#it'll still work fine even if the cap never comes off

[synthesis-music]

Rapidly approaching the "can't be stuck if it's a liquid" stage of trying to get this valve cap off.

[hahaifolded]

141 x POC!GN Intelligence Operative - Thanks for the help Author's Notes: here's the second one of the four. also sincere question, did this make sense? Warnings: MDNI, Racism (not Ghost tho), Angst

Did Ghost feel bad for screwing Gaz over? Of course not. All's fair in love and war. Did it hurt seeing you so downtrodden the next few days? Absolutely.

He doesn't like how you would walk onto base, worried about your position on this team. But he has to stay strong. For the sake of the task force, Ghost and the rest of the team have to suppress their feelings. Losing you would be too great of a loss.

That’s why he keeps his distance. He can’t be tempted if he stays away. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t indulge a bit if you went looking for him first.

Deep in his paperwork, Ghost is interrupted by light knocking. He looks up, and to his surprise, you are standing at his door.

“What do you want?” he barks. He didn’t mean for it to come out so harsh but he could see Price behind you in the hall on his phone. Not wanting to risk any misunderstandings, Ghost kept his persona on.

You step back a bit before entering. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you can help me with something, if it’s not an inconvenience, of course. And I completely understand if you can’t. I’m perfectly capable of—”

“Ask and we can see.” Clearly you were rambling because of your nerves. Nerves that you never had when you were around Ghost before.

“I'm doing an intel overview with the rookies at 14:00 today and they have a tendency to question authority. Wanted to see if you're free to have my back in there?” The authority they questioned was really just yours as a lot of the rookies saw you as a diversity hire. You kept this to yourself as you didn't want to come off as difficult to work with. And thankfully, Ghost never asked whenever you asked him for help with the rookies. So you were hoping that he was still willing to help you.

Seeing this as an opportunity to be your hero, Ghost agrees. He wanted to show you that despite everything, you can always count on him. He can’t help but feel some glee when you throw him a smile as you leave, something he hadn’t seen in awhile. However, any joy Ghost felt evaporates as Price walks in.

"Need something cap?" he asks. He knew Price was up to something as a small smirk sat on his captain's face.

"Just wanted to let you know that I'm about to leave for my check-up. Gaz and Soap are off base today, so you're in charge," he informs. Ghost squints his eyes. There's no way that was all he wanted to say. And right he was as Price whips back around.

"Shit. Just remembered. I have a meeting with some captain today at 2pm. Cover for me, will you?"

Ghost's eyes bulge out. He can't. You need him at 2.

"Don't worry. It's a short meeting. It'll be over before you know it," he reassures. And before Ghost has a chance to rebuttal, Price leaves, leaving him with no choice but to follow orders. He considers texting you, but decides against it. He didn't want to let you down and besides, if Price said it was a short meeting, then it should be a short meeting. When has Price every led him astray?

Now actually as the clock read 2:55 and Ghost was still in his office, talking to this random captain. He knew he should have texted you. As the captain kept talking about some possible collaboration between the 141 and his team, Ghost stares at the clock, hoping, pleading that you were fine.

By 3pm, you accept that Ghost wasn't coming. Despite your efforts, the rookies keep talking over you, questioning your work. The longer it went, the tighter your throat got. Right now, you need support, you need back up, you need Ghost. Your Ghost. The one that would always have your back. The one that saw you as his teammate. The one that still saw you as his teammate.

Instead, you had the Ghost that couldn't even send you a text. Realizing these rookies weren't going to listen, you call it quits and end the meeting early.

By 3:47pm, Ghost finally frees up. If he was lucky, maybe you were still in your meeting. But to his dismay, as he walks out to the hall, he sees Price standing at your door. As he gets closer, he hears Price's annoyed and your tired tone.

"What do you mean you couldn't finish the meeting?" scolds Price. You stand at your desk, clearly exhausted.

"Like I said, the rookies weren't paying attention so--"

"So? It's your job to get their attention."

"I understand that, but--"

"I don't think you do actually," Price says, letting out an exasperated breath. He turns around and notices Ghost coming up behind.

"Ghost, just the man I wanted to see," he announces. Ghost stills, confused by the sudden change in Price's attitude. "I saw you took my 14:00 instead of cancelling it. Thanks for the help," he said while clapping a hand on his shoulder.

This motherfucker! Price just played him. Ghost shifts his gaze to you and sees you looking at him in disbelief. In your mind, Ghost had purposely abandoned you.

Turning his attention back to you, Price hits the final nail on Ghost's coffin. "You should try to be more like Ghost here. He knows how to be a real team player." You just nod.

Ghost doesn't miss the way your eyes go completely blank.

Word Count: 940

More Thoughts - Next Thought

[ashintheairlikesnow]

now i’m craving streetkid chris waaaaa

if you have some time and energy, could you be persuaded to perhaps write some streetkid chris with jake and the safehouse? i’ve never stopped needing comfort for him

CW: Heavily internalized ableism, referenced past dubcon and noncon, some internal dehumanization, referenced drug use

(Street kid Chris au pieces here and here)

-

He sobers up, more or less, on the bus ride out of the center of the city, his forehead resting against the cool glass window. It's all a blur that moves through and around him, steel and concrete shifting to grass and trees and little houses placed next to each other like a child's toys.

Baldur hides a smile, imagining a giant toddler hand lining the houses up one by one by one by one, picking doll families to live in the little doll houses. Giant baby god giving this family a dog and this family a goldfish and that one a pretty boy like Baldur to do everything they say-

A laugh catches in his throat, dies there with the chill of sudden grief. What is his Sir doing? Is he at home with some new pet, playing games? Was Baldur replaced that quickly?

Of course he was. He was never special, never really very good even. Pretty, until he got too old. Stupid statue-boy trying and trying to hold still and never winning any of Sir's games. Sir would've ordered someone else right away.

He's probably forgotten about Baldur by now.

His throat tightens even more, heat stinging his eyes, but Baldur fights it back. The only thing worse than his wrong words and his wrong hands is when he cries, of course. Sir always says-

But Sir doesn't want him any longer, isn't there to tell him never to cry and then play games and hurt him until he does it anyway.

"Hey." Kauri, sitting next to him, must catch something in the shift of movement in his throat when he swallows or the stare of his glassy green eyes. "What's up, buttercup? You need some water? I know coming down always makes me so thirsty I could scream."

Baldur shakes his head, curling up as best he can, pulling his knees to his chin with his heels pressed against the edge of the seat, pushing the dirty soles of his shoes against the cushioned fabric. "No thank you," He whispers. "I... I'm fine."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that before - or I guess I should say that I've said that before. And you know what, Chris? Never once was I actually fine. So. Here." Kauri holds a bottle of water out, shaking it a little as if trying to lure a stray cat with a can of tuna. "Come on, have a drink. It'll help hold off the headache, I swear."

Baldur's fingers are shaking when he takes the bottle, and it takes three tries to get the cap open, but the water is cool and clean on his tongue and down his throat, and before he realizes it the bottle is half empty, his chest feels cold on the inside as the water trickles through him, and he's gasping for breath.

Kauri's smile is soft, gentle, only a little sad. "There we go. Keep working on it, okay? Hydration is the best defense against hangovers, not that I ever take my own advice. But it is still excellent advice."

By the bus reaches a stop that Kauri declares is theirs, he's had all the water and it's an empty bottle he stashes in his backpack. He can refill it at the first sink he sees, have something he doesn't have to beg for or fuck for to drink later on.

Baldur steps off the bus and into a neighborhood right out of TV.

Houses line the street on either side, and Baldur stares at old trees that rise over his head, dappling the ground with shade that blocks some of the heat of the sun. The air smells like grass, and there's a drone from somewhere nearby that he realizes must be a lawn mower, a sound he's only heard from Sir's windows while watching the landscapers work far, far below.

There's a fence around the yard next to them - a white fence, even, with chips of peeling paint. Baldur moves to it, reaching out and letting his fingertips brush the rough wood, one nail scratching at a bit of paint coming free. He doesn't hear himself humming, low and tuneless, repeating over and over, until Kauri pops back into view in the corner of his eye.

"You never seen a fence before?" Kauri teases, but then Baldur flinches back and away and watches Kauri's smile falter, briefly, before it determinedly returns. "Sorry. I scared you, huh?"

"I'm fine," Baldur says too fast, realizing too late that he isn't answering the question Kauri asked - either of them. The blush heats his cheeks and he turns away, jamming his hands in his pockets as hard as he can, hunching his shoulders. "Fine. I'm... I'm fine."

The word sounds good in his mouth. Soothes his mind. He opens his mouth to say it again, fine fine fine - but Baldur catches himself this time. He can't repeat words he hears, that's wrong. Can't stammer, that's wrong. Can't move, or sway, or use his hands - wrong.

All wrong.

"Right. Well, come on. The house is this way." Kauri walks a little ways away, then looks back over his shoulder. Baldur hurries to catch up, keeping himself hunched. The weight of his backpack is familiar and comforting, all his things in there. The usual headache when the pills wear off teases around the edge of his mind, but it doesn't take hold. Maybe Kauri was right about the water.

Kauri talks, chatting brightly. His hands move constantly, in gestures and emphasis, and Baldur keeps staring at it. Sir would have slapped his hands if he moved them so much, but Kauri doesn't even notice he does it.

The house has people there like them, Kauri explains, although not like them like them, just - other pets. Domestics, mostly. The woman who runs the house, like the shelters Baldur has stayed at but they won't make him pray.

"Trust me," Kauri reassures, "I wouldn't stay there if they did. I've traded a bed and some food for having to go to their church and let them tell me what a bad boy I am enough for one lifetime, thank you. Sinners have more fun, anyway." He winks, and Baldur blinks back at him. "The last time I stayed at one, the pastor hit on me. The very, very married pastor. Which goes to show you - when you are as good in bed as I am, even God doesn't measure up."

Baldur swallows. He should say something - something witty. Kauri seems to have things to say about everything, all of the time, but Baldur's mind is still slow from the pills, even though he's sobering up. He can't think of anything except to say, "Really?"

"Really." Kauri's smile is bright, flash of sun off the hood of a car blinding but with something about it that seems cracked, too. "Once we get there, I'll make introductions. But I promise, everybody is nice."

"... Nice," Baldur murmurs. Nobody is, not really, in his experience. Everybody takes something in return for every bit of nice they offer. Everybody sees his barcode and knows they can do whatever they want to him, and then they do. And if he's lucky it's only to make him eat food that makes him feel sick, or talk to him about how he's walking a dark path, as if there has ever been a lighter one. Or sometimes they tell him to go lay down on the bed-

"We're here!" Kauri's voice cuts into Baldur's thoughts, and he looks up.

In front of him there's a two-story house with white siding, flat-faced with windows that look down on him like eyes. There's a porch with chairs on it, and sitting in one of them is a tall, thin man with a mess of dark hair and sharp, dark almost-feline eyes. He's fiddling with something in his hands, but when he sees them he shoves whatever it was into his pocket and quickly stands.

Baldur hesitates - but Kauri moves right up the overgrown path, flat stones half-covered by grass and weeds. "Hey, Ant! I brought someone."

"I see this," The man says, in a smooth, accented voice. He sounds like velvet. Baldur looks at him, trying to think. Just a blowjob, probably. Easy. Baldur has traded those for lots of things. He barely has to do anything, once they grab his head. "Kauri-"

"Oh, wipe that worry off your face, Antoni, he's one of us." Kauri waves a hand back at Baldur, then grabs at his arm to pull him forward. "I brought him to meet Nat and Jake. Chris, this is Antoni. Antoni, this is Chris."

Antoni looks at him, then turns and silently heads back into the house.

Baldur swallows, shifting to half-hide himself behind Kauri. "... he doesn't... like me."

"Nah, Antoni's just kind of a mood killer professionally. He's a softie once you get to know him, I promise." Kauri half-drags him up the steps and through the front door, into an entryway that has a pile of coats abandoned on a coat rack, shoes on a mat. The house smells like something cooking, and Baldur's mouth waters, his stomach twisting as it remembers how to feel hungry and not just emptied-out and light. "Jake! Hey, Jake!"

"Jake's out," A woman's voice says. Baldur stares as an older woman pops her head in. She has brown hair with bits of gray in it in a braid that lays over one shoulder, a flannel shirt over a t-shirt and ancient jeans, and a soft smile ringed in laugh lines that crinkles at the corners and near her eyes.

She's beautiful.

"Who's this?" The woman looks from him to Kauri, with curiosity - not trepidation, not worry, and not anger. "You brought someone by?"

"Yeah. This is, uh, this is Chris. He's one of us. Chris, this is Nat. She feeds me sometimes."

"Love that description." Nat's voice is wry with good humor, and she steps forward, holding out her hand. "I have hobbies, too, you know. Hello, Chris. I'm Nat, and this is my house. I help runaways from WRU start over."

He stares at her outstretched hand, then back at her, before hesitantly shaking. His grip is limp compared to hers, but she doesn't say anything about it. "I-... I thought... you were... a man."

"No, that's Jake," Kauri corrects him. "He insists on having a life outside of waiting for my beautiful ass to show back up, so we'll see him later."

"... Okay." Baldur studies the woman - Nat - thoughtfully. Then he offers, "I can... do women, too."

Nat's expression changes - so subtly he can't tell what the change is. But he sees it. Baldur knows how to tell when the mood of a room goes sour, to try to protect himself. "Romantic," She murmurs. "I see. Kauri-"

"Don't say he can't come here," Kauri interrupts, bristling, and Baldur stares at him in open terror as his heart drops to his knees. He's angry at one of them. Baldur didn't know you could do that. "He's got as much a right as anybody else does, and you let me come here, and he could use the help, Nat, so don't you dare-"

"Kauri. Hey." Nat puts her hands up, as if surrendering in a fight. "That's not what I was gonna say. I was going to say, Kauri, how about you set him a place at the table for dinner. Okay?"

