#hope you guys like it too :)

[baronessblixen]

Fictober Day 27: Keeping A Professional Distance

Prompt: "Let me remind you"

For the anon who asked for: Instead of there is only one bed, there are too many beds. Rating: T, wc: 973

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober24

For Mulder, Chicago proves to be an unlucky place.

Thanks to a system error, their motel reservation has been canceled. But the receptionist quickly reassures him: “Don’t worry, we still have one room left.”

One room – for the two of them. Mulder glances at Scully; their budding relationship has yet to take flight. They’re still in that early phase, tiptoeing around each other. In short: they haven’t had sex yet.

Neither of them wants it to happen on assignment – even if they closed the case. The last time they shared a room, and a bed, was a year ago in Kroner, Kansas.

They had kept to their respective sides and everything had been civil. That had been before their kiss at New Year’s. Before the second and tenth kiss they’ve shared by now. Kissing is all they’ve done. Work always getting in the way of more.

And now said work is making them share a room.

“We don’t usually use this room,” the receptionist explains, pushing the door open wide. It’s easy to see why. “This is where we store our extra beds. Pick whichever one you like. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“This is…something,” Mulder mumbles once they’re alone. The whole room looks as if someone’s played Tetris using real beds. There’s a narrow path from the door to the bathroom and that’s it. The rest is beds of various sizes.

“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about where to sleep.” Scully tosses her overnight bag onto one of the beds and squeezes past him to get to the bathroom. Mulder just stares at the plethora of sleeping places and can’t help but feel overwhelmed.

What are the odds of them getting stuck in one room with not one, but an abundance of beds? Somewhere someone is laughing, he’s sure of it. He closes his eyes and throws his bag; wherever it lands, he’ll sleep.

It’s just his luck that it lands on the bed farthest away from Scully’s.

*

Nine beds – yes, he counted – and not a single TV in this dreadful motel room. Mulder knows he should sleep. If for no other reason than it knocking him out until they can leave this place.

For a man who slept on his couch for years, a room full of beds resembles a nightmare. And the fact that Scully is in this room, too, but so far away that he can barely hear her breathe, is making him anxious.

He could have switched beds. Hell, he still could, but he wouldn’t want Scully to think he has any ulterior motives.

“Mulder, I can hear you think from here,” she says, surprising him. He was certain she was asleep already. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Why aren’t you?”

“I asked you first.” He wishes he could see her. How can they be so close and yet so far away at the same time? He wonders what she’d say if he asked her to move closer.

“This room is creepy.”

“It’s not what I expected,” Scully acknowledges.

“How is your bed?” Mulder asks. “Comfy?”

“It’s nice enough.”

“Are you cold at all?”

“No,” she says and he can’t tell if he wants to hear disappointment in her voice or if it’s actually there.

“You’re not cold, you’re comfortable, so why are you awake?” Mulder hears shuffling from across the room. When Scully speaks next, it sounds closer than before.

“I was thinking about Henry Weems,” she says. “About cause and effect.”

“You’re having profound thoughts and here I am, counting the beds in this room, trying to calculate the distance between mine and yours.”

“Why?”

She may be the one with the degree in physics, but he’s certain her voice is even closer. Or maybe he’s imagining things again.

“Let me remind you that there are nine beds in this room,” Mulder says. “And somehow we ended up on opposite ends of the room. I’m sure the FBI will appreciate us keeping our distance.”

“I’m not.” It’s a whisper, but he hears it loud and clear because she’s right next to him. He blinks a few times, just to make sure she’s real and not a trick of his imagination.

“Hi,” he says with a smile.

“Hi.”

“Got lonely?”

“Yes,” she admits shyly. “I hope you don’t mind. I just wanted to be… closer.”

“Why would I mind?” he asks quietly, the darkness surrounding them making it easier to admit it.

“Like you said, there are nine beds. When they told us there was only one room, I thought… well, you can imagine what I thought.”

“So did I,” he says. “And I wasn’t sure what- what to make of it. We haven’t exactly done that yet.”

“We’re adults, Mulder.”

“Then why is it so difficult to talk about it?” He laughs gently.

“I’m glad there’s more than one bed.” He knows she’s right, but her admission feels like a needle prick to his heart – and his ego. “We’re not forced to share a bed,” she goes on and suddenly, she’s no longer in another bed at all. She’s in his. Snuggling against him like a cat. “We’re doing this because we want to.”

“What’s the FBI gonna say?” he murmurs into her hair, his eyes fluttering shut. He presses a warm kiss against her hairline.

“They’ll never know.” She shifts in his arms and starts kissing his jaw, his cheeks, and then, finally, his mouth. Will he ever not be amazed that they do this now? Will he ever get used to her intoxicating taste? He can’t imagine that he will. He can’t get enough of her.

