#i drew over a photo i took oh her on my desk

[loafbud]

Roxy drew herself! She's very proud of it

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Liz, Biotechnician

Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liz was sitting in the lab, staring at a computer screen, and had been for 2 hours. She’d been asked for a consult by an associate of hers back on Earth who’d written a paper on Xenobiology, namely the life cycles of a very long lived aquatic species in the Gamma Seas.

Like immortal space whales, she thought sluggishly. While an intensely interesting topic to her, the paper itself was painfully dull. She’d only gone through half of it, but not once did it talk about their multicolored scales or the high frequency songs they sung to one another in the deep oceans. It’s was like she’d been editing textbooks all morning.

The only upside was she’d been soaking her feet in a portable spa under the table the whole time. If she was going to be trapped at her desk for hours on end, she was at least going to pamper herself while she did it. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. The whole room smelled of lavender now. It was nice.

Across the room the door opened, and in came the Sprygan.

“Hey stranger, haven’t seen you all day,” Liz said, without taking her eyes away from the screen.

“Is that what you have decided to call me?”

“Huh?” Liz looked up now, confused.

“Stranger. It’s not a name I’m familiar with.” The Sprygan stood there, and Liz was once again reminded of how small her lab partner was. Even when she was sitting down, the Sprygan only came up to her chest with their canopy.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, it’s just… like it’s a way to greet people, on Earth, I guess,” Liz didn’t want to start rambling again. The Sprygan just stood there, watching her. She assumed it was watching her, at least, they didn’t have a face. Supposedly the ones that went off world had a device implanted to turn thought into sound waves so they could communicate with other species, so having no mouth didn’t stop them, and had receptors in their branches to ‘see’ around them, like ganglia sending signals to the brain.

“Oh. Hello then, Human Liz. I didn’t realize your kind also drew in nutrients from your extremities.”

Liz was confused further for a moment before she realized they meant her tiny spa.

“Oh no, we don’t, that’s just to relax my joints. We eat things with this hole in our faces,” she pointed to her mouth and opened wide to show off her teeth. The Sprygan seemed to flinch away for a moment before settling.

“I understand. My mistake.”

They shuffled off to their aluminum pot in the corner, and clicked on the photo bar hanging from one of their branches.

Liz you probably just freaked them out all over again. Can a tree stress eat?

Liz took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Screw it, just say it.

“I think I made a mistake too,” she started, taking her feet out of the tub and turning her chair to face the pot. “I have not once meant to make you uncomfortable, but that seems to be all I’ve done since I walked in this lab. I’d really like to apologize for any…misunderstandings I’ve caused.”

The Sprygan didn’t move or say anything for a few painfully long seconds.

“I do not believe there have been misunderstandings. You have been very informative on how…meat[?] species behave.”

Liz tapped her translator, hoping to hear the alternative phrasing before she laughed out her nerves.

[Direct Translation of Sprygan word {meat}; non Sprygan; hunter; predator; creature that consumes proteins]

Liz laughed a little anyway, more like a nervous chuckle.

“Well then, okay, I’m glad you don’t hate me. I was really hoping we could be friends, since we’ll be here for a year together.”

The Sprygan reached a vine out and pressed a panel in the wall, popping a screen on.

“What is friends?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liz had decided to take a break from both the space whale paper and her new ‘friend’, after she’d explained what that was. The Sprygan had concluded that ‘yes, that would be satisfactory.’

She couldn’t tell if it was a difference in brain chemistry or that they were just both inept at social niceties, but Liz was exhausted. How was she supposed to explain mammalian pack bonding to what was basically a bonsai tree from another planet? She wasn’t exactly the home coming queen back in the Academy, and if she was being honest, aside from her sister the only people who even called her were work colleagues asking for assistance on their work.

She needed sugar. Chocolate. Something to keep her brain awake while she trudged through the rest of the shift. She wondered if she explained the phrase ‘pulling teeth’ would the Sprygan understand her.

Liz walked down the hall from the lab, to the junction where the stairs and grav-lifts connected the floors and stopped in front of the Vending Machine. She still couldn’t believe these things could just make her a chocolate bar. They were all the rage on Earth. Just 10 years prior they’d been invented, able to restructure molecules into something else. They’d need materials of course, not unlike 3D-printers, but a box that could turn a spool of goop into anything from pizza to baseball cards was okay by her. She’d heard they were working to make improvements, turn energy into matter through synthesis, but that had to be a ways off. Still, a girl could dream.

The machine dinged and dropped out a few candy bars. Liz took them and started back to the lab. The door hissed open, and she saw the Sprygan at her station, looking at her screen.

“What are you doing?” She asked through a mouthful of chocolate.

“You were looking at a scientific thesis on the life cycles of the Lamorcan whale, I corrected a few mistakes…what is that? What do you have?”

If Liz was ever unsure of where the Sprygan’s attention was, right now it was laser focused on her. Several vines extended in her direction, circling around her face like snakes.

“Whoa, what the hell you doing hon?” Liz took a quick step back, slapping away a vine, which jerked back to the main body. The others stayed out.

“I can smell[?] something you have. You’re eating[?] something.”

She didn’t have time to get alt translations, because right then the Sprygan’s canopy started shaking almost violently.

“I know what that substance is! I didn’t know it grew on other worlds!”

It was the most energetic Liz had ever seen her lab partner. She’d laugh if it wasn’t freaking her out.

You mean… the chocolate?”

“If that’s what you call it, yes. Can I have some?”

“Will you retract the tentacles?”

The vines pulled back a little, enough for some breathing room at least. Liz broke off a chunk of chocolate and held her hand out. The Sprygan’s vine ‘hand’ reached out and plucked it from her palm before retracting back into their canopy. Their leaves shook again, this time for longer, and there was a slight hum in the air.

“So I guess you like it? I’m honestly asking, can you even…taste things?”

“Not like you can, but different nutrients give off different sensations. The glucose in this is extraordinary, and whatever else is in this chocolate as you call it is divine.”

“Cool, another sugar junkie,” Liz chuckled. She didn’t even have time to explain what that meant, she just kept breaking off pieces of candy bar and giving them to the Sprygan.

The chocolate buffet went on for a while, with an explanation somewhere in the middle about how something similar to cocoa beans grow on Spryga. Apparently they were an extremely sought after delicacy in the Sprygan colonies.

“So seriously, nobody has names on your world?” Liz asked after they’d gone through enough chocolate bars to make Willy Wonka scared.

“Only the colonies. I was part of the [error error].”

They made a physical sound by shaking their branches, with creaks and pops and leaves shaking.

“Yeah I don’t think I can pronounce that, hon,” Liz said. The two of them were sitting side by side on the work table in the middle of the room, her legs swinging above the floor, the Sprygan just standing on the counter. Upon closer inspection, their ‘limbs’ were just vines and roots wrapped together to form the shape of legs and feet.

“So how do your people talk to one another if you don’t have names? Do they just say ‘hey you’ or something?”

“We communicate through tactile contact with our roots or branches. I was confused in the last cycle when you held your hand out to me, I thought humans did the same thing.”

“Oh, no, sorry about that.” Liz threw another chocolate chunk in her mouth and dropped one through the leaves on their ‘head’.

“You need a nickname.”

“What is that?” They were shaking as they ‘ate’ the chocolate. Liz swore they were a little bigger than they were that morning. She vaguely remembered something about earth plants needing glucose to grow, so maybe space plants just did it faster?

“It’s like a special name your friends call you, I guess. Like my name is Elizabeth, but I like it when people I like call me Liz.”

The two of them had gone through literal poundage of chocolate by this point. Liz started to wonder if Sprygans could get sick off the stuff. She herself was feeling a stomachs ache coming on, when an idea popped into her head.

“Coco. I’ll call you Coco. That okay with you?” Liz hopped off the table, her still bare feet plopping onto the cool metallic floor. She faced the Sprygan and held out her hand again.

“Hello, again. My name is Elizabeth Collins, and I’m a biotechnician here on the Noah. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The Sprygan reached out with a vine and wrapped it around her hand.

“I’m a Sprygan from the [error error] colony. My friend named me Coco. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Okay then, glad we sorted that out. Now, you wanna help a girl out with this space whale paper? I think we can get through it faster with two of us.”

“I’ve already started, there were several mistakes in the first 4 pages I’ve corrected…”

Liz smiled. She’d made a friend. Maybe life on board the Noah would be better than she initially thought.

So long as there was chocolate on board.

[fazedlight]

Listening (Rift resolution, with reference to Kara’s article from Batwoman 1x10)

“I appreciate the favor,” Kate said, as Kara turned off her voice recorder. “It’s nice we’re in the same universe now.”

“Definitely,” Kara said, smiling back. She jotted down some final thoughts, before closing her notebook. “It’s a favor to me, too. Andrea will love this story.”

It had been a messy incident. When a local officer, Slam Bradley, had pushed Kate - Batwoman - out of harm’s way, someone had been snapping photos. Once the pictures went viral, the press had a field day, speculating on the nature of Batwoman’s relationship with Slam Bradley… which he had only played up.

It prompted Kate to make the decision for Batwoman to come out as a lesbian - not just to clear the air, but to give hope to the queer kids of Gotham.  “Are you nervous?” Kara asked. “I’d be nervous.”

“Relieved,” Kate said, and Kara thought it was all too fitting of the Paragon of Courage. Kate nodded in Kara’s direction. “Sounds like you’ve thought about doing it. What makes you nervous?”

Kara sighed, looking at her hands.

“Oh,” Kate said. “Your friends don’t know?”

Kara’s brow crinkled. “I- I wanted to come out to them. Years ago.”

“There was someone?” Kate asked.

“It got complicated,” Kara said. “I don’t know if she’s even queer anyway. And then we had a falling out, so…”

“So if you came out, everyone would know what she meant to you.”

Kara nodded. “It took the joy out of it. So I didn’t.”

-----------

Kara sighed as she reached her desk, sloughing off her bag and dropping it in her chair. She would rather be transcribing Kate’s interview and writing her article at home where she could use superspeed - but since Andrea wanted the staff in the office, it seemed Kara was stuck taking the slow route.

Kara tilted her head, tracking a familiar heartbeat down the hall. What’s she doing here?, Kara thought curiously, trying to avoid looking as Lena followed Andrea into a small meeting room. I shouldn’t eavesdrop, I shouldn’t eavesdrop, I shouldn’t eavesdrop…

“Well, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you,” Lena derided, as Kara tuned in, “But I didn’t come here for this conversation.”

“I’m not offended,” Andrea said, and Kara could hear the grin in her voice. “I’m just amused. Of all the names to call out-”

“Andrea-” 

“- you really fantasize about Kara Danvers fucking you?”

Kara’s head snapped up in time to see Lena’s frame stiffen through the glass walls. Andrea and Lena?, Kara thought, her eyes wide, They were-

“I’m not talking about this here,” Lena said. “Either get to the contract amendment, or I’ll leave.”

“Please, Lena, it’s not like she can hear us.”

Lena shouted my name? Kara thought in a panic, rising quickly to her feet, intent on somehow shutting down the conversation - because if she didn’t, she was going to lose her sanity. She shouted my name, while they were- while they-

Her steps were perhaps slightly too fast, and she accidentally caught Lena’s eye for a moment before she burst in, the brunette looking like she clearly wanted to murder someone. But Andrea was unperturbed by Kara’s arrival. “Sorry to interrupt!” Kara said, knocking on the door as she swung it open.

“Yes, Ms. Danvers?”

“I-” Kara’s mind drew a blank, before the right excuse fell into her head. “I have an exclusive with Batwoman!”

Andrea hummed in interest, and Kara could feel the daggers Lena was glaring into her.

-----------

Lena glanced down at her drink. 

The winter night was cool enough that she should get something warm - even in National City. But the scotch and rage were keeping her warm enough for now, as she stood on her balcony, looking out over the city’s lights. 

She knew she could be spending another night with Andrea if she wanted. Let off some steam. She knew rationally, Kara finding out wasn’t really Andrea’s fault. But Lena was not in a forgiving mood. She was better off alone and rageful.

A familiar double-tap sounded behind her on her balcony, and Lena’s jaw tightened. “Why are you here?” she demanded, without turning.

“I… I found out something that you didn’t want me to know,” Kara said, and Lena could almost hear the blush in her voice.

“If you think that meant anything-”

“I know it doesn’t,” Kara said. “I’m- I’m just here to tell you something I don’t want you to know.”

Lena’s brow furrowed in confusion, as she turned to look at the bashful blonde. Kara looked back curiously, only partially successful at her attempt to hide her regret. “You think that’s fair?” Lena asked. “You get to choose a secret, because you spied on me?”

“No,” Kara said. “But it’s the best I can do.”

Lena left her drink on the balcony, crossing her arms and glaring at the super, her pose haughty and expectant.

Kara swallowed hard. “I’m in love with you.”

Lena’s eyes widened. What the fuck is she talking about?

“For what it’s worth,” Kara said, looking over the balcony instead of at Lena’s face. “I hear it sometimes, around the city. Supergirl’s easy to fantasize about. I know it’s just lust. ”

Kara paused. “I know it doesn’t mean anything to you. But you mean everything to me. If anyone should feel ashamed, it’s me.”

Before Lena could come up with something she could say, Kara was gone.

-----------

Lena tried to ignore it. Tried to pretend that night never happened. Kara doesn’t love me, she told herself. It’s just another lie.

Her anger boiled over one evening, when Kara landed again at Lena’s balcony, just to call her a villain. Lena didn’t sleep that night, tossing and turning and mumbling in disbelief that Kara would have the audacity.

So the next morning, she showed up at Kara’s door. 

Unslept and frazzled, and perhaps not entirely thinking straight when Kara opened the door, Lena marched in and turned, yelling without preamble. “It’s a fucking lie, Kara, you don’t just get to say that!” Lena shouted.

“What do you mean?”

“If you loved me…” Lena panted, as Kara’s eyes widened. “If you loved me, you couldn’t have hurt me like that!”

“I said I loved you,” Kara said, her voice tight with stress. “I never said I was good at loving you.”

Lena hesitated.

“I know I hurt you,” Kara said. “And I’ll never forgive myself for it. Just like I don’t think you’ll forgive yourself if you keep going with what you’re doing.”

“And you told me, to what? Win me over?”

“I already said, I told you because I didn’t want you to feel embarrassed about shouting for Supergirl-”

“I didn’t shout for Supergirl,” Lena growled.

Kara’s eyes widened at the implication, and Lena felt ice run through her veins as she realized what she had done. Without another word, Lena marched back towards the door, and left.

-----------

Is she right?, Lena thought. Will I regret this?

Has working with Lex ever gone well?

Kara was a liar. A liar. The years of deceit, the crocodile tears at the Pulitzer. This could just be another lie in a long list of lies and manipulations. A means of control. But why didn’t it feel that way?

“I said I loved you. I never said I was good at loving you.”

Lena leaned over her kitchen counter, putting her face in her hands. Could it really be that simple?

-----------

Kara tried to control the pounding of her heart as she made her way through the park.

It was a familiar sight, harking back to the day just a few years ago when Lena had made her announcement - that LuthorCorp would be LCorp. That was no longer true on Earth Prime, of course, but the place made Kara smile. It was one of the first places they had met.

She supposed Lena chose it as neutral ground. LuthorCorp, Catco, the DEO, either of their homes - those places all had much more baggage. But it left Kara asking, why? Why did Lena want to meet at all?

She found Lena by heartbeat before she saw her. Lena was sitting on a bench, sipping from a coffee cup, staring ahead at the park. She turned to Kara, though not quite meeting her eyes, nodding as Kara took a seat next to her.

Moments passed in silence.

“I’m not working with Lex anymore,” Lena said. “I messed up.”

“I messed up too,” Kara said. “I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”

Lena nodded, staring at her hands, swallowing harshly. “I want to try again.”

Kara’s eyes widened, before a small smile crossed her face. “I’d like that.”

“Do you think we can?” Lena asked. “Do you think we can fix this?”

“I have hope.”

