#don’t mind me this didn’t need a caption but I still felt like adding commentary lmao

[playerkingsley]

[emilyplaysotome]

The Game of Love - Chapter 1

Since I have a bad tendency to obsess over what I write until I give up on it, I’m posting the first chapter of something new I’ve been dabbling with. Think of it like an original Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole, without the characters you know.

Meeting someone special is hard for anyone, but more so when you’re famous.

I can’t tell you when it was that I went from being Hana to being Hana on a billboard, but it happened slowly enough that I went from eating virtually unnoticed at a restaurant to being bombarded with selfie requests during the short time I picked up my food. I suppose that being one of the youngest women to ever win a Grand Slam will force you into the spotlight, but I’ve never thought of myself as a superstar.

The goal had always been to win gold at the Olympics.

Maybe Roland Garros.

And Wimbledon.

The U.S. and Australian Open if I was lucky.

They never told me that if you win the Australian Open and then manage to win the others in the same year, the world goes mad. They never told me that Nike, Adidas, and Reebok fall all over themselves trying to get you to agree to let them put out the “Hana shoe” and you go from being a struggling journeywoman on the tour to being richer than you ever could have imagined, thanks mostly to your team who milks you for every free moment when you’re not on the court.

You learn how to wear dresses and talk on camera and carry the weight of what it means to be a champion, constantly looking over your shoulder at the younger, hungrier crowd behind you that works twice as hard and trains harder because they don’t need to be on Good Morning America when you do. Your identity becomes “Hana the Tennis Champion” and you forget who you were when you were just “Hana, the girl who loves tennis” – hitting balls after dinner with dad on the courts by your house or joking around with the girls on the junior tour.

Those girls become competition, and your friendship is forced to change despite wanting it to be the way it was when things were simpler. They are nice and you love them, but the feelings are complicated and you forget what it means to have friends who see you as you are. There is always a commitment, a show, a movie, a project, a product – even during the off season, and of course, there’s the training.

You’re grateful to be successful doing what you love, but you know it can’t last forever and one day you decide you want to go out on top and announce that you’re done with the game that up until this point has been your entire life.

And you’re only 32.

I’m only 32.

The day after I retired I woke up as Hana, for the first time in 20 years. I suppose it’s out of habit that I still wake up at 7 A.M. and go for a run, but it’s been a few months and not much has changed.

My mom suggested I get a therapist.

That this major transition would be hard on anyone, but even harder on a prodigy who has been used to a regimented training schedule since she was 11.

I laughed it off, but after a couple of weeks I could feel the unease nagging at me, mocking me, asking me, “Who is Hana if there is no tennis?”

My therapist says a lot of high achieving people struggle with their self-worth outside of their profession. She challenged me to reconnect with friends I’d made at all stages of my life and I learned that being great at one thing left little time for love, creativity, music, and hobbies.

I also learned that I didn’t make many friends in my 32 years since I was too focused, too dialed in to waste time on anything outside of the goal. To be the best in the world I had taken on the mentality that everything outside of my goal was superfluous, but now I struggle to make it through the day.

“Who is Hana if there is no tennis?”

“I am…I am…”

“What are you feeling Hana?” my therapist asks.

“Scared. Confused. Angry. Lost.”

I’d had this rosy image of retirement, where I’d leisurely wake up next to a partner and make breakfast for us. Not just any partner if I’m being honest…him.

“I wake up at 7 A.M. and run 5 miles,” I find myself saying. “Then I make a breakfast smoothie. And then I remember that I don’t have anywhere to be and the depression takes over.”

“Have you been doing interviews?”

I shrug, “Not as many. They asked me to do commentary for the U.S. Open this year and I said I’d think about it.”

“What is your hesitation?”

I pause, thinking about what it would be like to live a tournament without participating in it. To see and comment on someone’s legacy that wasn’t my own. To one day have to announce that I’d been dethroned in my achievements and smile as if it didn’t bother me, when I’d probably just wonder if I’d retired too early.

“I never wanted to be on television. And I want to be able to answer the question who Hana is if there is no tennis.”

“It sounds like this time is providing you with a beautiful gift – to explore that question and your interests without limitations.”

She’s right, and I feel guilty for pitying myself when I have the freedom to do and go wherever I want. I let out a caustic chuckle and say, “I want to live in my games.”

“The ones you used to play on the road?”

I nod, wondering how serious she thinks I am and wondering if the statement is a joke at all.

“Why do you think you like them so much?”

“It’s fun to be someone who isn’t Hana. And it’s fun to fall in love.”

“Has Hana ever been in love?”

I think for a minute and nod.

“But you knew that, didn’t you?” I ask.

She shrugs and pushes her glasses up.

“I’m asking Hana the person, not Hana the superstar.”

“But our breakup was all over the tabloids…”

“Our time together is about you, not what’s in a tabloid.”

“Superstars have to date superstars. It’s like a law,” I say laughing. “What would Instagram think if I gave them anything other than aspirational?”

I’m lying but I can’t help myself, even in therapy my pride gets in the way of being honest. Dating him was never about appearances, at least, it wasn’t for me.

“Tell me about him.”

Eight years of memories flash in my mind, 22 to 30.

“We met after I won my first major. His movie premiere had him in Australia and he got tickets to the final. We ended up at an after party together and he gave me his number. It was good until it wasn’t and then he broke up with me.”

“That’s a very condensed version.”

I shrug again, feeling bitter that he seems to have moved on just fine and I haven’t dated anyone despite the rumors that pop up from time to time. I don’t feel like talking about how I kept pushing for us to move forward, with a vision for my retirement and life with him as he kept pushing for me to stay on the road. I don’t feel like talking about how much of our time was spent apart and how I suspected he preferred things that way.

That it was better to have a girlfriend too busy to take up more than an hour of his day on a regular basis than a girlfriend who could be present the way she wanted to be when we were together.

A pleasant chime goes off and she silences the alarm, noting we’re out of time and asking if next week works.

“My schedule is free,” I joke, but I feel annoyed that there’s nothing but endless free time and nothing to do with it.

When I’m home I open the games I referenced in therapy – the ones I jokingly call “choose your anime romance adventure games” with my mom versus their proper designation of “otome” games, as they’re known with the fandom online that I’m a part of. It’s only when I’m online that I feel like I can momentarily answer the question that nags at me, and that’s because no one know I’m me.

HanaLovesOtome the tumblr user is popular because of the screenshots she posts, not because she’s one of the most celebrated athletes of a generation.

She participates in every event and has spent an ungodly amount of money on special date stories and lottery gatcha items that put her consistently in the top ten featured users of Ikemen Inc.

She’s popular because people will ask her to purchase stories and games they can’t afford, and she’ll video record herself playing or twitch live stream the sessions so everyone can get a sense of what it’s like to fall in love with Ikemen Inc.’s most exclusive bachelors.

Even when I was on tour, I loved playing otome games because for a couple of hours I could stop thinking about my life and instead lose myself in a world overseas where I get to make choices for a protagonist whose name I’ve made my own as I decide what eligible bachelor she’ll fall in love with.

I’d found the games a year before we’d broken up, mostly by chance after seeing an ad on twitter that boasted, “The Perfect Boyfriend is in your phone - meet him now!” While normally I would have continued to scroll past, something about the caption had stopped me in my tracks. Looking back it was probably because the idea of the “perfect boyfriend” being in my phone was ironic having had such a drawn out long distance relationship in which it often felt that he only existed in my life virtually.

After entering my name for the main character I would be controlling, “Decoding His Affections” thrust me into a world that consisted of a simple illustrated background, paired with a cartoon character sprite whose various expressions matched the dialogue being said in the text box where the story played out.

While the prologue of “Decoding His Affections” was free, it ended with a prompt asking me who out of the five characters I’d just met, I wanted to get to know as my Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department partner and future perfect boyfriend. For the low price of $3.99, I could purchase one of five options and determine how my protagonist would fall in love. Depending on my dialogue selections, I was either granted a “Love Ending!” or a less desired “Happy Ending!”

Throughout the course of 13 interactive chapters, Sebastian went from being my underling, to my partner, and finally, to my boyfriend. As the protagonist with my name started to fall for Sebastian, I found myself enjoying the escape from my reality with a game “self” who always met with a positive response in love.

I soon found myself lost in a world where I could be transparent with my intentions without any fear of rejection. Sebastian clearly liked my main character back, but was conflicted about falling for a woman whose time in Tokyo had an expiration date. Even though their relationship was in a grey zone for the majority of the game, he was always warm, always loving, and most importantly, had responses that gave me butterflies as I read his poetic musings from a cold hotel room after a long day of training.

Seeing as how these games were a product of Japan, in addition to the subdued romance I also found myself getting a kick out of the cultural differences that were peppered throughout the story. Simple gestures such as the time that Sebastian grabbed her hand in order to protect her from an impending explosion, resulted in a shook inner monologue where my heroine wondered if her heart was racing from the danger, or because of the physical contact. There was something sweet about this world in which men and women shared a shyness around physical touching that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced as a Western woman. Handshakes, hugs, and even kisses on the cheek were something that happened in my life on a daily basis, yet I was suddenly living in a world via my phone where every gesture was laced with romantic subtext.

It was clear that the only thing Ikemen Inc. changed in their games was the names of their clearly Japanese love interests, in order to better appeal to a western audience. Other than that, their games remained true to their point of origin.

Looking back, our relationship was already strained with me hinting towards my expiration date and him pushing me to stay on the tour. The day I’d played my first otome game we were bickering over text about it, him convinced it would be better for both of us if I refocused on my career instead of settling down with him in his Calabasas home. As I achieved Sebastian’s coveted “Love Ending!” thanks to my carefully selected dialogue choices, I surprised myself by tearing up in which I read an ending where Sebastian confessed to me, or moreover the woman I whose life I was intermittently controlling, his undying love.

I’d felt a bit foolish at the time, having fallen prey to simple plot devices and romantic tropes, however Sebastian had done something for me that my relationship could not.

He’d managed to touch that part deep in my heart that still wanted to believe that romance was possible in this world, and more importantly, was possible for me.

In the weeks to come I found myself leaning on these games more and more as it became clear that my vision for the future did not align with his, it felt like every free second I was pouring myself into my fantasy life. By the time he ended things, I’d made way through the entire Ikemen Inc. catalogue of premium games and started to make my way into the exclusives with a higher price point, more beautifully illustrated scenes (CGs), and the Ikemen Inc. community leaderboard.

I play them a lot lately.

