#displeased with how noisy the last one is but it's the best option -_-

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[gainerstories]

Fatter Exchange Student: Chapter 7

This is a community story with each chapter authored by a different writer in the gaining community. This chapter is penned by Feeder86.

Read prior chapters here.

Bleecker stood in the middle of the changing rooms feeling more powerful than he ever had in his entire life. Tonight’s training had been mostly tackling skills and he had gone all out. One guy stood to the side, rotating his aching shoulder, whilst another was stretching out his heavily bruised thigh; both of them having taken a huge blow from Bleecker out on the field.

“You alright, guys?” he asked; a sadistic grin wanting to spread across his face.

He might not be able to keep up with these guys when running, but with his added weight, he could throw them around like twigs.

In return, Bleecker received displeased frowns, making him chuckle a little to himself. He shrugged his shoulders, as if he were oblivious as to why they were so moody with him. He lifted off his sweat-drenched rugby shirt and caught the many little glances from one guy to the next, as they all took in the size of his uncovered, monstrously swollen stomach. It was getting bigger every week, and every one of them could see it. His chest was massive and muscular; stronger than he had ever been in his life. Yet he had grown a genuinely huge gut, fat-filled and bloated; creating a distinctive, ball-like appearance under his shirts.

Bleecker lived for these displays, willing everyone to look at his body and see how big he was growing. He pulled down his shorts and then his underwear, completely comfortable with his own nudity; enjoying making an exhibition of himself. And why not? He was the largest man on this team by almost one hundred pounds. He strutted to the showers, throwing his arms out that little bit more, to really emphasise the point. If this team was going to have an alpha male, he had no doubt that it would be him.

“Oh, you’re back!” smiled Sebastian, as Bleecker strutted in through the door that evening. “How was training?”

“Awesome!” Bleecker smirked, throwing his bag on the floor and heading straight to the refrigerator for his full-fat milk.

He lifted the gallon-sized container and began chugging it down, feeling his stomach bloat and swell. He swallowed and swallowed, trying to take as much as he could in one go. Then, with less than half remaining, he paused, lowering the milk and giving off a tremendous, roaring burp. Upon hearing it, Sebastian laughed and nodded in approval.

“That was a noisy one!” he smiled. “Someone was thirsty after rugby training, huh? I’ve never seen anyone take down as much milk as you can!”

Bleecker smirked confidently. Words could not describe how much he loved people commenting on his massive appetite and capacity. He could feel his crotch stirring almost instantly. But he loved it even more when it was Sebastian doing the commenting. Over the last few months that he had lived here, the handsome Greek boy had puffed up like a blowfish. That conventionally attractive Mediterranean body had altered beyond all recognition. The guy’s hips had packed on the blubber, ruining the previously slender butt and developing love handles that seemed to peek out of his shirts, no matter what he wore.

His face was soft and flabby looking, with massive fat-filled cheeks taking away his cheekbones, and a new double chin, masking what was otherwise a very handsome jawline. Sebastian’s chest now resembled two mounds of blubber, with pointed and almost sagging nipples straining against the material of his shirts. But below that was the best of all; a full and round pot belly that seemed to be swelling each and every day.

He wondered what Sebastian’s friends and family would say back at home. Would they be shocked and disappointed with him? Would they point the finger of blame at his new chubby boyfriend? Or, even better, would they accuse his monstrously-sized housemate for helping him to pick up bad eating habits? Damn! Even this thought was getting him hard!

Things were finally starting to return to normal between the pair of them after that rather awkward kiss. He didn’t know what had caused him to lose himself like that. Sebastian had tried to talk to him about it a few times afterwards, but Bleecker had shrugged him off; making a joke about being overly tired and a little hungover that morning. Felix had been around the apartment more and more over the last few weeks and hadn’t had it out with him for hitting on his boyfriend. There could be only one reason for that, Bleecker concluded; Sebastian hadn’t told him.

“Is Felix coming over tonight?” Bleecker asked.

“Not tonight,” Sebastian replied, shaking his head. “He has an assignment due tomorrow, so he’s working on that.”

Bleecker nodded, feeling both pleased and disappointed. It was nice to have Sebastian to himself, but he also loved seeing chubby Felix about the place. The thought of him and Sebastian having sex in the room next to him made him even more aroused than usual. He imagined their overfed chubby bodies touching each other, admiring their shapes and fresh fat. Not only that, but Felix seemed to be highly skilled at getting Sebastian to eat even more than usual, with the pair of them having incredibly greedy appetites; real, genuine gluttony that was only surpassed by his own. That was why both of them seemed to be packing on the fat at an ever increasing pace. Their clothes fitted awkwardly around their new flesh, unflatteringly hugging love-handles, back fat and moobs. Bleecker began to wonder what would become of them both if they both carried on this path; but that thought aroused him even more.

“Never mind,” Bleecker sighed. “I hope he gets it finished tonight.”

“I was going to order some pizza, if you wanted to join me?” Sebastian suddenly asked, as Bleecker began to walk away. His voice had a strange pleading tone to it, as if he were suddenly desperate to keep Bleecker from heading into his bedroom for the night.

Still clutching his gallon of milk and his stomach stubbornly full from the take-out he’d picked up on the way home, Bleecker hadn’t really intended to eat anything else tonight. But he’d made a promise to himself to never say no to food. How else was he going to keep upping his size and knocking those guys down on his team like bowling pins?  

“Sure,” he nodded nonchalantly. “I’m always up for some pizza.”

An hour later, Bleecker sat, puffing like a whale in the lounge. If there was one downside to all this extra weight, it was these damned humid nights where he simply couldn’t cool down. Before the pizzas had arrived, he’d taken himself for a cold shower and now sat there on the couch in only his underwear, still feeling the creeping sweat spread across his large body. He packed two pizzas into his stomach, feeling its heat firing up the furnace of his gut, and he took massive swigs of his milk, until even that had gone. It was so freaking hot tonight, he complained bitterly within his own head.

“Finished already?” asked Sebastian from the other chair.

“Yeah,” nodded Bleecker, feeling the stretch of his own stomach and noting with pride that Sebastian was over half way through his own second pizza. The guy’s appetite had really come along since he’d been here.

“Try stacking the slices on top of each other when you eat. It helps you to get it down faster,” he advised the chubby boy, like a professional. “Is yours the extra-cheese option?” he asked, taking a peek, and feeling surprised to feel his mouth watering at the sight and smell of it.

“Yeah, double cheese and the four meat feast pizza,” Sebastian nodded, sighing and slapping his round, fat little belly.

Bleecker chuckled and smirked. He could remember the time when he too would have found eating all that difficult.

“Good man,” he nodded, wishing that the guy would take his shirt off so that he could see how round and bloated all this would be making his stomach.

He wanted to get up and get some ice cream, but he felt too aroused. Going in just his underwear had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he felt completely trapped; unless he didn’t mind Sebastian seeing what all of this eating was doing for his crotch.

“Come on, Sebastian!” he coaxed from the sofa, as the chubby guy continued to try and push it down. “There aren’t many American guys who could eat all that, but I know you can do it!”

Smiling, Sebastian stacked his remaining slices and pushed them down. Bleecker could see that his roommate was uncomfortably full. Each chew was an effort and every swallow an unbelievable achievement. He knew Sebastian’s pain, for he too had trained his body to take these massive quantities. He was still training though, every day becoming a little bit greedier.

“That was pretty good!” Bleecker nodded from the couch, his huge arms spread across the back of the cushions. This was the only place he would sit in the lounge these days; right in the middle of the sofa, as if he was training himself to fill the large space. “You’ve eaten almost as much as me!”

Sebastian seemed delighted by the observation. “I’ll be big enough to play rugby like you, if I carry on eating like this!”

Bleecker burst out laughing, assuming that Sebastian was joking. “You’re serious?” he questioned apologetically, when he realised that he wasn’t. “Rugby?”

“Well, you like rugby, and Felix used to play in high school. But I thought you needed a bit of weight on you to play the game?” Sebastian asked innocently.

“That really depends on your position,” Bleecker considered. He looked at Sebastian’s body, wondering how well he could get around a field; not very well, was his guess. “Stand up,” he ordered curiously. “I want to have a look at you.”

Sebastian smiled and did as he was told; taking his shirt off at the same time. He stood there and tensed his relatively small muscles, concealed well under the mounting layers of blubber.

“Well, you’ve got potential,” Bleecker nodded, trying to hide his arousal.

With Sebastian’s shirt off, he could see every inch of fresh fat: the love handles, the nipples, the stretch marks decorating the skin surrounding his deep belly button. Not only that, but without a shirt on, Bleecker could see just how thick, wide and protrusive Sebastian’s butt had grown, above his flabby unconditioned thighs. He beckoned Sebastian closer and lifted the fattened exchange student’s arms up so that he could inspect his body even more. Damn! Look at those love handles!

“So, I have potential, huh?” Sebastian asked, almost flirtatiously.

Bleecker couldn’t resist; he’d tried for so long. He placed a hand on Sebastian’s butt and another on the furthest expanse of the boy’s tight belly; just marvelling at his new, blubbery thickness. This was what he wanted. This was what he was going to have. All this fat that hadn’t been there a few months ago; and who could tell how big he’d be getting within another few months?

“Not for rugby. Not a chance!” he clarified to Sebastian, unable to resist giving a little shake with his strong hands, making the fat ripple through the boy’s middle. “But you definitely have potential, nonetheless…”

“Am I too fat for rugby?” Sebastian asked, clearly aroused and seemingly desperate for Bleecker to agree with him.

He placed his hand over Bleecker’s fingers, that were resting on his gut, and then made them pinch around his new, lardy stomach fat.

“Am I too fat, Bleecker?” he asked, more seriously and flirtatious than ever.

Bleecker’s arousal was spiking beyond belief. Here he was holding one of the guys he had been flirting with for so long. This chub was saying all the right things and hitting each one of his kinks.

“Not yet…” Bleecker replied confidently, surprised at how bold he felt, even without a few beers down him tonight.

Then he squeezed Sebastien’s large, buttery glute and shook it, admiring just how soft and pliable it was getting.

“But… I can make you too fat, if you want?” he grinned, suddenly taking his hand away from Sebastian’s oversized butt so that he could rub his own, massive ball-gut. “I can make all three of us far, far too fat!”

Sebastian looked curiously at Bleecker. “All three of us?” he asked in confusion.

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[jane-ways]

Of Things Made to be Destroyed, Ch 1

Read it on AO3 and SWG!

Title and description from Fuckmylife666 by Against Me!

*

In fairy stories, the kind he used to tell his nephew, the handsome prince sees the beautiful princess and falls instantly in love. She is radiant, and he, burning with passion, strides purposefully towards her, mind made up to ask for her hand in marriage. They dance, because they are at a ball (these sorts of things always seem to happen at balls), they kiss, and then they are married, and live happily ever after. (“What happens in the happily ever after?” Celebrimbor had once asked. Caranthir, stuttering, had told him to ask his father.)

