#contributed to the high!adam fics | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bi-focal12 · 2 months ago

Text

looking for fellow writers!! togachako writing game edition

interested in writing a second part to a short togachako fic i wrote?

i dont really plan on doing anything with this piece so i think it'd be really fun to see people's takes on how to continue it! like a super low pressure writing game

if you do participate, pls tag me or reblog so i can see your contribution!! even if its just a few lines!

the fic is a loose play on frankenstein with some adam & eve elements thrown in (and the unnamed girl is ochako)

have at it! :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Toga was a bloodied thing, she knew.

She was born with cold metal kissing her bare skin and electricity shrieking down her spine. Her first breath- a choking, cut-off scream- was not even her own, the memory too tightly braided with the boom of Dr. Garaki's laughter in his small laboratory.

I made you, he had explained, pain still ringing oddly in her skull.

She had been made, not born, and no one loved to remind her of this fact more than Dr. Garaki himself.

Pet, he called her, grinning indulgently in his tall, wingback office chair. The reflection of his glasses shone like fire. Like the spark that had jolted her alive.

I made you, he’d say. I made you.

But what am I? Toga would ask, twin pinpricks of too-sharp teeth digging into her too-wide lips while she fumbled out the words, warmth dribbling from her rosy smile.

Dr. Garaki did not like this image, nor the question.

You are my creation, he’d snap, the floor rumbling with the force of his rise from the wingback chair. Do you not trust me, pet?

Toga would watch the sky flash outside the dark windows of the laboratory and nod, nod, nod because she did not know what she was but she knew punishment well.

All Toga knew was punishment and Inside.

The Inside of the laboratory, which smelled faintly of the coins that slipped between uneven couch cushions, and the Inside of Toga- drawn from her own disordered lips- red as plush velvet and twice as sweet.

Good, Dr. Garaki would say from behind his wide, unbreachable desk. Now behave.

Behave, behave, behave.

This word buzzed around Toga’s head like the constant drone of heavy machinery in the lab. It followed her when she closed her fists around home-smelling coins, retrieved from their hiding places late at night, and when she draped her goose-bumped body in the off-limits, grass-green curtains, and, louder still, when she peered out of small, dirt-smeared windows, asking after the word for grass.

Red had leaked from her cheek, then, bursting forth from the skin by the rings adorning Dr. Garaki’s punishing hand. But the word had slipped out as he’d shouted.

Toga’s tongue had darted to the corner of her mouth and she’d imagined the word blooming over her tongue- swallowed and safe within herself.

Yes, Toga knew of Inside well. She craved the taste of Outside, now.

Outside she saw a girl with red flowers in her hand, picked from the border of Dr. Garaki’s property, and high on her cheeks laid a dusting of soft-petalled blush.

Toga had never known the color red could be so gentle.

Toga longed to be picked from the laboratory like the thorned stems in the girl’s steady hands. To be lifted up. To be held.

“You’re not supposed to be looking through there,” Twice whispered from over Toga’s shoulder. “It’s bad.”

Toga gnawed on her bottom lip, drawing red to the surface until she matched the roses being carried further and further from the laboratory.

“Why?” she asked.

Toga didn’t know who she was asking- Twice, the disappearing girl, or the flowers?

Twice was the only one to respond.

“Because Dr. Garaki said it’s bad,” he reminded her nervously.

Toga watched the girl’s form begin to blur on the horizon.

Twice shook her shoulder and Toga’s gaze slipped to the touch, observing the firm boundary between Toga and Twice. His fingers held the same shape as Dr. Garaki’s- more same than Toga’s- yet held none of the anger. Only urgency.

“How come Dr. Garaki gets to make all the rules?” Toga asked.

Twice’s hand slipped away like the question had bitten him, and, Toga thought to herself, maybe it had. With Twice’s same-enough hands he could cradle lessons from Dr. Garaki on how to name the objects in the laboratory. His scratching fingers could be gently pulled away from his seams. He could hold close the smiling shape of son on Dr. Garaki’s lips.

Twice held the honor of being made same-enough while Toga’s hands and heart and smile were wrong, wrong, wrong.

Pet, Dr. Garaki said, teeth glistening behind a simper. Filthy-

“Mr. Garaki wants what’s best for us,” Twice said, twitching on the last syllable and scratching the ragged line carved down his forehead.

“Does he?” Toga questioned.

How do you know? she wanted to ask. She craved his certainty with a desperation that left her Inside chest pounding hard against the firm line of her Outside body.

Twice twitched.

“I trust him.”

The dull roar of the laboratory seemed loud today, and Toga felt restless.

“Do you trust?” Twice asked.

Toga’s mouth quivered and she turned her gaze back to the small window. The girl was gone now but she would be back tomorrow.

Toga flinched as the door slammed open and Dr. Garaki appeared a moment later.

Pet or-

“Filthy woman,” Dr. Garaki muttered, striding forward to yank the green curtain from Toga’s body. The view of Outside disappeared.

Toga shivered.

“Don’t you know your shame dirties you?” Dr. Garaki continued, staring at the Outside of her body.

Could he see the Inside?

Toga desperately hoped that he couldn’t.

“It’s unbecoming of my creations,” he stated before spinning on his covered foot to stride through his office door, a box of rattling machine parts held in his arms.

Toga’s trust in Dr. Garaki was as brittle as the vase she had tipped over the other day, fascinated by the sound it made when it hit the floor. Left in a puddle of red after Dr. Garaki had found her.

Inside herself, Toga said, I do not trust Dr. Garaki, and shame bloomed hot and heavy in her chest.

She felt like the vase, one breathless moment before it shattered.

“Toga?” Twice whispered, eyes drooping with concern.

“It’s cold,” Toga whispered.

Twice fidgeted for a moment, his nails hesitating a few inches from his sewn-together face. After a furtive glance towards Dr. Garaki’s closed office door, he gave into the urge to scratch, leaving raking, red lines across his Outside.

“I know,” he murmured. “Do I? I…yes. I know.”

Toga blinked away the blurry heat gathering in her eyes and reached out with her not-same-enough hand until it rested on Twice’s knee.

Slowly, she ran her hand up and down one length of his leg. Then faster.

Twice stared.

“See?” she whispered. “It makes warmth.”

“I…” Twice peeked over his shoulder, towards the door Dr. Garaki had disappeared behind. “…see. I see. I do.”

Toga removed her hand and watched Twice repeat the action for himself.

Toga turned back to the green curtain, looking in the place she knew the window lived, and began rubbing warmth back into her arms as she imagined the girl.

I trust her, Toga decided.

And how lovely was it for there to be a her that wasn’t Toga? A her that Toga might be same-enough for.

Dr. Garaki cursed the Outside people but Toga bit her lip and danced with the idea that the girl from Outside might see Toga- red as the roses she always returned to- and pluck her, instead.

And then maybe Toga could live how she wanted to. Cursed or not.

14 notes · View notes

mrs-gucci · 4 years ago

Text

A Different Kind of Urgent {Charlie Barber x Reader}

author’s notes: hellooooo! my penpal friend, a fellow adam driver rat, sent me a print of a charlie picture (that I’d seen a gajillion times before, mind you) and for some reason, I thirsted hard. so, naturally, I wrote a fic inspired by the picture. the reader in this story is a college professor, but it doesn’t really contribute to any ‘essential’ parts of the story (aka the smutty parts). it’s just her job lol

warnings: smut. some fluff. masturbation. semi-public smut. the sending of nudes (well, lingerie pics, to be specific). charlie’s dad outfits™️. cigarette smoking during sex. uhh tennis shoe kink??

(possible) tw’s: semi-public sex. semi-public masturbation. tobacco use (as is canon for Charlie’s character). implied age gap (everyone’s over 21, no more than 10 years).

You’re in the middle of class when Charlie texts you. Your phone buzzes and buzzes on your desk so much so that you have to stop your lecture for a few seconds, worried that something urgent has happened.

Well, something did happen, and it was pretty urgent, but not exactly in the way you’d expected.

-Charlie: I know you’re teaching class right now kid.- -Charlie: But I need you.- -Charlie: Right now.-

A shiver runs down your spine as you read his words on the screen.

-Y/N: I’ve got like 45 more minutes of lecture, baby, I can’t.-

He growls under his breath, cock straining in his tan khakis.

-Charlie: Fuck.- -Charlie: Can you send me a picture? Just need to see your pretty body, kid.-

-Y/N: Say please, Charlie.-

Charlie groans in sexual frustration, hips bucking up in his desk chair.

-Charlie: Jesus fucking christ, fucking brat. PLEASE! PLEASE send me a picture!-

You smirk, picking out one of the lingerie photos you’d taken when you were home alone one night. You’ve been waiting for the right time to whip them out and...well, this seems like the right time.

-Y/N: Attachment 1 image- -Y/N: Knock yourself out. Take a picture when you’re done, and I’ll be over as soon as class is finished.-

His shaky hands scramble to type in his phone passcode and click on your message, a strangled moan leaving his lips at the picture you chose. He’d never seen this one before, never seen this set of lingerie before. He unbuckles his belt and almost tears the button clean off his khakis as he pulls his cock out, tip already red and drooling with precum.

Before he starts anything, he quickly runs over to his office door, locking it to keep anyone from walking in.

His navy cardigan suddenly feels almost suffocating and he sheds it without hesitation, unbuttoning his dress shirt and parting it, revealing his undershirt.

Wait...you want a picture. Fuck.

An idea comes to him and he whimpers, equal parts aroused and nervous about giving it a try. God he hasn’t touched himself since the divorce proceedings, just needing to blow off some fucking steam, but you’ve reignited his sexual passion, overwhelmingly so, and seemingly even more than before. Maybe even more than ever, if he’s honest with himself.

He feels like a teenager again, both completely smitten with you while at the same time incredibly horny for you.

Charlie stands up on shaky legs and shoves all the paperwork off his desk, clearing a roomy spot right in the center. He bites his lip as he props his phone up on his desktop computer with the picture of you pulled up. Jerking off with just his hand wouldn’t be enough this time around, a small part of him just knew it. He needs to fuck you, fuck something.

He positions his hands around the edge of his desk, leaving his thumbs right at the top, putting them in a wonky sort of ‘o’ shape. He adjusts so that the sharp edge is pressing against his palm before experimentally thrusting his length forward into the hole he’s created with his thumbs, immediately groaning in pleasure.

“O-Oh, kid.”

He whispers, picking up a slow thrusting rhythm, eyes squeezed shut as he imagines your pussy.

“Such a good little pussy, my good f-fucking girl.” A line of sweat has already begun forming on his forehead as he moves a bit quicker, growling wildly with each thrust. He’s embarrassingly close already. “God, j-jesus fucking christ, gonna make me cum so f-fast, kid. I’m already s-so close, damnit.”

His hips grow desperate, bucking erratically into his grip. The drag of his cock against the faux wood surface feels absolutely incredible, and he barely even hears the desk begin to groan and shift against the floor of his office, too consumed with his impending orgasm.

“Yeah, you ready? Y-You fuckin’ ready for my big fat--fuck!--load in this pretty little--shit!--k-kitty?”

Just hearing him say the word aloud, his nickname for your cunt, has him cumming within moments. His vision blacks out for a second as his hips rut forward, a seemingly continuous stream of warm white cum painting his desktop.

“Ahhhhh, fuuuuuuuck.”

He has to bury his mouth into his shirt arm to hide the cries that come from him, eyebrows knitted at the center of his forehead. His breathing is heavy as he begins coming down from his high, eyes flitting open and looking down at the mess he’d made.

His load had gone across the entire width of his desk, and his eyes widened for a moment as his brain somehow comprehended to grab his phone and take a picture of the spread.

-Charlie: Attachment 1 image- -Charlie: Come straight to my office when you get to the theater.-

You take a quick peek at the message from Charlie as your students pull out their workbooks, jaw dropping when you open the picture full-screen. Holy shit, he really did need it.

-Y/N: You sure you still have enough to fill me up with when I get there?-

-Charlie: I always have enough for you, kid. Gonna have it leaking out of you when you leave.-

You chew your lip, thinking of a quick yet clever response.

-Y/N: Is that a promise?-

He groans under his breath, chuckling lightly with a small smile.

-Charlie: Absolutely. Can’t wait to see you, kid.-

-Y/N: I’m excited too. I’ll be there in 20.-

The twenty minutes it takes for you to finish class and walk over to Exit Ghost feels like some of the longest in Charlie’s life, knee bouncing impatiently and eyes glued to the door. He twirls the Marlboro package in his hand, the clock behind his desk tick-tick-ticking the seconds away.

Finally, a soft knock comes and, just in case it isn’t you, he stuffs the carton into his pocket. “Come in.”

Your head pokes through the door and you smile at him as you walk in, shutting and locking the door behind you. You immediately notice his outfit, specifically his shoes, which are propped up on his desk.

He knows that you like how he dresses, especially when he dresses very dad-like. And those sneakers he has, the white ones with the blue lines on them...god, they drive you absolutely crazy and you have no idea why.

Your bags are quickly shoved off your shoulder by the impatient director, pulling you into his body as his lips attack yours fiercely. He notices the way you’re eyeing his outfit, and it’s then that he realizes what shoes he has on, the pair that you like so much. Oh, he could use that.

His grip on the meat of your hips tightens increasingly as the kiss heats up, lips eventually moving down to your neck.

“Well, hello to you too.”

You say, laughing softly.

“Mmmm,” He hums onto your skin, lips littering kisses and small nibbles everywhere they can reach. “I missed you, kiddo, feels like forever since we’ve had time for something like this.”

Charlie’s large body presses you up against the door, hands eager to rid you of your pants. He quickly yanks them down to your ankles, fingers finding your clothed folds.

“I’ve got a staff meeting at two, baby. We h-have to be kind of quick...sorry.” You breathe, hand wrapping in his hair, tugging at the silky raven locks.

A small and slightly disappointed sigh leaves his lips, but nothing more is said on the matter. His movements do become a bit more rushed, though, digits dipping beneath the fabric to shove up into your entrance.

Your legs spread instinctively, knees shaking as he finger-fucks you, thick digits scissoring inside you to prepare for his girth. Meanwhile, you try to focus on getting his belt and pants undone, but it’s awfully hard when his fingers feel so damn good.

He pulls away suddenly, sucking the juices off his fingers as his hungry eyes roam your figure. The carton of cigarettes presses against his thigh and he smirks, pulling his digits out with a lewd pop.

Charlie suddenly pulls you off the door, putting himself in your spot instead. He smirks, fingers running under your chin, keeping your head tilted up at him.

“Will you go open the window for me please, beautiful?”

You nod, rushing over to push it open, then come back over to stand in front of him.

“Good girl. Thank you.”

His pointer finger twirls and points to the floor while the other hand grabs the pack and lighter from his pants pocket.

“Now, turn around and bend over right here, hold your ankles or feet, or whatever.”

As you position yourself accordingly, he leans back against the door, legs spread and sneaker-clad feet planted on either side of you, right within your line of vision. He’s almost fully hard again already as he moves to free his cock from its khaki confines, undoing his pants just enough to have it out.

Again, his cardigan feels suffocatingly hot, so he quickly pulls it off and tosses it away. He rolls the sleeves up on his button-up, a sight that makes your insides clench.

He jams a cigarette between his teeth, jaw clenching when he looks up and realizes that you’re bent over for him, in just the way he asked. Your glistening pussy’s on full display as you wiggle your ass a bit, his cock bobbing and twitching with excitement.

“Oh kid, you’re dripping.” Charlie whispers, almost to himself, hand kneading one of the globes of your ass.

You chuckle softly. “Hey, baby? As much as I love hearing and feeling you, my legs are getting kinda tired.”

Laughing, Charlie says a quick ‘sorry’ before holding and pulling your hips back, lining himself up with your soaked entrance. He pulls you back some more, impaling you on his cock, head falling back against the door as he does so.

His hands shakily ignited the small flame on his lighter, bringing it up until the tip of the cigarette turned orange before flipping the cap back on and shoving it back in his pocket. He takes a long drag, groaning on the exhale.

He keeps one hand on your hip while the other spreads out on your lower back, guiding you back and forth over his shaft slowly, gently.

“Thaaat’s it, just like this, kid.”

Your eyes roll into the back of your head, the impossibly deep angle created with this new position has it feeling like he’s reaching into your guts. Plus, with the natural up-curve of his cock, he’s brushing all the right spots inside you.

“C-Charlie…”

The familiar and comforting scent of Charlie’s cigarettes fills your nostrils, a haze of smoke surrounds your joined bodies. He continues to move you up and down on his length, buttocks clenching as his hips naturally rock forward, burying himself to the hilt each time you sink down.

“God...jesus christ...love this little pussy of yours, kid.” He breathes through his gritted teeth. “Taking me so nicely, always wrapped around me so goddamn tight.”

You quickly begin moving yourself up and down his stiff rod, bouncing as fast as you can manage. The sweet burn in your thighs only grows more prominent with each passing second, but you don’t care, too consumed in pleasure.

“Mmmmmyyyeah, baby, all for you.”

His hand comes down on your ass, giving it a firm smack before taking another quick drag, exhaling through his nose.

“That’s f-fucking right, all mine. You love being a little slut for this cock, huh? I know you do, you love when I bring you in my office and fuck your pretty cunt in the middle of the goddamn work day, can’t even wait until I get home, this f-filthy slut cunt needs to be split open and stuffed nice and full. Can’t go one fucking day without my cum fucked in you, always needs to be filled up and leaking, hm?”

Charlie was never able to do stuff like this or talk to Nicole like this. She was pretty vanilla when it came to sex, just like to be fucked quietly in bed. He called her a ‘slut’ once and she almost cried, lecturing him for half an hour afterwards on how disrespectful it was.

But now, he gets to explore everything he hasn’t gotten the chance to with you. You love it all, love the way he talks filth in your ear, calls you naughty names. You love getting fucked in all sorts of places, which at first made him a little nervous, cheeks and the tips of his ears bright red when you asked him to fuck you in your classroom or finger you under your dress on the subway. But, after almost a year and a half together, you can safely say that he’s a full-on exhibitionist deviant.

Your walls clamp down around him, eyes still squeezed shut as you feel his hips begin to thrust forward. Soon, he holds you almost completely still, moving his hips as fast as he can. His cigarette is almost ashes at this point, and he kicks himself for not thinking of a good disposal plan beforehand.

“Oh baby, oh baby...f-fuck!” You whine, hips squirming and gyrating as your impending orgasm grows closer. “Y-Yeah, I love it, love everything you do to me. Wanna take every s-single fucking drop of your cum, Charlie, want it inside me, want it dripping down my thighs.”

He almost loses his mind over your comments, drilling into you at an impossibly hard and fast rate, the lewd slapping squelching sound of your hips colliding overwhelmingly prominent in the space around you.

“You’ll go back to work with so much cum shoved into you, make you sit through your stupid fucking meeting with my cum dripping out of you. B-Better hope no one notices, huh? Better hope your boss doesn’t find out what a good little cockslut you are, how much you love having a pussy-full of your boyfriends f-fucking cum.”

A few muted cries leave your lips as he pounds you harder, his own words spurring him on. He can feel your walls pulsing around him, a sure-fire sign that you’re about to cum.

“C-Charlie! Charlie, I...I’m close.”

