#i just miss my spouse and my kitties and my BED and my STUFF

[jaynovz]

I haven't even complained enough tho I reblogged the "follow for more complaining" thing yesterday.

so here we go!!

i've been in seattle for like ehhh 8 days now, helping a dear friend move and I am HOBOY. so ready to go home.

the bed in this extended stay hotel sucksssss, it's like a plank, my back is holding commitees with me daily to be like "bitch get OUT of here", the hotel itself is bad, bad vibes, so itty bitty and sharing a bed the whole time too. and god bless and I love you dude but you SNORE SO LOUD.

also I was trapped in the hotel, alone, stranded without the car, for three days, one of which I literally couldn't leave to even take a walk bc the fuckin. HOTEL ENTRY CARD STOPPED WORKING. and we couldn't replace it til friend got home from work. (he has a new job in seattle, hence the moving across the country thing)

so i was trapped in the room for TWELVE HOURS.

also, THE TV IS BROKEN IN THIS ROOM.

AND. I ran out of clean clothes two days ago and had to go buy underwear.

so. I fly home on Monday, late flight. it CANNOT come soon enough.

[blackwatchbastard]

Rapt

Rating: E Chapter(s): 1/1 Relationship(s): Gabriel Reyes/Jack Morrison Warnings: Sexual Content (PWP) Words: 4,104 Additional Tags: Fluffy Smut, (VERY) Light Dom/sub, Enthusiastic Consent, Praise Kink, Orgasm Delay, Teasing, Handjob, Blowjob, Biting, Hair Pulling, Dirty Talk, Softer Than It Looks, GOOD LORD I’M FEELING EMBARRASSED ALL OVER AGAIN BY THESE TAGS SAVE ME Summary: Time apart is awful but reunions are oh-so-good. A/N: OKAY. So this probably looks fairly familiar to anyone who found me on ao3 first but!! It’s been officially over 3 months since I posted this and it is both something I’m still super proud of and vaguely sentimental about and I’m having a rough week with making words so I thought I’d toss it here to remind myself I am capable of writing stuff I really love. I was So Nervous when I posted it initially but I’m so glad I did. (ao3)

“Jack, remember how it was in SEP? Wrestling you against the wall and fucking you like your life depended on it? Moaning into your fist because we couldn’t have anyone hearing Captain Morrison getting his rewards.” A breathy laugh. Jack bit his knuckle. “You want it like that again? Want me to pin you down and make it hard to walk? Boss around the mighty Strike-Commander? Make him beg for it, tell me how much he needs me?” Gabriel laughed again, this one fuller, and there was the sound of something moving across the desk. “I love you so damn much, you know that you kinky fucker?” Jack nodded, even if he couldn’t see. “I know. You'd be a mess if I could do worse than this.” Another unseen nod in reply. Gabriel laughed again, like he knew. “I’ll be home soon, babe. Get some sleep. I’ll do whatever you need.”

It was just a short message, just teasing, but he kept it. Somehow, it made time apart feel a little easier. Even if just for the moment.

His video screen binged, startling him, and Jack rapidly ripped out his ear buds before even registering the name on the call. Blackwatch Commander G. Reyes. Exhaling shakily, Jack accepted the call.

Gabriel’s face popped up on the screen, bags under his eyes and airport backdrop not even enough to stop the grin he broke into when he saw Jack’s face. Sappy and disgusting really. Jack loved it.

“Nice neck pillow, dork.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes and poked at the hot pink monstrosity he was resting on. “It was Hello Kitty or that fucking frog. Obvious choice.”

“Japanese airports are fun.”

Gabriel laughed and rummaged for something out of view before holding up a coffee cup printed with cherry blossom branches. “You’re telling me. No other beverage back home is ever gonna compare, Jack. It tastes like heaven, chocolate, and flowers.”

“How long till your flight? Can probably sneak a few more in.”

Gabriel laughed. “3 hours. Not many. But my ass is fucking ready to be home and we still have to go through Hawaii.”

“Poor baby.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Not like I have time to do anything there but hope there’s an L&L without a line and sprint to my next flight.”

“I know.” Jack offered up a sympathetic little frown.

Gabriel stifled a yawn. “You getting me from the airport or do I have to kick in your office door to see my husband?”

“I got three days off. I'm all yours.”

“Shit, really?” Jack beamed at him. “You must have really missed my ass.”

“Other parts of you too.”

Gabriel laughed and it was warm and homey. Jack slumped on his elbows against his desk, just watching him. Gabriel raised a brow.

“How much?”

“Hmm?”

“How much do you miss me?”

Jack laughed. Toyed with the ear buds on his desk. “Was just… listening to your message.”

“Again?”

Jack shrugged. “Hey, it’s just a recording my spouse sent me. Nothing questionable there.”

Gabriel laughed. “You’re horny as shit right now. I knew I saw that look somewhere.” Jack made a face. “It hasn't even been that long, babe. That’s weak.”

“Shut up, you’ve got shit to distract you. I’ve just got,” Jack motioned to his office behind him, “this crap.”

“Man, I’m just fucking with you. I spent the other night staring at that last picture you sent me like a lovesick teenager.”

“My goddamn coffee selfie?”

“Didn’t say I was doing anything, did I? Pervert.”

Jack laughed. “I could send you something better.” he offered. Gabriel waved him off rapidly.

“No, fuck off. I have like a day’s worth of plane rides and the last thing I need is an awkward boner.”

“Airports in hard mode.”

Gabriel poked a finger at the screen. “No.” Jack shot him a sulky look but relented, letting it drop.

“You should try to sleep some, Gabe. My lunch is almost over anyway.”

Gabriel nodded and settled back in his seat some, pink neck pillow puffing up around his head. “Yeah.” he said, “I’ll see you, uh, tomorrow.”

“Love you.”

Gabriel laughed and reached to turn off the feed. “Love you too, jackass.” He paused. “Oh, hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Be good and wait for me, alright? I've got plans.”

Jack let out a weak laugh as Gabriel grinned and ended the call. He stared at the blank screen for a moment before slowly burying his face in his hands.

“Fuck.”

He was going to have to extend his lunch to listen to that recording one more time… Maybe dig out one of the other files he had.

At the airport there was a tradition to keep so Jack made sure to park and go in to wait for Gabriel and Jesse to haul themselves out of baggage claim. As they rounded the corner Jack cut into a run and Gabriel, spotting him, shoved the coffee cup in his hand at Jesse and held his arms out.

Incidentally, the only thing really capable of catching a super soldier with ease is another super soldier. Jack dove into his arms, Gabriel spinning and staggering to keep balance, and they both laughed. Somewhere, someone was probably snapping pictures. Plain clothes made it harder for people to easily ID them as Strike-Commander Morrison and Commander Reyes but there was always the odd outlier. Not that it mattered anymore; getting hitched didn’t even end the rumors about either of them.

“There’s my lucky charm.” Gabriel laughed, beaming up at him. Jack grinned back and butted their foreheads together lightly.

Warm brown eyes. Like home–they felt just like home. Jack brought his hands up to cup Gabriel’s face.

“And there’s my sunshine.” he said, ducking in for a kiss. Gabriel let out a soft ‘mm’ and pressed in closer, fingers digging into Jack’s thighs.

Behind them, Jesse coughed awkwardly and took a draw off Gabriel’s latte. “Y'all wanna take me home or what? Should I get a cab..?”

They broke apart, both laughing, and Gabriel set Jack down on his feet again.

“Kid’s crabby because he didn’t believe me when I told him Hawaiian barbecue is better than Southern.” Gabriel explained. Jesse shot him a dirty look and drained the rest of his latte in protest.

