#it's not been a good day for cat naps thanks to construction near us

[roseandbee]

So sleepy 😻

[ynisamenace]

 Party For One

Warnings: sub! Aone being a flustered mess, confident dom! Reader, nsfw kinda (grinding, not pg-13 kissing), mention of drugs and alcohol, college au! Aone.

Word count: 2.3k

a/n: ok guys this is my first fanfic so apologies if it’s not too good or if the ending is too rushed. Constructive criticism is always welcome and pls don’t forget to like and/or reblog. Thank you!

Aone was not much of a party goer. Although his friends were more outgoing, he in fact was not. He was more of a homebody, mostly leaving his shared apartment with Kenji for school, to get more ramen from the corner shop near his uni or practice with his newly-formed volleyball team; courtesy of his newly-formed friend, Kanji. Then proceeding to come home to shower, nap, wake up, struggle with his homework and then sleep till the next day. He was about to start the fourth activity of his daily routine when the sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment.

Sighing, he left his spot at the kitchen island to open the front door, then trying to close it once Kanji’s face appeared behind it.

“Woah woah if you wanted some alone time, you should’ve just said that”, the cat-faced friend exclaimed, just barely slipping through the crack in the door. Face adorned with brown freckles and a smile seemingly super glued to his face, he looked like the poster boy of golden retriever boys, “Wouldn’t matter anyway since I’m still dragging you to Sugawara’s tonight.”

Ah yes, Suga’s party, the one Aone was being forced to go to as a favour for his new friend. The white haired boy uttered a grunt of disapproval as Kanji plopped down onto his couch.

“I’m telling you man, when girls see us walking in together with my beauty and your scowl-,” he smirked while giving Aone a once over, “-they’ll come flocking like parakeets.” Aone ignored his new friend’s rambling and was about to go back to his homework when his phone buzzed. Picking it up and looking at his crush’s name made him do a double take before realizing it was from his class groupchat.

Y/n❤: Someone better come pick me up or else I’m dumping the mary jane😤

Sugawara: You live on campus, how did you sneak it in?

Y/n❤: Come pick me up and I’ll tell you

Bsf/n: I can see I’m gonna be on y/n duty tonight. I’ll come get you in 5

Y/n❤: Girl I’ll literally marry you don’t play with me

                                         -5 minutes later-

Y/n❤: Psa to everyone in this groupchat, bsf/n and I are married now

Bsf/n: As long as you do my makeup for the party lol

Y/n❤: Deal

A slightly dejected sigh left the tall boy’s lips, wishing it was him y/n would joke about marrying to the- wait party?? The realization that y/n was going to the same party as him made heart race with anticipation and although he never talked to her in any of the classes they shared, Aone developed a massive crush on y/n just by seeing the way she interacts with others as well as her personality. Her presence when she walks into a room, beautiful coily/kinky hair either flowing or in a different ‘protective style’ (which Aone ended up googling the meaning to) and her face adorned with a smile so bright, he could feel his ears getting hotter just by its look, it would be foolish to think that no other person in his uni or elsewhere had already snatched her up. Which is why Aone never felt the need to let her know about how much he was falling for her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his roommate’s door opening, revealing a clearly tipsy Kenji trying and failing to button up the last button on his silk shirt.

“Is anyone g-gonna help or what..” he slurred, stumbling into the living room, planting himself right in front of Aone who begrudgingly helped him with the last button. Satisfied, the intoxicated boy walks over to Kanji on the couch who’s currently scrolling through his instagram feed. He gives Kenji a once over before giving a nod of approval to his outfit. He turns to the tall, white haired boy, “Aone go change, the party starts in 10 and you know it’ll take us half an hour to get there!”, he exclaimed gesturing to Aone with his hands in a shooing manner. He didn’t understand what was wrong with his gray shirt and black sweatpants but went to his room to go change anyway, returning six minutes later sporting a green and white checkered shirt with dark blue jeans and black levis. The trio hurriedly leave their apartement, Kanji practically dragging both boys to his car before appointing Aone as the designated driver as the boy was the only one who had no intention to drink at the party.

The ride to the party took much more than half an hour as Aone was forced to drive while simultaneously trying to stop the two boys at the back from drinking any more of the pregame Kanji brought as well as preventing Kenji from messing with the aux cord. In the end, both boys settled on playing Ei8th mile on repeat the rest of the drive, both alternating between rapping DigDat and Aitch’s lines. Finally getting to the address Sugawara sent to the group, the trio hopped out of the car and went to knock on the door, opening to reveal the silver haired boy in all his glory wearing a burger king crown and a drunk smile.“You guys look li-hiccup-ke you had a fun drife here”, opening the door wider to reveal flashing red and purple strobe lights, living room filled with drunk and soon-to-be drunk college students and a hiphop song playing with a loud base that almost made Aone’s teeth clink. The two drunk boys wasted no time heading to the make shift bar in the kitchen, Aone following reluctantly behind feeling quite awkward in the party setting. Even worse, he was unable to spot y/n in the crowd making his heart drop lower into his stomach.

 No no no no. 

Even though Aone didn’t think y/n would like him the way he likes her, he was hoping he could at least use this party to make himself known to her, maybe forming a friendship with her first before professing his love. Dejectedly, he trudges to the bar, sulking next to his now very drunk friends who are far more interested with the designs on the kitchen counter. 

“Dude it’s so swirly…how do they make it like that?” one of the boys asks.

“Bro it has to be like a top secret thing. Like in the dark web,” the other replied, his eyes widening as his pupils are blown out more.

Not wanting to deal with their drunk conspiracies, Aone heads to the store room in search for some water after not seeing any laid out. Finding a bottle, he quickly gulps it down, faintly hearing the song in the living room change to one with a much deeper base. Leaving the store with his thirst finally quenched, he recognizes the song as Cold by Rico Nasty, her gravely voice echoing around the living room and drowning out some of the chatter which Aone was grateful for.

Ridin’ in a Maserati

Like Scotty I’m with two hotties

I ain’t just walk in the party-

“I brought the drugs to the partyyyy”, a voice which made Aone’s heart beat faster screamed, Y/n bursting through the front door with a medium sized pack of marijuana and a tray of what he assumes are pot brownies as the crownd cheered at her arrival. Her eyes wide with excitement, hair in cute little bantu knots (which Aone noted is now probably his favourite hairstyle on her), and dazzling smile still glued to her face. Making a bee line to the kitchen to drop the stuff she was holding, she hugged and greeted the people closest to her, making Aone regret not standing closer to the front door before realizing she was making her way straight to him.“Hi Polar Bear!” her scent of f/p enveloping him as she hugged his stomach, hair right next to nose, making the boy short-circuit. Y/n is hugging me. Me. Hugging. She smells so good. I should probably hug her back. But what if that’s weird. Hugging me. I’m gonna marry her. I’m gonna throw u-

“Takanobu woohoo you good?” she whispered in neck, drawing him out of his daydream, while at the same time making blood rush to his lower region. His eyes widen as he turns to see her staring right at him, inches apart and eyes questioning.

“I-I’m doing well y/n, um you uh look great tonight”, he managed to blurt out, his compliment making her lips curve into that signature smile. He unconsciously let out a low groan as he felt his jeans tighten even more as his mind raced a mile a minute, envisioning her on top of him, smile turning into a smirk as she runs her hands over his body making him squirm. His neck, his nipples, his happy trail, his-

Once again brought out of his daydream, he looked around to see y/n already gone and dancing in the living room, her presence making her look ethereal in the flashing lights. Smiling slightly, Aone deciding to stop before his imagination made him cream in his pants, decided to go look for his friends spotting both of them laying near a potted plant in the hallway caressing the leaves and muttering under their breaths. He discreetly goes back to the store, getting two bottles of water and placing them on either side of his friends, knowing they’ll be shocked at it ‘appearing’.

Sighing tiredly, he briefly thinks of just driving back to his apartment having already seen his crush and hugged her, but decided against it not wanting to feel guilty for abandoning his intoxicated friends. He was about to go to the backyard looking for some fresh air before he heard his name being said in the crowd. Turning around too quickly he bumped into someone, gripping their waist and letting their scent envelop him before he caught a glimpse of their hair. 

Yes yes God yes

“Nobu I’m so sorry, I was trying to get your attention but you didn’t turn around!” y/n exclaimed, gripping his shirt making the boy realize his grip on her waist was tightening significantly. He quickly tried to let go but y/n wasn’t having any of it and planted his large palm on her backside, squeezing a little. Aone’s face had never been as red as it is now from that simple action. Clearing his throat, he gives a tentative squeeze to gauge her reaction and seeing the smirk on her face as her pupils darken. She finally releases her grip on his hand and turns to the dance floor, Aone follow behind.

 As they reach the dance floor, afrobeats fill the air as joro by wizkid which Aone knew was one of y/n’s favourite songs) plays turning the energy of the party to a slower tempo. Y/n turns to the tall boy, once more putting his hands on her waist, before pulling him closer to her, their bodies now pressed against eachother.

Aone can feel her grinding on his pants and begs to any God who’ll listen to please not let him pop a boner right now. Her mouth comes closer to his ear and he can feel her breath making shivers run down his spine. “I could feel it you know…” she whispers as his eyes widen, embarrassment from though him as he realizes she felt the first boner he popped while hugging her in the kitchen “…didn’t peg you as the type. What a pervert you are Nobu.”   

That small gesture almost made Aone cream in his pants. Almost. If not for the overwhelming shame he would feel if someone saw him, his dick was already as hard as can be. A murmur left Aone’s lips and y/n has to strain her neck to hear him over the sound of the music flowing through the house.

“What was that Nobu?”

“P-plea-ase,” he whispers, ears a bright shade of red as y/n smirks looking him in the eye to see his pupils blown out, clouded with lust and feeling his member poking her in the thigh.

“Please what Nobu?” their lips almost touching.

“..Please kiss me”

“That’s all you had to say ya damn polar bear”, finally pressing her lips on his and making the butterflies in his stomach turn into fireworks. He really couldn’t believe it. His head felt like it was about to burst from all the blood that rushed into it. Her lips felt so much better, so much better than his imagination. Her hands sliding up to his neck and slipping into the hair on the nape of his neck, he uttered a low groan giving access to y/n to slip her tongue onto his. Aone could feel his precum dampening his briefs and hoped that a dark spot wouldn’t be visible by the end of the night. She tried to break the kiss, his head leaning closer not letting her go until she tugged hard on his nape hair forcefully, a string of saliva still connecting them.

“What a needy boy”, she smirked, letting go of him to swipe at the corner of his lips. “Why didn’t I come speak to you earlier?”, he didn’t care because for him, this really was worth the wait.

 Aone was not much of a party goer, but he’d have to thank his friends in the morning for forcing him to go to this one.

Tags: @itzgabz22

[write-orflight]

Like Real People Do. Chapter 4

*Gif not mine*

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Rating: M, eventually will be smut.

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: Sexual themes, talk about sex (not NSFW though), fainting, reader just being thirsty in general. 

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

A.N We’re getting into the main crux of the story now! Message to be added to the taglist. thanks for reading! Much love, Cia

                Chapter 4: Why were you digging?  

Months pass and the early spring turns into hot humid D.C summer. You were never a big fan of the summer, you preferred the colder months despite the bad memories you had associated with them. 

Things changed and some things stayed the exact same. You caught bad guys, which was typical, you actually ended up getting tackled by a drunk Unsub once which results in you being out of the field with a broken arm for four weeks. You found a cat in an alley digging through the trash near your apartment one day when you were walking home. You left food out for him since until one day he decided to come up to you. And now you have a cat you affectionately named Garbage. 

You and Ethan (the guy from the bar) had a “situation-ship”, as Garcia liked to call it for about a month and a half. In your opinion, there was no situation-ship, you guys had mediocre sex until he wanted more and was upset you “worked too much”. So when he “broke up” with you, you weren’t really upset. Your heart wasn’t in it anyway. 

You and Spencer never talked about that night at the bar. In fact, you hardly talked at all. Your Saturday’s together stopped, you had no excuse to see each other now you were finished with school. Now that there was no thesis, there was no thesis for him to help with. 

That didn’t stop Spencer from occupying the space in your head rent-free though. You couldn’t help yourself, he was always in the forefront of your mind and frankly it was starting to affect how you worked. It was a paperwork day and everyone was working silently, merely coexisting and since there was nothing really going on your mind couldn’t help but wander. Spencer was sitting across you reading case files, taking occasional notes in a legal pad next to him. Your eyes instantly went to his hands as he traced it down the page as he often did when he was reading. You studied them for a while, long slender fingers resting on massive palms. You never thought you were someone who’d be attracted to hands but the amount of times you thought about them on particularly lonely nights, specifically the things he could do with them. 

Yea, it was enough to make you a cheirophile. 

You went back to watching him when suddenly one of the aforementioned hands were waving in your face. 

“Y/N” he said. “I’ve been calling your name for 3 minutes.” 

“I’m sorry, Spen.” You flush instantly at being caught. “What did you need?” 

“I asked if you had a red pen I could borrow?” 

“Yea.” You rummaged through your drawer, producing the pen in question. His hand brushes yours as he grabs it, you try very hard not to shiver at the contact but you couldn’t help it. “Keep it.” you say. 

“Hey, are you okay?” He says. “You’ve been extremely out of it lately.”

He was right, you have been out of it lately. Spencer was putting you out of it. You hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that night at the bar and your almost kiss. Since then, it was like he was trying to constantly bring your attention to his mouth, whether it was by his habit of stealing lollies from Garcia’s office or the constant biting and licking of his lips whenever he was deep in thought. They had seared their way into your frontal lobe without permission. 

Working with him had become exceptionally hard and an unwelcome distraction, especially out in the field. Last month, the two of you had gone undercover in a nightclub, an unsub had been murdering young couples who were overly affectionate in public, so you had to spend the night practically wrapped around the man you had an insane crush on, breathing in his scent. You sipped your “cocktail” (it was just cranberry juice) as Spencer kept his arm steady around your waist. Eventually, you hear Emily in the earpiece you were wearing. 

“You’ve gotta do more guys if we’re going to draw him out.” She says. 

“Yea and loosen up. If  you guys look uncomfortable, no ones going to believe you’re a couple.” Morgan adds. 

You and Spencer look at each other for a beat.  

“If I do something that makes you uncomfortable, you’ll tell me right?” He whispers to you. You nod instantly. Suddenly Spencer’s arm is tighter around you, pulling you flush to his body. He dips down attaching his lips to your neck and jawline. You gasp, you had not been expecting that at all, you clutch your drink harder other hand moving to his side. He pulls you in tighter somehow, suddenly you feel his hand move downward until he is palming your ass, you bite your lip to keep your composure but his lips suddenly meet that spot behind your earlobe that he couldn’t have possibly known about prior. A quiet moan unintentionally rips through you and you could’ve sworn you felt his fingers twitch, squeezing your ass slightly. Emily and Morgan were right, the Unsub did approach you guys shortly after that and led you into the alley like he did so many couples before only to be met by your badges and guns. 

Then there was the time a couple of months ago when you and Reid had gone to interview a child psychiatrist and discovered that he was a molester. Spencer had been livid talking to the man, making threats that honestly should've been promises to throw the man in jail. You had never seen Spencer angry or at the very least this angry, and for some reason that turned you on beyond belief. 

You decided to close that can of worms and save it for another day. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” You say, smiling tightly at him turning back to your stack of files. You couldn’t be mad at Spencer for your inability to keep it in your pants while you were working. So that’s what you did, worked and tried to avoid Spencer as much as you could. And if that night from the club replayed in your head often while you were alone in your bed that night like many nights before, it was no one’s business but your own. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the morning, you woke to the sound of construction equipment being used next to your apartment. D.C’s already so dense. What more could they be building?   You thought as you got up to make yourself a much needed cup of coffee. 

Now without your schoolwork or  standing date with Spencer, Saturdays always felt too long. You drank your coffee, read a book, watched some TV and when you looked at the time it was still only noon. You sighed heavily before getting up to get changed. The weather was nice, you hoped a jog would at the very least tire you out so you could waste a couple hours napping. 

So off you went, down the path of a nearby park. You had been jogging for about 30 minutes when you see a familiar shape in the distance. As you get closer you notice it’s exactly who you wanted it to be. 

“Hey, Spen!” You say excitedly as you slow to a stop in front of him. He looks up from the book he was reading on the bench. He smiles once he sees you. “Y/N, Hey.” He says. 

“What’re you doing in the park alone?” You ask. 

He lifts up his book. “I just came to read, thought a change of scenery would do me better than sitting around my apartment.” He says 

“Same here. Now that I finished school, it feels like I have too much time in the day. Now it just feels like I’m doing stuff just to keep myself busy, hence the jogging.” You say lifting your leg slightly, pointing out the running shoes you were wearing. You felt his eyes slowly trail up your bare legs, taking in your form slowly and diligently as if he thought he would forget it all the second he blinked. His eyes finally stopped at yours and you released the breath you didn’t know you holding. 

“Well, I’ll let you get back to your book. I’ve still got 2 miles to go.” You say, as you start to jog away, you hear Spencer call out to you. You stop and turn back. “Yea?” you ask. 

“Umm…” He says trailing off before taking a breath. “I’m going to see a movie later, I was hoping maybe you’d wanna come? It’s in french, but I can whisper-translate for you.” He says. 

“Yea sure, I’m doing anything else.” You say, a little too excitedly. Calm down, Y/N, he didn’t even say it was a date. You think to yourself. “What time should I meet you there?” 

“7?” He says. 

“Great! See you at 7, Reid!” You say before jogging away. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

You leave your house around 6:45, after spending about an hour and a half trying to find something to wear. Since it wasn’t a date, or since he didn't say it was one, you opted for something casual. A pair of comfortable jean shorts and your favorite band’s t-shirt. You did light makeup, and after an inspection in the mirror you decided you looked the right amount of cute and comfortable. 

Spencer was waiting outside the theater when you arrived. He was dressed casually too, a blazer over a simple t-shirt, cuffed jeans and converse. He smiles brightly at you as you walk up to join him. 

He insists on paying for the movie and you have to fight him to get him to let you at least pay for snacks but soon you are seated in the almost empty theater together. 

He moves close to you as the movie starts, whispering translations in your ear. At some point halfway through the movie, his arm ends up around your back as he continues to translate, your hand falls instinctively to his thigh. 

The movie ends eventually, and the two of you begin to walk outside together. You know a really good ice cream place that’s not a far walk from the theatre so you suggest going Spencer instantly says yes. You guys walk in silence for a while before you open your mouth to say something. 

“Can I confess something to you?” You ask him. 

He turns and looks at you. “Yea, what is it?” 

“Je parle quatre langues, dont une est le français.” (I speak four languages, one of which is french.) You say. 

He looks at you incredulously. “Pourquoi m'avez-vous laissé traduire le film entier pour vous?” (Why did you let me translate the entire movie for you?) He asks 

“Tu veux dire, pourquoi t'ai-je laissé chuchoter à mon oreille pendant deux heures d'affilée?” (You mean, Why did I let you whisper in my ear for two hours straight?) You smile flirtatiously at him. “Je suis sûr que tu peux comprendre celui-là.” (I'm sure you can figure that one out) You nudge him with your arm. “Come on, I believe you owe me ice cream.” 

----------------------------------------------------

You and Spencer, deciding you don’t want the night to end just yet,  take your ice cream and walk to a park. You lick lazily at the cone you opted for opposed to the cup he got. You guys seem to try and catch up on everything the two of you had done since your last coffee shop visit. He tells you about the books and Doctor’s journals he’s read. You explain to him the entire plot of the latest season of Drag race. You talk and talk and talk, to the point you don’t even realize it’s getting late. 

“It’s late.” he says, “We should head back.” 

And so you do, the two of you walk back to your cars parked near the movie theatre in semi-silence. As the two of you approach your driver door, you turn to look at each other. 

“This was fun, to hang out, I mean.” You say. 

“Yea, it was.” He adds. “I’d like to do it more, if you don’t mind.” 

You shake your head. “No, I’d love that.” you say. 

He takes a step closer to you and you do the same. This was it, he was finally going to kiss you. He looks down at your lips and up to your eyes again as if searching for the approval you give a quick tiny nod. He smiles, moving a hand to the side of your head leaning into you--

Your phone rings. He takes a step back. 

Moment ruined.   

You look at your caller ID. “It’s Hotch.” you say, he nods at you while you answer the phone “Y/L/N” you say. 

“Y/N/N, you need to meet me at the office. Right now.” He says. 

“Why sir? Is there a case?” You ask. 

“No case.” He says. “Gabriel Ferguson’s date has been set.” 

That name. 

You tried everyday to forget that name. 

The name of the man who took your family. 

Your innocence. 

Your way of life. 

Gabriel Ferguson. 

The Beechwood Killer. 

You freeze. Spencer is watching you, concerned now. “W-Why do you need me to come in for that?” You stutter. 

“Because… he’s refusing to tell us where he dumped the first bodies.” Hotch pauses. “Until he speaks to you.” 

You drop your phone. 

The last thing you hear is Spencer calling out to you while everything fades to black.

Taglist: @haylaansmi​     @yoruebeautiful​ @kianagilder-blog​ @l0ve-0f-my-life​ @bihoeofmanyfandoms @dreamer7black​ @baby-banana​ @drreidshands​ @blameitonthenight21​ @slyskyeey​ @liaabsurd​ @di-essere-amato​

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: Your Move (Chibs x fem!Reader)

A/N: Unsuprisingly, I’m writing for SoA. It was just a matter of time until this new obsession caught up with me. This is my first attempt to write an accent phonetically, so I apologize in advance for the mess.

I also wanna thank @toomanystoriessolittletime​ and @penwieldingdreamer​ for beta’ing this for me and @ly--canthrope​ @wishuhadstayed​ and @chibsytelford​ for welcoming me to the SoA fam and encouraging me to write for it.

Summary: When you returned to Charming after your father passed away, you planned to only stay long enough to settle his affairs, but memories of the past and the prospect of a certain Scot in your future made you stay longer than planned.

Wordcount: 4,5K

Warnings: mentions of alcohol and inebriation and that’s it.

