#i would go outside if it wasnt wintering also i just put down my coat in the cloakroom and i dont want to bother the cloakroom lady

[boycannibal]

messed up the schedule and arrived 2hrs early. arleady ate breakfast and got one uni thing done and i still have 1.5h until class

[bloodycassian]

anon request - READER X AZRIEL - sorry if this wasn’t exactly what you want! I got a bit carried away in my own idea of Azriel being supportive but protective at the same time!

some hurt/comfort with Azriel where he and the reader get in a huge fight over protecting Elain (like they travel to a different court and Azriel is overprotective) and then the reader goes scouting to also cool down a bit and they get ambushed, the reader gets injured and the mating bond snaps. Hope it's not too much trouble!!

Elain was absurdly still as the conversation played out. Conversation being a loose term for the shouting happening around her. You didn’t leave her side though, even though your anger flourished while they spoke as if she wasnt there. Azriel was packing her things, shoving them haphazardly into a bag. The bag that Feyre had given her from their first trip down to the markets after Elain had started acting somewhat normal again. The happy memory seemed so distant now, compared to the anxiety ridden emotions that played about in the room.

“We are not going to the continent.” Az’s tone shift was abrupt, a snap of anger leaning into it. He tied the top of the bag closed and set it roughly atop the living room table. The scattered odds and ends of survival gear and weapons scraped against the wood. You watched the stare down between the high lord and his shadowsinger patiently. Waiting for your moment to speak rationally to them.

Rhys’ power roiled above, his eyes did not hide his frustration with his brother. His gaze was simmering with that dark power he possessed. Azriel did not back down. “The continent is the only place that may be safe. If the King finds out she’s a Seer he will never let her go. We can’t risk losing her as a hostage.”

You knew she would be a hostage too. Feyre would never let her sister be taken without a fight. Rhys knew his mate well enough to know not to risk just Elain, but Feyre too. Cauldron knew what Nesta would do if she were in that room during the conversation. Likely spitting fire and shoving Elain out the door to wherever she seemed to think was safe. Thankfully, both sisters were scouring deep in the library for any way to help win this battle.

Azriel did not break eyecontact with his brother as he made to speak again. You interrupted before he could make the situation worse. “I have somewhere in mind.” You spoke softly, urging the staring contest to end. Azriel looked away first, and you were surprised at that. His eyes met yours with something like relief. “Autumn. We have Eris on our side if we’re caught. I have a spot we can stay until-” Azriels scoff sent anger shooting through you. You clenched your teeth together to keep from lashing out at him as he had been doing just moments before. 

“Autumn is possibly the worst place we could send you right now. We’re on the brink of war with them potentially being on Hyberns side. We would be sending you straight to Hybern himself.” 

“Exactly. It’s stupid and they would never expect it.” 

“You’re not going. Beron exiled you. Don’t you remember what that means?” He looked at you with actual concern now that he knew you were serious. As if you had been injured and you were speaking a different language.

“It means we will be safe from Hybern when they come here to look for Elain. Isn’t that the point?” You wrapped an arm around her small shoulders and pulled her close. Az couldn’t argue with that. The other courts were not an option, as it would be harboring a target against one of the Night court Allies. And Winter court was nowhere to be spending the night. Not many survived the night there without shelter.

Rhys’ sigh was long and exhausted. Left without another option, he nodded to himself. He held out a hand and summoned two necklaces, both with pendants of black onyx that shimmered in the firelight. Az’s brows pinched together at the sight of them. The dull glow behind him shone through his wings, highlighting all the delicate structures there. You found his wings more beautiful than the enchanted stone Rhys handed you.

“Hybern won’t be able to sense your magic. Keep these on.” 

Azriel was already tensing, his fists balling at his sides ready to make it physical if Rhys refused to listen. He knew with his entire being that something was off. Something would go wrong this night. His shadows warned him of something. And he couldn’t shake it no matter how hard he tried. “Rhys-”

“And you will be going with them. Keep them company while Feyre and I investigate just how many ships and forces they plan to bring.” He ordered in that indisputable tone of the high lord. With only a hint of friendliness. He gave Az a long look before turning back to you and Elain. “Do not take those off.” The nodded to the necklaces and started to winnow. Elain stood abruptly, startling you. 

“Thank you.” She said softly to the high lord. He seemed taken aback for a second, before giving her a gracious nod and finally disappearing. You rose to Elain’s height and took her hand in yours. It was warm, welcoming. “We’re going to be fine.” You promised, not caring if Azriel saw the care you gave her. She had been there for you just as you needed to be now. She had practically kept you alive with her soft humming and reading to you when you were at your worst after being exiled. 

 “I know.” She said, voice soft as rose petals. But that dark power within her were the thorns of that pretty, perfect rose. The reason Hybern even knew to look in Velaris for Elain. That cauldron calling power that she couldn’t control to save her life. You grimly smiled at her.

“We need to leave.” Azriel ordered, tone neutral. Just a warrior needing to move troops.

“Let me get your bag.” Elain said, giving you a squeeze of her hand, disappearing up the stairs. Leaving you with the brooding Illyrian. You grimaced in his direction. He ignored you as best he could, hoping that the time for babysitting would pass quickly. He had always found it strange how you and Elain moved like magnets together. Found the soft way you comforted each other somehow upsetting. He paced quietly in front of the fire while you gathered your gear. Two small blades - one for Elain - and your sword. You rubbed at a speck on the hard steel of the sword. 

Perhaps his lack of family had made that rivaling jealousy turn into hatred for the display of affection. He contemplated to himself. Had he become cold to everyone? Too harsh? Had the darkness he possessed taken him over? He tore his eyes from your short sword and locked them with yours. The thrill he felt wasn’t from anger or terror. His cheeks flushed slightly and you fought the grin that you wanted so badly to flaunt at him. The innuendos regarding the sword that you wanted to say were cut off by that look he gave you.

“Do not get into a situation where you have to use that.” He warned with a stern look. You couldn’t help the angelic smile you gave him.

+

The smell of rotting apples and decaying leaves was all you needed to sense to know you were home. You took in the court border slowly, adjusting to your orientation after being winnowed. Elain clutched your hand tightly, the bag in her other hand quivered only slightly from her shaking. Your hands became slick with sweat at the familiar sights and smells of Autumn. You hadn’t been back since being exiled.

“We wont be able to have a fire.” Azriel stated, gazing towards the sky. It was far too clear of a day out to risk it. The slight chill in the air filled your stomach with dread for the night to come. 

“This way.” You pulled Elain along with you, leaves crunching under your feet as you entered Autumn court. She didn’t move. Her eyes were blank, staring lifelessly into the orange and yellow forest. “Elain?” You asked softly.

“Five foxes will die tonight. Three more in the morning.” 

Her words sent a chill down your spine.

Az took the lead, territoriality putting himself a few paces in front of you. He wasn’t subtle about it either, occasionally jogging ahead to scout for any enemies around piles of bramble when you came across it. 

By the time you found your hideout, you were fed up with waiting for him to give you the all clear everywhere you went. You let you go of Elains now calm hand and stormed into the small shack with familiarity. Azriel hissed and seethed when you lit a lantern inside. “Get over yourself, Shadowsinger.” You laughed, taking in the small piece of home you made for yourself long ago. 

It indeed was a long time ago when you’d last been there. But it still felt homey to you. The small space was just big enough for a stove, the table you’d found, and a bed pushed against the far wall. The fireplace hadn’t been used in years. Soot marked small animal prints along the light plank floors.

The dusty blankets on the makeshift bed were pocked with holes from mice and moths. The fireplace was nearly caved in on itself. The bramble covering that acted like a second roof was growing through the actual roof in some places. But it was still home. Your small exit from the world when things got too tough. Even after being exiled Beron hadn’t known about this place. He would have had it destroyed if he did know of it.

Elain pushed in passed Azriel. His shadows went wild. Searching every surface of the cabin. The long beams of the floor were hardly visible through the darkness he brought. 

+

You knew you should have brought more blankets. You held back the teeth chattering as best you could, letting Elain sleep. She would need all the rest she could get. You could tell she’d been tired after the days walk. She rested peacefully under the layers while the wind shuddered the leaves outside. You pulled your coat tighter to your body. 

“This was a stupid idea.” Azriel muttered from the corner. He didn’t seem cold, but the dark curls of shadow wrapped around him protectively. While you were left with nothing more than a coat. Your own magic couldn’t save you from the stormy wind, the necklace Rhys had given you also weakened your power enough that you couldn’t use it. Even in your homeland. It bothered you endlessly, feeling so useless in such a dire situation of needing to help Elain. 

“Then maybe you should just leave.” You barked back simply. He didn’t have to come in the first place if he was going to be so bothered. 

“I just mean-” He sighed, and sat on the creaky old table that took up half the small kitchenette. “We could have done this better. We could have planned… Differently.” 

“We didnt have the time. We’re here now, so we just need to deal-”

“I know that. I’m just bothered that you’re so recklessly looking for danger everywhere we go.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m from here Azriel. I know what areas are dangerous.” 

“Maybe once.” His eyes were not angry when he said it. They were full of pity and doubt. Your rage spilled over, and you were ready to shout. Ready to scream at him about what a piggish idiot Illrian he was being. But Elain turned over, sighing softly to herself. 

So instead, you clamped down on that burning anger and walked out. And of course he decided to try to follow you. He made it a few steps outside the cabin before you turned on him, ready to roar. “Be safe at least.” He tossed his red jeweled dagger to you. Your heart squeezed, choking you up slightly. You brushed it away as best you could before he could see. You couldn’t yell at him. 

So you took the dagger and walked briskly away, into the brush of autumn forests. Laced with the smell of heavy fruits and warm trees. Leaves fluttering in your wake as the wind tossed with ease. 

You held his knife close at your side the entire aimless walk. Then, the sound of twigs snapping and males laughing heartily made you pause. 

Far to your east was a dull glow beyond a knoll. You backed away slowly. Trying to be as soundless as possible in case they could scent you. The breeze whipped at your skin, blowing in their direction. The trees above you shuddered sharply, and you swore as a heavy weight fell upon your shoulders.

+

Azriel paced in the kitchenette, his shadows swirling around him relentlessly, waiting for a target. It felt wrong letting you go. It felt like letting his hope sink. His shadows even seemed upset about it, as they now whipped around him angrily. 

He swore he was going to run a rut through the plank floor. He sighed, glanced to Elain’s sleeping figure and forced himself to sit. You had the dagger. You were capable. You knew the area and knew what you were doing. He tried his best to soothe himself. It didn’t help much.

