#meet apricots mums

[lake-lunvik]

SHE WON AHAHHAHHAHAHAAHAAHAH

[huntingteeth]

Prompt: embrace, feeling loved, maaybe apricots (that’s just because I got apricots today :)) (it’s a bit sour tbh)

uh set in a nebulous future after ikhwghgia truly:

Sam drags him out of the house one day, midweek, after they get back from touring.

IV feels the post-tour blues more acutely than any of his partners, prone to listing about the house and taking naps crunched into the corner of the sofa. He endures Vessel’s concerned eyes on him with a modicum of ease and promises him that he’s okay. This isn’t the first tour they’ve come back from, and it isn’t the first time IV has felt like this.

Sam takes him to one of his friend’s houses, and IV has the wherewithal to think it’s weird that Jack, the friend, isn’t there when they arrive. He says as much and Sam waves his hand dismissively.

“Jack’s at the pub,” he says. “More importantly, Jack’s mum — you know, Mrs. Baker — is here. I think you need some time with a mum.”

IV studiously stares at a shelf filled with various tchotchkes and tries to pretend his eyes don’t feel damp. His own relationship with his remaining family is fraught, thanks to Marc and that whole mess, and while he tries to do things that honor his own mother, it’s hard. He misses her every day.

He’s had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Baker before; she has the type of energy that pulls other people in. Vessel and II are the type of people to stick to themselves, and to an extent so is III, but now that IV has gotten a taste for having people in his life, he only wants more.

III jokes that he’s done wonders for their popularity in the village; they previously haunted the town like a group of specters, hesitant to reach out in a town Sleep made their own.

Mrs. Baker toddles out of the kitchen after a moment, fingers plucking at the energy in the air, and she inhales in surprise as she sees them.

“Hullo, Mrs. Baker,” Sam says, a smile curling around the edges of his face.

IV waves a hand over Sam’s shoulder in greeting.

“Boys,” she says, like they aren’t grown men, “come in, come in.”

IV finds himself bundled into a seat at the kitchen table with a cup of sweet, milky tea in his hands before he even realizes what happens. Mrs. Baker fusses over them both, slices thick pieces of cake for each of them, and lets Sam expound about coming home after a long tour.

IV tucks into the cake easily, enjoys the tangy taste of the citrus glaze, and adds in his own thoughts to the conversation as they become relevant. The kitchen is warm around them, and Mrs. Baker continues plucking at energy around them until she’s cleared out the cobwebs and tangles. He feels lighter, more centered and grounded, as the afternoon wears on.

She smooths a hand over his brow at the end of a story Sam shares, and says, “There, that’s better.”

Her magic is old magic, IV can tell. She’s raised her own kids, and folded others, like Sam, into her flock along the way. She reminds him of his own mother, back before she got sick, and feels comforted by the similarities.

“Thank you,” IV says after a beat, and then, “Can we help you with anything while we’re here?”

Sleep’s magic is different from other magic; there’s no requirement for equivalent exchange, but it’s still the polite thing to do. It’s taken him a while to get back into the flow of a life where magic presides, to undo the damage Marc did to him, but he likes where he’s at now. He likes that he’s able to do this for other people.

Mrs. Baker folds an arm around his shoulder and leans against him for a moment before she says, “Would you mind terribly to refresh some of my wards?”

This is what his magic does, he’s found: it curls up in the corners like a cat, eyes ever watchful of its environment; it molds to the doorframes and walks about, tail curling. His magic protects, which makes him feel some sort of way. He goes around the house and refreshes her wards, and lets her hug him at the door when he’s done. He leans into the embrace when she gives it.

“You come around whenever,” Mrs. Baker says. “You’re always welcome. Bring your men with you next time.”

IV laughs into her shoulder and says, “I’ll try. You know how they are.”

“That I do,” Mrs. Baker says, a smile in her eyes.

Sam walks them back to the car and says, “She’s definitely going to brag to the other mums that you did her wards, so don’t be surprised if you start getting requests.”

IV cups a hand around his mouth to hide his smile. He thinks he doesn’t mind.

III curls around him as soon as Sam drops IV off back at the house. “Hi, hi, I missed you,” he says. “Did you have a good time?”

IV nods into his shoulder and then inhales, letting all the air out of his lungs in a whoosh.

“Come on,” III says. “II brought a bunch of fruit back with him from the shops.”

Later, they tear into oranges, fingers pulling back their peels, and share wedges of the sweet fruit between them, press sticky fingers to the sides of II and Vessel’s faces, and IV thinks about what it is to be loved.

[heavenlyhoundoom]

I want to make new characters for my Snowball au.

Starting with Willow's family, because it's bugging me that we know nothing about Trixie's family outside her husband and daughters.

Willow's mum: Daphne(red poodle)

Willow's dad: Scotch(apricot poodle)

Willow's little sister: Lexi(red poodle)

Willow's brother-in-law: Ace(Lexi's husband, pink poodle)

Willow's first niece: Rose(Ace and Lexi's first daughter, pink poodle)

Willow's second niece: Garnet(Ace and Lexi's second daughter, red poodle)

Willow's nephew: Timmy(Ace and Lexi's son, pink and red poodle)

Uncle Porter(Scotch's little brother, silver poodle)

(Daphne is an only child)

Now I'll talk about Titan's family(Titan is a tan afghan hound).

Titan's mum: Amari(tan afghan hound)

Titan's dad: Sterling(black afghan hound)

Titan's big sister: Faith(tan afghan hound with black markings on her face, ears, and tail tip)

Titan's little sister: Stella(black afghan hound)

Titan's big brother-in-law: Shaun(Faith's husband, gray irish setter)

Titan's little brother-in-law: Prince(Stella's husband, blue afghan hound)

Titan's niece: Nora(Faith and Shaun's daughter, afghan hound/irish setter mix)

Titan's nephew: Thunder(Prince and Stella's son, black and blue afghan hound)

Now, let's talk about Titan's ex friends and ex-girlfriend.

Titan's ex-girlfriend: Molly(golden lab)

Titan broke up with Molly after he found out that she cheated on him with his ex friend, Gus(rottweiler), and he had to burn bridges with most of his friends after they chose to side with Gus. This is why he only had three friends during Double babysitter.

Titan's ex friends: Tango(white heeler), Beau(american foxhound), Ziggy(chihuahua), Specter(great pyrenees), and Jackson(saluki).

Titan's three remaining friends are Louis, Hank(boxer), and Schnitzel(Dachshund).

New kid characters

Mrs.Inu has fraternal triplets(one boy and two girls. They're the same age as Snowball, and they go to the same school and class as Snowball because they're mum's a teacher there(Mrs.Inu is a black and tan shiba inu)

Oldest triplet: Mochi(female, black shiba inu)

Middle triplet: Taco(male, tan shiba inu)

Youngest triplet: Cupcake(female, she is a white shiba inu, like her dad)

Mrs.Inu's name is Eclair, and her husband's name is Noodles(I thought it would be cute if they were all named after food).

Odin is a male german shepherd from Germany and is the Jean Luc of this universe.(he only spoke German until they meet again as teenagers in a flash forward scene).

Goldie has a little brother named Ryder. He's the same age as Bisket and is his best friend, as they go to the same school.

Duke has a big sister named Sally, she is ten years old, and is very protective of her little brother.

[contreparry]

The meeting part of a meet cute AU. - Any pairing for this great Friday 🥰

I'm going to go a little out there on this one because I really wanted to write Orana this week, so here's some Orana meeting Feynriel for @dadrunkwriting.

They both reached for the apricots.

Orana preferred shopping in the lower markets. Hightown shops and stalls had the biggest cheats, the ones who would steal the stew out of a pot and come back to take steam lingering in the air. Watch out for those ones, her father always said. Don't matter what they sell, my girl. You always avoid a cheat.

Lowtown had the better deals anyways, no matter how many 'fine imports' the Hightown markets claimed to sell, and Lady Leandra appreciated her "frugal ways." It is a wise thing to save where one can, she said with an approving smile, and Orana carried that remark in her heart. No one ever called her 'wise' before! She was so pleased she resolved to make some apricot jam for the tarts for tea tomorrow, which lead to here and now. Her and the young man beside her, reaching for the same apricot, their fingers barely brushing.

He jolted back as if he had been burned, his cheeks pink as roses and his golden hair falling out of its braid. His blush ran up to the ends of his slightly pointed ears as he looked down at her.

"S-sorry. You saw it first, miss," he insisted, and Orana wasn't about to turn down a good deal. She smiled, placed the apricot in her basket with the others, and looked up at the young man thoughtfully. She reached to the stall, grabbed another apricot, and held it out to him. Good deeds should be rewarded, she reckoned, and this young man was ever so polite.

"This one should be perfectly ripe tomorrow," she said. "If you don't mind waiting."

"My mum always said I was a patient babe," the man replied. "Thank you, Miss...?" He looked at her with wide green brown eyes, sweet like a puppy, and Orana's heart beat wildly in her chest. She curled a tendril of her hair around her finger and tugged at it, trying to calm her racing heart. It was only a hello! Just a simple hello!

"Orana. I've only just arrived," she said, and the young man grinned. His good humor was infectious, and Orana found herself grinning back (certainly not lady-like, not at all reserved the way she ought to be).

"Feynriel," he replied. "I've lived here all my life. If you've any questions, let me know."

[libellule-ao3]

Life Links

12. Liz Tuttle / Damocles

Summary: Far from the UK, Liz Tuttle does a divination card reading.