“C'mon, L&L was the shit, wasn’t it?”

“It was okay.” Jesse punctuated his words by chucking the empty cup into a bin next to them.

Jack snorted. “Sacrilege.”

They headed for the car, Jack glued himself to Gabriel’s side the whole way. Not that he was getting any complaints in return. Instead Gabriel’s arm ended up around his waist, hand gripping his hip. They only parted when it came time to pack up luggage and climb into the car and as soon as Jack had his hand on the shifter Gabriel’s was over it, lacing their fingers together. From the back seat, Jesse scoffed.

“Problem back there?” Jack asked, peeking in the rear view mirror. Jesse grinned back at him.

“Man, you have no idea what kinda shitty mood he’s been in. Shoulda known it was cause he missed you.”

Gabriel cut his eyes toward Jesse. Jack laughed, squeezing at his hand.

“Hey, bet he did better than me. I can’t sleep for shit with all that space in bed.”

“Get a body pillow and wrap a hoodie around it. Prolly do the trick with how boss sleeps like a goddamn log.”

Jack laughed and Gabriel jerked his head around to glare at Jesse, who just grinned at him. “Little cuddlier than a log, if you get him in the right mood.” Jack replied. Jesse waved him off.

“Spare me. He lives for being the big spoon, I bet.”

“Fuck that, little spoon is the bomb.” Gabriel chimed in then, brow furrowed. “You feel all safe and shit.”

Jesse laughed and flopped over in the back seat, holding his hat to his head. Gabriel chuckled along with him, hand squeezing at Jack's, and settled back in his seat.

“Just goes to show, kiddo,” Gabriel hummed, “there's a lot you think you know about me.”

Jesse sat up, still fighting laughter, and shrugged. “Yeah,” he said, “and there's a lot I just don't wanna know.”

That got a chuckle out of Jack. “For the best.”

They dropped Jesse off and headed home, something spent largely in contented silence, and it was only once they started to near their stop that either spoke.

Gabriel broke the silence first. “So, pizza and romance movies tonight?” He was teasing. Jack squeezed at his fingers. “Wear those ugly ass sweatpants and fall asleep on the couch like an old couple?”

“No, no fuck that.” Jack shot him a glare. “I'm so goddamn horny, Gabe.” Gabriel laughed. “I know you're probably jet-lagged to hell but you don't get to tease me for the whole mission and then pizza and sweatpants me your first night back.”

Gabriel grinned at him, hint of a chuckle still on his voice. “Fine, fine. Don't get all prissy with me, princess.” he said, “Lucky for you I slept for about 95% of the plane ride. Just take it easy on me and I'll take care of you.”

Jack raised their hands off the center console and pressed Gabriel's knuckles to his lips. “Whatever you need.” he murmured.

“Fucking sap. Gross.” Gabriel swatted his arm but, when Jack stole a glance, he was grinning wider than ever.

The second they were in the apartment, door barely closed and locked, they were all over each other. Gabriel kissed him hard, pressing him into the entry way wall and putting the taste of copper in his mouth. He broke away slowly, biting Jack's lower lip and pulling it back with him. He released it and grinned at Jack's dazed expression.

“How do you wanna do this?”

Jack slumped against the wall. Thought a moment.

“You feel like being boss?”

Gabriel laughed and reached out, grabbing a handful of Jack's hair and dragging him closer. “You going to be good or bad?” he asked.

“Told you in the car; whatever you need.”

“Then you better be my Golden Boy.”

Gabriel laughed, low and soft, and kissed him again. This one slower, more heated. His free hand snaked around his waist, pulling him in flush to his body. He rutted up against Jack, pushing him into the wall and pressing his thigh between his legs. Jack whined as Gabriel broke the kiss, stepping back suddenly.

“Get undressed.”

He moved across the room then, yanking his belt off along the way and taking a seat in one of the living room chairs. Jack watched a moment, eyes trailing over his back and hips, before swiftly moving to yank his shirt over his head. He made it all the way out of his pants before Gabriel whistled for his attention and beckoned him closer.

Jack moved across the room and knelt at his feet, hands tentatively on Gabriel’s spread knees, and looked up at him awaiting direction. For a moment Gabriel seemed to simply be admiring the sight; he probably looked a disaster with a bitten lower lip and mussed hair. One of his feet shifted, toe of his boot nudging between Jack’s knees for a better look at the beginnings of the erection straining in his boxers. Gabriel laughed and rubbed a hand over his beard.

“You’re so easy.”

“For you.”

“That’s right. Because whose the boss of the great Strike-Commander Morrison?”

“My Gabriel.”

Wrong answer. But that was just part of the game. Gabriel let out a low chuckle and leaned forward, taking a hold of Jack’s chin.

“No,” he said, “you’re mine.”

Jack leaned forward reflexively, eyes on Gabriel’s lips, and felt himself get nudged back swiftly as Gabriel sat back in his chair again.

“Ah ah, not unless I say you can.”

“Please, Gabe.” Jack squeezed at Gabriel’s knees, risking the delicate balance that had him allowed to touch there even. “I need you.”

Gabriel tutted. “You’re impatient today.”

There was something in his tone that sounded only fond, not the acted disapproval, and somehow it was even more of a temptation. Tentatively, Jack slid his hands up to rest on Gabriel’s thighs. Blessedly, he still met no resistance to the gesture.

“I’ll do anything.” he said, kneading at the muscular flesh under his jeans. Groveling, his chin tucked against his chest. “Please. Just tell me what to do.”

When he looked back up he felt a small thrill of victory at the look on Gabriel’s face. He could barely hold the scene together, rolling his lower lip between his teeth and fingers digging into the arms of his chair. Jack made eye contact, best sullen look on, and fought the urge to smile when Gabriel’s breath hitched in his chest.

“Fuck me...”

“Was that a command or just a comment?”

“Come here.”

Gabriel reached down and took hold of Jack’s face, pulling him up into a rough kiss. They broke for air and instantly there were teeth digging into his shoulder, blunt nails trailing over his back. He whined and fought the urge to move his hands.

“Show me how much you missed me.” Gabriel breathed against his neck before releasing him.

Jack sank back down to his knees and his hands shot for Gabriel’s fly. Undid it and hooked his fingers through Gabriel’s belt loops, yanking them down just a bit with some more gracious aid from their wearer lifting up off his ass in his seat. Freed an already notable erection and cut his eyes up to look at Gabriel.

“I’m easy?”

“You having trouble getting into character, Jackass? Or are we playing something else?” Gabriel quipped. Jack laughed and shook his head. “Mmhm. Be a good boy, now.” He reached out and grabbed a handful of Jack’s hair, pulling him closer.

Jack settled in between his legs comfortably, taking hold of his cock and thumbing the tip. Given freedom, he let his other hand wander up from Gabriel’s thigh to slide under his shirt and dig his fingers into the firm skin there. Gabriel hummed in the back of this throat, contented, and slacked his hold on Jack’s hair without completely releasing it.

“You’re so perfect. What’d I do to deserve someone like you?” Jack asked. He glanced up at Gabriel, rolling his thumb over the pre-cum on the tip of his cock and was met with one of his favorite faces; that half-lidded attempt at focus, chewing the inside of his lip. He was doing good.

“Well,” Gabriel’s grip on his hair tightened again. “Certainly wasn’t running your damn mouth.”