“K-Know you are, kid, I know you are. You’re doing so f-fucking well for me, Y/N, squeezing my big cock like a fuckin champ.” Charlie growls, quickly tossing his spent cigarette in a coffee mug on a nearby table. “And now you’re gonna rub your little clit and cum for me like I know you want to. C��mon, kid, wanna feel you come undone around me.”

You quickly begin rubbing your clit and, despite the odd angle, it brings you right up to the edge. You just need something, just a little something, to push you over the edge. Your eyes flutter open to look up at him, but then, you’re met with the sight of his sneakers.

“Goddamnit!” You’re cumming almost instantly, flooding his shaft with your release. “Yes! Oh god, yeah, c-cumming for you baby!”

His hips keep pumping, taking you right through your climax before abruptly coming to a halt when they’re buried as deep inside you as they can possibly be. His eyes go wide before squeezing shut, a guttural groan ripping through his chest as he pumps and shoves his thick creamy load into you.

“T-Take it, f-filthy whore!” He groans, rutting his hips the whole way through, making sure every drop is put inside you.

Once he’s finished, having ridden out his high to its fullest, he tucks himself back into his pants before helping you stand back up. He holds you close, looking down at you with a bright, genuine smile.

“You’re amazing, incredible...just so perfect.” He kisses all over your face before landing on your lips.

Your cheeks heat up at his compliments, hands weaving through his hair as the kiss deepens.

Suddenly, someone knocks on your office door, jiggling the doorknob.

“Charlie?”

His eyes fly open and he pulls away. Shit.

“Yeah, I’m h-here, just give me a minute!”

You quickly pull your pants up and jump under his desk to hide just as he opens the door, running a hand through his hair.

He talks to the person on the other side of the door in a rushed voice, answering their multitude of questions before quickly shutting the door, sighing as you crawl out from under the desk.

“At least we both got to cum, unlike last time.” You walk up and put your hands on his pecs, rubbing them over the fabric. “I gotta get going though, baby. I wanna grab lunch from the deli before my staff meeting.”

Charlie nods, dipping his head down to kiss you one last time, nuzzling his large nose against yours.

“Come over tonight, though? Nicole’s in town and she’s got Henry, so we’ll have the house to ourselves. I feel like we haven’t spent any quality time together lately.”

Nodding, you smile. “I would love to come over. I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Great.” He smiles, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll see you later, kid. Have a good meeting.”

You laugh as you grab your bag and head out, turning back to wave and flash him a soft smile.

“See you tonight.”

184 notes · View notes

midnightsconspiracy · 4 years ago

Text

Office Romance?

Office Romance? - @midnightsconspiracy

Summary: It's Mouse’s first day in the 21st district. Jay introduces him to the whole team, except you who seems to always be out until you finally meet at Molly’s and completely hit it off

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2193

Requested: Nope but my requests are currently open

A/N: This is my first time writing for Mouse and the longest fic I’ve written, so hopefully everyone likes it! :)

Masterlist

It was Mouse’s first day in Intelligence, it was finally the day that he was going to turn his life around. No longer living in sketchy areas and gaining felonies but instead becoming a legit member of society and working for a reputable institution, the Chicago police department. He had been recommended to the boss by his friend and former military buddy Jay Halstead, who unlike himself, had managed to get a proper holding in society after being discharged from the Rangers. This was finally his chance to show Jay and everyone else who cares about him that he could do something else good with his life and that he was more than just his time in the military.

Meeting Jay outside the district, the two men embrace in a warm hug, briefing saying their hellos and reminiscing on old times before they ascended the stairs. They pasted Sergeant Platt, Jay giving her a small hello in which she ignored and Mouse, despite having only met her once, gave her a polite smile. Punching in the passcode alongside his handprint, he unlocked the door climbing the second set of stairs up to the place he would call ‘home’ for hopefully years to come. Reaching the top Jay paused, Mouse quick to follow his actions.

“Guys this is Mouse, Mouse this is the Unit. That’s Dawson, Lindsay, Olinsky, Atwater, Nadia, and Sergeant Voight’s in his office.” The people in the room all averted their gaze from their own individual work, with Voight even exiting his office to greet him as well, to greet the newest member of the team, all presenting him with a momentary smile, short greeting, or handshake.

“Oh and Y/LN and Ruzek are currently out chasing up a lead right now but should be back soon,” Jay quickly followed up, trying to familiarise his buddy up with as much as possible to make him as comfortable as he could, knowing mouse struggled with rejoining society.

“Ok-k, well it's good meeting everyone, and I hope I can be of assistance to you all,” he mumbled out nervously, he admired Jay and Voight for giving him this opportunity but it still didn’t stop the feelings that they had a level of superiority over him due to their jobs. Taking him downstairs to his own tech room, he prompted Mouse to take a look around to get accustomed to his surroundings.

“What do you think buddy?

“I think it will do the job just fine,” he smiled back to jay reassuring him that he could do this.

“Ok, well if you’re all good I’ve got work to do myself,” Jay announced before turning and leaving Mouse to his own devices, finally leaving him to prove himself worthy.

—————

Mouse’s day was hectic, to say the least. Members of the team were constantly in and out of the tech room or calling him, getting him to give them vital information as quickly as he possibly could. But he thrived in the conditions present, what previously was extreme anxiety when he first entered turned into adrenaline. He hadn’t experienced such a high-intensity situation since his time at the Rangers, but he loved it. The Rangers was the place he felt most at home and alive, but the ‘accident’ had caused him to be honourably discharged. He wanted to be back in Afghanistan with Jay and his other military buddies desperately, feeling as though he had a place there, that he was actually contributing something good to the world, but this would do for the time, this was the best thing for him right now.

From what he could figure out, the unit was dealing with a human trafficking case in which multiple girls were found dead by the Docks, thrown into a container, and starved to death. Pulling up the names of multiple different men, he stared into their eyes as the pictures came up on his screen and felt no remorse for them as he heard each man be dragged into the cage one by one. The team managed to successfully find lead after lead, deciding to either all roll out together or keep sending Ruzek and Y/LN out. It was already about halfway through the day and Mouse still had not met the said people, only occasionally hearing their voices or being told to send them the information he was finding.

—————

As the day further progressed things started to flatline, leads found previously being a bust and nobody seeming to find anything worthwhile. The whole team worked tireless upstairs as Mouse found them the material they needed downstairs. Finally, after an hour of absolutely nothing, Dawson managed to get vital information from a CI and so a feasible lead was afoot. As the others were gearing up and getting ready to finally make some arrests, Jay popped his head into Mouse’s tech cave.

“Mouse I need you to send me the information on Spencer Phillips ASAP,” he was just about to walk out when he turned his head slightly to utter a few final words to his friend,

“And good job buddy, we really appreciate it.” Mouse smiled as he looked up the information for Jay, maybe he was going something good for the world, especially if his dearest friend thought so.

—————

The lead had been successful and two arrests of notable people in a human trafficking ring were arrested. The case was not fully closed, the organisation still up and running, but the perpetrators of the murders were put away to never see a day in the sun again. That was enough for Voight to warrant the members of his team a break to go home, rest and in the younger detective's case visit the local bar, Molly’s. Coming back up to the main room Jay greeted Mouse, patting him on the back for a job well done, he had underestimated his friend, thinking that he may struggle with his job just as he had coped with his anxiety and PTSD after coming back from the Middle East. Walking further into the room Mouse finally got to see the infamous man who had manage to evade his line of sight for the whole working day, Adam Ruzek. Approaching him he finally got to introduce himself.

“Hi, it's nice to finally meet you”

“Yeah, you too Mouse, I feel like I’ve been swept off my feet the whole day, you coming to Molly’s”

“I wasn’t planning to but sure why not?” Mouse had a vague idea of what Molly’s was, Jay sometimes talking about the bar run by first responders, but he was excited to finally see it for himself. Turning to Jay, who was packing his stuff up at his desk, he assumed he would want to go to the bar alongside the rest of the team,

“Molly’s then?” He smirked knowing Jay would never turn him or drinking down,

“Of course.” Leaving the district together, the two guys headed in the direction of the bar relieved to finally get away from work and have some downtime. Unbeknown to them you were in the changing room with Kim chatting away, excited to go for a drink and ready to go upstairs to meet the new tech guy. Little did you know you would be very disappointed when you did so.

—————

Arriving at the bar the men settled into the unit's usual booth at the back of the bar, flagging down Hermann to get two beers so that they could finally unwind from a long day of stressful events.

“The rest of the team should be here shortly, but how was your first day buddy, tell me all,” Jay asked hoping that his friend liked the position so that he could work towards becoming an outstanding member of the community and chuffed that he was working alongside his best friend once more.

“It was good man, I don’t really know what else to say about it. Um..I finally felt as if I was doing something with myself, I felt that adrenaline I missed from the Rangers, but I miss it, the thrill, the relationships, everything really Jay.” Jay sighed not knowing what to say, annoyed at his friend for missing it, he had spent so long trying to pull Mouse out of that bad place, a constant cycle of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, that it hurt him that he wanted to go back. The tense situation was interrupted by the rest of the team arriving, taking up the rest of the room in the booth with Erin snuggling up to Jay and Adam getting up to buy a round for the table. All the usual suspects were there enjoying themselves, except one, you.

You had gone home to shower and get out of your work clothes before making your way to meet the rest of the team for some rest and relaxation, maybe nestling a few beers throughout the night. Making your way into the bar, you passed members of firehouse 51, making small talk with them before moving towards Hermann to get yourself an alcoholic beverage. Thanking him you turned to walk over to your unit's table, spotting an unfamiliar figure in the corner of the booth next to jay, which you could assume was the new tech guy Mouse.

“Christ Y/LN where have you been?” Your partner Adam boomed, already a little tipsy from the two beers he had consumed.

“Sorry I had to go home first, wanted to freshen up,” you smiled amused at how much of a lightweight Adam really was, despite claiming otherwise.

“Y/N this is Mouse, I don’t think you’ve met yet,” Jay interrupted you, drawing your attention away to introduce you to the nervous man beside him. Looking him dead in the eyes, you noticed how attractive he was, you had just presumed that Mouse would be less than average looking considering his measly nickname, but no, the man in front of you was undeniably handsome with a charming smile and deep blue eyes.

“Hi, it's nice to meet you, sorry I didn’t meet you earlier, seems like we were both at the wrong place at the wrong time,” you gave a shy smile, sitting down next to Kevin trying to look confident despite the nervousness you felt inside.

“I-its good to meet you to Y/N, seems like the universe is not in our favour huh?” He stuttered equally as nervous, for what you assumed was first-time jitters, but little did you know it was because he found you equally as attractive.

——————

Throughout the night you continued talking with all members of your unit but especially Mouse. You felt naturally drawn to him, not just because of your attraction but also the stories he told that fascinated you, some from his days in the rangers and other ones from his childhood. By the end of the night, you too had managed to move to sit next to each other, with the members of your unit seeing you hit it off immediately and so pushed you together hoping for another office romance. Completely enamoured by him, you didn’t even notice that the other people in the bar were starting to trickle out slowly and Hermann’s last order was thirty minutes ago. Finally noticing your surroundings after the bartender had called your name and told you it was closing time, you checked your watch noticing the late time. Turning to Mouse you smiled and softly spoke about the revelation,

“I didn’t even realise how late it was, maybe we should get out of here, wait wait! Not like that, well unless you want you.” Noticing what you had said, you shyly smiled hoping he wouldn’t think you were too weird.

“That sounds good,” he cheekily smirked moving out of the booth, allowing you to get out too and heading towards the doors of the bar, saying a brief goodnight to Hermann on your way out. You walked down the street together to where your cars were parked, going at a slow pace, trying to extend your time together for as long as possible. Locating your car you stood next to it as you went to say your goodbyes to the handsome man in front of you.

“Thank you for keeping me company tonight, I really enjoyed it”

“Yeah me too, but I was hoping we could do it again sometime, just you and me?” Completely taken aback you stuttered to think of your response, you weren’t not thrilled about it at all, just completely surprised that he liked you as you did him.

“I’d love to Mouse, give me your phone,” handing you his phone you put your number in, silently hoping he would be one of those guys that actually use your number instead of ignoring it completely. Proceeding to hand it back, you both stood in silence not knowing what to say. But in this situation, no words were needed, only actions. So when he leaned in to place his lips, you gladly reciprocated the affection, wrapping your arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. Little did you know this would lead to a lifetime of desire and devotion.

#chicago pd #chicago pd imagines #chicago pd x reader #one chicago #greg gerwitz #greg gerwitz x reader #greg gerwitz imagines #greg mouse gerwitz

214 notes · View notes

xbunnybunz · 3 years ago

Note

1,5,6,8,&19!!!

9. First line of a WIP you’re working on.

This is from a request for Ben Park I had gotten literally a year ago, i am so fucking sorry anon, feel free to post a shit emoji in my inbox cuz i deserve it.

Around midday on all days excluding weekends, a tolling chime will play across the city. High schoolers with neatly pressed uniforms will pour out of buildings in hordes, speaking fervently about the best arcade game to play that day, whether a friend had enough won to eat at that new fried chicken place down the street, or whether it’d be better to snack in a café.

1. Favorite place to write.

When I write, I don't often find myself anywhere other than at my cluttered desk. There's always a wall I like to stare at while I contemplate different ways to describe how a smile can be devilish, without using the word "devilish" for the fucking fifth time in a row.

5. Books or authors that influenced your style the most.

Holy crap, the list would be huge. No joke, I consumed books like nobody's business when I was younger, then fanfiction when I started feeling unfulfilled with YA romance novels. Let's see, the most recent ones would be:

1. TLOZchik - (Quotev link: HERE ) INACTIVE Those of you familiar with my ongoing, on-haitus piece known as FOREVERMORE may have heard of this one. This writer has seriously written the most intricate LOZ fanfic I've ever read, and I still stand by that. Her characters are amazing, and everyone comes back to contribute to the plot somehow. 100% recommend.

2. Daniel Keyes - (Website link: HERE ) I don't know much about his personal life, but I often find myself pondering the lessons I've learned from his book "Flowers for Algernon." It's a painfully gorgeous book that details the sometimes repulsive, sometimes contradictory, elements of being human. I try to incorporate those things into my writing, which leads to a lot of angst and hurt.

3. smallpersiankitten - (AO3 link: HERE ) INACTIVE For my very beautiful (and very patient) "Stride of Luck" fans, here is the author of the piece who inspired me to create my fun, multi-chapter series. Smallpersiankitten wrote a ONE-HUNDRED-AND-THIRTY-SIX chapter fanfic called "Must Love Animals," which features some Undertale characters. I aspire to be like her!

4. Riful26 - (Tumblr link: HERE ) ACTIVE also see her tumblr here! @i-want-all-the-cookies Riful's writing was a godsend for me when I got into Weak Hero. The fandom was so small and sad that I was almost sure there would be no content to please my stupid picky ass, but her work scratched the itch I had AND inspired me to write my Jimmy Bae fic, "Devil is Always Cold." Her writing is a good blend between romance and drama. I like it, picasso. check it out.

6. Favorite character you ever created.

Probably this one oddball guy in "Stride of Luck" named Adam. I know a lot of the readers don't quite like him right now, but I promise he has a redemption arc later!!

8. Favorite trope to write.

Everyone knows this this!!! It's all over the place, in my tags, in my descriptions, up my ass!! Say it with me people, BAD. BOY. TROPE. From old school cool-guy classics like Dave Strider to new-age Webtoon brawlers like Wolf Keum, I abso-fucking-lutely love the distant and aloof, arms-crossed, "huh, you looking at me?" type of guy. (And it seems like you guys like it too ;) )

#me!#ask game #aboutmeasks

11 notes · View notes

pulaasul · 4 years ago

Text

The Menkies

A/N: Credit also goes to @redlyncentral, @cadetcama, @caswellprmanager for indirectly contributing to the creative process, via reading some of their asks, that and my co-writer was also sending snippets of this fic to them, so I got some feedback

Thank you.

I hope it’s up to everyone’s standards.

--------

East High’s Drama club members, affectionately renamed the Wildcats, after the school’s fictional mascot from the High School Musical movies, all received official Menkies invitation to the bi-annual Menkies competition.

What surprises could await our wildcats there?

FFN I AO3

[sorry I could not find any other gif that had the entire main cast]

--------

"Is everyone here?" Miss Jenn questioned as she strutted inside the bomb shelter of a rehearsal room.

It has been a week since the entire Drama department, even those who weren't present at the after-party, unanimously agreed to drop out of the Menkies competition against other schools, especially against North High.

"Big Red and Kourtney are on their way, they were called by their teachers after class." Ricky informed.

"EJ's also on his way, he had to submit some receipts to the student council for the senior expenses." Ashlyn relayed.

"So what's the emergency?" EJ questioned as he appeared from the room's entrance door, in full lacrosse gear. "I can't stay too long we have a game to win the day after tomorrow."

"We're just waiting for Kourtney and Big Red," Ricky helpfully informed. "Miss Jenn just got here actually.

"Sorry, we're late!"

Big Red and Kourtney rushed inside the room, both never bothering to place their things on the floor, and immediately stood in front of their drama teacher.

"Miss Jenn, are we talking about the Menkies invitation I got via email?" Carlos voiced.

"Wait, you too?" Ricky asked.

"Everyone from the drama club has received an invitation to attend the Menkies," Miss Jenn revealed. "Their rationale was that we deserve to at least attend the ceremony despite dropping out of the competition."

"Is it possible that this is another of North High's attempts at rubbing it to our faces?" Ashlyn asked.

Everyone agreed with Ashlyn's sentiment.

It was no secret to everyone that Lily resented Ashlyn for booking the Belle part instead of her.

"No," Miss Jenn denied the sentiment. "I've confirmed it with the Menkies board of judges and trustees, and they did say that we should have the privilege to attend the ceremony."

"But…"

"Why don't we treat this as our official field trip?" Nini voiced out her suggestion.

"As long as you have two teachers to chaperone you for the trip, considering there are freshmen in the department," Mr. Mazzara went inside the room and stood beside Ms. Jenn. "Miss Jenn and I will chaperone you for this particular field trip."

"So we're all in agreement?"

"What team?!" Ricky placed his right hand forward.

"Wildcats!" Everyone joined in to the huddle and placed their hands on top of Ricky's.

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!" Ricky yelled the school's fictional mascot.

"Get'cha Head in the game!" Everyone cheered.

-----

"Howie really looks good as Prince Adam." Kourtney whispered to Nini.

The Drama department used their invitations to get inside the hall where the Menkie awards were taking place. The first part of the ceremony was witnessing the different participating drama departments of the west coast perform a specific number from their respective musical plays before the actual awarding ceremony is held.

Currently on stage were the students of North High, performing the last song and dance number of their production, Beauty and the Beast, the waltz between Prince Adam and Belle after everything has been resolved. They can see Howie as Prince Adam dancing the waltz with Lily as Belle with the other cast members doing the same to the tune of the song 'Beauty and the Beast'.

"You've got to admit, Lily is the stereotypical Disney princess." Ashlyn observed.

"Ashlyn."

"No, I get it, I know I nailed my part," Ashlyn assured her fellow drama kids. "But don't you guys agree?"