The old chair creaked under his weight, and he smiled. For someone who claimed they couldn’t work around the house, you were quite the crafter making such a nice hideaway for yourself. He finally took a moment to pause, and actually look at the cabin.

The stove may have been older than he was. The missing burners on top were replaced with a few forks placed carefully around them. The ancient shelves were dusty, along with all the jars and cups atop them. Cobwebs spotted the entire house, but his shadows had gotten rid of most of them after the first one clung to his face upon walking in. 

Then he came to the table he sat at, the four unmatching chairs circling it. The table itself was solid oak, he could tell that much. But he wondered how you’d gotten it inside at all. Out of curiosity, he pulled on it. It didn’t budge. His eyebrows knitted together, and he stood slowly. The curiosity consumed him. He gave the table another tug. Still, no movement.  

He crouched down, and noticed the planks around the single leg of the table had been cut out. Then he noticed the intricate roots weaving their way up the trunk. The table wasn’t just a table. It was an entire tree - or what was a tree once… And you’d built the entire cabin around it. His awe was quickly quieted by Elain.

“A part of you is missing. The foxes will die.” She muttered sleepily, her eyes blank. And he lay back down as if it hadn’t happened. “Elain?” Azriel called. Dread, cold and stinging coarse through him. “Elain?” He asked quietly, approaching her side. She flung the covers from her lithe body. Azriel jumped back, holding his hands up defensively. “It’s okay, its me.” He calmed her, noting the wild look in her expression. 

“Find yourself.” She breathed, her eyes going wide with concern. Azriel’s heart sped, and he felt like he’d been dunked in a cold ocean of dread. Terror drug him under the deep waves and threatened to drown him the first chance it got. He took Elains hand and started walking the direction you’d left. 

Leaving behind the supplies and the living table that you’d created.

+

A glance at the oversized uniforms told you all you needed to know. The fox sigil pinned to their tunics proved that the uniforms were stolen from Autumn soldiers. Your blood boiled. Elain had been right. But they would die. Five of them, at least. But you had only glimpsed at three so far. You tugged at the ropes that bound you. Firm, and not able to be broken.

Their campsite was large, and full of small boxes of different fruits. Several different types of weapons leaned against their low lying tents. And with how many scars their fae leader had, you knew the rest of their story in an instant. Bandits. Filthy trade merchants that lived for thievery and making a quick gold mark.

And you’d be worth their weight in gold once they turned you in to Beron.

“We’ve got a live one!” The male shouted to his comrades. They cheered drunkenly, their voices carried far by the wind. Their fire sparked and popped against the blue night sky. And you knew that your death may not come in glory of battle, or in the name of your home. But in being stupid enough to be caught by bandits. You could have died that instant if it would mean you didn’t have to feel that kind of shame.

The male cut the opal from your neck, and you felt your magic explode from you. Your thoughts were racing, searching. Finding something cold and dark in the depths of your mind and tugging on it. Then, it was a live beast beneath your mental hands. It coiled and rose, ready to strike. 

The same one cut a long line down your cheek with the blade that had just cut your only protection against Hybern from you. You prayed to the mother that Hybern was too busy to notice a small blip of magic from an Autumn fae like you. You hissed in pain as the blade stung its way down to your neck, stopping at your collarbone. 

You pulled on that coiling beast that called to you. Beckoned it to find you, to help you from this pain. Maybe you were begging for death, or at least unconsciousness so you wouldnt have to feel the pain anymore. The male stood back to let another scaled lower fae get a look at you. His tongue lashed out over your bloodied neck. He hummed in approval, letting his forked wetness slither across your wounds.

You felt them seal and itch with every pass as he took your blood. “Good.” the one with the blade ordered, then… to your dread, he pulled a glowing rod from the fire. They would brand you. Then take you to the high lord. Only after they’d humiliated you though. The males clucked at your involuntary reaction. They huddled close around, waiting for the screaming to start. Their excitement coated the air with a tangy adrenaline filled scent. 

You reared away from the burning metal as best as you could. The ropes around you seemed weaker now that you had your weak magic back, but still too constricting to do much with. 

You closed your eyes as the glow approached your chest. It warmed your face with the heat. They were going slow on purpose. Wanting to savor your reaction. It made your stomach go queasy. You hoped you would pass out. Better yet, just die of the agony. That way Beron wouldn’t have the satisfaction of killing you himself. 

There was a thump, and sizzling. You cracked open your eyes, waiting that searing pain to hit you. But it didnt. The males stood back, bewildered. Across the camp in the dull glow of the fire as the one that had been lowering the branding stick to you. It was speared through his chest, pinning him to a tree. His mouth gasped, eyes wide and glowing a haunting orange from the fire. You would never forget the sight of it. The smoldering that came from the tree behind him as the hot iron burned into it. The wet sounds of his mouth opening and closing. 

Then, the gasp and thump each male that Azriel incapacitated before you. Elain stood at the edge of the trees, her eyes still puffy from sleep. Azriel kept the kills quiet and concise. None resembled the one pinned to the tree, now sagging under the weight of death. No, the rest of them had easy deaths at the hands of one skilled at dealing killing blows. The wet splatter of blood leaving a body pulled you back to the scene in front of you. Az’s scowl as he cleaned his blade was that of a warrior who had seen much worse. Done much worse. 

“I told you not to fucking-” He snarled, his hands on the rope at your wrists. He stopped though, and stared. The shadowed light of his eyes seemed to be blooming with awe. You couldn’t look away. The beauty in the deep irises, the way small freckles played about his dark skin. All new and exciting things you’d never noticed before. His scent alone was like a punch to the gut. 

Him. Azriel. It had been him to find you. Him to respond to that silent plea that you so badly needed to be heard. He was that coiling darkness that had saved you. Your breath was a gasp, and you nearly fell to your knees before him. 

+

His hands didn’t work anymore. The world stopped turning all together. His heart was no longer his own and his soul belonged wherever you were. It didn’t matter that you were in the middle of a foreign court’s borders. It didn’t matter that Elain trembled in the corner of the clearing. He was yours, and you were his. 

He vowed it, for eternity that was how it would stay. He’d never leave your side again. Never choose to be without you for as long as he may be alive. His very being was now shared. With you. His soul intertwined your yours, wrapping delicately around your earthy light that contrasted his darkness so perfectly. If you were the sun he was the moon, always chasing, always following and living in your light. 

The words weren’t needed but he managed to utter them. Around a shuddering breath and a shattering explosion of love he managed it. “My mate.”

[pbandjesse]

Today felt like a wash. It wasnt all wasted but it was not what I expected out of today.

I slept okay though. I had weird dreams and was freezing when I woke up. James came in and let me know they were going to get tested down the street at the state center. I really should have gone with them. I would regret this decision later in the day. But instead, I lazily got out of bed and got washed up. I tried to be warm but all my fuzzy tights and leggings were in the wash. So regular leggings and fluffy socks. It ended up being fine, but it could have been better.

I did my eyeliner and felt very cute. And then I made myself a nice breakfast. I baked my shortbread. I fried up potatoes and had an egg and it was nice. And I am really glad I went with that because I wouldn't eat again for hours and hours.

James got back right in time to log in for work. They had been in line for an hour and a half! So I decided to finish my shortbread and head over there myself. I also made up the ginger snap dough and I figured it would be ready to go after resting in the fridge.

And boy was I right. I was a little bummed that the shortbread I baked on my glass pyrex were a little overcooked. But they still tasted good. I got myself together to head down to the state center to get tested. I was waiting for my headphones to charge, they were taking forever so I ended up just putting them on my pocket charger and grabbing my id and heading out. No bag, no nothing.

I would mostly be sad I didn't have a waterbottle or a scarf. I used to always always wear a scarf but they are hard to drive in so I don't as much anymore. And I just didn't think I was going to be outside so long.

I was very very wrong. I got in line at the state center at noon. The line was long, wrapped around the block, but it wasn't that long honestly. I didn't realize how slowly it was going to move.

It took 2 hours before I even made it to where I could SEE the door. Then another hour and a half before I actually got tested.

This was like an endurance test. I was freezing. I am glad I had a fleece uner my jacket but I wish I had worn my longer coat. I am very glad I had a hat and a hood. I really wish I had gloves. The woman in front of me was shivering so hard whenever we were in the shade, and I was very close to that. Almost 2 hours in she left to get slippers and socks from CVS because she was wearing flats with no socks and her skin had turned bright red. When she got back she brought snacks to share. Gave me a Nutri-Grain bar. Was very nice of her. And honestly I think its the only thing that kept me from feeling bad. I wished I had my water but I just had to put that out of my mind.

I watched videos. I listened to two full podcasts. I tried to listen to music but I needed someone talking. You couldn't sit down. So it was just standing and small movements and trying my best to keep my hands warm while holding my phone. I loved the moments I was in the sun. I really enjoyed seeing everyone's different winter fashions. I couldn't leave, I had already spent so much time there.

I was really excited to make it inside. But then the line was still very long in there and it was only slightly warmer. When I finally got to the end of the line they were having a horrible time figuring out the printer and label maker, to the point that the nurses were literally not testing anyone for almost 20 minutes and were getting so mad because the supervisor wouldn't let them go help because they were supposed to be testing people but they couldnt test anyone and it was just a mess.

They also were having trouble matching me to the paperwork and I don't know why exactly but I think its because "Jesse" is written on my forms. But its fine. They finally got me my papers and the nurse was so sweet to me. I told her I get really bad nose bleeds because of the hole in my sinus and she was very gentle and I didn't have any nose bleed. We had a couple little laughs but I was just so glad to get out of there. I was exhausted.

I had held it all in but I was so tired.I wanted to get the icing for my cookies but I was just to tired to drive anywhere. So I walked home, I stopped at the walgreens to see if they had any but they did not so I will try again tomorrow at the store.

I got home and James was exhausted from constant phone calls. I ate a snack. They came and gave me a hug. I worked on my cookies again. They came out really good. I sorted out which ones are getting decorated (I decided all the bears) and put them all in their own containers.

I joined James in the dungeon. I played animal crossing. Decorated some rooms. I was very proud of the Goodnight Moon inspired room I made. It was already getting late at this point.

We had talked about ordering food but James ended up getting a late call that made them have to work an extra hour. So we had quesadillas instead and James did laundry. And now we are in bed. Trying to warm up. I hope tomorrow is a better day. I have my final set of people to style and then I will go get my icing and a few things we need for the pets. And I hope it will just be a good and productive day.

Goodnight everyone. Remember to wash your hands.

