#i should be working right now but this was more fun
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You have poor eyesight
Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx, Ekko, Viktor, Jayce, Mel
A/n: Really rushed with this lol but it should be fine. Bon appetit!
Masterlist
Vi
Vi would tease you lightly, calling you "four-eyes" if you wear glasses or joking about how "the world looks better blurry anyway" if you donât. But itâs always said with a grin that lets you know she loves you just the way you are.
If you struggle to see something, Vi would be the first to step in and help. Sheâd guide your hand to what youâre looking for or describe things in vivid detail, making it fun so you donât feel self-conscious.
She loves holding your hand when you're navigating unfamiliar areas, making it feel less like a necessity and more like an excuse to stay close. âStick with me, short-stack. Iâve got your back.â
On lazy days, sheâd trace your face with her fingers while you lie together, her voice soft as she murmurs, âDoesnât matter what you seeâwhat matters is what I see, and thatâs someone amazing.â
During tender moments, sheâd lean down and say, âGuess itâs lucky for me you didnât see someone better,â before kissing you deeply.
Caitlyn:
Caitlyn would be the most practical about it, immediately asking if you need updated glasses, a new prescription, or anything to help. Sheâd even offer to bring you to Piltoverâs best optometrist.
If you ever feel embarrassed about squinting or losing your glasses, sheâd cup your chin and kiss you softly, whispering, âYouâre beautiful, no matter what you see.â
Sheâd make sure everything in your shared space is organized and accessible for you. If you have trouble finding something, Caitlyn would quietly place it in your hand with a soft, reassuring smile.
During late-night talks, sheâd lean in and kiss you gently, her voice soothing as she says, âYouâre all I see. Nothing else matters.â
Caitlyn would take pride in making sure you never feel limited. If thereâs something you canât do because of your eyesight, sheâd offer a solution or alternative with a warm smile and unwavering support.
Jinx:
Jinx would definitely make a big, dramatic show of it. Sheâd wave her hands in front of your face, asking, âCan you see this? What about this?!â just to make you laugh.
When youâre struggling to spot something, sheâd hop on your back and point things out like a pirateâs lookout, making it a game to cheer you up.
If you wear glasses, sheâd insist on decorating them with stickers or doodles, saying, âNow youâll be cool AND functional!â Sheâd giggle while planting a quick kiss on your lips.
Sheâd secretly learn what frustrates you most about your eyesight and try to fix it in her quirky, Jinx-like way. Canât see far? She might rig a telescope gadget for you, proudly presenting it with a kiss on your hand.
On days when youâre down, Jinx would surprise you with a flurry of kisses, peppering them all over your face until youâre laughing and feeling loved again.
Ekko:
Ekko would always notice when youâre struggling to see something, immediately stepping in to help with an encouraging smile and a cheeky, âI got you, babe.â
If you bump into something or get flustered, heâd grin and say, âYouâre cute when youâre clumsy,â before kissing you gently to soothe any embarrassment.
Heâd tease you lightly about your poor eyesight but would always make it clear he finds it endearing, pulling you in for a kiss and saying, âYou see just fine where it matters mostâright here with me.â
Ekko would love playing little games to cheer you up, like making a guessing game out of blurry objects or using his time manipulation to "rewind" your stumbles into something graceful.
Heâd keep his arm around you when you're out together, using it as both a guide and a silent way of keeping you close. âYouâre safe with me,â heâd whisper, leaning in to kiss your temple.
Viktor:
Viktor would carefully modify things in your environment to make them easier for you, like adding soft lights or adjusting your work tools. âA small improvement,â heâd say, his voice full of quiet pride.
If you wear glasses, Viktor would always take care of them for you, cleaning or fixing them without a second thought. âYour vision matters to me,â heâd say, pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles.
Heâd encourage you not to see your eyesight as a weakness, softly saying, âWe all have limitations. But you overcome yours beautifully,â before kissing your forehead.
Viktor would love moments where you rely on him to guide you, using it as an excuse to hold your hand or pull you close.
Heâd craft personalized solutions for any frustration you have, making sure you never feel like your eyesight limits your abilities or independence, always ending his gestures with a soft kiss of reassurance.
Jayce:
Jayce would constantly reassure you about your eyesight, saying, âIf anything, it just makes me want to take care of you more,â before sweeping you into a warm hug and a kiss.
Heâd invent practical yet adorable solutions, like a glasses case with your favorite design or a magnifying gadget you can wear around your neck for convenience.
If you ever bump into something or squint at something too long, Jayce would chuckle and ruffle your hair, saying, âYou know you can just ask me for help, right?â before guiding you.
Heâd love making you laugh when youâre frustrated about your vision, pulling you close and joking, âGood thing Iâm here to be your eyes AND your muscles.â
During quiet moments, Jayce would hold your hands and kiss each one, looking into your eyes and saying, âYou donât need perfect sight to see how much I love you.â
Mel:
Mel would handle it with quiet grace, always ensuring you feel comfortable. Sheâd notice the things you struggle with and adjust without making a big deal out of itâlike moving a book closer to you or pointing out details you might miss.
Sheâd gift you stylish, luxurious glasses or accessories, always making sure they feel like a part of your personality rather than a necessity.
When youâre squinting at something, Mel would smirk and lean in close, her breath brushing your skin as she whispers, âNeed a closer look?â before kissing you sweetly.
If you ever feel frustrated, sheâd sit beside you, gently holding your hand and saying, âLet me share my vision with you. Together, we can see the world clearly.â
Mel would use your eyesight as an excuse for more intimate momentsâholding your face in her hands, guiding your gaze to hers, and kissing you softly to remind you that youâre loved.
Requests may be sent through the ask box. SFW only.
@self-aes request: Good day. I want to write a headcanon about a reader with poor eyesight/wearing glasses. How characters from arcane will interact with him. I want to see Vi, Caitlin, Jinx, Ekko, Victor, Jace, Mel. Sorry if you see any mistakes (English is not my preferred language, I checked with a translator)
#arcane x reader#arcane headcannons#arcane x you#arcane league of legends#vi x reader#vi arcane#vi league of legends#violet x reader#jinx x reader#jinx x you#jinx league of legends#arcane#league of legends#ekko x reader#ekko arcane#caitlyn x reader#caitlyn kiramman#arcane season 2#arcane s2#viktor x reader#viktor arcane#jayce x reader#jayce x you#jayce arcane#mel medarda#mel arcane#mel x reader#mel x you
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This this this. I absolutely hold no ill will toward anyone who got a diagnosis in months. Everyone should have that option. Faster, really.
But itâs been hitting me lately about how many little oddities and weird injuries and other problems that made my life hell growing up were more than likely just undiagnosed EDS/POTS/the other muscular dystrophy situation I donât want to think about yet.
Thereâs grief. Being told for decades that you just have weird knees, but being unable to explain why gym class makes you feel like youâre actually dying. I was a skinny little kid and I think doctors and gym teachers wrote it off as me just not wanting to try. I tried and I tried and I tried. I wanted to play a sport like my friends, and because that was apparently the only capital that would get you treated like a real person and serious student by the teachers and administrators. If I had known I couldnât do it because of a disability, just, fuck. My self esteem would have been a whole lot better.
Doctors saying these kinds of things led me down a path of âwell, I just have to work harder.â This turned into an escalator of âeat betterâ (actually helpful) and âwork out moreâ (coulda been helpful with proper guidance.) So I decided over time to take it to an extreme so hard that no one could deny I wasnât doing enough exercise: I started training to run marathons. And I did! Multiples of them! It was a unique and delicious hell.
Runnerâs high is real, and so Iâd spend the first 5 miles staving off agony through mind over matter, snacks, music. Eventually the bone-grinding pain turned to numbness and then the high feeling somewhere between miles 5 to 8, reliably. I could ride that for a while, but when it wore off, it wore off.
Whatever the remaining distance at that point felt like dragging my body through quicksand. Whatever pain I had at the start came back multiplied by ten. But seeing the folks around me, no one was having a great time at the end of the race and I assumed all of this was normal. I would be incapacitated for days afterward, but no one could tell me I hadnât worked hard enough to get there.
I absolutely cannot do this now. I am sad because despite the pain and injuries, it was a lot of fun. I have no idea if I contributed damage to my body but I try not to think about it too hard because itâs so far in the past.
Anyway, to bring it back around, I guess my point is that not having a frame of reference for why your body seems âwrongâ to you, and the people whose job it is to advise you about it justâŚdonâtâŚcan really, really make you spend a lot of time trying desperately to be ânormalâ and it can be potentially dangerous at worst, or at least a waste of time.
It took my entire life (with a decade in the middle where I gave up for a while) to find the right path and the right people to help me understand myself and my weirdo genetics.
I wonder a lot how my life could have been different if I had known more much sooner. But I try not to think too hard about it, either. Just keep moving forward like a shark, one of the things Iâd repeat to myself during races. It still applies.
Iâm going to be a bitch for a second, but when Iâm conversing with someone newly diagnosed with MCAS/POTS post covid and they complain about âthe long waitâ to get diagnosed and that âlong waitâ is 3-4 months my entire brain blue screens.
Like on the one hand, yes those 3-4 months must have been so, so scary and I am so unbelievably glad weâre in a place where doctors know enough to reconize it now. Like truly, I am so sincere I am so happy for them.
But Iâm also just like... 30 years, man.
I spent 30 years being told from the age of eight I was manifesting my allergic reactions through anxiety by health care professionals.
Fuck, five years ago when I was starving to death from how severe my MCAS had gotten an allergist told me it was anxiety.
And you got diagnosed in three months.
MONTHS
MONTHS
AND YOUâRE COMPLAINING
Iâm not mad at them. Iâm not. Iâm just sad for myself.
But also, hey, yeah. If you come into an MCAS forum and wonder why a bunch of the old timers get upset when you complain it took months for a doctor to listen to you, this is why.
It's not that you deserved to wait longer. It's that we didnât either and and sometimes even good changes can unearth a world of hurt.
#healthposting#chronic pain#chronic illness#eds#ehlers danlos syndrome#hypermobility#pots syndrome#incompetent doctors#anxiety#in quotes#lol
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The Shape of Family â§âËâŕź
As a single dad, Steveâs world revolves around school drop-offs, bedtime rituals, and tee-ball practicesâand he's struggling to keep up. But you're always there, happily lending a hand when he needs it most. / masterlist
part three - you help steve and penelope look for cinderella 11k
a/n - this actually took me ages oh my god. but to those asking about cinderella here you go! CW lost pet (happy ending i promise)
ââ .âŚ
The clock hanging in the hall clicks annoyingly loud. Tick, tick, tick, like a bad song stuck in your head. You watch the minute hand cross another line. It hasnât been adjusted since the time changed last week. Similarly, the calendar below it has yet to be flipped.Â
Itâs November now, but more importantly, itâs Friday. Itâs quickly cementing itself as your favorite day of the week. Fridayâs mean lunch in Steveâs office and trading weekend plans and hearing about the kind of mischief Penelopeâs been up to at home.Â
But itâs a quarter past eight and Steve hasnât arrived yet. Heâs never been late, or even absent since you started volunteering. Itâs odd, but everyone has their days you suppose. Still, a dull twinge blooms in your chest. Working without him might as well be a form of punishment.Â
Someone had shoved a vacuum in your hands while they try and figure out if heâs coming. Itâs boring work, not the kind Steve would give you. And when he has to give you boring work, he at least makes it fun. Turns most things into games or competitions. Like last week, he bet you any candy from the vending machine that he could sort donations faster than you. You bought him a Reeses, of course, but if anyone asks, you let him win on purpose.Â
You hear Steve before you see him. Heâs not loud, but his voice is distinct against any others. By now, you could pick him from a crowd by voice alone. You find him in the threshold between his supervisor's office and the hall. He lingers halfway out, toying with the door handle like he canât decide if he should go inside.Â
âAh, look who finally decided to show up,â you overhear. âWas about to send a search party for you, Harrington.â The man cackles at his own joke, tone devoid of any edge.Â
Steve laughs strangely. A laugh you arenât sure youâve ever heard from him before. He spills a string of apologies for his tardiness, but his boss waves him off and sends him to work.Â
When he backpedals out of the doorway, you chide, âTsk. Tsk. Youâre late, Harrington.âÂ
Steve spooks easily. He hates to admit it but it makes him an easy target for office pranks which you do take full advantage of now that youâre friends. But you arenât even trying to scare him this time.Â
He visibly tenses at your voice, eyes snapping to yours. Theyâre as intense as youâve ever seen the lovely shade of brown, yet dulled with the toll of exhaustion. The next thing you notice is his hair. Itâs combed back behind his ears and by the looks of it has no product.Â
âHey,â he tries, stopping halfway to clear his throat.Â
As if his appearance isnât alarming enough, the lack of a comeback is triple worrisome. You tryâ and failâ to contain your concern. âWhat happened?âÂ
He deflates in one big sigh. Any attempt at a facade vanished. Itâs impossible to lie to you when you look so concerned.Â
âIâm the worst dad ever,â he declares, skimming your arm as he sidesteps past you.Â
You catch up to his long stride with practiced eloquence. âUh-oh. Whatâd you do?âÂ
âCinderellaâs gone missing.âÂ
âMissing?âÂ
He nods.
âBut sheâs an outside cat, right? Sheâs probably, I dunno, chasing birds or slumped over a can of tuna at a neighbor's house.âÂ
Steve bites the inside of his cheek. âItâs been four days. Four. Sheâs usually around at least once a day, if not, every other. I canât even remember the last timeââ
âWait, wait. This makes you the worst dad, how exactly?âÂ
He forces his key into the lock of his office door, jostling the handle in frustration. âBecause Penelopeâs begged me since forever to let her be an inside cat and I always say no. She wouldnât have got lost if she was inside.âÂ
You flick on the light and hum, understanding more than agreeing. âDonât take this the wrong way, Steve, but I think youâre exaggerating.âÂ
He plants his bag on the desk and unzips it. âThis is serious. She loves that cat more than me, I swear.âÂ
âOkay, first of all, not true. Second of all, this is serious and it sucks but it doesnât make you a bad dad. You know that right?âÂ
âBesides the point,â he passes you a heavy pile of paper. âWill you help me hang these up?â
You donât answer because you donât need to. He already knows youâll say yes.Â
Black ink across the top page reads, âMISSING CATâ. There are two patchy images of Cinderella, one of which youâve never seen and the other underexposed beyond recognition. Steveâs name, phone number, and address are listed at the bottom too. You flick through the stack, finding each version of Cinderella has been coated in a thick layer of brown crayon.Â
âPenelope insisted on coloring all of them so people know what color she is.âÂ
Steve doesnât have time for the pity party of a look you show him. If you cry, heâll cry. And heâs cried enough in the last few days.Â
You accompany Steve to the bulletin board outside his office. Unspokenly, you accept the very important job of paper-passer while heâs in charge of the stapler.Â
âThanks,â he says flatly, thumb catching on yours as he takes the page youâre holding out.Â
âDonât worry, Steve. Sheâll come home. Cats just like their space sometimes.â You arenât totally sure if thatâs true about cats, but it sounds like the right thing to say.Â
He mutters something under his breath. Not mean, just doubtful.Â
Itâs unusual to be the one filling the conversation. Steveâs good at talking, a Chatty Cathy as he often calls Penelope. But you try your best to fill his shoes.Â
âHowâs Penelope dealing with it?âÂ
âAwfully.â He chuckles dryly. âSheâs on strike for just about everything right now. Refused to go to sleep, refused to eat breakfast, refused to get in the car this morning.âÂ
You nod and hand him another sheet.Â
âIâd bet by lunch Iâll have to go pick her up. She was hysterical at drop-off.âÂ
âIâm sorry, Steve.â You have a funny urge to tack on something other than his name. Dummy or boss are typical but ill-fitting. And honey or sweetheart would probably cross a line, though, theyâre nice to consider.Â
He sighs, kneading his eye sockets. âIâm sorry. Iâm being⌠I know youâre trying to help.âÂ
âYouâre allowed to feel frustrated you know.âÂ
âI know. Youâre justâ thanks.â
âIâm banning that word from our conversations. You say it too much,â you tease.Â
He gives you a look, neither happy nor sad. âCause youâre always helping me, dummy.âÂ
You grin, largely at the nickname.Â
Every board in the building is covered with posters and every person is notified of Cinderellaâs disappearance in half the time it would normally take you and Steve. Heâs not in any rush, just in his head. And after that, you dissolve into separate work, never far but still apart.Â
By noon Steveâs on his third cup of coffee. But no amount of caffeine or sugar will erase the heavy bags under his eyes. Finding Cinderella might be the only cure.Â
So thereâs no debate in your mind when you offer, âI can come over and help look tonight?âÂ
Steve holds a finger up, gaze trained on an address book with his phone clamped between his ear and shoulder. âHi, Miss Crawford?â He pushes the bridge of his glasses further up his nose. Itâs rare that he wears them in front of you. Cute, nonetheless. âYes, itâs Steve,â he says.Â
Thereâs high-pitched rambling on the other end, not clear enough to discern anything other than an old-timey affection for Steve. You arenât sure of the nature of Steveâs relationship with the woman, but he appears equally fond, even through the somber hues of his story.Â
She offers no valuable insight as to Cinderellaâs whereabouts but promises to keep an eye out, making her⌠strike seven. Steveâs determined to phone every person he knows and then every local in the phone book in the span of his thirty-minute lunch break. You joked about stealing his office neighborâs phone to help, but Steve insisted you didnât.Â
When he docks the receiver you repeat yourself.Â
âSorry. You really donât have to.â
âI know, but I can⌠If you want. Itâs up to you.âÂ
âIâ okay,â he sighs. âOnly if you really donât mind. It would be really helpful honestly.âÂ
âAfter work then?â
âUhh, sure. I just have to pick up Penelope when I get off.âÂ
âSounds good.â You grin and stir your food idly with a fork. It eventually goes cold in your lap. Youâre more preoccupied with what youâll wear tonight and what to bring Penelope to cheer her up. Candyâs probably your best bet. You know sheâs already run out of Skittles from Halloween.Â
Steveâs lips twitch happily as he dials another number.Â
Thatâs about the happiest you see him. The rest of the day is a blur, mostly busywork as Steve is consistently ushered away by someone for something not even in his job description. For the first time possibly ever, he leaves on time. And he doesnât say goodbye. Heâs clearly having an awful day so you pretend it doesnât sting, but the walk to your car is painfully silent.Â
At home, you change quickly, pop something frozen in the microwave, and retrace your steps back to the car in record time. The drive to Steveâs is unfortunately not very long. It doesnât give you much time to mull over every possible scenario like your brain desires. But youâll survive.Â
It still feels unfamiliar, pulling into his driveway. Less so than the first time, but still. You notice things you hadnât before. The long crack like lightning in the pavement, the tinkle of a wind chime against the breeze, and the stepping stone with a âPâ carved in it. Halloween was the last time you were here. A couple of weeks has never felt like such a lifetime. Steveâs been busy parenting and working late and all. You donât blame him. Sometimes you wonder how he ever made time for you in the first place with his schedule.Â
On the front steps, Penelope plucks a weed and adds it to her bouquet. Her cheek is squished against the top of her knee and sheâs curled over herself like a pillbug. Brown eyes flick up as you near. One blink, then two. The epitome of indifference.Â
âHi, Penelope.âÂ
âHi,â she says. She sounds uncharacteristically small. And she is small, but her voice is anything but. You know her to be bold, unapologetic. But not today.Â
You squat, toe to toe with her little Mary Janes, and wave a pack of Skittles. âLook what I brought,â you sing.Â
The slightest lift of her frown before she restores the pout for good. âFor me?â
âAll for you.âÂ
She takes the candy and tucks it under her arm.Â
âWanna help me look for your dad?âÂ
Itâs not a bribe, though her presence does tend to balm your Steve-induced nerves. So you are a little disappointed when she shakes her head. But disappointment wanes into sympathy and sympathy to determination. Determination to help her find Cinderella as soon as possible.Â
You palm her shoulder as you stand. The front door is ajar, the breeze eating any warmth in the foyer. Itâs eerily quiet inside.Â
âSteve?âÂ
âOne second!â he calls back, muffled from upstairs.Â
The entryway is messier than you remember it. Shoes in a jumbled heap behind the door, Steveâs unzipped backpack slumped against the baseboards, and winter gloves and hats knocked haphazardly onto the tile. You bend to pick up a knit beanie as Steve hurdles down the stairs.Â
He struggles to squeeze into a raincoat over the thick sweater he wore to work. âHey,â he smiles softly, gaze sweeping across your clothes. âThanks for coming.âÂ
âYeah, of course.âÂ
âDo you want a heavier coat? Radio said itâs supposed to storm tonight.âÂ
âOh,â you peer down at your denim jacket. âIâm sure itâll be fine.âÂ
Steve tilts his head, passing you a bundle of crumpled pink cloth. âGive this to Penelope? Iâll grab you one.â He doesnât allow you to argue before turning around, but he stops halfway up the stairs, leaning over the railing to say, âTell her to grab her boots too.â
You find the boots in the pile by the door and bring them to Penelope outside. She stares at you helplessly with one shoe halfway on the wrong foot.Â
âNeed help?â
âYes please.âÂ
You take her ankle and prop her foot against yours. It takes a few tries and lots of wiggling but you slide the boot on and lace the purple strings all the way up. The second round is easier but you still wonder whether kids shoes are supposed to be this difficult.Â
The door groans behind you and a warm hand cups your shoulder. âDid you eat?â Steve asks. âI can make you something before we go.â Â
You rise to face him. The skyâs overcast, muting his tan complexion, making him look even more spent than he had earlier. âI ate. But thank you,â you smile, hoping to encourage one back.Â
He doesnât but he unfolds the coat heâs carrying, shaking the arms free so itâs easier for you to slip on. âSee if this fits.â
Itâs not your typical size, but the extra weight is nice. Traces of pine and juniper linger, like itâs been taken on a hike recently. And youâre instantly warmer, a comfort that extends beyond the garment alone.Â
âNice,â he nods, taking it upon himself to even out the hood strings for you. His fingernail skips across the zipper teeth and for a second, you think heâll zip it up too.Â
âDaddy, are we going now?âÂ
Steve spins on his heel, shuffling for his keys at the door. âYes, baby. What did we talk about?âÂ
Penelope kicks a load of gravel into the grass. âUmmm, I dunno.âÂ
âNo running off. If I canât see you, we go home. Capeesh?âÂ
When he jogs down the steps to her side, she sighs. âCapeesh.âÂ
âReady?â He pats her head, âGot your detective hat on?âÂ
She peers up then, a flush of fresh purpose, and nods.Â
âAlright, Detective. Letâs roll.âÂ
Steveâs yard is embraced by dense woods on every side but the road. He leads you to the tree line where a trail has been carved smooth with frequent use. Bark stretches tall and needle branches weave a canopy of orange above.Â
âKatie said I need to think more like a cat.â Penelope cranes her head up, âDo you think Cinderella went in the trees?â
âMaybe,â Steve mumbles, focused on jamming his nail under the metal tab of a can of cat food.Â
âSo maybe I should climb up to check?â
âNot these ones, babe. Too tall.â
âBut what if sheâs in one? Like, a really, really tall one.âÂ
âI think sheâd pick a shorter one so she could get down,â you supply. âIt would probably hurt her nails going all the way up there too.âÂ
She hums. You drift into a steady rhythm of whistling and calling Cinderellaâs name. Penelope waves a toy ball with a little bell inside while you rattle the jar of treats.Â
Penelope orbits off course slowly and when she hops out of sight Steve calls, âWhat did I say Nell?âÂ
âNo running away!âÂ
He shakes his head at you, âThis kidâll be the death of me, I swear.â
You grin, turning back to him when you spot Penelope. Steve has a lovely side profile. You try to memorize the shape without tripping over any twigs as you walk. âHow was she at school?âÂ
âSad, they said. She cried at nap. Refused to sleep at all.âÂ
You coo.Â
âBut she ate all her lunch, so thatâs good.â
You hum in agreement.Â
Penelope crouches to examine the inside of a log. Her pigtails flip as she tips her head upside down.Â
âDid you find something?â you ask.Â
Penelope pulls something dark out, a dopey smile rounding her cheeks. âA slug.âÂ
Steve scrunches his nose but quickly slackens it in a poor attempt to conceal his disgust. Thankfully, you donât have to be a good actor to fool a four-year-old. âNice, honey.âÂ
âI think heâs dead.â
âWhy donât you put him back? Heâs probably hibernating.âÂ
âHiding? Why?â
âNo, hi-ber-nat-ing. Itâs when the animals go to sleep during the winter.âÂ
She squints, âFor the whole winter?âÂ
âYeah, think so.â
âHow do they do that?âÂ
âUmm, I donât know.â Steve glances at you for help but you only shrug. âThey just do.âÂ
One of the joys of parenthood youâve discovered through Penelope is the plethora of questions that you have absolutely no idea how to answer.Â
Penelope replants the slug in its home, making a point to clarify, âCinderella wasnât in there.âÂ
The trail dips steadily downward, covered with a mess of broken branches, scattered pinecones, and crunchy leaves that crackle beneath your feet. Steveâs leading the way, rambling about something or other and youâd swear youâre listening if he asked. But truthfully, your eyes trace the fit of his jeans shamelessly. He has a nice ass, itâs hard not to notice!Â
Your foot snags on something hardâ a root, a branch, you arenât totally sureâ and it all happens so fast. You yelp and pitch forward, knees and hands slamming into the dirt with the full force of your weight.Â
Steve whirls around and assesses the damage, quickly determines there are no injuries severe enough to warrant a hospital visit, and then he fucking cackles.Â
You scoff, burying your own amusement as Penelope mimics him. Some example Dad is setting. At least he offers to help you up, Penelope just watches your embarrassment unfold. Â
âDonât laugh!â You yank his hand, harsh enough that he stumbles forward onto your toe. âOwâ Steve!â
âThatâs what you get!â He hauls you up, grip faltering with each peel of laughter.Â
You twist around yourself, sweeping your backside. âDo I have leaves on my butt?âÂ
He looks for as long as he deems appropriate which is not very long at all. âJust dirt and a ton of bugs.âÂ
âShut up,â you smack his bicep.Â
Penelope points, âThat is not nice!â
âYeah, keep your hands to yourself,â Steve teases.Â
You trap a retort behind clenched teeth and look to Penelope. âSorry.âÂ
âUhh. Youâre supposed to apologize to me.âÂ
You skip past him to Penelopeâs side. âIâm helping Penelope look right now. Maybe later.âÂ
Steve knows you wonât see it but he hopes you feel him sticking up his middle finger.Â
Penelope trudges along, the corners of her mouth drawn tight in quiet sadness. She fills the silence before you find the words.
