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thegeneralguy · 4 years

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The Champion of Olympus - Zeus´s Zeal

“To your right you can see the ruins of the fabled temple of Zeus, the once deity patron of the city. A statue in his honor was considered a world wonder in the ancient world. Now if you follow me…”

The enthusiastic tour guide waved her little red flag to gather the group of students listening to her. It was a particularly windy summer day when Markie Laur and some of his college classmates were taken on a tour through Greek archeological sites. This excursion was one of the only excuses’ students found in order to participate in this lecture. Markie himself had little to do in a Greek and Roman mythology course, being an engineering major. His two best friends convinced him to join the course so they could do a tour around Europe together. Besides, the free credits were always welcome.

The excursion moved sluggishly through the different ruins in the archeological site. Some students were very interested in the information and keen in on learning more. They engaged in discussion and conversation with the tour guide and their professor. Markie and his friends were none of them. They hung out in the back of the tour. Robert was showing Jordan different bars in Amsterdam on his phone, both plotting enthusiastically how many drugs they would be able to take and how many European girls were they going to take back to their hotel room once they were there. Markie just hung out on the back watching the sites in peace. Although the three 21 year old college students shared the same nerdy nature, Markie was the shyest of the three. He didn´t share the other two´s deliriums of grandeur, nor sexual preference for the matter. His insecure nature made him unsure to come out to the supposedly closest friends he had in college. He was friends with Robert and Jordan out of survival instinct more than true friendship.

Markie and Robert landed in the same dorm room on their freshman year. Jordan was Robert´s hometown neighbor that had the luck of landing in the same college as his best friend. Both were boastful economy majors who tried and failed constantly in on inserting themselves amongst the more popular social circles. Markie was more down to earth than the other two, completely conscious that the combination of his cherub face, short unathletic body and shy personality automatically put him on the bottom layer of the Darwinist ladder that was college life. Robert saw the physical similarities of his roommate as a reason to adopt him into their duo, and so the three of them started hanging out together, playing videogames, making complex plans to get into some fraternity parties and talking about their crushes. Markie just went along with it. Drug use, even though mild was where he drew the line, completely paranoid that he was going to get expelled if caught.

Now the three of them were finishing their sophomore year with cero conquests under their belts, so their trip to Europe was the only hope of Robert and Jordan to get some of the validation they had been craving.

The sun started setting down as the tour started heading towards the information center to compare notes and conclude the visit. The day had gotten increasingly stormy, with dark clouds gathering on the sky and blocking the sunset light. Markie was still on the far back of the group, his gaze scanning the surrounding ruins. He started wondering why the site was so empty, with none other than the little group ahead of him on sight.

“Maybe there´s bad weather coming.”

He thought as a chill crossed his spine. He stopped to take his sweater out of his backpack, completely missing that everyone, including his friends continued advancing down the road until he was left completely alone. Markie put on his oversized college sweatshirt, his body practically drowning in the garment. He looked around searching for his friends, but there was no one on sight. An ominous wind started blowing, moving the grass with an eerie rhythm. The trees rustled next to him, and the faint sound of thunder resonated in the distance.

“Guys? Rob?”

His anxiety started acting out, as he nervously wandered on the dirt road looking for his friends. The path started to disappear slowly, leaving tall luscious grass behind. An unseen force was guiding Markie through the glade. His mind was racing, already making up hundreds of scenarios where he got lost and was never able to return home. He just felt he needed to move forward, and so he did. The breeze around him kept getting stronger, with little droplets of rain being blown straight into his face.

Suddenly Markie found himself right in the middle of the ruins of the temple of Zeus. He recognized them from the tour, being the only part that really caught his attention for some reason. The sound of thunder kept getting stronger, as the air current suddenly started to form a whirlwind around him. The rain had gotten stronger, pouring down furiously and completely drenching him.

Markie started having a panic attack, his breathing getting to the point of hyperventilation. He suddenly felt an incredible pressure on top of him. He looked up to one of the columns and saw a gigantic golden eagle perched on top of it. A bright lightning bolt completely blinded his eyesight for an instant, and when he looked up once again, he was confronted with a vision of the most perfect man he had ever seen.

His gargantuan chest was framed by two sets of enormous shoulders, which were connected to two arms so muscular they must have been around the same girth as Markie´s waist. Powerful legs supported the massive body of the gorgeous man, whose height made him seem double the body size of the little 5´6 college student. The luscious curls of his golden beard fell right in the middle of his chest, as his gorgeous mane of equally beautiful hair framed a face that looked near aesthetic perfection. Features that exuded masculinity, but still kept a supernatural beauty that was only present in the sculptures of antiquity. The man was wearing a white robe tied only on top of one of his shoulders, with big golden bracelets on each of his wrists. The man emitted a light glow from his body, like his whole silhouette was encased in a halo.

“Who—o a—are you? Did I die?”

Asked Markie nervously. His gaze couldn’t find anything else other than the godly fantasy in front of him.

“Silence boy. I´m going to grant you a gift. A gift all mortals would kill for.”

“A gift? Please don´t hurt me. I´m really sorry if I trespassed, I can´t find….”

“I said quiet!”

The man roared with fury. Markie managed to get out a panicked yelp as thunder stroke the ground all around him.

“You really remind me of him. Come and find me when you´re ready. All your questions will be answered. Enjoy it boy, for it will come with a price.”

The man pointed his finger at him. Suddenly Markie felt a jolt of electricity course all across his body. He was afraid he was going to be fried by the stud in front of him. Lighting fell again very close to the man, completely blinding Markie again. When he looked up the storm was gone, and so was the man. He briefly thought he imagined everything, until he felt his soaking wet clothes. He could also still feel the light static effect he felt when the stranger raised his finder towards him. He wondered if his friends had pranked him by sneaking in some hallucinogen into his water bottle when the annoyed voice of his professor grounded him back on reality.

“Mr. Laur, may I remind you that profanation of ancient heritage sites is strictly punished by the law? Come back here this instant. The bus is waiting for us.”

Markie rushed out of the ruins to join his classmates on the bus back into town. He briefly looked back at Zeus´s temple one last time, and thought he saw a big bird fly fast into the sky.

“Whoa man did you jump into the fountain or something?”

Asked Robert when he saw his roommate entering the bus soaking wet.

“Very funny Rob. It was the rain.”

Answered Markie unenthusiastically as he took the seat behind Robert and Jordan.

“What rain dude, its as dry as Angela´s pussy over there.”

Whispered Jordan giggling whilst nodding in the direction of one of their most conservative classmates. Markie didn´t even reply to his friend´s crude comment, as the bus slowly departed the site towards the hotel. Olympia wasn´t a big city, but his classmates had already made plans in meeting in the small bar next to the hotel to talk about the trip so far and have some drinks. Robert and Jordan kept snorting and laughing from time to time watching some random insta-girl´s page.

“What a pair of losers.”

Thought Markie to himself as he pondered on his friends’ blatant misogyny. He kept staring out the window into the dark void in front of him. His smooth boyish face greeted him back on the black window. He took a moment to really look at himself. Other than the childish rounded cheeks and soft features, he wasn´t so ugly. His dark brown eyes gave him a friendly look, and his teeth were straight and white. He could look much cuter if he put some effort into it. Stop shaving his dark brown hair with an electric razor, paid an actual hairstylist to get him on of those popular haircuts every guy on the internet had and get some actual sunlight in order to improve the corpse looking hue on his skin would get him far. He could finally stop hanging out with those guys.

The sudden confidence rush went away as fast as it came, leaving Markie languishing in self doubt once again.

“Who am I kidding? I´ll never have the confidence to be on my own.”

Crippling social anxiety and low self esteem were the true shackles tying him to a lonely existence, not the way he looked. Confidence could completely change someone´s image of themselves, making him attractive to himself and by inertia to others as well.

The sudden epiphany caused a golden spark to light in on Markie´s eyes, just an instant so he could see it, but not slow enough so he could know if it was real or a product of his imagination. The static feeling was slowly turning into a constant tingling spreading all across his body. A droplet of sweat travelled down his temple as he felt his body heat slowly rising. He took away his sweatshirt only to find his equally wet t-shirt clinging to his thin body, but showing a tiny strip of skin belonging to his lower belly. If it were dry Markie would´ve also noticed a certain tightness on the kid sized garment, his torso gaining an almost imperceptible amount of mass. He still felt as if he was being asphyxiated by his own clothes. His temperature was rising so high that he could almost feel a humidity cloud form all around him coming from his wet clothes.

“Markie! Man you´re really off today.”

Markie was so busy fighting his need to rip his t-shirt off so hard he barely noticed the curious eyes of both of his friends staring at him.

“We need to get you some new clothes. You have to look your best if we´re gonna go hunting man!”

Said Robert enthusiastically as he high fived Jordan. Markie just answered with a nervous laugh as he kept trying not to cause a scene in a moving vehicle.

After what felt like an eternity the bus arrived at the hotel. Markie practically jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the exit. He could also feel his jeans ending a bit above his ankles, and his shoes constricting his feet. The first thing he thought was that the water had shrunken his clothes, but after feeling the sensation spread along the static tingling, he suspected this could be related to that fever dream he had in the ruins.

The professor gathered everyone right outside the bus to plan the rest of the evening. Markie stood there impatiently among his fellow classmates feeling increasing discomfort. The tingling turned to numbness, making him lose sensation on his hands and feet. The only thing he wanted was to get back to his room so he could wash himself and get into fresh clothes. His usual nervous expression started turning into an angry sneer, as his impatience grew along with his discomfort. As soon as the professor dismissed them, Markie rushed straight through the small hotel doors directly to the room he shared with his two friends. He got into the bathroom slamming the door behind him.

He was sweating profusely and his body heat started rising so high an actual steam cloud started forming around him. The numbness in his limbs had turn into an excruciating pain, as cramps travelled all across his body tensing the little muscle mas he had. He felt like he was being electrocuted. He looked into the mirror and was greeted by a bizarre image of himself wearing a little kid´s clothes. The t-shirt looked more like a crop top now, the little sleeves were being strained by two longer arms. His pants were riding halfway up his calves. He managed to kick out the shoes that were also clearly a few sizes too small for his grown feet. Markie did his best not to scream in pain due to the sensations assaulting his body.

The small lightbulb illuminating the bathroom started flickering and a small air current started forming around Markie. A sharp pain in his stomach made him turn to the toilet and throw up the little food he had ingested during the day. Shivers crossed his body as the cramps got stronger. He could see the ligaments in his hands contracting and moving on their own because of the strong muscle spasms. He turned his face back into the bowl and retched loudly clasping his stomach, tears of effort running down his cheeks.

“Markie? Are you alright in there?”

Asked Robert knocking on the bathroom door. He was so distracted by the sensations assaulting his body that he completely missed his friends enter the hotel room. He responded with a quiet “yeah” and made a conscious effort in making it sound as calm as possible. The last thing he wanted was those guys seeing him in his current state.

“I´ll be out in a minute.”

Said Markie as he managed to pull himself back on his feet. The wind in the bathroom had gotten stronger, and Markie could swear he could hear the faint sound of thunder inside the room. He grabbed the edge of the sink and looked into the mirror. His face was completely red, and his hair was dripping sweat as if a cloud was pouring rain on top of him. He looked at himself straight in the eyes, and then it happened. A golden color started to seep out of his pupils, changing the brown hue of his iris. It looked like molten gold was being directly injected into his eyes. Once the new color took completely over, the lightbulb started shining so bright it completely burst after a few seconds. Markie heard the glass shards fall on the ground, and the room was left in complete darkness. The only source of light were his iridescent golden eyes.

He tried to move to the side, but he accidentally stepped on a few glass pieces and slipped on the wet floor. He howled in pain and steadied himself with the bathroom sink. He also didn’t realize his hand moved way too close to the electrical outlets next to the mirror. A faint crackling sound could be heard, and white sparks started jumping out of the outlet. Suddenly, a lightning bolt shot straight out of the outlet directly into Markie´s hand. He tried to scream, but not a single noise came out of his mouth. The wind started flowing stronger, forming a vortex with the college student straight in the center. Another lightning bolt coming from an electrical outlet on top of the floor flew straight heading for his other hand. Both currents formed two chain lightning shackles that tied the boy in the center of the room.

Markie felt vertigo, as his growth spurt continued on an accelerated pace, putting him over a foot from his original height. His feet grew proportionally to help him stabilize his now towering stature, the skin on his soles hardening and expelling the glass shards he slipped on earlier. The electric shackles started spreading lighting bolts up his arms and into his torso, completely burning the remains of the already ripped small t-shirt. He felt an excruciating pain while his bone structure changed. His clavicle extended, pushing both of his shoulders further to the sides. His ribcage also expanded together with his waist. The remains of his pants started digging painfully into the skin of his hips. Once the bones finished their transformation, the pain started to subside.

Markie stood in the middle of the room completely disoriented. His new height made everything take on different dimensions and the irregular sparks and lightning bolts were illuminating the bathroom in all kinds of bizarre ways. Not to mention the wind throwing all kinds of hygiene supplies all around. His gaze found his reflection in the mirror. He looked like an underfed giant of a man. It was like the little muscle mass he had was distributed evenly across his new size, leaving him practically just bones and skin. He watched the flashy shackles fascinated, as sparks jumped and squirmed in the air before fading into blackness.

Suddenly, he felt the strong static feeling on his wrists, as lightning bolts dug under his skin and spread through his body. He could feel the electrical current inside of him, the pain of the intense cramps returning in major scale. Electricity was contracting every muscle fiber, breaking and healing them very rapidly. New muscle nuclei started forming as well in order to endure the work the chain lightning was putting them through. Markie´s hands were the first to grow. Delicate long fingers filled with strong muscle, as his palms expanded and hardened. Callouses formed to protect them from the heavy labor they were now designed to do. They looked comically large, comparable to big baseball mitts on a small child. The transformation immediately shot right up his forearms, expanding them to incredible size that would put Popeye out of work without question. Strong sinews connected his powerful hands to his elbows, giving them a vice like strength too atop of their intimidating look. His upper arms picked up on the growth too, biceps inflating to the size of a cantaloupe and triceps completely defying gravity jutting so far out the back of his arms it looked like someone had welded big horseshoes on his already enormous arms. The shoulders expanded next, gaining epic proportions comparable to a pumpkin on top of each arm. Markie gritted his teeth in pain as he caught a glimpse of what has happening to him. He looked like a doll that had gotten the arms of a He-Man toy accidentally glued on his lanky torso.

A strong spasm in his chest caused him to fall forwards, the shackles on his arms preventing him from touching the ground. He was scared for a second, he was having a heart attack, as each pectoral muscle twitched and pulsed manipulated by the electric current. His chest started inflating rapidly in all directions, rising high on the top reaching for his chin, and squaring off in the bottom, leaving a big shelf hanging from the distressed student´s upper body. The electric bolts reached for his nipples, hardening them and expanding them until the former tack sized miniatures grew to a more manly dollar coin size.

Markie could feel the electricity running all across his spine, engorging his back so support such a top-heavy body. His traps developed in the upper part, reaching for his ears, and his lats expanded to the sides pushing the gargantuan arms to the sides on a permanent forty-degree angle. His lower back developed strongly to support the heavy muscle on the top. Then he felt as if someone was punching him straight on his stomach, as each individual abdominal muscle popped from his midsection, carving a deep valley in the center of his body, and leaving him with a truly enviable small waist that made the proportions on the upper body look more freakish.

The cramps then travelled down his waist, focusing on his practically non-existent glutes, contracting and twisting them. His ass started to slowly inflate into two pairs of gravity defying boulders, completely ripping the rest of his pants and leaving Markie with his tight white briefs, which looked more like a thong being swallowed by the two monstrous muscles. His manhood was left completely ignored by the electrical current, leaving him practically flat on the front. Each quadricep spasmed and developed deep cut muscle, growing to gigantic proportions in order to move this behemoth of a body around. Calves inflated next leaving him with two powerful football looking muscles ready to propel Markie in whichever direction he wanted. His feet were the last part of his body to change, filling with powerful strength to support the now card-carrying bodybuilder.

As soon as the last part of his body concluded growing, the electrical shackles were absorbed into Markie´s body. He started to emit a faint glow, dimly illuminating the bathroom. His pale skin took on a golden hue. He looked into the mirror once again and he saw his face with two glowing eyes on top of a body that wasn’t his. The miniature storm inside the room also subsided, leaving him quietly staring into the mirror.

“Is that really me?”

Asked Markie to himself whilst touching his powerful chest. He accidentally brushed one of his nipples with his hand, and it caused a small electrical current to travel across his chest. Only this time it wasn´t pain what he felt, but pleasure. Markie had a very prude attitude, barely exploring sex by himself, let alone with somebody else. But this sensation sparked something else in him. An instinct buried so deeply within insecurities, that it had remained imperceptible to him. But something inside his was pushing him to do it again, to finally unleash the real him.

“I can´t believe it. This can´t be real.”

Markie raised an arm and flexed. Powerful muscle twitched and pumped inside of him, his bicep raising higher and higher. He chuckled slightly. A quiet laugh that increased in intensity, as Markie explored and felt every new part of his anatomy. He then took his other nipple between his fingers and pinched it slightly. An even stronger pleasure jolt shot across his body.

The college boy was becoming less and less of a boy the more he touched himself. Confidence was flooding every inch of his being. Someone who looked like a God should behave as a God as well thought Markie, while his slow caresses of his body turned to an intense erotic massage. His hand touched the deep crevices of his abdomen, and slowly found its way to the boy´s less than impressive endowment.

“This simply won´t do.”

Said Markie in a quasi-trance like state. He slowly reached to the electrical outlet again, and focused all of his energy in summoning that spark again. His call was quickly answered, as an intense lightning bolt shot straight towards his hand again.

“Yes. Give me more. More strength. More power.”

Said Markie, his boyish voice taking on a powerful commanding voice. He then took the hand connected with the electricity to his crotch, and grabbed his bulge once again. The electricity then travelled directly into his manhood, shotting bolts of pleasure all over Markie´s body. His mind was filled with images of intimacy, of epic scenes of desire and encyclopedic sexual knowledge.

“Fuck yeah. More.”

He cursed for the first time in his life, while the overwhelming sensation clouded the last of his senses and erased the old Markie from existence, leaving a blank canvas for his new godly persona to take place. His manhood started growing to divine proportions, completely straining the briefs to the point of breaking. White tatters fell to the floor, as his equine endowment raised straight and up, reaching almost a foot in length. Like the rest of his body, the girth proportions adjusted too, leaving him with practically an extra limb on his lower body, as thick as a baby arm. His testicles inflated like water balloons until each was the size of a lemon. The powerful divine seed inside them started seeping it´s essence to the rest of his body, as Markie reached the final step of his transformation.

His neck thickened, and his moans of pleasure started dropping in pitch until his boy-like cadence reached an intimidating deep baritone. He grunted as his mandible contorted and expanded into comic book hero proportions. A cleft formed on his powerful chin, and his teeth grew to fit the new size of his mandible. His lips thinned out giving him a serious look. The baby fat on his cheeks evaporated, leaving sharp angular features behind. His nose remained straight, but grew to accommodate the aesthetic of the new man´s face. His brow expanded and hooded over his eyes, giving him a stern serious look.

His shaved brown hair then started growing on the top, parting sideways and acquiring a thick silky texture, along with a golden tone. The new blonde´s body hair flourished right afterwards. Clear body hair sprouted on his forearms and on top of his hands, but the rest of him remained smooth. The hair in his pits and on his pubic region also changed to a blonde hue, before falling down leaving the new man completely shaved. Changes in the hair follicles were made, as this was a very hairy man that manscaped regularly. Thick stubble then grew on his face, leaving a permanent five o´clock shadow. Finally, a thick mustache and a soul patch formed around his mouth, completing the transformation.

Where once stood a puny college student, now stood a complete god of a man. The former 21 year old looked almost a decade older, not that it would worry him too much because his mind also started changing to accommodate the new bodybuilder. His fears and worries completely evaporated, leaving behind a man that lived in the moment. He ate when he wanted to, he went where he wanted to and he fucked whenever he wanted to. His repulsion for his nickname grew, and he decided to adopt his full name from ow on. Where there was once a Markie now stood Marcus, the champion of the thunder god Zeus.

He flexed and roared in triumph as one last lightning bolt shot through the outlet reaching him. Veins started popping on his arms and legs, like lightning coursing through a stormy sky. He turned around and opened the bathroom door, stepping into the world for the first time.

“What do you think of this one?”

Said Jordan whilst showing his friend one of the many fedora hats he brought to the trip.

“Who cares? Fedoras aren’t cool anymore man. It´s all over the internet, look it up.”

Answered Robert exasperated of having to go through another wardrobe dilemma. He couldn´t stop thinking about Markie and his weirder than usual attitude these last couple of hours. His roommate had been in the bathroom for a while now, but there was no sound coming from the bathroom ever since Markie answered him, he was fine.

“Do you think Markie is okay in there?”

He asked Jordan, who barely looked up from his suitcase.

“I don´t know. But who cares man? Less dead weight for us when we go for the chicks later.”

“He´s not a dead weight Jordan. I know Markie is shy and kind of weird, but he´s a great guy. Trust me, I know. I live with him.”

“We both know why he´s like that. Not that I have anything against it, but its impressive how he thinks no one realizes the way he looks at those douches from the frat sometimes.”

“He will tell us whenever he´s ready. And even if he´s not it´s okay. He will still be my friend. And I hope yours too Jordan.”

“Come on man. I like gay dudes. Less competition for us. I just don´t want him to ruin our hunt with his angst when we go out to the bar.”

“It´s about time to get going though. I´m gonna ask Markie if we should meet him directly in the bar, if It hasn´t confused him with a child and kidnaped him through the sink.”

Both friends laughed at the reference just as Robert approached the bathroom door once again.

“Markie my man, we´re gonna get going. You can meet us there if you want, but don´t feel rushed take your time. Hope that you´re okay though.”

He said knocking lightly on the door. A faint grumble could be heard on the other side, but Markie didn´t answer. Robert took that as a response, and he turned around to prepare his stuff and go.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened with such a force it ripped it out of it´s hinges. A blinding light was coming from the bathroom, together with enough steam to turn the small hotel room into a sauna. Robert and Jordan watched completely in shock as the new Marcus stepped out of the bathroom, his whole body enveloped in a golden halo. Both college students looked tiny in comparison to the enormous wall of muscle standing in front of them.

“Who—o a—are you? Whe—ere´s Ma—arkie?”

Managed to squeak Robert nervously while his eyes scanned every mountain and every valley that composed the behemoth´s body.

“It is Marcus now, my friends. Come and bathe in all my glory.”

Said Marcus while raising both of his arms and flexing his latissimus muscles, completely eclipsing the now small in comparison bathroom door. A potent smell started wafting through the air, impregnating the steam with masculine pheromones coming directly from the giant´s underarms. Both Robert and Jordan were put in a trance like state, and approached the shining man.

“Yes. Come to me. I will show you the true meaning of pleasure.”

Deep primal instincts were awoken in both boys. Lust, submission and adoration completely eclipsed the nervous feeling both had. As soon as their hands touched Marcus´s chest, an intense shock of pleasure shot through both of their bodies, travelling directly to their brains completely burning their old personas out of their heads. Both boys had their irises completely drained of color, leaving white mindless eyes behind. Marcus took each one of them by their waists and pulled them close. Their hands started exploring the giant´s body, leaving a trail of sparks jumping off the radiant skin.

He then leaned down to kiss Robert, while Jordan worked his way down licking the sweat off his chest and descending slowly through the cobblestone road on his midsection. His giant manhood was already hard as an iron bar, eager for attention. As soon as Jordan´s mouth made contact with the pulsing member, a strong stream of electricity started inundating his body. The small muscles spasmed and expanded to ridiculous proportions. The small belly he had grown out of eating too many pizza slices and drinking mountain dew evaporated into this air, leaving a hard six pack behind. His chest raised, forming two pillows sticking far out of his chest. His limbs contracted and expanded into heroic proportions, leaving the new man at least a hundred pounds heavier with pure lean mass. He stayed at the same 5´6 height, making the new man a fireplug of a bodybuilder.