This was not a fairy story. The first time he saw her, she was little more than a blur covered in blood and filth as he swept past her on horseback. In the back of his mind, Caranthir registered that she appeared to be the person in charge, and after his initial assault drove the attacking orcs back, he turned his horse, searching her out amongst the rabble. She fought close to the front lines, screaming orders to her soldiers above the din of the wind and rain, voice raw with the kind of fury that most often masks fear. (Something in the ragged edges of her words caught his notice, and he heard in them first his father and then himself.) He made to catch her eye and saw he had already caught hers. (Well, Caranthir reasoned, trying not to make too much of it, he was a mighty Elven lord on horseback who had just swept in from the rear with half his cavalry. Eru knew what he seemed like to this mortal woman.) Riding up to meet her, he spared no time for pleasantries and cut straight to the point, shouting the first words of his message even before he had quite reached her. Belatedly, it occurred to him that she might not speak Sindarin. He prayed that by some miracle these people had encountered friendly Avari who might have passed on Thingol’s language.

Luck, it would appear, was on his side. Slashing at an orc who had broken through the defensive line, she shouted back her reply over the howling of the wind. Battle plans thus agreed on, she returned her attentions to the orc as Caranthir charged forward to his soldiers once more, surging into the fray.

*

By the time the battle was over, the storm had subsided to a drizzle, no less damp and miserable but at least less noisy. Picking his way through the uneven ground, Caranthir guided his horse around the bodies of the dead and injured. Mannish and Elvish soldiers alike scoured the battlefield for fallen comrades, either to tend or to bury. The orcs they left. The woman stood a ways off, surrounded by a contingent of other Men, whom he guessed to also be women by the obvious swells of their hips and chests. (He wondered if perhaps that was why Men seemed to take so much stock of whether one was male or female—those being the only two options, as he understood it, although in truth he found Mannish sexual dimorphism, and the extent to which it seemed to govern their genders, their societies, and their daily lives, utterly mystifying.) With Elves he would not have so easily known, but then, with Elves it would not have mattered. Perhaps these women were considered more suitable counselors or bodyguards for a female leader? Or perhaps this was a society governed by women? Had Findaráto or the twins mentioned any tribes of the Edain with matriarchal systems of leadership?

His thoughts thus occupied, Caranthir did not notice when his horse failed to stop completely as he dismounted. Tripping ahead with the forward momentum, his leather riding boots slipped in the wet mud, and he stumbled with an “oomf” directly into the woman’s outstretched arms. Peering down at him, she blinked. For the first time, he could see her face clearly, and he found himself preeminently occupied with the sheen of sweat and rain on her skin, and how it seemed to glimmer as it rose in thin wisps of steam into the cold air.

She coughed politely and he realized with embarrassment that he had been staring. “You, ah,” he stuttered, “you fight well.��� Regaining his composure, Caranthir righted himself awkwardly, all the while praying silently he would not slip again. “Thank you.”

“I am Haleth, daughter of Haldad, by right of succession chieftain of the Haladin.” She gave him a once over, flicking her eyes from head to toe and back up. Without thinking, he felt himself stand up straighter. “Who are you?”

“I am Morifinwë Carnistir, called Caranthir in the tongue of Elu Thingol; Prince of Thargelion, fourth son of the First House of the Noldor. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady,” he replied in what he hoped was the correct mixture of grandeur, magnanimity, and pleasantness. First contact protocol was an inexact science at the best of times, and he had met few Edain before—certainly not as the ranking prince in his side of the exchange. And certainly not having just tripped into their arms. Gazing at her again, he noticed the same intensity he had first seen on the battlefield, a veneer of authority with its foundation in insecurity. By right of succession, she had said. Even though her Sindarin wasn’t perfect, that much had come across clearly. So her parent had likely died in this battle, or at least recently enough that she had not been formally recognized as leader in her own right. Dimly, Caranthir recalled the name Haldad from the depths of his memory: a man’s name, he thought, so not a matriarchy—another reason for her overcompensation. Haldad—wasn’t he the one who had united the Haladin? Not a long or well-established line of leadership either, then. A wave of sympathy swept over Caranthir. Poor woman. At least his father, in all the blustering and recklessness of his last years, had been secure in his right of succession by birth and the strength of his line.

All these thoughts came and passed in the blink of an eye. Haleth, too, had been making her own mental review, and now she spoke. “Thank you for your aid, Lord,” she said carefully, picking at each syllable, although whether to better her pronunciation or bide for more time to think, he was unsure. “You have been generous in your help today, and in letting us settle your southern lands,” she continued. Caranthir saw that she aimed to go on, but he interjected, hoping to reassure her (and spare himself further effusive comments, which he found embarrassing—he had had enough embarrassment for one day).

“It is well enough to me that you should be settled there, Lady. My people make little use of these lands and your presence discourages more aggressive invasions from—” In the background, he heard the snarl of a wounded orc who had regained consciousness. There was shouting, more snarling, the clashing of metal, and then all fell silent again. “…More unsavory peoples than yourselves,” he finished pointedly. “In fact,” he found himself saying, in one of those all-too-common moments where he could feel his lips moving faster than his mind, with apparently no ability to control the words coming out of his own mouth, “it would not displease me if you were to remain here.”

“It would not displease you?” Haleth’s tone was unreadable but decidedly lacking in enthusiasm.

“With your own fiefdom, of course,” he added hurriedly. Why am I like this? he wondered mournfully. It’s like dropping something and just watching it fall. “You would be free to rule your people and live as you see fit, with as much or as little involvement in my affairs as you wish. I believe it would continue to be mutually beneficial for us both.”

“My Lord,” Haleth spoke deliberately, choosing her words carefully but firmly. “My Lord, is that not already what we have been doing? Living as we pleased, with as much as involvement in the affairs of Elves as we desired?” That is, Caranthir surmised unhappily, none at all.

Caranthir felt a surge of—annoyance? disappointment?—rise up in his throat. “Yeeess,” he answered slowly, drawing out each sound in an attempt to calm down. “To a degree. But as you have been living on my lands without leave—that is,” he caught himself as anger flashed across Haleth’s face—“without formal, legal documentation, you have also been denying yourselves access to certain special protections, public works and improvements projects, tax benefits, etcetera…” As he felt himself slip into what his brothers called “Accountant Mode,” he stopped and took a deep breath. He did not have the time or patience to teach this woman the finer details of administration. Either she had learned what she needed from observing her father, or she would now have to learn the hard way. And he would be damned if he begged a Man to stay on the lands she had already been illegally squatting on. (Even if that squatting had substantially kept the orcs at bay. And resulted in the land being cultivated and cleared of unwanted flora and fauna. And thus increased its real estate value.) Caranthir took another deep breath and settled himself.

Haleth gazed at him silently, considering her options. He guessed that she was not foolish enough to say aloud that she didn’t need him, and he certainly wasn’t foolish enough to insist aloud that she clearly did. One did not get to be as rich as Caranthir by being that stupid. So, what would it be, then?

“My people need time to recover before we can begin making plans for the future,” she said at last. A non-answer, then. Wise decision, he thought. It would give her time to consider her options while receiving more goodwill aid from his people. He would have helped her anyway, of course—he wasn’t a monster, despite what his tempter and his actions at Alqualondë might prompt some to say—but it was clever maneuvering not make that assumption.  Perhaps she had learned more than he had first assumed.

He bowed and took his leave, remounting his horse and guiding it over to his lieutenant. There was a tightness in his chest that he couldn’t explain, and for some reason he couldn’t pinpoint, his mind was filled with the fairy stories he had once told his nephew, and how when his father had first seen his mother, she had been covered in the soot of the forge.

[theforgottenyrealms]

Sessions 12 and 13

12

The party had a long meeting for discussing their options going forward and identifying and distributing their new handful of magic items. Ketta’s priority was getting back to Baldur’s Gate to keep up her undercover role among the Zhentarim and to inform her true boss, Duchess Serena Cinders of the Council of Four, what had been going on. Soulmender wanted to return as well in order to tell Lady Sashenstar about her dead son.

Ishtani also told the others that she knew where the orb of entropy might be. She had guessed it was Candlekeep, based on the clue she found. But she was reluctant to divulge the info yet because she knew Ketta would relay that to the Council of Four. Ishtani was unsure if they could be trusted.

They all returned to the laboratory and activated the portal, which led, as suspected, back to the small office beneath the Armanci estate. Upon arriving at the library upstairs, they encountered a pretty elven woman who claimed to be Thiala, the Zhentarim agent who had been the mistress of Vincent Armanci for a time. It turned out she had been keeping control of the estate while the Zhents were using it to fix the portal downstairs and get inside the Varcona sanctum. She kept Lady Ryla drugged to make it seem like she was ill, and dismissed all the other servants. Thiala did not seem very intelligent and was impatient to pass along a message from Moritz to Ketta: he needed to see her that evening at the Blushing Mermaid tavern. They asked if she had seen Baldwin, and Thiala said yes, that he had rushed through earlier that day looking very wounded. He hadn’t stopped to speak to her and no one has explained what’s going on. Her job done, Thiala said she was leaving town, since the Watch was looking for her.

The group split up, with Ketta and Neda going off to the meeting with Moritz. Soulmender and Ezra briefly checked in on Lady Ryla to make sure she was alive. She was, and appeared deeply asleep and not likely to wake for several hours. Ishtani and Miri searched the library, and Ishtani found a book with information about Candlekeep. She learned that the fortress is protected by powerful wards, and it’s very difficult to gain entry. Usually a valuable donation of a rare book, worth at least 1000 gold, was required. Or special permission from a person of influence, like a monarch or a renown sage or wizard. Miri found a book about wyverns and how to raise and care for a wyvern hatchling.

Soulmender, Ezra, Nemeia and Miri headed to the Helm and Cloak tavern, intending to find Alex Portyr, the young nobleman who had first told them about the missing Dabron Sashenstar. Ishtani went shopping to pick up some needed gear.

Ketta stopped by the Three Old Kegs tavern, where she left a note in loose brick meant to inform the Council that she had information to tell. Since it was still the afternoon, Ketta and Neda decided to go visit the Basilisk Gate to see if the guards Ketta had bribed for information a few days ago were around. They were, and Warren Waters was in a bad mood, so he was reluctant to talk to her. Finally persuaded, he said he had heard something about a “Reodicris” recently. A strange old man who wore a tall, pointy hat, and who called himself Mr. Bilger, had arrived in town the other day. He wouldn’t shut up about the “magnificent Reodicris” he’d seen flying above the Cloudpeak Mountains. Mr. Bilger left the city again yesterday morning, and Warren didn’t know where he’d gone.

The news about Reodicris was very exciting to Neda, and she was eager to go to the Cloudpeaks as soon as their other business was concluded. When Ketta asked for more details about Reodicris, Neda didn’t want to reveal anything else.

At the Helm and Cloak, Soulmender, Ezra, Nemeia and Miri made a big, noisy entrance, startling most of the upper crust patrons and embarrassing Alex, who was day drinking at the bar. He was despondent upon hearing of Dabron’s fate, and nervous about having to go tell Dabron’s mother. They had several drinks and offered to accompany him to the Sashenstar residence, which Alex accepted. Lady Aurelia Sashenstar was happy to see Alex and a little confused by his odd new friends but willing to accept them. She was in a bad state already with her son being missing for so long, and the news of his death was not surprising to her but still hard to hear. They did their best to comfort her and in gratitude she gave them a gift, a wand of detect magic that she had intended to give to Dabron.

The group, already tipsy, had some more wine at the Sashenstar house. By the time they left they were quite drunk and not making great decisions. They went back to the Helm and Cloak, to the dismay of the fancy bartender there, and drank some more. Alex decided they were his new best friends and wanted to go and have a bar fight in the rougher part of town. He’d heard fights happened all the time in the Elfsong tavern and they all went there (Ezra carrying Soulmender after she passed out).

