#in front of the whole bull-pen

[ragzonacamrencruise]

Azutara #49

oooooh prompt 49 is boss/intern au

this is going to be fun 😈

***

Katara bites her lip in anticipation. "Should I be scared?"

"Oh, definitely." Sokka nods his head without taking his eyes of the screen. "Your knees should be giving way underneath you right now, trust me."

Katara gulps. She looks all around in nervousness. It's a huge bull-pen. Eight in the morning and the whole area is already bustling, telephones ringing insistently, loud chatter providing a strange ambience, exchanges of good morning and news about their weekends.

Everyone's pristine and crisp here at Agni Incorp., and Katara already feels overwhelmed. She has no idea how her brother does it sometimes, being the Head of Engineering at the most prestigious and posh company like this one. She's just managed to land an internship opportunity here, due to her brother's heavy recommendation, and it's just her first day! Because the company had been looking for young and brilliant minds to do their work, she'd been instantly selected by someone called Zhu Li.

She tries not to worry too much. But Sokka's recent updates on who'll be leading them for the next 6 months had already made her gut bottom out.

Azula Agni.

People knew very little about her. Mostly because she always worked in the shadows of their company, Sokka had told her. There's a reason the main hall, Which Ozai Agni runs, is somewhere below them in an easily accessible, busy floor, rather than high up at the top floor, which Azula was allocated to.

It also did not help when Sokka told her about the time Azula had made an employee literally pee his pants the very first day she arrived here at the Strategic Management Department. Sokka had been complaining the whole time about what an engineer is doing 'strategically managing', but then he'd also said that he's never worked more in his entire life. Azula's been taking over things here. She's brought forth humongous changes that always boost up the sidelines.

There's a reason they call her the Shadow Director of the entire company in just two months.

Sokka's eyes lift up to Katara from where he's stitting at his desk, a lowly shift from what he was accustomed to in Ozai's floor. "Don't worry. You're a smart girl. You'll fit in just fine. Also, make sure not to talk back. She hates that."

Okay, now Katara's pretty sure that Azula isn't that haughty. Sure she's a little intimidating from what she's been hearing from not just Sokka, but literally everyone present at the bull-pen, talking about how they need to get something right cuz if Azula finds even a single mistake, she's gonna burn the whole place to the ground.

But how bad can it be, right?

Right?

Wrong.

All heads suddenly turn to the elevator when it dings sharply at 8 on the nose. Silence falls heavily inside the great hall and Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. The elevator door opens and it first reveals a short woman with Harry Potter spectacles on her button nose, her hair in a bun and her body clad in official dark green, business suit. She has short bangs that frame her forehead and she walks out in crisp strides.

And then, Katara's heart really does stop.

Behind her, is one of the most beautiful girls she's ever laid her eyes on, if not the most beautiful girl in the world. Her skin is pale, compared to Katara's darker complexion, and her hair is also in a bun, but two strands of hair loose from the bun frame her face perfectly in the most mind-numbingly gorgeous way possible. Katara tries not to drool. But it's hard not to.

She steps out of the elevator, her posture as straight as a rod. Unlike the first woman, she takes slow, deliberate steps into the bull-pen, sliding in, right into the middle of the whole hall. She pauses.

From this angle, Katara can see that the girl is quite young. In fact, Katara's sure she's not older than herself. She's clad in a simple but quite a fine suit Katara's ever seen. It's a black shirt with a deep red blazer thrown over her delicate torso, completing the look with a black pant and a red tie.

The girl turns her head in deadly precision, sweeping the room with her eyes, looking at every single person present. If it's not for the occasional telephone ringing somewhere in the corner, you could've droped a feather and it would've made noise, Katara's pretty sure.

Everybody is on alert and that immediately puts Katara on edge, her body stiff as a post. The girl's head is turning, slowly, and for some strange reason, Katara feels like she's going to pass out, from all the anticipation and the stress that this whole situation brings her.

When the girl's head turns completely to her right, the first thing Katara notices is that her eyes are striking golden. A rare gold mixed with brown that she hasn't seen on anyone ever.

And she almost does pass out when those eyes suddenly fall directly on her.

She lets out a silent whimper, not really sure why she's having a physical reaction to the girl just looking at her. But it's not just any look. It's the kinda look that could melt stone if you point at it long enough. Katara feels her face heat up under the scrutinizing gaze, completely giving herself over to the girl's stare.

Then it's gone. The eyes are completely gone and they move on to Sokka standing next to her and then to the next person whoever that is, and Katara's breath returns back to her lungs.

She feels her head spin for a second, but she holds her composture. And suddenly, there's a snap of fingers in front of her face. She looks up and almost jumps out of her skin when she finds the girl looking directly at her, again.

But this time, she gestures with a finger to follow her into her office, and then, like a whirlwind, she's gone. Completely out of sight.

Katara remains frozen in place, her brain in a frenzy, not really sure what just happened. Chatter and indistinct noise returns back to the bull-pen and Katara feels the world come crashing down.

She feels a sharp nudge to her ribs. This time, she does jump out of her skin. "Wha-?"

"What are you standing here for?!" Sokka whisper-yells in her ear. "Azula just called you into her office!"

Katara blinks. "Wait- That's Azula?!"

"No, it was the queen of Ba Sing Se." Sokka gives her a look. "OF COURSE IT WAS AZULA! And if you aren't in her office in about 10 seconds, she's gonna burn the whole place down. Go! Go! Go!"

He pushes Katara heavily towards her office door at the end of the bull-pen. She stumbles across, trying to find the strength to face the golden-eyed girl again. For all the accounts she's heard, she didn't expect Azula Agni to be as pretty as that. In fact, to be honest, Katara was imagining Ursala the sea witch the whole time.

When she nears the door, she notices a big, secluded booth, where the lady with the Harry Potter spectacles is seated, her eyes lazer focused on the computer screen in front of her, looking like she's going over a dozen different things at once. And it hasn't even been like 5 minutes since she got here.

Feeling Katara's presence loom over her, she talks without looking up from her work. "Tell her I asked you to be here and she'll leave you alone." She states, her voice almost sounding like a robot.

Katara frowns, not really sure what that means, she doesn't really stick around for clarifications, seeing that the woman is already back to her work, not that she ever looked up.

Katara sucks in a deep breath before she raises her hand to knock but the woman's robotic voice beside her halts her. "Don't bother. She hates when people knock."

Katara's hand falls limply to her side. Okay, so this Azula seems to hate a lot of things. It's almost as if the things she hates are literally everything that makes a human, well, human.

She hesitantly opens the door, her body strangely building up confidence that she really needs right now as she steps through into the room.

It's huge. Everything is huge. The first thing she notices is the giant floor to ceiling glass window that has this incredible view over Republic City, as if it's some kind of a palace that governs over the whole of the city. The second thing she notices is the deep red couch placed right beside the window, and how fucking comfortable it looks. And only then does her eyes fall on the desk that is placed far inside the rectangle room, and the most comfortable swivelling chair she's seen, occupied by a tiny figure clad in red and black.

Katara looks at her nervously for a second, before walking inside, her confidence fading with each step. When she gets closer, Azula's face becomes clearer and well-defined and Katara has to physically stop herself from ogling.

A few seconds pass and Katara doesn't know what to do with herself, standing there awkwardly, staring at the girl. Then suddenly, the golden eyes fall on her and Katara has to stop herself from falling down on the ground with the sheer force of the glance.

"Who are you? Why are you here." The girl demands after a second, leaning back in her chair.

Katara blinks. "You called me here-"

"I was talking about your general presence in this building." each word is ice-cold, hitting like bullets inside Katara's brain. "Are you a spy?"

"Spy?"

"To the Cabbage Corp."

"No. Of course, not." Katara's well aware of the rivalry between the Cabbage Corp., and Agni Incorporation. She'd even briefly considered applying for a job in the Cabbage Corp., before her brother pestered her to come work here.

Azula doesn't answer. Instead, she just narrows her eyes, and Katara knows that she's looking for an explanation. So she provides her with one instantly. "I'm the new intern here." Azula's eyes narrow to slits, and Katara continues, noticing it. "Today's my first day."

Azula still doesn't answer, her face now sporting a full-on scowl. Katara immediately panics, not really knowing what she should be saying here. She squeezes her brain in a hurry, and then suddenly, she remembers.

"I was selected by her." Katara jerks her thumb in the general direction of the robotic lady sitting outside Azula's office.

That seems to do it. Azula's eyebrows immediately raise up slightly. "Zhu Li selected you?"

Katara nods slowly, finally putting a face to the name Zhu Li.

"An intern for what?" Azula asks her sharply.

Katara gulps. "I was told I needed to be assesed for at least a week before getting assigned for a catagory of work that I would go to."

Golden eyes scrutinize her for a long minute silently, making her feel suddenly naked. She looks all around the office room awkwardly, not really strong enough to meet those sharp, calculating eyes anymore.

"You will shadow Zhu Li for not one but two weeks. Learn what and why of the things we do here. When I get a report from Zhu Li at the end of the two weeks, I'll decide whether to keep you or kill you."

Wait- Kill her?!

Katara's eyes widen comically.

"Dismissed." Azula waves her hand non-chalantly, and Katara feels her feet getting a life of their own, following the order Azula Agni's hand gave them.

When she comes out the door, Zhu Li's voice sounds beside her. "How long?"

Katara turns to her, her eyes still not back to normal from the shock. "Two weeks. I'm supposed to shadow you for two weeks before she apparantly keeps me or kills me."

And only then Zhu Li looks up from her hectic typing on the computer, giving her a smirk. "Then you better start right away."

...

It feels like a whole year was cramped into one week, cuz that's how long the week was for Katara. Her neck hurts, her feet hurt, her back hurts and even her butt hurts!

She now understands why this was such a big deal. Why when she got here, all heads were either buried in their work or drowning in copius amounts of diluted cactus juice, cuz this shit is hectic.

She was looking forward to her weekend like she was crazy. She'd followed Zhu Li around like a puppy, taking notes of her notes, keeping track of Azula's schedule that Zhu Li had provided her with, and typing through endless amounts of transcripts of meetings after meetings Azula seemed to attend.

It's Friday afternoon and Katara can't wait to hit the bed in the lovely apartment she shares with Sokka.

She'd had a couple of run ins with Azula, her golden eyes poring into her soul every time she looked at her. And if Katara has learned anything in the past week, it was that Azula was ruthless.

She always wears red and black, and always holds her poise. Every time Azula walks into the bull-pen at sharp 8 o clock, she scans the room completely before heading into her office without fail. Katara's never once seen her lose her composture, sharp and to the point all the freaking time.

Katara still hasn't had the privilege of attending Azula's meetings. But she can imagine what it's like, just by reading through the transcripts. Every word she types as Azula's is pure golden, akin to her eyes. They hold such brevity and clarity that Katara can't help but be fascinated by the girl.

Every time she walks into a room, she holds this kind of regality, as if she was born to rule over them all, and Katara shudders thinking of the way Azula's eyes seems to peruse her, leaving her breathless and unnerved with just a singe glance.

The intern shakes her head, to pull herself away from day-dreaming. She's almost done with typing out the transcript for the meeting Azula attended to in the morning. And another meeting seems to be going on now. If she's done typing that out too, she's free to go and enjoy her weekend. So, her fingers fly on the keyboard as fast as they could possibly go.

She suddenly pauses, her eyes drawing attention to one line from Azula in the meeting minutes laid out on her desk :

"Perfection is always one step better than what you thought was perfect."

Katara blinks, flabbergasted. That is one of the most thoughtful things she's ever heard someone say. Or in this case, seen. And Azula's said it in a room full of the board of directors. The amount of power she holds just stuns Katara. The way she demands respect from every one that meets her is mind-blowing really.

It takes a long moment for Katara to move on from that line, as she wills herself to start typing again. She gradually forgets what's happening all around her, as she drowns herself in her work, making progress at record speed.

She's almost done with the work when she hears her name.

"Katara." Zhu Li is looking directly at her, standing before Katara's desk with a phone pressed against her ear. When Katara looks up snapping her eyes away from the monitor, Zhu Li gestures with her eyes and a tilt of her head to follow her.

Katara immediately springs into action, grabbing her notepad and pen, to rush behind Zhu Li. If she's supposed to be Zhu Li's shadow, she's gonna be just that.

Zhu Li makes her way to the other side of the bull-pen, where the meeting room is. Katara's heart starts beating faster when Zhu Li leads her straight to the meeting room, opening the door.

Katara's stomach flips in excitement. She's never been to the meetings and she's eager to see one where Azula's at the top of her game. Zhu Li steps inside through the door, and Katara follows right behind her.

". . . preserving the quality but also the cost. Design B is fuel efficient as well." Azula's saying, standing at the head of the table. When Zhu Li walks in, Azula's eyes snap to her. "Anything important, Zhu Li?"

Her tone is dangerous, and Katara's been here long enough to read it as, "This better be important or i'm gonna fire you for interrupting my meeting."

"Are you sure you wanna hear it here?" Zhu Li asks, looking around the meeting table, filled with board members and Katara guesses, the top order people of the company.

Azula narrows her eyes, seeming to contemplate it. But then she nods once, giving Zhu Li a green light.

Zhu Li hangs up her phone, the one that was pressed against her ear before saying, "Our shipment's been stolen."

Katara's eyes widen.

So does Azula's. "What?" She snaps.

All eyes in the room swivel to Zhu Li.

"I got the news just now." Zhu Li says, her usually robotic voice now tinted with a dash of worry. "An entire shipment's been stolen."

Shocked whispers begin to erupt from all around the table.

"Which shipment?" Azula asks, her brows furrowing together.

"The one with the parts for our new airship design." Zhu Li is quick to answer.

Azula breathes out a quiet curse. "Okay. I'll look into it."

One of the board members pushes his chair back and stands up. "You'll look into it?! Really?! That's all you have to say?!"

Azula braces her palms on the table in front of her and leans forward, hanging her head.

"Yeah." Another member quips. "We've just lost our latest technology. And all you have to offer is looking into it?!?!"

Another voice speaks up. "Having our valuable shipments stolen isn't exactly very strategic of you, is it? And my sources have reason to believe that this has been happening for months now. Maybe it's time for you to step down and let Mr. Zuko take care of things here, Miss Azula. Shouldn't you be taking action already? Looking into it isn't really going to help, now is it-?"

Azula snaps her head up and the asshole that was talking shuts his mouth in a hurry.

The whole room falls silent when they notice the look Azula's giving the guy. A chill runs up Katara's spine, and she permanently decides that she definitely does not want to be at the receiving end of that piercing glare.

"Loosing composture in a time like this isn't going to help either." Azula's voice is even and cold. "So, unless you have a trick up your insolent little sleeves, I'd like to see you all presenting your design idea on another day. The meeting's adjourned."

Everybody shoots out of their seats in a hurry, wanting to get the hell away from Azula's raising wrath before they get caught in the middle of it.

"Your father will be hearing about this when he returns back from Ba Sing Se, Miss Azula." The asshole says before walking out of the room.

Azula just stares at his retreating figure, her face surprisingly even.

"Zhu Li." Azula says.

"Yes, Miss Agni?" Zhu Li perks up.

"My office. Now."

...

The door to Azula's office automatically shuts close the second Katara walks into it. Azula's already pacing back and forth in front of her desk as Zhu Li walks up to her.

"It's the Cabbage Corp., I'm sure of it." The secretary says.

Azula stops on her tracks, mid-pace. "Of course it is. Who else would it-" Then her eyes suddenly fall on Katara and she stops talking.

Zhu Li seems to follow her line of sight. "Oh, don't worry. Katara's fine. We need all hands on deck if we're gonna handle this."

"And you think she's capable of it?" Azula points a lazy finger at Katara.

"More than." Zhu Li says and Katara feels a rush of affection towards the woman.

Azula nods once before taking in a deep breath. "Zhu Li . . ."

"Yes?"

Azula stares at her for a second long, before her sculpted full lips curve up in a smirk. "They swallowed the bait and the whole damn hook!"

Zhu Li's usually neutral face morphs into a genuinely surprised one. "Wait- WHAT?!"

Azula lets out a loud guffaw suddenly, throwing her head back and clutching onto her chest tightly.

Zhu Li looks at her like she's gone completely crazy. "Azula?!"

"Hmm?" Azula hums, before losing it and staring to laugh again.

"What is going on?!" Zhu Li panics, and Katara can't help but silently watch the whole debacle. "What bait?!"

Azula wipes at the corner of her eyes. "Oh god, this is perfect!"

Zhu Li blinks at her. "Should I be worried?!"

"No." Azula says before humming in mirth again, letting out a small chuckle.

Azula walks over to her swivel chair and plops down heavily. Zhu Li and Katara take the queue, confused out of their minds, and sit down on the chairs opposite to Azula's across the desk.

"Okay." Azula clears her throat. Then she looks at both Zhu Li and Katara in the eye with mirth dancing in her normally striking cold eyes. "What I'm about to say, must not leave this room untill and unless I give you explicit permission to do so."

Zhu Li nods and Katara does the same, already not believing her luck.

"Especially you, new girl." Azula's eyes fall on Katara. "If I find out you're a leak, it'll be years before the cops shovel out your bones."

