#i might be able to finish it tomorrow but also im running out of steam lol

[convenientalias]

I just rewatched the first episode of Bloodhounds and I'm working on drawing a bunch of screenshots from the last scene (myunggil knife sequence etc) in my style... it's going to be a lot and I'm pretty hyped about it. don't think I've ever drawn a dude this whumped before.

[wienerbarnes]

Breathe Deeper

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 2,324

Prompt: “Why is it always murder and mayhem with you? Don’t you ever just do normal person things? Eat a sandwich? Brush your teeth? Do you even brush your teeth?” (from a random prompt generator)

Warnings: murder, violence, staging a suicide, ~feelings~

A/N: cafe bustelo does wonders for you at 1 am anyway ive been trying to finish this for like two months. have a couple more ideas for these two but feel free to send me any ideas or requests and ill do em if the inspo strikes! also title is purely the song im listening to as i type this out and has no correlation to the story LOL but hey if yall like tame impala enjoy

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

A single pop is heard as a bullet flies out of your gun into the head of the old man who opened the door.

“Christ! No build up?! No tension?! No confirmation that it’s even him?!” Bucky yells as he wiggles his ear to rid the ringing from it.

You brush past Bucky and slide the gun back into the holster strapped to your thigh. You step over behind whatever his name was, Bucky’s having trouble remembering after that blow to his eardrum, and hook your hands under his arms in order to  drag him back into the empty house.

“Why is it always murder and mayhem with you? Don’t you ever just do normal person things? Eat a sandwich? Brush your teeth? Do you even brush your teeth?” Bucky questions you as he closes the door behind him, stepping in between splatters of blood.

“Nope, gotta leave leftovers for the bugs that live in my mouth.”

“That’s gross.”

“Shut up, help me lug this guy to the bedroom.”

The two of you are in a small town in Northern Oklahoma on the property of one of your ex-Hydra handlers. After a few days of researching, the two of you were able to figure out where he moved to and what he changed his name to after retiring from his prior lifestyle.

“I knew it was him from the second I saw him. You never forget.” You explain to him, both of you positioning his body in the corner of the room.

“You go clean up the entryway, I’ll finish staging over here.” Bucky offers it to you. He takes out his own gun from his own waistband and fires a single shot through the same hole you put in between the guy’s eyes. The splatter that explodes on the walls behind him are perfect, artistic almost. Bucky then starts looking around the room; in the closet, under the bed, until he reaches the night stand where a pretty little pistol lays. Not the same gun as his, but he has a feeling the police system in such a small and unpopulated town won’t bother to investigate this death as a murder as opposed to the obvious suicide that took place.

Bucky notices the small skull and octopus stamped into the side of the gun as he places it in his hands. He rolls his eyes before making his way back over to the entryway where you’re sat on the ground, scrubbing away with a rag in your hands and a bottle of bleach next to you. 

Bucky walks over and takes a seat on the loveseat positioned a few feet away from where you are.

“So, where we heading after this?” Bucky asks you, leaning forward and resting his elbow on the arm of the seat.

“Back to New York? You probably gonna be busy working on that murder case.” You glance at him confused before going back to scrubbing.

Bucky pauses before speaking again, “How do you know about that?”

“I… keep up with my fair share of news.”

“You don’t pay for newspapers nor do you have a TV or a phone; you don’t have news. Besides, we haven’t released any information to the public about anything before we get more leads. So, how do you know about that?” Bucky stares at you, eyebrows pinched a bit in the middle as he awaits your answer.

“Do you wanna stop and get some pie on the way back?”

“No. Did you see something about the murders?” Bucky ignores your attempt at changing the subject.

“You just said you haven’t released anything-”

“I don’t mean on the news, I mean in that empty head of yours.” He teases.

You sigh, “I hate when you ask me about my… head.”

“Well, you could be helping here! You can try and be good!”

“I’m sitting on the floor scrubbing an old guy’s blood out of the wood of his own house after I’ve just blown his brains out.”

“Yeah, a bad old guy!”

You get off the last of the specks of blood before standing up and screwing the cap back onto the bottle of bleach. “I didn’t even see anything about the killer, anyway.”

“So, what did you see?”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

“Fetch me a bone here, doll.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d like that, dog.”

He grabs the bleach and rag from your fingers to free up your hands from carrying anything. Tingles travel up the tips of your fingers and flow up through your wrist into your chest. You glance up and make eye contact with Bucky and the dramatic puppy eyes and pouty lips he’s throwing your way. 

You stare for a few more seconds before looking away, “Check that huge pond in Central Park tomorrow. His next victim will be floating there.” You satisfy him before turning and making your way back outside and to the car the two of you took on your little road trip.

While walking back to the parked car, Bucky quickly rushes in front of you and grasps the handle before you can reach it, allowing you to get in the car while he holds it open for you. He throws you an innocent looking smile, a smile coming from a person who surely didn’t just stage a suicide. You bite back your own smile before taking a seat and letting Bucky close the door behind you.

…

When you open your eyes after your nap, it's dark outside the moving car. You slowly lift your head up off the car window and glance over at Bucky, who you now realize is on the phone with someone.

“I told you, it was a weird anonymous number, Sam. I don’t know where it came from.” Bucky speaks softly on the phone before turning his head to look at you in your sleepy state.

“All they said was to check the pond in Central Park tomorrow. I know it’s sketchy, but we don’t have any other leads anyway, we might as well try it.”

“We sounds like a lot of people, ain’t you say that to me one time? Not all of us are on vacation, you know.” You hear another deep voice through the tiny speaker of the phone against Bucky’s ear.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow, man.”

Bucky wraps up his conversation as you process what you’ve heard. Bucky has lied, again, to the government, to Captain America, in order to protect you and your existence.

“How’d you sleep?” He asks before your thoughts can get too far from you.

“Fine. We’re already heading back to New York?” 

“We’re stopping at a motel for the night, but after tomorrow’s drive, we’ll get there by sundown.”

You sit up proper and stretch your legs as far out in front of you as you can, the bones crunching and popping in relief at the new position. Bucky cringes next to you. He glances at you and watches you pick at the crust gathered at the corners of your eyes, a yawn escaping you along with the last of your grogginess.

