#i wanna see that social media account now izzy

[windywhistler]

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’d like to post a little farewell to G5. I know it wasn’t a lot of people’s favorite, and it definitely had its fair share of flaws (I remember giggling with my partner when the first episode of MYM came out over how stiff the animation was!), but I loved it very much, and I hope maybe we can somehow see these characters again. I loved this cast very much, so I’m going to ramble a bit below this. For a quick TL;DR: I love these sillies a whole lot, and they will always hold a very special place in my heart :)

Misty in particular means SO much to me. I love her and the way she overcomes living with Opaline, especially because the other Mane 5 are just. So willing to give her space to come into her own and discover who she is in a way she’s comfortable with every time she’s uncomfortable. Found family Misty is everything to me as someone who grew up with a not-so-great family and sees her friends as her family. On that note, I also really like the way Sunny is portrayed to have PTSD symptoms after struggling with 2 villains (shoutout to Allura though, I wish we got a proper end to your story girl). I like it when shows acknowledge that going through crazy stuff often results in trauma. She has very obvious flashbacks in s1 ep68 and s2 ep7 of TYT, and she starts experiencing paranoia, having nightmares, and being hyper-vigilant, and it means so much to me that they bothered to show how living through those situations impacted her mental health.

Next, I think I wanna talk about Izzy! I know a lot of people see her as “the Pinkie Pie clone” (and, to be fair, she IS pretty similar), but I feel like she’s so much more than that. I love her having Violette as her own protégé, and how she’s always so excited to use her creativity to help others! It’s nice to see G5’s Mane 6 teach others their own “elements” much in the way that FiM’s Mane 6 acted as mentors to others. I’m also VERY glad they brought back rainbowified ponies, even if Izzy was the only one. She looks GREAT, and getting to see that they brought it back one last time for the final episode made me SO happy (I actually SQUEALED when I saw the thumbnail for episode 23!). I know that part isn’t really personality related, but it still makes me happy!

I’d also like to sing some praises about Hitch, too. Adding a male to the main cast was a rather bold move in my opinion, since the closest we’ve ever gotten to that is maybe Spike in any gen, Danny in G1, and maaaybe Teddy in MLP Tales? We’ve never really had a boy be part of the established main group, and oh boy was Hitch the perfect beginning for that! He’s such a goofball, and I love the sort of “awkward, cringey dad who loves his son very much” thing they did. Yes, he’s different from movie Hitch, but I always saw that as a side effect of now having a child to parent in the form of Sparky. A LOT of people’s personalities can change post-having kids, and I think it’s interesting that they made him like one of those parents who just wants to bubble wrap their kid and keep them safe. It’s pretty funny, since Sparky doesn’t exactly seem to mind or care. He reminds me a tiny bit of my own dad, and that’s something that means a lot to me.

The last two I want to talk about are, of course, Pipp and Zipp! As for Pipp, I honestly… wasn’t the biggest fan of her at first. I think I was just cranky because they added technology and social media to my Horse Show, LOL! Once I kind of got used to that, she grew on me. She grew on me BAD. I absolutely ADORE Pipp; she’s just the cutest! I love how they have her take accountability when she screws up, and I think it’s really important how she teaches kids that it’s okay to put the phone down for a while around seasons 4-5 of MYM, especially given how much tech plays a part in everyone’s lives these days. I think her having confidence and wanting to SHARE that confidence rather than bring others down is really admirable, and I love the approach they had when designing her character in intentionally making her shorter and rounder than the rest of the cast (most notable in TYT), but very specifically not having her be insecure about it. Touching on bodily insecurity is always great, but I also love seeing characters who look different where it’s just… okay. It’s accepted. I think that's pretty awesome!

Last but ABSOLUTELY not least is Zipp! She was my first favorite of G5 (they’re ALL my favorites now, I fear), and I’ve always thought it was so awesome how they had this royal character who was actively against corruption in power AND didn’t want to be treated as royalty! Having a character who’s heir to the throne and very blatantly… DOESN’T want to be/isn’t looking forward to it is something I feel like I haven’t seen a whole lot, and it’s a really interesting perspective to explore. I’m glad they did! I also love how her scenes in episode one of MYM can very much read almost as a trans allegory. I myself am not trans, but my partner and quite literally ALL of my friends are, so it’s still quite meaningful! Plus, I’m someone who chooses to not go by her birth name due to CPTSD, so, from all angles, seeing her wish to be referred to in ways that make HER comfortable and having that be respected gives me the fuzzies. I love her relationship with Pipp too, and I find their bond to be so heartwarming! Portrait of a Princess is one of my FAVORITE episodes of MYM, and it’s just so sweet to see how much they care for each other! Also, slightly less relevant, but them getting their cutie marks one right after the other on the same day was very cute. Very CMC of them. Very Mane 6 of them. Very cute, very demure, very mindful. I hope people still say that, LMAO

All in all, I know G5 had plot holes, ever-improving animation, and a lot of things fans were displeased over. Still, these characters mean something to me, and, even if their story got cut short, they’ll always still be my little ponies. Thanks for listening to me ramble on if you read all this, I know I kind of turned it into an essay haha :”)

[imaginedigimon]

u got any lgbtq+ hcs for any of the main 12 adventure and 02 kids?

🤔 Hmm...

Now Anon, I’m warning you: I’m probably not going to give you what you want for this. But I’m going to try.

I REALLY HOPE I DON’T FUCK THIS UP, FRIENDS *stressing out a bit I will not lie*

LGBTQ+ Headcanons for 01 + 02 Gang

Tai [Taichi]

Doesn’t know the meaning of the word “straight” except in terms of line segments in math (but even then, he’s a little lost)

He probably saw the pride flag for the first time when he was 14 and because it reminded him of the Crests thought, “I CAN GET BEHIND THAT”

When he learned the real meaning of pride and the LGBTQ+ community, he was even more ecstatic

Has definitely beaten up some homophobes before

And transphobes

He’s beaten up a lot of people in general

Realized after a while that he’s pansexual himself and started painting his face with the pan flag everyday

Will not deny that he has a thing for Matt and Sora at the same time and is happy if they’re happy but would really like to kiss them both pls

Matt [Yamato]

He most certainly questioned his own gender for a while, though he can’t pinpoint when it started

Gabumon told him it didn’t matter what he identified as, they’d always be partners anyway, so that really helped him a lot

It also helped that Tai was willing to beat people’s asses for him

Has also beaten up some homophobes and transphobes (Tai has been the one to drag him away from some fights)

Wears pins of all the pride flags at all times because fuck you haters

Also would like to kiss Tai, just like once or twice or a million times

Identifies as bisexual most likely

Sora

Doesn’t mention it a lot, but Mimi was probably her first kiss (by accident...OR WAS IT?)

She was the type of person who, because she grew up in a very hetero-normative world, wasn’t sure what it meant to like a girl

Probably asked Tai when she was 15 and still thinking about Mimi’s hair and lips when he explained to her that it was perfectly normal

She never forgot that conversation

Has continuously questioned her identity and orientation throughout the years, though only Biyomon has been privy to this struggle

Finally settled on saying she’s queer because she’s not much for labels (especially when she’s in a constant state of questioning)

Definitely asked Mimi to kiss her again just so it wouldn’t be an accident

Izzy [Koshiro]

Always a kid before his time, knew how to explain all aspects of pride to everyone else before they even knew what the LGBTQ+ community was

Has PowerPoints to make things clearer

Around age 17 or 18, he started asking that everyone use he/him or they/them pronouns, and this hasn’t changed since

Everyone said “a’ight” because they love him no matter what

Has always had some kind of romantic feelings for just about everyone in the group, but nothing beyond that

This poor sweetie pie cried the night he realized he was asexual and called Joe, who said in the most intense voice he’d ever heard, “You think that matters to us? We love you, Izzy, and don’t you ever forget that”

Has decided Joe is the coolest guy ever

Started some social media account where it’s nothing but pictures of Tai with various pride symbols painted on his face and it’s blown up

Mimi

Unlike Sora, she didn’t think much about the kiss

She had already accepted that she liked girls by that point

Definitely had a crush on Yolei too, though she played it cool

YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHE DIDN’T CONSIDER MEIKO HER TRUE LOVE

Teases Izzy a lot because she has a bit of a crush on him too, though this confused her because she thought she liked girls

The day she learned the term homoflexible she thought she was dreaming

But she wasn’t

Still, Sora and Yolei and Meiko are her girls and she loves them very dearly

Has the same enthusiasm as Tai and paints the various flags on her face as well (became part of that social media account Izzy started)

You can catch her and Tai at a pride parade screaming at the top of their lungs

Joe [Jou/Jyou]

I’ll admit, he’s probably the token straight? But he’s also one of those guys who’s not afraid to tell Matt he looks handsome today

Has needed to ask Izzy a lot of questions because he’s like me and wants to know and not offend anyone because he’s ignorant or doesn’t know something

Had a moment similar to me where he wondered if he really was straight

Decided he still was, but would support anyone and everyone because that’s just the guy he is

You know how he becomes a doctor? He most CERTAINLY helps with transitioning whenever he can because he’s a GOOD. DOCTOR.

Doesn’t beat up haters, but gives them a death glare that’s just as effective

Wore around a rainbow doctor’s coat because he COULD and no one tried to stop him because they knew he’d quit on the spot

Takeru [T.K.]

