#he has maya on a suitcase

[ellsey]

I got the aa6 art book and y'all

that is a suitcase with maya on it

and a pixel phoenix

this man is so unserious

[lovebittenbyevans]

A Love Rekindled | Part 2

Summary: It has been two and a half years since you and him have seen each other. As you and Oscar Piastri crossed paths with each other again – you both start to wonder if the love you both had for each other truly faded

Pairing: volleyballplayer/ex-boyfriend! Oscar Piastri x Female Reader

Warnings: one cursed word

Part 2

You were lying in your hotel bed, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think of him. This was your first time ever seeing him since the break up.

You didn’t know what to think but you noticed he still looked the same. You know in your head that you shouldn’t have gone with Maya but you had no choice unless she was going to annoy you the whole time about seeing him and his teammates.

You reached over to the circle table and took your phone when you heard a knock at the door. “Y/N! I know you are in there!” You sigh, already knowing who the voice is behind the door.

You got out of bed and headed directly to the door while checking your phone.

Lando: um hello!? You are here visiting and I didn’t get to see you! You forgot I existed 🙄😒

Oscar: Can we meet and talk today?

You roll your eyes at seeing both text messages from two different men. As you open the door, you respond to both of their text messages separately.

You: I’m sorry Lan. Pick a spot and we’ll hangout next time 😊

You: Um…Where? When?

“I see your phone is more important than me.” Maya scoffs playfully.

You look up from your phone to find Maya standing at the door. “Sorry, just getting a few text messages out of the way.”

“What time is your flight?” She walked inside and sat on the small couch.

You close the door shut as you feel your phone vibrate in your hand. “Soon.” You looked down at your phone again and saw his message instead of Lando.

Oscar: now would be fine and I’ll send you the address

You huffed and hurriedly straight to your suitcase finding something to wear. “I was hoping you would want to explore Chicago with me and Lewis before we go back home.” She says.

You pull out a green butterfly hoodie and a pair of black jeans. “Uh..No thanks.” You placed your clothes on the bed and glanced at her. “I don’t do a couple third wheels and you are always weird with Lew.”

Maya let out a gasp. “What? I don’t act weird.” She can’t believe you said that.

You laughed and walked right into the bathroom. “If you say so.” You quickly changed into your clothes before using the bathroom.

“Name one thing I did weird?” She raised her voice a little.

You wipe your hand and walk out of the bathroom closing the door shut. “You tried to impress him by eating a hot dog with everything on it and adding whip cream to it.” You wanted to vomit just thinking about it.

“Well yeah because he said he likes it when a girl–” She paused for a second. “Look, I just wanted him to like me.”

You shake your head while making sure you have your backpack slinging your shoulders. You put your shoes on before taking your phone off the couch. “Uh huh, look I’ll see you at home. I have somewhere to be before my flight.”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Where are you off to?”

Always so nosy

“No, No. Time to leave May.” You step out the door with her right behind you. “I’ll see you back home. Love you.” You gave her a hug and then walked out of the hotel.

You pulled up to the front of his hotel after sending him a text message. You sat in your car having Mirrors by Justin Timberlake blast through your car radio.

I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

You suck your teeth and skip to the next song playing Lose Control by Teddy swims. As you listen to the lyrics the car door opens. “I forgot how cold Canada is.” He closes the passenger door letting out a breath.

“Where do you want to go, Oscar?” You asked, pressing the start button on your car.

He puts on his seatbelt and tells you. “Just drive around.”

You nod, press the gas pedal, and drive down the street. You lower the radio down a bit as he begins to talk. “So, what is going on?” That is not how you wanted to start the conversation with him but you could not think properly at this moment.

He leaned back against the passenger seat and began to speak. “All I want to know is why? I thought we both were doing good together.”

You stopped at the red light while your hand was still on the steering wheel. “We live different lives O. We both know I couldn’t be your girlfriend forever.” You began to drive again after the light turned green.

“What? Y/N, we are different but I thought we saw a future with each other. Yes, our lives are different but you told me you were willing to make it work.” His eyes were on you.

You shrug. “I am allowed to change my mind, Oscar.”

He shakes his head as he glances out the window. “Do you even care how hurt I was?” You pulled your car over to the curb and parked it. “Excuse me? Of course I cared.”

Oscar turns his head to look at you. “Then you shouldn’t have given up on us.”

You let out a chuckle. “Oh no. I didn’t give up. I told you we live different lives and it was never going to work. You follow your dream just like you wanted and look at you now, huh? A famous volleyball player.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, but I wanted you to still be a part of it.” He never wanted you to leave him. He wanted you to stay with him. He didn’t care about the fame coming along with his dreams.

You shake your head. “We can’t always get what we wish for.”

He opens his mouth to answer, but then closes it when he hears his phone vibrate in his jeans pocket. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket to see who had texted him.

“Uh, drop me off at the diner. My team and coach Andrea are already there.” Oscar does not have the energy to argue back and forth.

You started your car again, put it in drive and then drove off down the street. You had no words to say to him at all.

“Would you ever give us a chance again?” He had to ask you. He needed to know.

You sigh and continue driving your car. “We are not in the past anymore.” You pulled up in front of the diner and stopped your car. “I don’t see a future for us right now.”

You kept your hand on the steering wheel and gazed straight ahead. You couldn't force yourself to look at him. Your heart was beating a little fast after what you said to him.

Fuck, calm down

“Y/N.” His gaze was fixated on you.

You clear your throat. “Go ahead, you will be late.”

He sighs, taking off his seatbelt and opens the passenger door. “Still lying years later. I’ll get a ride back from one of the guys.” He got out of your car, closing the door shut.

You close your eyes while letting yourself breathe. You open your eyes while turning your car on again. You drive off not realizing a tear trickled down your cheek.

[periwinkla]

haha I’m back again haha-

If there was one thing you could change about the ace attorney story what would it be?

Personally it would be having the gap between where Phoenix and miles were in contact be a lot shorter. Because sometimes people forget Phoenix kinda stalked miles, they knew eachother for like a few months when they were 9 years old! So it is kinda creepy that Phoenix just stopped everything for him because he “looked sad.” The thing is we don’t even have confirmation that Phoenix tried contacting him. It would also make more sense if they were constantly talking to each other and it just stopped. Phoenix would have a better reason for the going into law school for a friend then “hE wAs sAd.” It’s honestly insane that nobody actually questions this for more than a minute! Like yeah, it’s the ace attorney universe. But are you telling me that no one thought “oh my god that is absolutely insane you need to talk to a therapist!” Anyways tell me what you think!

Haha hello again, anon :) (a few SOJ spoilers for the 1st paragraph) I don't think I would change any major event, but... I think I would change the way Trucy's relationship (or lack thereof) with some characters is depicted. Apart from the final SOJ scene with Edgeworth, it feels like Trucy doesn't have much of a relationship with the first trilogy's characters. In SOJ Maya doesn't mention her at all, even though it would make sense to have a dialogue with her asking Phoenix how his daughter was doing.... so maybe, if I were to change any part of the story, it would be for Edgeworth to notice she stuck in his suitcase a bit earlier so that she can take part in 6-5 at least. What she was even doing throughout the whole mayhem still baffles me... please don't tell me she was in the suitcase the whole time... I understand your point, although at least for me it just represents a character flaw & relationship flaw, and I find it interesting. I don't think it's something that's ever treated as a 'normal' decision in-game, either (Maya is flabbergasted when he tells her the reason he became a lawyer, for example). It shows how easily he gets attached to people and obsessed with saving them. It's an actual problem he has as a character. Also the class trial sells to me the narrative that Phoenix was a bit of an outcast in childhood (he had only Larry as a friend which is also mentioned to have had a not-so-good childhood).  And in such a circumstance there was this one person to stick out for him so vehemently. Then he sees that same person - someone he saw as a hero - in a newspaper depicted as a demon who would do anything for a guilty verdict, and he can’t accept it. Phoenix does this to an extreme degree, but he does everything in his life to extreme degrees, really. And it seems like to him, as long as he gets to save people, nothing is a big deal. Like ‘yeah this is just a thing I need to do to save that person’. It’s no biggie to change life paths to save someone, it’s no biggie to swallow a necklace, it’s no biggie crossing a bridge on fire, it’s no biggie adopting a kid at 26 when your life is in shambles. I like that Phoenix and Miles’s relationship is not an idyllic love story thing. Phoenix’s tendency to get too attached, obsessed, and fixated on saving people is one of his character flaws, which is something he needs to work on. Miles’s tendency to self-isolate and do everything by himself contrasts with that and they both need to learn from each other, really. Both are incredibly unhealthy. What drives this point home is 2-4 for me, because Phoenix makes Miles’s death all about himself, like it’s somehow his responsibility. When it really isn’t. Miles had to take some time for himself and figure himself out. It’s the way he did it that was wrong. They’re both wrong here.

By the way Phoenix confirms he tried to contact him, we just don't know the 'how'. I suspect he may have just phoned/sent something to the Prosecutor's office, but who knows. Miles didn't reply, regardless. Unless he sent like, dozens of stuff to the Prosecutor's office, I wouldn't define that as stalking; he also never even tries to be in his vicinity if not in the courtroom. By his logic, he only can get through to him via the law, after all. By showing him and reminding him what Miles himself taught him as children. That's why he became a defense attorney and not something like... I dunno, a detective? Would have been easier to talk to him if they worked together, no? But that wasn't the point. He wanted to inspire Miles to go back to being the person who inspired him when they were children. That's my understanding, anyway. (also I like to consider the fact that the whole Dahlia fiasco reminded him of the feeling of being accused, but I'd ramble so I'll stop here... there's a lot behind his decision to become a lawyer) I do think it would have been nice if they had at least a few more months together as children though. In the game it’s ambiguous when the class trial takes place (and the JP school year starts in April) so initially I had thought they were friends for something like 8ish months… but in the anime it’s set in September. To me this may imply that Phoenix didn’t have a nice childhood either; maybe it wasn't tragic, but he was lonely enough that he hanged on the memory of those 3-4ish months because those were his most precious ones. It’s… sad.

P.S. Sorry if I rambled too much anon, I tend to overanalyze stuff.

[hyperfixationhobo]

Another shit post of things I think the spider band will do in certain situations that I have/or am currently going through. (I should make these a series)

The theme of this post: Flying!

Specifically flying in airplanes cause I’m about to get in one in a couple of hours. So this is how I think the spider kids get ready for a flight and how they react on the the plane.

Miles: This man is the type of person that has to arrive at the airport 18 hours before their plane leaves. Totally over packs and if you forgot something you best believe he brought a extra of that thing. Always weighs his suitcase so he doesn’t have to pay extra. “Uh Miles, how’d you fit that in your carryon bag?” He’s running around, triple checking he’s got the tickets, recounting everything he brought. He’s my mom basically. On the plane he’s much more calm, turbulence doesn’t scare him cause he’s too busy listening to his music and talking with Gwen.

Gwen: She’s the calmest of the group. Also keeps everyone in check. “HOBIE I SWEAR PUT IT BACK!” Basically the anxiety relief Miles needs when they’re packing. Always placing a hand on Miles’s shoulder when he freaks out. She’s the type to wait in the airport lobby and play on her Nintendo switch. Sleeps most of the flight and watches movies with Miles so turbulence doesn’t bother her. Y’know she wears the comfiest clothes to the airport. Suffers from jet lag the worst tho.

Pavitr: Packs the best fucking snacks. He’s tried airplane food and never again. I don’t know why but I can see him knitting while at the airport. He’s the type to probably get distracted by Knick knacks at airports, especially from other countries cause he wants to bring one back for his aunt. “Oh look at this snow globe! Maya Auntie would love it!” Doesn’t do to well once in the air. This boy is extremely smart so probably did a ton of research on planes and gets a bit paranoid when turbulence hits. Other wise than that he’s calm while either talking to Hobie, knitting, using those extremely complicated adult coloring books, or just sleeping. When he wakes up you know this boy’s hair is still perfect.

Hobie: This man has been caught with a pocket knife while going through screening. He’s the guy who will mostly sleep throughout most of the airport experience. Isn’t the best at packing but Pav helps him a bit. For some reason has the exact thing they need for certain situations. “I don’t know mate, just appeared in my bag.” Doesn’t mind airplane food but absolutely loves to eat the snacks Pav has packed. Definitely has Knick knacks from all the places he’s flown to. Is terrible when it comes to flying. He’ll act all cool on the outside but the moment turbulence hits his knuckles are turning white from the grip he has on the armrest. Pavitr is there to comfort him tho. Respects the flight attendants and won’t put up with anyone giving them shit for simply doing their job.

[milesdadworth]

I reject the idea that Phoenix left Trucy on her own when he was out investigating or whatever just after he was disbarred

that man has had Gumshoe come over to watch her with the promise of a home cooked meal that evening (and a promise from him that he will not bring his pistol with him.)

he's called upon Maggey Byrde who is now on her third job since working at Tres Bièn--professional babysitter and dogsitter. The goddess of misfortune? I'm sure she'll be fine with Trucy for a few hours

Adrian Andrews? She can watch Trucy over a weekend when he goes to see Miles real quick. She has 3,801 emergency service phone numbers memorized, a first aid kit that looks like a suitcase and planned activities.

Hell, even Franziska has been roped in when she has a 2-day layover in Japanifornia. "Hi Franziska, nice to see you, please look after my daughter for 3 hours I need to go look into something at the courthouse."

Maya of course is a tried and true favorite when no one else is available. She and Pearl are on the next train down and are already planning a fun afternoon of activities and a Steel Samurai marathon sleepover that night.

The only one not allowed to watch her is Larry.

[littlebignoona]

ONLY YOU (Harry Potter FF)

"What a privilege it was to matter to you." Maya Monet thinks Harry Potter is an annoyingly attractive Gryffindor who had nothing better to do than bother her. Harry Potter thinks Maya Monet is the prettiest girl he has ever seen.

Chapter 1

I am the shape you made me. Filth makes filth.

Maya weaved her way through the bustling train station, the sound of her music a welcome barrier against the chaos. Her suitcase rolled behind her, and her headphones shielded her from the excited shouts and hurried footsteps of passengers. She was in her own world, shoving past people without much thought, her gaze fixed ahead.

But her world came crashing down when she collided with someone, sending her walkman and headphones clattering to the ground. Maya groaned, already annoyed, as she crouched to pick them up.

“Are you more blind than usual?” she snapped, looking up at the person she had bumped into.

Standing in front of her, wide-eyed and nervous, was none other than Harry Potter. He blinked at her words, caught off guard, before stammering, "Uh—sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly,” she muttered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She reached for the walkman, but Harry beat her to it, picking it up and holding it out to her.

Before she could snatch it from his hand, a voice interrupted. “Harry, who’s this?”

Maya looked up to find another man standing beside them—tall, with messy hair and an easy grin. He placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, his hazel eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“She’s… no one,” Harry said quickly, a faint blush creeping up his neck.

Maya raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and examined her walkman. She pressed play, but the tape wouldn’t turn. She tried again, but it was no use—the device was broken. She shot Harry a glare.

“It’s broken,” she announced flatly.

Harry shifted on his feet, scratching the back of his neck. “I’ll get you a new one.”

She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Do you even know what a walkman is, or are you just an insufferable toerag offering things you can’t even get?”

James chuckled softly, watching the exchange with amusement. Harry, on the other hand, looked both flustered and irritated. Maya, with her slightly bruised face and fire in her tone, had his full attention—though he’d never admit it.

Maya turned on her heel, suitcase in tow, leaving Harry standing there with a mixture of annoyance and something else he couldn’t quite place. James clapped his son on the shoulder, grinning knowingly as they watched her disappear into the crowd.

“Annoying,” Harry muttered under his breath, but James smirked.

“Right,” James said lightly. “That’s why you can’t stop staring.”

As Harry stood there, still looking in the direction Maya had stormed off, Sirius, Lily, and Remus approached, each with their own curiosity piqued. Sirius was the first to speak, his usual smirk firmly in place.

“What’s this, then?” he asked, nudging James. “Who’s got Harry looking all dazed and lovestruck?”

James grinned, folding his arms. “Oh, just some girl he ran into—literally. Knocked her walkman to the ground and everything.”

“She called me a toerag,” Harry muttered, his face flushing as he tried to walk away.

“Wait, she called you a toerag?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“Sounds like she’s got good instincts,” Remus quipped, a rare smirk tugging at his lips.

“Don’t start,” Harry grumbled, quickening his pace to put some distance between himself and his audience.

But Sirius wasn’t letting him off that easy. “Well, well,” he called after him, laughter bubbling in his voice. “Looks like the Potter charm’s been passed down after all. You’re just like your dad!”

Harry spun around, his face red. “I am not!”

James feigned a gasp, placing a hand over his heart. “What’s that supposed to mean, son?” he teased.

Harry groaned and stormed off toward the train, leaving the group behind.

Sirius shook his head, laughing as he turned to James. “You’ve really done it now. The boy’s doomed to follow in your footsteps.”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” James said with a dismissive wave, though the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his amusement.

“Are we sure it’s doomed?” Lily said thoughtfully, watching Harry disappear into the crowd. “She sounds… spirited.”

“Spirited is one way to put it,” James said with a chuckle. “She’s got fire. Definitely not the type to let Harry off easy.”

Remus grinned. “Should make things interesting.”

As the group walked toward the train, Sirius leaned closer to James, his voice low and teasing. “You know, if Harry ends up marrying her, we’re all going to remind him of this moment. For years.”

James rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “As if you’d ever let him forget.

Maya stepped onto the train, the familiar hum of the engine and the chatter of students buzzing around her. She clutched her suitcase tightly, her broken walkman hanging from her fingers as she navigated the narrow corridor. Finally, she spotted the compartment where Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini were waiting for her.

Theo looked up immediately, his sharp, observant eyes narrowing as he took in her appearance. “Maya, what happened?” he asked, his tone low and serious.

Blaise, lounging with an air of practiced indifference, sat up straighter, his gaze flicking to her bruised face. “Yeah, you look like you’ve been through hell. What gives?”

Maya sighed, sliding into the seat across from them. She set her suitcase down, her movements deliberately casual, though her jaw tightened.

“Nothing,” she said, waving them off. “It’s just my father. He was… annoyed. Took it out on me. No big deal.”

Theo’s expression darkened instantly, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. “That’s not nothing, Maya,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s the same thing every time, and you just let it slide like it’s normal.”

“It is normal,” she shot back, her voice sharp. “For me, anyway. So just drop it, Theo. I’m fine.”

Blaise raised an eyebrow, his voice calm but pointed. “Fine doesn’t usually come with bruises, Maya.”

She crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat. “Can we not do this right now? I’ve had enough people getting on my case for one day.”

Theo exchanged a glance with Blaise, his jaw clenched in frustration. But he didn’t press further, knowing from experience that pushing her too hard would only make her shut down more. Instead, he sighed and leaned forward.

“Alright,” he said softly. “But you know you don’t have to deal with him alone. We’ve got your back. Always.”

Blaise nodded, his usual smirk replaced by something softer. “Yeah, we’re not just here for decoration, you know. Next time your old man acts up, you let us know.”

Maya gave them a small, grateful smile, though she didn’t say anything. She pulled her headphones over her ears, the silence of the broken walkman a welcome excuse to avoid further conversation.

As the train began to move, Theo and Blaise fell into a quiet conversation, both keeping an eye on her. Despite her insistence that she was fine, neither of them was convinced—and both were determined to find a way to help her, whether she wanted them to or not.

Maya stared out of the window, the blurred scenery rushing past as the train picked up speed. The weight of the broken walkman in her hand felt symbolic—yet another thing in her life that seemed shattered beyond repair. Despite Theo and Blaise’s reassurances, she couldn’t shake the heaviness in her chest.

Her thoughts drifted back to her father, Jun Kymura. His sharp words and harsh hands were all too familiar. She knew why he was like this, even if it didn’t make it any easier to bear. Her very existence was a constant reminder of his loss—of the woman he had loved and the life they were supposed to have together.