[arthurflecksgirl]

Hi !!! Can I have Arthur x Reader. Reader has heat exhaustion from work and passes out as soon as she gets home. Arthur cools her off and is super worried Also. One where it's the opposite. Reader is slightly hypothermic and Arthur is concerned at how cold she is (She had to walk home in a bad snow storm) Fluff on both plzzz THANK U

Hi , thank you for the request 😊💗 I will write these for you as soon as possible 😊 It might take a couple of days, I hope thats okay ? 😘

UPDATE:

I just wrote the second option and I hope you like it :-)

The cold of the snow hurt your eyes as the icy wind blew mercyless into your face. Your right hand reached for the keys in your pocket. But your fingers felt too numb to grab them. It was the coldest winter you remembered in ages. The thick coat felt like thin a tshirt  covering your skin. You rubbed your face to get the snow out of your eyes but it only made it worse. It felt like you rubbed the cold right in and send shivers down your spine. You formed your hands and put put them to your lips. Even  your breath couldnt seem to warm them up anymore. It wasnt far from home anymore, just a block away, but with the wind blowing more and more snow into your face, every step felt like a chore. You couldnt wait to get home.  Arthur would be worried if he saw you in this condition. Weak and soaked through the bones. You didnt wanted to worry him. Arthur had enough to deal with when it came to his own health. He shouldnt be burdened with your condition on top of that. Maybe if you acted like you`re feeling fine he wouldnt notice how cold your body was. Maybe you could just walk through the door, kiss him on the cheek and hop into bed. Without him noticing that you were about to get sick. You felt it to your bones. Walking through that snow storm was too much for your body. Tomorrow you might have a bad fever. You tried to cover your fave with your scarf, but it was drenched and wet as well. After fighting though that storm you finally arrived at Anderson avenue, Winter in Gotham  was even worse than summer. You once again tried to get your keys as you got into the elevator. The tickelish, numb feeling on your face spread all over your body now. Shaky hands opening the door to apartment 8J. "I`m home, darling" you tried to sound like in a good mood. But your voice was cracky like you had a sore throath. Arthur came out of the bathroom, a make up wipe in his right hand, remains of Carnvals make up on his face. "I`m glad you`re home. I just came back from the childrens hospital. Man, it`s cold out there today. " His curly, green wig  with the small hat was  lying on the floor "Sorry for the mess. I couldnt wait to go to the bathroom and wash my face with some warm water." You nodded and sat down on the couch. The dizzyness overwhelmed you for a moment. "Y/N? Are you okay? You look pale. Are you not feeling well?" He noticed. Of course he did. Arthur always noticed. "I`m fine" you lied "It was just.....the snow storm...as you said...its cold outside...." and ...um...I... "  you tried to concentrate but the words just slipped away before you said them. Arthur put the make up wiped beside and sat down beside you, pressing his palms against your forehead and cheeks "You`re terribly cold! We have to take these wet clothes off." You tried to stand up but the dizzyness wouldnt let you. "You`re feeling dizzy?" "Kinda...." "Thats not good Y/N... c`mon, lets get you dry and put some warm clothes on". Arthur helped you out of your jacket. You immediately felt lighter as you got rid of the cold sweaters and wet scarf. Arthur took your shoes off "They don`t look very water proof Y/N. You should get some water proof shoes. " "Your clown shoes aren`t waterproof as well" He took off your water soaked socks "Don`t worry about me. You are the one with the icy feet here." He started to rub your feet "Oh my god, baby. They`re cold as ice. " His hands checked the rest of your half naked body "Your whole body is. You`re shaking, you`re feeling dizzy! I think you`re suffering from hypothermia." Arthurs worried puppy eyes glanced at you. He hated to watch you getting sick. The last time you had a fever he didnt leave your side for days. "Yeah...suddenly..i`m not feeling very well" you finally admitted, as your breath fastened. Arthur hugged you tightly "We have to help your body to warm up now. There is no time to waste. Arthurs hands wandered all over your body, rubbing your arms, thighs and your back. The warmth coming from his palms was heating up your skin like the hands of a magician. "You`re healing me. Is that a magic trick?" "What?" You felt like talking feverish words. "Magic or something? Its coming from your....hands. Keep on touching me okay?" You never wanted him to stop. You finally started to feel your own body again, but your mind kept drifting away. For a brief moment you couldnt been sure if you were awake or dreaming. "Am I asleep, Arthur?" "No, baby. You`re not.  You`re body cooled down because you got into a snow storm. Remember? I think you might get a fever. We have to warm you up." Arthur took your  icy hands in his and breathed into them. His warm breath filled the insides of your palms. He was breathing slowly, taking the numbness of the cold away, as you felt his breath hot against your tickeling skin. You wanted to hold his breath inside yoir hands forever and keep it like a treasure. After you were able to feel your fingers again, he caressed your chest in small circles. "You`re heart is racing!" Your arms clung to him as he tried to stand up. You didnt wanted to let go of him. ot for a second. You needed to feel the warmth of his body. To smell his skin. The moment he loosened the embrace hurt. "I`ll get you all the blankets we have in the bedroom and a hot water bottle. And I`ll make you a big, hot cup of tea, okay?  But first  put these on. " He handed you his fave sweater. The brown one. You remembered him wearing it when you first met him. You nodded as he helped you get into his sweater. "I love wearin your clothes" you mumbled, feeling like the power has been drained out of you. "I know sweetheart. Thats why I want you to put it on right now. It will help you feeling better soon. Its a magical sweater, you know?" he blinked beforte he ��got to the bedroom and came back with so many blankets in his arms you couldnt even see him behind it anymore. He threw them on the couch and asked you to lay down. You felt Arthurs gentle hands wrapping your shaking  body into the blankets. His gentleness was coming through the fabric. He tugged the blankets under your back to make sure you`re compleately wrapped up into a warm fort of cozyness. "Better?" "A lot, Artie, thank you so much..." "I will get you the hot water bottle and the tea now" He was heading into the kitchen like there was no time to waste. Arthur always knew how to make you feel protected. Three minutes later he was back and put the cup to your lips "Careful, baby. Its still hot". "Thank you. You`re so good to me". "No need to thank me. Thats what I am here for, right? To protect you." You smiled. The hot water bottle warmed up your feet, just as Arthurs hands, rubbing them warmed your heart. "How do you know I`m suffering from hypothermia? Maybe I`m just getting a clod." Arthur lit himself a cigarette "I`m sure its the case, because I experienced it before. Remember when I told you that I usedto clib into the fridge when I was suffering from insomnia and was in a very bad mental state?" "Yeah...I remember" "I had the same symtoms afterwards. " You liftet the blankets "Artie, would you join me under the blankets? I`m sure it would help me to warm up". Arthur didnt hesitate to crawl under the blanket. "It hurts me to think of you crawling into the fridge. Can I ask you why you did that to yourself?" Arthur spooned you from behind, you felt his tiney body pressed against your own. "I dont know... comfort...maybe. Hiding from the world. Being in my own bubble for a while." "i`m so sorry, Artie" "Don`t be. I don`t needit anymore. You are my comfort zone now. My own little world, my hiding place, we live in our own bubble of protection. Right?" "We do....and you know what?" He kissed you sweetly on the back of your head. ""It´s warm in there.....in our bubble".

[lycanthrotea]

“ugh Sorry again for this I’d like to be spending the rest of the night with you but my work schedule is not something I have much control of.”

“It’s all right! I know how work is, don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah but hanging out with people is so better than working. “

Videl slumped onto the bed, reluctant to leave for work until who knows how early in the morning. at the very least it made Odd chuckle in amusement.

Anyways”, He began to stand , and fix up his shirt ,“ I told Liana not to bother you I don’t think she would but just in case. You know, I would prefer if you were just a little bit nicer to her but considering your condition I’ll let it slide for now”

“Sorry.. “

Videl Stepped over to Odd’s bedside and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it chief I’m not angry. But yeah it’ll be tomorrow before you know it so try and get some rest all right?”

After saying goodbye he grabbed the bag from The bed frame and headed out. Although he would’ve preferred staying home, he didnt hate his part time job. Getting there though was a bit of Pain considering he lived in a quieter wooded area right outside the city And the fact he wasnt Very nocturnal but

Videl walked for about 10 minutes before he reached The edge of the neighborhood. The soft lights coming from the houses were no more But he had the moons to illuminate the way. He walked a little further to reach the carriage stop by the road. It wasn’t the most used stop considering it mainly Served the residents of the More upscale neighborhood so it cost bit more but that Really meant nothing if you live there. Videl took out A few coins from his pocket and inserted them Into the pole by the stop, Causing a faint light to glow From its lamp and Triggering the mechanism that would call his ride. He put his bag on the bench and proceeded to sit down and wait taking in the night air. Not something he often did As this was routine, But the air Was starting to become cooler as autumn Turned into winter. He was more than ready for that weather as It is most invigorating for him, Even if the amount consumed was pretty negligible he always liked not having to waste any magic keeping himself cool, also he had a new coat he wanted to show off. Oh And warm winter dates, lots of snuggling, extremely important. The thought made his heart flutter.

The sound of gallops over the stone road Could be heard from a distance, Videl Threw his bag over his shoulder and began to stand as A large Varic demon drawing A carriage drew near. He was quite familiar with her by now and Uttered a “hey” As she grabbed the key on her neck and held it towards the pole Get the money he had put in earlier and take her pay. Videl Brought out a little bit more As a tip.

“Eisthel Street, But if it’s too busy just drop me off in the Market stop As usual.”

He hopped into the carriage and the driver began running once more. He rested his eyes, Mainly to Continue indulging in the fantasies of good cuddles and kisses and dates. Akua technically is visiting every day to check on Odd, And they have been Taking advantage of whenever he is resting his room home for a little more quality time. But it’s nice?? And what else was he going to do in the next 20 minutes?

When he got to his destination which was fortunately was the one closer to his job. He thanked the driver and after watching her leave went through the back alleys, Making sure not to be seen. When he got to the door he made sure to do the special knock, three times a pause two times a pause and then four times. He heard his boss give him The all clear, and he produced a key to unlock and enter.

“I’m assuming you’re early for the coffee huh?”

“ yeah got up a little bit early today.”

Videl entered the back room kitchen, there were bottles everywhere today, Specifically dirty ones. He put his bag on a chair and unzipped it to start changing into his uniform, just the dress for now. A long black Fitted a line dress does that ends right below the knees. Long sleeves of course, just the traditional work garb, Made of fabric thats pretty good for working with less safe substances. there is a still a fair amount of coffee left in the coffee maker so he took whatever was left and mixed it with some milk and sugar began to chill it in his hand.

