#i have a feeling work is getting cancelled again tomorrow from the snowstorm so oh well

[cdrspages]

im bored lol

[warmblanketwhump]

close proximity

two rivals, one bed, one snowstorm. what could go wrong? (word count: 1.3k)

A was furious. They’d told B that their university project could wait until tomorrow, that they’d work out the details before class. But no, B just couldn't settle for that – they had to prepare the night before. And now, B was stuck at A’s apartment as a blizzard raged outside.

"Are you happy now? Class'll probably be cancelled, and it won't even be due," A snaps.

B stands in the doorway, arms crossed, stifling a cough. “It’s your fault that I even had to come over here in the first place. If you hadn’t put your part off, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“Oh don’t start,” A retorts. “I’ve got better things to do than help you keep your precious 4.0.” A and B had been at each others throats all semester, but this project was the last straw.

The snow was coming down in great white waves, and if A was a crueler person, they'd throw B right out on the stoop. But they weren't heartless.

“Look,” huffs A. “You might as well not skid off the road and blame me for that, too. Sleep on my couch. Or don’t. I don’t care.” With that, A snatches the nearest blanket and throws it B’s way, and B catches it. B looks torn, eyes glancing out at the storm and back at the blanket, then to the storm again. Coughing weakly, they sink onto the couch, resigned to their fate.

“Sleep well,” A mumbles. With that, they head back to their room, burrow into their bed, and promptly fall asleep.

Hours later, they’re woken by the freezing cold biting at their nose. A groans as they sit up, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. They snatch a blanket from the top of the pile to wrap around themselves, slip a pair of socks over their cold toes, and step back into the hallway.

They make it to their thermostat and are greeted by a dark panel where a warm glow used to be. The blizzard must’ve knocked out power - and hours ago, if it’s this cold.

A turns to go back to their room, but they’re stopped by the sound of a weak sob. They listen again, confused. Someone, sniffling, coughing in short, shuddering breaths - wait, B. That’s who’s here in their usually empty apartment.

A takes a couple hesitant steps. B’s huddled on the couch, the thin blanket pulled closely around them, knees tucked up so they’re a tightly wound ball. And even in the dark, A can see them shivering.

“B? Hey, come on. What’s wrong?” In the darkness, A can make out a small tuft of hair poking out above the blanket.

“M’ cold,” they whimper. A reaches out to feel B's forehead, too warm and speckled with sweat. A’s hand trails down to B's shoulder, feeling the thin blanket that's now their feverish body's only protection against the freezing air. The anger from hours before melts away, replaced by a guilt that punctures A's chest.

“Oh, honey-” The term of endearment slips from A’s mouth before they can stop it, remember who they’re talking to. But B either doesn’t hear or doesn’t care enough to respond, and a weak cough slips from their lips. They've been down here for hours like this.

A sits on the couch and pulls B close under their blanket, rubbing B's arms, their back, their shoulders, desperately trying to warm them up. B just presses closer, and A can feel the heat of the fever radiating off them.

The sudden intimacy just compounds A's guilt. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

B shrugs limply, head buried in the crook of A’s neck. “I was just tired and achy before. I was just going to try and make home if you hadn't offered for me to stay. I figured you didn't really care what I did or how I felt.”

A momentary vision of B sick and stranded in a cold, broken-down car puts a lump in A's throat, and they swallow hard. "C'mon, B. We don't get along, but you can't think that I'm enjoying your suffering."

B snorts softly. "The way we go at it? I was expecting you to pitch me out on the porch." A feels a twinge in their chest - they had considered it. And yet here they were, trying to keep their sworn enemy just a little bit warmer.

Despite the fever, B’s hands are like ice. A puffs warm air onto them, vigorously trying to rub the blood back into their chilled fingers.

B groans with gratitude. "It's so warm."

A sighs. Their options for keeping B comfortable are few, especially with the power being out. And honestly, it makes their heart squeeze a bit to think of B down here, alone and sick. There's only one feasible option - and it's not one that they think B will love, either.

“C’mon,” A says, standing. They hold out their hand to B, who has the decency to look confused as they take it. “It’s freezing and God knows how long it’ll be until the heat comes back. It’ll be warmer with two of us.”

B, still drowsy, is halfway down the hall before they find it in themselves to object. “A, I’m not - we can’t share -"

“You honestly want to turn into a popsicle on my couch and get sicker?”

B drops their protests, and they reach A’s bed, piled in blankets. “It’s a mess," A says sheepishly, "but I promise it’s warmer.”

“You have SIX blankets on your bed? Normally?” A can hear the disbelief in B’s voice.

“Seven, once you bring yours. I hate being cold.”

“So do I - that doesn’t mean I need SIX blankets. Do you even feel a difference after the first three?”

“Do you want to go back to the couch?”

“....no.”

“Then be quiet and enjoy this beautiful, majestic nest I've welcomed you into.”

They help B clumsily navigate the layers, and soon they’re both tucked away, A leaving generous space between the two of them.

“A...” B whispers after a few minutes of silence.

“What?” A huffs.

“You said it'd be warmer. I’m still cold.”

“You have a fever, you kumquat – of course you're cold. These are all the blankets I have.”

B rustles in the blankets for a moment. “You know, it was kind of nice when you hugged me.”

“You mean it was warm when I hugged you.”

“Yes. It was. And being warm felt nice.”

“Are you...implying something?”

“C’mon, A. I’m cold. You’re warm. There's only one solution I can see for that.”

"B, you've got germs and you're technically warmer than I am. Just give it a minute."

B sighs dejectedly, and A can't help but feel an ache of sympathy. Even on the other side of the bed, A can feel B shaking. Though they're loathe to admit it, the bedroom is still cold. And maybe the idea of curling up next to another warm (okay, fevered) body is tempting, even if that body is likely to promptly pass on whatever plague they've got.

“Please?" B whispers a few minutes later. "I'm freezing. Just a minute or two. And then I promise you can shove me off and I'll shut up.”

A pauses for a moment. B's voice is so soft, so pleading, so unlike their usual intolerable self, and A knows they must be truly miserable if they're begging. So they give in.

"Fine. Just until you're warm enough." A scoots closer, pulling B's fevered head onto their chest and wrapping their arms around them. A can feel the tiny shivers that ripple through B's body, and they rub soothing circles onto B's back as their breathing slows. B nestles closer, and an unexpected warmth floods A's whole body. Their hand slowly makes its way towards B’s head, fingers gently running through their soft hair.

Before long, B is completely asleep. But A doesn't let go. Somehow, a small sliver of them has been won over by the least likely person imaginable. And as they drift off, they realize they might not mind at all.

[eleanorbloom]

Love  Actually Is... (Bryce x MC)

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x f! MC (Eleanor Bloom)

Word Count: 5k  

Warnings: Fluff and some curse words. Rated T.

Summary: Eleanor is feeling down and Bryce has a very particular way to cheer her up.

Taglist @utterlyinevitable @choicesficwriterscreations  @starrystarrytrouble @lahellacute @lucy-268  @cinnamonspongecake @romewritingshop @bratzlahela @freckles-spangledvampire   @mercury84choices  @curiousconch @openheartfanfics

_________

“

4 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS.

“Bryce, love, what are you doing?” I shouted from the couch in the living room toward our room. My voice was husky and nasal because I had been crying for the past hour, and I was drying my puffy and reddened eyes for the umpteenth time that evening.  I was frustrated, sad, and angry, but I was doing my best to move on, “We have to decide what are we gonna do on Christmas Eve. I’ll go to the grocery store tomorrow.”

No response. For a moment I thought he was in the bathroom, or sleeping, but then I heard some rummaging in the room, so I knew for sure he should’ve heard me.

"Goldie, what are you up to?" I insisted as Bryce didn't respond to me nor approached the living room in the next minute. I was about to get up from my seat when I saw him coming out of our bedroom with a smirk on his face and some strange clothes on. He was wearing a white buttoned shirt and black cotton pants, very different from the dark jeans and green Henley he was wearing ten minutes ago.

I frowned.

“Love, why are you wearing that? You have a wedding I wasn’t aware of?” I asked, watching him come to the living room.

“Wait and see.” He simply replied as he was scrolling through his phone, and then walked to the big windows of the living room.

Outside there was the reason for my disappointment, of my anger. It was dark, stormy, and really, really cold. The glass of the window was completely frosted, so the streetlights barely could percolate through the thick layer of snow in the glass.

One more click and a few notes started playing in the home sound system. Bryce, giving me his back, started swaying his hips.

I knew those notes. My mind was racing, trying to decipher where I had listened to them. “Is this…?”

Your eyes tell me how you want me

“Oh my god.”

I can feel it in your heart beat

Then Bryce took slow steps backward and turned her face to wink at me, all seductive and teasing while he was singing along with The Pointer Sisters. Then he pointed a finger to me while his hips started rocking toward my way.  

I started laughing instantly, of course. The way he was looking at me and how smooth his movements were would never stop to amaze me. But it was also a mix of fun and tenderness, because he was acting like a character from my favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually, only to cheer me up, so even if I was laughing my ass off, I was pretty emotional too.

He kept moving and singing until he reached the center of the living room, and then changed his steps. Now he was moving to the sides with open arms and legs, moving his head to the beat. The whole step was hilarious, but he was doing it even funnier with his confident smirk and his expert motions, exceeding the very well presentation Hugh Grant did in the movie. It was like he was born to do that scene.

“I’ll take you down, I’ll take you doooown, where no one’s ever gone before”

“Love, oh my god!” I said wiping the tears off my eyes, as was crying again, but this time for a very pleasant reason.

We were so immersed in the dance that none of us heard the sound of keys in the lock, and the door cracking open. Just when the door slammed shut, we realized Keiki was there, staring at Bryce with a puzzled look and biting her lips to not burst out of laugh.

“What the hell are you doing, weirdo?”

“Jump in and feel my touch! Jum if you want to taste my kisses!” He said dancing towards her, rocking his hips teasingly, and Keiki gave him a horrified look as he saw him dancing around her. “Hi Keiks, welcome home.”

“No! I’m leaving! I should’ve never come back! Nikka, take me with youuu!!" She screamed as she pretended she was asking her best friend to rescue her.

Then she turned to me, as I was cackling louder than ever, “Ella, are you okay with this?” she asked me with a mix of disappointment and amusement, taking a seat beside me.

“Keiki, it’s hilarious.”

“Jump! You want to taste my kisses in the night then”—Suddenly Bryce jumped to the empty space beside me and started dancing over, moving his butt over me. “Jump, jump for my love!”

“Eeewww Bryce!” Keiki squealed, covering her eyes with both hands. “Honestly, I don’t know how you can live with this weirdo, share a bed with this clown, Ella.” Her cheeks were flushed, partly because of the embarrassment but mostly because she was trying so hard not to laugh.

“Well, I mean, you live with him too, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but you consciously chose him. And I bet you already knew how ridiculous he was before agreeing to be his girlfriend. I literally had no choice.”

Bryce jumped to the floor again and then squeezed to sit in the middle of me and Keiki.

“Oh, come on little sistah, don't be such spoilsport," He said “Are you thirsty? Can I offer you a glass of wotah? Or maybe a cup of tea?”

“Oh my god, Ella what the hell did you give him? Did he smoke anything?”

“Dear lord! Where are your modals, Keiki? Your Governess would be ashamed of how rude you are behaving with your beloved older brother.”

“Okay, I’m going to my room now.”She said as she was trying to stand up from the couch but Bryce stopped her.

“But darling, tell me first how was your day? The mall was too crowded?”

“A living hell, but now I realize it was better than this hell.”

“Oh, and what will be my Christmas present? Did you found that lovely china cups I’ve been dreaming about so much these past months?”

“Will you ever stop talking like you’re auditioning for Downton Abbey. Ella, please talk some sense into him.” She looked at me, pleading, and I couldn’t help but tease her even more.

"Keiki, darling, wot is wrong with ya? Why are you speaking this strange accent? One way to the shopping mall and you’re all American? The Queen would be ashamed of you!”

“I can’t believe this, you of all people, Eleanor?” She was disappointed, but I could tell she was enjoying the whole exchange.

“Stop complaining, you stupid sandwich!” Bryce shouted in his best Gordon Ramsay personification. “It’s almost Christmas, laugh a little, child!”  

“Sandwich? Did I hear Sandwich?” I asked with a mischievous smirk on my face.

That was our intern joke. Whenever or wherever we would say the word sandwich…

“Noooooo, sandwich nooooo, dam….n…”

We would sandwich the last person to react. So Bryce and I wrapped Keiki into a tight hug, sandwiching her.

"SANDWICH!" We squealed happily.

“Please, help me, god." She pleaded, feigning annoyance. “I can’t believe you are 29 and behave like 10 years old kids. Worse, like you were 5!"

“Don’t play the dumb, Keiks, you like being sandwiched.” Bryce defied. After a moment, she surrendered and gave him broad smile.

"Only because I have no other option but to accept your weird ways of showing love."

"We have more adult ways, but you don't like them either." I added, then Bryce and I squeezed her a bit more, to finally release her from our grip, "Aaaand you’re free”

“Thank god” She sighed loudly. “Why all this fuss, though? You two were watching Love Actually again? Or is this your normal mode before Christmas?”

“No, I was just trying to cheer Elle on.”

“Why? What happened?”

“They canceled the flights due to the snowstorm for the next two days so… we’re not going to Chile.”

“Oh, no.” She whispered. I could see the disappointment in her eyes. We have been waiting for this trip for weeks, maybe even months. “I’m so sorry, Ella.  I know this was important to you. I was really looking forward to traveling to Chile too.”

“I know... That’s what has me so sad and angry…” I shook my head, trying to shake off the bad emotions. “So, well, you know your brother, he likes to ridicule himself to make me laugh, so he was doing just that.”

“Ridicule myself, excuse me? That’s was a terrific presentation, it was divine! The Queen would be so pleased! So would Hugh Grant!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro.” She rolled her eyes “So, what are we gonna do?”

“Well, have Christmas Eve dinner here and maybe join our friends on Christmas Day? If you’re okay with that, of course.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She smiled. “Whatever helps me not spend the whole day with you two, weirdos”

I chucked.

“Excellent, I let them know we’ll joining them on Friday”

After we discussed the menu and we came up with a complete grocery store list, Keiki finally stood up from the couch. “Well, now that we are ready with that, I’m gonna laid down a bit. You two are exhausting, you know that? I only hope you’re not this impossible on Christmas Eve.”

Bryce and I watched Keiki walking to her room with two bags in hand at a light pace.

“That was Keiki or is Ethan ventriloquizing Keiks somewhere?” Bryce asked once his sister got into her room.

“She’s a teenager, love. I bet you were that grinch too.”

“Well, yeah, but not that grinch.”

“Maybe she’s right and we really are impossible.”

“Yeah, but she cannot know.” We both laughed. “Let's behave until New Year's Day."

“Deal.”

 2 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS.

As I wasn’t going to be out of town for the next days before Christmas, I went to work so I could have those free days in the future.

I was checking on a patient when my pager went off. “MEETING IN 10 MINUTES.”

After updating the chart and checking one more patient, I walked toward the Diagnostic Team Office. When I entered, ready to sit in my usual spot between Ethan and Baz, I was surprised as I found Baz sitting in my spot and Ethan on Baz's. The rest of the spots were full of papers, so the only option was sitting in Ethan's spot, next to the whiteboard and facing the glass wall.

"Have a seat, Eleanor," Ethan said as he noticed my worry.

“Ooookay. So, what’s the matter?”

“Cleveland Clinic called to report a new symptom, and I think this might be our cue to provide some alternatives to their Diagnostic Team.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ethan was explaining the new symptoms when something behind the glass walls caught my attention. Two blinds were partially closed while the other two were opened, revealing everything outside the hallway.

A figure in a red turtleneck sweater with a snowman in the middle, a red Santa hat, and something white on his arms.

Then I realized it was Bryce and what he was grabbing with his arms were big white cards.

When he realized I recognized him, he winked at me, giving me his usual dashing smile.

Ethan kept talking, ignoring that I was kind of unfocused. I couldn’t help but give glances to the wall behind him, wondering what was happening out there.

Then Bryce put the cards in position.

“PRETEND IT’S A BEE”

My eyes widened but I tried to dissimulate. Ethan kept talking.

“I KNOW YOU’RE STILL DOWN”

I smiled sadly.

“I GUESS MY SEXY DANCING WASN’T ENOUGH”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, so Ethan noticed and looked at me confused. Then he looked where I was looking, so Baz did.

"For the love of God," Ethan said pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Please ignore him.”

Bryce continued.

“SO HERE I AM, TRYING AGAIN”

I shook my head and bit my lower lip, resisting the laugh.

“I KNOW WE’RE AT WORK, BUT LET ME SAY”

“WITHOUT HOPE OR AGENDA”

“JUST BECAUSE IT’S CHRISTMAS”

“AND IN CHRISTMAS YOU TELL THE TRUTH”

“TO ME, YOU’RE PERFECT”

“Awww” I heard Baz squeal. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction.

“AND MY WASTED HEART WILL LOVE YOU”

“UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE THIS”

And in the next card, there was a photo of me, sleeping, with my open mouth and all, completely oblivious that someone was taking me a picture.

Baz laughed again and even Ethan chuckled.

"Oh my god," I covered my face with both hands in embarrassment.

“SORRY, THAT WAS LAST NIGHT.”

“Son of a…”

“BUT I DO LOVE YOU EVEN IF YOU LOOK LIKE THAT”

“OR LIKE THIS”

This time it was a photo of me, sick, about three months ago. The three in the office laughed. Even Ethan was enjoying the spectacle.

“AND I WILL LOVE YOU UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE THIS”

“(I SWEAR THIS TIME IS TRUE)”

And there was a picture of ashes.

“OR MAYBE UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE THIS”

There was a picture of a koala.

“WHETHER YOU BECOME ASHES OR REENCARNATE IN A KOALA”

“OR IF YOU LIVE SEVEN OR TEN LIFES”

“I’LL FIND MY WAY TO YOU”

“AND I’LL KEEP LOVING YOU AND CHEERING YOU UP ALL YOUR LIVES.”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS KOALITA.”

“YOUR GOLDIE THAT LOVES YOU VERY MUCH.”

By then there were tears all over my face. I was sobbing. Without thinking too much, I stood up from my chair and ran outside where he was leaning the cards against the wall.

“Hmpf!” He said when I crushed against him. I pressed my face to his chest and sobbed. He stroked my hair softly. “Hey… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you cry” He muttered softly. I shook my head. “I wanted to cheer you on, baby koala”

A few seconds later, I parted from him. His sweater was stained with my tears, and my face was a complete mess. “It’s fine, it’s just… I thought you wouldn't notice. I didn't want you to notice."

“Love, of course I’d notice, and I’d feel horrible if I didn’t, honestly. It’s okay if you’re still angry and sad. You can rant with me, you know that, right?”

“I know, it’s just that… I didn’t want to bore you with my emotional mess. I know this is something out of my hands and I should just accept it… but I’d been months waiting for this.”

“I know baby, I’d been too, and I’m really sorry we couldn’t make it, but you don’t have to pretend, not with me. If you’re feeling sad, I wanna be there for you, alright?”

“Okay, love. You’re right. It’s just… Ahhh!” I grunted in frustration and I buried my face deeper in his chest for a moment “I really want you to meet my abuela. And my tata. And cousins and… Just everyone. And I want them to meet you.”

“We’ll make it, gorgeous. We’ll find the perfect time to travel, I promise. In the meantime, I'll try to cheer you on while you're sad, okay?”

I nodded and he kissed me on my forehead.

"Thank you, my love."

Just then, Baz went out of the office.

“You know I’m team Zines” He stated, and then shook his head “But you two make it really difficult to maintain my position."

I chuckled.

“It’s your brother after all, I get it.”

"Just know that you're in second place in my hashtag relationship goals." I nodded. “And you, mate” He added, looking directly at Bryce “I don't know why you're still alive. With those pictures...”

I gave a stony glare to Bryce.

“Oh, yeah, don’t think I’ve forgotten, Bryce Lahela! When we get home…!”

“Ooof, I better go," Baz announced.

“But the meeting?”

Baz snorted and kept walking. I turned around and Ethan was leaned against the window looking at us, serious. “I thought you couldn’t be cheesier, Lahela, but here you are, always proving me wrong.”

"And I pretend to keep proving you wrong,"

Ethan rolled his eyes.

“Wait… Ethan, you knew about this?”

“Obviously. Do you think this jackass would dare to interrupt me? In a meeting?”

“Well, yeah?”

“Eleanor Andrea Bloom how dare you!” Bryce scowled at me.

“You should know better than me that he’s wiser than it seems, Eleanor.”

“Well… actually yes, it makes sense, but I also know that you would never agree to this.”

“Maybe I was feeling generous just because it’s Christmas.”

"Thanks, buddy, I owe you one."

“By this time, like a hundred. And I'm not your buddy. How many times do I have to tell you?"

“Thank you, Ethan, really.”

“Don’t thank me. Just don’t ask me something like this never again.”

And he started walking toward the elevator, leaving us alone in the hallway.

Bryce took the cards and we went inside the office.

"Now… explain to me when the fucking hell did you take that photo?"

“Ooooof Keiki is waiting for me at home, gotta go, babe…”

I took his wrist. “Bryce. Explain. Now.”

"I always take random pics of you, I thought you knew. Reading, sleeping, cooking… At work… This one… I might have taken it like two months ago? When you had 24 hours shift and a bear could've fallen over you and you wouldn't have felt it."

I giggled. “I can’t even be mad at you for embarrass me in front of my colleagues.”

“I know, my charms are irresistible, mad-proof.”

“Don’t tempt fate, darling.”

