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oddsnendsfanfics · 4 years ago

Text

Unraveling in the Sheets

Genre: Fan Fiction

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: Language, Sexual Content, NSFW

Rating: M

Length: Short Story

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.

A/N: Spoiler Alert, there is smut. Be warned. It's there.

Also, I am no longer doing tags on posts. Since my list exceeds the tag limit. Please feel free to join the chat in place of the tag list.

Henry Cavill Master List

“How did you do it though?” Gliding the car into a free parking space, Henry glanced at Nell in the passenger's seat.

“How did I do what?” Eyeing him curiously, she tried to hide her gloating smile. She could be a terrible winner, even if she wasn't the winner, she had came ahead of Henry.

“You know what I mean, Nelly.”

He looked so silly, his new mustache curling when he laughed or smiled. Nell had to admit, if any man could wear the 'stache Henry did it well.

“Oh, you mean how did I suddenly leave your ass behind and finish nearly 50 positions ahead?” She laughed, crinkling her nose. “I told you, I've been working hard for this. Besides, you're too big. You move slower than I do. It's that simple. Maybe next year, you will finish ahead of me.”

“You're impossible.” Unbuckling his seat belt, Henry hurried to get out of the car and around to the other side, before Nell could open her own door. Nearly there, he frowned when she opened the door, stepping out of the Aston Martin. “You were supposed to let me open that.”

“I am supposed to do a lot of things that I do not.” Nell grabbed her hand bag. “I'll let you open the door, next time. You big dork.”

Henry was always the gentleman, even when Nell would rather rip his eyes out than speak to him in a civil manner. Not that she ever felt the former much, but on the rare occasion. Sometimes that's how things went for ex-lovers. The mid May air was growing cool, leaving a few goosebumps on Nell's exposed arms. She had expected to be back before now, which is why she'd left her sweater in the hotel.

“Well, happy late birthday. It was nice having dinner with your family. I've missed them.”

“They've missed you, too. I could tell that dad was happy you came along. He hasn't talked that much during a dinner since the last time you came over.” Henry smiled fondly. "I'm glad that you came, Nelly." Hands in his pockets, Henry sauntered along beside Nell. Approaching the main entrance, he held the door allowing her to enter.

When he'd invited her for the weekend, he wasn't confident that she would come. Wrapped up in work, Nell didn't take too much time away from Dublin these days.

"It was a nice break from work." Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Nell bit her bottom lip. "I know that you are busy, but do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"I always have time to talk with you." Scanning the hotel lobby, Henry tried to find a spot for them to sit and chat privately. "Should we have a seat at the bar?"

"We could, but I would really like to change. Do you mind coming up with me? We can just talk in the room. It's probably more comfortable anyway."

"Is this about the wild boy?"

"Isn't it always?"

Laughing, Henry pushed the call button for the elevator. Their son was truly something else. One day he would surely take over the world; Henry could see that coming from the day he was born. To say Ivan was Henry's pride and joy would be a massive understatement. He lived for their son. This weekend having Ivan, and Nell, in Jersey had been fantastic. A short glimpse of what life could have been. The ding of the elevator brought Henry back from his brief fantasy.

He and Nell had split up several years ago, there wasn't much chance she would feel the same as he did. Lost in the thoughts of happy little family. Allowing Nell to step onto the elevator first, Henry stood silently with his hands clasped in front of him.

“So, Ivan has been doing well in school?” He may as well get this under way.

“Define doing well,” Nell snickered. “I get a call nearly every day from his teacher. The woman is impossible, but knowing our son, he isn't making it easy for her.”

“I was like that in school. Right up until the day I left.” Henry shrugged. The elevator gently bumping to a stop, he stepped forward to hold the door for Nell.

Muttering a thank you, Nell dug for her key card, leading the way down the hall. She loved this hotel, it was the only one she stayed in, if she could help it, while visiting the Island. A great view of the water on one side, the other dazzling with a fantastic look out into the city. The first time she'd ever been to Jersey, she had stayed in the hotel and fell in love with the charm. There were days when that felt like a life time ago.

Opening the door, Nell paused to allow Henry in. “Have a seat. Anywhere you'd like. Sorry it's kind of a mess. I'm going to change.”

The hotel room was anything but a mess, minus the few sketch books that Nell had dropped on the bed. Always working. Henry took a seat on the edge of the king sized bed, casually glancing at the colour coded notes and designs that Nell had in one of the open sketch books. Costumes. A few notes detailed leather armor and Viking era clothing. She'd done well for herself, since he'd met her. The same shy costume apprentice hiding out on set of The Tudors, was now helping drive forward the details of Vikings.

In the bathroom, Nell pulled off her dress. The fabric had became clingy after a while and she needed to be more relaxed. Running shorts and a tshirt would do the trick. Sighing at her reflection, she bit her bottom lip glancing down at her top. The worn coral Nike tshirt was her favourite, it was showing the love and wear in a few spots. Perhaps she should have picked something less frumpy? She was a busy, single mom she didn't have to look the part. Ah fuck, who cared. Henry certainly wouldn't.

He was here to discuss their son, not flirt with her until she gave in to that smile. Or got lost in his eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes – the left with the flecks of brown. His charm alone was enough to make anyone weak in the knees. Damn it, she needed to get over it. He had moved on. She needed to do the same.

Blowing out a breath, Nell reached for the door, pausing when she heard Henry talking. His tone told her that he was speaking to Ivan. Quietly slipping out of the bathroom, she smiled.

“Hold on, just a sec.” He pushed the screen of his phone, allowing the speaker to connect. “Alright, wild boy. Say goodnight to your mum.”

“Mum, momma, mum.” Ivan's voice filled the room. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ivan. Are you being a good boy?”

“Uh huh. I love you. Good night.”

“Good night, wild boy. I love you.”

“Night dad.”

“Good night, I love you. I'm going to be back soon, you go to bed and I will see you first thing in the morning.”

“Okay. Oh, dad, can Kal sleep in my room tonight?” Ivan was fond of the large black and white American Akita. Henry laughed.

“Of course he can. You and Kal go to bed, now.”

“Okay, bye.” A little too quickly, Ivan hung up the phone. Henry laughed at the eagerness, he would talk to his mother when he got back to the house. Making sure that Ivan and his dog had gone to bed as they were told, with no fuss.

"Can you believe he is growing this fast? My god where has that time gone?" Henry rubbed his hands against his face. His mustache and subtle stubble scratching his palms.

"Time is a cruel mistress." Rubbing her hands on her shorts, Nell stood. "Drink? I have a bottle of Johnnie Walker."

"Of course you do." Smirking, Henry shifted on the side of the bed. “I had a look at some of these designs, by the way. They're magnificent. My god, Nell, you are so talented.”

“You're saying that to be nice,”

Shaking his head, Henry accepted the glass, resting it on his knee. “No, I am saying it because its true. You are one of the most talented costumers that I had ever met. Are you enjoying the job?”

“I love it.” Nell smiled, leaning against the large wooden desk in the corner. “The work is great, the people are amazing, and Ivan is really enjoying it. I'm glad we went.”

“Good, that's good. He talks about it, a lot. He really seems to love being there. I'm glad. Once things settle, I am going to try and come visit. I kind of miss it, Dublin.”

“You should.” She smiled fighting the urge to scoff and roll her eyes. Henry was always busy. He'd make it to Dublin, when Hell froze over. “So, how is work coming on this new character.”

“I can't say much, but I can say that I will be happy when I can shave.” He rubbed the mustache expertly. “It's not as bad as some of the beards that I've had to grow, but it's not my favourite look.”

“You look good with a beard. I know you hate them, but you do.”

Leaning forward to set his glass on the bedside table, Henry licked the whiskey off of his lips. “I'm glad to have that compliment.”

“Sure.” Nell nodded, tipping her glass to finish the drink. “Another?”

“Uh, I'm good.” Henry motioned to his glass. Rubbing his hands across his jeans, he furrowed his brow. “I've been thinking, since I am fairly busy the next few months, what if I keep Ivan for a few extra days? Once you leave, I will take him back to London with me, until I have to go.”

Shifting on the bed, her face warm from the second glass of whiskey, Nell sniffled and cleared her throat. “What about school?”

“What about it? He isn't going to miss much, is he? They're nearly finished up and I don't know how long it will be, until I see him. Possibly not until Christmas.”

All he wanted was to spend a little time with his son, was that so hard? His next move would have to be calculated, Nell had been known to stat arguments over less. If Henry wanted to avoid a shouting match, he would have to go about this carefully. Reaching for his glass, he downed the remaining contents in one large gulp. Sighing.

“I want to hang out with him a little. It wouldn't be more than three days extra. Then you get some time alone, as well. Nell, I know that you need a bit of a break. You work so hard and take care of Ivan, please.”

“If you want to, then I suppose I can't really say no. What kind of mother would I be, if I didn't let you see him?”

“Don't say things like that, please.” Henry reached out, his hand taking hers. Gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. “You are a wonderful mum. You know that.”

“Sometimes, I feel like I could do better. I really do.” Nell shrugged, allowing Henry to continue holding her hand.

“All parents feel that way, I am sure. I know that I feel like that, all the time. I guess it's natural, always wanting to do better, to be better, for our children.”

There he went again. There were times when Nell could not stand to be near him, other times she wanted to be as close as possible. Damn it. Watching him talk about Ivan and the few extras days they would be together, Henry's eyes lit up. His smile broad and the enthusiasm in his voice was one that dictated proud father. Nell nodded, only because she felt it was appropriate to the conversation.

Henry continued to chatter about how he wanted to take Ivan to a new exhibit at the Natural History Museum, in London. Leave it to the father and son, finding a day at the museum to be high on the list of fun. Nell sighed, continuing to half listen, half gaze at Henry in awe. One thing she loved – well love could be a strong word – adored? Enjoyed? About Henry was how much he loved Ivan.

Mid sentence about some Sir David Attenborough documentary that he'd watched with Ivan; Nell couldn't help it any longer. Leaning in, without warning, she grabbed Henry's face turning it to her and kissing him. Lips connecting, she stopped and jumped back as if hit by an electric shock.

Clearing his throat, Henry rubbed the back of his neck, but not pulling back. “I didn't know that the National Geographic was that exciting.”

“I'm sorry.” Hiding her face in her hands, Nell shook her head. Oh that had been a mistake. She had absolutely no right. None. Henry was crazy, if he didn't get up right now and walk out. If he was angry, then she deserved that.

Blushing, Nell shook her head. “Henry, I shouldn't have.”

“I'm certainly not going to complain.” He shrugged, leaning in his arm sliding around her shoulder. Nell glanced up, getting the nerves to look at him. Oh she had fucked up. “Next time, I would like some warning though.”

“Warning? Next time?”

“Hmm, yes. Kind of like this, close your eyes.” Henry instructed pulling her closer and kissing her. Nell sighed her body melting against him. She loved the way his lips felt on hers. Soft, with a slight force.

Straddling his waist, her arms wrapped around his neck, Nell's fingers laced together. Her lips leaving his, tracing along his jaw, nearing the sweet spot below his ear. A slight nip and he was an unraveling mess. Henry nuzzled his face into her hair, she smelled amazing. Comforting and warm. A groan erupted from deep in his throat, as predicted she had gone straight for that spot.

“Nell, Nell,” Henry cleared his throat, holding her at arm's length, “Janelle, stop.” Looking for any sort of sign that she truly felt that this wasn't a good idea, he sucked in a breath. “Are you sure about this? Because if we continue, I won't stop until...”

“I am.” She nodded firmly, “I don't want you to stop. I don't want to stop. Oh god, Henry. Please.”

“I need to know that you truly, absolutely want to do this.”

“If you don't stop talking and bend me over, I am going to kick you out and do this myself. Please, stop talking. If I didn't want this, I wouldn't have started it.”

A deep rumbling laugh followed, Henry rolled his eyes. God, she was something else. Who was he to deny a gorgeous woman what she wanted? Would this come back to haunt him? Probably. Did he care? Not much. Come morning they would once again go their separate ways, but that didn't matter right now. Right now, he could pretend that he had everything he wanted. And what he wanted was her.

Pulling her to him, Henry kissed her hard. Nell moaned, the force of the kiss was nearly dizzying. Arms around his neck, she rubbed her body against his, trying to grasp the friction that was created when she started to grind herself against his thighs.

“Henry,”

“Hold on, you need patience.” He brushed a bit of hair out of her face, “all in good time.”

Nell squealed when he stood, her legs desperately scrambling to hold onto him. In a futile attempt she huffed, when he let her go, standing in front of him pouting. Unbuttoning his shirt, Henry smirked giving her a heated stare. “Well, are you going to get on the bed or make me do all the work? Shorts off.”

Sliding the mesh shorts down her ass and along her legs, Nell made a bit of a show letting them pool at her feet. Stepping out, as slowly as possible, while lifting the old tshirt from her body. Allowing it to go where it would, as she dropped it. Sitting back on the bed, she could feel her heart in her throat and her stomach where her heart should be.

“Lie back.” Henry instructed, kneeling at the edge of the bed. Arms around her thighs, guiding her to him, he studied her for a moment. She was trembling as his fingers slid across her thighs, positioning her in just the right way.

“Oh god, Hen-Henry.” Nell's mouth was suddenly dry and her voice hoarse. His hot breath between her legs was tormenting her, in unimaginable ways. In anticipation she bucked her hips forward, trying to clench her thighs. Holding her knees with his shoulders, Henry chuckled.

“Eager.”

“Please.”

“You are...” He lingered, kissing the inside of her leg. “Gorgeous. Look at you.” He brushed his thumb against her. Nell whimpered trying to push further. “Hold on, hold on.”

“Why are you teasing me?”

“Because I want to enjoy the view, for a moment.” He shrugged, her legs lifting gently. A hand on her lower abdomen, as if holding her in place, he used the other to gently tease and trace along her calf. Without warning, his lips attached to the most sensitive part of her body with his mustache adding an extra sensation, Nell bucked her hips hard, shoving his face further between her thighs.

Nell's head was swimming, it had been a while since she'd felt this good from such an act. Sure, she'd had the odd date here and there, semi-serious relationships, but nobody could do this the way Henry could. He was a fucking magician, she was certain of it. Humming against her mound, Henry couldn't hide the laughter in his eyes, when she began to squirm and wiggle against his face. She was desperate and he was going to prolong this as much as he could.

Sucking her clit, his tongue generously lapping at her, he thoroughly enjoyed the show. Pushing his head as far down as she could, Nell was nearly in tears each time he leaned in, his mustache tickling in just the right way. Oh god, she gasped trying hard to find release. Henry was cunning, backing off at the right moments.

“Henry,” She whined, threading her fingers through his hair. “Don't tease me, I really need you to finish.”

“Stop being so impatient.” He was teasingly stern. Pushing her hands away, he locked his fingers with hers, holding them at her side. Lifting his head, he smirked, kissing up her body ending with another dizzying kiss. Nell sucked on his tongue, freeing her hands from his, she tugged him closer, pulling at fistfuls of hair.

Cleaning herself from his tongue and lips, she sighed. “I'm going to need more than that.”

“You're sure?” Henry paused, holding his weight on his forearms, resting above her. His jeans still on, he could feel the strain against the denim.

“Jeans, off.” She demanded, sitting up to watch. Shivering against the slight chill, her breasts on display giving him the perfect view of her erect nipples. Nell blushed under his gaze. She was not the tight, toned, and perky body she once was. She wasn't out of shape, by any means, but compared to Henry...

“You are gorgeous.” Henry complimented, his jeans on the floor, boxers being pushed down to join them. Stepping out of his pants, he stood at the side of the bed, in all his glory.

Nell licked her lips, reaching out to take him in her hand. Hissing under her touch, Henry involuntarily bucked his hips forward into her hand. Rubbing the head, Nell intently watched Henry while she leaned in taking him fully in her mouth.

“Fuck, Nelly.”

“Hmm,” She hummed, sliding her head back along his length. Hand wrapped around him, stroking in place of her mouth. Bobbing her head back down, she swirled her tongue around the base. He nearly choked her the first time she'd ever gone down on him. Oh how long ago that felt.

Dragging her tongue against his length, she felt her core tighten, with each moan Henry gave. His slight salty taste mixed with the aftertaste of the Johnnie Walker, Nell inhaled deeply through her nose, hollowing her cheeks around him. Gripping the back of her head, Henry tried to not force her too hard, as he began to guide her movement.

Happy to go along with what he needed to feel good, Nell allowed him control over her guidance. Her finger nails grazing the back of his thighs, she mentally checked the small victory when he threw his hips forward at the sensation of her wrapped around him and her nails on his skin.

“Good girl,” Henry mumbled, his head lulling back, his chest rising rapidly. “Keep it up, just like that. Oh shit,”

Nell's chest swelled a little, she could still make him feel good, even after all of this time apart. That was not something she would take lightly, even if this shouldn't be happening. Oh fuck, who cared? They were two consenting adults. Henry's legs quivered, his hands unsteady stroking the back of her head.

“Nell,”

“Hmm?” She glanced up at him. His face soft and his jaw slack, she could feel him tightening. The perfect time to stop her actions. “Not yet,” She smirked, wiping her hand across her chin, drool gone. “Fair is fair.”

“Jesus,” Henry grumbled. He had been so fucking close, the knot in the pit of his stomach clenched Slowing his breathing, he took a moment to think of anything else. Laundry? Running? How much longer until he had to renew his passport?

“Henry?”

“Yeah?” He snapped his head to look at Nell.

“Are we going to stand here all night, or...” She shrugged, a devious smirk on her face. Laying back on the bed, she curled her finger beckoning him to her.

“You're still sure about this?” Henry asked. His eyes on her, waiting to see if she had any hint of doubt or hesitation.

“I don't have a condom, but I'm clean. It's not like I'm getting pregnant, so....” If she were to get pregnant, there was going to be on hell of a hefty lawsuit against that surgeon.

“You're sure? I know that I'm...but I don't have.”

“if you don't want to, then I understand.”

“I do, though, but...”

Nell shook her head. “No buts. If you want me, then I'm yours.”

“Fuck, you're making this hard.”

Giggling, Nell glance down. “I think we're beyond things being hard.”

His body betraying him, Henry cleared his throat, she certainly had a point. Fuck it. What did they have to lose? Unless this, some how, came back to bite them. No, no he had to stop that. Give in, enjoy what was happening. It had been too long since he'd been able to watch her in such bliss. Bliss that he was responsible for.

“You're sure?”

Nell nodded siting up, opening her arms, “Come here.”

On the edge of the bed, Henry sighed, his large frame leaning into her. Nell held him for a moment, stroking his hair, the feel of his warmth against her sent shivers through her spine. Pushing him back on the bed, she bit her bottom lip, waiting for the go ahead. Henry gave her a slight nod, adjusting himself on the bed to get comfortable. Straddling his hips, Nell lifted herself to slowly take him.

Sheathing him inch by inch, Nell groaned at the fullness. This was her favourite part, taking him to the end, feeling him stretch her. Rocking her hips forward, she countered the motion sliding them back in the same tantalizing pace. Henry held her hips, pushing his up to meet her. Nell squeaked and giggled. She loved the way he hit all the right spots.

“You can touch me, don't be shy.” Nell winked, lifting her arms and crossing them above her head, allowing him a full view of her breasts. “Go on.” She encouraged.

His large hands cupping her breasts, Henry softly rolled her hardening nipples between his fingers, giving on a slight flick when she moved herself up on his length. Close to letting him slide out, she moved back down, her ass grinding against him.

The way her body moved against his was mesmerizing. Massaging her supple skin, from her breasts down her sides, one hand settling on her ass and the other on her hip. Henry loved the shape, even if she had changed a little since having Ivan. God she was stunning.

Hastening her pace, Nell rocked back and forth, up and down. Henry closed his eyes feeling every bit of movement, each clench. Taking in the sounds of her breathing, mixed with his, her small moans not going unnoticed.

“Henry,” She whispered, biting her bottom lip, leaning forward to touch her lips against his. “Please,”

Without having to be asked twice, he moved swiftly, turning them over to pin her beneath him. Nell sighed and stretched her arms over her head, the pull of her muscles caused another shiver. Her head now against the pillow, she reached, tracing the lines of his face with her fingertip.

“I don't know that I can be as slow as you were.” Henry nipped her finger. Holding back on his desire to pound her into the bed.

“Then don't.” Nell batted her eye lashes at him.

Somehow that was all he needed, that tiny bit of permission. Picking up the pace, Henry grunted. Nell moaned drawing her knees upward, allowing him an even better vantage to this position. As if the pent up emotions from the last few years, hours, minutes had been released the couple were lost in the sensation of skin on skin. The feeling of sparks and electricity coursing through them. Connecting them.

“Fuck, Janelle.” Henry hissed, his arm locked into position on either side of her head, keeping him from tumbling on top of her.

“Henry,” She squealed splaying her hands against his chest, tugging at the soft hairs. “Oh god. Please, don't stop. My god, oh fuck.”

“You are fucking amazing. Fuck, look at you.” Kissing her roughly, he sighed, steadying his pace. His hips slapping hers, Nell shook slightly her soft sobs of pleasure were enough to send him to an end.

Shaking with pleasure, Nell gasped trying to bring herself down from the high. Henry moaned, his head back and chest heaving. It had been a while since he had felt that good. Nell laid with her legs hooked around his thighs, no desire to move. Collapsing with his head on her chest, Henry allowed his body to rest. Sweaty and sticky, they laid tangled together. Neither one wanting to break the feeling.

Dosing in and out, Nell was the first to move. Her body growing heavy with Henry still on top of her. She needed to move, before seizing up. Pushing his head to the side, she giggled and kissed the tip of her nose when he lazily looked up.

“I need to pee,”

“Hmph.” Henry nodded, slowly rolling over. Allowing her to escape. Laying flat on the bed, while she scurried off to the bathroom, Henry pushed himself up off of the bed. He should be getting back to his parents, back to Ivan.

All thoughts of moving were squashed, when Nell came back, climbing in beside him. Her clothes still on the floor. Her body was comforting against his. “Hi,” she whispered, sliding in under his arm.

“Nell?” Henry laid with his arm around her shoulder.

“Huh?” Nell grunted, her face buried in his chest.

“I should head back.”

“If you want to. You can stay, I don't mind.” Nell yawned. Her eyes closing.

“Okay, but only for a little while.” Henry agreed, closing his eyes. In a few minutes, he would get up, shower, and head back.

With a start, Henry woke, a loud banging noise rattling him. Looking around the dark room, he squinted to find the source of the noise. Hearing someone whispering at a distance, Henry laid in bed, listening. Against him, Nell stirred, but didn't wake. Someone in the hall was talking, no doubt they had been the source of the banging. He had fell asleep, Nell wrapped against him.

Looking at his watch, Henry frowned. 4am. If he left right now, he could be back before anybody woke. If he left now, he risked Kal barking and waking the house. If he waited, he would risk walking in and having to explain himself to one or more person. Of course he could tell them that he'd ran into some old friends, had some drinks and stayed on a sofa somewhere. Too drunk to drive.

Shifting in bed, Nell sighed, her arm around his waist she snuggled in closer. She was content, who was Henry to try and disturb her sleep? He would wait an hour or two, before he made his departure. So what if he waltzed in, being faced by one of his brothers, or even his mother. He was an adult, if he wanted to stay out all night enjoying the company of a fantastic woman, then he would do just that.

Kissing the top of Nell's head, Henry smiled, sinking down further into the covers, closing his eyes.

Tag List Chat

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill smut #oddsnendshenryfics

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spencstan · 4 years ago

Text

Six of Crows re-read

(i also did this for the shadow and bone trilogy so read that if you want to)

spoiler alert obiously

i'm SO EXCITED FOR THIS this is my comfort book (with crooked kingdom of course)

JOOST HI

oo fun fact this was my first grishaverse book and i read it with no context whatsoever except that the mc is an emo boy and morally grey

so IMAGINE my pure confusion when JOOST appeared

i was like ?????? weird take on morally grey character but ok

joost trying to figure out how to flirt with a girl is a mood

anyone wanna teach us how to???

i kinda wanna skip this part so i can see the crows..

but i won't don't worry

(won't I?

"I think Yuri may be quarantined"

aaaand?

so are we you are not special

i feel like it's very important for me to mention that i read this book in spanish first

and then i got into the fandom and i was like who the fuck is the wraith? i only know El Espectro

Heartender who??? ooo you mean Cardio

Tidemakers? nope, i only know Maremotores

for real i was so confused i had to re-read it in english (not that i mind tho)

say whatever you want about the spanish version but we have to agree that this design is pretty af

another one yay: "Retvenko was a Squaller" vs. "Retvenk era un Impulsor"

(should i also say that in my pfd english version the book is 294 pages long and in my pdf spanish version its 532????) (i think it's because in the english one the speces are way less like the lines are so close together wtf

i've decided that i'm bored so i'll be skiping this chapter

anya is super badass tho

skdgfalsdgfliaysvfascvhjl yesssssss inej

Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

KAZ

INEJ

I MISSED THEM

omg now i can picture amita and freddy SDJGKASKGLASG THIS IS AMAZING

we interrupt our regularly scheduled program to watch the shadow and bone trailer once again to hear freddy's beautiful voice

ok moving on!

now hear me out i'm giving you all permission to make fun of kaz for this one: Dirtyhands = Manos Sucias

hello i am Kaz Manos Sucias. nice to meet you!

AAAAA

AAAAAAAAAA

JESPER FAHEY

JESPER LOVE HI

SJDGHFKAHSGDLAJSDFSJ,AHFLHDSGF

I MISSED HIM OMG

OMG NOW I CAN PICTURE HIM AS KIT

can you tell jesper is one of my favourite characters?

i really love the fact that kaz is pissed about the murder of that ambassador ONLY because he can´t figure out how it happen

he´s such a nerd

i can't believe one of the firts things we hear jesper say is threathen to kill someone by writing "forgive me" with bullets

AND HE CALLS HIS GUNS "BABIES" OMG

picture saying hi baby and wylan thinkin he's talking to him but actually jesper's talking to one of his guns

Jesper rolled his eyes. "It's about sending a message. What's the point of a dead guy with forg written on his chest?."

"Compromise," Kaz said. "I'm sorry does the trick and uses fewer bullets."

ooo thank god we have kaz to come up with creative solutions /j /s

honestly i love how they talk about kaz's cane like it's the scariest weapon ever (which it kind of is)

nothing will ever disappoint me more than finding out that in english their gang name is "the Dregs". like i don't even know for sure what that means

in spanish is "Los Indeseables" (the undesirables?) which sounds a lot more badass

no hate tho i like the dregs

but i was confused af bc i expected it to be sometihng like "the undesirables" or"the unwanted" or whatever

and it said "the dregs"

which in the translator means something like shit or something

anways moving on:

If he'd (kaz) ever been a little boy

i love how lowkey all the crows think he was just born exactly like he is now

imagine a baby kaz all dressed in black and threatening people

cute

"No mourners," Jesper said as he tossed his rifle to Rotty

"No funerals," the rest of the Dregs murmured in reply. Among them, it passed for "good luck".

YES

YESSS

i wonder what wylan's doing right now :))

i can't wait for the next book where he has a pov

the first time i read this book i literally looked at the title of every chapter to see if he ever got one (i was disappointed to say the least :((((

Besides, she was the Wraith - the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.

ma'am

marry me please

i'm gonna cry so hard once the show is out and we get to see inej omg

me simp

That Kaz had chosen Jesper to be one of his seconds was no surprise. Twitchy as Jepser was, with or without his revolvers, he was at his best in a fight, and she knew he'd do anything for Kaz.

idk why but i just love it every time kaz implies or shows that he cares or trusts jesper

it makes me soft

But every one of Inej's senses told her that was not how this was going to play out. Her father would have said the shadows were about their business tonight. Something bad was going to happen here.

underrated saying from Inej's father right there

"I'm a business man," he told her."No more, no less"

"You're a thief, Kaz."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

i see no lies here

not to be annoying but i hc jesper as adhd (i mean is pretty much as canon as wylan's dyslexia) so i'm gonna write here every time i see evidence :)

jesper with adhd part 1: impulsivity

Jesper snorted. "Stomach, spine. What's next, spleen?"

"Shut it" Oomen snarled. The rules of parley dictated that only the lieutenants could speak once negotiations had begun. Jesper mouthed "sorry" and elaboratedly pantomimed locking his lips shut.

he know he couldn't speak but couldn't stop himself from making a comment (i relate way too much to that lmao)

hoestly poor jesper he had to watch hid friend get shot and kaz do nothing about it

i would've been mad too

"I like it when men beg," she said. "But this isn't the time for it"

KAHGFAHLGSFGASFLGSAFS

this is one of the best quotes in the book by far

YASSS KAZ POV

Kaz could have tol Jesper that he knew he wasn't dirty, reminded him that he'd trusted him eough to make him his only real second in a fight that could have gone badly wrong tonight.

cute

but kaz is petty af

he didn't even have a reason not to tell jesper that!

i love that kaz knows inej is following him but doesn't say anything because he wants to wait until she's ready

i LOVE the scene where kaz in in the van eck mantion /srs

idk why but it's so good

And, of course, there was the mystery of Van Eck's son.

wonder what that could be!!! /s

He grinned at her (...)

"Hmm." she said noncommittally, pretending to examine one of her knives, determined to ignore that grin.

KANEJ YESS

HE'S BASICALLY SHOWERING IN FRONT OF HER OMG

this is so funny poor inej is getting flustered

"And I'll need Wylan waiting at the Crow Club tomorrow night."

YES WYLAN OMG

One minute he made her blush and the next he made her want to commit murder

happens to the best of us :/

"Please, my darling Inej. treasure of my heart won't you do me the honor of acquiring me a new hat?"

if kaz doesn't say this on the show we riot

agreed?

it's so amazing how nina found a way to use her powers to get money instead of having to like steal and murder like the rest in the gang

NINA'S POV YESSS HIII

nina and inej omg

their friendship is just perfect

POOR MATTHIAS HE HAS TO FIGHT THE WOLVES

i would straight up cry

Matthias was dreaming again. Dreaming of her

i'm gonna cry damn it

this is the enemies-to-lovers we all needed

jesper has adhd part 2:

"Jesper was supposed to wait until three bells." said the pale boy

"It is three bells, Kaz." replied a small girl (...)

"Since when is Jesper punctual?" the boy complained with a glance at his watch

the time blindness come one

(btw i love the fact that kaz plans around jesper's time blindness instead of like threatening him to be on time)

i really love how every one feels the need to take the time to say/think that the masks are ugly

its so unnecessary lmao

yessss inej is a badass that kills monster we stan

and matthias is lowkey impressed lmao

as he should

"Thank you, Jesper," said Nina

"You're very welcome, gorgeous. See, Kaz? That's how the civilised folk do"

THESE TWO OMG

JESPER IS THE LOML

INEJ OMG LOOK:

She stepped aside as if she's known he was coming, languidly hooking her heel behind his ankle. Matthias let out a loud grunt as he landed on the stones

(...) "Clumsy, this one," the bronze girl said impassively.

that's what happen when you underestimate her bitch

AAAAAAA

PEOPLE

TIME TO FREAK OUT

WYLAN IS HERE

AND HE'S DOODLING STOP IT'S SO CUTE

ok jesper has adhd part 3 i think:

"Just how crazy is he?" asked Jesper, fingers drumming on the pearl handles of his revolvers.

ok first of all: stimming

second of all: hyperactivity

i rest my case

ok 2 or 3 things here

"I believe you know Nina," Brekker continued. "The lovely girl freeing you is Inej. (...) and this is Wylan, the best demolitions expert in the Barrel"

"Raske is better," Inej said

The boy looked up, ruddy gold hair flopping in his eyes, and spoke for the first time. "He's not better. He's reckless"

"He knows his trade"

"So do I"

ok 1: kaz calling inej lovely omg kanej

2: YES WYLAN STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF

2.5: kaz calling him the best cute af

3: honestly why do people think wylan is like an innocent soft boy or whatever. he's in a room full of murderers and thieves and the first thing he does is correct them and stand up for himself

like i wish i could do that

i would be crying like a bitch

AAAAAAAA

"Meet Wylan Van Eck"

KHDSGFALSGFIASGFAL

HI WYLAN BABY

YESSS JESPER'S POV NOW

I'M SO HAPPY also look at this it's the first thing in his pov

Jesper stared at Wylan

do i sense some wesper?????

ok everyone is being so mean to him right now

they are aclling him useless and an idiot and other shit

poor boy honestly he had to deal with this + taking part of a heist he is definetly not ready for + he has to hide the fact that he can't write or read

it so distrubing that kaz is literally the nicest one to wylan right now

"See that? Hidden depths." (...)"He's good enough at demo, and he's got a fine hand for sketching, thanks to all those pricey tutors."

(...)

"There you have it," Kaz said to Jesper. "Marketable skills. Wylan is watching you, Helvar"

GET READY

ARE Y'ALL READY?

OK THEN:

"Scheming face," Jesper whispered to Inej.

She nodded. "Definetly."

THEIR FRIENDSHIP OMG

AND THIS QUOTE

I NEED IT ON THE SHOW THEY BETTER GIVE IT TO US

"Who's Mark" damn wylan (but pretty good comeback to jesper tho)

"What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?

"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.

"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.

"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.

"You're all horrible," said Matthias.

tag yourself i'm jesper

KJSFGAL kaz just told wylan to tell him everything he know about his dad's company

and he said he doesn't know and kaz was like "and you never looked trough his documents????

AND THEN HE GOT SAD AND SAID HE HADN'T (and kaz believed him this is sad)

AND NOW JESPER CALLED HIIM USELESS

ok you know i love you jes but if you keep this up

idk i can't do anything you're a sharpshooter

but stiiiiiil

LMAO MATTHIAS ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE COULD BEAT KAZ

nice try

demjin

*insert spongebob voice* demjin

WE'RE GONNA TAKE A MOMENT NOW TO APPRECIATE INEJ GAHFA

BECAUSE KAZ DOESN'T

The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.

*ugly crying*

Many boys will bring you flowers. But some day you'll meet a boy who will learn your favourite flower, your favourite song, your favourite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won't matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.

*uglier crying*

TANTE HELLEN IF YOU DON'T GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE

SOMEONE PLEASE STAB HER FOR ME

jesper has adhd part ?? (i have dyscalculia you can't expect me to remember the number):

That sound - the swift, shocking report of gunfire - called the scattered, irascible, permanently seeking part of his mind into focus like nothing else.

do i really need to explain this?

ok just in case.. an adhd brain doesn't actually have a deficit of attention(the name just sucks) it's problem with controling that attention. the brain is always looking for new sources of dopamine which is why it shifts its focus so much

i love that jes thinks of matthias as "tha giant"

like sir

have you seen yourself?

you're tall af

HE GOT SHOT

WHY DID I FORGET JESPER GETS SHOT IN THE LEG HERE

"Close your eyes!"

"You can't kiss me from down there, Wylan"

"Just do it!"

i love the energy BUT NOW IT'S NOT THE TIME JES

YESS WYLAN SHOW THEM THEY WERE WRONG CALLING YOU USELESS

inej just stabed some guy int the d

good for her!

KAZ YESSSS HI

AWWW SHE'S WORRIED HE DOESN'T HAVE HIS CANE

KANEJ FOR LIFE

oh no wylan got shot too???? (just barely but stilllll por baby)

my Wraith omggg

ok 3 things about this:

Without another word, he tipped Oomen into the sea.

"No!" Wylan shouted, leaning over the railing, his face pale, stunned eyes tracking Oomen in the waves. (...)

Jesper set his hand on Wylan's shoulder. "Let it go."

"It's not right-"

"Wylan," Jesper said, giving him a little shake."Maybe your tutors didn't cover this lesson, but you do not argue with a man covered in blook and a knife up his sleeve"

1. wesper yasssss

2. wylan just argued with a mant hat had just tacken the eye out of someone. he literally called him out for being an asshole. like damn wylan is brave af i love him

3. do you think seeing kaz trow the guy out of the boat reminded wylan of when the same thing happened to him???? this makes me sad

he's brave and a good person and i just-

"Man with a knife, remember?" he said over his shoulder.

"Man with a gun!" Jesper called after him

this had no right being so funny

AND THEN KAZ GAVE HIM THE MIDDLE FINGER STOP I CAN'T

nina is the biggest kanej shiper no one can tell me i'm wrong

unrelated but if jesper had gone to the Little Palace and had studied there with nina they 100% would've had a crush on Zoya and bonded over it

like you can't tell me those two bisexual disaster wouldn't be absolutely in love with Zoya

jesper has adhd part ??:

Jesper scrubbed the back of his neck, touched his hands to his gunds, returned to his neck. He always seemed to be in motions

hyperactivity right there

and restlessness

"Do you know the best way to find Grisha who don't want to be found?" (...)

