#i can see her and leafy getting along

[t4t-sawty]

my new obsession of the month is original post-split/bfb 16

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 64]

<< First | < Previous | Next >

AO3 Link

-

Tobias and Nia introduce Junie and Samir to the guild.

-

Samir stands strong in the wake of Nia’s enthusiasm. Her tail is a blur as she bombards the poor skiddo with questions that they struggle to answer with a simple yes or no.

“So that’s the mystery visitor?” Junie whispers, fluttering onto Tobias’ shoulder.

“Yeah. A Seeker we worked with in Fort Asra,” Tobias whispers back.

“You don’t seem as thrilled as Nia about them showing up here.”

Tobias’ mouth flattens as he tries to figure out his feelings on Samir’s sudden appearance.

On one hand, Tobias actually liked working with Samir. They’re competent at their job, and their personality isn’t insufferable like Andyn or some other Seekers he’s met over the years.

On the other hand, Tobias hasn’t forgotten that Nia offered Samir a place in the guild, and potentially on their team. Logically, Tobias shouldn’t be against the idea of more team members, but he still feels a little…territorial, maybe? Of his current team with Nia. He doesn’t want anything or anyone to intrude on the partnership they’ve built.

Then again, they’ve already got Junie and Fidel tagging along to the mountains, so what difference would one more Pokemon really make?

Tobias shakes his head. He’s getting ahead of himself.

“No, I like them,” Tobias admits. “Just…surprised to see them here so suddenly.”

Junie hums, but doesn’t push further.

Samir interrupts Nia’s chatter by holding up a hoof. Then they use their teeth to carefully pull a rolled-up tube of papers out of the side of their pack, holding the makeshift scroll out to her.

Nia blinks, then takes the offered papers and unrolls them to read. Tobias walks closer to read over her shoulder, giving Samir a cordial nod of greeting first.

He’s unsurprised to see that the first page is an official guild form. A transfer form, for Samir to join or create their own team here at the Lexym Guild.

Tobias’ stomach sinks. Looks like he was right. And he doesn’t really hate the idea—or at least he shouldn’t. Samir is just about the best option they could ask for when looking for a third teammate, but…

It’s just weird to think about having another official member on their team. It would change everything about their dynamic and how they run missions. No more Tobias and Nia. Instead, it would be Tobias, Nia, and Samir.

Tobias forces himself to continue reading with a neutral expression. The letter stipulates that Samir can officially leave the jurisdiction of their old guild and join the Lexym Guild as long as they get August’s approval. Which, judging by the leafy stamp at the bottom of the page beside August’s sloppy signature, they already did.

There’s a second sheet below the first, and Nia flips to it, only to find an additional request form to join Team Scarlet specifically. Samir’s signature sits at the bottom of the page, in even messier handwriting. There’s an empty space above it for Nia and Tobias’ signatures, if they approve.

As one, they all look up at Samir.

The skiddo is clearly nervous, as much as they try to hide it. They gesture again at the papers. Nia flips to the final page, which is covered in blunt, shaky Ordirune, likely penned by the tip of Samir’s hoof. It’s so messy it’s almost childlike, but it’s legible.

I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TO JOIN TEAM SCARLET OFFICIALLY. I BELIEVE WE WORK WELL TOGETHER AFTER OUR PARTNERSHIP IN FORT ASRA.

NO OBLIGATION IF YOU DO NOT AGREE. I CAN FIND ANOTHER TEAM.

THANK YOU.

SAMIR

The blunt yet formal language actually gets a snort from Tobias, despite his mixed feelings about the whole situation. He really does like Samir. He just…needs some time to think this over first.

“You really want to join our team?” Nia asks, dumbfounded. Then a frown creases her face. “You’re sure you’re all right leaving your old guild?”

Samir grimaces, then nods. Tobias remembers the words they scratched into the dirt during their stakeout in the desert, about the partner who’d abandoned them after their injury made them mute.

DIDN’T WANT ME

Their partner and the guild as a whole were probably happy to be rid of Samir, if the skiddo’s judgement is accurate.

Tobias swallows down a growl. Samir’s old partner and guild are idiots for shunning the skiddo so blatantly. Especially considering how capable they are as a Seeker, mute or not.

Samir must’ve come straight here after finishing their duties in Fort Asra and putting the transfer paperwork through. It feels…not quite desperate, but close enough for sympathy to well up in Tobias’ gut. He knows what it’s like to be disliked or—at best—pitied by those around you. He can imagine it’s even worse for something you can’t help, like losing your voice from an injury.

Still, Tobias is grateful that Nia looks at him before blurting out an answer, a question clear on her face. Tobias’ expression must look as uncertain as he feels, because she doesn’t even hesitate before turning back to Samir to say, “Could we talk it over on our own before giving you an answer, Samir?”

The skiddo nods, looking relieved that Tobias and Nia are going to consider the proposition at all. Then they turn to leave.

“Wait!” Nia says, reaching for them. “We need to talk before giving you an official answer, but you’re still our friend. You don’t need to leave. I-If you want to stay, that is.”

Tobias can agree with that, at least, and shrugs casually when Samir looks at him.

“Yeah! Come help us piece this monster of a bed together,” Junie says. “It’s craft time in here and boy are these two bad at it.”

“You could help if we’re so terrible,” Tobias grumbles, brushing the rookidee off his shoulder and moving back to the half-assembled bed frame.

“That peg is heavier than I am, Toby! What am I gonna do? Get squished? Not helpful. For your information, I am doing an excellent job at supervising.”

“You’re doing an excellent job at being even more annoying than usual.”

As they bicker, Nia leads a hesitant Samir over to their operation, pointing out what they’re doing: fitting wooden pieces together and building up the bed’s frame piece by piece. Once Samir has the gist, they jump in to help with a serious expression. They’re painfully earnest about it, too, as if this is a mission to prove their worth to the team as a whole.

Yeesh. It’s a bit intense, even for Tobias.

“Jeez, you’re a serious one, aintcha?” Junie asks, peering down at Samir from her “supervising position” atop one post of the bed frame. “It’s all right to lighten up a bit, y’know?”

Samir ignores the suggestion, shrugging uncomfortably

“Toby said your name’s Samir, right? I’m Junie!”

Samir offers a distracted nod in greeting.

Junie is quiet for a moment, tilting her head one way and then the other. “So…is the no-talking thing by choice, or..?”

Samir drops the wooden dowel they’d been delicately holding in their teeth. Nia stammers something unintelligible.

“They’re mute,” Tobias cuts in, pointedly casual. “Injury.”

“Ohh.” Junie nods. “’Kay! Just curious. Guess that means you don’t have vines to talk with, either.”

Tobias pauses in his own work, curious despite himself. Can skiddo learn vine whip?

Samir winces, then lifts their chin to tap at their throat. It takes Tobias a moment to understand what they’re saying.

“Your injury?” Tobias guesses.

Most grass types do have the base of their vines somewhere around their throat. If Samir’s injury was bad enough to damage their vocal cords, it’s possible that it messed with other parts of their body as well.

How did they even survive that kind of injury?

Samir nods, confirming Tobias’ guess. Then they focus back on their work with a steeliness that screams for Junie to stop talking about this.

So Junie, of course, keeps talking about it.

“Oh. Have you ever tried talking with like…morse code or something? Oh! Or whistles? Sometimes mail ‘mon use different chirps and stuff to communicate codes instead of talking. It’s super neat!”

Morse code? Tobias thinks Nia mentioned something similar during their stakeout in Asra. And the whistle idea isn’t actually a bad suggestion, either.

Samir’s stiff posture eases as they blink at Junie, surprised. Whether by her easy acceptance or her surprisingly thoughtful ideas, Tobias isn’t sure.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of whistling!” Nia says, pausing in her own work. “Can you whistle, Samir? Or, like, click your tongue?”

Samir hesitates, looking between the three of them. Then, quietly, they click their tongue against the roof of their mouth. Once, twice.

Nia beams. “You can!”

“Try to whistle,” Junie prompts.

Samir’s muzzle clearly isn’t made for it, but after a few tries, they do manage to get a weak whistle out between forceful gusts of air.

“Now we’re in business!” Junie cheers. “There’s gotta be some kind of Pokemon language set up for situations like this, right? I mean, some Pokemon don’t even have mouths and I can say from personal experience that sign language isn’t always an option.”

“I bet Avery or their dad would know!” Nia says, perking up at the chance to go to the archives and learn something new. “Would you be interested in that, Samir? Learning something like Morse code or whistle phrases so we could communicate a little easier?”

Samir, once again, looks blown away by the easy acceptance that Nia and Junie are offering. They swallow hard with suspiciously bright eyes, and nod.

“Great! How about we stop by the archives right away once we get this built?”

“If you get it built,” Junie corrects. “I’m down, though. I want the whole grand tour of this place!”

“Oh, right! Did anyone give you a tour of the guild yet, Samir?”

Samir makes a so-so motion with their hoof. So likely a surface-level tour that covered the necessities, but nothing in-depth. August probably just assigned a random low-level Seeker to do the honors.

“We’ll show you around,” Tobias decides, grunting as he finally gets two wooden posts wedged together properly. He steps back to give it a look, nodding in satisfaction.

It thankfully doesn’t take much longer to fit the bed frame together, and then Tobias, Nia, and Samir haul the surprisingly heavy mattress atop it. When that’s done, Nia grabs the blankets they’d pulled from storage during their previous trip to the guild, and throws them on top. The whole setup creates a strange but cozy-looking nest elevated a foot off the ground. Just high enough for Tobias to comfortably sit on. It’s surprisingly large, too, easily big enough for both Nia and Tobias to curl up together. Samir could probably even squeeze in if they wanted to, and Junie could definitely find a spot.

While Tobias isn’t sure how to feel about that mental picture, he can’t deny the bed itself looks incredibly cozy. He’s willing to give it a shot, after how soft it felt earlier.

“I am pumped to go to sleep tonight,” Junie says. “Good job, crew.”

“Same!” Nia says, sitting on the bed and looking pleased about its bounce. “Tobias, Samir, are you two going to try it too?”

“I’ll give it a shot,” Tobias says.

Samir looks surprised to be included, giving a noncommittal shrug and a shuffle of their hooves in an almost shy gesture.

With that task complete, they finally get to show Junie and Samir around the guild properly, starting on the bottom floor where the mission boards are stationed. They briefly explain the network of tunnels surrounding them, taking a few steps inside one so the newcomers can get the full effect. Junie is expectedly awed by the glowing crystals growing from the walls and floor and ceiling, but even Samir seems impressed by their quiet beauty.

Their group stops by the nursery floor, too, both to show it to Junie and Samir and so Tobias can check in on the shinx cubs. He isn’t at all surprised to find that Asher has captivated the entire group of children, the zorua shifting between each child’s species with ease and delighting in their excited reactions. It feels strangely dreamlike when Asher turns into a fourth shinx cub at the others’ behest, and Tobias leans over to bet Nia that they’ll use that ability to torment their older brother at least once. Nia laughs and doesn’t take that bet.

Fidel is there too, the zoroark watching his son entertain the other children with a relieved smile as he sits next to Arlo. The drampa is keeping a watchful eye on the kids as usual, but he’s taking the opportunity to rest while Asher keeps them busy. The two older ‘mon wave at Tobias, Nia, Junie and Samir when they notice them lingering in the doorway, but otherwise don’t move to approach.

Next, Tobias and Nia show off the cafeteria, Nia giggling as she regales them with their last mission on kitchen duty. After that, they show them the item dispensary floor and the training floor, too, which clearly catches Samir’s interest. Nia waves enthusiastically to Val when she spots the medicham across the room, supervising a mock battle between a treecko and a venonat. Val gives a slight upturn of her lips and a nod in return.

They do end up stopping by the archives as well, and Nia introduces the two newcomers to the archivists, Alistair the gardevoir and Tawny the ribombee. Tawny and Junie hit it off right away, tiny chatterboxes that they are, and Alistair is clearly intrigued by their quest for a non-verbal language that Samir could use to communicate easier.

The gardevoir disappears into the shelves with Nia and Samir in tow, and Tobias—despite his better judgement—stays behind to listen to Junie and Tawny ramble about…nesting on top of the library shelves?

Maybe he should’ve went with the others.

Luckily, it doesn’t take long for Alistair to return with Samir and Nia. The gardevoir has a book in his hands that’s dusty from disuse, and while he sounds apologetic that he can’t help much personally, he does comment that Avery actually knows a few rudimentary phrases of the whistle-based language contained within.

Samir still looks shocked by the easy, enthusiastic help that Nia and the others are offering, and Tobias feels a jab of anger towards the skiddo’s old guild. Seekers are supposed to help, regardless of the problem, and that includes their own members. Tobias should tell August to look into Samir’s old guild when this whole “world-saving” business is done. Something isn’t right over there, and he knows August would take his concerns seriously.

Once they’re done checking out the book, Tobias smothers his ire and leads their group farther up the tree, past the administrative floor and the Seeker quarters until they finally reach the medical wing. Fen is busy looking over a pair of Pokemon when they pass by, but Maggie immediately abandons what she’s mixing up at the counter as soon as she notices their arrival.

“Welcome home!” The meganium says, happily returning the hugs Tobias and Nia press into her flowery mane. Then she looks over their heads and smiles. “And with two new faces! Would this happen to be…Junie? And Samir?”

“Are you a psychic type or did Toby just complain about me that much?” Junie asks, fluttering forward to land on Nia’s shoulder. Samir just looks surprised to be recognized at all.

Maggie stifles a laugh, a vine coming up over her mouth. “I assure you he only complained his usual amount, and Nia had all good things to say. It’s lovely to meet you, dear.”

“You too!” Junie chirps. “You have excellent vibes, ma’am. No idea how you’ve dealt with Toby’s nonsense for so many years.”

Maggie does laugh aloud this time, and Tobias rolls his eyes.

Nia waves Samir forward, and they hesitantly step closer.

“And you must be Samir,” Maggie says with a gentler smile. “It’s lovely to meet you as well, dear. Thank you for taking such good care of these two in Fort Asra.”

Samir ducks their head into a shy nod.

“Dude, stop being so adorable,” Junie teases. “I wanna be the new favorite child.”

Samir hunches even more into themself. Tobias has to admit it’s kind of hilarious, after how stoic and sure of themself they were in Fort Asra. Clearly the new location and overwhelming friendliness is an environment they’re much less confident in.

Tobias and Nia quickly catch Maggie up on their trip to Will’s settlement, and it’s only when Samir can’t seem to hide a look of shock that Tobias realizes something: Samir wasn’t aware of the whole world-saving business they’d been assigned by Giratina. Samir didn’t even know that Nia was human.

All things considered, Tobias thinks the skiddo is taking it rather well. Their brow is furrowed and their gaze is distant as they try to process everything, but they aren’t sprinting from the room or visibly upset. Still, Nia and Maggie both seem concerned.

“Samir..?” Nia prompts.

Samir opens their mouth to speak before closing it again with a frustrated grunt. They shake their head and wave Nia off, as if to assure her that they’re fine.

“Gotta say,” Junie laughs, clearly enjoying the whole situation. “You’re handling this whole, ‘The world is ending and an eldritch god assigned us to save it’ thing better than I probably would’ve all at once. Oh! And Nia being human. I’m human too, if it matters.”

Samir once again loses their composure for a moment, eyes bulging as they look at Junie. Then they whip their head back to Nia and Tobias as if to ask if there’s anything else earth-shattering they should know about.

Nia holds up her paws. “That’s it! I promise!”

“For now, at least,” Tobias adds.

Samir’s gaze goes distant again, as if already beholding the horrors that lie ahead.

“Sure you still want to join this team?” Junie jokes.

“Yeahhh…we probably should’ve warned you about, uh, all of that first,” Nia says, cringing. “Um. You’re welcome to back out if it’s too much? We’d understand.”

Maggie looks more surprised by the idea of Samir joining their team than by anything else in this conversation. She gives Tobias a probing, concerned look.

He shrugs, mouthing, Still deciding.

Maggie’s expression softens, and she mouths back, Tell me if you need to talk.

Tobias nods, relieved that she knows him so well. He doesn’t know if he’ll take her up on the offer, but it’s always good to be reminded that it’s an option.

Samir, on the other hand, is clearly still riding the waves of all the information just dumped on them. But after a minute of silent thought, they finally shake their head, tap the ground twice, and nod. Their expression is determined.

“You want to help?” Tobias guesses.

Samir nods again.

Nia brightens. “Then we’re happy to have you along! Though it is unfortunate that we’re heading somewhere so cold right off the bat, since you’re a grass type. Will you be okay up in the mountains?”

“You can pick up a cloak from Vera’s winter storage before we go,” Tobias says. “But Nia’s right. It’ll still be rough on you and Junie in particular thanks to your typings.”

Samir doesn’t seem overly concerned by the terrain they’ll be facing. If anything, they simply look deep in thought, as if strategizing what they’ll need to combat the harsh environment. Tobias can’t help admiring that, even if it’s what he expected of the skiddo after Fort Asra. Samir doesn’t balk from a challenge, even if that challenge may decide the fate of the world.

Their group spends a bit more time with Maggie before heading back downstairs to the Seeker quarters. Nia wants to see if Xander’s team has returned yet since it’s nearing late afternoon.

Instead of Xander, it’s Andyn who Tobias runs right into while rounding a corner of the hallway.

Oh, perfect. The gods are laughing at Tobias in their sleep.

Andyn backsteps. “Oh, sorry, I—"

She cuts herself off as she realizes who she bumped into, and her expression darkens. The deerling stalks past Tobias and the others without a word.

“Wait, Andyn—” Nia says.

“We’re busy, Nia.”

Nia falls silent, wilting. Tobias is tempted to snarl something after Andyn, but he’s distracted by Ezra and Jaz, who are hurrying after their team leader from the direction of their room. The two ‘mon pause once they see Tobias, Nia and their tagalongs.

“Oh, hey!” Ezra says, grinning with his sharp sneasel teeth. “Didn’t know you were back already!”

“Is she still in a mood?” Tobias asks, crossing his arms. “It’s been like a week.”

Jaz sighs. “No, she’s been okay. Probably just wasn’t happy to see you again so soon, Tobias.”

“She can really hold a grudge,” Ezra adds cheerfully. Then his eyes land on Samir and Junie. “Ooh, new faces! You two friends with Nia and Tobias?”

“We are!” Junie chirps, puffing out her chest with pride. “Name’s Junie. That’s Samir. I’m guessing that ray of sunshine was your teammate?”

Jaz gives her a regretful smile. “I promise she‘s not normally like that. She’s just trying to untangle some…unpleasant emotions that Tobias brought out last week.”

“Doesn’t mean she has to ignore Nia to do that,” Tobias grumbles.

“Nah, but she probably finds it easier to push you both away rather than trying to sidestep one half of a team,” Ezra says. “After all, you’re pretty much joined at the hip nowadays. She’ll figure it out eventually, Nia. Try not to take it personally.”

“That’s stupid,” Junie scoffs. “Why shouldn’t Nia take it personally? We shouldn’t just have to deal with miss priss acting like a brat because Toby made her think about something she didn’t want to hear.”

Jaz winces. The stufful’s usual composure falters with guilt. Nia looks like she’s about to protest, but Jaz cuts her off. “No no, she’s right. We…probably enable Andyn more than we should.”

“She’s never gonna stop being a brat if you don’t put your foot down,” Tobias agrees.

Ezra and Jaz exchange a look.

“You’re right,” Ezra says, chuckling. “But it’s just easier to ride it out sometimes, y’know? Andyn can be a lot, but she’s still our best friend. It can be hard standing up to her when she’s upset.”

Samir nods immediately in understanding, and once again Tobias wants to meet the skiddo’s former partner. Just to talk. And maybe punch a little.

“Ez! Jaz! C’mon!”

Andyn’s voice rings out from the hall behind them, and Tobias huffs. Not even doubling back to grab her teammates? Coward.

“Sorry, gotta go,” Ezra says. “But we need to catch up when this all blows over!”

“Stay safe,” Jaz adds.

And then the two Pokemon are gone, hurrying after Andyn. There’s a moment of quiet.

“Well, that doesn’t seem like a very healthy team dynamic,” Junie chirps from Nia’s shoulder.

Nia makes a sound in her throat like she wants to agree, but doesn’t want to badmouth her friend. “Andyn’s dealing with a lot of pressure from her parents. I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon!”

Tobias doesn’t argue, knowing a futile battle when he sees one. Instead, he pushes past the encounter to lead their group to Team Shellshock’s quarters. Much as Tobias didn’t get along with Xander in the past, at least he can count on the luxio to actually act like an adult.

When they get there, the team’s door is halfway open, and inside Tobias spots Xander removing items from Team Shellshock’s satchel, Avery logging something onto their team badges, and Felix flopping down into a nest with a relieved sigh. Looks like they just got back from a long day.

Xander’s ears twitch before Tobias can knock, and he looks up with a warm smile. “Hey. Almost didn’t recognize you two with an extra set of hooves along for the ride. Come on in.”

They do so, Nia going straight for a hug that Xander returns with a loud purr.

Kry, munching on a yache berry against the far wall, locks onto the new faces of the group immediately. “Who are you two?”

Junie perks up, fluttering forward to perch on a windowsill by the fraxure. “I’m Junie! Mail ‘mon in training.”

Kry loses interest immediately. She looks at Samir instead.

Samir straightens up, glancing at Nia in an almost panicked fashion.

“Oh!” Nia pulls out of the hug to gesture towards the skiddo. “And this is Samir. They just transferred here from another guild.”

“You battle?” Kry asks.

Samir blinks, but nods.

Kry bares her teeth in a grin. “Consider me your next opponent, then. I wanna see your battle technique after being trained by a different set of mentors.”

“That’s her way of making new friends,” Felix whisper-yells to Samir.

Samir looks uncomfortable being the center of attention, but they hesitantly nod.

“So what’s your deal?” Junie asks. “You’re only friends with people you can fight?”

Kry shrugs. “You don’t impress me much if you don’t.”

Oh. Oh, that was the wrong thing to say to Junie.

The rookidee narrows her eyes. Then, quick as a flash, she lunges, grabs the last of Kry’s berry—almost half her size—and flies out the open door.

Kry blinks, hand still curled around an invisible berry.

Felix barks a laugh, and Nia’s giggles follow shortly after. Xander and Avery look just as stunned as Kry.

Tobias grins. Okay, he can see the humor in Junie’s antics when they aren’t being directed at him.

“Hey!” Kry yells, bolting out of the room. “I am going to murder you, you ball of feathers!"

Samir looks genuinely concerned by the threat, but Felix waves them off. “She won’t actually hurt her. She knows she’d get a scolding for that.”

Tobias snorts. “You should be more worried about Kry, honestly. Junie’s a menace.”

Felix’s fluffy ears perk, the wartortle clearly delighted by that tidbit of information. “Really. Well, that’s a fun development. I’m guessing this is the same Junie you all met back in Ghatha?”

“Yeah!” Nia says. “And Samir is the skiddo we met in Fort Asra.”

“Sounds like you’ve been as busy as ever,” Avery says. The kirlia folds into a sit with unnatural grace, patting the ground for Nia and the others to join them. “Feel like sharing?”

“Ooh, yeah! You two always get into the craziest binds,” Felix says, scooting closer. “What’ve you been up to this time?”

Tobias and Nia exchange a look, then start on the (abridged) version of their trip to the human settlement. While they don’t go into detail on why exactly they visited Kaleido Bay, Nia does make sure to thank Team Shellshock for their gift of an all power-up orb.

Who knows if they would’ve been able to defeat Dismas without it.

Xander just sighs at that, giving them a tired smile. “Sometimes I don’t know who’s pushing me towards gray fur faster—you two or the cubs. I’m glad we could help, though.”

“Now I feel like we need to supply you more often to ensure your safety,” Avery says, only half-teasing. “A weekly care package, perhaps?”

“That won’t be necessary!” Nia laughs, waving the kirlia off. “Um. Probably not, at least.”

Tobias snorts. “With our track record? Wouldn’t be the worst idea.”

Even Samir has a long-suffering expression of agreement on their face, and they’ve only been with Tobias and Nia for one life-threatening scenario.

“I guess it makes sense you’d run into trouble so often when you travel as much as you two do,” Felix says. “Actually, do you mind me asking why you travel so much? I’ve been wondering. Most teams stay closer to home, especially this early in your career.”

Nia opens her mouth to answer, then hesitates. She glances at Samir, recently roped into the whole “world-saving” business, then gives Tobias an unsure, questioning look. He shrugs in response. Nia is the one with the personal quest from Giratina, and these are Nia’s friends before his. She gets to decide who she clues into the reality of their situation. He’s honestly kind of surprised she hasn’t done so already.

After an awkward moment of silence, Nia says, “It’s…actually kind of complicated. I didn’t want to tell you guys if I didn’t have to worry you, but it might be good for you to know.”

The quiet flap of wings interrupts before Nia can go any further. Junie glides causally into the room, perching on Nia’s shoulder with berry juice staining the feathers around her beak. Smugness radiates from her like a visible thing.

“Hey.”

Felix raises his brows, clearly impressed. “Hey. I see you survived Kry’s rampage?”

Junie laughs. “She’s so clumsy! I thought she’d give me a better chase, honestly. She’s even easier to rile up than Toby.”

Right on cue, Kry comes crashing into the room, breathing hard with rage in her eyes. She locks onto Junie. “You.”

“No murdering, Kry,” Felix drawls.

Kry glares at the wartortle, but then looks at Xander as if to verify.