“Is that a threat?”

Bryce leaned towards me, just a breath away. His warm breath, smoky with coffee and sweet with cream and sugar made me thirsty. I really wanted to resist, but it was hard. Besides, what was the point? I wasn't even mad at him. If all, just melted. Of course, he knew that, he knew he could advantage of that, like he knew I would forgive him for such embarrassment just because he was cute and handsome. I mean, I don't even have to explain to you what effect he has on me, you have seen him in action a couple of times by now. So I just gulped as I was looking into his lips quirking in a smug smile, trying so hard to resist…  

“Maybe not now but-” I try to retort but he silenced me with a kiss. I could’ve moved my face, push him away… But I’m weak around him. He knows it perfectly well.

“You talk too much, babe.”

“How da…”? He silenced me again with another kiss. Marvelous and breathtaking. He smiled against my lips.

I can’t resist him. I’m weak. I can be strong for a lot of things, I can set my mind for a lot of things, but when it comes to him… I’m so weak. But at that moment it felt so right to give in. Because the whole surprise and the way he was there to soothe me really helped me heighten my spirits, he helped me accept that I couldn't travel but everything would be alright because he was with me, and he would be right by my side in case things turn dark again.

 CHRISTMAS DAY.

Despite the sadness that we were feeling, especially me, for not being able to travel to Chile, we had a great dinner, and we behave like adults for Keiki’s sake.

And the dinner was especially delicious because it was made by the three of us. Sometimes it’s concerted, sometimes it’s improvised, but when the three of us are in the kitchen, the meal is always more gratifying. For the collaborative work and for the bond. For the memories. Cooking together will always remember us of the night Keiki came into our lives. The night I met her and the night Bryce saw her again after ten years. So every time we do it, it reminds us of how far we have come.

How far Bryce and Keiki have come after struggling for his ten-year absence for months after she came back into his life.

How far Keiki and me we have come after she finally accepted me in her life, because she came to Boston to have his brother back, and instead, and she won a new sister too, even if at some point it didn’t seem like she was happy with that.

How far we have come Bryce and me, as partners, as roommates.

How far we have come the three of us as a family.

It makes us proud of ourselves and the way we congratulate each other is by sharing something we as a family prepared.

When I woke up that morning, Bryce was already up, making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas babe," He said, kissing me on the lips, before slicing a berries pie I had bought for Christmas morning.

“Feliz Navidad, amor," I said giving him a mischievous smirk. He loves when I speak in Spanish, if you know what I mean.

Just then, Keiki appeared in the living room.

"Merry Christmas! Can we open our presents now?"

“Oooh, looks who woke up with lots of energy and cheerfulness!”

“Don’t ruin it, Bryce!” I said, nudging his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ella."

I sprinted towards her and hugged her. "Merry Christmas, Keiks!”

“SANDWICH!” I heard from the kitchen.

“Sandwich!” Keiki shouted instantly, and the next thing I knew is that Bryce was hugging me from behind. It was my turn to be sandwiched by the Lahela siblings. “Why I feel like I’m being sandwiched even if I’m supposed to be the bread? You’re so invasive, Bryce.”

After a few seconds, they let me go, so we all approached the Christmas tree and started distributing the presents. First, we gave Keiki her presents, then Bryce’s, and then it was my turn to receive presents.

We normally give hints the month before of what things we need or want and this time I honestly didn’t want too much. Just a new gloves for the cold (which Keiki gave me), maybe some new book and a supersonic hairdryer. I had been hallucinating with it for the past month because the reviews say that it cuts the hair drying time in more than half, so it was really looking forward to having five minutes more of sleep each morning because now it wouldn't take me that much dry my hair. Plus, it leaves the hair shinier than normal hairdryers.

I talked about it three or four times the past weeks, and Bryce catches everything. Sometimes there are times when Bryce notices first than me when I’m pissed off about something, so it was impossible that he wouldn’t know what I wanted for Christmas.

And what I received as a Christmas present instead? A box full of pens and sticky notes and cute notebooks.

"Oh, this is cute," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "Oh, and it has a puppy! A goldie like you!”

“Yeah, that’s why I picked that one, I know you would love it," Bryce said, smirking at me.

“Thank you, this is very useful!”

Then we went to have breakfast on the kitchen island. After a few minutes, the disappointment dispersed but still. Pens, sticky notes, and notebooks. What the fuck? That would’ve fitted Keiki better than me. A teenager me, maybe even a Med School student me, but not an in-half-a-year-I’ll-be-attending me! I couldn’t believe it.

When we were done, I got up to put the dishes in the dishwasher, but Keiki stopped me.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do this.” She said, grabbing the mugs before I could reach them.

“Let’s have some sleep before we go to see the guys, babe” Bryce took my hand and led me to our room.

I sat in the bed and when I leaned to place my head on the pillow, I felt something hard under it.

I furrowed. Bryce was staring at me, biting his lip. I moved the pillow and I found a box wrapped in snowy gift paper with a red ribbon. When I opened it… there it was, the freaking supersonic hairdryer.

“Oh my god! This is… This is what I wanted!”

"I know," He said, smiling.

“You did it on purpose?”

I heard a laugh at the entry of the room where Keiki was walking towards us with her phone on hand, recording.

“I bet Joni Mitchell was playing in your head the whole breakfast, am I right? I’ve looked at clouds from both sides nooooow”

“You…”

At that moment it hit me.

"Okay, so now I'm the crying wife? You made the fool of me as Harry did with Karen?" I said throwing the pillow at him. “And you helped him, Keiki!”

"Hey, in my defense, it was a joke, I didn't buy this hair dryer for my secretary or something."

“Oh, so I should thank you that you’re not cheating on me? You made my breakfast bitter! Sticky notes! What the hell!”

By this time, Keiki was sitting at the edge of the bed, still laughing but looking at me cautiously in case I would throw her another pillow.

“Hey, I had planned to do this in Chile, which means… you would’ve opened the gift at midnight and not until the next morning you would’ve found out what was your real gift.”

I shook my head.

“You really got me.”

“I know. It was painful seeing your disappointment, but totally worth it after seeing your reaction with the real gift.”

“And now we can watch it every night before sleeping if we want” Keiki teased.

I scowled at her, but then I just chuckled as I felt a sentiment of thankfulness and joy invading me. Bryce, and Keiki too, had been doing tons of things to cheer me up the last few days, and even if at that moment I still wished I was here, I felt so complete, because despite all, there we were, laughing, boding, teasing each other, in our natural selves. Just as families do and I was thankful for the family I had. The family I chose.

“Thank you, both of you, for cheering me up these last few days while I was so gloomy and weepy."

“That’s what family is for. They stick with you no matter what.” He kissed my cheek. “And to prank you even when you’re down”

                                              ”

“Oh dear, I can’t stop laughing, he really got you!” Ofelia giggled, wiping a tear off her cheek.

 Eleanor stared at her grandmother by her side and followed suit, releasing a hearted laugh. "Yeah, and I couldn't believe it. I mean, I’m always very grateful for whatever he gives me… But a box of sticky notes, lela? I was so sure he knew what I wanted... But it was all a prank in the end. The last scene of a very Love Actually Christmas."

“You never have a dull time with him, do you?"

"Never. He always finds a way to make a difference, and even on normal days, when we are tired and bored and none of us have the energy for anything else than lie down on the bed… even like that, he somehow makes it feel special."

"Mmmm yes, he does have a way to bring out the best in people and the best in any situation."

"Yup, that's definitely him." Eleanor smiled fondly, watching as Bryce was cheerily speaking with her grandfather at the other side of the table, sharing tips about how to make the perfect barbecue. Bryce didn't know a thing about barbecues, but he was learning the Chilean way.  

They had arrived two days ago in company of Keiki and had planned to spend a couple of days there, getting to know the family and then they would take a tour around the south of the country, especially Chiloé and Torres del Paine for a week or so, and then they would return to her grandparents house for the proper farawell before getting back to Boston.

A few moments later Bryce turned his head and winked at her.

Eleanor couldn't help but smile goofily at him.

"It's so rare what you've found here, dear, and in such short time" Ofelia continued, after noticing the exchange between the couple. Eleanor gave her a puzzled glare "What do you mean?"

"The devotion you two have for each other. Sometimes it takes years, sometimes people get married without having it, but you already have it. And it's so hard to find, Ellie, because you can kiss and sleep with anyone thinking it's love, you can even get married and have kids without even love the other person, or just believing it's love when sometimes is just comfort or an illusion. But you two…" She gave a quick glance to Bryce and then to Eleanor "You don't even have to tell me to know you're in love because the way you look at each other, the way you care about each other speak volumes."

"You really think so, lela?" Her eyes shined with hope.

"I do. The way he cares about you and brings out the best of you, the way you admire him and push him to be a better brother, a better friend, a better partner. That's what love actually is,  making each other better and be happy with the simpler things in life, and you two have it, without a doubt. And you know what? That's the kind of relationship everyone should aspire to have for the rest their lives and you two are lucky to have it.”

Eleanor stared at the resolution with whom her grandmom was speaking and she knew it was all honesty. She felt relieved because there was someone outside her that thought that too. Sometimes she used to think it was too soon, but now was realizing that maybe it was alright. It was all real.

She had known it since she realized she was in love with Bryce, and it became more clear when they moved together, but now the truth was undeniable and more palpable than ever: Bryce was the man she will spend her whole life with.

Bryce was the man she was going to marry.

_____

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone and happy holidays! I hope you all enjoyed the day (or the days) despite the sad circumstances.

Special thanks to Conch @curiousconch for helping me with the initial ideas of this fic, I think without your support and ideas, I don’t think this fic would’ve turned out the way it did without our brainstorming session, so thank you so much!

And thanks to Ruby @starrystarrytrouble​ for encouranging me and sending me motivation to keep writing it despite my blocks and being out of ideas, thank you dear, I hope you enjoyed this!

Thank you all for reading!

I hope you all have an amazing week, and my best wishes to each and every one of you in the year that’s about to start soon.

A big hug!

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

The Magic of Las Vegas

Day 9 of 2020′s 31 Days of Ficmas.  Thanks to @doctorroseprompts for the list!

Prompt: Snowflake

Rating: T for sexual situations; nothing explicit

Pairing: 11xRose AU

Summary: A snowstorm in the US Midwest delays eastbound flights just before Christmas, leaving rival children’s novelists stranded in Las Vegas for the night.  A single, shared drink leads to far more than the intended one-night stand.

2020 31 Days of Ficmas masterlist

AO3

---

Standing in the ladies restroom at McCarran International Airport, Rose blinked rapidly as she waited for the eyedrops to take effect. ��She’d had a full day in Las Vegas, and not the kind that made for good telly.  The last stop on her book tour, she’d soon be on her way towards home and Christmas - provided her flight could stop getting delayed.  The tree was up, presents wrapped neatly beneath it, and if the loved one waiting anxiously by the door was her mother rather than a boyfriend… so be it.  If nothing else, Jackie made the eggnog strong.

Gathering her things she returned to the gate, hopes falling - it was even emptier than it had been five minutes before, and in fact, only one potential passenger remained, arguing with one of the attendants at the counter.  I must have missed an announcement.  Shit.  Hurrying up to the check-in desk herself, she gave the unoccupied woman her best, kindest smile.  “Hi, sorry, is there any update?”

“Cancelled.”  The woman, Madison according to her nametag, didn’t look up, typing away at her computer.  “The storm in the Midwest is just getting worse, so they’ve decided to try again tomorrow.”

She tried not to groan.  Fucking snow.  All she wanted was to sleep in her own bed.  “Ohkay…  Can I get a seat on that flight?  Or the next one to London, really.  I’m not picky.”

“Boarding pass.”

Rose handed it over, trying not to be irritated; the woman was just trying to do her job, and while her customer service could use some work, it was after one in the morning.  Everyone was exhausted.

“Oh!” Madison let out, scanning Rose’s boarding pass.  “I’m sorry Miss Tyler, let me find you the next available flight.”  Attitude doing a one-eighty, she gave Rose a smile.  “My niece is a huge fan of your books. I’m actually the one who introduced her to them.”

Rose merely gave a polite smile in reply; while such a sentiment usually warmed her heart, she’d heard some variation of it from nearly everyone she’d met over her fifteen-day book tour throughout the States.  Now, though, she just wanted to go home.  I should be halfway to New York by now.

“All set, same seat, leaves at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon with a layover in LA.”

“LA?”  Her brow furrowed, trying to picture a map of the country.  “Isn’t that the wrong direction?”

Madison nodded, already printing off the new boarding pass.  “Yeah, but it’s that with a one-hour layover or Miami, with an eight-hour layover and a plane change.  It’ll be fine, and actually does save you time.”

It only took another minute to finalize the transaction, and soon enough Rose was headed for the airport exit, lugging her carry-on with her and so, so glad she’d taken her mother’s advice to keep a set of clothes with her and not check it all.  She hadn’t liked the idea of keeping the small rolling suitcase with her when she checked in, wanting to be less bogged down, but now, she was glad to have resisted the urge.  Thanks, Mum.

Footsteps behind her caught her attention, and a moment later, the man who’d been talking to the agent next to her pulled astride.  “Terribly unlucky, aren’t we?” he lamented in a slightly posher version of her own accent. “Best case is home for Christmas Eve.”

“The storm should be over tomorrow, so it’ll be fine,” she replied politely, taking him in out of the corner of her eye.  Roughly her age, he nonetheless had the distinct look of a sixty-something maths professor, complete with tweed jacket and elbow patches.  But his eyes were kind, and he was attractive in that tall, lanky sort of way, with floppy brown hair and a bowtie.

“Hope so.  I promised my niece I’d be there.”  He seemed to deflate slightly, before rallying.  “Listen, this may be terribly forward of me, but- would you like to get a drink?  I realize it’s ‘Las Vegas’, but the idea of drinking alone at Christmas just seems… sad.”

They reached the escalator then, and Rose took the opportunity of the ride down to consider the idea.  And the likely outcome.  He was reasonably handsome, if in a dorky way, and certainly seemed kind enough.  She could use the release of an anonymous shag – if nothing else, it would probably make for a good story once home.

“Sure.  Why not?”

-

Beep. Beep.  Beep.

The bleating of the alarm startled Rose awake, her head feeling as though it had been split open, her mouth dry and fuzzy.  A lucky swat silenced the alarm, none too soon.  “Oh, fuck,” she moaned, sinking back into the mattress and squeezing her eyes shut against the brightness.  “Ow.”

A pitiful sound of agreement came from her right, reminding her of how she’d gotten into such a sorry state.  As she’d predicted, one drink had turned to two, then three, then…  Damn. I actually take the chance on a one-night stand, and don’t remember the actual sex?  Just my luck.

“Why is it making that noise,” her bedpartner mumbled, sheets rustling as he shuffled around; a moment later, the heavy weight of his head settled on the dip in her bare back.  “Wanna sleep.”

“Flight home.  Miss it, and won’t be home ‘til Christmas.”  She took another chance at opening her eyes, managing to keep them that way this time despite having to squint.  “Better get ready.”

He grunted in reply, instead pressing kisses to her lower back.  “I can think of much more enjoyable things we could be doing.”

Rose merely swatted him away, rolling out of bed and managing to land on her feet, if somewhat shaky.  I hope I remember his name soon.  This might get awkward.  “Lovely as that sounds, ‘m not missing Christmas for it.”  She stretched her arms overhead, pleased at the lingering ache in certain muscles as her body started to wake up.  She might not remember their escapades, but it appeared she’d more than enjoyed them.  “Shower.”

He didn’t try to join her, which she was equally happy and disappointed with; she needed some time to let the warm water bring her back to vaguely-human levels of processing ability, but a quickie sounded good too.

This sent her mind down a warm and steamy path, and by the time she’d toweled off and donned a dressing gown, she was very much interested in a morning shag, strolling out to the bedroom to tell John- his name had come to her in the shower, thankfully- about her change of opinion, only to find him standing naked at the desk, hands on his hips.

Taking a moment to let her eyes linger on his generous assets, she didn’t immediately recognize his tense posture. “Something wrong?”

He jumped, turning to face her, eyes going wide and one hand scrambling to cover his package.  “NO!”  His gaze darted down to the desktop, expression growing a bit more fearful. “Well…”

“What?”  Concerned now, Rose stepped up to his side, distracted at first by how good he smelled.  How’s that possible, after a night of sex and drinking and hours spent at the airport?  Then she looked down, and her heart stopped.  “Please tell me that marriage license doesn’t belong to us.”

“Uh…  I dunno about you, but, yeah… that’s me.”

Rose read it over again, unable to comprehend what her eyes were telling her.  Certificate of Marriage… 22nd of December… Rose Marion Tyler…  John Matthew Smith…  “I don’t believe it,” she said faintly, looking up at him. “This isn’t- I don’t do this sort of thing.”

“Neither do I!” John protested. “Erm, is that- are you- the Rose Tyler, of the Bad Wolf books?”

Hesitantly, she nodded.

“Ah.”  He shifted uncomfortably.  “I didn’t know.  It’s just- well- I’m…” He took a deep breath, anxiety clawing at Rose’s stomach as she waited.  “I’m J.M. Smith.  I write the ‘The Doctor’ series.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, fuck me.”  Rose closed her eyes, groaning.  Of all the people in the world, I hook up with my closest competitor.  They’d spent the last three years dueling on the bestseller’s lists, fighting for first in children’s fiction.  It was infuriating, and now here they were, post-coital, and married.  This cannot be real.  “How?”  Then, realizing what she said, her eyes snapped open.  “Don’t answer that.”

He nodded.  “What… do you want to do?”

“You’re on the same flight I am, right?”

Another nod.

“Let’s just… get ready and go back to the airport.  I can’t even begin to think about dealing with this yet.”

-

Upon arrival at the airport Rose was able to slip away from him, pulling a beanie on and parking herself at the next gate over; close enough to hear the announcements, but hopefully harder to spot.  When he rolled up to the gate several minutes after her, obviously looking around, she just sank lower in her chair; thankfully he seemed to overlook her, choosing a seat that put his back to her, and she relaxed marginally.

Pulling out her mobile she connected to the airport wifi, a quick search confirming that marriages in Las Vegas were legal, and worse, were recognized by the British government.  Shit.  An annulment appeared to be reasonably possible, thankfully not requiring Nevada residency.

Right.  So.  Once we get home, file for annulment, and if we’re lucky, no one ever needs to know. Including Mum.

-

Still stowing her carryon bag under the seat in front of her, Rose paid no attention to the person who plopped into the seat beside her, resettling herself before turning to look at who it was – and sighing heavily.

“I’m starting to think you’re stalking me.”

John arched a paper-thin eyebrow in response.  “I’m starting to think you’re avoiding me.”

“Oh, gee, what gave you that idea?” Huffing, she turned away from him, lifting the window shade to peer out the window.  There wasn’t much to see other than the plane at the next gate and blue skies, but she’d spend every second of the flight staring out if it meant avoiding her seatmate.  Husband.

Thankfully, he left her alone until take-off, but the reprieve was short-lived.  As she pulled out her laptop to keep working on the next draft of her story, John made a noise beside her.

“Don’t you think we should talk?”

“No.”  With more force than necessary, she pecked out her password one-handed, using the other to hide the keys.  “What’s to talk about?  We go home, we file for annulment, and with any luck, by New Year’s this will be a distant memory, and someday, perhaps even a funny story.  But today- today, this is nothing.”

Opening her manuscript, she glanced over to find him staring at her, and angled her body- and the screen- away from him. “Now you’re being creepy.”

“But aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“What happened?  And why?”

Rose looked at him blankly.  “We got drunk.  In Las Vegas.  And apparently have watched too many movies with that very premise.  End of story.”

“I don’t believe that,” John shook his head, fringe falling across his brow.  “What if there’s more?  What if it was fate bringing us together?”

“God, do you hear yourself? It was a terrible coincidence.  We’re competitors.  End of story.”  She glared at the screen.  “It was nothing, it meant nothing, and it will be nothing once we’re home and able to call a lawyer.  Now piss off, I have a deadline due.”  Shoving earbuds into her ears and cranking some music, she did what she could to drown him – and herself- out.

Focus on work. That’s all that matters right now.

-

The flight to LA was short, and given that she didn’t need to change planes, she didn’t have to move, though she was given the option to deplane.  Out of the corner of her eye she noticed John leave, which relaxed her somewhat; by the time passengers started boarding she’d put the earbuds away and was sitting back with her eyes closed.

A small voice chattering away caught her attention, particularly at the words “and that’s why I like the Bad Wolf books more!  Sorry.” Opening one eye to see, she found to her amusement the child, a girl around eleven, was talking to John, settling herself across the aisle from him as he reclaimed his seat.

Her eyes snapped shut, and she kept her breathing deep and even, curious as to his response.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Rose squinted, and was positioned in such a way she could see the girl nod.

“I like the Bad Wolf books too.”

“You do?”  For being a pre-teen, the girl had skepticism down pat, and Rose had to hold in giggles.

“Oh, very much so,” John said seriously. “There are lots of books out there like mine for boys- though I try to write so anyone would enjoy- but the Bad Wolf books are special.  I think it’s so cool to see a character like that – when I was your age, pretty much all the books of the genre were about boys.  But the Bad Wolf books… anyone can connect with Thorn, and see themselves in her- she’s so real.  She’s not perfect, and she doesn’t always get it right, but who does?  In Book 3- did you read Book 3?  Good, I don’t want to spoil it- but at the end… I had almost the same thing happen to me, only it was both of my parents, and Thorn reacted exactly as I did.  And above all – never apologize for liking something more than something else.  Your opinion is exactly that – so as long as you’re not trying to hurt someone, then don’t be ashamed of what you like. Okay?”