"I mean sure," Gina nodded. "She may look like a Disney Princess, but she can't capture the character of one."

"Apart from Howie and Antoine, most of them really feel hollow when they sing their songs," Seb pointed out. "Even when Lily was auditioning with us, her voice felt hollow when she sang her songs, even with the warm-up."

"You noticed that too?" Ashlyn asked. "I thought it was just me."

"No, she really feels hollow when she sings her songs." Seb nodded.

"Even Ricky's awkward 'Bet On It' had more heart than her singing Belle." Ashlyn grinned.

"Oh it's because that I don't think she's all that bad, you're going to make fun of me too?" Ricky raised an eyebrow.

"Look, Ricky, just because she confessed her undying love to your big round eyes and big brown hair, does not mean she isn't the Queen of Mean." Big Red explained.

"Besides Kourtney is definitely dating Howie, and you don't see us harping on her." Nini grinned.

"Face it, Ricky, We all think Lily's bad news." EJ squeezed the younger boy's shoulders.

"You definitely could do better than her." Gina smirked firing his words back at him.

"Beauty and the Beast." The last note was sung as everyone on stage curtsied in front of the audience.

"Thank you North High!" The Emcee expressed, we will have a thirty-minute intermission to give a chance for South High to place their props on stage."

Everyone stood up from their seats and began exiting the room.

-----

From the castle aesthetic that North High presented, South High's set was that of a cave with small portions of the stage decorated like modern-day cities to middle-aged castles.

South High performed 'A Friend Like Me' with a lot of costume changes for Aladdin from his street rat attire to a sultan's robes heck there was even a time when he wore a knight's armor to wearing the beast's clothes from 'Beauty and the Beast'

"Now this is an entertaining number," Carlos grooved with the song. "Didn't think South High had a very high concept for 'A Friend Like Me'." He praised.

"It also makes sense, considering the genie's powers." Ashlyn nodded.

"They also won't be disqualified despite showing Princess Jasmine in the number as it can be argued that it's part of the genie's pitch."

The Aladdin on stage somehow ended up wearing just his harem pants and somehow chained to some rocks.

"So dont'cha sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed. I'm here to answer all your midday prayers." The shirtless Genie sang as he helped the equally shirtless Aladdin pull on the chains and break him free from his restraints.

"You got a genie for your chargé d'affaires. I got a powerful urge to help you out."

Smoke came out as the words were sung before another purple waistcoat dropped from above and landing on the Aladdin actor's head.

"I have to hand it to South High, they're creative."

"Shouldn't they be disqualified for the number of dance breaks they have?" Big Red asked.

"Technically, no," Carlos answered. "They did not alter the original script, they just made the number longer than how it normally is."

"Considering the number of outfit changes their Aladdin does in this number," Kourtney snorted. "The number of dance breaks is justified."

"Besides, we're almost at the end of the number." EJ pointed out.

Somehow Aladdin was now hand standing on top of Genie, who was also standing on top of an elevated uneven platform.

"Thank you South High!" The Emcee announced. "We will have another thirty-minute intermission to allow West High to set their set pieces and props.

"I have to say, I enjoyed South High's performance over North High's." Carlos offered. "Their number was enjoyable."

"A shame we decided to check the copycats over South's." Natalie lamented.

"We still have West High to go," Ashlyn reminded. "Maybe they have a better performance than South's?"

------

From the cave-like setting of South High's production, what was on stage were mock-up street lamps and some cardboard houses and at the center was a replica of the Notre Dame church, or at least the front is near identical to the church's entrance.

"Either it's 'Sanctuary' or 'Tupsy Turvy'." EJ guessed.

As soon as the first note was sounded and a man in jester's outfit slid on stage, it instantly clued everyone in on the song number.

As soon as the words started coming in, more and more of the ensemble dancers filed on stage from the back and both wings, dressed like circus performers. Some dancers came out of hiding from behind the cardboard houses, dressed as a commoner of the era.

Not a moment longer, the star of the show, the Hunchback showed trying to get away from the crowd but was thwarted at every turn.

"Their costumes are very creative and stylish." Kourtney praised.

'That's high praise coming from you, Kourt!" Nini exclaimed.

"Their dancers are also good," Gina agreed.

"Their set pieces are also humble," Big Red observed. "They made them work for their scene."

"Even their Judge Frollo looks stylish despite wearing only formal robes." Carlos praised.

"I think even without us competing, North High is going to have a hard time winning against them." Natalie commented.

"How is Ms. Jenn handling this?"

Everyone looked at Carlos, considering she was his chosen godmother.

"Ever since we decided to drop out of the competition, she's been calm, I think the other competition that North High is up against makes her happy." Carlos offered his guess.

The number soon ended with Quasimodo on top of an elevated platform standing on the throne wearing a golden crown and a purple cape.

"Thank you West High, we will have a fifteen-minute intermission, to give time for West High to remove their set-pieces." The emcee announced.

------

The winners for each category had been announced, with the awards being dominated by North High. They won best set design, best lighting, best ensemble performance, best costume design, best director, and best leading actress

South High won two awards best choreography and best orchestrations.

West High won one award best leading actor.

"Of course, North High is going to win most of the categories!" Carlos huffed.

"I mean, we've only seen one number from the other two schools." Big Red offered.

"Still, I was hoping that they wouldn't sweep at the awards," Carlos sighed. "I wonder how mother is doing."

"And for the Alan Menken Award for Excellence in High School Musical Theater goes to…" The emcee trailed off to create some tension.

Suddenly, some people wearing suits appeared on stage and began whispering at the emcee.

"Looks like, we'll just have to wait," The emcee awkwardly laughed. "We'll have another thirty-minute intermission."

As everyone murmured among themselves, the East High Drama club members looked at each other, equally confused as the other members of the audience.

"What do you think happened?" Ricky couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe they had a Miss Universe situation?" Seb offered. "When they mistakenly printed or announced the wrong winner, and looked to correct it?"

"It'd be cruel to the competitors who thought they had won tho." Nini offered her opinion.

"That's just the sad reality." Gina nodded as if remembering something in the past.

"Are you okay, Gi?" EJ questioned his girlfriend, concerned.

"I'm alright, just remembering a friend back in elementary, she was announced to be the winner on stage but they were mistaken and immediately announced the correct winner, humiliating her."

"That's horrible!" Ashlyn gasped.

"This was before Jamie decided to walk out on us, and before we were constantly moving from place to place." Gina shared. "Her parents decided to transfer her to a different school immediately after, fearing for their daughter."

"Kids can be cruel sometimes." Carlos huffed.

-----

As soon as everyone was seated, the person who went on stage was not the emcee of the program, but rather one of the suits who was whispering some words to the emcee earlier.

"After careful deliberation, the board of judges and the board of trustees has since decided to disqualify North High from the competition."

Everyone from the audience gasped at the revelation.

"Of course, North High still has time to defend themselves and appeal the decision. In which case, the awards they have won will be promptly awarded back to them. That will be all."

Out of the blue, someone stood up and began marching towards someone and began yelling.

"It was you!" The girl yelled. "You bribed the board to disqualify us from the competition."

"Ms. Wright, sit down right this instant!" Zack marched to his student. "Do not make this very difficult than it already is!" He growled.

"O my god! That's Lily!" Carlos gasped.

"That means…"

"She's yelling at Miss Jenn!"

"Settle your fangs Wildcats." Mr. Mazzara was suddenly beside Natalie. "Let's not make a scene here, your Miss Jenn is an adult, she can handle this on her own."

"Are we talking about the same Ms. Jenn who told Ricky to jump off of something high?" Kourtney couldn't help but whisper to Nini.

"Kourtney!" Nini elbowed her best friend.

"Why are you booing me? I'm right!"

"Bu-"

"What about you Mr. Mazzara?" Ashlyn asked.

"I'm just here not to add any more offenses to your records." The STEM teacher answered.

The said wildcats had the decency to look down and blush at the subtle call out.

"Caswell, you're in charge, do not let them leave their seats."

Both Caswells instantly knew who Mr. Mazzara was referring to. He was referring to the senior.

Mr. Mazzara immediately returned to his seat, besides Ms. Jenn.

From what every Wildcat could see, Lily was still pointing at Ms. Jenn rudely while ranting, and ranting, and ranting. The girl's words were drowned out by the murmurs of everyone in the audience, trying to make sense of the recent turn of events.

Another surprise came by the sight of a white cloth descending from above, and a projection was shown.

First, it showed Ricky Bowen, in his Prince Adam costume conversing with someone behind the camera, from the looks of things he seemed to be conversing with Lily from the blue cloth at the side of the projection.

The next thing the projection showed was the fully packed backstage of the theater, with everyone inside trying to leave in a hurry as if they had forgotten something. The camera soon stabilized as it showed Lily in full view of the camera, with no one else in the vicinity, gently grabbing the harness from where it's preset.

Lily was back behind the camera, as the projection showed the secret exit way of the school.

And the footage ends there.

"It was her?" Natalie growled. "When I get my hands on her!"

Everyone was upset with the revelation. Whispers and cruel looks were sent in Lily's direction.

"Who played the footage without our authorization?!" One of the suits exclaimed at the microphone.

Ricky was shocked. He was speechless. After all the times he had defended her, it turned out that she was the one behind it all. Behind getting yelled at by Ms. Jenn on opening night.

"Dude, are you okay?" Big Red was concerned.

Ricky simply gulped but did not respond to the question.

"Big Red, Kaden, could you two escort Ricky outside? I don't think he should be here." EJ asked.

Kaden and Big Red nodded as they gently hoisted Ricky off of his seat and accompanied the unresponsive boy outside.

"Couldn't believe that North High would sabotage us." Ashlyn gasped.

"I think she's worse than both Gina 1.0 and EJ 1.0" Gina joked.

"Hey!" EJ playfully protested.

Soon enough, Lily was escorted outside the theater with Zack coming along.

"It makes me wonder, did anyone else know?"

"Howie was sitting away from Lily during the show." Kourtney answered.

"Antoine was in front of Howie." Ashlyn supplied. "But he still could have known of it."

"I implore everyone present not to post everything that happened here on social media," One of the suits spoke through the microphone. "The board of trustees is still in the middle of investigating the matter, let us remember that one of the parties involved is a minor."

There were murmurs of agreement.

"I'll give the floor back to the Emcee to award the special awards."

"Thank you!" The Emcee went back on stage and continued his duties. "Again, I reiterate the importance of not posting what had happened tonight, remember that one or more parties that were involved are minors," He added. "Since we're postponing the awarding for best musical play for today as investigations are ongoing, let's proceed to the special awards."

The audience cheered.

"Not many people know but the Special Awards are given to participants and non-participants of the bi-annual Menkies competition. In this case, even those whose acts were disqualified because of failing to adhere to the competition's rules and guidelines are still given recognition for their efforts." The Emcee narrated. "I award the Special Award of Undeterred Performance to East High."

The peanut gallery clapped their hands in applause.

"East High may have decided to drop out of the competition, but despite the circumstances of their last scene, they were still able to deliver a stunning performance."

"W-we're getting an award?" Carlos couldn't breathe.

"Who should go with Ms. Jenn?"

"Carlos and Ashlyn." EJ decided for the group. "Ashlyn was our lead and Carlos was the one who steps up whenever Ms. Jenn is otherwise occupied.

"What about you? This is the last chance for you to be on stage with an award." Ashlyn questioned.

"I meant what I said a week ago, Ash," EJ smiled at his cousin. "I've basked in my share of spotlights, it's your turn to do the same."

"Aww EJ."

"Shall we, Belle?"

"We shall, Lumiere."

Ms. Jenn, Carlos, and Ashlyn all shared one hug before climbing on stage to receive the award.

"We will always be grateful for this award, but I must say, the reason we dropped out of the competition, even though we have already finished our opening night, was because of how much about the competition has dictated our work ethic." Ms. Jenn started her spiel. "The students and I pushed each other beyond our limits, which lead to few accidents."

Ashlyn raised her hand that still had her bedazzled braces.

"As the competition got intense, the students were filled with a sense of paranoia that led to them trespassing North High property on the assumption that they stole one of our costumes, which their director did, but that's not the point." Ms. Jenn continued. "On opening night, as soon as we realized that our harness was missing, I had told our male lead to jump off, even when he had literally done the same weeks before our opening, which lead to the accidents I mentioned before." She admitted.

Mr. Mazzara looked at Ms. Jenn with proud eyes, proud for admitting her mistakes and flaws.

"As we let the idea of winning the competition get into our heads, we did not realize that we had already forgotten why theater exists in schools. We had forgotten that it was to be a safe place for everyone in the performing arts, where no one would judge them if they put themselves out there, where everyone is accepted for who they are."

Ricky, Big Red, and Kaden returned to their seats they looked confused as to what was happening.

"What's going on? Why're Ms. Jenn, Carlos, and Ashlyn on stage?" Ricky spoke the question.

"Right," Seb nodded. "We were just awarded a special award for undeterred performance because we were still able to make the show go on despite Lily's theft."

EJ tapped Seb's shoulder in disapproval.

"O-ooh!" Ricky's eyes widened.

"Wait, I thought we dropped out of the competition?" Big Red couldn't help but ask.

"It's a special award given to participants and non-participants of the competition." Nini supplied.

"Our moral compass had been compromised as soon as we let the competition get into our heads. That's why we, as a group, unanimously decided to drop out of the competition." Miss Jenn ended her spiel.

"Belle, any words?" Ms. Jenn gave the microphone to the lead.

"What Ms. Jenn said was true, apart from our moral compass, we also had forgotten the one most important thing about theater."

"And that's being with your people." Carlos supplied. "Chemistry on stage says a lot about the actors who play the characters. If one castmate is uncomfortable with one of the leads, then that reflects negatively to the show, no matter how skilled of a singer, dancer, or actor you are."

"We must admit, we were confused as to why we were invited to witness the ceremonies when we dropped out of the competition." Ashlyn supplied.

"But we thank the board of judges of the Menkies for gracing us with this award!" Ms. Jenn raised the trophy. "Wildcats, this is for us."

Ashlyn, Carlos, and Ms. Jenn nodded at each other.

"What team?" Ms. Jenn stated to the microphone.

"WILDCATS!" All the wildcats present responded.

"Once again, thank you to the Menkies's board of judges and trustees for giving us this award." Ms. Jenn gave a last-minute sentence of appreciation before she and her students walked off stage.

"Thank you, East High, for that moving speech," The Emcee praised. "Now to award the Special Award for Costumes and Design, I give this award to West High!"

Everyone clapped as Carlos and Ashlyn went back to their seats.

"You know, it should've been Carlos and Gina, or Carlos and EJ on stage," Ashlyn stated. "I agree that Carlos should've been with Ms. Jenn, but Ej, that was literally your last chance to be on stage as an East High student."

"If it means that my cousin would be in the spotlight, I'll take it." EJ shrugged.

"You know, it would've been appropriate if our leads were the ones on stage." Rico offered his opinion.

"Ricky would have stomped down the idea, fast, if he was here when we were awarded, "Nini stated thoughtfully. "He had always hated change, and seeing his face projected onscreen was one change too many for him to handle, right Ricky?"

The boy in question simply nodded in response.

"You say that, but out of all of us, he's the one who changed the most," Kourtney offered. "Barring you, EJ, and Gina of course."

"Hey!" EJ protested. "No need to call us out like that?!"

Kourtney simply raised an eyebrow at the reaction.

"Now before we end the ceremonies," The Emcee called everyone's attention. "Let's all view the highlights of East High's production, Beauty and the Beast."

"I think Mr. Mazzara may have known that we were getting an award," EJ whispered to his castmates. "He had asked one of the A/V club members to capture our performance on video.

"Once Upon a Time, in a faraway land," The voice of Mr. Mazzara's faux British accent blared through the speakers of the theater.

Everyone watched as Steph walked on screen as the Enchantress who cursed Prince Adam to become the beast, whose transformation into a grotesque figure was quick and jaw-dropping.

The next number was 'Belle' with Ashlyn as Belle roaming around the stage, singing the song.

It was followed by 'Gaston' where EJ as Gaston was on top of the table while the other dancers spin it in its place as he sang the song while Big Red as Lefou was under the table jiving to the song.

The next thing shown was the 'Be Our Guest' number and it began with Carlos as Lumiere and Ashlyn as Belle standing spotlighted before the faux doors behind them opened to reveal the moving utensils.

Followed by the 'Something There' number where both Belle and Beast sang their thoughts together of each other. It also showed the chemistry between the actors on stage.

Followed by the 'Mob song' number where EJ as Gaston was on top of an elevated platform and egging on the villagers as a young-looking Maurice was thrown into a cart followed by Belle before he and the villagers marched to the castle.

The next scene that came up on the projector was how Gaston stabbed the Beast in the back before the assailant himself fell backstage. Followed by the transformation scene where the Beast was lying on a table before the lights went out and focused on the glowing rose cutout at the far end of the stage.

As soon as the lights went back, the Beast was back to being Prince Adam, standing on top of the spinning table.

The last scene to be featured was the waltz between Ricky and Ashlyn as Adam and Belle respectively, with Belle wearing the golden dress that the character was known for.

The lights went out momentarily before it returned, the waltz continued amongst the dancers but with the leads absent.

The ensemble dancers bowed first before Babbette and Lumiere walked on stage together, bowed at the audience, and joined the dancers in dancing the waltz.

Mrs. Potts and Chip followed the former feather duster and former candelabra and imitated their actions as soon as they were on stage.

The mother-son duo was followed by Cogsworth and the Enchantress, then by Gaston and Lefou, and lastly, Adam and Belle.

After the entire cast bowed, the video presentation ended.

"Give it up for, East High!" The Emcee announced.

Everyone clapped their hands as soon as they were prompted as two spotlights shone on East High's drama department in the audience and one on Ms. Jenn.

"They're the ones who got their presentation sabotaged, right?" Natalie could hear the people whispering.

"It didn't even look like they had a problem at all!"

"It's a shame that they dropped out of the competition."

"I know, if what they said on that speech was true, and still able to perform admirably well, then they're true professional actors in the making."

"I don't know, we've only seen a few numbers from their production," Another one played devil's advocate. "They could have made blunders on the numbers we never saw."

"That may be true, but I'm sure the transformation scene at the end was where the harness that girl took was supposed to come into play, judging from how they handled that, I'd say excellent marks."

"I suggest that you stop listening to the conversation." Someone from Natalie's back whispered to her. "You'll miss the moment."

Natalie turned around, but she couldn't tell who was the one whispering to her earlier.

"I thought you said the transformation was just passable!" Nini exclaimed to Kourtney.

"It really just looked passable!" Kourtney defended herself.

"Are you kidding?! It was incredible!" EJ exclaimed.

"Congratulations, dude." Big Red congratulated his best friend. "I'm sorry about Lily

"We did warn you," Gina offered. "I just did not think she'd be much worse than EJ 1.0 and Gina 1.0 combined."

"We weren't that bad, right?" EJ's voice cracked.

"You did steal, but you guys eventually returned what you stole." Ashlyn laid down the facts.

"For the record, I did not steal the phone."

"True, you just deleted a voice message." Nini reminded him.

"Oh c'mon!" EJ exclaimed. "I thought I was forgiven."

"Forgive, but never forget."