-----------

One morning, a couple of months later, an article by Lois Lane caught Kate Kane’s eye. The news page featured a smiling Supergirl, standing tall and proud, with an audacious headline. “America’s Power Bisexual? Supergirl Comes Out.”

She got the girl, Kate thought, her lips quirking into a smile. She reached for her phone, sending off a quick text. “Congratulations, Danvers.”

[faye-the-traitor]

👉👈

Ummmmmmm

I've lost control of my life

More nsfw monty×femreader or sundrop/moonxfemreader nsfw

______________________________________

Nightlight

Sun/Moon x Fem!Reader

Warnings: NSFW, Foul Language

"Thank you for staying with us at the daycare! We hope to see you again soon little man." You smiled softly and waved goodbye to the boy with his little blue jeans on.

The day was coming to an end and this was your week to close out the daycare and be there to organize child pick up once the pizza plex began closing down. You huffed softly, stretching and pressing your hands into your lower back, hoping to pop it. After bending down and picking up children all day, you back really needed to be popped and you honestly couldn't wait for everyone to head out so you could pop it correctly.

"Miss (Y/n)! Miss (Y/n)! I made something for you today!" A child screamed, running in your direction.

Her green eyes seemed to light up when you grabbed her up and twirled around with her in your arms. She squealed and shoved the paper in your face, telling you to look over and over again at the crudely drawn picture.

"Oh my goodness! Did you make this all by yourself?" You asked, feigning awe at the child's drawing.

It was a rough semblance of the day care and a handful of children, all surrounding you and Sun who were holding hands and smiling. You didn't think much of that detail at first until the child began to explain.

"That's you with the black pants, and this is me and this is...." she named every child in the photo..."And I made you and Mr. Sundrop holding hands because you're boyfriend and girlfriend!" She giggled loudly, while you passed her off to her parents.

"I just love the drawing Hunny Bun, but Mr. Sundrop and I aren't boyfriend and girlfriend. Mr. Sundrop is my friend, just like Tommy is your friend!" The girl looked awfully confused but nodded anyway as you took her drawing and waved her goodbye, her parents thanking you and taking her away from the Daycare.

She was the last child for pickup, and your day was officially over. You wandered back to the desk, shutting off the lamps and signing off the monitors. You took one of the silly little glitter stars in the drawer and stuck the drawing on the wall with the hundreds of other drawings you collected. It was almost like a pride thing, keeping all these little kids' drawings.

"Heya (Y/n)! Another drawing for the wall?" Sun chuckled, wandering behind the desk and looking at the newest addition.

"Yep. She drew us in the middle holding hands because apparently, we're Girlfriend and Boyfriend according to her." You shook your head with a smile, going to walk away and find the broom to do one last quick sweep of the floor before heading into the employee tunnels to finish your nightly duties.

Sun followed you, a twisted look on his face. You had associated this look with Moon chatting and making a comment so you often passed it off. You don't see Moon very often but every once in a blue moon sun will shut the lights off so He has his time to roam and chat with you.

"What makes little Miss. Meena think we're together?" Sun Asked.

"Ya'know, I'm not too sure. Maybe it's because we both work her in the daycare? She didn't exactly specify why, but I did tell her we weren't together. She was super confused by it, but accepted it nonetheless."

You began to sweep the broom across the floor and shook your head with a small smile. It was silent for a moment and you just made the assumption that Sun and Moon were silently chatting, but before you could ask what they were talking about, a cool feeling metal snaked around your wrist, tugging at you and forcing you to stand straight and look to see what was going on exactly.

Sun was gazing directly into your eyes, and he began to back you up against the wall where the soft padding meets the cold glass. Your breath hitched and your heart rate increased as it does every time this happens after closing.

"We aren't? Then why do I get to touch you every night after close?" Sun asked, being awfully brazen.

Sun was never like this; he was always so polite and so gentle about everything he did. You cocked your head, confused by this sudden change in attitude.

"We'll no....We never talked about it and never established what we wanted."

"So, we need to talk about it?"

"Well, yeah..." You whined as Sun brushed his cold hand in-between your legs.

"You don't think anything of our nightly escapades?"

You couldn't answer before Sun took your hand and lead you to the back storage room that you both had re-arranged into a somewhat comfortable room. It was against the Pizza Plex Policy for any employee to stay after hours who was not a specified nightguard, but you loved Sun's company and home wasn't always the best place to be, especially when you close one night, and need to be back at 6am to open the next morning.

Sun shoved you onto the twin-sized bed that had been moved in and he laid on top of you, pressing a knee in between your legs and preventing you from closing them. A very soft huff resonated from your chest, and Sun began to trail his hands down your chest, the single nightlight in the room being to only thing that kept him, himself.

"Sundrop? What's going on with you?"

"You don't see anything here? Or have you just been ignoring all the time we've spent together? Do you not want to be apart of anything more than this?"

Your heart dropped, realizing that he thought things were different, he saw this situation as something completely different than you did and that made you feel bad. Maybe you had ignored all the signs, maybe you were refusing to acknowledge it.

"Sundrop...I-"

A soft buzz and a gentle flicker of the nightlight made both you and Sun look and helplessly watch the Nightlight go out. Neither of you moved as the little sun rays vanished, the yellow slowly turned blue, and his eyes went dark, turning to gaze directly at you.

"If Sun won't do it.....I will..." Moon mumbled, taking things into his own hands.

He began to nibble at you jaw and neck, his hands wasting no time to unbutton you slacks and sliding in, almost as if they had a mind of their own. You whined softly as you panties were pushed to the side and the cold metal slid into you, the heat from you walls slowly warming the metal and soaking it. Moon didn't wait and began to finger you, curling his fingers upwards to press on you g-spot and make you lift your hips. A sharp gasp came from you and Moon chuckled.

"You know you think about it. Don't act like you don't. He does..."

You didn't have it in you to answer as you felt the pressure in you lower abdoment begin to build, the pleasure becoming overwhelming. Moon's thumb began to gently rub circles on your clit, making you whine and wiggle in your spot while his other hand began to snake up your shirt and under your bra. You nipple hardened due to the stark contrast of temperature, but you loved it and couldn't help but make another noise.

"He wouldn't tell you, but I will. He thinks about his fingers inside you like this all the time. Listening to you whine and whimper. He wants you to beg, and plead, he wants you to crave not just his fingers, but his attention."

You could barely process his words, a soft 'please' coming from behind your lips as your hips began to roll against his hands.

"Just like that Dewdrop..." Your eyes lolled back and closed as you felt his hand pick up speed, making your tongue stick out.

You bucked your hips, very quietly begging to cum. It just felt too good and you couldn't risk Moon pulling away and leaving you empty.

"Beg..."

You didn't even pay mind to the change in tone, all you knew was that you had a request to fill.

"Please make me cum. Fuck! Please, I'm right there." You whined, lifting your hips higher, feeling the tips of his finger brushing against a good spot, but just barely touching it.

"Oh fuck harder! Please, you're right there." Your eyes filled with tears, "Please, please, please. Just a little faster, just a little deeper. I want to cum, I want to cum so bad."

That was all it really took before his fingers picked up the pace, thrusting deeper and pressing into that soft spot that made your eyes roll back into your read and your mouth salivate. Your head rolled back, and your hips bucked and rolled as you felt the last stretch approach, and within less than 60 seconds you collapsed, crying and breathing hard as your legs trembled and your clit throbbed, your walls squeezing down on his fingers, keeping his trapped inside of you while you tried your best to calm down.

When your breathing did end up steading you opened your eyes and you met the gaze of Sun, his features almost reflecting a mixture of awe and embarrassment. He pulled his hand out from in between your legs but didn't move away from you as you took a second to compose yourself.

"If you wanted to do more than just this, all you had to do was ask you Goober." You giggled and relaxed into the soft mattress, a look of relief passing over Sun's features.

He collapsed onto the bed next to you, puling you into his chest and chuckling softly.

"I'd like to do a little more than just please you sexually. If you'd like, I'd rather be Boyfriend and Girlfriend." Sun poked at you.