Katara gulps, her eyes widening.

"Will you just tell us already?" Zhu Li impatiently asks.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Fine. The whole shipment? That was my bait. And the Cabbage Corp., gobbled it up hook and meat."

Zhu Li gives her a look. "So you're saying, you purposefully left a shipment unattended for the Cabbage heads to take it?"

"Yes." Azula leans back in the chair and crosses her legs, fingers clasping in front, her elbows resting on the arm-rest.

"Why would you do that?!" Zhu Li sounds annoyed. "You know they've been swiping our stuff for months right?"

"Yes. And that's exactly why I was forced to come up with this."

Zhu Li raises her brow. "You have a catch." It's not really a question but a statement.

"Of course I do." Azula leans forward, waving her hand. "I'm not an idiot."

Zhu Li holds her silence for a second before speaking. "Cameras?"

"The size of a pea." Azula smirks. "It can even fit in a pen." She says before tapping one one of the many pens kept in a cup on her desk.

"And if they found it out?"

"Oh, I'm counting on it. It'll be really nice to see the look on their faces if they discover it, don't you think?" Azula types something quickly in her keyboard and then a second later she turns the whole monitor of her computer towards us. "This is going to be my soap opera from now on. Zhu Li, make sure to get some fire flakes, yes?"

Zhu Li's too busy looking at the screen. There are at least 12 camera footage that Katara notices is definitely live, trained on a bunch of people gathered around a huge warehouse, playing Pai Sho. Near them are huge containers with the Agni Incorp., emblem on them. Clearly, they're unaware of the little eyes that are watching their every move. What's even interesting is that the emblem of Cabbage Corp, is blatantly visible behind their Pai Sho table.

Katara almost face-palms at their stupidity. Thank god Sokka insisted her on joining Agni Incorp., huh?

"Are they really this dumb?" Zhu Li's face screws up in disgust. "Good work, Miss Azula." She stands up. "I'll make some calls to Long Feng, arranging a meet up."

"Make sure you stay quiet about this." Azula warns. "I wanna see that scum's face personally when he realises what's coming for him."

Zhu Li gives Azula a smile before clip-clopping her way out of the office.

Katara should've left with her. She should be helping Zhu Li set up the meeting. Yet, the wheels in her head are turning and she stays rooted to her chair, mind racing a hundred miles per second.

A snap in front of her face, jolts her awake from the spiral she just fell into. She looks up to find Azula's fingers in front of her face, looking at her with a slight tint of annoyance.

"I said, 'dismissed'. And I believe that's your cue to exit my office immediately." Azula is saying, but Katara's not interested.

Katara's brilliant blue eyes snap to Azula. "What will your meeting with Long Feng be about?"

Azula stares at her. "Do not take advantage of your position, new girl. These are matters that do not require your concern."

Katara's face hardens. "I've typed enough transcripts of your meetings in the past week to know more about your management than any other person on this whole floor." She states. But then she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Well, except Zhu Li, of course, but that's Zhu Li."

Azula leans forward in her chair and places her forearms on the desk, clasping her fingers.

Katara mentally cheers herself for speaking up and continues, hearing no response from Azula. "If I were a spy, I'd be halfway to Ba Sing Se by now, selling all your information. But I didn't. So, tell me. What are you going to discuss with the Cabbage Corp's first director?"

Azula scans her face for a long moment. So long that Katara almost ups and leaves from the sheer weight of her gaze. It's piercing and calculative, making Katara squirm in her seat, feeling oddly heated and flustered.

Azula speaks finally, much to Katara's relief. "I was thinking of giving him the scare of his life. But I haven't really gotten around to the details yet."

Katara's face lights up.

This is it. This is the perfect opportunity laying itself in front of her and Katara reaches out and grasps it so freaking tightly, you'd think she's crazy.

"They've been giving you hell for the past few months, right? What if I tell you, that we can take their obvious stupidity and use it to bleed them dry?"

Azula's brows lift up ever so slightly. She stares at Katara a second longer before yielding. "What are you suggesting?"

The smirk that takes up Katara's face could've summoned a fleet of dark spirits. "The perfect scam." She sneers, her mind already racing, making out the details.

...

The clip-clop of Azula's heels probably alerted them or something, Katara isn't sure, but the moment they enter an empty warehouse for the meeting with Long Feng, the little group huddled together right at the middle of the room turn to look at them.

"Ah!" A guy, almost in his 50's, with long hair plaited behind him and adorned in an extremely exquisite kimono, tilts his chin up, turning to Azula and Azula alone. "Miss Azula. We were expecting you for a while now."

"No, you were not." Azula's quick to reply.

The meeting was set up for 4 o clock Saturday afternoon and Katara was pretty sure they were walking in right on the nose of it, given the obsession Azula had for being perfectly on time. No, scratch that. Being perfect all the time, Katara thinks.

Zhu Li had told her that Azula had specifically asked for the 'new girl' for the meeting, and Katara couldn't help but feel euphoric. Every time she's even thinking of her boss, she gets all dizzy and alert at the same time, it's annoying really.

Now, walking behind, just shy of Azula's steps, she's sure they look like professional demons, here to destroy Cabbages, not with swords, but with pens and words.

A smile almost takes up Katara's face at the thought, but she schools her features. No, professionals are supposed to hold a neutral expression, practiced and poised. She glances slightly over to Azula, the perfect example and straightens her back on instinct.

When they near the small group of elite officials, Azula halts abruptly, in a calculated step that only she can master, and Katara almost stumbles behind her, before regaining her composture just as quickly.

A young guy suddenly appears in front of us, carrying a huge video-camera on his shoulder.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Seriously, Mr. Feng? The camera crew again?"

"If we're going to make a deal, I need all the precautions, Miss Azula." The guy with the long plaites looks smug. Katara realises him as the First director of the Cabbage Corp. "I'm surprised you didn't arrange for the same." He cocks his head and gives a smirk that's supposed to indicate his silent victory or something.

Even Katara knows it's a pathetic attempt. And a poorer execution. She can't even begin to think how Cabbage Corp., even achieved this level of power in the market.

"Oh, I like to keep things simple." Azula says before tapping the suit pocket on her chest, which holds a rather unique pen.

Katara's eyes widen when she realises what's inside that pen.

Hot diggity dog! Azula's amazing!

Long Feng's smirk falters as he catches on too. But then he manages to boost his composture back. "Shall we begin?"

...

"Your resources just took a massive hit, according to my sources." Long Feng crosses his legs. "You're at the brink of collapse, if you don't recompense yourself fast. Why would I want to deal with you?"

Azula doesn't answer. She stares at him without a single expression on her face. Katara squirms in her seat. They've sat down for like, what, ten minutes? And this guy already thinks he owns Azula. It's pathetic because Katara knows what's gonna hit him. And the second-hand embarrassment that she's feeling for him right now is unbearable.

Long Feng, seeing that Azula isn't going to answer him any time soon, continues. "Since I have a particular interest in watching other companies shine and provide me with a better competition, I'd like to offer you financial aid. To recover from your loss. What do you say?"

Azula smiles. "I think you're very generous. But I had something else in mind."

Long Feng narrows his eyes. "Oh?"

Azula looks all around the warehouse, non-chalantly, before letting out a short breath. "A merger."

Her words hang in the air. Katara's face can't help itself but break out into a slight smirk. The whole thing was her idea and she's never been prouder for coming up with anything than when she came up with this. But Azula's making it 10 times better.

Long Feng looks at Azula for a long moment. Then he bursts out laughing. He laughs so hard that he almost falls out of his chair.

"Y- You're serious?!" He asks inbetween peels of laughter, before guffawing out loud again.

Azula looks at him with a smile on her chiseled face. She holds her hand out, and Katara immediately gets her cue. The blue-eyed girl carefully fishes out the laptop from the bag she's holding and opens it.

Live footage of the hidden cameras placed in Azula's stolen shipments, starts to play and Katara instantly places the laptop on her boss's extended arm.

Azula doesn't even look at it, when she turns it around towards Long Feng.

And, oh boy. Katara's pretty sure she would watch how the colour and mirth drains from Long Feng's face, over and over again for the rest of her life after she gets hold of Azula's pen camera footage. It's just so damn satisfying when his laughter slowly turns to chuckles and finally stops abruptly as he makes sense of what's being shown to him.

"I believe we have an excellent deal in our hands. It's a shame about your generous offer though, Mr. Feng. I might not accept it, considering my busy schedule of managing two companies simultaneously from now on. I'll even be kind enough to let you work in the inner circle of the board after the merger, if you're willing."

Long Feng's eyes almost fall out of his head in shocked rage. He grits his teeth to the point where it makes a racket and echoes along the large warehouse.

"My secretary will meet you in a week's time, with the necessary documents regarding our merger. Be sure to bring your camera crew too! They're most welcome! Good day, Mr. Feng."

Azula stands up and turns on her heels, walking crisply away from the chaos she just caused. Katara follows right behind, not exactly sure why she's so fucking turned on at the moment.

...

[Three months later]

Katara's desk is filled with notes and diagrams and draft proposals of anything and everything Azula's been engaging with. It's late. Friday night, 10 PM to be precise. Katara leans back in her chair with a sigh of relief, looking up and all around, having completed her work just moments ago, observing and absorbing how strange it is to see the bull-pen so empty.

She's beat and would do anything to have a nice, long, warm shower and a comfortable snuggle only her bed gives.

She packs her things up from the mess of her desk, tidying up a bit so that she won't have to worry about it first thing on Monday.

Then she hears it

And because it is so quiet, she hears it clearly. The soft clicking of keys on a keyboard. Her sharp ears pick out the sound immediately and she decides to follow it, trying to figure out where it's coming from.

She wanders around the empty desks for a few seconds before halting abruptly in front of Azula's office. The sound seems to be coming from there.

She hasn't gone home yet?

Katara frowns. Maybe she got too caught up in her work to realise that Azula hasn't gone home yet.

Pumping herself with some much needed assurance, she slowly opens the door to Azula's office. She knows the girl hates knocking.

Katara peeps inside the room tentatively. Her eyes fall on her boss, typing feverishly on her computer, brows furrowed in concentration. And Katara, knowing that it's too late to be doing heavy work like what Azula seems to be doing right now, decides to go interrupt.

She steps inside the room quietly. Her boss doesn't seem to notice. But when Katara starts walking towards the desk, closing more distance, Azula's eyes snap up to hers suddenly, without turning away from her computer. Katara stops dead on her tracks, panic griping her heart, faster than a race horse. She stares at her boss, not really sure about what she's doing with herself, praying to all spirits silently that she isn't overstepping any boundaries.

Azula considers Katara for a moment, her fingers halting for a second, before she snaps her golden eyes away to the screen again to continue typing. The blue-eyed girl's heart begins to beat faster.

She's not encroaching any boundaries?!

Katara takes a tentative step forward. And when she meets no resistence, she walks freely, closer to Azula's desk. Her boss, seemingly, is absorbed in her work. And Katara doesn't like it. It's Friday night for spirits sake! And she's the boss! She doesn't have to work this hard!

Katara reaches the desk and walks around it to the side where Azula's seated. It's a large desk, and it gives Katara ample space to lean her butt against the edge of it and stand facing Azula with her arms crossed over her chest.

She watches her boss type so fast, she's sure they keys are just minutes away from flying off the keyboard. It's silent between them. Katara knows that her boss is blatantly ignoring her, so she just waits in order to get her attention.

A moment later, Azula finishes up in a flourish, ending her furious typing, and shuts her computer down, before she turns in her chair to face Katara.

"Why aren't you home yet?"

"Haven't you gone home?"

They both speak at the same time. Katara purses her lips, and looks down at her feet, trying to hide her fast forming blush.

"And not to mention," Azula gets up from her chair, unbuttoning her sleeves, "You've walked in here without permission. I could fire you right here."

Katara looks up in a hurry. "No, you won't."

"Oh, yeah?" Her boss begins to roll up her sleeves. Katara gulps, tracing her eyes over Azula's hands. "What makes you so sure?"

The intern averts her eyes away to her boss' face. "I'm too valuable."

Azula gives her half a shrug. "Meh. You're tolerable."

Katara smiles in reply, teasing and taunting. She takes a moment before asking. "You know, you're the boss right?"

Azula finishes rolling up her sleeves before meeting Katara's eyes in an answer. So Katara continues. "You can go home whenever you please. Why haven't you gone already?"

Azula stares at her silently, reaching her hand up to the back of her head and pulling the band that holds her hair together in a bun. The volume of her hair comes crashing down to her shoulders and her back, and Katara can't help but not take her eyes away from the girl.

Katara knew she was attracted to her boss, months ago. But this . . . this is too much. This is like watching the always poised and alert exterior of Azula that she's spent half an year to build, come crashing down; and Katara's the glad witness of the mind-blowing event, all in slow-motion that her brain seems to put her in.

Her boss steps forward a little, getting a better view of Katara leaning against her desk. Golden brown eyes hold the intern in a daunting stare, before Azula looks away. "I had to draft a proposal."

"This late? You could've asked any of us in the bull-pen to do it for you."

"I don't trust them enough to do this." Azula moves a bit forward. She reaches for the red tie around her lithe neck and gets it loose with a few rough tugs. Then her delicate fingers wrap around her collar button and she unfastens it in the blink of an eye.

Katara's brain freezes over, her eyes trained on the sharp collarbone peeking out from under her boss' collar. "Y- You don't?"

Azula shrugs. "Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way."

Katara gulps as she snaps her gaze to Azula's striking ones trained on her intensely. "What about Z- Zhu Li?"

"Ah, Zhu Li . . ." Azula takes another step forward. "She doesn't fear me. And that's the only reason why I respect her enough to remember her name. The others could be eaten by spirits for all I care." She waves her hand dismissively.

"What about me? I don't fear you."

Azula steps closer, almost a foot away from Katara. "You sure about that?"

"Y- Yes."

Azula just smirks in reply.

Then something clicks in Katara's brain. "Wait- Is that why you keep calling me 'new girl'?! You don't even know my name!"

Her boss moves closer again, and this time, Katara can differentiate the various shades of brown sprinkled in those golden eyes from how close she's standing. "Your achievements shall make me remember you. Not your worthless name. So, tell me, new girl. What have you achieved in order for you to make an impression on me and urge me to remember your name?"

Katara presses herself against the desk behind her like her life depends on it. "I- I um . . . I gave you the idea for the merger deal with the Cabbage Corp!!"

Azula leans forward and places her palms on her desk, on either side of Katara, trapping her. Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. She almost whimpers at the intoxicating smell her boss seems to posess.

"And that's supposed to have impressed me?" Azula raises one chisled brow, silently mocking Katara with just her eyes.

Okay, now Katara's definitely sure that this isn't something that's supposed to be happening between a boss and her intern. But does she care? Oh, spirits no! She finds herself slipping into a daze, her mind filled only with Azula's scent and her goddamn eyes.

"I- I . . ."

"You're gonna have to do lot more than that." Katara feels fingers as soft as silk place themselves on her thigh. They find the gap between her suit-skirt and her burning skin and slides inside effortlessly like butter. Katara shudders at the touch.

"W- What are you doing?" The intern's voice is unstable, riddled heavily with something thick; something raw.

Azula stares at her, slowly moving her hand higher up inside Katara's skirt. "Waiting for you to tell me to stop."

Katara closes her eyes, overwhelmed with a rush of new feelings she knows she shouldn't be having for her boss. She feels hot breath hit her face just and inch away.

"Do you want me to stop?" Azula whispers against her lips, taunting her; teasing her in a way that drives Katara crazy.

And Katara makes a decision. "No." She breathes. "Don't stop."

A smirk takes up her boss' face immediately before she crashes her lips against Katara with such force that pushes Katara flush against the desk, the edge digging into her butt. She pushes back with equal fervour, clasping her fingers tightly around Azula's loose tie and pulling her forward with it.

But Azula's having none of it.

She pushes Katara's skirt up, massaging the intern's thigh with her hand as she spreads the girl's legs apart. She wastes no time, moving forward to come and stand in between her legs, giving Katara a delicious friction to rub herself against.

Their mouths dance against each other, fighting in the most intimate way possible to gain control. Azula's hand that is not presently engaged with Katara's thigh, comes up to untuck the intern's blue blouse from her skirt, dipping her hand inside to caress the soft skin there.

Katara jumps on cloud nine. Her hungry desire for her boss ever since she laid her eyes on the girl, hits her with full force as her hand find Azula's shirt to crumple under her fingers. She lets out a needy breath when Azula leaves her lips to dip her head down to place a hot, wet, open mouth on Katara's neck, sucking the supple skin there in a way that makes Katara pretty sure it's gonna leave a mark.

It's wrong. Katara knows it's absolutely wrong. But it feels so damn right and so damn good that she silences all the other nonsensical thoughts riddling her brain and pulls the dark, raw, unadulterated hunger she feels for her boss to the forefront, throwing away all reason. She doesn't know when exactly she became this shameless animal, wanting, no- needing to be satisfied by Azula, and only Azula, but she doesn't seem to care.