"I'm going to steal that, girl!" Kourtney smirked.

------

The day after the Menkies, Ms. Jenn called for an emergency meeting with the drama department. She arrived with everyone already assembled in the rehearsal room.

"So what's the emergency?"

"Has anyone seen the video North High posted on their Instagram?" Ms. Jenn questioned her students.

"What?"

Everyone fished for their phones and immediately went to their former rival's Instagram page.

"Hello, this is Zack Roy." Zack's face was on everyone's phone as soon as the video clip started. "You have heard right, I have encouraged my students to do what it takes to win any and every competition they set their sights on," The man maintained a stoic appearance. "It was up to them to give themselves the advantage they need. I never thought that my students would stoop so low to steal an actor's harness during their opening night."

Everyone was glued to their phones as they processed the apology video that North High posted.

"As such, I deeply apologize for what my students did."

"He wasn't sincere." Natalie commented.

"He's taking everyone down with Lily?" Kourtney scoffed. "How dare he?!"

"Didn't he also steal our mask?!" Carlos growled.

"With the North High's apology video, it confirms that they have been completely disqualified from the Menkies with no hope of appealing their case." Ms. Jenn informed the group. "As such, the Menkies board of trustees has emailed the other participating schools' drama teachers and principals of their verdict with what to do."

"What action did they take?" Gina couldn't help but ask.

"First, they revoked their decision to award Lily of the best leading actress, with no school wanting the award in the once it was vacated."

"W-why wouldn't anyone want to get that?" Big Red and Ricky were confused.

"Because, it'd basically be admitting that you're just leagues below someone else, that and you just won on a technicality." Carlos explained to newbies of theater.

"The winner for the Alan Menken Award for Excellence in High School Musical Theater was supposed to be North High." Ms. Jenn added. "They were supposed to receive $50,000 in check as the school's reward, with North High's offense, the Menkies board decided to split the $50,000 reward money amongst all the participating schools, even to the ones who were disqualified and those who dropped out of the competition."

"How much do we get?" EJ couldn't help but ask.

EJ was in the drama club for four years straight, he was aware of how much the drama club was receiving in terms of money. It was a wonder how they were able to produce Beauty and the Beast, the first time.

"There were 20 participating schools for the bi-annual Menkies awards, barring North High, there'd be 19 left." Ms. Jenn stated.

"If we count North High, each school will get $2,500." EJ answered casually.

"No, with North High's offenses, they're excluded from the count." Ms. Jenn shook her head.

"If we only count the 19 schools, then each school would receive $2,630." Ashlyn calculated.

"You rounded the answer off to the nearest tens," EJ casually pointed out. "Leaving a $30 excess."

"I mean, would you give each school the very exact change up to the last cent?" Ashlyn questioned.

"Wait for a second, you both do math?" Carlos couldn't help but ask the Caswell cousins. "How come we were never aware of this?!" He demanded.

"It's not like we were hiding it." Ashlyn shrugged.

"EJ's literally the senior class treasurer," Big Red pointed out. "But even I can't do math that quick."

"Neither can I and I'm an assistant manager." Kourtney raised her hands.

"That's how the money's going to be divided ideally, with the $30 given to the school North High tried to sabotage, us."

"If only that would come true." Gina sighed.

"At the very least, East High will get $2630 from the money that North High was supposed to win." EJ reported.

"At least the department will have some budget for the fall musical." Ms. Jenn sighed in relief.

The school bell suddenly rang.

"Okay, wildcats, that will be all, please return here after school and we'll decide on some things." Ms. Jenn dismissed her students.

------

"Ms. Jenn, EJ can't make it this afternoon," Ashlyn informed the drama teacher. "He has one last WaterPolo match before he can finally focus on final exams."

"That's okay, I wanted everyone but EJ today." Ms. Jenn smiled at the Caswell.

"Wait, Why?"

"We're doing a graduation party for our Gaston." Ms. Jenn announced. "So anyone got any ideas?"

"I may have a few." Gina volunteered.

#hsmtmts #ricky bowen #ej caswell #ashlyn caswell #gina porter #big red redonovich #nini salazar roberts #kourtney greene #carlos rodriguez #miss jenn #benjamin mazzara #seb matthew-smith #story #a story about the menkies #lololol #the menkies

43 notes · View notes

writerownstory · 3 years ago

Text

you’re going to have to forgive the summary… I’m working on very low brain power and put a lot of energy into editing this so I could post asap. but here’s my contribution to the Christmas fic world: a fake dating AU✨

summary:

Luke and Julie have been best friends since way back in high school when Sunset Curve was strictly a garage band and mostly a hobby. It wasn't until right after graduation when Andi Parker discovered them and signed them to her label, thus causing the boys to reach a level of fame and fortune none of them could've imagined. No matter how big they got, Luke and Julie maintained their friendship: Luke feeling the most at home when he's with Julie and Julie getting a glimpse at the life of a rockstar when she's with Luke.

Until one night after a few questionable choices were made at Destiny Management's holiday party, suddenly everyone thinks Luke and Julie are dating, which is hilarious to their friends.... but not Luke and Julie.

OR: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams x JATP AU with a Christmas twist!

read on ao3

#julie and the phantoms #jatp fic #julie molina #luke patterson #juke fic #no unfinished business #my writing

8 notes · View notes

toast-the-unknowing · 3 years ago

Note

This is random but I don’t really feel like in the LA verse it’s just Ronan doing all the work / giving Adam what he wants, mostly in the smut department. Not at all actually? I feel like Ronan might think about certain things more often and just… do them, or discuss them with Adam and that’s it. Adam isn’t the type to specifically ask so Ronan gives, bc he knows Adam and can sense what Adam wants. Adam gives a LOT to Ronan too, by being submissive and letting Ronan try out the tying up thing and then holding him down. It’s ok for one of them to say no to something or try it and not end up liking it. I think the whole relationship is a well balanced one and yes Adam might be difficult sometimes or often but Ronan knows that and still wants all of it. Ronan has his issues too obviously. And they are both doing SO MUCH for each other, Adam says or does so many thinhs that scream ily and Ronan KNOWS. Idk why I’m going off like that lmao but I just don’t understand how people can say it’s one sided or Adam doesn’t put in work or whatever. Sorry for dissecting your AU and sorry if I see something the wrong way but that’s just how it feels to me.

I mean, you're absolutely right.

Like, the overall dynamic between them, sexually and otherwise, is one where they are both doing things for each other, because their boyfriend wants or needs that from them or because they want or need to be doing something for their boyfriend. Adam absolutely contributes to the relationship and to Ronan's wellbeing, and he has since pretty much the very beginning when he was bullying Ronan into painting his wall and chucking ibuprofen at his head. I don't believe anyone is trying to say that it's one-sided or that Adam doesn't put in the work, but I think there's a couple of reasons that a few people have made the "this is all just porn of Ronan doing what Adam wants" joke:

Adam struggles with believing that the relationship is balanced and that he is really doing enough for Ronan. As part of this, when the fic is from his POV, it tends to highlight the things that Ronan does for him and minimize or leave out the things that he does for Ronan;

If you boil the fics down to one sentence log lines, the main plot is often Ronan doing something for Adam ("Ronan stages a high school-style car make out because Adam never got to have one," "Ronan gets his nipples pierced because Adam is into that," "Ronan wears a suit because Adam is into that," etc.) even though of course in the details there's a lot of Adam doing something for Ronan;

There is a very specific wish fulfillment at work in a lot of the LA verse, especially the smut, about the fantasy of someone just knowing who you are, without you having to explain yourself, without you even having to fully understand or accept yourself, and giving you what you want and need when you could never bring yourself to ask for it -- and come on, that dynamic just SCREAMS Adam "I am unknowable" Parrish being seen and taken care of by Ronan "yeah nice fucking try, Parrish, no you're not" Lynch;

When you read a lot of stories by one person and the same very specific wish fulfillment keeps popping up in them, there tends to be an obvious reason for that, and people saying "all this porn is just Ronan doing things for Adam, huh" is pretty much them lovingly (I assume? If y'all are trying to harass me you need to get more obvious about your meanness) letting me know "hey Toast, your kinks are showing again," which, valid.

#la verse #Anonymous

15 notes · View notes

tkln · 4 years ago

Text

Getting closer

Notes: It’s my first time writing a tickle fic, or any fic really. English isn't my first language so I always thought it would be impossible for me to write anything of worth in this community (sorry in advance for the multiple grammar mistakes and typos). But never say never, here's my little piece of work to thank this great community. I found the inspiration reading Smile, Parrish from @happyandticklish ^^

Summary: Adam is losing his mind out of worry and Ronan decides to make him lose it out of laughter.

It was one of those intense moments when Ronan didn't know how to proceed. He was sitting, legs crossed, at Adam bedroom's floor. He was discreetly staring at the other boy who was on his bed with a face of pure concentration mixed with a bad hidden anguish. The wizard in training was absorbed trying to work out the last details of his master plan against their Latin teacher. He knew there was something he was missing out but couldn't tell what… and he was growing more frustrated every passing minute.

For his part Ronan felt quite helpless about the whole thing. Knowing what his part would be (most likely dreaming something shady) he wasn't particularly worried about not contributing right now. Adam was the brain behind this plan after all and he trusted his friend. That wasn't the problem. What bothered him was the frown that so perfectly matched the eye bags in Adam's gloomy face. Adam wasn't all that smiley, not around Ronan at least, but it doesn't mean the latter appreciated the expression. Besides, there was this oil stain under Adam's left ear that the dreamer so intensely wanted to reach out and clean but didn't dare.

Without anything else to entertain himself, Ronan decided to take a quick nap. However, before he could move to lie down the other teen exploded.

"I can't do it! We need this to work out, we can't afford to make any mistakes here, this move has to be flawless or we are never going to get rid of him. God why can't I figure this out? I've been going over this part for the last 30 minutes and I can't come up with any decent idea!" Ronan was openly staring now. He didn't expect such a sudden outburst.

"Parish-"

"We aren't even getting closer to solving this. How can I be so useless? And how could I think that this was gonna work? Of course it won't. Things never work for me, how can they? You're so pathetic Adam!-"

"ENOUGH!" Ronan finally interrupted. Adam even jumped a little in fright and his eyes connected with pale blue. "Have you finished your sorry monologue?" Ronan tried to control his tone, trying not to sound too harsh despite the words. Some part at the back of his mind wondered if this whole self-deprecation rant was the consequence of being raised by that sorry excuse of a father Adam got. The notion made him mad so he decided to ignore it for the time being. "Look, you're just stressed and tired Parish. Take a break and start again later".

"I can't just leave it like this Lynch. I have to solve it and I have to solve it now".

"Well you're not solving anything in this state so better listen to me and rest for a while". But Adam wasn't planning on changing his mind and lowered his head again to stare blankly at the scribbled price of paper in his hands. That's when a tick in Ronan's eye twitched and pounced without another word. He pushed Adam against the mattress, pinned both wrists under his knees without caring about the sheet of paper and started to knead Adam's sides without pause.

"Lynch! what arehaha youhuh doing!? Hahahaha" Adam was at a loss. One moment he was reading his neat handwriting and the next he had Ronan's face above his and terribly tickle fingers sending shivers through his body.

"First of all, you don't get to ignore me" Even though Ronan was enjoying the view of a blushing Adam giggling at his mercy, he tried to keep a neutral expression. "After that you don't get to do precisely the opposite" He reached up for the ribs and the boy underneath started to squirm wildly while laughing fully now. "What happen Parrish? A good spot?"

Adam was dying. He knew his ribs were sensitive but this was ridiculous. He has never been tickled like this before and Ronan was precise with both pace and technique, digging relentlessly in between every rib.

"NOAA HAHAHAHA STOOHOHOP IHIHIT!!" Ronan finally smirked at that. The blush in Adam's face was darkening and little tears were starting to gather around his eyes. He struggled as much as he could but it was useless. Ronan got him and got him good. He couldn't escape so he quickly resorted to begging.

"PLEHEHEHEASE I CHAHAHAN'T! NOOOOHOHOHO! PLEASE HAHAHA NOO" Ronan decided to give him a breather and moved to gently scribbled around his abdomen. This made the wizard return to a state of messy giggles with a huge smile still plastered in his face. His cheeks were burning and ached a bit from the effort. "Why arehaha you hehehe dohohoing this?"

"Because it was clear you needed for someone to make you take a break. Sometimes, when we were younger, Declan got a little anxious whenever my father was out working for long. Mathew and I would start tickle fights with him to unwind him. It was the only thing that I could think of to both punish and help you out". It was rare for the dreamer to share that much, especially when it included Declan, but he was feeling quite at ease right now, like at home.

"Dahahamn, that's whyhihi you're so gohohod at thihihihs". Adam admitted, trying and failing to get used to the fingers and nails currently dancing around his upper abs.

"Good? Just good? I'm the best dude! I'll show you what I can really do. Don't you think I didn't notice how you tremble every time I get close to your hips". With that he dug his thumbs into Adam's hip bones and was rewarded with the most hysterical and high pitched laugh he had heard so far.

"NOHOHOT THEREEE AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Adam threw his head back and let all his pent up frustration spill out through his mouth. There was nothing else in that moment but Ronan and his hands peeling out both his laughter and anxiety. It was unbearable and at the same time liberating. Until the urge to breath was more important.

"YOU WIHIHINN STOPAHAHAHA!!" Immediately Ronan retreated and seated beside the poor curled up and still giggling teen. Out of pity he started rubbing soothing circles in the other's back until the giggles died out.

"You did stop"

"Of course I did, I wasn't trying to torture you Parrish".

"It looked like that you know". Adam finally turned around and gazed up.

"Oh please, don't tell me you couldn't handle it. I only saw you desperate at the very end. Besides, guess what? I was right. You look so much better now".

Adam was glad he was already blushing from all the laughter, because that soft look in Ronan's eyes and the wording was doing funny things to his stomach.

"Well Ronan don't expect me to thank you".

The other teen snorted and lay down on the bed. Now he could peacefully take that nap. He also turned his back to Adam to hide the pleased smile at being called by his given name. He knew. They were getting closer. Step by step.

#tickle fic #the raven boys #adam parrish #ronan lynch #adam #ronan #pynch #lee!adam #ler!ronan #tickling #tickling to chill out

28 notes · View notes

dhwty-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Dreams

Merry Christmas, everyone! This is my contribution for the @thewitchersecretsanta for @heyabooboo on tumblr.

My thanks also go to @contemplativepancakes, who betaed this fic for me. Thank you for your patience while I was still writing this <3 You guys should also definitely go check out her work, I love it to pieces!

Anyways, I shouldn't bore you too much. Let me just say one last thing: I think this is the most well thought-out piece of fiction I have written in my entire life. I have weighed every words of this five times at least. I hope you guys like it.

Have fun reading!

Summary: Geralt takes on a contract to investigate some spectral activity in a haunted ruin. As it happens, he disturbs the residence of a powerful being, that traps his soul in a nefarious netherworld. Jaskier, local bard with no sense of self preservation, does the obvious and follows him, trying to parse information from talking plants and braving unspeakable horrors in order to bargain for his witcher's soul. If only that were as easy as it sounded.

Moodboard by the amazing @petrificustotaluss

Warnings: Rated T. Canon-typical violence

Read on AO3

It was a serene and sunny day when the witcher scaled the hill to the abandoned mansion. It shouldn't have been, by any rights; neither day nor sunshine quite set the scene for a monster hunter to come slay to his prey. Alas, Weather does what they want rather than what they should—most of the time they are too busy laughing at humans they catch by surprise, to notice another one of their storms escaping anyways— and neither of that is to set a picturesque scene for a murder to take place.

Well, not necessarily a murder; that might, admittedly, be a bit crass. An eviction, rather, though the witcher did know yet that was what he was about to do. He simply marched up there, convinced that he would do some light reconnaissance and then return to the bard he had left behind. He was so adamant in his conviction, even, that he simply couldn't imagine anything else.

Geralt of Rivia slid from his saddle and pat Roach on the side of her neck. "Good girl," he muttered as he tied her reins to the withered remains of a tree on a field of dried grass.

He stepped back to retrieve his sword from her saddle and heard the telltale sign of a dried-up flower crushed beneath his boot. Geralt lifted it. It was a dandelion. He cursed internally. Were he a superstitious man, he might’ve thought it a bad sign. He wasn’t, though, so he knew it to be a bad sign.

Nothing good ever came from places where not even weeds could stubbornly cling to life. It usually meant that nothing would stay alive—or dead— for very long either. He'd have to be fast. 'A quick look around and I can go back to Jaskier,' he promised himself, the only silver lining on the horizon of this shitty day.

With a grunt he went to the road that led towards the ruin looming up above him, taking in every detail of his surroundings. The tree Roach was tied to seemed to have belonged to a grove, considering how systematically the husks of the trees were arranged. 'Like gnarled fingers trying to reach for the sky.'

Geralt huffed. Jaskier was rubbing off on him again. The collapsed stone wall lining it was another strong indicator that once there had been someone tending to the woods. 'A cemetery?' he wondered. It might be a strong start...

He stepped past the large erratic to his left to vault over the crumbling wall. He had barely taken two steps when a dark shadow fell over him. He looked up to see the sun inching closer and closer to the horizon. A shiver ran down Geralt's back. ‘So late already?’ He had barely set out an hour ago, he was sure of it. And yet— something moved to his right and his medallion vibrated. “Fuck,” he cursed. He didn’t like this at all.

Still, he had come here for a reason, so he turned away from the deserted grove and headed to the ruin. It wasn’t a large ruin, by any means, barely three walls standing. The first floor was completely decayed, so he didn’t have to check that, at least. In less than an hour he’d be done.

That didn’t alleviate the uneasy feeling in the slightest. With each step it seemed like the temperatures dropped further. By the time he reached the facade his breaths were visible in white clouds, mingling with the fog drifting up from the ground. The weather was changing entirely too fast for his liking.

Slowly, Geralt stepped over the threshold into the broken mansion. He kept his eyes on the fog the whole time. The tendrils were thicker now, larger than any snake he'd ever seen as they slithered across the rotten floor. 'I should turn around,' he thought. He knew he should turn around. Still, he kept moving further into the mist.

A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. His head snapped around. One of the wisps rose above the ground, twisting and twirling to a melody he couldn't hear. "The fuck," Geralt grunted and reached for his sword.

He regretted taking the contract already. It was a fool's errand, and he had known it to be. But coin was scarce these days and he had to make do. Even if it meant investigating haunted ruins that made his medallion nearly jump off his chest.

The shrill sound of rusty door-hinges made him twirl around. He was met with an inscrutable wall of fog. "Shit." His sword was in his hand before he could even think about it. A gentle gust of wind swept through the ruin, as if the air itself around him heaved a breath of relief. 'I have to get out of here.'

He turned towards where he had entered and bolted; not quite running, but almost. He hit the wall face-first. "Fuck!" he cursed, holding his bleeding nose.

An all-too-familiar laugh rang through the silence. "Fuckin' idiot!"

"Lambert?" he groaned as he raised his hands to set his own nose. It hurt like a bitch.

"Who else, you bastard?" his arsehole brother answered.

"Where are you?" Geralt wanted to know, feeling blindly for his sword. 'Fuck.' Why had he dropped it? It had been stupid to drop it. He knew better than that. He was a witcher, for fuck’s sake.