"Seems to be if they don't want to be found, you should just let them be" (jesper says this)

this conversation must be so stressful to him omg

LMAO JESPER CUT MATTHIAS HAIR THIS IS SO FUNNY

AND HE SHAVED HIM

ok you all know i love all of them but they can be sooo stupid

like wylan wrote no names on the drawing and he's excuse is that he doesn't know fjerdan?

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN TRUE he literally said he learned school fjerdan which means he should know how to write it too (we know why he can't but the tohers don't)

and even then like the excuse doesn't make any sense. why would having the original name be usefull if no one can fucking read it????

the worst part tho? NO ONE QUESTIONED HIM

THEY WERE LIKE "yup makes sense" AND WENT ON WITH THEIR DAY

i wondered how they didn't figure wylan's secret sooner but now i now

it's because theya re idiots

"I'm just doing my job. Stop glaring at me"

wylan baby let's not make the gigant mad

Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. "Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost."

Brekker's lips quirked. "I'll just hire Matthias ghost to kick your ghost's ass."

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost," Matthias said primply, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.

i had to put this here i don't want to get murdered by the fandom

jesper, inej and nina have the BEST friendship

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE JES AND INEJ TOGETHER ON NETFLIX

"I know some people don't understand, but Kaz told me ... he said it was my choice, that he wouldn't be the one to mark me again."

i love this because it happen when they had just met

he did it because he understands her trauma and he respects her not because he loves her (i doubt he did at the time)

Kaz had been impressed with the sketches. (...)

"Just learn to take a compliment. Kaz doesn't hand them out often."

I'M SO PROUD OF WYLAN

and yess kaz only compliments wylan (and inej but that's sarcastic so it doesn't count) because he's a proud dad

"And you don't belong here, either."

"I beg your pardon, merchiling?"

"We don't need a sharpshooter for Kaz's plan, so what's your job - other than stalking around making everyone angsty?"

He shrugged. "Kaz trusts me."

Wylan snorted and picked up his pen. "Sure about that?"

DAMN WYLAN DESTROYED HIM

also

"If you aren't born with every advantage, you learn to take your chances."

"I wasn't-" Wylan left off and set down his pen. (...)

aww cute neurodivergent boyfriends bonding

Wylan had turned back to his work, his disappointment obvious. For some reason, Jesper felt disappointed, too.

ajgflasjgfjagslfiuusgflgdfsgdflasdgfsd

wesper

aww jes checks on inej every morning and every night i love him

"Thank you for keeping me in this world when fate seemed determined to drag me to the next. I owe you a life debt."

Nina blushed deeply. "I was teasing, Inej"

LJFGALKGFALGA another cute friendship right there

(and i can see why people ship them romantically)

STOP INEJ AND JES ARE BONDING SO MUCH (page 127 so i can go back and read it lmao)

Van Eck writes to Wylan every week, and Wylan doesn't even open the letters

"They just said the same thing again and again: If you're reading this, the you know how much I wish to have you home. Or I pray that you read these words and think of all you've left behind."

should i kill him? anyone want to join me?

Inej bumped her shoulder against his."Then at least we're both the same kind of stupid." (...)

"You're too good for him, you know?"

"I know. So are you"

jes and her bonding over their stupid crush on a white boy

Because I've been looking for an excuse to talk to you for two days.

jfsfdajdhmgkfutdjrgsg ok i can't blame them for having a crush on him anymore

this chapter is full of kanej i love it

"What do you want, then"

You, Inej. You forever.

jksdgfoagsdfgsdgfklasgdflaghsldfgksdgfkahgsdfghjlkf

kaz's backstory makes me sad

"When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm," said Kaz. (...)

"I´m gonna pay someone to burn my kruge for me."

Kaz fell into step beside him. "Why don't you pay someone else to pay someone to burn your kruge for you? That's what big players do."

"You know what the really big bosses do? They pay someone to pay someone ...". Their voices trailed off as they tomped ahead, and Matthias and the others followed.

JES AND KAZ HAVE THE BEST CONVERSATIONS

i can't believe we get to see nina and matthias meet and their whole backstory in less than a month omg

"It's not natural for women to fight."

"It's not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand."

QUEEN

YOU TELL HIM

oh no the dead grisha

this part breaks my heart every time

"Do you have a different name for killing when you wear a uniform to do it?"

.....i'm just gonna leave this quote right here

anyways acab

stop nina tried to kill the survivor so they wouldn't suffer but she couldn't do it

and jesper did it for her without hesitation i wanna cry

and inej didn't want to do it either i want to hug them

"Because our crime is existing. Our crime is what we are"

..........

i'm gonna leave this here again

do with it what you will

"Don't mock what you don't understand."

"My mockery offends you? My people would welcome you laughter in place of this barbarity"

i- this conversation is so important

AAAAA JES AND WY ARE A GREAT TEAM I LOVE THEM

WYLAN TROWS BOMBS TOGIVE JESPER TIME TO GET READY TO SHOOT

INEJ AND KAZ ARE A GREAT TEAM TOO

THEY LITERALLY DID THE SCENE LIKE IN THE AVENGERS (but without the shield WHICH MAKES IT BETTER)

Jesper shouldered his rifle. "Wylan earned his keep."

Wylan gave a little jump at the sound of his name. "I did?"

YES BABY YOU DID GREAT

kaz getting self-conscious for his hair is pure comedy

but nina how can you say that have you see his hair on the show???? it's perfect

"Remeber our friend Mark?"

HELP I CAN'T

"Any other impossible feats you'd like us to accomplish?"

The bearest smile flikered over Kaz's lips. "I'll make you a list."

once again jesper and kaz being besties

unrelated but nikolai and jesper would love each other

the amount of sass they have between them it's unparalleled

"Mmm," Inej murmured, taking a sip from her mug. "Maybe you're just not enough."

DAMN

ma'am marry me please

kaz fainted damn poor boy

unrelated unce again but this is so much betetr than shadow and bone

like you can tell leigh improved so much

her characters are better and their arcs are better developed

the writing itself it's better

or maybe i'm just biased because i love soc so much but i think she definetly improved

INEJ IS TRYING TO GIVE HIM SPACE EVEN WHEN SHE'S TRAPPED AND LOCKED ON THE WAGON

I JUST - THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SO MUCH

Though he'd trusted her with his life countless times, it felt much more frightening to trust her with his shame.

Inej had once offered to teach him how to fall. "The trick is not getting knocked down," he'd told her with a laugh. "No, Kaz," she's said, "the trick is in getting back up"

inej is smart af

Kaz was usually unshakeable during a job, but now he was on edge, and Jesper didn't know why. Part of him wanted to ask, though he knew that was the stupid part, the hopeful farmboy who picked the worst possible person to care about, who searched for signs in things that he knew deep down meant nothing - when kaz chose him for a job, when Kaz played along with one of his jokes. He could have kicked himself. He's finally seen the infamous Kaz Brekker without a stich of clothing, and he'd been too worried about ending up on a pike to pay proper attention.

ok i got a couple of things to say about this part

first of all it makes me so sad that jes cares so much for someone who dosn't deserve him. because no hate to kaz but they would never work as a couple and kaz already treats him like shit most of the time

i think this part shows who a lot about who jesper really is. a boy that grew up having to hide parts of himself, who thinks he's worth nothing but it's smart and capable, who's loyal and brave and caring but doesn't even know it himself. he's someone who feels he doesn't deserve good things and thinks he's not good enough, and that's why he unds up in all the wrong places with the wrong people. he left uni bc he fell in with the gangs, because he didn't think he was smart enough or even prepared to be in studying in the university. jesper is constantly hiding behind a mask or running from things because he's scared of not being enough

an kaz is everything jes in a way wishes he could be. kaz is secure in himself (at least on the outside), he's stable, he's smart, he's "unshakeable". and most of all, he doesn't care about others (we know that's not true but that's how he presents himself)

and that's the thing that causes jesper all his problems. because he's insecure because he thinks he's not good enough for the poeple or things he cares about. and he's always trying to do what's best for his loved ones: he went to the ice court to pay his debt for his father, he follows kaz everywhere beacause he cares about him, he offered to read to wylan (knowing it wouldn't be easy for him to be still that long).

and yeah it often doesn't work out becuase he's messy and he has problems but he tries. and he hates that. he hates that he cares so much about people because at the end of the day, that's what makes him feel like he's not good enough

one more thing and i'm done i promise

unpopular opinion but i love that leigh made jesper have a crush on kaz. 1 beacuse it's refreshing to see someone not get otgether with his first crush. and 2 because i love that it shows that we sometimes get attached to people that are not good for us, but that we can learn to move on. jesper ended with wylan who respects him and values him, unlike kaz

ok i'm sorry that was probably all bs

oo one more thing, jesper definetly has rsd (rejection sensitive disphoria), which is something most poeple with adhd have

"My father used to take me everywhere with him"

this is so sad. bc they probably had a good relationship when he was little. and then they figured he coudln't read and now his father treats him like shit

it's even worse than if he haf been horrible from the beginning because wylan knows he can be a good father. and so he thinks it's his fault and he deserves to be treated like that. i hate van eck

"You're cuter when you're smart"

(...)

"Definitely cuter when you're smart"

wesper yesssss

i love them so much

ok but why do people think jesper is stupid. like the boy just made a bunch of criminals pass out by mixing some chemicals

and he was going to the university at like 15

AAAAND NOW THEY KNOW HE'S A FABRIKATOR

amazing plot twist

also:

Wylan coughed. Flirting with him might actually be more fun that annoying him, but it was a close call.

oooo come on jesper we all know you just love getitng him to blush

and you love him

who said that? definitely not me, nope

awwww jesper misses being around animals that's cute

imagine him coming home to wylan one day with a puppy because he just couldn't resist

cute

Better terrible truths than kind lies

just leaving here more of inej's wisdom

ok this may be a reach but jesper has adhd part ???

Yellow Protocol? Red Protocol? He couldn't remember which was which. (...)

"The alarm was Yellow Protocol, a sector disturbance."

Jesper pushed at his temples. "I don't remember what that means"

a bad working memory? sounds familiar

kaz loves puzzles

it's canon

"I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue."

this part where wylan and jesper see the banner made with grisha's kefta kills me every time

I would have worn purple, Jesper thought, if I'd joined the Second Army. (...) He'd beenwilling, even eager to risk capture and execution as a thief and hired gun. Why was it worse to think about being hunted as a Grisha?

this makes me want to cry so much

another thing super sad: the fact that since his father is Kaelish and had some supersititons towards grisha, jesper grew up wondering if his own father was scared of him. he had to hide his powers and he was almost taught to be afraid of them

"Is it safe to leave them, you know-"

"Alive? I'm not big on killing unconscious men."

"We could wake them up"

WYLAN

damn the boy needs therapy

it's amazing how nothing went like they planned

not a single thing

PEOPLE GET READY

ARE YOU READY?

NEITHER AM I BUT WHO CARES

"What do you like?"

"Music. Numbers. Equations. They are not like words. They...they don't get mixed up."

ok dude the clues are right there he's basically saying it

"If only you could talk to girls in equations."

There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, "Just girls?"

Jesper restrained a grin. "No. Not just girls." It really was a shame they were all probably going to die tonight.

wylan really said a straight man?? couldn't be me

this is the definition of bi panic "jesper restrained a grin" bitch we saw that

btw i love the slow burn

like they hint something here but they don't actually start liking each other until much later and they don't get together until almost the end of ck

i also love that the fact that they both like guys is like out in the open now. bc i'm not a fan of when queer characters have a crush and there's the whole thing of "are they queer too or not?"

like they both know htey are queer. but they don't get together right away bc they have to start liking each other before. they don't get together bc they are the only queer mlm characters

matthias fake betrayal killed me

i tought it was real

I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept fom this oath.

this is just-

also foreshadowing?

YAYY KUWEI HI

There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.

She's laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and got drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.

if i ever have a s/o and they don't tell me this at least once i don't want it

He needed to tell her... what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn't pull himslef together into some smeblance of a man for her

THIS

THIS IS LOVE RIGHT THERE

they are the only straight couple that matters

everyone else go home

Wylan had scratches all over his cheeks and neck. He was beaming. Inej grabbed his hands and sqeezed.

so cute omg

"You can explain why our illustrious Shu scientist looks like one of Wylan's school pals along the way"

KAZ

i mean it's true but you didn't have to say it

KAZ IS SMILING OMG

EVERYONE FREAK OUT WITH ME

HE'S "grinning like and idiot" STOP I LOVE HIM

"We are all someone's mosnter, Nina"

"I will have you without armour, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all"

this part breaks my heart and i love it

"Stay," she oanted. Tears leaked from her eyes. "Stay till the end"

"And after," he said. "And always."

i just- helnik is perfect

AWWW JESPER MISSES WYLAN

my daily dosis of wesper :)

ok but in like 2 pages jesper tought of wylan like 10 times bc he's sad wy isn't with him

Jesper scanned the empty deck. He's assumed Wylan would come up to see them off. (...)

Jesper knew he was being selfish and stupid, but some petty part of him wondered if Wylan had deliberately kept away from him on the journey back. Maybe now that the job was complete and he was on his way to his share of the haul, Wylan was done slumming with criminals.

*charles boyle's insinuating voice* and why do you care so much???

btw YOU ARE WRONG. HE'S LITERALLY GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO BE WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH HE CAN'T SPEAK

this scene where we find out the truth about wylan hurts so much but it's one of my favourites idk why

I LOVE THAT EVERYONE IS AS MAD AS I AM ABOUT THE LETTERS NOW

"Your're a fool," Jesper snarled. "He smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you."

YES TELL HIM

the fact that wylan just heard him say that omg

"Deserved" amended Van Eck. He blew the whislte twice.

SOMEONE BETTER GRAB ME BEFORE I KILL HIM MYSLEF

THAT IDIOT

I HATE HIM SO MUCH

I'M GONNA CRY CAN SOMEONE KILL HIM FOR ME

Jesper screamed in rage and raised his guns.

YES EXACLTY WHAT I MEANT

JUST KILL HIM RIGHT NOW

"I'm not big on bludding, am I Inej?"

"Not as a rule"

Van Eck's lip curled. "And why is that?"

"Because he'd rather cheat," said the boy who was not Kuwei Yul-Bo in perfect, unaccented Kerch.

THIS WAS PERFECT

THE BEST WAY TO REVEAL THAT

(...), and Jesper flinched

baby he recognized wylan's voice

The Shu boy held out a hand. "Pay up, Kaz"

BITCH THIS IS AMAZING

THIS BOY MADE A BET WITH A CRIMINAL THAT HIS OWN FATHER WAS GOING TO TRY TO KILL HIM

AND HE WON THE BET

A nearly perfect replica of Kuwei Yul-Bo stood before them, but he had Wylan's voice, his mannerisms, and - though Kaz could see the fear and hurt in his golden eyes - Wylan's surprising courage, too.

i love it when they compliment him

my boy deserves all the compliments ever

AND KAZ IS PROUD OF HIS SON WE ALL KNOW THIS

Wylan cuold draw a perfectt elevation. He's made a drill that could cut throu Grisha glass from parts of a gate and scavenged bits of jewellery. So what if he couldn't read

this is taking me to some real places

i may cry you've been warned

WYLAN DIDN'T CARE THAT HE MAY BE STUCKED LOOKING LIKE KUWEI

this is making me cry

"A fool would have been waiting to be smashed to bits on that ship. And as for "traitor", you've called me worse in the last few minutes alone."

EXACTLY

YOU TELL HIM WYLAN

Instead, in that moment of threat, when he should have thought only of the fight, he looked at Inej.

BABY

i would've done the same tho she's pretty

amita is sooo pretty i'm gonna die when the show comes out

Jesper was staring at Wylan, his eyes roving over the black hair, the golden eyes. "Why?" he said at last. "Why would you do this?"

nothing to say here except: wesper

You... how many times was it you standing beside me on the deck at night when I tought it was Kuwei?"

"Every time."

i want to cry so bad

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't know!" Jesper said angrily. "Maybe I liked your stupid face."

a very staright and platonic thing to say of course

i know jes we all liked his stupid face

"Jesper made a mistake," said Wylan. "A stupid mistake, but he didn't set out to betray anyone."

YES WYLAN DEFEND YOUR BOYFRIEND

And maybe he'd kept him in the dark about Wyllan because he wanted to punish him a little

even kaz know they like each other come on

Jesper sat with elbows on knees, head in hands. Wylan deside him wearing th face of a stranger.

wylan give him a hug fro me please

he needs it

"Scheming face," murmured Jesper.

"Definitely," agreed Wylan.

i miss inej already

And I'm going to get my girl. Inej could never be his, not really, but he would find a way to give her the freedom he´d promised her so long ago.

i'm ugly crying and so what?

and now we're done....

i want to read this book again omg this is unhealthy

#shadow and bone #s&b #six of crows #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #kaz brekker #grishaverse #inej gahfa #matthias helvar #nina zenik #freddy carter #kit young #amita suman #soc #helnik #kanej #wesper

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quietmyfearswith · 4 years ago

Text

perfect fit {ransom drysdale x fem!reader}

status — completed

warnings — cursing, unprotected penetrative sex (pls be safe when havinf sex), mirror sex, semi-public sex, degradation (slight), oral sex (female receiving), mentions of blood and being poked (briefly and not detailed)

word count — 3,370 words

a/n — lmao i have no shame i got inspired to write this because of an something i listened to which had a similar premise. i had a sequel in mind but idk if im gonna write that since i have a lot of fics planned out. feedback is appreciated and hope u guys have a lovely day !! :>

masterlist

It was something no one expected Ransom to do; but he did it anyway.

He was just lounging in his home one day and he took one of the many notebooks he had lying around and suddenly found himself sketching different clothing articles. By the time he was able to tear his focus and hands away from the notebook, it was already 11:45 at night, “Huh, so in the past five hours I was able to design 11 clothes,” he quietly thought to himself as he closed the notebook that contained his ideas and headed to bed.

The following day consisted mostly of doing two things; more designing and making calls. He was looking for possible suppliers who could give him the materials he needed in order to bring his designs to life. He also ordered his assistant to look for tailors who were willing to sew and stitch them to life, as he did not have any intentions on making those himself. Searching for a place to lease to station where the clothes would be made and sold was also something he did.

All of that happened almost 19 months ago; Ransom just suddenly had the idea of creating his own clothing line and he was successful in that endeavor. His brand was known for its eloquent and classy designs, while still being comfortable and affordable. It was also a bonus that the materials they used were cruelty-free and vegan; though this wasn’t really his idea, something his assistant had suggested and something he mindlessly agreed with as he was burying himself in designing a dress.

When his family found out about his current endeavor, there were various reactions in response. Joni seemed to be legitimately excited to see if Ransom’s design would match her taste and even told him how she was willing to post about his line on her Instagram. Meg and Walt finally had something in common as they both teased him and questioned his sexuality since he suddenly became interested in fashion; even his own father silently had the same thoughts and concerns. His mother, however, was somewhat proud of her son following in her footsteps and making a name for himself. While Harlan was surprised on how he was persistent in pursuing fashion, for he always thought that his first grandson would be his successor in terms of writing and in handling the publishing company.

Ransom, having had enough of their judgmental comments and half-assed support, snapped at them once he broke the news as they were enjoying dessert, “Alright, all of you, eat shit! No offense, Mom, but you had a loan from Granddad and without his money you’d be nowhere! Joni, cut the shit! We all know you rely on those brand deals you have and of course, on our family’s money. And Walt? At least I’m gonna make something of my own! Unlike you who just relies heavily on the books Granddad gives you to publish. And what the fuck does fashion have to do with one’s sexuality? If clothes make people gay then why are you wearing that sorry excuse of an outfit? Scared people might find your dick too small?”

And with that, he left the house as a sea of screams and commotion followed him, but he chose to ignore it of course.

In the span of those 19 months, his clothing line took off. Critics spoke highly of it, consumers couldn't get enough of his designs, and he was being constantly praised for his creativity. So it made Ransom feel as if he was on top of the world.

After his designs being featured on various fashion shows and being worn by numerous celebrities, the pressure to put out equally great designs was taking a toll on Ransom. Hence why he often spends time on the main store and headquarters he had in Boston. The place was fairly spacious — it had an office for where he could have meetings or design some of his clothes, a spacious and luxurious space for the customers to try on the clothes, rows of sewing machine next to an array of cloth for the workers whom he fairly compensated for their hard work, and even a small circular platform placed in front of mirrors for alterations.

Ransom advised his staff to go home early to enjoy the start of the weekend and he would be the one to close the store and balance what they had already sold and what was left. As he was busy in the counter checking the log and counting the money, he heard the chimes of the bell that hung above the door make a sound, directing his attention to where a lovely woman stepped into the store and it felt as if all the oxygen in his body left his body with how breathtaking the woman was.

“We’re about to close in a few minutes,” was all he managed to let out as the woman stood on the opposite side of the counter; she just smiled as she placed the gown wrapped in plastic down on the counter, “Oh? I’m so sorry but I was just wondering if I can have this gown altered? I bought it hastily last week and only got to try it on two days ago since I was incredibly busy with work and realized how loose it was on me.”

He looked down on the gown as he spoke, “Yeah well we close earlier on Fridays so,” prolonging the word so, he noticed how she moved as if she was about to exit the establishment, but he wondered, “What is the work you do that kept you busy?”

The question surprised both of them; Ransom didn’t know as to why he was curious about it, but it probably had to do with how he just wanted an excuse to talk to her and listen to her soothing voice. While Y/N didn’t realize that those were one of the requirements in order to have a dress altered, she told him anyway what kept her busy.

Nodding his head, he made an impulsive decision, “My assistants just left, but I can take care of it. It shouldn’t be a big problem” Her eyes lit up excitedly and she smiled widely and thanked him for being able to accommodate her. “Just go to one of the dressing rooms and change to the gown, and head to where the platform is — just right across, okay?” She nodded and followed to where his hands pointed to where he’d be waiting for her.

As she scurried off to the change, he found himself questioning himself as he switched off the open sign, grabbed a notebook, pen, and measuring tape, and waited for her to come out. Why the hell am I making such an effort for her? And when she did step out of the dressing room and made her way to step on the circular elevated platform, he remembered just why he was going out of his way to serve her; because she looked fucking gorgeous, especially seeing her wear a gown he designed.

Standing on the platform, she shyly looked at him to which he found adorable, “Why don’t you spin around slowly for me?” She nodded and did so, “What seems to be the problem with the gown?”

With her back facing him, she craned her neck and replied, “I found the length to be too long, I’m afraid I might trip on it,” as she faced him he noticed how he was standing dangerously close, and his facial features were dead serious, “So you just want to trim it a bit?”

She nodded, “Would it be possible to create a slit?” And just as she made that suggestion, she bunched up a bit of the gown and showed him how she wanted the slit to look like; but all it did to Ransom was make him drool with how luscious and soft her legs looked like. “Okay, yeah that’s something we can do.”

Grabbing a small container full of sewing pins he took hold of the bunched up fabric she held in her hand and told her he got it. “You know when I designed these gowns, you were exactly the target buyers I had in mind,” she tilted her to the side, confused with what he meant so he further explained, “Gorgeous, elegant, and absolutely stunning; especially once they wear my clothes.”

Her cheeks suddenly became a dark shade of red as she tried to shrug off his compliment, “Well I don’t really wear these kinds of clothes, but when a wedding comes, you have to.” As he was placing the pins on the fabrics, he looked up from where he was sitting on the platform, him being eye level with her thigh was doing nothing to prevent him from nursing a hard on, “A wedding you say?”

Snatching a glance from where her hands rested on her hips to get out of his way, he took note of the lack of ring and voiced out his observation, “I’m not seeing any ring on both your hands, so I’m gonna assume that you’re not the bride?” She laughed softly and shook her head, “No, I'm not the bride-to-be, my best friend is.”

“Good to know,” Ransom said softly and she didn’t hear it well and was about to question what he just said as she felt the sewing pins poke her skin. “Ow, fuck!” She yelped, which made the designer realize that instead of piercing through the dress, he accidently lightly grazed her leg. “Fuck, I’m sorry!” He apologized as he pulled the pin and wiped her upper thigh that started to bleed a little.

Feeling his warm hand envelope her hand and the thumb swiping away the crimson liquid, made her feel tingly as she looked down on him. Inching his face closer to her thigh, he looked up at her as his lips touched the area that he unintentionally hurt her in, “I’m so sorry for hurting you,” Y/N was stunned as his lips were back on her thigh after apologizing.

Breathlessly, she just nodded and was surprised both his hands took a hold of her ankles and were softly caressing her just like how his lips were being gentle with her flesh. As his hands were sliding up towards her shins, she could feel the goosebumps on her skin rise, and by the time they reached her thighs, that was the only time Ransom detached his lips from her skin, “You taste divine, baby girl. But I’m not done with making it up to you.”

Having a sudden surge of confidence, Y/N spoke out, “Then keep kissing me if you want to make it up to me.” Ransom too, was surprised because this meek-looking beauty demanded him to do something, “I beg your pardon?” It was her turn to be brave and brazen as she smirked down on him, “Keep on kissing my thighs or else I’ll leave a bad review of your services.”

Quickly, Ransom placed his lips back on her thigh, kissing and smooching every inch he could find; he wasn’t sure if he was threatened with how his business could be negatively affected or was he just turned out at the prospect of being told by this beautiful woman to keep on admiring her figure.

Tangling her fingers on his hair, she tugged at him and guided her where she wanted his mouth as he gave verbal directions, “Higher, baby, kiss me higher.” Though his eyes were darkened with pleasure of having to know what her skin tastes like and aroused with how he met someone who was able to tell her what she wants and bosses him around; he’s never had someone do that to him, for it was always him calling the shots.

Poking his tongue out, he traced over the outline of her lace underwear which resulted in her letting out a moan and tightening her grip on his hair — urging him to keep going. Moving from her thigh, he kissed his way until he was face to face with the center of her pussy. Inhaling her scent, he closed his eyes as he groaned and took in her addictive scent and lunged forward to kiss and lick her clothed core. Even with the fabric in its way, he was nipping on her pussy lips and licking through it, getting a faint taste of her.

“Oh, more please,” she gasped out in pleasure; and with that plea Ransom moaned as he tore his mouth from where he was making out with her clit and smirked as she heard her sigh at the sudden loss of contact. Looking up at her, he gave her a grin as he asked, “Did you honestly think you would be the one who’ll call all the shots, baby?”

Somehow, her crimson red cheeks managed to turn into an even deeper shade of it at what he said. He then moved to pull her panties down her legs, he didn’t even wait for her to kick them out of her as he immediately licked from her clit down to her opening. Moaning out, she trembled a bit and Ransom’s hands latched themselves onto her thighs to help prevent her from falling.

“Careful now baby girl,” he warned her as he looked up to see her flushed face starting to drip with sweat, his lips never fully removing themselves from her clit so with every word he spoke the vibrations was felt throughout her core, “Wouldn’t want you to injure yourself. How are you gonna turn up to the wedding then?”

As he finished his question, his tongue pushed itself into her tight opening and swirled around inside. Feeling dainty fingers push his face further, he was able to get a better taste of her juices that began to drip down to his tongue and he hissed at how delectable they were. Pulling out his tongue from her pussy, he immediately licked his way up to her swollen clit, “You taste amazing, baby,” he moaned out as he focused his efforts into sucking her clit hard and fast, feeling her thighs began to shake — a sign that she was close to her orgasm.

But Ransom wouldn’t let her cum right away, his left hand left the warmth of her thigh and slapped her clit multiple times, she opened her eyes in shock and looked down on the designer, aroused and elated with what he did. Getting the hint that she enjoyed what he did he teased her by saying, “You like it when I slap that clit?” Seeing how she nodded and bit her lip, he went on and slapped her clit multiple times but with not a lot of force, and his tongue went on to caress her tight opening until she once again began to quiver.

“God you’re such a filthy slut,” he stated as he stopped the movements his tongue and hand were doing, and went on to bite lightly her thigh, “I’m gonna have so much fun with you. Have to make sure my customer leaves this place satisfied with my services.” As he mentioned the double entendre, his voice was laced with desire and hunger.

Giving her thigh one last kiss, he stood up from the platform and placed his hands on her hips and lifted her so she stood on the ground just like he was. Grabbing the back of her neck, he pushed her against him so their lips met and they began to hungrily make out. Her hands were at his cheeks, softly grazing his cheeks which contradicts how their tongues were roughly dancing with each other. While Ransom’s other hand was feeling for the zipper on her back, unzipping it and pushing the dress off of her.

Moving both his hands to touch her back, he noticed the lack of bra and felt how her nipples harden against the fabric of his shirt, he separated their lips from where they were entangled and looked down to see her breasts, “Such a nasty little girl you are, aren’t you? Wearing this gown with no bra underneath, like you wanted me to see just how good your boobs are.”

She shook her head, “The gown goes well best without a bra,” she defended. Amused with her reply Ransom decided that they’ve had enough foreplay; both his hands planted on her hips and pulled her back so it was flush against his front, “And you know what would go best with your divine body? My cock and cum,” one of his hands grabbed onto his cock and rubbed the tip of it against her folds, feeling her shudder at the sensation, “So come on and take it.”

“Shit baby girl, you’re so tight for a slut,” Ransom groaned as he threw his head back with how her walls squeezed his hard dick in one smooth motion. The hand that guided his cock in repositioned itself and held onto her hair, pulling her head back and arching her back away from his chest, which contrasted the way her ass was pushing back to accommodate Ransom’s cock.

Hand in her hair and the other on her hip, Ransom was pulling her into his cock with sharp, fast, and harsh thrusts; while her moans and whines did nothing but to fuel him to drive his thick meat deeper in her. “You like this don’t you, baby? You like how I’m just ramming into you like you’re nothing but a whore?” He taunted as he let go of her hip and began to rub, twist, and pull at her nipples.

Y/N could only nod, too blissed out to give out a verbal response for the way he was deliciously torturing her nipples disabled her from forming a coherent sentence, much less a thought. Unhappy with how she responded, he let go of her hair and slapped both her ass cheeks, “Answer me! Tell me you like it!”

She went still for a moment due to the sting of his slaps, she widened her eyes and peered over her shoulder to look at him, “I love it! I love how you’re treating me, sir.” The title she had given him made him even more feral as he ordered her, “Look in the mirror slut, look at how desperate you are for me.”

Feeling shy from seeing her blissed out state on the reflection, she instead diverted her gaze on the man behind her who was mercilessly pounding into her. She found it absolutely hot how his jaw was clenched so hard and his eyebrows were furrowed; it made her clench down on him hard which led to Ransom to slam deep inside her and grab onto her shoulders, “You’re close aren’t you, baby? You’re about to cum on my cock aren’t you?” She nodded and whined, “Yes, sir, I’m so close. Please let me cum,” he chuckled in appreciation, she begged him to cum without even telling her to do so.

Speeding up the pace of his thrusts, his one hand was now alternating with rubbing and pinching her clit, in order to get her right on the edge. His lips were resting against her ear, his pants were only turning her on even more and with a final pinch of his fingers, she was cumming hard and with a loud wail.

Feeling how her walls squeezed him too tight to the point he couldn’t move anymore, Ransom stilled inside her and wrapped his arms around her stomach, “Fuck, you feel good.” After a couple of breaths, Ransom collapsed to sit down on the platform, taking her with him. Sitting down, he took the time to steady his breaths and recover from the intensity of their intercourse and orgasm.

Snaking his hand to her cheek, he tilted her head enough for him to plant his lips on hers and let her give a faint taste of her own juices and he pulled apart from her not without planting a small kiss, “The gown will be ready in a week, baby. And it’s on me.”

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xmalereader · 5 years ago

Text

Bruce Wayne X Male reader

|| Masterlist ||

Summary: Bruce Wayne is set up on a blind date by Selena, he meets a cute reader who’s actually a popular artist but remains annoymous until his sons find out first.

Warning: Fluff, insecurities, shyness.

“I’m not going.”

“Come on Bruce! You’ve been on your own for awhile now and I think it’s time that you start dating! So please just go out with this person for one night that’s all, just one night.” Said Selena as she gave Bruce the eyes.

Bruce could only frown before letting out a deep sigh and silently agreeing to the blind date, Selena cheers quietly as she smiled. “You are going to love him.” She tells him with a big smile on her face, Bruce raised a brow at her. “Him?”

“What? Can’t date a man?”

Bruce looks away, “I’ve slept with a few back then but I haven’t dated any guy before.” He admits as he sets down the newspaper he had in hand and stands up from his chair. “Believe me you’ll like him, he’s really nice and charming and a gentlemen but let’s be honest you are too. Oh! And he’s really great with kids you know? In case things go well and all maybe he can be like the new mother to your four boys.”

“It’s a blind date not an arranged marriage and besides, how do I know who he is?” Bruce questions and makes his way around the manor with Selena following right behind him. “It’s easy, he wear these round rim glasses which makes him look adorable and hsi hair is as white as snow, natural color actually.” She tells the big man as they entered his room. “Why don’t you date him?”

“Oh, I would but as you can see he is not interested in me and I see him more as a friend and roommate than as a boyfriend or dating material, you know?”

Bruce didn’t know.

He’s only dated a few people and his relationships didn’t end so well, the first person he dated at talia and ended up having a son with her and then things went sideways, next was Selena. She was a nice woman and all but he just didn’t see himself settling down with her or anyone else, he was too busy taking care of his own family and focusing on the company and as Batman.

“How old is he?”

Selena frowns, “Why don’t you just go and meet him, I already told him that he has a date tonight at six, told him to dress casual since he’s not the kind of guy to go to a fancy place he says that it makes him feel uncomfortable.”

“So where will I men meeting him or is he or I going to pick him up?”

“You ask way to many questions; But, I didn’t tell him that it was you since its a blind date so you’ll be meeting him at a nice coffee shop that is also a bookstore, been their and not too crowded so not many people will notice you.” She finished explains to him and wasn’t going to answer any more questions wether he liked it or not.

Bruce was looking through his clothing and seeing what he can find to wear tonight. Sighing he rubs his neck as he didn’t find anything casual since he was always wearing something nice. “Alright, ill meet him their and make sure that it goes well. Let’s just hope that your little friend shows up.” He turns around to face Selena with crossed arms.

Selena could only grin and hum. “Don’t worry he’s a nice guy and he won’t leave, actually he’s more afraid of being stood up by you. Thing is that he doesn’t know who you are so just enjoy your date and don’t act all rich around him.” She walks over to Bruce nad kissed his cheek before bidding her farewell, exiting his room she turns around and gasps to see Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian standing by the doorway.

“You all heard right?” She asks with crossed arms.

“You’re setting up my father with someone? Seriously, I mean if he really needs to cause Trollop than he should just go to a club or something.” Said Damian with a glare on his face as Selena stared at him with a confused one.

“He means sex.” Dick corrects Damian and gave a nervous smile to Selena.

“Oh, well it’s not a one night stand. Both Bruce and my friend need this and I think it’ll work-“ before she could keep going she smirks at the idea that suddenly pops into her head. “Why don’t you follow him and see how the date goes? Maybe that way you can decide if he’s good enough or not.” She leans off the door and began to walk away from the boys.

“She’s not wrong you know.”

“We aren’t following him.” Said Dick.

“I say we follow him.” Tim

“Agreed.” Both Damian and Jason said at the same time as the three boys ran to the bat cave to get ready for tonight while dick groans loudly and chased after them.

Once the clock stroke six, Bruce was getting himself ready for the date tonight and was able to find something casual. He fixed up his hair and sighs as he finished getting ready. He would check his phone a few times to keep track of the time as he drove to hsi destination.

The small bookstore looked nice and warm, almost friendly looking. He could smell the coffee once he stepped inside the shop and saw multiple people walking around quietly with books and coffee in hand. He looks over to the tables and searched for a certain whit haired boy. Frowning a little he didn’t notice anyone with white hair, checking his watch he notices that he’s early and thinks that the other is just on his way. Before he could order his own coffee he noticed a certain man sitting by the window with his hoodie on, he was wearing round glasses as he sketched in his notebook.

Bruce turns and approached the table, setting his hand on the free chair that was across from the other male. “Mind if I sit?”

The other is startled and shuts his notebook, he looks up to see Bruce and quickly takes his hoodie off. “Are you Bruce?” He asks softly and stands up to greet him. “Yes and you must be Selena’s roommate correct?”

“Actually she’s my roommate but-“ he shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter, anyways I’m Y/n.” He extends his hand out for a hand shake which Bruce accepted. The two sat down as Y/n looks down shyly. “I’m sorry but I’m not really used to this sort of stuff, Selena sort of forced me to go on this blind date so I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time.”