Bucky doesn’t know how he’d fully express it to you, but he’s so happy to see the person you’re growing into. Everyday a little bit more of your personality, your mannerisms, your weirdness, your humor, your ideas; everything about the real you, shows more and more. He sees this beautiful woman who, maybe a year and some ago, was walking the line of death and now sits beside him with neon green nail polish and mismatched socks and cute flower earrings adorning the curve of your ear. He stares at the tattoo on your neck, that angry red face with large eyebrows and wonders whether or not that was your idea or not. He wonders if you have any other tattoos hidden among the space of your skin, he doesn’t remember seeing any along your sides or stomach that nightmare of a night in his apartment-

“You’re swervin’.” 

Bucky clears his throat and snaps his head forward, fixing the car to drive straight on the road. Soon, he sees the promising sign, “Motel in 10 Miles,” and the two of you park in the small lot of the light orange building.

The inside smells of old people, an aged scent that isn’t necessarily bad, but makes you scrunch your nose nonetheless. No bugs in clear sight and the roof is still intact, so it should be suitable for a night of rest.

“We only have rooms available on the first floor for tonight, I’m assuming you’ll want one bed?”

Bucky's throat goes dry for a second, “Yes, that’s fine.” He doesn’t want to consult you as you look far off out the front window of the lobby, back turned to the young woman at the front desk. No matter how small a town in whatever state there is at this point in their journey, there is no risking anyone recognizing you, even if your search mission has been deemed unsolved.

A plastic card is slid into Bucky’s right hand and he begins making his way back outside and down the walkway towards their room for the night. You follow him silently.

“I call showering first, I think there’s small clumps of blood still stuck in my hair.” You tell him, flinging your backpack onto the bed, and pulling out a large sweatshirt and panties and taking them into the bathroom with you. 

While the water begins to run, Bucky undoes the blankets, looks thoroughly through the pillows and in between the sheets in search of bed bugs. Next, inspecting the lamps, outlets, and anything else that could possibly hide a camera, microphone, or any other device. He even contemplates tearing apart the carpet under his feet, but decides against the extra work. He places your bag along with his own backpack on the small table in the corner of the room and fixes the bed to not look like he tore it apart recklessly. I wonder what side she prefers-

The bathroom door opens and a cloud of steam flows out, you soon emerge with a towel wrapped around your head, large sweatshirt hanging off your frame and bare feet digging into the soft carpet beneath you. You fling the towel off of your head using momentum from throwing your head and neck forward, the towel landing on the floor in front of you and your wet hair sending a light spray Bucky feels on his warm face.

By the time Bucky finishes with his shower, the room resembles a sauna and his metal arm has gone hot. A long sleeved shirt and cotton shorts are slipped onto his body along with a pair of thick socks to keep him warm at all times. He steps out of the bathroom, using his towel to rub through his hair, and he spots you using the small mirror on the wall. 

Your legs are on display and your underwear is in sight. Bright pink with WEDNESDAY printed on the behind in bubble letters, it’s Friday, the bottoms of your butt cheeks hanging out the bottom of the fabric. The cotton hugs your body and Bucky can’t help but blush at the sight. His mother would smack him over the head if she were here right now. 

Your shirt is lifted, one of your hands holding it high on your chest where Bucky can see a slip of under your breast peeking, the curve intriguing him. Your other hand is occupied rubbing a colorless liquid along your side, Bucky focuses his attention and realizes your rubbing along the scar he left you from your stitches. The bottle on the table has a label that read Vitamin E Natural Oil. 

Your fingers seem unbelievably soft and gentle as he watches them glide along your side, massaging the shiny oil into your smooth skin. You drop your sweatshirt and gather a bit more oil on your hands before rubbing it into your hips where Bucky can see the faintest stretch marks.

“Sorry ‘bout the scar. O-on your side, I mean.” Bucky stutters out, convincing himself that his body is warm from the shower he took. 

“It probably saved my life, so I can’t say I’m sorry about it.” You respond without turning around, as though you knew he was there watching you lather yourself in oil like the beginning of a softcore porn but didn’t mind him enjoying the show.

“What’s that stuff for, anyways?” Bucky asks as he gathers his old clothes back into his bag, folding each piece before placing the packed bag next to yours on the table. Your bag that clearly does not have folded clothes, only crinkled ones. Bucky empties your bag and folds your clothes for you before neatly packing it and closing the zippers.

“Helps fade scars.”

“Yeah, but why? Scars are cool.” 

“I suppose. I’d still like to lighten them a bit. So they look better, prettier.”

“You’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in the last few decades.”

“You don’t even remember most of the last few decades,” You try to joke.

“I mean it. It’s a compliment. It’s okay to accept and enjoy compliments, doll.” Bucky looks at you, forcing you to meet his eyes. You see in your peripheries as he puts the cap on the bottle of oil and places it next to your bag. A small smile adorns his face as he looks at you, and you can’t help but feel a knot form in your throat.

It’s been a long while since you’ve received any kind of love, whether that be physical, emotional, mental, or self. It’s an overwhelming feeling when someone who you aren’t actually the closest with gives you such a deep and personal compliment. 

Aren’t the closest with- this is your only friend he the only person you even know. The point is, being the most beautiful woman of the century is much different than having pretty hair or a good sense of humor.

You look away from him before the small bit of wetness can gather in your waterline.

“Which side of the bed do you prefer?” Bucky whispers softly to you, as to not break the safe atmosphere created by his sweet comment.

You clear your throat that now feels thick with tar, “The right.”

“Good. I prefer the left.”

[blueberryrock]

I'm so tired rn, it is currently 12:49 am so im going to bed after this. But enjoy!

(Blue's pov)

"Are you sure you can handle this?" I look down at the tiny pink gem in front of me.

"Of course, I've seen Pink do it a bunch of times" Spinel gives one of the biggest grins I've ever seen.

"A-and you know what to do? " I ask another question "oh and you know some of the rules....right?" I shift nervously on my sore feet.

"Rules?" Spinel shoots me a confused look "how can a ball have rules?"

"Well, there aren't many, just simple ones" I cross my arms "like for instance, we're not allowed to leave our seats, although White has definitely changed that one.....oh and cannons can't be in the ballroom, or the castle for that matter" I stroke my chin trying to think of any rules.

