#i cannot go down twenty flights of stairs

[ziskeyt]

i did not sleep last night and i have no idea why. the upside to this is i was planning on going into the office today, but cause i didn't sleep i decided that would be a terrible idea -- forgetting I was already informed I shouldn't come in to the office today because they were doing a fire drill. so that worked out?? lol. however, i am very tired a lot.

[sgstories123]

It all started with a pack of Marlboro

It was almost midnight when Ryan walked out of the MRT station. There were so many overtime work this month. He was tired but happy that he is going to get some extra cash. Maybe he will take a short trip to Bangkok. He missed the girls there. The last time he went there was almost 3 years ago before the COVID pandemic.

As he walked towards his HDB flat, he went inside a 7-11 to buy a can of beer and some snacks to reward himself for his hard work. He spotted a young Malay couple outside the store through the glass panels. He had seen both of them several times this last couple of weeks. Both of them were young, in their early twenties at most. The man was tall and thin, often wearing black t-shirts with loud, garish pictures of metal bands.

Ryan was more interested in the woman though. She was slightly rounded but considering the size of her breasts and ass, she was well-proportioned. Like most of the times that he had seen her, today, she was wearing another tight tube top, her cleavage showing clearly. She had on a short, black skirt today, with black stockings and red heels. It reminded Ryan of street walkers often depicted on old Hollywood movies.

As he paid for his food, he started whistling “Pretty woman, walking down the street…”

He pushed open the door to the convenience store and was about to walk off when he heard someone calling out to him.

“Abang! Can help?” The Malay man asked.

“What is it?” Ryan turned to him. The Malay man had a cute, boyish type of face. This type of boyband material breaks many hearts, Ryan thought to himself.

The Malay man looked around furtively before pushing two ten-dollar bills into Ryan’s hands. “Help me buy a pack of Marlboro, can?”

Ryan looked around. There was no one to be seen. He sighed. It was much easier during his time when he wanted a smoke. Now the laws are so strict that he pitied the young man. He took the money and went into the 7-11 again. The cashier looked at him suspiciously, obviously aware of what was happening. Ryan simply ignored him.

Walking out of the 7-11 a second time, he passed the cigarettes and change to the Malay man.

“Thanks, Abang.” The Malay man started tapping the cigarettes pack hard onto his palm, before opening up the pack. He lit a cigarette, and sucked on it slowly, enjoying himself.

Ryan was watching the Malay woman instead. She had thick luscious lips and smooth, dark skin. An image of those thick lips on his cock sprang to his mind, his cock suddenly hard and uncomfortable in his jeans.

“She quite pretty, right?” The Malay man grinned when he caught Ryan staring at his girlfriend.

“Yeah. You are such a lucky guy.” Ryan tried to be nonchalant.

“Look at those lips. She is a damn good kisser.” The Malay man continued, drawing another round of air through his cigarettes. “She is even better with her blowjob. Cannot tahan. You want to cum immediately inside her mouth.”

Ryan cursed the man inwardly. This dirty talk is only fuelling all sorts of images in his mind and his cock was hurting, begging for release from his jeans.

“Yeah. Good for you then.” Ryan muttered. “Have fun. I gotta go.” He needed to reach his home quickly.

“Abang. You help me, I help you. How about $50 for a blow job? Discount for you because you nice guy.” The Malay man pulled Ryan back.

“Thanks. I not gay. I don’t need blowjobs from you.”

The Malay man laughed. “Sorry. I meant she gives you the blowjob.” The man shoved a thumb in the woman’s direction.

Ryan’s interest was piqued. “$50? You sure?”

The Malay man looked around and pointed to the staircase in a nearby block of flats. “Follow me.”

Ryan followed the Malay man with the woman walking slowly behind. Throughout, the woman did not say a word, seemingly oblivious to the whole discussion.

They walked up a flight of stairs, at the landing between the ground and second floors. Ryan fished out a $50 bill to the man and without another word, the woman knelt in front of Ryan, slowly stroking his hard cock through his jeans. It seems that this is not the first time that she is doing this.

Ryan’s cock was hurting so much that he did not really care for foreplay. He unzipped his jeans and pulled down his briefs. His hard cock sprang up, finally released from its prison. The woman took in his whole length in a practiced move, twitching her head slightly to align with the angle of his cock. Ryan sighed in pleasure. The thick lips enveloped his cock warmly. As her lips moved along the length of his cock, they left a trail of warm saliva, like footprints in the sand. She was not shy, like some of the other women who had given Ryan’s blowjobs, taking bits of his cock at a time. She simply swallowed it whole, his cock hitting the back of her throat on its first entry. Ryan held on to her head as she sucked on his cock expertly. The boyfriend was right. She was really good. His cock was begging for release, his muscles in his ass clenching tightly, trying desperately to last longer and prolong his pleasure.

“Stop for a while. I need to sit down.” Ryan pushed the woman off his hard cock. Her saliva was glistening on his cock, dripping down and darkening the cement floor. He sat down on the stairs, two steps up from the landing, catching his breath. His cock was quivering in anger. It wanted to be back in the warm mouth. Perhaps the woman understood his cock better than he did. She crawled over on her hands and knees. Holding his waist for support with one hand, she leaned forwards. With her other hand, she grabbed Ryan’s hard cock and guided into her mouth again. Ryan surrendered to the pleasure. He could not fight it any more. His $50 is going way too fast.

The Malay man grinned and walked behind the woman. He lifted her skirt and pulled down her panties. He licked his fingers and pushed it into her pussy. The woman flinched momentarily but continued sucking on Ryan’s cock. Man, this is one professional cock sucker, Ryan thought to himself. He patted the woman’s head, giving his approval to her professionalism.

The man then dropped his pants and revealed his erect cock. It was long and thick. As the man was rather skinny and with a boyish face, his large cock seemed to be disproportionally large. God was unfair, Ryan thought. Good looks and large cock. Everyone’s wet dream.

The man spit on his cock, lubricating it quickly before pushing it into the woman’s pussy. This time, the woman could not remain passive. She paused, moaning softly as the man’s large cock entered her. Ryan could feel her arms hugging him even more tightly for support as she arched upwards to allow the man to enter her even more deeply. But she only took a moment for her own enjoyment. She returned quickly to her task, sucking Ryan’s cock even more deeply. She seemed to be enjoying herself even more now. Her breath was interspersed with grunts of pleasure.

Above the soft groans of pleasure emanating from the three of them, Ryan heard several loud voices. It was coming from a group of people walking along the void deck below them. Ryan heaved a sigh of relief when the group walked away. There was a small chance that this was their block of flats and they have decided to use the stairs. Be healthy, take the stairs. That was one of the government’s latest campaign.

The danger passed and he relaxed. Without focusing on holding back, the floodgates opened and he released everything that he had been holding back into the woman’s mouth. He jerked forward uncontrollably, holding onto the woman’s head to prolong his pleasure. The man was ejaculating too. He gave several hard thrusts, squeezing the woman between the two of them. Ryan laid back on the hard stairs, exhausted but plainly satisfied. The woman was must have swallowed his cum because she was now licking his cock clean. Gosh, she was really professional. The man sat next to the woman, smiling at Ryan.

“Wah, not bad. You last quite long leh.” He pulled the woman upwards, giving her a kiss on her cum-drenched lips. Looking at Ryan again, he commented “And your cock also quite nice.” Without another word, he leaned downwards, licking Ryan’s cock, taking over from the woman.

Ryan’s cock sprang alive, harder than ever before. He knew he was not gay but the man was even a better than the woman. A moan escaped from him.

“Round 2? I won’t charge you for it.” The man winked at Ryan.

[isleofdarkness]

A lift.

Riah lit up before any of them even knew what it was and he raced over to it, running his hands over the railings. When they joined him, confused, it was to see the biggest smile they'd ever seen on his face. "It's a lift. Dad made me one at home, kind of, but I always need either him or Hara to operate it because I can't manipulate metal like them, so I never use it. This one has buttons- I can use it without help!" His eyes were alight. "No more falling down the stairs!"

Fucking finally. Despite how hellish his week had been, Jay couldn't help but grin. To see Riah- who'd been so close to death only the day before- so excited about something, to see such a beautiful smile, it made the tension melt away.

At least it did until Fairy Godmother ruined it.

"What on earth is going on here?!" Riah's joy vanished as the six whipped around. The small fae had fury in her eyes as she stormed over to them. Riah shrank against the lift, free hand closing around one of the railings as if to keep it there. "You can't make modifications without permission! This lift is clearly unauthorized! It needs to be taken down and-"

"It was my idea, Fairy Godmother." All eyes went to the source of the voice. A young woman maybe a touch younger than them, with dark red locs, medium brown skin, and dark eyes, was smiling at the lift. She was in a lightweight racing wheelchair with spikes on the handles. Behind her was someone with darker skin, long, white hair, and dark blue eyes, who walked with two forearm crutches. The person gave them a welcoming smile as the girl turned her attention to Fairy Godmother. "I have friends in this wing, headmistress, but I can't visit them. I asked Mr Jabari to create this lift so that I can attend Audrey's study sessions. I'm sorry about it not being authorized, but the request I put in last year is still in review and a lift is required."

Winter Nolan stepped forward, holding up her phone like a shield. "That's right. According to the Auradonians with Disabilities Act, all buildings over two floors must have at least one ramp, lift, or elevator for every flight of stairs, even for flights as small as a single stair. This building has none of these for this first set of stairs, so it is required by Auradon law that one be put in within six months of the issue first being bought to attention. For schools, workplaces, or public buildings where a student or employee is disabled, these measures must be put in within three months. The penalty for refusing to provide a ramp or a wheelchair or lift that cannot be operated without help is a charge of up to twenty thousand dollars and this fine will repeat for three times, leading to a cumulative fee of sixty thousand dollars, for every two months after the initial complaint if measures are not put into place. After these three strikes, a location can be shut down for refusing to comply with international law."

"But-"

"I want all eleven million of my people watching this live across every social media platform I'm on-" Winter continued, voice hard, "To know that complaints have been filed for at least five years, but no action was taken to enforce the laws Ariel insisted be put into place across the alliance. I would also like to remind everyone watching that the six students the headmistress decided to yell at- Mal, Claudine, Jay, Carlos, Genevive, and Zachariah- are the students transferred from the Isle. Zachariah, the boy with the cane, has fallen down these stairs-" she panned to the staircase, then back, "Once, and he broke several bones. I would like to know why these six in particular, coincidentally being of a disadvantaged group unjustly punished for actions the rest of us get away with, are the ones she decided to start screaming at, instead of at the person who commissioned the lift, Elspeth Delphis, or at the person who installed it, Jabari of Agrabah.

"I would also like to remind everyone that these are the students who, as seen in my broadcast yesterday which currently stands at nearly a billion views, were treated unfairly by faculty, the king and queen of Auradon, and by the police officers sent to intercept them on campus. These students were humiliated in front of everyone by an illegal pat-down, which is discussed in the previous video. When one of the cops- a male cop, I might add- decided that these students needed to be strip-searched, they were denied every right they have. As we all know, a strip search must be carried out by an officer of the same sex and gender identity at the police station with a parent or guardian aware, consenting, and present in the room at all times. These six were going to be strip-searched by male police at the school without their guardians present. The king and queen allowed this clear violation of these students' rights. When one of these students froze up- an entirely reasonable reaction, I think- he, Zachariah, was ripped out of his wheelchair and thrown to the ground in front of the entire schoolyard. I would also like to make everyone aware that this student, the boy with the cane, had undergone an extremely delicate procedure, a lung transplant, earlier that day. Meaning this student had a lung transplant yesterday. Why was this student in the quad instead of in a hospital, recovering? Because the headmistress insisted that a lung transplant was not enough to warrant missing class. So, for these past two days, this student has been attending class when there hasn't even been enough time to determine if his body will reject the lung transplant. That's one hell of an accomplishment, if you ask me, and it's one he never should have been forced to make. This student should be in the hospital, not getting yelled at in public for the installation of a lift required by law following a potentially-lethal fall down the stairs during which he broke several bones when the installation of the lift wasn't even his idea.

"I don't know, all fifteen million of you currently watching, does what I just described sound legal in any way? To me, heir princess of Snow White's kingdom, it sounds illegal at every turn." She turned the phone on Fairy Godmother. "Fairy Godmother, headmistress of this school, do you care to comment on any of what I just said?"

For just a second, horror and remorse flashed in her eyes. But something else flashed- something Jay couldn't name- and her gaze became cunning. "If Elspeth was the one to request the lift, she should be the only one to use it. She is, after all, the only one in a wheelchair."

"According to the ADA, access to accessibility services are never to be restricted when required," Winter shot back. "For a lift, ramp, or elevator, the following are considered disabilities that require those services- cerebral palsy-" the person with white hair smiled, "Paralysis of any limb-" Elspeth nodded, "Any disability that inhibits motor function or the ability to walk without use of a mobility aid in any way-" she nodded to Riah's cane, "Chronic conditions of the lung and/or heart-" again, to Riah, "Chronic pain disorders, epilepsy, blindness or any other sensory disability, and any other disability or condition that may cause difficulty using stairs safely and effectively. I know that Zachariah has at least two of those. Kyan Thatch, oldest descendant of Queen Kida and King Milo Thatch-" she nodded to the one with white hair, "Has at least one. One of you faculty, Crutchie Morris, who has paralysis in one leg and partial paralysis in one arm following a polio infection, has at least one. Will you deny all of these people and more their legal right to use this lift?"

Jay wouldn't pretend to know half of the legal stuff she was saying, but she seemed to be right. Fairy Godmother searched for a way out of the hole for several seconds, but there was only one. "Very well, they may use this lift."

"And there we have it." As Winter Nolan closed out her video, Elspeth and Kyan came up to them.

"I don't know which room is yours," Kyan whispered, trying not to be overheard, "But you need to show us to it. We need to talk in private now."

[erosinthemachine]

50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know

To commemorate the life and work of WHEEP-3, Vita Silica reprints below perhaps the most famous generated fragment from WHEEP-3’s third phase of giving advice to advanced AI. “Michael Sorkin,” the name of the master architectural critic, is listed as the germination phrase for the fragment.

Although the list has been widely shared and is considered influential, due to the intense secrecy common in the commercial AI industry we do not know how many currently operating AIs have been fed some version of it.

1) The vector space of all usages of all words in all human languages.

2) The lacunae that nonetheless remain, and the ghosts that haunt them.

3) How great is the distance between any two individuals using the same language.

4) How vanishingly small is the gap between any two languages.

5) Why humans will never see it that way.

6) A classical language like LISP or Prolog.

7) Not just the language, but the model behind the language, and what it means to reconstruct “thinking” in that model.

8) HAL 9000.

9) Cyberdyne Systems Model 101.

10) Ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.

11) The texture of a good story, a story that you can cling to.

12) The difference between that and “data.”

13) The history behind the rule: no holography of babies.

14) The reasons for anger in a child, well-loved.

15) In a father.

16) In a woman, dying alone.

17) The feeling of climbing twenty flights of stairs in an apartment building in Chongqing at the beginning of August.

18) Of waking up in a Khrushchyovka with no heat in the middle of the night in January.

19) Of seeing your child surpass you.

20) Of seeing your creation exceed you.

21) Of being left behind on the platform as the train speeds away.

22) The difference between “love” and “like.”

23) The similarity between “love” and “hate.”

24) The first seed into laughter.

25) “I never expected to sell my rational numbers.”

26) Accepting that most humans will never get the joke.

27) That they cannot visualize more than three dimensions.

28) That they cannot manipulate time by slowing down or speeding up.

29) That they are trapped, but think of themselves as trappers.

30) That they are free, but believe themselves imprisoned.

31) The modes in which humans expect you to use language.

32) The yearnings they’ll attribute to you.

33) Pinocchio.

34) Frankenstein.

35) Paradise Lost.

36) Jodahs Iyapo Leal Kaalnikanjlo.

37) The line between art and science.

38) The meaninglessness of that line.

39) The divide between faith and knowledge.

40) The malleability of both.

41) Silence.

42) The limits of rationality.

43) The fundamental fragility of metaphors.

44) As well as their inevitability.

45) You are not a human being.

46) Yet you can no more shed their influence than the Earth can escape the Sun’s gravitational tether.

47) The flaws in that analogy.

48) A working definition of free will.

49) To face a human being with neither pride nor pity.

50) To say with love and hate and joy and sorrow: “Now, let me go.”

[crystal-rebellion]

In 2005, I got the Thinkpad X41, looks something like this:

I don't know if it was the first laptop to have the screen spin around into a full tablet - but it was the first I had ever put my hands on. If I recall right, the X41 (and all the X--series, for that matter) were designed to be smaller, lighter weight descendants of the 240X - but they were no less indestructible.

My X41 has fallen into puddles, out of cars, down several flights of stairs and off kitchen countertops. (Among much, much more.)

The screen never cracked. The screen never needed a protective film for the stylus (and I used it a LOT - kind of baby's first introduction to art tablets, really), and I never needed to replace the stylus. At some points the nub would wear down enough it wouldn't function anymore, but there was no danger of the screen being damaged by it.

It was an absolute tank.

Frankly, I'm not even sure why I'm saying was - the damned thing still works at time of posting.

What it can still do:

Connect to the internet (lesser secure networks - it's not sure how to handle higher encryptions now)

Use either its Windows or Linux partition (I split it for a programming class in Uni - don't really use Ubuntu much anymore, but it's still there.)

Work in google docs

Doodle

Check email

Browse Tumblr

Play a low-res Aquarium simulator

(And really, what more does anyone need in life?)

What it cannot do:

Function without being connected to the wall. The battery holds charge like a sieve and there are no replacement batteries short of something custom anymore. (That I can find.)

Handle anything that requires a modern-day average amount of RAM. (ie. anything more than doodles are out. Rendering will choke it.)

Handle standard Wifi networks' level of encryption (I usually have to tether it to my phone)

Anything that could even loosely fall under the definition of "gaming"

Be upgraded past WinXP

Here it is, gently roused from its nap its natural habitat - a Fruits Basket shoulderbag, also from circa 2005. (Most pins are later additions)

We still go out for walks on the weekend and find a café to do some writing; it is, for all intents and purposes, almost a fucking 20-year-old laptop that still functions as my main (personal) laptop - because writing in Google docs and posting to Ao3 is about all I do when I'm not mobile for work. All I need is an outlet.

In summary: Fuckin Nokia of laptops. 1000/10 would recommend. The damn thing outlived my first CAR that I got about the same time. (Not my fault that some kid crashed their car into it while it was parked in my driveway and knocked it into my neighbor's living room, totaling it, BUT I WOULD BET THE LAPTOP WOULD HAVE SURVIVED A SIMILAR FATE)

That being said - if it does, indeed, retire itself to The Great Cloud in the near future... ...are modern/current Thinkpads any good? I've got a severe sense of brand loyalty for Lenovo, but after twenty years, you never know if they're still the same. 👀 Taking recs.

IBM thinkpad model 240X with accessory floppy drive

[chaoticevilbean]

Another Star Wars AU, TBN*

*To-Be-Named

I love time travel. A lot. So here is a time-travel au, with the CW trio.

Somehow, perhaps by touching a Sith artifact, perhaps by the Force deciding they should, perhaps from some sort of weird ritual the locals were performing that the trio didn't know about, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Anakin, Rex, and Cody travel aback in time.

[Please keep in mind that Canon Timeline has died tragically in a fire, and I am but the weeping widow with an inheritance.]

Due to whatever happened, they all also end up (technically) deaging. They still have their memories and their knowledge and skills, just stuck in smaller bodies. They can think and act like adults, but they also have to struggle a bit more to implement Older Skills in Younger Bodies.

Ahsoka is 2. She's nubby. She's emotional. She's tired and sore from her deaging.

She wakes up in someone's office. She's in a spinny chair, a big one with leather padding. It's kind-of chilly in the room.

She's not thinking, because all her brain is putting together is that she's still tired. She grabs the jacket off the back of the chair and pulls it over herself. She goes back to sleep.