Bruce was a little shocked by the others explanation, he didn’t expect the other to be so forward. But he did notice a few things that stood out to him, he noticed that Y/n was avoiding eye contact and kept his hands wrapped around the coffee cup, his fingers tracing small shapes onto it’s surface as if trying to distract himself from an awkward conversation.

This guy was shy and an open book.

“You’re not wasting my time, actually Selena also forced me too but I couldn’t refuse. I’m not the kind of guy who refuses a date.” He smirks at Y/n, trying to flirt with the other.

Y/n could only chuckle softly as he rubs his cheek with his hand. “Guess were on the same page.” He replies with a sweet smile that caused Bruce to feel a little warm inside.

The two slowly began to talk.

It was awkward at first but as time went by Y/n was opening up as they talked about random subjects, just small things to get to know each other.

“Wait so your a single parent?” Y/n asks. They were talking abut Bruce’s small family and him mentioning his sons. “I am a single parent but I’ve never been married before, no. Three of my boys are adopted and the other is my actual son....sort of slipped up on that relationship.” Says Bruce as Y/n smiles a softly and takes a small sip of his coffee. “I think that’s nice of you to do you know, taking in four boys all on your own. Must be tough.”

Bruce laughs and leans back in his seat and nods. “Tougher than you can think.”

“We are not tough!”

“Shut up Jason, you know it’s true.”

The two adults were talking to each other for almost three hours now.

Y/n was actually having a good Time with Bruce, he didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore and more relaxed than ever. It’s been years since he last dated, he was to focused on his career and mother that he never gave himself some time.

Bruce was about to ask Y/n something else but was cut off by the ringing of Y/n’s phone. “Sorry..” he says as he pulls out his phone and stand up. “I need to take this-“

“Don’t worry take your time.” Bruce said with a small wave.

Y/n thanks Bruce and walks off to answer the phone call.

So far so good, Bruce was actually enjoying himself. He didn’t have to dress up nice today and the date didn’t take place in a fancy and expensive restaurant like he thought it would. Instead he got a bookstore and coffee, which he was okay with. Most of the people that he dates know who he is and usually date him for the money, sometimes he only has a one night and moves on but somehow he feels like he wants to continue seeing Y/n.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Bruce is pulled out of his thoughts as he turns to Y/n, hearing a hint of worry in his voice. “I have to get going, something came up and it’s urgent.” He explains and picks up his notebook and slips his phone back inside his pocket. “It’s fine, we all get busy.” Bruce stands up as well, gathering himself once again as he sighs and turns to Y/n.

“I really enjoyed tonight, I hope that we can do it again!” Y/n shouts out as he rushed out the door, waving goodbye as the other ran down the street.

Bruce was left in the shop as he watched Y/n run off, cursing to himself as he mumbled. “I forgot to get his number.” He rubs his neck tiredly and throws away his empty coffee cup and heads back home.

Bruce hasn’t seen Y/n or Selena in almost three weeks now, he’s tried to call Selena and ask for Y/n’s number but she never answered and he didn’t know where she lived. ( I mean they both lived together ) He knows that he could easily look him up but he really wants to give this dating thing a try with Y/n and he didn’t want to look through Y/n’s personal information, not yet.

So, bruce spent the weeks busying himself in the office and going on patrol with his boys.

He remembers one night he was swinging through the city and he swore that he saw a young man with whiter hair down in the streets which caused Bruce to lose concentration and almost slammed himself against a building, but good thing that he was able to focus before anything could happen.

The boys were shocked by this, Bruce would never lose focus and he was always serious when patrolling. So the boys took drastic measures into their own hands, they would keep themselves busy in the bat cave as the searched up the guy that bruce went on a date with not too long ago. They were Able to find a few things about Y/n.

He was a 28 year old man who worked at an art store.

His father died in an accident and his mother was currently in the hospital, diagnose with cancer.

Damian frowns at the new information. “That night he ran like hell.” He blurts out as he hears Tim’s typing stop, getting the attention of the others. “He did say that it was urgent.” Tim answers back as he approached Damian and stands next to him. Damian checks the hospital reports and hums, “As expected his mother was going through a rough stage of cancer the night he and father went out.” He began to explain as he continued to look through the files.

Dick moved over to the computer this time and sighs. “She’s been sick for two years now, she’s been lucky so far but how is he able to get the perfect treatments for his mother?” He asks as he shoved Damian off the chair, earning a growl in response as he made his own research on Y/n. He skims through and stops at a familiar painting that he’s seen before, “Wait-“

He pulls up the information and his eyes widen. “Holy shit, Y/n is a famous painter! This guy makes almost fifty-one thousand a year.” He says as he quickly types. “It’s not really a lot.” Jason cuts in with crossed arms, dick turns around to face hsi brothers. “It ma not be a lot but he stil makes a lot and look,” he pulls up some pictures of the paintings that he’s done and sold. “Half of these paintings were bought by bruce during an art show. He goes every year and buys a new painting from the anonymous artist and turns out that he’s dating that guy but doesn’t know it!”

Jason gasps dramatically. “Oh my god! Why does that even matter?” He frowns at dick and placed his hands on his hips as he tilts his head to the side.

“He’s famous in Gotham, probably the second most popular here in Gotham.” Said Damian. “Fathers dating another millionaire.”

During one of Bruce’s meetings he gets a random phone call from Selena.

Raising a brow he answers the call. “can I help you with something Selena?” He questions as he waits for the others response. “Wow so strict but no, I actually called to see if you wanted to join me in some art gallery show that they are hoisting today.” Bruce thinks for a second before answering. “Why not take Y/n with you?”

“Yeah...wish I could but he’s been busy since you two went out on a date. He’s been doing stuff...” She answers, he could hear her moving around the room.

“What-!? Don’t move me!”

Bruce could hear Y/n’s voice in the background as Selena laughs at the white haired male before she turns back to her phone. “Be ready by five, I’ll meet you there.” Is all she said before hanging up.

Bruce pulls his phone away from his ear and stares at the black screen before groaning and rubbing his temples, why was he always getting involved into this sort of stuff?

Bruce knew that he wasn’t going to be alone at the gallery since the boys were also tagging along. The five of them were dressed up in nice tux’s since it was going to be full of people and mainly rich people since the go to gallery’s to buy art pieces. “Now, don’t cause any trouble.” He warns the others as he was helping Damian with his tie. “Since we are going together to this gallery do you mind if I borrow some money to buy an art piece?” Damian asks, once bruce was finished with his tie he sighs. “Just one piece, we don’t know if their be good artist at this place.” He slicked his hair back as they made their way outside and into their vehicles heading towards the gallery.

The place was crowded and full of people. Everyone was talking and drinking as they admired the art work, some were already buying art pieces while others only critique. “Remember.” Bruce said and glared at the others. “No trouble, espiaclly you two.” He points to both Damian and Tim who in return gets an offend look by his own son.

“Good.” With that he makes his way around the gallery, stopping by every once an awhile to admire some of the art work. He was standing in front of a piece when he hears stand next to him, glancing over his eyes widen as he spots the familiar round glasses and white hair. “Y/N?”

Y/n is startled as he sees bruce next to him, “Bruce? Hey, it’s been awhile.” He said with a small hint of red spreading across his cheeks. Bruce could only smile at him, “Selena told me that you were busy today, said that wouldn’t make it.”

“Yeah, about that.” Y/n started to explain to Bruce about his mother and how she was in the hospital. He would stay days with her and would help her with her treatment but since nothing has gotten better for his mother he tends to worry for her. “I’m sorry that I left in a hurry, I hope that I didn’t make upset.” He avoids Bruce’s eyes and stares down as he drink in hand and shyly rubs the back of his neck. “No need, I suspected that something was wrong you don’t need to apologize.” He answers back.

Y/n lets a small smile appear on his lips before he turns his head to look at the painting. “Beautiful right?” He blurts out, changing the subject as bruce looks at the painting as well. “It really is, The colors are beatiful but I prefer anonymous’s paintings..”

Y/n froze in place, staring at the wall now. “R-really? H-how come?” He stutters out, hoping that bruce wouldn’t notice. “Their art usually tells a story and their portraits are lovely too, I sometimes asked myself if they get professional models or picks popular place as the scenery.”

Y/n’s face was heating up from all the praise he was receiving. “I heard that their new project was impressive.” He mumbles out and clears his throat. “Also heard that it was bought by someone named Mr. Wayne?”

It was Bruce’s turn to get startled as he chokes on his drink. “Are you okay?!” Y/n gasps as he gently pats his back and bites his lip as he watched bruce cough and shake his head. “I’m fine!” He says between coughs before he clear his throat and straightened his posture. “Please excuse me for a minute.” He tells y/n and leaves to search for Damian.

He finds the teenager talking smack on Tim as he approached his son. “You bought a painting.” He states. “Yes father, you gave me permission to purchase one and I did.” Damian stand in front of his father with his hands behind his back. “How much did you buy it for?”

“Well many people were bidding on it and the highest was almost 60K so I bought it for a million.”

“You bought my painting for a million?”

Bruce turns around it see Y/n standing in front of them with a shocked look on his face, “No one has ever done that...I can’t accept that money.”

“And why not? You worked hard on your painting and deserve the money that you earn from it and besides I quiet like it.” Said Damian.

“Yes I know but-“

“Wait, your anonymous? You’re the one that makes all of those popular paintings?” Bruce asks as Y/n looks down. “yes...I don’t really like mentioning it since criticizers usually attack me with their negative thoughts on my art so that’s why I decide to remain nameless, you see I cant handle criticizers very well...” he pushed his glasses up and places with the ends of his tie, staring down at his shoes and biting his lip.

Bruce was surprised to know that this man was the famous artist that he has been buying from. Every time that he bought an art work he always made sure to send them a ‘thank you’ for all the hard work the put into their work but Y/n was a very hard person to find until now.

“You know that you don’t have to be afraid, I like your work and I think that it’s beautiful.”

Y/n blushes again and chuckles shyly. “Thank you, bruce.”

Damian smirks as he opens his mouth. “Your recent art work is very well made, I’m kind of glad that I bought it since it represents your date with my father.”

“What?”

Y/n shakes his head at Damian as he quickly chased after Bruce who walked off to search for hsi art work. Y/n was panicking from embarrassment as he sees bruce come upon his art work, the piece resembled the time that he and Y/n were talking about their past lives. During that moment Y/n was able to get a mental shot of bruce staring out the with a smile on his face. Y/n couldn’t get rid of that image in his head and decides to paint him out, making sure to keep Bruce’s face hidden a bit since he didn’t really get his permission to paint him.

“I-“

“Ill give you 2 million.” Bruce blurts out.

“What? NO!” Y/n shouts out in embarrassment and covers his face from bruce.

#male reader #bruce wayne x male reader #batman #bruce wayne #batfamily #damain wayne ‘#dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #one shot #male x male #batman x male reader

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slashingdisneypasta · 4 years ago

Text

Sheriff Hoyt / Charlie Hewitt x Reader || Oneshot

Title: Twenty Years Separated and Getting Divorced

Notes:

This is inspired by Sweet Home Alabama, with Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas.

Plot: After 20 years you finally come back to the town you grew up in, which is now basically non-existent except for a couple ghost buildings and wild cows to find your husband and his family, who are the only ones crazy enough to still live there, and get your fucking divorce finalised.