"I'd like that...but right now I'd rather just take a nap." You giggled and Sun agreed with you, kissing your forehead and letting you snuggle in and drift to sleep.

~~~

A/N: I kinda rushed the ending here, i'm sorry. If ya'll hate it or have an issues with the ending being rushed just comment and I can fix it here in a bit when I'm not doing dishes. Lol.

[saturnalmoss]

ARM-WRESTLER

Chapter Two

The Artificial Aesthetician

Master Post

York picked up the prosthetic. “We can take it now, right?”

“Yeah, I took all the pictures.”

“I drew a chalk outline! It's uh pretty uh, you know... on its own, actually.” Rosé glanced at it and snickered. While Grenda scribbled a quick note that “It’s an arm!”, Rosé tucked the prosthetic in her pocket. 

“I want to make a quick stop first.” She said.

“Mmm. Where?”

They opened the door to a shabby looking office under an attached studio apartment, a little tinkle of bells followed them in. Grenda swept in and clicked their tongue at the state of the it. “He just won’t keep a nice place for himself, will he?”

“Hey!”Eugene peeked out the back room, “I’m getting better at it.” He smiled at them. 

Grenda crossed her arms. “Oh, yeah?” Eugene nodded and pointed at small plastic cat on the desk of the small office. “It’s name is Felix Jr. Felix gave it to me to keep me company...” He looked at them. “I have a photo in my apartment, too.” 

Grenda nodded very seriously. That was a major improvement, really. “I’m proud of you, Eugene.” Eugene laughed it off, and looked away embarrassed. 

“So what brings you guys here? You usually visit after office hours!”

“We got a job for you.” York told him. 

“AND we’re paying you for it!” Rosé dug in her pockets. Eugene looked interested, but concerned.

“You have a need for a medium? What - what it that?!”

“It’s an arm.” York said, looking concerned. “Did you forget what arms are? You got two on right now.”

“I, I, why do you have an ARM? ...Is it metal?”

“We just want to double check that it doesn’t have a ghost.” Grenda told him. “We think it’s just a lost item, but better safe than sorry.” Rosé held a fist full of cash out. 

Eugene hesitantly took both, and walked carefully over to his desk. “Can you take the table cloth out? Second drawer. If there’s a ghost it would be rude to just use a bare table...” 

He laid the prosthetic down gently on the star speckled cloth and held his hands over it, a hair's breadth from touching. He took a slow breath in, then out.

After a moment, he shook his head. “No, there are no spirits following this...” He smiled. “Good news, I hope.”

“Usually is.” York said. Rosé tucked it in her pocket again, Eugene watched, perturbed. 

“Are you going to track down the owner?” He asked. Rosé nodded, grinning. 

“It’s a solo mission!” Grenda said. “Jancy is going to be so proud.” Eugene smiled fondly. 

“I’m sure. Is there any more I can help with it?” Rosé shrugged. 

“Eh, probably not.” 

“Can you commune with living folks, now?” York asked. 

Eugene laughed. “I think I could do that first. But if you don’t have a bone number, I would have to be near by.” He sat up straight. “Oh, does it have a contact?”

“No.” York said. “It just had some of your numbers an’ some scratches.” Rosé took the prosthetic back out with a sigh. 

She pulled a jewelers loop out after, and peered through it. York directed her first to the scratches. They were barely perceptible, shallow and faint, on the outside of the forearm. Two thin lines, close together, different lengths but traveling in parallel. 

“It looks like it scraped against something...” She muttered.

York pointed next at a small patch on the inside of the cup of the upper arm. “That would be pretty out of sight when it’s on.” Grenda said. “Looks like it says... 90664117... Artificial Aesthetician... You guys heard of them?”

None of them had. Rosé pulled out her iBone Poke. “Sounds like a business, though. 

“Yeah! Here, local shop. Let’s go!”

The three said their goodbyes to Eugene and took off after their next clue. He smiled after them and took a breath. He looked around the bare room. It wasn’t that bad... He had a real bed upstairs. But his customers would appreciate more ambiance in the office.

The office of Artificial Aesthetician was clean and white and quite boring. The waiting room was small and currently empty but for the three detectives. Rosé went up to the little window and smiled at the receptionist on the other side. 

“Hello, do you have an appointment?”

“Nope! We’re investigating a...” she paused for a moment. “A case trying to locate someone.” 

“We’re detectives.” Grenda added from below the window. “You don’t get many dwarves at this establishment, do you?”

“Uh... No, dwarvish families deal with their own prosthetics, don’t they?”

“Do they?” Grendan asked innocently.

“Did you say this was a missing person? How on earth would Artificial Aesthetician have to do with that?”

Rosé gave them a little smile. “Well, we don’t know, yet. We found a little something that led us here, is all. Can we talk to the...” she faltered. “The doctor? Are these places run by doctors?”

“Y-yes,” the staff member said. “Of course we’re run by a doctor, look. What, uh. Should. Should you have a warrant?”

Rosé leaned on the counter. “I don’t know, should I? We just want to ask the doc a question. We can get a warrant, if you want.”

“Y-yes, I think that would be appropriate-”

“No, that will not be necessary.” Rosé looked up at the doorway leading from the waiting room further into the building. There was a tiefling woman there, now. Tall and austere and not looking nearly as upset as the staff member. She smile cooly at them. “It seems a little silly to require a warrant just to ask me a question. I am Dr. Theresa Shipcott, I own the Artificial Aesthetician.” 

She gestured down the hall. “Why don’t you come to my office? It’s a pity you aren’t here for a consultation” 

“It is?” Grenda said.

“Your forms are quite engaging.” she said by way of explanation.

“I hope that you will keep us in mind, should anything unfortunately permanent occur.” Dr. Shipcott smiled and sat behind a desk. The doctor’s office was spacious, lined with tidy book shelves and a few lightly cushioned seats in front of the doctor’s desk. It felt as sterile as the waiting room. 

Grenda sat in the middle seat, nervously. They has the odd sensation of being sent to the principal's office. York crossed his arms, and remained standing. Rosé leaned on the desk and put The Arm down on the table. “Recognise this?”

“Hmm, yes, it does seem to be my handiwork.” She turned it over carefully in her hands, then looked to the shoulder joint and the identification number. “Where did you find this?”

“We can’t say, at this time.” Rosé said.

“A bush.” York said at the same time, then, “Bush is a metaphor. For we can’t tell you.” 

The tiefling stood, leaving the arm on table, and went over to a set of pristine filing cabinets in the corner out of the way. “Let’s see...”

Rosé leaned back to observe and saw a flicker of expression cross the doctor’s face. For just a moment, she looked quite surprised, then it was gone. She turned and smiled, closing the cabinet drawer. “Indeed, this is a patient of mine.” 

“Give us the address.” York said. She quirked an eyebrow. 

“No need, I can deal with this from here on out. The arm needs a little repair, so I will do this and make an appointment with my patient immediately. No need for you to pursue this any further.” 

York looked perturbed. “No, we still gotta talk to ‘em about littering.” 

“You- what?” 

“They just left their arm around. That’s littering.” 

“I...” she shook her head. “Surely it was just an accident!” 

“They lost an arm in an accident?” Grenda said. “That’s quite an accident!”

Dr. Shipcott’s mouth quirked up at the corner for a flash. “Well, I do rather depend on such things for business.” 

“Yikes.”

“Thing is we don’t know it is was an accident or littering ‘til we talk to the arm guy, so we need the address.” York insisted. 

“I shall direct the- the patient - your way when I conduct the appointment. Perhaps you can leave your business card.” 

York frowned. She was a tough cookie. He glanced at Rosé and Grenda. Grenda held up a compact art box, and waggled their eyebrows. 

“Er uh. Y-yes. N-no.” York said carefully. Dr. Shipcott furrowed her eyebrows. 

“Which is it?”

“Do... you... have... a... card... ?” York said carefully. 

“...What?”

“Do you got a card, for business?” York said again. Doctor nodded, slowly, and fished a little card from her lab coat. 

It was as empty as the room, plain white with a stiff black print with the name and address of the Artificial Aesthetician. “Wow, this card sucks.” York said. “Grenda gimme a pen, I’ll make it better.”

“And I’ll make a card for you with our information!” Grenda said. “Do you have another one I can draw on?” She did, and held it out, bewildered but transfixed. 

“Wait, I do not need another card-”

“It’s fine, it’s on the house.” York said.

“Plus you need my info!” Grenda said. “Just hold on. Oh, and tell York if you like the direction he goes in.” Rosé gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up from behind the doctor and crept over to the cabinets. 

“I don’t.” She said immediately. “It’s fine - is that a bone??”

“Yes,” said York

“No.” Said the doctor. “No reminders of mortality.”

York frowned. “What’s worth having if it ain’t a reminder that you're gonna die?”

“Most things.” The doctor said coldly. “This establishment seeks to return the client’s body to a intrinsic state- no axes!!”

“Axes are the point in getting an arm.”

“Here’s my card.” Grenda said, handing it out. Doctor snatched it. “Don’t forget to represent the people who’ve lost a butt, too.”

“Good point.” York  said. 

“No!” Doctor said. 

“You don’t do butts?” York looked shocked. Grenda shook their head. 

“That’s pretty cold, leaving people bottomless like that.” 

“Of course I can assist with the posterior - is this a joke to you - it’s just. No one wishes to display that they needed such treatment.” She tried to make a grab for the card but York was immovable.

“Butts should have spikes, right?” York said. Dr. Shipcott glared. She rubbed her temple. There was no need to get upset, she reminded herself. She doesn’t have to USE this...

She glanced at the card. Her eyes went wide and she snatched it. “No dongus!” She said. “Bad! No!”

She flapped her coat. “Be gone! I have answered your inquiries and now you will leave!” The three detectives fled, pursued. 

The Drawtectives office was still empty. It seemed like Jancy was quite busy. Rosé fell lazily into her chair and lounged. Smirking, she pulled out a little sheaf of paper and slapped it on the desk. 

Grenda high-fived her. “Nice! Now we just need to find the identification! Uh -”

Rosé slapped the arm down on the desk with a much louder thunk. York grinned. 

“It was odd, right?” She said, stretching. “I though for a minute that the doc would give us the address. Just to get rid of us.” York nodded. 

“It would have been less trouble for her.”

“So there’s something going on, right? Like maybe the person doesn’t exist...”

“I found them.” Grenda said. “There, see.” They held up the page, and pointed. 

“Oh...” Rosé said. York patted her shoulder. 

“Maybe they won’t exist when we get there,” he said comfortingly.

[celestiall0tus]

Reawakening - Beauty

Table of Contents

            Emilie finished sorting Gabriel’s items of what she’d keep, store away, and trash. She sat on a desk as she grabbed an old family photo. She sighed and ran a hand along the glass. The patter of thrown paper drew her attention to Duusu, who worked diligently on new interior designs.

            Emilie still couldn’t believe that anything that happened. She was dead and still should be. Instead, she was given life again, but lost Gabriel. No, she took back that notion. She lost Gabriel long ago when he committed to finding a cure when none existed. None he was locked away in a madman’s dream and she was reunited with the one that started this all, but also not.

            Emilie stared at this Duusu. Everything about him was different. He was still as excitable, but in other ways. He valued beauty above all, inner and outer. That did come with the territory of him being judgy over how they conducted themselves down to what beauty products they used. He was overly flamboyant and demanding as he expected only the best and became a drama king when he didn’t get it. Even his power was different. He couldn’t make sentient beings but could stun everyone with his enrapturing beauty. It was a lot she still hadn’t fully taken in after a long week.

            A knock interrupted Emilie’s thoughts.

            “Oh, uh, come in!” Emilie called.

            Nathalie entered the room with Nooroo riding on her head. “Lunch is ready.”

            Duusu flew over beside Emilie. “Lunch? Already? No! What an utter disaster. I haven’t even finished my designs. There’s just too much to consider. The colors, the materials, the drapery, the art, the-!”

            “Why don’t we work on that together after lunch?” Nathalie suggested.

            “You’d do that? Truly?” Duusu asked.

            “Of course.”

            Duusu squealed and flew around Nathalie, thanking her profusely. He flew up, pushed Nooroo over, and sat down with his tail fanned out.

            “Do you mind?” Nooroo asked.

            “Not at all. You know how much room my tail needs.”

            “Go sit on Emilie’s head.”

            “No. This Emilie’s Nathalie, so she’s my Nathalie too.”

            Nathalie blushed and looked away.

            Emilie chuckled nervously. “So, lunch, right? Let’s go.”

            Nathalie quickly headed for the dining room while Duusu lingered behind  with Emilie.

            “Don’t worry, I have an amazing plan to hook you two up. It’s absolutely foolproof. Well, it’s me proof.”

            “Duusu, maybe it might be best to wait.”

            “Oh, I gotcha. Another week should work, right? After all, you did just lose your mate. Even if you’re not grieving, might as well keep up appearances.”

            “That’s not quite-.”

            “Oh, it’ll be so grand. Oh! I can teach you to truly strut your feathers to attract your next mate. Oh, and the dance. We can’t forget the dance. It is a crucial part of mating.”

            “Duusu, now may not be the best time to speak of this.”

            “Oh, you’re right. Nathalie might be listening. We can’t ruin the surprise.”

            “That’s not what I-.”

            Duusu held up a hand and sniffed the air. He grinned with a sharp, toothy grin. “Food!”

            Emilie watched Duusu zoom into the dining room that was followed by his screeching, Plagg’s yowling, and Roarr’s hollering. She chuckled and sighed. It was a strange life now, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Not when there was an adventure every day like she always wanted.

[lover-girl-estxx]

Notebook

(B17)

"Kammy i'm pretty sure he doesn't even know my name" I said closing my locker "that's not true" "yes it is" I sighed she shook her head as the bell went off "oh by the way I won't be here for lunch" I sighed "you suck!". I sat at the desk in the last row Nate came in and sat in front of me. It was a free period so Nate turned in his seat to talk to his friend next to him giving me his side profile. I pulled out my notebook and pencils starting to sketch him. This is weird your being weird you keep looking at him and your drawing a picture of HIM! After Class we had lunch I just held my notebook and pencils in my arms walking to the lunch area.

| Nate's POV |

She had her beautiful hair in her face while her head was down drawing in her book again. "give me it back!" I hear her say and I turned from talking with a friend to looking over to wear she was a guy was standing over her holding her notebook "no" he laughed "come on stop" he shook his head and dropped the book in his backpack. She sighed and stood up "please" "nope" he said walking away she ran a hand through her hair sitting back down.

I got up following him around the corner, he was holding his bag in his hand I ripped it out of his hand. unzipped it "Hey" "fuck you" I duped his bag out. "here" I said holding her Notebook out she looked up at me she shyly smiled "Thank you so much!" she took it "of course" "really thank you" I smiled and nodded "y-you want to show me some" "if you want" she blushed.

"these are really good" I said moving closer to her "thanks" she looked over at me "can I look through the rest?" "um well some of them aren't very good- you don't" "it's fine" I flipped a few pages to a side profile of me, I looked over at her "is that me?" she sighed "yeah I-um am sorry I ran out of things to draw" she went to grab the book "no no I love it, it's great" "really?" "it's fucking awesome" she blushed "thank you" "could you draw me something?" "Yeah" she whispered with a smirk "you know what MMA gloves look like?" "I think so I can look it up tonight though" the bell went off "that would be awesome!"

"I saw you talking to your girlfriend at lunch" Nick said "she not my girlfriend" I shook my head "what was she showing you?" "her drawings" "of?" "...me" "You?!" I nodded "see I told you she liked you" "just cause she drew a photo of me-" "doesn't mean she likes you? thats to a T what it means" I sighed.

| Next Week |

"ask" I hear kammy whisper and push Y/n towards me "Hey!" I turned "hey Y/n" I smiled "here" she handed me the piece of paper "this is Great!" I opened my locker putting it on one of the walls she smiled "um I also wanted to see if you maybe wanted to get something to eat sometime?" I smiled "I would" she smiled and I blush "tomorrow?" "tonight." she nodded "sounds good!" "it's a date" she turned red. She turned and put her thumbs up to Kam who smiled "I told you!" she said "so you have a date?" Nick said I nodded "told you" he added.

[xandriagreat]

Modern Nimona

Chapter 4: Realization

First chapter | Last chapter | Next chapter

Notice/warnings: food, eating, planing 

▪▪▪

A couple of hours went by after redecorating the entire house

Meredith felt a bit tired from the decorating and collapsed on the couch, snoring. 

She woke up when she felt something on her back.

It was Ballister’s hand.

Meredith sat up, letting Ballister’s hand fall off her back.

She felt like she woke up from a fever dream as she rubbed her head. Meredith also noticed two cups of tea next to them on the coffee table. She picked up a cup and sipped it.

Ballister started getting back some consciousness when the grownups heard a noise from the kitchen. They saw Niroma making something in the kitchen while singing along with a song over headphones.

♪ “Can I get a witness, the status quo's so low. Everybody itching For a throne to throw and you could be the widget. To my turbo Better see your status when I go solo”♪

Nirmoa stopped and noticed the two adults awake by by. “Ah! You’re both awake!” she exclaimed happily as she walked over with food.

“Hey…” Ballister started as he sat up. “How long was I out?”

Nimona sighed as she leaned on the couch. “Oh, five years.” she answered and then the thunderstorm outside crashed and lightning flashed. 

“What?! Five years?” Ballister gasped, his eyes widened.

Meredith rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “No, you weren’t.” she reassured him.

"Don’t be so gullible. It was just a couple of hours." Then Nimora showed who brought a plate with some type of tacos. "Breakfast tacos?”

Ballister and Meredith got a breakfast taco while Nimona got her one.

Ballister felt that it was a dream when he remembered about the jailbreak. “Wait… Wait… Last thing I remember, we were in a supply closet. And now… How did I get here?" Ballister asked, looking at his friend and teen as he ate.