He had already kneeled down and was worshipping the godly pole in front of him, savoring the nectar coming from the tip as if he was drinking ambrosia directly from the source. His face cracked and rearranged leaving brutish heavy features, but still holding onto some beauty. Age seeped into his skin and his muscles, seasoning them with the hardness of a more adult male. All his hair fell down, except his eyebrows, leaving the man completely smooth. His skin took on a stronger golden hue than Marcus, without the glow.

Meanwhile Marcus was inserting his large tongue into his former friend´s mouth, completely invading him. Robert´s jaw cracked and rearranged into a sharp square. His cheekbones raised and the fat melted off his face, leaving a shockingly handsome face behind. Unlike his friend, Robert stayed young, his visage devoid of any single imperfection. He slowly grew up a couple of inches, but still remaining far off the height of the god sodomizing his mouth. His body then expanded, muscles piling on top of each other, but also craving themselves deep into his body. His former chubby physique completely shed off any excess fat, leaving him at a single digit body fat percentage. His chest didn´t hang as far as Jordan´s, but it squared off in the bottom as if being carved out of a marble statue by a classical sculptor. His eight pack was accentuated by the sharp Adonis belt pointing downwards. His legs and arms grew muscular, each individual sinew visible thanks to the thin skin on top of them. He had a bit less mass than his kneeling friend, but was way more defined. His body hair also fell down entirely, leaving the new handsome hunk as smooth as his former best friend.

Both new men´s manhood stayed the same size though, which made them seem much smaller on their larger bodies. Marcus then looked at his two new servants. He was completely conscious he was their master and demanded their adoration, but also felt a deep bond to them. He was free to fornicate with whomever he wanted to, but these two were going to be forever bound to him, desperate for his love and addicted to his divine masculinity. As for the two men worshipping their new master, their sole purpose of existing was serving and pleasing this new god among men.

He then ordered the former Jordan to lay on the bed, and pushed the former Robert right next to him. Although it was his sexual debut, Marcus felt as if he had done this for all of eternity. He was ready to claim what was his and become the supreme being he was destined to be.

The students evacuated the hotel in panic, together with their professor and fellow guests. An unusually strong lightning bolt had stricken the small building, completely blowing up an entire corner. Three students were missing. Cries and sirens resonated through the night sky. The professor tried desperately to communicate with the local authorities, completely ignorant that the three students had disappeared forever.

A car approached the ruins of the temple of Zeus. A giant figure then got out of the vehicle, accompanied by two large silhouettes that stayed behind. Marcus approached the center of the ruins. He was wearing a tight pair of black underpants, unable to find any other fitting clothes. Not that he needed to, his enormous body produced large amounts of heat, and still emitted a low shine highlighting him in the darkness. He had no need to hide. He was a gift to humanity, their savior. Anyone should feel blessed and humbled on his presence.

A lightning bolt fell directly in front of him, but the man stayed completely unfazed. Zeus appeared in front of him, still towering over the new Marcus, but seeming less than a giant next to the behemoth in front of him.

“You turned out very well. I was not mistaken in choosing you Marcus Laur.”

Said Zeus examining his perfect handiwork. He would say he was surprised by how well the job was made, but it was he who had done it, so it was only natural it was perfect. Marcus bowed in front of his creator and said with a respectful, but firm tone.

“Your words are my command my lord. What is it that I should do?”

Zeus´s stern face showed a glimpse of joy.

“I need you to be my envoy on this world, imprinting it with my will, which shall be your own. Humans are sheep, you shall be their shepherd. Come to the base of Mount Olympus. I shall put you through fearsome trials. Fear not though, with my power as your own you shall overcome them without problem.”

He then looked at the two muscular men standing right next to the car.

“I see you already got a taste of your powers. Good. You have two weeks to discover and reach your full potential. Do not fail.”

“Thank you, my lord. I shall not disappoint you.”

Marcus watched as lightning fell again, and Zeus disappeared. The golden eagle was already flying out of sight in the night sky. Zeus was very pleased with himself. He had many things in mind for his new toy. Not ever since meeting Ganymede had he felt an infatuation like this for a mortal, only this time he used his will to turn him into his ideal for true human beauty, and he imbued him with some of his divine power. His desire was going to burn the other competitors out of the way, thought the god of thunder. Marcus would become the Champion of Olympus.

#musclegrowth #transformation

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cankarmawrite · 4 years

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Undercover AU - Planning

So far, Beau had considered her mission a success.

She’d been laying low in a Milan safe-house after completing a covert information recovery mission. There had been some brief firefight after tripping an alarm she hadn’t noticed before, but Beau made it out of the diplomat’s villa with the information she was tasked with retrieving and her life. That was all she could really ask for at the end of the day, and for now, it was enough.

After downloading the information from the small device- a Jester Lavorre original- she began the tedious process of encrypting the data with her personal cipher. About 45 minutes into her encryption, a small notification flashed in the corner of her screen. Something had set off one of the various motion detectors around the safe-house. Her fingers stilled on the keyboard and pulled up the camera feeds for the property. Something- or someone- moved just at the edges of the back patio camera’s field of view.

Her senses immediately when on high alert, hand reaching for the pistol strapped to the bottom of the desk where she sat. Beau was certain she hadn’t been followed all the way here, and none of her fellow agents were supposed to approach because she’d activated the signal that meant it was in use. This had to be someone else.

Beau completed the familiar process of checking her gun over. The weight of the metal and roughness of the grip comforted her as she crouched and approached one of the windows from the side. Even with the wooden blinds drawn shut, there was still a thin area between each slat where she could peer out at the world safely.

When she was sure nothing was there, Beau exhaled a slow breath and began to move to the next window, flicking the kitchen lights on as she went to draw attention away from the direction she was moving. She thought about checking the camera feeds again, but was stopped by a slow, patterned knock at the front door.

It wasn’t a pattern used by the CIA, but somehow it was still familiar to her. As she approached the front door, gun held aloft and steady, Beau clicked the safety off and rolled her shoulders to relax them. She always pulled her shots when her body got too tense in the heat of the moment.

She must’ve taken long enough to answer the intruder’s knocking because the pattern was repeated again, this time a little more forcefully. Something clicked in her brain the second time she heard the pattern, a distant fuzzy memory from her chaotic Amsterdam mission three years ago.

“It can’t be…”

The whisper escaped before she could think to hold it back. Her usually steady hands shook as she undid multiple locks on the front door before throwing it open without care or caution.

Holy fuck, it is her.

“Beau…I finally found you.”

That’s all Yasha had the energy to say before she collapsed in a bloodied heap on Beau’s doorstep, the various weapons hidden across her body clanking loudly as her body hit the stone tile floor.

“Yash!”

Beau immediately rushed to the injured woman’s side, taking a moment to look over the state her former...friend was in.

Yasha looked like she’d been through hell and back. Dark bruises and various scrapes were covering the pale expanse of skin exposed by the black tank top she wore. Beau noticed wetness pooling at her knee and grunted as she flipped Yasha on her side to see what was producing all this blood.

There was a deep bullet wound in Yasha’s lower back bleeding steadily, which made her think the other woman had removed the projectile some time ago and hadn’t stopped to patch herself up. The bullet wound wasn’t what caught Beau’s attention though.

With an uneasy feeling rising in her stomach, Beau began bunching Yasha’s shirt up to expose more of her back, and more of what Beau thought she’d seen.

Scars. Tons of them crisscrossing Yasha’s back in a jagged patchwork of raised pink skin and faded white lines. Most of them were new, which brought tears to her eyes. What had Yasha been through in the years since she’d left Beau alone in a hotel room in Paris with nothing but a hastily scribbled note on her pillow?

Beau shook herself from her memories and rose to fetch the medical kit from the bathroom, her blood-covered hands fumbling with supplies as she grabbed anything she could think of to help save Yasha.

After a few minutes of cleaning and packing the few deepest wounds, Beau sat back on her heels and looked over her handy work. She’d stitched a few things up the best she could, but her sutures were nowhere near as good as what Caduceus would have done. The neatness of stitches aside, she was fairly sure Yasha would survive the night.

Beau didn’t sleep that whole night.

---

That happened days ago. She’d returned to the US with a very nervous Yasha by her side, bringing the woman into the CIA with her where the former Angel of Irons Operative had announced her intentions to defect and requested asylum. The Directors of the CIA had flat out refused to help. They didn't even grant Yasha asylum, simply their assurance that no action would be taken against her by the CIA while she was on American soil. Beau was obviously upset by this and, after verbally berating the Directors, had received a suspension of her field privileges.

Beau took two days of leave to make sure Yasha was safe and being looked after by trusted friends. When she returned, it was like watching a storm cloud tear through the office. She scowled and snapped at friendly faces, disobeyed simple orders, and told off the Directors...again.

Now Dairon was watching Beau in the training room as she sparred with some newer agents, though spar was a generous word in this case. The senior agent could tell Beau was taking her anger at the Directors out on the younger agents she was supposed to be mentoring. They’d decided to step in and allow Beau to work some frustration out, but hadn’t been ready for the fury behind Beau’s strikes. She was sloppier than normal, had let in a few hits that normally would have been easy blocks, things that concerned Dairon immensely.

“Do you remember the oath you took?”

Beau does, of course, but she doesn’t give Dairon any indication that she’s heard them. After gritting her teeth, Beau's fists fly forwards in a quick series of jabs aimed at some of the trigger points Dairon drilled into her head early on, though the blows are easily deflected by the seasoned fighter.

"You're acting like a love-sick teen."

She wants to throw a punch at Dairon for that comment, but she doesn’t. Instead, she lifts her chin defiantly and swipes at her nose with a single taped hand. Crimson immediately spreads across the white material wrapped there. Dairon shakes their head and deflects more sloppy hooks and uppercuts.

“You’re being reckless. You’re better than this Beauregard.”

This time Beau crouches and feints a sweep of Dairon’s legs- which her mentor falls for- before launching herself up at Dairon with a quick one-two combo that catches them in their solar plexus and across the jaw.

Her fist is pulled back to strike again when Dairon dives at Beau’s knees and sends them both tumbling to the mat below. The younger agent squirms underneath, attempting to break Dairon’s pin with a variety of techniques. When learned techniques fail, Beau resorts to just blindly trying to land a hit. One flailing limb strikes Dairon where a bullet recently passed through and they hiss in pain before moving to pin Beau’s fists by her head.

“Enough Beauregard! Enough...”

The agent above her was breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight. They still hadn’t been officially cleared by medical staff for training, but Dairon felt a personal responsibility for Beau's well-being and that meant making sure their young friend didn't make any rash decisions.

Beau finally gives in with a shout of frustration and lets her head fall back against the mat. Her usually bright blue gaze is dark with frustration and heavy with tears that refuse to fall.

"I have to do something Dai...I can't stay silent knowing what I do about the Angel of Irons."

Darion sighed as they stood, grimacing in pain as they offered a hand to Beau. “Please don’t throw your career...your life away for some trivial-”

The younger woman ignored Dairon's offered hand and instead executed a kip-up that would have made her mentor proud any other day. Beau was so familiar with the physics of the move and the strength of her own body that it hardly took any conscious thought. Beau was in Dairon's face the moment their feet hit the mat again, blue eyes blazing with a determination the older agent hadn't seen in a while.

“You don’t get to decide what’s trivial to me Dairon. I’m going to do the right thing, even if the agency won’t support me.“

Dairon’s eyes hold an expression of quiet regret and something that might be fear, but Beau doesn’t stay long enough to psychoanalyze. She hears her former mentor call after her once, but Beau doesn't spare a glance back.

The sound of the metal doors slamming shut behind Beauregard's retreating form echoes in Dairon’s mind for months.

---

“Beau, are you sure about this? You know we support you one hundred percent, but this could be suicide if we aren’t prepared.”

The woman in question turned to Fjord with a sigh, he was one of the people she’d known longest in this business. A talented former Navy Seal who’d left the service after one of his teammates sold information to the enemy and helped lead an attack on the base where his teammates slept. Fjord’s mentor, Vandren, had been killed during the raid on their compound, and Fjord had nearly lost his own life as well.

“Then we’ll be prepared Fjord, we can’t sit here and do nothing. The CIA flat out refused to help even though Yasha was requesting asylum.” She frowned and took a steadying breath, now was not the time to lose her temper...again.

“I won’t reveal everything I know about the Angel of Irons, that’s Yasha’s story to tell, but I will tell you that I will still try to do this, even if none of you come.”

The half-orc frowned at that and laid a friendly hand on Beau’s tense shoulder, “You are not going alone, Beau. I believe you...I just don’t want this to be a repeat of Am-”

“Yeah yeah yeah, Amsterdam. That wasn’t totally my fault-”

“The car in the canal Beau.”

“Hey! There was no one in the other car and I paid for the damages myself.” She huffed, brushing Fjord’s hand off her shoulder as she moved back towards the center of the room where planning was already in progress.

Another set of hands settled on Beau’s shoulders as she took a seat in a folding chair by the blueprints that were already covered in scribble and symbols from various people. This time they were blue and smelled faintly of burnt wiring and gunpowder.

“Beauuu...Fjord is just being a party-pooper. I already have some super cool things in the workshop, aaaand Veth and I still haven’t found a system in the world that can keep us out so this will be easy-peasy.” Jester chattered happily away in Beau’s ear as she used those magical thumbs to massage all of the tension from her shoulders.

After a few minutes of listening to Jester talk about the latest system updates she installed to help this operation run more smoothly, how her mother was doing, and what kinds of cereal she'd bought to stock the safehouse, Beau patted one of Jester's hands twice to signal that she was okay now.

"Thanks, Jessie."

"Oh! Caddy said that Yasha was patched up all nicely before he left. She's been sleeping for a while so you should go check on her." This statement was accompanied by a very heavy-handed wink from Jester, which of course drew an exaggerated eye-roll from Beau.

"I'm going, I'm going."

Jester's devious snickers followed Beau as she headed upstairs to check on Yasha, wholly unaware of the small post-it note on her back that said, "Kiss me."

#undercover au #spy au #beauyasha #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #jester lavorre #fjord stone #caduceus clay #expositor dairon #cia #critical role fanart #writing stuff #critical role writing

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alonely-dreamer · 4 years

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Dangerous Creatures | Chapter 36: Dangerous Friends

Summary: Mackenzie and Elijah go to Marcel’s party

Pairing: Elijah x OC

Words: 3314

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there. I’d like to thank @eywizard for beta reading this chapter for me!

Masterlist

On her knees, the seamstress focused on the needle, touching up the pants of her client’s suit as he admired himself in the mirror on his right.

“Damn, I do look good in a suit,” he said, making his friend in the cap laugh.

It wasn’t unusual for the seamstress to answer house calls, no, the only thing unusual about this client was the odd things he said. She felt weird as she focused on her work. She could hear the two men, but not quite comprehend what they were saying to each other, as if the words wouldn’t stick to her brain, turning into an alphabet soup she couldn’t read.

She thought she had heard names, Tina McGreevy and Joshua Rosza. What was the TV saying about them? Perhaps they were missing. No, it wasn’t that. Wait… who were they talking about again? Her mind was foggy and the more she tried to focus, the foggier it got.

“My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eyewitness, say he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississippi. They’ll be dredging for weeks, no one will come looking around here,” said the man in the cap, whose name she thought started with a ‘T’… Theo? Thibault? No… It was that.

“That’s good, considering one’s dead in a dumpster behind the county morgue and the other one’s a vampire now,” her client said with a chuckle. “Anything else?”

The words danced in her brain, refusing to form a correct sentence, refusing to make sense. As she tried to think back to what had just been said, she inadvertently pricked herself with her needle.

“Ow!”

She sat back on her knees and looked at her bloody finger. The man, whose name she thought might be Mark, crouched before her with a smile.

“Allow me, darling,” he said as he took her hand and brought the injured finger to his mouth.

She let him do it, even though her entire body was screaming at her to get up and go. Her mind was loud with alarms, screaming at her that it wasn’t safe, but she couldn’t say anything, couldn’t do anything but smile. His friend spoke up again.

“I sent four nightwalkers to look into a werewolf sighting in the Quarter. I haven’t heard from them since.”

Mark, or whatever his name was, lost his smile as he let go of her hand and sighed.

“That makes ten dead nightwalkers in the last week. You think the werewolves are back in town trying to start some trouble?”

“Look. I know you and Klaus are friends, but the fact is, since the Originals showed up…”

“Oh, come now, Thierry, you’re not still upset about that little toxic werewolf bite I gave you, are you?”

The seamstress barely registered the stranger who had just come into the fitting room. She felt like she was supposed to ignore him, to ignore them, to silence them out, and so she did.

“I see you’ve given him free rein of your compound now, too,” Thierry said with disappointment and disapproval.

“Yes. Well, seeing as my family and I lived here, built the place, in fact…”

“All right, come on,” Mark, or perhaps his name was Maxwell, interrupted their argument calmly, “you know the drill. Thierry is my guy, inner circle. Klaus is my old-time friend and sire. He’s also a guest here,” he reminded his friend. “Peace, all right?” he asked Thierry who nodded with a grimace. “All right,” he nodded as well. “What do you need, my brother?”

“I don’t need anything, just wanted to let you know Elijah accepted your invitation.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he smiled. “I hope you told him the rules.”

Klaus laughed. “He knows the rules, though I can’t promise he’ll follow them.”

“What about the witch?”

“Mackenzie? She used to love rules, would rather die than break them, actually. Now… not so much. But, no worries,” he added quickly to reassure his friend, “tonight is a party, no one expects a fight.”

“Right,” Marcel smiled unconvinced. “Let’s just have fun, eh?”

***

“So, how’s Matt?” Mackenzie asked, picking up a strawberry from the bowl on the kitchen counter right in front of her.

The cooks were busy cooking food no one asked, or wanted, compelled by Klaus to act like they were serving kings and queens. The kitchen was filled with desserts that Hayley was convinced would make her fatter than her pregnancy.

“Sleeping,” Rebekah’s voice came through the speaker.

“Where are you again?”

“We reached Amsterdam a couple of days ago.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It is actually.”

“So, I guess you’re not gonna be there for my birthday, then…”

“My gift is already in the mail, it should be there in time.”

“I was hoping to see you.”

“Aw, do you miss me?” the Original vampire mocked over the phone.

“Don’t you miss me?”

“Of course, I miss you, but let me tell you, the phone system is definitely one of the best creations in the past century.”

“Yeah, well I was actually hoping to spend my birthday with my friends, you know, but Katherine said she had no intentions of coming anywhere near Klaus ever again, so…”

“So what? I’m your backup friend?”

“I’d have loved to have you both here but since you guys all hate each other, I think it would have just ruined the day.”

“You’re probably right. Just spend the day with Elijah, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to do anything you want. Birthday or not…”

“Fine, don’t come, it’s not like we can actually have a party anyway, in our secret hiding place away from Marcel…”

“Why don’t you just come join me in Europe? Leave Nik alone, he doesn’t deserve your help…”

“Well, that’s true, but I can’t just leave Hayley here alone with him…”

“You’re right, that sounds like a particularly cruel thing to do.”

“Anyway, have fun in Amsterdam then.”

“And you have fun at that party of yours, show Marcel what you’re capable of.”

“And how do you suggest she does that, Rebekah?” Elijah asked as he entered the kitchen.

Mackenzie smiled as she saw him, and leaned into him as he went to place a kiss in her hair.

“Brother, finally, you deign to talk to your poor sister…”

The Original rolled his eyes. “You’re always so dramatic, sister.”

“That bastard little thief stole our city and declared himself King, maybe you should show him he’s nothing but an ingrate little…”

“Alright, alright,” Mackenzie cut her off with a chuckle. “It’s a charity dinner, ‘bekah. We’re expecting champagne, good food, and dancing, nothing more.”

“You’re so boring. No wonder Kol hasn’t come around to visit you.”

“Ouch,” Mackenzie frowned. “Now you’re just being mean.”

“Heard from him recently?”

“He’s somewhere in Brazil, I believe,” Elijah answered.

“What the bloody hell is he doing there?”

“Who knows what our brother’s got in his head.”

“You got that right… Well, Matt is waking up, I have to go.”

They said their goodbyes before hanging up, Mackenzie still eating from the bowl of strawberries that was almost empty now.

“Do you even want to go to this thing?” she asked.

“No. But Marcel must have something in mind, and I’d hate to go against his plans.”

She smirked. “That’s so nice of you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I am very nice,” he whispered before placing a kiss on her lips. “In fact, I have many nice things I want to do to you right now.”

“Ew, please, stop.”

The couple turned towards the kitchen doorstep to find Hayley standing there with a look of disgust on her face. Mackenzie rolled her eyes playfully as she took a step back from the vampire.

“What can we do for you, Hayley?” Elijah asked the newest member of the Mikaelson family.

“Nothing, I just came to stuff my face with the biggest cake I could find…”

“We’ll leave you to it then,” he nodded before he gently took Mackenzie’s hand and led her out of the room under Hayley’s uncomfortable gaze.

***

So far, everything was going well. Elijah and his witch were behaving remarkably, the Original had already signed a check, and had been dancing with his companion ever since. Klaus was right. They looked unbearably in love. The silver satin dress she was wearing was remarkable as well, no doubt a gift from Elijah, and it complemented her set of diamond jewelry best. A swiss blue topaz gemstone rested above her cleavage, the necklace looked ancient, royal, almost, as if it had belonged to a generation of royalty and had somehow found its way to her. He figured many “lost” jewels had found their way in the Mikaelson collection over the years. He watched them carefully, tried to eavesdrop on them too, but they were smarter than to believe they’d get any privacy in a room full of vampires, and kept their conversation as polite and as normal as possible, as if they knew they had an audience. Eventually, Marcel had better things to do than to spy on the two lovers, and even managed to completely forget about them as Cami had finally joined the party.

“They spend their nights and days with Klaus - you’d think they’d be used to the presence of an Original by now,” Mackenzie complained about the pairs of eyes that hadn’t left them ever since they had entered the compound.

Marcel had gone above and beyond for this party. Dancers, acrobats, the finest chefs and the finest champagne… All the guests were having a great time and were happy to open their wallets to the charity of the night.

“I don’t think they’ll ever get used to us,” Elijah replied. “After all the stories they’ve heard about us, we were a myth to them until we arrived here.”

Mackenzie scoffed, wondering how long it would take for her irritation to turn into something more dangerous.

“If only they knew…” Elijah started.

“If only they knew what?”

“If only they knew they were worrying about the wrong person,” he grinned with pride.

She smirked back and nodded as she looked around at Marcel’s nightwalkers. “Indeed.”

That’s when she saw it, or rather him, a vampire she had come to learn was named Diego, entering the party wearing a shirt and jeans and an unhappy look on his face.

“Looks like something’s wrong,” she said as she watched him approach Marcel, obviously nervous about interrupting his time with Cami.

Diego whispered something into Marcel’s ear, and they could see on his face something was wrong indeed. Marcel started looking around and stopped as he found Elijah and Mackenzie surrounded by dancing couples. He frowned before he made their way to them.

“Something wrong, Marcellus?”

“Yes, actually, Elijah, something is wrong. Where’s Klaus?”

“I’m right here,” the hybrid said as he appeared behind him.

“Good, come with me.”

The three Mikaelsons looked at each other with an amused curiosity. Whatever was wrong, it wasn’t their problem, and if it bothered Marcel that much, it meant it was probably a good thing for them.

They followed him out of the compound, heard him order Diego to find as many nightwalkers as he could and join them at a place he called the Traps, which is where he was taking them.

“For a week now, my guys have been dying,” Marcel started his explanation. “There’s a werewolf in town who’s been killing my nightwalkers, and a witch or two have been helping it, using magic, undetected,” he informed them, barely concealing his anger.

“How is that our problem?” Elijah asked, not bothering to hide his lack of curiosity.