Kauri's jaw is set, and it takes him a moment to stop looking ready to keep up the argument that isn't even happening. "I-... yeah. Okay. Yeah, I'll do that. Just-... Nat, you know that a lot of places won't-"

"I know. It's okay, honey. It really is okay. Just go get him set up. And you." Nat smiles at Baldur, and he tries to see the mean she's hiding, but it isn't there. Too buried underneath a kind face, maybe. Baldur can't imagine there just isn't any cruelty there at all. "We take all kinds here, and you're welcome. No one touches you here, and I'd prefer if you kept your hands to yourself at first."

Those words don't mean anything. The shelters say that a lot, too, but Baldur still wakes up to a hand over his mouth and a voice whispering to him to be quiet sometimes when he sleeps in one. He'll find out the real cost of staying here at some point.

But he'll find out with food in his stomach, and that's worth something.

"Yes, ma'am," He murmurs, looking up and around at the high ceiling in the entryway, carpet-covered stairs that curve up and disappear around an angle. Bookshelves, and off to one side the corner of a living room with a TV playing.

"Just Nat is fine. Kauri?"

"Got it." Kauri gives a mocking, if still friendly, salute. It makes Baldur smile - but he hides it behind his serious face when he sees Nat look at him. "I'll get him settled in. Maybe we'll stay over tonight? If that seems like a good idea, if not-"

"It sounds great."

Baldur watches her go, heading up the stairs - that creak as she walks, giving away the house's age. Wondering what she'll want him to do later on, to pay for the food, to earn the bed he'll sleep in.

He has more pills in his pocket. He can take some, and drift through whatever staying here costs, let his body and training do all the work. He's done it before, over and over again.

He'll always have to do it again, sooner or later.

When Kauri takes his hand again, he lets himself be led.

He doesn't notice the dark-haired man, Antoni, watching him from a doorway as Baldur digs out two small pills and swallows them dry while following Kauri into the kitchen.

[possibilistfanfiction]

More of Avatrice and their dog? Or whatever soft, everyday life stuff you wanna write most tbh.

[baby korra! also, there were a bunch of prompts (all of which i loved!) that asked for some more about ava & disability, so that's in here too!]

/

'okay, i know you're here because we genuinely need groceries and i refuse to stick to a list.' beatrice suppresses a smile but nods anyway — soft and gorgeous this morning, in sweatshorts and an oversized t-shirt with the sleeves cuffed a few times, pristine sneakers, because it's hot outside, a little cap on backward. sometimes you don't want to wear shorts if you're in your chair, but today is too warm, even on the water, to want to wear pants. you admit that you like your arms, still, maybe even more, in tanks, so, in your opinion, you're gonna be the hottest couple in the whole foods. you take a moment to sigh, happily, and then get back on track with your mission. 'but you can't help me and korra at all.'

'i know,' she says, unfazed and understanding. 'i'll just be right behind you monitoring your questionable deviations from the list. despite that, i don't have to come in at all if you don't want.'

'no, that's fine. it'll be good to practice with you there in case we need to slow down.'

'okay, my love.'

she turns the car's ignition off and then gets out, comes around to the passenger side and gets your chair situated for you by your door. it makes you ache, a little, because this is your fucking life; you've hurt for so, so long, and now this beautiful person you love so deeply has to care for you in ways that you hate, in ways that you have been terrified of since you were seven and woke up alone and unable to move and unable to grieve, or see the stars or the sea. but — bea holds your hands just like your physical therapist had shown you, a transfer that keeps you safe and doesn't put a particular amount of strain on beatrice either. and all she does, after you make sure you're situated comfortably, is kiss the top of your head, almost absentmindedly, and then hands you your reusable tote bags.

'thanks, bea.'

she just hums, waves a hand to say of course, to say i don't mind, to say i am thinking of you always with love; this isn't any different, to say you're the most incredible person i've ever known. you know these things because she tells you all the time, and she shows you all the time; you've gone over it again and again in therapy, too, beatrice sitting patiently on the couch next to you and holding your hand while you sort through your messy feelings around mobility and pain that have, honestly, never seemed messy or complicated for her: she loves you, and that's the beginning and end of it.

you tug on her shirt, just for a moment; she smells so good, like her cologne and your laundry detergent and your lavender lotion and, always, a little like the ocean. she puts a gentle hand to the back of your head and lets you rest, your ear against her ribcage.

'if all goes well, which it will,' she says, moving back a little and looking clearly into your eyes; you love her, 'we can get brunch after? korra will probably be tired but we could do some neutrality training? if you're not feeling great, we can pick something up too. i could use a nap, honestly.'

'you slept until 10 am.'

'i can always sleep more,' she says, and you have to laugh.

you get korra out of the van, easy with its automatic doors and her happy little expression. she has her service dog in training DO NOT PET, I'M WORKING vest on — already getting a little small on her constantly growing body — and when you tell her it's time to work, she obediently sits at your right side in a perfect, small heel. you give her a piece of kibble — her breakfast this morning, because anything more interesting than kibble makes her kind of lose it and doesn't help with neutrality, which is funny more than anything, but counterproductive.

'well, i'll take the stairs,' bea says, 'so you can handle the elevator on your own with korra. meet you at the south entrance.'

it's kind of tactical, and you want to laugh, but she's already striding off purposefully and you shrug at korra, with her too-big paws and the wagging white tip of her tail. 'let's go,' you say, and, although she's on a short lead, made especially for handlers in chairs, she doesn't pull or sniff, just trots right at the right wheel, and automatically sits while you wait for the elevator. 'good girl, korra,' you praise and feed her another piece of kibble, much to her calm delight.

the elevator is new and big, so it's easy, and beatrice is patiently waiting by the south entrance with a cart for you, as promised, on her phone — probably looking up highlights from some tennis match she didn't get to catch this morning; she nods very seriously, which makes you smile. she looks up and sees you and then waits for you to situate the small cart in front of you, like you'd practiced in occupational therapy too, using the front of the chair to push the cart pretty effectively.

korra seems a little nervous about the cart, mostly because it's new and you're still a big clumsy with it, but you feed her a lot of kibble and reluctantly get all the produce beatrice had put on your list, but your also joyfully add chocolate covered dates and a bottle of champagne that the store had so nicely left right by strawberries. you look back at bea, who rolls her eyes, but she doesn't move to stop you, just walks silently and patiently, comfortable without any urgency, her hands in her pockets and her bangs messy beneath her backwards cap, her freckles spread down her arms now. you've used the chair enough by this point that you have calluses on your hands and your arms don't get tired or sore if you're just doing tasks, especially if the space is relatively accessible.

one day, korra will be bigger and way more coordinated, but you still practice with her getting a box of quinoa — beatrice's addition to the list, unfortunately — and bringing it to you, which she does pretty well: she drops it twice but happily completes her task, and you almost cry when you pet her soft, small head and offer her more praise and a few pieces of kibble. she ignores everyone, even when they try to talk to her. bea sends everyone withering glares when they do so, which is funnier to you than it really should be.

but for now, korra follows you attentively and, other than a few things you have to ask bea to get you from high on the shelves — which, if you came by yourself, wouldn't be hard to ask an employee or someone else in the same aisle; it loosens something in your chest, the ease with which you will be able to move through the world, even on your most limited days — everything goes off without a hitch.

you get everything on your list — mostly boring — and then add everything fun you want; bea eats all of her snacks too, especially if she takes an edible, and you know she'll pout eventually if you don't get chocolate and popcorn. korra heels attentively as you pay, and you think that, very soon, she won't need her lead at all in places she goes often. you work with your trainer all the time but it fills you with a sense of pride that you get to work with her so much, that she's so smart and good and loves you, clearly and deeply.

you pay and the clerk happily loads your bags into your cart for you. it's — it's not bad. it's not easy, but it's also not impossible, and bea gives you a goofy high five when you get outside.

'that was amazing, ava.'

'it was — it was amazing, wasn't it?'

she's so excited she's vibrating slightly, you think, even though she had really kept her cool in the store. her smile is so big and she put her sunglasses on but you can tell her eyes flash with joy anyway. 'it was. do you want me to take the stairs, or can i take the elevator with you?'

'come with us, of course.'

she squeezes your shoulder and then lets you press the button, lets you push the cart, lets you get situated with korra before she steps on as well. she asks if you want any help with putting the groceries into the trunk, and you're sure you could do it yourself, but she's here and proud of you and — 'can you, like, do a few bicep curls with each bag? that would be so helpful.'

she laughs, bright, and rolls her eyes, but she does appease you anyway, taking two of your tote bags in her hands and then lifting them a few times.

'ugh, perfect.'

'you're so ridiculous,' she says, even though she clearly lets you ogle as she loads the trunk.

'you got plans for after brunch?'

she hums, considering. 'maybe getting up to something with my very sexy girlfriend.'

'getting up to something?'

she shrugs. 'whatever you want.'

'oh, i want to fully fuck.'

she grins, leans down to cup your face in her palms and kisses you fully on the mouth, way too dirty for a whole foods parking lot, but you are not complaining.

'do we need brunch? we could order in.'

'i'm not opposed to that,' she says, nonchalant but you know she's probably horny already. 'do you want to drive?'

'i — yeah, if that's okay?'

'i wouldn't have asked if it wasn't,' she says, like it's a fact. and it is.

she just waits in the passenger seat, on her phone again, while you get korra situated and then put down the electric ramp. a minivan isn't the sexiest car — beatrice has a sleek, fast volvo hybrid that you're a little jealous of sometimes — but you learned how to drive and then had to learn how to drive again with hand controls. for as frustrating as it can be, some days, to have to learn so many different ways to do things, it's a life, and you can learn and practice and now, you get your chair into the car without any issue and transfer to the driver's seat easily. beatrice smiles at you, looking up from her phone where she is, indeed, checking tennis results.

you drive home while you bicker about what to order for brunch, and beatrice puts the groceries away while you get the chair out from the van and situate korra with a frozen lick mat, so she won't bother you. you wheel to your bedroom, a master beatrice had fully remodeled so it was on the first floor, without any frustration — i get to fix every small detail that bothers me, she had said, and genuinely meant, and, plus, you had gotten to watch her help your contractor blow out a wall and then put up shelves eventually.

when you get to the threshold, you gulp because beatrice is lounging on your bed in just a pair of pale blue boxers, a dark, wet patch between her legs. 'hi darling,' she says, and it's hard to scramble in your chair but you manage well enough, let her help you transfer quickly into bed, and the she hands you the soft wedge you'd bought a few months ago to help lift your hips. you nod once you're settled and tug her toward you; you kiss her chest and she kisses down your stomach and then settles between your legs.

and like, maybe things are different, maybe things suck a little, because you're in pain and there's a lot of thought that goes into tasks, but you come three times before you have to tug her up toward you and she kisses you, beautiful, with your taste on her tongue.

she rides your fingers and comes with her hand firmly on your throat, then flops down next to you with a sigh. 'our brunch has probably been outside for a while.'

you laugh. 'i can go check.'

'great,' she says, 'i'll move in... a while.'

you kiss her, laughing, and then brush her hair out of her eyes, scratch once, tenderly, along the shaved sides, tug fondly on an earlobe with one small stud. 'thank you, for today, my love.'

she touches your cheek tenderly. 'it's the same to me as any day. you ruin my grocery list and then i get to make love to you. can't complain.'

'i can,' you say, and her brows pinch in worry for a moment before you kiss the crease. 'i only came three times.'

she laughs, relieved. 'we have all afternoon. i can remedy that.'

you sigh. 'a pretty good life, huh?'

'oh, ava,' she says, 'yes. beyond my wildest dreams.'

[magicalrocketships]

WIP 7 Line Game

Rules: Share 7 (or more) lines of a WIP you've been working on.

I was tagged by @writcraft to post seven or more lines of a WIP. Welllllll... have two snippets, because for the first time in three years I have actual things on the go (hurray).

I've put them underneath the read more because I have lazily copied and pasted two half-scenes rather than seven sentences, one from Max and Daniel play dick chicken, and one from the one where Max figures out he likes boys and pretty underwear, not in that order.

Tagging @junkshop-disco, @lights-out-go, and @flawlessassholes, if they'd like to share too :)

This is from the one gently known as Max and Daniel play dick chicken:

The messages are from Max. There are three of them, all pictures. The first one, he's topless, in his bathroom. Daniel recognises it from hanging out at his, even though it's the one that comes off the bedroom and not the main bathroom. The second one, a wider angle, Daniel can see his bare hips too, although anything not safe for work is hidden beneath the countertop so that Daniel can't see, thank fuck. The third one is Max reaching down to cup his dick. It's accompanied by a single question mark. 

He hasn't deleted the messages or said anything else. 

Daniel waits until he's in his flat, and then his thumb hovers over his phone keyboard. He gives in and types, did you mean to send these to me?

The answer is a screen cap, taken on Max's phone, of his message window. It says Daniel at the top. It's accompanied by a single Y. 

&&&

And this one is from my emotionally isolated, touch-starved Max figuring out who he is fic (with pretty underwear and also Daniel):

Daniel grins. "And, definitely unrelatedly, how much lube have you got left, are we going to need more?"

Max tilts his head to the side. 

"If we're going to have our hands on each other's dicks again," Daniel says, still grinning, "we're going to need more lube than the none we used before. This baby doesn't like to chafe." He waves a hand in the general direction of his dick. 

That he has just called baby. Max re-focuses. "I don't have any." 

"All right, I'll get some of that too. Any preferences? What's the Japanese for lube? Hope no one recognises me when I'm just waving my google translate at the shop assistant. Maybe it'll just be like, super obvious. Next to the condoms—" Daniel, Max notes, has gone pink too. He bends down to unlace his Vans so he can shove his feet in, going in barefoot and hiding his dirty socks in the pocket of his jeans. 

"I've never bought lube," Max says finally. 

Daniel stops tying his shoelaces, perched on the end of Max's bed. "Why not? Do you get given it as presents, or what? How have you never bought it?"

"No, I mean—" Max shrugs a shoulder. "It is fine without." 

It is Daniel's turn to tilt his head to one side. "Like, you like it dry and it turns you on, or you have an actual aversion to lubrication, or—"

"Or," Max says. "It is fine. I have just never tried it. Is it not pointless if you're going to come anyway in the end?"