As evening fell, Ketta and Neda went to the Blushing Mermaid, a very ramshackle looking bar frequented by sailors and other rough crowds. Ishtani had gone there too and perched on a nearby roof to watch the comings and goings. Neda went invisible to be a secret observer of the meeting, sticking close to Ketta’s legs so that the rowdy patrons of the tavern wouldn’t bump into her.

Moritz was in a rented room upstairs and pacing agitatedly when Ketta found him. He said Minetta, one of the lieutenants to the Pereghost (the current leader of the Zhentarim), was on her way. This was very bad news to him – it meant the Pereghost and upper leadership were alarmed by what Moritz had told them about Baldwin and the orb of entropy.

Minetta arrived shortly afterwards. She was a half-elf with a severe expression, a scar across her face, and dark, cropped hair. She was accompanied by two hooded and cloak bodyguards, a half-orc and a human woman, who stood guard in the hallway outside while Minetta talked.

Minetta was a very serious and intimidating woman and explained that the Pereghost was very displeased to hear that Baldwin had both betrayed the Zhentarim and was looking for the orb of entropy, something the Pereghost apparently knew about. However, Moritz and Ketta were not being blamed. Minetta admitted that the Zhentarim leadership took some of the blame for this situation by not vetting Baldwin properly. They’ve been hard up for new recruits in recent years, especially after that thing with the Lords’ Alliance ten years ago, so when a talented magic user came along and volunteered to join them they accepted him without too may questions. It turns out they really knew nothing much at all about Baldwin Morecote, not even where he came from except that he had a vaguely Athkatlan accent, meaning he could come have originated in the nation of Amn.

According to Minetta, the Pereghost had no interest in the orb of entropy and was more concerned with preventing Baldwin from getting it. The artifact is apparently quite dangerous, and the Pereghost fears that if Baldwin acquires it and uses it, it will be quite destructive and noticeable and the Zhentarim will be blamed by all the other great powers of the Sword Coast. Baldwin must be captured and brought to him – and if that’s not possible he should be killed.

Ketta asked Minetta about what the orb of entropy does. Minetta said that the Pereghost hadn’t told her everything and that it was a need-to-know thing, but she was persuaded to tell Ketta that the orb has some history or connection with the ancient empire of Netheril. As a bard Ketta was very familiar with the history of Netheril. It was powerful nation of spellcasters, known for its great flying cities. It had been destroyed two thousand years ago, when one of its greatest wizards, Karsus, had tried to take over the magical Weave and make himself a god. This act disrupted the existence of magic for a few crucial seconds, causing all the flying cities to crash to the ground. All that’s left of Netheril today is a desert wasteland to the northeast. One of those cities, Thultanthar, had managed to survive the fall, by being planeshifted into the shadowfell plane before Karsus’ Folly. It had returned more than a century ago, fully corrupted by the shadowfell. The “shadovar” of that city had tried to reestablish a new Netheril in the decades after, until they gradually became a threat to their neighbors. In 1487, about 5 years earlier, it too had been destroyed in a great magical battle and also crashed to the ground.  

Having given them their new orders to find and capture or kill Baldwin, Minetta departed, saying she was headed to Amn and the city of Athkatla to search for new leads about Baldwin’s past. Ketta and Neda left the Blushing Mermaid and headed for the Elfsong tavern, hoping the others might be there since it was the inn they had stayed at last time they werein Baldur’s Gate.

Ezra, Soulmender, Nemeia and Miri reached the Elfsong where they spotted Kril hiding in the alleyway. Alex went immediately inside so Nemeia followed him. A bar fight was indeed underway inside the tavern. Several adventuring looking types were pummeling each other, surrounded by a crowd of cheering onlookers. Alex immediately dove in, trying to tackle a dwarf. He missed and fell flat on his face, having passed out drunk. Nemeia went to the bar to tell Alyth, the owner, that the nephew of Grand Duke Portyr was unconscious on her floor. Alyth sighed and had her people collect him and put him in a room upstairs to sleep it off. Nemeia convinced the bartender that Alex, her best friend, wanted to open a tab for her. She continued drinking, and made quick friends with a group of adventurers seated at a booth table.

The others went to Kril, who they discovered was crying. He was relieved to see them, having not been sure if they would come back. He also revealed that he had found a group of darkling elders in the city, living in the sewers near the Undercellar. They knew how to do the ritual to make an elder, but they were refusing to do it for him. He wasn’t “cool enough” to join their squad. Kril wanted to know if they could help him convince the elders to change their minds.  

13

Ketta and Neda arrived at the Elfsong, followed by Ishtani, just as Soulmender, Ezra and Miri were going inside with Kril (hidden in Soulmender’s bag). They socialized in the tavern well into the evening. Soulmender, recently recovered from having passed out, resumed drinking and also made friends with the other adventuring party that Nemeia had met. They consisted of a dwarf (Bluster, a barbarian), a delicate, pixie-looking elf (Quanthra, elf druid) and a human man (Locke, a fighter), and called themselves the Sand Fiends (they’re still working on the name). They were very impressed with the party’s stories about going into the Cloakwood.

The dwarf patted Soulmender on the back at one point, telling her about a secret underground tournament that was coming up in two weeks. It was to take place at the Havoc Pits, an arena run in the Undercellar. Normally there were matches held there between people, but for this tournament apparently, they were bringing in monsters that could be fought for prize money.

Sometime during the evening, a halfling courier arrived to pass a note to Ketta. The halfling, attempting to be stealthy, tripped and fell instead, and after handing over the note quickly ran back out.

The Sand Fiends eventually went upstairs to bed, and soon the party made their way up to Ketta’s room. She told them about what had occurred in the meeting with Moritz. Ketta’s theory was that the orb of entropy might have very destructive capabilities, the kind of power that could topple cities. With no other leads besides its potential origin in Netheril, Ketta thought it might be hidden somewhere in the ruins of Netheril, northeast. And that’s perhaps where Baldwin has gone.

Ishtani spoke up, revealing that the orrery had divined that the orb was in Candlekeep, possibly, and that it was a place not easy to gain access too. She admitted they might need help from Ketta’s Council to get inside. Ketta said she was going to meet with Duchess Serena Cinders tomorrow sometime, and she was inviting them all to join her.

The following morning at breakfast downstairs, Kril crawled out of Soulmender’s bag, expressing dismay that the group might be leaving Baldur’s Gate again so soon. They said it might not be for a couple of days, and there was still time to help him with the darkling elders. When asked if there was anything they could do to make them change their minds about Kril, he explained that they had given him an impossible task. He had to kill a terrifying creature that lived in the sewers. It had been bothering them for a few weeks and they wanted to be rid of it. Kril was convinced that they were just sending him to be eaten by the monster. Soulmender calmed Kril and said they would figure out how to kill the beast in a way that made it look like Kril had helped, at least.

The familiar traveling saleswoman, Irva Graytrails, walked in to the Elfsong. She was speaking to her invisible, silent companion, Ernest, and eager for a quick cup of coffee before heading back on the road. The party was thrilled to see her and ready to spend their newly acquired money on her interesting wares. They bought up most of her stock, including an ‘alchemical chicken’. The purple feathered, blue-eyed chicken apparently laid a different kind of magical egg daily. Soulmender paid for the chicken herself and named it Beatrice. It laid a black egg, which Soulmender bit into, causing the darkness spell to be cast on her instantly.

Ketta’s meeting with Duchess Cinders was set for noon, so they spent the morning shopping. Soulmender purchased treats for Beatrice and horse treats. Ketta, Ishtani and Miri bought some better armor at the Dancing Axe store.

At lunchtime they headed to the Three Old Kegs, a very rustic, cozy tavern with a light crowd of patrons inside reading books and enjoying tea. They went to a private dining room in the back, and shortly Serena Cinders and her gnome assistant, Orryn, arrived. Serena was a tall, stately human woman, wearing a mixture of fine clothes and plate armor. She had short, grey hair, a strong jawline, and carried a greatsword at her waist. Orryn was a friendly looking wizardly type, with a long white beard and a bald head.

Serena said she was relieved to see Ketta alive and well, as it had been some time since she’d last heard from her. Ketta explained everything that had been going on with Baldwin and the Zhentarim, including their lead that the orb of entropy was in Candlekeep. Serena and Orryn took in the news gravely. They hadn’t heard about what the orb of entropy was, but the Zhentarims’ concern about it made them equally concerned. Orryn needed to do some more research. Serena concluded that because Baldwin was deemed dangerous even to the Zhentarim, and because he was searching for a powerful, potentially deadly artifact, he should be killed. Orryn, a pacifist by nature, expressed dismay at this idea, saying Baldwin hadn’t really done anything that severe yet and didn’t need to be executed. Serena was unmoved, saying Orryn was always reluctant to do what was necessary.

Furthermore, Serena could provide the group with a writ of entry that would allow them to enter Candlekeep. She told them that the current Keeper of the Tomes, Ulraunt, was a difficult man to talk to. They should be careful how they approach him. Her writ of entry would only go so far and wouldn’t grant them comprehensive access to the entire library fortress.

Serena spoke to the rest of the group, expressing gratitude for their assistance to Ketta. This had earned them a favor from her. Serena was willing to pay them 5000 gold as well, if they were to hunt down and destroy Baldwin.

[owfemslashexchange]

(oh boy i hope i’m submitting this the right way, pls tell me if it isn’t…)

hey! this is my gift for @poisonviy! u requested roommates au and i hope i did a good enough job of it :D

From @megturnayyy to @pamelaislei (poisonviy)

i want you all the time (not even a thousand loudspeakers will be able to speak for my sake)

–

Thing is, Lena needs a new roommate.

She’s been living with Jesse for eight months before the man decided to go back to the United States, spend some time with his family now that his grandpa has passed away. And Lena gets that, really, she’s all for him to spend time with his loved ones as much as he needs to, but –

Lena can’t pay for an entire apartment on her own; she doesn’t make that much on her job and she’s too busy with university to get another one. So, in short: she needs a new roommate, as soon as possible.

She asks some people over, but they either have roommates already or Lena’s place is too far from their own universities, which means it would be counterproductive to live with her. And she gets that, really, she wouldn’t want to live on a place far away from hers either.

“Why don’t you ask Amélie?” Angela asks one day over coffee, after hearing Lena complain so much about her situation. “She came back from Paris a while ago, I’m sure she doesn’t have a place to stay right now. She doesn’t have any family here. Last I heard she was living on a hostel.”

Lena almost lets her mug slip, knowing full well that her face is a red mess with how hot she is feeling. She leans over the table, looking on both sides before locking in on Angela.

“I can’t just ask her like that,” she hisses, mildly embarrassed. “What if I weird her out?”

Angela chuckles, “I’m sure it will be fine, Lena. She already knows what you’re like.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lena squints at her friends, who simply takes a sip of her coffee, shrugging. She huffs and crosses her arms, doing her best not to pout. “Fine, I’ll ask her if she wants to be my roommate. But I’m sure she already has other plans.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” Angela smiles sweetly, but Lena knows better. Her friend is planning something.

Not that she’ll find out what it is, with how Angela is good at not revealing her thoughts.