Jack leaned down, hand sliding down the length of Gabriel’s cock, and took the tip in his mouth. Rolled his tongue over it, still daring to tease, and was met with a sharp yank on his hair. Too far, too long. He didn’t particularly intend to he disobedient, after all, just a little return favor for all that sweatpants thing. Moving, he gave a few solid strokes before lowering his head near the base and running his tongue up the underside. He shifted his other hand around to squeeze between the chair cushion and Gabriel’s ass, kneading at it. He had some praising remarks for it, if he remembered when he could use his mouth again.

Gabriel’s grip on his hair loosened, shifting to a gentle stroke, and Jack took the tip of his cock back into his mouth. He swirled his tongue over it a few times, fairing well enough to earn a pleased little grumble, before taking the whole length into his mouth. His other hand, now freed, grabbed greedily at Gabriel’s shirt and pushed it up as he raised up straighter and languished up and down his cock a few times, proved his mouth good for more than just talking shit.

“That’s my good Golden Boy.” he heard Gabriel mumble, feeling his fingers carding awkwardly through his hair. Oh there it was; he loved getting the nicknames out. That was always a good sign.

He sped his machinations, fumbling briefly before finding a reasonable pace, and felt Gabriel’s hand slide to cup the back of his neck. The hand on Gabriel’s chest slid up as far as he could do comfortably and found a firm pec to squeeze at, thumb grazing over the hard nipple and causing a soft popping noise to his left–-Gabriel’s fingers digging into the arm of the chair.

It didn’t take long in the daze before he felt Gabriel shudder, hand moving to grab his hair again and yanking to signal he was close. He pressed on gladly, until Gabriel’s hips bucked up towards him and his mouth filled with salt and warmth. He rode out the tremors, swallowing hard, and when he finally pulled back his lips were hot and wet-–a lewd sting of saliva and cum following them from Gabriel’s cock. Gabriel reached out and broke it, taking his chin and running his thumb over his slick lower lip.

“Good boy.”

Jack smiled and moved, laying his cheek against Gabriel's thigh and sliding his hands back down to rest on the backs of his calves. He felt Gabriel shift, momentarily jostling him, as he tucked himself back into his jeans and yanked his shirt back down.

“Got a little handsy, though.”

“You're just so perfect, I can't help myself.” Jack mumbled.

Gabriel scooped his hand under his cheek, lifting him up and sliding to hold his chin. He guided Jack up, smirking when his hands uselessly grabbed at his knees, and into a kiss. Long, slow, heated. Jack melted against it, fingers kneading at Gabriel's thighs.

“You want your prize?” he asked against Jack's mouth, voice low. Jack nodded. “I suppose you deserve a little something...” He pushed Jack backwards and down toward the floor, fingers planted on the center of his chest. Jack slumped, pliable.

There was a small pause, Gabriel poised over him. He raised a brow. Jack mimicked the expression, confused.

“Check in?”

“I'm good.” Rock hard, melting into the floor, lips raw. Good was the smallest way to put things.

“You sure?”

“Virgin-Mary-Jesus-Christ, Gabriel Reyes! Yes!”

Gabriel laughed. That ugly snort-started thing he did when something surprised him. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Jack's forehead. “Okay, okay. So punishment? Input?”

“Whatever you're up to. Just touch me, goddamn.” Jack hummed.

Gabriel pulled back, looking thoughtful a moment, then grinned at him. “Done.”

He moved his hand then, flattening it onto Jack's chest before sliding it down the plane of his torso. Over hard muscle and wiry hair till it found the damp cotton of his boxers. Seamlessly, he hooked his fingertips under the band and pulled, dragging them down in one fluid motion.

“Since you were so good,” he drawled, “I think you earned some special treatment.”

He gathered Jack's hands over his head, one hand on his wrists, and wrapped his other around his cock. He picked up a rhythm easily, finding him already so needy. Jack pressed up against his hand, desperate for more friction, more attention, and chewed his sore lip. Eyes watching Gabriel's, fingers flexing in their hold.

“So easy...”

“Just for you.” Jack managed to hiss, voice hoarse. Gabriel laughed, squeezing just a little tighter in his strokes, and made him gasp for air at the end.

“You're so good for me.” he drawled, leaning in and pressing his forehead to Jack's shoulder. “You're so good.”

And already so close. Jack squirmed under him, bucking his hips, and felt Gabriel's pace slow. He whined as he felt his hand still then retreat entirely, leaving him teetering on the edge.

“Gabe--”

“But you have trouble listening sometimes.”

His tone sent a shiver down Jack's whole body, eyes widening. Gabriel gave a low, rumbling laugh and sank his teeth into the meatiest part of Jack's shoulder. Hard but not enough to bleed or bruise. Jack gasped, hands straining against the hold on his wrists, and leaned toward the sensation. Gabriel moved up his neck and bit down again, teeth scraping over his pulse, and Jack's breath caught in his chest.

Sometimes, even punishment felt like a reward.

Gabriel stilled for a moment, breath hot on his neck, and cupped a hand along his jawline. Traced over the cut angles with his fingers, trailing down to his chin and holding it lazily. He shifted, seating himself on Jack’s thighs, and leaned back some-–spine popping softly when he arched his back in.

“I could just leave you like this. Nothing you could do about it; not if you’re being good, anyway.” He set his hands on Jack’s stomach and rolled them up, over his chest, then back down to stop just before where he was most needed. Jack tried to fight through the haze to say something coherent but all that came out was a low groan. “You’d deserve that.”

Gabriel leaned down again, hands sliding up his chest and over his neck, cupping either side of his face. Kissed him in the softest way imaginable.

“I’m sorry.” Jack managed to grit out, hands still over his head where they’d been left, fingers flexing.

“Don’t let it happen again.”

Jack nodded, teeth clenched, and Gabriel took him in his hand. Eased him back into the same pace from before, free hand sliding over the plane of his stomach soothingly. It only took moments before Jack crashed, arching into the sensation even with Gabriel weighing down the bulk of his lower body.

Trembling, toe curling perfection. Gabriel guided him through, stopping as his body slacked back into the floor, and chuckled faintly as a breathy string of profanity left his mouth at the end.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Kiss yours too.”

Gabriel laughed again and grabbed Jack’s shirt off the floor next to them, wiping the mess off his chest before rubbing his hands over his stomach again. The skin prickled, overly sensitive in the afterglow.

“How’d I do?”

Jack laughed weakly. “Want me to write up a review for you?” he put on a faux authority voice, “Meets expectations in dirty talk and power dynamics, exceeds in skillfulness with hands.”

That ugly snort-laugh again. Gabriel leaned in and butted his forehead against Jack’s. “I missed you, Jackass.”

“I missed you too.” Jack hummed, reaching out and affectionately scratching at Gabriel’s chin. “So, is it your turn to get bullied now?”

Gabriel groaned, slumping dramatically sideways onto the floor at that. “No, let me sleep, Jack.” He rolled onto his side, sulking pitifully, and Jack laughed as he squirmed back into his boxers. “Skip me to aftercare where you tell me I’m pretty and rub my scalp.”

Sitting up, Jack leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You have to change before you can sleep.” he remarked.

Gabriel poked a finger at him. “I got. My belt off. And I got you off. You take my damn boots off for me.”

“Thought we weren’t in scene anymore.” Jack teased. Gabriel waved him off.

“Yeah, no. This is just your whiny husband telling you he’ll sleep on the floor if you don’t help.”

Jack rolled his eyes but smiled down at him affectionately, moving to yank Gabriel’s boots off. Gabriel shifted this way and that, only vaguely helpful as Jack pulled off his hoodie and shirt for him before moving to prying him out of his jeans. Job complete, he patted at Gabriel’s stomach.