You knew the Sons of course.

There was no way to live in Charming your entire life and not know about them or at least some of them. You went to school with Jax and Opie and you remembered having such a crush on them, like most girls your age. They were the cool guys with their air of danger and the prospect leather cuts they wore every single day.

Your father warned you to stay away from them, as most parents would. The thing about the Sons was that they were a necessary evil to your small town, but it didn’t make them any less dangerous. Your father made sure to steer clear of them unless he absolutely needed it. You watched him seek out Clay Morrow once in a while if there was a problem in the diner, but it always pained him so much to do so.

You could see in his eyes, the exhaustion and barely contained shame whenever he had to have a sit down with the President of the MC. Always at the diner because he refused to go anywhere near the Teller-Morrow Garage.

He invested every cent he had to make sure you had a good education and could leave Charming for good. Do something he could never do in his own life and you appreciated that with all your heart but once he passed away and you had to come back to settle his affairs, sell the diner and the house and everything else, you found yourself caught up in the memories and the charms of the small town.

Everyone seemed to know you. Sometimes by name, most times as Allan’s kid. They paid their respects at the funeral, even the MC. You saw Gemma and Jax at the back and when your eyes caught the bright blue of the man Jackson had become, his lips tilting into a small, sympathetic smile in your direction, you didn’t feel the same butterflies as you used to when you were a teen.

He and his mother came closer after everyone else was gone. He still had that same sad smile placed in his face as Gemma pulled you into a hug that you didn’t really feel comfortable with, but didn’t know how to refuse.

“Allan was such a good man,” she said, pressing a kiss to your cheek and you could feel the lipstick imprint Gemma left behind. “Anything you need, sweetheart, just give us a call.” She handed you a Teller-Morrow business card, her number scribbled on the back.

“Thank you.” You nodded as they stepped away letting you go back to your grieving.

The diner was quick to sell. Your father, once he got sick, already found a buyer on call, you just needed to finalize the deal. The house was harder to do so. Not because you didn’t have people interested in it but because you couldn’t bring yourself to put it on the market. Not when there were so many childhood memories in it. This was the house you grew up in, where your father raised you to be the woman you were now. It was hard to let go of that, so you found yourself searching for reasons to delay your departure.

Separating possessions that would stay, be donated, sold, or thrown away. You started doing small repairs around the house, just like your father taught you because he wanted you to be as independent as possible. Taking off old, worn-out carpets and wallpapers, fixing the yard and clogged pipes, and closing off holes in the plaster walls.

Before long, a month had passed and you were still in Charming, only making weekend trips back to your apartment to bring more of the essentials with you. Even your cat had found residence in your father’s house, taking long naps in the porch bench, apparently much more comfortable with the small-town life than you expected.

Still, you had a hard time admitting that you didn’t intend to leave any time soon. Being in the house was a constant reminder that your father never wanted this life for you but at the same time, after spending the last 10 and something years in a big city, you had never felt more at home than when you got back here.

You were even painting again, something you haven’t done since you settled for a career as an art teacher. You were even more surprised when you opened up the yard sale and a couple of people ventured into the garage while you were distracted and asked about your paintings.

“They’re not really for sale,” you replied to a woman around your age, her dark hair falling over her shoulders in waves and she was so familiar, but you couldn’t place her in your memory.

“You should really think about selling them. Maybe even opening a gallery? They’re gorgeous.”

Her words stayed with you after the sale was done because it had always been your dream but in a big city, renting space was expensive and there were tons of small art galleries other there. It was hard to compete. In a town like Charming? It would be a place one of a kind.

The next morning, you found a small store for rent in the main street as you walked through the wide-open space, the morning bright light filtering through the half-closed blinds from the window, you could already see your works hanging around, the small counter with the cash register to the left and the backspace for your studio so you could work during slow days.

“I’ll take it.” The words were out before you could even think it through but once they passed your lips, you knew they were the right thing to do. You just needed officially move back to your hometown after so long away.

You took a week to go back to the city, pack up your belongings, and put in the moving truck. A few boxes of more personal stuff you loaded in your own battered old Chevy to bring with you on the drive back.

The car gave out in the middle of the night, still on the highway, miles away from Charming. The engine coughing and spluttering but refusing to start, no matter how many times you spun the key in the ignition. You had to settle for your fate and call a toll truck.

It was almost like destiny that when you pull out your phone from your pocket, the TM card fell out too and you didn’t even realize it had been there all this time. Gemma’s number in pen was washed out but the printed one for the garage was still visible so you dialed it. It wasn’t like you had another garage’s number on speed dial.

You waited at the side of the road for about 50 minutes until the headlights of the toll truck lightened up the night before pulling by your car and you couldn’t help the nervous flips of your stomach as the man stepped out of the car, in tight jeans and leather cut. His longish dark hair combed back, peppered with grey strands at his forehead and the goatee gave him such a distinguished look that you had a hard time not staring. You couldn’t remember the last time you were this attracted to someone at first sight.

“Ye called for a toll, lass?” he asked in a smooth drawl and thick accent that made shivers run down your spine, and for a second you couldn’t find your words.

“Uh… yeah, yes. I did,” you finally managed, glancing back to your car. Seemed to be the safest thing to do. “The old piece of junk died on me. Sorry for the hour.”

“No problem,” he waved off your apology, setting up to get your car secured in the back of the truck, before opening the door for you. “Come on, I give ye a lift.”

He helped you into the truck’s cabin, taking your hand in his gloved one like a perfect gentleman and closing the door behind you before he got behind the wheel and started the engine.

“Thank you so much, mister…”

“Nah, lassie. No mister required,” he offered you a soft smile and from this close, you could see the pale line of the scar in his cheek. “Chibs is fine.”

“Alright. thank you, Chibs,” you replied smiling too as he pulled into the road and turned the radio into a classic rock station.

You remained in silence for most of the ride, sneaking glances at the man next to you. Had he been in Charming all those years ago? Before you left? Why didn’t you remember him? How many times had you seen the Sons riding through the main street in their Harleys and leather cuts? You would probably have seen him before. Then again, back then your eyes tended to seek out Jax’s slender form due to your stupid teen crush. Maybe that was why you missed him.

“Mind if I smoke?” Chibs asked, startling you out of your thoughts.

You shook your head, feeling the heat of embarrassment burning your face as you tried to ignore the way his lips closed around the cigarette and how his long fingers operated the lighter.

The flame lit up his face for a brief second, reflected in his deep, dark eyes and you had to look away, clearing your throat. You never felt this awkward and uncertain in the presence of man, so you raked your brain for something to break the tense silence.

“Why Chibs?” You blurted out before you could stop yourself and he chuckled, the sound low and husky and it went straight to your center, making you press your legs together as discreetly as you could.

“It a Scottish slang,” he started, glancing your way as he took a deep drag of his cigarette. “For knife.”

“Oh,” you replied dumbly, mulling over his words. “Because of…?” Unconsciously, you reached for your cheek and froze in shock at your own insensitive action. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…”

“It’s alright, love,” he chuckled again as he slowed down the truck and you didn’t even notice he was dropping you off at home until you recognized the construction in front of you. “I dinna mind. And yes, that’s why. Bu’ Filip works too.”

“Thank you, Filip,” you spoke softly, meeting his eyes and he smiled around his smoke and nodded. “I’ll drop by TM tomorrow morning to settle everything?”

“Aye. I’ll let Gem know.”

You hesitated to step out of the truck, and you didn’t even know why. You just didn’t want to leave. Not yet, but there was no reason to stay. So you resigned with doing what needed to be done and watching as he drove away before finally getting inside the house.

Next morning, you took your dad’s old Jeep – and how lucky it was that you hadn’t sold it just yet – and headed to TM to settle payment for the toll and get the cost for the work.

While Gemma was ruffling through some papers trying to find your invoice, you let your gaze wander through the open side door towards the garage, noticing the men in overalls talking and joking while working.

“He’s not here,” Gemma said, startling you to turn back and meet her narrowed eyes. You wondered how she could possibly know. “Jax.”

“Oh!” Relief washed over you and you managed a timid smile. “I wasn’t…”

“And he’s back with Tara.”

There was a clear warning in her tone, almost as if saying you shouldn’t dare to try and intervene between the couple, not that you would want to. She finally handed you the paper so you could sign it, authorizing the service.

“How soon can I expect the car?”

“Maybe a week? Might be more,” Gemma replied, pulling the paper back and giving you a long look. “There were some boxes in the truck… You’re uh, staying in Charming, then?”

“Yeah…” it was the first time you said it out loud and it felt almost like a confession. “I am. The moving truck should be arriving soon so can I drop by later to pick them up?”

“I’ll get one of the prospects to bring them to you,” the older woman declared after an assessing look. Like she was measuring you up, making sure if you were worthy of her town.

You just offered a quick thanks and headed off, resisting the urge to glance behind your shoulder at the men working on the cars or the side building that housed the club. Even if you could feel the baby hairs in your nape prickling due to an intense gaze at your back. If it was Gemma or someone else, you didn’t find out.

The entire thing slipped from your mind by the time you got home and found the moving truck already waiting for you. The rest of your day was spent moving boxes and furniture to their designated spaces, making sure the movers didn’t break anything with their careless demeanors.

It was late afternoon when they finally brought everything in and took off, leaving you to sort out the mess. Just the sight of scattered boxes all through the wooden floor of the two-store house was enough to make you regret your decision. It would take you days to get everything in order and that on top of making sure your gallery was up and running too.

“Better get to it,” you whispered to yourself, tuning in the radio and letting the melodic beats of Pat Benatar set the tone for your work. And if you sang along and danced around the house through it all, well there wasn’t anyone around to see it, even if no curtains were covering the windows just yet.

The knock on the door made you jump midway through setting the cutlery in place and you lowered the radio before making your way through the maze of boxes, your lips tugging into a surprised smile when you found Chibs standing outside, cigarette in his mouth, sunglasses covering his eyes.

“Hia, lass. Gem asked me to deliver some boxes?” he explained, and you smirked, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over your chest as you examined the biker in front of you.

“Gemma asked you?” you repeated, brow arched. “Sounds more like a prospect job…”

“Might ‘ave volunteered,” Chibs admitted, his smirk matching yours. “Memory’s a little fuzzy on the details.”

With a chuckle, you stepped aside to let him in offering quick instructions of where to put the boxes while you watch him move around. This time, there was no leather jacket below his cut, only a sleeveless shirt, and you could appreciate the flexing of his muscles and the ink adorning his skin as Chibs worked.

“That’s the last one,” he said, setting the box down by the door and meeting your gaze.

“Thank you. I really appreciate the help.”

He waved off your gratitude and silence fell over the two of you, thick and heavy like a blanket of all the things unsaid. In your brightly lid living room, you could properly see Chibs’ face and his dark eyes watching you as if waiting for something, a sign maybe, but you didn’t know what to do. Had you always been so bad at this? Or was just his presence that seemed to strip you from all functional reasoning?

“I, uh…” you looked around, searching for what to say or do. “Wanna drink?”

“Sure.”

Chibs followed you into the kitchen and you were very aware of his presence behind you like a shadow as you stopped by the fridge, pulling out two beers and offering him one. You drank in silence, watching one another and you wished you could explain why this felt so strange. You wished you could make the tension and awkwardness fade away, but you didn’t really know how and Chibs didn’t seem inclined to help.

Then again, he did take the first step, coming all the way here with your boxes to see you and he wasn’t even trying to hide or deny it. It was your move but just his mere presence made you freeze and you didn’t know what to do, how to show him you were glad he came and wanted him to stay a little longer.

All you could do was watch him, the way his lips fit around the tan glass of the bottle as he took a gulp of the drink, his throat working as he swallowed. You wondered if Chibs knew how effortlessly sexy he was. How just having him leaning against the counter watching you with that heavy-lidded gaze was enough to make your knees weak and your breath speed up.

“I should head off,” he finally broke the silence, setting his empty bottle on the counter and you felt your heart sink. “Get out of yer hair…”

“Right…” you followed him to the door, hands in your pockets. “Thanks again.”

“No problem, love.” Chibs paused outside, his eyes lingering on you. “Ye know, the clubhouse has a bar. Ye could stop by some time.”

“Yeah,” you hurried to say with a nervous smile. You almost thought he had given up on you but here he was, throwing you a line. “Sure.”

“Good,” he smiled too. “‘Night, love.”

You watched once again Chibs driving off from your place until he disappeared around the corner before you stepped back inside, leaning against the closed door. It was your move and knew. You just had to figure out a way to actually take that step.

A week passed since Chibs’ invitation and you had yet to find the courage to meet him at the clubhouse. At first, you told yourself it was because of the move. You were busy getting the house in shape and then your gallery but you knew you were lying to yourself.

You were just afraid. Torn between wanting to learn a little more about the mysterious Scot that didn’t seem to leave your mind and knowing that going there, getting mixed with the Sons was getting yourself involved with a crowd your father worked so hard to keep you away from. Those two sides seemed to be at war, and you didn’t know what do to.

You knew, however, that the longer you waited, the more you made it clear to Chibs that you might not be interested, even if you were definitely were. So you needed to make a decision. Soon.

When you finally worked up the nerve to go to the clubhouse, you spent hours deliberating on an outfit. You wanted to look good but not like you were trying too hard because you knew what you were going to find there.

Several of your high school friends had sneaked in at some point to check out the Sons’ official hangout and report back. You knew there would be the club members, of course, and other friends, but most importantly, there would be other women, croweaters.

The expression always made you grimace in distaste, the implications clear in the pejorative tone used and it made you stop and consider if you weren’t exactly like them, chasing away a biker you knew nothing about.

The thought was almost enough to make you give up, turn around and go back to your car but you were already there at the garage, might as well bite the bullet and do this. With a deep breath, you crossed the parking lot, the heel of your boots crunching the cement as you walked toward the clubhouse, hands in the pockets of your jacket, out of sight so no one could see them tremble with your apprehension.

When you walked into the smoky room, you were almost expecting to see all eyes on you, the outsider in their territory, but no one paid you any attention as you surveyed the space, searching for Chibs. He was nowhere in sight and the longer you stood there, awkward and afraid, the urge to flee grew in your chest. You shouldn’t even have come.

Turning around to walk out, you ran straight into the solid chest of the man you came here to find. Chibs held you steady with a hand on your elbow, watching you with curious eyes.

“Leavin’ so soon, lass?” he asked, his voice a smooth drawl and it set your body on edge, in a good way.

“Yeah, I, uh,” you glanced around at people dancing and drinking and making out in front of everyone, verging on indecent exposure. “Didn’t really seem like I belonged.”

“Give it a chance, love,” he said with a smirk and offering you a hand. “Ye might actually enjoy yerself. How ‘bout a drink?”

“Ok,” you accepted after a moment’s hesitation, taking Chibs’ hand and letting him lead you to the bar.

A drink turned into several and before you knew it, you were playing pool against a guy named Tig, barely being able to stay upright but still managing to be the better player of the two of you to Chibs’ great amusement and loud heckling.

“You’re sure he’s not just letting me win?” You asked Chibs as he brought you another shot of whiskey, chuckling as you winced and pulled a face after downing it the shot. You had just won yet another round against Tig and his annoyed, barely conscious face was very amusing.

“‘M surprised he managin’ to hold on to his cue,” he commented as he took your cue and handed it over to the first person around. “How ‘bout some air? Sober ye up a bit?”

Chibs led you into the cold night air of the yard and to the picnic tables outside. Out there, you two were completely alone except for the stars and the random passing car but it was late enough that the town was mostly silent, the only sounds coming from inside the clubhouse, the music leaking out muffled due to the soundproof walls.

There were just the two of you, sitting side by side as Chibs lid a cigarette, and before he could even take a drag, you snatched out of his lips, bringing it to your own, making him smirk. The alcohol had dissolved most of your reservations, leaving only you desire for the man next to you.

“Bigge’ men 'ave lost fingers stealin’ ma smoke, lass,” Chibs commented, turning his body towards you.

“Good thing, I’m just a little lass, then,” you teased, trying to mimic his Scottish drawl as you shifted your position until you were straddling the bench and facing him.

“Wee lassie,” he corrected, watching intently as you took a drag of his cigarette and puffed out the smoke.

You liked this, being alone with Chibs. Having his dark eyes focused on you and only you. Being close enough that you could smell the whiskey, leather, and the heady sweat of his skin. Feel the heat of his body. You reached over to trail the black Reaper etched on his biceps, daring to touch without asking permission first.

As Chibs allowed the touch, you grew bolder and moved closer, letting your fingers travel higher, over his shoulder and on his neck, until your thumb brushed his jaw and cheek, touching the rough stubble beginning to grow there.

His own palm had settled over your clothed thigh, large and hot, making you acutely aware of how close you two were and how it would barely take a move for your lips to find his. You wanted that more than anything. Chibs had to know that, right? He had to see it in your eyes.

“Ye should head home, lass,” he said instead, pulling away from you and you felt the loss of his heat. “'t’s gettin’ late.” Then you felt the burning shame as he refused to look at you.

“Yes,” you croaked, eyes darting around at anything other than him. “You’re right.”

You had put yourself out there for this man and he was shipping you off like unwanted cargo. You didn’t even know why.

“I’ll get one of the prospects to drive ye, just…”

“It’s fine,” you didn’t let Chibs finish, getting to your feet and stepping back. “I brought my Jeep. I can drive myself.”

You walked away before he could say anything else because you could feel the familiar lump in your throat and the burning behind your lids. The last thing you wanted was to cry in front of him. You already made a fool out of yourself enough for one night.

You were almost at the car when you stumbled on your own feet. Fortunately, you never met the ground as a strong arm surrounded your waist, keeping you upright and pressed against his strong chest. You could feel his breath tickling your nape as both of you stood there, neither daring to move.

“If I ‘ere a good man, I’d let ye walk away,” Chibs sighed and you sagged against his warmth, letting him inhale your scent on your neck before you turned around to face him, hands resting against his chest.

“Maybe I don’t want you to be a good man,” you whispered, looking up at him. “Maybe I just want you to kiss me.”

His lips were softer than you expected, just a gentle press against yours the whiskers of his goatee tickling your skin. It was almost as if Chibs weren’t really sure if he should do this. Like he was giving you the chance to pull away and change your mind.

Your fisted his vest, pushing closer to him, pressing harder against his lips in search of more. Letting your own lips part in invitation and soon enough, his tongue was exploring your mouth, tangling with yours, bringing forth the taste of whiskey, nicotine, and something dark and addictive that you could have for the rest of your life.

One hand on your hip, the other on your nape, adjusting the angle of your head so he could better deepen the kiss, Chibs pressed you against the cool metal of your Jeep, his body crowding yours, one of his thighs between your legs as he devoured your mouth.

Everything seemed to fade away then but the taste of his lips and the touch of his hands on your skin, burning a bright fire within you as his calloused hand sneaked under your shirt, exploring your back, his rings catching lightly on your skin, making you shiver as he nipped at your bottom lip and allowed you a second for breath.

“Go home,” Chibs grumbled, his lids even heavier than usual as he peered at you with what you could only describe as bedroom eyes. “Before ye do somethin’ ye might regret at the light of day and without the haze of alcohol.”

You paused, considering his words, licking your lips as if to chase the aftertaste of his kiss.

“And if come tomorrow morning, stone-cold sober, I still want this?”

“Ye know where to find me.” Chibs let his lips brushed over yours one last time, just a small temptation of what he could offer before he took a step back and pulled the car door open for you. “‘Night, lass.”

“Good night, Filip.”

xxx

[p-artsypants]

I’ll Handle This (5)

In Which There is an Akuma

Ao3 | FF.net

Plagg was laying on the bed when he returned. “Oh good, you’re back. I was kind of worried about you—“ 

“There’s an Akuma!” Adrien interrupted. 

Plagg’s eyes lit up. “An Akuma, you say? How interesting...” 

“Yeah yeah, just do the thing that sucks me in the ring!” 

“I’ll warn you ahead of time, when I’m in your body like this, the suit becomes factory default. Oh, and you’ll be able to see and hear everything I do.” 

“Great. This whole ‘Invasion of the Bodysnatchers’ episode is getting better and better.” 

“Adrien, Claws out!” 

That was an odd sensation. Now Adrien knew what Taffy felt like. He felt his whole body grow long and thin, before spiraling smaller and smaller. There was every color in the rainbow, flashing in a nauseous wave, and then, he was looking through his eyes again. 

“Ha!” Said Plagg with a little satisfaction. “Feels good to be on the other side.” He walked over to the mirror, where Adrien could finally see what ‘factory default’ meant. 

He looked like a ninja. Not like a Naruto ninja, but like a real Sengoku period, 15th century ninja. An all black, cloth ensemble, with foot wraps and a thick belt. Instead of claws on his fingertips, there were long blades attached to the back of his hand, almost like wolverine. Instead of a mask around his eyes, he wore one over the lower half of his face, and only left his eyes exposed. But his eyes looked different enough. The sclera was a toxic green instead of white, and his pupils were slit. Thick black eyeliner traced the eyes and framed them, making the color pop. His hair was a complete disaster and stood up in every direction. 

Finally, the ears. They were real, genuine cat ears. Complete with fur. 

“Not too shabby, if I say so. Though, the first guys that wore this had black hair, which made the ears less jarring. But I can’t complain. We mustn’t leave our lady waiting!” 

Plagg threw open the window and leapt into the city. 

He rushed over the rooftops, doing impossible feats of parkour and agility. It actually made Adrien dizzy. 

“Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention,” Plagg said aloud. “You know how when you’re in the suit, you can be body slammed into a building and be okay afterwards?” 

Yeah? 

“Well...you’re going to feel all that pain instead. That’s why I’m always so wiped after a fight.” 

What?!

Plagg glanced at his baton, the screen looking more like parchment than the usual LED screen, and found where Ladybug was. 

A hop skip and a jump, he landed next to her. “What are we up against?” 

She didn’t look at him, eyes glued to the akuma. “Stretchy guy. Like Mr. Fantastic. Can’t figure out what ticked him off, but he’s able to reach anything and even shape shift. Might be difficult to fight.” Then she finally looked at him and her eyes bulged. “Chat? What’s with your suit?” 