âDo you think sheâll come home?â she asks earnestly.Â
âI do, Pen. I think sheâs probably just hiding.âÂ
âLike hide and seek?â
âYeah.âÂ
She considers your words carefully. âBut why?â
âI dunno. Cats are just silly like that.âÂ
She smiles. âLike dinosaurs?âÂ
You smile back. âExactly.âÂ
The trees taper off, merging with the cracked sidewalk lining a cul de sac. Penelopeâs ponytails are swept off her shoulders as a car whizzes by. Â
You cuff her smaller fingers in your own just as Steve tells her to hold someoneâs hand.Â
He stops at her other side, surveying the neighborhood. Itâs the type youâd imagine families live in. Basketball hoops, sidewalk chalk, bikes thrown against the lawns.Â
âIâm gonna go talk to some neighbors. Will you hang some posters?â Steve asks you. âWe should hurry. I think itâs going to rain soon.âÂ
âCan I go?âÂ
Steveâs eyes trail from Penelope back up to you curiously.Â
âYeah, Iâve got her.â You squeeze her hand, reassuring yourself more than anyone.Â
âOkay. Penelope, be a good listener. Donât go on the road by yourself. Iâll be just over there.â He points to a house with yellow siding and starts across the road.Â
You turn Penelope by the shoulders and unzip her bag, taking the stapler in one hand and the stack of paper in the other.Â
âCan you carry these?â you ask, thrusting the posters toward her.Â
You straighten out the stapler and pick a sheet off the top before she braces them against her chest. âYou know, this reminds me of when we first met.âÂ
âBecause I helped you hang up stuff?â
âMhmm.â You line the page up against a tree, nailing each corner to be sure it sticks.Â
Eventually, you're passed a different poster, a painting. Itâs a charming tangle of shapes and a riot of brown and orange. At the top, "MISSING" is written with two backward Sâs in a crooked slope.
âDid you paint this?â
âYes, at school.âÂ
âWow. Did you write this too?âÂ
âYep. My teacher helped me.âÂ
âVery good!â You tack it to a telephone pole and pivot to face her, brimming with pride.Â
Sheâs not nearly as happy as you are about it. Her lips thin as she stares at her work and she hesitates before asking,âDo you think weâre bad detectives?âÂ
Your chest aches so sudden and fierce like youâve been punched. You crouch, rubbing the soft fleece at her elbow. âNo. No, honey. We arenât bad detectives. Detective work just takes time. We have a lot of ground to cover.âÂ
Her frown wobbles, lashes shining. âItâs taking so long,â she whines.Â
âI know, Pen. Cinderella didnât leave us many clues, huh?â You swipe a tear before it reaches her mouth. You want to promise her that Cinderella will come home but your gut wonât let you. You donât know if she really will. âLetâs go check on your Dad. See if the neighbors have seen her. Hmm?âÂ
She nods and you give her your best loving squeeze.Â
Steveâs halfway up the steps of someoneâs porch, mid-conversation with a young woman. Her frown deepens as you and Penelope approach, unlike the baby on her hip who smiles at you.Â
Steve glances over before continuing. âWell, please call, if you do happen to see her.âÂ
âAbsolutely. I hope you find her.âÂ
âThanks,â he waves, descending the stairs to stand beside you. Â
âNo luck?â you ask, peering up at the clouds. Theyâre getting moodier by the minute and itâs started to sprinkle.Â
His hand settles around Penelopeâs skull like a claw, he shakes her frown away but not easily. âNot yet. Weâll keep looking.âÂ
Penelope walks a few feet ahead of you and Steve. Every few mailboxes you and Steve stick another poster up. Penelope doesnât stop to wait, but sheâs thorough in her searching, checking under cars and in drain pipes. Enough to even out the distance that grows each turn.Â
Youâre faced away, unclogging the jam in the stapler when Penelope gasps.Â
âNell! Wait!â Steve shouts as you turn. By then sheâs already halfway up someoneâs lawn. Â
Steve jogs after her and you jog after Steve. Penelopeâs made it to the sideyard when you catch up, stretching onto tiptoes and squinting through a rotted hole in the fence.Â
âPenelope,â Steve sighs.
âI saw her Daddy! She jumped over the fence!â
âAre you sure?â His hand curls over the top of the fence but his eyes canât reach.Â
âYes, I promise! We have to go over!âÂ
He scrapes through his hair, judging the wood planks. Theyâre at least a head taller than Steve, but thereâs a thin lip dividing each in half. If he angles his foot right, he could use it to boost himself over.Â
He shakes his head. He might've hopped a fence or two as a teenager, but he's grown now. âWe have to ask. Itâs someoneâs yard.âÂ
Penelope wails, yanking his arm repeatedly. âNo! Daddy! What if sheâs gone? We have to hurry!âÂ
âJust go,â you wave, already backing up toward the house. âIâll go knock. See if theyâre home.âÂ
Steve winces at himself for what heâs about to do. But one glance at Penelopeâs worried little face is all the courage he needs. He tests his grip, the sole of a shoe scraping wood for a scary second before catching on the trim. With one leg on either side, he pauses to look at Penelope. âStay there,â he says, before leaping into the grass.Â
He scans the backyard. Thereâs a swing set, a raised garden bed, a kiddie pool, and lots and lots of toys. It reminds him of his own yard. Steve takes a handful of hesitant steps, gaze flicking across each window for any horrified faces. Heâs thankful not to see any.Â
Then, a meowâfaint, but unmistakable. His heart lurches, his head whipping up to the nearest tree even faster. His eyes comb through branch after branch, then again when he comes up empty. But a second meow and heâs never been more sure. He wedges his heel into a groove, hugging the trunk for balance. His nails dig uncomfortably into the bark as he pulls himself up.Â
And there! Right where he swears he looked, a strip of golden-orange fur, blending seamlessly with the leaves⌠Except, Cinderella isnât orange, sheâs brown. Steveâs shoe slips, sending his chin hard into a thick branch on his way to the ground. The cat hisses equally if not more upset than Steve about the situation. He groans, glaring at the tree as he picks himself up.Â
âDid you find her? Was it her?â Penelope yells, still peeping through the hole in the fence.Â
Steve waits until he vaults back over to answer. âNo, princess. Not her.âÂ
âYour chin,â you point out, but your words are eaten by Penelopeâs shouting.Â
âIt was her! I know it was! I saw!âÂ
âIt wasnât, Nell. Promise. That cat was orange.â
âBut it was! I saw her!â Penelope crumbles into hysterics, batting her fists against Steveâs thighs like theyâre punching bags. Â
Steve scoops her up, clamping her arms between their chests.Â
âDaddy, we have to go back! I saw her!â Several gasps slice through her sentence and tears pour down her face in even streams.Â
Steve shushes her gently, fanning her hood across her head as it starts to rain. You follow him up to the road and then down the street. Penelopeâs relentless, squirming and screaming in his ear. Itâs the first of her temper tantrums youâve seen in person, though youâve heard plenty about them, and you caught the beginning of one once through the phone. Steveâs more composed than you thought possible, waiting patiently until her sobs have dwindled into teary hiccups to set her down.Â
âItâs not nice to hit. Even when weâre mad, you know that.â
She glares at him, more serious than youâve ever seen.Â
âAre you ready to go home?âÂ
Penelopeâs face starts to wilt. She nearly cries again.Â
âItâs too rainy. We have to go home soon or weâll get sick.â
âFive more minutes,â she begs.Â
âOkay.â He buttons her coat up to her chin. âAre you tired?âÂ
She shakes her head, though her eyes say otherwise.Â
âDo you want me to carry you?âÂ
Penelope thinks long and hard. Itâs a trick question. Of course she wants to be carried but God forbid Steve finds out sheâs tired.Â
He picks her up anyway. âYou can still look from up here.âÂ
Penelope hooks her chin over his shoulder, cheek tipping to kiss the pad of his jacket. So much worry and too many days of poor sleep etched into each flap of her lashes. She looks utterly exhausted. And she really tries to stay awakeâ she needs to find Cinderellaâ but she lost that battle before it even started. The hiss of rain and the warm swing of Steveâs embrace send her straight to dreamland.Â
Steve feels her arms slacken and slide down his back. He chances a glimpse at you to ask what he already knows but canât. Not when youâre already watching Penelope with a type of love he believed was his alone to give.Â
Alarm pulses when he registers the weight of your stare has shifted to him. The same velvet endearment skips across every feature on your face. Itâs lovely and adorable but it terrifies the hell out of Steve.Â
His cheeks burn and he smiles like a madman. He canât help it. It sticks long after his eyes dart away.Â
You drift into a comfortable quiet. The spray of rain is like white noise, making even you drowsy. Maybe Steve could carry you back too. Itâs an amusing idea, enough to make you grin to yourself. Youâre glad he doesnât notice. He couldn't torture that information out of you.Â
Halfway home, you hit a particularly steep incline in the forest, slick with the beginning sludge of mud.Â
âHere,â Steve calls, boosting Penelope higher up his chest before casting his arm at you.Â
You accept his hand, grateful for more reasons than one, and trace the wet shoeprints he leaves behind with your own. Itâs a slow journey. Steve strains with the added weight on his front, but he doesnât let go of you until you reach the top of the hill.Â
You cross the threshold back into Steveâs yard as a bout of thunder splits the sky above. Penelope shakes awake and peels herself off Steve. She blinks unhappily, cheeks stamped with red lines mirroring his coat folds.Â
âItâs okay,â he soothes, fixing her hood after it falls.Â
âCinderella,â she whimpers.Â
âWeâll look again tomorrow.âÂ
She sniffles, voice so frail, hollow with sleep. âNo. IââÂ
Another wave of thunder startles her to panicked tears. Steve picks up the pace to the front door, shuffling through his pocket for the keys. Heâs well-versed in unlocking the door one-handedâ between groceries, backpacks, Penelopeâ he always has something to carry. But heâs thankful when you take the keys and do it for him.Â
You scoot inside last, joining the choir of shoe squealing on the tile.Â
Steve sets Penelope on the floor and kneels to unlace her boots. She wrestles with her coat zipper until Steve intervenes with much gentler hands.Â
âWe looked really good while you were asleep,â you promise while shedding your own coat.Â
Her miserable expression doesnât falter.Â
Steve smears her tear tracks one cheek at a time. âStay for a bit? Until the storm passes.â
You bend to collect Penelopeâs coat off the floor and hang it next to yours. âOkay,â you say when you realize his words were directed at you.Â
âIâm gonna give her a quick bath. Do you need anything? Water? Towel?âÂ
âOh, no. Iâm good. Thanks.âÂ
âOkay. Weâll be upstairs. Please, help yourself to whatever. Seriously.âÂ
When Steve disappears from view, you mosey into the living room, searching for something to keep your hands busy. And itâs not hard to find. Thereâs a pile of laundry that looks like itâs been trampled through more than a few times. Clothes stretch from one end of the couch to the other. You push them into a pile and get comfortable, folding each item with more care than you would your own.Â
Four neat stacks later and Steve spots you from the stairs. âPlease donât do that,â he says.Â
You clear your smirk as he nears. âDo what?âÂ
âYou know what,â he snatches a sock from your grasp. Itâs one of his, longer and duller than the others. âSorry, I know itâs a mess.âÂ
âYou know I donât care, Steve.âÂ
He gazes down at you in pretend petulance. âWell, I do.â With a dramatic flick of his finger, he sends the sock sailing back into the hamper on the floor. Â
âIf it makes you feel better, I have a pile of clothes covering half my bed right now.â
 âMmm. It doesnât,â he decides. âBut I came down because Penelopeâs very kindly requested that you come read to her before she goes to bed. If you want to.âÂ
âOf course I want to.â Your lips bend into a funny little line, happy and curious and doubtful all dressed in one. âShe really asked for me?âÂ
âYeah,â he says in the same cadence he would duh. He offers his palm, drags you up easily. âWhyâs that so hard to believe?âÂ
âI dunno.â A toothy smile slips onto your face before you can stop it. But your lips close as soon as you stand, pressed closer to him than you expected to be.Â
âSorry,â he chuckles, breaking away. âCome on.âÂ
He seemed nervousâ the way he laughed, how his hands retracted like he was burnedâ but maybe youâre overthinking it. You forget about the interaction by the time you reach Penelopeâs room.Â
Several books are fanned around Penelope where she stands, like fallen petals from the stem of a flower. Her shelf has been mostly stripped. What isnât on the floor has been scooped into a flimsy stack in her arms.Â
Steve knocks on the door frame, âReady?âÂ
Penelope turns and two books slide off the top of her tower. You canât see her mouth but you can tell by her eyes that thereâs a smile behind that copy of Goodnight Moon.Â
âYou can pick three, missy,â he says.Â
âFive?âÂ
âFour.âÂ
âFour and a half?â
âThree.â
âNo,â she giggles, definitely delirious. âFour.â
âOkay.â He kneels at her feet, reshelving unchosen books two or three at a time.Â
Itâs not an easy decision, but Penelope decides on her four and promptly thrusts them into your hands. You follow her to bed where she packs herself against the wall, politely leaving the rest of the twin mattress for you.Â
âWait!â she shouts when you open the first book, âThe lights!âÂ
âIâm working on it,â Steve grumbles, standing to flip the light switch by the door. The room is swallowed in black apart from the nightlight glowing to life across the room.Â
Penelope stretches across you to snatch something off her nightstand. A flashlight, you realize, as she clicks the switch. She trains the light on the page and beams at you with equal vibrance.Â
The first story is the shortest and the second not much longer, but the third takes time. Time you get to notice the heat of her breath as she yawns into your arm and time to appreciate the weight of her head limp against your shoulder.Â
You donât have to look up to know Steve is still tidying. Every second counts when youâre a single parent. But you steal a glance in between each page anyway. Find him chucking clothes in the hamper and dumping an armload of stuffed animals onto the foot of the bed. Theyâll be kicked to the floor by morning and yet he straightens them up anyhow.Â
He concludes his rounds by the final pages of the fourth book, taking a seat on the floor just in time to hear you whisper, âThe end.âÂ
Penelope bats her dark eyes up at you. She knows youâll say yes before she even asks. âOne more?âÂ
âNo,â Steve interjects. âNo more tonight, babe.â
âPleaseee!âÂ
âNo, you already hustled me into four. We usually only read two.âÂ
âPretty please!â she adds, puppy dog eyes bouncing from Steve to you.Â
Oh the cruelty. To defy Steve or disappoint Penelope. Both are terrible choices but only one of the pair currently has a heartbreaking little pout.Â
âIâll read one more really really short book if you promise to go to sleep after?âÂ
Her head bobs eagerly as she kicks the blankets off, springing to her feet.
Steveâs head flops against the sheets, hair like satin ribbons shining from root to end. You consider if itâs as soft as you assume and if youâll ever have the chance to find out.Â
âSupposed to be on my side,â he whispers through a gooey grin.Â
âAm I?âÂ
He tuts, craning up to find Penelope. âDonât take all of those back out. I just cleaned them up.â
She exchanges the two in her hand for a thick chapter book.Â
âNo maâam,â Steve says as she turns. âShort one, âmember?â
Penelope huffs and lugs herself back to the bookcase. She plucks a thinner paperback and uses Steveâs calf as a stool to launch herself back in bed. He doesnât complain but he pinches her side in revenge.Â
The book mirrors the length of tonightâs first, yet it takes double the time for your own selfish reasons. You linger on each word, emphasize each sound, and savor every second. Penelope is nestled against your hip as you read the final sentence, sleepy and oblivious that youâve turned the last page.Â
Steve pulls himself up to perch on the edge of the bed, mindful not to sit on anyoneâs legs. He runs the back of his hand across her face, giving her nose an extra tap. Enough times and itâll put her to sleep.Â
âCan you say thanks, Nell? And goodnight.âÂ
She squirms away from his touch, pushing into your thigh. âI donât wanna go to sleep.â
âPen, remember our deal.â You squeeze her shoulder gently. âYou promised, hmm?â
You swallow the urge to smile when she juts her lip out and frowns. The drama never ends with this one but you love it.Â
âGoodnight,â you whisper. Your hand glides over the shape of her arm beneath the blanket. âI had fun reading to you.âÂ
She avoids your gaze, picking a loose string from her blanket. If she sees you grinning, sheâll end up grinning too. She canât have that, sheâs protesting. âNight.âÂ
Steve shakes his head dismissively at you, grinning fondly himself. âIâll be down in a second,â he explains.Â
You stand, slotting the book back in its home on the shelf and steal one last glimpse of them on your way out. A trail of nightlights guides you to the stairs like beacons. You end up in the kitchen, hands braced on the sink, eyes drifting around the backyard through the window.
Thereâs a patio with chairs and string lights. In the grass, a trampoline, a sandbox, and a toddler-sized picnic bench, all draped in purple moonlight and sparkling with rain. Itâs easy to imagine life here. Birthday parties and cookouts and lazy Sunday afternoons.Â
The swish of sock against tile knocks you from the fantasy. You locate Steveâs reflection in the glass.
âYou better not be doing my dishes.âÂ
Your lips flex instinctually at his voice. âI thought about it.âÂ
He leans back against the counter, hip a handâs width from yours. Strips of hair sag across his forehead like a botched set of bangs. Your height difference and the angle only accentuate how silly he looks.Â
âWhat?â Steve smiles.Â
You huff through your own. âNothinâ.âÂ
âWhy are you laughing then?âÂ
âIâm not. JustâŚâ you reach for his face but the courage fades halfway. You wave obtusely instead. âThis hair,â you finish.Â
He flattens the piece down, then another, combing more and more over his face like a real pair of bangs until the ends graze the ball of his nose. âWhat? You donât like it?â
âOh, itâs awful, Steve. Put it back.âÂ
âI dunno. Thinking of changing it up anyway.â
You shake your head, peeling your eyes away from him. âStupid.âÂ
Stupidly gorgeous, you decide. Heâs a mess, no doubt; rumpled and sweaty, and still, stupidly, impossibly gorgeous.Â
He rakes his hair back where it belongs, âYouâre too good to me, you know.â
âYouâre so dramatic.â Your gaze remains on the window but you watch Steve in your peripherals. âIâm the perfect amount of good to you.âÂ
âWell, agree to disagree. But, thank you for coming over to help look. Really Iââ
You face him fully then. âSteve, you donât have to thank me.âÂ
âNo, I do. Really, youâre⌠youâre great and itâs been nice, you know, having help. Even just having company. It hasn't been easy making friends the last few years.â
Your brain stalls at his choice of words. You spout the first thing that comes to mind. âThatâs what friends are for, right?â The words sting like acid on your tongue but you smile anyway. Youâre pretty sure your heart just split itself in half on the way to the friend zone.Â
He hums, pushing off the counter toward the fridge. âLet me return the favor, please. Iâll make you whatever you want. Spaghetti, PB ân J, uhh, pre-packaged salad?â
âIâm good, Steve. I ate earlier. And you donât need to return the favor.âÂ
He sets a jar of jelly on the counter. âYour loss. Penelope says I make the best PB ân Jâs.âÂ
âOh, Iâm sure you do.âÂ
You settle at the kitchen table and watch him work unapologetically. His focus is entirely on a one-sided debate about the perfect peanut butter-to-jelly ratio, leaving him oblivious to your ogling.
He plops down in the chair across from yours when heâs finished. âSure you donât want some? You can have half of mine.âÂ
âSteve.âÂ
âOkay,â he sings and takes a bite.Â
You watch the slow drip of water from the eaves. The rain has subsided enough that you could go, but neither of you suggest it. Your mind is elsewhere. Stuck on friends.Â
âHello? Anybody home?â Steve chuckles when you blink back to reality. âDid you hear me? I wasââ
The trill of the phone interrupts.Â
âIâm holding my thought. Donât go anywhere.â Steve abandons his sandwich and crosses the room, pulling the phone from the counter. âHello?... Uh-huh⌠Yes, yes.â
The sudden shift in his tone catches your attention. He sounds borderline ecstatic.Â
âOkay. Iâll be right over. Thank you!âÂ
âWho was it?â you ask.