“Crawl your ass into bed, you giant baby.“ Gabriel complied, making a show of getting to his feet and trailing toward the bedroom. Jack shook his head, watching after him. "You want big spoon or little spoon?”

Gabriel scoffed, then promptly had to stifle a yawn. “You kidding? Little spoon is my fucking jam. If you’re willing to give it up since you technically have dibs.”

Jack chuckled and hauled himself go his feet. “Eh, I told you before. Whatever you need, Gabe.”

“Gabe also needs a back rub and pancakes in the morning.”

“Gabe shouldn’t push his luck.”

He laughed and reached out, beckoning Jack closer. When he stepped into his space, Gabriel nuzzled a kiss into his cheek dramatically.

“Alright,” he hummed, lips muffled on Jack’s skin, “that’s fair.”

Jack grinned and slung his arm around Gabriel’s waist, towing him the rest of the way to bed. He went gladly, stumbling awkwardly in his growing drowsiness.

“Maybe we’ll revisit pancakes tomorrow.”

Gabriel laughed and pressed against his shoulder. “You’re too good to me.”

“Hey,” Jack shot him a grin, “just returning the favor.”

'cause i never believed there was a heaven 'til i found you and i never prayed like the church always told me to but now you can count on me to get on my knees for you (X)

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA self insert AU

Nani the heck is this? Read here!

Chapter 17: Prepare To Get Your Shit Rocked

I wake up not feeling like lechuga, but more like day old salad. It’s the weekend and my whole day was free to cause chaos. I could spend it trying to see if I need anything to pack for the internship, but I wanted to do something fun to keep my mind off things. After breakfast, I just floated around trying to occupy myself before figuring out what to do/where to go. 

“What are you doing?” asked Iida as I was idly floating in the commons room.

“I’m just floatin’, trying to figure out what to do.”

“Well, um, want to hear about the weird dream I had?”

“Sure!” I got excited and dropped myself on the couch, Iida sat next to me.

“Imagine this! I dreamt that I was living with my spouse in our new house, beautiful home with a backyard. But what made it weird was that instead of children, we had dogs! And they talked and everything, even called me dad. Could you imagine having 4 dogs?!”

“That sounds like what I want! The multiple dogs part, not sure about everything else.”

“Why do you want more than one dog? We took care of Mr Muffins for an hour and a half and we couldn’t handle it!”

“Wait...Tenya, have you ever had a pet?”

“No, my parents didn’t allow me or my brother to have pets. Especially in the house!”

“Chaotic idea, but what if we go as a class to adopt a pet?”

“Is it against house rules?”

“It isn’t because we can play it off as Koda needing it to practice his quirk.”

“Hmmm, playing with loopholes...I’m in!”

“What are you two plotting?” said a very suspicious Aizawa “another one of your master plans Miss Palma?”

“Sort of? I was saying that we should go as a class to go adopt a pet.”

“We can go to the rescue shelter as a class BUT we’re going as community service, no guarantee that we’re going to adopt a pet.”

“I’ll take that compromise!” I said standing up “anything to escape my boredom.”

And like that we got everyone to join in on our little ‘community service’ trip to the rescue shelter. The people at the shelter just let us play with their animals, as they don’t get as many visitors and they too wanted to escape their boredom. 

“Don’t push! Everyone gets a hug!” I scolded the dogs as I was hugging one of the smaller pups.

“Look how sweet these cats are!” said Midoriya in the middle of the cat play pen “we should convince sensei to get a cat.”

Everyone was in agreement and we start searching for a cat to adopt.

“Ok lets wrap it up here” said Aizawa waking up from his nap “before you get attached.”

“Aw but sensei, can’t we adopt one of these lil babies?” begged Koda.

“We’re not getting a class pet and thats-”

“But sensei! Are you saying you’re gonna say no that this sweet little kitty?” I said picking up a one year old black with white and orange splotches cat “Look at him! He doesn’t have home and wants to cuddle up when you nap nap!”

He looks at the cat with his serious face and the cat stared back. The cat let his little tongue peek out and that won him over. “Fine, we’ll get him” he sighed in defeat as he picked up the cat from my arms “just hurry up and choose his bowls and stuff as I sign the papers.”

I couldn’t believe that worked and we all scurried to get his bowls, bed, toys, food and collar. When we got to the dorms, we gave the cat a tour of the place and settled him in.

“What should we name him?” asked Mina as she pet the cat “I was thinking maybe, Baby.”

“tch, it should be something cool! Like Lord Explosion Murd-”

“We are NOT calling this sweet little boy your hero name reject, Bakugo!” I scolded “anyways I was thinking Captain Pancakes.”

“WAIT!” spoke up Sero “lets call him Cat-ptain!”

“You know what Sero, that has to be one of the dumbest things you have ever said in my line of hearing...BUT I’m into it so I’m all for Catptain.” I said to roast as a cover to me liking the name. Not everyone was into it but we couldn’t come up with a better name, so Catptain it was. The first night was great but the cat seemed to like Aizawa a whole lot and mainly followed him and napped with him. The next 2 weeks goes by smoothly and with a lot of work getting done before starting to prep for the internship. That all soon changed when I was running late on a Wednesday, 1 and a half weeks before internship.

-Wednesday, teleporting in the intel wing-

“Oh jeez I have 2 minutes!” I said dead sprinting to my homeroom “why did I think it was ok to do a peel off mask?!” I dash in 30 seconds before the tardy technicality but something was off about everybody, they were all huddling over the side counter.

“Palma-san, he’s dead!” said Yuka with tears in her eyes.

I didn’t need anymore context and I dropped my coffee tumbler “ZIPPY NO!” I start bawling “our sweet little boy! who’s responsible for this?!”

“We reviewed the security footage” Hansai wiped his eyes “it was nobody’s fault but his own, he broke out of his glass containment and chewed on a cord and electrocuted himself to death.”

I was a little less angry but I walked over to see Jin holding his lifeless body in his towel like a mother that lost a child. I walk over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, we didn’t speak but we just leaned on each other in mourning of Zippy. That lizard was like a son to Jin, he was the one that taught Zippy how to shoot a gun and be an agent like us. Diya was understanding and let us have all of homeroom and weapons to make funeral plans for our class pet. We called the support and costume department to make us a lizard sized coffin. Mei on the other side of the phone call cried when we requested the coffin, they were working on a lizard sized vehicle so Zippy could do vehicle training with us during 2nd year. We planned and requested the school auditorium to hold the open casket funeral and burial in the school garden (a neglected part of the school since the conversion from a regular high school to a hero academy). Surprisingly, Nezu approved and we got to work on who to invite and arrangements. The time passed and we got the flyers ready for distribution in time for me to go to the hero class. I made my way to my class sad and puffy faced, it was hard to hide my feelings. I made it 5 minutes early to class and I walked up to the front of the class to announce the funeral.

“May I get everyone’s attention please?” I said trying to hold it together, everyone stopped to listen “Its with a heavy heart that I announce that one of the intelligence program’s own, Special Agent 69, has passed away early this morning.”

“Oh no! what happened?!” asked Uraraka concerned. 

“They got electrocuted to death by their own error, no foul play nor villainous activity.” I explained with tears falling down my face “And our class 1-A would like to invite you to the funeral this Saturday at the school auditorium, 12pm-3pm, refreshments will be provided.”

“We will be there!” exclaimed Iida “it’s such a tragedy that a fellow student got their life cut short so young.”

“Were you close to them?” asked Tokoyami.