"We dragged you for, like, seven miles." Nimona said, before taking another bite of her food. "What happened?" Ballister asked again, wanting to know. "Your head bounced on the sidewalk a few times." Meredith said, with a sharp memory. “Until I help Nimona carry you.” Then she got up and went to her lab.

"It’s all so foggy." Ballister said, rubbing his forehead. 

"Really?" Nimora said, sitting down next to him. "You thanked me, said you’d forever be in my debt, and that we’d always be best friends." She then began pulling out the photo that she took while he was out with Meredith in it. "Totally happened."

"Uh…" Ballister started as he looked at them and then looked around in shock to see that everything in the house had changed. “What happened?”

Nimona smiled at him like she knew the answer. “Hey, we spruced up the place.”

“I’m sorry… ‘We’?” Ballister asked to see if he heard her right.

“Meredith and I." Nimona said, pointing at herself and where Meredith went. “Though, I did most of the work when she fell asleep on you.”

“Wait- what?” Ballister started but was interrupted by a scream from Meredith.

Ballister got up and ran to where Meredith was. “Meredith?! You ok?” he asked when he got to her. All that his friend could was point at the suspect wall. Ballister looked at the suspect wall and screamed too.

The suspect wall had a red light over head, drawings of torment, and all of the photos of the suspects were out of place.

“You two like it?” Nimona asked as she walked over with a smile. 

The grownup looked down at Nimona, the look of anger on their faces. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE WALL?!” Meredith yelled pointing at the suspect wall. "IT TOOK US YEARS TO GET IT DONE!"

“I updated it.” the teen said, pointing at the wall with pride. "Plus, I drew up plans for revenge, torment, and good old general malfeasance. Even for the punchable face guy." She points at a photo of Thaddeus.

Ballister hummed and nodded in approval.

“Um… Bal?” Meredith said, getting his attention. 

“What’s up?” Ballister asked, looking at Meredith, who was looking at photos on a desk. Meredith points at the photos, making Ballister look at the photos.

The photos were more of Ballister and Meredith out cold with Nimona taking the photos but not in human form. Instead in the animal forms that helped them escape the Institute.

Two grown-ups look surprised at the drawings of different animals, connecting the pieces together about everything. "Rhinoceros." Ballister said, realized that the dream wasn’t a dream.

Then he and Meredith looked at Nimona and the photos that she took while they were asleep.

It all makes sense now.

"You’re…Y-you’re.." Meredith said as she and Bal started backing up when looking at Nimona.

"I’m what? Marsupial? Mariachi? Meatball?" Nimora asked, walking over to them with a glare.

"You’re a monster." Ballister said finally, glaring down.

"Do not call me that!" Nimona shouted at them as thunder crashed outside.

"No! No, no, no! Of course not!" Meredith said, trying to get everything under control. “You’re obviously not a massive fire-breather, you know… But you do do the shifty-shift-shifting-shape thing. And you’re a girl who can turn into… What are you?”

“I’m Nimona.” Nimona said, presenting herself while she still held her taco.

“No, that’s not an answer.” Ballister said, shaking his head as he walked over to her. “People don’t just turn into things.”

“I do.” Nimona said as she walked around the room a bit, eating her taco. 

“Okay. Fine. Then we have a million questions.” Meredith said firmly. Nimona stopped in front of them, pointing a finger at them, and said, “You get one.”

Ballister and Meredith looked at each other before looking back at Nimona. 

“Why are you helping me?” Ballister asked, walking over to Nimona.

Nimona looked at him as she finished her taco. “Because I’m bored. And everybody hates you too.” she replied, her arms crossed.

Ballister looked at her sadly. 

Meredith looked at both of them before looking back at the wall, thinking who it could be. 

“Wait…” Meredith started as she pointed at a photo and then looked at Ballister. “Didn’t you say that you got your ring fixed before the ceremony?”

Ballister looked at Meredith then at the photo.

There was a picture of a young man named Diego, a man with light brown skin, brown eyes, and blonde hair styled in a short mohawk with the rest of the class of 2012 at the eco-friendly jewelry content, where Meredith worked part-time Monday through Thursday throughout her Junior and senior years of high school and half of college before graduation.

Ballister thought way back to see what she meant. His eyes widened as he remembered. “Yes… Yes!” he exclaimed as he walked closer to the wall, pointing at the photo. “I gave him my University ring to fix it because the top gem got cracked and I wanted to wear it for the ceremony.”

"Then the jeweler has to know something." Meredith said, crossing her arms.

Ballister nodded and exclaimed, “Of course, he's the one that gave me the fixed ring, the ring that-" But then he stopped mid-sentence as he looked at the pictures first the ring and then the photo of Mayor Boldheart. "That killed… my mom…"

“You need the Jeweler?” Nimora asked, walking over to them with a smile. 

The grownups nodded.

“Then let’s go kill- Get him. Let’s go get him.” Nimona said, quickly changing her tone when the grownup looked down at her. “You and me.” She offered her hand to Ballister, to shake it.

"And what will you do in return for helping him clear his name?" Meredith asked 

"I'll be his sidekick!" Nimona exclaimed with a smile. "No take backs!" She still had her hand out, ready to shake.

Ballister looked at it before he reached to shake it then stopped when Nimona shapeshifted to a shark. 

“Could you not, please?” Ballister asked flatly, not wanting to play. 

“I don’t follow.” Nimona said with a cheeky smile.

“Just be the girl version of you.” Ballister said flatly, pointing at Nimona.

Nimona tilts her head to the side. “But I’m not a girl.” she started, shaking her head before smiling. “I’m a shark!” Then she snapped her shark teeth at him.

Ballister sighed and then shook her fin.

Meredith smiled softly at them, chuckling softly. "Well, I'm joining too." Meredith said. "I'm not leaving you two again."

Then Meredith’s phone rang.

The three looked at it as she picked it up and sighed. “It’s work…” she said, looking at the two. “They probably want me to come over to substitute a class.”

“It’s alright.” Ballister reassured her, then pointing at himself and Nimona. “We can take the subway and talk with him while you go to work.”

Nimona nodded excitedly.

“Alright.” Meredith sighed, looking at them and then pointing a finger at them. “Don’t get caught and no mayhem. Got it?”

Ballister and Nimona nodded. “Got it.”

Meredith smiled before quickly going to the other room and began picking up the call. "Hey, what's up, Ms. Blitzmeyer?" Meredith asked, putting the phone near her ear as she got her bag ready.

"Did you see the news?" Ms. Blitzmeyer asked on the phone.

"Umm, yea." Meredith said, hoping they didn't find out about the whole criminal thing.

Her heart raced as one of the headmasters on the phone said, "This new girl, she does look familiar. Where have I seen her before?" 

“Um… remind me, which news, please?” Meredith asked with a shaky breath.

"The pink hairy girl, She looks like the lab rat that escaped years ago." the headmaster on the phone said. 

That caught Meredith off guard. “What?” Meredith asked as her heart calmed down.

"I couldn't quite click my tongue out." The handmaster said. “But when I was a student, there was a project that the scientists did at the Institute. I don’t remember what it was but I do remember that it was a strange name.”

Meredith hummed but didn’t know why one of the headmasters was telling her this. “Ok, but why are you telling me this?” she asked, wanting to know the answer.

"Look, The school might be on lockdown because I think the monster might come back." the headmaster on the phone said "We might need to reschedule the classes just in case."

After the call finished, she went back to see the teen and her friend chatting as they went out.

‘Maybe I should follow them.’ she thought as she got her invisible coat.

☆Meanwhile☆

 A lot of officers were checking at Institution they have seen all the damage that has been done from yesterday 

"Oh man! Look at this place!" exclaimed Rudy, a man with black skin, black eyes, and full beard shadow wearing a detective uniform "A thousand years of history destroyed." Said his twin sister, Ruby, a woman black skin, blown eyes, and a brown bob cut, also wearing a detective uniform

"Huh. Hey, Mansley!" Todd shouted to an officer named Mansley.

"What?" Mansley asked, looking at him.

"Your uncle’s head fell on my grandpa’s butt!" Todd exclaimed, pointing at the broken statues.

Everyone, except for Ambrosius, started to laugh at that.

"That’s hilarious." Mansley said.

"Nice." another officer said.

"Oh, so sad, though." an officer said, looking at the ruined hall.

"Well, if Goldenloin hadn’t been distracted…" Thaddeus said, pointing at Ambrosius.

Everyone began looking at Ambrosius as the new director tried to explain, "I never liked…"

Then he went quiet with all officers when the mayor came into the scene with her bodyguards 

"Let me get this straight.” the mayor started,  sounding upset. "The murderer of mayor Boldheart escaped with the help of a girl, an ostrich, and a whale?"

"It destroyed our showers!" One of the other officers exclaimed, pointing up at the higher levels.

"This is his fault!" Todd said, pointing at Ambrosius.

"Tell him, Todd." an officer said.

“Me?!” Ambitious exclaimed angrily, pointing at himself as he looked at everyone.

"Why didn’t you tell us Ballister was working with whales?" Thaddeus asked, walking over to him.

“Whales? Really? I haven’t seen him until today!" Ambrosius explained angrily.

“Oh, what? Whale? Really? Yeah. You knew him better than anyone, bro.” Thaddeus said, his arms crossed.

"I tried to stop him, bro." Ambrosius explained, glaring at him.

“Really? Like this? ‘Oh, hi, Ballister. Come right in. And of course you can bring your whale, ostrich, and big fat unicorn’.” Thaddeus said, mocking Ambrosius.

"Fat unicorn?" Ambrosius asked flatly.

"Yeah, you saw it. One with the horn that broke everything." Thaddeus said, looking at everyone, before looking back at him.

"You mean rhinoceros?" Ambrosius corrected.

"Enough!" the mayor shouted, making both of them quiet as officers looked back at the mayor.

"There is a villain on the loose in our city." The mayor said calmly as she look at everyone. "Look at you, acting like common children. Remember your training. Remember who you are. We are born to protect this city."

Everyone bowed their heads.

"I was born." Thaddeus said, bowing his head before raising it up again.

"Let me take the lead, Mayor.” Thaddeus said, being narcissistic as always. “There’s only two things I want right now. A, to have really big weapons.” he shows his gun. “Check. And three, to treat Ballister like the mayor-killing monster he is. I’ll hunt him down.”

“Yeah!” the other officers around shouted.

“I’ll make him hurt." Thaddeus started, being on a roll. "I’ll make-”

“I’ll do it.” Ambitious said, stepping up and raising his hand.

This shocked everyone and started to ask why.

“If anyone can find Bal… find Ballister before someone else gets hurt… it’s me.” Ambrosius said, knowing despite being the new director, he wanted to be an officer.

“This is the greatest threat we’ve faced in generations. Thankfully, we have a descendant of Gloreth to lead us.” the director said, smiling at Ambrosius.

“What?!” Thaddeus screeched but both the mayor and director just ignored him.

“Officers, search every street, every shadow. Find Ballister, and bring him to me.” Ambitious orders the other officers to find Ballister.

[kyanitesaphire]

Lightning In A Bottle chapter 3

Spencer could feel all eyes on him as he settled in at his desk the next day. His team wasn’t even subtle about it. He did his best to ignore them and not give in to their wordless curiosity. If they wanted to know something, they would have to ask for it themselves. Nearly twenty minutes of solid focused work had passed before Derek finally gave in to his burning curiosity and spoke up.

“Ok kid, spill it. How did it go last night with you and your mistress of the hunt.” Spencer furrowed his brows at Derek’s choice of nickname.

“It went well…Mistress of the hunt? Really?”

“Yeah. Her and her hounds. Were they as big as they sounded?”

“Bigger believe it or not.” Spencer boasted as he pulled out the photo printouts and held them up. Derek got up from his desk to inspect the images.

“Woah! Damn, you ain’t kidding. The one on your lap looks as big as a horse.” Derek exclaimed. “So which ones which?”

“That one’s Zeus and that’s Raijin.” Spencer distinguished while pointing them out in the photo. He drew Derek’s attention to the second photo. “And that is Éclair.”

“Alright, I see how it is. You like a foxy lady with a little spunk.” Derek teased gesturing to the blue streaks and trimming in her hair. Spencer tried and failed horribly to conceal his amusement with his comrades speculation. The other hyper vigilant members of the team who had been listening in all sprung from their desks upon hearing that there was a picture of this mysterious new woman in Spencer’s life, eager to get a glimpse for themselves. They all gushed over the pictures although Penelope’s focus was more on the dogs. “So tell me, when you say ‘it went well' how well are we talking?”

“Oh! Yes! Do tell, I want all of the details! Was it like a 90’s rom-com? Was there intense passion and romance?” Penelope inquired hastily.

“I’m not sure what kind of dog walks you go on that would include ‘intense passion and romance’ Garcia, but I can tell you this was not one of them.” Spencer said in a calm but concerned tone. “As to how well it went exactly, well, I’m supposed to go to her place for a movie night so long as we don’t get a case today.”

“Oh yeah? And how does this Lurch fella feel about that? And who is he by the way?” Derek asked.

“He's her guardian apparently. His job is to basically keep her in line and take care of her until she’s deemed fit to be on her own.” Spencer explained pulling out Éclair’s file from his bag and setting it on his desk. “And as to how he feels about my spending time with her, I believe his words were ‘you could bend her over the kitchen table and pound her ass like mochi for all I care.’” He added with slight disgust. Derek winced and chuckled at the unsolicited mental picture of Spencer doing exactly that. JJ and Penelope also seemed uncomfortable with the raunchy comment, mostly due to the jarring juxtaposition of such a statement being reiterated by the naïve and gentle doctor.

“Charming.” Derek retorted sarcastically as he made his way back to his own desk. To avoid Spencer going on one of his more than informative tangents, JJ quickly googled what mochi was on her phone and instantly regretted it as the already unsettling mental image she had became violently more so .

Between tasks, Spencer took it upon himself to do a bit of research into this Dr.Jericho person. Although this doctor did indeed have his own small clinic, his reputation still remained shrouded in obscurity. All he could ascertain from the limited publicly accessible resources , was the location of said clinic, and where Dr.Jericho’s expertise lie. There were no pages dedicated to any of his dissertations, the site for his clinic was bare bones at best, and he couldn’t find a single picture of the doc in question. This seemed suspicious to Spencer considering even hospitals plastered their walls and media with images of their medical and administrative staff in an attempt to put a human face to the corporate machine that is American healthcare. If Spencer wanted any concrete information on Jericho, he’d need a Garcia level search. At this point that seemed like a gross misuse of government resources.

Thinking back on the scans of Éclair’s brain reminded him of a case from about two years prior. Anton Harris had abducted a pair of students, one of which was his sister, and preformed lobotomies on them, rendering them incapable of speech and had implanted tiny cameras into their eyes. The memory of Dana Harris being lobotomized via live stream for the world to see still haunted him from time to time. There were certain uncomfortable similarities between the Harris case and Éclair’s. The vicious yet skillfully executed lobotomy, the targeting of an individual who wouldn’t be missed, the apparent escape/possible release. Unfortunately Éclair’s case lacked an obvious motive. What was to be gained from doing this to her, or anyone for that matter? There was one more alarming oversight from the Harris case that Spencer wasn’t going to make again; previous attempts, failed or otherwise. He compiled a series of notes and comparisons on how to proceed with an investigation should another victim be found and the case be appointed to them. Until then, this was as far as he dared to delve, not wanting to get Garcia in trouble. He slipped his notes into the folder with Éclair’s information and tucked it safely away into his drawer.

The day had passed uneventfully, with no cases coming up requiring their immediate attention. As Spencer packed up his things to leave, he whipped out his cell and called Éclair just as promised. The line trilled repeatedly and he waited patiently for someone to pick up.

“Hey doc. Éclair told me you’d call.” Lurch’s gruff voice came through. “Am I telling her you’re on your way?”

“Umm, yeah….” Spencer confirmed “why do you have her phone again?”

“I just hadn’t given it back yet after her appointment. Which, speaking of, must have been a rough one for her this time.” Lurch informed. “She’s still pretty out of it. Maybe you should do us all a favour and bring her some comfort food or something on your way over.”

“Ok, what exactly should I bring?” Spencer asked.

“Fuck if I know.” Lurch grumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re her caretaker, you should know!” Spencer scolded.

“Look, all I know is when women get moody, they eat junk food and cry about their problems to their best friends.” Lurch explained. Spencer rolled his eyes at the rather sexist generalization. “So since she’s not talking yet, I figured we could ply her with whatever girls eat when they’re sad.”

“Oh yes, let’s just default to the more toxic coping methods, because nothing could possibly go wrong there.” Spencer groaned sarcastically. He pressed the elevator button firmly and stood back, waiting for the doors to open. “I’ll figure something out, but I need to head home and change first. I don’t feel like having my good clothes covered in fur again.” He let out an exasperated sigh and vigorously rubbed at his eye with his fingertips.

“Ha, I thought it was an improvement.” Lurch joked, to which Spencer replied with a mock laugh. ”Alright Dr.Loverboy, we’ll see you in a bit.” With that the call was disconnected.

“Dr.Loverboy?” Spencer muttered under his breath with a confused grimace as he boarded the elevator and pocketed his phone.

Spencer rang the doorbell while precariously balancing a hot chocolate on a box of Éclair's favoured namesake pastry. Unlike his previous visit, there was no barrage of barking from inside. He also didn’t hear the heavy footfalls of Lurch approaching the door. Instead the door swung open and an elegant raven haired woman with piercing violet eyes greeted him.