Chapter index - previous chapter (Poppy Pomfrey) - next chapter (Irma Pince)

"Liz, are you sure? My sister is safe?"

After another glance at the tarot cards on the table, the witch nods as she pushes her round glasses up her nose. Beatrice has changed a lot in a few months. Her English rose skin has taken on a lovely shade of apricot with freckles, blonde locks have lightened under the Taveuni sun, and the sharp eye she used to have on the world has become blunted by contact with the Fijian people.

Their sweetness of life, the warmth of their smiles melted the umbrageous gangue that Beatrice had surrounded herself with since the kidnapping of her older sister.

"And Ismelda?"

Liz takes another card draw and shakes her head negatively. Warned by Ismelda Murk that the Haywood family was the next target of a faction of Death Eaters and werewolves, they were in the midst of preparations to flee the country when Penny was snatched from them. Miraculously, the rest of the family escaped, but the violence of the attack left Beatrice's parents in a prolonged state of sideration, forcing her to take charge of their departure. Seeking to get as far away from the bloodthirsty pack as possible, Beatrice gathered all their savings, and the family moved to Fiji where they were welcomed with open arms by Liz Tuttle. But the witch is constantly worried about her former friend, now a Death Eater.

Ismelda has always taken an unhealthy pleasure in the morbidity and suffering of all life forms: muggles, creatures, and even wizards. Provocations for attention, it seems... It has never made her cruelty any less real, and it has always deeply offended Liz, who is hardly surprised to see her fellow Slytherin embracing supremacist ideals. This is a recurring point of contention with Beatrice, who believes there is still hope, seeing Ismelda's warning as irrefutable evidence of lingering inner light.

For Liz, Ismelda Murk is one of those intolerant people who are sometimes kind in the name of "People like you are the scum of the earth and should be eliminated, but you're not! You, I like you!".

What happens when she is up against the wall and her affection comes into direct conflict with her deleterious ideals? Despite her poor social skills, Liz fears she knows the answer. That's why the magizoologist has opposed any idea of returning home, despite Beatrice's recurring urge to save her sister. In the UK, her blood status alone can condemn her to death.

So the Haywood family enjoys the island of Taveuni, a beautiful lush garden with waterfalls and gently rocked by the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean. But the archipelago's major attraction for Liz is not really the beauty of its landscapes. Fiji is a peaceful world where wizards, muggles and magical creatures live together in harmony. All share the same culture and all welcome the visitor, no matter what their background, with smiles from ear to ear. The country and its ancestral way of life made a powerful impression on the child she was when she first visited the archipelago.

This is why she hastened to settle there as an adult. Fijian society is an example for Liz Tuttle to follow, and she wishes to discover the foundations of such a harmonious society that respects the needs of each species. She hopes to be able to adapt them to the Western world. A goal that is the opposite of any supremacist's.

Beatrice frowns before wiping the disappointment from her face.

"I'm going to tell Mum and Dad the good news... Are you meeting us at the Luau?"

The question feels like a stab in Liz's chest. At that moment, she considers revealing the terrible battle that is taking place at the same time in their homeland, but then she changes her mind. Let her enjoy the Luau!

These festivities, where all the inhabitants share a traditional meal, with music, dancing and performances where Muggle fire dancers share the stage with fire crabs, are some of the best celebrations in the South Pacific islands. For Liz, the Luau is a symbol of a true ideal of life.

"I'll do some more card reading and join you," she says, lifting the coconut half-shell filled with an earthy liquid.

"I'll never understand how you can swallow that stuff!"

"You get used to it," Liz says philosophically. "Even though I admit to enjoying its effects more than its taste,"

"The opposite would be surprising. It's bitter with a horrible earthy taste!" Beatrice says with disgust.

Lacking the inner eye, the magizoologist lacks her mother's talent for divination. Liz consumes Kava to make up for this handicap. The anaesthetic and deeply relaxing properties of this local plant root-based beverage sharpen her awareness and ensure the correct interpretation of messages from fate.

Thus, she can say that Penny is on a journey to safety.

But destiny is not immutable, set in stone. Every man holds his own in the palm of his hands. So, every day, Liz asks a question of the fortune-telling cards. Every day, the same question. The same question for each of the twenty members of the Circle of Khanna: Annie, Ben, Merula, Badeea, Talbott, Diego, Andre, Beatrice, Penny, Tulip, Jae, Barnaby, Chiara, Ismelda, Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and herself.

Since she began this agonising ritual, the answers are invariably the same, hanging on the date of 2 May like multiple swords of Damocles.

At the end of the Luau, the Circle of Khanna will have only thirteen members.

[beachesgetpeaches]

I want a Stancy modern AU, I want Stancy pirates AU, I want Stancy spn AU (ahem @withoutaplease ), I want Stancy Enemies to Lovers AU, I want Stancy rom-com meeting in a dog park AU where Nancy is walking a cute Rottweiler she adopted named Buffy and its her first dog (bcs she's a fan and because I know a wonderful rottweiler named buffy and she's such a sweetheart), and Steve is walking an apricot poodle because he has grown up with dogs (mostly poodles bcs his mum adores them) and ashdjsksk, and an AU where Steve and Robin live together and Robin has a cat (but Steve adores the cat wven though it's rude to him 80% of the time) but the cat starts disappearing for hours at a time only for them to find that on the floor above them this new chick has been feeding him.

I mean I just want Stancy in every universe ever

[jt-artsandfics]

Hello! I hope your having a wonderful day, and may I ask for hanzo, kuai, fujin, and raiden react to their s/o disappearing out of the blue only to come back home and tell them they just had a quick family emergency? Again please have a good day!

These are alot of fun making and I am having a good day. I hope everyone is ok and having a good day.

This took such a long time to make becuase I kept lossing focus and in the end I just wanted to get it finished but I hope you all enjoy.

Hasashi Hanzo

Hanzo had come home late, he had been helping Kuai laing with a mission and it had taken longer then they both anticipated. It had been a long mission and the one t hign he was truly looking forward to was curling up in bed beside his lover.

As he walks into the house it's dead silent, something that he hasn't experienced here in a long time. A knot forms in his brows as he looks around for his Ume.

Hanzo calls out their name as he walks thought the house. He finds himself in the kitchen, food is left on the table. Everything is cold and he sees their phone on a bench.

Hanzo moves thought the house even quicker looking for some sign of his partner only to come up empty handed as he searches.

He calls out their name multiple times looking despreatly for his lover. It's to late for them to be out and there isn't anywhere they could really go without having to call for Raiden...

Raiden!

As if hearing his name a crack of thunder and lightning echoes and illuminates the fire garden, Hanzo is our the door as quickly as he can make it. He is met with a sight of his lover and raiden walking towards the him.

"Thank you Raiden, don't know how I would have gotten to the hospital without your help, so thank you again." They thank him, their eyes flick to Hanzo who quickly makes his way to them.

They smile to Hanzo as he reach them his hands go to their face looking for any sign of injury. "Hi hun, I'm ok. Sorry for disappearing out of the blue. Family emergency" they say eyes closing gentle.

"Forgive us Grandmaster Hasashi, they needed to go to the hospital, I was the quickest method of transportation." Raiden apologise giving a small bow, he nods to them both before disappearing in another bolt of lightning.

"Are you alright?" He ask lightly, his lover nods before resting their head against his chest. "It's been a hell of a day, my Dad ended up in hospital and I got a call. Scared the hell out of me, I'm just glad he's ok and that I'm home now." They whisper.

"Let's go inside, you look tired" he replys earning a smile from his partner. "Cuddles on the couch?" They ask earning a small laugh for Hanzo. "Yes, cuddles on the couch then bed. We both need sleep"

‐---------‐

Ume- (Japanese) Apricot

‐------------

Kuai Laing

Kuai tries not to pace around yet all the Lin Kuei members can tell he is on edge. No one had brought it up but they all know something is not quite right.

The grandmaster for two days now has been in a tissy, his lover missing and he has no information on where they are, if they are alright or anything. So to say everyone is on edge would be an understatement.

Kuai had been thought every inch of the compound looking for his lover after he found their phone left in their room. But other then that it was like they just disappeared into thin air. He was desperate for anwsers.

He had to get one of the younger members to help him navigate his partners phone, it was something he didn't really have a use for until now. The phone had five miss calls on it.

After being showed the basics he decided to call the number. It's quite for a moment and Kuai almost thinks it isn't going to work. A voice of the end of the line nearly makes him jump, It's not someone he knows but he can hear his lover in the background.

"Hello is this Kuai?" It's a older man's voice gentle as he answers the phone. " Yes..?" He anwsers almost shyly. He can hear commotion in the background.

"Dad let me have the phone, he's probably worried sick!" He can hear his lover say only to hear a laugh from the man.

"Ok, ok. I'll let you talk to your man, heaven forbid I try and meet the boy" and wirh that the phone is passed over. He can hear his lover this time.

"Hey Kuai,sorry I disappeared. I was hoping you found my phone earlier and called" they laugh lightly. He can feel relief settle in his bones finally.

"Where are you Wǒ de ài?" He ask. "At hospital with my mother and father. Ahh my mum got rushed hear two days ago and I got a panicked call from my dad. So I left in a hurry, I'm really sorry I didn't let you know" they say over the phone. Both ends go quite.

"Is your mother alright?" He ask back finally sitting down. "She will be, she just gave us a massive scare. I should be back home in a few days, I miss you" that makes him smile lightly.