The luxio sighs. “No murder, Kry.”

The fraxure growls. “Meet me in the arena, you little puff of air.”

Junie puts on a show of considering the idea, then smirks. “Nah.”

For a moment, Kry looks like she’s actually going to lunge. Junie snuggles closer to Nia’s neck, apparently safe in the knowledge that somebody will stop any actual assault.

“Sit down and breathe, Kry,” Avery says, somehow managing to sound sympathetic rather than patronizing.

Kry stares at the kirlia for a moment, then huffs and stalks over to the alcove in the wall that Tobias has seen her use before. She flops into it, tail tip flicking with irritation.

“Now, what were you saying, Nia?” Avery prompts.

Nia glances at Samir again, as if asking whether they’re glad Nia told them the truth about everything. Samir seems surprised to be part of this decision, but gives a nod of encouragement.

Nia takes a deep breath. “Well…it’s about the world, actually. Everything that’s been going wrong with it. Mystery dungeons, natural disasters, the legendaries, evolution. How everything is breaking down. We’re sort of…looking into how to stop it?”

Team Shellshock clearly isn’t expecting this to be the reason for Tobias and Nia’s constant traveling and danger-prone adventures. Their expressions shift from surprise to solemn interest. Even Kry turns over with a frown on her face.

So once again, Tobias and Nia explain everything. About Giratina, about the weakening dimensional border, and about their mission to find Xerneas so she can stop everything from falling apart. Tobias’ throat is dry by time they’re finished.

“Samir just learned about all of this, too,” Nia adds, glancing at the skiddo. “They’re going to come with us to the mountains to help look for Yveltal.”

Samir nods.

At that, Avery surfaces from their pool of deep thought. Surprisingly, their first question isn’t directed at Nia or Tobias, but Samir. “Apologies for being so blunt, Samir, but are you mute?”

Samir’s jaw tightens, but they nod.

“Oh! Yeah! We stopped by the archives earlier and talked to your dad!” Nia says, perking up. “We were hoping to figure out an easier way for Samir to communicate with us, so he gave us a book about whistle-based language and told us that you already know some phrases. Would you mind helping us get started on the basics while we’re still here at the guild?”

Avery mirrors Nia’s excitement. “Oh, of course not! I’m afraid I don’t know a lot, but I was curious a few years ago and dove into researching the language for a week or two. Xander figured it might be helpful to know a few non-spoken codes for missions, so we actually all know some short commands.”

Avery gives Xander a soft look, as if thankful for his support. In response, the luxio looks away with pinned ears and an embarrassed little smile. Ugh. They’re so gross together.

“We’ll only be here for a couple of days, though,” Nia says. “So we won’t have a lot of time to practice before then.”

“Oh!” Felix straightens up. “You could come with us tomorrow morning for a joint mission! If you don’t have plans already.”

“That would give us a bit of time to practice before you leave,” Avery murmurs.

Tobias blinks at them. “A joint mission?”

Even Nia looks surprised by the proposal after Andyn’s reluctance to team up last week. Xander’s team is even B-rank, a full two ranks above Team Scarlet.

“As long as you don’t slow us down, I don’t care,” Kry grumbles from her little cave.

“It’d be fun to see you two in action,” Felix says. “Especially since Nia apparently takes down steelixes in her spare time.”

Nia smiles bashfully, and Tobias rolls his eyes. He knows the wartortle flirts with everything that moves (and probably things that don’t, if a particularly shiny cascoon caught his eye), but somehow it’s even more irritating when directed at Nia.

“We were planning to go after an outlaw who was spotted nearby,” Avery says. “But he is at a high C-rank level.”

“Oh,” Nia says, the jump in difficulty clearly intimidating her. She glances at Tobias.

“Feel free to say no,” Xander stresses. “We can always pick a lower-level mission. It’s difficult enough just working with a new team member.”

Tobias fights down the urge to bristle at that comment. He has to tell himself that Xander is just being considerate of their lower rank, and maybe a bit overprotective of Nia. It’s a reasonable concern, after all, not an insult to their skills.

However, what Tobias thinks but doesn’t say is that a high C-rank mission would only be two ranks above the tasks they’re supposed to be taking at this point. Tobias is pretty sure they’ve gotten so strong so quickly in part because they keep running into (and barely surviving) situations far above their pay grade.

Tobias looks at Nia. She still seems unsure, but with her anything that isn’t an outright no usually just means she’s nervous.

Tobias’ own knee-jerk reaction is to say no to joining the other team at all, but…well, the mission with Team Evergreen was fine, other than Andyn being insufferable. And Tobias actually learned a lot while sparring with Team Shellshock last week. It would be a good opportunity for Samir to get a crash-course in whistle communication with Avery, too.

Finally, Tobias looks to Samir. The skiddo looks back, seemingly fine with whatever they decide.

“We can handle it,” Tobias decides. “What kind of outlaw are we talking about here?”

“A victreebel,” Avery answers. “He was seen yesterday near the mystery dungeon that opened up last week after the earthquake.”

“And since he’s a grass type, it’d be extra nice to have a fire ‘mon on this mission,” Felix teases, leaning over to nudge Tobias with a friendly elbow.

Oh. That sentiment makes Tobias feel…weird. Lexym Pokemon never want a fire type around.

Tobias isn’t really sure how to respond, so he just shrugs and looks down to fiddle with his scarf.

“Well, I’ll leave the whole ‘fighting bad guys’ thing to you, then,” Junie says, unbothered. “This girl ain’t built for battle. I think I’ll explore the guild some more while you’re gone. See if Asher’s rallied the kids into an army yet.”

“Coward,” Kry growls.

“Meathead,” Junie retorts.

Kry snarls. Junie bats her eyes.

“Anyways,” Nia says, clapping to get everyone’s attention. “Do you know anything about the dungeon, since he’s probably hiding in there?”

Team Shellshock goes into debriefing mode, explaining that the dungeon has taken on a rocky jungle atmosphere, with lots of grass, bug and ground types. The two teams solidify their plan to meet up in the psychic wing at dawn for an easy teleportation to the edge of the dungeon.

Afterwards, Tobias, Nia, Junie and Samir head out, seeing as evening is setting in and fatigue is visibly weighing on Team Shellshock’s shoulders. Nia suggests they grab food from the cafeteria to take back to Team Scarlet’s room for supper, then relax for the rest of the night.

They do so, settling down in their room with steaming bowls balanced atop wooden trays. Supper tonight is a hearty stew to combat the cooling fall weather, and they gobble down their bowls with a side of fresh bread and cheese.

During the meal, Nia wonders whether Samir needs their own scarf or badge before tomorrow’s mission, which makes Tobias pause. The skiddo is still wearing the same scarf they had in Fort Asra: a dark green bandana that blends into the leafy mane around their neck and covers up the scar hidden underneath.

Huh. Another similarity between them.

“Can you even get those if you aren’t officially part of a team yet?” Junie asks with a tilt of her head. “I mean, since you’re still deciding and all…”

Speaking of which—they need to talk that over, too. Which is decidedly harder to do when Samir and Junie are right there. Despite the easy atmosphere of the meal, Tobias feels a fresh ache of longing for the simplicity of when it was just him and Nia.

“They should be able to give you a scarf at least,” Tobias hedges. “It’d be nice to be able to match when we’re outside the Haven, in case we get separated.”

Samir nods, something like relief in their expression. Although Tobias has a feeling it’s more that they’re ready to leave their old scarf—and the memories attached to it—behind, rather than them being afraid of getting separated from the team.

Junie looks between Samir and Tobias. “Would we get that on the item floor? If that’s where we can grab cloaks and snowshoes and stuff, too, then me and Samir can go get those together!”

Tobias blinks, surprised by her initiative. “That…could work, yeah.”

Samir seems reluctant to be partnered off alone with someone they aren’t familiar with, but the skiddo nods before Nia can act on their discomfort. Good. If Samir and Junie take care of grabbing those items, then Tobias and Nia will have a few minutes alone to talk about Samir’s potential placement on the team.

Tobias nods his approval. “You remember which floor it is? Rainer will probably be there on his evening shift. He’s a politoed. Talk to him and he can get you a scarf and directions to Vera to pick up some snow gear.”

Junie salutes with a wing. “Aye-aye, cap’n! C’mon, Samir!”

Junie doesn’t wait for a response, flapping into the air and flying out of the room. Samir scrambles to their feet, nearly knocking over their empty bowl. They look wide-eyed between the door and Nia and Tobias.

Tobias raises a brow, tilting his head as if to say, “Go on.”

Samir hesitates for a moment longer before hurrying after Junie.

Nia giggles. “They’re quite the pair.”

Tobias snorts. “Junie certainly talks enough for the both of them.”

Then, he turns to Nia, expression falling serious. For a moment, Nia seems confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere. But then she glances at the door, and realization dawns. She sets her own empty bowl aside and turns to face him as well.

“You want to talk about Samir, I’m guessing.”

Tobias nods. “Junie gave us the chance. Might as well take it.”

“All right. Well…what do you think about them joining our team? You can tell me if you don’t want them to. This feels like a big decision, so I think it should be unanimous.”

Tobias releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He’s relieved that Nia’s aware of the significance of this decision and seemingly willing to take a No without complaint. “Samir…wouldn’t be the worst choice for a partner. Not by a long shot.”

“But?”

“But…” Tobias hesitates, feeling a flush come to his face. How does he phrase this without it sounding pathetic? “It would be really…different. From how it’s been so far.”

Nia makes an encouraging sound in her throat.

“I know we end up with other ‘mon more often than not,” Tobias says, slowly picking his words. “And I’ve gotten used to Junie being around so much, but…”

“But it’d still be different,” Nia summarizes. “Between us. Junie will go home eventually. Samir wouldn’t.”

Tobias nods. “It’s just…a different dynamic. You and I are partners. I lead a lot of the time, but you know how to lead if you need to. And I don’t have to think about you just following an order without thought because I’m your ‘leader.’ Samir, though…”

Nia tilts her head thoughtfully. “They have kind of been defaulting to whatever we want them to do ever since they showed up here.”

“I think they’re just desperate to make a good impression, after their last guild experience,” Tobias mutters.

“I…don’t think you’re wrong. But I think they’d put their foot down if they really thought it was important to do so. They did that in Asra, right? They tried to stop you from going down into the mines.”

“True,” Tobias admits. “And we did work well together. They do a good job balancing out some of our impulsiveness.”

Nia’s mouth twitches with a smile. “We do have a tendency to run headfirst into dangerous situations. They could help us slow down and think things through.”

A beat of silence. Tobias stares at Nia’s open expression.

“You want Samir to join. Don’t you?”

Nia shrugs. “I do. I think it’d be good for all of us, and I like them. But I don’t want them to join if you don’t want them to. We’re partners, and this is a big decision. It’s either two yeses or it’s a no.”

Tobias feels some of the tension bleed from his shoulders. Nia said the same thing not five minutes ago, but it reassures him to hear her say it again, and to hear it said so easily.

His opinion matters here.

“If we’re going to have another teammate, Samir is about the best I could ask for,” Tobias admits. “It’s just…hard, knowing things will be different without knowing exactly how they’ll be different.”

“Different is scary,” Nia agrees. She holds out a paw.

Hardly hesitating, Tobias takes it. She squeezes his hand.

“My vote is yes, but I don’t want to rush you,” Nia says. “Take your time. Samir is patient. They know this is a big decision.”

“But it’s not fair to string them along, either,” Tobias mumbles. Especially not after their last terrible partner.

“You’re not stringing them along. You just aren’t sure. It’s okay to take your time making a decision.”

Tobias takes a breath and nods. Nia waits with him in silence, her thumb stroking the back of his hand in a soothing gesture.

Tobias is no closer to a decision when Nia speaks again. “How about a trial period?”

“A trial period?”

“Yeah! We have Samir join us for now, but kind of like…on probation? They can help us while we save the world, and then if everything’s still good afterwards and we both agree on it, they can join officially!”

That…doesn’t sound too terrible. Tobias knows that it’s just another way of pushing the decision off until later, but he’s too relieved by the suggestion to care. Somehow, knowing that it isn’t quite permanent helps. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s run it by them and if they’re okay with that, then I am too.”

Nia beams. “Great! Thanks, Tobias.”

“For what?”

“For giving this a shot,” Nia clarifies. “I know it’s hard for you to open up to people.”

The casual familiarity of that remark makes something like embarrassment balloon in Tobias’ chest. He gives Nia’s paw one last squeeze before pulling away.

Then his eyes land on their satchel, where he’d gently set it against the wall earlier today.

Oh. This might be the last time they’re alone for a while. And Tobias does not want Junie here for an exchange that’s already likely to be mortifying.

“Close your eyes,” Tobias says, getting up and moving to rummage through their bag.

“What?”

“Trust me. I’ve got a surprise.”

And there it is, wrapped up and carefully stashed away at the bottom of the bag. Tobias pulls the paper-wrapped object out and holds it behind his back, careful with the heft of it. He feels a flutter of nervous excitement in his gut.

Nia’s head is turned his way, a confused smile on her face, but her eyes are closed. “A surprise?”

Tobias makes a quiet noise of agreement, sitting down in front of her again. “Hold out your paws.”

Nia does so. “What’s the occasion?”

Tobias pauses, something like “Thanks for being my partner” running through his head before he shoves away the mushy thought.

“No reason,” he grunts. “Just wanted to. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Tobias sets the gift in her paws.

Nia is clearly surprised by the weight of it. Her eyes open, and she blinks down at the package before tentatively starting to unwrap it.

Tobias holds his breath, heart pounding.

As soon as the first sheen of blue shows through, Nia gasps. She speeds up as she unwraps the rest of it, until she can cradle the glass in her paws like it’s the greatest treasure in the universe.

“The sculpture from Kaleido Bay?” Nia murmurs. She looks up to stare at Tobias.

“Uh. Yeah. You seemed like you really liked it? And it’s not like I’m doing anything important with my personal funds, so—"

Nia’s lip wobbles as tears fill her eyes.

For a heartbeat, Tobias panics. She said she liked it, right? Did he misunderstand? He’s already calculating how quickly he can rip it from her paws and chuck it out the window.

But then Nia’s gently setting the statue aside and yanking him into a hug.

Oh.

Slowly, Tobias returns the gesture, flushing. He always forgets how soft Nia’s fur is, cool against his warmer skin. “Does that mean you like it?”

“I love it! You didn’t have to do that.”

Tobias huffs a laugh. There are obvious tears in her voice. “I mean, I can always send it back?”

“Don’t you dare,” Nia mumbles, sniffling into his shoulder. “This is the first decoration we even have for this place.”

Tobias laughs, and Nia pulls away, keeping her paws on his arms as she smiles at him, soft and sweet. “Thank you, Tobias. Really. You’re the best.”

Tobias can’t handle her looking at him like that, so he coughs and reaches to pick up the statue, pretending to check it for cracks. Luckily, it looks like it survived the journey perfectly intact, delicate flame-likes wisps arcing up without flaw.

Nia’s smile turns confused as she takes it back from him. “Wait, but you didn’t buy it while we were at the stand. When did you—" Nia cuts herself off. “When you went back to get Rico’s name?!”

Tobias laughs. “Yeah, his name’s not Rico.”

Nia looks somewhere between scandalized and delighted, and settles on breaking into laughter. It’s unfortunate that she has to stifle it a moment later to spare her ribs, but even through the pain the giant smile never leaves her face. Her ruby eyes linger on the statue in her paws, soft and admiring.

“Thank you,” she whispers again.

Tobias feels the heat return to his face. He shrugs.

He basks in a quiet wash of pride for the next few minutes, as Nia babbles on about where to display the glass piece. Eventually, she settles on the bookcase set against the wall, still woefully empty. The statue is placed in the center of the top shelf, an eye-catching blue against the warm wood. It glistens in the dying sunset.

Shortly after, Junie and Samir make their return. Junie flutters into the room unhindered, but Samir follows with a bulging sack slung over their shoulders.

“We’re back!”

“Took you a while,” Tobias notes.

Junie laughs as she settles onto the bed frame. “Samir took forever finding the perfect cloak for themself and snowshoes for you guys. The measurements couldn’t be off by even a centimeter.”

Samir gives Junie a dry look as they sling the sack to the ground, tugging it open so Tobias and Nia can see the wooden snowshoes and snowcloak stuffed inside. Tobias knows that expression well, though. Junie is growing on Samir, much as they might not want to admit it.

The skiddo also has a scarlet red scarf tied around their neck, replacing their old green one. Something about seeing their team’s color on a new ‘mon does make Tobias feel proud, like Samir joining permanently might not be so scary. This could be their third team member one day. They are their third team member, at least for now.

Tobias tears his gaze away to examine Samir’s haul. Nia is already oohing and ahhing over the construction of the little snowshoes brought back for them. They are impressive, the outer ring made with some kind of hardwood, and the inner “webbing” a crisscross of reinforced string shot. A similar string shot strap, thicker and wider, is attached to the side of the shoes to secure them onto their feet. They’re well-made, as far as Tobias can tell, but that’s not a surprise with Vera in charge of accessories at the guild. The leavanny is a professional.

While they’re busy examining their new gear, Junie spots Nia’s gift. She flies closer to get a better look at it.

“Whoa, where’d this come from?”

Nia eagerly bounds over to show it off. “Tobias got it for me in Kaleido Bay! He surprised me with it while you guys were gone. There was this little glassblowing shop there and—"

Tobias is expecting the smug, irritating look Junie sends him as Nia rambles on. As the riolu picks up the statue to show to Samir, Junie flutters on top of the bed post closest to Tobias, and leans over to whisper, “Nice work, Romeo. That was actually pretty sweet.”

Tobias doesn’t know what a ‘Romeo’ is, but he catches the implication and bats her off the post so she bounces off the nest—the bed—with a shriek of laughter.

Thankfully, Nia can’t gush about the gift forever, though Tobias keeps catching her giving it happy glances even after putting it back. Each time, something warm blossoms in his chest all over again, pleased with his impulsive decision even if his personal funds are nearly empty.

Worth it.

As they all settle in for the night, Nia is the first to approach the lingering question in the air.

“Oh! Samir, we talked while you two were out. About you joining the team.”

Samir stops in the middle of unpacking their own bag, and despite the way they clearly try to appear casual, Tobias can’t help thinking they look like they’re bracing themself for a blow.

“If you’re all right with it, we’d like to do a sort of, um…trial run?” Nia says. “We loved working with you in Fort Asra! But we just want to make sure we’re a good fit before deciding for sure. We were thinking we’d see how the trip to Silenfroar and the whole world-saving business shakes out, then talk. Are you all right with that?”

Samir, thankfully, just looks relieved by her answer, as if they were expecting an outright no. They give her a nod, then glance at Tobias.

“It’s a big decision, adding a new team member,” Tobias says. “But you’re definitely not the worst choice. You’re very bearable compared to some ‘mon.”

Tobias gives Junie a pointed look, and she sticks her tongue out at him in return.

“Yeah!” Nia says. “Welcome to the team, Samir. Patent pending, I guess. The scarf looks good on you!”

Samir straightens up, giving her a determined nod. As if to say they won’t regret giving Samir a chance.

From there, the rest of the evening is peaceful. Tobias digs out his guitar and rests against the side of their new bed as he picks idly at chords, trying not to feel self-conscious when both Junie and Samir watch with open curiosity.

Junie doesn’t comment, though, instead following Nia’s lead and sprawling across their plush scarlet rug with the book they’d picked up earlier in the archive. Together, the three of them flip through the pages of clicks and whistles, and start practicing basic phrases.

Yes and No are easy when you can see Samir nod or shake their head, but it’s good to have verbal cues ready, too, in case they’re in a situation where they can’t actually see the skiddo. The book’s translation for No is a simple high note whistle that dips into a low note, and Yes is the same but with the two notes reversed. Junie picks it up immediately, while Nia and Samir struggle with molding their mouths into the right shapes.

Samir seems a little frustrated and embarrassed after their first few attempts, but Nia and Junie laugh it off, the little rookidee making fun of Nia for spitting everywhere until even Samir is fighting off a smile.

Tobias listens as he plucks at his guitar, committing the whistles to memory and silently practicing the mouth shapes alongside them.

That’s how they pass the evening until the first yawn floats across the room. Junie takes that as her cue to call it a night and dives into their new nest, using her beak to burrow underneath the blankets and pop out on the other side with her little face peeking out.

Nia follows shortly after, pulling Tobias with her. It takes a bit of convincing, but even Samir is dragged into the bed, and altogether it’s just large enough to fit the four of them. Nia and Tobias curl up close side-by-side, with Junie nesting in the crook of Nia’s neck. Samir shyly scoots to the edge of the bed, leaving a bit of space between them and the rest of the team, but they seem comfortable enough, if not a bit awkward.

As soon as Tobias lies down, he gets it. This is the comfiest thing he’s ever laid on in his life.

He’s never going to be able to go back to a regular nest after this, is he?

“Oh my God, this is the best thing ever,” Junie mumbles, sounding half-asleep already. “I’m gonna marry Hazel.”

Nia barks a laugh. “She’s, like, a grandma, Junie! And already married!”

“Then grandpa better watch his back or I’m gonna steal his woman.”

Nia snickers as Tobias snorts. Samir seems unsure how to respond, but Tobias can see them slowly relaxing in their little corner of the bed.

Junie asks Nia to tell her more about Hazel and her family, so Nia whispers about the raichu living in Afon’s Cap. Tobias listens with half-lidded eyes and takes in the darkness of the room, lit only by his tail flame and the moonlight filtering through the window’s leaf curtain. All around him, he’s surrounded by softness and warmth.

Tobias drifts off quicker than he has in a long, long time.

[kayr0ss]

Platform

[Gundam: The Witch from Mercury / GWitch, Sulemio, Fluff & Humor, School era, happy & lighthearted, suletta is tall, i love to see it, miorine doesn't, lmfao] AO3 Link

Summary: Miorine is frustrated at Suletta's antics, and asks Nika for some help.

-

"A—what?"

From the top of her head, Nika could count two—maybe three—people she would have expected to find in the hangar workshop so late at night: Chuchu if she was bored, Martin when he got worried about her working too late, and Suletta whenever Aerial had repairs underway.

Not Miorine, though. As involved as she was in GUND-ARM, Inc.'s development process, she wasn't exactly the 'rummage through the workshop shelves in the middle of the night' type of leader.

"A platform."

And yet here she was, rummaging through the workshop shelves in the middle of the night, undeterred by the grease that had smeared along her uniform blouse. Whatever it was she was looking for, it must have been important. The frown of impatience on her face said so.

"What kind?" Nika probed. She was now looking over Miorine’s shoulder, wringing her hands behind her back in curiosity while the other woman stuck her hand into a bin of spare parts. Her tongue was sticking out sideways, and she looked so focused that Nika didn't have the heart to tell her she wasn't going to find anything useful in there.

"Any kind," came Miorine's curt reply. "But preferably around fifteen centimeters tall, forty-five in width, and around thirty in depth?"

Nika crossed her arms, unimpressed. "So, not 'anything'?"

"Well.” Miorine hesitated. “Not exactly, no."

"What is it for?"

"Nothing important."

Nika smiled kindly. Now she was terribly intrigued. "Important enough that you're out here in the middle of the night, Miorine-san. Do you need it fabricated?"

Miorine shook her head. "It isn't for work, so there's no need for me to bother you with it."

"Friends help each other out," Nika said simply, equal parts curious and happy to help. "It doesn't have to be for work. It isn't a bother."

Miorine softened at that, enough to have released her arm from its prison among fabricated metal. Nika hummed her displeasure at the bin, and the many others around the hangar like it. She'd probably have to clean up shop, maybe re-organize? Miorine had suggested getting rid of all their scrap, but... Earth House has a hard time letting things go in a way that Miorine might never understand.

She paused to think about Nika's offer for a minute, then finally acquiesced.  "I suppose that you could."

"Great!" Nika liked having problems to solve. "We can start with you telling me what you'll use it for."

Miorine crossed her arms, her frown deep and her glare sharp. "I refuse."

"What?"

And then there it was, the almost-unnoticeable dusting of pink on her cheeks. "And you can't tell Suletta."

"Huh?"

--

Nika had taken Miorine's opened office door as an invitation to come in, but found herself frozen at the doorway. Seeing Suletta look imposing was definitely... new. Miorine with a look of indignation across her face? Much less new.

"Unbelievable," the smaller woman grumbled. Despite her words, her hands held loosely onto the front of Suletta's uniform. She never really thought that Suletta and Miorine argued, but it certainly looked like they were.

"N—No, Miorine-san." Suletta pouted, fighting to hold her ground, nearly faltering. "Not until you eat something better!"

Ah. Things started clicking into place: the half-eaten bowl of instant noodles that Suletta was holding up above Miorine's reach, the fact that it was now three in the afternoon, the untouched takeaway box on her desk that probably had something green and leafy and much too nutritious for Miorine to ever want to eat. Nika tried to fight the laugh that bubbled from her throat, opting instead to loudly cough, letting them know that she was now standing at the threshold to Miorine's office with a stack of paperwork in hand.

She was expecting Miorine to let go. But she didn't. Now that she thought about it—it wasn't like Miorine had ever shied away from holding onto Suletta.

"Nika-san!" Suletta smiled. It looked like she was about to come over and greet her, but Miorine was still holding onto her, and Suletta seemed perfectly content to let her keep her there, to gently settle her free hand around her waist.