Warnings: Swearing, divorce?

~~~

Hoyt sees me strolling up to the house before I even reach the porch. Our eyes meet, a short moment of nostalgia passes quickly- and World War 3 begins.

“Well, hi to you too! Just fabulous to see you, after… half a goddamn century.” Charlie gets up from his seat on the porch and now stands up to 5 feet taller than me… because he’s still on the god forsaken porch and I’m the ground. Goddamn, his ego’s still as big as that ridiculous hat that he’s wearing now. Since when is he sheriff? He didn’t even go to college- I know; I’ve been married to him since we were 18. “Fucking city slicker.”

My jaw falls open. City slicker?? “You know damn well I grew up right here, you two-bit drama queen. And I live in Alice Springs now. Maybe it ain’t your country but it is still butt crack nowhere, you old fucking coot!” After a second, I also say. “And I’m not even 50 years old yet, you asshole!”

“Pft.” He chews on something in his mouth, maybe his cheek, and sets his jaw. “You lived here, what? 20 years ago then? If you wanna get specific about it.” Okay, that’s better, more accurate at least, but I could’ve done without the attitude. “You lived somewhere else more than half your life- don’t go gettin’ excited and acting like you’re a local.”

I mean, going by that logic I’m a fuck-ton more southern then he is- Australia’s as southern as it gets without living in Antarctica. But I digress. We need to get this show on the road.

“I did not come all the way here to argue with you Charlie.” I roll my eyes and sigh deeply, stomping up the porch stairs to meet him at the top, scrunching up my shoulders and feeling slightly sick when he leans over the steps a moment later and spits thick brown shit into the dirt. Why is he always spitting? Why! If he has excess saliva like that, he should go get himself checked out! And if he’s chewing tobacco, then he fucking needs to stop! Restraining myself from saying so though by taking a deep breath as he straightens up again, I instead hold out the A4, manilla yellow envelope that encases our divorce papers - already signed by me, - to him… which he just looks at, of course. Difficult, ancient bastard. “I’ll pay!”

“Is that your way of askin’ for a divorce, honey bear?”

“Why, yes.” I smile, already feeling the relief of cutting ties from this man.

“Then I sweetly decline.” The smile is wiped off my face, and sketched onto his instead. He turns around and goes on into his home, letting the screen door slam shut hard behind him, too, after he gets in.

I sigh in frustration, close to a scream and stand there uselessly for a second before barging in after him and am about to yell for him to get back here, before a rustling sound alerts me to the door on my right and Luda Mae comes out of it. Closing it carefully shut behind her.

Immediately, my mood calms down considerably and I feel a startling, familiar warmth in my chest. The mood Charlie put me in just a second ago all but disappears seeing her. “Luda Mae!”

The moment she realises it’s me, she beams. “Oh, dear. I thought I heard you arguing outside with Hoyt, but I didn’t believe it!”

“Hoyt?” I blink, still smiling but in a confused way. Am I missing something?

“O-oh, I meant Charlie. Sorry, baby.”

After a tight hug we let go and assess each other.

I’m happy to see that she looks healthy. A little sweaty and tired, but she’s always been that way. It’s hard to not be, living here. It’s hot all day, every day - hell, they barely have winter in this part, -, and she’s never really been a summer kind of girl. I suggested to her a couple times that she could move away, but she always said that this is where their family had always lived- and they will always live here. Its where Charlie got it from.

I’m just getting to her eyes, and noticing of course immediately, the sad change in them from the last time I was here and forming a way to ask her if she’s okay when she tucks some grey hair behind her ear and asks me how I am. To be polite of course, I answer. Expecting to ask her the same right after.

“Aw, I’m doing just fine! Trying to get your stubborn son to give me a divorce, but apart from that life’s treating me well. I would love it if you could come visit me sometime in Australia, I have a guest bedroom where I picked the wallpaper and I just know you would love it. Soon as I looked at it, it was so you!” Her eyes brighten at the idea and she’s about to, bashfully decline I’m guessing, but Charlie stomps heavily down the old wooden stairs again like the attention seeking hippopotamus that he is. Has to let everyone know he’s entering. I roll my eyes. “Why don’t you just get a career on the stage, Charlie; They’ll announce your entrance for you. Jee-sus. Save you some time!”

He flashes me an unimpressed and joyless smile, as Luda Mae covers her mouth - not to hide her laughter from her son, but to be polite. She’s classy; I always liked that about her. In fact, I tried to be just like her growing up… I failed, but I still admire the quality on her, - and laughs a bit at my quip. Pride blossoms in my chest and makes me smile wider.

“You keep sweet talking me like that and I’ll never divorce you.”

My smile turns into a scowl and glare. “What do you want from me?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” He stops beside Luda and drops the barrel of his shotgun back against his shoulder, like a soldier in Buckingham palace. What does he need that for right now?! “Besides, I’m too expensive for you darlin’.”

“I hate you.” I say slowly, so it gets through his skull and he understands. “And you hate me.” He nods in agreement, still looking far too smug and pleased with himself. “So why can’t we get divorced and never talk again?!” I fail to see a downside!!

“Cuz I like to see your feathers all ruffled.”

“You-“ A slew of insults are about to break free of my lips, but a loud, popping bang comes from the kitchen like something tried to get out, making me look startled from the closed door to the room, to Charlie and Luda Mae. “What was that!?”

“Well… “Charlie looks thoughtful for a second, like he truly doesn’t know what to tell me, before slowly turning his gaze on Luda. “I believe Momma just blew up her pie.”

“Wha- “For half a second, Luda Mae looks like she’s about to slap her son all the way to Tim Buk Tu, before smoothening out her features again and turning back to me. Pasting an honestly believable, bashful smile on her face and speaks in a restrained voice that gives away her displeasure. “Yes. Must have lost track of time.”

Well, clearly that’s a bare faced lie. “Nice try. Charlie can pull off a lie like that, but you cant, Luda. What is it?”

Her smile softens and in two seconds she has smacked Charlie -not enough to hurt. It’s just a warning slap for trying to make her sound like a bad baker when we all here know how great she is, - and takes my arm in hers, guiding me across the hall and into the living room. “Really darling, its nothing. Thomas’ havin’ a bad day. I’m sure he’ll buck right back up though when he sees you! Are you going to stay for dinner?”

Looking behind us, I squint dangerously at Charlie. “If Charlie won’t sign these now, I might not have a choice!” Turning back to Luda, I genuinely smile. “But I would genuinely love to stay and see Thomas and Monty too, and eat your cooking! Thank you for the invitation. Maybe I can help with dinner! I have gotten better since the last time I was here.”

Charlie scoffs at my words, walking in after me and beating us to the chairs. He drops down in a recliner while Luda sits us down on the couch together. “You mean when you broke my oven?” She grins, a cheeky glint in her eye and I sigh, embarrassed.

“Yes… “Giggling, I cover my face a moment before jumping back into the fray. “But I really have gotten better!”

“I’d love to see that dear.” And the great thing is, she really does seem to. She would give any number of chances just to see one of her kids - me included, even if I am just her daughter in law. For now, - succeed. For a moment the room is just silent, and I let myself remember what it was like to be here all the time - the good things, I mean. Don’t you worry though, I remember the bad things like fighting tooth and nail with Charlie better the anything, - and how that felt, before Luda claps her hands.

She doesn’t like emotional stuff, Luda. Charlie’s a drama queen, but that’s where the emotion showing stops in this family. Thomas takes after his mother in not being too emotional, ever, and Monty prefers to keep to himself. He always has, and he goes by that philosophy regarding everything. “Well, I’m assuming there’ll be no driving off after dinner- the airport is a solid 4-hour drive! And you will not be driving that long at night.” She sets me with a cold, stern look over her glasses for a moment and even though I’m a 40-year-old woman, I submissively nod to her like a teenager. “You’ll stay in the spare room! Hoyt- Charlie. Sorry. Go change the sheets in there, and I’ll go get Monty to give you company while I start up dinner! Chop chop.”

“Wh- Did you forget she’s here tryin’ t’ divorce me, Momma? I ain’t offering the bitch any pleasantries like that! -“

“You will and you will do it with your mouth shut, Charlie.” Luda Mae gets up to her feet and Charlie and I both crane our necks to see her face. She gets much quieter, and her gaze goes dark like a parents’ does when they’re pissed. “And watch your mouth.”

Charlie bows his head and gets up from his seat, going off to do as she says. “R-Right, momma.”

My grin gets so big it turns into a laugh, leaning back into the couch cushions as I watch Charlie walk off up the stairs, flipping me off when Luda leaves the room.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

In the middle of the night, I get the bight idea to get the divorce done, immediately. If I don’t, I’ll just let time fly by again with Luda Mae and Monty, and Thomas who’s a grown up now, and I’ll never get it done. It has to be done now.

So I get out of bed, pull on my coat since I didn’t bring my dressing gown, grab the manilla file and a pen and leave the room. It doesn’t take me long to get to Charlie’s, seeing as its just down the hall, and I don’t knock before barging in. I close the door veeeeery slowly, and quietly, then sneak around to his side of the bed and take the shotgun that’s leaning against the bedside table, the handgun that sits on it, and the knife under his pillow- I still know my husband, thank you very much. And I know that if he hears someone in his room at night eh will not think or look, before shooting me in the head.

Dropping all the weapons carefully on the armchair in the corner of the room, no longer trying to be quiet as I sit down on the side of his bed that Charilie is not sleeping on. His eyes burst open at feeling the bed dip, and as he looks over to my form, his hand reaches out to grab the handgun of course, and… he calms down immediately to his cranky, exhausted, middle-of-the-night mess. “Y/N? What the fuck are you doing in here?? This ain’t your room anymore, piss off!”

“I know that, silly!” As he forces himself to sit up and carefully lean his back on the headboard, I hold up the manilla folder. I beam. “Just thought this would be a good time to get our affairs in order!”

“Well,” He takes a gulp from the water on his nightstand. He swallows it like it’s a rock, or a large pill. Is it even water? “You were wrong.”

“Au contrair, mon frair.” I grin, looking around behind me and on the other side of the room for something hard to write on. Ah! Hopping off the bed for a second, I grab a large hardbacked recipe book. “It is the perfect time! You’re sleepy, which makes you 90 percent more likely to be swayed into signing these papers.” I pop the book on his lap, along with the appropriate papers and the pen. “There you go; Now remember, once you sign these, we never have to look at each other’s faces, ever, again. Think about how lovely that’ll be.”

Still with the suspicious liquid at his chin, Charlie slowly raises his eyebrows at me. “Girl, you better get those papers off my lap right now or I’m gonna tear ‘em up.”

“Eep!” Immediately, I snatch them back. Then glare at him as he takes another sip of the drink. “Please.”

“Ain’t no good manners ever made any difference with me.”

I let out a deep sigh, in utter frustration at him.

I turn fully to him, completely comfortable seeing him in his bed shirt and boxers this way- it’s been 20 years and his hair’s going grey, but it still feels natural, fine, to be like this with Charlie. That does not, though, mean that I want to be here. I cross my arms, leaning my shoulder into the headboard. “Why? Why wont you divorce me? Do you hate me that much?”

“No, ‘sweetie’. I love you that much.” I watch him as he sets his jaw, takes yet another sip and glances at me. I gesture for the glass, and he hands it to me.

Taking a gulp as I turn to settle my back against the headboard, I’m pleased to find that the water is not actually water. It’s vodka. Good, I need this after a statement like that from Charlie. “No, you don’t.”

“Don’t try to tell me what I do or don’t know.” Taking the glass back from me when I finish it off, he sets it on the table. I can tell he’s still sleepy, and aching to go back to dreamland, as his words are gentler than usual, and his movements are a struggle. “Bottom line is, Y/N. I’m finally getting everything I every wanted- and I’m not gonna to let you slip through the cracks again.”

“Hard to believe, Charlie. You never tried to contact me during those, oh, 20 years I was gone?” Turning my head, I raise my eyebrows at him.

Groaning from the effort, he turns around in his spot, takes one pillow from behind him and gives it to me. “Yeah, well, I was a bit busy helpin’ Mama raise Tommy. I never stopped thinkin’ a’ you as my wife, though. You’re mine, sugar. Whether you like it right now, or not.”

“What’s this for?” I ask, holding the pillow with a confused look.

“Sleep. Its too damn late for this conversation.” My jaw drops, as Charlie lays back down in his bed and snuggles under the blankets, closing his eyes. “If you sleep here, we can talk about this as soon as we wake up; If you go to your room, you’ll have to wait til’ dinner. Then Mama’ll make you stay another night… I suggest you lay down.” With that, he pats the bed as if as an order, and after a moment of thought I groan. Evil, conniving bastard.

I take off my jacket and lay it at the end of the bed, then get under the covers and lay down my head on the pillow, half annoyed and half ready to sleep- it is late, after all. I am pretty tired. And one more night in bed with Charlie isn’t going to kill me, besides… him still loving me? The news does give me something new to think about. It… it needs to be factored in.

A moment passes where we just lay on the different sides of the bed, him with his eyes closed and probably 2 seconds from entering a hypnogogic state and me unable to get comfortable, before I sigh in frustration again and just decide to try something.

Crossing the space between us without warning, I wrap my arms around his middle in a hug, and press my face the nook between where his throat is and his shoulder, smelling a shock of his scent for the first time in 2 decades and closing my eyes to it, trying to ignore the fast paced beating in my chest.

Goddamnit, it worked. I’m comfortable as fuck now.

Charlie doesn’t comment, thankfully, and just makes a sleepy noise and reciprocates the cuddle, pulling my body closer to him by the waist. My heart beats extra fast at it, but I try to focus on going to sleep.

Cuddling with your soon-to-be ex husband and enjoying it means nothing, right? Haha… hopefully.

#Charlie Hewitt x Reader #Sheriff Hoyt x Reader #Luda Mae Hewitt #Monty Hewitt #Thomas Hewitt #Oneshot #Charlie Hewitt x Reader Oneshot #Sheriff Hoyt x Reader Oneshot

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proxylynn · 4 years ago

Text

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #26

Chapter 26: Misery

WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^

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

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 2 MOMENTS BEFORE GOING LIVE]

Mettaton zooms through the air, the speed makes it hard to try to look for anything I can lock-on as a potential landmark. The worst part, I can't tell if Flowey is able to follow or can reach this far safely. Who am I kidding? Flowey has the best odds of making it around here without a scratch. Unlike my dumbass.

"THIS WILL DO."

He lands faster than expected. The shock shacks my insides uncomfortably. I gag trying to keep my stomach from flying out.

"SORRY, DARLING. I'LL ATTEMPT TO BE GENTLER IN THE FUTURE."

He puts me down, my legs buckle like a baby calf's but I manage to stand.

"N-No worries. Just...Just give me a moment."

He chuckles and gets ready to blast off again.

"SO CUTE. NOW LISTEN UP...HOTLAND IS LEVELED OUT IN THREE PARTS. WE WERE ON LEVEL ONE. THIS IS LEVEL TWO. FROM THIS ROOM, MAKE A RIGHT AND CONTINUE ONWARD. YOU'LL NEED TO REACH THE ELEVATOR TO PROCEED. THINK YOU CAN DO THAT?"

I wave at him.

"Go right. Got it. *heavy sigh* Um...Are there more vents?"

He doesn't say anything.

"Metta?"

"TOODLES!"

He blasts off and I roar our swears. Oh well. No point fussing on that. If I'm lucky Flowey will have heard my shouting and come to help me. But this room...The path leading out is glass. The land isn't connected. Flowey would have to dive deeper to find a joining point, most likely it would be too deep and the heat harmful. I need to leave and not look down. I take a step but fumble, grabbing a random signpost to stop the fall.

"Damn it...Is this what jet-lag is?"

The sign's writing makes me curious.

[Art Club: Meet here! Next meeting: October 10th, 8PM]

Huh? Wait...What is the date and time? Argh! I have no sense for time anymore. Toriel has an out-of-date calendar that she refuses to change which doesn't help and the cellphone had the closest thing to a clock yet there's no telling if it was on time.

"Ahhhh!!! I'm late!!! I'm late!!! I'm so sorry!!!"

From seemingly out of nowhere, a doughy butterscotch colored monster in a black fedora and vest comes rushing towards this spot with papers fluttering away from him. He's in such a damn hurry that he trips and ends up crashing, skidding to a stop inches from my feet.

"*grumble* Son of a..."

He picks himself up and quickly grabs what papers he can. He looks odd. I'm getting weird neck-bread vibes off him. It's probably the fedora. Maybe if he took it off and let his brown hair free...What the fuck, am I thinking like a girl? Ewww! Stupid girl thoughts! That's my once per month. No more.

"So stupid! Why am I so clumsy? I hate being such a klutz!"

Poor guy.

"Need some help?"

He flinches. Did...Did he just realize I was here?

"W-Who are you? This is my spot! Get out!"

"Whoa! Chill. No need to be so harsh, kangaroo-boy."

His eyes widen.

"Kangaroo..."

Ah...shit. I know that look by now. My blue soul comes out.

"I'M A BUTTERDRAGON!!"

[WRONG ENEMY !? begins to play in the background.]

...Fuck my life. Wait...What the fuck is a butterdragon?

[You're blocked in angrily!]

"I come here to find something to draw. And what do I find? Some ignorant bitch that wouldn't know a masterpiece if it smacked her in the face!"

Is he referring to himself?

"It's time someone taught you a lesson! Consider it a gift. Let me look in my vest!"

He spins around and swings at me with his tail. It's coated in light blue magic. Fine. I don't move. It turns orange. I jump over it. It turns blue for two more swipes before turns around.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

"Oh! Whoops! That had to hurt! So sorry, I must have..."

He freezes seeing nothing happened to me.

"You...You're fine?"

I shrug. No point opening my mouth. He talks enough for the both of us.

[The enemy looks nervous.]

"Ummm, I...I couldn't find anything I want to give away. *softer* Not that I wanted to give you anything. *normal* Wait, wait! *laugh* I've got my notebook! I can draw you a picture in it! I'm quite the artist, you know. I'll draw you a GREAT picture!!!"

"It's not your turn."

He flinches.

"Oh...Right."

I look at my options.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[̴͝SP͜͞E��L̵͜L͟͠͏]͘͢

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

What even is that button? Eh...I don't need it. Not with this guy.

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[SOMETHING]

What's with all the weird shit? Just be simple damn it.

[CHECK selected.]

[SO SORRY (REAL NAME, SAMAEL "SAM" D. BUTTERDRAGON) – HP: 1100 ATK: 9 DEF: -6 – This creature is definitely in the wrong time and space!]

Time and space...How the hell does he have negative defense?! That's a thing?!

"My turn!"

My thoughts are broken. He turns around to draw in his notebook, attacking once more with his tail. Blue swish. Orange swish. Blue swish. Blue swish. Orange swish. Orange swish.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

Again he doesn't understand how I got away with no damage. Dude, I can't help that you're attack is obviously telegraphed.

[The enemy looks anxious.]

"S...sorry...The drawing didn't come out very well. Wait! I know the problem! I just have to find a better piece of paper for it!"

"I'm not sure that's how drawing works. But you do you."

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

"I don't want your pity."

Was worth a shot considering the way this fight's going.

"I'll settle on a draw-ing if that's better."

I emphasize the pun with a teasing wink. He gets a little frazzled.

"Uh...Don't do that again. Like...ever."

Screw it. I want to have some fun.

"Why? Are you gonna pun-ish me?"

His right eye twitches.

"Stop it."

"I have an ink-ling this is getting to you. But trust me...You paint seen nothing yet."

Getting frustrated he yanks at his hair before turning around and chucking crumpled balls of paper at me from over his shoulders. Finally, something I need to dodge that will take effort. Each toss has three balls and he does this ten times. The dude's wasting perfectly fine paper. Shameful.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm starting to think he's getting bothered by his inability to hurt me.

[The enemy looks perturbed.]

Called it.

"N-None of my papers are good enough to use..."

[SPARE selected.]

"It's not the tools. They don't create. They are but aids. It's the artist. Their skill and heart. That is key. Anyone can draw. It's as easy as breathing. But if you stress out and push too hard, if you forget to enjoy yourself...Then even what you'd call your masterpiece will never be good enough."

He looks at me funny.

"My advice, Mr. Butterdragon...Don't try to make something as others expect it to be made. Create something as you want it to be. Only then will you be happy with it. I would know. I'm a dabbler at doodling and there's something so...interesting...in being able to take a pencil and transfer an image that you only saw in your head to paper. Though I can never seem to get hands just right."

I look at my hands.

"Weird flesh sticks. Why are you so hard to draw?!"

He thinks for a moment. But then...

"THAT'S IT!!! I know what I can do!! I'll use my magic pencil! It has to be under some of these papers somewhere!!!!"

I take it he's still bent on attacking to prove he can draw. He goes back to tossing paper and by this point, I found a spot to just stand in where nothing falls near, so I wait till he's done.

"Here! I got it! My magic pencil is amazing! Everything I draw with it looks..."

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

This fight is so boring. I mean, I'm grateful to not have my ass kicked or beaten within moments of death's door, but...Is he really trying? Froggits try harder than this.

"Why aren't you hurt?!"

I cover my mouth in a yawn.

"Dude, can you let me spare you already? I need to get to level three before Mettaton has a fit."

[SPARE selected.]

He didn't like hearing this.

[The enemy taps his fingers together like jackhammers.]

"I'll show you. I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!! I AM A REAL ARTIST!!"

With pencil in hand, he scribbles into the air and much to my understanding of reality he adds two horned demons doodles to fight on his side.

[DOODLEBOG – HP: 100 ATK: 8 DEF: 999 – Art lets your wildest fantasies come to life!]

"Like I was saying...Anything I draw with this pencil becomes COMPLETELY REAL! But in your case, a little too real!"

I can't help the odd smirk that crawls across my lips.

"Finally..."

I stretch and pop some joints.

"I was starting to fall asleep. Show me what you've been holding back. Let the creativity flow!"

Both Doodlebogs launch eight doodle orbs in circle formations at me. The good news, there's room to move and enough spacing to do some fun maneuvering. The bad news...It's still freaking easy! They shoot this move twice before their turn ends. And still...

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm disappointed. And so is he.

"What...How...?!"

[The enemy is confused.]

I shake my head. Seems that's all he's got. Though, to his credit, those drawings need to go. But how do I do that? Hmmm...Maybe...

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[DRAW]

[SOMETHING]

What's this? Oh...Oh hell yeah.

[DRAW selected.]

"W-Wait...You can't..."

I grab my soul, not sure what else I'm to use, and trace out a large cat that glows like my soul.

"Sketch-kitty, pounce the Doodlebog on the left!"

The cat does as commanded, pouncing at the Doodlebog and they tussle off the side to the heat death below. He panics.

"How dare you use art against me! Don't just stand there, kill her!"

The remaining Doodlebog fires the same attack as before but done three times in rapid secession. I harder move yes, but one that still leaves spots open wiggle on through.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[The enemy is desperate.]

"H-Hey now...There's no need to do anything crazy. I-I shouldn't have attacked you. That was dumb. W-We good?"

Huh...I don't know if he's being truthful. I try to use MERCY but the button doesn't push in. Something is locking it. I wonder if it's because of the doodle? Is it affecting the battle conditions? To be safe, I'll return things to how they were.

[DRAW selected.]

"You're cheating! You have to be! No one can be this good!"

I roll my eyes while tracing out a massive snake.

"Sketch-snake, put the squeeze to the Doodlebog."

It strikes with the speed of a viper and coils the doodle like a constrictor. The doodle fights back, clawing at the sketch. The sketch knows what its mission is. It throws itself and the doodle over the edge, so now it's only the two of us. He is at a loss what to do.

[The enemy uses a hypnotizing 3D-tush-wiggle attack. Smells... furry.]

I think he's freaked out and out of options. His strongest move, an insane trump card, and I not only countered it but bested it.

[The enemy is apologizing to its visions of the Reaper.]

...What?

"I've messed up. I've really messed up. Oh no. I'm so dead! No...No. I won't let you kill me."

"Dude, I'm clearly not trying to kill you."

"I won't let art die!"

"And you're not listening."

"I'll use this regular pencil! I'll use 100% of best! There is no way you'd kill the maker of such a fine piece!"

He turns around and scribbles furiously. His tail swipes quickly and paper balls fly like crazy. This creates difficulty because trying to dodge the balls is made harder when trying to either stand still for light-blue attacks or move for the orange ones. Orange tail, orange tail, blue tail, blue tail, orange tail, and blue tail. This is how he should've been going at me from the start. It's a good attack.

[HP ███████████████████████████ 27/40]

"Are you ready!? I just finished! Here's your picture!"

He's so proud of it that he doesn't even notice that he finally did damage to me. The picture is a heart.

"What do you think!? It's a representation of your deepest essence... It's great, right!?"

I don't say a word. What did he mean by that? How is a heart my deepest essence? Is it a picture of my soul and souls are the essence of life? How the fuck did he being about so much thought with a heart?! My silence has him become uncomfortable.

"... (They think my art is terrible.) Well! I'll leave you with that thought! Goodbye! See you later! Sayonara! Nice knowing ya! Hasta la vista. ... I should leave."

He attempts to leave but he freezes when I quickly grab his tail.

"Um..."

"That image...You poured your heart into and it shows. It made me think. Art does that. It makes you think and feel. You did that to me. ...10 out of 10."

His eyes widen.

"R-Really?"

I nod and let his tail go...only to get a sappy hug from the butterball.

"Thank you!"

I made his day. He was trying to kill me and is now hugging me over a compliment. I think this is over.

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

[YOU WON!]

[You earned 0 XP and 318 gold.]

Holy shit! I'm rich!

The battle music fades out as he lets me go. My soul returns to me.

"Did you...Did you really like it?"

I nod.

"You gave it your all. That makes it special. Keep that spirit and don't be afraid to try other styles. You'll be amazed at what you can do if you try."

"Like your animals?"

"Animals have always been easy for me. It's people that are my weak-link. Um...Can I see that pencil for a sec?"

He hands me his notebook and normal pencil, to which I make two different drawings. One, a traditional European dragon spouting flame. This is my specialty, I can make these almost with my eyes closed. But the second one is my try at an anime version of myself. I use the eraser a lot on the face, hands, and chest. It never looks right to me once I'm okay with another part of the body. Yet I know I can't spend ages on this so I hand it over when I believe it looks okay.

"See what I mean now?"

"What are you talking about? These are great."

"Exactly..."

He's confused.

"Even when it's good, I still think I suck. But it's that negativity that spurs me to try harder. One day, I shall get those parts down and be happy with it without erasing whole bits out of frustration or doubt in ability. So...yeah...Keep those. Let them help you. Inspire you to be better in spite of others and yourself. Refuse to give up. And never surrender."

He gives me a funny look and I rub the back of my head with a nervous laugh.

"Heh...I have no idea where I was going with that. I tend to ramble when trying to be positive."

A small smile comes to him as he takes a few steps past me.

"I think I get what you're saying. If it's all the same to you...I think I want to be alone with my thoughts for a bit. Might see what ideas come."

I smirk.

"Take care, buddy. May the Muses inspire you to greatness."

I leave the butterdragon to his thoughts and not look down at the glass path that must be crossed. Yet it's doing so that alarms my brain. The land is not solid rock. The land is being supported by thick metal pipes and trussed beams that don't look like they're meant to be used here. I'm conflicted, I feel safe and unease at the same time. It also doesn't help I don't have Flowey with me. I need him. I don't like proceeding without my bro. So...

"Flowey! Bro, I'm up over here! Hurry up!"

Not expecting a response, least of all right away, I aim to head out slowly in hopes that he'll catch up to me before I really need him. But the path actually branches like a 4-way intersection and I get confused. Left is probably back to level one but what's the forward path? I shrug and check it out. Not like I have a killer robot to appease because I'm on TV. Thankfully, it's an empty spot of land. Scratch that. An empty spot of land with some trash on it.

[There's an apron lying on the ground.]

Really? That scrap's an apron?

I inspect the ragged thing and find it's in better shape than it looks.

[Will you take it or leave it?]

This option leads me to believe it's a human item. Probably pairs with this frying pan. Yes, I want it.

[You got the Splattered Apron.]

...Do I wanna equip it? Ugh...I tie the apron around my waist but backwards so it covers my ass.

[You equipped the Splattered Apron.]

[You gain 11 Defense.]

[Are the splotches from food, an enemy, or the former wearer? You don't want to know. Heals 1 HP every other turn.]

Wait...Did it say...?!

[HP: 40 ATK: 45 DEF: 38]

Holy shit! Score!

"So...Does that only work in fights?"

[HP ████████████████████████████ 28/40]

Huh. Guess not. Yet it said every other turn so who knows what that counts as.

I leave to continue all while paying half-attention to my HP. 1 point healing is better than nothing, though it's gonna be a while before I'm healed completely.

It's warm on this level. Still hot but not as bad as level one. Digital cords pulsate with energy from deep down to high above me. And in the distance...a massive mechanical structure. It sits in the lava like a slumbering leviathan. Imposing, mysterious, and giving off the vibes of "STAY THE FUCK AWAY". I better not have to go there.

After a short stroll, I come upon an obstacle or, as monsters put it, a puzzle. There are two conveyor belts, one going forward and the other back towards me. The forward one has three of those thick metal pipes near it and each pipe has a switch. At the end, there's what looks to be a Tesla Coil set up to prevent safe passing. Putting the bits together is easy. I step on the belt and keep walking, flipping the switches as I go. The third flip turns the current off and I can progress.

I regret this.

Literally forty feet away I'm met by those fucking vents. However...beside the vents is a large conveyor belt made of three merged ones. That's moving at the same speed as the one I was just on. Idea time. I dash jump across the belts. Leaping just in case someone somewhere decides to mess with the speed. Lucky me, no dick moves were made and I avoided doing my scarier backup plan of climbing on the support trusses. At least the path is clear now, which is good.

The heat begins to climb as I approach pumping stacks of hot gas. It makes the air thick and hard to breathe. The sooner I get past these things the better. Part of me questions why I don't hoof it on a crawl and then I have to remind that part that the land is inclining upward so it's bloody pointless. My throat is drying out, my lungs burn, and my eyes sting even with the tears trying to soothe the pain. Even the sounds of gears grinding in the background is starting to irritate my senses. But all this just makes me strive forward more to get back to some form of normalcy. Augh...What's my HP at now?

[HP ████████████████████████████████ 32/40]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Keep moving, slowpoke."

My blurry eyes spy a white speck among all the orange-brown.

"Bro?"

Something wraps around my wrist and pulls me slowly, leading me like a child helps an elder cross the road. Soon the air is clear and wiping my eyes lets me see Flowey. A very welcoming sight indeed.

"Bro!"

"Good to see you too."

"How did you get up here? The land is broken."

"Not all of it. I pretty much climbed up one high point, crossed over to another, and repeat till I got here. Did you forget how nimble I can be?"

I smack my forehead making him snicker.

"Sometimes it scares me to think how you've managed to not die."

He gets a chuckle out of me.

"Same."

We move on...only to be blocked by two heavily armored guards. One is a rabbit or hare and the other is more of a dragon than butterball was. Adorning fierce, brutal, and intimidating black armor bearing the blood-red Deltarune insignia. On their helms, shoulders, and wrists are jagged threatening spikes. But the real danger that has my attention are the very large swords.

"Are you shitting me?"

"They...aren't supposed to be here."

I look at Flowey funny and he flinches.

"I mean...They don't usually..."

"*mumble* Timeline bullshit. *normal* Fuck it...Yo! Can you two move? We need to reach level three...please?"

I'm sure that saved it from all my attitude.

"Human..."

Nothing good has ever happened to me when someone says "human".

"You're late."

Oh. Well, that's different.

"For...?"

They point their swords at me.

"Your funeral."

"Really? Was that the best you could come up with?"

The rabbit shrugs.

"I thought it was pretty tough."

The dragon punches his arm.

"I told you it was weak."

"It's not like we had a lot of time to come up with something better."

"Right. All the direction Mettaton gave us was 'stall her' while he does stupid crap."

"Let's just get this over with before the Captain finds out."

They rush towards me...then stop. But not a normal stop. They're frozen in place. I look at Flowey, he's stuck in mid-sink into the ground. The hell is going on? It's as if...as if time stopped?

"Sans? Sans, is this you? Where are you?"

White noise, like static on a TV. It pierces my ears as if it were stabbing my very brain. Covering my ears does nothing to stop it. I drop to my knees.

"Sa҉ns͏..̕."

A voice barely solidifies in the sounds assaulting my hearing.

"H͞è's n̢ot he̡r͠e,͟ l͡i̡ttl͡e ͜on̴ę.̨ He ͞can'͏t ̸in̵tęr͜f̛ere҉ w̧i̧th o͝úr̨ f́u͟ņ."

I muster the strength to turn my head and am confronted by a grayed-out monster with a blacked-out face holding a smaller face in its hand. The face looks at me with a small creepy smile. My eyes widen. The face spoke. And it speaks in rhyme. What the fuck?!

"What the hell are you?"

"M̛e? I̕'҉m͠ ͡a ̨f̡o͢l͜l͘ow̵er ̡of̶ ͘the g͠rea͝t Royal͏ ͟Sc͞ien͘t͝i͝st͟,̢ D͜ơc̢tor̕ ̵W̛.D. ̵Gast̀e͞r̀.͘ On̵e day͞,̨ h́e ͝va͝n͞i͡sh̀e͜d͘ w̷itḩou̕t̡ a҉ t́r̶ąc̛e.͝ T̛hey͞ ͠s̡a̢y҉ ̷he ҉s̡hat̕te̶r̷ed ͝ac̛ross̡ ti҉m͠e̴ an͘d̢ ҉s̨pac͘e. Ha H̷a͞.͝..̡ho͠w ̧c̸án I͞ s͠ay̢ s̸o͏ wit͟ho̴u͘t ͘f̶e͟a̸r͘?͝ ̸I'm h̸o͜l͘ding͞ a ̴p̵ie͘ce҉ ͜of̡ h͡im ̶r̶iģht͢ ͢her͞e."

This...This shit right here triggers something primal in me...I get genuinely freaked out. Fleeing like a puppy that just met the big noisy vacuum for the first time. And yeah, this was an overreaction. I've dealt with some insane shit at this point, you'd think I'd be hardened like a soulless speck of dirt. But no. That made me too unsettled and any tough wall I had crumbled. I zoom past the few other frozen in time monsters along the way till I reach the elevator. I spam hit the button, praying it will ignore the fact time is dead and let me in something that I can pretend is safer than out here.

*BING*

A sound other than static? There is a god!

The doors shift open and a grayed-out bird monster with terrible posture along with a grayed-out small humanoid monster stop me in my tracks.

There is no god!

"D͏r.̡ G̴as͝t̶e͠ŕ..͝.͡H̛i͞s brìllia͢n͝cé w͡a҉s̸ ͞irr̷e̶p͞l͞ac͢eabl̨e̶.̷"

"҉W͢hat͏ a̡n ̢áct to ̴foll̕o҉w͟! T́h͘e̷y ̨s͠ay̨ ͏h̶ę c͢r̨eat̛e̴ḑ t͜h͜e͜ ͞C̕O͜R̷E̶."

"Hoẁe͘v͢e̕r, h͜i͏s ͞life҉..͝.̸was ͠c͡u͡t s͘hort."

They say ominously together.

"O͡ne̕ ͟d́a͢y̕,͝ h̵i͟ś ҉ex̵pęri͜m̨e̵ntś w̧ent̡ ̸wr̢on͜g̢, ͡an̡ḑ..̀."

"He̴ fe̸l̢l̡ ̕i͞n̴t͜o ̀hi̵s͡ cr̷eat̀i͢ón̢."

"Węll,̴ ͝w̡e҉ needn̨'͡t͠ gos̕s̕i҉p.̧ A̷f͢t͠e͟r al̵l͏,̷ ҉i̸t'ş ̧rude to ̀tal͡k̨ ab͏o̢u͠t̛ s҉o̵me̢o͘n҉è w̛h͢o̕'s l̷i̕s͢te̡n͢ing.̸"

They grab me and pull me in before my body chooses to run.

"*snarls* Let go you creeps!"

"D̵o̵n't ̕st͠r̴ưg̷gle̵,̧ l͡i͞t̕t̛l҉e o͟n͡e.́"

"̸Yo̷u ͝d͞o͠n͏'t̴ w͡an̸t ̴harm to co͢me̛ to̷ ̡t̀h̢e̵ flo͜wer͞.̡"

Oh fuck...I left Flowey with the creepy face-hand thing. I cease my fighting.

"G҉o͡od͞ ̷ģir̡l."

The doors shut with a quickness.

[SNOWDIN: Skeleton House in present time]

They watch as the human and flower are confronted by the two Royal Guards. And of course, they do as they've been trained. Attack the human. But something weird happens. The guards begin to attack and the screen of the TV glitches into static before the picture returns. Only now the guards have stopped their action and the flower, which was retreating from danger, pops back out in confusion along with everyone else. The human is gone. It happened within the blink of an eye. One second she was there and the next she's not. And now the screen cuts to a "We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties" image. What is going on?

[HOTLAND: LAB]

Undyne and Alphys are equally as perplexed as everyone else that's tuned in.

"Alphys, where did the human go?"

Undyne irritatedly asks through her teeth. On her end, Alphys is switching through camera feeds like crazy.

"I'm looking! I'm looking!"

The screen swaps from camera to camera and multiple different angles. But there's nothing. Sure, there are monsters. Some just going about their lives. Some slacking around. Even an embarrassing shot of a Pyrope shoving a sandwich into the top of a Vulkin. But no sign of the human on level two.

"Where are you, damn it?!"

"Stop!"

Undyne's shout makes Alphys jump.

"Go back five clicks."

And so she does. The feed is an odd far shot from the gas stacks. It can just barely view the guards let alone the flower who suddenly ducks away. The guards seem even more confused.

"What are we looking for?"

Undyne points at the screen and Alphys sighs.

"If I can't see it on my end, you pointing from a distance does nothing for me!"

Undyne growls.

"Look up, genius!"

Alphys leers at the fish-woman before leering at the view she has on her monitor. Due to the far away placement of the camera, it can see up to the platform of level three. And there, dangling over the side, is a pale white arm that stands out over the red platform and gold LED lights scheme.

"The hell...?"

She switches to the level three cameras.

"Ha! I knew I saw something."

With the better view, they now see the human face-down just a few feet from the elevator.

"How the hell did she get up there?"

Alphys gets out her phone and sends a quick text. When there's no reply she presses a button and a moment later is sent a reply. A few messages are sent as Mettaton zooms on screen.

"What? Why's the tin can there now?"

Undyne is out of the loop as usual.

"Who else do you know can zip over there as fast?"

Mettaton pulls the human to the center of the path, away from a stupid falling to death, and checks over her seemingly lifeless body. Her eyes are open and empty as if someone replaced her peepers with billiards cue balls that glow. Marks on her arms look like bruising but weren't there before nor gained in her earlier fight. Then...Alphys gets a text.

"Hmmm..."

"What's up?"

"Vital signs are still going but her breathing has stopped."

She texts back to Mettaton.

"So...She's dead?"

"No. Not yet at least. According to Mettaton, her HP is full and not depleting. However, if she doesn't start breathing, her HP should drain and she will die."

"Then wha...?"

"Look at the TV, dear."

Undyne looks back at the screen to see Mettaton performing chest compressions in patterns.

"With her heart still pumping it means all other functions are still working. It's likely something happened in whatever event that caused her to get up there to give her trauma. The trauma probably made her brain fail to send the right signals to her lungs and thus, she's in respiratory arrest. So I've instructed Mettaton to force her body to restart her breathing manually with basic CPR."

They watch the robot press into her chest for a good couple of minutes before the human suddenly bolts up violently. Mettaton restrains the hysterical woman as the life returns to her eyes, sight restored settles her down some but she appears terribly shaken.

"Ask him if he can get her to tell him what happened."

"Already sent and awaiting reply."

Mettaton appears to speak with her but she either says very little or nothing at all. She merely holds her self in an attempt to cease her trembling and looks out at what bit of the CORE is still visible from that point.

"Huh...He says she isn't telling. At most, she said it's nothing and it just happens sometimes."

"Super vague and avoiding the subject? That kind of shit ain't normal."

Alphys agrees but it's not like they have the human in custody to interrogate for answers. She sends the text.

"The hell?"

Mettaton offers some concern and encouragement before blasting off, leaving the human alone.

"Why's he leaving her?!"

"He did what was needed. Now the show can continue as planned."

Undyne glares.

"That's twice now. You could've let her die."

"I still need more data. Something odd happened and I need to figure it out."

Undyne huffs softly.

"Fine. You know...You can only string someone along for so long before that string breaks, Alphys."

The lizard-woman chuckles.

"Worried about the human? That's cute."

"I wasn't talking about the human."

Undyne guzzles her remaining ramen and Alphys isn't sure how to respond.

"For your sake, the human better be worth all this effort."

She lifts her bowl.

"More."

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 3 BEFORE GOING LIVE]

Static. Everything is static. Static is all I see and hear. I can't feel anything. Am I dead? Is this what death is? If it is...It's incredibly boring. At least Hell would have a wicked soundtrack to drone out to while being tortured. Suddenly, I feel something. And it hurts. Like something is bouncing on my chest and pauses a bit before doing it again for longer.

Please...Leave me alone...Let me be...I don't want to go back...Don't make me go back...Please...

"*gasps and coughs*"

My lungs burn in this reawakening but my sight is still static. Purgatory. Pain before Heaven. The sins must be suffered away. This must be what's happening. Hands. I feel hands and panic, stress levels at critical. I take a swing at where I think they are.

"D̕͡oņ͟'̕͝t ̨̀͝to͝͏uch̷́͝ ͘me͘͜!̴̵͝"

There's hesitation before more force is used and I'm pinned to what I assume is a floor. I thrash harshly.

"L̸̀e͢a̡͜v̴͟͢e ͘m̵e͞ ͝al҉̀o̷̴n̴̨e̶̢!̡͞ ̡͡Ḑ͞o͝n̶͝'̨̕t ̢͏̡I ͜s̸̛u͜͜f̵͝f̷͠͝er̛ ̧e͏͜n̢o̵u҉͢͢g̶͡͡ḩ?!͏"

"CALM...I...LYNSIE."

A voice? A normal voice?

"DON'T...ME...RELAX."

The struggling I was doing ends. And as I settle down the static that had blinded me subsides. My location is unknown. But I know the one holding me down.

"M-Metta?"

Seeing I'm normal, Mettaton helps me get back on my feet yet I'm unsettled by...things.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, DARLING? WHAT HAPPENED?"

Flashes of memory flicker in my head. Those...things...Followers of Gaster...The things they did...

I hold myself and fight the tears trying to come to my eyes. I don't say a thing.

"LYNSIE...HOW DID YOU GET UP HERE? WHY DID I FIND YOU NOT BREATHING?"

I rub my eyes.

"I need my phone. *shaky inhale* I gotta talk to my mom."

"YOU KNOW I DON'T HAVE IT. AND IF I DID, I'M STILL UNSURE YOU WOULDN'T CALL OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS."

He's not wrong. I wasn't going to call Toriel. I was going to give Sans nightmares with the shit done to me.

"NOW COME ON. YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG."

"...N-Nothing's wrong. This...This just happens sometimes."

He's not buying it. I'm doing a piss poor attempt to play off that I'm fine.

"DARLING, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT FINE AND ABOUT TO CRY. JUST TALK TO ME. WHAT HAPPENED? YOU VANISHED FROM SIGHT AND ENDED UP HERE AT THE START OF LEVEL THREE COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS."

I don't say a word.

"DID SOMEONE USE MAGIC ON YOU? IS YOUR SOUL OKAY?"

I flinch at the mentioning of my soul and refuse any further interaction.

"LYNSIE...?"

I refuse to look at him. He sighs.

"IF IT MEANS ANYTHING, DUE TO TIME CRUNCHING, THE THIRD ACT WAS CANCELED. BETWEEN YOUR STALLING FROM HEIGHTS, ALL THESE RANDOM FIGHT ENCOUNTERS, AND EVENTS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND ACT...CHANGES IN THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN MADE. HEH...ORIGINALLY, THE THIRD ACT WAS GOING TO HAVE YOU DEFUSE A SERIES OF BOMBS PLACED AROUND THE AREA WITHIN A TIME LIMIT. YET EVEN I THOUGHT THAT WAS UNFAIR. THAT AND THE SCRIPT FOR IT WAS JUST AWFUL. NO WAY AM I DISGRACING MYSELF WITH SUCH A POORLY DIRECTED SHOW."