Maybe too much.

When I log in to my tumblr I see a message from my friend KittyGirl.

OMG Hana! Did you see they released Tyler Holland?

I saw and I played and I’m posting the full vid on twitch later ;)

…

I wonder who KittyGirl is as she types, and I wonder if she ever wonders who I am. I wonder if she would care if I was Hana the superstar or if she even follows tennis.

A lot of the girls on here don’t.

A lot of the girls on here are much younger than I am.

I wonder if it’s weird I don’t have many friends my age and that the people I feel closest to at the moment are all usernames in my feed.

STOP HANA YOURE THE BEST!

I smile because it gives me a sense of purpose and I haven’t felt that for some time.

It’s really good. He might be in my top 5 boyfriends.

NO. Really!?

Really.

Sometimes I wish that the men in my phone would come to life. That one day I would wake up and Sebastian would be there in human form, not his two-dimensional anime character form. I’ve thought about what he would look like if he were real.

Not just him.

Him and all the others I’ve dated over the years.

I wonder what it’d be like to date someone you know would never leave you.

Who could be that perfect boyfriend, or husband, or father.

It’s just as I’m thinking about this again that my phone chimes, letting me know I’ve received an email. I’m surprised to see it’s from Ikemen Inc. and that HanaLovesOtome has been invited along with the four other top Ikemen community users for an all-expenses paid, one month vacation to Ikemen’s Dream Resort.

My gut reaction is to scream, “Yes!” but then I remember I’m Hana the superstar.

What would people think if they found out?

What would the tabloids write if they saw me?

I pause.

Who is Hana if there is no tennis?

Hana is HanaLovesOtome.

And so I write an email back, deciding not to loop in my management team, and let the team at Ikemen Inc. know that I would be delighted to experience the resort. The response back is immediate and includes additional details and an NDA.

I skim the details of the agreement, relieved that I am not allowed to talk about the experience as that means no one else will and my identity as Hana the superstar will most likely be off limits to the press and send it back.

It all happens quickly and before the hour is up I’ve managed to secure my spot in the Ikemen Fan 5.

In the two weeks leading up to my departure, I no longer feel depressed or as if time stretches out in a way that makes me feel small and insignificant. I have an event to look forward to and arrangements to be made.

My therapist thinks a solo trip will be good for me and encourages me to journal and continue with the homework she’s given me outside of our sessions. My mom agrees that it will be good for me to have a real vacation which is something I haven’t had in years.

I’ve seen the world through touring but I’ve never really had time for tourism.

To that point, when I get on the plane it strikes me that this is my first time on a plane without the purpose of coming from or going to a tournament. I check two large suitcases and still bring a racquet in case I need the release of losing myself in a training session or two, despite the fact my performance no longer matters.

I wear the sunglasses I always wear to obscure my identity in first class and a wig and baseball hat and n95 mask, which always does the trip. At Narita airport, I see a man holding a sign that says “HanaLovesOtome” and I follow him to a town car that takes me two hours outside of Tokyo proper. It’s only when we pull off the main road, down a long skinny isolated one that I take off my disguise and breathe a sigh of relief that I managed not to attract the attention of any photographers or fans.

In my head I always saw Ikemen Inc. as a small developer, tucked away on a floor in a nondescript office building somewhere in Toyko.

The reality of their facilities surprised me, and we drove 15 minutes through dense woodland, past another small road with a sign indicating guest and employee parking - up to a manicured property where at the center was a sleek looking high rise. My driver stopped under the porte-cochere and helped me with my suitcases, triggering the mechanism for the large glass double doors to open which caught the attention of a man inside.

“Please, allow me to be of assistance,” he said, quickly grabbing the roller’s handles and helping me in to a spacious reception area. “I’m Roman and I run the resort division of Ikemen Inc.”

“Hana.”

There was something familiar about the way that Roman talked and the way he dressed that I couldn’t quite put my finger on as he introduced me to the woman at reception and made small talk about my trip. I engaged in the idle banter until the persistent feeling that I knew him from somewhere became so overwhelming that I finally found myself asking, “Have we met before?”

“Yes,” a female voice called out behind me.

I turned to see a girl, no older than 20 approaching us with a suitcase of her own. She wore the same expression that countless fans wore upon recognizing me as they rushed up to me and asked for a selfie except she was not looking at me, but at Roman.

“He’s Roman Hinton, from Ikemen’s Paradise Palace.”

“Ah, you’ve stayed with us in Paradise I assume?” Roman asked the girl smiling.

“Oh you have no idea,” she said dreamily, and it was then that I realized my wish of dating one of the men in my phone might come true.

That’s the end of my rough first chapter. Let me know if you want to know where we go from here and I might post more. Tagging @nitelotus​ since she asked to see it 

[minnie-marvel]

Crown Fell (Peter Parker x Reader) Part 4

Asgard has been destroyed and the time has come for you to live on Midgard with your brothers Thor and Loki. They’ve decided in order to live among humans you must learn to adapt to them, and what better place to do that then highschool? Don’t worry too much though, a very cute Peter Parker is ready to teach you and might be the Prince Charming you never thought you’d find on earth.

Peter Parker x Reader

Words: 1,848

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

A/N: Okay but we all know that we busted an entire tear when we saw Rue’s death scene in Hunger Games let’s be real for a second. I really wanted to get this out before my wisdom teeth removal so here ya go!

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You kicked your feet to and fro tapping furiously at the new phone in your hand. It was a gift from Tony Stark, a way to communicate with him and the rest of the Avengers should the time arise. You still sat on the barstool Peter leaning beside you as he helped you punch in his number as a contact.

“There! Now if you need me but I’m not here, you can click these and we can talk whenever you want,” He smiled innocently looking up at you his chocolate brown eyes making your cheeks flush as you looked at him.

“But…does that mean you’ll be leaving on a mission after this weekend?” You asked disappointment creeping into your tone. He waved his hands feverishly in response to whisk away your sudden sadness. 

“N-no I’ll still be here!! And at school too!! It’s for like when I’m not two feet away from you, you know?” he asked to help you put both of your minds at ease. Peter wasn’t sure if his heart could take another somber gaze from you.

You felt your lips smile and you nodded shoving the phone into his hands. “Now then! You’ll have to show this Instagram Flash was talking about, I’m quite curious!!”

Peter laughed and happily obliged starting to make your account for you. “Okay, what do you want people to call you on here?” He asked as you rested a hand on his shoulder while you watched, making a chill run down his spine.

“Hmm… it should be something inconspicuous… what would you suggest?” You asked blinking up at him.

“what about just your name? Or Y/N. O with some numbers or x’s?”

“PERFECT! Go forth Peter, I’m anxious for this Instagram to finally take shape,” You said eagerly as he tapped your name away with two simple x’s before and after your name and initials. He took a step back with the phone still in his hands your face perfectly fitting in the frame.

“Peter? What are you doing?” You asked curiously tilting your head to the side. 

“It’s not complete without a picture! Smile!” He cheered. It wasn’t like he had to ask you twice. The happiness in his voice was enough to make you break out in a huge grin.

Snap!

He set the picture as your profile icon and added it to your page without a caption before handing the phone back to you. “Now you can add and follow people as much as you’d like! I followed you,” he explained pointing to an icon of him and Ned in mid-handshake. You smiled at his profile scanning what few pictures you could before a notification popped on your feed. You squinted at your phone.

“Flash_99 has followed you…? How quick…” You whispered to yourself. Peter nearly fell over looking at your phone too. “I JUST made this account like… literally a minute ago!! God, he’s so annoying…” he muttered to himself throwing a hand through his hair. You shrugged and clicked the phone off before approaching Peter again.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I like you far better than I do Flash,”  You smiled before walking off, leaving Peter a blushing mess, that tried to struggle from melting into the cracks between the floorboards.

“Okay everyone, since it's our little princess’ first day home from school I thought it might be appropriate for a little catch-up party!!” Tony Stark had hopped over the large seat planting himself comfortably while swinging his legs over the sides. 

“Aww sweet a catch-up party??” Peter asked sitting on the floor right by Thor’s feet. “This’ll be great,” You sat between your two brothers as you usually did, blinking as the huge flat screen slowly descended from the living rooms ceiling. You leaned your head down to Peter. “what’s a catch-up party?”

Steve sat properly on a sofa close by while the rest of the Avengers who wanted to join you filtered in the room slowly. Some had bowls of popcorn, others bottles of sodas and cups to pass around. You turned to listen to Steve’s explanation.

“I’m older than the rest of these guys,” He explained pointing to the collective group with the back of his thumbs. “I come from a time that didn’t have all these different forms of technology, and movies and things, so every once in a while we throw one of these parties to catch me up to speed with how things are in the twenty-first century,” he took a cup and filled it with sprite before taking a sip of the bubbling liquid.

“This will be good for you too Y/N, it might help you with making some references,” Tony said grabbing the remote and turning the television on. “I think we’ll have to pick a teen movie for your sake, we’ve got Mean Girls, High-school musical, Twilight, The Princess diaries- I think you might actually enjoy that-”

You pointed your finger to one picture that had a serious looking girl pointing an arrow seemingly at you. “What’s that one?” You asked almost expecting for her picture to move.

“That? That’s The Hunger Games,” Peter answered tossing a glance at you. “It’s kind of violent though… are you sure you want to watch it?” He arched an eyebrow and you returned him with a sly smirk.

“You’re asking this to the person who pulled a knife on you earlier today?” You asked.

“What?!” The whole room erupted minus your brothers (Loki looked especially pleased) and Peter causing you to shrug sheepishly. “We were only playing!!” You defended flicking your wrist a dagger appearing in your hand in an instant.

“She can do the instant dagger thing too?!?!?” Bruce asked already letting his fingernails dig into the arms of the chair he sat in.

“Sister, your Loki is showing,” Thor said patting your shoulder. You pouted as you flicked your wrist again the dagger seemingly disappearing into thin air.

“I’ll try not to take that as an insult brother,” Loki chimed as he pulled you close to him. “It’s high time you showed your mischievous side!”

“Is that so Loki??” You erupted in a laugh pulling Thor with you as the three of you collided in a sort of dogpile on Loki, the combined weight of both you and Thor nearly choking him. He slapped your bodies away vigorously like a cat who had water dumped on them who sought out revenge.

Peter and the rest of the Avengers couldn’t help but stare. It was so odd to see Thor and Loki act so friendly. They weren’t complaining though, anyone would have preferred a happy Loki as to a sad one, or even worse- an angry one.  