Her mother, Violet Monet, had been a powerful witch, born into a prominent pureblood family infamous for their ties to dark magic. Violet was everything her family had wanted—talented, beautiful, and a perfect candidate to continue their line. But then she had met Jun, a muggle with a quiet strength and a kind heart, and her world had shifted.

Against all odds, they fell deeply in love. Violet’s family had been horrified, forbidding her from continuing the relationship and threatening to disown her if she married him. Violet, defiant and in love, had chosen Jun over her family, cutting all ties with them and eloping to start a new life together.

For a while, they had been happy. They built a life far away from the judgment and expectations of her family. And when Maya was born, their happiness seemed complete.

But it didn’t last.

Her mother had fallen ill shortly after Maya’s birth, the postpartum complications worsening until there was nothing anyone could do. Violet passed away when Maya was only a few weeks old, leaving her father to raise her alone.

The grief had consumed Jun, and over time, it turned into something darker. He resented Maya—not just for surviving when Violet hadn’t, but for being a constant reminder of everything he had lost. And with Violet’s family refusing to acknowledge her existence, there was no one left to turn to.

Maya often wondered what life would have been like if her mother’s family hadn’t been so rigid, so obsessed with their pureblood legacy. Maybe her father wouldn’t be so bitter, so angry all the time. Maybe she wouldn’t feel like she was always caught in the middle, belonging fully to neither the magical nor the muggle world.

She clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening around the walkman. Her mother had fought for her family, for love, for the life she wanted. And Maya had inherited that fire, whether her father saw it or not.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Theo’s voice broke through her thoughts, soft but insistent.

Maya turned to him, offering a small nod. “Yeah, Theo. I’m fine.”

But as she looked back out the window, the weight of her past settled heavily on her shoulders. Fine was a lie she told herself to survive—and survival was all she had ever known.

Maya tugged at her green tie, letting it hang loosely around her neck as she walked through the stone corridors toward the Great Hall. The faint murmur of voices grew louder as she approached, the familiar chatter of students reuniting after the summer filling the air.

She stepped into the hall, the enchanted ceiling above reflecting a clear night sky. The long tables were packed with students, their laughter and excitement bouncing off the ancient walls. Maya made her way to the Slytherin table, sliding into a seat beside Theo and Blaise.

“You look thrilled to be here,” Blaise quipped, noticing her distracted expression.

“Ecstatic,” she replied dryly, resting her chin on her hand as she stared ahead.

Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, his presence commanding instant silence. The hall grew still as the headmaster addressed them, his voice warm but laced with authority.

“Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore began, his eyes twinkling as they scanned the crowd. “This year brings with it an exciting opportunity—one that will test courage, intellect, and magical prowess. I am delighted to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!”

The hall erupted into cheers and whispers. Even Maya straightened slightly, her curiosity piqued.

Dumbledore raised his hands for silence. “However,” he continued, his tone growing more serious, “due to the nature of this tournament, it has been decided that Quidditch will be canceled for the duration of the year.”

This announcement was met with groans and protests from Quidditch players and fans alike. Maya, however, zoned out, her gaze drifting across the table to the platters of food that had appeared. The shimmering roast chicken, golden potatoes, and bowls of steaming soup should have been tempting, but her appetite felt faint, her mind elsewhere.

When the speech ended, and the noise returned to a lively buzz, she reached for the mashed potatoes, serving herself a modest portion. Theo nudged her arm as he piled his plate high.

“What do you think?” he asked. “About the tournament?”

“It sounds like a death trap,” Maya said flatly, her tone earning a snort of laughter from Blaise.

“That’s the point,” Blaise said, smirking as he leaned back in his seat. “It’s supposed to be dangerous. That’s what makes it fun to watch.”

“Only if you’re not the one participating,” Theo pointed out, glancing at her with a faint frown. “You’d never put your name in, right?”

Maya shook her head, spearing a piece of chicken with her fork. “I’m not suicidal, Theo.”

“Good,” he said firmly. “Because I’d have to hex you if you tried.”

Blaise rolled his eyes. “As if she’d listen to you.”

The banter was light, but Theo’s concern lingered in his eyes. Maya offered him a small smile, hoping to ease his worries. As the night wore on, the conversation turned to less serious topics, and for a moment, Maya allowed herself to relax, the weight of her thoughts temporarily set aside.

Maya poked at her food absentmindedly, her appetite still faint despite the spread before her. As the chatter at the Slytherin table buzzed around her, a strange feeling crept over her—the distinct sensation of being watched.

She glanced up, her sharp eyes scanning the hall. That’s when she saw him: Harry Potter, sitting at the Gryffindor table, looking directly at her. His green eyes locked onto hers for a moment too long, his expression unreadable.

Maya raised a brow, tilting her head slightly as if to silently ask, What are you staring at?

Before she could think too much of it, Draco Malfoy, who had been sitting a few seats down, noticed the exchange.

“Well, well,” Draco drawled, his signature smirk spreading across his face. “Looks like the Chosen One has taken a liking to our dear Maya.”

Maya turned to him, her expression deadpan. “Shut up, Draco.”

“Oh, come on,” Pansy Parkinson chimed in, leaning forward with an exaggerated grin. “He’s definitely looking at you. Maybe he fancies you, Maya.”

Blaise, ever the instigator, leaned back in his seat with a sly grin. “He does have a type, you know. Fierce, mysterious, slightly intimidating. You tick all the boxes.”

“Very funny,” Maya said, rolling her eyes as she took a sip of pumpkin juice. “You lot need to get a better hobby.”

Theo, however, didn’t join in the teasing. He shot a glance toward the Gryffindor table, his brow furrowed. “He’s still looking,” he muttered, his tone more serious than the others’.

Maya risked another glance toward Harry, only to find him quickly looking away, his ears turning pink as he focused intently on his plate.

Draco snickered, nudging her with his elbow. “See? I told you. He’s smitten.”

Maya groaned, rubbing her temples. “If you don’t shut up, Draco, I swear—”

“All I’m saying,” Blaise interrupted, cutting off her threat, “is that if the Boy Who Lived falls for a Slytherin, it’s going to be the gossip of the century.”

Maya didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, she focused on her plate, pointedly ignoring the continued teasing from her friends.

But even as the conversation shifted, she couldn’t shake the image of Harry’s gaze lingering on her, nor could she quite figure out what it meant.

[tomtenadia]

Detours to You - 22

Good Monday.

Here I am with a new chapter. In this one we finally meet Rowan's mum.

MASTERLIST

Two days later Aelin was at Orynth airport with Maya on her hand.

“Mama, is my other nana really coming?”

Aelin crouched “Yes, nana Eiddwen is coming to stay with us for a while to keep company to dad too.”

Maya cheered and took out the drawing she had made with nana Wen written at the bottom showcasing her writing skills.

Aelin walked to the arrival section and both of them stopped in front of the big doors “Mama when is she coming?” Since she had told her that her nana was coming, Maya had been counting down the hours. 

“Soon, see the big board? It says that her plane has landed and now your nana is collecting her bags.”

“Mama, are we going to see dad soon?”

Aelin nodded. She had spent the two previous days at his side. Lysandra and Elide had prohibited her to go to work and had forced her to stay at Rowan’s side. She had not complained and after picking up Eiddwen they were going to the hospital. He was being moved out of the ICU that morning and the doctor explained that they could expect him to be awake. That had lifted a bit of her worries. He still had a while to go before healing fully, but he was alive and okay. He was with them both. 

Aelin kept an eye on the doors until she spotted the woman she was looking for. She took Maya’s hand and they walked closer.

“Nana Wen?” Maya called, hoping to attract the attention of the right woman, but Aelin was on the case and they were walking already towards her.

“Aelin,” the older woman threw her arms around Aelin and she remembered all of a sudden that the Whitethorns were huggers. Rowan was the exception. She loved his family.

“Eiddwen, welcome.”

“Nana! Nana! I am here.” Maya pulled her grandmother’s trousers and the woman kneeled “hello, Maya.”

“Hi, nana. I am Maya.” She handed her the drawing “For you.”

Eiddwen grabbed the paper “Did you write this?”

“Yes, I am six, I am a big girl.”

Eiddwen’s eyes welled up and hugged her granddaughter “You are such a smart kid.” She stood and turned to Aelin “You look wonderful, darling.”

Aelin smiled and noticed that the woman in front of her looked an older from the one she remembered. Likely the pain of loosing her husband had something to do with it. And her stomach knotted. She almost lost Rowan. She shook the thought from her head. No, not now. 

“Let’s go back to the car.”

While Aelin grabbed the suitcase, Maya gripped her grandmother’s hand and Aelin knew that her daughter was already in love with the woman “nana, do you like winter?”

“I do,” replied the woman as they exited the airport “but in Wendlyn is much warmer than here in Terrasen.”

“Mama, where is Wenlyn?”

“I will show you when we get home,” added Eiddwen.

In the car Aelin set off for the hospital and Eiddwen sat at the back beside Maya who was bombarding her grandmother with questions, but the woman seemed more than happy to answer them all.

“Nana, you know mum has a bookstore?”

“I do and I am looking forward to visit it. I heard a lot about it.”

“I love it. Do you like hockey?”

Aelin almost burst into laughter. Maya was so excited that was jumping from a random question to the other.

They arrived at the hospital not long after and Aelin hated how easily she found her way to Rowan’s ward. In the last three days she had spent far too much time inside those walls. She walked to his room and paused, kneeling in front of her daughter “wait it here with nana for a minute.”

“No, I want to see dad.”

Eiddwen pulled the girl to the chairs with her “Maya, darling, your mum is just going to check how your dad is and make sure he is not sleeping. We will see him very soon. I want to see him too.”

Maya nodded quietly and Aelin kissed her then disappeared through the door.

A set of green eyes turned to her and Aelin smiled. The clutch on her heart finally loosened a bit more and she felt like she could breathe again. He was awake. She kept repeating to herself.

One step and then another and she was at his side “hi sleeping beauty.”

He made a sound that resembled a chuckle “sleeping beauty gets a kiss.”

Aelin threw herself at him, cautious of his injuries and her lips landed on his “Don’t. Ever again, Rowan.” She muttered amongst tears “Don’t you dare.”

Rowan uninjured arms lifted to her face in a caress “sorry.”

He kept kissing her “I love you, Aelin,” he whispered softly “That’s all I thought about while  I was trapped. I love you so much.”

Aelin kissed his nose “of course, I am the most lovable person ever.”

Rowan tried to laugh but cough racked his chest and he stopped.

“Hey, lie back on the pillow,” she adjusted the cannulas under his nose “I have guests if you feel up for it. Not too long or the doctor might kill me, though.”

Rowan nodded and Aelin went back to the door and let the visitors in.

Rowan’s gaze widened in surprise when he saw his mum, but had no time to say anything because Maya came running towards the bed and was now screaming to get on it at his side

“Let me remove your shoes first.” Aelin fought to keep her daughter calm. She had missed him. Then lifted her in bed and placed Maya near his less hurt side “Do not move too much okay? Just stay beside dad and hug him.”

Maya nestled against him, her head tucked in his side “I missed you, dad.”

“Me too,” added Rowan while kissing her head and then turning to his mum who was staring at him with moist eyes.

“I am fine, mum.”

Eiddwen took a step closer and kissed her son’s head “I know.”

Aelin stepped up at the bottom of the bed “I called her.” She added at Rowan’s inquisitive stare.

“And I am glad she did.” Her hand brushed Maya’s hair “I finally got to meet her.”

Maya slowly fell asleep in her father’s arms and Aelin decided to step out for an excuse to talk to the doctor and leave mother and son talk.

“How are you and Aelin doing?” His mum was a pro at going straight to the point. 

“Better,” he said quietly “we are trying to be a family.”

Eiddwen extracted a box from her bag. It was a small blue velvet box. She opened “This was my engagement ring.” She said, showing her son the ring inside “When the time comes give it to her. She is your other half, Rowan.” A pause “If it hadn’t been for me, you’d be married already.”

“I had to help you.”

Eiddwen caressed his head “I know, and I am grateful but look what you almost lost,” Said the woman, staring at the sleeping girl “I’ll keep the ring for now, but when you are ready it would make me very happy if you’d give this to her.”

Rowan nodded heavily.

“And of course I want more grand-babies.”

He chuckled “Slow down, mum.”

“Imagine a wee baby with Aelin’s looks.” Her tone dreamy/

“Are you saying that Maya is ugly because she is like me?” He pretended to be offended.

“No Rowan,” again she caressed the head “Your daughter is gorgeous and she is going to break a lot of hearts when she grows up.”

Rowan groaned “I don’t want to imagine her yet dating.”

“I am planning to stay here for a while, by the way.”

Shock passed through his features “are you sure? I am fine.”

“Rowan, Aelin has to work and Maya has school. You will not be able to do much in the house, so this time is my turn to look after you, and don’t even try to complain. Uncle Ellys knows and will keep an eye on the house.”

“Okay.” He conceded knowing that mentally sparring with his mum was a battle lost from the start. And a part of him was glad to have his mum around and seeing she was better enough to actually leave Wendlyn. For a long time she could not even leave the house. His gaze must have drifted because his mum called him off “Rowan, I am so much better, I know that you worry. That’s your fussy stare, you got it from your dad.”

He shook his head “I am glad that you are here and to see you are so much better.”

Eiddwen sat at the bottom of the bed gently stroking Maya’s legs “You and Aelin gave me a beautiful reason to be excited about things again.”

In that instant a gentle knock interrupted them and Aelin’s head peeked through “Am in interrupting?”

Eiddwen shook her head “No, come in.”

Aelin stepped inside and smiled at Maya’s sleeping form nestled on her father’s side “I spoke to the doctor. They will have to keep you in for a few more days at least. Because of the splenectomy and the other injuries, they want to make sure everything is under control before they release you,” she explained “You will also start physio very soon and they will also start your treatment plan for once you are discharged.” And smile then spread on her face “While I was outside Lorcan called and apparently the mayor is going to pay you a visit and please expect to be the recipient for the medal of valour.”

Rowan was stunned “For what? I just did my job.”

“According to the mayor your hard work recently has not gone unnoticed and you saved a few people lives. So yes, you are getting the medal.”

He pouted, unhappy “The other firefighters saved lives too, this is not fair.”

“Rowan, darling, take the win.”

“Fine, but I am not happy.” He folded his good arms at his chest and she almost laughed when she noticed that his grumpy expression matched the furrowed one on a sleeping Maya.

Aelin turned to Eiddwen and the woman nodded “Well, you definitely have no doubt now that he is the father.”

She laughed and stared at father and daughter and her heart swelled with love.

“Imagine how proud Maya will be when she finds out she has a superhero dad.”

He smiled “Fine, for her, I can accept it.”

It was late in the afternoon when Aelin finally took Eiddwen home. Lorcan’s team had invaded the room together with other off duty colleagues and the women had decided to leave him in peace with his firefighters. 

Once at home, Maya started introducing the house to her grandma “come, I will show you my kingdom.“

Aelin laughed and nodded and went to tidy up the house a bit. 

Upstairs Maya dragged Eiddwen in her room “look, nana. This is my bed,” she then ran for Elf “Dada gave this to me. It’s my friend elf.”

Eiddwen smiled “were you kind to the elves on the solstice?”

“Yes, dad told me all of the stories.”

She then ran to her collection of hockey items and grabbed her stick “I am starting hockey soon. I am playing with the big kids.”

“You need to tell me all about it. Wendlyn does not have a hockey team.”

Maya took that as an invitation to go to her drawer and pull out her Stags jersey “They are the Stags. They are the best.” She explained proudly “You can come with us. I will tell you the game.”

In that instant Aelin came upstairs “Did you give her a tour?”

“Oh yes, she even introduced me to elf.”

“That’s an honour,” added Aelin “I have a room ready.”

“Nana can sleep in my room.”

Aelin crouched “Maya, nana needs her bedroom, but she is just next door.”

“Okay.”

Eiddwen took Maya’s hand “I can come and read you stories. I am really good.”

“Yes!”

“Now, let nana go change and come downstairs with me.” Aelin turned and noticed the exploded drawer “did you show her your jersey?”

The girl nodded “Can she come to the game with us?”

“Of course.”

Maya walked to her mother and grabbed her hand “mum, I like her.”

Aelin hugged her “I am glad, because nana is staying with us for a while.”

The two walked downstairs and Aelin started prepping for dinner and missed Rowan’s cooking skills. She had improved leaps and bounds for the sake of her daughter but was not even remotely as good as him.

Eiddwen arrived back down a moment later and saw Aelin staring at the fridge with pensive face and Maya at the table colouring.

“Let me cook you a Wendlyn dish.”

Aelin tried to protest but the woman was as stubborn as her son.

She texted Rowan about her mum being stubborn and his reply was Pot. Kettle and a smiley face.

She replied with a kiss emoji and wished him a good evening and a promise of going to visit the following day.

Reply sent, Aelin returned to the two women and they enjoyed the rest of the night talking and with Maya getting to know her grandmother a little more.

taglist

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[dari-ede]

Night Turns Into Morning: Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

MASTERLIST

Summary: Namjoon and Maya were best friends before they became an item. Both are musical artists and well known globally. Neither has ever dated someone in the same field they are in, much less work in the same COMPANY. Together, they must learn how to handle being in a private and secret relationship while trying to have a successful career. (This is a SEQUEL to "In the Middle of the Night")

STATUS: WIP

PAIRING: Idol!Namjoon x Singer!FemaleCharacter

Genre: Romance

WARNINGS: SMUT, good-girl kink, fingering, hand-job, (light) pussy-slapping, full penetration, nipple-sucking

--------------------

Walking down the halls of the complex, Maya couldn't deny the subtle stares didn't make her uncomfortable. While Namjoon's warm hand felt nicely around hers, it was hard to focus on that when at least a dozen eyes were fixated on where they were joined. It had been weeks since she had gotten back together with the leader of the biggest boy band in the world. They were still keeping their relationship a secret from the public but had agreed to be open in their private lives.

Currently, they were walking through security in their apartment complex and it was a space they had deemed safe to display some affection. Their home and their company's private halls and rooms were locations they were free to act themselves. And this was only possible due to NDAs being signed by security and staff at both locations. The community they lived in catered to the powerful and wealthy in South Korea, meaning they were guaranteed full privacy.

Namjoon had chosen this community a while ago for this precise reason: guaranteed privacy. So when Maya needed to find another apartment, he made sure to point this detail out to her. It didn't take long for Maya to agree. If the public were to find out an idol as big as RM was dating Maya, who was a well-known American artist, their company, Big Hit, would surely have a field day at its hands. Things would be chaotic.

The possibility of the public finding out about them was scary to imagine, so Maya forced herself to not think of it. She reminded herself of the little chance of their secret leaking. If someone spilled, they would then spend the rest of their days behind bars. Maya's new record label, which was also Namjoon's, had the funds to hire the best lawyers in the country and as part of Maya and Namjoon's contracts, their privacy was something the label would protect at all costs.

As Maya tried to settle herself down, Namjoon felt her uneasiness. Even though she had made great strides, Namjoon knew that it was a work in progress for her. There would always be moments her anxiety would try to beat the best of her.

He turned to her and noticed the change in her breathing. She was calming herself down.

He knew she felt his stare and turned towards him.

The moment her rich, maple eyes met his, he could feel her body fully relax. He sent her a soft smile. Her body then gravitated to his. Her head pressed against his shoulder as her other hand clutched his forearm. He could almost see her anxiety be swallowed down. That's my girl, he thought to himself. Maya was full of fight; her anxiety might win some battles, but his girl would always win the fucking war. He leaned over and pressed his lips on her head, feeling himself falling more in love with her.

The couple finally arrived at Namjoon's front door. He opened it and allowed her to enter first. They left their shoes at the entrance and walked down the halls to get to the living room.

Namjoon helped Maya take off her jacket.

It was late January and the weather was still pretty cold, would be for another few weeks.