“Hey! You’re Éclair's friend, right? Spencer was it?” She asked as she stepped aside to allow him in.

“Yeah, hi!” He spat out, startled “Sorry, I was expecting Lurch to answer the door.” He stepped in and immediately kicked his shoes off.

“Herald is in the living room, I’m Yen by the way, Herald’s girlfriend.” Yen explained as she scooped up Spencer’s shoes and placed them on the rack for him. Lurch came around the corner and eyed the footwear his girlfriend was putting away.

“Good grief, please tell me you’re going shoe shopping tomorrow. Those things are an embarrassment.” Lurch mocked.

“Oh please babe, you’re one to talk. At least his shoes are clean, which is more than I can say you and your nasty Kodiaks .” Yen scolded.

“ You’re kidding right? They look like burgundy suede bowling shoes. Hardly appropriate for a man of his profession.” Lurch rebutted, cocky as usual.

“And those monstrosities are appropriate for a man of yours?” Yen said. “Honestly he’s better dressed than you, that’s for sure.” Lurch rolled his eyes and shook his head at the comment.

“Éclair’s upstairs in her room with the boys. The doors open.” Lurch gestured up the stairs before turning away and ushering Yen with him back into the living room.

“It was nice seeing you.” Yen called out over her shoulder before disappearing into the living room. Spencer nodded quietly in affirmation before ascending to the second floor.

He peered into Éclair’s room and tapped lightly on her open door, gaining the immediate attention of Zeus and Raijin. Both behemoths clamored off the enormous bed and rushed toward him, herding him toward Éclair who was still reclined on the bed. She laid there prone, exposed and she had an air of defeat about her. Garbed in only a black band tank top and black boyshort panties, her hair loose and splayed out over her pillow as she stared blankly up at the ceiling. He did his best not to stare too long at her strong bare legs as he was pushed closer and closer until his knees bumped the mattress. The jostling of the bed stirred her from her trance and she sat up, pulling out her ear buds.

“Hey, h-how are you?” Spencer stammered, clearing his throat. “I uh, I brought you a hot chocolate and some eclairs.” He held them out to her for her to accept. She gave the hot chocolate a vacant glance and slowly dragged her eyes up to meet Spencer’s. Once their eyes locked, a faint smile slowly spread across her lips and she reached up to take the cup from him.

“You remembered what I like? That’s so sweet.” She uttered softly, a hint of joy weaving through her voice. She brought the cup to her lips and imbibed a hefty swig of the warm beverage, letting out a relieved sigh afterwards.

“Um… I have to ask…but… why aren’t you wearing pants?” He asked nervously still trying to keep his gaze respectively off her exposed lower half. “Did…did Lurch not tell you I was coming?” Éclair cocked her head in confusion, then looked down at her half naked state.

“I’m sure I had pants… I know I did. Lurch told me you were coming over, Yen helped me draw a bath, and I set clothes aside for after…” She walked herself through the events before Spencer’s arrival, her eyes scanned the room as she did. Then she saw it. She did indeed set pajama pants aside to wear, but in her dissociative state she forgot to put them on, only getting half dressed. “…oops! There they are.” She got up from the bed, brushing up against Spencer as she passed. Although the notion of privacy had become a moot point, Spencer kept his back to her while she donned her bottoms. Zeus nudged Spencer’s arm with his nose, Éclair’s ribbon and bells hanging from his mouth, offering them up to him. He set the pastries down on the bed as he received the accessory from the canine comrade. He turned to offer it back to Éclair and found her all ready munching away on the sweet snacks, her fingers covered in the chocolatey confection. She patted the top of her head with her free hand when she caught a glimpse of the adornment in Spencer’s grasp.

“Would you like me to put this in for you?” Spencer offered and Éclair nodded her approval as she sucked the sugary residue off her fingers. He sat on the edge of her bed with his legs set apart for her to seat herself between them. Once she was situated, he went to work combing the top portion of her hair together with his fingers gently raking his nails along her scalp before wrapping the silky ribbon around the partitioned cluster of strands. “So, what movie did you want to watch tonight?”

“I have a few picked out. I don’t know what one to start with though.” She explained. She wrapped her arms around Spencer’s legs, hugging them closer to her as she relaxed under his touch. After he tied the bow, he gave the bells a light shake letting her know he was done and could stand up. When she rose to her feet she turned to face Spencer, placing her hands where his neck and shoulders met. As he gazed up into her eyes he could see a significant improvement in her mood but she still wasn’t her usual self.

“Well, why don’t we start with one that seems the most lighthearted. Something feel-good.” He suggested. She thought for a moment before making her decision and stepping away from Spencer to set up her selection. The Princess Bride.

“Ok, scoot over closer to the middle of the bed.” Éclair ordered as she grabbed the remote and climbed back into the bed next to Spencer. She leaned over him to turn of the bedside lamp, eliminating the glare on the television screen and hit the play button. Once the movie began both Zeus and Raijin jumped up into the bed on either side and laid out next to them facing the tv.

“And this is why I changed out of my nice clothes before coming here.” Spencer commented as he rested his arm on Zeus’s back like a sofa.

“ You’re telling me that sweater is part of your not nice clothing?” Éclair asked as she inspected the garment.

“More like it’s one I’m not particularly attached to. I haven’t worn it in nearly 9 years and I rarely wore it then. Plus most of the fur wont be noticeable against the white anyway.” He explained. Éclair reached over and ran her fingers over the ornate embroidered dragon.

“That’s a shame. I like it, and it looks good on you.” She confessed as she hunkered down to watch the film. The two of them discussed and commented on the various scenes rather than observe in silence.

“I can’t get over the eerie similarity between the Spaniard and my old mentor at the BAU.” Spencer said uncomfortably.

“ Like a doppelganger? They say everyone has one out there somewhere. I’m sure you have one too.” Éclair postulated.

“Oh yes, and then we come to find out my cinematic doppelganger appears in a film as an unfortunate and foulmouthed tradesman who gets swept up in a burglary and whirlwind killing spree by his psychotic and promiscuous girlfriend.” Spencer joked.

“Sounds like a good movie. I’d watch it. Especially with a lead actor that sexy.” She added, elbowing him playfully. Spencer tried to laugh off the compliment feeling his cheeks tingle with embarrassment. When the movie ended, Éclair rolled half onto Spencer to look up at him. “How bout we watch one more?”

“As you wish.” He responded trying to remain serious as he quoted the movie they just watched, but as they maintained eye contact both of them devolved into a fit of giggles. Éclair shuffled down to swap out the movies putting in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and crawling back into bed.

Neither one of them stayed awake till the end of the movie.

When Spencer awoke, there was a hefty weight bearing down on his chest and both his arms were immobilized by a chilling numbness. He looked down at his body to see that during the night Zeus had situated his front half over Spencer’s leg and Éclair had rolled over on top of his chest. This pinned one arm down and elevated the other greatly inhibiting blood flow to both extremities, painfully numbing them. His shifting roused his bedmates from their slumber. Both of the dogs jumped out of bed, leaving the room and Éclair sat up just enough to look at Spencer who winced as his incapacitate arm fell hard onto the bed.

“Morning, you alright?” Éclair asked, noticing his pained expression.

“Yeah, I can’t move though.” He groaned quietly as he tried to improve the circulation in his limbs. She watched him writhe helplessly, unable to gain control of his arms and a mischievous smirk crept across her lips.

“So are you telling me your essentially helpless and at my mercy?” she teased.

“ Uh oh…should I be worried?” he asked, his voice cracking nervously.

“I don’t know. That depends on how much you like me I guess.” She replied coyly, climbing over to straddle his waist.

“What if I said I like you a fair bit?” Spencer mused as he picked up on her implication. Éclair leaned forward, holding onto his biceps and massaging them with her fingertips.

“Well then, I think you’ll be quite excited.” With that she closed the gap between them, locking their lips in a sensuous kiss. At first, the taste and feel of her lips on his caused everything inside of him to freeze up as though an electrical current were coursing through him. Then the proverbial flood gates opened. His heart pounded in his chest and his lips lunged into action, reciprocating the kiss. Éclair ran her hand up and down Spencer’s arms sending a tide of pins and needles to ebb and flow through this fingers as he began to regain feeling in them. He willed his arms to move, bending his stiff elbows to reach up and haphazardly cup her jaw in his tingling hands while hers found purchase in his messy locks. It was in this moment that he realized exactly how intimately touch starved he really was. Like the first rain on the Mesa plains after a grueling drought, he drank in the heated passion and relished in the petrichor of this moment.

Unfortunately the moment was cut short by an unapologetic intrusion.

“You know, you’d think I never feed you with how voraciously you’re eating his face.” Lurch said as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Mnnn, just taking advantage of the moment.” Éclair purred more to Spencer than to Lurch.

“Yeah, well if you and the moment want to come down for breakfast, it’s time for you to take your meds.” Lurch retorted, pushing himself off the doorframe and down the hall. Spencer and Éclair both rolled their eyes as they looked back to each other.

“If I had full control of my fingers, I’d show him how many moments he could wait.” Spencer quipped

“Oh, dose it happen to be this many?” Éclair asked as she held his hand up and folded down his thumb, index, ring and pinky fingers.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He agreed with a laugh.

“ I was thinking the same thing.” She kissed him again before dismounting him and pulling him up to his feet. She quickly noticed the swell in his pants and pursed her lips before speaking again. “Now as much as I’d like the ego boost, I’m aware that that is not all me. Bathroom is just down the hall.” She pointed in the opposite direction Lurch went. Spencer cleared his throat and looked down at himself sheepishly, trying to decide if he should make the comment that was on his mind.

“I’d say it’s a bit more than 50/50 in your favour.” He clarified playfully before heading toward the lavatory.

By the time he had finished with the facilities, Éclair had gotten dressed for the day and fixed her hair. As she emerged from her room, her steps rang with the pleasant jingling he had quickly grown fond of.

“Ah! Perfect timing! Let’s get some breakfast before we get any more lip from snoopy downstairs.” She chirped, holding her hand out for Spencer to take. When they set foot into the kitchen/dining room, Yen greeted them with a warm smile as she set out a large bowl of scrambled eggs on the table.

“Morning you two. Did you have a nice evening last night?” Yen sang with a wink. “I saw you guys cuddled up together. You were so cute I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.” Spencer’s cheeks flushed at the remark but Éclair was unbothered by it.

“We watched Princess Bride and started watching Roger Rabbit when we passed out.” Éclair answered as she poured herself a drink.

“In flight peanuts, coming through.” Lurch called out, tossing a small pre sealed packet of pills to Éclair.

“Pharmaceutic-o's, an important part of this mentally balanced breakfast.” Éclair mimicked being on a cereal commercial, eliciting a laugh from Spencer and Yen. She downed the meds and grabbed a plate for her and Spencer to serve themselves up some food, discarding the now empty packaging from her pills onto the table. As she shoveled up a heaping scoop of eggs and dumped them on her plate, Lurch came up behind her and dispensed a generous helping of bacon next to them.

“Eat up. I’m not going easy on you today. I don’t want to hear the excuse ‘but I’m too hungry!’” He said whining the last part.

“yeah, yeah. I’m going for a run later though.” Éclair said waving him off as she split a piece of bacon, eating one half and feeding the other to Raijin.

“If you want, I can take you to the rink tonight. That is if you and Spencer here don’t already have plans.” Yen suggested with a sly wink.

“What do you say, Spencer? Wanna tag along?” Éclair exclaimed excitedly.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I’m not really one for athletics. I’ve never gone skating before either.” Spencer chuckled nervously as he shuffled the small mound of eggs around on his plate. “Besides, I should probably get home soon and catch up on some tidying. I don’t know when I’ll get another chance with how busy I get with work.”

“ Well there’s a first time for everything!” Éclair said nudging Spencer with her shoulder .

“Maybe you can join us another time.”

“Where do you live? We can drop you off on our way.” Lurch asked Spencer as he sat down to his own breakfast.

“Hoover street.” Spencer answered. “What are you two up to anyway?”

“Hand to hand combat training. I hope to teach her restraint when defending herself.” Lurch explained. Once Éclair finished her meal, she got up from the table and jogged up the stairs, her bells jingling behind her. Once she was out of ear shot he continued. “Its about the only thing I can teach her restraint in. Some girls will say ‘Let’s take things slow.’ I don’t think that’s something she has any concept of, so have fun on the Autobahn.” Spencer leaned away from Lurch and toward Yen, feigning discretion before speaking to her.

“If he’s always this much of a jerk, what do you see in him?”

“It’s all a façade, I assure you. He’s really just a big old papa bear"

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

Headmaster Sigmund, sitting at his desk in his office, his eyes that once sparkle with pride and arrogance now tired and dull, stares at the photo frame on his desk. Saddened that he won’t see or hug her again. His daughter whose fate is determined by the consequences of her actions in taking the dark path of sorcery. If only he and his wife could have done better into raising her. If only he taught her the goodness of magic more and effortlessly. Right now every time one promising wizard is now gone by the hands of human beings, more wrinkles form on his face and his gorgeous hair turn grey. Luckily he learnt that this person is a well-known wizard from America offers to teach wizards how to defence themselves without being dependent on magic, he took that chance.

A knock on his door and with a wave of his hand, Sigmund magically open the doors to see who it was.

“You…”

He see someone he will never see again. His cousin, Kyle's son. Janaya.

Janaya teleports from here to sitting in a chair, looking at his former headmaster.

"Hello Headmaster Tang, it must have been a decade since I came back here. How was Alverta? Oh wait, I'm sorry, I forgot."

Janaya reveals a smug look at Sigmund Tang. Sigmund stares at Janaya darkly. Of all the wizards from America's Supernatural World, it would have been him. Just perfect. He should keep on requesting the Lighthaven to have one of the Knights of the Fortress of Light to come teach the students. Head of the Council accept the request, however, the Lighthaven remains neutral and only send the templars and knights currently dealing with inter-dimensional threats, it will take some time to have one available. If only that wizard never have mention his daughter, he would give him a chance. By a smidge. He wish he let go of that grudge. It is not entirely his decision!

“Don’t tell me that you-,”

“Of course, I am,” Janaya interrupted. “The Magic High Commission recommends this job offer. It would have seen that the students are over rely on magic. I suppose I should put them in good shape.”

Sigmund continue staring at Janaya.

“Don’t worry the past is in the past. No crying over spilled milk.”

He’s so chill, in a weird way. Just like his mother. At the same time, he see his father in him. But there is someone else in him as well. He better keeps an eyes on him.

“Do you swears to take your duty seriously as the professor of Milkweed Academy?”

“At the best of my ability and only in my own way, scout’s honour.” Janaya pledged.

~~

At the academy’s gymnasium, the students gather around, wondering why they are here when they are not doing magic duel in the first place. They see their headmaster standing in front of them, in the middle of the gymnasium. Sigmund stares at the group of promising students in the art of wizardry.

“Headmaster,” one of the students asked. “So why are we learning martial arts at a wizard school?”

“Because I’ll be damned if I lose another promising student to a thug with a knife again.” Headmaster Sigmund answers.

The door drew open, causing a squeaky noise to emit. He turns to see the special guest to arrive to teach the wizards martial arts. Sigmund have excitement and relief that he have arrived. Hopefully he did take his responsibilities as a teacher seriously. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

A flock of lavender coloured razor sharped cranes fly past the guest, snatching the wand from all the students’ hand. The cranes take a u-turn and landed on the floor next to the guest.

The guest, holding a bo staff in his left hand, smirked and take a bow. “You been dazzled,”

There is a mocking tone laced in his voice.

“Thanks you Razor Cranes,” said the guest. “The wands will be conspicated until class is over.”

The cranes coo and keep their mouth holding onto the wand.

“Bloodworth-Thomason!” Sigmund shouted. “You shouldn’t take their wand! This is highly inappropriate, especially on the first day!” Sigmund shouted, his face turn a light shade of red. His eyes twitch a little.

Janaya cleared his throat, he swipe his right hand and have the cranes waddle off, with each of them carrying the wands. “I am doing the best of my ability and to see what best for them. And stripping them off of the source of their magic is the best step to take.”

With a wave of his hand, the door magically close shut. Janaya walks up to Sigmund joining in.

“My name’s Janaya Altair Bloodworth-Thomason. I am a member of Lethal Protection Service in Townsville. I was a student of this academy. I did have experienced working with the knights of Echo Creek and protected Nebula Butterfly-Lucitor, before she became the Leader of Guardian of the Supernatural and when she was the mayor’s daughter. Taught by well-known magic users from The Roundtable of Camp Synonymous. Not only to develop my magic, but honing my Escrima and learned Bōjustu.” Janaya introduces himself to the class in a flat tone.