The girl nodded, staring at John in fascination.  “You really like the books then, huh?”

“I really do.”

“What’s your favorite part?”

John inhaled through his teeth. “Ooh, that’s a difficult one.  I think- the one scene I keep coming back to is when Thorn realizes she’s grown apart from her childhood friends.  It’s really sad, yeah?  But that’s life- nearly everyone experiences that at some point, everyone drifts away from people they loved.  I’ve never read of another series or character that makes that moment so visceral.  But what about you?  What’s your favorite part?”

Turning over so her back was to them, Rose half-listened to the conversation as her mind raced.  The scene he’d referenced was fairly small, and by its nature, would only be known by someone who had read the book.

Does John Smith read my books?

-

Once they were underway and the conversation between her seatmate and the girl had long since stopped, Rose started moving around as if just waking up, complete with yawning and stretching.

“Hi.”

“Oh!”  His yelp drew her gaze; he’d been reading, the book snapping shut and quickly tucked out of view, but not before she recognized her own artwork for her most recent release; in fact, the very book she’d been crossing the country to promote.  “Hello.”

“Hi,” she repeated, sitting up and looking at him curiously.  “Were you reading my book?”

His cheeks flushed, and after a moment, he returned the book to the tray table; based on the bookmark, he’d started it before they’d met, as he hadn’t done much (or any) reading since.  “Erm, yeah.”  He gave her a sheepish smile.  “You’re a fantastic writer.”

“Thank you.”  She’d had time to think, about what he’d said about her books, how willing he’d been to discuss them- and not his own- with the young girl who appeared to be flying solo.  It had softened her approach towards him- somewhat.  “I think there’s a chance we got off on the wrong foot.”

“I agree.”

When he just stared at her, she knew she’d have to make the first move.  I was kind of a bitch to him, wasn’t I?  “Hi, I’m Rose.”

“John.”

They shook hands, Rose’s skin tingling where they touched.

“So, tell me about yourself.”

He arched a skeptical eyebrow.  “I thought you didn’t care, that we’ll just pretend none of this happened.  Harder to do knowing things about the other.”

Rose bit her lip, eyes darting down to her lap.  “Like Thorn, my dad died, only when I was a baby.  Mum always said to hold on to precious moments.  And… I don’t trust easy, so clearly, something about you made me give you the benefit of the doubt.” Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze again.  “You’ve got until we land in London to convince me to- to extend that faith.  If you want to.  We’ll see from there.  What do you say?”

Green eyes searched hers, and she kept her expression soft, nervous despite her words.  They would both be interviewing the other for position of spouse, and suddenly, it was one she wanted to pass with flying colors.

“All right,” he agreed slowly. “Let’s see what happens.”

-

The next book in each series was a cross-over, where secret agent Thorn, codenamed Bad Wolf, is rescued by an unlikely hero, The Doctor, and his strange-looking timeship, and it is only through a combination of their unique skillsets they’re able to save the day. With cover-art by Rose Tyler and a foreword from John Smith, the book was an overachieving best-seller, outdoing the previous books in each series and earning an armful of awards.

The picture on the back featured the authors with their arms around each other, he in a suit, and she in a white dress.

Both bios, at the end of the book, ended with the same phrase.

And they lived happily ever after.

[btsvt-adventures]

hello it's me again! i mean i kinda wanna see jihan finally end up together in the snowboarding au! i know you may have a lot of requests right now but i'd love to see this! thank you~ ♡ (i'm a diehard jihan shipper aaaa)

A/n: aaaa you’re so sweet haha I don’t actually have that many requests but thank you for sending this in!! 💜 I love that you’re such a fan of my snowboarding AU hehehe 💜💜 Also I’m so thankful that you’ve been so patient with me omg I haven’t written in so long I had to go read my own post to remember my plot smh but tonight, at 1:58am, I. WILL. FINISH. THIS.

Update: it’s 5am and I still havent’t finished it RIP.

5:10am: FINALLY DONE YAAAAASSSS

Want more of this AU? Ask me here!

Snowboarding AU : Falling in the snow | A Warm Cup of Chocolate | (Almost) Frozen Kisses | Snowflakes & Cherry Blossoms | White (Maybe) Weddings | Here Come the Groom(s)

Jisoo wakes up in the morning just before his alarm, sighing as he sees the snow falling gently outside

Yesterday’s lesson had gone considerably better, although Jisoo still ended up crashing into multiple piles of snow, netting and well… Jeonghan (yes, again)

It wasn’t his fault, okay?! The girls wanted to go on a ski lift on their own, so Jisoo and Jeonghan were seated behind, together. Eunwoo had struggled a little getting off the lift, shrieking with glee as she whooshed gracefully round the corner

Jisoo on the other hand, panicked. He got off the lift and focused so hard on not crashing, he didn’t realize that he’d cornered Jeonghan into the padded pillar that supported the ski lift

Jeonghan hits the pillar with a muted thud, and Jisoo turns around in another bout of panic, because oh my gOD i juST senT JeongHAn INTO A PILLAR –

He’d obviously crashed right after that, nearly (actually) faceplanting at the feet of his cackling daughters, who made absolutely no move to help him up. 

Despite the incident, Jeonghan had invited him and his daughters for dinner, treating them to some of the freshest grilled trout Jisoo had ever eaten

Jisoo sighs. He doesn’t want to go home. He wants to stay here, cuddled up with his daughters and his new (hopefully mutual) love interest

But he’s also really thankful it’s the last day of their little ski getaway. As much as it makes his girls happy, and as much as he enjoys spending time with Jeonghan, he’s too old to be bad at something like snowboarding

(He’s not really that old he’s just exhausted and embarrassed of all the bruises and teasing he’s gotten in the last three days)

The girls wake up excitedly, but it quickly turns sour when they realize it’s their last day on the slopes. Jisoo wants them to enjoy it, but it’s hard when they’re both throwing a tantrum about not getting to go back out again tomorrow 

Jeonghan, on the other hand, would rather cancel their last snowboarding lesson in favour of just spending the day with Jisoo and his beautiful girls. He wants to be a part of their little family dynamic

It’s an odd feeling. He’s had boyfriends (and girlfriends) before, but he’s never fallen this hard, this fast. It’s… well, terrifying. He’s afraid that his infatuation with Jisoo is just that, and he really doesn’t want it to be

It’s ten minutes from the start of their lesson when they hear a deafening CRACK! and everyone jumps, some shouting in surprise

Jisoo immediately fears the worst, frowning when the girls point excitedly at how the snow is making swirlies in the sky

 He has a hunch that the girls are about to be even more upset than they were this morning (regular snowfall does not make any kind of swirlies in the sky)

True enough, he spots Jeonghan walking towards them, looking unusually serious. The girls are oblivious, faces pressed to the window as they watch the snowstorm create patterns they’ve never seen.

“I’m so sorry Jisoo,” Jeonghan murmurs quietly, glancing forlornly at the twins. “The snowstorm is wrecking havoc outside,” he whispers

Jisoo’s heart sinks into his stomach

They both silently watch the girls marvel at the gradually worsening storm, until all they can see is a sheet white

Nayoung’s the first one to realize something’s wrong, tugging at Jeonghan’s pants quietly. “Ssaem, is it dangerous to go outside?” she asks, bottom lip quivering as the possibility (reality) sets in

Jeonghan takes a deep breath, lifting Nayoung into his lap for a cuddle. Jisoo sits Eunwoo in his lap, and tries to comfort her as they break the news as gently as they can

The girls are inconsolable, and Jisoo feels worse than when that woman walked out of his life

He hates seeing his princesses upset, and hates even more that there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it

Jeonghan, as of late it seems, wipes away the girls’ tears and smiles gently – Angelically, Jisoo thinks, suppressing a fond sigh when his daughters’ wailing is almost immediately reduced to sniffles

“Don’t be too upset, it means you get one extra lesson with ssaem for free!” he beams at the girls, and they blink up at him, confused

Jisoo laughs, resting his hand over Jeonghan’s, warmth bubbling when he curls his fingers around Jisoo’s own

“What Jeonghan is trying to say is, because we can’t snowboard today, it means we can come back another weekend,” he explains, and the twin gasps almost make the awful snowstorm outside worth it

“You can come every weekend if you want,” Jeonghan grins cheekily, and Jisoo glares playfully at the blonde instructor

“Only if you’re willing to take time off to spend with us,” he answers sweetly, too-sweet grin gracing his handsome features, and Jeonghan snorts so hard he nearly chokes

“Anything for you and these princesses,” he agrees, ruffling both girls’ hair, grinning wider when they look at him adoringly

“Besides, now that snowboarding’s out, how bout we play some games? I saw some board games in your room last night,” Jeonghan singongs

(in that moment, Jisoo knew he was royally fucked. It’s impossible to love someone in only three days… right????) 

Jisoo’s pretty much yanked out of his seat as the girls haul ass back to their room, chattering excitedly about beating Hannie samchon (when the hell did he go from ssaem to samchon?!) in Monopoly and UNO

(Jeonghan does lose consistently, but only because he can’t find it in him to win after everything that’s happened)

The girls are tired out by four, curled up in bed with each other, and both men slump onto the sofa, breathing a sigh of relief

“You’re so good with them,” Jisoo murmurs, curling up into Jeonghan’s side. It’s warm, and Jeonghan’s comfortable, and Jisoo’s almost ready for his own little nap

Jeonghan laughs quietly, pressing a fond kiss to Jisoo’s hair. “Only because you raised them well,” he hums. “By the way, you should come stay with me when you come up from Seoul, it’ll save you some money too.”

Jeonghan’s hoping, praying it doesn’t come off as being too forward. The last thing he wants is to scare the single father away. Jisoo grins, leaning up to kiss Jeonghan softly

“I’d love that,” he whispers, and Jeonghan kisses Jisoo again, just cos he can

The rest of winter goes like that, with Jisoo driving up to the ski resort and spending the weekend with Jeonghan

The girls are ecstatic to play in the soft, fluffy snow every weekend, even sneaking in some lessons on the slopes

(On those days, Jisoo sits safely in a café, away from the bruises and accidents, sipping his coffee and reading a book)

Jeonghan finishes his season early for the first time since he started working, much to the surprise of everyone literally no one at the ski resort

It was the girls’ last weekend at the resort before school started, and Jeonghan wanted to spend more… private time with Jisoo

They had spent the day making snowangels with the girls, which somehow evolved into an intense snowball fight

After exhausting themselves throwing balls of frozen water at each other, and some much needed hot showers, they’re seated around the table with hot chocolates and fried chicken on the table

It’s peaceful, and Jisoo couldn’t be more content. Jeonghan just fit with their little family, and the thought fills him with a happiness he never thought he’d find again …

“Hey, hannie, wanna come with us to see the cherry blossoms?”

“Fuck yes”

“SAMCHON SAID A BAD WORD!!!”

“DADDY!!!!! SAMCHON SAID THE WORD!!”

“JEONGHAN!!! LANGUAGE!!”

… somewhat peaceful, at least

Please like and reblog

If you’d like more of this AU, or your own lil thing, of if you just wanna yell at me, you can do so here~

[superleeleehipster]

Make Me Warm

Hey @shimmershae. I just saw your post about a Caryl fanfic. You wanted warm and fuzzy? Here ya go!

Daryl leaned the head of the axe against his boot as he took a few minutes to rest. Despite the frigid cold, he had taken off the jacket and his hat, leaving him in just his sweater. It might not sound so bad, but considering it was 10 degrees below freezing (and dropping), there was no way he would take off any more layers he had on. 

He let out a few deep breaths as he gave his arms a break, the burn slowly receding from those muscles. His warm breath was visible in the cold air, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if the top of his head was steaming too from being hot from all the chopping. He didn’t want to admit it, but with each passing year it seemed like it was becoming more and more difficult to do any kind of physical labor. Sophia had often expressed her concerns about him continuing to do all this work around the yard, including chopping wood. She suggested buying some of those Enviro Logs from the local Home Depot instead of chopping his own wood. It was the “firewood substitute” that was made of recycled cardboard and emitted less greenhouse gases apparently, and all you had to do was take a match to it and it would burn for a long time. But what was the fun buying fake wood from the store to burn instead of in the outdoors?

He loved his daughter, and always listened to her input on things... he just didn’t always agree with her suggestions.

When he noticed a few white flakes calmly floating down around him, he glanced up and saw that snow had already started to begin to fall. He chuckled to himself, thinking about how his wife had always said that the meteorologist’s predictions of what snowstorms would do were as accurate as “their dog trying to catch treats in the air”. They weren’t calling it to hit their area until around 1am, but mother nature had decided to start early. The current prediction was that they were going to have 8 inches of snow, but it was only two days ago that we were only supposed to get some sleet and black ice. No one exactly knew how much it would actually be until it happened these days.

The threat of snow reinvigorated his motivation to get the rest of the wood chopped. He only had a few pieces left to break, so he stretched his right arm, and sighed at the sound of a ‘pop’ before he picked up the axe again. He threw grunted at the impact of chopping the wood on his hands and arms, grateful that his wife had bought him new, thicker gloves for christmas. He grabbed both pieces and threw them on the tarp next to the tree stump he was using before he grabbed one of the remaining pieces. 

Being a mechanic was his chosen career, but the outdoors is where he felt the most peace. It was his favorite hobby to work on the garden, or trim the hedges, or even take down a dead tree a time or two. His brother often made fun of him for being into pansy shit like yard work, but he really did enjoy it. This was where he could relax and think about his life, both past and present, and where he was able to clear his head and make those tough decisions that everyone had to at least a few times in their lives. Besides, it was also a source of pride to see flowers and certain types of berries growing in his yard. After doing some back breaking work, it was worth to see his garden and the rest of his yard be so full of life. 

He stretched his right shoulder out again, thankful that he was finally done with the wood. He walked over to his shed and put the axe back to it’s original position on the shelf before closing the door behind him and locking it with a padlock. He then walked over to his pile of firewood, grabbed the four corners of the tarp, and pulled them up and over so that they were covering the wood. Then he twisted the four corners so that the DIY sack he made wouldn’t come loose easily, and with a grunt, he pulled it off the ground and over his shoulder. But by the time he made it to the back porch of their home, he was huffing and puffing like he had black lung disease, and he couldn’t help but admit to himself that his days of chopping wood and carrying it back to the house on his own were numbered.

He walked through the door of their screened in porch and dropped the wood just next to the back door that led to the house. Then he opened the door just enough to have it cracked before unfolding the tarp and grabbing a couple of pieces of firewood so he could carry inside. He pushed the door open and, with as much effort as possible, kicked the mud off of his boots before walking into the living room. Then he kneeled down and placed the pieces of wood in the firewood holder next to the fireplace. He went back and forth a few times from the porch before finally grabbing the last bit of wood and closing the back door behind him. 

After depositing the last of the wood in the living room, Daryl took off his boots and slowly stood up, groaning as he felt some of the kinks in his back tighten up. He was definitely going to be feeling it tomorrow morning, but knowing that they had enough wood to keep them warm throughout the rest of the week made everything worth it. He could hear his wife talking on the phone in their study down the hallway, likely talking to Sophia since she and Carl had just gotten back from their honeymoon. He didn’t speak to Sophia on the phone often, but it didn’t bother him. He wasn’t a fan of talking on the phone to begin with. Rick often teased him about it, saying he’s more likely to answer if he texts him than calls him because Daryl would often just cancel the call and text back “what?”. Besides, Daryl always got the scoop from Carol once she’s off the phone, so there was no need to make Sophia recite everything again.

He grabbed the small, portable vacuum in the closet nearby and cleaned up the remnants of the dirt he brought in with his boots. Then once he finished, he went back into the living room and began to sort some of the wood in the fireplace to make a fire. When he felt a nudge on his back, he looked behind him and smiled when he saw his old companion looking at him with his head tilted to the side, a habit that it had since he was a puppy. He chuckled and began to scratch the dog’s head. 

“Hey my boy... remember when ya used to play fetch with me while I chopped the wood in the backyard?”

The dog gave his hand a few licks before slowly walking over towards his favorite spot in the room, on top of the ottoman nearest to the fireplace. Daryl had gotten his dog not long before he had met his wife. He was honestly still a puppy then, about six months old when Carol stumbled into his life. Now, his buddy had some grey whiskers of his own, and his old age was showing as he moved much slower nowadays, and hardly went beyond the porch even when Daryl went out in the yard. It was just another reminder of the years that had passed in Daryl’s life, and although it was painful that his dog was hardly in the mood to play anymore, he was still grateful that he was still there to begin with.

He used some leaves to start the fire, and blew on it lightly to help it going. After a few failed tries, and a few curse words, he finally got a fire going. He stood up and, after stretching his back again, admired his handiwork as he basked in the warmth of the new fire. But then he felt her slender arms sliding around his middle, and he smiled as he hugged her arms with his elbows. “I got sap on my hands. Don’t want to get it on ya.”

“That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she quipped and gave him a kiss between his shoulder blades.

“Stop,” he said, but he was smiling. “I take it that was Sophia?”

“Mhmm, they got back last night.”

“Good, don’t want them stuck in Las Vegas.”

“It’s not the worst place to be stuck in.”

“It ain’t the cheapest either, though. So I’m glad they got back before the snow hit,” he said. He turned around and gave her a tender kiss, careful not to touch her. But when he pulled back, he noticed she had been crying. “You good?”

She sighed and nodded before going in for another hug, and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, all the while keeping his hands up. “I just can’t believe our daughter’s old enough to get married and go on a honeymoon.”

“I know,” he agreed. “I think we did pretty good though. She’s a good kid.”

“Not a kid anymore,” Carol said with a pouty face. “But yeah, I think we did too.”

He chuckled and gave her a quick kiss before backing away. “Be right back, I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Don’t be gone too long. I’ll get cold without you,” she said with a smile before grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her shoulders. 

He smirked and quickly made his way to their bedroom before taking the world’s fastest shower. Once he put on some sweat pants and a t shirt, he made his way back to the living room. But then he snorted into laughter when he saw her all bundled up like an eskimo and sitting on a nest of pillows, a steaming mug of ‘something’ in her hands.

“Don’t laugh at me, I’m cold,” she said pitifully. “You know I don’t handle the winter very well.”

“Oh I know,” he said with another chuckle before he sat down next to her and leaned against the couch. “Unbundle yourself, I’ll keep ya warm.”

Carol smiled at him and put her mug down before taking off her sweater and scarf. She shivered at the sudden chill, but then hummed in content when she cuddled up next to Daryl and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I love how you’re like a natural furnace.”

He chuckled and threw a blanket over them both before wrapping his arms around her. “That’s the only reason why ya married me, huh? I see how it is.”

“Well... that’s not the only reason,” Carol said before stroking his lower stomach suggestively.

The move made his hips twitch towards her, and he bent down and gave her a tender kiss. “Keep that up ‘n I can make ya very warm.”

She giggled and kissed him again before leaning against him. “I got some hot chocolate for you too, it’s over there.”

He glanced over and saw the other mug on the coffee table. “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do since you’ve made me a fire... and for letting me take your body heat.”

He chuckled. “Take all ya want, as long as I get to have ya cuddled up next to me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh take me now for I am swooning.”

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “So how did Sophia like their trip?”

“They had a great time there. She loved all the shows they went to and the food was amazing everywhere they went. She’s already planning on going again soon.”

“How much money did they lose?”

Carol giggled. “Carl lost about $200, but Sophia was able to win it all back in blackjack.”

“Atta girl,” he said with a chuckle.

Carol smiled and sighed into his chest, loving the familiar feeling of his hand grazing up and down her back. “I can’t believe we’re parents to a now married 25 year old... when did we get so old?”

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered. “I currently feel like I was run over by a freight train.”

Carol sat up and gave him a concerned look. “I told you not to chop wood if your back is still bothering you.”

He nodded and waved her off. “I’m done choppin’ wood for a while... ‘n if my back still botherin’ me by the time I need more then I’ll get one of those logs Soph always jabbers about.”

“The Enviro Logs?” Carol said with a giggle. “Hey, they’re better for the environment.”

“Don’t get how burnin’ recycled cardboard is good for the environment,” Daryl muttered before grabbing his hot cocoa and taking a few sips. 

Suddenly, Carol’s phone chirped, and she grabbed it off the coffee table before making a ‘happy’ sound. “Sophia just forwarded me the link to the Sam’s pictures.”

“Who?”

“The photographer they hired for her wedding,” Carol said before following the link. She touched the first picture and began swiping through. “Awww, she’s so beautiful.”

Daryl chuckled and leaned his chin on her shoulder as she began swiping through pictures. He could tell she was struggling to keep her emotions at bay, and he gave her shoulder a kiss in comfort as she continued moving through. When he saw a picture that caught his eye, he held his hand up. “Hey hey, stop.... wait...” He swiped back a few before he settled on a candid shot of Carol looking at Sophia with her wedding dress on. The window behind Carol created a glow around her from the sunlight, and it made her blue eyes shine. “I like that one.”

“I’m glad you do.”

“You don’t?”

Carol sighed. “I have so many wrinkles now...”

“I do too but that don’t mean you don’t think I’m any less handsome,” he said before sitting up and posing as if he were getting photographed for a Hollister poster.

She snorted and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re so cute.”

“And yer beautiful,” he said before giving her shoulder a kiss and leaning his chin against it. 

She smiled and continued going through pictures. She stopped briefly at a picture of him and Sophia walking down the isle, and Carol gave him a grin before continuing through. Then she stopped again when she found a photo of him and Sophia doing the father/daughter dance at her reception. “I think that’s my favorite one.”