"Want me to put your stuff in the room?" he asked as he motioned to the suitcase and bag on the floor. She had brought them in earlier in the day.

With her family in town and taking over her apartment, Namjoon had suggested she stay at his place for the time being.

She nodded. "Want some of the wine I brought earlier?"

"So I can get drunk and you can take advantage of me?" he teased, sending her one of his dimpled smiles he knew drove her crazy. He took her stuff and sent her a wink.

"You're lucky you're cute," she said, sending him a mocking glare then walked into his kitchen to find some glasses.

Just like during their first try at a relationship, Maya had given Namjoon control over when they were ready to take their physical relationship to the next level. She wanted him to be fully comfortable once they decided to have sex again. The only thing she asked was for him to be completely honest and sure. While he didn't believe in regrets, there was such a thing as learning from past experiences. He never regrated having sex with Maya but did think that they might have started things too quickly.

During their breakup, in the heat of anger, Namjoon had told Maya they shouldn't have had sex so soon but he hadn't fully meant it. Since they got back together, they talked about it at length. He wanted to be physically intimate again, but he wanted to make sure their heads and emotions were in the right place before they did so. He wanted their relationship to be more solid before they took that step. Also, he wanted to wait for the perfect moment.

And tonight felt right. Everything had been perfect. His parents and Maya's aunt and uncle, who she loved like parents, had a lovely dinner together. They all got along splendidly. There had been a lot of laughs and warmth as the six shared food with one another. This had been what Namjoon wanted: a full closeness with her. And he felt the way to do so would be to further bond with her surrogate parents and for her to get closer to his.

They had been working on strengthening their relationship—being more open with each other and expanding their communication. Emotionally, they had become incredibly intimate. Maya had been the one who struggled with vulnerability, which had been the reason for their breakup less than two months ago. However, after restarting therapy, she started to heal old wounds and was able to allow Namjoon in.

Namjoon was now seeing a completely different side of Maya. Every time she was honest with him, every secret she revealed to him, every concern she voiced made him want to fall to his knees and worship her. And because his emotions were getting more intense with her, it was more difficult to control his body around hers.

And after the perfect night they had, there was only one way to end it.

After placing Maya's stuff on the left side of his room—which was the side she took—he walked back to the living room and noticed two full glasses waiting on the counter.

He raised his eyebrows at her in mock surprise. "That's a lot of wine, no?"

"You have a high alcohol tolerance," she commented. "Don't pretend you don't."

"I'm worried about you," he said, reaching for a glass.

"The Latina blood runs powerful in these veins, baby." She took the other glass.

He let out a chuckle and raised his glass to her.

She tapped his glass with her own.

As they drank the wine, Namjoon took notice of a slight shiver coming off her. He turned to her arms and noticed the goosebumps.

Full concern took over. "Babe, you're freezing." He turned towards the thermostat.

"No." She said quickly, taking hold of his arm. "It's ok."

"It's not ok. Look at you." He reached over and rubbed her arms. Sure enough, she was cold to the touch. He knew he ran on hot, so she always felt cold to him.

"I'll put on a sweater," she whined as she kept him from moving away.

"But you'll be cold tonight. You know it takes a while for the ondol to heat the place."

A small look of sadness appeared on her face. "But then you'll be hot."

"I'll sleep without covers," he said simply, pulling away and walking to the thermostat.

But it wasn't that simple. Maya knew that if he got too hot, he would be too uncomfortable to fall asleep...and wouldn't sleep close to her.

And there lay the real reason and issue. There was a secret Maya was keeping from Namjoon. Something she had discovered long ago but had been too embarrassed to admit. However, Dr. Rob's voice made its way to her head.

"Any time you feel something but hesitate to voice it to Namjoon, I want you to take a step back and ask yourself what is preventing you from sharing that emotion with him. Is it due to legit concern or could it be the fear of rejection that's keeping you from opening yourself to him? If it's the latter, take a breath, and voice it to him. However little it might be."

She took a breath and ripped the bandage. "I sleep better when you're holding me."

Namjoon was in the middle of fidgeting with the thermostat and stopped abruptly when she spoke. He turned to her, giving her his full attention.

Taking another breath, Maya further explained. "You know it's difficult for me to fall asleep. Since I was a kid. Unless I'm physically and mentally exhausted, it can take me an hour to do so. I have to either drink a lot of chamomile or take melatonin drops and I have a weighted blanket that helps, too. But when I'm sleeping with you...." She let the words hang there. A blush made its way through her neck and face.

She felt so vulnerable, revealing such an intimate thought was incredibly difficult. There was no way Namjoon was going to make fun of her, but past experiences still dictated her emotions.

Namjoon wasn't saying anything, though. He was being completely quiet and patient. He knew her well and knew where she was getting at. But it was important for her to say the words out loud, on her own. So, he waited.

Maya forced herself to look back up and continued. "I noticed I don't need any of those things when I sleep next to you. I always get cold at night, but your body keeps me warm. When you hold me, it feels like a weighted blanket." She could have ended it there but she wanted to share everything with him. "Dr. Rob mentioned years ago that my inability to fall asleep might be due to past trauma. Nights at my house were...." The memories would lead Maya to a bad place. She wanted to tell Namjoon about those stories, but not right now. She needed to focus on one subject at a time. "Not so good. I never felt safe falling asleep. It continued throughout my adulthood. Dr. Rob recommended sleep therapy, but because of the pandemic, I never went. So, I continued with my methods. But after a while of us sleeping together, I noticed it. With you, I'm able to relax. There's no danger." Her voice was trembling; her body slightly shaking. She was about to share the key part of my secret. Vulnerable information. "You make me feel safe."

There were so many tears coming down. Despite her clothes, Maya felt naked.

Suddenly, those warm arms that protected her at night were surrounding her. "Thank you for sharing with me."

She snuggled closer, bathing in his heat. She let out a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "My emotions are all over the place with you. My body feels safe with you at night, but my heart kept you away," she said, referring to what caused their breakup about two months ago.

He squeezed her. "Emotions are complicated. Just got to navigate through them."

After a while, she finally pulled away and thanked him. "It was a good day. Long, but good. My mood has been on quite a high. I signed a new contract I'm very satisfied with, we had a nice dinner with our families." She took a step back and ogled at the outfit he had on—just like she had done countless times throughout the day. "You wore my favorite suit. It was a great day."

He smiled at her, seeing the happy tears in her eyes. "It was a perfect day." His hands came to her shoulder and he pulled her closer. "It's good if we just relax for the rest of the night."

She took the lips he offered her and nodded. "I agree."

"How about we get you a bath?" His voice was gentle but his eyes were full of fire as his large hands smoothed down her sides.

Maya was pretty sure what he meant by this. "Will you be joining me in that bath?"

"Only if you want me to," he said with complete sincerity, his hands exploring her back.

"Of course I do. But will it be only a bath we take? Or will there be more?" Maya asked, giving him a coy smile.

He bit his lip in a way that drove her crazy. "Only if you behave."

The words and tone went straight to Maya's pussy, making it quiver.

Namjoon didn't have a daddy kink, and neither did Maya; however, she quickly discovered on their first night together that she did have a good girl kink. He came to swiftly enjoy the kink himself, loving how her body responded to it.

"I've been wanting to give you a bath for so long," he said, bending down so his lips hovered just above her shoulder blade. "You've been so good—I want to reward you."

Maya's pussy clenched and whimpered, turning very wet very quickly.

He noticed her shiver and couldn't help but give a sinister smile. He moved her collar down so his lips could leave butterfly kisses on her skin.

She let out a high gasp. "Namjoon." Her fingers gripped at his jacket.

"Hmmm," he murmured as he explored her exposed neck, his fingers coming to her upper back so he could fiddle with the buttons. She had on a semi-conservative dress, one that she normally never wore but had done so since they had gone out with their parents. While he preferred clothes that showed off her shoulders and curves, she looked damn good in anything she had on. Right now, though, he preferred she was wearing nothing.

"Are you sure?" she made herself ask. She hated to ask but knew she should.

He made his way to her earlobe. "Yes." His tongue tasted her pulse. When he felt her moan, he took her skin in between his teeth and bit a little. "I want to make love to you." His mouth went lower, skimming down her neck.

Another shiver went through her but then she immediately went still.

He pulled away and looked down into her rich, maple eyes. They were a little wide as she processed what he had just said. But then there was a slight look of humor in her eyes and the corner of her lips turned up the tiniest bit. He knew her facial expressions so well. He smiled, knowing how the phrase might have come out. "That came out corny—"

She giggled. "No. I mean, yes it kind of did, but I definitely didn't take it that way at first."

"Then what's so funny?" He asked not helping a chuckle from coming out.

She held back another giggle. "You totally made me swoon," she said as a light blush appeared on her cheeks. "And it was corny. If any other guy would have said that I would have walked right out the door. How the hell do you do that?"

"Do what?" He was pretty sure he knew what she meant, but his ego wanted to hear it.

"You know what." Her blush was coming back.

"I want to hear you say it," he admitted, pulling her back because she was backing away.

She let out a sigh and let him pull her back. "You have this way with words. And so many times the things you say are so simple, but you still manage to make me turn to mush." She stared up at him with an incredulous look. "'Make love'??? No one can make that sound good. Not unless you have Kim Namjoon's deep, timbre voice of course. A voice so goddamn low, it can soak any woman's panties."

It was his turn to blush. "Thanks?"

She smacked him, playfully, still looking a little shy. "We haven't done this in a while. You have to take it easy on me."

He let out a low chuckle as he dipped down, his mouth claiming hers in a soft kiss. "I'll take it nice and slow."

She felt the twelfth shudder at the last minute come over her body.

His lips pecked the tip of her nose. "How about you get ready? Bring the wine glasses with you. I'll start the bath." He didn't give her time to respond. He pulled away, squeezed her ass, and headed to his room.

Maya stood there, frozen for a moment. She smacked her face, snapping herself out of it. Walking into Namjoon's room, she took her luggage and took out her robe and fresh underwear. She didn't bring any sleepwear since Namjoon liked her in his clothes. She poked her head into the hall that lead to the bath, making sure she had full privacy as she undressed and put on her robe. Stuffing her clean underwear into one of the robe pockets, she went back to the kitchen to retrieve the wine glasses.

When she returned to the room, she noticed Namjoon standing over her things. "Where's your bath stuff?"

She handed the wine to him as she took out the items she used when she bathed. Before she could make her way to the bathroom, Namjoon blocked her. He placed the wine on his desk and took the items.

"I'll take care of it. Give me a few minutes," he said and disappeared to the end of the hall.

Maya tried not to laugh at his cuteness. As he prepared the bath, she organized the side of the bed she usually took up when she slept over at Namjoon's. She didn't miss how some of her old items were still there. Despite them having broken up for a month, he had left everything of hers where it was. Her heart fluttered at this.

"Ready babe," came Namjoon's voice.

She turned to the hall and just about let out a loud moan. The Adonis-like man she called her boyfriend was standing in nothing but a pair of boxers, his hands clutched together, covering his flat stomach.

Namjoon didn't have a model-like body but he worked out plenty. He had lost a lot of weight during their breakup, but he had gone back to the gym. His thick, muscled arms and broad chest gave evidence of that. And those thick-ass thighs showed off the fact that he cycled often.

"Stop ogling or your bath is gonna get cold," he chided, his face looking a little shy.

She walked over to him, giving him a flirtatious smile. “Kind of hard not to, handsome.” When she got to him, her hands reached out to his chest and gave both sets of his boobs a squeeze. They were so firm.

"Stop," he said, moving his body away.

She laughed and began to walk towards the bathroom.

He smacked her ass as she passed him. The robe was thin enough that she felt the intensity of it. "Hey!" She covered her ass as she sent him a glare.

"You don't like it, do you?"

"I didn't smack you. Plus, you grabbed my ass earlier."

The couple came to the bathtub and Maya just about came down to her knees. This man had lit several candles, added bubbles to the bath, and there was some soft music playing from the speaker on the sink.

Namjoon came behind her, his arms wrapping around her middle. He brought his lips next to her ear. "I'm the one who does the smacking in this relationship," he let out in a low whisper.

This time, Maya almost did come to her knees. She held tight to his forearms. "Damn you," she hissed at him when he caught her and let out a laugh.

"Let's get you inside, baby. It's full of your favorite bath salts," he explained and moved them closer to the tub. His fingers came to her belt and started to undo it.

She leaned back into his big, tall frame, loving how sturdy he felt.

His fingers came up to her neck. He began to push down the only piece of cloth that was covering her. As he pulled it down her shoulders, his lips traced her exposed skin. He was teasing her by how long he took to take off a simple robe off her. That was definitely what she thought he was doing, but in reality, Namjoon wanted to take his time. He wanted to marvel and soak in little bits of the beauty that was Maya. He hadn't seen her naked in months and he wanted to ease into it. That was the whole reason for the bath—to ease into each other again.

When her robe finally fell to their feet, Namjoon's eyes roamed over her gorgeous bust. Nipples so pretty and pointy, clearly aroused. Clearly inviting. His fingers moved forward, tracing patterns on the sides of her heavy breasts. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face in them. But he kept himself controlled. He had all night.

"Inside you go," he said to her, his hand coming to her lower back and giving her a slight push.

Maya shook her head, trying to make herself alert. She was about to take a step into the tub but felt Namjoon's hand take hold of hers. The hand he had on her waist steadied her. She understood what he was doing. Using him as support, Maya got into the tub, loving the way how hot the water felt. She was a fan of hot showers and baths; Namjoon of course knew this. He didn't enjoy the hot showers but had mentioned in the past that hot baths he could tolerate since they felt like a jacuzzi.

She let out a satisfying moan in the water as she felt Namjoon stepping in. She opened her eyes, internally cursing at herself. She was about to miss his naked glory!

However, she was quickly disappointed. "You're not taking them off?" she pouted as her eyes became level with his boxers instead of his naked cock.

Holding onto both ends of the tub, Namjoon let out a smile. "Not yet."

He almost laughed at her huff but held back. It would only irritate her. And he wanted her to fully enjoy this.

"No fair you get to see me naked—that's sexist."

He rolled his eyes and took the cup he had set aside. "I can't see anything at the moment, now can I?" he asked as he motioned to the bubbles. "Head back, please."

Another huff came out of her but she complied. She rested her head on his chest as he wet her hair, making sure he didn't get her face.

"I should have taken off my makeup," she said, helping him keep the water off her face.

"Your facial products are there. How about you handle your face and I handle your hair?" he suggested as he motioned to a spot that contained her cleaning products.

She did as he suggested. Namjoon focused on her hair as she used wipes to clean her face. She could do a full facial cleaning in the morning. She wanted to enjoy the pampering.

Namjoon was good with his fingers as he worked the product into her scalp.

"That feels amazing," she moaned as she fell into his chest.

"Good," he whispered. He took the cup again to rinse her hair, his fingers still massaging her. Once satisfied with his work, he took her bar soap and washcloth.

Maya's eyes were fully closed and lost to her surroundings, which was why her body jerked at the feel of Namjoon's hands taking hold of her breasts. She looked down and quickly noticed what he was doing. "Warn a girl next time."

He let out a low chuckle. "Just relax, girl. I got you." One of his hands contained the washcloth and was cleaning one of her breasts, while his other hand simply held onto its twin. He was gentle, once again, ensuring he took his time cleaning every inch of her. He took both of her nipples in his fingers and rolled them softly.

Maya twisted on top of him, rubbing against his groin. Her hands went behind her and she took him into her hands.

He pulled away. "It's not about me tonight, babe. Tonight's all about you," he said, his hand squeezing a breast and his fingers giving her nipple a light pinch. "Just enjoy it."

"I want you to enjoy it, too," she said, feeling her skin melting into his.

"I am." He placed light kisses on her neck. "Really."

She turned her face to look up at his. "You're not just saying that?"

He gave her a small smile. "When it comes to loving you, I'll always be fully honest with you. Promise." He pressed his nose against hers.

Her hand went to capture his neck, pulling him back to her so she could kiss him. "When you say things like that I don't feel I deserve you. You're too good."

He pushed her back so they could look into each other's eyes. "You deserve the world."

A single tear came down as stared up at him. "You are my world." She reached up to his lips once again.

The kiss was slow and steady at first. His tongue grazed her bottom lip. She let out a moan and opened her mouth, allowing him more access to her. His tongue danced with hers for a while, both of their arousals heating up. His hands went down her stomach, rubbing and cleaning her sides with slow tenderness. He got to her thighs and went at a turtle's pace, fingers moving an inch at a time. His fingers gradually made their way toward her middle.

She sucked in a breath of air once his fingers reached her center. He hadn't touched her clit or lips yet, but the fact that he was closer than before drove her wild. "Namjoon."

"Tell me," he whispered into her ear, his fingers tracing small patterns just millimeters from her clit. His fingers pressed a little harder, loving how her moan turned deeper.

"I need your fingers," she breathed out, her ass grinding onto his cock. "On my pussy."

"That's a good girl, using your words," he said as his fingers moved to where she wanted.

Her fingers dug into his thighs as she felt his fingertips finally touch her throbbing clit.

His lips came to her neck, nipping and biting her slightly. He took in her moans and increased his speed, feeling her clit pulse and grow hot. The moment her breath pitched and her back arched, he slowed down. He took her button in between two fingers and lightly pinched it.

A small sob came out of her lips when he continued to go at a snail's pace. The buildup within her was getting restless. She needed release. "Baby, pleeeease."

Her sounds made his dick hard. "What?" he asked innocently as if he wasn't aware of the chaos he was stirring inside her. "My fingers are on your pussy."

She dug her nails into his upper thighs, making him inhale sharply. "Inside me."

"All you had to do was ask," he said then his fingers further down. Once they reached her opening, he felt her relax a little.

He pressed his middle finger into her inner lips, moving it up and down, exciting her. His pace was steady and firm. After a few strokes, he then moved into her opening. Then, ever so gently, his fingertip went inside of her.

They let out a moan in unison, each loving the feeling for different reasons.

Namjoon could feel Maya's walls pulse around his finger as they swallowed it in. Maya's restlessness tamed at his touch.

His finger moved in and out of her, loving the way it made her ass rub harder against him. He was sure if she kept it up, he was going to cum in his boxers. However, he pressed down his orgasm and focused on bringing her to full satisfaction. She had taken enough teasing from him. She deserved a bit of release.

Using another finger, he inserted it inside her and picked up the pace. He went a little harder on her, knowing how quickly she came undone when he did so.

Having two fingers stimulating her caused Maya's toes to curl. Her climax was just a breath away. She could feel it. She could taste it.

Namjoon's strokes became a little rougher and harder. His other fingers pressed onto her clit and rubbed at a fast and hard pace.

Maya's legs began to quiver at his touch. "So close."

His fingers curled in, grazing at a special spot inside her. His fingers went further in, the tips pressing against that spongy sack. "Come on, baby. Be a good girl. Cum for me."

Her entire body jerked and exploded above his as she finally reached her climax. Her heart raced; her skin caught on fire. God, she almost forgot how good this felt.

While her toys and her fingers had kept her satisfied the last couple of months, nothing compared to when Namjoon brought her to fruition. When she self-pleasured herself, it was all about physical hunger and an itch she needed to scratch. With Namjoon...it was always more than that. It was always physical, of course, but the emotional element she brought out of her added an extra layer of bliss.

It took a couple of minutes for Maya's body to calm down and for her breaths to become steady. All the while, Namjoon's hands caressed her, helping bring her down to earth.

Once settled, she cuddled against him, rubbing her head to his neck.

"Have you come back to me?" he asked, his hand making circles on her stomach.

She gave a simple nod. "I think it's time for us to get to bed." She turned her neck and pecked his chest.

"Yeah?"

Another nod.

He pressed her back a little, signaling her to move forward.

She obeyed with a pout. He made his way out of the tub and she was quick to notice the tent on his boxers. She really needed to fix that once they got to bed.