"Okay," Daniel says, after a pause. "I am going to buy you some lube, and I'm going to get your dick so wet you won't know what to do with yourself, and then afterwards you can compare it to a dry jerk and tell me which you like best. If you'd like."

[alister312]

Summary:

Damien is totally fine by himself, on his own, no friends or anyone required. He figures it'll be like that forever. Until Pip shows up, his halo broken and looking for help.

this is an attack for @knightinink for the @spinthetags south park olympics!! (3.3k words)

Read now on ao3 or below the cut!

Damien lived his life chaotically, or as chaotically as one could on Earth. The spontaneity reminded him of home, which he would be loath to admit he missed every so often. It didn’t matter to him that he never knew what the next day would bring, because he could take it. He was one of the most powerful demons out there, after all, flush with pride. He could handle anything.

With the exception of an angel suddenly on his doorstep.

It was less that he couldn’t handle it and more that he froze when it happened, too confused to know what to do next. The angel, frustratingly, was a bit more prepared.

“Hello Damien,” he smiled. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah,” Damien responded slowly. He tried to think back to the last time he’d seen the being in front of him. Teenagehood, he figured. His father used to bring him up to Heaven on business and Damien would thrill in tormenting the angels running around until he met Pip. 

Pip didn’t run from his more painful or dark games, which intrigued Damien. He was tougher than he seemed, or maybe stupider. Pip was Damien’s sole focus from then on, until his father decided Damien was responsible enough to stay by himself in Hell. Not even Pip could convince Damien to go back up to that stupid blessed place.

It grew awkward the longer he stood in the doorway with Pip on the other side beaming at him, so Damien stepped aside and flicked his wrist, a half-hearted suggestion to come inside. Pip took it immediately, thanking Damien as he stepped through.

“No hesitation entering a demon’s lair,” Damien smirked. “Aren’t you worried?”

“I suppose I ought to be, but we had such jolly good fun together as kids. I know I’m safe here.” Pip looked back over his shoulder at Damien and he felt his stomach flip, most of him terrified to be known as a softie but some part he pushed down was thrilled.

“What are you even doing here?” Damien asked, hoping getting to the bottom of this visit would rid him of both of his emotions. “Shouldn’t you be in Heaven right now?”

“Right-o,” Pip nodded. “That is actually what I’m here about. On my way out and about today, I had a bit of a spill and well… I broke my halo.” He reached up and took the brown paperboy cap off his head and Damien watched as it morphed into a cracked ring of light. He grimaced and looked away, shielding his eyes.

“Fuck, that shit’s bright Pip.”

“Sorry.” Pip put the ring back on his head where it turned back into the cap. “But you saw how it’s broken?”

“Yeah. And? Why does that involve me?”

“Well, you obviously know a broken halo means I’m locked out of Heaven until it mends.” Damien did not know that, but now that he thought about it, he remembered his father mentioning it once. 

“I remembered someone mentioning that you’d moved down– or, up here,” Pip continued, “and I hoped you might be able to help me fix it.” The hopeful pleading look on Pip’s face coupled with the ridiculousness of the statement made Damien burst out laughing. He doubled over and pounded his fist on the wall, leaving a dent that he probably wouldn’t fix later so he could remember this whenever he saw it.

After heaving a huge sigh, Damien realized Pip hadn’t cracked a smile the whole time. In fact, he seemed a bit annoyed.

“You’re fucking serious,” Damien said, snorting, still in disbelief. “Pip, how the fuck would I know how to fix an angel’s halo? Why would I fix an angel’s halo?”

“Well it doesn’t have to be about angelic things. How about as a favor for an old chum?” Pip said hopefully. Damien just barely held back another round of laughter and Pip whined a bit. “Oh please, Damien! It could be a whole year before it fixes itself and I’d hate to be stranded here for that long. If I had the proper materials I could cut it down to a few months!”

“Again, why in the Nine Circles would I ever have the ‘proper materials’?”

“Well, if you don’t have them, I was hoping you could ask your father.” 

Ah, right. His father. Damien grimaced thinking about him. He hadn’t moved up to Earth just for fun (he really didn’t care much for the place), but instead to avoid his bitch of a dad. Every time his father got into a new relationship he would get weak and neglectful and Damien hated him for it. It was impossible to actually run away from Satan, but Damien hoped moving to another plane got the same sentiment across.

The last thing Damien wanted to do was talk to his father, but he knew Pip had a well of patience deeper than the ocean. No matter how Damien spat at him, Pip would wait. It would make his life much simpler to just do it so he could go back to how things were before.

***

Once Pip was situated, sitting on the couch in Damien’s living room, Damien went to his own room. He took a deep breath in and out, then called his father on the ornate mirror that hung on his wall. His father often struggled with human technology so this was the best way to contact him. It took a few tries but eventually his father answered.

“Hello Damien,” he said. He glanced over to the side right after he said this, clearly distracted.

“Father,” Damien grumbled.

“How’s your vacation on Earth? You coming home soon?”

“It’s not a vacation! I told you, I ran away and I’m never coming back!”

“Uh huh.” Satan was not convinced. “Well, did you need something?”

“No, I just called to say hi. Of course I fucking need something!”

“Language, Damien,” his father tutted. Damien screamed in frustration. Talking to his father was truly the worst. He needed this over with.

“Look,” Damien gritted his teeth, “some angel came to my door and is demanding I help fix his stupid broken halo before he’ll leave me the hell alone. He needs some material shit I don’t have but you probably do, so  give it to me and you can get back to being fucked by whoever the asshole of the week is!”

“You want to fix an angel’s halo?” Satan frowned, confused.

“No,” Damien scowled. “But Pip won’t leave until I—”

“Oh, your little angel friend!” His father chuckled and shook his head. “Pip, of course. Good to know you two kept in contact! I always worry about you not having enough friends.”

“We’re not friends! I don’t need friends. I need the halo shit so I can get him out of my house.”

“Uh huh. Listen, I have some things I need to take care of but I’ll send you what he needs as soon as I can. In the meantime, how about you let him stay with you? It can be a fun vacation for the both of you!”

“I’m not on vacation!”

“Here’s some money,” Satan said, ignoring him. He snapped his fingers and a stack of loose bills appeared next to Damien. “You like movies, right? Go rent one from Blockbuster and have fun. Bye Damien!”

“Blockbuster doesn’t exist here anymore!” Damien growled, but his father had already ended his side of the mirror call. With a shriek, Damien set his bedroom curtains alight. Of course his father was eager to have Pip stick around. It would be easier for him to get away with ignoring Damien.

Grumbling, Damien walked into his living where Pip was still waiting. He sat up a little straighter when Damien entered, smiling excitedly.

“What did your father say?” he asked.

“Did you not fucking hear us through the walls?” Damien frowned. “Are you… you’re not deaf, are you?” One time he’d blown Pip up to see if that would be what finally pushed him away (it hadn’t) and Pip didn’t have scars so Damien assumed there weren’t any other physical consequences. Angels, despite their softness, were incredibly durable. Probably. He’d never really asked about it. He could be wrong.

“I can hear just fine!” Pip said. It seemed there were no consequences for Damien’s actions after all. “But I really only heard your side of the conversation. You did sound a little upset.”

“Damn right I’m upset!” Damien said. “My father is so out of touch and he doesn’t know me at all! He treats me like a child still and the whole time he obviously wanted to get back to his new boyfriend or something. He has the halo stuff you need but he won’t fucking send it yet even though I demanded it and instead told me to host you here and go to fucking Blockbuster! Can you fucking believe that, Pip?”

“He has the materials I need? Oh, jolly good!” Pip clapped his hands together once, delighted. “I’m sorry that he isn’t respecting you though, Damien. You deserve better than it. If he won’t listen to you, you don’t need to listen to him. I won’t stick around and impose on you if you’d prefer I go.”

“I don’t care,” Damien said, though he had to admit, he had instantly felt a bit better at hearing Pip’s support. He hated to come across as desperate though (really called into question the powerful demon act he projected) so instead tossed all the Blockbuster money at Pip and told him to “do whatever”, retreating into his room and curling up on his bed. Dealing with his father had exhausted him and he didn’t want to have to watch Pip leave.

***

Some time later, Damien awoke. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, but once he did, he rushed to his living room. Both Pip and the money were gone. The rest of the house was just as empty. Damien kicked a dent into the wall and swore. Of course Pip would take the money and go. He’d made it clear that he only came to Damien for access to his father, after all.

This was payback for years of being so shitty to him when they were younger. Not even— this was just common sense. It was how it was meant to be: him, a demon, alone, and Pip, an angel, as far from him as he could get. Not even a note telling Damien where to drop off the stupid halo repair materials whenever Satan eventually sent them up.

As Damien contemplated whether he should destroy the materials once he got them or hunt down Pip to give them to him, his front door opened. There, with a few bags in his hands and at his feet, was Pip. A sense of relief washed over Damien. He tried not to seem so excited as he quickly walked over to close the door behind him.

“Oh dear, you’re awake already,” Pip said. “I was hoping to surprise you.”

“Surprise me?” Damien said.

“Yes! Since you’re being so kind in helping me with my halo, I wanted to make you dinner.” Pip lifted one of the bags in his hands and Damien could see that inside were groceries. That’s where the money must’ve gone.

“I hope you don’t mind if I use your kitchen,” Pip said.

“Oh, sure,” Damien shrugged. Pip beamed at him and headed off to start cooking. Damien wasn’t quite sure what dish he was planning to cook, but given the fact that the sun was starting to set, he assumed it would be done soon. In the meantime, he sat on his couch to wait.

After about twenty minutes, dinner didn’t seem any closer to being done. There’d been the rustling of the grocery bags and Pip humming, but no click of the stove gas igniting or any smell of anything cooking. Damien was feeling hungry, so especially impatient.

“Fuck, how much prep work is there for this?” Damien grumbled, getting off the couch and walking into his kitchen.

“It’ll be just another moment!” Pip said, turning to smile at him apologetically. Every ingredient was laid out, spread across the counter and table, but nothing had actually been prepped. Funny, Damien had never thought that angels were capable of lying.

Pip stood over the cutting board, a knife in his hand. Damien watched as he cut the onion in front of him so slowly and carefully, as if he were performing surgery. If this was how everything was going to go, then no wonder it was taking ages.

“Give me that.” Damien pushed Pip aside and took the knife from him, dicing the onion in just a few seconds.

“Oh wow!” Pip’s eyes were wide and shining. “I didn’t know you were so handy in the kitchen Damien.”

“I like knives,” Damien grinned. “In whatever way I get to use them.”

“I’ve not really used them much,” Pip admitted sheepishly. “I know this is supposed to be a thank you dinner for you, but would you mind doing more of the cutting? I know it would go much faster and I’d hate to keep you waiting.” 

Cutting the wait time down while cutting things sounded like a perfect idea to Damien, so he got to work while Pip busied himself with the seasoning and other prep work. It’d been a long time since Damien had done any home cooking; he was used to ordering around other demons to bring him food and up on Earth, he’d gotten used to ordering out. The kitchen sat unused, just a big empty space, like most of the house.

Now, though, it was warm; not just because Damien liked to keep it that way to remind him of home or because the sizzling and baking made it so, but because Pip made it so. Heaven was “nice” in the way hospitals and hotels were, sterile and fake, but Pip was anything but that. Conversation through dinner flowed naturally and easily, and despite the fact that Pip had the tendency to apply such a happy sunshine filter on every single one of his observations, Damien enjoyed it. Pip had good advice for most any problem Damien brought up and looked genuinely surprised but pleased whenever Damien told him so.

It was probably vanity that made Damien crave attention as much as he did, but sometimes he wondered if it was something else too. Other demons only ever interacted with him to serve or fight him, his father was flighty with his affection, and, by his nature, Damien never endeared himself to mortals. In the end, he was alone. He was good at forgetting it (or telling himself he was forgetting it), but as he and Pip stood at the sink washing dishes, so close, how much he wanted to touch Pip wouldn’t leave his mind.

There was ample opportunity; there’d be plenty of “Oh, pardon me” and “Behind you” while they were cooking. At the sink, Damien splashed water on Pip and could’ve pat him dry but could only bring himself to toss him a towel. They watched a movie (not from Blockbuster) and slowly shifted from either end of the couch towards the middle throughout the run time. Then the movie was over before Damien could bring himself to lean over and at least bump their shoulders together.

Pip yawned after the movie ended and stood up from the couch, heading for the door. Damien followed him.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Well it’s quite late, isn’t it?” Pip said. “The dinner and movie were lovely but I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“You can overstay,” Damien said, a bit too quickly, inwardly cursing before correcting himself. “I mean, you can stay over.”

“But you said you didn’t want to have to listen to your father,” Pip frowned.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.” Damien crossed his arms defensively. “Fuck him.”

“Right-o, then I should be heading out.”

“No! Well, yes, he said that, but now I’m saying you should stay. Separate from his suggestion.” There again was that look again from Pip, piercing right through Damien, the one that said “I know you”. It made his stomach flip again, but he wasn’t so scared that Pip could do that. He wanted to be known. He wanted this, the home cooking and the movie nights. Now seemed like the perfect time to admit it.

“Shall I take the couch then?” Pip asked.

Later might be a fine time too.

***

Damien tossed and turned in his bed, trying to sleep, but he couldn’t. Not when he knew that Pip was just a wall away, curled up on the couch. He’d insisted over and over again that he was more than happy with the arrangement, though admittedly Damien had only pushed the issue once. On a logical level, he knew that Pip waking up with a crick in his neck would not drive him away forever. A small part of him remained scared though, the same small part that longed to reach out.

“Argh, fuck it,” Damien muttered eventually. It would take a while to give in to this longing part of him, but he was good at anger. Even if the spite was a disguise, it was what actually brought him out of bed and into the other room.

“Pip, wake up,” he demanded. Pip’s eyes shot open. He seemed confused, then a bit saddened.

“You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you? I worried this might happen. Don’t fret, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“No,” Damien said, stopping Pip in the middle of folding the blanket he’d been using. “You’re staying here. And you’re staying in my bed.”

“What? Damien, I could never!” Pip frowned. “It wouldn’t be right to kick my host out of his own bedroom.”

