules.

Then the guys went home to spend Thanksgiving with their families before Christmas season really revved up. (Keeping on that hustle, J.None also squeezed in one more wedding with his Paradigm pals.)

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May your hearts be light

December began with the release of VoicePlay's Christmas song for the year, a cozy doo-wop rendition of the Judy Garland classic "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

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A couple nights later, Layne and Cyndi met up with a gaggle of pals from the local performance community for their friend Nic's birthday bash. Among the crowd were Cyndi's sister and brother-in-law (both members of the band Soul Funktion, among other things), Jeremy and Shalisa James from Vox Audio, former 4:2:Five tenor Danny Alan, and a couple Villains Lair cast members.

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Meanwhile, Geoff sat down to answer some of the frequently asked questions he receives about bass singing techniques in a brief overview on his YouTube channel. That first video led to several more over the ensuing months.

A week after that, PattyCake released their Princess Academy holiday special, "Snowed In", featuring a cavalcade of Disney ladies making the best of an unexpected blizzard during their annual celebration.

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On Dasher, On Dancer(s)

When the middle of the week came around, VoicePlay headed back to the Midwest for the middle leg of their holiday tour. First up, they spent two days in Greenville, Ohio performing workshops for students from all of the local junior high schools.

The travel route to their next gig took them northwest through Chicago, where they happened to cross paths with their buddy Emoni Wilkins and made time for a few hugs.

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The next day, they graced the western shore of Lake Michigan for a double-billed show in Waukegan, Illinois with the Cimorelli sisters.

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Then they returned to Greenville for another concert. They'd last performed an all-ages show there in January 2016, and were invited back by popular demand.

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Home again, home again

The next day they flew back to Florida. While the others unpacked and had some well-deserved rest, Layne was gathered up by his extended family for his annual dinner-and-fun-activity birthday night. This year included an outing to a local driving range so they could practice their golf swings (and poke fun at the man of honor for the temporary mustache he'd decided to sport on a whim).

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Since his reading of "The Raven" had gone over fairly well, Geoff recorded another short story. In the spirit of the season, he took a crack at "’Twas the Night Before Christmas".

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On Wednesday, J.None and pal Joey D'Angelo-LaJoie were part of a group of singers from Entertainment Central Productions performing jaunty seasonal tunes with the Mt. Dora Symphony.

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A post shared by Entertainment Central (@entertaincentral)

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On the road again

Thursday brought the start of VoicePlay's final string of holiday concerts with a show close to home at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee. The location allowed some of their family and friends to attend.

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The next day they scooted up to the whimsically named King of Prussia, PA, a town northwest of Philadelphia, for a show at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. Then they closed out their travels with a jump to the other side of the country for one last show in Arizona.

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To provide a bit of bonus wintery cheer, the guys brought in a new collaborator for a joyful medley of songs from Frozen 2 that they released on Christmas Eve. They had approached Adriana about working together over the summer, and this was the result.

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On the home front, Layne and Cyndi hosted a holiday party for their family and friends.

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To make up for not putting out any music videos in November, VoicePlay squeezed a third one into December, an "Aca Top 10 – Hits of 2019" countdown to close out the year.

.

As usual, J.None spent New Year's Eve playing a raucous party with Paradigm, this time at a country club down in Naples.

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The upcoming year would be full of happy surprises and unexpected challenges, but first the guys had a bit of well deserved rest. Those stories will keep for a while longer.

[noirbriar]

The Star, the Sky & the Sea (2/?)

Happy Birthday to Mu la Flaga, Here is a random ficlet, well, just because, lol

Timeline be years after SEED Freedom. OOC and everything is all on me as always.Tread lightly please.

---

Mu is going to be upset. That was Murrue's first thought as she carries their daughter into her arms.Their sweet girl now babbling away happily at her favourite rabbit plush while haro bounced around on the ground. Both mother and daughter spending quality together in their quaint home after a quiet lunch and a short conference with Erica regarding work.

With Mu and Murrue pulled back from COMPS and the frontlines, they are finally able to settle down with their daughter and just be a family back home in ORB. The downtime giving them time to rest and plan for their (very, very late) wedding.