"Hello, Suletta." Nika held up the documents, learning over to try to get a glimpse of Miorine. "And Miorine-san. Is now a good time for you to sign these?"

"Yes—" Miorine started, immediately cutoff by Suletta's nervous "N—No!"

Miorine looked up at her, unimpressed. "No?"

"Eat… eat something good first." Suletta said in a small, panicked voice. And then, softly, added: "Please?"

Nika had never seen Miorine come undone before. But there it was: something gentle, something tender. If not for herself, then for Suletta. It might have only been a split second—a passing moment of fondness in her normally steely eyes—but Nika always had impeccable attention to detail. Miorine's head fell forward and onto Suletta's front.

"Fine," she said in a muffled voice. "So annoying."

It would have been sweet had Chuchu not barged into the office with a bone to pick with their president.

"Oi, Princess! These stupid spacian customers were—”

She stopped at the door, glowered towards Suletta and Miorine, whipped her head towards Nika who could only shrug, before throwing her hands up in the air and turning a sharp hundred and eighty degrees back out where she came from.

"Never mind. So clingy!" She stomped away. "Makes me want to punch something!"

--

From: miorine.rembran@gund-arm.inc  Sent: 11:43PM SEST To: nika.nanaura@gund-arm.inc Subject: Platform & updates

Nika,

See attached article re: microscale hydraulic lifts. I'm thinking of some sort of quick deploy mechanism - let me know if workable.

I appreciate the report you sent on the arm prosthetic. Unfortunately I think it will go over the heads of our investors, but will be great for updates to my father & Dr. Winston. Please ask Till to shoot a demo video instead - perhaps something flashy?

P.S. - here is a photo of Suletta with our new tomato seedlings.

Best,

MR

--

"Uhm." Miorine blinked down at the food. "Nika?"

"You look hungry," Nika smiled, a little too sweetly. Chuchu was already rolling her eyes. "You should take this and bring the other out to Suletta."

"But it's your food?"

"Yeah, Nika." Chuchu crossed her arms, sending her a pointed glare. "I'm pretty sure one of those boxes is mine."

"This is Suletta's favorite, and you hardly get enough time to eat!" Nika insisted, already pushing her towards the balcony door.

Miorine stumbled forward, confused but not unwilling. "Thank you?"

Suletta had looked up towards them by now, probably hearing the commotion. The sight of Miorine joining her on what was looking like a lovely dinner watching the sunset had brightened her soft smile into something blinding. Nika let out out a satisfied laugh.

"Hey, Nika." Chuchu called.

"Yeah?"

"Ever heard of minding your own fucking business?" she asked lightheartedly.

Nika laughed. "Nope."

Chuchu threw her hands behind her head while they walked away. "Apparently, neither have I!"

--

"If you want something that releases quickly, a hydraulic-lift type platform like you suggested isn't going to work."

Nika crouched down in front of her prototype. It was a small mechanical platform that had four collapsed legs, and four equidistant springs. Miorine's specifications had become increasingly limiting: apparently it should be lightweight, shouldn't be too bulky, and should be quick to deploy. Miorine had firmly asked that Nika only do it whenever she had the time and felt like it. But it was fun, so she did it anyway even if she didn't.

"You want its compressed state to have the highest level of kinetic potential so that," she pulled away a locking pin—the entire system released with a loud snap, oscillating up and down from the force of its springs. It was so strong that one of the legs snapped at the joint. "It shoots up like this! So, springs work better."

"I see," Miorine nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for looking into my suggestion, though. I'll defer to your expertise. I'm guessing you'll need to mitigate how strong the springs are?"

"Yeah," Nika rubbed at the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "I just put this together as a proof of concept. We'll need to find the right amount of damping, or just change the springs. We had a few classes on this, if you remember? With the free body diagrams, and state-space equations?"

"Oh. Transfer functions."

"Yes! It's all just a spring, mass, load, damper. Though I much prefer doing those in circuitry." She laughed.

Miorine smiled kindly. "I don't know that I prefer to do them at all."

"I think you'd have made a great engineer, actually."

"I don't know," Miorine quipped jokingly. "I quite like telling other people what to do instead."

Nika laughed, noting the irony of hearing that from one of the most arguably workaholic people she'd ever met.

--

It took all the convincing Nika and Aliya could muster to drag Suletta out of their classes and back to Earth House. They'd never really seen her get sick before—but when she did, she went down bad.

Miorine was there when they arrived, looking over something Nuno had prototyped. Then Suletta came into view looking sick and disoriented, and Miorine forgot everything else in an instant: the prototype, her mug of coffee, the quarterly report that would be due that same afternoon.

"You idiot," was the first thing Miorine said, but the way she gently reached up to lay the back of her hand to Suletta's forehead carried a gentleness so sincere that Nika suspects she simply didn't know the words to convey it. "No fever, but you look like shit."

"I-I'm fine—" Suletta stuttered. Her head was bowed low enough that Miorine could brush back her bangs, damp with cold sweat. "It's nothing."

She must have said something wrong because Miorine drew a sharp breath and shook her head. If Nika didn't know better, she'd think she was angry.

"You promised," Miorine's voice was firm, her eyes intense while her hands fell to squeeze Suletta on the shoulders. "You promised me that you'd tell me how you were feeling."

"I—" Suletta started. She swallowed, nervously looking away. "I did. I have a headache... I don't feel well."

Miorine stared at her a little longer before finally softening, holding Suletta's face with both hands while she scanned it for anything that might be wrong. "Did you stay up studying again?"

Suletta gave her tired, guilty smile.

"Your immune system will tank if you don't get enough sleep."

Suletta pouted. "You don't either."

Miorine scoffed, annoyed. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

"Mhmm." Suletta mumbled. "Two lefts do."

Miorine, taken by surprise, actually laughs a little. "That doesn't make a lick of sense, you blockhead. You're finally delirious."

"You looked so worried," Suletta mumbled softly, face flushed by either a fever finally setting, or something else entirely. Her hands had pitifully come up to the hem of Miorine's uniform, holding onto it. "I—I wanted to make you laugh."

"If you don't want me to worry, then take care of yourself."

"You're right," Suletta leaned into the warmth of Miorine's hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry."

Miorine slowly brushed back her hair again. Her fingers followed the line of Suletta's brow, slowly rubbing circles along her temple with her thumbs. Suletta practically melted in relief, her eyes fluttering closed, her tense shoulders slacking. They kept this up for a moment, but Miorine had to reach up so high that eventually her arms wavered.

"So frustratingly tall," she mumbled.

Nika, feeling a little awkward to just be standing there, scratched at her cheek. She turned around, locked eyes with Aliya, who up until now was just staring at some interesting corner of the ceiling. "We should go," she mouthed out.

"Totally." Nika agreed in a hurry before turning towards Miorine. "We'll grab some medicine and drop it off here, okay?"

"Thank you," Miorine said lightly, already motioning for Suletta to lay down on the couch. "That'd be great."

The last thing they saw was Miorine pulling Suletta's head onto her lap, whispering something featherlight and soft while she rubbed away the pain, their hands threading together.

It made Nika think that maybe Miorine did know the words, after all.

--

It doesn't take long for them to realize that Miorine was most comfortable expressing anything she ever felt by getting angry. That included worry, and that might have even included care. So they (at least most of them, excluding Chuchu) tried to be understanding when Miorine spent most of the day short-tempered and aggravated, tried to take the loud and angry typing in their common room in stride.

"I almost feel bad for her," Chuchu grumbled, leaning forward on the table with her elbows and looking towards Nika. "It's just a flu. Suletta's going to be fine. Why do I feel like Miorine isn't?"

"That's probably because we banned her from staying inside the room too long," Nika said with a sigh.

"Makes no sense to me." Chuchu rubbed at her temples, leaning against her chair until it tipped dangerously back on its hind legs. "What good would it do if both of them got sick?"

"She's just worried." Nika paused contemplatively. "I wonder when the last time she worried about someone this much was."

There was a rare glint of empathy in Chuchu's eyes, and Nika knew that somehow, she understood.

Then Miorine stood up, snapped her laptop shut, and pushed her chair back so forcefully the sound of it scraping against the floor was enough to make the farm animals unsettled.

"Miorine-san!" To everyone surprise, it was Lilique who had set her food down, hands on hips, and stood in front of Suletta's door. "You need to let her rest."

"I just want to make sure she's finished her food."

"It's only been a little while, you can check on her again later on, okay?"

"She might be hurting."

"Miorine-san..."

Miorine grabbed at her arm, her body language visibly anxious but much less angry now. They couldn't see Miorine's expression from where they were seated, but Lilique could, and her face, for a moment, had a shadow of surprise before settling into something soft and mellow. She stepped closer in empathy, a friendly hand on Miorine's slight shoulder.

"Okay." Lilique sighed in defeat. "Just for a little bit."

--

In just two short days, Suletta had recovered completely.

Not a day later, Miorine started sneezing.

--

"Miorine-san?" Nika looked into her office, Chuchu trailing right behind her. She was excited. Things were exciting! She always loved this feeling, the rush of accomplishment whenever a project finally reached an acceptable point of completion by her standards, when it was ready for the client to see. The springs were balanced perfectly, the joints  were sturdy and snapped into place once the device was released and triggered. It was lightweight, easy to deploy, and purely mechanical so it didn't need to be powered. "I finally—oh?"

"Oh, they're at it again." Chuchu deadpanned, used to it at this point.

Miorine was trying to wrestle her noodles out of Suletta's hands, pitifully out of her reach. Suletta actually didn't look scared of her for a change, instead sporting a look of determination as she yet again reminded Miorine of the importance of actually eating healthy things for a change.

"That's cheating!" Miorine barked, but there was no venom in her voice, no strain of actual anger. If anything, it almost looked like she had the ghost of a smile—maybe she didn't even realize it. It happened a lot around Suletta.

"I-It's not!" Suletta squeaked. "It's called a natural advantage! Please, Miorine-san, I thought you liked stew!"

"Hey!" Chuchu yelled, crossing her arms. "Why do you two even bother with this? You always give in to Suletta anway—"

Miorine turned, eagle-eyed, and saw the slim package in Nika's hands. "Um." Nika swallowed. "It's... done?"

And then she honest to goodness dashed—and tripped a little, and nearly fell—grabbing the box out of Nika's hand and startling Suletta into a confused daze.

"Wuh?"

Miorine threw the box onto the floor, right at Suletta's legs. In a wonderfully smooth motion, it released the locks on the springs and fully extended itself upwards. It all happened so fast, Suletta had no time to react, and soon Miorine had ran back up towards her and stepped on the platform, drawing herself right up to Suletta's full height. Miorine grinned, "Gotcha!"

Nika, who had been stunned into silence, broke out into a laugh. An honest, full-bellied laugh. She couldn't believe it! Of course this is what Miorine needed something so particular for!

"What's going on in here?" Aliya and Till appeared from behind the door.

"M-Miorine-san!" Suletta whined, beset by sudden panic at her sudden disadvantage. She couldn't step back to avoid Miorine's attempts to steal back what was rightfully hers. Suletta had let herself get pushed back against a wall. "That's cheating!"

"It's called a tactical advantage!" Miorine tip-toed, motioning to grab the noodles that were now almost within reach. Almost! Suletta still had longer arms, despite them now standing on equal footing, but all Miorine needed was to push herself a little more, just the tiniest bit more, and—

A 'little more' turned out to be too much. 

She lost her balance, and was about completely fall over if not for Suletta's free arm coming to wrap around her waist, keeping her steady on her over-engineered stepping stool.

"Careful, Miorine-san!"

"I—"

"Oho." Aliya blinked, eyebrows shooting upwards and before locking eyes with Nika.

Miorine, who for the first time was now at eye-level with Suletta, had braced herself against the wall with one hand beside Suletta's head, and looked like she just lost all her ability to function.

"Miorine... san?"

"Suletta—"

Miorine’s expression, unreadable at first, had slowly turned into one of the most genuine displays of wonder Nika had ever seen in her life. Her brows furrowed a little, her mouth opening and closing uselessly, her eyes transfixed on Suletta's. For the first time, the very first time, it looked like Miorine Rembran didn't know what to say.

"A-are you okay?" Suletta started fussing over her, visibly burning up under the intensity of Miorine's gaze.

Miorine didn't look that much better though. A flush rapidly crept from her neck up to her ears, which were now uncharacteristically red.

"Suletta." She muttered again, a little softly, like it was the only word she knew.

(Aliya covered Chuchu's eyes, Till had turned around, and Nika decided it was time to find the way out the door as fast as possible.)

"Your eyes... are beautiful."

-

fin

-

A/N:

Hello!! I love them I have been so fixated so please have some fluff thank you Thank you to @nosiidam for beta reading this!! I love you!! ^_^

[occasionallycoinpin]

i need to know what that storyline for oc 110 was

i’ll be honest, i started writing it down, got distracted by other things, and then completely forgot about it until now

so i guess i’ll dump what i have right now, and finish it up later

occasionally coinpin 155

(collapsed for length)

(this is an m&l dream team riff so there’s a good amount of similarities bit whatev)

Premise:

Many years after the competitions end, a miraculous discovery! Leafy, while going through old messages to delete to save memory, finds an odd, unopened email from January 1st, 2012. As it turns out, Dream Island wasn’t destroyed all those years ago! It was simply relocated to a new part of the ocean, the robotic staff waiting ever so patiently for their new owner to claim her island. Leafy, ever the kind soul, invites everyone to Dream Island for a wonderful vacation!

As the BFDI crew will soon come to find out, there is a very literal reason the island is named DREAM Island.

The Arrival:

The charter ship arrives at the island rather precariously, so much so that Pin, observing the docking with her friends, falls off the ship and has her point stuck in the ground. While the robotic servants assist her, Coiny and the others must head along for the introduction tour.

Rather predictably, Coiny and Firey start feuding about something or other, which begins the first boss fight: Metal Firey (they had him eat a yoyleberry earlier to not burn down the ship).

- A tutorial fight for the basic mechanics, very simple as the only move Coiny has available is Jump.

- Done in a few hits + counterattacks.

The delay caused by the fight allows Pin to catch up with everyone else, and the welcoming festivities continue.

After a bit of exploring the Dreamscape Hotel, Coiny and Pin stumble upon a door which a robotic servant says simply leads to the basement. And indeed it does! Though the servant neglected to mention that there weren’t actually any stairs down, and the door simply led to an open chasm that the duo fall into. Time to find a way out.

The Discovery:

The basement is filled with crud you’d expect to see in a basement, as well as some basic enemies. The duo find the Hammers down here, an essential tool. As they descend further the basement starts looking less basement-like and starts looking more temple-like: the Dreamscape Hotel was built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple.

Deep in the temple, they find a wall mural of an ancient civilization seeking salvation in a figure that bears an awfully unsettling resemblance to Pin. But before the duo can dwell on this any longer, two Stone Pin statues come to life and attack!

- An exam fight for both using two characters at once as well as using the Hammers.

- The Stone Pins can only be Hammered at first, but if properly countered they will fall on their backs, allowing Jumps that deal critical hits.

After the fight, who else shows up but Golf Ball, immediately berating the duo for destroying such priceless archeological artifacts. She’s down here as she’s set up a Lab in the basement (because of course she did) and wanted to see what all the noise was about. The duo follow her back to the Lab.

The Dream World:

A small crowd has gathered in the Lab, curious as to what the ruckus was about. GB takes this opportunity to go into a lecture about a new phenomenon she’s discovered on the island: certain spots emanate a strange energy, one that she is currently researching located right in the middle of the Lab. Pin, not really paying attention, investigates the spot and nearly immediately passes out. GB, taking this as an insult to her lecture, goes on another rant, completely distracting her from the fact a portal has opened over the sleeping Pin.

Everyone in the crowd is surprised by this development, except for Pillow, who was seemingly expecting it. She hurriedly grabs Needle and jumps into the portal. Coiny, not one to stand by while his friend gets kidnapped, hurries in after them.

Coiny finds himself in Dreamy Dreamscape Hotel and soon meets up with Dreamy Pin, the embodiment of Pin’s mental self image. In battle, Dreamy Pin will augment Coiny, boosting his stats and enhancing his Jump and Hammer. After some exploration, the duo find Pillow and the now unconscious Needle, and a boss fight against Pillow begins.

- Pillow starts the fight by summoning a legion of False Dreamy Pins to surround her, which can both attack independently and assist Pillow with her own attacks.

- Partway through the fight, Pillow steals Coiny’s Hammer and disguises herself and the False Dreamy Pins as False Dreamy Coinys. She then proceeds to shuffle herself into the crowd, and the player must keep track of which one is Pillow. Jumping on the right one removes the disguises and returns the Hammer, while Jumping on a wrong one reveals it as a False Dreamy Pin and deals damage.

- After taking enough damage, Pillow flees the fight.

The Disaster:

Despite the fight, Pillow has enough energy left to enact her plan: she stabs Needle into the ground, creating a crack that spews a strange energy. Outside, in the Real World, the portal begins emitting this energy. Strange, dark crystals begin growing on some of the robotic servants, as well as a good amount of the BFDI crew, all throughout the island.

After the energy clears, Pillow takes Needle down into the hole she created, which closes up after them. Coiny and Dreamy Pin are dumbfounded, and, after breaking some of the dark crystal blocking the way, have no choice but to return to the Real World to reassess.

When Coiny returns out of the portal, and Pin awakens, GB can’t help but start asking a million questions about what had just happened. After one of the strange crystals formed in the Lab, GB attempted to harvest it to no avail before it mysteriously evaporated. After the duo fill her in, she deduces that the crystals must exist in the Real and Dream Worlds simultaneously, and while it is indestructible in the Real World, it is possible to break while in the Dream World. GB dubs this material Crystalized Somnolescent Energy, whereas Coiny purports the much more popular name Nightmarium.

Various objects start rushing into the Hotel, saying that more crystals are around and that anyone afflicted by them has fallen into a coma. By now, the duo’s mission is two-fold: find out where Pillow disappeared to, and destroy all of the Nightmarium that has grown across the island. While GB needs to stay in her Lab to perform more research, she produces the GB-Drone: a miniature drone that allows GB to communicate with the duo while they’re out and about. The duo set out to the closest location to the Hotel: the Fantasy Fairgrounds.

and that’s all i’ve got for now. if people seem to like this i’ll present more of the story in this fashion, and if not i’ll just dump the rest when it’s completely finished

[cotharach]

🎄"Flayn! you must be wary, there have been mistletoe laid out like traps as of late!" Ferdinand came prancing in, looking about the hallway with comical wariness. "I can only imagine what Professor Seteth must be feeling right now... a delicate young woman such as yourself is so susceptible to the trappings of festive romance!" while he was vaguely aware that Seteth's protectiveness (respectfully) bordered on stifling, Ferdinand couldn't help but be presumptuous himself.

"i've been getting better at spotting them. my eagle eyes can see one right there!" he rolled his wrist dramatically before pointing out a set of speckling reds and leafy green hung from the roof. "and there!" pointing at the pillar, he paused for a moment for enhanced gravitas. "...behind the pillar, of course."

"i certainly won't take them down, since it's all in good fun, but..." they walked and talked, letting the faint sun fold beams of light between the hallway pillars. their silhouettes followed playfully along, trailing together under the scarce winter sun. "oh, let's not walk there, lest you wish for..." oh, nevermind. he was going to manifest it at this rate.

"have you been having fun this holiday? mistletoe aside, aren't all the celebrations so endearing?" his laughter jingled. "i've been up baking treats to complement holiday tea-sets, so i may be considerably more sweet, ha h--"

a roudy group of students thundered towards them, holding up lines of streamers and Seiros banners. loud, clamorous laughter erupted from their group, as they bullheaded their way down the hall. "look where you all are--!" he didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence, before Ferdinand dodged their ongoing mob, Flayn in his arms. "agh! those utter buffoons..."

he nearly broke into the bushes, but forcefully stomped a foot down before his face met branches. "Flayn...! Flayn, are you alright?"

there was a mistletoe he missed, snagged on some lace that 1) he had laid down earlier on some bushes 2) definitely did NOT have mistletoe earlier.

mistletoe! (accepting)

Laughter comes out of her mouth gently, like the twinkling of a chime. Half-amused, half-huffy—she does not think there could be a man quite as protective as her brother, yet here the Aegir finest is, acting like a wonderful contender. She would prefer her companions not to mimic Seteth's ways, but admits that it feels somewhat endearing coming from him. He had a sincere quality that she believes she can trust.

"Worry not, Ferdinand. I have my own ways of circumventing these mistletoe traps that you speak of." she says, referring to the pack of sun-dried fish in her pocket.

"Still, I am appreciative of these eagle eyes of yours." she means it sincerely, following his lead as he steers them clear from the mistletoe, "Perhaps it would please my brother to know that I am in the company of such a polite young man!"

That is her hope, at least. Though she knows that the more likely scenario involves fewer pleasantries and more arduous talks. Still, Ferdinand has been acting very kindly thus far—were this an opera, he would surely be the knight, and she would be the damsel under his care. Surely even Seteth could approve of his noble sentiments?

"I have been enjoying myself, yes!" she answers as she continues to trot beside him, eyes cast up toward him and away from the walkway. Her first mistake. "A holiday tea set sounds most intriguing... if you should need some help with the baking, perhaps I could extend—Ah!"

It's a scene that happens all too quickly—a veritable flood of students flush out the walkway, stampeding the grounds. Ferdinand maneuvers himself out of their way... and takes Flayn in his arms as he does.

...Oh

She can hear the way his heartbeat races—or was that her own? She cannot tell the difference. Never has she found herself so close to someone before, enough that she would mistake them for herself. It's a feeling most strange... yet not uninvited.

They find themselves amongst the bushes, knees sunk into the leaves. Flayn, in her shock, does not answer Ferdinand immediately, instead taking a few more moments to bask in his arms.

Her second mistake. Goddess... perhaps she ought to take a long bath after this.

"I am quite alright, Ferdinand. You..." she is breathless when she finally speaks, lacking her normal eloquence, "You saved me! You truly have sharp senses. I do not know how I could possibly thank you! Or... perhaps I do."

Shifting her position, she wriggles about in search for her usual fare of dried fish—only to find they have fallen out of her pockets the midst of their... ah, tussle. Flayn searches for them, on the ground, within the bushes, but finds only the very mistletoe they had worked so hard to escape.

She might have laughed, had she not already been so out of breath.

"Oh, how unfortunate. I had so hoped to give you some fish! But it seems to have been displaced during that whole fiasco. Perhaps I should..." Green eyes look up at Ferdinand, then back to the mistletoe, then back up to Ferdinand. She purses her lips, finding it strange how they tremble so terribly.

No... No! Her mind shall not be home to such thoughts—not until she is sufficiently distanced from her brother, that is. Extracting herself from Ferdinand (with a small prick of disappointment), Flayn rises to her feet, brushes away the leaves at her skirt, and gives the young noble a smile—hoping that he would ignore the furious shade of red that her face now sports.

"No, nevermind! I shall simply have to repay you some other time. Thank you for walking with me, Ferdinand. I shall be on my way to class, now. Best of luck with your endeavors! Farewell! Good-bye! Ta-ta!"

Then, Flayn walks away, the pace of a speeding horse powering her boots. Her heart has not yet eased its racing, nor has the stubborn warmth from her face left its spot on her cheeks. If she manages to fall asleep tonight, perhaps she would dream of an opera—with a sunset-haired knight and his green-haired damsel.

[mbirnsings-71]

one of my pieces for this year's @batfam-big-bang!! My first one actually participating in so that's really fun!! (I have two more coming so like yeahhhhhh you guys are gonna get to see my art!!)

This art was drawn for @bisexualbrucewayne's very silly fic that you can read here! I'm recommending you guys read it because it's very silly I promise!!

Image ID underneath the keep reading because it got long-

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Poison Ivy and Jason Todd as Robin in a plant filled warehouse at sunset. The walls of the warehouse are made of concrete bricks while the floor is just concrete, but both are covered extensively in plants and vines. There are also two wooden crates, a potted plant, a bunch of spilled dirt, a table with test tubes on it, and windows in the background as well. The drawing is split into two sections diagonally from the upper right corner to the bottom left corner. On the left side of the screen is Jason, in his robin attire of Red Tunic with short green sleeves, scaly green shorts, green gloves, green pixie boots, bright yellow cape, green mask, and green and black elbow pads and knee pads. He also has two black and yellow bandaids on him, one on his upper arm and the other on one of his shins. He is pointing at the screen with one hand and clutching his other hand in a fist by his chest, while his mouth is open (where you can see braces on his teeth) and his eyebrows are furrowed as he's confronting Poison Ivy. On the right side of the drawing Poison Ivy is reaching towards an enlarged potted venus flytrap while looking offscreen (at Jason). She has a red and black flower tucked behind her ear, along with a laurel wreath resting on her head and leaves in her hair. She also has leafy vines wrapped around her arms, and her skin is pale with light green spots and dark green freckles on it in several places like under her eyes, on her shoulders, on her elbows, and at the very ends of her hands. She has a leafy vine choker around her neck, and her main outfit consists of a light green leaf textured one piece that has dark green leaves along the top and bottom of it and light green tights that has a leaf pattern running down the side of them.]

[itwasthereaminuteago]

|| Lost and Found ||

Frank Castle x female reader

Tags/warnings: meetcute! With dogs!

Oral (f rec), beardburn, coming in pants (m) 😍, written for the @bernthirst-events #beardthalbash, thanks to @darlingshane and @anna-hawk for organising!