He dried himself quickly and then offered her his hand. Taking it, she got to her feet and held onto both his hands as she climbed out. She didn't miss how he stared at her naked frame for a good, long moment before he wrapped a towel around her soaking skin.

Taking his time, he dried her hair, his eyes mostly on her tits and pussy than where he was drying. She didn't mind. Her eyes were feeding on his own titties and arms. He had wrapped the towel around his damn middle so she couldn't drool over his tent.

After drying her skin, he took her robe off the floor and tied it around her.

She turned to the side and noticed the wine. "We forgot about that."

He took the glasses and offered her one. "One last sip, so they don't go completely to waste."

"It lost its fizzle," she argued.

"Just one sip," he urged.

She rolled her eyes. Of course, he wouldn't want to waste an expensive product. She gave in and took a good, long sip. She knew if she didn't, he would only have her drink more.

He took one more sip himself, making a face as he gulped.

Maya laughed. "Told you."

He set the glasses back down. "I'll clean all this up tomorrow. Promise."

Maya knew he said it because he knew she had a bit of a cleaning problem. It's not like she had OCD, but messiness did bother her a little.

He offered her his arm to take. She did so and forgot about the mess they were walking out of. Together they made their way down the hall and to his bed.

Once they arrived at the foot of the bed, Maya turned towards Namjoon and tugged at the towel around his waist. "Your turn," she said with a coy smile.

He smiled back at her but took her hands in his. "Maybe another night. I told you; tonight is all about you. I meant it."

"But I like giving you attention. If this is about me, then shouldn't you give in to my wants?" She sulked.

He chuckled. "Tonight being about you has nothing to do with giving into your demands. Even if you do look super cute pouting."

Maya narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't call me—"

He shut her up with a heated kiss. His fingers threaded into her hair as he pulled her roughly against his body.

Maya forgot about what she was arguing about. His lips worked magic and made her forget everything else.

His fingers came between them and untied her robe. The cloth was on the floor in under two seconds. All that foreplay in the tub was making him want to be inside her. Soon.

It was only after she was fully naked that she was then allowed to tug at his towel and push down his boxers. She might not be able to go down on him tonight, but she was grateful that she could at least touch his thick member.

Her hands took full advantage, wrapping around him and squeezing him.

The action caused him to pull his lips from hers to let out a hiss.

She took the opportunity to bend her head and look down at his throbbing member.

God, he was fucking gorgeous. He was so thick and hard and had a nice girth. Using her tongue and mouth, she gathered a good amount of spit and aimed. The liquid fell off her mouth and landed at the base of his cock. She heard him let out another hiss once it made contact with his skin. Using her spit as lube, she moved her hands up and down his length, taking pleasure in hearing his sounds.

She took the head of his cock and twisted her wrist during her movements. Her thumb pressed onto his piss slit. Her other hand reached beneath him and took hold of one of his balls.

"Shit," he hissed. He couldn't contain himself anymore. It had been a mistake to let her touch him. Just as he knew her body well, she knew his.

He took hold of her curvy waist and lifted her easily.

A squeak escaped her.

He dropped her down on his bed. She read him well and went further up the bed. Once she was settled at the head and lying on the pillows, Namjoon simply stared at her.

"Shit, baby. You're beautiful," he said as his eyes tried to take in all of her.

Her eyes dropped to his member, standing fully erect and pointing right at her. It looked furious, needing a pussy to settle inside of. Her pussy only got wetter at the anticipation. "You're one to talk." She reached for him. "Come here."

His knees came to the bed and he crawled over to her, his body moving above hers. "I wanted to take this slow. But you're making it difficult."

She bit his lip, loving how he hovered above her. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "Not being a really good girl."

A loud moan came out from her lips.

Using his legs, he maneuvered her, making her spread her legs wide open. "Bad girls get bad treatment, did you know that?" His hand boldly pressed through her lower lips then came down with a light smack.

Maya almost came for the second time right at that moment. "Fuck!" Her hips twisted underneath him; her hands reached up to take hold of his forearms to keep steady.

He did it one more time, loving seeing her come apart.

She dug her fingernails into his skin, letting out a hiss.

He took hold of her thighs and pushed her legs straight up. Using one hand to hold her that way, he took his cock in his other hand and pressed the head of his cock onto her opening. "You on the pill, baby?"

She mewled. "Mmm-hmmm."

Both had a breeding kink. He knew once he put his dick inside her, it was going to be difficult cuming anywhere else other than her pussy.

He stroked his member against her pussy lips a few times, wanting her wetter. He was fairly big and they hadn't been sexually active for so long. He wanted this to be as easy for her as possible, which meant she needed to be as much around as possible.

Placing his cock head on her clit, he used two fingers to stretch her. Her walls welcomed him, squeezing his fingers. He pushed knuckle-deep, easily due to her arousal. He pulled back and came back inside her with a third finger.

"Yeeeesss," she moaned, moving her hips. She didn't have control over her legs since he was still holding them straight up, so it was the only thing she could do.

After several rubs, he pulled his digits out and placed the head of his cock onto her entrance. Her hole easily took him in. He felt her squeeze around him. "Easy, baby."

"Want you in," she moaned.

He pushed in a little further and her cunt suckled everything he gave. "Shit, you feel better than I remember," he let out as he pulled out slowly.

A whimper escaped her top lips. "Want you fully in," she nearly begged as she wiggled her hips. Hated that he had control over her legs. She wanted to wrap them around his waist and push him further in. Bring all of his long inches inside of her.

"We got time, baby. Just enjoy it." With the same slow rhythm, he moved back into her.

He continued at this pace for far too long, tipping her near the edge but not allowing her to fully fall. The slow strokes allowed the lube he needed to go balls-deep but also made the knot in her stomach go insane.

Maya felt insanely stretched. Even though she had been playing with herself lately with a dildo almost as big as Namjoon's cock, nothing could have prepped her for the real thing. There was something about Namjoon's cock that hit every sensitive area in her. It was long enough to pound a sweet spot deep inside, but not long enough that made the experience more uncomfortable than pleasurable. Its girth was thick enough to stretch her in sweet ecstasy, but not too much for it to be considered painful. And that thick vein along the underside of his length rubbed her walls just right. He really had a Goldie Locks kind of cock that complimented her pussy just right.

He popped his dick inside and pulled out almost immediately. Then, ever so slowly, he would press back inside her, only to pull out until just the head was inside her. He waited a few moments and pressed into her in a rough stroke. He pulled back out slowly once again and came back in with the same excruciating pace.

"Goddddd," she whined.

He moved her legs to her side, his cock hitting another sweet spot. "Ready to cum, baby?" His hips pushed forward, hard and rough, igniting a gasp out of her. He smiled.

"Yes," she moaned out. "Please." She reached forward and took ahold of his forearms. She had better control of her hips now, so she twisted them with desperation. "I need you."

He finally quickened his thrusts, loving the feel of her wetness and tightness around him. "You feel so fucking good, baby."

His movements were now causing squishing sounds to come out of their joined organs. She felt a gush of wetness coming out of her at hearing this. "Oh my god."

As he went faster, her boobs began to move. They looked so fucking appetizing. He bent forward and took one of her breasts into his mouth, sucking on her nipple.

Reaching out, she scratched at his chest. Her mouth opened to let out another sound, but she found her voice got stuck in her throat. He was hitting a spot that felt so damn good, it was causing her to go voiceless.

Seeing her mouth so wide open, he caught drool coming out of the corner of her mouth. Fuck, that was hot. He pulled his lips from her tit and sat straight up again, taking hold of her thigh and using it as leverage to pump faster into her. He could feel his balls tighten. He was close. But he wanted more time.

He moved her legs again. He spread them wide on either side of him but wrapped his hands on the front of her thighs to keep her from wrapping around him. He used this new angle to grip her and pull her towards him harder.

This new angle allowed him to have a great view of her bouncing breasts and face that was full of ecstasy.

Bucking her hips vigorously, she felt herself getting to the edge. "Almost."

He let go of one of her legs, moving his fingers to her clit. His fingers moved at the same vigorous pace as his hips. "Come on, baby."

Her eyes rolled back as her spine arched against his body. His cock was hitting such a honied area and his fingers were working beautiful magic on her. She was on the very tip, ready to erupt around him. His voice and words duplicated the amount of energy she was about to send out.

He bent at the waist, his rhythm never changed, and whispered ever so deep, "Be my good girl. Give me one more."

Her entire world came apart. Light no longer existed, touch and feel had ceased to exist.

Feeling her walls tighten around him, her body quiver underneath him, and hearing her let out a strong wail was all he needed. He pressed forward one last time and felt himself spill inside her. His body too shook from the intensity.

She let out a moan at the feel of his seed. Her arms wrapped around him, inviting his full weight on her.

He stayed like that, on top of her, forgetting how much he weighed. She just felt so nice underneath him. Her softness felt like a pillow.

It took a couple of minutes for him to realize he was probably crushing her. He immediately pushed off. "Sorry, babe."

She let out a small whine. "Mmm. You felt nice." A shiver came over her body at being separated from his warmth.

He noticed her coldness and pulled her to his chest, warming her.

She let out a sigh and snuggled. "So that's what making love is?" she asked, a little chuckle coming out.

He smiled at her teasing and kissed her forehead. "Did you enjoy it?"

She nodded. After several moments of silence, she spoke again. "You won't put on the ondol tonight?" There was a hint of concern in her tone.

"Well, it is winter. If I leave it off, we'll freeze to death," he teased. "But I'll keep it low. I promise."

Her next words were just above a whisper. He was certain she was falling asleep. "I just don't want it to be too warm. If I'm too warm, my body won't need you to keep warm. And I want to need you."

Other than when she told him she loved him, no other words she had said had moved him like this. He bent down and took her mouth into his.

Even as she was half asleep, she still felt the passion. They'd had plenty of intense, hot kisses. But this one reminded her of that first one they shared when they got back together. It was beyond passion. Beyond longing. It was full of love.

He pulled away slowly. "I want you to need me, too."

She smiled at him, her eyes heavy and closing.

He kissed her shut eyelids, marveling at her beauty. "Mai?"

"Mmmmm," she barely let out.

"I love you," he said with his full heart.

"I love you," she breathed out, her voice full of contentment. He swore that if she was a cat, she'd be purring.

----------------------

NOTE: Unsure when Chapter 2 will be posted. I'm still mapping out the story and I tend to prefer writing a big chunk of a story before I start posting it, so it might take a while. 

[unholy-fabray]

Thank you @kurtsascot for the tag!! 🫶

I usually post art, but I don't currently having any fan art WIPs to show, so I'm gonna post a snippet of a Faberry one-shot I've been working on instead :]

Tagging: @unholybinchicken @paperstomach I think everyone else I would tag has already been tagged, so I'm leaving it open to anyone else who sees this and wants to share! 💖 Let me see your creations!!

Premise: Season 4 AU in which Quinn actually uses her damn metro pass to visit Rachel in NYC! AKA Quinn goes to visit Rachel during a 3-day weekend and drunken karaoke (and kisses) ensue.

On more than one occasion, Quinn had found herself on the phone with Rachel into the small hours of the morning, musing about life, music, religion, veganism, fourth-wave feminism, and the merits of Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver. It had been a long time since Quinn felt like she could ramble about those “deep” topics with someone else; the townsfolk of Lima, Ohio didn’t tend to be particularly deep thinkers, she muses. The blonde relishes the phone calls in which her and Rachel jump down the rabbit hole of conversation. The banter flowed easily between them - only occasionally slipping into the scathing sarcasm of their high school years - and Quinn could appreciate Rachel's penchant for dramatically rehashing the events of her days spent at NYADA. Sometimes, after they hung up and Quinn was bedding down for the night, the blonde would be struck by the realization that this was Rachel Berry that she was talking to and enjoying the company of, sharing sincere thoughts and earnest opinions with; it's a notion she would have scoffed at even two years prior. The absurdity of this fact lessens with every passing day and every long-winded phone call.

Quinn snaps the latches of the suitcase closed and straightens up with a satisfied sigh. She whips out her phone to shoot Rachel a quick update. Done with packing, finally. I’ll be heading your way in approximately two hours. You better not be planning any surprise parties. YAY!! surprise parties? me? you must have me confused with someone else ;) be safe see you soon!! [Attached is a picture. Rachel is in the kitchen of her and Kurt’s Bushwick apartment, beaming at the camera. Her hair is in a messy bun, make-up half done, and she’s wearing a NYADA sweatshirt. It looks like she's throwing ingredients into a bowl, but it's hard to tell exactly what they are. Quinn can make out Kurt in the background, fashion magazine perched in hit lap, as he eyes Rachel taking the photo with an amused raise of his eyebrow.] Quinn can imagine her rushing to make breakfast before setting off for rehearsals, perpetually on the verge of running late. The thought has her release a quiet puff of laughter and she shakes her head.

[littleladymab]

I've put a bunch of old drabble requests into a giant doc and i'm slowly poking at them and I figured since it's nrmts week why not do a real old prompts from @bardicspiration that was a "hope we don't get caught" kiss post aa4.

Perfect little exercise to distract me for a few hours!

++++

Miles had a lot of time to think about how he felt about the entire situation. He had the time from the first text message from Phoenix, I think I broke the case, then seconds after, I mean in a positive way not in a way that needs to be fixed — just in case, you know, you thought I needed your help. 

That had stung, a little, but he had taken it in stride. He knew what it was supposed to mean (you don’t need to panic and fly halfway across the world to save the day, I have this handled), and it made him think about the situation. 

Then, the next text message a week later. Check your email. 

Article proofs and case files that Phoenix had access to before they would go public. Outlining one simple thing: The case, that had subsumed Phoenix for seven years, had finally come to an end. 

And Miles didn’t do a single thing. 

It seems a little unfair, he thinks during the 11 hour flight, that he couldn’t help. Both of them were people that had a hard time asking for help, but shouldn’t he be more prepared to give it? Something more than a silent shoulder for support when things got rough? 

All of this and more is what Miles thinks about as he makes his way through customs at LAX, as he remains in pensive silence as Gumshoe drives him to the hotel the Wrights are hosting the party in. 

Miles had so much time to think about the entire situation, but absolutely none of that mattered when Phoenix looked up at him and smiled in that wholly radiant way he hadn’t in seven years. 

“You made it right in time for the toast,” Phoenix says, laughter in his voice as he reaches to take Miles’ suitcase. He waylaid them in the lobby instead of letting Miles go check-in and leave his things with the bell desk. 

“I ran every red light to get here,” Gumshoe says proudly, because that’s the joke by this point, and Miles sighs and shakes his head.

“He didn’t. He drove responsibly.” 

Phoenix winks conspiratorially. “Right. I won’t tell the cops.” 

Gumshoe sputters as he follows behind them, successfully cutting off any chance of retreat Miles might have had to duck away long enough to stop by the bell desk. 

“This couldn’t wait at least a minute?” Miles grumbles, though he finds that he doesn’t really mean it as Phoenix’s hand brushes his as they walk. 

“I’ll help you with your luggage after this is done,” Phoenix promises. 

He doesn’t have to. Miles can easily leave it with a bellman. But there’s another brush of hands, the faintest pressure of a finger hooked around his to form a bare hand hold, a reminder that it’s been months since they’ve last seen each other, and Miles keeps his mouth shut. 

Trucy has her arms around him as soon as they are at the table, and then she flounces away before he can remember to respond — pressing a glass of sparkling apple juice into his hand as she goes to greet Gumshoe. 

At the place of honor at the table, hands clenched nervously around a mostly empty pint, is the young attorney Apollo that won the case. His eyes bug out of his head as he spots Miles, and he nods politely and gives what he hopes is a reassuring smile. There’s Kay and Ema and Maya, only Franziska missing from their quartet though she couldn’t avoid a court date to make it out here. Pearl gives him a little wave and an even littler smile. 

And those are just the people he recognizes, though there’s even more crammed around the cluster of tables. People that Phoenix has gathered to him over the years that Miles hasn’t been there. 

Trucy returns to sit at Apollo’s side, leaning companionably against his shoulder, and Miles remembers with a start that Phoenix mentioned they were half-siblings. 

Phoenix claps his hand a little roughly on Apollo’s shoulder, and the resulting yelp is loud enough to end the conversation from everyone around the table. He lifts his glass of sparkling juice and casts a smile around the gathered crowd. “Thank you all for coming. Each of you has been instrumental in helping me these past seven years, but of course none of this could have been done without Apollo. Your support for me has extended to him, and he’s more than earned a place at the Wright Anything Agency. This is to congratulate him on a run of successful trial and to welcome him on as an permanent member of my team. Cheers!” 

There’s a riotous applause from those gathered at the table, Trucy whooping in support as she shakes Apollo’s arm. 

The young man’s smile is watery as everyone descends on him to offer their own personal support and congratulations. 

It also serves as a perfect distraction for Phoenix to usher Miles back out of the hotel restaurant towards the front desk. He stands back, Miles’ suitcase still in his hand, as Miles checks in. 

And because he can read the situation without being told, Miles declines any luggage assistance, saying that they have it handled, and follows Phoenix to the elevator. 

“You still haven’t told everyone?” he asks as they wait. 

There’s a tinge of embarrassment to Phoenix’s posture as he navigates the suitcase into the elevator when the doors open. “I’ve been so caught up with handling the press surrounding Kristoph’s case that I don’t want to chance what would happen if our relationship went public.” 

“You think someone would leak it?” 

Phoenix shrugs, then looks down as Miles takes his hand. His smile softens, and he rubs a thumb across Miles’ knuckles in response. “There’s still a part of me that’s having a hard time letting myself trust people again. Trucy knows. It’s hard to keep anything from her. Maya, I’m pretty certain has figured it out.” 

“Franziska knows.” 

“Couldn’t keep it from her?” 

Miles shrugs as the elevator dings to signal their floor. “I tell her everything.” He double checks the room number on his key packet. “I understand. There’s press for cases, which is fine. That’s a part of the job. But when it starts to carve its way into your personal life…” 

He had his fair share of the press sticking their noses where it didn’t belong after the von Karma case. After the Gant case. After his return, despite how discreet he attempted to be. 

He shoulders open the door to his room and stands aside to let Phoenix bring in the suitcase, though that’s about as long as he allows himself to wait. 

Miles pulls Phoenix in for a kiss before the door has even finished swinging shut. 

“We can’t be gone long,” Phoenix tries to say, though he makes no effort to dissuade Miles — in fact, doing quite the opposite and draping his arms around Miles’ neck to keep him in place. 

“They’re all very intelligent people, I’m pretty sure they’ve already put two and two together,” Miles laughs as he backs Phoenix up against the door. “And if not, let them guess.” 

Phoenix’s laugh is muffled through the kiss. 

[catdotjpeg]

Lebanese product designer Tara Tabet does not want to see her country pulled into a full-scale war with Israel, but like many of her compatriots is bracing for possible conflict after new threats by armed group Hezbollah against both Israel and Cyprus. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah surprised many on Wednesday when he said Cyprus - the EU member state closest to Lebanon - could be drawn into the group's conflict with Israel, raging in parallel with the Gaza war. Cyprus has denied taking sides in any war. The warning by Nasrallah, who also threatened Israel with widespread precision strikes, left many Lebanese resigned to preparing for a possible escalation. "Of course we don't want to go into a war with them - but if that's in solidarity with the people in Gaza, then so be it," Tabet, 32, told Reuters in Beirut on Thursday. Asked if the threat to Cyprus had worried her, Tabet said it could derail her plans for a civil marriage. In Lebanon, personal status laws are governed by the courts of each religion - pushing many couples from different religious backgrounds to travel 40 minutes by plane to Cyprus to be married in court. She said it was "stressful" to live with so much uncertainty, but that she had been trying to carry on "as if there's nothing - all of Beirut is like that".

[...]

Sami Masri, a 38-year-old businessman from the south who runs a coffeeshop in Beirut, said Israeli strikes had kept him from taking his family to the rolling hills of southern Lebanon for weekends, as they usually did in summer.

