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#let me die i found an email from her from 2 months ago where she had weirdly put all her comments into something I could not see
saltcherry · 1 year
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feel like my boss is lightly gaslighting me about some things but whatever, at least she is responding to my concerns?
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usergreenpixel · 4 months
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MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 20: NAPOLEON’S ELYSIUM (2011)
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1. The Introduction
Hello, dear Neighbors. Welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon. Oh look, we have an anniversary already!
In order to celebrate the occasion, I decided to post a long overdue review of “Napoleon’s Elysium” by Diane Scott Lewis. The book was actually brought to my attention by @suburbanbeatnik , who did the cover art for this particular edition of the book.
Now, usually I’m not the biggest fan of romance novels (not a dig at the authors, just not my thing), but this book was recommended by a mutual I trust, so I did give it a try. As for my impressions, we’ll get to them in a minute.
By the way, the book is currently available on Amazon and Kindle, but @suburbanbeatnik (to whom this review is dedicated) sent an EPUB version to me by email many months ago, so I didn’t purchase it.
Alright, now let’s get to the review!
2. The Summary
Amélie Perrault is a nineteen-year old daughter of a cook, who joins her father and the rest of the servants in order to share Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena.
Dreaming of becoming a successful erotica author, Amélie hopes to work on her novel in her spare time and uses the information she obtained from other novels in order to write the details of her story.
However, her unexpected feelings for the former emperor and a desire to find out who has been poisoning him complicate the situation in more ways than expected.
3. The Story
As I said, I’m not the biggest fan of romantic subplots or novels where romance is the main plotline, so imagine my surprise when I found myself finishing this book in one sitting!
The romance between Amélie and Napoleon is portrayed very realistically, considering the differences in age and social standing. Both aspects are things that other characters point out, and it’s very clear that Amélie and Napoleon are at very different stages of life.
Their bond evolves very naturally over time, without the story feeling like a bad fanfic. I would say that it is a very slow burn kind of romance.
Not to mention, I really enjoyed the detective plot line of investigating who is poisoning Napoleon and the adventure plot line involving his plans to escape.
Also, Amélie’s attempts to write her novel are very relatable. She wants to be strong and independent like her main character, but she is clearly a different person and is not the protagonist of her novel. I aspire to be an author too, so I definitely relate to the scenes of Amélie picking up ideas for her story or asking for advice on how to improve it.
Oh, and also there are a few characters who die in the novel, but they stay dead and these become very important plot points.
4. The Characters
Amélie Perrault wants to be a strong, independent woman, but luckily it doesn’t feel out of place for that time period. She just has ideas inspired by Enlightenment mixed with being young and a free spirit.
She is a very flawed, realistically written spunky young woman, but her heart is in the right place and she is one of the few people genuinely loyal to Napoleon.
Napoleon himself is definitely jaded, occasionally prone to outbursts and quite petty at times, but he doesn’t want Amélie to feel like she’s being taken advantage of and he genuinely loves her. In fact, it’s her idealism that inspires Napoleon to plan an escape from his exile instead of giving up.
Chef Perrault, Amélie’s father, is quite realistic too. He does believe in education for women, but he is still very protective of his daughter and at times still treats her like a child, which is understandable.
Count and Countess de Montholon are portrayed as traitors and ass-kissers.
Fanny Bertrand is a sweetheart who genuinely helps Amélie with her novel.
Clarice, another servant, is a bitch who starts out very shallow, promiscuous and rude towards Amélie, but then reveals information that helps the investigation of who is behind poisoning Napoleon.
Jules, the manservant of Montholon, is a fucking creep.
Ali, Napoleon’s personal servant, becomes a friend to Amélie and an ally who helps her navigate the environment of the St. Helena “court”.
5. The Setting
Fantastic writing and vivid descriptions of the island and other locations!
6. The Writing
The writing is sublime for the most part, but sometimes the characters drop phrases in French, which I did find a bit jarring when compared to the rest of the dialogue (which is obviously in English). We already know these characters are supposed to be French.
This is a minor issue for me though.
There is a case of the term “n*gro” being used towards the island’s black population, but we’re talking about the 19th century so it was to be expecte. It’s a dated term but I’m censoring it just in case it is triggering to anyone in the audience.
7. The Conclusion
Excellent book with realistic plot lines, colorful flawed characters, mostly great writing and vivid imagery that really sells the setting.I think I can definitely recommend it if you like historical romance.
Well, on this note, I declare this soirée concluded. Please stay tuned for future reviews!
Love,
Citizen Green Pixel
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Internet Friends
For Maribat March day 4 theme internet friends
Master List
It was peaceful for once in the manor. Dick, Tim, Damian, Steph, Cass, and Babs were all in the living room doing their own thing. However peace cannot last forever and the silent atmosphere was interrupted by one Timothy Drake-Wayne. 
“Guys come check this out!” He exclaimed, his phone facing the others in the room. They all gathered around the phone, some more annoyed than others. On screen was a video and Tim hit play. 
It showed a girl with dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin motioning for someone off screen to come over. There was music going on in the background and the girl was obviously getting impatient. The figure came on screen and they were all shocked to see it was Jason. Then at the top of the screen the words ‘Doing this trend with my overprotective best friend’ appeared and now they were very confused. Jason had never mentioned this girl before.
The music stopped and the girl repeated the lyrics “Look at my ass, look at my thighs” as she turned around. But before she could turn around Jason picked her up and carried her off screen before the video ended. 
“What was that?” Dick asked after a few seconds of silence. 
“It’s a trend on tik tok that girls usually do with their boyfriends, but in this case Jason and this girl are just best friends.” Steph answered. 
“How does Jason even know this girl?” Dick pointed out, asking the question that was on all of their minds. Unfortunately, no one, not even Tim, knew the answer. 
Cass then spoke up, “Watch more.” She grabbed Tim’s phone and played another video, however this time it was Jason holding the camera. He came over to the strange girl who looked to be baking something. She looked up at him weirdly, asking something that couldn’t be heard because of the audio playing, luckily they could read lips. 
‘What are you doing?’ She asked
Jason responded with ‘Just listen.’ 
She turned her attention to the camera as the lyrics “That’s my best friend, that’s my best friend” played. Jason was moving to the beat and that seemed to convince the girl to also move to the beat. The song continued with more lyrics playing “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my best friend”. Then suddenly the lyrics “I just fuck her her from time to time” played and the girl whipped out her spoon and started whacking him on the head with it. She was screaming ‘LIES’ just before the video cut out. 
This led to them going on a spree of watching their tik toks. Apparently this was their shared account and both of them had separate accounts they planned to look at later. An hour had passed of them just watching their tik toks before they stumbled upon an intriguing one. The caption was ‘You guys asked for it, so I’ll explain. This is going to be my side of the story.’
It showed Margot, as they had found out her name was, sitting on her bed recording herself painting her nails a blood red as she talked. 
“Ok so you guys have been asking for this for a while so here it is. How I met Jason part one. And Jason will also be doing his side of the story, just so you’re aware, watch that after this. But this also takes place after the whole ‘Hawkmoth and Lila Incident’ so if you haven’t watched that storytime on my personal account, you should probably go do that.” 
One look at each other and they knew they were gonna look at the story afterwards. It was getting too good to leave now.
“So a long time ago I had a venting account on Instagram. Now I had many venting accounts, all with different usernames, including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, all that good stuff but Instagram is where I met Jason. I posted something about how death could never stop me because I had died by the hands of an akuma before but ladybug’s cure brought me back to life. But then later on in the post I said something about how if this one boy, you all know who he is, couldn’t take a hint then I would rather let death take me than bother living in this mortal realm. Jason ended up seeing the post since we were following each other at the time and DMed me. Now he said and I quote ‘Yo, my username at the time, if you need me to come and beat this guys ass I would be more than happy too. I would gladly let death claim me as well without your shit posts to relate to.’” 
She had tried to make her voice sound deeper and had stopped painting her nails so she could do air quotes. “Looking back on it now, that is such a Jason thing to say, but at the time I was pretty confused and mildly concerned. And time’s up, part two will be posted right now.” 
“Wait, what the heck is an akuma and ladybug’s cure and why did she die from it!?!?!” Dick shouted once the video ended. 
“Dick you don’t know what she’s talking about?” Babs asked in disbelief. 
“Tt, Grayson, and I thought you were one of the smart ones in this family.” Damian scoffed. 
“Does everyone here, but me, know what she's talking about?” Dick questioned, getting yes and nods from everyone in the room.
“Okay Dick,” Tim began, “This is gonna be pretty unbelievable and complicated so I’ll try to explain it as best I can in a short amount of time so we can finish her side of the story before dinner. So while I’m explaining don’t interrupt me.” 
He waited for Dick to nod his head before continuing. “There are jewelry called miraculous that house mini gods that grant powers to whoever has the jewelry. Each miraculous houses a different god thus a different power. Miraculous themselves, including the gods bound to them, are neutral so they can be used for good or evil depending on who wields them. 
Hawkmoth and Mayura used the butterfly and peacock miraculouses for evil purposes and were basically emotional terrorists to the people of Paris. Hawkmoth was able to send out a butterfly with magic to a person feeling negative emotions and manipulate them to do his bidding. These butterflies and villains created by the butterflies were called akumas. If you were or became an akuma you were akumatized. Mayura was able to send out a feather with magic that also used negative emotions to create a monster that aided the akuma. The feathers were called amuks and the monsters were called sentimonsters. 
That was when the heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir also came along and fought Hawkmoth. Ladybug had the ladybug miraculous which granted her the power of lucky charm and miraculous ladybug. Lucky charm gave her an item needed to defeat the akuma and miraculous ladybug reversed all the damage a fight caused. She also had the task of purifying the akuma, turning it back into a butterfly. Chat Noir had the black cat miraculous which granted the power of cataclysm, which made it so he could destroy anything he touched. The 2 worked as a team for around a year before they brought in other temporary heroes who are not that important. Eventually all their temp heroes’ identities were outed and they could no longer use them so they were back to square one. 
However many people noticed that Chat Noir was not taking his job as seriously, he began sitting out battles, flirting with ladybug while there was an akuma, and even getting civilians killed, relying too heavily on ladybug’s cure. We’re not exactly sure what happened, we assumed she snapped because one akuma attack Chat Noir was not there. Instead, there was a whole new team of miraculous wielders including Murder Hornet wielder of the bee miraculous who had the power venom which let her temporarily paralize her opponent, Red Illusion wielder of the fox miraculous who had the power mirage which let him create illusions, Peridot Protector wielder of the turtle miraculous who had the power shelter which allowed him to create indestructible shields, Medusa wielder of the snake miraculous who had the power second chance which allowed her to reset the time line as many times as needed to win the battle, Mustang wielder of the horse miraculous who had the power voyage which let him create portals, and a new black cat holder, Midnight. 
The team took 6 months to defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura, who turned out to be Gabriel Agreste and Natalie Sancour. The Justice League tried to recruit them but they all wanted to live normal lives. Ladybug still checks in every 3-6 months to reassure everyone she still has all the miraculous. I don’t blame them, especially Ladybug, for wanting a normal life. This whole thing started when they were around 13 and ended when they were around 17.”
Tim then clicked on part two of her story, not even waiting for Dick to recover from the huge information dump. 
It was the exact same place she was at in part one, and she was still painting her nails the same shade of blood red. “Okay guys part two of how Jason and I met. If you didn’t watch part one go watch then return to this one. So picking up where we left off I Dmed him back and we ended up having a very long conversation about murder, people not understanding the word no, and spineless cowards. This went on for quite a while of us just messaging each other and eventually we gave each other our emails and then phone numbers. I gave him my phone number just before I moved out of Paris. After like 6 months of texting we planned to meet up at some park in New York that was near the apartment I lived at at the time. Now in hindsight that was a very dumb move on my part so to all the kids watching don’t go meeting up with strangers you meet on the internet. Do as I say not as I did. I almost regretted my decision to meet up with him because he is intimidating as hell! He’s like over 6 foot tall, with muscles the size of my head! I honestly thought that I had put myself in a very bad situation but thankfully he was just as nice in real life like he was over text. We ended up hanging out a lot more and long story short we’re best friends!” 
It was at this point that she looked directly into the camera with a glare that could rival Batman’s, stating, “Literally just best friends to all the people who think shipping us is okay!” And just like that, it was gone, “Anyways see you guys next video, bye!” 
And with that the video ended and the Wayne children, minus Jason obviously, were left wondering how they missed the fact Jason had a female best friend. One where they declared their friendship on the internet nonetheless!
“Well that was certainly something.” Steph commented. 
“Yeah, who knew Jason could have a non hero friend that we didn’t know about.” Tim joked. 
“So are we gonna watch Jason’s part?” Dick asked. 
“I don’t think we have time for that, but we can watch it after dinner.” Tim suggested, “Alfred is probably on his way to get us right now.”
“Tt, what do we do now?” Damian questioned. 
It was then that Cass stole Tim’s phone and started to play a new tik tok. And it showed Margot trying to teach Jason how to do the WAP dance. They were never letting him hear the end of this.
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I am literally so sorry for that huge information dump with the miraculous. I did not expect to get that carried away while writing and by the time I realized it, it was too late and I had to post. Honestly because of how much I wrote I will probably use the miraculous holders names in a future fic, cause I’m lazy. :P Also if you wanna guess their identities feel free to! Anyways tomorrows prompt fic thing will be like a prequel for this one, it’s basically why Marinette now goes by Margot and why she lived/lives in New York. The prompt “Betrayal" will be connected to this as well. :)  Also sorry this was posted so late, I had things to do, that I still need to do...I hate procrastination
@maribatmarch-2k21
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btswishes · 4 years
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Love me for who I am now
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Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 1 )
Part1 / Next 
Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.
A/N: This is my first Marvel fic and I am taking it as a challenge. It is opposite of what my account was made, but here I go. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.
Word count:  3,281
Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU 
Y/N- Your name Y/L/N:  Your Last Name
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  Through sleepless nights and dark circles, books and pens, through months of work you reached your goal. The moment you received the acceptance letter from Stark University you almost flew out the window without a fear in your mind. This was it!
  Time had passed since that moment, but it is still engraved in your mind- a memory keeping you strong during the hard midterms and piles of work, even the small glimmers of regret. Trying your best wasn’t an option, you could do only that and no less. It was no easy task, lost social life as much as you tried to keep it. You were really lucky you had good friends that understood and supported you. University wasn’t easy for anyone making this one even tougher. People of all ages, backgrounds and cultures were piled up with you in this building. The best of the best as the slogan said, the ones that proved themselves and emerged victorious.
  When you were young ,you used to spend a lot of time with your uncle at his places outside the country. He would introduce you to his work colleagues and things you had never seen before. There was a time where you would spend months on end with him. Not many memories were left from those moments in your head. At one point you spend a few years with him, your mother thought it would be good experience for you and it turned out to be nothing but the truth-at least you hoped so. You learned a lot from him and his friends, it felt like each spend day would offer you more knowledge in areas you never knew of. Computer work, ways of thinking and so much more that had become second nature to you.
  The sky was tinted in a wash of oranges, reds and yellows bleeding one into the other, swirling around the sun emitting them. The day was ending, but you found yourself filling up an application in the library, covered by the silence and smell of exam worry.
  Sponsored and founded by the one and only Tony Stark, this establishment offered an internship. Being part of the Avengers, Tony didn’t let just anyone from the students attending in, even if they were the best labeled by the school. It had been a year and a half since you started pushing yourself harder to be able to apply and there was nothing that could stop you. Pressing your finger over the enter button was very nerve wrecking yet simple. Even if it didn’t work out this year, you planned to do it again and again ,till he had no other choice but give you a chance.
  Usually F.R.I.D.A.Y. went over everything and left only the applications worth going over by Tony himself or Pepper. The next 5 weeks for you were very stressful, but there was nothing more you could do but wait and focus on your own work. The first person you wanted to tell about this was your uncle. He went to work in some distant place where they had no internet so you switched to mail. Not as much paper under his name passed through your hands, as he had stopped answering you. You missed him, but the muddy childhood memories kind of compensated for that.
“Did you send it in?” the phone muffled a bit the sweet voice coming from the speaker 
“Yeah, a few days ago actually.” You answered with a gentle sigh
“And no answer yet?” the girl’s pitch rose at the end of the sentence, amazed at that what she just heard
“I know, I know. Think about it though Nea. Who knows how many applications get submitted. Someone has to brush through them after all.” defending the situation was a form of coping for you, made you feel hopeful.
“So you are trying to tell me Tony Stark’s interface or whatever it’s called, can’t sort them out in a couple of hours? Come on Y/N! You and I both know you are trying to make yourself feel better.” The small pause made you anxious over what Nea said “Listen.” A breathy start of the sentence “ I don’t mean to brag, but I think I am one of the people who know exactly how much you deserve this. You were never the studious type, plus that you were gone for years on end with that mysterious uncle of yours. I never expected you to suddenly go for Stark University. Your dream changed you, from this quiet kid to crazy ol’ you right now on the call with me.I ain’t letting you bust yourself up over this just because it didn’t happen the first time around-”
                Ding ding
  Nea’s deep speech was cut off before she could unleash herself completely, by the slight ring of your phone’s notification.
“Who tf has the audacity to text while the great me is giving this legendary –“
                Ding!
  The second time the sound sung out made her choke up with anger, you could almost see the fumes coming out of the phone.
“WHO IS IT!” a loud hiss pierced your ear
“Maybe if you gave me a minute I could answer your question.” Pulling the call down, your finger ran over the screen to the email, making your notification lamp blink like a car. Almost instantly it opened before your eyes and you gasped. The action made you swallow suddenly and cough out a bit ,giving poor Nea an idea about the level of shock you were in.
“What?What? You can’t just almost die and not tell me what is going on.” She proceeded with a not so tasteful interrogation.
“I-…they accepted my application…” at the end a small smile flowed over your lips contorting the sound coming out
“Stop!?” she choked up as well “You gotta be fucking with me!? No fucking way this is real!”
“I am honest. It says here that they liked my skill set, my grades and the way of thinking I presented in my essay. I got the spot Nea! I fucking did it!” you threw the phone on the bed letting it bounce as you started dancing.
“Of course you did! I told you! You will be working with THE AVENGERSSSS!” at some point it sounded like your best friend was more excited than you “When do you start?”
“Well…” taking a second to calm down and re-establish contact with your phone, you looked up the schedule that came attached with the email “…ok…so it says here that I will be starting on Monday so~ in 2 days? “
“So soon! Any requirements for the job miss Avenger’s sidekick?” and the teasing begins
“A list, surprisingly.” Rolling onto your back, you held the screen away and above your face, scrolling past “ I guess my first job will be with Dr. Banner in the lab. Apparently I will be given some sort of assignments throughout the 5 months work span. I will be monitored by Dr. Bruce Banner and the grading, I guess if you can call It that ,will be done by Tony Stark himself.”
“Basically Hulk will be your babysitter.” once this girl starts teasing she never stops even in amazing situations such as this one, good thing you loved her “That sounds so cool though! You will be able to meet Captain America and Black Widow~! I am so jelly of you I swear! When you leave work make sure to wait for someone from the group to walk by, omgggg I am fangirling so much right now.What if you go to dinners with them!?AAAAA!”
“Fun thing about that.” Your eyes landed on the last paragraph of the email “It says here that I am supposed to move into the compound and stay there till further notice. The whole idea is that if I do things well I will get a permanent job. Weird…” you hummed
“Weird !? How? That is so cool! Who knows you might even become an Avenger! You will be living with them anyways.” at this point Nea was either not breathing or hyperventilating so fast you couldn’t hear it
“Don’t be ridiculous.” your attention landed once more on the thought process you had a moment ago “I don’t get one thing. They say here that my PE grades combined with my IT and overall studies make me a great candidate, but I don’t remember sports being a requirement at all, or even providing them in the first place. Does it mean that if my grades were low in that department I wouldn’t have gotten the spot?”
“I guess people of science aren’t that flexible. Who cares anyways! You got in, no ifs and buts. I am telling you, at this point you could be an Avenger.” poor girl began thinking of names and suit designs for you “ Hurry up and pack those bags before I drop by with take away, so we can gossip over Steve Rogers’s abs.”
“Um…don’t get me wrong he is super hot, I just see the Cap more like an older brother figure than anything.” It was true, you looked up to him since the first time you studied about the Civil War. Fearless, gave his life in a way for his people, astonishing man over all.
“Hey! Let me drool over him! You were always more of a Winter Soldier fan anyways.” Nea pouted audibly . Her words made some lone memory pop up in your head, but it was as murky as the rest. “I don’t know why I am interested in him. Somehow his look is very nostalgic and rugged. Anyways. ”you shook your head out of the mental image of the soldier “I will go pack up, tell my parents and fix up all my documents. Probably find some stuff from former Stark employees online. I want to have a bit of an idea of what he expects and what I am getting myself into.”
“Fine fine, you could have just said you like troubled guys. You were the one who was happy Loki got a second chance after all. I will be over in like 3 hours.” She informed you
“Hey! He deserved to redeem himself, he was used!” a firm Loki supporter as always “Ok then, see ya.”
   Hanging up the call you placed your phone to charge and rolled off your bed. The email gave vague information about what you needed, but clothing wise you would still be able to come home and get stuff if you had to. What was on top of your priorities were papers, documents, all your research materials and tech. Those things had to be organized no matter what ,since they got you this far in the first place.
  Nae came over as planned and you two had a nice sleepover talking about you know who. The night came and left, letting the morning find you in your bed at 11am. Your forearm rested on top of your forehead in a relaxed manner, letting enough space for an exhale to linger in the air in front of you. Your mind was going over everything that was about to happen to you. It was one of your dreams, you worked for it nonstop day in day out, so why were you so worried about meeting the rest of the Avengers? Maybe it was just anxiety or fear of the unknown, yeah made sense.
  All you did during the day was make lists for every piece of tech you were binging with yourself. Things seemed to be in order, but worry kept nibbling on your bones. The moment of truth finally rolled up and so did your suitcase in front of your house. Nea came to send you off as she promised.
“Sweetie, make sure to call us every day. Eat well, don’t overwork yourself and-“ your mom went off with caution about anything and everything that came to mind
“Mom, you know I am going 3 blocks down from here right? Plus I can come home at any time I want to. I am not moving to Mars or getting arrested.” You smirked the panic away from her, giving them a big hug.
“Call me or text me when you get there.” Nea pulled you in, whispering in your ear as quietly as possible “And don’t forget to sneak me a booty pick of good ol’Cap. You know what they say-”
“That is America’s ass.” Your voice came out in a mocking tone
“That i-…let me at least finish it by myself! Geez!” she pushed you towards the door “Ok ok, go now before you spoil me something else” her arms crossed in front of her chest
  The walk wasn’t that long, you were too invested in your own thoughts to notice when the time and distance had passed. The glistening windows of the compound building shined into your eyes. Your lungs filled up with a breath that they kept in for a moment, before releasing it back in the outside world. Pulling out the documents you stepped in. The fresh smelling air hit you making you close one eye for a second.
People were walking around you fast and concentrated. Some looked in a hurry, others were on break with a cup of coffee and a strain-leaving expression.
 Your feet, as slightly shaky as they were, took you right up to the front desk were a lady with a dark rich red colored uniform looked at you. She flashed a professional smile, her eyes asking for your purpose.
“Um, hello. My name is Y/N -Y/L/N.” she saw the logo on your papers and gasped
“You must be the new intern Mr. Stark told us about.” She signed something and reached out “Can you give me your hand for a second.” Your fingers didn’t go past the surface of the desk when she pocked your skin. Pulling in your extremity, your palm wrapped around the spot that began to sting a bit “Don’t worry about it. This is your identification pass. Fancy, no?” she smiled winking. Her body stood up as she pointed at the elevator far in the back of the foyer.
  Instructions were given with each step of the way, calming your nerves a bit. The moment you found yourself inside the elevator she pulled your hand to the sensor on the wall next to the buttons.
Recognized: Code 2514. Welcome Miss Y/N  
 Your head shot up when F.R.I.D.Y.’s voice echoed in the small space. The women smiled giving you a small nod and stepped out of the vicinity. Once her body was outside ,the doors slid closed. Over them glowed a protective blue light layering over the material like a soft veil.
 It felt like you weren’t moving an inch. Your body flinched when the sun stung at your eyes from the window. Your gaze landed over the view of the city, as you went higher and higher, ascending into the clouds  The blues and yellows were covering the inside of the elevator, such vibrant and lovely colors warming your body. For a moment your heart felt heavy- lost memory tugged onto it again. An often occurrence lately, yet you kept brushing off as deja vu. 
Floor 134. Welcome to the Avenger’s compound Miss Y/N
“134!?” the numbers cracked out with your voice. The interface made you turn towards the opposite opening doors revealing a room as big as a hall, if not almost a stadium. The ceiling was high being the lid to this round area. Your heart beat increased pumping blood to your body, dilating your pupils at least twice their original size. It look amazing, almost like you had just entered heaven. The walls were white, the furniture was perfectly placed and cream colored. Stepping outside you jumped at the sound of the elevator doors closing behind you. 