"I miss you too, Wǒ de ài. Please stay safe. Don't scare me liek that again, please" he pleads. A smile rest on his face.

"How much pacing did you do?" They ask as a joke. "Far to much Sweetheart". They share a small laugh. "Sorry Kuai, I have to go again but if I can I'll call you back later" they reply let ting him know.

"That's fine Wǒ de ài, just please stay safe and come back to me" he says before they both say good bye and hang up.

The next day Kuai isn't pacing and seems to be in a lot better mood, the rest of his clan seem to be alot more at ease now that he isn't freezing everything, everywhere he goes.

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

Wǒ de ài- my love (chinese)

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

Fujin

Being a god meant Fujin had duties all over, and it meant he didn't get to spend as much time with his lover ad he wished he could.

But they always made time for each other. Fujin finally getting out if the sky temple and having a day free, it be by your side. And today happened to be one of those days.

So it didn't supise him when he arrived at his lover home to find them not there. After all they also have thing they must do. So in turn he made himself comftable.

And enjoyed the silence, it wasn't often now that he could just indulge in such thing like taking a nap, So that what he did.

He hasn't expected to sleep until late. But when he woke up it was to a gentle kiss on the lips. "Hi Fujin, how long have you been here?"

His glowing eyes flick open gentle meeting his lovers gaze. " It was still morning, I must have had a longer sleep then I expected." He smiles to them.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here, I had to go to the hospital." They sigh lightly moving to lay against the God. Fujin wraps his arms around his lover, pulling them to rest against his chest as he rest his cheek against their head.

"Why did you have to go to hospital Himawari?" He ask lightly. Eyes closing lightly as he cuddles closer to his partner.

"Family emergency, my sibling ended up there and well, I was the one they wanted called. So... I had to go make sure they were ok so my parents don't kill them." His lover huff who a light laugh.

"Your family is lucky to have you Himawari. And I am also very lucky to have you." He hums lightly kissing their forehead.

"And I thought I was the lucky one to have a literal God as my boyfriend" they chuckle. Fujin continues to leave small kisses agaisnt their skin.

"I'm glad your alright, I'm sorry I haven't been around much, alot have been happening at the temple" Fujin says, his lover rolls over to rest their chest agaisnt his.

"Well I'm just happy to see you again, I missed you and right now I just want to stay here. I enjoy cuddling with you." They hum running their hands up his chest and then runs a hand thought his white locks.

"I love you" he says with a smile, his lover presses a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you too Fujin"

-----------

Himawari- sunflower (Japanese)

---------

Raiden

Raiden knows just about everything that happens in the sky temple. And then one day it was like he knew nothing that was happening there.

Is lover had been missing all morning, they had missed today's meditation and training with Raiden, something they never did. He had wandered the temple, he looked everywhere and still no sign of his lover.

Normally he wouldn't be to worried about his partner but it has now been five hours of him looking for them. He has asked Liu Kang, kung lao and many of the monks if they had seen his partner. The only other person he could not find was his brother.

Raiden had nearly given up, on the verge of going to the elder gods, hoping that they could shed some light on his situation. But then his eyes land on his brother as he walks towards him with a smile and his lover follows behind.

"Fujin?, where have you two been?" The worry in his voice shows, Fujin just smiles and disappears. His eyebrows knot as he looks to his lover.

"Sorry we disappeared Raiden. A family emergency happened, Fujin was the first I could find so I asked him to take me to the hospital." They reply wrapping their arms around Raiden.

The thunder God sighs as he pulls his lover closer. His head rested against their shoulder.

"Are you well?, why were you at a hospital" he ask look ikng his partner over for any injuries only to find nothing.

"My sibling did themselves in good. Had to be rushed in to the EMR so well, I had to go make sure they were alright, I'm just happy to be home now" they sigh. He can feel The tension in their body fade away.

"Can we go and lay down, to days been alot" they say again, Raiden doesn't reply just picks his lover up and begins to make his way back to there room.

[doodle-pops]

Once again, you had a dream about Fëanor. From time to time you met them like this. When this first happened, years ago, you found yourself being a child in your dream and you came upon him when he was hiding away from the world, crying, asking Eru why his ammë doesn't want to return to him and his atar. Only when you heard him mentioning Ilúvatar you realized what are you dreaming of.

You approached him slowly and somehow, you found out you have a small basket with apricots and cherries. He finally noticed you and looked you up and down his eyes red and puffy. He must have expected you to laugh at him if his pout and clenched fists were anything to go by. You offered him your small, understanding smile, you knew what it was to loose someone close, along with the fruit.

"When daddy died, my mommy and I started writing letters to him. It helped, even if we never got a reply. I still keep writing to him. It gave my mum strength to move on."

"B-but I would like my mommy to answer."

"I want the same. I wonder if someone could read out letters to your mother and my father," you shrugged.

You woke up and at first, you didn't think much of it, other than that it was strange that you remembered so many details, and actually the whole dream at all. Few days after that, you met Fëanor again. You could easily tell he still missed his mother dearly, but he told you about the letter he wrothe with his father, just like you did. It helped him cope with his loss a bit.

Since then you met often in you dreams, getting to know each other better as you both kept growing up. Sometimes you dreamt of him every night, sometimes there was a pause and you haven't dreamt about him for weeks.

He grew to like you. You were always willing to listen to his rants, and to offer comfort afterwards. You also were one of the few, who got to see his first inventions. With each dream together, you became closer. You became a cherished friend to each other. You were there, when he needed you and he was there, when you needed him. You saw him fall in love with Nerdanel and how happy it made him.

One day, you were particularly tired on your way home from work. You wished nothing more than to fall into your bed and sleep for a day or two. You were crossing the road, when you heard breaks squeaking and you froze like a deer caught in the lights. You thought you heard someone call your name, before everything darkened around you.

When you woke up, you found yourself in comfy bed in a room fragrant with herbs. You felt someone holding your hand and heard a familiar voice, begging you to not leave him. As you finally opened your eyes, you saw him in flesh.

"F-Fëanáro?" "Bless the Valar, you're finally awake!" he nearly crushed you as he hugged you. "Finally we meet both awake, y/n." His eyes glistened with happy tears. "I was afraid you too will never wake up again," his voice trembled.

For Fëanáro's fans from sweet annon <3

To meet Feanor and give him some hope about his mom and befriend him. Sometimes all we need is someone to listen to us to give hope

[herpronuonsarefemslash]

Don’t Take Pictures on the Underground - TEASER

A sappy little yarn with Bellamione children going Mother’s Day shopping, a transit cop having just the weirdest day, and Bella being lazy. https://www.patreon.com/posts/67639474 ===== Something is ringing. Something is ringing loudly.

Bella jerks the duvet up past her head. She reaches for her wand, hoping to find it strapped to her thigh with a loop of Peruvian Vipertooth hide as smooth as a kiss--Hermione's gift for Beltane.

Nothing. She slides her hand across the sheets--cheaper and rougher than she deserves, but so sweet, perfumed in woman and vanilla and coconut, warm from her wife's body--until she finds her wand holster. It had come off at some point, and she doesn't put her holster on sloppy. People have died trying to knock it off her by blade, curse, even their fists. Yet there it is, tangled around her ankle amidst the straps of that marvelous contraption Hermione wore last night--she is sore in the sweetest ways--still slick to the touch with lube potion.

Turns out the trick to disarming the mad witch Bellatrix Lestrange was to fuck her wand off her.

Who knew?

"Tempus," she mutters.

She draws a silencing rune on her pillow and rolls back over.

=====

"Come on," Fionn snarls at her mobile. "Pick up..."

Lavender looks at her over the rack of bathrobes and fluffy blankets, pulling a curtain of razor-straight golden hair away from her face and sticking it up into a short mohawk with a flick of the wand. Her eyes--caramel brown, so gentle--catch Fionn's a moment too long, then a smile lights up her face.

Don't stare, Fionn scolds herself. The Black blood in her simmers and thickens, some buried madness already plotting exactly how to snog Lav senseless, rip her clothes off, throw her best friend to the bed and ruin her. The Granger in her fixates on the mis-aligned buttons of Lav's shirt--Luna would probably encourage that--and hopes she fixes them before Gabrielle catches her.

She never thought she'd meet someone who knew more about fashion than Aunt Fleur, but apparently the elder Delacour daughter is the slob in the family, frightening as that might be.

"Problem?" Lav asks. Probably asks. Sure, her lips had moved, glistening with too much apricot gloss, with a smile crinkled blue eyes rimmed in pale green eyeshadow. Like a sapphire glinting in the night as will-o-wisps to lure Fionn in. She's too busy swooning and has lost the plot. Goddess of Crows and Blades, she's beautiful.

"I can't believe she even has a mobile. Big Bad B herself, pawing at some Muggle gadget."

"You underestimate what she'll do for mum," Fionn grumbles. "You've never been stuck listening to it."

"Well. She is shut in all day. Poor thing."

[randomingoftherandomness]

Hello! Would you be open to writing Shen Shen making up with Lao Wen and telling him stories of his parents please? Could also be with a pregnant Lao Wen! Thank you!

This was such an out of a left field prompt that I knew I had to try and do it justice. Thank you for the prompt and for trusting me with it! Your local mpreg!wkx purveyor hopes you like this.