“ How’s the kid?” Asked Von. Attriche from the other room.

“Oh He’s been all right. Better than A few days ago but still pretty febrile. He seems pretty anxious sometimes but I can’t do much about it since he doesn’t wanna talk. Kind of why I would’ve liked staying at home but.”

“ I need someone to clean all those jars.”

“I noticed .” he said with a sigh. He washed his cup as soon as he finished drinking put on his gloves and began one by one cleaning each jar. And he had to make sure to do a good job too, any residue could be disastrous mixed with the wrong substances. It took him 30 minutes to finish. Listening carefully in case anyone might enter the shop. no one did, it is getting late after all but emergencies happen, a stressed out parents might Burst in desperately hoping they carry the right medicine already bottled and ready to be sold. Happened last week, startled them enough that they almost messed up the brew he was concocting. Once finished he checked the board for tonight‘s work. Unsurprisingly frost bane is highest priority. Winters become extremely coldAt times and a city like this has many traveling in and out. It’s can be exhausting for the user to consume too much too often but it’s always good to have a flask on the coldest of days. Having magic affinity towards ice meant that Videl is the more adept at infusing the mixture than other demon, so he wasn’t surprised to be tasked with making them. Aphrodisiacs, always in demand, and poisons for outdoor pests before harvest season end. After he Noted the days work he put on his mask and hood, secured it tightly and entered the shop.

Outside it only says apothecary just a shop that people who know go to not that it doesn’t get a fair amount of customers it’s right at the edge of the market place after all. Most of the shop is just the work place, A lot of leaves, animal remains and potion bases in jars all over the wall. The tall counter that divides the work area from the tiny customer area hides the long work desk where are most of the ingredient preparation is done, chopping crushing, measuring, extracting certain parts of it And so on. Gives a place a weird scent, that changes day by day depending on what’s being produced. Most of the work area floor is covered in cauldrons, whether They are small ones on tables, or the very large one for concocting large batches usually for base mixture. Special attention needed not to overheat or let them boil over get them on yourself especially when you are monitoring multiple. Keeping track of which cauldron needs which ingredients or what type of magic infused how fast it should be mixed what it should look like.

It’s a lot of work so late (as is tradition) that required much training, but Videl as much as he would not admit it enjoys it, especially since he can do so without anyone recognizing him. AlSo wearing a very nice black dress fashions important on physically and mentally exhausting jobs.

He grabbed a few jars set them By a medium sized cauldron and went to work.

[flickerofcalum]

once bitten, twice shy | part two

part 1 // shoot me a message if you wanna be added to a taglist!

The worst part of it all was, despite the changes, Luke could still see all the parts of Brinley that he’d fallen in love with. The parts of her he was still in love with, if he was being honest with himself. He was more fucked than he’d previously realized.

“It was the craziest thing, bro. One minute she was throwing a drink in my face and the next thing I know, she’s got her hand down my pants and her tongue down my throat. I mean, I’m not complaining, but it was confusing as hell.”

Luke rolled his eyes from where he sat on Michael’s couch, listening to him recount the previous evening’s events to Ashton and Calum, Michael hadn’t stopped talking about hooking up with Olivia since they stumbled into his parents’ home early that morning, but thankfully, he’d mostly been too distracted to really pay close attention to his friend anyway. He was unable to stop thinking about his run-in with Brinley the night before.

When he’d decided to come home for Christmas, he’d prepared himself for the worst. He’d known immediately that she wouldn’t want to seem him and honestly, he couldn’t blame her. The two of them had been together for such a long time, had their whole lives planned out with each other, and Luke had selfishly flipped the script on her at the very last minute. He hated himself for it every day.

And god, he had missed her the entire time he’d been gone, but it felt even worse now that he’d laid eyes on her. Brinley had changed so much in their time apart – she was even more gorgeous, which he really hadn’t ever thought would be possible. Though it may have been a little creepy, he’d spent half the night watching her from across the room. He couldn’t stop picturing her long legs in the red dress, the cute way her lips curved up into a smile whenever she’d teased Calum, the delicate blush on her pale cheeks whenever someone gave her a compliment.

The worst part of it all was, despite the changes, Luke could still see all the parts of Brinley that he’d fallen in love with. The parts of her he was still in love with, if he was being honest with himself. He was more fucked than he’d previously realized.

“Earth to Luke,” Ashton’s fingers snapped in front of his face, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Are you alive in there?”

Luke blinked a few times. “Sorry. I was just…thinking.”

“About Brinley?” Calum questioned bluntly, raising a dark eyebrow at him. Luke had never really been comfortable discussing Brinley with Calum, and since their break up, he’d tried to avoid the topic all together. While the dark-haired man was one of his best friends, he knew that Calum’s history with his ex went back further than Luke’s history with either of them.

Luke chewed on his bottom lip, scratching his fingers along his stubbled jaw nervously. “I just didn’t think that seeing her again was gonna be so hard, you know?” He sighed a bit. “And she wouldn’t even look at me.”

“Well, you did abandon her right before the two of you were supposed to go off to college together, mate. Can you really blame her?” Michael pointed out, barely looking up from his phone. Luke shot him a glare. He didn’t really need a reminder of what he’d done to Brinley. It was already on his mind more than he would ever admit out loud.

Ashton reached over to pinch Michael’s thigh, eliciting a shriek from red-haired boy. “Not helping, Mike.” He looked back at Luke, his eyes soft and pitying. “She probably just needs some time.”

Luke shrugged sadly. At the party, Brinley hadn’t been able to get away from him fast enough – the chances of her changing her mind about wanting to speak to him were probably slim. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that Brinley was still in love with him. Not only was she beautiful, but she also was incredibly smart, talented, funny, and had the kindest soul out of anyone Luke had ever met. If they hadn’t already, it was only a matter of time before someone else came into her life and swept her off her feet, treated her the way she deserved to be treated. Luke was afraid that he was too late.

“She looked good, though, right? Like…she looks like she’s happy,” Luke said finally. Even if she was never his again, that was all he wanted for her.

He watched as Calum shared a look with Ashton he couldn’t quite read before he reached over to pat Luke’s thigh. “Yeah, man. She’s happy.”

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The cold air stung his skin as he walked outside, causing him to curse under his breath. When he’d promised his mother he’d come home for the holidays, he’d forgotten how goddamn cold it got there. He didn’t have a lot of warm clothes since he lived in Los Angeles, so he wrapped himself up in one of Jack’s old winter coats. There was a gap between the sleeve and the gloves he was wearing, but it was better than nothing.

Normally, Luke avoided going outside at all costs in the winter, but after being locked up in his childhood bedroom for nearly a week, his mother forced him out of the house with a grocery list. Worst of all, he was without a car, so he had no choice but to make the small trek to the store on foot. It was only about a ten-minute walk, but the frigid weather made it feel like hours.

His cheeks and the tips of his ears were red by the time he arrived at the store. The heat was blasting, something he was grateful for when he walked inside. He grabbed a cart and furrowed his brows as he looked at his mother’s list. It occurred to him that he hadn’t been grocery shopping since he moved to Los Angeles. Most of the time, Ashton took care of that sort of thing or they ate take out. “Milk, egg whites, cereal…” he mumbled to himself underneath his breath as he wandered down the aisles, putting the items in the cart. He was pretty sure he had grabbed the wrong brand of cereal, but it was his mother’s own fault for sending him here.

He stood in front of the milk, thoughtfully looking between all the different types. His mother had been on a health kick lately, so would she want almond milk instead? Was he supposed to buy the store’s off brand version since it was cheaper? Luke had been standing there for far too long whenever he heard his name called out by a sweet little voice.

Brinley turned the corner, an exasperated look on her face as she tried to stop her little sister who was barreling towards Luke. He took in a sharp breath as he saw her. She was only in a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, her hair thrown messily on top of her head, but she still looked as beautiful as ever to him. “Mallory, no running! You’re going to hurt yourself.”

The man grinned as he bent down to Mallory’s level, catching her when she launched herself into his arms. Luke had always had a soft spot for the younger girl, partly because she was the spitting image of her sister. He was a little amazed at how much she’d grown since he’d last seen her, a heavier weight against him than he was used to.

“There is no way you’re Mallory,” He said teasingly. “You are far too big to Mallory.”

Mallory rolled her eyes, propping a hand on her hip as she looked at him. “That’s ‘cause I grew up, dummy.”

“Mallory, be polite,” Brinley chastised. She locked eyes with Luke for a moment before she looked away with flushed cheeks.

Luke turned his attention back to the younger girl. “My apologies, Ms. All Grown Up. Who said you could grow up while I was gone, hm?”

His smile only grew as the little girl giggled, revealing her missing tooth. “I can’t help it!” She insisted, gripping Luke’s hand once he stood up.

Looking at Brinley again, he dared to speak. “It’s good to see you. It’s a shame we didn’t get to talk at the party.”

Brinley tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, looking up at him through her long eyelashes. “Oh, well… you know, Olivia kind of loses her mind when Michael’s around. I had to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Right,” Luke said with a nod, looking back down as Mallory started tugging on his sleeve.

“Luke, Luke! I’m in a Christmas play at my school. I play an angel!” She said excitedly.

Luke grinned. “An angel, huh? How fitting,” he teased, smoothing down her hair.

Mallory rose up on her tiptoes to speak to him. “Will you come see it?”

Brinley coughed. “Mal, I’m sure Luke is really busy…”

Although he knew Brinley didn’t really want him around, he hated the idea of disappointing Mallory by saying no. “I’m actually really not that busy,” he blurted out, chewing on his lip again. “I’d love to come, Mallory. If it’s okay with your sister.”

He felt only slightly guilty as Mallory turned towards her older sister with big eyes, a small pout forming on her lips. “Can he come? Pleaseeee?”

The older girl let out a sigh, giving Luke an exasperated look. “I guess so. Can you let me talk to Luke alone for a second?”

Mallory’s smile was wide as she hugged Luke around his legs for a moment. “Bye Lukey!”

“Bye, petal,” Luke said fondly.

He bit his lip as Mallory ran back over to their nearby cart, pulling the doll she’d left inside out. He’d gotten enough lectures from Brinley to know when she was about to chastise him about something, so he prepared himself as he looked at her. “Brin, look…”

“Don’t call me that,” Brinley snapped, holding one finger up to cut his sentence off.  Her gaze felt like it was piercing right through him and he had never felt quite so vulnerable in his life. “I know we’re going to be seeing each other a lot over the next few weeks, but I want to make it clear that I’m not interested in reconciling with you. You can come to her play, and we can be civil when we’re with our friends, but I don’t want anything to do with you other than that?”