“Wow” escaped your lips, your hand pulling the suitcase closer. So this was the common room or the shared space. The windows were so big they were practically a wall of their own. The bright rays were making themselves at home giving the white paint a new color with each passing minute. The ceilings were probably the equivalent of 3 floors in height. There was this weird feeling of home inside, a bit of isolation maybe mixed in. 
“Miss Y/N?” your head swung to the side when you recognized that shy but bright smile. Throwing the papers on top of your suitcase, you extended your arm at the man.
“Ah.” Good thing your mind automatically responds politely to people without you giving it much thought “Dr. Banner. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.” you shook his hand gently a couple of times and let go ,finding the papers and showing them to him “My name is Y/N-Y/L/N.” gentle bow and a smile followed the words skillfully chosen
“Welcome Welcome. Tony is out right now so I might be the only one actively walking around the compound. Well…”he scratched the back of his neck, lightly hunching over with a sheepish smile “I am one of the people you will be working under anyways, so I guess it is good that I came to get you. I would love to show you the lab, but I am sure you would like to set up your things first.” You nodded and he showed you to your room. The corridor had 3 tall doors scattered on the walls, all looking modern and elegant.
“This is the side where usually we have our female members. Natasha and Wanda will be your nextdoor neighbors. Hope it won’t be any trouble.” Bruce looked at you ,when an aggressive shake took over your neck
“No, no. Not at all sir. I am very grateful to have such amazing heroes next to me. As a matter of fact won’t they be troubled with me here?” and here came the normal anxiety that you had for everything
“I am sure they will like you. Don’t worry about it.” Bruce stepped next to the door and waved you over “You don’t have a key or a door handle as a matter of fact. Tony’s idea, don’t ask. If you got up here on your own I assume he made the girls downstairs give you an identification implant. That is basically your entrance for everything here. Kind of an Avengers thing.” You nodded and him wiggling his fingers like a spell. Placing your hand on the door like he told you activated F.R.I.D.A.Y.
Recognized: Y/N. Access and ownership granted.
  The metal frame slid open and you found yourself standing before a big room. It was nicely furnished. The desk was big enough for you to work on it and have everything around. Bookshelves empty and ready to be used on your left and a large bed on your right flush against the wall. The window was once more its own wall right in front of you standing behind the desk. The bathroom door was opening a space before the shelf the same color as the paint in the common room.
“I will let you set up. If you need anything F.R.I.D.A.Y. is always here. The room is interactive, you can ask exactly what works under the interface’s control. The door is one.Take your time.”he was on his way out “Would you like some coffee or tea?”
“I would like some tea, thank you very much.” Bruce flashed you a smile “F.R.I.D.A.Y. the door please.”
Door closed 
  Done as said and requested, clicking behind you. 
Would you like an extensive list of my functions as an assistant?
“Please do.”
61 notes · View notes
randomficsandshit · 4 years
Text
Bellarke Fic Rec
*NONE OF THESE FICS ARE MINE*
Please do not forget. I have not written any of these. I’m simply recommending favorites of mine over the years. If you love something, send the author your love, not me :) and if any links don’t work, send me a message and I’ll see what i can do, this is a pretty old list 
There's A Nap For That 
Word Count: 6k+
AU. Based on that post: "If you both agree to take a nap instead of going out, it’s a date." Or: The one where Bellamy and Clarke keep taking naps together. You know, platonically. See also: Let Them Rest.
If You Wear A Dress and Have an Animal Sidekick, You Are a Princess
Word Count: 3k+
AU. Bellamy can't not take care of every animal he sees, and Clarke can't not find it endearing.
*Mouth Like Heaven, Kisses Like Stars
Word Count: 4k+
His eyebrows are knitted together in a slight frown, the kind he usually gets when he’s trying to work out a difficult problem. Finally, he meets her eyes again and says, almost hesitantly underneath his mask of bravado, “Well, I’m always here to lend a helping hand if you need it, princess.” Clarke actually chokes this time, and it feels like all the breath has been knocked out of her. -or, the time when everything goes downhill and bellamy just goes down.
Wingwoman 
Word Count: 1k+
AU. Clarke didn't think she'd need a wingwoman at the park playground when she's babysitting her one-year-old niece, but then Bellamy Blake strolls up, and Amelia rises to the occasion, luckily for her.
When Love Hits (Better Make It Worth The Fall)
Word Count: 4k+
AU. (She's All That) Four times Clarke gets hit on the head (+1 time she doesn't) during her last semester of high school, and every single time, Bellamy Blake is somehow involved.
All This Time
Word Count: 5k+
AU. Four times Bellamy innocently kisses Clarke, + one time he doesn't.
Take This Heart
Word Count: ~
clarke moves into bellamy's room. this is both soft and full of disdain for clarke's terrible... everything in season 3
You're Cool On The Internet, At Least
Word Count: 9k+
AU. Look, Clarke will not dwell on this. She will not get flustered just because a possibly cute guy on Facebook apparently shares her views on what constitutes a terrible person.
(Or: Clarke meets Bellamy on Facebook. They hit it off.)
(One of my personal favs)
We Came Out On Top
Word Count: 11k+
AU. “How can you guys be all like this and then be at each other’s throats during trivia night?” “Because it’s trivia night,” both Bellamy and Clarke said at the same time, sharing the same why don’t you get it tone. Bellamy, Clarke, and the trivia night rivalries only they care about.
She Does What The Night Does To The Day
Word Count: 5k+
AU. He assumes she would just giggle and continue petting him while saying how pretty he is, but instead, she pulls back with what might have been a leer had she not been three sheets to the wind, and says, “Your body is 65% water and I’m thirsty.” And then if that wasn’t bad enough, she stumbles out of his arms and fucking winks at him. Or at least he thinks it’s a wink. She used both eyes instead of one. or, the one where Bellamy is woefully and terribly oblivious.
The Giant Squid's Got Nothing On You
Word Count: 6k+
AU. Objectively, Clarke knows she’s probably right, but she still can’t help but lift her chin determinedly and say, “He is not going to find it.” She can barely hear her scoff in reply over the din of the cafe. “Yeah right,” says Raven, “The internet is forever, Clarke Griffin. He will find it eventually.” or, Clarke finds her new muse at the local cafe
Alone Together 
Word Count: 11k+
AU. Clarke shows up at Bellamy’s apartment at exactly two minutes to midnight on a Thursday. He's not sure how she ends up staying the night — or why he doesn't turn her away, when it happens again. And again.
Cold As The Wind Blows (so hold me in your arms)
Word Count: 3k+
AU. Clarke gets trapped in the storage room overnight, but at least she's not by herself.
Tequila Regrets
Word Count: 6k+
AU. Clarke and Bellamy have been roommates for a while, and Clarke has been in love with him for almost as long, but when she finds out that his terror of a boss has marked him as her next conquest, Clarke offers to pose as his fake girlfriend for the staff Christmas party to scare her off. She did not think this all the way through.
Mutual
Word Count: 6k+
AU. As acts of rebellion go, Clarke knows that getting a tumblr is both minor and pathetic. But it's her secret, her own tiny, online space where no one knows she's Clarke Griffin, Hollywood A-lister. She's just some nobody with like five followers and opinions no one cares about. And then she makes a friend.
Wish On Everything
Word Count: 11k+
AU. It's not as if Bellamy wanted anything bad to happen to his mother. All he wanted was to get custody of his little sister, so he'd know she was taken care of. And after eight years, he's basically given up all hope of that. Then his mother does die, and social services tells him he gets Octavia.
Legs Crossed Towards Each Other 
Word Count: 7k+
It starts with Raven wanting to set up Mr. Sinclair, out of what are probably genuinely good intentions. It's everyone else who turns it into a massive headache for Bellamy.
What The Hell Is The Catch? 
Word Count: 6k+
Bellamy gets tickets to take his AP US History kids to Hamilton, and Clarke figures he's going to need a chaperone. She's happy to help out. And if he says she owes him for it? Totally worth it.
If You Wanna Reach Me
Word Count: 5k+
AU. Clarke: So yeah, in the dream it's like We're in New York, I think. I'm not really sure, but you know how it is when it's a dream and you just know something. So we're in New York.
Jasper: whos we??????
Clarke: Most of us, I think? It's always kind of hard to remember when it's a dream. Like I just thought "everyone's here!" but I mostly interacted with Bellamy.
Raven: did u mean: real life
Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old
Word Count: 14k+
boston > boston/camb/brook > housing > apts by owner $2-300 Roxbury small room in 3-br 1-bath house, spouse preferred (Roxbury) Pair of siblings looking for housemate. Due to extenuating circumstances I will share with interested parties, I would prefer a roommate who is willing to get married for legitimate personal reasons that do not include sex or anything sketchy. If not interested in marriage, room still available for $300/month plus utilities. Pets okay, no smokers, NO DRUG USE. Please don't just email me to tell me this is fucked up, I know it is, you really don't have to tell me. If you are interested in the marriage part, a female spouse is preferred, but male would be okay too. I promise I will explain this if you really want details, but I'm not putting it online. Serious inquiries only.
Must Love Intersectionality 
Word Count: 2k+
AU. Bellamy hates his stupid history of colonialism class, until he makes a friend. Weirdly, the friend isn't actually in his class, they just share the same desk and like to write angry notes about the patriarchy. Bellamy's a fan.
Regardless Of Warnings, The Future Doesn't Scare Me At All
Word Count: 20k+
AU. 2 Chapters. After an argument with her mother about her unplanned pregnancy, Clarke Griffin ends up back in the small town where her father used to live, spilling her sob story to a sympathetic bartender. And then, somehow, she ends up moving in with the bartender and her brother.
(You Might Find) You Get What You Need
Word Count: 20k+
AU. Clarke needs a date to her ex's sister's wedding, and she's at the point of hiring someone off the internet when Octavia points out that her brother is always looking for money. So Clarke takes him instead.
Just As You Are 
Word Count: 10k+
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Clarke Griffin in need of a Latin tutorial partner will always end up paired with Bellamy Blake.
I've Been Dreaming Of You From The Other Side (I Know You So Well)
Word Count: 17k+
AU. Ten years ago, Clarke found out she had superpowers. Now she's all ready to start a new life: English teacher by day, vigilante by night. All she has to do is figure out how to be a superhero, avoid getting caught and shipped off by mandatory metahuman registration, and not strangle the stupid history teacher down the hall. It'll be fun.
She's Touching His Chest Now, He Takes Off Her Dress Now
Word Count: 26k+
If Clarke had thought arguments could actually lead to switching bodies with someone, she wouldn't have been surprised this one really did. But since that's actually impossible, waking up as Bellamy Blake is still a shock.
I Know That Fortune Is Waiting To Be Kind
Word Count: 20k+
When Bellamy is eleven, his mother dies, and he finds out his father was a prince, which makes him a prince too, albeit a bastard prince. And when he's twelve, his family decides he would be a good candidate for marriage to Princess Clarke of Arcadia. Princess Clarke thinks so too, but only because he agrees to come back in ten years and help her make sure the wedding never takes place. It seems like a really good deal, when he's twelve.
And Dream How Wonderful Your Life Will Be
Word Count: 19k+
Clarke has known Bellamy Blake for two months when she finds out two completely unexpected things about him: he's married, and he has an eight-year-old son. He's also getting a divorce and he needs a roommate, and she's got a spot. It's complicated.
One Deep Breath and One Big Step
Word Count: 17k+
Clarke Griffin has been groomed for Ark University and Sigma Kappa Upsilon sorority since she was a kid, and she's a little annoyed to discover, upon getting to college, that she really does like Sig-Kap. That she wants to pledge. There's just this weird thing where they don't seem to like her new friend Bellamy.
Write What You Know
Word Count: 13k+
Bellamy understands every individual choice that got him to this point. He started writing erotica to make some extra money, he didn't correct the assumption that he was a woman, made up some facts about his new persona, and now his publisher wants him to start making public appearances, so he needs someone to be that persona. And Clarke really is the logical choice. It all makes sense to him, when he thinks about it, but he will admit it is incredibly weird. Luckily, Clarke's still got his back.
When Can I See You Again? 
Word Count: 13k+
Bellamy doesn't recognize a lot of people he meets at conventions, even if he's met them a lot. It's just hard to keep track. But the girl who comes once or twice a year is pretty easy to remember. And that's before her foster mom shows up in a panic because she took a bus to Vegas alone. After that happens, it's basically all over.
But They Ain't Doing It Right
Word Count: 14k+
“So,” he begins, running a hand through his hair. It’s a lost cause trying to work it back into some semblance of order. “What is this?” “What do you mean?” He doesn’t meet her eye when he says, “Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern,” too busy picking at a loose thread in his hem. “Wanna go three times and just make it a habit?” she jokes weakly, and his head snaps back up, eyes boring into hers. She flushes under the intensity of his gaze. “Actually,” he begins slowly, “That doesn’t sound that bad.” or, the friends with benefits au that got away from me
Phone A Friend
Word Count: 7k+
Clarke does not ask Bellamy for tips on having a threesome because she's hoping to have a threesome with him. He's just the only person she knows personally who has actually had a threesome, so he seems like her best resource. And when the opportunity to have a threesome with him presents itself, it's not like she's going to just say no.
I'm Swept Away and My Heart Ensnared 
Word Count: 15k+
Raven hums low in her throat. “Well, at least Bellamy can make it up in time. So you won’t get too axe murdered.” Clarke wrinkles her nose, leaning on the banister of the upstairs porch. From here she can see the ocean, just a five minute walk away, and she breathes in brine soaked air. “He’s still coming?” “What do you mean if he’s still coming? He didn’t say anything otherwise.” She shifts from foot to foot, feeling herself colour slightly even though there’s no one there to see her. “I just assumed that because you and Miller couldn’t make it up anymore he wouldn’t come today.” “Why the hell did you think that?” “Because Bellamy and I aren’t exactly friends, Raven." or, Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin don't really like each other. Or at least that's what they tell themselves.
Afraid To Call This Place Our Own 
Word Count: 22k+ 
(Single mom!Clarke and Teacher!Bellamy, with the usual angsty shenanigans.)
And Are We There Yet (Home) 
Word Count: 2k+
A Bellamy POV and mini sequel to afraid to call this place our own. (this shit made me cry) 
Bloodstains and Innocence: A Clarke Griffin Mystery
Word Count: 27k+
Police Chief Clarke Griffin knows three things: 1) Charles Pike is dead. 2) Octavia Blake is the prime suspect. 3) Bellamy Blake a giant pain in the ass with no business being involved in a murder investigation, and yet here he is, working the case alongside her. A hurricane is approaching the sleepy little island of Arkadia, NC as evidence begins to mount against Octavia and Clarke wrestles with her increasingly complicated relationship with Bellamy, all while trying to answer one simple question: Who killed Charles Pike?
Is There An IUD That Can Stop The Image of You and Me? 
Word Count: 8k+
It's probably impossible to be friends with benefits with someone who might not even count as a friend, but "lab partners with benefits" isn't a thing yet. So that's probably the right term. Whatever it is, Clarke's enjoying it. As long as she ignores the whole feelings thing.
I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway
Word Count: 65k+
Modern AU inspired by the show You're the Worst, where Bellamy and Clarke hook up after a wedding.
                  And You Can Have This Heart To Break
Word Count: 37k+
Clarke knows she's being a little over-dramatic in her complaining about having to move to Maine, but it does seem pretty unreasonable of her mother to drag her to a small town in the middle of nowhere for the three months between high-school graduation and her starting college. As it turns out, the summer is great. It's just the summer ending that's the problem.
Museums and Mistletoe 
Word Count: 1k+
Clarke buys Bellamy a museum ticket for Christmas and he acts like it’s the best gift he’s ever received. She buys one for herself too, because she knows none of their other friends have the time to go—finding a day they can all get together to exchange gifts is hard enough—and if it gets her an uninterrupted afternoon with her best friend and all around favorite asshole, she’s definitely not complaining.
When In Brome
Word Count: 57k+
Octavia is the one who tells Clarke about "Untitled Gladiator Project," because she thinks Bellamy wants to be on it, and also thinks Clarke is the one who will be able to convince him to do it. Plus, it turns out Clarke actually needs to be involved, because all of the gladiators are required to have girlfriends with them, and, honestly, the more she hears about it, the more of a mess it seems like. On the other hand, it sounds kind of hilarious, and definitely right up Bellamy's alley, so there's probably no harm in trying out. It might be fun.
It’s All Internet Interaction
Word Count: 11k+
Bellamy is less than pleased when soap opera star Clarke Griffin lands the lead role in the Callister reboot. So, naturally, he writes about it. It’s not supposed to blow up. She’s not supposed to respond to it either, but here they are.
Just Dive Right In (And Follow My Lead)
Word Count: 24k+
Clarke Griffin needs a partner. Bellamy Blake just happens to walk into her rink. (Or: Bellamy and Clarke as ice dancing partners, training together through the years to the Olympics.)
Sleight Of Hand
Word Count: 56k+
Notorious criminal prodigy Bellamy Blake has been tasked with a seemingly impossible heist. Luckily enough, he just might have the right crew for it. *Personal Favorite*
And Then We Were Chasing Comets
Word Count: 21k+
If you told Clarke Griffin that she would become best friends with the resident black sheep of Arkadia, she would have difficulty believing it, let alone the fact that he apparently wrote an entire book about her. (Or: Clarke and Bellamy through the years, as childhood best friends.)
See Me In Hindsight 
Word Count: 16k+
“You’re kind of a mess,” He says mildly. “Thanks captain obvious.” The corners of his mouth twitch a little, like he’s holding back a smile. She is not remotely pleased by that. Not at all. Or, the one where they're project partners and maybe, perhaps, friends. (And maybe, perhaps, more.)
Challenge Accepted
Word Count: 30k+
He doesn't even like Clarke Griffin, he's pretty sure he hates how easy everything has come to her. So imagine his surprise when he finds himself at their office party looking through dick pics on her phone. “You can do better, Princess. In fact, I can do better.” As soon as she turns to him with raised eyebrows and an open mouthed grin he knows he’s said too much but she’s not going to let it drop. “Oh really, you think you can do better, Blake?” And he's never backed down from a challenge in his life.
Found Myself In A Second 
Word Count: 5k+
The one where Clarke finds a lost wallet belonging to one Bellamy Blake.
Every Rose Can Sting You 
Word Count: 15k+
Clarke expected to encounter annoying guys when she got forced into becoming the Bachelorette, but she didn't realise that the most annoying of them all would be the head cameraman. Because seriously, Bellamy Blake is a total prick. It's a good thing there's absolutely no chance of her ever actually liking him, because boy, would that be inconvenient…
Choking On Your Alibis 
Word Count: 7k+
Bellamy gets a girlfriend and Clarke handles it spectacularly well
200 notes · View notes
slothssassin · 3 years
Text
OC/Shepard as a companion
So ages ago the lovely @alyssalenko tagged me to do this, thank you, and sorry it took so super long! Originally this is a meme for your Shepard, but since I wanted to add a new OC to my Jules Shepard's story, I did it for her. Hope you don't mind!
Tagging @liaorban @starsandskies @playstationmademe and @galacticnug but no pressure of course, and feel free to do this for your Shep and not for an OC!
Picrew is here!
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THE BASICS:
Full name: Tori Robin Royle
Class: Engineer
Pre-service history: Enlisted to basic Alliance training when she was 18 in 2175. After she had finished school, she traveled around for a while, performing at different places, planning to start her career as a singer. All in her family are active Alliance soldiers though so Tori felt the pressure to enlist as well.
Psychological profile: Unlike the rest of her family, Tori wasn’t meant to be a soldier. During her basic training, where she also met Commander Shepard and became their protegé, it became clear quickly that she wouldn’t be able to fight at the front line. The Alliance encourages her to improve her tech skills though, and with hard work (and help from Shepard) Tori becomes an Engineer. While she’s not a powerful fighter, Tori can quickly oversee the battlefield in combat and debuff enemies with her tech skills, actually becoming one of the most valued Engineers in her unit. Still, Tori never really felt at home in the military and didn’t stop dreaming of a career as a musician. While Shepard oversees other young soldiers as well, they developed a special connection with Tori, reassuring her to go her own way, even if that meant leaving the Alliance. To her own surprise, Tori gets assigned to a unit that hunts down batarian pirates in 2179. During an attack she gets heavily wounded though and loses her right arm. After she spent months on her recovery, she finally decides to leave the Alliance. Not much is known about her life after that - but she did become rather well known on the Citadel, finally working as the musician she always wanted to be. The Alliance loosely keeps track of her as she’s still in contact with Commander Shepard.
Rest is under the cut :)
MASS EFFECT 1:
When/how are they recruited: She won’t be recruited in ME1. She’s 26 at this time (2183), and left the Alliance in 2180 after she couldn’t get over her accident in 2179. Tori used to play the guitar in a band, but in 2182 she started her solo-career. She’s not really a celebrity but has made a name for herself as a singer, mostly performing at bars. Shepard can meet her at the Flux where she performs on Wednesday nights with her “Oldies” show - heavily influenced by 1950s Earth music.
Where are they on the Normandy: At the Citadel. She can be found at the Flux when she performs or at the Presidium
Are they romanceable: No
Personal quest: If Shepard visits her at the Flux they can talk about their common past. Tori will ask Shepard to check on her parents who she hasn’t heard from in a few months - which is not uncommon, as they aren’t close, but she started to worry. Shepard can then check the last known coordinates for the spaceship Tori’s parents worked on and find out that there was a major technical problem. The crew was trapped on the Carrier with no means to land and no way of contacting anyone. If Shepard does the mission and saves the ship, including Tori’s parents, it will contribute to Tori and her parents getting closer plus you get to see Tori perform. If Shepard doesn’t visit Tori or doesn’t do her quest, a Turian ship will save the Carrier and Shepard will hear about it in an elevator on the Citadel.
Who are their friends: Shepard is her friend, and she would get on especially well with Liara, Joker and Kaidan.
MASS EFFECT 2:
What does their dossier say: Tori Robin Royle, or Robin Royle aka RR when she performs, is a seemingly harmless, popular singer on the Citadel. But, behind the mask of a performer, she’s a retired but very capable Engineer. She has ties to Commander Shepard, could be easily influenced to help the mission, and, as a friend, might improve Shepard’s mood and thoughts about working with Cerberus, if she is recruited.
When/how are they recruited: She can be recruited in Act 2 after Shepard went to Horizon. If Shepard was in a romantic relationship with Ashley or Kaidan, Tori will send a message to Shepard, telling them she heard what happened and is there to talk whenever they want. The Illusive Man will encourage Shepard to visit Tori on the Citadel and ask her to join as she could be a valuable asset - hinting heavily that he has the means to end Tori’s career if Shepard doesn’t ask her.
Where are they on the Normandy: Either in the Mess Hall on Deck 3 or in the Starboard Observation.
Are they romanceable: No. If Shepard doesn’t romance Thane she’ll be in a relationship with him though.
How do they react to the PC returning: She will be incredibly surprised, but happy - after all, they had been friends and Tori had grieved for them. She’d be unsure about their connection to Cerberus though, and worried that Cerberus rebuilding them might have changed them. Tori would ask Shepard some personal questions, but would stop quickly as she’d feel like she’s invading their privacy. Only later on, on the Normandy, they would talk again about how Shepard feels about working with Cerberus, their cybernetics, and their personal history.
Personal quest: Tori approaches Shepard after she gets a call from her parents. If Shepard did Tori’s assignment in ME1, she will tell them that she got a bit closer with her parents, even though they don’t see each other often. If Shepard didn’t do her quest she’ll say that her parents wouldn’t contact her if it’s not important. Tori’s brother Andrew, a rather high-ranking Alliance officer, has gone missing and the Alliance wasn’t able to investigate or didn’t share any information. Shepard and Tori will meet with the Shadow Broker, aka Liara, to get information on Tori’s brother. They will discover that the Alliance did investigate but couldn’t find out what happened to Andrew either, and that his last coordinates are somewhere on a planet in the Horse Head Nebula. After following the coordinates and finding some clues they discover that Andrew had formed a small unit to hunt down a gang of Turian pirates. The pirates got the better of them though and Andrew and his unit died - their bodies can be found inside a factory, seemingly killed in action. Tori will be devastated, even though she wasn’t close with her brother. Shepard can assure her they will hunt down the pirates (which would lead to another side quest) and that they’ll do her best so the Alliance honours his death - this will cheer Tori up a little, but it’s not necessary to gain her loyalty.
Do they fight with any other companions: She has companions she’s not very close with due to them being rather different - like Miranda, Jack or Zaeed. However she rather keeps her distance than to engage in any fights.
What files does the Shadow Broker have on them: Her personal history, information on her family and video material of some of her performances. A list of songs she wants to cover, an extensive shopping list and the history of her watched videos. If Shepard hasn’t romanced Thane, then he and Tori get close - there will also be some files of songs she wrote for him (and changed frequently) and some emails they exchanged.