As per usual, TW: Mpreg

--

The fatigue, he had predicted. The ravenous hunger after that first few months of constant nausea, Lao Wen had half-expected. Even the mood swings, the weight gain, the swollen feet, the absent mindedness, and most definitely the constant feeling like he had swallowed the sun; constantly waddling inelegantly like an ungainly newborn colt, were things he had planned for.

But the wistful sentimentality and longing? Oh, now those were things that had caught him by the throat the second he found out he was expecting and refused to let up no matter how much he tried to reason with himself.

“Ah Xing, have some of this.” Shen Shen smiles, pushing over a plate of dried out of season apricots.

Almost as soon as he has a piece in his mouth, Lao Wen can’t help but reach for another piece; startled by the cavernous need to consume more. Shen Shen’s eyes crinkle as if knowing and he ducks his head to bring out more dishes from his takeaway box.

His Ah Xu had arranged for Shen Shen to come visit for a few weeks under the pretext that Shen Shen wanted to see how Chengling is doing. It was all for Lao Wen’s sake, really. People mustn’t know that the reason why the man was here was because Lao Wen had asked for him to be present at the birth of his first child. He has a reputation to uphold.

“When your mother was pregnant with you, I remember your father roping us all in to looking for every single craving she had. Nothing was too much or too difficult to find. What she had craved the most the entire time were those apricots.”

Lao Wen turns the half bitten piece of fruit in his fingers, gaze turning thoughtful. Shen Shen, perhaps sensing that he wasn’t going to retort with something snarky or sharply formed with the intention to hurt, continues.

“Your father was so happy when Miao Miao told him she was expecting. We celebrated for days until she came over and wrung us all by the ear into order. Every child born amongst us was celebrated, every child lost was mourned the same. I still remember how anxious and careful we had been in those first weeks. We all tip-toed about it until she took a sword and flung it right at our heads,” He laughs softly. “She always had a wicked temper, your mum. Being pregnant with you didn’t calm her at all.” He pauses conspiratorially, eyes twinkling with some sudden mischief. 

Leaning in, he whispers with a grin, “I think you get that from her.”

The confession sparks an unexpected burst of delight in his chest and he coughs, hiding his laughter in the sleeve of his pale robes. Absently, Lao Wen rubs at his belly, smiling. “I don’t remember them very much at all. It could be because of the Mengpo soup or maybe it could be because so much time has passed since then, but all I remember of them is how they feel. Everything else about them is like I am watching from underwater.”

It is the most honesty he can give. One that he has only spoken out loud in the quiet midnight spaces between himself and his Ah Xu. Lao Wen sighs, lifting his face to meet Shen Shen’s sorrowful gaze. 

“You’re the only one who remembers them for who they were before everything happened as they did. You’re the only person I can ask this of.”

Shen Shen smiles ruefully, lifting his hands to top up their empty cups. “What do you want to ask me?”

“Shen-shu,” Lao Wen says, sincerity and amusement mingling in the syllables. The gratification at the way Shen Shen’s eyes widen is enough to balance out the time he had spent testing the way the words had sounded on his tongue. “Will you tell me about my parents?”

Shen Shen turns away.

Lao Wen diplomatically pretends he does not see his shoulders shaking and his hands frantically wiping at his eyes. He finishes three more apricots before Shen Shen clears his throat, his cheer tinged a little red. “Where do we start?”

[lu-undy]

Chapter 92 - SBT

Here it is!

“I’m back, luv’!”

“Meow!” Perle and Soot welcomed Mundy warmly. 

After he removed his boots and his jacket, he crouched down and drowned them in scratches and affection. Soot jumped on his shoulders and Perle stood on her back legs. Mundy scooped her off the floor and carried her in his arms.

“Hm… Smells really good in here, eh?” He entered the kitchen and found Lucien cooking.

“I saw that you brought a basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables so I got busy.”

As Mundy got closer to the kitchen top, Perle escaped his arms and Soot gracefully flowed down Mundy’s shoulders to join his wife. They both sat next to Lucien’s chopping board while Mundy approached his lover from behind and laced his arms around him. The Frenchman hummed his satisfaction and raised a bit of bell pepper to Mundy’s lips. 

“Oh, thanks luv’.”

“My pleasure. I presume all this comes from your parents’ garden?”

“Yeah, Mum insisted on giving me stuff. I told her she shouldn’t but uh…”

“She is your mother, Mundy, and she loves you.” Lucien finished for him and fed the cats a treat each and Mundy, another bit of bell pepper.

“Yeah.” Mundy tightened his hug and let his hands brush Lucien’s sides softly as the Frenchman added the vegetables to the bubbling pan of tomato sauce on the stove. He added half a glass of water and covered it to let it simmer.

“I didn’t know you wanted to tell her the truth today, mon loup.” Lucien went to the sink and Mundy followed him, stuck to him better than a shell to its snail. 

“I didn’t know either. Came back from work early, so I thought I might just go and say hi. I took the cats with me and Mum showed me the garden. They loved it, eh guys?”

“Meow!”

“Yeah, especially you, Soot. He kept playing with everything as if it was all toys. Oh and he got curious about melon flowers and stuck his head in it.”

“Meow!”

“Yeah, you did, no way to argue, lil’ sooty ball!” Lucien laughed as he washed the chopping board and knife. “Took a while for him to get out of it. Y’liked it in there, eh?"

"Meeeow!" 

"Alright, alright, I'll take it easy on the teasin'... But uh, yeah, the thing is that uh, Mum started askin' weird questions about you." 

"Weird questions?" Lucien went back to the stove and Mundy followed, his arms still around his lover like vines. 

"Yeah… She uh, she noticed the brand of your suit."

"Oh? Oh!" Lucien realised. "When she handed me my jacket after dinner the other day?"

"Yeah. She then started to worry cause she thought we couldn't be struggling for rent and buyin' custom-made suits. So she thought you were hiding dangerous stuff from me." 

"Oh… I see." 

"Yeah, she said she wanted me to come back home live with her and Dad. I asked her if she said anything to him and she said no. But Lu', she was really worried." 

"So you told her the truth and brought her here?" 

"The other way around. I took her here to be far from Dad and then I tried to tell her." 

"It must have lasted quite long for me to come back home and find you struggling." Lucien answered. "By the way, why did you take her to our room?" 

"I uh… It was hard to say the words but I thought I could show her some stuff and she'd get it. So I took her upstairs, to the room. It took her a long time to get it. She saw the bed and thought I had it all for myself." 

Lucien took a bit of the sauce on the wooden spoon and blew on it gently. He then put the spoon above his shoulder in front of Mundy's lips and the Aussie naturally took a taste of the sauce. 

"Mh… Pepper." He answered. 

Lucien's hand went for the grinder and added a bit of pepper. 

"Then she saw the photos of us. She still didn't get it. Then her eyes went to your suit valet stand and she thought it was your room, not mine."

Lucien chuckled and Mundy smiled. 

"What next?" 

"The clothes. I told her to open the cupboard and have a look. That's when she started not understanding anythin'. Why were our clothes together?" 

Lucien took a bit of the sauce again and blew on it to cool it down. 

"So I pointed at the bed and told her that one side was yours, and the other mine!" 

"Did she get it then?" Lucien asked and raised the spoon to Mundy's lips. The Aussie tasted the sauce again.

"Perfect. And no, she still didn't get it!"

"How comes?" 

"Cause Soot and Pearl had decided to lie on the bed and she thought I was pointing at them…! Gosh, at that point I started to doubt I'd ever manage!" Mundy said with a chuckle. "But yeah, I showed her the bed again and that's when she started to put two and two together." 

"How did she react?" Lucien went to the cupboards to get the plates and start laying the table. Mundy took the plates off his hand and, finally unsticking himself, he got busy with it. 

"Well, she just froze! And that's when you came in!" 

"Ah, I see." 

Mundy was coming and going, grabbing cutlery, glasses while answering his lover's questions. 

"Yeah, and you know the rest, Lu'." 

Mundy sat at the table while Lucien brought the ratatouille he made. He filled the plates and cut some bread before giving Mundy a part of it. 

"Thanks, luv'." 

"My pleasure." He smiled and both started digging in their plates. 

"Mh! Oh, Lord, oh the flavour! It's like I'm eatin' the earth straight from the ground…!" Mundy enthusiastically said and Lucien chuckled when he saw his lover bend more towards his plate and roll his eyes after each fork of it. 

"Glad you appreciate it, and I agree with you. Fresh farm ingredients will change a dish." 

"Yeah…! Gosh! Thank God and thank Mum!" 

Lucien chuckled. 

"Oui, please thank her. I saw there were even eggs and a jar of apricot jam in the basket?" 

"Yeah… Oh, Lu'... Feels so good to eat farm stuff and… and Mum knows that I love you and-and she still loves me!"

"Mundy, however she decided to react, it would be all because she loves you."

"What d'you mean?" 

"Imagine that she decided, in the worst case scenario, to not talk to you anymore, hm?" Mundy nodded. "She would have done that also because she loves you."

"I don't get it…"

"She loves you so much that she would be blind to the happiness you have found with me to only see that you are not with a woman. She would be boiling on the inside to see you with a wife and children so much that she would reject what you have with me, and why all that? Because she wants you to be happy, but happy in her book is wife and children, not old yet devastatingly attractive man with eyes that make you melt…!" 

Mundy chuckled. 

"Alright, alright, Lu', you got your point across… I guess you're right. And that's how Dad will react for sure. He'll stop talkin' to me entirely for the reason you just explained."