Especially not when Azula's caressing hand unbuttons her skirt and sneaks its merry way down to pure, wet, heat. Katara feels herself pounding in time with her heart, gushing wetness all over Azula's now bold and teasing fingers. She arches her back, aching for her boss' touch, and gasping out loud when Azula finally, finally puts pressure exactly fucking where she needs it.

Katara's hand flies out to grip the desk and accidentally hits the pen stand and it comes crashing down with a loud BANG!

Katara jolts awake.

She sits up straight in her chair, blinking rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the sudden hit of light. She looks all around, shocked to find that she's at her desk in the bull-pen. She must've fallen asleep on her desk or something.

Heat flushes into Katara's face as her brain catches up with what she was dreaming. She looks toward Azula's office, and most definitely, there's not a single soul there; lights out and door locked.

Her body's still buzzing, completely on edge, still not over the mind-numbingly vivid dream she just had.

God dang it!

Now she's never going to be able to look at her boss in the eyes again. She packs her stuff up and heads home in a hurry. She's taking the coldest freaking shower known to mankind when she reaches home, for sure.

...

"The proposal's been approved." Azula's sharp voice rings around the meeting hall. "I want the draft for the first design by this Thursday. Any delay on your part and I will not hesitate to terminate you from my office. Understood?"

There are terrified nods all around the hall.

"Good." Azula narrows her eyes. "Dismissed."

Zhu Li, beside Katara, gets up to go have a seat near Azula, to run over the details regarding the discussions in the meeting, just as everyone hurriedly scurries out of the hall. Katara follows her mindlessly. Even after 3 months, Katara still shadows Zhu Li around, learning as much as can from the secretary.

The intern thought that if she spent the whole of the weekend having slumber parties with her friends, it just might take her mind off of the dream she had last Friday.

But, nope.

She tried all the trick in her book, but nothing seems to be working. Sitting here in the meeting hall, along with Zhu Li and Azula alone, she can't help but let her eyes wander to her boss' tie, noticing the way it stands crisp and how it came so beautifully undone under Azula's sculpted fingers in her dream. She can't help but imagine what witnessing the real thing would be like. It also does not help when Azula picks up a pen and starts twirling it inbetween her fingers.

Katara sucks in a sharp breath and pulls her eyes away reluctantly to her notepad.

"Katara?"

She hears her name and looks up instantly to find Azula's sharp eyes looking directly at her.

"Zhu Li's gone already. I said dismissed two minutes ago."

Katara looks around the hall, confused, and feels her cheek heat up at the realisation. She and Azula are the only ones in the hall. But then she frowns. "Wait-" Her eyes snap back to her boss. "You know my name?!"

Three months under Azula's leadership, and not once has Katara heard Azula call her by her name. And the same three months of experience tells Katara that the look Azula's giving her is the one she wears when she's confused.

"What do you mean?" The golden eyed girl asks.

"I- I thought you always called me 'new girl' cuz you didn't know my name!"

Azula arches her brow. "I always call you 'new girl' because you are a new girl."

Katara frowns. "Then . . . I'm not a new girl anymore?"

Azula snorts. "You've not been new since your mom pushed you out of her."

The intern scowls at her boss. "Not funny. My mom died when I was 5."

Azula stares at her employee for a second longer before shrugging slightly. "Sorry."

Katara perks up. Sorry? The great Azula, shadow director of Agni Incorp., is capable of uttering that word?!

Seeing that Katara's confused, Azula explains without prompt. "Look, you've improved the status of the company since you arrived here, so much so that I could kiss you with how pleased I am. So, it's importat that I don't treat you as just another employee although they're important too, but as a colleague."

Katara gulps. "Y- You could kiss me?!"

Azula raises her eyebrows. "Figure of speech." She says but there's amusement in her eyes. "Were you really about to say 'no' to Azula Agni kissing you?"

Katara's eyes blow wide. "What?! No! That's not what I was-" She notices Azula's expression. "You're playing me, aren't you?"

The corner of Azula's lips curve up into a smirk, her eyes twinkling. "You should've seen your face."

"I know, I know." Katara rolls her eyes. "Very funny."

Their shared moment hangs in the air softly, bathing Katara with an unnatural elation. She finds Azula staring at her with the twinkle never leaving her eyes. Her stomach flips involuntarily. She sobers up, playing with a strand of her own hair in sudden nervousness.

"Zhu Li's planning on resigning." Azula states and Katara looks up with shock at the sudden news. "I tried to keep her in, but it really is no use. She needs to work on her career and she can't do that wiping my ass for the rest of her life."

"When?" - Is the only thing Katara can ask.

"In three months." Azula looks down at the table. "She says she'll train you for another month and then issue me her notice."

Katara frowns. "Me?"

Azula's gaze finds Katara's confused ones. "Yeah, you. You're gonna be Zhu Li's replacement."

The intern's heart pounds against her ribs. Being Azula's secretary means being close to her at all times, arriving at her beck and call and . . . Katara really isn't sure if she's cut out for the job with the kind of dreams that she's been having.

"You . . . don't want to be?" Azula frowns slightly.

Katara decides to be honest. At least about one thing. "I don't think I'm cut out for the job is all."

Azula's frown deepens. "I just told you how I could kiss you because of how good you're at this job. Just . . . think about it and make sure to let me know before Zhu Li hands in her notice."

Katara knows that her decision is already going to be a 'yes'. But she nods to Azula's suggestion anyways, as if to mull it over.

"Dismissed."

Katara walks out of the meeting hall, with a light heart.

***

i've been writing this fic for THREE days. that's how long this is 😭🖐🏻

i hope i satisfied your prompt, anon!! if anyone wants a part 2 for this... all u need to do is ask me 👀 it's that simple.

[sweatervest-obsessed]

Hangovers and Hickeys

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

WC: no idea rn lmao probably like 700

A/N: some Spence content before the new year (on the western calendar). Hope you all get to enjoy the day!

“Good morning sunshine.”

You winced at the sheer volume of his voice. “If I could, id shove you off of the roof Derek Morgan.”

“Fun night?”

You snorted and finally lifted your head off of the desk. “You should be a profiler.”

That caused Derek to laugh, which made you wince and close your eyes. The sunglasses perched on your nose were supposed to be helping. They weren’t.

“That’s a nice hickey you got there.”

You grunted in response and tried to adjust your sweater collar so it would cover the hickey you missed this morning when you didn’t look in the mirror. You had basically rolled out of bed, and into your car to make sure you got to work on time.

“Who gave it to you?” “Why don’t you use your super duper profiling skills to deduce it or whatever Sherlock shit you wanna do.”

Derek snorted and shook his head. ”or you could just….tell me.”

“Don’t worry about it Derek.” You grumbled.

When Derek realized he wasn’t going to get any answers out of you about it, he decided he was going to change tactics.

“Moving on from Boy Wonder?” It was no secret that you had a crush on a certain nerdy doctor. And so Derek tried to use this knowledge to his advantage.

You crossed your arms and just raised your eyebrows. “I’m not dignifying that with a response,”

“Pretty sure that was my answer.” He chuckled, sitting down in his chair and swiveling to look at you.

When you decided to just ignore Derek, and face your desk, he piped up again. “Where is he anyways?” “No idea.”

It was like he was waiting for his cue from you. Spencer pushed open the doors to the bull pen and strolled in. He had his purple scarf around his neck, over his new coat that Henry (JJ) had gotten him for Christmas. It was a beautiful grey pea coat that kept him warm during these freezing winter months. Spender was carrying a tray with two coffees on it and what seemed like a bag from McDonalds, which seemed to be for you, since he was headed in your direction.

The smell of the food caused you to groan with joy and smile at the man walking towards you.

“My knight in shining armor.” You muttered as he placed the whole tray in front of you. You placed a kiss on his cheek hasilty, causing him to blush a little.

“I got hashbrowns from both McDonald’s and Dunkin’, a little smorgasbord of grease for your pallet.” He whispered before taking one of the cups out of the tray.

“I’m going to marry you Doctor Spencer Reid.” You muttered, digging into the bag and pulling out one of the McDonald’s hash browns and biting into it. The groan you let out leaned a little on the pornographic side, which made Derek raise his eyebrows at the sound you let out, and then at tinge of pink on Spencer’s cheeks.

You continued eating, clueless about the silent interrogation happening to your left, enjoying every single bite and sip of your hangover cure.

“Derek I can hear you thinking and it’s making my head throb.”

Derek’s eyes snapped back to you, as your figure swiveled in the chair to face him, casually munching on some of the fries, in a completely different mood then from two minutes ago before Spencer had walked in the room.

“Sorry your highness. I’m just curious as to why Boy Genius here is bringing you hangover cures.”

“Well it’s his fault I’m this fucked up so he owes me.” You grumbled, swiveling around in your chair to face your desk. You pulled your lap top out of your canvas bag and started to set up for your work day.

“Wha-how is it his fault.”

That’s when Spencer turned bright red and tried to change the conversation, or at least get out of it. “I—well it’s not…I….hotch is…”

Spencer basically ran across the bullpen and up the stairs to Hotch’s office, avoiding the conversation he almost just had.

“I don’t think you wanna know.” You smirked and bit into the muffin from Dunks that Spencer had got you, not looking at the man behind you.

“I’m starting to think that too.” His eyes narrowed and he looked between where Spencer had run off to, and you.

Something was going on between the two of you, and Derek Morgan was going to figure it out.

[supermaks]

I need Max to serve some cunt bc it's been wayyy too long. The last time he really served cunt was when he called George a dickhead but I need moree

😑😑😑😑 👍🏽 ok respectfully we love a good Baku cat fight but like

- excuse me

- literally the next race

- Checo was telling media both Max’s titles happened because of him somebody out there was floating Prost senna conversations people lost their whole minds like 😭😭

-first of all quali didn't even start great like he hadn't set a lap when it got red flagged kind of Amateur hour at rbr. last time u will c number 1 car go out late btw he’s fully traumatized these days he’s breaking front wings hauling ass out of that garage god bless him. Anyway p9 wid his hyped up teammate starting on pole the casuals were celebrating even tho max was doing like. borderline unthinkable laps in fp2 so u could smell a generational moment from the get go

-dude overtook like literally everybody on hards by like lap 15 i think and still had all four wheels somehow spinning faster than checos fresh mediums by lap 40

- Destroying ur teammates entire wdc campaign in a single race weekend on hard tires from p9 kinda cunty idk?. To me

- Ok fine then Monaco: Jeddah won the battle but he won the war. made up 2 tenths in one of the shortest sectors of the whole calendar in prolly one of the best and most competitive quali sessions in Monaco, ever. Senna type performance, just fully letting the talent take over rascasse and antony noghes. U cannot serve more cunt than that

- Non? Bon. Spain: black and white flag for track limits. His engineer tells him he’s stupid and Max is like 'whatvr what’s the fastest lap' and his engineer is like 'SORRY did u not hear what I just' and max steals fastest lap from Checo. Who btw had just set that on new softs for his flop lil point and Max leading by 24 seconds at risk of getting a pen wid gp warning him against it is like 😚😚😚😚😚bet . This isn’t cunt to u. Ok

- FINE. Canada: do I have to talk about senna again😐. Do I have to say he equaled sennas wins at 25 years old. But despite the Senna numbers it was also an eerily Schumacheresq quali session from Max. Taking pole by a second under the rain is something u c twice, maybe once in a lifetime, if ur lucky. We are lucky 🫵🏽

- Austria: u look at me rn and tell me Austria wasn’t the most 2021 max you’ve seen that mf since that actual season. U tell me he didn’t serve cunt nearly sending both Red Bulls to eat shit at the RED BULL ring because he was a lil annoyed checo dared to like. Squeeze him a lil bit. Nearly overtaken by an Haas i cannot stress this enough. Bro Lewis impeded him once by accident during practice and Max literally twerked in front of his car and got away wid it. And on top of that he gaslit rbr into letting him pit for softs and risk the whole race to take one single extra point like he wud rather fucking die than let anybody else have it. He’s beating merc in the THE FONSTRCUTORS CHAMPIONSHIP‼️‼️‼️‼️ HES 1 PERSON

- .

- Austria was such fucking prime Verstappen cunt delivry it was so dumb and all of it completely unnecessary and ur fucking telling me he hasn’t really ‘served’ because he doesn’t have some tall beans and toast bitch up in his face like

- Which obvi brings me to Silverstone: HE WON THE BRITISH GP HE literally won the British Grand Prix???? Half a million people praying on his downfall, mclaren having its own lil moment he doesn’t give a fuck 5 poles and 6 wins in a row on ur head fucking losers eat it. Eat ittt. 2023 has been nonstop cunt serving from this guy it’s literally one of thee greatest verstappen performances to date put some respect on it immediately . Thank u

[theflyindutchwoman]

I think you know how I feel about coworkers dating. When I started, no one thought much of it. But things have changed. We're now more aware of how power dynamics can skew things. Even the most innocent of relationships can become a distraction. Hey, trust me, I get it. We spend 12 hours a day together. Feelings are bound to develop. But we can't afford even a hint of impropriety. We couldn't agree more.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 5.10 - The List

Their body language in this scene is so fascinating. Tim and Lucy barely say any word at first… but they don't need to : their bodies do all the talking for them. Like the way they're all proud of themselves at having a good cover story… until Grey calls them in and that bravado simply disappears, leaving behind a nervous energy. Or like how they adopt the same pose when facing their Watch Commander, mirroring each other perfectly. Depicting them as a united front.

But even then, they can't help themselves : the need to look at the other is stronger. As if they are trying to gauge the other's feelings, to reassure each other. There's this moment where Grey starts talking about the power dynamics and it seems like Tim is about to reach for Lucy's hand before thinking better of it. Even his head is turned slightly towards her. His protectiveness is shining through while her discomfort is visible, with her rocking on her feet and fidgeting. 'Feelings are bound to develop'… And Tim glancing at Lucy right away, who does the same after sensing his eyes on her… Way to be inconspicuous there. He is bracing himself, standing taller, agreeing with their sergeant on both of their behalf… The man is panicking on the inside, trying to hold it together.

That is, until Grey casually drops that he has been referring to Aaron and Celina the whole time… Their reactions are so funny - and so telling. In the eventuality that he wasn't aware of what was going on between them before that, there's no way he doesn't by now. Not with how Tim's eyes are bulging or Lucy has to repeat incredulously the names… And certainly not after they both turn around at the same time to watch Aaron and Celina in the bull pen. They're standing so much closer to each other by that point, making eyes to each other… Right in front of their boss who just gave them a stern lecture about coworkers dating… There's a hint of a smile on their faces, as if they really think they got away with it, when in truth they are just digging themselves deeper. Lucy agrees way too fast to talk to Celina and Aaron, wanting to be done with this conversation… And Tim is so nonplussed and uncomfortable, trying to appear nonchalant - but failing completely...

What I love about this scene, is how ambiguous it is. It almost feels like we are in their shoes in some way, wondering whether Grey knows more than he lets on and used the situation with Celina and Aaron (if there even was one to begin with) as a subtle warning… Or if it was just a coincidence. Though I find it hard to believe that Wade doesn't suspect anything at all by now - especially since he all but confirmed it to Tim later. It's not like they're being discreet. Odds are, he read the report from the incident at the restaurant as two of his officers played a role in the arrest. Besides, he saw how awkward things were after that undercover mission. After Tim brought Lucy home. And he's had front row seats for so many moments of theirs along the years… In either case, it is an entertaining way to (re)introduce the issue of the chain of command early on, even if the issue isn't quite solved yet. It was already mentioned by Tim in his conversation with Angela… And while he seems content to remain in denial for a bit longer, Lucy has been paying attention.

Tim opening the door again for her when they leave the office is such a gentleman gesture… And a good parallel to the beginning of this scene. They might not be as nervous but they're still reeling from everything that happened there, as shown with Lucy rubbing her side, where her tattoo is. And it creates this delicious irony where they have to talk to Aaron and Celina about dating coworkers… I have to say, this was a genius move from Grey. Under normal circumstances, this would already be the last conversation Tim would want to have with Aaron. But now… Even more so. He is clearly uncomfortable. And of course Lucy finds a way to get out of this, refusing to be an hypocrite… the fact that she delegates that to Nolan is hilarious though : it's not like he is in a better position to lecture his rookie. Bless this mess.

[storiesofsvu]

A Dangerous Game Ch 21

Emily Prentiss x reader Warnings: language, i think that's about it.

The following week you honestly felt like the heaviest weight had finally been lifted off your shoulders. You started to realize just how down you’d been and were now eternally grateful that it hadn’t been any longer. The next morning you were sat at your desk wrapping up paperwork when a coffee was discreetly placed onto your desk, you glanced up to barely catch Emily striding through the bull pen on the way to her office. From across the room Garcia managed to catch your eye, a wicked grin on her face as she glanced between the two of you.

*

That evening when you got home you were cursing yourself for having not bought groceries, having nothing edible but eggs in the fridge when there was a knock on the door. Your faved penne primavera with extra garlic bread on the side and a mini lava cake all fresh and hot and fully paid for. You scooped up your phone while digging into the bread,

‘You don’t have to buy your way out of this ya know. I already accepted your apology.’