Can they die in the suicide mission, and how: She can die if she’s left behind as a defender as her combat skills aren’t the best.
MASS EFFECT 3:
When/how are they recruited: After the suicide mission she takes some time off. First, she visits her family and grieves for her brother. Then she goes back to the Citadel, planning to continue working as a singer. If she’s with Thane she spends less time performing and puts all her energy into helping him find a cure. She can then be convinced to come back to the Normandy after Thane dies (or for those like me who refuse to accept that Thane dies: They both come back after the Coup). If she’s not with Thane she will still join the Normandy Crew after the Coup.
Where are they on the Normandy: Mostly in the Starboard Observatory or the Mess Hall, just like in ME2.
Are they romanceable: No. If Shepard didn’t romance Thane she’s with him.
Citadel meetup (during the game, where do you meet them on the Citadel and what do you talk about): She can be found on the Silversun Strip, happy to get the chance to perform again. Other times she’s seen with the refugees, talking to them or playing the guitar for some children. If she’s with Thane, both can also be found at the Presidium. She and Shepard would talk about their past, how things have changed, and their hobbies. If she’s with Thane Shepard can also talk about his sickness (and recovery) and how they spend their time together.
How does the PC relax with them in the Citadel DLC (ie, buying gifts with EDI, watching the game with James and Vega, etc.): Tori would invite Shepard to watch one of her performances. She’d also suggest some firearms training as she feels like she needs it. Alternatively they would go to a bar or a restaurant to talk, or go shopping for supplies (and maybe more fish).
What do they say to the PC before the final battle: “I can’t believe this is it.. I’m scared Shepard, but I’ll do my best to assist you. And please, know that whatever happens - you’ve been a true friend to me, always helpful, always supporting. I’m thankful I met you all those years ago. Now let’s go. We’ll get out of this. We’ll see each other again, I know it.“
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themissingmarvel · 4 years
Text
Kind Regards, Detective [Part 8]
(I am going to prompt this with first, an apology for how long it’s been. I blame Animal Crossing as well as the apocalypse. That said, and this is a TW/CW there is a major death. So be advised.)
CATCH UP: [Part 1] // [Part 2] // [Drabble] // [Part 3] // [Part 4] // [Drabble 2] // [Part 5] // [Part 6] // [Part 7]
Pairing: Detective Loki x fbi!Reader
Word Count: 3.1k
Warnings: Language, descriptions of violence, major character death
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They didn’t fall asleep right away. Which made sense on many levels. She was still shaken and he was still quite taken with the woman in his arms, who he had dreamed of namelessly for so long. She was already a dream. But that was dangerous, and he knew it.
She told him stories of training in the bureau, and what she had encountered. Being a woman and an agent was never easy. He told her stories about when he started off as a beat cop and his first time arresting someone back when he worked in Philadelphia. He talked about having seen so much and knowing what he did, he wanted to bring his work to an area that didn’t always get attention. That needed good cops. Conyers had been that place.
Her words were shaky when she discussed the loss of her sister, and that was what the CD had been in reference to. David had lost so much in his life so young he supposed he didn’t really understand that kind of pain the way he wanted to. He hadn’t ever loved something like that before. He had felt adrift, a ship without an anchor. Love was a memory to him and he dreamed of it sometimes so hard he could taste it. 
When they did finally fall asleep, David had buried himself against her and they had managed to look disgustingly adorable in a way neither would ever admit to, even in a court of law. Y/N had prided herself on her ability to keep work separate. It helped that at least once a month she’d spend a couple days out of town. Sometimes longer. Meant she had good excuses for staying settled. David had no such excuse save for his own emotional damage as a child and teen. 
Her phone was what stirred her from sleep, sleep that rarely came so deeply. The phone was by her bed, the issued FBI one she was sure was being tracked but didn’t much care. Breaking away from the warm embrace of the man who had no business being as wonderful as he was, she fumbled for it before answering, not registering the emergency ring, “Agent Y/L/N. Yes, that’s what I said. Wait, what?” 
Loki had stirred when she woke, though more so as he watched her suddenly sit up, pushing back her hair that had become quite a mess. He was almost hurt he didn’t get a chance to see her as she woke. A soft waking. Not this.
Already she was on her feet, “No. That’s incorrect. I’m still in New York, the drive was a nightmare so I decided to stay at a hotel and- it doesn’t matter. Check my phone records, I never-!”
She was silent, David sitting up as he watched her, a frantic look suddenly dissipating from her delicate features, her skin pale, eyes wide, looking like a deer in headlights. So far he had found that answering the phone was not ending well for either of them.
He was adjusting his own hair, standing and going for his shirt and belt, watching as she pulled the phone away to look at the screen. 
By now she had adjusted to this sort of new normal. Henry Best was not a shy man and she suspected that for a long time he had been killing people. For whatever reason, it had escalated the past few months and she was certain when they looked at patterns statewide, they would find a broader, less direct pattern. No roses, but perhaps notes. Ones discarded. A disappearance and a body found days or weeks later would be easily dismissed by an overworked department. 
Closing her eyes tightly, she took a breath before lifting the phone back to her ear, “When was he found? Yeah, check the hotel records I don’t give a fuck. You think I seriously killed my own coworker?! Tell Kendrick to call me himself, then!” She pulled the phone back and hung it up.
It was six in the morning, and she supposed the few hours of sleep they had gotten was a blessing, but one she would regret. She would speak at the funeral later and try not to loudly blame herself, but it would be hard not to. She hadn’t pulled the trigger but she had left a loaded gun on the table just the same. She had let David in and in turn let other parts of herself go.
David was quiet before he spoke, “What happened?”
What a stupid question. It was met by a look of anger he didn’t recognize immediately but knew as rage. It was a powerful kind of rage that clouded judgment and made people do stupid things. He hoped it was the kind of rage Y/N could reign in and use as fuel but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know enough. He knew fragments and pieces and he hoped she could keep herself together. Keller Dover had let that rage nearly destroy him and almost got himself killed. It was personal.
“Adrian is dead. They found his body in the parking lot of an empty office building, two shots to the chest. They found texts on his phone from me, though we both know it wasn’t. It was ‘me’, asking to meet him with important information I was ‘too scared’ to speak over the phone. Adrian died alone, bleeding to death in a parking lot because of me.” 
Her face was stoic, eyes cold and echoing of something akin to heartbreak. She didn’t love Adrian. Not really. But she liked him. She liked how he flirted and made her feel cute, how he called her ‘ladybug’ and would grin even through the phone. Even when he was such a fucking asshole, blowing off her requests for meeting up or talking about his dates… she knew. He wasn’t a bad man, he was kind of a dick, but he sure as hell didn’t deserve to die. But she had killed him, hadn’t she? Maybe she didn’t pull the trigger but she left the gun on the table.
When her sister died, long ago, rage had taken the place of sadness and grief. She had felt anger like no other that the world would have reached out and taken her sister from her. It wasn’t fair. Life wasn’t fair. Sadness was so hard to manage but rage and anger was always so much more reasonable, in an odd way. Sadness you had to cope with but rage you could channel elsewhere. It also made you stupid as hell. 
Loki was walking to where Y/N was, reaching for her arm before she snatched it away, “Hey, this isn’t your fault, we both know-”
“But it is!” She stared at him, eyes wide and deadly cool, “It is my fault, David. I thought that this,” she gestured between the two of them, “was a good idea. And it wasn’t. Henry got my phone credentials somehow and he got to Adrian.”
David stepped back, absorbing the blow that hit him right in the chest. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but when a wounded cat is cornered and injured it will always lash out, even at what it loves the most. She was defending herself. Somewhere he knew that, in the same way he knew he would be doing the same, were he in her position. But he allowed it to sink, instead stepping away and getting himself dressed.
He was cautious as he watched her solemnly get dressed, do her hair as best she could before silently stepping into the bathroom to use the crappy-but-acceptable toothbrush and toothpaste provided. Her brain was trying to process what just happened, but so was David’s. He was reeling from the pain of being told he was a mistake, and because he knew that she didn’t mean it. He hoped she didn’t. He felt responsible as well, that he had distracted her from the case. Perhaps, he thought, it might give him clarity to have the step back that she didn’t. 
If Henry had reached out to Adrian, it was because he knew a few things. First, he knew that Adrian provided Y/N with information frequently enough that he had access to quite a bit of data. He probably knew more than he even realized he knew, and he was a risk. Also, Henry knew that Adrian trusted Y/N completely. Enough that he’d simply drive in the middle of the night to meet up with her over a simple text. But doesn’t the FBI train better?
Suddenly it was David working like a profiler, and perhaps it was the brain of the woman he had slept next to that was rubbing off on him. 
It didn’t make sense that Adrian would just trust a text message from Y/N, did it? 
Looking down at his own phone, he scanned through a few missed calls and voicemails, a text or two from guys at the precinct. Opening his work mail, he noted a few important forensic items and tabbed them for later. One that stood out was the email that the PAM shots had come in.
When Y/N came out she was silent, her words feeling like pain, should she utter them. Instead, she grabbed her things, hardly looking at David as she felt the weight of the boulder she had decided to shoulder pressing down on her before breathing out the words, “Let’s go.”
___
The drive itself hadn’t taken long, all things considered. Y/N had insisted she drive her own car, the reliable car that felt reliably foreign, making her feel like an alien in a world she was supposed to be part of. Adrian didn’t deserve to die. Arguably, most folks didn’t, really. He was a good guy, though. He did the stuff you were supposed to do. Being an asshole wasn’t a reason to off someone and yet Henry (and she was sure it was Henry) had chosen him specifically. Whether or not it was because he ‘knew’ something, it was calculated. Gunshots, however, meant this was not as planned as he had wanted it to be. Something had been off. Emotions had been involved. This had been a crime of passion and not a single note was left behind. Not a single rose.
He wasn’t the pattern, though. So it made sense.
Pulling up to the precinct, she got out and made her way to the door, aware of Detective Loki only steps behind her, protective in a way he didn’t like, even for himself. Henry was bold, however. Further forensics on the phone had shown Y/N’s phone had been cloned, of course. She supposed handing the man her jacket in his office where he had defense level technology hadn’t been her smartest move. 
She had to play chess and make him think she was still playing checkers.
“Agent? This was delivered about an hour ago, one of the DC Agents dropped it himself. Credentials checked out. It’s for you.” A young man was behind the precinct desk, looking a little tired but otherwise unbothered, handing her a small package. She was curious, though not concerned this time, able to spot the small sticker on the bottom left of a glittering ladybug. 
Taking the box she glanced at David and nodded her head towards the long hallway that led towards the interrogation rooms. She was silent, moving like a whisper over the ugly rug in the dingy department that desperately needed an upgrade. Opening the door to the other side of the one-way mirror, she removed her jacket and her phone, David following suit. It was eerie, how silent she was, even her movements noiseless as she fiddled with the microphone settings and turned off all recording devices. She went so far as to power them off entirely, making the room dark. 
Shutting the door, the young woman gently opened the box and withdrew a sleek, silver Samsung Galaxy, definitely not government issue. Squinting, she pressed the power button and turned it on, the phone booting up with no problem, the background a picture of a ladybug. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and smirk through the pain, “Subtle, as always.”
Sitting down, David took a seat by her, watching as the phone appeared to begin on its own, the woman taking the cue to prop it up and sit back, the two close by once more as they watched a video begin.
“I know. This isn’t subtle, right? I mean, if you’re watching it then it’s not supposed to be. After what Henry did, I didn’t want you getting another package and being scared again.” 
It was Adrian, his face, brown scruff over his handsome features, sharp jawline and broad shoulders visible, stunning hazel eyes that were arguably more green than hazel visible. His hair was dark brown as well, normally gelled down and styled, though a bit more tussled now. He was sitting in his apartment, what looked to be his apartment. Pictures of his family were behind him and he was sitting on his couch, beige… funny the things we choose to see.
“He texted me tonight. I mean, you did, from what police records will show, but it’s him. He’s gotta think I’m some next-level idiot, you know? He tried to get your tone down but he can’t get that icy exterior quite right,” he smirked, looking into the camera, Y/N’s eyes softened as she knew she was watching the final moments of a man’s life. You don’t turn away from something like that.
“It’s my fault… I’m sorry.” She whispered as she watched the video, her body caving in on itself as she felt herself tense.
“And before you apologize, don’t! Hey, for all I know, things turned out just fine and you’re gonna make fun of me for this video and I’ll get the credit for catching The Black Rose! I won’t let you live it down,” he smirked.
Tears burned at her eyes, holding a hand over her mouth to stop herself from speaking again, almost wounded by how eerie it was how well he knew her. It fucking hurt.
“I can’t call you on your phone because it’ll route to his. He has authority over it by now, so don’t trust it, whatever you read on it. It’s useless. I used this because I knew I could jailbreak it and install the firmware to keep him out. But yeah, this’ll be pretty useless too if he gets wind of it.
“Anyway. He wants to meet me. I figure if I can get some recordings of him in the parking lot, maybe clone his phone myself without him knowing, maybe I can get something off him for you. If not, if you’re watching this and feeling like shit… it means it’s a good thing I sent the phone. Because if you’re watching this, much like those tropes I know you hate, then I’m dead, Ladybug. And I’m sorry for that one. But it sure as hell isn’t your responsibility and you need to know I’m doing this because I chose to. You’ve always been the brave one, Y/N. I’ve watched you take hits from assholes, get threatened, travel across the country, work yourself through hell on earth… you’re brave. You’re good at your job. And you always deserved better than me. Doesn’t make much sense to tell you I always loved you, so I won’t. But I’m doing this not for you, but because of you. Catch the asshole.”
The video closed, another taking its place, this one far grainier and from within a spot on the dash of Adrian’s car. It was a shitty camera, one that would be found, quite obviously, and that was broadcasting a recording. Later they’d find out not even Henry could trace the broadcast, but Y/N knew. David knew. Both knew as they sat in the dark interview room in the Conyers precinct.
The audio was muffled and quiet, which made sense. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. But it showed Adrian getting out of the car, jacket on, walking over with his hands up. He was speaking, softly, and staying still as another man entered view.
Henry.
He had his hands in his pockets, though he was visible. His head. Face. Hair. Unmistakably Henry Best. It was like watching a horror movie, though, and she hadn’t even realized that David had wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled himself to her, ready to stop the video at any moment. 
Shouts were exchanged suddenly, Henry barking at Adrian who stepped back, his hands still up, shaking his head and looking almost quizzical as he tilted his head to the side, “-her…-?” It was barely audible, though Henry’s face contorted into anger, rage, pulling a gun out of his pocket suddenly and screaming, “You could never understand my love for her!”  
One shot. Two shots. Three shots. 
Each made Y/N jump, tears in her eyes as she watched her friend, one of her closest friends, the man she trusted, shot dead in front of her, the feed suddenly cutting out. 
The video closed, leaving only the phone with its basic desktop icons before them, Y/N reaching out and gently picking up the phone, “You fucking idiot, Adrian.” Tears were falling down her cheeks, not that she cared. And even Adrian’s promise that his death was not on her was not enough. The guilt was tremendous and suddenly she felt like she was the one speeding down the highway and popping a tire. She felt everything spinning out of control and she wondered if this was the same kind of end her sister had met. Chaos. Loss. Helplessness. Blame. 
It was the icon in the bottom of the screen, however, that snapped her back, looking down at the icon that was only black but was titled all she needed:
“EVIDENCE”. 
His last gift was not a video of his death, but rather, Adrian had ensured, was a gift of life and a promise of revenge against the man who had done so much. And, perhaps, a warning of something more sinister.
(Tagging: @escapingthoughtsandsecrets​ @is-it-madness​ @detecellie​ @doritosandavocados​ @oscarflysaac​ @peccobagnaia​ @miss-missing-patd​ @hockeyandheroes​ )
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itsunclebucky · 5 years
Text
The Bride of Bucky
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Weddingplanner!Reader Summary: Bucky marries you, his girlfriend who works as a wedding planner and planned their wedding.  Word Count: 2,402 Warnings: FLUFF, a little talk about sex but nothing explicit.  A/N: It’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club​ surprise AU and I was given permission to use this for the challenge. Thank you so much and hope everyone enjoys it!! 
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As Bucky stood in the floor-length mirror, adjusting his tie for the hundredth time that morning, he remembers how it all started and how he became the world's luckiest man.
He once believed that once Hydra had control of his mind and made him their personal puppet and killing machine it would be the end for him. He was just waiting for the day to die.
He never expected to unknowingly run into his long lost friend Steve Rogers during a mission to take the targets down and he didn't expect Steve to help him.
And he didn't expect Shuri to reboot his memory in Wakanda where he healed successfully, for the first time feeling healthy and happy.
Steve and Tony had sat down and put their differences aside, Tony accepting the fact that Bucky didn't know what he was doing at the time Hydra had control of his mind, and subsequently offered Bucky a room at the compound where he stayed for a while.
He had total freedom, he was allowed to leave the compound whenever he wanted, roam the city whenever he pleased. He wasn't trapped in his room like an animal and how Hydra had once treated him.
Bucky had left the compound early that morning to grab some coffee and something tasty he liked to eat as he walked around the city, visiting old neighborhoods and diners he once knew of.
As he stepped in the small cozy cafe, he allowed an old frail woman with her Walker goes in front of him. The delay in the queue allowed him to look around the cafe and that's where he saw you, huddled up in a corner with umpteen folders and your computer, he watched as you typed away with your nose scrunched up. He was curious about what kind of work you did, why you needed so many folders.
And then your phone rang and you had answered it. "Hi, Y/N speaking." Your voice was like music to his ears. His heart strummed in his chest as he listened to you talking about the different kinds of flowers you recommended for a big day. He didn't understand, he was still learning about everything. As you hung up, your eyes glanced in his direction.
A blush crept up to your cheek as you smiled in his direction. You didn't recognize him and never saw someone so handsome.
"Sir?" The person standing behind Bucky tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the barista standing behind the counter patiently with a smile on her face, waiting for his order.
"Sorry, was another planet." He chuckled nervously. The barista smiled and he relaxed. He wasn't sure how he would handle being yelled at in front of you for daydreaming. "Can I get an almond milk latte and whatever that lady over there ordered?" He pointed in your direction and your gaze dropped to your keyboard. You couldn't tear your eyes away from the adonis of a man. His eyes captivated you and you didn't even know his name. His beard lined his cheeks beautifully and you wanted to run your fingers through his hair because it looked so inviting.
You were replying to an email to try and distract yourself. But from your peripheral, you could see the man approaching you.
You stopped typing and looked up at him, smiling.
"Uh, I'm sorry to bother you but you seemed really busy and thought you would be in the need of a hot chocolate." He smiled sheepishly, lowering your cup by your hand.
"Thank you so much. That's so kind of you." You motioned for him to sit down in the seat opposite you. Work was forgotten for over an hour as you talked to the man who called himself Bucky.
He found out a lot about you, about your job. You were a wedding planner and by the looks of it a very successful one. He listened as you talked about why orchids were a better choice for a wedding. And you had for some reason told him your dream wedding.
"It'll happen one day." He reassured you.
You chuckled and shook your head. "Not without a boyfriend it won't."
Bucky's eyes grew wide in surprise. He was expecting you to be in a relationship, which he realized he probably should have asked at the beginning before he started to chat you up.
"If a man is too blind to be with you doll, they aren't worth your time."
It was almost midday when Bucky looked at the time and he had to reluctantly say goodbye. He couldn't believe he was sat talking to you for hours. He didn't leave without your number though.
The texts started out friendly, and then they became flirty the longer you talked to him.
His confidence grew as he was remembering how to talk to a woman, but also leaning to type with one hand on his iPhone Wanda had very generously gifted him a few Christmases ago.
After a couple of weeks of flirting, Bucky had asked you out on a date. Which you very excitedly accepted and couldn't wait for.
Tony had worked his magic and booked a reservation at a top restaurant in Manhattan. During dinner, you had learned a little more about Bucky. His metal arm didn't once bother you and you made sure to let him know you weren't afraid of it or him.
One date turned into five dates and you were dating each other officially.
He confessed to you everything that happened in his past. He didn't want to enter a relationship without you knowing. The things he did, the regret and guilt he still feels. You assured him that whatever happened in the past is in the past. He was a new man and this is a new chapter.
The Winter Soldier was a different man to Bucky Barnes. Bucky was sweet, kind and considerate with a lot of sass and a great sense of humor.
For every day he was with you, there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't have a smile on his face or laughed.
Bucky wanted to take it slow and you were happy to comply since it was his first relationship in a long time.
But by your 8-month mark, Bucky was already living with you in your apartment.
"Sam is driving me crazy doll, making sex jokes and asking if I can 'still get it up'." He announced as he walked in the door with his duffel bag and another bag full of his DVDs.
"Why does he want to know that?" You laughed as you pecked his lips.
"Maybe he's jealous?" He laughed with a shrug. "He's a strange guy."
You chuckled and said it was alright and it was. You would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy his company and you felt safer with Bucky around.
Two years into your relationship and you were still happy together and in love.
As much as it shocked you, it shocked Bucky more but the two of you never fought. You were perfectly in sync and shared the same taste in style, food, drink, and art. There were no arguments about who washed the dishes, who cooked because whoever did one, the other person would do the other.
And judging by your complete happiness. It was absolutely no surprise when Bucky finally asked you to marry him on the rooftop of the compound surrounded by his closest friends and teammates.
Almost as if he had predicted your answer, Tony went to great lengths setting up fairy lights, candles, and expensive champagne.
It was Bucky's favorite memory because the two of you didn't get out of bed afterward for a good couple of days, celebrating a new step in your relationship.
It was your decision to plan your wedding. Because of your organization skills, you didn't trust anyone to do it. You were a perfectionist and this was your special day, it was Bucky's special day and it had to be just perfect.
The date was set for 9 months. And because you were so organized, your dress was already picked out and you had the arrangements set up for his suit.
Because Wanda, Nat, and Pepper became close friends to you. The invitation for them to be your bridesmaids was an easy decision to make. And they were overjoyed with happiness.
As the day got nearer and nearer, your nerves were through the roof.
Bucky had watched as you paced back and forth your living room, close to tears as the photographer had canceled on you at the last minute.
The wedding was in 2 days and there was no way on this planet you would find another photographer this close to the date.
"It's a disaster! We're not going to have any photos to show our kids. Oh my God, what do we do!" A sob broke out as you hung up the phone. Bucky stood and wrapped you in his strong arms and shushed you.
"It's gonna be ok, doll. I promise. You've worked so hard, go and run yourself a hot bath, relax and let me find a last-minute photographer." He insisted, leaving no room for arguing.
The bath had relaxed you, and Bucky took care of you in the night. Assuring you he had found a replacement but didn't say who it was, but you trusted Bucky.
On the morning of the wedding, you were shaking as you sat in your bathrobe in the hotel room in front of the mirror, having your hair and makeup done professionally. Your flowers had arrived on time, the girls were getting ready, everything was going according to plan.
You and Bucky decided to stick to the traditional way and spend the night apart. The first night he had spent away from you and he wouldn't do it again. He missed you and he was worried about you. He started overthinking the reasons why you would leave him but Steve quickly quieted his thoughts.
"I see the way she looks at you Buck, there is no way she would stand you up," Steve said, squeezing his shoulder as they got ready in their tailor-made suits.
"I love her so much." Bucky chuckled with tears in his eyes. He would carve his love for you over his heart if he wasn't afraid of needles.
"And she loves you. Enjoy the day, relax."
As the boys back at your shared apartment got ready. You were ready to slip into your dress. It was a gorgeous white lace dress, and it was one of your dreams. Even after you had spent hours upon hours searching Pinterest for dresses, they never compared to this one.
Your dress was tightened, and your veil was attached. You had half an hour to go before you needed to go to the venue.
You hoped Bucky didn't change his mind. Your love for him so was pure, ever since the day, you laid your eyes on him in the cafe. You couldn't imagine your life without him now.
He took care of you, took care of each other.
Bucky was the first to arrive. He walked down the aisle, greeting, smiling and thanking friends and family for coming. He waited by the priest, with Steve, Sam, Clint and Tony standing behind him. Everyone had a smile on their face. He was just waiting to see you.
With each second that passed, his heart beat faster. Then the doors opened, the music started to play and your bridesmaids walked down the aisle first and waited on the bride's side.
His eyes were fixated on the door. He gleamed when he saw you walk through them in your gorgeous dress. Flowers in your right hand, your left hand-linked around your father's arm as he walked you down the aisle.
You kept your eyes on your Bucky. And you couldn't believe how handsome he looked. His suit, his white flower pinned on the left side of his blazer. His hair slicked back and tied at the nape of his neck. He had shaved his beard and was left with stubble, one you couldn't wait to feel later tonight.
Everyone around you was invisible and each step you took towards him felt longer.