–

“Move in with you?” Amélie asks, raising one eyebrow, though she doesn’t look displeased by the idea. Her eyes lock with Lena’s, and she doesn’t seem to notice the slight flush that appeared on the woman’s face – instead, she shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

Lena smiles brightly, and it takes all the effort in the world not to jump up and down in happiness. So her crush is going to move in with her, no big deal.

Except it is, and Lena doesn’t know how things will work out from now on.

“Brilliant,” she says instead of worrying at the moment, extending one hand quickly. “I promise I’m not a noisy roommate, your Saturday mornings are safe.”

Amélie snorts, though she looks amused. She takes Lena’s hand and they shake on it.

“So,” she drawls out, retreating her hand slowly, almost as if she didn’t want to break contact with Lena’s. “When can I move in?”

“Oh!” Lena lights up, clasping her hands together. “I’m off work tomorrow, so I can help you with the boxes.”

“Marvelous,” Amélie smiles and, oh, Lena’s heart does a stutter that she tries to ignore.

“Tomorrow it is, then. Now, you must excuse me – I have to help some students with their upcoming tests.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Lena stumbles back, raising one hand to say goodbye. “Good luck with that!”

Amélie chuckles and waves back at her. Lena sighs, pleased that things went better than she thought. She’ll have to apologize to Angela for thinking she was wrong.

–

That night she skypes Jesse, gets him updated on what’s happening on her life.

“Well, that damn sure is a good thing for you, huh,” Jesse whistles, grinning wolfishly. Lena bristles, ignores her own blushing cheeks, and Jesse laughs. “This has got to be a dream come true, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lena huffs and crosses her arms, cheeks puffing up.

“She was the only option available – ask Angela. I’m just glad I don’t have to pay full rent.”

“Sure,” he drawls out, smirking. Lena doesn’t appreciate his expression one bit. “The fact that now you’ll see your crush more often has nothing to do with it.”

“I’m going to hang up on you.”

“No, you’re not,” Jesse says, softening his smile. “In all honestly, tough, I hope you and Amélie will have a great time living together.”

Lena’s stance relaxes, and she smiles at her friend, “Thanks, mate. I hope nothing will go wrong with her here.”

“Now, I don’t know Amélie very well, but –” Jesse says, making flourishes with one hand.

“From what I’ve seen she’s a very serious person, I’m sure she’ll tell you if something bothers her.”

“Yeah,” she ignores the chuckle Jesse gives at her lovey-dovey smile and coughs. “Enough about this! How’s everyone been?”

Jesse smiles, grand and bright, and for the rest of their call he updates her on what has happened since he arrived.

–

It’s early morning when Lena watched Amélie get out of her truck, carrying a box on her side. She never thought that would be the type of vehicle Amélie would drive, but, honestly?

That makes her even more attractive in Lena’s eyes. May Angela never hear her.

“Hey, love!” she waves at Amélie, who simply smiles in return. “What can I do to help?”

“There’s more boxes in the back of the truck,” she points. “Pick any of them.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lena does a mock salute that makes Amélie laugh, even if just a little, and then the woman steps inside the building. “Ah, I live on the eighth floor!”

Amélie nods and calls for the elevator. Lena tries to pick up the least breakable looking box, and follows the woman.

The ride up is relatively quiet, with the instrumental version of Girl from Ipanema playing in the background. Lena never understood why that was the building’s choice of elevator music, but she enjoys it nevertheless.

Lena ventures a few quick glances to her side, trying to figure out how Amélie is feeling. Her face is, unfortunately, an unreadable mask, which frustrates Lena to no end, though she mentions nothing about it. At least Amélie doesn’t seem bothered by the whole moving thing.

She leans her body back and forth, to the rhythm of the song, smiles when she notices Amélie looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Amélie doesn’t join in, despite Lena’s inviting eyes, but that’s okay, the woman has always been the most serious of their group.

Finally, they arrive on Lena’s floor and she fumbles with her back pocket, trying to get the keys out. It takes just a couple of seconds, and she almost drops the box she’s holding, but she manages to unlock the door.

“Ta-da!” she extends her free arm, proud of her apartment.

It’s relatively small place; two bedrooms, one bathroom in between, a kitchen and a living room that are connected to each other, the only thing separating them being the tiles on the floor. Amélie nods appreciatively and steps in, searching for a corner to put the box on.

“Do you want to leave this in your bedroom, roomie?” Lena nudges her, grinning widely. In truth, Amélie doesn’t mind, even like this behavior coming from her friend – might even let herself think of how cute she looks, even though Amélie would never say that out loud. “It’s the one in the left, by the way.”

“Alright,” Amélie walks in the direction of said bedroom, noticing its closed door.

“Oh!” Lena leaps in front of her, standing between her and the door. “The room might be a little… messy. I forgot to clean up after Jesse left. I hope you don’t mind.”

Amélie simply lifts one eyebrow, not surprised at all. From what she remembers about Lena, the woman is not exactly known for keeping things tight. When it’s clear that Amélie won’t say anything, Lena cringes and opens the door for her. They both take a look inside.

“Well,” Amélie starts, gaze shifting from one side of the room to the other. “It’s in better condition than I expected.”

Lena lets out a breathless laughter, almost as if she’s relieved the place doesn’t look worse.

“Wow, I certainly thought Jesse would be messier than this,” she nudges Amélie on the ribs again, playful. “I can help you clean up if you want to.”

“I’ll think about it,” Amélie responds, dropping the boxes on top of the bed. “Right now I just want to get all the boxes up here.”

“Alright then,” Lena mock salutes before turning away. “Back to the truck it is.”

–

It takes them a couple more minutes to bring everything to the apartment, and a little longer to unpack and place stuff on their places. The afternoon is starting to give way to the evening, and they both sit on the pretty worn couch on the living room, beers in hand and the TV on.

“So,” Lena quips, looks at Amélie sideways and raises her bottle. “To new roommates!”

“To new roommates,” she smiles and they clink their bottles together before taking a sip.

They fall into a comfortable silence, watching a random series on TV. Every now and then they comment on something that happened on screen, but not much more than that happens. Lena steals some glances over Amélie’s way, but her gaze is back to the TV before the woman can catch her.

She feels giddy inside, like a whole new brand of opportunities opened up to her. Angela and Jesse were right – this is her change to get to know Amélie better, to flirt with her and to get closer to her.

It’s an exciting thought, getting close to Amélie. They’ve known each other for years now, but lost contact after the woman left for Paris to pursue her career in ballet. Lena doesn’t quite know why she came back, or why she’s a TA now, but she doesn’t want to pry right away, wants to leave Amélie free to tell Lena on her own.

While that doesn’t happen, she’s happy to just sit back and watch shitty TV shows with her.

–

“So,” Angela starts as she takes the coffee from Lena’s hand. “How’s life with Amélie like?”

“She’s only been there for three days, Ange,” Lena says, frowning slightly.

Angela simply raises one eyebrow, unimpressed.

Lena sighs and blushes, looking down at her own beverage, fingers drumming on the cup, “It’s… okay.”

“Just okay?” she raises one eyebrow in disbelief, takes a sip off her drink. “I’d imagine living with her would be the best thing that has ever happened to you or something.”

“Hey,” Lena slaps her on the arm, and scowls when she laughs. “Look, it’s all great, it’s just. You know.”

“I… know?” Angela doesn’t sound sure she knows what Lena means.

Lena nods, “You know she likes to keep it to herself. It’s not different back at the apartment.”

Angela’s shoulders slump, as if she’s disappointed in what she hears. Lena shrugs, tries not to look so let down that she hasn’t been able to make any progress in flirting with Amélie. Maybe she should just give up and try to move on, try to look for another woman.

“I’ve liked her for so long, Ange, what if it was all for naught?” Lena semi-whispers, then looks both sides before continuing. “She doesn’t even seem to be into women, what if I just make things awkward between us? Then living with her would be hell!”

“Lena, calm down,” Angela puts a hand down Lena’s shoulder, trying to calm the woman down. “I’m sure even if she’s not interested she won’t stop being your friend. She’s a good person – you know, despite her case of constant ‘resting’ face –, there’s no way she’d treat you differently.”

“It’s the rejection I’m not looking forward to,” Lena sighs over her cup before taking a sip. “I don’t think I could look her in the eye ever again, I’d die of embarrassment.”

“Aren’t you and Emily still friends?” Angela asks. “She broke up with you and you two still talk to each other.”

Lena scoffs, “Em is different. Plus even I knew our relationship wasn’t going anywhere.”

“My point is that if you can still be friends with your ex, being friends with Amélie if, and I stress that if, she rejects you,” Angela dumps her empty cup on the trash before staring back at Lena. “And, if you want my opinion –”

“Do I?” Lena cuts her off, trying not to laugh when the woman puffs her cheeks. “Do I really want it?”

“Of course you do,” Angela waves her off. “Anyway, in my opinion I’m sure she won’t reject you. I still remember how she used to look at you before she moved to Paris.”

Lena raises an eyebrow at that, “And how’s that? Like I’m an annoyance?”

“Lena, please,” Angela rolls her eyes and pats her on the shoulder. “Think higher of yourself. And what I meant is that she looked at you pretty fondly for someone who was just your friend.”

“You don’t need to lie to make me feel better, Ange,” Lena says as she checks her watch. “And we’ll have to continue this lovely conversation later, because I’m about to be late for class. See ya, love!”

Angela shakes her head as she watches Lena run across the campus to get to class on time.

–

“Seems like you’ve managed to arrive just on time, Lena,” Satya mutters with a slight smirk as Lena sits down beside her. “What made you late this time?”

“You know,” she shrugs, opening her notebook. “Talking to Angela and all that. She was kind of trying to cheer me up, I think.”

“Oh?” Satya raises one eyebrow, curious. “Is something wrong?”

“Not… really?” Lena cringes, moving her hand in a ‘so-so’ movement. “Anyway, this was about, well, You Know Who – and you know how Ange gets when we talk about her.”

“You can say Amélie, you won’t burn from it, I promise you,” Satya says, tapping her pencil on the table repeatedly.

“Don’t,” Lena hisses, looking over both sides to make sure no one is paying attention to their conversation. “I get it, you guys love to tease me, but honestly – this isn’t fun.”

“Then I apologize,” Satya bows her head slightly, then turns her attention to the professor.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lena notices that Satya is, in fact, serious about her apology, though she shouldn’t be surprised at all; that’s the way Satya has always been: serious and focused. She very much admires that on the other woman.

As the lecture goes on, Lena tries to focus on what the professor is saying, but her mind is still focused on what Angela said – it couldn’t possibly be true that Amélie had feelings for her just based off of the way she looks at Lena. Angela must be imagining things, that’s what it is. There’s no way Lena would be lucky enough to have someone as great as Amélie crushing on her.

Satya tsks and that brings her attention to the woman, “What?”

“Your lack of concentration is bothering me,” Satya whispers, her eyebrows are drawn together in disapproval. “You are my partner for the rest of the semester, so I need you to pay attention to class or you won’t have a single clue as to what to do during our projects.”

“Sorry, love,” she at least has the decency to look remorseful. “I’ve got some stuff in my head, but I’ll try to focus from now on.”

“See that you do.”

Lena smiles; Satya’s words might be harsh, but she cares. And that’s what matters.

–

Lena locks the door to their apartment and turns quickly when there’s a loud noise coming from the kitchen.

“Amélie?” she steps in carefully, not sure what to expect to see in the room. “Is everything okay over here?”

“Hello,” Amélie sounds normal, though her appearance and the look of the kitchen is anything but.