At her words, Luke felt his heart jump into his throat. While he didn’t necessarily expect her to jump back into his arms, he at least thought she’d be willing to talk things out. “Can’t you just give me a chance to explain?” He said, a bit more pleadingly than he would’ve liked. “There’s so many things I have to say to you if you’d just give me five minutes.”

Brinley let out a humorless laugh. “If you wanted to explain yourself that bad, you would’ve done it by now. You can’t just show up here after all of this time and expect me to just bend to your will and listen to you.” She insisted. “I just… I just want to forget everything that happened between us. I’m done, I’ve moved on. And I suggest you do the same.”

Luke gaped after her as she stalked back over to Mallory. He’d been on the receiving end Brinley’s anger before, but he had never experienced her being so outwardly harsh. He felt like there was a gaping hole in his chest as he watched her walk away.

As he finished up the rest of his shopping, he felt numb, like he was on autopilot. The wind blew the cold air harshly around him as he walked, but it barely affected him. He’d always known that he’d fucked things up with Brinley, but it was starting to hit him that things between them were messed up beyond repair. The girl he loved wanted nothing to do with him anymore, and it hurt.

So, when Luke got home, he quickly put away the groceries before retiring to his room to deal with his feelings the only way he knew how. He locked his door, grabbed a notebook, and started writing.

[rachelisnotatwork]

Iceland: finally we see the light!

The worst bit about flying to Iceland, or I should probably add flying to Iceland when you are too cheap to pay for a decent airline, is that you have to dress like you are going on a solo trek to the South Pole in order to reduce the weight in your suitcase. Luckily it was quite cold the day we left but we were still glowing, red-faced, as we headed to the airport wearing snow boots, scarves, big coats, all our heaviest stuff in our hand luggage etc.

The flight there was pretty uneventful and it was a beautifully clear day, which meant for good views over the sleeping tourist by the window. When we arrived we just had to pick up our car and go.

Now by this stage in the “life of constant holidays” game, we are pretty much Hertz deluxe members which means what normally happens is we book a smart car and turn up to be upgraded to a minibus. Often we have to scale back the excesses of the upgrade because we don’t want the hassle of trying to park a giant car/fuelling up a giant car. So we were pretty confident that whilst we’d booked a tiny and shit car, that wouldn’t be what we were given. Well that smugness came to an abrupt end when we collected our tiny and shit car. Turns out that Iceland isn’t one of those free upgrade locations...and car rental is expensive here so they had no desire to give us a freebie. So we puttered into town in our tiny and shit car, a journey made far more stressful than it needed to be by the fact that Marcel’s phone is an early adopter of Brexit and the GPS locator dot on google maps only seems to work in the UK. After a lot of swearing we did make it to our surprisingly chilly airbnb. It was in a converted garage and the host had made the interesting decision not to install an extractor fan but instead keep the windows open 24/7 (in Iceland electricity is pretty much free so no one cares about their heating bills). We closed the windows because the humidity definitely wasn’t our problem. 

We decided in the evening we’d go to the Pizza Restaurant we liked, so we headed into town, struggled to park (there’s a lot of snow, which means getting a tiny shit car into a space is quite hard) and skittered down the pavement in the -10c weather to the restaurant. Only to find it had stopped being a pizza joint last week and was now trialling its new menu. I wasn’t hugely keen as they didn’t have much of a vegetarian selection but Marcel didn’t want to re-park or go out walking in the cold so decided to stick with it.

I asked for a pearl barley dish, without the lamb that was supposed to be on top of it. Marcel selected their rutabaga dish. I advised him not to select this as vegetarian is always interpreted in expensive restaurants as “on a diet”. He said I was being silly and it would be a decent portion. He ended up with a palm-sized dish of pureed rutabaga with some crispy slices of it on top. Didn’t want to say “I told you so” but felt I had to, because that’s what life is like in a long-term relationship. 

The next day we headed out of town after a delicious breakfast somewhere that looked like a construction site, but was actually a decent cafe. We had quite a long way to drive so we decided we’d drive straight out to Vik and lunch there. As we headed out of town, the roads got pretty icy and once the wind picked up there were drifts of snow on the road. Always reassuring to see some people digging out a 4 x 4 that’s skidded off the road when you are in a tiny 2WD city car with about 4 inches of clearance.

We had lunch in Vik, which has got much busier since the last time we were there (it has 2 places you can lunch now rather than one) and went for a quick but windy walk on the beach, before setting off again.

We wanted to visit Jökulsárlón the next day in the morning and since there’s not much in the way of accommodation in those parts we had booked into a place called the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. It was surprisingly busy and we had to park right the other side of the car park. In my business putting on my gloves, I completely failed to notice Marcel getting out the car and immediately falling over on the ice, but thankfully he was uninjured and thus was able to complete his usual suitcase duties.

Our room had a pretty nice window seat overlooking the view down to the sea so we snuggled up on there and read books before dinner. The only option was the hotel restaurant and I decided I didn’t want to know how much I was going to pay for dinner so refused to do the conversions. It was an...interesting meal. My starter involved so much horse radish I spent the rest of dinner constantly wanting to sneeze. We’d decided we wanted to go hang out in the sauna after dinner so were slightly impatiently waiting for the bill, which they were tardy bringing. The delay was soon compensated for though by the announcement from the staff just after we’d paid our bill that the Northern lights were visible outside. We immediately stampeded onto the balcony to see a very impressive green streak of light across the sky.

We were torn between “this could disappear any second” and “I’m really cold and I want to go get my coat” so in the end we made a mad dash for our room, layers and my camera. Maddeningly, I almost always bring my tripod with me on holiday, but this time pressed for space and weight and with so many unsuccessful trips behind us I’d not bothered. I’m not sure I’d have photographed things much better with it though, because I hadn’t really appreciated that there’s nothing really to focus on through your view finder when what you are trying to photograph is green shimmering light on a black background. I tried though.

It did look amazing. We walked out to the front of the hotel (which incidentally involved us and a bunch of other guests stampeding past the sauna full of confused nude people to get out the quickest exit) and stood in the snow, watching the green waves slowly undulate and shiver across the sky. I hadn’t really got a grasp on the speed of how they move before. Sometimes they seemed like they barely moved at all, and indeed for at least an hour there was one solid green band across the sky that didn’t really change. In other areas you had to look at the edges to notice any movement at all. But occasionally something rapid would furl and unfurl and move across the whole sky in 10-20 seconds.

The other thing that I hadn’t anticipated is that I guess the light in the atmosphere warps our perception of the light from the stars so they looked very unfamiliar. Much bluer than normal and Sirius was swapping between flashing blue and orange so rapidly we thought it was a plane for a while.

Eventually we got cold so went back inside and sat on our window seat and watched it until about midnight. After that it had got pretty dim and we decided we’d better shut the blinds or neither of us would really get any sleep.

The next morning we rose with the dawn and headed over to Jökulsárlón. We did not want to pay 28 euros a head for breakfast in our hotel and we’d vaguely remembered there was a cafe there, so we decided to eat there. I don’t remember the food options being so basic last time. It has also got considerably busier so the indoor toilet is no longer open to visitors and we had to go out to the (thankfully perfectly clean) portaloos in the car park which were absolutely freezing. Climbing up a small hillock to look over the lagoon exposed us to such lacerating winds that my phone promptly went from 98% battery to 9% from the horrors of the cold. I had to tuck it inside all my layers to keep it alive. It was beautiful though.

There are two things to see at Jökulsárlón- the lagoon where ice bergs calve and you can see cute seals pop in and out between them and the so-called Diamond Beach where the ice bergs meet the sea and often get washed up on the shore. Last time we’d driven between the two sites but with the thick snow on the ground we didn’t dare take our car to the beach and instead plodded through the deep snow and strong winds over there.

It was beautiful, especially since unlike last time the sun was out and was glittering through the ice. However the wind was so cold it burnt my face, which ended up really painful and weirdly bright red on one side by the time we returned to the car.

We had gone to Jökulsárlón quite early because we had another 5 hours drive ahead to our Airbnb in Seyðisfjörður. The only reason we’d come back to Iceland was we���d loved our airbnb in Seyðisfjörður so much the last time we’d been there that we resolved we’d return one winter and just hang out there. And this was our plan.

The views as we drove east were spectacular. 

The road conditions driving out east were….pretty appalling. After Jökulsárlón, there aren’t many tourists which means there really isn’t much traffic. I think we saw more reindeers than cars as we fishtailed on ice and wondered why in the hell they only had crash barriers off the side of some of the roads that hooked around cliffs over the sea. At one point we drove past an abandoned van on it’s side with “accident” tape around it. By the time it was getting dark there was such a high wind driving over one of the passes you couldn’t see more than the 5m road marking pole in front of you. Which is when you really rue your car rental choices of a Kia Rio.

The winds had at least calmed down a bit by the time we arrived in Seyðisfjörður. All we had to do was get up our drive to our airbnb overlooking the valley. I said to Marcel I hoped the car would make it. He said he wouldn’t mind if we got stuck in the snow now because we could walk to our airbnb. He had to say that...seconds later our car gently skidded off the road and into the huge snow bank on the side of the drive.

Our hosts had apparently been supposed to email saying meet them in the town because the drive way had been blocked by a lot of snow, but they hadn’t. However they did use their monster truck to spend the next 45 minutes extracting us from the snowbank, so swings and roundabouts. In the end we ended up leaving our car at their house in town and getting a lift up to our cabin with our stuff. Thankfully we’d already done a shop and planned to self-cater so we could recuperate from the long and slightly terrifying drive with a soak in the hot tub and dinner.

Our hosts had been very emphatic that we could ask them for lifts in and out of town whenever we wanted, but a combination of Britishness and embarrassment about disturbing their dinner to get them to dig our car out meant that we decided to walk into town instead. It was a pretty gentle and pleasant 2.5km downhill and we felt very smug especially when we saw some locals “walking” their dog by driving slowly as the dog chased the car (later saw the tracks of someone who’d been driving their snowmobile to exercise their dog). 

The supermarket in town was...weirdly British. There were McVities digestives (Marcel discovered the chocolate and caramel ones on this holiday so I ended up having two packets wedged in my pocket for the journey home). Suede was playing over the tannoy. And a woman, who turned out to be the owner with a very strong midlands accent on the till. Apparently she met her Icelandic husband in Nottingham.