But you made it. You were given away, thanked your father and kissed his cheek as you stood next to Bucky and smiled lovingly at him.
"Hey, you." You whispered. Taking his hand in yours.
"Hey back. You ready for this?" He squeezed your hand. You squeezed it back assuring him you're ready.
The priest spoke, welcoming everyone as he joined you in matrimony.
Your eyes welled up as your vows were told. His words hit your heart and your love for this man just kept on growing.
"By the power invested in me. I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss your wife."
"I love you so much," Bucky whispered against your lips as he pressed his own to them.
"I love you too, so very much." You smiled as you pulled away. The sounds of applauds surrounded the two of you as you walked the aisle together. Confetti was thrown over you when you made it outside.
The photographer was Bruce. And you chuckled. His great green body had somehow managed to squeeze into a suit.
"Say cheese!" Bruce said. The flash blinded you but you honestly didn't care. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Barnes!"
Everyone cheered and you kissed your husband with a passion.
The start of a new life as husband and wife.
Bucky would continue to count his lucky stars every day for the rest of his life. Fate caused you to be in that cafe on that day.
His ma would have absolutely adored you. His father too. And you cried one night as he was sad they couldn't be here for his special day.
You reminded him they were, in his heart and they forgave him. They loved him.
And your family was his family, he would never be alone.
Bucky once believed he deserved to be caged up and fed to dogs.
Bucky was once convinced that would happen.
This is his family and his life and nobody could ever dare take that away from him.
Taglist: @leosandbuckysgirl​ @jobean12-blog​ @sebbbystaaan​ Some others: @littledarlinhavefaithinme​​ @book-dragon-13​​ @criminal-cookies​​ @valkyriesryde​​ @mushyjellybeans​​ @emmandhercoffecrisp​​ @captainchrisstan​​ @this-kitten-is-smitten​ @godofplumsandthunder​​ @moonbeambucky​​ @searchingforbucky​​ ​ @buckythewhitewolfx​​ @your-highnessmarvel​ @katbtracy​ @mermaidxatxheart​
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crackedoutgiraffe · 4 years
Text
The Stars in Your Eyes
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Part 2 of To the Moon and Back
Part 1: Chapter 1
5/1/2013
3 months and 15 days after Maeve was killed. Reid still had dreams about her. He wouldn’t talk about them with you, but he would wake in terror and be calling for her. 
With the case in South Dakota, Reid finally opened up to Rossi that he wasn’t sleeping well. Rossi told him to give in to his dreams and play out his ‘fantasies’. 
That night Reid told you about his dreams and you told him it was ok that he still thought of her. He felt bad that he couldn’t get over her and that he was engaged to you. There wasn’t much you could do to help him, but you did what you could. 
He told you that he had a recurring dream where Maeve would ask him to dance and he would always say no, that night he danced with her. The dreams stopped after that and you two resumed your normal life.
5/25/2013
The Replicator, as he had been named, was terrorizing the entire team. When the team finally got to wind of his deeds, he was already plotting his plans to murder Strauss and Blake. After the case in New York, the team decided to stay the night and get some rest before the flight back home. 
Strauss was missing and it was the team’s job to find her. Hotch stayed with her while she died and Rossi stayed with her at the medical examiner. There were few clues but the team eventually got to the conclusion that the replicator’s real name was John Curtis, an FBI agent. 
After the helicopter crash, almost being blown up, and having numerous surveillance photos taken of you, some of which were more risque (Morgan never let you live that down), Reid saw just how close someone could come to hurting you. 
He begged for you to take a break and let him protect you but you refused and continued on with your work. He would barely leave your side during cases and made you promise before every case that you both would make it out alive. 
1/24/2014
With the arrival of the new section chief, everyone’s behavior shifted, JJ’s more than most. Will came in on the 23rd saying that JJ hadn’t come home and that she was missing. The team quickly did what they did best and started to look for her. You, Reid, and Garcia broke in the Secure Compartmentalized Information Facility to dig up whatever information you could on JJ’s state department mission.
Everyone brought their heads together and figured out that the best way to get JJ and Cruz, who was also found to be missing, back was to call Emily. She gave valuable information about JJ’s deployment that led the team to find out who the mole was. 
When the team got to the server facility they were holding JJ in, you, Emily, and Hotch ran to find the entrance to the basement. The three of you moved down the stairs and to a single room. A man was standing next to a blonde and holding a knife to her throat. Hotch fired two shots into his back. He was dead on the spot. 
JJ was beaten up. Her hair looked wet and her shirt was partially unbuttoned. Cruz was laying on the ground in a pool of blood. You were quick to run over to JJ, but she pushed you away and begged you to help Cruz.
Emily helped her down and then came to help you and Hotch. By the time you helped him up, JJ was gone. Cruz helped direct Emily to the roof, and she was quick to follow. 
You and Hotch helped to carry Cruz back up. When you returned to the surface, the team was still engaged in a firefight with the goons. Hotch carried Cruz and you covered him. Reid, Blake, and Morgan knocked out the last gunman and joined you in the main lobby.
JJ and Emily joined you all moments after a body had fallen from the sky. JJ gave her greetings to her teammates and Reid was overjoyed to see her ok.
The next night JJ was discharged from the hospital and Rossi invited everyone out for drinks. During the outing, Reid never let you out of his sight. That night he asked you, “Promise me, promise me that whatever happens to us, we pull through. No matter what happens neither of us can die.” He held out his pinkie and you gave him the only acceptable answer, “I promise.”
3/14/2014
Reid had almost been killed by a man with rabies the day prior, but now it was time for you and Morgan to have your fun. 
Morgan told you he got Garcia’s and Reid’s physical tests waived, but he had a prank he wanted to pull. Three days ago he forged an email saying they had to take the physical endurance tests. They had been spotted at the track on the 12th getting ready to take their test before they were called away for a case.
Morgan and you strolled up to the track in disguises and surprised them. They were not happy, to say the least. 
Morgan and you were yelling words of encouragement their way and helping them train. When they were all tuckered out, Morgan told them the truth, that Morgan had their tests waived. They weren’t happy with your deceit. They tried to run after you two, but they were too tired and you were too fast. 
When you drove Reid home that night, he gave you the silent treatment. You tried to joke with him about it, but he was not having it. He eventually broke and started laughing when you had to help him up to the apartment because his muscles were so sore. 
3/8/2014
The team was called to a case in Texas to investigate prostitutes killed with carvings in back. The team looked at all the evidence and the new body that showed up and put an APB out for Justin Mills.
Within hours Mills’s car was spotted outside of El Lobito’s diner. The team rushed over there with numerous cops. Mills was inside freaking out and the cops were outside preparing to take him down when a shot was fired.
The bullet hit the sheriff and the shootout began. Blake tried to go and help the sheriff who was bleeding on the ground. You heard Morgan scream Reid’s name and terror flooded your body. You ducked down behind the car door you were firing from and turned around to see Reid bleeding on the ground and Morgan trying to drag him behind the car. No matter how much you loved him you still had a job to do. 
The police officers rushed the building and JJ and Morgan followed him. You went around to the back of the police car to find Blake talking to Reid and calling for help with her hand over his neck. The blood was flowing faster than she could stop it. Morgan and JJ caught up to Mills and shot him. 
The ambulances arrived right as Morgan and JJ returned from the abandoned building MIlls retreated too. The paramedics got Reid on a gurney, Morgan hopped in the back with him to get stitches. The deputy came over to give you and Blake information on how to get to the hospital.
When you arrived Reid was wheeled into surgery, and Morgan was treated for his wounds. Blake paced through the waiting room and you stayed in a seat tapping your foot. Eventually, the silence got to you. You stood up and walked out of the hospital and to a nearby bench. Rossi found you sitting by yourself and came to sit with you.
*
“Did you know that he wants to have kids, can you imagine that?” you put your head on his shoulder. “Spence as a dad.”
“That child would be so lucky,” he moved his head to look at the stars, “they would have the best parents in the world.”
*
You and Rossi sat in silence for another hour before JJ came to tell you that her, Morgan, Hotch, and Prentiss were heading back to the station. Rossi got up to join them. You told JJ you would call her when Reid woke up. 
You made your way back inside to find Blake and Garcia with a surgeon. 
*
“What’s going on?” you rushed into the waiting room.
Garcia gave you a quick hug, “Doc, this is Y/N, Reid’s fiance.”
“Agent,” he extended his hand and you shook it, “Dr. Reid is going to be fine, he’s actually very lucky. Couple centimeters to the left and it would have hit his carotid.”
*
You sighed with relief and went to the room number the doctor provided. Reid was laying in the bed with bandages on his neck. He looked so peaceful. Garcia started to lay out some of his favorite Doctor Who figurines. 
Eventually, he woke up and you gave him a big kiss. Blake had gone back to the team but you stayed for a little longer. He eventually told you to go back and join the team. You reluctantly obliged and headed for the station. Your breathing was erratic when you walked in. Hotch noticed this and forced you to stay at the station to look through old files for anything they missed. 
It wasn’t until later that you were told about the corrupt deputies. It wasn’t after they tried to kill Reid a second time that Hotch told you about the danger you were in at the station. 
Before sunrise, the town was wiped of their corrupt deputies and everyone could rest easy. The team stayed in Texas for an extra day to give Reid more time to rest.
On the flight home that night, Reid was asleep on the couch with his head in your lap and you petting his hair. 
1/27/2015
6 months until your wedding. You got a call from Hotch in the middle of the night that you needed to go to a cabin in the woods. Hotch told you to not tell Reid.
When you got to the cabin the team was standing around a body on the floor with three bullet wounds. It was Jason Gideon. 
Hotch called Reid an hour later with the news. He drove his beat up VW bug to the cabin. When he walked in he looked bad. His hair was disheveled and he had been crying. 
During the entire case the team tried their best to comfort Reid. He had been through so much during his life. 
Just like with Maeve he stopped being able to sleep. He would wake up at obscene hours of the night and leave your bedroom. You would follow him out to see him playing chess by himself. 
*
“What’re you doing?” you asked, groggily.
“I’m trying to finish his last game,” his eyes never left the board.
“Gideon’s?” you sat down on the floor across from him. He responded solely with a nod.
*
The two of you played through his game, and eventually Reid fell asleep on the couch. You covered him with a blanket and returned to your bed. 
Your entire wedding was planned. All you had to do was keep Reid alive for six months.
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demivampirew · 4 years
Text
Don’t judge a book by its cover Chapter 6 (final chapter)
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A Cap. Syverson story.
Triggers: Heartbreak ;use of curse words; crying; puking.
Synopsis: Rebeca is an Argentinian girl who a few months ago moved to the USA (Washington D.C) to study in university thanks to a scholarship that she was granted. She’s lonely. People don’t treat her well. Some could be understood but most of them just hate her for being a foreigner. She meets Syverson because he’s a man from the South and she has not had a good experience with people from there, but she may find out at the end that she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Tag:  lunedelorient 
You’ll find a note at the end of the chapter, which is an explanation of what is being said when the * appears.
Things couldn't be better for Rebeca. She had been dating a wonderful man for the last three months and he treated her like a true queen. She passed all her exams with high grades and now was rightfully enjoying her spring break. Now she had time to hang out with her friend Danielle and even would have double dates with her and her girlfriend Phoebe. She couldn't be happier. One morning she woke up feeling like hell. She had to run to the bathroom to puke. At first, she thought that could have been something that she ate the day before that settled badly in her stomach, but after several days of waking up nauseous and feeling awful but then feeling better the rest of the day, she realized that something else was going on. She decided to take a pregnancy test - two actually, for more certainty- at both gave positive as a result. She was expecting a baby. They usually were careful when having sex, but there were two separate occasions in which they didn't use a condom. She was nervous. What would happen now? Could she lose her scholarship due to her pregnancy? What if they wanted to kick her out of the country and separate her from the child once he had him/her? Would Sy be happy with the news? Should she have the baby at all? The only answer she knew was the last one and it was yes; that baby would be her's and Sy's. She needed now to find out how he felt about it. As long as he was ok with the baby, she'd know that everything was going to be ok, because he always going to be there for her, to help her solved any troubling situation she might be in. After work, she went straight to Sy's house to share the news with him. She was quite nervous, but also excited. If he was happy with the news, then she would get the family she always dream of. She entered the house using the key he gave her and once inside the house she searched for her boyfriend. She found him sitting in the couch, crossing both on his arms in his chest, looking at the space in front of him, lost in his thoughts. Something bad had happened, she could feel it. She caught his attention and he looked at her in silence for a few moments. "Fuck" he cursed and she knew that whatever happened, it was really bad. He sighed and asked her to sit in the couch with him, that he needed to talk to her. - I got the call - he said with sadness. No further explanation was necessary, she knew exactly what that meant. - How long? - she questioned. - Maybe a year or more. They need me there, it has to be me. The locals already know me, I'm the only one who might bring some peace there. - he answered. - I knew I shouldn't have started a relationship. I knew that this day would come in eventually. I didn't want to hurt you, babe.- he apologized. - What are you saying? It's a year or maybe a bit more. I'll wait for you. - Beca assured him - Darling, I may never come back, that's how things go there. I tell you is a year and might end being more. Last time I was supposed to be only for a few months and ended up staying for three years. That's a lot of time. You're young, you cannot spend the rest of your days waiting for a man that might never come back. - he tried to reason with her. - You're breaking up with me then? - she asked with tears on her eyes. - I am, yes. This is best for you. - You promised me that you'll always be going to be there to protect me, but you were lying. You're going to leave me alone.- she recriminated him. - I'm really sorry, baby. It hurts my soul knowing that I'll have to leave you, but I have to go. I have to. I don't have another choice. - But you do. You could leave and found another job and never go back, but you want to. You want to be there because you want to save people, is in your nature. That's who you are. You want to help even if it costs you everything. - she replied, filled with sadness. She stood up a walk to the door with the intentions to leave. He followed her. - Beca, stop. It's late, don't go. It can be dangerous. - he pleaded her to stay the night. She wanted to act like a stubborn child and just leave, but she knew he was right. I was nighttime already and was dark outside. And she needed to think in the baby. "the baby" she thought, reminding herself that now she was going to be alone in this predicament. She was going to be a single mother. She accepted to stay, but she would sleep in the couch, he tried to persuade her to change places, so she would sleep in the bed and him on the couch, but he knew that'd be a waste of energy, she was too stubborn to listen. She spent at least two hours crying silently and thinking in all the mess she was caught on. She was going to have a child in a country that wasn't her own and probably wouldn't want her, an inmigrant with a study visa, to have an American kid. She would probably lose her visa and her job because there was no way she could study and work with a baby and also would not be able to afford childcare. There was only one solution she could find: she needed to go back to her country. There, her family would help her and she would be able to study in her former university and work while her parents looked after the baby. That was the only solution. Then she thought about Sy; the fact that she'd probably never see him again and how he could even die in the battlefield. She got up from the couch, went into the bedroom and saw that he was awake, probably thinking as much as she was. As soon as he saw her, he sat on the bed and stared at her. First, she looked mad at him, but then she started to cry and he extended both of his arms, waiting for her to accommodate herself in his chest so he could hug her. After a bit, she felt a little bit better. She looked into his eyes and kissed him. If that was the last time she would ever see him, she wanted to be a night that neither would forget. A proper goodbye. Neither of them spoke again, they let their bodies do the talking. He made love to her for the very last time, taking the sweet taste of her lips with him forever in his heart.                                           ----------------------------------------------------------- Two years later Syverson was back from the Middle East. He was promoted and now he would never have to come back there again. He was ready to settle down alive and normal life. He would help train new soldiers and would help the new captain there from America, giving orders of how to proceed, but he would never go back. The first thing that crossed into his mind, the main reason he fought to never go back, was to see Rebeca. She was on his mind constantly. There wasn't a single day he wouldn't think of her or dream with her. He planned to search for her, and if she hadn't moved on with her life, he would beg her to take him back. She was his everything. He went to her place and found a young man living there. The gentleman told him that he never meet the former tenant of that house and that he's been living there for over a year and a half. Syverson then looked for her in the grocery store, but she wasn't there either. Another girl was working there, who told him that the owners of the store were on vacations and that she never meet any former employee and that she had been working there for a few months. College was his last resource. He waited for her to get out of the building, but that never happened. After the place was almost empty, he lost his hope in seeing her. He was about to leave when he saw a familiar face leaving the place. - Danielle! - he called at the girl. She turned around and recognized him immediately. - Sy!- she greeted him, surprised to see him.- How are you? - I'm fine. How are you? - he asked politely - I'm great, thanks. - she replied- What are you doing here? - I'm looking for Beca. I've been searching for her everywhere but I haven't been able to find her. Her phone is not the same, she moved and she doesn't work in the grocery store anymore. - he explained confused.- Is there any chance you might now where is she? - I do, actually.- he admitted and took a pause before delivering the bad news- She went back to Argentina. - What? -he questioned, shooked by the news. It was like an ice-cold shower - What happened? Did she lose her scholarship? Did something do something to her? - he asked worriedly. - No, she's fine, don't worry. She went back shortly after you left - the young lady informed him- She said she missed her family a lot and didn't want to stay any longer in the country. She didn't lose her scholarship, she gave it up.- Sy was speechless. He has lost her forever. He couldn't accept that just like that. He needed to see her again, somehow. - Do you have a phone number by any chance? - he asked her - No, sorry.- she apologized. After a little pause, she continued - I have her address, though. She sends me an email with her address and I sent her mine so she could send me things she wanted me to try from her country and I'll send her things that only could find here.                                          -----------------------------------------------------------
He had learnt enough Spanish from two Latino soldiers on his squad to be able to handle short conversations. So, thankfully, it wasn't to difficult for Syverson to order a taxi at the Argentinian airport to go to Rebeca's house. He got out of the taxi and took a minute to see her house. It was quite beautiful, it had flowers in the front. There were bars in the front of the house, so he had to press the doorbell for someone to open the door for him. Moments later, a woman in her late forties or early fifties open the house door. - Hola, qué necesitabas? (Hello, what do you need?)* - asked the woman - Hola. ¿Está Rebeca? (Hello. Is Rebeca here?) - questioned Sy, struggling to hide the fact that he wasn't a Spanish speaker. - Decime tu nombre, así le aviso que la estás buscando (Tell me your name so I tell her you are looking for her) - Digale que Sy la busca, por favor. (Tell her Sy is looking for her, please) - he replied. The woman clearly heard about him, because she looked surprised at looked at him from head to toes, like inspected him. - Espera acá un minuto, ya vuelvo (I'll be back in a minute, wait here) - said the woman and entered the house, closing the door behind her. While waiting, he took a look around the place. Pedestrians were walking around, looking at him, just like some old ladies who were sitting in the porch of the house chatting. For a moment, he felt like a zoo animal. Around ten minutes later, the door opened again and Beca appeared, closing the door behind her and walking towards him. She opened the bars door and let him in. They looked at each other in silence for a moment and then hugged, like if neither of them could believe that was happening. After the hug, he pressed his head against her forehead and smile. He missed her so much. He looked at her and couldn't even believe it. She was way more beautiful than he remembered. - Why did you leave? - he asked her - It's a long story. -she replied. - I thought I lost you forever.- he replied, sighing in relief to know that he was finally with her again. - I ... Why are you here Sy? Why are you in Argentina? - I came to you. I want you to come back with me. - he begged her. - I can't. I lost my visa when I gave up my scholarship. - she explained - You can get it back or maybe a work visa - he suggested - It's not that easy, Sy. You know it. - I'm not giving up. I'm going to find a way to bring you back. Please, take me back. - I would, but I don't think I can get back there. Things are way more complicated than you think. - she paused and took a deep breath. Then, she looked into his eyes and asked him to follow her. They entered the house. Rebeca asked him to wait in the living room as she went into another room. While waiting, Syverson inspected the place. It was a homie. It wasn't different from his house or any other American house, but it felt different. The smell of homemade food being cooked; there was a certain cosiness and warmness that it was hard to explain. No wonder she wanted to go back there instead of staying in the coldness of the solitary house she used to live in Washington.  He heard a room door open and he settled his eyes in the direction in which Beca disappeared. He froze as he saw her enter the living room with a little girl on her arms. She had the same eyes and curly brown hair that Rebeca, but her face...her face looked like him. It was like looking at the pictures that his mother had of him as a little kid, but with long curly hair. Rebeca sat in a chair next to a table, while looked at the little girl, who was shyly hiding her face on her chest, grabbing some of her curls. Sy kneeled before them, without taking his eyes out of the little girl, speechless. He tried to stroke the girls' hair but she hid even more. Beca caressed her and told her that it was ok. - He's daddy. Do you remember daddy? I showed you pictures of him and talked to you about him? He's here. - she explained the little girl. - Does she speak English? - asked Sy, without even thinking. He still was in shock. - Yes. I decided to teach her both English and Spanish at the same time. She's still learning, but she understands when you speak to her in both languages.- she explained. - Hi, baby. I'm your daddy.- he replied, with tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe he had a daughter. - Why... -he began, looking at Beca. He didn't have to finish his question because she knew exactly what he was going to ask. - I was going to tell you that day, but then I couldn't. For lots of reasons. I think you might understand why I did it. - I do. - he agreed. She didn't need to explain anything. Whatever happened, happened. He knew that somehow Beca made the right call. It wouldn't have been the same those years if he would have known that she was alone taking care of his child, but he couldn't leave his squad alone either. He felt terrible for losing a year of his daughter's life; for not being there the day she was born, her firsts steps, her first word. Nonetheless, he would be for the rest of her important moments. And no matter how hard I'd be, he would find a way to take his woman and his daughter back with him.
                                         -----------------------------------------------------------
- Mommy, mommy, look what daddy bought me! - said Alma running into her mother's arms to show her the new toy she's got. It was a plastic gun. - See? Now I'm a warrior like daddy. - the little 5 years old girl told her mother while pretending to shoot with the gun. - Seriously, Syverson, a gun? - Rebeca reprimanded her husband for the toy he gave to their daughter. - Hey, she chose it herself, ok? - he defended himself, grabbing her wife by her hips and kissing her. - A kiss is not going to get you out of trouble, mister. Tell me, do you think a gun is an appropriate toy for a little girl? - Girls can be awesome soldiers too, ma'am. - he pointed out - I'm not saying that's not an appropriate toy because she's a girl, I'm saying that toy isn't appropriate for a child of any gender. - Apologies, my lady, you're right. But, you know her, she'll leave it on the floor and forget about it in two days, as she does with all of her toys. - he said grinning. - You're lucky you're right, sir, otherwise there was not going to be more kisses for you. - And that would be the end of me. - he finished the conversation, kissing her while he stroked her face.
The end.
Notes: *In Argentina, is a polite way to ask people you don't know who they are and why are they calling at the door.
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Why So Jaded? Chapter 3
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Chapter 3! Woo! In case you missed it, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, FFN and AO3 Enjoy!
Part 3
Buddy Pine had always had more than one plan. Getting caught and working for Phillip on his dime had been his contingency plan if the nanochip thing had backfired. But he never expected Phillip to be so accommodating or so generous. But having Violet be the liaison was the icing on the cake and to have her be his heir apparent was a fitting twist considering their shared history and he had had no problems with that part of the contract. He hadn't been this productive since before the incident a decade ago. And for the last few weeks, almost a month, the hours following her visits were always the most exciting as far as progress was concerned. He was finding his spark again and keeping alive and well, he even starting drafting and designing from scratch again. This was working out perfectly.
All he needed was time. Time to prove to Violet at least that he was not the same man he was a decade ago. He had been honest when he told her that Syndrome died. Because a part of himself did die that day and he had no interest in reviving him and his attraction to her was undeniable. 
"Good morning Ms. Parr," Buddy greeted when he heard the door open at 9:00am which had been Violet's chosen time to come in the mornings. He had learned to recognize her walking pattern, it was smooth and fluid yet light and precise, almost cat like.
"Good morning Mr. Pine," Violet replied evenly. "Mr. Sebastian sends his congratulations on the nanochip redesign, it has increased workload by your projections exactly and has earned you an additional 1.4 million dollars as of today." Violet informed him. Happy because it had earned her the same amount as well since she and Buddy would both be getting 15% each of all the sales, leaving Phillip and his company to earn the remaining seventy percent.
"Excellent, what else?" Buddy inquired, knowing Violet preferred to lead with good news before delivering the bad.
"Mr. Sebastian now has 5 new projects to add to your ever increasing roster." Violet informed him as she made a swiping motion from her tablet to his as his own tablet and electronics received the new project data before she rubbed at her temple and winced.
"You ok?" Buddy inquired as he watched her thoughtfully.
"Yeah, just a bad headache," Violet answered dismissively. "Now Mr. Salazar wants to know exactly how much titanium alloy you will need for the VIC project? And what tensile strength will you need to have the silicon wafers at?" She continued as she went down the list in her own tablet.
"I'm going to have to look over my calculations again and I'll shoot you an email with the specifics. How long have you had the headache?" Buddy inquired as he watched her closely, getting flashbacks of when Mirage had similar headaches and how much she used to suffer with them.