"Well, liquids are no longer forbidden, cause it turns out that Steven is about seventy percent water...."  I trail off.

"Speaking of steven, is he coming?" Spinel bounces happily in place.

"I think so, he said that he would come with gifts, although I don't exactly know what gifts he could make..since we are quite bigger then him" I shrug.

"Quite?" Spinel crosses her arms.

I chuckle and roll my eyes "you should probably go and get the ball ready, and is there a dress code" I cursorily ask.

"Dress code?" Spinel scratches her head.

"Yeah, like we could dress...I don't know...nicer? Or different at least" I try to explain but Spinel just shrugs.

"That sounds good, I think I will try something new but I don't really know, you can too if you'd like, that goes for Yellow and White too" Spinel turns around "but like you said, I've got work to do" she starts running down the empty hallway we were talking in.

"And if you need any help, you can always call me or Steven, he has thrown at least two balls" I shout after her. I definitely shouldn't tell her that the first ball turned into a disaster, but it wasn't his fault...

A spike of pain washes over me, starting from my feet and quickly ends as soon as it reaches my mid-calf.

I sigh, I should go and sit down, maybe I'll run a bath. Yeah, that sounds nice. I turn around and painfully make my way to my chambers. As soon as the doors close behind me I instantly phase into nothing but a very loose and thin blue shirt and a pair of comfortable panties.

I slowly make my way across my room towards my extraction chambers (which everyone now calls it a bathroom).

I hit the now higher panel and the doors in front of me open, letting the slightly cold air into the room. I shiver when my bare feet touch the freezing tile floor, but I try my best to ignore it and turn on the bath.

As soon as the room becomes filled to the brim with steam. I phase away the rest of my clothes, and carefully lower myself into the warm water.

I let out a relaxed sigh as I finally make contact with the bottom and sit down. This time I accidentally filled the bath with to much water and it's now up to my chin.

I gently place my hand on my big baby bump, ever since I opened up to Yellow, I've been feeling..... better I guess...I'm certainly not one hundred percent a-okay, but I've been feeling happier about the gemlings.

Every now and then I occasionally have a few bad thoughts, but I'm glad that I have Yellow to help me with it, I just can't help but feel like I'm dragging Yellow.

I shake my head trying to get rid of that last thought, I need to think of something else...hmm what should I wear to Spinel's ball?

She didn't really specify if there was going to be a dress code or not. I smile as a wonderful idea comes to mind, I should wear the dress I wore to my first ball! I will have to make some adjustments, I rub my baby bump, man Yellow will love it!

I quickly finish my lovely bath and I wrap a towel around my body and hair. I sit down on my very comfortable stool in front of my vanity, I unwrap my now wet towel from my hair, I dry my soaking wet hair as best as I can with the towel before I instantly remove all the water from it with my powers.

I toss the damp towel onto the floor, but before it actually lands on the ground it phases away.

I grab my new blue hairbrush and I run it through my very tangled hair, I faintly hum some human song. Humming quickly turns into quietly singing.

"From the shell, the song of the sea" I softly sing to myself, I shapeshift my hair to get rid of my loop so I can braid my hair "neither quiet nor calm, searching for love again".

I easily hum the rest of the song as I quickly and effortlessly finish my long braid, I unnecessarily fiddle with the end of my braid, trying to make it not fall apart. I sigh as I throw the end of it over my shoulder, what time is it? I pull up a screen to find that Spinel's ball is in five hours.

I droop onto my vanity and let out another sigh, I should probably finish designing the gemlings little room, but all I need are the colors. If it's going to be anything like that weird vivid dream I had, I should be able to guess the colors correctly.

But alas, I am not a sapphire. The medical pearl did say that the next appointment I'll have should tell us what colors they might be.

I sit straight up and whip around at the sound of my doors opening, I smile when Yellow diamond steps into my room. She turns on my crystal chandelier as she grumbles something to herself.

"I don't understand how you can see so well in the dark" she walks directly towards me and smiles "it's like a new power, and I lovee what you did with your hair your hair"

"Thank you" I grab her hips and pull her closer, I wrap my arms around her and stand up "I wanted to do something new for Spinel's ball, while the braid may not be entirely new, but what I'm planning is...also not entirely new" I quietly giggle "but I know you'll love it"

"You know I'll love anything you'll do, even if you've done it before" Yellow plants a soft kiss on top of my head.

"I know, I know" I release my hold from her and I grab my still open screen "Since you are here, I wanted to show you the nursery design for our gemlings!"

I pull up the blueprints and proudly show her, she grabs the screen and studies each picture for a few seconds before moving onto the next one.

"They look good, but what is the color scheme?" Yellow hands me the screen back.

"I wanted to do the colors of what the gemlings are, but that'll have to wait a couple of days or so" I pull up the time and date again "well, it says the next appointment is actually tomorrow, so the plans will be done quickly"

A sudden rush of fatigue washes over me, I let out a yawn as I dismiss the screen "I think I'm going to take a nap before the ball" I phase into a soft shirt and pants.

I walk around Yellow and head straight for my bed "wake me up at least half a cycle before it starts." I pull all the blankets onto me.

"Noted" Yellow lays down right beside me, I lay down on my back as Yellow messes with my braid, she hums as I flip onto my side, trying to find a good position.

I let out a very long and relaxed sigh as I finally get comfortable, I feel myself drift into slumber as Yellow finishes humming.

"Have a good nap, I'll be back to wake you up" She whispers, I grumble something back to her, but I don't know what it was.

Since I took a nap I surprisingly didn't have a dream, I just fell asleep then bam! Instantly woke up.

"Blue? You said to wake you up now, so I need you to wake up" Yellow shakes me awake.

"Hmmm" I sit up, I wipe the sleep from my eyes, I squint from the light and I turn to the golden diamond next to me.

"Yellow? Mmm, what time is it?" I pull back the very warm covers and shiver slightly as Yellow helps me off of the bed.

"It's about a cycle till the ball, I decided you might need some time to actually wake up" Yellow let's go of me, I let out a groan as I stretch my arms.

"It seems like I did the right thing" Yellow hands me a glass of water.

"Thank you" I croak, I take a few sips of the cold water, I hand her the glass as I yawn.