“Plagg’s having a hard time right now, so I’m factory default.” 

“O...Kay...are you going to be okay fighting like that?” 

“It feels fine, my Lady. Nothing to worry about. In fact, do you mind if I take the lead on this one? Give you a little break?” 

She chuckled. “You know I could always use a break.” 

“Great! We need to lead him over to the construction site over at Notre Dame, where all the scaffolding are.” 

She smiled at him. “I think I know what you’re planning, Kitty. Lead the way.” 

He dropped the bottom part of his mask, and wolf whistled quickly, before Ladybug could place his face. “Hey stretch!” He shouted. “You up for a little race?” 

“Ladybug and Chat Noir! You’ll give me your Miraculous as soon as I reach you!” 

“Good luck with that!” And he vaulted backwards on to the street and darted towards Notre Dame. 

Plagg was fast. Faster than Chat Noir normally was, and Ladybug was surprised at how hard it was to keep up with him. 

“H-Hey Chat! Don’t leave me behind!” 

He only stopped a second to scoop her up into his arms before running off again. Her added weight didn’t even slow him down. 

“Sorry, Bug. The Akuma has long legs, so he’s faster than usual. I can’t slow down, so hang on!” 

She did, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. 

Adrien was going to kill Plagg if he didn’t die from ecstasy first. He could feel Ladybug pressed tightly against him, and he loved every bouncing second of it. 

Soon they reached the construction site, with the Akuma hot on their tail. 

“Split up,” Plagg commanded and Ladybug gave a firm nod, following right along with him. 

While Adrien was basically on autopilot, he noted that this fight felt a lot like being on the jungle gym when he was a kid. He swung on the bars, twisting up levels onto the scaffolding, the akuma chasing after with each turn. 

Except, the akuma was long, and he was starting to get tangled in all the bars. 

“Oh no!” Ladybug feigned a cry. “I’m stuck! He might be able to get my Miraculous!” 

“You’re mine!” Called the akuma, twisting around a pole and darting for her. As he was about to snag her, she dropped and spun on her bent knees away. 

“Whoops, not so stuck after all!”

“I’m going to—“ The akuma reached out their arm, stretching and stretching to grab at her ears. But he never reached her. He was out of length, and hopelessly tangled in the mass of wood and metal. “No! No!” He wriggled, trying to untie himself, but Plagg had already found the akumatized item in the akuma’s back pocket. A roll of measuring tape. 

“Akuma, coming in hot!” He called, as he smashed the tape. 

The black butterfly emerged, and Ladybug caught it and purified it easily. “Bye bye little butterfly!” 

One cure later, the relative damage done to the scaffoldings was repaired, and the akuma victim, a short man, was returned to ground level. 

“Wow! We didn’t even have to use our powers today! Great work, kitty!” She praised as he raised her fist.

He bumped her back with a grin. “Thank you, Bug. Hope you didn’t mind me taking charge. I just figured with you being the guardian and all, having some shared responsibility would really help you out.” 

She exhaled with a breath, her shoulders relaxing. “Ugh, you have no idea. When that akuma alert went off, I was already dreading it. It’s been a long day.” 

Plagg frowned. “A long day?” Even after their shopping spree and awesome lunch? “Do you need to talk about it?”

She ground her toes on the roof of the church. “Are you busy? Plagg said you were doing something…” 

“Oh, I was napping. I have all the time in the world for you, Ladybug.” 

“Want to get some ice cream, then?”

“Only if you let me pay.” 

She dramatically put a hand to her forehead, “oh, if you must!” 

Plagg chuckled with her, and then took off running.

“Hey! I never said it was a race!” She called back. 

“You never said it wasn’t either!” He shouted back.

When she finally located Andre’s ice cream cart, he was already sitting and waiting with her order. “Your ice cream, my lady?”

“You’re so fast! Have you just been holding out on me all this time?!” She huffed, taking the cone from him. 

He shrugged. “Oh, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeves.” 

They enjoyed their ice cream in comfortable silence for a while, before Ladybug asked, “hey, you’re a boy, right?”

“Last I checked.” 

She shook her head at her dumb question. “Right. Um…I have a friend. Guy friend.” 

Plagg crossed his legs. “OoooOOoooo is it him?”

Ladybug blushed. “Yes.” 

“Tell me everything.”

Inside his head, Adrien started to panic. This could only end badly for them!

“Well today…he was acting really weird. Usually, he’s really nice and reserved and polite…I know he can be silly and rambunctious, but…today, he was larger than life. He took us out for an expensive lunch, and then shopping for clothes that would make his dad angry. I think it’s a rebellious streak, but my gal friend said his money has gone to his head…” She scuffed her foot on the floor. “I’m just worried. I don’t want him to change…but I don’t want him to fake being someone he’s not just to make others happy. I guess I’m just confused. What do you think?” 

Plagg finished his cone in one gulp, hiding his face right after. “I think it’s just puberty.” 

She did not think that was amusing. “Yeah right.” 

“Has handsome rich boy ever shown signs of materialistic superiority?”

“No, he wears the same clothes all the time, and never flaunts the things he owns—“ 

“Then I think your gal pal is off base. It probably is rebellion. Just…be a safe place for him, and I’m sure it’ll end up okay.” 

“A safe place? What do you mean?” 

“I’m not sure what this dude is rebelling for. You’d probably know. Is his family…strict?”

“Very.” 

“And controlling?”

“Extremely.” 

“Okay, so if I was in his shoes, I’d want a friend that was trustworthy for me to confide in. Rebelling is liberating and exciting, but also extremely scary, because it’s risky. He needs to have someone to have his back in case things go south.” He massaged her shoulder. “And it would be best if that friend was soft and smelled nice.”

Ladybug smacked his shoulder. “When did you get so wise?”

“I hide a lot of wisdom under my ‘dumbass’ veneer.”

Ladybug cackled loudly, making Plagg smile and Adrien swoon.  

“You can be a dumbass sometimes,” Ladybug admitted. “But you’re my dumbass.” 

“Aww, thanks bug!” He grinned. “So, handsome rich boy is all that’s on your mind? I know identity clues have to be avoided and all, but I like knowing stuff that’s going on in your life. And I think I can manage another golden nugget of advice as well, if needed.” 

Ladybug frowned, obviously something else cropping up in her mind. “Actually…there’s something I haven’t told you that I probably should have.” 

“I’m all ears. I literally have four of them.” He twitched his cat ears.

She reached up and rubbed them, an affectionate look on her face as she felt the fur under her fingertips. “Not too long ago, I was expelled from school.” 

“Ladybug is a bad student in her civilian life?” He joked.

“No! I’m not!” She damn-near cried. “Sorry, I just…ugh. I was framed. There’s this girl in my class that…she lies with every breath. I know she has a crush on my crush, but she’s lying and manipulating to get her way to him. She works with him now too.” 

Plagg knew there was certainly more to the story than that, but he had to play dumb as Chat Noir. “Lying is bad and all, but it’s not really your problem, is it? She’ll get caught in her web eventually.”

“Argh, that’s what Ad—my boy said too. Take the high road. And it made sense, for what he knew about her at the time…but what he didn’t know was that she threatened me. Threatened to take all my friends and him away, just because I told her to stop lying.”

This was a shock to both kwami and holder. “She threatened you?” 

“Yeah. And she went through with it. She got me expelled. Apparently, according to my boy, he sort of convinced her to double lie to get me un-expelled. She’s been quiet ever since, which has been a few weeks, but…she keeps staring at me. It’s unnerving.” 

“I suppose it would be, with her track record.” 

“I didn’t want you to find out about this, but I have to tell you. She’s almost gotten me akumatized, twice.” 

Plagg slapped a hand over his mouth with a gasp. 

Lila was a nuisance for Adrien, but she was a problem for Marinette. No, an imminent threat. This changed his attack strategy…though it started to look like Adrien’s three problems were weaved together. The whole situation was a little more delicate than he had considered at first. 

“I’ve beaten both akumas off, but I worry about the future. I’m trying to come up with a contingency plan, but for right now it’s just ‘don’t get upset’.” 

“I’ll try to come up with a plan too. Maybe next time, you could hand your earrings off to Tikki for a little while, if things start to get dicey. She can bring them to me, since she knows who I am.” 

Ladybug gnawed at her lip. “Tikki’s been my greatest ally in fighting them off. If she’s not there…” 

Plagg rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Bug, you’re the practical one here. What happens when you don’t give Tikki your earrings, and you don’t fight it off? When you’re so consumed with pain you don’t even see the Akuma coming? What then?” 

She shook her head. “You’re so right, I hate it.” She sighed. “That happened the last time too…I was only spared because Hawkmoth suddenly stopped his attack. That was the day I got expelled.”

“And I’ll follow the plan too. I haven’t gotten akumatized or anything, but it might only be a matter of time.”  

“Yeah…” It was awful to think about. Having to fight her partner was not something that Marinette wanted to do. But this loose plan was better than no plan. “Hey, it’s getting pretty late. I have a project I have to finish up.” 

“Oh, of course, go on home.” Plagg insisted. 

“Thanks for the Ice Cream, and for lending an ear. You’re the best, Kitty.” 

Plagg smiled at her, though she couldn’t see through his mask. His eyes crinkled in mirth. “I try.” 

“Tell Plagg I still have that cheese danish if he wants it. Night, Chat.” 

“Night, Bug.” 

And she swung off into the distance. 

Plagg took out his baton and made his own way home. He knew Adrien didn’t really want to be transformed any longer than he had to be. 

He landed inside the mansion, and called, “Claws in.” 

Adrien came flying out of the ring, and Plagg caught him carefully in his hands. “How you feeling, kiddo?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” said Adrien, weakly. “You didn’t even use my power, why am I so tired?” 

“How much cheese did you eat today?”

“None.” Adrien scrunched up his nose. “Come to think of it, I didn’t eat anything today.” 

“That would certainly do it.” Plagg said, with a sigh. He took out a wheel of camembert and took out a wedge for Adrien, holding it in front of his face. 

Normally, Adrien couldn’t stand the smell. It was putrid and foul and moldy…but this…this was on a different level. Curse Plagg’s disgusting body! He sat up and helped himself to a nibble of cheese. A nibble turned into a bite, and a bite turned into a full inhale, almost taking off his fingers. 

“Better?” 

Adrien sighed as his energy started to return. “Remind never to complain about your eating habits.” 

Plagg grinned. “Oh it's a deal!” 

Adrien’s phone rang, and Plagg reached to answer. 

“Who is it?” Asked Adrien. 

“It’s Marineeeeeeetteeeee~!” Plagg sang, and connected the call, putting it on speaker for Adrien to hear. 

“Hey Pooh Bear.” 

“H-hey uh, Tigger? No no that was dumb. Sorry, hi Adrien.” 

Plagg and Adrien shared a look of fondness. She was just too cute sometimes. 

“Whats up?” Pried Plagg. 

“Uh, not-not much! I just finished your second shirt! I can do more tomorrow, but for now…” 

“I’ve got an outfit picked out for tomorrow, don’t worry. And you’ll love it.” 

“Will I really? Or will it turn me into a pillar of salt?”

“Have a little faith in me, Mari.”

“I—of course. Did you just call me Mari?”

“Yeah, I thought it was about time I gave you a nickname. Is that okay? Or are you okay with Pooh Bear?”

Marinette’s giggle was adorable, as it was filled with thinly veiled embarrassment. “Call me whatever you like! I don’t mind!” 

“Great! What’s my nickname?”

“I don’t know? Do you want one?”

“Only from you, Pooh Bear!” He sang. 

“Um…I’ll have to think about it. I think I’ve heard Lila and Chloe both call you ‘Adri’, so I’ll try to come up with something else.” 

“I appreciate that.” Plagg said, as Adrien smiled fondly at the phone. It sure was considerate of her to think about that.

“And Adrien?” Her tone conveyed so much. So much more than Adrien could understand. But it brought a warmth to his face. 

“Yes?”

“I’m here for you. You know that, right? Whatever you need. An ear, a h-h-hug. Whatever. I…I care about you.” 

Adrien wiped a paw under his eyes, fully prepared for tears to take him. 

“I care about you too,” Plagg said, not faking the genuine appreciation in his voice. “I appreciate everything you do for me.”

“I-…” She trailed off, and Adrien wondered if she was going to say something else. But instead, she just exhaled and said. “It’s getting kind of late. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course, Pooh Bear!” 

She laughed. “Thanks Adrien, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” And he ended the call. 

“She took your advice.” Adrien noted.

“She took Chat Noir’s advice. She trusts him after all.” 

Adrien sat on the desk, still feeling a storm brewing inside of him. He was still upset about Plagg’s behavior with his father…but he was starting to come around. Marinette never called him, and her conversations with him were never so easy. Was this actually working?

“Adrien,” Plagg started, scratching between his ears. “I’m sorry for hurting you. If there was a way to humble your father without hurting you in the process, I’d do it…but right now…”

“I understand, Plagg.” Adrien said with a hopeful smile. “It sucks but…that Chloe-tantrum you threw was really funny.”

Plagg beamed at him. 

“And,” Adrien added. “After hearing the whole truth about Lila, I’m fully on board with whatever you want to do to her.”

“Fully?”

“Absolutely. This bitch needs to go.”

The mansion was nearly silent in the night, so Plagg’s evil cackle echoed and echoed, sending goosebumps down the neighbor’s spines.

[jeromesxreader16]

Such A Joker (43)

Part 42 Here!!!

~o0o~

Jerome POV:

I open my eyes seeing nothing but cemented walls entrapping me. I run my hands along the towering stockades laughing. "Oh, you are incorrigible, but then again, you always were. Oh, wait. Or was that me? Sometimes I get so confused, I... I can't remember."

I look up at the camera and smile widely. "You didn't have to run away like that. I would never hurt you... Xander. I love you. I just know you'd be a good uncle to my future giggling phycos. Can't wait to see ya! You'll get to meet my doll! She's a sweetie, but be careful... She's one hell of a wild card. Did you think about me? I know that you did." I giggle and crawl up close to the camera giggling. "Oh, I'm gonna squeeze you until you pop!"

Jeremiah POV:

"Oh, I'm gonna squeeze you until you pop!" I shiver as Jerome chuckles evilly on the screen. I pour another glass of scotch and sigh. "Your sweetie. Your doll, huh?" I hum watching him entertain himself.

"Let me tell you a little about her, brother." I huff plopping in my seat. "She's the most breathtaking angel I've ever seen. Psychotic and beautiful. If she knew I was here, boy, she'd get really mad. Haven't been home to please the lady, you know how that is." He giggles making me clench my fist.

Does he know? Does he have the slightest clue I've cured (y/n), she's sane, and in my protection?

"Jer?" Her small voice echo's from the cemented halls. I turn off the monitors just in time as she walks into the office. She wasn't supposed to wake for 4 more hours. She was supposed to stay asleep until the job was done.

I smile seeing her half-lidded eyes, baggy shirt, and messy hair. "Come here, love." (Y/n) smiles grabbing my hand and sitting upon my lap.

"You're drinking?" She asks cuddling into my frame. I sigh looking at my drink. "I am." "Why? Are you stressed?" I brush her hair back kissing her head. "Jerome went to visit my office today. Killed a lot of my employees." She gazes down at me with sad eyes. "It's not your fault, Jer." I nod understanding.

"How was your nap?"

(Y/n) lifts her head and kisses my cheek. "I had a dream about you." "Yeah? Was I nominated engineer of the year?" "No. We got married, had a beautiful boy with red hair. He was extremely smart." My heart skips as a smile grows on my face. "You dreamt of that? With me?" "Is that a shocker?"

I cup her cheek in my hand and smile. "I just never predicted I would be as lucky to have you in my life." She leans up kissing me. "Well, Jeremiah Valeska, I'm here to stay." I chuckle basking at this moment.

"Sir, you have visitors pulling into the property range." (Y/n) huffs looking into my eyes. "You're always so busy." I brush her hair behind her ear smiling. "It looks like your father has come to visit," I say looking over to the screen from the outside camera. She gasps watching as the car pulls up and two men exit.

Jim POV:

I bang on the metal door sighing. "Have you heard from her anymore?" Harvey asks next to me. "She called telling me she was with her boyfriend." "And she's safe." I shrug fighting the thoughts of danger in my head. "She said she was." Harvey shrugs smiling. "Alright Partner. I just know she's like you. Reckless."

The door opens and a young blond stands to look at us. I flash my badge, "James Gordon here to see Xander Wilde."

~

She leads us down many long hallways full cemented. "So this whole joint's underground?" "Mr. Wilde values his privacy." "How long has he lived here?" "He finished construction six years ago."

She walks up to a door inserting a code. "Echo. 496."

"Welcome, Ms. Ecco." A robotic voice sounds out opening the door. "He'll see you now."

Harvey and I walk in seeing a man with his back turned. "Thank you for seeing us, Mr. Wilde." "I expected you might come, Captain." He turns around and my blood runs cold as the face of insanity looks into my eyes.

Harvey and I pull our guns out aiming it at Jerome.

"My God. There's two of them." Harvey gasps looking over the Valeska brother.

"Dad! Stop!" I look behind me and see my daughter. "(Y/n). What are you doing here? You told me you were with your-" My eyes avert from (y/n) and land on Xander. "Boyfriend."

Xander lets his lips slip into a tiny smile as he nervously looks at the gun. "May I put my hands down now, gentlemen?" I look over at (Y/n) confused. "Are you kidding me? Put your gun down!"

Harvey and I lower our guns as I stare at my daughter as she walks over and makes sure Xander is okay. "Apologies, Mr. Wilde.

You took us by surprise." He nods and smiles at my daughter. "That's understandable. It's happened before."

"You can call me Jeremiah. That's the name my mother gave me. You solved her murder, Captain Gordon. I owe you a debt of gratitude for that and for putting Jerome in Arkham, where he belongs." (Y/n) holds his hand in comfort as he explains. She's not fazed by him talking about what Jerome did. Has she finally let go and found security?

"He never mentioned you before."

"No, I suppose he wouldn't have. From the letters my mother sent me, he never spoke of me after I left."

"Left where?"

"The circus. They hid me away to protect me from him. See, we were always different, Jerome and I. From an early age, I showed a proficiency for maths and design, and Jerome, mainly the mutilation of alley cats. On my tenth birthday, he held a cake knife to my throat. A few weeks later, he lit my bed on fire. It was like living in a nightmare. I'm grateful he was never able to hurt (y/n). My mother knew eventually one day he would succeed, so one night, my uncle came to my room while Jerome slept, and told me that he was taking me away. I had no idea where, but I kissed my mother good-bye, told her I loved her, and I never saw her again."

"He took you to St. Ignatius."

"Got a new name, a new life. And I was finally able to live without fear. But in my heart, I knew one day Jerome would come for me."

"Well, that day is today, pops," Harvey said walking closer.

"What do you mean, Harv?" (Y/n) asks looping her arm with Jerimiah.

I stand closer, explaining. "We have reason to believe Jerome knows where you are. (Y/n), he's already been by your apartment, and now with you here you're in even more danger. We need to move you both to a safe location until we can apprehend him."

Jeremiah shakes his head holding my daughter close. "That won't be necessary, gentlemen. I've spent the bulk of my life preparing for this eventuality. I am the safest here in my home. I can keep (y/n) safer than any secretive location in Gotham." (Y/n) nods looking at us. "He's right, dad. I feel safer here with Jeremiah than the GCPD."

"Not anymore. Jerome knows the name of your proxy. He got it from your boss just before he executed him."

"I heard about Jerome visiting Allen Hayes. It's tragic, but the proxy's name I gave to Allen was a fake."

(Y/n) POV:

As Jeremiah speaks his arm tightens around me causing me to look up at him confused. Why is he so tense?

"You're lying." It hits me as my father says it. I remove myself from his side looking up at him. "I beg your pardon?" I narrow my eyes at him crossing my arms. A liar knows a liar when they see one.

"Jer? What are you hiding?" As his eyes meet mine I see the panic living in them. What has he done? "Jeremiah. Honey, is there something you want to tell me?" He reaches out for me with a shaky hand. "N-no, love. Your father is just intimidating." I hum patting his chest.

Jim and Harvey walk around the small office scanning over the many things scattered over the desk.

"(Y/n). Come here, please." I walk over to my dad sitting on the desk facing away from Jerimiah. "Yeah?" "Why the hell didn't you tell me before?" I roll my eyes sighing, "He's fine. Lord, he can't even hurt a fly." "Besides the point, overprotective father, we get it! Now, let's dig, anything weird about him? Something he could be hiding?" I look back over to Jeremiah as he paces his office fixing his glasses each time they fall to the bridge of his nose.

"He said he's intimidated by you."

"And you believe that?" I scoff lowering my voice. "Of course not."

"Yeah, there's something about this guy that's fishy."

"What about the security cameras outside." "What about them, dad?" "They were turned on, (y/n)." I look over my should looking at the bank screens of the monitors.

"Jeremiah, how come the monitors are off if the cameras are recording?" My dad asks walking closer to Jeremiah as Harvey walks near the monitors.

"I don't see why that's any of your concern, Mr. Gordon. Now, if you excuse me, I'm a very busy man." Jeremiah says stuffing his hands in his pockets. Harvey touches buttons on the monitors trying to find the right on.

"Please don't touch that."

I stand and walk over hitting the small red button causing the TVs to light up with life. "That's very sensitive equipment."

The screens clear and as the pixels match, I cover my mouth locking my eyes onto the screen. Jerome stands in a small room performing yoga. He looks up at the camera and waves causing me to shutter. I turn to Jerimiah with tears brimming my eyes.

"Oh, yeah. I'd say that's pretty damn sensitive." Harvey says watching Jerome.

I storm the short distance to Jeremiah glaring at him. "Why would you do this?" I sneer at him. He closes his eyes with his head leaning towards the floor. "(y/n). I wanted you safe." "And you think by bringing him closer to me was going to keep me safe?"