"Right behind you!" Lambert laughed again. He was probably within a punchable distance.

Geralt found the grip of his sword and whirled around, coming face to face with... fog. Nothing but fog. "Lambert?" he asked, desperately. No answer. "Lambert!" He waved his hand, a futile attempt to disperse the mist, and squinted, as if that would do anything. Of course, it didn't.

There is something to be said about the eyesight of mortals, and that is that every single one of them possesses a truly despicable one. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that when the witcher blinked and tried to focus his vision, he did not see anything he hadn't seen before; which was nothing at all.

A quiet groan rippled through the dark, and Geralt stumbled forward before he even knew what he was doing. "Eskel," he gasped desperately, trying to follow the ragged breathing. He’d know that sound everywhere, he had heard it far too often already. "Eskel, where are you, I'm coming," he promised, while the maddening mantra of 'I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't.' kept fluttering through his head. He knew exactly what he would find, Eskel with his face slashed open, bleeding and barely breathing. 'I can't do it again, I can't, I can't, I can't.'

"No!" the high-pitched shriek made him halt in his stumbling, nearly doubling over. "Get out!"

"Yenna," he breathed. He vaguely realised that the world was spinning around him and fought the instinct to throw up.

"No, help!" she screamed again.

"Yennefer!" he shouted in response. "Where are you?"

A woeful giggle swept past him, one that might've belonged to a child or a giant or something else entirely.

"Did I not train you well?" a weak voice, that barely sounded like Vesemir, coughed. "Is your sword your only weapon?"

"N-no," he stammered and raised his trembling hand. He willed his fingers to bend; each movement was pure agony. After half an eternity his hand formed the sign of Aard and the fog dispersed.

Never in his life had he regretted anything more. "No-" he choked out weakly as his knees hit the blood-slick floor. "No!" He could barely comprehend what lay before him, only that they were dead dead dead, all of them, gone, dead, their blood soaking him to the bone.

"What happened?" he whispered, whimpered, wailed. There was an uncomfortable feeling coiling in his gut. It was something important, he knew. Something he should do. Somewhere he should go. Someone he still missed. But whatever it was, there was a thick fog clouding his mind that he could not see through.

"You failed me," Yennefer answered, rising from her last resting-place. With each movement her broken bones popped back into place. But there was nothing to be done about her torn-up chest; nothing to be done about her empty eyes, picked clean by the crows long ago, full of accusations.

"And me," Eskel agreed, blood trickling from the gashes on his face. And his legs. And his arms. And his guts. There was not much to trickle left.

"And me," said Lambert's head where it lay inches from his torso. Two swords protruded from his body, one silver and one steel. They had stripped him naked save for the medallion around his neck, a snarling cat where there should have been a wolf.

"You failed all of us," Vesemir rasped, lying limp on his deathbed. After months of sickness and starvation, he could count every bone on his body. But it was the garrotte that had been his end.

"Who did this?" he gasped.

"You did," they answered in unison.

"Me?"

A shadow giggled and caressed his cheek. "Of course, you," a velvety voice answered. "It’s what you do. Butcher. Hunter. Priest. You brought war to my peace."

He groaned quietly, desperate to lean into the touch. When he did, he nearly toppled over. He caught himself inches from the ground. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? That answer's not yet due," the strange voice answered; wisps of fog danced, curled together, formed what might have been a body. "The real query is: who are you?"

"I-" He inhaled sharply as realisation hit him. "I'm- missing someone."

"Missing someone, are we?" The shadow giggled. "Pray tell, who might that be?"

He did not want to answer. He didn't. Still, he said: "Where's- Jaskier!" Fear closed its icy fist around his heart. True fear, that was paralyzing, numbing, horrible. He wanted to do something, wanted to— he didn’t know. His hands were shaking too much.

"Geralt!" a bard’s piercing scream ripped through the eerie silence.

The sinister giggle rang again; a wisp of fog caressed his shoulder. Suddenly, there was light. So much light, it was overwhelming after the all-encompassing darkness of the fog. He screamed in pain, trying to avert his gaze, trying to flee— but he couldn’t.

"There you are," a smile spread on what might’ve been the creature’s face as they bent down, their mouth dragging across the shell of his ear, "Geralt."

#my writing #geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #julian alfred pankratz #geraskier fanfiction #the witcher fanfiction #geraltxjaskier #geralt/jaskier #eskel #lambert #vesemir #yennefer of vengerberg #For You I'll Always Wait #FYIAW #the witcher secret santa

47 notes · View notes

thewayshedreamed · 5 years ago

Text

This Time— Part 4

A Nessian Fan Fic

Fic Masterlist

This update took me longer to get up than I expected! I overthought the shit out of it, but here it is, finally! Hope y’all enjoy a touch of Nessian fluff as much as y’all have appreciated the angst, but also, I’m sorry for the end of the chapter. 🤭

Warnings for strong language, mention of underage drinking, and mentions of grief.

Enjoy!

————————————————————————

After her heart no longer threatened to jump into her throat, Nesta managed to use the restroom and wash her hands, giving herself a silent pep talk in the mirror. She paused at the door, steeled herself, and walked into the bar, as if Cassian hadn’t completely mind-fucked her less than ten minutes ago.

Still determined to keep the night drama-free, she walked over to the bar, ordered herself two shots of whiskey, and walked over to their booth to sit. Amren had returned to the table, joined by Feyre, Mor, and Elain. Nesta slid into the booth next to the birthday girl, greeting her with a bump of her shoulder, and took the first of her shots.

“Oh gods. That looks terrible.” Elain scrunched up her nose as she stared at the next shot.

“It does the job!” Nesta took a deep breath and threw the second shot back with impressive speed. She was usually one to be more conservative on their nights out, so her back-to-back shots were met with cheers from around the table. Elain rested her head on Nesta’s shoulder as she giggled, followed by a slurred, “I’m so happy you’re here, Nessie. I love you.”

They ordered another round of drinks as they changed erratically from one topic of conversation to another. When Nesta heard the ice clinking at the bottom of her empty glass, she suddenly realized the compound effects of her earlier drinks, her shots, and the one she just finished. She noted how her vision was truly starting to blur as the room spun, and she felt her body flush. She leaned over to Elain and let her know she was going to step outside for some fresh air. She assured her repeatedly that she would be okay.— Yes, she had her phone on her.— No, she didn’t need anyone to accompany her. She slid out of the booth and walked briskly toward the front door of the bar.

Once she made it outside, she walked down the side of the building in an attempt to find a quieter spot to lean against the wall. There was a group of men outside; obviously having a celebration of sorts and being as loud and unruly as humanly possible. She aimed to increase her distance from them, walking down the building and closer and closer to the parking lot. She found herself staring down an aisle of parked vehicles, eyes landing on a familiar truck about halfway down the row. Before she realized where her feet were carrying her, she was staring at the tailgate of the truck, hand reaching for the handle. She worked through her faulty, drunken logic.

Surely he wouldn’t mind if I sat on his tailgate instead of the ground.

It’s likely a little safer to sit here than it would be right next to a group of drunk men, alone.

The group would be out for a while yet, so as long as she closed it, he’d never know anyway.

Tired of standing in her wedges and unable to think of a single reason not to do it, she lowered the tailgate. She turned around, braced herself on her hands, and hopped to lift herself enough to sit. She dangled her legs, swinging them back and forth lightly. She took a few steadying breaths, already feeling better than she had inside. There was a soft breeze kissing the back of her neck and cooling her cheeks. She felt incredibly content for the first time in weeks, and she shuddered at how the familiarity of where she sat contributed to the feeling.

After several minutes, she got bored of staring at the few cars across the aisle from her and the ones leaving. She scooted back several feet into the bed of the truck so that her legs were supported and lay back to look at the sky for a little while. She lost herself in trying to identify constellations that her mother had shown her years ago and whispered a quiet hello to the woman she missed so much. It was always surprising to her how many she remembered after all this time, especially considering that the pace of her life didn’t allow for much stargazing anymore.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps that approached from her left. She had located the five brights stars in a small “v” that told her she was looking at Taurus, and was tracing her gaze up to the two bright stars marking the horns when she was abruptly pulled from her thoughts.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” Cassian asked the question through a soft chuckle, but Nesta still jumped in surprise. Her head popped up, eyes snapping toward him instantly.

“Shit, Cassian. You scared me.” She relaxed into her prior position but angled her chin down to maintain eye contact. It was surprisingly comfortable in the bed of this truck.

He lifted his eyebrows at her words, one lifting slightly higher than the other. They always had when he was truly surprised, not that she noticed. His eyes were still upturned at the corners, and it calmed her to know he wasn’t annoyed with her blatant use of his property.

“I’m sorry?... That wasn’t my intention, but I didn’t really expect to see you in the bed of my truck, either. Kind of seems like you should have expected me to come by at some point, at least.” He was still giving her a mischievous smile, and she realized that she would have to quickly get a leash on her thoughts to get through another interaction.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head quickly. “Oh. Yea. No, I know. I think I just figured that I’d be back inside before you made it out here,” she said, as if it was the most reasonable explanation in the world. “Are you leaving? I’m really sorry, I’ll get out.” She sat up, but before she could start to scoot herself down, a broad hand wrapped gently around her shin.

”Stay. I’m not leaving anytime soon. Kallias left a little while ago, and he called me to tell me he thought he saw my tailgate down. I didn’t remember leaving the bed open, so I came out to check. Relax.” He offered a soft smile, and she felt her heart skip at his sincerity. He removed his hand from her shin to lean forward and brace himself on both hands. Her eyes caught on the little bit of his tattoos that were visible on his chest and traced down his arms. Before she could silently berate herself for her staring, he was speaking again.

“So. What are you doing out here, Archie?” He looked up from the tailgate, amusement crinkling his eyes at the corners. She groaned dramatically at the old nickname that he gave her in high school. She had a love-hate relationship with it; hate because it was awful, love because he coined it. He used it less and less as they got older, but it still made its appearance every now and then when he teased her.

“Gods, can we please let ‘Archie’ go? It’s so terrible.” She couldn’t help the small giggle that erupted out of her as she talked. She took a deep breath before answering his question. “My drinks hit me all at once inside, so I came out to get some fresh air.“ She adjusted her body a little to situate herself and lifted her gaze back to the sky. “I’m doing drunk people things and laying down to look at the stars until I can handle going back in there.” She gave a small smirk as she let her head fall to the side, looking at him again.

“For one, as long as I’m living, ‘Archie’ stays. You might as well lean into it. For two, perfectly reasonable. I’m glad I could offer the proper amenities for your drunk stargazing.” He winked at her then, a friendly gesture rather than suggestive in any way. She could tell he was more relaxed than before, the alcohol likely taking its effect on him, too.

She cleared her throat and asked the question on her tongue before she could think better of it.

“Are you in a hurry to go back inside? Join me?” She patted the space next to her for good measure.

You’re doing a terrible job of ‘leashing’ yourself, Nesta.

“I think I could spare a few minutes for you, Archie.” He turned around and easily sat on the tailgate. He pushed himself backwards to lay on his back next to her, only to be met with her hard glare. He let out a laugh then, shaking his head at her and looking at the sky.

“You know, this is pretty nostalgic.” He brought his arm to rest under his head, settling into a comfortable position as he spoke.

“I have to agree with you on that,” she said through a laugh. It was oddly reminiscent of their late high school and early college days of underage drinking at any and every party. So often, they would find themselves drunk, laying in the bed of his truck or on someone’s porch, sharing drinks and stories from earlier in the night.

“The only thing missing is a pint of cheap liquor that we had no business drinking.”

”Don’t forget the straw.” Nesta was grinning now and resisting the urge to look at him. His proximity, combined with their shared memories, was already a lot to navigate.

”I would never. I’ve received enough verbal lashings in my day to always remember the straw.” They were both laughing now, enjoying the comfortable banter. “I still don’t understand your insistence on that.” Their laughter faded into comfortable silence, and she noticed his head turn toward her lazily once they fell quiet. She looked over at him and watched his Adam’s apple bob before he spoke.

“I’ve really missed my friend,” he said quietly, as he shifted his arm closer to her. He grazed his knuckles over the back of her palm, and his eyes scanned her face.

She continued to look at him, unsure she could break it even if she tried. “Me too. Really.” Her voice was almost a whisper.

He swiftly picked up the heavier atmosphere settling over them and shifted both of his hands toward his body. He laced them over his stomach as he shifted his attention back to the sky. “So, which constellation were you so invested in when I walked up?”

She looked back up at the sky before answering him. “Taurus.”

“That’s a good one. Momma Archie would be proud that you remember.” She was touched by the affection she heard in his voice for her mother. He’d grown close to her in their years as friends and had taken it hard when she passed. His tone shifted into something a little more playful when he said: “Even though you’re feeding every rom com stereotype of the drunk girl, staring wistfully at the stars, and—“

She interrupted him with a laugh and a jab to the ribs. “Shut up! Don’t you dare make fun of me, you shit.”

He feigned a deep groan, as if her jab had truly wounded him, and clutched his side. “Gods, keep your sharp elbows on your side of the truck.” He seemed to recover quickly, his tone dripping with jest, “Is this the part where I point out a really obscure constellation that reminds me of you, and you fall madly in love with me?” There was nothing implied by the question, she realized; his only aim to give her a hard time.

“As if I would expect you to know any of them. Much less the rare ones,” she deadpanned, even though she failed to completely hide her smile. Before she knew what was happening, he was sitting up suddenly and rolling toward her. His hands found each side of her rib cage, and he started to tickle her mercilessly.

“Don’t be a jerk! I’m more than just a pretty face, I’ll have you know.” He was laughing as he spoke, fully delighting in her misery.

“Okay, okay, okay! You win! Cassian, PLEASE.” She was laughing so hard that tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes.

He finally stopped his torture, looking down at her through bright eyes. She was acutely aware of how close his face was to hers, their noses almost touching. She felt the weight of his leg casually thrown over one of hers during the tousle, and she blushed at the heat she felt throughout her body at the contact. His eyes softened slightly and, before she could ask him what was wrong, he spoke softly. “Fuck... I was hoping some time away from you would help a little more.” He lingered for only a couple of seconds, shifted his weight, and rolled away from her to sit up on the tailgate.

It took her mind a minute to realize his meaning, and she immediately felt guilty. This was all her fault to begin with, not only in how she responded to him those weeks ago, but in inviting him to sit with her tonight. She sat up next to him and placed her hands under her thighs to avoid reaching for him.

She furrowed her brows and cleared her throat. “And I’m assuming that it didn’t help as much as you wanted?” It was odd conversation to broach, but it seemed insensitive to say nothing at all.

His hands were braced on the outside of his thighs, his shoulders slumped as he looked out into the parking lot. He turned his head toward her subtly, only looking at her through his side eye.

”Didn’t even touch it.” He gave her a sad smile before he broke eye contact.

One would assume that after ten years of friendship, she would no longer be surprised at how open he could be. She marveled at the genuine man next to her and how he managed to never let the trauma of life change who he was. She envied him, to a certain extent, because she didn’t think herself capable of trying to even fake that level of openness with others.

“Cass, I’m sorry, I—“

”Don’t.” There was no bite in his words, only an insistence that she not blame herself. “It’s ok.” He ran one hand through his long curls before hopping off the tailgate. He extended his hand to her.

“Ready to go back? The ladies will send the troops looking for you if you stay out much longer.”

She accepted his hand long enough to slide off the tailgate and gain solid footing. She smoothed the back of her jeans to make sure they weren’t dusty, straightened her blazer, and offered him a smile.

“You lead the way.”

——————————————————————————

It was only another hour or so that passed before Elain felt she had sufficiently celebrated her birthday. They were sitting in their booth again, joined by Feyre, Rhys, and Azriel. Mor had dragged Cassian and Amren to the dance floor, clearly having gotten her second wind.

Elain yawned and looked over to Nesta. “Nessie... Would you be ready to go?”

”Sure, El. Want me to get you home? I can get us a Lyft.”

”Mmm. I’m thinking slumber party. Your house.” She smiled sweetly, knowing she was going to request birthday breakfast the next morning.

Nesta rolled her eyes knowingly. “Fine. My house it is.” She ordered their car.

“Hey! I wanna come!” Feyre’s blue eyes flared, and her expression was one of a petulant toddler. It was a reaction bred from years as the family baby, always fearing she was being left out. Nesta felt another rush of affection for her; for both of them.

Within minutes, they were piling into a small SUV. Feyre sat behind the driver, Elain in the middle, and Nesta slid in next to her. Their driver was polite and quiet, confirming their destination and falling silent the rest of the drive.

“Nessie, I’m mad at you.” Elain slurred the words as she rested her head on Feyre’s shoulder, eyes closed. Nesta snapped her head in her direction, not even remotely aware of what she could have possibly done to upset her in the last five minutes.

“What the hell for?!” Her voice wasn’t loud, but her surprise was obvious.

”Because you’re friends with Az.”

Nesta was quiet for a moment as she considered. ”You’re going to have to give me more to go off of, El.”

Elain huffed a breath through her nose and said, “You’re so close to Az. And that sucks for me because he’s never going to even look at me. Cause I’m your little sister. And he’s nice and considerate and wouldn’t want to make you mad.”

Ohhh, I see. So she’s confirming what we all knew already. She likes Azriel.

Feyre let out a soft giggle and lay her head on top of Elain’s. She rested her hand affectionately on Elain’s leg, a gesture that aimed to soothe her sister’s drunken anxieties. Nesta couldn’t fight her smile at Elain’s “angry” words and disguised her amusement as best as possible as she spoke.

“Ellie, I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s not like Az is afraid of me in the slightest. Plus, he’s basically the only man that I’d find worthy of you.”

”Okay. Well, nevermind, then.” She yawned and was dozing within seconds.

Nesta’s eyes met Feyre’s identical ones across the car, and they both had to suppress their giggles to avoid waking her. The night had been a roller coaster of emotions, and she wasn’t sure how she could ever survive life’s ups and downs without the two women in the car with her. Sure, there were times where her and Feyre would almost come to blows, and Elain’s gentle spirit would tire of their hotheadedness. But no one else would ever know her like they knew her.

Thinking over the course of the night, she started to feel compelled to reach out to Cassian. She alternated between the compulsion and the rationale part of her brain (likely the sobering part) that was telling her it was a terrible idea.

Are we okay? Does he resent me even more? Is he annoyed that I put us in this position?

Why do you care? This is what you wanted. What you demanded of him.

She suppressed the reason threatening to deter her, opened their text thread, and typed a short message.

N: It was really was good to see you tonight. Sorry I didn’t get to say bye. Just wanted to reach out and tell you to be safe getting home.

She hit send before she could overthink it and locked her phone to avoid staring at the screen. She knew she would only find herself willing the ellipsis to pulse and show he was typing. As luck would have it, they were already pulling up to her apartment complex, and her attention would be monopolized by getting her sisters inside and comfortable. They woke Elain up and prompted her to walk inside to Nesta’s bedroom. She dug through her drawers to get them each some nightclothes, all but forced them to wash their faces, and forced spare toothbrushes into their hands. She padded into her room to change into her own night clothes, plugged in all of their phones, and made sure they each had a pillow across her king bed. She chuckled to herself at the eldest sister caregiving behaviors that would likely never leave her. Elain and Feyre walked briskly into the room, Elain announcing proudly that she called ‘middle’ as the birthday girl. They settled into the sheets and both of her little sisters were asleep within minutes. She was on the brink of unconsciousness herself when her phone vibrated on her bedside table, startling her awake. She blinked against the brightness of the screen to focus on who was calling her.