Been the guy to say “respect LGBTQ+ rights or die by my sword” or something like that

Lowkey had a crush on Angemon and Angewomon simulanteously and could NOT for the life of him explain why that was

Never told either of them this though

Or Kari

Definitely didn’t tell Kari

Okay yes, Tai is his big brother, but he definitely had a crush on the guy for about 2 weeks before he met Kari and everything changed

Hasn’t told either of them this

Like Sora, has only said he identifies as queer - he’d like to figure it out/delve deeper but is too busy flirting with everyone to care

Brings 5 different dates to his brother’s concerts at the same time and they all have to vie for his attention - it’s usually whoever says the most positive things about his brother

Has done at least 6 drag shows so far and let me tell you - KILLS IT every time

Kari is his forever girl but keeps winking at Ken just to make him blush

Kari [Hikari]

Also had a crush on Angewomon like how could she NOT

Also had crushes on Matt, Izzy, Mimi, and Sora (but not Joe for some reason)

When she realized her feelings for T.K. she got really really nervous (because of all his dates, you see)

Was also confused because she was pretty confused about her range of crushes over the years

Tai came out as pan to her first and she realized that sounded a lot like her

She’s a pan baby and she’s proud of it (and thanks her brother for supporting her)

Gave a rainbow pin to T.K. for his birthday and in return he kissed her

They go to ALL the pride events and nothing can stop them

Occasionally uses they/them pronouns on days she’s questioning

Davis [Daisuke]

Tai was his first love and you cannot change my mind about this

Meeting Kari was like meeting a Tai Who Would Notice Him and that was pretty rad

But he also likes her because of her, too

The world kinda stopped when he met Ken, though

Like damn, look at those soccer skills

I’m gonna be real, I think Davis is soccersexual (or footballsexual for non-Muricans)

Them soccer players be really hot though

Always has questions about the community, but never retains the answers

The PowerPoints, unfortunately, do not help

Eventually gave up and said, “I’M A DUMBASS BUT I SUPPORT YOU ALL”

They tried to tell him he should at least know what he’s talking about

(We’re still working on that)

Wears rainbow shirts with rainbow pants and it’s very atrocious but very appreciated

He is gay. He sometimes does crimes. We accept him anyway.

[T.K. asked him if he wanted to go to a drag show, he said “okay?” and really really loved it now he goes all the time]

Yolei [Miyako]

Mimi is hot, Ken is hot, Kari is hot, Matt’s kinda hot, everyone’s hot

She’s never been able to fully accept this because how is everyone so hot

Mimi was her first love, and Ken was her first boyfriend

She never forgot the firsts

Attracted to any and everyone it seems

She likes to call herself a frying pan and it makes everyone facepalm a little bit

Constantly dresses in the colors on the pan flag because she looks GOOD in them and it’s a way to remind everyone not to mess with her or her community

Tries to pretend she doesn’t know Mimi and Tai when she’s at a pride event and they’re out here acting like fools

But she also loves how unerringly supportive they are

Cody [Iori]

He was the first one everyone came out to, like for some reason he’s that guy

Literally the first person to offer you support

One day he told everyone he was transgender, and while they were surprised, they also didn’t react the way he was expecting

They actually hugged him immediately and said, “But don’t worry we love love love you” and Tai started painting the trans flag on Cody’s face until Cody said, “Guys please fuck off for a sec”

When he becomes a lawyer, he becomes the type of lawyer to defend anyone who was arrested on basis of race/identity/orientation/gender like the boss he is

Suspects he might be ace but hasn’t really delved into it much

He’s too busy scolding Davis for doing dumb things

Ken

Can everyone stop being hot for a sec? -direct quote from Ken himself

He’s in love with all the 02 kids and he’s accepted this

Yolei somehow stole his heart, but T.K.’s winks send it aflutter

He wants them both to stop (but they won’t)

Was completely unaware that Davis also liked him (even though it was really obvious?)

He identifies as bi and, like Izzy, uses they/them pronouns interchangeably with he/him

One of the good detectives on the force. Will bust your ass if you say any offensive slurs about anyone. [Has gotten suspended a few times for doing this BUT IT WAS FUCKING WORTH IT.]

Always the one on duty when Davis gets arrested for his crimes and it’s hecka exhausting

---------

Uhm... did I do good? I’ll admit, I was a little nervous since I myself am straight and cisgender (or cishet, as I’ve learned is the term)  😥  😥

Anon, I really do hope I did a good job!

And if I didn’t you can roast me in the flames of Meramon Hell

[blissingbjork]

burningtask001 — survey.

hello ! this is a mess but here ya go !!

YOUR ALIAS — izaiah/izzy

AGE — 21

TIMEZONE — EST.

PREFERRED PRONOUNS — he/him

MBTI — ENFPHP HOUSE — hufflepuff.

ARE YOU A STUDENT? WHAT DO YOU STUDY? — nope !

WHO DID YOU APPLY FOR? TALK ABOUT THEM A BIT IF YOU WISH! —  I applied for ray ! he’s a partially trans nonbinary artist who is tryna get by after having been homeschooled his entire life. he just wants friends !

LINKS TO OTHER ACCOUNTS & SOCIAL MEDIA — here’s my pinterest !

DISCORD — izaiah#8068

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FICTION GENRE? — i love horrors and thrillers ‘based on true stories’

TOP FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS — damn uh, the goonies, the mighty ducks, martyrs ( the original ) and i can’t think of any other movies i really really love

A BOOK YOU FEEL “CHANGED” YOU? — howl - allen ginsberg

WHAT IS YOUR SIGN? — 100% pure aries

ARE YOU INTO ASTROLOGY? — i believe it to an extent

WHAT PLATFORMS HAVE YOU ROLEPLAYED ON? — i started.. on instagram but i now only rp on tumblr or discord

WHAT OTHER HOBBIES DO YOU HAVE? — i’m actually an artist. i have been since i was a kid. i mostly draw people/gore so if you ever wanna see some cool shit hmu lmao

HAVE ANY PETS? IF SO, TALK ABOUT THEM! — i have two kitties i love very much ! my old lady april who is 12 ( ive had her since i was in elementary school ) and my demon child zyngara who is a fat bitch but i love her so much

IS THERE A TV SHOW YOU RECOMMEND A LOT? — Heroes definitely.

ANY SHOWS YOU LIKE SOME MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT YOU DO? — i love one tree hill, its so cringey sometimes and very soap opera-y but i love it.

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT? — the last thing i read was an anthology of edgar allen poe poems and i do recommend his work !

LAST FILM? REC IT? — i just watched malevolent on netflix, it was pretty good. the plot was different but definitely not like a super scary movie so if u like paranormal kinda shit but dont like being super scared, i def rec !

WHAT MOVIE DO YOU THINK YOU’VE SEEN THE MOST TIMES? — the goonies, definitely !

WHAT ALWAYS PUTS YOU IN A GOOD MOOD? — doing skincare stuff, like face masks and shit, also the new euphoria album heyo

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICIAN / BAND? LIST IF THERE ARE MORE THAN ONE. — BJORK. she is my mother and i love her music. its just so calming to me and unqiue.

EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? WHO HAVE YOU SEEN? — I get super overstimulated at concerts so i no longer partake but ive been to avril lavigne, got7, dietcig and a couple outdoor concerts.

WILD NIGHT OUT OR QUIET NIGHT IN? — mostly quiet nights in or wild nights in lmao

ANY PHOBIAS? — i have an irrational fear of water i cant see the bottom of

DO YOU LIKE BUGS? — hell no

BIRDS? — depends ! big birds are scary af

ARE YOU A CAT OR DOG PERSON? — Both !! i love all animals tbh

BIGGEST PET PEEVE? — people who dwell on topics that bring people down, people who like to slam all their shit down.

FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THE RPC? — definitely the people behind the muses !

TOP TEN FAVE FCS TO USE? — jack mulhern, chella man, park jinyoung, alexandra daddario, lucas lynngaard, nicole maines, ross lynch, tarjei sandvik moe, luka sabbat.

FIVE YOU LIKE WRITING AGAINST? — aron piper, natasha liu bordizzo, bex taylor klaus, alexandra daddario, alberto rosende

FAVOURITE TYPE OF FOOD? — this is gonna sound gross but i love tuna

WORST FOOD? — cherries are the devils fruit !!!!!!

DO YOU PLAY VIDEOGAMES? IF SO, WHAT ONES AND ON WHAT PLATFORM DO YOU PREFER? — i am literally the worst to play videogames with lmao 

!ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE TAG? — i didnt mention this anywhere else so i thought id add im a huge marvel nerd so if anyone wants to geek out, hmu !

LASTLY, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT BURNINGHQ? being able to develop my boy and plotting with the rest of the group !!

[danganimaginations]

Can you please do a scenario where Shuichi and Kaede supposed to find Izuru Kumakura and his female counterpart the Reader. Reader is the exact opposite of Izuru, hammy, over the top and a total trickster troll. Reader decides to stale our protagonists by singing a hilarious parody off of “Your welcome” from Moana, before Izuru and Reader push them into their cell and lock them up to steel their boat. Something hilarious to write.

So I listened to “You’re Welcome” because of this ask, and I’m going to make it a priority to watch Moana now. Thank you, anon, both for enlightening me and for submitting!