Daryl couldn’t help but smile at the picture, and he found himself thinking about his life during the last 20 years. He had met Carol in a bit of a cliche kind of way, where he was trying and failing to control his dog, and the German Shepherd yanked his leash out of Daryl’s hand before sprinting straight towards Carol and her then 5 year old daughter sitting on the park bench. Daryl had thought the kid was about to scream bloody murder, or was about to be scolded by the mother for releasing his dog to run around, or even both. But when he ran up to them, he was surprised to see the little girl laughing her head off and running around the bench as the dog played with her. When he tried to apologize to Carol, she waved him off with a smile, saying it was no big deal, and he wound up chatting with Carol for almost two hours on that bench. After that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about them.

He was able to convince her to take his number, though she seemed hesitant at the time (he would find out later that she had only recently been divorced from her abusive ex husband). It didn’t take long for them to start dating regularly, and soon, he was practically living with them. Spending any extra hour everyday to be with them. Then a year later, he and Carol married, and raised Sophia together into the lovely lady she was today.

He might’ve been aggravated with that dog in the beginning, but Daryl owed him his happiness he had today for running full speed literally towards his family. 

“You okay?” Carol asked.

He blinked a few times to keep the tears and bay and nodded before clearing his throat. “Ya know... I didn’t know how Sophia felt about me until she asked me to walk her down the isle.”

“What do you mean? She loved you long before then,” Carol said.

“I know, I know she did. But... I’ve thought of her like my own daughter since she was a tiny thing. I just didn’t know how she ranked me until... until she asked me.” He took a deep breath to control his emotions. “She told me that it didn’t matter to her that I wasn’t hers biologically, that I am her dad and always have been.”

Carol smiled and let the tears run down her face before she gave him a kiss before hugging him tightly. “Of course you are.”

He hugged her tightly before leaning back and meeting her gaze. “It’s scary how time has flown by us, ‘n how much older we’ve gotten but... at the same time, I’m so damn grateful I met you two at the park that day... and even though gettin’ older is taking its toll on us, I’m damn well looking forward to growin’ older with you.”

Carol smiled and kissed him. “I can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like without you Daryl, and I don’t even want to try to be honest. You’ve been the greatest thing that’s happened to me and our daughter... and I can’t wait to spend another twenty years with you.”

He smiled. “It’ll be fun. We can have wheelchair races down the hallway in the nursing home.”

Carol snorted and shook her head. “I love you dork.”

“I love ya too,” he said with a smile. He kissed her tenderly, but after a moment, things began to heat up, and he gently laid her on her back as he kissed her passionately. “Wanna make love in front of the fire?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Have we done that before?” she said with a sarcastic giggle.

“A few times I believe, and if I remember correctly, that’s when ya make the most noise,” he said with a wink before lifting her shirt just a little bit and kissed her stomach. 

She giggled and moaned as he began to make his way up her chest. “Just don’t throw your back out again, okay?”

He snorted and gave her stomach a raspberry, making her shriek and laugh as he tickled her. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

She smiled and pulled him back up so that he was face to face with her, and his body was covering hers. “Warm me up, my sexy lumberjack.”

He smiled and kissed her passionately before whispering against her lips. “Gladly.”

[rainyrowan]

London With You | Chapter 2

AN: Hiii! I’m sorry for this overdue chapter! So much has been going on in my life, that as much as I wish I could prioritize writing, it’s too hard of a task that i can achieve at this moment. i’ll try my best to finish chapter 3 as soon as possible. sorry once again, but thank you for sticking with me. hope you enjoy this chapter! 

description: An au set 8 years after the Matthews’ moved from New York to London. At this point, Riley’s a thriving 22-year-old woman who’s on her own, especially during this Christmas season. That is, until a young Lucas friar stumbles upon her apartment building.

pairings: riley x lucas

word count: 2,356

Read the previous chapter here!

Riley and Lucas grew much more fond of each other as the weeks go by. As roommates, they managed to instantly understand each other's living habits too. For instance, it became well known that Lucas is pretty good when it comes to cooking meals, therefore he officially became chef of the household as Riley remains not being able to even cook eggs without completely burning it.

Along with that, Lucas discovered that Riley would get up bright and early to attempt yoga. He found this out when hearing a loud thump on his first morning living with her. Out of concern, Lucas dashed out to find Riley lying on top of a yoga mat, looking like she had fallen down. Lucas would've helped her up, but she got right back to her feet and attempted to do a yoga pose, before falling once again.

This happens almost every single morning afterward.

One morning, Lucas wasn't awoken by yoga ratchet, rather what seemed to be Riley yelling at someone. He gets up and out of his room to find her sitting at the dinner table, surrounded by her laptop along with a few papers lying around. She also appeared to be having a fairly heated discussion on the phone.

"You okay?" Lucas mouths.

Continuing her conversation, she offers him a nod. "You know what? I'm going to have to call you back."

After she hangs up, Lucas takes a seat right next to her. "What's wrong?"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, Lucas. Every year, I fly out to Philadelphia to spend the holidays with my family." She explains. "I booked my fight a while ago, but it got canceled. There's a snowstorm coming up."

"Did you tell them?"

"Yeah, I was just on the phone with mom." She sighs. "I was already irritated when the airlines called me. Calling her just made it way worse. She's been convincing me to book an earlier flight. Although I didn't get around to it until it was too late and now she's making me feel a whole lot guilty than I already am."

"But there's really nothing that you could about it now." He responds.

"Exactly."

Lucas folds his arms. "Hey, you mentioned that they're celebrating in Philadelphia, right?"

"Yeah. They're going to have it at Feeny's and their whole 'gang' will be there. More or less, it's basically a family reunion."

"Is Shawn going to be there?" He questions. Riley nods. "That means Maya's coming too."

A short pause comes between them as Riley fiddles with her thumbs. "That's what my dad told me, yeah."

"And that's why you're upset? This was your chance to reconnect with Maya and have a 'Christmas reunion' of your own but because of the snowstorm, you can't." He offers her a smirk.

"Alright! You got me!" Riley yells, throwing her hands up in the air. "But you know what? It's fine. I've got you, right? And we've reconnected as well." She then grips his shoulder and smiles. "You're my Christmas reunion!"

Lucas laughs, nodding his head. "Yeah, alright."

The next day, Riley quickly phones her parents once again, this time on video call. She informs them about what's been going on and how she was not going to spend Christmas alone. Topanga was surprised, yet relieved to see Lucas with her. Cory, on the other hand, was not as pleased.

"First, you're in my daughter's bedroom. Years later, and you're now in her apartment?! I just can't get rid of you, can't I?" He glares into the camera.

"No, sir." He chuckles. "I'm not too sure if that's possible."

"Ugh!" He exclaims, waving his hand around, leaving Topanga to end off the call.

"Well, Lucas, I'm really happy that you're there keeping Riley company, especially during this time of the year. Just be sure to take care of one another, alright?" Riley and Lucas nod at the same time.

"Good. Now, I'm sorry, Riley, that you can't be here with us. But I'm wishing you two a very Merry Christmas! Okay, well I've got to go now. Be safe!"

"Thanks, Mom! Bye!" Riley says before hanging up.

After sorting things out with Cory and Topanga, Christmas preparations begin immediately! Only 20 minutes in, Lucas instantly realizes that spending the holidays with Riley will be far more crazier than anticipated.

Like a switch, she suddenly becomes her own version of Monica Geller as she instructs Lucas on where she wants the decorations to be and how she wants them done.

They first start off with the easy part: Miscellaneous decorations. This would have to include placing random Christmas-themed knick knacks that Riley has collected over the past couple years, to their assigned areas.

Every once in a while, Lucas would place an item where they're not supposed to be, which seriously infuriates Riley. He's never seen this side of her, but he honestly finds it hysterical.

Later on, the Riley and Lucas work on lighting. Riley has a love for fairy lights and has loads of them.

She puts on some Christmas tracks in the background, causing her to loosen up.

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" starts playing, which already signals Riley to stop what she's doing and get up off her feet. She dances around like the little goofball she is and always was. The nostalgic reminder had Lucas smiling from cheek to cheek.

"You know," He laughs while struggling to hold up the lights that they'd been hanging. "It's kinda hard keeping these fairy lights up myself. They're literally about to fall."

"So what?! Let them fall!" She pants, trying to speak. "You should come over here and dance with me!"

Lucas raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think we've established, long ago even, that I don't dance."

"C'mon! It's just me! What, are you afraid of getting embarrassed, Mr. Perfect?"

"Oh, please. It's gonna happen."

Riley starts dancing towards Lucas. She pulls him to the middle of the room, letting all the fairy lights fall to the ground.

She continues to dance around while Lucas stands there awkwardly. "I'm sure you can bust a move, Lucas! C'mon, give it a try!"

He sighs. "I warned ya." He slowly starts to dance, moving his hips around.

Still dancing, Riley offers him a double take before completely stopping to watch. Her jaw drops, allowing her eyes to widen. "Oh my God." She finally bursts into laughter, not being able to even breathe. She then falls to the ground.

"Riley!" Lucas stops to help her up.

Riley's still on the ground, fighting her laughter to breathe.

"Just so you know, I'm never dancing for you ever again." He rolls his eyes.

"No! Lucas, that was amazing!" She lies finally calming down.

Riley eventually gets up to ask Lucas to dance with her once again, promising that she won't laugh at him. He continues to refuse but agrees to twirl her around every once in a while.

Afterwards, they finish hanging lights around the apartment until finally moving onto setting up the Christmas tree.

"Lucas," Riley says whilst hanging up ornaments. "How do you celebrate Christmas with your family?"

"Well, it obviously wouldn't be your typical city celebration. For us, we had bonfires and barbeques." He smiles as he reminisces. "We usually celebrate Christmas Eve, going into midnight. An hour or so beforehand, our whole family would gather around the campfire and simply just talk and share stories."

Lucas looks back up at Riley, who apparently stopped what she was doing to listen attentively. She was always so good at that. They both were.

"That's wonderful." She responds. An idea then strikes her as her eyes widen. "There are fire pits up at the roof of the building. No one ever really goes there. We should do that later."

"I would like that." Lucas agrees.

He then shuffles into the huge box filled with ornaments. He tilts his head in confusion when he picks up a little painted one. A smile then creeps onto his face.

"You still have this?" He asks Riley, hanging it right in front of her.

Apparently, it was an ornament that Lucas painted for her.

She grins. "Why wouldn't I?"

Riley and Lucas had never spent Christmas together. Even when they were dating back then, they never have. Lucas would always fly back to Texas with his family every single year. So, they celebrate on their own time on a different day, typically a day or two before Lucas' flight. Along with their celebration, they also have gift exchanges. On their very last celebration together, before Riley and her family migrated to London, he painted her a small ornament with a purple cat on it. Truth be told, Lucas was secretly a really good artist.

Riley hangs his ornament right at the front center of the tree. She turns to him. "I'm happy that I'm spending Christmas with you."

He smiles. "Likewise."

Later on in the evening, Riley took Lucas up to the roof later that night, as promised.

"You know, you didn't have to get me anything," Lucas says examining the rather large box that Riley was carrying as they were walking up the stairs to the roof.

"You can't say that, you got me one too!"

"And what exactly makes you think that?" He raises an eyebrow.

"You're not that slick, Huckleberry, I see it dangling out of your pocket."

Lucas looks down at his coat to see her gift hanging out of his left pocket. He sticks his hands in his pocket to hide it.

Once they finally reached the deserted rooftop, Riley takes a seat in front of a fire pit, placing Lucas' gift right next to her.

"I hate walking up the stairs." She pants.

As she takes a minute to catch her breath, Lucas takes the initiative of lighting the fire pit. Once he managed to do so, he sits right down next to Riley.

He extends his arms out to feel the warmth on his hands before rubbing them. "That feels so much better. It's too cold here."

"I'm actually surprised it's not snowing." Riley states.

They talk about nothing and everything until Lucas pulls out his phone to see that they're at a minute prior to midnight. "It's almost Christmas," He says showing his screen to Riley.

"Wow, my first Christmas without my parents and I'm not balling my eyes out or anything. Very impressive, don't you think?" She laughs in spite of herself.

"Yeah," Lucas glances down at his phone once again to see a text from Asher. He ignores it when he sees the time. "Riles, it's Christmas!"

"Oh my gosh, Merry Christmas, Lucas!" They both get up off their seat and exchanged a hug.

Riley then picks up Lucas' gift that was sitting right next to her. "Here," She says handing it to him.

Lucas takes it and lifts the top to find another box inside of it. He laughs, opening the other box and finding another one in it.

"You've got to be kidding me." He raises an eyebrow.

"Go on," Riley says, waving her hand.

He continues to find boxes in boxes until he's left with one. He opens it and pulls out a yellow notebook. The front reads "Riley and Lucas Forever!" along with many other scribbles and doodles. Lucas smiles but tilts his head in confusion.

"What is this?"

"Well, it's this little thing I made when we were still in middle school," Riley states, as he flips through the notebook in amusement.

"This very notebook contains every little thing that could ruin me if ever placed in the wrong hands." She laughs. "From embarrassing sketches and letters or poems written to you, it's all there. I realized that I apparently also took the initiative of sticking photos, movie tickets from dates, etcetera, in there too."

"God, I was such a weirdo for doing these things, huh?" She mutters, tucking in strands of her hair behind her ear.

Lucas' eyes fall on her after flipping through her book. "I love it."

Setting her gift down, he searches his pockets to find the gift he was going to give to Riley. He pulls out a long brown box and hands it over to her. She takes it.

"I really hope you like it."

She gasps when opening it. Inside lies a little rose gold necklace with an autumn leaf chain. "It's beautiful." Lucas takes it, placing it around her neck.

"Back then, you gave me an autumn leaf, telling me how we have this one little life and for a lot of it, we're just blowing around in the wind," He begins. "But if we're lucky, you said, life will allow us to land on the right person."

"These past couple of days have been truly difficult." He pauses. "You know, staying in a toxic relationship without even realizing it and then later on getting kicked out isn't the best thing to endure," Lucas explains, letting out an unnecessary voice crack.

"But, life knew what was best for me, and here I am." Lucas extends his hands out with a smile.

"I'm glad I fell into your lap. Once again." He drops his arms.

The starlit sky and the ambiance of the neighborhood below them easily add on to this perfect moment.

Riley couldn't help but smile. So many thoughts ran through every corner of her mind. A familiar feeling of compassion, which she obtained for Lucas even back then, came rushing back upon her. Is she really falling for him again?

One thing's for sure: The Lucas who she first fell for, literally, was standing right in front of her. From his smile to his personality, he has not changed.

Out of impulsiveness, Riley places a hand on his cheek and pulls him towards her. Their eyes meet, only centimeters apart.

"Me too." She whispers before pressing her lips against his.

Lucas would always mention having his moment with Riley. And they would-- They were always too good at sharing moments with one another that could last a lifetime, this being one of them.

[thesunlightout]

and i never saw you coming and i’ll never be the same...

“Hold the doors!”

The shout nearly scared Fiona half to death, and she almost jumped out of her skin as she looked up and reacted to hold open the elevator doors.

She’d been flying for hours tonight, and desperately wanted to get to her hotel room to sleep off the long day she’d had. Despite her initial excitement on making it to Canada, the length of the flight and the two layovers thanks to snowstorms had her wanting to kick herself or keel over or some weird combination of the two.

“Thanks,” the guy said rearranging his suitcase in front of him before pressing the button to his floor.

“Sure,” she nodded, leaning back against the wall with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes under the frames of her glasses. She picked up her phone and shot her dad, Waverly, and Andi each a text, letting him know she’d finally checked into the hotel for the night.

Fiona was probably the weirdest person in the world for taking a winter vacation by herself. However, in her defense, she hadn’t actively planned to take this trip alone. She’d planned to take it with Tyler, the guy she thought she might be with forever.

They were supposed to come here, celebrate their anniversary and winter break. They’d learn to ski, and probably fall on her ass a couple of times, and then they’d end up in the hot tub late at night, and it’d be the perfect vacation.

And then he dumped her, spewing some ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit, and then ghosted her.

Charmer, this ‘forever’ guy, thus, pronouncing the last year of her life a goddamn waste.

Lovely.

She was tired, both from flying and from being blindsided by the breakup. She could’ve canceled the trip altogether, gotten her share of the money back and just stayed home. But if she was being completely honest, part of her really didn’t want to explain to her family that she’d just been dumped.

Her dad and stepmom would try and hover, and Waverly would probably offer to threaten Tyler. She’s lucky Andi’s out of town with Sophie and her family, otherwise she’d be another worry.

Fiona figured she could fill them all in come the new year.

“Did the lights just flicker?” the guy beside her asked, drawing her away from her thoughts and her laser focus on her exhaustion. She tilted her head upward, glancing up at the lights which do, in fact, flicker once more.

“It’s probably nothing,” she commented, hoping she was right. She looked to the numbers on the panel to make sure they were still moving, and just as she did, the elevator came to an abrupt stop, the sudden shake nearly knocking her off her feet.

“Oh, fuck…”

The guy set his own bag down in the corner before walking over to the elevator buttons near the door. “Uh… I think it stopped?” He pushed the bell button and waited for some sort of response.

“Crap,” Fiona whined, walking up behind him to see the stopped screen. She noticed the whirring mechanical sounds had stopped, too. “This is the last thing I needed tonight.”

“Hello?” A voice came through the speaker.

“Yeah, hi, uh, the elevator just stopped? It seems to be stuck on the third floor,” he said.

“Sorry about that, sir. Are you alone?”

“No, there’s a woman in here, too,” he said, looking back at her. Fiona pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and folded her arms.

“I’m seeing in my system that there seems to be an electrical problem. We’ve lost power in some areas of the resort. I’m getting a technician to check out the controls and we should get you moving in just a bit. I am so sorry for the inconvenience!”

A crackling sound came through the microphone before the sound died, and soon after, the lights.

Fuck.

“And the power’s out. Great.”

Fiona sighed heavily, reaching for her phone in her pocket and turning on the flashlight. “And a phenomenal week continues. Jesus fucking Christ,” she scoffed, and made her way toward the back wall.

Thankfully, the elevator was spacious enough they wouldn’t completely on top of one another, but stuck in a confined space with a stranger wasn’t exactly the start to her vacation she was expecting.

The room got significantly brighter a second later, and she realized he turned on his own flashlight. “Hopefully it isn’t off for long,” he told her, opting to sit on the floor next to his suitcase.

“Yeah. Hopefully.”

“Eli, by the way.”

“Hm?” She looked up from her phone and over at him.

“If we’re gonna sit in here in the dark for however long, you should at least know my name,” he told her. “Eli.”

“Oh. I’m Fiona,” she motioned to herself, deciding to take a seat on the floor, too.

____

See the thing was, Fiona would never tell this story beyond that beginning. She’ll talk about the time she got stuck in an elevator in Canada for a solid four, and leave out all the details.

It was mostly because what happened that day and that week would forever feel sacred to her somehow and touching it or tainting it felt like the worst thing she could ever do. Plus, she’d thought she’d never see him again.

Funny how fate had a way of working.

“So, Fiona…” Eli said a few minutes of silence later. “Where are you from?” He’d put his phone down on the floor beside him, bottom up so the light could shine the space between them. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

She looked up from her phone and opted to put hers down as well. It’d be useless to her if it was dead after all. And who knew how long they’d be in there. “You’re a perfect stranger; You really think I’m gonna tell a random guy in an elevator where I’m from?” she asked, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

Eli smiled, and Fiona couldn’t help but notice how nice it was. Boyish almost, with a hint of mischief she couldn’t quite place. He was cute, that she couldn’t deny. “That’s fair,” he nodded. “I could be a murderer after all.”

“Exactly. Would you tell me, also a stranger, where you’re from?” she asked, brow raised almost defiantly.

“San Francisco,” he said easily, shifting some and leaning back against the wall. “Bay Area, specifically.”

“See, now I think you’re just trying to get me to trust you. Offering me a piece of yourself so I get comfortable, and then tomorrow I’m in the news.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s exactly my angle, straight up murder.”

“I knew it!” Fiona grinned and shook her head. She mulled it over another second and figured if anything was wrong, it would’ve gone wrong by now, and she probably wouldn’t see him again once they got out of there. “New York.”

“The city that never sleeps, huh?”

“The very same,” she answered, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles.

“My sister’s living there now. She goes to NYU. Art student.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Scout’s honor. Though not a boy scout. My dad was against it,” he chuckled.

“Who’s against the boy scouts? They’re like… cute?”

“My dad, apparently.”

She snorted. Honest to god snorted. “See, maybe if he hadn’t been against it, you wouldn’t be trying to murder girls in Canadian elevators.”

“Yeah, maybe. But see, since he was against it, I now get to be a documentary someday. That’s my legacy. The dude who murdered girls in elevators. Planned snowstorms and power outages and everything.”

Fiona through her head back, laughter bubbling out of her. “Oh my god. This is so morbid, why are we having this conversation?”

He was a stranger, a perfect stranger, and yet? Talking to him felt so easy. That was what struck her. They’d been talking for all of maybe five minutes, and though it should feel strange, it felt… fine. Right, almost?

“You’re the one talking about murder, I just asked where you were from,” Eli chuckled.

“Hey,” Fiona held her hands up in surrender. “It’s a wild world the one we live in. Can’t take my chances. And you were the one who brought up murder, thank you very much.”

“Fair point, fair point.”

She yawned, reaching up to rub her eyes under her glasses. The exhaustion was getting her almost to the point of delusion, and if the stupid elevator techs didn’t get here soon, she was probably gonna sue. Or well, she wouldn’t, but Waverly or Quincy would probably want to try.

Picking up her phone again, she glanced at the time. Pushing midnight. She could die right here on this elevator. God.

“Are you here by yourself?” She set her phone back down a little farther away to give them more light.