The oven has smoke coming out of it, Lena can even see the burnt food on the counter. Amélie herself has flour all over her face; her blouse has one fallen sleeve.

“Uh,” she’s not even sure on where to start. “Tried to cook, love?”

“As you can see, I have failed to do so,” Amélie waves over the entire kitchen. “Sorry, I’ll clean this up right away.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you out!” Lena quips, jumps readily to clean up the counter while Amélie fixes whatever has gone wrong with the oven.

Together they make the kitchen look normal again, as if the accident has never happened. Amélie sits on the couch on the living room, one hand rubbing her temple. Lena, hesitantly, sits next to her, puts one hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, love,” she tries to make the best of the situation. “I was also that bad when I started cooking.”

“This is not my first time, Lena,” Amélie half-snaps, as though she doesn’t have the energy to do so. “I simply… got distracted, is all.”

“Alright then,” she smiles, pats Amélie’s shoulder once and jumps up. “I’ll order something for us, how about that? You like Mexican?”

Amélie shrugs, “I have no preference.”

“Mexican it is then,” she skips towards the phone, ready to order while Amélie remains on the couch, wallowing in apparent self-pity.

It takes some time for the food to arrive, and by then Lena has managed to lighten Amélie’s mood a lot. She’s pleased with herself, from what she remembers Amélie is the hardest type of person to please; that she managed to make the woman smile is a miracle on itself.

“How’s your day been, love?” she asks, taking a bit of her taco.

“Pretty normal, if I think about it,” Amélie says. “Had one student hit on me several times while he asked for help with his homework, but I’m pretty sure by the tenth flirting attempt he got the message that I’m not interested.”

Lena snorts, “Oh boy, if I got a nickel for every man who hit on me that also didn’t get the message…”

“Aren’t men just annoying?” Amélie laughs and Lena stops, stares, falls in love all over again.

“I, uh, um –” she tries to form a coherent sentence, but it seems words fail her at the moment. “I thought you liked men?”

She goes with that, because it’s the first thing in her mind even though she knows it’s not the smartest thing to say.

“Unfortunately,” Amélie twists her wrist with a flourish. “The downside of being bi.”

Lena laughs with utmost delight, head thrown back and everything.

“I guess even if you’re still attracted to men you can see their bad side anyway,” Lena says.

Amélie nods, “Pretty much that, yes.”

They remain quiet for a while, both enjoying their food. Lena feels giddy – she had her hopes high that Amélie could be at least bi, but have it confirmed by the woman herself is one of the greatest things to ever happen. She could have a chance, right? Or maybe she’s aiming too high and she’ll only disappoint herself by expecting more than she can actually get in reality.

“I guess I’ve lucked out on fancying only the ladies,” Lena jokes, finishing her taco and reaching for another one. She’s small, but she eats a lot.

“That you did, my friend,” Amélie nods as she grabs her drink.

–

HANA (D.VA)

we still up for ur house this wknd?

yea ofc!!!!

Lúcio bringing u this time? :0

duh (。･∀･)ﾉ

see u sat then!!!!!!!!!

( *¯ ³¯*)♡

–

“Hey, Amélie,” Lena calls from the kitchen. “I’ve got to talk to you about something.”

“Yes?” Amélie walks in.

Lena turns, stops dead on her tracks and appreciates the view; the woman is wearing nothing but a dark bralette and purple shorts, and damn if that doesn’t make her look even more beautiful than she already is. For a moment, Lena forgets what she meant to say.

She shakes her head, trying to gain focus again.

“Yeah, so,” she waves her hand around, excited as always. “I’ve got some friends coming over Saturday, we’re going to play some Dungeons and Dragons. We won’t be loud, I promise!”

Amélie nods absentmindedly, “Alright.”

“Uh,” she knows she probably shouldn’t do this without asking the others first, but – “Would you like to play with us? We’re a paladin short and we haven’t had any luck in bringing people in on our game.”

Amélie tilts her head to the side, thinking.

“I’ll think about it,” Amélie finally says, which is better than Lena hoped for. “I don’t have to answer you right away, right? I’d like to take some time to think, I’ve never played this before and I’m not sure it would be something for me.”

“Yeah, of course!” Lena bounces from one side to another. “If you want to join us I bet the other guys would be thrilled! And you don’t even need to be a paladin if you don’t want to! Anything would be great as long as you join us, I’m sure.”

Amélie chuckles, amused, and it makes Lena smile uncertainly.

“Alright, I’ll think on it and will tell you before Saturday whether I’ll join your group or not,” Amélie finally says. “But shouldn’t you talk to them first before inviting me? Or are you their leader, chérie?”

“Hah, it’s nothing like that,” she rubs the back of her head, feeling flattered. “We’re pretty much a democracy, if you can even call it that. Hah.”

Amélie chuckles, clearly amused, “Okay then. Like I said, I’ll think about it. But it does sound fun.”

“Brilliant!” Lena hops from side to side, clapping. “I bet you won’t regret it if you decide to join us.”

“If you say so,” Amélie says, smiling. “But now I have to grade some tests, since the actual professor is too lazy to do that I guess.”

“Screw her,” Lena crosses her arms.

“Yes, exactly that.”

–

OVER THE WATCHES

tracer

guys!!!! guYS!!!!

hana (d.va)

sup bb

lúci-ohs

hey lena!

tracer

how would u guys feel about adding someone else to the group?/?

lúci-ohs

ooh who is it? 👀

tracer

amelie!!!

hana (d.va)

TA Lacroix???? (´⊙ω⊙`)！

tracer

i guess???? she’s my new roomie

lúci-ohs

yea bring her in!!

hana (d.va)

ooh if it’s her then yeah! she’s nice ∠( ᐛ」∠)＿

the cooler shimada

hey what r we talking abt

hana (d.va)

tracer wants to bring her new lady to our group

tracer

what

she’s not my lady!!!!

what are u on about

hana (d.va)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

u fool no one, Oxton

i know u,,,

tracer

ajskhdj;fksa HANA

!!!!!!!!

hana (d.va)

what? (｡･ω･｡)

the cooler shimada

ooooh lena has a crush

is what i’m getting from this

hana (d.va)

ikr?? she has the biggest crush

so obvi

tracer

i’ll block u all

hana (d.va)

scary!! y( ꒪◊꒪)y

tracer

jkasdhgkljdsah;;

bYE

–

Lena likes to run on the park from time to time. She does it by herself mostly, because she likes the quiet it provides and how it lets her think things over whenever she has a problem or something just as important to focus on.

Right now it’s not her classes she’s thinking about, rather it is Amélie. It’s been weeks now since she moved in, and so far neither has taken a single action to take their relationship a step further. She sighs, stops and drinks some water.

She’s sweaty and will need a shower once she gets home, but right now that is not a problem.

Angela told her Amélie looks at her fondly, so that clearly translates to the woman liking her, right? If so, why hasn’t she done anything about it? It’s not like Lena can just jump on Amélie’s lap and confess her crush of five years to the woman. That would definitely not work on her behalf, and it would probably make things awkward for both of them, and that’s the last thing Lena wants.

The sound of whining brings her out of her thoughts, her head, and she looks towards the direction it is coming from. She coos when she lays eyes on what it is – a dog with its front left paw hurt.

“Aw, love, who even left you here?” she mumbles as she steps closer, gets lower to get closer to the animal. “Who even has the heart to leave something as cute as you out here like this?”

The dog barks, then whines, licks its paw while eyeing Lena with hesitance.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, little thing!” she reassures it, slowly placing her hand on the dog’s fur. “You’re so cute, I might take you home with me.”

As if understanding her words, the dog barks excitedly, jumps on her and starts licking her face. Lena laughs, tries to pull away. She pets the dog excitedly, ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s as the animal flaps its tail.

“D’you think I could get you to come home with me, cutie?” she asks more to herself than to the dog, but it seems to agree with her nonetheless. She picks it up with some effort, then sets off to the vet. “I’ll get you home soon, but we need to get you checked out first.”

The dog barks, tail wagging rapidly.

–

“Hey, Amélie!” Lena opens the door with some difficulty, considering she has dog food in one arm and is holding the dog’s – Winston, she decided – collar. “I’ve got good news for you!”

She stops, dead on her tracks, as she notices she’s not alone with Winston in the living room. There’s a woman sitting on her couch, popping a bubblegum distractedly as she flips the pages of a random magazine. She looks back at Lena and smirks, does a two fingers salute.

“¿Cómo estás, hermosa?” she says and Lena has no idea how to respond to it, mostly because she doesn’t know how to speak the language. “¿No comprendes Español? Well then, hello, amiga. Amélie just went into the bathroom.”

Lena nods, dumbfounded. Winston lies down by her feet, staring at the woman as well. The woman chuckles and closes the magazine, putting it on top of the small table in front of the couch.

“I’m Sombra,” she extends her hand and Lena almost trips over herself to shake it. “Also known as Amélie’s best friend.”

“You’re an annoyance, that’s what you are” Amélie’s voice comes from the bathroom as she steps out, drying her hands. “At least you didn’t break in this time.”

“I do have manners, araña,” Sombra pretends to be offended, but she breaks the spell by smiling widely.

“Araña?” Lena mouths, confused. She frowns, looking between Amélie and her friend.

“Oh, you’ve never seen the tattoo on her back?” Sombra smirks, side-eyeing Amélie with amusement. “It’s real pretty, I gotta say.”

An image forms itself on Lena’s mind, and she blushes. Imagining Amélie with less clothes is not a good idea of what to do when you’ve got guests.

“Anyway,” Amélie pulls her out of her thoughts. “What is that dog doing here?”

She doesn’t say it with disgust, which is a good thing in Lena’s book.

“Oh! This is Winston!” she bends down to pet the dog on the head and laughs when he wags his tail. “I found him while I was running in the park. There was no one around to take care of him and his front paw was pretty messed up, so I decided to help him myself.”

“I… see,” Amélie simply says, crossing her arms and raising one eyebrow. “And I guess you decided to keep him?”

“Uh,” Lena says. “Well, only if you are okay with it too, since you also live here and all that. But if it’s all good, I promise I’ll do all the work! I’ll take good care of him and you won’t even have to clean his poop!”

Amélie laughs, “I don’t mind helping out. I’m just, well, not very good with pets.”

“Don’t let her take care of the dog,” Sombra calls out from the couch. “She almost killed my tiny precious beta once.”

“That thing tried to bite me when I went to feed him,” Amélie scoffs, affronted.

“Excuses, excuses,” she winks at Lena, who giggles at the exchange between the women.

Winston barks and walks further into the apartment, sniffing everything he can put his nose on. Sombra laughs when he reaches her, smelling her legs. She pushes him away softly, and he goes without a protest, gets closer to Amélie, who looks reluctant.

He barks at her and rolls over, belly up. Amélie sighs, but bends down to rub his stomach, laughs a little when his tail starts wagging.

Lena smiles at the scene, feeling at peace.

–

JESSE MCCREE

[picture attached]

!!!!!!!

what’s this cutie’s name?

it’s Winston!!!!! he’s the cutest dog ever and amelie loves him too!!!!

that’s great, bud! give him a good rub for me, will ya?

what a pretty Labrador holy shit

B)

ikr, i got lucky when i found him!!!!!!

he sleeps on my bed every night

it’s nice to have someone to cuddle up to :)

that is true…

missing someone? ;)

now i don’t know what u’re talking about

sure, sure

hehe

i’m sure he misses u too <3

still don’t know what u’re talking about, buddy

anyway, gtg now!!! class and all that :P

see u later, lena :)

see ya!!!!!