“They made another Izuru Kamakura?” Kaede remarked, reading the file.

“Well, the complete opposite of him, Y/N.” Saihara followed up with showing her a picture that you had posted on social media.

“…How did they get an Instagram account?”

Saihara shrugged. “We have to find them, and Y/N has the location in this photo marked.”

Kaede stifled a laugh. “Don’t they want to not be found?”

“It helps us.” Saihara smiled, and left to get in the car.

“Woah, this place actually looks…cool.” Saihara and Kaede said in unison, getting out and looking around.

“Ok, there’s the entrance, Saihara. They should be in there.” She grabbed Saihara’s hand and led him towards the door, pushing it open to see Izuru being pestered by his counterpart.

“Ok, ok Izzy! How about we play Dungeons and Dragons, y’know, that nerd game? It has a loooot of numbers, those are things ya like, right Izzy?” Izuru glared at Y/N.

“Y/N, we have company.”

“Oooh, I love visitors!” Y/N spun around, coming face to face with Saihara and Kaede. “We have a Natsumi, and a…” She tilted her head thinking for a minute. “Hijihihara? No, you don’t look dead inside…Izzy, what d’ya think?”

Izuru poked Saihara’s and Kaede’s ahoge. “Well…” He shrugged. “What do you two want?”

Saihara cleared his throat. “I’m Shuuichi Saihara, and this is my partner, Kaede Akamatsu. We were sent by Hope’s Peak Academy to take you guys back.” Izuru raised his eyebrow.

“You were sent to take us back? I can understand myself, somewhat, but her?” He looked at Y/N with distaste. “All she’s good for is horrible comedy.”

Y/N crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. “Aww, he doesn’t actually think that, Succi and Kayayday! He’s just saying that ‘cause he doesn’t want anyone to know that he actually finds me funny!”

“Succi?” Saihara tugged on the brim of his hat a little.

“Yeah, Succi! But you don’t wanna take us back there for real, right? At Hope’s Peak, they treated us really, really badly! They acted like we didn’t have emotions and stuff!”

“…It was brought to my attention that Izuru didn’t have emotions.”

“He does! He does, he does, he does! You and the entire establishment of Hope’s Peak are just jealous ‘cause we’re entirely perfect! We’re just too perfect for you! In fact, you should be thanking us just ‘cause of how perfect we are.” Izuru slightly laughed. “So just go on and say it, say ‘Thank you Y/N and Izzy Kamakura for blessing the entire planet of Earth’s population with how perfect you are!’”

Saihara sighed. “Just come with us.”

“No, no, no, no! I’m gonna sing you a song!” Y/N began doing a dance that seemed to actually have been well choreographed. She began humming slightly off-tune.

“Okay, okay, I get what’s going on here! You’re facing the awesomeness of hu-man-ity!” Izuru groaned.

“Ya don’t even know how to react, it’s so funny~ Well, it’s nice to know things have stayed the same..! Relax, and sing with me! Yeah, it’s us, it’s perfection, take it in.”

“I know it’s a lot, the hair, the eyes~. When you’re staring at Hope!”

Y/N twirled around and grabbed Saihara by the hips and started dancing with him. “What can we say except, ‘You’re welcome’? For the saviors of hu-man-ity! Hey, calm down, it’s okay, you’re welcome!”

“We’re just some ordinary Ultimates!” Izuru pushed Kaede into a cell. Y/N kissed Saihara on the lips before throwing him into the same cell. Y/N laughed a lot.

“Thank God that’s over. Y/N, please stop singing parodies of Disney songs.” Izuru locked the door to the cell and pocketed the key.

“Aww, but you love them, Izzy! C’mon, I think they brought a boat with them! Let’s go steal it!” She grabbed Izuru’s hand and dragged him out of the building and hijacked the boat. “Hey, hey, Izuru!”

“What?”

“What can I say except, ‘You’re welcome?~” Izuru groaned as Y/N and him boated off into the sunset.

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

Before the World Stops Turning: Pt.9

Hello my lovelies! I fully intended to finish writing this chapter and post it earlier this week, but alas! That did not happen haha...This is the penultimate chapter in this story and we’re getting closer to what everything has all been leading up to. THIS IS SO EXCITING!! :) So without further ado...

If you’d like to be added/removed from my tags list for this fic or my Forever Tag list, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Everything I’ve written can be found right here!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! (As always, additional notes/random commentary I have will be at the end beneath the tags, if you care to read that far!)

***

It had been just over two weeks since Izzie’s accident and although Izzie was a bit stubborn and reluctant to the changes that came afterwards, she and Rae had fallen into a routine that was working well for both of them thus far.

Izzie had reached out to her Dance and Accounting instructors only hours after she left the hospital that afternoon to explain the situation and determine what she would need to do to make up her final exams and avoid failing those classes.

Izzie’s dance instructor had been more than understanding and already given Izzie an above passing grade for her performance, but she also voiced her willingness to hold Izzie’s place in the Dance Program as long as Izzie needed to ensure that her injuries healed completely.

To Izzie’s relief, her accounting Professor had also been very forgiving given Izzie’s circumstances and he promised Izzie that he would do everything in his power to work out a solution that would not lead to Izzie failing his class.

As Dr. Jackson had suggested, Izzie made a follow-up appointment to have her ankle checked out again after about two weeks, which is why Rae currently found herself sitting in an exam room down the hall from the one she had sat with Izzie last time as she waited for Izzie to return from the additional scans and x-rays that were being taken of her ankle.

There was a light knock on the door, which caused Rae to look up at the same time that the nurse that had taken Izzie back earlier walked through the door and held the heavy wooden door ajar as Izzie followed behind at a slower pace using her crutches to aid her steps.

“Thank you for being so patient, ladies. The doctor will be right back with the results of the x-ray,” the nurse replied as she helped Izzie climb onto the exam table before stepping out of the room and closing the heavy wooden door behind her.

Rae looked over at Izzie who was sitting on the exam table staring at a poster on the wall detailing the proper procedure for stopping the spread of germs when coughing or sneezing while absentmindedly biting her lower lip.

“So Izz…” Rae began and paused for a moment to allow Izzie to turn her attention towards her friend, “Are you excited for summer classes to start on Monday?”

“Ugh, please don’t remind me, Rae-Rae! I still can’t believe my Accounting final that I missed counted for nearly a fourth of my grade in the class!”

“It could’ve been worse! And at least Professor Andrews was pretty understanding about the whole situation. Sure you have to take the accelerated version of the course again, but at least he arranged it so you could do it free of charge!”

“Yeah, I suppose so...I guess I just thought that our summer was going to be nothing but you and me going on adventures and going to concerts and just enjoying ourselves...but then I had to ruin everything by getting hurt and now we can’t do anything fun,” Izzie trailed off with a small grimace.

“Hey now! None of that negativity, Izzie! You know how much I love hanging out with you and it makes no difference for me whether we go on adventures or just watch movies...as long as we’re spending time together, I’m happy!”

“Thanks Rae, you’re always such a good mate to me! Anyways, enough about me...have you talked to Finn at all or made plans to hang out again?” Izzie asked tentatively.

“Don’t you think I’d tell ya if there were any developments with Finn?” Rae asked which earned a shrug from Izzie before she continued, “Well, no...I haven’t talked to him or heard from him at all in a few weeks.”

“Aw, I’m sorry, Rae…”

“It’s fine...I don’t know what I expected to come from our coffee date or whatever that was or why I even expected anything to come from it, but I should have known better.” Rae said in an attempt to convey indifference.

“Well have you spoken to him at all since then?”

“No...I texted him the night of their most recent concert after you hurt your ankle letting him know how much I wanted to come but that I was needed elsewhere, but I told him that I hoped the show went well.”

“And?”

“And nothing, Izz...he didn’t respond. I’ve texted him a couple times since then and I even sent a message or two to him on social media, but he hasn’t responded to any of them.”

“Really?” Izzie asked with surprise obvious in her voice.

“Yeah, take a look for yourself!”

Rae handed Izzie her cellphone that was opened to her text message conversation with Finn and Izzie read the messages spanning from the last text sent by Finn, all the way to the most recent text sent by Rae nearly a week ago.

Finn: I really enjoyed meeting you formally and getting to know you better over coffee today as well. I definitely look forward to seeing your pretty face in the crowd on Friday, girl! ;) xx

Rae: Hiya Finn! You’ll never guess how crazy my day has been, but my best mate Izzie had a bit of a fall and got pretty badly injured and I needed to step up as best mate and help nurse her back to health, so sadly her and I couldn’t make it out to see you perform tonight. :( In all honesty, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again all week long

Rae: I hope the show went well though and I look forward to seeing all the videos and pictures posted online from the show! :)

Rae: I saw the videos that Archie and Chop posted from the show on Friday! You guys sounded great and it looks like you guys drew in a huge crowd (no surprise there, since you guys are bloody amazing!) :D

Rae: So I may or may not have an exclusive preview for the new shipment of music that is being put on the shelves at Off the Record because I know the right people. I don’t know who else would appreciate the significance of this opportunity other than you, so I just thought that maybe we could grab a bite to eat together and check out what new music came in. If you’re not busy this weekend, of course...Just let me know!