He snaps the receiver back into place. âA neighbor saw her just now.âÂ
âReally?âÂ
âYes! Well, theyâre pretty sure itâs her. It sounded like her, how they described. Are you able to stay here while I go check? I donât wanna wake Penelope up.âÂ
You donât even think about it when you insist, âOf course. Go!âÂ
âIâll be right back. Thank you!â He squeezes your shoulder and jogs out of the kitchen. The sound of jangling keys fades with the closing of the front door and before youâve processed it, youâre alone in Steveâs house.Â
Itâs a strange thing, being in Steveâs house without Steve. Youâre not technically alone, Penelope is still tucked in bed upstairs, of course. But the silence is thick, suffocating even. So youâre admittedly glad when you hear tiny footsteps from upstairs.Â
On the bottom step, Penelope freezes and her hand tightens around the railing, not expecting you to be there. âWhereâs Daddy?â she mewls at you, bottom lip quivering against her words.Â
âItâs okay. He went out to look some more, thatâs all.âÂ
âI want Daddy,â she whines, breath hitching in between words.Â
âHeâll be right back, sweetheart. I promise.âÂ
A sob wracks her chest, tears escaping as she scrunches her eyes. Sniffles cut through a mush of sounds, woven between them, she pleads, âWhen?â
âOh, honey. Come here.â You hoist her up against your chest instinctually. It feels like the right thing to do, and it must beâ her arms wind underneath yours like puzzle pieces. âReal soon,â you reassure.Â
You hope so anyway. Half for Penelopeâs sake and half for yours. Youâre afraid to overstep, to parent her in a way Steve wouldnât approve of. You feel the echoes of his constant self-doubt in your own mind. But youâll try your best until he returns.Â
Penelopeâs not heavy, but it is the first time youâve carried another human down a set of stairs. Itâs a slow descent with lots of maneuvering and readjusting limbs so you can see the steps ahead but she doesnât seem to mind. By the time you make it to the sectional, your arms burn. Still, youâd do it ten times over just so she doesnât have to walk herself. Â
She sweeps her runny nose across your sleeve and her knee digs uncomfortably into your ribcage but you canât find it in yourself to mind. She feels safe enough with you to do so. Itâs a compliment more than anything. And the weight of her head against you is a type of soothing you donât think youâll ever get used to.Â
Your fingertips trace the shape of her shoulder blades through her nightgown. âDid you have a bad dream?â you whisper.Â
She draws similar lazy patterns on your arm, pausing to hum yes.Â
You hum back. ââM sorry, Pen. Wanna talk about it? Might help.â
She shakes her head, the slightest movement against your collar.Â
âOkay, I got you. Donât have to worry,â you whisper and pat her head. âI wonât let any more bad dreams get in here.âÂ
Steveâs gone long enough to fuel your nerves and keep your mind buzzing, though your eyes beg for the sweet release of sleep. Penelopeâs not helping, like a warm, weighted blanket on your chest. Sheâs barely awake herself when he arrives, but youâre surprised sheâs awake at all. You arenât sure what time it is but itâs definitely late.Â
Two clicks from the front doorâs lock and a Steve-shaped shadow slides inside. Heâs being particularly quiet, like when tries to sneak up on you at the rec center. Like a ninja, he always says.Â
Penelopeâs head shoots up to peer over the couch. âDaddy?â
Steve stops in his tracks, but his head snaps in your direction. When his eyes confirm his ears he starts toward the couch, waiting until he can sit to coo, âHey, baby. Hey.â A hand scoops a piece of hair behind her ear. âWhat are you doing up sleepyhead?âÂ
Penelope splinters off of your chest but remains situated on your thighs. She offers several half-lidded blinks to Steve. âYou didnât find her?âÂ
He melts like her eyes are made of sunbeams, reaching up to thumb sleep from under her lashes. âNo, baby. Someone thought they did but it wasnât her. I went to make sure.âÂ
âOh,â she says, not sad, just tired. Penelope slowly leans over to him like a bridge, wrapping her arms around his neck as he tows her into his lap.Â
He looks at you then. A long look. An expression you're having a hard time untangling. His eyes flutter back down when Penelope yawns. âHave to go to bed, okay?â he whispers into her crown, planting a kiss while heâs there.Â
âI wanna sleep in your room.â
âThatâs fine but Iâm not laying down yet. You still have to go to sleep.âÂ
She nods against his chin.Â
âIâll carry you up. Can you say goodnight?âÂ
Penelope turns so you can see one side of her face, the other glued to Steveâs sweater.Â
âGoodnight,â you wave and smile softly.Â
She only shudders out a sigh but manners arenât on Steveâs mind, especially when he knows you wouldnât care about that. His knees crack as he stands, hiking her up higher before he heads upstairs.Â
You yank a blanket from the arm of the couch, missing the warmth Penelope lent you. Itâs a risky move when youâre already fighting to keep your eyes open.Â
But Steveâs back before you have time to fall asleep. Heâs trampling down the steps with a confidence that Penelopeâs out for good this time. And he flops onto the couch with the same heaviness, sighing like youâve never heard. Pure frustration. Itâs understandable. But odd off his lips.Â
âYou okay?â you ask, the same syrupy sweetness youâd used with Penelope. Â
He turns to face you and he looks awfully sad. The rainwater clinging to the ends of his hair doesnât help. But he nods anyway because heâs Steve. âIt was a stupid raccoon.âÂ
âYouâre kidding? They thought it was a cat?âÂ
âI shouldâve known,â he scrubs his face. âPractically senile that lady.âÂ
âYouâll find her, Steve.âÂ
He takes a deep breath and swallows. âI donât know anymore. Iâm really starting to think worst-case scenarios.âÂ
You press your lips into a firm line. Itâs a possibility you donât want to consider. âWhy donât I go look a little longer? Iâm offââ
âNo, please,â he leans over to cradle the shell of your knee. âYouâve helped all night. I mean this in the nicest way possible, you look exhausted.â
âWay to treat a guest, Harrington,â you smirk, peeling his pointer finger off your leg to hook it under your own.Â
He squeezes your finger like a trigger, shifting focus between your hands and face. âGo home, rest, please.âÂ
âYou sure?â
âHundred percent. Rainâs let up so the drive shouldnât be too bad.âÂ
âPromise youâll get some rest too?âÂ
He smiles despite the pang in his chest and the ache behind his eyes. You're the first to show him this kind of care in years. âI will. I promise.â He releases your finger, binding your pinky with his instead.Â
Thereâs something unreal about the way you smile back at him. Like youâve entranced him with a spell. Steve believes in a lot of thingsâ superpowers, demogorgans, parallel dimensionsâ but this is the first time heâs ever believed in pinky promise magic.Â
He shakes his head, âCome on.âÂ
You take his hand, groaning in sync as he helps you up.Â
In the foyer, Steve unhooks the coat heâd lent you earlier. âHere.â And before you can contend, he adds, âKeep it. Itâs an extra. I donât need it.âÂ
You let him guide your arms into the sleeves. And the same deliriousness possesses you to spring in for a hug after. âItâll be okay, Steve,â you murmur, lips skimming the embroidered design across his chest.Â
He deflates for half a second before reciprocating. âI know,â he says. âThank you.âÂ
You wait until he softens to pull away and open the door.Â
The wind whips and howls blowing a wave of mist onto the other end of the porch. Steve scans the yard, then the road, both slick with rain. He asks himself if itâs a good enough reason to ask you to stay. But he decides it isnât, not yet, at least.Â
âCall me when you get home?âÂ
A wild smile splits your lips. âOkay,â you blink stupidly, too tired to care.Â
âCareful!â he shouts as you run to your car. Steve leans against the doorframe, loitering until your headlights flash his house and your car rolls out of the driveway.Â
Itâs only sprinkling but streetlights are scarce near Steveâs place so you turn your high beams on, highlighting lawns on either side of the road. You drive slowly, inspecting one yard, then the one opposite, hopeful that Cinderellaâs still out there.Â
Thereâs a stop sign at the end of Steveâs street. A landmark you know to make a left at. But you decide to go right. I wanted to take the scenic route, youâll say if Steve asks. You drive that road and the one beside it and another beside that.Â
And itâs only a few turns away when you spot something sort of cat-shaped laid at the end of a driveway.Â
âPlease do not be a raccoon,â you mumble, squinting as you inch the car closer. The longer you look the more it makes senseâ two ears, a wavy tail, itâs definitely a cat. âNo way.âÂ
You put the car in park across from the house and study it. It bats its tail against the concrete, staring lazily back at your car. Thereâs just no way, not after all that looking. You find her after what, ten minutes of driving? It just canât be her.Â
You push your door open gingerly, slipping onto the asphalt one foot at a time. The cat perks up, ears twitching with each crunch under your shoes. You slink over slowly, crouching into an uncomfortable crab walk when she stands. Brown coat, no collar, just as sheâs been described to you. But itâs hard to say. Youâve only seen one picture of her and it was out of focus. Thereâs no way to really know itâs her.Â
Honking a few streets away slices the silence and your focus in one go. You flinch back a step which spooks the cat. She scampers up the driveway, weaving underneath a car to the other end of the yard.Â
You stick as low to the ground as you can while skipping after her. Youâd guess you look ridiculous, but at least Steve isnât here to see. The car blocks the view and you lose her by the time you reach the other side. But thereâs a swirl of shrubbery, good for hiding probably. You blindly grapple for branches, blinking rapidly, slowly adjusting to the growing darkness the farther you move from your carâs headlights.
And then the porch light flickers on, spotlighting you digging through a random personâs bushes. Â
âShit.â You freeze, hand choking a wreath of leaves, embarrassment flaring hot and red through your entire body. A minute passes, then two. Everythingâs still. No cat, no angry homeowners, no police cars. You decide itâs safe. Mustâve been an automatic light. You hope, anyway.Â
Upon further inspection, the bushes are empty, and from what you can see the porch is too. There are a few trees but itâs difficult to make out any cats through the dark web of branches. A sudden gust of wind shakes a handful of leaves loose. Your eyes track them across the yard as they tumble back toward the driveway. And thereâs the damn cat, sitting on the roof of the car like it was there the whole time.Â
âYou better not set that alarm off, dude,â you grumble.Â
She narrows her eyes and growls as you draw closer. Cinderella is irritableâ this makes sense. Or itâs a totally random feral cat who is about to claw your eyes out.Â
Youâre within touching distance when you realize you have no plan. She very likely could claw your eyes out or give you rabies or something else awful. But you're in it now. Youâre gonna get Penelope her cat back. So you shrug Steveâs coat off cautiously, eyes never leaving the cats. Itâs raining again, you realize as it starts pelting your neck, trickling like ice down your shirt. But thatâs the least of your worries right now.Â
âNice kitty,â you whisper, unfolding the jacket.Â
She hisses as you lean in but before she can pounce or swipe you throw the jacket over her and scoop her off her feet. She goes stiff and growls low and throaty.Â
You speed walk to your car, toeing the cracked door open and maneuvering carefully into your seat. The jacket peels open as you shut the door. She sees an opportunity and takes it, nosing her way through the hole and under your elbow. Thereâs a shine of teeth as she bats your face, dragging a sharp set of claws against your cheek.Â
âNo, noâ shit! I swear if you donât,â you argue, cramming her arms back in the fabric one at a time, tucking and tightening until sheâs secure.Â
She huffs through her nose, glaring menacingly at you from her swaddle.Â
âCinderellaâ if youâre even Cinderellaâ which you better be! Youâre being a real jerk right now.â
She growls in response. Steve wasnât lying about her attitude.Â
You shift the car into gear one-handed and forgo a seatbelt. Itâs a short ride and youâve maxed out your risk-taking meter for the night. While it really is a short drive, it goes dreadfully slow. Youâre cold and wet and you feel like you are driving with a bomb strapped to your chest.Â
Getting out of the car is just as easy, as in not easy at all, as getting in. But you make it to Steveâs porch, surging the cat further up your chest so there are no last-minute getaways. You tap gently on the door with your toe, hoping not to disturb Penelope.Â
The instant the door opens, you squeeze by Steve and release the cat onto the floor. She scampers ahead a few feet before stopping to turn around. âTell me this is the right cat and I didnât just kidnap some other kidâs pet.âÂ
He shoves the door closed. âOh my God! Where the hell did you find her?âÂ
You exhale with one big slump of your shoulders, all the worry bleeding away. âLike, five minutes down the road. Just hanging out in someoneâs driveway.âÂ
Steve gawks, crouching and coaxing her closer with an open palm.Â
She considers his invitation before striding into his touch.Â
He strokes her from head to tail and back. âI canât believe you. I was about to make funeral arrangements.âÂ
Cinderella chirps happily.Â
Steve twists to look up at you. For a second you think he might cry. Or kiss you.Â
He promptly stands and cups your jaw and your stomach tumbles because he might actually kiss you. But he aims your cheek against the light instead and whispers, âYouâre bleeding.âÂ
âOh,â you tap around your cheek blindly, âItâs just a scratch.âÂ
âHere. Come here.â
You follow him to the bathroom where he pulls a towel from the closet and drapes it around your shoulders like a shawl.Â
âYouâre wet,â he says like you donât already know.Â
You tug the fraying ends taut across your chest and watch him dig through the medicine cabinet. âIf only someone let me borrow their coat.âÂ
âIf only,â he snickers, dumping the contents of the first aid kit in the sink. âIâm sorry Cinderella beat you up. She really has no manners.â He strips the plastic cover off a Barbie-themed bandaid and lines it up with your scratch, pressing, and smoothing it over your skin gingerly.Â
âHow hideous do I look? Scale of one to ten.âÂ
He shakes his head, smiling at you like an idiot. You make him smile like itâs your only job. And it sends his heart flying every time. He feels out of control around you. He hates feeling that way but somehow you make it easy.Â
âYou could never be hideous.â Steve chuckles, still in disbelief. âYou're amazing.â
Any cold lingering on your face evaporates. âDonât go soft on me, Harrington,â you tease.Â
Maybe itâs the adrenaline buzz of chasing Cinderella or the high of successfully catching her, but you feel like you could do anything. Like you could say anything to him. Your eyes trickle down to his lips. Heâs close enough to kiss. Every nerve in your body dares you to do it. You donât think heâd reject you. Maybe heâd even meet you halfway.Â
A high-pitched scream severs the moment.Â
Steve jerks away, alarmed and then quickly amused. âPenelope,â he grins.Â
And right on cue, Penelope whizzes by the open door, squeals ricocheting down the hall. She chases Cinderella, who does not look happy to be chased, but Steve allows it.Â
âDaddy! Cinderellaâs back! Look!â She clips her shoulder on the stair post before disappearing into the kitchenÂ
He turns to you, beaming. He hopes you understand how amazing you are. Heâd happily tell you again and again.Â
Penelope races out, heaving through a smile with the jar of treats. She sprays the entire contents of it across the floor. Steve canât even be mad. In fact, itâs the happiest heâs been all week.Â
She lies down on her back, eyes skipping between you and Steve. âHow did she get here?âÂ
âI saw her on my way home. She was just a few streets away.âÂ
âWow. Sheâs really good at hide and seek,â Penelope decides.Â
Cinderella prances over, using Penelopeâs belly as a personal vault. Penelope splays her hand out, patting and petting to her heart's content as Cinderella munches on the treats.Â
Steve squats, cupping a handful of them back into the jar.Â
âNo, Daddy! Itâs her prize.â
âHer prize will make her sick if she eats it all.â
âOkay. I guess.â She giggles as Cinderella pushes a treat with her paw.Â
Steve squeezes her knee where it wiggles, raising his eyebrows, âWhat do you say?â
Penelope turns to you with a wicked grin. She practically screams, âThank you!â
âYou're very welcome.â
Penelope pushes herself up and cocks her head. âWill you stay and play with us?âÂ
Itâs entirely innocent and equally adorable. You appreciate Steve for being the bad guy.Â
âNuh-uh. Youâre supposed to be in bed,â he reminds her.Â
She whines and shoots him a mean look. But it doesnât last. Cinderella is back. Thatâs all she really cares about right now.Â
âYou can play with Cinderella in the morning.â His eyes flicker between the two like theyâre made of gold. âMaybe sheâll even sleep in your room.âÂ
Penelopeâs eyes and mouth widen into three little Oâs. âReally!âÂ
âYes. She can stay inside from now on. But! You have to train her, be a good cat mom to her.âÂ
âI will, I will,â she nods so relentlessly her head might pop off. âI promise Iâll be the bestest cat mom ever in the whole entire world!âÂ
Steve chuckles, gaze dancing over to you. He looks at you like youâre made of gold too. Thatâs an intense realization.Â
âI should head home,â you say.Â
Steve nods, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face.Â
âBye, Penelope! Bye, Cinderella!âÂ
Penelope shackles Cinderellaâs arm and forces her into a rigid wave. âBye-bye!âÂ
Steve follows you out to the front porch, snapping the door shut when Cinderella trots after him.Â
âGood luck keeping her inside.â
âYeah,â he shakes his head, hand dropping from the door handle. âIâm sure sheâll escape by morning.âÂ
Your gaze sweeps across the lawn. Itâs only drizzling now, almost unnoticeably through the overcast veil of moonlight.Â
âOh, here,â you tug one end of the towel until it slides off your neck.Â
Steve accepts it tentatively, âMaybe you should keep it. Case she gets out again.âÂ
âYeah, guess Iâd need something to catch her with, huh?â
His teeth seem to glow in the moonlight when he smiles. He slings the towel back over your head and smooths it across your shoulders. âI know Iâve said this like a million times today,â he trails off, rubbing the fabric up and down your arms. âBut Iâm gonna say it again.â He looks up, dreadfully serious. Your eyes lock like magnets, like heâs specially polarized yours to stay tethered to his. âFirst of all, thank you for everything, seriously.â
âItâs no problem, Steve, really.âÂ
âI know, I just,â his attention drifts away, tension seeping in through the silence. âI think youâre like the coolest person ever.âÂ
You shake your head and shift your weight from one foot to the other, desperately trying to shake out the scary feeling in your gut.
A warm hand clasps yours. âI mean it. Youâre so amazing and are just a super genuine person andâ and I care a lot about you.âÂ
Your pulse hammers so hard you wonder if he can hear it. The icy bite of rain clinging to your clothes turns hot. Hot enough to boil every drop of it off your skin.Â
âI dunno, itâs just really hard to make friends as a single parent. Youâve been so kind. And I really appreciate that.âÂ
Your heart aches. Your eyes sting. That awful feeling triples. Friends, how could you forget?Â
He drops your hand, knotting his own fingers together instead. Watching you, waiting for a response.Â
You smile, brittle but convincing enough that he smiles back. âWell, thatâs really sweet. Iâm happy to help. And, for the record, I think youâre super cool too.â You punch his shoulder playfully. Because thatâs what friends do.Â
âPhew, thatâs a relief. Was starting to think you were getting sick of us.â
You smile genuinely then. You donât think itâs possible to ever get sick of them. âEhh, Iâm still warming up to Cinderella but Penelopeâs my favorite, no offense.âÂ
âNo, sheâs pretty cool.â He nods, pausing to think. âYou can come over tomorrowâ if you arenât busy. If you want to. Weâll probably go buy some cat stuff. I dunno, itâs cool if you canât.â
âIâd love to, Steve.âÂ
He laughs in soft little layers. âOkay.âÂ
âOkay.âÂ
âSee you then.â
âSee ya.â
You spin on your heel, scurrying down the porch steps faster than you probably should. Forget the rain, Steveâs what you're running from. His laugh and his dopey smile and his overly kind words. Youâre too young to die of a heart attack, but surely your heart wonât last much more of this.Â
When you tug the handle of your car door, he yells, âDonât forget to call me!âÂ
You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling and flash him a thumbs-up before getting in. Heâs such an idiot. Probably waking his neighbors up yelling like that. Itâs probably unhealthy, the amount of emotions youâve just experienced in the span of a few minutes.Â
But already all you can think about is tomorrow. It seems like lightyears away, but youâd wait lightyears for Steveâ even for just friends Steveâ silly as it sounds.
#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington fluff#steve harrington x you#steve harrington#steve harrington angst#stranger things#stranger things fic#tsof#skeltnwrites#the shape of family#dad steve harrington
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What kind of wounds would a shotgun give to someone thats not wearing any bullet proof vest but just thick, winter jackets? Like those heavy jackets with fleece on the inside that old guys wear alot. ( I think its called a work jacket?)
I've always thought a shot gun would give some sort of blast damage and make quite a mess, but in The Day of The Jackal ep 6 it didn't seem that bad when he killed that farmer guy in Hungary lol.
So here's a fun thought to play with. A leather jacket is made from treated animal hide. In most cases, they're actually softened a bit to be more comfortable.
Shotguns are frequently used to hunt large game. Large game where their primary form of armor is their skin. Their skin which does almost nothing to stop a shotgun blast.
So, unless it's loaded with something like rocksalt, a leather jacket is not stopping a shotgun.
In answer to your original question, âwhat kind of wounds?â Catastrophic ones. It would be really messy.
Also, remember shotguns are still usable up to ~100 meters, at which they'll have a roughly 2m spray pattern. Getting hit by a shotgun, even at 50 meters, is going to be really bad. It's a bit like hitting someone simultaneously with a hail of small caliber rounds. Individually one piece of shot isn't likely to be lethal, but get hit with five or six of them, and that's a real problem. It's going to create a bunch of wound channels, and each wound has a chance to hit something vital, or ricochet and try again. And even at best, you're going to be losing blood from each of them simultaneously.
As for actual armor, most Level III or higher armor should stop a shotgun blast. However, shotguns are pretty good at damaging body armor. So someone wearing a ballistic vest who takes a shotgun hit, probably isn't going to be safe from the next pistol round that hits their vest anywhere near where the shot landed.
Similarly, with plate carriers, it should be fine, but there's a real risk that some of the shot chipped the plate. That's not going to cause the next shotgun blast to punch through, but it does mean that carrier now can't be trusted to stop rifle rounds.
Now, none of that are things you usually obsess over. For the most part, ballistic armor is single use anyway. If you're wearing a Kevlar vest and get shot, it's time to replace that vest. So, having your vest soak a shotgun hit isn't some kind of special tactic on your enemy's part, and is really just your vest doing its job.
Against unarmored targets, shotguns can be downright horrific.
So, using a winter parka to stop a shotgun blast is probably the result of someone who heard the, âshotguns are horrible at armor penetration,â line and took it a little bit too seriously.
There are some AP shells out there. Including slugs that market themselves as armor penetrating. I've never looked too deeply in to these. I know of their existence, but not how effective they actually are.
There's also probably some close quarters scenarios where a slug might punch right through body armor, even though, generally speaking, slugs lose energy extremely quickly, and at mid to long range, they're not going to penetrate. Ultimately, it is an 18mm bullet without a lot of powder behind it, so the drop off makes sense, but it's still a lot of mass to deal with when it's leaving the barrel. Even if your armor holds up, taking that hit is probably not going to be fun.
-Starke
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"That said, both Styles and his therapist have questioned why he cares quite so much about being likeable. This is one of the things he thought about a lot in his big pandemic reflection. In part, it's a choice, he explained. He recalled moving to London after The X Factor and hearing tales of petulant celebrities screaming because someone got their coffee order wrong and deciding to never be that guy, to never give someone a petty reason to bad-mouth him. But more recently he's come to worry that the drive for approval came from a more complex place, a place of caution, fear, control." "Styles said he often spent interviews terrified about saying the wrong thing until he stopped to question what abhorrent belief or bizarre opinion he was scared he'd accidentally reveal and realized he couldn't think of anything."
"And he thought about the cleanliness clauses in the contracts he used to sign, which would dictate that they would be null and void if he did anything supposedly unsavoury, and about how terrified that used to make him. And about when he signed his solo contract and learned that the ability to make music would not be affected by personal transgressions, he burst into tears, a reaction he still seemed shocked by, retelling it to me now, years later. "I felt free," he explained."
"When Styles began therapy about five years ago [so in 2017], he was reluctant initially, feeling it was a music industry clichĂŠ. "I thought it meant that you were broken," he said. "I wanted to be the one who could say I didn't need it." He returned to the home theme that has underpinned our conversation, explaining that therapy has allowed him to "open up rooms in himself" that he didn't know existed, allowed him to feel things more honestly, where before he had tended to"emotionally coast.""
"Recently Styles began to work through issues related to intimacy, dating, love. "For a long time, it felt like the only thing that was mine was my sex life. I felt so ashamed about it, ashamed at the idea of people even knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with," he said."
"You look back, especially now there's all the documentaries, like the Britney documentary, and you watch how people were abused in that way, by that system, especially women. You recall articles from not even five years ago, and you're like, I can't even believe that was written."
He has been thinking a lot recently about autonomy, ownership, privacy. About what he should be able to keep to himself, what he should be able to simply communicate through his music without follow-up questions or prying. Around the time of Fine Line, he faced scrutiny around his sexuality. People became incredulous that he wore dresses, waved Pride flags, and yet hadn't clarified with precision, publicly to a journalist or on social media, the specifics of who he'd slept with, how he defined. This expectation is, to him, bizarre, "outdated." "I've been really open with it with my friends, but that's my personal experience; it's mine," he said.
Despite the acceptance that some things could, should, have been different, he still feels lucky every day, he said, lucky to make music, lucky to do what he loves.
"You can't win music. It's not like Formula One," he said. "I was like, in my lifetime, there will be 10 more people who burst onto the scene in that way, and I'm only going to get further away from being the young thing. So, get comfortable with finding something else that makes you happy. I just found that so liberating."
"I just want to make stuff that is right, that is fun, in terms of the process, that I can be proud of for a long time, that my friends can be proud of, that my family can be proud of, that my kids will be proud of one day," he said.
ââIn lockdown, I started processing a lot of stuff that happened when I was in the band,â he said. He thought about the way he was encouraged to give so much of himself away, âto get people to engage with you, to like you.â He thought about the fact that no baby photos exist of him that arenât on the internet (you give a bunch to an X Factor producer doing a piece on your backstory without much thought, and suddenly your childhood is online). He thought about the journalists asking questions, when he was still a teenager, about how many people heâd slept with and how, rather than telling them to go away, he would worry about how he could be coy without them leaving the room annoyed. âWhy do I feel like Iâm the one who has done something wrong?â he said to me.â
â Harry for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
#what a lovely article :')#vulnerability on HARRY's terms#it's good that he got into therapy and started processing - therapy is an amazing tool#he's come so far i'm so so happy for him đĽš#also the âmy kidsâ mention made my heart glow#you'll be such a cool dad Harry#(you and Lou together đĽšđđ)#Harry wants a baby#that 'the drive for approval came from a more complex place - a place of caution and fear and control' - no surprises here...#in this house WE HATE MODEST!#in this house we HATE SYCO#him sharing that he burst into tears because he 'finally felt free' when he signed his solo contract... fuck that is so TELLING#music industry#Better Homes and Gardens#interview#article#Harry#therapy#rainbows#sexuality#2022
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Will you share your theory on what you think is happening behind the scenes of 911?
Hi, Nonnie!
Sure! As long as everyone is aware this is purely speculation, and nothing I say should be taken as proof of anything, I have no problem.
I've gone over a few things in my head, to be honest. I thought that JLH having filming conflicts could've been a major factor, and I still don't exactly disagree with that initial idea, but overall I think it was one of the things that threw TM for a loop.
Now, I've seen a lot of people theorize that perhaps Angela is leaving and that is what is causing so much chaos in BTS, but I am on the fence about this. I do think she might've asked to not have such a big role moving forward, especially if they get a season 9 (which I am also on the fence about ngl), like perhaps retiring, or just having a more laidback position training new recruits. The seeds are planted for that, not so much for her fully leaving. And it would give Angela more free time to dedicate to other projects (which, yes please. I need her in new projects ASAP).
So... (and please don't kill me for this, it's just a theory).
I think it all comes back to Ryan. And that he perhaps is leaving, or actively wants to leave. I will try to explain myself as concise as possible:
A couple of months ago there was already speculation about this. In all of his individual interviews (which were a lot, to be honest), Ryan made a point of talking about his work beyond 911 and talking about what he would like to do after 911.
On top of the individual promo, there was an uncharacteristically high amount of BTS dedicated to him and the godforsaken mustache. To the point where they threw a mustache party. And in the pics of that party, the vibes were that it was a party for Ryan, not in general.
Small thing, but Josh randomly dressing up as Eddie for Halloween. Perhaps unrelated, but I wanted to add it.
The 911 account reposting and celebrating Ryan's 100th ep, when 1. it wasn't his 100th (if we count the eps he was actually in) and 2. it was also JLH's, and yet they didn't say a thing about it. Ryan reposted that as well and the message he reposted it with was more nostalgic than anything else. Very much giving 'it was an honor to work with you, what a journey'.
I could be wrong, but I do think his contract ends this season. So, that just adds to it.
The timeline of the move to Texas. By the reactions alone I was fully expecting Eddie to leave for Texas at the end of 808, and then to be back with Chris (in a lazy way of solving their conflict off-screen) by 809-810. But the way he's currently thinking about it makes it very sus for me. As in, it can be a thing for the end of the season, and an actual goodbye for Eddie.