We pottered back up the hill (slightly less pleasant walk against gravity and into the wind when it is -12c outside) and spent the rest of the day living the dream eating biscuits, reading books and popping in and out of the hot tub. Just as good as I remembered it.

The next day we got slightly more adventurous and decided to go on a little snowshoeing adventure. It was -14c out and REALLY windy so I decided I didn’t want to venture far. Marcel wanted to go on the ridge behind our cottage but I said it looked avalanchy so we continued along our level of the valley a bit further. I love snowshoeing but our tracks were getting covered in seconds with the waves of snow blowing across the ground and it was incredibly cold so we only stayed out for about half an hour. When we got back Marcel said he was going to ask our hosts if it were safe to go up higher into the mountains but his conclusion was that it couldn’t be an avalanche risk area or they wouldn’t have built the town there. A quick google later and we discovered that the town is the site of Iceland’s worst ever avalanche tragedy with 24 people killed at the end of the 19th century and a factory flattened at the end of the 20th century. After that we decided to stick to the hot tub in safer activities.

The next day, despite stocking up on enough chocolate digestives to last several lifetimes, we had to go back into town to start our car because we’d forgotten that car batteries don’t really like it brutally cold. So down to town we pottered. Problem was, Marcel forgot that key fob batteries also don’t like it cold and he’d left the fob in an outer pocket. So when we got to the car we couldn’t remotely open it. We had to manually open it with the key in the lock, which triggered the alarm to go off. I think our hosts, whose house we’d parked outside, were fairly sure we were actually handicapped when it came to motor vehicles. We drove the car around a little bit and then tried to park it again, only to find ourselves menaced by a goose. I know this sounds like a joke but it was hanging out in our parking space, wouldn’t move and then tried to get inside our car. We had to lure it away with crisps (not sure if salt and vinegar crisps are good for geese. If anyone found a dead goose later that day, sorry[ish]). 

We pottered back up the hill and settled down to the rest of the day; an exhausting cycle of hot tub and reading in our beautiful cottage.

By the night time it had started to lightly snow. We decided we’d have a really long final hot tub soak so lazed in there like hippos. I was trying to catch some snowflakes on my tongue (sod’s law, none seemed to fall in my mouth but they kept repeatedly landing directly on my eyeballs) and suddenly we saw the northern lights again. Which was incredibly luck considering the night was reasonably cloudy. They whirled around for about 5 minutes and then disappeared, which was a very nice last evening at our cottage.

The next day we nervously checked the road conditions and headed off. Going south there was a huge storm forecast and the road was pretty much out of bounds. Luckily we were heading back to Reyjavik via the northern route. Step one of the journey was get over the pass to Egilsstaðir. No problem. The next step of the journey, which was between Egilsstaðir and Mývatn, is the least driven part of the circular road around Iceland, Route 1. We drove for about an hour. All was well. Then we noticed some cars slowing down ahead to find that the snow had drifted across an uphill portion of the road, where a little car had skidded and got stuck on the opposite side of the road (not dangerous, because there’s about 10 cars an hour on this road). This was unsettling to us in our tiny Kia as we clearly couldn’t turn around as the Southern roads were out, there is no other road ploughed at this time of year to get around this, and our car was clearly no better suited to it than the skidded car that a jeep was now trying to rescue. Marcel got out of the car and walked the hill to better look at it. We had zero phone reception (annoyingly we did at most places along the route but we had none there) to call the roads number to see when the next snowplough was due. So in the end we decided to risk it. We skidded and skittered but we eventually made it through!  Which was both good and bad as now we were aware that if we hit any further bad road conditions we’d be really screwed as we’d be unlikely to be able to go back the way we came as the snow was continuing to drift. We did however make it to Mývatn okay, which was good because after that the road is a bit more used so a bit more ploughed.

We had lunch in the cow restaurant we’d been to before and ate rye bread cooked in a lava vent and looked out the window at the 3ft of snow piled outside and debated thermal baths over further snowshoeing. 

There was however a road that wasn’t ploughed in winter but led up to a caldera, which we thought might be nice to snowshoe on as would have a level terrain under the snow and a decent end point. So we drove down there….only to find that some extremely optimistic/dim tourist had decided to drive their 2wd small car on what was clearly an unploughed road with several feet of snow on it and got stuck, and now the entrance to the unploughed road was filled with vehicles trying to rescue them. With our plans to snowshoe thwarted, we decided to head to the Mývatn baths.

The downside of this is that they turned out to be in a selectively extremely windy spot. We got out the car to find a wind speed best described as “scouring”. We are made of stern stuff though so headed bravely onwards. The pools are obviously hot, but the wind was so strong it was generating waves in the pool (fine) and then breaking those waves into spray in the air. Which meant the only tolerable thing to do was float on your back with only your nose and mouth above water. Unfortunately I suffer from a terrible affliction known as “extremely buoyant legs” so struggled over the next hour to stop them surfacing and exposing my feet and knees to a little light hypothermia. I ended up tucking them under Marcel’s legs which are incredibly unbuoyant (how lucky that of all the people in the world I found my leg buoyancy opposite).

We eventually got out and drove onto Akureyri. Our accomodation was right in the middle of town on a steep hill. So steep and so badly gritted (which I feel is a strange thing for a road in a pretty big [for Iceland] town in a very snowy part of the world to be) that our car got stuck trying to get up it. Eventually we got enough traction to make it into the car park of our hotel, but we decided to limit dinner choices to “restaurants within walking distance”. Luckily there was a burger joint in our street that we could totter carefully to.

Our final day was 6 hours of driving to get to the airport in time for our flight. Which was pretty stressful. Not going to lie. There seemed to be an uncanny (given how empty the roads were) link between where the snow was thickest and most slippery and the sudden emergence of a large lorry barrelling along in the other direction (the ring road is a single lane in each direction for about 99% of the road). But we made it! With just enough time to collapse with nervous exhaustion and eat some sandwiches before our flight home. Despite the terrors of driving and the discovery that renting a tiny car in winter is only a good idea 75% of the time, it was an amazing relaxing week and also FINALLY we got some decent northern lights!

[little-red-beret]

Hello~ can i request for Dazai who doesent notice his own fever but when the agency point it out he is heading home... Still after a while(with his condition goten worst) he realise he wasnt sick without chuuya for years... So after all he goest to chuya. Of corse he doesent want to help first but after seeing how bad dazai's condition is he will help him. After all they are still boyfriends~ >

A/N: I work in degrees celsius!

It all started because Dazai hadn’t put his coat on when walking to work. It was fine until winter set in, hard and fast, but subtle enough that Dazai didn’t notice and continued not wearing his coat. By the middle of November, Dazai still hadn’t noticed, nor did he notice when the weather finally caught up to his immune system. “Dazai, aren’t you going to wear your coat? It’s fourteen degrees outside.” Kunikida pointed out, clearly judging Dazai for his regrettable decisions.

Dazai gave Kunikida a blank look. For one, he hadn’t even realised it was that cold. Second, it didn’t even feel that cold. “No, I’m not going to wear my coat.” Dazai replied as they rode the elevator down to the exit of the detective agency. Kunikida continued to judge Dazai, eyes boring into him, squinting in concentration. Just as Dazai was beginning to grow uncomfortable, Kunikida brought a hand up to Dazai’s forehead and frowned in concern.

“Dazai, you have a fever.” Kunikida reported, still watching him cautiously. “Well, that’s a great reason to not wear a coat outside!” Dazai chirped. “It’s definitely too hot for a coat now!” “What were you thinking!? It’s late November!” Kunikida cried, snatching Dazai’s coat and draping it over his shoulders. “If you don’t wear your coat now, your temperature will just get even hotter to counteract the cold!”

Although it was indeed too hot for a coat right now, Dazai let it sit on his shoulders to settle Kunikida. He would take it off once he was out of sight. When the elevator doors slid open, Dazai sighed in relief as a rush of cool air embraced him. Beside him, Kunikida shivered. “Go straight home and get some rest. And call Yosano-San if it gets worse.” Kunikida ordered before stepping out and walking in the opposite direction of Dazai to go home. Dazai watched him go, a tiny grin of amusement creeping across his face. Kunikida had strange ways of expressing concern.

Dazai strolled leisurely down the street, breathing the cool winter air and wishing it snowed more in Yokohama. He tried to think about anything but his high temperature, made worse by the coat he had forgotten to take off his shoulders. He wondered what he should have for dinner. Sick people usually ate soups, but it was too hot for those. Maybe he would just watch TV when he got home until he fell asleep. He had no idea what to do with himself anymore.

Something was wrong. Something deeper than his high temperature, or the buzz of dizziness building in his head. His fever definitely wasn’t what was wrong. There was something missing from this fever…. a person. One who had always been by his side in these times of need.

Fifteen minutes later, Dazai was ringing the doorbell to Nakahara Chuya’s apartment over and over again at a ridiculously fast pace. When he thought he’d have gotten his attention, Dazai lowered himself to the ground, sprawled out and closed his eyes. If he didn’t look like he was dead, Chuya would probably leave him out there in the cold.

Sure enough, the door swung open. “I heard you the first…. Dazai!? What happened to you!?” Dazai felt Chuya’s hand on his forehead, and heard a small, sharp intake of breath. The next thing he felt was two small hands grabbing his arms and dragging him across the floor and into a room that was not much cooler than a furnace. Dazai moaned and squirmed out of his coat, along with many other layers of clothing. “KEEP YOUR PANTS ON OR I’LL THROW YOU OUTSIDE!” Chuya panicked, swatting frantically at Dazai’s hands.

“Chuya…. it’s so hot….” “It’s winter! Why are you here?” Chuya demanded, checking Dazai’s pockets and all his discarded clothing for weapons. “I’m sick, and something was missing.” Dazai muttered airily. “Common sense? Your will to live? Maybe, I don’t know, a cold bath??” Chuya replied derisively. “You, Chuya…. you always look after me when I’m sick.” “Mori made me look after you!!” Dazai begged to differ. After all, Mori definitely hadn’t made Chuya bring him inside just then. But this arguing was tiring, and Dazai wanted a place to rest that wasn’t the floor.

He slowly stood up, but a rush of dizziness sent Dazai stumbling into Chuya, who caught him and steadied him. “I really don’t have time for you right now. Just go and lay down and don’t get in my way.” Chuya sighed, before slowly helping Dazai to the couch and bringing him an ice pack, a glass of water and some medication. He placed a thermometer into Dazai’s mouth and read the temperature curiously. “Damn,” Chuya muttered thoughtfully. “That’s really high, but it’s not high enough to be fatal. It won’t even get you into a hospital.” “Will you stay by my side, Chuya….?” Dazai asked weakly, clutching at Chuya’s arm with the small amount of strength he could muster.