“I probably sound really fucking desperate and pathetic, huh?” Rae asked as she reached for the phone that Izzie was handing back to her.

“Not at all, Rae! Don’t be silly! I just...well, I don’t understand why Finn wouldn’t be responding to you…”

“Yeah, I don’t know either…”

Izzie continued sitting on the exam table scrolling through her phone with her eyebrows furrowed until she heard a quick knock on the door of the room before Dr. Jackson stepped in and gave both the girls a beaming smile.

“Good afternoon, ladies! I have the results from your latest x-ray right here, Isabella, if you wanna take a look...it’ll just take a moment while I get them set up.”

“No problem, doctor! We’re in no hurry and I’m eager to see how I’m healing so far!”

“As am I, Isabella! So what have you two been up to in the last couple weeks?”

“I’ve been resting mostly. Rae and I drove back home to visit my family for the last week and a half, since we haven’t had the chance to go back home since Christmas. Now that I’m back here, I have a couple summer courses at my University that are starting this week, so that will be keeping me busy for a little while!”

“That sounds exciting! How’s the foot doing?”

“A lot better now! The first week was really rough, but I just kept following all the advice you and the nurses gave me!”

“I’m glad to hear that it’s feeling better now, in that case,” Dr. Jackson was still getting the x-ray images set up on the machine to view them when he glanced at one of the images for a moment before turning towards Rae and Izzie, “Ms. Ross...have you been trying to keep weight off the foot?”

“Yes!” Izzie replied with a smile

“Hmm...Excellent. And you’ve been icing down the swelling and bruising?”

“Yes, whenever it felt necessary,” Izzie said with a small nod

“That’s good! And have you been wearing the walking boot?”

“Yeah...well, mostly...it itches, so I only wear it when I know I’ll be on my feet a bit more” Izzie’s response was slightly quieter and more sheepish than before, but she knew that it would be best to be honest with her doctor no matter what.

“Hmm...I see...and the crutches? Have you been using the crutches?”

“Well...sort of…” Izzie trailed off without making eye contact with Dr. Jackson.

Dr. Jackson nodded silently before turning towards Rae and waiting for her to corroborate Izzie’s statement.

“She used the crutches for about a week when we were with her parents, but then she decided that she was healed enough to not need them anymore.”

“I see...well just by looking at these images and my most recent examination of your ankle and foot, I have some good news and some not so good news...which would you like to hear first, Isabella?”

“Good news, please!” Izzie replied immediately as her gaze fell to where her hands rested in her lap and she began pulling at a string that was loose on the hem of her shirt.

“Your ankle is healing very nicely and it definitely does not look more serious than just a sprained ankle.”

“And the bad news?” Rae asked when the tense silence hanging over the room became unnerving.

“Not bad news, per say, but the dancer’s fracture on Isabella’s foot is not healing quite so well...I think you may have been a bit overzealous with laying off the crutches. The bone is setting, but not as well as I would like it to. It’s completely your choice Ms. Ross, but as a dancer, it will be more problematic for you in the future and you’ll be more susceptible to the same injury if it doesn’t set fully”

“So what do you recommend?” Izzie replied as she looked up at him for the first time during the conversation.

“Surgery...but a very minor one at that. You won’t have to be put under, just a mild anesthesia and some local numbing should suffice and we can put a couple pins in the bone to make sure  it will heal exactly as it should. After the pins are put in, we will just need to wait for the incisions to heal and then you can begin the physical therapy regimen to help strengthen your ankle and get you walking and dancing before the end of summer...how does that sound to you?”

Rae looked at Izzie who was currently looking down at her hands again where they sat in her lap, trying to gauge her best mate’s response to what the doctor had said

“Alright, well...I trust your judgment, doctor, so if you think surgery will be the best way to ensure that I heal properly and can get back to dancing as soon as possible, then I’ll do it!” Izzie said with certainty in her voice when she finally looked up at him again after a moment of weighing her options.

“Splendid! Would you like to get this done as soon as possible?” Dr. Jackson asked as he looked at one of the sheets of paper attached to Izzie’s patient chart on the counter of the exam room beneath the x-ray image viewing machine.

“Yes, please!”

“How about tomorrow morning at 9am?”

“Oh wow...that is soon…” Izzie mumbled.

“We can do it later if you want.” Dr. Jackson replied with a smile to ensure that Izzie knew he was not intending to pressure her into making any decisions now.

“No, tomorrow will be great.” Izzie added with a nod and a small smile before looking toward Rae who was still in shock at how quickly the situation had unfolded around her.

***

The next morning, Rae gave Izzie a ride to the hospital where she had to fill out paperwork before being taken back for the actual procedure on her foot.

Rae remained in the waiting room flipping through the various health and home decor magazines that were piled on the table beside where she sat until she saw one of nurses walk through the door that led into the waiting room.

“Good morning, Rae! Isabella is all done with the procedure if you’d like to follow me back, you’re more than welcome to see her now.”

“Wow that was fast!” Rae mused as she stood from the chair she had been sitting in and set the magazine she was looking at back on the small table beside her.

Rae followed the nurse from the main waiting room to the recovery room where Izzie had been taken after her operation was over. Rae could tell that Izzie was still a little bit groggy and impaired from the anesthesia and numbing during the procedure, but she still appeared to be more coherent than Rae had anticipated.

“Is there anything else I can get for you right now, Isabella?”

“No thank you! I’m fine for now, I think!”

The nurse nodded and left the room as Rae walked into the room and sat in the chair that was against the wall beside the bed where Izzie currently sat with her bandaged leg propped up on a stack of pillows.

“Rae-Rae!”

“Hiya Izz! How are you feeling?”

“So far, so good! I was afraid I was going to have a huge scar from the surgery, but it was just a small incision on the top of my foot!”

“That’s great babes! I’m so happy to hear that everything worked out fine, like I knew it would.”

A few moments later, Dr. Jackson knocked on the door and entered the room with Izzie’s patient chart in his hands.

“How is the foot feeling, Isabella?”

“It’s not really feeling anything right now…” Izzie replied with a chuckle.

“Yeah, the numbing and anesthesia has a way of doing that, but you should be regaining feeling in your foot fairly soon.”

Rae and Izzie laughed at that as Dr. Jackson set the patient chart he was holding aside and took a moment to examine Izzie’s foot.

“I just wanted to come in here and tell you that the procedure went very well and I do not foresee any problems with your foot anytime soon or in the future. The nurse will give you the prescriptions for some medications to help you heal a bit faster and for you to take if you have any pain. She’ll also give you the contact information for one of my colleagues and close friends who specializes in sports medicine and physical therapy for you to set up an appointment with once the incision from the surgery is healed enough...in about a week or two.”

“Thank you, doctor!” Izzie replied with a polite smile.

“You’re welcome! If you have any other questions or if your foot hurts too much or anything, don’t hesitate to give us a call or come back in and we can take a look for you!”

Dr. Jackson stepped out of the room again and a different nurse stepped inside to go over the aftercare details with Izzie and give her all the prescriptions and physical therapy recommendation notes she would be needing in the next couple weeks.

When the anesthesia had worn off enough and Izzie was cleared to leave the recovery room of the hospital only an hour after her procedure had ended, Rae and Izzie walked side-by-side out of the hospital—Rae walking much slower to keep pace with Izzie as she limped and took slow steps aided by the crutches that she was going to have to begin using again until her foot was sufficiently healed—towards where Rae’s car was parked in the lot outside.

“So Izz, it’s still pretty early and today is our last day to relax before you start your summer classes...is there anything you want to do on your last day of freedom?” Rae asked as she opened the door to her car for Izzie.

“I’m still a little tired from the anesthesia and I honestly think I’d just like to take a nap for a little while. I’m fine with just relaxing and watching movies with you for the rest of the day, but first...can we get something to eat? Pizza, maybe?” Izzie asked as she leaned her crutches against the side of Rae’s car while she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Of course you’re hungry right now,” Rae replied with a chuckle as she put Izzie’s crutches into the backseat of the car before continuing, “Yes, of course we can get pizza, Izzie!”

***

Rae had been allowed to leave work early for the first time in a couple months and since leaving work early on a Friday was such a rare opportunity, she decided to accept her boss’s offer and grab lunch with Izzie instead.

The past month of summer had seemed to fly by in a blur of work for Rae and summer classes for Izzie and while they still spent most of their time outside of work and summer school with one another, they still found it hard to find time to make any formal plans when their schedules always seems to conflict.

Izzie’s ankle and foot had been healing exceptionally well since her surgery and she had been going to physical therapy in one of the offices on the second floor of the fitness center on campus for almost two weeks to ensure that everything was healing properly and she could get back to dancing as soon as possible. After each therapy session, Izzie and Rae always tried to meet up to discuss the progress Izzie was making and with each day it seemed Izzie was getting a small step closer to where she wanted to be in the recovery process.

Rae: Hey babes! I’m at our usual table, so feel free to take your time getting here. :)

Rae had texted Izzie as soon as she arrived at the cafe close to campus that they always met at for lunch during the semester, but she had been waiting for nearly half an hour without any response.

Huh...her physical therapy appointment should have ended nearly an hour ago...I wonder if I should try calling her…

As soon as Rae began to contemplate calling Izzie, she heard her cell phone vibrate against the table where she had set it down momentarily with an incoming notification.