Eli reached for the zipper of the coat he was wearing, tugging it down some. “Yeah, for now. My sister’s coming up later in the week, actually. She’s supposed to meet me for New Year’s Eve,” he told her. “I opted to come earlier because the holidays were such an adventure this year,” he added dryly.

“Bad Christmas?”

“Not exactly, just… a breakup thrown into the mix.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’re stalking me.”

He furrowed his brow. “What?”

“This is like the cliché of clichés.”

“What are you talking about, you weirdo?”

“I just got dumped. Literally, like yesterday,” Fiona said.

“Dumped? Ouch…”

She sat up a little taller to compose herself. “Well, not dumped, per se, but…”

Eli smirked. “Dumped.”

Fiona sighed. “Dumped. ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ and all.”

His grin turned more into a sad smile, and her heart did a weird skip, one she shouldn’t have felt this quickly into a breakup. “I’m sorry to hear that. You seem kinda great.”

“Oh, don’t butter me up,” she pouted, before adding quietly, “Thanks.” She tugged off a small piece of lint. “I get to have this whole trip to myself so…” she shrugged. “Did you get dumped?”

He laughed, catching her slightly off guard. “Will that make you feel better?”

“…yes.”

“Well, I did. Except she kinda met someone new.”

“That’s shitty.”

“Tell me about it.”

The beat of silence that followed was slightly heavier than the one before, this time carrying the weight of two people who were clearly blindsided by the ends of their relationships. At least they had that to share inside these four walls with no sign of going anywhere.

“What are the odds that we have both gotten dumped in the last few days, we’re both on a trip to Canada, we’re both stuck in the same elevator, during the same storm at the exact same time?” Fiona asked, because seriously, what were the fucking odds? This was like something out of a movie.

“I failed stats before I decided math wasn’t for me,” Eli said. “So I can’t tell you the exact odds, but I can tell you that it’s probably more likely to be struck by lightning. Maybe twice.”

“One in a billion, we’ll say.”

“For argument’s sake.”

“You have dimples.” Hour two of being stuck in the elevator had them both coatless, and a very exhausted Fiona had lost her shoes.

(“My feet don’t usually stink, but if they do, I’m sorry. I’m just in pain.”

To which he just said, “It’s fine, I’ll just mock you mercilessly,” before pulling her feet onto his lap.

“Ew, wait, are you a feet guy?”

“I can assure you we’d be having a very different conversation right now if I were.”)

They were both exhausted, and bordering delirium, and apparently, while his travel hadn’t been as tumultuous as hers, he’d spent most of the day running around on very little sleep and it was all trying to catch up with him.

Hence the unexpected closeness with a stranger.

“Are you just now noticing that I have dimples?” Fiona practically side eyed him. “We’ve been in here like two hours, dude. They’re like holes in my face.”

“First of all, calm down,” Eli tugged at the bottom of her jeans. “Second, it’s like pitch black in here.”

She held up their phones. “Flashlights!”

“The real reason is you probably would’ve accused me of trying to murder and/or stalk you if I brought it up too soon.”

“Ah, so you were just biding your time.”

“Of course.”

“I do have dimples,” she said finally, lip quirking just enough to show them off.

“They’re cute.”

By hour three, Eli’s phone had given up on them, and Fiona’s was hanging on by a thread. They were both lying side by side on the floor now, using their coats for support. Eli had lost his shoes, too, (“Okay, your feet totally stink.”) and Fiona had opted to play some soft music on her phone above their heads. Screw the last bit of light at this point.

“Eli!” she gasped loudly, sitting up so quickly her head spun.

“What? What is it?” He’d dozed off and startled at being awoken so suddenly.

“I have chocolate!” She reached for her backpack, forgotten at their feet with the suitcases, and grabbed the lone Snickers bar she’d purchased when she got off the plane. Thank goodness.

He exhaled, settling some after that. “Did you have to give me a heart attack?”

“Yes, because you’re not falling asleep and leaving me here alone.” She opened up the wrapper and tore the bar in half, holding it out to him.

“Thanks, dimples,” he said, sitting up beside her. “And you could’ve just napped, too.”

“No, I’m too tired which just makes me wired.”

He snorted before taking a bite. “That rhymed.”

She laughed. “I’m a poet.”

“Are you though?”

“Not even a little bit.” She took a bite of her own half and they chewed in silence, before she reached into her bag for a water bottle. “Are you a germophobe?”

“I’m lying on the floor of an elevator, what do you think?”

“I think we’re a little past that.” She took a sip and then handed the bottle to him. “If you give me mono, I’ll hunt you down.”

“If you knock me out right now, I’d probably kiss you in gratitude.” He took a sip.

“Don’t tempt me; I’ve got a mean right hook.”

He smirked again, and her heart fluttered. Delirium was no goddamn joke. “Tell me a secret.”

“What?”

“A secret. Tell me something you’ve never told anyone,” he said, setting down the water bottle between them.

Fiona glanced over at him, and for the first time that night, it struck her just how blue his eyes were. They’d lost the light from his phone, and hers was dimmer thanks to the loss of battery life from the music they were playing. They were bright, but also soft… almost perfect.

“I love this song,” she commented, looking at her phone. Yellow – Coldplay

Eli followed her line of sight and nodded. “It’s an amazing song,” he looked to her. “But I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person you’ve told that to.”

She smiled. “Yeah,” she huffed, tugging off her glasses and slipping the leg into the scooped neckline of her shirt. “Fine, you go first.”

He seemed to think about it for a beat, mulling over a bunch of things. She could see it in his face when he settled on one thing.

“I know for a fact I’d still want kiss you even if you didn’t knock me out,” he said simply, taking another bite of his chocolate.

By hour four, Fiona’s phone had died completely, and they were both fast asleep. Her head had found home on his chest, and Eli’s arm had wrapped tightly around her shoulder, and it felt as though they’d been doing it forever. That was the feeling she’d be shoved back to four years later when she saw him again.

But she didn’t know that then. Had no idea, in fact.

The lights of the elevator came on first, startling them both half to death, and drawing them slightly closer because of it.

“Folks, we are incredibly sorry for the inconvenience. Your elevator was stuck in between floors three and four, and we were unable to get in there to get you out. But thankfully the power has returned and we’ll be shooting you up to your designated floors. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please be sure to head down to the front desk concierge in the morning. We will issue a voucher for the rest of your stay and a refund for two nights.”

“Lucky us.” Fiona yawned, slowly scooting away from him and sitting up. She rubbed her very tired eyes and stretched, bones cracking almost a little too loudly.

“You got rocks in there?” Eli asked as he sat up, reaching for his shoes.

“After tonight? Probably,” she snorted, grabbing her glasses from her shirt and putting them back on. “These lights are so fucking bright.”

Eli stood and held his hand out to her, helping her up off the floor. She grabbed both their coats and they moved seamlessly about the elevator, grabbing their things and closing their bags. Just as she went to lean against the wall, the car finally started moving back upward.

“I’ve never been happier to be in a moving elevator? I feel like I could cry?”

“Tomorrow we’re taking the stairs.”

Fiona nodded absently, completely ignoring the implications of that we and accepting it as truth. They made it to her floor first, both severely running on empty and he opted to walk her to her room. “It’s the least I could do after the night we’ve had. And I’m just the next floor up,” he told her.

She didn’t have it in her to argue, instead slipping her arm through his as they stepped off the elevator, and tilting her head onto her shoulder. “Wherever 525 is,” she said, dragging her feet.

They stumbled some on their way down the hall, and to anyone looking, they appeared more drunk than anything else. The window at the end of it showed the sky getting slightly lighter as hints of morning began to peak through. It hit her that they were really in an elevator for four hours.

“Thank you for walking me,” she said, leaning back against her door as she reached for her keycard in her coat pocket.

Eli smiled, and in proper light, it really was gorgeous. God, she was fucked. “Thanks for a good time in the elevator.”

She snorted. “Now it sounds like we were having sex in an elevator. Please don’t say that in front of people.”

He laughed out loud. “There’s nobody here!”

“Shh.”

He grinned again and shook his head. “Listen, one more thing before I go.”

“What’s up?”

“You never told me your secret.”

“What?”

“Your secret. Come on, humor me, dimples, I’m dead on my feet.”

And maybe it was the over exhaustion, maybe it was the ache in her neck and back, maybe it was a combination of the insane night she’d just had, but without even thinking about it, she stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. Her hand came up to lightly cup his cheek before she pulled away.

“Good enough secret?” she asked, thumb running over his cheek.

“The best, by far,” he said, bowing his head, lips meeting hers a second later.

The best indeed, considering she never told anyone. She wasn’t trying to lie, but it was the whole sacred thing. This thing felt… like lightning striking once, sacred, a miracle. It sounded dramatic, and at the time she had no idea, but it changed something in her.

“Stay,” she whispered sleepily, nose still pressed against his. “We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”

He nodded slowly and she swiped the keycard, both of them spilling into her room.

[5saucefanfic]

I’ll be Home for Christmas - Luke Hemmings

My husband, baby daddy, daddy, and boyfriend gracing us with his presence today.

Y/n sat quietly on the couch in the large den that, lately, was just too damn large. The whole house was too damn large, but more importantly, too fucking empty. No matter how hard she tried to fill the space, whether it be Christmas decorations, or just more toys and beds for the dogs, she couldn’t take away the empty feeling...she knew exactly what was missing.

Him.

She had been so excited only a week ago when he had called her on the phone promising that he’d be home for Christmas, that they were going to get a break and he’d be home with enough time for them to book a flight to Australia so he could go see his family...but here they were, just a week later, and he was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t his fault, though. He couldn’t tell mother nature to put off the snowstorm that grounded all the flights in New York.

She sighed softly getting up making the two dogs get up with her, both eager to play or eat, while all she wanted to was to cuddle with her boyfriend. She just wanted to feel him next to her, and after three months without him, she’d give up Christmas just to see him.

“Any word on the storm?” Nia asked walking in with two hot chocolates, y/n taking one shaking her head sighing softly. She’d slowly started to befriend the girl over the past few months, quickly becoming good friends with her, spending her free time with her if she wasn’t with Luke or at work.

“Nothing..Luke texted me an hour ago saying they may cancel the flight, but that’s about it” she sighed softly frowning. “I just want him home” “I know, I know” she said hugging her tightly. Unlike y/n, Nia at least had her sister and some other family in the area that she could see and spend time with while the boys were away, and she had her band. Crystal was able to go visit Michael at least, and she had her sister. Y/n had no family in the area and she worked making it hard for her to visit more than one week during the whole tour. She tried not to this time around to save her vacation time so she could go see his family in Australia for the holiday.

“I’m gonna try to call him” she said softly stepping back pulling her phone out bringing it to her ear waiting to hear the soft sounds of her boyfriend’s soft voice cooing at her telling her everything was going to be okay.

“Hi love” he said, voice sounding sleep hearing the crowds behind him muffling his voice.

“Hi” she squeaked out slightly, her bottom lip between her teeth as she tried to hold herself together missing him just enough to set her over the edge. “I miss you”

“I miss you too love bug...you okay?” he asked, sleepiness wearing off turning into concern as he heard her voice crack knowing this was hard on her.

“I just want you home.”  she said softly sighing. He nodded forgetting she couldn’t see him, deciding to change that as he facetimed her, the girl answering quickly as she saw his face appear, a smile gracing her face seeing his face, the cute pout on his lips, curls poking out from under his hat, and beautiful blue eyes, and his nose, her favorite thing on this planet. “Bubba”

“Hi baby” he said smiling, tongue poking out between his teeth as she gigggled. “The storm’s still pretty bad.”

“Is it?” she asked frowning a bit  as he nodded. “They’re hoping it’ll slow down in the next few hours but they may have to cancel and see what they can do tomorrow” he said softly, the girl’s pout becoming more evident. “I promise i’ll be home before Christmas is over”

“It’s not Christmas yet bub, and you still have time,” she said softly as he nodded. “Just be safe….I love you”

“I love you too bug” he said before hanging up, a soft smile on his lips as he looked over at the boys that were sitting around him

“When are you gonna tell her that we’re already about to take off?” he asked

“After we land...or maybe when I’m home” he said smiling. He had been worried they wouldn't make it back in time to fulfill his promise, but when the snow started to stop the last time she texted him, he decided to just keep it a surprise now wanting to make the most out of this Christmas. “Did I show you guys the ring?”

“Yes” all three of them said in unison as Luke smiled wide just excited and anxious to get home at this point.

Y/n woke up a few hours later to the sound of her phone ringing, her frame sitting up on the large couch in the den as she put the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hey baby” Luke said softly, the sleepiness leaving her body quickly upon hearing Luke’s voice.

“Are you on the plane yet? Are you home?” she asked quickly not realizing she had slept most of the night since it was now five am Christmas morning.

“Not yet baby” he sighed softly being strangely quiet, she figured it was from people at the airport sleeping around him. “I have a present for you in our room though that I want you to open since I’m not home...I was gonna give it to you last, but I’m not even there to open presents.” he sighed sadly.

“Oh...okay...well, where is it?” she asked sliding off the couch padding her way up the steps to their shared room. He didn’t respond as she kept walking making her from a bit. “Babe...where is it? You’re night stand, closet, where?” she asked pushing open the door and turning on the light, only to drop her phone onto the carpet in shock of seeing her boyfriend there on the bed, a huge smile on his face as he already had his arms wide open to hug her close. Y/n ran over quickly jumping on him kissing all over his face before pressing a hard kiss to his lips. Luke giggled softly pulling back a bit as he cupped her face in his hands.

“Told you’d I’d be home for Christmas”

“When’d you get in? I didn’t even hear you. And the dogs didn’t bark” she said quickly trying to kiss him again as he laughed holding her back. “Kiss me damn it”

“Baby girl breathe” he said kissing her nose. “I’ll kiss you some more in a little bit. I wanna give you your present” he said laughing.

“Oh, OH. That was real?” she asked as he nodded smiling standing up leaving her seated on the bed. “What is it?”

“Will you just give me a minute?” he laughed as she blushed nodding. He went over to the night stand pulling out a small box all wrapped up with a pretty bow handing it to her. “Merry Christmas”

She looked at him confused before starting to open it, tugging the bow off carefully before tearing the paper off revealing a small jewelry box, her heart starting to pound slightly as she bit her lip and opened the lid revealing the most beautiful ring she’s ever seen. It was more than she could ever dream of. She looked over at him speechless, seeing him down on one knee in front of her.

“I-I know we went to go look at some different rings, a-and you liked so many different ones so I took the parts you liked and custom made one,” he said suddenly extremely nervous. “I love you so much, y/n...and I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life with anyone else. You make me a better person and I could never repay you for letting me be myself everyday...will you marry me?” he asked softly as she smiled nodding cupping his face kissing him hard.

“You, Mr. Hemmings, are gonna have the best I missed you sex of your life.”

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 9/4/20 – TENET! MULAN! I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (but now that I’ve seen Tenet and Mulan, I’m better)… and More!

It’s Labor Day weekend… it is, isn’t it? I can’t even remember what day of the week it is anymore, and it looks like movie theaters across the country are generally all reopened except for a few specific areas. While theaters seem to be playing a variety of old and new movies – and Chadwick Boseman’s breakout 42, in which he plays Jackie Robinson, will be shown in 300 AMC theaters starting Thursday --  it still feels like we’re not quite where we should be. That said, only three states remain fully closed as far as movie theaters go: New York (eff you, Cuomo!), North Carolina and New Mexico. California is slowly rolling out movie theaters reopening in certain sections but not in L.A. or San Francisco just yet. Honestly, I’m having a rough week, and I’ll be surprised if I even get through half the movies that I have seen and planned to review, let alone everything else I have to do.

Finally! The movie that’s looking to be one of the most controversial movies of the summer, if not the year, comes to the United States. Of course, I’m talking about Christopher Nolan’s TENET (Warner Bros.), his tribute to James Bond movies with John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) playing a super-spy (of sorts) who teams with Robert Pattinson to perform intricate heists on a mission to find out who has discovered bullets that travel backwards through time and brought them back into our time. Also starring Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh, the movie has received mixed to positive reviews with about 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read my full review right here and a second technical review here.

Right now, it looks like Tenet is going to be playing in roughly 3,000 theaters over Labor Day weekend with only a few states fully closed including my own (New York), as well as North Carolina and New Mexico. A few other states like New Jersey and Maryland are reopening but it may be too late to get Tenet in there. California has a few areas open but not Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Although I’m hesitant at making any predictions right now or doing a full-blown analysis – there so many unknowns in a pandemic -- I think a four-day opening of somewhere between $25 and 28 million should be possible even with limited seating in most theaters that have reopened. I think people are ready to go back to theaters despite the negative narrative created by certain irresponsible film critics who seem to care more about their own personal health than that of the industry that has allowed them to pay rent and live large for years.

Another movie that I’ve been looking forward to and actually my most anticipated movie of the year is Disney’s live action remake of their animated classic, MULAN, this one directed by one of my favorite filmmakers, Niki Caro of Whale Rider fame. I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally see this movie after being invited to a press screen back in March, and then have it systematically cancelled as everything else started shutting down. Fortunately, I got a screener and while not my favorite way to watch a movie, I absolutely LOVED IT!

It stars Yifei Liu as the title character, made famous in the 1998 Disney animated movie, and it follows a similar story of a teen girl who steals her father’s sword and armor and pretends to be a man to join the Imperial Army under secrecy. There are definitely major changes in Caro’s version, most notably the lack of songs and no sign of Mushu, the adorable dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy. This is also not meant for small children, because it’s PG-13 not because it has anything terrible like someone waving genitals or swearing but because some of the action does get intense without much blood or anything terrible. I mean, this is definitely a SOFT PG-13, if that’s even a thing.

The movie is gorgeous and in the vein of movies I love like Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and it’s even exec. produced by Bill Kong, who produced many of those films. The point is that I love these kinds of movies, plus I’ve long been a fan of Caro’s, and everything just comes together beautifully from the performance by Yifei Liu to the fantastic characters around her, including ones played by Jet Li and Donnie Yen (reuniting from Hero!), as well as an amazing witch played by the indelible Ms. Gong Li, who is also terrific. Sure, there’s a few issues with the dialogue, but this is not a kiddie movie, as much as it’s something on par with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and I just love all of the decision Caro and her all-Asian cast make in telling this story in a new way. I particularly liked how the film followed Chinese traditions and dealt with things like “chi,” but as with the animated film, the stuff in the army 

On top of the amazing martial arts fights, there are also some terrific battle scene that would do Braveheart proud, and it’s all pulled together by Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, which may be one of my favorite pieces of music this year. Definitely a score I’ll be buying since it brings so much excitement and emotion to every scene, but that’s just as much a credit to Ms. Caro and her fantastic cast, who in a couple scenes, particularly between Liu and Li, had me tearing up almost as much as every single time I’ve watched Caro’s debut, Whale Rider.

I’m sure that fans of the animated movie (which I only saw for the first time earlier this year) will have different expectations, but you can’t fault Disney for being a little bit concerned and undeservedly dumping it to the Disney+ streaming service (which you can watch it at a premium of $29.95) rather than giving it the theatrical release it truly deserved. Honestly, if for some strange reason, Disney decides to play it in a bunch of theaters once they’re fully open, I would not hesitate to watch this again in what I consider a much-better environment for a movie which is likely to end up in my top 10 for year. It’s probably my favorite straight-up Disney movie (not including Pixar or Marvel) since maybe Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, although I kind of enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns, too.

I also have a crafts review of Mulan over at Below the Line, so check that out!

While I’ve generally been mixed on Charlie Kaufman’s movies that he directed himself, I couldn’t NOT watch I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, his new movie on Netflix, starring Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as a young couple going to visit his parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. At first, it looks like they’ll get stuck in a snowstorm, but then they get there and then they leave and once again get stuck in a snowtorm. No, this isn’t Centigrade 2, but actually something far FAR worse, to the point where I’m not even sure where to begin.

It starts with Buckley’s “Young woman” – yes, Kaufman doesn’t even bother giving her a name – being picked up by her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) before the long ride through the snow to his parent’s house. The whole time, we hear her inner thoughts about wanting to break up with Jake for one or reason or another, her thoughts always been interrupted by Jake making a statement that seems out of the blue. When they get to his parents’ farm in the middle of nowhere, things start to get weird, and I don’t want to go into too many details because if you read my review and decide to sit through it anyway, then it’s your own fault.

Apparently, this was loosely based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid, but it was adapted by the guy who wrote Adaptation, so Kaufman pretty much just went off and did his own thing based on Reid’s general premise. What I find particularly weird is that some of the early reviews talked about this movie as if it was a horror movie, but I just don’t see that at all. It’s just a really dry and weird comedy that doesn’t really take off. While parts of it remind me of the comics work of Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), who I genuinely love, other parts just get so weird, and at times, it reminded me of David Lynch’s Eraserhead or M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, but only because there are so many WTF moments that you wonder what the actors must have thought while they were doing what Kaufman told them to do. Again, I’m not going to ruin the experience of being thoroughly confounded by some of the weirder moments but after Buckley and Plemons leave the farmhouse, they’re back driving through the snow and having far more intelligent conversations about such mundane topics. At one point, I thought, “This movie must be over soon, right?” and I checked, and there were 43 more minutes to go. That’s when I went from angry to outright ballistic, because I knew that there were so many other things I could be doing than listening to all the talking, talking, talking… They eventually arrive at an abandoned school and go there for shelter, and I was like, “Oh, good, now we get to the horror stuff.” Nope.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the perfect movie for the scant few that raved about Darren Aronofsky’s mother!, or those who consider Holy Rollers a masterpiece of the highest order. Awful, aggravating and almost unwatchable at times, I’d only recommend Kaufman’s movie to people as a practical joke. Nah, I’m not that mean. It’ll be on Netflix tomorrow. Good luck with it.