Shit, it’s Cassian. Shit shit shit.

She hit ‘accept’ and quickly brought the phone to her ear. She whispered her “Hello?” before glancing over at her sisters to make sure they weren’t disturbed. Not in the slightest.

She was met with rustling sounds, much like those of someone’s pocket during an accidental dial, and muffled conversations. She assumed he had, in fact, pocket dialed, but she waited a few more seconds. She told herself she should just in case he was trying to get situated, sabotaged by the alcohol coursing through his system. She repeated her greeting but didn’t want to get any louder for her sisters’ sakes. She was about to hang up when she heard his voice coming clearly through the phone.

“I know! I haven’t seen you in what, almost a year?”

”Yea, almost exactly! I’m surprised we don’t run into each other more often, to be honest.” The second voice was unfamiliar and unmistakably female. She felt her stomach lurch, but she couldn’t hang up.

Cassian laughed casually and said, “No kidding. It’s not like Velaris is so big.”

”Shit. I think my friends are leaving me. I’ll see you next week though, right?” Her tone was clear, insinuating that she knew his answer.

”Absolutely. Is Wednesday after work ok? Around 5:30?”

”Ill be there! Bye, Cassian!” There was more rustling, as if they had come together in a hug, but she acknowledged that her imagination was likely torturing her.

“Sounds like a plan. See you then, Alis!”

Hearing her name is what finally had her ending the call and tossing her phone back onto the table. Her head was swimming. She was suddenly humiliated at her earlier text, wishing she had never sent it.

You should feel better, honestly. He probably doesn’t resent you. He may not have given your actions a second thought at all. He’s moving on.

She turned over before she could be consumed by her thoughts, tucked her face into the side of Elain’s shoulder, and drifted off to sleep.

————————————————————————

A/N: I just want to thank y’all again for the support I’ve gotten for this fic. Y’all really have been the best! My apologies for how this one ended, but we’re getting somewhere, I promise! Please don’t kill me 🙈

Tags are below!

@polireader // @lord-douglas-the-third // @justgiu12 // @notyournymphetish // @sjm-things // @strangeenemy // @iammissstark // @keshavomit // @sjmships // @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks // @dusty-lightbulb // @texas-shaped-waffle-maker // @julemmaes // @charincharge // @superspiritfestival // @awesomelena555 // @sleeping-and-books // @hizqueen4life // @maastrash // @bookstantrash // @rhyswhitethorn // @grace-k-sterling

If you’d like to be tagged in future chapters, you can shoot me a message, comment, or reblog! As always, feedback is welcome!

#nessian #nesta archeron #nesta x cassian #nesta #cassian #acotar #nessian au #nessian fwb #nessian angst #nessian fanfic #acowar #acomaf #nessian fluff #archeron sisters

166 notes · View notes

tcookies777 · 4 years ago

Text

Here is a sneak peek at a side story I've written for The Anatomy of Love (a KakaSaku modern college au - AO3 hyperlink included)! You don't need to have read the fic to read this side story since this is a flashback to Kakashi's past when he was a teen, but it does help to understand since it's in the context of the fic itself!

The Anatomy of Love: Side Story - What He's Looking For

About 17 years ago on a sunny September day...

They'd raised the prices on the gum again. Under normal circumstances, Kakashi would've thought that was absurd. Really, 4 ryos for a few sticks of gum with a strawberry flavor that would last for only—what?—fifty chews? But it was also understandable given that the war efforts required such generous financial contributions. Money didn't grow on trees and soldiers didn't come back to life. It was to be expected that the economy would tank during war, but looking at the propaganda posters, anyone would think Fire country was thriving. It was the exact opposite, however, and the high inflation, budget deficits, rise in taxes, and reduced consumption of goods only proved that. So he was loathed to think that he would have to waste a couple of ryo on a pack of gum, but he also wanted to support the soldiers on the frontlines.

With a sigh of defeat, he snatched the pack of gum off the stand before traipsing further down the store in search of his journey's main quest item. There wasn't really much supply to offer these days, and even less food to fill the shelves. But Kakashi wasn't here today to buy some bread or milk, so he had no need to worry about that. All he needed to worry about was looking for the right condoms. And as he entered the aisle of pleasure to peruse his selection for the day, his presence did not go by without notice from a nearby clerk. It was not entirely unusual to see a boy in this aisle, but the clerk had certainly not anticipated that the purpose of the boy's presence here was for contraception. Perhaps he thought the boy was buying for his father, or maybe even an older friend—which, technically, Kakashi suppose he was. But the clerk seemed adamant in keeping his eye on him and Kakashi did his best to ignore him. There was also the possibility that the guy thought he was a shoplifter. After all, despite the clean way Kakashi dressed in his slim dark jeans and olive shirt, he did have the rugged gaze of a kid who'd been beaten up by life but was now ready to fight back. That, and the apathetic darkness in his eyes tended to disturb adults whenever they encountered a kid who was too young to look at them like they were the ones who were younger.

Although, to be fair with the clerk, there had been an increase in theft and street crime ever since the war had started, so Kakashi didn't blame the guy for dogging after him up and down the aisle.

"Uh, hi…?"

The words came muffled through Kakashi's headphones. With a heavy sigh, he slowly reached up and tugged the headphones down to let them rest on his shoulders, but the music continued to blare loudly through both sides of the speakers. The clerk's brow twitched when the boy in front of him still didn't even spare him a glance.

A throat was cleared, and then, "Hi?"

Finally turning to meet the annoyed face of the man, Kakashi crinkled his eyes at him. "Yes, I heard you the first time."

The clerk's brows twitched harder and he shuffled a step closer, still not quite sure how to approach him or maybe the subject before them. "Uh, did you need help finding anything today?" he asked in a peppy voice, remembering to plaster his customer-service smile back on.

"What kind of condoms would a girl like?"

The clerk blinked at him. "P-Pardon?"

"What kind of condoms would a girl like?"

Realizing the boy wasn't joking, the guy's face reddened and he stammered, "I-I-I do-don't know!"

Hmm, pity. "Then I guess you can't help me," Kakashi sighed out, wandering further down the aisle to let the guy lick his wounds.

Ignoring the aghast look cast his way, Kakashi studied a box of condoms that were of various colors and various tropical flavors including strawberry, apple, orange, banana, and—oh!—even cherry. If his suspicions were correct, however, he doubted anyone would appreciate a cherry-flavored condom that tasted more medicinal than fruity. Still, maybe Sakae wouldn't care. She'd always had a wicked tongue that could handle the taste of anything, which Kakashi had learned when she'd swallowed down his cum like she was sucking up the last dregs of a vanilla milkshake.

But Kakashi set down the box and picked up the standard, ultra-fine lubricated condoms instead.

Tonight, he didn't plan to get another blowjob in the back of an abandoned lot. Tonight was meant to be the first lay of his life if he played all his cards right, which he'd had no problem doing so in the past few weeks since the night of his birthday when Sakae had taken him into the backyard to give him his first kiss. Even if the kiss had happened through his mask, she'd liked it enough to guide his hand to her generous breasts which he'd always taken the time to admire during dinners when she'd eat across him with her breasts resting on the edge of the table so that he could study the way a stray crumb would disappear down the same cleavage he often dreamt of burying his face in. And then the week after that, he'd guided her hand to cup him through his jeans, encouraging her to slip that hand down his pants and fist his cock well enough to make him burst into the cage of her fingers. The next week, it was her turn to guide his hand down her shorts too.

It should have left him quivering with trepidation when he'd slipped his finger inside her the first time, hearing her cry out either from pain or pleasure or both. Instead, Kakashi had felt no sense of fear or anxiety—or anything, really, save for the sense of satisfaction and curiosity as he explored the velvet insides of a girl for the first time. His fingers had to have been good enough if it eventually had Sakae collapsing against him, shaking and whimpering as if she was in pain but smiling like she enjoyed it. And so it was last week when Kakashi had to tug his mask back on and pull his face out from between her legs to ask if she could repeat what she'd just said.

'If you can get your hands on a condom, I'll do it with you.'

'Do what?' he'd asked her, her orgasm staining the thin cloth of his mask.

'Sex,' she'd purred in his ear, just as he'd expected.

And so in Kakashi's young but precocious mind, of course it only made sense that he would obey the lady's wishes—as well as his own—and seek out the item of his quest. As it was now, he tossed the box of condoms in his hand much like he would as if he was a character from a video game doing a little victory jig, tossing his trophy in a show of smug triumph.

But because it was still too early in the noon to return to the orphanage and catch Mrs. Matsuda breathing fire out her mouth with more bitching, he took a turn into the next aisle full of baby diapers. The efflorescent smell of baby wipes assaulted his nose, sweet as a baby's bum and much to odoriferous for Kakashi's tastes. Then again, he'd always despised the pungent chemicals of perfume. However, the stray pug in the alley across school was in desperate need of diapers since his crippled hind legs always trailed right through his own filth and feces, and Kakashi had grown tired of bathing the old dog daily with a neighbor's sort-of borrowed hose.

In the midst of studying the difference between 'disposable diapers' and 'disposable underwear', Kakashi was indifferent to the cart that rolled up near him just a respectable foot away. At the background of his thoughts regarding the expensive cons of disposable underwear, a woman's voice spoke aloud, her words lashing out with the venomous bite of anger. She wasn't speaking to him, of course, since he definitely had nothing to do with the 'sorry piece of sods who didn't know a leaf from a ryo bill'.

Inclined to give her a wide berth and let the lady yell into the phone without breaking his left eardrum, Kakashi sidled over a step or two. Apparently, it wasn't enough distance, however, as he felt something bump the side of his left sneaker.

He peered down from the disposable diapers and to the stuffed sloth that had somehow ended up against his shoe. Picking it up, he frowned at the sloth that was barely the size of his one hand. Just then his nose wrinkled at the scent that permeated from the stuffed toy—milk that seemed to have been churned up in the stomach and spat back out. Nose still wrinkled, he quickly adjusted his grip so that it was only his finger and thumb that pinched the ear of the sloth.

A quiet cooing sound quickly stole his attention away and to the side where a baby in a cart stared curiously at him. She was dressed in a hideous tuft of pink that nearly swallowed her whole with two chubby little feet poking out from beneath.

Kakashi glimpsed at the woman who was still berating whoever the poor soul was on the other end of the phone. Her back was turned, and she'd taken too many steps away from the child in her cart to notice Kakashi approaching the babe.

Sure enough, she smelled like milk and baby wipes. But there was also another softer, more subtle sweet scent beneath. Not quite aromatic like perfume, but it clung to her gently as if someone's perfume might've rubbed off on her rosy, chubby cheeks after one too many kisses or cuddles. Or maybe she'd just gone rolling down a hill of flowers—cherry blossoms, it smelled like—for all he knew. He didn't know what babies did in their free time besides piss, poop, and play anyway.

"Here," Kakashi muttered quietly, dumping the sloth in the cloud of pink tulle that was the baby's skirt.

Large spring green eyes blinked up at him as if she was asking, 'what the fuck is this doing on my lap?'

He shrugged and stepped away to return his attention to the shelf of diapers. But no sooner did he pick up a pack when he felt another nudge against his left shoe again. He glanced down at the sloth smiling up at him from its position by his shoe, and then he glanced over to the baby in the cart.

She was staring almost expectantly at him as if to say, 'pick it up, dumbass'. Or maybe she was just curious why a boy was wearing a mask when nobody else was. Perhaps she thought he was a creature of the night come to nom on the fat rolls of her thighs and this was her way of testing him. Nah, babies were curious oddities but not too astute.

With a roll of his eyes, Kakashi bent down to retrieve the sloth whose smile seemed more derisive than friendly now. While the mother was still turned away and barking into the phone, he pressed the sloth toy more firmly, insistently to the baby's front.

There it was again, those big eyes staring up at him like saucers of green tea. Huh, now that he thought of it, he hadn't had a cup of tea in a while. Rin had given away the last pack to a younger kid who'd wasted it down the drain anyway. Shit, but he remembered the prices for green tea had risen too. Oh well.

Taking a step away from the baby, Kakashi was miffed when she suddenly threw down her sloth at his feet again before he'd even had the chance to look away from her. He frowned and glared over at the mother who couldn't be bothered to keep a better eye on her daughter who'd decided only a few months old wasn't too young to start acting like a bratty princess already. A bratty princess who was treating him like her dog that she was playing fetch with, he realized belatedly.

As if to assert her royal if infantile position, she looked up at him, spring green orbs glittering with pure mirth as a gummy smile broke out on her face. Kakashi raised a brow at her, none too impressed when a wave of drool spilled down petal-pink lips and painted her poor sloth's face in saliva so that it looked like it was crying for help now.

Sighing quietly, Kakashi shook his head and decided to make his retreat from the diaper aisle. This was a battle he could not win, and the baby only proved that with a gleeful 'mah!' as she waved her hands, gesticulating in a language he could not begin to comprehend beyond grabby, chubby hands reaching for him. The further he retreated down the aisle, the more she kicked up a fuss, kicking up her tiny feet too. Her mother peeked over a shoulder for a split-second but looked away when she saw her baby was fussing for no reason.

Just as Kakashi turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of the baby tossing her sloth back down to the floor like it was her means of summoning her new dog to play fetch with her at her beck and call. Yeah, well, that went against Kakashi's domineering nature and so he stuffed his hands to search for the literature section.

Much to his pleasure, the books were kept at the back of the store where he could read through them in private without a clerk judging him for not paying for the paperback service instead. Much to his disappointment, however, there was no Make-Out Paradise and the selection of books was few and far between, and not to mention somewhat outdated since all the covers were easily recognizable from the days that he'd spent poring through them. Despite the pitiful collection of paperbacks collecting dust in the hopes a perverted reader might spread open their covers and peruse their naughty tales, Kakashi's attention zeroed in on the single brand-new hardcover tempting him with the 10% off sticker. Even more tempting was the cover art of a high school girl wearing a blouse that was buttoned just enough to keep from flashing a nipple, her tennis skirt a plaid black and red color to imitate the style of a uniform a private school girl was mandated to wear. A private school girl who wore that sultry smile just as well as she wore the necktie hanging loosely around her shoulders and arranged to cover a pair of hardened nipples.

Cracking open the cover, Kakashi inhaled the scent of fresh paper and ink first before glimpsing the first string of words that sat beneath the chapter title. He breezed through the first page, mouth quirking up when he recognized the set up for a good fucking. By the third page, however, his small smile had disappeared once he realized the setup was just that: a setup. No fucking. It was even more disconcerting when he flipped through the pages more quickly and concluded that most of the story was just one agonizingly slow striptease that he had neither the time nor patience for. He could even already see the ending from a mile away just by the building premise riddled with clichés and tropes: the professor gets caught and blamed for his sordid affair while his seductive mastermind of a student twiddles her thumbs in a very plausible show of innocence that hid her conniving smile. Of course, the man who gives in to temptation must always be punished for it in the end. It was a theme Kakashi was consistently seeing in almost every book he read.

With a huff of disappointment, he returned the book to the shelf where it could sit with its siblings to collect its own film of dust.

Straying his eyes over to the magazine section, Kakashi hummed in contemplation as he eyed the cover of a girl drawing the shape of a heart over her exposed lower belly with both hands, a peeled banana angled to censor her pussy. He picked up that magazine, flipping over to the section of the sex tips, most of which he already knew and had already practiced several times with Sakae. But, just for good measure, he decided to review the part that advised him how to last long during sexual intercourse.

It was when he was in the middle of studying about technique over speed did the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly rose up at the same time the smell of tobacco and rotten garbage flooded his nose. Kakashi was about to gag but stopped himself when a man stepped into the aisle—into his peripheral view. There was nothing unusual about the guy as he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt sporting a rock band that had broken up too long ago for Kakashi to even know who they were. What was unusual, however, was the baby hoisted against his hip. The monstrous pink tulle skirt was fluffed up to block her face, but he recognized that hideous dress that nearly swallowed her.

The stench of tobacco and garbage grew stronger as the man stepped closer, and it overpowered the delicate scent of baby milk. Despite having never been a parent before, and certainly not old enough to even have a child, Kakashi was still aware that it was never a good idea to smoke in the presence of a pregnant woman or newborn child. If Rin were with him right now, he had no doubt she would instantly spin on her heel to give the man a good tongue-lashing. And even though Rin wasn't with him right now, he could still feel her elbowing his ribs hard to get him to stop the man.

So with a sigh, he lowered the magazine from his face and sidled his eyes over just to check if the man had some sort of joint in his hand. Nope, nothing but the toy sloth. Kakashi flicked his eyes over to the baby who kept squirming in the man's arms, whining quietly as she swiveled her head left and right as if in search of something. Her toy? No...

Her mom.

Kakashi turned his cheek to glance at the back exit of the store that was reserved for employee use. Just as the man was about to sweep by him, Kakashi dropped the magazine right in his line of path and quickly moved to intercept. The man jerked to a stop, visibly disgruntled by a boy's ass blocking his path to the exit.

"Oh, what a cute baby you've got there," Kakashi drawled out, standing up to set the magazine of sex tips aside. The man paused at the sight of the boy giving him a crease-eyed smile that seemed friendly enough, but hesitation still flickered through his scowling face. Nonplussed, Kakashi tilted his head to the baby beginning to squirm. "What's her name?"

"Hana," the man grunted, moving to step around him.

Kakashi stepped with him, still effectively blocking his path and still smiling beneath his mask although the crinkle of his eyes had smoothened away to display the dead apathy in his gaze. "But that's not really her name, is it?"

The man's eyes widened by a fraction and he stepped back, dropping the sloth toy to reach for something at his back. But Kakashi's instincts were razor-sharp as well, honed by the many late-night street fights he'd often get into on nights when he had trouble sleeping. So before the man could pull out his gun, Kakashi had already pulled out his own pocketknife in a flash and sunk the blade all the way into the man's eyeball so that the hilt rested against the brow bone.

There was an audible 'squelch' that had the baby whimpering louder in distress while Kakashi impassively watched red dribble over the bottom lid of the stabbed eye. The blood started to trickle down a scraggly beard. The man let out a gasp, still staring in surprise at Kakashi as if he couldn't register the knife that'd been jammed into his head or the baby calmly taken from his stiff arms. He stumbled back, reaching up a shaky hand as if considering pulling the knife out even though that would mean taking his eye out with it. With one last gasp, he toppled onto the floor, his one good eye now staring listlessly at Kakashi's scuffed sneakers.

The blood started to pool out from his head rapidly now, spreading across the shiny epoxy flooring of the store. Before the blood could stain the sloth toy, Kakashi swooped down to pluck it off the floor. The baby had stopped her whimpering, looking on curiously as he pressed the toy to her chest.

"This is the last time I'm picking it up for you," Kakashi warned her. "I'm not your dog."