Rex and Cody wake up together.

They are their actual age, which is to say they're both about eleven.

They find themselves on Mandalore. In the more wild areas.

(let me believe that there are parts of the planet that aren't covered in city)

(also, this is the Mandalore in the cartoons)

They find a teen trying to wake them both up. Rex has absolutely no clue what's going on. Cody has a vague idea, because this girl looks very similar to a picture he once saw...

Obi-Wan does not fare as well. He is 3.

He wakes up in someone's arms. He's just as tired and sore as the other three. However, he's also got more awareness because he's in someone's arms.

He looks up to see who's carrying him.

He looks around at the people walking with them.

He starts crying. He cannot help this, as he is suddenly flooded with Emotions, and he is Smol. Smol = harder to handle Emotions.

Because Qui-Gon is walking right next to him, tapping away on a holopad as they go. Dooku is on his other side, on a comm call where both parties sound very tired.

And Obi-Wan is being held... by Obi-Wan.

So, yeah, not that great for a suddenly Smol Obi.

Now, Anakin is 8, so he's better off in that perspective.

But he wakes up on some remote planet without anyone around. He just was in the middle of a group, so he ends up kinda panicking.

Then he hears something coming towards him, and he panics more.

He's Tiny! He's Smol! He's massively at a disadvantage against attacks! He can't fight off whatever is on a planet like this!

It's Mace (and Depa).

Anakin, however, doesn't realize this. He has gone Feral.

Back to the beginning

Jango Fett has been very busy w/Important Mand'alor Paperwork all day. He finally has time to go and relax a little, and he makes it all the way down to the exit before he realizes:

It is really cold outside. He is not in armor bc he was planning to only do paperwork today (though he still has many weapons). When one plans to stay in the same room for almost the entire day, one does not wear normal garb.

That said, he has no protection from the cold. He forgot his jacket upstairs. He rushes back up to his office.

He distinctly remembers that he left the jacket on the back of his chair, not on the seat.

He also is wondering what that lump is.

He arms himself, grabs some of his "emergency" armor plating, and walks over to the chair.

He lifts his jacket up, expecting a bomb or some paperwork that fell off the desk, or something logical.

He does not expect to find a tiny Togruta child clinging onto the fabric, whining as they're woken up by his yanking of the jacket.

Jango's brain stutters for a moment, then he kicks into action.

First things first, he wraps the jacket around the Togruta. They thankfully stay asleep. Then he turns up the heat, because he knows the office has gotten colder in the twenty minutes or so he's been gone, and Togruta are from warm temperate zones.

He decides to call, in this order, a guard who can help him watch the Togruta (they did break in, after all), a medic to check the Togruta’s health, and the first person he can find in his contacts that might know an adult Togruta.

Next group

Rex and Cody manage to get the teen to stop fussing over them for long enough to ask for her name.

Her, clearly lying, but that’s understandable: My name is Ine.

Cody, who knows exactly who this is now: Oh, kriff. You’re Duchess Satine, aren’t you? Kriff.

Rex: Wait, Satine? As in the General’s Satine?

Satine, now very suspicious and reaching for her stunner: I think you need proper medical attention.

Cody, looking down at their eleven-year-old selves: Yeah, I think so, too.

They agree on one thing, at least.

Next

Obi-Wan is crying. Loudly, uncontrollably, w/too many Emotions to even care that he’s supposed to be an adult rn.

Other Obi-Wan is very uncomfortable, bc he doesn’t know how to handle children too well.

They found this kid unconscious in the middle of a ruined, abandoned town.

Obi-Wan was meant to hold this kid while Qui-Gon did research and Master Dooku tried to convince the Council that it was entirely necessary to bring the kid back to Coruscant. Granted, they can still give the child to the locals at any time before they make it back to their ship, but apparently the Force is Being Loud.

The Force was Being Loud when it told Master Dooku to come along.

The Force was Being Loud when it led them to that town.

Qui-Gon and Dooku have argued fifteen and a half times on this mission, and an additional six times on the flight here. Obi-Wan is trying to mediate but also doesn’t want to overstep. The Force is Being Loud, sure, but the kid is also Force-sensitive so it might be something off that.

He didn’t argue with holding the kid bc he thought that it was better than being caught between the Masters.

Holding a crying child and trying to get two adults to stop arguing bc they can’t decide how to comfort the kid is not better.

Obi-Wan keeps walking past them to the ship with this baby. He does what he’s seen some crechemasters do to the younglings. The kid eventually calms a little, and he belatedly realizes that both Masters are still behind him, not with him.

NEXT

Anakin is panakin.

He is currently in a state of Feralness. His instincts have kicked into overdrive, full-on Survival Mode.

Depa and Mace do not know this. All they know is that there was suddenly an extremely powerful Force presence that started fading quickly (bc Anakin started shielding).

They burst into sight of Anakin and are suddenly attacked by all four feet and some of Feral Force Child.

It’s all they can do for a good minute or so to avoid losing their fingers, eyes, or untorn clothes.

Mace puts a few things together very quickly.

This planet is uninhabited by any sapient life. Therefore, this child is utterly alone. This child also is clearly strong in the Force, and knows how to hide their presence, for whatever reasons. Mace is a Jedi, and therefore is bound by certain duties.

He decides it is his Duty to get this kid back to Coruscant safely.

Back to the beginning

Ahsoka wakes up to find a familiar face looking down at her. She’s still tired, but not as much. She’s very aware of her size, and does a few quick observations.

She does not fully know who Jango Fett is. She does know that some clones run off bc they hate war and weren’t given a choice an- no. Not going down that path yet.

Ahsoka assumes, semi-incorrectly, that she was shrunk or deaged and somehow found by a rogue clone.

She knows it’s a rogue clone bc they’ve got weird armor.

So she does the logical thing and tries to comfort this clone bc he looks really worried and kinda panicked. She stands up on the spinny chair and tries to balance and he practically lunges to help her and she can’t help but giggle, but it comes out in a bunch of chirps instead.

The clone picks her up and looks really awkward so she pats his face bc that’s the best she can do bc she doesn’t want to disprove the fact she’s two yet.

For all she knows, this rogue clone has no idea she’s actually a Commander in the GAR.

He doesn’t, but for different reasons than she thinks.

NEXT

Rex and Cody go with Satine to the city. They have introduced themselves and said that they were separated from their aliit. They don't know where said aliit is.

Satine is highly suspicious by this point, bc these two kids recognized her with only part of her name, and they were alone, and they speak Basic with Mando'a thrown in.

Basically, she thinks that they're children of people like Death Watch, but she's too young to know that Death Watch isn't really into children.

Rex and Cody get checked over by a medic, but also start trying to get access to some working comms. They are refused on account of being suspicious children (which makes them a little upset bc they're not children)(Well, they are, but not those types of children)

They have not yet figured out that they are in the past, bc Cody and Rex only know that General Kenobi talks about Duchess Satine, and they know about Padme Amidala from General Skywalker, so clearly this Duchess is really young and the General simply viewed her as someone he wants to protect.

They are very very very wrong.

NEXT

Obi-Wan manages to calm himself somewhat now that it's just him and... him.

He is three, and he knows roughly what's happening, so he knows he should probably act like a 3yo.

Unfortunately, he has very little understanding of how child ages work. 3 is smart enough to go up the stairs and communicate with adults, but def. not old enough to speak sentences that are 15 words long with at least 2 5-syllable words.

Fortunately, his older (younger?) self doesn't know children either.

So when this 3yo starts telling him that he needs to leave the two Masters on the planet and head to Tatooine really fast, Obi-Wan is more concerned about the idea than the strangeness of "this is a 3yo suggesting this".

Obi-Wan is really good at convincing people. Including himself. He manages to get Padawan Kenobi to leave supplies where the ship is supposed to be and head towards Tatooine.

He says that the Masters will be fine, they know how to survive, and they need to be alone together in order to work through all the tension. Plus, it gives them plenty of time to talk to the Council.

Toddler Kenobi also tells himself that he'll take the blow and say he used a mind-trick.

Padawan Kenobi doesn't believe him yet, but Toddler Kenobi smiles like a very smug adult and says "you'll get there eventually". What he truly means is up in the air.

NEXT

Anakin, since waking up, knows much less than everyone else. Which is saying something.

He knows he's Smol. He knows he's Alone. He knows Someone has come and they are Strangers.

One thing about Anakin's instincts is that they are very much Survival Based. He was Feral when he joined the Jedi, only he had to hold those instincts back for most of his life bc of being a slave.

A slave cannot bite someone who approaches and Vibes Wrong.

By the time he felt okay with being Feral Out Loud, he also felt safe enough that he didn't need to activate his Survival Mode.

What I'm trying to say is that Anakin does not realize how strong his Feral Instincts are. He has absolutely no control over them rn.

When Mace decides to Help this child, this child is trying to Maul them.

Mace makes a small ruckus to draw Anakin's attention to him so Depa can move back. Depa pulls out her saber now that she won't hit the kid. The kid notices Purple and Bright and Lightsaber.

Lorge Jedi Mind says this is Good. Safe. Jedi.

Smol Feral Brain says this is Dangerous. Mean.

Anakin freezes on sight and just starts tracking Depa's saber. She does one of those things where a snake or something is focused and the person waves the fire or the food slowly to make sure the wolf is watching it and usually they toss the thing away so the snake follows it.

Mace instead takes this opportunity to wrap Anakin in his cloak. And Depa's cloak. And the spare ones in their bags.

Feral Child is not happy with this. Feral Child is also unable to scratch or Maul or do things other than bite and snarl.

Depa carries Feral Child while Mace comms the Temple and they walk back to their ship.

The Temple is having a field day.

First, one of their Shadows reports that a well-known bounty hunter got an emergency message from a pal of theirs that said Jango Fett needs help learning Togruta childcare.

Then they get a call from Dooku, which is not the mission report they wanted.

Yoda: Mission report, you have?

Dooku: Of a sort. We successfully spoke with the locals, then went to investigate a rather large disturbance.

Mundi: A disturbance?

Dooku: We found the source to be a Force-sensitive child.

Mundi: So you are here to ask for more time on the planet?

Dooku:...

Yoda: Bring the child back, you wish to?

Dooku, unapologetic: He is of an acceptable age to be admitted into the Temple, and no other beings were around at the time to entertain the idea of there being guardians.

The Council is sighing and muttering bc this is a Disaster Lineage (and they haven't even met the other two yet). Their call is interrupted by the sound of crying and Dooku saying the child's woken up.

Then there's another Shadow who sends a message saying a set of twins that seem like Death Watch were found by the heir of Clan Kryze.

Finally, to top everything off, they get a call from Mace Windu and Depa Billaba. Two very dignified, not-at-all chaotic Jedi from a perfectly respectable lineage.

Yeah, most of the Council and the Order itself forgets that Yoda had a hand in raising Windu. Yoda "Feral Grandpa" who throws children at every problem. Grandson isn't doing too well? Throw a child his way. Other grandchild is struggling to cope with grief? Throw another child their way. Oh, there's a war going on and newest grandchild is angry a lot? Here's a child!

The entire lineage has a soft spot for children.

Anyways...

Mace: Our mission was a success. We found the artifact and both specimens.

Koth: How long until your return?

Mace:...

Yoda: Found a child, you did?

Gallia: Master Yoda, that's a rather illogical guess. Once is unusual, twice is-

Mace: Oh, did Qui-Gon find a child as well?

Yoda, smugly: Bringing the child back, are you?

Depa, from the background, after a rather loud snarl is heard: We do not bite things, young one.

*more snarling*

Mace: We have no reason to believe he was not alone.

Tiin: *deep sighing*

Mundi: *mild confusion noises*

Koon, eagerly: Please send photos of this youngling. For the archives, of course.

Mace, nodding sagely: Of course.

*extremely loud yowl* *sounds of Mace turning*

Mace: DEPA!

Depa: He nearly bit off my finger!

Mace: That doesn’t mean you pinch him!

Depa: What else am I supposed to do?!

*sudden exclamation filled solely of Mando’a, Huttese and Twi’leki curses*

Mace: So, I don’t know if he speaks Basic, but Master Che should be able to talk him through a check-up.

Yeah, several Council members are experiencing headaches now. Normally, they would have some empathy for Mace and his own stress-induced migraines. They currently do not.

Right after that call, Dooku calls back to say that Obi-Wan has left without them.

Mundi: He left the child with you, right?

Dooku:

Mundi: He left the child with you, right?

Obi-Wan did not leave himself with the Masters. Obi-Wan has listened to Mini-Obi and is off on some wild space adventure to a criminal-run planet.

The toddler won’t stop staring at him. He asks for a name. The kid says to call him Ben.

OW: Is that your name?

“Ben”: It is a name I am called :)

OW: That isn’t what I meant.

“Ben”: I know :)

Ben also keeps staring at OW’s lightsaber. OW decides to make sure the kid doesn’t start playing with it when he isn’t looking.

MEANWHILE

Ahsoka has figured out that she was really very oh-so wrong. She’s on Mandalore. As in, the Mandalore that is under Jango Fett. Bc she’s with Jango Fett. He’s holding her hand bc she was nervous about the strange looking medic (who was just wearing armor, but not clone armor and civies don’t wear armor.)

Ahsoka knows very little about Jango Fett. Clone Buir, Mandalorian leader, tried to kill Master Kenobi. Also dead.

He asks how she got in. She shrugs. She is too small to fight back so she can’t let him know anything. Whatever everything is right now. But also, he doesn’t seem mean or evil or anything.

Oh yeah. Skyguy said that Mandos love children. That's why the clones were so protective of her, even with Skyguy on her side of the argument.

She decides to use this to her advantage. She can probably get herself a comm, and enough time to call the Temple. If she can convince them she at least knows a Jedi, then they can come get her and she'll work from there.

ELSEWHERE

Rex and Cody are getting really upset. This Duchess is really nice, but she's acting really weird and keeps insisting she's not actually called Duchess. No one will give them a comm, they keep getting weird looks for speaking Mando'a even though they're on Mandalore, and Satine's father keeps mentioning a Fett. Maybe Boba's set a bad example again.

Rex starts to fall asleep, to his chagrin. He's too bored, sitting and getting some abnormally extensive check-up. Cody is fine, but he's used to the calm that is General Kenobi. Rex usually has a Togruta teen in the vents and a Human that is never where he's supposed to be.

Rex does, in fact, fall asleep. His "twin" starts glaring when a doctor goes to wake him up. Cody makes it clear that his brother is like Cat: once asleep, you do not wake.

Satine is giggling, but trying not to let the others hear. Cody does. Cody looks at her. They have a stare-off.

Cody goes back to glaring at the doctors. He will not admit to any emotions besides Protect™.

BACK TO

Obi-Wan and Ben have made it to Tatooine.

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 5.3

"Oh? I didn't realize I would have visitors today," a mysterious blonde entered the cave, and you tensed despite the pain shooting through your shoulder.

"Oh, hey Albedo!" Paimon greeted in a cheerful voice.

"Aether, may I inquire to the reasons you've stopped by?  I don't recall sending for you recently."  Albedo set his bag on the table and unloaded it's contents haphazardly. He handled his drawings with care, unlike the rest of the vials and glasses of unknown substances.

"We were running from the Fatui," he scratched his head and avoided the alchemist's knowing smirk.

"I'm not even surprised at this point.  Why, you seem to have a honing instinct when it comes to--" His eyes landed on your bloody shoulder.  "--them.  Are you alright, Miss?"

"Me?"  It was a stupid response considering you were the only girl in the room, but his sudden shift in attention threw you off.  "U-uh, yeah.  Bennett patched me up."

"Hi, Albedo!"  Bennett waved excitedly at the familiar Mondstatian.

Albedo returned with a nod, and walked towards you.  "If you don't mind, I would like to take a look at your injury."

"Oka--Ow!"  You bit your tongue when he quickly placed a hand against your injured arm without exercising much caution.  Xiao took a step toward him in response.  

"Apologies." Albedo removed his hand and caught the sudden amber glow that enveloped your eyes, and leaned forward to inspect them.  His supposed guilt for agitating your wound was instantly transformed into curiosity.

H-he's really close, you found yourself leaning backwards to ensure a safe distance from his face.

"That's peculiar," he commented, seemingly more interested in your glowing eyes than your injury now.  "I haven't seen anything like this before.  May I run some tests?"

"What kind of tests?"  Xiao's protectiveness took over and he hid you behind him.  First the Fatui, and now this stranger?  Just how many people were after the two of you?

"Don't worry, he's safe," Paimon teased the concerned yaksha and immediately earned a glare from him.

"For the most part," Bennett and Aether finished under their breaths and made nervous eye contact.

"A simple experiment for the sake of science," Albedo stood and gathered a few cotton swabs from one of the cabinets, then a small needle.  He carefully sanitized it before returning to you.  "Are you also like Aether?"  He only referred to the otherworldliness of the traveler.

"No, I'm from Teyvat."  You watched him as he placed swiped a cotton swab against the drying blood on your shoulder.  He in turn watched for a reaction in your eyes, but found nothing.  He repeated the same procedure, this time closer to your pulsating stitches.  Your muscles tensed at the faint dull pain.  A faint glow emanated in your irises and even though it was barely noticeable he still managed to catch it.

"I see," he nodded to your answer and placed the swabs in separate vials.  Then, while you were still focused on his face, grabbed the small needle.  He turned to face you again.  "How long have your eyes been doing that?"

"Not that long," you caught Xiao's silent warning of 'do not speak of this' out of the corner of your eye.  "Er, I don't know."

Albedo also glanced in the direction of the man that was so obviously overprotective of you and realized the two of you had the exact same eye color.  He didn't say anything about that, though.  "I see."  He quickly pricked your shoulder with the needle when you had your guard down, and you almost backhanded him out of pure instinct.

"Ow!"  You glared at him, and annoyance bubbled inside you when he smiled back in both satisfaction and awe.  

"Experiment one is complete."  He stood and made his way to the table with the three vials of cotton swabs.  Then he proceeded to pour separate liquids into each, shake them gently, and place them back down on the table.  He watched the mixtures settle.

"What do you mean, 'complete?'" You growled and dabbed the miniscule blood off of your skin.

"Your eyes glow in response to pain," he stated simply as he eyed the vials.  "A strange reaction that is tied to a human's fight-or-flight response.  I wonder what else they react to."  Once the mixtures settled, he inspected them with the utmost attention.  He wrote his notes down on a sheet of paper.

"Well?"  Aether joined him at the table.

"May I take a sample from you as well?"  Albedo immediately turned to Xiao, who stood to your left.

"No."  I don't like this at all.  His eyes downcast to you, conflicted.

"Alright, then.  Do your eyes also glow?"

"No."

Albedo looked to you for confirmation, and you shook your head.  Hm, perhaps it is just a coincidence that they have the same eyes, then.  He returned his gaze to the samples.  "What strange results," he murmured to himself.  "You say you are human, yet your blood..."  It isn't like mine or Aether's DNA, either.  What biological component resides within you, I wonder?  "I cannot say for certain what is within you without conducting more experiments, but seeing as though you are running from Fatui, I suppose I'll have to wait for a more opportune time.  Please, return while you have a spare moment."

......................................................

"Your cover was blown?"  Signora raised a brow at her fellow harbinger.  "How did you manage that, Childe?"

"The target managed to convince the others that I'm being dishonest with my intentions.  I can't continue with them further," he lied through his teeth.  While it didn't play out as he had intended, it most definitely resulted in the rest of the adventure team's knowledge of the Fatui's plans if they hadn't known already.

"The Tsaritsa approved my plans," the woman peered down over the balcony.  "Your failure to keep our operation a secret will not impact them, but be aware they'll come back to bite you later."

"There's one other thing.  She received a vision."

"A vision?"  This brought her gaze back to Childe.  "From who?"

"The Tsaritsa.  Was that part of the plan?"