"Midge! Miiiidge!" Your voice echoes through the endless trees as you call out again and again, listening hopefully for the familiar thunder of paws on the leafy undergrowth coming back toward you, but there was nothing but the muted twitter of birds. "Midge, come!" You shout again, your voice starting to tremble with worry as you walk hurriedly along the forestry path. The light was beginning to fade earlier in these shortening autumn evenings, and it would soon be impossible to find your runaway pup. You take out your phone, dismayed to see the signal nonexistent out this deep in the woods.

"C'mon Midge! Midge, please come back!" The back of your throat is rough from yelling and your eyes are glistening with tears. You couldn't go home, you had to keep looking for her.

"Miiiidge?!" You tried again, and stopped in your tracks as you heard a rustling nearby, but it was just a blackbird rummaging in the leaf litter.

"Oh Midge…" you croak out more quietly, still holding her broken lead tightly in your fist. You cursed yourself for not replacing it sooner after she had been chewing it, for not buying a stronger one. You were so wrapped up in your own admonishment that you jumped out of your skin when someone walked up the track behind you.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind me askin', are you alright?"

You turned and were met with the figure of a large bearded man. He kept his distance when he realised he had given you a bit of a fright, giving you time to take in the fact that he was wearing a dark green shirt with the park ranger logo embroidered on it along with utility pants and sturdy walking boots. His eyes were dark and he was looking at you kindly.

"I'm Frank, I'm a ranger. I heard you yelling, can I help?" He asks, and you find yourself stuttering over your words, partly in relief that someone else was around, and someone who hopefully knew these woods a lot better than you.

"It's- it's my dog, she… oh, I've been searching and calling for her for hours, she broke her lead when she saw a squirrel and bolted after it! I couldn't catch her in time and she's just- she's just a pup!" You sniffle as your eyes keep flitting around to look through the trees. "I can't find her, she doesn't know this part of the woods that well, I can't leave her alone out there."

The ranger nods and steps a little bit closer. "Alright, I know that you're worried about her, but this sorta thing happens a lot. I'm gonna help you to find her best I can. Can you give me a description? An' I heard you callin' out 'Midge', s'that right?"

You wipe at your damp eyes, nodding. "She's a border collie, black and white. She's 8 months but she's small for her age."

"Okay ma'am, do you remember when and where you last saw her? I'll radio my team and we'll be able to have more eyes and ears lookin' out for Midge okay?" His voice is low and authoritative but soft with it, and your tears soon stop as you're distracted by the way he goes straight into action.

"Back over the ridge near the fire pass, I think it was about two hours ago…" you tell him.

Frank unclips his radio from his belt and relays all the information, getting confirmation from a variety of voices shortly after.

"Okay, let's take a walk back that way huh? You got some treats or somethin' with you?"

You fall into step beside him, grasping the bag of mini bone biscuits from your pocket. "Yeah."

He smiles. "That's good. Those her favourite, huh?"

"Yeah. But she just loves any food really."

You pick a few out hoping that Midge might be able to smell them from wherever she is and her greedy stomach might lead her back to you.

Frank nods. "Is she alright with guys? I know some dogs don't like a man with a beard, can scare em sometimes."

You soon dismiss Frank's concern. "No not at all, actually she'd likely love you. I mean, our postman is quite a big guy and she's always happy to see him at the house. Though I guess he does bring treats for a lot of the dogs."

Frank smiles again and starts calling out for Midge as you come near to the spot where she ran off and you join him, shaking the bag of treats. He takes out a flashlight and starts a sweep. "Which way did she head, do you remember?" He asks.

You point down the slope in front of you and he starts making his way through the trees with you following behind and both calling. After a little while walking down the hill he holds up his hand in a signal to stop and you stay quiet. He listens and you strain your ears too, eventually hearing a distant whimper.

"Oh! Oh it's Midge!" You're suddenly sick with fear that she's seriously hurt and start running towards the sound, the thick branches scraping against your face and arms. Frank catches up to you quickly and urges you to slow down.

"Hey, hey! Watch yourself now, there's a ton of burrows and shit you could break your ankle in if you're not careful. Just hold back with me. It's alright, we'll get to her."

You reluctantly slow your pace as he's right after all, he does know these woods better than you and very soon he's crouching down at the roots of a big tree. As you round it you see little Midge on the ground whining and wagging her tail as she sees you. Her back paw is caught between two roots and she's clearly in some pain.

"Hey, hey Midgey, shhh it's okay, just stay nice and still." You try to calm her, holding her collar as Frank is extremely gentle as he carefully moves the roots to work her paw free and lift her up.

"There we go," he says as he holds her.

Both of you look the pup over for any other injuries before he radios that you'd found her to his colleagues. As you feel her ankle joint there's a little bruising but she doesn't seem to be in any great distress and when you hold out one of her treats she's more than eager to gobble it up.

"Oh Midge, it's alright baby, you're gonna be alright!" You stroke her soft fur in comfort, more for you, lifting your head to look at the ranger, your eyes shining slightly with tears. Just then Midge tilts her head up and licks Frank's face so sweetly and he cracks a smile. "Heh, that's a good sign."

You're so relieved and the rich sound of his laugh as Midge keeps on lavishing him with licks is infectious, making you chuckle too. It makes you feel so much better after all the worry.

"I can't thank you enough, Frank. I was so scared it would be so much worse!" You tell him as you all walk back to the park entrance.

"Hey no worries, it's all just part of the job." He replies as you reach the gate. It was almost completely dark now and the rain was starting to come down in a drizzly mist. "You local? Do you need a ride home?" He asks.

You glance down the road. It was only about a mile and a half walk away but you didn't want to risk Midge getting away from you again as she might manage to wriggle out of your arms on the road.

"Um, actually that would be really great if it wouldn't be too much trouble? We're not far."

"Not at all ma'am, best make sure this lil lady doesn't have another chance to get into trouble again, I know what they can be like!" He jibes, booping Midge gently on her nose which she licks afterwards.

When you reach the outside of your little lodge house after the short ride, you thank Frank again. In the light from the porch his dark eyes are twinkling as he bids you both goodnight.

"I'm sure she'll be back out and about in no time, just keep an eye out for those darn squirrels yeah?"

You laugh a little now that your worry is mostly over, and you notice how handsome he is as well as the kindness and trust that seemed to just emanate from him effortlessly, putting you at ease. "I certainly will! I'm so glad you found us, thank you. Once she's rested and recovered from her ordeal maybe we'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I sure hope so." He replies giving you a gorgeous smile as he gets back into his truck.

-

Frank is just signing off an email when he hears a familiar bark from outside the office. Lady, his own dog, responds with her own short huff, excited to see her playmate again.

It's been a couple of months since Midge's incident and maybe him carrying treats in his pocket might have had something to do with it, but she always ran up to the ranger station and let her arrival be known every time you walk her. And Frank sure as hell doesn't mind as it means he gets to see you.

It had started with polite, friendly waves and a big pet for Midge whenever you happened upon each other in the park. Then, you would frequently stop to chat to him, ask him about his day and he about yours, and then you had started to drop by after his shift finished so you could all go on a walk together. There was nothing Frank loved more than being in the outdoors, except now he got to share that with someone, and he found himself increasingly glad that it was you.

Frank always made you laugh with the way he would run around playing with Midge and Lady, even after a long day's work. You showed him the tricks you had been teaching your pup, and on your regular hikes you also started to learn more about each other. Frank started looking forward to the times he would see you, your easy and generous smile lighting up his world and maybe even pushing to broaden the boundaries of it, maybe let someone like you to become something more. It had been a long while since he thought he felt something more than friendship blossoming, and gradually opening up to you felt right.

Still, right now he was so damn nervous. He had been trying to work up the courage to ask you out for days and then he'd inevitably chicken out, but he promised himself he'd do it tonight. And even if you turned him down, there'd be no regrets.

"Hey big bear!" You say as you greet him. "Which route do you wanna take this evening Frankie? It's your turn to pick." You ask him as Frank steps out with Lady and locks up the office. He almost loses his nerve when he turns and sees your pretty face and your sweet voice calling his nickname caresses his ears.

"Uh, I was thinkin' up by the creek," he suggests as the four of you start walking up the trailhead. Frank scratches at the back of his shirt collar. "Can't remember if I mentioned before but our place is up that way."

You turn to look at him wide eyed after you throw the ball for the dogs as they run ahead. "It is? Wow, it's so gorgeous up there. You're so damn lucky Frank, a perfect job and an amazing commute!"

He can't help beaming back, you seemed to see the positive in almost everything, he guessed he was pretty lucky.

Okay, he decides, now is the time to do it. Just put it out there. Just ask. What's the worst that could happen?

He clears his throat. "Was wonderin' actually, if you'd… uh, maybe you might wanna-" He couldn't believe he was stuttering over such a simple question. Fuck, was it supposed to be this hard? Thankfully, you stepped in and saved both of you from any more of his awkwardness.

"Frank, are you inviting me to your place?" You ask.

The light rain that's falling makes the longer strands of his hair lie in curls against his forehead. He runs a hand through it pushing it back, nodding. "Yeah, I mean, no pressure or anything. Just, if you wanna maybe have a drink with… me?"

You smile at him again. "Yeah, I'd love to."

By the time you reached his lodge you were both slightly soaked by the autumn drizzle. Frank stacks up the wood burner as soon as he lets you in, giving you and the dogs a towel to dry off with as he gets the fire going.

Once you dry off your hair and the dogs, you look around his home in awe. It's so beautiful, hewn from trees from this very forest, nothing too big and grand, just perfectly cosy. He had a neat but well stocked kitchen area, with a solid oak table and chairs by the window. A set of natural carved steps led up to a mezzanine with shelves stacked with all sorts of books and what you assumed was his bedroom.

There were glazed double doors that opened out the back onto a wooden porch and the mossy lawn behind bordered by the trees. And beside the wood burning stove was a tired but comfy looking sofa with a massive thick rug in front of it where Frank gestured to you to make yourself at home.

You kick off your shoes and hang your coat up on a hook near the door beside his next to the dog leads, and settle on the couch.

"This is magic, Frank," you tell him as he opens the fridge taking out a couple of beers.

He shakes his head, dipping his face a little like he's embarrassed or something as he walks over and hands you a bottle. "It's alright. You hungry?" He asks.

"I'm alright just now, just thirsty!" You smile, clinking your bottle against his as he sits down across from you after placing a couple of logs onto the now steadily blazing pile of kindling.

"Did it come with the job?"

He shrugs, fingers stroking his thick beard. "Uh, kinda." He takes a swig of beer and smiles as he notices Lady bringing out one of her favourite toys and letting Midge play with it without a gripe.

"Heh, look at that. S'good they're gettin' on so well." He remarks, and you hum in agreement as you watch them play.

"Yeah, I'm so glad," You say as you turn your gaze back to him. "It means we can spend more time together."

The corners of Frank's mouth pull up just a little. "S'that so? Cos I've been thinking I'd like that." He admits, the nerves rapidly melting away.

You move just a little bit closer to him on the couch, turning your body to face his. "I know I'd like that…" you confess. As you put your beer down on the side table, your hand brushes his knee and you decide to leave it there. He gazes directly at you and you feel your body temperature rise but it's not because of the fire that's burning nearby...

His fingers lightly stroke over yours and when you look back up he's so focused on you, the brown of his eyes seems so deep and dark and soft you could get lost in them. He's searching your expression for permission.

"Can I kiss you?"

His voice melts like thick honey in your ears and you're leaning in with a whispered yes instantly, almost before he can get all the words out. He raises a hand to cup your face stroking his thumb softly over your cheek and you close your eyes as he slowly leans in and gently captures your lips with his own. He's so very tender but you can feel the control he possesses as you eagerly kiss him back, the captivating strength and power held in check only by a hair trigger. Your fingers thread through his beard, guiding him to you and right now he'll go wherever you want him. He thinks maybe he should stop, a gentleman would stop and let you take the lead, dictate the pace, but you already are.

Under the light tang of beer you taste sweeter than he could imagine as your tongue slips in so softly, so teasingly between his parted lips against his own and he can't help the low moan he lets out as you surprise him by shifting to climb into his lap.

You gently pull away for a second, and your words are laced with a barely concealed urgency that has him struggling against that fucking gentlemanly conscience he had just a minute ago.

"Tell me if this is too fast?" You probe, looking down at him, your pupils already blown out. You'd been waiting for this. You'd given him all the signals for a little while now, hoping he'd maybe feel the same, waiting for him to be ready.

Frank's eyes dart from yours, down to your mouth and back up again. "Don't feel too fast to me," his words almost vibrate through you with his low tone. "Just feels right."

He moves to kiss you again and it's bliss. His lips are so soft, as is his beard although slightly tickly against your skin. You sigh and smile making a contented sound and he shows you some more of that control, his hands running up the sides of your thighs to rest on your waist, just lightly holding you. He still lets you set the speed, what you want and you let him know as your fingers slide up the shirt covering his broad chest weaving into his hair. His kiss goes deeper as you move in his lap, slowly shifting forward, pressing your hips against his and he makes his reaction to that known with the sexiest noise you've heard him make so far. You want so desperately to hear more.

"Been goin' crazy over you, you know that sweetheart?" He reveals, as you both pull away momentarily, still just inches away from each other's mouths. Your breaths are shallow, you've not felt this excited in a long while.

"You think I haven't felt the same?" You smirk.

In the days after Midge's rescue and recovery, you had found yourself thinking about Frank a lot. About his kindness, competency, and yeah maybe sometimes about how handsome he is… still you never thought he'd take a second look at you, but now you had both arrived here, feeling Frank's fingers twitch against you desperate to touch and you eager for him to do so.

You urge him to continue to explore as your lips meet again, the sensation of his fingertips so tentatively sliding up under your sweater and chasing the goosebumps away as they glide over your bare skin. You nip teasingly at his lower lip and he rewards you with a small grunt before his tongue delves back deeper into your mouth as you move your core over the now obvious bulge in his pants. He trails hot kisses down the side of your neck, pulling at the neckline of your top and you peel it off so his lips can access more of you.

"You're so gorgeous darlin'," he speaks into your skin as he places every kiss with care and attention, his eyes flicking up to meet yours as he mouths around the swell of your breasts still held captive by your bra. You tug at the hem of his shirt, leaning back for a moment so he can move to take it off. Your hands are back on him instantly, tracing over his muscular torso, fingers excitedly running over every dip and rise, appreciating every rough line of his varied scars now bared to you. You're both almost panting for breath, and he's struck dumb as you claw at his belt buckle but he gently puts his hands over yours, halting them.

You glance up. "Oh, if you don't want to-"

Frank chuckles, bumping his nose against yours. "I do. God, I really do… I just need to make sure it's what you want."

You can't believe this guy, he's almost perfect. Frustratingly so.

"Frank, I really want you." You tell him in all lucidity.

He licks across his lips at your confirmation, making the damp spot in your panties grow as he lets his eyes rove over you.

"Well, I'm gonna take you to bed then. C'mon." He says as he encourages you to your feet and guides you up the stairs.

You shimmy off your pants and socks in between more fervent kisses before he lays you down on his bed, leaving his own on as he lifts your foot and starts kissing his way up the inside of your ankle and calf. You part your legs wider to make space for him and his broad shoulders, your heart rate increasing by bounds as you anticipate his next move.

"Mm, s'this okay sweetheart?" He checks in as he nears the juncture of your thighs, his beard brushing the sensitive skin there, "Can I take these off?" He adds, and you hum in the affirmative as his dark eyes meet yours and he smiles. "Been just dyin' to taste you..." You flush with heat at his purred confession and lift your hips as he hooks his fingers around the waistband so he can pull your underwear down. He kisses your mound softly when he returns, taking his time.

"Anytime you want me to stop," he says before lightly kissing your clit and you let out a shuddered breath. "You just tell me baby, okay?" You nod and moan out loud when he begins to lap his tongue right between your glistening folds. You know you'll never want him to stop.

Your body writhes as he continues with wide slow licks between your thighs, relaxing as it's clear he more than knows what he's doing. You whimper, jolting unexpectedly as he begins flicking the hardened tip of his tongue over your clit before softening it again and repeating, swirling, sucking and worshiping your almost steadily dripping cunt like it's a fountain in the desert. When your thighs press in bracketing his head at a particularly sensitive touch, he wraps his big paws around you, fingers greedily switching between kneading the soft flesh of your legs and cupping around your ass as he devours you.

The hair of his beard rubs against your skin and the sensation is addictive. You move your hips against his rhythm and he reaches up to take one of your hands that is currently fisting in the sheets to position it on his head, to make you grab his hair and show him exactly what you want.

You gasp as he very quickly and easily hits a pressure and tempo that has you arching your back right off the mattress. Frank groans as you guide him, squeezing your legs around him almost rutting against his face, moaning so deep into your pussy you can feel the vibrations go through you. And just like that every focused movement he makes brings you further pleasure, taking you higher and higher, and seeing and feeling your reaction just keeps him going.

"Attagirl," he praises, briefly raising his head to look at you. Your juices shine on his lips, spread all around his mouth and wetting some of his beard. The sight just makes him look even hotter to you.

"Frank- mmn! God that's so good, please don't stop…"

He would never, diving right back between your quivering thighs and working you up to and over the edge like it's his only purpose. He can't help himself, you're so fucking sexy like this he's almost humping the bed trying to ease the throbbing need that's barely contained in his jeans. He might have thought about you like this before, how you'd sound, how you'd look, but nothing has prepared him for the reality.

He groans long and low as you clamp your legs hard to his head, you're trying not to but you can't stop your hips from rising, can't help fucking yourself hard against his face, but he wants it, encouraging you until your orgasm explodes from within. The intensity shakes you from your very core, rippling through your body in multiple waves as Frank still holds you firmly to him, licking you through it devotedly as he ruts his own hips into the mattress with another sexy moan. He slows down as he feels your tight grip in his hair easing off, his now near-black eyes meeting yours as he pants and licks his lips.

"You okay there darlin'?" His question is sincere but you almost snort with laughter with how fucking good he's made you feel. He can't be real.

"I'm-" you giggle and throw your arm up over your face as you feel nothing but euphoria.

"god, I'm… yeah, yeah I'm okay! Oh… shit. Wow!"

He grins and wipes his face on the sheets before crawling up the bed to lie next to you, and you turn on your side to face him, drawing him into a kiss as you reach for his pants for a second time.

He catches your hands yet again, shaking his head apologetically. "Uh, it was kinda 'oh shit wow' f'me too y'know? It's… been a while."

It takes you a brain-melted second to get his meaning and then a satisfied smile spreads across your lips. "Frankie, you know that's hot, right?"

He laughs falling back on the sheets, a slight blush dusting his cheekbones. "Hmm I dunno bout that, kinda feel like a teenager again, but as long as you're satisfied for now darlin'."

"I think that'll keep me going for a long while!"

"Not too long though, yeah?" Frank turns his head to look your way and try to gauge your meaning, the faintest hint of concern in his tone. This wasn't a one time thing right? It didn't feel like it was.

The corners of your mouth hook upward yet again. "Definitely not too long." you assure him.

Your eyes track up to the large skylight in the roof above the bed as you catch your breath back, watching the moody, inky clouds gently rolling past.

"Must be a fantastic view of the stars when it's clear." You muse, still gazing up as you feel the warmth of Frank's hand slide over your stomach to hold you close to him in the afterglow.

He follows the line of your sight. "Yeah, it was a pain in the ass to install but worth it for sure."

You turn in his arms to face him. "You put that in yourself? Wow, that's something."

He gives a shrug. "Well I always planned for it when I built the place."

You're incredulous. "What? You built this place?!"

Frank just chuckles, smoothing a couple of stray strands of hair out of your face.

"Yeah, haven't always been a ranger. Used to do logging, bit of carpentry. Just thought how hard can it be? Had the idea in my head for a good long while before I had the means and the land to make it happen."

"Frank Castle… I'm officially stunned. That's incredible!" He has the audacity to shrug again like it's nothing and then laughs out loud as he watches your brows draw together.

"Hey, I'm serious! That kinda skill, that's rare. And, I guess it explains this…" you run your fingers over his large biceps, giving them a quick squeeze before smoothing them over his chest.

He hums. "Yeah, only some of it, have to thank the gym for the rest."

You grin as he pushes up on an elbow, leaning his head on his hand as he traces slightly ticklish patterns over your skin as he regards you as if you're a goddess.

"And what about all this darlin'? What about you? You're somethin' special."

You shake your head but he's determined to make his feelings known to you.

"M'serious. Y'know I was totally shittin' it thinking about askin' you here, askin' you out? Was too damn scared you might not say yes."

You can't imagine Frank being scared of much, and you don't know how you could ever say no. Even before the sex.

"Well, I did say yes," you point out as you lean over to kiss him. He still tastes of you and the memory of the intimacy you'd shared is fresh in your mind. "...and I'm really glad that I did."

"Hm, well I better give the dogs their dinners," Frank muses as he strokes at your side, "and make ours too I guess..." he adds with a smile as your stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't think I was that hungry until you mentioned dinner!"

Frank grins as he pushes himself up, grabbing a couple of clean towels from the cupboard near the bed. "Alright, m'gonna clean up real quick and make us somethin'. If you wanna have a long shower while I cook you go right on ahead darlin', there's plenty of hot water."

You smile as you stretch out under his ridiculously comfortable covers, watching his gorgeous ass disappearing into the bathroom as you call after him. "I'm loving the sound of that idea!"

[the-blind-assassin-12]

questions tag game

*Some time ago* I was tagged by the lovely @oonajaeadira - thanks, friend! - to play along, so here goes:

Do you make your own bed? Always when I change the sheets. Sometimes when I’m in an overly productive mood/ I’m procrastinating something else. Never when I simply don’t feel like it.

Favorite number? 12

What is your job? I run an Etsy shop. It’s mostly geared towards weddings and other events. I have a laser engraver, and I use it to make engraved wooden bookmarks (they’re usually used as party favors but they’ve also been used as fundraiser items & book launch giveaways), photo engravings and replica event invitations. I also drive for Uber eats on the side. Which can be interesting and weird in similar ways that any food service job can be interesting and weird.

If you could go back to school, would you? Are we talking about college? I’m assuming we’re talking about college, in which case I would. I genuinely liked being in school and doing research and writing analysis papers. 🤓

Can you parallel park? Sure. Can I parallel park well? Haha. No. Luckily where I live I don’t really have to very often, and on the off chance that I do have to I either A) find a spot I can just pull right into, or B) take a really long time to get kinda sorta close enough to run into whatever store I need to and run back out.

Do you think aliens are real? Absolutely. The universe is too big to conceptualize and Earth simply cannot be the only planet with life.

Can you drive a manual car? I cannot. I’ve always wanted to learn but it never came to fruition and now I doubt it will because fewer cars are being made with manual transmission. Oh well.

What’s your guilty pleasure? None. Life is short and difficult so I’m going to enjoy my little treats without guilt.

Any phobias? Idk if it’s a phobia per se, but clowns freak me out in a way that makes me want to punch them and run.

Favorite childhood sport? Track. And cross country. I was a runner from the time I could run (my dad was a marathon runner in his younger years and so he would put me in kid races starting at age 4) up until about 10 years ago. In high school I ran the 400m, 800m, 1600m and 5k. Since then I’ve done every road race distance from 5k to a full marathon. I had to stop because of injuries- a stress fracture in my knee that never really healed correctly (my knees sound like a bag of scrabble tiles when I descend a staircase) and a total reconstruction surgery on my foot - but I miss it very much. If I could have new knees and feet I’d be running again in nothing flat.

Do you talk to yourself? Oh heck yeah. All the time. Usually in my head but sometimes out loud. It’s a lot of “what are you doing?” @ me.

Tattoos? Just one little itty bitty one - the number 26.2 (the length of a marathon) with a heart as the decimal point on the outside of my right foot. I dedicated my marathon to my mom, so the heart is for her. I want so goddamn many more though.

Favorite color? Leafy green. 🌱

Do you like puzzles? I do! I love codes and logic problems and word puzzles and even corn mazes. I’ve never done an escape room but I have a feeling I’d ace it.

Idk who may have done this recently or ever or five times already or never, so this is an entirely OPEN TAG - so go crazy, kids. Just tag me so I can see your answers. 💚

[butmakeitgayblog]

Can you share a snippet from Medusa au? We need to cleanse your dash

*smudges the air and lights incense*

For everyone who stayed during the insanity 😅

As always it's just copy and pasted without editing so forgive any mistakes (it'll get cleaned up for ao3)

Medusa and the Blind Woman

/////////////

Lexa watches her from her corner. Her little nook made up of nothing more than a rickety chair and table, chin resting on her shoulder and hands frozen in her work as she takes in the form of her resident home invader half-hobbling toward the nest of leaves that takes up the better portion of what used to be her lounging room. 

Clarke leans heavier on her stick than usual, less using it to find a path for herself, instead wobbling with it as more of a crutch. Her steps are slow and lopsided as she lowers each foot with delicate precision, humming in pained breathes with every inch forward.

"What's the matter?" Lexa finally asks when she can't take the wincing hisses anymore. 

"Huh?"

She releases an annoyed sigh because despite all evidence that Clarke shows whenever she mercifully doesn't feel like talking, Lexa is painfully aware she is, in fact, not deaf as well as blind. "I asked what was the matter."

"Nothing," Clarke says, sounding strained and tired as she takes another hobbled step across the room. "All good here. What's wrong with you?"

"You're limping."

"Nope, just taking my time."

"Clarke."

"Medusa."

Lexa fails to swallow the rumble of her growl. "Fine then. Forget it." 