"Why does my headache matter? It's a headache, it will go away eventually and with enough Advil." Violet defended, her irritation clear in the way she seemed to snap at him because the pain was sapping every ounce of patience she had today.
"Supers don't usually just get headaches that can be cleared up with over the counter pain killers, they usually need something stronger, especially with your skill set as a Super, you're more likely to have inflammation in the central cortex." Buddy blurted out before looking up to see a practically seething Violet, he was at a loss as to why before it dawned on him of how he would know something like that. He could see it in her eyes, they burned a luminescent shade of ultraviolet for a moment. He could see that she wanted to kill him and the static electricity in the lab was so high the electronics started to warble and wane.
Violet was livid, how dare he have the audacity to speak of such things! She wanted to know how many supers he had lured to their deaths, how many had he interrogated or tortured and experimented on for his research before zeroing in on her family. She wanted to beat those answers out of him. She struggled not to do just that, she struggled to keep herself composed as her grip actually crushed her tablet which caused Buddy to jump and step away before she had to pull her rage back and put an emotionally void mask to her facial features as she struggled to remain in control and not kill him.
"If you have anything else you need for your work, you can contact my assistant, Leslie." Violet managed to bite out before turning and leaving quickly, keeping on her toes to keep her heels from making any more noise on the floors, once out of the lab she raced to the elevator and was thankful it was empty when it finally reached her. She leaned against the elevator wall once the doors closed and tried her best not to have a panic attack as she could feel the panic whirl in her chest and make it hard to breathe. These headaches were getting out of hand and were wearing her down and she cursed herself for having such an obvious and light trigger that he seemed to know exactly how to set off. She barely managed to make it to her own office to her safe room before she broke down and cried, an instinctual forcefield encompassing her like a security blanket. How could she keep acting like none of it happened and he was just another one of Phillip’s colleagues?
Back in the lab Buddy was kicking himself for not seeing how that could have backfired. And for the first time there was something added to his guilt, shame as he was cussing himself out for messing up so bad.
Meanwhile Phillip who was watching and listening to the conversation via security cameras was practically running to Violet's office. He had a hunch this would happen eventually and he had to make sure she would be ok. He got to her office and went straight to the safe room he had specifically built for her. He keyed in his code and the book shelf concealing the safe room moved away to reveal Violet sitting down and curled up in a ball, her knees to her chest as she hugged them and rocked herself, he could see she was shaking but he knew better than to try and touch her now, the forcefield around her would keep him from physically touching her. He couldn't hear her because the forcefield kept any noise she was making inside and would thus make talking to her impossible until she took it down. But what he could do is sit as close to her as possible and wait for her to notice him there.
After a moment she did look up to see him there and let down the forcefield before he crawled to her and put his arm around her shoulders and held her close and did everything in his power- super or not- to comfort her as she crawled into his lap and held onto him tightly.
"I'm sorry," He whispered into her hair as he kissed the crown of her head as she continued to sniffle into his shoulder as the other arm was wrapped tightly around her as he took up rocking her himself. He could count on one hand the number of times this had happened before and he was just grateful she let him in this time.  
"How did he know?! How does he know shit like that?! He shouldn't know that, especially about me," Violet cried, feeling vulnerable in the worst way and feeling like she was a little kid again. With that henchman as he was hunting her through the forest and was hiding in the water. She felt like she was drowning in anguish and anger and rage and hurt and heartbreak and she just wanted her dad to hug her and hold her in his big strong arms up to his massive chest and make her feel perfectly safe again but for now, Phillip’s arms and chest would have to do and she was grateful for him.
"I don't know, but I'll find out ok? It's going to be ok, I promise, I swear on my life it's going to be ok. Where are those pills we made for you?" Phillip asked, trying to get her to look him in the eye as he reached for her face and held it in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears and streaking mascara.
"I only have 2 left, I was saving them for when it got really bad." Violet tried to explain as she buried her head deeper into his chest, hoping the counter pressure would give her some relief. Phillip pulled her hair down from the bun and laced his fingers together behind her head and applied pressure into his chest, trying to help give her more relief.
"Does that help?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you Phil." Violet said in thanks as she reveled in the relief the counter pressure was providing as she did her best to regain her composure. She hated feeling like this, let alone be seen like this. But Phillip was special. He never thought less of her or think of her as weaker. It just helped him appreciate that even though she was a Super, she was still human and thus, imperfect and had weaknesses and limits. Phillip counted himself lucky to be able to witness this side of her and he had worked so hard just to get to this point with her.
"Now where are the pills? I'll make sure you have more before these wear off," Phillip offered.
"In my top left desk drawer." Violet answered before Phil managed to get up and pull her up with him before he carried her over to her desk and simply set her down on it then looked through her drawers for the meds before he found them and gave them to her as she used her coffee still on her desk to down them both.
"Have you been able to get any sleep lately?" He asked as he noted the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to cover up with makeup.
"Yeah, I got a whole six hours last night," She answered.
"How much Ambian did it take to get that?" He asked worriedly.
"A hundred and twenty milligrams."
"Fuck Vi, that much should have put you in a coma." He realized.
"I know, but I just wanted to sleep so badly that I kept taking 2 tabs every hour until I finally fell asleep." Violet explained as she slowly got up and sat in her desk chair before letting her head rest on the desk's surface.
"Vi, why didn't you tell me it was getting this bad?" Phillip asked as he leaned against her desk next to her.
"Because there are a thousand and one other things that are more important," Violet groaned as she continued to lay her head on the desk and waited for the painkillers to kick in while she focused on not throwing up.
"Violet, I would not have the best doctors cooped up in a lab working 14 hour days trying to come up with the best solution possible if I didn't think that you and your health were important if not equally or even more important than my own. Promise me that you'll tell me when things are getting bad or if things get worse." Phillip urged her.
"Ok, ok, I promise," Violet said as she steadied her breathing, the painkillers beginning to take effect.
"Thank you, now I want you to do me a favor, take a few days off, go to the spa, get a massage or something and relax, read a good book and don't use your powers. Because the more you use them the worse this seems to get. Can you do that for me?" Phillip prodded.
"Yeah, I can do that, but what about Syn..Mr. Pine?" Violet asked, catching herself.
"Don't worry about it, I will deal with him personally if I have to and he will answer to me about this incident." Phillip placated. "And you start now, I'll go down to the lab to get you your meds, just stay here."
"Deal," Violet agreed as she kicked off her heels for her feet to rest.
Phillip went down to the lab and got Violet the special painkillers that have been designed for her and checked in on the sleep aid they had been also working on for her and got as much of that as they had as he informed them of her recent dose as the doctors rewrote the prescription. It was highly unusual for an employer to take such an intense interest in his employee but Philip considered this extremely special circumstances because Violet was so much more than an employee, she was a friend. A true one he felt and while he knew that Violet didn’t need him, he was becoming more and more dependent on her and was still hoping that when it was all said and done, she would stay with him and while they both had agreed not to pursue a romantic relationship, it was awfully hard for him to keep things strictly business between them. Especially after that first incident when they had been locked in his safe room for a week. It got very physical then and he had found himself craving her more and more and he had time to win her over. He also dealt with anything and everything having to do with Violet he did himself. It's not that he didn't trust his other secretaries and assistants but, he felt better knowing that because he handled it, it was done right.
He saw her off before going to Buddy's lab himself.
"Mr. Sebastian, I was wondering when you would come and see me," Buddy remarked, despite the slight nervous edge to his voice. He had been wondering what ramifications there would be for upsetting Phillip's little 'pet', remembering what lengths he used to go to when it came to anyone or anything that messed with Mirage.
"Well Mr. Pine, it seems you've been busy, making exceptional hardware, offending my staff," Phillip listed off casually, but there was quiet rage to his voice that Buddy immediately picked up on.
"I didn't mean to offend her. I just noticed she was in pain, I didn't mean to upset her," Buddy defended as Phillip took a long hard look at him.
"I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be honest in your answer. Do you have any design or intention of bringing harm in any way, shape or form to Ms. Parr?" Phillip gravely questioned.
"Of course not," Buddy answered.
"But given your history, especially with the Parr's..." Phillip began.
"I know, I'm the last person who should be put anywhere close to any of them but things change, especially in the time that’s passed." Buddy countered.
"I'm aware that you know a lot about Supers, and I know better than to ask exactly how you know..." Phillip began.
"Natalia," Buddy interrupted. "Natalia, or Mirage rather, had similar powers that Violet has, Tali suffered from extremely painful and debilitating headaches too, they were so bad she used to "joke" about drilling a hole into her head to relieve the pressure. Whenever she used her powers, especially her invisibility extensively. Supers are wired differently, they even have extra brain components, Supers who can turn themselves invisible, tend to have larger central cortex's. It puts pressure on the rest of the brain, that's why the headaches are so intense and hard to cure." Buddy explained. "That's how I know about it. I almost had a cure too at several points. But everything I came up with impaired her powers and she always needed to use her powers. Always. The Agency..." Buddy began as he did his best to fight the tears that came to sting at the corner of his eyes at all the memories came flooding back and what surprised him was to feel all that rage he had against The Agency rear it's ugly head as he fought to remain composed and in control of himself and his emotions.
"The Agency knew damn well it was hurting her, hell it was killing her and they didn’t give a single fuck. The needs of the many always outweigh the needs of a few right? And it’s not like she didn’t want to do the missions, she always did and it made her happy to feel useful and helpful and as long as I could come up with the right painkiller for the headaches and keep her in the field, she was happy. All Supers, the good, the bad and everything in between, they always have an itch that only Super work can scratch. They just sent her on mission after mission all while she was working for me, because she had the skill set to be useful in the more "clandestine" work and out of the public eye. To the point the villains never knew she was ever involved in their downfall. No matter what I did, whatever I provided them or tried to find other Supers to take her place on all these missions, they liked to remind me and her who she really belonged to and it took turning on me and exposing me to the fullest and deepest degree for her to break free of them and finally get the out she needed. I lost track and count of how many times and all the different ways I proposed to her, but she never accepted because she knew that The Agency could turn on her if she didn’t walk the line and it would have made both of us targets. Especially when Supers were under ban, she was used even though she was relatively young when all that happened because she was older than me by a decade and she was barely a teenager then. Of course she’s fine now, or so I assume. She’s perfectly fine being a trophy wife for just another rich, powerful billionaire playboy because there's so many of us these days and I used to lay awake at night and wonder what he had that I didn’t that got her to say yes to him but not me." Buddy revealed. Remembering how he used to cradle her in his arms and rock her and squeeze her head to give her counterpressure and swear he would find a cure if it was the last thing he did and the beautiful but fatally flawed relationship they had. But it was still...never enough.
“I see how you are with her. You depend on her a lot. And as much as you like seeing the way I react to her and act in her presence. She’s practically your everything and I know that you know that you’re pretty screwed without her. It would probably take what? A hundred? Two hundred people to do all the things she does on her own by herself. She’s irreplaceable. Funny isn’t it? We get all this money and power and make ourselves as desirable and needed as possible while individually independent as we can be, then a girl comes along and she makes it all feel useless and worthless and they make you realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you and that you aren’t the most important person in the room, let alone the world or the universe- that they are. And no matter what we do, what we give, what we invent, how we try to help-  at the end of the day and when all is said and done, they don’t need us, and it stings like a motherfucker. But if you’re lucky- they’ll want you and if they want you and genuinely care about you, then that’s all that matters.” Buddy confessed, not sure why he was telling Phillip all this. But he felt... absolved to a degree to get it off his chest and he wished with all his might that someone had told him all this fifteen years ago.
“If you had a time machine, would you do anything differently?” Phillip asked.
“Absolutely. I’d do everything differently. I would have dropped my grudge against Mr. Incredible at a very early age and recognized that I had a very unhealthy obsession with him and gotten my ass into therapy much sooner than I did. I still would have built the empire. But I would have tried not buying Tali. Because that was my fatal mistake, I tried to buy her with a salary that almost equaled mine. I got her stock options, I got her investments and I got her so set up that she technically didn’t need me or anyone else but I did it because I didn’t know how else to try to woo her because I will admit I'm not the most handsome, charming guy and I overcompensate and I would have never used her the way I did and I would have just let her be, no strings, no contracts, nothing. Just let her do whatever she wanted. I realized after the fact that she never really let herself really be her true self around me. The line between Natalia and Mirage was pretty blurred to the point, I never knew the difference between the two and I was foolish enough to think they were one and the same. The altruistic Supers are always the same person in and out of the supersuit. But the best ones, the most effective ones are the ones that you would never suspect are their Super persona.” Buddy revealed.
“So what do you advise?” Phillip asked thoughtfully, intrigued yet pleased he was getting all this from Buddy. 
“Never make your relationship with her about the money or the power or any of that bullshit. And don’t make the possibility of staying with you about what she could earn or inherit or anything like that. That's ultimately an insult to their character. Because our greed doesn’t rub off on people like them, they're surprisingly content with little, it comes from their upbringing which more often than not is really humble. In fact make it effortlessly easy for her to walk away from you at any point in time without any retaliation, without backlash and every good thing you've ever promised, make good on it and make it so that the only reason she would stay is what she genuinely feels for you. Make it about honesty and communication and honest to goodness chemistry and the like. And if you’re keeping anything from her, remember that every secret you keep from her is a reason for her not to fully trust you. And if you have any superpowers, either good or bad, never use them on her if you don’t absolutely have to, like if it would mean something like saving her life or if you have, stop and be honest and upfront about all of it , the good, the bad and the ugly and even all the parts that make you wonder if she would even look or speak to you if she knew about. She’s a Super who’s used to spy work, her life’s work is about secrets. She won’t want any in her real relationships. I knew one Super, he was a Villain, and he was known as the Love Machine. He had the power to seduce anyone he wanted within a radius of like, half a mile, it was ridiculous. Then he met a Super who was immune to him. And the more he tried to use them on her, the more repellent to him she felt and when he was finally genuine with her, she never believed him because of his powers and believed that any feeling she had towards him, were because of his powers, when in fact, the feelings were genuine, but she still refused to believe it and when she left him- he ended up drinking himself to death. And I was stupid enough to not learn that with Tali until it was far too late.” Buddy admonished as Phillip simply stood there and considered him thoughtfully.
"Come with me," Phillip invited as he turned and escorted Buddy two floors up to where he had the doctors working on Violet's condition.
Buddy looked over the schematics and her last MRI scans and fought not to cry or gasp. "Oh no. She's way worse that Mirage ever got, is she dying?" Buddy asked Phillip.
Phillip took a deep breath and nodded yes.
"Does she know she's dying?"
"No, because we are on the verge of curing her, no use in upsetting her now," Phillip answered.
"Well what are you using to cure her?" Buddy pressed before Phillip wearily showed him what they were currently using and what else they had already tried and what they were about to try as Buddy's spark was like a bolt of lightning in his brain as it kicked into gear.
"I can fix this, I can fix her," Buddy claimed. "Give me a few weeks working with these guys and maybe a few months of trials but give me access to my old data banks that The Agency took and I can have a cure," Buddy promised.
Phillip paused to look Buddy over before nodding again. "Ok, but you better deliver Pine." Phillip went over to a control panel and gave Buddy access to the databases containing all the research that had been confiscated from Buddy's Island the decade prior along with all the research that had been done since then, along with access to the Medical Lab he was currently in and a security tag so he could go from his own lab to the medical lab on his own. "By the way, Violet is now on medical leave, Mrs. Tyner will be your liaison for everything until she gets back. But anything you need for this project you will tell Tyner and you will keep Ms. Parr out of it. Understood?" Phillip posed.
"Understood," Buddy agreed before turning and bringing up all his old data and instinctively taking control of the medical lab.
Phillip left work and went to a florist and got some nice flowers before he went over to Violet’s apartment to check in on her.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Violet asked as she came to the door.
“I came to check on you. Are you feeling better?” He asked hopefully.
“I am, come on in. I take it these are for me.” Violet smiled at her flowers before he gladly handed them over to her as she took them and got a vase from the top of her fridge to put them in.
“I got a spa day planned for tomorrow.” She informed him happily.
“Good, I hope you enjoy it. You’ve earned it.” Phillip grinned.
“Aww, thank you.” She cooed.
“So, can I talk to you as Phil instead of Mr. Sebastian?” Phillip carefully asked.
“Of course, Phil is always allowed to talk about whatever he wants to.” Violet grinned happily as she got a bottle of wine out.
About four months into this assignment, “Phil” and “Vi” were code for when they just wanted to be themselves and friends and not as employer and employee or Super and Protectee or handler and asset.
“So I talked to Mr. Pine about the incident this morning.” Phillip began.
“That’s a Mr. Sebastian tone though.” Violet noted with a frown as she went ahead and opened the bottle of wine because “Phil” and “Vi” often Netflix, Pinot Noir and Chill kind of “friends”.
“Ok so I asked Buddy about it and he confessed that how he knew about it, was Mirage, or as he referred to her- Natalia or Tali for short.” He furthered as he gratefully took the glass of wine as he took the seat at her breakfast bar and took off his suit jacket and tie as she hopped up in the other and turned to face him.
“Oh, so they were very intimate. I’m her protégé and I don’t even get to call her by her real name.” Violet professed as she made a face before she took a big sip of her wine.
“Yeah, so turns out that’s how he knows about the enlarged central cortex because she suffered headaches just like you and in between his own supervillain agenda, he was working on a cure for her. He knows that all Supers who use invisibility have that. So, it wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought it was going to be. And he reassured me that he harbors you no ill will and has no designs on you.” Phill assured her.
“Do you believe him?” Violet raised a curious brow at that.
“I’m not sure.” Phillip answered.
“Good because I don’t.” Violet insisted.
“What would it take for you to believe him?” Phil asked.
“His dead body.” Violet answered honestly which got Phil to crack a crooked grin.
“Ok. Well maybe one of these days you’ll get that and I hope it brings you closure and peace.” Phillip offered before he clinked his wine glass with hers.
“Thank you Phil. That’s very sweet.” Violet grinned. “So can I jump your bones while you’re here?” Violet asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“Hell yeah.” He adamantly as they came together quickly and kissed passionately as they moved each other to the bedroom where they spent the remainder of the afternoon in each other’s embrace as Phillip was proud of himself for not using his powers to get her in the mood. While he knew that Buddy had spoken the truth, he would be taking Buddy’s advice, but he still had his own ideas about how and when he was going to implement them and once they were both sated they laid in bed and looked up at the painting that Violet had installed on her ceiling in the apartment as Phillip sweetly combed her soft hair with his fingertips as Violet simply basked in the afterglow of a great orgasm. Orgasms with Phillip were always out of this world because of his powers and she didn’t mind one bit he used them for that purpose.
“Want to go out to dinner?” Phillip asked.
“Sure.” Violet readily agreed as she got up and went to put on her supersuit.
“Come on Vi, don’t put that stupid thing on! You won’t need it!” Phillip complained.
“Phil, we’ve been through this a thousand times. Every time I don’t wear it, I end up needing it, every single time, without fail. At this point I put it on to make sure that nothing happens and that I don’t need it.” Violet argued as she continued to pull it up over he naked body.
“Just one more time, let’s just try one more time. Please? Pretty pretty please?” Phil begged from the bed as he sat up and steepled his hands like he was praying.
“Where did you want to go out to dinner?” Violet asked as she paused in putting it on as the top half simply hung around her waist.
“Wherever you want to go that you’ll feel you won’t need to wear that.” Phil answered as he gestured to the suit.
“Fine, Sumo’s.” Violet answered as she pushed the suit off her legs.
“Yes!” Phil cheered happily.
“Thank you thank you thank you.” He thanked her as he came over and kissed her soundly before he got redressed in his suit as she slipped into a sexy little dress to go out with him to dinner and once they got to Sumo’s, they happily got all kinds of Sushi and Ramen and other Dim Sum dishes.
And while they were eating Violet noticed she felt especially warm and fuzzy and frankly almost love drunk towards Phillip but knew he was using his powers to make her feel that way as she mentally fought those feelings because she knew they weren’t real, and not genuinely hers. Mirage had always warned her that mixing business with pleasure had it’s perks but also it’s dangers and warned her to never, ever go to bed with someone she wouldn’t feel absolutely free walking away from in the morning, let alone free to put a bullet in their head if she needed to. And that if at any moment she felt that she was in too deep and too attached that that’s when the highest danger would inevitably come and always remind herself that it was still, just a job, just a mission, just an asset and that if at any moment, he could turn from asset- to target. And she needed to be removed enough emotionally to pull the trigger herself if need be.
But one look at the way Phillip was looking at her told her that he was already too attached to her. But she needed him to be for this mission to be a success. He had asked her to be his girlfriend several times over by now and she had always turned him down and instead told him to ask her once her contract was up. And that seemed to satisfy him. And they agreed that their relationship would remain ‘friends with benefits’ until then and that they were open and free to pursue other romantic relationships until then. Thus- why Phillip used the ballerina/model types like tissues. But Violet felt that if he honestly, truly loved her- he would wait for her, wait however long it would take. And every time he used a girl, it was another layer added between her heart and his and honestly helped her keep her heart and her emotions to herself.
She still spent the night at his place though and Phillip gladly sent her in his Rolls-Royce to the spa and even ordered extra treatments for her and paid for her visit and Violet left that spa looking and feeling like a goddess before she insisted that she could come in on Monday which Phillip caved and agreed to.
On Sunday though, she was sent new medication which Phillip himself dropped off and once he left she was sent a video by Leslie of the conversation that Phillip had had with Buddy and Violet just watched it over and over again. She was blown away by Buddy's observations and his insights had been spot on and completely accurate and most importantly, completely honest and genuine and for the first time, she believed him. She knew that Phillip used his powers on Buddy to get that confession and thus why Phillip left it at that. And it was because of that video that she began to let go of her own grudge against him and slowly, but surely, she started to look at him and not see Syndrome anymore. Just...Buddy Pine, a colleague.
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let-it-raines · 5 years
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Catch Me If You Can (23/?)
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298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.
But then he came back and won the World Series.
It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.
Asking her out live on-air will do that.
Rating: Mature
a/n: I wrote this entire story in some kind of pregnancy-fueled Mexican-food-craving haze, and I didn’t realize just how much time was between some certain big plot points until I was proof-reading this. That said, I’m not changing any of that and am literally impatient to share all of the upcoming chapters with you wonderful people! @resident-of-storybrooke​ has assured me that they’re actually good. lol. Not entirely sure that I trust her 😉
Found on AO3: Beginning | Current
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Tag list:  @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury​ @superchocovian​ @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog@cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings​ 
-/-
I need your post-series comparison report by nine this morning.
You were late with it last time, and that made me late with my report. This is why you should probably stick to on-air reporting instead of continuing to write articles when we have people for that.
W.O.
“Asshole,” Emma mutters to herself after reading that blatantly condescending email from Walsh.
She’s been in the office for approximately fifteen minutes, most likely a little less than that, and the first thing that Emma saw after logging into her computer was an email from Walsh about her report on the difference between playing at home and away, specifically when it comes to playing the Red Sox. Two weeks ago, the Yankees lost every single game they played in Boston, especially that epic game where they lost 3-17 the night Killian was the starting pitcher, and then over the last four days, they’ve won every game while in New York.
Home team advantage taking on a whole new meaning because it is seriously in play this year.
And Emma doesn’t want to get too excited, doesn’t want to get too ahead of herself because anything can happen for the rest of the season, but only a month and a half of the regular season is left and there’s no way the Yankees aren’t making the playoffs. Once they get there, who knows if they’ll make it to the Series?
There’s a chance, though, and that’s all that matters.
As a fan, she’s excited. As Killian’s girlfriend and a reporter for the team, she’s over the freaking moon. It would be insane for them to back it up, but she’s got to slow her roll.
Slow her roll and send Walsh this report so that she doesn’t have to deal with him anymore today. Working with her ex is fine since it’s not an everyday thing, only an office day thing, but the man has got to get the stick out of his ass. He cheated on her, belittled her out of jealousy for her success in her job, and yet he acts like it’s an inconvenience for them to have to spend a miniscule amount of time together. He’s probably sitting at his desk thinking of ways to torture her while drinking a giant bottle of Mountain Dew. She always hated that he did that. He could have at least had the diet version instead of consuming all of that extra sugar.
But whatever. It doesn’t matter. None of it does.
Ruth: Do you think you’d like to come to Portland in October? Or maybe sometime before Thanksgiving? I was thinking you could bring your boyfriend so that I can meet him.
Emma reads the text, but she doesn’t answer it quite yet. She needs time to look at her calendar and have time to ask Killian if he wants to go. Hell, she needs time to figure out if that’s what she even wants because, wow, bringing a boyfriend home is not something she’s ever done. Neal literally never wanted to come home with her, never wanted to go to David’s, never wanted to do anything that wasn’t in his control, and Walsh was just…
Shit. She needs to email him now and stop letting her mind go down this path.