After a few minutes of Yellow talking to me, making sure I don't fall asleep again, I push her out of the room so I can get ready.

I sit back down on my vanity chair and I fix my messy braid, damn, I knew I should've waited until after I took a nap. But then again, I didn't know that I'd actually take one...

As soon as my braid is done, I stand up and phase off my pajamas and I put on a comfortable pair of matching panties and a bra.

Now, this is the hard part, I have to remember what my dress looked like. It really won't be hard, but it was a very very long time ago.

As soon as remember what the dress I wore for my first ball looks like, I phase it on. I quickly adjust the waist so it's not clinging to my body, but instead it flowing at the bottom.

I turn around to face the mirror, I take a few steps back to see the entire dress.

And it's almost just how I remember it.

The top clings to my form, I had to just the neckline so it ends at the tip of my gem, I kept the long sleeves but moved the end of them just an inch or two back. The color of the entire dress is still blue, but as dark as the night sky, and it still shimmers when I move.

Moving past my waist, I shortened the slit by my leg a lot, so now it goes from my mid-calf to my ankles, which is where the dress stops, I also added the same sized slit on the other side.

This time I finally put on shoes, but they are a simple pair of knee-length boots with a lot of extra padding inside.

I smooth down the front of the dress, I smile as the familiar softness tickles my hands. A familiar chime breaks the silence in my room "come in" I half yell.

I sit back down on my plush stool as the big blue doors open. Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Connie walk into my room.

Steven and Pearl laugh at something that Amethyst had probably said, and in Steven's and Connie's hands are some big wrapped items.

As soon as Connie sees me, she accidentally drops the gifts she was carrying and her brown eyes go wide.

I push myself off of the stool and walk over to them "is something wrong" I ask the shocked Connie as I pick up the thing she dropped.

"N-no, nothing is wrong" she shakes her head and smiles "it's just that Steven said that you were at least six months in, but I had no idea you were." I cut her off "Big? Huge?" I smile little.

"Well, no, I was going to say, I had no idea you were so pregnant" she nervously laughs "and your dress looks amazing!"

I slightly blush from the complement. "Well, I am carrying twins" I smile warmly, I gently place my hand on my belly. I examine the nicely wrapped item, it's wrapped in different styles of a human material, which I think is paper and it fits perfectly in my hand. "You guys really didn't need to bring us anything."

"Well, my art teacher had me and my class make stuffed animals" I neatly unwrap all the paper to reveal a very soft, mixed fabric, lion "and I decided to go all out." Connie very proudly says.

I neatly place the paper on my vanity and inspect the toy lion. It has stitched black eyes and a black heart-shaped nose, with a wild rainbow mane and matching tail.

"It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but I'm pretty sure that bad boy gave me an A+ for the rest of the year" Connie smiles "and it took me a little more than a week to make it, not including the time it took to gather the materials, luckily my mom and dad were there to help me."

I put the adorable lion on my vanity and I grab the gift that Steven was holding, "Man, you do not know how long it took to wrap those, and how much wrapping paper it took" Steven smiles as I once again, neatly take the paper off.

"As I said, you really didn't need to bring us anything, but I really do appreciate it" I happily say, I place all the paper on the vanity with the other paper.

In my hand is a beautiful wooden box with a wind-up on the back, it's a lovely shade of dark green with the diamond insignia top.

"C'mon, wind it up!" Steven excitedly says.

I smile at his lack of patience, I delicately wind up the box, as excitement builds inside me with each crank.

Suddenly the little box makes a strange CLICK sound and a wonderful tune starts playing, I shoot a confused look towards Steven. But he just looks at me with what I think are tearful eyes.

The song ends quickly, Steven sighs "The song is called you are my sunshine, my dad would sing that to me whenever I got scared, I'll teach you the lyrics later, but now we've got a ball to attend!" Steven turns on his heel towards the door.

"I'll be right after you" I call out to him and his friends as they leave. I quickly set the box next to the lion, I take one last glance over my outfit before I turn around and leave.

(At the ball)

I stand in front of familiar ballroom doors, this time I'm not being introduced to gems, this time I'm just going to go in and enjoy the ball without any pressure, what so ever.

I take a deep breath in, hold my head up high, and hit the panel that opens the doors. Music fills up the small hallway I'm standing in, I walk into the very crowded room. I spot Steven and Connie dancing with a multitude of different gems and fusions.

I also see Spinel dancing with Amethyst and a handful of other quartzes, and Pearl talking to Blue and Yellow Pearl. I carefully move towards one of the back corners of the room, once I'm there I look around the room trying to find Yellow, I don't think she's here. I'd would've spotted her by now.

I sadly sigh, guess I'll have to wait for some time. As I wait I eagerly watch the only door that we can fit through, and it hasn't been all bad, a lot of different gems came up to me to say hello and to congratulate me. One gem even brought me a tray of brown and white sweets, which attracted Steven and Connie. They then told me the sweets were called 'chocolate', and I told them I love the really dark ones, which turned out to be dark chocolate.

They did have to take the tray away from me before I ate it all, then the diamond doors opened and I got very excited, but then White Diamond appeared then the doors remained close for quite a while.

She seemed to easily notice my mood and made quickly walked over to me.

"I'm going to assume you're waiting for Yellow?" White rests her back against the wall.

"Well...yeah" I sigh "I wanted to surprise her by putting on the dress from my first ball" when I finished my sentence, White did a double-take on my outfit.

"Oh wow, I didn't even notice" She runs her hand over my covered arm "you still look as beautiful as the day you first put it on"

I blush from the compliment "look, this time I actually put on shoes!" I lift my dress and flaunt my boots.

White laughs "they're not the heels that go with the dress, but those are pretty close".

I let go of my dress "I don't understand how you and Yellow can wear something with heels, I'd trip in them very easily"

"Which is why I let you go barefoot" White smiles warmly.

I smile back. "Anyways, I've really only came to the ball to say hello to every, so after that, I'm probably going to leave" I nod as White pushes herself off of the wall and heads towards Steven and his friends.

I sigh and rest my head against the hard stone wall. I continue to watch the door until Yellow diamond finally walks through it. Happiness builds inside of me as she spots me.