“You won’t be kicking me out,” Damien rolled his eyes. “We’re sharing my bed.” Despite the lack of light, Damien could see a bit of pink tint Pip’s cheeks. He hoped angels didn’t have the same sort of darkvision as demons. His face was undoubtedly as red as Satan’s right now.

“Are you… are you sure you’re alright with that?” Pip murmured. “I… I move around a lot in my sleep and I wouldn’t want to impose—”

“Damnit, Pip, I’m offering this to you! If I thought you being here was fucking imposing, I never would’ve let you inside in the first place! You’re the one with control here, you can say no and you can leave me if something better comes along—”

“I wouldn’t!” Pip interrupted. He seemed a little startled at his own outburst, but relaxed, smiling softly. “That is, it’d be silly of me to come to you and then leave. I wouldn’t do that. I will take your offer though.” He took Damien’s hands in his and squeezed them lightly. Damien barely processed much after that. Pip thanked him, he could tell that, and the two of them crawled under the covers of his bed. All he could focus on was the touch and how it… hadn’t shattered anything. Not Pip, not Damien, and not the situation he’d managed to find himself in. It could all be real: someone caring for him.

Secretly, Damien made a wish that his father would forget his request. That he would take a millennium before he remembered that Damien was up here, waiting for the materials to fix Pip’s halo. Maybe he’d even be lucky enough that the halo would stay broken and he and Pip could live like this into eternity. There was some cruelty to the wish (he was a demon, after all), but the way Pip softly wished him a good night made Damien see through him and suspect he wouldn’t mind being stuck if it were like this.

[thisisqueso]

Where do I start with my souless endeavor? Staring blankly into the spaces of my mind until a thought succombs to a memory.

This memory is not something.

It is a feeling.

Some days it comes off as a dread like sticky honey left over from a cap not closed tight enough. Even if you try to drip it into your honey or on toast right, the damn thing stays sticky.

It's sometimes a oversensitivity to touch.

The rememberance of the last time I've ever eaten a peach is far too long.

What is it? A feeling of an uncomfortable nature looking for someone that won't be there.

Or the fear that someone will.

What is it? I still smile and gaze through different vectors of my personality. Drawing closer to my creative spin until I let a distraction settle in.

Am I happy? Am I okay? Do I care about others? Do I still feel the need to make friends?

Has romance left a bad taste in my mouth?

Do I run or do I stay?

The feeling comes back to being fine as long as my Spotify playlist is on point.

Thinking about how this life is too short yet not long enough in one breath. So we eat, move, explore, and embrace everything that is possible.

There is some pain in soul on a certain side that knows a name.

It'll never be a person to blame.

There are just many things that I hate and one thing is to remember how hurt became a name.

With these conflicting feelings I still wish to smile and be at peace

I love corny jokes and working with my hands, learning new things until my heart's content.

Trying not to look up to expect anything at best, to no avail I still become disappointed.

A feeling of 'I knew it!' cloaks my super ego with a brand new twist; I'll just keep moving forward.

How selfish.

Where is the integrity of only helping those you see fit, even if you do try checking in with mindless small talk.

Just trying to grow but not enough.

Am I disappointed in my self?

Then why does my pain feel good as long as I design?

What is this feeling when insults arise even thought my body is mine to love, whether I share it or not.

Why does it fuel me to try to better myself until I crash to thinking and believing I forgot something.

Nutritional values and other demands that simulators couldn't mimic. So where is this feeling of sanity that I should keep doing this?

Its just another feeling of deceit to say I'm okay when I've cried so many nights that it feels like the right thing to say now.

That even though I feel blessed for the love and care that has been shown, I don't trust many but love with what I can.

So this feeling of independent love and genuine chatter isn't to implement being selfish, I am honestly regretting not putting myself out there more by just doing everything I could back in the day. From walking to hitch hiking was a life that became a real hazy since trusting strangers than the people I've ever dated, befriended, made acquaintance, and even worked with to where most things said about me I let run at this point.

So why is it that I found peace but still dissatisfied?

My creations have collected dust, calling out to me in my dreams and developing words to corner me into submission. In a disray of restlessness due to stress and honestly working out gave me some leftover energy. After roughly 45minutes I found my rotary tool I've been thining about for two days.

So this feeling of suffocation wasn't just the nicotine cravinga, alcohol overconsuming, self-indulgent media binging queen was just a cry to find it so I can get back to what I love.

Love.

There it is.

This feeling of consistent rises and fall is my love towards knowing this feeling is true. How I am described doesn't matter as long as this love is near, I will remain sincere.

[fairyoftbz]

a day at the beach | l. juyeon

🌊 pairing: juyeon x fem!reader 🌊 word count: 4k 🌊 genre: fluff, a lot of awkward flirting, kind of friends-to-lovers 🌊 tw: none, mention of the ocean and going underwater(?) 🌊 synopsis: you spend a day at the beach with your friends and it leads to something new. 🌊 a/n: my second and last work of the summer collab hosted by the lovely @bangchan-fairy ✿ i had a lot of fun writing it and I hope it'll be enough!

╰☆☆☆☆╮

You had forgotten how tiring it was to spend a day at the beach. Soaking and sweating under the sun, running around in the sand and play at different games in the water that have you tired at the end of the afternoon, but it was a good type of exhaustion. It’s the type of feeling where you could fall asleep at any moment, but you wouldn’t mind keep on playing and laughing either.

Laying on your stomach on your towel, you enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine drying the salty water on your skin. Hair was all over the place as you tried to tie it back to prevent it from going everywhere, but it was to no avail, so you gave up and stood up. Ruffling your hair to get rid of the sand trapped in it, you managed to tie it away from your face and neck, finally sighing in content as you could feel the wind caress the skin in the base of your exposed, sweaty neck.

The majority of your friends was still playing in the water, but you still had Kevin, Chanhee and Jacob resting on their respective towel. The eldest was peacefully holding a book, his free hand mindlessly caressing his stomach as his eyes followed along with the story with entertainment. You smiled at Chanhee when a familiar TikTok song erupted from his portable speaker, the action waking Kevin up as he was right next to him.

A few of your friends gestured you to join them in the water, but they all got negative answers. Hyunjae and Eric almost begged you to come, making big arm movements and yelling a bunch of begs until you finally gave in, earning cheers from your friends. You carefully jogged to the cooler, wet sand after tossing your cap and sunglasses on your towel. You let out a shriek when the water touched your feet, all your muscles contracting as your friends laughed at your shocked state.

“It’s so cold, what the hell!” you yelled as a small wave came and crashed onto your calves, sending goosebumps in your entire body as you expected the ocean to be a bit warmer, but kept going anyway. “Come on, Y/N, you can do it!” Juyeon yelled from where he was, dozens of meters away from the shore. Clutching your jaw, you progressively made your way into the water, smiling when the boys cheered again when you dove underwater. It was fresh, almost cold, but it felt uplifting, and most importantly, fun.

Once you reappeared at the surface, the boys were surrounding you and you laid on your back, feet hitting the water hard to splash them. A water fight broke out, and you sunk underwater to escape for a few seconds all the splashing and screaming from your friends.

It was your turn to scream underwater and resurface as soon as possible when two hands landed on your waist, softly gripping the flesh of your hips. You sharply turned around, only to find Juyeon laughing at your frightened face.

“Please never do that again,” you said half-laughing, half recovering from his malicious joke, some flashbacks of Jaws coming back into your mind for an instant. Pushing his gear down, mask and snorkel dangled around his neck, long black fins in hand, he stood next to you, breathing heavily as droplets of water fell on his face.

“Did you see something cool?” he nodded at your question, showing you the net bag attached to his wrist. He found a few colourful rocks, some trash, a few coins and two shells, one catching your eye.

“This one looks really pretty,” you pointed at the said shell, only to have Juyeon nearing his hand to yours. “Take it,” he mumbled, and you glanced at him, refusing with a gentle smile. “No, no, keep it,” you answered, and it was his turn to shake his head.

As your friend didn’t retract his hand and kept looking at you, you shyly took the shell in your hand and thanked him, gaining a smile from him before he got out of the water. Younghoon suddenly shrieked and whined when he felt some seaweed brushing his ankle, making everyone laugh, including you. Some of the other tourists were looking at your group from the side, not enjoying how loud you were becoming. You quickly noticed and quieted them, vaguely motioning to the elderly couple on the beach that was meaningly watching you.

“Are you already getting out of the water? It has only been a quick minute,” Eric asked as you walked closer to the shore, the waves almost making you lose your balance. “I’m coming right back, I’m just thirsty,” you claimed and ran back to your towel, feet burning under the scorching sand.

“Ah, Y/N! You’re here. The water is beautiful, and I’m trying to persuade the boys to come and snorkelling with me. Do you want to tag along?” “Okay, sure? Who’s coming?” you said, looking at the other boys on the beach as you grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler next to Jacob, who put the lid back on as soon as you were done. “The two of you,” Kevin smirked, his annoying, playful tone made you roll your eyes, Juyeon paying absolutely no mind to his comment. “Fine, let’s go,” you said before seizing the mask and snorkel Juyeon was handing you and you both ran back into the water.

“They’re cute,” Jacob mumbled, hand supporting his head as he went back to reading, the two other boys approving his words.

As you quickly tried to put on everything to catch up with Juyeon, he saw you struggling to put on your fins, so he gently grabbed your ankle to bring it closer to the surface. You quickly held onto his shoulder, your proximity with the young man making the other boys coo and gag. Almost hissing at them, you offered them a death glare while Juyeon simply smiled to himself, not paying attention to a single of their comments as he focused on securely tying your fins around your heels.

“Are we good to go?” he asked, and you signed ‘ok’ with your thumb and index finger before placing your head underwater.

You stayed near Juyeon, making sure to heavily splash your friends as you swam away from the coast. Feeling satisfied as you heard them complain. The water was getting progressively colder, feeling goosebumps rise on your skin, but the view was worth the chills. Your eyes trailed everywhere around you in the sand, in search of any kind of source of life through the translucid water.

Juyeon suddenly pointed at the ground, discerning a hermit crab making his way to a safer place, deeper in the sand. You smiled at the sight of the small creature, following its movements before watching disappear under the sand.

Your eyes widened in your mask when you saw Juyeon dive, bubbles coming out of his snorkel. He rummaged through the sand for a few seconds, before going straight back to the surface. You got your head out of the water, watching your friend blow the water out of his snorkel just like a whale. He held another shell, similar to the one he gave you.

“How do you notice those? I barely even noticed the hermit crab you pointed at,” Juyeon smiled as he spat some salty water out of his mouth, wiping it with the back of his hand.

“I remembered the spot I searched before coming back to you and the boys. I think it’s a good one, there’s a lot of beautiful things to look at,” he explained, and you nodded, waving at the boys on the beach with a smile. “Look, now we’re matching,” he said as he showed you his shell, a happy look on your face. “Keep it in a safe place,” you suggested while giggling, and he nodded, putting it in his bathing suit pocket before diving back to his searches.

For the remaining hours of the afternoon, you snorkelled with your friend, making beautiful discoveries all around the shore, such as another hermit crab. You gently picked it up from the shell and let it float around for a while, observing its behaviour as Juyeon dove even deeper. You had struggled to pick up the hermit crab because the sand looked way closer than it actually was, and the sensation of the salty water filling in your snorkel to the brim wasn’t the best feeling ever. When you reappeared at the surface, you expulsed all the water from the snorkel and stayed still for a while, moving your fins to keep your head above the water level, your body slowly following the waves.

You were amazed by how the ocean flora and fauna was beautifully hidden from the rest of the world. Letting yourself slowly sink deeper, the water pressure tightening around you, water filling your snorkel in big bubbles, but you didn’t pay much attention. Some small fish swam around you, speeding when you reached out a hand in an attempt to grab or touch them. Being underwater felt good and somewhat reassuring, the noises from outside were muffled by the thick layers of water surrounding you. It was as if you were receiving a big, reassuring hug from nature and nothing could actually happen to you.

As your lungs started running out of air, you felt a presence behind you, only to discover Juyeon observing you. Inside his goggles, you could see his worried eyes and furrowed brows, so you hastened to reassure him about your safety by signalling it with your fingers. He motioned you to go back up to the surface, and you followed him, slowly ascending face to face, his eyes never leaving yours as you stayed close to the other.

You let out a big sigh as you took off your snorkelling equipment, feeling suddenly heavy and tired. A hand running on your skin, you gently wet it to get rid of the marks that lingered on your face due to the tightness of the mask, smiling at your friend as he did the same, throwing his head back to replace his hair correctly.

“What were you doing down there? You got me scared, you weren’t moving. I thought something happened to you,” Juyeon asked as you slowly moved into the water and started getting closer to the shore, feeling the water getting progressively warmer. “I’ve always wanted to stay still in the ocean for a moment, and it felt super good,” you explained a bit out of breath as you were swimming, Juyeon touching the ground before you so he started walking, his flexed muscles tiredly moving as the waves pushed you two closer to the shore.

Almost all your friends were gone, only Jacob and Sangyeon waving at you from their spot on their chairs, just like two parents waiting for their kids to be tired and sleepy. You nearly fell over as you struggled to walk on the sand to get back to your friends, who were watching you out of the corner of the eye. Juyeon walked at your pace and rid you of your equipment when you joined your friends.

“Did you have fun together?” Jacob asked with a smile, hair slightly messy and dried because of the salt.

You tiredly nodded as Juyeon explained where you went and what you saw, still standing up with his hands on his hips as he sometimes pointed towards the ocean. Sangyeon smirked as he caught your eyes lingering on Juyeon's healthy body while listening to him, earning an elbow hit from you as you sat next to him, thanking him with a smile as he passed you your towel.

“I didn’t expect this to be this tiring, but it was a nice experience,” you admitted, and your friends laughed, a genuine smile appearing on Juyeon’s face. “You spent almost the entire day in the water, it’s normal to be tired,” Jacob said in his usual reassuring voice, handing you your bottle of water from the cooler. “Where did the other boys go?” Juyeon asked as he looked around, trying to see if they were any closer or hiding. “They left a moment ago, they wanted to freshen up before dinner.”