[...]

"You're not happy because, you don't know, at any point - we have our passports ready, we have a suitcase ready, we have some food stocks ready," he told Reuters. Already, some 90,000 Lebanese have fled their homes in the south. Some left Lebanon, others are staying with relatives and the most vulnerable are in collective shelters, including in the port city of Sidon. Bana Baalbaki, a Sidon resident who spoke to Reuters in the city's market quarter, put on a brave face. "No, I am not afraid because we are not better than the people of Gaza, nor the people of the south who were displaced," she told Reuters. But others - like shopkeeper Qassem Qarram - were more worried. "Of course everyone is afraid, and those who tell you they are not afraid will be lying to themselves," he said.

-- "Weary Lebanese brace for war after new Hezbollah threats" by Emilie Madi, Aziz Taher, Hassan Hankir, and Maya Gebeily for Reuters, 20 Jun 2024 12:42pm EDT

[she-karev]

Mama Bear (Andrew DeLuca x Alex Karev’s Sister Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of Three

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Canon Season and Episode: Season 19 Episode 8

AN: Hey guys this chapter is set three months after the last story and will focus on Amber and Andrew’s new role as working parents. The next two parts will be posted over the next two days so hand tight and I always appreciate a like and reblog.

Summary: Amber comes back to work after maternity leave and finds out that Owen and Teddy’s daughter, Allison bit Pru and Lucy.

Words: 5022

January 10th, 2023

I slowly open my eyes as the morning light hits me from the curtains. I’m in bed wearing Andrew’s white button down and my underwear after we got Lucy down and she slept for 8 hours straight. I think she knew today was mommy’s first day back after maternity leave and decided to show mercy. I grab my phone charging on my nightstand and see it’s about an hour before my alarm goes off. I put the phone down and hit my head on the pillow looking to get some more rest. However, an arm snakes around my ribs telling me I’m not gonna go back to sleep.

I can feel Andrew curling himself against my back and kissing my cheek, “Buongiorno bella.”

I groan tiredly, “Don’t speak Italian. I need to get as much sleep as I can and you speaking Italian is gonna make me want to wake up and use all my energy on you.”

Andrew chuckles still spooning me and defies me, “Okay…Ma ti bacero comunque per molto tempo.” (Translation: But I’m still gonna kiss you for a good long time.) He continues kissing my cheek and works his way down the side of my neck nipping me causing me to moan softly and grin despite my previous attempt to shoo him away.

“I’m nervous enough as it is leaving our daughter in daycare while I go back to work since I went on maternity leave. And people are gonna be underestimating my abilities as a surgeon thinking that motherhood has made me soft.”

Andrew kisses my head and grins, “You know someone once told me that sexual intercourse is a really great remedy to reduce stress and nerves.”

I laugh at his ridiculous attempts to get back in the saddle, “Is this peer reviewed or is this just a way to take advantage of alone time while the baby is asleep?”

“...Can’t it be both?” I grin at him mischievously before pushing him on his back and straddle him surprising him, “Whoa, I could wake up like this every day.”

I lean forward till we’re face to face and speak in a low husky voice, “I know you could, but this feels like a special occasion and I don’t want to waste it. We make it quick and we make it good.”

Andrew rumbles in his throat in approval, “Yes ma’am.” I lean forward to kiss him. We make out passionately ready to take things further when Lucy crying over the baby monitor stops us. I pull back and groan at her bad timing as does Andrew who slumps his head back on the pillow annoyed, “I’m not quick enough for us to get that in time.”

I pat his chest in comfort and get off him to get out of bed. I walk to the pale pink nursery across the hall rubbing my tired eyes. I open them to find Carina already in the room reaching down the fancy white crib and putting the crying baby in her arms. Lucia is in a white onesie with strawberry pattern and already has a puff of dark brown hair on top of her soft head. Carina rocks the baby gently singing to her but Lucia is still crying telling me she’s hungry.

I take Lucia from Carina’s arms, “Hi sweetheart it’s time for breakfast let’s go to the kitchen oh yes.” I walk to the kitchen where there are baby bottles everywhere as well as formula. Carina is following me no doubt already attached to her niece.

My sister-in-law moved in with us a few weeks ago after Maya kicked her out when Carina put a 5150 on her when she tried to leave the hospital despite being at risk for a heart attack. The morning after she came to our house in tears carrying a suitcase asking for a place to stay. Now she’s spending her free days in our home helping with the baby no doubt finding joy where she can while her marriage is falling apart. I feel bad for her I do and I appreciate the help but at this point it’s like she’s raising the baby with us.

“If you want, I can take her into daycare before I drive to the clinic. It can give you some time to rest.” Carina offers over Lucy’s screams.

I take the bottle of breast milk out of the fridge and cradle Lucy so she can eat. As soon as the tip is over her mouth she quiets and gets to work eating, “It’s fine Carina me and Andrew can take her in. Once I’m up fully I have a hard time getting back down, thankfully this little girl didn’t get that from me.”

Andrew walks in wearing his black t shirt and jeans, “Yep because by now we would’ve dropped her off at an adoption agency.” He starts the coffee machine.

I coo at the baby who is peacefully drinking her milk, “Wait the clinic? I thought Bailey’s clinic was postponed due to budget issues?”

Carina sighs, “It is I’m going to the clinic at the station and helping with patients.” I look up surprised at her as does Andrew and she notices, “What?”

I continue feeding Lucy as I explain, “I didn’t think you’d want to go there today after um...well after-”

“My wife kicked me out and told me our marriage was over?” Carina finishes.

Andrew clears his throat, “We were trying to tread carefully but yeah. You know Warren is a doctor and I can go in and cover for you if you want.”

Carina shakes her head, “Thank you but it’s important work and I am not gonna abandon those patients. Maya is not gonna take that from me.”

I grin at her positive attitude, “Have you two talked since that night?”

“Nope, I tried texting and calling her to see if she’s okay but it goes straight to voicemail. Also, I don’t know if she’s in the station today so it’s either gonna be a bad or worse day for me.”

Andrew stirs his coffee with a serious face, “Do you want me to kick her ass if she’s in?”

“Baby in the room honey.” I remind him and Lucy finishes her breakfast, “I highly doubt they’ll let a woman who thrashed in her hospital bed and had a cardiac event come into a fire station anyway. But in the event, they do you know where to find me and I can shoot breast milk in her eyes as payback.”

Carina chuckles, “I will call you if it comes down to that. Thank you both but I am okay I will be okay it’s a day to save lives and I am doing that.”

“Amen sister.” I wipe Lucy’s mouth, “Today is a good day for me too. Not only am I getting back to work but we’re also treating a celebrity, Jermaine Talbott.” I smile at that as Carina looks at me confused, “Number one draft pick for the Seattle Seahawks? Has tackles and sacks that rivals Tom Brady? Come on how do you not know this?”

Carina shrugs, “I’ve been in this country for five years and football to me is when you kick the soccer into the net.”

“Okay I don’t have time to educate you I gotta get ready.” I walk to Andrew and hand him Lucy, “Can you take care of her while I shower and we can drop her off at daycare?”

“Yeah of course it gives me time to spend with my favorite daughter before I go into a six-hour surgery.” He holds her over his shoulder and kisses her cheek. I walk away before I get caught up in her cuteness so I can get ready for my first day back at work.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We walk down the hall towards the daycare with Lucy in a stroller I push anxious about leaving her. I know it’s not a bad thing for me to leave her in daycare while I work. All the parents say it’s a great program and the nurses are super nice and text pictures of the babies. I know it’s a good thing for me to go back to work so I can be a good role model for my daughter and she can be inspired to change the world as she grows.

“Okay Lucy mommy and daddy are gonna be saving lives while you play with the other kids all day.” Lucy looks at us blankly with her blue eyes while wearing a pink onesie that says princess, white pants and a white hat, “Don’t look at me like that you’ll know the pressures of being an adult when the time comes and you’ll know mommy was strong to leave you in daycare despite how cute you are and how much I’m gonna miss you. I love you sweetie but I also love being a doctor too.”

Andrew grins as we stop outside the daycare ready to check in standing behind Alex and Jo who are with Luna in a stroller, “Now Lucy don’t worry if anything goes wrong today and that is a very big if, mommy and daddy are only a 30 second elevator ride away. And you have your cousin Luna in there to keep you company, right Luna?”

Jo awes at Lucy, “Hi Lucy. Oh, I remember when I first dropped off Luna at daycare, I was a mess. But don’t worry it gets better and back then she didn’t have a cousin to play with.”

Alex checks Luna in and the orderlies take her inside as he stands next to us, “You got nothing to worry about sis, the people taking care of her are some of the best pediatric nurses in the hospital. Plus, they text you pictures and updates.” Alex hands the clipboard to Andrew to check her in.

“Okay if you have trouble putting her down try The Beatles or AC/DC both of those works like a charm and in case we’re in surgery and don’t answer, my sister’s cell is here and she can come right down.” Andrew explains to the orderlies who take the stroller from me and I whimper at the separation. I grip Alex’s upper arm in anxiety so tightly he yells out in pain.

I inhale, “Okay I’m in the pit all day so can the three of you rotate to hop up here and check on her every ten minutes?” They all say no to my ire and Jo stands in front of me with a reassuring grin.

“Okay Amber take a deep breath.” Jo takes a deep breath and I follow, “And out.” We do that, “This is a good thing, it’s good for her to see you work and achieve that way she can do the same and become supreme justice of the court. It’s good for her to see mommy work and she knows she is always on your mind no matter what. Drill that into your head and you might just end the day feeling good about yourself. Okay?”

I nod, “Okay...here I go off to save the world.” I walk away from the daycare and take a deep inhale to steady myself before starting my first day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I discharged a patient with a broken arm to a private room leaving the pit empty. I go over the charts and see Adams, Millin and Yasuda approaching me with eager faces no doubt hungry for surgery.

Adams greets me first, “Welcome back Dr. DeLuca if there’s anything you need to ease back into work after maternity leave, I would be more than happy to help.”

I look up at him with narrow eyes, “Are you doubting my abilities to fully come back to work Dr. Adams?” Millin and Yasuda look amused at how Adams already made me angry while he looks sheepish.

“Oh no, no absolutely not I-I just thought that-”

“You like so many other males immediately assume that just because I had a baby, I cannot do my exceptionally difficult and time-consuming job. I went into labor and pushed a ten-ounce beautiful baby from my vagina, it’s not like I went on a sabbatical to Antarctica. With that being said, Adams you will take beds 1 to 4, Millin 5-9 and Yasuda the rest. Report to me if you have any questions.”

“But the beds are empty.” Adams states.

“You think I don’t have eyes?” I snap and he keeps his mouth shut, “We work in a busy city in the center of the population odds are there’s bound to be at least one patient coming in every 10 minutes and when that happens, I expect you all the treat them accordingly and not give unnecessary surgical hours just because you are greedy to cut. Nod if you understand.” They all nod, “Great get to work and get the beds and charts ready for our future patients.”

I turn to the station and hear them bicker behind me with Yasuda starting, “I am not losing another surgery.”

“We don’t have to compete over everything.”

Yasuda ignores Millin, “First person to do an actual procedure gets the bedroom to the left of the stairs.”

“What? I already drew that room.” Adams argues.

“And I'm appealing the draw.”

“Less talking more working people! I can make it so you’ll get scut till my newborn walks now go!” I hear them walking away when I hear a man pleading by the entrance. I turn to see a guy leaning over clearly in pain.

“Help! Please!”

The interns rush over to him trying to claim him. I roll my eyes and rush over so they don’t rip him apart like a ragdoll, “Sir I’m Dr. DeLuca can you tell me what happened?”

I help him stand along with Millin as Yasuda gets a wheelchair, “I failed, doc. I couldn't do it.

“You couldn't do what?” Adams asks.

“The Pho-Nomenal Challenge.”

I raise an eyebrow, “The what?”

Yasuda stands behind with a wheelchair and I help him sit on it as she explains, “The Pho-Nomenal Challenge is three pounds of meat, three pounds of noodles, three liters of broth. If you finish in an hour and a half, you win $250. Did you just come from there?”

The man explains, “No, I tried it five days ago, and I have not been able to take a crap since. Please help me.” I try to keep my disgust to myself and lead him to a bed. In a strange way this seems fitting for my first day back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After getting him in a gown I do a physical exam in the bed at the pit with the interns observing from behind me. Jared Gillespie is lying on his side groaning in pain. It’s what happens when you try to down nine pounds of food in under two hours.

“Question Adams what are the symptoms of extreme constipation?”

“Um severe abdominal pain, bloating, difficulty sitting.”

Jared groans as I press down, “Very good, Millin what is the home treatment?”

“Increasing your water intake, eating adequate sources of fiber, exercise, reducing stress.”

“Jared, have you tried these methods before coming here?”

“How am I supposed to reduce stress when my entire body is full of pho?” I ignore his outburst and focus on his abdomen that feels rigid, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m just I’m very uncomfortable.”

I snort at that understanding, “I just gave birth I know how uncomfortable and constipated you feel, trust me.”

A nurse walks toward us, “Excuse me um can I borrow one of you?” The interns raise their hands and call out like third graders.

I sigh, “Millin go.” She leaves the pit and follows the nurse, “Your turn Yasuda how do we visualize his bowels?”

“We get a KUB and then do a digital rectal exam.”

Jared turns to us shocked, “Wait I’m sorry digital?”

I try to ease his worries, “It’s relatively painless as long as you relax while you bend down and we-”

“Okay never mind.”

I take the gloves off and feel my body telling me to go to the restroom. I sigh and walk to the remaining two interns, “After ruling everything out, you can try a stool softener or an enema. If none of that works then we can consider doing a procedure. I have an emergency to tend to, let me know how it goes.”

Yasuda tries to butter me up, “Um Dr. DeLuca maybe I can handle the emergency while Adams stays here with Jared.”

I narrow my eyes at her trying to get surgeries while I’m lactating, “Can you take the breast pump out from behind the station, go to a private room and pump out milk for my growing child?” Yasuda looks at me awkward about that and I grin maliciously, “I didn’t think so now move.” She moves out of my way and I grab the bag from behind the station so I can get down to business.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I exhaled in relief inside the resident’s lounge bathroom as I fill up the last bottle and put my bra and top back on. I put the items away, sling the bag over my shoulder and walk down the hall to go back to the pit when my phone rings. I see the daycare is calling me and I immediately answer it.

“Hello? …What?” The daycare told me to come down stating there was an incident and I ran down as fast as I can opting to take the stairs since the elevator was full. I run inside the daycare and everything looks normal except Lucy is sitting with Pru Miller while a nurse plays with them and Bailey is talking to the daycare supervisor. I rush toward Lucy and kneel down relieved to see that she’s okay as she plays with her plush green dragon, “Hi sweetheart what happened? Is everything okay?”

Bailey explains as she kneels down next to me in front of our daughters, “She’s fine and so is Pru they just had a little…encounter with Allison Hunt.”

“What do you mean? What kind of encounter?”

“Allison bit Pru and then she bit Lucy while they were playing in the carpet.”

Her telling me what happened incites something in me, it’s like a new kind of fury has developed in me, “What? Hunt and Altman’s kid bit my baby?”

“And mine and before you go into-”

I turn to an orderly, “When are that little shark’s parents getting here and what is the hardest object you have in this room?”

“Amber, I know what you’re feeling right now and I know the rage pulsing in your body is something I can’t mend but I’m gonna try to. Pru told me it was a one-time thing. The three of them were playing and apparently Allison was trying to say something and she couldn’t get the words out. Kids bite it happens.”

I scoff, “My baby isn’t even six months old yet, she shouldn’t have to worry about bullies this early. Why aren’t you mad? She bit your daughter too.”

“And I will talk to her parents but I am keeping in mind that Allison is three years old. She is not a bully; she doesn’t know what she’s doing and I’m sure when she’s told of this when she’s older she will feel bad.” I inhale and exhale as I hold my baby in my lap, “Now we will calmly tell the Hunt’s what is happening and hope this is a one-time thing. I am emphasizing the word calmly DeLuca can you do that?”

“…Can I calmly suggest they put a muzzle on their kid?” Bailey looks at me with a ‘really?’ look when Andrew walks inside the daycare looking worried.

He kneels down next to us relieved to see our baby in my lap, “Hey, a nurse came to me after my surgery and told me to come down, is everything okay?”

“Hunt and Altman’s little Damien bit our baby girl.” I explain in an angry tone.

Andrew looks shocked, “Which Damien?”

“Allison.” Bailey explains, “She bit Lucy and Pru.”

Andrew strokes Lucy’s short dark hair with an amused chuckle, “Oh is that true bambina? Was Allison a little rough during playtime?”

I look at him bewildered by how nonchalant he is, “Playing rough is stealing blocks or making noise during naptime. Biting is another story.”

“Well honey kids bite all the time it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal? This is our daughter, and yours.” I point out to Bailey, “Our three-year-old and five-month-old daughter who was bitten by a three-year-old. Why am I the only parent here who gives a-”

“Read the room.” Bailey reminds me.

I sigh remembering I’m in daycare and that I need to filter, “Right, why am I the only parent here who gives a chocolate pudding emoji about this attack?” I ask frustrated for Lucy who is too busy with her dragon to notice.

“Amber it’s not like Allison targeted Pru and Lucy.” My husband tries to mediate which means he thinks I’m overreacting, “Their babies and babies’ bite. I mean what if this was Lucy who did it?”

“But she didn’t.”

“But what if she did?”

“She didn’t.” I remind him sternly.

“Look as angry as you are and I feel you I really do Hunt and Altman are gonna feel as bad as we would have if Lucy did the biting. Don’t you agree?” I look at him with narrow eyes and stay silent confirming my answer, “Great so we will gently tell them what happened and not have to worry about this because odds are it will be a one-time thing.”

I sigh, “I will be civil.” I handed Lucy to him and we stood up to fill the injury report with Bailey. I fill out my information with Andrew holding a sleeping Lucy over his shoulder.

“We’re all the parents page?” I turn to see Hunt and Altman walking in and I take a deep breath reminding myself to be civil.

“Just the parents involved in the bite.” Bailey turns to face them, “Your kid bit my kid.”

“And mine.” I add venomously still pissed and they look shocked.

“Which?” Hunt asks.

“Allison. Bit Pru.” Bailey explains in a serious tone.

“And Lucy.” Andrew adds serious as well still holding our baby.

“That seems like a one-parent job. Let's make this one about you.” Hunt smugly says leaving Teddy to deal with us as we glare at her.

She sighs, “We are so sorry.” Bailey hands her the clipboard that she takes looking guilty.

I inhale seeing I’m no longer needed and turn to Andrew, “Okay I think you’re good to take care of the rest. I have a patient in the pit who needs to make a chocolate pudding emoji.” Andrew and Bailey look at me confused, “Don’t ask.” I smile at my daughter still sleeping on her dad’s shoulder, “Okay sweetheart mommy has to go to work but I will see you tonight don’t let the other kids tear you down.” Altman looks more guilty if that was possible but I ignore it and give Lucy a big kiss on her cheek, “It was nice talking to you, Dr. Bailey.” She nods in acknowledgment and I face Altman glaring daggers at her before leaving. As I leave, I distinctly hear her saying “If looks could kill.” That alone makes me grin to myself glad that I haven’t lost my touch.

I walk down the hall to find Yasuda outside the all gender restroom which tells me they performed the enema on Jared and is waiting for him. I approached her.

“You did the enema?”

“Yes ma’am.” Yasuda confirms leaning back against the wall, “I am just waiting for confirmation from the patient himself.”

“How long has he been in there?”

“About twenty-five minutes.”

I groan in disgust, “Oh god I hope my kid doesn’t do stupid challenges like this and end up in the same predicament.”

Yasuda shrugs, “Well making mistakes and doing stupid things makes us smarter and more prepared for life.” I look at her with a raised eyebrow, “How else do you think I got to be this stellar person who wants to achieve more than anyone else in life?”