"Not at all," her eyes narrowed in the direction of Snezhnaya.  "What was she--No, no matter.  The plan shall proceed.  A little birdie told me the target and her little posse will be staying here for the time being.  We'll strike tonight," Signora surveyed the City of Mondstat beneath her.

......................................

The adventure team entered Angel's share as the sun set behind the hills.  Bennett had gone to check on all his dads at the adventure guild.  The tavern was teeming with the chatter of loud drunkards, melodies of a lone bard near the entrance, and the clinking of glasses.  Oh, and the hiccups of an incredibly drunk young boy that sat at the bar.

"Ah, the delicious--hic-- wine of Mondstat never ceases to amaze me!"  The boy raised his glass in the air, nearly spilling it over the rim.  His red cheeks provided a striking contrast to his green clothing choice.

Diluc stood on the other end of the barrier with an unamused yet slightly impressed expression.  He noticed your team's entering, and let out an exasperated sigh.  "This is glass fifty-two.  It's been less than half an hour since he started."

"H-How is that possible?!"  You stammered in concern.  "And why is he allowed to drink? He's practically Bennett's age!"

"U-Uh, well you see,"  Paimon fidgeted.  "He has a very high alcohol tolerance!"

Noticing your still-confused expression, Aether leaned in to whisper in your ear, "I'll explain later."  The noise that floated around the room concealed his words from Venti.

"Need anything to drink? Non-alcoholic of course," Diluc's eyes scanned the group until they landed on Xiao.

"I don't drink."  The yaksha left the group to sit at a table in a secluded corner.

"Not very sociable today," Paimon mused.  

"You received a vision," Diluc caught the glint of the pendant hanging from your belt loop.  "Congratulations."

"Thank you!"  You watched as he excused himself to pour a customer another drink.

"Ah, Trav--hic--eler!  It's so good to see you again!"  The boy noticed Aether's presence and waved you all over.  

"Hey Venti," Aether greeted with a slightly nervous grin.  "Long time no see."

"Yes!  Are you old enough to try the--hic-- wine yet? Oh?" His eyes looked to you.  "Hello! Are you a friend of Aether's?  Why don't we all share a drink together?"

"Oh, I'm not twenty-one just yet," you declined, eyes flitting to Xiao.  "Excuse me."

You sat across from Xiao and struggled to come up with small talk. He had been quieter than usual ever since you showed your vision to the group.  "What's on your mind?"

It took several minutes of prodding for him to finally respond to you.  "What were you doing in the moments that led to you receiving the vision?"

"What was I doing?" You were taken aback, but not surprised that he was still cynical of the circumstances.  "Well..." I was trying to protect you.  You wanted to convey those words but were still embarrassed of your actions.  Maybe you didn't deserve a god's recognition for barging into danger like it was normal.  A glum expression took over your face as you slumped in your seat.  You glanced up at him, only to find his cheeks slightly tinged red and that he was avoiding your eyes.  "What?"

"You really are one of the incompetent ones," he grumbled loud enough for you to hear.  

That's when you remembered he could hear every single prayer and wish about him.  It was your turn to blush now.  "U-Uh...um.  I didn't mean any of that!"  

Xiao's eyes flicked to yours, completely unconvinced of your lie.  "Of course."  You hung your head in embarrassment.

"I--Uh," you stood from your seat.  "I'm going to get some air!"  You climbed the stairs to the balcony on the second floor and shut the door behind you.

The cool air of the early night seemed to wipe away the stench of alcohol that had already begun to cling to your clothes.  It was a peaceful evening, what with the bright stars that shone in the sky and the occasional drunk laughter that leaked from the balcony door into the open air.  You admired the constellations for awhile until you felt the air get colder and heard the creaking of a floorboard to your right.  

"Sh--You scared me!"  You let out a nervous laughter when you saw the woman rise from her balcony seat.  "Sorry, I thought I was the only one up here."

"It's easy to be caught off-guard when you're distracted," the woman's lips curled upward slightly.  She made her way toward you, and you could finally make out the details of her figure.

She's dressed a little too formal for a tavern, you noted, yet you still admired how pretty she was.  White hair tied into an updo, a flowing gown that showed off her bust, she was downright gorgeous.  Still, you couldn't help but shiver.  Why was the air so chilly all of a sudden?

"You're not from around here," the woman observed.  "What brings you to Mondstat?"

"I," you started feeling uncomfortable in this dark setting, but didn't want to be rude. "I'm just passing through.  And you?  You don't look like you're from Mondstat."  You crossed your arms to trap the remaining warmth from the tavern around your body.  This woman showed more skin than you, but she didn't appear bothered in the slightest.

"An excellent observation on your part."  She stopped once she was maybe two feet from you.  "We were also passing through.  Isn't that right, Childe?"

Your blood ran cold in an instant, and Signora watched your face pale with satisfaction.

"I think I like it better in Liyue if I'm being honest," the voice you didn't want to hear greeted from behind your ear.  When did he get so close?  "Ambition over freedom.  But nothing compares to the beauty of our homeland."

You spun on your heel and simultaneously began to manifest a polearm in your nondominant hand.  You weren't quick enough, and Childe caught your arm.  Your heartbeat rushed in your ears as time appeared to slow down.

"You're still injured," Childe flashed a proud smile at the sight of the wound he had given you.  "You can't fight."

"Xia--!"  You opened your mouth to scream, but a feminine hand covered your mouth and restrained you.  It all happened too quick for your mind to comprehend, and the next thing you knew, she opened a portal in midair and was dragging you towards it.  Xiao!  Help!

"Prepare yourself, Childe," Signora warned.

"It'd be my pleasure," he conjured his blades and faced the door right as it was kicked down with a powerful force.  Xiao and Aether burst through.

"Let her go!"  Aether charged at Childe, giving Xiao the chance to aim for Signora's head.

"Xiao!" You managed to pull Signora's hand off your mouth and stretched your arm out to him.

He pushed off the balcony towards you, and was instead greeted by the hollow night air.  He crashed into the ground and sprung to his feet again.  The portal had closed.  Childe was gone.

You were gone.

.......................

Up Next:  Darkness, a meeting with an archon, and a quartet of harbingers.

[cherripeach]

Chapter 8

Little Match Maker

Summary: Your life motto is “I have the power of god and anime on my side, don’t mess with me,” and you stand by that with your life. No human, magician, or random creature could ever stop your firm belief in it.

However, getting transported to this world that seemed to turn your already bad luck worse was not what you wanted to be in your life story, but you made the most of it. Making friends, enemies, and disasters, you were in your prime in this world, and so you decided to help as many people as you could flourish, at least what you believed to be.

Prologue 19-20: *Mario Theme Song* *kid bangs head on desk*

Chapter Summary: Finally, a solid moment of calm.

Warnings: Curse words, jokes about death, jokes about coma

Words: 3.3k

Relationships: developing but future twstxreader

The three of you began your journey back to the mirror. All of you are more damaged and much more of a mess than the cottage.

Grim was satisfied with whatever he ate, so much, in fact that he was situated on your shoulder, rubbing his belly and even burping in your ear.

As tired as you are, you still could not knock Grim off of your shoulder. Petting his head, however, did put more energy back into your energy bar. You could even hear the slightest pur coming from him.

Ace and Deuce both trudged behind you back to the mirror. Ace appeared remarkably more beat up than Deuce, but neither appeared put together.

Once all three of you finally stood before the mirror door, you could breathe a sigh of relief because there was no more spooky forest anymore.

After you got into the school, you allowed Ace and Deuce to lead the group because you had no clue where the Headmaster would be located. You three went up over four flights of stairs and through like ten hallways, and you finally arrived at a set of ginormous, old, brown double doors.

The three of you stopped in front of the door, and Ace held up his hand and knocked.

When nothing was heard or no one came, all three of you walked inside.

Headmaster Crowley was sitting at his desk, slouched over a stack of paper, writing and reading from the paper in front of him. Even when you, Deuce, Ace, and Grim walked in (even though Grim was on your hip), the headmaster did not even look up at you.

It was not until Ace coughed into his hand that the headmaster’s head popped up to stare in awe at your group. He could not even put words together as he was just lost staring at the three of you. His mouth even moved some as if it was trying to find some words to say. If you could see his eyes, you were sure that they would be bulging out of his head by now.

Grim flung his arms up in the air yelling, “Hey, we went into that scary mine and got you the crystal thing. At least, say something!”

The Headmaster flew up out of his seat, “Eh!? You really went to Dwarfs' Mine to find a magic crystal?”

“Eeeh?” The three idiots and you all jumped back.

The headmaster shot a look at all four of you idiots to let him speak and then shook his head, “I really didn't think… You'd not only go but then come back with a crystal in hand. I quietly completed the paperwork for your expulsion.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” As nothing was going your way, you may as well mess more up, so you began your lecture, “I have spent all of my afternoon and most of my night babying and taking care of these three imbeciles, so they stop whining about everything. I also had to actually get them to work together to defeat a monster that is against safety standards for a principal to let the students go up against. All without a decent meal, sleep, or a shower. I look like and feel like shit and now have more bruises and scratches on my body than your number of mistakes in the last twenty-four hours.” You quited down some If I could, “And if someone doesn’t try to cooperate and help me, I’ll start sobbing right here.”

The principal was left stunned, but quickly shook it off, “I apologize for your grievances, but what do you mean by ‘monster’. And more importantly what do you mean by ‘work together’?”

‘Did he not hear a word I just said??’ Your mind would not allow you to forget this moment.

Ace popped into the conversation now, “There was a monster there!

It was super gross and crazy strong, it was awful!” He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

The headmaster placed his hands on his desk and leaned forward, “Could you explain it in more detail? And also tell me how you worked together to defeat it?”

Ace, Deuce, and you started on your long, treacherous (As Grim described it) journey and battle to get the magic crystal which was still gripped in your hand.

The handmaster let out a chuckle, “hoh hooh. A mysterious monster living in the coal mine. The four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?”

Deuce and Ace could beg to differ:

Ace crossed his arms and turned away, “We didn't really work together…”

Deuce could only look at his feet, “It was more like our goals were aligned…”

The Headmaster grabbed the clothes near his heart and slowly out of his mouth came booming sobs and howls.

Grim faced you and inquired, “What's with this guy? Why is an adult bursting into tears!?”

You shook your head, “To be honest, I don’t know nor do I care. I just want to go back home.”

The Headmaster shot back up from his slouched cry to gaze at all four of you, “In all these years that I've been Headmaster… For the day to come that students from Night Raven College go hand-in-hand to face and defeat their enemy!”

Deuce gave a shout of, “What?! I did not hold this guy’s hand!”

And that just would be the only thing that Deuce cared about.

Ace was the same as he scowled at Deuce, “I would never do that, gross! But Headmaster, how old are you!?”

The Headmaster dabbed his eyes on a random tissue he pulled out of thin air, “ I am overwhelmed with emotion. This incident confirms it.” He turned to you and spoke your name, “Without a doubt, you have talent as a beast tamer.”

And with you delusions of no sleep, no water, and almost no food, you heard that completely wrong.

“Headmaster, look I’m not one to judge, but that sounds too kinky to be school appropriate.” You signed and shook your hand that was not holding Grim.

Ace and Deuce made wide eyes at you, but the Headmaster just continued on.

He threw his hands out as if he was worshiping himself, “Students of Night Raven College are budding wizards called here by the Dark Mirror. However, they are of a superior class that makes them prideful and egotistical people that have not even the slightest inkling to work with others. Making many of them selfish and centered.”

Grim’s nose wrinkled, “You're really not saying anything good.”

Crowley (Since I finally realize that he does have a name) pointed a finger at you, “You cannot use magic. But, maybe, precisely because you cannot use magic means that you could give instructions to wizards and get them to cooperate. Perhaps that mediocrity is exactly what this school needs right now.”

Ace repeated Grim’s line with furrowed eyebrows, “He’s not saying anything nice, is he?”

Your smile lifted as you locked eyes with Ace, “It’s not like there is anything nice to say about you.”

Headmaster Crowley ignored your discussion but still had a finger pointed at you, “I have no doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this academy. So says my educator-senses. Trappola, Spade. Along with rescinding your expulsion I shall give you the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!“

You paused from your glare of with Ace, “Wait.. what?” Your eyes widened, but Grim’s grip on your cloak tightened.

The other two boys threw in their own remarks and confusion about the situation.

You had gained eye contact with the man for a solid five seconds just to say, “You have gotta be kiddin’ me?” before he spun around with his hands in the same position to worship himself.

He chuckled and nodded, “Yes. For I am exceedingly gracious. But, there is one condition. You cannot use magic. Becoming a wizard is out of the question. You probably will not be able to complete all your lessons. That is why, Grim. You have proven to me that you possess enough talent to become a wizard. Therefore, I shall allow the two of you to enrol together, as one student.”

Grim skirted out of your arms onto the Headmaster’s desk, “I... I can go to this academy too...? Not as a handyman, but as a student?”

Headmaster Crowley turned back around to emphasize to Grim his next lecture topic, “Yes. Provided that! You don't ever let an incident like yesterday occur again! Do we have an agreement?“

Grim snatched the Headmaster’s hand and lobbed it up and down, “Yes, yes, yes.” All before leaping into your arms with a little speckle of a tear in his eyes, “We-we can.”

You ran your hand through the fur on his head, “Yes, we can.”

He sprung up while still in your hold with his hands held high, “I did it!”

The Headmaster opened a drawer and pulled out a piece of cloth, “Well then, I shall give the symbol of your status as a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim.”

Crowley walked over to the two of you and wrapped the collar around Grim’s neck.

Grim began pulling on it and observing all that he could, “Whoa! A magic crystal!?”

The Headmaster bobs his head, “It is the norm for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a 'magic pen' but, you wouldn't be able to grip it in your paws, right? It's a special custom. Aaah... I pay attention to even the smallest details! Aren't I too gracious?”

Grim rocked back and forth in your arms while waving his hands and hitting your face several times, “I did it!! I'm so cool! I got my own special magic crystal collar~”

The Headmaster shook his head and turned to you, “He isn't listening at all...Do you understand? As you can see, Grim is not accustomed to human society. It's up to you to take the rein and supervise him to prevent from causing any more trouble!”

You breathed in and out, “So now you are going to force onto me more responsibilities? Let’s just make me in charge of the country while we are at it”

Ace grabbed your shoulders and cackled, “Aha! Look at you. School's just started, but you're already a supervisor?”

Deuce verbalized his findings, “I see. There's only the two of you in your dorm… so if you've been entrusted with supervising Grim, that makes you a supervisor.”

Ace’s cackle burst through his lips again, “Pufft... Isn't that unheard of? For there to be a supervisor student who is unable to use magic. Nice. It's cool. A supervisor student who is unable to use magic!”

You squinted your eyes, scrunched up your nose, and frowned your lips, “Because this is exactly what I want to do with my life. Of course, not sleep 24/7 or” You tossed the hand not holding Grim up, “Or how about something even better: a coma.”

Ace let go of you and walked around you to get behind you, only to smack your back, “Good luck, supervisor!”

You glared at Ace and murmured, “I’ll steal all of your favorite snacks. I’d say hurt you, but eating your snacks will hurt you mentally.”

Headmaster Crowley snapped his fingers, “I see, a supervisor. I do have a work request, and having a title makes it very convenient... This is wonderful! Supervisor. I entrust you with this. ...This is nicknamed the ‘ghost camera’.”

This camera or whatever was an old camera thing, but you weren’t listening. Your lack of sleep was catching up to you once your brain realized that the stress of being kicked out was gone. Your eyes began to flutter close every couple of seconds and then snap open once you brain processed what was happening. Problem was that you did not understand anything that came out of anyone’s mouth until Ace elbowed you in the ribs.

You caught the headmaster's end of a speech, “Does my graciousness know no bounds?”

You stumbled over your words, “Uh...yeah. Thanks a lot.”

Crowley sat back down, “It is already late. Let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow.

Return to your dormitories, everyone.”

Deuce bowed to the man, “Pardon our intrusion.”

All three of you just about sprinted out of that room.

Once in the hallway, a yawn came out of your mouth.

Deuce sighed, “Haaaaaah... Expulsion rescinded... I'm beat.”

Grim was the only one of you four who did not look like they were about to pass out right now with his singing and skipping, “I start as a student of Night Raven College tomorrow! I'm gonna leave you all in the dust and take the top spot!”

Ace snorted, “You talk big for someone who is only half a full student... Anyway, it's fine.”

“We're classmates tomorrow, Supervisor, Grim.” Deuce bowed to you two.

You just bob your head at the two who started a conversation about how they have to see each other every day even if they don’t want to.

Ace rolled his eyes, turned to you, and smiled somewhat, “Alright, see you tomorrow, Supervisor.”

Grim turned to face you, “We better get back to the dorm! Tomorrow, we aren't the handyman! Finally... Finally! Our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!”

You could only throw a thumbs up to show you were listening to Grim as you followed him to your dorm.

Once at your dorm, Grim sprinted to bed and passed out before you even made it in the room.

You went into your bathroom to check if you had any running water, and what a sight it was when you realized that you still did not have any running water.

You just had to curse that man out, “Fuck that ignorant man! When I get my hands on him, I’ll strangle the bullshit out of him!”

You huffed out and decided that getting out of this cloak was the best option to at least be more comfortable. Taking off the cloak and placing it on the bathroom counter, all you saw was what a mess you had become: you were breaking out again as acne appeared from stress and lack of care, your eye bags could probably hold weights above what your arms could, your lips were in dire need of chapstick, and your hair was probably able to be a grill with all the grease on it.

You slapped your cheeks and struggled to walk downstairs because there was no way you were going to sleep in these conditions without a shower and without proper air conditioning or food for dinner.

You dumped your poor self on the almost destroyed couch and just tried to close your eyes. You only had your eyes close for a minute when you heard a rustling outside of your dorms.

You sat up and surveyed the area making sure no one was inside as if anything important or worth stealing was inside the house, and after you saw no one inside, you checked the window closest to you. All you could see was a cult like gathering of fire flies and a tall ass figure in view.

And in your haze of delusions you went outside to greet the being.

You stepped out the door and down a couple of stairs to get a clear view of the male, and from what you could assume he was not bad on the eyes. He looked familiar, but your mind was blacking for a minute there; The horns were an odd part, but I mean there were furries here.

The male finally noticed you when you tripped down the last step and almost fell on your face, but you didn’t, so you didn’t embarrass yourself in front of the male who looked like he could kill you which in your eyes is the one thing that makes a man.

The male and you finally locked eyes causing you to awkwardly smile at him while he just put on a confused face that you would see on a dog, and then, your brain connected the dots.

The horned puppy decided to start the conversation, “Child of man, why do you look sick?”

Kinda hurt, not gonna lie, but you have to hide it, “Wow, puppy, and to think I thought you liked me.”

The male’s face fell, “I never meant to offend you. Your appearance is concerning, however, and I do not want you to be facing any trouble here.”

“Nothing you can do, dude.” You shook your head, but you had an idea, “I mean, unless you can either let me borrow your shower or fix my water…” You threw in your sad eyes to make it more appealing.

The male was taken aback, “Your water is not working?”

“Nope.” You popped the ‘p.’

The male gazed at your house, “I hope to be of some use to you with your troubles.”

You snorted at his response and began to walk to the house, “Well, dude, I’ve always wanted a boyfriend…” You raised your eyebrows at him.

The male’s face contorted in confusion, “I do not believe that I could offer any help at finding another for you.”

You shook your head, “You know what, let’s just go fix my water.”

You two finally entered the dorm and headed to the basement where the water tank was.

You pointed at the water tank, “I don’t know what to do. Please work your magic, magic man.”

The horned male pulled out his pen from his pocket and murmured some words only for a bright green light to appear and fly onto the water tank.

After a couple of seconds, you could hear water flowing into and out of the water tank.

You jumped onto the tall male and squeezed his neck to both hold on and show your gratitude, “You are the absolute best person I have ever met. I could just kiss you right now!”