“Rumors are you’re at fault.”

“If we were killing your people we wouldn’t make a secret of it,” Mackenzie said in all honesty.

Marcel stopped in his tracks and turned towards her. Unbothered by his anger, almost bored, and definitely annoyed, she raised an eyebrow at him, defying him to attempt anything.

“Is that so?”

“That is so,” she confirmed, her eyes falling on Thierry standing behind him. “Want me to prove it?”

Marcel stared at her, put all of his anger in his eyes, tried to see something as she stared back, anything on her face, even just a little bit of fear, but he saw nothing. What the hell could she have gone through that had made her so tough? Or maybe it was arrogance? No, it wasn’t just that. She had something, she was someone, someone powerful, who wasn’t afraid of him, because he was no threat to her. Not only did she have Elijah’s protection, but she also didn’t need it, and that was scarier than Klaus himself, and as he finally found fear, it was unfortunately not hers, but his own.

“You were taking us somewhere?” Elijah eventually said after a minute of silence.

Marcel was trying to calm himself down, trying not to let the smirk that had appeared on the girl’s face get to him. He regained his composure, and his usual bright smile came and replaced the angry look on his face.

“But, as you are here, now I know you had nothing to do with the attacks on my men, and I thought we could go and see for ourselves who’s been causing so much trouble in my town,” he said as if he were offering them something.

“Sounds like a party,” Klaus smiled maliciously, encouraging Elijah and Mackenzie to relax.

Diego and a dozen nightwalkers had found them before they had even reached the Traps, and signs of a fight could be heard from down the street. Mackenzie could sense a werewolf and at least two witches inside, and vampires, dying one after the other.

Marcel gave Diego the order to attack, to kill whoever it was that was killing his own men in his own town. Among the screams of rage and fear were laughs - laughs Elijah and Mackenzie thought they recognized. She looked up at him and the look on his face confirmed her doubts. He heard it too, but she also felt it. A smile creeped onto her face.

“Call back your men before they all get killed,” she said, and he heard the amusement in her tone.

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s only advice.”

“Advice you should seriously consider,” Elijah added.

But Marcel shook his head no and ordered more of his men to go in with him. They couldn’t even see what was happening inside. The bar had no window, only a door that was now broken. But they could hear everything that was happening and that was enough to give them an idea of the scene. Mackenzie chuckled, seriously debating whether or not to intervene.

“Perhaps we should do something,” Elijah suggested.

“What is going on?” Klaus asked, obviously irritated he was left in the dark.

Mackenzie smiled as she moved to go inside. She snapped the necks of every vampire there with a wave of a hand, and they all fell to the ground. All but Marcel. The bar was completely destroyed. Only a couple of chairs and tables were still standing, but most of them had been used as a stake and were now resting in the hearts of a dozen vampires. She walked past a temporarily dead Diego and took in the scene.

A man, the werewolf, was standing at the end of the room, with blood dripping from his mouth, holding a stake in his right hand, the broken chair he had ripped it off of in his other. He smiled at her as he saw her, the blood on his face made him look funny and she held back a laugh. A blonde witch was near him, waving at her, her free hand magically pinning a vampire to the ceiling. The last witch sat on the bar, her hair, her face, her outfit spotless, as if she hadn’t been part of the fight at all, but Mackenzie knew she had the highest body count.

“Mackenzie!” they all greeted in unison.

Her smile grew bigger and a laugh escaped her. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came for your birthday, of course,” Olivia said as she jumped off the bar.

God, Mackenzie thought. She looked so much like Margo.

“Mom says hello.”

“Does her Majesty know you’re here?” Elijah asked as he stepped inside the bar with his brother.

“Of course,” Felicity answered as she let go of the vampire she was holding against the ceiling. He fell with a cry, and her boyfriend seized the opportunity to stake him.

Marcel would have stopped him and killed them all, or died trying, if Mackenzie didn’t have him pinned to the wall.

“Lying to Margo is a very bad idea,” Oliver said.

Olivia gave Mackenzie a hug and whispered in her ear: “Heidi says hi.”

Mackenzie’s heart skipped a bit and as she backed away to look at the Princess, the witch winked. Elijah frowned.

“We have so many gifts,” Felicity said as she hugged the elemental.

“You don’t turn twenty-years-old every day,” Oliver continued as he approached them.

“Who are you?” Klaus asked dryly, tired of being left out.

“Klaus, these are my friends from Germany,” she introduced them, “guys, this is Klaus.”

“Well, you definitely picked the more handsome brother,” Oliver winked at her and was rewarded by his girlfriend’s elbow in his ribs.

Elijah chuckled. “You’ve been here for a week?”

“Yeah, we got here early, we wanted to meet the um…” Oliver stopped himself. “You know…”

“How do you know about it?” Mackenzie questioned.

“The oracles told mom. I mean, it’s not something you see every day.”

Of course the oracles would know about Hayley and the baby. It made them wonder who else knew, and if they needed to be more cautious.

“It’s just werewolf curiosity,” Oliver shrugged.

“Are Heidi and Alexander going to be joining us?” Elijah asked.

“And are they going to kill more of my guys?” Marcel worried.

“Not their type,” Mackenzie informed him.

“To be fair we wouldn’t have killed anyone if they had left us alone,” Felicity said.

“But they went on about how werewolves are forbidden in the Quarter, and that really pisses a werewolf off, if you know what I mean,” Oliver growled.

“Werewolves are forbidden in the Quarter,” Marcel snarled.

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“And you are?”

“I suggest you stick to giving your own men orders,” Olivia said with royal authority, “you are no match for us, as you can see.”

“We don’t take orders from vampires,” Oliver added salt to injury.

“I heard witches weren’t allowed to do magic in their own town,” Felicity continued, “another one of your rules, I suppose?”

“Shall we kill him?” Olivia wondered.

Klaus laughed. “Please, my friend here has been ruling over the Quarter for decades now, he’s just doing his job.”

“If his job consists of stopping witches from practicing their craft and hunting werewolves, then he is an unfit ruler and a change of leadership is needed,” Olivia said. “A good ruler promotes peace among all, and if you’re unable or too weak to achieve that, then you must be replaced.”

“I think there’s been enough killing for one night,” Elijah tried to defuse the situation. “Why don’t we take you to our place, so you can rest?”

“As you wish,” Olivia nodded. “We could use a home for the remainder of our stay.”

“I’ll let my brother show you to our place,” Klaus showed them out of the bar. “I will stay and help my friend clean up this place.” He gave them an obvious fake smile that neither of the three companions paid any mind to.

Mackenzie and Elijah looked at each other knowingly. Here went Klaus’ good mood.

**********

#the vampire diaries #vampire diaries #tvd #the originals #elijah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #elijah x oc #oc #reader #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #elijah x reader

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imagine-loki · 4 years

Text

The Slutty Web One Weaves

Title : The Slutty Webs one Weaves

Chapter NO. 7 of 10?

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki’s Asgardian wife learns women write fanfiction about him on a trip to Midgard. She’s edgy for the duration and lets him have it when they get back.

Author: lokilover9

Rating: M

Astrid apologized, agreed to everything and Thor lead them to a location to hide their vehicle.

"Loki will be pleased to know your helping."

"I should have thought to from the start." She regrettably admitted.

Frigga hugged him. "Thank you for agreeing to take her back should this fail." ***** For eight days, their plan worked until her Father paid the palace an unexpected visit.

Odin was in the front courtyard boasting to some Einherjar about beating an Embassador at charades, when their commander, Nedvar, interrupted. "Ignoramus at twelve o'clock, Sire."

The King groaned. "Splendid. It's Rodderick the dipshit."

"Give the word and we'll pitch him over the wall."

"Tempting, but what do I tell my daughter in law?" Odin hated the occasionally unkempt Lord who preferred perfuming to bathing and greeted him from behind a hedge. "Welcome Roddy. I look so forward to your unscheduled visits."

The disdain was mutual with Roddy feeling Astrid could've done better than wed whom he considered a criminal, Prince or not. "Greetings, Heiness. Might you be so kind as to share the knowledge of when your son intends to return?"

Astrid's parents had two daughters, her being the youngest and known to the Royals as her Father's least favorite.

"That depends on whom you miss more. Asgards lovely Duchess, or my son? Her beloved pardoned Prince. I can give either a message."

"Miss? Impossible as Astrid's practically taken up residence again. Should I relay you wish she ceased luring her Mother from bed crying, or send her home to disturb your sleep?"

"I wasn't aware she'd returned from Midgard. Has age required you hearing aids, or were you night prowling in hopes of accessing Ingrid's locked bedchambers again?"

Roddy frowned and crassly replied. "The lovely Duchess returned with Frigga. Is your wife telling lies, Allfather? Mine would never."

Odin cackled. 'Festering dimwit. Ingrid is banging my valet.' "You shall regard Frigga as 'Queen' and with utmost respect."

"My apologies. She is celestial, yet your defensiveness is revealing."

Roddy liked poking subtle jabs at the Royals and assumed Astrid a barrier to consequence. Most were directed at Loki and the King, but he'd worn Odin's patience too thin. "Insult anyone in my family again, including your daughter and face repercussions. Be gone, Rodderick."

"So soon?"

Odin's jaw clenched. "Leave egghead before I crack it on the pavement. Nedvar, escort him to the gate."

"Gladly, Sire."

Roddy followed, hardly perturbed. "One might expect the offering of a beverage after a stuffy carriage ride."

The commander jolted the gate closed. "Try opening a window Lord Heskin. If you're thirsty, there's a pub nearby rumored to host naked wrestling in the basement. Some days it's ladies, others gents. Enjoy."

When Odin entered their chambers bellowing to the Allmother, her lady in waiting sent word through a chain of servants to a handsomely paid Stableman. Familiar with an alternate route to Astrid's parents, he arrived ahead of Roddy and rushed her to the observatory.

Thor received her call and left immediately. 'Shite, brother. Where art thou?' ***** Following two days in Paris, Loki and Brianna cruised Lake Laguno in Switzerlandand. She questioned him about Asgard and her grandparents, yet when asking the circumstances behind his adoption, Loki spun a tale of half truth.

"Jotunheim had a King named Laufey who owned a magical cube that opened bridges to every realm. Long ago, he used it to attack Earth. Grandfather bravely defended your realm, forced his army back to Jotunheim and demanded he relinquish the cube. Laufey refused and continued attacking Asgards army until most of his people died. Grandfather found me alone amidst the rubble and decided to adopt me."

"You didn't tell him who your parents were?"

"I was an infant and the only survivor for miles."

"Where was Laufey?"

"He'd gone into hiding like a scaredy cat."

Instead of finding his comment amusing, anger washed over Brianna. "He abandoned a helpless baby to freeze? Introduce us and I'll use him as target practice."

Loki booped her nose. "I'm honored you wish to avenge me, but Laufey died and still suffers in the afterlife."

"How?"

"King scaredy cat will never have the privilege of meeting you."

Brianna smiled. "Or you. Was Grandfather hurt?"

"He lost an eye, but recovered nicely."

In Amsterdam, they visited the Artis zoo with over 900 species of little animals, an aquarium, planetarium and Zoological Museum. Further confirmation Brianna's his was how quickly she learned enormous amounts information and remembered the smallest details when later initiating a quiz. Since confessing to the burglaries, Loki was curious how she knew the homeowners were abroad and worked it into their conversation.

She replied like it was all in a day's work. "Dory accompanied me to different parks in fancy neighborhoods around Jersey, posing as my babysitter. Between eavesdropping on adults and questioning kids, it's amazing what you can learn inside a sandbox."

"Questions of what nature?"

"Like, 'I'm new to the neighborhood and love my big house. Where do you live?' Or, 'I'm going to visit my aunt Matilda's lavender farm to make soap.'"

"How was that helpful?"

"Most thought it dull and bragged of their families planning grander trips. Once attaining addresses and dates, I'd stake out their houses and proceed from there."

"Ah. With Dory as the lookout?"

"I left her in shelters or nearby motels. She never figured out how I managed, but by the third burglary, stopped worrying whenever I'd sneak away and send her a text." His eyes widened and Brianna rose a palm. "Dory lacked powers and I wouldn't risk her arrested because of me."

Why lecture when she'd acted out of desperation to find him? "You're a good friend, Og Min Lille."

"Thanks. I regret the stealing, but pranking the authorities was fun."

Loki thought it something innocent like tipping off their hats, but discovered her mischievousness paralleled her intelligence.

"I always struck at night and at one house, four police were investigating inside when I turned on the lights, flushed every toilet and set off their sirens. At the third, I poured a large olive oil path onto the kitchen floor, slammed a pantry door and watched two come running. One slid into it and fell, while the other amusingly contorted himself until the first tripped him. They sure swear a lot for the good guys."

"Brianna." He playfully scolded. "Say you did nothing worse."

"I'd be lying."

"Oh?"

"At the last house, the master bedroom had black drapes and life size models of a lion, wolf and a fang baring polar bear on its hind legs. Weird people. After aligning them near the door, I closed it, extinguished the lights and tripped the alarm. The police came, shone a flashlight inside and from the foyer, I made the bear roar."

Loki chuckled. "Did they scream?"

"And shot the bear."

"What?!" He led her someplace quiet. "From now on young lady, all pranks must meet my approval or…" While pondering means of discipline, he blurted what first came to mind. "...All shoulder and piggy back rides are discontinued."

He made both fun, thought Brianna. Bumping into things when her hands covered his eyes, then flipping her over his head for tickles. Or feigning valiant attempts at shaking her off to escape enslavement.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~ "Have mercy and release me!" He pleaded, captured during a picnic.

Brianna popped him on the head with her fake sword, a stick with a bushel of leaves at its tip. "Cease your begging, pheasant! I rule this realm, appoint you my new zombie slayer and hunter of all things chocolate. Fail and be fed to puppies!"

Loki set her down and knelt on one knee with a hand to his chest. "A frightful demise your majesty of cuteness. I humbly accept."

"Daddy, I'm supposed to be fierce."

"Eh he he he. Sorry." ~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

Brianna deliberated his threat and wittingly proclaimed. "Are you not the God of Mischief and I your offspring?"

He arched a brow. 'Don't laugh or she'll never take you seriously.' "I mean it."

Brianna had already pulled some under his nose. A boy who'd aggressively budded before her at a park slide discovered his shoelaces tied together after nose diving into the sand. A woman at a restaurant who harshly berated a server had red wine spilled onto her Gucci bag. Minor sprinklings of karma she happily administered.

"But you're still a prankster."

"Rarely and without endangering anyone." 'Shite. I'll need to keep that fib under wraps.'

Brianna crossed fingers behind her back and feigned defeat. "O-kay. Can I have a snow cone now?" ***** After seeing the Northern lights in Norway, they'd returned to their hotel where she became oddly sombre.

"Has something upset you?" Loki asked.

"During our travels, I've seen many people with children. It's obvious they're loved, but my family..why, Daddy?"

Her pain pierced Loki's heart as she clung to him. "People can do terrible things for incomprehensible reasons, but you're my little girl now and I'm overjoyed you've come into my life."

When her tears ceased, she unexpectedly opened up about the women. Her first memory was of Jillian singing her to sleep at age three. She and Claudia taught her to talk, walk, bathe and dress herself, brought her toys, fictional and educational books. Yet it was Jillian who'd paid her the most attention, their visits consistently monitored by Hannah. A person so controlling and void of sentiment, Brianna wondered how the trio became friends. The woman opposed their closeness and the first time Brianna defended her Mother, she was forbidden upstairs without Hannah present, who ordered Claudia to report otherwise. This became impossible when the two landed full time jobs. With Jillian delegated homemaker, Hannah was forced to trust her. Over the past year, she'd broadened Brianna's computer knowledge, snuck her for walks to a hidden trail entrance off the main road she'd marked with glow in the dark tape, taught her outdoor safety and survival skills and always stressed keeping everything secret, especially Brianna's magic or Hannah would separate them for good.

"Jillian knew of your powers? Why have you never mentioned any of this?"

Brianna frowned. "She bread me to thicken her purse. No amount of secrets and added kindness makes that excusable or her worthy of commeding."

An undeniable fact Loki avoided arguing. His daughter was hurting and preaching Jillian might've experienced a change of heart could impede their relationship.

She halted his conflictual thoughts by bashfully asking. "Do 'you' love me?"

"Very much, Brianna."

"Can I stay with you forever? Please? I'll move to Asgard."

Loki doubted she comprehended the gravity of her words. "Forever doesn't mean a month long visit as we previously discussed. It involves permanently residing on another realm thousands of miles from Earth where the landscape, culture, even people's wardrobe's are entirely unfamiliar."

"I know. Devoid of space travel, would it be any different if I moved to India, Antarctica or say..Bhutan?"

"I suppose not. I'm sorry, Bhutan?"

"It's a small country just south of China. I memorized Earth's geography and most of its cultures in one month."

"Very good." 'Genius supreme. I must catch up.' "Then you're willing?"

She yawned, proudly raising her chin. "Affirmative. I'd like to see those sandbox dwellers top that adventure."

Incredibly relieved, Loki chuckled. "You've ten remaining seconds to gloat, sleepyhead. Ten..nine.….three, two, one."

"Hey, you said those last digits awfully fast."

"It's time for vampire pajamas, your fierce and Royal Highness."

"A story too? Will you conjure The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud?"

"The Empty 'what?'" He amusingly queried. "No way, Jose. I've chosen three options of popular children's literature from the internet. The Cat in the Hat, Whinnie the Pooh, a rather peculiar name for a bear and Charlotte's Web."

"Isn't the last tale about a spider?"

"Yes."

"They're creepy. I choose that one."

'Mother would be impressed.' "Hurry then before zombies find us and eat my brains!"

Brianna shouted from the bathroom. "Nobody hurts my Daddy! Huyya! Take that you fiendish barbarians! Uh oh."

Loki rushed in upon hearing glass crack and found her standing on the bathtub ledge. "What did you do?"

"I was pretending to fight them off with my hairbrush when it flew from my hand, struck that picture and landed in the toilet."

He laughed renewing both with magic. "Your toothbrush is safe, yes?"

Loki finally thought her asleep when she reached out for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I forgot to say I love you too. Goodnight."

His heart swelled twice its size. "Goodnight, Og Min Lille." ***** Next they ventured to London and a budding lover of history, Brianna asked to visit The British Museum. While viewing a dinosaur skeleton from an upper walkway, she pointed into the crowd below.

"Daddy, isn't that Tony?"

He took a gander. "Well, well. Iron Man it be."

"Who's the strange lady he's with?"

"Pepper, darling. She often wears wigs to avoid recognition."

Her eyes brightened. "Please, can we say hello?"

"Inconspicuously. I'll him send a text." Daddy concealed his phone. 'Greetings kinky crossdresser. What brings you to Londinium?'

'Loki???'

'Yes. Act casual, we're hiding.'

'Holy shit! We're on vacation and at the Savoy in the Royal Suite. Can you meet us there ASAP? It's important.'

'We're on the ninth floor. Rendezvous in an hour?'

'Ha! We'll be there with balls on!'

'Come again?'

'🤪 Bells, dammit! Bells!'

'😂 Brianna can't wait.'

Tony hurriedly guided Pepper through the crowd. "Excuse us..pardon us..excuse us."

"Where's the fire?" She whispered.

"Daddy Snowflake's in town. Hustle, Butch." ***** Their door opened and Brianna ran to him. "Uncle Cootyoodles!"

"Little Warrior! Am I happy to see you!"

The couple listened with enthusiasm about everywhere she'd been, then Tony asked to speak with Loki alone.

Virginia led her into their bedroom. "Wait 'till you see all the cool stuff I bought."

"That'll keep her busy." Said Stark. "Pepper's a London shopaholic. So why the vanishing act? Thor called me."

Loki scoffed. "I did tell him not to."

"Don't be angry. Astrid returned and wanted to contact me."

"Why? You knew nothing."

"She didn't believe him. Neither did your Mother and Thor worried they'd show up at the Tower."

"What?! Our Mother came to Midgard in search of me? Shit..shit!"

Stark told him everything and Loki's face was unreadable. "Nope. There's nothing weird about staring like I've grown a nipple on my face."

"Did I mention it's pierced? You're saying 'my' brother, Shakespeare in the park, lied that extensively for me?"

"Yes and sent them back to your Dad to expand on it. What's everyone's problem with an awesome six year old anyway? Is that why you didn't go home?"

"Becoming a parent, you're suddenly bombarded with complex decisions centered around one tiny person you never fathomed loving so deeply, much less an indisputable desire to protect above all else."

Stark smiled. "Look at you. The master of Sheisterism all growed up..whose dodged my question."

Loki sunk into a chair. "Maturity aside, my life is a mess. Asgards people still regard me a traitor, Astrid and I are constantly arguing and it's completely unfair of me to expect she Mother a child she didn't bare and Odin's my grandest worry for classified reasons I've become an insomniac over. I can't subject Brianna to that. Her life has been dreadful enough."

"Not anymore. She has you now. I endured shitloads of public and political outrage over changes to Stark Industries. 'Wealth aside', I thought it my doom. People adjust and opinions fade. Astrid will come around once they meet. Look at the number Little Warrior did on us."

"She 'is' irresistibly charming."

"Whatever gramps issue is, arrange for her a few rounds with the old coot. She'll straighten him out."

Loki smirked, picturing Brianna dancing circles around the Allfather. "My Mother would buy ring side seats."

"See? The bulk of your family is on your side. Let them help."

"As appealing as that sounds, Astrid will expect hours of explanation I haven't the energy to convey. I love her, but she 'is' a drama queen."

"Eligible for an academy award."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Piss off, flying human."

"Thor's willing to talk without the wifey knowing. I've a burner phone as you tend to appear in the strangest of places."

"Mm. Like when I ran into you in a sleazy massage parlor near Carnegie Hall?"

Loki was still a bachelor then, but Tony wasn't.

"I didn't know they offered sexual favors until the masseuse grabbed my dick. They weren't listed on the brochure."

"Eh he he he. I'll call when I've a chance."

They clammed up when Brianna exited the bedroom. "Can I go Daddy, please?"

Pepper followed. "Sorry. I blabbered the Tea shops chocolatiers add finishing touches to their masterpieces at this hour."

"You may." Said Loki.

Tony slipped Little Warrior fifty euros. "Buy me an eclaire and keep the change. Badass ate mine."

"Yay! Thank you!"

They left and Stark unpacked the phone. "Here's your chance while Brianna's absent. Text him, 'Garage?'" ***** Jane distracted Astrid while Thor sat in the cabin of his truck and the brothers soon cleared a lot between them.

"I'm not upset you deceived me anymore Loki, nor is Mother. Yet I'm worried Father's making her life miserable. Are you fearful he'll scorn Brianna?"

"Not up for discussion and relax, brother. You've been gone a while. Mother's gonads have grown."

"She's taking male hormones?"

"I meant she's less meek? Have you dropped the toaster in your bathwater?"

"That only happened once." Thor defensively replied. "I was late for a waxing of my package and hastening making breakfast. Nor have I recently smoked Jane's medical marijuana. She threatened torture were there not enough to ease her menstrual cramps again."

Loki deadpanned. "Norns you're a tit, fruit of Odin's loins.' "How's Astrid?"

"Coping. Jane said she'd do anything to see you again."

"Coping amidst stewing over my bedding of another 'Midgardian hoe' I've fathered a child with, and the humiliating circumstances involved."

"Believe me, brother, she too is no longer angry and the diaries contents stayed within Stark's walls. It isn't my story to tell."

"Your software needs reprogramming, impersonator. Thor Odinson was never so thoughtful of his sibling."

The blond laughed. "He's turning over a new leaf."

Loki had sought privacy in another room and suddenly heard Brianna desperately calling him. "I have to go. Don't tell Astrid we spoke yet." Upon opening the door, she threw herself at him.

"Daddy!"

"What happened?" He asked Pepper.

"We neared the shops door when she gasped, bolted for the elevator and started frantically pushing the button."