“Yeah, we ordered pizza for everyone,” Sangyeon explained and you two nodded, your stomach grumbling at the mention of one of your favourite foods. “Don’t worry, we got you your favourite,” Jacob giggled as Juyeon was about to open his mouth, only to make you all laugh and smile at how predictable he was. “Thank you,” you said in unison and Jacob sent you a playful wink, taking off his sunglasses as the sun wasn’t as bright as before. Sangyeon sighed while he started picking up his belongings, Jacob imitating him.

“Are you two coming?” Jacob asked and you looked at Juyeon, who was already looking at you with his eyebrows raised, waiting for your answer. “I just want to go one more time in the water before going back to the hotel if you don’t mind,” you said as you stood up, placing your towel on your chair. “Yeah, me too,” Juyeon said, and you turned around, just catching a glimpse of an understood look between Sangyeon and Jacob, the two boys smirking at each other.

You frowned for a second but paid no mind, ignoring them as you walked back to the waterside. The salty foam came crashing on your feet and ankles as you jogged deeper into the water, diving back in, smiling as you couldn’t get rid of that happiness when you were surrounded by water while swimming. Juyeon followed you not so long after, and you waved at the two boys on the shore as they started walking towards the hotel.

“It was nice diving with you, do you think we could do this more often? I had a lot of fun exploring down there,” you said and Juyeon looked at you, a surprised look painted on his face. “I mean sure, whenever you want, we can always do it again! I know good spots in our town where the water is even more beautiful than here,” he explained and you accepted his proposition with a smile, keeping the conversation going as you two remained still in the water.

Once you were tired of trying to keep your head afloat and felt the conversation slowly dying out of presumable nervousness, you rested on your back, gently waiting for the waves to decrease the distance separating you from the beach.

The sky above your head was gorgeous and infinite, tones going through all the colours of the spectroscope as your eyes didn’t know where to look. The water wrapped around your body and the sight of the sky hanging above your head never felt so comforting, you could stay here for hours if it was possible. You let out a big sigh as you relaxed, sometimes shivering, the water getting colder as the sun was close to disappearing.

Juyeon’s upper body appeared in your field of vision and he grinned, observing you relaxing in the water. His eyes disappeared into crescent moons when your back touched the sandy ground faster than intended, taking the hand he was offering you to stand up. He didn’t let go of your hand and ran towards your chairs for the last time, collapsing and sprawling on them out of exhaustion.

Juyeon let out a groan as he repositioned himself in his camping chair, resting his head against the backrest as his legs were spread open in front of him. His right knee rested against yours, but none of you moved away, the action making Juyeon’s ears flush bright red and stifle a smile while closing his eyes. You liked this accidental contact with him, and you wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. Quickly glancing at your friend, you noticed that his eyes started fluttering, pearls of water falling from his messy strands of hair on the far end of his cheeks, rolling down his jaw to crash in his strong neck. As tempting as it looked, you had to force yourself not to wipe the water off his face with the back of your hand, thinking that your gesture would be a bit out of hand.

Out of nowhere, he sat back up, head moving left to right while looking for something, emitting a surprised sound when he found a dry towel resting on his sports bag.

“Is it yours?” he asked, and you shook your head, only to have him unfolding it and wrap it around your shoulders. You opened your eyes wide, startled by his actions, but didn’t dare to say anything, you just smiled at him. Tightening the towel around your body, it felt nice to feel something dry and somehow warm as your towel was completely soaked due to you going back and forth in the ocean during the entire day.

“Do you need anything?” you asked as he furiously blinked, searching for something again. “Can I just use it?” he said, pointing to the towel he had just given you.

Nodding, you were about to unwrap it from your shoulders, but he was swifter, grasping the far end of the towel and wiped his salty, reddened eyes with it, pushing his chair nearer to yours to be more comfortable while doing so. You didn’t dare to move in order not to inflict him a stray elbow hit, smiling at him once he was done.

“Thanks, I just had some sand in my eyes,” he clumsily said, and you shook your head with a smile. “Don’t worry about it,” you reassured him, and he offered you a warm smile, your heart suddenly quickening at the sight.

You both sighed simultaneously, feeling the tiredness and hunger winning over you. You both felt at peace as the sound of the waves began to lull you, the comfortable atmosphere making you slightly shiver in delight. It was hard for both of you to stay awake after you had been swimming all day, breathing through a snorkel was as exhausting as doing any other physical activity.

Juyeon had spent his entire day in the water, and the other boys told you that he got up at dawn to go for a run before joining you at the beach, so it was natural for him to be this drained.

What you didn't expect was his head rolling onto your shoulder, lips slightly parted as he gave up, his slumber sinking him into the comfortable hold of Morpheus's arms. You tried not to move too much in fear of waking him up, so you just mindlessly stared at the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see, following at some jet-skis cutting through the waves and a lifeboat ordering some bathers to return to the secure area.

Loud voices made you turn your head to the side and smile when you saw your friends arriving, all dressed in proper clothes, their hands full of soda and pizza boxes. You greeted them with a soft wave, showing the first to arrive that Juyeon was sleeping on your shoulder. Sunwoo smirked at you and placed the sodas in the cooler under the closed umbrella, Younghoon laying two large picnic tablecloths on the sand.

Your friends gently snickered at the innocent boy asleep on your shoulder, taking pictures of him to the potential blackmail. You shook your head with a thin smile, not approving so much of their method, but you knew there was nothing mean behind all of this, just fun. Once everyone was settled in and ready to eat and spend the evening together, you decided to wake Juyeon up by squeezing the forearm that was sprawled next to you.

"Ju', the boys are back, we're gonna eat," you whispered in his ear and Kevin cooed at your proximity from his spot on the blanket, sending a threatening gaze to silence him, which didn't have any effect on the Canadian boy.

Juyeon quietly emerged, suddenly straightening up when he felt he was resting on you, looking all lost and confused. Your friends burst into laughter at his behaviour as he apologised profusely, but you assured him that it was completely fine. His breathing had accelerated, and his ears turned bright red as the laughter didn’t seem to die down. Seeing him like that just because he had fallen asleep on you made your heart flutter, and you allowed yourself to giggle along with everyone.

After putting on your beach dress, you sat down between Younghoon and Jacob, the latter moving to the side as Juyeon sat behind you two in silence when there was more space on the other side of the blanket. The older boy silently giggled, stifling a remark with an amused look that you tried to ignore, asking Eric to give you a soda can.

“I'm fucking starving,” you blurted out as you all threw yourself on your pizza, you and Juyeon eating at a pretty disconcerting speed.

Every single one of you was busy talking and laughing about the incident that happened to some of the boys while you were still at the beach, while a special someone was busy staring at you.

“And then, Chanhee stared at the waiter and they were both confused about what just happened,” Eric explained and you all laughed, Younghoon quickly throwing a glance at his friend next to you, who didn’t have a single reaction since you all started eating.

Juyeon watched you out of the corner of his eye and allowed himself to wipe a piece of tomato on your cheek with the tip of his forefinger, making you turn your head towards him with a surprised look. He explained to you by mimicking the gesture he had just made on your cheek on his and you nodded as a silent thank you, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.

Half the boys had noticed your little game, constantly looking at each other with understood smirks, but no one dared to say anything and break your little bubble of romance.

"We need to do something for those two, they’re getting mad annoying at playing who’s the most oblivious, they're gonna make me gag," Kevin whispered to Sangyeon, nodding at the two of you. You were too busy glancing at each other and listening to the rest of Eric’s story to hear what they were whispering about. "Just let time do its thing," Sangyeon suggested but received a growl in response, the younger absolutely not convinced.

The entire evening was great, your friends poking fun at Juyeon as the poor boy struggled to keep his eyes open and sit straight due to his exhaustion, shoulders sagged and head falling to the side as he shyly smiled at the teasing. When the sun was long gone and the wind started to pick up, you all decided to go back to the hotel to sleep because you were all exhausted, no matter how hard some were trying to deny it. You helped Younghoon shake the sand off and fold the tablecloths while the others were busy throwing away the leftovers and other rubbish.

All the boys checked that no one had forgotten anything and started walking in direction of the hotel, you bringing up the rear after checking everything back one last time.

Juyeon was drowsily walking and suddenly stopped, waiting for you to catch up with him, letting the other boys take the lead. You shyly smiled at him and kept on walking together, almost tripping over when you felt his hand take yours and hold it tight. He gave you a sweet, tired smile and kept on walking as if what he just did was utterly normal, your hands getting clammy and your heart fastening in your chest for the rest of the walk back to the hotel.

You looked up at him and offered him a sweet smile, to which he answered by squeezing your palm in his and gently move you closer to him. Juyeon felt the same way as you did so he couldn't feel your nervousness, but his behaviour gave you a hint that something will probably change between the two of you, and it was for the best.

[high-functioning-lokipath]

Marriage with a Spin - Loki x Reader - Words: 2,613

A/N: Enemies-ish to Relationship & Fake Relationship trope-ish LOL…Pic below is not mine but simply is for reference about rings...this was the best basis I could find 🤣 I'm using the Spin and Zero rings in this oneshot

Also! A big thanks for @ladylulu143 for helping my come up with a title and for proofreading this for me! 💖💖🤗🤗

"Alright, this is the latest alien artifact we have found," Steve said. He held up a gold ring with a small blue stone. "When on, the wearer can decelerate time around them, appearing to be at superspeed to those watching."

"So what's the deal now?" You asked. Tony brought a picture of another ring on the screen behind Cap.

"This recently popped up on our radar. By the readings we're getting from it, it seems to be related to this guy here. However, it's being held in this mansion," Tony said, clicking to the next picture. "Owned by billionaire Samuel Thatcher."

"So what am I doing here again?" Loki asked flippantly.

"Mr. Thatcher is holding a gala tomorrow night. You and Miss Y/L/N will be attending and will conveniently slip away at some point during the evening to retrieve the ring from his vault."

"Loki and me?" You exclaimed. "Why? Would you fit in much better at one of those swanky parties?"

"Everyone knows me, Y/N," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

"What about Steve then? He knows how to dance and be all proper! He's from the 40's for goodness sake!"

"Have you ever seen me try to fit in at one of those, how did you say it, swanky parties?" Steve asked with a smirk. "You two have enough class to fit in. Besides, the vault is secured by a fingerprint and retinal scan. The only person here who could pull that off is Loki."

"That is true," Loki replied with a smirk.

"Fine. What time is it?" You groan.

"6pm tomorrow," Steve answered. You nodded and got up to leave. "Oh! And one more thing!" You turned around suspiciously and saw an unnerving smile plastered across the face of America's Golden Boy. "You're going as Mr. & Mrs. Hank and Audrey Williams."

"Mister and Misses?" You both exclaimed. Steve nodded and Tony was smirking.

"Don't forget this!" Tony said, tossing the ring to you.

"Is this supposed to be my wedding ring?" You asked sarcastically.

"Actually no," Steve said. "It would seem that the ring only works on the right middle finger."

"Great. So what am I supposed to do about this?" You asked, wriggling your left fingers.

"No need to worry, darling," Loki replied. He waved his hand and a beautiful gold and emerald wedding band appeared on your finger. "Now, shall we go to my room and prepare for the rest of this delightful mission?" He asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"Of course, my dear," You replied, rolling your eyes.

The next day, Loki came to your room at about 3 in the afternoon. "What do you want, Loki?" You growled, quite annoyed that he was bothering your 'me-time'.

"Change into your uniform and meet me in my room in 5 minutes. We need to prepare." He turned to walk away but you grabbed his arm.

"Why? We should be resting before our mission tonight! I thought we already did all our planning yesterday!"

"Tactical, yes. But not practical." He once again turned away and started down the hallway. You groaned and ran after him.

"What do you mean practically? We get fancied up, we go, we get the ring, we leave. If we get in any sort of confrontation, we fight and then we leave! Simple!"

"What are you going to wear?"

"Well I can't show up in tactical so I have this old party dress. It's not perfect but it'll do I guess."

"No it will not. Where will you put your weapons? What if you need to run? Or fight?" Loki listed off his objections quickly and tutted at you. "No, no. That simply will not do."

"Well what do you suggest, oh great fashion god," You replied sarcastically. Loki rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Oh my!" You gasped. He'd transformed your current outfit into a lovely floor length, emerald green dress. He even outfitted you with jewelry!

"And I can do the same with your-what did you call it? Tactical gear?"

"Ok, ok," you chuckled. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." You smiled genuinely and, for a moment, you thought he would return the sentiment. But he kept his disinterested demeanor and whooshed away the dress.

"I'll return it later when you're ready. You will need to do your own hair and makeup." You nodded and headed back to your room till the evening.

That night, you stood at your mirror adding the finishing touches to your mascara when suddenly there was noise beside you. Jumping in surprise, you accidentally smeared the mascara on your face. "Loki!" You exclaimed, seeing the mischievous prince standing in your room. "You scared me!"

"Well, I am naturally terrifying." You rolled your eyes and turned back to the mirror to fix your face.

"There! All done," You announced. "Well, with the exception of my dress and-" Before you could even finish he had cast his illusion upon your clothing.

"Enough with your blathering. Let's go."

"Hmph. And here I had hope you'd finally removed your head from your-"

Later at the Gala, Loki was being the perfect gentleman. Very suave and debonair. You were impressed. Of course you had to play your part too. You were smiling at his side, holding his arm. You both mingled for a while, trying to get a feel of the room, before he asked if you wished to dance. A bit surprised, you simply nodded. He whisked you out to the dance floor gracefully and pulled you close.

"The vault is downstairs. We need to find an excuse to slip out soon," He whispered to you.

"What if I pretend to be ill?" You offered.

"Someone would undoubtedly take you upstairs to one of the bedrooms to rest. That is the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish."

"But what if I'm afraid of heights?" You countered. He quirked an eyebrow at you and chuckled lowly.

"That is a terrible idea. Only you would think of it."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered. And I think the problem is I have really fantastic bad ideas." He smirked and shook his head in disbelief.

"At least you own up to it," He teased. You grinned, unable to help yourself from staring at him. Though you were on a mission, he seemed so relaxed. This was definitely his element. "You're staring, my dear."