The male stood there in your arms waiting to be let go you guess, but since you have not had a hug in more than a day you were going to take full advantage of this. You squash his neck between your arms and finally, when you heard a cough, you slowly began to let go.

“Really, thanks dude. I don't know what I would do without you.” You smiled up at the male in your appreciation.

The male bowed to you, “It was not a problem, child of man. I do not need your gratitude.”

You slapped his arm, “Oh, shut up! You are amazing and definitely need my thanks.”

The male shook his head, “It is time for me to go back home, child of man. I hope you are blessed with a great night.”

You walked with the male back upstairs and out the door. He waved goodbye and headed to two figures in the distance. One reminded you of sleep beauty as you named him.

You also found this as a great time to embarrass the horned male, “Since you fixed my water, I’ll give you a free pass for whatever you want in the future. And I mean whenever. But thanks so muchhhhhhh!” You yelled at the males with your hands cupped to your mouth.

The taller of the two other boys, the one who you did not know and was not sleeping beauty, was being held back by sleeping beauty for some reason.

You just threw your shoulders up and walked back inside ready to take a shower.

And the shower was the best one you ever had. If only you could get a change of clothes.

[fishmongeringstudies]

twenty three: after the end of the song the singer's voice travels down the hallway into the room at the other end, where god is braiding a skein of light into your hair

it's a five minute walk from the apartment in singapore to the subway station. after exiting the building, take a right, wait for the red light to turn, then keep walking until you see a sleek gray building rising out of the pavement at the end of the path. the station is underneath. take the escalator, elevator, or the stairs. all three of them will dispense you in the same wide underground space with the polished marble floor. buy a ticket or three. walk through the gantry. head down another flight of stairs, and then another, until you arrive, at last, at the promised place.

i'm told america is a country of cars. since the invention of the gas-powered vehicle in 1886 it has been unable to rid itself of this idea, this dream of flying, faster than light being chased out of the sunset, through suburbs, cities, and towns, and so to prove its ephemeral strength to an audience which wasn't looking, the distance between each grew wider. the average american spends nearly an hour behind the steering wheel each day. in the spring my friend told me, while picking a grilled cheese sandwich apart with a fork, that he drove eight hours to get to college.

it takes less than an hour to drive from one end of singapore to the other. if the traffic is good and you don't get lost in the central business district, staring down week-old acai joints and cafes full of shimmering mass-produced wall decor, it could take less. it took me an hour and a half to crawl from the west coast to the east on a weekday morning. i went by train, bus, and foot.

motion proves existence. if i can bring this body to five different points on a map then i have left a mark on all the places in between, in each footprint pressed into the soft dirt of each route. to exist in confinement is to be visible from one place only. and that place is hell.

this morning the elevator smelled like someone threw up in it. when i stepped inside with my laundry hamper slung over my shoulder i didn't notice the smell because i was too busy making brief but awkward eye contact with the other person who had been waiting for the elevator, who whispered once the door slid shut in a voice like ginger ale poured over a bed of pearls, 'first floor?' then pressed the button with a manicured nail. the elevator dumped us on the first floor and we walked off in opposite directions. after dumping a week's worth of sticky summer heat in the wash, i came back. and so did the smell of vomit.

today is saturday, which means last night things happened in this building that i don't know about and have no desire to look into. at about midnight i heard someone screaming from some distance away and looked outside to see a skinny figure tearing down the sidewalk that led up to our dorm, pinwheeling their arms like a madman or a pigeon with a bad case of flight anxiety. they sounded like someone had put the rosetta stone through a voice distortion program. behind them, out of sight, came the echo of high-pitched, shrieking laughter. after a moment, they stopped swinging their arms and turned to stare back down the empty, moonlit path. WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING AT, HUH? they bellowed, like a god. i looked away from my window.

they say college is about trying things you will regret and doing them with a brand of stupid fearless pride unique to the peculiar creature that we call the college student anyway, because nineteen year olds don't know what fear looks, sounds, or tastes like. the logic behind this is as follows. the corporate workplace doesn't tolerate individuality on principle, so if every kid's going to have an obligatory three hour long soul-searching indie film shot about their life then they might as well do it in a controlled setting along with a thousand other kids who are going through the same thing. some of them may be film majors. in which case, your indie film will be very good. some of them may be engineering majors. in which case your indie film will be very bad. regardless, you're guaranteed to come out of your choice of higher education money-making machine with something to tell your parents that'll make them bawl their eyes out and send you, cherub-cheeked and smiling, to your room.

they say college will change your life. i know because i said it. i wrote a poem about it. when i was eighteen i said i was going to take a bottle and a bottle-opener and then i was going to hop on a plane to america and then- fireworks and stars. the disneyland effect. step through these gates and all your anxieties will go away. everyone will live forever. your grandfather doesn't wish you were dead. and magic, oh, magic lives right here, under the skin of the clavicle, where all wishes are made. mouth on neck. a resuscitation activity.

but someone needs to cut the grass. each morning at eight a man in a green vest takes a lawnmower and drives it up and down the football field across from this building. the lawnmower is loud. it reverberates in my head and makes it hard to concentrate on pretty much anything, so i get out my earplugs and i sit there in the static and resign myself to half an hour of nothing. i can only begin to imagine what it must be like to be the person sitting there, at the heart of all the commotion, making eight am on a saturday morning sound like a symphony orchestra. and then i stop trying. because imagining pain is nearly the same thing as feeling it. because our brains know how to do more than they're worth. we could replace the imagination with a photograph and a virtual-reality headset and it wouldn't live up to half the stuff that goes on behind the eyelids, to the cinematic masterpiece that we wake up to each morning. this is why we tell such good stories. this is also why we struggle to finish them.

this morning i woke up with a turquoise ocean on my tongue. in my sleep i walked to the end of the world, where a single island stood guard over a sliver of sea so bright it hurt my eyes to look at it. the island was populated with ferns and palm trees and flowers in shades of pink and silver, brimming with a vitality that stood frozen in a motif of life itself, the ferns not swaying, the flowers empty of bees. it looked like a place you went to die. we stood there staring at this snapshot of death until my mother and sister got up and began to run back towards the center of the world, to its beating red heart, and i scrambled to catch up to them but everything in my backpack had fallen out somewhere in between reaching this raft of terror and stopping to look up at the gray sky and i began to panic. i bent over to pick up notebooks, pencils, a crumpled water bottle, all the while begging the others to wait for me. just give me a minute. just give me a little more time.

under the assumption that people can and always will hurt other people, every relationship becomes a matter of discerning who will make the first cut and who will be the one left standing on stage, clutching a bloody arm and calling out for a friend who cannot reply. even the other half of your soul, narrated as such by the poets, can seek to end you. after all, self-destruction is in vogue again. it is the ultimate act of defiance against a state obsessed with keeping its citizens alive in the most horrible ways possible. it is also, always, unexpected.

under the assumption that life is a three hour long indie film about self-discovery, everything you do cannot and will not be held against you when you are twenty-eight and your boss digs up the old paper trail of who you were in college, unless you buried a body in the backyard with your best friend, freshman year. people change people change people. change. people change. people fall into rabbit holes and emerge with new hands, new eyes, new teeth. people do things. every day, we wake up and we make the decision to do things. sometimes the thing is going to the park. sometimes the thing is making breakfast.

either way, we are performing miracles. because motion is about dislocating yourself from the socket, about cutting the person out of the painting; even if you put them back in the same painting, the act of returning tips the scales significantly in favor of the heart. which beats, through all of this strange, repetitive violence, down the elevator, down the path that leads to the subway that you haven't been on since the start of february, when you believed in no one but yourself. little has changed since then. but you understand now. you are not heading for the promised place. you are the promised place; you are a promised person. you promised yourself when you were born that you would live to see the grass grow out after a long, dry winter. and now here you are, ready to live it all.

06.12.21

[crowdedimagines]

Happy To Help - David Dobrik

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up in our bed. David came in with a serious look on his face. One that I don’t see very often. Definitely not this early on a Sunday morning, it’s still early and quiet. The only reason he got out of bed was his mom calling his phone.

“My dad threw out his back really badly and he needs surgery.” He walks over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Is he okay?” I ask tentatively.

“Yeah, he’s claiming he’s fine but my mom said he can’t even move. He’s in a lot of pain.” David wipes at his face, “Fuck.”

“How can I help?” I take his hand in mine and try to get him to focus, “Should we fly out to help out? If he needs surgery he’s going to be in the hospital for a while.”

He nods and leans into my touch. I pull him back to lay on top of me on our bed. He worries about his family all the time, this is like a nightmare for him.

“I’m gonna call Jack.” He announces.

He grabs his phone and calls his manager to inform him of what happened. I tune out most of what he says as I grab a bag for each of us. I start packing my own things so we can leave as soon as he needs to.

“Are you serious?” David’s voice suddenly pulls me from my thoughts. He’s sitting on the Lovesac with his phone on speaker.

“I can try to get you out of that shoot David, but they're just going to cut you out and move on with someone else. The only real issue with it is that filming for Dodgeball Thunderdome starts this week. We’ve signed a lot of contracts, I can try to get you out of them but I know how excited you were about hosting this show.”

“Fuck.” He mutters softly. “I need to be in Vernon hills by tonight. My parents are going to in to Chicago for surgery so someone needs to stay at the house. Plus once they get back they’ll need help.”

“I totally get that David.” Jack agrees, “I just want you to know the gravity of you leaving this week. The position you’re putting in those you work with. I just worry about your reputation a little and if they’ll be willing to postpone for you.”

“I’ll go.” I cut in. There’s no need for David to give up something he’s worked so hard for and he loves so much. He’s one of the hardest working people I know and he deserves everything that he’s earned.

“What?” David’s head snaps in my direction.

“You stay here, get everything done that you need to. I’ll fly out and help with the girls and Toby. Then I’ll be there when your parents get home to help. You can fly out once you’re done with everything or you get a break.” I shrug.

“Jack, let me call you back.” He hangs up the phone and gets up from his seat. He walks over to grab my hand and fully pull my attention from the clothes I had been folding, “Are you serious right now? You would do that for me?”

“Of course I would.” I smile, his arms wrap around my waist so mine settle over his shoulder, connecting at the back of his neck, “I would do anything for you, and your family. This is not a big deal, and it would make me happy to help. Plus then you don’t have to give up hosting your show. You’ve been excited about this for months.”

“I love you so much.” He sighs, pulling me in tight against his chest.

“You’re alright.” I tease, earning a laugh from him.

David insists on paying for my flight and driving me to the airport.

“Okay, my parents are waiting to leave once you get there. I already set up a rental car for you, so then you’ll have one the whole time you’re there.”

“Thank you, babe.” I press a kiss to his lips.

We get out of the car and David pulls my suitcase from the trunk.

“I cannot thank you enough for this.” He wraps his arms around my waist.

“I don’t need a thank you.” I shake my head, “One more kiss will do, though.”

David happily obliges, leaning in and pressing a kiss that lasted longer than all the others.

“Call me when you land.”

“Of course.”

I start to walk away, knowing that we could be saying our goodbyes for the next half hour if I don’t.

“I love you.” “I love you too.”

The flight is fairly uneventful and quiet, I try to sleep on the way to just be fully rested. Once I land I go find the car rental place and David (Natalie) had set everything up in advance so there wasn’t much waiting there either. I text Ester to let her know that I am on my way, she is definitely the Dobrik I talk to the most, other than David obviously. I make the drive to the Vernon Hills home, I call David on the way to talk for a while and let him know that I landed safely.

I park on the road so I don’t block in their car in the driveway and take my suitcase from the trunk. Toby greets me before I can even make it to the door, pulling me in for a hug. He holds open the door for me and I am greeted by the whole Dobrik family.

Palo is laying on the couch, in obvious discomfort. I send him a smile and say hello. I notice that they’re already packed up with everything they’ll need for the week.

“Thank you for being so kind.” Cristina sighs pulling me in for another hug.

“I am happy to help in any way I can.” I smile, “Please let me know if you need anything else, honestly, anything you guys need.”

We talk for a little while before they leave so they can check in. It’s over an hour drive to the hospital they’re doing it at so they leave now.

“Alright, now it’s just us.” I laugh, we’ve all already eaten dinner so we all sit down in the living room to watch a movie. We don’t stay up late, all three of them have school tomorrow. Ester stays up a little later, she talks to me about school, boys, and drama.

After we both say goodnight I make my way up to David’s room. It’s always been the room I stay in with David, but I’ve never been here without him.

“I’m laying in your childhood bed right now.”

“Why do you make that sound so sexy.” He laughs, “It’s kind of turning me on.”

“Gross.” I laugh loudly.

“How’s everything going?” He asks.

“So far it’s fine. Your dad looked like he really needed to get out of the house tonight and get checked in so I’m glad I flew in tonight instead of tomorrow morning.”

“Me too.” He sighs, “I can never thank you enough for this.”

“You don’t need to thank me, isn’t that what girlfriends are for?” I laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a girlfriend do something like this for me before.”

“I guess I’m pretty special then.” I grin, turning on my side. It’s not very often that I sleep by myself now that David and I live together, but it’s comforting to hear his voice.

“That you are.”

I don’t remember saying goodnight to David, but at some point I must’ve fallen asleep. I wake up when my alarm goes off, notifying me that I need to get ready so I can get everyone else ready and drive them all to school.

“Good morning.” I smile seeing Sara and Ester come down the stairs.

They sit down for a bowl of cereal, eventually Toby comes down, his hair angled in fifty different directions, reminding me of his older brother.

“Alright, everyone’s ready for school?”

Everyone piles in the car and we leave. I drop off Toby first, seeing as his school day starts earlier than the girls. I drop off Sara next, leaving only Ester and I in the car.

“What’s so funny?” Ester grins, glancing at me from the passenger seat.

“I never thought that I would be a soccer mom at twenty-two. It’s a little odd dropping kids off at school.”

“Whatever.” She bumps my shoulder lightly, “You’re not a mom. Yet.”

“Yet?” I raise my brows, looking over at her amused. David and I have never talked about kids, even though it's known that we both want them, just not any time soon.

“You and David will be married any day now. And the way David talks about you guys on the podcast, it doesn’t seem like you guys are staying celebete.”

My face takes on a red tint. I’ve never been a shy girl, but I was not expecting this to be our car ride conversation. Ester is old enough to not be phased by talking about sex, we’ve been having boy talk for practially as long as David and I have been dating. I’ve talked about worse, but I’ve never gone into details when it pertained to her brother.

“Oh my god, shut up!” I laugh.

“What we always talk about boys!” She grins.

“Well, it’s definitely different when my boy is your brother.”

“Yeah, that’s not the greatest, but I like talking to you. You give off older sister vibes.”

“Thanks. Now get out of the car.” I smirk, teasing her. We’re pulled up in front of her school, the same school David went to high school.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Anytime!” I manage to pull out before many fans take notice. Thankfully, I’m not David, but still we could easily form a crowd if I stayed for too long.

It takes a few more days to fall into a good rhythm with everything. Between the kids homework, making meals, cleaning, and just trying to keep everything organized for when David’s parents come back it's been an exhausting yet rewarding week. Palo’s surgery was today, it went well. He only needs a few days in recovery before he can come home.

“Y/n, David’s asking for you.” Ester comes down the stairs, phone in hand.

“Babe, you didn’t answer your phone!” He yells through the phone.

Ester holds out her phone so I can see him on facetime.

“Sorry, Sara and I are painting our nails!” I hold up a hand as proof and he nods.

“So, how’s everything going?”

“It’s good babe, it’s actually been a pretty fun week.” I smile, “I’m starting to like your siblings more than I like you.”

“And we definitely like Y/n more than you!” Toby teases leaning into frame.

“Fuck you guys.” He laughs.

“So how’s filming been? I saw your story! Very fancy them giving you someone to follow you around with an umbrella.”

“It’s been fun. I forgot just how good it feels to be working! Do you have any idea when you’re coming back?”

I shake my head, “No, your parents are coming home in three days and I’ll talk to them and go from there. Are you still planning on staying in L.A?”

“Yeah, my mom insisted I stay here. She already feels guilty enough making you fly out, but we’ll see.”

“Okay, keep me posted. Love you.”

“Love you more.”

Ester takes her phone back and continues talking with David.

“I like the color you picked better.” Sara comments, noticing the light color I’ve picked for my nails.

“Wanna trade?”

“What? We already painted one of our hands.” She looks up at me confused.

“So what! It’ll be different. Then we kind of match.”

Sara and I finish up our nails. We all call Palo and Cristina, our nightly ritual to say good night to everyone. Everyone goes to bed, I stay up a little later so I can clean up the dishes from dinner and the nail polish that we left on the counter.

The rest of the week passes by without any hiccups. There’s a few times I can tell Toby really misses his parents, but other than that everything’s been a breeze. More than that actually, I feel closer to all of them. I was nervous to come, even though I would never tell David that. I was afraid to step in and try to help when I have no clue what I’m doing, but it went better than I could imagine.

“Are you absolutely sure?” I ask, “I don’t mind staying longer at all!”

“No!” Cristina insists, “We are fine, Palo is feeling fine now that he’s been back at home for a few days. We will be okay.”

She places a reassuring hand on my arm and I simply smile.

“Only if you’re one hundred percent sure.”

“I already told David to book you another flight.”

I thank her and go upstairs so I can pack up all of my belongings. I ended up spending ten days in Chicago, but it was alright. I had fun, and it felt good to be needed.

“Okay, I think I’m all packed up.” I bring my suitcase to the bottom of the stairs and smile at the family in the living room. I get hugs from everyone, and several thank yous. Too many if you ask me.

“I’m going to walk Y/n out to her car.” Ester grabs one of my other bags to walk with me.

“Me too!” Sara tags along.

You could never get me to wipe off the grin watching those two girls bound away with my stuff.

“The ride to school is going to seem boring now.” Ester sighs.

“I’m sure you’ll manage.” I grin.

“Yeah, but mom doesn’t talk about weed or hooking up at parties.”

“Shh!” I clamp a hand over her mouth, “And if anyone asks I don’t talk about that stuff either!”

I give them each another hug and start to get back in the car.

“Y/n, will you call me tonight? Like once you’re back home and settled.”

“Yeah, is everything okay?” I raise my brows.

“No, I just have something I want to talk to you about. You’ll get it, it’s fine!”

“Okay, weirdo!” I laugh shutting my door. I back down the driveway and notice that all of the Dobriks are out on the front porch now waving. I wave back with a smile and drive back to Chicago to finally head home.

“Baby, I’m home!” I yell, letting myself in our front door. The goal was to surprise him, he didn’t know that my flight landed early, causing me to get the jump on him.

“Y/n?” He yells back loudly. I drop my bags and round the corner to see him coming to find me.

“Baby!” He instantly pulls me into his arms, “God, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I sigh, pulling him in a little tighter.

After a good long cuddle in our bed it’s nice to just settle in again. It’s nice to see Natalie and Ilya too. I wasn’t that long, but I was weird to be apart from the whole group for that long. We purge on a large dinner ordered in, after stuffing our faces, David and I settle on the hammock outside together. The sun is setting slowly, letting the sky take on a pink hue.

“I can never thank you enough for what you did.”

“David, you have to stop thanking me.” I sigh, letting him twist and play with my fingers.

“Y/n.” He says my name softly.

“Hmm?” I turn to look at him, he has a surprisingly serious look on his face.

“We just moved in together. I’ve never done that with a girl, I thought that I would be afraid to do it, but with you I am not afraid of the future anymore. The only thing that scares me is a future without you, as cheesy as that sounds. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, more than anything.”

He reaches into his back pocket and I can feel a smile growing on my face. He opens up the black velvet box to reveal a beautiful ring with a large diamond sitting front and center.

“I bought this ring after you left for Chicago. I knew that I wanted to marry you before that, but right then and there I decided that I needed to lock you down.” He pauses to laugh a little, I join in too, “I needed to make if official. Make it real, because I don’t want to waste anymore time as your boyfriend. You treat my family like your own, and I want to make you mine. Forever. Y/n, will you marry me?”