Brianna was trembling. "Darling, why are you frightened?"

"We can't stay here, Daddy! She's down there!"

"Who is?"

"Hannah!" She cried. "I'd know that red headed witch anywhere!"

"Shhhhh." He soothed. "I promised they cannot hurt you, remember? Stay here with..."

Brianna wrapped herself tighter around him. "No Daddy! Don't leave me!"

She was so distraught, he couldn't. "I won't, Min Lille. Shhhhh."

"Virginia's gone." Said Tony.

Loki's head shot up. "Back to the shop?"

"Yeah. Said the witch looked familiar and went on a hunt."

"Fuck! Get her back here!" Brianna jumped from Loki's voice. "Sorry Min Lille. Tony, now!"

"Erm..why?"

"Because they've met! If Pepper confronts her, she'll vanish!"

#Loki #father #others #submission #Submitted fic #chapter 7 #lokilover9 #The Slutty Webs one Weaves

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byeoltoyuki · 5 years

Text

A place only we know ⇾ Lee Taemin

⇨ Since I’ve lost everything I’m reposting…

↳Pairing : You x Taemin

Genre : Fluff / Tiny Angst

Words: +6k

Summary : Two strangers waiting for their plane.

11PM, Amsterdam

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may we have your attention please. Due to the extremely violent storm outside, the flight Amsterdam to Seoul number 4593 is delayed."

The rest of the announcement could not reach your ears since most of the passengers around you groaned in frustration, cursing at the poor employees who could do nothing with this weather. But people, nowadays, tended to be rude and did not care about others. You, however, only sighed, there was nothing you could do except wander around the airport to busy yourself -and grabbing something to eat seemed at the moment to be a rather tempting idea.

You adjusted your backpack before getting away from the crowd and leaving the Gate 77 that was supposed to bring you to your plane, to your so exciting trip. I'd rather arrive alive in Seoul though. You cheered yourself with this thought and crossed the long windowed hall. A rather brutal lightning hit the ground somewhere outside, illuminating the dark sky into different shades of pink. It was fascinating and somehow very scary. You were almost glad to be on the ground and not anywhere near the sky.

Despite the darkness of the night, the runway and its surroundings was perfectly illuminated which helped you to see the damages caused by the storm. The wind was howling, strong, knocking everything and everyone off, making the work of hundreds of men almost impossible. You felt bad for them, seeing how they struggled to even stand against the wind. No doubt, you were better inside then in the air.

By the time you reached the closest café, there was no place left to your dismay. It seemed like in the end all planes were delayed which meant only more people to roam around the airport and of course around cafés and restaurants. Your hopes of finding a comfy place with a nice hot chocolate with some brownies seemed suddenly to be a far away dream. But you did not give up. Not yet at least. If you could not have a place to drink peacefully and comfortably, you still could buy the drink and bring it with you. Still better than spend the rest of the night without food. Your stomach rumbled, agreeing with you.

While waiting in the line, you took your phone off your pocket, remembering that it was finally time to warn your friend about the delay so she would not wait for you in Seoul for nothing.

"Hey girl! Seems like the universe is against us. My flight is delayed. There's a huge storm in Amsterdam. Hopefully it will calm down soon but it's hard to tell. I'll text you again when I'll have more info ok? Good night -or is it a good day for you?" Before you could finish your message, your head crashed right into someone's back -by the size and firmness of it you guessed it was a man.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" You apologized quickly and put your phone back in your pocket

The man before you only laughed and shook his head. He did not look at you, but just from behind he looked already interesting. The first thing you noticed was the light perfume surrounding him, a mix of something sweet and yet minty. You almost leaned closer -but refrained yourself, not wanting to look like a creep. Then, you noticed that he was a little taller than you, with fluffy hair, and his fashion was definitely on point. Now I want to see his face. I bet he's handsome.

"One medium cappuccino please." His voice was not the deepest you had ever met but was pleasing to your ears and somehow terribly familiar.

Too familiar.

"Miss?" The waiter brought you back from your little world, you have not noticed it was already your turn.

You glanced quickly to the side, wishing to have a glimpse of the man but all you could see was his back and his coat. Defeated, you looked back at the waiter and gave him a tired smile. "I'll go for a hot chocolate please."

12PM

It was only one hour after the announcement but you had lost all hope for your plane to take off for tonight. The storm was still raging outside and you bet it would not die down for at least another hour or so. By now, some of the airport agents started giving blankets to passengers who -like you- had no other choice but stay at the airport. You were one of the lucky one who received a warm blanket.

You found yourself a quiet little place, covering your legs with the blanket, you checked your phone for some messages -you had none. There was little you could to busy yourself and there was no way you could sleep in such an uncomfortable position. This is going to be a hella long night.

Barely ten minutes later a man sat beside you. At first, you did not pay any attention to him. It did not last. Especially when he kept fidgeting in his place -which honestly slightly annoyed you. You raised your head, ready to give him a stink-eye but all your intention went through the window when your eyes laid on him. It was not just any man.

Lee Taemin was sitting beside you. The same Lee Taemin that you had been going crazy over. The same man you had been admiring for a while. It seemed unreal and you wished you could slap yourself -but did not want to look weird.

Sensing that someone was staring, Taemin looked your way.

"Oh! It's you! The girl from the café." Taemin smiled widely, forgetting all about his phone, almost feeling comforted to finally see a familiar face in a place where everything was absolutely foreign to him.

You tried desperately to keep your face straight, you did not want to look too obvious and did not want him to feel unease, but his smile was so stupidly contagious, you could not help but smile back, bringing your hand to cover your mouth.

"Sorry about that." You managed to say, your voice a little shaky and you hoped he would put it on the count of your shyness. "Is your flight delayed too?"

It was a stupid question since you knew already the answer. Of course his plane was delayed, just like yours since your destination was the same, but you could not let him know that, could you now.

"Sadly yes. I guess we're all in the same boat." He sighed and readjusted his coat around his body.

You felt bad for him. You had no idea whenever Amsterdam was just a mere stop in his flight or if he had actually spent some times here, nevertheless he looked absolutely drained and cold. You glanced at your blanket and wondered for a second if it would be considered inappropriate to share it with him. You bit your lips, hesitating for a moment but then you decided that you had nothing to lose and all to gain.

"Would you like some of my blanket? It's big enough for two people, I don't mind sharing it." This time, your voice actually cracked, showing just how nervous you were at the idea of offending him -you really did not want to bother him.

Taemin looked taken aback by your suggestion. His eyes darted back and forth between you and the blanket, his silence making you sick to the stomach. Under the blanket, you curled your hand into a fist, your knuckles turning white under the strength. But then, Taemin gave you sheepish smile and rubbed his neck almost nervously.

"Are you sure it won't bother you?"

"Depends." You started, hesitating for a second if you should be honest with but then you realized that there was no use to lie. "Would it bother you if I say I know who you are?"

Taemin had probably expected something along the line of 'We don't know each other, is it really fine?' Or 'What if I'm some kind of psycho?' But he did not expect you to be so honest, so sincere with him. He blushed at your words, honored that a foreigner would actually recognize him and at the same time he could not help but feel shy -his cheeks slowly gaining a nice tint of pink. He looked absolutely adorable and you wanted nothing more but cover him with your blanket and make him comfortable.

And it was exactly what you did.

No answer from him meant it was not a refusal -he did not say yes either but you took the risk. You moved closer to him, taking place at the empty seat beside him and threw the blanket over both of your legs, adjusting it so it would cover up to your waist. Once done, you looked at him and gave him a shy smile -you felt suddenly insecure and shy but you tried not to show it.

"Thank you." Taemin finally said

You were awfully aware of how close he actually was to you, when you felt him relax, his leg lightly pushing yours. For a moment, you forgot how to breath, unable to think properly, unable to move or to react. Were you having a small mental breakdown?

Definitely. But it was worth it.

After that, none of you really spoke. Taemin, probably because he was still -he could not help it, a little wary of you while you, on the other hand, was simply too embarrassed, too shy to even think about striking up a conversation with him. In silence, both of you busied yourself with your phones. You had your eyes pinned on your phone, refusing to even peek a little at what he was doing but it did not last.

"Shit." Taemin suddenly said, making you glance his way, only to see that his screen was about to turn off, running out of battery. He stared, face going blank, at his phone, considering his options.

Your body reacted way before your brain. You took off the external battery that you would always carry around just in case you would run out of battery, never would you have guessed that it would come to use and you blessed whoever inspired you to buy this heavy thing. You handed it to him, startling him. Taemin looked at the battery, his brain seemed to have a hard time to comprehend what the object was, until he raised his head to look at you.

"You're running low on battery, don't you?" You explained, trying to control your face. "I don't need it."

Taemin hesitated for another solid five seconds before accepting your help. He quickly connect his phone to the battery before putting everything back in his bag, surprising you at the same time. But it was not the only thing that took you aback. Once Taemin had gathered all his belonging, he stood up and stretched out his hand in your direction, a huge smile on his face. "I'll take the risk."

"What?" You asked dumbfounded, staring at his outstretched hand. Taemin only chuckled at your confusion and moved his hand to encourage you to grab his hand. He confused you to no end but you decided just to trust him. You grabbed his hand, your grip strong, as he pulled you from your seat, making you stumble a little, but his other hand circled your body and steadied you.

"So. How about we grab some snacks? I don't know about you but I'm kinda hungry and I think the night is going to be long." Taemin suggested

And you could only agree.

****

You expected to go the closest store and buy maybe some sandwiches and drinks, the healthiest food you could possibly find so late at night. But the reality happened to be a little different. The moment you got inside a store, Taemin grabbed a small basket, smiled wickedly at you before starting to grab everything that caught his eyes.

"What do you like?" He asked without looking at you, his eyes wandering around the different shelves.

You took a moment to think about what exactly you wanted to eat and Taemin mindlessly took a bag of maltesers which made you frown at him. What did he exactly have in mind? You wondered.

"I'll go for crisps." And you grabbed a bag of roast chicken crisps followed by another one but the bacon one. Taemin glanced at your choice of crisps, smiling cutely at you, his eyes shining with mischief before he grabbed two more bags and put them in his basket. "Taemin!"

"What?" He blinked innocently before turning his back on you and chuckling, amused with your reaction.

"Are you even going to eat all of them?" You laughed but shook your head in disapproval.

"You'd be surprised by how much I can actually eat of those." He glanced your way before throwing three chocolate bars in his basket -and you judged him silently for that.

You considered your options as you followed him silently through the rows, your conscience telling you to be reasonable when you just wanted to follow his example. You glanced back at the two bags of crisps in your arms and gave in. Who cared? Once in a while you could spoil yourself.

Especially tonight.

So you grabbed everything that tempted you. By the end of your stroll you halted at the shelves with dried fruits.

"Really?" Taemin's voice echoed from behind you, too close, you could almost feel his body against your back.

"What. Just for good conscience." You tried to defend yourself.

Taemin laughed at that. "Sure. Now that's something you know you won't eat."

You grabbed a bag nevertheless and then turned around to face him, making sure to look very adult like by sticking your tongue out.

Very adult of you, indeed.

What Taemin did next took you completely off guard; he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pull you along with him to the cashier. You did not mind him being touchy -who in the right mind would push him away anyway, but it surprised you. Should he not be wary around you?

"I'll take the risk." His words replayed in your mind.

Taemin trusted you for tonight. Trusted you that whatever happened tonight would stay only between the two of you.

Suddenly, you did not mind the delay, because spending a night with such a nice company was worth it.

****

By the time you got back from your little walk, all the seats were taken. The storm had not died down, if possible it worsened and by now all flights were cancelled till at least the morning, forcing people to stay inside the airport for most. You exchanged a quick glance with Taemin, the same thought crossed your mind 'what are we supposed to do now?'.

An agent approached you and handed two more blankets for you, apologizing profusely for the inconvenience, almost making you feel bad for him. Taemin seemed to be thinking the same as you heard a small 'it's ok' escaping his lips.

"Told you. The night is going to be long." Taemin sighed in defeat, his eyes scanning the place, stopping at a corner by the window. "I guess we're going to sit on the floor."

It was definitely not the best condition ever but at least you had blankets and snacks to distract yourselves from your situation.

Taemin laid the first blanket on the cold floor before plopping down and patting the empty spot beside him. The blanket was short which left almost no space between your bodies. You took a deep breath and joined him on the floor, recovering both of your bodies with the second blanket. Taemin took the chance to take from the bag all the snacks and put in between you.

"Okay, so since I won't probably fall asleep at all in these conditions." You started talking as you grabbed a crisps from the bag resting on your laps. "Let's pretend for few hours that I don't know who you are. We're perfect strangers. Two young people who happened to meet in a rainy day."

Taemin's eyes lightened, shining brightly and looked thrilled with your proposition. He shifted on his place and turned to have a better look on you. "Sounds interesting to me."

"Okay." You whispered, losing yourself just a little in his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Taemin and I'm stuck in Amsterdam for a few more hours. What's about you?" Taemin was the first to react, surprising you once again tonight.

"I'm Y/N. Amsterdam is just a stop for me before my final destination."

"Which is?"

"Seoul."

Taemin's eyes widened in shock, astonished, before coughing awkwardly. "Really?"

"Yeah. My friend landed there two days ago and is waiting for me." You explained

"Your first time in Korea, I presume?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from then?"

"Currently I'd say from a country where tea rules people's lives. And the art of tea making is as big as a religion. Milk first or tea first? Important question. Otherwise I come from the country of love."

Taemin burst into laughter at your description of two countries that meant a lot to you. "That's so enigmatic."

"I'm from France and I'm working in England." You chuckled along with him

"Now, that's interesting."

"Not as much as you think." You grabbed another crisps before moving the bag closer to Taemin suggesting for him to try. Then, an idea crossed your mind. It was late and you were actually too lazy to think of proper questions to ask but internet existed and happened to be your best friend. Quickly, you took your phone and searched for 'best questions to get to know someone'. Perfect for your occasion. "So. I found this website with questions to get to know each other. Let's play?"

"I'm in." Taemin hurried to answer and leaner closer to you, his arm touching yours, to get a better look at the questions on your phone.

"Ok. What's your favorite color?"

"White."

"So random." You commented. "Mine is red. A deep ruby red, almost a wine color but with less brown."

"Favorite drink?" Taemin read the next question and you noticed how closer he got. By now his arm was completely pressed against yours and his warm breath tickled your cheek.

How the hell am I supposed to concentrate?! From outside you managed to control your face. From inside? You were losing it.

"Peach ice tea."

"Any kind of juice."

"Favorite movie?"

"Good question. Any kind of horror movies? I did like The Conjuring though."

Your face paled at the mention of horror movies. Some plots were definitely interesting and you wished you could watch them but you were a scaredy cat and would die while watching any of those movies. Taemin, however, noticed the change in your expression and giggled at your look.

"I guess someone's not very fond of horror movies?"

"If you ever decide to kill me, you can make me watch a horror movie."

"Noted. But hopefully it will never come to this point. What's yours?"

"Depends the mood I am in! I love the Shawshank Redemption but I blame Morgan Freeman's voice. Otherwise I love Kingsman, such good fun. And Colin Firth. Oops." You bit your lips to prevent yourself from rambling, it was too tempting and you could not help it whenever you talked about something you liked.

"Favorite song?"

"It's-" You wanted to answer 'Move' but then, for once, you managed to stop yourself before spitting something you could probably regret later. You looked at Taemin only to find him staring at you with expecting eyes, almost as if he knew what you were about to say. You took a deep breath before giving in. "Move."

"Is it?" Taemin smiled fondly at you, no trace of discomfort or annoyance. Quite the opposite. "I don't really have a favorite song. I guess it all depends on my mood?"

"Fair enough. Favorite book?"

"One piece." He answered without a blink and you judged him hard for his choice. "What, it's a book too."

"Sure. Should I then adapt the question? What's your favorite manga?"

"And you know already the answer."

"I do. I haven't read mangas in ages but my favorite one is definitely Fushigi Yugi."

"Oh. Had a little crush on Tamahome?" Taemin teased, a smirk plastered on his face

"Of course! He's hot and strong."

"I prefer Tasuki. He's funnier."

"But not as strong as Tamahome!"

"Fine. Tamahome is the best!" Taemin laughed and raised his arms in defeat.

Maybe you were ready to fight him for the sake of your favorite manga ever.

"Favorite season?" You asked

"Winter."

"But it's so cold!" You whined in reply "And everything is dead."

"Maybe, but then when there's snow everything is white and beautiful!"

You could not disagree with his reasoning except you still hated winter. "It's still too cold."

"Seeing how you dislike cold, would your favorite season be summer?" Taemin teased back and gently shoved you with his arm.

"Aha!" You exclaimed. "No. Spring is actually my favorite. I love the sun coming back, nature coming back to life and the smells! First time you can smell freshly cut grass after a long time is in spring. And all the birds singing? It just puts me in such a happy mood."

Taemin hummed in agreement. "Can't fight you on that one." He smiled fondly at you before scrolling down looking for another question. "Are you usually early or late?" Taemin winced at the question knowing beforehand what he would answer. "I'm definitely the type to be late."

"It depends for me. My friends would probably say late. With reason." You paused thinking deeply about how you could defend yourself -not like you needed but seeing Taemin covering his smile with his hand was enough to fire you up. "Ok I know now. I would be early at first, and then when I am comfortable enough with someone, I would tend to be slightly late here and there." As you finished talking Taemin could not hold any longer his laughter, making you frown in disapproval before adding "It's a proof of love?"

"Oh is it?" He teased back

"Then what's your excuse for being late?!" You were holding back from sticking your tongue out once again, it was childish and petty but it was just so tempting and he was not helping.

"I always end up getting lost or would forget my stuff so I have to get back home for it." Taemin explained

"I prefer my explanation."

Taemin chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"A word you use all the time?" You asked, changing the subject.

"Shit."

"Putain. Yes I am rude." You only smiled without translating the word, you did not need to, your voice, the intonation was enough for him to guess what kind of word it was.

"What takes up too much of your time?"

"Getting up in the morning." You admitted with a sigh. You did not think it was such a big deal and you did not think you were that terrible either but some would without doubt disagree with you on that matter. "Or cooking. I don't like cooking. I prefer eating."

"I can only agree with you on that one." Taemin eagerly approved. "Actually, my answer is identical to yours. I'm terrible at getting up in the morning. And I'm slow getting ready since I seem to always look everywhere for my belongings."

"So we're team late." You joked and Taemin nodded in approval. "How do you relax after a hard day of work?"

"Netflix." Taemin answered without a single moment of hesitation and you could only chuckle.

"Netflix is our savior." You completely approved of his choice. "I watch my series after a hard day at work. Eat some snacks and maybe play video games."

"Then, what are the small things that make your day better?" Taemin asked almost immediately

Your thought about it for a while, there were actually many things that made your day better and somehow it always involved the one you loved. A fond smile grew on your lips as you answered him. "A nice text from someone. An unexpected picture of my nieces. Lots of things can make me happy, but small things are the best."

"I was about to answer 'food' but you sounded so serious and sincere, my answer seems lame as hell now in comparaison." Taemin smiled sheepishly at you and you swore you noticed a trace of pink on his cheeks.

Is he actually blushing? You wondered.

"Food is good too though." You added and grabbed a malteser from his bag, making his eyes darted from your eyes to your lips and you almost gulped nervously. You lowered your head, eyes on your phone as you look for another question. "What's something you're self-conscious about?"

"My appearance." Taemin admitted after a moment of thinking. You looked at him, taken aback that someone like Taemin could actually feel self-conscious about his body, it did not make much sense to you.

"My chin." You decided to answer without commenting his own weakness, pretty sure that he did not want to linger on this subject. "What's the best think about you?"

"My flexibility?" Taemin

"My character. I am friendly and lovable."

"Are you?" Taemin teased back

"Yes I am, mister!" You elbowed him without hesitation and Taemin could only laugh in reply, unfazed. You pouted silently, wanting him to feel guilty -not like it worked. You ended up scrolling again through the questions and stopping at one. "What risks are worth taking?"

Taemin took his time to answer that one, he hummed looking absently through the window, another lightning illuminated the sky. You wondered what was Taemin possibly thinking about until he turned his head back to you and looked straight into your eyes, a small smile stretched on his lips. "Spending a night at the airport with a nice young woman."

Your whole body froze at his words, breathing becoming almost impossible but then his words hit you hard and their meaning making your heart beat fast. Slowly, you turned your head to face him, to see what kind of face he was making. Maybe he was just messing with you because he knew you cared, but the reality was so much more interesting. The brightness of his eyes showed how genuine he was with his answer, no malice, no mocking, just pure fondness. What exactly were you supposed to tell him after that? You could not find your words and Taemin seemed to have mercy on you by choosing another question. "What gets you fired up?"

You blinked few times, thanking him silently for saving you from a very awkward moment. You shook your head to get rid of any awkward thoughts and pondered on the question. "Good music in the car. Definitely."

"Jamming hard to some good music in the car, yeah I agree on that one." Taemin approved

You halted at a question on your phone. It was a rather different, unique question compared to the previous one. 'oh' escaped your lips before you could even realize what was going on. Taemin leaned closer to peek at your phone to read the question aloud. "What's the title of the current chapter of your life? Nice one."

You nodded and thought about your life. "It would be something along 'Left and Right, take the right direction.'"

******

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the trafic is slowly returning to normal. Please check the departure board to know when is your flight and at which gate you are expected. Thank you for your patience and comprehension."

The announcement woke you up instantly. It took you about two minutes to remember where you were and why your body was so sore. Taemin shifted by your side, his arm tightening around yours and his head nudge gently against your jaw. Your body tensed, remembering the night, remembering the fact that you had befriended Lee Taemin. You knew it was a dangerous game but it was worth the risk. He was worth the risk. The admiration for him grew after the night of talking. Not only was this man talented, but he was also a genuine sweet, funny and interesting person.

You wished you could stay longer like this, far from your lives, from the reality. Sadly, it was not a movie and goods things had an end. You took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to wake up the sleeping man -it was harder than you thought. You patted gently his arm, shaking him but it did not have a huge effect on him, instead he only groaned and tightened his grip around your arm. You bit your lips, preventing a squeal. Why must he be so damn adorable?!

"Taemin." You shook his arm. "You need to wake up." He opened one eye to peek at you before shooting back his eye and pressing himself harder against you. "Oh come on! You're not a kid. We need to go."

"Don't want to."

"And here I thought I was the one with difficulties to wake up in the morning."

"If I wake up, it will mark the end of a very nice dream." He whispered

I know. You wanted to say but it would mean giving in and making things even harder for both of you -and especially you. Nevertheless, you allowed yourself to be genuine with him. You unwrapped his arm from yours causing another groan from him, but then you raised, shakily, your hand, reaching for his cheek that you stroke gently. "You know that it's time." Against the odd, Taemin opened his eyes only to stare at you intensely, almost making you feel in wrong and shy, however he leaned into your touch, pressing his cheek harder against the palm of your hand. It was such an intimate gesture but you could not stop yourself, you could not take your hand away from his face and you did not want to seeing how his eyes were glued to yours.

"The flight number KE926 Seoul Incheon…"

You could not concentrate on the announcement, your heart hurting in your chest as Taemin let finally go of you. He, too, knew it was time to wake up from this dream and go back to reality.

Unwillingly you gathered all your belongings, folding the blankets before putting them away with the others. Your hand clenched hard around the strap of your bag as you found the courage to face Taemin one last time. He stood just before you, looking just as tired and sad -you almost refused to believe it but it was hard to ignore the glint in his eyes.

"I guess our paths part here." You said, your voice low and shaky

"It does, doesn't it?"

No matter how rational you wanted to be, you could not fight back the lump in your throat, you felt completely overwhelmed with those unwelcome feelings and fighting them seemed to be an impossible mission. Hesitantly you stretched out your hand for one last hand shake.

"It was a pleasure to meet you." You whispered. "Thank you for your company." And you wanted to add 'And for the unforgettable memories.' But you could not find the courage tu utter those words.