Today is a good day. Nothing is going to ruin it. If she repeats that enough times it’s sure to come true.
“Oh my God,” Ruby groans as she steps into Emma’s office, barely able to squeeze in past the chair that’s keeping the door open before sitting in it, “I am ready for this season to be over. Why is it always so jam-packed? Do people really need to watch this much baseball? There are so many damn games.”
“Nope. They really don’t.”
“I feel like you should not be able to say that because of your job and the fact that your boyfriend is a freaking baseball player.”
“Rubes,” Emma hisses, twisting in her chair and looking out the small glass window in her office, “shut up.”
Ruby’s eyes widen, her hands immediately going to cover her mouth, and that might be the fastest Ruby has ever stopped talking in the entirety of her life.
“Sorry, sorry,” she apologizes before getting up from the chair and moving it so that she can shut the door behind her. Damn this small office. “I didn’t even think about it.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like you have a giant poster saying that I’m dating him. There are just a lot of people constantly walking by this door, so we can’t really talk about it with the door open.”
“My lips are sealed. Also, are you ever going to get a bigger office?”
“I don’t even know why I have an office. Like, honestly. I keep waiting for them to realize that I don’t need it and to give it away to someone who works here more than once a week. Then I could do all of this stuff from home.”
“That is the life. Though, I think you would probably never put on real pants again.”
“Yoga pants are real pants, and that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.”
“Whatever,” Ruby yawns, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m ready to go home already. Do you think we have time to go home before the game?”
“Considering we have to get out to the stadium in less than an hour and I still have to finish this report for Walsh, I’m thinking not.”
“Ugh,” Ruby groans, propping her feet up against the walls like she owns the place, “why does he continue to exist? Can’t he go work in another department or something?”
“I imagine,” Emma sighs, twisting back in her chair to actually get work done on the report, “that he stays simply to annoy me, but I tend not to think about him too much.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because you’re getting fucked much better now.”
Emma huffs. “Why are you the way that you are?”
“You know, I think it comes from being raised by my grandmother instead of my mother, and I –”
“Rhetorical question,” Emma hums, pulling up her file with her notes from the last few games up so that she can fill the last bit of information in while they talk. “So, Ruth has asked me if I want to bring Killian to Portland.”
“I thought you just said that we couldn’t say his name.”
“We can’t yell it with the door open. We can say it quietly in here.”
“Gotcha, gotcha,” Ruby sighs as Emma keeps working. “How do you feel about the boyfriend going home to meet Ruth? That’s kind of a big step. I mean, he’s already met David and Mary Margaret, but that’s different. They’re more like friends than anything else.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that.”
“This is, like, ‘I see a future with you and want everyone I love to love you’ kind of stuff.”
“Are you trying to freak me out?”
“Only a little. I could have brought up marriage and babies, but I figured that would have you jumping through the ceiling to escape the conversation.”
Emma’s heart kind of feels like it’s going to jump through the ceiling of this conversation. Why did she even bring this up? Probably because she does actually want to talk about it, and Ruby will be the most honest with her because she doesn’t seem to have any kind of filter in that wonderful brain of hers.
‘Yeah, let’s avoid the marriage and babies stuff.”
“Okay, so barring those things,” Ruby sighs, getting up from the chair to perch herself on the edge of Emma’s desk so Emma can actually see her while talking, “how do you feel about this? I know you love Killian because you guys are ridiculously adorable together, which makes me happy for you even if I sometimes find it disgusting, but I also know that you like to freak out about relationship stuff.”
“I’m…” Emma rolls back in her chair and tilts her head up to look at Ruby while she tugs her bottom lip with her teeth. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, really, because Killian has met everyone else and we do travel pretty often together. But that’s for work, you know? This is…this is moving forward in a way.”
“That’s a good thing, hon. People in good relationships move forward. Graham and I dated for awhile, then moved in together, even if you do live with us because rent is ridiculous, and then one day we’re going to get married. When you love someonesomeone,who is good to you, that’s what you do, even if every relationship roadmap is different with different destinations. It’s scary as hell, but sometimes you’ve got to do scary shit.”
Sometimes you’ve got to do scary shit.
“You sounded really philosophical until you got to the end there.”
“Eh,” she scoffs, flipping her hair over her shoulders, “I think all great philosophers should talk like me. It’s real. Good advice doesn’t have to be poetic. It’s just got to be good.”
Emma hums in response, crossing her legs over each other and readjusting her position while she thinks over everything that Ruby has just said. “So, you think I should talk to Killian about it and then text Ruth back?”
“That’s exactly what you should do. And then you should finish this damn report, send it to your asshole ex with a picture of a middle finger attached, and then we should get something to eat on the way to the stadium.”
-/-
The Yankees win an easy game against the Orioles that afternoon, as they usually do, and it’s a smooth day at the office for all involved. Killian is particularly cheeky in his post-game interview, he and Will bantering off each other, and Emma has to bite her tongue to keep herself from telling Killian that she loves him live on-air.
Talk about a disaster waiting to happen there.
-/-
“Darling, can you get me a napkin?”
“Get it yourself, Jones.”
“Emma is literally standing in the kitchen.”
“You are a big boy. You can get your napkin yourself.”
“You just asked her to bring you a glass of water.”
“That is different.”
Emma rolls her eyes at Ruby and Killian bickering with each other. It’s honestly how they talk. Emma doesn’t think that they’re capable of speaking in normal terms, and as obnoxious as it can be, it’s kind of hilarious. Those two are pretty much a friendship made in heaven because of their wit and ability to make anything a dirty joke, but it results in a hell of a lot of bantering.
Or bickering.
Emma’s not sure which one, but if the look on Graham’s face is any indication, it’s a combination of both.
“We’re going to have to stop allowing them to spend time with each other, aren’t we?” Graham asks as he reaches over her to grab a napkin that the restaurant provided them with when they ordered take-out. “I think they might kill each other.”
“Eh, it might just be the natural progression of things.”
“True. Might as well just let it happen.”
“I can hear the two of you,” Ruby huffs, leaning over from the couch so that she can get a handful of chips out of the bowl before standing and walking to the kitchen, “and it’s totally not cool that you’d just let the two of us die. You are supposed to love us.”
“To be fair, I just met Killian, so I’m not sure that we love each other quite yet,” Graham teases.
Killian winks, the biggest smirk stretching across his lips, and it makes Emma’s stomach flutter. “Give it time. I’m irresistible. Ask Emma.”
“He’s not,” Emma sighs, taking the napkins out of Graham’s hands and walking them the few feet over to Killian before sitting down next to him on the couch, plucking a chip from his plate instead of the bowl. “He pretty much had to beg me to get me to date him.”
“Um, no, you definitely asked me out, Swan.”
���Only because you wouldn’t ask me out.”
“We have talked about this,” Killian breathes, scooping up a forkful of his rice. “And besides, it’s a moot point now.”
“Maybe. Are you going to eat the rest of your queso?”
Killian hands her his bowl in answer. Him watching his eating habits more carefully is quite possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to her even if she has to cut down on the pop-tarts in the morning. That’s probably for the best. She’d rather waste her calories on things like queso and grilled cheese. Killian has learned to make a really good grilled cheese sandwich, and that may be the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for her.
Obviously she has some really high (low) standards, but it’s the little things.
Cheese is the way to a woman’s heart. At least to hers. There are some crazy people out there who don’t like cheese.
Crazy.
“Why didn’t we get margaritas with our food again?” Ruby asks as she and Graham both settle back into the living room. They barely have enough room for the three people who live here, let alone four. “I really want a margarita.”
“We’ve got an eleven o’clock game tomorrow.”
“You two do. I don’t.”
Emma reaches to the side to slap Killian’s shoulder, nearly spilling her queso dip, and what a tragedy that would be. “You have training.”
“Not at eleven in the morning.”
“Poor people having to wake up and be at work before nine in the morning to start work at eleven. However do all of you live?”
Everyone’s eyes move toward Graham, evil stares likely there, and instead of backing away, he shrugs his shoulders and takes a bite of his taco, completely unbothered.
“Shut up and eat your tacos, babe.”
He holds up the taco he just took a bite out of. “Don’t mind if I do.”
Killian chuckles beside her, lifting his arm over Emma’s shoulder so that she can lean into him and into his warmth. “And you say Ruby and I bicker.”
“I’m starting to think maybe it’s Ruby that’s the problem.”
“I,” Ruby scoffs, reaching forward to grab the remote to turn the TV on, “am picking the movie we watch tonight because all of you are assholes, and I deserve this.”
They watch Pride and Prejudice because it’s the first thing Ruby finds on TV, something that Emma definitely isn’t going to complain about. She’s usually not one for period romances, most of them a little too damsel in distress with no backbone for her, but this is one that she can appreciate. Plus, Keira Knightly is pretty much the greatest at being in movies that aren’t modern. The woman wouldn’t know how to act in a movie where cell phones exists.
(Okay, maybe she would, but that’s entirely beside the point.)
Ruby and Graham go to bed before the movie is even over, Ruby falling asleep on the couch with chip crumbs on her shirt, and Graham has to coax her into getting up, telling her that she’s not going to be able to move her neck in the morning if she doesn’t move. Ruby pretty much tells him to fuck off in that charming way that she has, but she does get up, slowly wandering back down the hallway to their bedroom until the door shuts behind her.
She and Killian manage to make it until the end, and even though she’s been up since early this morning and spent so much time outside, Emma’s not tired. She’s not tired as she and Killian move to clean up their food, wrapping up the leftovers and putting them in the fridge, before moving back to her own bedroom so that they can go through their routines to get ready for bed. Emma kind of feels like they’ve been spending most of their nights together even though she knows that it’s not true. It’s been two or three times a week, mostly depending on her schedule or Killian’s game schedule, and it’s not something they ever really plan.
But she likes having him here or likes being over at his place, even though she isn’t the best at sharing the comforter or not sprawling out in the middle of the bed, and it’s a nice thing to get to have someone to spend time with like this.
Today has been a good day.
Killian is in bed before her, the white of her comforter pulled up over his lap to cover his sweatpants, and instead of getting under the covers herself, Emma moves to straddle his lap, placing her knees on either side of his thighs while her hand plays with the chain around his neck, moving the cool metal back and forth in her palm.
Killian arches his right brow at her, that side of his lips tugging up to, and it makes her laugh before she places her hands on his bare shoulders all the while Killian reaches up to tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear, thumb running across her cheekbone in a gentle motion.
His eyes could not possibly be more blue.
“What is it that you think you’re doing, Swan?”
“What do you mean?”
A low hum comes from Killian as the hand that’s not caressing her cheek moves to her waist, snaking up underneath her t-shirt to rest against the bare skin of her stomach.
“This position isn’t exactly indicative of us going to bed.”
“Is it not?” Emma teases, dipping her head down to press her lips to the tip of his nose. “Because I’m very comfortable right now.”
She does a pointed roll of her hips and revels in the way that Killian’s eyes shut at the movement.
“I think the queso is getting to that head of yours.”
Emma shrugs. “Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
And then Killian is tugging her closer and moving his lips over hers, soft and slow and completely and utterly thorough while his hand tangles into her hair, fingers pulling at the strands, and her hands move from his shoulders to his neck, holding him steady. He tastes like her toothpaste, far too minty, and his skin smells like the soap she keeps next to her sink that definitely should not be used for skincare. It’s weirdly refreshing for him to smell like her things, if not a little overwhelming. Last week she used Killian’s bodywash when she was at his place because she didn’t have any of her own, and while she used to be entirely attracted to the smell, carrying it around on her all day was far too overwhelming.
How do men live smelling that strongly of some kind of Irish spring or mountain brook?
That’s not how either of those things smell either. Or, at least, she thinks.
But that’s entirely beside the point when shivers are spreading across her body at the feeling of Killian’s tongue moving inside her mouth. It’s warm and wet against hers, the feeling that same high that she always seems to be chasing with him, and her fingers inch up his neck to curl into the thick strands of his hair while she groans.
“Bloody hell do I love that sound.”
Heat immediately rises to her cheeks, but it’s also curling between her thighs at the heady sound of Killian’s voice and the demanding pressure of his kiss as his legs shift beneath them to move the two of them until Emma’s back is pressed against the mattress and Killian is hovering over her, his lips trailing across the expanse of skin at her neck that has the simmering heat between them continuing all the while Emma tries to catch her breath.
Every time she thinks she’s got it back, though, Killian nips at her collarbone or nibbles on her ear, and it all evaporates into thin air.
“Oh fuck,” Killian grunts, and Emma takes it as an invitation to trace her nails along his back, pressing her hips up to his to get a little more friction. “No, love, fuck.”
Her eyes snap to him at the more pained exasperation in his voice, and it’s then that Emma realizes that he’s stopped kissing her neck and has his forehead pressed there instead, his body not moving over hers.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“My,” he grits, his voice dark but not in the way that she wants it to be, “leg is fucking cramping.”
Emma doesn’t mean to, not really, but the laugh bubbles from deep within her belly until it’s passing through her lips and she can’t contain herself. It’s not really even funny. Cramps and weird noises and all of that jazz are as normal as can be during sex – don’t even get her started on lock jaw – but it’s usually not when they’ve only been making out for five minutes. This is some kind of new record.
“I’m glad you’re so amused by my pain, love.”
“No, no,” she laughs, wishing that she hadn’t but still not able to stop herself, “I promise you I’m not.”
“Then what the bloody hell are you laughing at?”
“Your pain.”
Killian groans before rolling off of her, the loss of his body heat immediate, and she watches as his arm reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose, his eyes still shut so tightly that those little crinkles have shown up around his skin. It’s adorable even if he’d probably like to chop his leg off right now.
“I hate you.”
“That is entirely untrue,” Emma sighs, leaning down to brush her lips over his cheek before moving across the mattress so that she can grab onto Killian’s leg and rest his calf on her lap, fingers digging into the flesh to start to massage it. “I have it on good authority that you love me in spite of all of the weird things about me like the fact that I laugh at your cramps.”
Killian’s hand moves from his face until his arm is flopping against the mattress in what has to be the most dramatic fashion in the world. “That’s probably the least weird thing about you.”
“Oh yeah? What’s the weirdest?”
Killian props himself up on his elbows, his eyes obviously taking her in as he thinks, and she squeezes his calf a little bit too hard in response. “You put too much creamer in your coffee.”
“That’s a cop out answer.”
“Nope. It’s my honest to God answer, love. That is the weirdest thing about you.”
“The weirdest thing about you is the fact that you organize your t-shirts by year that you got them instead of color or putting your favorites up front.”
“I don’t believe I asked for your opinion on that.”
“No,” Emma shrugs, squeezing his calf where she can see the muscles twitching, “you didn’t, but I thought I’d give you my opinion anyways since you’re not being honest with me about what you find weird about me.”
Killian rolls his eyes before falling back down to the mattress, strands of hair falling over his forehead. “You have too many blankets. It’s not…I mean, you do a million little things that are different or quirky, but I don’t find any of them weird. Not really. But you collect a hell of a lot of blankets. You’ve probably spent thousands of dollars on them. I swear, you’ve brought a different blanket on every road trip we’ve had this year.”
“That is not weird.”
“Neither is my t-shirt thing.”
“Agree to disagree,” she sighs, pulling a pillow behind her back so that she’s not hunching over. “And you have never complained about having use of one of my blankets before.”
“Nor you my t-shirts.”
“This is true.” Emma keeps working at Killian’s calf, feeling the muscled skin under her fingertips, and she figures now might be the time to talk to him about Ruth. It’s not like he can run away. Well, he could, but she could probably run faster than him now. “So, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Killian’s body stiffens. “And you saved it for when I can’t run away?”
Great minds think alike.
“Yes, because I knew you were going to cramp while we were making out.”
She rolls her eyes but still smiles at the way Killian’s forehead is wrinkled with the raise of his brows. His face can hold so many different expressions – from soft to broody and from sexy to amused – and she likes that he often gives away what’s going on in his mind through them, even if he doesn’t always.
“You are evil like that.”
“I know,” Emma shrugs before putting a little more pressure on Killian’s calf so that he groans. Definitely a different groan than what was happening before. “So, Ruth texting me today and asked if when I wanted to come visit. She’s been on me about it for a few months now even with her coming here, but I probably should go home when the season is over. And I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”
They’re simple words, but the weight behind them makes Emma feel like she’s just been run over by a truck.
She’s absolutely great at being an adult.
The best.
Her heart is probably going to implode.
“Well,” Killian sighs, propping himself up on his elbows again, “I’d have to check my calendar. You know, I am a very popular man, and many women ask me to go home with them to meet their mothers. I have to make sure that I’m not scheduled to do that with someone else.”
“Asshole,” Emma huffs as she slaps Killian’s leg and pushes it off of her lap so that she can get off the bed. “You’re an asshole.”
“I’m feeling a little bit of de ja vu with you calling me that.”
“You deserve it.”
“Hey,” he sighs, stretching across the bed to grab at the bottom of her t-shirt until he pulls her back down onto the bed with him so that she roughly lands on the mattress and against Killian’s knee. It’s not exactly comfortable, but Killian shifts and caresses her cheeks with his hands, pushing her hair back while he looks at her. “I’m kidding. I would love to get to go to Portland with you to meet Ruth. I really do have to check my schedule, especially with how we do in the post-season, but I’m more than happy to go with you and get to hear all kinds of stories about you as a teenager.”
“Yeah, you’re not allowed to ask for any stories when we go.”
“I’m one hundred percent asking for stories.”
“No. You can’t do that because – ”
Killian doesn’t let her finish her protest, pulling her forward to press his lips into hers, a soft yet insistent thing that has her forgetting her argument. He’s good at that. Probably too good, but that’s definitely something she’ll address at another time.
A time when he’s not doing that thing with his tongue and his teeth that she likes so much.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Emma stops, possibly against her better judgement, and Killian pulls back only to bury his face in her shoulder.
“W-what?”
“My leg is cramping.”
Killian groans into her neck before wrapping his arms around Emma’s waist and pulling her down alongside him so that they’re a tangle of limbs that very well may never be unwrapped. She wouldn’t mind that either, not if she can stay in the dim light of her bedroom with Killian holding onto her and looking at her like she put the stars in the sky and tells them to glow every night.
No one has ever looked at her that way before.
Ever.
She’s really damn happy.
“I love you,” Killian breathes out, and her heart metaphorically skips a beat while she reaches for his chain between them so that she can run the metal between her fingers. “More than anything, I think.”
Well damn. Who knew three little words added to those big three words could completely change the meaning of it all? Or, at least, amplify them.
“I love you too, twenty-nine.”
Killian shifts again, pressing his back into her and pulling her closer, as if that was possible, and she can feel the scruff on the underside of his chin pressing into her temple while he intertwines their fingers and moves their joined hands to rest between her breasts.
“I’m serious, Emma. I know…” Killian takes a deep breath, one that she can feel in her own bones, and she has to swallow down the emotion that she feels at just the gravely sound of his voice. “Thank you for trusting me enough to take this shot with me. I haven’t been this happy in a long time, and I kind of thought that I’d reached the pinnacle of happiness last year when we won.”
“I mean, you did win the World Series,” she says, trying to play off some of the emotions she’s feeling. “What could be better than that?”
“Don’t you know, Emma?” Killian speaks into her hair, pressing a kiss there that has her lashes fluttering closed against her cheeks. “It’s you.”
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collernini · 4 years
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Ok I don’t usually do this but I had a rough weekend and I want to get things off my chest.
My Grandpa is a wonderful man, who, as he says, was lucky enough to marry 2 loves of his life. The first one, my grandmother, passed away from ovarian cancer. My grandpa and grandma loved to dance, and the day she died he said he lost his dance partner and he will never dance again.
My grampa has family in the states, (we live in Canada) and decided to visit his brothers for alittle while. There he re-met someone he hasn’t seen in years. In fact he was at her wedding as the best man all those years ago and was god mother to one of my aunts. She was divorced and had a hard time with love. And I tell you, when they remet, it is like one of those descusting love stories that are so sweet you want to throw up. They fell in love and where like high school kids just figuring out love, giggling over every email and phone call. (Fun fact, when he first met her when they where younger, he hated her but so much had changed now but I thought that was funny when I heard that)
After telling us he would never dance again, he found a new dance partner that brought joy into his steps again. They got married and my grampa moved back to the states and where married for 17 years, he was 75 when they where married.
Why am I telling this story? Cause I am pissed and mad at the world right now. My grampa is of corse older and his memory is gone. There is a reset button in his brain that keeps getting pressed and I wish it would stop, he has dementia and she developed alzimers. Even with both their memories gone they still knew they loved each other and would brighten up every single damn moment they saw each other.
In January she broke her hip and they had to be separated, my family went back and forth from Canada to the states for a bit to help him be able to see her and drive him back in forth and got a worker to drive him 4 days a week (her family was at least do 2 days a week) we tried to get him and her to the same nursing home and my family did our part, (the other family told us that we still didn’t do enough and wanted us to move my grampa to the nursing home even though she was not there yet. They did not end up moving her before covid 19) but it was not enough.
Covid 19 hit and to make matters worse, his main joy in life of seeing his wife was taken away. For a month they did not see each other (for good reason mind you) and the nurses where too busy to help her call my grampa where she was (don’t blame the nurses, they are heroes and I am just frustrated on the situation... and maybe the other family but I won’t go there) and we had to make a terrible decision of giving him a fake number or else he would call 30 times in a day (I am not even exaggerating, we where told either to take the phone away or think of something else, we gave him a fake number because we still wanted him to have use of a phone because we are so far away. The fake number came with an answering machine so he could leave a message . At least one of my aunts called once a day, usually more times a day
Because of this, my grampa was not able totally to her for a whole month. Because of this she died not seeing the love of her life for a whole month, covid 19 had gotten her.
Covid 19 sucks and the reason I am sharing this story is because I am mad. Mad that this virus is ruining life’s, it is separating people, making them die alone with only a nurse for company (thank you nurse for not letting her die alone) this virus also makes it so no one can Have closure, the there is no last viewing for loved ones to say good bye. Because of this virus only few can go to their damn funeral and if you are across the boarder, forget about being able to come to your family to comfort them.
Because of this virus, my grampa is reliving the fact that he went through the death of his wife again over and over, because of this virus we can’t come over and hug him, even if we where over the boarder we still could not comfort him in the way we want to, because of this stupid virus.
You want to know what really makes me mad? The people screaming my body my choices. Well guess what? It is not about your body, it is about the bodies around you, literal bodies that can’t even be properly mourned because of this stupid virus. If you choose death over being able to get a damn haircut then I guess that is your choice. But your not choosing your own death, you are choosing other people’s life’s over a hair cut. And any one who says “ it is only old people anyways” why don’t you tell that to the parents who lost there 5 month old baby? Why don’t you say it to the family members that are suffering from loosing lost ones because you all want to fucking get your nails done?! Tell that to the nurses and doctors who are loosing sleep and are fighting so hard to save so many damn lives but supplies are low.
Tell that to my fucking grampa who is alone int he states and is separated by most of his family while feeling lost that his second dance partner is gone and couldn’t even see her before she is creamated (btw, the cremation is process is backed up because there are so many bodies so it will be a while until she is buried)
It is not about your body, it is about everyone else’s. Get you lr selfish heads out of your asses and look at what this world is trying to over come. It could be over quicker if you all would stop thinking about yourselves and stay the fuck inside
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inceptionbigbang · 5 years
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The complete list of fics available for the Inception Big Bang 2019 is here!
Works are numbered, without the authors names to preserve the mystery. Artists, when you're ready to make your decision send us an email or a tumblr message with your top 3 choices. Fics will be claimed depending on availability, on a first come first served basis. 
On this round we will only assign one artist per fic. Artists that wish to claim a second fic, or that wish to work on a fic that has already been claimed should check out the second round, on July 2nd. All fics will be open for all.
Without further delay, here they are:
1. Arthur and Eames meet as trust fund teens in a Manhattan private school. Eames is a new student who's just moved from overseas, and him and Arthur hit it off immediately. Friendship turns to a whirlwind summer romance, until Eames is forced to move back to London. They meet again many years later when Arthur has to kidnap Eames for a job.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up
No content warnings apply
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2. A songfic featuring Aubrey by Bread, studying Arthur and Eames and what their relationship might have been like before the Fischer job. The characters aren't going to resemble fanon (Arthur's closed-off persona and Eames's flirtiness). I'm going to try to expand more on what Nolan gave us during the movie (Arthur's straightforwardness and Eames's aloof/cold personality). Basically, Eames is distant and Arthur chases.
Arthur/Eames
Side: Dom/Mal
Teen and Up - Mature
Graphic Depictions of Violence*
* There might be a torture scene, but I'm still debating on whether or not I want that in the story.