Chuya snatched his arm and the thermometer back. “Go to sleep. You need rest. Lots of rest.” Chuya ordered, and patted the ice pack on Dazai’s head in some sort of distant form of affection. He rose from the couch, but Dazai grabbed his hand again. “Please don’t leave me….” Dazai begged. “this feels so strange…. I’m shivering…. but I’m also sweating…..” Chuya sighed and sat back down beside Dazai. “You’ve had fevers before. You should know this is a normal part of it.” “Not for a long time….” Dazai corrected sleepily. “This is my first fever…. since I left the Port Mafia….”“Hey, you’re right.” Chuya remarked. “Maybe you’re taking better care of yourself.”

Dazai giggled weakly. Jumping into rivers and admiring roof beams was still a part of his daily activities. He had caught plenty of colds, this was just his first fever. It had almost been his first fever without Chuya. It was still painful remembering his days in the Port Mafia because it reminded him of Oda, but the memories of Chuya looking after him when he was sick would always be ones he could smile at (or laugh at if it was the time he accidentally threw up all over Chuya).

“Thanks for looking after me again….” Dazai mumbled. “You kind of threw yourself at my doorstep.” Chuya protested stubbornly, but then he added “And I thought you were about to die.” “So you do care about me….” He smiled weakly, eyes slipping shut as he drifted off to sleep wrapped in a veil of pleasant memories and the beginnings of delirium. The last thing he heard was the faint protests of Chuya assuring Dazai that he didn’t care about him and he didn’t want him to die outside his apartment. And after all they had been through together, as the invincible Soukoku, Dazai didn’t believe a word of it.

[midnightsdarkangel]

Trust (part 1)

Summary: Reigen never expected to be cursed, to have to live with the adjustments made but here he is, and Serizawa had to find out sooner or later. He just hoped his boyfriend could overcome the monster he had become.

(this is a mini series off of a body horror au i have with Reigen, i thought i’d write what happens when Reigen finally comes cleans and confesses. Part one is Serizawa and part 2 which i’m currently writing is Mobs reaction. Please tell me if you like it and want more!)

"This is new, you normally don't wrap up warm in winter."

Serizawa was waiting outside Reigens apartment come Sunday morning with the promise of grabbing a bite together. He had knocked on Reigens door only to hear crashing and the multiple utter of curse words from the other door as he stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets for warmth when he saw the door bang wide open.

Seri found himself with a big smile that caused him to laugh. Reigen stood there pouting slightly with a blush on his face. He was certainly dressing big for sure today, a large scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, not quite fitting into place. A long overcoat Serizawa never saw him wear even once and the shades- my god the shades were fairly big and had black lenses so you couldn't see his eyes. If anyone else had seen Reigen in that moment it would had looked as if his mother was the one who dressed him excessively, like one would do to their child in the winter chill.

"I thought id be adventurous."

"And the glasses-"

"..REALLY adventurous- Now stop the chatter and lets get going, its freezing."

Reigen said promptly, grabbing Seris hands with some warm fingerless gloves he decided to wear as their fingers entwined.

During their quiet walk, the wind blew ever so faintly against Seris hair as he had a habit of glancing of Reigen at the corner of his eye. Something was up with him, this much he could catch on. He certainly didn't miss the look of discomfort the smaller man had tugging his scarf away from his neck, or when his hand rubbed against his eye irritably. Yet he assumed Reigen simply just overdressed and was regretting it, while it was indeed cold, Reigen was that type of person who really didn't acknowledge the cold while in his own world.  It was obviously today he was suffering from his own choice of clothing. Yet Seri gently squeezed his hand against his lovers to try and soothe him, his thumb gently rubbing in circles against Reigens palm which caused a small laugh from Reigen as the chill ran up his spine. Perking up at his reaction he gently held Reigens hand happily but felt a bump on the side of his wrist that caused him to instead tense bad. Reigen removed his hand without moment's hesitation holding it to his chest but when he saw Seri's face his heart dropped as he looked away.

"Sorry, its just a stupid bump from  when i tried to move the desk a few days back and banged my wrist. Its just swollen."

His hand waving in a nonchalant manner as he proceeded to walk on ahead, his hands now tightly burried into his coat pocket as he took a few steps forward but paused turning back.

"You coming?" he asked confused, his arm extended out implying he wanted them to link arms as Serizawa felt his heart race;

"A-Ah yes!"  

After that they didn't really question the supposed 'bump' on Reigens wrist. The two of them decided to go to a cafe not too far from where his office actually was as the door chimed upon being opened. While Seriwaza was able to casually put his coat off and hang it behind his chair, Reigen found himself more reluctant. Taking the coat off and the gloves he hastily shoved in the side pockets, he decided to keep the glasses and scarf on.  

"Isnt that a bit too warm to wear?"

Serizawa inquired curiously as Reigen pulled his seat backwards and plopped down, dragging the chair legs against the ground, shuffling forward. His hand quickly grabbing the menu and opened it to cover his face.

"Mn don't worry, ill be taking it off soon."

He was about to gesture with his hand but flinched and thought better of it- a noticeable flinch Seri was ever so quick to notice. Since it was a sunday morning it had meant the streets were quieter than normal apart from the rushing cars that made as ambient noise for the two. The store itself had only a couple of people, mainly couples or people on their own with books. It was a nice cafe Reigen had discovered one evening when taking a break from his work, the perfect place he thought to bring his partner to.

"Sorry i asked you asked out this early, i wanted to talk to you without a rush of people around here.."

Serizawa smiled gently at his words; "Its perfectly fine...Its been a while since i've seen you anyway."

"About that.."

Reigen muttered, the menu was still a barriror between the two men. His leg twitching from under the table, tapping ever so quietly against the floor.

"I havent been feeling myself lately Seri..."

"Ah Shiego told me you weren't letting him around the office either, are you ill?"

Reigen promptly laughed at that question and shook his head.

"Yes? No- its a bit hard to explain. Which..which is why i thought it only fair i show you today."

His hands clutched the menu before relaxing again.

"Remember that one case we did? A week back with the old lady-"

"Mrs Tahibana, yes of course, she was the one who had that possessed music box."

Reigen nodded.

"Yeah...her."

After that Reigen was uncharacteristically quiet for a few seconds, which to his luck the waitress had begun to walk over to them as he closed the menu and coughed for Seri to quickly cut the conversation short for a second.

"Ah yes, green tea for me."

"Um just lemonade."

When she was out of plain sight, exiting through the kitchen door Seriwaza leant forward in his chair to whisper. "What about her? Did something happen? I thought you handled the box?" His voice ever so slightly raising volume as Reigen put a finger to his lips hastily.

"Shhh, your drawing attention to us."

He hissed under his voice, gently pushing him back into his seat.

"I did-well i thought i did...not completely id say.."

Reigen was beginning to stumble on his words, his voice lowered slightly as a nagging fear began to rise in his throat. "This is why...i brought you today.."

Taking a deep breath he reached out and grabbed Seris hand, gently pressing against it, needing his warmth as reassurance. Seri wasn't hesitant in turning his hand around to gently return the hold of his lovers hand. The two had been dating for a solid month, and despite the awkward moments or miscommunications, the two had built a steady trust already. Something Reigen never saw himself doing if it was with anyone else. He had built a barrier between him and everyone else, it was just something he accepted; as if there was a line in front of him. A big red line that he was frightened to cross, everyone else stood on the other side, their faces blank, void of all emotions as he wished to run across the line to join them- to speak but they always turned their backs and walked off, leaving him alone.

Until Serizawa came along. By that time, he had no interest in crossing that line. Sure Mob was the first one to tug him to the other side, but it was Seris warmth and love that helped him steadily cross that line between his world and theirs.

So...as much as he hated it..he needed to tell him the truth.

"Something happened...after we exorcised that music box..when you left and i went to give it back to the lady..something shot out of the box. I assume we missed something, because the little fragment of that spirit latched right onto me."

"Your possessed!?"

Serizawa stood up in a  panic which caused some curious stares from customers as Reigen hurriedly grabbed him by his jacket sleeves and pulled him down.

"Shh! We'll get kicked out- let me explain!"

For a moment Seri wasnt calming down, his mind began to rush with guilty thoughts. Reigen frowned concerned and quickly cupped his face with both hands.

"Seri, look at me ok, its ok none of this is your fault..i need you to listen because that's not all ok..?"

Seri weakly nodded that Reigen wondered if telling him would be a good idea. Thinking of alternative ideas in his head he glanced the bathroom doors in the corner of the cafe as he stood up and gently led him away from the table as he waved at the lady to put their drinks there for when they get back. Once he ushered him inside the cubical he locked the door behind them.  It was rather cold from the draft leaking from the window just above as there was hardly any space between them as their bodies pressed against each other at the door.

It was surreal in that moment for Reigen, just feeling the racing of the heartbeat between the two of them, how much larger Seri was than he was and the warmth he could feel. But he could also notice every emotional shift in his face, he was confused of course, and overly concern from the quickening of his breathing Reigen noticed as he gently took Seris hand and gently moved him around rotational so that his back was agaisnt the door and Reigen could step back and sit back on the toliet seat. Gee, how romantic he scoffed to himself in his thoughts.

For a moment they didnt speak, just so that Serizawa could regain composure.

"Ok you calm? Because your going to have to be in a second.."

"Just- Just tell me what you mean. What do you mean that ghost got into you, i hadn't even noticed anything."

Serizawas voice was low, yet he could tell the panic in his tone. Reigen laughed weakly feeling his body slouch more on the seat as he gripping his hair. This was it. Now or never, if he didn't show Serizawa this then he never would. But imagining the horror on his partners face was something he didn't want to look forward to- but he had to do it. It was time to put their trust on the line...

His hands hesitantly went to the scarf and began to unwrap the layers one by one. Seris eyes narrowed in confusion until his face went dead pale.

"T-Theres..."

"An eye on my neck? Yeah, there's one on my wrist too...you see..That spirit never took control of me..but somehow it was able to do other things...like...this."

He closed his eyes wearily as he felt his heart race before slowly looking up to Serizawa as he removed the shades only to hear the sudden gasp from the taller man.

Half of his face was DEFINITLY not normal, a huge stitched line ran across his face, where his right eye would be instead was a huge gaping hole with sharp teeth that opened and closed in response to the new development of light.

"I..I sent you and Mob away because I didn't want you to see me like this..."