“You are very attractive. Therefore I will stare at you," You admitted. He blushed brightly and looked away but then his eyes lit up.

"I've got it!" He stepped back and led you off the dance floor towards the open bar. "Follow my lead," He hissed. "Would you get me a drink, sweet? You know what I like," He said, somewhat loudly.

"Of course, darling," You replied. When you returned with your drinks you noticed Loki was staring at a group of young women. They had noticed him too and were smiling back at him. "What are you looking at?" You asked innocently, handing him his glass.

"Oh nothing," He replied quickly, turning away. You made a point of following his previous line of sight and made eye-contact with the still giggling females.

"Nothing?" You yelled. "You call that nothing? You were flirting again! Staring at some other woman!"

"I find them very attractive. Therefore I will stare at them," He replied. You held back a laugh, realizing what gave him the idea. "You know how I am," He purred, trying to move closer to you again.

"Get away from me!" You yelled, stepping back and throwing your glass on the floor. This drew everyone's attention. "You disgust me, Hank. This was your last chance and you botched it up! I'm going home!" You turned on your heel and stormed out.

"Audrey! Audrey! Please wait!" He called out. He ran after you into the grand hallway where you were pretending to be searching for your keys. You both noticed the small collection of men, including Mr. Thatcher, who were watching you from the ballroom doors. "Please, darling, can't we discuss this?"

"At home," You finally said. He nodded and held the front door for you. You both stepped outside, out of view, and then you activated the ring. It felt weird, time slowing around you, but you moved past your surprise and got to work. You ran back into the ballroom and very carefully chipped a very important supporting piece of one of the ice sculptures on the table. Giving it a small tap, you then ran back out to the main entrance and positioned yourself just outside the doors where you could still have a view of the main hallway. You deactivated the ring and heard the crash of the ice. Immediately, the men looking into the hallway ran back in, leaving the hallway unwatched. You and Loki were now free to sneak back into the mansion.

"The vault is downstairs but only accessed here," Loki murmured, leading you to a hidden staircase.

"Typical," You chucked, only mildly surprised by the motif. When you got down there, you noticed there were three levels of security. A key, a fingerprint scanner, and a retinal scanner. "Oh great! How are we supposed to get through that?"

"Never fear, my darling," Loki replied with a smirk. "Remember why they chose me?" He then changed, taking on the appearance of the party's host, Mr. Thatcher. He quickly got past the fingerprint and retinal scan but the key was still needed. Changing back to himself, he said, "The guards have keys."

"There are guards down here?" You whisper-yelled. Loki rolled his eyes frustratedly but before he could reply you heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Follow my lead!" Loki demanded.

"Wha-" Loki interrupted you with a kiss and pushed you against the wall. You gasped in surprise but you had to admit to yourself he was talented.

"What are you doing down here?" The guard exclaimed. Loki slowly pulled away from you with the guiltiest expression on his face. You knew it was fake of course, but the guard was tricked.

"Were we not to be here?" He asked, voice slightly higher than usual. "We were only trying to find a-" He paused, smirking slightly. "A more private location." The guard shook his head and chuckled.

"Whatever floats your boat, man," He replied. "But I would suggest exploring the upstairs bedrooms." He gave them both a little wave and headed back around the corner.

"I’m going to strangle you," You said as soon as the guard was out of earshot.

"Oh please! You can’t even reach my neck," Loki replied. You grabbed his tie and pulled him down, pretending to be moving for another kiss. However, you tapped his neck lightly and smirked.

"Gotcha!" You giggled quietly and then held out your hand. "Oh! And look what I got!" She held up the key ring for the door. "While you were busy embarrassing yourself, I used my telekinesis and got the key!"

"Of course you did! That was my plan all along," Loki replied.

"Pretending to love you is like a walk in the park. Jurassic Park," You grumbled. Loki grabbed your sides and growled in your ear as you opened the vault door. "You're so weird!" You hissed, walking in and trying to find the ring.

"And you’re so weird it’s attractive," He retorted, finding the box immediately and tossing it to you.

"Well, if I’m weird with you, I’m comfortable," You admitted. Loki looked at you in surprise but you just shrugged. "Look, you really piss me off sometimes, but," you paused. "Somehow I still like you."

"And I you, my dear," He replied. "Now as much as I would love to continue this discussion I do suggest you figure out how to use that thing and we get out of here!" You put on the ring, trying it on a few different fingers before you found the correct one.

"Ok, let's see what it does." When you activated it, it shot a cold blast at the shelf in front of you, encasing it in ice. "Cool!" You joked. Loki shook his head and grabbed your arm, trying to hurry out. Just as you got to the top of the stairs, you heard footsteps.

"Well well well," Mr. Thatcher growled, blocking your exit. A few of his goons stood behind him as well. "Mr. & Mrs. Williams was it? I don't think so," he sneered.

"Well, I don't think so either but we're not doing this today!" You shot them all with the ice and Loki shoved them out of the way. You both heard more footsteps down the hallway and looked at each other nervously. "Do you trust me?" You asked. Loki nodded.

"With my life." You gave him a tight smile and activated the Spin ring. You ran down the hallway and found where the other goons were at. You tried to use the Zero ring, with the ice powers, but found yourself unable to control it's aim.

"Well that's fantastic," you grianed. Rethinking your plan, you went back to get Loki. There was no way you'd both be able to get out of there at normal speed so you had one option. Lug Loki out yourself at super-speed.

"What the heck? Do you weigh 500 pounds or something?" You groaned when you couldn't pull or carry him. "Ok, last option. I hope this works," You muttered. You focused almost all your energy on moving Loki using your telekinesis. It was slow going, but at super-speed, you still would beat the bad guys. By the time you got him out the door to safety, you were exhausted. You immediately disengaged the ring and he looked around confused.

"How did I get here?"

"Talk later, run now," You gasped, trying to stop the dizziness that had overtaken you.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. You were about to reply when you collapsed, simply too drained to continue.

When you woke up, you felt a cool cloth on your forehead and soft blankets around you. "Where am I?" You groaned.

"I brought you back to the tower. I told the Captain his debriefing could wait," Loki replied. You sat up slowly and looked around. Raising an eyebrow, you stared at Loki questioningly. "Yes, this is my room. I wanted to keep an eye on you while you recovered. I informed the Captain that those rings are very dangerous and should not be used. They obviously were too much for you to handle and-"

"It wasn't the rings," You interrupted. You looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, I was still in super-speed, but I used my telekinesis to get you out. We probably would have been shot otherwise. It used a lot of my energy but it was worth it."

"Oh darling," Loki sighed, gently pushing a stand of hair off your face. "You-" He leaned forward, giving you a quick kiss on your forehead. "You're amazing. I never expected you or anyone to care so much for me!"

"Of course I care!" You replied. "Look, you still drive me insane with some of your tricks. But you're a good guy," You smiled.

"And you're a wonderful woman," He said. You grinned at him happily, still tired but already feeling much better. "So what do you think, should we give us a try?"

"Why not? It may be the first really fantastic bad idea of mine that works out!" Loki smiled and gave you a kiss. You sighed contentedly and leaned on his shoulder when you pulled away.

"Oh darling? One more thing. It was my idea."

Loki Taglist

@lucywrites02

@delightfulheartdream

@serpentargo

@khena

@nyx2021

@kaz11283

@weasley-main-lover

@up-to-mischief

@lokislittlesigyn

@darkacademicfrom2021

Marvel (all characters) Taglist

@bartv21

@another-crazy-fangirl

@whatafuckingdumbass

@ladylulu143

[cosmictulips]

Hey love! Once again wishing u a very happy birthday 🎉🎂.

I don't think if I'll do the game the ryt way as u told me to coz yk jst my Neptune things 😭🤣

My big 3 are Aires sun Pisces moon Sagittarius rising(tropical) Pisces sun Aquarius moon and scorpio rising (sidereal). Imma Jupiter, saturn n Pluto dominant. (I hv fire n earth dominant in my chart) I hv very very few air elements(tropical astrology).

Things I like: music, singing, drawing n painting, birds, nature, gallery visiting, museums, antiques, sky, MOON GAZING, night sky, spicy n sour snacks,burger,fries,chips,I hv absolutely no fav food lol, song writing, procrastinating, karaoke, learning, reading romantic novels, watching cartoons (not really that much but yeah I do), Chocolates, crystals, tarot decks, spirituality etc.

Fav colours: GREY, black, white, lavender.

Fav animal: I actually never really loved any specific animal, I honestly love n adore each n every animal n insects so it's really hard to pick one. Maybe deer, dog, cow, calf, lion, panther, elephant etc.

A bit abt myself: Ok so ig it'll take too much time to write so I'm gonna describe myself in brief. I'm actually a very kind hearted (not self appreciating infront of u jst for the sake of writing but my painful past made me like this ig *nervous laugh*) I'm full of forgiveness, selfness, kindness, pure intentions, pure love BUT when I get angry ig devil shivers😂💔 Aries sun n Mercury with cap mars😭🤣 but the sooner I get angry, that sooner my anger fade away as well but during my anger session I'm a uncontrolled beast n after I'm cooled down I regret every action I did when angry. I do hv my dark side n can get manipulative at times but I choose not to be. I absolutely HATE HATE HATE backbiting (I don't do it can't even hear it) absolute no bs. I hate when someone peeks into my privacy (sid sco rising) I take ages to open myself up even with my comfort zoned persons(sid aqua ven). Even if I want to I can't open myself up with u but I give great advices. Everyone comes to me when in need. I low-key crave attention but when I get it I hate it. I always wants to win every argument. I always wants to win every situation i am in. I'm always so so hard on myself n wants to be a perfectionist (tho my Virgo mc sometimes say u r but I still wants to be more perfect in every kind of work I do)

That's all! Hehe

Kingdom I choose: the kingdom of waves (healer kingdom for sure my Pisces moon loves to be here)🥺💙

Thankyou so much. Idk what I did but I did😭😹.take care love n enjoy ur day with fullness ✨

henlo my neptunian friend lolol

You did the game just fine c=

for you ---

I see you as the type who will be helping people through therapy. creating little shows with your water, like an ice horse or making it snow just to show off beautiful shows of snowflakes.

I do think you grew up in the icy caverns and towns, but I'd like to personally think you moved to the islands to bring a little love to those who need it.

think like a traveling nurse. I think what I'm trying to say here is that you're unintentionally a weather witch LOL. during festivals for the volcanic gods you would be the one to pray to the rain gods to keep the clouds at bay - I think they'd like you. your offerings tend to be in the form of origami from what I keep seeing and paintings. - they give you grand visions through dreams. rough storms and harrowing seas.

I think you'd also be tasked with helping the sailors. telling them when to leave and when to stay. you've saved a lot of lives that way and people trust your insight. while you're still a bit on the private side, people get the general sense of what you're feeling based on the weather haha.

I think your main weapon might just be a regular wand honestly. you don't carry anything big because i don't see you as the type to enjoy lightning or most fire magic lol. but you're really good at pushing the wind and getting the tides to calm down.

I think you might also have a mood necklace LOL. just because you like the little colors and it's such "old school magic" that you just want to have it on you.

[fallout4holmes]

Nuka-World 12

"I'm not happy about this," Preston frowned.

MacCready had justified his claim to be the best shot caps can buy. Deacon had taken the dead Operator's clothes, hid the body, and was now out of sight within the bottling plant. Preston and I were headed back into the theater.

"Deacon's one of the best spies you could hope for, he'll be fine," I said, half to convince myself. I'd drilled Deacon on everything I knew about the Operators, but that wasn't much.

"I hope you're right," Preston said. "The last thing this mission needs are surprises—"

"Colonel!" A panicked Minuteman came running from outside, "The rides are moving!"

"They're what??" Preston demanded as we hurried back out into the park.

Sure enough, the ferris wheel was slowly turning, the teacup ride was spinning, everything that could move was moving as if it had never stopped, though I imagine a bit creakier than two hundred years ago. Honestly, I was a little impressed that nothing went spinning off into oblivion.

"Guess Chip got his wish," I chuckled.

"Who?" Preston asked.

"Local handyman, mentioned to Holmes how much he'd like to see the park powered up properly again. Guess Holmes made it happen. Sure as hell wasn't the raiders."

"But why now?"

I shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I think I've been away from Nuka-Town long enough, I should check in with Holmes."

"Of course," Preston nodded. "Oh, before you go, how far from the Pack's camp in Nuka-Town is the arena?"

"Amphitheater's right across from the Cola-Cars, but there's a marketplace in the way. Why?"

"I figure we'll come in through the entrance by Fizztop Mountain, head south to the Parlor, then hit the Amphitheater. By then everyone in the Cola-Cars arena will hear the fighting, hopefully we'll draw them out. The tricky part will be keeping the fighting out of the marketplace."

"And why are the raiders going to be in the arena?" I drawled. "That's the end of their sadistic Gauntlet, Holmes isn't…" I stopped, and Preston kept his face neutral. "That's the big distraction?" I demanded. "Holmes is gonna open the Gauntlet?"

"That's the plan," Preston said, terse.

"Something tells me you don't like the plan."

Preston crossed his arms, "Unfortunately, I didn't have a better one. The guy who delivered the General's message, Harvey, also gave us a description of the traps inside, but said that could change."

I nodded, "And probably will. We only made it through by moving slow and stealthy, disarming every trap we spotted, and even then there were too many close calls."

"That's why I don't like the plan," Preston huffed. "Everything hinges on one person not dying inside of a death trap."

I shook my head, "Something doesn't add up. Why would Holmes send someone through that thing?"

"It's certain to pull a large number of raiders out of the town, into one isolated area." Preston sighed, "The plan makes sense, it'll be easier for the Minutemen to take control of the raider bases if half of them are off watching some blood sport. I just wish there was another way to keep everyone distracted."

"Hm. I hate it just as much as you do, but these raiders despise each other at the best of times. The only reason they're willing to work together at all is the promise of more power, violence, and caps. Getting them to all look in the same direction takes… well, a hell of a show."

"They'll definitely get that," Preston smirked, still a bit bitter.

"This invasion of Nuka-Town of yours going to happen before or after you take the rest of the parks?"