‘Think of it as a double hitter. I… wanted to make sure you were eating.’

‘Turns out my appetite is back in full force this week.’

‘I’m glad. Enjoy your dinner.’

‘Thank you.’

You spent the rest of the evening texting, making each other laugh, watching the same shows from different houses before finally saying goodnight and crawling into bed.

*

You were almost running late the next morning, racing out the door and practically directly into a delivery man, the most gorgeous bouquet of roses and lilies you’d ever seen in the package. You had just enough time to leave them on the entry way table before running to the car, your phone buzzing in the cup holder the moment you sat it down.

‘Don’t worry, those ones are from me.’

You managed to slip into the elevator at the BAU right before the doors slid shut, letting out a breath when you noticed it had managed to trap you and Emily alone together.

“Thought I said you weren’t in the dog house.”

“Still allowed to spoil you, aren’t I?” She replied with a shrug and you laughed, “I’ll stop if you want, it’s just… making me feel a little better about the whole thing. I want to make sure you know how much I actually do care about you.”

“I do.” Smiling, you leant in, kissing her cheek softly, “thank you. They’re gorgeous.”

Emily had just enough time to squeeze at your wrist before the doors slid open and you went your separate ways.

*

Halfway through the morning Derek rolled his chair over to your desk, a bakery box finding home on top of it.

“Brought your favourite.” He greeted and you looked over at him with a small smile.

“You don’t need to feed me Derek, I ate breakfast. But thank you.” You lifted the lid to find that he did indeed get your favourite and began picking bites off the muffin.

“Just checkin’ in.” He replied with a shrug, “you know you have been in a helluva better mood this week.”

“That’ll happen when you manage to escape a toxic ex and get to sleep in your own bed again.”

“You really hate Seattle that much hey?”

“I’d rather move back to Florida.”

“Ouch.” He surveyed you for a moment, practically studying you to see if this was some kind of cover up or if you were actually doing better.

“What?” You laughed.

“Nothing.” He shook his head, “just, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. A smile looks good on you.” He squeezed your shoulder affectionately before wandering back to his desk and it took all of your willpower to not look over to Emily’s office. You could feel her eyes on you and a few minutes later when you risked a glance up in her direction you found them still on you, doing your best not to laugh as she blushed. You shot her a quick wink and returned to the paperwork at hand.

*

Penelope managed to coerce you into drinks on Wednesday after work and you were thankful it was just the two of you, you knew she was likely going to grill you and that would be almost impossible in front of anyone else from the team. You’d settled in with your third drink when she finally couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Okay, so I take it from the very improved mood this week that you’ve talked things out?” She asked, a wicked grin on her lips.

“We have…” you took a sip of your drink, “she explained everything, a very big apology was given that I accepted.”

“Oh please tell me you’re back together, you have to be back together, you’re just so friggin cute!”

“I dunno if I’d call it ‘back together’.” You laughed, “but yeah, we’re like, officially together now.”

“Oh thank god!” She squeezed at your arm, “so when are you gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“I… uh.. once we figure out the politics of it I guess? At this point we’re just like, not sneaking around.”

“But the sneaking around kinda makes it hotter, doesn’t it?” She smirked and you laughed.

“Yeah I’ve gotta admit, sometimes it does, knowing someone on the team’s in the next hotel room so you’ve gotta stay quiet…. Adds some spice.”

“And spice is something the two of you most definitely have.” She smirked and your eyes widened.

“I told you to fast forward that shit!”

“Didn’t need to listen to any more than I’d already heard sunshine. I knew daddy issues were a thing, but I’ve always kind of wondered how that would translate to lesbianism.”

“Well you’re welcome for educating you.” You replied dryly, rolling you eyes before taking another sip of your drink.

“All teasing aside, I am really happy for you.” Her hand slid across the table to squeeze at yours, “you deserve happiness and love and you’ve found that, even if it kinda went to hell and back on the way.”

“Thanks Penelope.”

*

You let out a soft sigh, scrawling your signature across the bottom of a sheet of paper before flipping the case file shut and pushing your chair back. Crossing through the bull pen you knocked on the door jam of Emily’s office, pausing a moment before entering, flashing her a small smile.

“Papers fully filled out and everything documented.” You stated, placing the file down into her inbox.

“Thanks.” She smiled back at you before you turned to leave, “hey… good work today. No one else could get through to that girl.”

“Thanks.” You shrugged, turning back to her, “I’ve always been good with kids despite not having the desire to want my own.”

“No?”

“My track record with family isn’t exactly great.” You laughed, leaning against one of the chairs in front of her desk.

“Me neither.” She chuckled in response, “but just because you had shitty parents doesn’t mean you’d be one.”

“I know.” You smiled softly, “but with this job? The hours alone are enough to make me feel bad much less the risks and baggage we bring home.” Your brow furrowed as you realized something, “oh… we’ve never talked about this… it’s not a deal breaker or anything, I just don’t see it being a great idea.” Emily smiled softly, looking up at you.

“There was a time I entertained the idea, but like you said, it wouldn’t be easy with this job. Besides, you know how whiney Sergio gets when I’ve been gone a while, I can’t imagine an actual child.”

You barked out a laugh at that, the smile remaining on your cheeks as Emily’s lips curved into a knowing smirk.

You were acutely aware that outside the office you were being watched, you could feel the eyes on you but weren’t sure who they belonged to. It was Derek, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the two of you through the office windows.

“What’re we staring at?” Penelope asked, settling in beside him.

“Wilson’s been in there too long for just dropping off paperwork.” He replied without looking away.

“Well, she took the interview with that last vic, maybe they’re talking about the case?”

“No.” He frowned, “they’re way too casual for that. Look at the way she just laughed.”

“Aww.” Penelope smiled.

“A week and a half ago Wilson was going through hell.”

“And now Emily’s making her smile, that’s a good thing.” She nudged at his side with her elbow, “I mean, just look at them, Wilson should spend the rest of the afternoon in her office.”

“Why are you so happy about this?” He finally managed to drag his eyes away from the office to look at the blonde.

“Because they’re so freaking cute! Just look at them,” she gestured toward the office, “you can’t tell me they’re not crazy about each other!”

“Baby… Prentiss fucked her up royally, you can’t be okay with this. Wilson was a wreck while we were in Seattle…”

“Oh my love,” she squeezed at his arm, “you have it all wrong.”

Back inside the office you were finally turning to leave, knowing there was only one tiny pile of paperwork sitting between you and the ability to punch out when Emily spoke again.

“Hey… uh.. you have plans tomorrow?”

“Just this little thing called work.” You turned back to her with a grin and she laughed.

“No, I meant tomorrow night.”

“Not a thing.”

“I meant it a couple of weeks ago when I said I wanted to actually take you out…” She began hesitantly, sucking her lip into her teeth.

“Are you asking me on a date Agent Prentiss?” You grinned, moving back closer to her desk so your voice wouldn’t carry through the door.

“Yeah. I am.” She let out a breath, unsure why she was suddenly so nervous, “and I’m really hoping you’ll say yes.”

“If we weren’t getting stared down by Garcia and Morgan… I’d be kissing you right now.” You chuckled, “of course it’s a yes.” She smiled warmly at you, a light shade of pink tinging her cheeks, “you sure this isn’t just about that dress?” You asked and she scoffed.

“Oh c’mon.”

“Your brain short circuited when I opened the door that night and you cannot deny that.”

“Fine.” She grumbled with a smile, “but this is about me wanting to take you somewhere nice, you deserve it.”

“As long as it’s not too fancy.” You teased.

“Pinky promise I won’t order for you.” She smirked back and you laughed, playfully rolling your eyes, “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Sounds perfect.”

*

At the end of the day Emily was stuck a little later than she’d planned, a phone call with the director taking loner than expected and a little bit of extra paperwork because of it. She was finally emptying her inbox, tossing the folder into her outbox when there was a knock on the open office door and she looked up to find Derek stepping into the room.

“Hey.” She greeted, “thought you’d taken off already.”

“I was about to, but I didn’t want to leave without talking to you first otherwise this’d be eating away at me all night.”

“What’s up?” She asked, sitting back in her chair and Derek let out a heavy huff, dropping into one in front of her desk.

“Don’t be mad at Penelope… it’s thanks to her that I’ve been fully looped in now.”

“Okay?” She raised a brow.

“You and Wilson.” He sighed, “I was confused, and honestly a little upset to see how civil she was being to you, I didn’t think you deserved it from her, but now I know what really went down. Emily… I really hope you’re doing the right thing here, and for the right reasons. I know that your personal life and what you do outside of this office is literally none of my business, but I was also witnessing first hand when Wilson hit her absolute rock bottom breaking point. And I don’t ever want to see her that low again, so if you hurt her, again, and for real, you’ll never be hearing the end of it from me.”

“I don’t have a single plan in the world to ever pull something like that again, especially to her. And I’d expect you to, I’m glad she’s got you in her corner.”

“She doesn’t have many other options. This team is her family, like it is for a lot of us. I wanna make sure she knows that and that she doesn’t leave because something went south between the two of you.”

“I just…” Emily sighed, chewing on her lip, “I didn’t know what to do so I went with the first instinct I had. I didn’t know how much time I had, how close Dewald was. I didn’t want her to get hurt or killed just because of her association with me.”

“And you suck at communicating your feelings sometimes.” Derek stated, and while he was right, there was a teasing grin on his lips that she couldn’t help but huff a small laugh out at as she rolled her eyes.

“I’ve made a promise of open communication for what it’s worth.” She defended and he laughed quietly, “I just needed her safe…”

“Emily, I get it, I really do. That kind of a case? An unsub who had history with someone on the team, who made it very clear they were coming for you, and that meant her. You were flashing back to Doyle. It makes perfect sense that you wanted to protect her as much as possible, even doing it the way you did. You even made sure that Dewald would know, and then shipped her out of state just in case he didn’t believe it. You didn’t tell her about it because you were afraid she’d pull a you and take it on herself and end up getting herself killed. Hell even if you didn’t realize it, your subconscious did and this time we caught the guy and no one got hurt.”

“Yeah…” she murmured.

“As mad as I was before, I understand it.” He let out a breath, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you happy? Like truly, really happy?”

“More than I ever have been in my entire life.” She replied, a soft smile on her lips.

“Make sure she knows that. Because that girl cares about you more than anyone in the world.”

“I know.” She nodded, “and I will. She means the world to me.”

“Good.” Smiling, he pushed to standing, “I’m happy for you Prentiss, really.”

“Thanks.” She watched him start to leave the office.

“Oh, and promise me one more thing?”

“What?” She asked with a small laugh as Derek turned back in the doorway to face her.

“For the love of god could you two maybe keep the jet sex free in the future?! I’ll never be able to sit on that couch again.”

Emily felt the colour drain out of her face but the mortification was immediately usurped by wanting to get one in over Derek, a smirk breaking out on her lips.

“Alright, no mile high club. But I can’t make promises about what you might overhear otherwise.”

“What does that mean?”

“Remember back when she first joined the team and we were out in Atlanta? You complained on the way home about not getting any sleep thanks to someone else in the hotel being too noisy…” She grinned and Derek made a face of disgust with a grimace.

“That’s it, I’m bunking with Wilson for the foreseeable future, keep you two apart while we’re on the road.” He quickly backed out of the office, not wanting to hear anymore, leaving Emily laughing.  

__________

@mickey-gomez @momlifebehard @melindawarnersgf @itisdoctortoyousir @emilyprentiss4life @somethingimaginative17 @temilyrights @alexxavicry  @daddy-heather-dunbar @aliensaurusrex @rustyzebra @ilovemycrayons @mandy-asimp @thegrantwater @leftoverenvy @kades95 @dextur @m00nkn1ghts @supercriminalbean @daffodil-heart @msvenablesbitch @its-soph-xx  @going-gray @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @hopelesslyfallenninlove @peanutbutterprincess  @kdaghay @emilyprentisssluvr @lex13cm @awolfcsworld @zizzlekwum @emobabeyy @riveramorylunar @s1ut4nat @midnight-sapphic @scorpsik @thisisraes @prentiss-theorem @unsubologyy @strongsassysexysloane @svushots  @overtrred28 @happenstnces  @sapphicprentiss @heidss @geekyandgay98 @pagetboobstarcomments

[bucking-mustangs-with-wings]

It's finally here, people. It will be posted on ao3 too which I'll make a seperate post with the link when I publish, but for now, Happy Reading! 💖☺

The air of the grounds was colder than the last few, a bite to the air that left the tip of John's nose stinging a little with the prick of it. Not enough to be a bother, but enough that him and the other boys had noticed it, a few more layers draped over their shoulders or a blanket haphazardly thrown over jeans as most sat around the fire pits outside their campers. A few sat with a beer or whiskey in their hands, taking a sip every now and then to warm their insides as well.

John cast a glance back over his shoulder at the others, reaching into his sheepskin jacket to fish out the pack of Malboros he'd managed to aquire from one of the boys before his run today. He pulled out a single cigarette and slipped it between his lips before meandering his way further from the camp grounds and the sounds of fire crackling and laughter and towards the arena and the chutes, which only hours earlier in the heat of the sun he had managed to score the highest once again, this time on a big brown and white bull they called Hitchcock. Mean son of a gun with monster horns filed off at the tips and sounded like a Greek beast of mythology when he bellowed.

Lighting the tip of his cigarette with one quick flick of his hand, John blew the first inhale out in flimsy swirls in front of his face, barely illuminated by the last few arena lights still on at this time of the evening, while a few straggling competitors worked their horses before calling it a night. It was the quietest part of the day, other than when everyone was fast asleep, and other than a few people scattered here and there, packing up equipment or officials gossiping leaned up against the fences, the whole place had turned into a ghost town. The yards situated out behind the chutes where they kept the cattle and bulls in waiting before each run or event was a wash of darkness, the floodlights only just managing to cast enough illumination to see where you were going without running into the panels.

Luckily, they were empty now, no monster bulls or crammed cattle, all of them either trailered off to the next event or back home to whatever close by ranch or farm they came from. John supposed not unlike himself and the other competitors, who would have a day or two to drive all the way up to Washington to do it all over again.

The taste of tobacco was acrid on his tongue, coupled with the burning cool inhale of the evening air, but he delighted in it all the same. It was hard to figure out where the tobacco smoke and his own breath ended, swirling once again out into the night like a poison promise.

As John looked down at his dust-mottled boots kicking through the dirt, he found himself rounding the edge of the main chutes and further into the holding yards, further into the quiet. Though amongst the silence, the low hum of a voice reached him through the dark, a low drawl only just distinguishable but not clear enough the make out any words. He thought it just one of the other boys that had hung back, maybe gotten lost on the way back to the camp grounds behind him, but as he squinted against the deepening black, the sun finally dipping behind the mountain tops in the distance, he could vaguely make out the dimmed line of a horse's back in one of the pens, the spotlights over in the arena giving that small light source reflected off the animals coat.

It made him pause momentarily, listening to the continued sliver of a voice in the horse's direction. The animal was standing contently, rustling its nose into what sounded like a hay net in front of it every now and then. The silhouetted outline of a hat peeked up over it's whither, then disappeared as whoever was on the horse's other side leaned back down before appearing again. The telltale sound of a hard-brush raking over it's coat cut through the air rhythmically.

Taking another draw of his cigarette while also taking another few steps forward, he was able to finally make out the shining golden coat of the horse barely distinguishable in the low light, the palomino a familiar image. Now that he could also see what horse it was, he could also recognise the hummed deep drawl of Gale Cleven, talking softly to her as he cleaned her off for the night. John leaned his shoulder against the corner of one of the metal panels, resting his left foot against the curve of his right and took another long but quiet inhale of smoke and just observed the exchange, not wanting to alert Gale to the fact that he was there just yet.

Gale ducked underneath the curve of the mare's neck to change the side he was working on, the long white mane brushing over the brim of his black hat. He laid his hand against her shoulder as he started sweeping the brush down the line of her throat.

"Yeah, you're a good girl." His voice was calm and low, almost gravelled in it's tone. It made something unknown and foreign crawl it's way up John's back, a cold shiver not unlike the product of the chilled air sitting still around them. He swallowed it down with another draw. His eyes followed the long line of Gale's back, up to his shoulders that flexed with every pass of the brush, then down to the intricate leather work pattern of his belt, still only just visible. His gaze then tipped just a little further to the shape of his legs enveloped in dusty blue Wranglers, maybe a single size too big needed for the movement he was expected to need when in the saddle. He still looked amazing in them.

John shook his head of the thought and straightened, shoving his hands in the deep pockets of his sheepskin coat as he took a step forward.

"Hey, Buck. Little late out for you and your unicorn, ain't it?" He smirked, a hint of teasing in his tone. "Woulda thought you'd already be on your way up to Washington with the rest of 'em."

He could see Gale freeze in his movements, the brush halting it's path on Baby's coat. The mare snorted as if in protest, and Gale heaved a slight sigh, the line of his shoulders lilting slightly.

"Yeah, well. Guess I just needed a little more time to get myself sorted," the blond retorted coolly, his hand resuming the monotonous motions. "Could say the same about you, though I thought you'd be back at the campgrounds celebrating your victory for today."