I guess that is some good news. It's probably why he had those guards posted there to stall me.

"BUT...I DO HAVE SOME BAD NEWS."

This gets me to look at him.

"FROM HERE, IN THE NEXT ROOM YOU WILL FIND A SEEMINGLY CHARMING SPIDER NAMED MUFFET. SHE'S A CUNT."

Well, that escalated quickly.

"SHE'S THE LEADER OF THE SPIDERS IN THE UNDERGROUND AND RUNS A SUPPOSED BAKERY. IT'S A FRONT. SHE'S AN EXTORSHINISH. SHE'LL SAY AND DO ANYTHING IF IT MEANS SHE'LL GET GOLD. CLAIMS THE MONEY IS NEEDED TO SAVE THE SPIDERS IN THE RUINS OR SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT."

"It sounds like you don't like her very much."

"NO, NOT REALLY. I COULD CARE LESS WHAT SHE DOES. THE THING THAT PISSES ME OFF IS THAT SHE PREYS ON MY WORKERS, KILLS THE ONES THAT CAN'T PAY HER OUTRAGEOUS FEES, AND, WORST OF ALL, SHE REFUSED TO DEAL WITH ME!"

I tilt my head.

"I HAVE TRIED TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO GET HER TO SELL FOOD UNDER MY BRAND. BUT SHE SAYS MY NAME WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE HER LOSE GOLD. SERIOUSLY? THE AUDACITY OF THAT BITCH. I PRACTICALLY OWN HOTLAND AND SHE HAS THE NERVE TO UTTER SUCH SHIT!"

His screen flashes for a moment before he calms down.

"YET DESPITE THAT...KNOWING YOU AND HOW YOU HANDLE DIFFICULT MONSTERS, I'M CONFIDENT YOU CAN GET BY HER WITH LITTLE ISSUE."

"...You have that much faith in me?"

He spins on his wheel.

"WOULD YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED IF I SAY I DO?"

My dower expression answers him for me.

"WELL, IT WAS WORTH A TRY."

His wheel retracts to fly.

"WE WILL MEET AGAIN FOR THE FOURTH ACT...PROVIDED YOU SURVIVE THE SPIDERS. YOU'RE NOT AFRAID OF SPIDERS, ARE YOU?"

"I was when I was a kid. I got over it."

"GOOD. YOU SHOULD BE FINE THEN."

He comes over and, to my surprise, gives me a small embrace.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU, LYNSIE."

My throat tightens, I couldn't speak even if I wanted to. He takes off and I wait for when he's out of sight to breakdown.

[SNOWDIN: Skeleton House in present time]

The "We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties" screen cuts away. The human has been located. She appears to be on a different level and is a wreck. Down on her hands and knees, sobbing intangible pleas. Something has happened and it wasn't good.

Toriel gasps softly.

"tori? what's wrong?"

She covers her mouth and points. Sans sees it now. Papyrus even spies it before Grillby. The hands. The harsh imprints darkening the snow colored skin.

"Those marks...They would sometimes appear in her sleep. Why are they there now?"

Grillby shoots a look at Sans and he decides to get his buddy off his back.

"she had those marks while with us too. but if you look closely, these marks are different. there's no hole in the palm. plus...there are two sets."

"HMMM...AN AMBUSH PERHAPS? BUT WHAT KIND OF MAGIC CAN ALLOW FOR SUCH A SNEAK ATTACK AND THEN VANISH ELSEWHERE?"

Grillby continues to leer at Sans.

"what?"

"Sounds like teleporting to me. Anyone you know can do that?"

Sans glares.

"no. only i can teleport."

"Are you sure?"

"yeah. i'm sure. knock it off."

Papyrus cocks his brow. This might require his attention if things escalate.

"I'll knock it off when you come clean."

"i ain't hiding shit."

"Bullshit. You've been holding back so much that even your brother doesn't know just how much you do. If you don't know, then you don't know, but if one thing we've figured about you tonight...It's that you hide what you know all the damn time. So you've got to give us something better if you want us to believe you."

Sans balls his fist.

"us? or you? don't start connecting dots to points that don't exist because you want answers that no one can give to make yourself feel better."

"Then tell me who it was that hurt her before. Maybe they know who did it this time."

That line. That line got heads to turn.

"Sans? You know who has been harming my child?"

It's times like these Sans wished he was able to RESET.

"no, i don't."

"That's not what you told me."

"i only said what i did to get you off my back. ya were all upset about the marks and..."

"Of course I was upset about the marks! What guy wouldn't?!"

Papyrus snarkily lifts a finger, admitting his lack of concern but not wanting to get involved in this.

"maybe instead of pointing fingers, you should question why she didn't tell ya about'em herself. because if she doesn't even tell her mom about shit like this, what makes ya think she tells me?"

Grillby had to pause at that.

"Is it that one of them hurt you?"

"What?"

"You're ignoring them, but that doesn't make them invisible to anyone else. Did they do this? Papyrus I can believe, but I have doubts on Sans. But if they did this to you..."

"They didn't. This is a whole different issue."

"Don't defend your abuser."

"I'm not defending shit. It's my problem, I can deal with it. Don't make this a big deal."

"It is a big deal!"

"*wince* You're hurting me."

"..."

"Like I said...That's a different issue that I will deal with. Not you. Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes."

Maybe Sans had a point. Knowing how others would react keeps one from talking about such things, especially when it's not a reaction that is easily dealt with. Toriel and Grillby have proven to overreact when it comes to the human. She probably thought it best to keep such pain to herself to avoid added damage. But still...Something didn't sit right with Grillby. Sans knew something. What it was he knew not.

"IF YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR POINTLESS BICKERING, THE HUMAN IS ON THE MOVE NOW."

Attention once more fell back to the television.

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 3]

My body aches. The crying did little to ease me. Sure I vented, that's always good. But I don't feel any better for doing so. My arms stings. My soul throbs in agony. My every nerve demands relief that will never seem to come. I look at the bruises. I can still feel their hold. I don't know how long it happened for or how long after till I was found, yet I can still feel their filthy hands. It's too much. Make it stop!

I take my gloves off and dig my nails across the full stretch of my arms. I don't care about bleeding. I just want to stop feeling their hands. The strange energy begins to crackle around me as it did once before.

[HP ████████████████████ 20/40]

It...It finally went away. That's good. Now if only the memory could be removed. Can't claw my brain unfortunately. Oh well. Perhaps I'll find something to bash my head against. Won't that be fun?

I take my leave. Flesh under my now gloved nails and blood trickling down my arms, making a trail behind me.

A few short steps have me in a more inhabited spot. The monsters here give me strange looks. Maybe it's because of the self-mutilation. Or maybe it was spine chilling wailing. Or both. Or random other shit. Either way, I keep to myself and press onward.

"Oh, yoohoo, human~..."

Ah, fuck my life with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole!

"You look like you can use some healing items. Come, I don't bite...well...maybe ONE little nibble~."

...Why do I attract the kinky weirdos?!

This is the spider-lady Mettaton was talking about. She has periwinkle or lavender skin, five eyes, six arms, and two legs. She wears red rompers with yellow buttons in the front, a red ribbon across her chest, as well as large wild twin pigtails in her black hair tied by red bows. She is also holding two teacups with her top pair of hands and two teapots with her middle pair, her bottom pair of hands hide under her little table.

"Welcome to our parlor, dearie~. Interested in some spider pastries? All proceeds go to real spiders~. Check out the webs to make a purchase~."

I'm so not in the mood for this.

"Ms. Spider..."

"No need for formalities, dearie~. Call me Muffet."

"Muffet...I'm gonna be nice yet blunt. So I apologize in advance if I tick you off at any point because that's not my intent. *shaky inhale* I have been battered, beaten, abducted, blasted, and brought near death more than usual today. And normally, I'd roll with it and let you do this 'thing' it is you're gonna do...But not now."

She opens her mouth to speak and I slam my hands on the tabletop.

"I have just spent an ungodly amount of time trapped in that elevator over there having my soul violated by people that don't even exist anymore on this plane of reality. I have clawed my skin off to stop feeling their hands on me. So, please...Not now."

I can feel that energy get stronger. The odd display bugs her yet she continues.

"My, how dreadful. That's a terrible tale you tell, human. And such a silly one to explain your disappearing act."

My eye twitches. Does she...Does she think I made that up?

"That Mettaton is certainly putting more effort into his effects for this show. It's about time too. That metal moron can't act to save his batteries."

I want to hit her.

"Anyway...Can I interest you in some of my 100% all-natural treats? Food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!"

...Wait a second?

"Of spiders? So...You're killing your own kind...for pastries?"

She simply smiles innocently.

"...Are they at least dead or dying ones?"

Her giggle is not reassuring.

"Go on, dearie~. Have a nice donut and wash it down with some cider. You'll heal faster than ever before. And all for the low low price of 9999G...each."

My nerves are shot. Were they always called donuts and not doughnuts? What the fuck?!

"Lady, that is the biggest crock of shit I have ever had the misfortune to step in."

All of her eyes glare at me.

"Beg your pardon?"

"This same 'bake sale' is being done by the spiders in the Ruins. Do you wanna know what the prices are there? Donuts are 7G and Ciders are 18G. Where the hell do you get off charging that much for food that works on cannibalism?"

I point at her in judgment.

"You're sick, lady! This is fucked up."

She hisses at me.

"Seems humans are awfully stingy with money. Don't know a good deal when it's in their face."

I look at her cockeyed.

"Stingy with money? Bitch, did you not hear the words coming out of my mouth?!"

She laughs in my face.

"Ahuhuhuhu...You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary?"

"...Sure. Whatever. You're not listening anyway."

"Ahuhuhu...I disagree with that notion. I think your taste...Is exactly what this next batch needs!"

She stares at me creepily and licks her lips.

"Oh hell nah!"

I flip the table on her and run. She's not happy.

"Get back here!"

"Fuck you!"

I look back to see if she's following and crash into a guy.

"Hey, watch where you're going."

"Sorry. I was just..."

My blood runs cold seeing the monster I've bumped. This guy...This guy is a dead ringer for the creepy gray dude with the face in his hand. The only difference being he's in color.

"*scoff* Weirdo."

He walks to where Muffet is but I can't move. My heart begins pounding. Flashes of memory play before my eyes. I can't breathe fast enough. Gaster, for all the shit he does, isn't as bad as the Followers.

MAKE IT STOP! M̴A͝KÉ IT͜ S͢T͡O͜P!!͘ MA̡̛͜K̶͢E͝ ̢I̡͝T̡҉̧ ́͠S̷͡T͝OP̵!!̛͏! M̢̡A̸̧̛͞͝K̢̨҉É̶̡̢͏ ͜͝͡I̸̧̨̕T̴ ̶̕͞S͜͢T̵͡Ǫ͝҉҉҉P̨̛͞!̶!̕͘͟!̷̨͟͝͡!̕͟

[WARNING]

[SOUL destabilization detected]

[HEARTBREAK immanent]

W͏ai̕t̸.̀.̢.̸Wha̧t doe̴s̛ t̨ha͝t ̨meàn̶?͡

[HEARTBREAK is the condition in which the SOUL will damage itself due to instability or loss of HOPE]

[There are three levels of the HEARTBREAK condition]

[Level ONE: the SOUL forms a crack, it starts small which can be healed easily]

[Level TWO: the crack on the SOUL spreads, damage taken is increased and needs intensive care to be repaired]

[Level THREE: the SOUL shatters and death accrues]

...Serious?

[Current status: PENDING HEARTBREAK]

[PENDING HEARTBREAK: the SOUL weakens and its color dulls]

[Most MONSTERS in the UNDERGROUND have this state due to a loss of HOPE which is the main trait in MONSTER SOULS]

So...I can die from my soul hurting itself because of my inability to cope with the shit that happened?

[Correct]

...Fuck. Well...I should make a last will. Because I'm gonna die.

*STATIC* DARLING? ARE YOU OKAY? YOU NEED TO KEEP MOVING.

Mettaton's voice in my ear causes the shackles of trauma to release me...for now.

I slap myself. Gotta focus. Do this and get to go home. Concentrate. Don't fuck up! The energy around me slowly dissipates.

"Human!"

Looking back I see Muffet coming at me.

"Someone's stealing from the register!"

Her concern for money outweighs her need to kill me and I use this to escape. Much to my annoyance, this part of the path ends with more of those damn vents and they of course split off into three ways, one being a big as hell closed door.

"...I fucking hate Hotland."

I sigh. Taking in the vent platforms and noting that the gap between them is the smallest size ever. No need to run, jump, or use them. I merely walk onto the next platform and can do so for all of them. I choose to take the right side first. Why not? Not like it makes a difference. It leads me to a conveyor belt that has three blue lasers. I ride it to the end without harm. I guess Metta's budget for puzzles is running low if this is what I have to deal with. This leads me to a familiar room with, what a surprise, the same shooting puzzle from the last time I had to unlock a big fucking door.

"Now this is just lazy."

I look for the instructions.

(Shoot the opposing ship!)

(You have just one shot.)

Well...Maybe that's something.

This puzzle has the blocks in a four by five state. Eleven blocks are solid and four can be moved around. The four moving blocks move all at once like they're connected. The open spaces are pretty fair if I have to give it some credit. I move to the right, up, right, down twice, right twice, down, left, down, and finally end it by firing through the clear path.

(CONGRATULATIONS!)

"Don't tell me it's the same on the other side."

I head out and take the other conveyor belt back to the vents, passing a random cactus in the process. I swear if this shit keeps up I'm going to lose my mind. No! No...I need to calm down and relax. I don't need the stress. My soul is in rough shape as is. Now it's at risk of damage without my conscious input. I wish I had my music. That would really help. Maybe a little Green Day or Linkin Park. Oh! My Chemical Romance!

*BONK*

It would seem I didn't pay attention and walked into the puzzle room, kicking the machine by accident.

(Shoot the opposing ship!)

(You have just one shot.)

"God dingle damn it bull honkery."

I hate copy & paste design. The board is larger, five by five. Ten solid blocks and six movable ones, everything else is empty space. Right, up, right, down twice, right, right/up, up/right, up twice, right, up, and fire.

(CONGRATULATIONS!)

"...I'm so sick of this crap it ain't even funny."

I shove my hands in my pockets and leave...only to see two diamond-headed monsters just hanging out, one light-purple and the other a super light-green. Did I really walk by them?

"I've been thinking about getting a sick skateboard."

"Really? That's cool I guess. ...So...What's your fave Mettaton Moment(TM)?"

"My fave Mettaton Moment(TM)? Right when everything looks the baddest, he poses dramatically. Like when he's on a cooking show and the eggs don't turn out right. But! Then he says...Even if you suck at cooking, you can always buy an MTT-brand Glamburger! Then he eats one! Everyone loves it!"

"...How does he eat it without a mouth?"

"Uhhh...well...Watch the show!"

"Well, my fave Mettaton Moment(TM) is when he beats up the heel-turning villains! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a quiz show. Oh! And I like when he tries on all kinds of different fashionable outfits! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a newscast."

I wonder if I can get a chuckle out of these two.

"Sounds like you two really know your stuff about Mettaton."

They turn to look at me, they look like teenagers based on their clothes.

"Totally."

"No one's a bigger fan than us."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! He's currently broadcasting live. And with a Human! We can finally get to the surface!"

"On the surface, we'll be able to watch all kinds of TV...But, I bet none of those shows are as good as Mettaton's!"

"You don't say. Then...Could you describe this human? I don't want to miss seeing it."

The green one goes for his phone.

"Let me see if it's back on and we'll show you. Some crazy stuff happened and the feed cut off a bit ago."

I smile and wait for it. I can't read their faces, but it's very clear when the green one goes to his buddy and shows him the screen. Looks are shot at me. I merely give a friendly wave.

"Dude..."

"We're on TV!"

At least someone's happy about it.

"Wait...Then that means..."

"You're the human?"

I shrug.

"What...What happened to you?"

"You're like all messed up and junk."

I shrug again.

"You know...Messed up crud. Being human ain't all that and or fun. But don't worry about it. Just enjoy the show. Metta's doing his best to make it epic as hell."

I walk past them.

"Oh! Before I go...Don't copy any of the stuff aired at home. You'd probably get in trouble if you blast people for getting trivia wrong or use chainsaws while cooking."

I give a thumbs-up as I go. Vaguely hoping to look badass. With the door open it shouldn't be long till all this nonsense is over and I can go home. I wonder though...Can Flowey get up here? The floor is artificial, so I don't know if he can traverse it. I hope he's okay. Poor fella's probably losing his mind wondering where I went. Then again, he's a clever cookie and knows his way around the Underground better than anyone.

[The smell of cobwebs fills the air...]

Huh?

*sniff*

"What smells like freshly baked tarantulas?"

...Oh shit.

The room past the door is littered with webbing and spiders are dangling from the ceiling.

"...Fuck my life."

Smelling a trap I attempt to get through this room as fast as I can. But the webbing on the floor accumulates on my shoes and eventually, I'm unable to take a step. Struggling only made things worse.

"Ahuhuhuhu..."

Damn it! Damn it all to hell!!

"Did you hear what they just said? They said a human in tacky clothes will come through."

"Well, fuck you too."

"I heard that they hate spiders."

"What?!"

"I heard that they love to stomp on them."

"That is a bald-faced lie!"

"I heard that they like to tear their legs off."

"Slander! The levels of bullshit in here are off the charts!"

"I heard..."

Muffet comes down like a Charlotte's Web reject onto a large web. Smaller spiders dangle beside her and block the path ahead as well as behind me.

"...that they're incredibly stingy with their money. Ahuhuhuhu."

My fucks are all gone.

"You're mom was a hoe and ate your dad."

Her face blanks before burning with rage.

"You're fucking dead meat!"

[SPIDER DANCE begins to play in the background.]

My dull yellow soul comes out.

[Muffet traps you!]

"Oh, like this is fair. I can't move and you bring out a freaking gang. I mean, what are the damn rule anymore?!"

"Oh don't look so blue, my deary~."

She spins silk to entangle my soul then bites the end of a strand, her magic venom flows down the strand and coats the heart. Forcibly changing the trait and color.

"...I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhu~."

This feels so wrong.

"Why is everyone messing with my soul today?!"

Her spider underlings draw webbing in strings in horizontal lines. These lines are also infused with the purple magic and attract my soul.

[You're trapped in a strange purple web!]

"Here's the deal, dearie~...A spider will appear to the right between each turn, holding a sign that presents the density and type of attack that will come after your turn. Now while you can't move, your pretty little soul can, and you'll have to move it along or switch between the three strings to avoid attacks. There will only be three strings. No more, no less. How's that for fair~?"

I mull it over.

"...Not bad actually. Who goes first?"

"You. I want to see what you can do."

She's a smart one, I'll give her that. Let's see my options.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[̴͝SP͜͞E͡L̵͜L͟͠͏]͘͢

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

That button is giving me weird vibes the more I see it.

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[STRUGGLE]

[PAY 10G]

Pay? Fuck that! I earned this gold. Mine!

[CHECK selected.]

[MUFFET – HP: 1250 ATK: 38.8 DEF: 18.8 – If she invites you to her parlor, excuse yourself.]

And she's better in the stat department than the butterdragon.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider. The hell does that mean?

"Why so pale? You should be proud~."

"With the amount of blood I've lost today it would make me look like a corpse. But be proud of what?"

"Why...Proud that you're going to make a delicious cake~! Ahuhuhu~!"

Spiders begin crawling across the threads. It's like a weird form of Frogger minus hopping to safety. It's a simple move and I come out of it fine.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

Sweet, my HP is full. I love this nasty apron!

[All the spiders clap along to the music.]

It is a catchy tune, no lie. But I need to get out of this. It's not like all of me is unable to move.

[ACT selected.]

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet covers her mouth and giggles at you.]

...Bitch.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider. Okay, I know what that means now.

"Look at you. Trying to break free. It's so cute~."

"Would it help if I asked nicely? Please let me go?"

"Let you go? Don't be silly~. Your SOUL is going to make every spider very happy~~!"

Spiders cross the lines and it oddly seems like there was less this time. Making it easier.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[Muffet does a synchronized dance with the other spiders.]

"You know...Someone warned us about you...Offered us a LOT of money for your SOUL."

This gets my attention.

"What?"

"Oh yes~. They had such a sweet smile~ and...Ahuhuhu~. It's strange, but I swore I saw them in the shadows...Changing shape...?"

The hell? Wait...She can't mean one of the Followers...Can she? Stop it! Don't think about them! Don't!

"Oh well. It's not like it matters anyway. Your move, dearie~."

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet laughs and claps her hands.]

"Still trying, huh? Still thing. Don't you know spider silk is five times stronger than steel?"

I can not get a break today.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of two spiders. What?

Double the spiders come on the strings at the same time. It's somehow a new move yet works too similar to the normal attack to be tricky. I dodge it fairly well.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[Muffet pours herself a cup of spiders.]

...I didn't need to see that. No one needs to see a large spider drink smaller spiders like they were tea.

"*sip* With the money from you SOUL, the spider clans can finally be reunited~."

I tilt my head.

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't heard? Spiders have been trapped in the RUINS for generations!"

Obvious thing is obvious.

"Can't they, you know, squeeze out through the door?"

"*scoff* Even if they go under the door, Snowdin's fatal cold is impassable alone."

It is pretty cold there. Then they'd have to travel through two zones to get here. Damn, that sucks.

"But with the money from your SOUL, we'll be able to rent them a heated limo~. And with all of the leftovers...? We could have a nice vacation~! Or even build a spider baseball field~!"

What little sympathy I was gaining dies at that.

"Now you're just spending to show off."

"But enough of that...It's time for dinner, isn't it? Ahuhuhu~."

*Growls*

I look around and see nothing. I don't like this.

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Nothing happened.]

"Don't struggle too much. You'll make yourself all sweaty. No one wants a sweaty donut."

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider and a donut?

The spiders come crawling faster than before even if their numbers aren't as much, then they are followed by random donuts being thrown by the spiders blocking the pathways. This almost had me. Came close, but no cigar.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm proud of my dodging skills. I've come a long way.

[Muffet tidies up the web around you.]

If you don't like crumbs, don't throw food. It's very simple.

*Growls*

There's that sound again. I really don't like it. Muffet does though.

"You look concerned."

"Are you saying you don't hear the growling?"

She giggles.

"Oh, how rude of me! I almost forgot to introduce you to my pet~."

I'm puzzled. What kind of pet does a spider have?

"Oh, my pet~...Looks like it's time for dessert~."

I can hear rapid heavy skittering. Not good! Not good!

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet is so amused by your antics that she gives you a discount!]

"Tell you what...If you survive my pet, I just might consider sparing you."

"R-Really? That might actually be the f...Holy fucking shit!!"

*Roar*

An abomination appears. A hideous cupcake spider thing emerges from the webs.

"What the fuck is that thing?!"

"This is my pet. Have fun, you two~."

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a cupcake. I don't like this at all!

So many spiders speed by in an unchanging pattern of fear and with good reason. The freaky food beast climbs down and begins eating the strings, pulling my soul towards its hungry maw. This causes spiders that were already on their way to fall prey to this creature as I desperately do my best to not get hit or be dragged to what I assume is instant death. But I'm too panicked to be perfect in my dodging.

[HP ████ 4/40]

Six...I took six hits. I'm gonna die.

[Your soul can't take much more of this.]

No? Really?! Like I couldn't fucking tell!

"You're still alive? Ahuhuhu~...That's impressive~."

She calls her pet to her side.

"Got way too worked up...*gag* I think...*gag* I think I'm gonna puke. *hic*"

"...Please don't. Do you know how hard vomit is to clean out of webbing?"

I take a moment to settle down.

"*sigh* Don't lie...Spiders eat their webbing when it gets messed up."

She cringes.

"Yeah...I don't know everything about spiders. But I do know random gross stuff like that."

I shake off the impending dizziness.

"So...Are you going to spare me?"

She thinks for a moment.

"I will..."

Maybe there is a god?

"For the small fee of 500G~."

Nope. God's dead.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm fucking broke! "

I ain't telling her I have money.

"Then I guess we're going to be spending more quality time together, dearie~ I do hope you're feeling comfortable trapped in that web. Ahuhuhuhu~! Because I don't mind keeping you here for as long as it takes~!"

Damn it. I don't have time for this crap. Wait a second...Time? Heh...This gives me an idea.

"Say, Muffet...Who's watching your bake sale stand while you're here?"

She folds her upper arms.

"A loyal family member. Why do you ask?"

I chuckle softly.

"Oh, no reason. Just checking."

Her eyes cock.

"Checking?"

"Well, we've been here a long time. At least, you have because you got here before me. And we're far from your stand too. It would be a real shame if someone took your 'donations' while this fight was happening."

She sneers.

"Dearie, you're not going to fool me again with that trick. No one would dare steal from me."

I smirk.

"That's the thing...It's not YOU they'd stealing from now is it? It's some other weaker spider."

Her expression gains some worry.

"Even if that spider is loyal, can you honestly say it can defend the money if, let's say, a group stormed the table?"

Concern crosses her face and her pet nudges her as it picks up the vibes.

"Then...Then I'll kill you quickly and return before some fool even tries!"

I shake my head at her.

"Yeah, that would be a thing you could do. But...You can't."

"Wha...What do you mean I can't? You have four HP left! One more hit and your SOUL is mine!"

I put my hands in my pockets and rock on my heels.

"True. So very true. Yet...It's not your turn."

Her eyes widen, finally picking up on my little plan.

"Here's the thing...I've been in enough fights to understand how they work. It all functions on a turn-based system. It's a very fair means of doing combat. No one can attack at random, only when it's their turn. Heh...But the kicker is, and I think you know where I'm going with this...There's no time limit on turns. So if I want to...as long as I don't do anything...my turn will never end. And we'll be stuck here, locked like this...forever!"

Now it's her turn to feel panic.

"You're bluffing."

I grin.

"How much are you willing to bet on that? Because I wager your clan won't take losing all their hard-earned gold due to your negligence very well. They may think a new leader is needed if that happens."

I yawn and stretch to get cozy, showing I'm more than willing to stay put. She twitches with nervousness.

"So tell us, Muffet...What's it gonna be?"

Based on my understanding of Muffet, she's a greedy, stingy, intimidating, malicious, and somehow hypocritical monster, although having a courteous and sweet way of speaking. She won't stay. The odds don't favor her.

Her pet looks at her, the spiders turn to her, the pressure is almost visible as it smothers her. She balls her six fists and stomps her foot in a fit.

"Fine! I'll SPARE you!"

"For free?"

She grinds her teeth.

"Yes, for free! Just quit stalling and confirm it!"

[Muffet is sparing you and refuses your money.]

I can be super evil when I have the chance.

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

[YOU WON!]

[You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.]

The webbing around my soul dissolves. As does the stuff around my feet. My soul turns a dull orange and returns to my body.

"There, you're free. Now get lost!"

"I'm glad we could have such a fun time together, dear."

She snarls and hops onto her pet.

"Next time, you won't get away so easily."

"And maybe next time you'll be paying me for my amazing entertainment skills."

I think channeled Mettaton for a moment. She bites back some harsh unladylike remarks and rides off. I look at the spiders that block my way out.

"Move...please."

They're hesitant but do so.

"Thank you."

I take a few steps but stop near them, pulling out a small handful of gold.

"I don't know if what she said was true, but...here."

I put the gold on the ground and take my leave, pulling a bottle of cider from my inventory to heal.

"Consider it an addition to the amount I've already paid in the Ruins."

The spiders are confused but I hear them take the gold. I can be evil, yes. But it's not true to my nature. I drink the whole bottle as I enter a new, hopefully lacking in spiders, area.

[HP ████████████████████████████ 28/40]

Not bad. I'll fully heal up soon. This new area appears to have the same material as the Ruins. I'm getting homesick. I miss Toriel. I miss Flowey. I miss my bed. I want to go home.

My melancholy blinds me to my current surroundings. I only come out of it once a spotlight hits me.

"The hell...?"

Things look funny. No doubt it's a setup by Mettaton. But I'm unsure what this act is. I mean, it looks like a receptionist's waiting room. A desk and some random chairs.

"GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTS...!"

Mettaton zips in wearing a red suit and shoves me in a chair as he takes center stage.

"FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE HERE AT MTTTV WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE LACK OF ME OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM. DUE TO THE LACK PREP WORK WITH MY COSTAR HERE, WE SADLY HAD TO FORGO A THRILLING ACT BACK IN LEVEL TWO INVOLVING HUNDREDS OF EXPLOSIVES!!"

I so freaking called it. I should let him have his moment...Nah!

"I thought you said that act was shit anyway?"

He extends an arm to cover my mouth.

"FORGIVE HER. SHE'S LOST A LOT OF BLOOD AND NOT ALL THERE MENTALLY."

I leer at him flatly.

"BUT...DARLING HERE IS GOING TO MAKE AMENDS WITH US ALL RIGHT NOW. IT'S TIME TO ANSWER SOME BURNING QUESTIONS."

I'm so confused as he lets go and leaps onto the desk, posing dramatically.

"IT'S TIME FOR..."

A large neon sign shaped like him drops from the ceiling.

"BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL WITH A KILLER ROBOT! THE LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOSTED BY YOURS TRULY."

Huh. Not a bad title.

"I thought you were working on a courtroom trial program?"

He scoots to now sit behind the desk.

"UNFORTUNATELY, WHILE I DO HAVE THE FUNDS, I DON'T HAVE AVAILABLE WORKERS TO MAKE SUCH A SET. SO...WE'RE DOING THIS INSTEAD."

"Heh...Must be hard to meet your expectations."

"DARLING, YOU HAVE NO IDEA."

A tense dramatic score plays.

"SO, DARLING...ARE YOU READY TO TELL ME EVERYTHING?"

Ah. I see now. Fine, Metta, have it your way. Just be careful what you wish for. You may not like it. Now don't get me wrong. I know my limits. I'm not about to tell him EVERYTHING. I'm not that stupid. But if he wants truth, he's going to get a version that's missing some characters and other junk.

"As you wish. You wanna know the truth? You want to scar the entire Underground? Sure. Why not. What else do I have to lose at this point since you exposed me? So congratulations! I hope you like the prize you've been longing to get. Because I sure as hell don't."

Let the show commence.

#undertale #underfell #Lynsie #Anomaly #sans #papyrus #gaster #grillby #grandpa semi #mettaton #napstablook #toriel #Asriel #flowey #asgore #chara #frisk #undyne #alphys

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the-awkward-outlaw · 5 years ago

Note

“ I hate you. ”

Oof, this one made me sad! There’s a lot of angst in this one!

Masterlist on AO3!

Arthur’s been in a strange mood for the past few days. He’s hardly been in camp, which is nothing new. This man is constantly running around, doing jobs for people in camp and finding treasures, hunting and trading animals, meeting new people. What’s weird about his recent behavior is that the times he’s been in camp, he’s avoided you.

You and Arthur have been a couple for nearly a year and you’ve rarely fought. Arthur’s always been thoughtful and sweet, and he knows you better than anyone else. If he asked you to marry him, you’d say yes. A few days back, he’d been in camp and he’d just snipped at everything you seemed to do or say. It was almost like he wanted to start a fight. Worse was that he didn’t seem to want you close to him. You’ve never been an overly touchy person, but he’s the exception. That day, whenever you tried to hold his hand or touch his arm, he’d brush you off.

Then later that night, he went into your shared tent and found your journal, which you’d left there and forgotten. It was lying open on a page where you’d drawn his face and a small entry that had nothing to do with him. Arthur picked it up and flipped through the pages and found that on almost every single one, he was mentioned or you’d drawn him.

When you came in to go to sleep, he jumped on you. He accused you of being obsessive, even on the edge of being creepy. He said some pretty bad things along with those and you just stood there, not defending yourself. It was a habit of yours from your childhood as your parents constantly yelled at you and if you argued back, they’d get meaner. So you just let Arthur be mad and say those things. You wiped away a tear before he saw and left the tent to sleep elsewhere.

Were you creepy? Was your habit of focusing on Arthur unhealthy, even borderline stalker? You don’t know, you’ve never been in love before. Not like this anyways. He saved your life a few months before you started dating, there’s no doubt about that.

Your parents had died a long time ago and they left you in the care of your mother’s sister. She was more of a proper mother than yours ever was and she raised you properly, teaching you how to take care of yourself. She was your best friend too. But then she got sick and within days was dead. In your grief, you left her home and just wandered, searching for purpose. Sunk in your grief and depression, Hosea found you and brought you to his gang, but it was Arthur who helped you go through your grief. He was the one who took interest in you, who you told about your past, and it was he who helped you go through the motions of grief and he was always the one there to help you stand when you didn’t have the strength. There’s no doubt in your mind that without his help, you would have killed yourself. Arthur saved you.

You never saw your habits of drawing him or talking about him in your journal was unhealthy. Sure, you stuck to him more than the others, but he was your boyfriend, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? You’d thought your relationship was strong, healthy, but Arthur pointed out the obvious flaws that night. You still remember the way he threw your journal on the ground.

Over the past couple of days since the fight, Arthur’s hardly been around and he’s avoided you like the plague. You’ve come to a particularly painful decision; it’s time to end the relationship. Arthur clearly wants nothing to do with it, or you for that matter. He strolls in on his big horse and you call him over. You see him roll his eyes a bit and take in a deep breath, but he walks over.

“What is it?” he says in a cold voice, his hands on his gunbelt.

“We need to talk, Arthur. Alone.” You walk off into the trees, listening to him follow. When you’re near the river’s edge beneath Horseshoe Overlook, you stop and turn. Your chest is tight and there’s a big lump in your throat. You don’t talk for a while.

“You gonna say somethin’ or am I free to let my mind wander?” Arthur snaps after waiting a few moments.

You sigh again. “Sorry. I’m just… trying to decide how to do this.” You bite your lip and then speak up. “Arthur, I think it’s best we stop seeing each other.”

“Well that ain’t possible, the camp ain’t that big.”

“You know what I mean, Arthur. I clearly creep you out and I… I don’t want to be with you anymore,” you lie.

Arthur lowers his brow and looks at you hard. “Fine. That’s just fine.”

He stalks back up the hill before you have a chance to say anything further. You sink down on a rock and cry. Time passes and when you’re ready to rejoin camp, it’s well into the afternoon.

The next few days are particularly difficult. Arthur comes around camp more often now that you’re not dating, but whenever you’re in ear shot, you swear you hear him make some kind of snide remark. He doesn’t bother to hide the fact that you broke up, but he doesn’t go boasting about it either. At least he has the decency to do that. Whenever he goes to greet the girls and make sure they’re doing fine, he pointedly ignores you.

Four days of this go by and you’re not sure how much longer you can take it. You feel yourself sinking into that familiar pit that Arthur helped you climb out of.

One afternoon, you’re standing at Pearson’s wagon, making the last parts of tonight’s stew. Arthur walks past without throwing you a glance, but then Abigail walks up to him.

“How you doin’, Arthur? I hear you went and saw that Mary again.”

Arthur just chuckles and hides his eyes beneath his hat, a faint blush on his cheeks. “Yes, but I just helped her with a favor.”

“I always did like her,” Abigail says. You know she’d never say this in front of you, but she clearly hasn’t noticed you. “You two sweet on each other again? Sure it’d be a change for you.”

Arthur huffs a bit. “Nah, like I said, just helpin’ her with a favor.” He peaks over Abigail’s shoulder and spots you. “Was nice bein’ with a woman who at least pretended like I wasn’t the center of her world.”

You wince at the remark as it was clearly intended for you. Your eyes begin to tear up and you hear Abigail say something, but you don’t hear what she says over the roaring in your ears. “I hate you, Arthur Morgan,” you mutter under your breath.

Feeling hurt and betrayed, you slam down the corn you’d been stripping of its hair and stalk off over to the horses. Without looking back at him, you mount up on your horse and gallop out of camp. You hear someone calling your name, but you ignore it. You’re glad that you always keep your tent, bedroll, guns and extra clothes in your saddlebag. You’re leaving the Van der Linde gang and you’re not coming back. You can’t come back.

*********************************

Right after Arthur made the remark about Mary not being “obsessed” with him, he felt incredibly guilty, especially when he saw your face. How your entire face went red and your eyes grew shiny with moisture and your lip trembled. He knew he’d taken things too far, but then you got off on your horse and ran off. He’d called your name but you ignored him.

Arthur puts his hands on his hips and sighs. He’s really messed up now, he knows it. He shouldn’t have been so hard on you, but he was devastated when you’d broken things off with him. When you said you didn’t want to be with him anymore, it broke his heart but he wasn’t going to force you to do anything you didn’t want to do.

It was true, Arthur had found it strange and a little unsettling how he seemed to be your entire world. When he’d flipped through your journal, he hadn’t really bothered to read the passages. He’d just seen his name scribbled among them and seen your sketches of his face, his body. If he’d read it, he would have found them filled with emotion, gratitude and love. He’d gotten angry with you because he was worn out, exhausted from how much he’d been sent off on jobs. Then he’d gotten that damn letter from Mary and his mind went into a confusing whirlwind of emotions, with memories of both you and Mary tumbling around.

Arthur did love you more than Mary, but she had some kind of mysterious hold on him. She always had and he hated it, especially since she knew it and played him better than anyone else could. You never once accused him of being a horrible man, never asked him to change, never looked down on him. He felt better when he was around you, like he was worthy of gaining redemption for his bad choices. Mary only told him how she should have hung him years ago.

Arthur rubs his jaw, staring off into the trees where you’d run off. He’d heard you mutter that you hated him and he doesn’t blame you. He knows he’s taken things too far since you broke up and he has a feeling you didn’t do it because you wanted to, but because you were under the impression it was what he wanted. He also remembers the horrible things he’d said to you in the tent that night, how you’d just stood there. You must have believed those things, why else wouldn’t you try to contradict him?

Hosea walks up to him and claps a hand on his shoulder. “Son, think you got a little out of hand with her,” he says.

“No doubt,” Arthur says. “But maybe it’s for the best, Hosea. After all, she was a little…. Don’t you think she was a little too obsessed with me?”

Hosea gives him a curious look. “No, I don’t think that at all.”

“Well, you didn’t see her journal. I was on almost every page of that thing.”

Hosea smiles. “And how many pages of your journal does she occupy? I dare you to count them, Arthur. You might be surprised. There’s a fine line between being obsessed and being in love.”

Arthur just huffs and walks off to his tent. Hosea’s got him thinking: how much of his journal are you in? He pulls it out and flips through it. Sure enough, you’re mentioned or sketched on a large portion of the pages. In fact, most of them have you. Arthur’s heart sinks further and then he looks up at the table where he keeps a picture of you next to the photo of his mother. Lying next to it is your journal. You never picked it up after he threw it on the ground, too afraid to come back to the tent to collect it.

He grabs it and flips through it again. He takes the time to read the passages and most of the ones he’s mentioned is you stating the things he’s taken you to see or do, how grateful you are he helped you to live so you could experience life. He realizes your behavior is not obsession, but love and adoration.

When he gets to the last page in your journal that you wrote in, he comes to the conclusion that it’s a good thing you dumped him. After all, he’s not worthy of you.

***********************************

Two weeks have passed since you left camp. You’ve made no plans or intentions to ever go back, not when you know Arthur will be there. You’ve set up a small, make-shift camp in Big Valley, a place Arthur showed you months ago. It’s been one of your favorite places ever since and the sunrises and sunsets are out of this world. Game and wild herbs are plentiful, the stream provides more than enough water to support you. This is the perfect place. You’ll stay here for a long time.

Of the gang, you’ve heard nothing, to which you’re grateful. Most of them were your friends and you didn’t take the time to say good-bye. Arthur had hurt you so badly, you couldn’t stay any longer. You still think about him everyday. How could you not? You were intending to be with him your entire life, even if you never got married. You just wish things hadn’t ended so badly, all your memories of him are tainted by it. Sometimes, you wish you’d never fallen in love with him. It would make things easier.

It’s late afternoon and you’re out hunting. A large herd of pronghorns graze peacefully near a large dead tree on the banks of the shallow stream. You take down a buck easily, but you feel another pang that if it weren’t for Arthur, you’d be starving right about now. He was the one who taught you how to hunt and butcher. You skin the pronghorn and take as much meat as you can carry, then you go back to your little camp. When you get there, you’re forced to a stop. Someone’s in your camp.

You recognize Arthur’s form too easily and your heart begins to pound in your chest. What has he come here for? Has Dutch sent him to hunt you down and drag you back to camp? No, Dutch always said no one was forced to stay with the gang, it’s not a prison camp. Then is Arthur here to start another fight? Is he going to try and kill you? You don’t like to think he intends to, but the thought still crosses your mind.

You stand there and stare at his back for a long time. He’s sitting at the fire, clearly waiting for you. He must feel your presence because he finally turns around and looks at you. He sighs, looking a little relieved. He stands up and turns his body to face you.

“Hey sweetheart. Don’t be nervous, I ain’t here to hurt ya.” He puts his arms up as if he’s surrendering.

You’re in a defensive stance, your eyes don’t blink as they flit over his form. “What do you want, Arthur?” you say quietly.

“I just wanted to come and apologize. I’ve always been a fool, but lately I’ve been a complete ass.”

You breathe out hard, almost as though you’re skeptical. “Why would you apologize to me, Arthur? I’m your stalker, remember? I give you the creeps.”

He looks down. “I’m so sorry, darlin’. I should never have said those things. They aren’t true, never have been. I just… saw your journal, but didn’t bother to really look at it and I jumped to conclusions. Hosea gave me some hard truths and I’ve realized you ain’t ever been what I accused you of. You’re… you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He looks up again and his eyes are glittering. “Darlin’, I ain’t here to try and convince you to take me back. Hell, don’t! I don’t deserve ya. But I made ya feel like you weren’t welcome anymore and that’s not fair. I just wanted to let you know you still have a home with the gang. I won’t get in the way of that.”

You haven’t relaxed your stance. He sighs again. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry. I… I hope you’ll come home. Not for me, but for everyone else. They all miss you. Especially Mary-Beth and Jack. They’ve missed your funny stories.”