He sighed again, frustrated, "That's the other thing. When we got the General's message, I scrambled to gather as many Minutemen as I could, as fast as I could, but still kept it a small enough force that we could travel quickly without drawing too much attention. That means we can't afford to lose anyone before the big fight, but I can't just leave a bunch of raiders in the other parks ready to swoop in and flank us."

"That's a predicament."

He laughed, "No shit!"

I chuckled, "Sorry I can't be more helpful. Battle plans aren't exactly my forte."

"You've been a huge help, Nick," he said, earnest, "Your information is the only reason this insane mission might be pulled off successfully."

"Don't sell yourself short," I smiled. "There's no rescue without rescuers."

Preston scoffed, but he was smiling.

"There are always raiders on guard inside the marketplace," I thought out loud. "If none of the Minutemen go inside the market, the raiders might come out."

"Or they'll just shoot us from the doors."

"So you need a couple people on the inside, someone who can take the raiders out quick when they start shooting."

"Deacon?"

I shrugged, "Sure, maybe Cait could go with, pretend to be tourists looking to spend some caps. Unless you got some Minutemen with acting skills?"

He shook his head, "Not that I know of, but it's not like I know every soldier's personal interests."

"MacCready could certainly play the part—"

"I need him up on the tallest building we can find, taking out as many as he can."

"Fair enough. Well, whenever Deacon comes back from his infiltration, you can ask what he thinks of the idea. I'll be back tomorrow morning, unless Holmes sends me back here sooner."

I made my way out, taking a moment to marvel at how different the place looked with everything moving. Still eerie, no people around, but you could picture what it must have been like in its heyday. It was kinda nice, until I heard Hancock shouting for help from the tunnels.

"Radaway! Hey! I need some fucking Radaway down here!!"

For a moment I actually wondered why a ghoul would need Radaway before realizing what had happened. I ran over to the closest entrance in time to see Hancock exit, hauling Deacon over his shoulders. “Shit,” I swore and reached for him.

“I got him, took a buffout,” Hancock protested, moving fast, “just gotta get him to Curie.”

“Hang on a sec, I got something better than Radaway.” I took a bottle of X-111 out of my pocket, “This stuff’s stronger, Holmes helped a scientist in the Brotherhood cook it up, way back.”

Hancock carefully put Deacon down. The spy looked… well, like he was dying of radiation poisoning. “You just keep a bottle of this shit on you all the time?” Hancock asked as I gave Deacon the medicine.

“After seeing my partner drink from a radioactive stream once, I started carrying it with me everywhere.”

“Holmes did what?”

“It was in Far Harbor, he needed to infiltrate the Children of Atom.”

Deacon made a sound somewhere between a cough and a laugh, “Detective’s a special kind of crazy.”

“Don’t I know it,” I chuckled. “How’re you feeling?”

“Less like dying, so that’s good?”

“Hancock, hurry on over to Curie and grab some stimpaks, will ya’?” Hancock nodded and hurried on. I shook my head with a sigh, “Speaking of special kinds of crazy, I’m guessing you went for a swim?”

“No swimming,” Deacon groaned, “just… wading through a reactor pool and down the much longer than expected drainpipe. Opened the grate, we can get in now. So you’re welcome.”

I frowned. “Why do we need to get in?”

Curie arrived, gently scolded Deacon as she fussed over him, and assured him he’d be feeling better soon. Preston and Hancock were close behind, along with a crowd of curious Minutemen and allies.

“What happened?” Preston asked, genuinely concerned.

"All that nuclear waste in the tunnels is coming from a secret lab in the bottling plant where the soft drink inventors were making weapons for the military," Deacon said, sounding stronger by the second. "And they succeeded. The lab was inaccessible until the power came on. We now have a very limited amount of time to make sure no Operators figure out how to open the door and gain access to blue glowing grenades and mini-nukes."

“You got out through the drain pipe,” I filled in the blanks, “and now that’s how we’re going to get in and take the Operators by surprise.”

“That was the plan.”

“Nick,” Preston said, all soldierly this time, “I know you need to get back to Holmes sooner rather than later, but I need your help on this. I want to send through Strong, Mayor Hancock, the two Minutemen with me who are ghouls, and you. It’s a small force, but a capable one, and most importantly none of you will have to worry about the rads taking you down before you get to the fight.”

I nodded, "I get it. Let's get a move on."

[stampstamp]

I've managed to wriggle out of refilling my car's petrol for two years thanks to a combination of working from home and asking family members to refill it after borrowing it (and paying them back, obviously) but I have to do it again soon TT_TT

It's one of those things where even if I tell myself 'It'll be fine!' I end up making a queue form, struggling to take off/put the cap back on despite practising at home or yanking the petrol gun(?) So hard it knocks another one loose and it crashes into my window. Even though these things happen when I've got up at 7 to be the only one there, there are always witnesses. I'm cursed!

I'm sure it's something that would get slightly less stressful the more often I do it, but I only used to to it up every 3 months and that gap was enough to make me fall out of practise and dread it. Even though I've been driving since 2008, I've never been comfortable with it. 🤔 Petrol stations have always make me anxious.

I wish they still had those stations where an employee comes and does it for you!

[punkscowardschampions]

Ava & Buster

Ava: Are you lot en-route? Buster: 'Course Buster: But we've had one foot out the door for like half an hour, honestly Ava: Good, 'cos I have presents Buster: Yeah? Buster: Pot of gold or what, like Ava: Hardly appropriate for a two-year-old Ava: None for you, soz 💔 Buster: I'd argue it's very appropriate Buster: All the shit he needs haemorrhages cash Ava: You were warned Ava: Extensively Buster: And I ain't sorry I didn't listen Buster: They can all try and sue me Ava: Enter an arena where they aren't the experts? Ava: Doesn't sound like mum and dad Buster: No such arena exists, clearly Buster: Know it all, have done it all Ava: Your degree must be a waste of time then Buster: You'd have to ask 'em what they reckon Buster: But I'd wait til they've got a few more drinks down 'em first, get closer to the truth Ava: Ugh, shut up Ava: You know they're proud of you Buster: Yeah yeah, blah blah Buster: But are you proud of me? Real MVP and everything Ava: When you get your cap and gown Ava: Funny wig, even better Ava: I still only got stuff for the kids and Ri though Ava: I'll chase a 🌈 down ASAP Buster: You're alright Buster: Already got a girlfriend, don't you? Buster: No need to get gayer just to wind me up, Nance has got that covered Ava: Ha, don't even chat to me about annoying Buster: I won't Ava: 😏 Ava: No, you're meant to ask, idiot Ava: You're so lucky you only have a son Buster: Tell me then Buster: I want a girl next Ava: Well she's not coming back, not that I'm surprised Buster: What bullshit excuse did she go with this time? She's got too much work on, girlfriend drama or she just hates fam functions SO MUCH Ava: It was column A presented but 1000% came across as column C Ava: She can be so Buster: I know Buster: Did she try and buy you off with an NYC trip that ain't gonna happen just like the last one didn't? Ava: Twin telepathy is real, yeah? Ava: 🙄 Buster: Fuck that and her Buster: I told you before, when you actually wanna go I'll take you Buster: Then you only have to see her a bearable amount Ava: I know Ava: It'd be interesting to see how long she could hold a conversation with me but yeah Ava: won't happen so Buster: Longer than she can with me or dad, probably slightly less time than she can with mum, depending what mood they are both in Buster: That'd be my bet Buster: Chin up, the good twin is finally on his fucking way Ava: Sounds about right Ava: Good time to tell you to call her yourself later or do you want a drink before you process that? Buster: Bad time to be forced to remember that I told Rio right at the start I wouldn't drink when she couldn't Ava: Honestly, I thought this kid was PLANNED Ava: She couldn't Christmas or New Year either Buster: She was planned, just not by me Ava: 'Course, you would've factored in drinking Ava: Must be their gay agenda Buster: There's loads of shit I'd have factored in Ava: That's your upbringing talking Buster: Shut up Ava: It is though Ava: Personally, I agree its better than the more the merrier approach too Buster: You'll personally be waiting a load more years before you make me play uncle then, yeah? Buster: Good Ava: Ugh Ava: Don't be making me 🤢 just because green is the colour today Buster: Gotta Buster: Who the fuck is there to be jealous of when we're us? Ava: You couldn't go the more traditional routes, no? 🍾🥂 Ava: Seeing as I'm NOT pregnant or being a very supportive partner to someone who is Buster: Come on, who am I? Buster: And you can leave me out of your rites of passage, I've cleaned up enough sick in the name of being a supportive partner Buster: Grace'll hold your hair back for you Ava: There's no need to be old AND boring 😏 Buster: Fuck off Buster: Counting down the days til I can drink you under the table Ava: Dad lets me Buster: There's nothing dad won't let you do Buster: Got him well wrapped around your finger, like Ava: It's not my fault I'm the most lovable Ava: Do better 😋 Buster: That's the one title you can keep Buster: Got all the love I need, cheers Ava: 🤢🥰 Ava: N'awh Buster: Lyla didn't wanna come and hang with the extended fam then? Ava: Wouldn't do that to someone I liked, would I? Buster: Depends how much you like her Ava: Nah Ava: That's all a bit heavy Buster: Well yeah Buster: It would be a trial by fire Ava: Then pissed on Ava: then set on fire again Ava: I like having time away when I come here, you know Ava: Not attached at the hip Buster: I know Ava: I'll send her a hilarious postcard or something Buster: You sounded like Nance there Buster: No need to miss her at all Ava: Fuck off Buster: You're right she'd never write it Buster: Half her holiday would be over before she got the words down Ava: 😂 Ava: Rude Buster: It's fuck all I wouldn't say to her face if she ever bothered to show it Ava: Can no one in this family be nice Ava: Honestly Buster: Come on Buster: I'm nice to you Buster: You ain't even bought me a present Ava: I know, I'm very lovable Ava: Have you got me one? Buster: Yeah but you ain't having it now Ava: Yeah right Ava: I know who gets last word in your house Ava: and Rio is nice to everyone Buster: She's nicest to me and she always does what I say Buster: So you might wanna think again Ava: That's entirely too much information, thank you Ava: you owe me double as compensation Buster: You ain't having two bottles Buster: Keep the first one down and then we'll talk Ava: Challenge accepted Buster: Good Buster: Don't really wanna have to disown you before the day's out Ava: Least there's enough of 'em to fall back on should you get the urge Ava: I'll survive Buster: Keep that quiet around mum, it's still them and us with her Ava: Sounds familiar 🙄 Buster: You're bound to hear it yet again by the time she's had a few Ava: Not if I have anything to do with it Buster: Sounds like you've got a plan Ava: As planned as a party should ever be Buster: Yeah Ava: 💃🎉 Ava: Hurry up Buster: Traffic's worse than London at its finest right now Buster: Everyone on the road's either already wasted or angry they ain't Ava: Stay safe Buster: 'Course Buster: Speaking of, where you staying tonight? Ava: Tipsy childcare is better than no childcare Ava: No need to beg Buster: Shut up, I'll drive you is all I'm saying Ava: Cheers 💙 Buster: I'll cash the IOU when you're sober, like Ava: Better cash it before I cash my 2nd present then Buster: Forget it for now, it's a holiday Ava: That's what I've been saying Buster: You ain't gotta tell me, even if today I can't play as hard as I work Buster: Still not a fucking amateur Ava: Still a McKenna Buster: First and best Ava: Hardly Buster: If we're going by mum's them and us viewpoint, there's hardly any competition Buster: Just you and me, kid Ava: Well I'm just saying, Granddad is gonna be fuming Buster: Everything you learned about wrapping dad round your little finger you got from watching me with him Buster: I ain't worried Ava: Pfft Ava: My baby blues are bluer and my pout is poutier Ava: I'm the new model, boy Buster: 'Cause you need 'em to fall back on Buster: I'm just that good Buster: you're the youngest model that's all Buster: Due a spectacular fuck up about now Ava: You wish Ava: On all counts Buster: Nah, I'm rooting for you Buster: 'Course I am Ava: Mhmm Ava: Dead convincing 😏 Buster: I always am Buster: Wig or no wig Ava: So soppy, you Ava: Have title of my best big brother Buster: That's a copout but whatever Ava: And fussy Ava: Alright best sibling but that isn't much more of an achievement really Buster: Don't worry about it Buster: I know how great I am Ava: Yeah yeah, blah blah Buster: Get me the least shit sounding soft drink and I'll believe you Ava: If there's anything being tragically underage has taught me Ava: 👍 Buster: Cheers Buster: See you in 5 Ava: Bring your cute kid Buster: I taught him how to say “Sláinte” earlier so you'll be able to rate my achievements for yourself Buster: He ain't just a pretty face Ava: 🥺🥰 Ava: What a face though Buster: I can't take all the credit Buster: He takes after his mother Buster: Tell her how good she looks when we get in, yeah? I'm living a nightmare Ava: 'Course Ava: I've got a girlfriend, remember Ava: I know the drill, just amp up period level love 1000% for a pregnant bitch Buster: My wife ain't a insecure teenager Buster: But I appreciate the sentiment Buster: Just don't call her a bitch ever again Ava: I say it with love Ava: from one to another Ava: but got it, I'll remind her she's old Buster: Don't Buster: It'll be your funeral Ava: 😂 I only like winding you u Ava: p Ava: Don't need anyone crying on me Buster: Good Buster: I don't need to be breaking up any girl fights Buster: Especially when I've taught you both everything I know Ava: Even if me hitting a girl is more acceptable than you, I think everyone draws the line at a pregnant one Buster: Fine, I don't wanna pick you up off the floor once she's knocked you out and do a concussion test after someone pours a pint over you to bring you round Buster: I was trying to soften the blow of how it'll play out since I'd be powerless to stop the actual Ava: And I thought you were in the festive spirit Ava: 🙄 Ava: I'll take back this virgin cocktail, like 😏 Buster: Not without any spirits in me Buster: You'll have to take what you can get Ava: Few folk songs and you'll be well into it Buster: Voice of an angel, obviously Buster: Could've been a choir boy if not for everything else Ava: You took living vicariously a wee bit hard with the name already Buster: You'd have preferred me to name him after a silent film star, yeah? Ava: That was pure wishful thinking 🙊🤐🤫 Buster: Fucked over as my boy's been by not being named Rudolph Valentino or Roscoe Arbuckle, I reckon he'll be alright Buster: Cheers though Ava: I think Fatty murdered someone Ava: so as far as aspirations go, you're in the right direction Buster: I always am Buster: Never a misstep made, no matter what mum and dad say Ava: Alright 👼 its St Paddy's not confessional Ava: and the priest would be rare pissed off if you waltzed in and said you'd never done anything wrong 😂 Buster: He'd be a fine one to talk Ava: The drama of it all Buster: Again, I don't need to be told Buster: There's a kid here asking for you, except shouting's more the word Ava: He gets it 👏 Ava: 💃 Buster: Come out before he legs it in

[harveywritings92]

The path to Isolation pt.1

-now-

"They sat on and threw trash at me again..." Anri mumbled burying her head into her hands as Mayuki patted her back while texting her other friends. "Like I said before An-Chan. they'll never notice you, if you don't assert yourself!" the raven haired girl let out a frustrated sight "How the hell would I do that, when I've put so much work into..this?" She sighed gesturing to herself as her friend frowned trying to come up with something.