Yet duty calls as the ORB National Defense Forces had came by, while indirectly and not so very subtly requested for Mu's presence at a commemoration event. Much to the new father's displeasure. However, it was a request that he was unable to turndown when it was directly from Cagalli who had helped them so much. Murrue also thought its best for him to make an appearance, its their duty afterall. So off Senior Colonel Mu la Flaga went. The man with a duffle bag in hand, leaving his dear partner and child behind tearfully for sometime. Although he calls back often to check in on them with the occasional AA crew dropping by as well. Their ever protective hawk.

"Uh!" "Mhm, I miss papa too, Astella." Murrue sighs. Everything is peaceful.But its just not the same without Mu around.

It was then, an idea struck. "Shall we give your papa a surprise? I know! Let's go on a mission together with mama?" The mother turns to her baby eagerly.Her body has recovered and everything is well since her confinement was over.To be honest, Murrue is getting rather restless until she is cleared for work again.

Well, the doctors did say that exercise and fresh air would do them good. A mother and daughter outing sounds fun, no?

Astella babbles happily back with bright eyes the colour of the dazzling sky.

---

"Oh...its really crowded, isn't it?" Murrue blinks. It was rare for her to be in a visitor's perspective rather than an officer afterall.

Autumn is dreadfully warm this year, so Murrue has a simple flowing white one piece one and comfortable leggings. Their precious star dressed in a lavender dress (a present from Kira nii-san) while tucked safely in her carrier in front. Haro just keeps rolling carefully beside them quietly.

Astella blows a bubble in response as she takes in all the sights around her. Before pointing up at some Murasame units flying over head and started babbling excitedly, absolutely unbothered by the noise.

"Eh! Eh!"

"Yes! Astella is so smart! Those are Murasame units." Murrue laughs, giving her daughter's cheek a kiss as they headed into the ORB military's event venue. They slowly made their way to the entrance for the security check. Where the guards nearly had an aneurysm once they looked up from the baggage check to see Captain Ramius smiling sweetly back. A swift finger to her lips, trying to prevent a commotion.

They are here to give a surprise afterall.

With some casual talk and a quick thanks to the young soldiers for working hard. The officers swapped out the standard visitor pass for a special one and handed the tag to the Captain instead, after she declined kindly for an escort to accompany her.

The two soon headed inside, but not before the little girl gave the amused guards on duty a toothless smile and wave. ---

Just a little longer. Grin and bear with it. Its all almost over now.

At least, Mu hoped so. The veteran pilot freshened up and out of his pilot suit, tossing his bottle back into the locker. With ORB's national day and the Defense Forces military academy's founding day all in the same time frame, things have been hectic. It would not have been an issue considering he is technically not a soldier on active duty.

But nope! The brass had the amazingly bright idea of showcasing the special ops team Mu had a hand in, as well as some pilots for their military recruitment showcase and open house event. Which meant that Mu unfortunately had to be called in from his leave.

"Commander, its almost time." Shikishima pops his head inside the locker room and calls out, breaking up his old superior's inner grumblings.

"Yeah, I got it!"

The man adjusts the last of his medals and sighs, tidying his appearance and resists the urge to tug at his sleeves. He misses Murrue. He misses his little starlight.

Better get it all over and done with soon. The Mobile Suits showcase is over now. All that is left is the meet and greet and his duties for the most part is done.

Mu and the pilots leave the restricted area to one of the hangars open to public where a few Murasame and Astray units are stationed for viewing. Akatsuki however, have already been moved back to a secured hangar away from public.

There were initial concerns using Akatsuki for the aerial showcase earlier, since ORB's flagship gundam is still considered classified. However, Cagalli thought it would be good for citizens and morale after the terrorist attack awhile ago for the golden gundam to make an appearence. So with this rare opportunity in line with the country's national day, hopefully this will create some good PR too.

The Colonel is not personally keen as he looked at the gathering of excited civilians out there wearily. He loves flying, he loves operating MA and MS, and accepts his duty as a career soldier. But these publicity stunts?

Tedious.Tiring.Troublesome.