Her words are snipped. The matter is all but settled as she goes back to her work of stripping the bark from stems and saplings. What should she care about this obnoxiously stubborn intruder to begin with. She heats her knife over the flame of her candle and meticulously shaves away the outer layer of prickly bits and fibers, laying each out in perfectly divided piles according to length, thickness, and strength.

It's only when another hiss, more pained than before, sounds against the stone walls of the cave that Lexa looks back up from her work, hands pausing mid stroke of her knife at what she sees. 

Clarke is hunched over in her little nest, stick forgotten at her side as she gingerly peels away a stripping of leaf tucked securely into the loops of her sandals that Lexa had failed to notice before. 

A lump lodges itself in Lexa's throat at the site of the flesh beneath. 

The skin is swollen, red and riddled with welts, pocked by debris and tiny sores that weep and look far too tender to touch. A few calluses along the heel and the ball of her foot sit cracked, angry and bleeding in sluggish trickles as Clarke peels away the covering inch by agonizing inch.

"Clarke." The name sits like grit on her tongue. She's up and out of her seat without a thought, looming over the woman still gingerly cradling the foot in her hands.

Clarke doesn't turn her head up as she sighs and lowers her leg to the ground, careful to set it in a soft lump of bedding rather than the cave floor. 

"It's fine."

Lexa nearly chokes on the way her chest clenches, an eerie ringing flooding her ears as Clarke bites back a yelp and begins the process all over again on the second foot. Her stomach curdles at the sight of ragged and gnarled flesh beneath the leafy bandage. Shredded in red and raw strips along the arch, toe, and heel. 

"Clarke," she says again, quieter through the thick sludge of mud suddenly clogging her windpipe. "What happened?" 

Clarke lets out a pained laugh as she drops the blood soiled leaf wrappings to the side. "Don't worry, Medi. I'll have this all cleaned up by morning. Don't want to get blood on such rare stone flooring, I know."

The shake of Lexa's head feels as useless as she does. "How long have they been like this?" Her words sound sharper than she means to.

"Few days."

"Clarke."

"Can you stop saying my name like that? You sound like my mother."

"How long?"

"I don't know. Few days." Clarke sighs in relief this time, having finally laid her foot down in a comfortable position after a few hiss-laden tries. Her chest heaves with it, brow littered with a dusting of sweat as she collapses onto her back with a groan. "The rocks here are murder. They just chew through these damn shoes—"

"That's because those are meant for sand and chiseled stone, not a cave floor. Or a forest for that matter. Are you saying all you brought was those sandals?"

Clarke's arm flops in a vague motion toward her satchel. "What you see is what they gave me."

Lexa glances back down at the angry, shredded remnants of Clarke's feet as the realization fills her with rage.

Without so much as another word, barely an inpatient grunt of rage that she can't manage to contain, Lexa storms from the cave, not bothering to give a sound of farewell to the idiotic, prideful, mess of a woman splayed across her living room floor.

It's reprehensible. Beyond comprehension, the lack of intelligence at play. She awes at the lack of planning, or forethought, or any kind of concern for Clarke's survival her so called people must have had for her as Lexa gathers her tools and stalks away from their cave. 

The ghouls had sent this woman to a jagged, snake infested island made of rock, with barely more than a pair of slippers to use for shoes.

A simmer rage engulfs her as she makes her way across the island, trampling none-too-gently through the thickets of overgrowth that make up the forest line to chop a few more saplings for the day, making an annoyed mental note that she'll have to replace the decreased number of her yield come spring. She's worked herself up into a state of pure seething when she collects a few spare bones and strips of hide from her storage before slamming logs and sticks into a haphazard pile to quickly build up a fire. 

The mental image of that chewed and gnawed skin makes her hands shake as she rips the saplings and fires the hide, having to work to steady her hand as she rounds sharp edges of bone and scrapes the heated leathered hide to rid it of any stubborn fur. She forces her breathing into a rhythmic beat, smelling the fresh salt spray in counted intervals of three as she twists twine and threads bark and slices the softest shoots among her supply. 

She takes her time in each task. Measures and re-measures each piece, bend, and bow before tying and scorching things into place. From the sole to the straps to the hardened edged toes and the protective curve of a slender heel, working each section with practiced eased despite the anger that sits simmering and white hot in her chest. 

When only embers remain under the star strewn night sky does Lexa deem her work finished, flexing and turning one creation in her hands after the next. Thumping them on stones and testing the shock against her hands, and then, only then, does her anger begin to fade.

The fire dies in a hiss of smoke and ocean, taking with it the last dregs of Lexa's thoughts of bloodshed as she tosses aside the pail and scoops up her tools and returns then to their place. With the scorched earth vibrancy of her anger averted, her fingers feel clumsy as they clutch at the straps, the walk back to the cave spent in the sudden heavy silence of her mind.

She sighs the second she rounds the corner of her cave, finding the room in total darkness. Just as expected after her hasty retreat. 

The test of her aim turns out to be spot on when her creations get tossed in the direction of the nest in the corner, her march back toward her work nook barely stopping long enough to hear the thump of them finding their mark and the startled groan that followed. 

"Ow."

"Good, you're still awake."

"Well I am now. What was that for—"

"Stay there," Lexa cuts her off in quiet command over the strike of rock and flint. She lights a series of candles and places them in a half circle around the sorry excuse for Clarke's bed. Goes to the row of clay pots and shifts through them until she finds the one marked with the particular symbols of berries and leaves she's looking for.

Mercifully, Clarke is quiet through the process, merely sitting still and unmoving, save for the occasional twist of her head at new sounds.

Lexa settles on the ground, surprised at feeling just how quickly the chill of the stone bleeds through the linen of her wrap. She ignores Clarke's jump of surprise when her fingers wrap around a slim ankle, not fighting or fussing when Lexa gives a light squeeze and tsk in warning before she lifts the injured foot out of its cradle and places it into her lap.

"What are you doing?" Clarke asks hesitantly but remains still. 

Lexa scoops her fingers into the pot at her side to collect a generous dollop. 

"Helping."

She doesn't expound more than that, figuring the act of smearing the soothing ointment over a particularly nasty looking welt would be explanation enough. 

Her work is methodical,  slow and steady in a way that barely earns her the occasional hiss between mutters for the patient to stop fidgeting. But she knows it has to be done, that the numbing will take effect in just a few moments, and any pain now will save Clarke from losing her leg, much less her life.

She keeps her touch light, fingers smoothing over the welts and wounds that feel hot to the touch. Fingertips gliding along the ball and gentle arch of Clarke's foot with reverent care. Her patient shivers at the feel of it, neither of them saying a word during the process that extends from heel to toe. Lexa rubs her thumb in soothing circles over the notch of Clarke's ankle to calm her, feeling a wave of goosebumps erupt under her touch as she hums consolingly with each shift of discomfort.

She doesn't bother to bite back her smile when little heads lean down in a curtain around her face to investigate the matter at hand themselves. 

The second foot goes faster, the process made easier with Clarke not jerking at every swipe of Lexa's fingers quite as much. With them settling into a silent rhythm of breathing meant that flows peacefully between them.

When every gash is covered and the patient seems sufficiently numbed, Lexa takes the strips of boiled, sterile cloth and wraps them over her work, taking the time to secure the ends in folded loops so they don't unravel through the night. 

"There," she finally breathes when she deems her work finished on both feet, safe from harm for the time being. She takes more time than strictly necessary, ghosting her fingers over the bindings to check for tenderness and watching for signs that they're too tight, before gingerly lowering Clarke's foot to rest in the bed of shredded leaves covered in linen. 

She busies herself with cleanup in the stilted silence that follows. Only pauses at the sound of a throat being cleared pulls her attention from gathering up the salves and spare bits of covering.

"You didn't have to," Clarke says quietly. It takes another moment before she seems to try again, sounding more steady than before. "Thank you. Is what I mean to say. Thank you for… It feels better."

Lexa grunt is as eloquent as she can manage as she returns the pot of salve back to its place among her collection along the wall. "It's nothing."

"It kind of is though," Clarke immediately argues. Because this is Clarke. Who is apparently allergic to simply letting things be, Lexa thinks. "I didn't want to be a bother, but you really have no idea how bad that hurt."

"Yes I do," Lexa says quickly, quietly. Heavy with the memories of her first weeks stranded here on this god's forsaken island as she takes the spare rags and wipes her numb fingers clean.

[children-of-subcon]

So, it's been uh,,,,*checks watch* two months,! Sorry about that, I've been really busy -w-;; But anyways!!

As you've probably noticed, this ref is wayyy different from my usual style! To be honest, I,,,really started hating that style and it made working on refs stop being fun jsdkljsd... Plus I got really inspired by a certain youtuber so!! Ref formats are getting a revamp!!!!! It's possible that it may change more in the future since this was very experimental,, but the good news is it worked and I had a TON more fun making this :DD

As usual, story will be under the cut!

Taking the role of goofy mafia is the Lost Florist, also known simply as Chrys! She's the oldest member of Princess's runaway coup, at 19 years old, and also its only authority figure. She's been trying to reign things in and convince the Lost Kids to stop the whole thing, with...negligible success. Let's just hope SOMEONE figures out how to get things under control before she turns 20,,,and the coup kicks out the last thing keeping the island from burning to the ground.

As the only one really equipped to deal with the chaos (or at least, she's trying), Chrys is CONSTANTLY sleep deprived. She hasn't gotten a good night's sleep in months! And on one particular night, when it begins to lightly snow all over Ever Isle, leading every single child to attempt to shovel the stuff into their mouths...let's just say she's more tired than ever.

For USAU's Ch.1 Act 3: He Came From Underground, instead of raining, it snows! As seen above, Prince has a snow coat outfit exclusive to the next two acts (although it can later be earned). Falling into a snow pile will cause him to get covered in snow (loser), and anyone he encounters will ignore him unless attacked. If he passes through a bush while covered in snow, Prince will then get DOUBLE covered in leaves. Blegh. He's gonna need a shower after this...

Lost Florist, being so tired she's probably starting to see spiders, mistakes the leaf-covered alien for a "Leafy Plant Monster", screaming something about how she "knew the plants would come to take revenge on her". Prince rather confusedly chases after her, just trying to politely ask for his Time Piece back. Chrys ends up passing out, allowing her to get some much-needed sleep and Prince to retrieve his Time Piece.

She also appears in a much more well rested and less paranoid form in Act 6: Growing Over Ever Isle. Basically, Princess turned on all of the acid faucets around the island, causing the plant life to mutate and overgrow! I'll probably go into more detail later, but Chrys talks to Prince at the start of the act and also thanks him with a Time Piece at the end...along with someone else.

I imagine act 3's song is something like Scootin Through Subcon Forest or Subcon Caves but faster and more She Came From Outer Space-y JSDKLFJ And then act 6 would be a remix of Subcon Village probably? I'm not really sure what kind of music fits evil plants, though...

Some final tidbits about Chrys!

She was childhood friends with Princess, but has kind of been really mad at her ever since she started a coup and even more after she LEFT HER TO PICK UP THE PIECES. -_-

She owns the flowershop in the Town plaza fountain area! It was originally called Bloomin' Boutique, but,,,the Lost Kids spray painted over it to say "Bloomin' Idiots" instead :(

Homegirl is so sleep deprived she put normal gloves over her gardening ones 💀 GO TO BED

Alright, that's about it! These always end up longer than I think they'll be -w-;; BUT I realized whose ref is next and I'm reaaaally excited hehehe :) Anywho, thanks for reading!

[mollywog]

In an attempt to avoid my District 13 fic I wrote a little something based on Katniss’s brief mention of the lynx in the first book. Thank you @professionalfangrrl for reviewing and giving me ideas on how to punch it up for future use 😜

This will likely be I incorporated into a poorly named Teacher Peeta TWHHA story eventually.

“This is incredible!” It’s probably the tenth time I’ve said it, but I haven’t gotten over my initial amazement at being beyond the fence with Katniss Everdeen. She’s ahead of me and turns in my direction with an exasperated glare. I mouth a ‘sorry’ and snap my mouth shut. She’s so quiet. I can’t imagine ever being over the awe of the forest. Not that she takes it for granted, but she doesn’t seem to notice the way the light dances as it filters through the leafy treetops or the smell of pine and wet earth all around us.

“Am I the first person you’ve brought out here?” It’s a dumb question as evident by her soft snort.

“Hardly.” She pauses, contemplating before continuing “I didn’t ‘bring’ Gale out here: We met in the forest when I was 12 and reluctantly became a team. I brought Prim a handful of times, but she’s a healer, not a hunter and the risks are too high to let her tag along just to gather. Madge has an odd fascination with the woods, so I took her out a couple of times and showed her how to shoot, but that was just for ‘fun’: Rory and Vick I brought along and taught them to hunt for survival. Then Vera, of course, but she sort of followed me here, wouldn’t let up until I showed her how to handle the snare runs.” She trails off staring back at my boots. “You’ve got to be more quiet. Watch where I step.”

“Sorry” I say bashfully. I’m not sure what I’m doing, but it’s clearly offensive. It’s peaceful out here, but not silent. The woods are alive with sound: distant water rushing, birds chirping, insects buzzing, leaves rustling. I’m not sure how she can hear a snapped branch or two over all the other noises. I try to follow in her footsteps, but am easily distracted by the surroundings and forget my feet. We walk on in relative silence for a few steps before I speak again. “But Gale’s been your only hunting partner over all these years?” I don’t mention her father, it’s implied and I know she’d rather I not say it out loud.

She nods. I feel a pang of jealousy for a moment. I know nothing romantic happened between them, but their hunting bond is still a form of closeness, an intimacy I’ll never achieve. Especially if the way she keeps glaring at my shoes is any indication.

“I take that back.” She says abruptly. “There was this lynx that used to follow me around back in the beginning”

My ears perk. I love her woodland stories. “Like the big cat? I kind of thought those were made up to keep us afraid of the woods.”

“No, they’re real, though they don’t hunt naughty children. They mostly like to be left alone”

“Doesn’t sound familiar at all”

she rolls her eyes but smirks all the same. “He wasn’t bad company.”

Now I’m feeling jealous of the cat. “And what happened to him? Should I be worried we’ll run into him and he’ll get territorial?”

“Nah, you’ve got me to protect you.” I glance over at her. It was an off handed comment: as if it was obvious. I try to ignore the implication: that I am somehow dear to her, worthy of protecting. She continues unperturbed “Besides he’s dead.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be too sorry, I was the one to take him out; he scared off all the game. Not to mention reinforced Gale’s stupid nickname.” She shades her eyes as she looks up into the treetops. “I almost regretted it... But I got a decent price for his pelt.” She ends with a shrug.

That was not the story I expected. I’m standing dumbstruck when I notice her turn her head slightly to get a peak at my stunned expression, but it’s enough that I can see she’s barely containing a smile; She’s messing with me.

“Okay!” I raise my hands in surrender. “I get it! Tell me where I should go to be out of your way. But just so you don’t get any ideas, I doubt my pelt would be worth much.”

She laughs and motions me to follow her.

[shi-daisy]

Flower Mischief

If you can't tell I'm currently bouncing! Day 3 and I been waiting for this prompt cuz Florist Tamlin AU is giving me life. Today on the agenda, Tamcien being cute and petty. Readers will recognized the boquet described here from the old flower language insult post that's floating around Tumblr. Hope you all like!

@tamlinweek

Tamlin Week 2024 -Day 3: Flower Language

Flower Mischief

Tamlin perked up when he saw his favorite costumer, and good friend coming down the road. He was about to greet Lucien with the biggest smile he could until he noticed the redhead's russet eyes were puffy and reddened and his pretty face had tears tracks. A far cry from his usual beautiful smile.

"Lucien! What happened? Do you need water?! Should I call someone?"

"No...It's fine. I was just hoping Andras was still clocked in. I need a ride."

"I think he left an hour ago, but I can help if you'd like. What happened?"

He sighed not wanting to look at him. "Elain cheated on me."

Tamlin nearly screamed. He froze for a moment and then put down the pot of lilies he was holding.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say Elain cheated on you?!"

"Yes. Let's just say I came home early from college and had a surprise visit. Sorry to say the floral orders will stop for a while."

"Forget about that! I'm so sorry to hear that. Let me get you some water. Here sit down and I'll be right with you."

Tamlin rushed back to the breakroom where Dorevan was raiding the mini fridge.

"If you took my ice water I'll kill you."

"Chill, pipsqueak. I took some soda and stole the salami sandwich Hart left there. Roxy packed us salads for lunch, you can have mine if you want, too much lettuce."

"You're gonna get scurvy if you don't eat at least a leafy green a week!" Tamlin chastised his brother as he grabbed two ice water bottles. "Are you gonna close up?"

"Yeah, Ciaran and Roxanne have date night but they're leaving the kiddo with mom and dad. I'll close shop late, maybe get the wedding order done too. Thesan is my friend but if he changes colors one more time Khalid will be a widow before the wedding."

"Go easy on him! Those two are hopeless."

"Like you and your pretty redhead?"

"Hush!"

Dorevan smiled. "I can hear you all the way down here. Just be nice. He's single now, isn't he?"

"Shhhh. He is but the poor man was just cheated on! I'm not going to take advantage fo that."

Dorevan rolled his brown eyes so far Tamlin thought he'd go blind. "You're such a goody two shoes. Go get that man and help him get revenge. Perfect first date!"

"If Alis was on shift she'd kick ya."

"Good thing she's off today. Now run along before your fire fox leaves."

"Stay quiet or I'm telling Cresseida you don't really like seafood and go to the restaurant just to have her as your waitress."

"Tamlin I swear to fuck if you do that I'll beat you up!"

Tamlin just laughed as he walked out with the water and went back to Lucien's side. "Here you go!"

"Thanks."

The two had a nice drink and Tamlin began putting everything away everything before his shift ended.

He noticed Dorevan had left the orange lilies out on display and he had an idea.

"Lucien, you once told me your ex knows flower language, correct?"

"Yes. I often suggested themed boquets for that reason. Why do you ask?"

Tamlin smirked mischievously. "We could give her a little parting gift to ease your sorrows. Free of charge of course."

"Tamlin, I can't ask that of you!"

"Hey if it bothers ya just take me out for coffee sometime."

It made him giddy to see a slight blush take over the redhead's dark skin. Tamlin took out the flowers a day explained their meaning to Lucien as he arranged them.

"These are geraniums they represent stupidity, the yellow carnations mean disapointment, the foxglove is insincerity, and finally the orange lilies represent hatred."

The end result was a beautiful boquet that was full of loathing. Lucien seemed impressed. "Too good of a parting gift but it's a nice way to be petty silently. Thank you."

"Anytime."

The pair heard a honking from outside the door. Tamlin recognized it as Arryn Vanserra's red SUV.

"Ugh! The twins found me? No doubt they'll want gossip."

"You know them?"

"We're siblings."

"Oh...Oh right you have the same last name. You just look very diffrent."

Lucien smirked. "I was the cuck baby. Ask mom."

He nearly busted a lung laughing at that.

"Luciiiiii, I'll become an old lady honking outside. Oh hi Tami!"

"Hey Tanya. Congrats on the transition, you're looking lovely."

"Thanks blondie! Just came to pick up the baby, Eris and Nesta sent me to take you out for treats with Arryn."

"You all know already?!"

"Eris is a bigger gossip than me, dummy. We went to get your things. Gideon and Nemesis would've beaten Az up if Eris didn't stop em and let Nesta unleash a yelling reckoning instead. It was glorious!

The boys are setting everything up for ya at Cedric's place. Unless you wanna go stay with mom and Helion. Feyre said you can stay with her and Bryaxis too, she's pretty livid at flower girlie too."

"Ugh no, mom and dad will get over emotional and I don't wanna worry them. Feyre's family and roommates are fun to hang out with but their house is a permanent rave. I'll stay with Ced."

"Wise choice, now get to it! We can go clubbing after the ice cream! Wanna come along Tamlin?"

"Well, I'd love to but I have to make a delivery before that." He said while glancing at

"That can be done tomorrow, I'd rather have you out for some ice cream and dancing if you're still interested." Lucien said.

Tamlin smiled. "Then let me clock out and I'll be right with ya."

With the Vanserras heading for the car, Tamlin put away his apron, clocked out and got a small flower for the road. He and Lucien went to the backseat while twins sat in the front, before they headed out he put a small bloom on Lucien's hair.

"What's this?"

"A little pick me up for the road."

"A daffodil? What does this one mean?"

"New beginnings."

Tamlin was overjoyed to see Lucien smiling sweetly at him, already in a better mood. He'd make sure the redhead was the one receiving flowers this time.

[magicshopaholic]

So Many Signs (Taehyung x OC)

Summary: Dilara tries to ignore the obvious, while Taehyung finally loses his cool.

Pairing: Taehyung x OC

Genre: Angst

Word Count: 13 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: language, sexism, mention of assault, infidelity, longing, heartbreak

A/N: I didn’t think I’d be posting this so soon but I do want to reach a certain point in their story before I continue posting for other members. This one’s long, but I hope you like it! It takes place about a week after Chingu.

This is also a submission for the 2023 K-Pop Fanfic Bingo Event “The Sound of Music”, using the square with one of my favourite childhood songs, Moon Glow by Benny Goodman.

Tagging: @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @meirkive @dreaming-with-happiness @ananya1398 @kflixnet (drop a message if you want to be added)

Listen to: “moon glow” by benny goodman

taehyung masterlist | main masterlist

It’s close to the end of the calendar once the Portuguese GP rolls around. It seems to have awoken both PR teams as well, for the schedule suddenly tightens up and two photoshoots, one advertisement and a Run episode filming are all squeezed into a single week.

The first of the photoshoots takes place in a nice, leafy garden in the outskirts of Portimao, rented for the entire day for the shoot. For once, the participants from the F1 side of things nearly match the BTS members in number, with not just the Red Bull drivers there, but also the AlphaTauri ones, along with Max’s girlfriend Kelly accompanying them.

Maybe it’s the peace of the outdoors; maybe it’s the fact that on the plane ride over, Dilara had a front row seat to the view of Taehyung sleeping as he hugged a pillow. Either way, for the first time in forever, Dilara realises she isn’t counting down the minutes until the shoot is over.

The next day, the Thursday before the race weekend, the same day BTS is meant to join as well, she goes for an early morning run at the paddock before her own team PR begins for the day. A Run episode is meant to be filmed on the circuit and wrap up before the other drivers arrive, and Dilara watches as the crew sets up at top speed, even before the members arrive.

After her run, she’s getting a glass of water in the Red Bull enclosure when she feels someone come up behind her. When she turns, she almost spills the water on herself when she sees maybe three inches of distance between her and Jaden Park.

“Shit!” she mutters, taking a step back right into the water cooler. Jaden grabs her arm to steady her and, when she tries to take it back, doesn’t let go for a moment. Dilara’s heart skips a beat but then he drops her arm and sort of forces a smile onto his face.

It does nothing to comfort her, and she suddenly wishes more than ever that Chris or Fred were here. “Hi - hi… Jaden,” she stammers, taking a deep breath to slow her heart.

“Hey.” Jaden shoves his hands into his pockets. “I, um… I saw you last night.”

“Excuse me?”

“At Albert’s Bar?” He nods, assuming her acknowledgment. “You were with BTS, right?”

Fuck. Aside from the fact that she had stepped out for drinks with her housemates the previous night that now seems to have been seen by people, she thinks she can predict what Jaden’s line of thinking is with this. 

“Um… yeah, Max and all of us did a photoshoot with them yesterday, so we went out for a drink after,” she tells him, pleasantly surprised at how normal she sounds.

“That’s nice. Feel up to going again?” He cocks one eyebrow and gives her a small smile.

Unsurprised and unimpressed, she exhales. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jaden,” she says firmly, not in the mood to try and let him down easy. She moves to walk past him but he blocks her way. Heart hammering, she looks up at him, slightly incredulous. “What are you doing?”

“So you can have a drink with seven guys but not one with me?” he asks, that strange frown still on his face.

Dilara scoffs. “I wasn’t having a drink with seven guys, I went out for drinks with a few colleagues,” she clarifies through gritted teeth, part of her wondering why she’s even giving this guy an explanation. “It wasn’t a date.”

“You really made up your mind about me after one date?” he demands, frowning. “It's… I mean, you're free to reject me if you don't like me but…" He shrugs, "... this just seems unfair."

She raises her eyebrows. "Listen, Jaden," she continues quickly, now reaching the end of her fuse, "I told you, alright? It's nothing to do with you. I'm just not dating. And I'd really appreciate it if we didn't have this conversation again." She moves to walk away again and, yet again, he steps in front of her. 

"Then what is it? The least you can do is give me an explanation, Dilara." He's dropped all pretense of politeness, practically glaring at her now.

She stares at him, contemplating. There's a hundred things she can rip into this guy regarding his behaviour, but she knows there's only one thing that will work with a guy like him - she hopes. 

"Look, I…" Dilara exhales, heavily resenting that she has to do this, "when you asked me out, I'd just got out of a relationship, okay? It was complicated and - and I was still working my way through it. There’s - there’s another guy," she clarifies, disgusted yet unsurprised at the sudden understanding on his face. 

"So… I was, what? A rebound?"

"No," she says immediately, sensing a bruised ego. "I didn't realise I was still… not over it until we went out. And I didn't want to lead you on any further," she explains, suddenly realising she’s not totally lying.

"Right." Jaden nods, jaw clenched. "And, uh… this guy. Your ex. Is he here? Is he in F1?"