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3. A fic about arthur and eames and their first meeting in the military to all their other meetings in the criminal underworld of dreamshare. not that long, i'm aiming for 2.5k or maybe 3k if i can. i wanted to focus on their totems and how eames could use forging as a totem (because if he can't forge then he must be awake, right?) but he has a totem just in case. and arthur has a totem (the die from the movie) that he uses a lot more except when he happens to be taken and tortured for some secret or another and the only thing that convinces his brain that he isn't dreaming is the way eames stands when arthur aims a gun at him? if that makes sense....
here's a little bit of what i have written so far:
he’s more surprised at the lack of surprise he feels when eames digs a poker chip out of his desk. its blood red with gold and white accents, worth five thousand dollars at the particular casino it came from, disregarding the fact that it was arthur’s shitty first and last attempt at a real world forge after he participated in a poker game eames held on base many years ago and realized half the chips in the set were fake, pocketing a one thousand dollar chip to use as a reference.
“our totems match,” eames murmurs, flipping the chip over his knuckles with a concentration a bit too intense for something he could do in his sleep (ha).
“match how?” he asks, sipping a glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed because eames wanted to use the electric juicer. he's tempted to pull out his die from his pocket and roll to see it land on five, even though he knows this isn’t a dream.
“i have something that you made, and you have something i made. also, there’s some significance with the number five.”
Arthur/Eames
Side: Dom/Mal
Mature
Graphic Depictions of Violence*
*I put the Graphic Depictions of Violence just to be safe but i think it's less than what's shown in the film? because it's supposed to be like an after-torture scene where arthur is like "ouch i'm super hurt and drugged and don't know if i'm dreaming" but again i don't think it's any more graphic than the film at least. might keep that tag just to be safe though idk
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4. When dreamshare is first developed, no one has totems. They've always gone into dreams for short amounts of time and always with another person, so there's no chance of someone forgetting their reality. Mal's friend Pip has consistently been pushing the boundaries of dreaming, and one day she decides to go a later deeper without Mal. When Mal wakes up, she realizes that Pip is still asleep and she has to go down after her where she basically incepts Pip with the idea of totems.
Gen
General audiences
No content warnings apply
.
5. There was a small lake behind Arthur's house. The following night, he sat at its edge and stared at the moon's reflection in the water.
See something you like?
Arthur turned. A man was sitting next to him.
"Hello," Arthur said. "Thank you for helping me get home last night."
The moon smiled. "How did you know it was me?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. He picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water, watching the waves ripple the reflection. "How can you be here and there at the same time?"
The moon leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the sky. "Same way I can be in the lake and the sky at the same time."
Arthur frowned. "That's not the same thing. The lake's just reflecting the light from the moon. From you."
The moon turned to smile brightly at him. "Well aren't you a smart one, hm?" He leaned in and whispered, "I'm a reflection, too. We all are, at the end of the day."
Arthur thought about that. It didn't make sense, but that didn't mean it was wrong. He looked up at the moon in the sky, then at the moon sitting next to him.
"My name's Arthur," he offered. "What's your name?"
The moon looked at him strangely. "Eames. You can call me Eames."
"I'm going to be an astronaut, Eames," Arthur said. "Then I can come and visit you in the sky."
Eames smiled again. Arthur wouldn't have thought the moon liked to smile. "I would like that very much," Eames said. "Very much, indeed."
Arthur/Eames
General – Teen and Up
No content Warnings Apply
This fic is a canon AU and will ultimately include the events in Inception.
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6. Eames on vacation after inception and stumbling upon Arthur; floppy haired, tanned and just completely the opposite of how Eames has ever seen him before.
Hawaii looked good on him, no better than good...
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up – Mature
No content warnings apply
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7. It’s a follow up story to Cat Person.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11040948
First story summary:
Arthur misses his cat and would very much like to get another. He gets Eames instead.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up
No content warnings apply
Set in the Star Trek Universe
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8. This is an academia AU! Arthur is a struggling young professor trying to find his niche, Eames is the mysterious colleague he keeps (inadvisedly!) hooking up with at conferences.
Arthur/Eames
Mature
No content warnings apply
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9. When Eames first moved to America, he was at a loss for things to cook. He wasn’t used to the supermarkets and ingredients he needed were expensive. So he Googled food bloggers and found Arthur’s blog. The weekly updates keep Eames going in his boring office job. It takes him a few months before he gets the courage to comment but it’s all downhill from there. Eames is lost with Arthur’s sardonic commentary and when Arthur’s next recipe is one Eames requested, he knows he’s in bad.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up – Mature
No content warnings apply
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10. Arthur is a flight attendant. Eames is a passenger.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up – Mature
No content warnings apply
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11. Haunted House AU. Arthur’s working at a popular horror maze escape place to make some extra money over the summer. It’s far from his dream job—making minimum wage crouching behind dark trap doors and chasing random couples and tourists—but at least he gets to vent his frustrations about his coworkers (who are, frankly, driving him insane day by day) by literally screaming at customers. Then there’s Eames, who finds haunted houses boring, overrated, and not the least bit frightening, but is willing to humor a friend (Ariadne?) by accompanying her. But an encounter (and some painfully obvious flirting) with the cute guy under the ghoul mask is enough to make him want to come back again, and again, and again—
FEATURING:
- Cobb as the owner/boss and the only guy who actually takes his job seriously. He probably squints a lot because sunlight genuinely hurts his eyes lmao - Mal as his wife, who used to be an actress but left to start a business with Dom. Super sweet and kind of protective of their employees. Plays the main ghost. She’s terrifying. - Yusuf doing their costumes and makeup!!!!
- Arthur getting the job in the first place because his screams are so full of rage (let! him! rest!)
- Eames blowing all his cash on haunted house admission fees so he can flirt with Arthur (who plays different roles on different days, maybe? but Eames can always recognize him, even under the masks/makeup)
- he’s not trying to be creepy, he just wants to ask if he can see him outside of work/get his number—but something always goes wrong before he can
- Arthur being frustrated because Eames is a) distracting, and b) not easily scared, which doesn’t look good for his job. And it annoys him because he has a track record of being able to freak out anyone. He takes it upon himself to make him scream at least once (I haven’t decided how he does, but he does, eventually. Eames probably jokes about screaming with something other than fear, but i am too babey to write any sexytimes)
- maybe??? mild h/c?? Dumbass Drunk College Students coming in all wanting to prove to their friends that they're the Alpha Male, picking a fight and being super violent/rowdy/destructive, + arthur getting hurt/generally kind of shaken up; that’s the first night he lets eames really talk to him outside of the job, maybe even lets him take him home (i dont know if im including this scene for sure but..perhaps)
- Ariadne getting them banned from the haunted house after reflexively slapping Arthur in the face with a rubber snake (Cobb takes the ‘no touching the actors’ rule seriously—especially after what happened^). Eames thinks he’s lost his chance for good, but Arthur finds him outside and finally makes the first move :)
Arthur/Eames
General – Teen and Up
No content warnings apply
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12. Arthur is in love with Eames, and he's pretty sure Eames is at least interested in him back. Only problem? Arthur is ace, and not at all sure how Eames is going to react to that. But Arthur's going to talk to him about it, because the alternative is to lose even his friendship with the forger, and that's just not on.
Only the team is also determined to set the two of them up. Will that end up being a wrecking ball to Arthur's fragile attempts at making things work with Eames?
STORY OUTLINE:
Arthur is ace, and no one knows. When Eames invites Arthur to join him for Christmas, Arthur panics and says no - and spends the whole of Christmas regretting it. The team comes back from Christmas break, and everything is awkward. Arthur knows he has to say something or ruin his relationship with Eames forever, and he's going to do that at the New Year's party where Eames will hopefully be in a good enough
But unbeknownst to him, he's not the only one who's realized something needs to happen. Cobb, Ariadne and Yusuf agree that an intervention is in order. And when better to set their two friends up than at New Years? Get them kissing and surely the tension between them will resolve itself.
What could possibly go wrong?
At the New Year's party, Ariadne suggests playing a game of spin the bottle. Arthur is less than enthused, but Cobb and Yusuf both back up the idea. They play a few rounds before it lands on Eames, whom Ariadne dares to make out with Arthur.
There's an awkward beat before Eames moves to do it. Arthur reacts by freezing and shying away physically. Eames takes this a rejection and leaves the room. Arthur sits there, frozen, and then leaves too.
He goes to the bathroom and breaks down, blaming himself for being so stupid and backwards. Eames hears him, and comes in and comforts him. Once Eames realizes what the problem is - that Arthur is ace - he promises Arthur that it doesn't matter to him, he just wants to be close to him. Cue happy end credits.
Arthur/Eames
General
No content warnings apply
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13. Arthur learned a long time ago that he was special, and no else could see the strings.
Or, ‘everything is still the same, but Arthur can see Red Strings of Fate’ AU.
There are moments when Arthur thinks he needs to tell Eames about the strings. Owes him the truth, he thinks, Eames deserves to know. Other times – well.
Eames knows enough, and he has secrets of his own. Arthur is allowed this one.
Maybe someday it will come up on Sunday brunch, or something.
“Oh yeah, by the way, I can see red strings that I’m pretty sure are tied up to being literal soulmates and we have one. Get it? Tied up hehe. Anyway, no pressure or anything. Love the sex.”
Yeah, Arthur, that would go lovely.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up – Mature
No content warnings apply
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Ok folks, the next fics are or may eventually get explicit. Minors, we love you guys! Stay safe. Don’t claim them.
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14. Arthur has a goldfish which, long story short, he has convinced himself he only needs to keep alive to prove he is not a hot mess. Except now it’s not looking so good and has a weird sore on its side and he doesn’t know what to do but he can’t just let it DIE. So he takes it to the vet and is scoffed at and told it is a feeder goldfish, they cost less than a dollar, just get a new one.
Two vets later and he’s at the end of his rope when he meets Dr Eames, whose dog is introduced as his PA and goes on all his rounds with him. Dr Eames doesn’t even question it, just starts the exam and tells Arthur to pet the dog and start at the beginning while he works.
Arthur/Eames
Teen and Up – Mature - Explicit
No Content warnings apply*
* Discussions of parental death.
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15. Eames is working with Arthur the first time in a long while, only now it seems that he has a huge crush on Arthur. He doesn't know how else to get rid of the crush and he really can't concentrate on the job when he's thinking about Arthur all the time, so he asks Arthur to have sex with him, to get the crush out of his system. Arthur agrees surprisingly easily and sex is great, but afterwards Arthur doesn't seem happy and Eames' crush is worse than ever. The more Eames tries to get rid of his crush, the more it sticks, and the less Arthur is talking to him. After the job, Eames has some time to think and he realises that maybe neither of them really wanted for him to get over Arthur. He goes to see Arthur to talk to him about it, but they end up kissing and stuff as well.
Arthur/Eames
Mature – Explicit
No content warnings apply
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16. Summary: Eames hasn't seen Arthur in almost four years.
Pseudo- Winter Soldier AU.
--
There's no response from Arthur, no recognition in his eyes. No banter, no teasing – a coldness that would leave any lesser man with severe frostbite.
"... Arthur?" The words sound so raw, so gutted in Eames’ mouth. "Are you-" are you alive? Are you dead? Am I dreaming?
He reaches for his poker chip.
But before he can trace the ridges for the familiar grooves, a shot rings out loud like a crack of lightning.
And the last thing that Eames sees is Arthur and how he always remembers him: in his whip-black suit and a smoking gun in his hand.
Bang.
A single bullet tears through Eames' temples, and he is ripped open, pain lighting every nerve in his body like a pinball machine – and he prays to god that this is merely a dream so he can finally wake up.
Arthur/Eames
Mature – Explicit
No content warnings apply
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17. “Taxiing an injured delivery boy around the neighbourhood to help him complete his remaining orders had not been a contender on Eames’ list of potential scenarios for the night. Instead of the morose teenager bleeding onto the synthetic leather of the passenger seat, and the short stack of pizza boxes sliding to and fro across the backseat, the Brit had rather imagined his rental car would serve far more nefarious purposes tonight." -- Essentially, Pizza Delivery Porn Guy Crack A/E AU. Aim: comedic tone with bowchikkawowow.
*Arthur isn't the teenager. He is a customer who ordered pizza.
Arthur/Eames
Mature – Explicit
No content warnings apply*
*There is mention of a traffic accident - no detail, but it might not be someone's cup of tea. Also, not yet at the sexual scene so don't know whether I'll stop at M or go to E.
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18. In the court of the vampire supreme Saito, ambitious human noblemen Eames and Arthur battle for the coveted position of favorite bestower. Winner takes life everlasting.
Arthur/Saito
Side: Arthur/Eames
Arthur/Dom Cobb
Eames/Saito
Explicit
Graphic Depictions of Violence
Bloodplay, Extreme Sadomasochism. Possible Necrophilia
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19. Arthur is an undercover narcotics officer posing as a high school senior. Eames is his teacher, who is taken with Arthur and who feels terrible for lusting after a student. Arthur takes down the bad guys, saves Eames' life, then they smash (after Eames finds out he's a fully grown adult person).
Arthur/Eames
Explicit
No content warnings apply*
*Eames is (shamefully) interested in Arthur, who he thinks is 18 and also his student.
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20. Pre-movie: Dom and Mal are a dominant/dominant couple who want to find a sub they can play with together. Arthur is interested in trying to fill that role.
Arthur/Dom Cobb/Mal Cobb
Mature – Explicit
No content warnings apply*
*BDSM, bondage, dominance/submission, spanking/flogging, roleplay.
33 notes · View notes
fisherfurbearer · 5 years
Note
I would absolutely live to hear about Future Plans and heritage fruits! My partners and I are looking at buying a house by the end of the year and I'm so excited at the prospect of a back yard to fill with food plants and gardening and everything! So I'd love to know more about someone else's plans!!
mmMMMMMMMMMMMMMM YOU OPENED THE CAN OF WORMS THE WORMS ARE OPEN THEY ARE EVERYWHERE NOW!!!! OHHHHHHH JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOTHING CAN STOP THIS!!!!
MMMMMM. I LOVE. DOMESTIC CROPS AND ANIMALS. SO MUCH.
SPECIFICALLY “heritage” varieties. The pre-industrial/commercial varieties that people lived on for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years, or even the stuff younger than that, it’s just...so!! Good!!!
You didn’t QUITE ask for this but this is where I’m going with it. I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. The HISTORY of our domesticated crops (specifically fruits and vegetables, but mostly Tree Fruits!!!! But I’m also suuuuper partial to heirloom sweet potatoes/normal potatoes even though I don’t like the taste of sweet potatoes, they’re just SO FRICKING COOL and I want to learn more about other vegetables too) and animals is just....HOOOOO!!!!
Locally adapted,, perfect little....NUGGETS that just...perfectly fit their own SPECIFIC LITTLE NICHES...no matter WHERE you live, no matter HOW much space you have, no matter HOW good or bad your soil, NO MATTER WHAT, there is ALWAYS something to grow or raise, and we can thank so, so much of that to the incredible variety of heritage crops/animals (and methods of agriculture) out there. Mild, cold, hot! Lots of space, little space, no space!! Fertile, barren!! Every condition in every color and shape and flavor and size and ahhhhhhh!!!!! AHHHH!!!!
Hold onto your butts because this is one Hell of a Mega Ramble okay, there is so much to talk about here, oh man.
Some background, which you can skip if you want...!!! It’s a LOT and it get’s VERY NEGATIVE but also VERY GOOD AND HOPEFUL, it’s a real big story and it’s My Story and gives a lot of insight into Why I’m Like This but it’s okay to skip for sure!! Anyway:
I’ve been researching (i.e. writing literally 1.5-2k+ words nearly every single day) for literally 7 years now about all of my various Passions and Plans in life. Obviously breaks were taken due to Sad Times but no matter what I did, no matter what happened, I’d always come back to my dumb awful stupid notes. I have notes on my current laptop, my old harddrive, my SO’s laptop, my stepdad’s laptop, my SO’s OLD gaming laptop, my old netbook, my OLD OLD netbook, every phone I’ve had in the past 7 years (which has been like uhh...five? I have bad luck with phones..) and COUNTLESS pieces of paper and cheap composition books.
To call it research, it seems to silly. Writing these words here, to you strangers on the internet, I CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU how VITAL these notes are to my VERY EXISTANCE.
I have been researching and writing and talking to folks and asking questions and LIVING AND BREATHING this stuff for LITERALLY, LITERALLY HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS if not ALMOST A THOUSAND OR MORE HOURS at this point!!!! If we were to actually SOMEHOW backtrack all the way to late 8th grade/freshman year when I first started dipping my toes into reptiles and fell in love with my first jumping spider that landed on my arm after I read Darren Shan’s Cirque Du Freak, after being so fascinated by the intelligent giant magic tarantula in the first book, and gathered ALL of my notes from then to NOW (I’m 21 now, if I was in college, I’d be graduating next May) it would EASILY surpass that. For YEARS in high school my family thought I was always playing games on my laptop, but really from the moment I got home to the moment I went to bed, I was watching lets plays with one side of the screen and reading, reading, reading, and writing, writing, writing with the other. For HOURS. Every. Single. Day.
Hell, this has been my most recent “Renaissance” of writing, after The Big Realization of earlier this year (I’ll get to that), and this is AFTER I went on a horrible depressed/manic rampage and deleted like 80% of my notes (that would have been from...hmm. This is what I didn’t delete, what Jessie recovered, and what I’ve added...so March to Early September, when Jessie switched my notes to a new program (I lost a lot of notes from lack of autosaving so now they’re on our nextcloud so I can’t lose them...but I’m too stubborn to use it still) and this is still like. A lot.
Keep in mind the average 10-11 kb file is 1500-1700 words for me. My biggest files (only of the ones I still have, on this laptop) are 40-60 kb. (Also these are Big Secrets that I don’t ever show anyone but Jessie, who I’ve been with now for almost 7 years, so this is pretty dang important to me and a big thing to be revealing.)
Current folder I’m usually saving to:
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Nextcloud I don’t bother to use usually but probably should use:
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Again, this is ONLY on my newest laptop, and this DOESN’T include the files I deleted a few months ago, nor the files I lost from February-early April after Jessie updated my computer and wiped my files, and I still have a BUTTLOAD left on my old harddrive from last year, but we never moved it up and I don’t feel a need to. (I’ve learned so much. So. Much. In the past year. I think I’ve matured a lot and really become more...Me. But I’ll get to that.)
Also doesn’t include the SEVERAL notebooks I’ve filled front to back this year (cheap $0.50 ones from work...I’ve blown through a couple biggish ones and I think 2-3 little quarter-size memo books) and all the receipt papers I have crammed into my work uniform...
But anyway why is this important? It really helps iron in just how HUGE this is to me. My future “Plans” aren’t just...it’s really important to me. Okay? I am but a humble stranger on the internet and my life and everyone elses’ respective lives are infinitely more complex than we can ever dare imagine one anothers’ existences to be, but just trust me when I say that I’m not pulling this from nowhere, this shit isn’t some sort of “fad” to me, this has been a long, long series of events and realizations and heartbreaks and so, so much pain that have finally led to everything kinda falling into place sometime this year where it hit me.
You see...all of my research topics followed a pattern. It went, in my rough memory, something like this.
It started with reptiles. Lots of reptiles. So many reptiles. I was so naive and young then and my sources sucked and I was very much a novice who dreamed of owning all sorts of cool reptiles when I got older, and of getting a gecko when I went to college. That was how it started and it went downhill from there. I branched off into gardening (I wanted and still want a blue tongue skink and had thoughts about how I’d grow a garden for vegetables and squashes and stuff for the skink and feeder insects) and THAT grew into this whole THING about raised bed gardening, square foot gardening, then into permaculture, which planted the seed for many things to come...and now I’ve ALWAYS LOVED BIRDS,, but when I learned that keeping CHICKENS was a thing (thank you Jennifer (Nambroth)!!!!!!!!!! Our emails back and forth are still saved forever, our talks about chickens changed my life and way of thinking Forever!!!) and I researched that, then I’d jump back to reptiles again, and back to chickens, then more reptiles, then chickens and QUAIL, or OTHER poultry,, and so on and so on. This beautiful fluid branching path that would always rebound on itself and I’d drop some topics, gain new ones, revisit old ones, learn what I liked, what I didn’t like, what were brief interests, and what were there to stay.
Some topics (chickens, new caledonian geckos, antaresia pythons, tarantulas, gardening...) would always come back. No matter what I did...they came back. As I grew as a person, I started to figure out what was important to me (CONSERVATION, animal welfare, reptile/invertebrate enrichment, vivarium design, combining art with animals, and did I mention CONSERVATION? and combating climate change/The World but that came later.) and while some of those points didn’t show up in my research until later...like my obsession with native wildlife/plants and domestic species...it never went away.
And as I grew older, outside of my research life went on, and I really went through A Lot in these seven years. Undiagnosed anxiety/depression all through high school, practically living in the guidance office junior/senior year, dealing with an emotionally abusive and animal abuser teacher for many years, living with my emotionally abusive/narcissistic mother, and eventually going to an amazing art college and having both the best and worst time of my life (Hahah!! Almost straight As and skipped a writing class with my amazing scores and was top of my class, Dean’s list first semester, in the Visionary Women’s Honors society, worked in the admissions office and did lots of cool things, but hahaha also really wanted to die and was Destroying Myself) and trying to get help while keeping it a secret from my mom...lo and behold of course she eventually found out about the Depression when I had to go inpatient near the end of my second semester, and she. HA, I can’t even cry about this anymore. She literally disowned me (took all my money, sold my car, cut me off of health insurance, made me pay my own hospital bills, refused to do my FAFSA for college anymore, dropped all support, and later when I had to come home because I relapsed again and the college made me go on a medical leave of absense, she threatened to kick me out and call the police [hilariously enough though the house was owned by my stepdad, not her, so she couldn’t do anything. Also I never did anything to her and she was just crazy and made up excuses. But yeah not fun trying to walk to work and being threatened over the phone that she was going to have me dragged out of work by the cops and not to come home, hahaha!!!!!! But then also when I did live with my neighbor for a few days she was apparently so distraught?? Haha what a weird person!!!! I haven’t seen her for three years now and it’s been the best thing that ever happened to me. Don’t mourn for me, it’s SO Much better now. Speaking of, she was a PETA-hugging ARA nutjob and if she knew what I was planning on doing she would’ve disowned me either way!!!!!!), and of course fighting to be able to move out and rent an apartment with my SO (I hate the word boyfriend. It’s been 7 years come January 11th, and we’ve been through so fucking much. And she [my mom...] and other people always made fun of him being my BOYFRIEND that that word is tainted for me...so Significant Other it is) and then being forced to live alone there for a couple months,, and then even after that, the fights with his family, the car accident in November, my mom ruining all chances of me going to college (keep in mind I had after leaving college, spent the next TWO AND A HALF FUCKING YEARS OF MY LIFE trying to make it so I COULD go back, spent all of my time, energy, hope, eVERY OUNCE OF MY BEING trying to do so,,, and she manipulated me and then lied to me and made it so I couldn’t), my rebounding depression, my Intensifying Aggression (terrifying. Developed when I was in college...I guess it’s some kind of rapid bipolar disorder, maybe triggered by me going on antidepressants in college, they said. But it was so long ago and they never knew the full story for a proper diagnosis anyway. But it’s gotten manageable and We’re Coping), the housefire on Christmas, moving Once Again to the new place and being told I can’t bring my 15 year old cat (he’s with my stepdad still now but it’s not okay.), the rats have to be in the basement, and oh yeah if you want to attend college again loans will be nearly 13% interest hahaha!!! and then finally just straight up breaking down in February and not leaving bed for DAYS and nearly committing suicide, just the real worst time ever, and my former therapist/psychiatrist place weren’t responding (turns out they discharged me!! haha kinda hard to make appointments WHEN YOU DON’T PICK UP THE PHONE and we DIDN’T GET THE NOTICE IN THE MAIL because our HOUSE WAS CONDEMNED and my mail was being sent to my STEPDADS an hour away!!!!!!!! Also really hard to talk to you when you BLOCK OUR FUCKING NUMBER and HANG UP ever time we fucking call haha!!!!!! Literally on the verge of suicide and not on my anxiety meds for MONTHS but hey sure that works too guys!!!!) which really didn’t help, and yeah it was really just the pits! Just the absolute pits, the Very Worst.
Now at this point I don’t remember exactly when/what changed, but SOMETHING did.
Leading up to February, I wanna say it was about October that I started getting kinda weirdly depressed, and I started REALLY tanking after the fire. After the fire, I had to move back to my stepdads within the night, and had to live without Jessie again and commute really far and keep the tarantulas a secret and in general be very alone and very sad. I started wearing down and it was getting so hard to just...enjoy. Anything. Even just taking care of the pets became difficult, and doing art or researching was impossible. I just...didn’t care anymore. I stopped caring.
On top of that, my climate grief and general feelings of Despair were at an all time high, and I just didn’t. Fucking. CARE. What happened next.