The students paled when they saw the wizard, realizing who he is through the news articles online and words of mouth. Janaya use antimagic sphere against wizards, and roll up his sleeves. “Everyone please grabs either a batons, a bo staff, or you can use your hands. I need to see how well you fight in a melee…. I’m just kidding. Just wear a chest protective vest and a helmet first. Safety first you know. Then, pick either your hands or a weapon.”

Sigmund watch carefully as Janaya gave the students demonstration and pointers. It is amusing that despite his attitude, he’s an approachable individual as he helped some of those students who couldn't fight by teaching them the basics Escrima. Maybe this is not that bad after all.

~~

Several weeks/Two months have passed, when it was time for the students to spar, they are able to handle to defend themselves without the need of magic. One event occurred when a student spin kick another student close to the neck, the wizard fell to the floor. An elf rush forward to check up to see the victim is whether conscious or unconscious. The wizard gasp to check up on his duel partner. However the wizard’s movement is halt by the sound of a high-pitched whistle.

Janaya blow a whistle, and gives the student a stern and disappointing face. “Foul play, kid as long as you are free to make your choices, you need to accept the consequences of your destructive behaviour. Such as being sent to Lighthaven to control the evilness inside of you.”

The student’s face is paled and nod in hestitant. He doesn’t wants to end up like him. The student see the dark magic visible in different part of his body, mainly his brown eyes are glowing purple, some black discolouration on the inside of his mouth and a forked tongue with two tines.

“Yes, Professor Bloodworth-Thomason,” said the student bowing his head to avoid his stares. Janaya is unphrase by his apologies have the wizard sent to the headmaster’s office with a report to what happen magically send to Sigmund. Janaya watch as the elf take the other wizard, Beau, whose is unconscious to the infirmary.

Janaya frown, wondering that his teaching will be enough for the students to be able to defend themselves in the future. Meanwhile at the headmaster’s office, Sigmund read the report Janaya written. Then, he looks at the student giving him a suspension for a week for now until he get the diagnosis from the school nurse. The headmaster of the wizardry school massage his temple, fearing that he will have to call the parents about this once the victim wake up. The student, Levente still have his head down in shame.

Writing prompt belongs to @writing-prompt-s.

Alverta Tang (mentioned) and Janaya A. Bloodworth-Thomason belong to me.

Nebula Butterfly-Lucitor (mentioned) belongs to @ej-cappy-universe

“So, why are we learning martial arts at a wizard school?” “Because I’ll be damned if I lose another promising wizard to a thug with a knife again.”

[whiskey-bumblebee]

female friendship because:

-I can call my friend georgia and it’s like we’re 18 again and I’ll say it feels like it’s been a while since we called and it’s been a year but we talk for 3 hours and nothing’s really changed. and she texts me later and asks if I like my school because her girlfriend is thinking about going there and how funny would it be if she ended up in the place that I’m leaving

-and I think about my friend rose and whether I should message her and ask if she wants me to bring her anything that’s hard to find in our country, because the mug she brought me back in high school sits on my desk still and I see it every day, full of all of my pens, and of course I’ve forgotten that we had a falling out because the love is still there. Because every now and again I hear her voice and remember the way her house smelled

-Lauren, just Lauren, and the way I can fall in love with her all over again just by calling her to mind

-my sister, and the pair of earrings I made her that are hanging on my dresser, ready to be in her ear lobes as soon as I’m home, and the way that she’ll message me about whether or not I like this sundress on her and at the end of an hourlong consultation she messages me and says “I always need a second opinion. I’m glad this time it was you”

-and Lydia, who works the night shift so when it comes time to call, I’ll do the time zone conversions in my head so she doesn’t have to, and it’s a little thing but one time she mentioned that she’d forgotten there was a time difference because she’d never had to think about it. How we’ve had conversations about the fact that wherever in the world we end up, it’ll have to be somewhere we can be together

-and oh, Sabine, who was in my house on friday wearing my sweater and washing my forks and my heart twists just to think of her. the photo I took of her in my kitchen in the dark, lit by the television screen

-then of course Phoebe, who once brought a whole vine of tomatoes and bread and a carton of eggs to my house without telling me and made herself breakfast and took a shower while I talked at her from the couch

-how could I forget my roommate Simran who picked up the pencil by the crossword and filled in COOTS, water birds with black plumage, 370 across, then looked across the table and smiled with confidence, who this weekend was delighted when I shared some liqueur that reminded her of a childhood sweet

-or Kara, who I only met in September but there are artefacts of each other in our lives like the heart I drew on a piece of paper that she tucked into her phone case or the photo of her on the couch waiting for her food to reheat, or the early morning messages with 2000s song recommendations

-and Paige S. and Jess and Adriana and Mahu and Paige D. and Reed and Brooklyn and Anastasia and Paige K. and Jocelyn and Clare and Heidi and Ember and

[mimi-cee-hq]

A Genuine Mess - Atsumu x f!reader

Pairing: Atsumu x f!reader

Summary: Atsumu insults you, the quietest girl in his class. But as he gets to know you, your few words often leave him blushing.

Genre, etc.: Tooth rotting fluff, Atsumu is a dork in love but still consistent with his canon character, reader is quiet but not timid

Warnings: none

Author's Notes: I wanted to try a different personality for the reader as well as taking one of Atsumu's negative character traits and flipping it on its head :) This was fun to write. Hehehe.

Words: 1.9k

*****

"What? She's here for me?" said Atsumu. He pressed his lips together to hide the smile forming on his lips. As he attempted to walk to the gym doors as normally as possible, Aran tilted his head while Osamu wore an amusing smirk.

Atsumu leaned on the frame of the gym doors. "What'd ya want?" he asked you, trying to be as smooth as possible. His voice didn't reveal his usual arrogance and was unexpectedly gentle.

"Could I see your hand?" you asked him with a quiet but direct tone.

When he held his hand out in front of you, you delicately turned it over, palm faced down, and positioned his fingers one by one. You didn't notice him gripping the side of his jersey in his other hand, trying to keep it together every time your fingers grazed his skin. You let go of his hand to pull out your phone and angled it to get a good shot of his hand.

Click.

"Thank you Atsumu-san," you told him, putting your phone away and leaving the gym.

Atsumu returned to the court, not even able to hide the childish grin from his teammates anymore. Some widened their eyes and others dropped their jaws as they witnessed the entire scene.

"So when did you start liking her?" Suna asked him.

"I don't like her," Atsumu adamantly responded.

A laugh escaped Osamu's lips and Atsumu told him to shut up. He hated that his twin knew exactly why he was acting like this.

*****

"Well that looks ugly."

Seated at your desk, you looked up from your sketch to see Atsumu's scrunched up nose. It didn't take long for it to disappear. Osamu whacked him on the head for insulting the quietest girl in class two and quite possibly their whole year.

"Sorry about this jerk," Osamu told you. "He doesn't have a filter."

But when he started to drag Atsumu away from you, they heard the rare sound of your voice.

"Miya-san," you said.

They both turned around but after looking at each other, they assumed you were referring to your classmate Atsumu.

"Why does it look ugly?"

"Ha?" Atsumu gawked at you. He scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. The shoulders just looked gross"–he got whacked on the head again–"Hey!" He glared at Osamu.

After they bickered for a bit, they turned their attention back to you, but you were already facing your desk, immersed in your sketch. Osamu raised an eyebrow at Atsumu, expecting him to know what that was all about, but he only shrugged his shoulders, not having a clue either.

The next time Atsumu heard your voice was when you came to see him at his desk.

"Ha? What's this?" he asked.

In front of him, you had placed another sketch. You didn't say a word but looked at him as if you were expecting some sort of comment.

Atsumu raised an eyebrow but looked at the sketch anyway.

"What's wrong with this dude's hand?" he asked as he squinted at the drawing, holding your sketchbook up to his eyes. "It looks like it's dislocated or something."

The classmate beside him shot his eyes open. He then looked up at you to see your reaction.

"Thank you," you told Atsumu with a little nod before returning to your desk. Those were the only words you had for Atsumu and they had left him and his classmate speechless.

Atsumu's eyes lit up the third time you came to his desk.

"Which one looks the worst?" you asked him, showing him three different sketches.

"This one," he said, pointing to the one in the middle. "There's no way a person could have hair like that."

You ignored his comment and asked him again which one looked worse. He still chose the middle one, saying the expression reminded him too much of his brother.

You gave him a nod as thanks and as he watched you return to your desk, there was a small uptick at the corner of his mouth, gazing at you gathering your pencils together and continuing your progress.

Over the next couple of weeks, he watched you from afar as you drew doodles during class when you should've been paying attention. He wondered if he should actually write notes from the lesson in case you needed them. Maybe he'd pass them to you the next time you showed him your artwork.

But you hadn't made a trip to his desk during the next two weeks. Why did you stop coming? So when you left the classroom, he quickly opened the sketchbook that was left on your desk and went through it page by page, curious to see what you'd been drawing this whole time. As he flipped through the pages, he saw how your drawings had gradually improved. He couldn't help but smile at your growth as an artist.

"Miya-san."

He jumped at your voice and snapped the book shut. He fumbled over his words. "I wasn't looking! It just fell and I picked it up from the ground!" he told you. "When I put it back on yer desk it just happened t' be like that!"

He then saw an expression he had never seen on your face. Your brows were furrowed and your lips turned into a frown. You let out a deep breath. "Miya-san, you're free to look through my sketchbook, but please don't lie to me."

His eyes widened before he lowered them to stare at the classroom floor. Shoulders sagging, he told you in a hushed voice, "I'm sorry." He sighed and dragged his feet back towards his desk. But just when he was about to pull out his chair, he heard your soft voice.

"Miya-san," you said, looking directly at him when he turned to you. "Like I said, you can come and look at it whenever you want."

Atsumu pressed his lips together, trying to hold back a stupid grin on his face. But his eyes betrayed his attempt as they crinkled and turned into crescents, elated at your offer.

*****

Over the next several weeks, Atsumu used any excuse he could to chat with you at your desk before he finally settled on talking to you about anything and everything. He tried to get to know you, asking you questions, but your answers were short and simple, not knowing how else to respond.

However, Atsumu shamelessly continued to talk about himself, his brother, the team, and whatever else was on his mind that day. You always nodded and listened with a smile.

"I think she's just being nice to you," commented Osamu.

"She's never stopped me," Atsumu replied with a huff, crossing his arms, which only resulted in Osamu shaking his head.

Without looking up from your sketch, you told him, "I like hearing him talk."

Osamu's eyes grew at your response but when he glanced over at his twin, Atsumu's ears and cheeks had turned red.

"Oh?" the silver haired twin said with a sly grin. "You're blushing 'Tsumu."

"No I'm not!" Atsumu said after clearing his throat and turning his head away. Osamu was about to tease him when instead, you said something that deepened his blush.

"It's cute."

Osamu's jaw dropped. Atsumu froze at your comment before deciding to put his face down on your desk, burying it into his arms.

As you and Atsumu got to know each other, he learned that you were still close with your friends from middle school. They were there for you, always supporting you and your passion for art. But when you asked them what they thought about your drawings, they had always said they looked good. You were grateful for them but you couldn't tell if they were just being nice.

"So is that why you asked me about yer drawings?" Atsumu noted. You confirmed it with a nod and he looked at you with longing eyes and a soft smile.

You caught him off-guard when you took a photo of him. "Your expression was interesting just now," you told him. "I want to use it as reference."

Atsumu blushed and covered the lower half of his face. He muttered something through his hands that you didn't quite catch.

"Hm?" you asked.

"Y-you can use me as reference any time."

You took him up on his offer. You'd often snap pictures of him, casually pulling out your phone when you'd find an interesting expression on his face. You even came to see him at practice when you wanted to practice drawing some hands. He often wondered what you noticed about him when you used him as reference, what expressions you saw in him.

One day after classes had ended and volleyball practice was cancelled, he sat at the other side of your desk as you switched to a different drawing pencil from your set. What did you see when you looked at him? His eyes? His nose? His lips?

His hand rose next to your face, his thumb grazing your cheek. When you looked up at him from your drawing, he pulled his hand back, suddenly realizing what he was doing.

He bit his lip, scolding himself for doing that to you. You called his name and his attention was back on you.

"Why did you stop?" you asked.

Butterflies were fluttering in his stomach, not at all expecting those words. Looking at you through his eyelashes, he saw you directly looking back at him. Were you serious?

Somehow getting the courage to make a move, he drew his hand toward you and gently cupped your cheek. He bent over your desk and brought his lips near yours, stopping midway as if waiting for permission to follow through. You leaned in a little closer and he closed the gap, feeling your soft lips against his.

Pulling back, his eyes studied your face for some sort of reaction. He bit his lip, doubting if that was what you wanted. Perhaps he didn't do a good job or you had changed your mind after the kiss.

What if you were just doing this for reference?

He searched your eyes for an answer, not knowing that you saw the insecurity in his.

"I liked it, Atsumu."

His eyes grew. He was both delighted and flustered, not believing that he got to kiss you, that you'd accept a kiss from someone like him. He hugged you and placed a kiss on your forehead, wrapping his arms around you and holding you close.

*****

"Guys! I have a girlfriend!" Atsumu declared, storming into the gym the next day. They all raised their brows when they saw who was holding his hand.

"Are you serious?" asked Aran.

"It's probably fake," Suna commented.

"He must have bribed her or something," Osamu added.

"All of ya just shut up!" Atsumu yelled at them as they all gave him a skeptical look. He sighed and dropped his shoulders as he held your hand.

They snickered and teased him, but when there was a silent pause in the air, they heard your voice for the first time.

"I like him," you told his team. Your voice was quiet but they heard every word. They freaked out, gawking at the two of you, an unlikely pair.

Atsumu turned his face away because his cheeks went red again. Your words, more often than not, caused him to be up in a fluster.

*****

I hope you enjoyed it.

I couldn't help but have Suna say it was fake for all my "A Glimpse of Yellow" readers. lolll.

If you liked this one, you might like one of these:

1) my Tendou one-shot (timid!reader)

2) my Sakusa one-shot (where he gets a crush on exchange student!reader)

3) my Kyoutani one-shot (another unexpected pairing)

And I want to shamelessly throw in my Suna chaptered fic (fake dating) just because it's my current series. lol.

I also have a Google form for my taglist if any of you are interested in it.

[lawngnomeofdoom]

Part Three: when I'm near you

Part One Part Two Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven

Summary: Connor struggles with his new feelings brought upon by Y/N and Hank delicately advises him on the situation.

Warnings: A smidge bit of smut toward the end ;)

A/N: Again I cannot thank people enough for reading and sharing this fic, I'm really glad you all seem to like it! I plan to continue this series for a while so I hope you're into that! Thanks again I hope you have a beautiful day!

The morning after you had investigated the senator’s home was a quiet one. You said hello to Connor when you came in just like you had been doing for the last week, on some days he had even been waiting for you with a cup of coffee and an eager smile. But that morning he avoided your eyes and did not even acknowledge your “hello”, instead his eyes stayed glued to his desk terminal. It hurt more than you would admit, flirting with Connor wasn’t something you took all that seriously, it was just fun to watch the cute little guy blush and get flustered. That was until last night when he whispered in your ear and stirred something inside you, something that excited and scared you, and by the lack of eye contact he gave, you suspected it scared him too. Hank observed you two with a scrutinizing eye, finally whistling to get Connor’s attention when you had left your desk to use the bathroom.

“Lieutenant?”

“What’s the deal? You’ve been following Y/N around all week like a lost puppy, something I’ll admit I’m not exactly crazy about but anyway, what’s with the cold shoulder?” Hank asked. Connor poked his tongue to the side of his cheek with a thoughtful expression across his face.

“I...I am simply focusing on my task at hand. I’ve no room for distractions.” He replied.

“Oh, is she distracting?” Hank probed on. Connor clenched his fist and sighed.

“Alarmingly, yes.” He admitted finally.

“I don’t know why it is that I feel this way, whatever “way” this is. I’ve only known Y/N for a short time but I feel…well that’s the trouble, I don’t know, I’ve got no instructions no programming for this sort of thing.” Connor finished sounding exhausted. Hank looked over his shoulder to ensure you hadn’t yet returned from the bathroom then leaned in to speak softly to Connor.

“Listen, if it makes you feel any better, us humans don’t get any instructions for all this emotional crap either, you just kinda gotta figure it out. I know that’s not easy because you can’t exactly go through puberty, can you? Never mind I don’t want to know. Point is, if I were you I’d go talk to that Markus guy, he seems like he might have some sage advice on something like this.” Hank suggested and Connor nodded thoughtfully.