Filmmaker and Rooney* frontman Robert Schwartzman directs his third feature, the comedy THE “ARGUMENT” (Gravitas Ventures), which takes the simple idea of a cocktail party and turns it into a riotous and sometimes strange comedy of errors, of sorts.

Dan Fogler and Emma Bell play couple Jack and Lisa, he a writer, her an actress, who have been together for some time, and Jack is ready to pop the question. After the final of a stageplay Lisa is co-starring in, Jack throws a cocktail party at which he’s gonna propose. He invites over his agent Danny Pudi from Community) and his wife Sarah (Maggie Q) but Lisa has invited her amorous co-star Paul (Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris all grown up!), who brought his own bubbly girlfriend Trina (Cleopatra Coleman).  As Trina starts drinking, thing just get worse and worse, and it inevitably turns into a full- on fight between Jack and Lisa aka the “argument” of the title. Jack is convinced that if they have a do-over on the night, they can prove who is right.

Oh, yeah. That couldn’t possibly work, right? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but the one do-over turns into several, which turns into Jack trying to script the perfect cocktail party with the six of them … or rather five after Maggie Q’s character quits in a hilarious huff where she does impressions of the other five. (I’ve always found Maggie to be hilarious from talking to her years ago, and it’s great that her comic skills are finally being used, along with her beauty.) Eventually, Jack brings in actors to play each of them and perform the script he’s written so they can all sit back and figure out where things went wrong. Honestly, The “Argument” is more like the Charlie Kaufman movies I liked (such as Adaptation), and the movie has a vibe a lot like the play God of Carnage, which Roman Polanski adapted into a movie that nobody saw and few gave a fair shake. Also reminded me of Ike Barinholtz’s The Oath, which I quite enjoyed. The main leads are great, but I gotta give additional kudos to Maggie and Cleopatra Coleman, who gives a surprisingly layered performance as possibly the first ditzy African-American not-blonde “blonde” in movie history?

Although Schwartzman didn’t write this movie – it’s written by Zac Sanford who made The Chumscrubber -- he does a great job using his talented cast to throw many surprises at the viewer, and I was laughing quite hardily as the movie went on, because I really enjoyed the characters portrayed not just by the main six but also the actors playing the actors. Yeah, I know it might get confusing but at least this doesn’t have time travel, so if you want a fun and unexpectedly clever dark comedy, do check out The “Argument” which will be in theaters and On Demand, and apparently, you can even order it bundled with WINE?!?!? (*And you can also check out Rooney on Spotify!)

Another really nice surprise this week was Jeff Barnaby’s apocalyptic horror film BLOOD QUANTUM (Shudder/RLJEFilms), which was released on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-Ray earlier this week but is also on the awesome horror streamer, Shudder, I guess right now? It involves a community of indigenous people in the reserve Red Crow who face the undead when an infection hits the village through a bunch of animals who come back to life and then infect the humans. The movie starts on the first night of this plague and then cuts forward six months when the people of Red Crow have shut themselves off from the rest of the world with the hopes of keeping those still alive uninfected from the hordes of “Zeds” outside their gates.

I’m a little bummed I didn’t have press notes for this movie because there are so many great characters and performances, but it was hard to keep track of them without a scorecard. It does star Michael Greyeyes from Fear the Walking Dead, as well as Forrest Godluck (The Revenant), Kiowa Gordon and Elle-Máijá Tailfeatures, but other than Greeneyes, who plays the sherriff trying to keep his family safe, I could barely keep track of the characters or figure out who played them, and that’s a shame.

I generally liked the recent Train to Busan: Peninsula but Blood Quantum works just as little bit better, mainly from the interaction of the characters in a world full of sex and drugs and gore galore where you never who is gonna get killed but for the most part, they’re likely to go in a way that involves blood that pours like a waterfall. You add to the quick pace of Barnaby’s direction the amazing score that almost sounds like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and you have a movie that makes you realize that Barnaby has made a film that perfectly captures the spirit and feel of John Carpenter’s best work. 

I actually watched John Leguizamo’s feature film directorial debut CRITICAL THINKING (Vertical Entertainment), way back in March, literally my very last press screening before movie theaters shut down, little realizing that it would be the last press screening for six months! It’s written by Dito Montiel, who I’ve generally been mixed on, and it’s based on a true story from 1998 where a Miami teacher, played by Leguizamo, tries to save a group of Latino and Black teenagers from the inevitable drugs and crime that kids from the underserved ghetto usually get into by teaching them chess and getting them all the way to the National Chess Championship. I didn’t get to rewatch it to write any sort of intelligent review, but as you can imagine, it has a Mr. Holland’s Opus or Dead Poet’s Society feel, but mixed with the little-seen Disney movie, Queen of Katwe, which I generally enjoyed much more. I do think Leguizamo did a pretty decent job with his first feature as a director and maybe if the crazy early days of COVID weren’t distracting me so much, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. This is a movie that I need to rewatch with a better head on my shoulders.

Tyler Norwood’s doc ROBIN’S WISH (Vertical) takes a look at the last years of comedian and actor Robin Williams, who died from suicide in August 2014 at the age of 63. To everyone who knew him, from close acquaintances to fans, it was a mystery why Williams would take his own life with things going so well in his marriage to Susan Schneider. After his death, the autopsy showed that he was afflicted by undiagnosed diffuse Lewy body dementia, and apparently, that was enough to do his head in to the point where suicide seemed like the only solution.

This is a very different than the equally good Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, because it does focus so much on Williams’ last years and his relationship with Schneider, who plays a much bigger role in this movie with in-depth and intimate moments. It also does a good job talking to Williams’ neighbors in Marin County, who laud the comedian’s commitment to entertaining those in the community. It also interviews Shawn Levy from the Night at the Museum movies, who talks about how Williams wouldn’t let anyone around him know what was going on, maybe because he didn’t really know himself.

Williams’ death was tragic but even moreso when you realize what he must have been going through, and the only thing else I will say is that the notably teary documentary Dear Zachary may finally have some competition as the most tear-inducing real-life film you ever watch. Even so, it’s wonderful and does as great job shining a light on how hard something like dementia hits people when they least expect it. (Also, the score and cinematography for the film are fabulous at provoking those sorrowful emotions even more.)

Arthur Jones’ doc FEELS GOOD MAN is available right now On Demand via the Fantasia Film Festival and will be available via other film festivals, like Oxford Film Festival, starting Friday. (It will also be in theaters, including Oxford’s drive-in!) The movie follows the journey of comics artist Matt Furie, who drew a comic called “Boys Club” that featured a strange frog character named Pepe, who I never heard of, but apparently, the odd underground comic character went from being a popular meme to becoming a symbol of the alt-right. It sounds pretty crazy, but it is an absolutely crazy story as Furie sees his lovable and peaceful slacker character get out from under his control as right wing kooks like Alex Jones from InfoWars gloms onto him.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d find this as interesting as the HBO doc, Beware the Slenderman (which I also happened to see at Fantasia a few years ago), but the way that Jones tells Furie and Pepe’s story is really quite compelling, especially as he (and we) watch the craziness surrounding his character unfold, and Pepe becomes less and less like something he wanted to be associated with. (Furie and his wife spent thousands of their own money-making Pepe T-shirts and merch only to have to destroy it all once Furie gets pegged as the creator of a hate image. I mean, holy shit, this thing gets ugly!)

Apparently, Feels Good Man won an “Emerging Filmmaker” Jury Award at Sundance, and it’s well-deserved. I’d recommend the movie to anyone who likes comics or politics and doesn’t mind when the two things collide.

There are a few other movies that I want to write about that I didn’t have time to watch despite having screeners and who knows, maybe I can watch them over this longer weekend if things aren’t too crazy screener-wise. (I lost quite a bit of time with my trip to Connecticut to see Tenet, unfortunately.)

First, there’s Julius Berg’s THE OWNERS (RLJEFilms), which stars Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones and Sylvester McCoy aka Doctor Who #6 (I think?). It’s about a group of friends who want to break into an empty house in which there’s a safe full of money, but when the elderly couple (including McCoy) return home early, they turn the tables in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Yeah, it does sound like it could be fun, and it’ll be in select theaters, On Demand and digital this Friday.

Also out on Digital, as well as DVD, Blu-Ray this week is the anime CHILDREN OF THE SEA (Shout! Factory/GKids) from director Ayumu Watanabe and STUDIO4ºC who made Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet. It’s about a young girl named Ruka whose father works at an aquarium where she comes across two mysterious boys who were raised by dugongs (a type of sea cow) so they’re very familiar and acclimated to water, to the point where they have to be in or near it at all times, kind of like Aquaman. I did watch a little bit of this, and I do have to say that it looks gorgeous, definitely more photo-realistic than the work of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I’m sure I’ll get around to watch the rest of it because I do enjoy well-made anime -- Weathering With You and Ride Your Wave are likely to be in my year-end Top 25, for instance – so hopefully, fans of anime and fantsy will check it out.

On Amazon Prime this Friday is Eric Merola’s doc THE ANDORRA HUSTLE, which look at the country of Andorra, located between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains, holding a population of 80,000 people who find themselves at the center of one of the most convoluted robberies in history in 2015 when a the private bank Banca Privada d’Andorra was shut down by the government to destroy the Catalonian Independence Movement, leaving dozens of innocent civilians facing jail time for laundering money after losing their life savings.

A couple prominent science fiction series premiere this weekend, including the Ridley Scott-produced Raised by Wolves on HBO Max and Away, starring Hillary Swank on Netflix. Someday, I hope to have

There’s a lot of other stuff that I didn’t have to watch or even think about it, so yeah, this is a little bit of a “lite edition” of the Weekend Warrior, so I apologize. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do better next week.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

[thetuningofviolins]

a million dotted lines || Promptis, rating: G

@evil-rainbow-sunshine

Hey! I know it’s a little late, but I thought I’d pile on the birthday love. <3 Happy birthday, and enjoy this way-too-quickly thrown together fic!

October 19th—

“Hey, when’s your birthday, anyway?”

They’re walking side by side as they do every day, taking their time meandering between the school and the arcade, hands buried in their uniform jacket pockets against the unusual chill of the autumn afternoon. The question catches Prompto off-guard, enough so that he misses a step, shoe awkwardly catching on the pavement for a moment before he hops out of it, earning a snort from his royal companion.

“What’s this about all of a sudden?” he asks, trying for casual but missing the mark by just a hair.

“I mean, how long have we known each other?” Noctis continues, glancing over at him, “Seems like it would have come up by now.”

Prompto immediately realizes the logic, blanching a bit, but does reasonably well at hiding it. “Little over a year, huh?” (It’s not answering the core of the question; he knows he’s dodging it, but with any luck, Noct will take pity on him.)

“Ha, more like six.”

“We don’t talk about that!”

They both chuckle, for different reasons, before lapsing back into a comfortable silence. The topic seems to be closed for the time being, which makes a grateful little swell of warmth bubble up in Prompto’s chest— grinning a bit, he leans hard to the side, bumping his shoulder with Noct��s. The prince stumbles a step (always a win, as far as Prompto’s concerned), then recovers with a grin of his own, returning the bump full-force.

October 22nd—

His hand shakes, stupidly, as it hovers over the requisite school health form— where it asks for his date of birth.

It’s stupid to be so upset about this.

He’s fine.

(A short, chubby boy, clutching to a camera like a talismanic charm of courage, watching a man pulling on a jacket as he gets ready to leave the house where he so rarely appears.

“Hey— Dad?”

“I’m a little busy, Prompto—“

“The fireworks today…”

“For the prince’s birthday.”

“I know. And it was… a classmate’s birthday last week, too…”

“Prompto—“

“When is mine?”

“…”

“When—“

“…In the fall. The 25th. October.”

“I… I thought that’s when you brought me home.”

“I have to go now, Prompto. Don’t ask me any more questions.”)

Prompto puts the pen down, wiping viciously at his burning eyes. It doesn’t really matter what he puts on the form, right? Nothing’d be any more ‘truthful’ than anything else, right? Even years later, it’s only a guess.

He takes a few sharp, deep breaths to force himself to calm down. It’s marginally successful. Adjusting the sport band sharply around his right wrist, he picks the pen back up and fills out the date of birth— October 25th, M.E. 735. Good enough.

October 24th—

They’re lying across the width of Noctis’ bed, locked in ruthless battle over a racing game on the TV across from them. It’s neck-and-neck, up until the very last second— where Noctis gains a sudden edge and flies across the finish line a split second before Prompto. The prince gives a triumphant laugh, in counterpoint to Prompto’s long, wounded groan.

“How do you do that? I swear, if you’re cheating—!”

“Maybe I’m just that good,” Noctis says snottily, going so far as to turn his nose up, which makes Prompto give him a good shove with an exasperated laugh.

“Yeah, maybe you’re just cheating,” Prompto fires back, and it earns him a playful shove in return— which quickly turns into the two of them mock-wrestling. It doesn’t last terribly long, however; Noctis’ training with Gladio is clearly paying off, because he’s able to get the upper hand on Prompto and pin him down without a ton of effort.

Prompto, for his part, desperately attempts to hold back the wave of heat that wants to flood up into his face (he can’t… help it, the position is suggestive and Noct looming over him all disheveled is flustering enough to process as is and he can’t even move), but reassures himself just as desperately that he could pass it off as exertion if Noctis decides to call him on it. “All right, all right, you win!” he concedes, “You’re just that good; Noctis, Prince of Racing Games; now get off me—!”

Noctis gives a full-hearted laugh, rolling off to the side to flop down beside him instead. “Damn right,” he says with a grin, before his attention drifts over to the window. “Mm, it’s kinda late. Wanna stay here? We can just skip class tomorrow.”

“…Mm.” It’s not really an answer, but Prompto runs his hand back through his hair, a little awkwardly despite the easy half-smile on his face before he pushes on. “Probably shouldn’t…”

“Not like we don’t skip all the time anyway. Wouldn’t you rather do something fun?”

“Says the guy that gets fireworks.”

The moment of silence that follows is just long enough for Prompto to realize what he’s just said and implied; the temptation to slap a hand over his own face is huge, and his stomach sinks terribly. And here he’d been hoping to just… keep avoiding the whole birthday thing. Maybe it’s still salvageable—

Noctis, thankfully, saves him from himself, by shrugging amicably. “Whatever you wanna do. I’m game.”

October 25th—

As it turns out, classes end up cancelled for the day— due to a freak snowstorm, of all things. Prompto had decided to come home after all, and is now somewhat regretting it— while he normally spends the (stupid) day mostly on his own, it’s sort of a different beast altogether to be entirely alone, in a quiet house, on an almost eerily quiet street, the muted light coming in from his bedroom window making everything look washed out and grey. He feels oddly like time has stopped completely, freezing everything but himself in place— a lone creature moving through a world he’s entirely detached from.

Suiting.

He rolls over in his bed with a frown, clutching his left hand over the band covering his right wrist, as though it might fuse the fabric to his skin and blot out the damned thing (the thing that he doesn’t understand, that he only has the vaguest inklings of, that his parents don’t like to talk about, that he knows separates him from everyone else in some terrible way that’s being kept from him) beneath it forever. When that doesn’t work, he sits up, letting the lump that had formed in his throat sink down into a pit of ice forming in his stomach.

“Happy birthday to me,” he sings softly, an attempt at jest that falls entirely flat against his ears, “If there is such a thing. But I’m here and I’m healthy, so I might as well sing.”

The answering silence is, somehow, even less a comfort than he’d been expecting. That lump threatens to make a comeback, but he swallows it down forcefully, shaking his head.

His phone chimes cheerfully, cutting through the stillness sharply enough to make Prompto jump, his heart slamming up into his throat instead out of sheer shock. After a moment of being stunned frozen, he huffs out a low laugh, inwardly chastising himself a bit for being so overdramatic. Grabbing his phone off the bedside dresser, he peers at the notifications.

In this case, a text. From Noct.

let me in it’s cold as hell out here

Prompto blinks a few times as though expecting the words to change, but— they don’t. It’s not exactly unusual for Noct to come over, despite them spending significantly more time in Noct’s apartment, but… with the roads all blanketed in snow? He would have had to walk the whole way.

A few more seconds pass where Prompto just stares at his phone, before it buzzes in his palm again.

don’t tell me you’re not home

He lets out a tiny snort of laughter, lips half-tilting. The idea of Noctis walking the distance between his apartment and Prompto’s house, in the cold and wind, only to find an empty house— it probably shouldn’t tickle him the way it does, but he’s always loved that look on Noct’s face, that look of disbelieving chagrin when a plan of his goes awry. It’s cute. (Not… that he needs to be thinking about that, thank you.) Taking pity as he pads out of his room to the main floor, he texts back:

Coming, coming. Where else would I be? lol

Noctis doesn’t have the chance to respond again; Prompto swings the front door open, putting him face-to-face with the heavily-bundled-up crown prince of Lucis. He’s carrying a couple of plastic bags at his side, and going by the single trail of footprints leading all the way down the street— it does look like Prompto’s instinct had been right and Noct had walked here. Something nameless and terribly warm flutters in Prompto’s chest, making a little color lift into his cheeks.

“Come on in,” he ushers Noctis, stepping out of the way and motioning him in, “Can’t believe you even left your place in this; it’s freezing.”

Noctis brushes his hair out, flinging a few idle snowflakes out of it as he moves into the entryway, handing the bags off to Prompto as he pulls at the thick scarf around his neck and chin. “Least we didn’t have to actually go to the effort of skipping class,” he says with a bit of a grin, shrugging out of his overcoat and stepping out of his shoes, “Picked up a few things on the way too. Just… ‘cause.”

Prompto, ever curious, had already started rooting around in the bags. “Ah!” There’s a bottle of milk tea, one that he’d only ever found once in a shop near Noct’s apartment before they’d stopped carrying it, and he’d mourned it extensively ever since. “You remembered— where did you even find this? Oh—“ As he keeps digging, he finds a couple of packaged snacks (including one of his favorites, a sort of strawberry biscuit), and… a small box tied up with a ribbon, with a sticker of a chocobo on the corner of the top. A little, slightly confused but pleased grin lights Prompto’s lips as he plucks it out, setting the bags down on the table and turning to lean slightly on it. “What’s this?”

“I had Ignis make it for you,” Noctis says just a little too quickly, looking elsewhere and rubbing the back of his neck.

The confusion deepens a little, but not enough that Prompto’s curiosity doesn’t push him on; he unwraps the box and plucks the top off— finding a yellow-frosted cupcake inside, with a single candle (also adorned with little cartoon chocobos) sticking up out of the center of it. Prompto stares, almost utterly uncomprehending, frozen in place by the sudden slamming of his heartbeat. What exactly is going on here?

Noctis clears his throat a bit, before coming in close, lifting a hand and touching his index finger to the wick of the candle— and with a little crackle of magic, it lights, bathing their faces in dim orange glow. “…Happy birthday, Prompto.” The prince’s voice is quiet, but warm, tender, in a way Prompto rarely hears.

Prompto’s chest feels like it’s going to burst. It hurts. His eyes sting, vision blurring, despite not being able to pull his eyes from the little flame. “Wh… how…” he starts, throat closed off by that lump he’d thought he’d gotten rid of earlier, “How did you…”

Noctis chuckles a little bit, rubbing at the back of his neck again. “Got stuck running papers for the office the other day, your health form was on top.”

It’s such a stupidly simple answer, Prompto honestly can’t help the short laugh that bursts from his chest, even through the other overwhelming emotions. “S-so… so much for student privacy, huh?” is what comes out, despite a million other words rioting against his lips to escape.

“It doesn’t have to be a big deal,” the prince quickly adds, a growing little note of anxiety tinging his voice now, “I just wanted to— I mean… shit. I’m sorry, if you don’t want— I just thought—“

“No!” Prompto cuts him off, finally managing to tear his eyes from the cheerfully flickering flame to look up at Noctis, framed flatteringly in candlelight, making his heart give another leap, “No, I love it, it’s— I just didn’t think— no one’s ever—“ The words spill over and across each other, tangling up in knots, until they both pause… and burst into a little laughter together. “We’re… not great at this, are we?”

“Horrible,” Noctis agrees, still shaking a bit with laughter, letting his hand drop down from his neck— to brush over Prompto’s free one. Their fingers snare instinctually, like it’s something they do every day of their lives. “… Supposed to make a wish, aren’t you?”

Prompto’s words are stolen away again, along with his breath, as their fingers lightly squeeze together. It’s not as though they’re not usually affectionate with each other, but… this… a wish? What more could he hope for right now? Still, he looks back down to the candle, eyes still a bit watery— before he smiles, broad and warm, and blows out the flame. “… Okay,” he says softly, just for something to fill the space, “Done.”

“What’d you wish for?”

“Isn’t it bad luck to say?”

“Guess so, yeah.”

It’s hard to say who makes the next move first: there’s a moment of silence, of motionlessness, before the cupcake box gets set down on the table and their fingers untangle in order to let their arms wrap fully around each other, Prompto’s around Noctis’ shoulders, Noctis’ around Prompto’s waist. Prompto’s eyes widen slightly for a moment as he feels Noctis press a kiss to the side of his head— before they half-lid dreamily. (He thinks he can feel Noct’s heart beating against his chest— or maybe it’s just his own, trying desperately to escape its ribcage to meet Noct’s halfway.)

“Seriously, though… happy birthday,” Noctis murmurs, nudging into Prompto’s hair affectionately.

Prompto squeezes around Noctis’ shoulders, pushing into his neck in response to the nudge, smiling softly. He thinks he can bear this particular day with no real burden from now on… as long as he has this. As long as he has Noctis. When he responds, it’s a barely-there whisper— but it’s enough. “… Thanks, Noct.”