“Alright, quit horsing around you three, I’m gonna start this baby up,” Tony said pressing play shuffling into his chair more. You suddenly found your attention drawn to the television as the movie started. 

You can’t say the violence shocked you or really anyone but Peter being that he was the one that was least used to the violent lifestyle that the rest of you were all accustomed too. You hardly reacted throughout the whole thing but listening to Peter’s commentary proved to be a bit funnier than expected. Halfway you found yourself sliding to the floor next to him because Tony threatened to blast him with his iron suit if he said one more lame pun. You of course still wanted to hear everything he had to say about the movie so you stayed close- much to your brothers’ dismay.

You hugged your knees as the pale light from the screen reflected onto your faces while the rest of you sat in the dark.  You suddenly felt your body go still as you saw a child have a spear thrown straight to her chest. As the protagonist sang softly to her body you felt your eyes sting, tears welling up inside them. Your lips pursed as you tried not to give yourself away, but Peter’s eyes were looking into yours from the side.

You didn’t see it but both of your brother’s body had tensed up uncomfortably as they forced themselves to watch the screen. Loki felt his nails dig into his own skin as he crossed his arms tightly and Thor’s teeth clenched so hard on top of one another that he thought they might break. They barely moved barely breathed until the scene was over. When it finished and the riot ended their eyes tore themselves from the screen and landed on you as you rubbed your shoulders.

They didn’t let their gaze shift from you for the rest of their movie because some part of them, even if it was a small part, feared that if they did, you might have ended up the same way as the poor girl in the movie.

After the credits rolled and the lights came on everyone broke out into individual discussions about the movie. You couldn’t help but attack Peter with questions.

“So they both were allowed to live with their lives?? How is the Capital not furious??”

“Oh, they are,”

“Then why are they still alive and fine?? Why couldn’t the little girl live too?”

“Well, there's another movie,”

Your jaw just about dropped as you leaned in close to Peter’s face. “Another?!” You asked. Peter couldn’t help but blush despite knowing that he had two Norse gods watching his every move. Your eyes were just so close to him, he could see the different specks of color in them seemingly glistening with excitement. 

“Y-yeah like… two more,” He answered averting his eyes shyly. 

“TWO?!?!?!?” You shouted. You grabbed his hands quickly in yours. “Peter, we must watch these immediately!! I have so many questions, so many thoughts so many-”

“Y/N, it’s getting late,” Thor said standing to his feet. “Perhaps you can watch in the morning, for now, we all need rest,” he said taking you by the back of your collar without breaking a sweat. He threw you over his shoulder. 

“Goodnight fellow Avengers, Peter,” he said not even bothering to glance back as you were carried away to your room.

“Tread carefully spider-boy,” Loki said in a soft hiss leaning down into Peter’s ear from behind causing him to jolt in place his heart jumping out of his chest in fear. He left him grasping at the cotton shirt he wore breathing heavily a soft “oh my god,” escaping his lips.

Peter wasn’t sure if he had just made two very powerful adversaries or not, but he wasn’t going to try and push their buttons to try and find out.

Meanwhile, you sat in your bed still trying to figure out how the foreign application on your phone when you saw a number one pop onto a small bubble at the corner of your screen. Curious to what it did you clicked onto it blinking at the message it held.

‘Hey Y/N, I’m gonna be throwing a dope ass party at my house tomorrow night, you should totally come ’

Part 5

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“Crown Fell” Tag

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[seriouslyhooked]

False Alarms (A CS AU) Part 4/?

Modern AU where Emma is a Boston police detective and Killian is firefighter. They both get called to a fire in progress but it ends up being a false alarm, however there can be no denying the sparks between them. Includes fluff and my usual attempts at humor as well as a touch of fake-dating and meddling friends. Inspired by the song ‘False Alarm’ by Motoma and Becky Hill. Rated M for future chapters.

Part One, Part Two, Part Three ; Also on Fanfiction Here.

A/N: Hey all! This chapter was originally going to bring us to the two first dates, but I ended up writing a lot more for the first one than expected. As such this chapter just looks at their real first date from Emma’s POV. Next chapter we will get banquet from Killian’s POV and that will show us some of the strangeness of this whole fake dating dynamic. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!

“I still can’t believe you - Emma Nolan - said yes to a date. I mean the level of shock I am experiencing right now knows no bounds. It’s like that time we found out the people breaking into all those Baskin Robbins shops were old ladies just chasing a high. That’s how crazy it is that you’re going on an actual date.”

The commentary from her best friend made Emma’s already present butterflies spring back up to the surface. Truth be told, Emma had been fighting off these nerves all day, and the anticipation of the evening before her had been on her mind constantly, but she was purposely avoiding direct mention of it.

Clearly Ruby hadn’t gotten that memo, and she was not only bringing up Emma’s impending date, but comparing it to one of the most insane busts they’d ever made while on the force. Now Emma almost regretted telling Ruby the whole truth about this fake/possibly real dating with Killian. Not that Ruby hadn’t had her suspicions. She was Emma’s best friend and upon seeing the photo in the paper with the caption claiming she ad Killian were an item, Ruby immediately knew that the story was bogus. Emma was not dating Killian Jones, because if she were, Ruby would know and she would have already given Emma enough grief to last a lifetime.

“Ruby, it’s not like I’m a hermit.”

“Never said you were, but you know what an actual date entails right?” Her friend asked before filling in the details herself. “Flowers, food, wine… the man is going to open doors for you and pull out your chair. This isn’t some ‘we met in a bar and skipped the last names’ hook up. Your Sergeant is going hot and heavy on this, I guarantee it.”

“He’s not my anything, Ruby,” Emma professed, and then she began rambling more for the sake of not getting her own hopes up than Ruby’s. “This is just dinner. Honestly we’ll probably both realize that there’s nothing beneath the surface of whatever this is, we’ll learn a few details about each other to get us through my parents’ insane PR idea, and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

Emma felt a bad taste accruing in her mouth as she uttered these words, probably because they were so clearly false. Emma was actually hoping that everything she’d just said would be proved incorrect tonight. After a few days of texting and building the excitement, Emma was eager to see where Killian would take her and to get the chance to find out more about him. She had the basics of course (her status as a detective wouldn’t allow her to not do a little digging after all) but she didn’t know the man underneath that swagger and charm, at least not yet.

“Oh sure. You wore your best dress for a guy you know will be a dud. Totally believable.” Ruby flopped down on the chair in Emma’s living room waving her hand in the air like she couldn’t even entertain that thought being in the air around her.

Emma looked back down at the classic black dress she had on and she bit back a smile. Ruby was right. This was her best dress, and Emma had chosen it for that reason. Then she’d gotten frustrated at herself for not having more color in her closet. If ever there was a time to liven it up a bit that time was now, but aside from the gown she’d worn for the gala, Emma wasn’t exactly racking up bright ensembles.

“Is that your way of saying I look okay?” Emma asked and Ruby scoffed.

“You look hot as hell and you know it, Emma. Just get out of your own head, and whatever you do don’t tell that story about tazing that guy Belle set you up with.”

It probably shouldn’t make Emma smile to think back on that night. It had been the single worst date she had ever been on, and she only went because their friend Belle had been begging to set Emma up for months, but even Emma couldn’t dream up that ending. An unintelligent, borderline rude, self-absorbed guy talking her ear off about stocks all night was one thing, but when she found out he had a warrant out for his arrest in three states for fraud and then he tried to pull a butter knife on her for confronting him, it really clinched the title of most horrific date ever. Emma’s one silver lining had been tazing him when he tried to get away from her and the backup she’d called in, and all these years later that was the part of the story that stuck with her most. He’d made a hilarious sound when going down, and she’d taken just a tiny bit of joy in that pain. He’d been a real asshole after all and he’d conned a lot of people out of their hard-earned money, thus the warrants.

“Really? It’s a pretty good story. I could just leave out the part about how he lost a testicle,” Emma joked and Ruby looked liable to launch into a big long speech about why it wasn’t when she realized Emma was kidding.

“Very funny,” Ruby said, and right then the buzzer for Emma’s apartment went off.

“Shit he’s on time!” Emma yelled, not realizing that was a thing. Then again she never let anyone meet her at her apartment so maybe she should have known. Emma glanced around trying to figure out if she needed anything else as Ruby laughed and put her hands on Emma’s shoulders.

“Emma, chill. You are going to be great. Your instincts are never wrong, and you like this guy, so trust that. Plus he has a great date planned for you,” Ruby tossed in that last part off-handedly as she grabbed her coat to go.

“Wait! How do you know about the date?” Emma asked, frustrated that her friend had known all of this time and never mentioned anything until right now.

“Graham told me.” Ruby said that like it was completely obvious.

“Of course he did. You know I’m gonna get you back for not telling me when you knew I was stressing about what to wear, right?”

Emma’s threat was mostly empty, but there were a few ideas rattling around in her head about ways to even the score with Ruby, like bringing her lunch all next week and not giving Ruby the leftovers, or getting to the station house early every day so she got to drive and Ruby had to sit on the passenger side.

“You’ll be singing a different tune after tonight, girl. Now buzz the man up or he’ll freeze out there.”

Emma heeded her friend’s advice and she used the last thirty seconds or so to get herself together. She heard the distant sound of Ruby greeting Killian in the hall and him saying hello back, but when he knocked on the door, Emma felt her heart leap. This was it. She was actually going on a date with the guy her parents insisted she fake date. Emma shook away that line of thinking, trying to avoid the headache that came whenever she lingered on it. Instead she opened the door, and felt the air rush out of her lungs when she saw Killian.

Hot did not do this man justice, and Emma had a moment where she just stared. Taking him in and seeing the way he looked somehow better than he had in either a tux or his fire gear, Emma felt completely overwhelmed. Honestly it just wasn’t fair. No guy had a right to look this good or to walk this line between formal and casual, but Emma’s one real consolation was that as obvious as her staring was, Killian’s was just as bad, and he got a hold of himself only after she said hello.

“You look stunning, Emma,” Killian finally said and Emma knew that he meant it, which escalated the flips her stomach was doing right now.

“Thanks, you look…”

“I know,” Killian added easily and though it was a cockier thing to say, Emma could sense he’d done it to help cut through some of this fog between them. Then he handed her a bouquet of flowers that were beautiful, and again, unexpected. “These are for you, love. I know you said flowers weren’t really your thing when you texted but-,”

“I lied,” Emma confessed and then looked back up to him. “I love flowers. Or at least ones like this. But if you’d walked in here with an armful of those artificially colored daisies…”

“I shudder at the thought. No, these I chose for one reason. They reminded me of you, and the dress you wore at the gala. One look and I knew I couldn’t walk away from something so beautiful.”