It's a complicated answer, but Dilara is out of patience with him. "I don't think that's important," she says hastily, wanting to shut down whatever man-to-man ape nonsense is going on in his head at the earliest. "And, uh… yeah. So I think we can just put this behind us now? And be colleagues? Great," she says in one quick breath, and without waiting for him to respond, she sidles away, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

It rankles Dilara all day, how entitled some men are and how only the mention of another man can get them to back down. She takes it out on all the men around her, refusing to pass Max a bottle of water when he asks, and later in the afternoon, sniping at a reporter for asking her how she manages her personal life. She knows she’s not a good person to be around right now so when she goes back to the house, she heads straight away to the home gym to work out some of her frustrations before she snaps at someone else.

It works; she over indexes on the weights and barbells, working up a good sweat. She loses track of time, too; when she glances out of the window towards the end of her session, the sky is a dark indigo, almost black, and she feels a light and cool breeze blowing in, feeling incredible against her damp skin.

She runs into Jimin as she’s leaving, who offers her a can of beer and a smile.

“It’s a race weekend,” she says in explanation, her hands still in her pockets.

“You drank last night,” he points out. 

“Exactly. I think I maxed out my quota of booze for the week. Especially booze with this many calories,” she adds, tapping the can and moving to walk past him.

“No worries,” he says easily, falling into step beside her. The walk to the house is a few minutes away; Jimin manages to keep the silence going for about half a minute before speaking again.

“I don’t mean to… what’s the word? Pry?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I don’t mean to pry, but… you and Taehyung seemed to be getting along well yesterday.” 

Dilara looks up after a moment, surprised to see how hopeful his smile is. “Was that a question?” she asks after a moment.

“Um…” He looks mildly confused for a second. “Not really. It was nice, that’s all.”

She nods, not knowing what else to say. The last thing she wants is to mislead anyone - especially when she has no idea what she wants herself.

“Does that mean you’re…” Jimin trails off but when Dilara doesn’t respond, he sighs uncomfortably. “Do you think you might… I mean, will you two be okay?”

Deliberately not looking up at him, she responds carefully. “What does okay mean?”

“Just…” The leaves under their feet crunch in the silence. “Will you go back to normal?”

They’ve almost reached the house. She stops in her tracks a few feet away from the porch. “And by normal you mean… before we broke up?”

Jimin doesn’t say anything for a moment, and it’s apparent he’s already regretting bringing it up. “Maybe? It’s just… I mean, what more needs to happen? He can’t take it back, you know… what he did.”

“I do know,” she says forcefully. “And, yeah, a lot more needs to happen. Starting with him having this conversation himself,” she mutters, starting to walk away when he pulls her back. Startled at the second time today, she jerks back.

“S-sorry. Just… God, please don’t tell him about this,” he begs, eyes wide. “He’ll kill me.”

“Then why are you? Is he that miserable to be around?”

“Oh, yeah.” A brief smile flashes across his face before it fades. “But it’s not just him, okay? When I said it was nice seeing you together yesterday… I mean it was nice to see you like that, too.” His gaze falls slightly. “I think we’re friends, too, right?”

Dilara frowns, for she hasn’t the faintest where this conversation is going. “I - sure. But if you’re asking me if us having a conversation yesterday without breaking down means we’re going to get back together… then I don’t know what to tell you.”

Jimin sighs and nods. “I know it doesn’t. But… I don’t know, are you waiting for something?”

There’s something about that question that makes her bristle. “Waiting for something? Like I’m just sitting here, waiting for him to prove himself and pass some test so I can take him back? Do you think I’m having fun or something?”

“That’s not what I -”

“Because the answer is no, Jimin. No, I am not waiting for anything. I waited enough, alright?” she reminds him. “I waited a long time for him to say something before I blocked him and made sure he never could. All I’m doing right now is just… I’m just trying to not be so angry anymore. Because it’s not helping anyone.”

She starts walking backwards towards the house as Jimin processes this response, hoping he gets it. Just as she’s about to turn, he looks up.

“I’m sorry, Dilara. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

“I’m not angry. That’s my whole point.”

He raises his eyebrows but thankfully lets it go. “Fine. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

Dilara nods. “I’m not waiting for anything,” she repeats after a moment, a little calmer. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not… hoping for something.”

Jimin frowns. “Like what?”

She bites her lip before sighing. “Like - like a sign. Maybe. This is not an easy decision - not least because I don’t even know what he wants. It’s -” But she’s interrupted by his scoff.

“Come on, I’m sure even Max Verstappen knows what Taehyung wants,” he tells her, laughing softly.

Dilara narrows her eyes. “I wouldn’t take his word about this. He’s too complicated for me to guess.”

“Max?”

“No, T- you’re… V,” she stutters, rolling her eyes at the blatant slip. “He can’t just waltz back into my life because a PR plan forced me to let him back in.” She starts walking backwards again, careful not to miss the steps on the porch. “That’s what’s always happened. He’s just had to sit back and everything has fallen into place for him. I need an indication, at least, that it’s different this time. I don’t know what that is, I don’t know what it’ll look like… but I need -”

“A sign.” Jimin nods, looking at least somewhat as though he understands what she means. “I get it.”

“Good.” Hoping the conversation ends here, she turns on the spot and opens the door, almost getting a heart attack when she sees Taehyung standing there and pulling on a jacket.

“What - How did you -”

“Gwaenchanha?”

It takes her a moment to be able to answer as she catches her breath. “No, not really,” she gasps, wondering if all the men on the planet have planned to constantly startle her wherever she is. “I - were you standing here this whole time?”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows. A lock of blond hair falls elegantly onto his forehead, the rest of his face absolutely still. “What do you mean?”

Dilara stares at him, suddenly mortified at the thought of him overhearing her talk to Jimin about this, or worse, her need for a sign. “I mean… you know what I mean,” she finishes lamely.

“Not really.” He glances at Jimin behind her and nods in acknowledgment before turning back to her. “The team wants to take a couple of extra shots at night, so I’m heading there with Jungkook. You want to come?”

He asks so casually, as though he’s asking her if she wants to go to the grocery store with him, that her heart flutters unexpectedly. “I - your staff won’t like that,” is her first response, before she cringes inwardly. “And also… no. No… thank you.”

Taehyung nods, looking as though he expected it. “No problem. I’ll see you later.”

Dilara watches him leave in silence, his gait cool and smooth as he passes by Jimin, murmuring something in Korean before heading out. She tries to count herself lucky; it doesn’t seem as though he’d overhead her - but if he has, she may as well just begin avoiding eye contact with him for the rest of her life. 

Jimin, apparently waiting for Taehyung to be fully out of earshot this time, grins at her. “That kind of sign?”

“No,” she says immediately, entering the house. “Never that kind of sign.”

“Are you sure?” he presses, following her into the house and shutting the door behind him. “It’s him - he’s the sign,” he explains dramatically.

Dilara gives him a pointed look, stopping at the door to her bedroom. “Never that kind of sign.”

—

The next day when Dilara sees BTS in the paddock, her gaze goes straight to Taehyung and Jimin. They're walking next to each other, albeit talking to members on their other sides. She tries to look elsewhere; it's officially race weekend again and she can't afford to be distracted. It's hard, though, because her situation with Taehyung is complicated enough; the last thing she wants is for a private conversation to have been overheard by him, however accidental it may have been.

So Dilara avoids them all day, all of them. She tries not to make it obvious because she’s glad that they’re all finally getting back on decent terms, so she opts to spend time in the garage with the rest of the team, going over free practice times and tyre strategies for Qualifying tomorrow. Even when Jaden Park, who's supposed to be in Max's garage and not hers, accidentally-on-purpose bumps into her and she notices Seokjin looking at them and frowning, she keeps her goal in mind and handles it herself.

It’s a success, for the most part. Her car feels fantastic and the paddock generally seems more lively this weekend for some reason; she doesn’t know if it has to do with the nice weather or the fact that Portimao is generally an exciting race every year. Either way, it’s good for her because in her effort to avoid BTS and give them their space, she ends up spending time with all the other drivers.

Later in the evening, when the paddock is emptying out, Dilara is on her way to the Red Bull conference room for a team briefing when she gets a notification from Jimin. Heart hammering slightly, she swipes it open.

Jimin [19:52] Dilara. Please stop avoiding him because of me.

Dilara [19:53] I’m not? Why would you think that?

Jimin [19:53] Have you said anything to him at all today?

Dilara [19:54] I have gone many many days without saying a single word to him. Did you by any chance tell him what we talked about yesterday?

Jimin [19:56] Of course not. Please don’t avoid him because of that. He’s really confused - I can tell.

Dilara [19:56] Jimin. I’m not avoiding him. Really. I just don’t know what to say to him, to be very honest.

Jimin [19:57] What? Things were getting so much better between you two. 

Dilara [19:58] Well, sure. We weren’t throwing things at each other and screaming anymore. That’s a pretty low bar.

Jimin [19:58] Fair enough. Will you be joining us for dinner?

Dilara [19:59] Not sure. I have to go for a briefing. I don’t know when I’ll be back.

Jimin [20:00] Want me to tell him to pick you up? You guys could talk.

Dilara [20:00] Omg NO. Jimin!

Jimin [20:00} What? He’ll be happy to do it.

Dilara [20:01] I’m sure he would. Look, Jimin, I know you feel guilty about your part in this, okay? If this is your way of trying to help - you’re off the hook. I forgive you.

Jimin [20:02] Really?

Dilara [20:02] Yes.

There’s no response. Dilara slows down slightly, wondering if her hunch is actually right. She’d only said that to shut him up, but his silence seems to indicate otherwise.

Then -

Jimin [20:05] Did you kiss last week?

Dilara [20:06] I fucking beg your pardon?

Jimin [20:07] Hobi hyung said he saw you guys hugging. If I remember correctly, you two had no problem going further than that in public.

Dilara [20:08] Jimin. Shut up.

Jimin [20:09] Just a question. Jeez.

Dilara [20:09] I dare you to go ask him this.

Jimin [20:10] Well played.

Dilara [20:11] Look, Jimin, I have to go. Just… I’m not avoiding him, okay? And even if it seems like it, it’s probably for the best.

When Jimin doesn’t reply, she breathes a silent sigh of relief. She’s almost at the conference room now and she’s getting late, but she needs to know this conversation is closed. Then, just when she thinks she can move on with her day, a picture pops up on the chat. It’s of Taehyung, shockingly, in the backyard with his blond hair catching the setting sun as he points - her heart skips a beat - the Polaroid she’d gifted him at the horizon.

Realising with a start that she’s been staring at it for almost a minute, Dilara types out a reply, fingers shaking slightly. 

Dilara [20:15] What am I looking at?

Jimin [20:15] He’s been out there for an hour now. He looks like he’s in a k-drama.

If by that he means that Taehyung looks tall, handsome and tragic all at once, he’s right. Dilara feels a familiar rush of mild envy and pride all at once, and knows she needs to nip this in the bud.

Dilara [20:16] Well, he certainly acts well enough to be in one. I have to go. I’ll see you later.

All through the briefing, Dilara can’t help but think that her decision to avoid them is for the best, if Jimin’s reaction is anything to go by. Even after the briefing, she dilly-dallies near the enclosure, wondering how to kill even more time before she has no choice but to head back to the house. 

Dilara sighs and glances down at her phone. It’s barely seven; she can’t hang around here for five hours… she looks around, wondering if she can possibly hang around with her pit crew to fix her car or something, when she suddenly catches sight of a small group of them and sees Jaden Park in the middle of it. Her heart in her mouth at how narrowly she’s avoided him, she turns the opposite way and starts walking towards the parking lot.

Then, a miracle happens.

Dilara’s phone pings and she groans softly, not in the mood for more of Jimin’s guilt trip. Honestly, she’s glad that her confession of sorts seems to have indeed been kept from Taehyung, but she’s more convinced than ever that both of them need this space to clear their heads. 

Max [22:40] Komyshan. Heading out for a bite with Daniel, Lando and Charles. You’re coming, right?

Her heart leaps and she thinks if her taste were slightly different, she could kiss Max Verstappen. She types out a reply, not even trying to suppress the relieved smile she can feel on her face. Rapidly saying a quick yes, she skips over to the parking lot.

As she nears it, she feels something nagging at her, tugging at her heart. She reopens her chat with Jimin, slowly scrolling up until she finds it. 

He’s really confused - I can tell. 

There is no reason this should evoke any sympathy in her. She should want him to feel bad for everything he did, but that angry part of her feels like a past version, like a person she used to know. If anything, she knows how he feels, with the confusion - and she realises it’s not sympathy, but empathy she’s starting to feel for him, especially if he’s had Jimin breathing down his neck the entire time as well. 

Dilara scrolls further down to the picture Jimin sent her of Taehyung; of course he looks like a model, like a stock photo. Perfect body proportions, perfect jawline silhouette, perfectly falling hair, capturing perfect pictures, looking perfectly heartbroken.

She sighs again, struggling. Things were getting so much better with you two. It’s the validation she didn’t know she needed. She recalls how his unexpected appearance behind the front door had taken her breath away last night. 

Feeling apprehensive, she opens her chat with Taehyung to see only two messages, from the night Chris visited. She bites her lip, deciding that she needs to tell someone where she is anyway or they’re bound to get worried. Thumb hovering over the keyboard momentarily, she types out a message.

Dilara [22:50] I’m going out with some of the guys. Not sure when I’ll be back but let’s talk later?

Dilara hits send and immediately panics. Talk? Talk about what? She groans out loud, attracting the attention of her fellow drivers. When Max calls out “Komyshan!”, she waves back tiredly and walks towards them. After they’re all strapped in and Charles is reversing out of the parking lot, she receives a reply.

Tae [22:52] I’ll be waiting.

---

He isn’t, not exactly. 

It actually ends up being an extremely late night for them; Dilara and her friends go back to the same club that she’d gone to with BTS two nights ago and although they don’t drink nearly as much and definitely don’t dance, it ends up being a pretty fun night overall and actually succeeds in making her forget about her love life for a couple of hours. When it’s finally time to go, it’s almost one in the morning, just as she’d hoped. 

Dilara is pleasantly surprised when Max drops off the other three before driving her back to the house, remembering that they can’t let the group’s location be revealed to anyone. They don’t talk about it, thankfully, but when he stops the car and she’s about to open the door, he finally speaks.

“How’s it going, by the way?” Max points to the house. “Are you two good now?”

She shrugs. “No idea, honestly.”

He frowns, looking mildly curious. “Oh. Looked like everything was fine at the photoshoot the other day. You two looked like you were sneaking around again.”

We were? Dilara’s confusion must show on her face, for Max chuckles. “Obviously, I’m wrong. Anyway,” he says abruptly, and she takes that as her cue to step out, “good luck for tomorrow. Go get some sleep.”

When she enters the house, it’s to see all seven members huddled on the sofa, with Jungkook, Yoongi and Hoseok sitting on the back of the couch. She frowns and stares as the door clicks shut behind her, wondering why on earth they feel the need to pile on top of each other while there are two more perfectly comfortable couches right next to them. 

Then she spots the laptop perched on the coffee table in front of them and when Jin says something in Korean and a couple of them laugh and Jimin replies, she realises they're live.

All their eyes flicker up to look at her, though, before quickly darting back to the screen, their expressions carefully unchanging - all except Taehyung. 

He meets her gaze; with his long hair brushing his ears and a green cardigan making him look warm and inviting, it’s no wonder she doesn’t look away for a couple of seconds before he tears his eyes away to look back at the screen. 

Sensing this as the ultimate opportunity to avoid whatever conversation he has in mind, Dilara swiftly makes her way into her bedroom and quietly shuts the door. Hesitating for exactly one second, she crosses her bedroom and opens her tablet, the only device she has that still has the Vlive app, and joins the stream.

Taehyung looks up again in the direction of her room before turning his attention back to the screen, and for a moment it feels like he’s looking right at her. He glances vaguely over at the rest of them before he locks eyes with Namjoon and - it happens in a split second - Namjoon gives him an imperceptible shake of the head.

Dilara lets out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding, somewhat thankful yet regretful that she won’t hear a knock on her door right now. The next moment, though, she sees Taehyung look down at his lap again and pick up his phone this time, fingers flying over the screen. Right on cue, her phone buzzes next to her.

She scoffs quietly, ignoring how her heart leaps in spite of itself, unsurprised to see a message. 

Tae [01:10] How was your night?

Dilara [01:11] Tiring.

Tae [01:12] Still up for that talk?

Dilara [01:13] Aren’t you live?

Tae [01:13] I go live a lot.

Dilara [01:14] Namjoon looks like he could kill you if you left.

Tae [01:14] Hold on, are you watching?

Dilara feels like slapping herself. When she looks up at the screen, she sees his cheeks pulled back slightly, head still bent over his phone. 

Dilara [01:15] Just a guess. Can we take a raincheck? I’m pretty tired and I have Qualifying tomorrow.

On screen, he freezes for a moment and she thinks she notices his shoulders fall slightly. He types something before locking his phone and looking up at the camera, tossing his hair out of his eyes, face completely unreadable. Her phone pings, and her heart thuds softly at his reply. 

Tae [01:16] Of course. Sleep well. 

The next day, the flaw with her proposition comes to light when Dilara, once again, sees them in the paddock. She’s been in the garage for nearly two hours by the time Taehyung, Jimin, Jungkook and Namjoon arrive. Given the public setting, the most she can do is wave to them from afar and ignore Jimin giving her a pointed look.

She’d thought long and hard about it as she fell asleep last night, the content of their “talk”. We need space, she’d rehearsed in her head. Just to think. Just to figure this out. Short and vague, the best way to go. 

Of course, talking about space isn’t the best decision, especially since none of their conversations have ever gone as planned. They either fight or cry or both, and she’d really rather avoid any of that. As a result, she avoids all of them, specifically Jimin’s texts and even Jungkook when he comes up to her car, eyes shining in admiration. She engages with him while the cameras are on them but the moment they drift away, she immediately excuses herself and hurries into her changing room.

It’s Qualifying day, though, so there’s enough to do in any case. Dilara goes out for FP3, having long and serious discussions with Christian, all his attention on her for once since Max will start tomorrow from the back of the grid due to his penalty. 

Dilara feels strangely stressed, still. Part of it is Qualifying, part of it is having Max all the way back in P20 and therefore of no support to her, part of it is Jimin’s continuous texts, Taehyung’s presence, their impending conversation, and Jaden bumping into her yet again - except this time, he’s openly cold.

“Good luck,” he says shortly, brushing past her.

“Thanks,” says Dilara automatically, stumbling slightly while he continues walking.

“Pity you didn’t get the new engine,” he adds, turning around and walking backwards.

“Bite me, Park.” 

She shakes her head as he disappears around a corner, the competitiveness emerging in full force. One date, one date and this is the fallout she has to deal with. She makes sure to continue thinking about it, enjoying the anger she knows will help when she gets into the car and zooms into Q3, eventually qualifying P3 for the race tomorrow. 

Everyone’s happy; Christian hugs her, Max comes from inside the garage in jeans, hugging her for the cameras, and Natalie Pinkham interviews her, Lewis and George, all the top three qualifiers, one by one. 

Dilara still evades the group, though; she sees Namjoon smile at her from across the garage and tentatively smiles back, but looks at no one else. She’s aware of what a terrible job she’s doing with this; she doesn’t even want to imagine what Taehyung’s face looks like when she ignores him. But there’s only so much she can focus on during a race weekend, or at least that’s what she tells herself.

Dilara does have one moment of pleasure, though; on her way back inside for a shower, she passes Jaden again. 

“Looks like I won’t be needing that engine after all,” she says innocently, mimicking his shrug and ignoring his scowl as she walks away.

She manages to sneak away from the paddock without the group. There’s a sponsorship meeting they have with the Red Bull marketing team, which was the reason they even showed up today, and the moment she spotted them shuffling into the conference room between engineers and press officers darting about, she hurried away, keen to get back home and lock herself up in her room until she has to go to sleep.

The house is a fifteen minute walk from the paddock. Dilara tries to let go of everything else for a while and just enjoy the weather in silence, along with her P3 starting position and her jab at a bitter ex-flame. It’s peaceful, the last rays of the sun lighting up the sky while the cool breeze makes autumn leaves crunch under her shoes. The house is two minutes away now, within her view, when her phone pings yet again, followed by a series of pings.

Frowning - and panicking, slightly - she opens her phone to see eight messages on the most ridiculous WhatsApp group she’s a part of: Taehyung’s true loves, courtesy Jimin, who added her and Jungkook in an effort to convince her that their friendship is independent of her relationship with Taehyung. Neither she nor Jungkook had ever said anything on it, too awkward to, so eventually after a series of whiny messages, Jimin had stopped as well.

Dilara has no desire to start becoming an active participant now. With all the strength in her, she locks her phone and is about to slip it into her bag when it buzzes, the ringtone loud in the quiet of the street.

Huffing, she answers it. “What?”

“Dilara? Uh… have you left?”

“What… Jungkook?” Unexpected, to say the least. “What are you - I mean, yeah. I have. Why?”

“You should come back,” is all he says. “Taehyung hyung kind of… it’s a bit of a situation.”

This explains nothing. “What does that mean?”

“Um…” Jungkook’s voice moves away, as though he’s speaking to someone else. “I think he - I think punched your ex? That guy? Or - or he tried to, anyway. He’s not the best at -”

“He what?”

“Yeah, no, his stance wasn’t very good either and -” There’s a shuffle and she hears the phone transferred to someone else.

“Hey, Dilara,” comes Jimin’s voice, calm - and smug. “Remember when you said you needed a sign? I think you just got one.”

–

Her legs are starting to cramp but Dilara doesn;t stop, not until she gets to the garage. She spots Jimin and Jungkook hovering at the entrance, shoulders relaxing in relief when they see her.

“What - the - hell?” she pants, stopping for the first time since the phone call. 

“Holy shit, did you run all the way?” Jimin asks, ignoring her shake of the head as she tries to catch her breath. “Here, have some water first.”

“What happened?” Dilara asks desperately, reaching for the water anyway and downing half of it in one go. “What do you mean he - and who’s -” There are so many moving parts to it that she falters, her heart feeling like it’s going to fall out of her chest.

“Jaden,” answers Jungkook. “The pit crew guy. He said…” He swallows and looks at Jimin apprehensively.

Her heart skips a beat. “What? Jungkook, what?” Then she remembers. “Wait, where the hell is he?”

“The medic is trying to stop his nose from bleeding,” answers Jimin, sounding repulsed. “Hope it hurts,” he adds savagely.

Her eyes widen and she slaps him on the shoulder. “Not him!”

Jimin blinks, rubbing his shoulder absently. “Oh. Taehyung’s over there - but he’s really angry so be careful when you -” 

But Dilara ignores him, brushing past both of them into the changing room he’s pointed at. Kicking the door open, she sees Seokjin standing next to Taehyung, who’s sitting holding an ice pack over his limp hand, while Jin speaks rapidly in Korean, sounding rather like he’s lecturing him. Taehyung looks up mid-wince, face going slack when he sees her, as though he can’t quite believe she’s here.

Seokjin mutters something when he sees her and pats his shoulder before walking out past her, giving her a small nod as he does. Dilara doesn’t look away from Taehyung, though. For a moment, they’re just staring at each other, him with apprehension and defiance, and she with an overwhelming sense of anger… and fear. There’s so much she wants to say, yell, scream that she can’t choose. 

She walks forward until she’s standing right above him. “Give me the icepack.”

Taehyung’s face reacts minutely before smoothing back out. He looks back down at his hands and shakes his head. “No.”

Dilara stares at him, incredulous. “Give me the icepack,” she repeats. “And you better start explaining while you��re at it.”

“I don’t need to explain anything,” he mumbles, twisting his body away from her. When she lunges towards him, livid and missing his hand by inches, he looks up in horror. “What are you doing?” he cries. “Do you have any idea how much this hurts?”

Her chest constricts. She reaches forward and takes off his snapback, just for something to do. “Then give it to me!”

“What the - no! Go away!”

“No way. You don’t get to cause drama on my paddock and then tell me to -”

“Oh, so now this is about you?”

“Goddamnit, Tae! Why do you have to make everything so difficult!” she shouts in frustration. “Just give me the fucking icepack!”

Taehyung stares up at her, eyes wide. He takes a shaky breath and she realises with a jolt that for the first time since they broke up, she’s addressed him by his name. Tae… She hasn’t said that name out loud in months, not to Jimin, not to Lexie, not even to herself.

Silently, he raises his hand and hands her the icepack. Taking it, she kneels in front of him and takes his right hand, gingerly placing the icepack on it. He hisses but keeps his hand steady, and she carefully continues, trying not to think about how close they are, how she can feel him looking at her.

His knuckles are red and bruised, but thankfully not bleeding. She tries to hold his hand as gently as possible, but firmly enough that he can’t pull away because she really, really doesn't want to let go of him right now.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she demands in a low voice, not looking up. “How could you -” she breaks off, shaking her head.

It’s a moment before Taehyung answers. “It’s not important.” When her head snaps up to look at him incredulously, he frowns and looks away, shrugging stubbornly.

“How is it -” Dilara pauses with the icepack for a moment, exhaling through her nose. “You hit him. You punched him - apparently.”

He frowns. “What do you mean apparently?” he asks, sounding almost defensive.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says sarcastically, holding up his hand and ignoring his dramatic gasp. “Look at this. Have you ever punched anything before?”

“Jungkook taught me once. Kind of.”