I spent YEARS of my life WEARING MYSELF TO THE BONE trying to get into college, the get back into college, to just try to do this thing that I was supposed to do, my ONE hope of having a career and a future that I probably wouldn’t even be happy with (I was an illustration major. I liked drawing. It’s what I was best at. But looking back, I wouldn’t have been happy doing it for a living. And Moore [no that’s not what my blog is named for, it just also happens to be my last name] was a great college but it just...wasn’t worth $30k a year with no cosigner for loans, even AFTER my scholarships) and my body and mind were wearing down and no matter what I did I didn’t care about myself, my animals, my partner, my life, nothing. I can’t explain how terrifying that is. Of all the time in my life, I think this was the worst. On top of my life problems, it must be said again that my climate grief and Misery regarding the state of our country and the world was also at an all-time-high, and I just felt...POWERLESS. Powerless and empty and uncaring and dead inside. I really wanted to just...drive off a bridge or eat a ton of pills (which I did do a couple times, don’t do that. Please. It’s NOT worth it.) and just stop Existing.
But then something just...changed.
I don’t know what it was, exactly. But I got SOMETHING back. SOMETHING “clicked”.
I’m crying a bit now. It’s so stupid to say, but I truly believe this is what saved my life. Realizing my purpose in life. That everything fell into place and finally made sense.
I’m going to be a bit more concise here but...basically...many of my passions and smaller aspects of myself all fell into place, so PERFECTLY.
It hit me that...ah jeez.
I will digress one more second. For those of you who don’t know, I have two Eurydactylodes geckos, named Vladimir (E. vieiliardi) and Estragon (E. agricolae). They are named for my favorite drama that we read in AP English, Waiting for Godot. It’s an aburdist theater play about two men who wait under a tree for someone (we don’t know who, just that his name is Godot) and that’s about it. Everyone had a lot of different things to say about that weird little book, but my take on it was that it’s supposed to be what happens to two men when they lack a “purpose” in life. Existentialism, and all that. They sit there and sit there and completely lose themselves just WAITING for this guy that they don’t even remember, they don’t even know why they’re there, and they do nothing to try and change that. The difference between existentialism and absurdism, however, is that absurdism specifically discusses this idea of a Chaotic Universe, this Lack of Meaning, this pointless quest of humanity to seek value and meaning in a universe without reason. It’s a fruitless effort, it’s Absurd! But the beauty of absurdism, this tiny idea that stayed with me in the goofy names of my geckos (I chose the names because I thought the play was amusing and I loved the characters’ relationship, which is Quite Gay and so Loving and Charming it warms my heart, and I loved that they called each other “Didi” and “Gogo”) and really held true to my own life. I DO NOT believe that THIS is why this change happened for me, but it’s ironic, no?
Back to Absurdism, Absurdism says... “here is this meaningless, Chaotic, RIDICULOUS universe. There is NO reason for ANYTHING, there NEVER will be, you DO NOT MATTER, you DO NOT HAVE A PLACE HERE. There is NO POINT to anything. So fuck it, and try to find one anyway.”
My original therapist did not understand why I found this so wonderful and inspiring. It’s so rebellious and selfish, I LOVE IT. To embrace the Absurd is to take the bull by the horns and flip it upside down! It’s to stare all of this dreadful pointlessness in the Void, and when it says “Why bother? Why care about these insignificant invertebrates? These ridiculous reptiles? These ABSURD apples???” and flip the bird both hands and say “BECAUSE I WANT TO, BECAUSE I SAID SO, BECAUSE I AM HUMAN, AND I CAN!!!” It’s...also more than that, it’s this long, defiant lifelong journey, this stupid, ridiculous journey of fumbling about trying to find one’s place in a cruel, vast world, and finding oneself in that journey.
I love people. I love the ABSURDITY of humanity, of people, of myself, of others. A Huge part of my Future Plans has to do with People, and Community, and Changing my little patch of the world. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but I know it can make a difference to someone and myself and that’s what matters.
Anyway back to the Clickening.
Around that time I had a moment like that. It was as if something in my mind was screaming at me, listen. You are here, and you have always been here to love animals, to love life, to make art, to tell stories with your art, to raise little sheeps.
And like that, it started Something.
I agreed to go to a local doctor, and was put on antidepressants. I’ve been on them since late February. I also got accommodations for work, so I have two excused absenses due to mental illness each month, which was good, because they tried to fire me 4 times now and they haven’t succeeded yet. (I’m DAMN GOOD at what I do, I’m just Sad and Unlucky and Dumb, but I’m doing a lot better now!!) I started taking all of the things I learned in the past many years and what I’ve learned about myself as a person (I won’t talk about it here but I’ve always struggled with my Identity [not gender wise, just...with my mental health and my mood disorder, it’s really hard to know What is ME and What’s The Illness) and it all started falling into place. My needle felting, my love for animals, conserving native wildlife AND heritage breeds with restoration grazing and positive impact forestry, utilizing my Overwhelming Charisma (in person I swear I’m quite a good talker! Way better than my typing here!) for education, outreach, and farmers market sales, my love for life and my fellow human beings and my plans to work hard to help feed my local communities and encourage sustainable agriculture and the dismantlemant of capitalism Love of our native wilds and backyards alike (I also have Big Thoughts about getting native peoples input as well, but I need to research that more and actually talk to people, but that would be in future years!!), and so, so many things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That started in late February/early March now, and since then I’ve still had Really bad times, but I’d say in the past mmmmm...probably since late July? I think yeah since about then things have really taken great turns. I’ve Matured a lot, really embraced who I am and what I want to do, and while I KNOW my plans are going to keep changing over time (tentative goal is to look for/buy our property in 2025!! That gives us 5 years post-graduation to settle down and see how things go, where Jessie will be working, where we’ll be living, how my mind changes, all of that!!) but I KNOW in my BONES in my SOUL that this is what I have always been meant to do. To raise things, grow things, and to Care.
ANYWAY WOW HAHAHA YOU SURE DIDN’T ASK FOR ALL THAT BUT THERE YA GO THERE’S THE BACKSTORY, THE FIRST HALF OF THE WORMS!!!!!!
TL;DR: I’m a sad sap who is now slightly less sad and has Big Plans that were 7 years+ in the making and I want to take all my Big Thoughts about exotic welfare (well, reptiles and spiders mostly, but sure) and also apply it to DOMESTIC welfare and Make a Dang Difference!!!!
Okay now I’ve become very burnt out, I’ve been writing for like two hours now? So this part will sadly be shorter, but I will definitely write more about it again if you or anyone else has questions or actually wants to hear about it.
Basically...the amount of These Plans that I am willing to let you folks know, is uhh...oh jeez where do I even begin, haha...
Well it started small plans (early years of research, when I used to think a small greenhouse was Super Wild and Crazy) but nah bruh we goin’ full hog, literally. My plans are to get a decent sized property, still in my state, and have a HUGE focus on Sustainability and Positive Grazing/Management! That means rotational grazing to IMPROVE soils!!! Thinning the woodlot and clearing brush for the HEALTH of the forest!!! Reintroducing blight-resistant american chestnuts to restore our forests and support a healthy wildlife population!!!! Using both honeybees AND cultivated native bees [did you know that’s a thing???? You can buy native bee cocoons, like raised humanely, and raise them for pollinating plants!! Like Orchards!!] and grazing pastured pigs and chickens under orchard trees, while also providing BUTTLOADS of native flowers and domestic tree blossoms for native pollinators!! All that great stuff.
My biggest focuses would be raising practical heritage livestock for sustainable agriculture and conserving heritage fruit trees, with a focus on apples and pears. I also want to grow a lot of mutually beneficial/low-impact perennial resources...think honey, maple syrup, nut trees, stuff like that! And I want to graze on pastures with native grasses and locality-specific wildflowers (check out Ernst Seeds, especially if you live in/near PA like I do!! Wow it’s so frickin’ cool) and focus on northern european short-tailed sheep (finnsheep, gotland, icelandic, leader, shetland, and soay) and small landrace American hogs (american guinea hog, ossabaw island hog) and the more recent but so full of potential idaho pasture pig. I also want to raise icelandic landrace chickens for utility (parasite/pest management, composting), conservation, and eggs. I also want to raise rabbits (silver fox crosses for meat, and french angora crosses for fiber! I have a dream of producing high quality tri color angora for spinners...three colors on one animal, and I want them to be especially great for fiber artists who want to raise their own fiber animals but don’t have a ton of space) and I have BIG orchard plans...SO MANY ORCHARD PLANS, HHHHHOOO YES....SO GOOD...also COPPICE WITH STANDARDS and FORESTRY and HOO YES!!!!! I LOVE SOME GOOD OL FORESTRY!!!
I think the best way to describe my current plans standings is that it seperates into a couple different “zones”, for my Current Ideas. This has taken months and so many countless hours of thinking, researching, and ironing out, and I’ve made so much headway in just this past week, but basically imagine this...
It’s mostly split into two pastures, the orchard, and the woodlot.
PASTURE 1
Pasture 1 would be the largest, where we would rotationally graze two primary groups of ruminants. Polled NES-T sheep (finnsheep/gotland) and horned sheep (icelandic/leader) with dairy cows (dutch belted) as well. Dutch belted for milk and specifically cheese production, and they would be grazed in front with the icelandics to help take care of the taller grasses that the sheep would avoid, and help keep the sheep a bit safer. All would be guarded by livestock guardian dogs. Group #1 of the icelandic chickens would be grazed behind them, to help break up manure and disrupt parasite cycles.
Pasture itself would be mostly a big bluestem/little bluestem/indian grass/switchgrass mix, with a good variety of livestock-safe wildflowers (small portion being nitrogen-fixers like tick trefoils and pasture pea) and seed-producing flowers for birds (wild birds and our birds!). Would be rotationally grazed 1-2 days at a time (avg. 3-4 days total) with a 21-35+ day rest period. Polled NES-T sheep would be moved to “silvopasture” (copse with standards, a portion of the woodlot, with coppiced trees for fuelwood/timber interspersed with standard-sized mast producting trees [would double as nut and persimmon orchard, and hog foraging in fall/winter!!!]) in the summer to help them deal with the heat. Summer would be the best time, as it’s after the spring predator pressure and before the acorns fall, which could be bad for them if they ingest too many. Rams and hogs would otherwise graze this land with much longer rest periods otherwise (more like 30-45 days or so).
PASTURE 2
Smaller pasture with similar planting, arranged ‘paddock paradise’ style for a small group of icelandic horses (SO GOOD, and useful!! Little horse hooves are much kinder to the forest than a UTV, and herding on horseback is less stressful for the livestock) and rotationally grazed shetland and soay sheep. Pretty simple, but important. Would also contain Icelandic chicken group #2.
ORCHARD
Worthy of a novel all on it’s own. I want to grow semi-dwarf heritage fruit trees with the fruit drop type synced to the rotation of pastured hogs (idaho pasture pig, american guinea hog, ossabaw island hog) and group #3 of icelandic chickens. Hogs would be in orchard spring-fall, and in the copse with standards fall-early winter. Hogs and chickens would be moved to a holding area during rainy times to help preserve the orchard floor and during winter, where we would also have a large waste management/composting set up for them to root and turn to their hearts content. Should be a lot warmer than the outside in the winter too, and I plan on it being in a high tunnel/hoop house so its covered.
I am ALL ABOUT pairing livestock with crops and encouraging multi-purpose acreage in general, so this is definitely one of my FAVORITE plans so far, and every time I revisit it, it gets better. I also want to raise BEES (honeybees, mason bees, leafcutter bees!!!) for honey and pollination. I also want to plant BUTT-TONS of native flowers and goodies for pollinators, as well as lots of seed producing plants and sunflowers for the chickens to forage for by themselves. These would be some happy livestock, for sure.
WOODLOT
Another huge part of the plan is that I want at LEAST 1/3-1/2 of the property to be Woods. Only a small fraction of the Woods would be managed for livestock foraging and more frequent harvesting (still looking at a good 7-10 year coppice cycle though for trees) and the rest would still be tended to, with the help of the local forestry folks, but it would be preserved for wildlife and low-impact timber and nut/fruit/sap collection.
The VAST MAJORITY of the farm would be multi-purpose acreage for both livestock AND wildlife benefit (and people too of course) and I truly, truly believe and KNOW it can be done. In fact it HAS been done, IS being done, in so many different ways by so many different people in different times, and I know that I want to be a part of it and I can make a difference and use my weird passions for Good and make a dang difference.
Ohhh jeez I’m real sorry I didn’t quite answer your question though but I hope this gives a little insight into what I mean?? And if anyone has Specific questions after reading this (if you make it to the bottom, bless your cotton socks, I’m so proud and also distressed) I can definitely answer them a bit better than this. And hopefully much less...whatever this is, haha!!
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demaury · 5 years
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Some kind of mistake (cha. 2)
Ever since Eliott first came across the new resident of the apartment 320, he made peace with the fact that Lucas ‘Big Blue Eyes’ Lallemant would, one way or another, turn his life upside down. Thing is, he hadn’t expected that Lucas’ wife and Lucas’ daughter would play a part in it. Because, you know, he didn’t know they existed until it was too late. (ao3 link)
Eliott wasn’t a morning person generally speaking, mostly because his daily schedule included more often than not coming back home past two in the morning and sleeping off until noon, but he had at least assumed that all the noises he had been hearing since Saturday would stop on Monday morning. Because, you know, as Sofiane said, not everyone had a job like his.
Well, he was wrong. On Monday morning, it was yet another string of loud noises that woke him up, growing louder and louder as they pulled Eliott out of his heavy slumber a little bit more each time, until a final metallic thud resonated like a shotgun through the overall quiet building.
He bolted out of sleep, head spinning a little as he tried for a few seconds to gather what the hell was happening, where he was, what day they were and if, somehow, he could get his heart to start beating again without having to call an ambulance. His eyes kept fluttering from one corner of his room to the other as the thoughts streamed in.
The good news was that he was in his bedroom — alone, which was always a plus.
The bad news was that the clock on his nightstand read half past ten in the morning, and that technically, he was the one in the wrong, because technically, people were allowed to make noise at this hour.
He hated that.
Eliott dropped himself back onto his mattress with a sigh, rubbing his face with his hands, occasionally staring and blinking at the ceiling. Moving in wasn’t easy but apparently, Blue Eyes wasn’t the quiet type either — he knew he should have picked up on the name used on Saturday, but he just couldn’t remember, so Blue Eyes it was. So far, all he had heard from his new neighbor were yelled-out conversations during the entire duration of the weekend, in large part coming from his too loud friends, and the incessant come-and-go and rattling noises of someone settling in. Not much to make an opinion, one would say, but the other people living in their apartment complex were discreet, for the most part. In the nearly five years he had lived here, Eliott still had no clue what was his next-door neighbor's name. All he knew was that the man was probably in his forties, single and likely an accountant, or something equally unattractive and equally boring. They had passed each other by a handful of times, and he always looked like he was exhausted and drowning in his ill-fitting suits.
He was still staring blankly at nothing when his alarm went off, and Eliott grabbed it from the nightstand to shut it down as the first couple of notes from Boy Epic’s cover of City of Angels hummed quietly in the silent room. He had exactly thirty minutes to get up, get dressed, and get ready to go before the meeting one of his clients had scheduled with him (read: for him). He took a rapid shower and was heading for the front door when someone knocked. Once. Twice. Eliott frowned and unlocked the door, chucking it open when he found Blue Eyes standing in the doorway.
His hair was even more of a mess than it was already Saturday morning, and a few light bruises marbled his arms pocking out of his one-size too big tee-shirt. Eliott didn’t know why he found the whole thing alluring, but he did anyway.
“I was starting to think you had well and truly died this time,” he remarked with a cocked eyebrow.
Blue Eyes gave him a look and mechanically rubbed the bruised spot on his forearm. It was the exact gesture he had made on Saturday morning, after the bed base disaster, and Eliott could only guess that those were the casualties born from Murphy’s Law. “Nice to know you got worried, I appreciate.”
Eliott found himself grinning, and maybe he tried to contain it. It was only the second time they were talking but for some reason, it didn’t seem nearly as emotionally draining as it could have been. It felt easy. Almost Natural. Comfortable, somehow.
Blue Eyes cleared his throat a little, starting to fidget with his hands. “I- uh. I wanted to apologize for the mess I’m doing these days in the building. I’ve been told by someone from the first floor that it was starting to get on people’s nerves. And, like, my friends- they can be loud. Like, really loud. And messy. Back where we lived everyone was kinda used to it, but-”
His voice trailed off and Eliott tilted his head to the side, slightly intrigued by the sudden change in his demeanor. He hadn’t picked him as the rambly, dorky type — it left Eliott to wonder how those different personality traits didn’t just end up short-circuiting each other in such a small body.
“It’s fine,” he said with a casual shrug. “I got loud friends too.” After an awkward second of silence, he held out his hand, Blue Eyes glancing back and forth between his face and his hand before shaking it. “I’m Eliott, by the way. In case you need an alibi, you know where to find me.”
Blue Eyes frowned, looking rather confused. “An alibi?”
Eliott smirked. “Well, you stated that you were on the verge of murder, if I remember correctly.”
A smile broke onto Blue Eyes’ face, illuminating his features as realization hit him. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that someday,” he said, then he seemed to remember he was still holding Eliott’s hand and nearly dropped it right away. This time, Eliott well and truly bit back a chuckle. “I’m Lucas. Lallemant. Nice to meet you.”
Lucas. Right. It was a cute name. A cute name for a cute face. Back off, Demaury, you’re staring, a voice chided in his brain, and strangely enough it sounded an awful lot like Idriss’.
“Nice to meet you too.” He shoved his hand into his jeans’ pocket, cocking an eyebrow. “Was that all?”
“Yeah,” Lucas said, then he tore his eyes away to what Eliott just knew was an invisible spot above his shoulder before adding quickly: “I mean, no. I also wanted to thank you for helping me last weekend. It’s really not the best way to make an impression but you didn’t laugh at me and let me die a slow and painful death, so I figured maybe I could offer you a coffee at the very least. Well, only if you’re free, I mean.”
There he was, rambling again, and every single word made it harder for Eliott to restrain a large grin from splitting his face in two. His phone pinging made it a hundred times easier, though, as Eliott was suddenly brought back to reality. “I can’t right now, I was just about to go,” he admitted, and Lucas’ smile fell a little bit.
So that wasn’t just his brain messing with him. This guy really was an open book.
Lucas took a step back from the doorway. “Oh, right. Sorry for the bother,” he winced.
Eliott grabbed his leather jacket and from behind the front door and closed it behind him. For some reason he didn’t want Lucas to think it was just a made-up excuse, so he fished for his keys in his jacket’s pocket and started locking the door behind him. “Another time?” he offered, looking behind his shoulder, where Lucas was already retreating towards the stairs.
Lucas turned around. “Sure,” he nodded with a grin. “Anytime.”
*
“It needs to be perfect. The opening is all that matters, you get that, Eliott, right?”
“I already knew that a week ago,” he remarked as he glanced sideways at the blonde girl next to him.
Scheduling meeting with clients wasn’t something he was doing all that often. Not to be overly introvert, but he had found out early in his career that it was easier to review what the clients wanted once it was laid out on an email rather than simply spoken out in the open. But, eh. Daphné Lecomte was another level of enthusiastic. And nervous. Sometimes he wondered what she was on, because it sure as hell looked like it wasn’t legal.
They had met back when he was working on the opening of a club, the year before; at the time, Daphné was the new recruit of an event planning agency, and she had taken the habit of slipping his name to her boss every once in a while, when they needed to promote new places and book new events. Now she was a few months away from launching her own business, the project of a travel agency she claimed she had been nursing since high school, and it was entirely because she had asked him with her huge, puppy eyes (and, granted, because she had helped him out in the past) that he had agreed on helping her to design the perfect logo.
God knew he had come to regret his decision. It was the second meeting and she had yet to decide on a color palette. “You can do that without me,” Eliott had observed on their first meeting.
“No! I need you. I need to know things work fine,” Daphné had protested.
And so he had stayed. Far too long, if you asked him.
“Coffee, I need coffee,” she mumbled, running to the tiny kitchen adjoined to her office, where they had been locked up for two hours already.
Eliott rolled his eyes to himself and slumped back against his chair. Her habit of pacing back and forth while he was sketching things away was always making him dizzy after some time, and he was trying really hard not to tell her to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. It took another two hours after lunch for her to finally decide on a color palette, and by then Eliott had already made peace with the fact that they would need to schedule another meeting, if not two, to sort out the rest. He was already dreading the moment she’d have to pick a font.
It was four in the afternoon when he made it out, half-past five when he dragged himself to the bar next to Sofiane’s place, and almost eight when he came back home after both Sofiane and Idriss suddenly called it a night after Eliott suggested they go out.
“Are you kidding me?”, he protested, annoyed.
“Nothing against you, Demaury,” Idriss snorted, stretching out his long limbs high above his head. “Siham will just skin me alive if I get home late. Last time she got mad at me for a fucking week.”
“And she banished me from the flat,” Sofiane reminded, looking all gloomy in his drink.
Eliott shrugged. “She’s never mad at me.”
“No one’s ever mad at you, you fucker,” Idriss grumbled. “Not even your exes.”
“Joris did threaten to burn his apartment to the ground, though,” Sofiane observed carefully.
Idriss barked a laugh that made two girls behind them scoot around on their chair. “But he didn’t.”
“I wouldn’t call that a victory,” Eliott cringed, the story still leaving a bad taste on his tongue.
He and that Joris guy had been dating for about a month a few years ago, and half of their relationship was a blur leading to a manic episode he had very scarce memories of. He didn’t recall very well what happened after that, only that Idriss and his girlfriend Siham had taken him in for a few days while he was coming down from his high and going through the depressive episode that always followed. As it had turned out, Joris had never been heard of ever again and after some time Eliott finally obtained that Idriss and Sofiane kindly backed off and stopped acting like they were his bodyguards. Only Siham continued to treat him like he was her baby, but it wasn’t strictly babying per se — it was just keeping the door wide open whenever he needed anything and never getting mad at him for literally anything.
After separating with his friends, Eliott had taken advantage of the time spent in the subway, on his way home, to rapidly review his most urgent emails and to track his parcel through the Chronopost app — only to find that his precious, 300€ Wacom Tablet had been delayed. That was his luck, really, and that’s why he found himself knocking at the apartment 320 instead of going straight back home.
It didn’t take three seconds before the door swung open, taking him a little aback when a grinning Lucas exclaimed: “Not only on time but-” before his voice trailed off and his eyes widened a little bit when he realized Eliott wasn’t whoever he was waiting.
Technically, he would have found it funny. And probably made a remark. But right now he was too busy trying not to stare at the large patches of skin he could see thanks to Lucas’ denim button down hanging wide open.
Fuck he was fit. Who would have thought?
“Oh, shit, sorry. Hey,” Lucas said, clearing his throat a little bit, and it was thankfully enough for Eliott’s brain to snap back into place. It wasn’t the first six-pack he saw in his life, after all.
“It’s fine, no harm done. I need a small favor though,” he admitted, wincing a little.
Two days had passed since Lucas had popped up to his flat but Eliott hadn’t had much time left to make due on his rain check. The most they had taken together was the elevator so far, and some part of Eliott regretted not having told Daphné to fuck off on Monday, if only for a couple of hours.
Lucas tilted his head to the side. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Will you be home on Friday?”
Lucas’ eyebrows shot up and he blinked a little. “I, uh. I’m not sure,” he said carefully. “I mean, I guess it’s going to depend on the time.”
Eliott gave a small nod. “Yeah, right. More like, in the morning? I’m waiting for a really important parcel and I had cleared my schedule tomorrow to be able to be there when it’s delivered, but it got delayed. Not to be mean but I’d rather have it in your hands rather than literally anywhere else.”
“No problem, I’ll be there,” Lucas nodded, and he ran a hand through his messy hair. “I’ve got the rest of the week off anyway.”
“Awesome,” Eliott said, leaning back from the doorframe. “Thanks a bunch.”
Thanks a bunch. That was an Idriss thing to say, not an Eliott thing to say, and the worst part was that he was practically sure that the way Lucas’ brows furrowed a little bit meant that he was very much aware of that. He was going to strangle Idriss. That was all his fault anyway.
“It’s fine, let’s see if I manage to get it and then you’ll thank me,” his neighbor snorted.
Eliott huffed a laugh and started walking away when Lucas called him. For some reason, he liked the way he said his name, and he internally rolled his eyes at the cheesiness. He scooted around nonetheless.
“There’s still some coffee left,” Lucas said, and this time he was looking at him straight in the eye.
“Make it beers, make it my place, and make it Friday and I’m all in,” Eliott replied nonchalantly, his lips curving into a smirk just as the elevator dinged.
Lucas’ eyes traveled to his right, and Eliott couldn’t refrain himself from following where they had landed. One of the three guys he had seen in the hall the day Lucas had moved in was walking out of the elevator — the person he had been waiting before Eliott turned up, surely. He took it as his cue to leave, and before he could even think it through, he found himself giving Lucas a wink, before jumping up the stairs to his own flat.
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