Bucky felt the side of his mouth tilt at that as he came up close to Baby's head, watching the palomino mare side eye him as she buried her nose amongst the hay. In a fluid motion he lifted the sole of his boot and stamped out the remaining butt of his cigarette so as not to get any in either her's or Buck's face. He knew the blond hated the smell and the act in general. Especially if it was around horses or stock of any kind. John may have been as arse, but he wasn't a total one when he could help it.

Gale noticed the movement and hummed to himself in realisation, flicking a look in Bucky's direction before focusing back on the horse. An almost inaudible thanks floating on the air between them.

"Victory," Bucky said with a smile "I can celebrate any time. Plus I think Rosie hid most of the bourbon from me, the bastard. Or drank the rest of it on me, hard to say."

He couldn't one hundred percent trust his eyes, but he thought he saw the ghost of a smile light up Gale's face, only momentarily, before the other man tilted his head just enough so that it was out of John's eye line. It made something flicker in John's chest, but he swallowed it down before it fully formed itself.

Silence enveloped the two men for several minutes, Gale continuing with his grooming and John rotating his concentration between looking at Baby lazily chomping her hay and the way Gale's hands were so gentle and tentative over her.

Buck really loved his horses, John could see it every time he managed to catch a glimpse of him cinching them up before his runs, the way he handled the reins with the faintest touch, his seat in the saddle. The man was a legend among the rodeo circuit, whether it be the ropers or the barrel racers or any of the others. Even the bull riders. As much as John liked to tease him about it, crack jokes, he was in reality impressed with the man's skills and horsemanship. He knew it took a bit more of a different finesse than bull riding in it's own way. A soft-mouthed horse was a lot different than a hulking 1800 pound bull trying with every ounce of its power to unseat you by any means necessary. He had a lot of respect for any of the riders and their discipline, as much as he would blatantly deny it. Gale especially..

His mind flickered back to what he had witnessed, unbeknown to Gale, earlier in the day when the rodeo was full swing and the roping had just finished up. The officials were taking a hiatus between events to rake the arena and make sure it was set up with the barrels for the barrel racers.

He'd been present to Gale's run, seen the swiftness that he'd taken off, the mere seconds it took for him to throw the lasso around the quickly fleeing steer and the erupting cheers and hollers and whistles from the crowd as the announcer called out his praises. There were another few more competitors after Gale, but by the end it had been another flawless run, knocking the rest back on their haunches and adding another bright and shiny victory for Buck.

John couldn't help but smile seeing Buck do what he loved best, and be damned good at it. For all the jesting he'd spit forward in Buck's direction in digs at his manliness and the sport he ran, it really was just that, in jest.

He'd pushed off the fence and ran his hand through his sweat soaked hair before sitting his hat back atop and making his way behind the bleachers. Flashed Bubbles and Crosby a smile while they were bantering between themselves over something mundane.

His path was that of heading back to the campers, get his mind and head together before the drudging task of packing up his gear fell to him, just a part of the preparation to move on with the other guys to the next grounds and the next competition.

"Can't believe the shit you pull sometimes, Gale, I tell ya."

The cutting and frustrated voice of someone Bucky didn't recognise cut through the air a short ways ahead of him. It made John's brow crease, his eyes zeroing in on the distinct white and blue of Gale Cleven's own trailer slotted in amongst about five others parked in a loose circle.

John's footfalls became a little lighter as he moved silently in between a beat up off-white caravan and Crosby's gooseneck. One of the horses tied to the side of it gave him a flustered snort as he slipped up beside her, enough so that she hid him away from the eye line of the two figures Bucky managed to get in view.

Gale had his back turned to him, still all rigged up in his protective vest adorned with the countless patches of sponsors and brands he had supporting him, brown and blue chaps a little dirtier than when the day began. The tilt of the blond's black cattleman hat directed towards the dirt at his feet. The ridge of his shoulders looked tense but worn, a spring coiled, a pistol cocked. But worn (and almost defeated) in his stance nonetheless.

John turned his gaze to the older man in front of Buck, heavy set in his body build and a few inches shorter than Gale, greying hair peaking out from under the brim of his own hat. Silver-grey stubble lined his jaw, which was set hard. Almost as hard as his eyes, familiar ice blue but burning with this unfathomable disappointment and low intimidating anger.

John almost had to look away so as not feel that anger like it was directed at him. The air was absolutely thick with it. But that anger wasn't directed at him. It was directed at Gale.

"You expect to make it to the big leagues, make it to Vegas with a fucking dumpster fire of a performance like that? You'd last five seconds in that arena and not in the way we want it to count."

Gale's head raised slightly, maybe a vague attempt at making eye-contact with the older man in front of him, but quickly lowered it again, gloved hands coming up to rest on his hips. "I had a good run today, Dad. Another half a second off the clock than last season, and the others-"

"It don't much MATTER about the others than what you're putting out there, Gale! You're making it out here at the fairs and these simple half-time rodeos, but those buckles you got sitting at home ain't NOTHING compared to what you should be doing and bringing home."

The man took a step forward, digging his finger pointedly into the centre of Gale's chest, making the younger man have to rock back on his heels so as not to tip from the force of it.

"You're a Cleven, for fuck sake, act like one! Not like these nobody's and ranch hands you insist on hanging around with." the man spat cruelly.

There was a moment of silence, tension hanging in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife, before Gale's father moved even more into the blond cowboy's space, finger still firm against his sternum. Furious blue eyes only a whisper away from Buck's own, noses almost bumping as the scowl on Mr. Cleven's face deepened.

"You pick up your fucking slack, or don't bother coming home or using our family name. I won't have you tarnishing the Cleven's legacy I set out for you."

Another moment passed before the older man finally pulled his finger away from Gale's chest with a snap of his wrist. Bucky thought he'd see a hole left there in it's wake with the force he'd exuded behind it. Blood leaking out just as quickly as Gale's confidence must have been.

Without another word, Mr. Cleven turned with a low exclamation, wandering off back towards the main arena with the sound of spurs following behind him. John though, could only keep his eyes on the stone still figure that was Buck, the younger man not having moved a single inch as his father had stormed away from him.

As if it even possible, John swore he could see the fight leave Buck, ripped out from that invisible hole left behind by his father's finger. His shoulders slouched just that tiny bit, no longer standing tall like the Gale he knew. One of Gale's hands came up to pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger, brim of his hat tipping down once again so that his eyes were directed at the dirt.

John held his breath and felt something pull harshly inside of himself when Gale brought his hand away, and the distinct patch of wetness staining the soft tan leather of Gale's glove caught his eye.

With a heaved breath and a rolling of his shoulders, Buck finally moved from his position and disappeared in between the other trailers, leaving John with a stone-hard sensation in the base of his throat and a frown that ended up making itself at home on his brow for most of the remainder of the day. Even Curt had commented on it when he'd passed him earlier that night, over near the bull rider's camp as they had all been sitting by the flames of the fire pit.

Back in the present now, John was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Gale's voice cutting through them. He blinked, focusing back on Buck's face, which uncharacteristically actually had a touch of worry surfaced there.

"Sorry, what?" John managed, sounding dazed, distracted.

The ghost of a smirk lifted one corner of Buck's lips, his baby blues almost baring a hole through John's own. "I said did you have a stroke? Haven't heard you this quiet since you got here. All those falls in the arena finally catching up to you?"

A huff escaped Bucky's lips, his own smirk mirroring Gale's, just a bit more obvious.

"Oh, har har, the pretty cowboy's got jokes, huh?"

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn he saw a hint of blush colour Buck's cheeks before his face went blank and he turned his attention back to the brush in his hand, which had once again gone stoically still in their exchange. Baby tossed her head in their direction in obvious protest before pulling at the hay again.

"You got no idea," Gale said lightly, clearing his throat with the same gentleness. His face had once again dropped into the emotionless mask that John was often witness and accustomed to, like the blond had internally put up some sort of barbed wire fence, intent on keeping any vague emotions sheltered and hidden away.

It was a fence John wanted to take a pair of wire-cutters to.

Without thinking, Buck let the words he so desperately knew Gale needed to hear slip past his lips and into the settled quiet of the night.

"You did good today. Just wanted to let you know that."

Once again, Buck's hand stilled in the movement of brushing, and Baby actually let out a grunt this time in obvious annoyance that her grooming kept being interrupted. Though the two men weren't faced, John could still see Buck watching him out of the corner of his eye. A startled deer ready at a moments notice to bound off at the first sign of danger.

It twisted John's gut, made him feel a rising disdain towards the man he knew was now the cause of Gale's weariness, if not partially or fully, he wasn't one hundred percent certain.

All the boys there had been through their fair share of rough upbringings, absent fathers, dead fathers, non-existent, you name it. And he should have know Gale was no exception. Having a father and mother himself who didn't exactly show their support when he told them he wanted to pursue bull riding as a career, John had a bit of a more gracious understanding of most situations. It was a far stone to throw though, when you had an asshole of a father like Buck's obviously was, and a famous asshole of a father at that, that expected you to fill his boots even bigger than he could until you were bursting from the stitchings in the side.

It was no small talk that Gale Buck Cleven was, well, a Cleven. One of the most famous roping names in the rodeo world as far back as what Bucky could remember reading about in one of the Western Horseman magazines he had flicked through one day off of the coffee table in Curt's trailer. Generation after generation of skilled horseman, Champions and legends, articles and newspapers and long-winded news stories on the internet. Most of them featured Gale's name as the precipice now, but always circling back to the great Cleven cowboys that came before him. And God, were they some big boots to be expected to fill.

But as far as Buck could tell, Gale was continuously climbing the ranks in anything he set himself to. It was always his name being praised over the speakers, and his hands that those buckles and trophies were passed into at the end of the day.

" 'preciate it," Buck mumbled carefully, so low John almost didn't catch it. "But it coulda been better. Alot better."

Bucky scoffed in reply, his mouth slightly agape in a grin that this time hinted on something a little more intent than playfulness. "Are you kiddin' me? Buck you kicked their sorry asses out there today. I ain't ever seen you get the timer buzzed that fast, and I can say now that the amount of times I've seen you compete, wouldn't surprise me if you broke some sort of record."

As the words sunk into Gale, he sat the brush on Baby's back, her hide twitching at the feeling, and turned to face John fully but slowly, a look almost akin to surprise knitting his features underneath a confused frown.

John almost thought Buck was going to say something in contempt in his direction, but as he saw Gale's gaze soften ever so slightly, his eyebrows flickering for a millisecond into something that almost resembled confusion, his heart squeezed with that unknown feeling once again.

"You've watched my runs?" Buck said softly. "All of 'em?"

John's mouth once again dropped open as an unexpected warmth flushed the top of his own cheeks. He lifted his hand to rub at the back of his neck, through his own slightly damp dark curls there.

"Uh, well, yeah. The ones I've seen since I got here to this circus anyway." he said with a smile. He wasn't going to tell Gale that he may have also looked up a few of his runs in Buck's slightly younger days, all bright eyed and just as determined, but not as much tension permanantly etched on his features.

John couldn't believe his eyes when he witnessed Gale's entire stance soften, even if it was only by a hair, something unspoken opening up there as an actual chuckle slipped past Gale's lips with a small shake of his head and a genuine grin breaking through.

He dropped his eyes from John's for a second or two, looking lost in a thought. "Circus is about the right way to put it, I reckon." Gale huffed.

His eyes flickered back up to look squarely at John's own, before casting off over towards the arena that was still lit with a few spotlights. Most of the riders that had been walking their horses around in circles had retired for the night. The sands were empty and still.

Something still troubled and haunted Gale's eyes though, and John couldn't help but swallow down an uncomfortable thickness that had settled itself in his sternum.

"I mean it, though. I'm not bullshitting you." Buck said gently, following Gale's eyeline to the arena. "I may not be much of a horse type cowboy, you know I can't really ride for shit," Gale chuffed at that, "but even I can recognize a real cowboy when I see one, especially one that's a rank above the rest."

Gale actually looked back and held his eyes for more than a mere few seconds this time, something so soft but still that hint of disbelieving pooled there, but it was a damned start. It felt like an entire lifetime that John held that gaze, letting himself be swallowed by it.

Buck's long pale fingers rested once again on the jut of his hips, which cocked slightly to the side in the movement. "Never thought I'd hear a genuine compliment from John Bucky Egan himself," Gale managed.

Once again that coltish smile shaped the blond's lips, wider, more confident this time. Still a tad sheepish, still guarded, but Buck found himself wanting that smile to stay, for a lot longer than mere seconds. He wanted to see that smile every second. Wanted to relish in the fact that he had caused that, had cut down that first strand of metaphorical barbed wire that had obviously wrapped itself around Gale's heart.

His own grin mirrored Gale's then, he couldn't keep it at bay. Couldn't wrangle it back.

"Don't get used to it, pretty boy. I gotta keep up appearances you know." Bucky leaned forward slightly, hand coming up beside his mouth and giving a quick glance in either direction before slipping Gale a wink. "The boys might think I've gone soft."

Gale rolled his eyes with what Bucky could have sworn was fondness.

"Can't have that now can we." he chuckled.

The warmth of it gave John's heart it's own flame. It cast itself there like a stray needle from a cactus catching in the hem at the bottom of his jeans. There to stay, not easily shaken this time.

Still with that smile, John regarded Buck carefully, letting himself fully take in the man standing in front of him. The slightly dusty blond hairs straying out from underneath his hat, falling in a haphazard curl on his forehead. The soft baby blue eyes, framed by dark blond lashes that fanned his cheeks in an almost elegant way every time he blinked or lowered his gaze. The strong line of his nose that lead down to the cupid's bow of his top lip then down to the fullness of them, that put the prettiest buckle-bunnies to complete and utter shame.

"You know, uh," John began softly, his smile dropping the tiniest bit, only in concentration at the serious tone he now felt rise in him. Buck cocked his head to the side at the sound, "when this whole circuit ends at the NFR is Vegas, and there were only two cowboy's left in that arena, it'd be me, and it'd be you, Buck."

Something sparked in Buck's eyes, his smile towards John softening even further as a deep but gentle laugh escaped him. "Don't count on it."

[lestappenforever]

19 Times The Grid Saved Lestappen (And One Time They Didn't Need To) - Lestappen collab fic

It's here.

Ilse and I have been talking about collaborating on a fic for a while now, and it finally happened.

As mentioned in the sneak peek we posted yesterday, this whole thing was born out of an incredibly unserious WhatsApp conversation. We decided to give it a go, thinking it would end up being around 5K words (at most). Now, 16K+ words later, we discovered we were very wrong.

We've had so much fun writing this together for the past six days, and we really hope you'll have at least half as much fun reading it.

Although we think the title of the fic is pretty self-explanatory, enjoy a little snippet below the cut.

You can read the full fic here.

In that exact moment, all Charles wants to do is grab a hold of the front of Max’s stupid Red Bull polo and pull him into a kiss. He’s just about to do it, too, when a pen comes flying out of fucking nowhere, hitting Max smack dab in the face.

It brings them both out of their little bubble, and Charles turns to see Lando standing a good distance away from them, already in the process of yeeting another pen in their direction. Charles reaches out to catch it before it can hit Max again, putting his reflexes to good use. Next to Lando, Carlos nods his approval at the catch.

“Lando, what the hell?”

[sarawritestories]

I'm Proud of You, Kitten

H.R Wells X Curvy Fem Reader

Requested by @twilightlover2007

Summary: Y/N just got her book published. She can not wait to share her big day with her friends at S.T.A.R Labs, but she can not find anyone, including her favorite Earth 19 Author. Only to have a surprise waiting for her at her favorite coffee spot.

Content Warning!: Feeling lonely/Forgotten and so much Fluff.

A/N: I am also dedicating this to my fellow writers out there, who may be feeling lost in a sea of words. I hope you keep going and keep writing. XOXO Sara

P.S. I hope i did this story well!

Tags: @eonash @yetanotherwells @twilightlover2007

The box loomed on Y/N’s kitchen table, as she took a sip of her coffee excitement radiating off of her. This was it, the day that all her hard work, long nights, and immense amount of tears hit book shelves. She placed her coffee down on the table and with scissors she opened the box. Y/N’s eyes began to water she lifted the book out of the box. Her name on the bottom of the book, her book, she wrote a book. She held the book close to her chest and did a little happy dance tears streaming down her face.

“I can’t wait to show everyone,” She smiled to herself and ran into her room her book in hand to get changed. Putting on an Emerald Green sun dress that had a halter top that accentuated her chest and flared out at the waist. The dress accentuated her curves and gave her the extra confidence, the confidence she would need to share the rawest piece of her to the world, her close friends, and a certain doppleganger. Painting her lips a light pink and with her favorite pair of silver flats and was out the door to find her friends.

She walked into CCPD looking in the bull pen and could not find Joe, she walked up the stairs and headed to Barry’s lab only to find that empty as well. She looked at her phone, and began calling her friend and groaned when she only received his voicemail. “Maybe everyone is at S.T.A.R Labs,” she muttered to herself.