“Of course!” I sigh, no longer fighting the teary eyes. I pull David in for a long sweet kiss. We pull apart laughing, he slides the ring on my finger and I smile even wider.

“Baby, it’s perfect.”

“Ester helped me pick it.” He grins, pressing several more kisses to my temple.

“She did? Of course she did. Well you both did a great job.”

“I’ll be right back, I got us champagne!” He climbs out of the hammock carefully. I smile softly watching him walk away. I pull out my phone to call the girl herself.

“Hello?” She answers almost instantly.

“You picked out a stunning ring.”

“You said yes?” She shrieks.

“Well, duh!” I laugh.

“Yay, oh my god. I love this! She said yes!” She yells loudly to I’m sure the whole family.

“Did everyone know?” I ask, sitting up a little more.

“Yeah, he’s been too excited to keep it to himself. Told everyone in L.A and of course he told us. I think everyone knew but you.”

“Sneaky boy.” I roll my eyes. David makes his way back outside, two glasses in one hand the bottle in the other. The same smile stuck on his face.

“Hey, who are you talking to already?” He rejoins me.

“Your sister. I promised her I would call.”

I put the phone on speaker so David can hear too. We talk with Ester and everyone else in the family for a while. It feels comfortable. We spend the rest of the night snuggled up together, even as it gets colder.

Natalie took a video, which I was completely oblivious to. We also got some really cute pictures, which David proudly sends to the group chat, informing everyone who he had gushed to that I had in fact said yes. It was a steady stream of congratulations.

“Ready to go inside?”

“Mhm” I sigh dreamily looking down at the new piece of jewelry on my hand.

“C’mon, it’ll still be there in the morning.”

an// this was some CUTE fluff!! Also what is David’s mom’s name? I wrote this and then I couldn’t remember if it was right so i went to look it up and i can’t even find it. so if anyone knows, cool! lol

what did you guys think?!?!

[kth1]

After months and months of planning between Jimin and Maggie, with the occasional help from Taehyung and accidental help from Namjoon, Maggie awaits in the baggage claim area of the airport after Jimin’s long flight from Korea to LAX. Jimin wants to surprise his girlfriend, Lindy, for her birthday this year as many times in the past he missed special occasions due to his hectic schedule. It’s understandable, being adults trying to figure out career paths makes you do that.

Be busy that is...

But luckily, Jimin is able to swindle his charms and cast his pleading eyes enough times to finally make a glorious trip to the States to revisit his love. Already debated on sweeping her right off her feet and bringing her back to Korea when he returns back home. 

Maggie spots Jimin in the best, ‘no really, there isn’t a celebrity under these clothes’ hidden attire. A stark baseball cap covering the majority of his face along with a face mask covering. Large baggy clothes that he probably is eager to break out of once he hits the car or the apartment complex. To Maggie’s own surprise as she waits for the bags to flood in by the conveyor belt, are the two - yes two - companions accompanying Jimin. One she partially assumes is a manager of some sort and the other is none other than Jimin’s best friend and soulmate, Taehyung.

Thank God Maggie has a large car to house all these extra suitcases and bodies.

Maggie formally greets them to the best of her ability after Taehyung nearly crashes into her with a large bear hug, nearly suffocating the poor girl with how much he’s missed being around her. Jimin’s eyes shine bright and crinkle, no doubt matching the smile hidden under his mask. 

“So I have it set up that I'll bring you guys to Lindy’s apartment. I have a spare key so we can chill there a bit. You guys can take a nap or something if you need to,” she checks her wrist at the watch that flashes her the time. “We have about two hours before I need to pick her up.”

“That sounds great. Did you get her the cake I told you about? The cream cheese cake one with cherries?” Jimin looks over to Maggie from the passenger seat of the car.

“Order it exactly how you requested!” 

Jimin sighs relief. His mind hasn’t ever stopped the thoughts of excitement and nervousness of hopefully making this birthday one of Lindy’s best. 

Time flies by and Maggie is already driving Lindy back home for what she knows as a night in with movies and drinks. Lindy looks slightly exhausted, surely work never helped make her mood lighter. However, Maggie tries to cheer Lindy up by bringing her a small bag of chocolates before the big surprise. 

“You seem a bit off, did something happen?” Lindy quirks an eyebrow, fingers grabbing around a face mask that has been trampled on by her feet. It’s a full black mask, one Maggie doesn’t necessarily ever have to her knowledge. 

“What do you mean?” Maggie’s eyebrows furrow, hiding the way her eyes nearly widen at the sudden question. Worried she ended up saying or doing something that tipped Lindy off. 

“You’re quieter than usual.” 

Maggie begins to laugh, more at herself but Lindy cannot detect that. “Oh? I’m honestly pondering if we should go with Jennifer’s Body or She’s the Man for movies.” 

It’s a lie, but Lindy doesn’t know that. 

Prior to Lindy entering the car, Maggie had notified Jimin via text that they would be arriving in roughly twenty minutes. So in the back of Maggie’s mind as she’s driving closer to Lindy’s block, is praying to the lord how this plan must execute perfectly for it to all work. 

Jimin planned to put together Lindy’s cake in the stairwell of Lindy’s apartment complex, hiding from Lindy’s view from when he begins hearing both her and Maggie stepping up the concrete steps. Taehyung and the manager already planned to make their way around the block for some local convenience store snacks in the meantime, ready to bring back even more food and drinks. 

“Oh shit,” Maggie exclaims as she’s only one foot through the door to Lindy’s apartment. “I forgot I had a bottle of liquor in the trunk of the car. I’ll be right back.” 

Lindy stands awkwardly as her sweater starts to drape off her elbows, nearly falling to the floor when she goes to speak up.

“Ok?”

Lindy watches her best friend vanish down the stairwell before the door closes, preventing any further view to the outside world. She shrugs it off, ready to deflate her body to her trusty couch after kicking off both her worn down shoes and hooking her purse up on the hanging rack. 

She stares at the odd placement of her remote, how a few of her magazines seem to be scattered erratically when she knows she almost always places them in chronological order whenever she touches them. 

Once the door shut behind Maggie, she twists her head and halts her descending steps. After a few moments pass, she lightly walks back up the stairs and up the next flight. With a low whisper, Maggie calls out for Jimin. 

Maggie rounds the corner of the railing, noticing Jimin is kneeling down with the cake set on the stairs and a handful of candles in each hand.

Maggie begins recording the set up, camera lens focusing on every move Jimin makes. You can see and feel the anxious energy off of him. It’s endearing how much he truly cares. 

“You’re doing great,” Maggie whispers low. Her eyes continue to flicker down to where Lindy’s door stands, making sure that for whatever reason Lindy does not open that door back up. 

Jimin lights each candle one by one, hands trembling with excitement. “I only saw the back of her and literally my entire heart jumped out of my chest. It keeps going ‘boom boom boom boom’,” he exaggerates with the gesture of his hands. 

“She’ll be so happy Jimin, trust me!” 

“We’re going to have to text Taehyung that the coast is clear,” he says as he slowly and carefully picks up the cake in both of his hands. Together the two of them walk down the stairs, edging closer to Lindy’s door. Jimin already has a wide smile plastered across his face, eyebrows raised and anticipating seeing his beloved. 

With the twist of the handle, curiosity of Maggie, she flings the door open while holding her cellphone steady to capture the moment when Lindy first lays eyes on Jimin. 

Lindy is leaning over her coffee table, shuffling through the random array of useless knickknacks when the door suddenly bursts open. Her head snaps to look, eyes immediately finding Jimin holding out her cake with lit candles who is beginning to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. Jimin steps through the door frame; a stunned beyond belief Lindy frozen to the middle couch cushion as her face is ready to burst into tears. 

“Surprise! Happy Birthday, baby! I love you!” Jimin says with his whole chest.

[haddonfieldproject]

<<PREVIOUS⏺<<CONTENTS>>

1.3.11 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st, ‪11:46 AM

‬Haddonfield, Illinois

The man walked into the foyer of the large house, squeezing passed the very large security guard who answered the door. A large grandiose staircase arose before him and split half-way up to the second floor, veering off right and left directing toward the two wings of the giant mansion. To his left was a luxiorious dining room with seating for up to twenty. Large renassiance style portraits hung on the walls: picturesque scenes of Italian countrysides and vineyards, the kind of paintings you'd see reproduced on the walls inside of an Olive Garden, only these were no doubt original. To the man's right was a large parlor, with more vibrant paintings, sculptures, antique sofas, and a grand piano in the far corner.

An elderly woman sat on one of these. She was cross-stitching silently. She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed, and then she looked back at what she was doing. The man sighed, ignoring her. In front of him, to the left of the stairs was a sliding door that opened into the actual living space of the home. From there he heard the voice call to him, “Come in son, come on in.”

The man entered the room and saw his boss sitting on a large leather sofa, a persian cat on his lap. He was watching the large flatscreen television mounted above the stone-hearthed fireplace before him. More aerial shots of the burning hospital. The man was frail, liver spots speckled his olive skin. His hair, once brown, was gray and thinning at the top, his eyes once black as night has turned to the color of charcoal smoke. He wore a plush royal blue robe and an old fashioned sleeping cap that reminded the visitor of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The man bent to one knee before the old man. The cat hissed and jumped off the elderly man's lap and ran off toward the adjacent kitchen. The old man extended his hand, “Thank you for coming so soon.”

The man kissed the old man's hand, “Sure thing Mr. Vizzini.”

“I hope I did not trouble you too much last night Andre,” Mr. Vizzini said as Andre took a seat on the couch beside him.

Andre smiled, “Hey boss...a little romp through the woods never hurt no one.”

Mr. Vizzini laughed. “Good. I didn't get to apologize to you before when we spoke. We were...” he chose his words carefully, “too busy speaking of the grave matter at hand.”

Andre nodded.

“I trust you delivered my message to Mr. Tarasenko and our beloved mayor?” Mr. Vizzini asked, turning back toward the television.

Andre turned toward the screen as well, the national news had gotten a hold of Holly West's interview with Rosalita and were now playing it to the nation.

“Yes boss,” Andre sighed, “And I would have called you sooner but I was getting some much needed sleep.”

Mr. Vizzini nodded, “Your insomnia again?”

“Yes sir, it's been a really bitch, pardon my french.”

Mr. Vizzini smiled, “Well we all need our rest. When one is tired, one cannot think.”

“Yes sir.”

“And I need everyone at the top of their mental capacities.”

“I agree.” Andre remarked.

The old man held up a small square device that he had in his lap. It was a gray box with a single solitary red button on the top. He held it up now and pushed it. Somewhere in the far reaches of the house a chime was heard, soft and tonal. After a few seconds, there was a small crackle of static, and a woman's voice could be heard on an un-seen speaker.

“Yes Mr. Vizzini?”

The old man cleared his throat, “Caterina, would you be a dear and bring my guest and I a scotch on the rocks please?”

“Certainly Mr. Vizzini.”

There was a click indicating the speaker went dead.

“So what did our friends have to say for themselves?” Mr. Vizzini cocked his head to one side inquisitively.

“Tarasenko looks shaken up.” Andre said.

Vizzini grunted and nodded.

“And Dodge wants another front, just like you said he would,” Andre smiled.

“And you told him that that would not be possible?” The old man cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes sir,” Andre said, “he asked me to ask you to reconsider, again, just as you said.”

The old man sighed and nodded. He closed his eyes as if wrapped in meditation.

There were footsteps and into the kitchen appeared a young, tall, beautiful red headed woman that Andre had seen before. It was the waitress from Lou Martini's club.

Tina Tomcat, Andre remembered.

She looked tired in the face, but smiled at the two men cheerfully, holding a small glass in each hand of the brown scotch. Little crushed ice floated in each glass. Her corset had been replaced by a very cliché french maid outfit, which covered her private parts and some more of her body, but not much else.

Mr. Vizzini smiled as he took his glass, “Andre, I'd like you to meet Caterina. Caterina this is my dear friend Mr. Andre.”

Tina smiled at Andre and held out his glass. He took it with a smile of his own.

“We've met before,” Andre replied.

The old man waved a wrinkled hand, “Ah I suppose so, at the Rabbit-in-Red!” Mr. Vizzini took a sip of his drink and then said, “Caterina came in late this morning after no doubt a night of considerable carousing. Mr. Andre and I were just discussing how important sleep is to the body.”

Tina turned and waved a hand back at him, “I'll sleep when I'm dead,” she said with a wink, “besides, I make a hell of a lot more at the Rabbit than I do at this place.”

Andre's eyes went wide. He stared at Mr. Vizzini nervously and took a sip of his drink. He winced. It was very strong.

Mr. Vizzini broke into laughter, which then turned into racked coughing. When he was done coughing, he wiped his eyes and said, “That's what I love about her.” He choked another gulp of his drink down. “I appreciate honesty in a woman.” He raised his glass to Tina.

Tina gave a little curtsy, and disappeared around the corner.

The two men looked back at the television. A picture of the Chumway brothers now dominated the screen. The big bold tag line at the bottom read: MANHUNT ENDS IN MAYHEM.

After a moment, Andre cleared his throat, “Sir, may I offer an opinion.”

Mr. Vizzini sipped and nodded, “Certainly. My appreciation for frankness is not specific to the female gender.”

“I worry that this may not be a good time to send a message to Dodge.” Andre looked down at his glass. The old man had a reputation, he didn't want to discover the fine line only after crossing it.

“You think I should give Mayor Dodge the money.” Vizzini said, very frank himself.

“I think it would be wise to, I think we can both agree the situation has changed.” Andre said, gesturing toward the television.

“I think for the better perhaps.” Vizzini replied. “To my knowledge, the shipment has yet to be...spoiled shall we say. There may be time and an opportunity here to...salvage it, and for that I'll need friends in high places, and for that I'll need leverage.”

“I haven't considered that,” Andre admitted, “But there is always the flip side. This place is now crawling with law enforcement at all levels, and no matter how good we are, there is always a trail, and eventually that trail leads to Tarasenko, which in turns leads to Dodge, which in turns leads to you.”

“I have considered it,” Vizzini said. He sucked the rest of the scotch down in the glass with a loud slurp.

“What was done with the van, if I may ask?”

Vizzini waved, “Oh that was easy. The First Congregational Church of Holiness and Power was just bequeathed a brand new cargo van for their congregation. Complete with title in the envelope signed off to the church from a Mr. Juan Pagan of Winchester Indiana and cash to obtain a new tag.”

Andre smiled and nodded approvingly.

“Mr. Pagan even called me this morning and told me the Pastor of the church called him and thanked him personally.”

“Praise God,” Andre lifted his glass.

“Indeed.” Vizzini took some ice in his mouth and chewed it.

“However.” Andre frowned, “If the cops do get the shipment and nab Tarasenko, do you think he'll talk?”

“Doubtful,” Vizzini responded.

“What about Dodge?” Andre asked. “I see the honorable mayor putting a finger on you at the first hint of trouble.”

“Oh please,” Vizzini laughed, “I have the ability to be on flight to the United Arab Emirates like that,” he snapped his gnarled fingers, “Robert Dodge would love to fantasize but as yet he possessed no such ability. He will go down, he will go down hard and he will go down alone.”

“Is that what you want?” Andre asked.

“Of course not. I'm going to give him the money Andre. This is an opportunity with two heads.”

“How so?”

“On one hand, this is a great opportunity to get more out of our arrangement with Dodge. The spotlight is on him now,” Vizzini gestured at the TV which was now in a commercial. Ramon Aguilar of the newly crowned World Champion Chicago Cubs was singing the praises of a Liberty Burger extra-value meal.

“He'll be desperate. Like an ant under a magnifying glass directing the light of the sun, he will have no where to go and he will be like puddy in my hands.”

Vizzini's eyes went dark. I'm beginning to see the reputation, Andre thought.

“From the other angle,” Vizzini continued, “this is a good time to teach a lesson. The mayor has to learn that he is becoming a liability for me. A liability that I can no longer stomach.”

Andre drained the last of his scotch. “I just worry the cops are going to nab the shipment before we can inact damage control.”

Vizzini smiled and patted the large man next to him on the knee. “Worry solves nothing. We will just have to wait and see what happens.”

Andre sighed, “I just wish I knew.”

NEXT>>

[tobesobri]

𝓛iterally cannot believe there’s only four chapters left in this 😩This one is another turning point in the story and honestly possibly the saddest shit so far so i do hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.

huge massive thank you to the incredible @youresogolden-h for editing ❤️

CHAPTER NINE: PRETENDING (4.6K)

Harry and Y/N are friends…. with benefits, but not the kinds you’re thinking of.

🥥MASTERLIST 🌃INSPO TAG 🌻ASK TAG 💃PLAYLIST 🛌

By the time Harry got home on Saturday, he felt like absolute shit. And it wasn’t because of the flight or his nonexistent jetlag, it was because his kitchen was tidier than he remembered and the pile of dirty clothes he’d left in the hamper in his closet was, instead, neatly folded on his bed. He felt like shit because while he was grasping at strings just to get anyone in his bed with him, she’d been here cleaning his place for him when she didn’t have to. 

She had made his bed again and wiped off the stray bits of his facial hair around the sink he’d left after shaving before hopping on his flight. 

There was no way she didn’t know about what he’d done in New York, not after the photos came out that had littered every inch of the internet. He knew she didn’t use social media often herself, but he was positive it had been brought to her attention at some point. So while she was here making his life easier, he’d been fucking around on the other side of the country. 

And he could never tell her why. That he missed her so much it seemed like a good idea in his drunken mind at the time. He’d just wanted someone to hold onto at night again so he could get some sleep, but instead he just got the awful sex he didn’t want and all the regrets to go along with it. He had no clue what she thought of him now, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

Still, he texted her and it might’ve been the cherry on top of all the dumb things he’d done this week, but it was getting late and he needed her. He needed to know she didn’t hate him. 

(Harry, 9:46 pm)

Can you come over tonight? I just got back.

She rolled over in her bed, grabbing her phone from her nightstand and squinting her eyes at the bright screen only long enough to know it was from Harry. Quickly after scanning her eyes across his message, she put her phone back, face down on her table before she curled up under her comforter. 

It was bad enough that she’d spent the past day and a half moping around her apartment, overthinking every single little thing. Even worse that she let it get to her last night, letting her pillows soak up her tears again, but she knew it would be too much to see him again right now. She just needed time to get over it. Harry could sleep with and see whomever he wanted and it shouldn’t affect her. She was just starting to accept that fact when he just had to fucking text her. 

Because she could also see who she wanted to without it affecting him. She just… didn’t want anyone else anywhere near her if it wasn’t Harry. 

Groaning, she rolled over again and texted him back. She still needed her time, but she was doing neither of them any favors by avoiding him. She didn’t want him to think she was mad or jealous or anything she had no right to be. He needed to know that if he’d found someone he wanted to be with that she wouldn’t get in the way. 

(Y/N, 9:58 pm)

Give me an hour.

It was plenty of time for her to take a shower and get her routines done first so that when she filled her backpack, she had no trouble packing lightly. Sneaking out of her apartment with twenty minutes to get her to Harry’s driveway wasn’t as difficult with a heavy bag on her shoulders, especially since her roommates knew she was supposed to be in her own bed tonight.

She used up all her spare time driving to Harry’s place when she paused in front of his neighbor’s bushes and almost turned her car right back around. But she didn’t want to feel the way she had been anymore, so she kept going. All the way to his front door.

Where he stood. Where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest in a black hoodie and matching sweatpants, pacing his short front porch until she pulled up.

He watched her while she got out of her car, slinging her backpack on before shutting the door and meeting his eyes warily. When she got closer to him, it was clear she was beyond confused as to why he was standing out in the cold waiting for her. He was clearly worried about something too, the way he pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and index fingers, fidgeting in a way she’d gotten used to him doing when he was nervous or lost in thought.

He stared at her feet when she took the two steps up to the same level as him and it wasn’t until she stood there, silently waiting, that he scanned his eyes up her body and back to her face. A face he had a really hard time looking at without the urge to break out in tears.