"Likewise." He shook your hand, the shake firm yet the warmth of his hand made your heart swell with fondness.

For a while you simply stared at each other, without breaking contact, without letting go of each other until you made the first move -the tension got just unbearable for you, you had to let go first. So you did.

"Goodbye."

****

"Ladies and Gentlemen. It's currently 4pm local time. Welcome to Seoul Incheon."

After hours and hours of struggle you finally managed to reach your final destination. Without a doubt the memories of this trip would forever stay in your head. From the moment Taemin left, you had to wait for the second plane for Seoul, you were not lucky enough but it did not matter, at least you had time for yourself, to calm down and regain your composure.

"Y/N!" A very familiar voice yelled your name as you exited the customs, pulling your suitcase tiredly behind you. Despite all the unfamiliar faces, it did not take you long to find the source of the voice, quickly you spotted your friend, Minhee, who kept waving happily at you. And just like that, you forgot all about your exhaustion, all about your sadness and instead a smile grew on your lips and you almost run to join her, jumping at her for a tight hug.

"I'm finally here." You muttered, your eyes wandering all around the place. Incheon was like any other airport but it felt difference.

"I can't even start imagining how awful your night was! I got worried for a while." Minhee hurried to say as she took your suitcase from your hand. "Let me carry that, I'm sure you're tired."

You were about to answer that you were fine but then your eyes caught sight of a billboard with a very familiar face. You could not recall Taemin doing any kind of advertising but then again you were not the kind to follow those stuff.

"It wasn't as bad as you think." You simply replied without looking at her.

No indeed, it was not that bad.

*****

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly would you love me if I tell you that somehow I managed to get us ticket for a rather private Taemin's concert? And they even organize a kind of fansign?" Minhee plopped down beside you on the bed, disturbing your peaceful resting.

"I'll probably love you forever." You smiled and poked her side.

"Well. Forever is long so you better stick to your words." She warned you as she took off two tickets from her pocket, grinning widely as your eyes widened in disbelief. And here you thought she was just joking around.

"How." Was the only thing you managed to say.

"I'm just that good."

That she was.

*****

Seventy two hours ago, it would not have been a problem to go to Taemin's concert. Seventy two hours ago, you would not have been stressed over seeing him on stage and even less facing him at a fansign. But then, things were completely different. You kept thinking about him, about that night at the airport and about the concert. 'How will he react?' 'What if he ignores me?' So many questions haunted your head and you felt sick to the stomach.

But here you were, waiting for your turn to approach him, surrounded by many other fans and your heart refused to calm down, it kept

The concert ended in a blink of an eye. Through the whole show your eyes were fixed on his face; he looked tired, obviously the traces of the trip still lingered and going back to work so soon did not help. You felt bad for him and wished he could have just stayed home and rested as much as he needed. That of course was impossible since he was an idol.

You tilted your head to the side to have a better view of him, lining up with others fans. There were around ten people before you and the pressure kept building up. It should have not been so nerve wracking for you to face him, but you could not help yourself. He was not just an idol anymore.

Sensing your distress, your friend circled her arm around yours, resting her head against your shoulder, eyes glued to the small stage where Taemin was.

"Relax." Minhee whispered and gave your arm a small comforting squeeze. "Worst case scenario he will pretend like nothing had happened. Best scenario? He will recognize you and talk to you. You have nothing to lose." You knew she was right but it did not ease your mind.

"Next." You heard one of the security agent announcing.

Nine more girls and then it was your turn.

You closed your eyes, your fingers automatically clenched around your friend's arm as you took a deep breath. Then, an idea crossed your mind and your eyes snapped open, you looked at your friend. "Do you have a pen?"

She looked at you puzzled, nevertheless she took a pen and a piece of paper -somehow she just knew what exactly you needed. You quickly scribbled on the paper before giving the pen back to Minhee. She looked curiously at you, slowly dying to ask you what was this all about but all you gave her was an enigmatic smile and a playful wink.

Your eyes darted back at the folded piece of paper in your hand, squeezing it hard. It was a silly idea but you never got his answer at that question after all.

"Miss. Your turn." The agent spoke to you

It was now or never.

You gathered all your courage and took a step closer to the stage. You could do it. You peeked behind you at Minhee who gave you a thumbs up, a proud smile plastered on her face. You could do it.

As you got closer, Taemin still had not seen you, he was talking with a woman from his staff and it was fine by you. Quietly, you approached the table and handed him your album and on top of it was the piece of paper. Automatically, Taemin read the notes, his eyes going wide.

"What's the title of the current chapter of your life?"

He snapped his head to look at you, his eyes going even wider -if it was possible-, surprise, shock, relief, happiness, all those feelings crossed his face causing your grin to widen.

"Hi." Your voice came out too low but Taemin, of course, had heard you.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something and anything would have been fine by you, but his voice got stuck in his throat and instead he looked back at the piece of paper in his hand. He quickly wrote on it before simply handing it back to you. And yet when you grabbed the other side of the paper, he did not let go and instead stare into your eyes. You got completely lost in them while your treacherous heart started racing, pounding harding hard against your ribs.

Taemin smiled and let go without a word, silently encouraging you to read his answer.

So you did.

"Crushing for a stranger."

#taemin scenario #taemin #shinee #taemin fanfic #shinee fanfic #taemin x reader #shinee x reader #taemin fic #shinee fic #a place only we know #vik

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obliviatemick · 5 years

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Ben Hardy Fanfiction | When I Kissed You p. 7.

CHAPTER SEVEN: HELLO, STRANGER.

PLAYLIST: blazed - Ariana Grande.

WORD COUNT: 1761.

BARBARA'S POV.

"I can't believe it!", it was around 2 pm in Amsterdam and I was talking on the phone with Cole. "It was like reliving that night in New York. EVERY.LITTLE.DETAIL"

The dream/déjà vu about Ben had made of me a nervous mess. Of course, I had thought that night with Ben (several times, in fact), but none of my memories were that... vivid. In my dream I'd felt him once more: his skin, his lips, everything. For some reason, my dumb brain took this as a warning, a sign that something big was about to happen. The question was: what?

"It's normal!", his voice blasted through the speaker, there was a buzz of people speaking in the background, probably photographers and models. He spoke as if he found the whole situation very amusing. "Having those dreams is a pretty common thing in women like you and 12 year olds. It's biology, Barbara."

"Women like me? What does that mean?"

"Unsatisfied", he stated, a smile on his voice.

"Wha- the fact that he's the first guy I've slept with in months has absolutely nothing to do with me having those dreams and also-", in the line, he was laughing his ass off at my expense. "Cole, listen!!"

"Look, I'm just saying that you had a good time with an attractive guy whose greek profile and sculpted body were saved by your subconscious just to give him to you when you need a certain... stimulation." He made a pause, I heard him blowing his cigarette. "Your dream means absolutely nothing. "

I bit my lip, unsure of what to believe. On one side, I had my bff giving me unsolicited biology facts and on the other side I had sweaty hands, an upset tummy and not to mention the need of looking over my shoulder every two damn seconds. I was going crazy. Whatever it was, I decided to give Cole the benefit of the doubt. "I guess you're right..."

"The hell I am, now-", he made a pause to take another drag of his cigarette. "Could you stop whining about wet dreams and enjoy your moment of glory?", in the background, the clamour of conversation stopped swiftly. "Oh", I shut my eyes, embarrassed.

"Did you... have to say that out loud?"

⭐

My agent was already waiting for me in arrivals, even though we were supposed to meet thirty minutes later. The blonde, round woman was stomping her way to me, her cheeks looked rosy pink and tiny beads of sweat were glued to her forehead. She pulled me by the arm as soon as she laid hands on me.

She explained that the producers had changed the schedule and that instead of having a private table read with the cast, we would be doing a press conference with lots of media to report on it. Which meant I had to answer a lot of questions about my character in front of the whole country!

"Countries, darling", she corrected me. "This is a Netflix series; the whole world will be watching you"

I felt sick.

We hopped in a car I assumed was hers (if not: what a nonchalant way of stealing a car, Amber. Damn!) and drove 10 kilometres to the speed of an overstressed Amber to the building where the production team and the rest of the cast were already waiting for us.

When we arrived, I looked around and saw that everyone else was dressed in far better, not as casual outfits. I cocked my head to give Amber an alarmed look, but she was already directing orders to a pair of stylists that came to my rescue. One of them worked my hair while the other did my make-up and I wondered how the hell could they put up with so much pressure! They put me in a black dress that had see-through sleeves and a puffy skirt and matched it with white stilettos. In a normal situation, that would have felt like too much, but considering I would be in front of cameras from hundreds of countries... it felt just right.

My hands started sweating as I stood near the entrance of the stage, my stomach churned with both my nervousness and the odd feeling from before. It was getting worse with every minute that passed. I peeked to the room where the conference would be held and OMG, without counting cameramen, at least two hundred people were sitting there in front of the stage! I started worrying about puking in front of all those cameras and news reporters.

A raven-haired girl appeared from the side and patted me on the shoulder, she was wearing a gorgeous red dress with matching lipstick and white pumps.

"Is this your first time doing press?", she spoke with a feminine, kind of high-pitched voice.

I sighed and nodded. She smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around my shoulders

"It'll be okay, we've all been there", she chirped. "And to be honest, these things are very short! There's nothing to worry about, you'll see", she winked at me before stepping away.

Seconds after, the whole producing crew entered the stage through a door located just in front of ours. I breathed deeply and tried to mentally prepare for what was about to come. After presenting himself and the crew, Zach, the casting director, invited us to stage, a man in his forties with greying hair, beard and hard blue eyes winked at me as the whole cast walked to get our seats at the pannel.

A roar of clapping and cheering flooded the room as soon as we put a foot on the stage and GOD walking that stage felt like ages! I waved to the public and tried to give them my best imnotnervous smile before finally sitting at the table with my colleagues. To my right sat the black haired girl and then to her right was the rest of the cast. The only empty seat was on my left, I figured it would be for the actor who'd play Rowan.

"You look very concentrated today, Barbara", one of the writers said on the mic. "Are you preparing yourself for the shooting tomorrow on set?"

"Actually I was just trying not to fall on these damn heels!", I declared and then quickly shut my mouth. I couldn't believe I'd just said that in front of cameras. To my surprise, everyone in the room laughed, my co-stars, the writers, even some cameramen. Wtf?!

"Just be sure not to sprain an ankle, Barbara!" he pointed a finger at me but he smiled. "We'll need you in one piece for the next three months..."

"Roger that!"

The writer then gave the floor to Zach, the casting director who started giving some background for our characters and asking questions about how we felt related to them. During this time, I got to know my cast mates a bit more, they were friendly and WAAAY fun! Their jokes and great attitude helped me feel better and confident up on stage, I was sure we would be a great team. But... where was the other guy?

"Now, I believe this is the moment everyone has been waiting for", Zach started and everyone cheered. It was time. "My team and I have postponed this announcement for months, but there is a reason to it", he made a pause to approach our table. "As you can see, we did our best to collect the best of the best. Only the best candidates for the roles were the chosen ones for the titanic effort that bringing Fiber to life means! Like we did with Farren's role (little Barbara here), we thoroughly analysed every candidate for Rowan's role until we found the perfect match, both physically and mentally..."

I could feel the expectation growing in the room, all eyes were locked on Zach's face, following his every movement. I sat up straight and whispered to the black-haired girl, whose name I'd learned was Emeraude.

"Do you know who got that role?"

"Are you joking? I was about to ask the same thing!"

Marcus, the blue-eyed man joined in, speaking through his teeth, "It's top secret, rumour has it only Zach and the book's author know who he is..."

"I just hope he's handsome", Emeraude purred grinning and raising her eyebrows in a seductive manner. Marcus and I snorted.

"... through all the possibilities, we came to the conclusion that the one person who could bring Rowan to life is him. From X-Men: Apocalypse and Bohemian Rhapsody, please welcome the talented Ben Hardy!"

In a milisecond, the crowd around me went bananas and my soul left my body. People were cheering and whistling while for me the room spun at wild angles, they clapped and stomped their feet and I supressed a scream. Please, be other Ben Hardy, please be other Ben Hardy!

But there he was, walking straight to the empty seat next to me, looking like a model taken out of a magazine cover, that damned blond, green-eyed bastard! Because fuck me right?! After all I'd been through to avoid him... He glanced at me and instantly looked away, as if he hadn't even noticed my presence. I took a gulp from my water bottle, trying to hide my discomfort.

"Finally!", Zach was beaming, a few more cheers erupted from the crowd. "Ben, what does it feel like to be the chosen one for the job?"

"Oh, it's an honour!", he stated with that deep voice of his. "It's just crazy, knowing that I was the chosen one when you had other thousand actors, good actors, willing to take on this role. It blows my mind!"

"Yeah, and then there's the fact that you didn't have to lie to get this role", both Ben and the crowd laughed at this comment, even some of my cast mates did. I didn't get it.

After a few more interchanges between them, Zach gave the floor to the reporters who'd been patiently waiting for Ben to appear.

"A question for Mr. Hardy, yes!", a reporter with glasses stood up. "What are your expectations of working with Miss Benavides as her character's love interest?"

Shit.

"Uhh, well..."

"Did you two know each other before today? Have you talked about..." (hey, only one question! Someone reprimanded the reporter)

"No!", we answered in unison. Our eyes met for a split second before Ben returned his attention to the reporter. "This is the first time we meet."

TAGLIST: @rrrogahtaylahhhh @valeriecarolinaw

Thank y’all for reading!

Let me know if you’d like me to put you on the taglist!

#benhardy #ben hardy #benhardyfanfiction #fanfic #romance #bohrap #bohemian rhapsody #eastenders #maiamitchell

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sinsiriuslyemo · 6 years

Text

hello all! Here is the newest episode of Cuba v DR!! The ending is near! Also, I think we may have missed a giveaway, so we’ll hold it for this post! Each comment or reblog equals one entry! Thanks so much to everyone who continues to read this story!

EPISODE 42

You took a bite of your sandwich in your kitchen that afternoon as you looked at the clock. You could probably finish the laundry within the next two hours if you put your mind to it. As you finished the last of your soda, you set down your sandwich to grab the laundry basket from off the table just as your phone began to ring.

“Hello?” you asked, tucking the basket under one arm and moving to the washing machine.

“Hey tia,” you heard on the other end.

“Eddie! Que pasa?” You couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across your face at the sound of his voice.

“Not much. I start school next month. Just starting out with a couple classes. I’m gonna meet with my advisor, too and figure out how many credits I still need. Met with a therapist today, too and worked out a schedule for once a week sessions,” he answered. “How are you guys? How was tio’s birthday?”

“Small, you know how your tio is about parties. We just had a few people over for cake and presents. I’m so excited to hear you’re getting ready to go back to school. Your tio Rafi just had his baby. I’ll text you some pictures.”

“Yeah, I know. Tio called me after he was born and sent me a bunch of pictures of him. He’s so cute,” Eddie answered in a chuckle. “Have you gone to see him yet?”

“Yeah I went yesterday. Oh my god he smells just like a new baby. So good. He looks a ton like Roxie, don’t you think? I wish you could see him in person. We miss you, but I’m also thrilled to hear you’re settling in so nicely, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, he does look like Roxie,” he replied.

“How’s Greyson? Did he get the recipe I sent him for paella?” You started to load the washer with your free hand.

“Yeah, he got it. He’s good, really busy with his job,” Eddie answered. “How’s the center?”

“It’s thriving. We’re looking into expanding now. I’m honestly so excited,” you said with an eager smile.

“Oh that’s great!”

“It’ll help so many kids, you know? It’s what I dreamed about since I was younger. God it feels like an eternity ago since I got that center.” Your phone pinged with an incoming call from a number not saved in your phone. “Oh hey, I got another call. Can I text you later?”

“Yeah, sure,” Eddie replied. “Talk to you later, tia. Love you.”

“Love you too sweetie.” You ended the call, switching over to the other number. “Y/N Ramirez speaking.”

“Y/N, this is Diane from Guardians of Education. I’ve called with some good news! My bosses are interested in buying your center,” you heard on the other end.

“Buying? Oh no, I was looking for investors, not people to take over for me. I think there’s been a misunderstanding…”

“Oh I see,” Diane answered. “Um...well, I’m not so certain my bosses will be interested in investing, they were hoping to acquire, but I can certainly ask.”

“Please do. In acquiring, do I lose all my rights to the center?” You frowned at the thought. That place had been with you almost from the start.

“Yes, it would be a clean sale and our company would absorb yours,” she replied.

“I see. Please if you can, discuss the investment with them. If not, can I have some time to consider the offer?”

“Certainly,” she replied.

“Thank you, I really appreciate all of your time and consideration,” you said. “I will wait for your response on the matter.”

Once you’d ended the call you frowned to yourself. Sell the center? That place was your baby, your sanctuary. You couldn’t do that. Could you?

As soon as the laundry was dry, you moved upstairs, changing into a pretty dress and putting on a little makeup. It was just lunch but you enjoyed dressing up for Nevada lately.

You hurried to the restaurant the two of you decided to meet at, coming inside and sitting down at your usual table. You were looking over the menu when you felt a hand on your shoulder and you jolted as your eyes looked for the source.

“Hey,” Nevada said, sitting across from you. “I ordered for us already. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” you said and looked down at the menu. “Anything noteworthy happen today? Or is it too early for crime?” you teased.

“Just a regular day,” he replied, stretching his arms over either side of the booth. “You?”

“Guardians of Education called,” you said, frowning. “They want to buy the entire center instead of investing.”

“Shit,” he replied. “What are you gonna do?”

“Honestly, I don’t have a clue. This center is everything to me. It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten. But this is a chance to help kids and it could be so much bigger than just the Heights, you know?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “That’s true.”

You sighed, genuinely distraught. “I don’t know if I can give that place up. I still remember the day you gave it to me and how it made me feel. It was the first hope I’d had since prison. I had felt like I was lost without teaching, but you made me a place to keep my dream alive.” You smiled at the thought.

“Then keep it,” he replied, bobbing his shoulders.

“I don’t know, I hate making business decisions,” you said with a groan as the waiter brought your food.

“Then sell it “

You immediately grabbed your fork and took a bite, humming thoughtfully. “I’m just gonna think on it. There’s no need to make a rash decision, right?”

“Right,” he replied, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite. “How much are they offering?”

You thought for a moment. “Huh...I didn’t even think to ask.”

“You didn’t ask how much they’d give you for it?” he asked in a chuckle.

“They caught me off guard, I’m not good with business on a good day.” You scrunched up your nose in frustration. “I don’t even know what an appropriate price would be.”

“You should probably get it appraised so you go in knowing how much it’s worth,” he replied.

“Oh that’s a good idea!” You took another bite of your meal. “You are so good at this stuff. Thank god. I was gonna call Roxie to ask her advice but she just created a human life and I think that takes precedent. Although I feel like she’d love a distraction from the baby.”

“That bad, huh? He a cryer?”

“Not really, he seemed like an angel. I can’t figure out why she wouldn’t be all over that baby. She acted like he was a bomb or something.”

“Coño, pero you were only there for a couple of hours,” he replied. “And we both know how you get around babies. You’re a baby-hogger.”

“I didn’t hold him too much,” you said with a shrug. “I tried to hold him longe but he didn’t like the perfume I was wearing. So I’m gonna hold him next time the entire day,” you teased.

“Wow,” Nevada chuckled, popping the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth. “I can’t wait to see him, little Rafael.” He snickered, taking a sip of his water.

“He’s so cute, but also made me realize I never want more kids,” you said with a laugh. “You’re right, we have more than enough and even changing one diaper made me realize how much I don’t wanna raise another person.”

“Good, cause I’m all tapped out,” he answered.

You chuckled and sipped your drink. “I’m already not sure what’s gonna happen when we have three teenagers in the house at once.”

“We can ship their asses off to boarding school,” he teased.

“Sounds good to me,” you said, grinning at your husband. “Oh and Izzy texted me to say thank you again for visit her. I think it made her day.”

“She texted me too, that girl’s a little crazy,” he replied. “She needs to catch a break, you know?”

“Even I think her life is a little depressing. It seems like trouble just follows her. Between the first gallery shooting and the second one blowing up I am in awe that she still wants to create work. Is Jasper upset? I know he had work in there too.”

“No, he had the place insured, paintings too and he’s got a guy in the precinct down there. He got his investment back,” he answered.

“Lucky Jasper. At least things worked out for him. I was worried a little. Izzy should have insured her work. Although do they do that if she’s not rich?”

“Well, her paintings were in the building, which was insured. So he’ll probably cut her a check for the estimated losses as soon as he works out a break down with his suit,” Nevada answered. “She’ll get a cut.”

“Well at least that’s something, she’ll be able to afford more paints and supplies.” You sighed. “I wish I knew how to help her more. She actually seems to either be in full denial or total acceptance.”

“You can’t fix it,” he said. “Just be there for her.”

“I know, it just sucks. When I was a little girl and I had a problem, I felt like Rafi could fix anything. Even when I was older. I want to be there for my little sister.”

“You can be there for her, you just can’t fix everything. Sometimes people don’t want something fixed, they just wanna know that everybody else has their back,” he said.

“You’re right,” you said with a smirk. “As always.”

“I know.”

Leonard got off of the elevator in building 811 on 183rd and Amsterdam, Detective Fernandez trailing not far behind him. As they approached the door, the stockier man exchanged a glance with his detective before he brought one thick paw up and knocked twice.

“Julio Dominguez, this is NYPD! Open up!” he called out in his baritone of a growl.

There was the click of a lock before a man opened the door, rubbing a hand over his face. “NYPD? I didn’t do anything.”

“You own a 1998 black Chevy van, where is it?” Leonard asked, ignoring Julio’s statement.

“It was stolen, coño, where were you people when the fuckers took it, huh?”

“You never reported it, so how could we know it was stolen?” Detective Fernandez replied.

“You’re all always around when we don’t want you. Figured you’d be here to stop an actual crime,” he mumbled. “I haven’t seen my van in a while.”

“We’re cops, not fortune tellers, Dominguez,” Leonard said as he took out his phone and nudged his detective before he began to walk back to the elevator. “It’s Williams from the three-three. I need a BOLO to all boroughs on a 98 Chevy, black, license Alfa-one-Sierra-four-zero-four.”

Roxie was up early that morning making coffee and breakfast for everyone. She was excited to take a look at her new bakery location options. Jacob was supposed to arrive at her place any moment now. Rafael was holding Liam’s bottle with one hand while he ate with the other while Helena tried to get Roxie to sit down.

“I have it, Roxanne. Go on and sit, eat with your family,” Helena said, finally prying the spatula from her daughter’s hand.

“You know I enjoy cooking for my family, mum,” Roxie argued half-heartedly as she moved to sit beside her husband, handing him his coffee. “Good morning, my love,” she said with a smile.

“Morning, babe,” Rafael replied, setting down his fork to burp Liam as he looked up at his wife. “You sleep any better last night?”

“Not really,” she said softly and shrugged. “Did you?” She reached over, gingerly touching her son’s head for a few moments.

“About as much as he did,” Rafael answered, glancing at Liam as he patted the infant’s back. He smirked softly before turning towards Roxie. “You want him?”

“I would but I’m leaving in a minute. Besides, you two look so cute,” she said with a laugh.

At that moment Liam burped, a thin stream of milk rolling down his chin and onto Rafael’s shoulder.

“Adorable,” Rafael groaned in a chuckle. “You won’t be gone long, right? Liam loves spending time with his mommy.”

“Shouldn’t be more than a few hours. We only have four locations.” She let her thumb stroke over the baby’s head. “You understand, right Liam?”

The baby boy scrunched his face in discomfort just before a high-pitched toot sounded from his bottom. His face relaxed again, eyes shifting to his mother’s voice.

“I’ll bet that little trumpet has an encore coming up,” Rafael mused, kissing the back of his son’s head.