"That doesn't lessen his love for you, Mundy." Lucien said and finished his plate. "Not at all, for all I think." 

"Yeah, you might be right." Mundy finished his plate and leaned back on his chair. 

Lucien had his elbows on the table. He tilted his head on the side and gave Mundy one of his sweet lopsided grins, his hair falling on his shoulders beautifully. 

"How do you feel?" He finally asked. 

"Happy." Mundy answered with an earnest smile. "Happy, and free." Lucien nodded. "Happy, free and so bloody tired…!" Both chuckled. "What about you, love?"

"Proud of you, and delighted that I could help as much as I am that it ended well." 

"Yeah." Mundy drank a bit of water and sighed. "Gosh… You won't believe this but it's not just my head bein' tired. My back and belly are starting to hurt too, as if they were sore." 

"In that case, follow me." Lucien stood up and Mundy followed him, intrigued. They both climbed the stairs and Lucien led his lover in the bathroom. "Remove your clothes."

"Well, that's gettin' down to business fast, alright!"

Lucien chuckled. 

"Non, I was not thinking of doing that. Just get comfortable with most of your body naked. If you want to keep your underwear on, be my guest."

"Alright." Mundy started unbuckling his belt and Lucien turned to the door again. "Hold on, you're not stayin' with me? I thought you wanted to take a bath?" 

"Non, I don't. I have something else in mind. When you are ready, count five extra minutes and come to the bedroom."

Mundy raised a curious eyebrow.

"Alright… Ok… Can I get a kiss though, before you go?" 

Lucien smiled and turned to him. 

"Of course you may. Come and take it." 

Mundy had removed his trousers. He took the step that separated him from his lover and cupped his face in his hands before bending down to meet his lips. Lucien just tilted his head up and let his lover have his way with him. 

He kissed his lips and then opened his eyes and stared into Lucien's heavy lidded ones. They both smiled. 

"Love you, darl'." Mundy added a kiss on the tip of Lucien's nose and then his forehead. 

"Je t'aime aussi, mon loup." 

[I love you too, my wolf.]

Mundy wrapped his arms around Lucien and held him close, one arm around his waist and his other hand through his long, loose hair. He nuzzled in Lucien's locks and smelt the Frenchman's distinct perfume. Mundy's eyes automatically closed. 

"Mmh… Love you so much… Thanks…"

"What for?" Lucien was resting his head on Mundy's shoulder, his eyes were closed too. 

"Everythin' you've done so far for me and for us. Really means a lot." 

Lucien smiled. 

"It does to me too, mon amour." He added a peck in Mundy's neck and pulled himself out of the embrace. "I shall see you in a few minutes. Oh?"

Mundy held on to Lucien's hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed his knuckles. The Frenchman's eyebrows jumped and his cheeks turned pink as he smiled.

"Merci." 

Mundy nodded and Lucien left the bathroom, shutting the door after him. He continued removing his clothes, the smell of Lucien's hand cream still lingering. Vanilla. The Aussie looked around the sink. If someone had to guess from just that, they'd say Mundy lives with a woman! Lucien had so many fancy creams and tubes of whatever the hell he thought would take care of his already perfect skin. 

Mundy smiled. He remembered the few times that Lucien would complain about his age, about the lines on his face, about those on his slim hands. He would also rant about his grey hair and his tired eyes. But all those were assets in Mundy's eyes and he sometimes didn't find the words to match his feelings and intention. Sometimes it was hard to tell Lucien that his silver hair made Mundy's heartbeat jump on its own, that his light blue, almost grey eyes humbled the Aussie, and those lines that were on his skin? Mundy loved them all and when words didn't come, he would simply kiss them, one by one. It took the time that it took, but Lucien needed to understand that his age didn't lessen any of his charm, on the contrary. 

The Aussie was now as naked as a worm. He sat on the bathtub's edge and waited for five minutes at the end of which he peeked his head out of the bathroom. 

"Lu'? You ready?" 

"Oui, you may come." 

The Aussie crossed the corridor. Thank God it wasn't cold or being naked would have been quite unpleasant. Mundy pushed the bedroom door open and-

"Woah… Did you do all that?" 

"Unless someone else had access to this room." Lucien chuckled. "Come and lay on the bed, on your stomach, please." 

The room was dark except for a few candles on the night tables. It smelled of cherry and other red fruits. Mundy saw the incense sticks on the night table, their tips glowed in a mellow shade of orange that only contrasted slightly with the Burgundy red of the room's wallpaper. 

Mundy lay on the bed, on his stomach, as Lucien asked. The Frenchman had removed the pillows off the bed and climbed on it right after Mundy. 

"Y'look good all in white like that." 

Lucien smiled. He had indeed changed for a white tanktop and had taken the liberty to borrow Mundy's white sweatpants. 

"Good change of style, eh?"

"I needed something comfortable." 

"So you're admittin' my sweatpants are more comfy than your suits?" Mundy asked with a smirk. He heard a bottle pop open and Lucien's hands rubbing together. 

"I merely needed something flexible enough."

"Flexible? Oh… Yeah…" 

Lucien sat on Mundy's behind and splayed his hands on the Aussie's back. He traced loops on his shoulder blades, again and again, his hands then followed Mundy's shoulders. Lucien could see and feel all of Mundy's scars on his back as he massaged him. 

"Gosh… Lu'... This is… Ugh.. Amazin'..."

"Shhh…" Lucien's hands went up to Mundy's neck and he bent down until his lips were next to his ear. "Let me take care of everything, mon loup, relax…" He whispered and kissed the shell of Mundy's ear. The Aussie immediately felt a rush of blood to the head and his heart pumped harder. 

"Lu'... Oh…? Y-yeah…" Mundy's eyes were closed and he hissed in pleasure when Lucien's hands slid to the bottom of his back. The Frenchman massaged his lover slowly, lovingly, and would sometimes bend down to leave a trail of kisses behind Mundy's neck. "G-gosh, Lu', orh…" 

Mundy's breath followed his heartbeat and the intensity of what he felt, but nothing else. He let himself completely go in Lucien's hands and only moaned and hissed in pleasure under his delightful palms.

"Feels… so… good…" 

Lucien smiled and bent down again to whisper his answer. 

"And it's only the beginning, mon amour." 

"Orh… God, yeah…"

Lucien then massaged each of Mundy's arms from the shoulder down to his very fingers. Mundy didn't realise it but he had started drooling on the mattress, his body had given up any kind of tension. He only lived for Lucien's hands, for the faint smell of the oil that he would get slightly stronger each time he heard the bottle pop open.

"Oh?" 

Lucien moved away from his lover's behind and Mundy thought that it was the end of the session. He was about to thank his lover when he heard the bottle open again. His eyebrows twitched, and soon after, Lucien's hands were on his feet. 

"Gosh… I love you so much…" 

Lucien smiled. He had gently pushed Mundy's legs apart to sit between them and got busy with his feet before moving to his calves and soon, his thighs. 

"Where… did you learn… that…?" Mundy asked. 

"Northern Africa." Lucien answered. "People usually go to the hammam, which is public baths. Contrary to what you might expect, and due to the people's extreme prudeness, no one is naked there. Non, people go dressed in shorts for men, and wide dresses for women. Men and women are separated and enjoy a hot bath. Sometimes, the water even comes straight from a local, natural hot source."

"Oh…" 

"Amongst the different services offered there, there are children, working to earn the equivalent of what you would spend on one coffee cup here, but they earn it in a week. And what they do is scrub people's back."

"Really…?"

"Oui. The mentality there is completely different. Those public baths are usually frequented by the same townsfolk, and those children are well known by them. I remember having my back scrubbed by one of my pupils…!"

"Oh wow…"

"Wow indeed. But among other things, people can receive massages in these places. They often do them with the only oil that grows easily there, which is olive oil. To hide the smell of it, they mix it with some rose essential oil. Roses bloom very well in these regions." Lucien bent down and kissed his lover's thighs. "That is where I learnt." 

"Well… You're bloody good at it…" 

"Merci, mon amour."

Lucien added some more oil in his palms and rubbed his hands together. Mundy expected to feel them on his thighs again, or his back maybe. 

"Oh-? Orh…" 

He felt them in between. Lucien kneaded and massaged the soft flesh slowly, his palms pushing his lover's tenderness with the intent to make him relax. It lasted for a while and Mundy grunted, moaned and hissed his pleasure. Lucien's hands were working wonders. 

"Gosh… L-Lu', I'm… You… God… I mean…" 

Lucien kissed his lover's behind. 

"Please, mon amour, turn on your back." 

"N-no…" 

Lucien's eyebrows jumped. 

"Are you alright?" 

"Y-yeah… I wanna… Stay like that… Please…?" Mundy pushed his legs open a bit more and Lucien smiled. He removed his clothes and lay on top of Mundy's oily back. 

"Are you sure?" He whispered in his ear. 

"Yeah…" Mundy whispered back. "Please… I'm too tired but… I-I wanna… Y'know… You do it…" 

Lucien kissed Mundy's cheek and his ear. 

"Very well, then. Tes désirs sont des ordres, mon amour. Your desires are my orders." Lucien translated himself before moving back down on Mundy's body. 

He lay on his stomach between the Aussie's open legs and Mundy felt Lucien's hands pulling his softness apart. Then, kisses, lapping sounds that resounded in the otherwise silent room, slashing through the still calm in the Burgundy red walls as Mundy's chest shook, his breath was hitched and syncopated. 