She carefully makes her way across the very crowded ballroom floor, I frown as I notice a few sparks dance across her shoulders and chest.

She finally stops in front of me and sighs "I'm sorry for being so late, as soon as you pushed me out of your room a topaz said there was an emergency, so I had to deal with that, then I got a reminder that the ball has started so I quickly polished my armor and...wait..." Yellow takes a step away from me. A big smile creeps on to my face.

"Is that?" Yellow looks me up and down.

"In fact it is! I did have to make a few adjustments to the dress, but I kept it pretty much the same" I wrap my arms around Yellow, she does the same, she gives me a short but passionate kiss on the lips before she pulls away and leads me towards where everyone is dancing. "C'mon, let's join them."

"Okay, but only for a little bit" I grab her hand and wrap my arm and she twirls me.

We continue to dance for some time before I start to feel sick from all the chocolates, so we say goodbye and thank you to everyone before Yellow whisks me away to my room, where I then have a 'stomach ache' for a few hours.

I painfully groan into my plush pillow, Yellow lovingly rubs my aching pregnant belly.

"Just try to sleep" Yellow kisses my neck.

"C-can't.. hurts too much" I whimper.

"Steven said it'll go away soon, just sleep it off" Yellow slows down, she rubs slow soothing circles.

Unfortunately, her touch is very soothing, I can feel myself growing tired every second.

I let out a long yawn which turns into another groan "mmmm fine, I'll try to sleep, but I'm telling you it's not going to work" I grumble. I tightly close my eyes, trying to get my self to fall asleep.

It eventually works when I finally relax and mumble good night.

"Good night Blue" Yellow places a kiss on my head before I quickly pass out.

Splish

Splash

Sploosh

I'm going to bed, gn

[pbandjesse]

Im sitting in the bathtub at my parent's house. Today has been a really nife but really long day. James has headed back to Baltimore and i miss him already. So much. Today was such a nice day with him.

I slept okay last night. I woke up at 8 and wanted to hit snooze. But i did not! And I got up and felt good. I got dressed. And did my make up. And was finishing getting ready as James texted me that he was parking.

He came in and got some bags for me. Clothes to sort for keep or donation. And then we were off.

We made a detour to go see the tulip garden. And it was very pretty. A stop at mcdonalds that took to long but gained us free donut fries and a hasbrown, and then we were on the highway.

We made great time to Philly. And it was a beautiful day. We listened to podcasts and it was really nice. We got downtown ans went straight to old city. And the museum of the american revolution. A very good parking spot and we walked right over. We got in line and as we're about to pay the guy says just so you know there's a lot of squirrels here to die. And we said oh it's okay we working Museum's too. And his eyes lit up at least like do you have an ID. And we don't but we did have a work email and so we saved $42 and got to go to the Museum for free. Killer.

I like going to new Museum because I like see how they deal with the layout and the flow. And this was a pretty good one. We missed two things on the first floor because I just know they were there. But but we did see was really nice. There was a lot of kids. And a couple things were closed because of school works but I had a good time. I got to see a lot of neat stuff. I don't know why Libby told us there was only one artifact because the place had a lot. There were lots of small artifacts but it was still a lot of stuff. And I had a great time.

We were there for a while and then finished up and we went to the store. Whenever you're in a museum for free I like to at least by one thing to support them. And I got a patch of my favorite flag I saw there. Nothing strongly political or patriotic. Historical. And the girl who checked us out of the register turned out to be someone I used to work with at the Franklin Institute. Pretty cool.

There's still an hour on the meter so we walked around the block. We went to Penn's Landing and wandered around. I took pictures. Some bikers made a joke about my Shelby. And then we went over to Franklin Fountain and got to try carrot cake ice cream which was fabulous. And it was nice seeing James in his element with people who know him. I always like to see James with people who love and respect him. But it was time to go back to the car.

We left and we drove around for like an hour. Looking at the places we used to live and where we might have run into each other. Turns out they open the Federal Donut across the street from the apartment I used to live in. Which makes me so mad because I put it in so many donuts! But that was probably for the best.

It was neat driving around the campus of the college James went to and him pointing out stuff. We did that until a little before 3. And then we drove towards the restaurant his best friend Evan is head bartender at.

We got there a little early so we walked around the block. I was starting to run a steam so we sat down for a few minutes at the campus try think Drexel? Quaker? I have no idea what it was. But it was neat and they were having like a welcome thing for possible new students. Lots of clubs were out. And then we went to the restaurant.

The whole place was dog themed.? It was very cute and it was fun seeing Evan. I think he's a really cool guy. The other girl at the bar was fun too and I got to show them my Furby stuff and it was nice being out in the world with James and getting to tell stories and stuff. It was really nice. The food we got was great and I had a really good time. We were there until about 5 and then it was time to go.

Traffic was horrible. We drove through the city to try to avoid sitting on the highway but it was a struggle. James was just radiating being upset about it.

But once we made it to the highway everything was fine. We got to my parents house about 6:15. It was really nice to see them.

Besides all the hugs I got from them they also got a new puppy. Like Molly is great and very sweet but his new puppy is unreal looking. It's pretty crazy how small she is. And she just leaps off of things! It's hilarious.

We went to dinner with my family and spent a lot of time talking about how I just quit my job at ships and everything that happened. We talked about fire Notre Dame and capitalism and talking to kids about hard subjects. It was really fun to be able to kind of talk as a team with James. We are on a lot of the same levels and that's always really nice. Dinner was good too. I like the bred more than anything else. It was really just nice to spend time with them but I was also getting very tired.

We got back to my parents house and went through some Halloween costumes for my students and then James left around 8:30. He just texted me that he got home safe. I spent most of that time talking to my mom. And I've just gotten out of a bath. I'm very tired and I'm looking forward to going to sleep. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. Maybe me and my mom will go somewhere. I'll probably go through the clothes that are downstairs in bags and piles. Sort stuff out for a donation and figure out what I'm keeping. I hope you all sleep well tonight. Good night

[dancingkirby]

In which Bolin plays with toys and Eska fails at flirting

I’m going to have to think up a title for this story soon.  I was thinking maybe “Into Open Waters.”

“How dare she? How dare she?”