[clubpenguinheadcanons]

How about a scenario to unravel: A situation where Ace disappears (with team reactions?). Is it mission gone wrong? Kidnap? Something more sinister at play? Who knows! Knock yourself out however you wish (or not that is ok to don't dress

Thanks Anon for loving my work, here’s a little something for you!  Sorry it took so long! Yadda yadda undercut. 

Word Count: 5,810

Blood/injury/death mention.

Ace doesn’t know what feels worse, their splitting headache, the searing pain on their side, or the frigid wet cold that they feel all over. Well, at least they have a blanket on to keep warm. Ace snuggled up to it, forgetting about the day that was laid out before them. Well, until someone started calling their name.

“Agent, wake up…” The voice was a bit deep and angry.

“Five-five more minutes…” Ace mumbled. They don’t know why they can’t move their arms or feet, and honestly, they don’t care. They just want to sleep the pain away. They turned away from the voice, hoping that it will leave them alone.

“Oh for Pete’s sakes! Wake up!” The voice tore the blanket off of Ace, making the penguin shiver from the cold.

“Who do you think you are-” Ace turned around and saw that the voice was in fact, Herbert. Standing tall with a scowl on his face and a tattered, and a bit bloody blanket in his paws. That was when everything fell back into place in Ace’s mind. That they were sent on a scouting mission, they were seen and chased, and now…captured. Of course, they lost their phone and jacket in this whole mess as well. Ace frowned.

“Who do you think I am? My Agent, such mean things to say to the hero that took your cold, bloody fowl body in and dressed your wounds and gave you a blanket! You should be glad that I have some compassion and I just didn’t leave you to die outside in this insufferable weather!” Herbert threw the blanket back at Ace, smirking that it hit the penguin in their face.

“Oh, I am so sorry Herbert! My great savior and hero!” Ace’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. They hate being captured, but at least they were alone in this. They’ll be fine, they just got to find out what Herbert is planning to do and find a way to escape. “So, why did the compassionate Herbert tie me up if he is so kind?” Ace tried to put the blanket on them, yet with their flippers tied, that is something hard to do, so it just fell to the ground. Giving a glare at the blanket was all that Ace could do, hoping that they had some mind powers to move it.

“For goodness sakes, you are even more pathetic than the last time I remember.” Herbert walked up to the penguin and wrapped the blanket around them. Wouldn’t want their enemy to die of hyperthermia. The freaking penguin is shaking like a leaf and seems to be a bit blue around the feathers. “As you must know, just because I won’t let you die, doesn’t mean I won’t keep you captured here.”

“Oh, so what will you do? Brag about your intelligence? Oh! Oh! I know! You will tell me about your tragic backstory yet again! Or how “The Great and Powerful Herbert” captured one of the Elite Penguin Fools’ best agents! Oh please, Herbert, don’t be so cruel, I’d rather succumb to my wounds than to be bored to death.” Ace looked down at their wound that was bandaged up, they forget, how did they get that anyways? They remember being chased, and falling down, then the pain. Did Herbert do that to them? They looked up at the polar bear, seeing red on his paws. Well, whatever that can be seen with his paws made into fists.

“You’re testing my patience Agent. I am this close to letting you go outside in this snowstorm and wait until you turn into a popsicle.” Herbert gritted his teeth as one hand pointed to the outside and the other rested at the bridge of his snout. Oh, how much he loathes this Agent. Their sarcasm and fight being the two things that annoy him the most. Sure, the penguin is a fun thing to trick, yet somehow, in the end, that penguin gets the upper hand. If it was luck that fuels this agent, Herbert is just waiting for it to run out.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. But really, what are you planning to do with me?” Ace would rather not get the boot to the outside. They remember the snow storm being terrible when they left for their mission, getting worse with every passing moment, by now the storm must be too dangerous to even think about going out.

“Um…well…” Herbert paused and think. What was he going to do? He had no plans to think of at this moment, all of his resources for the winter are being used to grow his own vegetables and to survive, rather than take over this pathetic little island. He looked back at the agent and smirked. “I’m going to interrogate you! I shall beat answers out of you and make you quiver in fear!” Yeah! That’s what he’ll do! “Right Klutzy?” He looked down at his small friend.

“Click, clickity.” Klutzy grabbed a flashlight and handed it to Herbert.

“You’ll never get anything out of me Herbert.” Ace squinted as Herbert shines the light into their eyes. Goodness, that hurts their head. Maybe they got a concussion as well? Welp, that’s a shame.

“Oh shut up, I will get inside your little bird brained mind and get all of your secrets about the EPF!” Herbert glared at Ace, maybe that will get them to talk? Who knows, in fact, Herbert doesn’t even want to try to beat some info out of Ace, he could just get it by hacking into the EPF mainframe or something else. But maybe they have something that isn’t on the computers? “So why did you even try to stalk me?” Eh, a good place to start.

“You really think I will talk Herbert? I know nothing and won’t say anything.” Ace sighed. Is he really going for this? Whatever, he’ll just get bored and move on, hopefully.

Ace really wish it was that simple. Herbert tried for hours upon hours to make them talk. Going on from asking the same question, to threatening to stick Ace outside into the cold. Yet whenever Ace told him to do it, he refused. Saying that he is not giving his hostage a chance to escape or whatever.

“Come on Agent, answer the question. Why were you stalking me?!” Herbert lifted Ace up, hoping that being a bit manhandled would scare them.

“If your method of torture is boredom, I would say, it’s working, yet, I still won’t tell you why.” With that Ace was dropped down from Herbert’s grip onto the ground. Ace couldn’t help but yawn. They were going at it for what? A few hours now? It surely must be night time.

“AAARGGHH, THAT DOES IT, I’M DONE PLAYING THESE GAMES!” Herbert threw a punch to the cave wall, giving it a nice crack. Thankfully Herbert couldn’t see the flash of fear in Ace’s face as he did that. The polar bear took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll get some food, then go to bed.” That was when Herbert and Klutzy took their leave. Letting Ace be all alone.

“Oh thank puffles, I thought he would never leave!” Ace mumbled to themselves. Time to find a way to escape. Ace tried to move their flippers free, yet it was no use, Herbert tied them too tight. Ace tried to stand up, yet they couldn’t even move their feet that much to make a clean getaway. So instead Ace tried to roll around, hoping that it would loosen the rope. Which didn’t do much but take the blanket off. Ace rolled back onto the blanket as Herbert came back in. Seeing Ace just lying down on the floor. He sighed.

“You know, I made you some food as well. If you want some, just sit up if you can.” Herbert walked over the penguin. Seeing the penguin sit up and look up at him.

“So, how am I going to eat? Are you going to feed me?” Ace really hope it’s not that.

“Nah, I won’t stoop myself that low.” Herbert put a bowl of soup and a cup of water down.

“Well, aren’t you so nice.” Ace rolled themselves onto their stomach. Ah, so they are just gonna need to use their face. This is great, just great. Well, Ace tried to eat the soup and drink the water, well most of what they could get from it. After Ace was done, Herbert took the bowl and cup and started laughing.

“You know Agent, if you give me some access codes, I will let you free.” Maybe being humiliated like that will open them up?

“Okay Herbert, you win.” Ace sat themselves up. “The access codes for the EPF mainframe is, pi, i, -i, and horizontal 8.” Ace couldn’t help but crack up as Herbert’s face went from awe to confusion to pure anger. If Ace died right then and there, to them it would be worth it.

“YOU, JUST YOU LITTLE!” Herbert shook with rage. Alright, he’s done, nope, he needs to rest. Tomorrow that penguin will tell him some info! They just have to. “Good night you brat!” Herbert walked out of the room, leaving Ace all alone again.

“Nighty, night, P-bear!” Ace stifled a yawn as they laid down on the blanket. Hopefully, the others are alright and aren’t too worried about Ace. They just don’t want anyone to get lost in this storm because of them. With that, Ace rested their eyes and fell asleep. Hoping that the storm subsides. **********************************************************************Trying to search in this storm at night was a bad idea. G gritted his beak as he tried to look around, to try to see the agents in front of him. This is terrible, they can’t even see a lousy ten feet out! He felt guilt, heck, he felt more than guilt at this moment, he felt that he was the sole reason as to why Ace was gone. Letting that penguin go out in a storm like this?! What was he thinking? Apparently, something had to make sense, since Dot approved of letting them go out in this weather as well. But still, this doesn’t take the burden off of him in the slightest. G snapped out of it as his name was called out.

“G! I can’t see in this weather! The storm is too much!” Rookie called out.

“I know Rookie, I think we have to cancel this search party for tonight.” G sighed. He doesn’t want to cancel the search party, but they have to. This weather was too much for the group.

“Why? Jet can’t try to fly out?” Dot quipped up. She really needs to find Ace, she feels terrible that she and G allowed them to go out in this storm. Heck, Ace even asked them if they were sure about it since the storm was going on when Ace was informed about their mission! Just, this is just great. If The Director doesn’t chew their heads off, then the guilt will from this mess up.

“Negative Dot, this weather is too much for me to fly out.” Jet looked around and frowned.

“Are you sure you can’t try?” Dot just, she really needs to get something going, she just can’t leave an agent missing on the field.

“Dot, I would love to flip this island upside down to find Ace, I really would, but I rather not be putting myself in danger, which will cause for two missing agents.” Jet just couldn’t help but to spat that lasts part out at her. Sure, Ace going MIA is terrible, but in this weather? Who knows how long Ace could survive this, and Jet really would love to flip this whole place down to find them, yet he can’t. Which just makes it even worse. Since now not only are they down an agent, but they can’t do a single thing about it. Hopefully the storm subsides in the morning, but for now, it’s best for them all the retreat.

“He’s right…we shouldn’t be putting any more agents in a position that can put them in danger.” G added.

“Then, what should we do?” Dot looked at the three guys. This feeling of helplessness sinking into her, a feeling she hates.

“Well…what would Ace want us to do?…” Rookie mumbled. He just, he woke up to hear that Ace was missing and scrambled to HQ as soon as he could. He wants to find Ace, yet in this weather, this late? He didn’t even think he would be able to get this far out without freezing. He pulled himself closer to Jet, grabbing one of his flippers and letting it wrap around him. Hoping that would keep him a bit warm, as well to comfort his worries.

“…they would want us to turn back and return when the storm stops…” Jet mumbled.

The rest of the group looked at each other. Should they just go?

“Fine, tomorrow once the storm lightens up, we’ll go and search for Ace. For now, we’ll go back to bed. Everyone come back to HQ at around 8 am or earlier. The weather report says the storm will be gone by then.” Dot announced.

With a group of nods and okays, the group left. **********************************************************************Quickly enough to return in the morning. This time, not only do they have the regular group, but a few more agents and PH as well. Hoping the puffles could find something. G waddled around with Rookie, hoping that the two of them could find something that would shine a light where Ace was gone. The silence though was killing him. He just doesn’t know what to say. “So…um, I am so sorry that we woke you and Jet up last night about Ace being missing…eheh. I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble for you guys.”

“It’s fine G, we were going to find out that Ace was gone sooner or later…might as well have been then.” Rookie looked down. He hates this feeling he has. Just, one of their Waddle Squad buddies being gone. Especially finding out they went missing during that storm? “Do you think, that Ace will be alright? They know basic survival, but do you think they’ll be fine?”

“I…I don’t know Rookie. Hopefully, they’ll be fine, but with this weather, who knows.” G really wants to assure Rookie that all will be alright, heck, he even wants to tell himself that. Yet he knows that he can’t since setting high hopes will only get them hurt in the end. “If anything, Herbert could’ve gotten to…” G stopped as he saw Rookie run up ahead of him. “Rookie? Where are you going?! Rookie!” G chased him and came to a quick stop right behind the green agent. “O-oh no…”

A trail of blood led down to a river was what they found. Rookie stood in front of it in shock. Just seeing this all was too much for him. He just wants to go home, he just wants to go home and to get a call from Ace that they should hang out today, and that whatever was happening now was just a bad dream. Yet this wasn’t make believe, this was a true nightmare, one that was as true as Operation Black Out. Did Ace feel this way when he and the others went missing? It has to be, this feeling of regret and worries bottled up inside of him felt too much to hold. Yet he has to stay strong, the green agent turned to G, his face as solemn as ever. “I-I think we need PH and the others over here now…”

G nodded and got them over there, leading into an investigation throughout the river. Underwater puffles swimming through, hoping to find a body if one was deposited into there. “Did you guys find anything?” G asked as the puffles finished their investigation.

“They found something, not a body, but something alright.” PH replied to G. These types of investigations always bring down the mood of everyone, including PH. The idea of an agent going missing and might be, that, is something that no one wants to imagine. She handed G a jacket that was soaked, as well with some blood stains. “Was this theirs?”

“…” G held the jacket. They remember Ace coming in with it when they got the mission. It was theirs alright, and now they don’t have it. “Yes, this was their jacket PH. Do you think they drowned?”

“I have no idea, we found nobody, they could’ve had that slip off of them as they went who knows where, or it fell off of them as they were eaten by some sea vermin.” PH looked away. “We sent some puffles out to sniff out the area, but they lost the scent before we could find another clue G. If we were to start looking from around here, it might take us a long time.”

“So, you’re saying we should stop looking?” G looked at her in disbelief. Stop looking for one of their own? This early? That’s ridiculous! That’s, that’s. Tragic and might need to be done.

“Well…I say we try for another day or so, if anything, they could’ve been captured by Herbert if they didn’t drown. But by the looks of it…” PH looked away.

“I understand…thank you PH, I’ll contact The Director.” G waddled back, holding the jacket close to him. He just, he just can’t believe this is happening. One of his agents, gone, no trace of them at all. If Jet and Dot don’t find a clue, this investigation might have to go into missing penguins, and then, it might just become a cold case. G shuddered at the thought of that. One of his agents, one of the few that was so close with everyone on the team, just being gone? No, this isn’t happening, it isn’t real. Ace is fine! They’re smart, they can survive! G waddled to Rookie, holding the jacket towards them.

“Did they find Ace!?” Rookie looked and saw that there was nobody, living or, well, unconscious? He looked down to see Ace’s jacket. “That’s their jacket! So they must be close right?!” Rookie took it from G without hesitation, feeling how soaked it is. Going through the pockets, hoping to find something that will give them a lead.

“No, they didn’t Rookie. In fact, we might just be searching for another day or so before it goes into missing penguins.”

“But?! We can find Ace! They’re here! They have to be somewhere around here! They even, they even!” Rookie took out Ace’s phone, one that is soaked and broken They can’t even call Ace, they knew they couldn’t before, but now they know why. “G…Ace isn’t fine…are they?” Rookie looked up at G, just, feeling broken.

“Probably not…” G held up his flippers, he knows that Rookie is just, heck, they all are overwhelmed and out of it by this. Rookie hugged G, a bit too tight for the blue penguin, but with what’s going on, it doesn’t matter to him that much. G gently patted the back of the agent.

“They’re probably, probably dead or something by now, and we can’t even find them.” Tears streamed down Rookie’s face. He just, he just can’t believe it. Ace is really gone. He should’ve joined Ace in that mission, he should’ve talked to them before about it or something. He knew he didn’t know until now, but still, he wishes that he did.

“Hey, hey, Ace isn’t dead, they might be alive still! We just have to find them.” Jetpack noises filled the air. G looked up. Seeing Dot and Jet coming back from their search. Hopefully, they found something.

“Oh my goodness! Jet!” Rookie lets go of G as he ran over to the red penguin, latching onto him as he cried into his shoulder.

“…Did you guys find Ace?…” Jet could only ask that question. If Rookie was this upset, then there must be a reason. One that he can’t fathom to hear. “No! Even worse! We found a blood trail, and, and there is nothing else! Just their jacket with their phone! Did you guys find anything?” The green penguin looked between Jet and Dot, hoping that they found something.

“Negative Rookie. We searched everywhere in the sky, and found nothing.” Dot sighed. This is looking bleak, in fact, it seems that Ace is truly gone from their sights. Unless some miracle happens, like Herbert contacting them and announcing their newly held hostage. Yet knowing Herbert, he wouldn’t even dare to step outside in this cold, much less the snow storm that happened last night.

“So what are our orders for now?” Jet looked at Dot and G, hoping that maybe they have something to say.

“Well, we will look until tonight, or until another storm picks up and we will do another search tomorrow morning as well.” G announced.

Dot nodded. She didn’t have anything else to add. Sure, they will be doing some other missions here and there, but right now. This is their number one priority, making sure that one of their agents come back safely. Safe and sound, like they all should when they return from a mission. Dot hopes that Ace is okay. **********************************************************************Ace isn’t okay, in fact, they wish they were dead. It has been a whole day of Herbert trying to get information out of them, yet again. This time, Herbert decided to take the “torture by boredom” quite literally. Oh how much Ace hates their sassy beak sometimes.

“And that was when I discovered, I was in fact, a vegetarian. Any questions that you may have Agent?” Herbert looked down at Ace and smiled. Oh, how much fun he’s been having! To have someone to listen to your life story! Even if it does bore them to death, it’s a way for him to hope he can get some valuable information!

“Yes, I do have one question, Herbert. Can you just please put me out of my misery now? I know you hate me, but doing this? I feel like we are violating some sort of war crime.” Ace was so tired of this, just so very tired. They were just looking around all day trying to find something to break free with and found it. That object is a very sharp end of an anchor that Herbert somehow got. The only problem is that Ace has to wait until Herbert leaves the room, which he hasn’t done at all, well for an extended period of time.

“Oh! So rude of you Agent! Has anyone ever taught you some manners? Or must I tell you the story of how I learned to be an upstanding polar bear?”

“I think you would need to hear that story again as well Herbert since you slouch all the time.” They quipped up. Despite feeling half brain dead, they still got the sass.

“YOU-” Before Herbert could continue any further, a clock bell rang, signaling that it was time for Herbert to hit the hay. “Don’t think this isn’t over yet! Tomorrow Agent, I will get you to talk!”

“Mmhmm and polar bears all over the world will fly to Club Penguin to have the biggest shindig! Good night!” Ace watched as Klutzy and Herbert took their leave. Letting Ace be all alone in the small room. Ace waited for what felt like hours, they just need to make sure that Herbert is asleep and not in some in-between state that he could be easily awakened from. After that, Ace slowly propelled themselves towards the anchor. Trying to get the rope entangled to the sharp edge, hoping that it will rip the rope apart. Which it did, as well as cutting them up a little. Oh well, they’re free now at least! After being freed loose from their entrapment, Ace grabbed the rope and a grappling hook that they saw scattered about before. Tying the two together, hoping this will come in handy. As Ace waddled out of the room, they grabbed the blanket that they have been using these past few days as well. Sure, it’s too small and flimsy to really protect them from the cold, but it’s better than nothing. Ace walked into the room that Herbert was sleeping in, him laying on some cushioned chair. Well, now they can search around for any plans that Herbert was thinking of doing. As quietly as they could, Ace began looking around, not realizing a small crab that was still awake.

“Clickity click click.” Klutzy clicked. Letting their presence be known.

“Oh, um, hi Klutzy. Uhh, go back to sleep little buddy, old pal?” Ace whispered to the little crustacean. Crud, oh crud, this is bad, real bad. Without any real forethought, Ace grabbed whatever blueprints they could and ran out of the cave as fast as they could. Not realizing that one of the blueprints was on a board, making it fall off and clatter onto the floor, waking Herbert.

“What the?…” Herbert looked to see his plans were gone, and that Klutzy was clicking about how their hostage is getting away. “WHAT?! YOU FOWL THING!” Herbert jumped out of his chair and began to chase Agent outside. “COME BACK HERE YOU FOOL!” Herbert bellowed out as he ditched using his two legs, and instead began to stampede on all fours.

“Oh, crud! Oh no, oh no…” Ace panted out as they tried their best to get away from Herbert. Forgetting that typically polar bears will use all of their fours to chase their prey. Whether it was for eating or to toy with, it doesn’t matter to them, Ace is now his prey. Ace tried to weave through the trees, yet in this nightly snow storm, it was so hard to see, much less to move in. Ace stopped as they were on a ledge of some sort of cliff. Standing there dumbfounded at what to do. They couldn’t jump? Could they? It was that or Herbert will get them, and in this cold, it was hard to even think about getting lost in this weather, yet, Ace just can’t stand being captured. “Oh, you little fool, just give me my plans back and I will make sure that I won’t hurt you, much.” Herbert stood back on his two legs, panting. What he didn’t expect was for Ace to jump. “You idiot!” Herbert tried to grab Ace, but instead, all he did was swipe them on their side as they went tumbling down. Herbert looked at his claw, now red from the action he had done. He sighed as he watched the penguin tumble further away from him. He could either chase them and get lost in this cold weather, or just call it a lost and head back. He looked back at their hideout and back to where Ace probably fell down to. “Good luck Agent! Hopefully, the other Elite Penguin Fools won’t find your body frozen to death!” With that comment, he headed back. It’s out of his control now.

Ace didn’t know what possessed them to jump, but they did and now they regret it so much. Falling and falling into who knows where, as Ace’s body stopped falling, they could only just lay there for a moment. Trying to collect their thoughts with what just happened. Trying to remember what they still have after that tumble. They still have the blueprints and the blanket, yet the grappling hook was gone. As Ace tried to pull themselves up, they felt excruciating pain in their right flipper. Looking at it, Ace realized that it was broken, and goodness, now everything hurts. Have they been swiped at again by Herbert? Probably, Ace remembers seeing some red as they were falling down. Ace decided it would be best to lay down for a while, just enough of time to collect their thoughts. Yet, what if they pass out? They would be outside in this cold weather, and that isn’t good. With fear of the weather being too much, Ace got up and tried their best to keep waddling on. Whatever they have to do is to find their way home, they just can’t stay here in this weather.