“That’s great. And now Jaden is with the medic getting his nose fixed! How is why not important?”

Taehyung scoffs in disgust. “There was barely any blood. Don’t worry, his stupid face will be fine,” he mutters scathingly.

Dilara glares up at him again, fighting the urge to smack the back of his head. “I don’t care about him!” She ignores how he suddenly looks up, as though surprised. “What about you? You - you hurt your hand!” She takes a deep breath. “What if he complains? He - he will complain and then Red Bull -” She gasps as something horrific occurs to her. “What if they - what if Big Hit gets involved? This - this is a PR disaster!”

Taehyung doesn’t seem to have heard most of what she’s said. “It - it will be fine,” he says finally, but she can hear an undertone of worry in his voice. “Namjoon hyung is talking to the team.” He swallows. “I trust him.”

Don’t we all. But Red Bull is a whole other matter. “God, Tae…” She drops her head before raising it slowly to look up at him. “Please tell me this isn’t about what you overheard the other night.”

He says nothing for a moment but then frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“The sign. When I told him that -” But it’s too much to explain and she doesn’t have the patience to get him to admit something he doesn’t want to - if he indeed has something to admit to. “Forget it. What did he say? Jaden?”

Predictably, Taehyunglowers his eyes again. “I can’t tell you. But he deserved it.”

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”

“I mean that there’s no point if I tell you. He said a lot of stupid stuff but if I tell you, then it’s not - it’s not…” He sighs and looks away, and she knows he’s searching for the English word. “It doesn’t mean anything if I tell you,” he says finally, giving up.

Dilara stares. “Are you telling me… you punched a guy - badly - and hurt your hand and you can’t tell me because you’re trying to be chivalrous?” When his eyes light up at the sound of the word he was looking for, she snaps. “You - what? You jeopardized your career to - to defend my honour? Are you actually serious?”

“You didn’t hear him,” he states, frowning down at her now. “You don’t know what he was saying. And no, I’m not telling you,” he adds before she can ask again. “But, yeah. What he said was horrible. And…” He shrugs defiantly. “I didn’t like hearing that about you.”

She doesn’t know how to respond to that. She should be flattered, and she thinks she is, but it pales in comparison to how worried she is for him right now. He has no idea the power Red Bull holds - none at all. “You’re going to be in so much trouble,” she whispers. “He could press charges. How are you not more worried?”

Taehyung’s eyes flicker. “I don’t think he will,” he says, but his fake confidence doesn’t fool her. “I - I don’t regret it.” He meets her gaze. “Everything he said was bullshit,” he blurts. “He doesn’t know you at all. Seriously, I can’t believe you went out with him.”

Dilara raises an eyebrow. “You really want to go there?”

He frowns churlishly. “He’s an asshole. He -” Taehyung stops himself, biting down on his lip. “You are so out of his league,” he says eventually, looking away.

After a moment, she dips the icepack onto his hand again, slowly, concentrating on nothing else. “You’re an idiot,” she says quietly, her voice betraying her. “Such a drama queen.” 

Taehyung rests his other hand on her shoulder, brushing his thumb lightly against her jaw. She knows he’s doing it to comfort her, but she doesn’t think she’s the one that needs it right now. “I still can’t believe you did this. You’re going to be in so much trouble, Tae,” she repeats, looking up at him again. His eyes soften when she says his name again, and she can tell it means the world to him. But right now, she doesn’t care about that. 

“It won’t be as bad as you think. I told you, I trust Namjoon hyung,” he reminds her, eyes flickering to her mouth momentarily. But then a shadow passes across his face. “I just hope I haven’t got him in trouble.”

To that, Dilara has nothing to say. The ice has almost melted now; they’re basically just holding hands, but even the realisation doesn’t make her want to let go. “What did he say?” she tries again, deciding that disdain towards Jaden is better than this worry for his leader. “Jaden?”

Taehyung’s face twists in disgust; somehow he still manages to look handsome and sexy all at once. “I told you, I’m not telling you,” he says obstinately, a slight smirk appearing when she rolls her eyes. 

“I can’t think what would be so bad that you’d do this,” she confesses, shaking her head. “You never struck me as the violent type.”

He frowns. “I’m not. But you make me step out of my comfort zone quite a bit,” he adds, cracking a smile.

Dilara holds his gaze, not sure what about the situation today could have required it. It’s not surprising that Jaden would’ve said something, maybe even something really bad. Did he call her a bad driver? A slut? A whore? She’s mildly shocked at how little those words affect her, especially when it’s in comparison to the sheer terror she’s feeling for Taehyung right now.

She’s just contemplating how she will face him and the rest of the group if it turns out that she’s the reason BTS goes from seven to six members, when he bumps her forehead with his. “Stop worrying,” he chides gently. “It’s happened now. We’ll see how it goes.”

Even as her heart races at the momentary proximity of their faces, she glares up at him. “I can’t stop worrying. You should be worrying,” she points out, jabbing him in the chest with the hand holding the icepack.

“You - ugh, you’re getting water on my shirt…”

The door behind them swings open then and she sees Taehyung’s head snap up, face going smooth, before she turns to see Namjoon walking in, Seokjin right behind him. Both of them stand up in unison and before she can register what’s happening, Taehyung is ushered out and into a meeting room.

“Wait, wait,” she says quickly, grabbing Namjoon’s arm. “What’s - who’s in there?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a couple of people from Red Bull and Big Hit,” he replies, in what she presumes is meant to be a reassuring tone. “They just want to know what happened. Although, Jaden is…” He trails off, and he winces uncomfortably.

“But what’s going to happen to - to Tae? What are they going to -”

“Dilara, relax,” says Namjoon hurriedly, starting to walk out of the room. “We have our reps. It should be over soon.”

That doesn’t sound comforting at all. “What is that supposed to - do they know it was Jaden’s fault? Apparently he said -” Here she breaks off, remembering suddenly that even she don’t know what he said.

Apparently taking advantage of her momentary silence, Namjoon starts to slip out. “He’ll be out soon,” he promises.

“Stop making it sound like prison!” she says loudly as they leave. Alone once again, she trudges out of the changing room to see…

“Shit,” she mutters, spotting her across the garage. “Vicki.”

Dilara’s press officer raises her eyebrows before beckoning her exactly like Namjoon did Taehyung, and just like her ex, she silently follows her into a secluded corner of the garage.

“Alright,” says Vicki, somehow managing to sound stern, knowing and worried all at once. “Please tell me you did not go out with someone from Max’s pit crew.”

—

“... and then he cornered me again yesterday to ask me why I wouldn’t go out with him -”

“Again?” Vicki shakes her head, incredulous. “Jesus, Dilara. Why didn’t you tell someone he was bothering you?”

“Because -” Dilara shrugs uncomfortably. “We’re racing. And it wasn’t a big deal.” When she catches sight of Vicki’s expression, she backtracks. “Okay, honestly? If he’d come up to me one more time, I probably would have.”

“You shouldn’t have to wait for that,” she declares in her usual business-like fashion. “But maybe you didn’t because he’s a member of the team…?” Vicki tilts her head knowingly.

Dilara’s face heats up. “I know it’s not technically against the rules,” she murmurs, only slightly guilty as she looks down at the floor. “But it’s stupid.”

Vicki observes her for a moment before nodding. “Still doesn’t give him the right to talk like an arsehole.”

“Okay, what did he say?” Dilara asks for what feels like the hundredth time. “Why won’t anyone just tell me?”

“Well, firstly because he said it in Korean,” she points out. “And secondly… you should ask your friends,” she adds, tilting her chin at something behind Dilara. She turns to see Jimin and Jungkook waiting at the end of the corridor, trying to look nonchalant but clearly waiting for her. The rush of affection she feels for them in that moment is overwhelming.

Dilara turns back to Vicki, not meeting her eyes. By the way she said “friends”, it’s clear she knows they aren’t just any friends. Or it’s because one of them hit a guy a member of the team. “What’s - what’s going to happen to - to Jaden?”

Vicki shrugs sympathetically. “They’re both in there,” she answers, and Dilara is grateful for how she includes Taehyung in it, too. “We’ll see. Don’t worry about it, Dilara. You have a race tomorrow,” she reminds her.

Dilara nods and watches as Vicki leaves after patting her shoulder, before turning around and walking towards Jimin and Jungkook. Suddenly aware of how much taller they are, she buries her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. “You guys want to go for a walk?” she asks in a small voice.

Even though they both nod instantly and Jungkook simply puts an arm around her shoulders, they only end up getting as far as the garage before Seokjin, who’s still outside the conference room, shakes his head silently as soon as he spots them. From this, she gathers that they’re still not in total privacy and she can’t be seen alone on a street with just two members and no production crew.

They slowly drift apart, taking seats on opposite sides of the garage. For the first time ever, Dilara initiated a conversation on Jimin’s silly WhatsApp group. Both of them reply immediately and she finally, finally gets the whole story.

They tell her how after their meeting, a couple of engineers had come in to use the printer for some data. One of them, Jaden, recognised them and greeted them in Korean, after which everyone else left, leaving only the eight of them in the room. It was small talk for a bit initially, with Taehyung hanging in the back and not participating at all, before Jaden really opened his mouth.

At this, Jungkook hesitates, wondering if Taehyung hyung should be the one to tell her. She informs them about the weird chivalrous trip Taehyung’s on and that she’s not getting a single answer out of him. After some silent begging and pleading from across the garage, Jimin visibly rolls his eyes and spills.

Jimin [19:41] He said he thought you were hot and it was good to finally having something nice to look at on the paddock

Jungkook [19:42] And he said that he went out with you in Yeongam and you… did stuff.

Dilara [19:43] Oh god. Seriously? He actually said that?

Jimin [19:44] Yeah. And then Namjoon said that we’ve all known you for a long time now and then Jaden asked if any of us had ever hooked up with you. Obviously we all said no.

Jungkook [19:45] Except Taehyung hyung. He just didn’t answer.

Jimin [19:46] Yeah, but Jaden didn’t notice. He said he thought you were cool initially but then you became kind of mean and you didn’t want to go out with him anymore.

Dilara [19:46] He said I was “mean”? That’s the word he used? 

Across the garage, she can see Jimin look up at her apprehensively before glancing at Jungkook, who simply shrugs uncomfortably. 

Dilara [19:46] Come on, what did he really say?

Jimin [19:47] He called you a spoiled brat… and a bitch. And he said that you turned him down after one date because you were still hung up on your ex.

Fuck. Dilara groans inwardly, Taehyung’s suppressed happiness and gentle yet confident caresses suddenly making sense. When she looks up at them, cringing visibly, she spots both of them biting back smug smiles. 

Dilara [19:48] Shut up. 

Jimin [19:49] Hilarious. Anyway, then Jin hyung tried to change the subject but Jaden brought it back to you again. He said if he’d known you were just good for one date, he would’ve gotten as much out of it as he could right then.

Jungkook [19:50] And then he… did a thing with his hand.

Dilara [19:51] So he’s a creep. Tae hit him because of this? Really?

Jimin [19:51] Well he said it in a lot more detail. But I can’t type that out.

Jungkook [19:52] Yeah, he called you a really bad word. And I can’t tell you. It’s in Korean and I can’t say it. It’s too horrible.

Huh. Dilara looks up to see Jungkook frowning at the screen, apparently troubled just at the thought of it. She wracks her brains for the worst thing a guy could call a girl in English. The more she thinks about it, the more she finds she doesn’t really want to know.

Jungkook [19:56] Anyway. Then out of nowhere, Taehyung punched him. Jaden got knocked back into the wall and I think his nose was bleeding.

Jimin [19:56] He deserves it. Who the fuck talks like that?

Dilara [19:57] And Tae? I saw his hand.

Jimin [19:57] Yeah, he was quite pissed. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.

Dilara [19:58] Do you know what they’re talking about in there?

Jungkook [19:58] Not a clue. I think they’re just working on a way to keep it quiet.

Jungkook and Jimin launch into a discussion speculating what will happen now, whether their lawyers will get involved or whether they’ll try to resolve it right here, and if Jaden will try to make it a bigger deal. Dilara can’t participate; all she can think about is Taehyung in there, no idea what they’re talking about or what frame of mind he’s in. He’s smart and clever, but he’s also impulsive with his words. One wrong question or remark and he’ll respond with the snarkiest comment he can come up with, making the situation worse than it already is. 

Jimin [20:03] Don’t worry, Dilara. This wasn’t your fault.

Dilara shakes her head, not caring that she’s this transparent. Jimin’s words, while technically what she needs to hear, don't help at all because, really - isn't it her fault? Wasn't Jaden a dick because of her, because she turned him down? Wasn't Taehyung being reckless because of how far she’s pushed him? Because she entered his life in the first place? Her thoughts spiral as she imagines being the sole reason for BTS's negative publicity, for their hate, for their disbandment  -

Her phone pings again, but from a different contact. The moment she sees Namjoon's display icon, she dives for the phone. 

Namjoon [20:08] Hey. You alright?

Dilara [20:08] What is going on in there? How are you texting?

Namjoon [20:08] Hard to say. And Christian got a phone call that he had to pick up. 

Dilara [20:09] Damnit. How's Tae?

Namjoon [20:09] Pretty calm.

Dilara [20:09] That’s… not good. Right? Or is it?

Namjoon [20:10] No, he's not going overboard. I was there - I kind of get why he got so mad.

Dilara [20:10] Really?

Namjoon [20:11] Yeah. I mean, not mad enough to punch a guy in the face.

There’s a rolling eyes emoji at the end of the message. Dilara feels a tingling in her fingers and a prickle of defensiveness.

Dilara [20:12] I guess if a guy had said that about Kaya, you wouldn't have done the same. 

She doesn’t phrase it like a question; she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s challenging him… even though she kind of is. Dilara watches the ellipses appear to indicate that he’s typing. He types for a while, nearly a minute, pausing constantly. Finally, the message appears.

Namjoon [20:14] Yeah, I would’ve broken his face.

Mildly satisfied, she places the phone down and waits. Jimin and Jungkook have stopped their bickering on the group, too, but she makes a mental note to thank them later, genuinely and profusely, for being so nice to her when she’s been anything but.

It’s nearly thirty more minutes of excruciating waiting, with Seokjin, Jimin and Jungkook sitting with her. She hasn't the faintest where Yoongi and Hoseok are; she’s about to ask Jin about it, just to distract herself, when the door opens and Christian comes out.

Dilara leaps to her feet automatically, thoroughly relieved when his eyes land on her instantly and he beckons her to follow him. She jogs after him until they’re out of earshot and he turns to her, suddenly looking taller.

“Has Jaden been harassing you, Dilara?” The first question out of his mouth throws her for a loop.

“Has he -” She swallows, biting her lip. “Why - um, what have you heard?”

“That he’s been harassing you.” Christian folds his arms across his chest. “Vicki just told us. It changes everything.”

Her heart skips a beat. “Changes what? What - what do you mean? What happened? What’s going to happen to -”

“Well, Jaden has been fired,” he begins, placing his hands on his hips. “He was a good engineer, but…” He shakes his head. “We can’t have a person on the team who treats a woman like that. It would be a publicity nightmare.” His eyes snap up to her. “And it’s incredibly disrespectful to you, too, of course.”

Dilara nods, somewhat in a daze. “So, he’s… fired? Just like that? What if he goes to the press?”

“He’s signing an NDA. If he wants his severance and doesn’t want to be blacklisted, he’ll sign it.” Christian’s confidence seems dangerously unbalanced. “Plus, Big Hit would lose millions if they broke the contract now. And also, apparently, the negative publicity would be enormous if it got out that their employee was being punished for defending his… friend.”

By the way he says it, she knows she’s been made. “Christian…”

“He was the same bloke that miraculously found you on the middle of the road in Monza, was he not?”

Dilara swallows. “He was. Look, it’s not -”

“I don’t want to know.”

“No, you don’t -”

“No, I genuinely don’t want to know.” He looks at her knowingly - too knowingly. “It’s better,” he says, slower this time, “if I don’t know.” When she nods hesitantly, he pats her shoulder once. “Right. Your friend… I think he should be fine. But in the future, Dilara,” he adds, suddenly sounding tired, “do let us know if a team member is creating a hostile work environment, will you?”

Dilara nods silently as he walks away, at the last minute telling her to go home and rest for the race tomorrow. She has no intention of going anywhere, though, not until she hears from Namjoon himself that this is over. Not Christian, not even Taehyung - Namjoon. Only him.

The next two minutes are unbearable. She walks back slowly to where she was seated before to see Seokjin, Jimin and Jungkook waiting for her expectantly. 

“Well?” Jimin prompts urgently.

“Um… he’s - he’s signing an NDA,” is all that comes out of her mouth. When all three of them look completely confused, she doesn’t know where to begin. “He said Jaden - Jaden signed an NDA and I think he said that Tae -”

At that moment, the conference room door opens and three people spill out: Taehyung, with a Korean man in a suit next to him, and Namjoon a step behind. To her immense relief, the latter strides over to them first thing. He says something in Korean, to which all three of them sigh loudly in relief. Heart hammering, Dilara looks up at him and tugs on his sleeve.

“What?” she asks quietly, desperately.

“He’s off the hook,” says Namjoon in English, clearly trying to keep his own smile under control, even as the dimples pop on his cheeks. "He's going to get a warning from the company, but since it won't get out… it'll be okay. It’ll be okay,” he repeats, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

Dilara swallows with difficulty, the words suddenly making no sense. “He’s -” She clears her throat, unable to tear her eyes away from Taehyung. His eyes meet hers for a fraction of a second over the man’s shoulder, but his expression is as unreadable as ever. “He’s not kicked out of the group?”

Namjoon raises his eyebrows. “You would think… but no.” He chuckles. “I’m kidding. We have some pretty good lawyers, you know?”

She doesn’t comment on how ominous that sounds. Next to her, Jungkook is rubbing his eyes, smiling in embarrassment. She can’t see what Seokjin and Jimin are doing behind her, and she only vaguely registers someone patting the top of her head.

Ahead of them, the man in the suit is finally walking away. Taehyung says something to him as he leaves but she doesn’t want to wait any longer. She turns to Namjoon.

“Can I… I mean, do you mind if we…”

Namjoon doesn’t look surprised at this unfinished request. He glances at Taehyung, who’s now slowly walking up to them, and nods. “Just… I mean, I don’t want to be that guy, but…” He shrugs apologetically “… one minute. We need to get on a conference call after this.”

She nods mutely and waits for all of them to vacate the garage before finally, finally facing Taehyung.

He stands before her, a respectful few feet between them, his hands in his pockets and looking breathtakingly handsome. He looks expectant, defiant - but above all, he looks relieved. It suddenly reminds her of how he���d looked at her nearly two years ago in the Suzuka paddock, before they’d ever exchanged a single word. 

Taehyung exhales shakily, and something snaps in her. All the anxiety of the weekend rushes into her chest at the same time and she tilts her head slightly, taking a step forward as though on autopilot. He nods silently and meets her halfway, and they wrap their arms around each other in an emotional hug.

Taehyung displays none of the hesitation he’d shown in the kitchen a week ago. His long hair brushes against her cheek where he’s buried his face in her neck, breathing now slightly uneven and she knows that despite his cool exterior, he was worried, too. She tightens her arms around his shoulders, gripping his shirt and pressing her forehead against his collarbone.

“You’re such an idiot, Kim Taehyung,” she murmurs shakily, savouring the familiar scent of lotion and spicy cologne. Christian Dior Sauvage, she remembers, tilting her face and inhaling slightly.

Taehyung nods, squeezing her waist with one hand. “I know,” he whispers against her skin, voice deep and reverberating in her ear.

Every bit of frustration, exasperation, gratitude and all the unnamed feelings she’s pushed deep down threaten to resurface. There’s so much she wants to tell him, and this is it.  She doesn’t know how to tell him more; when she feels his lips press against the skin just below her ear, as though instinctive, she feels an old familiar warmth in her abdomen and she doesn’t want it to go anywhere.

Dilara vaguely registers voices, a cue that causes them to begrudgingly separate. There’s some bustling; a phone call, some instructions in Korean, and Namjoon beckoning to his members. Dilara quietly takes her leave, trying not to think about how tightly she and Taehyung held each other or how her fingers slipped out of his hand when she left.

—

Dilara is woken by the sound of raucous laughter outside that abruptly dies down when someone shushes them. She groans softly; it’s still dark outside and the time on her phone indicates that she’s been asleep for less than an hour.

She hadn’t returned to the house after leaving the paddock. Too buzzed to be by herself, she’d headed straight to the hotel where the rest of the drivers were staying. A couple of the drivers had been playing FIFA and she’d piled on, making every effort to distract herself from the events of the day. She’d come back to the house an hour ago, sneaking in and going straight to her room and crashing. 

It was a fairly uncomfortable sleep, mostly because there’s something nagging on her mind, something she’s forgetting. Dilara can’t put her finger on it; she knows it has to do with Taehyung and what happened today, but everything else escapes her. She shifts restlessly in her bed, trying to go back to sleep - but the damage is done, and she’s wide awake..

Even after the voices outside dwindle down one by one before disappearing altogether and the light under the door turns off, she still can’t sleep. 

It’s after midnight when she checks her phone again, opening WhatsApp and checking for new messages. Apart from three messages from Jimin timed around the time they reached the house (Hey we got piri piri chicken! Okay Yoongi hyung just said you’re probably asleep. Good night :)), there’s nothing else. 

She thinks for a second, then goes onto the Taehyung’s true loves group. The last message is a joke from Jimin that he’d cracked to try and cheer her up.

Dilara [00:09] Hey guys. Just wanted to say thanks for today. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to be around but you guys were really there for me so… thank you.

Jimin [00:15] No need to thank us but fine, you can buy us ice cream tomorrow.

Dilara [00:15] I can? Aren’t you both dieting?

Jungkook [00:16] We can give it up for one ice cream. And you can join us in the gym when we burn it off.

Dilara [00:17] Deal. And um

Jungkook [00:17] What? 

Jungkook [00:18] Oh yeah. Taehyung was looking for you when we got back.

Dilara [00:19] Oh. Right. I was asleep.

Jimin [00:19] You’re not anymore. 

Dilara [00:20] And?

Jimin [00:20] And he’s awake too. 

Dilara can almost picture Jimin’s smirk as he dances around the topic. Fortunately, Jungkook comes to her rescue.

Jungkook [00:21] Yes but you have a race tomorrow, Dilara. You should sleep. 

Dilara [00:21] I will. Thank you Jungkook.

Jungkook [00:22] You’re welcome. And while we’re on the topic of thank yous, I think Taehyung hyung is the one you should really be saying that to.

Oh. Of course. Dilara sighs as it finally clicks, what she’s been forgetting. She’s snapped at him, confessed her worries to him, dropped her defences and embraced him - but she hasn’t thanked him, not yet. 

Now that she’s realised it, she knows she can’t sleep. She considers texting him, but she doesn’t know if that would seem too impersonal, especially after the emotional hug they shared. What does she do instead, though? Ask him to meet her outside? That feels like far too much pressure.

Jesus. Dilara climbs out of bed and heads to the kitchen, silently opening the fridge and taking her first drink of water in hours. This is Taehyung, she thinks, leaning against the kitchen island. Nothing about him warrants this much overthinking. Pulling out her phone from her pajamas’ pocket, she texts him.

Dilara [00:30] Hey.

Tae [00:32] Hey.

Dilara [00:33] How’s your hand?

Tae [00:33] Hurting a bit. Why aren’t you asleep?

Dilara [00:34] I couldn’t. You should stop texting though, if your hand hurts.

Tae [00:35] I can type with my left hand. Don’t you have a race tomorrow?

Dilara [00:36] Yeah. I’ve raced with less sleep though. Why aren’t you asleep?

Tae [00:36] I’m in bed.

A familiar flutter erupts in her chest, and her toes curl on the wooden floor. Without warning, an image of a shirtless Taehyung in boxer shorts, glasses on, lying on his side with his phone in one hand appears in her mind. She’s willing to bet a thousand bucks that that’s how he looks right now, before she remembers that a lot of things could have changed in a year.

Dilara [00:37] That’s too bad. We’ll talk tomorrow then.

Tae [00:37] We can talk now too.

Dilara [00:38] Nah, it’s more of an in-person conversation.

Tae [00:38] You know we live in the same house, right?

Dilara bites her lip, trying to stop the smile from spreading on her face. She starts walking towards her room, her heart suddenly beating faster. Stopping in front of her room, she leans against the closed door. 

Dilara [00:39] I’m aware.

Tae [00:40] But no. You need to sleep.

He’s flirting. It’s been so long since Kim Taehyung has flirted with her this confidently that she’s forgotten how much of a blushing mess she becomes, being thankful only for the fact that it’s never visible on her face. She gazes absently at the closet door in front of her, trying to think of a response.

Dilara [00:41] Yeah, I do. I’ll probably need to sleep after the race tomorrow too, because it’s always so tiring.

Tae [00:42] You can sleep on the train to Amsterdam. It’s going to be a long trip.

Dilara [00:42] Probably. I’m sure I’ll find someone to keep me company. 

Tae [00:43] Seven of us not enough for you?

I really only need one. But she doesn’t say it. It’s far too risky.

Dilara [00:45] That's a lot of talk for someone who barely escaped getting in trouble today. Or who knows how much you would've regretted it?

Tae [00:45] I won't regret anything I do for you.

Dilara closes her eyes and leans her head back against the door, suddenly feeling warm. She wonders briefly if the conversation is venturing into unfamiliar territory - or, rather, an all-too familiar territory. 