Jerome's giggle causes me to focus on him. "You know, brother, it has been a while since I've seen my sweets. Say, you wouldn't be keeping her from me, would ya?" My father glares at the screen shaking his head.

"You need to take us to your brother."

"I can't do that."

"What if he's nuttier than the other one?" "Harvey!" "I'm nothing like Jerome."

"You want me to put you in a cell next to his with zero visitation? Because that is where this is heading!" "Dad, stop! Calm down!" I say grabbing my hair in stress.

"And then what, Captain Gordon? You couldn't hold him. Arkham couldn't. I can. And I will make sure Jerome never escapes again. I am making sure he never hurts (y/n) again!"

"Jeremiah, I am thankful for that, but that's not going to work. Jerome comes with us, and if you want to make this easier on yourself, I suggest you stay the hell out of the way." I push myself between my father and Jerimiah. "I get this is a big deal, but this isn't the way to-"

"Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The loonies are outside."

Harvey points at the monitors showing Scarcrow, Jervis, and Ecco following blindly.

Jeremiah rushes to the screens panicking. "No. No. How'd they find me?"

"They must have followed Jerome."

The lights shut off leaving us in a blood-red hue from the emergency lights. Jeremiah grabs my hand pulling me close to his side.

"We need to move, now. Is there another way out of here?" "Yes, but we-" "You can't leave, Ecco!" I cry in a panic. "The loonies will use her against us, (y/n)!" I shake my head removing myself from Jerimiah's hold. "No. She's my friend and has done so much for me. I'm not letting her die." My father nods placing a hand on my shoulder.

"She's devoted her life to helping Jerimiah. She's too important, dad." He nods looking at Jeremiah and I. "We get you two out first,

then we can come back for her. Deal?" I nod pulling Jeremiah out into the halls.

"As a child, I was obsessed with labyrinths, so I designed my house like one." My dad and Harvey follow close behind. "You mean this place is a maze?" Jeremiah nods leading the way.

"Easy enough to get in; (y/n) and I are the only ones who know the way out. Stay close to me."

We pass another Conor as the maze twists. "The maze is built on a hundred acres. There are 73 dead ends. I once invited the top

maze designers in the country to try to solve it... one did. It took him three days." "Then how did I do it in an hour?" I giggle jogging ahead.

As I round a wall I see Ecco walking towards me. "Ecco! You're alright!" She grabs my neck and slams me against the wall. "Ec- Stop!" I gasp as she clenches my airway shut.

I kneed her in the stomach pushing her away. "Alright. I can play." She lunges at me causing me to doge and swipe her legs knocking her to the ground. She stands up taking me down to the ground.

"Ecco. What are you doing?" Jeremiah rushes as he sees me on the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey, she's hypnotized."

Ecco charges towards him and knocks Jerimiah down. "E-Ecco, it's me. It's me. Ow!" I stand up punching her in the face and knocking her down once more. Jeremiah looks at me surprised. "I didn't know you could do that, love." I laugh breathlessly turning to him quickly as Ecco fights off my dad and Harvey.

I help Jeremiah up but am pushed into the wall as Ecco grabs him and walks in down the hall away from us. "Gordon! Help!"

"Dad!" I yell looking after them. "Come on."

Jeremiah POV:

"Ecco, please. Where are you taking me? (Y/n) will be alone!"

"I'm taking you to Jerome." He speaks in a monotone voice gripping my arms. "No. He'll do horrible things to me. Ecco..."

"Stop!" Detective Bullock yells charging Ecco. Harvey falls and out of nowhere (Y/n) comes from behind the wall pushing Ecco and knocking her out.

I have to say... It was hot!

"Come on!" I grab (y/n) hand and run towards the exit fearful of the end. "Jeremiah, what are you going to do?" He shakes his head breathing heavily. "I don't care. I just want to get you to-"

"Hello, brother." Jerome pops out in front of Jeremiah halting our tracks. Jeremiah blocks my frame holding my wrist tightly. I peer at Jerome with wide eyes. His eyes meet mine and he smirks growing a giggle. "There you are, dollface. I've been searching for you too. Looks like I killed two birds with one stone, huh?" "Jerome I-"

Jerome yanks my arm bringing me close to him. He holds my waist and smiles down at me. "I've missed you." He leans down planting a passionate kiss upon my lips before throwing me behind him. "Whoa! More of that later!" He chuckles before turning back to his brother who is watching my every move with growing worry and rage.

"So, how ya been? Oh, you look great! To think I used to be the handsome one, right? I see you've been taking care of my doll here... Not cool bro." Jerome glares at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah shutters looking down. "How'd you find your way through the maze?"

"Oh, bro, we might not look the same anymore, but we still think the same. Exhibit A!" Jerome gestures to me cackling. "Plus, you used to draw those stupid things all the time as a kid. I paid attention to."

Jerome throws his head back sighing. "I've been waiting for this moment for 15 years. Ever since you ran away in the middle of the night, like a coward."

"You're insane." Jeremiah states.

"And I tried telling Mom, but she didn't want to listen to me. You blame me for everything that's gone wrong in your life. But the truth is, Jerome, you were born bad."

Jerome turns to me smirking. "Why the long face, love? Don't worry our little ones won't be as he so rudely says born bad." He pinches my cheek gazing at me with love. My stomach churns as I fight all the past urges to let go of my responsibilities and be with him again, but I couldn't do that the Jer.

Could I?

"So that's why you made her think that I tried to kill you?"

I look over Jerome's shoulder watching as Jeremiah grew more nervous.

He wouldn't have lied about that, right? His own brother?

"What was it again? What was it? I put a blade to your throat. No, no, no, no, no. I tried to... light you on fire!"

"We both know you wanted to!" "Yeah, that was a funny story, wasn't it?" Jerome sneers at his brother. I step out glaring at Jeremiah. "So you did lie to me. You lied about everything." "N-no, (y/n). Jerome did! He's keeping you locked under his belt! He made you think you were crazy for seeing me! Can't you see he doesn't love you as much as I do? I'm trying to protect you!" He cries out reaching for me, but I pull away shaking my head.

"Maybe it didn't happen exactly like that, but... but I didn't have a choice, and I was right. You killed our mother."

"She did deserve it though. Didn't she, (y/n)? You saw how horrible she was. After that whore hid you away, she gave up on me. Poisoned by your stories. You turned everyone I ever loved it against me. Living proof right here!" Jerom points to me.

I glare at Jeremiah and stand in front of him. "(Y/n)-" I slap him across the face making Jerome laugh and hold me back. "You used me! You only wanted me so you could get back at Jerome! How could you play with my feelings like this? Make me feel like I was crazy? Like I was alone?"

"Alright, firecracker, cool it down! We can talk about punishments later." He pushed me behind him facing Jeremiah again. "Yeah, I guess it's like what they say. We all could go insane with just one bad day. I guess with you, it's more like one bad spray. You'll see."

"What are you gonna do to me, Jerome?"

"Come on. I'm gonna kill you. Of course. But, first, I'm gonna drive you mad. But don't worry, you won't be alone. All of Gotham will be joining you, too. I'll be keeping (y/n) safe, don't worry."

"No, Jerome, Please, let her go and-"

"Must go! Must go! They're after me and the Scarecrow. Sprint with us Ms. Gordon!" Jervis rushes past us grabbing me and pulling me down the hall with them.

"(Y/n)! No!"

As we all jump into a car I can't help but release my pent up laughter. I look over, seeing the other two watch me confused. "Sorry gentlemen. I've had a sane few months. Have to get back into the swing of this!" I push all my emotions of pain and anger away as Jerome sprints towards us.

"Ah, what a night, huh?" He giggles holding me. "What do you say, doll? How about we make this night unforgettable?" I smile at his crazed eyes feeling the light shine within me.

How can I love two men who cause me to act like two separate people?

"I've missed you, Jerome." He cups my cheeks as we drive like madmen down the road. "I sure hope so, (y/n), because you're not leaving me until my end." I lean in sealing the deal with a kiss. "Until the end, Jerome."

[halfgclden]

Dinner & A Show | Abel&Ben

Date: May 15th, 2020

Summary: Ben picks Abel up for a date night.

Ben shivered a bit as he walked into the ice rink, crossing his arms over his chest. He hadn't planned on coming here so the light jacket only did so much for the sudden drop in temperature. When he asked Abel if they wanted to come with him to see a band tonight, they had told him yes, but they were still on the ice for another hour before they could meet. Ben, being close by and having the time, decided to walk over to gym and surprise his friend. 

There were a few people skating, but Abel was easy to spot. They were gliding over the ice with impressive ease, going circles around all the others. Ben made his way to a spot relatively close to the walls of the rink and sat, watching them move.

When Abel was on the ice, tunnel vision wasn’t the best way to describe their drive. It was more of a hyper focus, in which they were aware of everything around them, every groove, every way they had to tilt to curve around an obstacle. They skated more for form than for speed, but now they were hurtling around the rink, crouched low so that they could zip around quickly, weaving around the people in their way. 

Someone crashed to the ice in front of them. They saw as their feet went out from under them, and realized that they wouldn’t have time to stop before they were going to crash into the person before they had hit the ice fully. “Stay down!” Abel called out as they rocketed toward the person, straightened, and launched themself over their body. Once they landed, they spun, driving their leftover momentum away from them. They came to a stop, checking over their shoulder to make sure that the person was okay, relieved as they were pushing themself up once again. 

At that point, they spotted Ben from the corner of their unblinking eyes, and they skated over to the wall, pushed a strand of hair from their face, and smiled at him. “Hey. I didn’t mean for you to come here. Did you want to go now?”

Abel was so in their element that it was a little captivating to see. Ben turned some music on through his headphones while he waited, but he was only half-listening, most of his attention caught on the ice. He saw someone fall, and then his friend was leaping into the air and landing with a spin. "Woah," Ben muttered, then realized he'd been spotted. Pulling off his headphones, he smiled as Abel skated over to him. "That was impressive," he said, walking over to the wall. "You can keep going, I'm in no rush."

Abel brought a leg up onto the railing so that they could stretch idly while speaking to Ben. “Thanks, I’m glad someone got to see it.” They cracked their neck and changed legs. They noted Ben’s light jacket and figured that if he wasn’t in an air conditioned room he’d still probably be cold. “Hm, I’ve been here for the past few hours. And you know what they say, finish strong.” They took their foot down from the railing and skated over to the door so that they could exit and start taking their skates off. “What kind of band are we going to see?”

Ben walked over to the exit so he could meet Abel as they started to remove their skates. "Um, rock? I don't really know," he admitted, leaning against the wall and smiling sheepishly. He'd been trying to fill in parts of his days with things to do and people to see, to avoid getting lethargic and isolated again. This just happened to be what he found today. "I just found a bar close by and there's live music tonight, they look pretty cool so I figured I'd check them out."

Abel unlaced their skates, staring up at Ben the entire time. They stretched their feet as their socks met the ground, and they stood slowly, making sure they were secure on steady ground. "I don't really know is probably my..." They squinted. "Third favourite genre of music, actually." They almost smirked and started off towards the lockers, assuming that Ben was going to follow them. "I'm keen to play it by ear." They glanced back at him. "How are you, Ben?"

Ben laughed. "Great, that works out." He waited until Abel stood and fell into step with them. "Um," he said, honestly trying to figure out the answer to their question. "I'm doing better," he settled on. "I mean," he held his hands out, showing off his fully mobile left arm. "Obviously. Um, but yeah, I'm good."

Abel watched their friend as he spoke, giving a small smile as he said that he was okay. “That’s good. I would be very upset if my newfound weaving knowledge went to waste on your life shroud,” they said, unclear if they were joking or not. They stopped once they were at the lockers, put in the combination of the lock, and took out their bag. They pulled their shoes on and pulled on a few necklaces as well before they put their skates away in their bag. “Would you be terribly offended if we went to eat before we left? I can grab something light, I’ve just been burning calories like a madman out there.”

It was still unclear if Abel was joking about the shroud, but Ben didn't bother asking for clarity. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course, I wouldn't want all that work going to waste." He leaned against the lockers while he waited for Abel to finish packing their things. "Yeah, we have plenty of time. Do you want to drop your bag at your place, too?"

Abel stood fully as they finished lacing up their boots, and they slung their bag over their shoulder. "Sounds good. We can grab something while we're there." They led them towards the exit. "Do you know how to skate?"

"Not at all," Ben replied. "I think I might break my ankles if you put me in skates."

"Only if you have the wrong skates." Abel nodded. "If your interest was ever piqued, I'm not a terrible teacher. Which, is to say that I drag my friends out onto the ice and they eventually learn, more than anything, but I wouldn't mind trying to give you a few tips. I know you aren't a fan of the cold, though, so you're more than welcome to decline the offer."

They made it outside and Ben pushed his hands into his back pockets. He tried to imagine himself gliding around on the ice— this vision of him was bundled up in a heavy winter coat and scarf, but something about this seemed impractical. "You know," Ben said, "I'll... think about it." He smiled a bit. "It could be fun. I can wear a couple layers and suck it up."

Abel smiled a bit again and nodded. “I’d like that. We can make a day of it.” They had to be conscious of where they were going, as the muscle memory wanted to bring them back to the Hades cabin. “I’ve moved, so you can see the new place. Not our first guest, since Koda and Alec are quite popular, but still.”

Ben blinked. He moved his hands from his pockets and let them hang at his sides. "I didn't realize you live with Ko," he said. "I'm excited to see it, though. Are you all unpacked already?"

Abel dipped their head once in a nod. "It's a new development. I am, mostly. There's some residual boxes in the living room, but they might actually be part of the fort, a new permanent fixture."

Ben laughed a bit. "Of course you're going to make a fort. I can't believe I thought Ko would go without it." He paused. "How is she doing?"

"She would never. Before I moved in, it was already under construction. She's well, same as always. Maybe a bit less energy, but it's hard to tell when she and Alec are going back and forth." Abel stretched one arm over their chest as they walked.

He nodded, suddenly interested in the palms of his hands. He privately hoped that Koda wasn't going to be there when they arrived.

Abel didn't really note the lack of reply, figuring that Ben just didn't have much to say. They walked in relative silence until they reached the townhouse that Abel now called home, a much closer walk from the gym than the Hades cabin was, another perk of the relocation. They opened the door and tilted their head, listening for their roommates. "I think everyone's at work." A large brown cat trotted over, puffing out as Abel walked closer to him, almost as though agitated, but then began rubbing against their legs. "Home sweet home." Their lip twitched upward as they looked back at Ben.

Ben glanced around the room. It looked eerily similar to the Morpheus townhouse in the layout, but he realized he shouldn't be too surprised. He blinked at the cat, noting how large it was. “I didn’t know they came this big,” he said as he leaned down so it could sniff his hand. "Who's this?"

Abel tilted their head as the smiled down at the cat and then scooped him up, slinging him over the shoulder that wasn't holding their bag. "Oh yeah, he's a big boy, huh? This is Soup. He's my nap chommie." They moved to put their bag in their room, checking to see if Ben was still following. "We're not full stocked on groceries yet, but I can make us wraps or something?"

"Uh, sure," Ben said, following Abel into the house. He was still paranoid that someone else would walk through the door while they were here, though, so he shrugged noncommittally. "We could also go out to grab something? I'm fine with anything, though."

Abel dropped their bag in their room, took a few moments to change and walked back out with a new shirt, now cradling Soup like a baby. They dropped him on the counter and gave him a pat on the head before meeting Ben, still hovering near the door. “Let’s go out.”

Ben smiled as Abel agreed to eating out. He nodded. "I can come back once you're all unpacked and take an official tour."

Abel smiled a bit and led Ben out. “Of course. I’ve told you about Luci, yeah? The little corn snake I picked up last week from the pet store? She’s a beaut. You can meet her then too.” They stretched their other arm over their chest and tilted their head at Ben. “You said you had no preference, but do you have anything you’re against? I’d rather not spring pizza on you if you have a lifelong fear of Italy.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets as they started back down the sidewalk. "I'm Italian, Abel," Ben said with a laugh. "And I grew up in Brooklyn. I don't think I'm allowed to dislike pizza."

“It’s called an example, Ben.” Abel smiled, punctuating the sentence with his name for emphasis. “So are we going for pizza, then? You know what? I’m making the executive decision that we are, because if not, we might spend another minute of me asking, you giving a non-answer, and then we will come to this decision in the end anyway.”

Ben laughed again. "I just don't have a strong opinion on food, and you're the one who just burned a bunch of calories. I defer to your choice. Pizza sounds great, let's do that."

Abel nodded and led them to the pizza parlor, then ordered their own slices before letting Ben decide what he wanted. Once they were seated, Abel began pulling each slice apart into chunks with their fingers before they ate each of the bite-sized pieces. "Do you know anything of the bar we're going to, if not about the band?"

Ben ordered one slice of pizza, took two small bites, then watched Abel strangely devour theirs. "They do live shows every weekend, they have a lot of craft beer, um, they locally source all their food." He shrugged. "The rest I've left to surprise."

Abel stared at Ben while he spoke and picked up a napkin to wipe their fingers. They drew their legs up so that they were sitting cross-legged in the seat they were in and nodded as they swallowed. "Surprise for you as well?"

"Yeah," Ben said, smiling a bit. "Is that okay?"

Abel bobbed their head in a quick nod. "Variety is the spice of life, and the element of surprise is where we can cook it. Life, that is." They narrowed their eyes, wondering if the metaphor made as much sense as it did in their head. They ate a few more pieces of pizza. "Do you think that Jacob's in this band too?"

Ben's brow furrowed as Abel fumbled over a metaphor about spices, but he brushed it off and took another bite of his pizza. He laughed at their next question, putting a hand over his mouth to try to be a little quieter. "You caught me, I'm actually taking you to see Jacob in his... fourth? band." He laughed again, shaking his head.

"Perfect." Abel snickered and ate more of their pizza quickly. They waited until they swallowed before speaking. "I heard that you were thinking of joining one of them?"

For some reason, the fact that Abel knew this made him flush just a bit. "Oh, yeah. The one that had the guitarist ditch. I... I don't want to put any expectations on it but, yeah, thinking about it."

"I think it'd be great if you did. I mean, you're at every show for Jacob anyway, so you might as well just tack on their practices." Abel shrugged and finished their second slice. "It'd secure my spot as their number one fan."

"Oh, well then I have to," Ben said, smirking. "I guess it'd be nice to be more than my roommate's groupie."

"Exactly." Abel dipped their head in a nod and motioned toward Ben with their hand. "You can be the premise of a fanfiction. Groupie-made-headliner."

Ben ran a hand down his face. "Oh, gods, you're absolutely right." He didn't want to think too hard about how much of this could technically be true to his life, so he tried to move the subject away from his debatable groupie status. "How's your group going?"

Abel lifted their shoulders in a shrug as they wiped their hands with their napkin. "Well? I quite enjoy Jack. Not very sure about that Jacob guy."

He laughed. "Yeah, I heard Jacob can be terrible to deal with. It's lucky my friend Jacob is nothing like that." Ben wondered if that was a strange joke, but after a moment's hesitation, he figured Abel was the best person to make a strange joke with. "You should meet him, actually, I think you'd really get along."

Abel laughed quietly. "I might have to. I thought I knew enough people, but I suppose if it's someone I would enjoy, I can branch out and expand my horizons." They tilted their head back as they looked at Ben. "What have you been occupying yourself with these days? It's been a long time since we last hung out one-on-one.”

The question made Ben pause. He picked up his slice but did not take a bite, lost in thought. He put his food back down. "It's not occupying my days but..." He chuckled nervously. "I assume Jacob told you? He said he would."

Abel snorted without changing their expression. The fact that Ben's mind had gone there instead of to any hobbies he'd picked up was amusing to them, and they smiled a bit after a moment. "He has. I was wondering if you'd picked up origami, but did you want to talk about that? Jacob mentioned it for my opinion, did you want the same?"

Ben turned his head away, flustered and grinning. "Well now I'm embarrassed. No origami, but I've been playing guitar way more and uh, going on walks? Listening to some new music?" He laughed to himself. "Gods, sorry, I feel like an idiot."

Abel rested their chin on their hand, lips turned upward. “You shouldn’t, I find it hilarious that you said that you were occupying yourself with Jacob. Would you mind if I said that to him?” They took a sip of their water, not looking away from Ben. “What artists? Anything I’d recognize?”

"Oh gods," Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, but it was obvious that he was just as amused. "Sure, go ahead. Please just make sure I'm not home when you laugh at me." Ben picked up his pizza again and actually took a bite this time. "Um," he said once he'd swallowed, "A couple, but I've been listening to Autoheart a lot."

As they smiled more, Abel drew their legs up, resting a hand on their knee. “Just for that or...?” they joked, then nodded once. “Ah,  I do know that band. They have really eerie music, right?”

Ben smiled. "Of course you do." He considered the word. "Yeah, eerie is a good way to describe it. They have a really distinct sound and, energy?" He shrugged. "I'm into it."

Abel found it funny that Ben was less than surprised at the fact that they knew the band- it was very much their vibe. "I haven't listened to them in a while though, I might get back into them. Have they come out with something new lately?"

"Not really." Ben pulled out his phone to check, noting the time. "Um..." he said as he typed and waited for the artist's page to open. "In December, so kind of?" He pocketed his phone. "We should get on a bus within the next uh, forty-five minutes."

"Hm." Abel nodded. "I was just wondering what got you into them, but people are out there discovering Frank Sinatra right now, so I guess it isn't too much of a surprise." They dropped their legs back down to rest their feet against the floor. "Cool. I'm ready to go whenever. How long's the ride?"

Ben faltered for a moment. “Twenty minutes? We can listen to Autoheart on the way.” His smile turned a little. “Chase showed them to me, actually, on the ride up to Canada.” He placed a napkin over the leftovers of his pizza. “I’m ready, too.”

"Yeah, I'd like that. I have earbuds so that we can share." Abel took Ben's plate and placed it atop their own so that they could throw both out. They turned back to look at him over their shoulder. "Ah. Did the quest mend bridges?" They weren't quite sure if there were any bridges between Chase and Ben in the first place, but they certainly didn't seem to be any worse than they were before.