Arthur heads over to his horse and mounts up. Without another word, he rides off. When you’re sure he’s gone, you creep over to your camp. Nothing has been moved or taken, in fact you see a folded piece of paper on your bedroll. Opening it, you see a sketch of you. You recognize Arthur’s work. At the bottom of the page, you see in his loopy writing, the words “I love Y/N”. A ball forms in your throat again, but you’re not really sure how to respond from here.

*******************************

Two days later, you finally pack up your camp and head back to Horseshoe Overlook. When you return, you’re welcomed with open arms and happy smiles. Hosea pats your shoulder, stating it’s good to have you back. Pearson’s ecstatic when you give him all the pelts and meat you’ve collected during your trip. Jack runs over, asking if you saw any unicorns (your last story had been about a princess who met a unicorn in a forest).

The last person who comes to greet you is Arthur. When you both lock eyes, everyone turns away and goes back to their own tasks, knowing you both need your privacy. Arthur wears a small, shy smile and he walks over to you.

“I’m glad you came home, Y/N.” He shuffles his feet a little, wanting to say a thousand things to you. However, he doesn’t want to pressure you to take him back, knowing it’s not fair to you. “Well, let me know if you need anything.” He tips his hat and starts walking away.

Before he gets far, you grab his hand, spin him around to face you and bury your head into his chest. His chest clenches hard, but he folds his arms around you. He feels the moisture from your eyes seeping into his shirt, but he doesn’t care. He kisses the top of your head and squeezes you.

“I love ya,” he whispers in your ear.

You look up at him, your eyes red and puffy, fresh tracks running down your cheeks. “I love you, Arthur Morgan.”

#rdr2 fanfic #red dead fanfic #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x female reader #awkward asks

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goth-girlfriend · 4 years ago

Note

Heyy could I get a matchup please? I’m a pansexual non binary person excepting and loving to all, I have short black hair and I am 5’1. Tbh I’m more interested in the 1A boys but I do love all the pro hero’s and the villains too. I can be shy at first but once you get to know me I can be very chaotic and alt. I’m very open minded and understanding no matter what your situation is and I am very patient, I rarely get angry. I also do a lot of art from pairing to potter and photography, I love to try new things. I also love your work so much and I hope your doing well 💕

Thank you! 🥰 It means a lot! I hope your doing week in this time ☺️💙 sorry it took over a month 😅 but! I’ll make it up to you! And! The other four waiting....and the few in my inbox! Well! I hope you like it!

✨✨✨✨🤍✨✨✨✨🤍✨✨✨✨

✨Denki✨

Kaminari, you wouldn’t think five inches is enough for him to look down and bully you about your height. But...honestly? You couldn’t be mad at it considering it’s what made your friendship with the blonde bloom.

Then again, when you first met him you were kind of a wreck and didn’t have the guts to tell him, “I’m not an arm rest stop leaning on my shoulder.” Instead you let it be, fidgeting fingers and looking ahead until her smiled brightly at you, “SHORT FRIENDS ARE GREAT!” he looked down at you eyes closed, “I should keep you around more.”

Well, after that you were adopted by, THE BAKUSQUAD! Bakugo not really caring, but when Kirishima and Denki followed him around he always made sure to grab you and drag you with them, because “I WAS SCARED AND PANICKED! I DIDN’T WANNA BE ALONE!”

So, for the first and second week he treated you like a quiet kid, mostly starting conversation until you got into a comfortable groove, and he almost died seeing how you really turned out. YOU started to bully him, when he entered his short circuit, the jokes you made, but still, you took care of him making sure he didn’t get into trouble or hurt. At times you’d become a bit impulsive and your chaotic side came out.

“MOVE! IM GONNA DO IT!” You screamed “Y/n! NO! I LIKE YOU BETTER ALIVE!” He screamed. Silence, you moved your head, trying to pull back, but no luck, your eyes moved in panic looking at Denki, his own eyes wide before he started laughing. You tried to move your head regretting it instantly. Your right hand came up, forefinger and thumb pulling at your tongue that was now stuck to the pole you had made victim to your weird antics. “mm thuck.”

you have great goofy moments together, but the moment he hears Bakugo screaming and silence, and then he hears you screaming? Hah, no. All relations are canceled/expired/rejected/blocked/denied/gone. He likes being alive, and right now, you were a threat to his life, so “Oh, uh yeah I got a thing to do in the other ro-“ RUN

he’s more than great full to have you around, your patient with him when he just can’t do something but he’s determined to. Like the month he dragged you of the dorms every night, because “IM GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS HAUNTED HOUSE WITHOUT SCREAMING.” The haunted house opened the first of October, and ended on Halloween, it was terrible, at one point he passed out, another frothed at the mouth, his screams were priceless, he clung to you more than a few times crying about being scared. Decked a few jump scare people, and at least twice went into Pikachu self defense mode and electrocuted the groups of workers around the two of you at least twice. Honestly, you were surprised they let you both keep coming back. But the last day, he managed to only let out squeaks and squeeze your arm and hands but he did it. Thirty one long nights of walking the same halls, jump scares, and voids, mesmerizing the right way of the maze, you mad wit out fine, he was only slightly shook.

Art? Denki doesn’t get it, claimed he can’t draw to save his life and when you watched him try you believed him, BUT THE COMPLETE AND UTTER SHOCK WHEN YOU FOUND OUT HE WAS BASICALLY AN ART MAJOR WHEN HE SHORT CIRCUITED..... you started saving his drawings and sketches, and then you’d show him and he’d be impressed, but completely denies that he ever did it. “Nope, you got the wrong guy, you’ve seen me, I can’t draw a circle.” But he loves to watch you paint, and take photos, but don’t take him to wildlife sets with you. He will get hired of waiting for birds and throw himself on the grass and start sighing loudly and rolling around, “Nothings coming y/n!” “MAYBE IF YOU SHUT UP THE BIRDS WOULDNT FLY AWAY LIKE ITS THE END OF THE WORLD!” Silence, you can definitely feel him staring you, “Well that’s just rude.... you scared off the only bird that was actually here.” Pottery? He watched you, and he wanted to try, the first time he ended up slinging clay everywhere, second he can’t keep his hands still enough, the third time you took pity and ended up like the cheesiest movie scene, but, you were behind him guiding his hands, he became a flustered mess and crushed the almost pot when you spoke to him and he felt your breath on his shoulder. He was blushing and flustered and then started apologizing for ruining the pot... in the end you both together did make a lopsided pot, it now sits in your room, home to your shared black prince succulent. When you brought it home he made anyone who would listen come see his first pot and new child.

⚡️✨✨⚡️⚡️✨⚡️⚡️⚡️✨⚡️⚡️✨✨⚡️

“Y/n?” You heard knocking and groaned getting up off your bed to open your door.

“I brought someone else to meet prince...” the look you gave him was one of ‘Are you sERIOUS?’

You closed your door a bit to look at the digital clock that was hanging just above your desk, 1:37 in the morning...

“It couldn’t wait till sun up?” You asked eyes kinda squinty as the hall light started to flood into your room now that you opened the door wider to let whoever in.

“It’s important everyone knows my new son!” He stepped in and you moved and plopped onto your desk chair.

“Alright, but be careful, you bruised one of his petals last time.” You stretched and looked at your abandoned school work, you looked at it reading the question you had struggled on, and by some miracle, being half groggy and half awake, you read it and the answer came to you. You started to write it down before you forgot. And you were so proud of yourself, until you heard the feminine voice.

“Kaminari, you’re an idiot.” And then a slightly muffled laugh.

You didn’t have a problem with Jiro, in fact you liked her as a friend, she was nice, had good taste in music, bullied Denki with you sometimes, friendly and you’ve never seen her angry or get snobbish with anyone. She was laid back and cool.

But, one thing you didn’t like, was the fact she was slowly becoming the center of Denki’s flirting. Jealous? Nahh....well....no.... maybe a little? Nope, nah that’s not it.......okay yeah.

“Y/n Chan! Jiro is bullying me.” He came and shook you by your shoulders pulling you from staring at your school work.

You turned your head to look up at him. “What?” You asked.

“She called me an idiot.” He pouted and closed his eyes.

You laughed and dropped a hand onto his head, after he kneeled to plead you defend him, “Oh Denki, if you want me to disagree it’s gonna be a long night.”

He pouted at your words but sighed in defeat, until the next words came, “So (y/n), if Denki’s son is in your room does that make you the mother of his son?”

You looked at Jiro a faint blush tinting your cheeks as you registered what she said. You gave a few quiet laughs but before you could say anything Denki became a stuttering flustered mess. Catching both of you and pulling you both out of the conversation that almost started.

“Well! (Y/n)! Well go! A Princess does need her beauty sleep!” He winked at you as he left in a hurry, Jiro just quirked a brow before she told you good night and you returned it as she left. You yawned and got back into bed, before your phone buzzed and you cursed, but the blush on your cheeks wirsned at the flirty text you’d gotten from Denki, you’d think you’d gotten used to it already, but maybe the feelings you thought you’d pushed away never really left the surface.

‘Good night princess 😉 Don’t forget to dream about me 💛’

Cringe yes, but that’s literally the best flirting line he has. Apparently getting comfortable with Denki meant he was comfortable flirting with you 24/7, no hesitation. And you enjoyed the attention and flirted back with him, but things kinda changed when Jiro started to give him attention too.

******

“Mornin’ babe,” you yawned at Denki’s greeting and gave a wave and small smile as you walked to a table and plopped down. You didn’t get much sleep, you finished your homework so now you had the weekend free, but what were you going to do? You stared at the empty table in front of you thinking about nothing, head empty, until Mina came and sat across from you, “So babe huh? Is it official!” She whisper screamed.

“Pfft, just about as official as me being All Might.” You had a small smile, small but genuine. “Boooooooo.” She pouted, “I have my own theories but I really want to tell you this one, soooo! Bakusquad girls day! But... just you and I. Get ready let’s go!”

So, after deciding you’d buy something to eat instead of cooking you got ready and then both you and Mina set off to talk theories and what’s really going on in her head. “So, I think he wants something serious but since you guys joke so much I think he thinks he’s in the friend zone and don’t even deny it I know you like him, I’ve seen the way you smile at all his stupid jokes even I don’t laugh at all of them and I try to be nice. Plus the way you loook a Jiro is enough to show your jealous but he doesn’t see that, I’m pretty sure he thinks you just don’t like her humor or something, but from what I’ve seen your good friends with her when Denki isn’t around so that lets me believe your jealous of his attention going to someone else. Soooo, what do you say? What do you think? And I think he’s trying with Jiro because you guys kinda have similar personalities and hair cuts? Well not really but you know? When your in love you call broccoli Midoriya and a grenade Bakugo but that’s a different story, so? What do you think?” You just stared at her, the takoyaki had with your toothpick just to far from your lips as you wondered if she was right. A shot smile pulled at your lips as you looked down and closed your eyes to let out a sigh, “Well, I won’t say your wrong, I’ve done lot of things but being in denial has never been one of them. I’m not going to confess or anything but I do have one question.” You looked at Mina through the corner of your eyes while your face was still pointed to the ground. “Yes!” She cheered and nodded looking at you with a big smile, “If this is about a plan I’ve got it all figured out so don’t worry!”

You shook your head and faced her completely, “Nope! Keep the plan well use it later but, if I do something about this Denki thing you have to so something about tape boy.” Mina became flustered at your words but nodded, “well, your first lady she smacked you back causing you to slightly choke on the Takoyaki you’d finally started to eat, after catching your breath and wondering around for a bit you both talked it out and it’s go time.

****

The next morning you started the plan (titled by Mina) “Seducing Pikachu” Taking a deep breath you readied yourself to take your flirting next level, he called you babe you had to call him daddy, he gave you a hug you pulled his face down to peck his cheek, he draped an arm over your shoulders you had snuggle closer and hug his waist, he tried to tease you by taking your hand you can’t pull away, in stead you interlock fingers and squeeze, if he leaned into your ear to whisper something you can’t push him away. And we’re you ready? No, in fact you felt queasy, and like you had to bathroom, but with a shove from Mina you entered the kitchen and like usual “Good morning babe!” And the usual flirty wink, but this time instead of getting flustered or yawing you locked eye contact and with everything you had, “Mornin Daddy.” You smiled at him and walked to the fridge to try and occupy yourself. In the background you heard Mineta screaming about the name daddy. You looked at Denki with the same smile after grabbing a juice and he was flustered, red cheeks and it looked like his hair had fluffed up a bit. It’s working! You waved at him and walked to the common room and sat down on one edge and looked at the tv, it was playing some show about volleyball. Jiro came and sat across from you on the other sofa joining you and a few others in watching this show, right now, the only empty seats are the spot next to you on the love seat, or the two seats beside Jiro. He sat by you and was strangely quiet, oh gave him a smile when he turned to look a you, he smiled and looked at the tv, after an hour or two your hands began fiddling with the juice in your lap and you felt a tug at your hand, you felt Denki place his hand on yours usually you’d pull away and punch his shoulder, but this time. You didn’t take your eyes of the tv when your intertwined your fingers and squeezed his hand. You brought your other hand and squeezed his hand between both of yours and snuggled closer to his side and laid your head against his shoulder, he tensed a bit then relaxed quickly. He laid his head on yours and you eyed Mina real quick, you gave you a thumbs up and you motioned to Sero with your eyes and she stopped and pouted. After another hour you started to get up and pull away from Denki. You felt a hand pull at yours and you looked at Denki, “Where are you going?” You titled your head, “Gonna go buy lunch maybe.” He looked up at you still holding your hand, “Don’t leave me.” He said, “Come with me then.” You gave his arm a tug and without second thought he jumped up outside you were cool, but inside, you were going ballistic, inside you were nothing like usual, you were honestly so surprised that this plan was working, with your attention he didn’t even pay attention to Jiro,,,, were you really jealous?

Getting to a ramen place you both sat down and filled our sheets with your orders, casually sitting in silence your phone dinged, “So.... did he confess? Or do women really have to do all the work, 🙄, Sero didn’t understand what I meant until I- never mind, how’s it going?”

You smiled at the message and shook your head.

Denki being curious why you were smiling tried to peek, “Mina is trying to confess to Sero and she says he’s an idiot.” You smiled and turned to Denki explaining before he could see.

“Yeah, I didn’t wanna say anything sometimes Sero isn’t the smartest.”

You felt a smile pulling at your lips, “Yeah, I know someone else who is just the same.” You propped your elbows on the table and placed your chin on your palms. He did the same and pushed his cheeks so they looked chubby against his palms.

“Kaminari,” you called his name in a chirpy tune with a smile, he closed his eyes and smiled before he said your name in the same way.

****

“How good are you at noticing small things?” I asked and tilted my head. “Hmmm, did you grow out your hair?” His head tilted, and he smiled.

“No? It’s been this short for a while.” I dropped my arms flat against the table palms up, “try again.”

“Yooouuuu,,,, are wearing contacts?” He asked. “I’m not blind.”

“Yoouuuuu.....are trying a different Boba?” “No... well yes, but not what I’m talking about......try one more time and I’ll give you a hint if you can’t guess.”

He nodded and squinted at me looking like he was concentrating hard.

“I know!” He took my hands in his and squeezed them, I felt my heart start to race, “You’re fingers are cold, the tips are turning reddish.”

I smiled and looked away and licked my top lip trying to not laugh, “That wasn’t it but a good guess.”

“Then what is it?” He asked pouting.

“Close your eyes.” I said and waved a hand, he nodded and then closed them, I placed my finger tips on the left side of his jaw and tried to pull him closer, after getting him halfway across the table I leaned forward and lightly pressed my lips against his cheek.

I pulled away, and moved my hand away from his jaw.

“I...so think you should try again, I didn’t get the hint.” He looked away with a bush slowly becoming prominent on his cheek.

I smiled and shook my head, silence fell over us as I shifted around, “Another hint huh?”

“Maybe just one... or two... or a few....” he still didn’t look at me hands now fiddling together.

“You know, for a flirt you sure do get nervous when someone actually makes a move on you.”

“Heh, yeah.” He was smiling but not looking at me, “Sooo, when?”

“Do you remember the day, you got sick and made me baby you for a whole week? It was that Thursday, you feel asleep on my chest, and I held you and had to pull the blanket off, I realized then, how much I cared about you, and how much I’m willing to do to make sure you’re okay. I realized how much I love your terrible jokes and cheesy pick up lines, your warm hugs and the face times late into the night, and the movie nights passing out at three in the morning and rushing to class when we woke up late. Holing your hand when you were scared, and bullying Bakugo, honestly, I wouldn’t wanna die at the hands of Bakugo with anyone else. I’m not saying I love you or anything, but if this is what falling for someone feels like...I don’t not like it, especially when it’s you.” I looked out the window we sat by and could feel his stare, I looked at him through the corner of my eye.

“I wouldn’t want to be murdered with anyone else.” He held his hand out and I tilted my head to look at him, I took placed my hand on his and he smiled, before he shifted his fingers and closed them around mine. I smiled and closed my fingers squeezing his hand.

“So? Are you going to ask?” He said.

I felt my brows furrow, “Ask?”

“Ask me to be your boyfriend.” His smile widened.

“You’re supposed to ask me!” I scolded and shook our hands.

He tucked his head between his shoulders, “okay okay, fine.... now you’re going to wait because you yelled at me.”

***

“Y/n!” I turned to look for the person who called my name, “yeah?” I asked and pulled my blanket tighter, the Christmas season was here and I was freezing on the sofa.

“Come look! The snows falling again! And the it’s pretty on the blossoms that are still around.”

“Fine.” I grumbled and stood up, I walked to the second floor windows and looked out. Sero, Denki, Kirishima and Bakugo were all outside, I could hear Katsuki screaming at them while the ran around dropping things on the floor.

They all stopped and moved away as Bakugo screamed at them and took off his gloves, it looked like he was grumbling something until Denki slung an arm I’ve this shoulders, Bakugo brought up his hand causing sparks and Denki to smile nervously before patting his shoulder and moving his arm off.

Mina tapped on the window and they looked at us, we waved when three of the four waved. Denki turned to Bakugo and with a simple blast a chain reaction started and lit up a circle, inside the circle were the words made in very sparse but still pretty blossoms, “will u be mine?” Your phone began to ring and you answered it.

“So, after two months of non official dating, will you be mine?”

You smiled, “Yes, Kaminari, yes.” You swallowed and over the phone you heard cheering and watched to em high five minus Bakugo who was pulling his gloves back on. That night, you spent under the blue keys you two piled high, his head on your chest, and you kissed his head running your fingers through his hair, “I love listening to your heart, it’s pretty, like you.” Your take his face in your hands and kiss his lips or forehead, and eventually would change spots, still cuddling to keep the warmth and love between you while the rest of the world was slipping into sleep or madness.

✨🤍🖤🤍🤍💙🤍🤍🖤🤍✨

I hope you have a good day, and remember to stay hydrated 💙

#buko no hero academia #my hero academia #mha denki kaminari #mha denki #bnha denki kaminari #bnha denki #bnha matchup #mha matchup #bnha ask blog #mha ask blog #bnha ask #mha ask #bnha blog #mha blog #bnha #mha #bnha kaminari #mha kaminari

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nothingeverlost · 5 years ago

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Fic: A Room for Ruby (Baby Steps verse)

Belle can’t keep sharing a room at the B&B with Ruby; they need a real home.

Baby Steps - When Belle’s foster mom Granny dies she’s left with the diner, the B&B, and custody of Granny’s infant granddaughter. The B&B comes with long term resident Trevelyan Gold.

________________________________________

Belle frowned at the flyers she’d picked up from the realtor’s office. There weren’t very many options in the pile she’d made of ‘maybes’ while the trash can was full of ‘noes.’ Two of the houses were too far from Main Street and the two businesses she needed to run. Half of the houses were outside of the budget she’d carefully worked up. Three didn’t have any yards and Ruby needed a place she could run and play. Maybe in a year or two they’d get a dog; Ruby would love that. She begged to pet every puppy they saw on their walks.

“M’belle.” Belle didn’t realize how long she’d been focusing on the fliers until Ruby tugged on her skirt, demanding to be picked up. She grimaced when she looked at her watch, and then over at Trevelyan leaning on his cane. She was supposed to pick up Ruby almost twenty minutes ago.

“I’m so sorry.” She’d only meant to flip through the ads for a minute, curious about what was available in town.

“Cookie?” Ruby asked pointing to the partially eaten cookie Belle had snagged towards the end of the lunch rush when she’d felt drained.

“Just a little bit.” Belle broke off a piece and handed it to her, glad that it at least had oatmeal in it. A little nutrition was better than none at all. “Can I get you anything, Trevelyan? Some tea and a cookie?”

“Thank you, no,” he said curtly. She’d heard him speak like that to others, but never to her. He was sometimes gruff but never cold to her.

“I am sorry. I got distracted, but that’s not an excuse.” She pulled her ‘maybe’ flyers into a pile, folding them in half. “Did Ruby sleep alright?”

“She was fine.” He pursed his lips together and tapped his cane on the ground. She half expected him to leave without another word. It surprised her when he gestured at her papers. “I didn’t realize you were moving.”

“Ruby turns two in a couple of weeks, and I don’t think we can keep sharing a room. She needs more space for her toys and I’d like a yard for her to play in once the weather gets warmer. It’s hard to find something close enough to the diner that doesn’t break the budget, though.” It would be nice to have a three-bedroom place so she could have an office; she’d been using her bed as a desk most of the time, which made organization difficult.

“You’re staying in Storybrooke?” He seemed surprised. Shocked, even.

“What? Of course we are. Storybrooke is home.” Even if she didn’t have the diner and the B&B to run it was still the only place Ruby had lived and the place where Granny’s spirit still lingered. Ruby needed stories of her Granny, and Belle needed to feel the presence of the only mother she’d had since she was ten as she tried her best to be a parent. And then, of course, there was a certain Trevelyan Gold whose almost daily presence in her life was a factor as well.

“You were living in Chicago until last year.” He had both hands on his cane, as if needing to support himself more than usual, but his back was ramrod stiff.

“And I loved it as a single woman working way too many hours at a museum, using my free time to explore, but it would never work now that I have Ruby.” She barely thought about Chicago these days, though she had often the first months she’d moved back. It had been her home for college and three years after. Maybe it still would be, if Granny was alive. Or maybe it wouldn’t. “Besides, I realized when I came back how much I missed this place.”

“Did you live here long?” He had never asked her much about her past. She had volunteered the occasional story and he’d always listened but never pushed. He shared very little of his own past; hell, it had taken a year to learn his first name.

“We moved here when I was ten; I think my dad was running away from Australia and memories of my mom. He never did get over losing her, and died a few months after we arrived here.” His death was officially listed as pneumonia, but she knew it was a broken heart and a lack of interest in living. He hadn’t taken care of himself and had given up so easily when he’d gotten sick. “Granny took me in just after my eleventh birthday. It was supposed to be a temporary placement but I didn’t leave until I was seventeen and going away to college.”

“I assumed that you were a relative. She looks like you.” The cookie gone, Ruby used a red pen to draw on the papers in front of her. Belle touched one of her wispy curls.

“People always assumed we were sisters, Anita and I. Granny’s daughter. She was rarely interested unless it got her something like attention from a boy or a free ice cream cone. She was only around the first year before she left; we didn’t see her much after that. It was mostly just me and Granny.” She’d been in awe of Anita until she was in high school and saw how her sudden appearances and fast departures hurt Granny. She’d been in Chicago for almost six years when Granny had called Belle to stay she’d shown up with a baby. Two weeks later Anita was gone again, leaving her daughter behind. “Biology doesn’t make a parent, though, and Granny made sure that the legal side of things was clear. I’m her guardian.”

“I believe I know a place for rent that might suit you. Are you able to leave the diner now?” The abrupt change in conversation confused her for a moment, especially when she was half caught up in memories.

“We are. We’ve already taken up more of your time than usual, though.” She’d never gotten him to agree to compensation for babysitting Ruby, but she’d cut his rent in half and tried to feed him breakfast at least a couple of times a week. It wasn’t fair to take more of his time.

“I don’t have any specific plans today. You can drive, I’ll give you directions.” Though he sometimes took Ruby for a walk he didn’t drive her and didn’t have a car seat. It wasn’t the first time they’d driven someplace in her car, though it didn’t happen often. This time he guided her to an address a little over half a mile from the diner; in good weather she could walk.

“I can’t possibly afford this place,” she said when he directed her to park in front of a pink historic home.

“It’s been empty for some time, I’m sure they’d be willing to work a deal.” He paused at a flowerbed to remove a fake rock holding a key, and let them in. Ruby demanded to be let down and ran through the empty room towards the back of the house; when Belle caught up with her she found herself in a kitchen almost as big as the diner’s but three times as charming. The large window over the sink looked out on a garden, the yard was fenced in and in a few months would be filled with flowers.

“This place is amazing.” She was in love before she’d seen half the house; there was a library with the shelves mostly filled that would be far better than any office she could have imagined. She picked Ruby up to head up the stairs, and found four bedrooms; the largest had a fireplace and a view of the backyard. Ruby ran into the bedroom across the hall and found a handful of toys. She was kicking a ball across the room when Gold came slowly up the stairs. “Someone has taken care of this home; are you sure they’re looking to rent it out?”

“To the right person. It’s a home that needs someone who would appreciate it.” He ran his hand over the doorframe; when Belle looked closer she could see faint marks there. A step closer and she could make out ages written with care next to the marks; a child’s growth chart.

“This is your home.” The realization hit her all at once; he’d been established at the B&B well before she’d arrived, so it hadn’t occurred to her that he might have a house in town. And not just a house, but a home that had been lived in. And a child, it seemed.

“It was.” The ball Ruby had been playing with rolled across the floor and hit him in the leg. Ruby squealed in delight when he kicked it back at her. “It needs a family.”

“Where…” Belle stopped herself; she didn’t want to push. He’d already offered more about himself in a few words than she’d learned in a year.

“My son is in New York, going to school. My ex-wife is sailing somewhere exotic and hopefully filled with warring tribes armed with pointy spears.” He shrugged away his comment as if it was a joke, but she could see the real pain there. Belle did not like this faceless ex-wife that had hurt her friend.

“What’s his name?” When she glanced at the bookshelves there was an eclectic mix of comic books, pulp fiction novels, studies of Renaissance painters, and art theory books. The decorations around the room were just as varied; model planes and movie posters and sketches taped to the walls. It was clearly a room where a child had grown into adulthood.

“Bae. He’ll be twenty in a few months.” He smiled wistfully. “He’s leaving for Italy soon for a semester abroad.”

“You have a lot of memories here.” She let herself finger one of the marks in the doorframe; Bae was taller than his dad if the lines were any indication. He’d passed her up when he was barely a teenager.

“I considered setting the whole place on fire a few years ago. Moving out seemed the more prudent option.” He looked over his shoulder at the doorway to the master bedroom, scowling. “My boy is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t need a place to remember him. The rest of it I would gladly forget. Besides, Ruby needs her own room. You both need a home and I happen to have one standing empty.”

“You have to let me pay a fair price.” She’d be able to rent out an extra room if she and Ruby moved out of the B&B. They might be able to swing it. Ruby could have one of the other bedrooms, though. She’d leave this one alone. Belle felt like dancing, she was so excited at the idea that it might actually work out. “You’re my fairy godmother, Trev. What would Ruby and I do without you?”`

“Nonsense.” He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s a simple business transaction that is mutually beneficial.”

“Ruby, sweetheart, we have a fairy godmother.” She picked her charge up, complete with the old stuffed dog she’d apparently found in the room, and swung her in a circle. “What do you think about that?”

“Fairy!” Ruby laughed in delight. When Belle stopped spinning she demanded “again!”

She swung Ruby around three more times before sitting her down and watching her stagger around the room, singing about fairies to her new stuffed friend. When she turned she found Gold watching the little girl with a whistful smile. It made her brave enough to approach him and offer a tentative hug. “I don’t know how we can ever thank you.”

To her surprise he hugged her back.

#rumbelle fic #my fic #verse: baby steps #ruby lucas #belle french #mr. Gold #Trevelyan gold #thecompletebookworm

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seelaa26 · 4 years ago

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4. Echo

“Anybody out there? ‘Cause I don’t hear a sound. I’m out on the edge and I’m screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs but it’s never enough ‘cause my echo is the only voice coming back”

-¿Why don’t you just get over it?

-Because you cheated –Warrick answered while he was driving.

-No, I did not –I laughed at the accusation- I told you, I’m good at playing pool.

-I’ve never met a woman who is good at billiards.

-¿Since when do you have a master’s degree at the macho university? –I exclaimed surprised by his comment- That doesn’t sound like you at all.

-It is not macho, it is statistical –he looked at me from the corner of his eye and smiled. I knew he was provoking me on purpose- ¿How many female billiards champions do you know?

-Oh my god, I’m so jumping off the car right now.

-No need to –he parked the car- We’re here.

We got out of the car and opened the trunk to get the field kits. I already had my own kit, since after I’ve been with them for a while, Grissom said that it was time for me to go from observation to practice, obviously with supervision. Apparently, this case wasn’t very complicated; two girls had run over a boy.

-First of all, ¿do you remember the rule of the Seven S’s? –Warrick asked me.

-The first two are in charge of the police; Secure the scene and Separate the witnesses –I looked at the cordoned area and remember the other five- Scan the scene, Seeing the scene, Sketch the scene, Search for evidence and Secure the collected evidence.

The first marker I put was on a bag full of beer cans that I had found on the sidewalk. The next evidence I found was a broken tail light, and after taking the evidence pictures, I bagged it. Warrick was crouched down watching the victim’s torso when he called me.

-¿You see it? –he asked me pointing at the boy.

-Two distinct tire treads; one wide and one narrow.

-Given the extensive bruising from the wide trade mark, victim was killed by a larger vehicle, not that compact –he explained- The two girls ran over a corpse.

After collecting the evidence found at the crime scene, I sealed them by writing my initials and the date on each evidence container. The chain of custody is the documentation and preservation of the evidence. If the chain of custody is broken, that means that all the evidence collected it inadmissible in court. Sloppy chain of custody work can mean failing to serve justice and letting a criminal walk free.

While we collected the evidence at the scene, they took the body to the coroner and performed the autopsy so when we got back to the Lab, Warrick checked in the evidence while I went to the morgue with Sara and Grissom.

-Printed your hit-and-run and AFIS found a match –Dr. Albert Robbins explained- Brian Clemonds, 22, born in Vegas and he’s deaf.

-¿You can tell he’s deaf by his fingerprints? –I asked surprised.

-Actually, yes. He was printed as part of a state aid program but to confirm I examined his ear canal. Normally, the malleus is shaped like a hammer; a long, smooth handle connecting to a blunt head, but Brian’s malleus is knotted, both of them, birth defect.

-There’s a college for the deaf about a mile from where we found him –Grissom added as a possible connection.

-So, Brian takes a walk, crosses the street, doesn’t hear the car, gets creamed.

-The vehicle, probably a truck or an SUV, based on the width of the tire tread , takes off. Later, along comes a compact-thump and runs over a dead body –Sara ends the explanation of what happened.

-Maybe, maybe not –Dr. Robbins lifted up the sheet and showed us the vic’s right hand- ¿See the dried blood on his knuckles? No associated wounding. Blood’s probably not his.

-The kid was in a fight.

***

Accompanied by an officer, Grissom and I headed to the house where the victim’s mother lives. No one had notified her yet, so we had that task left for us. Grissom, who was behind the wheel, parked and before getting out of the car he looked at me.

-¿Have you already notified someone in any case?

-No, I haven’t –I denied with my head- I have offered my condolences before, but not as a CSI.

-There’s a study that says that 72% of people who have lost a loved one, can perfectly remember the face of the person who gave them the news –Grissom said to me- That means that for many people, you are the living image of the worst day of their lives.

-¿How do you do it..? –I asked a little bit affected by what he said- ¿How do you face that you are one of the worst memories?

-By finding out the truth and hope it will bring them justice and peace.

Grissom took the initiative to get out of the car and I followed him. On our way to the front door of the house, I thought about what he had told me and realized that he was very wise and the right person to look at if I wanted to learn.

-¿Mrs. Clemonds? –Grissom asked as he held up his ID for her to look at- My name is Gil Grissom, this is Laura Serrano. We are with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. ¿May we come in for a minute?

She stepped aside and we walked into the house. As we stepped inside we looked around. I noticed a bell near the floorboards, and she noticed.

-My son is deaf –she explained- The bell is connected to the doorbell.

-The bell sets off vibrations which reverberate on the floorboards so that he knows someone’s at the door –Grissom added the information, which it was very curious- Mrs. Clemonds, we are here about your son Brian. There’s no easy way to say this.

-Oh, god, please no –she started to cry.

-Brian was killed tonight.

-No, no, no –she slowly sat down on the couch, crying- This is my fault. When I was pregnant, I had the German measles and the virus took away his hearing.

-No, Mrs. Clemonds.. We think he might have been murdered.

-¿Murdered? –she shook her head.

-¿Would you like to talk to a Family Service Counselor?

-Talking is overrated, Mr. Grissom –she laughed weakly- Just find out who did this to my boy, please.

***

Sometimes it happened that a crime was reported when the graveyard shift was about to end and it is difficult to leave a case halfway so that’s why we also work day hours, and that’s what happened with this case. Turns out that the victim attended the college for the deaf that Grissom mentioned during the autopsy. Sara and I were the ones in charge of talking with the headmistress. Dr. Gilbert was her name, and we thought we’d need to use an interpreter but neither of us had much experience in this area so we didn’t fare very well.

-Dr. Gilbert.. –Sara said loudly and she turned around to look at the interpreter who stood behind us- We need your help. Brian Clemonds was murdered.

-¿Was he having any difficulties? –I asked the same way Sara was doing it.

-¿Anyone have a grudge against him? –Sara asked again- We understand you don’t want a homicide investigation upsetting your students.

-I’m severely deaf and I can communicate fine -Dr. Gilbert watched us and shook her head- I’d appreciate it if you’d look at me when you speak to me. I wear a hearing aid and I can read lips. You could have asked if I needed an interpreter.

-I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to offend you –Sara spoke for both of us- We’re just following protocol.. we need to speak with Brian’s friends and we’ll also need access to his records.

-The crime didn’t happen here, it happened out there.

-We are not accusing anybody of anything –I added.

-Neither am I, but there are more of you, ¿right? –she shook her head in a mad way- Send someone else, someone with more understanding of this school and my students.

-Dr. Gilbert, we are here now and evidence is time-sensitive.

-¿How can you solve a crime without understanding the victim? –In a frustrated way, she signed to the interpreter, so we turned back to look at her.

-Um.. She’s kicking us out.

We both left the office and when we arrived at the parking lot, we saw Grissom getting out of his car.

-¿How’d it go?

-They’re not cooperating –I explained- She kicked us out.

-¿What did you do? –he asked worried.

-¿What did we do? Met the headmistress and asked a few questions –Sara answered indignantly- She was kind of hostile, like it’s our fault we can hear.

-All right, let’s go –Grissom made his way across the campus and walked into the office- ¿Dr. Gilbert? I’m Gil Grissom, with the Crime Lab. You kicked my people out of your office.

-Well, I’m kicking you out too –she stood up and indicated the door.

-Look, your student is dead. ¿Don’t you want to know who is responsible? I do.

Grissom stopped her and signed as he spoke. Sara and I turned to look each other, surprised to learn this new aspect of Grissom.

-Your people can’t solve this crime.

-¿Why? ¿’Cause they don’t understand the victim? Help them understand.

-When a deaf person meets a hearing person the hearing person so much as says “I’m normal, you’re not”.

-¿Is that what you think I’m saying? –he kept speaking as he signed- A student is dead and maybe you feel responsible. Maybe you’re angry, but don’t be angry with us. We want to help you.

-¿If I agree to cooperate you will include me in your investigation?

-Yes, I will –he nodded- I welcome your involvement. Now, ¿may I see Brian Clemond’s file, please?

***

Apparently, Brian filed six complaints against his roommate, Paul Arrington. Paul lost his hearing less than a year ago and he hasn’t adjusted, so he’s angry. Paul didn’t read lips or sign, but we needed to communicate with him anyway so Grissom had an idea. Back at the Police Department, all of us working on the case were waiting for Paul to come.

-So, ¿you going to tell us how you learned to sign? –Sara asked.

-No.

-Well, the president of the college is a real whack job.

-Sara, you see deafness as a pathology –he explained- For Dr. Gilbert, her deafness is not her handicap, it’s her way of life.

-You know, I think you might be siding with her.

-As long as you see this as us versus them, you’re going to have problems on this case.

Luckily, before Sara could respond, Dr. Gilbert and Paul Arrington were walking down the hallway toward us. Grissom went to meet them, and since he was going to be present in the room while they were doing the test, the rest of us were going to be in the observation room.

-¿What was all that about? –Sara closed the door behind us- Grissom signs.

-¿Do you know what Grissom drinks when he goes out at night? –Warrick asked.

-¿He goes out?

-Exactly, ¿who knows anything about that guy? –he nodded as he indicated to look at Grissom, who was putting a head band on Paul’s head- Hey, check that out.

-Oh, I’ve read about this machine, brain printing, they call it a visual polygraph –I said interested in the subject- Very Frankenstein.

-A couple of years ago Grissom and I used one to interview this rapist –Warrick explained- The guy was mute but his brain waves spoke loud and clear.

-So, you show the suspect slides of the crime scene and if he’s our guy then the oscillator will give him away.

Paul didn’t recollect Brian’s murder, in fact, the pictures of the crime scene were upsetting him so we ruled him out of his roommate’s murder.

***

Once we were in a dead end and we had run out of suspects, what we had to do was review all the evidence collected and If we had already done it, we would review it again. Sara, Warrick and I met on the Layout Room to go over everything again. Sara was running the tire treads from the body through the database looking for a match while Warrick and I checked the victim’s clothes.

-¿Any hits? –Warrick asked Sara about the tire treads.

-Not yet, the database contains 11.033 patterns –she exhaled at the number- Could take a while.

With a magnifying glass, Warrick examined the pants and I examined the sweater. It didn’t take long for me to see that there were some little bugs in the sweater. I could get an idea of what they were, but I wasn’t sure.

-Whoa.. ¿what are these?

-They look like lice –Warrick said when he checked it- ¿Wasn’t our dead guy clean?

-Yes, he was –Sara answered while tucking her hair- Lice adhere to hair follicles. I didn’t find any stray hairs on him.

-¿He was in a fight, right? –I looked for an explanation- Maybe his attacker had lice and they crawled off on his sweater.

Grissom walked by the doorway and when he saw us inside, he stopped.

-¿Any luck on the tire treads?

-Computer’s still processing but Laura found something pretty interesting.

-¿You know anything about lice? –I asked him.

-Yeah –Grissom stepped into the Layout Room- They make our head itch. And, after head colds, the most common medical problem affecting children.

-Hey, Grissom, ¿can I see you a second? –Greg rushed into the room and when he saw Sara, Greg waved at her- Stat.

-Stay on the tire treads –Grissom told Sara- ¿Warrick? ¿Laura?

-Yeah, right behind you –Warrick and I rushed to get a sample of the lice and then followed Grissom to the DNA Lab.

-I am the man –Greg said proudly.

-¿Why? ¿What did you do? Let me guess.. –Warrick spoke- You ran a DNA profile on the blood from the dead guy’s knuckles and you got a match.

-No.

-¿You ran a DNA profile and something very distinctive popped up? –Grissom tried.

-Not quite.

-¿You made it out of bed and you dressed yourself? –I joked, causing a little smile on my coworkers.

-¿What is it, Greg? –Grissom asked tired of guessing.

-Just put your nose down the scope –Greg turned around and pointed to the scope. Grissom put his things down and looked- Pyoverdin, a pigment excreted from pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a bacteria occasionally found in the bloodstream. Your killer has fluorescent blue dots in his blood.

-So, the guy’s a glow-stick –Warrick said without giving it too much importance- ¿How does that help us track him down?

-We have a lead –Sara walked into the lab- I found a partial serial number on the broken taillight. The tire belongs to a Ford Explorer, only one with the same partial serial number is registered in Vegas.

-¿What do you call a guy with blue-dotted blood, lice and keys to a Ford Explorer? –Grissom asked out loud.

-¿A suspect? –I answered and Grissom turned to look at me.

-A killer.

***

The SUV was registered to Adam Walkey, 18 years old and no prior complaints. Sara and Warrick processed the car and they discovered that the taillight was a match and the presence of head lice on the driver’s seat. The findings in his car gave us the warrant we wanted; his blood and a scalp search. With a licemeister I combed his hair and the surprise was that Adam Walkey didn’t have lice, not even lice eggs and he couldn’t get rid of them since the other night because delousing agents take time to kick in and there would have been evidence of the infestation. Still, we had his blood and the results would give us an answer.