She opened her mouth to speak just as a knock at the door pulled her attention away. “That must be Jacob, he wanted to see the baby for a moment before we went,” she said, moving to the door and smiling when she opened it.

“Congratulations are in order,” Jacob said, holding out an envelope for her. “This is for your newest edition to the family.”

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do anything,” Roxie said as she let him in. “He’s over here with Rafi.”

Looking over Liam’s head, Rafael smiled politely at their visitor. “Morning Jacob.”

“Good morning, Rafael. Fatherhood treating you kindly?”

“So far so good,” Rafael answered.

Jacob moved over to look at the baby and smirked. “Damn, I owe some people at Lavender in London some money. He looks just like you, Roxie.”

“Thank God for that,” Rafael teased as he gently rubbed Liam’s back.

“I think that just means he’ll have my love’s witty personality,” Roxie said with a grin. “Oh mum, I’d like for you to meet Jacob, my business partner.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Jacob. Roxanne has spoken highly of you,” Helena said, coming into the dining room from the kitchen to shake Jacob’s hand.

“I see where Roxie got her beauty from,” he said with a smile, shaking her hand before turning to Roxie. “Shall we? The real estate agent said he’d meet us there.”

“Yes, I will see you all in a bit. Wish us luck.” She moved to kiss Rafael and Liam before following Jacob to the door.

“Say bye to mommy,” Rafael said to Liam who began to cry.

“Oh, I know a sweet boy who could use a change and some time with nanna,” Helena said as she gently took Liam from Rafael.

“He’s beautiful, Roxie,” Jacob said as they stepped into the hallway. “You know, I meant what I said, I can handle this alone if you’d prefer to stay with your family.”

“No, no, a third location is important,” she said with a frown. “I swear, you choose to step away from your newborn for a few hours and you’re the worst mum on the planet. I’m not leaving him alone with a lit stove, he’s with my mum and his dad.”

“I wasn’t insinuating anything, I was merely offering. I honestly think you coming with me looks more poorly on my part than on yours. I would be remiss if I hadn’t at least offered,” he replied.

“I’m sorry, the hormones are making me a little off kilter,” she admitted, offering him a smile. “I haven’t been feeling much like myself.”

“That’s to be expected I imagine. Child birth can take a lot out of a person and it takes time to get used to being a new parent. My children are eight and twelve, I’m still not used to it.”

Roxie snorted a laugh. “I like your kids,” she said as the two got into a cab to head over to their first location. “Was their mother ever...uneasy with them as newborns?”

“Not sure. We had a nanny for the most part,” he answered. “She did once begin to cry hysterically in the middle of the night when our youngest was collicy, but as soon as we realized the problem it was remedied in no time at all.”

“Oh,” she said softly. She had begun to feel like these feelings were just hers. Her mother described something similar, but not exactly the same. “I like your kids,” she repeated as she got out of the cab when it stopped at their destination.

“You’ll fall into a routine before you know it. Being a mother will become second nature,” he said with a smile.

“So I’ve been told,” she said with an empty laugh. As they moved over to the real estate agent, they made their way inside the first location. Roxie looked it over, inspecting it, asking detailed and long-winded questions as she looked over the building permits. In the end she spent two and a half hours at that single location.

“Roxanne, not to be a bother but we do have three more locations to get to,” Jacob reminded with a concerned look.

She looked up from the permits and nodded. He was right, plus she had only supposed to have been gone a few hours. She felt a sense of dread to going back to those four walls. She loved her home but she was getting stir crazy in the house. “How early did you and your wife take your baby out? Just for walks or something.”

“Han was about two weeks old when we took him out to a family occasion, but only a few days when we took him out just for a walk,” he answered.

“I think I need to be out of the house for a little while,” she said softly. “You know? I’m tired of seeing the same thing everyday with no change.”

“I’m shocked you even have the time to notice. Our nanny was constantly up for diaper changes and feedings. Babies can be quite demanding,” Jacob replied.

“He is very demanding, but Rafael seems to love all of the nurturing, so I let him take over when he wants. He’s so excited to have a son,” she said with a smile.

“Well, I’m glad. It’s good he isn’t one of those fathers that leaves that child rearing to the mother,” Jacob replied.

“No, he’s a huge help,” she said with a smile as they got back into a cab to head to the next location. By the last location, Roxie was worn down. “I think I like the third,” she said as she yawned, looking at her phone.

She’d been gone six hours and she still had to meet with Josie. She sighed. At least she’d make it home by dinner.

“The third place was the best design-wise, though it is the most expensive,” Jacob replied with a nod. “But I agree, it’s the best location for another store. Go on, get home to your family. I can handle the negotiations.”

“Alright, check in with me later?” she asked with a smile.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

She moved to the cab, hoping in and firing off a text to Josie asking where to meet. It wasn’t long before her phone pinged with an answer from Josie, offering to meet at Roxie’s apartment.

Roxie gave the cab driver her address and headed home to her husband and baby. The second she was through the door she could hear Liam crying.

“I’m home!” she called out.

“Dinner will be ready soon!” she heard her mother call back as Rafael came out of the nursery with Liam.

“Hey, he needs to eat and I gave him the last of what you pumped earlier,” her husband said. “Can you take him?”

“Yes of course,” she said, taking the baby and sitting down to feed him. “How was he today?”

“Fine, we had a great day. Read a few stories, played on the sensory mat. He really loves the orange ball on that thing, and he got to meet Mowgli. I got a lot of pictures, you’ll love them.”

She smiled. “I’d love to see them tonight.” She looked down at Liam while he ate. “You must have had a busy day Liam. Would you like to take a walk outside tomorrow?”

“That sounds great, I bet he’d love that. Might be good to get him some fresh air, too,” Rafael replied.

“You’re coming right? I don’t want to take him out by myself.”

“You’re nuts if you think I’m gonna miss his first walk through New York City,” Rafael answered with a smirk just before there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.”

Roxie grinned the second she saw Josie’s face. “You’re here!” She looked down at Liam to see he was still feeding.

“Am I?” Josie replied as she came inside. “Are any of us really here?”

“Hi Josie,” Rafael said in a chuckle.

Once Liam was finished, Roxie pulled up her top and put him against her chest and started to burp him. “I’m so excited to see you. How are you?”

“Oh, you know, same ole. Looking for a roommate since apparently, I cannot afford to live alone as I thought I could. I forgot how expensive it was to be single.”

“Oh really? Izzy is looking for a roommate. She gets lonely now that her nephew and his boyfriend moved out,” Roxie offered as Liam finally burped. “Done eating then? Do you miss your daddy?” She smiled up at Rafael. “Want to hold him?” She waited until Rafael took the baby.

“No, you haven’t seen him all day. Take your time,” Rafael answered with furrowed brows.

“No shit, I’ll have to get in touch with her and see if she’s into the idea of us being roomies,” Josie answered.

“Definitely give her a call,” Roxie said with a smile. “You want to hold him? As long as you sanitize your hands first.”

“Sure! Wait…” Josie looked at Rafael hesitantly before shifting her eyes back to Roxie. “Is he going to explode?”

“Of course not, don’t be silly.” Roxie watched Josie run hand sanitizer over her hands and arms. She stood and gently placed the baby in her friend’s arms. His little eyes stared up at Josie’s face.

“Well, hey there little fella,” Josie said with a grin. “Damn, you’re cute. You live around here?”

“He’s really cute right? A lot of hair too. Which is weird, I didn’t have heartburn,” Roxie said with a chuckle.

“Heartburn? Is that a thing?” Josie asked.

“Oh yeah, tons of mums get heartburn when their baby has a lot of hair,” Roxie informed.

“Josie, darling, are you staying for dinner?” Helena asked as she came into the dining room with a serving bowl of food.

“Oh please stay,” Roxie pleaded.

“Sure, I could eat,” Josie replied, handing Liam back to Roxie. “I have to pee first though.”

Roxie looked down at the baby, watching him watch her. “Hi again, Liam.”

She couldn't be certain, but could’ve sworn that she saw the corner of his little lips curl upward as he gazed up at her.

“Oh stop it,” she said with a smile. “You can’t possibly be that cute.”

You moved to the table up on the roof, setting plates down as you hummed along to the radio you’d turned on to entertain you while you prepared for dinner. Sunday’s were both your favorite and least favorite time. You loved family but the preparation was always a lot.

“I think the sweet potatoes are done,” Amber said as she opened the door. “Want me to take them out?” She’d come earlier than usual so the two of you could hang out beforehand. Now that people were arriving, the two of you were focused on getting things ready. Melissa and OJ had already arrived, along with your mother and Gladys, only leaving Omar and Izzy left to arrive.

“Yes!” you called back to her before walking over to your husband. “How’s the pig?”

“Probably just a few minutes,” he answered.

“Barbie!”

“What?” You turned your head smacking your husband in the face with your ponytail.

“The fuck?” he groaned, rubbing the slight sting out of his nose.

“Sorry babe.”

“What did you want me to do with the green beans? Bring them out already?” Amber asked.

“The fuck are you guys doing green beans for? What is this Thanksgiving?” OJ mused.

“Yes, but keep the lid on them so they don’t get too cold. Ask Melissa what else needs to be done!” you called back, ignoring OJ’s question. You sighed once Amber closed the door. “Honestly I wish she’d just set the table and not insist on helping with the cooking. She’s always been awful with food.” You moved to set the last plate down.

“No shit, I’m shocked Omar is still alive,” OJ replied in a chuckle, earning a laugh from Nevada.

“Oye, the pig is ready whenever you women are done making Thanksgiving dinner,” Nevada said, nudging your ribs.

You wagged a scolding finger at both men, unable to stop a grin. “There is nothing wrong with green beans.”

“Yeah, sure, if you’re trying to whitewash Latin cuisine,” Omar chortled as he came onto the roof. “By the way your mom’s looking for you and Amber is putting salt on the beans.”

“Oh sweet Jesus,” you groaned and smacked Omar’s arm. “Why wouldn’t you stop her?!” You rushed downstairs.

“Cause it’s more fun to watch you freak out,” he replied with a grin.

“Amber, you don’t salt green beans. That’s what the butter is for.” You took the salt from her hand.

“Really? Okay, where would you like me?” Amber asked. “I’m here to help.”

“Perfect, can you go get the kids washed up for dinner? We’re just waiting on my sister,” you said.

“Your sister’s right here!” Amber called out after you.

“Then tell her to help out!” you called back, grabbing the green beans and moving back up to the roof and dropping the plate off quickly before moving back down to the kitchen as Melissa and your mother started to carry the food up to the roof.

“Oye, we need to have that conversation before we eat,” your mother said as she followed you into the kitchen.

“Now isn’t a good time, mami.” Your brows furrowed as you stepped to the side. “Que pasa?”

“Como que now isn’t a good time, pero are you expecting the president of the United States to come to dinner?”

“Que pasa, mami?” you repeated.

“I had a talk with your brother last week and he told me something that I want to talk to you about,” she said.

“Okay… what would you like to talk about?”

“What happened with him y la tipa esa,” she replied, gesturing with her eyes in the direction of the stairs that led to the roof, where Amber had just gone.

“Amber? Mami, it happened years ago. It doesn’t matter now.” You shook your head and sighed. “If you want to know, you should ask Rafael or her. Not me.”

“Si, he told me everything,” she replied, arching a brow. “Let me ask you something, Y/N...did you even care about how your brother felt about you being best friends with the woman--ah no, espera, women--that broke his heart?”

“Women? What are you talking about?” You furrowed your brows. “Emmy? It’s not like we’re close.”

“I don’t understand why Lily calls her tia then or why she still sends birthday presents,” Lucia challenged. “You never corrected her? Lily? When she calls Emny tia, you’ve never explained to her that she’s not her tia?”

“She grew up knowing Emmy. It was habit to call her tia and I didn’t correct her because I didn’t think it was much of a problem.”

“She’s not done growing up, como que she grew up knowing Emmy? She knew Emmy for two years of her life, she’s eight, pero que te pasa, chica?” your mom answered, placing her hands on her hips. “Eso es una boberia. But what I want to talk about is why you betrayed your brother after la dama esa did what she did to him.” She used a thumb to gesture towards the stairs again.

You purses your lips. “Do you think I loved that my best friend and brother dated? No. It was always going to get complicated. They were going to break up because Raf is picky and Amber can be terrible most if not all of the time. Did I picture she’d leave without warning? No. I had no idea and frankly I didn’t want her back in my life. But over time I forgave her. I figured if I kept her away from Rafael it wouldn’t be a problem. I was obviously wrong. Of course I feel guilty for what happened and how I handled it. I know I was a bad sister for it. But what’s done is done and I want to move on. Rafael moved on. So did Amber. It’s done.”

“Ah si? It’s done? Bueno, I’m so glad that you’re fine with being a bad sister,” your mother replied as Omar and Nevada stumbled into the kitchen.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Nevada mumbled.

Lucia ignored the interruption, eyes still on you. “Déjame decirte algo, Y/N. Ese es tu hermano, not some guy off the street, me entiendes? He deserves your loyalty over anyone else. Pero since you’re okay, I guess everything is fine, right? Who cares about how anybody else feels as long as Y/N is okay!”

“Should we go back upstairs?” Omar asked.

“No, you’re fine to stay,” you said sarcastically, crossing your arms. “Enjoy the show. At least you’ll see where I get my dramatics from,” you mumbled. You knew you were wrong in this case but you were not about to admit that to your mother.

“Dramatics. Was it dramatic when Rafael called to tell you que esa mujer told him she loved him and then left? Was it dramatic when she disconnected her phone, too? Oh no, esparte, it was dramatic when she called you a year later to tell you that she was sorry for what she did to you and you forgave her just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Right? I taught you better than that, Y/N!”

“We’re gonna go upstairs,” Nevada said, pulling Omar out of the kitchen.

“How could you forgive someone for doing such a thing to your own brother?!” your mother shouted. “Esa tipa is not your family! Rafael is, he deserved your loyalty more than someone who would do that and then just show up one day and act as though everything is fine. How can you sleep at night?! How could you look at your brother in the eye and say you love him when you were so quick to stab him in the back?!”

“Amber and Rafael never should have happened,” you said simply. You wanted to talk about this with your brother. Work it out with him. Not your mother. The fact that she was involved did nothing but infuriate you and you had never fought well when you were mad. You needed to talk to Rafael, not her.

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT, Y/N!!!”

You heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Oye,” Nevada poked his head from around the door. “Everybody can hear you guys, por favor.”

“NO. THE POINT IS THAT THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND MY BROTHER. END OF DISCUSSION.”

Lucia widened her eyes. “COMO?!”

“Oh shit,” Nevada mumbled.

“DON’T THINK YOU’RE TOO OLD PARA UN CHANCLETASO! ME ENTIENDES? FALTA RESPETO!” your mother shouted.

“For real, you probably shouldn’t have said,” Nevada said.

“Oye! Dale paraya, carajo!” Lucia snapped, swatting the back of Nevada’s head. He wasted no time in dodging back up the stairs and away from the situation.

“I’m done with this. You can argue all you want but I’m done,” you said, moving past your mother.

“Si, okay. The world according to Y/N,” Lucia replied, following you up to the roof. “As long as Y/N is happy, everybody else can go to hell.” She didn’t stop walking, even when you did, until she shoving the door to the roof open and walking to the table to sit.

“Not everyone, but some people can go to hell,” you mumbled in frustration to yourself. You took a deep breath before moving out to the table and sitting down as well.

“Everything okay?” Amber asked you in a quiet voice.

“You do not wanna get involved,” you mumbled to her. “Trust me on this.”

“Okay,” Amber mouthed with wide eyes, turning back to Izzy. “So anyway, like I was saying, just think of this as a hiccup. You’ll get back on your feet in no time.”

“I know, it’s just so freakin frustrating. I had a real chance with Jasper. He’s a big time art name and all of it went up in flames. Literally.” She sighed and poured her glass of wine to the brim.

“He’s loaded, he’ll be fine,” Amber replied with a shrug.

“He knows it wasn’t your fault, Iz,” Nevada said, taking a swig from his beer.

“He’d be crazy to work with me again. Clearly after two incidents I have some kind of curse,” she groaned. “Maybe my dad was right and art is never gonna make me money.”

“Dad sucked,” you said with a smirk. “Nothing that ever came out of his mouth was right.”

“I guess,” Izzy replied with a shrug.

“Mami, why was abuela yelling at you?” Lily asked.

“Oye, don’t worry about it,” Nevada said.

“But why was she mad?” Lily asked again.

“Lily, it’s grown up stuff, okay? I promise you, it’s okay. Abuela and I are just having a disagreement,” you said as you stroked your daughter’s hair.

“It’s always grown up stuff,” Lily groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t be a smart ass,” Nevada said, arching a brow at his daughter.

The dinner was awkward and felt longer than usual, you barely listened to what anyone was saying. By the end of it you told everyone to leave the dishes and you’d handle it. You loved cleaning dishes when you were upset. It had always been very therapeutic.

The second the last person had gone, you went right to it, rolling up your sleeves and starting to scrub your frustrations out on the plates while Nevada put the kids to bed. By the time you were halfway through the dishes, footsteps sounded from behind you and Nevada came in, sitting at the kitchen table.

“What the hell happened with you and your mom? She didn’t say a word during dinner,” he said.

“She wants to drag up things from the past, attack me in my own home? I am not dealing with her bullshit. I will talk with my brother on my own. God she is so infuriating!” You slammed another dish down and turned to Nevada. “She is so stubborn!”

“She’s your mom, not some chick. What happened?” he asked again. “I’ve never seen her that pissed before.”

“She’s mad I’m friends with Amber after what she did to Rafael. And she decided to confront me in my own house. She has some nerve. I’m not doing Sunday dinner next week. Not just so she can come in here with her attitude and judge me. No thank you. Count me out.”

Nevada furrowed his brows. He decided he wouldn’t acknowledge your threat to cancel Sunday dinner and instead try to decipher what had actually happened. “What’d Amber do to Rafael?”

“Amber and Rafael were a couple.”

“Yeah, that much I already knew,” he replied.

“Then Amber left Rafael without a reason or a single word of goodbye. It was a horrible thing to do, I don’t disagree. But you know what would have stopped all that? If my dumbass best friend and my dumbass brother hadn’t dated in the first place. It happened too many years ago for me to think about. I made mistakes. Forgave too easy and I hurt my brother. But that’s none of her business!” you shouted.

“Actually, what would’ve stopped it is if Amber hadn’t been so damn cold. That’s fucked up. No wonder he was so pissed when she first showed up here,” he replied. “So wait, your mom’s pissed at you cause Amber’s a bitch?”

“She’s pissed I stayed friends with Amber. Stop calling her a bitch.”

“She is a bitch,” he replied with a bob of his shoulders. “Pero, you didn’t know about her leaving like that, right?”

“Yes I knew. Please don’t turn this into a lecture. I really can’t handle it right now. I don’t want to hear how I’m a bad sister. I know that.”

He let out a breath that puffed out his cheeks. “I’m not gonna give you lecture…” He pressed his lips together and averted his eyes, clearly trying to keep himself from saying something.

You groaned. “Okay fine, lemme have it. Let’s get it over with.”

He opened his mouth, shaking his head as his brows jumped to his forehead. “I’m not saying anything...but if somebody did that shit to my brother, they’d be cut off, no question. That’s it.”

You sighed, taking your gloves off and taking a deep breath. “Can we not talk about it?” you pleaded. “Can I just have some support emotionally for a second? I will talk to my brother. But right now I could really fucking use a hug. I am just about done with this shitty Sunday.”

He scratched the back of his head and stood, going up to hug you and pat your back.

You rested your face in the crook of his neck and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry we ruined dinner,” you mumbled against his skin.

“It didn’t ruin dinner,” he replied. “You should probably talk to Rafael...has he ever mentioned anything?”

“I’m going to talk to him. I promise. I don’t think we’ve ever talked in detail or anything but I apologized!” You thought for a moment, quickly realizing that you couldn’t remember exactly when you’d apologized. “I...I must have apologized. Didn’t I?” You pressed your face tighter against Nevada and frowned when you realized that you never had apologized. “Oh my god, I’ve never apologized.”

“Shit, that’s cold as fuck,” he mumbled. “Coño and I’ve heard you tell him to get over what happened, too. A bunch of times.”

“Fuck, I fucked up so bad. What do I do? Oh my god, how does he not hate me?” You looked up to your husband. “How do I bring it up after I’ve said so many horrible things?”

“He doesn’t hate you cause at the end of the day, you’re his little sister,” Nevada answered. “I don’t know how you’re supposed to bring it up, pero...you can’t just let him keep thinking that you don’t give two shits. Cause I know you care about him.”

“I know. Shit. Okay I’m gonna talk to him soon. We need to talk.” You let go of Nevada and sighed. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied. “It’s gonna be even more fucking awkward for me to see Amber now, pero...I’ll figure it out.”

“You two don’t like each other anyway,” you said with a quirk of your brow. “Doesn’t seem like much changed.”

“No, except now I know I was right about her all along,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“She’s still my best friend. You don’t have to like her, but please don’t trash talk her in front of me.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Figures.”

“I don’t feel like that’s too much to ask. You don’t see me criticizing the people you hang out with. And trust me, I have plenty of ammunition if I wanted to.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” he asked, turning to face you with a smirk.

“Do you want me to start with the criminals or the strippers or what? Because I can go at random. If I judged people, I probably wouldn’t have married a crime lord, don’t you think? Amber made some really terrible mistakes. So have I. I shot a woman in the face once. Two if you count Trinity.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” he said, smirk growing.

“How about your sociopathic brother to start? Jasper, who I enjoy but has more ties to the dark world than Satan himself. Remember when you hung out with Natalia? That was super fun. What about the gun running motorcycle gang?”

Again he snorted. “That’s all shit everybody knows, at least they’re not sneaky mother fuckers. And none of them ever tried to come between family.” He started to turn around, but then added. “Oh and I never hung out with Natalia. We did business together, that’s not the same thing.”

“Yeah I remember, you did real good business,” you grumbled.

“What the fuck does that mean?” he asked around a grin.

You batted your eyelashes and did your best Natalia impression. “We make a good team, don’t you think Trujillo? You give me very good...how do you Americans say...tactical support.”

“Wow,” he replied in a chuckle. “I’m sorry, is that supposed to make me feel bad? I was never friends with that puta. I never invited her to Sunday dinners or defended her when she fucked up. You lost this one, mami. Least Natalia never played the ‘I’m so innocent, nothing is ever my fault’ card. I can’t say the same for Blanca. Coño, she even tried to get between me and you a couple times, pero what, she gets a pass for that? Carajo, what is she the only fucking female in New York?”

“She’s my best friend for reasons I don’t think most people will get. And that’s just how it is. She’s my best friend. I did not lose. Your friends suck way worse. And Natalia couldn’t play the innocent card because she was too busy trying to take what is mine.”

“My friends suck? And you invite them to Sunday dinner? Treat them like family? Coño, you’re colder than Blanca, you two deserve each other,” he replied.

“Not family friends. Of course I love the ones who come to dinner. I love having this much family. You know that.” you said as you rolled your eyes.

“What friends are you talking about then? Cause the only people I consider real friends are the ones who come here,” he replied.

“Never mind, I’m so tired of today,” you said with a laugh, running your fingers through your hair.

“Oh, okay, yeah, sorry about that your highness. Go ahead get some rest,” Nevada replied in a chuckle as he turned and walked towards the stairs. “You know what your problem is, babe? You give out that friendship title like it’s fucking candy. Shit, I’ve heard you call Emmy and even Roxie your best friend and we both know that’s not true. I don’t know why you think it’s cute to tell people they’re your best friend when everyone of them knows that you’d sell them out in a split second for Blanca. Shit, you’ve even sold me out for her. I’m not trying to be a dick, I’m just telling you the truth.”

You frowned and looked at your husband. “Did I really sell you out for her?” you asked softly.

“Couple times, yeah,” he answered, bobbing his shoulders.