“Yes but my buddy Jin was the closest to him” I choked back tears “he treated him like family since they both don’t have a family of their own so to see that he passed this morning was heart breaking” I broke at the last few words and started bawling again. It was hard to focus in class that day but I didn’t want to skip as there wasn’t that many weeks left in the semester. I didn’t wait for anybody to comfort me after class as I was helping my class make the memorial service, flower arrangements and refreshments. Everyone was pulling their weight in making everything happen on time. We got the whole intelligence program to come attend along with some hero classes, general ed and the staff. The night before, I was getting my black dress ready for the next day when I got a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Tokoyami and Iida”

I start sweating as I fear that Iida found out about mine and Tokoyami’s little ‘sessions’. “Come in”

“Hey~are you feeling okay?” coo’d Tokoyami “tomorrow’s the day and Iida-kun and I were talking and wondering if you needed any...comforting.”

I sweat even harder “Comfort me...how?”

“Like have us cook you dinner or go do something you like to do” Iida said chopping slowly at me “you’ve been crying and working so much to arrange this funeral that you haven’t really taken care of yourself.”

“I haven’t seen you smile or eaten properly in days, I’m worried that you’re going to get sick” Tokoyami held my hand “please Ita, let us ease your sadness.”

“That’s very nice of you two but I’ll be alright” I said stretching my back “Everything is in place and I’ll be back to my usual self after this weekend.”

“I have acquired dark chocolates and DDR” said Tokoyami as he pulled out a box of chocolates and Dance Dance Revolution for the game console I have “If you come out and play me, we’ll order pizza.”

A bitch weak for a boy that knows what I like “Oh Toko! it’s like you got me by my weak spots~” I walk toward the boys “you win this time, but I’ll beat both of ya asses at DDR! Hope you got Pizza Hut on speed dial.” 

As we walked out of my room, Iida looks at Tokoyami with suspicion “How did you know that was going to work?”

Tokoyami gets cocky “heh I spend alot of quality time with her” he sets the dance mats up in the commons room “I know a lot more than her inner thoughts, she has very...soft needs and wishes.”

Iida didn’t pick up on his tone “Is that so?” he checked if she was in earshot “then do you know anything about her past? Anything about a boy?”

“Hmmm, nothing about a boy” he stopped to face Iida “all she’s mentioned is that it was pretty dangerous were she attended school and she was a promising number 1 arts student of the district.”

“Yo! Food thief struck again” I said walking in with my cut mango with chamoy, chile and limon “they must like spicy food if they ate my mango in plum sauce and red chili.”

“I was wondering what that was” said Iida “but I didn’t want to be insensitive if it was something that’s in your culture. I know you like oddly spiced sweet things.”

Others came out of their rooms to play and hang out, overall a really nice time that I didn’t need but appreciated it. As I was taking a breather to pet Catptain, Tokoyami was rubbing my shoulders like he usually does when we have our sessions. I didn’t think much of it or who would see but Iida took notice and got envious. He didn’t make a fuss about it until it was curfew for them and we cleaned up to go to our rooms.

“Good night everyone! See y’all tomorrow at the auditorium.”

“Ita, allow me to carry you to bed” said Iida as he picked me up.

“My legs are fine Tenya!”

“You danced a whole lot, let me ease your pain” he carried my to my room, a whole 15 feet away “now lets set you down on your bed, close the door and-”

“What are you doing?” I asked concerned as he closed my door “you’re acting a bit strange.”

“I saw Tokoyami giving you a shoulder rub and thought that you wanted more” he said not doing a good job at hiding that he was jealous “let me just-”

I gently push his hands away “Tenya, did you get jealous?”

“I just want to tend to you like you tended to me”

“I’m fine, really” I said to make him understand “I didn’t want the shoulder rub but I couldn’t move since the cat was on my lap.”

“Oh...I see now” he blushed hard that he misinterpreted the gesture “sorry that I pushed myself onto you again.”

“What you need is a shoulder rub” I levitated him onto my desk chair and pulled it toward me to give him the rub “everyone tells me I give good rub downs and after this, you’ll be sleeping like a baby.”

The mere touch of her hands on his shoulders got him flushed and heart racing. She couldn’t tell but Iida was getting a sort of high off her touch. The way she moved her fingers to soothe his shoulder blades and back of the neck made him give soft moans of approval. She got to the scalp and gave a scalp massage too, it made his head tilt back to see her look back at him. His face read ‘pure bliss’ to her and he got his first taste of intimacy.

“I really enjoyed that” he said still looking at her with his head tilted back “didn’t know I needed something like that.”

“Glad you feel that way” I said putting my hands on his face to cradle it “anytime you want a nice rub down, I got you.”

He left to his room with all the nice and warm tingly feelings from the taste of first love intimacy. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about pursuing her heart he thought as he laid in bed she seems to like my company when we’re behind closed doors or prying eyes. And I feel like a man worth her time when that does happen, perhaps her heart is already in my direction.

-The next day, in the auditorium-

“Ok flowers are all set up!” I yelled from the stage to the audio table “are all the refreshments laid out?”

“Refreshments ready to serve!” yelled Hansai back “do we have the casket ready?”

“Casket arrival in T-minus 5 minutes!” yelled Yuka in response “do we have Zippy ready?”

“Our sweet Prince is ready to be honored” Jin powered through tears to yell back “do we have the music and video ready for viewing?”

“We are ready for viewing!” Mimi bellowed from the tech box “stand by for an audio test.”

“Good job kids!” said Diya walking onto the stage “I’m impressed with all the effort put into honoring your own. Wish everyone was like this.”

“Thanks sensei!” we chanted in unison.

“Its still 20 minutes until people are expected to roll in” I said checking my phone for the time “I’ll go and check on the greeting crew.” I teleported to the front doors to check on our other 2 classmates and Muffin 2.0 and tell them we’re ready to start bringing in people. I start heading back to see how our set up looks, it was like quaint memorial service with cookies. People start coming in right at 12 and they seat themselves.

“Palma-san looks so classy in her dress and veil” Momo whispered to Mina “too bad its an open casket funeral and not a social mixer.”

“I wonder who’s the student that died” said Amajiki to Mirio “Palma-san looked so sad when she gave us the invitation, they sounded close.”

“Is it just me or are funerals supposed to have refreshments?” asked Mirio to the other 2 “seems a little out of place but these mini cupcakes and cucumber water were too tempting not to take.”

“Iida-kun are you crying already?” asked Sato.

“It’s just that it’s so sad that someone so young and in the middle of their training just gone like that! Didn’t even get to finish the year with us.” said a teary eyed Iida.

Once all the staff member got seated and we weren’t expecting anyone else, we closed the doors and got things started.

“Good afternoon fellow students and staff, good to see everyone coming together to celebrate the life of Special Agent 69, or better know in the intel program as Zippy.” I said at the podium to get things started “He was an amazing team player and always boosted morale when things got difficult on the field. Now a moment of silence as we bring in the casket and present the body.” I step away and everyone watched as Muffin 2.0 walked in carrying the small casket followed by Jin. He got the casket and placed it on the presentation table and opened the casket to reveal Zippy the Lizard in his custom jumpsuit. Everyone saw and gasped that it was a lizard and not a student like they assumed. “And now its time for some words from Jin Matsui.”

“Thank you Itati, Zippy was like a son to me. I myself was also alone in this world to fend for myself so when he ran in our classroom on the first day of classes and he ran into my arms, I saw myself in him and decided to give this lizard a home. I shared my meals with him, trained him to do agent things, shared secrets that I only tell my best friends but most importantly, he made me feel like I wasn’t unloveable or incapable of making my own family. He became my family and gave me the strength to keep going.” 