When she reached the labs she walked into the cortex, hoping to find Caitlin or Cisco. The area was completely empty. Continuing her search in the labs she was unsuccessful at finding any of her friends. She went down to the makeshift dormitory, in hopes to find her favorite author from Earth-19. She walked into the dorms heart sinking deep as the room was empty and his drumsticks were gone. She spent the whole day looking for her friends to share this big moment only to find them gone and unreachable. She felt a headache blooming behind her temples as there was a buzz on her phone to see a text from Iris.

Meet me at Jitters, coffee on me :)

A small smile, that a fellow writer didn’t forget about her and her writing accomplishment. She sent a reply:

Be there soon!

~Few Minutes Later~

As the evening rolled in Y/N made her way to jitters. When she reached the front doors her brow furrowed as the lights of jitters was completely dark. Checking her watch, it wasn’t near closing time, she decided that she would try the door and was shocked when the door opened with ease. She walked in the door and before she was able to call out the lights turned on with a crowd yelling, “SURPRISE!”

She clutched her chest as all her friends hopped out behind various places of Jitters. The place was decorated with posters of her book over the walls. Streamers of green ,white and gold over the roof with corresponding lanterns copies of her books were stacked at the counter. Everyone was there, Iris was the first to run up and give her a hug, “Congratulations, you did it!” She gave her a large smile, “How does it feel to be a published author?”

Y/N returned the smile, “I’ll let you know when it sinks in,” Barry, Cisco and Caitlin approached and hugged her as well, “You guys, I can’t believe you did all this for me. I don’t know what to say.”

Cisco held his hand up in defense, “We can’t take credit for this, it was H.R’s,” The four friends of hers smiled as they moved out of her way so she can get deeper into the coffee shop. She was greeted by Wally, Jessie, and Joe but no sight of H.R.

She walked up to the counter and grabbed a coffee when she was approached by a familiar face, She gave a warm smile, “Hi Harry,”

The earth-2 scientist smiled and put a friendly hand on her shoulder, “Congratulations, Y/N, I look forward to reading it.”

“It was a labor of love and I hope you enjoy,” She bit her lip, “Not that I am not appreciative of you being here, I am. Have you seen-“

Harry interrupted, “H.R?” She nodded her head as he responded, “He asked me to send you to the roof when you got here. And before you ask, no I do not know what he’s planned, nor did I want to.” He leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek, “Don’t keep that idiot waiting, Congratulations again.” He walked away as Y/N laughed as she headed toward the door that lead to the ceiling.

As she opened the door she let out a gasp, The roof had twinkle lights illuminating the usual dark ceiling. Rose pedals began from the door and led to a table that was set for two with the candle in the middle. H.R. appeared from the shadows with a bouquet of roses in his hand, “H.R,” tears welled up her eyes for the second time that day, “You did all this?”

The man bowed, “Well, only the best for my dear Kitten, on her big day.” He walked toward her, Y/N’s heartrate quicken as he approached her holding out the bouquet. “For you, Madame,” she took the flowers and sniffed them. H.R held up his arm for her to take, “Let’s celebrate.”

Y/N slipped her arm through his and he led her to the table, with her favorite meal and his favorite coffee. He released her arm and held the chair out for her, “H.R, I really don’t know what to say,” as she sat down. “This is wonderful.”

H.R sat down across from her a large grin on his face, “Anything for my girl,” He pressed a palm against his forehead, “I almost forgot,” He pulled out a copy of her book with a pen. “Will the beautiful author sign my copy of her book?”

Her mouth dropped again, catching herself, “Of course she will.”

Grabbing the book she began to write a note in it as H.R said, “The book was fantastic, Kitten,” he took a sip of his coffee. “It was truly powerful.”

Finishing signing the book she looked up at H.R, “You read it already?”

He nodded, “I bought it first thing at the bookstore, I spent 3 hours reading it, beautifully written. I can’t wait to read it again.”

She slid the book back to him and she smiled, “I lost someone dear to me a few years ago and ever since then the words flowed on the page and I knew I had a story that needed to be shared with the world. She was my strength and my driving force to finishing this. I hope I wrote something she could be proud of.”

H.R. grabbed the hand that was on top of the book and stroked the top of her hand. “I think she would be very proud of you.” He smiled, “I’m also proud of you, Kitten.”

“Open the book, H.R, I want you to see what I put in there.” Y/N smiled sliding her hand from his.

H.R opened the book and found the signed page.

To H.R,

The man who never gave up on me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I love you with all my heart.

Forever Yours,

Y/N Y/L/N

H.R looked up at her and smiled, He got up and offered his hand to her. She grabbed his as he yanked her out of his seat. His hand wrapped around her curvy waist pulling her close to him. “Kitten, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. I would be honored to be yours forever and always. We can write novels together.” He got close that their noses touched, “When I’m not doing this of course.” He placed his lips on hers. Y/N’s arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer.

She pulled away a grin on her face, he returned the smile and he whispered one last time as he pulled her into a hug, “I’m so proud of you, Kitten. I Love you.”

She felt a wave of cold on her shoulder, like a phantom hand letting her know a presence was there it and hugged H.R closer to her, “I love you too, H.R.”

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Austrian GP 2024!

Mads' Race Recap!

I don't even know where to start I can't lie. That was an absolute shit show I swear to God. It was big action in the beginning, then a mid 40 or so laps, then a mental finish. We shall be doing this in constructor standings order, as per usual.

Red Bull - I'll start off with Maxie, then we'll move onto my favourite driver ever. Pulled away, beautiful, as per usual. Even if he doesn't have the fastest car, he is still putting it up there, getting really big gaps from the McLarens, Mercs and single (we'll get onto that) Ferrari. The fights with Lando definitely prove Max's ability, he did a lovely job to keep it in front. Now. Checo. The fuck is this man doing? The minute he signs an extension, the minute he turns astronomically shit! Matt from FP1 said a very good point. Even when Max had 3 TYRES FOR A WHOLE LAP, he still beat Checo. Like... What? In FP3, Charles had a quicker single lap than every single one of his laps apart from the last one. What is he doing? I don't understand. It's just baffling. Also, Max's bad pit definitely hindered it, and if that hadn't have happened, maybe him and Lando wouldn't have started fighting so early.

Ferrari - Carlos had a good drive, nice little old P3 for us which is always nice. I do like seeing a Ferrari on the podium, always. But you know me, I always do. Unproblematic drive, I was shitting it when him and Oscar were fighting since we all know how that always ends, but the McLaren was faster, it wasn't worth fighting him too hard, in my opinion. But the P2 would've been a lot better, but beggars can't be choosers, I am simply glad we got a podium in the first place and better points too. And Charles. My sweet darling Charles. This weekend has been nothing short of COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY SHIT FOR THE MAN AND I AM NOT HERE FOR IT IN THE SLIGHTEST!! Sprint Qualis were a nightmare, the sprint was good, that triple overtake at the start was fucking lovely. Qualis were awful. The race was awful. It was fine, and then he dropped and then he was in the pits and I was waiting for another DNF like Canada, but they just had to put me through seeing him in p20 through the whole pissing race it felt like. The frustration was real. He did insanely well to get to P11, and he deserved DOTD more than Lando. So did Oscar. And Max. It was just bad. A lovely 1.9 pit stop, but I do not want to hear what he has to say after the race. Not at all.

McLaren - Right can Lando just stop whining? Is anyone else getting annoyed with him? That's what happens when you fight Max Verstappen, that's just how it is. Since Miami, he has gotten very cocky and I am not here for it. I'm glad he didn't get points, since he can't get further away from Charles so everything is all good. Racing is racing, that's just how it is. Oscar did lovely, if he hadn't had the lap deleted in qualis, he could've won it. Really nice drive from him overall, wasn't happy with the Charles contact of course, but from what I saw, neither of them really had much fault, and Charles got the brunt of it worse unfortunately.

Mercedes - Can I just say I loved how Lewis took accountability for his actions (someone should make notes of that). He said he was sorry, the pen was the pen, he messed up and he took it in his stride instead of whining like- OK I'll stop. I didn't see much from Lewis this weekend overall, he's performing better than at the start of the season. He didn't cause any trouble, he got on with it. GEORGIEEEEEE BOYYYYYYYY! YOU LATTE DRINKING KATE MIDDLETON LOVING YABADABADOODAH LOOKING BEUATIFUL BASTARD! I will not complain at all for this one, not at all. He was waiting for it all to fall apart, as it did, and he didn't pull a classic George Russell and fuck it up when he's ahead. Loved it, loved hearing the British anthem. I'm not very patriotic, but it was bloody lovely. Thank you George, you're a legend.

Aston Martin - What on Earth is going on? Double Q1 exit, Fernando finished pretty much last, Lance finished BEHIND the man who was nearly 2 laps down after contact (Charles) and their driving was fine. Lance had some decent overtakes, Fernando did get a penalty which was deserved to some degree I suppose. But even the commentators said that Fernando doesn't have the fight anymore. I love Nando, and I want to keep him around. Mercedes, get on it. They were the 8th fastest car on track after qualis, which is ridiculous. As well as the fact that the wheelie bins, the French tractors and the Haasterclasses finished above them. They're supposed to be top 10 runners, but they can barely get in the top 15. Obviously, Lance and Fernando make mistakes like everyone does, but this is clearly something a lot more than Lance and Fernando messing up.

VCARB/RB/REDBULLSHITTYEDITION - I didn't really see either of them that much, to be honest. Q2 exits I'm pretty sure, I don't remember much of them from the- Oh shit I've literally remembered as I was typing. Yuki used some... choice word to describe the way people were queuing in the pits. You can read more on that here. He has been fined, and he apologized profusely, I do believe he wouldn't have said it if he knew what it meant, but it doesn't excuse it. Not happy with it, but he did seem remorseful. Anyway, Daniel had some good overtakes, some good points as well after is little P9 finish.

Haas - It's official, I am a Haas fan. I fucking love these two. 'Save the tyres, Kevin' 'Fuck that'. I LOVE KEVIN MAGNUSSEN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. And he didn't get any penalties this weekend so that's always nice. Nico literally beat Checo, so that's brilliant. They both did a fantastic job, I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two this week. I love these two together. They went from 'suck my balls' to 'my favourite Dane'. Not crying, you are.

Alpine - It's getting better, I suppose? The car is less tractor like, I guess. I do love a good Alpine battle, but I will always be on the side of Estie. I don't know why. Not a bad performance, glad Charles caught them or else that would have been embarrassing. I don't have much to say, to be honest.

Williams - Williams was doing Williams things, I guess. Yeah I don't know what to say. Sorry.

Kick Sauber - Poor Guanyu Zhou can this man ever catch a break? Only one with no Q2 appearance. Again, I didn't see much from them, to be honest.

[f1writingbyme]

19 Times The Grid Saved Lestappen (And One Time They Didn't Need To) - Lestappen collab fic

It's here.

Mona and I have been talking about collaborating on a fic for a while now, and it finally happened.

As mentioned in the sneak peek we posted yesterday, this whole thing was born out of an incredibly unserious WhatsApp conversation. We decided to give it a go, thinking it would end up being around 5K words (at most). Now, 16K+ words later, we discovered we were very wrong.

We've had so much fun writing this together for the past six days, and we really hope you'll have at least half as much fun reading it.

Although we think the title of the fic is pretty self-explanatory, enjoy a little snippet below the cut.

You can read the full fic here.

In that exact moment, all Charles wants to do is grab a hold of the front of Max’s stupid Red Bull polo and pull him into a kiss. He’s just about to do it, too, when a pen comes flying out of fucking nowhere, hitting Max smack dab in the face.

It brings them both out of their little bubble, and Charles turns to see Lando standing a good distance away from them, already in the process of yeeting another pen in their direction. Charles reaches out to catch it before it can hit Max again, putting his reflexes to good use. Next to Lando, Carlos nods his approval at the catch.

“Lando, what the hell?”

[dilf-din]

Yeehawgust Day 11: Wicked Horns

TLOU (Pre-outbreak)

WC: 675

Rating: T

Characters: Tommy and Joel

Warnings: light language, alcohol mention

A/N: consider this my first contribution to the Bi-Tommy agenda! 🩷💜💙 (also Ace!Joel if you squint 😗)

Joel didn’t know why he agreed to go out tonight. He didn’t like dingy bars or drunk people or noise in general, but Sarah was at a friend’s house tonight, and, well, Tommy begged him. Said they weren’t getting any younger and all that shit. So Joel agreed, mostly to keep an eye on his little bother. Tommy had a knack for getting into trouble. Whether it was drinking too much or shit talking a guy playing pool and losing his boots, it was always better when Joel was there to steer him in another direction.

Tommy had found a new bar that just opened in downtown Austin. Joel wasn’t a heavy drinker, not anymore. He was fine nursing a beer or two throughout the night. Tommy, however, might as well have ordered a sampler platter of their fancy cocktails considering he had tried just about every one.

“Maybe let’s slow down there, big dog,” Joel said, leaning directly into Tommy’s ear trying to combat the blaring music.

Tommy tilted his head back to finish his drink and left it on the high top they had been floating back and forth to.

“Nope. I’m about to ride that bull, and I don’t want to feel my face when it hits the floor,” he said matter of factly.

“There is no way in hell I’m letting you on that thing.”

“Relax, I’ve done this before,” Tommy batted him away with a boneless hand.

Joel sighed and folded his arms over his chest, following his brother to the center of the room while he got in line. Joel looked at the ground awkwardly while a group of girls went first, each only staying on a few seconds, cheering loudly the whole time. After witnessing a string of failures, Joel figured Tommy would be flat on the floor in no time. He thought one last time about trying to talk him down, but figured having a story to tell Sarah about how he got that bloody nose would be funnier. He pulled his phone out of the clip on case on his belt and flipped it open, squinting in the dim light while he tried to find the camera button. He hit record just in the nick of time, seeing a small, grainy Tommy mounting the bull with a flashing red dot in the corner.

“Don’t slip,” Joel called out with a smirk.

“I won’t, jackass,” Tommy said with a wide grin.

The group of girls who had just tried and failed were now gathered around the rail to watch Tommy. Each of them whooping and shouting encouragement that no doubt filled his ego to do this and do it well.

The operator stepped back behind the railing and watched as Tommy settled into the saddle confidently. He breezed through the lowest setting, causing the operator to cock her eyebrow before cranking it up a notch.

Tommy was the picture of cool. Toothy smile on his face scattering his freckles, one hand firmly on the horn, one arm loosely beside him for balance. The bull bucked and spun, but his grip didn’t waver. His hips moved in time with each rolling motion, even as the operator upped the difficulty level. A large crowd had gathered now chanting in unison, “Go! Go! Go! Go!” Once he showed signs of faltering, the operator slowed down the ride allowing him to hop off and bow dramatically in front of his new fans. The bar erupted in cheers for their new champion, and Tommy was milking it for all it was worth.

“Well, I’ll be,” Joel said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“You can go on home. I’m gonna go get some drinks and phone numbers,” Tommy grinned, patting his brother’s hand before heading towards a group of flustered looking guys and girls at the edge of the pen.

Joel’s mouth gaped while he stood stunned for a second.

“Now wait just a second, I ain’t leaving you here!” he called, weaving through the crowd.

[mwahahahahahahaa]

My old musical theatre society at my university did a production of The Lightning Thief musical, and I went to see it last night and it was so amazing! Honestly, the performance was so good! Everyone was amazing! The choreography, the singing, the acting, all of it! Notes about how good it was:

They had Thalia during Tree on the Hill and the costume was so good for such a small part??? And the way they did it, with Thalia standing in front of Luke and Annabeth - it was amazing

Gabe was such an arsehole, I hated him

Poseidon was super super goofy and it was brilliant. He was in a hawaiian shirt and spoke in a silly way and was just. so goofy. Different to the books. Appeared in Percy's dream to give him a magic seashell and then at the end.

Poseidon and Sally interacted at the end, and despite how goofy Poseidon was, Sally was twirling her hair and flirting and clearly still attracted to him and I loved it!

The choreography was so good for the Riptide pen to sword transformation!

Obviously they had a limited budget, but they made the most of it - going for deliberate goofiness over realism. Like Chiron had a tiny horse tail attached to him and did a funny trot everywhere, that was the full costume and it was amazing because the actor pulled it off and went for it.

Similarly with the Minotaur - it was a mask that didn't even look that much like a bull, someone in shorts and a vest top with underwear over the top of the shorts to look silly. He stopped to pull poses in front of the audience as he came in, flexing muscles and grunting, it was silly but worked so well!

Sometimes you just have to embrace lack of budget tbh and be creative, and Curtain Call (the society) did that amazingly

During the campfire song, it had actions during the chorus with the 'Oh things couldn't be worse, when your folks run the universe'. Percy didn't know the actions at first and was sort of trying to copy, and Annabeth sat with him at the back and was showing him how to do the actions as the song continued.

Percy controlling water was done by ensemble members coming in with blue fabric and running/dancing around and it was surprisingly effective tbh!

Mr D was brilliant, had an 'I love wine' t shirt on and sometimes made the campers carry him around.

Honestly you could just tell the cast was having so much fun with it, at least that's what came across, and it just added to the performance.

They had the perfect people for every role. They didn't look like the descriptions in the books (Percy had blonde hair, for example), I don't mean like that, but in terms of performance, energy and characterisation, they were all amazing.