“I’m really sorry, you’re my husband. I should have had your back.” You hadn’t even thought about it before. You chose Amber over everyone and you couldn’t keep doing that. You two weren’t in college anymore. “It’ll never happen again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

He nodded his head. “It’s okay. She’s good at making other people look like assholes and being the hero in a situation. You just haven’t seen it,” he said softly. “I’m not trying to talk shit, I’m just telling you what I’ve seen, from an outsider’s point of view. And I only tell you cause I love you, I don’t think you deserve to be manipulated, that’s it.”

You moved to him, kissing his cheek. “Thank you,” you whispered. “I may not like everything you say but you’ve always had my best interests. I forget that sometimes.”

“Course I do, I’ll always tell you like it is. You know me, I don’t sugarcoat shit,” he answered, gently squeezing your hip.

You smiled at him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Lets go to bed.”

“Go ahead, I’ll put the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and be right up,” he said, kissing you briefly and moving to the sink.

#Nevada ramirez #rafael barba #trouble in the heights #law and order svu #cuba v dr

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im-the-king-of-the-ocean · 6 years

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Ralph Domzalski’s Guide To Falling In Love With A Sorceress

Summary: Snapshots into the tragic love story of Toby’s parents, Ralph and Megan.

Step 1. Step 2.

AO3

Step 3: Settle Down In (Completely 100% Definitely Normal) Arcadia Oaks

All was silent but for the quiet tick-tick-tock of the clock on the wall.

Then a noise. A slurp. Like some invisible person chose that moment to suck the last drop of soda from the bottom of their Mega Gulp Cup, couldn’t quite get it but continued to inhale nothing but air through their straw anyway.

Movement. The space in the middle of the otherwise normal-appearing office room shimmered. Not quite like the space above pavement on a blistering hot day would shimmer, but close. There was something off about this shimmer. Something that would have sent any witnesses running for fear their nightmares were coming alive.

A shadow, a dark space the size of a golf ball, appeared in the middle of the shimmer and wasted no time in growing until it was large enough for a human to fit through.

Not one, but two, did.

“You’re getting better at that.” Ralph inhaled sharply. Traveling via shadow portal felt like, for a moment of his life, something was yanking everything good and happy away.

Megan sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. “Well, you know, practice makes perfect and all that.” She took a deep breath. “I got us this far, now it’s your turn. I think I need to close my eyes for a minute. Making portals is exhausting.”

Ralph knelt beside her. He put a hand to Megan’s forehead, but she wasn’t feverish. He let himself exhale. That, at least, was a good sign. He’d always supported and encouraged Megan’s experimentation with her magical powers, but this recent one, these portals, were…they were something else entirely from the levitation, flying—fun—spells she’d been practicing before.

“We shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have let you do this. It’s too much. You’re—”

Megan interrupted, “Ralph, I love you, but shut up. I’m fine.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “The baby’s fine. As I’ve told you a hundred times, worst case scenario they turn out to have some magic themselves and then you’re going to have to deal with two of us bringing chaos into your life.” She laughed. “Come one, sweetheart, that was a joke. Laugh.”

Ralph stood. “I’ll laugh when we’re out of here. Any ideas where the Janus Order keeps their stash of fake passports?”

“In a big bin that says ‘Fake Passports, Please Take One If You Grew Up In A Secret Cult That Never Got Documentation Of Your Existence’. That seems like a good bet.” Megan laughed again.

“I was being serious.” Ralph yanked open a file cabinet and perused its contents. No luck. He moved on.

“So was I.” Megan paused. “Tell me what it’s like? In Arcadia?”

Ralph walked over to the first of the cubicles. “Again? You’ll be there yourself once we get you a passport.” He downright refused to let Megan shadow portal them home. The distance from Rome to Amsterdam, where the Janus Order base they found was located, was bad enough. But to California? No, that was way too far.

“I know, but I like hearing you describe it.” Megan got up and joined him in his search. “The peaceful little houses, the nice neighbors, the parks.” She ran a hand over a desk. “We have to live somewhere near a park, one with a massive playground so our kid can play and make friends. Oh, and we need a yard, someplace for a dog. A really active one who’ll lick your face and love you and…”

“Are you sure you need me to describe anything?” Ralph smiled. “You seem to be doing a very good job of it yourself.”

Megan smiled back. “But it’s more romantic and dreamy coming from you.” She ran her hand over her belly, though she wasn’t nearly far enough along to have a baby bump. “I grew up in a secret underground bunker with paranoid cultists who believe in an ancient demon sorceress. If we’re going to have this kid, I want them to have a much better childhood than mine.”

Ralph walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “And they will. I told you when we found out, I would make sure both of you get to be as happy as can be. That’s not a promise I’m going back on.”

“You better not.” Megan tapped a finger on the tip of his nose. “And remember you’re promise that we’d all travel the world together when the kid gets old enough.”

“Of course, how could I forget that?”

“Go find the passports, you ridiculous man.”

“Joke’s on you.” Ralph whipped out a small selection of fakes out from behind his back. “I already did.”

“I don’t want to have to ask this, but the seats next to you are my and my husband’s. Do you think you could move over to the window so I can have the aisle?” Megan asked the man currently sitting in the seat next to Ralph and her seats on the airplane. “I’m probably going to have to get up and go to the bathroom a couple times during the flight.”

The man looked up from his reading, first at Megan, and then Ralph, who offered him a shrug. It really would be best for everyone involved if he just let Megan have the aisle seat. Sure, her baby bump was only just becoming visible, but she fully felt the effects of pregnancy.

“Of course.” The man gave an awkward smile. “I would be happy to.”

A bit of shuffling later and they were all seated. Megan in the aisle seat, Ralph in the middle, and the man by the window. Once everything was settled, Ralph held out a hand to the man.

“Ralph Domzalski. Considering we’re going to be spending the next eleven hours next to each other, we should probably know each other’s names.”

The man waited a minute, where it was clear he was carefully considering his words, then responded, “Walter Strickler. You and you’re wife, I assume, plan on settling down in Los Angeles?”

“Nope. There’s this little town about a two hour drive out called Arcadia Oaks. It’s where I grew up.” Ralph couldn’t help the pride that entered his voice. For all he traveled the world, Arcadia was still home. “My family’s there, so, you know, it seemed like the best place for us.”

“Oh, really?” Walter’s eyebrows went up. “You don’t say. I’m headed to Arcadia myself. I recently accepted a teaching position at one of the local schools. Perhaps, in a few years down the line, your child will be in my class.”

Internally, Ralph thought that traveling half way around the world for a public school teaching job in the United States was a bit odd, but he didn’t express this. Instead he offered a noncommittal shrug.

Soon, the airplane took off. Ralph let out a relieved breath. He, Megan, and their future child were going home.

“Happy house-warming!” Margaret greeted her son with a hug and then barged right past him into his house. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the place!” She stopped in the middle of the hall, put her hands on her hips, and looked absolutely everywhere. “You got all the baby gear we sent over, right? The books? Oooh and the toys, heaven forbid you forget those!”

“Yes, Mom.” Ralph dutifully closed the door behind Vraxel, who took off his glamour mask and hung it on the new coatrack.

The large troll stretched to shake off his transformation. Then gave his son his patented “be patient with your mother, she’s excited” look.

Ralph made a face at his father in return. “Meg’s just upstairs resting. She’ll join us in a bit. She was just feeling a little under the weather this morning. We already called the doctor.” Ralph held up a hand to stop his mom from going into a massive tirade about proper health during pregnancy, especially when pregnant with a child that wasn’t entirely human. They were handling it just fine themselves. “She’ll be fine. She just needs some rest. How about I show you guys around in the meantime?” The prospect of showing off his house to his parents was admittedly very appealing to Ralph. He, and Megan, had put a lot of effort into turning the place into a home.

Also, it would take his mind off the fact Megan was feeling ill because she’d craved, then tried to literally eat, a raw steak last night. Neither of them knew where the urge had come from and, as much as they wanted to chalk it up to just a weird pregnancy thing, there was a lingering thought at the back of both their minds that there was more to it than that.

Ralph knew he should think about it, but he really didn’t want to.

“I think a tour of our son’s dwelling would do nicely,” Vraxel spoke. Like Margaret, he’d taken in his surroundings carefully, but he remained quiet while doing so. “I see you don’t have any wards set up yet. I can come by later this week and help with that if you like.”

Ralph winced. “Thanks, dad, but no thanks. We tried. Wards mess with Megan’s magic.” She’d lost control and set off a bunch of spells when they tried to set up the protective wards. Most of their kitchenware had vanished into a massive dark portal that had opened without warning. Thinking about it still made shivers run up Ralph’s spine. Once they’d arrived in Arcadia, Megan had promised to never use the dark portal spell again, since they tended to drain her. This one, though, this one seemed like it had sprung into being of its own accord during the chaos. Ralph wanted anything but a repeat performance of that.

Vraxel frowned at his son. “Are you sure? Without them, you’d be defenseless against attacks.”

“Megan and I discussed it and yeah.” Ralph stuck his hands in his pockets, an old habit from childhood whenever he had to tell his parents something really important. “Her old cult has never been able to track us down. They have no idea who I am. It’s unlikely that they’d think to search in little, old Arcadia. Plus, with Trollmarket here, there’s like zero chances changelings are just going to hope on a plane and come here. What would they do? Settle down into a poorly-paid teaching job?”

“As long as you’re sure.” Vraxel crossed his arms. He didn’t look convinced.

Margaret pushed herself into the conversation. “Lighten up, dear. Today is a day worth celebrating! Our son has a home, a wife, and a child on the way! Sure I would have liked him to introduce us to his wife before the baby development and maybe been able to be present at their wedding.” This last phrase was said with a pointed look thrown in Ralph’s direction. “But still, it’s a good day!”

“Um actually Mom.” Ralph braced himself. “Megan and I aren’t really married. It was just easier to get her into the country if, on paper, it looked like we were. We called each other ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ so no one would suspect anything.”

Margaret stared at Ralph. Then, very deliberately, she spoke, “You know what this means. I get to plan a WEDDING!”

The entire neighborhood surely heard the shout.

Later that night, Ralph quietly walked into his and Megan’s bedroom. She was curled up under as many blankets as possible.

“Sorry I couldn’t come down.” Megan sneezed. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “I just feel so ewwww.”

Ralph sat down on the side of the bed. “It’s fine. My parents are really understanding.” He sighed. “If a bit too enthusiastic. Mom’s determined to plan our wedding.”

“Oh.” Megan twisted a hand into the bedsheets. “Should be fun though. Something to look forward to.” She looked back up at Ralph. “She knows that she has to plan it with me, right?”

“Yes, I made that very clear.”

“Good.” Megan turned away from him to gaze up at the ceiling. “Hey Ralph, be real with me, do you think I’d make a good mother? What if this sickness is really some kind of genetic thing? What if I pass it on to the baby? What if—”

“Meg, trust me.” Ralph cut her off. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother.” He leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. “Remember what the doctor said. You keep getting sick because you exert yourself too much. Just lay off the magic and the weird food cravings and everything is going to be fine. I promise.”

Megan smiled at him. “Ok, just one more question and I think it’s a really important one.”

“What’s that?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes I will.”

Tobias Domzalski came into the world a gurgling, happy baby. He was a little bigger than the average newborn, but that was considered normal for his family. The first person to hold him would be his father, who would stare at him with wonder, and then proceed to make incomprehensible noises at him until he fell asleep. Toby’s mother also slept. The birth had had no complications, but it had still taken hours and exhausted her.

Toby’s grandparents were allowed in his family’s hospital room after his family had had an hour to themselves. His grandmother—his new Nana—entered the room with arms full of teddy bears and balloons from the hospital gift shop (she’d been very busy for the last hour). His grandfather, who he’d learn was really a disguised troll a few years down the road, carried a couple containers of all the foods he knew Megan and Ralph liked best, also a videocamera to record his first day of life.

When Toby came into the world, he wouldn’t remember it, but he was surrounded by family and love.

“So, you gonna continue hogging our son or you gonna let me hold him?” Megan propped herself up on her elbow. She wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“You sure you’re ready?” Ralph answered. “He’s really delicate. If you’re still tired—”

“Ralph, dearest, I just took a nap that the clock tells me lasted an hour longer than the birth itself. Give me my baby.”

Ralph sat on the edge of Megan’s hospital bed. “Move over.” She did, and he settled next to her. Then, as carefully and as cautiously as humanly possible, Ralph passed Toby into her arms.

Megan cooed at her son. “Aren’t you just the perfect little boy? You’re so adorable and wrinkly. He’s perfect, isn’t he?”

“Just as perfect as his mom.” Ralph grinned.

“Stop you.”

“What? Did you think just because we’re parents now, it means I’ll stop joking? The little guy needs to lead the fine art of comedy from somewhere.” Ralph gently stroked his son’s head.

Toby wiggled in his blankets.

Megan gave Ralph a Look. “He’s not even 24 hours old yet and already you’re starting with the comedy routine. No, I think our son is going to be a magician. Isn’t that right, Toby-woby? With a hat and sock tricks and everything. Ooooh.” Her face lit up with joy. “We’re going to buy him a bunny. A white one. When he’s old enough.”

Ralph smiled again. “Well, we do have all the time in the world to see who he grows up to be.”

#trollhunters #nana's troll husband au #troll husband au #ralph domzalski's guide #troll grandpa vraxel #toby domzalski #nana domzalski #toby's parents

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the-oeuvre · 3 years

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INITIATE

WRITTEN UNDER PSEUDONYM ANN LEIGH. PREVIOUS CHAPTER: click here

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“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Local time is 11.25 AM and the temperature is 29°C. Please check around your seat for any personal belongings you may have brought on board with you and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight.”

In fact, it was Raveena who, since 17 hours ago, had been whining about going back to Amsterdam. She was the first person who always persisted in refusing her family to move to the country where her mother was born. But after hearing the announcement, she turned out to be the most enthusiastic.

“It’s quite hot here!” She whimpered when she first got out of the plane. Even so, she kept pulling Gavin’s hand so he could quickly move along with her footsteps. Gavin really gave up on seeing his sister’s mood swings which could be said to be very fast.

“Don’t go too far, Vee! Vin!” Motherly instincts just show up. Diajeng admonished her two children not to walk too fast. Diajeng just doesn’t want her child to be lost in a strange place like this. Even though this is not their first time to come to Indonesia, there is nothing wrong for being aware anyway. Moreover, their suitcases was much more than when they only visited for a short vacation. Sem could only laugh at the behavior of his two children and his overwhelmed wife.

“Here, here.”

Seeing that his wife seemed impatient with the kids’ behavior, Sem offered to push the trolley that was deliberately used to carry their suitcases. Diajeng approached Raveena and Gavin to then take their hands. Only after this Diajeng could feel safe knowing that her children would not disappear from her sight.

From afar, they could see someone standing near the exit gate while holding a handy bag. Just typically looked like someone who doesn’t want to spend her energy on waiting for a family who had just landed from their flight.

“Aunty Nina!” Gavin shrieked at the same time when their eyes met. Feeling right with her vision, the woman who was predicted to have her name as Nina also waved her hand. “Gavin! Raveena!” She greeted them back. The footsteps brought them closer to each other. “Both of you are growing up so fast,” said Nina while rubbing the heads of the child in turn.

“Let’s just get on with it.” Nina offered them to follow her direction from now, so that Sem and his family could immediately get on the minibus which would take them to their new place of residence. Both Sem and Diajeng nodded. Since both of them no longer want to be at the airport. Raveena and Gavin agreed to follow their parents’ orders.

“Head to home, right?" Asked Nina to make sure. Diajeng nodded briefly while staring at Nina’s reflection through the rearview mirror in the middle.

“Yes, where are you going? The kids must have been tired during the trip too.”

“Just in case you want to stop by for a meal or maybe need to buy — ”

“Thank you, but we’re fine,” answered Sem in response.

“Well, then tomorrow, what if you want to go somewhere? Can’t you bring your own car yet?”

“We’ll have a driver later. The car is also in the garage. Yesterday, everything was taken care of at the same time as I bought a house.”

“Gosh, that’s right, it’s not that complicated.”

“We have thought about it for a long time, especially because Jakarta often gets traffic jams. So, a driver would be an option.” Just like Sem, during the trip, Raveena and Gavin kept observing the outside view through the windows. As if they did not care about the conversation of other adults who filled the deaf. After all, they did not really understand the language used, considering that the three of them at that time were not very fluent in Bahasa. After this, they would really have to train themselves in order to survive in this country. At least, that day was good enough to start a new life for the little family. Even though they still don’t realize that in the future there will be many obstacles ahead.

ㅤ

NEXT CHAPTER: click here

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toeuropeandback · 4 years

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Fun filled Amsterdam

The second last stop on our trip was Amsterdam, which is the capital of the Netherlands. Before Amsterdam though, we stopped at Edam which is a town in northwest Netherlands. It is about a 30 minute drive from Amsterdam. We first strolled around for a bit, and then we did a bike tour in Edam where we rode around. There was lots of cycle paths, and it was really easy to navigate the city on a bike. We saw the Kwakelbrug, which is a hand-operated drawbridge and is a famous monument there. There was lots of historic bridges located around the town which were cool to see. We also stopped at the Zuidpodermolen, which is a famous windmill in Edam, which is dated back to 1626-35. We took some photos here before making our way back to the start of the tour. It was very green, and the city was full of flowers which made it very colourful. It also has a charm to it, and it is very picturesque. The bike ride was also very peaceful, and it nice to relax and just experience the atmosphere in the town.

We then went to a clog demonstration, where we watched a pair of clogs being made. They are entirely made from wood, and are still very commonly used in the country. At the demonstration, we learned that clogs were negatively associated with cheap footwear of farmers and the working class, however, nowadays, some clogs are considered to be fashion wear. I actually bought myself a pair of clogs, which I was pretty happy about. They are hand painted, and the sound they make when they hit the floor is fascinating.

There was also a cheese shop there where we were able to sample a variety of different cheeses which were made on site. Of course, we tried Edam cheese, which has been a famous Dutch export for many years, and is loved by people all over the world. I personally love cheese so I enjoyed doing this.

Amsterdam, as well as many other cities in the country, are built around canals and waterways. There is about 1,500 bridges in the city and about 90 islands. The canals were used for extinguishing water, trash and sewage, and were also important for the movement of goods and people. The canals still play an important part of these movements, especially when it comes to tourists.

The next day, we started by going to the A'DAM lookout which is a 20 story rooftop building. At the lookout, there is the 'Over the Edge', which is Europe's highest swing. You swing back and forth over the edge of the building which is 100 metres high, whilst admiring the view of Amsterdam. I got up there and was a bit nervous at first, but then got used to the swinging and was able to enjoy the scenery. It didn’t last long either; we were probably up there for no longer than 5 minutes. We were also there early in the morning right as they opened so there wasn’t many people, so we used this to our advantage and had the rooftop to ourselves.

We went and found the 'I amsterdam' sign which is popular, and attracts many people. Initially, the sign was located near the Rijksmusuem, which is an art museum. The sign was removed because it would draw too large a crowd, so it was relocated to lesser-known neighbourhoods and areas to attract the spotlight to these activities and drawing people there. We actually had some difficulty finding it though as our GPS took us in the middle of a park, where it was not located. However, we kept walking around and eventually found it ourselves. The sign was located about a 20 minutes walk from the A'DAM lookout, so it worked out well for us. There was no one there, so we easily got a photo with it.

If we had more time in Amsterdam, I would have liked to go to the Anne Frank House, which is a writer's house and museum which is dedicated to Anne Frank. If I go back, I would definitely make sure I go here.

That night, we went on a canal cruise. While we were there, it was summer, so it was really hot on the cruise, but definitely worth it for the experience and views we got. The canal area is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site which I found interesting. The city was unlike any other I have been to, and even the people there make it so unique.

Tips:

Bikes are very common in the Netherlands, and especially Amsterdam. They are very popular among the locals and even tourists. It is important not to get in the way of these cyclists, and keep them in mind when you're walking. It is also the easiest way to explore, and make the most out of your time.

Make sure you know the difference between coffee shops and cafés! Its important that you know which is which so you don’t accidentally end up at the wrong one.

Many people actually speak English in Amsterdam, but it could be useful to know a few words in the local language.

Language: Dutch

Goede dag/Hallo - Good day/Hello Tot Ziens/Dag - Goodbye Alstublieft - Please Dank u (well) - Thank you (very much) Niets te danken - You're welcome Excuseer mij - Excuse me Ja/Nee - Yes/No Spreek je Engels? - Do you speak English?

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5hfanfiction · 8 years

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Too Close To Home - Chapter 6

So I decided to do what I could only think of at that moment, I called Lucy.

The phone is ringing but Lucy hasn’t answered. I checked the time and realized that it’s still 6am, maybe I should wait until it’s actually acceptable to call an ex’s current fiancé.

Alright, 8am it is.

I decided to call Ashlee instead, knowing she’ll answer immediately. I asked her if she wants to eat a super early breakfast with me, in which she accepted without thinking twice. She’s the type of friend you could depend on, which is why I love her a lot.

I told the driver to go to the hotel where Ashlee is staying. Once we were there, I could see her waiting in front of the entrance door, wearing her black leather jacket and jeans.

The driver stopped the car in front of her to let her go in, only to be directed to another place where there’s a diner that opens early.

***

We are now sat at a booth near the window, with she sitting in front of me. I ordered pancakes and a strong coffee since I didn’t really sleep last night.

Once we finished ordering, Ashlee immediately asks, “So, what’s happened?”

“What do you mean?” I questioned back.

“Well, you don’t usually wake up this early, so what’s up?”

I chuckle, “People change Ash”

“Well, yeah. But they don’t change overnight. Just two days ago, you made death threats after I woke you up. And that was at 12 in the afternoon,” she says with a laugh. She makes a good point.

“Fine,” I sigh, knowing that there aren’t any escape before adding, “Roger called me late at night to talk about the thing that’s been happening on the media lately. They’re accusing that Lauren and I have dated in the past.”

“You have though,” Ashlee says with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but the public aren’t supposed to know that. Although it’s still a just a rumor now, who’s to say that it’ll still be that in the future? And from what I read, it’s pretty accurate already.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“I haven’t thought of that yet. I just found out 6 hours ago, Roger probably wants to see me later.”

“Okay then. Now, what’s the actual reason you called me?”

I just raise my eyebrow, questioning her without actually talking. Didn’t I just tell her about the rumor?

“Oh come on, you wouldn’t give two shits of the rumors that went around. So why now? Besides, when you called me, I could hear the wind blowing, so you were already out by that time.”

“Well yeah, I was outside the hotel building.”

“Lies Cabello. One, your hotel is in the middle of other large buildings, how could there be a strong wind blowing when the other buildings are blocking the wind. Two, you’re pretty transparent, you can’t lie to save your life.” She concluded. Fuck, she’s right again. Should’ve said I was on the roof or something. She added, “Now enough wasting time and actually tell me what’s wrong?”

“God, I hate you sometimes,” I playfully grunt, “Okay well, after the whole rumor bullshit, Lauren called me.”

“Then?”

“Uh- she asked me to go to the beach with her.”

“You didn’t, did you?” Obviously she knows the answer to that, but I think she was hoping I wouldn’t.

“I did,” I affirmed, receiving a gasp from her. She knows what happened to me and Lauren, not because I told her, but because she’s too smart for her own good. She pretty much put the puzzle together when she was our guitarist for the 7/27 tour.

“But nothing happened, at least not the way you would think.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We just had a, uh- little disagreement.”

“Typical Camren. But why now?” I flinched when she said the word, it made me recall so many memories.

—

I’m checking up on all of my social medias as the tour bus’ engine was roaring through my ear softly, the vibration between the engine and the the bumpy road making my phone fall to my face a few times already.

We’re having our first ever European tour right now, and as excited as I am for it, I couldn’t help but be glad that we actually have a break for 3 days before we have to perform again.

I do love the singing, the dancing and most certainly the fans, but we have been performing non-stop this year and sleep has definitely taken a toll on me.