He stepped back to wipe his tears and I took over the podium again “Touching words Jin, and now, a video in memory of Zippy.” The screen lowered as the lights dimmed a bit to show a slide-show like video of our selfies with Zippy, videos of him training with us, shooting his gun, parachuting off the school roof and receiving his license to kill along with some candids Jin took when he’d take him to his room on weekends and holidays. The entire video was to the song I Will Remember You By Sarah McLachlan , there wasn’t a single person that didn’t either cry or look in confusion on how a lizard was trainable enough to shoot a gun.

“I can’t believe this reptilian lead a much more successful year than me!” angrily muttered Bakugo.

“I can’t believe this lizard is getting more love and attention than I ever had” Todoroki whispered to Midoriya “I wish I were in a casket too.”

The video ended with a group picture with all of us at the display ceremony with Zippy in Jin’s arms. The lights dimmed back on and I stepped up to the podium again “We are opening the stage if you would like to pay your respects, if you don’t know what to say, we have an ‘F’ button so you can pay respects without words.” To our surprise, there was quite bit of people lining up to pay respects, everyone else was getting more refreshments to wait out until the burial. 

“Rest in paradise fellow animal comrade” said Nezu going up to the body.

“Hope you look after them up there, rest in paradise little lizard” Midnight said to pay her respects.

Even All Might payed respects “Young lizard! You brought morale and team work to your human companions, great qualities of a hero, rest in power.” 

Aizawa came up with Catptain and just pressed F, the cat also pressed F and it made me fuckin lose it in laughter. We got hundreds of F’s and we announced that we’ll be moving the procession to the school garden for burial. Our class marched with Jin in the front with the casket, we all sang Ain’t No Mountain High Enough on the way to school garden. Diya dug the hole and Mimi placed the tombstone, while they were doing that, Hansai announced the final song.

“And now a live performance from Agent 19, Itati Palma, and Muffin 2.0″

“Palma-san is going to sing again?” people in the audience were muttering as I walked next to the tombstone.

“This was one of his favorite songs” I said as I pointed to the sky “this one’s for you Zippy! My heart will go on!” Muffin 2.0 pulls out a recorder and starts playing My Heart Will Go On while I sang the vocals as they lowered the casket.

“Bye Bye Zip” whispered Jin as he tossed in Zippy’s laser gun “You’ll need this to flex on the other animals and God.” As they refill the hole and the song finishes, Jin takes his 4th swig of his flask and gets bold “ITS NOT FAIR! He didn’t even get to hit that reptilian pussy!”

“Jin stop! You’re hysterical!” I said as Mimi contained him from jumping into the grave. The funeral ends and all the invited guests depart but all of intel 1-A to have one final ritual. We circled around the grave and took out our flasks to pour one out for the homie Zippy. “TO ZIPPY! DICKS OUT!” we chant as we take a sip in honor of him. I walk to the auditorium to help clean up when I see Shinso waiting at the entrance.

“OH hello Shinso”

“Hey, I was hoping to run into you” he started “that was quite a service you guys put together, sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you for your kind words, that lizard will be missed and remembered always.”

“Yea urm, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?”

“I was wondering if you could give me some one on one time.”

I got intrigued, he’s heard of my personal time with 1-B “Gladly! Are you trying to get into the hero A class too?”

“Yea and my quirk isn’t one of the most heavy hitting and I heard that you use your quirk to help unlock new techniques.”

“Its all true, I’m curious to see what you have” I said giving him a once over “how does tomorrow sound? Or if you want to have Sunday to yourself, I can do Monday or Wednesday after school.”

“Monday after school sounds good, thank you for accommodating me into your schedule.”

“No problem! Make sure you meet me in gym 3, dressed out and ready to start at 4pm sharp! I administer tardy punishment if you’re late.”

“Right! See you then.”

I clean up the auditorium and go to the low key kick back at the intel dorms. We just drank beer and cooked some food to just get our minds back to the upcoming internship. We exchanged were we ultimately chose to go for our internship, Mimi was going with a seaside branch and Jin was going to Hokkaido. Talking about it made me excited to go again. Fast forward to Monday after school, I change into my pink track pants and white fire-proof tank top with matching shoes. While I was changing, I was getting curious on what kind of quirk that boy has, was it fire? Something to do with inflation? I keep thinking possibilities as I walk into the gym floor, It was just 5 minutes until it was time.

“I’m here!” panted Shinso as he ran in “I didn’t know we had so many gyms!”

“Oh yea hehe we have like 6 gyms” I recalled but then refocused “you’re on time, lets get started!” I sat down in the middle and pointed to the space in front of me “come, sit and discuss what you want to work into with me.”

“Um ok well” he said as he sat down “I have a sort of manipulative quirk and it’s great as it is but I don’t know where to start to make it better.”

“Manipulative? is it like hypnotism?”

“Yes and No”

“Um, well lets have a spar to see how it affects me and how you work it into your fighting” I levitated up to my feet “take your stance and I’ll count us down.” We take our sides of the marked lines, he takes his stance and it’s a bit strange but it’s fixable “ready? 3,2,1 GO.” As I try to circle and mirror him, I see he doesn’t move but his eyes follow me, like he’s scared of me.

“I don’t like your pants, they’re too pink.”

I yelled back “nobody said you had to like them” for a second I felt my body tense but then I shook it off and kept moving.

“How did that not affect you?!”

“What?!” I said as I looked around to see if he deployed a sneak attack, nothing “what did you do?!”

“I’ve got my quirk activated and you’re answering my answers but you aren’t brainwashed shell of a person” he said like his world is collapsing “what are you?”

I cocked my head to the side in confusion “Your quirk is Brainwash?” I think about it a little and didn’t get it either “ask me another question.”

“Umm ok.... Do you want to grab dinner after this?”

“No thanks, its my turn to cook dinner” I answered and again, slight tension but no mind control “hmmm, why doesn’t it work on me? Or at least, not fully.”

“I don’t understand” Shinso fell to his knees “I’ve spent my whole life having people fear me because of my quirk and how villainous it is BUT HERE YOU ARE un-phased by my abilities like a gust of wind to a brick wall!” he started to cry in frustration “AM I JUST A DELUSIONAL WEAKLING TAKEN PITY BY YOU?!”

“No thats not it at all I-” I couldn’t finish my sentence, I was frozen in place. I saw everything Shinso commanded me to do, he had me crawl and do a cartwheel. I broke out of my controlled state when he held my hand.

“I can’t believe it worked that time!” he looked at my excitedly “what do you think was the thing that made you fully in my control?”

“Think it was fully on truths” I realized and came up with something “quickly, ask me a question.”

“Ok...um, What are you cooking for dinner?”

“Fruit salad and left over pizza” a quick on the fly answer “Ask me that same question now.”

“What are you cooking for dinner?”

“I’m not actually cooking anything for dinner, I just didn’t want to go out tonig-” boom, I figured it out! Shinso squeezed my hand to break me out of his control.

“You lied the last few times?” he asked me like I just killed his pet fish “why would you lie to me?”

I breathed out “Look, it’s not that I lied to hurt you. I lie to hide my feelings, my next move and my past, its like my defense mechanism. When you said you didn’t like my pants, I got a little offended because I think they’re a cute shade of pink and they make my butt look good. When you asked me to dinner, I said that because I didn’t want to go out this week as I have an internship to go to this weekend. And when you degraded yourself because I wasn’t responding to your quirk, I really wanted to reassure you that maybe I was the problem and that you aren’t a pity to me, I want to help you because you asked me and dammit I’m going to work you into the best fighter on the field!”