“There were nine beds,” Mulder mumbles into her mouth, “and we kept a professional distance.”

“Of course we did,” Scully replies, deepening the kiss.

Mulder thinks that maybe his luck is about to change after all.

[six-white-venus]

. . .

[pushing500]

Took them long enough!!!! I'm telling you, these two have been flirting and rejecting each other nonstop since they joined the colony. I don't think there has been a single moment where at least one of them didn't have a mood penalty for "Fafo/Kaz rebuffed me". It was excruciating to watch, I'm glad they've sorted themselves out.

Also, immediately after the notification for the New Lovers, I got a notification that Fafo was inspired by creativity. It seems romance is giving her a boost, which I thought was pretty sweet. <3

First | Next | Previous

[froggirlboobs]

just wanting to show off some new undies

[gongliyart]

Step out 2024 !!

also on twt!

[digitalvoidheart]

Redraw of this lovely piece X3

Much happier with the dynamicness (I can't remember the word I'm so sleepy X3)

Process under the cut

[standfucker]

Record Scratch - Franky/fem Reader

This ficlet is a) something lighthearted after my rather heavy last fic, and b) how I cope with Franky’s post-time skip body.

SFW but suggestive.

Summary: Zoro knew you liked Franky. Most of the crew did. They did not, however, realize how far things had actually gone.

Ao3 link

You were the seventh person to arrive, showing up not long after Sanji had dragged Zoro back to the Sunny.

"Zoro!" You called out, giving him a brief warning before you nearly tackled him in a hug. Zoro caught you, returning the embrace before patting your back.

"Hey," he grunted.

You detached from him and fully took him in. "Oh, your eye!"

"My eye? What about your face?" Zoro thumbed at the thick scar that ran from your left cheek down to your neck, a new feature–something you must have received during the last two years.

"It was crazy. I can't wait to tell you all about it!" You bounced in barely-contained excitement. “Let’s swap stories over a drink later!”

"Y/n-chwan!~"

You turned your head at the familiar voice while Zoro rolled his eyes. "Ah! Sanji!"

You leaped at Sanji, as well, and he caught you and spun a few times before setting you down.

"Ah! That scar! Who dared mar such a beautiful visage?" He held your face in his hands, tilting your head to examine the scar and looking genuinely upset.

"Don't worry! I gave as good as I got!" You grinned.

“If I was there, I would have pummeled whoever did that into dust–” Sanji started to say, but you’d already pulled away and were running toward Usopp. Sanji’s face fell at being ignored, and Zoro laughed, making the cook flip him off.

“Usopp!” You hugged the sniper before thumping his chest playfully. “Woah! You got tits now!”

“They’re pecs!” Usopp protested, but couldn't help returning your infectious grin. "And look at you! You look like a seasoned warrior!”

"Hehe, does it look badass?" You said, touching your scar.

"It totally does!"

Zoro smiled to himself as you bowled over Nami, then smooched Chopper, making the reindeer flail and protest in poorly-contained delight. Robin, Brook, and Luffy had yet to arrive, but that was fine–he knew who you really wanted to see.

You had always been friendly with the whole crew, but once Franky joined, you immediately attached yourself to his side. You followed the cyborg around like a puppy, always asking questions: about his cybernetics, about building ships, about Water 7 and Iceberg and Tom. At first Zoro thought it was because of your engineering background, but it slowly became apparent that there was more going on. It was the way you looked at Franky when he wasn’t looking at you, a fondness in your eyes that made Sanji grumble in jealousy whenever he witnessed it.

Franky either had a lot of patience or liked the attention, because he never tried to stop you.

It was cute, Zoro thought. He sincerely hoped that Franky liked you back. It was hard to tell–from the outside, Franky didn’t seem to treat you all that differently. But the way he humored your near-constant seeking of his attention made Zoro think that maybe there was something there.

The others must have felt similarly (stupid cook aside,) because everyone turned to watch as you finally, for the first time in two years, saw Franky.

To Zoro’s surprise, you did not run to Franky.

You stared.

Franky’s usually-enthusiastic expression faltered. Even with the sunglasses, Zoro could tell that he was nervous.

"What do you think?" Franky said after a minute, scratching his arm (and making the metal grind noisily.) 

"Franky!" Your tone did not sound pleased. You started crossing the deck, finally making your way over to him. "I've waited for two years–two long, grueling years, and this is what I see?"

You waved an arm angrily, gesturing to his massive body.

"How are you supposed to fuck me like this?" You demanded.

Zoro felt his brain screech to a halt. 

