#i was so recently on antibiotics what the fuck i hadn't had them in years

[mwydyn]

UTI not gone, pharmacy said to go back, but if I go back today and they say that means I need to see a GP I'm going to be pissed because I won't be able to get an appointment until Monday

[dustydaddyyy]

oooooooooooh if you're writing chapter 3 of flashpoint, may I (humbly) request a small sneek peek? not sure if you do that but I'm literally refreshing every other day to see if you have anything new up i'm low-key obsessed

hi love <3

of course i have a sneak peek for you (not much tbh, but it's what I can share atm):

(warnings: swearing, smoking)

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" you ask, your voice sharp, "You coming to intimidate me at work, now?"

"Who said anything about intimidate?" Tess asks, and you scoff, shaking your head as your purse your lips angrily.

"You think I haven't noticed this fucking tank following me around recently?" you ask, jerking your head towards Joel, before your eyes follow and meet his, "You ain't subtle, by the way,"

Technically, what you were saying wasn't wrong. Joel had been taking slight detours on his way to and from jobs in the QZ the last two weeks, sometimes keeping an eye out to see if he could spot you coming in and out of your apartment. He hadn't meant it in a creepy way, but it had been a force stronger than himself. Besides, he wanted to know if the antibiotics he'd given you had been working. Joel thought he'd been discreet; apparently, you were more observant than he gave you credit for.

Tess' eyebrows shoot up in surprise as she gives Joel a questioning look, which he pointedly ignores, ignoring your dig and instead giving you an infuriating raise of his eyebrows.

"You work in a Starbucks?" Joel asks, and he sounds almost amused as you give him a look.

"Can't all be drug dealers, Joel," you tell him with a dry smile, "Some of us have to make a living,"

You watch to your great satisfaction as Joel's jaw tightens, the smug expression he'd been wearing a second ago melting into his usual angry one.

"Besides, it's hiding in plain sight," you inform him before he can rebuff you, "Nobody in the apocalypse can be fucked enough to care about their barista,"

"Smart," Tess notes, and you let out another irritated breath.

"Look, what the hell do you two want?" you ask, your voice harsh, "I don't have all day and something tells me you're not going to take 'fuck off' for answer today, hm?"

"Donovan sent us," Joel tells you, and he watches as your jaw clenches, eyes flashing with annoyance as you take another drag.

"'Course he fucking did," you mutter under your breath as you blow out the smoke.

"We need something," Tess tells you, "And Donovan mentioned you've helped him out a couple of times,"

"I have," you say with a nod, eyes flitting between Tess and Joel.

"So, smuggling, and stealing. . . that's your side hustle?" Joel says after a second of silence, and again his expression and his tone have that same amused quality to them as before, almost like he's mocking you.

You give him a steely glare as you let out another irritated breath, shaking your head.

"Lower your goddamn voice," you tell him, eyes flashing in warning, "Slinging those kinds of words around gets people killed,"

"It gets thieves killed, sweetheart," Joel corrects, and your eyes bore into his at the use of that goddamn nickname, "I've been doing just fine,"

You shake your head, scoffing as you run your tongue over your top teeth. "Enough with that already. . . you've made your point, Miller, I'm a miserable thief that doesn't deserve to share your air. . . now what do you want?"

"I never said it like that," he says, despite himself, his expression dropping slightly, before he covers it up.

"It doesn't matter," you huff, shaking your head as you cross your arms, "I can hear it all over your tone. . . for someone as stoic as yourself, you sure as shit pack a punch with your shitty attitude,"

Joel is taken aback by your words; sure, he knows you're right, on some level, but he's not had backchat like this for years. . . even Tess, who remained one of the only people able to put him in his place, had just put up with it the past years.

"I, uh–" he falters for a split second, before he clears his throat, face becoming stony again, "We came to ask you for something,"

"Yeah, you've said that. . . why would I help you?" you ask, and Joel raises a single eyebrow.

"How about because you still owe me 40 cards?" he tells you, and you let out a humourless laugh.

"38," you correct as you lean against the brick wall, "That coffee wasn't free for nothing,"

Joel shakes his head with a roll of his eyes. "38 then. . . last I checked, that's still something,"

You glare at him for a second, before you press your lips together in annoyance, letting out a breath.

"Fine. What do you need?"

"Fertilizer," Tess states, speaking for the first time in almost a minute, and both you and Joel tear your gazes from each other to look at her, which she answers with a dry, sarcastic smirk, "You two finished making eyes at each other and remembered I'm here, too?"

read parts 1 and 2 of flashpoint here.