“Have you bitten babies along the way?” I ask angry and she looks startled by my topic change, “Because that’s what happened to my kid. Altman and Hunt’s demon spawn bit my baby and everybody except me is writing it off. I left her because I trusted my husband enough to think that the daycare would take care of her but I left her alone for five minutes and some tiny little snake from the garden of Eden sunk her teeth into my baby. I swear if that kid becomes an intern here, I am gonna make her life hell.” I exhale in rage and look at Yasuda staring at me obviously taken back, “Sorry I’m angry and I rant when I’m angry.”

“Plus being a new mom, you’re bound to have mama bear moments especially when your baby cub gets hurt. And the way I saw Hunt and Altman biting each other’s head off my first week kids are bound to copy what they see at home.”

I chuckle at that, “That probably explains why I had so many anger problems as a kid. Oh god I want my kid to have a better life than I did growing up, instead she’s getting bitten on her first day of daycare.”

Yasuda looks at me in sympathy which I hate, “Kids are tough and the bright side is her hippocampus isn’t fully developed so she won’t remember this.”

“That is true.” Adams approaches us and I glare at him, “Adams where the hell have you been? Are you letting Yasuda do all the dirty work?”

“Um I was watching the Tanks surgery from the gallery.”

“Your patient is your patient until he’s discharged you don’t just hand him off to your co worker and expect her to do your chores.” I groan at his incompetence, “I do not need to be pissed off more Adams I’m already feeling like punching one brat don’t make me feel like punching two.”

“You should listen to her and agree because she will be violent.” Yasuda tells him to save him from the green-eyed resident.

Adams looks at Yasuda confused, “What are you doing?”

“Can't rush the rectum.”

“Wh-Uh, you're a surgeon. We are surgeons.”  

“Yeah, and general surgery's all about poop in the pipes, Skywalker.” I glare at both of them and she explains, “We have a bet whoever gets a procedure done at the end of the day will get the master bedroom and this enema of mine counts.” She turns to Adams with a smug grin, “Curtains or shades? My room gets a lot of light.”

“Eh, it's not your room until you have success.” We hear the toilet flush confirming the enema worked.

“Congrats Yasuda you win, Adams take the loss like a woman.” The door opens and Jared comes out looking much better, “Jared, how are you feeling?”

“I feel like I just lost 10 pounds.” Jared holds their shoulders gratefully and I am glad not to be touched by him after his crap marathon.

“Pho-tastic!” Yasuda yells out happy, “It's another dish on the menu.”

“I want to say thank you so much for your help. Now I can go back.” I look at him confused.

“Uh, um, I'm sorry?” Adams asks confused as well.

“To the restaurant. I need to win that $250.” I look at him dumbfounded and I shift into my stern mama bear face. I calmly hand Yasuda the tablet and she takes it sensing I’m about to tear this boy down.

“Young man, do you have any idea how badly this could’ve gone?” Jared frowns at my serious question, “You ate three pounds of meat, three pounds of noodles and three liters of broth in under two hours and came here with your pipes more clogged than Homer Simpson’s! And this right here was the best-case scenario your stomach could have burst and you would have to eat through a feeding tube at the age of 22 do you want to live like that?” Jared shakes his head clearly scared of me, “No! Nobody wants to live like that and you’re taking that risk going back and doing this dumb contest.”

“Challenge.” Adams corrects me and I glare at him shutting him up, “I’m not important here got it.”

I turn back to Jared, “Look Jared are your folks well off? Do they have money to give you if you need the cash this badly?”

Jared shrugs, “I mean yeah but I’m 22 and I’m graduating soon I don’t want them to worry about me if I ask for money.”

“Newsflash Jared they already worry about you! It’s a parents biological need to worry because if they don’t worry about you as you explore your life and figure out who you are through this terrifying and dangerous world then they don’t love you. Do your parents love you?” Jared nods, “Then they would rather have you call them and ask them for money than do this stupid challenge that could result in your doctors calling them and telling them their son lost his stomach or worse all for a few measly bucks you could’ve asked for. Do you get that?” Jared looks down guilty and nods, “Do you?” He nods more and mutters yeah, “Good you call your family tell them what happened tell them your okay and that you need money, go!” Jared walks away looking scared, I inhale and exhale after my speech with the interns looking at me clearly impressed.

“Damn.” Yasuda says with a grin, “I feel really bad for whoever is dumb enough to pick on your cub, mama bear.”

“Oh, you know that’s right.” I confirm and take my tablet back from her, “Come on you two back to the pit.”

Next Chapter Here

[countessofravenclaw]

A homeland this north, country dear fathers! Part tres

Winter is the time for holidays, celebrations, and fun. Nina, Gastón, Luna and Matteo receive a wedding invitation to France for the New Years and decide, since they're already going to Europe, why not take everything out of it and take a well-deserved skiing vacation? Simon and Ambar join them and all is set for a relaxing holiday at Finland's northern region called Lapland. A place for speed, reindeer, fun, and dangerous situations... Just kidding, what could possibly go wrong at the winter wonderland? (There is a Finnis Christmas song linked on the title)

On allain avaruus, ja tähtipolku kauas vie

“Look at the sky.” Ambar linked her arm with Simon as they walked out of the hotel at Rovaniemi. 

“It’s beautiful,” Simon looked up and squinted his eyes, “You can see the stars so clearly. How is it just 5 pm?”

They had landed in Rovaniemi a couple of hours ago, and had dropped their stuff at the hotel where they were staying for the night. They would be driving to Saariselkä tomorrow, after doing a couple of touristy things at Rovaniemi, like the Santa’s Village which Luna had insisted on. 

“The sun will barely even come up,” Ambar nodded while looking at the sky. “We will have very limited daylight time while skiing.”

“Good because then I’ll have an excuse not to freeze to death,” Simon laughed while pulling the jacket he was wearing closer to himself. “This jacket is probably so heavy for a reason.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ambar patted him on the head, ruffling his hair. “Like where is the hat? This is the one time you’re actually not wearing a beanie.”

“Right here,” Simon pulled a ridiculously bright blue woolen hat with purple and yellow tassels. 

“I should have never let you and Luna go shopping on your own,” Ambar laughed as Simon pulled the hat over his head, “but it was worth it. This is way too adorable.” 

“Speaking of adorable,” Simon pointed behind Ambar’s head. They had been walking a catwalk that was lined with all kinds of tourist shops. Behind her, the one that Simon was pointing toward, was a shop that had a sign that read “Muumi”.

“A Moomin shop?” Ambar turned around and dashed to the display window. 

“I guess so,” Simon followed her, “I was speaking of the shirt on the window. This was like an anime we used to watch with Maya while I was growing up. You know it too?”

“Of course, I know Moomin,” Ambar answered, “Did I never tell you how I loved those books? The author was Finnish. They sell all sorts of merch. I always wanted those mugs, but Sharon said that they looked tacky.” 

“Well, let's go buy you some,” Simon suggested. 

“Oh, we’re absolutely gonna buy some.” Ambar grinned at Simon as she kept scanning the window, “Oh, and look at those baby clothes. We need to get them for Delfi and Pedro.”

“They won’t probably need to buy any clothes themselves soon,” Simon laughed as they walked out of the store 20 minutes later. 

“It’s the least we can do,” Ambar smiled, “This is so exciting. Hopefully, they return the favor someday.”

“Hopefully we will be able to fit all this in our bags once we leave.”

“There is always room in your suitcase if you make it,” Ambar remarked, “I learned that from Jazmin.”

“Is it just me, or did it get colder all of a sudden?” Simon shivered again. 

“Not really,” Ambar looked at a temperature that was displayed on a big light-screen at the end of the street. “But it can feel like it I guess since we just came from inside.” She shivered herself a little bit. It was not like she was extremely used to these freezing temperatures herself. “Has something to do with the heat regulation of the body and homeophosphatic balance… or I don’t know. Something with biology and maybe physics… ask Gastón, he might know.”

“Is that a Starbucks up ahead?” Simon looked at the end of the street. “I need something warm right now.”

“Good idea.” Ambar said simply and sprinted into a run, “Last one there pays!!” 

“Hey!” Simon ran after her, “We have combined finances!!”

***

“Olette siis menossa tapaamaan pukkia? Oh sorry. Väärä kieli. You are going to go visit the good old Santa?” Taxi asked said as Gastón, Nina, Matteo and Luna got into his vehicle, with a broken but understandable English. 

“Yes, that is correct.” Gastón answered him as he got to the front seat.

“You are the first tourists I have had this week, which is very surprising.” The driver kept talking while turning the car’s radio on and music that sounded like Christmas music in Finnish started playing. “The two weeks before Christmas, I was just driving Japanese and Chinese tourists back and forth. So, tell me, where are you coming from?”

“Buenos Aires,” Matteo piped up from the backseat. 

“Latin America? That is the first in my cap. You speak very good English, but I could swear you had a British accent.” The driver pointed towards Gastón, and he shared a quick glance with Nina. This has happened way too many times already. 

“Our, no, WE are so excited to go here… or was it there?” Luna stumbled through a sentence in English. “Was it alright?” She whispered to Nina in Spanish. 

“It was fine.” Nina whispered back. 

“Well, my friends, here we are.” The car started slowing down as a huge number of light-up structures came into view on the side of the road. Since it was 8:45, they had wanted to be there at the opening time, but it was still dark. “Joulupukin Satukylä, or well, to you, Santa’s Magical Village, or whatever it is in Spanish. Have fun!”

“He was really nice,” Luna said as they waved their taxi driver goodbye and stood at the gate waiting for Simon and Ambar. Their taxi came five minutes later. 

“Was your driver very talkative?” Matteo asked them as their car also drove away.

“No, didn’t say a word,” Ambar answered while putting her gloves back on. Simon already looked like he was freezing after being in the cold outdoor air for two minutes. 

Well, it was -15 degrees Celsius. It was cold. Having lived through many London winters, Gastón and Nina were much more used to actual below-freezing temperatures than anyone else. Luna, Matteo, Simon and Ambar were not so. Luna and Simon, having lived in Mexico most of their lives, had never even seen snow in their lives. 

“Ours actually was,” Matteo continued.

“Hmmm, I thought that the Finnish people are known for not really talking.” Ambar pondered, “Or at least there was something about bus stops, when I did the research.”

“Hey! Are we not gonna go in?” Luna was jumping on her feet. Maybe because she was cold, or because she was so excited. 

“I am ready for some hot chocolate.” Simon said still shivering, “Or that Glugo stuff. I am freezing.”

“I think it was called glog, they call it glögi.” Nina said as they walked in. She had pulled up the map of the village on her phone.

“Simon, you are cold because you have not closed your jacket all the way,” Ambar scolded Simon and fixed his zipper.

“So, apparently this is the line for the Arctic Circle,” Nina read from her phone as they stopped in front of a row of stone pillars. 

“Hey! I AM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!!!” Luna had already jumped over the line. 

“Luna! Wait for us!” Matteo yelled as the other jumped over the line as well. 

“Well, now we can cross that off our bucket list…”

“Oh noh guys…” Matteo suddenly started looking around. “Where did she go? Guys, I have lost Luna.”

Everyone looked around. Luna really had vanished, even when she had just been waiting for them at the other side of the Arctic Circle. 

“How do you lose Luna?” Gastón asked, trying hide his slight amusement. “She was wearing literally the whole rainbow. We are surrounded by snow; she will stand out.”

“I don’t know,” Matteo shook his head.

“Okay,” Ambar said, not sounding concerned at all. Well, it would be Luna, if anybody, who would get lost in a foreign Nordic country. Not to mention in freezing temperatures. “Raise your hand if you are surprised?” No one raised their hand.

“OMG, SO CUTE!!!” All of them turned their head towards the noise.

“That has to be Luna.” Simon said.

“Let’s go,” Ambar nodded, “Before we get kicked out of here because Luna was terrorizing an elf.”

Soon enough Matteo, Simon, Ambar, Gastón and Nina found Luna at the husky yard.

Luna was patting the head of the dog that was sitting next to the fence, and talking animatedly to the employee there, who was in fact wearing an elf costume. The poor elf was looking very confused.

“Luna! Finally, we found you.” Matteo was first on Luna’s side. “What are you doing?” 

“I was just asking them how many dogs they have, and can we take one home.” Luna looked Matteo innocently, “So Newton has a friend.”

“Luna, first, we are not getting a dog, our lives are way too busy. And second, they don’t understand Spanish,” Matteo gestured towards the elf. 

“I apologize for my wife; she just gets so excited sometimes. How many dogs do you have?” Matteo asked in English.

“We have seven adult dogs and ten puppies that were born a month ago.”

“Thank you!” Matteo took Luna from the shoulders, “Come on. Let’s go see Santa.”

“But the puppies were so cute!!” Luna whined as Matteo led her off to the others. 

“Luna look, I love you,” Matteo sighed. Ambar had been right. This was not surprising from Luna at all, “But you can’t go wandering off like that. We are not in Buenos Aires.”

“Matteo, I am an adult girl, I can take care of myself.”

“I know, but we are in a country where they don’t speak Spanish, you don’t speak Finnish and your English could use some work,” Matteo sighed, “Tough love, but it is important. You can actually get lost in here.”

“Okayyy, I am sorry.” Luna rolled her eyes.

“So, can we now go inside?” Simon was stepping in his place to keep warm. “I am literally becoming a snowman here.”

“Weren’t we supposed to go and see Santa?” Ambar questioned as she rolled her eyes at Simon.

“The post office is close here,” Nina said while looking over the map that she had. “We could go there first.”

"You can send a post from here?" Luna piped up.

"Well, this is the place where you sent all the letters to Santa," Gastón noted. "How do you think he gets them? Of course, he needs his own post office."

"OMG! Let’s go!"

"Luna wait! Don't just dash-" Matteo yelled, but Luna had already taken off running,"-off."

“You might wanna get an air tag,” Gastón suggested. “So, you can locate her if she disappears in the snow.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Matteo shook his head.

“I vote yes,” Ambar raised her hand.

“This isn’t a democracy.”

"Hey! What are you doing just standing here?" Matteo jumped as Luna suddenly appeared to be standing next to him. "Weren't we supposed, like go?"

"Well, we were, but then you ran away" Ambar noted.

"Oh, yeah... I guess I did. Sorryy." Luna tilted her head. "But I could not find the post office. So, l had to come back."

"Luna, we are standing next to it," Nina pointed to a sign two meters away from them. "I just was about to say that when you ran away."

"Okay, I learned my lesson," Luna shook her head in laughter, "I won't do that again."

"Does everyone have their letters?" Matteo asked after he had signed the card to his Nonna in Italy and talked Luna out of sending a card to everyone of their friends.

"Yep!" Simon said as he and Ambar came to the counter with a postcard.

"I specially signed it, so Simon's family knows that he has not frozen into an ice-sculpture," Ambar patted him on his head.

"Worry that is not unwarranted." Simon said as he fixed his hat. "How do people live in this weather?"

"With proper get up probably," Gastón said as he and Nina came to the counter and posted their own letters. "A professor I talked with at the Aalto University said that Finnish people are known for their endurance or whatever that was. Sisu? Anyways, if we want to meet Santa we should really get going. We still have that drive to Saariselkä.”

“I am so excited to meet Santa!” Luna was skipping ahead as the rest were trying their best to keep up with her as they entered the place called Joulupukin Toimisto. As they were there in the morning, the sun had just come up and it was nearing 10:15, there was no line, so they could just freely walk the queue. 

“Uuuu, what is this?” They stopped in front of a big picture that was on the wall of the queue. Or more like, it was a drawing. Drawing of the globe with some odd instructions.

“The…earth’s…rotational…speed…regulator…” Luna read from the drawing. “What does that mean?”

“Actually, I don’t know,” Matteo said, while looking at the wheel, “Gastón! Wanna translate this?”

“It means that this is supposed to be a device that regulates the earth’s rotation,” Gastón explained looking at the painting.

“I guess it relates to the fact that Santa manages to fly all over the world in one night,” Nina continued. 

“Would that actually work?” Matteo asked Gastón while eyeing the drawing.

“Earth’s rotation, rotational speed, angular velocity and the electromagnetic current are all part of the theory of relativity,” Gastón said while looking at Matteo. “You do not want me to go on. But in a quick review, no, it does not work. This is all based on Magic.”

“Had to try,” Matteo shrugged. 

Soon they made their way to the end of the queue. 

“I can’t believe it! Santa Claus really is real!” Luna exclaimed as the old man in a beard came into the view.

“I can’t believe Santa Claus let Luna sit on her lap,” Simon laughed after they were walking out of Santa Claus’s office. 

“He probably thought she was still a child.” Gastón joined him in the laughter. Nina and Ambar, who were walking behind them, just rolled their eyes at them. 

“That was so much fun!!!!” Luna was still jumping up and down as she and Matteo exited last from the building. “Santa was so nice. And I got finally present my Christmas wishes in person.”

“Luna, Christmas was a week ago,” Nina noted to Luna as she and Matteo caught up with the rest of them. 

“Yeah, I know that,” Luna just shrugged, “I meant for like next year.”

“You mean this year.”

“Yeah, sure. The earlier the better! Maybe now I will actually get that banjo.” Luna threw some pretend dagger eyes at her friends.

“You want a banjo?” Ambar asked dryly in complete disbelief.

“YES! I have been asking one for years.” Luna nodded, “No one has gotten me one.”

“And maybe that is a blessing…” Ambar whispered to Simon.

“What?”

“Ah, nothing.” Ambar shook her head, “How much time do we have left?”

“The drive is almost three hours” Gastón answered looking at his phone, “The weather is probably quite a big component in that. But today’s is not that bad. Can’t imagine what would happen in a snowstorm. To answer your question, we have time, but we really should make sure we leave before it’s dark again. The rental cars were available for the pickup as soon as we want.”

“We should probably go eat at some point.” Matteo pointed out.

“I read that there was this restaurant that was completely built out of snow here,” Nina explained.

“No way!” Simon exclaimed, “How is that even possible?”

“I guess the same way they built those huge sandcastles. Apparently, that is another tourist thing in Finland. Somewhere called Lappeenranta they built one every year.”

“OMG!!!!” Luna suddenly exclaimed. Matteo quickly grabbed her arm, so she was not able to run away. “Look at them! They are real?”

“What are real?” Everyone turned to look where Luna was pointing. 

She was pointing towards the reindeer yard. 

“Hold up a second.” Gastón asked, “You did not know that reindeer were real?” He exchanged a skeptical look with Matteo. 

“Well, I thought they were just fairytale creatures.” Luna started speaking, “Just like dragons and unicorns. I mean Santa Claus is not real, I know that, so I thought his reindeer were not too.”

“Luna, quiet down,” Simon hushed her, forgetting that it was pretty unlikely that any of the people around them understood what Luna had been saying in Spanish, “You can’t just shout something like that out loud. There are children around. You’ll end up in the notty list for good.” 

“Uuuups.”

“Well, anyways. Reindeer are mostly native for arctic areas like Northern Europe and I think there are some in Canada.” Nina explained. “Their whole affiliation with Santa Claus comes from lot of legends.”

“Well, can we go see them?” Luna asked jumping up and down once again. 

“Well, why not.” Ambar nodded. “They are cute. You are right.”

“Hey! Can these reindeer really fly?” Luna asked the reindeer keeper, who was also dressed as an elf. 

“Ööööö, Anteeksi?” The keeper asked a bit confused. 

“Luna.” Matteo reminded her. “Sorry about that.” He started speaking English. “We are tourists from Argentina. She was just asking you if these reindeer can actually fly.”

“Oh noh,” the keeper laughed, “These ones don’t. Santa has a lot of different reindeer for different purposes. These guys right here don’t fly with him on Christmas Eve, but still are very important to our small village.”

“Can we meet Rudolf?” Luna asked. “What?” She said once she saw all the others staring at her. “I wanna see his red nose.”