Hold on–hold on. What the fuck?! Zoro quickly looked at the others, as if they might offer an explanation. Sanji and Usopp’s eyes had popped straight out of their skulls, jaws on the floor, completely flabbergasted. Nami was covering Chopper’s ears, but she didn’t look that surprised at all.

"Baby, we can still do that," Franky assured you.

"How? You're so big!"

"I have full control over my body, just like before. I never hurt you back then, did I?"

You pouted. "No..."

They could only watch, dumbstruck, as you took Franky’s hand, bigger than your whole torso, and inspected his fingers, thumb trailing around the square edge. "This isn't going to fit."

Sanji flinched like he’d been physically struck.

The center of Franky’s hand opened, a smaller hand popping out. "Ah, okay," you said.

"I upgraded everything,” Franky explained. “And I do mean everything."

He leaned closer to you but made absolutely zero effort to mask his volume when he said, "it vibrates."

Well, that was something that Zoro could never unhear.

"I need a drink," Zoro said, turning to head for the galley.

"Me too," Sanji mumbled miserably. “What a terrible day to have ears.”

At least no one had to worry about the status of your relationship anymore.

[isjasz]

[mob killing noises] BAM!!!!1111!!

[vaszametili]

obiwan leades anakin to the council 21 BBY holophoto in color

[egophiliac]

buckle up lads we're going BACK INTO THE BOOK

[chloesimaginationthings]

"Oswald's mom has got it going on" - FNAF Pit bonnie

[what-am-i-doing-in-this-fandom]

I call this one "Double Kill"

[ID. First panel, Nino sits at his and Adrien's table in school, he's angled to face Adrien, his right arm resting on the back of their bench and his left hand on the table. He's saying "I still can't believe I got Rose with "Ligma"..." with his eyes closed. There's a small amount of text next to his head that reads: "It was funny, but I still feel bad..." indicating he's saying it under his breath. Him saying this gets Adrien's attention.

Second panel, Adrien is facing forward at Nino. His face is set in a worried smile as he asks, "What's "Ligma"? Is it serious?".

Third panel, Wide shot of them at their desk, showing Marinette and Alya at their table as well, looking down at them. Adrien keeps an expression of now confused worry as Nino looks at him with an open mouth. Marinette is looking down at Adrien with both hands over her mouth as her shoulders shake with contained laughter. Alya is also covering her mouth, but her joy is less contained as she smiles. The word "SPEECHLESS" is written above them to help get the surprise the three of them feel across.

Fourth panel, a shot of Adrien alone, facing forward and covering his face in embarrassment as the statement, "Just found out what Ligma is" is pointed to him in a looping arrow.

Fifth panel, a wide shot of Ladybug and Chat Noir sitting on the edge of a building together. Chat Noir is sitting criss cross with his hands resting on his thighs, sitting forward a bit to show that he's listening to Ladybug. Ladybug is much more relaxed, leaning back on her right hand and holding her left hand up casually. She's smiling as she recalls: "And then he fell for Ligma! I feel bad, but I kinda wanna see if he'll also fall for "Candace"..."

Sixth panel, Chat Noir is now crossing his arms, raising an eyebrow, squinting his eyes, and tilting his head. His right cat ear tilts as well, while his left one stays straight. The words: "Skeptical but curious" are pointed at him with a straight arrow. He's saying, "And who's "Candace"?"

Seventh panel, Ladybug is looking at Chat Noir with a shocked expression, her eyebrows raised and her jaw dropped. She's sitting straighter, her hand is still resting on the ledge, but it's no longer supporting her. The same "SPEECHLESS" is floating above her as it was seen in the third panel, to show just how shocked she truly is.

Eighth panel, Chat Noir is sitting with his knees up to his chest as he covers his face with his hands in embarrassment. His ears are flattened and his tail is curled around his ankles. The words "Just found out who Candace is" is pointed at him with a straight arrow. End ID]

[heatherskept]

frolicking in da fields with the bff

[lilybug-02]

Pain is a great motivator…

Part 26 || First || Previous || Next

—Full Series—

Meanwhile Toriel:

(Loud noises don't wake her up usually.)

Artist note: I’m so proud of this :))) I know it’s a lot of dialogue and reading, but dialogue is grueling work for me. I’m glad with the art and for the amount of pages I made in such a relatively short time span -w- page 5 was super fun to work on. A lot of blood, sweat, and hours here... :) The backgrounds were a big bore tbh, but I finished them! Yippie!

[latelierderiot]

I like them a normal amount ♥

without mask under the cut! 🫶

[skyenish]

| Scarabia animation 🐍☀️ | Proto Disco

——

They say eyes are the window to the soul, and I’ve been staring at Jamil and Kalim’s souls a lot lately