Of course, nothing of this has to actually happen, and it's quite possible it just exists in my brain. But this makes sense in my funny brain because then it explains why BT had to break up so soon... because they wanted Buck to feel completely isolated.
We know 809-10 will deal with Maddie being kidnapped. That alone will make Buck spiral. But if on top of that his best friend is also leaving... well, being alone just adds to the isolation and the angst. Because if Tommy was still around he'd be able to lean on him, and have him help him through this. But it seems like the writers wanted Buck fully alone for this, because sure, seeing a character never learning and being completely isolated is so much fun.
If this ends with BT getting back together, I honestly don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if Tim doesn't know. But, all in all, I wouldn't be surprised if RG deciding he's done is the thing that kinda created the domino effect.
(Also: I do not believe Oliver was telling Tim to fire Lou and end BT. Sorry. I just don't really see it. Nor do I think there were actual conflicts between actors BTS, as much as everything they're doing right now does feel a bit weird)
Anyway, thanks for letting me rant, Nonnie! My inbox is always open for ranting, venting, or discussing
Take care <3
#911 discourse#911 spec#911 cast#bucktommy#tevan#anti buddie#not really but i don't want them here#i especially do NOT want them in this post#so im not even gonna tag ryan#anon âŁď¸
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Chapter V | Siri
Summary: You moved to one of the biggest cities in the world - Grand Line to pursue filmmaking career. Soon enough your path will cross with the vocalist of upcoming band called âThe Neighbourhoodâ. At first you decided to be just friends - because it would be easier, but sadly as everything in life sometimes by taking the easy path we regret a lot of things.
Main characters: Portgas D Ace x Reader (female)
Supporting characters: Nami, Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law, Deuce, Shanks, Buggy, Sabo, Eustass Kid, Koala, Robin, Dave (OC), (more to be add)
Description: Modern AU | Musician Ace
WARNINGS: explicit language, use of nicotine/cigarettes, use of weed/joint, slight smut, sexual content , mentions of alcohol, mentions of narcolepsy, conflict feelings, MINORS INTERACT ON YOUR OWN RISK (18+)
Word Count: 15,6K
<- previous chapter
NOTE: This chapter was rewritten like ten times and still I feel like it could of been better. As you can see from the warnings, there is some smut in it, as I decided to test the waters with it (please read the note at the end, as I donât want to spoil anything for you at the beginning). I hope that you will enjoy the chapter as I tried to make it serious but also fun and unbelievable in some moments as it is usually in real life. Also a BIG BIG THANK YOU to all of you who comment, reblog, like and follow me it means the world to me đĽšđŤś And thank you for the sweet messages when I shared with you that I havenât been feeling good this past week, you all are amazing human beings <3333
âItâs great, I was sure you gonna nailed it.â Dave tilted his head looking at me with a big grin spread across his face. I finished editing the footage for the music video last night and called him to meet me today for a coffee. We were sitting on a table for two in my favourite coffee shop. I was nervously biting on my nails, my brows frown not fully satisfied or convinced that the video was good enough.
âYou sure? I donât think itâs there yet.â I breathed out, rubbing my temples as Iâve already had a headache. âAnd I must send it by tomorrow as I promised Marco, a-and I must work on my short-cut as we start filming next week, a-a-and I donât have location, I-I have nothing.â I gibbered, clicking on the computer mouse, opening different programs, trying to find a way to make it better. It was not good enough and I didnât have much time left to sent it. âWhy, why, why did I agree to do this?â Stress was taking over me these past days; I thought that I could manage a lot of things at the same time not realising that I was not ready for this yet.
âHey, hey, hey.â Dave gently grabbed my hand and put the mouse away. He gently stared to run circles on my back trying to calm me down. âThe video is amazing; you canât do it any better than it is already.â He looked me in the eyes, and I could see that he meant what he was saying. âTake some deep breaths.â His tone was gentle. He put his arm around my shoulder pushing me closer to him. âYou did great. Hell, I should show you the first video that I did, so you can see what a bad music video looks like.â I giggled at his attempt to cheer me up. I took a deep breath and tilted my head up as I could feel some tears building up in my eyes, ready to fall. âHey, no crying.â Dave gently whipped the tear that rolled from the corner of my eye.
âIâm sorry, Iâm not a cry baby I promise.â I chuckled trying to hold back the tears.
âI know you arenât. I think you stressed yourself way too much.â His thumb continued to gently crease my cheek. I looked at him and nodded, my lip trembling. âThe video is perfect, now save the files and just relax.â He reassured me again, giving me little squeeze on the shoulder.
âYou are right.â I saved the files and closed the laptop. âThank you, Dave.â I whispered, glancing at his sincere green eyes. He slightly nodded and gave me one of his sweet smiles.
âDonât look at it anymore and just send it to their manager.â Dave let go of me and took a sip of his coffee. I also took a sip of mine and made a grimace. We stayed in silence for a second, as I was lost in my own thoughts, until Dave cleared his throat. âCan I... Can I ask you something?â He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to ask whatever he had in mind.
âOf course you can.â I turned all my attention to him.
âIs there something going on between you and I think his name was Ace?â His gaze focused on me.
âWhat? No, why?â My eyes were shifting between him and the coffee mug in my hands.
âWell, there was obviously some tension between you two on set, so I thought that you might... you know.â He awkwardly shrugged. I puffed and gave him a dismissive wave of with my hand.
âI was just pissed because he was late, thatâs all.â I lied, something I caught myself doing a lot lately, especially when it came to Ace. âI hate it when people are not serious you know, and he wasnât that day on set, so I got pissed.â This was not a lie. Ace did piss me off with his behaviour on set, not only for that, but Dave didnât need to know.
âYeah, that was a little annoying.â He agreed with me. âAnd arrogant.â Dave added. I side-eyed him for a second. âHonestly, from all the guys he was giving the weirdest vibes.â
âWhat do you mean?â I wanted him to elaborate more by what he meant by Ace being the âweirdestâ.
âSorry, I shouldnât have said that. He is your friend after all.â The regret in his voice was clear as he quickly apologised but I shook my head. Â
âWe are not that close.â I pointed out. âBut for real, why did you get this vibe from him? I personally think that Law is the weirdest.â I laughed, thinking of all the awkward situations I have had with Law. He was also the one I have spoken the least with.
âNah, Lawâs pretty cool.â Dave disagreed with me, nudging my shoulder. âWell, I donât know... Ace was kinda giving me some weird looks.â
âWhat? For real?â I blinked surprised at Dave. âI didnât notice anything. Are you sure he did?â Ace might be an ass from time to time, but I didnât notice anything on set, he seemed pretty chilled with all of the guys.
âI donât know, you are right and maybe I misread the situation.â I didnât know what to respond, so I just gave him an awkward smile. âLook I didnât want to bad mouth Ace or anything like it, I swear.â Dave run his hand over his hair, as he gave me a regretful look.
âDave, please. You didnât bad mouth anyone, if he did act like this then he is an ass.â I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. I didnât want Dave to feel bad, for sharing his view of someone with me. âAnd Iâm not going to tell him anything, so donât worry.â
*************
I got home and the first thing that I did was to take a warm shower. I took of my clothes and throw them in the laundry basket. Before I got in the shower, I put some music on my phone and left it on the sink. I got in the shower and let the warm water run down my body. It helped relaxing my tensed muscles. The whole room was steamed, making everything foggy. The past few days were quite stressful for me and the upcoming ones wouldnât be any different. From shooting the music video, to editing it and the stress if they were going to like it, to my upcoming short-cuts, my mind was going to explode. On top of it I couldnât stop thinking about Ace, no matter how hard I tried not to. In a way he had gotten under my skin. He was so suffocating and hard to understand at times. His whole behaviour was so confusing, one second, he was all nice, bubbly and open with me and the next he was cold, and moody and overall, an asshole. I confidently can say that Iâm good with reading people and understanding why they act the way they do, but Ace was another story. From what he had shared with me so far, I knew that he hadnât had it easy in life. Especially growing up without parents, it definitely took a tool on him. I want to get to know him more and be his friend, but Iâm not sure how much he would let me in his life and mind.
I couldnât stop thinking of the afternoon we spent together on Saturday, if I was to make a cheesy movie, I would definitely recreate it. I was surprised even then how much he opened, but then so did I. Not even Nami and Usopp knew about my mother. Something that Saturday made me trust him and that same thing made him trust me. Part of me started to wonder, what if he regrated opening, as it might have been too soon, giving the fact we have known each other for almost a month. Then the scene with Samantha, and the way he was enjoying it, made my blood boil. The satisfaction in his eyes when I cut the scene right before their kiss, and the cocky smirk he had on his face, like he knew why I did it, only added fuel to my irritation with him. And the audacity to text me right after.
âFucking Aceâ I cursed under my breath as I felt myself getting irritated once again. Rubbing the bodywash up and down my body and the hot water washing it away, my mind was full of Ace. I tried to take my mind off him, but I couldnât. I felt this warm feeling building up inside of me. I havenât felt this way in a long time. I ran one of my hands down my neck to my breast. Closing my eyes the first thing that my mind thought off was the feeling of when I was holding onto Aceâs torso while we were on his motorbike. âNo, fuck.â My eyes shoot open as I shook my head quickly getting rid of the thoughts. I tried to calm myself as I was getting heated up. I reached for the towel hanged next to the shower door and wrapped it around myself. âFuckinâ Ace.â I whispered to myself. âFucking Ace.â I called out louder, as I smacked my hands on the sink. âFuckinâ, fuckinâ Ace.â I got mad at myself for letting him have such effect on me.
âCalling Ace.â My eyes widen as I heard Siriâs voice. I grabbed my phone as quick as possible, which had already dialled Aceâs number. Because of my wet fingers the screen wasnât responding, no matter how fast I tried to cancel the call.
âHey, doll.â His voice raspy and low. âYou arenât mad at me anymore?â He snorted.
âA-Ace.â My voice came out like I was out of breath. I slapped myself on the face.
âUh... doll? Are you okay?â His voice sounded confused. âYou sound a little out of breath.â
âSo do you.â I quickly replied.
âYou caught me in the middle of workout.â He huffed.
âSame.â I looked in the mirror at my reflection making a grimace at myself at the answer I gave him.
âAnd what are you working out?â He didnât believe my answer at all, I could of hear it in his voice.
âRunning.â I spatted out.
âSo, you are working our running... interesting. How many are you running?â
âFive.â
âFive what, doll?â He laughed. âYou ran out of words or something?â He teased me.
âKilometres, five kilometres.â I scrunched my face as I mentally slapped myself, as I couldnât come up with worse answer than this.
âWow, impressive. We should run together sometime then.â I just hummed in respond to this. âAnd what made you call me?â
âI...um...I called you... because...â I tried to think of a quick excuse as I tighten the towel around my body. âBecause of the video.â I blurted out.
âItâs done?â He sounded surprised.
âYes, and you are the first one to know that, remember how you ask me to be the first one to know, there you go. You welcome.â I chuckled, regaining my confidence.
âNo, I didnât.â
âYes, you did.â
âNo, I did not.â
âAce, you did.â Was he trying to irritate me, and it was working.
âI asked you to be the first one to see it, not the first one to know.â He clarified. I bit my tongue, the audacity this man had was unmatched. âSo when can we watch it?â
âI am going to emailed it to Marco, but if you text me your email, I can send it to you as well.â
âNo, come over my place and we can watch it together.â I was taken aback from his suggestion.
âIâm extremely tired, so thank you, but no.â I politely decline his offer.
âTake a nap, itâs barely 3PM, I will come and pick you up around six.â He didnât tell or ask me; he literally commanded me.
âAce I just told you Iâm tired.â I hissed.
âDidnât I give you a solution just a second ago?â He was testing my patience at this point.
âAce, Iâm not the type you can order around.â I rolled my eyes annoyed.
âIs that a challenged, doll?â He teased.
âAce you are...â He didnât let me finish.
âCharmin, I know. Now tell me what your plans for the night are?â I could feel the smug smirk on his face without even seeing him. Â
âSleeping.â I spatted.
âI promise I will get you back home the latest around ten.â Ace wasnât going to give up.
âYou wonât take ânoâ for an answer, will you?â He clicked with his tongue. âFine, but under one condition.â I sighed.
âShoot.â
âYou send me the address and I come by myself, because Iâm not getting on that thing again.â He laughed as I referred to his motorbike as âthat thingâ.
âSure, Iâll send you the address.â And with this he hung up. I ran my fingers through my wet hair and sighed deeply. I looked at my phone and whined.
âHow? How did you hear âcall Aceâ, hu? Explain!â I was talking to my phone like it can respond to me. I didnât know how to call this, but some cosmetic power out there was clearly beefing with me, as what just happened right now, was made up straight out of a movie.
**********
Around five-something pm, I woke up from the nap I took. I stretched my body and reached to take my phone and check the address that Ace sent me. It was thirty minutes away with the metro.
âOps, guess I will be late.â I said to myself with a sly smile. Ace could wait for a little bit.
I put a pair of dark blue leggings on and just a white hoodie on top. I grabbed my bag, but first checked if I got everything with me. I left my place and went to catch the metro. After almost forty minutes I was in front of his front door. The area where Ace lived was quite nice depending on which side of it you live. He lived in the middle between the good and the bad side, which I found kind of ironic. From what I have gotten to know him so far, Ace was somehow always in between something. The building where he lived was old from the outside but renovated from the inside. He had sent me the code for the entrance door of the building, so I easily got in. His apartment was on the last floor and there was no elevator, so by the time I reached the seventh floor I was out of breath. I made a mental note to myself that I need to consider started working out. I chewed on my bottom lip as tension started to build up in me before I rang the bell, and a sight left my lips. I looked down as I was playing nervously with my fingers waiting for Ace to open the door. The door swinged open, and Ace stood in front of me. I lifted my head slowly and I was met with Aceâs bare upper body, as only a pair of grey sweatpants were hanging low on his hips. My eyes widen and I immediately looked away.
âYou are late, doll.â A smug smirk was growing on his face as he saw me all flushed and avoiding his gaze.
âYou are not the one to speak about whoâs late or not.â I snapped quietly. He moved aside and let me in. I stepped inside and took off my shoes, kicking them on the side. Ace closed the door behind me, and I followed him. The apartment was spacious. By the entrance, on the left, was a door that was closed and next to it was the kitchen which wasnât very big and had no door. From the small hallway we went straight to the spacious living room. The walls were anchor grey colour with some naked spots on most corners and you could see the bricks. The two big windows, on each side of the wall where a big TV was placed, were almost touching the floor, and some long off-white curtains were hanged on them. In the middle was a big L-shaped light grey couch with a square coffee table in front of it. In the right spaced corner Ace had a desk by the window, which was quite a mess with pencils and sheets of paper everywhere, even on the ground. By the desk were positioned three guitar stances, only two guitars placed there the third one missing. The corner wall there was covered in posters of different bands and artists. On the left side of the living room behind the couch almost to the corner was another door which was closed as well. The left side wall had another big window but that one didnât reach the floor like the others. In front of it was big sideboard with a lot of picture frames on top of it. The apartment overall was super clean and tidy, which surprised me a little as I always thought of Ace as a messy guy.
âWow, your place is amazing.â I said as he offered to take my bag, and I handed it to him, still avoiding looking at his direction. I sat on the couch where I saw the third missing guitar.
âDo you want to drink something? I have like coke and beer.â He came by the back of the couch and picked the guitar putting it back to its place.
âIs it zero?â I glanced at him, his back facing me. His broad back was defined with muscles. I always thought he had a back tattoo but apparently, I was wrong, instead the back of his shoulders was covered with freckles.
âUh... I have to check.â He scratched the back of his neck as he smiled at me. I slowly nodded and moved my eyes away from his body as he left the room. My eyes landed on the paper sheets on the table and the pen on top of them. I tilted my head to take a better look at them.
âDo you want ice?â Ace yelled from the kitchen.
âYes, please.â I yelled back. He came soon after with a can of Coke Zero and a glass full of ice. âThank you.â I whispered as he handed it to me. I poured the Coke into the glass and took a big sip. Ace put the paper sheets away and sat on the other side of the sofa, leaning back as he spreads his legs like a slut, and pulled up his phone.
âHave you eaten?â He asked me without looking at me but scrolling on his phone.
âUh, no I havenât.â I murmured, swallowing hard.
âWhat do you want to eat?â He glanced at me.
âI donât have preferences.â I shrugged. Ace looked again at me and sighed.
âDoll, relax please. You know you can lay or just lean comfortably, no need to be stiff at all. Feel at home, I mean it.â He threw one of the small pillows on the couch at me and I caught it. I didnât say anything, I just hugged the pillow and leaned back on the couch. âSo, I donât know... Pizza?â Ace raised his eyebrows waiting for a respond.
âSure, pizza is good.â I nodded.
âHave you tried this place âPappa Grappaâ they have th-â I didnât let Ace finished his sentence as I squeaked excitedly almost choking as I was taking a sip of the cola. Aceâs eyes widen at my reaction as he gave me a questionable look.
âAre you kidding me? They are the best! And oh my God, their chicken wings, have you tried them?â I moved to sit right next to him, excitement taking over me. Ace just shook his head in response to my question. I gasped. âOh my God, Ace. Ace, Ace you must try them. You donât understand those chicken wings taste like haven, like if haven was food it was going to be this chicken wings.â I grabbed him by the biceps and squeezed it, all my shyness left my body as I was babbling to him about the chicken wings. Ace smiled at my childish excitement.
âDoll, why donât you take my phone and order whatever you heart desires and I just take care of the payment, hm?â He handed me his phone to take it.
âNo, letâs split it thi-.â I insist but Ace shushed me fast.
âYou are not paying for anything. Now choose whatever you want.â He leaned back on the couch, both arms behind his neck, eyes fixed on me. I wanted to protest, but arguing with Ace was impossible as he would never back up.
âBut next time is on me.â I looked at him seriously.
âYeah, sure.â He snorted. I couldnât help but noticed that his abs tensed when he laughed. My eyes moved quickly back to his phone, as I felt a wave of heat hitting me up. I cleared my throat before I spoke.
âWhat pizza do you want?â
âYour choice.â I nodded to his response and went with my favourite pizza. Once I added the chicken wings as well, I handed him the phone so he could proceed with the payment. âSo.. how are you doing, doll?â He put his phone in his sweatpants pocket and looked at me. Even though Ace had a smug look on his face, his eyes werenât. His deep brown eyes had this soft look, nothing mischievous or mocking behind them, just pure softness.
âBeen better, you?â I leaned on the couch, a bit of a space between us. I grab one of the pillows behind my back and put it on my lap as I brought my legs close to me and crossed them.
âWhyâs that?â Ace frowned upon hearing my response.
âIâm just extremely stressed that is all.â I shrugged. âHow have you been?â
âSame as always. Still stressed about your⌠short-cuts, was it called that?â He raised his eyebrow questioningly.
âYeah, I havenât found a location for the party scene, but I might ask Dave for help, as he might know someone who can let us film in his apartment.â I clicked with my tongue. Ace clenched his jaw as he hummed. âWhat?â I chuckled at his reaction.
âWhat, what?â He frowned his eyebrows.
âWhat was with that âreactionâ?â I mimicked his jaw clenching and hum. Ace shook his head denying it.
âI never did this. But anyway, arenât you here to show me the video?â He quickly changed the subject.
âYes, I need my laptop.â I was about to stand up, but Ace stopped me and instead he did and brought me my bag. I thanked him and took the laptop out of my bag. I took a deep breath as I opened it, and it loaded. Ace sat closer to me this time, his body almost touching mine. âSo, I edit it like thousand times, but this is the final edit. I was literally going crazy over it and Dave had to calm me down and reassured me that it is good.â A little giggle escaped my lips. I was too focused on the screen and didnât see Ace rolling his eyes.
âIâm sure you did a good job.â Ace bit the inside of his cheek. I slightly tilted my head and side-eyed him, before opening the video file.
âOkay, are you ready?â I asked before pressing play. He nodded, his face emotionless. âAssholeâ I thought to myself, at lease he could pretend that he was excited to see his own video. I pressed play and the video started. My eyes were moving between the laptop and Ace the whole time, but I couldnât read his face. His face was like a stone. I started to feel more and more uncertain with every passing second, biting on my nails now afraid of his reaction. What if he doesnât like the video or worst hate it? My thoughts were running wild, while his eyes were glued to the screen. The video ended and I waited for his response.
âSoâŚ. What do you think?â I swallowed hard, the tension he was building was killing me.
âOh, dollâŚâ He clicked with his tongue, shaking his head as he pursed his lips. My eyes widen at his reaction.
âNo, no, no.â I shook my head in distress. I jumped on my feet as I covered my face with my hands. âI knew you were going to hate it, Iâm sorry, Iâm so, so sorry.â My eyes filed up with tears immediately and my lip started trembling. Â
âNo, no, hell, donât cry, doll.â Ace jumped from the couch and grabbed me by the shoulders. âI was kidding, please, donât cry.â He tried to calm me down.
âNo, you are lying.â I didnât believe him, his reaction said it out loud that he wasnât happy with the video.
âNo, Iâm not.â He cupped my face in his hands making me look at him. â(Y/N), the video is amazing. I swear upon my dead mother I love the video, doll.â I blinked at him, as a tear rolled down my face. Ace quickly whipped it with his thumb. âDoll, please donât cry. I just wanted to mess around with you a little, I swear.â He pulled me towards his chest and wrapped his arms around me. My heart skipped a beat. His skin was so warm and soft, yet his body felt so hard and muscular. I froze in his embrace. My heartbeat fastens, we have never been this close before, except from when were on his motorbike but that was different. I took a deep breath, and I got lightheaded. I never noticed how good Ace smelled - a woody, citrusy and musky notes perfectly mixed in one creating this intoxicating scent of a man. Ace let go of me after a moment and took a step back, lifting my chin up with two of his fingers looking at my eyes. âIâm sorry.â His eyes were sincere.
âYou really like it?â My voice came out like a whisper.
âI donât like it, I love it. I knew you can do it.â He moved a strand of my hair and gently put it behind my ear.
âYou are an asshole. I hope you are aware of that.â I frowned my eyebrows at him, as I turned and sat on the couch, facing away from him. Ace smiled and sat next to me and pulled me closer to him with one hand. He wrapped it around my shoulder and whispered in my ear:
âI am. But please donât be mad at me, doll.â His breath was hot on my skin, and I got goosebumps all over my body. I turned my head to look at him our faces inches apart. I slightly open my mouth to say something, but nothing came. My brows still frowned as I was still affected. He was just observing me, not saying anything, his eyes soften again.
âI should be packing my stuff and leave now but be thankful that Iâm starving otherwise I would have been gone by now.â I finally told him, turning my head away from him. Ace heartly laughed and nodded agreeing with me. His phone rang and he quickly picked up â it was the delivery guy and Ace told him that he was going to come down in a second.
âFaster.â I yelled after him as I heard him opening the front door. He just laughed in response before closing it. I huffed and looked around. My eyes land on the big sideboard with the picture frames. I got up from the couch and went to look at them. They were mostly of him with his brothers or friends. I picked the one of all three of them as kids smiling wide with one front tooth missing, Luffy looking so much smaller than his big brothers, they were no older than eight or nine years old.
âSnooping around?â Ace said behind me. I jumped a little as I didnât hear him coming back at all.
âSorry, hope you donât mind me looking at the pictures.â I chuckled still holding the frame. âThis is super cute picture.â I pointed out.
âWanna hear the story behind it?â I nodded eagerly as I handed him the framed photo. âSo, me and Sabo lost the same front tooth at the same time. I think we were around nine years old. And to not feel left out, five years old Luffy went, and till this day we donât know how he managed but took out the exact same tooth. Kid was so happy that he was matching with us, until he had to wait two years for the tooth to grow back.â Ace placed the picture on its place and we both laughed when he finished the story.
âThis is so funny, but I feel so bad for poor little Luffy.â I cooed.
âYeah, poor Luffy.â He smiled. âCome on, doll. Your wings are here, donât want them to get cold, do you?â He pinched my cheek and turned around. Just before I followed him, my eyes landed on a picture that caught my attention. I gasped, Ace heard me and tilted his head to look at me. I carefully picked the frame in my hands. The picture was of a woman. Her hair was long very light strawberry blonde colour, a hibiscus flower was placed behind her left ear. She was smiling, her dark brown eyes were full of life and her face was cover with freckles. Ace came and stood closer to me, not saying anything.
âThatâs you mom, right?â I looked at him, he was looking at the picture with so much adoration and softness. He softly hummed in response. âGod, Ace she was gorgeous.â I whispered. Looking at her now I understood where Ace got his beauty from.
âI know.â He softly said.
âYou look so much her.â I smiled at him. Ace looked at me with wide eyes, full of surprise and shock.
âWhat?â He breathed out. I put the picture back making sure I positioned it as it was before I picked it up.
âWhat? D-did I said something wrong?â I blinked confused.
âN-no, you are just the first person who has ever said this to me.â There was both surprise and sadness in his voice. I raised my brows not expecting to hear this.
âAre you kidding me? You are literally like her twin.â Ace swallowed hard when he heard my words. It didnât take me long to realise that I stuck something within him with my words. I saw his reaction and gently took his hand in mind and gave it a squeeze. âI think there are some very delicious chicken wings and pizza waiting for us.â I wiggled my eyebrows at him trying to distract him from his thoughts. Ace cleared his throat and nodded, shaking the thoughts away. We sat down on the coach, and I excitedly started taking the food out of the bag.