Emma felt herself blush at the compliment that might have been construed as being about flowers but Emma knew was really about her. She snuck inside to put the blossoms in water quickly before coming back and taking his outstretched hand. There was only the briefest of hesitations on Emma’s part, but when her hand was safely in his, Emma had no regrets. Wherever tonight was headed, she wanted to go there, to see once and for all if these feelings she’d been carrying since meeting Killian could add up to something more.

Despite the fears Emma had about first date conversation and her own often bumbling awkwardness, Emma found herself really enjoying the company, and after a few requisite jokes about him knowing how to drive on the right side of the road, Emma eased into the dynamic between them. She was actually so comfortable that she neglected to notice their surroundings until they were already about twenty minutes outside of the city. Sensing her surprise, Killian commented on the decision to leave Boston tonight.

“I figured there would be a little more peace of mind if we left behind your parents’ stomping grounds. And to be honest, I was hoping to take you somewhere you’ve never been. As a native of the city, that seemed a harder prospect within Boston’s city limits.”

“That was a good call. So where are we going then?”

“Just outside of your parents’ kingdom,” Killian joked and then nodded. “Actually we’re already here.”

Emma peered through the windshield and watched as the roads they’d been on gave way to a beachfront property in the style of an old Victorian mansion. The beautiful blue color of the old home was crisp and clean even now in the winter months, and though there was snow on the ground, it was less extensive than back in the city thanks to the ocean being so close. The sun was long gone, but on a night like this one when the moon was full and the stars were out in full force, and when the old lanterns the house boasted were lit and lining the pathway to the front steps, this was a truly spectacular view.

“Want to go inside?” Killian asked when he’d parked the car and Emma was still just staring at the house. She nodded, allowing him to grab her door for her and lead her towards their destination.

The interior of this home was no less amazing than the outside, but Emma was amazed to find that it wasn’t a home or a hotel, but a restaurant. The sign at the door read Arendelle Café but that last word didn’t do this place justice. It was torn from the pages of a historically accurate period piece set here in New England, but it was also warm and inviting. The fireplaces were lit, and the seasonal decorations remained while the house was filled with a smell of really yummy, and exceptionally comforting food.

“There’s something I should probably tell you before we begin, love,” Killian said, suddenly sounding a little nervous and Emma looked at him with a smile, kind of enjoying his being thrown off balance.

“Oh?” Emma prompted, but before Killian could respond, a small woman with big eyes and a very expressive face arrived, looking positively joyous at their coming.

“Killian, you made it! And you must be Emma. We’ve heard so much about you. I’m Anna. And this is…” Emma watched as the woman looked around and then rolled her eyes. “My husband Kristoff was here a second ago, but with that man he’s here one second and distracted by something shiny the next.”

Emma swore she heard Killian cursing under his breath and muttering about Anna being too pushy for her own good, but Emma just gave him a look before extending her hand in greeting to the woman, who though very enthusiastic, was also kind and easy going.

“It’s nice to meet you, Anna. This place is beautiful. Is it yours?” Emma asked and Anna beamed with pride and nodded in response.

“Sure is! It’s been in the family for a long time, but I finally convinced Elsa to let me make it into this. It wasn’t like she and Liam were ever going to move out of the city, and a home like this one deserves to be lived in, even if people only stay for a little while at a time.”

“Liam?” Emma asked, this time to Killian and he scratched behind his ear. That name had come up a few times in their drive up here, but never in regards to their date specifically. What did Killian’s brother potentially have to do with this?

“As I was trying to tell you love, Anna here is my brother’s wife’s sister. Though I was informed that she and Kristoff were off tonight.”

Well shit. Did that change things? Emma wondered. Because now she was meeting his sort-of family and it was only a first date. Then again, Killian had already met her Dad, and he hadn’t been nearly as excited or inviting as Anna was being right now. The way Emma saw it that were probably even.

“We are off. We just wanted to see the girl you’ve been chatting up so much to Elsa. I swear we were going to be sneakier about it, maybe just do a tiny bit of spying from the back when you guys walked in, but then there was a scheduling issue and I was out here in the open. Next thing I knew you were here,” Anna offered, like all of that was totally normal to say to someone. Emma couldn’t help smiling though, because even if it was bizarre, she had to admit there was a definite humor wrapped up this reception.

“A likely story. Now, Anna, I beg of you, can you just show us to our table and put me out of my misery? Here I was half way to convincing Emma I’m a catch and then you come and muddle it all up.”

Emma rolled her eyes at Killian’s claim (even if he was technically right about her being closer to accepting that this attraction between them wasn’t going to be fading away any time soon) and the gesture pulled a huge grin to Anna’s face. She seemed about to make more comments when a man came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. From the easy affection between him and Anna, Emma assumed this was Anna’s husband Kristoff.

“I think we’ve done enough damage tonight, Anna. Let’s give them a fighting chance, alright?”

“Oh alright. It was nice meeting you, Emma,” Anna offered honestly and Emma nodded.

“You too, Anna.”

From there Killian made his goodbyes to Anna and Kristoff and then an attendant brought Killian and Emma to their table. They were completely alone here in a private room with a wall of windows in antique design clearly made new. That theme of restoring tradition while adding a timely feel carried through all of the furnishings here, but the best part of this space was they had a view of the water here, but also the intimacy of one of those fireplaces crackling off to the side. Emma had to admit it was incredibly  romantic. As someone who largely avoided romance, she was stunned at just how nice it was without being too exaggerated or over the top.

“Be honest with me, love. How dismayed at you over that display? I knew it was a risk bringing you here, but I hoped to avoid all that and just show you a good time.” Killian posed the question as he pulled Emma’s chair out for her and she immediately thought back to Ruby’s words from earlier about what made something a real date before sending him a smile.

“It was actually kind of nice to see I’m not the only one with a family who doesn’t know how to respect boundaries.”

Emma’s words allowed for a clear sense of relief to settle on Killian’s features, and Emma was glad to give him that. She was so eager to see him enjoying himself actually, that she reached for his hand across the table much to both of their surprise, but he didn’t pull back, instead running his thumb across her knuckles lightly.

“Is that a typical problem in your world, Emma? I know the comparisons to their success have caused you trouble, but don’t tell me they’re also – what’s the term – helicopter parents?” Killian’s musings pulled a real laugh from Emma, because he’d hit the nail on the head with that word choice.

“You have no idea. Don’t get me wrong I love my parents, but they’re just ever-present, you know? They hate thinking that there’s something about me they don’t know and my mother is a world class detective, so there rarely ever is.”

Emma left unspoken how this date was even more risky in that regard because Killian already knew that. It was why he’d taken her out of the city, and as someone who had lived here for only a brief amount of time, Emma was amazed that he’d found them somewhere so beautiful to go, even if it did have a tie to his family. This was perfect, and Emma was already feeling her old worries of being found out easing away.

“Aye. I think if we put them in a room with my brother and Elsa, it would be a show down of who can love their family more. I’m not sure who would win.”  

The idea made Emma laugh again because she’d seen Killian’s brother and sister-in-law in passing at the state house on the rare occasions that her testimony brought her out to that district in the city. They were both hard working from what she knew, and damn good ADAs. There was even talk of Liam ascending to the District Attorney position some day, but who knew? Maybe Elsa would be the one to take the job. Either way it was funny to think of her parents taking on two lawyers and trying to prove they loved her more than Liam and Elsa loved Killian.

At that moment the waiter came to take their order and Emma realized she hadn’t even looked at the menu. She ended up deciding to trust the special as Killian did, and she accepted the glass of wine that came from the bottle the chef recommended with that dish. It was a perfect blend, not too sweet or too dry, but just right, and Emma felt herself relaxing as she stole a sip of it. Meanwhile, Killian watched her curiously.

“Something on your mind?” Emma asked, and Killian took her question as permission to launch into an unexpected confession.

“Look, Emma,” Killian began, his sincerity and seriousness showing on his face. “I want you to know that I’m not sitting here fearful of your parents finding out about us or about this. I don’t need this to be a secret. I’m not worried about my job or reputation or anything of the like. But I know the position you’re in and that there are still some walls I’ve got to get past before you can trust me enough to choose me. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but someday I’m hoping you’ll be sure enough in me to do so.”

Emma hardly knew how to respond to that. It was an abrupt stream of honest feelings from a man she was still getting to know, yet who seemed so sure of her already. It perplexed Emma how Killian could appear so certain. He was talking about choices and by association commitment, and Emma knew that if she asked him the same question he’d choose her without hesitation. But he also seemed to respect that she wasn’t someone who moved so quickly, at least not in instances where her heart was truly engaged. It was almost like he needed to be honest with her, and she respected that even if his ability to give himself away so freely scared her a little.

“So you’re planning to stick around long enough for me to make that choice?” The idea was so foreign to Emma, because she just didn’t have romantic interests in her life who stayed. Recently that was her choice, but there were a couple of guys in her past who had ended things before she could, either because of her parents or because of their own asshole tendencies.

“Aye.” That one word held so much promise that Emma swore she felt the impact in her chest.

“And you’re ready to say that, even though we’ve barely even started this date?” Emma asked, her voice thick with emotion.

“I was ready to say that since that day on the fire escape, love. Granted I didn’t ever think to myself that we’d be fake dating at the same time I try to woo you for real…” Emma laughed as Killian trailed off and then he raised her hand up to kiss and finished his thought. “But I did think you were different and I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try and chase that feeling I found with you out there that day. That same one that keeps cropping up every time you’re near.”

“And what feeling is that?” Killian’s thumb ran along her wrist, pulling a flurry of sensation from her and a tiny shiver of desire as well.

“Like this is right. Honestly I’m out of my depths here, love. Until last week I thought myself content with just my work and nothing else. But now that’s all changed.”

“Because of me.”

Emma filled in that part definitively, but saying it out loud didn’t make it any less remarkable. It was so much for him to say so early, but even if his hints at making this last triggered old anxieties, the resounding feeling in Emma’s heart was relief because she trusted Killian and because she valued his not making this a game. These weren’t the words of a man going after his Fire Chief’s daughter just because. They were those of a person who was risking a bit of himself to potentially find happiness with her.