Ben followed Abel as they threw away the plates, then headed toward the door. "Um, I don't uh...." He shook his head. "Probably not. No. Which, I mean," they stepped outside and he shoved his hands back into his pockets, "I didn't expect anything to change."

Abel nodded again and followed Ben out the door. “Well, I guess it’s good enough that you both got home safe.” They chewed their lip, trying not to think about Ben’s relationship with the Morpheus cabin. “You said that you were getting back into guitar, are you making any of your own music at all?”

Talking about the quest still made Ben feel strange, so he gladly moved on to a new topic. He shrugged. "I mean, I come up with some melodies while I'm playing around but, nothing solid. No songwriting or anything." He smirked. "If I do I'm sure you and Jacob will be the first to hear it."

"I would... absolutely love that," Abel said genuinely. "I'm sure that being in the band will help with the creative process, but if you ever needed anyone to bounce ideas off of, I'm fairly free... all of the time."

Abel's voice took on a tone that Ben rarely heard. He turned his head to them and patted them lightly on the back. It felt nice to see Abel brighten, even just slightly. "Good to know. I'll definitely take you up on that," Ben said, equally genuine.

Abel looked at Ben and smiled, not expecting the contact, but touched more than they realized they would be from it. They dipped their head once in a nod, stuffing their hands into the pockets of their jacket as they walked. Once they reached the bus stop, they looked to Ben again, pulling out their headphones. "Autoheart?”

"Oh yeah, please." He took one of the headphones and placed it into his ear. "Whatever song you want, um, bus should be here in," he checked the schedule tacked on the side of the shelter, "five minutes?" He looked back to Abel, a surprising smile growing as he did. "Thanks for coming with me, by the way. I'm not sure if I actually said that yet."

Abel took out their phone, hoping that it would be able to work as they plugged the headphone jack in. They run a thumb over the screen and played a song, exhaling a sigh of relief when it was clear that there would be no interruptions to the music at this time. They slid the phone back into their pocket and smiled at Ben. "Thank you for the invitation. I can't remember my last outing," they said, unclear if they were exaggerating or not. "I'm always happy to break out of the normal routine."

Ben stood a little closer than he usually would so the headphone would not tug out of his ear, so he was able to lightly nudge Abel with his shoulder. "I feel like we never spend a lot of time, just the two of us." That was largely his fault, and he felt a small tug of guilt as he said it. "Not to ruin the novelty, but hopefully we can do this more often."

"I would like very much to ruin the novelty." Abel smiled and dipped their head slightly as they did. Their chest felt lighter whenever they were with people they enjoyed, and now it felt like they were so light they were standing a bit straighter. "Whether or not we end up enjoying the band, I've already had a great time."

[ecofinisher]

The Adventures of Super Nathan 3 - Chap 15

Chapter   15

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13531960/15/The-Adventures-of-Super-Nathan-3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23301076/chapters/57601615

https://www.wattpad.com/877062926-the-adventures-of-super-nathan-3-chapter-15

The trio walked together in the unfinished hall of the metro line passing by lamps, that belonged to the construction zone lighten the place, where the three friends were walking by.

“Those two railways there, that are crossing this space here have already been here,” Super Nathan pointed out. “That’s the same line we took when going to the concert the other day”

“Good point” Viperion mentioned. “I don’t know. Should we splitt up and check those old tunnels too or just focus on the one, we are going now?,” Viperion asked earning a nod from Super Nathan. “What do you say, Cat?” The older superhero asked watching Cat Noir stand back with a shocked face.

“Did you hear that?” Cat Noir asked seeing the two friends shake their head.

“No” Viperion and Super Nathan answered, then a honk was heard from the tunnels, that was crossing the way of the trio.

“Oh, you meant the metro, right?” Super Nathan asked watching Cat Noir’s twitch, making him tilt his head in confusion. “Or not?”

“I’m coming!” Cat Noir shouted getting down on his four crossing the railway getting into the dark area, which had fewer lights, that belonged to the construction company.

“He must have heard someone” Viperion theorized seeing his friend shrug his shoulders, afterward the two ran together over the rail following the way Cat Noir went.

Super Nathan observed during their run the many metal and wood used to keep the earth around them steady, then he looked back at their way as they were following the more experienced superhero.

“Isn’t it astounding how much work the people invest in such a tunnel?”

“Yeah. I really hope we won’t have trouble getting out of here later”

“Same” Super Nathan agreed. “Wow, I don’t remember him being that fast”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re not that bad in catching him” Viperion mentioned grabbing Super Nathan on his hand running faster behind the cat-themed superhero.

“Thanks” Super Nathan thanked the friend, then both slowed down as they saw Cat Noir stopped near a bucket excavator, then leaned his back against its wheels and looked down at a deeper path of the tunnel, where he saw a giant boring machine and a large space with a few pushcarts filled with earth. Cat Noir glanced over the whole place to spot on the side a red-dressed supervillain holding his sword against the ground like a walking stick and a few meters in front of him a mini excavator with a blue-haired woman tied on the shovel of the vehicle having her face turned down while she was sobbing over the lifeless body of a blonde man, which was bleeding from his chest. Cat Noir squinted his eyes to recognize the person and he shot his eyes up in shock as he discovered it was the body of his future civilian self, that was stabbed.

Viperion and Super Nathan approached the dark-dressed superhero, which pointed down at the supervillain and the two nodded.

“I’ve got an idea” Viperion whispered. “Nath you hide here and help me and Cat with your drawings” Viperion suggested, then Cat Noir looked down seeing the villain raise his sword holding it in front of the blue-haired woman, which turned out to be Kagami, causing Cat Noir to hiss like an actual feline and jumped down, taking his staff out landing on top of the villain, causing him to fall down.

“Take your hands off her!” Cat Noir shouted holding his staff towards the supervillain’s head, afterward smacked the sword off the villain's hand and looked down at Kagami to see her tied up on the machine with tearful eyes.

“Adrien?” Kagami whispered, then Cat Noir leaned his forehead on hers and the woman started to sob louder.

“Everything will be back as it was before,” Cat Noir said while behind him the supervillain got up and raised his sword up in the air, followed by a red fist appear from the side throwing the supervillain against a wall.

Viperion landed on the ground near the supervillain, watching him get up and ran with the sword towards Viperion, which took his sword out and deflected the attack and tried to fight him with difficulty as he wasn’t used in sword fighting.

“I need a little help” Viperion warned earning a nod from Cat Noir, which took his baton and jumped over the two, getting the attention of the cat-themed superhero, that landed behind the villain and extended the staff to use it as a sword and fought the supervillain leaving Viperion behind, which observed the two fighting.

“Viperion take his back!” Cat Noir shouted, then the supervillain turned around spinning his sword at Viperion shrieking him after that he raised his sword up to deflect the attack and Cat Noir hit the supervillain right after the attack on the head making him fall down.

“Hold him down!” Cat Noir ordered watching Viperion hold the man down by his back, while Cat did the same on his feet.

Super Nathan jumped down approaching the friends a little bewildered at their fight.

“Was that all?” Super Nathan asked.

“Tie his hands, quick!” Viperion ordered earning a nod from the redhead, which held his tablet’s camera over the villain’s hands to draw a rope around them.

“But he’s right, it went so fast” Cat Noir added watching Super Nathan tie the legs of the supervillain and got up while Viperion held the head of the supervillain down.

“This is the dragon miraculous?” Viperion asked looking at Kagami, which nodded. “What happened?”

“I didn’t have my choker on as I went for a shower” Kagami explained. “And as I left it was gone”

“And that happened weeks ago, right?” Cat Noir asked earning a nod from the blue-haired girl.

“As I found out, someone stole the miraculous to get rid of my friends I couldn’t find a solution on how to solve this situation. All this chaos in here happened, just because I left the miraculous unsafe,” Kagami explained making Cat Noir sink his ears down and approach the future version of his girlfriend.

“And how did you know, he was here?”

“Super Nathan had spotted him going here and wanted to penalize him for his deeds and while he tried to fight without any experience of sword fighting, he managed to take him down and damage his miraculous and he ran away from here and I don’t know, what happened to him afterward,”

“What about Adrien?”

“I don’t know if Nathaniel contacted him before or after he left, but he appeared here and announced he knew who was behind his mask and…..during the fight, he managed to push you…...him to the ground and remove the miraculous…..and…...he got stabbed as he tried to get the sword off his hands…..” The Japanese woman whimpered making Cat Noir feel sad.

“I’ve got the miraculous” Viperion mentioned getting up, then Cat Noir smiled at the friend and widened his eyes surprised as he saw the villain’s head covered with a box.

“Well, now that’s a way of covering his identity” Cat Noir joked earning a nod from Viperion.

“I took the chance after the removal to cover his head,” Super Nathan mentioned. “We can’t know who he is”

“Sure” Cat Noir mentioned, then a portal opened and Bunnyx looked out at the heroes, that had defeated the villain.

“Well done guys” Bunnyx complimented. “Super get them some of these nice hat-boxes”

“Sure, I can copy them without any problem” Super Nathan answered and Cat Noir helped Kagami getting up after he untied her off the shovel.

“Get ready to go boys” Bunnyx warned the trio, which stood in front of the portal along with a box in their hand, except for Super Nathan who had two instead and gave it to Cat Noir.

“We have to go,” The blonde superhero said earning a nod from the Asian woman.

“Goodbye” Kagami said waving at the superheroes, which entered into the portal.

In the present timeline, Lila sat in the living room along with Kagami on a couch drinking together tea. Rose Lavillant sat across them along with Juleka Couffaine drinking too.

“Don’t get too much into stress because of this Lila. Nathaniel will be back in full pieces. It’s just a matter of time until they get back”

“I know, I’m just angry no one could say me anything” Lila complained earning a nod from the blonde woman. “What if he dies? I don’t want to be a widow!”

“You know Bunnyx just appeared instantly and needed them right now,” Kagami added. “I just could see Adrien for short as he picked my miraculous to use it”

“Why did he need the miraculous?” Rose asked.

“I was the main referee at the basketball match and couldn’t just run out from there”

“Okay makes sense,” Rose said, then beside her, an aqua-colored portal opened making Rose jump at Juleka’s arms, then the women saw Bunnyx walk out along with the three men. “They’re here!”

“There you go, girls. All safe and sounds” Bunnyx announced followed by the superheroes taking the boxes off their head.

“Nathaniel!” Lila shouted running into the arms of Super Nathan, then started to cry. “I thought I would never see you again”

“Now that escalated quickly” Bunnyx replied as she saw the brunette hugging the husband.

Super Nathan pecked Lila on her cheek keeping his arms around the woman. “I’m glad to be reunited with you,”

“Was it worse, than the other time?” Kagami asked as Viperion transformed back, then removed the choker off his neck and handed it out to the Japanese woman.

“More, what we saw was worse, otherwise I don’t think the fight was that hard” Luka explained. “By the way, I don’t know if you take your miraculous off for showers or anything, but I suggest you to keep an eye on it in many cases,”

“Okay, I keep that in mind” Kagami answered putting her miraculous around her neck, then looked back at Cat Noir, which transformed back into Adrien Agreste, and then he took out from the interior of his jacket a piece of Camembert for his kwami to eat.

“I need a nap” Adrien mentioned yawning, then saw the girlfriend place her hand over his shoulder.

“Isn’t Raiden coming over tonight?” The Japanese girl reminded the blonde, then Adrien took his smartphone out from his pocket, then nodded.

“I almost forgot it” Adrien confessed. “I forgot to tell mom and dad about it”

“We still have two hours in front of us” Kagami mentioned. “And his visit is not that important as of the mayor or something,”

“Yeah, you’re right”

 The bell of the house rang, then Lila walked out of the living room and as she opened the door she spotted Marinette waiting there with a worried facial expression.

“Did you hear anything about Luka?” Marinette asked earning a nod from the brunette.

“He’s right here with us” Lila answered watching the blue-haired woman enter into the house to find Luka there talking with Juleka and his sister-in-law.

“Luka, why didn’t you tell me you were gone?”

“It was an emergency. Bunnyx needed us immediately” Explained the Frenchman. “I would have told you if I had the chance to”

“I just don’t want to lose you forever. I couldn’t live without you” Marinette whined placing her arms around the boyfriend, which placed his arms around her.

“So…..this are these mood swings, that women have during pregnancy?” Adrien asked looking at Kagami, which gazed at the two along with the boyfriend. Kagami smiled at their reunion, then leaned her head on Adrien’s shoulder, which smiled angelic at her move and he placed his arm around her back.

[sheaellisdelaney]

cover me (with 1000 kisses)

Who: Shea Delaney & Eleanor Wood

When: 7/22

Where: Shea’s apartment

What: Eleanor comes over

Warnings: Little space to cope, mentions of drug addiction

Shea was missing Eleanor, that was the only real way to say it. She wanted to be around her more and more. Things were just easier with her around. Shea knew that things had changed. When Eleanor was around, Shea knew that the other was safe and protected and so very much hers. Ever since the night that Eleanor had been drugged and it set in just how much she cared for her, it'd been harder to not have her around.

She'd set a timer for exactly an hour from the time she texted Eleanor back, very keen on keeping the other to the time she said. Then she'd set about taking a shower, figuring it was the easiest way to kill time. Her blanket fort from the other night was still up in the living room and every time she thought to take it down there'd be just a certain twinge of pain and she'd leave it up, just in case. And as she got out of the shower she once again found herself debating taking it down. It wouldn't be too hard to reconstruct later and the extra pillows and blankets could certainly be put to better use while Eleanor was over.

Eleanor isn’t sure how serious Shea was about having her in her home forever but she knew to at least pack for a couple days. She throws in different pajamas, undies, a blanket, and her stuffed cat and climbs out her window. She doesn’t even look back as she walks off the property and finds her Uber. 

She’s chatty- nervous, thinking that if she talks she can be in control.

And is relieved when they arrive. It had been less than an hour but she still likes the idea of 1000 kisses so when she knocks she’s grinning wide, thankful it doesn’t hurt to do that any longer.

Shea is still debating whether or not to take apart the pillow fort when there comes a knock on her door. She smiles, bouncing a little on her feet. Her ankle and knee are still fucked to hell, so she's still out of work, but she's getting around a lot better than she had been. She was still limping and would probably be better if she actually used the crutches she'd been given, Shea was too stubborn and independent for such. So, instead she just dealt with the pain.

Heading to the door, she pulled it open, delighted to see a smile on Eleanor's face. "Princess!"

Eleanor is careful with her movements but is immediate in wrapping the other girl up in her arms. “I know I’m not late but I’d still like to give you 1000 kisses. Nice reference by the way.”

Shea wraps her arms around Eleanor and pulls her gently into the apartment, just enough to close the door. Yeah?!" Shea is almost vibrating with excitement at that. It had been mostly a joke, she'd never actually figured Eleanor would agree, even if she had been late. But she was thoroughly excited she was getting them anyway. "Thanks, I was listening to Rent earlier."

“It would be my pleasure.” Eleanor promises, starting already to place light kisses across her face. “I’d like for you to tell me there’s a computer in that fort so we can snuggle and watch the little mermaid. And so I can properly give you all the kisses.”

Shea can't help but giggle at the little kisses to her face. "There can be, real quick!" Her voice is pitched slightly higher than usual, a childish hint to it all as she bounces a little. "Should I go get it?"

“Yes! Go. I’ll be right here.” Eleanor smiles, watching her happily. She seems less pained and it was s good look on her.

Shea nodded excitedly and headed off to her bedroom. Her laptop had taken to living on her bedside table, as she spent most of her days in bed, it was easier. She returned quickly, moving to plug it in  near the pillow fort, glad she'd left it up.  "Snacks?"

“Are you hungry?” Rachel peaks into the fort and easily sets the laptop off to the side. “I’d really just like to kiss you.”

"Might be later. Grabbing snacks now means we don't have to later. Less getting up and interrupting the kisses. Right?"

“You’re the smartest. Snacks are great and water, maybe?” Eleanor makes her way to the kitchen.

Shea giggles a bit and goes into the kitchen with Eleanor."Fruit snacks and pretzels maybe?" She asked. "Have juice boxes now too." She mumbles as she opens the fridge, grabbing a couple water bottles and then a handful of juice boxes. What good was a Disney movie without juice?

“Those sound great. The butterflies or the sticks?” Eleanor helps by grabbing the juice boxes. “You know exactly how to make this perfect. Are we ready?”

"Only have butterflies." Shea liked eating pretzels with ice cream and sticks broke off too easily in the ice cream, so she only bothered to buy the others. When Eleanor took some of the juice boxes she smiled a bit, blushing a bit at the compliment. "Yeh!" She nodded, grabbing the box of fruit snacks sat on the counter, she found she didn't forget about them if she left them on the counter and she liked her snacks where she could get to them easy.

“My favorite!” Eleanor brings the items into the fort and then waits back for Shea to get inside first. “Get comfy. I’m gonna snuggle you so much!”

Shea crawls into the pillow fort, making herself as comfortable as possible. Almost every extra pillow and blanket out of the apartment had been used to construct the fort, including the cushions off her couch. There was also a stuffed red panda that Shea grabbed once she was settled in properly. While she wasn't entirely in little space she could feel her hold on her actual self slipping and had a feeling she'd lose that grip entirely the more she they settled in but for once she didn't mind. Shea knew she was safe with Eleanor.

“You certainly know your way around fort building. A priceless skill that I’m quite envious of.” Her nose scrunches up a bit, noticing the red panda. “Will you cuddle my stuffie for me?” Eleanor climbs out quickly to grab her stuffed cat and then she spoons Shea happily, placing the cat in her arms before starting up the kisses again. “Her name is Cat.” Eleanor whispers in her ear, moving to kiss the woman gently before moving to start at her shoulder.

"Thanks." She gasps slightly when Eleanor mentions her own stuffie. "Of course!" Even though she knows this requires Eleanor getting up, she can't help but whine when she does so. Shea happily takes the stuffed cat, giving it a kiss on the head. "Hello Cat. This is Rud." She made both stuffies wave before adjusting her hold on them to cuddle them properly. She also wiggled to press back into Eleanor, giggling at the kisses.

Eleanor finds the scene before her adorable and precious and she likes that Shea trusts her to see it. “I haven’t kept count of all the kisses I’ve given so far.” She places another kiss to her lips. “What’s off limits, babe?”

"It's okay. You can start now, yeah?" Shea kisses Eleanor back before her eyebrows scrunched together at the question. There was no doubt she was slipping further into little space which meant there were a lot more limits about to be put into place and she had to think about that. "Anything below the waist. And everything stays on." Had she not been so close to little space things would have been different. Shea would have been far more open to clothes coming off, even for just the sake of just giving Eleanor more places to kiss. But at the moment, she isn't.

“So your cheeks?” Eleanor starts counting off kisses as she goes from one cheek to the other. “And your nose?” She continues. “Forehead. Top of your head.” Eleanor continues, even doing butterfly kisses before rounding off the rest of the kisses to her lips and the stuffed. “1000 kisses for my sweetest girl.”

Shea finds herself giggling with each kiss, just happy to be with Eleanor. Happy to be cuddled up with her and getting kisses from her princess. "Princess kisses are best!"

“And you’re the only one who receives them.” She promises, snuggling her in close. “Except stuffies, they need kisses too.”

"Am special?" Shea asks looking at Eleanor curiously.

“You’re the most special person I’ve ever met, sweet girl.”

"Am? Princess sure?" Shea isn't sure she believes her. She wants to, but it's a hard thing for her to believe.

She kisses her nose and smiles. “I’m the most sure about you than anyone or anything else in this world.”

"Okie." She nodded slightly, smiling at Eleanor. "Movie now?"

Eleanor kisses her forehead and moves so that she can get the little mermaid up and playing on the laptop. Once she presses play she gets back to holding Shea’s but her eyes are on the screen.

Shea settles back into Eleanor's arms, adjusting the stuffies in her arms so that their heads are turned to the screen too and able to watch. "Rud likes Lion King better, water no good."

“I hadn’t met Rud when I chose the movie. Should we switch to The Lion King?” Eleanor sits up.

Shea shook her head, whining when Eleanor sits up. "No, is okie. I like it. Rud is okay."

“Okay.” She nuzzles into her. “Cat doesn’t like water either.

"Cat favorite?" Shea yawns a little, reaching around until she finds a blanket and trying to pull it over them, though having issues with being the little spoon. With a huff she drops it and looks at Eleanor. "Please?"

“Cat loves Snow White because she likes to wander outside in the woods. She’s really brave.” At her pleasing she pulls the blankets up and over, doing her best to do a slight tucking in of Shea. “Are we napping or getting cozy?”

"Rud brave too!" She pressed kisses to both stuffie heads, snuggling closer as Eleanor tucks her in. "Not sleepy!" Shea protested, even as she bit back a yawn.

“I’m sure Rud is.” Eleanor holds back a giggle at Shea who won’t admire her very apparent sleepiness. “Okay. Let’s keep watching then baby.”

"Yep!" Shea settles back into Eleanor as they continue to watch. It isn't long before she's lost her battle to stay awake and is quietly snoozing in Eleanor's arms, stuffies held closely to her chest.

Eleanor finished the movie, holding onto Shea with intentions of protection and warmth. She stays awake, having had trouble sleeping as of late unless with Shea so it doesn’t come surprise her when she falls asleep too.

Eventually, the lack of background noise wakes Shea up. It is then that she realizes ho in pain she is, the combination of whatever pain meds she took before wearing off and sleeping in one position causing her body to scream. "Princess," she whines as she turns over to face her, shaking Eleanor a bit.

Eleanor shoots up, eyes opening quick. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” She tries to untangle herself from the blankets with all her tossing and turning.

Shea grabs Eleanor, trying to get her to stop moving. "Is okie. Just hurt."

“That’s not okay. What do you need? How do I make it better. Medicine, where is it?”

Shea slumps a little, feeling a bit like she's being chastised. "Bathroom. Not bad stuff." She pulls her knees up to her chest, only to wince and let them extend again. Shea had slept on her bad side and it meant weight had been on her bad knee. She whined as she tried to find a comfortable position to sit in.