Izzie: I’m so sorry I’m running late, Rae-Rae! Physical therapy ran long today and the time just got away from me. I should be there very soon though!

Rae sent Izzie a quick reply letting her know to take her time, but true to her word, Rae soon saw Izzie walk through the door to the cafe talking to a very familiar looking and handsome boy dressed in athletic attire.

“Thank you for walking me over here, Alex! I’ll see you at our next session on Monday, right?” Izzie said as she stopped beside the table where Rae was currently sitting and trying to hide the mixture of confusion and shock on her face.

“Absolutely! Just make sure you keep doing the stretches and exercises we worked on today over the weekend and I think we’ll be ready to move onto some more challenging things next session. Have a nice weekend!” Alex gave Izzie a high-five and turned to give Rae a quick smile as well before walking away.

“Sorry I was late, Rae!”

“Uh, no problem...that was, uh, that was Alex? As in Alex from Kings and Queens, right?” Rae asked, still trying to hide her surprise.

“Oh yeah! Did I not mention that he has been the one doing most of my physical therapy session as of lately?” Izzie asked as she pulled out her chair across from Rae and took a seat.

“Uhm, no, not that I’m aware of…” Rae muttered.

“Oh! My bad! It must have slipped my mind because I definitely meant to tell you.” Izzie replied with an embarrassed giggle.

Rae sat there nodding silently as she took a sip of her lemonade and stared at the menu in front of her.

“Alex was actually part of the reason why I was running late to meet you. Our session was running long as it was, but we got caught up with talking and lost track of time.”

Just then the waiter stopped at their table and took Rae and Izzie’s lunch orders before refilling their beverages and assuring them that their food would be out shortly.

“So, uh, what were you and Alex talking about?” Rae asked as she tried to pick up their conversation from earlier again.

“Well he mentioned that their band just booked a new show at the end of July, but it happened literally last night, so they haven’t posted about it on social media at all.”

“I see…”

“And we talked about Finn and the rest of the band a bit...just sort of what everyone has been up to in the last month or so of summer.”

“Okay…”

“Have you, uh, talked to Finn at all lately?” Izzie asked hesitantly.

“Nope” Rae stated matter-of-factly.

“Have you tried reaching out to him again?”

“Nope”

“Rae...why not?”

“Clearly he doesn’t want to reach out to me since he hasn’t been replying to any of my texts or messages on social media. I don’t want to seem clingy or desperate. Trust me, I got the message loud and clear from Finn, so I won’t try to make plans or text him anytime soon.”

“Rae, I don’t think you sound desperate or clingy…”

“Well either way...I’m leaving it up to him at this point to reach out to me if he chooses to do so…”

“That makes sense, I suppose. So...does that mean that you wouldn't want to go to their show that at the end of July or…?”

“Do you want to go?” Rae asked in response to Izzie’s question.

“Yes, I mean...I suppose so. I think it would be nice for us to do because we had to miss the last one because of me...”

“Izz...I’m not mad at you that we missed the last show, so you don’t need to make it up to me”

“Perhaps not, but I want to! Plus it’s a bit over a week after my birthday, so I just think that it might be a nice sort of belated birthday present to myself!” Izzie replied with a cheerful grin.

“Okay, it’s decided then, we will go!” Rae added with an equally wide smile when she saw how happy that statement made her best mate.

“Are you sure?” Izzie asked after the initial wave of excitement had waned slightly.

“I’m positive!” Rae replied with a nod.

***

Later that day when Rae was back at her apartment her thoughts kept returning to her conversation with Izzie during lunch.

Should I really give up on trying to talk to Finn?

Izzie had reassured Rae time and time again how much it didn’t seem like Finn to simply not reply to her text messages, so there must be something else going on.

“I can talk to Alex about it if you want,” Izzie had offered as a solution to figure out why Finn may not be replying to Rae.

“I can ask Alex to pass along a message?”

“I can convince Alex to bring Finn to our next session and you can talk to him in-person like that to settle things once and for all?”

“I can…”

Izzie had offered every suggestion she could think of to help Rae get the answers she needed; however, Rae had refused each and voiced her appreciation for her mate’s offers nonetheless.

Hmmm...Perhaps it is worth it for me to try reaching out to Finn just one more time…

Rae: Hey Finn, I heard from a little birdie that your band is playing a show at the end of the month. I don’t know if you all are selling tickets for less like you have for past shows, but if you are, I’d like to buy some. Please let me know!

Rae placed her cell phone on her bedside table and laid on her back staring at her ceiling once she sent that message.

What if Finn doesn’t reply to this message either?

Rae remained in her bed beside where her phone sat on the table, waiting for the chime of her phone to signal that a new text had been received, but by the time she could feel herself giving into her exhaustion after a long day at work, she had still not heard her phone sound in the time that had passed

Fuck it...If Finn won’t reply to me about the tickets, Izzie and I will just have to purchase them online.

@arathewallflower @eveerez @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e @lurkernolonger @milllott @nutinanutshell @i-dream-of-emus @milymargot @vivammfd @bitchesbecrazy89 @mallyallyandra @kneekeyta @tothetardissterek

A/N: Yay! Officially 9 chapters down, 1 to go! I don’t really like this chapter very much, but I knew it had to be posted to help speed things along for the conclusion to this fic to be post next...In fact, I already have the final chapter written, but I’ve elected to wait a few days before posting it so I can edit it further and try to make it sucks as little as possible! :D

I already have a different little story drafted up that I intend to post relatively soon...I asked for fic suggestions for what you all wanted to read next from me and a few of you certainly delivered! I just wanted to give a quick shout out to @vivammfd, @bitchesbecrazy89, and @eveerez for your input on what fics you’d like to see next...I promise that they are in the works now and I will be posting them as soon as I can! If you have any other requests about what you’d like to see me write next, I’m ALWAYS open to suggestions! :)

On a semi-related note: GUESS WHO IS OFFICIALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL FOR THE SEMESTER AS OF TODAY!!!! I think this occasion deserves a “FUCK YEAH!!!!!” don’t you think?!? :D

And last but not least, as much as I love reblogging things from the same 3 people over on my main blog (no really, they post some quality content), I am definitely looking for new blogs to follow. My main blog is @awaiting-something (insert shameless self-promo lol) so you’re more than welcome to follow me and I can follow back or just let me know some of your favorite people you follow or idk...I’m just trying to make friends and find cool people who like some of the same stuff that I do haha

I feel like this Author’s Note has gone on long enough and it’s not even related to this chapter anymore, but oh well! I love hearing what you guys think and getting questions/messages/whatever from all of you, so if you have any comments/questions/concerns, etc. related to this chapter (or anything really, MMFD or otherwise), feel free to let me know!

Stay awesome, my friends! :) 

[sinsiriuslyemo]

Good afternoon/early evening guys!! Are we ready for episode 2? How are you guys liking the new season?

EPISODE 2

“Wow, Roxie’s Instagram is blowing up,” Izzy mused as she looked over a few new pictures of Roxie arriving in London, posing with a few of the flight attendants and then one of Roxie and Jacob standing in front of her London Bakery, the two are held close to each other, both smiling and laughing.

Lila smirked, “She tagged him ‘#platonichusband.’”

“Eik, Rafi won’t like that. Good thing he’s still in court,” Izzy replied. “He’s not much for Instagram anyway. I don’t even think he has an account. Old people,” she added with a chuckle as she held out a spoon for Lila to taste the soup she’d been making.

Lila tasted it and smiled. “Perfect baby, it's the best so far.”

“Stop trying to kiss up,” Izzy smiled a bit and looked at her a little tiredly. “I love you so much...thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome,” Lila replied, smiling as Mowgli snorted from her lap. Getting up, she filled the piglet’s water bowl and sat back down to scroll through more of Roxie’s pictures.

“She's hot,” Lila grinned. “I never notice until I see pictures of her.”

“Hey, you're all mine,” Izzy whispered.

“Who’s hot?” Rafael asked as he tossed his keys in the foyer dish and took off his jacket, walking into the kitchen.

“Roxie,” Lila replied.

“Hey, I thought you had court,” Izzy said, smiling at him.

“New evidence, the guy took a plea. Are you...cooking?” he asked.

“Yeah, and you better fucking like it. It’s my third batch,” Izzy answered.

“Okay…”

“Wanna see Roxie's photos?” Lila grinned. She liked to stir up a little trouble when things got dull.

“No, he doesn't,” Izzy said seriously.

“What are you talking about, Iz, of course I do,” he replied, chuckling and moving towards Lila.

“No, Rafi, you really don’t,” Izzy said, shaking her head.

“What's the problem? Rafael knows that Roxie and Jacob are just friends. She used the word platonic,” Lila mused.

Izzy shot her a look as Rafael furrowed his brows, looking between Lila and Izzy.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rafael asked softly.

“She just posted a picture of her and Jacob that looks very friendly, that's all,” Lila shrugged.

Rafael looked a little bothered, but forced himself to shrug and shake his head.

“So what? I trust her,” he replied softly.

“See Izzy? It's fine,” Lila smiled and turned the screen so Rafael could see the picture. Roxie had her arms wrapped around Jacob’s neck as he dipped her a bit. The full caption reading, ‘my #platonichusband was so excited to have me back where we started.’