“Yes, because of you. Now, tell me I haven’t just made a huge mistake in saying all that,” Killian’s eyes portrayed a desperation that his tone concealed slightly better.

“You haven’t. I’m still here right?” Emma asked, squeezing his hand lightly.

“Astonishingly yes.” Emma smiled at Killian’s tone of wonder, like it was some kind of miracle that she wasn’t sprinting away form him. Come to think of it, it just might be given her track record.

“Well for the sake of honesty, you should know I don’t do this,” Emma admitted.

“What have dinner?” Killian joked and Emma smiled.

“No, I don’t have dinner with guys who openly admit to liking me and wanting to build something with me before we so much as hit the salad course. Call it a quirk, but it’s not my usual M.O.” Emma didn’t know what he’d do with her blunt statement, but the laugh that Killian rewarded her confession with made her feel so much better.

“I think it’s fair to say we’re wading through an unusual situation, love.”

Emma felt the same pulse of excitement at his use of that endearment. It always caught her by surprise, but the way that word sounded falling past Killian’s lips warmed her up inside. She was in serious trouble, but the only comfort for her quickly slipping control was that Killian seemed to be right there with her.

“Is that what you’d call it? I’d say it’s more nightmarish. I mean you realize that tomorrow it’s going to be me, you, my parents, and about a hundred other cops who all know me and my family, right? Some of these people have known me since I was a kid, and most of them are going to be overbearing and nosey in a monumental way.”

“I wasn’t speaking of that particular element, Emma. I was thinking more of the two of us. This spark between us isn’t your run of the mill, fleeting interest, at least not on my end.”

How any one could maneuver Emma from the disgruntled worries she’d slipped into from mentioning tomorrow’s banquet to this soft, melting person so quickly Emma didn’t know but Killian had done it. He managed to pull her from the mire of the mess her parents made and back into this date. No one else had ever brought her clarity like this, and it was intoxicating, to feel so much and yet not be totally petrified into making a run for the nearest exit.

“So you don’t go hitting on women on fire escapes very often?” Emma asked and Killian shook his head.

“You’re the first,” Killian confirmed and Emma smiled.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way, Sergeant.”

Emma’s flirtatious words set them off into the rest of a beautiful evening and the night that followed blew all of Emma’s expectations out of the water. The food was fantastic, the wine just as good, but Killian’s company was the best part of all. He was witty and funny, kind but able to give himself and others a fair bit of grief in the stories he told, and more than anything he knew when she wanted him to listen and when Emma began to feel slightly too exposed. It was astounding, watching him navigate every topic like an expert in her and her wants and needs, and by the time dessert was pulled away, Emma felt like she’d given Killian a view into her world and her mindset that very few people had.

“I have one last place I’d like to show you if you’re interested,” Killian said when the food was all cleared away and Emma could see that he was looking to her for opinions. One signal on her part that she didn’t want this and he’d toss aside his plan, but Emma did want this and she wanted to see what final thing he had in mind that could top the rest of this evening.

“Lead the way,” Emma said, accepting his hand again and following Killian through different corridors he seemed to know and up three flights of steps and into a final room that Emma never would have expected.

Like the room downstairs where they ate dinner, this room was home to a multitude of windows but not just along the walls. There were extensive skylights that were crystal clear, and though this structure posed a clear difference from the original design of the house, the end result was amazing. There were a sea of stars above them, and from this height the overlook out into the sea was further. At this vantage, the shores around them could be clearly seen cast in that same pale white light from the moon, and looking almost ethereal in their pale glow.

“I’m told sunrise over the water here is breathtaking, but to be honest, I’ve always preferred the stars.” Killian’s words were whispered, but with him standing so close, Emma could feel the rumble of his chest and the vibration of his cadence singing through her.

“Yeah, I’ve never been a fan of early mornings,” Emma replied in an attempted joke as Killian led her to the best spot by the gorgeous overseeing windows. In that spot there was a perfect view of the sea and stars together, and with the light pollution of the city far enough away, Emma swore she could see every constellation.

Emma took it all in, marveling at everything up here, but it only took a few seconds for her to be distracted by Killian’s closeness and the way it felt good to have him here. He was this strong, imposing presence, but there was no threat in his being so near. It felt good. Better than good actually. It felt like Killian had been entirely correct when he said this thing between them was right. It worked for whatever reason, and Emma didn’t feel the need to question it. Instead she wanted to explore it.

“What did you used to wish for?” Emma asked, turning back to Killian and seeing his eyes had never strayed from her face. “As a kid, when the first star appeared in the sky?” 

“It varied. Sometimes I wanted my Mum to buy more dessert than she was given to and for her to bestow it all to me before Liam could find it and eat it all as he usually did. Other times I wanted school cancelled for any old reason. It didn’t matter which one as long as I didn’t have to sit through history or Latin.” Emma laughed at his choices, knowing she’d had a fair share of similar wishes.

“No ponies or puppies for you?” Emma asked and Killian smiled.

“Definitely no to the former, but I think I asked for a dog once or twice, and by once or twice I mean a few dozen times,” Emma chuckled again, knowing she’d asked at least a hundred times for one. But her Mom was allergic, and by the time she was out on her own Emma was working crazy hours at the precinct.

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to that age, when everything seems possible. When the most ridiculous wish has a shot of being answered just because you want it bad enough.” Emma admitted, thoughtfully. She expected agreement from Killian, but instead he moved closer to her, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek.

“And what do you want, Emma? In your heart, what’s the one thing you want most right now?”

The question filled the space between them, and though there were arguably dozens of things that Emma might want in her life, there was only one thing she could think of right now. She decided to go for it and see if maybe she might make her wish a reality. She moved closer to Killian, pulling him down by the vest he was wearing and kissing him the way she’d wanted to since first stumbling into him on that fire escape.

To call this a kiss was almost too tame, for the fire behind it was intense and burning brighter than anything Emma knew. It was the culmination of all the back and forth they’d had going for a while now, and it delivered every ounce of interest, and every drop of chemistry that had been flowing between the two of them all that time. Emma felt branded by his lips on hers and the way Killian pulled her flush against him, inciting her whole body into a flurry of unbridled need.

Never had a first kiss held so much promise and so much satisfaction. There was just something about the way Killian tasted and the way he gave as much as he took that set her whole body aching for more. Yet that didn’t compare at all to the look in Killian’s eyes when they broke away. There, swirling in the dark blue pools that Emma couldn’t get enough of, was so much feeling and emotion and heart it made Emma believe in things again. Things that she hadn’t ever considered (about finding the one person who was right for her or who could make her world better) since she was a little girl who loved fairytales and stories about magic.

“Did that answer your question?” Emma finally asked, watching Killian’s triumphant grin appear when she did.

“Aye, love. It certainly did.”

After a little while longer spent there under the stars talking and stealing a few more of those invigorating kisses, Killian and Emma both decided it was time to head back. But when their drive back into the city came to an end, and Killian had walked Emma up to her front door once more, there was a feeling of not wanting things to end just yet that Emma knew they both felt together. Her hand was in Killian’s, and she tilted her head up to meet his gaze, seeing the same barely restrained passion on his face that she felt simmering inside her.

“You know we never got to have that drink that you mentioned at the gala. We could remedy that now if you want to come in,” Emma proposed, knowing that there would be a whole lot more than a drink if he said yes, and not caring in the slightest. Sex on the first date was totally fine with her. Actually it was pretty damn necessary given all the things that she was feeling.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Killian teased and Emma opened up the door, letting him inside, and the second the door shut behind them they were on each other again.

This kiss was able to move faster than the one before, and the slow perusal they were allowed back at the restaurant, gave over to something more demanding and needy on both sides. Emma reveled in the feeling that she was swept up in Killian and he was just as wrapped up in her. It was a total rush, but still it wasn’t enough. They moved to the couch, and the next thing Emma knew, Killian was above her, and she was arching closer, needing things to speed up and for him to meet her at the edge where she was already residing. The feeling of his hands on her body and his warmth above her made Emma crave so much more.

“Emma, much as I might like to continue this, I think maybe we should -,”

Emma knew he was going to say something about waiting (because if ever she’d met a guy who would play the gentleman card it would be Killian), but before she could try and convince him to live a little dangerously, the buzzer to her apartment went off, announcing someone’s request to get in from downstairs.

“Expecting someone?” Killian asked humorously and Emma shook her head, assuming it was maybe someone for another tenant, before hearing the voices that crackled through the speaker.

“Emma, honey, it’s Mom and Dad. Your car is out front and the light is on in your room so we know you’re up. Let us in.” Her mother’s voice was way too chipper for this time of night and it cut through the moment she’d just been enjoying with Killian so quickly, Emma felt like she had whiplash.

“Shit!”

Emma jumped up from the couch, trying to figure out what the hell to do in a dreadful scenario like this one. There was no second way out of the building currently because of construction in the back alley, and the snow outside meant Killian’s shimmying down the tree by her bedroom window was also out. Crap! Emma never had a situation like this before. Hell she’d never even had a guy in her room at home all those years. She had no experience to go off of, and a rapidly dwindling window of time to find a solution.

“How do you want to play this?” Killian asked and Emma found herself rushing around trying to figure out what to do. In a second a plan formed, but it was bad. Honestly it would probably fail miserably, but it was the only one she had and she needed Killian to go along with her on this. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her bedroom, putting him in there and pushing him down on the bed, ignoring the continued smile on his face when she did.

“Look we’ve got two choices. Either you are super quiet and stay in here for five minutes while I get rid of them-,” Killian cut her off with a smile and a joke.

“You’re sure I can stay in here, love? Perhaps the fire escape would be more appropriate.” At another moment Emma would no doubt find that reference to their first meeting to be sweet or hilarious, but right now she was damn close to a full-blown panic.

“Or you explain to my Dad why you’re in my apartment late at night after a first date.” The humor from Killian’s face drained somewhat and he nodded.

“Good thinking, love. I won’t make a sound.”

“Emma?” Her mother’s voice came through as the buzzer sounded in her apartment again and Emma groaned as she opened her drawers up looking for the tools she needed to look un-date like in thirty seconds.

“Why don’t you just use the key?” Emma’s father said through the speaker, reminding Emma on some level that even if this was a nightmare it could have been so much worse because her Dad had a good point – what would have happened if her parents just walked in? Emma couldn’t stand thinking about it.

“I can’t find it,” Mary Margaret countered through the speaker.

“Can’t find it? But you never lose anything,” David said skeptically.

“Well there’s a first time for everything. Emma?” Emma ran back to the intercom.