–

“You got a dog,” Satya raises one eyebrow in disbelief. “Can you even take care of yourself?”

“Aw, love, have more faith, will ya?” Lena punches her shoulder delicately and laughs. “He’s alive so far, isn’t he? Plus, Amélie helps me out a lot when she can.”

“I see not only you share a house, you two now share a pet,” Satya smirks, hiding it with a closed hand. “That’s so… domestic. I’m proud of you, Lena, for taking this relationship one step further. Although I still think you should ask her out on a date first before bringing a pet into this relationship, but I guess you were never one to follow the order of things.”

Lena sticks her tongue out and crosses her arms, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sat.”

“Sure you don’t,” Satya brings the tea cup to her mouth, takes a sip while staring into Lena’s eyes. “Just like you don’t know how much you are head over heels for Amélie.”

“You’re worse than Ange,” she drops her shoulders in defeat and grabs her coffee. “Why can’t you two let me deal with this on my own? I’m doing fine!”

“If by fine you mean you’re doing nothing about it, then yes,” Satya says, looking at her nails. “You’re doing just fine, my friend.”

Lena drops her head on the table, groaning. Satya shrugs and opens her book, ready to continue the conversation whenever Lena decides to stop acting like a child.

“Can’t we just talk about something else?” Lena mutters, head still lying on the table.

Satya shrugs, “Fine by me.”

“So,” she starts, looking Satya in the eyes. “How are things with Fareeha?”

“We’re doing pretty well,” Satya smiles softly, reaching for her cup. “Thank you for asking.”

“Whenever I see her on her phone she’s always talking to you, you know,” Lena says, grinning. She gets her head up from the table. “She’s so in love, Sat, it’s cute to see.”

Satya simply blushes instead of answering, and her smile is filled with happiness. Lena feels happy too, feels happy that her friends are in a fulfilling relationship and are very happy together.

–

“Tomorrow’s the game, you know,” Lena sits on the couch, right next to Amélie, and bumps their shoulders together. “Have you decided yet?”

Amélie stares at the TV for a moment before shifting her attention to the woman next to her, “I’d like to observe first, and if it interests me, I’d like to join your group, if it’s okay with everybody.”

“Sounds fair!” Lena crosses her legs on the couch, then leans back and forth in excitement. “You’re gonna love them! They’re an awesome group, I love hanging out with them.”

“Who’s in it?” Amélie asks, changing channels, but not paying attention to the screen.

“Well, there’s Hana, Lúcio, Genji, his brother Hanzo,” Lena counts on her fingers. “Satya, Fareeha and Angela!”

“That’s a big group,” Amélie looks a little taken aback, caught by surprise with the number of people.

“They’re quiet, though!” she rushes to calm Amélie down. “I promise, we’re all pretty quiet and all that.”

“I’ll trust you, then,” Amélie smiles, still surprised by the amount of people in the group. “I hope they’ll accept me in the group, whether I’m just watching or playing as well.”

“Oh, don’t worry, love!” Lena pats her on the shoulder. “They’ll love you!”

“Will they now,” Amélie raises one eyebrow, skeptic.

“I mean,” Lena raises one hand and twirls it with a flourish. “What’s not to love?”

That makes Amélie double back, eyes wide, caught by surprise. Lena blushes once she realizes how flirty she sounded, and doesn’t know how to take back what she said.

“You’re great and all, you know?” she says because she can’t seem to be able to stop herself. “You’re funny and nice, and you’re pretty calm and focused; we could use someone like that in our team!”

Amélie’s eyes are back to their normal size and the woman chuckles lowly, “Why, thank you, Lena. You flatter me too much.”

Lena waves off one hand.

“It’s only the truth, Amélie,” she says. “You’re great, accept that.”

“Alright then,” Amélie smiles, sweet and soft and Lena is in love once again. “If you say so.”

–

“It really is TA Lacroix!” Hana yells as Amélie opens the door. Lena winces at the volume as she walks up to the door. “Man, it’s so good to see you! Your lectures are way better than our actual professor.”

“Uh, thanks?” Amélie laughs nervously, stepping away so Hana can come in.

“Hana!” Lena jumps into the woman’s space, engulfing her in a bear hug. “You were the only one missing, come on!”

Hana huffs out all the air in her lungs as she tries to get away from Lena’s tight grip. Lúcio comes from the living room and high fives her once she is released from the hug. They all go back to where the rest of the group is, and Hana greets everyone excitedly.

“Sorry is Hana did something weird,” Lena whispers as close as she can be to Amélie.

“Don’t worry about it,” Amélie waves a hand off in reassurance. “She’s just as excited out of class as she is in it, it seems.”

“Hey, Hana!” Genji practically yells, arms stretched out so they can hug.

She runs into his arms and he spins her around twice before letting her feet touch the ground. Amélie smiles at the interaction and Lena gathers them all to sit around the table, where the game of Dungeons and Dragons is set.

“So, who is the… uh, DM? Is that the word?” Amélie asks as she gets comfortable in her seat.

“It is,” Satya raises one hand elegantly, “And I am.”

“Satya is the best at creating scenarios and battles!” Hana quips, holding Satya by the shoulders and shaking her slightly. Satya’s lips tighten, but she doesn’t brush her friend off. “It’s tough to kill her monsters because she thinks up several types of movements they can do and she’s always ten steps ahead.”

Satya blushes, feeling flustered, and Lúcio rolls his eyes, though he smiles anyway.

“Well,” Satya claps her hands, seeming excited. “Shall we start?”

–

Just like Hana said, Satya is, in fact, a great DM. She takes the story and makes it her own, creates difficult battles for her players and helps them when they need, because while she is tough, she is also loving. The world bends and breaks and molds at her will, and it’s a beautiful sight to see. Amélie is nothing if not impressed, and Satya looks at her smugly when she comments on how well she controls the game.

“How long have you been a DM?” she asks during their break, both of them in the kitchen.

Satya stops for a moment and thinks, makes mental calculations, “About ten years, I think. My mother taught me all I know, in fact.”

“So you played with her?”

Satya nods.

“Must’ve been nice,” Amélie comments, staring at her feet. “Having something nice to do with your mom.”

“She was a wonderful woman,” Satya says, her eyes focused on something far away from where they currently are. “I have yet to meet someone as great as she was.”

“Not even Fareeha?” Amélie smirks, bumping their shoulders together in playfulness.

“She is also a great woman,” Satya freezes at the contact, but manages to relax after a couple seconds. “And I make sure she knows it every day.”

Amélie smiles, admiring the love shared between those two women. She opens her mouth to speak again, but Hana’s voice stops her.

“Break time’s over!” she peeks her head over, grinning widely. “Time to go back to kicking our asses, Satya!”

Satya chuckles lightly as she walks towards Hana, Amélie following right away. Everyone is already sitting at the table, eager to continue their journey. Satya sits down on her place and checks on her papers to continue the story.

She starts narrating it in the most captivating way possible, as far as Amélie can tell, and everyone seems enthralled by it. The scene she describes has the heroes trapped in a dungeon, about to face off an ancient dragon. All of them, Amélie included, are at the edge of their seats, barely containing their excitement over how the battle will go.

“You all feel a trembling beneath your feet,” Satya says, her eyes focused on the dragon figurine she has on her hand. She places it in front of the other players’ figures. “In front of you stands a great dragon, tall and proud. Fire comes out of his nostrils. His right paw scratches the ground, an uncomfortable noise resonates through the air.”

Genji practically jumps out of his seat, one palm hitting the table soundly. Hanzo squints his eyes, as if he’s not at all pleased with his brother’s action.

“I lunge forward and attack him with my glaive,” he almost yells and a flash distracts him. “The fuck was that?”

Lena lowers her phone, wicked grin on her face, “Just sending Jesse something I’m sure he’ll appreciate.”

Genji flushes and plops back down on his seat, eyebrows drawn together, “I don’t see how he’ll appreciate me yelling about trying to kill a dragon.”

Hanzo snorts, ignoring his brother’s elbow on his ribs.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll like it,” Lena giggles at Genji’s pout.

“I don’t see you taking pictures of Angela to send them to Mei,” he counters, pointing to the woman in question.

Angela takes out her own phone and raises two fingers two her face, pursing her lips, and takes a picture. She taps away for a few seconds and then looks at Genji, smug.

“There, picture sent,” she says and there’s laughter in her voice. “Now Mei has something to appreciate too.”

“Roll for initiative, please,” Satya draws their focus back on the game, and Genji seems to appreciate the action.

Lena snickers as she sends the picture, then she puts her phone away and rolls a dice.

“Twelve,” Lúcio says looking neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with his number.

“Five,” Hanzo grumbles as he crosses his arms.

“Twenty,” Genji looks smugly over his brother, who simply rolls his eyes as a response.

“Nice, Genji!” Hana pats him on the shoulder in congratulations. “I got nine.”

“It’s a ten for me,” Fareeha sends a wink over Satya’s direction, and the woman blushes even though she’s trying to remain serious.

Angela drops her head on the table, raising one finger. Lena laughs, patting her on the back.

“Mine’s fifteen.”

Satya nods, satisfied.

“It’s a nineteen for the dragon,” she says after double checking her own die. “Genji, what will you do?”

Genji cracks his knuckles as he examines the table. Satya raises one eyebrow, patiently waiting for his move. He starts to narrate his attack with gusto, arms flailing as he gets more into it.

“Roll for attack,” Satya instructs, already used to Genji’s excitement when it comes to battles.

He rolls the die and groans – a ten is not enough to hit the dragon, unfortunately. Satya chuckles lightly as Lúcio reaches over to pat Genji on the back. Next up is the dragon, and Satya’s action for it is to attack Fareeha’s character. The dice rolls and Fareeha’s character – Pharah, a human paladin – takes only twenty five slashing damage, thanks to her saving throw.

“Time for Tracer to save the day!” Lena quips, throwing a grin in Hana’s direction. “I put on my invisibility cloak on and run behind the dragon, then I do a sneak attack.”

Satya nods approvingly and tells her to roll. Lena gets a higher number than Genji – high enough to hit the dragon.

“Dagger dagger dagger, guys! It always works,” Lena says excitedly, throwing her hands up in the air. Amélie laughs, teeth hidden by her hand, and Lena blushes at the sound.

“I still stand by the Zone of Truth,” says Fareeha, arms crossed even though she’s smiling.

“Of course you do,” Lúcio laughs, ready for his turn. “I sing a sweet tune to inspire D.va and get some distance between me and the dragon.”

“Aw, thanks, boo,” Hana winks at Lúcio, who grins and extends his hand for a high five. Their hands meet with a loud slap.

Satya nods in approval of his action, then turns her head to face Fareeha. Her eyes soften as she looks at her girlfriend, and she slightly bows her head as if to say it’s her turn.

“Right, uh,” Fareeha ponders for almost a minute, unsure of how to proceed. She rests her chin on top of her right hand, her left holding her right elbow. “I’ll… I guess I’ll do a – a Staggering Smite on the dragon, and then taunt it. That’s, uh, that’s it for my turn.”

“Alright,” Hana rubs her hands, ready for her turn. “D.va will raise her greataxe and rush ahead, bashing in the dragon’s head. And I’ll roll a dice for inspiration.”