“I’m such an idiot…” Ace shivered. What a fool! What an idiot! They are just going to die here and then the others are going to see what a silly and stupid penguin Ace was. No, no, they’ll be fine, just gotta keep moving. Ace stopped for a moment as they looked up to the sky, seeing that it was still night. Yet they see smoke coming up, meaning that they are close to civilization. Ace began to run towards the smoke, hoping that, someone is there to help them. What Ace didn’t realize, was that they were running straight into a river. Plummeting into the cold water, it took Ace all of their might to get out of it. Throwing themselves onto dry land, Ace felt all of their energy just being sapped away from them. Their body trembling, trying to keep themselves warm from this frigid weather. They couldn’t help but let all of the frustrations of being captured, escaping and this pain to be let out through a scream for help. Just the pain of it all was too much for them to bare. They don’t care if they will attract Herbert or whatever enemy, they would rather have someone than to be alone like this.

“Ace?! Is that you?” Dot ran towards the source of the noise. She just came out here to search for Ace, and now she heard a scream for help? Maybe it’s them! It has to be! “Oh my goodness, Ace! It really is you! Thank puffles!” She ran towards her friend who seems to be soaked to the bone. Trying to get them to lay on their back, they shouldn’t be moving or anything. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just my right flipper is broken, I just want to go inside Dot, I can stand Dot.” Ace tried to stand up by themselves, yet their body didn’t feel like cooperating, and instead, they just fell back. Thankfully, Dot was able to grab them before they fell, gently putting them on the ground.

“Ace, just relax, we’ll get some help, you shouldn’t be moving.” Dot wrapped her jacket around the penguin. How long were they even out here for? She pulled out her phone and called the others. Hopefully, they’ll come soon. “But Dot, I can, I can…” Ace felt nothing more but pure exhaustion. With this whole night of them trying to survive, and the comfort of being found. Ace just let their tired body win this, and promptly pass out. **********************************************************************“Ace, wakey wakey…” A voice called out to Ace. Giving them a good poke to the head.

“Rookie, let them rest.” Another voice scolded the other.

“Sorry Jet…” Rookie apologized.

Ace couldn’t help but open their eyes, they have already been interrupted from their sleep. As they looked around, they noticed that the others were in the room with them. Sitting around in some solemn silence. Well except Rookie, who was right in their face poking them. Rookie’s eyes went wide as they saw that Ace woke up.

“Ace! You’re awake now!” Rookie gave the penguin a big hug, yet still being careful not to hurt their broken flipper.

“Yeah, guess so…” Ace at first froze from the sudden hug but then sunk into the embrace. “…how long was I out?” They looked at the others, seeing that some of them got up from their seats.

“About a few hours, give or take. You freaked Dot out by your sudden pass out.” Jet added.

“Well, who wouldn’t be? One minute this penguin was telling me they’re fine and they can walk, the next, they weren’t responsive!” Dot waddled up to Ace and joined in on the hug. Then the others did, making it one big group hug. After a while, they all pulled apart. Just being so relieved that Ace was found.

“So what happened Ace?” G asked. Part for his own curiosity and the rest being for HQ, they are all going to be doing a lot of paperwork this week.

“Oh, well at first I found Herbert, but he saw me, so I was chased, I think I fell or something, so I got knocked out, and woke up in his lair captured.” Ace motioned to their bandaged up wound on their side. “Apparently Herbert bandaged me up and kept me as a hostage for those two days.”

“At least you weren’t outside in the cold then.” Jet added. Sure, being captured sucks, but it’s better than freezing to death.

“Yeah, better than that.” Ace continued. “Then last night I escaped, was chased again, this time though I lost Herbert, well he stopped chasing me I believe, and fell into the river that Dot was by and here we are now.”

“Why didn’t you just stay with Herbert if the weather was so bad out?” Rookie asked.

“I rather not stay in his clutches for long, as well that escaping in this weather made it easier for me to lose him.” Ace answered.

The group looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Sure, it wasn’t the most ideal escape, but it’s better than staying in Herbert’s clutches for too long.

“Also, you had some blueprints…” G held them up, now dried up from being in the river. “I’m guessing you got these from Herbert?”

“Yeah, I thought that before I left, I would do a quick search around and grab what I can.” Ace began to go under their covers, sleepiness coming back to them. “Why? Did I get something useless?”

“No, in fact, you got some of his plans that he probably would’ve used after the winter months. Good job Agent!” G smirked. Even from this whole mess, they were able to come out on top of this.

“We should probably be going…” Jet announced. Looking at the clock on the wall.

“Okay then, see you guys tomorrow at HQ then!” Ace joked as they watched the others leave.

“Good one Ace, get some rest, and we’ll try to see you tomorrow.” Dot waved goodbye.

As the door shut closed, Ace sighed. Now they are alone and safe. Ace tried to make themselves as comfortable as they could be with a broken flipper and looked outside of their hospital window. Seeing that a new storm rages on. Ace closed their eyes, finally getting some well-deserved rest from this whole ordeal that has finally ended.

[fayvie]

NEEHU Monday: Ignorance is Bliss

Monday began with the absolute strangest feeling in the air. A stagnant feeling like everyone was waiting to exhale. It felt so quiet, and I almost was afraid to look at my phone, because I knew that all I’d see was messages over Skype and Discord about people leaving or preparing to leave, and I didn’t want to deal with that yet. At the same time, because I booked my flight to leave early Tuesday, I relished the comfort of my bed, and the knowledge that I had one more day with many of my friends, and at least a few hours with others before they had to leave.

I was in no hurry to dress up today, unlike the rest, so I hung around in pajamas and set up in the living room with my laptop, starting to catch up on tumblr and process my thoughts on the weekend (and start my recaps!). It was very therapeutic to me, immediately re-living those moments and experiences a second time made it feel like it had never ended. I guess I’m still doing that now, in a way. I realize the recaps are so painfully self-indulgent, but they really do act as a form of con aftercare for many of us, being able to look back and genuinely appreciate how special all of these moments were to all of us. That being said, I completely respect and understand those who choose not to write about it, and keep those moments private and treasured in their own way. All the power to you!

Eventually @sebsteerpike ended up at my doorstep once more, beginning the unloading of all his luggage into my room. Since @travisthehypnotizedpuppy would be leaving today, a bed opened up, and we decided to squish in more people to help save money. We cuddled on the couch for a while, we kissed, he pulled my hair, we just enjoyed each other's company so much, and nothing about the repetition felt dull.

He had to get his room cleared out before check-out, but I was sooo comfortably half napping on his chest at one point, so he hypnotized me to feel as though the pillows he placed would have the same feeling. I suddenly had no issues dozing off once more (until abrupt knocking at the door, when @sebsteerpike’s room key malfunctioned and I had to get up to let him back in. How dare he ruin my nap with my seb-pillows.)

We caught wind that a large group of people were leaving shortly, but still hanging out in the lobby. Many people were going to a munch to spend the afternoon with people for the last time before going home, but at this point I felt so socially burnt out (and ill) that the idea of staying in and relaxing was much more compelling. Regardless, we ran downstairs to say our goodbyes to so many awesome people. I felt the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach that reminded me that the con was ending, but I pushed it down and put on the biggest smile I had. I realized how many people I was so happy to meet and see, and really wished I had more time to spend with (as every con ever goes). 

I had such a blast rooming and hanging out with @travisthehypnotizedpuppy, and it sucked that he had to go home on Monday instead of getting stuck with the rest of us. We’ve been friends for coming up to 4 years now, and we’ve only hung out in person twice, and this time we had way more opportunity to chill, chat, and slap eachother once in a while.

As a sidenote, I hope to do a separate post after these are over to properly address the people who really deserve mention that I can’t fit into these posts!

Back to my room, I flopped back into the comfort of as many pillows as I could horde. Seb and I were joined by @sex-obsessed-lesbian, @meltinggoldanddippingthingsinit, @hypnokittencalico, and @enscenic, and we all reminisced over the highlights of the weekend, discussed travel plans, and just chatted about things in general. It was a nice chance to hang out without the pressure of actually “doing something” being a thing. I used this time to write, for the most part. As people started peeling off to go to the airport, it started to hit me that people’s flights were getting cancelled from the impending weather. I felt horrible for those stuck at the airport, or halfway home without a plan B, and somehow in my fractionation-addled brain, it never even occurred to me what impact it could have on flights actually scheduled on the day of Storm Stella. More on that later!

In hindsight, @sebsteerpike and myself legitimately did spend nearly all of the day on that couch, and it was absolutely perfect. It was just about dinner time so we started plotting out what we’d do, and I was really looking forward to a quieter, intimate sit-down meal with Seb and @enscenic. We ended up on a barbeque restaurant not far off of the hotel, and the whole ambiance of the strip mall containing the restaurant felt slightly ghost-towny, signs up on doors “We will be closed tomorrow due to the Storm. We apologize for the inconvenience”. Did I get it yet? Nope? Oh well, maybe later.

Dinner was awesome. I hadn’t had the time I wanted to really sit down with @enscenic yet, so it was nice to just chat and compare stories from the convention. @sebsteerpike was an absolute gentleman and picked up the tab as we made our way back with 3 boxes of leftovers.

My flight was at 6am the next morning. It finally occurred to me to check to see if it was delayed at all. No e-mails regarding changes, but I looked up the code and found that the flight was cancelled. Well fiddlesticks. 2.5 hours on the phone and some vodka later, I found myself speaking to someone that could help and managed to change my flights to the same thing, one day later. I was venting about the whole process via Skype in some of the post-NEEHU conversations, and freaking out about the hotel situation, as we now had 5 adults stuck and no confirmation on getting a room. This is when @tennfan2 came to the rescue and helped me find a hotel where we could split our group into sane numbers and not turn on each other halfway through the snowstorm. Thank you again for your calm heroics when I was frantic and going a bit nuts, I appreciate it so so much!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy when I found out that @sebsteerpike and the group driving back to Chicago wouldn’t be able to leave the next morning due to highways being blocked off. I know it’s selfish, but it meant I got an EXTRA-extra day. We took this moment to celebrate the fact that 5 friendly hypno-kinksters would be stuck in Connecticut during a snowstorm, and the reality that it was working out pretty well for all of us, all things considered. I’m really relieved that my work was understanding and covered for me not being able to be back in time, woohoo unintentionally extended vacation!

I know this post has been a whole lot of things that probably aren’t interesting to anyone but me, so I will happily go into a bit of a sexy tangent that took place near the end of the night. Unfortunately it’s been long enough now that the exact details have been lost to time, but some moments really stood out.

@sebsteerpike and myself were spooning in bed, and my hypno-egg was turned on ahead of me, on the nightstand. I was watching it glowing, shifting, drawing my attention in with every colour. I remember dropping into trance and feeling so good and horny. I remember straddling him and kissing him as much as possible, my hair falling in both of our faces. I vividly remember the incredibly erotic combination of his hand in my hair, pulling my roots back which made me incredibly fuzzy, and the sharp pain of him slapping the opposite cheek, both sensations making me feel like an absolute puddle. Ever since then, I catch myself desperately craving that combination, daydreaming about it very often.

After some more fun, we fell asleep so easily (or at least I did, I was out too fast to really tell), resting up as much as possible before the Dawn of SNOHU.

Next up: SNOHU! Hypno Scouts Lightning Rounds, and deep relationship conversations and cuddles.

[drabbles-n-stuff]

There was something about Old Russia he couldn't quite put his finger on... Something that always kept him there.

Maybe it was the fields of white snow and the small patches of greens that one could find. Maybe it was the mountains, on which the sun set and rose, a guiding light to all those that walked under its glorious shine. Maybe it was the storms that broke out, enough to rip even the most deeply rooted plant from its feeble groud.

Maybe it was how his ships always seemed to crash here.

At least, a soft kind of crashing this time.

His fuel was at critical levels now, and the forsaken wasteland that was the Siberia... well, fuel was something it was critically lacking on. He had no Glimmer for his ghost to turn into anything, and truth be told, that hunk of junk wasn't gonna last long.

Cabal sure had to ruin everything, huh.

What he could take from the ship he did, seeing as his ghost only had limited storage space. Their vaults now burnt to ash, the auto-rifle and sidearm were his only weapons, the thick padding of Titan armor holding up steady. It could probably block out a shot or three, but sooner or later it'd be as useful as a warlock's dress... still, it also kept his coolant pumping.

"You should sleep."

His ghost, a simple ball of only Traveler knew what and city alloys serving as a shell on the shape of a sun. Intricately woven... now, battered and covered in sooth.

He had been in the front lines when the Cabal came. Down on the ground while the Vanguard smashed fist against fist up in the tower. He died, and came back, and died again and again for what seemed like days.

The ashen taste.

"Yes."

They continued walking for a long while, too long. The day became dusk, became day again, and so on for cycles and cycles. Were he Awoken, or even human, this would mean death. But all he had been suffering from was hunger...

The cold had started to seep into the thick armor, and on the distance, clouds formed. Snowstorm or Rain, he couldn't afford to let it corrode him. On the distance, a village... Golden Age. He remembered reading about the simplistic yet beautiful structures that were built thousands of years ago. Stone on stone, wood on wood. Concrete streets claimed by the wilderness, or what little 'wilderness' the Siberia had. They seemed warm enough. If he was lucky, he could even find some still canned meat or bagged rice. Ah, he hadn't had rice in weeks now. Or bread, come to think of it.

No matter.

"Please?" His ghost chimed in, appearing out of nowhere just above his left shoulder while he walked into the village. "You can't keep going like this. Lay down and rest. We can find something for you to hunt tomorrow. I know about the dreams b--"

"Then you understand why I must stay up."

"You must also not die. You know how many we lost. Please."

The man stopped on his tracks, and his breathing stopped.

"Guardian...?"

"I should've buried them."

"You did what you could. We'll take back the city. And their sacrifices will not have been in vain. But you can't be there to see the day if you keep walking so brashly. Please... rest."

Fists clenched slowly opened, breathing coming back. There was a relatively stable house compared to the others which were crumbling in on themselves, and that is where he'd rest for the night.

"Guardians, do you copy?" A familiar voice.

Oh, no.

He opened his eyes, and it was... different. Barely.

The tower was always the same. The sky was always the same, a sickly orange, though behind him it was always black as the night. The blood up to his ankles.

But the banners...

Vanguard.

"Guardians, at once. Guardians, do you copy? Any and every available Guardian, to the tower! Cancel every strike and COME HOME!"

His job was cut out for him, mostly. The bodies that littered the burning field were his friends'. Cayde. Shaxx, Centurion helmet crushed between his arms. Banshee, half-buried in a mound of fallen Cabal.

"ALL GUARDIANS, TO THE TOWER!" The sense of urgency on the voice.

In front of him, an infinite sea of Red Legion, Skyburners, Sand-Eaters, Blind Legion. Amidst them, a million fighters which he faced of in the Crucible, all donning beautiful Guardian armor. And here he was, naked, his mechanical body being seared and scorched by the burning blood.

There was no point in avoiding it any longer. The Cabal and Guardians stood still as if simply waiting for their deaths.

He knew how his mechanical insides worked... well, most of it. They wouldn't step forward and charge until he took the first one down. He had time to scrounge for a thing or two before he felt the oncoming Darkness swallow him.

The one Gladiator that fell had a knife with him still, and so that was what he would use. The handle made it feel like his metal was melting, but it wouldn't stop him.

He charged.

Cleaver half buried in a Cabal's fat neck, he took the slug rifle from his now cold hands and started firing wildly. The explosive rounds did wonders to put down some of them, but more came. His mag was empty, twenty-six dead.

Twenty-seven, his fists crashed against a Hunter's mask, and quick hands stole his knives. Forty, every single blade had finally broken inside someone, though each of them took down two, maybe three enemies. Forty-three, collateral damage from a grenade he dodged. Forty-four, he broke a Cabal Goliath's neck, and though he could not carry the massive weapon he wielded, activated the homing missiles.

Forty-five, six, seven, fifty, fifty-three. He could not see the bodies dropping but the numbers flashed on his mind, pulsating as a reminder. Sixty, another grenade. Sixty-two, a Gladiator dropped both of his knives, enough to quickly dispatch of yet another centurion and some Legionare. Sixty-three, Redrix pierced his mechanical flesh with his rifle, but he could still stand. And better yet, he could still shoot. He rushed forward, running and gunning... sixty-five, six, seven, eight...

A hundred.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Thousand.

Two.

Six.

Nine.

Ten.

Fifteen.

The sun never changed, but the oncoming darkness continued behind him, and forward, the banners of the Vanguard never seemed to approach. He had lost one of his arms and replaced one of his legs with an ammo-less Kalashnikov after having it hacked out by a pissed off Warlock. The Last Word in hands, each shot dropping a Cabal like it was nothing, even if he had to cock it with the same hand, instead of fanning it as was designed.

A titan rushed him, and he pulled the trigger... Spent.

The Titan punched him in the chest, downing him. She sat on top of his chest and started punching his face repeatedly, jaw snapping, coolant spewing everywhere, black oil from the thousands of Cabal slain staining her knuckles. A desperate punch to her chin was what it took to get her out, and it was his turn to finish her.

He stood on top of the mush that was once the Awoken's face and helmet, breathing heavily as his insides were spewed through the broken metal. He hadn't long, now. Fifteen thousand, three hundred and forty-eight Cabal, three thousand and sixty-five Guardians. Zavala yelled into his ears.

"GUARDIANS! THE TOWER IS FALLING! JOIN US FOR A LAST STAND OR FIND A SAFE PLACE. I REPEAT, JOIN OR FIND A SAF--"

A slug-rifle shot ripped through half of his head, leaving him barely standing.

Another one hit his pegleg, forcing him to fall on top of the piles of bodies, the river of blood he found himself in seeping into his body, clogging his throat. He couldn't yell if he wanted too, only pump it out in disgusting gurgles.

He didn't feel the sword that stabbed through him, but he knew another Guardian had killed him. And moments after the rage that came with waking up from one of these... 'dreams', he was simply glad it was over.

"It happened again?"

"It never stops." He got up, grunting. His stomach felt like it was eating itself... probably was. "I'll live through it."

[purplejeeplife]

4-28- end of first week in the jeep.

Well, snow is on the way. A winter storm warning in effect from tonight until tomorrow night. All the warm places indoors I can sleep are over 35 miles from where I am and I refuse to drive 70 miles again, as I just did 2 days ago. My money is too limited to loligag around and waste that much gas. The low is supposed to be 25 degrees and i’ve already woken up to my phone indicating that I was sleeping in 27 degrees, so i think I will be fine-I will probably park near a 24-hour restaurant just in case I get too cold and I will just go in and by a very cheap item and be there a few hours. My 4 wheel drive does not work so the thing I most worried about is driving my jeep. I will try to stick to main roads, but it might be hard to sleep undercover that way, but I guess of all times for a cop to be understanding of why a person why night be sleeping in a car, a snowstorm might be an understanding reason. The storm is only supposed to last a day--if it was going to be longer, than I would be in hardship as I start my new job on Monday.  I just got back from a thift store where I bought two pairs of slacks and a pair of penny loafers, they provide the tops, so now I am ready to work as soon as I get them all clean. I only spent $25 for 2 pants and 1 set of shoes. $25 is a bit much for me to spend on anything right now, but I feel lucky to found items that will work for the job at goodwill as my backup was going to somewhere like target and I would have spend at least double. I am honestly not sure how I am going to financially survive the next month. I might not be able to pay my phone and other bills--my car insurance, gas, storage unit and gym are all things that are necessity living in my jeep. Phone and credit card payments are not going to make the final cut of priority. I might try to go to a food bank too, but that might be harder to come by because they usually don’t have as much stuff that can be stored in a car--lots of food they give is geared towards having a fridge and method of cooking. I have been too stressed to eat much the last 24 hours anyway. The light at the end of the tunnel is that starting May 20, I’ll be officially working 40 hours a week, but even then, it will take 2 weeks to receive the paychecks for those full time work weeks. So in the meantime, I am extremely uncertain how my financial needs will be met. I am traveling for a week soon, but I absolutley refuse to cancel the trip because it will contain quality time with family member whose years left on earth are uncertain and limited more than others who don’t have certain health predicaments. In the grand scheme, time is way more important than money, especially in such situations. I will just have to figure out a way to survive financially and be grateful for the job and on the way full income paychecks. I tell my jeep everytime I go somewhere “thank you for getting me here.” I think it is important to remember to be thankful for things that might easily be taken for granted. Not only am I grateful for the transportation, but of course the 4 walls it serves as at night, for without that, I truly wouldn’t be able to accept a job...being homeless on the street without safe places to sleep takes a lot of energy just to get through each day, in my opinion, it’s next to impossible to have a job and do that. Having a car to sleep in saves me in the realms of abilities to realistically be employed. 

Last night I had vivid dreams for the first time while in the jeep! One of them was a pleasant dream- a former coach of mine here in the city I am- we’re no longer in touch but he was a very inspiring source of help for me. I saw him in the dream and he greeted me with a big smile. In real life, I’ve been feeling very alone because I really have friends where I am--they’re all either 35 or 900 miles away. I really enjoy the city I’m in though, much better than the city 35 miles I formerly lived in.

The other dream was a dude trying to see if I wanted a companion in my jeep life. In real life, I get a bit frustrated that men show interest in me often and my preferences are women, and I have nothing but a growing list of broken hearts to show for it. There is one woman in particular that I feel broken hearted over every day. They say time heals all wounds, but not this one. It’s been years and I still miss her every day. Oh well. I’m just not sure how to fix the sad part of me successfully.