“Hi, guys sorry. Come on up.” She pressed the button to let them in without another word and then ran back into her room.

Emma tried to make herself appear as normal as possible in the thirty seconds she had. She threw on a ratty pair of sweatpants and grabbed her bathrobe quickly, not even bothering to take off her dress as she tossed her hair up in a messy bun. She didn’t have time to wash off her makeup or anything like that, but she did spare Killian one last look and a truly apologetic expression.

“If we survive this, remind me to tell you how sorry I am and to thank you for everything that happened before this moment,” she said, shutting the door to her room before he could respond. She quickly turned on the TV and took one last glance in the reflection she saw in the window and sighed. God how had everything gone so wrong so quickly?

Just a moment later her parents knocked at her door, and Emma took a big breath in. She wasn’t well versed in lying to her parents by any means. Emma always preferred honesty and felt like to deserve the truth you had to speak the truth, but right now she was on a different level. All she could think about was getting them out quickly and none the wiser of her evening, and if she could pull that off she would finally be able to breathe again. She opened the door, ready to face whatever may come.

“Oh Emma, there you are. But look at you - you’re all red! Are you feeling all right?” Emma nodded, jerking back before her mother could put a hand on her forehead and check her temperature.

“I’m fine. Just really tired. What are you two doing out so late?”

“You make us sound so old,” Her Dad said hugging her quickly. “Your mother wanted cannoli and so we got some. We thought you might like some too.”

“Okay well thank you,” Emma said taking the box as her parents came in and made themselves comfortable. Emma noticed then that Killian’s jacket was still out here and she immediately ripped it from the couch before either of her parents saw it and chucked it to the ground behind her.

“You don’t want to eat it now?” Her Dad asked curiously, turning back to Emma. “You love everything from Mike’s.”

“I know, but I was actually all ready to get to bed. That much sugar so late and I’ll be up all night.”

“I didn’t think you were working tomorrow,” her mother replied, looking around the house as if searching for something, her eyes finally landing on Emma’s bedroom door, but she looked away and then Emma believed she might actually be getting away with it.

“I’m not but Ruby and I have plans so…” That wasn’t technically a lie, right? Especially since after this fiasco, she’d need grief counseling from her best friend to survive the mortification of this moment.

“Well in that case we won’t keep you. But we’ll see you tomorrow night, right?” Her father asked and Emma nodded.

“Yup. Wouldn’t miss it,” Emma replied, feeling profound joy as her Dad turned towards the front door.

“Her and Killian, David. Don’t forget, our Emma’s got a date,” Mary Margaret added, looking downright gleeful at the thought of Emma on a fake date with the man who was currently hiding in her bedroom.

“How could I forget?” her father grumbled, giving Emma a hug before heading into the hallway and leaving Emma with just her mother.

“I’m sorry honey, we shouldn’t have come over unannounced like this.”

“No Mom, it’s fine, really -,” Her mother squeezed Emma’s hand affectionately as a kinder way of cutting her off.

“It isn’t. We should have called first instead of assuming you didn’t have plans. I’ll try to remember for next time, okay? I love you.” With that and a final pat on Emma’s cheek, Mary Margaret Nolan left to meet her husband in the hallway, leaving Emma shaken but also slightly hopeful. Maybe she’d gotten away with this after all.

The moment that Emma closed the door behind her parents she felt herself slumping against it, totally and completely frazzled. On the one hand she was thanking every power in the universe that they (or at the very least her father) hadn’t realized Killian was here, but on the other she was so angry and terrified that they’d come at all. What they believed would be a thoughtful, well-received surprise had just thoroughly upended a night that was going really well. Now Emma had to face the music of that and hope that Killian wasn’t about to cut and run.

Turning around at the sound of her bedroom door opening again, Emma didn’t know what to say or do, but then she saw Killian’s smile and she froze. Wait was he laughing right now?

“Well I think I can safely say that’s not where I imagined the evening going. But it does make for a hell of a tale,” Killian said easily, and though he appeared rather laid back given the circumstances, Emma still felt a swell of anxiety.

“I’m pretty sure this is the part where you run for the hills and tell me that this is way more than you bargained for,” Emma said, resigned to the fact that this would likely happen, but then Killian was moving towards her and taking her into his arms again. His hand gently moved her chin up to look at him, and Emma held her breath in anticipation of what he would say.

“On the contrary, this is the part where I tell you that despite the familial surprises I had a wonderful time tonight. I can’t remember a better evening to be honest, twists in the road and all. It’s also the part where I beg you to consider more dates with me in the future because I don’t think one night like this could ever be enough.”

Emma responded to that request with the only answer she could fathom, another kiss that silently sealed her want to do that too. She poured a lot into that kiss: gratefulness for his being so cool about everything, joy at the fact that they’d come out of that relatively unscathed, and the bit more trust he’d earned by proving himself to be a good guy in this moment. Still, when Emma pulled back, she thought Killian deserved to hear her agreement as well as feel it.

“I’d like that. But maybe next time we go to your place at the end of the night?” Emma asked and Killian laughed. Emma knew he’d just found an apartment to move into since he’d mentioned it at dinner, and though it seemed inconsequential before, it was suddenly such a necessary turn of events.

“I think we can manage that,” Killian confirmed, his hand running over the small of her back soothingly. Emma immediately regretted this damn bathrobe, but she was too happy at the fact that he was still interested to feel truly bad about it.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Emma asked.

“Tomorrow it is,” Killian agreed and with one last goodbye, he was out the door and Emma was left alone to replay what had easily been one of the best (but also craziest) nights of her life.

Post-Note: So there we have it. I am having a lot of fun with this AU so far, mostly because it’s not like anything else I am writing or have written before. This chapter was a little closer to stories I have done in the past (because first date fluff is always a necessity), but between the ending and the banquet which I will be writing about next chapter, I am putting CS in the line of some interesting obstacles. Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story and let me know what you all thought!

[siodymph]

Symmrat Week Day 2

Boy howdy! his one is definitely going to be my longest submission for the week! I was a bit rushed to finish this all in time but hopefully it doesn't show too badly lol

Today's theme was an AU so i went with one i'd actually been thinking about, an Alternate Universe where everyone in Overwatch are Youtube gamers! Hope you all enjoy!

(Also RIP people on mobile, I’m sorry)

“That was an absoblutely booti- beu-… absobluty- Uhhhhggghh!”

“That was a wonderful game and I’m so happy to have experienced it. Thank you for joining me, if you wish please subscrur- errrr.”

Satya groaned as she deleted yet another recording of herself stumbling over her outro. Why was it only the ends of her videos that she got so tongue-tied? And when she did manage to get through her outro she’d rewatch it and realize she was making a weird face or her hair had been messed up. Was it too much to ask to do her English outro perfect by the fifth try?

After pressing her palms into her eyes she sighed and took a deep breath through her nose. She just needed to calm back down and stop over-thinking these outros. If she didn’t focus so intently on the English words then they would come much more naturally. She just needed to relax.

Satya looked over herself one more time in the mirror by her camera, smoothing down her hair and readjusting her shirt before taking one more deep breath through her nose. And attempted her outro one more time.

“That was a wonderful game and I’m so happy to have experienced it. If you haven’t already I highly suggest playing it for yourself. Thank you all for joining me in this playthrough. And if you wish please subscribe to my channel and see you all in my next video!”

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a close as she could get. If she just sat here all day trying to record one outro she’d get nothing else done. She might try recording it again later but for now that would make a good placeholder for then end. Now came the part she enjoy much more. Most of the other youtubers she talked with hated editing their videos, but personally she actually enjoyed it. Compiling the most interesting moments during her recordings and putting them together however she liked. Even though it could be a bit more time-consuming Satya always found it worthwhile. To have complete control of her videos. To make them exactly how she envisioned, down to the very second. To make them perfect.

But before she got started editing, she decided to check her email, many times when she started editing she’d go into a zone and miss out on plans with her friends or important messages from her advertisers. For almost two years now she had been in a symbiotic relationship with Vishkar Tech that had elevated the videos she loved making into a viable career.

Before their contract Satya, or rather her online persona Symmetra, had a decent audience that grew steadily by word of mouth. She was always complimented on her calming voice, positive outlook on games and always keeping things age-appropriate for younger viewers. As it turned out Vishkar Tech liked her videos too, especially the latter factor. Enough so that they felt she was the perfect gamer to be a face for their products. They offered her a deal where they would give her a paycheck for each of her videos, as well as promote her material. And in turn she exclusively used their products only. Her headphones, her keyboard, nearly everything, even her chair were all Vishkar’s top-of-the-line products. And now for two years she’d been able to do one of the things she loved the most thanks to their support.

As she went through her email, she found no new messages from Vishkar. However there was one new email, one she didn’t recognize. It stuck out almost painfully in her inbox full of formal, professional emails. Its caption read “wanna collab??”

Wanna. Not Want to. No capitalization. Not to mention the fact that there were two question marks. She could just see her old English teacher from school looking at this in horror and making corrections in red ink all over the words, if they could even be called that. The addressed seemed strange too, like it had been created by a child going on the internet for the first time. “thejunkergamer@” The only thing missing was a bunch of extra numbers and underscores.

She dreaded opening the email, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel curious. She’d never done a collaboration before. Mostly because she was seldom a big interactive person among the gaming community on youtube so no one had ever invited her into any crossovers or meet-ups. It did make sense though, with her growing popularity paired with Vishkar’s support she had become rather popular quickly, views on her videos increasing almost exponentially now. Who knew, it might be a fun change.

So not able to resist, and silently hoping this wasn’t actually a virus, she opened the email.

“Hi! So, your the great Symmetra everyones been talking about? I’ve seen a bunch of you’re stuff and I think your just great! Real chill and you seem like a nice person, got nice videos

Ok, this all started out as a joke in my videos. My mate Roadie and I would crack jokes about all the blokes who where “totally collabing” with us. And one or two times we may of brought up your name and it turns out, people actually liked that idea! Crazy right? So anyways it got big enough that a whole lot a people suggested you as a guest for our next crossover. But I dunno how this would all work. Since you’re in India and I’m bouncing around the States this year. Maybe if you’re in LA for that one convention thing we could meet-up then? I don’t know.

So email me back if your interested and we can figure all this out!