Eska paced around the room, trying her hardest to keep her voice low so as not to disturb Kinalik.  The stress of the previous sleepless night, their escape in the wee hours, the sheer physical effort required to waterbend all the way to Republic City with a toddler and luggage in tow, the energy required to interact with people in a strange place…all of it was consuming her.

She collapsed in a chair, her body shaking and angry tears streaming down her face, which made her feel all the worse; like she was no more mature than her daughter.

Did their courtiers think that the twins did not hear the snickers and whispers of “half breed?” And yesterday…they had all looked at Kinalik like she was a monster. They felt that their only option was to get her out of there.

“I was trying to explain, but she wouldn’t listen!” she moaned to her brother.  

“Perhaps she felt the same about you,” Desna offered cautiously.

“Perhaps,” Eska muttered, making an enormous effort to control her crying.  “I have no harsh feelings towards our cousin’s significant other; she is not nearly as uncouth as the others.  I was just…trying so hard not to cry in front of them that I forgot to thank her.   People only seem to care about what I do incorrectly; not what I do the appropriate way.  Yes, I know you are an exception, brother,” she hastily added to ward off his protests.  She furiously scrubbed the tears away.  

“I recommend that we go to sleep right now and ponder the matter further in the morning,” Desna said.

“Yes…that would probably be wise.”

Eska was worried that she’d have problems falling asleep like she often did in locations that weren’t home.  However, the rhythm of Kinalik’s breathing soothed her, and the trio was soon huddled together in a deep slumber.

When Eska woke up who-knows-how-late in the morning, her back was throbbing in pain.  She supposed it was to be expected with all the exercise and lifting that she did yesterday. Even attempting to roll over caused her to moan. Thankfully, Desna had already awoken, and was ready with the bowl of water. He and Eska silently healed each other, then Eska also healed Kinalik, who was uninjured but wanted to do what the grownups were doing.  It didn’t get rid of all the pain, but reduced it enough to allow her to perform the usual morning functions and help Kinalik with hers.

When they got downstairs to the breakfast room, Korra was sitting there alone.  She had finished her own meal, but there was still a pot of tea and a plate of steamed buns filled with bean paste on the table. Eska was impressed to see that they’d remembered about Kinalik’s noodles, and that the child’s chair had a pile of cushions on it in lieu of a booster seat.

“Asami’s in the shower,” Korra said in response to their unspoken query.  “She likes to fiddle around in her workshop first thing in the morning when she’s feeling upset.”

Even Eska could tell that the last few words were pointed.  “Hm,” was all she could trust herself to say in response as she grabbed a bun.

“Does she eat anything else?” Korra asked, referring to Kinalik.  That was a somewhat safer topic, at least.

“Rice. Eggs.  Apples peeled and cut to slices exactly ¼ inch thick.  Arctic hen.  Some types of fish; she seems to change her mind about exactly which types by the day,” Eska answered.  She stopped to think.  What else was there?

“We have been having modest success in getting her to eat kelp,” Desna reminded.

“Oh yes.  The first time she ate that was a triumphant occasion indeed.  And before you ask, cousin, we do give her a daily multivitamin.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Korra said quickly.  She took a sip of her tea and said, “I wonder if she’d like Narook’s?  They have a kid’s menu.”

“Is it noisy?”

“Dinner can be…lunch is usually quieter.”

“We will consider it.”

They were spared from doing further chatting for the moment by Asami entering the room, fully dressed but with a towel wrapped around her head.  Korra looked at Eska expectantly.

Eska supposed that this was her cue to apologize.   Damn it.  She’d never cared about the feelings of anyone outside of her family before.

“I’msorry,” she mumbled while looking down at her hands.  This seemed to satisfy the requirements for now.

“It’s okay,” Asami said.  “I know you must have been under a lot of stress.  Now, is this enough food for you?  We could have the cook make something hot…”

“This is sufficient,” Desna assured her.

Asami sat down as well and got her own breakfast, and apparently decided that it would be best to get right to the point.

“So…Korra said that you were concerned about Kinalik’s safety…”

“That is one way to phrase it.”

“So exactly how deep into hiding did you want to go?”

Good question.

“We hadn’t thought things through that far yet,” Desna admitted.  “All we were hoping for was to buy a few days of time to strategize. That was why we chose not to stay at a hotel.”

“Simply arriving at this destination was the main objective.  They will discover our location sooner or later, but I doubt that they would take our lives here.  Nevertheless, we should take precautions,” Eska added.

Korra and Asami stopped to think, and then Korra said, “Well, you do have one thing going for you.  You’re fairly obscure.  Probably all that most people in Republic City know about you is that you’re those creepy twins.”

Eska clenched her jaw, and willed the angry words ready to spring from her back down her throat. She didn’t want another argument to start so quickly.  Desna appeared to be having a similar struggle, but was able to state in an even tone, “We do like our privacy.”

While they had been talking, Kinalik had finished her noodles and was getting bored.

“Down!” she commanded.  Eska rose to help her off the cushions, and sat back down with her daughter in her lap.

“And that’s another thing,” Asami said.  “I didn’t even know of Kinalik’s existence until yesterday, and I don’t think Korra did either.”

“They may have mailed something,” Korra said.  “But I was kind of distracted at the time.”

“We did air a birth announcement on the radio,” Eska remarked.  Granted, it had run only once.  At 6 AM.  Neither the twins nor their advisors had wanted to call much attention to it.

“Well, anyway, if all that the general public knows about you is that you’re twins, we’d want to make you look as unalike as possible.  Plus, the weather’s much too warm right now for your regular wardrobes. We’ll need to shop for new clothes, and one of you might have to cut your hair.”

Asami looked over at Desna, but Eska quickly said, “I’ll do it.”  Desna had done so much for her; it was only fair that she should be the one to make this sacrifice.

“I have to go get the rest of my stuff this morning, but…hold on, let me write this down,” Korra said.”  She retrieved a notebook and pencil from a side table.

“Asami, could you take them downtown this afternoon?  I’ll probably want to rest, and you’re the one with the style sense. And um…I still can’t drive that well.”

“Sure, but maybe one at a time?  Whoever is after them would be looking for twins.”

“No prob. Desna, you okay with waiting until tomorrow?”