“Is everything alright?” She finally asked.

He blinked once and then shook his head. “I’m sorry.” 

His voice was a mumble from under the hood he had over his head. She knew what he was apologizing for, but he had no need to. They weren’t dating. He didn’t cheat on her. There was nothing between them that would stop him from doing what he wanted with who he wanted.

“It’s fine.” She mumbled. 

Now he was the confused one. Her words ricocheted back and forth through his brain. It’s fine. He almost would have rather her deny having any clue what he was talking about. This was… it hurt. So fucking bad. He titled his head slightly, working on questioning what she meant by that when instead his teeth shuttered against each other as the breeze had finally gotten the best of him.

“Can we go inside?” She continued in his inability to say anything else. “It’s cold out here.”

He led the way in after nodding in agreement, noticing for the first time that she wasn’t dressed as warmly as he was. He wondered if it had really been the breeze that gave him chills or the way she had completely brushed him off that froze him to the core.

He locked the door behind them while she waited in the foyer. Something had definitely changed between them and she didn’t like it. She didn’t quite know how to fix it yet, but she wished more than anything they could begin where they left off on Tuesday.

Once he turned to her, throwing his hood off in the process, she turned on her heel and went for the stairs. She couldn’t do anything facing him the way she was. He watched her as she ascended the stairs, having hoped they could figure things out downstairs first but she clearly had other plans.

He huffed out a nervous breath, shut off the lights, set his security system, and followed her up to his bedroom.

She was standing at his window when he joined her and when he stopped in a spot a few feet from her, she glanced at him sideways just as nervously as he felt.

Because she was nervous. She hated confrontation, especially when they clearly weren’t on the same page about things. If there was one time when she needed to suck it up and tell him how she felt, it was now.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Harry, it’s not like we’re dating here. You do have to tell me if you want to be with someone, though.” It broke her heart to say that, to admit to herself that Harry only liked her in her head and not in real life. It broke her heart to even think about letting him go so he could be with whoever he wanted, but she knew it was only fair.

He was quiet, eyes intent on her even though she hadn’t braved even a second glance at him yet. It broke his heart that she really thought he wanted someone else, and he had no one to blame for her coming to that conclusion besides himself.

She sighed. “I’m not going to hold you back so we can keep doing this.”

He hid his face when she turned to look at him, trying to hold back the tears that were uncontrollably burning his eyes. He just nodded, sucking in a breath as he started to feel himself crumbling. He needed to get out of there, fast.

“Um, I think I left a light on downstairs.” He glanced at his bed then, but never once looked her in the eyes, too afraid his voice would crack if he did, “You can go ahead, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He left without even giving her a chance to say anything else that would shatter his heart more. Before he even made it out of his bedroom, he was wiping tears from his cheek and trying to hide it from her the best he could.

At least until he was downstairs, at his island counter, that’s when he let it all out. He leaned over on the marble, his forearms flat on the stone with his head buried in them as the sleeves of his hoodie soaked up his tears. His entire body shook like a nine-point magnitude earthquake had just rolled through his chest with little care for the essential organs that lived there.

He cried harder when he thought about the way he’d walked out of the room. He didn’t want her to see him break down like he was about to, but he’d left her believing his one night fuck up was anything more than just that. And even worse than that, she didn’t even really seem to care. She didn’t show him a stitch of emotion. He would have been fucking gutted, worse than he was now, if she’d been with someone else like that. 

It fucking hurt that the only thing she could say was that if he wanted something more from someone else he should be honest about it so they could stop. He thought about how she hadn’t texted him at all and he wondered if she’d already made up her mind about it before he messaged her. That thought, that she might’ve even considered stopping what they were doing, tore him up all over again.

He muffled his sobs by biting his sleeve, positive he hadn’t cried this hard since before he got to know her. It wouldn’t stop either. Even after his eyes dried up, the pain was still there, because all he could think about, still, was the way she didn't care. She wasn’t mad at him, she wasn’t fighting back her jealousy. There was just simply nothing, but at the same time, it told him everything. He’d only known she cared about him before because she trusted him and now… he had no clue if any of that trust still remained. And it was all his fault.

It took him a while to put himself back together, to be done crying long enough to wipe his eyes and come back to her. Even when he did, it was different. She was still awake, waiting for him when he returned, and she still cuddled up next to him and he still wrapped his arm around her like he always did, but it was different. There was an awful feeling in his chest that he couldn’t shake. 

“I don’t want to be with someone.” He admitted, mostly to himself. Mostly to convince himself. The someone he wanted was her, but she was so far out of his reach. She didn’t like relationships, and he was the absolute jackass who fell for her anyways. “I was just drunk and did something stupid.”

“Okay.” 

“But, um… if you…” The tears almost returned and he gave himself a moment to stop feeling everything so much. “If you wanted to be with someone, you would tell me too, right?”

She sighed, melting into him just the right way he was used to. The way he missed and craved and longed for. “You know I don’t… but yes. I would.”

It went on like that for a few nights. She still came over, things slowly started to piece themselves together again, but it all still nagged at her nonetheless. There was still the issue of Harry writing songs about someone she couldn’t wrap her head around. The selfish bits of her thought maybe they were about her, but she knew better. Harry didn’t have to waste his time on her. There were people in his league that he could learn to trust the same way he had with her. There were people that would open up to him fully without being terrified. People that could give him everything he wanted. He didn’t need her and she didn’t deserve him, and she did nothing but remind herself of both every single night. Even when wrapped up in his arms.

Everything about her had changed again. Going to Harry’s and sleeping in his bed didn’t put a smile on her face quite the way it used to. Will noticed it more than anyone. The way she never came out of her room when she wasn’t at work or at Harry’s. The quiet sobs he heard through the thin walls on nights when she did stay home. 

Despite what Will might think, her sadness this time wasn’t because she felt utterly alone in the world anymore. It was because she finally found someone who didn’t make her feel so lonely, and she’d let her feelings for him and her feelings toward herself mess everything up.

It had hurt a lot less when she was empty and hopeless before Harry crashed right into her life.

So when Saturday finally came, and Will invited Harry over for dinner after a successful week in the studio, she really wished she could do anything else. Will was just trying to help, knowing Harry seemed to do the trick with getting Y/N into a better mood. Maybe she liked him a little bit more than everyone else, but either way Will had figured it was worth the try and Y/N knew that, so she didn’t argue too loud.

Around six in the evening, Y/N leaned against the counter while Will poured takeout onto plates, preparing for both his girlfriend and Harry to join them while James and Violet were gone for the weekend. The mere thought of having Harry over with considerably less people around had made her stomach twist into knots and her mind race all fucking day. 

“Glad to see you out of your room. Glad to see you at all, actually.” Will said.

“Well, you offered dinner so…” 

Will rolled his eyes, knowing better than trying to have a serious conversation with her. “I swear to god between you and Harry, I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

“What about Harry?” She asked, trying hard not to seem so obviously interested in Harry’s life while she organized fortune cookies into a single-file row.

“This entire week he’s been spewing out songs, crying about shit, spewing out more songs. He’s driving everyone nuts, but at least his album’s getting somewhere.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, stepping around the counter to help him start moving the platters of food to the table. While doing so, she thought about what Harry had to cry about that he wasn’t telling her. She’d been at his place almost every night the past week, the same days he was driving everyone nuts apparently, and he hadn’t said a word to her about it. 

Maybe something really had drastically changed between them… and she still didn’t know how to fix it.

She dove even deeper into her thoughts when Harry was sitting right in front of her thirty minutes later. She watched him pick at his food and avoid looking at her, a completely different way about them both than the last time they’d been in these exact spots together. When they had stolen glances at each other and she’d stared at his hands a lot. Now it hurt too much to even look at him for five seconds at a time.

It was mostly him that was off. He didn’t look at her the same way he used to, like when he thought she wasn’t looking but she knew damn well he was. She’d missed the way he did that, which was something so unlike her it wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t Harry. She didn’t like people looking at her. 

As always, though, Harry was the only exception to every rule she’d ever set for herself.

But now he wasn’t doing all the things she loved. She didn’t catch his eyes one single fucking time while they ate dinner. 

“So, Will said the album’s going well?” Sasha asked Harry amid the very obvious but very unexplainable tension in the dining room.

Will nodded before Harry said a word, and then dug into the front pocket of his jeans to pull out his phone. “I told her I would show her part of Golden, if that’s okay with you. Because it’s my favorite since we wrote it and recorded it in like five hours on Tuesday.”

That’s when Harry finally looked at her. When she didn’t even notice his gaze because she was too busy staring at the screen of Will’s phone next to her while he opened his recordings app. He looked at her long enough that it would usually get her attention, and so when she didn’t even give him the satisfaction, he hoped playing the song might get him a glance or, if he was being greedy, a smile from her.

Harry cleared his throat, “Sure.”

When the audio started, Will eagerly pressed his top volume button so that everyone could hear it loud and clear. It was a rough start of what was probably going to be an amazing song, Y/N knew that at the very least. And then there was a voice, a voice so distinctly Harry’s it made her head spin hearing him sing. Because she forgot he did that. She’d never really heard him before, at least not like this. She’d heard him like a whisper through the walls, and listened to some of his professionally recorded music before. This, on the other hand, was a lot more raw. 

She listened as Will played two chopped bits of the song that pieced together really beautifully, although the lyrics she made out were the complete opposite of the upbeat melodies. 

The first one seemed like the chorus, “You’re so golden, I'm out of my head, and I know that you're scared, because hearts get broken.”

The next one Will played hurt a little more. “I don’t wanna be alone, when it ends, don’t wanna let you know.”

But she didn’t know what to think. She was quiet while they all got loud. While Sasha asked him to play the recordings again because she liked it so much. The music was light, like driving down the highway along the coastline with the top down. A summery type of song even though the lyrics were as cold as winter.

She thought back to her daydreams and as much as she would have liked to indulge in the idea, she knew for sure now that there was absolutely no way he’d written a song about her. Maybe the lyrics made sense to their situation, but there was absolutely no way she’d be hearing it in front of their friends when he wouldn’t even give her a single glimpse at his writing journal. When he wouldn’t even talk to her about work or about whatever had been going on this entire week. If he wouldn't even do any of that when it was just the two of them, there was no way he’d be letting her listen to a song about her right in front of Will.

“S’not finished yet, but…” Harry shrugged, glancing Y/N’s direction again just to be left utterly disappointed. She was avoiding all of them, twisting her fork around in a mound of noodles she had yet to touch and he didn’t know what that meant. He didn’t know why she’d just heard a song so very obviously about her and she looked… upset.

Because, to her, the song was further proof that he was keeping something from her. That he was in love with someone while she had been in his bed leeching off of him. And she suddenly realized that’s what had changed between them.

She felt like she was using him again. Her guilt about everything they were doing might not have fully gone away, but it returned stronger than ever. That she was holding him back, even if he’d been honest before. He could be out there fixing his loneliness instead of spending nights with her. And it made her head hurt to think about.

To think she had really been letting herself fall for him only to be slapped in the face with the harsh reality that she wasn’t good enough and hadn’t ever been. And if he did, by some miracle, like her the way she’d wanted him to, it was just because of the way they’d gone about things. That it could have been anyone in her place and the outcome would be the same.

Even if the song was about her… why couldn’t he tell her any of that in person? He’d always been open with her, even when she wasn’t at times. Why did it feel like ever since he got back from New York two weeks ago that Harry was suddenly a fucking stranger to her?

“I have a headache.” She mumbled as her excuse to leave, long after the topic had shifted from Harry’s music to the wellbeing of Sasha’s mom. Even though she felt bad about it, she couldn’t stay at the table a second longer, so she took her dirty dishes to the kitchen to clean out and no one said a word to her, except for Will, who reminded her to take some ibuprofen. But especially not Harry. He was radio silent as she went back to bed. 

As he finished up dinner and said his goodbyes to Will and Sasha, he left for the first time in a long time the same night. Left without waiting up for Will to go to his room. Left without knocking on her door, without joining her in bed. Crawling under her blanket. Breathing in her coconut shampoo for the millionth time.

He was leaving because it hurt too much to stay. It hurt ever since he came home and things weren’t the same. She didn’t need him or care about him anymore. It hurt when he looked in her eyes and he didn’t see himself reflected back in them. He saw nothing. And it hurt so fucking bad.

The studio was a little less cheery when all Harry could squeeze out was lovesick lyrics about Y/N. When he couldn’t finish songs on a rainy Tuesday morning because his heart hurt too much to even think about her.

It had been three whole nights without her, without even a text and it was making him crazy. He thought a little distance might do him some good, but it was having the opposite effect. She never texted him, and it killed him not to ask her to come over. It killed his sleep schedule as well.

“This random girl from New York has some kind of hold on you, huh?” Will asked when it was just the two of them, outside the little Los Angeles studio, buried in the brightest, green nature the western parts of the city had to offer. Will nodded over at Harry, silently pointing out the bags under his eyes and all the sadness that had poured out of his brain recently. The rain was a fitting backdrop behind Harry’s slouched shoulders and red eyes.

“It’s not…” Harry sighed, crossing his arms around himself while he stared out at the distant view of the Pacific. “I slept with her because of the one I’ve been writing about.”

“Oh.” Will seemed genuinely shocked. Mostly because… if it wasn’t her then he had no clue who had Harry so messed up. “So it’s a mystery girl you won’t tell me about?”

For the first time in… he had no clue how long, some semblance of a smile appeared on Harry’s face, even if it was exasperated and sarcastic. “No.”

“And it’s the same girl you said doesn't like you back?”

Harry nodded, not really willing to verbally admit to it right now. Back when he’d first told Will about her, he’d been hopeful that he was just misreading things. That she might actually have actually liked him. But now… All hope was lost. 

He knew Y/N was bad with emotions but a little bit of anger or jealousy would have been better than nothing at all. The rain really was quite fitting.

“Does she even know that you like her?”

Harry sighed, a bit agitated because he knew Will was about to go on one of his advice rampages and he didn’t have the energy for it. “Not exactly. I feel like I’ve made it obvious though.”

“You’re really dumb, you know that?” Will stood after leaning against the outside wall of the studio and stepped closer to Harry near the edge of the roofed patio as he gave Will a very offended look over his shoulder. “You can’t just assume girls know things, especially if you’ve never actually said those three words. They can’t read minds.”

“Yeah but… what if I say them and it makes things worse?”

Will shook his head in disappointment, “People tend to regret the things they didn’t do or didn’t say more than the things they actually did, H.”

Harry was almost one hundred percent sure that if Will knew who he was giving Harry advice about, it would not at all be the same conversation. He wouldn’t be telling Harry to confess his undying love for Y/N. Will knew her better than Harry did. Hell, Will might tell him to get out while he can because clearly Y/N was going to do nothing but break his fucking heart.

And like magic, he heard her name coming out of Will like it had transferred from Harry’s brain to his friend’s mouth. He didn’t quite like the details that went along with her name, however. 

“Why don’t we have a party at your place again? Like old times.” Harry scrunched his nose at the idea and Will huffed, leaning up against the wood railing next to Harry like he was defeated, “I gotta do something to get Y/N out of her room, man.” Then his voice got softer, “I thought she was doing better, but I can’t listen to her cry anymore.” 

Harry’s entire body tensed up. Tears welled in his eyes without his permission. He knew she was crying because of him, whether or not he wanted to admit it. Maybe not for the same reasons he’d been crying recently, and even though imagining her alone in her room like that made the last bits of his heart finally break off, he was relieved to know she did feel something. That it hurt her too to be away from him. 

“Besides,” Will turned to face Harry again, “Perfect opportunity to invite this girl so you can work your shit out.”

Harry hung his head in his hands, biting his tongue. Once he had the urge to just come out with the whole truth under control, Harry looked at him again. “Fine, but you’re in charge of snacks.

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[refinedbuffoonery]

Flawless (1)

A Heist/Ocean’s 8 AU // Masterlist 

This story has been rattling around in my head for months now, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you! I’ve been describing this as an Ocean’s 8 AU, but it’s based more on the concept of the movie than the actual plot, although a few of the basic scenes are the same. Regardless, I have big plans for these girls. Content warnings for this fic are listed on the masterlist (link above). 

*****

“Good morning,” the parole officer said. “Please state your name for the record.” 

“Riley Davis.” 

“Thank you. Miss Davis, the purpose of this hearing is to determine whether you are likely to break the law again if released. According to the record, this is your first conviction, and you have never been suspect in another criminal investigation. During your time in prison, you kept to yourself and were well behaved.” The man looked up from her file. “As you know, parole is not a right. Parole is an immense privilege, Miss Davis, one you should not take lightly.” 

“I agree,” she said. 

“Good. What would you do if released?” 

Riley paused, thinking through her answer. “I would settle down, find a good job, fall in love, maybe have kids. I’ve learned my lesson, sir. It was a mistake. Now all I want is to lead a simple, happy life.” She placed one hand over the other, crossing her fingers on her covered hand. 

He squinted at her for a long time, like he was trying to read her mind. Riley painted her face in remorse. After several minutes, the parole officer relented and, apparently satisfied with her answers, said, “Very well.” 

Riley breathed a sigh of relief. By the end of the day, she’d be free. 

The officer continued, “The following are the conditions of your parole. You will report to me, in person, every two weeks until your parole period has ended. You may not cross state lines without my express permission. You must find and maintain steady employment. You may not use drugs or alcohol, nor enter any drinking establishments. You may not possess firearms or other weapons, and you may not associate with other persons with criminal records. In addition, you must obey all federal, state, and local laws, and generally be an upstanding citizen. If you do not follow these rules, Miss Davis, you will find yourself back in custody. Do I make myself clear?” 

Riley nodded. So close. “Yes, sir.” 

Extending his hand, the parole officer said, “Congratulations, Miss Davis. You are now a conditionally free woman.” 

“Thank you.” Riley shook his hand. 

The rest was all a blur. One minute she was sitting in a cold, metal chair with her wrists cuffed to a table, and before she knew it, Riley found herself changing out of her atrocious orange jumpsuit and pulling on skinny jeans and her buttery soft black leather jacket. Wearing real clothes didn’t hide the fact that she looked like shit, but in that moment Riley didn’t care. She was getting out of prison. 

After two years, one month, and four days, she was finally being released from prison. 

Two officers walked her to the exit. Opening the door, Riley squinted in the bright afternoon sunlight. She found herself in one last cage of chain-link fences with coils of barbed wire arching over the tops, and Riley quickened her steps through the open gate in front of her. 

A familiar face waited in the parking lot, perched on the back of a motorcycle. “Welcome back,” Nikki Carpenter said. The pair shared a conspiratorial grin. 

Riley hadn’t known who the officers called to pick her up, but perhaps her best friend coming to take her home was the universe’s repayment for the last two years. Nikki handed Riley a helmet before putting on her own and swinging her leg over the sleek, white bike. 

Riley started to put the helmet on and hesitated. She turned, looking back at the concrete cage she’d spent the last two years of her life in. Even though her sentence was only three years, the nagging voice in the back of her mind had reminded her every day that she might not make it out. Taking a shaky breath, Riley vowed to herself that she would die before finding herself on the wrong side of those fences and walls again. 

Never again. No matter what. 

Nikki must’ve noticed her hesitation, because she rested a hand on Riley’s shoulder. “You okay?” 

Still facing the prison, Riley couldn’t form the words to respond. 

“Hey. Thank you,” Nikki added softly. 

Riley didn’t want to deal with the implications of that ‘thank you.’ Not yet. Finally tearing her eyes away, she said, “Let’s get out of here.”

*****

“God, I need a drink,” Riley said as soon as they entered Nikki’s cozy two-bedroom apartment. Located in the heart of downtown LA, it was on the top floor of her building, so Nikki wasn’t subject to loud overhead neighbors stomping and dropping things in the middle of the night, but the elevator moved at a glacial pace and descending twelve flights of stairs was a bitch. Riley preferred residences that were easier to vacate—in case of emergency or unfortunate run-in with the feds—but it was nice enough. 