Instead of breaking into tears under his irritated gaze, however, she defiantly dropped her toy sloth (away from the pool of blood, thankfully) in favor of grabbing for Kakashi's face. Faster than he could react this time, she had yanked down his mask to paw and smack his mouth with hands that had probably been in her mouth too. Kakashi's nose wrinkled once more at the weird, somewhat sweet milky scent that he was only now figuring out was indeed saliva.

He jerked his face back in disgust, but that only served to give her a better view of his mouth. She paused, big jade orbs widening at his lips and she broke out into another gummy smile before leaning forth, mouth open like she planned to give him either a great big wet smooch or a great big gummy bite.

"Why not save that for your mom?" He frowned at the river of drool spilling down her chin.

"Agooo!" she squealed gleefully.

"Uh… bless you?"

No longer holding back a cringe, Kakashi held her further away, glancing down when his shoes felt slippery on the floor. He belatedly realized he was now standing in a puddle of blood. And among the sharp scent of copper and the gentle smell of milk, there was now a foul odor that stung his nose and this time Kakashi did gag. The baby giggled aloud, prompting him to glare at her. She only responded with another fart and then a giggle. Kakashi rolled his eyes, adjusting her onto his hip so that he could pull his mask back over his nose even though it wouldn't help much.

"SAKURA!" A woman's voice screamed out—the same woman who'd been too busy arguing on the phone earlier to notice her baby playing fetch with a boy shortly before getting kidnapped by a man.

The woman rushed over in a panic, face flustered with tears and fear. She wrested her baby from Kakashi's arms, glaring murderously at him like he was the culprit and not the dead man on the floor. Well, dead men couldn't tell any tales, so it fell upon Kakashi's shoulders to explain what happened. Maybe it was better to start from the beginning instead of jumping right into the scene where he stabbed the guy's eye out on a hunch. Now the woman was hysterical, crying over her baby's safety and the horror of a dead man on the floor. The woman was still eyeing him warily as the clerk came around to see what all the screaming and blubbering was about. Then he, too, screamed at the dead body on the floor. Which had then resulted in Kakashi retelling his story from the beginning again, this time including how the little babe still farting in her mother's arms had attempted to make Kakashi her toy dog to play fetch with.

The mother hadn't taken too kindly to that part, of course, even though it was the truth and she had demanded him to tell the story all the way from the beginning.

And then the cops had come and now Kakashi was getting really tired of retelling the same story all over again. At this rate, Rin would give him an earful when he got home if Mrs. Matsuda hadn't already blown out his eardrums by then. Of course, it was only until the officers had gotten his statement did they go bother to check the camera footage. And it was only until every microsecond was picked apart and the man was confirmed to have a gun on him did the officers decide to let Kakashi go. If Kakashi had to be honest, he'd thought the police would let him go once he'd mentioned the name 'Sakumo Hatake' to them. Alas, they were too bewildered by the fact that a teenage boy was able to take down a kidnapper with multiple felonies in the blink of an eye. So the fact that said teenage boy was the son of Sakumo Hatake was more or less glazed over.

When the reporters had finally come, it was just a motley crew of young journalists that looked like they were more interested in ordering some burgers than reporting a mere kidnapping attempt. Kakashi couldn't blame them. A burger and a milkshake sound good, he thought to himself, too absentminded when the baby was shoved back into his arms again, this time by her mother who now seemed to have flipped a switch and was giving him—or rather the reporters taking pictures of them—a saccharine smile instead of the accusing scowl from earlier.

One of the reporters had the gall to say, 'smile!' when Kakashi had been forced to pose for a picture, holding the baby against his hip and against his will. Even beneath his mask, it was hard to attempt a smile when she kept making grabby hands at his face. Tufts of pale pink hair tickled his cheek when the mother managed to wrangle her cooing daughter to hold still for just one photo.

"She needs her diapers changed," Kakashi sniffed, all too happy to give the baby back before she really did start treating him like a toy dog to yank around with her.

When the journalists trailed after him in an attempt for an interview, they at least had the common sense to realize their efforts were futile as Kakashi easily sniped them down with curt, one-word answers. Although he'd found it amusing to see them tripping over the cords of their microphones, he was ecstatic (inwardly) when the crew had finally given up and left, having not much else to report but maybe a two-hundred-word essay at most.

Good. He didn't need Mrs. Matsuda blowing up in his face the moment he stepped back inside the orphanage. Not when she was already a ticking time bomb ready to explode over his tardiness and other riff-raff nonsense. She already had disdain for his recalcitrant behavior, and he was sure she was keeping a list of all his shameless shenanigans.

Which was why he hurriedly dumped his box of condoms, the diapers, and the pack of bubblegum on the counter. The clerk, still quietly bemoaning his inevitable duty to clean up the blood at the other side of the store, flinched when Kakashi slapped a ryo bill in front of him.

Only a few years older, the clerk eyed the condoms warily before shifting his attention to the boy who'd just killed a guy like he'd only been playing pin the tail on the donkey—or eye, in this case. "Uh… how old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"You're pretty young."

"There's no age minimum to purchase condoms."

"Yeah, but I mean… aren't you a lil' too young to be..." The clerk trailed off unsurely.

"Fucking?" Kakashi finished for him, deadpan. "Or did you mean killing?"

It was a sincere question. He really didn't know if the clerk was raising his brow because of the condoms between them or because of the pool of blood further away. Or maybe his apathetic attitude to it all exacerbated the awkward atmosphere that reeked faintly of blood still.

There was also the option to just brag to the guy that he was old enough to already have a college degree under his belt and would have his Masters by fifteen years old. After all, prodigies like Kakashi didn't need to follow the guidelines of how to grow up like a normal child. He was far from normal, and they both knew it after what had just transpired today. But Kakashi found it more amusing to see the guy shiver visibly in distraught of how fucked up in the head this kid in front of him had to be to walk away from a crime scene like it was a walk through the park.

"Give me a pack of Spinel," Kakashi nodded to the cigarettes behind the counter.

The clerk hesitated once again. Clearly, fourteen years old was not quite old enough to buy cancer sticks like they were lollipops. But considering what this kid had just done to a full-grown man earlier and without so much as a blink of an eye... Smoking a cigarette seemed to be harmless when compared to killing a man.

With his condoms, diapers, bubblegum, and Spinel cigarettes now packed in a plastic bag, Kakashi crinkled his eyes at the clerk who shivered again when he realized it was the same expression he had just before killing a man. Unperturbed, Kakashi made his way out of the store, but not without suggesting aloud that they restock the literary section for the poor, depraved souls in desperate need of a raunchy book to soothe the ache of their groins.

On his way back to the orphanage, Kakashi stopped by the corner for a quick smoke. He counted his puffs carefully. Mrs. Matsuda had given up warning him of the addiction to nicotine he would develop sooner or later, but she underestimated him. The shrewd woman liked to believe that she knew him like the back of her hand just because he'd been under her wing for a couple of years already. Little did she know that underneath all that 'recalcitrant behavior that brought shame to his father', Kakashi was in complete control of himself. It was almost neurotic for him to fine-tune his body like an instrument—or a weapon—and constantly stay on high alert for any sign of danger. Like a master of his own puppet, he pulled the strings on every single muscle and breath he owned.

He was in control of himself, and he made a promise that no urge would ever control him. If he wanted to smoke a stick, that was fine. But he wouldn't let the cravings get out of hand. Because it hurt too much to want something so badly that it destroyed you, and Kakashi Hatake was all too aware of what that was like. He'd been craving the impossible since he was a five-year-old kid who'd discovered his father's gutted body one stormy night. And though the cravings never really stop, what mattered was that he was in control of himself.

Even so, he finished his last puff and dropped the stick to snuff it out with a quick grind of his heel. The sun was hanging low, signaling that it was almost in time for dinner and Kakashi knew that his tardiness would only add more fuel to Mrs. Matsuda's already raging fire. He could already smell the smoke of danger—or maybe that was just the smoke of his cigarette clinging to him. Still, he couldn't afford to listen to her bitch for an extra hour when he had another appointment to get ready for tonight.

And it was after dinner that he readied himself for that appointment by sneaking out onto the back porch to enjoy the fresh air as well as the bottle of vodka he'd swiped after picking the lock of the alcohol cabinet. The vodka ran down his throat like fire and settled warm in his stomach. He sighed, leaning back to watch a plane fly overhead. The backyard was filled with fireflies at this time of night, the bugs eager to get some fresh, cool air after a balmy day under the sun.

"Someone made the local newspaper today."

Kakashi glanced up as Rin lowered herself down to take a seat beside him. "Front-page?"

"Last," she replied, presenting him with the page of his deed—minus the word 'heroic' though. At the bottom of the page was a photo of him holding the baby, the both of them painted in shades of black ink and icky grey but neither of them even looking at the camera. Kakashi was in the middle of thinking how much the baby's cheeks look a lot like a chipmunk's when Rin sighed beside him. "They say you killed a man, Kakashi."

He raised his eyes to her. Her face was marred by a disapproving frown while his was as smooth and blank as a canvas.

"Yeah... And?"

Rin's frown deepened. "And... you don't seem to care," she said, her gaze heavy with woe instead of bright with fear.

"I don't care that I killed a man that was going to do god-knows-what to that baby?" He couldn't help but get a little defensive. What did she want him to do? Cry and mourn the loss of a man who contributed nothing to society and was more of a fungal infection that needed to be taken care of? Sure, a life was a life and Kakashi had no intention to play god and decide who lives and who dies. But in a situation like that, there was no choice but to decide who lives and who dies—and hadn't he made the correct judgment in killing the guilty to save the innocent?

Every soldier out on the battlefield was doing that right now. Killing people to save people. It was a necessary evil for the greater good, but maybe Rin didn't understand that quite yet. She was still young and naïve in the sense that she was a proponent for idealism rather than realism. She still had yet to take off her rose-tinted glasses and see the world for what it really was and not for what she wanted it to be. And right now, she was squinting through those glasses to scrutinize him.

He didn't know what she saw, but he knew she didn't like it.

"You know what I mean," she sighed, looking at him the same way she'd looked upon that crippled, old pug in the alley. Broken, and waiting for death.

Just like his father.

"Don't look at me like that, Rin," Kakashi muttered darkly. He looked away from her, taking a sharp swig of vodka straight from the bottle.

She clicked her tongue but grabbed the drink to take a sip, wincing from the burn before tapping a finger on the photo from the newspaper. "You know, it almost looks like this is your baby," she said with a teasing smile. "You almost look adorable as a teen daddy."

"Very funny," Kakashi said with a roll of his eyes although he was grateful for the change in subject. "You know I'm never having children, right? They're fussy and needy and I dare even say abusive. This one pulled my mask down and saw my face while I was helpless to do anything about it. She practically tried to assault her own savior!"

"What?! Why, out of all the people in this world, it's a baby who gets to see your face first?!" Now Rin was pouting with him, but a smile was threatening to twitch awake again. "So not fair. I wiped your puke the first time you got blackout drunk and you still wouldn't let me see!"

"I'll show you one day."

But first, he hoped she'd forget about it.

"At this rate, I'll be dead by the time you do show me."

"I promise to show you," he said, taking absolute care not to pinky promise because, according to Rin, those were unbreakable even for him. He dug into his pocket for the pack of strawberry bubblegum and tossed it to her.

"You remembered the flavor I asked for?" She looked pleased.

"I do have perfect memory."

"Only when you care to remember things."

He raised a shoulder into a shrug like he could care less. "Go brush your teeth and make sure to clean your tongue like I taught you. I can smell the garlic chips you snuck in."

Rin sniffed and curled her lip in distaste. "And I can smell the nicotine on you."

"That's from Asuma."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

She rolled her eyes back at him but stood up, brushing the invisible dust off her skirt. "What about you? If Mrs. Matsuda catches you here—and with her stolen vodka..." she had her brow raised at the way Kakashi had grabbed the bottle to hug it to himself. Then her brow dipped into a frown and she followed his gaze to the shadows of the backyard. Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Wait, are you going to be making out with Sakae again?"

"Of course not," he snorted. "I'm way past first base already."

And second, and third, and now he was on the last stretch of his home run.

"You say you'll never have children but you sure like practicing making them," Rin said dryly.

Kakashi shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a healthy growing boy with healthy hobbies."

That earned him a sharp kick in the ribs from Rin but he hardly winced. "Remind me to not buy you the next installment of the Make-Out series when it comes out next year."

Ouch. She knew where to hit him where it really hurt.

Hearing her leave to get ready for bed, Kakashi sat straighter, knocking the bottle back for another swig of vodka. He had a better tolerance than last year, and at 5 feet and 5 inches, he already had a solid build shaping up even if his bones still ached and his voice still broke. But he'd already become a man at five years old, growing up in the hard blink of an eye. The painful whiplash of his childhood ending so abruptly had already faded away, but he still found his thoughts straying to his father even on a night like this.

Glimpsing the photo of himself and that baby, Kakashi couldn't help but replace the image with him in his father's arms instead. He blinked once, and he was back to staring at his deadpanned face in sharp contrast to the giggling, gurgling baby he'd been forced to carry for the photo-op.

Heaving a sigh, Kakashi scrubbed a hand down his face before reaching for the newspaper to tear off that page. He folded the sides, making sure the edges were crisp and aligned before throwing the makeshift plane out into the garden. It caught a warm breeze and rode on the tails of the wind, rising higher into the night sky. Kakashi watched on, his memory of today's events already miles away like the paper plane would soon be; soon to be forgotten completely by the end of the night. And as the paper plane raced over the neighborhood, Kakashi's thoughts were now racing towards the future, particularly tonight during which he'd get to weigh Sakae's generous breasts in his hands again.

They're definitely just as soft and heavy as I remember, Kakashi thought at the back of his mind an hour later. But he'd also just as soon forgotten those plush breasts once he found himself inside of Sakae, fucking her in the shadows of the backyard with the rest of the orphanage (save for Rin) none the wiser. He'd impressed her when he managed to roll the condom on without a problem, and he'd been impressed when she guided him down on the bench to ride him. Then they'd both been impressed when, in a sudden turn of events, Kakashi had ended up bending her over and fucking her from behind, her hands gripping the bench so hard that her knuckles bled white and his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise.

When it was all done and nothing left to be said, Kakashi honestly didn't feel any different from before. Even when Sakae had blushed and stuttered through her words to tell him to take her out on a date, he felt no inclination to return the romantic sentiment. Of course, he'd still proposed to take her to the movies next week, and she'd proposed to give him a handjob if they stayed for the credits. But beyond the primitive nature that drove Kakashi to accept the sex, there was no tug at his heart the way Sakae's had been.

He liked her as much as he liked her big breasts, and he liked the sex just as much as any healthy, hormonal boy would at his age. But his loss of virginity tonight had changed virtually nothing inside him. Sakae didn't seem to notice at all though when she'd peck a goodnight kiss on his cheek, and Kakashi had given her that same crease-eyed smile he'd given to the clerk and the man he'd killed.

After checking that Rin was tucked in bed and asleep, he made his way to the boy's bathroom. There probably would've been a celebration of sorts among his male peers had they known that Kakashi lost his virginity and got to cum inside a girl—four years older than him at that—all in one night. But at the tender age of fourteen and a genius in his own right, the only one he could celebrate with was the old, crippled pug across the school. He was the only one of his peers who'd had sex with a girl, killed a man, and found his father's own corpse, so of course there wasn't really anyone he could talk to except for the pug who was already too tired laying on Death's doors to care about the fucked-up adventures of a fucked-up boy.

And when Kakashi started to strip off his clothes to shower off the smell of sex, it was then that he realized the bit of blood from the store had stained the edges of his sleeve, the red nearly blending into the black fabric. He didn't care for the copper scent, but he did frown at the light smell of thrown-up milk and cherry blossoms. But of course the baby had drooled on his shirt. He was probably lucky enough that she hadn't puked milk all over him too.

"Never gonna have children," Kakashi groused to himself, and then he stepped into the shower to rinse away the last evidence of today's events.

The rest of the chapter will be published soon on AO3 and Fanfiction.Net! Thank you for reading!

#kakasaku #kakashi x sakura #the anatomy of love

9 notes · View notes

charlottemadison42 · 4 years ago

Text

So this happened. Demon Llama, or, the Ineffable New Groove

So Gabriel and Beelzebub are obviously Kronk and Yzma, and...the rest is a regrettably ridiculous collaborative gift fic for @bisasterdi!!!!!

In thanks for running our wonderful GO-Events discord, with contributions from @ednav, @sungmee, @noodlefrog-omens, @saretton, and @liquidlyrium! https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319451

And the thing is, I’m not even sorry.

Yzzzzzma: [To Adam] Restart the Apocalypse RIGHT NOW, young man, and those two are both going to be executed!

Gronk: Wait, maybe you meant 'Or'?

Yzzzzzma: Gfgdhj, all right! Restart the Apocalypse right now OR those two are both going to be executed!

Wensleydale: Well, which is it? That sounds like a crucial conjunction, actually.

Brian: Can’t make a proper decision without being sure.

Pepper: [pointing at Yzzzzma] I like them, they’re cool. I want fire hair.

Adam looks at Cruzco and Pachziraphale.

Adam: I mean, no offense, but I don’t really know you guys. If it’s you or all of existence, I think I’d better choose all of existence.

Cruzco: You’re the Antichrist. You can literally do whatever you want right now. You’re in charge of all of existence.

Adam: [brightening] I am? Oh! I choose neither, then.

He waves his hand and blasts Yzzzma and Gronk high into the air. As they fall he materializes a trampoline under them, because he thinks it’s funny, and because it would actually be kind of gross to watch them go splat.

Gronk: [between bounces] Someone should -- really tell the kid’s -- dad about this.

Yzzzzma: [trying not to bounce, but being bounced by Gronk anyway as he grows more enthusiastic about the whole trampoline situation] Oh, they will. They -- will.

This is ridiculous and I hope you enjoy it. And I hope someone draws Demon Llama Crowley. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319451

#good omens #good omens crack #the emperor's new groove #wrong lever #not really sure what possessed me but #here ya go

87 notes · View notes

chachkayes · 4 years ago

Text

The Journey to ‘I Do’ - Mer x Hayes

Wow. Okay. The 4th fic I was talking abt yesterday. Life kind of got in the way and really prevented me from finishing this one yesterday night like I’d wanted. This one is going to need a keep reading line because it is officially the longest fic I have literally ever written. It’s 4.2k words. 4.2k words of pure and utter love and fluff. This is the last fic you’ll be getting from me (aside from the Christmas fic on Christmas day) for awhile, because I go back to work this week and it’s Christmas week and also the week my final is due, which means I will be a busy bee over the next little while. I really hope you all like this fic, it’s one of my favourite ones I’ve ever written and I hope it gives you all as many feels as it did for me while I wrote it. And just a disclaimer, YES, I know they probably won’t get married on the show. But AU’s are fun to write, and everything I write is usually just for fun and to fulfill my own or someone else’s headcannons and hopes that are fun to think about. Okay, that’s all, enjoy :)

“A small wedding, Maggie. Please. That’s it.” Meredith begged her sister as she walked out of her house, heading to work. Maggie had been pestering Meredith to let her plan a more grandiose wedding since she’d been told that she could even plan the wedding at all. Mer and Hayes had been adamant about a small wedding right from the beginning, although Meredith more than Hayes. He would never admit it to anyone, but his boys had quickly warmed him up to the idea of a larger wedding that their friends and family from the hospital were invited to. He couldn’t decipher if it was just because Liam wanted a reason to party or if he genuinely cared, but he couldn’t help but entertain the idea as he lay next to his fiancée in bed at night.