Clarisse, for example - great costume, fierce performance, powerful and threatening during 'Put you in your place'.

Annabeth too, the actor perfectly performed the tough, smart kid who wants to be important. My Grand Plan was fantastic!

Luke was great too, really emphasised how important he was to the camp and the morale of the campers with leader the campfire song and just little encouraging moments the whole way through - until at the end when Percy comes back and looks to him for reassurance and gets ignored.

The Oracle was done well as a chorus, with three people singing the main oracle lines and being echoed/joined by others. The three main ones had umbrellas decorated with paper to give a 'mummy' feel to it

Aunty Em's statue emporium - M was very good, and ensemble members were statues, wearing fabric wrapped in a style meant to resemble I suppose a toga or chiton, frozen in different poses with expressions of shock and terror. M was threatening in a perfect way, it was brilliant

They did the snakes as ensemble members with green sleeves on arms, and it was a really good effect actually.

Again, they made light of their lack of budget - as Medusa died, someone pushed a polysterene head with green strips of paper stuck to the head as hair onto the stage.

The costumes in the brief Lotus hotel bit were really good

Same for in the Underworld, in Chiron's song - the costumes were so good, it was really funny and really entertaining

Hades was so different to what I expected - in the books, Hades is quite a serious character, but in this Hades was quite comedic, and it worked better than I would have expected. As someone so used to the books (I must have read the series over about twenty times as a teen), it surprised me but the person playing Hades was really good, and came across as very manipulative with the 'Oh sure, you can leave with your mother - if you give me that' angle.

There was so much laughter from the audience throughout at every joke, it was such a good atmosphere

Chiron was brilliant - the little trot he did everywhere was fantastic and hilarious

Good kid was so emotional and powerful, you really felt for Percy. The singing was so powerful

Chiron's delivery of 'the prophecy suggests....but that's impossible, bye percy' or whatever, was so funny. So serious and then the quick 'but that's impossible so'

I doubt I've listed most of the great things about this show but like. It was so good. And an amateur production but so worth the money and so well performed.

Anyway it has revitalised my Percy Jackson obsession and I have just started re reading the books whilst listening to the soundtrack on repeat so :D

[leqclerc]

So so pissed off with how the broadcast has been (I know that they're usually so selective against charles, but today seemed deliberate). Like on sky them saying that the slow stop at the beginning was charles fault because he boxed without giving the team a chance to get ready, but if you watch the onboard they argued for so many seconds they could've been ready if they just listened to him (like red bull did with Perez, who was ahead on track and hence had less of a warning to get ready). And then also with the damage, like duh something was wrong. He was like 2 seconds slower than his teammate and getting overtaken by a rookie in a bathtub. No shit there's something wrong with the car. Firstly where is the Ferrari press officer? When other teams have something going on, they usually text the commentating team to keep them up to date on what's happening. Is the Ferrari team too busy editing the next ice bath content to do their job. And second, the broadcasters have people listening to team radios. Surely if you see something out of the ordinary happening you go to investigate, a quick tune in to charles radio will tell you he was managing a problem (and a big one at that). Today FOM (and sky) were working overtime to sell their narrative against charles.

It probably depends on the broadcaster (and language version) and the commentators there. I wasn't watching with Sky comms but my experience was largely the same. I believe they made it known that he had front wing damage (a bit more obvious because he actually pitted to change the front wing), but then I only found out about the floor damage and just how terminal the issue was because I had Charles's onboard on. But for the more casual fan, or whoever doesn't have access to onboard radios, there was no clear explanation about the damage, just the comms making an assumption that Charles was tumbling backwards because he had no pace or just "had an off day" or whatever. No real explanation came until the session was red flagged and with no on-track action and ample time they showed a brief clip of his interview from the media pen, and even then they kind of glossed over it.

I mean, like you said, if he's tumbling back and hardly defending against the overtaking cars, which are, by all accounts, weaker than the Ferrari, then something's not right there. They made a big deal out of Liam Lawson overtaking a Ferrari on debut, as if the circumstances were normal and both cars were operating at full capacity. It was very frustrating to witness, especially knowing the reason and the extent and how it just kept getting worse, to the point where Charles was actively asking them to consider retiring because it was just a struggle with no real gain in sight.

And you're right, I'm pretty sure the commentator booths are fitted with several monitors and they have access to all kinds of data and all the driver's radios, so I'm not sure why they... didn't seem aware or hadn't checked on the situation with Charles. I think the whole debacle with Barcelona qualifying, and how despite carrying out checks back at Maranello Ferrari failed to produce a concrete reason for why the car was behaving the way it was (or if they had, they didn't share it publicly), kind of set a precedent for just assuming he's having a stinker of his own accord, without really delving into the technicalities of why he's having such a bad race.

Lbr he wasn't really in the fight for top positions in this race so maybe that added to how little they cared? Maybe if he started rapidly losing pace while running in the top 3 or something there would've been more attention on him, instead the generally accepted narrative seems to be that he just had a very anonymous underwhelming outing today, which doesn't tell the full story.

Then again George had basically the exact same thing happen to him in the closing stages of the race, and I don't think they even bothered showing footage of him losing all those positions, it was all just happening on the leaderboard, and then a brief shot of him in the pits. But yeah, frustrating that no real explanation was broadcast on the main feed—Charles and Xavi spent quite a lot of time discussing the situation and how badly it was impacting Charles's performance, so they had an abundance of audio to choose from 🙄

[torreshalstead]

warm. comfortable. safe.

Summary - Warm. Comfortable. Safe. That is how Jay makes her feel.

Lonely. That is how she feels when he’s not around.

Her solution to this - ask him to move in.

But negative thoughts threaten to override her decision.

Notes - Because the show robbed us of actually getting to see the conversation where Upstead decide to move in together, this is my take. Hope you enjoy! AO3 Link

Warm.

That was what Hailey felt when she woke up in the mornings with the presence of her partner's body wrapped around her own.

Comfortable.

That was what she felt when she got home late from paperwork and a plate of food was left on the counter with a note saying to warm it up and she could hear the soft sound of breathing coming from her bedroom.

Safe.

That is how Jay made her feel. Whether it was at work and he would naturally position his body slightly in front of hers or in the walls of either of their apartments with a beer or a whiskey with a game on the TV.

Lonely.

That’s how she felt on the nights they spent apart. When she would go home to an empty apartment and crawl into a cold bed and fail to get any sleep.

It was because of all of these that Hailey had made the decision. She was going to ask Jay to move in with her.

She was nervous. She didn’t know why. Jay loved her. She loved him. They spent almost every night at each other's apartments, usually hers because her bed was far comfier which they both appreciated. It was the next logical step in their relationship, but still she was nervous.

Although she had been the one to initiate the first move that night and tell him how she felt, when he had made the next move and told her he loved her, she had freaked out. She had expected him to walk out of the door at that and never come back. But he had stayed. He had listened to her trying to explain her feelings and had held her when she cried. He was a good man. And he loved her.

—————————————————————————

‘Chinese or Thai’ Jay called from the kitchen.

‘Hailey?’ he asked when he got no reply. She was sitting on the couch, her back to him staring at the blank screen. She hadn’t said a word since they had entered her apartment 20 minutes ago and he was starting to worry. It wasn’t unlike Hailey to shut down after a particular case, usually one involving kids and awful home-life situations, however today they had been in the bull pen doing paperwork all day. ‘Hails?’ he repeated, slightly louder this time.

She jumped slightly as his voice broke through her thoughts. ‘Hmm?’ she responded, turning around and resting her arm over the back of the couch so she could look at him.

‘Dinner. Chinese or Thai? Or we could go out?’ Jay asked, showing her the takeout menus in his hands and flashing her a smile.

‘You pick’, she said softly, the smile on her lips not meeting her eyes. ‘I’m going to shower real quick’. And with that she got up and headed into her bedroom, leaving a bewildered Jay standing in the kitchen with the take out menus still in his hands.

Hailey knew she was acting off as she stepped into the shower, but she was trying to pluck up the courage to ask the question she had wanted to for over a week now. Everytime an opportunity presented itself she panicked and her mind spiralled into the worst case scenarios. In her heart she knew Jay would be happy at the prospect of them officially living together, but worry still crept its way into her mind. Chipping away at the happiness she felt when she imagined the closet becoming home to his henleys and shirts alongside her flannels and hoodies. Cracks appearing in the future she could see inside her head, of her growing old beside him.

She rested her head against the tiles and let the water cascade over her, hoping it would wash away the negative thoughts she was having. Thoughts about him walking out the door and leaving a Jay shaped whole in her heart that she was certain would never heal.

She had never intended to fall in love. Never intended to allow someone so deeply into her life that knew every part of her, body and mind. But then Jay had walked into her life; more accurately she had walked into his. She had fallen for him long before she had had the courage to say anything, the man who was her partner, her best friend, who she trusted with her life. She had finally trusted him with her heart, and she knew he wouldn’t break it. She did know it. As much as that small voice inside of her head was telling her otherwise. The man that was currently in her kitchen, ordering them dinner, loved her.

‘Dinner will be here in 20’, she heard him call from the other room.

This was it, she thought as she switched off the water and ran her hands over her face, it’s now or never. Wrapping herself in a towel and leaving her wet hair hanging down her back, she took one final look in the mirror, took a deep breath and walked into the living room.

Jay had moved from his spot in the kitchen and was now sitting on her couch, legs crossed, resting on the coffee table, absentmindedly scrolling on his phone.

Before giving him a chance to look up, she said quickly with a shaky voice, ‘move in with me’.

He looked up swiftly, eyes wide as he took in the sight of Hailey standing in front of him, wearing nothing but a towel, water still glistening on her skin. He opened his mouth to speak but Hailey interrupted him and continued more confidently.

‘We already pretty much live together, but I want to make it official. No more deciding where we are going to sleep after work. No more having to wake up early because one of us doesn’t have a clean change of clothes. I want your ridiculously neatly folded t-shirts in the drawer next to my messy ones. I want your favourite mug to be hanging next to mine. I want us to live together. Properly’, she said the last few words coming out quietly, as if she had run out of steam from the barrage of thoughts that had poured out of her. She had been ringing her hands in front of her whilst she spoke, a nervous tick that she had had since she was a child.

Jay had remained sitting on the couch throughout Hailey’s speech, his feet now resting on the floor and a smile upon his face. Unsure if she was finished, he hadn’t said anything and Hailey seemed to have clocked this, her eyes seemingly ignoring the smile on his face and dropping to where her hands were joined.

Jay quickly jumped up and was over to her, crossing the space in all but a couple of steps, his hands grabbing hers.

‘Look at me Hails’, he said gently, squeezing her hands as he spoke. Hailey raised her head to look at him, her blue eyes now glistening with tears. ‘Hey now’, he whispered, transferring both her small hands to one of his, allowing his now free one to swipe under her eyes and rest his open palm against her cheek. ‘Of course I want to live with you’, he finished with a soft smile.

Hailey’s breath hitched in her throat as she looked up at the man in front of her, smiling like he was the luckiest man on the planet. ‘Really?’, she whispered.

Jay laughed as he pulled her into a tight hug, resting his head on top of hers, ignoring the fact his clothes were soaking in the water from Hailey’s damp skin. ‘Really’ he answered. He felt the small arms of his girlfriend tighten around his waist and felt her noticeably relax into him. ‘I love you’, he muttered into her hair.

‘I love you too’, she said as she pulled back and sealed her lips to his. He pulled away after a second, his warm smile still radiating off his face.

‘As much as I’d like to continue this’, he said with a chuckle, ‘because you in a towel is not something I can normally resist’. Hailey giggled at this. ‘Dinner will be here in a minute and you’re still wet’. Hailey raised an eyebrow at his apparently accidental innuendo. ‘Not like that’, he said as he squeezed her hips. ‘Did you even dry yourself before you threw on a towel and came out here?’

Hailey’s cheeks reddened as she looked bashful and shook her head. ‘Had to ask you before I chickened out again’, she admitted quietly.

Jay’s smile softened, ‘the Hailey I know is never a chicken. But go get dressed and we can chat over dinner’.

—————————————————————————

But they didn’t chat about it over dinner. They sat comfortably together on the couch as they made their way through the Chinese that Jay had ordered. They sat closer than they normally would and any time that Jay had a free hand, it was resting on Hailey’s thigh. He was letting her know he meant what he had said and he wasn’t going anywhere. And Hailey appreciated it.

She could run through a hail of bullets at work if she needed to, but asking the man she loved to move in had proven scarier than that. The act of putting herself out there, risking rejection was far more terrifying.

When they had finished and the dishes removed, Hailey was tucked back into Jay’s side, her arm thrown over his middle, his hand tangled in her hair.

‘I think we should get a new place, together’, Jay said softly breaking through the silence, his fingers twisting a piece of her blonde hair through his fingers.

‘Yeah?’, she questioned, staying tucked into his side.

‘Yeah. Somewhere we can build a life together’. She pulled back to look at him, his green eyes were soft as they met hers.

‘You want that?’, she said, reaching for the hand that wasn’t still resting on her head and threading her fingers through his.

‘I want everything with you Hailey’, he said. ‘A house. A future. A life’.

For the second time that night, Hailey’s eyes filled with tears and her cheeks tugged her lips into a smile and she nodded. Afraid that if she tried to speak, nothing would come out.

‘Together’, he whispered as he pulled her close and his lips met hers. It was a messy kind of kiss, tears from Hailey and teeth from where neither of them could stop smiling. But it was them, messy and imperfect, but together.

‘Together’, Hailey repeated when they finally separated and she pulled herself into his lap and curled up in his arms.

Warm, comfortable and safe.

Jay made her feel all those things and she knew as she rested her head against his chest that she would never feel lonely again.

[trashbag-baby666]

Bighorn Mountainside-Luztoye

Chapter One

Chapter Summary: After a bad bull riding accident before Joes Junior year of high school. It leaves him with a bad knee that leads to amputation six months later. Now trying to get back in the routine of normality he meets George.

WC: 2474

C/W: Mentions of injuries.

Series Masterlist

Joe remembered everything that happened. It all happened so slow yet so fast.

Joe had grown up around weekend rodeos, it was almost like a sport in Cody. Instead of high school football it was the high school rodeo club. As a young kid Joe did mutton busting, the kitties version of bronco riding or bull riding. Hanging onto a sheep while racing.

Joe had grown up on a ranch surrounded by horses and his dad had ridden bulls. So of course as soon as Joe's dad let him do it he did learned.

Joe was good, he had won multiple competitions in the high school rodeo circuit.

He didn't know that this is how it would come crashing down.

Rodeo season prime time was mid June through July. Joe was itching for it; he had gotten pretty good at it.

All his friends would come watch, Bill met his girlfriend at a rodeo. Frannie did barrel racing and Bill fell fast for her.

It was the Fourth of July when Joe's world came crashing down. He was looking forward to his Junior year of high school.

Joe was excited as he found himself gearing up in the pens climbing over the gate. The numbing sounds of his dad and his friends all cheering him on. He sat on the bull in the bull chute. Looping his hand under the rope and then wrapping it around his left hand again. Holding out his free right hand.

"Come on Joe, do your best!" His dad clapped him on the back as they opened the chute.

Joe felt numb as it all happened, he knew something bad was going to happen the moment they opened it up. Usually he felt euphoric and had a rush of adrenaline.

It had only been a few seconds but it felt like forever. Next thing he knew he was up in the air and smacked onto the ground. The wind knocked out of him, he felt the crushing, hot, painful heat run over his whole leg. The bull crushing Joe's knee. A whole moment crashing over him again as he watched the dirt fly in front of his face.

Next thing he knew he felt arms wrapped around him pulling him back in as they roped the bull.

Joe got a look at his leg and blacked out immediately after.

He woke up in an ambulance. It couldn't have been that long after it happened. Searing pain was still running up his right leg.

"I gotta get up." Joe groaned, he was still in a state of shock not really aware of his surroundings.

"Joe you're gonna be okay," he heard his dads voice then a strong arm wrapped around his bicep. There was a paramedic buzzing around him; he didn't know what was really going on, what was happening to him?

He just fell off right? What, that happens to everyone?

Joe just laid his head back down in defeat still confused. He then realized his head was pounding and it hurt so badly. Pressure up against his eyes at the lights in the ambulance. He shut his eyes again. He felt like he was pulsating. He could feel his heart beat in his ears. Then he blacked out again.

Joe wouldn't wake up again until the next afternoon.

This time in a much calmer environment.

Joe knew where he was this time. A hospital bed.

He wiped tiredness from his eyes as he let out a sigh.

His mother was next to him, "Hey Joseph."

"Ma," his voice was scratchy and low, almost inaudible. The bed was propped up and you could see his right leg was wrapped tight in a white bandage and a big brace was on his entire leg.

"They had to reconstruct your knee Joe. Your ACL was completely torn and destroyed." His mom brought him a small plastic cup of water, "Sip on this honey, you need to stay hydrated."

"Oh," was all Joe could get out. He would recover from this he knew that but it would be long and painful. He took the small white cup and took a few sips from the water. He didn't know what to make of the situation.