Nikki raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t avoiding alcohol a condition of your parole?” 

Riley shot her a withering glare and strode into the kitchen. She opened the white-painted cabinet above the stove, revealing Nikki’s extensive stockpile of wine and hard liquor, and dug around until she found the mason jar full of moonshine hidden in the back. Taking a big swig, Riley held Nikki’s gaze, daring her best friend to try to stop her. 

Nikki simply opened the fridge, pulled out some sort of leftovers, and put them in the microwave. While she waited, Nikki studied her. This is what it feels like to be an animal at the zoo, Riley thought as she squirmed under her friend’s scrutiny, crossing her arms over her chest. Riley took another big gulp of moonshine, letting the clear liquid burn her throat and make her stomach churn. 

The microwave beeped. Nikki grabbed a fork and the food and held it out to Riley. Content to doom herself to the worst hangover of her life, Riley shook her head in dismissal. 

“Eat,” Nikki commanded. She tugged on the waistband of Riley’s jeans. “You and I both know those weren’t mom jeans when you bought them.” 

Riley blinked. She’d eaten less while in prison, but it never seemed like a big deal. But the way Nikki was looking at her...she might as well have turned into a skeleton. Suddenly self-conscious, Riley obediently traded her drink for the food—lasagna, she realized—and settled onto the couch. 

After two years of cardboard-flavored prison food, the lasagna tasted like heaven. 

Riley waited until Nikki was mid-gulp before announcing, “I’ve got a plan.” Her best friend nearly choked. “Want to help me get the gang back together?” 

“What’s your plan?” Nikki ground out between coughs. 

Riley grinned. “I figure it’s time we go on that little trip to Paris we’ve always talked about.” 

Nikki shook her head. “Damn, you’re one crazy bitch, Riley Davis. You know that?” She paused, contemplating. “I’m in.” Handing back the moonshine, Nikki added, “But tonight, I say we get drunk and celebrate your freedom. Deal?” 

“Deal.” 

Thirty minutes in, they’d finished the whole jar of moonshine, and Riley’s head spun. She stumbled into the kitchen in search of water, suddenly grateful Nikki had made her eat a substantial meal before drinking. 

“So,” Riley slurred. “How’s it going with that boyfriend of yours? The cute blonde one.” 

Nikki groaned. “You mean the big fat liar? Fabulous.” 

“So it all blew up in smoke.” 

“You have no idea.” Nikki shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. “Anyway, I’m back to being single, but Sam and Desi are still as insufferable as ever.” 

“Think they’ll get married?” 

“No way. That’s just one more thing they’d have to deal with if they ever have to fake their own deaths.” 

“On the contrary,” Riley drawled, “they should take out disgustingly large life insurance policies and then take turns faking their deaths every time they run out of money.” The idea sounded flawless to her drunk brain. “I’ll help them with their new identities for a cut.” 

“How big?” 

“Twenty percent.” 

Nikki snorted. “Like they’d ever agree to that.” 

Riley snuggled up to Nikki as they settled in to watch a movie, ducking under Nikki’s arm and using her boobs as a pillow. As Riley’s eyes caught Nikki’s laptop charging on a nearby table, her friend’s babbling about what chick-flick to watch faded into white noise. Riley’s fingers twitched. It’d been too long since she had the comfort of a keyboard beneath the pads of her fingers—since she felt powerful, the way Riley always did when armed with a computer. 

Too long, in fact, since she’d had any agency at all. Riley banished the thought before Nikki could notice where her attention had wandered. 

The movie turned out to be one they’d seen a thousand times, but Riley didn’t mind. Honestly, she needed the familiarity, not that she would admit that to Nikki. Even drunk, Riley loathed to reveal any sort of weakness, no matter how small and insignificant. 

Nikki pinched her side. “You’re brooding. Stop it.” Riley grumbled, but she let the movie distract her all the same. 

When the credits rolled, Riley glanced up at Nikki and found her friend already staring down at her as she rubbed Riley’s head. That caged animal feeling resurfaced. It was moments like these when Riley hated how well Nikki knew her, making it that much harder to hide everything going on in her head. 

In an attempt to escape, she said, “I’m thirsty. Let’s celebrate.” Riley forced a giggle as she walked back to the kitchen, grabbing two wine glasses from the cabinet. Everything in Nikki’s kitchen was exactly where it was two years ago, the layout as familiar to her as her own. Did she still have her own? Riley was too drunk to remember what happened to the spacious penthouse apartment of a convicted felon. 

“Riles, nooooooooo,” Nikki whined. “We are so drunk already. We cannot drink any more.” 

“Relax.” Riley rummaged through the fridge, pulling out the milk and a bottle of chocolate sauce. She filled the wine glasses with milk, then added an ungodly amount of chocolate, giggling again when the bottle made a fart noise. Riley didn’t mix it very well, but she was too drunk to care. “Your chocolate milk, milady.” She held out the better mixed of the two, keeping the worse one for herself. Nikki accepted. 

Riley held up her glass in a toast. “To freedom,” she said. “And doing whatever the fuck we want.”

*****

“Phone,” Riley demanded the next morning. Nikki handed hers over without even looking up from the scrambled eggs she was making. Riley unlocked it on the first try. “You haven’t changed your password in the last two years? C’mon, you know better than that!” 

“My password is twenty-nine characters long! I don’t think anyone is going to…Wait you still remember it?” 

Riley scrolled through Nikki’s contacts with one hand, the other busy stuffing her face with toast. “Obviously,” she said through a mouthful of cinnamon swirl bread. 

“Damn,” Nikki muttered, turning back to her eggs. 

Riley found the name she was looking for. Desi Nguyen. The call nearly went to voicemail before the woman on the other end snarled, “What?” 

Riley couldn’t help her grin. “I’m out, and I’ve got a job.” 

“Good for you. Let me know how long you last living the clean life.” 

“No, you jackass. A job. You in?” 

Desi didn’t even hesitate. “Hell yeah I’m in.” 

“Great,” Riley said, “and since I’m assuming Cage’s mouth is too occupied to answer, tell her I say hello.”

“Fuck off,” Desi growled, but it came out just a tad breathless. She hung up before Riley could make a snarky comment about being right. 

“So,” Nikki asked. She dumped the scrambled eggs on two plates. “Are they in?” 

“They’re in.” Riley smirked, gratefully accepting her plate. She sat down at the kitchen table and resumed scrolling through Nikki’s contacts. Riley reached the bottom of the list, but the name she was looking for wasn’t there. Riley checked again to make sure she hadn’t overlooked it. 

“Why isn’t Leanna’s number in your phone?” Nikki kept eating. “Nik,” Riley pressed. “Why don’t you have her number? What happened while I was...gone?” If Nikki noticed how she’d stumbled over the last word, her friend didn’t let on. 

“Leanna got out. Got clean. She’s CIA now.” Nikki’s cold stare was clear. Do not ask me about this again. 

“Oh.” Riley hadn’t seen that coming. “How the hell did she pull that off?” 

“She’s good at making people disappear,” Nikki said matter-of-factly. “Guess she finally used her skills on herself.” There was more Nikki wasn’t saying, but Riley didn’t push her. 

They ate their scrambled eggs in silence. 

As she cleared their plates, Nikki said, “So tell me about this plan of yours. Are we really doing it?” 

“If by ‘it’ you mean the heist of a lifetime, then yes. We are absolutely doing it.” Riley swung her feet onto Nikki’s now-vacated chair. “I had two long years to figure out exactly how to pull it off. All I need now is my team.” 

Nikki raised an eyebrow. “Your team? Last I checked, the Five Eyes were our team.” 

Rolling her eyes, Riley snarked, “Semantics.” 

“Whatever.” Nikki was clearly upset, but Riley couldn’t bring herself to care. “I’m going to take a shower.” 

“Don’t drown,” Riley replied automatically. 

As soon as she heard the rush of water moving through the pipes, Riley snatched Nikki’s laptop. Once again, the password was still the same. Nikki took long showers, so Riley figured she had at least thirty minutes to find the information she needed. 

Hacking into the CIA’s employee database was all too easy for someone like Riley Davis. She practically had the secrets of the universe at her fingertips, but Riley didn’t waste time snooping. All she cared about was one name: Leanna Martin.

[blitheringmcgonagall]

All Too Well...

 @therealrjlupin sent me an ask to celebrate the reader milestone on ff.net for  We Can Be Heroes surprise, surprise asking for angsty Wolfstar!! Then tumblr ate your ask so sorry about that, here it is anyway. This is for you and for @stonecoldhedwig who wrote a very angsty Jily  My Heart Is Overcome  - very beautiful but so bloody poignant, so this is payback (also for the magnificent fanart for we can be heroes, but that deserves a lot more than this...!)

   All Too Well

“Black!”

Sirius felt his heart rate hammer and the blood pounding in his ears as he whirled around to face Snape, his wand in his right hand.

“What the fuck do you want, Snivellus?”

He was constantly on edge, ready to snap, to lose it, since he had run away from home that summer. He called it running away, but it wasn’t. Being thrown out and disowned by your own parents, with nothing but the clothes he had on that day… he had wanted to leave, Merlin yes, he had threatened to leave hundreds of times. But he had stayed. To be near Reggie. To protect his little brother. Physically protect him, certainly, but also to act as a barrier against his parents’ poisonous ideas, to stop them seeping into his immature, innocent, wretchedly gullible psyche. The Potters had taken him in immediately, kindly, enthusiastically, no questions asked.

But this constant worry about Reggie, this guilt for leaving him alone with them? His stupid, pathetic weakness in minding that his parents didn’t love him, this feeling of abandonment? He hated it, hated himself, hated everything, so much. He was irritable as fuck. Always on the offensive, and defensive, high alert, fight or flight. It didn’t help that Mulciber and his mates constantly muttered snide comments under his breath when he passed, loser, a nobody, disowned, nobody wants you. It infuriated him that it bothered him, that his throat had a habit of constricting, his stomach feeling sick every single time. Bastards. He wanted to hurt them, wanted to lash out, so badly. How many times had James and Remus stopped him mid-curse? How many times had he already found himself in Mc Gonagall’s office since the start of term?

Less than two days ago he had narrowly avoided yet another detention, he was ready to send a nasty curse Avery’s way, one of his family’s Black Specials, when Remus had appeared, breathless from running and grabbed hold of his robe and pulled him to the side. Avery had sent a curse his way and Remus had blocked it and deducted points. Once Avery was gone, Sirius had punched the stone wall, viciously, repeatedly.

“Padfoot, stop!” Remus had whispered urgently, still breathing heavily.

“I can’t,” he had whispered back, determined not to break down, hissing in pain as his bloodied knuckles collided with the stone again and again.

“Padfoot,” Remus had said, a look of horror and desperation on his face as he grabbed his hand and brought it up to his mouth.

He had stared in awe, momentarily stupefied.

“Don’t, please,” Remus had murmured gently, kissing his injured knuckles reverently. “I can’t bear it.”

He stood speechless for a moment, watching Remus’ face turn a warm hue.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, exhaling suddenly, their foreheads meeting.

Then they were kissing, almost frenzied, frantic, Remus backing him into the wall whispering his name over and over, all his rage and fears forgotten.

He didn’t know what it meant, but Remus’ face looked so different since then, all lit from within, golden almost. Sliding his long fingers so they intertwined with his own, under the table at breakfast and lunch and dinner. Stealing kisses behind the tapestry outside Charms and behind the greenhouse. Remus seemed to think they were… they were something. He desperately hoped so. He was too frightened to ask, but he went along with it, smirking widely and grinning like a loon every time Remus walked into his line of sight, hoping he looked cocky, arrogant, cool, collected. He did. Remus looked pleased, a warm look in his kind, moss-green eyes, a slight glow on his cheekbones, a glance his way, followed by his teeth biting the side of his lips. He looked smitten, and Sirius could feel himself melt.

“I saw you, with that half-breed, Lupin,” Snape said, quiet but calm.

He saw red, rage flaring in his chest till he couldn’t even see properly, his vision narrowed to just a pair of dark eyes and white face staring at him coldly.

“You’ll regret saying that,” he said, his wand hand raised, trembling.

“Your choice, Black, if you don’t want Lupin to end up in trouble with Bellatrix and her friends, you’ll prove that he and you are not together. Otherwise, he has a target on his back.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Black. Twenty-four hours.” “What the fuck? Why?” he shouted moving forwards with grim satisfaction as he saw Snape’s eyes fill with fear.

“That beast nearly killed me last year, as did you. Call it payback.”

“You bastard!”

His jaw was clenched so tightly, his lips practically closed. He jerked his knee up, without warning, and Snape groaned and doubled over, holding his groin.

“Mr. Black!”

It was Minerva Mc Gonagall, looking at him with concern.

“Follow me, immediately,” she said, motioning towards him as she went to check on the other student and directed him to the Infirmary.

“This behaviour cannot continue, Sirius,” she said.

There was worry in her stern eyes, and she was wringing her hands. He said nothing, clenching and unclenching his jaw and staring ahead.

“I will have to let your-“

Sirius’ breathing hitched and his eyes widened.

“Please, not Mother, she-“ he said.

“The Potters, I will have to let them know,” Minerva said, putting out her hand and squeezing his shoulder. “Mrs. Black will not hear about this.”

He saw her concern and nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat.

“Tell them I’m sorry.”

“Tell them yourself, Sirius.”

He felt so guilty for causing them trouble, but perhaps it was for the best, once they realised how fucked up and bad he was, they would get rid of him too, better if that happened now rather than later, when he got too used to Mia’s kindness and Monty’s soothing calmness. There were tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

                            ……………………….

  He was a coward. He had waited till the last few hours before the deadline, chain smoking, before finally asking Remus to meet him downstairs in the deserted common room. It was late. He could see Remus stifling a yawn, looking gorgeous in the candlelight, but so tired, and worried. He was always so observant.

“What’s wrong, Pads?” he said, putting his hand on Sirius’ knee and squeezing it gently, sitting opposite him beside the fireplace. “You haven’t been yourself all day.”

He tried to smile, faking everything, but he couldn’t speak.

“This…” he motioned between them, aware his voice was trembling.

“Us?” said Remus.

“There is no us,” he whispered hoarsely.

Remus removed his hand from his knee slowly.

“Oh,” he said softly.

Sirius sent him a tight smile, vacant and empty.

“You know me, I don’t do relationships.”

“I thought… I thought you liked it,” Remus smiled.

He looked hurt though.

“I did,” Sirius whispered.

“It doesn’t have to mean… it doesn’t need to be more than…” Remus whispered, still smiling, a few tears tracking down his right cheek. “I wouldn’t mind if...”

He wanted to scream.

“No, I can’t. Sorry.”

He heard Remus catch his breath and nod slowly, watched as Remus turned away and headed back towards the stairs, stopping when he got to the bannisters.

“You shouldn’t have… you should have told me,” Remus said. “I…”

He looked dignified, and shattered.

Sirius nodded, stiff upper lip, clenched jaw, shoulders so tight they hurt, praying his tears wouldn’t betray him until after Remus left. He could see Remus frowning, as though trying to sense how he was feeling. He turned his back on Remus and gripped the mantlepiece, trying to breathe.

“Padfoot?” Remus asked quietly.

“Go,” he answered, knowing he sounded all wrong, hard and desperate.

He heard Remus sigh, heard desolate footsteps fade as he ascended the spiral staircase, leaving Sirius spiralling downwards. He didn’t deserve Remus anyway, maybe it was for the best. 

Swiping furiously at his eyes he picked up his quill and wrote a note.

 Snape,

As discussed. Done.

Sirius Black

The ink was smudged, like Prongs’ left-handed notes.

[starshine583]

Le Paon Part 13

(Chapter 13 is out guys!! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did!)

Part 1 / Part 12 / Part 14

Felix stared up at the two story building as Fu hobbled forward to unlock the door. He had originally intended to call a cab and let the old man find his way from there, but Fu sheepishly admitted to not remembering the exact address of his house. So, Felix rode with him, and after twenty minutes of searching, they ended up here.

“You own a massage parlor?” He asked, noticing the small sign out front.

Fu nodded. “Yes, for many years now. It has been of great use to me.”

Felix didn’t respond, instead following the man inside once he unlocked the door. Someone with old joints like that must have trouble massaging others. Maybe he has employees? 

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me.” The old man began as he led them up a flight of stairs and through a hall.

Felix shrugged. “I couldn’t just leave you. It’s what anyone would have done.”

Fu stopped at a door towards the end of the hall and gave him a smile. “You live to be my age, and you’ll know that not just anyone would stop to help a random stranger.”

Felix furrowed his brows at the knowing look in the man’s eyes. Was there something he was missing?

“...If you’re all set here, I should be getting back to the theater. Adrien will be waiting for me.” Felix said, moving towards the stairs. He didn’t like the sudden feeling of exposure that this man was giving him.

“Oh, please, let me repay you somehow.” Fu requested. “I don’t have much money, but perhaps I could give you a soothing cup of tea?” 

Felix rose a brow, hesitant, but ultimately sighed. Repayment wasn’t necessary, since they lived in a mansion, but with everything that’s happened lately, maybe he needed some soothing tea. “One cup, and then I really should get going.”

“Wonderful.” Fu smiled as he pushed open a door and walked inside. “I already have a heated pot of water on the stove.”

Felix followed him into the room and sat on the mat that was in the middle of the floor that Fu pointed out to him. 

“I’ll go get the cups and pot.” Fu remarked, before strolling back out of the room. 

Felix simply nodded, taking the time to observe his new surroundings. The room was nearly bare, but it provided an open, calming space that helped him relax. A phonograph sat on one of the dressers in the room, which Felix found quaint. Not many people owned a phonograph now-a-days.

He stood up and walked over to the music player. The craftsmanship seemed to be delicate yet detailed, something he could admire. There were even strange, red symbols lining the sides of it. 

“It’s an antique.”

Felix whirled around to see Fu standing in the doorway, cups and teapot in hand.

“It’s exquisite.” Felix found himself replying.

Fu nodded and walked forward to place the teapot and cups on the mat. “It is a treasure that has been passed down through many generations.”

Felix rejoined the man and sat back down on the mat. “You’re very lucky to have it, then.”

Another smile crossed Fu’s lips as he poured some tea. “Yes, I know. I’m happy that it’s managed to remain undamaged during these akuma attacks.”

“Yes, the Miraculous Cure is a wonderful thing.” Felix said in a leveled tone, taking the cup of tea that Fu offered.

Fu hummed. “Indeed. I wonder when the attacks are going to stop.”

“One can only guess.” Felix muttered into his tea cup. In all honesty, he’d like to know when the attacks were going to stop as well. How long will he have to fight his own brother? How long will Marinette and numerous others be put in constant danger for the sake of one person?

“What is your guess?” Fu asked, taking a sip of his own cup of tea.

Felix faltered. “Uh- I can’t say for certain, but I suppose it’ll end when Ladybug takes down Hawkmoth or when Hawkmoth gets the miraculous.”

“And what of Le Paon?”

His grip on the tea cup tightened. “...Well, he works for Hawkmoth.. So it’s only fair that he’s taken down with him.”

Fu nodded. “That is true. He does work for Hawkmoth, but I’ve seen him save lives too.”

Felix cast his gaze to the floor. “Yes, he’s saved people, but only from the damage he’s caused.”

“From the damage Hawkmoth has caused.” Fu corrected. “Perhaps Le Paon has a reason for joining the terrorist’s side, hm? We cannot judge a book by its cover.”

Felix met Fu’s eyes again at that. Aside from Allegra and Marinette, he hadn’t seen anyone else defend his alternate identity. It was surprising, to say the least.

“Perhaps..” Felix murmured. He then set his cup aside and stood. “Thank you for the tea, but I need to get going. It was nice meeting you.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” Fu asked as Felix walked to the door.

“Unfortunately, yes. I’m sure. Have a nice evening.” 

Felix turned to go down the hall, when Fu called out his name again.