-¡Hey Greg! -I greeted him while entering the Lab- ¿Do you have..?

-¡Greg, my boy! –Nick’s voice sounded from behind me- Tell me you’ve got the paternity results.

-Sorry, I was first –Nick stood next to me, so I looked at him and smiled.

-Not in the Crime Lab –he smiled and I understood, he was teasing me.

-I didn’t know it was a competition –I turned to stand in front of him and crossed my arms.

-Oh.. You wouldn’t like to compete against me –he smiled proudly.

-The other day, when Warrick and I went out for a drink, you had the chance to prove it but you didn’t show up –I teased him back- Don’t worry, you can ask him who got their ass kicked.

-Warrick has many virtues but playing pool, not one of them –he laughed lightly and came closer- Even Catherine’s daughter would kick his ass.

-I’m pretty sure she’s do the same with yours.

We were both so focused on joking with each other that we didn’t realize that Greg was watching us and clearing his throat to make us listen to him. Like a spell, that moment kept us looking straight into our eyes and unable to avoid smiling. The best think, in my opinion, about liking someone is being able to tease that person and have them return it to you. Honestly, I felt like it was happening between us, as if a flame had been lit during the eye contact.

-¿Am I missing something here? –he asked curiously.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who realized that.

-Walkey’s blood sample matches the blood found on Brian’s knuckles.

***

-First degree murder –Sergeant O’Riley indicated- That’s how we see it.

-In that case, my client is now prepared to make a statement –Adam’s lawyer spoke first- Tell them, Adam.

-I may have hit a guy. I remember hitting something, it was dark. I-I just kept driving, didn’t look back.

-Adam.. we found lice in the driver’s seat of your vehicle but your scalp was clean –Grissom explained- ¿Was there anyone else there? ¿A witness who might support your account?

-Yeah, someone was with me –he looked at his lawyer, and after getting approval, he said the name- Mark Rucker. He can confirm everything I told you.

Dr. Gilbert was with me looking the interrogation through the glass, but suddenly she opened the door and angrily walked into the room. I followed her but I couldn’t stop her.

-¿Is that the coward who killed Brian? –she spoke and signed as she walked slowly toward Adam- ¿What happened? ¿He scare you? ¿Talk a little funny? ¿Make a lot of noises? ¿Screamed? You make me sick.

-¡Get away from me! –Adam screamed.

Grissom and I held her and took her out into the hallway.

-You offered to help with my investigation and now you’re compromising it.

-You found the killer.

-He has a witness –I added.

-Who will lie for him –she stormed at me.

-The witness can say whatever he wants –Grissom got between us- The important thing is that Adam Walkey was not alone when he killed Brian. His witness is our other suspect.

***

-I just have one question –Grissom sat in front of the suspect, Mark Rucker- ¿Does your head itch?

-¿Do I have to answer that? –he laughed.

-According to Adam Walkey you were with him in his SUV the other night and your head lice.. confirmed his statement. They also tell me you were driving.

-Yeah, yeah, I was with him. And, like he told you, we didn’t know we hit a guy.

-¿How do you know what Adam told us? –O’Riley wondered.

-It was around midnight and we were listening to the radio, I changed the station and Adam got pissed. We thought we hit a dog so we kept driving. It’s the truth.

-The evidence says otherwise –Grissom refuted- There weren’t just lice in the SUV. There were lice on the victim’s sweater. ¿Do you know what lice eat? Blood, and I’m pretty sure I can prove that the lice on Brian Clemonds came from your head.

-We got out of the car –he confessed- ¡I didn’t want to leave him like that! Adam talked me into it, he had a scholarship to Duke next year, you know. He couldn’t risk it.

-Let me tell you what I think happened –Grissom sighed- You and Adam saw Brian walking out of a liquor store carrying a six-pack. You’re underage, maybe you wanted him to front you some beer. Brian doesn’t respond then you got out of the car. You started taunting him and then everything escalated. The blood on the victim’s knuckles led us to Adam and a stray hair left behind lice, which brings us to you. It would have ended there, as you were about to drive away, something in your rearview mirror caught your attention. Brian was screaming, so you ran over him and then took off.

-I want a lawyer.

-Let me tell you something, son.

-Gil, the interrogation is over –O’Riley indicated- He requested counsel.

-No more questions, just this –Grissom slowly got to his feet- ¿You know why Brian Clemonds ran away from you? It was dark, you were shouting at him and he didn’t understand what you were saying. Brian Clemonds was deaf.

Mark Rucker looked up at Grissom.

-He was afraid of you, but you were more afraid of him.. ¿weren’t you?

Some people are just afraid and that’s why they killed Brian Clemonds; because he was different. People get lost in the moment without realizing what that can entail. ¿How many lives have been lost for not stopping to think and instead of acting out of fear, acting out of kindness? ¿When have we become fearful and selfish people? ¿Where is the willingness to understand and help?

#csi #csi las vegas #gil grissom #sara sidle #nick stokes #warrick brown #catherine willows #jim brass #fanfic #csi fic

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angelofthequeers · 5 years ago

Text

Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope your celebrations are going better than me being cooped up with a cold and an aching chest because I always get sick at this time of year XD

Chapter 27 | Chapter 29 | AO3 link

“Hey, princess.”

Marinette’s heart skips a beat when she turns to find Chat Noir perched on the railing of her balcony just like back before Glaciator had attacked, all those months ago. This time, though, he’s got a goofy, nervous grin rather than looking heartbrokenly glum, and he’s clutching a single red tulip rather than the rose he’d had that time.

“You, uh…you look amazing,” he says, his cheeks visibly darkening in the orange glow of nighttime Paris. Marinette can’t suppress the grin that breaks free as she instinctively smooths down her strapless dress, with a black feathery pattern across the chest and down one side, while the base of the dress is white.

“Thanks,” she says. “It was a rough sketch at the photoshoot that Adrien invited me to and, well…it kinda grew from there.”

“You’re awesome,” Chat Noir says immediately, then clears his throat. “You really got dressed up just for little old me?”

“As if,” Marinette scoffs as blood starts to rush to her cheeks. “I just felt like wearing something different. For our hangout tonight. That we always have.”

Chat Noir’s smirk only increases the desire to shove the damn cat off her balcony and listen to him yowl all the way down to the ground, but Marinette just manages to resist the temptation. She’s a superhero, after all, and superheroes shouldn’t stoop to such pettiness…even if it would be very satisfying.

“So…” Chat Noir holds out the tulip in his hand. “I heard through the grapevine that a certain Miss Dupain-Cheng had a crush on me?”

“You can’t believe everything you hear,” Marinette says, although her hot cheeks as she accepts the tulip undercuts the cool-headed aura she’s trying to project. Oh, well. May as well get used to the fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is destined to always be a disaster.

“Well, then.” Chat Noir’s grin widens. “I suppose I shouldn’t tell you how simply stunning you are, if you won’t believe what you hear.”

“Now, wait just a minute! I didn’t mean – you mischievous cat!”

Chat Noir snickers, then leaps off the railing and stops just in front of Marinette. With one hand, he laces their fingers together, while he reaches up to tuck a lock of loose, dark hair behind her ear with his other hand.

“Not that I don’t love the pigtails, princess,” he says softly, “and you’re gorgeous with any hairstyle, but you’re beautiful with your hair down. I’ve never seen it before.”

Marinette bites her lip and ducks her head to hide her flaming cheeks, although if the heat in her forehead’s any indication, her entire face is probably just as red. “Thanks,” she finally manages to say. “It’s just more convenient to keep it in pigtails. Easier to keep out of the way, you know? And I like how they feel. I’m glad you like it down. So, um…what did you want to do tonight?”

“I was thinking of taking you out. On a date.” Chat Noir gives a strangled little cough and adds, “You know, if you’re into it. Not trying to force you or anything –”

“Heaven help me, but okay,” Marinette says. Chat Noir’s face lights up and goddammit, he does not have the right to look that – that – adorable!

“Really?” he says. “Well, I know I can’t take you out and give you the first date you deserve. You know, dashing leather superhero and all that. I’d be too busy fighting off the hordes of fangirls trying to steal my heart.”

“Right,” Marinette deadpans. “We wouldn’t want you to get mobbed by adoring fans.”

“I’m glad you understand,” Chat Noir grins. “So…I had another idea, if you’re willing to allow this dashing cat to escort you?”

“So long as that dashing cat doesn’t drop me, I think that’s doable,” Marinette says. In response to that, Chat Noir turns so that she can slide her arms around his neck and hoist herself onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist to secure herself.

“Ready, princess?” Chat Noir says. Marinette rests her chin on his shoulder and hums an affirmation, and then the wind’s whistling through her ears and streaming her hair out behind her as Chat Noir takes a running leap off her balcony and lands on the next rooftop over.

Wow. It’s so…different, leaping over the rooftops as a civilian instead of behind a red spandex suit. It’s hardly the first time she’s been carried through Paris by Chat Noir but, well…it is the first time she’s been able to just enjoy it rather than focusing on the akuma or trying to cheer Chat Noir up.

“The Eiffel Tower?” Marinette says when Chat Noir arrives at the base of said Tower and starts climbing up nimbly like, well…a cat.

“The Eiffel Tower that no one ever gets to see,” Chat Noir corrects. “Well, except for me and Ladybug. And Rena Rouge. Just…sorry, Marinette, I can find somewhere else –”

“No!” Marinette squeezes her arms around his neck. “It’s perfect. I just wasn’t expecting it. I’ve never been up here before…” Well, she’s technically not lying. Ladybug has, but Marinette hasn’t.

“Trust me, it’s a view to die for, princess.”

At the very tip of the Eiffel Tower, a picnic blanket has been spread across the cool metal, held down at the corners by little candles that one might buy from a home living store; not super cheap, but also not expensive and fancy. A vase of red tulips rests at the centre and it’s surrounded by a few cushions and a platter of chocolate-dipped strawberries. All in all, it’s nothing too fancy, but Marinette’s heart still tries to batter itself free of her ribcage in response to the sight. Chat Noir’s done this for her?

“I know it’s not much,” Chat Noir says when he sets her down and then turns around to gauge her reaction. “But you’ve never really struck me as someone who’d want something over the top. And I wasn’t even sure if you’d say yes, so I didn’t want to go too far and then –”

“You’re right, kitty cat,” Marinette says. “I’ve helped my parents cater for events at Le Grand Paris before, when they needed an extra pair of hands. It’s all…too much. But this?” Marinette approaches the blanket and sinks down onto a red cushion. “This is perfect. I love it, Chat.”

Chat Noir’s shoulders visibly slump in relief as he sits down on a green cushion next to her. “I’m glad. I’ve never been on a date before, and everything I know comes from TV shows.”

“I bet you watch anime, you dork,” Marinette says. Chat Noir pouts in response. “Oh my god, you do. Nerd.”

“Hey!” Chat Noir crosses his arms. “I’ll leave you up here.”

“That’s no way to treat a lady.”

“Hmph. Fine, you win this round.”

Marinette grins. Then she shivers and wishes that she’d thought to bring a jacket, but she hadn’t exactly thought that the date would be taking place at the top of the freaking Eiffel Tower, to be fair.

“Here.” Chat Noir holds out another blanket, this one softer than the picnic blanket and made of blue fleece. “I figured it was better to be overprepared than underprepared.”

“You really did think of everything,” Marinette says as she wraps the blanket around her shoulders. She falls silent and drinks in everything before her, and all she can do is shake her head and say, “Wow. No one’s ever…I mean, Evillustrator doesn’t count because he was an akuma and he could just draw anything into existence. I love it.”

“Of course,” Chat Noir says. “You’re my princess. Only the best for someone like you.”

Marinette giggles and leans to rest her head on Chat Noir’s shoulder. For a moment, the only sounds in the night air between them are the wind this high up and the bustle of Paris below. but it feels as though these sounds are muffled; like Marinette and Chat Noir are in their own world up here, in a bubble away from Hawkmoth and their daily lives.

“This is why I love being Chat Noir,” Chat Noir finally says. “I mean, I love getting to be a superhero and kick akuma butt with milady…but just getting to let loose like this and do whatever I want. Be with whoever I want. My father would probably pitch a fit if I had a relationship as me with someone he didn’t approve of.”

“You think he wouldn’t approve of me?” Marinette says. She’s not exactly sure how she feels about that; is it a good thing that she’s someone that Chat Noir’s father wouldn’t like? Or is the thought of someone not liking her, even someone like his father, responsible for the mild churning in her gut?

“I don’t actually know,” Chat Noir says. “Nothing identity-revealing, but I know you’ve impressed him once. But at the same time…it’s hard to know what goes through his head, and I’m his son. And, like…I don’t care if he approves or not, but it’d make my life easier if he did. So, in a way, it’s kinda more freeing to be Chat Noir.”

“That’s fair enough,” Marinette says. “My parents would probably adopt you.”

“As much as I love the sound of that, it’d have unfortunate implications for us,” Chat Noir says. Marinette laughs.

“Okay, yeah, I didn’t think about that. I know stepsiblings aren’t technically related…but still.”

Chat Noir chuckles. After a moment, he stretches and yawns, and one of his arms ‘casually’ lands around Marinette’s waist.

“Oh my god, you dork,” she says, but that doesn’t stop her from snuggling into his side even further.

“Am I really a dork if it works?” Chat Noir says. When Marinette chances a peek up, he’s got a rather smug smile plastered across his face.

“Bad kitty.”

Chat Noir lets out a growl, a little thing that rumbles in his chest, and nuzzles against her cheek like an actual cat. “You shouldn’t be mean to me, princess. I could leave you up here.”

“Oh, no,” Marinette drawls, like she couldn’t just get herself down and leave him wondering if she’s a witch. “What a tragedy. You’d leave your princess trapped upon a tower?”

Chat Noir snorts. “I didn’t even think about that.” He suddenly jumps and hastens to grab the strawberries, and Marinette yelps and nearly topples over when her support unexpectedly vanishes. “D’you want a strawberry? Are you hungry? I don’t even know if you’ve eaten or if –”

“Chat.” Marinette unfolds one end of the blanket wrapped around her and throws it around Chat Noir’s shoulders, reeling him back into the cocoon of warmth. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong? Nothing! Nothing’s wrong!” Chat Noir babbles. Marinette just raises an eyebrow, and it only takes a moment for his fake ears to flatten against his head. “I’m just…it’s my first date, alright? And it’s yours too, yeah? I guess I just want it to be perfect, and I don’t wanna screw it up by forgetting to offer you food or making a wrong move or –”

“The only way you could screw this up is if you left me up here.” Marinette threads her fingers with his, stroking the warm black spandex under her thumb. “I love it, Chat. I love the thought that went into this. You don’t have to be so terrified of making a wrong move that you end up twisting yourself into knots.” She laughs and adds, “Kind of like how I was with Adrien. N-Not that you want to hear about him, because bringing up other crushes on a first date is a total wrong move, and ugh, I’m suck a jerk –”

“What happened to not overthinking things?” Chat Noir says. Marinette groans and shoves him with her shoulder.

“Jerk,” she mumbles. Chat Noir gives her a shit-eating grin.

“Yeah, but I’m your jerk,” he says. His grin widens when blood rushes to Marinette’s cheeks, staining them with warmth. “Why, princess, I didn’t know you were the possessive type.”

“Shut up!”

Chat Noir just cackles but then sobers after a moment. “Hey, uh…there’s something we should talk about.”

“What?” Marinette’s gut starts to churn. Has she messed up? Is Chat Noir about to say thanks for the date, it’s been nice, he’ll call? When people say “we need to talk”, there’s only a one percent chance that it’s something good.

“Hey? Marinette? Did I do something wrong?” Chat Noir says after Marinette’s silent for too long.

“Is it a bad thing?” Marinette manages to say. “Like, “thanks for the date, maybe next time” kind of thing?”

“What? No, no, no!” Chat Noir babbles with wide eyes. “I – well, I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s nothing like that!”

“Oh.” Marinette lets her shoulders sag. “Sorry for overreacting. I just hear those words and I start thinking of the worst possible outcome. I love having anxiety.”

“Ah. Anxiety.” Chat Noir wrinkles his nose. “Sorry, Marinette, I didn’t realise. I won’t start off with those words again. But no, this isn’t bad. It’s just…something I need to get off my chest.”

Marinette tilts her head. “Yeah?”

“So, um, I get it if you decide this is all too messed up and you don’t wanna get tangled in it. But I, uh…I have feelings for someone else. Too, that is. And I’m picking you, because I want to be with you and I know that this is more than just a crush, while I don’t know about the other person, but I didn’t want you to go into this and not know because I feel like that’d be lying –”

“Chat. Hey. Breathe.” Marinette’s about two seconds from passing out in relief. That’s what he wanted to talk to her about? And she’d still freaked out, even though she’d known it had to be coming at some point! God, what a mess she is. “It’s okay.”

“It…is?”

“Yeah.” Marinette starts scratching behind his fake ears, and he lets out a loud purr. “You must be sure enough about me to be on the top of the Eiffel Tower with me right now. And I know you wouldn’t cheat, even if you’re potentially polyamorous. That’s just…not you. And that’s not what polyamory’s about in the first place.”

Chat Noir melts against her and buries his nose in the crook of her neck. Marinette shivers violently at the warm breath that ghosts across her bare skin, and she leans into him before she realises what she’s doing.

“Just keep me in the loop, yeah?” Marinette says. “The whole anxiety thing and all. I tend to jump to the worst conclusion. I remember once, I accidentally broke Mum’s favourite vase and I made up a whole plan to run away from France and live with Nonna and become a motorcyclist nomad. I even started packing my bags and everything, until Mum – stop laughing!”

“I can’t help it!” Chat Noir chokes, wiping his eyes. “I just – oh my god, Marinette, you’re amazing.”

“Try telling that to my eleven-year-old self,” Marinette huffs. But she can’t be too annoyed, not when Chat Noir’s laughing, so she just sighs and keeps scratching his scalp, relishing the purrs that burst out of him even as he claps a hand over his mouth.

“Strawberries!” Chat Noir fumbles to grab a particularly large strawberry and brandishes it with a proud little smirk. “I was almost sorry to dip this one. It looked like a butt. See, here’s the crack and everything!”

“Oh my god, you’re so immature,” Marinette says, but she can’t hold back the laughter that bubbles out of her at his antics. The silence that falls between them as they share the plate of strawberries is natural, comfortable, and it’s something that Marinette is infinitely grateful for, because there’s nothing worse than being stuck in awkward silence with someone until you both lie and promise that you’ll call each other but never do. The kind of silence she’d found herself in with Adrien, if she wasn’t stuttering so badly that even she couldn’t understand herself. And even if she’d never ended up falling for Chat Noir, moving her focus away from Adrien is probably the best thing she’s ever done for herself, because now she can string more than two words together around him and they’re actually friends.

“Hey, Marinette?” Chat Noir finally breaks the silence. Thankfully, Marinette manages not to jump or have a mini heart attack this time. “I, uh…”

Oh. Great. Has Marinette been too quiet? Is this the part where Chat Noir says thanks for a lovely evening and he’ll call and all that generic let-down stuff? It shouldn’t sting this much, except that he’s her partner and she’ll have to interact with him on a professional basis, but how is she supposed to do that when –

“– rinette? Did I do something wrong?”

“Huh?” Marinette blinks and shakes her head. “Sorry. I was kind of catastrophising in my head again. What did you say?”

Chat Noir snorts. “I was going to ask if I could kiss you, but if that’s enough to make you start planning to run away and become a motorcycle nomad…”

“You dork. You don’t have to ask to kiss me.”

“I kind of do,” Chat Noir says. “I mean, I know Ladybug likes my flirting when we’re not in the middle of a battle, but…I still kind of want to be sure. You know, so I don’t hurt you like I hurt her that time we fought Glaciator. You two are the most important girls in my life.”

Is this a dream? How is Marinette the most important girl to him twice over without him even realising it? “I – um – wow,” is all she can say. Chat Noir winces.

“Too heavy?”

“No. No. Just…wow.”

“Well, it’s true.” Chat Noir squeezes her with the arm that’s around her. “You’re the sun! The moon! The light of –”

“Drama queen.”

Chat Noir gasps and clasps a hand over his heart. “You wound me! While I’m singing your praises!”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “Didn’t you want to kiss me or something?”

“Not after you so cruelly broke my heart,” Chat Noir huffs.

“Oh, come here, you cry-baby.” Marinette shifts around so that she’s facing Chat Noir, then squeezes his hand. Chat Noir’s eyes are wide as they dart from Marinette’s eyes to her mouth, and his lips are slightly parted, and he so resembles a spooked kitten that all Marinette can do is lean in and press her mouth to his. Chat Noir freezes and gasps against her lips, and then he seems to spring to life and kiss back with a soft sound, lifting his free hand to cup her cheek.

It’s far from the first time Marinette has kissed Chat Noir, even if she had been wearing a spotted suit and he’s got no memory of it. But a kiss of necessity and a kiss of mutuality? They’re leagues apart, and although Marinette will always do whatever it takes to save and protect her kitty, a part of her can’t help but wish that this had been her first kiss with Chat Noir, because this? This is magical.

“Wow,” Marinette sighs when they finally pull apart to gulp in the cool night air. “That was – wow.”

“I always knew my kissing skills were mind-blowing,” Chat Noir says. Marinette rolls her eyes.

“Alright, that was the first and last time I’m kissing you.”

“What? No! C’mon, princess!”

“Nope. Too late. You blew it.”

“Marineeeette!”

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #aotq fic #aotq: hold me #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #marichat #literally just marichat sugar #first date #marichat date #kissing #marinette has anxiety

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flightsrsk · 5 years ago

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hello hello all !!! my name is riley and this is my actual trash son maverick, aka the flight risk !!! i am so so hyped to get the ball rollin on this, so check out info on my kid under ze cut !!

warning: this got rlly mcfreaking long and i am so sorry fjdklsjs i am incapable of writing a short intro post

unfortunately i will not be able to be around for the official opening bc i’m on vacation w my fam and godparents, but i will try and intermittently read intros and chat to you guys about plots !!!! PLS feel free to bombard me through IMs or through discord if any plot sparks ur interest or u think mav could fit well in one of ur plots!!! :’)

THE BASICS

Name: Maverick Hobbes Braxton

Age: Twenty-one

Gender: Cismale

Pronouns: He/Him

Major & year: Philosophy, Third year

Faceclaim: Alex Fitzalan

Occupation: N/A

THE FLIGHT RISK

Maverick Braxton, as you might see, is an enigma—or rather, has evolved into one, slowly: a transformation that begun with his first breath. In his early years, the stage had been set for him, line by line. Act One: attend prep schools, excel in classes. Act Two: attend Covington, take center stage—you know, all of the things his older brother, Richard had accomplished with ease, just one year prior to all of his expectations. It was simple, really: a blueprint laid out ahead of him, with little to nothing in his way.

The only problem was that Maverick didn’t exactly see the point in choosing that path, that stage, that story. To him, it wasn’t challenging.

That, and the fact that the life laid out in front of him offered him absolutely nothing.

A series of banal expectations, unfair comparisons, and heartbreaking betrayals, and the traditional life of the Braxton child was thrown out the window—at least, in his brain, it was. See, Maverick Braxton, while independent, coy, and arrogant, isn’t stupid. He knows if he pleases his parents just enough, they’ll still distribute his trust fund and still bail him out of legal trouble when he inevitably tiptoes too far down the delicate line between ambition and rebellion. Perhaps it’s a bit selfish, but what does he owe to a family who paid him no attention, who never asked of his well-being, his own ambitions, his personal dreams?

He’s the kind of person to drive down the highway, windows rolled all the way down, cigarette lit—not because he necessarily likes the taste of nicotine, but because he likes the way the smoke creates clouds that obscure reality. He’ll surprise you in class when he interjects with a sarcastic but surprisingly salient point before throwing up his hood and retreating to the back corner for the rest of class. He’s the kind of person to start reading a book, flipping incessantly through the pages, both impatient by the pace of the plot, yet put it down before he reaches the final pages because he doesn’t want to be disappointed by the ending. He’s the kind of artist who rarely finishes a sketch, the writer who is never satisfied by a poem—for fear, of course, by deep-rooted insecurities that nothing that he will ever do will be enough.

A once-broken heart had taken time to mend, even though it seems ice-cold and whole from the outside. It’s why he has commitment issues: he doesn’t want to be burned again. He plays off his flirtatious bit as a personality trait, someone who is bored by the prospect of being tied down—and yet those who share his bed might consider him Covington’s most surprisingly deep pillow-talker.

An enigma, you see—one who doesn’t stick around long enough for anyone to truly understand, truly a Flight Risk.

BIOGRAPHY:

( You can read his full biography here! Still in the process of editing it a bit, but below are some important bullet points! )

Maverick was born the second of three children to the Braxton family—and as per usual with the Braxton children, he was born into a life filled to the absolute brim of expectation.

His father, a playwright, his mother, an actress. His brother, a theatre prodigy—what part did that leave him to play? The assumed expectations were to follow in his mother and brothers’ footsteps and take center stage; he excelled, for a while, but Maverick always felt lost.

Neighbors and family friends would always ask if he had measured up, in each and every shape and form: it was like the entire universe had a scoreboard with their names titling each section, and Maverick was always playing catch-up, never knowing where the finish line was.

For a while, he stuck to the script that was given to him: study, succeed, repeat. He tried to understand the ins and outs of his father’s work, of masterful acting techniques, trying to make a large enough splash to where his family would even notice the work he put into his life. Surprise: it didn’t.

It took him seventeen years to truly understand that his role in life was not exactly the story his parents had laid out for him, but rather, his sibling, instead.

Downcast emotions transformed quickly into cynicism. What used to make him feel sad now fueled a blue fire within Maverick’s chest, one that felt wronged by the system he was placed in: a complete first-world problem, but it was then and there when he decided to take advantage of his situation, given that he had spent his entire life dedicated to a part he wouldn’t play.

Hypocritical as he was, he still enjoyed the fruits of his parents’ work, cashing the unlimited checks with his name on them, as if it was some sort of sick version of love.

One piece of recognition that Maverick finally earned was an acceptance to Covington—and even that couldn’t be tainted by his brother’s success or his legacy status.

At Covington, Maverick has both lost and found his footing, multiple times. He’s quit acting, quit studying theater, in favor of a topic that stimulates his brain more than reading lines and

PERSONALITY:

Maverick Braxton is certainly a paradox. He’s charismatic, funny, and has a witty sense of humor –– and is generally appreciated by his peers because he’s able to move conversation and discussion without making topics seem dry.

Despite his apparent inferiority to his sibling, the Braxton family still breeds the cream of the crop. He’s certainly a bit arrogant sometimes, given that he’s intelligent, innovative, and clever, and wants to be recognized for it –– however, even if he might not show it on the outside, he appreciates a good challenger. He thinks it keeps his wit sharp, and of course, his ego would never show it, but he does appreciate learning from people. After all, his passion in philosophy, his current area of study, makes him certainly interested in how the world works.

Those who happen to get to know Maverick outside of the surface-level stuff, outside the initial cockiness and flirtatious front he puts on will know that he’s actually quite thoughtful. His lonely childhood has made him extremely loyal to those who have shown him similar trust and friendship –– he would never turn his back on them.

He asks probing questions, is a good listener –– perhaps because he’s interested in human decision making, but is also because he doesn’t quite know what it’s like to be loved unconditionally –– though he wants to.

Deep down, what almost no one knows is that he’s really quite soft. He passes his curiosity off as wanting to understand people, when really it’s a mechanism for hoping someone asks him questions in return, to give him the time of day he wished his parents ( and the rest of the goddamned universe ) had given him.

Despite his theatre prowess, he isn’t actually a particularly good liar. Those who spend enough time around him can hear his tone of voice incline slightly and see him scratch his brow.

AESTHETICS:

coffee-stained mugs, walking with headphones in but nothing playing, untied shoelaces, black hoodies, a cheeky smirk, small books in his back pocket, writing in the margins, unfinished poems, quoting old authors on a daily basis, incessant eye-rolling, pen ink stains, an unmade bed, mismatched socks, floral ties, empty bottles of liquor, rose thorn pricks, old worn poetry books, polished dress shoes, calloused fingers, unlit cigarettes between teeth.

HEADCANONS:

Funnily enough, Maverick’s name means ‘independent, a noncomformist’, which is exactly the path that he has taken to stray away from his family’s expectations.

He does have one strong connection to his family, though: his grandmother, on his father’s side. She understands the pressure he undergoes, who saw the pressure Maverick’s father endured to obtain the success he has. She is one of the only reasons that Maverick has not just jetted off to take on his own adventure. He loves her dearly, and wishes that her empathy and wisdom would rub off on the rest of his family.

Maverick has some form of synesthesia, which allows him to remember a lot more than the average person. He associates colors, smells, sounds, to words –– and allows him to efficiently study any subjects he doesn’t have immediate passion for.

In the privacy of his own bedroom, he sometimes writes poetry and sketches his thoughts and muses –– when he knows he’s in complete privacy. Faces and features that appear in his sketchbooks are often those he’s thinking of often, those who intrigue him. He’s actually quite good a sketching, maybe not quite as good at writing poetry.

His room is spotless –– evidence that he is a bit of a control freak sometimes. It shows that during his adolescence, he reveled in the parts of his life that he could control and perfect.

tw drugs. He more than dabbles in drug use, smoking marijuana maybe every other day, while partaking in harder drugs like cocaine and adderall and others probably once a week. He feels like he’s in control of his use, but it may start to get the best of him. end tw.

Maverick is left-handed. He hates that he gets pen ink stains when he draws, writes poetry, takes notes. His left palm is probably perennially covered with ink.

Though he’s often wearing headphones ( airpods, of course, the nerve of this rich kid ), half the time, nothing’s playing. Sometimes he forgets to press play on his phone, sometimes he purposely likes listening to decision-making and conversations of strangers. it lets him think about the nature of mankind.

Maverick’s favorite philosopher is Albert Camus, known for his work that heavily developed the idea of absurdism ( much to do with the meaning of life, and human inability to discern an answer ).

Maverick’s preferred method of transportation is his skateboard. he loved it first because his parents hated it: pushing himself around on a board like that would get him injured—besides, why not just take the car to school, the driver had been paid for anyway? It was his first taste of rebellion. Now at Covington, where skateboarding is far more efficient than walking across campus, it comes in handy when he sees someone he’d rather not stop and chat to.

Maverick could die with a poetry book nestled on his chest—it’s the one thing he got out of the impressive book collection his family owned. There was something daunting and beautiful about the way poems would transform metaphors into something fantastical, like the emotions were clearly there, but the words were skirting the issue. Kind of like how his parents would never really tell him they loved him.

Maverick often has headphones in when he walks to class. not particularly because he’s actually listening to music or a podcast, but rather because he’d just … rather not be bothered to stop and talk to people.

Maverick loves to draw. He’s mostly self-taught, with a bit of mentorship from his high school art teacher. Evidenced by the rest of his fleeting personality, he rarely finishes a sketch or painting. He claims he never has time to finish them, but the number of crumbled-up, half-finished sketches in his trash bin might say otherwise.

PLOTS

** see my wanted plots tag here too! // and my plots page here !!

* FIRST LOVE / OPEN.

It wouldn’t be easy to make Maverick feel like even more of a disappointment than he already had with his parents, his family—but your muse proved this feeling wrong. He loved them, more than he’d ever loved anything before. In the midst of confusion about where he belonged, he felt safe with your muse; he’d do anything for them. Things ended, he felt betrayed ( though the break-up could have easily been due to a fault of his ), and the split made him the one who now struggles fully with commitment. He doesn’t want to have his heart broken again. See: this entire pinterest board.

but also if u give me this ……………… i’ll name my firstborn after u

* BEST FRIEND / OPEN.

Those who go through similar childhood traumas are often able to understand each other –– that was how it worked with Maverick and your muse, at least. They’re thick as thieves — and have likely seen the ups and downs of Maverick’s life in real time.

* CHILDHOOD FRIENDS / OPEN.

Self explanatory—and also probably knows about the pressures the Braxton family imposes on their children.

* EX-FRIENDS / OPEN.

Friends who were close, close no longer. Maverick’s a real piece of work, and an asshole, too—there are myriad possibilities for why Maverick could have pushed them away. He wouldn’t openly admit that he misses being around your muse, but he certainly would feel a bit of guilt given that they’re no longer the closest of friends.

* MOMENT OF WEAKNESS / OPEN.

Your muse, in whatever unfortunate setting, saw a glimpse of Maverick’s soft side that hardly ever makes an appearance. He’s not going to let them tell the world about his vulnerabilities, though. Not a chance.

* DISLIKED / OPEN.

Maverick is sarcastic, cold, and sometimes emotionless. It’s not surprising that not everyone gets along with the middle Braxton. The possibilities are endless—throw in some sexual tension and I’d actually fall at ur feet.

* PREVIOUS ROOMMATES / OPEN.

Your muse, at one point, probably knew Maverick better than everyone else at Covington. They overheard some of his phone calls with his parents, saw his notes for how he was to achieve his life goals, heard him crying in the middle of the night when he thought your muse was asleep. They could be extremely close now, as in one of the few people Maverick opens up to, or could be distant friends who know about one anothers’ struggles. The possibilities are endless, tbh.

+ ANYTHING LEGITIMATELY ……… IF U THINK THERE’S POSSIBILITY FOR SOMETHING COOL W MAV AND UR MUSE. SIGN ME THE F UP. THANKS.

#tw:drugs #tw:smoking #tw:flashing lights #covintro #// PLS HMU WITH PLOTS OK FDJKLSJSD I HATE I AM MISSING OPENING BUT I WANT ALL THE PLOTS

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dhwty-writes · 4 years ago

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Day 1 - Tattoo Artist/Flower Shop AU

Whooo, it’s @writersmonth again! I have been waiting a whole year for this because last year it was amazing! I actually hoped to do some work up front - and failed spectacularily. The only thing I acutally managed was this 10k monstrosity (and I love it)!

Anyways, all the prompts are about my original work, so if you’re interested in the specifics just ask! But you should unterstand the AU’s just fine and for the canon works I’ll provide some additional info.

Just enjoy reading!

"Looks like we've got new neighbours," Saryan stated as she leaned against the counter.

"Looks like," Aidiya replied without looking up from the phoenix she was sketching in her notebook, a favour Irian was calling in.

"Have you seen them already?" she asked and started shuffling the neatly stacked business cards in front of her.

"No," Aidiya answered, trying to focus on her sketch before clasping her hand tightly over her best friend's. "Stop that," she said exasperated.

Saryan pouted. "You're no fun," she complained but complied and started restacking the cards. "You must've seen them! You've been here all day!"

"I've been working", she sighed, "Unlike someone else." Saryan started drumming her fingertips on the counter-top. Finally, Diya stopped and closed her sketchbook. No use trying if she couldn't concentrate. No use concentrating when her best friend demanded her attention. "Why do you even want to know so badly? It's a flower shop."

"Exactly!" Saryan beamed. "It's a flower shop. Which means it's surely run by a woman who is reasonably hot." She blinked a few times expectantly. "So?"

"So?" Aidiya replied dumbfounded.

"So, have you seen a reasonably hot woman carrying boxes into that flower shop?"

She chewed on her lip as if she was genuinely thinking about it, then she answered: "Not sure actually. Come to think about it, I don't think I've seen a reasonably hot person in my life."

Saryan groaned, burying her head in the crooks of her arms. "You're no fun", Aidiya caught the muffled words.

"Really?" A lopsided grin appeared on her face. "Because I think I am hilarious!" She pushed to stand. "Anyways, get moving. It's your next appointment is in five minutes and I don't see any preparations."

Saryan straightened and saluted her mockingly with a "Yes, ma'am" before vanishing into her room where Diya soon heard the satisfying noise of ink cartridges getting like up and the calming buzz of a tattoo gun only interrupted by the occasional yelp of the newbie getting inked for the first time.

The afternoon passed in a flurry of greeting customers, ushering young girls and their mothers to Boru and Roban for their first piercing embracing regulars as well as a dragon scaling a calf and a branch of cherry blossoms on a shoulder, she got to ink herself.

By the time the sun set the familiar buzz of exhaustion a lack of meds clouded her mind but she welcomed it for once. It stood no chance compared to the satisfaction.

She was sat in the backroom with Boru, Roban and Saryan, the shop closed early, wolfing down Chinese take-out and complaining about the annoying customers of the day when the bell rang. Roban arched an eyebrow but before he could get up Aidiya was already out of the room, the 'sorry-we're-closed-and-no-we-don't-take-walk-ins', speech on the tip of her tongue.

But when she opened the front door, she could do nothing but stare perplexed. The woman and the man - boy, rather - in front of her were not their typical walk-in customers. They customers were not white, middle-aged and female, with a haircut that already beckoned for the manager. They did, however, hold an oversized flower bouquet.

The woman nudged the boy in the side who started talking: "Umm... Hi. We- we're new here. My mother and I. So, we... umm."

"We thought we'd bring you a gift," the woman - his mother - cut in. "Like a reverse housewarming gift. We're from-"

"The flower shop!" Saryan chirped cheerfully. When Aidiya turned around she saw her three co-worker-best-friends crowded behind her in the small door frame of the backroom, ogling the newcomers. Saryan, ever energetic flurried past her and practically ripped the poor boy the bouquet out of the hands. "Hi! I'm Saryan." She presented the woman with her outstretched hand.

"Ehehu," the woman replied shaking it. "That's my son, Goran." The similarities were uncanny. While Goran's bronze shoulders under his tank top were broad and packed with muscle hers were slim. Still, they were almost of a height, which meant freakishly tall for Aidiya, yet rather normal for everyone else. They had the same face, though. The same almond-shaped dark eyes and straight nose, the same high cheekbones, even the same sleek black hair that tumbled to their shoulders.

Saryan beamed. "Pleased to meet you." She slung an arm around Aidiyas neck, pulling her into a choke-hold. "That's my best friend, Aidiya. She runs the business. And the two idiots behind us are Roban and Boru. Our piercer and newbie."

With an elbow to her stomach Aidiya managed to break free and straightened herself. "Right," she said, now taking the flowers, "Thank you. That's really thoughtful."

"Well, we're not really in short supply," Goran mumbled and Aidiyas eyebrows shot up. It took him a second to realise what he had just said but then he quickly looked away.

She chuckled. "I guess you're not."

"Well, anyways," his mother jumped in, "We don't want to intrude any longer. We just wanted to come over with the flowers and to invite you to our opening. It's this Friday at 3 pm. I guess you'll be busy but maybe you'll want to hop by."

"We'll come," Saryan promised before Aidiya had even opened her mouth.

"Great!" Ehehu replied. "See you there!"

A weak "See you" echoed after them as they crossed the street where a van stood waiting before Aidiya closed the door again.

As soon as it fell shut a mean punch hit her in the shoulder. "You told me," Saryan whined, "that there was no hot woman over there!"

"I told you, I have never seen a hot person in my life," she corrected her, "And I really did not see her. Besides she's like... three times your age."

She gasped as if the comment had offended her instead of the new neighbour. "She is not! She's twice my age max." She wiggled with her eyebrows. "Also, let me introduce you to the wonderful concept of a MILF-"

Before she could say anything else, she clamped her hand over her mouth. "Nope!" she declared loudly. "Not having it!"

"Well the boy's a snack," Roban chimed in from the door frame.

Aidiya wrinkled her nose. "Is he? Wouldn't have noticed. I-" With a shriek she pulled her hand back. "Saryan! That's disgusting! What are you, five?!" She yelled, staring in disbelief at her best friend who had just licked her hand.

"You wouldn't let me talk. So anyways. The cutie. The cutie boy. Not your type?"

Aidiya groaned. "No. He is not my type. No-one is my type. Do you even understand what 'asexual' means?"

Saryan opened her mouth, undoubtedly to say something incredible clever but Roban beat her to it: "Anyways I'm calling dibs. There's no way that a guy working in a flower shop is straight." He turned towards the backroom. "And we are so going on Friday."

Aidiya groaned internally. She knew she was fighting a lost battle.

~*~

Aidiya sat at her desk sketching to calm down. The day had been more than stressful which might or might not have been related to the meds she had forgotten at home. 'Simply great,' she thought grumpily, 'Did not concentrate to pack my meds that help me concentrate.'

So, when Saryan draped herself across the table with absolutely no regard for pencils, sketchbooks and personal space, she was naturally grumpy. "What," she asked quickly rescuing her book, "do you want?"

She gasped in mocking offence. "I am your best friend! Can't I just come and talk to you for the fun of it?"

Aidiya raised one sceptical eyebrow.

"Right." She hopped of the desk. "Seeing right through me as usual." She picked a stray hair of her shirt. "I want you to come shopping with me."

She wrinkled her nose. She knew exactly how that was going to go, namely her stuck in the lingerie department for hours on end with a half-hearted promise of visiting the dress section after and then whoops the store is closing, I guess we'll go next time. They never went next time. "Not a chance."

"Not that kind of shopping," she added quickly. "I want to buy a housewarming gift. For our new neighbours!"

"Are you still trying to seduce her?"

"Still?" She laughed. "Diya-Darling, I haven't even started. But no. I just thought we should return the gesture. Seeing as they brought us flowers even though it's them who's moving here."

"They just brought us something from their shop."

"Well, I told her to give them a free tattoo," Roban chimed in from the doorway, "or piercing, whatever they like. The notion was not appreciated."