Shinso was taken back by the gesture “If it doesn’t fully work on some people, then what do we work on?”

“For now” I said getting in fighting position “lets test your close range, dodge my attacks.”

We train for an hour and I arrange another session on Wednesday, same time. I couldn’t shake what Shinso said when he was degrading himself. Poor dude really needs all the help and confidence to take the advancement exam.

-Thursday, in the dorms-

I come back late from my one-on-one time with Monoma and I was not having it.

“Palma-san its nearly dinner time, is everything alright?” asked Jiro, she was in the commons room along with some of the other girls and Aoyama.

“Yea, I’m good but Monoma is really getting on my nerves” I groaned as I put my duffle bag down “like, whats the point of asking me for help if they’re just going to degrade me and not follow my advice!?”

“I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long without refusing your services” said Momo “Why do you still insist on offering to help him anyways?”

“We have the same quirk and I know how hard it is to develop techniques for it” I took off my shoes and sighed “he doesn’t even have mastery in the quirks he has available to him, don’t even get me STARTED on his close range.” I start making my way to my room “I’ll be out soon for dinner.”

“Ok Palma-san, I’ll save you a seat” Uraraka promised and waited until I closed my door to talk to the others “alright so is it just me or is Monoma requesting her help too many time for it just needing help.”

“Kendo-san said that he’s talking about asking her out” Momo recalled “but if Monoma is this irritating to her, I don’t think she would say yes.”

After dinner, I started packing for my 2 week internship. I was asked to pack different changes of clothes for plain clothes and under-cover work, it was a lot to pack and I was wondering just how was high profile was this agency. Everything was ready right on time to go, I had to surrender my earpiece as it can’t reach to the others.

“Welp, have fun and be safe you two” I said to Mimi and Jin “text me when you get to your destination?”

“Yea, I’ll miss you guys” Mimi said as she brought us in for a hug “It’s going to be our first time being separated for a long period of time!”

“Oh shit you right” Jin realized “but this time we’ll be reunited and it’ll be all good.”

Because of how small our program is, not everyone is taking the train to their destinations. Mine is just 4 cities east of the school, so I got picked up by my scouter in a town car. Mimi’s is in Osaka, she had to take the train. Jin got picked up and taken to a private air hanger to get flown to Hokkaido. 

“Miss Palma, you are going to like Best Jeanist” said Jinko jeans man “he’s very excited to meet you.”

“He is?” I questioned “I thought agents aren’t supposed to interact with the head hero of the agency?”

“Well, you see, we have a developing agent squadron. It’s not very big but he interacts with them personally, he’s very picky on who he wants on his team.”

“Oh ok I see now” I turn to the window “I hope I don’t disappoint then.” Another hour in the car and we arrive in a corporate looking building, I didn’t know what I was expecting but I was getting excited.

“Alright here we are Miss Palma, we’re going to get you settled in your quarters then have a full tour as requested by you for quirk purposes.”

“Okay, thank you for considering them!” I said getting my luggage “In America, usually requests like that get ignored.”

“You’ll be happy to hear that we fulfilled all your requests” he leads me into the building “the boss himself made sure of it, he even got you your own quarters”

“Oh? I didn’t request that, I’m fine co-habiting with the others.”

“He did that because we don’t have any other females on the team, out of respect for you and how young you are” he turned to the living quarters “he made a room just for you” he opened a door with the sign that said ‘Agent 19, UA Intel’ “Here’s your quarters, furnished for comfort and a bouquet of lily, lavender and white sage. Get settled and come out to the blue door down the hall for the tour.”

“Alright thank you umm, Mr. Jinko Jeans?”

“Oh?! OH! that was close, I’m Jinko Punky, Best Jeanist’s right hand side-kick.”

“Jinko Punky huh? Alright thank you, I’ll be quick.”

I leave my door open in case of anything and to let others know that I’ve arrived. I hear people walk past my room as I put things away, I can’t see them but they see me. I hear them say things like ‘she’s so tiny?!’ ‘reminds me of my daughter’ ‘boss wouldn’t tell us about her abilities, wonder what she has?’ ‘Boss gave her flowers too! Is she royalty or something?’. I finish and I send a text to the others saying that I got settled. I walked out and see all the others, all men that tower in height to me, all wearing denim something.

“So you’re Agent 19?” said the man in a jean jumpsuit “so small and soft around the edges, like a puppy.”

“What is your name Agent?” asked sternly the man in a jean vest.

“Um, I’m not comfortable giving such information at the moment.”

“Let her be, she’s doesn’t have to tell us anything” defended a man in jorts.

The man in the jean vest walked in front of the only exit, blocking it “She’s not allowed to the leave until she gives us a name!” he turns to me “I don’t trust you one bit agent! I don’t know how you gained the interest of Jinko BUT you are not going to be treated special here!”

Playtime was over, I was going in with my true self “Please sir, I need to report to Jinko Punky for a tour and I do not wish to keep him waiting.”

“Then you better start talking little girl.”

I was going in for the kill, I sighed and levitated him to the side and opened the door “I did ask nicely” I walked to the hallway and turned back to the others “sorry about that y’all! I promise I’m sweeter than this.” I walk down the hall to the blue door, meanwhile the others were murmuring about what I did.

“She’s a telepathic! And so polite” commented the jorts man “I feel like I was in the presence of a unicorn! I can’t wait to see her full power!”

“Shut it! I don’t care what she is” growled jean vest man “don’t get fooled, it could be a ruse to take us down from the inside!”

I get my tour of the place, got aquatinted with the other agents. I told them about my encounter earlier and they said not to worry about him, it happens all the time when an agent comes through to relay information. I feel more welcomed as they invited me to eat at their little area during every meals. I go to bed and see that Mimi and Jin got situated already too, Diya sent a group text letting us know that everyone got situated and all updates about each other will be sent in a daily text from him. It got me in a better state of mind as I drifted to sleep...what could happen in the next 2 weeks?

-End Chapter 17-

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[themarydragon]

Life Update

Hello, dear friends!

Rather than try to stick it at the bottom of another chapter note on AO3, I’ve decided to put a lil status report here and just link to it elsewhere. SO HI. Life stuff below the cut. 

I live on the East Coast (near to Boston, if you can believe it from my setting choices) but my friend who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer lives in the Midwest, where I grew up. It’s very difficult, as a nurse who works in home care - doing more than my fair share of palliative care - to sit on my hands 1400 miles away and just trust that somebody else is going to do right by my friend. Actually, no, Fuck a whole lot of that. So I take an LOA from work, and two days after his surgery I start the drive back to Kansas. It’s 23(ish) hours so I arrive pretty late on Saturday night.  I spent Sunday with the family, visiting our guy in the hospital and making plans. Monday we sprung him from the hospital, and the rest of the week was filled with me driving from one friend’s house (where I crashed) to another friend’s house to drink coffee and make sure my single-kidney’d-miracle had everything he needed to keep on keepin’ on.

Long story short, he’s doing awesome. I was able to give him advice on what he needed to do - how to get out of the hospital, how to set up processes at home, how to keep getting stronger - so he could set his own goals. 

He’s got a lot of work still to do - he starts meeting with doctors postop this week, and they still have to finalize a plan for chemo. He’s got some options, and there’s a lot of clinical trials running, and he’s at an amazing hospital that will do whatever they can for him... really we just need to get started so we know what he can tolerate. Which, FYI, is a lot. He’s amazing.