“I wish you could see him,” The keeper responded, “But Rudolf and the other Flying Forces are resting. They had a long journey on Christmas Eve flying all around the world, even with the earth’s rotational speed regulator. But if you really wanna meet him, keep your eyes open next Christmas Eve and you might catch a glimpse of him.”

***

Nina sipped her tea while sitting at the table in the Villa they had rented for two weeks at Saariselkä. They had arrived there yesterday and looked around for a bit. Today was the first day the others would actually head to the slopes. 

“So, what are you gonna do today?” Luna flopped the chair next to her yawning and almost spilling her orange juice. 

“I think I’m gonna take a walk, once the sun is up.” Nina said and stirred her cup.  “There is this one hiking path that I read about. There are some beautiful sights here, so I’m taking the camera… And I promised to call Mom as soon as we got settled up here, so I’ll do that. The sights will at least make that somewhat enjoyable. I’m sure she has helicoptered at least ten different things she needs to bring into my “Attention”.” She made quotation marks. 

“Tell her to talk to my mom if she wants to fuss,” Gastón kissed Nina on top of her head as he sat down, “They can form a support group. They’re just scared that they’ll never get grandchildren if we die here middle of nowhere.”

“Add my mom to the list,” Simon piped up, “You don’t want to hear what she said when I told her where we were going. I mean, she’s right in some aspects, I am gonna freeze. Are all our mothers just way too overprotective?”

“I still wish Mom and Dad would have actually picked if they wanted to be protective or not,” Gastón laughed, “More often than not, they just let me do what I wanted, but then suddenly they were convinced I was deliberately putting my life at risk. I’m still surprised they ever let me back to Roller after the fire.”

“What I am wondering about, is why are we awake before the sun?” Matteo leaned back while munching on his cereal. 

“The sun is coming up at 11, so not for hours,” Ambar noted while sitting down to braid Luna’s hair. “and going down at 2 pm, so we can’t just operate according to it. The gear rent place opens at 9:30, so I think the best is to be there as soon as it opens. Our class starts at 10, so we need to be there.”

“I agree,” Gastón nodded. 

“You sure you don’t wanna join us?” Luna whipped herself out of Ambar’s reach as soon as she had finished tying the elastic onto the braid. “You can still change your mind and come join us in our lesson.” 

“No,” Nina shook her head, “I told you already. No one will have fun if I’m there. I’ll come to ice skating once we're doing that, so that's one sport covered.”

“Okay, I think it’s time for us to leave.” Ambar got up from the table pulling her own hair into a ponytail. 

“Have fun,” Nina kissed Gastón on the cheek as he got up from the table, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Us?” Gastón and Matteo glanced at each other. They had opted not to take any lessons, given that they had done quite frequent skiing while younger. It was to be seen how good an idea that was going to be. “Never.”

“I’m being serious,” Nina saw from the corner of her eyes the guys doing their handshake when Gastón turned back to her.

“Of course, you are. Don’t worry.” Gastón ran his finger through a lock of her hair, “We’re not going on a black slope at the start. We’ll start off easy and be careful.” He leaned down swiftly to kiss her. 

“Send me pictures when you get to the top.” 

***

“I think we still got it,” Matteo and Gastón stopped at a curve of a slope. They had gone through a few green and blue slopes first, after leaving Luna, Ambar and Simon in the care of the skiing instructor, just to get a feel for it again. The good thing was that they both were in good shape and some of the muscle memory from their skating days still existed. 

They were now on one of the red slopes. 

“I think we do.” Gastón agreed. The slope they had taken came all the way down the fjeld. It wasn’t steep, but more a long narrowing path down the mountain. “Can we stop for a sec. I need to take a pic of this.”

“Nina won’t call the police if you don’t update her every fifteen minutes.”

“It’s not that,” Gastón rolled his eyes as he took his gloves off and fished his phone out of the breast pocket of the jacket he was wearing. “This is a beautiful view.”

It was now noon, so the sun had finally come completely up… Or well, as up as it was going to come, which wasn’t high, but up it was.  

“I guess it is true,” Matteo squinted his eyes in the sunshine as he took the skiing goggles off. “Hey! Since we're doing a photoshoot, take a couple of me, so I can post them.” 

“You sure it’s wise to announce your location publicly?” Gastón raised an eyebrow at Matteo. 

“Because my fans would swarm me?” Matteo laughed, “I mean they do love me, but Finland barely has any, unfortunately.”

“Maybe, but you never know with those fans of yours.” Gastón rolled his eyes as Matteo posed with the skis. 

“Right,” Matteo kept laughing, “I forgot that you don’t like them, after they thought Nina and I were dating when we first started writing songs together.”

“It never bothered me like that,” Gastón gave Matteo a look, “You know that, and it was for five years, but implication of some people being so invested in it is still so bizarre.” 

“I have been too scared to look at some of the corners of the internet,” Matteo admitted cringing. 

“Although, I gotta admit it was kind of amusing to wake up in the morning and see that the first thing that pops up on TikTok, is a swifty-level fan post about the new song you wrote and how the lyrics and subtext absolutely confirm the romance—When she’s literally sleeping in my bed.” Gastón shook his head, “but it’s so odd how some are invested. I don’t get it.”

“It’s not like you’re the most anonymous person on the planet anymore,” Matteo chuckled, “You do know they call you the “young rising promise who will revolutionize the whole construction scene” or something like it. You name has been out there ever since the promotion.”

“I used to be the child no one knew Isla and Marco Perida had, and I am grateful for them for that.” Gastón rolled his eyes again. He knew why his parents had done it, to keep him out of their business and to let him become his own person with his own path. “At least there’s no tabloids, which surely would have already accused me of benefitting from nepotism. I mean, it is what it is. We’re out there and I accept it. Nina is going to become more known as time goes on and she deserves every inch of that success, and I will never leave her side. But mark my words, I will not ever let a photographer close to my children.” 

“You need to have those children first,” Matteo nudged Gastón teasingly, “When’s that gonna happen?”

“Not you too.” Gastón groaned, “You’re worse than my parents.” 

“Hey! I’m just caring about my godchild here.” Matteo raised his hands onto the air. 

“Who decided that?” 

“You, if you know what’s good for you.” Matteo smirked, “I’m not telling you to do anything, just having a conversation. You have been married two and a half years now, you have a house, a dog and more than generous cash flow for two people in their twenties that will just increase. Plus, you haven’t been able to keep your hands off your wife since you were 17. I know that you have always wanted children.”

“Of course, I have,” Gastón responded, “and so does Nina. We have talked about it a lot. It’s just not happening at this second. We have all the time in the world. You don’t think we’re actually gonna tell you when we’re trying? That would be crossing some lines. When there is actually something to tell, you will know.”

“I will hold you to that.”

“You know, why am I the one getting interrogated?” Gastón crossed his arms, “When are you having a kid?”

“Wow,” Matteo shifted himself back, “I’ve been married for a year and we’re constantly between work and shows…”

“And I’m not gonna question you any further,” Gastón finished his point before looking at the view down the mountain again, “You know, life’s really good right now.”

“Agreed,” Matteo nodded while tapping Gastón on the shoulder. “Do we deserve it?” 

“Teenage you would probably faint if he knew,” Gastón laughed, “We’ve come a long way. Anyways, should we go down and see how the ski-schoolers are doing?” 

“Sure,” Matteo nodded grinning, “Who do you think has fallen the most?”

“I have no idea.” Gastón shook his head. 

“I gotta go with Simon,” Matteo concluded, “Luna has the agility and Ambar won’t let herself fall if Luna doesn’t.”

“Well, hopefully you won’t fall,” Gastón grinned and started sliding ahead, “See you at a lower altitude!”

“Hey!” Matteo jumped to follow Gastón, “That was a false start!” 

***

“So, now that you all have mastered the snow plowing, we’re starting with turns.” The ski instructor kept talking as Luna, Ambar and Simon stood in a line on their skis. 

They had spent most of the morning learning how to stay upright and how to control the speed while going down. 

“How do we turn?” Simon raised his hand like he was in school, “Because these are so stiff and don’t curve. How is it even possible to maneuver them?”

“It’s not about the skis' maneuverability,” The instructor continued, “It’ about the pressure, the friction and force. Basic physics.”

“Fabulous,” Ambar sighed next to Luna, “Didn’t realize we needed math.” 

“—But it’s actually super simple,” Luna turned back to look at the instructor, “You actually only need to lean side to side to go left or right. There’s a catch though. You are not gonna go left by leaning left.”

“Then where are we going?” Luna asked. That didn’t make any sense to her. 

“By leaning left, you turn right. I know, that’s confusing, but it just needs some rewiring in your head. Let’s try it.” The instructor slid closer to the start of the training slope, “Follow me.”

So, they wormed around while trying to make their skis turn while also trying to get moving. 

“This clearly will need some work.” Their instructor sighed as they finally made their way down the training slope. “Come on! And we go again!!”

“I did not sign up for a boot camp.” Simon rolled his eyes as they stepped on the escalator lift. 

“I think this is fun!” Luna did a small jump. The ski boots were extremely clunky and didn’t feel the same as her skates did, but she would deal with it. “I can’t wait for the bigger slopes.”

“At least you match energy with our teacher.” Ambar remarked, “He probably does this every day. I would love to get access to your backup energy converter. I guess it is like Gastón said. These people have that sisu thing and all the guys go to do military when they turn 18.”

“Sounds awful,” Simon shook his head, “I could never go to war.”

“Good thing you would not need to fight Russia.” 

They spent at least an hour honing in their technique of turning and all of them finally managed to go down the training slope gracefully. 

“Okay, you guys.” The instructor clapped his hands, after another hour, “I think you’re ready to hit the slopes. Have fun!”

“Okay, hopefully we’re good enough,” Ambar looked down at the training slope. “Time to go find some actual slopes.”

“So, we need to go down this again,” Simon nodded.

“Hey! I have an idea.” Luna jumped up, “Let’s go down this while holding hands.”

“You serious?” Ambar turned to look at Luna. 

“Sounds fun,” Simon was actually smiling, “Let’s try it.”

“Okay,” Ambar shook her head amused before grabbing Simon’s hand and they started sliding down the slope. 

At the start it went well… 

But then as they were starting to turn left, Luna who had been leading their train, accidentally turned right, while Ambar and Simon were turning left… 

Long story short, they totally dripped and ended up falling on top of each other. 

“That’s a one way to get down the slope.” 

Their pile had slid the rest of their way down the slope where Matteo and Gastón had apparently been waiting for them. 

“Where did you come from?” Ambar asked as they scrambled on their feet. 

“From one of the red slopes,” Matteo said as he helped Luna up. “Came to see if you were done.”

“We are,” Luna said, “Uuuu, so what slope should we now do?”

“We took couple of green ones at the start,” Gastón started, “They’re beginner friendly. Wide and away from the forest so there is no danger if you fall or derail.”

“So, who has fallen the most?” Matteo added. 

***

“Weeeeeee!” Luna was gliding on the ice and Matteo tried his best to keep up. 

None of them had gone on the slopes today, they had already been there for many days, and they were taking advantage of the brief daylight to do something else. They were ice skating. 

Luna had been the one insisting they try it, given their background. Matteo did have to admit that skating on ice with blades under your feet instead of wheels was a completely different experience. 

Luna obviously was a natural. It was no matter what she had under her feet, it still looked like she was flying. 

“Matteo stop snailing around!” Luna called as she turned around and tried skating backward. That didn’t go as smoothly, but she was moving forward. 

“I’m coming.” Matteo rolled his eyes. 

“This is so much fun!” Luna started circling around Matteo, “I mean it’s not like normal skating, but still familiar.”

“I think this actually is normal skating.” Matteo pointed out. 

“Do you think I might be able to try an axel?”

“I wouldn’t try it,” Matteo shook his head, before looking at Luna sternly, “Luna, I’m being serious. Don’t try it. I don’t want to head to the ER during this trip.”

“Okay,” Luna rolled her eyes, “I won’t do any jumps. Pirouette will do.”

She skated a small round and tried to do a pirouette. The problem was that the ice-skates didn’t have a break at the toe, they had blades with spikes. So, when Luna tried to spin, the spike caught onto the ice, and she tripped completely over and fell onto a pile of snow. 

“That goes onto the list of your top ten wipe-outs Chica Delivery.” Matteo laughed as he skated closer to where Luna was lying. “Chica Delivery? Luna? You okay?” 

Suddenly his arm was pulled, and he fell face first into the snow as well. 

“Hahahaaa!” Luna curled up from laughter, “Got ya. I have always wondered how’d you look as a snowman.”

“Now you got me started,” Matteo shook his head smirking as Luna jumped up from the snow and back onto the ice. He grabbed some snow from the pile and formed it into a ball. 

Sadly, Luna had time to notice what he was doing before he had time to throw the ball. 

“Hah, missed me!” she dashed for the pile and formed her own snowball, “This is war now.”

***

“I didn’t fall that many times, so I’m taking that as a victory,” Nina pulled a shawl over her shoulders as she curled up on the couch next to Gastón as they were all hanging out in the Villa’s living room. 

“My muscles are way too out of shape,” Ambar massaged the base of her feet. “But it was fun.”

“That’s it!” Luna sat in one of the armchairs with a huge cup of hot chocolate, “You all need to start skating again.” 

“Yeah nope,” Simon got from where he had been sitting in front of the fireplace. 

“Hey!” Ambar’s phone dinged, “Delfi sent me a new sonogram.” 

“Uuu, let me see,” Luna grained her neck, “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“No,” Ambar blew some hair off her face.

“Are we having a gender reveal party?”

“We would like to throw one for them with Jazmin, but they aren’t telling us,” Ambar shook her head as she kept examining the picture, “I’m sure they have already found out. Gastón, isn’t your cousin a doctor? Can you send this to her, and she could tell us?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure April won’t want any part of this,” Gastón laughed while he had been absentmindedly playing with Nina’s hair, “and she’s not a doctor, yet. She will be a neurosurgeon, not a radiology tech or OBGYN. She won’t be able to tell a thing, but we’re very well situated if someone has a brain injury…or well, you are. She won’t be allowed to operate on me.”

“Look at the sky.” Matteo pointed out of the window. 

Everyone turned around to look out the window. The sky was lit up by colorful swirls. 

“Northern lights?” Nina gasped, “I was sure we wouldn’t be so lucky that we would see any.”

“Luck is on our side,” Gastón placed his hand on her shoulder. 

“Can you go get the camera?” She asked him while looking out of the window. Ever since they had decided to go to Lapland, she had been hoping they might be able to catch the Aurora Borealis—the official name was beautiful, but it was a game of luck, so she hadn’t wanted to be too hopeful. “I don’t know how good pictures you can get through the window but…”

“Why would you need to take those through the window?” Gastón said as he handed her their DSLR camera. “Let’s go outside. Who knows if we’ll be able to catch these again.” 

“You aren’t seriously going out right now?” Matteo looked at them horrified. 

“Why not?” Gastón looked at him confused, “It’s only 11:45.” 

“Yeah, but did you notice that the temp has dropped to almost -30?” 

“It has?” Nina looked at the digital temperature indicator. “We’ll be fast.” 

“Seriously?” Both Luna and Simon asked in unison. 

“So, we take it that none of you are joining us?” Gastón questioned, “Ambar?”

“I think the window view is enough for me too,” Ambar noted, “It’s a bit cold for me too.”

“Bunch of wimps,” Gastón shook his head laughing as he and Nina walked out of the doors. “It’s not like we’re being completely irresponsible and braving a snowstorm. It’s not even windy.”

“It’s so clear, look.” Nina pointed toward the sky, which was completely clear, and the moon was shining directly at them, surrounded by numerous northern lights. 

The swirls of light were moving continuously. It almost looked like they were dancing. 

“There must be some tricks on how to get good pictures of these,” Nina said after looking through the camera lens. Gastón was the one of the two of them who was a bit better at nature photography, while she had the better knacks at photographing people. 

“Decrease the shutter speed and the aperture and increase ISO between 800 and 3200, to about 1600. Use manual-focus and a steady hand,” Gastón adjusted the way Nina was holding the camera. 

“Did you research this at some point?”

“No, but Dad has taught me all of his tricks,” He shrugged as Nina snapped a series of pictures. “I don’t know how I even remember it, but it’s all about getting as much as light as we can.” 

“Okay,” Nina said and directed the camera back at the sky, “These are looking much better already. I never thought we would get to see the beauty of Auroras in person.” 

Gastón couldn’t fully look at the pictures as his gaze kept focusing on Nina and how her face was illuminated by the light from the sky. She was so beautiful. 

“Put that camera down for a sec.”

“Why?” Nina turned to look at him. 

“Because I can’t stand a moment longer without kissing you.” 

“You’re impossible.” She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“Impossibly in love with you.” 

Making out in the snow under the moonlight had not exactly been on their bingo card for this year, but that didn’t make the moment any less special as their bodies started intertwining with each other. 

Suddenly a strong gush of wind blew past them. 

“The wind seems to be picking up,” Gastón wrapped his arms tighter around Nina, “The storm might be coming after all. We should get going before you freeze.” 

“Well, there are things we can do to get the body heat back up.”

***

“I really wish I could have seen the pics you got yesterday,” Luna said as she, Gastón and Matteo finished descending one of the red slopes. 

“Well, you were already asleep,” Gastón shrugged, “Nina said that she’ll transfer them to the computer during the day. We can look at them in the evening. Your loss for not coming with us.”

“How did you even take that long?” Matteo furrowed his brow. Something was telling him that Gastón and Nina had not minded at all having been left alone to take that moonlit stroll to hunt for the Aurora Borealis. “We were sure you had been frozen into icicles.”

“And yet you went to sleep.” Gastón rolled his eyes. “Almost like you don’t even care… Anyways, where to next?” We’ve done almost all of the basic slopes now.”

“Uuuu, so what have we not done?” Luna looked at the map that was on the wall of one of the cafes. 

“The Black ones,” Matteo pointed to one of the narrowing black lines on the map. “We wanted to get some experience before doing those.”

“Well, how about we go try one?” Luna hopped up on her snowboard. After a couple of days, she had switched the skis to the board. She seemed to actually prefer it. “I mean we have experience now, and it can’t be that hard if people here do it.”

“I’m in,” Gastón nodded, “Matteo?”

“Well, why not?” Matteo nodded and looked at the map again, “The chair lift is right up ahead.” 

“Well, that took forever,” Gastón remarked as the lift finally got up top, “Felt like it was gonna take a lifetime.” 

“Well, we’re here now,” Luna attached her left leg back up to the board. “The last one down is a loser!” 

Gastón and Matteo just laughed and headed down the slope after Luna. 

The slope was quite steep and there were trees all around with deep trenches on both sides.  

As the slope was also quite narrow, they ended up descending it in a singular line. Gastón first, Matteo second, and Luna last. 

“That looks really steep,” Luna remarked after they had taken a small break about halfway down. 

“Maybe, but nothing we can’t handle right,” Gastón said as he put his gloves back on. “Ready to continue?”

“Yeah, just in a sec,” Matteo turned to Luna for a moment as Gastón already started sliding down. 

“Aaaah!”

“Oh my god!” Luna’s face turned horrified all of a sudden.

“What?” Matteo turned around to see that Gastón had somehow disappeared off the slope. 

“He… he somehow all the sudden went straight left and straight to the trenches,” Luna pointed forward.

“Ah, I see,” Matteo tried his hardest not to laugh, as he carefully started descending to the spot Luna was pointing toward. “There must have been some ice there or something. You might not hold the best wipe-out record much longer. Gastón, you okay?!”

There was no answer. That was weird. 

“Did you hear me?” Matteo inched closer to the bank of the trench. “Gastón?”

“Don’t scare us like that—” Matteo peeked over the bank onto the trench… 

Gastón was there, on the bottom… Lying completely motionless, face against a tree. 

“Dio mio!” Matteo quickly took his skis off and jumped into the trench. There was so much snow that he progressed with difficulty, but he was finally able to make his way to Gastón, his heart in his throat. “Gastón!!”