Rafael frowned, mostly at the caption than the actual photo, though the visual certainly didn’t help. Looking away, he turned and walked back out the front door. He needed a drink, and to think before talking to Roxie, lest he let his jealousy and paranoia get the best of him.

“Why did you do that?” Izzy asked her wife after the front door had shut.

“He was gonna see it eventually,” she said softly. “I thought it might be interesting. I don't really see what the problem is. Roxie doesn't have any interest in this dude,” Lila shrugged.

“He probably never would’ve seen it if you hadn’t shown it to him. Rafael is a dinosaur, he doesn’t even have a Facebook...well, he does, but he doesn’t know it. I made it, mostly as a prank, but...he’s been through a lot,” Izzy replied. “Didn’t you see that he was crushed when you showed him that? It doesn’t matter that she didn’t have any interest in him now, she did at one point. And he had an interest in her at one point too. It was a cunty move. It was cunty. And Roxie posting it was kind of cunty too.”

Lila sighed, “Fine, you want me to apologize?”

“No I think you've done enough for today,” Izzy said seriously.

Roxie fired off a text the second she got the call from Izzy.

Call me when you can and let me explain before you get upset? Please.

Rafael sighed softly, taking a sip from his scotch before he texted back.

I’m not upset.

Why not?

I’m just not. Why? Should I be upset?

Turning his phone, face down on the bartop, he took another gulp of his scotch. He really wanted to ask her why she had felt the need to refer to Jacob as her ‘platonic husband’. Especially when he also noticed that she hadn’t been wearing her engagement ring, though he’d chalked that up to her having been baking or getting ready to bake. Still, he felt needy and over reactive for being hurt any time she allowed Jacob to put his hands on her other than a handshake or even a friendly hug. It bothered him that he got so jealous over Jacob when he knew deep down that Roxie would never be unfaithful, even by accident.

But it certainly hadn’t helped that the comment from one of her followers, directly below the picture had read, ‘You guys look so cute together!’

His phone buzzed once, twice, three times and he pinched the bridge of his nose before turning the device over and reading the messages.

The magazine requested the picture.

And the caption.

And the hashtag.

He inhaled through his nose as he texted back.

I’m surprised they didn’t request you wear your engagement ring, too.

Rafi, I only agreed because you don't have social media and I could take it down after this interview. I'm just trying to play nice.

Why take it down at all? You have over a hundred thousand followers. Everyone’s already seen it. Don’t worry about it. I’m not upset.

Yes you are, I know you. I don't blame you. That bit about the husband was a bit much…

He called her, getting a headache from continuously having to read the words on the screen.

“Then why did you agree, Roxie? They were the ones that ask you to be on the cover of their magazine. You’re technically the talent, if you were uncomfortable with something they were asking you to do, why didn’t you tell them that? I’m sure they would’ve been willing to renegotiate,” he said softly when she answered.

“Because I'm nervous, I'm new to all of this and I don't know what I'm suppose to be doing. They said it would be good for business, and they aren't wrong...that's more attention than I've gotten on Instagram ever. People like friend pictures I guess.” She sighed. “Look, I'll take it down. Because it's really not worth the fight to me, Rafael. I don't want it to be a thing.”

“It’s not a thing, and we’re not fighting,” he replied. “I’m not upset. I love you, I’m happy for you...that you got this opportunity. I think it’s great that you’re being recognized for your talent. I mean that,” he replied softly, finishing his scotch and leaving some cash on the bartop before he walked out of the bar.

“I love you, you know that, only you.”

“I know that,” he answered, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards a little. “I know you’ll probably be busy for the next few days, but...just give me a call when you have some free time, okay?”

“I'll always have time to call you,” she whispered. “Always.”

“I love you. I miss you already,” he replied, walking back to his condo. “I got the defense to plead out today,” he offered.

“You did? Oh I knew you could! From what you told me, that attorney was a hack compared to you. He didn't stand a chance.”

“Thanks,” he whispered with a soft smile, waving at the security guard at the front desk of their building. “Of course, that just means that I’ll have more time to miss you. Maybe I’ll reorganize my filing cabinet at work.”

“Or...you could open the book I asked Carmen to put on your desk,” Roxie grinned.

“I could do that,” he replied, smirking. “I didn’t have time to open it when I picked it up before court, but I have a feeling that maybe it shouldn't be opened at work anyway.”

She snickered, “Dirty boy,” she cooed. “This package is completely PG. The one I left in the bedroom drawer however…” she trailed off.

“Oh, that sound interesting,” he replied. “I left a little something at the bottom of your suitcase too. It’s pretty boring I’m afraid, but...I thought you’d like it,” he added.

She grinned and moved over to her suitcase while he began to unwrap the package Carmen had left on his desk once he’d gotten back into their apartment.

“You first,” she said seriously.

He smiled down at the scrapbook she’d made of the two of them that began with pictures of them in London when they’d first met, as well as the label from the bottle of the scotch they’d shared at the EDM party and the rest of the book was filled with mementos and photos of their relationship in chronological order. It even held newspaper articles from some of his case wins. The last half of the book was still empty, presumably to be filled with more memories they would share in the future.

“I love it,” he said, still grinning. “How did you get ahold of all these newspaper clippings? Some of them are from when you were still living in London,” he asked.

“I asked Izzy to send them to me,” she said and smiled. “Okay, my turn.”

She pulled out the familiar collared shirt and grinned, holding it up to her face and inhaling. “Mmmm, Rafi this is just what I needed,” she said with a smile. “I have to go in for the shoot in about twenty minutes. They want my hair wet, isn't that odd?” She quirked an amused brow. “This magazine is rather strange.”

“Well, maybe they’re doing some sort of theme. Just remember that you don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with okay?” he reminded her gently. “If you have any trouble, just get me on the phone with them,” he added, smirking.

“I love you,” she whispered with a grin.

“I love you too. Good luck with the shoot, and just so you know, I read a copy of your contract, and you’re entitled to the original prints of any photos they take,” he replied.

“Okay, I have to go but I'll call you afterwards.”

“Alright. Bye,” he replied softly. “Give em hell.”

You laid your head on his naked chest and grinned, kissing his left pectoral and pulling him into another kiss. The two of you had made love three times, clinging to each other as if you were each other's lifelines.

“It means a lot that you still believe in me,” he mumbled. “Especially after everything we’ve been through...everything I put you through.”

You shook your head, “after everything we've been through, I have more faith in you now than ever, I know you can do this.” You gave him a long kiss and smiled. “Let's make a deal, if we get out of this alive, we'll try for another baby, okay?”

He smirked, nodding his head and kissing you deeply.

“You really want another one?” he asked, arching a brow. “That’s four kids under ten,” he mused.

“I do, but if you don't, we don't have to,” you shrugged. “I'm content, I just happen to like big families.”

“That’s easy to say when it’s just an idea...just think about it before you ask for it, cause I’ll give it you,” Nevada replied, stroking your hair.

You kissed him, “Although, having just you and me in the house someday, having sex non-stop, that sounds pretty good too,” you smiled and nuzzled against him. “I love you, so much. You're not going to lose, Nevada. Even if they're thirty steps ahead, your team is unstoppable.”

“Crees?” he asked softly.

“Claro que si,” you said confidently.

He smirked at you, pulling you closer and kissing your forehead.

“The kids been okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, NJ can feel my anxiety so he's been extra clingy.” You traced your fingers over his skin. “Lily and Fiona are sharing beds because they're scared.”

He sighed softly, brushing some of your hair away from your face.

“I miss them,” he whispered.

“They miss you too, they talk about you all the time. Lily tells the twins about how you give the best cuddles,” you giggled. “As if they don't already know that.”

He smirked and snorted softly.

“Lo siento, I never wanted this for them...I never wanted this life to touch them,” he whispered.

“It's okay, they're safe and that's all that matters,” you kissed him as you heard the door open. Both of you sat up, grabbing your guns immediately.

“I'm back!” Delia called from the other room.

Sighing, he brought his gun down as you did the same.

“I better get outta here. I should get back and see how Chibby and Sawyer are doing,” he said regretfully, standing and pulling on his jeans. “Ven aca,” he added, crooking his finger to beckon you over.

You tried to hide how disappointed you were that he had to leave, pulling him closer to you and holding him tight. He grabbed your face and kissed you deeply, like it was the last time in a long time that he would see you.

That put you over the edge, you couldn't help but feel tears run down your cheeks as you kissed back, pulling him tight and not letting go.

“Don't leave,” you whispered between kisses and half-sobs. You'd tried to hard to keep it together but you were scared. You wanted him to stay.

“I have to if we’re gonna get these putos out of our city,” he replied. “But everything’s gonna be okay,” he vowed, kissing you again. “I love you.”

You pulled it together, nodding and kissing back with a smile. “I know it is, sorry, moment of weakness.”

He wiped away a tear from your face with his thumb, and shook his head.

“You can show weakness in front of me, Dama,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”

You nodded, “I can be anything when I'm with you,” you whispered. “Which is why I want to be strong, I feel like you give me the love to do that.” You kissed him again. “Come home to me, your peach misses you.” You held him close for another moment before opening the door for him as you left the bedroom.

“I will,” he promised, though he wasn’t entirely sure. Kissing you one last time before he turned and left.

Rafael went into the kitchen to put food and water down for Mowgli as Izzy brought bowls of soup to the table.