Kisses and more kisses, followed by gentle and soft bites, not to bruise, not to leave marks, but simply to taste more of Mundy in one go. And lapping, tasting. 

As Lucien's tongue closed on what Mundy's body craved, the Aussie tensed. 

"Shhh… Relax…" Lucien let a hand roam on Mundy's back to calm him down before he stuck his tongue out and took a slow and gentle lap. 

"Gosh, Lu'..." Mundy grasped the bed sheets but his hands and arms felt like jelly after the massage. 

Lucien went on and rediscovered Mundy's vulnerability. He lapped to tease, but also, to soothe him down of all that tension built in his body. He had felt it when he massaged him, Mundy's back was full of knots that he took the time to untie one by one. 

But now was the time to enjoy himself as much as he enjoyed hearing the deep breaths, the grunts and groans. 

"L-Lu'... Please…"

"Shhh… I take care of everything, you just relax." 

"N-no, I'm… My…" Mundy slid a hand on the bed under his torso and Lucien pushed it away to go and feel it first. 

"Oh… I see." The Frenchman's hand was already slightly slick with oil but now it was also coated with Mundy's impatience. He kissed the Aussie and with one hand still on his masculinity, he reached for another bottle before opening it. The distinct smell reached Mundy's nose and when it did, Lucien felt it on his throbbing end. "Impatient you are, tonight." 

"S-sorry…" 

"Don't apologise." Lucien coated his member and then approached a finger where his tongue was only moments ago. 

"Y-yeah… Thanks… Lu', orh…" 

Lucien was only slightly surprised to see that Mundy's body was remarkably ready for him. He rewarded his lover for this with a few languid strokes on his impatience. 

"Y-yeah…" Mundy's hips started to roll into Lucien's hand and the Frenchman tightened his grip. "Oh-! Yeah, Gosh…!" 

Lucien smiled and kissed Mundy's softness. 

"I think you are ready. How do you feel?" 

Mundy's body had broken a sweat. 

"Been ready… Forever…" 

"Very well." Lucien lay again on Mundy's back and lazily rolled his hips, just to make Mundy understand how much he wanted him too. His hands slithered around the Aussie's broad chest and ended one on his shoulder and the other on his side. Mundy moaned, he felt like a prisoner in Lucien's limbs which he couldn't get enough of. 

"I love you." Lucien whispered before pushing his masculinity to meet with Mundy's demand. And he went slowly. Even if he had prepared Mundy and the Aussie was more than ready, the slowness of the movement helped both to build anticipation and to give them time to appreciate both their bodies becoming one, Lucien in the safety of Mundy. 

"G-gosh… Hah…" 

Lucien tightened his hug and stayed there, not moving his body by an inch. Of course he had been wanting this as much as Mundy, but he wanted to take his time. He didn't want to do it fast and cut the chase to the release. Non, he wanted to make love, to build it inside of Mundy, to make it appear and nurture it with his body and his heart. He wanted the Aussie to remember that night as a night of love, not just love making, but love inventing, love growing, and love enjoying. 

Mundy being an instinctive, he felt it and turned his head more. He needed Lucien's lips on his, he needed to feel him there too. Naturally, the Frenchman obliged and met Mundy's drooling lips with his. 

"Mh-I love ya-mh…" He tried to say through Lucien's kiss. The Frenchman smiled and didn't move his lips. Instead, he offered his tongue, softly and slowly, for Mundy to enjoy. "Mmmh…"

They stayed in that position, their bodies one, their tongues locked, entirely immobile on the bed for a while. They needed to reconnect, to make a deeper kind of contact, not only physical. That day marked something new for them. Mundy was free. He was free to love Lucien and build his life with him under his mother's kind eyes.

[cynicalrainbows]

Restrictions

This is a very short, not-very-well-written ficlet I wrote today for the very talented @2nerd4this​ after a couple of days helping my mum move house. I’m weary so it’s not great but enjoy anyway.

‘Mija?’ Catalina tapped on Cathy’s bedroom door. ‘Are you coming down for dinner? Kitty made a tagine-’

There was no answer, but that wasn’t exactly unusual- all the queens were well aware of the last queen’s tendency to get absorbed in things, to the point that mere trifles like food and sleep rather fell by the wayside, and since Cathy had made her choice to pursue a formal 21st century education public, she’d been even more distracted, as she spent every minute she could preparing.

Of course, being Cathy, this also meant she hadn’t even thought about beginning to pack yet- and Anna and Anne were seriously starting to consider just making a run to Ikea the week before term began and doing the obligatory pre-uni shopping themselves.

So it wasn’t a surprise to Catalina to receive silence in answer to her question: it never was.

They all knocked- every time- out of habit, but they seldom expected a response.

‘Mija?’

She pushed open the bedroom door and poked her head in, expecting to have to peel her goddaughter away from her desk….and then stopped in surprise.

‘Hi Catty.’

Cathy’s voice was flat, and Catalina felt a twinge of alarm. Something was wrong- Cathy was at her desk- but her laptop was closed and all her books were still on their shelves. Instead, she was just….sitting. The university prospectus was in front of her, but it wasn’t open and Catalina strongly suspected that her goddaughter had been merely staring into space before she’d knocked.

‘Are you coming down for dinner?’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘Are you sure mija? Kitty added apricots just for you.’

Cathy nodded.

‘Alright. We’ll save you some, ok?’

‘Fine.’

Cathy sounded so very disinterested- not merely distracted but actually apathetic- that Catalina, rather than withdrawing, came all the way into the room.

‘Are you alright, mija?’

‘I’m fine.’

Catalina sat down on the end of the bed and scrutinised her goddaughter- her pale face, the tense set of her shoulders- and shook her head.

‘I don’t think you are mija. Want to tell me what’s wrong?’

‘Not particularly.’ But she didn’t sound terribly emphatic. Catalina took that as a good sign.

‘Then do you want to put me off for a few hours before you give in and tell me anyway like normal?’

This at least drew a reluctant smile and Catalina gave an internal sigh of relief- so it wasn’t THAT bad.

She nodded to the glossy brochure on the desk. ‘Is it….anything to do with that?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Go on.’

Cathy sighed. ‘They sent an email today- about the new restrictions, for the start of term. And I was sort of expecting it, so it wasn’t a complete surprise but….still. All the stuff they normally put on for Freshers, all the orientation stuff, all the social stuff, it’s all had to be cancelled and...well, I obviously understand WHY so I’m not really complaining but-’ She turned an anguished face to her godmother, her hands wringing in her lap. ‘I don’t know, it’s just all going to be completely different to what I expected and...Well, I was anxious before but at least I knew I had the orientation stuff to sort of help me ease into it and now I don’t have anything and I don’t know how I’m going to cope-’

‘Oh mija-’ Catalina reached out and drew Cathy away from her desk to sit beside her on the bed. ‘I’m sorry- that must have been quite a shock to have to read.’

‘It wasn’t exactly a surprise.’

‘Yes but still. Oh querida-’ Catalina wrapped an arm around her goddaughters shoulders and pulled her close.

‘It’s going to be so different, and there won’t be any of the usual stuff to help everyone settle in, we just have to….start.’ Cathy gave a bitter laugh, half muffled against her godmother's shoulder. ‘I mean I thought I was nervous before but-’

‘I know mija. I’m sure you’re not the only person feeling like this though, it must have been a shock to everyone.’

‘I know.’

‘I know it doesn’t seem like it now mija, but it will be ok, you know?’

Cathy nodded slowly.

‘Honestly- you’re so much stronger than you know. It’s scary but you’ll all be new together at least, all in the same situation.’

Cathy didn’t say anything and Catalina couldn’t help but feel that her encouraging talk was falling rather flat, which was annoying when she was usually considered the best at giving advice and a listening ear. Of course, if she was feeling out of her depth just trying to give advice on a situation like this, how on earth must Cathy be feeling?

‘I’m sorry mija, I wish I could fix it for you-’ She wasn’t USED to not being able to fix things for Cathy, that was the problem. Unfortunately, this, she knew, wasn’t something that could be fixed by talking it through.

‘No you’re right- I know you’re right-’ Cathy sat up wearily and drew a hand over her eyes. ‘I know it’s all ok really, and we’re all in the same boat… Silly of me to be upset over it-’

‘Silly?’ Catalina widened her eyes, shocked. ‘Mija, if THAT’S what you’ve taken from this conversation, I’ve obviously been going about it completely wrong-’

‘But-’ Cathy felt wrong-footed. ‘But- you said it would all be ok-’

‘It WILL all be ok!’ Catalina still sounded extremely firm on that issue, which was mildly reassuring, if a little confusing. ‘OF COURSE it will all be ok mija- but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to be anxious or sad over it!’

‘But you said-’

‘I know. I’m doing this wrong… Querida-’ Catalina took both of her goddaughters hands in her own and squeezed them. ‘ You’ve had a shock. Plans have changed. Things are different- in all sorts of ways. You’re allowed to be sad for that, you’re allowed to be anxious- frankly, I’d be mildly perturbed if you WERE entirely unaffected. What you have to do-’ She wrapped an arm around Cathy’s shoulders and pulled her close again. ‘What you have to do is just….prepare yourself. Try and get things into some sort of perspective, although I appreciate that’s a big thing to ask.’

‘So….get over it?’

‘No! No, not at all!’ Catalina looked absolutely horrified. ‘Mija! As if I’d ever tell you something like that!’

‘Then how do you mean?’ Try as she might, Cathy couldn’t really see how ‘getting things in perspective’ was any different to ‘get over it’.