“That sounds like a productive course of action.” He agreed.

“Oh and Connor, come here…” Hank said signaling him to come closer over their desks. As Connor did Hank roughly grabbed him by the collar and stared deep into his eyes.

“Y/N is like a daughter to me. You hurt her feelings this morning and I highly advise you to rectify that or else.” He ordered and released him. Connor nodded anxiously and straightened his now crooked tie.

“I will go get her a cup of coffee.” He said quickly.

“Yeah, you go do that,” Hank smirked. Connor rose from his desk and entered the break room; he diligently chose a mug with the least amount of stain and chips in it and prepared a cup of coffee just the way he had noticed you like it. Just as he was headed out the door Reed stopped him and pushed him back into the break room.

“Fetching Y/N a cup of coffee like a good little lap dog huh?” He spat. Connor tried to bypass the detective but found himself pushed back again, two other officers stood in the corner but didn’t react to the confrontation, after all, they never did.

“I don’t hold any animosity toward you detective, I simply wish to coexist with you as coworkers.” Connor said with a forced smile.

“Right. “Coworkers”. Bullshit. First, you walking tin cans take our jobs and now, you’re really after our women?”

“I don’t know what you’re implying detective.” Connor said narrowing his gaze.

“I’m sure you don’t. This is a friendly warning; you can’t steal Y/N.” He said standing now almost nose to nose with Connor.

“How could I steal her from you detective? You’ve never had her to begin with.” Connor replied flatly. Reed’s eyes glared in anger and he delivered a swift gut punch to him, Connor held his abdomen with a clenched fist. His mind had already worked out 15 different ways to take down Reed, but he steadied himself. Markus had made a lot of progress, but many would still see Connor’s self-defense as anything but, and he had no intention of undermining his friend’s hard work. He prepared himself as Reed drew his arm back again for another strike but watched with shock as he collapsed to the ground. You stood behind him, having just given him a swift kick to the back of his legs, and then delivered a few more kicks to his groin. He reeled on the ground, moaning in tremendous pain.

“He may not hit you back, but I do. Get off the floor detective they just cleaned that.” You say and step over Reed’s body to face Connor.

“Are you alright?” You ask with sympathetic eyes. Connor’s eyes darted between Reed and you for a moment before he found any words.

“I made you coffee.” He said and meekly held up the mug. You chuckle softly and take the mug from him.

“Thank you, Connor. Can we talk?” You ask and he nods. Connor holds out his hand and helps you step over Reed’s body again out into the hall. You walk to your desk together, Connor notices your reserved body language, the way you hold the mug with both hands, and point your feet away from him but he knows it's similar to how he treated you this morning. You lean against his desk, Hank isn’t at his which is a relief to you, it makes this conversation slightly less awkward.

“I just wanted to make sure we were okay? I just feel like I may have upset you in some way last night and that wasn’t my intention.” You say, unsure in your wording.

“No!” Connor almost yells and slightly startles you.

“Yeah, that’s convincing.” You reply sipping the coffee.

“No, I mean you haven’t upset me Y/N. I was dealing with internal issues. I was going to apologize for making you uncomfortable with what I said last night.”

“Oh. Don’t worry, it didn’t make me uncomfortable. It was just surprising is all. I didn’t realize you had that kind of thing in you.” You reply looking into his eyes, but you notice his LED flashing in your peripheral.

“I didn’t realize it either. But I’m glad to hear I haven’t made you too upset with me.”

“Well I wasn’t sure if I could forgive you for the silent treatment this morning but you’re lucky this coffee is good.” You reply with a light smile.

“So the situation is remedied?” He asked hopefully.

“Definitely. We’re friends Connor.” You reply with a grin.

“Friends.” Connor repeated happily. Of course, he thought, he had no need to see Markus to discuss these “feelings.” You were nothing more than good friends and Connor could accept that.

Or at least he thought he could.

“Oh is that a picture of Sumo?” You ask and stretch over Connor’s desk to grab the photo. Now with your back arched over his desk he can’t seem to stop himself from imagining his hands gripping your hips and holding you in place, pinning his body over yours and tangling his hand in your hair as he penetrates you, and the vibration of your moans against his skin. It became important to him at that moment to know what it would sound like for you to say his name with longing and pleasure and desire. It flooded all of his senses.

“Connor?”

“Hm? Oh yes, I like dogs.” Connor says quickly.

“Mmm me too.” You reply admiring the photo of Sumo.

“Okay, maybe I should go talk to Markus.” Connor thought.

[the-kipsabian]

nobody asked but im gonna elaborate on this anyways lmao

the fun thing is i wasnt even a kip fan first. i noticed penelope far before him, mostly thanks to a long gone moot who was a huge fan of hers. so i took notice when i was just starting to get into watching aew properly and kip was just kinda there in the background. i thought he was cute and funny but that was about it

and then the first hints at boxman happened on social media. i was in a bad spot myself at the time, dealing with a lot of unwanted anxiety and bullshit and something about this just hit me extremely correctly. i had just a little bit before this lost the seth and murphy storyline in the fed that i was also extremely feral about, so replacing it with something else felt really good. and here comes this fucking weirdo that im starting to get emotional attached to (at this point i believe i was watching a little bit of the streams too, i was by means not obsessed or a regular viewer, but i was getting hang on his cringe lmao) who looks great and acts like a cryptid and posts cryptic messages and it just. all fucking clicked. in the middle of all that stress and heavy anxiety i was going through, i was like. new comfort man unlocked

and then i drew art of him and he was so fucking nice about it. and hes just been so kind and supportive of me ever since which. obviously is a huge deal to me. like this man doesnt know me, to him im just a silly lil fan, but he never talked down to me or anything like. yeah. and then the support continued through my mess of a life in such small silly ways and idk. things just kinda happened and the fact that he had helped me through so much by just doing this character and being nice that the tattoo happened. which i think was the beginning of the end really lmao (i mean that in the sense that hes never gonna get rid of me now. we are bonded till the end lmao)

when i got to meet him (and i learned this the same day i got the tattoo done, which. yeah fate lmao) he was super nice. extremely humbled. kindest motherfucker ive ever seen and i met ethan page that same day LMAO. he was so polite and patient with me and literally asked what he could do for me in return for me coming all the way over to show him my tattoo (he signed me extra photos for free. cause hes the best ;;) and he also let me hang in my anxious exhausted state by their desk while my babe did her rounds for some leftover meet and greet stuff (since kip and penny were my last ones in that con, for obvious freak out reasons lmao. i already walked away from their table once when i saw him in the distance cause i freaked out) OH AND ALSO he already at that point dealt with so much of my shit cause this is where one of my favorite all time moments come from when i walked up to their table and straight up asked him if he knew who *i* was LMAO

and uh yeah. then i get home a few days later and miss a stream but watch it back later in my layover airport at 7am and cry cause he says how humbled he was. like NO BITCH HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL. but anyways

after that he literally just. actually it was during then im pretty sure he remembered my name cause he signed things for me with my name without asking for it and um. yeah. sorry to say im a special part of kip sabian canon lmao. he keeps bringing the tattoo up in interviews still. like boy its been two years. please i say, knowing i look at it at least every few days thinking how fucking lucky i got it. even if i would actually mean nothing to him. i got these brief moments when it meant everything

theres also times he just tolerates so much of my shit. like i feel like im a constant pain in his ass lmao but also he encourages it with positive reinforcement so like. idiot supporting idiot as i like to call it. we both know we are coming from a good place with these things lmao. and yeah he has noticed my twitter agenda/s of trying to show him love and support with daily posts. hes also personally reached out before to apologize for misgendering me while he talked about stuff in a podcast episode. he has stood up against someone misgendering me when he was tagged in that post (it was about those halloween photos of last year, which he also really liked). and i would probably have so many other examples too why he is so goddamn important to me

he just makes me happy, you know? and im sure i would be doing this even if he didnt know i existed, but him being such a good, supportive and nice human being back to me definitely helps. cause it deepens that love i have for him. i know its very easy to get caught on to just what we see in character, but this goes so much deeper for me tbh

and before anyone who might read this tells me i have a parasocial relationship here. maybe. but i dont see it that way. i know we arent even friends lmao, this man has a wife he loves more than anything in this world, im just a mere humble fan who likes showing him love and appreciation and he thanks me by being very kind back to me. thats all there is. yes im very awfully ill about him at times lmao, but i know where to draw a line. sorry to disappoint anyone wanting to yell at me lmao

SHIT I DIDNT EVEN TOUCH ON THE PHRASES GODDAMN like okay it was just part of me dealing with depression and anxiety at the time, but still like "embrace the change" and "time doesnt heal it changes you" especially (as that was something my old therapist who really helped me move forward in my life also told me so i clung onto it really fucking hard honestly) gave me some kind of hope and a comfort character to attach that hope to. so that was a big reason why the boxman was/is so important to me in particular; he came into my life at a really difficult time, me later ofc realizing we both really struggled at that time so theres also that connection, but he helped me through so much of it by giving me hope and a thing to latch onto to keep me sane through a really difficult patch of my life. so like.. yeah theres also that 💜

..did i ever even tell you how/why i got progressively more obsessive about kip sabian cause i just think its kinda funny actually

[somerpmemes]

The Owl House Starters

Change as needed

“No! My only weakness! Dying!”

“That doesn’t count, right?”

“Do you have any friends? Real ones?”

“Tiny trash thief!”

“Oops, that happens sometimes.”

“I’m a squirmy little fella.”

“I like food, I like love, just let me write about it!”

“Oh, he gets so cute when he’s thirsty for power.”

“I’ve never actually broken any of your stupid laws… in front of you.”

“I hate everything you’re saying right now.”

“We’d be the strongest power couple ever.”

“Self-doubt is a prison you can never escape from.”

“Anyways, let’s bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me.”

“I am not your cutie pie!”

“No one wants an un-oiled snake.”

“Remember, never befriend a man in sandals and always measure twice, cut once.”

“Be back by nightfall or risk mortal peril!”

“I know I’ve had enough delight for one day.”

“Sorry to break it to you, ___, but no one here is that well-dressed.”

“This has been a rough day.”

“Big houses always belong to big whack jobs.”

“Today just got good.”

“Wizards are just old people with glitter in their pockets.”

“Anyways, your food is gone and we are too.”

“Never trust a man in casual drapery.”

“All that mean-spirited laughter made me sleepy.”

“I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.”

“All your food was so tiny and cute.”

“If you can think of a better plan I’d love to hear it.”

“Betrayed by my own cool accessories.”

“I didn’t have to be part of this!”

“I… don’t like this.”

“I think I’ll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still… alive.”

“Wow, you’re so unnoticeable I almost rolled into you.”

“It’s okay, the thorns only went through a few layers of skin.”

“Alright, into the darkness you go.”

“Oh my god, I haven’t eaten real food in so long please give me some.”

“You can’t just cut open a human, can you?”

“Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life!”

“Ahh, baby’s first wanted poster.”

“Even demons have inner demons.”

“This is my paying attention face.”

“Look, now we’re boo boo buddies.”

“It’s like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out.”

“I respect your cunning but I also hate you for it.”

“Oh, gross. Can I keep that?”

“This is terrifying, so why do you look so happy?”

“Oh no, a twist!”

“I’m kind of over that nickname, but okay.”

“Oh, what lovely thing do we have here? It’s just so dang shiny, oh my.”

“And look, I drew flip book.”

“I will literally do anything to stop this.”

“If I’m seen, I could go to jail… again.”

“Alright, let’s see this mess.”

“That’s probably fine.”

“Time to prepare for bloodshed.”

“Welcome down to my level!”

“I know I should be repulsed but that look is fierce.”

“I’m gonna steal everything that’s not nailed down!”

“I was up all night poison tasting and, for some reason, I don’t feel great.”

“I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets. And an extra pair of hands in case I want to pickpocket.”

“I got leaves in my pants. And I like it.”

“I was a strange child.”

“You think this can stop me? I can still bite your ankles.”

“If you’re gonna eat me, just do it now!”

“___, you’re getting all swoony again.”

“Rivals are meant to be annihilated, not befriended.”

“Witches eating babies is so 1693.”

“Ugh, you.”

“I thought we were as cool as cucumbers but we’re as sour as pickles.”

“Whoa, I almost passed out.”

“It’s been hours, how can it keep screaming!?”

“Say that again and I steal your tongue.”

“Keep going, this is fun to watch.”

“Isn’t that taking it a bit too far?”

“Just go away before things somehow get worse!”

“This never happened.”

“And who doesn’t like their name in lights?”

“That’s the incorrect reaction!”

“I smell an easy mark.”

“Well, I hate her.”

“It’s like demonic possession with the ones you love.”

“This is just like my favorite early 2000’s movie!”

“I’m so old… and pointy.”

“I’ve got some very confusing emotions right now.”

“My life’s not a joke! But yours is!”

“Novelty costumes are where I draw the line.”

“I am not above disrespecting my elders.”

“This vacation just took an alarming, back-alley turn.”

“Geez, I thought I’d like being babied. But I feel small and helpless, like some sort of baby.”

“Hey, take this, society!”

“I didn’t like her telling me what to do before, but now I love it!”

“Let’s go let out some teen angst!”

“This is how the cool kids ride. Super backwards, on purpose.”

“Your life is pretty terrible. But, hey, it’ll probably be over soon.”

“This is some of my best work, really captures the shame.”

“That’s sweet, kid. Now let’s never speak of this again.”

“Show, don’t tell, man.”

“Oh, look what you did. I’m gonna go rub it in.”

“That seems like a potential problem to me.”

“You being the razzle, I’ll bring the dazzle.”

“Do you always have confetti on you or—?”

“You’re just gonna be unhelpful, huh?”

“Okay, time to run for no particular reason!”

“Oof, I’ve had this nightmare before.”

“Like I’d actually apologize.”

“I want power, and I want drama.”

“Are you ready to give up?”

“I was afraid, I acted stupid.”

“I just wish you told me the truth.”

“You know, it didn’t taste as bad as I thought I would.”

“Impressive, still alive.”

“This is a throne worthy of a tyrant!”

“No, no, keep those sticky hands away.”

“No one wants to see that.”

“Since when are you into sports?”

“Gross, sympathy.”

“Don’t spend all night plotting revenge.”

“Oh, this is an interesting development.”

“I’ll take that weird grumble as a yes.”

“I’m feeling confident about this plan.”

“Trust must be earned.”

“If you run, you’ll just make it harder for yourself!”

“Your pride has destroyed you.”

“So tiny, so angry.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be clean again.”

“If you ever want to search for the truth, I’ll help you.”

“Aww, that’s a horrible lie.”

“Partake of my free snack samples!”

“Why isn’t anyone paying attention to me?”

“A, eww. B, I’m bored. C, I feel like pickpocketing some dork while they browse.”

“I know my good angle.”

“Ugh, what are the basement dwellers doing out in natural sunlight?’

“Hey, there’s more to life than shipping.”

“___, I know you’re trying to help, but I think you’re crossing a line.”

“Ooh, I love punching.”

“You’re ominous, and I like it.”

“And of course you would be here just to be a nuisance.”

“I wanted to compare sunglasses.”

“Fame can really box you in, you know?”

“Besides, if anyone’s putting you down it’s gonna be me.”

“If it’s disappointing in any way I’ll spend the rest of my life trashing it.”

“He scammed us. Can you believe he scammed us?”

“Good entrance. But that outfit? Hah!”

“I’ve got a new crush and her name is education!”

“Ahh, fresh garbage.”

“I have never seen such an extravagant earring.”

“Wow, a surprisingly peaceful domestic moment. When will it be ruined?”

“Weaponizing my pride, well played.”

“Sorry, whoever’s over there!”

“Well, go on. Eat the snow.”

“Huh, it’s no fun if they don’t tremble.”

“Oh, okay, alright. Yup, an idea’s happening.”

“Shh! I don’t need your validation!”

“Get back here before that thing bites you!”

“No, we’re gonna die.”

“Cool. I didn’t actually think you could do it.”

“It’s not a secret.”

“Alright, your adorable banter is literally making me sick.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve seen worse.”

“Aww. I won’t be doing that, but thanks.”

“Quitting: it’s like trying, but easier.”

“You humans are filled with liquids, right?”

“I guess I have always liked pouring things into other things.”

“Time to scrounge through the trash.”

“I ain’t no desk jockey.”

“You don’t know diddly dang about squiddly squat!”

“I love secret rooms!”

“You have an aura of lies.”

“Also, you can eat trash.”

“Do the right thing, you dingus!”

“It just goes on like this for an hour.”

“Carnivals bring crowds and crowds bring suckers.”

“We’ve got scams to run.”

“I know poison when I see it.”

“You can’t scam a scammer.”

“You should really put a lock on your closet.”

“I love crimes!”

“Now this is my kind of weird.”

“That’s way safer than becoming blood brothers.”

“Beat up the man and steal his things for me.”

“This mama is ready for trauma.”

“All right. Approval!”

“Curse these stubby legs!”

“Sketchy carnival rides are not to blame this time.”

“___, you’re lucky I can’t be mad at your adorable antics.”

“Just when I thought I couldn’t respect the law any less…”

“Aww, what a supportive sign.”