“Whatever you think is best,” Desna answered, albeit apparently with some unease about them being separated.  The twins squeezed hands under the table.

“Bolin might want to join us,” Asami remarked.  “You know how he is about makeovers.”

“Oh, yeah, whoops, I forgot about Bolin.  And we were going to do a proper introduction today.”

“I wonder…” Asami trailed off as Korra scribbled away.  

“Hm?”

“I was just thinking about how to make all this more pleasant for Kinalik.  I think I have an idea.  You go over to Air Temple Island.  I can take care of arranging things.”

“’Kay, love you.”

They kissed.  Eska was relieved.  All of the talking had been making her dizzy.

After Korra had finally departed, Asami got Eska, Desna, and Kinalik situated in the living room. Unlike the more formal parlor they’d seen on the tour yesterday, this room was stocked with comfortable furniture, which was a blessing for Eska’s back.  It was decorated with plush carpeting, wooden paneling, several paintings, and a tall bookcase in the corner.  Eska made a beeline for the latter and thumbed through the selection.

While Eska was busy with her browsing, Asami used one of the mansion’s many phones to call Bolin.

“So what do you think about coming over here shortly?  Makeovers may be involved.”

Eska could hear Bolin’s shriek of joy from clear across the room.  Asami had to hold the receiver at arm’s length until he calmed down.

“I take it that’s a yes?  Okay, what time?  Yeah, I think we can do that.  So see you…oh?  What is it?”

She listened for a few seconds, then said, “Well, I’ll ask them,” and covered the receiver with her hand.

“Eska, Desna, Bolin says that Opal wants to come meet you.  Is that okay?”

Eska was intrigued in spite of herself.  She wanted to see just what sort of powerful woman had managed to ensnare her ex’s heart.

“It is all right with me.  Desna?”

“Me as well.”

“Great!” exclaimed Asami.  She turned back to the receiver and said, “That’s a yes from both of them.  See you in a few, then?  All right.  No, Pabu had better stay at your apartment this time. Bye.”

She hung up the phone, then left the room, saying vaguely that she had to “get things ready.”

Eska, in the meantime, had found several recent issues of Republic City Style.  She had first encountered this publication in the storage room of the library back home, and knew that it was trash, but had been unable to stop reading these chronicles of uncivilized famous people and their clothing.  And it definitely wasn’t because she was jealous of them and their hedonistic lives!  No, if ever asked, she would claim that it was simply anthropological studies.

“All right, let’s see who Ginger is dating now,” she murmured as she sat down to look at the pictures with Kinalik.

“May I have one?” Desna asked.

“You may.”

They were deeply engrossed in their reading material, with occasional snorts of incredulity from the twins and squeals of “Pretty!” from Kinalik, when they heard something being hauled down the stairs and dragged into the living room.

“I found that box of t-o-y-s that I was telling you about yesterday!” Asami said as she beamed. She had removed her towel, and looked no worse for wear from the exertion.  Eska wished that she could look that put-together.

“So I was thinking that Bolin could help Kinalik look through these, and that maybe she would warm up to him more if she associated him with a positive thing like that.”

Kinalik perked up at the mention of her name.  Eska thought that this was actually a clever idea, and wished that she could have thought of that herself.

“Shall we see what is contained in here?” Eska asked Kinalik. Her daughter didn’t answer verbally, but appeared happy for the first time since they’d left the palace.

As Asami left to get some scissors with which to open the box, the doorbell rang.  The door was opened shortly thereafter, presumably by the butler…what was his name again?

“We have arrived!” Bolin announced as he bounded into the living room, followed closely behind by Opal.  “And…hey neat, what’s that?”  He gestured at the box.

Asami explained her idea to him as Kinalik removed the first item from the box: a stuffed animal in the form of a cat-owl.

“Great, sounds great!” Bolin enthused as made to sit down right next to Kinalik, then caught himself in time and picked a spot a respectful couple of feet away.

Asami had certainly never been lacking in any amusement as a child; Eska felt a twinge when she remembered how her own toys had been taken away when she wasn’t too much older than Kinalik.  There were stuffed animals of all sorts (yes, including a turtleduck and a koala otter), dolls, and Satomobile models.  Thankfully, nothing was in that box that would pose a choking hazard; Eska presumed that Kinalik was smart enough not to put toys in her mouth, but one never knew for sure.

Kinalik was insistent on doing the unpacking herself, and kept most of the toys to herself, but every so often she would shyly offer one to Bolin.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed at her latest offering of a stuffed animal that was so worn that Eska couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be.  “Do you wanna know something, Kinalik?  I don’t remember what toys I had when I was your age.  I wish I did.  So this is really as exciting for me as it is for you!”

Kinalik scrunched her nose, and either because she didn’t know how to respond or didn’t have the words, settled for “Okay.”  But she did hand over a toy truck to him.

“Oh, she’s just adorable!” said Opal, which slightly startled Eska because she’d been so focused on the scene across the room.  She was seated at the opposite end of the couch from the twins.

“Yes,” Eska answered.  She and Desna switched places so that there would be no one between Eska and Opal. Then she remembered.

“I have on my possession a copy of Kinalik’s birth certificate,” Eska stated as she took the piece of paper out of her pocket.  “It contains proof that Bolin was not being unfaithful to you.  Not with me, at least.”

Opal didn’t move to take it.

“It’s okay, I believe you.  Really,” she said.

It was just that easy?  Eska had been anticipating a more frosty reception.

“So what do you think?  Can we be friends?” Opal asked as she smiled gently.  She extended her hand, and Eska forced herself to make eye contact while tentatively reaching her arm out as well.  But she only had the nerve to brush Opal’s fingers with her own.

Just then, there was much excitement from the duo on the floor.  Having removed all of the toys from the box, they had reached the best part…the packing paper.  Kinalik reached for a particularly large piece and gleefully ripped it in half.

“That makes a cool sound, doesn’t it?” Bolin observed.

Kinalik studied the two halves in her hand, and then crumpled one up, walked over, and reached up to place it on Bolin’s head.

“Oh wow!  A hat!  Just what I always wanted!” Bolin said with all evidence of sincerity.  He tossed his head ever so slightly, and the paper fell to the floor.

“OOPS!  It fell off!  How clumsy of me!”