-Jamie (Junkrat) Fawkes”

Satya couldn’t help but stare at the email in slight confusion, like she was looking at strange modern art. It was legible but as Satya read through it she questioned if this could have been his real first language. At one point this so called Junkrat had written, taken the time to type “dunno” yet at another part had typed out “I don’t know” correctly. Why not write it correctly both times? How do you miss those kind of errors? The fact that the correct spelling was written near then end of his short email baffled Satya still. Who writes to someone they don’t know like that? “Yours” and “You’re” were mismatched all over, seeming random in choice of spelling.

The when she looked over the name and email again, she finally recognized it. He was on an Australian gaming channel, not one of the biggest household names but still rather popular. Their name regularly popped-up in the comments on her videos and in her searches. But she had never actually seen one of their videos.

She decided to change that now and looked up a playlist of some of his most recent videos, to see who she could potentially be working with. To be a popular face on youtube he had to be making interesting videos. And even if his form of entertainment wasn’t quite what Satya preferred to invest time in she had to respect the fact that he’d made video content a career for himself like she had. And who knew, maybe Junkrat would surprise her? What if behind his barely-legible email there was an engaging, entertaining series of videos that got him and his channel an audience.

Trying to keep an open mind, she clicked on one of the first video she saw. It was titled “Sonic ’06 Part 14: …”

She immediately regretted her choice when she saw the full title “Sonic ’06 Part 14: WHO WANTS TO BE SILVER’S B****??” The video began with someone yelling out a slew of swear words while a deep voice laughed in the background. Nope. Satya immediately got out of the video as soon as she could. That was way too loud and brash. She tried scrolling over the first video in the series, maybe they wouldn’t be so ridiculous with the first video. After all, it was probably just going over the tutorial, how bad could that be? She didn’t take any chances this time though, and scrolled over the title instead of blindly clicking on it.

Sure enough the full title was “Sonic ’06 Part 1: I WISH FOR THE SWEET RELEASE OF DEATH”

She made a mental note to just avoid any games related to sonic after that. After a few more minutes of searching she decided to try a video titled “Ocarina of Time Part 7: Tone Deaf Jam Sessions”

Throughout the video Satya found herself becoming more confused than anything. When Junkrat wasn’t yelling during difficult parts of the game he was just talking with his friend with the deep gravelly voice. Most of what they said had barely anything to do with their task at hand. Instead they’d either make terrible jokes or simply talk about their day. It was all rather mundane, like they were just two friends catching up over lunch. Most of the time they barely paid any attention to the game, Junkrat getting easily sidetracked. At one point their discussion about motorcycle repairs got so intense Junkrat accidentally walked straight into an enemy and got killed. And the strange character of a gamer would either laugh or scream at his own negligence while his friend would make dry comments.

This is what made them so popular? She’d seen many gamers rise to fame by just screaming throughout their gameplay but this was different. Sure they yelled plenty when it was expected but more so they would be trying to have an ordinary conversations. So much so it caused them to actually play worse, which by all expectations would mean they’d lose an audience, not gain one.

Another thing that was strange to Satya, the fact that they never showed footage of themselves. Most other gamers put in an small video of themselves in the corner of the screen but not them, they just showed footage of their game. If someone were to mute the game they would never even know someone was adding commentary.

But at the same time as she watched several more videos in the Junker’s Ocarina of Time series she felt herself grow a tad jealous. Sometimes she’d spend hours putting together her outfit and make-up for each of her playthroughs and for all she knew the Junkers were just playing in their pajamas. Actually. in a few of their videos they actually confirmed they indeed did. Satya couldn’t help but think of all the time she could save only voicing over her game play, but she knew that since she already made a habit of filming herself play she’d only get massive backlash for suddenly changing her videos. Not to mention Vishkar would probably be very cross with her if she suddenly stopped showing regular footage of herself using their products.

She stopped herself halfway through their series so she could go back to editing her videos, she still had her job to do after all. But as she went through her recording and began to piece together her video she kept mulling over Junkrat’s offer.

As her luck, or maybe her misfortune, would have it she had been invited to two different panels at the convention Junkrat had mentioned. Vishkar had already paid for her flight there and a room for the entire week. She would be there for the whole duration of the convention as well as the few days before, so she could afford the free time… Despite the email being a nightmare to read, he seemed nice enough. Maybe not a person she’d think to do a collaboration with, but it was still an interesting offer.

As for all the poor jokes, screaming and ridiculousness maybe it was all just an internet persona he and his partner put on for their show. Everyone who starred on a channel altered their personality one way or another. Even Satya had in creating her persona Symmetra. And despite being very much the same, Symmetra had never been a carbon copy of real-life self. Though Satya had to admit it would be nice to edit herself and her conversations much like she edited her videos, save herself from many embarrassing moments. Maybe the crazy persona of Junkrat was just that and Jamison Fawkes was a much more reasonable person to work with, one who just happened to have poor grammar. At least she hoped so…

But even if not, perhaps this could be the start of something. If she agreed to Junkrat’s invitation maybe it could open doors to more collaborations with the online gaming community. While she enjoyed working independently and was never one for large crowds or their chaotic noise she never hated the thought of having a few more friends online who she could interact with beyond the odd email every couple weeks.

Before she got too ahead of herself however, Satya realized she’d definitely have to ask Vishkar for permission before anything else. She hadn’t even thought of them. Would they even allow her to do crossovers? Especially with a persona as rash and vulgar as the Junker gamers? She decided to email them to ask before responding to Junkrat at all, just to be sure. And after she finished editing her current video of course. By the end of the day the newest episode in her playthrough of “The Deer God” was successfully uploaded and a full email was sent to Vishkar. Asking about a potential crossover and pleading her case for why it could be a further advancement for her channel.