“That is correct,” Satya nods, smiling. “You may use your inspiration die any time you want.”

Hana rolls it and fortunately gets a high number, which makes it possible for her to hit the enemy. The dragon is taking quite the damage from the heroes, but Satya doesn’t seem too worried about it.

“Hanzo, it’s your turn,” Satya says as she looks at the man.

He nods, “I’ll attack the creature and I’ll spend one ki for a Flurry of Blows.”

“Certainly. Please roll to see if you hit him.”

Hanzo does so and the number is low, so the dragon evades his attacks with an eased grace. Hanzo grunts in disappointment, but comments no further, and Genji bumps their shoulders together as if to say it’s okay, it’s not always that you can get a high enough number to hit.

Finally, it’s Angela’s turn. She stares at Satya for a quick moment before examining her character sheet.

“Mercy turns into a tiger,” she starts, smiling confidently as she speaks. “And then lunges forward to slash the dragon.”

Satya nods, looks as if she already expected it, “Roll, please.”

Angela throws her dice on the table, watches excitedly as it rolls, hoping the number will be high. Fortunately for her, it is, and Mercy can attack the dragon while in tiger form. Lena claps her hands, congratulating her friend, and Angela chuckles.

It’s the top of the round again, and while Genji plans his next move, Satya seems to know exactly what to do to crush them.

–

The game takes another two hours to finish, one hour alone to defeat the dragon – which they do, albeit with some great struggle; Satya is great like that. Amélie is thoroughly impressed, and has already made up her mind on whether or not she’ll join them next time.

She motions Lena to get her attention, and the woman skips over to her side.

“Yes, love?” Lena asks, big bright eyes staring expectantly at her. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Very much, yeah,” Amélie smiles as she looks over Lena’s shoulder, all the way over to where Hana, Genji and Lúcio are gathering together, talking about who knows what. They seem happy, and Amélie would like to have that back. “And I think I’d like to join you guys, if the offer is still out there.”

“Of course it is!” Lena opens her arms and jumps back, turning to face the others. “Guys, guys! Amélie said she wants in!”

“Ooh, TA Lacroix! That’s awesome!” Hana says excitedly, joining the two with Lúcio and Genji right behind her. “You’ve always been my favorite TA, now I know why.”

Amélie doesn’t know how to respond, so she simply laughs.

“We have to get you into our message group,” Lúcio says, already picking up his phone. “What’s your number? So I can add you.”

She tells him her number, and he quickly adds her to the group. He grins and gives her the thumbs up, to which she gives him one right back.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Satya cuts their chatter rather abruptly, though they’re all used to that by now. She’s holding hands with Fareeha, who’s carrying both their Dungeons and Dragons things. “It was a fine evening. Thank you for having us over, Lena.”

“My pleasure, love!” Lena mock-salutes, smiling. “You guys can always have the sessions here if you’d like, I don’t mind. I mean –”

“I don’t mind either,” Amélie lays a hand on Lena’s shoulder, and somehow misses how the woman shivers slightly to the touch. “You all seem fun to have around, so it sounds like a good idea to have the games in here.”

“Yeah!” Lena grins at the others, fighting off a blush that is trying to creep up on her cheeks just because of her proximity to Amélie. “Plus we’ve got enough space for everyone!”

“That you do,” Satya nods, analyzing the room. “You’ve convinced me, we’ll have our next meeting in here. Fareeha and I will make sure to bring some snacks.”

“Nice,” Genji whispers, looking excited.

–

OVER THE WATCHES

hana (d.va)

[picture attached]

reminds u guys of someone? ╰(・∇・╰)

tracer

HANA

JALKSHFKJSDALHFKSDJA

amélie

?

What is this?

tracer

NOTHING

IT’S NOTHING;A;

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

AJLSKFNSAKJLFA

hana (d.va)

(๑♡3♡๑)

tracer

HANA I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN

YOU WILL REGRET THIS

the cooler shimada

lmao

hana that’s terrible

lena doesn’t deserve this teasing

hana (d.va)

mean!! ( ≧Д≦)

the cooler shimada

lmao lena i’m so sorry

hana can be the worst sometimes

hana (d.va)

i’m the greatest thing in your life genji shimada

don’t u try to say otherwise

the cooler shimada

can’t deny that

<3 <3 <3

hana (d.va)

( ˘ ³˘)❤

tracer

u two are dead 2 me;

–

“How come you never told anyone why you moved back to London?” Lena stands by Amélie’s bedroom door, hesitating to take a step further without the other woman’s permission.

Amélie leaves the magazine she was reading on her lap and looks at Lena. There’s a seriousness on her face Lena has never seen before, and that surprises her a bit. She almost regrets asking Amélie what she did, but before she can take it back, Amélie walks up to her with her phone in hand.

It takes her a couple seconds of tapping away before she finds what she wants, and then she turns the phone so Lena can see it. She hands it to the other woman, saying nothing at all.

It’s a news article, where the headline reads: THE RISE AND FALL OF A BLACK TRANS WOMAN BALLERINA

Lena’s eyebrows rise before she even finishes reading the title. She knew Amélie was into ballet and went to France to have a career in it, but she never knew it hadn’t worked out like she expected to – though, now that she thinks about it, it should have been obvious, with how Amélie hasn’t said a word about ballet since she came back, how she avoided any kind of conversation about France and what happened there.

She reads the whole article quietly, as fast as she can, and doesn’t dare to look at Amélie until she’s finished.

“So… you and Gérard…”

“He was another ballet dancer,” Amélie explains, crossing her arms and looking at her feet. “We hit up quickly and were partnered up because of that.”

“I see.”

“We started dating,” Amélie says, still not looking at Lena. “Years later we married, but then –”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Lena lays a hand on Amélie’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“I know,” says Amélie, finally meeting Lena’s eyes. “But I want to. I have to. Talk to someone about this, I mean.”

“Alright,” Lena nods, understanding. “Go on, then.”

“We were happy, for a while, at least,” Amélie manages a bittersweet smile. “But then it happened. He – he got cancer. Too far into it to do anything about it. I… kept by his side until the end, even though he told me to leave him, live a life without someone like him dragging him down. Che, stubborn man.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that, love,” Lena’s voice is soft, her heart hurts for her friend. “It must’ve been tough.”

“It wasn’t that bad – not at first,” Amélie says. “The last month was the worst, though.”

“I can imagine.”

“Didn’t take long for me to come back here after his death,” says Amélie. “I wanted nothing that would remind me of him after his passing.”

“It’s understandable,” Lena removes her hand and gives the phone back. “I wouldn’t want to be reminded all the time of someone I lost.”

They keep quiet for a while, simply looking at one another. Lena doesn’t know what to say, and Amélie seems fine with not talking, so neither says a single word.

“You know,” Amélie starts after a while, eyeing Lena as they both smile slightly. “I’m glad you called me when you did. I needed a place to stay and I couldn’t have gotten a better roommate.”

“Glad you enjoy my company, love,” Lena chirps, elbowing Amélie amicably.

Amélie chuckles lightly.

–

“Amélie?” Lena asks, entering the hallway. “Are you going to take Winston for a walk?”

“Yes,” she says, finishing checking Winston’s collar. “Want to come?”

“Sure,” Lena steps back, pointing one thumb backwards. “I’ll just grab my sneakers.”

Amélie stretches, waiting for Lena to get back. It doesn’t take long – Lena’s fast, was on the track team when she was in high school.

“Shall we?” Lena asks, extending her elbow to Amélie, who laughs as she intertwines their arms together.

Leash on one hand and arm crossed with Lena’s, Amélie waits until the other woman opens the door so they can go for their daily walk.

It’s a nice afternoon outside, the wind is blowing not too strong nor too weakly and the sun is not too bright. There are only a few people in the park, some are running, some are simply walking, some even brought their dogs like they did.

Their arms are still linked together, and Lena feels giggly inside because of that. She has yet to gather up courage to tell her feeling to Amélie, but she’ll take what she can get in the meanwhile. Amélie seems to be enjoying herself, too, and that makes Lena happy.

She likes it when Amélie is happy.

–

OVER THE WATCHES

tracer

[picture attached]

hana (d.va)

aaaah 2 cuties and a pretty dog!!! (✿♥‿♥)

lúci-ohs

WINSTON!!!!!!!!

the cooler shimada

winston’s the best dog

what a cute

hanzo

You two look great.

Winston is as adorable as ever.

pharah-eeha

girls you two look amazing! love the lighting in the photo!!

satya vaswani (symm)

A most admirable picture, you look like a great couple

hana (d.va)

SATYA!!!! (´つヮ⊂)

U SEE LENA IT’S SATYA NOT ME THIS TIME

tracer

u are all terrible

i’ll never let u pet winston ever again

hana (d.va)

NO!!! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

I DID NOTHING I AM INNOCENT

tracer

no petting the winston

final word

hana (d.va)

SATYA LOOK AT WHAT U DID

satya vaswani (symm)

I don’t see a problem with this

hana (d.va)

that’s bc u hate cute things

like all of them

satya vaswani (symm)

That is a lie

I love cats

We are very much alike, in fact

pharah-eeha

you and cats are both super cute, yes

hana (d.va)

stop being supportive of your gf

it’s homophobic

pharah-eeha

????

how so?

hana (d.va)

i’m gay and don’t have a gf myself

this is a personal attack against me

the cooler shimada

LMAO

poor hana

forever dateless

hana (d.va)

genji don’t even

i’ll cut u (ง •̀_•́)ง

the cooler shimada

ooh

scary

tracer

guys

please

let’s go back to my cute dog

hana (d.va)

no

lúci-ohs

mood

the cooler shimada

mood x2

angela

he’s adorable!

tracer

thanks ange

ur a blessing

amélie

We make a great couple, huh, Satya?

I wonder…

tracer

???

amélie????

what does that mean?

?????????????????

hana (d.va)

( ◐ω◐ )

–

Amélie doesn’t act like she said anything different on the group chat, keeps on going with her life as normal while Lena spins the words inside her head several times during the day. She wants to know what it means, but lacks the courage to do so.

–

“Oh,” is all Lena says when she spots the woman sitting on her couch. “Hey there, Sombra.”

“Hey yourself,” Sombra winks at her and does finger guns. “How you’re doing?”

“Good, good,” she sits next to the woman, turning on the TV. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, you know, just waiting for Amélie so we can go bother Gabrielito into taking us shopping,” Sombra waves off her hand, as if it’s nothing out of the ordinary. “Wanna come?”

“Thanks for the offer, but no,” Lena tilts her head slightly, as if to say sorry. “I have tons of homework to do yet, but maybe next time?”

“I’ll hold you to that, hermosa,” Sombra clicks her tongue and gets up, walking in the direction of Amélie’s room. “Come on, lazy girl, we need to get going.”

“Just wait a damn second,” Amélie yells behind the door. “God, it’s like you’re an only child who doesn’t know how to wait for the things they want.”

“Well, I am an only child,” Sombra rests on the door and shrugs, causing Lena to giggle.

Sombra winks at her again.

–

“Uh,” Lena starts, walking over to Amélie cooking dinner. “You know I love having you as a roommate, right?”

“Yes?” Amélie doesn’t even take her eyes off the pan, too focused on not burning the food to pay attention to the other woman – or anything else, really. “Sorry, did you want something? I’m kind of busy here, you see.”