Kinalik looked at him, then at the paper, then back at him.  And she laughed.

This was something that even Eska herself rarely elicited from her daughter.  She wished that she could telepathically transmit to Bolin the significance of this event.  But as he glanced over it her, it seemed that he already knew to some extent.

Shortly thereafter, Korra returned, and while the servants transferred her things, Asami herded them all into the main dining room for lunch.  Evidently, Korra had informed her partner of Kinalik’s preferences, because the meal was omelets…plain for Kinalik and with vegetables for everyone else.  Kinalik actually ate most of hers, and even sampled a piece of mushroom from Eska’s plate without spitting it back out.

When that was concluded, Desna put Kinalik down for a nap while Eska ventured out into the great unknown.

For what felt like the millionth time, Eska felt the ends of her now shoulder-length hair.  It felt exceedingly strange to not have it hanging halfway down her back.

Also, the hairdresser had insisted on using hair clips to pin her bangs back.

“You have such a perfectly-proportioned forehead!” the older woman had gushed.  “And such delicate eyebrows.  Why would you ever want to cover that up?”

At least it might work as a disguise.  And Asami and Opal had wholeheartedly agreed with the stylist.  They had tried to get Bolin’s opinion as well, but he held up his pointer finger for silence.

“Please don’t disturb me.  I have attained manicure Nirvana,” he stated in an exaggerated whisper.

When Bolin had finally descended back down to Earth, they went clothes-shopping.  First they got some everyday items.  Eska was rather embarrassed that she had to wear clothing from the Juniors section due to her petite frame, but she managed to tolerate the shopping long enough to attain several new outfits.  The store had a changing room in case one wanted to wear an outfit out of the store, so Eska had changed her regular tunic and leggings for a sky-blue shirt with cap sleeves, white pants that fell just below the knee, and white sandals.  It was odd to have so much of her skin exposed in public, but it was amusing to imagine how the dreaded councilors back home would react.

She was taken aback when she realized that she would have to help carry her own belongings for the first time in her life, but decided not to argue.

Then Asami had remembered about Korra’s party, to which Eska hadn’t realized that she was invited, so they went to a more upscale boutique that specialized in Water Tribe inspired designs to find a dress.  Of course, the one that caught Eska’s eye was too large for her, so she would have to come back later for fitting.

By the time that was over, all of them were loaded with shopping bags and getting tired, and Eska’s back was acting up again.  She still didn’t understand why some girls and women did this for fun.

“There’s a bubble tea shop just down the street.  Let’s stop there,” Asami suggested.

Eska was about to inquire what bubble tea was, but her thoughts slammed on the brakes as a horrific sound rose from the corner next to the tea shop.

“What. Is.  That?” she demanded as she jammed her fingers inside her ears.

“That’s a trombone,” Opal answered.  She and Asami rolled their eyes at Bolin, who was edging nervously closer toward the tea shop door.

Even leading such a sheltered life, Eska had heard of street musicians.  But she had been under the impression that most did it for money.  There was no tip box beside this man’s feet, so either he was just doing it for fun or wanted to cause all pedestrians an agonizing death.  Probably the latter, she thought.

“I am going to ambulate over there right now and inform that man that he must cease and desist immediately,” she declared.

“Maybe…just going inside would be a better idea?” Bolin offered.  “Come on quick, before he sees us!”

Bolin dashed inside, and the three women had no choice but to follow, Opal and Asami both making noises of disapproval.

They got their orders and sat down.  Eska had assumed that the bubbles would be some form of carbonation, but they were actually solid spheres.  She guessed that it was not called “sphere tea” because it didn’t roll off the tongue as easily.  In any case, the spheres had a pleasantly chewy texture.

Meanwhile, Asami was still scolding Bolin.

“He’s a much better person now and you know it!” she said.

“He still scares me!”

“Well, I invited him to the party, so get used to him.”

“You what?  Oh frick…here he comes.”

The door abruptly swung open as if accompanied by a musical cue, and Trombone Man walked in like he owned the place.  To Eska’s relief, he had put away that torture device for the present.  Wait…why was he making a beeline to their table?

“Hi, Tahno!” Asami said cheerfully as Opal waved.  The latter elbowed Bolin, who squeaked out a “Hi!”

The name rang a bell.  Eska tried to recall where she’d encountered it.

“Now who is this lady here?” Tahno the Trombone Man asked.  “I don’t believe that I’ve seen you here with the Uh-vatar’s crowd before.”

Eska assumed that he was referring to Opal.  But after several seconds, she realized that he was looking at her.  Just in time, she remembered how she knew of him.

“I saw you in the magazines,” she said.  “Except then you weren’t there anymore.  And then you were, but not quite as often.”

“Guilty as charged.”

Was he flirting, or just making fun of her?

Eska rose from her seat and affixed her best glare.

“Your subpar pronounciation irritates my auditory receptacles.  As does your so-called musical talent.”

The look she was giving him would have sent a whole room full of courtiers fleeing.  But Trombone Man just laughed.

“Oh, did I offend you, Ice Queen?”

Did he know?  At any rate, Eska realized that he towered over her by at least a foot, despite her drawing herself up to as full a height as her back would allow.  This would not do.

“If I am the Ice Queen, then you are my subject.  I demand that you swear fealty to me by kneeling.”

She heard three sharp intakes of breath.  But kneel Tahno did, after only a brief pause.  He kept his eyes and his smirk on Eska.  Eska remained outwardly composed (at least she hoped so), but her heart was starting to pound…from anxiety or from something else?

“Of course…you do know what this means, Ice Queen?  Now I must kiss your hand.”

Eska barely had time to process the words before Bolin leapt in between them.

“O-kaaaayyy!” he exclaimed louder than he had to.  “I know we’re all having a wonderful time here, and it was great seeing you again, but look at the clock!  We really have to be going now, so bye and see you at the party, I guess!”

He herded the trio of women out the door, drinks, bags, and all.  Eska didn’t know whether she wanted to thank him or throttle him.

“That was interesting,” Eska mused as they walked back to the Satomobile.  “However, I doubt he would show the submission required to be my husband.”

Bolin choked on his last sip of tea.

“Mental images, Eska!  Mental! Images!” he gasped out.

At least he was starting to show his true self around her.