I am so glad I went. Being able to SEE HIM and actually be helpful in a real, measurable, physical sense was incredible for my peace of mind. And the 50 hours I spent in the car over ten days (most of it in the first two & last two) gave me plenty of time to figure out plot lines so I came home just full of things to write. In all, it was a really productive and overwhelmingly positive trip.

While I was there, my brother drove up from my home town - about 200 miles further west - with his amazing doggo, Barrister. Now. I already have three dogs. And I might be in a spot of trouble with my town for having a fourth. But honestly she wasn’t getting good care where she was and she’s meant to be our dog. Her fur is the same color as my hair, her birthday is the same day as my spouse, and she thinks kitties are for snuggling (but only when the kitty wants). She’s a perfect fit, and we were worried about how Mortimer would do when our older two dogs left for the Rainbow Bridge; he’s a bit codependent and already Dango & Bodhran are having a hard time playing with him. Barry and Morty have the same temperament and I really think they’ll age well together. 

My brother said Barrister wasn’t good in the car, which was just another indicator of how poor of a fit he & Barry Boo actually were. That dog fucking LOVES the CAR. When I went back out last night to unpack, she jumped in the backseat and wouldn’t come out. All four doors open and bribes and still - NOPE. CAR DOG. We’re taking her on a trip to the pet store today to pick up a new collar and tag, as well as a bed and a better bowl... she didn’t get sent with any blankets or toys or other soft smelly things so she’s having a harder time than was really necessary, and still adjusting admirably. 

In other news, my husband has graduated and is in negotiations for an even better job than the one he has.

I’m either outright quitting mine and going unemployed for a bit or switching companies because Jesus Christ, People, Get Your Shit Together. 

But! I will make that decision when we get back from England (!!), since we’re leaving in two weeks and I’m not going to miss a call-back because I’m vacationing overseas with my hubbs and our friend. 

tl;dr My friend is doing great (but not out of the woods), I’m in a better mental state, I got another dog, and we’ve got more awesome shit on the horizon. I am in a good place.

[ericathemad]

Quarantine Questions

I don’t think I’ve ever actually been tagged for one of these before! So thank you @dxmedstudent​ for giving me a reason to do this and not play Animal Crossing.

1. Are you staying home from work/school? I am working remotely. I spent the first couple weeks of March going into the public heath labs for the COVID response, but then the higher-ups saw all of us crowded into a small conference room and decided they really needed to find a way we could keep working but away from other people. Of course, I’ve been working remotely almost 100% since October when our entire division got kicked out of our old building and had to wait for the new offices to be renovated. We were scheduled to move into the new space on March 23rd. Yeah....that has not happened.

2. If you’re staying home, whose there with you? I have my amazing spouse, LGL, here with me (apart from when he has to go into work at the hospital), as well as my sister and our other roommate. We haven’t really bothered to self-isolate from each other.

3. Do you have pets to keep you company? Of course! I can’t live with out my kitty-cats. My baby goblin king Lee is usually trying to climb on top of me while I’m working, and Wednesday mewls for attention whenever I emerge from my room for more tea. Our other house kitties, Hunter and Lula, are greatly enjoying having their mamas home all the time.

4. Who do you miss the most? Because of the social distancing rules, I’ve actually gotten a bit better about communicating more on text, WhatsApp and Discord, just because I know how isolated a lot of people are. I’ve probably texted and called my mom more this past month that I normally do in an entire season. But I really miss my co-workers. I haven’t been on regular duties since March 5th, and even though I had some cross over with them on response efforts, I miss the Skype calls and chats we’d have. I haven’t actually talked to my supervisor in over a month, and I miss having frank conversations about work politics and bureaucracy, and then jumping over into what video games we’re playing.

5. When was the last time you left home? I actually went to the grocery store this afternoon to get some provisions. It was the first time i’d been somewhere in over a week (apart from walks around the neighborhood)

6. What was the last thing you bought? My grocery stuff this afternoon. Got some ZzzQuil for LGL, cat food, a new toothbrush, some more oatmeal. Real boring stuff.

7. Is quarantine driving you insane or are you finally relaxed? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! This past week is the first time I worked less than 20 hours of overtime since the beginning of March. In all seriousness, there is some adjusting. I’m trying not to let the anxiety sink in too deep, but there have been times when working on contact tracing and interviews when I’m literally screaming at my computer screen, threatening to slap people who were going out and travelling all over while infectious. Thursday I was yelling at my computer while trying to debug some programming, so that was at least not due to human stupidity (apart from my own).

8. Are you a homebody? Most of the time, I really am. But social distancing and closing of non-essential businesses has really sort of hit home how often I go out for just little things. Doing a couple of hours work at the coffee shop. Running to the post office. Meeting up randomly for brunch or movies. Little things that are now completely off the table.

9. What movies have you watched recently? What shows are you watching? After not having seen a movie or watched any TV shows in probably 2 months, my sister made me sit down and watch the 1996 adaptation of ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’ yesterday, and then the documentary about its making. That was certainly an experience.

10. An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled? There were a couple of friends weddings coming up in May and June that look like they’re not going to happen now. I was really excited, especially because they’re LGL’s friends from his medical school days in India, and one of them I still haven’t me in person yet. I also miss going to the Underground with my dad. Raving with your dad is a real bonding experience, and I love the folks in the local trance community.

11. Whats the worst thing you’ve had to cancel? Just getting to go up and see my mom and dad every once in a while. Its never a scheduled thing, but not being able to go at all really sucks.

12. What’s the best thing you’ve had to cancel? Nothing. 

13. Do you have any new hobbies? Does Animal Crossing count? That’s about the only new thing I’ve taken up. Besides hanging my laundry in the backyard to dry. But that was out of necessity.

14. What are you out of? Nothing.

15. What music are you listening to? Strangely, I’ve been listening to a lot musicals. Going back to visit familiar music that still has a connecting storyline has been nice. I also have been using Spotify to find and explore more artists in the cyberpunk/retrowave and bluegrass genres. 

16. What are you reading? SOOOOOOO much fanfiction. I am grateful to all the writers who are using this time to pump out wonderful, fluffy content that doesn’t add to my stress and sadness. When I finally get to stop working for the night, I love curling up with kitty and LGL and just reading some light, fluffy stories. I also have about 15 e-books from the library I’m going to get to. Eventually.

17. What are you doing for self-care? My work actually implemented a new policy where we all get 30 minutes of paid wellness time every day. I’m trying to use that to take a walk every day and just experience the sunshine and air on my face. I’m also become obsessed with the nesting jays and ravens that live in the forest behind my house. I’m constantly taking pictures and videos, yelling for my sister to come look at them.

18. Are you exercising? I wasn’t really exercising before COVID. Like i said above, I’m trying to take time for daily walks. I’m hoping maybe to do some easy calisthenics or yoga, but then the work and tired takes over, and I’m just lying in my bed with my Switch.

19. Hows your toilet paper supply? At this point, I think any time one of us in the house goes out, we buy a pack, so we’re actually doing okay. But in a house with 4 people, you always are going to need more toilet paper.

20. Have you made any changes to your hair during quarantine? I re-dyed my hair right before shit hit the fan, so my roots are looking fine. I’ve been looking into the Curly Girl method, and might try some of the tips. But honestly, most days I get up, make some tea, throw my hair in a pony and just get straight to more COVID stuff.

I believe the standard form is to tag other people to complete this? From the last few people who’ve liked or reblogged my stuff, I’ll tag @heacher @chozobloodrites @lirulin @because-weareglass @tom90deg and @jspader But really, if anyone wants to do this, I’d love to read your answers!