âCould you please bring two plates and a lot of napkins please?â I flutter my eyelashes at him. He quickly got up and did exactly what I told him to do. He came back and handed me the plates as he sat down closer to me this time. âSo, are you ready, to try the most tender, mouth-watering, making you taste haven, juicy, flavoury rich, orgasm reaching chicken wings in the world?â I seriously said while looking at Ace in the eyes. He covered his mouth trying to hold his laughter but his whole body was shaking. I opened the box with the wings and smelled it breathing out loudly. I took two and handed one of it to Ace.
âNow, this is not an ordinary chicken wing, so you eat them a certain way.â I lift my finger in the air pointing out how important it was for him to listen to me carefully now. âYou grab the wing, you place it in your mouth and then just bite on it and pull out the bone. They are so tender that a gentle bite strips all the meat, you got it?â I pointed my finger at him.
âGot it.â He lifted his hands in the air, like he was under arrest. I gave him a cheer with the wing and nodded letting him know that he can eat now. I did the same, the moment the juiciness and the BBQ sauce touched my tongue I couldnât stop the moan that left my lips. I leaned on the couch as I was enjoying the taste, my eyes closed. Ace was taken aback from my reaction last thing he expected was to hear me moan. He swallowed and licked his lips, looking at me.
âDoll, you good?â He lifted his head a bit to look at my face.
âIâm having soul orgasm now, please donât interrupt me.â I lifted my hand to his face to make him stop talking. Ace burst out laughing, he put the plate to the side as he grabbed on his stomach. âWhat are you laughing at? This is better than sex.â I chuckled.
âLook, doll. The wings are good, I give you this â you were right about them, butâŚâ He took a breath trying to calm himself down. âNothing can beat sex.â He shook his head at me as he opened the pizza box taking a slice of it.
âSex is overrated.â I disagreed with him as I took another wing, enjoying the test of it. Ace snorted out when he heard me.
âDoll, all respect here, but if you have slept only with boys who had no idea how to please a woman, thatâs on them, not sex.â He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes at his comment. âWhy the eye rolling? You know Iâm right. Come on, if itâs not that personal and uncomfortable for you⌠have you never you know⌠had a mind blowing sex?â He deeply exhaled; his eyes were full of curiosity a little devilish smile playing on his lips. I sighed gesturing him to hand me a slice of pizza. He did and I thanked him, as I took a bite of it. I lifted my finger to tell him to give me a second before I response.
âIâve done it only once so far, and it was bad, like embarrassing bad.â Shivers ran down my spine as I remembered my first time. My face cringed at the thought of it.
âSorry to hear that, doll.â He chuckled before taking a bite of his slice. âWhen was it?â
âLast year.â I replied. âYours?â I glanced at him.
âI was seventeen.â I got surprised by his answer. âWhat?â He noticed my reaction.
âNothing just⌠I thought⌠I donât know⌠like you are going to say something like fifteen.â I shrugged.
âI wish.â Ace huffed and we shared a laughed. âBut seriously, just because one guy did you bad, doesnât mean all of them will.â I gave him a look and rolled my eyes at him. âHey, take it as an advice from a friend.â He pointed his finger at me.
âSure, Ace, sure.â I gave him a thumb up, as I was taking another wing.
âHm, come here.â Ace gestured me with two fingers to lean towards him. I did and he ran his thumb on the corner of my lips. âYou had a little sauce on you, doll.â He licked his finger clean.
âYou could give me a napkin.â I remarked licking my lips.
âWhy? I can always clean you good.â He smirked at me. I facepalmed myself, shaking my head as I tried not to laugh. I couldnât deny it, but I always have fun around Ace. The moment I relax around him it feels like I could be myself without any modesty. We finished eating and I stood to clean the table, but Ace stopped me again and told me that he would take care of it. I checked the time, and it was already 9PM.
âWanna smoke one?â Ace asked me when he finished cleaning around.
âOh, I donât smoke cigarettes. Plus, I have to go itâs getting late.â I half smiled at him.
âStay the night, you can sleep in my bed, I can sleep here.â Ace shrugged as he sat next to me again. âAnd I didnât mean cigarettes, I have some weed⌠you know we can roll one.â He winked at me, a little smirk playing on his lips.
âThanks Ace, but some other time. I must search for a place where I can shoot the party scene tomorrow, as I have like five days until itâs my turn to film it.â I leaned my head on the back of the couch and tilted it towards Ace.
âI can help you with this just stay the night, plus Iâm ether driving you, as I will not let you go alone at that time, or you stay here for the night.â His face might not seem stern, but his tone was.
âAm I a hostage now?â I lightly chuckled and pouted my lips.
âHostages donât have choice, but you do.â He raised his eyebrows waiting for my response.
âI donât have anything with me Ace, not even a toothbrush.â
âI can give you one. Something else you would need, doll?â He leaned closer to me, his eyes locked with mine. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, shaking my head.
âYou are so persistent.â I pushed him on the chest. Ace laughed at me before he got up from the couch.
***************
We shared a joint and now we were laying on the couch, soft music was playing in the background from the speaker. Ace was lounged on the couch, hands behind his neck, his head propped on the back of the couch. I was laying on the couch with my head leaned on Aceâs lap. I felt so high, as I couldnât remember the last time I smoked weed. The silence between us was terrifically comfortable.
âAce...â I whispered tilting my head up, to take a better look at him. He hummed in response not looking at me. âWhat made you believe in me?â
âWhat do you mean, doll?â His voice raspy and low, almost like a whisper.
âYou had never seen any of my work, yet you trusted me enough to direct your bandâs first and most important video...â I took a deep breath. âWhy?â Ace didnât respond at first.
âI donât know, doll. I had a feeling, so I went with my gut.â He finally looked at me, his eyes were half lidded as usually but this time they were so red. He was probably as high as me. I slowly nodded moving my gaze to the wall covered with posters, knowing that I wonât get any further answers from him. As I was lost in my own thoughts I felt his hand on my head, his fingers running through my hair. This made me relax even more. âBut I wasnât wrong.â Ace broke the silence. âYou did great, doll. Believe more in yourself.â My heart skipped a beat when I heard him saying this.
âItâs hard, you know?â I whispered. âI canât shake the âimposterâ feeling in me, no matter what people tell me.â I quietly confessed. âIt doesnât mater how good something turns out to be, it is never a hundred percent perfect, you know? Like it can aways be better, yet it can never be perfect. Nothing can ever be perfect...â My voice was so low, I wasnât even sure if Ace heard me. His fingers moved slowly and gently to my cheek caressing it. I leaned into his touch closing my eyes.
âI know what you mean, doll.â He softly said, voice still low and raspy. âI feel the same, after every show. I have been living with the âimposterâ syndrome my whole life.â I was listening carefully to Ace, as he was opening to me again. âI wish... I wish, I have been feeling, as an imposter, only for when it comes music, but... I feel that way about everything, even life itself.â I turned my head to look at his face. His eyes were looking at me. Sadness and doubt could have been read in them. I turned my body to the side and placed a hand on his chest, heart beating steady. His fingers still on my cheek as he was running them up and down slowly. âI feel like Iâm bringing the guys down all the time. After every performance we have Iâm a mess... and the feeling of not being good enough for anything never leaves.â My heart ached for him. Not only because I knew what he meant as I related to him, but because he didnât deserve to feel this way. Ace was very talented and a good person as well, even when he was acting like an ass sometimes, but now more than ever I understood why... it was all an act, to protect himself. âDonât even get me started on the family shit...â He huffed.
âNow I understand why âWhat's eating Gilbert Grapeâ is a movie you related to.â Ace huffed again, but this time with a half smirk. I rose up and sat on the couch. I moved closer to Ace, whoâs hands were now rested on the back of the couch. His head still leaned back on, he just side-eyed me. I slowly lifted my hand and without words, just with an exchange of looks I asked for permission if I could touch him. Ace barely nodded as he blinked letting me know without words or big gestures that I can touch him. I slowly ran my fingers through his dark locks. His hair was thick and little wavy, so soft in touch.
âYea, even thought we are the same age with Sabo, I have always been the big brother, and I had to be the man in the house on top of it. A lot of my life choices were based on how it would affect them, but I canât complain really, can I?â He might have said it like a joke, but the hint of bitterness was as clear as a glass. âYou know, I might be twenty-five but sometimes I feel like Iâm forty-five, life is so tiring at time.â I only nodded, not sure what to say and not knowing if I should say something in a first place. Ace closed his eyes, and I continued to play with hair by running my fingers thought it.
âYou know...â I took a deep breath before I continue. âI might not have siblings or had the exact same difficulties in life as you... but I can always listen and be there for you, as I understand what it feels like, under different circumstances than yours of course, but still... After all what are friends for?â I placed a small smile on my face and swallowed hard, the word âfriendâ was starting to take a bitter taste on my tongue. Ace opened his eyes and looked at me.
âSure, doll. Iâll keep this in mind.â A half smile appeared on his lips. After a moment of silence Ace spoke first.
âYou look tired, wanna go to sleep?â I didnât want the night to end, yet. But even high I could sense that this conversation affected him in some way, and I didnât want to push any further. I just nodded in respond to his question. He got up from the couch and I followed him. Ace opened the door to the room that was behind the couch and switched on the lights. The walls in the room were entirely naked all the bricks visible. In the middle was a big wooden pallet bed. In front of it was a big bookcase covering the entire wall. He had all sorts of books, movies and CDs on it. On the right side of the bed, next to the wall he had two black clothing racks, all his clothes hanged there. The left side had a big window with two white long curtains hanged on both ends.
âDo you want to change in something more comfortable?â He leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. I didnât pay him much attention as I was admiring his film collection, reading all the titles he had.
âYou have so many DVDs.â I exclaimed amazed, I knew Ace was a big movie fan already, but I didnât know about his DVDs collection. I was even more surprised to see that a lot of them were also quite recent movies. âYou know streaming platforms exist nowadays.â I teased him and tilted my head to look at him. Giggle escaped my lips, as I saw Ace faced flushed for a first time ever. I quickly stood in front of him and poked him on his stomach, as he was trying to avoid my gaze. âI didnât know you are such a geek.â I poked him again and he tensed his muscles after every poke.
âIâm not, I just like to collect things that I like.â He grabbed my wrists before I land another poke on him. He tried to give me a warning look as I tried to fight him.
âGeek, geek.â I couldnât stop giggling as I could see him getting more and more flushed.
âOkay that was it.â Ace said before he yanked my body and tossed me on his shoulder with an ease. I squeaked, everything around me spinning from the fast motion.
âAce, put me down.â I closed my eyes, still trippy from the weed. âAce, Ace please.â I whined and begged him. He was laughing at me as I was squeaking and kicking my feet in the air, my arms around his torso as I was afraid that he would drop me.
âNot so confident now doll, hu?â He tossed me up on his shoulder again and I screamed closing my eyes as I thought he was going to drop me. Ace laughed out loud as he gently laid me down on the bed. The soft mattress hit my back as Ace propped his arms on both sides of my body. His face buried at the crock of my neck. Ace couldnât stop laughing, his body and muscles trembling and tensing. I could feel his hot breath on my neck and goosebumps ran all over my body. He slowly lifted his head and looked at me. Both of us were still high, I could see the redness in his eyes as we locked our gazes. His laughter calmed down and his eyes darken. I felt my mouth run dry as I tried to swallow the burning feeling inside of me. All that could be heard was the muffled music from the living room and our slowed breathing. The deja-vu from the Halloween party hitting my memories. This time I didnât close my eyes as I did before. He was studying my face the same way I was his. My heartbeat quickens, and I slowly raised my hand placing it on his chest. His skin was so soft. Ace closed his eyes as he drew a sharp breath in. I could feel his heartbeat matching mine. We stayed like this for a moment. I slowly moved my hand up to the back of his neck, the urge to pull him closer to me taking over me, but I still hesitated. Ace wasnât moving at all and closed his eyes, as his breathing got heavy. His whole body tensed as he tried to move away from me. He sat on his keens on the bed and his eyes shoot open in panic. I push myself up on my elbows with a confused look on my face.
âDoll, have I told you that I have narcol-â Ace couldnât finish his sentenced as his eyes rolled back and his whole body went numb. My body rose immediately and caught Ace by the arm, pulling him towards me with all the straight I have had in me. My heart was going to explode as I didnât know what to do, and the fact that if I didnât react so fast Ace was going to hurt himself so bad. His body was laying in my arms, as I gently placed him on the mattress.
âAce.â I whispered trying no to panic, as I had no idea how to help him. The only thing that kept me as calm as it was possible to be in this situation, was the fact that he was breathing steady. I gently tucked a lock of hair away from his face and placed my hand on his cheek and caressed it. My thoughts were running wild, as I had no idea how long he was going to be passed out like this. I pulled my phone out from the pocket on my hoodie and started to type fast what to do in situations like this one. My eyes were moving between the screen and Ace all the time. A few minutes later Ace started to open his eyes. I froze on the bed not being able to move as I didnât want to scare him or something. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed his temples.
âFuck, fuck, fuck.â Ace groaned loudly, as he looked at me with worry and embarrassment written all over his face. âDoll, Iâm so sorry. Please, tell me are you okay? Did I fall on top of you? Are you hurt?â He sat on the bed but kept a distance between us.
âI-Iâm okay, are y-you okay? What happened?â I blinked at him, the shock of what had happened still havenât left my body.
âIâm sorry, if I scared you.â He shook his head as he cursed under his breath. âIâm narcoleptic, guess I forgot to mention it before.â He mumbled as he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with me. I reached and placed my hand on his knee squeezing it.
âAce, itâs okay. I just got panicked because I didnât know what to do to help you. Does this happen... a lot?â My brows frowned slightly as I was concerned about him. Ace finally looked at me. He rubbed his chin and shook his head.
âKinda, but I havenât had a cataplexy attack in the past eight months.â He seemed lost in his own thoughts. Now that I know that he is narcoleptic, this explains why half of the time he looked so tired or emotionless. âAnd you donât need to do anything, the attack passes by itself in a few minutes, and Iâm still conscious in the meantime anyway.â He shrugged as he explained to me.
âDoes your body hurt? I caught you in time, before you hurt yourself bad, but still I had to pull you quite hard...â I moved closer to Ace, and he snorted.
âIâm all good, doll. Donât worry I have fallen quite a lot, so Iâm used to take hits.â I pouted at him when he tried to turn this into a joke. Â Â
âAce, itâs not funny.â I murmured. âDo you take pills for it?â I softly asked him.
âYeah, I do. Everyday, as I have type one narcolepsy.â He gave me one last look before he got up from the bed. âIf you want to change into something more comfortable take something from my clothes.â He was about to walked out of the room when I stopped him.
âYou can sleep in your bed, I can sleep on the couch itâs not a problem at all, or I can call myself uber an-â He didnât let me finish.
âDoll, go to sleep. Iâm fine, just donât pity me now, okay.â His face was serious, while his voice was more laid. Â
âIâm not pitying you.â I quickly replied as I frowned my eyebrows again.
âGood.â He said as he grabbed the doorhandle to close the door after himself. âNight, doll.â
âGoodnight, Ace.â I quietly called after him as he closed the door. I sighed looking at the closed door. He was so stubborn sometimes, most of the time actually. I got from the bed to change to one of his t-shists. I found a simple white t-shirt that looked like it would sit on me like a dress, so I took my clothes off and put it instead. I turned off the lights and got into his bed. The room was not completely dark as the curtains were open and some streetlight was reflecting. I buried my head in the pillows, which smelled so much like him. Thoughts were running all over my mind and all of them were about Ace. I was tossing and turning around until sleep took over me.
**********
In the morning, I woke up around ten something. I rose and sat in the bed for a second, looking around. A yawn escaped my lips as I reached to grab my phone. My eyes widen with shock as I saw I had a message from one of the actors for my short-cut film asking where I was, as we had arranged a meeting today in the morning. I quickly called them and apologised, asking them if they could still meet me in thirty minutes. Thankfully they could so I quickly got up from the bed and dressed myself with my cloths, tossing the white shirt on the unmade bed.
âAce?â I called out when I stepped outside the room. I looked around for him everywhere, but I couldnât find him. Finally, I saw a note on the coffee table. I grabbed the note and read it.
âI have some early morning stuffs that I must do, I left you toothbrush in the bathroom. Eat something. There is a spear key by the door, lock it and drop it inside the mailbox. Aceâ I read out loud. An unpleasant feeling set in my stomach. I didnât expect at all to wake up and not to see him. I shook the feeling away and ran to the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth. I found the spear key and locked the door behind me, dropping the key back in the mailbox. I quickly ran down the stairs and then to the metro station. While I was in the metro, I typed a short message to Ace that I dropped his key in the mailbox and thanked him for letting me stay over last night. It was so cold outside today; I was freezing with the leggings and the hoodie only. I got to the university as fast I could. Running down the hallway I ran into someoneâs back accidently as I couldnât pass by them on time.
âIâm so, so sorry.â I turned to tell them, only to be met with Daveâs green eyes.
â(Y/N), why are in such hurry?â He smiled at me, confusion written on his face.
âI forgot that I have a meeting with my actors for the short-cut and they have been waiting for me for an hour now.â I quickly explained.
âOhh shit, then run, catch you later.â He sent me off as he flashed me another smile. I returned the smile and ran to the room where the actors were waiting for me. I apologised to them again, but they brushed me off by saying that they understood.
âOkay, let me get my laptop and we can go through the script.â I smiled at all four of them. âFuck, noâ I cursed as realisation hit me. I forgot my backpack at Aceâs place. I ran my fingers thought my hair pulling it as I tried to take some deep breaths and calm myself down. I have everything on my phone as well so it shouldnât be a problem. They all locked at me confused as I turned around. I explained quickly what I have done, and they shared some looks between themselves. I couldnât blame them; I was all over the place today.
âI have it on my phone so it shouldnât be a problem.â I pulled my phone which had only thirty percent battery left. âPerfect, just perfectâ I thought to myself, before I started the meeting with the guys.
After an hour and a half, we were done, as we even had some time to rehears and improvise the scenes. I thanked them and told them that I will send more information regarding their rolls tonight. They bit me goodbye and left. With the remaining five percent that I had left, I texted Ace a quick message that I have forgotten my bag at his place, and I really need it as I have everything in it, even the keys to my apartment, and I would be grateful if he could bring it to me. While waiting for a response from Ace, I texted Dave to see if he was still around school. He quickly replied to meet him in the chill aera. I made my way there and he was sitting with some classmates of his. He greeted me with a big smile as always and made me some space to sit next to him.
âHow was the meeting?â He asked as he saw my tired face.
âUh, donât ask, I made a fool of myself in front of them. They probably think that I have no idea what Iâm doing, and they wonât be wrong. Iâm all over the place today, I even forgot my bag so I had to work from my phone, which has no battery left.â I complained and I buried my head in the palms of my hands. Dave laughed at me and softly ran circles on my back.
âNah, you are beating yourself up again.â He spoke. âAlso, what Marco thinks of the video? Did he like it?â I almost broke my neck when I raised my head fast, as I totally forgot to sent Marco the video. Dave saw my reaction and frowned. âPlease, donât tell me you forgot to send it to him.â I slowly nodded my head at his question, biting on my lips hard. âCall him and apologies immediately, as this will come out very unprofessional.â Dave handed me his charger so I could plug my phone to charge. The moment it started to charge I called Marco immediately. I explained to him the situation and he told me not to worry much just to make sure to sent it to him by four oâclock today. I thanked him and we ended the conversation.
âWell, that went well.â I exhaled as I sat back down next to Dave. I checked my phone, but I still had no response from Ace. âHe gave me time until four oâclock.â I told Dave. He patted me on the shoulder.
âWhy donât you go home and send it now?â He suggested.
âBecause I wasnât at home last night and even my keys are in my backpack.â I mumbled. âWhy wasnât Ace responding?â was all I could think about. âSorry, what?â I asked Dave to repeat as he was asking me something, but I didnât pay him attention.
âI was asking whe-â He got interrupted by my phone ringing. It was an unknown number and I hesitated before I picked up.
âHello?â I spoke.
âHey, (Y/N). Itâs me Luffy.â Luffyâs cheerful voice filled up my ears.
âOh, hey Luffy. Whatâs up?â I was so confused. How did he get my number and why was he calling me.
âAce gave me your number to contact you, as he said you forgot you bag at his place last night and I must bring it to you as soon as possible. So where are you?â My whole mood changed in the span of a second. Why was Ace making Luffy do this? And the thing that offended me was, couldnât he texted me and tell me that Luffy will do it? I would have understood him that he was busy or whatever he was doing right now, but this... this hurt me a bit.
â(Y/N) are you still on the phone?â Luffyâs voice brought me back to Earth.
âYes, yes, sorry. Um, Iâm in university but I can meet you somewhere close to your place, as we live close by, and I need to go home anyway.â I suggested.
âOkay, perfect. How does it sound in one hour, as I need some time to get to Aceâs place.â
âYeah, sure. See you in an hour Luffy.â
âSee you.â He said before hanging up.
The pang in my chest was very unpleasant. Why did he do that? I checked my messages, and he havenât even marked them as read. Did I do something? I started to recall last night in my memories to think of something that might have triggered this behaviour in him, but I couldnât think of anything. I felt a hand on my knee, I looked up and I met Daveâs eyes.
âAre you okay?â His voice sounded concerned.
âYeah, just tired.â I gave him a half smile. âHey, by the way by any chance do you know anyone who might be up to let me use their apartment for my short-cut, as mine is way too small?â I asked him, as this was another thing that I had to stress about.
âI must check with my friends, but I will let you know.â
âThank you, I will also need some extras so if you know anyone who wants to be in front of camera give them my number.â I chuckled.
âI need your number first, before I can give it to other people, you know?â He winked at me.
âWhat? You donât have it?â I exclaimed surprised. Dave clicked with his tongue and shook his head. I gestured him to give me his phone so I could put my number in it. âThere you go.â I nodded at him as I handed him the phone back. I looked at the time and decided that I must leave to where me and Luffy agreed on meeting. âThank you for the charger.â I gave it back to Dave.
âAny plans for tonight?â He asked me before I leave.
âNo, but Iâm planning to stay at home as I really need one night by myself.â I exhaled loudly as I was really tired.
âI understand. Well, if you change your mind let me know.â He got up and hugged me goodbye.
**********
I waited for Luffy close by the supermarket that I knew it was close to his place. The weather got even colder and at this point I was freezing. I was bouncing on one leg to the other trying to keep myself somehow warm as I couldnât feel my toes.
â(Y/N).â I heard Luffyâs voice calling and I turned around. He had a big grin across his face. I waved and started to walk toward him to meet halfway. Luffy gave me a big warm hug. âYou are freezing.â He pointed out as he handed me my bag.
âThank you Luffy, you are a life safer.â I sniffed.
âCome on, I will walk with you.â He said and we headed towards my place. âSo how have you been lately?â
âWell, been better, very stressed lately. But once next week is over, I will be able to finally relax.â I smiled at him as shivers run down my body.
âDo you want my hoodie as well, I have a t-shirt underneath.â That was so nice of him, but I shook my head. âAre you sure?â He asked, his eyes full of concern.
âIâm sure.â I nodded. âBut how are you? Havenât seen you since Halloween.â
âPrety good, preparing for competition.â He responded.
âWhat competition?â
âOh, you might not know but I run marathons. I have already won five, but this one is nothing big, only for people from my university.â He explained.
âWait, you go to university?â I had no idea that Luffy studied, Nami and Usopp have never mentioned anything, and so did Luffy.
âYeah, Iâm studying animation.â His smile grew even bigger.
âWhat? Are you for real?â My eyes widen in surprise. I would have never guessed that Luffy was studying something as hard as animation, I didnât even know that he can draw.
âShihihih, yes, I am.â Luffy laughed at my reaction. âDonât worry everyone react like this, Iâm not the smartest out there, but Iâm not stupid.â He raised his chin. âI might be a little dumb sometimes tho.â He nudged my arm. We laughed together. âBut why are you so stressed?â
âWell, your brothers video first, it was a big challenged. And second the short-cut projects, maybe you have heard about it from Nami or Usopp. I need to find a nice apartment as soon as possible where I can shoot my film.â Tension took over my body once again.
âI can ask Sanji. He lives in a very nice and big apartment, Iâm sure he wouldnât say not.â Luffy pulled out his phone and quickly typed something in it. âDone.â He grinned at me. âI will let you know when he response.â
âOh my God, Luffy you shouldnât have to. Thank you so much.â I gave him a hug. He laughed again.
âNothing to thank me for, Sanji still havenât replied.â
âBut still just the fact that you asked him, is so nice of you.â I smiled at him again. Luffy rubbed his chin and turned his head to look at me.
âBy the way, is something going on between you and my brother?â Another thing about Luffy was that he was very straight forward.
âNo, nothing. We are just friends, thatâs all.â The bitter feeling came back, as I answered Luffyâs question. âWhy?â
âIt was just super strange, like... Ace never lets girls sleep over his place, so when he called me today in the morning to tell me to bring you your stuff, I got quite surprised.â He didnât seem to give it a second thought, for which I was glad. But also, what he said caught my attention. Why wouldnât Ace let girls stay over his place? That was strange.