Maggie smirked and turned to Amelia, who was laughing to herself as she listened in on Maggie and Meredith’s conversation. “You’re not gonna plan just a ‘small wedding’, are you?” She inquired. Maggie smirked at Amelia. “How well do you think Cristina Yang can keep a secret?” Maggie said, confirming Amelia’s suspicions. “Do you want me to talk to Jackson today when I go into work?” Amelia asked Maggie, officially hopping on board the crew of people who were working on the surprise wedding plans for Meredith and Hayes. Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, could you? That’d be amazing!” Maggie exclaimed as she flung open her laptop and added Amelia and Jackson’s name to the list of people who’d be helping out. The list already included the likes of Bailey, Richard, Jo, Link, Winston, Owen, and Teddy.

As Amelia got into work, she quickly found and cornered Jackson. “Avery!” She yelled, diverting his attention away from his conversation with another staff member. “I- we, we need your help.” Jackson looked at Amelia, confused. “You need me for a consult or something?” He said, after excusing himself from his previous conversation. “No. Maggie and I. We, uh-“ She paused, looking around to make sure neither Hayes nor Meredith were around. “We’re hoping you could help us with a surprise for the wedding.” Jackson nodded in understanding. “Yeah, sure. What do you need?” He said as he crossed his arms and backed into a more private space for him and Amelia to talk about the wedding, knowing she wouldn’t want Meredith or Hayes to overhear. “We wanted to know if you could get in touch with Cristina. Get her over here for the wedding somehow.” Jackson raised his eyebrows at Amelia’s request. “I haven’t talked to Yang in a few months. But I’m sure I could make it happen. Okay, yeah, count me in.” He decided. Amelia grinned and gave Jackson a high-five. “Thank you!” Amelia squealed as she left the scan room.

“Oh, hey Avery. What’s up?” Cristina said as she answered the unexpected phone call from her friend and former colleague. “How well do you think you could keep a secret from Meredith and Hayes?” He asked, cutting right to the chase. “Probably pretty well. Why? What are you hooligans planning now?” She asked with a slight amusement in her voice. “We were hoping to fly you out so you could be there for their wedding. But we don’t want either of them to know.” Jackson explained. Cristina smiled behind the phone, intrigued at the idea of surprising her best friends at their wedding after she helped Hayes plan the engagement. “Wait, Meredith and Hayes are letting you guys plan a wedding for more people than just the two of them?” Cristina quipped back, knowing full well that Meredith was never a fan of having a wedding of her own. “No. Mer’s been unsurprisingly pretty adamant about having a small wedding. But she left the planning up to Maggie, and now half the hospital’s involved and neither of them know.” Cristina smirked. “Well in that case, absolutely. Just let me know a date and I’ll be there.” She told Jackson. “Great. Listen, I have to go now, but I’ll talk to you later and give you more details later.” He said as he received a page on his phone. From Meredith. ‘Great timing, Mer.’ He thought to himself. “Alright, bye Avery.” “Bye, Yang.”

Wedding dress shopping. The thing Meredith was admittedly looking forward to the least. However, her daughters wanted to see their mom get all dressed up in pretty dresses. And Jo, Amelia, and Maggie had begged her to try dresses on like starving puppies begging for food. How could she say no? She’d deprived them of the big friends and family wedding that they wanted, she couldn’t rid them of everything they were excited about. “Okay, before we go in, what did I say again?” Meredith said as she turned on her heel and stood to face her entourage, arms crossed. “Nothing expensive.” Maggie said. “Nothing poofy.” Amelia said. “And most of all, no sparkles.” Zola piped up with a smile. Mer nodded her head at the girls and turned back around, entering the bridal shop. ‘Here goes nothing.’ She thought to herself.

An hour into her dress appointment, Meredith had yet to find anything she really loved. And she was not one to be known for settling. Ellis decided to run off into the dress racks, worrying Meredith. She was still little and young, so it was likely that she could pull a dress off the rack and have it been the complete opposite of what she wanted. She didn’t though. She, with the help of Amelia, brought over a stunning, form fitting, white halter dress with a satin sash across her waist that came with no sparkles, fit her like a glove, wasn’t expensive, and looked stunning on her. “Wow, Ellie, this dress is beautiful.” Meredith said as she stepped out of the fitting room. She looked in the mirror and smoothed the dress over her as the girls behind her fawned over the dress and she slowly fell in love with the gown she was wearing. “Meredith… you look stunning.” Jo gawked over her friend. “Yeah. Wow.” Amelia and Maggie said simultaneously. “Momma, is this what you’re gonna wear to marry Hayes??” Zola asked enthusiastically. “I think it is.” Meredith said, smiling at her daughters, sisters, and Jo, who were all beaming with pride.

Next up on Maggie’s list of secret wedding things to accumulate was the dresses for the bridesmaids and the flower girls. She knew this excursion was going to be trickier than the one for getting Meredith a dress, because she had to find dresses for herself, Amelia, Jo, as well as Cristina, along with dresses for Ellis and Zola. This was where Teddy and Owen came in. They generously agreed to hide all of the dresses at their house so Meredith wouldn’t get suspicious, then transport them to Richard and Catherine’s house the morning of the wedding. And so, off went Amelia, Jo, Maggie, Zola, and Ellis to try on pretty dresses for themselves. After hours of searching in several different stores, they’d finally agreed on these beautiful V-neck, olive green, A-line dresses with short, ruffled sleeves. One by one, things began to fall in to place. Sweet and simple gray lacy dresses were bought for Ellis and Zola. Jo dropped all 6 dresses off at Teddy and Owen’s and the gang moved on to phase 3 of planning.

Decorations was what Maggie dreaded planning the most. She knew that her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law would hate an overly decorated wedding for themselves. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t exactly have an idea for what to do. So, she went to Pinterest. This may or may not have been a great idea. Pinterest became a complete and utter black hole of ideas for Maggie. She bought string lights – and lots of them. Fairy lights, and white Christmas lights mainly. She bought chiffon drapes to hang on a homemade wooden alter. She bought fake vines and a few flowers. She rented tables, and chairs. Once she was finished with her Pinterest spiral, she consulted with Richard as to how they would decorate his backyard – that was his contribution and involvement in Maggie’s scheme for a wedding that would satisfy the wants of attendants, as well as Meredith and Hayes. Hopefully. He owned this beautiful, large home, with a backyard big enough to fit the people invited.

Bailey’s involvement in the wedding was much more sentimental. She was officiating the wedding. This was quite literally the only detail of Maggie’s wedding plans that Meredith and Hayes had been consulted on. Mainly because Bailey demanded that she hear it from Meredith herself that she wanted her to officiate. They all loved the idea. Bailey encouraged them to write vows and thank god she did, because Maggie had been stressing about how she was going to convince Mer and Hayes to write sentimental crap without it seeming suspicious. Bailey’s idea for them to write vows reprieved her of that worry completely.

As it got down to the final few days before the wedding, duties were given out whenever the participants of the scheming could find time completely away from both Meredith and Hayes, which had not been an easy task in the weeks leading up to the big day. It seemed like Meredith was always there whenever Maggie turned a corner. Meredith and Hayes had both got the day off work, so Maggie paged and gathered the group into one room. “Alright everyone, you know why we’re all here - we have a wedding in 2 days. Final tasks. Jackson, Cristina’s flight lands tomorrow at 5pm. You’re picking her up from the airport and taking her to Bailey’s place. Bailey, Jackson and Cristina should be arriving at your place for 6:30/ 7:00pm, give or take. Link, Winston – you’re in charge of the groom. You guys have to have him dressed and ready to go to Richard’s for 4pm on Saturday. Find a way to keep him away from Meredith for the night before and day of the wedding. Richard – Jackson, Owen, and Teddy will be over bright and early Saturday morning to help set up all the decorations. Amelia, Jo, and I will be getting ourselves, the children, and the bride ready. Ceremony starts at 5:30pm. The goal is to have Meredith and Hayes walk together to the front, as I can’t see my sister wanting to walk down an aisle. Alright. Everyone know what they’re doing?” Maggie finished. Choruses of “Yep” and “Uh huh” along with nods of acknowledgement circled the room. “Great! Okay. Disperse.” Maggie finished, and everyone did just that.

Wedding day. Chaos ensuing. Jackson had successfully picked up Cristina from the airport and dropped her off at Bailey’s undetected. Link and Winston had also been successful in their recruits to get Hayes away for a bachelor’s night. They phrased it as ‘guy’s night’ though, knowing how their best friend felt about the term ‘bachelor’s party’. He’d been ardently against the idea that it was his last night as a single man. He wasn’t single, he was in a serious relationship with a woman he loves, and they’d made a commitment to each other when they began dating. The marriage was only an extension of that commitment. But for Hayes, the proposed idea of getting drunk with his two closest guy friends while watching things like soccer and crappy TV shows was too tempting an offer for him to turn down. Meredith also told him to go and spend the night with them, so he didn’t really have any other option.

“Meredith! We’re ready to go when you are!” Maggie yelled from the main floor, up to the upstairs floor. It was 3:30pm, and while Meredith also knew the wedding was going to be hosted at Richard’s, in fact she was the one that suggested that’s where it be held, but she was unaware of the extent to which the place had been decorated and just how many people were actually invited. Meredith placed her earrings and bracelet in the little jewellery box, and headed downstairs. Her makeup and hair had been done at the house, as did Amelia, Maggie and Jo, who brushed off the excessiveness as ‘just wanting to look nice in pictures’. Maggie could feel herself getting more and more giddy as she got closer to Richard and Catherine’s place. Bailey had arrived with Cristina an hour earlier and had gotten the both of them plus Teddy ready in the meantime. Liam had agreed to drive himself, Austin, Zola, Bailey, and Ellis over to the house since Maggie’s car was going to be packed between Meredith’s dress and shoes, and all 4 of the women.

Meredith and Hayes arrived at Richard’s at the same time. The vehicles pulled into the driveway almost simultaneously. Hayes got out of the car first, then Winston, and Link. Meredith quickly exited Maggie’s car once she parked, and went to catch up with Hayes, who was standing frozen in the doorway. She placed her hand on his back. “Hey, what’s go-“ She said before looking into the house and realizing exactly why he was standing so frozen. “Cristina.” Meredith’s jaw dropped at the sight of her best friend. Cristina beamed at her friends as they stood in the doorway of Richard’s house. Bailey watched from the stairway like a proud mama. “Are you going to give me a hug or what?” Cristina said, prompting Meredith to laugh, step inside, and give her a much overdue hug. When they finally pulled back from the hug, Meredith looked around at her friends who were all smiling and watching her and Cristina. “Wait, so how did you get here? And how did I not know?” Meredith asked as Cristina hugged Hayes. Maggie, Amelia and Jackson grinned sheepishly at Meredith. “I might have had Amelia and Jackson conspire to get her here.” Maggie finally admitted. Meredith hugged her sister. “Thank you.”

Everyone moved inside as Link and Amelia brought in Meredith’s dress and all the tuxes. “Let me guess, no ‘peppy maid of honour’ thing again?” Meredith chuckled at her friend. “No, absolutely not – your only job today is to-“ “Kick your guys’ ass down the aisle?” Cristina interrupted her, and Meredith choked back a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.”

For the next hour and a half, the finishing touches were put on everyone’s hair and makeup, dresses were steamed, and Meredith quickly figured out that this wedding was not going to be as small as she’d hoped. However, she overlooked it, because Cristina was there, Hayes seemed genuinely excited, and she knew that only her friends would be showing up. She had her person back, even if it was just for a few days. The girls helped each other into their dresses, and Ellis and Zola fawned over their mom and aunts. A few more guests showed up as everyone finished getting ready, including Bokhee, Tom, Levi, Nico, Parker, and Helm, along with their friends from Station 19, Robert and Andy, Vic and Travis, Dean, Maya and Carina, Emmett, and Jack.

Finally, 5:30 came. The sun began to set and the lights that had been hung from poles in the yard illuminated the sky perfectly. Everyone was waiting excitedly in their chairs, conversing among themselves as they waited for the wedding to start. Cristina had persuaded Meredith to let Richard walk her down the aisle, so Hayes was waiting patiently at the front of the arch with Link, Winston, Liam, Austin, and Bailey. Inside the house, Cristina, Maggie and Amelia were giving Meredith the pre-marriage pep talk that Meredith had given all of them before their respective weddings to Owen (once for Cristina and once for Amelia), Link, and Winston. Finally, the music started, and the guests in attendance immediately stopped chatting and turned their heads towards the back doors. The doors opened and Ellis and Zola walked out, flinging white petals all over the ground. Then Jo walked out, Amelia, then Maggie, followed by Cristina. Richard looked over at Meredith. “You ready?” He asked as she slipped her arm through his. “Yeah, I am.” She said with a smile and walked out into the backyard and down the makeshift aisle.

“Friends and family alike, we are gathered today to celebrate. To celebrate the love shared between two people who found each other in the midst of unimaginable grief. Who know better than most of us that the tomorrows with the people we love are never promised, so we have to make the most of it. Meredith, Hayes, I have had the joy of watching your relationship develop and watch the both of your flourish in your happiness, separately and with each other. You guys are about to enter into a journey together, one that you both know the meaning behind very well. You know that marriage takes a lot of work, that there will be ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and that above all communication is the most important thing to make a marriage work. I don’t need to tell you this. The love shared between you guys is something admirable, and I for one, am so honoured that you asked me to marry the two of you today. When you guys first reported your relationship to me and HR, I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who would have thought?’ But now, as I look back on your friendship, I really should have seen this coming from a mile away. There’s something magnetic between two equals, who share such similar life experiences and never expect anything more from the other than their authentic selves. Plus, you guys spent a very odd amount of time in OR’s together. And as fate may have it, Cristina Yang, or whatever you guys want to believe, you found each other. And it has been beautiful to see. I have to stop myself before I ramble even more about how proud I am of the both of you. I know you both have written your own vows, so I invite you to exchange them now. Meredith?” Bailey opened the wedding, and there was already some audible sniffling from a couple of the bridesmaids.

“Hayes…” Meredith started, laughing with tears in her eyes as she read over her vows. He laughed with her and wiped the tear from her face. “I had many firsts before I met you. And though part of me wishes I could take them back and had them all with you, I know that each and every one of those firsts was what lead me to you. And in a way, you are my biggest firsts. My first long-term relationship. You’re the first man I said ‘I’m in love with you’ to. The first person who understood me fully, who matched my every turn and never had to navigate major differences with. And you’re the only person I imagined myself having a future with. You are imperfectly perfect. You are everything I never knew I needed. You complete me. You’re my other half. My equal, my partner in work and in life. A while ago, I’d told Alex that I didn’t want to fall in love again unless it felt like family. And that’s you. I love you, and I love your boys. I love our family. I love how you never push any boundaries with my kids, but still love them like your own. And as I stand here today, in front of a bunch of friends and family that neither of us thought would be coming, I promise to love you unconditionally. I promise to always communicate with you about everything. To never be anything less than myself around you. I promise to always talk with you about Derek and Abigail, who I know are watching from heaven and cheering for us. I promise to defend you and stick by you through thick and thin. I have been and always will be your biggest supporter on earth. I love you.” Hayes smiled at Meredith through tears and began to lean in to kiss her on instinct, before he felt Bailey’s hand push him back. “Not. Yet.” She said sternly, prompting laughter from the guests and wedding party.

“Grey, before I met you, I didn’t want to love again. There was no one I could even think about being with after having Abby ripped away from me so slowly and cruelly. That was until I met you. You understood exactly what I was going through. You never pushed or prodded, and always let me talk about Abby if I was comfortable with it. Of course, I always was, knowing you’d probably done the same thing, or at least something very similar. Every day since I met you, I’ve found something new about you that amazes me. You amaze me. And there is no one else on the face of this earth I could have imagined myself going through all those firsts with. You taught me to love again. My goal in our relationship is to always make you feel loved, seen, and wanted. You truly are my equal in this part of my life. And I love everything about you, about our family. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how lucky I am to have met you, to know what it’s like to experience your loyalty and love. You know full well that I don’t take promises lightly. I promise to always stand by you, no matter what. I promise to know when to fall back and let you handle things, versus when to step up and step in to defend you. I promise to bring you coffee in the morning and check in on you when you’re working in the lab on your next award-winning medical breakthrough. I promise to always page you for surgeries that require general surgery, and I promise to watch the kids when you’ve had a long day so you can get some rest. I even promise to dance with you whenever you want to. Above all though, I promise to make us my priority. I love you.” Hayes finished. After the both of their vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in Richard’s backyard. Quite literally everyone was crying. Including both Meredith and Hayes.

“Link, the rings?” Bailey said, looking over at Link. He gave Scout the thumbs up, to which Scout toddled over to the front and handed Hayes and Meredith their rings. “Now, do you, Cormac Hayes, take Meredith Grey to be your wife?”

“I do.” He said, wearing a bright smile on his face, placing Meredith’s ring on her finger.

“And Meredith, do you take Cormac Hayes to be your husband?” Bailey said, looking at Meredith.

“I do.” She said, smiling back at Hayes with tears in her eyes as she placed the ring on his finger.

“By the power vested in me from the internet, and by the grace of God, I pronounce you two husband and wife. Hayes, you may kiss your bride.” Bailey said with a smile as she stepped back from the couple. “Finally,” Hayes said as he wrapped his arms around Meredith’s waist and pulled her in for their first kiss as a married couple. Their biggest first together. Everyone clapped and cheered for the newlyweds, and they pulled back, still holding onto each other, as they looked around at their friends and family, all smiles.

The whole reception was lively. People mingled and caught up with old friends. Meredith and Hayes made sure to go around before dinner started inside and say hi to everyone who’d shown up and thank them for coming. Meredith had to admit that she was glad she got to share this day with all her friends. Then during dinner came the speeches. Meredith and Hayes both gave short speeches that they came up with on the fly. Maggie and Amelia both made touching tributes, thanking Hayes for making their sister so happy again, and for loving her in the way she deserves to be loved. Richard, Jackson, and Link also all made speeches. The final speech came from none other than Meredith’s person, Cristina Yang. “Meredith, Hayes, I love you both. I’m so happy you two found each other. You’re welcome, by the way. I take full credit for this.” Laughter erupted from around the house. Leave it to Cristina to steal the show in two sentences.

They ate dinner, mingled, laughed, and loved. The first dance was touching, as their song played over the speaker and they slow danced, whispering sweet words into each other’s ears, kissing and loving each other like no one was watching. After the first dance, the music picked up and everyone joined in the celebrations. This night was a perfect representation of what the rest of their lives looked like; filled with love, laughter, family, friendship, and lots of music and happiness. After having their happiness ripped away from them in horrifying ways, they’d finally found it again. And it was truly beautiful.

#grey x hayes #hayes x grey #meredith x hayes #meredith x cormac #hayes x meredith #cormac x meredith #merhayes #grayes #merwidow

24 notes · View notes