“I don’t know the difference between bad stuff and good stuff.” Eleanor whispers, nails digging into her hand. “Tylenol?”

"Bad stuff in bedroom." Shea admits quietly, simply nodding at the clarification Eleanor offers.

She gets to the bathroom and looks got the best pain reliever she can find and then she gets s glass of water. “Here baby. Take this.” She puts the pills in her hand and the glass to her lips.

Shea does as she's told, making sure to finish the glass of water before finding a package of fruit snacks. With her good leg bent up underneath her and her bad leg stretched out but bent slightly, she sets Rud and Cat in her lap and opens her package of fruit snacks. She is very particular, sorting them out by color in her hand first and then eating them in number order from fewest number of gummies to most, humming quietly to herself as she does.

Eleanor just watches her quietly. Watching how she sorts through the colors. “It’s a little late for sugar don’t you think? You won’t be able to fall back to sleep.”

Shea pouts as Eleanor speaks. "Not lot! Just little." She does however resist the urge to grab another package of fruit snacks, instead grabbing the pretzels. She's far too aware, even in little space, that having an empty stomach with pain meds, even not her bad ones, often leads to not feeling good. Is snacking her best bet? Probably not, but it was something.

“You need to eat something for filling and of substance. I can make you toast?” Eleanor can’t sit back down till rather panicked.

"With peanut butter?" Shea asks, still munching on pretzels. Her head tilts as she watches Eleanor. "Princess okay?"

“Yes! With peanut butter of course.” Eleanor leans down to kiss her head and after a minute calls out. “How do you want it cut, baby?”

Shea smiles, giggling a bit at the kiss to her nose. She finds herself singing quietly to herself while she waits, making Cat and Rud dance. "Triangles!" Shea calls back.

Eleanor cuts the toast into triangles and gets another glass of water. “Here. This will help your tummy. I’ll hold Cat and Rud so they don’t get dirty.”

Shea pouts a little but hands over the stuffies in return for the plate of toast and glass of water. She eats slowly, still humming to herself.

Eleanor just takes care of the animals, kissing them on their heads and snuggling them. “Does it taste okay?”

"Yep!" Shea nods with a smile, teeth still full of peanut butter. "Thank."

“You’re welcome.” Eleanor licks at her thumb to wipe away some peanut butter from the girls face. “I’m really sleepy, baby.”

Shea giggles, squirming away from Eleanor wiping the peanut butter off her face. "Sleep soon?" She eats a little faster, yawning a bit herself.

“Please.” Eleanor nods, hopeful that maybe she could get some real sleep with her best girl.

"Okie." Shea does her best to speed up her eating without choking on it or gluing her mouth shut with peanut butter. She's starting to doze off every time she pauses too long between bites, which slows her down and instead of finishing she set the last of her toast down. "Sleepies."

Eleanor doesn’t mean to make her feel rushed but sleep had been hard and she isn’t sure she can take care of her the way she deserves in this very moment. “One more sip of water baby, and then we’ll go sleepies.”

Shea just nods and does as she's told. Then she's making her way out of the pillow fort, whimpering as she stands up, not entirely able to put weight on her bad leg. She slowly makes her way to the kitchen to deal with her trash and wash her hands. She has to rest then, bent over the counter to support herself with her leg off the ground. It's killing her, even without the weight and she wants to get rid of the pain. She wants to dose. And it makes her angry that she wants to. Her fist connects with a nearby cabinet before she can stop herself, the sound of cracking wood pulling her all the way back to reality. "Fuck!"

Eleanor doesn’t expect her to leave so much as she expected her to drink the water and lie down. But she goes with it and follows her to the kitchen, staying a bit away as not to overstep her process. But then there’s fist and cabinet swinging from the impact and then Eleanor is breathing heavy in hopes to keep herself calm. “What is it? Is it your leg or your hand. Let me see.” And she’s pulling at her hand to look at, staring at Shea nervously. She’s not sure if it’s her reflex to stay on top and ensure Shea’s fist can be caught if she tries to hit her or if it’s to keep herself in the moment and Shea has the ability to do that.

Shea hadn't realized Eleanor had followed her. She doesn't fight Eleanor taking her hand, even if she knows it's fine. "My hand is fine." She grumbles, flexing her hand and wiggling her fingers to prove it. "The cabinet, however," Shea traces the crack that had formed in the wood with her other hand. "Has seen better days." Shea sighs, still leaning on the counter in an attempt to stay off her leg. "My leg is killing me. I need to dose. I don't want to."

Eleanor lets it go as she starts moving it around, and she just nods stuck in her spot. Her eyes follow to the cabinet and the girl swallows. “I, um.” What if telling her no turned badly? Eleanor doesn’t think she can handle that. “Okay.” She whispers

Shea tilts her head as she watched Eleanor. The response is off. It's not the Eleanor she knows. She's scared and Shea doesn't like that. Shea hops up onto the counter, letting out a whimper before sighing. "What's going on princess?"

“I’m just tired. I don’t want you to do drugs. Please don’t do that.” And though it is delayed she flinches at the sudden movement.

"I don't want to either." Shea sighs, looking down at the ground. "I didn't mean to scare you."

“I’m not scared. You didn’t do anything. It’s okay. I’m okay.” She doesn’t mean to but instantly begins pacing. “Nothing else will help?”

"Princess, don't lie to me. Please." Her voice is quiet and she can't watch Eleanor pace, so she just keeps her eyes on the ground. "No."

“I um. I guess. You should do what you need to I guess.” She’s just blinking now trying to get herself together so she can be there properly.

"I don't want to. I don't want this. I like being all here, with you." Shea sounds desperate and pained. She doesn't want to dose, even if it's the one thing she knows will help. "Can I hold you?"

“I don’t. I can’t .” She feels like she might be sick at the idea of being touched. “Can I hold you?”

Shea just nods as she slides off the counter, groaning slightly as her bad food hits the ground. "Where would you like that to be?" As much as she'd prefer it to be in her bed, she wanted to give that control to Eleanor.

“Your bed. I need to. I really need to sleep. I just need to hold you.”

Shea nods, slowly stumbling her way to her bedroom. The bottle of pills is staring her in the face. Flopping face down onto the bed she knocks the bottle onto the floor with a hard swipe of her hand, not watching where it lands. She'll probably regret it later, but right now she wasn't going to risk it.

Eleanor gets beside her, pulling blankets over them. She needed the extra level of safety. “I’m going to hold you now.”

Shea let Eleanor pull the covers over her but didn't actually move to roll onto her side. Instead she kept herself on her stomach, it took the most pressure off her bad leg. "Okie."

She can’t hold her in that position so Eleanor just takes her hand. “Okay.”

Shea knows it's not the best position but the reality is, she can't afford to make her bad leg worse. Anymore pain and she'd have to dose. "Sorry." She mutters, turning her head to look at Eleanor. "Too much pain."

“No need to be sorry.” Eleanor manages before shaking her head. “Just lie down, no need for moving. I don’t want you hurting even more.”

[alitheamateur]

The Grind- Chapter 13

431 days. A tragus piercing. A black pencil tattoo permanently etched at the highest point of my right ribcage, and shadow roots in my sandy hair thanks to Becca, my new hairstylist recommended my latest friend, Tia. All things refreshed and renewed in the life of Liv Elliott. Single Liv Elliott. Okay, nearly all. One thing most certainly, and sorely remained the same. My beating heart was still smashed like a steel mallet had turned loose on it. Sure, the festering emotional cut of our breakup was beginning to mend with time. But, we all know with a healing cut, comes a forever scar. Not a scar representing a victorious battle, or a valiant effort. But one of sheer, naïve stupidity.  I choked on a daily spoonful of utter confusion wondering where the road took such a drastic detour towards that killer cliff we had so recklessly plunged from. I constantly fought the burning urge to scratch and claw my way back up the side of that treacherous mountain to find my way back to the earliest road. The road with Colton as my copilot. 

I so graciously allowed myself 2 weeks to hide away. Flounder in tears, Rocky Road, and maybe even a drunken bonfire of most photographic evidence that Colton ever existed. I avoided mascara all together, concluding that some point of my day would inevitably lead to a blubbering breakdown as I hid in the office bathroom. I rearranged the entire span of my apartment, hopeful maybe the new positions of furniture would confuse the ghosts of him that all too often appeared laid out comfortably on the couch, ankles crossed during a Sunday nap. Or slumbering face down with one hand under a pillow and the other stretched out toward the opposite side of the bed, lips loose in sleeping breathes. I couldn’t outrun the flashbacks no matter the effort. Even still, he haunts me on a Saturday morning at The Grind, or on a Tuesday night at my place with takeout from the B-rated Chinese joint down the street. However now, the sickness of utmost sadness, overcome with a rancorous flood of anger instead. Mostly with Colton, rightfully so. But myself as well. The foolish, undignified way I had just fallen under his potent spell, I might as well have just dropped to my knees and waved the white flag the second he introduced himself. And yet, the unsolved mystery remained. HE had said he loved me first. Sure, I felt it near the moment he kissed me after our run through the city that morning, but I chose to bury the words for another time. Colton on the other hand, had no problem spouting off his revelation to me. Nor did he stutter on the admittance of apparently “thinking with his dick” when it came to the matter of our meeting that fateful morning either. One thing I was able to confirm, was the son of a bitch clearly suffered a severe case of habitual word vomit.

The Pilot for me was a bit of a safe haven in a war zone, it being a place I could hide from the demons a bit. My new title at the paper requiring me to cover all things fighting within a 100-mile radius on the other hand, posed a bit of an issue. Thank the holy heavens I had avoided the press conference for his first match following our demise, due to the short, paid hiatus I took to visit Westfield. A taste of nostalgia and familiarity seemed like suitable therapy for a maimed heart, and maybe a good caudle from my parents. An attempted one, at least.

Tony and Elizabeth, said parents, were good parents in general. I won’t take that away from their accomplishments. But when basketball gracefully bowed out of my life, their involvement followed suit. Dad & I always had ball as that bonding clue to hold us tightly together. Saturday mornings following Friday night games always began with film, 150 free throws out back on the handcrafted mock court he’d constructed for me, ending at Al’s Diner for pancakes. That first fateful Saturday after my knee surgery, we tried to replay the film and retreat to Al’s, but when the conversing concerning if I’d pass the current scoring record at Westfield High, or whether I would commit to University of Louisville or SIU no longer applied, we drifted. When the “basketball dad” shadow from the sticker he peeled from the rear window of his pickup truck faded, a hefty portion of the pride he held for his daughter did too.

As far as a closeness with mom, there truly wasn’t much. She preformed the expected team mom duties by hosting bake sale fundraisers, and chaperoning homecoming dances. But that dependable shoulder never pushed much further in the emotional realm of a relationship with me. My dad & I had always held a special closeness, leaving her to feel somewhat shoved to the proverbial back burner. I was never much for the “foofy” tea parties, or pageant queen aspirations she had, which no doubt drove the wedge deeper between the two of us. But, when I moved so far away, it seemed distance, and time had healed some wounds in our connection. When I arrived at the simple square, two story siding home on Lake Lane, my first friend in life, our Collie, Indiana nearly mounted to hood of my car to get to me. No doubt, his name sake my dads favorite action movie character, and my home-state.

“Hey Indy, you sweet boy! I’ve missed you, ya’ big guy!” I rumpled the cashmere like white coat around his neck.

Mom galloped out the red front door first, dad following suit at a slightly slower pace.

“Liv, honey! Oh, we’re so glad you’re here! We’ve missed you,” my mom squealed towards me with open arms.

“We really have missed you, kid. Look at ya’!” Dad persisted with the ever annoying greeting of ruffling the top of my head like some socially incoherent teenage boy.

They probably did miss me, I’m sure. But, apparently not enough to ever offer a visit with me since moving my things to the city of Pittsburgh. No matter what bitterness flowered, as I dragged deeper into adulthood, I had resolved that you only got one set of parents, and the importance of appreciating the ones you did get was dire. So, I decided to nurse some long dwelling resentment and go into this visit with a forgiving heart.

“I missed you guys, too. Things still look exactly the same around here.” I inventoried those familiar, award-winning rose bushes my mother grew in the landscape, and with attached garage door open, I was able to see dads tool shop sanctuary in exactly the shape I had left it. Not a hammer out of place.

“Let’s get you inside, sweetie. Dinner will be done soon, & I’m sure we have some catching up to do.” Mom placed her hands over my upper arms, guiding me into I’m sure a spotless house, while dad unloaded my suitcase from the back hatch of my SUV.

 Steaks cooked to perfection courtesy of Tony Elliott, self-proclaimed grilled master, were served in the newly remodeled dining room, and the 3 of us sat in the same assumingly designated spots that we had for all my childhood years. I did miss a motherly, prepared with love, home cooked dinner so I wasted no amount of time scarfing down the contents of her delicious spread.

“How are things with the promotion, Livvy? They aren’t taking advantage of ya’, I hope?” Dad dropped his fork gently to his plate, taking a sip of his tea.

“Things are good, dad. Ryan, my boss, really does treat me excellently. He’s always super complimentary of my work.” I assured.

“Sounds like a nice guy. Maybe someone has a little crush?” Elizabeth winked while sorting through the last few sprigs of lettuce in her salad bowl.

“Ha! No thanks, mom. He’s an awesome guy, but I’d never see him like that. Plus, I could never date my boss, you know that.” I scoffed all too quickly.

Alright, you fraidy-cat. Get to it, here! Tell them. About him.

“Plus, I think I need a little break from men these days.”

“A break? Meaning there’s been some boys around since you moved?” Mom was the first to chime in, while my dad sat idly by, trying to appear casually at ease. But, I knew he was hearing every syllable of the exchange between his wife and I.

“Just one guy, mom. Well, there was one guy.” My attention never left the chopped, leftover chunks of food on my white porcelain plate. “Remember the first piece I did on Mixed Martial Arts? My first front page?”

“Liv, don’t be ridiculous. Yes, it’s laminated and framed in the living room. Go on..” she answered, leaning on her hand as an elbow rested on the table for a blinking second, before she retracted it, minding her usual manners.

“I was with one of the competitors. Like, in a relationship for several months actually. Colton, the fighter who I was working one-on-one with.”

There, at least he’s out in the open now. The dirty secret is out.

“Was, meaning not anymore then?” Dad finally broke his cold silence.

“Not anymore, no. We haven’t been together for a while now. But, I….. I uh, I didn’t handle the split so well. Which is part of my reason for coming to see you guys.”

My mind spun like a tilt-or-whirl trying to sort through what needed to be said, and what I should leave out. They didn’t need to know how harshly he’d spoken to me, nor the pathetic amount of sick days I’d used to wallow in my tear-stained sheets and overindulge on snack-packs.

“It sounds like things were serious, honey. Frankly, I’m a little hurt you never told us about him.” My mom had taken an overbearing interest in me when I started dating in high school. Boys were something she saw as her forte, I assume. Dad and I had basketball, now she and I could have boys, and relationships. So, the lack of sharing about my now ex-boyfriend seemed to perturb her.

“It was serious, mom. Yeah. I loved him. I was in love with him. Case in point, why I didn’t handle our breakup with much dignity.”

“What happened, Liv? Anything I should be concerned about,” dad inquired in the ultimate “dad” tone of voice.

“It just didn’t work, guys. It’s done, and life goes on. Nothing more, okay?”

Life goes on, huh? Let’s practice what we preach, dear.

“Losing a love is hard, sweet pea. But you’re a strong, successful young lady, and you’ll recover just fine. I know it!” Mom smiled.

I admired her A+ efforts for the “mother bear” sermon. It’s what I needed, truly. No matter how I wanted to tell her I needed those little chats years ago. I needed that reassurance back when I thought life hated me, and some karmic attack had been yielded on my life. Recently though, she had been heartily trying with our relationship. Both of them had. And although the repairs were long overdue, and far from complete, I was thankful nonetheless.

 I hadn’t been back to my stomping grounds since I’d left slightly over three years prior, so I had my fair share of hellos to exchange, most importantly being my childhood best friend, and the shooting guard to my point guard, Sara. She hadn’t spread her wings from our small town, instead chose the “marry my perfect high school sweetheart and have the most painfully adorable twin boys on the planet” lifestyle, which suited her beautifully.  She met up with me at the local dairy freeze for a greasy order of cheese fries after ending the work day at her parents’ dental practice where she was employed as a hygienist. Sitting alone at the wooden picnic table carved with an array of heart enclosed initials of couples I knew never made it past junior year prom, I felt strangely foreign in the little town now. Distant, or homesick. Every hardware store clerk or mail carrier knowing about the family pet you had to put down because all news travelled like an unruly forest fire in Westfield, now seemed displeasing rather than endearing. I basked in a bit of big-headed pride realizing I had maybe outgrown this little corner of the world, and home suddenly felt eastbound. Whether that had anything to do with my recent ex had yet to be determined.

Sara arrived right on time, going straight for the counter to order her favorite Dr. Pepper ice cream float as she put it “first things first.” The girl may have been the only person in the whole population of 2,000 whom I held in trusting regard, so she was kept up to date through a hefty amount of text messages about the tumultuous romance of Liv and Colton. We exchanged a squealing hug before diving right into the heavy matter.

“How are you? First off, you look freakin’ amazing. The big city looks good on you, Elliott,” Sara flopped into her seat, pulling off her pink labcoat.

“Shut up, you liar. The bags under eyes have bags, Sara. I’ve been a sloppy, sobbing, bitchy, pathetic mess for going on two months now. Like, who am I and will it end?!” I felt so light being able to genuinely come out in the open with all the emotion I was dealing with. A crucial missing piece to my life in the Burgh was a real, true friend such as Sara. Someone to take shoe shopping, and call drunk at 3 a.m. when you’re well into a half of bottle of Pinot and can’t keep from hysterically bawling over the ghastly way your boyfriend spoke to you.  A woman needs the Lavern to her Shirley to share life with.  

“It’s called love, honey. Welcome to the party,” she sucked vigorously through the straw of her float. “We’ve been waiting for you to show up.” I appreciated her gracious attempt to lighten the mood.

“Well if this is what it’s all about, I won’t be coming back.” I spoke mumbled chewing on a fry.

“It doesn’t always turn out this bad, babe. You just fell really, really hard. Which means getting over it will probably be equally as difficult. As much as I hate to see you like this…”

“Easy for you to say, Sara. You practically married Prince Harry or something. Can’t I just borrow yours sometime?” I clowned.

Her husband was truly the best of the best, and he’d been that way since the beginning. So, I always harbored some envy of sorts toward the seeming perfection of their relationship.

“In all honesty, Sare, I don’t know that I’m going to have the same feelings for whoever comes along like I did Colton. I’m not going to be irrational enough to say I’ll never love again, because I know that’s just silly and overdramatic. I’m just not sure it’ll be as raging and romantic, ya’ know what I mean?”

Just as she was about to hit me with some bogus line probably directly from an article she’d read in Cosmopolitan, a familiar voice intruded.

“My God, am I having a flashback right now?” Our varsity head coach Eric Gibson yelled from the open window of his parked car.

The guy was a true, unadulterated saint. He’d pulled me from the 8th grade roster to dress up for him on JV, so I lost count on how many games we’d competed in together. He shed nearly as many tears as my own father had when I collided with that player from Carson County causing me to close out my chapter as a ball player. He quickly locked the doors to his vehicle with two beeps of the horn, and made his way eagerly to us.

“Coach, how are you?” I stood to meet his incoming hug. With Sara still residing in Indiana I’m sure their paths crossed frequently in town.

“I’m doing fine, Liv. Shocked to see you here, girl! Are you back in Westfield?” He patted Sara with a coy hand to the shoulder, and we returned ourselves after the exchange of greetings.

“Oh, no no. Just here for a visit. I finally got the chance to take a little vacation from work, so I thought I’d come check in on Sara, and my parents.”

“Yeah, you’re a real superstar here, you know that? Everyone had a field day when your article made the front page for your paper. It was the talk of the town!”  

I blushed vividly at his statement. “Thanks, coach. It’s really nothing though.”

His mouth opened wide in defense. “It most certainly is something, Liv. It’s a huge accomplishment! Don’t be so modest. Hard work deserves to be recognized, and I know you’re no stranger to working hard in everything you do.” He paused to nudge my shoulder that grazed his. “ You’re talented, Elliott. And scrappy as hell when need be! Those big shots at that newspaper better just stay outta your way.”

Suddenly, there it was. The switch of undignified pity had self-destructed. Leave it to Coach to set me straight as he always did. I was scrappy as hell! The 4 games I’d been ejected from back in school clear evidence. It was time to exercise that same fearlessness and grit to scratch myself to the surface again, leaving behind this lonely, moldy grave Colton had dug for me. He may have outweighed me by an easy sixty pounds, and could’ve snapped me in half in the concern of strength. But mentally? It’d have to be ruled a no contest.

That night, back to square one in the little town in Indiana, over cheese fries & cheap milkshakes, with an out-and-out smack reminder courtesy of coach Gibson, I awoke. The sleepwalking, gray way of life a thing of the past. I excused myself from the parade of self-pity I had long been the grand marshal for.

“Maybe she’ll take your word for it, Coach. I’ve been trying to get that very same thing through that thick head of hers.” Sara interjected, slurping the last traces of whipped cream from her glass.

“Okay, okay, you two. Lay off before it all goes to my head.” I shook with a chuckle, and decided then and there, that I was going to find peace and satisfaction in life when I got back to Pittsburgh, someway, somehow, no matter what. I wanted my heart back from him. The heart he clearly had no use for any longer.

TAGS: @torialeysha @eap1935

[maculategiraffe]

meet nate

so @theragnarokd sent me a random prompt a couple weeks back (which I post here with permission: ”subby person exhausted, lying on couch half-asleep, while dommy person putters around the house getting shit done”) and it’s been kind of itching my mind ever since and here’s what finally popped out: another Scene From An Alternate Universe Version Of the How Life Goes On The Way It Does Universe.  In this case, an alternate universe in which Nora was the one holding Shaun in the Vault, and therefore died, and Nate survived.