"Stop dressing like a grandma for one, and Lose those dumb glasses, I don't think I ever seen you without them." the blonde hummed reaching for the the round frames, only for Anri lean away just out of her reach, causing the blond to pout.

"Boo! you always do that!" Mayuki whined as Anri readjusted her glasses. "How about I just color my hair or something, then I'll think about it?" the ravenette cringed as her friend let this glass shattering squeal, causing a few students to gawk at them Genji's group included.

The green haired boy brows furrowed bemused trying to piece together what the chick..uh, he banged her once, whats her name?...Mizu..no Erm?? Mayuki! that's it! was saying to Anri, but the bottle blonde was talking a mile a minute and pretty much carried the shorter girl out the door. "W-Wait my bag! Mayu!!!" 

She quickly walked back for her things as The blonde rushed her out "Hurry, Hurry!!" surprising the class that Goose girl was ditching class, with a cheerleader who yelling a about salons and colors? Were they getting their nails done, Was Anri actually into that kind of stuff??

"I always did like the color..." Anri's voice got distant Genji's gaze then shifted to the window along with rest of the class, it faced the back courtyard, a few minutes later he saw Anri and Mayuki sneak out back; via hole in the fence just missing the gym teacher who was out for a midday smoke.

 "Wow..The nerd actually did it." A girl with too much make up on said then turn to her friend. "We can use this! Let's make that nerd do our homework." She suggested a of her friends agreed even throwing in a few ridiculous demands one guy even asked if Anri 'puts out' that caused the girls to laugh before the green haired ninja intervened.

"So, she ditched class once? Whoopee! like we haven't done that before, And you don't see us doing other people work." The makeup girl gaped at Genji like a fish then began to stammer" B..but-" the young Shimada cut her off with sharp look. "Leave it." He said in a deadly tone causing chill to go down the groups spines,they nodded knowing that crossing Genji would be a very unhealthy choice...

on the street with Anri and Mayu!

"So, where do we star?" Mayuki asked Anri who smiled at her friends energy, then noticed something in peripherals thinking fast, the twin braided girl grabbed her blond friend and ducked behind a dumpster, just as a patrol car drove by.

 "Well, first let's change our clothes, we stand out like sore thumbs" the honey eyed girl suggested knowing they probably get away better with without looking like a couple of escaped high school schoolgirls, they walked for a few blocks before Anri pointed at a thrift-store across the street.

Causing Mayuki to sweat dropped she's never been in a thrift-store before...and was little wary, [Yes she's from a well off family.] She changed her mind once she found a cute black sleeveless top with a black skirt with a pink floral pattern, that she just had to have. 

she changed into those and waited for Anri to come out of the changing room, when she emerged the ravenette was wearing a brown turtle neck under a dip dye sundress that started out white then faded into a pretty leaf green and little grey paper boy's cap.

"Oh you look cute Mayu!" The blond smiled at her friend about to say the same thing but felt something was missing, spying an orange belt Mayuki grabbed it and put it around Anri's waist surprised at how thin the short girl actually was, the ravenette always wore baggy cardigans and slouched a lot walked or sat down it gave everyone the impression that Anri was pudgy! "And now you look like a girl!" the blond chirped as the her honey eyed friend went to pay.

It's a good thing Mayuki was distracted by some of the old toys lining the shop walls, otherwise Anri would have a tough time explaining why her debit-card said: Shimada Anri instead of Townsend. Only Takumi knows about her relationship with the Shimada clan; Mayuki and Mikoto think she's working for them as maid that why she and Genji know each other. 

The clerk thanked them for their patronage and the two girls went on with their ditch day, stopping at a restaurant that Mayuki's family owned it took a moment for the hostess to recognize the bottle blonde "Oh miss Sonohara, Table for you and your friend?" the old woman asked leading Anri and Mayuki to the VIP section they were seated in a small booth they ordered some drinks and got down to what Anri was looking for style wise?

"I was thinking red,maybe? nothing too flashy to get get me into trou-" The ravenette was interrupted by someone tapping her shoulder both teens looked up and saw annoyed ginger haired woman around college age wearing very provocatively short purple dress standing behind them. Anri squirmed in her seat knowing exactly what was coming. 

"Why hasn't Genjikins been returning my calls." She whined close to stomping her foot the short girl cringed as Mayuki mouthed out "Genjikins?!" in disbelief and snorted as the ginger waited for Anri tell her why Genjikins has been avoiding her. The ravenette though for a second and looked the annoyed woman. 

"Ever hear the saying; A critic never pays to eat the same meal twice?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"What I'm saying Ko-ne-ko~...Is that your Genjikins menu isn't just exclusive to yours...he likes to eat around." Anri's voice dropped to a sultry tone as she watched the woman face drop in recognition after all Anri just called her: Koneko. That was the pet name Ginger's darling Genjikins called her by, and no else! 

There's no way her handsome Genjikins was playing around! this little brat was just jealous of their love! Ginger's mind tried reasoned "You're lying! you don't know him you don't know us!" the ginger haired woman hissed as her face was turning a lovely shade of purple almost matching her dress.

Anri feigned innocence, the honey eyed girl pulled her glasses down a tick and winked as she gently took the distraught woman's hand in hers and smirked up at her flirtatiously.

"Why so mad Koneko?~ Oh, I get it...you don't like that name anymore? Well the how about my Dove, Angel or princess,... my dawn?" The ravenette purred before kissing the girl's hand mimicking how Genji would do it, the girl recoiled in disgust than ran off in tears. "Well at least this one didn't slap me." Anri said apathetically recalling the last couple girls who came around asking about Genji.

Mayuki cocked a brow at her; Damn this shorty can one mean Mama Trucker, She then noticed how quiet the ravenette had gotten. Anri seemed to be in pretty deep thought...she almost looked lonely. 

"Genjikins, She seriously called him Genjikins?" Mayuki snickered breaking the tense silence between them as Anri snorted "I've heard worst, trust me!" the bespectacled girl giggled before returning to their original conversation, After lunch they set up an appointment at the hair salon just down the block from the restaurant.

They got there and the stylist was a bit hesitant on touching Anri's hair because it was so pretty and well taken care of. he had to ask her several times if she was sure about him taking her hair's virginity, Anri although a bit creeped out by the guys question was totally fine with it, after she pick out a color called chocolate cosmos. the stylist got to work...

it was almost dark by the time he was done, Anri had her newly dyed hair up in a bun and stuffed under her hat for safe keeping as she walked Mayuki home. "Are you sure you don't want to sleepover? My parents wouldn't mind." The bottle blond said as they split a Popsicle on the way. 

the former ravenette shook her head; she was pushing it today by skipping school; Hanzo was surly having an aneurysm wondering where she was; her bodyguards were probably out looking for her right now. "Maybe next weekend, I think I'll be grounded for next three days but it was worth it," Anri said awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head, she bid farewell to her friend began the trek home...

Then Anri stopped in her tracks and calmly took off her glasses off almost as if she were cleaning them, not noticing the man behind her ready to grab-. "Y'know..." the man retracted his hand and stood still in the shadows as Anri continued taking "..stalking is a very complicated affair..." She hummed calmly as she tucked her glasses away. "You watch and learn thinking it'll be easy once they're alone."

The former ravenette began to walk again; leading the man deeper into an alley." And just when you think have your target... " She slipped into the shadows that led to dead end the man had a baton ready he reeled it back ready to swing as he rounded the corner only to find...Nothing? but he saw her come this way!

a cold sweat formed on the mans brow as he felt presence behind him. " You find out your target had you from the start.~"  The man could only gasp in horror a hand covered his mouth, Needless to say the police were confused when they received a call about a pervert terrorizing a high school girl! only to find said pervert in his underwear hogtied with his own rope with a baton sticking out of his ass.

Anri resisted the urge to laugh as she got home to find Hanzo sitting on the front steps and he looked livid. "And just were where you today?" the elder Shimada brother demanded as the bespectacled girl shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. 

"O-Out with a friend?" She stammered as his brown eyes narrowed at her. "Oh, and was time with this friend more important then school?" He hissed Anri swore she saw a flash blue in his eyes as Hazo held back his wrath. "Honestly, I expected better from you Anri." and with that Hanzo went to train leaving the girl to wallow in her now soured mood.

"Now I wish I hadn't gone easy on that creep..." She mumbled taking her shoes off mentally picturing herself beating snot out of the perv. "What creep?" She jumped hearing Genji's voice glanced around before looking up and finding him hiding out in the rafters, staring down at her curiously. "A pervert tried grabbing me on way home I-" the green haired boy suddenly bristled he jumped from rafters and landed in front of her with a heated looked "Why didn't you say anything when Hanzo was yelling at you?!" Genji hissed as Anri dismissed his anger.

"It wasn't a big deal I handled it." Genji's eyes seemed flashed green the bespectacled girl jumped when he punched the wall just above her head the sound seemed to echo through the halls as Genji glowered at the short girl.

 "Not a big deal..." He snarled grabbing her front of her shirt, Anri looked at him in fear before Genji caught himself and pulled away from her; a pregnant silence filled the entryway, the frontdoors suddenly looked interesting to stare at, he glanced back at Anri and saw her hands were shaking...

All because he couldn't keep his stupid instincts in check. "Did he touch you?" He asked hoarsely before biting the inside of his cheek as tiny voice managed to stammer out.

 "n..no." 

Genji's shoulders relaxed a he let out breath he hadn't realized he was holding as he heard Anri's footsteps hurry away, leaving him alone. "Dammit, I screwed up again." he berated himself before he heard Hanzo yelling for him from the training room, At least he'll have something to take his anger out on...   

[stardxstsouls]

Every now and then I think about how disconnected El feels after the reverse snap.

She comes back, and it's five years later. It wasn't exactly like blinking for her. Like it was for most people. A lot of enhanced humans felt something in that time span, and plenty of more evolved aliens, including the echo, were in that boat too. For her it was like sleeping. It didn't feel like five whole years, but when she opens her eyes again, it's all still come to pass.

Her boyfriend has some grey hair now, and lines on his face. She's not complaining, because he still looks damn fine, but she can tell it was stress and grief that aged him. So much has changed, and she finally understands how Cap felt. No, it hasn't been seventy years, but she just woke up to a world that moved on without her.

And the worse part is, her dad moved on too.

She has a sister now. And sure, she knew she'd end up with a younger sibling. But for her, her dad was still months away from getting married, and she comes back to a world where it's already happened and there's a child from it. Only a few days ago, she was the daughter. She was the one that pestered her dad, broke into the workshop, and played with pieces of the armor like they were toys. (Well, she hadn't done the last part in a couple of years, but that's besides the point.)

There's a whole family dynamic that she isn't a part of at all, and never fully will be. She knows it's selfish and irrational to be jealous of a five year old, because she's technically an adult and wouldn't have been a big part of that stage anyway, but it doesn't stop her from feeling that way.

(She wants someone to notice. She wants someone to tell her that it's okay. She was eighteen when she got dusted, still a teenager, and teenagers were allowed to want that kind of dynamic, right?)

Elara is an outsider looking in now. Her childhood and everything that happened isn't just in a previous chapter in her father's life, it's in a whole other book. He moved on, which would have worked out if the snap never got reversed. But now everyone is back and nothing is the same, and billions of people are reeling because everyone else moved on and for the dusted, it's only been a few days.

And all her childhood nightmares about people she cared about turning her back on her and leaving her behind start coming back.

She feels selfish and insensitive for even thinking that she should be a part of this new book. She can't just walk back into their lives like it really has been only a few days. It's been years and her book is closed. So she doesn't visit the lake house. She keeps minimal contact with her dad because she thinks she needs to distance herself and let him have his new family. She stays in the city and helps out with rebuilding the compound, but even the team doesn't hear much from her.

Until Nex-Us finally convinces her to go back. Because he'd been coming back to earth in those five years, and as it turned out, her family were more of a family to him in six years than his own had been in his entire life, so of course he stuck around through everything.

There are pictures of her at the lake house. A handful of her childhood projects mixed in with the decor - including the framed schematics for a wildly impractical device she'd conjured up when she was nine - and there's a little box that contains all of the recordings she made when she was stuck in space along with all of the little souvenirs she kept from the "trip".

And her sister asks her questions about some of the antics she got up to as a kid - and some as an adult - and asks for stories about their dad because she's already heard plenty about everybody else, like -

"did you really jump off a helicarrier to save a pilot?"

"dad says you kicked Justin hammer in the knee"

And everyone subtly tries to get her to stop asking El so many questions because they think it'll be bad for her, because they noticed how upset she seemed after the dust settled (but they didn't really get why. why couldn't they get it?) but all El herself can really manage is to just hug her sister for a really long time. Then ask her a bunch of questions. And when the girl is exhausted and finally sleeping, she finds her dad and hugs him too.

It might take her a while to stop feeling so disconnected. Like she's alone now. But not everyone moved on after the snap. Not completely.