He laughed wearily letting the shades drop from his hand and clatter onto the floor. The same with the scarf as it laid freely on his knee dropping down the side. He looked away sadly, his voice barely above a whisper;

"I didnt want you to see me as a monster"

It wasn't long until he felt the tears prick his eyes that he began to laugh sadly trying to wipe them off as if they burnt his skin; "Look at me...Some world's greatest espier I am! I look like some freak case.." His hands clenched tightly, digging his nails into the skin leaving a mark as his body was shaking with anger and just disgust. Disgust in himself, that Seriwaza had to look at the monstrosity that he had became. He wouldn't be surprised if he turned around and ran, never to contact Reigen again. Just self deprecating thoughts tumbling in one by one into his mind as his knees shook, the tears falling into the fabric of his trousers as he began to laugh louder.

"I wouldnt be surprised if you hated me-"

"Stop that."

Serizawas voice was loud and commanding. Reigen was baffled as he looked up only to feel two large hands quickly grasp his face with speed yet it was so tender. His eyes widened to see the tears that feel from Serizawas face, his body was shaking but it wasn't in fear, no...it was of hurt.

"Why would you ever think that...your not a monster Reigen, not by a long shot-"

Ah..he made him worry...

"Serizawa look at me...I have a hole in my face, i think i am quite frankly a monster-"

"What you look like doesn't make you a monster!"

He argued back, his voice booming with such emotional intensity as he gently took Reigens hand and pressed it to his chest.

"When you and I met...I was terrified of my powers, I had harmed people and i was scared that you'd look at me the same way others had. Like some freak...but..you didnt. You were the first person to accept me for who i was. Just because you look like that doesnt mean YOU yourself have changed! Your still the same man i know...and love.."

Serizawa spoke softly as he gently stood Reigen up to see him fully.

"Im not going to run.."

...

...

Reigen let go of the breath he was holding, his laugh was now something vunrable and almost a sense of relief. The tears fell quietly as he found himself leaning on his lovers chest, clinging onto the fabric of his shirt. He felt arms wrap around him, letting him melt into the embrace, he felt exhausted exposing that to Serizawa. The man was just full of surprises but...but that's what he loved about him.

"I love you.."

Seri smiled softly at that and gently caressed his face, wiping any remaining tears with his thumb. "Our drinks are getting cold.." Reigen quietly noted; It was something they could discuss more once they were outside. Seri carefully bent down to pick up Rigens glasses and scarf, gently putting them on with care instead of the half assed performance Reigen had done in the morning. Waiting until Reigen was happy to leave and was covered up they grabbed each others hands and unlocked the door. Ready to face the world together.

"So..Does the extra mouth drink also?"

"Oh my god did you seriously ask me that." Reigen snorted amused.

God he loved him.

[everydaybrautigan]

1/3, 1/3, 1/3

It was all to be done in thirds. I was to get 1/3 for doing the typing, and she was to get 1/3 for doing the editing, and he was to get 1/3 for writing the novel. 

We were going to divide the royalties three ways. We all shook hands on the deal, each knowing what we were supposed to do, the path before us, the gate at the end. 

I was made a 1/3 partner because I had the typewriter.

 I lived in a cardboard-lined shack of my own building across the street from the run-down old house the Welfare rented for her and her nine- year-old son Freddy. 

The novelist lived in a trailer a mile away beside a sawmill pond where he was the watchman for the mill. 

I was about seventeen and made lonely and strange by that Pacific Northwest of so many years ago, that dark, rainy land of 1952. I’m thirty-one now and I still can’t figure out what I meant by living the way I did in those days.

 She was one of those eternally fragile women in their late thirties and once very pretty and the object of much attention in the roadhouses and beer parlors, who are now on Welfare and their entire lives rotate around that one day a month when they get their Welfare cheque.

 The word “cheque” is the one religious word in their lives, so they always manage to use at least three or four times in every conversation. It doesn’t matter what you are talking about. 

The novelist was in his late forties, tall, reddish, and looked as if life had given him an endless stream of two-timing girlfriends, five-day drunks and cars with bad transmissions.

 He was writing the novel because he wanted to tell a story that had happened to him years before when he was working in the woods. 

He also wanted to make some money: 1/3. 

My entrance into the thing came about this way: One day I was standing in front of my shack, eating an apple and staring at a black ragged toothache sky that was about to rain. 

What I was doing was like an occupation for me. I was that involved in looking at the sky and eating the apple. You would have thought that I had been hired to do it with a good salary and a pension if I stared at the sky long enough. 

“HEY, YOU!” I heard somebody yell. I looked across the mud puddle and it was the woman. She was wearing a kind of green Mackinaw that she wore all the time, except when she had to visit the Welfare people downtown. Then she put on a shapeless duck-gray coat. 

We lived in a poor part of town where the streets weren’t paved. The street was nothing more than a big mud puddle that you had to walk around. The street was of no use to cars any more. They travelled on a different frequency where asphalt and gravel were more sympathetic. 

She was wearing a pair of white rubber boots that she always had on in the winter, a pair of boots that gave her a kind of child-like appearance. She was so fragile and firmly indebted to the Welfare Department that she often looked like a child twelve years old. 

“What do you want?” I said. 

“You have a typewriter, don’t you?” she said. “I’ve walked by your shack and heard you typing. You type a lot at night.” 

“Yeah, I have a typewriter,” I said.

 “You a good typist?” she said.

 “I’m all right.” 

“We don’t have a typewriter. How would you like to go in with us?” she yelled across the mud puddle. She looked a perfect twelve years old, standing there in her white boots, the sweetheart and darling of all mud puddles. 

“What’s ‘go in’ mean?” 

“Well, he’s writing a novel,” she said. “He’s good. I’m editing it. I’ve read a lot of pocketbooks and the Reader’s Digest. We need somebody who has a typewriter to type it up. You’ll get 1/3. How does that sound?”

 “I’d like to see the novel,” I said. I didn’t know what was happening. I knew she had three or four boyfriends that were always visiting her. 

“Sure!” she yelled. “You have to see it to type it. Come on around. Let’s go out to his place right now and you can meet him and have a look at the novel. He’s a good guy. It’s a wonderful book.” 

“OK,” I said, and walked around the mud puddle to where she was standing in front of her evil dentist house, twelve years old, and approximately two miles from the Welfare office.

 “Let’s go,” she said. 

 We walked over to the highway and down the highway past mud puddles and sawmill ponds and fields flooded with rain until we came to a road that went across the railroad tracks and turned down past half a dozen sawmill ponds that were filled with black winter logs. 

We talked very little and that was only about her check that was two days late and she had called the Welfare and they said they mailed the check and it should be there tomorrow, but call again tomorrow if it’s not there and we’ll prepare an emergency money order for you. 

“Well, I hope it’s there tomorrow,” I said. 

So do I or I’ll have to go downtown,’ she said.

Next to the last sawmill pond was a yellow old trailer up on blocks of wood. One look at that trailer showed that it was never going anywhere again, that the highway was in distant heaven, only to be prayed to. It was really sad with a cemetery-like chimney swirling jagged dead smoke in the air above it.

 A kind of half-dog, half-cat creature was sitting on a rough plank porch that was in front of the door. The creature half-barked and half-meowed at us, “Arfeow!” and darted under the trailer, looking out at us from behind a block.

 “This is it,” the woman said. 

The door to the trailer opened and a man stepped out onto the porch. There was a pile of firewood stacked on the porch and it was covered with a black tarp. 

The man held his hand above his eyes, shielding his eyes from a bright imaginary sun, though everything had turned dark in anticipation of the rain. 

“Hello, there,” he said. 

“Hi,” I said. 

“Hello, honey,” she said.

 He shook my hand and welcomed me to his trailer, than he gave her a little kiss on the mouth before we all went inside. 

The place was small and muddy and smelled like stale rain and had a large unmade bed that looked as if it had been a partner to some of the saddest love-making this side of The Cross.

 There was a green bushy half-table with a couple of insect-like chairs and a little sink and a small stove that was used for cooking and heating. 

There were some dirty dishes in the little sink. The dishes looked as if they had always been dirty: born dirty to last forever. 

I could hear a radio playing Western music someplace in the trailer, but I couldn’t find it. I looked all over but it was nowhere in sight. It was probably under a shirt or something. 

“He’s the kid with the typewriter,” she said. “He’ll get 1/3 for typing it.” 

“That sounds fair,” he said. “We need somebody to type it. I’ve never done anything like this before.” 

“Why don’t you show it to him?” she said. “He’d like to take a look at it.” 

“OK. But it isn’t too carefully written,” he said to me. “I only went to the fourth grade, so she’s going to edit it, straighten out the grammar and commas and stuff.”

 There was a notebook lying on the table, next to an ashtray that probably had 600 cigarette butts in it. The notebook had a color photograph of Hopalong Cassidy on the cover.

 Hopalong looked tired as if he had spent the previous night chasing starlets all over Hollywood and barely had enough strength to get back in the saddle. 

There were about twenty-five or thirty pages of writing in the notebook. It was written in a large grammar school sprawl: an unhappy marriage between printing and longhand.

 “It’s not finished yet,” he said. “You’ll type it. I’ll edit it. He’ll write it,” she said. 

It was a story about a young logger falling in love with a waitress. The novel began in 1935 in a café in North Bend, Oregon. 

The young logger was sitting at a table and the waitress was taking his order. She was very pretty with blond hair and rosy cheeks. The young logger was ordering veal cutlets with mashed potatoes and country gravy. 

“Yeah, I’ll do the editing. You can type it, can’t you? It’s not too bad, is it?” she said in a twelve- year-old voice with the Welfare peeking over her shoulder. 

“No,” I said. “It will be easy.” 

Suddenly the rain started to come down hard outside, without any warning, just suddenly great drops of rain that almost shook the trailer.

 You sur lik veel cutlets don’t you Maybell said she was holding her pensil up her mowth that was preti and red like an apl! 

Onli wen you take my oder Carl she said he was a kind of bassful loger but big and strong lik his dead who ownd the starmill!

 Ill mak sur you get plenty of gravi! 

Just ten then caf door opend and in cam Rins Adams he was hansom and mean, everi bodi in the thos parts was afrad of him but not Carl and his dead dad they wasnt afrad of him no sur! 

Maybell shifard wen she saw him standing ther in his blac macinaw he smild at her and Carl felt his blod run hot lik scalding coffee and fitting mad! 

Howdi ther Rins said Maybell blushed like a flower flouar while we were all sitting there in that rainy trailer, pounding at the gates of American literature. -Richard Brautigan