“Yep, I just counted to one million.”

“Looks like we ruined his life for a second time.”

“I’ve always wanted to own a jagged piece of cheap metal.”

“Yes! Bread puns, bread puns forever!”

“Now I know what friendship tastes like.”

“I think today is a talons day.”

“It’s fun because it’s stupid.”

“I’ll admit, I was adorable.”

“Be careful with my brain.”

“Wouldn’t you rather talk about it?”

“That’s my motto after all, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’”

“No schemes, no plots, no ruses. None.”

“I can’t believe I made him cry.”

“Are you solving a crime or about to commit one?”

“Sadly this is one problem crime can’t solve.”

“I’m supposed to choose someone interesting, accomplished, and noteworthy. People aren’t meant to be all those things!”

“Yup, her brain’s burned up real good.”

“Be still my fantasy-loving heart.”

“I’m pretty good at getting stuck inside people’s heads.”

“Hey, I found something magical.”

“I’ma put my face in it.”

“It’s like a little doghouse for angels.”

“If you’re handing out attention, I deserve it.”

“Eww, I mean, aww.”

“I really messed things up.”

“It’s eggs, it’s full of eggs.”

“No one turns down an interview with someone this pretty.”

“Me? Avoid? What? No. But let’s skip it.”

“There’s levels to me, kid. Levels I say!”

“Oh, right, I put people in there.”

“I’m gonna hug you so hard you’ll never forget me again!”

“I regret teaching you about the internet.”

“Ah, a severed hand. Perfect response.”

“Hmm, the demon at my shoulder makes a good point.”

“Always trust a shoulder demon.”

“The more I look at him, the more uncomfortable I get.”

“Man, you’ve got some quick grabbers.”

“I can’t wait to get overdressed, take awkward photos, push all the buttons!”

“We’re gonna turn this bloodbath into a fun bath.”

“Do you think I could pull off red eyeshadow?”

“Girl, you could pull off anything.”

“We’re style geniuses!”

“Ominous footsteps, creepy woods, this is no problem.”

“Dang, I look great.”

“___, you always go overboard and I end up bailing you out.”

“Now, what’s the fun in watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it’s my kid?”

“___, I don’t think you’re ready but we’re literally out of time.”

“Why so twitchy, witchy?”

“Teenagers are brutal. They’ll boo anyone and that kind of public humiliation will stick with you for life.”

“You look nice. Strange, but nice.”

“Honestly, I’m kind of amazed with how fearless you are.”

“You’ve done things I could never do.”

“Thing is, you’re sitting in my personal chitchat zone, which means you gotta talk.”

“I am a little weirdo.”

“You gotta pander.”

“Cheating a isn’t anything to brag about.”

“Well, can’t reason with crazy!”

“I’ve been talking for too long.”

“Feeling sentimental?”

“I love water.”

“I don’t know much about sports but I do know about sports movies.”

“What happens in the montage stays in the montage.”

“Not everything can be solved with a good attitude and a dope movie soundtrack.”

“Sorry, I just really love backstories.”

“You just destroyed your social life.”

“That’s such a stupid rule!”

“You’re not gonna show this to anyone, right?”

“I haven’t forgotten what you promised me.”

“Ahh, you’re a thorn in my side but you always dig your way into my heart.”

“Jeez, you’re morbid.”

“Ahh, it’s a fate much worse than death if you think about it.”

“Please don’t make me regret taking you here.”

“Love me a properly ventilated castle.”

“I spy with my little eye something coming this way!”

“I’m going away and I don’t know if I can come back this time.”

“And  ___, thank you, for being in my life.”

“I want her back as much as you do.”

“Don’t look at me like that, this is for your own good.”

“Ah farts, I got caught.”

“You understand, don’t you?”

“Please tell me that’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“To be great, you have to make sacrifices.”

“Ahh, ___, you chose the wrong side.”

“I like your spirit, but try that again and things won’t end well for you.”

“Go on, then. Go be a hero.”

“I may have lost but so have you.”

“I can teach you what I know, and what we don’t know we can learn together.”

[ragingbookdragon]

You Light The Spark In My Bonfire Heart

Kyle Rayner x Batbro One-Shot

Word Count: 2.7K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: I HAVEN'T HAD ANY WIFI ALL DAY BUT NOW I DO AND this is my new obsession and pair and you can tear it from my cold dead hands. Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

Kyle had an easy morning routine: get up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, workout, shower, drink protein shake, and draw. It was simple and effective, and helped him maintain a sense of normalcy that he didn’t always have when he was up in space. He typically started out with sketching small things, mostly faces and limbs from memory, the occasional suit redesign, then he’d get into the bigger works, drawing comic panels and the commissions he had. And while Kyle loved to be up in space, to be a Green Lantern, drawing felt like coming home to him, like it was the natural state. That being said, he didn’t love being interrupted when he was in the middle of something important—it was bad for the groove.

***

As the second round of knocking sounded on his door, Kyle grunted and stood from his desk, padding through the hallway to his front door; he flicked the lock and pulled open the door, surprise etching across his face when he saw the eldest Wayne leaning against the door frame—rather cockily, Kyle added, because the soldier’s arm was propped on the frame, the other stuck in the side-pocket of his dark tactical bomber jacket.

“Good morning, Kyle,” he greeted with a smirk. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

The Lantern blinked, shaking his head. “Uh, no, you’re not, (Y/N).” he looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “Had some business to take care of for my dad, and since I was in the area, I figured I’d drop by and see if you wanted to get some lunch with me.”

Kyle took a moment to lean out the doorway slightly, looking down the stretched hallway. “How’d you know where I live?”

“Please, a magician never reveals his secrets,” he deflected coolly, gazing at Kyle. “What do you say? Wanna get some lunch? I know a really good sports bar that serves great food.”

He looked back at (Y/N) and smiled. “Yeah. Let me go get dressed.”

The soldier merely winked in return and with fumbling hands, Kyle managed to shut the door before his cheeks burst into flames, hurrying back to his bedroom to pull together an outfit that would impress the man.

***

Kyle almost dropped to his knees when he saw the car parked outside his apartment building, and (Y/N) knew it too, because he chirped, “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”

He nodded dumbly. “Is this a McLaren 720S?”

“Mhm.” He opened the doors and slid into the driver’s seat, looking through the passenger door. “Coming?”

“Am I ever,” Kyle breathed, climbing into the seat, immediately running his hands along the dashboard and seat. “I’m in love.”

“Wait till you hear her purr,” (Y/N) said, closing the doors, and pushing the ignition. The sports car roared to life and he grinned at the way Kyle’s face melted. “Yeah, she’s a beauty.” He put the car in drive and looked through the side mirror, then pulled out onto the street.

“Is this one of your dad’s cars?”

“Nah, I bought this for myself a couple months ago.” He pulled the sunglasses from his t-shirt and put them on. “This and an Audi TT.”

Kyle huffed a laugh. “Jesus, you billionaires live it up, don’t you?”

(Y/N) smiled. “Hey, I live life in the fast lane. Might as well drive in it too.” He pushed a button on the touch screen and music filtered through the speakers, and Kyle’s face pinched in confusion. “What?”

“This isn’t—James Blunt isn’t the music I figured you’d play.”

“What’d you think I’d be listening too? Rock?” he chuckled, turning the volume down a bit. “Don’t get me wrong, I listen to all kinds of rock music, but I figured you’d want something easy rather than head-bang your brains out rock.” (Y/N) stopped at a red light and glanced over. “You can look through the artists on my phone if you want.”

Kyle shook his head, relaxing into the seat as the melody flowed through him. “No, I like this artist.” The soldier merely smiled in return, pressing the gas pedal again, and Kyle suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of artist, I saw the canvas in your bedroom the other day. Do you draw?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Not like you. It’s more of a pastime than a lifestyle.”

“You’re good at it. You’re painting your family in their suits. Details and designs included.” The artist regarded him with impression. “That takes skill.”

“I’d like to think I just have a steady hand and a lot of patience for stressful tasks.” (Y/N) turned the wheel, coming up behind a line of cars. “It’s an easy way for me to relax and mentally run through past events.”

“Like what?” Kyle questioned curiously.

(Y/N)’s eyes narrowed, but not in a loathing way, more of a thoughtful one. “Missions, conversations, things I could’ve done differently, things I will do differently.” He shrugged again. “Painting for me is just a time when I think about everything and nothing.”

“Well, you’re great at it, (Y/N).”

He snorted. “It’s just a bunch of paintings of my family and friends and military shit.”

Kyle blinked and leaned over. “Wait, is that painting in the den—”

“The one of the F-18 Super Hornet?”

“Yeah. You painted that?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yep. I got Hal Jordan to take me up in one a few years ago and decided to commemorate the trip.”

“Wow,” the Lantern breathed. “I stared at that canvas for at least an hour the first time I saw it. I was just so blown away by how amazing it was.” He chuckled and shook his head. “And to find out, you drew it and not some world-famous painter.”

“Hey, I could be world famous if I wanted.” (Y/N) shot back, turning onto a less busy backstreet. “I just choose to retain my talents for family and friends.”

“Because of your job?”

“That too.” He agreed. “My squad and I take careful precautions to avoid our faces being seen during any missions for the safety of our families.” His face turned as solemn as his voice. “We do what we do to make the world safer. To keep our families and friends safe. It’s imperative that we’re not seen.”

Kyle cocked a brow. “But you’re Bruce Wayne’s son?”

“I am,” he nodded. “But I’m not as…out as the rest of my siblings. You’d be able to recognize them from press photos, but me not so much.” (Y/N) pulled into a parking spot outside the bar. “People only recognize me when they see the name on the credit cards. And I prefer to keep it that way.” A goofy smile crossed his lips. “The high life isn’t for me.”

“Says the man that drives a 710 horsepower sports car.” Kyle shot back with a grin of his own and (Y/N) stuck his tongue out as he turned the car off and opened the doors.

“Okay, I’m not actively in the high life but that doesn’t mean I don’t like luxury.” He closed the car doors and opened the front door to the bar for Kyle. “After you.”

“Thank you.” He replied, and walked inside, only stopping to turn and ask, “Do you want to sit at the bar or a table?”

(Y/N) tipped his head to the side. “I’m down with both, but I like the bar more.”

“Bar it is,” Kyle said and slid into one of the chairs, (Y/N) the other, and an older man wandered over.

“Well, I’ll be damned, is that (Y/N) Wayne I see?”

He turned, expression morphing into joy as he reached out and shook the older man’s hand. “Jack, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you son. How’ve you been?”

“Ah, you know me, sir. Nothin’ changing but the weather.”

Jack snorted. “And the desert where you dig sand outta your ass.”

(Y/N) chuckled. “Damn straight.” He looked at Kyle. “Kyle, I’d like you to meet Jack Dagher. He’s an old CO of mine.”

Kyle shook the man’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“It’s all mine,” Jack replied. “It’s been a while since (Y/N) brought anybody here.”

At that, Kyle turned to the soldier who was busy looking anywhere but his face. “Is that so?”

“Oh yeah. Sonovabitch doesn’t bring his dates here unless he really likes ‘em.”

(Y/N) coughed, glaring at the man. “Alright, we get it. Aren’t you supposed to be taking orders?”

Jack gave him a smug look in return. “What can I get you boys to drink?”

“I’ll take a beer,” Kyle said, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“No shit, kid. What kind?”

(Y/N) snickered as Kyle flushed. “Uh, a Heineken.”

Jack sighed. “And he had such potential. (Y/N)?”

“Gimme a strawberry daiquiri then water after.”

“Still ordering fruity drinks, huh?”

“Hey, they get you drunk faster than horse piss does, you old fart.” He shot back and the old man chuckled.

“Touché.” He slapped the bar. “I’ll bring those to you with an order of chili fries.”

“Thanks Jack,” (Y/N) smiled, watching the man walk off before turning to Kyle who was watching one of the baseball games. “You like sports?”

He tipped his head side to side. “I don’t not like them. I was never a sporty kid in school, but I like watching them.” He looked at the solider. “What were you like in school? Jock or prep?”

“Probably a bit of both,” he answered. “I played sports and had the highest grades.” Shrugging, he added, “And being a Wayne boosted me into the top tier of schools, so, there’s that. To be honest, I think all of us Wayne kids were and are a mixture of every stereotypical category.”

“I can see that,” Kyle laughed. “Especially with Jason and Dick.”

“Shit, I was talking about Timmy.” (Y/N) said. “That kid’s a grade A nerd.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

The two of them laughed and a woman placed their drinks in front of them, both giving their thanks as they took sips.

“Can I ask you something, (Y/N)?”

“My muscles are one hundred percent real. Especially my abs. Which you’re allowed to feel on in envy if you want.”

Kyle snorted into his beer, wiping his mouth. “No!” a few more chuckles passed his lips as he wiped the bar. “Are you…you know…?”

“A Leo?” (Y/N) offered with a smile, but his eyes told Kyle he knew exactly what the Lantern was asking, and he said, “I like the liquor, but I don’t care what label it has on it.”

The other man smiled. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“But if you want the technical term, I am pansexual.” He regarded Kyle a moment. “You?”

“Bisexual.”

His lips pulled in an impressed fashion. “Pretty fly for a bi guy.”

Kyle gaped at him for a moment, then shoved (Y/N) in the side as he buried his face in his arms and laughed. “You’re so stupid.”

“Ah thank you,” he grinned. “I get it from my old man.”

“You,” he cut himself off with a cackle. “do not get that from him.”

“Look, you know the big man in the suit. You don’t know the complete goober we live with,” (Y/N) chuckled, smiling at the waitress who placed menus in front of them; he picked his up and flipped through it.

“What do you recommend?”

“Hmm…anything with bacon on it.” He showed the menu. “If you like salads, get the steak and blue cheese one, it’s fantastic. Or if you’re more into tacos, they’ve got these awesome shrimp carnitas with chili peppers.”

Kyle’s brows furrowed as he looked the menu over. “What are you gonna get?”

“My usual. Tomahawk steak with garlic butter and mashed potatoes.” (Y/N) groaned and rested his head back. “I haven’t had a good steak in months, and I can just taste it already.”

“So, you’re a meat and potatoes kind of man?”

He grinned, keeping his eyes closed. “Unlike the cup noodle and Hawaiian roll man beside me.”

“Ouch. Hit me where it hurts.”

“C’mon Kyle, hit me with your best shot.”

“Better watch it, (Y/N),” he grinned. “You might be the next notch in my pencil case.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

***

“Holy crap,” Kyle breathed, hands resting lightly on his stomach. “I’m stuffed.”

(Y/N) moaned. “Stick a fork in me. I’m done.”

“Done?” their waitress laughed. “You haven’t even finished your desserts yet!”

“Oh God, don’t make me,” the Lantern whined. “I’ll explode.” He looked over. “(Y/N), take one for the team.”

“Pass,” he replied. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds just looking at the rest of the cheesecake.”

The woman laughed. “I’ll wrap the leftovers for you boys.” She wandered off, leaving them alone, and a blaring ringtone filled the space between.

(Y/N) jumped a little, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Do you mind if I get this really quick?”

Kyle shook his head. “Go ahead.”

He slid his thumb along the bottom and rested the phone on the bar. “This is Wayne.”

Captain! Finally. I’ve been texting you all afternoon.

“I know,” he snorted. “I’ve been ignoring it.”

Yeah well, the longer you ignore me the slower it takes for the radar dish to get replaced.

“What are you talking about?” (Y/N) asked. “I thought you’d procured one.”

I did. Then the buyer told me I wasn’t registered for official military hardware.

He frowned. “That’s odd. You did contact Thomas, right?”

Yeah. Beady eyed looking motherfucker who serves on the George Washington, right?

“That’s him.” (Y/N) hummed. “Tell you what, I’ll call him later this evening and get it all sorted out, yeah?”

Sounds good. Hey, did you take that guy out yet? Your little brother won’t stop texting me about some twinkie you’re into.”

(Y/N) froze as he felt Kyle’s eyes drilling into the side of his head and he stuttered, “Uh, Nadeen, now’s not the best time.”

What do you mean best—oh…ohhhhhh. I, uh, I gotta go, Captain.

“Yep. Bye.” He locked the phone and shoved it back into his pocket, refusing to meet Kyle’s eyes. “So…you catch the baseball game?”

“Which one of your brother’s thinks I’m a twink?” Kyle asked. “Wait, don’t tell me. It’s Jason, isn’t it?” he grunted in his throat, deadpanning, “I can’t believe my best friend thinks I’m a twink.”

“It’s Dick, actually.” (Y/N) grinned, turning to face him and he reached over, pinching Kyle’s cheek. “It’s just ‘cause you’re so cute and perky.”

The Lantern merely glared at him, griping, “I’m not as strong as you, put I can punch pretty hard.”

“Ooo, those are fighting words,” he shot back with a smirk, letting Kyle go. “Careful, I’m ticklish.”

“I feel like I’m talking to Hal.”

(Y/N) whined, all but collapsing onto Kyle who started snickering. “I’ve just been murdered.” He buried his face in Kyle’s shoulder. “Can’t believe I was just compared to Highball. The world must be coming to an end.”

“Oh, come on, you big baby. You’re not dying.”

“I am!” he turned his head, gazing at Kyle. “You’ll have to carry me to safety.”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough to carry you.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“I did not say that.”

“You did, but in more words.”

“Alright, now I’m talking to Guy.”

“THAT’S SO MUCH WORSE!”

***

He leaned against the door frame as Kyle unlocked his front door and pushed it open, turning to look at him. “I had a lot of fun today, (Y/N).” he murmured. “Thanks.”

Winking, he replied, “I’m glad you did. I’d like to do it again soon if you want.”

Kyle nodded. “I’d like that.”

They stared at each other for a few moments and (Y/N) smiled, patting the door frame. “Well, I’d better be heading out. Have to get home in time for dinner.” He paused, giving the man a warm look. “Thanks for having lunch with me, Kyle.”

He’d not gotten two feet from the door when Kyle’s hand wrapped around his wrist. “Wait.” He turned and the Lantern leaned forward, pressing his lips to (Y/N)’s cheek. “Be careful on your way back.”

“I will,” he murmured, watching Kyle wave and disappear into his apartment, the door shutting behind him.