"They own a flower shop", Aidiya and Saryan said simultaneously and Roban raised his hands in silent defence.

"Great!" Saryan chirped. "So, you agree with us!"

Aidiya groaned. "Are you ganging up on me? Seriously?"

"Well, we wouldn't have to if you just got your ass moving," Roban said entirely unhelpfully.

"I know," she answered with false enthusiasm. "Why don't you two pick out something nice? Seeing as I am not going at all..."

She hadn't even completed her sentence and was already interrupted by Saryan's shriek: "You what?!"

Aidiya shook her head. She had thought about it. It was not that she was antisocial or didn't want to go to a party. It was just that she knew exactly how this was going to go.

Sure, the pair had seemed friendly enough and not at all appalled to see three of them inked head to toe with Boru still decidedly lacking. And she honestly did not think that Ehehu and Goran were decidedly against tattoos and piercings. Otherwise they wouldn't have come over. No, it was not the owners that were the problem.

It was the customers that Aidiya definitely had no desire whatsoever to meet. Because honestly, what was the standard clientele for a flower shop? She was willing to bet a lot of money that the entire opening would be chock full with after-hour-walk-in-customers with a haircut that demanded to see the manager. It was August, hot as fuck outside and there was no way she would wear anything more than a crop top and hot pants. Which meant that her tattoos would be at full display. Which meant that she would be ogled by a store full of judgemental Karens for hours. No, that she could do without.

Saryan snorted. "Like hell you aren't!"

"I've really got no desire to be ogled at for hours on end by stuck up white people."

That issued an unbelieving laugh from Roban. "Really. You're scared of a few side-glances?"

"I am not scared", she tried to defend herself even though she knew it was a lost cause. "I just don't want to-"

"Want what?" Saryan grinned. "Meet new people?"

"Be a good neighbour?" Roban helped entirely unhelpful.

"Have fun?" Saryan tried again. "We know you don't!"

With a groan Aidiya got up and grabbed her bike keys. "Where are we going?" she admitted defeat.

~*~

Friday rolled around more quickly than Aidiya had hoped or wanted. They had gone shopping and between endless bickering - "We can't buy them a plant, they're a flower shop!" - and pulling Saryan out of the lingerie department - "I just wanna take a quick look!" - they had finally settled on locally manufactured chocolate - "Everyone likes chocolate, right? Let's go home."

So now Aidiya was crammed into the unbearably hot bathroom with Saryan and suffered through her best friend doing her make-up while picking at the loose threads of her shorts.

"Stop fidgeting," Saryan ordered sharply, "Or I'm gonna mess up your eyeliner. Besides, you look fine!"

"I'm not worried-"

"You are! Now stop talking."

Aidiya obeyed dutifully and closed her eyes again to let her best friend continue to tinker with it. When she was finally satisfied, she leaned back and whistled. "Damn, girl, you look hot. Always forget about that."

She shot her a genuine smile. "Thanks."

Winking Saryan turned to the mirror to take care of her own make-up. "I'm sure Goran will think so, too," she said quietly concentrating on drawing a straight line with the eyeliner.

She laughed. "And I know that I don't care." She tried to squeeze past her towards the door. "Besides, Roban called dips."

"I sure as hell did!" they heard him muffled through the closed door making even Saryan in her concentration chuckle.

"Now move, it's stuffy as hell in here." She slapped her butt weakly, making Saryan wriggle it before she finally moved out of the way.

In the parlour the air wasn't much better, Aidiya had to admit, nor was the humid air coming in through the open door. That's just how it was in mid-summer. Thankfully most people were sensible and didn't get a tattoo in that time, knowing it meant long clothes and no impromptu trips to the lake for at least a month so they didn't have to stay that long for most days.

Actually, though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was quite glad that the opening party gave them an excuse to close early that day. She'd just go over, say a few nice words and then she'd be on her way home with her bike. If Saryan insisted on staying any longer she could take the bus home.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Boru asked with a timid smile. He had been very impressionable at first, admitting that he had long admired them from afar, basically stalking her Instagram up to the point that he knew some of her designs than she did. In the end the little celebrity crush had subsided quickly and with a recommendation of Irian and Eloa, her own tutors, she had been basically forced to give him the job. Now she was glad she had. Their parlour was expanding rapidly, all thanks to Irian, who had directed her girlfriend Kalia to their studio. With her platform as international model they were now overrun with jobs and it was good to have a third tattoo artist on board.

She pulled a grimace. "Just wondering how fast I can get out of that shitshow."

"Why so pessimistic? I'm sure it will go just swimmingly."

She shrugged. "Just not my cup of tea."

Before Boru could say anything else Saryan burst out of the bathroom. "Alright!" she announced stuffing her make-up bag into her bigger bag. "Let's go!"

Roban marched out of his room, manufactured chocolate in hand. Before Aidiya could even react, the package was thrust into her hands unceremoniously and Saryan and Roban linked arms with her so she could not escape. "Why me?" she whined as she was escorted across the street.

"Because it's your shop and the gift comes from the shop. So quit whining and get cheerful," Saryan ordered.

And while she grumbled until they had reached the other side of the street she was smiling brightly once they entered.

The first thing she noticed was that there were already way too many people crammed into the tiny space that was the flower shop. The second thing was that thankfully there was air-conditioning humming. She made a mental note to invest into one as soon as possible. Then she was noticed by Goran.

He was talking to two boys roughly in their age wearing outfits expensive enough to pay for one full sleeve at least. She shot him a hesitant smile he acknowledged with a nod of his head before her attention was forced to Saryan.

"Ehehu, hi!" she said loudly and waved over-exaggeratedly before tearing lose and vanishing in pursuit of their new neighbour. Roban stayed with her for the better part of a minute before vanishing too with a half-hearted excuse that they had lost Boru at the food buffet leaving her completely deserted in the strange environment.

She stared down at the chocolate slowly melting in her hands and sighed. 'Fuck.' Unsure what else to do she started venturing closer to the flowers maybe in search of inspiration for a new tattoo. She had wanted an under-boob for quite some time. Just as she was pondering how a lion with a flower wreath would look a voice behind her startled her: "Found anything you like?"

She whipped around and found herself face to face with Goran - or rather face to chest. "Oh." She laughed a little. "Not sure yet. I don't really have green fingers."

He blinked with both eyes and smiled, too. "Luckily most of our plants are already cut. If you put them in a vase with a bit of water and there's not a lot that can go wrong." He shrugged. "Well, they'll die after a week or so but they're supposed to."

She smiled, too. "In that case I think I prefer them inked on my skin. That way they won't wither."

"At least not until you do," he shot back.

Aidiya raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

Seemingly it took him a minute to realise what he had just said and he visibly paled. "Shit!" he cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, that came out totally wrong! I didn't want to-"

"Oh, I think it came out just right." She snorted, barely stifling her laughter. "You're hilarious," she added after a moment. "And I don't get offended that easily."

As if on cue the two boys from before stumbled closer, one of them wrapping an arm around Goran's neck. "Hey Go-Go," he slurred, obviously having one or the other glass of champagne too much, "You left us all alone back there."

Goran visibly tensed. "Piss off, Eliot," he hissed, "I'm trying to have a conversation."

"I see," Eliot said giving Aidiya a once-over and wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Who invited the freaks over?"

She saw Goran’s face dropping, scrambling for words, but Aidiya was quicker.

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Better a freak than an asshole. At least I chose this instead of being born like that."

"I wasn't-" he spluttered but she didn't even let him finish: "Oh, really? Then what? Did a ten-year-old insult you fashion sense?" She did a very similar once-over before settling on his face again. "Not that I can blame them. Did you raid your grandpa's closet or did you actually spend money for this?"

The three boys in front of her gaped at her with open mouths. Suddenly she realised that most of the people in the store were staring at her and a blush crept up her cheeks. "Sorry for ruining the party," she mumbled and pressed the chocolate into Goran's hands. "This is for you and your mum."

With that she hurried up and fled the scene.

~*~

It was early in the morning - way too early than could be healthy for any human being. Still Aidiya was already sat at the counter sketching away, waiting for Roban and ready to deflect any walk-in customers. But even for them it seemed to be too early.

The door opened with a jingle of the bell. Roban was late. Without looking up from her sketch she said: "Sorry for ruining your chances with the hot guy."

"Hey, I just- Wait, what?" answered a voice that belonged decidedly not to Roban.

She looked up in horror to see Goran standing in the frame, hand still on the door looking every bit as shocked as she did. "Oh," Aidiya said eloquently. "What are you doing here?" She would very much like to slap herself now. That was not at all how you started an apology.

"I'm, uh-" He looked around and started gesticulating wildly.

She raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

He wrinkled his nose and honestly, that was not fair. No guy this size had any right to be this adorable. "Can we talk?"

"Uhm," she looked around but there was no-one there to come to her help. "Aren't we already talking?"

"Yeah, sure!" he said quickly his eyes wide. "I just- I wanted to apologise and you left so quickly yesterday I didn't have the time!"

She held a hand up. "No, actually, let me stop you right there. I am sorry I caused such a scene. And that on your opening day." She winced. "It was kind of a reflex. I'm allergic to arseholes." Realising what she just said she pressed her hands over her mouth. "Oh shit," she whispered, "listen, I'm so sorry, they're probably your friends and-"

"Nah, it's alright." Goran waved his hand with a lopsided grin. "You're right. They're total douches and I don't even know why I invited them in the first place. Oh wait. I didn't. They invited themselves and then proceeded to insult my new neighbours. If you ask me, they deserved to be kicked in the balls."

She blinked dumbfounded. "What?" she managed after a while.

A sigh passed his lips and he ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry, Aidiya. I'm sorry they offended you while I stood at the side-lines watching. Not cool."

"Oh," she said as her brain began to process his words. "Oh," she said again and giggled while pushing her hair out of her eyes. "So, you came here to apologise?"

"That's what I just said, isn't-"

"And I hoped no-one saw me entering because I thought you hated me."

He stared at her for a moment. Then he blinked with both eyes before grinning widely. "So, I guess, we're even then?"

"We are," she agreed and held out her hand for him to shake it.

"So," Goran said then leaning on the counter. " Now that that's settled. Who were you expecting when I came in? What hot guy are we talking about?"

"Oh," she said and chuckled, "ohohohh, no way. I'm not betraying my friends like that. We're not friends yet. It's more like... a truce!"

"Friends, huh?" He looked around. "Saryan, then?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself: "Pffft, she hasn't got a straight bone in her body," she snorted.

"Roban?" he teased further and Aidiya winced visibly. "Hah! I knew it! What hot guy?"

She rolled her eyes and fixed him with a piercing stare.

"Me?" He seemed genuinely surprised as he pointed at his own chest. "Oh, I'm flattered!" His smile widened and Aidiya was relieved that it seemed to be a good kind of surprise at least.

Still she groaned and buried her face in her arms. "He's going to skin me alive..."

"Are you sure he'll not rather puncture you with a thousand needles?"

Aidiya looked up to see a teasing grin on his face. Slowly a smile spread on hers, too. "I expect you to hold a speech at my funeral."

He laughed and for a moment their banter felt so genuine that she wondered if this really only was their third interaction and not their thousandth. Then the sound of a sputtering engine outside broke the silence.

"I guess that's my cue, then," Goran said and moved towards the door. "Tell Roban I said hi," he said with a wink and left.

A few moments later a sweaty Roban threw the door open again, damp hair clinging to his forehead from being trapped under his helmet and panting for surely entirely different reasons. "What on earth was that?" he demanded to know.

Aidiya made an effort to show off her most innocent face. "Goran told me he says hi. Why?"

"He asked me for my number! What did you do?" He discarded his helmet on the chair next to the door and lunged to chase after her. "Aidiya Inkhar, what did you do?!"

~*~

"Sooooo..." Aidiya kicked off her swivel chair to roll closer to Roban. She leaned onto the table and rested her chair on her laced fingers. "How's the dating going?"

"Aidiya, I'm trying to work," Roban whined and tried to shoo her off but she would not give up that easily.

"No, seriously." She followed him rolling after him. "You've been chatting for the last month or so. When will you go out?"

"When's the wedding?" Saryan shouted from the other room.

Aidiya made a vague 'See?' gesture while Roban rolled his eyes. "Probably never," he answered. "He told me very gently that he was not interested in me."

"What?!" She pushed to her feet. "Why?!"

"I don't know, ask him! Probably straight."

"Hm," she made wrinkling her nose.

"Don't give her ideas!" the faint voice of Saryan called and Roban paled.

"Oh, no, you wouldn't! We're friends, Aidiya, don't do this to me!"

"Of course!" she said quickly and held up her hands as if that would prove her innocence. "I would never do anything to lessen your chances with the hot guy. In fact, I would only further them." She smiled brightly and Roban groaned.

Grinning Aidiya kicked her swivel chair back to her own table. "I love you, too, Roban. And I will get a date for you!"

~*~

It was her turn to close up the shop, again. And it was late. She wanted nothing more than go home and sleep. But when she stumbled outside, she saw that there was still light in the flower shop on the other side of the road.

Curiously she drew nearer and knocked at the door. She almost wanted to leave when a very tired looking Goran opened the door. "Oh," he said, barely stifling a yawn. "Can I help you?"

"No!" she said quickly. "I just wondered why there was still light on and wanted to check in. Just making sure, you know."

"Right." He nodded.

"So,...," she said after a few moments of silence. "Why are you still here?"

"Gotta finish some arrangements for a wedding tomorrow. I'm almost finished, though."

"Right!" She bit her lip, unsure what to do next.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked suddenly. "If you've got no other plans, that is. Would make the whole endeavour a lot less boring."

"Sure!" she said quickly and stepped inside. The flower shop looked almost like she remembered with the exception that the bouquets on display had changed. Well, it was another season, she supposed. To her surprised he led her to the back room, where an impressive array of bouquets was already lined up and oldies rock droned softly from a Bluetooth speaker. The table in the middle with the chipped blue paint was littered with freshly cut flowers, scissors and wire besides a lot of other stuff Aidiya couldn't even begin to name.

Goran made a bit of space on the counter so that she could settle on it more or less comfortably. "I really like AC/DC," she said to break the awkward silence.

A smile danced around his lips as he went back to work. "It's Led Zeppelin."

She blushed and only silence followed. He hummed softly while he bound up the flowers and she watched, not much else there to do.

"Alright," he said, turning around. "That's the last one. Will you now tell me why you're really here?"

"What?" she squeaked.

"You turn up on my doorstep in the middle of the night and then you continue to stare at me like I've grown a new set of eyes or something. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I'm just trying to figure out whether you're straight or blind for rejecting my friend."

"Hm," he made and smiled, leaning against the table which creaked loudly under his weight. "And what if I tell you I'm neither?"

"Then I'd be at a total loss."

He looked at his shoe tips, the faintest hint of a blush creeping up his neck. "I'm not interested in him, because I'm interested in someone else."

"Oh!" Now she felt very stupid. "I'm sorry for being so nosy."

"It's alright," he said quickly. "You weren't."

Well. That didn't make it any more awkward in the slightest. "Can I offer you a ride home, at least? I've got a spare helmet in the shop."

"Sure. That'd be nice," he said with a wide grin. While he closed up the shop, she went to get the helmet and they met behind the tattoo parlour in front of her bike.

"It's, uh, pretty?" he said questioningly startling a laugh out of her.

"Thanks! Quite an unusual compliment." She went on to pull the additional foot rests out. "Your first ride on a bike?"

He nodded and scratched his head. A dead giveaway that he was nervous as hell.

"Don't worry. Just hold onto me. And don't fidget!" she instructed him while she got on the bike and instructed him where to put his feet and hands. "Ready?" she asked starting the engine. She could feel him nod against her. "Just tell me where to go."

They only got lost twice on the way home, which Aidiya counted as a success. When they finally stopped in front of a modern apartment building, he was trembling when he got off. But he was good at hiding it. "Thanks!" he said as he handed her the helmet. "That was actually fun!"

She lifted her visor and smiled. "Any time."

She expected him to wave and go inside, instead he was writhing his hands and looking anywhere but her. "Do you- uhm, do you maybe want to get a coffee, sometime?"

She grinned even wider. "Sure. Just come by the parlour tomorrow and we'll settle for a date."

With that his face lit up and that sight alone was worth it all. He waved, just as she had thought and vanished in the building.

The door and the visor fell shut as Aidiya's brain finally processed what had just happened. "Shit!"

~*~

"So, just let me get this straight. The guy that I called dibs on won't go out with me not because he is straight but because he has the hots for you?!"

Aidiya winced. Roban sounded actually offended. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh, no, you don't get out of this that easily."

"What do you want, that I call off the date?"

He laughed. "Oh no!" Aidiya opened her eyes warily. Roban looked positively gleeful. "No, not at all. Please go, this whole thing is hilarious."

She groaned and threw her head back. "Well, joke's on you because I won't go. I know this kind of guys and I had my fair share of them."

"Oh, come on!" Saryan sat down beside her putting her head in her lap. "At least one of us should get some action with the sculpted gods that moved in next door."

"Yeah, and that won't be me." She sighed and threaded her fingers through her hair by habit. "Honestly, your ignorance is bordering on offence."

"It's just coffee, though, right?" Boru piped up from where he was standing in the doorway. "I mean, it can be just coffee. Maybe we're all misinterpreting this whole situation and he just wants to spend some quality time with you."

Diya huffed, still not fully convinced.

"Look, what's the worst possible outcome in this?" Roban asked crossing his arms. "Either you get to spend a chill afternoon with a chill-"

"-and hot," Saryan interrupted him.

"-and hot," he admitted, "guy. Or he tries to make a move on you and you tell him no."

"And if he's an arse about it we'll just... egg his house or something," Saryan proposed. "You know where he lives after all."

The thought put a smile on Aidiya's face.

"There's always that option," Roban agreed. "Though I don't think that'll be necessary. He's a nice guy."

Aidiya and Saryan groaned simultaneously and rolled their eyes. "Yeah, we all know what those are like," her best friend muttered.

Before anyone could answer that the bell over the door chimed and they all sprang apart trying to look positively busy and very normal. Goran stared at them with bewilderment. "Um... am I interrupting something?" he asked warily. "I could come back later."

"No, definitely not!" Saryan answered far too quickly with a smile that was much too wide. "Come on, Boru, we really should look at that horse of yours."

Aidiya knew that was total bullshit. There was no horse sketch at all to be looked at and while she suspected that Goran knew that already it was Roban who completely ruined the illusion: "Right! I should... clean my... needles!" he exclaimed and vanished behind the curtain of the next room that offered nervous teens a semblance of privacy when they got their ears pierced to feel edgy.

Goran watched him go with a frown. "I thought his needles were single-use."

Aidiya sighed and shook her head. "Just ignore him. He's an idiot anyways." She smiled and put on her customer voice: "And how may I help you?"

He blinked a few times, seemingly taken aback. "I- uh- um- coffee," he stammered.

"I'm sorry, due to health regulations we do not offer beverages. I can point you to a nice place, though."

His expression grew even more confused. "No! I meant- We said- Do you want to get a coffee me?"

Diya snickered quietly. "I know, Goran. I was just teasing."

Relief seemed to flood over him as his shoulders relaxed.

"The offer still stands, though. Do you know any nice places or would you like some pointers?" She looked him up and down wondering how such an imposing person could look so innocent.

He smiled. "I guess I'll follow the recommendation of a local."

"A surprise, then," she said with a wink. "Believe me, you are in capable hands. When are you free?"

"Saturday, 3 pm?" he asked with a timid smile. "Don't have plans for the whole day."

"Pick you up at 3, then."

He laughed quietly and leaned on the counter. "Are you going to tell me now to wear something pretty?" he asked a bit quieter than before.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm sure you look dashing whatever you're wearing."

"A surprise, then," he echoed her words and turned to the door. "See you on Saturday."

"See you," she muttered but the door had already closed behind him.

It took only a moment for her friends to reappear: "Phew. Girl's got it hard, huh?" Roban asked and she could hear the insufferable grin in his voice.

"Nah, she's alright. That poor boy, though," she heard Saryan sigh. "Went straight into cardiac arrest."

Only then she awakened from her state of shock. "What do you mean?"

Saryan was grinning now, too. "Aidiya Inkhar was flirting. I thought I'd never see the day."

"I was?" she asked confused.

Her best friend rolled her eyes. "Would you like some pointers?" she quoted. "Gosh, Aidiya!"

"I mean, the whole clothes thing at the end?" Roban joined her. "Can you get more obvious?"

"Believe me, you are in capable hands." Saryan fanned herself and feigned unconsciousness. "So freaking hot." Cracking one eye open she asked: "Marry me, please?"

"She winked!" Roban added. "For god's sake, she winked! And she doesn't realise she's flirting?"

"A hopeless case..." Boru called from the other room.

Aidiya stared at all of them angrily and raised both her middle fingers. "I don't have enough of those..."

The three of them burst out laughing and she was tempted to throw something at them. "I hate all of you."

~*~

She was leaning against her bike enjoying the last warm sunrays of early October debating her own stupidity. It wasn't really that she was nervous. She was not feeling anxious before her coffee... getting - not date! - with Goran. It was just that it was six minutes past three and she had been waiting for the better part of twenty minutes and maybe she was feeling a little fluttery in her stomach after spending two hours in her bedroom with Saryan trying to pick out a fitting outfit - really, you should think that an easy task after both of them spending so much time in the closet - and letting her do her hair and make-up which had been completely ruined by her make-up and now-

the door opened. Goran stepped outside blinking against the autumn sun.

"I was right," she called as a greeting, stuffing her sunglasses into the pocket of her leather jacket. "You do look dashing."

Goran laughed at that and spun in a circle, showing off the plain dark jeans and the Led Zeppelin shirt he was wearing beneath a simple button up. "As do you."

She looked down at her own attire, not so different from his except that her black jeans were ripped showing off her tats and she wore a grey shirt proclaiming 'I don't give a fuck' in purple letters. Looking up he was a lot nearer than anticipated and she nearly tipped over her motorcycle. She grinned to override her nervousness. "Especially the AC/DC shirt," she joked and handed him the spare helmet.

The ride to the café wasn't too long yet it long enough to calm down. "This is one of my favourite places around here," she explained as she took her helmet off and held the door open for him.

"I think I get why," he answered as he stepped inside. It wasn't a large place. Quite the contrary, honestly, with mismatched couches placed around more coffee tables the shop should reasonably be able to hold. Yet already upon entering it smelt deliciously of freshly roasted coffee and the barista behind the counter smiled as she waved hello. "You're a regular, then?"

"Addict is more accurate," she confessed. "Tekan," she nodded in the direction of the barista, "moved here with his parents from Italy. There's nothing quite like it."

They took their time settling down and ridding Aidiya ridding herself of her leather jacket while she explained the menu to him. She ordered a cappuccino and bombolone as always and watched with delight as Goran ordered the same.

Thereafter their conversation moved to other topics: where Goran was from (a tiny isle off the coast, you wouldn't know it), where Aidiya was from (the south-west), why she opened her tattoo parlour (because she hated the company her family ran and wanted to have fun), why he worked with his mom (because he'd like his own flower shop one day), how she had met Saryan and Roban, how he had met Eliot and S'ikan, what it took to become a tattoo artist.

Before they even knew it, they had drained their second cup of coffee and talked their throats raw. With a satisfied smile on her lips Aidiya leaned back in her seat. "So, you're not straight, huh?"

"Nope. Bi and out and proud." He grinned widely mirroring her pose. "You're ace?" he asked pointing to her shirt.

"Yup."

"Cool."

From there on their conversation continued with other topics, covering their favourite bands and books and shows as well as the weirdest facts they had stored away in their brains. When the sun set, they paid their bill (well, Aidiya paid) and she gave him a ride home.

She was already halfway on her way back home when she remembered that it had supposed to have been a date.

~*~

"What do you mean, nothing happened?!"

Aidiya held her phone a bit farther from her ear. "Stop screaming," she ordered Roban, "I heard the same shit already from Saryan."

Said best friend of hers snatched the phone out of her hands and set it to speaker. "Right?! So weird!"

"Tell me exactly what happened!" Roban's tinny voice yelled from the phone. "Every. Single. Detail!"

And so Aidiya did. Again. Not like she had explained all of that the Saryan already who kindly supplied the details Aidiya left out.

When she was done a few moments of silence followed. Then: "Weird."

"Right?!," Saryan screeched again.

"I mean, literally half of that is so cheesy that it would put every romcom to shame. You can't tell me he wasn't flirting with you."

"Maybe he changed his mind," Saryan supplied helpfully.

"Maybe," Roban admitted, lost in thoughts.

Aidiya sighed and let her head fall back. "I should be relieved," she muttered, "the last thing I need right now is a boyfriend." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am relieved."

"No, you're not," both of them said simultaneously.

"No," she admitted. "I'm not." A long pause followed. "Mostly, I am just confused."

~*~

When Aidiya came to the parlour the next Monday a slip of paper with a hastily scribbled phone number waited for her on the counter, signed with a single 'G'. "He wanted to give it to you himself," was all the explanation Roban offered with a shrug.

Aidiya tried to talk to him that evening when she closed up but there was no light burning in the flower shop. So, she saved the number in her phone and texted him when she got home.

They went out a few times after that but all the banter that felt like flirting had vanished and turned into exactly that - friendly banter that flitted over sharp tongues just like with all of their other friends.

Soon after Saryan and Roban and Goran joined them, eradicating any trace of awkward togetherness. Instead he was just absorbed into their group of friends and by the time New Year’s Eve rolled around and they were all crammed into Aidiya and Saryan's tiny two-room flat she almost couldn't imagine what it would be like without him.

He all but moved in with them, often just showing up with one or the other after the closing shift for a movie or two or three and soon it felt only natural to have a blanket and a pillow of the couch and a third toothbrush in their bathroom or too large clothes occupying the dark corners of their closets or waking up to Goran humming along to Led Zeppelin while he made breakfast.

Aidiya still called them AC/DC at every opportunity.

That, however, was the only trace left of those two early meetings of them. Aidiya was glad for it. Really, she was. All that friendly behaviour made it easier to suppress the fluttering feeling that appeared in her belly whenever she saw him until she didn't even remember if it had been there in the first place.

~*~

It was a nice warm evening in early spring and Aidiya was only going to finish that one sketch, then she'd go home, really. But she had to finish it, because else-

A loud thumping noise broke her concentration followed by muffled swearing.

She rolled her eyes. Oh, how she hated after-hour walk-in customers. "We're closed!" she called.

"Even for me?"

Now it was Aidiya swearing as she bolted for the door to open it for Goran. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a frown. It wasn't that late, honestly, that wasn't the problem. But normally Goran sent her a text these days before coming to visit and if just to know on which door he should knock.

He grinned and held up a bottle of vodka and a bag that hopefully held something to mix it with. "Get drunk with me?"

And well, Aidiya was a simple woman nearing her thirtieth birthday. How could she say no to such a proposal when it was so sweetly made? As only answer she went back inside to fetch some glasses and a knife for the cucumber leaving it to Goran to lock the door again.

When she returned, he had already settled on the couch reserved for waiting customers and arranged his assortment of drinks and snacks, gladly accepting the tableware she offered.

"So...," she began while she was clearing up her desk. "Any reason why we're getting drunk?"

"Ask me again after two of those," he answered and handed her one of the cups while making grabby hands at her sketchbook. "Gimme," he whined like some toddler.

With a roll of her eyes she handed it over. "I honestly don't get why you're so obsessed with our sketches."

"Not all of them!" he tried to defend himself while quickly flicking over the sketches he already knew. "Only yours."

She settled down comfortably next to him. "Question still stands."

"They're beautiful!" He took a deep gulp from his cup and pointed at the page he had opened. "I mean, look at that! I've got no idea how to do that!"

"They're half-finished." She smiled as she looked at thee lion she had drawn after that opening party. It had long since been transferred to her skin. "And it's just practice. I mean, I've got no idea how you make the flowers stick together while they are hanging down or something."

He huffed and laughed, continuing to flip through the sketchbook.

"I'm not describing it well, am I?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Well, anyway." She drank a mouthful of her drink, too. "If you're impressed with that you should see the finished tats. Those are masterpieces."

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Show me, then."

Adiya wrinkled her nose and toasted him. "Two more and we're talking."

"Fair," he admitted and stood up to leave the sketchbook in a safe distance. From there their conversation shifted to easier topics. Mostly, they were complaining: About customers and roommates and mothers with the occasional debate over the newest show on Netflix thrown in and before she knew it, she held her third cup in her hands.

"Remind me," she was concentrating hard to talk clearly. "Why are we getting drunk again?"

"My dad's an arsehole," he grumbled leaning back.

"Shit happens. How did you notice?"

"Wants me to return home. Finish university or some bullshit. He screamed at my mum first, then she cried and I took the phone. Then he screamed at me, too."

"Hm. What did you do then?"

"Told him to go fuck himself. Bought booze. Came here."

She nodded slowly, not sure how to answer that.

With a groan he sat up and looked at her expectantly. "So?" he asked.

For a moment she pondered to feign ignorance. Suddenly she felt much too sober for this whole endeavour. "Hm?"

"Your tattoos. You promised me masterpieces."

"Right... So, that was my first one." She held out her arm and showed off two shapes vaguely resembling Simba from the Lion King. "Courtesy of Irian, my aunt Warkuya paid and got the same one."

He smiled tracing the lines with his fingers. "Why?"

Aidiya blushed worrying her lip between her teeth. Well, she had promised, hadn't she? "She called me her little cub when I was little. So..."

"The Lion King."

"Obviously."

He continued looking at the many shapes on her arm until his gaze snapped up. "Wait. Did you say Irian? As in Irian Iuan, Kalia Au'eli's girlfriend."

"Wife, actually," she said unimpressed. "I learned to ink in her parlour, Saryan too. And I did the sun on Kalia's back."

"You're kidding."

She shrugged. "A year ago, maybe. Look it up. It's on my Instagram and hers. So, do you want to know more about my tats or not?"

He quickly closed his mouth and nodded.

"That's the first I designed myself." She pointed to a chain around her wrist with a broken link. "Was pretty depressed back then. Still proud of it though. Eloa Tuanar did it."

"Am I allowed to ask?"

She winced only a little. "I told my family I wanted to be a tattoo artist. They kicked me out."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's for the better." She shrugged out of her jacket and showed off her other forearm with a broken sword covered in vines. "That's the first Saryan designed. Didn't ink it though. We added the plants later. You know? Because I'm a plant ace?"

He grinned and nodded. She went through most of her tattoos - at least those she didn't have to lower her trousers for. They might be friends but they were not quite there yet. The longer they talked the emptier the bottle grew.

"Ah," she said with a lopsided smile, struggling a bit to stay upright. "Wanna see the newest one?"

"Sure."

Without thinking about it she pulled her shirt over her head to show off her under-boob: the lion head surrounded by grasses and flowers.

With satisfaction she watched as his jaw dropped. He raised his hand as if he wanted to touch it but thankfully, he lowered it again.

"Told you, it's a masterpiece. Irian's again. She's simply the best."

He smiled fondly, his alcohol-induced mind struggling to focus on her. "Little cub, huh?"

She laughed and pulled her shirt back on. "All grown up now," she answered draining her drink.

After that they sat together in comfortable silence for a bit.

"Rum's empty...," Goran slurred finally and yawned.

Aidiya nodded. She was about to puke anyways. "Let's go home?"

Together they managed to call a taxi and actually not vomit inside even though it was a close call for Goran. Then they only had to stumble up four flights of stairs and get the key inside the keyhole - admittedly the most difficult task of the evening.

Once inside Aidiya found herself still holding onto Goran's waist as they stumbled towards her room. Normally, he would leave her there and go to sleep on the couch. Today he didn't. Today she didn't care. It was nice, not sleeping alone. Nice and warm and dangerous.

~*~

When Aidiya woke she was far too warm and her head was pounding like a bass drum. "Fuck," she murmured and tried to kick the blanket off.

"Ow," the blanket answered.

Suddenly, she was wide awake. She found herself pressed firmly against another body, held in place by two arms wrapped around her waist. Their legs were tangled with the blanket and her face was settled on his chest and ew- she had drooled on Goran's shirt.

'Wait a fucking minute-' She slowly raised her eyes to stare in horror at Goran who seemed to be sleeping soundly. Something in her chest that she had kept under lock and key for quite some time flared up again like wildfire. Aidiya decided that that was an appropriate moment to start panicking.

'Fuck,' she thought while she frantically tried to disentangle heir two bodies without waking him. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.' She had decided to just let that go after that unsuccessful first date-that-hadn't-been-a-date. Her friends had let it go and Goran certainly hadn't brought it up again. And she had been doing so well. And now this. The fact that they both were wearing most of their clothes was only a small solace.

The panic in her chest didn't subside even when she had finally managed to get out of bed and tiptoe to the door without so much of a reaction as a tired grunt from Goran while he turned over. She grabbed a fresh change of clothes and slipped out of the room.

"Good morning, sleepyheads," Saryan greeted without looking up from her phone. "How's the bed, Goran?"

"Shhhh!" Aidiya said wide-eyed and quickly started changing. "He's still asleep," she whispered.

"Oh." Saryan looked up, interest and mischief glinting in her eyes. "Well, how's the hottie?"

"Will you keep quiet?" Aidiya hissed and made her way over to the kitchen to get some coffee. She was in desperate need for one, although she'd preferred something stronger. "Nothing happened..."

Saryan raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'nothing happened'? It can't be 'nothing happened'. I was ready to collect my money!"

"For fuck's sake, Saryan, nothing happened and nothing will ever- Were you betting on this, you absolute menace?"

She pointedly looked down on her phone. "Ooops."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Just pass me the betting pool because no-one is gonna win anything."

"Aidiya, you don't have to keep pretending-"

"Ughhh." She slammed her cup down on the counter. "Damn right, Saryan. I don't have to keep pretending because nothing happened and I don't want anything to happen so nothing is ever going to happen." She watched with at least a little satisfaction how Saryan's eyes grew wider and wider with every word. "We were drunk and could barely open the door so whatever was between us last night was a mistake and is never going to happen again. Got that?"

"Got that," Goran's quiet voice said from behind her.

'Fuck,' she thought, not daring to turn around.

"Uh, do you want breakfast?" Saryan offered.

"No, uh- I'll be going now," Goran answered.

The door closed behind him, the sound footsteps on the stairs quickly fading. When she couldn't hear them anymore, she turned around to Saryan. Her heart was still beating in her chest, head dizzy from more than just the alcohol, oh so much more. "Fuck," she whispered softly.

~*~

"I fucked up," Aidiya sniffled, hugging the pillow closer to her chest, "I fucked up so bad. I don't even know why I said all of this, I didn't mean any of it! And now he hates me!"

"Now that's maybe a bit harsh, don't you think?" Roban tried to soothe her and patted her arm gently. "It can't be that bad."

"You didn't hear what I said!" she sobbed.

"She's got a point, you know," Saryan said quietly.

Aidiya looked up at her and her lower lip started wobbling again, tears filling her eyes. "This is the worst day of my life!" She buried her face in the pillow.

She hurt a sound that sounded suspiciously like Roban hitting Saryan and Boru murmuring: "Way to go, Saryan."

"Alright," Roban tried again. "So, what we need is a plan for you to apologise and confess your eternal love."

"But he hates me!"

"Yeah, that's why we'll start with an apology," Boru said with a sigh.

"Besides," Roban added, "you were hungover and probably still drunk, he'll hardly hold you responsible for your actions."

"Nah, he won't," Saryan said, "you maybe broke his heart but he's too much in love with you to really hate you. Strongly dislike maybe, but hate? Never."

"You are not helping," Roban grumbled.

"But how?" Aidiya whined.

Saryan raised her hands in defeat. "I don't know, for fuck's sake, alright? You know him best of us, what does he like?"

"Coffee," she sniffled. "And flowers."

"We never would've guessed," her best friend mumbled and Roban quickly clasped a hand over her mouth.

"Callas are his favourite. And cornflowers. And he likes it when bouquets do the swoopy thing."

"You're not describing it very well," Boru offered.

"I know!" She let her head thumped back against the couch. "He used to say that all the time."

"I think we can work with that," Roban interrupted her self-pity. "Now, for the plan-"

~*~

They didn't get a lot more done that day, mostly attributed to the fault that Aidiya was feeling terribly hungover and that Goran didn't work in the shop that day. She could always just drive by his house but they unanimously agreed that she was in no way capable of driving any vehicle in her current state.

The next morning Aidiya woke early, though she didn't feel much better than the previous day. The whole affair had left a sour taste in her mouth and truth be told she dreaded the moment she had to see Goran again and apologise for... well, a lot.

Still she drove to the tattoo parlour, stopping for coffee on the way and then braced herself. With one deep breath she stepped into the flower shop. Goran was there as well as Ehehu - not that she needed the encounter to be any more awkward. Still, she smiled.

"Hello," she said and placed the coffee on the counter. "I'm here to pick up a bouquet."

Goran was stone-faced and stared at her as if she'd just grown a second head. "Excuse me?"

"I'd like to pick up a bouquet," she repeated. "I ordered it yesterday and was told I could pick it up today."

"Of course, sweetie," Ehehu said with a large grin as she poked Goran in the side. "I'll get it for you." She vanished in the back, leaving the two of them to their uncomfortable silence and when she returned, she just thrust the flowers into Goran's hands before leaving again.

"Can I get you anything else?" Goran asked monotonously, his autopilot evidently kicking in.

She chewed on her lip before asking: "Do you have apology cards?"

He sighed and let the bouquet fall on the counter. "Alright, Aidiya," he said exasperatedly, "what the hell?"

"I am trying to apologise for my behaviour," she said quietly. Awkwardly she pushed the coffee forward. "Look, it says 'sorry'. It even has a pouty face."

He scowled and eyed the coffee warily. Then, finally, he took it and took a sip. "Thanks." That she took as an improvement.

"I'm saying sorry, too," she said quietly, "You weren't meant to hear all of that-"

"Yeah, I guessed as much."

She winced. "It's just stupid, I lashed out at Saryan because she keeps telling me that we're perfect at each other and fuck, I'm rambling again-" A bright blush crept up her face. "-but anyways, I'm just tired of it and it makes everything just so much more complicated because it's-"

"-not what you want, I know," he interrupted her. "Look, Aidiya, I'm sorry, too. If I'd known that being around me mad you so uncomfortable, I'd never-"

"But it doesn't!" she said quickly. The blush on her cheeks burned even hotter. "Quite the opposite, actually. And that's just the problem. It- all of this was going so well and then I fucked up because I got my stupid feelings in the way."

He blinked stupidly. "Come again?"

"And I get that you don't feel the same so I am really sorry for ruining all of this and-"

"Why on earth would you think that?" When she looked up, he seemed genuinely offended. "What- why?" Now that was just pure agony spreading through his features.

"Well, um- when we went for coffee, I thought... I thought it'd be a date and then nothing happened and- well, I thought you weren't interest."

"Well, shit," he whispered, a stunned look on his face. He stayed like that for a few moments before laughing frantically. "Well, that's just my luck, huh?"

"Goran, I don't understand."

An agonised look passed over his face. "Aidiya, I'm in love with you! And I thought I'd ruined it!"

"...what...?" she said eloquently.

"Pretty much since I first laid eyes on you and I thought we'd manage but I couldn't and now-"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on! Go back and say that again!"

"I'm in love with- wha- wait, why are you crying?"

"You idiot!" she sniffled and punched him in the shoulder. "You beautiful, huge fucking idiot! I can't believe you. I can't believe us! We could have had this conversation months ago and spared us-" She gestured at their general surroundings. "-all of this!"

He smiled awkwardly. "I guess."

She shook her head. "Ridiculous." Then she gripped his shirt and pulled him forward into a short kiss. "Good that that's settled now."

"Y-yeah," he stammered.

"Are you quite done, now?" Aidiya heard Ehehu's voice from behind Goran. But when she leaned over to look, she saw that she had a smile on her face. "Take the day off and get the hell out of my shop. You two seem to need it."

Aidiya smiled brightly, too, and took Goran's hand. "We will. Come with me?"

"Where are we going?" he asked but followed her anyways.

She just shrugged. "A surprise?"

"A surprise, then," he agreed.

#my writing #WritersMonth2020 #Original Work #original fiction #original character #this was so much fun #i look forward to the other prompts

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