But now that the bumpy road has woken me up from my slumber, I decided to just check my phone instead of twisting and turning, trying to find the comfort of the claustrophobic bunk, I should just kill time by stalking people.

We had just wrapped our concert in Amsterdam yesterday. The fans were so contagiously energetic that we couldn’t help but release all of our energy at that concert. That’s why I could hear them snoring a few feet away from me.

As I was scrolling through my instagram feed, I came across Lauren’s video, or rather a gif, of white dots falling in a dark background. The caption was, ‘Twinkle twinkle little star, Camden is just where you are.’

That wasn’t the thing that caught my eye though, it was the comment she replied to her commenters.

I should explain, the comments that was on the photo were mostly, 'Oh… I thought you said Camren’ or 'Camren*’

Although I understand that it does get annoying at times- because the fans have no boundaries, I can’t help but feel the hurt spreading through my body from her comment.

We are dating, so why can’t she just ignore the comments?

Has she even consider how I would feel about this? Why does she try so hard to deny us dating, especially when they’re not exactly wrong? Why does she put the energy on trying to hide it when the camren shippers were just harmlessly shipping us together?

This isn’t even the first one. Ever since the prank people did by writing that she’s bisexual on Wikipedia back in 2013, Lauren has been putting boundaries on our interactions on in front of the camera. I understood at that time, because we weren’t dating and she didn’t know that I liked her romantically.

But when 2014 came and we got together, Lauren pushed the idea of us together in public more. She became quite sad and didn’t interact much with us in front of the public eye. And although she was normal behind closed doors, I couldn’t help but feel like she is ashamed of me.

I didn’t say anything at that time, simply because we just got together and I didn’t want to lose her before we even had anything serious.

But now that we hit the 1 year mark, we’ve been arguing about it more than you would call normal. It became problematic and it pretty much spread to petty stuffs- like about the fact that I forgot to close the dressing room door because she HATES open doors.

We started arguing more after I released my single with Shawn for 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.’ Lauren never really outright told me how she felt about the idea of me releasing that song but I felt like she didn’t genuinely like it, she basically directed it onto different things about me that annoys her.

If she didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have recorded that song in the first place because even if I liked it, Lauren came first. But now that it’s out there in the open, what was I supposed to do?

—

“Camila!” Ashlee exclaimed, waking me up from the daze.

“Huh? Uh- what?”

“I asked you why you guys fought,”

“Oh yeah, right,” I fix my composure by sitting straight before continuing, “She and Lucy had a fight, then she called me to go to this place we used to go back when we were together. I went there and she asked me to help find Lucy with her.” I say immediately.

“Right? The question of the day is..” she lightly hits the table climatically with her hands as a dramatic sound effect, “why did you go there in the first place?”

“What do you mean? She asked me to,” I said, did she not hear me?

“But you didn’t have to go, did she force you?”

“Well, no- but she didn’t give me time to turn down either.”

“Would that matter? You would’ve still go there.”

“Well-” I stop, not knowing what to say next because it’s true.

“So here’s what I think, I think you weren’t pissed at Lauren for the right reasons, I think you were pissed because you feel like she’s choosing Lucy over you, I think you’re pissed because she’s not considering how you would feel, and even if it’s valid, it basically means that you haven’t moved on from her.” She ends with a smirk, so sure of herself, only making me want to wipe her smug face off.

“No, I’ve moved on. It’s been more than a year since we’ve broken up Ash.”

“Look Camila, it’s pretty obvious that you haven’t quite moved on. The song, the emotional performance, the way you look back repeatedly when we were in the AMAs. You haven’t even dated anyone after Lauren. Shawn, Kelly and Zedd have already asked you out, what’s stopping you?”

“Uhh,” I say incredulously, “maybe the fact that they have a dick? I’m gay, remember?”

“Camila, please, you’re bi and you know it. You’re just as interested in guys as you are with girls. Every month, you would call me just to fangirl about Ryan Gosling, and from what I’ve heard, he has a huge one.”

I look at her, my head spinning from the revelation, not because of the fact that Ryan Gosling might have a huge dick but because of the fact that I do like both boys and girls. She’s right, yet again. But I’m not gonna accept it just easily.

“Yeah, but I love him because of The Notebook, not because of what he has inside those pants.”

“My point exactly. You don’t care about gender. You fall for people regardless of their sex, you fall for them because of their personality. Shawn is nice and I know you enjoy hanging with him. You just don’t want him because you’ve haven’t moved on from Lauren.”

I look at her in disbelief. Has she thought about it before? She has some crazy analytical skills.

I sigh in defeat, too tired to contradict her statements. What good would it do when even I know she’s right.

The food came a few minutes after that and we ate silently. My mind was reeling from what she’s been saying. I look back and realized that even if I scoff or glare at Lauren, I haven’t exactly turn her down when she asks for something, like the hug and the beach. Not only that, if I already did move on, I wouldn’t have minded to help her find Lucy.

I guess I haven’t really moved on.

***

After we finished eating, we started talking about random things, not mentioning about Lauren and all those heavy stuffs- much to my relief.

She knows me that I wouldn’t have liked it if she overwhelmed me. She knows that I need time to think about it. I’m internally grateful for it.

When the clock struck half past eight, my phone rang. I checked it and saw Lucy’s name across the screen, causing my hand to get clammy and my heart beating rapidly.

I just knew an hour ago that I haven’t moved on from Lauren, I wanted to call her to justify what Lauren did. But now, I don’t know what to do.

Should I tell her I still love Lauren or should I help Lucy patch things up with Lauren?

#UPDATE #series #non AU #camren #angst drama #submission #Too Close To Home

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cathybarba451-blog · 7 years

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Will Loan Make You Satisfied?

Your ad blocker is hampering our search package and other web site performance. This is true that bills and children might make us somewhat jaded, however if our company placed that aside as well as want to the future with interest, our company develop into pillars of a great marital relationship. I performed certainly not change my work, locate a brand-new spouse, or even transfer to an other metropolitan area to be pleased. According to the site (n.d.), joy and happiness is an option in lifestyle that YOU have to create. I could sit near a heap of publications and be happy is all I am actually stating; maybe this's considering that they have provided me so many pleased times throughout. Whatever that our company are actually for ... passion, trust fund, peace, sympathy, contentment, empowers us, and every little thing that our team are against ... hate, rage, uncertainty, fear, weakens our team. Currently choose: HAPPY or UNHAPPY. 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If you are actually looking for methods to earn money, but nothing at all seems to be to be benefiting you, you must request recommendations from a job counselor. Help make a listing from these things and look at that periodically, so that you are regularly advised. This is actually when an individual carries out one thing great for someone else, which person, then, does something wonderful for the next person, and after that that person performs one thing wonderful for an the following individual and so on. That is just how our experts influence and also make the world around our team a better location. They will definitely make us delighted for a short or not therefore quick time period, yet in the end you will definitely get back to your first condition. A number of studies have actually found then devoted along with friends and family creates a large difference to exactly how satisfied our team experience, commonly. Mix that emotion along with an enthused passion for puppies, as well as you receive Skou's organisation: Puppies Create Me Satisfied-- which right now produces $40,000 each month. If you have any type of questions pertaining to where and ways to use yellow pages christmas advert (click the following website), you can contact us at our web-site. And, with a couple of ideas, you can probably find out how to approach him to ensure that he not just listens, however he has some action to make certain that you are healthier within your marital relationship. You do not must struggle to find ideal phrasing suggestions for that unique person's birthday gathering. I was a compulsive eater that was trying to cover that up as well as balance this weight-wise in every and any way that I might by compulsively dieting or bingeing and expunging however when it boiled down to it, I was actually addicted to food items. 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However the 2nd measure to this recognition is actually to identify the second point rage likewise teaches our company: temper instructs us ways to enjoy. I aren't sure from anybody which may be satisfied at that temp other than possibly a polar bear! Older females which have accomplished their duties as well as are actually now prepared for a carefree and untamed time, could discover their interest pertained to a shrieking stop considering that their companion possesses no passion in enjoying sex. I am therefore satisfied that i carried out not drop him to all admiration and the lady visits Dr. Eze Malaka for his great work. For more widely known quotes, browse through the popular, a website that provides services for 'Top 10' listings of quotes in lots of types. You make me satisfied whether you understand that or otherwise I am actually so pleased knowing you are actually the one that ill like for the rest from my times. Select a classy menu coming from the starters with the deserts that could produce the celebrant, and also the attendees, think unique throughout the meal. But there are actually traits you can possibly do making points run additional properly and to stay away from shooting your own self in the foot. The salary regard for the lots of reparations that mamas create their family members, present is actually noticed in the entire United Kingdom and the world. This holds true that expenses as well as little ones can create our company quite jaded, but if we placed that all apart as well as planning to the future with interest, we turn into pillars from a good relationship. I performed not change my work, find a brand new spouse, or move to a various city to be delighted. Baseding upon the site (n.d.), joy is an option in life that YOU have to create.

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aeuropeanwinter · 7 years

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#17 Amster-Daym!

From the moment we arrived in Amsterdam, dragging our bags along the canals and through the bicycle filled streets, we could feel it was a beautiful city. The tree were lit up with fairy lights and the beautiful architecture was evident even in the dark. However, I could not get over just how many bicycles there were in that city. It was crazy. If you didn't look left and then right and the left.. or whatever it is in Europe, you'd be hurt for sure. Check, check and check again, because bikes had the right of way; they're above cars and above people. Bikes hanging on racks filled the sidewalks and people were pedalling home from work, seriously they were everywhere! When we got to our accomodation, some of us were slightly nervous having pre-googled the Hostel and it had trademarked itself as the 'Worst Hostel in Europe' however that's a lie because it was actually half decent, and nowhere near the worst accomodation we'd had! The strong sense of weed at the front door, definitely meant we were in Amsterdam however!

That evening, Morgan led us down to the Red Light District and what an eye opener. Gals, just doing their thing in a little window, just waiting.. Mel and I got our own dinner whilst the others got pre occupied a little before our evening entertainment. Viewer discretion advised from here.. Mum. Don't read. After dinner, steak and chips! Yum! Mel and I opted for a bitta chocolate muffin and made our way back to the group meeting point ready for.. a sex show. Yep.. probably might keep the details of that one brief, but let's just it was quite the interesting evening. Friday, and our last full day day on tour! Morgan's directional abilities I feel might be really lacking, we walked an hour to our Amsterdam bike tour! Which took us about 10mins to return home from? Anyhow, we were on bikes in Amsterdam and blending in like the locals! Until Mekayla got a flat tyre and it started hailing!!! Perfect conditions! Our guide was quite forward, at three different points he had a go at a traffic warden and then two motorists! He hardly gave us any information about the city, but rather told the back to keep up! Thankfully my bike riding skills are still strong, did not want to cross him! We made a single stop at the I amsterdam sign, where we took some cliche touristy photos and other than that, we powered our way around the canal filled city. It was beautiful! I however, wouldn't have minded some more info haha! Back to the bike shop and a waffle filled lunch was definitely in order! Mekayla, Mel and I found the perfect location and a Nutella crepe with bananas and strawberries did classify as lunch that day! Mel journeyed back to the Hostel herself, whilst Mekayla and I took in a few more sights and got some cliche canal photos. The rain and hail! held off and it was actually a really lovely day after lunch, not as cold as the far Eastern European countries! Mekayla and I eventually made our way back to the Hostel for a quick nap prior to our River Cruise Dinner and Bar Hop that night.

Dinner was incredibly. Literally on a beautiful boat, just meandering down the waterways. We had a little red wine, and an Indonesian inspired dinner. I think entree was just crackers but the main had a chicken and beef dish, with vegetables, rice and salad. It was really good! Dessert was a layered Indonesian cake, not too fancy but the whole evening was a super lovely way to end our 24 day adventure around Europe. After the River Cruise, we had a few drinks in the Hostel passing time as dinner had been early. We then went to a few different bars, but none better than this epic shots bar. We had a sour strap shot on arrival, and then had been told about three others to definitely have. The Harry Potter shot didn't taste amazing, but the bartender literally lit up with bar like a magic show! So cool! Another one saw us eat what resembled to me a daisy flower core, gross! And then down the shot, which then brought on this random popping sensation in your mouth, similar to what pop rocks the candy do. The last one was a chemistry shot. It was crazy to watch done. The bartender mixed up the liquid and then put a glass over it, lit something up and then all of a sudden the air pressures meant that the liquid was sucked into the glass, she released it back down into the shot glass, gave the person a straw to drink it and then put the straw inside the larger glass to inhale the fumes. A little crazy! Very whacky science experiment like! In the last bar we counted down until Tahra's birthday! 20 years young! I was super keen for some McDonald's and desperately didn't want to be hungover for the 11 hour bus journey back to London that day, so Mel, Ian and I ventured for a snack and then home to sleep. Thankfully, I pulled through okay and woke up feeling pretty good all things considered.

Mel decided to leave the tour in Amsterdam as she plans to head back and see more of Western Germany. It was definitely hard saying goodbye to her. You spend all day, every day together, and we shared a lot of our memories around Europe. I'm very very grateful for that friendship, thankfully Mildura isn't far! As for the rest of us, we left Amsterdam at 7.30am and arrived at the ferry terminal in Caliea around 12.30pm. Unfortunately the UK Border yet again was scrutinising, and we missed the 1.10pm ferry.. meaning we waited for until 3.30pm for the next ferry!!!! We had to just sit and wait on the bus in the ferry lines. A small vending machine and toilet was the only thing available.. so bloody annoying! Although I did thankfully manage to sleep a little, that passed an hour! On the ferry our whole group just wanted one thing, food. Everyone marched to the food court and I've never been so pleased with a lasagne. Breakfast and 7am and then lunch at 4pm was a killer! Hannah, Tahra, Lachlan and I played a little Heads Up to pass time, and before we new it we were back on the bus and bound for London. The time ticked over to 7.30pm meaning a 12 hour day had been travelled on the bus.. and boy did we feel it! Back finally to Wombats and the goodbyes were now aplenty. It's crazy to spend a month with a group of people and then just know you're lives might not cross again.. And I always find it crazy that I started the Topdeck alone, not knowing anyone, before I met Mekayla, and we went to dinner with Mel and Lachie and then Isobel and Max. I'll always be grateful for that little group, and to the girls too, Hannah and Tahra, the Mryt-Dirt duo! Hard to believe they're from Myrtleford. I'll definitely be seeing them both soon. 10 countries around continental Europe on that Topdeck! Making this adventure 12 in total. Hard to fathom just how lucky we were with the people, the weather and with our leader Morgan, her optionals and knowledge went above and beyond! So many good memories that will take a little while to sink in. Despite the goodbyes, my journey continues a little longer with two more nights in London with Caitlin and Linda.

Topdeck, you were a blast! I'm so grateful to have seen and done so much with the greatest bunch of legends! Here's to meeting again somewhere in the world!

Written Monday January 22nd 2018, 5.42pm.

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lorenmoeller-blog · 7 years

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My Husband or wife Doesn't Seem To Treatment In all Concerning My Joy

Nothing at all can easily bring a smile to your skin fairly like attractive love quotes can if you are actually a hopeless romantic. Like people around the globe, the British residents as well create New Year's solutions as a determination for accomplishing something phenomenal or killing peccadillos. You've missed another factor also - get up in the early morning as well as make a decision to become satisfied If you can't produce that devise and after a while you'll find it's real. Email marketing is among the best means to create money; that permits you to market to people time and time once again. While there are undoubtedly points that happen in your lifestyle that produce you think either unhappy or happy, the truth is actually that these encounters happen and they go. The better equipped you end up being at handling the celebrations that trigger you underline the a lot less effect this will certainly carry your health and also joy and happiness.

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I go to a cross-roads in lifestyle and I need to learn that I am actually and just what in fact makes me pleased. I wish you delight in these amusing friendly relationship estimates as high as I like sharing all of them along with you! Because our company usually do this twice a time, five times a week, creates it unsurprising that its own result would certainly accumulate eventually and make us a lot less and a lot less pleased. He might concur certainly not to do that any kind of longer, yet that does not mean he'll be actually satisfied and also satisfied along with his new sex life. Words that make you become aware that you are not the exception, that there are others on the market that have been harmed and also are experiencing as you are actually. The 11 tune album merely has 31 mins in order to get by means of, and also its own high energy, medium-paced tunes are actually great for whatever type of mood you've discovered your own self in this particular full week. Finding answers to these inquiries as well as placing them right into creating was actually certainly not a simple duty, but accomplishing this possesses make me healthier compared to I have actually ever been in life. As well as if you were to ask them if they enjoyed at that time, they might discover the condition laughable also when certainly not 6 months before they presumed they had actually located the panacea of life when they were carrying on along with yet another lady and experiencing the highs from a function. Last but not least, if you would like to know ways to create a male desire you, then do not fear to flirt. You can use these five ideas to make your following household collecting the experience you have actually regularly wished. The best necessary point that occurred in my existing as well as very happy connection was my capability to focus extra on creating myself pleased, instead of on his capability to make me delighted. To create this more classy, choose structures which blend white and also silver or even white and also gold. I went out with a person for regarding nine months, I absolutely rejoice whenever i am actually with him. Rather than constantly pointing the finger at the other, and also sensation not worthy, take a long, hard, really good check out exactly how you create it hard. In case you loved this short article and you wish to receive details about yellow pages uk england residential (www.congressomp2015.com.br) kindly visit our website. When you're collaborating with a partner, this actually aids if you each bring in an honest attempt to comply and know with each other. The rugged angels as well as the white outdoor create a browse through to this gallery an important stuff to do in Amsterdam. To provide the movies integrity and also making the stories as real as feasible and also as near the hearts of the neighborhoods as achievable, our team put together seminars in each of the countries.

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carltond4558-blog · 7 years

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My Other half Failed to Make Me Delighted.

Appearing when you are actually gay or LGBT is hardly ever easy, yet this may be even more tough when wed or partnered. It is actually impossible to end up being definitely pleased when you do not have also a tiny oz of freedom in your lifestyle. Enjoying father throughout our childhood our company know ways to make our method the mad ethnicity. Contentment resembles a muscle - that obtains more powerful the even more you exercise it. Keeping on your own delighted resembles staying in form. If there is actually anything else I can do to create this fic a lot more easily accessible by any means, satisfy don't hesitate to email me at iaminarage @ or message me on tumblr (where I am actually likewise iaminarage). It's not simply the stories I really love when I say that books make me delighted; often this is actually the visibility of them. What makes me definitely delighted is actually staying at home with my husband and pet cats and also sometimes journeying to brand-new places. Right now, attempt telling your partner that you desire to create affection to him/her utilizing this Spanish expression and also s/he will truly believe exclusive. But I have actually learned ways to make sushi in the absolute most unusual classroom: the on the internet cooking food activities. SpanishDict is devoted to strengthening our website based upon user comments and presenting brand-new as well as cutting-edge attributes that will definitely continue to aid people discover as well as like the Spanish language.. In this way, start being actually creative with your suggestions and also have the capacity to make decisions when they are focused on what they have in fact done as well as perform. Even when you produce some ideas of waste still talk about that considering that this could possibly bring about a revelation that success account. That is actually as a result essential that our company comprehend just what makes The lord delighted and always keep performing all of them to attract his benefits. Pair of Swiss economists which studied the effect from driving on happiness located that such factors can certainly not counterbalance the torment produced through a long commute. Due to the fact that serotonin plays a role in discovering, researchers assumed that visibility to Mycobacterium will make their computer mice smarter. He informed me that he will cast some incantations to earn my child go back and to obtain my other half his project back. Reveal these impressive compilation from joy and happiness quotes with your relatived and have a good time all together. Others do not intentionally program to rip off as well as may also enjoy in their existing partnership, but locate that hard to withstand when they are quickly among an attractive woman. Disagreements along with a partner or child, matches with a friend or colleague, the listing goes on and on. Our experts can easily utilize all of them to be pleased if our experts permitted the stress and anxiety from these scenarios stimulate us. Yet my activities really did not follow just what I knew intellectually as well as I located on my own counting on to be happy whenever something good occurred to me. Sure, I was happy for a while, yet that didn't' last. Obtaining what he yearns for during the course of an intercourse is going to provide him better contentment and also leaves him pleased. Identifying points that create you satisfied and creating all of them component of your life are going to be actually the only means you can easily find that delighted area. This includes waiting on something to follow right into your life if you want to be happy. Satisfy carry out permit me know and I will definitely carry out completely whatever I may to correct it if you possess any issue reading this fic with a screen viewers. Typically, the tunes are actually not had to understand the story, nonetheless I'm working with including the lyrics to the songs on the video clip posts to ensure that should be actually up very soon. Acting like you can easily thrive fine without him will definitely make your ex lover partner need you a lot, he will inform you how sorry he is actually and ask you to have him back. Enjoying stitching, making Needle Produced a brand-new Shirt/Blouse special interesting, could also be creating you a lot satisfaction, selecting colours to contribute to structure. That took me just about forty 8 years to lastly discover I may be delighted as well as beneficial and certainly not experience bad or even embarrassed from this. For me, there is no going back to the dark side. What creates me pleased may or even could not dramatically help in your contentment And also speaking of genes, there is actually a great possibility that because our brains are actually wired in a different way as well as generate various degrees of chemicals that affect our thought processes, a few of our company are actually visiting have a harder opportunity creating a happy hookup". He failed to need to have Santana to begin inquiring questions about who he was actually speaking with. He maintained the message chat as he expected the bartender making the alcoholic beverages. Let's check out at the popular periodic parties and exactly how you could make use of personalized stationery to create your memory cards, keep in minds as well as letters even more exclusive. But in any case, they created me extremely incredibly satisfied, and that made me intend to stop and also mirror on all the other things that are actually making me delighted in today times. Merely, if your close relatives and also close friends enjoyed people, there is actually an excellent opportunity that you will be also. Mindfulness may help you to be delighted along with what you possess through enabling you to really appreciate just what you have. You're perhaps appearing for ideas to honor this happy event in a major means if so. Instead of consistently criticizing the various other, and emotion not worthy, have a long, hard, excellent look at how you make this hard. This actually helps if you each make an honest effort to cooperate as well as understand with each various other when you're functioning with a partner. The pointed angels and the white outside create a visit to this museum an important things to perform in Amsterdam. To give the movies sincerity and to earn the accounts as genuine as feasible and as near the souls of the communities as feasible, our company established study groups in each from the countries. Nearly all males ignore tips so if you are actually certainly not allowing him understand point blank that you enjoy with him as well as exactly what he creates for you, you might gone on the track to shedding him. A lesson found out is that certainly not every person likes birds as a few of us carry out. I was resting on our deck one early morning, taking pleasure in the chorus from track birds in the surrounding plants. That's quite outrageous that planning for a vacation may create you happy, however I keep in mind a couple of years ago (prior to I possessed little ones) I actually produced a spread sheet of things I wished to carry out if I won the lottery game. Bear in mind: everybody needs to have 12 hugs a day, thus make certain to provide all the hugs they need for a wonderful feeling every day prior to bedtime. I understood exactly what that required to create me capable to vomit, and also was actually creating on my own thus complete to the point where I believed likeI was going to throw up anyway. Men will not assume you're egoistic if you do this in a way that praises their wish making you pleased. Even though, it could feel bizarre for a long time, once you perform this, it doesn't make you think so. If you would like to make your aficionado believe extremely important, then this words will be the appropriate one. Hanging around them leaves me with a pleased emotion, then subsequently, I am healthier as well as much more beneficial around the people I are actually along with later. They vocalize their typical tune Auld Lang Syne" to accept the new year and also note it till 3rd January. If you enjoyed this write-up and you would like to obtain additional information pertaining to yellow pages uk wiki (escolherparaestaremforma.info) kindly go to our own web site. If the hubby is actually certainly not happy along with the sexual activity in their married life, he makes certain to look in other places; this may be unsafe for your relationship. You could make 2 claims during the course of any type of 3 year period without any loss from NCD yet your security are going to be lost.

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