His friends helped him out plenty because honestly he was in pain for the rest of the summer. Going back to school was hard, Joe could walk now but he was in pain most of the time now.

He would get home from school and just lay on the couch or in his bed completely exhausted from his day of being at school.

His parents could see his mood change. Joe had always been kind of quiet unless provoked.

But he really shut everyone out, he didn't really talk to his friends anymore.

He wasn't really going out to the stables and visiting with his horse like he always did. His parents let his chores slack and put them on his siblings. The only one left for Joe was to at least give feed to Bowie and brush him. Maybe change his hay in his stall if Joe felt up to it.

The first time Joe met Bowie after his father bought him at an auction, Joe knew it was meant to be. A black stallion standing at about 15 hands, Bowie was about two when Mr. Toye purchased him. Joe being 12.

Joe was good with horses but him and Bowie just clicked like no other. Bowie officially deemed Joes like his sisters had their own.

Joe constantly take him out on a ride around the Toye Ranch. He showed Bowie when his sisters were into the whole 4-H thing.

Joe would sometimes just sit in the pasture while Bowie grazed, just spilling all his feelings to him.

An early Saturday in November Joe dragged himself out of bed. Putting on his unbearable knee brace pulling joggers over and grabbing a hoodie off his desk chair pulling it on.

He pulled on a pair of cowboy boots, very much worn ones, not his nice ones.

Then stood up and cursed to himself as his knee almost gave out. Joe grabbed his crutches from where they laid slightly tucked under his bed incase of days like today.

Joe got himself down the stairs and Mrs. Toye looked up from her morning coffee and book.

"Where ya headed Joe?" She looked up her long dark hair with a few grays peaking through tied into a ponytail with a claw clip, flipping a bit as she sat up from leaning on the counter.

"Just out to the barn, thought Bowie could use a brushing as he starts to grow in his winter coat." Joe shrugged, stopping in his tracks.

"Okay, do you wanna ask your dad if he wants to come in for coffee? He's pulling hay from the other barn." She smiled.

"Sure," Joe turned heading out the back door. He hated the way his heavy steps and sound of him on crutches echoed through the main level of his house.

After a walk out to the stables that shouldn't take that long and a talk with his dad about coffee he found himself leaning against Bowie.

He left his crutches outside the stable using either the wall or Bowie for support. Joe ran a brush over Bowie's side.

"Can I tell you something, boy?" Joe sighed, dropping the brush into the bucket of assorted brushes and hoof picks. 

Joe shifted around and patted Bowie's neck and fished a peppermint from his hoodie pocket. One of Bowie's favorite treats, he fed it to the beautiful black horse.

"Of course I can, what are you gonna say? No?" Joe mocked the horse by dropping his voice down to what could possibly be a flight of stares deep. Joe thought it was funny giving all the pets voices. A side of Joe his family really only saw. Sometimes he forgot Bowie couldn't actually talk.

"I'm uh, late last night I went on an internet deepdive I've done before. You know the grueling pain has been really hard for me. You know? That's why we haven't really done any rides in a few months and I haven't spent as much as I should with you." Joe let out a bitter laugh, "I feel like a deadbeat dad who comes for his two days a week visitations."

Bowie turned his neck a little, coddling Joe into him gently. Joe liked to think it was Bowie comforting him and being supportive. Maybe it was? But probably Bowie was just trying to get some more mints from his pocket.

"Well I have an appointment in like a month? Something like that? I'll have to ask Ma about it later today. But I think I'm gonna ask about...amputation." He hated saying the word whenever he really considered it because it made it more real. He knew the pain would be gone and that maybe they should've just amputated in the first place. But still the healing and recovery would be 100 times harder but in the end his quality of life would be improved.

"If i did it we could probably go on rides again. If I do, I'll probably be mostly healed by summer. Then we can ride down to the meadow, the one with the apple trees. Then it's like an all-you can eat buffet for horses." Joe laughed again, "Wow what am I saying."

Joe's phone buzzed a text to the household group chat from his Ma.

Breakfast.

Was all it read, Joe pocketed his phone and gave Bowie another mint. He gave Bowie a few pats then picked up the brush bucket. "Thanks for listening, Bowie, I'll be back out later, probably to give you some feed. I might fish some apples out of the freezer for you." Joe winced as he took a few steps out of the stall and slid the wood gate shut on it, latching it. Picking up his crutches and putting the brushes away before heading inside.

December came around and Joe knew something needed to change.

Joe sat in his doctor's office, his right leg stretched out. Bent just slightly and it would send pain up his leg.

"How is the leg?" Doctor Winters came into his office sitting behind his desk.

"Not great Doc. It hurts, I've been living off of ibuprofen since the accident." Joe rubbed his forehead. He was already exhausted from school today.

"Well you've been attending physical therapy. Are you doing your stretches at home? You're not over baring yourself and pushing too hard?" The tall redhead sat forward in his chair.

"I've been doing stretches, anything to make myself feel better, nothing is working." Joe didn't want to say it but he was considering some of the options he first had when it happened.

"We could look at another surgery." Doctor Winters began.

"No, I...I want to look at the uh...the other options." Joe nodded and looked down at the floor. Studying the dark tiled floor. He knew what the other option not options was.

Amputation.

"Joe you know that," Winters began.

"I've read up on it, I think it would improve my quality of life. I uh, I come home from school completely exhausted. It hurts to move, it hurts to bend my knee. I know that it seems like a decision I might regret but at least I would be able to walk." Joe slightly raised his voice.

"Joe, are you sure you want to do this?" His mom looked at him. Her big brown eyes soft a somber look on her face.

"Joe has a point that it could improve his mobility, mental health, and physical health." Doctor Winters explained.

Not long after his surgery was scheduled for mid January. As he was in prep for surgery Bill and Babe laughed as they drew all over his right leg.

"Say your goodbyes now, Heffron." Joe smiled. He was scared he wasn't going to lie, this was going to be hard. He knew that but he was making the right choice? Right? His doctors thought it was the right move so it was?

A pale man in blue scrubs came in and the three boys recognized him instantly.

Eugene Roe.

He had moved to Cody at the beginning of the school year. He always hung out with the same girl, Renee. They both spoke fluent French, other than that no one knew much else about him.

In big black letters on a badge it read CNA.

Babe's jaw hit the floor. He had, had a crush on Eugene since he first saw him.

"Joseph Toye?" Eugene looked up from his papers.

"Yep," Joe nodded, "Don't you go to West Town High?"

"Yep, CNA Roe, pre med." Eugene nodded, "I just came in here to take you down to the OR."

"Okay," Joe nodded. Babe started packing up his sharpies back into a bag.

"I like the drawings," Gene smiled.

"Uh thanks," Babe smiled. His cheeks were about as red as his hair.

"Babe ya look like a tomato." Bill laughed.

"Shut up!" Babe covered his face embarrassed.

Joe's parents came in and said that they would be waiting for Joe when he woke up.

Joe knew things were changed forever when the second week of Joe's two week stay at the hospital happened. This was now the part where they started teaching Joe simple things like navigating 'walking' with crutches or other mobility aids before he got his first prosthetic. How to get up and down stairs, how to fall safely, things like that. He learned some similar things in PT when he had his knee done.

Things got real when he finally arrived at home. It took Joe a month to really come around emotionally. He didn't like his parents or friends coming to his physical therapy appointments. He thought it was humiliating and embarrassing at how Joe couldn't do something as simple as walking. When he fell it felt like the end of the world every time. Gene and Joe began to grow closer as Gene became a familiar face at his appointments. That also pleased Babe too as Babe finally grew the balls to ask Gene on a date in May.

Things started to fall in place as well around May, the pains of healing started disappearing. His scars on his stump starting to become less raised, he started to feel comfortable in his prosthetic. Don't take it that way by means he hated being seen in it. He hated that he always had a weird falter in his steps. But soon enough at the end of May Joe was confident enough walking that he usually didn't need a cane to walk.

Then the boy in the coffee shop happened.

[storiesofsvu]

Escape Ch 10

Warnings: language, some hurt comfort, some major angst and arguing.

Hank ended up booking the three of you on a flight out that night, giving you time to check into a hotel and actually get some rest before heading down to the 16th precinct the next morning. Olivia Benson was quick to welcome you, introducing you to the squad, you could have sworn you caught her eyes lingering on you a few times while you were working out the holes in the case. Throughout the morning SVU ended up catching a couple more cases, detectives scattering from the precinct, leaving your Chicago team alone with Olivia in the bull pen. You were standing beside the desk Hailey was perched on, deeply engrossed in a case file SVU had.

That was when she walked in, freezing at the sight in front of her, she felt her brows furrow, a sense of confusion flying through her brain. It was you. It had to be you. But you looked completely different. Your hair was dyed back to it’s natural colour, pulled back in a chignon, your make up was softer, more neutral than the thick liner and lashes you wore at the bar. You’d swapped your leggings and casual t-shirts for a very well tailored navy pantsuit, heels on your feet, your entire demeanour seemed to have changed. She barely heard it when Benson called across the room to her, heart hammering in her chest.

“Casey!” Your heart shot into your chest, the three heads in the room all turned towards the entry way. “Meet Detective Upton, Detective Stone and A.S.A. Stone.” She gestured over to Casey, “Our A.D.A Casey Novak.”

“Amber..?” Casey felt like she couldn’t even hear her own voice in her head, a million thoughts racing through it in each second. There was a moment of small silence as you took each other in, tears forming in your eyes.

“It’s —uh…actually Y/N…”

“Ohohoo…” The quiet laugh came from Hailey, you couldn’t even bother to shoot her a glare, unable to tear your eyes away from Casey.

“I thought you were white collar?”

“And I thought you were dead!” She shot back, as she came back to life she took in the scene in the room. The body language between you and Peter, that two of the names were the same, and most importantly, the diamond ring on your finger. “A word…detective?”

“Uh—“ You glanced between the other bodies in the room, thankful more than ever now that you’d been so open with Peter, “Yeah…” Handing the folder to Hailey you followed her into a conference room, shutting the door behind you. You felt your heart pounding in your chest, palms already clammy as they wrung against each other.

“I don’t even know where to start!” Casey couldn’t wrap her head around any of the facts, and of the things that she was attempting to process at the same time. She’d been aching for you for months, her life empty, bed cold and heart shattering all over again when she caught herself daydreaming over the memories. “I watched you die!”

“Rubber bullet…fake blood…” You murmured, “Guy that shot me was another U.C.”

“You were under that whole time?” You gave a meek nod, unable to meet her eyes at the strain in her voice.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you. The case was too dangerous. How—how’d you end up in special victims?” Her face hardened at your question, the tears evident in her eyes.

“I asked for homicide. I wanted it to get justice for victims like you, who’s killers were never found. I wanted to do everything I could to bring justice into your..death.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“How…how long have you been married?” God you could hear the shake in her voice, you absolutely hated yourself in that moment, feeling absolutely disgusting as you did everything you could to hold back your tears.

“Eight years…”

“EIGHT YEARS! What the fuck Amb—Y/N!” There it was, the rage you knew you had coming, the hurt you’d ended up causing coming bubbling up inside her. If Casey thought she was in shock when she first walked in the door, she was certain she was now. “Does he know?”

“Yes!” You could barely contain your tears by now, “We have this…deal if I’m undercover for longer than a year and outside the city.”

“Oh what? You get to make a whole relationship to go along with your fake life?”

“No, we each get like, one…free pass for the duration.”

“Free pass?!” Casey choked out, “A free pass was all I ever was to you!?”

“No!!” You scrambled to cover your tracks, trying to get the words out way in a way that properly explained how you felt, “I didn’t mean it like that. Casey, please! It was just supposed to be sex, stay casual but I fell for you, I didn’t mean to, but I did.”

“And the entire time, I didn’t even know your real name, you were feeding me lies of this fake life! Do you get how completely fucked that is?!”

“I know! And I’m sorry, please believe me…” You begged, moving further into the room, attempting to reason with her.

“Nearly a year of my life and all you told me was a lie, why should I believe you now?!” The movement of your hand racing up to wipe away a tear brought her attention to your very bare neck, ‘I’ll never take it off’ another lie…the sun was gone…just like hers. “Do you even have a brother?!” You shook your head, knowing if you spoke you wouldn’t be able to control your voice, “You’re that good of an actor? You seemed genuinely upset over the anniversary of his so called death.”

Fuck. 

You didn’t even want to admit the fact to her, wishing she hadn’t brought up the day, you took a shaking breath. As you looked up you realized she’d started actually crying now too, broken and distraught with emotions that you brought to the surface.

“I…I only had contact with my Sarge the entire op, I’d been under for over a year already. I really missed Pete, when you asked… I slipped up…it was our wedding anniversary…” Casey felt the fire inside of her turn to absolute ice, feeling practically sick to her stomach.

“You’re fucking with me…” You gave a small shake of your head, “I told you I loved you for the first time that night.”

“I know. And I said it back! And I meant it! I loved you then and I love you now! That night, that night at the bar, I wanted you to leave ‘cause I knew the raid was coming, I didn’t want you to get hit in the crossfire, I was trying to protect you!!”

“YOU DESTROYED ME!!!”

“Casey, please! I love you, I fell in love with you and that’s not a lie.”

“Yeah well I fell in love with Amber, and she’s fucking dead.” She was out the door before you could even think about attempting to go after her, whatever had brought her down to the precinct clearly didn’t matter to her anymore as she stormed out. 

As much as you wanted to run after her, chase her down, kiss her ’til you were breathless as you repeatedly told her how sorry you were, you knew you shouldn’t, she was pissed, rightfully so, and you’d give her space. You prayed that once she’d cooled down maybe you’d be able to talk things out, sort out this giant fucking mess. Dropping against the table, you tried to hold in your sobs, clearing your face of tears as your body shook with emotion. You were surprised when the next voice was Olivia’s, gentle and quiet, clearly the one she usually reserved for victims.

“You okay?” You glanced up at her, wiping away a fresh tear, turning slightly away from her as you fanned at your face.

“Yeah. I’m so sorry, that was…incredibly unprofessional. I’m sure your team doesn’t pull crap like that.”

“They don’t, they usually scream at each other in the middle of the bull pen in front of everybody.” You gave a huff of a laugh, shooting her a half smile, “I realized where I recognized you from…her phone background’s a picture of you.”

“What?” Your voice was breathless, sure, she’d probably have changed her opinions now, but at least she’d held onto a piece of you like you’d held onto a piece of her.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of your husband but—“

“It’s fine,” You waved her off, “He knows everything.”

“Hey…” Hailey cautious popped into the door frame, directing to Benson, “You okay if we maybe take lunch now? I’m sure this one could use a hefty glass of scotch.” You gave her a watery laugh as Olivia gave your shoulder a squeeze.

“Yeah, ‘course. Keep the liquid lunch minimal, we still need you in working form.”

*

Casey was thankful for the quick find of a small empty side street she could finally stop on, collapsing against the wall of the building. Whether it was the fight, the information, the walk or the fresh spring air, her head was clearer, she was finally able to straighten some wires. You were alive. You were alive and you were a cop, a cop from Chicago. Her eyes burned with the sight of your blood soaked shirt, she shook it out of her head, pulling the image of you in the precinct back into her brain. 

That was who you were, Detective Stone. Stone…fucking Stone. Married…to fucking Peter Stone. She realized she never asked if you still loved him, or if you were just keeping up appearances while you laid low because of the mafia case. She knew who he was, things slowly started to make sense as her brain reworked it’s way through your entire…whatever it was…

The way you’d asked for a credit card that first night at the bar, she never saw you take anyone else’s, you wanted her real name, a lawyer in a mafia bar? You were working an angle to make sure she wasn’t working with them, it made more sense as to how quick you were to call her out on her job, legitimately interested, but in an attempt to clear her name. You hadn’t seen much of the city because you were technically working two jobs, leading two lives. The baseball knowledge made so much more sense, as did the way you’d vehemently denied the need to go to a Cubs game that summer, there’s no doubt you’d be recognized if you were married to their previous star pitcher.

Even the pizza debacle made sense, you were from Chicago, deep dish was all you’d ever eat, the way you refused to go home for Christmas, you simply couldn’t. The way most of your social media accounts were barely used, the way you actively kept her out of your apartment. Even the way you’d been so confused at the sun necklace at Christmas, you’d been so wrapped up in the moment you’d forgotten you were supposed to be from Florida. 

Fuck, how did she not see this coming? She was worked in the goddamn legal field, she dealt with cops and detectives all the time. That day she caught you coming out of the precinct there was something so entirely different about the way you moved, you’d barely responded when she called your name, you were clearly working your case. That weird phone call you got a few days before New Year’s, the way you disappeared from her apartment for a few nights, the way a few of your essential items vanished from her apartment, you’d been called back, you were getting ready to go home. 

You said you loved her, that you still loved her, it was the last thing you told her, she was so confused, she didn’t know what to believe. There were so many moments between you that seemed genuine, she had noticed that it felt like you left your guard down whenever you were at her apartment, letting little bits of the real you through. 

As confused, hurt and angry as she was, husband or not, there was no possible way that she could deny she was still completely in love with you, and seeing you again simply confirmed that fact.