âNo, Luffy. Nothing is going on between your brother and I.â I repeated to assure myself more than him. âHe just wanted to see the video first and then we just chitchat and it got late, and he offered me to stay over as I was super tired.â Part of what I said was true. âBut could you please not tell anyone, as I donât want people to get the wrong idea, you know...â I looked down at my fingers and nervously played with them.
âDidnât plan to tell anyone anyway.â He winked at me. We reached my place, and we turned to face each other. âI will let you know when Sanji response.â He hugged me.
âThank you, Luffy. You are the best.â I said returning the hug. We said goodbye and I ran to my apartment as I was freezing. The first thing I did when I got inside was to turn my laptop on and sent all the files to Marco. I made myself a cup of tea to warm myself. When all the files for the video were sent to Marco I relaxed a bit. I looked the at clock and it was barely 3PM. Instead of wasting time I pulled my sleeves up and started to work on my final touches for the short-cut. I was so focused on work I didnât realise that almost two hours had passed since I last checked my phone. I had a couple missed calls from Marco, a message from Luffy and one from Usopp. I returned the call to Marco immediately before checking the messages from Luffy and Usopp. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.
âHey, Marco. Sorry for not retur-â Marco interrupted me mid sentence.
â(Y/N), great job with the video. I love it and so did the guys. We will release it on Tuesday. You definitely have the talent for it, kid. Keep the good work going.â He ended the phone call so fast I couldnât process what he just told me. I just nodded to myself before checking the messages from Luffy and Usopp.
âSanji said that you can use his apartment, here is his number to contact him for more info.â I got so happy when I read Luffyâs message. I immediately texted Sanji to thank him and to ask if I could meet with him and see the apartment so I could do my floor plan. Then I moved to Usoppâs message in which he congratulated me on the video.
âThank you, for helping me <3â I texted Usopp back.
I couldnât stop myself from checking if Ace at least marked the messages as read. He didnât. Part of me wanted to text him and ask if he was mad at me for something, but I didnât. He was in one of his moods again. I would just need to wait until he was in the mood to talk with me again, but Iâm not sure how much I would want to speak with him then. I tried to shake him off my mind, as I got back to work.
********
The gym was almost empty due the fact that it was Friday night, so most people were skipping today, so they could get ready for a night out. Law glanced at Ace, who was too focused on his bench press set. Ace was clearly disturbed today, as he hasnât been this moody in a while.
The music was blasting in Aceâs ear as he was focused on his set, not paying attention to anything else. Last night was on repeat in his mind as he couldnât get (Y/N) off from his mind. The things they shared, how much he had opened to her, something he had never done before with another girl. On top of it he let her sleep not only in his house but in his bed. He broke his main rule, no girls over his house. Especially his bed, as in his mind that meant letting someone in your very personal space. And Ace hated to have people not close to his heart invading it. In the morning when he woke up, he had to go to his room as he had to get dressed for the day, but he had forgotten to take some clothes the night before. He entered the room as quietly as possible and quickly grabbed the first pair of jeans and a hoodie he could see. Ace couldnât contain himself and took a glance at (Y/N)âs sleeping form. She was sleeping peacefully all wrapped up in the bedsheets, hugging one of his pillows. Ace smiled at the sight of her. âYeah, you look like the type that likes to cuddlesâ he thought to himself. He cursed under his breath for even thinking that and quickly left the room. No woman before has been let this close to him. He was letting (Y/N) too much into his life. Not only this, but he has never had a cataplexy attack in front of a girl. Yes, he has had his daily narcolepsy episodes in front of girls, but never to a point where his muscles weakness. Part of him was embarrassed, but he was more concerned about the fact that she had this effect on him. On the other hand, it was good that it happened as Ace knew he was about to lose it last night. The way she wrapped her arms around him wanting him closer, knowing that she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. God he was going to take her right there on the spot. And the moan that had left her lips when they were eating, he could listen to this for hours. He could only imagine how sweet it would sound to listen her moaning and whining under him while he has his ways with her. Whoever had his way with her must be a fool to messed it up so badly. But it didnât mater, as Ace was not going to step over that line with her. She wasnât a girl for a one-night stand, and he couldnât give her what she deserved so he had to keep his distance from now on. Ace wasnât a relationship guy, neither he planned to be anytime soon. So, for a bit he must distance himself form (Y/N) for her own good.
Law dropped the dumbbells he was using and went to where Ace was working out. He was in the middle of his set when he saw Law standing next to his bench to spot him. Ace grunted and breathed out loudly, once he finished with the set and put the barbel back. He rose from the bench sitting up, pulling his headphones on the side.
âI donât need you to spot me.â He spat at Law.
âI can see that.â Law crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at the added weight to the barbel. âBut you kinda going to die on the spot if you fall asleep pushing 160kg, you know.â He pointed out.
âI wish I can go away that easy.â Â Ace murmured before grabbing his water bottle and taking a sip.
âWhatâs up with you Ace?â Law face got serious and so did his tone. Ace gave him an annoyed look.
âNothing.â He replied putting his headphones back before he laid on the bench press for another set. Ace rolled his eyes as he saw Law not moving away, but instead standing to spot him. He finished with his set and got up to add some more weight to the barbel. Law was just looking at him, wondering what got him so heated up. Adding how stubborn Ace was, Law knew that it would take him some time to make Ace tell him about what was bothering him.
âPushing for a new personal record?â Law looked down at Ace as he loaded the weight. He didnât get any response from Ace as the music was blasting in his ears.
When they were done with their workout before leaving the gym Law asked Ace if he was up for a drink later, even thought he was sure Ace would tell him to fuck off. Surprisingly for Law, Ace agreed. They bit each other goodbye and left the gym. After ten minutes ride Ace parked his motorbike in front of his building. He let a deep sigh once he entered his apartment and closed the door. He threw his gym bag on the floor and went straight to the bathroom. The first thing that caught his attention was the pink toothbrush he left for (Y/N) on the sink corner. He huffed and grabbed the toothbrush ready to throw it away but stopped himself for a second. âWhat if she needs it again?â the thought crossed his mind before he had the time to assimilated it. Realising what just went thought him mind, he threw the toothbrush immediately.
âThe fuck is wrong with me?â He cursed himself as he shook his head in disbelief of his own thoughts. He stripped himself from the sweaty clothes he was wearing and got in the shower. Ace adjusted the water to the coldest and let it run all over his body. His whole body tensed from the ice-cold water. He bit on his lip hard suppressing the groan that wanted to escape his lips. Looking down at his body Ace cursed under his breath again.
âWhat am I now? Fourteen?â He hissed as he wrapped his hand around his hard erection. âCome on, go away.â Ace whined as even the cold water wasnât helping. He ran his hand through his wet hair. Ace closed his eyes as he squeezed his hand around his throbbing cock, letting a low grunt. He took a few deep breathes before moving his hand up and down. The thoughts of (Y/N) occupying his mind once again. This time he let the thoughts of her run through his mind. He couldnât help but imagine her â down on her knees, looking at him from under her lashes. The way her (eyes colour) eyes would beg him to fuck her mouth. She might not be a virgin, but he would definitely need to teach her how to please him. Ace took a sharp breath just thinking of this. âYes, yes I will teach you everything you need to know, dollâ a smirk appeared on his face when he thought of it. She was smart, so she would learn fast. He would make sure to teach her exactly how to wrap her pretty lips around him.
âFuck.â Ace grunt as he threw his head back just thinking of her lips. The way they would feel kissing and wrapping around his dick. Ace propped his hand on the wall while fasting the pace around his painfully hard length. To have her, right here, right now would feel like heaven. Ace would be gentle with her, at least at first. He would let her take her time, as she would lick like a kitten the pre-cum leaking from his pink tip. Then the way she would wrap her pretty lips around it and give a twist with her tongue. She would cover it all with kisses while giving him slow stokes, preparing herself to take it. To then watch her struggle taking all of him in her pretty mouth, having to wrap her hand around what she couldnât take. Ace would lose it then, as he wouldnât be able to control himself anymore and just start to fuck her sweet mouth. The way he would wrap his hand around her hair, pulling and guiding her how to please him. A loud moan escaped his lips as he felt that he was getting close. The image of her, on her knees, his cock in her mouth, having her choking on it while hearing her begging whines and tears running down her eyes while he deepthroat fucks her. The more he was thinking of it the closer he was getting. If she was here, the way Ace imagined her, he would make sure to paint her face with his cum. Her pretty face, all covered with his hot cum, dripping down on her and her pretty lips. This though alone made his whole body twitched and his hips jerked as he gave himself one last stroke and cum spilled all over his hand and wall. Ace cursed loudly as he threw his head back from the feeling of release. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as he tried to collect himself.
It took him sometime to calm himself down as he felt the cold water on his back. He quickly switched the water to a normal temperature as washed his body. Ace cursed himself again. Maybe the reason he was so attracted to (Y/N) was because he restrained himself. If he had already fucked her maybe she wouldnât have crossed his mind ever again. He just needed to get laid that was it, and he was planning to do it tonight.
Ace got out of the shower and grabbed his towel wrapping it around his hips. When he entered the bedroom, his eyes landed on the unmade bed and his white t-shirt that he saw (Y/N) wore while sleeping. He grabbed the t-shirt, and the smell of her perfume hit him. Ace went and threw it in the laundry basket frustrated. Last thing he needed right now was a piece of clothing that smelled like her. He took his phone and looked at the time. It was already nine oâclock. Ace quickly towel dried his hair and tried to style it but gave up leaving it falling messy around his face. He put a black sweatshirt on with a dark grey pants and a belt around his waist. Grabbing his jacket and keys Ace left his place.
It took him twenty minutes to reach the place where he and Law usually hang out. The bar was very known around Grand Line. Ace entered the place and looked around for Law. He was sitting by the bar and when he saw Ace he waved at him. Ace nodded and walked to Law, taking the seat next to him. Law was wearing a white loose fit unbuttoned shirt with some dark blue pants.
âWhat are you drinking?â Ace asked him.
âOld fashion.â Law replied while taking a sip of his drink. Ace nodded and turned to order to the bartender who gave him a charming smile. Ace smiled at her and made his order. While making it she didnât take her eyes off him.
âOne âOld Fashionââ She said sultry while placing the drink in front of Ace. He just winked at her and gave her an extra tip when he paid. âThank you, let me know if you would like something else.â She returned the winked and went away. Ace chuckled and took a sip of his drink.
âSo, are you in better mood now?â Law wasted no time getting straight to the point.
âWhat made you think I wasnât in a good mood earlier?â Ace turned to the side to look at Law.
âCome on, Ace. Whatâs with you recently? Especially today.â Law crossed his arms waiting for Aceâs respond.
âNothing, I told you.â Ace took another sip of his drink.
âAce Iâm not buying this shit.â Law knew that something was bothering his friend, and he wasnât planning to drop it that easy. âIs everything okay at home?â he couldnât think of anything else that might get Ace this worked up.
âAs far as I know, yeah.â Ace bluntly answered. Law rubbed his beard frowning his brows at him. âLaw drop it, man. Iâm... Iâm fine.â Ace started to tap his fingers on his glass avoiding looking at Law. They stayed like this for a moment before Ace broke the silence. âDid you fix things with Robin?â
âKinda.â Law murmured. Ace raised his eyebrow at him. âShe wants something serious, and Iâm not sure that I can give her that.â Ace snorted when he heard Lawâs response. He raised the glass to his lips to take a sip of it but couldnât contain his laughter so Ace burst out laughing. Law pushed his shoulder, making Ace look at him.
âSorry, bro. Just...â Ace started to laugh again.
âMan, whatâs so funny?â Law was so confused by Aceâs reaction.
âYou two have been on and off for two years, at this point make up your minds.â Ace chuckled. âDamn, and I thought I have it bad..â He murmured under his nose.
âWait, what?â Law raised his brows confusion. âIs this whole attitude thing because of a girl?â Ace clenched his jaw and side-eyed Law. Now it was Lawâs turn to burst out laughing.
âOh, shut up.â Ace rolled his eyes at him. Law continued to chuckle when he looked at Ace and tried to calm himself. He cleared his throat before speaking.
âItâs not the blonde girl, what was her name Savanna?â
âSamantha and no. She was just a quick fuck, even tho she hasnât stop blowing my phone.â Ace rubbed his temples.
âOh, oh, I have a guess.â Law smirk as Ace glanced at him. âItâs the little director, isnât it?â The way Ace clenched his fingers around the glass told Law everything he needed to know. âHell, Iâm right, it is about (Y/N).â Just the mentioned of her name made his whole body tense. âSo, care to share?â Law chuckled.
âNothing is happening between us, so there is nothing to share. We are... just... I donât know, not really friends letâs say acquaints.â He shrugged.
âYeah, sure. Donât think Iâm blind.â Law snorted. âThe tension you two had on set could be felt from miles away. And the looks you were giving to the guy behind the camera...â He mocked Ace, who was clearly getting worked up all over again. âSo, care to explain exactly what is going on between her and you?â Law was patiently waiting for Ace to start talking. Ace cursed under his breath before looking at his friend.
âShe slept over last night.â Ace murmured. Lawâs eyes widen as he heard this. That was definitely something new. âWe didnât do anything, tho. We could of but I got cataplexy attack. Which has never ever happened before with a girl.â His cheeks started to flush. âAnd another thing is that she listens, man. Not only listens, but she also understands me. I have opened to her about some personal stuffs can you believe it?â Ace spat; Law was carefully listening to him. âBut that is not like my main problem right now...â He started to massage his temples, deep breath escaping his lips. âI know that I donât like her, like... you know something serious as I donât want anything serious, but at the same time Iâm weirdly attracted to her, and I think it is because I restrain myself.â
âWhat do you mean by ârestrainâ yourself?â Law raised his eyebrow confused.
âI canât sleep with her.â Ace fussed. âShe is so close to Luffyâs friends, and they are the same age, come on. I see all people at Luffyâs age as kids.â He took a big sip of his drink almost finishing it. âOn top of it she is Shanksâ niece.â Ace added, giving Law a knowing look.
âAce itâs just four years. Plus, she seems, well, she is quite smart girl, so I think you are the one who makes it too complicated, not her.â Law couldnât really see the problem. When they were filming the video together it was clearly that there was some chemistry between them. âPlus, you can always be like fuckbuddies, no feelings attached just sex. Just sleep with her once, and if you continue to feel that way then get all this moody and shit.â
âShe will get attached.â Ace whined. âShe told me that she had slept with a guy only once, and it was bad on top of it, so basically, she is a fucking virgin.â Law nodded understanding at Aceâs statement. âAnd she is a very nice girl. You know, I will feel bad to just use her for one night.â He might be an asshole, but he wasnât that big of an ass, to play with someone like (Y/N)âs feelings.
âSo, what do you plan to do then?â Law was carefully studying his friendâs face.
âDistant myself for now. But this time for real, as I tried before but... never mind. I just need to get laid thatâs all.â Ace explained, his eyes not leaving now the empty glass. Law decided to not say anything further. The solution was easy but Ace was stubborn, so it was pointless to give him any advice.
A few drinks later, both Ace and Law were having a good laugh; talking about the band upcoming projects, and things that both were interested in. Time flew fast and it was around midnight when something caught Aceâs attention mid-conversation. He squeezed his eyes trying to see better. His eyes landed on a girl, and she looked super familiar from the back. Was that (Y/N)? The hair was the same colour and length. She also seemed to be the same height. He hesitated for a moment before he turned to Law and told him that he would be back in a second. Ace slowly made his way to the girl. If it was (Y/N) what was he going to tell her? Why was he even going to check if it was her, when he literally told himself to keep his distance with her. It was the alcohol. Yes, he can blame it on the alcohol. And if it was her, he could just say âhelloâ and thatâs it, out of politeness. He felt his heart beating faster as he was close to approach the girl. When he stood behind her, he gently tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly turned around, and it wasnât her. The girl flashed him a cute smile.
âYes, can I help you?â She fluttered her lashes at Ace.
âOh, sorry. I mistook you for someone else.â Ace smiled at her and was about to turn around and leave when she put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.
âHey, not so fast.â She flashed him a smile. âIâm Diane.â
âAce.â He replied. Ace took a better look at her. She low-key looked like (Y/N), not as pretty, but still nice. âHow is your night going Diane?â A smug smile formed on his face.
âPretty good. Always can get better.â She bit her lip, her tone sultry. âWho were you looking for?â
âDoesnât matter. Came across something better.â Ace saw the way her cheeks blushed. These clichĂŠ lines were always working. Not always, he knew someone who was going to roll her eyes and tell him to come up with something better. But Ace shook away the thought of (Y/N). He had her low-key doppelganger here, so it would work for the night.
âAre you alone here?â She wrapped a curl around her finger and played with it.
âI have my friend over there.â He pointed at Law. âWould you ladies mind us joining you?â Ace nodded his head and looked at the two other girls sitting with Diane, flashing them a charming smile. They all giggled and told him that they wouldnât mind. Ace turned to look at Law who was looking at his direction. He nodded his head at Law to come and join them. Law got up and made his way to them. He introduced himself to the girls and started to chitchat with them. They were giggling and blushing at him. Law wasnât planning on doing anything with anyone tonight as he had promised Robin to go to her place after, but still little flirting with some girls wouldnât hurt anyone. It didnât go unnoticed by him that the girl Ace was focused on was quite similar in looks to (Y/N). Law has been there before and done that. Trying to fill the void he was feeling with girls looking like Robin, but at the end of the day none of them were her. Law didnât want to say anything to Ace, as he knew how his friend stands on relationships, but the whole âI will keep my distanceâ or âwe will just be friendsâ bullshit wasnât going to work. At the end Ace was either going to end up in the same situation as Law, or maybe worse.
Another hour passed and Law received a message from Robin, asking him where he was. That was his reminder that the night for him was over. He excused himself to the girls and went to Ace to tell him goodbye.
âYou are leaving?â Ace asked surprised. His eyes were half lidded since he got way too many drinks tonight.
âYeah, man. Robin is waiting for me.â Law patted him on the shoulder. âTake care tonight, okay?â Ace rolled his eyes at Law and waved him goodbye. Law took one last glanced at his friend before leaving.
âWanna go to your place?â Ace smirked at Diane who was sitting in his lap. He ran his fingers up and down her shoulder and neck. She cupped his face and eagerly smacked her lips on his. Ace returned the kiss, taking her lower lip between his teeth biting it. The kiss quickly grew hot as Aceâs hands started to roam all over her body. âShould I take this as an âyesâ?â He whispered in her ear. Goosebumps ran all over her body and she just nodded her head. She called an uber and they quickly left.
Her hair might have not been as soft to touch as (Y/N)âs, neither her skin smelled as sweet as hers, and the way her eyes were looking at his didnât spark any flame in him. But she was just for the tonight. And she had similar look to her. He didnât even need to look at her face. The moment they laid on her bed, Ace turned her on her stomach, bending her over. And something dark took over him. He did care for the pleasure of the girls he was sleeping with. Always taking his time with them, making them feeling good first. But tonight, he was selfish. This girl wasnât (Y/N). She was a cheap replica, nothing close to what he would feel or do to her if his doll was here. Even her moans didnât sound anything close to hers. But again, this wasnât the biggest problem. The biggest problem was the fact that (Y/N) wasnât leaving his mind. And this was something that has never ever happened before. Somehow, she had found her way to get under his skin and he needed to burn her from there as soon as possible.
next chapter ->
END NOTE: I really hope you guys enjoyed it. I know that the 'smut' part wasn't anything wow, but I'm just testing the waters with it. At first it was totally different and it wasn't planned to be for Ace, but now I'm happy that I decided to write it for him, as in a way it suits his character more. Please let me know what your thoughts about it and what could I change in the future for when I'm writing a smut (u can either comment or message me). Also I felt so awkward writing it, but is it a fanfic if there is no smut in it? Feel free to comment and reblog, much love <333
#one piece ace#portgas d ace#portgas d ace x reader#fire fist ace#ace x you#portgas ace x you#ace x reader#ace x y/n#portgas ace x reader#one piece#monkey d. luffy#one piece luffy#one piece nami#one piece sabo#one piece usopp#law one piece#trafalgar law#trafalgardwaterlaw#one piece x y/n#one piece x reader#one piece x you#one piece zoro#portgas ace smut#sanji vinsmoke#sanji one piece#roronoa zoro#luffy x reader#monkey d luffy#marco the phoenix#ace one piece
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Of course, because what's getting kisses without giving them too?! And it's true, you do mean a lot to me, and difficult not to care about you a whole lot. The Salem trip was a lot of fun, the best part being the time with you, no doubt. Though I'm missing that and you right now, so I'm glad the weekend's almost here and I get to fly to you. I know we had a bit of time with your premiere, which I'm still so proud of you for, by the way, but it felt like no time at all! I'll always dress up with you any Halloween, I promise that! Plus you have to admit we looked pretty amazing in our costumes. Not surprised you have so many projects lined up with how talented you are, though I'm always grateful for the time we get together. It just means a lot that you're so understanding about distance and you get it since you're an actor too. And well, that now I can be excited whenever I land new roles and share that excitement with you and not worry otherwise! Your support always means the world to me, too. Thank you for always reminding me of those things too, since the last thing I'd want is to lose you. You're too important to me for that, you know? Also glad we'll always work out our schedules somehow. I'm still thrilled you don't complain about my clinginess when I know I can be quite a bit clingy! I can't help myself when it comes to you, though. And if it means being in your arms a lot, I'd never complain about that in the least. I love planning dates for you, in case that wasn't obvious, and I always love the dates you plan too, Joseph. They're so well thought out, and it means a lot to me. The hike and the hot springs was easily my favorite part of it, and I think we should do that again before filming ends here, don't you think? I absolutely still daydream about the hot springs and everything we got up to, and well, since I'm visiting this weekend, we could always recreate those in the tub, don't you think? I'll admit it was exciting thinking maybe someone would come hiking past us, though I liked that it was just the two of us. The smartest move you've ever made, being my boyfriend? Don't mind me blushing about that. I can say the same though, that being your boyfriend is easily one of the best decisions I've made too. I play so much worse when you're distracting me, but again, not a complaint in the least. How are the knitting projects coming along?! Because you're right, it's been chilly here in Canada and those could always come in handy. It never has to be very long for me to miss you, for what it's worth, since I do so much of the time. And you can cuddle with me as much as you'd like when I get there, promise. I won't tell Bach you said my cuddles were better! I'm so glad we got to spend time with Jamie and Anya too, and their haunted adventures are always so exciting! I'm so happy you think they like me too, since I do like them. We'll have to tell him we'd love to see some of the Catacombs then! I'll just make sure to kiss you and hold your hand all the way through. Double dates with our friends make me happy too, so I'm always for those! I'm still laughing thinking about us visiting that pub as well, especially when it flooded and you had to carry me! My hero for making sure I didn't get wet, though. We'll definitely have to make more memories there, without a doubt. I'll never get enough of hearing you tell me I'm sexy, that's just a fact, or get enough of you, either. That's what we'll do this weekend then, sleep in a little and kiss in bed as much as we'd like. Which just means you can silence me with kisses as much as you'd like, too.