(And... did not come to the same conclusion Nora did, regarding the synths all being his children. :P)

Content notes: M/M, light D/s, grief, light xenophobia, internalized objectification, light Brotherhood of Steel.  Mostly domestic fluff.  No sex.  Kisses, though.

"Lie down."

Danse doesn't hesitate. Orders are orders, and he knows the tone of Nate's voice that makes them orders, not instructions or suggestions. Suggestions are open to counter-suggestions ("I can help"), instructions allow for a certain degree of respectful debate ("I'm not tired"), but the only appropriate response to an order is prompt obedience. He lies down on the couch, face down, folds an arm under his cheek.

"Good," says Nate, and it isn't that he ever speaks coldly to Danse-- he doesn't, Danse thinks it would strike him to the heart if he did, like the shard of evil mirror-glass in the fairy tale he once heard Nate telling Shaun, darkening his vision and freezing him from the inside out-- but there's an especial, sweet, pronounced warmth to his voice sometimes, when he says Good.  As if he's praising not only Danse's obedience, but Danse himself. As if he's considered him deeply, in many moments and from many angles, and has come to the considered and decisive conclusion that Danse is good.

It would make Danse question Nate's judgement, if Danse hadn't likewise observed Nate, for a long time and carefully.

The word of praise would have been enough to warm him, but Nate leans down and kisses him, too, at the corner of his eye, before moving over to the tool bench and beginning the work of sorting the day's haul, into piles of things to sell, things to keep and modify, and things to scrap and use for parts.

The kiss is enough, for now, to soothe Danse's nagging desire to be useful, to prove himself worthy of Nate's time and care. He is tired, so it's good he didn't try to tell Nate he wasn't. Nate wants him to rest, so he will.

It gives him a vertiginous little shiver, sometimes, to think that he ever dared give Nate orders. He couldn't have known, then, what he was, and he didn't yet know Nate very well, either. He knew Nate was strong and skilled, a former soldier for the United States of America, a good fighter and tactician and a definite asset to the Brotherhood. He knew Nate was grieving the loss of his wife, and coolly determined to find his missing child at any cost necessary.

But he hadn't yet seen Nate's face when he returned from the Institute, drawn and pale and seeming years older than when he'd stepped onto the relay platform and vanished in a blinding flash of blue light.

And he hadn't seen Elder Maxson's face-- the one Danse used to look to, to know that he was good, that he was both valuable and valued-- turn cold and revolted at the sight of Danse, heard his disgusted voice ordering Nate to destroy the abomination that was Danse or watch Maxson do it himself-- and seen Nate's eyes flash, his face go bright with a white-hot anger Danse had never seen in him before, and hasn't since.

Danse was ready to die in that moment, at Maxson's hand, his last sight on earth that of Nate's beautiful rage on his behalf, but Nate stepped in front of him, shielding Danse's constructed, artificial body with his own human one.

You can sure fuckin' try, he said to Maxson, silky-calm with fury.  If you think that's gonna play out well for you, Arthur. Or your little army, either.

Maxson's face, bewildered and furious, and then-- defeated.

Danse tried to tell Nate, after Maxson was gone, spitting threats and condemnation behind him, to leave.  Leave me, thank you, I'll never forget this, but Nate said no, said You're coming with me, the first order he ever gave Danse. Human to synth, Danse thought then: Nate claiming his property, the piece of forbidden technology he'd saved from destruction. He obeyed.

For a long time, Nate didn't make it very clear what he wanted with his dubious prize. He brought Danse home to Sanctuary Hills, to the house he'd once shared with his wife and child, and installed Danse in the master bedroom, Nate himself sleeping on a salvaged bed in what had once been his son's nursery. Told everyone else there-- Colonel Garvey of the Minutemen, Mr. and Mrs. Long, Mr. Sturges, Ms. Murphy, Codsworth the still-functioning prewar Mr. Handy housekeeping robot, and the other settlers and vagabonds who had taken up residence in Sanctuary Hills-- that Danse was a synth, and his best friend, and invited them all to take it up with him if there were any problem. When Mrs. Long expressed anger, and worry that Danse might murder them all in their beds, Nate said, calmly and not unkindly, that if she was that worried, he'd be happy to find her somewhere else safe to live. She gaped at him, then subsided.

She still doesn't talk to Danse, keeps her distance, and so does her husband, but Ms. Murphy is affectionate with him, calling him kiddo and hon, and Mr. Sturges and Colonel Garvey both treat him with an easy friendliness, as if it doesn't matter what he is, other than Nate's.

Nate kept taking him out on missions, too, saying his gun was too valuable not to. He didn't trust anyone else to watch his back, he said. Not the way he trusted Danse. And it's true, Danse would rather die than let Nate down, and so far he hasn't done either.

Now, along with the faint thump and clatter of his work, comes the sound of Nate singing. He often sings while he works, and Danse loves to hear his warm, dark, rich voice. Songs from Diamond City Radio, some of them, that Danse has heard before, and then others he hasn't. Some of them in other languages, German and French and Latin-- Nate says he was in the "choir" at his prewar church, a group of volunteers who practiced singing on Wednesdays, and then sang in front of the church on Sunday mornings, and the night before Christmas. Nate knows some of the songs in English and the other language, both.  Adeste fideles, laeti, triumphantes: O come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant. Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, Aus einer Wurzel zart: Lo, how a rose e'er blooming, from tender stem hath sprung.

The one he's singing now is one of the church songs, and it's in English.

Come down, O love divine. Seek thou this soul of mine. And visit it with thine own ardor glowing.

Danse says, "Nate?"

He tried Paladin, just once, and saw Nate's face darken; he'd had to plead with Nate not to cut ties with the Brotherhood altogether, not for me, please, not after everything we've worked so hard to accomplish. Then he tried sir, and Nate said, Danse, buddy, I don't outrank you, and Mr. Bowman sounded ridiculous even inside his own head, so he started saying Nate.

Nate stops singing, and says, "What's up, beautiful?"

Nate calls him all kinds of things now.  Danse, sometimes, still, and sometimes Saul, and then a collection of silly, tender names:  baby doll, honey lamb, sweetheart, gorgeous, sugar, darlin'. Beautiful.

He comes over and kneels down beside the couch where Danse is obediently lying still. Runs a hand over Danse's short hair, against the nap of it, sending a shiver through him.

"Was I singing too loud, baby?" he asks. "Keeping you awake?"

"I'm not sleepy," says Danse, smiling into his arm. "And I like you to sing."

"What do you need, then?" Nate's still stroking his hair, gently and rhythmically, as if he's a domestic cat. "Little attention, huh? Feeling a little bit lonesome over here all by yourself?"

They're rhetorical questions, so Danse doesn't have to answer, especially since Nate's already running fingernails lightly down his back, scratching at the short bristles of hair at the nape of his neck, and then cupping the neck itself to massage the muscles there with his strong hand.

"You did good out there," Nate says, in that warm voice, warm as a blanket laid over him, which Nate will probably do in a bit. "You always do good. Glad you decided to come with. But I want you to try to sleep a little now, sugar. We're still playing catch-up, from your bad night. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

"I can help with dinner," Danse suggests, and Nate says, "Thanks, darlin', but no thanks. I'll get Shaun to come in and help me. Little father-son kitchen bonding. Gotta teach the kid how to handle a spatula, you know. Every growing boy--"

He breaks off mid-joke. Danse heard it, too, the word growing. They don't think Shaun is. And there's Danse, who probably won't be getting noticeably older, himself. The time may come when people take Danse for Nate's son, and Shaun for Danse's.

But it's easier to talk about it in the dark, tucked up in the same bed Nate used to share with Nora (he says she would've liked Danse, that he would've liked her too, and on her birthday and the day the bombs fell they go to her grave, near Vault 111, and Nate kneels down and cries and talks to her, about everything that's been happening, and then he says, "Let light perpetual shine upon her," and gets up, and they go home), so they don't say anything right now. Nate kisses him again, lips lingering on the tender skin just behind Danse's ear.

"Be a good boy, now," he says, sweetly enough that Danse knows it's not really in question whether he's a-- whether he's good. (He loves, blushingly, to hear Nate call him good boy, but it's just the slightest bridge too far to think of himself that way.) "Get in a couple hours' nap, and then after we eat, we can have some family game time before we all hit the hay. Blast Radius, checkers, maybe some Dictionary? Then, once Shaun's asleep--"

He tweaks Danse's ear, just a bit, and Danse smiles and squirms a little, and Nate stands up, brushes another quick caress over his hair, and walks away, singing again,

O comforter, draw near. Within my heart appear. And kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

[pyrewriter]

Can’t go back

"DAMMIT KID!" Plagg was understandably mad "WHAT-what did I say about not fighting him" he was rubbing the bridge of his nose. It had been roughly an hour since he had de-transformed and the sun was getting ready to crest the horizon. Adrien sat quietly taking small sips of the now half gone bottle of whiskey that had proven instrumental in saving his life. Plagg sighed "You're one of if not the best wielders I've ever had, you know that" his tone was serious and meaningful which was unusual for him. Adrien reached up to put his hand on Plagg's head giving the floating cat a smile that was warm and genuine despite his now disfigured face.  

"What, you thought a couple of cuts and bruises were gonna put down this old alley cat? I thought you had more faith in me than that" he laughed then coughed a little.

Plagg removed Adriens hand from his head "You got shot three times and you still refused to get proper medical attention" he shook his head "you're tough but you are not invincible".

Adrien could see that Plagg was really hurting "Hehe...I know, if I was it would be boring after all" he paused for a moment "listen I know your concerned about me but-"

"Camembert wouldn't be the same without you kid, I don't want to lose the person in this era that I can really help" Plagg was tearing up and was getting ready to unleash a torrent. He was stopped when Adrien had reached and embraced him in a way that no other Miraculous wielder had before.  

Adrien's voice was soothing "I was going to say that I wasn't going to hold back anymore but if I can get you to act like this maybe I'll have to get messed up more often hehe". Plagg let the embrace go on for a few moments longer before pushing away and wiping his tears with a sniffle. 

"You better not, you stupid dork" they laughed as the street lights went out and sun began to shine its first rays over the city as it rose, the night was over.

Adrien spoke first "Come on we need plan my run away and find somewhere to crash" 

"Why? can't we just go home?" Plagg asked 

"Unfortunately no, my street clothes cover the bandages well enough but I can't exactly cover this-" he pointed to his now exposed teeth and the large scar that accompanied it. He explained "Even if I could cover it there's no hiding the speech problems that comes with it, I'd rather hide myself all together and wait for Ladybug"

Plagg sighed "Guess you're right ugh you owe me so much Camembert".

"HAHA if this goes as planned you can have all the Camembert you can handle but right now we need to get home and pack up. “Plagg, Claws Out" with the plan set Chat was off. Willy who had fled the tunnels following the marks made by Chat was wandering the city constantly looking over his shoulder. He was paranoid that Chat Noir was still somehow chasing him and the thought of having to face someone that had taken three shots terrified him.  

Eventually Willy found a secluded alley near a construction site that looked as good as any to hide in once he was settled next to one of the large disposal bins he closed his eyes to sleep. As Willy drifted off his mind flashed back to what he had done and the reality of what he had just tried to do was beginning to set in. "I didn't want this..." Willy was talking to himself holding his head, his breathing was unsteady and jagged.

"W-Willy..." a familiar voice filled his head.

"NO no I don't won't listen to you I...I'm not a life taker dammit" he yelled covering his ears and shaking his head like a madman. 

"Even if you rip your ears off your head you can't rid yourself of me but-" there was a long pause, long enough that Willy thought that Papillion had left. A regretful sounding sigh made it clear that he wasn't but something different "Goodbye and I'm sorry.'' Willy had enough memories of who he once was to know what happens when someone is de-evilized. The notion that the him that existed right now was about to be ,for all intents and purposes, erased filled him with a sense of terror and happiness. He didn't want to remember what he had done to one of the heroes of Paris, he wanted that wiped from his conscious.  

Unfortunately for Wild Willy he was not relieved of his powers like he had anticipated and wanted instead it appeared that Hawk Moth had abandoned him. Drawing his gun and staring at it for while two thoughts ran through his mind. The first came as he lifted the gun to his temple "This would be so much easier if I could be with my brother right here right now". The second came on the heels of the previous "NO NO its thoughts like that that got your here idiot" he lowered the gun throwing it at the wall in front of him.  

For what felt like hours he glared at it "Maybe it would be easier if I just renounce my Akuma and break the damn thing myself" he thought reaching out to grab the cursed weapon. He was about to give it his best shot when he remembered that only Ladybug could cleanse an Akuma and Chat had a score to settle, he holstered the gun and tried to sleep. The last thought he had that night was what let him sleep with relative ease "If I see him first I'll let that tom cat Chat Noir decide my fate".

Chat was back at the prison he called his house "Plagg, Claws in" 

"So Adrien, what's the plan?" Plagg asked as he flew over to his stash of Camembert.

Adrien responded "The plan is to pack up everything we need leave" grabbing his school bag he packed his electronics, school supplies and spare clothes. He looked around for anything else he might need when he spotted a knapsack and remembered he would need provisions for Plagg and himself. Stuffing it full of random instant foods and half of Plaggs cheese stash he strapped it to his back leaving the mess before leaving. Topping off the deception was a rope leading out the window stopping just short of the ground and for good measure he climbed over the wall being sure to leave marks.

Most of the people on the street were preoccupied and simply passed by only a single couple had stopped to stare at what they were seeing. Adrien Agreste, the male model who could have anything he ever wanted and he was hoping his back wall with two stuffed bags, who wouldn't stare. Adrien had noticed their stares however and lifted his finger gesturing for them to keep quiet the couple nodded nervously before picking up the pace and disappearing. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he had remembered he had nothing to cover his face then he also realized that he probably looked more like a robber than a runaway.  

Eyes wide he covered his mouth with one hand and ran in a seemingly random direction not knowing where to go and sleep deprived. All Adrien could do now was hope that the couple would keep quiet but the distinct lack of police sirens was an encouraging sign but he didn't want to press his luck. He desperately needed sleep and it was a school day but he also needed to find Wild Willy before he did anymore damage. As he ran a thought came to him "If I hurry I can make it to school early and ask for a medical mask from the nurse, take a cat nap and see if Nino's will let me crash at his place".   

With a plan in mind he mustered what energy he had left and picked up the pace determined to reach the school but before he could look around to get his bearings he was already there. Adrien had unconsciously auto piloted his way to the school and by the looks of it he was the only student there. Opting to use his shirt to cover his face now that he wasn't moving at high speed he walked inside and knocked on the door of the nurses office. As fate would have it she was there. 

"Oh Adrien, how are you uh why are you covering your face?" she asked curiously 

In a fake sick voice "I got a scratchy throat *cough cough* and I'm feeling a little queasy. Could I get a mask and lay down for a little?" he held his stomach doing his best to sell the act. 

"Yes of course come in come in, let me just call you father and-" she had the phone in her hand

"NO! *cough* no it's fine if he figured out I got sick he would never let me out of the house" she stopped just as she was about to put in his father's number. She gave him a concerned look as he sat on the couch but ,against her better judgement, she hesitantly put the phone down.

"Alright Adrien, I'll trust you" she said kneeling down to look through the cabinets for a mask for him to wear.  

Adrien let out a sigh of relief as the nurses searched the cabinets for a mask. “Thank you” he said, a tension filled the air as neither of them spoke a word. Eventually she found a box of colored hospital masks. 

"Take your pick" she said presenting the box to him, he reached for one that was all black.  

"I know you've already done me one favor but could you turn around...please" he asked with a soft tone to his voice. The nurse raised an eyebrow but complied with the request placing the box on his lap and turning around with her eyes covered. Dropping his shirt and donning his new mask he felt far more comfortable now, the mask was made of a soft fabric that tickled the exposed flesh it hid. After taking a moment to get used to the feeling "You can turn around now and sorry for being so strange".

"It is not my place to judge you or your actions Adrien, now lay down school will be starting in a few hours." she said with a kindness in her voice that set him at ease.

A loud ringing shook him from the deep sleep that he had fallen into while laying on the nurses couch until the school bell roused him from his sleep, classes were about to start. Pulling himself from the couch he rubbed his eyes trying to rub the groggy vision away to no avail, looking around he couldn't spot the nurse. He needed to get to class, he felt the need to thank the nurse for her hospitality but he didn't have time to wait for her so he wrote a note thanking her for the mask and nap. Gathering his things he placed the note on her desk and left closing the door behind him and heading to class.

The school day went by like it always had with only a mild pain in his abdomen bothering him but it was bearable. A few of Adrien's classmates were curious about why he was wearing a mask but he managed to convince them that he was sick and couldn't talk very well. Everything was going fine and he was now in Miss Bustiers class with Nino and Alya.  

"Dude what's with the mask, everyone is staring" Nino had asked before class.

Adrien broke from the act "I can't say right now I'll tell you after school," he said in a normal voice then changing back to his fake sick voice "-not doing too hot, hurts to talk" 

Nino raised an eyebrow but played along "Alright man no need to strain yourself, you finish the homework last night"? Adrien face palmed making a face of sudden remembrance. He had meant to do it after his patrol but after everything went south he had completely forgotten about it. The second bell rang and they took their seats Nino shook his head chuckling "No worries man you can copy off mine" Adrien nodded thankfully.  

Class had continued as it always did except with maybe a bit more staring than usual but the plan Adrien had made on the run seemed like it was going to work. At least it had looked that way, the annoying pain in his abdomen had been steadily growing worse over the course of the class and he was unable to hide it. Soon he was tasting copper and breathing was becoming difficult, he coughed tasting more copper and feeling a wetness on the inside of his mask.

Dropping the fake voice "Ma'am, can I go to the nurses office" he asked hastily suddenly standing in the isle. He kept one hand on the desk to support him as he tried to walk but stopped as another coughing fit took over causing him to fall to his knees.  

Miss Bustier was scared "Adrien, ar-are you ok?!" his coughing continued quickly becoming more and more violent and wet making it impossible to respond. He was gasping for air between each fit but the wetness that he was sure was blood made it difficult to inhale. The mask ,now dripping, was stained from black to a dark crimson with his blood. Taking a deep breath Adrien forced himself to his feet causing one of his wounds to tear open and begin bleeding. With one hand on his open wound he removed his mask covering his mouth with his free hand holding his mouth shut in a futile attempt to hold it back but there was no stopping it.  

The class let out a collective gasp mixed with a few screams of horror as he let out a final splattering cough. Adrien's attempt at stopping it only resulted in making it worse, blood exploded from behind his hands forcing itself through his fingers around the edges of his hand and through his teeth. Falling to his knees he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt looking down at the small pool of blood and growing red stain on his shirt mouth still dripping every so often.  

Casting his gaze about the room he saw everyone was in shock then looking to Nino he motioned for him to come over. It took him a moment to process but once it did Nino rushed to help Adrien to his feet.  

"I-I'll take him to the nurses office" Nino stuttered grabbing both their belongings as he helped Adrien out the door. Nino looked up to Alya for some support but only rushed out the door even faster as he saw she was recording. As they made their way to the office Adrien looked like all the color had drained from his skin "Come on dude, you'll make it through this" he said.  

"N-not the nurses office" Adrien mumbled.

Nino stopped dead "You're delusional dude come on we're almost there" he asserted continuing toward the nurse. Adrien was too weak from what had just happened to protest any further and Nino was too scared for his friend to listen. Nino knocked but the nurse wasn't there and the door was locked, panicking now he set his friend down. It wasn't until now that Nino had gotten a good look at Adrien and he very suddenly understood why he wore the mask the reveal shook him to his core. He didn't know what had happened but he did know his friend needed help immediately before running off he stuttered "S-s-stay here I-I'll get agh someone".  

The moment Nino was out of sight Plagg showed himself "Kid!? kid stay with me" he was zipping around checking Adrien's wound and lightly slapping him on the face.  

"I'm...I'm still here Plagg" Adrien didn't like this, he was weak and his vision was bad but the situation was only going to get worse if he couldn't escape and find somewhere to hide. He was in no position to be doing anything drastic ,just talking was hard, Plagg was panicking more and more as the seconds passed but they felt like minutes.  

Plagg stopped moving suddenly "Ok kid, I-uh...I think I have a plan to get you outta here" he floated down to Adrien's reopened wound "-just hold still this'll hurt". Plagg began chanting something in a language that sounded similar to Chinese but Adrien couldn't tell what was being said, all he knew was the pain was subsiding. When he was done the pain was gone and he could see again "Alright you should be...good...to-" Plagg had begun to fall.

 Adrien caught him "PLAGG?!" he yelled, the sound of a door flying open followed by the voices of Nino and Alya made him act on instinct. Donning his blood soaked mask he grabbed his bags quickly placing Plagg in his shirt pocket he ran for the bathrooms to hide and change out of his bloodied clothes.  

Nino returned with Alya only to find a blood stain in place of where he had left Adrien "Where'd he go" Alya asked sounding confused and concerned.

"I-I don't know I left him right here and now he's gone" Nino was scared and breathing quickly Alya placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to console him.  

"We'll find him-" she told him, making him look her in the eye "come on, lets see if the class will help" Nino nodded in agreement and he had begun to calm if only a little.

Adrien was in a bathroom stall holding Plagg "Plagg Plagg come on you floating stomach" he said shaking his exhausted companion. Then remembering the cheese he pulled out a large slice of Camembert waving it around in front of Plagg.

"Can I get a smellier piece?" Plagg asked faintly.

"Oh my god thank goodness you’re alive" Adrien said breathing a sigh of relief before putting Plagg on his shoulder and digging through the cheese bag for a smellier piece of cheese. "What did you do to me back there? The pain’s gone and I'm not coughing up blood" he asked finally finding a good chunk and handing it to Plagg.

"Ancient healing technique *chewing* very taxing on a single Kwami" Plagg explained while Adrien changed out of his bloodied clothes. It had been a few minutes since Adrien had disappeared on Nino and from the rumble above he knew that Nino and Alya had gotten the class involved. Pulling out his phone and was about to text Nino telling him to meet him behind the school "alone" but before he hit send a thought ran through his head. "It had been a few hours since I've run away from home" he was certain that his bodyguard would be on the lookout but he was surprised that an amber alert had yet to be issued.   