Though as the email notification popped up on her screen, she couldn’t completely decide if she hoped they would say yes or no.

~~~~

A month later, and two days before the convention Satya wished Vishkar had said no.

If there were any difference between Jamison Fawkes and his online persona of Junkrat it was microscopic.

They had agreed to meet in the studio of some friends Junkrat knew to record their video. And when she had first arrived she still foolishly hoped that Jamison would be an actual person, and not the maniacal character he appeared like in all of his videos and emails. She couldn’t of imagined just how terribly, terribly wrong she had been.

After twenty minutes of nervously pacing around the small lobby of the recording studio Junkrat finally arrived. The only way Satya even knew it might be him was the sudden shouting and commotion outside and a car horn ringing out obnoxiously loud. That alone made her want to stay inside. But when even the receptionist hurried outside to see what was happening Satya decided enough was enough and she ought to find out what on earth the alleged Junkrat had done that was so outrageous. But as soon as she stepped outside and saw him she regretted it.

First of all was the parked car that looked like it had been crashed then left to rust for a hundred years. Chains and scrap metal decorated the thing as if it had just been driven out of an apocalypse. Then there was then man himself who stepped out of the car grinning from ear to ear.

A tall bean pole of a man crawled out of the vehicle, a raspy voice somehow shouting clearly over the growing crowd around them. His dusty goggles were pulled off his face and short blond hair that might have been gelled into spikes at one point were frazzled and wind blown out into every direction. And much to Satya’s fear the strange skin-tight grey shirt he was wearing wasn’t real. He was shirtless and that was all dirt.

There was only so much she could take, and as Junkrat and the crowd around him drew away from the car and towards the studio Satya raced back inside and to the restroom. She brought hands up to her scalp and groaned. Whatever hopes she had for this recording session going normally were dying and dead. How on earth was she supposed to work with that maniac? She wished she could just sneak back out of this studio and hide in her hotel. Maybe they’d believe her if she said she was sick all of a sudden and couldn’t make it in today?

But she’d already made a promise to record and they surely knew she was here by now. So instead she took and few deep breaths, splashed some cool water on her face and smoothed down her hair. And checking herself one last time in the restroom mirror, she went out to go meet Jamison “Junkrat” Fawkes in person.

She counted her lucky stars that the crowd that had come in had finally dispersed though it did little to quell the churning in her gut as she walked up to Junkrat. His back was turned from her as he talked with two other people Satya slightly recognized from other channels. As she approached Junkrat made no movement that he knew she was there. She looked to the two other people he was talking to but they made no effort to let him know either. That worry twisting her insides only coiled tighter at the awkwardness. For a moment she feared she’d have to tap him on his gross, dirt-coated shoulder, she hated anyone touching her in such an abrupt manner and dreaded having to do so to another person only slightly less. Instead, she cleared her throat loudly, a little rude Satya had to admit but at least she avoided having to touch him, and that finally got the Junker to turn around.

For a moment he looked completely lost and Satya feared for the worst but then his face suddenly lit up. “Oh! So we finally get to meet face to face, the great Symmetra! How’s it hanging!” He said. His voice could have almost sounded melodic if it weren’t so raspy.

When he put out a hand to shake Satya had to stop herself from recoiling, dirt coated his hands like gloves. “Uhhh…” Satya started, she didn’t want to be rude, but there was no way she’d ever want to touch that much dirt. Not even while held at gun-point. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance errr, Junkrat. But I’d rather not shake hands if I can help it.”

“Wut?” He said looking between her and his hand before realization finally dawned on his face again. “Oh yeah! Sorry about that, completely forgot I was wearing this stuff. Me and a few of my best mates just got done filming a prank video! It’s gonna be hilarious!”

Satya had seen a few pranking videos here and there, though she never was realty fond of any of them, but she’d never seen anything as outlandish as Junkrat’s get-up. And all for a prank-video? “And what sort of prank is this for?”

Junkrat smiled proudly with mischief clear on his face. “Mad Max. We signed up our car outside for Uber and then we went around town scaring the shit out of people! It was amazing, like we just rolled out of the apocalypse! I think my favorite when this little kid did the Sign of the V8 to us. It was just the cutest, you should have been there!” He looked like he would of kept going but then he shook his head and stopped himself. “But look at me going on and on when there’s a video to be made! I’ll show you back to the studio, we can pick out a game and get started!”

“Wait!”

Junkrat had been ready to leave when he turned back around to face Satya. “Yeah? Something wrong?”

“Aren’t you…” Satya really couldn’t find a nice way to say thing. But even if Junkrat didn’t, Satya at least had standards she hoped he could go by! There was only so much she could take today before she just overloaded. “Aren’t you at last going to try washing some of that… stuff off before we record?”

Junkrat gave her a blank look and then shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. I’ll just show you where we’ll be recording and you can get yourself all situated while I try and freshen up. Then we can find a game and go from there!”

To Junkrat’s credit he at least tried to wash off some of the dirt and make-up, Satya had to at least give him that. Even if it wasn’t much and when he came back into the recording studio he was more muddy than anything, she could tell he had at least try. He mentioned using a sealant on his arms and face which helped explain why it was such a pain to get off instead of normal dirt. Even if it still irked her and made want to grind her teeth in annoyance she could still realize that he’d tried at least.

Unfortunately, that was the last time he put forth any effort for the rest of their playthrough.

It started off mundanely enough. Together they had decided an old puzzle-platformer for their one-off crossover video. And after setting everything up, cameras, game, times, they stated recording and went through with introductions. It all went so smoothly, Satya decided she must have been lulled into a false-sense of security by it.

Then, inevitably perhaps, Junkrat grew bored. Just a little past the ten-minute marker it began. He had been telling her about his experience so far in America, Satya had actually been interested in what he was talking about, when he started trailing off suddenly focusing more on the game than he had ever before. Satya should have suspected something then but it was already too late. Suddenly a weird chirp sound came from the game and the whole screen seemed to lag.

“Oh no.” He said in a voice lacking any real distress. “Whenever I try to go to this room, everything gets all wonky.”

A look a pure mischief was on his face and Satya realized she wasn’t going to be in one of the calm JunkerGamer videos where they talk about their days, this was going to be a Sonic ’06 type of playthrough.

It all went downhill from there. Junkrat kept messing with the weird room, and at first Satya tried not to let it affect her. It was Junkrat’s channel he could make whatever mindless glitch-abusing video he liked. But it just… it was becoming way too much. She tried saying something, that he should just leave the stupid room before he broke the game and he’d just laughed. The game’s music grew more distorted, the pixelated designs started flashing. At that point Satya had snapped at him. That finally got him to turn and look at her.

“You alright?”

And then the game crashed.

But of course it couldn’t be an ordinary crash where the game just shuts itself down. No, instead the whole screen became flashes or blue and red and the whole game sounded like it was shrieking in chip-tune anguish, like a small robot was being murdered.

All she could see was red and she needed to get out of that room now. She could hear Junkrat and she told him to leave her alone. And then he’d left saying he’ll be back if she needed anything. She couldn’t clearly remember what happened after that but she found herself outside in the hallway. Breathing deeply through her nose, both her hands gripping her hair and unable to bring herself to look away from the floor. Normally she would have considered this an absolute, humiliating nightmare but at the moment she still felt too overwhelmed and pissed off.

She didn’t even know how long she was out there. But after some period of time, she heard someone coming down the hall and finally brought herself to look up. It was Junkrat, carrying two bottled waters and a plastic bag filled with snacks.

“Uhhhh, here.” He said, handing her the bottled water as a peace offering. She’d never seen him so shy before. She didn’t even know he could be shy.

She didn’t say anything back but still accepted the water.

“I… I am so sorry about that.” He said, fiddling with the bag of snacks instead of looking at her. “I shouldn’t of gone crazy on ya like that. Should of asked how you wanted things to go, from the start really.”

“You’re channel” Satya said.

“But it’s your crossover too… I’m sorry about all this, really. Do…” He took a deep breath to get whatever words he wanted to say in order and tried again. “Do you need me to call you a ride?”

The offer was tempting, so so tempting. She wanted to just go back to the hotel and forget this day ever happened. But at the same time, she still had a promise to go through with. Both of them had already told, even advertised to their fans that they were finally making this crossover. And Junkrat seemed sincerely sorry.

“No. I’ll stay.”

“Wait wut?” Junkrat was completely dumb-founded.

“On one condition.” Symmetra continued. “I pick out the game. We can still have commentary but I’d rather be in control.”

“Uh- yeah yeah, of course. Anything ya like.”

Massaging her head one last time, she pulled herself off the wall and together they walked back into the studio. She decided on “Endevor” an old game she’d been fond of back in her Newgrounds days. They set everything back up, wrote down their new time slot for editing later and tried their second attempt at a crossover video. Satya started the game with the keyboard, explaining to Junkrat what it was about and how much she’d loved it long before she began filming her playthroughs. At one point or another she ended up handing the game over to Junkrat to play and he seemed to enjoy it as well, mentioning how he always liked games with a free-world the most. He even finished his story about being in America. She realized somewhere between the American snacks she knew must sound awful on the mics and the calmer game and music she’d stumbled into something that felt right in the middle of one of her own playthroughs and one of Junkrat’s “talk-about-your-day” ones. It was all so pleasant. She was actually having fun.

But much sooner then either of them had expected, their time in the studio was up and they said their goodbyes before ending their video.

As Satya left for her ride Junkrat followed her out to the lobby of the studio.

So I’ll get the video done and send ya the finished copy before posting it anywhere?”

Satya nodded and smiled slightly. “Sounds like a fair plan.”

Her ride drew into the parking lot and she turned back to Junkrat. “Good bye then, Junkrat.”

“Thank you for doing this, really it’s been a lot of fun.”

Satya wasn’t too sure what to say, certainly not ‘you’re welcome’ though the words seemed to impulsively come to mind. “I enjoyed this myself. It went much better than I had expected.” Hopefully that sounded alright.

“Glad to hear it.” He said smileing. “But honest I gotta make it up to you.”

“No need.” She said, politeness being more like e a knee reaction.

“No no I mean it. Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said as she stepped into the car. “Take care of yourself, Junkrat.”

“Same goes to you ‘Metra!” He said waving.

Then just like that

~~~

Much later Junkrat went to work with Roadhog editing a bunch of their footage from the day. They’d been hoping to get thse videos out by the weekend in time for the convention. Hog was working on the Mad Max prank while he did the crossover with Symmetra.

So far it looked like the crossover video was going to be a bit shorter, barely scraping 15-minutes, than the normal half-hour material the Junker Gamers usually worked with. Junkrat had been tempted to use some of the recordings from the first half of their recording session but decided against it. Being an ass was only funny if A: the person you’re dealing with was a cunt or B: They were in on the joke and knew what was going on, and Symmetra had been neither.

But even being cut short, overall Junkrat considered this crossover a technical success. Sure, they may have gotten off on the wrong foot. And sure, the one and only Symmetra, calmest voice on the internet, had yelled at him and called him an ass. And sure, at one point she was about ready to walk out on their recording. And, actually if Junkrat were to grade himself on the overall this would be a failure, no arguments. Luckily Junkrat wasn’t looking at the overall, he was looking at the end result. And after finally getting his head out of his ass, and talking things through they had actually made a successful crossover playthrough. He’d even enjoyed himself the second half of their game. And Symmetra had become much more relaxed too.

He’d actually felt terrible that she’d gotten so overwhelmed, especially since he’d had his own moments of sensory overload and knew how much it sucked. He should have seen all those signs early on and backed off but instead he’d kept pushing and pushing, trying to be funny and keep the show going.

He counted himself lucky she didn’t leave the studio all together, he certainly would of if he were in her place. And thankfully while their playthrough at least ended on a high note he felt like he should really try making it up to her. Definitely this week before the convention. But what would someone like Symmetra even like? They’d talked some while playing their game but in the end he still didn’t know that much about her.

Roadhog’s deep laugh pulled him from his thoughts. “Oh fuck, Jamie look at this!”

Junkrat crawled out of his chair and leaned over Roadhog’s shoulder to see what he was laughing at. It was a clip of when they’d finally gotten to the studio. He and hog were doing their thing, being crazy and scary when in the background was Symmetra. She came out of the front doors to the studio and when she saw them her face contorted in sheer terror like a deer in headlights before bolting back inside. Roadhog had gone back over the video and zoomed in on her, and started adding the caption “nope” as she ran away. Normally something like that would have made him cackle but right now it only felt like his guts were sinking.

Junkrat started rapidly tapping Roadhog’s shoulder before he could add the clip into full video. “Hog, Hog, wait! Don’t add that in. I never got permission from ‘Metra.”

“You sure? Looks pretty funny.”

“Yeah, she was having a crappy day and- just don’t add that in.”

“Ok...” Roadhog began, he hadn’t heard Junkrat sound so worried. Not in a long time, not since they started their channel. “Everything go alright with her?”

Junkrat chewed at his lip a little before answering. “I guess so, we did ok. At the beginning I was doing my usual shit, fucking up the game and she wasn’t having it. She actually got real upset before we took a break. I thought she was going to walk out on our crossover. Can see why though, I was being a real cunt.”

“And that’s your idea of ok?” Hog added dryly.

“Hey! Things got better after we took a break!” Junkrat snapped. “We finished off the recording, shorter than I would of hoped but that’s my own fault. And at least we ended it without wanting to tear off eachother’s heads… Still wanna make it up to her though.”

“Well you better get cracking then. Cause you got less than a week to do something.” Roadhog rumbled before going back to work on their prank video. And as Junkrat followed suit his mind was a buzz trying to find ideas.

He didn’t want to do anything cheap and faceless like a fruit-basket or any of that sort of shit. He had to make this a bit more sincere, to let her know he was actually sorry. And he wasn’t sure quite why, maybe for the sake of vindication or something. But he wanted her to know that he understood where she was coming from, that they were both a bit more alike than she even knew. But most of all he hoped that by making this up to her they could actually become friends.

But what on earth would she like? He decided later after he finished up their crossover he’d go watch some more of her videos and try finding any clues that might be there. He knew she liked really pretty-peaceful-artsy-type games so maybe he could build off of that…

~~~

On the day before the start of the convention, Satya received a package sent to her hotel room. It was a light-blue and gold-trimmed box, sloppily wrapped by someone who obviously had little experience. And on the tag she found out it was from Junkrat.

Unsure of what she might find she tentatively unwrapped the gift. Inside was a homemade playlist of songs, some of which she didn’t recognize while other she did, she was surprised to find a few of her favorite themes on the CD as well. On the CD Junkrat had scribbled out “’Metra’s Jamz” as well as the small smiley face that littered the Junker’s videos. There were a few other things in the box as well, a bound journal (also blue with gold trim), a few gift cards to cafés in the area, a handful of American and Australian candies. But what ultimately caught her eye was a note that was shoved into the bottom of the box instead of on the outside like most letters. It was an apology from Junkrat, and that he hoped they could meet up again sometime during the convention.

She was surprised to say the least, she’d assumed that after their recording that would be the last she ever heard of Junkrat. And now here was this, yet another thing completely unexpected. But also so kind, seldom had someone else been the one to apologize, she was so use to having to apologize to other people for her outbursts and yet Junkrat not only did but went out of his way to make up for it. She wasn’t sure what to think of it all. She did hope that they could see each other again at the convention.