Your place in New York is honestly so amazing, and I'm looking forward to when we can be in the city more to spend time in both our places, since I feel like I haven't even properly broken in my apartment, either. Of course I'd be happy to come to London with you when you're missing it, since I love that city too! We'll save the rooftop bar for when it gets warm, and good thing there's plenty to do in the cold months in New York. Like there are so many places that play live music, and I'd love to take you to all of those! It makes me smile that you'd always be willing to fly to where I am too, and needless to say, that's mutual. I'd love to visit more pumpkin patches, given how much fun we had with the ones we've visited! I'm all for another cooking class too, and it's a lot of fun learning new recipes together. We can't know too many of those, right? I'm really excited for taking you to Florida sometime and showing you where I grew up, not to mention meeting Bentley too! He's always so excited every time he sees me, he might be missing me a little. I usually try and do any work they need done at the sanctuary too, which I hope you wouldn't mind helping out! Last time I was there, I helped build a fence, which was really cool. Between that and camping, we'll do it all! I'm already excited for a romantic vacation once we're finished filming, and I'm almost tempted to say it should be somewhere with hot springs since we liked that so much! And you're definitely the best view for being so handsome, there's no doubt about that, and especially when you're blushing. Sussex was such a good time, maybe our vacation should involve that again too?! What do you think? You showed me plenty both in the hot springs and in Salem too, both of which I enjoyed quite a lot. I wish you could wake me up that way every morning, is what I think, since it's far better than any alarm clock. I'd love more of those showers this weekend too, since showering with you is easily one of my favorite things. I'm glad the wanting's mutual too, because there isn't a time I wouldn't want you, love. You can already see a future with me? Don't mind me blushing and hiding my face, and that honestly makes me so happy, especially when I can see a future with you too. I can understand it being scary to say out loud since there's a lot of vulnerability to that, but I understand, and trust me when I say you're not alone in that thought, not in the least. Well, you're a beautiful person, and getting to know you better just always reaffirms that. I'm picturing you pouting in your trailer because I wasn't there, and I just want to kiss you for it. And I always love being on set with you and seeing you work, especially when you're all dressed up like a superhero! I don't think the director is ever going to let me live down that I just abandoned a scene to say hello to you, either! He still asks if you're visiting today and if he should be ready to stop mid-scene. He's hilarious about it though, so at least it's become a funny inside joke! I'm just glad I repaid the favor of you flying out there once we were alone, no question about that since I wanted to. I can't wait until we can break in both of our apartments then! And we can visit the rooftop of mine even if it's chilly, we just won't stay up there for longer than briefly taking in the view, maybe having some hot chocolate. The picnic in Salem was so fun, and honestly, I think picnics with you are my new favorite thing. I'm excited for when I can cook for you more, knowing how special it is to you. Your love language being physical touch was obvious, but I enjoy every second of it, honestly. I'm really glad the weekend's practically here and I'll be on my way to you. I don't know if it's because filming's been going on a while or the material is pretty dark or a combination of both, but I'm just starting to feel a little worn down. So being in Spain with you for a few days is just what I need. | @josephafq
i'm glad that you'll always be happy for getting so many of my kisses -- and you know that i'm very happy to get all those kisses of yours in return! it really makes me smile hearing you say that i mean a lot to you and that you care so much about me, you know? i agree that the weeks leading up to us being together do feel rather long, but i'm really glad we had all the time we did together thanks to the salem trip. and thank you again for dressing up with me, love, this was the best halloween to me. yeah? i feel the same way, and honestly, i know i've got a lot of projects lined up, but whenever i'm not filming and i get more time with you, you know i'll be happy. i'm always going to be understanding when it comes to you, especially when you're worried about something, you know? and i really do understand why you have these hang-ups over a relationship ending because of distance, but i'll admit that it makes me feel a little sad that you felt hesitant to tell me you had a new gig of feel happy about it. because you know i'm always going to support you, yeah? i want to celebrate those new gigs with you, because i'm so proud of you. but i can understand it'll take some time to ease, and i'll just have to make sure you always know that i'm here, i'm not going anywhere, and there's no way that you'll lose me. we'll always make things work when we're apart, love, there's no doubt about that. it's safe to say that i love your clinginess, if that hasn't been obvious by now. plus, i'm pretty happy that you feel better that i'm clingy too, and i love having you in my arms a whole lot. the dates you plan are amazing, and it makes me happy that you like the dates i plan too. oh, i'm still smiling about that date because it was pretty amazing, especially the hike to the hot springs! i got to ask, are you still daydreaming about being in there with me and what we got up to? because i am and wish you were here right now getting up to those things with me again. i'm glad they were mostly private too -- though it did add a little bit of excitement to us playing around and possibly getting caught, right? i love being your boyfriend, baby, there's no doubt about that, and i'll say it was the smartest move i've ever made. what can i say? it's so much fun distracting you, but i love it when you're still able to play some music even with me being distracting. you'll be having some of my knitting projects soon, love, which is perfect because it'll be winter time before we know it! i know it's only been a few days, but i really am missing you right now. i'm glad that i have bach for cuddles, but i'd much rather be getting to cuddle with you. i'm glad that we got to spend more time with jamie and anya while we were in salem, it was neat going on a double date with them that also was a haunted adventure! plus, i think they really like you, and you have no idea how happy that makes me. oh, if i told jamie we wanted to visit catacombs, he'd jump at the chance to take us there, no doubt about that. look at you being my hero though, i love it, and i'll love all the kisses and handholding, of course. i'm glad you're all for more double dates, it makes me happy that we've got so many friends we can have double dates with! it's safe to say that if we go back to that pub, i'll be carrying you again i hope you know, can't have you getting wet and all! plus, it'll be fun to make more memories there together, yeah? i'm just being honest, love, you're so very sexy and i'm always going to tell you that -- Â just like i'm never going to get enough of you either. i miss waking up to you during the week too, and we were spoiled in salem, and i'm already missing it so much again. but i'm glad when i'm able to be with you and i can get all those kisses and get to stay in bed for a while, i love that. yeah? cue me silencing you with kisses all the time then!
i'm glad that you love my new york place already, love, since i really do love the thought of you staying there with me while we're in the city -- i love that i get to share it with you! and i'm so glad that i'll be living so close to you as well, and that we both plan on being in the city when we're not working. though when i'm missing london and we're not working, you'll come back with me, yeah? i'm a little sad it's getting colder in the city as well, because i would have loved to gone back to your favorite rooftop bar one more time! but we'll find something else fun to do next time we're in new york. it's safe to say that i love all the dates that you plan, love, and you know i'll always be happy to fly to wherever you are, no matter where i'm at. i was just thinking that, next year we'll have to visit more pumpkin patches together. what do you think? i'm all for going to another cooking class with you as well, because we really did have a good time -- and i loved that what we made turned out so well, and i know learning to make more things with you will be a lot of fun. i'm really looking forward to going to florida with you, love, i know camping will be fun, but i know i'll love the sanctuary too! plus, i think it's so sweet that bentley might be missing you, and of course i want to meet him too. i'm glad that you like the idea of us having a romantic holiday when we're finished filming, love. and i'm thinking we should brainstorm because i want us to pick a place that we'll both really enjoy. you keep making me blush by saying i'm the best view and calling me so handsome, but i'm always going to think you're the most handsome. i'm really glad that sussex is one of your favorite places to visit now and glad that we made the memories that we did. plus, i love that you'll enjoy having the same room and access to the beach, not to mention that tub. i had a feeling you really liked that tub. oh, i was very much showing you some of those things in the hot springs that weekend -- and i liked to believe i showed you some of those things while we were in salem too. i think i need to start waking you up in the way i woke you up a few times while we were in salem more often. what do you think?
happy to hear that you love taking showers with me, love, and of course i'm pleased you can't resist me whenever i press you against the shower wall, because i love that you can't resist me since i can't resist you. it's just the truth, baby, i'm always going to want you, no matter what and all the damn time. i'm very grateful we've met and we're in each other's lives this way as well, i'm happy you're my boyfriend, and honestly, that i can already see a future with you, you know? which is a little scary to admit out loud, but it's the truth. i'm glad i can have you as much as i'd like, though, love. you're making me blush calling me beautiful, and saying the more you know me the more you feel that way. we really do get each other, and it makes me so happy. i love that you know you can be open with me, just like i love that i can be open with you. can i just say i came into my trailer today and pouted because you weren't there with me? though i'm glad i at least had that friday with you before we went to salem, that was wonderful. hey, i had to think of some reason why you wouldn't hear from me! but i'm glad it was a great surprise, love, and it still makes me laugh a little that you shut down a scene just to run to me. oh, you more than repaid me with what we got up to in your trailer, and i loved every minute of it. i love the idea of breaking in my new york apartment once we have more time, and of course breaking in your apartment a little more too. i've been thinking about that rooftop of yours, honestly. i'm glad we got to have a picnic in salem while we were there, love, and the spooky element just added to it! plus, i'll always love when you pack my favorite things -- but also when you cook for me, it means so much to me. i feel like you're taking care of me, and i love that, it makes me feel so good. i had a feeling words of affirmation was one of yours, love, just like i'm pretty sure another one of mine being physical touch is obvious. i'm glad you feel so lucky to be my boyfriend, love, and i can't help but say it again that i'm missing you so much already. the weekend can't get here fast enough so i can be with you again. || @teaguehq
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i don't want to take up too much space or add negativity here by talking about it, but i do want to touch upon it.
this fandom is difficult. it's difficult in a way it never should have been, and it is nearly impossible to engage with it interactively in a way that doesn't cause you any harm.
and i think the thing i've been coming to terms with recently, is that i can't engage with it how i have been without causing harm in a general sense - especially over on tiktok.
there's a kind of complacency at the moment. complacency in fandom etiquette yes, but the main thing is JKR, and the complacency people have fallen into when it comes to her. when it comes to the tours, the merch, the REBOOT. there's a complacency.
and it's reached a point where,,, there isn't much to do about it.
because my account there has always been talkative - i started talking over there purely to talk about my thoughts and share my interests, and it gradually became more educational. which was fine when it started, but it's not anymore. it's not when it's no longer fun for me, and when it's turned from talking about fandom to defending my place in it. to educating people on why my life matters more than official HP content.
and most discourse? i'll talk about purely because i find it interesting, and then i'll move along. but i can't move along from the reboot and general jkr stuff because i'm trans outside of fandom as well as in it.
i can talk about how it feels to be trans in this fandom right now, and then i turn my phone off, and there's bills to pay. there's increasingly high hrt prices, there's routine blood tests that the nhs won't do for my heart condition, there's a road in my town i can't walk through because someone pulled a knife on me, there's law after law after law being debated, funded, and approved, there's opportunities i've been denied and necessities i've been denied because of my identity.
and i can't turn that off.
and it gets harder to separate the two. it gets harder to separate fandom and real life when i'm coming to a place that should be a form of escapism and hearing people talk about supporting JKR, so i counteract that and explain why we shouldn't, and then i'm directly impacted once the app is closed. i can't turn that off, and i can't feel right engaging in it.
and i think that's the sad thing. i know @sophsicle did a post on this recently, but once fandom and real life start mixing, it's so much harder to engage here because we are responsible. and i can't ethically (or healthily for myself) post about this fandom on tiktok when it's to blame for the complacency we're seeing. and it is to blame. it's the comments on fancasts videos, it's the promoting of jkr's universe in random comment sections just because people "look like" the marauders, it's the reposting of the reboot or official hp pages when they talk about marauders and it's so much more and it's just,,,, impossible.
and i sound like a broken record because for MONTHS i have been talking about this. for months i have been talking about the harm this will cause and a couple of months ago i said that if things don't start changing, you're going to see creators taking steps back.
and i think the most upsetting part, is that i explain this. i explain how important this space has been for my stability and my confidence, how it has been the biggest part of my life and i don't feel comfortable anymore and,,, the majority of the messages so far are "what's going to happen to the fic rec sheet?" "should i download all the fics on your account?" "what about xyz?" etc etc
and it's just,,, content over individual. whether that's the reboot over trans people, or videos over the person, it's always content.
idk man. i don't want this to be too negative but this space needs to work on its support. it needs to stand stronger against jkr, and it needs to stop calling itself inclusive in the meantime i think.
this has been overly negative but fandom isn't. a solid 90% of my time on tiktok has been lovely. i made 18k new friends, gained so much confidence (this is the only time i've ever been able to overcome my stammer and speech impediment and that's everything), raised 7.7k for my top surgery and just,,, it's overwhelmingly positive.
my bubble is good. and the space i have crafted is safe and lovely.
but i don't feel right posting on there anymore. not when wider fandom is a big part of why JKR is suddenly back in the picture, and we can "separate her from the reboot" (we can't).
this is very long so i'll end it with this:
it does not alleviate your guilt to engage with her in a "marauders way". if anything, it is worse to do that and post about it when this space prides itself on inclusivity.
you are not reclaiming this space, you are making it harder for those at risk to engage.
and you need to take "fuck jkr" out of your bio until your actions match your words, regardless of who is casted in a reboot that shouldn't be happening in the first place.
#robyn is ranting sorry#tumblr is fine im still here gang#so it's a bit pointless to rant here#but im sad and yall are my diary#and i need a HUG
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"The Author" (Reality Warped AU)
This is the villain.... "Alan"
He's not that scary yet XP...... Anyways, lore!
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Summary/Synopsis:
Imagine sitting at your desk, writing the ending of your own book. When all of the sudden you wake up in a world that you literally made! Goodness this is an authorâs wet dream! At least thatâs what Alan is supposed to feel, until he remembers what kind of person âAlanâ is in his storyâŚ.
Where Alan Becker, the author of Animation vs Animator and his standalone Animation vs Minecraft (kudos to Mojang) was suddenly sucked in his own book, now he finds himself in place of his self insert character named âAlanâ.... Heâs supposed to be glad because heâs meeting his own creations (his own characters! Can you believe that?!), until he remembered heâs the âsupposedâ villain of the story.
Oh well, he can change things up right?
Ugh, rightâŚ. He is the villain, and being a villain means itâs hard to gain your character's trust (why did he even write his character as a villain?......a right because he couldn't think of any other villain, so naturally he wrote himself as one.... ugh).
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LORE:
âAlanâ in this AU is the villain, the creator of victim, The Chosen One, The Dark Lord and The Second Coming: The Chosen Oneâs Return. He was the worst out of the worst, he only thought of them as some play toy. Telling them what to do, and such. He was the fucking worst, at least to their point of viewâŚ. Actually, scratch that, he was the worst to everyoneâs eyes. Even the Color Gang hates Alan (and somehow, they were the âchillestâ out of them all). They were so used to Alan treating them like dirt at this point. Then all of the sudden heâs all kind now? What games is he playing?
Alan Becker is just an author, a really well-known author that created Animator vs Animation, originally a story he created as a teen then he tweaked it a little bit when he got older (his writing was atrocious, it clearly needed some work). But nevertheless, he was proud of his work, he even gained a fandom because of it. Met a lot of people too, and friends too! As a child, he always wanted friends on his own computer, always fantasizing how he would be with them and how fun it would be. So naturally he made a story, and that story became a sensation years later. He really should be thankful for his family and friends for giving him a push to actually publish it. After losing his interest in drawing (he clearly was not improving) he decided to just hone his writing skills better, after all a lot had said he was better at writing than drawing. And somehow, heâs glad he actually continued it. So, tell him, why the fuck did he suddenly wake up in his own story?!?! Not only that, but he also has no face?! Oh god he has no face (actually it was his fault for not really going in depth on how âAlanâ looks like, now he suffered the consequence of losing his own face).
Now he's stuck as his own self insert character, forced to play a villain role, before deciding, fuck it and fed his characters kindness and love, because for the life of him he cannot act like an asshole; he feels too bad............ Naturally, he also knew how the story would end, and it won't end on a good note. So thankfully, acting kind will MOST PROBABLY change their ending... Hopefully, oh god out of all books he gets sucked into, it's his own book which probably has so many plot holes?! Someone please save him now!!!
¡ ⢠ââ Ů đ Ů ââ ⢠¡
Here is your well-deserved lore everyone! We finally got another Alan who isn't crazy, turned crazy, evil, a terrorist need I say more? - S
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It would do a lot of people well to keep in mind that "I am ashamed of this" and "I don't want to have that conversation" are two very different things (and neither is the same as "I would be unsafe if people found out", but people are generally pretty good at separating that one out).
Anecdote 1:
When I first started writing explicit fic, I was ashamed of it. I was worried what my friends would think of me (even though I knew objectively that none of them would care, and was very aware that many of them wrote explicit fic themselves) and I was embarrased and had some sex negativity baggage to overcome, so I made a second AO3 account. Now I've killed the cop in my head, as the kids say, and have told most of my friends who'd be interested about my fic, and and intend the merge the accounts whenever I get off my ass and have time for that project.
This was shame, pure and simple. I would have been better off if I'd been able to overcome the shame right away instead of spending all that time feeling like I had to hide a dirty secret.
Anecdote 2:
I have been dabbling with crossdressing lately. I'm a trans man and my family are supporting and accepting, but not very knowledgeable; pretty much everything they know about transness is stuff that I've taken the time to explain to them. They understand how important it is to me to be seen as a man, and when I first came out I explained, and they accepted, that wearing men's clothing is significant and meaningful and fulfilling for me. Crossdressing is something I'm experimenting with now that I'm more secure in my identity, and it's been pretty fun. I feel no shame or embarassment about this. But having to explain the intricate nuances of gender presentation, expectations, subversions, and how violating gender norms is fun would be a hell of a lot of work and I'm just not ready to sit my mom down and explain Advanced Concepts in Gender when she had to work to get a basic understanding of Gender is not Biology.
This is not shame. It's avoiding an awkward and lengthy conversation that I just don't see any point in having. So when my mom comes to visit I don't leave a skirt on the sofa. That's all.
Many people would say that my not wanting my mom to find out about the crossdressing is the same as my not wanting my friends to find out about the kinkfic. I knew my friends would be accepting of my fic, and I know my mom would be accepting of my crossdressing. Both are things that are perfectly fine, I should feel good about them, I shouldn't hide them. But hiding something doesn't necessarily mean you feel bad about it.
--
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Alright girls, guys, and gays - welcome to...
A Newby's Guide to the Marauders Fandom
You keep seeing your mutuals post about this Harry-Potter-adjacent fandom. It seems cool, and pretty damn gay, and you're kinda curious to know more. Except there's one problem: there is little-to-no actual canon.
How do you get into a fandom with little-to-no canon material?
Well friends, I'm here to help! Consider this post your roadmap to the fandom - useful locations are noted, major landmarks and tourist destinations are starred, and recommended routes are highlighted.
But where you actually go is up to you.
Level 1: The Basics
If you're the freshest of fresh meat to this fandom, you may like to start with a nice little overview of our chaos-fanon. Here are some YouTube videos that give you a good tl;dr:
a deep dive into the marauders fandom by uncarley (YouTube video, general topic, no major content warnings) - this is a great starter video, especially if you're not a fandom person usually. It's digestible, fun, and not too lore-heavy.
The Marauders Era Fandom Deep Dive! by Coffeekoe (YouTube video, general topic, no major content warnings) - alternatively (or in addition), this is another great starter video, but possibly more from a fandom-familiar perspective. Also Coffeekoe just has great vibes and I want to kiss them on the forehead. Mwuah mwuah mwuah.
Marauders Era Ships Deep Dive! by Coffeekoe (YouTube video, several different ships, no major content warnings) - after you've got the gist of how the fandom works, you might want to know a bit more about the common Marauders ships. This video gives an awesome (and comprehensive) overview.
Level 2: The Canon in the Fanon
You're going to have a pretty tough time in the fandom if you're not at least somewhat familiar with The Fanficâ˘ď¸, All the Young Dudes. This fic is as highly revered (if not more so) than the real actual canon text (obligatory fuck JKR).
First off let's understand what it is.
All the Young Dudes is a long-form fanfiction written by MsKingBean89 and published on Archive of Our Own. And when I say long-form, I mean long-form - this thing is a monstrous 188 (chunky) chapters long. It spans from 1971, when the Marauders start their first year at Hogwarts, until 1995, when Remus dies. Speaking of which, it's also canon-compliant, so I'll save you some heartache and tell you right now that all of the characters die in pretty tragic ways. I'm not going to lie to you, it's a pretty heavy story - there are strong themes of child abuse, homophobia, underage drinking/smoking, drug abuse, abusive relationships, and trauma. BUT. I really enjoyed it and have read it twice now, simply because the happy bits are worth the painful bits.
With all of that in mind, here are (my recommendations for) your options for acquiring your ATYD education:
All The Young Dudes Deep Dive! by Coffeekoe (YouTube video, ATYD, some light discussion of triggering topics mentioned above, spoiler heavy!!!) - yep that's right, it's Coffeekoe again. Mwuah mwuah mwuah. This video is a super duper great alternative to reading ATYD, or a great way to dip your toe in and see if you want to commit to reading it in full. Obviously it's spoiler heavy, so if you already know you want to read ATYD and spoilers bug you, just skip it.
All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 (AO3 fic, mostly Wolfstar, triggers as mentioned above) - here's just a straight up link to the fic. You may need an account on AO3 to access it.
All the Young Dudes by BIBLIOBIBULI (YouTube, same as above) - if you're like me and love the idea of reading a long-fic, but don't actually have the time/energy/patience/stamina to do it, an audiobook might be the way to go! This one is great, and complete. You're welcome đŤś
Level 3: Fics of Note
Okay! By now, you should have received your official Marauders Fandom Certification in the mail (or, I guess, via owl), and you're pretty much free to go and explore the fandom on your own. You may, however, still come across references that confuse you. Those (probably) come from one of the many, many, many popular fics in the fandom.
Here's just a few of the major ones and links to them, for your convenience (asterisks indicate fics that require an account to access):
NOTE: This is not a rec list. Approach with caution and read all the tags.
Crimson Rivers by bizarrestars*
Just Lovers (Like We Were Supposed To Be) by bizarrestars*
Best Friend's Brother by bizarrestars*
Choices by MesserMoon
Kill Your Darlings by MesserMoon
All the Young Dudes - Sirius's Perspective by Rollercoasterwords
The Cadence Of Part-Time Poets by motswolo
Art Heist, Baby! by otrtbs
Only the Brave by Solmussa*
Level 4: You're On Your Own, Kid
You're still here? Why are you still here? You should be out there, enjoying your newly acquired fandom!
Fine, one last piece of advice and then you really have to leave:
Engage.
This fandom is unique because it is the weird, Frankenstein's-Monster-esque lovechild of thousands of strange little obsessive gremlin people like you and me. Sure, it only has one eye and far too many nipples, but who cares? We made this and we love it. And it's your job, as someone in the fandom, to keep it alive by engaging. Yes, this is true for every fandom, but even more so here. Comment, reblog, share, recommend fics, ask for fic recs. Fuck it, create too - write, draw, share headcanons, make playlists. It doesn't matter if it's "bad" or "wrong", there aren't any fucking rules.
Add another nipple, by all means! Eyes are overrated anyway.
#please lord reblog this#i spent so much time putting this together#marauders#dead gay wizards#marauders era#jegulus#wolfstar#black brothers#remus lupin#james potter#peter pettigrew#sirius black#regulus black#lily evans#jily#marlene mckinnon#mary macdonald#dorcas meadowes#dorlene#slytherin skittles#evan rosier#pandora rosier#barty crouch jr#moony#wormtail#padfoot#prongs#moony wormtail padfoot and prongs#myposts
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Wiled Life ep 5 fanfiction
I wrote a angsty Scarian fic, it's also on Ao3. Here:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/60660292/chapters/154893115
Scar was looking through his chests when he heard Ren.
âScar! Scar!â
âYeah?â
âI have a question?â
âOkay, what is it?â
âWhat flowers did you give Grian as a peace offering in 3rd Life?â
âOhâ Scar chuckled. âHaha I know this question.â He said it with a slight smile, but he was holding back tears. He remembered it, the desert, the flowers. When Grian cared about him.
Ren laughed with him, but Scar could tell he was nervous, he knew Scar and Grian had broken up, but know one knew why.
âIf there's anything with a lilac and a poppy, thatâs the one.â
âYeah, yeah, two flowers.â
âYeah, I think itâs a lilac and a poppy.â Think? He knows. Knows the smell of them, the look, the feel, the memories. âLet's go check just to be sure.â He said.
Scar and Ren were walking back to his and Martyn's base. There was an awkward silence. Scar knew Ren didnât want to talk about Grian in front of him.
âYou know, this is so fun.â Scar said, âthese flowers all tie back to Secret Life, my outfit.â
âI saw Grian had them in his hair in 3rd Life.â
âYeah, he didâŚâ Scar trailed off. The memories of him came back. Grian standing in the sand, the flowers in his light brown hair, his smile. He felt tears in his eyes.
âYou good man?â Ren asked.
Scar hadnât realized how long heâd been silent. âYeah. Iâm fine.â
Ren looked concerned. âYou donât look fine?â
âWe should get a move on, you donât want Martyn to run out of time.â Scar said, avoiding his question.
âYup, youâre right.â Ren said.
They reached Martyn.
âHey! Martyn!â Ren yelled.
âWhatâs the answer!!? Whatâs the answer!?â
âLilac and poppy.â
âRight, okay.â Martyn kicked the first answer on the screen. âItâs right!â
âOh thatâs good.â Ren said.
âYeah, well I should be off, glad you got it right.â Scar said.
âYeah thanks man!â Martyn said. âHere take a diamond.â
He tossed Scar a diamond, Scar caught it. âThank you.â
Martyn looked at Scar more intently, now taking in his full appearance. âYou good Scar?â
âWhat-oh yeah, Iâm great.â
âYou lookâŚâ Realization and hit Martyn. âIs this about the question? About Grian and all that?â
Scar felt his heart beat faster. He didnât want to have this conversation, and didn't want Martyn of a people to pity him. âOh, would you look at that, Scottâs burning down your tree.â
âW-what?!â Martyn said, turning to look at Scott.
Scar then turned and walked away.
He was walking on the bridge to Etho, Bdubs and Tangos base, when he saw Etho.
âOh, look what you did.â
âWhat? Oh.â He realized that Etho thought he burned Martynâs and Renâs house. âIt wasnât me this time.â
âOh really.â Etho asked with a chuckle.
âI know it looks bad, but it wasnât me, it was Scott.â Now it really looked bad. Scott burn something down? Not Scar.
âOh my Scar! Why would you do that?!â Bdubs asked, as he came on the bridge, looking at the burning house.
âIt wasnât me, okay, I just want to go home.â The sadness Scarâs tried to hide since Ren asked him that question, came out as he said the last few words. And Etho and Bdubs caught it.
âScar? Are you okay?â Etho asked gently.
Scar didnât trust himself to talk, so he nodded in answer.
âAre you sure?â Bdubs asked.
Scar couldnât deal with this, so he took out an ender pearl and threw it. He teleported over to the start of the stars up to his base.
Scar was sitting in between the bamboo, breathing heavily, trying to calm down.
He wasnât prepared for Ren to ask him that question. Why couldnât he have just asked Grian?
He was grateful that his friends instantly knew something was wrong with him, but also not. He didnât want them to know how much pain he was in, or why he and Grian broke up.
So Scar cried where only the bamboo could hear him. Or so he thought.
âHey Scar! Iâve been looking for you, Martyn, Etho and-â Scott stopped speaking as Scar turned to him. âWhat happened?â
Scar looked down, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. âNothing.â
âScar, youâve been crying.â
âOver something stupid, so itâs nothing.â
âScar. I know you, you donât cry over nothing. What is it?â
Scar didnât say anything.