“Rafi, dinner’s ready,” she said. It almost did feel like old times.

Rafael scratched behind Mowgli’s ear before he moved to the table and sat down, taking a spoon and drinking some of the soup she’d made.

“This is better than I remembered,” he said, smiling up at her.

Izzy smiled back as Lila came in, snuggling up to her wife then turning to Rafael.

“I'm really sorry Rafi,” Lila said honesty. “That was fucked up.”

He looked up at her for a moment, then back down at his soup.

“What was?” he asked softly.

“Showing you the picture just to start trouble. It was a...cunt move.” Lila shot Izzy a look and her wife nodded in approval, impressed that Lila had actually apologized.

“It’s okay...you’re obviously bored, and instead of getting a hobby like a normal human being, you try to cause a stir in someone else’s relationship,” he replied. “I accept your apology,” he added softly.

Lila sat as Izzy handed her a bowl of soup.

“Thanks baby,” Lila whispered and kissed her hand. She meant more than for the soup. Izzy balanced her out, and set her straight when she needed it.

Izzy smiled and gave her wife a big kiss.

The sound of a tire puncture from outside thundered as Izzy freaked out, ducking and in the process, knocking the pot of soup right onto herself, shrieking.

Rafael stood immediately, rushing over to his sister and helping her up.

“Lila get the shower in the hallway bathroom going, cold water. Are you okay?” he asked, turning to Izzy as he helped her walk towards the bathroom.

Izzy was shaking, barely walking as Lila turned the water on. She was quick to take over, stripping the burning hot clothing off of Izzy and putting her under the cold spray.

“I got you baby,” she whispered and tried to stroke a Izzy's hair while the younger girl sobbed in a mixture of pain and fear. “Rafael!” Lila called from the shower. “Call a doctor for me, she's got some blistering, I think she should see someone.”

“I’m getting an ambulance right now,” he called back over his shoulder. “Yes, this is ADA Rafael Barba, I need an ambulance at two River Terrace, number 11N. My sister spilled hot soup all over herself, she has some blistering. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone, and went to the doorway of the bathroom.

“Five minutes,” he said.

Lila stroked Izzy's hair still, careful not to touch her too much as she cried. “It hurts, I can't-” she hiccuped between sobs. “I think I'm gonna be sick…” she whispered and proceeded to throw up directly onto her wife. “Oh god I'm so so-”

Lila didn't even flinch, just stroking her hair. “Shhhh, it's okay baby, just breathe, there's an ambulance coming.” She took a moment while Izzy was breathing to rinse herself off.

Rafael worked on getting the kitchen cleaned up, suddenly remembering Mowgli had been in the kitchen too, and darting his eyes around the apartment.

“Mijo?” he called out, looking under the table, then the couch. “Mowgli!” he called a little more urgently. He heard a soft snort and saw the piglet in the corner of the kitchen, trembling. “Hey, mijo. Are you okay?” he asked softly, moving closer and picking him up.

It didn’t appear as though any of the soup had hit him, but Rafael was still careful as he passed a hand over the piglet’s back.

“It’s okay, mijo. You’re okay,” he whispered in a soothing voice, holding the small pig close to his chest so he could listen to his father’s heartbeat. Rafael had read that the sound could soothe them whenever they were frightened.

The pig snorted and nudged at Rafael's chest with his nose, his way of giving affectionate kisses.

“Okay,” Rafael whispered. “Finish eating while I clean this up, okay?” he mumbled softly, setting the pig down again in front of his food before continuing to clean up the soup. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and he let in the ambulance, directing them to the hallway bathroom where Izzy was.

The paramedics were careful to help Izzy onto a stretcher and let her sit up as they carried her out, covered in a blanket. Lila followed right after them.

Rafael let Lila go with his sister to the hospital, figuring he would just be in the way.

“I’ll come by in a little while, okay?” he called out to Izzy.

Lila nodded to him to let him know that Izzy had heard before taking her wife's hand and rushing out the door with the paramedics.

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

I bet you didn’t think that by “incredibly soon” I meant about a day later, huh? Truth be told I felt kinda bad about the previous chapter because it was mostly just a filler chapter to speed the plot along and show some time passing, but this one and the next couple chapters deliver some seriously flirty vibes and drama (at least in my opinion) and the words just kept coming so I decided to seize the opportunity and post this ASAP.

I also found this chapter rather cathartic to write because I am still incorporating a lot of myself and my experiences into Rae and the story overall, so I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! This chapter is at about 2,994 words, which is right on track with my goal of making each mini-fic 3,000 words or less!

Wanna get caught up on the updates leading up to this one? Look no further!

Feel free to let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the tagged list and I’ll be happy to oblige! As always: each and every one of you that read my writing, like, reply, reblog, etc. are amazing people and inspire me to keep writing! :)

Just a Touch of Sweetness

Friday and Saturday sort of just blurred together, as Rae slowly began falling into the routine of Finn sitting with her and Izzie whenever they all worked together, but by Sunday afternoon when Rae walked into her apartment after a long day at work, she felt completely and utterly exhausted—both mentally and physically.

It was mid-November, which meant that the holidays were approaching and things at work were quickly becoming more hectic. To make matters worse, that also meant that there was less than a month left in this semester of Uni, which was making Rae feel relieved but incredibly overwhelmed simultaneously. It seemed as though all of her classes had suddenly announced the final projects and assignments that were swiftly approaching and the stress of everything was becoming too much for Rae to handle.

As much as Rae wanted to just turn on some music and relax in a desperate attempt to ease her worries about school, she knew that procrastination would only exacerbate the stress she was currently feeling with knowing that she had assignments due that evening in both of her online classes, as well as an upcoming exam in her Economics class that has been the bane of her existence this entire semester.

Groaning and sighing dramatically as she turned on her laptop and opened up Spotify, preparing herself to work on her assignments without stopping until she had finished everything that was due at midnight, Rae pressed play on her go-to playlist that she had made to match her mood this time of year, aptly titled “Falling…”, and began trudging her way through the list of assignments she needed to get done.

Hours had passed when Rae finally submitted the last assignment she needed to complete prior to midnight.

Thank fuck that is finally over with!

Rae was still feeling overwhelmed by everything she had coming up in her classes as she attempted to prioritize her upcoming assignments and she could feel her breath catch as the panic and feelings of self-doubt and fear of failing out of Uni this semester crept in. To an extent, Rae knew that she was taking on too much responsibility going to Uni full-time, working part-time, and becoming financially independent after moving away from her family to attend Uni. She had incredibly high expectations for herself and she could not even fathom letting herself down by falling behind in her classes or losing the academic scholarship that was the only reason why attending University was even a possibility for Rae.

Knowing that she had to calm down before she had a proper panic attack, Rae gripped the edge of the desk in her bedroom she was sitting at tightly and began counting quietly under her breath, attempting to regulate her breathing.

Just breathe, Rae…In 2-3-4-5-6-7-8, Out 2-3-4-5-6-7-8, In 2-3-4…Out 2-3-4….In…Out…

When her breathing was almost back to normal, her grip on the edge of her desk loosened and she flexed her fingers that had begun to cramp from how tightly they were clenched.

Despite calming down slightly, Rae knew that listening to music could only do so much to help her relax, so Rae turned to the next biggest comfort and sense of enjoyment in her life: food.

Rae has had a strange relationship with food for as long as she could remember. She had a tendency to overeat to the point of being sick to cope with stress and sadness as a child; however, as she grew older and her self-esteem plummeted as bullying “the fat girl” was a more common occurrence at college, Rae began to not eat in front of strangers. This continued until she also refused to eat in front of people that were not her family, until eventually she skipped meals entirely on a regular basis.

For years she struggled to find some semblance of balance because she knew the dangers she faced from both binging and skipping meals, that is until she found a way that she could love food without the temptation and regret she had previously associated it with.

When Rae was 16 years old she discovered that her casual interest in cooking was a true passion and she had quite a knack for it. As she continued cooking for her family and friends and experimenting with new foods and new recipes, Rae gained a new appreciation for food as a form of art and expression that did not lead to her hating herself afterwards. And so even now, nearly 4 years later, Rae would go on “stress baking” and “stress cooking” sprees to help clear her mind and get relieve stress.

Hmm…what shall I bake today…?

Rae walked into the small kitchen in her apartment and perused her cabinets trying to determine what she had the ingredients to make before grabbing her phone off of the counter to get a second opinion.

Rae: Hiya Izz, random question: Do you like cupcakes?

Rae set her phone back down on her kitchen counter and it buzzed almost immediately indicating that Izzie had already replied.

Izzie: OF COURSE I DO, RAE. All sweet things beckon to me! <3 <3 <3

Rae: Lol…In that case, I just might have a sweet surprise for you tomorrow before work! ;)

Rae returned her phone to its place on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to read Izzie’s response as soon as she had a spare moment after getting the cupcakes started.

Two hours later Rae was putting the finishing touches on the three dozen cupcakes she had made and examining them to determine if there was anything else she should add to them.

Hmm…chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate-hazelnut filling and a cream cheese buttercream…Well, you can never go wrong with a little more chocolate!