“Hey, you okay!? Answer me!” He grabbed Gastón shoulder and turned him around, shaking him. He was completely limp, and his eye was black and they were closed… “Wake up!”

“Matteo?!?” Luna’s voice came from above, “What’s going on?”

“He’s completely unresponsive!” Matteo yelled at her as the waves of dread washed over him. 

“What!? Is he breathing?!?” 

“I don’t know,” Matteo looked at Gastón again. How did you even test for a pulse? Something he should have learned to do after Mom had died, but he hadn’t thought he would be in a situation like that ever again. But here he was, holding his best friend’s seemingly lifeless body in his arms, 17 years later. “No, no, you can’t do this Hermano, come on. Wake up!!!”

{}

Uuuup, told you nothing was gonna go wrong am I right? Well, here we are. This happy go lucky adventure hs just gotten just tad bit more diar. So, honestly, I don't know what else I can really say right now. Tune in to read the next chapter... when it comes out. You really though I was actually gonna tell you when it's gonna be huh?

[aaronpaceluvbot]

language exchange (aaron pace x reader)

summary : based off of the post on lovebirdgames’s tumblr about how aaron is fluent in spanish. chaos ensues when he hears a certain person speaking an extremely unfamiliar language that sounds almost like spanish. (tldr: aaron hears reader speaking tagalog - the filipino language, he’s insanely confused because it sounds a little bit like spanish // reader isn’t explicitly said to be filipino…? do with that what you will … aaron also probably already has a thing for the reader??? I doubt he’d act like this if he didn’t). there are translations in the fic itself, so there isn’t a need to like scroll back and forth. i also quote the mamma mia musical like twice, i don’t think it counts as quoting it, but i do say lines from it. 

before you read- gender neutral reader, they/them pronouns are used for reader, reader is NOT cadence, i’m posting this without reading it beforehand, might be a little bit inaccurate to the timing of things ingame, VERY ABRUPT ENDING,  i have tendency to rush when writing, so erm... if i missed anything lmk!! 

wc - 1.5k

It was the first day of band camp, and you scurried off the bus to immediately call your mother and tell her about what happened on that fateful journey. Putting your phone on speaker, you click on her contact. After 3 rings, she immediately answered and greeted you. “Kumusta anak! Pano ba ikaw? Ano Nangyari Sa Trip Mo (Hi dear! How are you? What happened on your trip?)”. 

You immediately let out a sigh and fill her in on the disastrous bus ride. “Nakakainis talaga. Gusto mak sigaw. Mainit at amoy parang inodoro. Nakakatakot talaga. (It was so annoying. I want to scream. It was so hot and it smelled like a toilet. It was really scary)”, you say, words coming out at 100 miles per hour. 

“Nak, kailangang mo mak relax. Kararating mo ba lang? Kailan ba kayo dumating? (Dear, you need to relax. Did you just arrive? When did you guys arrive?).”

“Oo. Ano oras na ba? Kasi kala ko na dating kami sa alas diyes? Baka mas maaga. Yung rehearsal namin mak stastart maya maya. (Yes. What time is it now? Because I thought that we arrived at around 10. Maybe earlier. Our rehearsal is going to start soon).”

“Sige na. Mak papaalam nako. (Well go ahead, get ready. I’m going to go).” With that, your mother hung up and you were left just standing there with your phone in one hand and your instrument case in the other with your suitcases standing idly by. You turn around to get back to the lodge and unpack, but the sight of someone behind you stops you. You let out a scream. 

“Oh my god, you’re fine,” Aaron says, attempting to silence your scream so it wouldn’t attract the attention of the others. 

“Why were you listening to my private conversation with my mom? She was on speaker too!” You say, trying to relax from the scare he gave you. His deadpan facial expression breaks for a moment, with an eyebrow raising but it quickly goes back to normal. 

“I was just trying to find my way to the bathroom when you oh-so conveniently were very loudly on the phone with your mother. Clearly the bathroom wasn’t here, so I turned around to go back and keep looking. But I was very intrigued by your conversation,” he says, putting his hands up in defense. 

“But why? I doubt you’d understand it,” you say, giving him a dirty look. Why would he even eavesdrop on an innocent conversation with your mother out of all people? Nothing interesting was even said. 

“Well you’re not wrong. I didn’t understand most of it. I caught some words here and there,” he says, shrugging. 

“How? You don’t look like the type to study foreign languages for fun,” you quip back, crossing your arms. He mirrors your stance.

“I speak Spanish, dummy. A few of the words that you said were in Spanish.” 

“Oh. Well that makes sense.” “What were you speaking? Because it didn’t sound like any of the other languages that Spanish is related to,” he says, waiting for an answer. 

“Tagalog. The main dialect of the Philippines. My mother lived there all her life and she taught me it. It got colonized by Spain at one point, so that explains the Spanish,” you explain and Aaron gives a thoughtful nod. 

“I see. I do have many more questions about it though.”

“Well, ask away.” “I don’t feel like doing that right now, after all I was looking for the bathroom. But you could come by my room later to tell me more? Maybe even teach me some?” He says, putting on a smirk that you wanted to wipe off his face so badly. 

“Only if you teach me Spanish,” you respond, rolling your eyes. He lets out a dry laugh. 

“Maybe I will. Meet me after evening practice and we can walk to my room to talk about it,” he says. He walks off without saying another word. You sigh and go the other direction, ready to finally unpack, but then realize he’s going the way you need to go. oops. 

—-

Unlike the bus disaster, band camp itself goes off without a hitch and ends up going pretty well. You go to dinner and sit with Felicity and her friends, listening to her talk about some gossip involving the others in the band. “And as I was saying, he really shouldn’t have gotten with her… I mean - we all know he isn’t ready for a relationship. Well obviously we all don’t, if she’s willing to be with him,” she says, letting out a sigh and continuing to trail off. You really tried to like Felicity when she was in one of her gossiping moods, but sometimes you just weren’t in the mood to hear or care about other peoples’ lives. “So what do you think? Are you ok? Are you even listening to me?” She asks, hands beginning to gesture wildly. 

“Oh I’m fine,” you say, giving her a sheepish smile. “Just tired from band camp, that’s all.” She nods in understanding and places her hands over yours.

“I so get you, but like, are you sure it isn’t a guy? Specifically one who plays snare?” Felicity asks, a devilish smile appearing on her face. Her comment causes a couple eyebrow raises from people across the table (namely Peter and Tom).

“What about a specific guy who plays snare?” Susie asks, a similar grin showing up on her face. 

“Nothing! We just had a conversation earlier, that’s all,” you say, burying your head in your hands to save yourself from the teasing. Felicity and Susie both let out a giggle.

“Sure you did… He just ran after you and had a conversation with you that ended with him inviting you to his room just because he could,” Felicity says, smirking as the boy in question decided to make his way towards your table. How did she even know? Did she somehow get lost trying to find the bathroom too or was she that much of a snoop? 

You let out a silent scream into your hands as Cadence clears her throat. “Let’s leave them alone, I think they’ve been through enough suffering for now,” she says, reassuringly patting your shoulder.

“Thanks Cadence,” you mutter before being rudely disturbed during your session of absolute embarrassment by a certain someone. 

“Who’s been through enough suffering?” A familiar voice asks. God, why did he have to show up now out of all times? This is so inconvenient. 

“Y/n!” Tom immediately says. You raise your head from your hands and give Tom the dirtiest look you can muster. He shivers at your expression. “Um, did I say y/n? Because I didn’t! I actually meant someone else!” He says, eyes widening as your eyes bore into him.

“Well, suffering or not, they can do that with me. I need to borrow them for a little bit, if that’s alright with you guys,” Aaron says, surveying the table. No one objects as you get up to throw away your trash and escape your personal hell. 

“What’d you need me for again?” You ask once the two of you were out of earshot from the rest of them. He raises his eyebrows, but then quickly brings them back down.

“Did you forget about our conversation earlier? I was serious about it, but if you don’t want to that’s-” “Oh my god! I didn’t forget at all I promise! I thought you meant you needed me for something else!” You say, eyes widening as you try to defend yourself. 

“I’d be worried if you did because that would mean the heat would be getting to you,” he murmurs, getting closer. “I think it’d be a good idea to check though just to make sure.” He raises his hand to your forehead and you immediately feel your face heating up at his cold hand. “That’s weird, you’re really warm. You also look pretty red, maybe I could walk you back to your room and we could do this another time-” “NO! No, I’m perfectly fine. It’s just so hot here since it’s you know, summer and summer is pretty hot and I don’t want to let you down-” you sputter, trying to explain your behavior. He lets out a laugh. 

“You are so easy to fluster,” was all he could say about your measly attempt at defending yourself. You cross your arms and pout, turning away, ready to end the conversation. He grabs your arm and quickly spins you around before you can go. “Can I tell you a secret though?” He asks, with a genuine expression on his face. You nod as he clears his throat. “I just wanted an excuse to talk to you. We could still go to my room and talk about foreign languages all you want, maybe even some other stuff if you feel up to it.” 

-

He drags you away to his room and you both talk about everything but foreign languages for what feels like forever until evening practice ruins the moment, but you wouldn’t trade that short amount of time for anything else. In fact, you feel lighter after that exchange.  

[squadron-of-damned]

hullo! I coke to you because I liked the Phoenix Wright HCS you wrote and I was wondering if you had any other for the rest of the cast? :°

I had to dig to find the headcanons I've written (I am happy to announce that they didn't change, maybe only a little regarding Phoenix's parentage). Here are some more headcanons in no particular order:

Miles Edgeworth: He is partially Coralan, Corala joining the list of fictional AA!verse states, where it fills out the slot "Korea, but nature conservation is big there". He is also going to be taking antidepressants for the rest of his life, which according to him is great, because it means he has an entire rest of his life to live. He knows how to cook, but most of the time he doesn't bother, because bringing out the heavy artillery (anything that's not a premade mix) for just one-person meal is not worth the effort. He's destroyed five shirts while he was learning to iron his own clothes. He considers anything less than an hour walk a "walking distance" and his walking speed is above average, so never join Miles Edgeworth for a little stroll unless you are very confident in your legs. He would be a cat person if cats were more Miles animals.

Maya Fey: Using spiritual powers is extremely energetically demanding, so she is always hungry. Because of her in the WAA is installed a shower which would classify under different circumstances as a pressure washed. She can fall into a trance at will. Animals adore her. Actually most people adore Maya because in person she has this specific vibe of "everything is going to be fine, don't worry", which is basically a side-product of her training. She is extremely well versed in eastern and south-eastern Asian philosophies and religions. She knows she should be having children to maintain the Fey clan lineage, but the prospect of being a mother is seriously scary for her.

Dick Gumshoe: He is officially classified at work as Damage Mitigation Officer, meaning he is there to prevent stuck-up annoying prosecutors getting righteously punched in the face. He can be quite clever when he really has to and has nobody to outsource the smarts to, but most of the time there is someone who likes to flash their special Logic or some other skill. He is a man of temporal solutions, he can tape stuff together to hold until a professional repairman arrives, he can kinda fix the car until you can take it to a mechanic. He can do practically anything at it passes as good enough, though not something to brag about, be it detective work or piloting an airplane or sewing or cooking.

Franziska von Karma: She doesn't know how to make pancakes and she can't have pancakes without feeling extremely emotional. She has a huge sweet tooth and is trying to hide it (at this point it is a public secret). She lives out of a suitcase. It's clicked only around her mid-20's that whipping people actually hurt them, so she tuned it down a bit. She speedran her development, so she had a horse phase when she was 5, a year later a wolf/werewolf phase, then Egyptology phase, then vampire phase, then she became a lawyer. She enjoys FPS games on her rare off-time, just senseless slightly tactical pixel violence. She will beat you at CoD.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Hunt...

[Shortly afterwards...]

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Who is...?

!!!???

Kyoko!? What’s...Oh...

OH GOD!

...!

...

*Kyoko opens the door and staggers backwards in horror as she sees Maya and Mii-Yu, holding tightly onto the wounded Kaede and Shuichi.

Please...where’s Four...!?

[A short while later...]

...

...

...

How are they?

The boy is fine. He just has some light bruises and a damaged nerve in his neck, but...that should heal.

The girl is in a much worse state, but...her condition has stabilized. Luckily, I’ve got just the thing for her.

*Four pulls a bottle of liquid out from her bag and places it down on the table next to the bed where Kaede lies.

Believe it or not, rub this one her arm, and it’ll heal in no time. It won’t even leave any scars.

Just...put a cast on it while it’s healing.

Thank you Four.

*Kyoko leaves the injured to Four and goes back over to the others, who surround Maya, trying to comfort her.

Are you alright?

Not really...

What happened? How...did this happen?

I think it’s quite obvious who’s responsible for this.

*Byakuya stands up and looks over at the injured agents.

Akamatsu is covered in gashes and cuts that seem to have been made from a blade...

You think Kuripa did this?

That is correct.

*Mii-Yu steps forward.

Shuichi, Kaede and I encountered, Kuripa, Maya and Agent 404 in a factory. They were trying to download some information for their plan to assassinate Zen Katagiri. As soon as Kaede heard that, she snatched the hard drive that they were downloading the information into. This led to an altercation, and...then this.

Kuripa chose to not hold back

...

Well...That settles it...

*Komaru stands up.

Kuripa Kurafto is a MONSTER, and we are all in grave danger.

Komaru...!

SHH!

...!?

Well, what the hell do we do?

*She turns to Hina.

I’ll tell you what we do.

We hunt the beast down and make him PAY for what he’s done. He can’t get away with this!

I agree...But did you not hear what I said before?

About Kuripa being stronger than he appears? Thanks for the warning, but I think we should take our chances.

Hold on, we can’t just FIGHT Kuripa! Even if he went off on his own path, he was still one of us.

Are you really gonna turn on him like that!?

“Turn on him!?” Makoto HE betrayed US!

...!

...!

*Four suddenly starts packing stuff away into a suitcase, leaving the integral medicine and concoctions behind. She then approaches the group, and holds a hand out to Maya.

Come on Maya. Let’s go.

...

*Maya takes her hand, and the two suddenly start to head for the door.

Wait, wait, where the hell are you going?

...I’m sorry. We can’t help you guys any more...I think Maya’s seen enough, don’t you.

You’re running away in fear? Four, we could use your help to combat Kuripa!

Believe me...I have two reasons for this, and neither of them are fear.

I love Maya more than I could ever fear anyone in the world. We need to remove ourselves from this situation before she becomes even more mentally damaged.

*Four squeezes Maya’s hand.

And the other reason?

Because Kuripa is RIGHT...

!!??

At least...I still believe he is. Even after all of this, and even if Kuripa is a dangerous man, Katagiri is definitely WORSE.

So that’s it? You’re just gonna follow HIM?

Did you not hear what I just said!? I...ugh...

*Still holding Maya’s hand, Four steps forward.

...I love the people who are close to me, and I thank you Future Foundation guys every chance I get for making the world we live in a better place.

But Kuripa is straight shooting for Katagiri, and if you get in his way, you may inadvertently cause the AI apocalypse!

...

...

...

I have my beliefs...But I refuse to fight you to defend them. You’re my friends, now and always.

But we can’t stay here.

*Four heads out the door. Before she and Maya can leave everyone’s sight, Maya turns back one more time to the others.

One more thing...

*She picks up her electromagnetic spear and hands it to the nearest person, in this case, Toko.

The girl’s name is...Kaede, right? When she wakes up, give this to her. Tell her she can keep it.

Are you sure?

It never really belonged to me, I stole it.

But...she handles that spear far better than I ever could. She can twist the staff, press the buttons in time...She’s amazing!

It’s better in her hands.

And...guys? I just wanna say thanks...For everything you’ve done for us. It’s been...a great honor, to fight alongside people as strong as you. 

You ever feel like you need a coffee fix or a long conversation? Stop by Freedom Café, whenever you want.

*With those last words, Four and Maya remove themselves from sight.

Right...let’s start making preparations.

Wait, hold on, who made you the boss?

No one. But judging from everyone’s faces here, I seem to be the only one who’s willing to take action.

Even you Chairwoman. Your protégé and his friend have been brutally injured by Kuripa! You can’t just let that slide!

...No, you’re right. But what would we do?

We hunt him down like the dog he is. That’s what we do.

Komaru, are you even hearing yourself!?

Shut up Makoto. This doesn’t concern you.

I’m feeling PRETTY CONCERNED! Why are you trying to shut me out!?

Because you clearly have no intention in helping us against Kuripa, and you might end up getting in our way!

What she said.

You can’t be serious!

I mean...a manhunt? We’re not savages Komaru, and the last time we tried a manhunt on Kuripa, it was incredibly unsuccessful.

In no small part to you helping them Hina.

A...hehehe...I was mainly doing it for Makoto...

But she is right. How would we even FIND Kuripa? We don’t know where ERR0RM3SS4GE’s hidden base is.

We don’t need to HUNT Kuripa...We just need to wait for HIM to come to US.

I beg your pardon?

I see...If Kuripa and Rantaro have the data they need now, realistically, their next location would be Central Park.If we want to find Kuripa, all we have to do is wait for him there.

But...Uncle Koto has a point...Isn’t a manhunt kind of playing into our enemies hands?

If we hunt Kuripa down, we’re doing basically the same thing he is. That doesn’t make us better people.

I...

Akeru’s right. Komaru, we’ve got to think of something more concrete than just a manhunt.

I’m sorry, I just...Look...

I’ve put up with Kuripa Kurafto’s bullshit long enough. After he attacked Kyoko and left, it took every ounce of restraint to hold me back from going out and ripping him a new one! You KNOW this!

But now he’s attacking our allies for the sake of his personal warped sense of justice. We can’t let him get away with that! 

I agree with Naegi-chan. Although such a violent course of action does not befit the Future Foundation, I believe it is ultimately necessary, and our single course of action.

No. It’s not.

*Makoto steps forward.

What? You’ve got some kind of plan?

I do.

You wanna stake out Central Park? Not a bad idea. But if we do that...

When he eventually shows up I...I want you to let me talk to him.

...Talk? That’s it? You just wanna talk to him?

I have to. I’m the only one who can.

That seems illogical.

And what would you say to him?

Anything! Anything that can stop him on this rampage! I’ve done it before, I can do it again.

I’ll try and convince Kuripa one last time that there are BETTER courses of action.

Right...and what if the reverse happens?

Huh?

The reverse? What do you mean?

What if Kuripa convinces MAKOTO to help him murder Katagiri?

D-Don’t be stupid! I’ve never killed anyone before!

You admitted before that you ordered Kuripa to kill Emilia Feng! That makes YOU RESPONSIBLE!

Kgh...!

Komaru, that was...

DON’T make excuses for him Kyoko!

You know, ever since we reunited in Tamashiro’s mansion, I sensed something was off about you. You just let Kuripa torture the man right in front of us; you told me to “let him have his fun”

And Kuripa? He’s more violent and unruly than ever before...You know what I think?

I think he’s influencing you. HE’S the reason you’re acting like this.

I’m not “acting” like anything Komaru! And even if I was, it wouldn’t be Kuripa’s fault! Do you REALLY think he’s brainwashing me?

He’s screwed up in the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been manipulating you ever since you met.

*Makoto looms forward.

Say that again...! I dare you...

See!? He’s making threats! My brother doesn’t make threats like that! He’s CORRUPTED you!

Ok Komaru, you’ve made your point, but “corrupted” is a strong word.

It doesn’t matter what she thinks. At the end of the day, I’m not seeking anyone’s approval.

I AM going to talk to Kuripa, and I AM going to convince him to stray off this path.

All I’m asking...is for you guys to TRUST me...

...

...I’m gonna...take a step outside.

*Everyone quietly watches as Makoto starts to head out.

...

*ZZZZRRKKCCHHKK!!*

BAAGH-!?

*THUD!*

...

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

*Everyone watches, flabbergasted, as Komaru suddenly snatches Toko’s taser, and shocks Makoto into unconsciousness!

I’m sorry Makoto...I just can’t...!