‘I mean… Well, it’s not going to be easy. So you need to accept that- that you’ll have some days where it will feel a bit lonely or days where it will feel a bit strange.’

‘I HAVE-’

‘But also-’ Catalina carried on as if Cathy hadn’t spoken. ‘-part of accepting that means just recognising that however it might feel in the moment, it doesn’t need to mean anything more than that you’re having a hard day. Like, if you have a bad day, it doesn’t mean they’re all going to be bad days, or that there’s anything hugely wrong.’

‘So just don’t catastrophize?’ Cathy shook her head, and gave a sarcastic chuckle. ‘If only you’d told me this last year! Things would have been so much easier!’

Catalina didn’t rise to sarcasm, she just shrugged. ‘I know how it sounds- I just mean...not don’t do it, like it’s easy because it’s not, just….be aware of that tendency in yourself, so that you can remind yourself that you’re imagining the worst because it’s a thing you do, and NOT because it’s proof that things ARE going terribly. Do you see the difference?’

Cathy nodded reluctantly. ‘I suppose. Sorry. Just- it gets so tiring, when everyone keeps telling you there’s nothing to worry about and then being surprised when you’re not better….’

‘I can only imagine mija. I’m honestly impressed that you don’t shout at everyone who does that, honestly- even me and the other queens, I know we’re guilty of it too.’

‘Only a bit.’

Catalina smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Cathy’s head. ‘Can I keep going or have you had your fill of wisdom? If you’ve had enough, I can leave you in peace if you like. Or you can come down- you don’t have to eat right now if you really don’t want to. Or I can stay and we can watch some netflix or something, I could read to you if you’d like. Whatever you want, mija.’

‘You can go on.’

‘Ok querida. But do cut me off if it gets annoying. The other thing I wanted to say, when you’re thinking about how it’s all going to be so much harder, is that you also need to remember that you’d have had hard days anyway. No matter what was going on everywhere else. And then, like now, you’d get through them. And as well as the bad days, there will also be good days and good things.’

‘I know you’re right but…’ Cathy fidgeted slightly. ‘It’s so much HARDER to imagine the good stuff now- it just...it feels so much less likely….’

‘Of course it’s harder mija. And of course it’s harder to imagine it- but just think of all the other wonderful, hard things you’ve managed, that you never could have imagined before. You managed them- and you’ll manage this too.’

There was a pause- and Catalina wondered for a moment if she’d managed to seriously annoy Cathy enough that she was having to take a second to compose herself before responding. The pause stretched into such a long one that Catalina thought that maybe her goddaughter had dozed off while she was delivering her stirring speech. She wouldn’t even have blamed her- she knew that the sixth queen hadn’t been sleeping well lately, her anxiety keeping her awake and restless long after the others had turned off their lights….but when she glanced down, she could see Cathy’s eyes were open.

Finally, she spoke.

‘What if I don’t, madrina?’ Cathy’s voice was very small, almost a whisper, as if she was half hoping Catalina wouldn’t hear her. ‘ What if….something goes wrong, what if I can’t manage it after all- even after everything, after everything you’ve said?’ She kept her eyes in her lap, her fingers playing with a loose thread in the sleeve of her (Anne’s) green hoody.

She didn’t quite dare meet her godmother's eyes, in case she saw even a hint of the disappointment she feared more than anything else- but when Catalina cupped her cheek, she found she couldn’t look away. No disappointment, only tender understanding.

‘Then mija, we will know that right now, it was not the best path for you. And I will do everything in my power to help you work out what your best path looks like- whether it’s a different course, or the same course but in a year or a few years, or a job, or something else entirely.’

‘Won’t you be disappointed though?’

‘Nothing you could do would disappoint me, mija. All I want is for you to be happy- and I support your study because right now, it is what makes you happy. And you know I’m proud of you- more than I am of anything else. But I promise you, I would be no less proud of you, whatever you chose to do.’

‘Really?’

‘You’ll always be my estrellita, mija. How could I not be proud?’

Cathy found that her throat was unaccountably too tight for her to respond, but she pressed herself more firmly into Catalina’s arms and could tell from the way they tightened around her that Catalina understood what she wanted to express.

‘Do you want to carry on talking mija? We can, if you like. YOU can talk if you like, I promise I’ll listen rather than just going on at you…’

‘I- I think I want to stop, for now.’ Cathy’s voice was still a bit husky but not too bad. ‘Maybe later though-’

Catalina smiled encouragingly down at her. ‘Whenever you like mija. My door is always open to you, you know.’

‘I know. Thank you Catty.’

‘You’re welcome mi vida.’ Catalina paused. ‘Now- what do you need? What can I do? Are you sure you’re not hungry? Only you barely touched your lunch and-’

Cathy shook her head, but half heartedly. ‘I’m ok-’

‘You could try just a little bit and-’

Cathy laughed. ‘Fine, ok. How will I manage when I’m living in Halls without you to make sure I’m eating? How will YOu manage when you don’t have me to worry about?’

‘Badly I suspect, to be honest mija. If you hear of someone arrested on the tube for offering complete strangers bowls of tagine and trying to make them drink water, you’ll know it’s me….’

‘It’s ok, I’ll come visit you in prison. In between my wild university social life of course.’

‘I’ll appreciate that. Do you think you’re ready to come down and eat with the others or shall I bring you a bowl up here?’

‘I’ll come down- but afterwards, do you think we could have some time just the two of us?’ Cathy looked a little awkward. ‘Just- I know I won’t see you as often once I’m away so I’d like to make the most of it while I can….if that’s ok with you?’

‘I’d love that, mi vida.’

*

An hour later, Cathy was tucked under Catalina’s arm, a laptop balanced between them and Braveheart just beginning.

‘Are you SURE you won’t mind if I interrupt?’

Catalina laughed. ‘No, I promise- I know you like being able to point out the bits they get wrong.’

‘There are just so MANY!’

Catalina kissed the top of Cathy’s head and settled her goddaughter more comfortably against her.

‘I know querida, I know.’

Before the movie was even half finished, Cathy felt herself drifting: something about being curled up with Catalina just had a very soporific effect on her, and she’d complained to the woman about it more than once (it was why she and Catalina tended to sit at opposite ends of the sofa when they did group interviews, as a precaution.).

Annoyingly, she was not only too cosy to properly focus on the film but also too much so to even move away to help wake herself up.

Oh well. She decided it didn’t matter- she’d seen the film before after all. For now, she decided to just enjoy being so warm and comfortable.

She felt Catalina’s hand smoothing back a curl from her face, and sleepily leaned into the touch, her eyes still closed.

Catalina’s head bent to hers.

‘It will all be alright mija- no matter what happens, it will all be alright. I promise.’

It was said very quietly, but for the first time, Cathy felt close to believing her.

[forests-sim-stories]

The next morning they both boarded a plane and eventually made it back to Dahlia’s home in the late evening. Dahlia received lots of hugs upon his return.

Meringue: “It’s so good to have you home dear.”

Dahlia: “It’s good to be back. Mum and Mom, this is Apricot.”

Apricot: “Hello, Mrs and Mrs Creme.”

Meringue: “Please, just Meringue will do.”

Daiquiri: “So we finally get to meet the infamous Apricot then. I hope the journey here wasn’t too bad?”

[fictionalboysarejustbetter]

Friendships from Afar

Distance creates a barrier of trust. There are no worries. There is always a safety net to fall back on that protects from hurt or pain. Beginning in second grade, my personal goal had always been to find a singular, perfect friend who lives far away. We could talk openly with each other, and I would have the ability to be myself. The plan is that years later, I would meet this person in the weirdest of circumstances, and we would be best friends forever. It’s even better if this friend is a guy, so then we can both fall in love and get married to live happily ever after.

In second grade, the entire class received school pen pals, and while my fourth-grade pen pal was not ideal, I knew I loved this “secret” letter writing system where I am just Rebecca, nothing more or less. Moving into fifth grade, Mrs. Smith found me a pen pal from China. Through our teachers, we would send each other letters back and forth until the school year was over. From this moment onward, I was hooked; pen pals didn’t care what I looked like or how shy I was or how involved my mother was with the school, I could just be me, and they only knew the information I told them. Without asking for help, I scavenged through the internet, trying to collect pen pals as if they were Webkinz. I was convinced this perfect friend could only be found on pen pal websites that look like they were made by my fellow fifth graders.

Starting in sixth grade, I would spend night after night stalking the profiles of random teenagers on Students of the World, a supposedly “safe” pen pal website for kids. Gender? Who cares. Age? About 10-16. Likes? Reading, of course. Language? English please. I would then press search and sift through hundreds of profiles, finding the perfect candidates to be my best friend. This process was extremely predictable, including:

The teenage boys “looking” for a relationship:

Nathaniel, Age 14, UK

HOBBIES:

Photo

Trips

Cinema, Television

Sports

Reading

Painting, Drawing, Art

Hi! Are you looking for a cool guy to write to? Send me a nice message otherwise you’ll miss something priceless. 

I can speak:

English, French

The liars that claimed they like everything and speak every language:

Janhvi, Age 16, USA

HOBBIES:

Photo

Trips

Clothes

Cinema, Television

Sports

Sciences

Music

Reading

Animals, Nature

Cooking

Collections

Painting, Drawing, Art

Hello !!👩I'm Janhvi .I like to travel.I have traveled in to many countries .Such as india , sri lanka, china, france and more.I like make new friends.message me soon guys.👭👫OUR LIFE IS CHANGE , BUT FRIENDSHIP NEVER BE CHANGE.