Rae proceeded to drizzle the top of each cupcake with the remainder of the chocolate she had incorporated into the filling she had made. She quickly cleaned up the last traces of her late night baking, licking the spoons used to mix the batter and taking pride in the perfect balance of sweetness and rich chocolate flavor she had achieved on this particular batch of cupcakes.

By the time she finished tidying up the kitchen a bit, it was just past 2am and Rae decided it best to get some sleep, fully aware that she had to go to work early the next morning.

***

Rae walked into work well over 15 minutes earlier than she typically arrived, especially on a Monday morning, and took a seat at one of the tables in the break room before retrieving her cellphone from the bottom of her purse to browse her social media accounts.

Uninterested in what she saw while scrolling through Instagram and Twitter, Rae set her phone to the side and began examining the small white box containing the cupcakes she had brought to work for a few of her coworkers until she head the door to the break room open.

“Whoa…Finn, you’re here really early today, aren’t ya?” Rae asked raising an eye brow as Finn walked toward the table she was sitting at with a massive grin.

“Good morning to you too, Mae,” Finn replied, feigning that he took offense to what she had said to him.

“Oh, don’t be that way Finn! It’s good to see you, I just didn’t anticipate you being here so early.”

Rae noticed that Finn stood in front of the table she was sitting at and was shifting awkwardly from one foot to another, biting the skin on his thumb subconsciously.

Why does Finn seem nervous? It’s just me after all, he’s got nothing to be nervous about.

“Finn, you know you can take a seat at the table with me is you want to, right?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry…” Finn pulled the chair nearest to Rae out from under the table before sitting down and giving her a small close-lipped smile to help hide some of the embarrassment he was feeling.

“I just didn’t know if you’d be okay with me sitting down at the table with ya or not…” He trailed off until he was barely mumbling and went right back to biting the skin around his thumb.

Rae and Finn sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until he lightly tapped the top of the square box she had sitting in the center of the table.

“What’s in the box, Rae?” he asked, clearly curious but resisting the urge to open the box and take a look for himself.

“This box, my dear Finnley,” she began but stopped to smirk at her use of the nickname she knew he secretly hated, opening the box to let both of them see its contents, “contains some of the Chocolate Hazelnut cupcakes that I baked last night and brought for some people here at work.”

“Ah, alright…wait, did you say you MADE these? They look like they’re professional quality! How’s that possible!?” Finn exclaimed, making no attempts to hide his surprise and how impressed he was that these cupcakes were homemade.

“Yeah, I like to cook and bake when I’m upset or stressed, and I’ve been pretty overwhelmed with Uni lately, so last night I did some stress baking. I still have a lot to learn about baking and decorating cakes, but thank you, I tried to make them look halfway decent at least.”

“‘Halfway decent’? Are you shitting me, Mae? These cupcakes are perfect looking! Why in the hell would you want to share these with other people? If I were you I’d just keep them all for myself…”

Rae tensed slightly, trying to determine the best way to respond to Finn without making him think that she was weird.

Careful what you say, Rae...one wrong thing and Finn will always see me as some crazy, fat blob.

“Uh, well I love to cook, but I don’t have much of an appetite for sweets. So whenever I bake a lot, like I did last night, I give most of what I make to people here at work.”

Finn nodded and continued examining the cupcakes that still sat in the white cardboard box while Rae tried to read Finn’s face and figure out what he thought of the explanation she had given.

“Hiya Rae! Morning Finn…you two are here quite early today!” Izzie mused excitedly as she pulled out the chair at the table across from Rae and Finn and sat down, nearly bouncing with her usual level of energy that seemed impossible this early on a Monday.

Both simply shrugged in response, which made Izzie laugh because she could almost swear they were the same person at times with how similar they are.

“Izzie! I have a surprise for you, love, as promised…” Rae opened the box containing the cupcakes, showing Izzie the sweet surprise she had brought for her today.

“Oh my god, Rae! These look amazing! And you made and decorated these yourself!?” Izzie removed a cupcake from the box to examine it further.

“I was just telling Rae the same thing when she showed me the cupcakes! It’s not just me that thinks you’re insanely talented, girl,” Finn replied, playfully poking Rae’s arm to further prove his point to her.

Rae stood up from the table, cheeks blushing a deep red color, and pushed the now vacant chair back under the table, thoroughly embarrassed by Izzie and Finn’s praise and acknowledgment of her baking skills.

“Well, I’m gonna head inside and get to work now. Are you planning to stay out here to eat a cupcake, Izz?”

“Yeah, as long as you don’t mind saving my seat for me, Rae…These look too good and I can’t wait much longer to give them a taste!”

Rae giggled and informed Izzie that she would save her a seat but Rae expected to get Izzie’s feedback on the cupcake as soon as she finished.

“Hey, wait up, girl!” Finn walked hurriedly towards where Rae stood holding open the break room door, allowing him to catch up to her.

Finn gave Rae a huge smile, making her chuckle, and walked beside her toward the seat to the right of Izzie and Rae that has become his regular spot to sit for almost a week. As they passed the radio in the corner of the room, Finn stopped to turn it to Rae’s favorite Alternative music station, which earned him an appreciative nod and genuine smile from Rae.

Just as Rae and Finn got logged into their computers and began getting settled in to answer customer questions, Izzie came bounding through the door, scanning her badge in the process, before rushing to take her seat on Rae’s left.

“Rae, holy shit that cupcake was amazing!”

“Izzie!” Rae exclaimed, laughing at the sound of Izzie cursing, which was a very rare phenomenon.

“I’m serious, Rae! I don’t know how you did it, but that cupcake from the filling to the decorations, to the cake itself were fantastic!”

“Well thank you Izz, I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed it!”

The three of them continued working, only occasionally stopping when Rae and Finn bickered about their opinions of the song currently playing on the radio or when Izzie brought up how delicious the cupcake had been and how tempted she was to take another one during her break that was coming up shortly.

Rae was quickly becoming accustomed to the new dynamic between her and Finn, especially considering that she had been prepared for the worst following the mixed messages she received from Finn last Monday. Sitting next to Finn this week and talking to him more at work than she has heard him speak in the month she had been working here has allowed Rae and Izzie to get to know Finn a little bit better and Rae could almost say she considered him one of her mates.

When Izzie sat back down at her desk after coming in from her break, she turned towards Rae hesitantly, avoiding eye contact.

“Rae…I hope you aren’t too mad at me, but after giving Rebecca the cupcake you saved for her, I ate another one of the cupcakes you brought while I was on break.”

“Don’t worry about it, Izz! I brought them specifically for my friends here at work and I have plenty more at my apartment if you want more. Just let me know!”

“Aw, thanks Rae, I’d really appreciate that!”

Izzie returned to responding to customers and Rae turned in her desk chair when she noticed that Finn was locking his computer.

“Are you about to go on break, Finn?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I just wanted to let you know that if you want a cupcake before Izz eats them all herself, you are more than welcome to take one. I felt like a real dickhead about teasing you with them and not even offering you one,” Rae replied, apologizing for her inadvertent rudeness and lack of manners by not offering Finn a cupcake as well this morning.

“Are you sure I can take one, Rae? You don’t have to give me one if ya don’t want to…”

“Of course I’m sure,” Rae interrupted, “I want to know if it lives up to your expectations or not!” Rae winked at Finn, causing him to gulp audibly and clear his throat before stuttering out his reply.

“Uh, wow…thanks, Rae! You just made my day! I know it’s gonna be amazing because that cupcake looked fucking amazing, but I’m going to give you really detailed feedback, okay? Because I really love critiquing stuff like this like they do in those cooking show competitions.”

“Hell yeah, I love those shows! Don’t spare my feelings either, I want to know what you really think of them.” Rae added, laughing at the childlike excitement Finn was emanating at the mere mention of the cupcakes.

“In that case, Mae, I will be sure to be EXTRA hard on you…err…your cupcakes, I mean…uhhh…I’m just gonna go now!” Finn hurried away, avoiding eye contact with Rae as he walked out the door in the direction of the break room.

Well…that certainly was an interesting choice of words, Finnley…

When Finn returned fifteen minutes later and sat back down in his seat, Rae was already turned in her desk chair facing Finn with her arm propped up beside his computer screen and her chin resting on her hand.

“So Finnley…what did you think?” She asked, biting her lower lip slightly as she braced herself for his feedback.

“Well Mae,” he began placing emphasis on his nickname for her that he knew got on her nerves, “I thought it was pretty fucking fantastic!  I noticed that the cupcake itself was hardly sweet at all, it was mostly just the filling and frosting on top that added sweetness.”

“Thanks, Finn. I’ve always hated things that are too sweet so I always try to focus the sweetness on certain aspects of what I’m making. That way there is just a touch of sweetness and it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet…Was there anything else you would have wanted different about them?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong Rae, I really liked the cupcake,” he prefaced, trying to soften the blow of his critique to follow, “but I really would have like there to be more filling on the inside.”

“Oh, and why is that Finn? Was it not sweet enough for you as it was?” Rae asked quirking her eyebrow in anticipation for his answer.

“It was plenty sweet, but knowing that there was a filling in it, I was kind of hoping to get it all over my mouth and face while I was eating it…I like it a little dirty, you know?” Finn smirked and gave her a quick wink when he noticed Rae’s eyes widen at the double entendre in his statement.

Are you shitting me right now? Finn Nelson, you will be the death of me, I just know it...

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