“Yeah, actually,” Lena breathes in, then out. “I wanted to talk to you about your beauty products in the bathroom.”

“What about them?”

“Well, you know,” Lena rubs the back of her neck, hesitant to keep talking about this, afraid they’ll fight. “They’re kind of everywhere? I don’t have space for my own stuff, is all.”

“What stuff do you even have?” Amélie finally breaks off her stare of the pan to look at Lena in the eyes, one eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip. “I don’t see you wearing makeup. Like, I’ve never seen you with it the entire time I’ve known you. And I’ve known you for a long time by the way.”

“Alright, so I don’t have any beauty products of my own,” Lena nods, giving that point to Amélie. “But still! Your stuff is everywhere! It’s bothersome.”

“Is it really?”

“Yes! I don’t have space to put my shampoo and conditioner in there,” Lena says, almost exasperated. “It’s kind of annoying, love.”

“You’re calling me ‘love’ even though you’re mad at me,” Amélie chuckles, amused. “How cute.”

“Don’t ignore the problem here!” Lena huffs, crossing her arms. “Come on, are you going to put your things somewhere else or what?”

“Do I really have to?” Amélie groans, rolling her head backwards for a moment before getting her attention back to the pan. “I don’t even have that many things.”

“Amélie, you’re being unreasonable,” Lena says; her is tone more serious than Amélie has ever heard. “Come on, it’s not that difficult. Just take some stuff off of the bathroom and put it in your room or whatever. I live here too, I need the space.”

Amélie sighs, turns to face Lena, “Fine, whatever. I’ll finish this and then I’ll do that.”

“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Lena smiles, glad this was resolved without many problems. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Amélie waves her off, shooing her from the kitchen. “Now let me work.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

–

“Hey, Ange?” Lena asks, taking a sip of her coffee before continuing. “What do you think Amélie meant by those texts she sent on the group chat?”

“I wonder,” Angela deadpans, staring straight into Lena’s eyes. “I already told you, Lena, she likes you. It’s not that hard to figure out from then on.”

“Then why hasn’t she said anything?” Lena puts both her arms up, frustrated. “Why is she being this cryptic if she really likes me?”

“Why haven’t you told her yet?” Angela smiles when Lena stops dead on her tracks, blushing.

“That’s neither here nor there.”

Angela shrugs, takes a sip of her beverage, “If you say so.”

–

They’re walking Winston on the park again, but their arms aren’t intertwined this time, which Lena mourns. She’d like to do that again. She’s just not sure Amélie feels the same way.

She wishes Amélie is, but wishing is far, far away from reality.

–

Winston jumps on the couch next to Lena, and cuddles up to her. She laughs and rubs his head, and he wags his tail happily.

“You look cute like that,” Amélie comments as she sits on Lena’s other side. “I mean – you two look cute.”

“Ah,” Lena says, surprised to see Amélie at home. She thought the woman was at the university, grading papers and helping students and whatnot. “Thank you, I guess.”

Amélie smiles softly, changing her attention from Lena to Winston and back to Lena again. Lena feels the blush coming, and she tries to fight it off.

“I’m glad you found this beautiful boy, you know?” Amélie says, voice low and calm as she stretches over Lena to pet the dog. “He’s been a great companion when I’m the only human in the apartment.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Lena tries to ignore how her heart beats faster because of this proximity, and keeps her attention on Winston. “He’s a great little puppy, isn’t he?”

Winston barks excitedly, and jumps on both their laps. Amélie laughs, the sound is like music to Lena, and she savors the moment as much as she can.

–

It’s another Saturday, and the group is back at Lena and Amélie’s apartment for another session of Dungeons and Dragons.

“Why don’t you introduce your character to us, Amélie?” asks Satya.

Amélie nods, “Her name is Widowmaker. She’s been brainwashed by an evil group years ago, and now they use her assassin skills to take down their enemies.”

“Ooh,” Hana says, resting her chin on both hands. “Why is she named like that?”

There’s a long pause before Amélie looks at her, smiles grimly.

“It’s because her first victim was her husband.”

Lena stops dead on her tracks, stares at Amélie in concern. She doesn’t say anything out loud, doesn’t want to draw attention to the elephant in the room, doesn’t want to possibly make Amélie uncomfortable by making her tell everyone the reasoning for that specific character history.

“That’s sad,” says Lúcio. “I hope she won’t hate herself for that later.”

Amélie shrugs, “Who knows?”

“You created a very sad character indeed,” Hanzo organizes his character sheets while he talks. “But unfortunately we still need a cleric in our group. Why didn’t you make one?”

“Satya said I could create whatever I wanted,” Amélie shrugs again, not worried at all with Hanzo’s slight frown. “Plus, she can make us a cleric at any given time in this campaign.”

Genji turns his gaze to Satya, mouth agape, “You could have given us a cleric all this time? Why the hell haven’t you?”

“I didn’t feel like you needed one,” Satya explains, fingers intertwined. “You all have been doing so well with what you’ve got, plus there’s health potions aplenty for the entire group. You’re doing fine, and if you ever need one, worry not. I will create a cleric for you.”

Genji huffs, but lets the subject go. Satya smiles graciously, looking over everyone in the table.

“Now,” she says, raising both hands to her sides. “Shall we begin?”

–

After the game is over, Lena calls Amélie and brings her to a corner where no one can hear them talk.

“Do you feel like Gérard dying was your fault?” she’s blunt, doesn’t skirt around the issue, and tries not to feel bad when Amélie winces. “Because it’s not, you know. He was going to die no matter what.”

Amélie scoffs, crosses her arms and looks to the side, “I could have done more for him.”

“If you say so,” Lena rests one hand on Amélie’s shoulder. “But I’m sure you did everything you could for him. It’s not your fault, love. You need to move on, you can’t keep beating yourself up over this.”

Lena watches as Amélie tries to come up with something else to say, but in the end she gives up, drops her head and sighs.

“You’re right,” she says, raising her head to look at Lena. “I should’ve done that already. Or rather, I should’ve tried harder than I’ve been for a while.”

Lena smiles gently, grabs one of Amélie’s hands, “You’re strong, you can do this, I know it.”

“Thanks for believing in me,” Amélie smiles back, a small one, though.

Before letting go, Lena feels Amélie tighten the hold of their hands for a moment.

–

“Pay attention to class,” berates Satya, staring straight ahead and paying attention to the professor.

Lena jolts from her daydreaming, “Sorry, what? I wasn’t – I was – sorry, love, did you want something?”

Satya sighs, rolling her eyes.

“Stop thinking about your crush and start paying attention to class,” she hisses, though her tone is not mean, rather concerned with Lena’s being. “Otherwise I’m afraid you’ll fail.”

Lena straightens her back, grabs a pencil and tries to pay attention to what the professor is teaching.

“Much better,” mutter Satya. She’s wearing a satisfied smile on her face, though Lena can’t see it.

–

That’s it, Lena thinks, I’m going to tell her how I feel today. No more faffing about.

Is what she tells herself, but in reality she can’t even get out of bed, nor leave her phone. Of course, she still has time – Amélie is at the university, teaching classes and whatnot, while Lena decided to take a day off of her own classes, pretended she was sick. It’s not something she does, not usually, but she woke up with a feeling in her gut, as if she shouldn’t waste even more time not telling Amélie how she feels.

Certain words and phrases swirl in her mind, trying to form the perfect love confession. She shakes her head, unsatisfied with everything she comes up with.

Her door is closed, so she has to force herself to get out of bed to let Winston in when she hears him whine from the other side. He jumps on her bed and makes himself comfortable, and she simply laughs, amused by the dog’s actions. She’s happy she has him, he can calm her down in the worst of times.

She looks at the time – there’s still a couple more hours until Amélie is back, so she can come up with something better to say.

“Amélie, I – I like you,” Lena says, both hands holding Winston’s head in place. “I’ve liked you for quite some time now, love. And it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way – ugh, this is bad. What should I do, Winston?”

The dog barks right on her face, and she scrunches up her nose.

“Thanks, bud,” she says, deadpan. “I’m sure that will win her over in no time.”

Winston barks again, happy and unknowing of Lena’s inner turmoil. She lets her body drop on the bed, lets Winston lay over her, his head snuggling her chin. She laughs and pats him in the head, staring at the ceiling, hopeless.

They both stay like that for at least an hour, until Lena starts getting cramps from lying in the same position for too long and has to brush Winston off of her. The dog leaves without any fight, happy to run around the house without any worries in the world.

On the other hand, Lena’s still stumped. She has come up with several ideas already, and none are good enough for her – she hates them all. Looking through her phone as a last resort, she searches for common sentences one uses when confessing to someone else.

They’re all silly, corny, too cliché. Useless at best, is her final decision.

Looks like she’ll have to come up with something on her own, then.

–

A few hours later, she hears the front door open. She doesn’t dare to move from her spot on the bed, brain working harder and faster to come up with some decent confession she can make.

Her door is open, so she can hear every movement Amélie makes, from leaving her purse on the table to greeting Winston amicably. Still, Lena hasn’t found it in herself the strength to move.

She hears Amélie’s steps getting closer to her room, but she doesn’t dare to look, rather staring at her phone as if she’s reading something out of it.

Lena lowers her phone when she hears the knock on the door. Her head whips up as fast as she can, her face flushed. Amélie is in her bedroom, lounging as casually as ever on the doorway, a playful smirk on her face.

“Amé…lie?” she asks, almost hesitant. Her heart’s beating fast, hammering on her chest as she tries to make this her chance to confess.

She watches, excitement  and nervousness both growing within her, as Amélie walks up to her. She watches every goddamn slow step Amélie takes, watches the way Amélie’s hair flows, the way her eyes are focused on Lena herself.

Amélie stops at the foot of her bed, hands holding her hips. Lena gulps, thankfully not too visibly, and tries to say something. Amélie seems to be faster, though.

“I’ve noticed some things,” Amélie starts, and all Lena can do is nod. “The way our friends tease about us, the way you talk and look at me sometimes… things like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” says Amélie. “And I’m – curious, to say the least. Am I right to think you have feelings for me?”

Lena hesitates, too scared to give away an instant response.

“I –” she stops, breathes in, out. “Yes, you are right. I’ve liked you for quite some time now, Amélie. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“That’s the opposite of a problem, Lena,” Amélie stretches out her hand, waiting for Lena to grab it so she can pull Lena up. “You should know, though – I like you, too.”

Lena’s sure her heart has stopped beating once she hears Amélie’s words. She rests a hand where it’s supposed to be, just to check – and yes, it’s beating, but it’s faster than normal.

“Oh, I didn’t realize, honestly,” Lena breathes out as she grabs Amélie’s hand, gets pulled up effortlessly. “So, what now?”

“Well,” Amélie tilts her head, still smiling as sweetly as ever. “Would give me the honor of kissing you?”

Lena chokes, blushes and stumbles into Amélie’s embrace, “Uh.”

“Is that a yes or no?” Amélie seems to be controlling herself not to laugh, which Lena appreciates – a lot.

“Definitely a yes,” Lena nods vigorously, head tilting closer to Amélie’s.

“That’s terrific,” Amélie’s lips are a breath’s away from Lena’s, and they waste no time closing the gap.

–

OVER THE WATCHES

amélie

[picture attached]

tracer

aw

aren’t we the cutest couple

hana (d.va)

HOLY FUCK

@GENJI @LÚCIO U 2 OWE ME 25 EUROS