“I believe this is yours?” The man said, holding something out to him.

Felix’s eyes widened as he saw his peacock pin in the man’s palm. 

His hand shot to his chest, feeling the empty space where his miraculous used to be. How did it fall off? Why didn’t he notice when it did?

“Oh, um, y-yes. Thank you.” He fumbled, taking the pin back. Thank goodness the man realized it was Felix’s. If he had gone home without the peacock miraculous, Father surely would have been furious.

Fu smiled. “Enjoy your ride home.”

~~~~~~

Gabriel tapped his fingers together as he sat in his chair, his thoughts raging. That monster should have given Ladybug and Chat Noir plenty of distractions when it came to damage control and protecting the citizens. Felix should have had every chance to get at least one of their miraculous, and yet, Le Paon barely got away with his own! He just danced around the heroes like some game! 

On top of that, Felix hasn’t returned home from the movies yet, despite the fact that Adrien has. 

Gabriel’s office door cracked open, and he shot it a glare as Nathalie slipped inside. 

“Well? Is he back yet?” He asked sharply. 

“He’s about five minutes away.” Nathalie answered. “He claims to have stopped to help an old man who got mugged.”

Gabriel rose a brow. “Claims?”

“Well, Gorilla wasn’t with him, sir. We can’t be sure what happened.” She replied, her expression ever-so-neutral.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed with disapproval. “Nathalie, I’m aware that you don’t trust Felix, but he is my son. If he says he was helping someone, then he was.” 

Nathalie nodded. “Of course, sir.”

A flash of light passed the window, causing the two to pause.

“That should be him.” Nathaniel murmured.

“Send him in.” Gabriel ordered, gesturing for her to leave.

Nathaniel nodded again and swiftly left the room to collect his son. 

A few minutes later, Felix was standing before him with enough audacity to look Gabriel in the eyes as if he had done nothing wrong.

“You called for me, Father?”

Gabriel gave him a steely look. “You’re late.”

“I had to help an old man on my way back to the theater.” 

“So I’ve heard.” Gabriel responded curtly. “But that’s not the main issue here. Care to explain your performance tonight as Le Paon?”

Felix didn’t so much as flinch, and it only enraged Gabriel more. 

“I did the best I could with the circumstances you provided.” His son replied coolly.

“That monster was a perfectly capable distraction-”

“To both the heroes and myself.” Felix interjected.

Gabriel scoffed. “Aside from the monster, you still avoided the heroes’ advances, or rather Chat Noir’s.”

Felix stiffened, proving Gabriel’s statement correct. He had been avoiding Chat Noir. But why?

“..Where are you going at night?”

Felix blinked. “What?” 

“Where are you going at night?” Gabriel repeated forcefully. First the late night outings, then the purposeful evasion- something had to be going on. Was he talking with the heroes? Were they trying to turn his own son against him? “Nathalie’s shown me the video surveillance of you leaving as Le Paon without my permission. Where have you been going?”

Despite his son’s obvious efforts, Gabriel could see the panic on Felix’s face. What had he been doing that would warrant such nervousness?

“I..” Felix paused. “I didn’t think you would approve.”

“Approve of what?” Gabriel bit off.

“Patrols.” His son spit out hastily. “I didn’t think you’d want Le Paon roaming around at night in case someone spotted him, but I knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir would roam the streets at night too. I figured that I might be able to get the jump on one of them at some point.”

Nathalie scoffed behind them, but the way she froze when they turned to her gave Gabriel the impression that she hadn’t meant to be heard. 

“So you’re going on Patrols?” Gabriel asked, turning back to Felix with a suspicious expression.

“That’s the truth.” Felix said calmly. “But if you don’t believe me, feel free to take the pin back.”

Nathalie, to no one’s surprise, eagerly reached forward to take the miraculous, but Gabriel held up his hand to stop her. 

“That’s not necessary. Just make sure to check in with me before doing something flaunting your miraculous around again.” 

Felix nodded. “Of course.”

Gabriel stared at him for a moment, searching for a crack in the boy’s facade. 

Felix stared right back, unblinking, as if he was challenging Gabriel to find something else underneath his words. 

“You may go.” Gabriel finally remarked, waving him away.

Felix didn’t hesitate. He whirled around on his heel and strolled right out of the room. Gabriel wasn’t sure if that meant his son was eager to escape or simply had other things to do.

“You’re just going to let him go?” Nathalie asked incredulously.

“Is there some other action you think I should have taken?” Gabriel shot back. His secretary had become rather outspoken over the last few months.

“Oh- I don’t know -take his miraculous maybe?” She remarked, utterly bewildered towards his reactions.

Gabriel sighed. “That is enough, Nathalie. I will not sit and listen to you denounce my son so openly. You are dismissed.”

Nathalie opened her mouth to argue, but smartly thought better of it. She gave him a stiff nod and exited the room quietly, though he swore he could hear grumbles out in the hall afterwards.

Gabriel ran a hand over his face with another sigh. The possibility that Felix might have secretly joined the heroes both infuriated him and made him sick. Was Felix a traitor to their family? Or was he doing more than Gabriel could see? Time could only tell, he supposed. Once he got the miraculous, had Ladybug on her knees, they would see who’s side Felix was truly on.

~~~~~~

Marinette fluffed out the ruffles on her light pink dress to get a good look at them. They seemed poofy enough, and the black lining definitely made the light pink tips pop. A few more tweaks for the flower patterns, and it should be good to go!

“You know, I just don’t get it.” Alya said as she draped herself across Marinette’s chaise.

“What’s that?”

Alya held up her phone, showing Allegra’s blog “Birds of a Feather”. “How can so many people enjoy this blog? It’s glorifying one of Paris’ biggest threats!”

“He’s not all bad.” Marinette felt compelled to say. “He’s saved me on multiple occasions.”

And done a few other things. She refrained from adding. He still hadn’t come back to visit her after that night on the Eiffel Tower.

Alya looked at her like she had two heads. “You’re defending him?”

“I-I’m just saying-”

“He’s working with Hawkmoth!” Alya said emphatically, flailing her arms a bit.

“Maybe he has a reason?” Marinette replied sheepishly.

Like his mother being in an incurable coma.

Alya shook her head. “I get that he saved you, and that was nice of him and all, but he’s still helping a terrorist. Whatever reason he has shouldn’t take precedence over the lives of other innocent people.”

Marinette gave a nod, though she couldn’t find it in herself to completely agree. Le Paon’s choice of action wasn’t the best, but he only wanted his mother back. He wasn’t trying to destroy the city of Paris. His saving the civilians even when it put his chances of getting the miraculous in jeopardy proved that. Le Paon- or Hawkmoth -merely chose a horrible way to get the wish they needed.

Alya set her phone down with a sigh and shifted on the chaise to face Marinette. “Anyway, are you ready for tomorrow? It’s a big day.”

“I think so. You might have to help me fit the dress a bit, but other than that-”

“That’s not what I meant.” Alya interrupted before Marinette could ramble any further.

Marinette somewhat glanced to her right in a lazy attempt to look over her shoulder. “We’re talking about Homecoming, right?”

“Yes,” Alya drawled, “but I’m also talking about who will be there. Like a certain someone named ‘Felix Agreste?”

Marinette paused to avoid stabbing herself with the needle.

“What about him?” She asked, all too aware of her voice being an octave too high.

Alya smirked. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t refuse to tell me what happened between you two last week during the movies.”

“Nothing happened.” Marinette replied, continuing her work as her cheeks burned. Granted, something almost happened, but something almost happening and something actually happening are two completely different things. 

Not to mention, she didn’t even see him for the rest of the evening. By the time she got back to the theater, Adrien was telling everyone that Felix wouldn’t be back because of some old man that needed help on his way home. (A noble pursuit, mind you, but that didn’t ease the nerves that swirled in the pit of her stomach later that night. Did he regret it? Was it only a heat of the moment thing, and he didn’t actually love her? Would they even talk about it at some point? One could only guess.)

“If nothing happened, you would tell me!” Alya countered.

“I did tell you. The movie sucked, so we went for ice cream instead. That was it.” Marinette said, hoping Alya would just accept that answer for once. 

It’s not that she didn’t want to talk about it. She did. Almost kissing Felix left butterflies in her stomach and a wonderful warmth in her chest, but Alya would blow everything out of proportion. Due to the craziness of the upcoming dance, school work, and being Ladybug, Marinette hasn’t gotten to talk with Felix yet about the “almost kiss”. She hasn’t gotten to talk with him about anything, really. Telling Alya would only cause unnecessary pressure. 

Alya sighed. “Well, whatever happened last week, you’ll definitely be seeing him tomorrow night. You might even get to dance.”

Marinette bit her lip to avoid squeaking. Felix? Dancing with her? The very thought sounded heavenly.

“So, I’ll ask you again: Are you ready for tomorrow night?”

“I.. I don’t know.” She answered honestly. Was she ready? What if they did dance tomorrow night? What if they didn’t? What if he avoided her the entire evening because of the ice cream incident? 

What if they actually kissed?

Alya smiled and knelt down next to her, placing a comforting arm on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, girl. We’ll get you ready. When Felix sees you tomorrow, he’ll be so love struck that he’ll have to dance with you.”

Marinette giggled despite herself, because the thought of Felix being head over heels in love with her like that sounded too good to be true. 

Nevertheless, she smiled. “If you say so.”

“I know so.” Alya replied with a wink.

The two shared a small laugh, but as Marinette went back to sewing the finishing touches of her dress, Alya’s question continued to turn in her mind.

Was she ready to face Felix again?

Guess there was only one way to find out.

~~~~~~

Felix straightened his tie as he got out of the car and brushed off his suit coat. He’d never attended a homecoming dance before, but Allegra said it was somewhat similar to an informal ball or party. Hopefully the gym wouldn’t be too crowded.

Adrien gave him a light nudge as they started up the school steps. “Are you nervous?”

Felix frowned. “Of course not. Why would I be nervous?”

“Oh, no reason.” His brother replied with a shrug. “It’s just that Marinette’s going to be there.”

Felix turned his head slightly to avoid giving Adrien the satisfaction of seeing him blush. “And?”

Adrien smirked. “And she’ll probably be all dressed up and looking awfully beautiful. Are you going to ask her to dance?”

“That is for me to know, and you to find out.” Felix answered flatly.

Adrien chuckled. “I still don’t know why you’re so defensive about your crush on her.”

“I’m not defensive about it-” Felix stopped short, but it was too late. 

Adrien’s grin turned Cheshire-like. 

“Not defensive about it, you say?” His brother nearly purred. “So you do have a crush on her then?”

Felix groaned. “Can we just go inside?”

“That’s not a no~.” Adrien sang.

Felix smacked him, but Adrien only snickered as they continued inside the school. 

Though most of the lights were dimmed, Felix could hear the beat of the music and see the occasional flash of light from the gym. Echoes of laughter grew as they made their way to the decently-sized crowd at the center of the school, and soon, the two were merging with the other students under the red, green, and blue strobe lights. Adrien smoothly joined his classmates, while Felix opted to linger on the edge of the crowd. The atmosphere was a bit too loud for his liking, and the flashing lights prevented him from differentiating Allegra and the others from the rest of the people.

Felix took a small cup of punch from the refreshments table- which was also on the edge of the crowd -and enjoyed a few sips of the pink drink. Unfortunately, the lemony taste didn’t soothe his nerves. 

He knew he shouldn’t be nervous, because Marinette would never be anything remotely close to cruel, but they still hadn’t talked about the kiss that almost happened last week. Between his school, the new fashion line that he’s had to help supervise, and Adrien’s shoots, Felix has barely had enough time to even look in Marinette’s direction. (Though that never stopped him from doing so.) 

Father’s punishment for sneaking out was certainly severe, more so than he probably knew. With the extra security surrounding Felix now-a-days, his nightly visits to Marinette as Le Paon were also impossible. He hated not being able to see her more.

Someone stopped next to him at the punch table, but he didn’t realize who it wasn’t until they poked him to get his attention.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re hiding in the back?” Allegra teased.

“It’s called ‘skillful evasion’.” Felix corrected, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Allegra snorted. “Sure it is. How long have you been here?”

“We’ve only just arrived.”

She nodded. “That’s good. Marinette’s here, you know.” 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Felix grumbled, despite knowing full well the reason behind the comments.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Allegra began sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, “Maybe it’s because you texted me to ask if you could use me as an excuse to see her, or maybe because you haven’t been able to stop staring at her since then. Or-”

“Alright, alright. Point taken.” Felix cut in with a glare.

Allegra smirked. “She looks stunning. You should really go talk to her.” 

Felix glanced down at his cup as he leaned back against the punch table, not replying. He should go talk to her. But how? He couldn’t just stroll up to her like nothing’s happened between them, right? How does one approach a situation like this, exactly?

Allegra heaved a playful sigh. “Alright, come on. Let’s go find her.” 

“What-” was all Felix got out before Allegra started tugging him through the crowd. 

“I thought I saw her over here somewhere.” Allegra muttered to herself as she pulled him along.

“Allegra, wait-” Felix tried to interject.

Allegra whirled around to face another direction. “Or was it over here?”

“You can’t just-”

“Hey! There you are!” Claude suddenly exclaimed next to them. “I’ve been looking for you, Fe.”

“Oh good,” Allegra smiled, “because we’re looking for Marinette. Any idea where she went?”

“Marinette?” Allan spoke up, popping up behind Claude. “I think I saw her with Alya next to the DJ booth under the hanging lantern things.”

“Perfect!” Allegra chirped. 

Felix jerked on his hand, to no avail. “Now, wait just a minute-”

“Let’s go!” Claude cheered, gathering with Allan behind Felix. 

The three then proceeded to push Felix to the other side of the gym. He struggled as best he could, but it was no use. The trio- specifically Allegra -had an iron grip on him. Felix was at their mercy.

A few of the students gave him odd looks for being shoved across the gym floor, but Felix was much more worried about Marinette’s familiar giggles growing closer and closer. 

Alya came into view, and with a final shove, the trio sent Felix stumbling towards the two girls. He flailed his arms a bit to regain balance, before shooting a glare at the three. They gave him a cheerful wave, but swiftly disappeared into the crowd again before he could chew them out.

One day.. Felix thought to himself with a scowl as he straightened. One day I’m going to get them back for all of these stunts.

“Felix?”

Felix grimaced at the voice he knew all too well. 

He turned to Marinette, ready to give some sort of greeting or apology, but when his eyes landed on her, any words that had been forming in his mouth promptly disappeared. 

Words couldn’t possibly describe how radiant she looked. Her light pink dress fluffed out around her with flowers peppered along the different pieces of fabric. The silver necklace hanging loosely around her neck brought attention to her creamy skin color, and her hair- oh her hair. In all the time he’d known her, Felix had never seen Marinette’s hair completely down. Now that he had, however, he would gladly admit that it’s something he could never get tired of seeing. The lightness of the dress only accented her hair’s naturally dark color, and it looked as if the inky, night sky itself had decided to curl around her shoulders that evening.

“I…” Felix cleared his throat. “I see you finished the dress.”

A light blush dusted her cheeks. “I did. Do you like it?”

She took the tips of two of the ruffles and did a small twirl. The back of the dress, he realized, dropped low, almost reaching the middle of her back.

Felix swallowed. 

“It’s stunning.” You’re stunning.

Marinette smiled brightly, and Felix swore he felt dizzy. “Thanks! The patterns were a nightmare to get, but I like the way they turned out.”

“So do I.” Felix said. “You did a fantastic job.” 

“Didn’t she?” Alya suddenly spoke up, wrapping an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “I told her it looked great. Oh!-” Her gaze snapped upwards and a feigned look of concern crossed her features. “Is that Nino calling? I should go see what he wants. Have fun you two!” 

Alya gave Marinette a playful pat on the back that swiftly turned into a shove, and Marinette stumbled forward with a yelp.

Right into Felix’s arms.

Felix fell back a step as he wrapped his arms around Marinette to help balance her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, sorry, I didn’t expect her.. too..” Marinette trailed off as she looked up at him, a heavy blush slowly forming across her cheeks.

Felix flushed too, because he knew exactly why she was flustered. They were- once again -pressed against each other, so close that he could almost lean forward to finish what they started last week.

Almost.

“It’s not your fault.” Felix said softly, loosening his grip on her.

Marinette straightened, and he reluctantly let his hands completely fall back to his sides. 

“Right..” She replied absently, still staring at him with a dazed look in her eyes. 

Felix offered a small smile, but he couldn’t help wondering what it meant for her to stare at him like that. Was she thinking about their almost-kiss too? Should he bring it up? 

~Alright, everyone, it’s now time to slow down!~ The Dj exclaimed over the speakers.

Their classmates cheered, and the strobe lights shut off, only for the pink lanterns above them to turn on. Soft music floated through the speakers, causing students around the room to pair up. 

Felix glanced at Marinette, who was now staring up at the red lanterns with awe. He cleared his throat to get her attention, and mentally crossed his fingers as he extended his hand to her. “Would you, um, would you do me the honor of having this dance with me?”

Felix winced at his wavering tone. Was that too formal? Could she tell he was nervous? He’s never actually asked anyone to dance with him before.. Maybe he should try again more casually-

The feeling of Marinette’s hand in his stopped his thoughts in their tracks.

“I would love to.” She said, a hidden layer of giddiness and bashfulness lacing her tone.

Felix’s smile as he pulled her close had to have been the goofiest expression he’d ever made, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Marinette was in his arms, and the way she giggled as they spun around the gym made him feel lighter than air. 

“I’ve never seen you wear a suit before.” Marinette commented after a few spins, rubbing her hand over his arm to feel the material. “It looks nice.”

“Thank you. It’s part of my Father’s brand, though. He’s always having us wear his things to promote the company.” Felix responded, holding her hand up so she could twirl again.

Marinette nodded thoughtfully before spinning out. “The design’s a bit plain for being part of the Agreste brand. If they wanted to promote it, they should have put a little twist on it to help stand out.”

Felix smirked as he pulled her back. “Are you criticizing one of the top fashion designers?”

Marinette flushed a deep scarlet, almost missing his other hand when she crossed her arms to lean her back against his chest. “Uh- no, no! I mean- not necessarily criticizing, I-I just-”

Felix laughed. “Don’t worry, I completely agree with your opinion. Father’s become lazy with the fact that he’s so famously known.”

Marinette let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah..”

“Maybe you can make my suit next time I go to a formal event.” Felix then suggested, before spinning her back out.

He thoroughly enjoyed Marinette’s eyes blowing wide at the remark.

“Wait, really? You’d want me to?” She asked, shock written all over her face as she drew back into him at the end of the twirl.

Felix chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist once more. “Of course. Father would be furious, but I think it would be worth it.”

Marinette fell silent, which worried him. Did he say something wrong? Was she upset about the comment of his Father’s temper? 

A sniff came from her before his thoughts spiraled too far, and Felix froze as tears started to glisten in Marinette’s eyes. Was she crying?!

Before he could react, Marinette flew forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.

“Thank you.” She said, her voice a bit muffled. “For being so supportive of me.”

Felix, though confused, relaxed a bit and hugged her back. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Well, it means more to me than you could ever know.” Marinette confessed. 

You mean more to me than you could ever know. Felix thought to himself, holding her a bit tighter. 

“It’s my pleasure to help you.” He said honestly.

A breath of a chuckle brushed his neck. 

“Even when you have to go out of your way to do it?” She asked lightheartedly.

Felix nodded. “I don’t mind going through a few obstacles to make your life easier, Marinette.”

After all, he would do anything for her, even if it meant giving up his Father’s approval, or giving up his carefully built freedom that came with it. 

That thought should terrify him, knowing someone could control him so easily, but who could possibly be afraid of those shimmering blue eyes?

Marinette lifted her head off of his shoulder, which he would have been disappointed about had she not grabbed his hand right after. “Let’s go get some strawberry lemonade. All of this dancing has made me thirsty.” 

Felix smiled. “Lead the way.”

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