Its more so without Murrue by his side.

Which reminds him, there had been a strange feeling bugging at him for a while since the showcase, but it did not seem to be something to worry about.

Mu pulls himself back from his thoughts as he leads the pilots to the greeting area. Half hoping that the younger and eager pilots would help make the crowd easier to handle too. A hopeless thought of course, especially when its his name is slapped on the marketing brochures as a special appearance, leading to such a huge turnout.

Oh, that long chat he had with the army's PR and marketing bureau was fun alright. With a deep breath, Mu la Flaga puts on his best diplomatic mien, and carries out his role. Either with enthusiasts or casual visitors. Yet it was those with little eager kids and boys full of wonder in their eyes that makes the event less stressful.Afterall, he remembers how he was like those kids, watching the boundless sky.

As the event starts to wrap up and radio announcement of the closure of the area is underway. Mu watches the families leave as the sun begins to set, and starts to feel himself missing his own keenly. There it was that little spark again. He had felt it since earlier, but it started fairly faint... Now its bigger and near- "Mu!"

Mu turns towards that voice he knows. His senses alert but instantly drops it as he feels his heart lighten by the sight of that figure before him.

Murrue!

"Captain!"

"Captain Ramius!"

The pilots starts to get rowdy and gather around the beloved Captain. While some of the NCOs and staff have gotten bold and gathered around to greet their superior and the rumoured little one.

Haro rolls, avoiding the stampede of curious military personnel.

"Murrue! What ar-" Mu starts and approaches Murrue but is stopped when he sees his beloved quickly putting up a hand A small gesture urging him to stay where he is at. Only confusing the man more just as his child tries to reach a chubby hand for him from her spot on Murrue's chest. "- Pwa!" Mu blinks, baffled. Still trying to process seeing his Murrue and daughter before him that he almost missed that little sound amongst the racket the pilot squad is making.

It almost sounded like Astella is trying to call him? Murrue is smiling as she takes the little one out of her carrier, letting Astella's bunny sneakers touch the ground. Her gentle palms supporting those tiny warm hands, before letting the chubby fingers slip out gently.Those tiny feet are standing shakily but strong, as his child takes the first few shaky steps towards him.

No way. Mu is speechless as he kneels down, while the peanut gallery grows quiet, supporting eagerly by the sides. The father ignores them and focuses straight ahead, keeping a sharp eye watching over the little one toddle her way over towards him.

Two hands reaches out, scarred and calloused but always protecting the light of those he loves with every bit of his strength in him. Ever whispering encouragements to the child. Another strong figure follows closely behind those determined tiny feet, guiding hands ready to grab the innocent star from falling too far. A scrunch of a button nose, and just a few more steps! But the unsteady feet stumbles over themselves, as the onlookers gasps.

It did not matter, Mu's combat reflexes grabs Astella safely and the man laughs brightly. Strong arms hugging his child tight, kissing the chubby pink cheeks and praising her for her first steps. Before he turns and pulls his lover and partner in as well, giving Murrue a sweet kiss on those soft lips that he had dearly missed. Letting the familiar scent of this strong woman envelop his senses as he holds them close.

"Surprise." Murrue then whispers into his neck.

"Thank you." Mu smiles back, pressing his lips once more onto her forehead.

A younger pilot in that white EA uniform ever wandering aimlessly in those skies would never have dared to imagine the life he has now. However, Mu knows this is what his heart had long yearned for.

The two figures here in his arms are his sky now.

---

Omake:

"Ah!Ah!"

"Yes, that one is Akatsuki! Papa pilots that big mobile suit!" Mu grins proudly back at his daughter in his arms, who is absolutely fascinated by the large shiny unit. All bright and sparkly under the hangar lights.

Murrue stays at the side as she talks to the NCOs, but keeps an eye on her husband-to-be and their daughter. A sense of warmth and bliss filling her heart watching her love ones together and full of joy. Under that shining mobile suit that have kept him safe and helped them bring peace-

"-So does Astella wanna touch Akatsuki?"

"Mu- COLONEL FLAGA, NO!"

[dsp-consultants]

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