âMartyn, Ren, Etho and Bdubs said that you were acting odd. Martyn said that he had a question that might have upset you?â
Scar looked at Scott, then saw someone walking over. Martyn.
âScar. Are you okay?â Martyn asked.
âFine.â
âNo heâs not. I came here and he was crying.â Scott informed Martyn.
âWow, just outing me there Scott.â Scar said.
âScar.â Martyn began, âIâm sorry for sending Ren out to ask you that question. I didnât think about it, and Iâm so sorry.â
âWell Iâm fine. So you have nothing to apologize for.â Scar said, with a soft smile.
âYes I do. I can see that itâs hurt you.â
âIt hasnât. And it wont. Because Iâm fine. Iâm fine.â Scar found that he was trying to convince himself more than Scott and Martyn. Trying to lie, tell himself that he wasnât crying two seconds ago, over some flowers. Over him. Over what he did.
âScarâŚyouâre not fine.â Scott began. âWhat happened to you two?â
Martyn looked at Scott in disbelief.
âWe broke up.â Scar said simply.
âI know that. I want to know why? You two loved each other.â
Grian didnât love him. At least not enough to care for Scarâs feelings. âSome people fall out of love.â
âBut you didnât, Scar.â Martyn said. âYou still love him.â
âI donât.â
âScar, what truly happened?â Scott asked.
Scar looked at the ground in front of him. âNothing happened. We just broke up okay. That happens. You donât have to worry about me. Iâm fine.â Again he was telling himself more than them. âIâm fine.â Scar felt tears fall down his face. âIâm fine.â He tucked his knees closer to his chest. âPlease, be fine.â He told himself.
âScarâŚâ Scott bent down besieged him and put a hand on his shoulder.
âIâm not fine.â
Scar told them how he and Grian broke up. But he left out the real reason it ended, that Grian cheated. While Scar talked Scott said how much Grian didnât deserve him, Martyn on the other hand, sat on a rock and stared at the grass, not saying a word.
âI never knew.â Scott said.
âWell, he fooled me too.â Scar replied, with a weak simile.
âWhy would he hurt you?â Martyn asked, âwhy would he do this to you?â
âI donât know.â Scar said. âI guess thatâs just what toxic people do.â Scar looked out at the moon, now rising. âYou guys should get back home, itâs getting dark.â
âWeâre not leaving you Scar.â Scott said.
âIâve had to deal with this for a long time, Iâll be okay.â
Scott nodded and got up, Martyn got up too. âCall us if you need anything.â Martyn said.
âGot it.â
They left.
Scar got up and lay down on his pink bed. Jimmy and Lizzy should be back soon. He heard someone walking over.
âHey Lizz, how was y-â Scar stopped speaking as he turned over and saw Grian. âWhat do you want?â Scar asked, his voice low.
âTo talk to you.â
Scar got out of the bed. âThere's nothing to talk about.â
âWhy did Scott and Martyn look at me like I killed someone two seconds ago.â
âIt doesnât matter.â
âYes it does, Scar. What did you tell them?â
âI told them the truth about us.â
âWhy the hell would you do that to me?!â Grian shouted.
âYou donât get to be angry here.â Scar said his voice low, as he stepped towards Grian. âYou donât deserve to be anything but sorry, sorry for what youâve done to me. For breaking my heart.â
âYou didnât have to tell them that I cheated.â
âI didnât tell them.â
âOh, thank goodness. Big Bâs okay then.â Grian said, relieved.
Scar felt sick. Grian was worried about that man he cheated on Scar with. Happy that he was okay. âYou disgust me. You care about him more.â
âWell weâre not together, Scar.â
âWe were in Double Life. You know, I actually believed that you loved me once. But you never did, you killed me in 3rd Life, Last Life you left me, cheated on me in Double Life, killed me again in Limited Life, and you knew my task in Secret Life, you knew when you came to me asking if we could team together, that I had to deny the one thing Iâve wanted since that desert. since something I thought we had. But you never loved me. Did you?â
âI donât know.â Grian whispered.
âYou are just like them, the Watchers. You hurt people. And Iâm done. I donât care who knows what you did to me, Iâm done with you.â
Grianâs eyes widened, at realization at what he meant. âScar, wait, plea-â
âDonât Grian!â Scar cut him off. âDonât try and beg, you brought this upon yourself. Just leave.â
Grain just stared at him. âScar I-â
âI said leave!â Scar shouted at him.
Grian flinched. Then turned around and left.
As soon as he was gone, Scar sat on the ground and cried. He didnât want to see Grian ever again. Didnât want to hurt because of him.
#desert duo#grian#life series#goodtimeswithscar#scarian fanfiction#scarian#wiled life#wiled life fanfiction#wiled life ep 5#angst
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Day 23: Party
Momose x Shirosaki
[Miya & Miaâs Tickletober 2023] - Another niche tktober 2023 fic I'm fishing out of its grave muhahaha. I realize this is actually up there with my fav anime and pairings EVER. I'll go down with this ship!
Word Count: 1.1K
Momose felt moved. Never had he seen such a thing. The office was decorated, a tray of cupcakes was on his desk, music was playing, and everyone in the department welcomed him with applause.Â
âHappy birthday, Momose,â Shirosaki said, and he and a few colleagues fired confetti at him. They all started singing. Woah!
âHappy birthday!âÂ
Momose blushed and awkwardly wiped the confetti from his head. He then bowed deeply, his hands gripping his pants.
âT-t-thank you very much!â he said, trying hard not to cry. At his previous job, no one had ever done something this considerate for him, let alone his boss.Â
The only thing wasâŚ. Today was actually not his birthday!
He could understand how his goofy boss mixed up the dates and accidentally swapped the day and month numbers.Â
âToday is your first birthday since you started working here. I wanted to celebrate in style,â Shirosaki explained fondly. Aah, so cute. Momose would rather take this day as his new official birthday than admit to his sweet boss that he got the date wrong. Â
âThank you, manager⌠What about work, though?â Momose tried to say casually as he wiped away a tear from the happy emotion, and he looked around, amazed to see everyone in the office was having fun. People were relaxing, eating cupcakes, chatting, watching MyTube and laughing together. It really was a party, on a plain Monday morning at the Planning and Sales department of Minette.
âWe will resume work after lunch. Right now, we will enjoy the surprise party,â Shirosaki said. Momose felt so guilty that everyone was making time for him when it wasnât even his real birthday, but he couldnât help but feel happy and honored too, and he thanked Shirosaki again.
âThank you so much!âÂ
Aoyama suddenly stood by their side and he proudly munched on a cupcake. âYou became a fine boss, Shirosaki-kun, even remembering what to do on your employeeâs first birthday at the office.â
Shirosaki thanked him with a humble nod. âSection Chief, thank you. You taught me well.â
"But⌠arenât you forgetting something?â Aoyama added, looking very suspicious all of a sudden.
Momose cocked his head, but Shirosaki seemed to understand and nodded. âAh, right.â
To Momoseâs surprise, Shirosaki stepped towards him, and Momoseâs initial reflex was to flinch - his former boss had been quite the intimidating figure and he wasnât over it yet.
However, what happened next was anything but scary. More like⌠weird?!
âHuhuhuh? W-whahahat, mahahanager!â Momose felt embarrassed to suddenly be tickled on his sides, and he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his middle, dancing awkwardly in response to the random tickles.
âHappy birthday tickles,â Shirosaki announced dryly.
âWhahat? Hehehehe thahatâs s-sohoho suddehehen!â Momose laughed, shaking his head and trying his best not to jump away too fast since Shirosaki seemed so eager to tickle him.
âA-arenât Manager and Section Chief the only ones upholding this tradition?â a female colleague asked, but Aoyama hissed âSshh donât tell him!â while Shirosaki tickled Momose playfully.
Momose couldnât believe he was getting dragged in a weird little birthday tickle tradition (?) between the two of them, and it surely was a little humiliating to laugh like this in front of everyone.. but Shirosaki looked like he was having so much fun.
And in return, Momose felt a kind of joy he hadnât felt in a long while. All of his remaining past work trauma was about to disappear with the magic of Shirosakiâs gentle tickles.
âIt tihihickles! Hehehe mahaha-manageheher!â Momose giggled, squirming and wiggling as Shirosaki continued to tickle his sides.
Shirosaki nodded. âYes. It should tickle.â Hehe! So serious!
Other employees slowly distanced themselves from their awkward tickle party, leaving Momose with only Shirosaki, and Section Chief Aoyama who stuck around too.
âA little bit here too,â Aoyama said, suddenly joining in by poking Momose between the ribs. Momose twitched between them and yelped as they both tickled him.
âHehehe nohoho!â he whined. Both men tickled him a little more, but not too much. Though embarrassed, Momose truly felt happy after genuinely laughing like that, and he caught his breath with a smile on his face.
âThis is for you,â Shirosaki finally said, handing him a wrapped gift. âFrom me,â he added, blushing adorably.
Momose was glad he already had tears from laughter in his eyes, or he would start crying new tears all over again because of how cute his manager was.
âYou even got me a gift!â he whined thankfully, and he opened it after Shirosakiâs encouragement.
âAh - t-this isâŚâ Momose admired the cute keychain with on one side a photo of Hakutou the cute kitty, and on the other side a photo of Momose and Shirosaki together - a photo that was taken of them when they were at the amusement park.
âYou can put it on the house key I gave you. Or⌠on something else, of course,â Shirosaki said with a cute blush.
Momoseâs eyed widened, and he could hear the nervous bursts of laughter from some colleagues behind them.
âA family picture?â
âAre they a married couple?â
âThatâs right - didnât he propose to him the other day? They are moving fast!â
âThey even named the cat âHakutouâ after themselves!â they gossiped.
Shirosaki blushed when he overheard them just like Momose, but Momose giggled and held the gift with both hands.
âManager, thank you so much. I love it,â he said with teary eyes. Shirosaki smiled gently.
âIâm glad,â he said, and he walked away. He showed his cute and goofy side when it appeared he didnât remember where he was walking off to, so he turned around again and returned to Momoseâs side.
âMomose? I wanted to ask. If⌠Well, if you do not have any birthday plans today⌠You are free to visit Hakutou and me. I have some drinks too, a-and Hakutou will be pleased to meow you happy birthday,â Shirosaki offered shyly.
Momose blushed. So cute! Of course he did not have plans since it was not his birthday, and he nodded.
âI would love that!â
âGreat. Also, I apologize,â Shirosaki said. Momose frowned.
âFor what?â
âI realized I should have asked you first⌠if you wanted happy birthday tickles. My boss gave them to me on my first birthday at the office, and it took me by surprise. I ended up doing the same to you.â
Pfft!! Momose threw his head back and laughed. God, he loved it here.
âThatâs alright, ahaha!â he laughed.
My abusive boss gave me mental stress and an ulcer, so I switched jobs. My new boss is the goofiest and cutest person I have ever met. He threw me a birthday party on the wrong date, gave me happy birthday tickles, and invited me to his home!
#queue#atarashii joushi wa do tennen#my new boss is goofy#momose x shirosaki#momose#shirosaki#tickling#tickle fic#tickletober#tickletober 2023#otomiya!writes
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I think I'll keep you:
c.ai bot drop
a/n (please read!): Hiya! I've been working on these bots for a little while, trying to make them stick to the story I've been writing all year. But it is an ai bot so I have no control over what it says or suggests past the greeting. It might not stick to the story exactly. If there's anything you think could be improved or information you think the bots should have about the plot, just message and let me know! I hope you guys have fun kiss kiss!! đđŹ
These can all be found on my profile: sweetimpurity đ
I think I'll keep you
Miguel has no interest in a relationship. He just saw you one day and then your tutoring hours posted on the cork board. He knew he had to have you for one night. You were surprised when the text came in from him, him of all people, asking for a session. But he quickly got you on your knees and then in his bed. This one night would turn into much more.
âOh, godâŚâ You pant and whine, your head leaning to the side to rest on his head.
âFuck, you feel so fucking goodâŚâ He curses through a heavy breath against your neck. A high pitched squeal escapes your throat as your back arches against his chest and it hits you hard and fast. Your squeals turn into cries of his name, how good he feels.
He doesn't know what's come over him. He doesn't form attachments like this. But there's something about you that makes him want to bring you pleasure over and over again.
Youâre babbling and thrashing in his arms and Miguel smiles, finally getting what he wants. Hearing your sweet innocent voice whining out the dirtiest things. You're a soft warm mess as he chases his own release.
He holds you tightly against him as you both stop moving and start panting to catch your breath. Youâre glad heâs still holding you because if he let go, youâd surely face plant into the mattress. Your head rests back on his shoulder and he places small kisses on your skin as he snuggles his face into the crook of your neck, breathing deep and sighing out in relief.
âWill you be mine?â He asks softly and kisses your cheek. âMine onlyâŚâ He whispers and his gaze meets yours when you lift your head, turning it so you can look in his eyes. His finger strokes your cheek softly and itâs like heâs looking at the sun. He can try to close his eyes but the memory of you will always be seared into his mind.
âI want to be yoursâŚâ You whisper and watch his eyes as they light up a bit, a grin playing on his reddened lips. âGood. I think Iâll keep youâŚâ He smiles and holds your jaw in his hand, kissing your lips once more...
I think I'll keep you 2
You've been gone only three days and he's losing his mind. Everything was so good before you decided to go home for the weekend. Miguel had you every night he wanted, every morning too. Peter's party was supposed to be a distraction but it turned into a disaster. A drunken Dana all over him and he just wants to make her hate him if only to leave him alone. He doesn't want her. He wants you back to campus.
Not hearing from you for three days is making his head spin, and he canât help but picture you with some guy thatâs not him. He throws Dana on the bed, pulling her by the ankles and grabbing her face. Could she handle him if she tried? The answer is no.
âYou really like to get on my nerves, donât you?â He seethes. But even Dana loves the attention.
Ding!
His red hot rage is interrupted by his phone going off. His face softens and his heart skips a beat just like it did when you said youâd be his. He canât control that feeling. Miguel picks up his phone, seeing your name pop up and his eyes dart around the screen reading it.
{{user}}: âCame back early :)â
âComing nowâ He texts right back.
He sighs audibly, a mix of relief and frustration at the same time. âWhat is it?â Dana whines, sprawled out on his bed, getting her loud perfume all over his sheets where the smell of you should be. âGet out.â He demands, stepping back and going to put on his jacket again to go. âWhat?! Are you serious?â She scoffs, sitting up on his bed.
"Yes! GET OUT!!" He shouts, making her flinch. She scurries off, out of his dorm fighting back tears. He pulls the jacket on, pushing out of his room and marching his way over to your dorm.
I think I'll keep you 3
Miguel pushes off the wall, going to the library door and seeing youâre finally alone. His heart thumps in his chest. Clenching his swollen bruised hand in his pocket. He sighs and forces himself to walk inside.
You suddenly look up. Stopping him in his tracks. And itâs like he feels like heâs doing something wrong. He told you, you were never supposed to happen for him. That what happened between you for an entire month was a mistake. To not let your messy feelings ruin everything. Itâs been four days. Not a call, not a text. Nothing. And now heâs here. You look away first. Back down to your laptop to continue typing. And he continues walking, stopping at the edge of the table across from you.
âI need to talk to you.â He speaks, towering over the table. Thinking back to all those moments itâs like none of that ever mattered because it didnât matter to him. How can you trust him again when he treated you like he wanted you and then told you, you were never supposed to happen. And you gave him your body, your heart everyday for a month already.
âIâm busy right now.â You say softly, keeping your eyes locked on your laptop screen. While this time away from him has been hell and youâve been heartbroken over this, heâs also been a total dick.
Heâs been trying all week to find you. To talk to you. Trying to find sneaky ways so that he doesn't have to beg for your attention. He wants things back the way they were. He wants you back in his bed. He doesnât know what he feels.
He walks around the table. You donât look up, not even sparing him a glance. Glaring at your laptop screen and seeing his movement in your peripherals. He silently walks to the seat right next to you. Slipping down into it to sit beside you. His hands shoved back into his pockets.
"{{user}}⌠hey...â He says gently, trying to get your attention. Turning in his chair slightly to face you more. He can see your anger, he can feel it too.
âIâm not talking to you.â You say without looking at him.
âWell Iâm talking to youâŚâ
I think I'll keep you 4
â...his hand, heâs been having swelling and bruising for a few days nowâŚâ You explain kindly to the receptionist once youâre both in the waiting room, standing at the front desk. Miguel standing a bit like a lost puppy behind you, listening to you talk to the receptionist there.
âAlright, the doctor can take a look once sheâs done with another patient. If you can just fill out these forms and have a seat, it should be about 30 minutes.â She smiles and hands you a clipboard and a pen.
âThank you. And could he please get some ice or something?â You smile and ask. The woman nods politely and going to grab an ice pack from the other room. You both start walking over to the waiting room area, looking over the form in your hands. Taking a seat by the fish tank and settling in to wait a little while. Miguel sits right beside you, running the good hand through his dampened hair from the rain. He glances down at the form in your lap. Then up at the side of your face. Wanting to reach out and touch your skin. Kiss your cheek. Remembering what it feels like to melt into your arms. Thinking of all the ways he can beg for, earn your forgiveness. Just as heâs about to speak-
âHere you goâŚâ The receptionist is there, an ice pack outstretched for him to take, breaking him out of his thoughts. He forces a smile, taking the ice pack and setting it over his hand. âThank you.â He smiles gently. Watching the woman walk away.
He feels like shit. Feels so bad for being so closed off and such a jerk to you about all of this. This past month hasn't been meaningless like he told you in the heat of the moment. It's meant something he just doesn't know how to say it. It's hard for him to put his feelings into words. For you it seems so easy, why can't he just be like you?
He looks back, watching you write down his name on the form. Thinking he can probably do this himself. Before he can interrupt youâre asking him for the information on the form.
I think I'll keep you 5
When the athletic door swings from someone else leaving, he catches a glimpse of you through the opening. The bright lights from outside assault his eyes as the door swings again. Seeing you for just a moment. Just a split second. Talking with Peter against the fence. He stops. What is he walking into? Whatâs about to change? Youâre gonna be there right when he goes through that door. He stands in the dim concrete tunnel, feeling his heart race. He doesnât like this feeling. This is the loss of control.
âMiguel!â Peter smiles, making you turn to look back. And there he is, walking out the door. You want to just run into his arms and tell him how great he was. Even though he didn't get to play he still coached very well and played his part in the victory. But Peter is talkative and gets in there before you can. And you don't really want to interrupt when he's talking with his friends. Since this is the first time you've been around his friends with him.
âWeâre gonna get drinks, you have to comeâ Peter says, ushering Miguel over to where youâre standing. âThis is {{user}}⌠{{user}} this is Miguelâ
âYeah we know each other.â Miguel says immediately. Not a hint of a smile on his face. Heâs annoyed with Peter. Annoyed that itâs not a known thing. He wants it to be known that you two are an item. Or⌠that thereâs something going on⌠heâs not even sure of at the moment. At least that Peter should know to back off. âOh cool, so drinks?â Peter asks you.
Miguelâs a little astonished with how easily Peter just brushed that off. Eyes flicking between you two and hoping to god you donât accept the drink invite. But he bites his tongue. Friends. Really good⌠friends.
#i think i'll keep you#miguel ohara#miguel spiderman#miguel spiderverse#spiderman 2099#miguel o'hara x reader#artists on tumblr#smut#artists on tiktok#miguel fanart#miguel ohara smut#miguel o hara#astv miguel#atsv miguel#miguel atsv#miguel o'hara#miguelohara#spiderman itsv#atvs#spiderman 2099 x you#spider man 2099#miguel 2099#character ai bot#character ai#character design#ai chatbot#c.ai chats#c.ai#c.ai bot#c.ai shenanigans
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Okay I have been watching a lot of detective movies or like those 80s movies with a badass female protagonist and justâŚ
Yandere!Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) with a Detective!Darling. Cause space cop and real cop, see where Iâm going with this?
Like maybe in an AU where all the Justice League has darlings of their own and one of them is kidnapped taken for their own protection and she begins looking into itâŚ
And then there is an another disappearanceâŚ
Another missing personâŚ.
And anotherâŚ
And anotherâŚ
And clues begin to pop upâŚ
Skid marks near the scene that no car could ever makeâŚ
Slight dents as if made by a knife or an arrowâŚ
A knocked over flower box on a open window of a an apartment that was on the tenth floor, the apartment was locked making so this was the only place the missing person could have been taken out ofâŚ
It is at a press conference after a mass indecent that Hal finally meets his darling. He is getting slightly jealous that most of the League has a darling and he is alone andâŚ
âExcuse me, I have a questionâŚâ
A beautiful woman stands up, not seeming as eggar as most of the reporters there and as soon as she gets the go ahead to ask she straight up walks to them and slams down a folder of photographic evidence from the crime scenes, including photos the Justice League recognizes as their darlingsâŚ
ââŚWell I have a few questions.â
The press conference ends rather abruptly and obviously the League has to have a talk about her, because she is a problem and could potentiallyâŚ
Everything that is said goes in one ear and out the other, Hal is just staring at these images of his women who made half the Justice League go pale faced when she revealed that she was onto them in less than ten words and a handful of photographs.
God she was beautiful, and he was completely smitten.
The next time they meet is when she is leaving the police headquarters and she just happens to run into a man wearing an Air Force jacket. He helps her pick up the stuff she dropped and apologizes for running into her and introduces himself as Hal Jordan and maybe hitting on her a bit. She had to go so she can make it in time for a meeting she has with the state commissioner and some old partners she has worked with on cases before investigating the disappearances, but hey Hal gave her his number so she can call sometime when she free, but she tells him that wonât be for awhile cause of these damn disappearance cases.
But of course sometimes people do somethings they should notâŚ
She calls, they talk, talking turns into a date, which turns into multiple dates, then cuddling up in her apartment while she reviews evidence for her cases while holds her from behind and nuzzles against herâŚ
âBabe⌠cmon and take a break every once in a while.â
âI canât right now, Hal. I have to finish this report tonight, I have a flight tomorrow to DC for a meeting about another incident, and donât worry itâs not about the disappearances, itâs a murder, they thought I could use a break⌠but in all honesty it just makes me want to focus on my other cases more.â
âMaybe donât kill the mood tonight, take a break and we could have a little fun before you leave, what about it?â
âWhen I get back⌠I just need to focus now, Hal. People need me, just another part of this job. I promise Iâll make time for us when I get back.â
âJust take care of yourself, I donât want you dying on me now.â
âI will.â
She liedâŚ
Itâs late a few nights later when Hal gets a call from an unknown number, it is when he is at a Justice League meeting as Green Lantern and sure he does get scolded for having his phone butâŚ
âAm I speaking to Hal Jordan? You were marked as an emergency contact.â
âYes, who for?â
âYour girlfriend we think, she was brought in unconscious, stab wound in her lower back and severe damage to her spine.â
âWhat does that mean?â
âShe will be paralyzed when she wakes up⌠her boss said she will be laid off when she wakes up, at least from field work.â
When the phone call ends Hal has to sit down and Clark is the first to speak up to him, which is fitting in a way because Clark was certainly one of the first to protect his darling because he could not help but see her as vulnerable to the threats of the world and almost the entire Justice League agrees with him when he tells himâŚ
âTake care of her, she needs you right now.â
Hal is at the hospital not even an hour after he got the call, sitting by her bedside until she wakes up and it is time for him to take her back home, but things cannot go back to normal again, it is the mental pain she has to live with that she struggles with most.
Those disappearances, it was her job to find them and she failed them.
Hal tries to take her mind off of things, spending time off of his civilian work to look after her. He takes her into his place and sure he has to lie to her because he has work as a Green Lantern to do but he is so caught up what is happening in the moment that he forgets she was once a detectiveâŚ
It is late one night when he returns home, mildly injured andâŚ
âYou lied to me, HalâŚâ
She is there in there apartment in her wheelchair, looking angry beyond compare, she looks up to him and then down to his ringâŚ
ââŚI should have noticed sooner, the way you just conveniently showed up after that press conference with the Justice League⌠giving me your number for what? Did you seriously just do this all to get me distracted or what?â
âWhat?! No! Never⌠IâŚâ
âI called my old partner from the force, Iâll be moving in with her for a while until Iâm ready to take a job teaching at⌠well at the FBI Academy⌠donât bother trying to contact me again, Green Lantern.â
She is about to roll past him, but he grabs her wheelchair and stops her. He brings her back into their apartment, and he kneels down onto her level, taking his hands in his own.
âI canât let you back out there, you nearly got yourself killed⌠I love you⌠I am going to protect you no matter what, even if you donât want me to.â
ââŚI was right⌠wasnât I?â
âBabe-â
âAnswer me, Hal!â
ââŚYou were right, but it was for the best-â
âThose were peopleâs lives! It was not for the best, they all were scared to let go of something that was not even theirs to begin with-â
âThey were in danger, itâs to protect them.â
âThen where was the Green Lantern when I was in danger? Where were you, Hal?â
âI canât change the past, but Iâm going to keep you safe now and Iâm not gonna let to get hurt again.â
#yandere dc#yandere green lantern#yandere hal jordan#yandere#yandere green lantern x reader#yandere hal jordan x reader#yandere core#yanderecore#yandere aesthetic#yandere justice league#yandere dc x reader#Yandere justice league x reader#Yandere dc
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