She stares at the closet door in front of ber, hoping for inspiration, when it suddenly opens to, once again, reveal none other than Taehyung himself, pulling on a white t-shirt as he steps out.

The combination of her surprise, his presence and the generous glimpse of lean, honey-coloured torso is enough to make her stumble and drop her phone. “Shit,” she mutters, averting her eyes and bending to pick it up. She looks up to see him frowning, knees bent as though about to help her up.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung glances between her and his door. “What were you doing outside my room?”

“I - that’s your room? I thought it was a closet,” she admits in slight embarrassment, feeling her heart rate slowly go back to normal.

He nods, looking amused. “You really couldn’t sleep, huh?”

Dilara tilts her head, twisting her mouth to hide her smile. “I thought we already discussed that.” She can’t stop looking at him, privately admiring how incredible he looks even in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, hair unstyled, face bare with a pair of black glasses perched on his nose. I was right, she thinks, mildly victorious. 

“We did. But now that you’re here…” He trails off pointedly, wiggling his eyebrows at her until she stifles a laugh. He grins, and her stomach does a backflip.

"I was just going to get back to bed," she tells him, and he simply nods. She doesn't move, though, and neither does he. His gaze is his usual intense one: unmoving, like a laser looking into her soul. She tries to hold it for as long as she can but when it becomes too much, she drops her gaze. "Can I see your hand?" she asks, mostly for something to say.

Wordlessly, he raises his right hand and she takes it. She can't really see anything; she brushes her fingers extremely lightly over his knuckles but he still hisses softly.

"Sorry," she mutters apologetically. "It's too dark here… can we go to the window?" 

He follows her a few steps away to the end of the hallway, where the house splits into a T, one room on either side. There's a window on the wall, though, wide and tall, with a near full moon causing a silvery light to stream in.

Dilara picks up his hand again and it makes sense now why he flinched. His knuckles are still an angry red, with scratches on the third and fourth joints. Her fingers ghost over his hand, but she’s careful not to touch him. When she hears his sharp intake of breath, she pauses before bringing both their hands down, fingers lightly intertwined momentarily before separating.

"I still can't believe you," she murmurs, shaking her head, but the disapproving tone is gone.

"I'm good at surprising people," he replies. He leans his side against the window and folds his arms across his chest, careful to keep his injured hand on the outside.

"Not just you." She doesn't look away from him. "Jimin and Jungkook told me what Jaden said." Predictably, his jaw clenches and his eyes blaze but the rest of his face stays unmoving. “I knew he was a jerk, but… yeah, I guess I’m surprised by how far he went.”

Taehyung observes her for a moment. “You still think he didn’t deserve it?”

Dilara reaches for his hand again, pointedly looking at his bruised knuckles. Thanks for defending me, she wants to say, but the words get stuck in her throat. 

“Can you even hold a mic with this hand? You’re performing in a few days,” she reminds him, referring to the charity concert in Amsterdam scheduled for the coming Friday - one she’ll be missing because of her race in Russia.

“Hm, let’s check.” Taehyung gently pulls away to pick up her hand, wrapping his injured hand around her wrist and showing her how his fingers easily meet.

“Is that how you hold your mic?”

He smirks and tugs, bringing ber hand right up to his face… right up to his mouth. “This is how I hold my mic.” There’s a moment where she thinks he’s going to kiss her hand and she feels her heart race in anticipation. But after a moment, he lets go, smiling wider as though he knows exactly what’s going on in her mind.

Dilara wants to playfully smack him. Thanks for making me laugh. He’s flirting so blatantly, and she has to remind herself that amidst all the shit Jaden said, he did basically confirm to Taehyung that she’s not over him. 

“Your fans will be very worried when they see you’ve been injured. I can almost see the hashtags on Twitter,” she continues, gesturing grandly. “Stay Strong Taehyung, or We support Taehyung and his gorgeous, injured, sexy hand.”

He laughs, and it suddenly feels warmer. “They will be worried,” he agrees, cocking his head, “but I’m sure even they’ll agree that it was worth it. You know, given that he’s been bothering you for weeks now, and today was just the finale.”

Dilara’s smile fades. “Vicki told you,” she guesses, sighing when he nods. “Well… yeah. Like I said, I knew he was a jerk.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “Jinjja, Dilara,” he says, and her heart skips a beat at the sound of her name on his tongue. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Oh, really? So I was supposed to come to you and tell you that this guy I hooked up with suddenly won’t leave me alone?” She scoffs. “That would’ve gone well.”

He shrugs. “Why not? Whatever happened between us, it doesn’t matter if something is making you uncomfortable. And besides, it didn’t have to be me, you know.”

She barely hears his last sentence. Thanks for caring about me. “Fine. The next time a guy starts bothering me, I’ll make sure to keep you updated.”

“Good. I’ll keep my fists ready,” he says wryly, bringing his thin fists to his face and blowing on them.

“Maybe I’ll actually get Jungkook to teach you how to punch by then.”

“I’d rather you teach me.”

It’s predictable but Dilara’s cheeks heat up anyway, and his face breaks into a gorgeous grin. She looks down at their feet, and realises they’ve sub-consciously moved closer to each other. The moment she thinks of it, the scent of lotion and faint cologne suddenly grows stronger, and she gets the urge to sink into his chest and spend the night curled up in his arms. The thought of waking up warm and cuddled makes her yawn, and she quickly covers it up.

“You really should sleep.” Taehyung reaches over and gently ruffles her bangs, his old way of playfully banter before doing something really soft, usually beginning with pulling her to him and hugging her while she jokingly protested. 

It makes her heart ache, the slow realisation that she still cares so much about him, that there’s nothing that can take away from the once-in-a-life-time connection they found with each other.

She still needs to thank him. Dilara can’t say the words, though; it seems inadequate somehow, given the risk he took, the impulse to do something so unlike him. She reaches up and slowly brushes a lock of blond hair out of his eyes, touching the corner of his glasses. 

They’re close enough now, enough that she won’t take him by surprise. She hopes she’s right when she brings her other hand up and gently holds the back of his neck, fingers tangling in his soft, long hair.

Dilara gives Taehyung a moment to catch on, noting how he swallows and all traces of joking disappear, leaving only an almost childlike hope and vulnerability. Then, rising on her toes, she gently pulls his head down and presses her lips to his.

Like the time they reached their understanding of sorts in the kitchen, it takes him a moment to respond, almost as though he can’t quite believe this is real. Dilara waits until he kisses her back, tilting his head and leaning in, before opening her mouth. His lips part with a sigh and she wants to do the same - so familiar and addictive is his taste. His king hair tickles her cheek as his hands come up to hold her, gently and tentatively.

Taehyung’s lips are everything she remembers them being; soft, energetic, loving. It’s a slow, savouring kiss. With how unexpected it was, they simply take the time to reacquaint themselves. Dilara is glad, she thinks as they separate to catch their breath and she presses a last kiss to his lips before pulling away, for if it were anything more, she doesn't think she’d be able to stop herself.

Taehyung looks… overwhelmed. His lips are slightly swollen and he absently bites his lower lip, his eyes shining with ten times more hope and pleasant shock than the photoshoot earlier this week.

“Thanks,” she says softly, not specifying what for. Taking a step back and trying to ignore how her heart is zooming, she starts walking back to her room, still aware of him watching her go. Just when she reaches her door, she remembers something.

“Oh, and, uh…” This is awkward, and her heart thuds. Trying to be casual and shrug it off in the face of his motionless figure, she speaks once more. “You can… Dilara sounds a bit weird. Lara is fine.”

—

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to drop a review :)

[itzpris15634]

Hiking (Gen LPS ficlet)

"Guys, c'mon!" Minka shouted out to the others as she skipped along the rocky path, giddy and excited, "We've still got so much nature to see!"

The rest of her friends trailed behind her, panting and breathing heavily.

Zoe took a grip on a nearby tree, trying to catch her breath, "Oh, Minka, how do you have so much energy? We can't keep up!"

"You can say that again," Russell said as he dropped his heavy backpack on the ground, taking a moment to stretch.

"Gee whiz, if only you didn't insist on bringing such a huge-ass backpack on this little trip," Pepper remarked.

"Well excuse me for wanting to be prepared!" Russell retorted, "And I've already put it to good use! When Vinnie thought it was a good idea to touch Poison Ivy…"

"Hey, I didn't KNOW it was Poison Ivy!" Vinnie said as held up his bandaged hand, "It looks the same as any other leafy plant!"

"See? And we got to treat it because I was prepared!"

"I agree. I feel safer knowing we have everything we'll need in Russell's backpack," Sunil nodded.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Sure, okay. First aid and medicine? Well, obviously." She walked to the big backpack, and started digging through its contents, "Uh, sleeping bags? A tent? We're going hiking, not camping, Ferguson."

"Shh, yes yes I know the difference. It's just- you never know! The weather could take a turn any minute, and then we'd have to find shelter somewhere! And it could last overnight! Maybe even longer!"

Penny was too busy taking in the nature around her to partake in the conversation. Camera in hand, she looked around for a worthy subject to picture.

She noticed Minka, sketchbook and pencil in hand.

"What are you sketching, Minka?" Penny approached her friend.

"Wha? Oh, these flowers! Look at it!" Minka said, "It's real pretty, huh?"

"Ooh, I see!" Penny took note of the little plant. A cluster of bright blue flowers, drooping down like little bells.

"So, how are you enjoying this little hike so far?" Minka asked.

"I'm having fun! It's so interesting seeing all these wonderful sights. And even better is I get to picture it all!" Penny held up her camera at Minka, "C'mon- smile!"

Minka struck a simple pose, giving her biggest smile, dimples crinkling on her cheeks.

Penny snapped the photo, and the two peeped into the camera to give it a look.

"There we go!"

"Woah, you're a really good photographer, Penny! It's so clear!"

"Ahaha, it's not that hard…"

"Ooh! That reminds me of a joke Pepper told me the other day. Wanna hear?"

"Okay!"

"What did the photographer say to their spouse before they got married?"

"Hmm… what?"

"I can really picture us together!"

The two girls laughed together. As they slowed their laughter, however, Minka's expression dimmed a little.

"Uh…Penny?"

"Yes?"

"What if- what if everything Russell says comes true? What if it starts raining or something- and then we'd have to stay overnight in a big, scary forest? Who knows what is out there? What if- what if-"

"Oh, Minka, come here…" Penny opened her arms for a hug, which Minka readily fell into.

"We can't be 100% sure if that will happen," Penny started, "Nature is really unpredictable. It'll catch you off guard, it'll leave you unsure of what might happn next. But you know what you can be sure of?"

"H-hm?"

"Us! Your friends! We'll stick together through and through. On this little hiking trip, when we get back home, and everything else we go through together."

Minka smiled, "Boy, am I glad to have you guys around with me…"

Penny smiled back, "So am I, Minka. Now, how about we call the others over? We've still got a lot to see before the day ends."

===

Is this gonna turn into a daily thing where I write for every prompt everyday? That would make this Day 2 : Adventure. Let's see if I can commit to this.

Anyway this was pretty fun to write! I didn't proofread it though, so. Yeah.

No ships intended, just a bunch of silly friendos on a nature hike.

[picklebunbun]

can you write needle trying to comfort reader (fem) about being lonely and she gives love advise

—— ミ✩ needle x fem! reader

**

either way

IVE ♥︎

⇄ ◁◁ 𝚰𝚰 ▷▷ ↻

⁰⁰'²⁵ ━━●━━───── ⁰²'⁰⁸

**

• fem reader, she/her pronouns, feminine terms

• genre: angst and fluff

• mentions romance, but you can read it as platonic

summary: needle finds [name] crying and comforts her, [name] needs love advice

[angel’s note 👼🪽: ok so I’ll try to get through this quickly, my friend @lunnarsky requested this and did that at gun point so in order for me to not die I'm doing this story, she recommended the song btw, also didn't know if this should be human au but y'know think whatever you want]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

3rd person POV:

It was a nice day out, it was also the "once in a while" breaktime in the competition. Needle was walking around the foresty-plains that, at least for now, was her home. Honestly, she was getting bored just walking around, she'll just talk to pin or coiny for the meantime I guess, Needle was about to turn around before she heard crying, the person seemed to try and shut themselves up so no one would hear, but Needle ended up hearing it anyways. She inched her way towards the source of the noise, careful not to make a sound.

Once she got close enough, she could see the apparition of the weeping competitor. It was [name], Needle gasped, gaining [name's] attention

"n-needle..?"

"[name]?! Why are you crying..?"

[name] wiped away her tears, she calmed her sobbing to just a few sniffles, leaving her voice nasally and quiet

"it's... it's nothing.. I'm fine.."

"don't try to hide it, I already know you were crying, but why?"

"it-it's stupid, you'll think so anyways"

Needle kneeled down next to [name's] body, she wasn't sure what to really do with her hands, but ultimately, she chose rubbing [name's] back. She wasn't used to comforting people, she knew who she hated, which was quite a lot of people, and barely comforted anyone. In Needle's life, she mostly stuck by people who consoled anyone, like leafy, the person either did it for personal gain for their reputation or they were genuinely kind. Although, [name] was someone that Needle liked.

"aw, c'mon, don't be like that! Even if it is then that doesn't mean I'll leave you here crying"

"uhm.. err...fine, it's just.. someone I like never pays attention to me.. and I've just been alone for a bit, it's just hard not having anyone and you're just left here soaking in your own sadness.."

It was a bit hard to believe someone like [name] couldn't find someone, she was actually pretty cool and seemed to get along with most of the folk here. What [name] said actually struck a chord with Needle, it felt almost identical to what Needle felt, and the fact that [name] thinks so lowly of herself made Needle feel bad for her, and kind of angry that she could say that to herself. This wasn't about her though, it was about the poor girl infront of her, comforting her, making her feel safe, and maybe give her something to drink after this because she was genuinely worried.

"emm.. well.. who's this 'lucky someone' you like?"

[name] giggled ever so softly

"I can't tell you that.. it's so embarrassing.. I haven't told anyone that I have a crush yet, they might make a big deal out of it"

"hmm..? So why'd you tell me?"

"I don't know.. Maybe it's cause you feel safe to be around, you're not that loud so maybe I'm drawn to you more.."

Well, [name] sure knew how to make someone blush. It wasn't like Needle had a crush on her or was in love [well, that's mostly up to you], but hearing compliments about her spew out of her mouth, Needle couldn't help but turn red. She cleared her throat while trying to keep her composure as calm as possible, but on the inside she was screaming. She hasn't gotten such a flattering remark like that before, but she'd be lying if that didn't just boost up her confidence like a firework.

"ah..well, th-thanks.. err.... what about you though? Anyone would be lucky to be with you!"

"I'm.. not so sure.."

Needle bit her bottom lip, not really sure what to do. She wanted to be honest but really wasn't sure if [name] wanted advice in the first place, she basically waltzed to her and found her like this anyways. Though, Needle needed to connect with [name] and that meant that Needle needed to be sincere with her.

"mm... [name]? Can I be honest with you?

Something dropped in [name's] stomach, she thought something dreadful was going to come out of Needle's mouth, but she couldn't simply say no, it would be too awkward. Her mind was interrupted when a hand was removed from her back and her friend's body got more closer. As Needle spoke, [name] listen to every piece of her speech, it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.

“[name], you’re actually a sweet girl, I’m not sure you should be stressing out over this. Even if you end up with no one, you still have friends to support you, you’re not completely alone. You still have me too..! This person will like you! I’m sure of it!”

[Name] looked at her dead in the eyes, she was about to cry again, not because Needle somehow made her upset but because it’s nice to be reminded that you’re important. Needle got nervous, did I say something wrong?, she felt terrible, Needle thought that she was doing a good job! Thoughts started pooling in her mind, she thought she was going to pee from panic and freight, until she felt a hug embrace her.

“thank you, Needle, t-that means a lot.. thank you..”

Needle stayed motionless for a moment before ultimately wrapping her arms around [name]

“you’re welcome, [name]”

[tomboyjessie13]

TW: Robbery

Budding Darkness - Part 5

Mariah's Flat - Maadi Cairo, Egypt ​​​​​​​First day of May, 9:26 AM 

Maadi is a leafy and once suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, on the east bank of the Nile about 12 kilometers upriver from downtown. Years ago it played a role in both the 2nd World War and the 1952 revolution.

Nowadays, Maadi, at least with old Maadi, stands as being green, quieter and more relaxed than urban Cairo. With some parts having virtually no traffic noise. The abundant greenery bears little resemblance to most of the crowded areas seen in urban Cairo, and is mostly occupied by expatriates and affluent, bilingual Egyptians.

After a long night of terror and stress, we cut to a nice looking flat in a quite and green neighborhood. Inside, Medea was seen asleep on the couch in the living room with TV being turned on(with low volume) and is currently playing what appears to be a "Justice League" cartoon, with her Stand watching it while sitting on the couch's arm.

Mariah walks in on her while fixing her hair when she saw her still asleep on the couch.

Medea: Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

Mariah: She's still asleep? *Looks at the clock* Hmm, that hag's not going to like this. *Goes to her* Meds, *shakes her* Medea wake up.

Medea: *Still out of it* Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

Mariah: *To [Molly]* You tried waking her up?

[Molly]: *Nods* Kiru!

Mariah: Didn't work?

[Molly]: *Shakes head* Kiru.

Mariah: Mmhmm. *Grabs a frying pan and spatula from the kitchen and starts banging*

~BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!~

Medea: *Startled* AH! WHERE AM I!?

Mariah: Morning, sleepy head, you overslept.

Medea: *Tired* I did? *Looks over and sees that it's almost 9:30* Ah shit, Enyaba's going to kill me if I don't make it back. *Gets off the couch and starts digging for clothes in her backpack* Why didn't you wake me up sooner, Mariah?

Mariah: Me and your Stand tried, but you're out like a light. I mean you were woken up late at night so.

Medea: *Puts on her servant's attire* Shit man, shit! *Stomach grumbling* And I missed breakfast.

Mariah: *Puts on her glasses* Don't worry, we'll stop by for food on the way back?

Medea: You know the place? 

Mariah: *Grab's keys* Yes, there's a road in the Maadi District that's known for good eateries.

Road 9 - Maadi Cairo, Egypt

Maadi is also the home to many major restaurants, outlets and chains as well as a variety of high-end clothing shops, and other retail businesses, many of which are located along the locally famous "Road 9" or new Maadi as well as Maadi's original "downtown".

Most notably are expatriate owned businesses such as a restaurant known for their American style hamburgers and an English language bookstore that has become a staple for Egyptians and westerners for years.

Many businesses come and go but the residents of Maadi can always depend on Road 9 to make them feel right at home. Mariah cruises through the road on a motorbike with Medea holding onto her from behind.

Medea: Dang girl, I didn't even know this district even existed.

Mariah: Well now you know. Like deserts, Cairo has an oasis or two, great food, great fashion, and even stores for music and books, of course it's mostly aimed at expatriates and rich Egyptians. 

Medea: Maaaan, I wished I've known that when I first came to Egypt.

Mariah: Better late than never I guess, *frowns* although I'm actually planning on moving to an apartment at Downtown soon.

Medea: Why? This place is awesome.

Mariah: Oh no, it still is. It's just that my stupid landlord raised the rent on me and the other tenants(Medea: Oooooh.), and I can't keep relying on Lord DIO's money just to stay here.

Medea: I think your landlord's pushing you out for richer clientele.

Mariah: I think so to, *smiles* on the bright side it's a lot more convenient being close to Islamic Cairo, think of how easy it would be doing errands from Downtown to DIO's manor? But enough negativity, there's some good breakfast shops here to pick from.

Medea: *Looks around* What about that bagel shop over there? *Points at it*

Mariah: Good choice! They make good bagel sandwiches here. 

Medea: Nice, I love sandwiches! 

Mariah: *She parks her motorbike, they both get off and go inside*

Server: *At the register* Good morning, ladies, what can I get you today?

Medea: Yeah, um, you got any breakfast bagels?

Server: Why yes, we got pastrami, turkey sausage, turkey bacon, and falafel, comes with eggs, cheese, and a side of hash browns.

Medea: *Delighted* Ooooh~ I'll take the pastrami to go please.

Server: That'll be £2, *to Mariah* what about you, miss?

Mariah: No thanks.

Server: Ok. *Gives Medea a number* Your order will be ready soon.

Medea and Mariah: *Sat by a dining table*

Mariah: *Looking at Medea's serious expression*.....So about that stalker...

Medea: *Stunned*.....What about it? 

Mariah: It seems to sneak into your room at night, how are you going to deal it?

Medea: ......I honestly don't know, I could try and lock all the windows and doors and it still finds a way inside. I'll probably have to move into someone else's room until it stops.

Mariah: You're seriously thinking about being roommates with one of the guys? You do realize that Vanilla Ice hates your guts, right?

Medea: I wasn't talking about the guys, I meant DIO's harem, it's all women.

Mariah: Aren't they, his food?

Medea: Yes, but at least I won't be alone.

Mariah: *Snicker* You might end up on a silver platter if your not careful.

Medea: *Flustered* Oh shit, I didn't think about that....Wait, now did I think about that, *irritated* where was DIO when the stalking took place?

Mariah: Probably busy.

Medea: My ass, most of the time I find him lounging, reading, drinking, philandering, and spying on Joseph Joestar. You call that busy?

Mariah: He's got business partners overseas.

Medea: *Calms down* Oh yeah, I was told he had a guy from Italy. *Sighs tiredly* Never mind what I said. *She then hears loud motorbikes coming into the neighborhood* .....I thought this part of Maadi is quite.

Mariah: Most of the time, yes. What are they-*Looks over, becoming annoyed when she saw who it was* Oh no, not them.

Medea: "Them"? *She sees 4 men and a woman wearing red bandanas over their faces* Are those "The Warriors of Sekhmet"? 

Mariah: That's them, the guys who attacked Hol Horse, and it looks like they're already starting their reign of terror on American businesses.

Medea: *Disgusted* Man, they're just giving goddess herself a bad name hurting innocent people. *She became horrified when she sees them barging into an American diner, weapons in hand* Oh my god! *Gets up* Someone needs to stop these punks! *Leaves the restaurant*

Mariah: *Shocked* Medea! No! *Tries to grab her, but misses*

In the restaurant

The Warriors of Sekhmet are flipping tables, destroying the food, and backing the costumers into a corner. Their bandanas are a bright red with a golden illustration of the lion-headed goddess herself.

Owner: *Being held down* You fiends! What is the meaning of this!? Let me go this insta- *Gets pushed down* GAH!

Male Warrior 1: *Aims knife at neck* Silence, pig! This is our land; you do as WE say!

Male Warrior 2: *To the man of a family of four, with a khopesh* You there, you're in a blind spot! *Points at another table* Take your bitch and brats over to that booth over there on the count of 10! *Proceeds to chase the panicked family into said table while counting quickly* 

Female Warrior: *Chasing the chefs and waiters out of the kitchen with a bronze battle axe* Get out of the kitchen, now! On the double! *Pushes one of them at the kitchen entrance* Get on the ground, now!  

Male Warrior 3: *Stealing all the money from the cash register*

Owner: Hey! That's my money! *Gets pushed down again* Ngh!

Warrior 1: Your kind have already stolen money from other countries, you're not stealing from us to.

Female Warrior: *Proudly waves axe around* The restaurant's ours!

Outside the restaurant

Male Warrior 4: *Spray painting words on the door in red reading: "Leave now or die, American pigs!"* ......*Gets knocked out by [Molly]* x_x

Medea: That's one. *Hides by the window, counting* Two...three...four...five vandals, four armed, one knocked out. I gotta do something about these guys without hurting the customers. And since a normal person can't see Stands, I should be able to knock them out no problem, I just hope this place isn't bigger than 10 meters though. *To her Stand* Kick their asses. *Covers her ears* 

[Molly]: *Goes inside, muffled* KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRU!KIRUUUUUUUUUU!

Medea: *Uncovers ears*...........*She then sees a bunch of customers and employees leave the restaurant, unharmed*

Customer 1: Thank god, we're saved.

Customer 2: How was that possible?

Customer 3: Who cares, it's a miracle.

Customer 4: Somebody call the cops before they wake up!

Medea: *Looks inside, the Warriors have been knocked out cold, she sighs in relief* Mission accomplished. *Sees her Stand returning* You still got it, [Molly]. :-) 

[Molly]: *Proud* Kiru! ^_^

Mariah: *Shows up with a bag of food, surprised* Huh, looks like you got everything under control, Meds.

Medea: But of course, I've stopped plenty of robberies and gang fights I was younger, it's no big deal. 

Mariah: Well, that's great and all, but I be careful exposing your Stand in public like that next time, you'll never know whose watching and they turn out to be an enemy user.

Medea: Right, I forgot about that.

Mariah: It's alright. *Holds out bag* Case in point, your food's ready.

Medea: *Takes the bag* Thanks. *They headed for the motorbike to leave* 

[Molly]: *Senses something off*.........

Medea: *Sees this* [Molly], what's wrong?

Mariah: *Starting the bike* Hey, Meds! Let's go!

Medea: Oh! Coming! *Gets on the bike with her and they both ride off*

Unbeknownst to them, there was someone who was watching them from the shadows, that someone being an Egyptian man in a black sleeveless trench coat with a golden drawing of Sekhmet on the back, he seems to have saw the whole thing.

END

Previous part: "Now, let the Fun Begin!" — TW: More stalking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm very sorry for being late on this again, my sickness made me tired and kept wanting me to go to sleep so it's late again.