Just as the thought finished a new alert popped up on his phone.

"Breaking News, Young male model Adrien Agreste son of the famous designer Gabriel Agreste has been reported "missing" since early this morning. Police are actively looking for him now, if you or anyone you know has any clues as to his whereabouts please call the number on your screen now."

Frantically Adrien deleted the message he was about to send replacing it with a plea. "WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T CALL THAT NUMBER PLEASE! Nino I'll explain everything when I can just please do not call that number". Almost instantly after hitting send his phone rang but Adrien quickly declined the call texting back "Meet me behind the school then we can talk but come Alone.  Adrien didn't want to get anybody else involved but if he didn't assure Nino of the fact he ran was fine he would be running from the whole of Paris before the weekend.  

His phone buzzed, it was Nino "Where are you dude the whole class is freaking out, are you ok?" 

"Meet me in the back of the school in 5 and I'll explain but...yes I'm ok tell the class I said thanks and sorry for today" he texted back. Putting his phone away he looked to Plagg "Alright get in the bag" he held up the cheese stash, Plagg flew in without objection. After washing his face and mask with water one of the bathroom sinks he sneaked out one of the locker room windows and made his way to the back alley behind the school.

He peered cautiously around the corner seeing only Nino he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Nino was looking over his shoulder looking nervous, Adrien turned the corner approaching his friend slowly. The moment Nino saw Adrien he leaped at him giving Adrien a bear hug when he let go Nino held him giving him a quick look over with tears in his eyes. As much as Adrien would have liked to stay and tell him everything now was not the time.

Adrien looked his friend in the eye mask removed "Nino I'm fine...di-did you tell anyone-".

 Nino cut him off his voice strained and cracking "NO-no I said I was going to check around back, the rest are still inside". 

"Thank you Nino...now I have to ask you to tell no one that you found me. 

"But-" Nino tried to protest.

"And you can't tell anyone about my face and if anyone does you need to tell them to keep quiet about it, please" Adrien hung his head before looking at Nino. "I know this is a lot to ask of you, especially after I disappeared on you but I need you" the voices of his other classmates cut their conversation short. "Oh no I need to go" then holding up his phone "I'll always be in touch" he turned to run back the way he came.

Nino grabbed him from behind in an embrace saying only one thing "We're Familia Adrien". With those final words Nino let him go and ,as much as he wanted to stay, Adriren ran leaving one of his first real friends crying in the alley. The rest of the class entered the alley from behind Nino.

"Did you find him?" they asked.

Nino turned tears in his eyes running down his cheeks "...no, he's not here". 

Adrien hated leaving his friends ,especially Nino, like this but even if Ladybug could undo the physical scars there was no mending the emotional damage.  

"No going back now".

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[somedaysiamspike]

Everything runs on solar power. The roads are made of dirt. Cellphones are mostly useless. Most everyone owns a mountain bike, and maintaining hiking trails is considered a routine leisure activity. (Corollary: Obesity doesn't appear to be a problem.) Friday nights generate vigorous debate – whether to eat at the place with good barbecue or the place with good pizza. There are no other choices. Fourth of July parade ideas this year included a proposed float that would poke fun at the community’s reliance on outhouses. Every year on the Summer Solstice, there’s a hike to a gorgeous summit where everyone holds hands and watches the sun set at 10:30 p.m. There’s a legendary 100-year-old general store, the Mercantile, but even it closes for six weeks during the winter. Everyone carries bear spray. Yes, everyone. Even when riding the mountain bikes. I even hiked with a post-middle-aged woman who last year broke her clavicle when the bear spray came loose from its carrier on her bike. It got caught in the spokes, upending her while at speed on the area’s main dirt road. She spoke about it as if it were a mere shrug of an incident in her day-to-day life. This was the community that was my vacation home for six days last month. Polebridge, Montana, just west of Glacier National Park. Population: 132. I really didn’t know what I was getting into. A Google search had yielded “North Fork Hostel & Square Peg Ranch” as a promising place to stay for a Montana adventure. Other than “bring a headlamp”, I didn’t do much research, in part because I wanted to keep the adventure open-ended, and in part because I was horribly sick for three weeks prior to the trip. (See a previous post for the sordid details of my illness. Not that I like to broadcast incessantly about my sicknesses, but I am trying to do my little part to help spread the word about the evils of opiods.) But before we get to stories from the middle of nowhere, let me tell you a sad story about the Glacier Park International Airport. It’s a not a big terminal – only one place to eat and lots of information about Montana. Because there was a long queue at the rental car counter, I had some lunch and read a few brochures to pass the time. Nearly every brochure touted the natural wonders of Montana, and how it important it was to preserve them. Save the bears! Save the glaciers! Recycle! Camp only where you’re supposed to! I then went to recycle my plastic bottle. There was not a recycle bin to be found. The person at the cafe to eat told me to throw it in the trash. The person at the rental car counter told me to throw it in the trash. I finally walked down a hall and found the airport’s administrative offices, and I told the airport manager of my dilemma. He said he was quite certain there were recycle bins in his airport. He walked back to the terminal, with me following him around. It was sadly comical. It was like following a little kid who swore he did his homework but couldn’t find it anywhere. I pressed him: “Tell me, when you personally have something to recycle – a can or something – what do you do with it?” I asked him twice; he didn’t answer either time, and instead kept looking for nonexistent recycle bins. Finally, he told he would take my bottle back to his office, that he was sure there was a bin there. I told him of my incredulity: “Every piece of paper I read in this airport tells me how important it is to preserve the environment, and you don’t even have a recycle bin.” I also asked him about future passengers: Are they supposed to hunt down the manager of the airport every time they have something to recycle? Anyway, he walked off with my cup toward his office. I had my doubts that it would end up anywhere but the trash. After my trip, I contacted the local newspaper and the major state newspaper and told them what happened, hoping it would be deemed worth a story. Alas, I’ve yet to receive a reply. OK, back to the middle of nowhere, or so it has been officially deemed by at least one publication. My directions took me down a dirt road some 15 miles long, running just west of a beautiful river with views of Glacier National Park on the other side. It had to be the dustiest dirt road of all time. Little did I know that I happened to be driving on it on the dustiest possible day. You see, the road gets so dusty that it’s treated every few months with magnesium chloride, and the next treatment was scheduled for the very next day after my arrival. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but the treatments generate a ton of conversation in Polebridge, where All Things Roads seems to be a constant topic of debate. “Mag chloride” - using the local lingo - is supposedly nontoxic for humans, but it’s as bad as salt for the undercarriage of your car. I suppose there’s a tradeoff for everything. At some point, as you drive down this dusty road, you start to wonder if you’re going to get where you’re going. Eventually, there was a landmark: The Home Ranch Bottoms restaurant and shop, deemed the “7th Best Restaurant in the middle of nowhere in all 50 states by The Daily Meal”, according to the sign. It’s a friendly place with lots of huckleberry options: huckleberry pie, huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry candles, and even huckleberry barbecue sauces. (I have a bit of a hard time comprehending that last item.) I later learned that this was the place with the good barbecue. As an Eastern North Carolina native who is particular about his barbecue, I came back on another day and tried a sandwich. It was Texas style (sort of), and there was a pickle on it. Okey-doke. Actually, it was fine, but I had no desire to try it again. Two more notes about “the Bottoms”: This was also the only public place within many, many miles that had public Wi-Fi. One would think, therefore, that there would be a steady supply of people – like at a Starbucks – hanging around and milking a drink as an excuse to use the Internet. Nope. They just don’t do that around Polebridge. I was guilty of the crime only once over six days, when I took a root beer onto the porch to check my emails and let my roommate back home know that I hadn’t been eaten by bears. Also, I was informed at the Bottoms that Polebridge proper was 5 miles away. Good. I was indeed on the correct road. The center of Polebridge is the Mercantile, an iconic and much-photographed building. There’s been a general store on the site for more than a century, and the population was significantly higher in the old days than now. They have a bakery that sells the most awesome huckleberry sweets. They also sell headlamps and bear spray, both of which I needed. (Yep. I somehow forgot to pack a headlamp, the one item I was informed specifically to bring for the hostel.) Next door to the mercantile is the Northern Lights Saloon and Cafe, the place that serves the awesome pizza on Fridays and other interesting concoctions the rest of the week. Seating is outdoors on picnic tables with a great view of the mountains. Great place to read a book. Or listen to music - they had a performer playing a banjo and singing one of the nights I was there. The hostel was a few hundred yards away. A wonderful spot, near the river. You can stay in a teepee, or a separate “cabin”, or in one of the bunk beds inside the main building. I chose the bunk beds; they’re cheaper, and they also achieve my main purpose for staying at a hostel – to meet other cool people who are traveling the world. The hostel caretaker is a German named Oliver, which was also the name of his cat. Unfortunately, late June is still early season tourist-wise in the Glacier area, so the hostel wasn’t flush with people. I did eventually hang out with some passers-through, sitting on the screen porch and telling stories. Everything ran on solar power, and we were told there would be Internet for perhaps one hour a day in the evening, but I never witnessed it. I highly recommend the place. It was the Summer Solstice, and I learned of a Solstice hike nearby. Thirteen of us (12 locals and myself) hiked to the top of a mountain and watched a glorious sunset, then held hands and gave thanks for the sun. The owner of the Merc and his young daughter were there, and one of the couples invited me to their house for a Sunday brunch that would followed by some community trail maintenance near the Canada border. Yes, please! From there, the trip had its ups and downs. I was still somewhat sick, so I slept more than usual and didn’t hike as much as planned. I spent a day driving the rental car exploring other parts of Montana, including the breathtaking plains to the east of Glacier. I thought the drive would be relaxing, but fatigue set in and I seriously was wondering aloud why I was even in Montana in the first place. (Why was I? Short answer: I’ve always had a fondness for Montana and used to name imaginary baseball teams after cities in the state; my interest was piqued last year when my then-roommate kept listing it as one of the three places she’d like to visit.) But the highlights were true highlights. I hiked Mount Brown, the second-steepest hike in Glacier, with a group of 20-somethings from Iowa. (The trend continues: No matter where I go, I always end up hanging out with the 20-somethings.) It was a relentless and difficult hike, and I was heartened with the others asked me to take the lead because I was the best at setting a pace. We hiked on a glacier-covered meadow near the summit and had a friendly encounter with a mountain goat. The views were stunning. The Sunday brunch at the local couple’s house was interesting, because I got to see a private dwelling in the area. The couples lives waaaaay off the beaten path some 15 miles from the hostel, but they are well-to-do and have constructed a McMansion version of a log cabin with all the modern amenities. I was too tired to do much trail maintenance, but I enjoyed hanging out with some of the kids and then left early for a nap. The next evening, I joined the locals again for Game Night at the Community Center, which is also the place where they hold their New Year’s Eve parties and such. In Glacier Park itself, I took the advice of locals and rented a bike to ride on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, but only to realize that much of the road is closed to bicycles during certain hours. When I pointed this out to upper management at the bike-rental place, I was comped a free kayak rental on Lake McDonald. Not a bad outcome at all. Other noteworthies from the trip: _ The locals love Amazon Prime. That’s how they get stuff. _ While I felt the community was special, it’s not quite the off-the-grid community for me. Because there is no school, the average age of full-time Polebridgians ranks right up there with your median age for “Wheel of Fortune” TV viewing. The locals voted not to have a public school built a few years back because they want to the keep the community small, but the leads to a lack of youthful vibrancy. These people have energy, but I have a different type of energy. I have primitive skills gatherings energy. I have “let’s-go-on-an-adventure-on-the-spur-of-the-moment” energy. These people, while wonderful to hang out with, are more sedate than I could ever be. _ I was also told by the locals to enjoy myself, but to tell everyone else how miserable the place is. They really, really don’t want a whole bunch of people moving there. _ About 1,000 people were expected for the Fourth of July parade. I wondered why they would all come from. _ What if David Lynch directed an airline safety video? I had that every discussion with the person sitting next to me on the flight to Denver. _ My rental car was a stinker. It was a Kia, and you can’t see out the back window worth a dang. Is that a thing now? Are they making rear windows smaller and smaller? Seems like an unsafety feature to me. _ Because I was still recovering from the opiod saga, I was still having weird dreams. In one dream, I was working with Walter Cronkite two days before his retirement. Apparently, I was going to be the one taking his place. Anyway, after his next-to-last broadcast, I went up to him jokingly and said “Good job, Mr. Cronkite. Done this before?” I then drummed on the anchor desk to emphasize I was just exhibiting light humor. He didn’t laugh. _ I also had a very colorful dream involving my brother H.B., and my friend Darcey’s landlord Deward. It seems Deward and I were at Darcey’s house, the Gold Gem, except that Darcey wasn’t there, and the Gold Gem was in North Carolina instead of Colorado. It was also decorated with hundreds of colorful stuffed animals. Many people were wandering through the house, looking at the animals, as if they were part of some sort of fair exhibit. I peaked my head through one door, and saw that the stairs leading to Darcey’s other rooms had been blocked off. I remember this being a very happy dream for me because there were a lot of children around, and they were all eager to learn – and I was excited to teach them something. At some point, I had to leave to bicycle to H.B.’s house so that we could go to Greenville for what I believed was a Little League baseball game. I remember thinking that the me of three years ago would have loved going to the game, but the current version of me would rather be going camping. _ I also had several dreams about my Dad. Nothing particular, other than he was just there. I also remember a dream about spinning turntables, which means it was probably another of those radio dreams in which I can’t stop the dead air, but I retained none of the details. _ I'm again struck by how quickly we can cover vast distances, and how that has homogenized our cultures. Here I was in an isolated area - and, yes, it did have its own special quirks - but overall the conversations and mannerisms wouldn't have been out of place virtually anywhere else in the United States.

[tebbyclinic11]

Trader Joe’s Newest Products in 2018, Reviewed

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Trader Joe’s Newest Products in 2018, Reviewed

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Trader Joe’s has it all figured out. The new products, they just keep coming. We’re on a hare-brained mission to try every new product at TJ’s in 2018. Trying. A noble pursuit, a “good use of time,” “what is this, an ad?”, call it what you will. New this week—Valentines gummies, coconut clusters of fun, pretty good chicken sausage, and more.

Organic Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, $4.99These floppy shingles of roasted turkey are a lunch meat staple, though I’ve never tried to bind two pieces of paper with them. Instead, I roll them with sliced Swiss cheese and dip them in mustard like the grown adult person with an expired license I am. A subtle, roasted flavor elevates the turkey from its natural state of taste (soggy meat Kleenex) to a whisper of Thanksgiving leftovers. Good product. Reliable sandwich material. Real meat. Gluten-free. Protein. Precisely circular. Not salami.

Gummy Xs & Os, $2.99In time for Valentine’s Day, we have a big bag of gummies. The ”natural flavors” flavor reminds me of rosé–supposedly grapefruit, strawberry, and mixed berry—but they all blend together to me in the way you’re pretty sure gummy bears are different flavors for different colors but are they, really?? All I know is that the Xs taste better than Os. The big downside–sorry, gummy enthusiasts—is that the texture is too soft. Like that moment you’re making out with your Valentine and finally come to terms with the fact that he’s a body pillow named Ted. Gummies need a little bit of chew, some struggle, a reminder that it’s not gonna be easy all the time. A nice metaphor for love if you ask me.

Electric Buzz Coffee Cups, $5.49I drink coffee the old-fashioned way—by pouring off-boiling water into a filter directly in my mouth—so I enlisted a guest reviewer for these TJ branded K-cups that are supposedly EXTRA CAFFEINATED! “It’s no special cup of mud,” texted my friend Keith, a man who puts plastic cups in a machine expecting roasted bean juice to come out. BA’s Alex Delany described these coffee pods like he does beer, ridiculously: “It tastes like someone walked across your tongue with brand new dad sneakers on. Rubber soles.” Did he really need to offend all of dadkind like that? Probably yes.

Organic Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, $5.99Like many chicken sausages, it tastes like chicken sausage. Throw in some garlic powder and basil particles and poof, Italian. Out of the package, they have a slimy smooth, bouncy hot dog texture because the casing has been removed. I don’t get how this works, but I‘ll try anything once. A sweet, kind cashier with a striking resemblance to my Uncle Manny (RIP) said he loves to make sausage and peppers with them, so that’s what I did. I mean, we’re practically family. The sausages are smaller side, more the size of Ball Park Franks, and crisp up in the pan as intended. Two people in my household ate the entire package of five links, dipping each bite in mustard and trying to find something more meaningful to say about something as mundane as chicken sausage. Notes of peppercorn tingle the tastebuds. Solidly Not Bad.

Coconut Sesame Seed Clusters, $1.99These are little shards that aren’t quite granola and yet aren’t anything else. Purgatory snacks! They’re crunchy pieces of toasted coconut covered in sesame seeds, sealed together with coconut sugar and tapioca syrup. Okay so they’re candy. Serving suggestions include: casually eating out of a hollowed coconut shell, on ice cream, but more likely, by the handful until you read the nutrition facts and realize the bag is empty but hey, at least they’re gluten-free? If this isn’t impulse purchase material, I don’t know what is.

Previously

The Week of January 22

Churro Bites, $2.49The only thing these churro bites share in common with hot-off-the-oil churros is a coating of cinnamon sugar. Other than that, these crunchy nuggets are their own category of cookie-chip. They have a near-velvet outer texture, the combination of shiny hardened butter and sandy sugar, like when you dropped a doughnut hole at the beach but ate it anyway, because seagulls. (Because you’re a monster). Sort of like giant Corn Pops, rolled cinnamon sugar. I won’t even begin to describe what they visually resemble (😺 💩). The cashier at TJ’s looked at the nutritional details and then slowly raised her eyes to mine. Me: “These are not good for you.” Her: “Then why are you buying two?”

Gluten Free Oat Cranberry Flaxseed Cookies, $2.99As a general life principle, you should never trust a cookie with more than three names. These gluten-free-oat-cranberry-flaxseed-cookies seem to think that they can trick us into believing they’re some kind of health food but we know, ohhhh we KNOW. These are cookies. With plenty of butter and sugar. Because of that, I have some great news: They taste like cookies! Like a very good grocery store oatmeal raisin cookie, with a surprisingly soft and chewy texture (I see you, molasses and rice flour.) They crumble a little, but then again who doesn’t in this current political climate? Still not sure what a flaxseed is, but I’m already starting to see definition in my abs.

Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce, $1.99This so-called simmer sauce is the pale minty green of my grandmother’s bathroom walls, with much more flavor (and a lot less lead!). Even though a simple green curry is easy to make, at this price, it costs the same as just the can of coconut milk, and there’s Kaffir lime peel in here. It’s fragrant with lemongrass and ginger, and super creamy, a little sweet—overall, delicious. You cook some protein or veg, add the sauce, serve over noodles/rice. What does this sauce have in common with a certain presidential marriage? There’s absolutely no heat. BYO-chile if you need to spice it up.

Tahini, Pepita & Apricot Slaw Kit, $3.99Inside one plastic bag you get four more little plastic bags! It’s like a Russian nesting salad of environmental doom. Or something. The slaw is a combination of veggies from the aisle-land of misfit produce. Spiky broccoli stems. Faded carrots the color of construction cones abandoned by the highway. The curly split ends from a kale haircut. Cabbage. Unfortunately the dressing, a sweet honey tahini (try this one!), which is pretty good, can’t mask the musty taste of the veg. The pepita and apricot sprinkles are a nice idea, but like hoping the 14 throw pillows on your couch hide all of the cat hair, they can only do so much.

Previously

The Week of January 8

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Frosted Sugar Cookies, $2.99Trader Joe’s imitation of Lofthouse’s iconic packaged cookies is the best thing they’ve brought to the new year. The freakishly smooth, delightfully underbaked sugar cookie is topped with frosting and randomly distributed purple-pink sprinkles. Whoever was in charge of sprinkles appears to have sneezed them out, some gather along the edges, holding on for dear frosting life.

But they really did it. It’s mythic, and it dissolves into dust the second it touches your saliva. The minute you bite into it, you forget it was ever there. And it’s everything you’ve missed since the last time you had one, stoned at 10 p.m. in Kroger with your middle school friends who’ve all had babies on Facebook by now. It’s a cookie that will send you back in time, in memory, in a sugar-induced nostalgia nap.

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Cocoa Almond Cashew Beverage, $2.29Who doesn’t love a beverage? AKA the FDA-approved term for milks that aren’t milk. Remember milk? Pause to pour out some beverage in the memory of milk. Those days are over.

This incredibly silky not-milk is chocolaty and sweet, with a vaguely nutty aftertaste, like a burp after too many bar peanuts. The creamy texture, thanks to the beautiful food science that is locust bean gum and other emulsifiers, ends on a near slimy note, reminiscent of the inside of the cardboard chocolate milk carton. It would be nice in a banana smoothie, heated as faux cocoa, mixed into iced coffee, or given as a bribe to children who have never known the cult of cow.

Photo by Chelsie Craig

Italian Marinara Sauce with Barolo Wine, $3.49Have you ever spooned straight marinara sauce into your mouth? It’s acidic and sweet, smooth save for the little toenails of tomato skin here and there. The saltiness left my chapped lips burning and tingling, like I’d exfoliated them with French fries. The addition of Barolo seems to say, “I know wines other than red,” while the black-and-gold Deco packaging suggests a Gatsby-themed party at the Olive Garden. It tasted like pretty good pizza sauce. Sign me up.

Organic Fruit and Seed Granola, $3.69These little clusters of organic seeds, held together by plasticky tasting tapioca syrup, are nuggets of health. I think. No pesky oats here, just seed bombs that I imagine are only slightly larger than what well-fed pigeons expel. The sharp and crunchy texture is appealing to parents who bring healthy snacks to the movies. They’re also the perfect snack for mindful eaters, as you will mindfully spend every bite doing tongue yoga to get chia seeds out of your molar fillings from the 90s. There are surprise bites of sweetened dried cranberries that will make you exclaim, “SUGAR, for MEEEE?” Somehow you will eat the whole bag.

Stay tuned for more, next week.

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