I can speak:

English French German Italian Spanish Arabic Chinese Japanese Korean

The students making a profile for class:

Chaya, Age 13, USA

HOBBIES:

Clothes

Cinema, Television

Music

Reading

Animals, Nature

I am looking for a penpal for our school project. I would like to find some in Atlanta, Georgia.

I can speak:

English

I would scroll through these profiles so constantly that I rarely found new profiles. I was judging every profile based off of the person’s name, biography, age, likes, languages, everything. Most people without a profile picture wouldn’t receive an email from me. I tried to avoid messaging anyone from the United States unless they sounded like a major fangirl or fanboy over the books I liked. I automatically favored anyone from Europe, especially if they had an interesting name. But regardless if anyone from anywhere sent me a message first, I would respond back at least once.

Shortly after the search began, I received a message from a girl named Julia from Australia. She and I were the same age, we both needed a friend, and we both liked reading, animals, music, and clothes. Quickly, my life began to revolve around the fourteen hours that always stood between Australia and the United States. Throughout sixth and seventh grade, we would be constantly messaging on the messaging app “kik,” confiding everything deep and useless to each other like best friends do:

Becca says:

Hey, how are you?

Julia says:

Everyones well... Mum and dad start the long drive to melbourne this weekend so everythings kinda topsy turvy :p

How is your family and pets? Im sorry for my rudeness that i didnt ask earlier

Nearlytime for school?

Becca says:

Lol that is fine! I get to school around 8, so normally ill drop off right before, lol i try to remember to tell you but i tend to forget. Theyre good though. Willie and Apricot are happy my grandma left :-P mom and dad are helping me with my ancestry project and exploding of happiness because I got a position in that volleyball club and my sister has been working and spending money :-P her favorite thing to do

Julia says:

Ahh the christmas spirit... Lol is there anyone in the house who loves your grandmother?

Becca says:

Lol we love her because shes family, but no one loves her when shes here if you know what i mean.

What’s up?

For two years, the conversations would continue for hours, as we both wait anxiously for the “ding” on our tablets, indicating a new message. Julia’s father was a firefighter who fought the nasty bushfires that haunted their country. I interviewed him as my hero for my final paper and presentation in my eighth grade English class. I interviewed him through email after our initial plans to Skype were sidetracked by the active wildfires, and I so proudly presented the information about him that you would have thought he was my father.

One day, Julia told me about her divorced parents. Then, she told me about the twins her mom just gave birth to. Then, she explained that she actually has a twin brother and no younger siblings at all. Then, she became an aunt to twin nephews. Then, her house burned down, and she had to move across the country. Then, her parents just moved across town. The stories continued and continued only within months of each other, not adding up in any way, shape, or form. With hope still in my heart, I sent her all three books of The Hunger Games trilogy since she really wanted to read them, but two months later, the books came back in the mail as undeliverable. The address did not exist.

Unable to admit defeat or accept the idea that my best friend might not be real despite all of the evidence, I started to panic. What if she is catfishing me? I’ve seen that show before, and I even gave “her” my address. Whoever this person is could easily come to my house and kidnap me...maybe I should tell my mom and warn the police. But maybe, she just has a really hard life, and she compulsively lies to make herself feel better? Maybe, she just really wants attention, and that’s why none of her stories are adding up. Besides it could still be her, she may just be scared. She could have just lied and is younger than she said and is trying to sound cool to impress me.

With these panicked thoughts raging through my body like wildfire, I blocked her from kik and began to ignore her emails. I forced myself to just disappear, so then I would have nothing to worry about. I cannot trust that Julia is really Julia, so I will just watch “her” occasional emails come in, analyzing from afar who “she” may be. I’ll search for her on Google and Facebook and Instagram and Students of the World and anywhere else I can look. The emails would keep coming for years and years, but they never held much content to them, and I’m still left to question who “Julia” is.

My Julia investigation was stalled for now, and the void of not having a constant penpal to talk to quickly came back. Therefore, my search to find the perfect best friend needed to be expedited since Julia was certainly not cut out for the position. I continued to search Students of the World with my new smartphone every chance I had. In between games at volleyball competitions, Hope and I could be found by the nearest outlet on my phone, scouring the website for the perfect answers within someone’s profile. We would send out messages together to the nerdy fangirls and fanboys around our age. Every day during the bus ride home from school, Jenna and I looked through the website on our phones, judging everyone’s biographies and pictures. Jenna created a profile too, and we would have three-way Skype sessions with Sylvia from France until the two of them became too close and stopped inviting me to Skype with them.

Finally in April of ninth grade, I received a promising email from a 16-year-old boy from France:

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

My name is Kristopher and Im from France !

I watched a few days ago Divergent and it made me want to read the books !

I see you like tv shows and video games as I do !

I am not fluent in English but I can talk to you !

If you want I can learn you French ! :)

Typically, I would spend about twenty minutes every day responding to emails from random penpals on my way home from school, but within the first three or so emails to a person, one of us would just stop responding. In regard to Kris, I generally liked video games, but I wasn’t obsessed with them, and I had a weird taste in TV, so we probably couldn’t talk about that much. But Divergent by Veronica Roth was my all-time favorite book. As soon as I read that word in the email, I knew I would be responding until he stopped responding to me. It had always been my goal to fall in love with a fanboy, especially one with the same taste in books and movies as me, so I immediately responded with:

To: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com From: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com

Hi Kristopher!

What part of France are you from? I live near Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Yes, definitely read the books! They are amazing! I find myself gravitating towards video games and shows more than sports! :P

I don't know much of French as I take Spanish in school, but I'd love to learn some and help you with English as well!

Rebecca

He emailed me back within minutes, and we emailed for most of the evening, talking about books and food and the differences between the United States and France. That night though, my phone battery had died, and it was only for a few hours. After plugging it in, I found five unread messages from him, making sure I was okay.

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

Lol it works ! :) Good courage to go back to school ! :)

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

Hey sweetie 😆

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

How are you Miss ?

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

Do You use words like ain't or gonna ? 😆

To: fictionalboysarejustbetter@gmail.com From: coolfrenchboy@gmail.com

Are you OK ?

As soon as I read these messages, my heart fluttered a little. This was just the beginning of our constant messaging and talking. I happily responded to him, and within days, Kris was my perfect, new best friend. The random space he left between the last word and the punctuation of a sentence would drive me insane, but I didn’t have the heart to explain the process to him. We talked so consistently that it would probably be considered unhealthy, discussing pets, family, being the youngest child, aspirations, atheism, languages, food, books, video games, and everything else under the sun. I was stuck to my phone all day, and every time I picked it up, I waited in anticipation for a notification with his name and the random spaces between his words and the punctuation.

The six-hour time difference between the two of us meant nothing, with him staying up late and me getting up early. Between classes, we would sneak each other messages about how our days were going. My week-long field trip to San Antonio, Texas was spent either messaging him or scouting out an outlet to plug my phone into so that I could talk to him. The more access I had to Kris, the further I distanced myself from my friends and family. When my phone would die or I wouldn’t have reception, I would look around, annoyed by whoever the people around me were. Kris was the perfect friend I always wanted; he was my best friend, and I was his. Neither of us needed anyone else, and hopefully, all of our talking and flirting would lead to love which would lead to marriage.

The summer before tenth grade came, and Kris seemed to be growing distant. Supposedly, he was travelling all summer, and he would rarely have access to wifi. I counted down the days until he would be back home, and after one measly conversation, he disappeared again. I sent message after message, finally receiving a response about his brother pushing him in the pool and his phone being in his pocket at the time, so it was destroyed. The summer seemed to be surrounded by disappointment, but hopefully when we went back to school, our relationship would continue to be as strong as it was before.

Tenth grade began, and Kris was still busy all the time. Apparently if he kept up his hard work, he would be valedictorian. Since I couldn’t spend lunch chatting with him anymore, I bragged that I was basically dating this amazing French guy who is valedictorian at his school. Until October hit, and then I would receive the dreadful message that he has a girlfriend. Ironically, this only made our conversation stronger than it had ever been, and he even picked out my new haircut, sending me endless compliments on it. The next day, he sent another message, explaining that his girlfriend didn’t want us talking anymore so it would probably be best if we just stopped. I was bad at listening to these directions, following this conversation up with many, many new messages in attempts to strike a conversation with him again. These messages earned me a nice block from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

My only method of contact would now be email, so night after night instead of stalking Students of the World for new pen pals, I would send Kris emails. I now began to understand that feeling that I caused upon Julia, who may or may not have been Julia. Throughout October and November, I received a few responses that sounded like an automatic email reply, but one email in mid-November stood out, as it was one of the last ones I would receive from him.

To: thisismyname@gmail.com From: thisiscoolfrenchboysnewemail@gmail.com

Hello Becca,

I did act stupid and didn’t answer your messages at all. When I emailed you first, I never thought our friendship would get that strong !

Guess what, there used to be a time I was really in love with you, but I haven’t dared say so … The one biggest reason was the 6000 km that stand between us ! You were the one I loved talking to ! So I talked to you and you never waited to answer and neither did I.

I don’t know, something went wrong, time changed, I’m sorry I haven’t answered you for long, this is all my bad. I wish I could go back to past to fix this.

This message will never ever be able to patch things up, but it (I hope ) will tell you that I never forgot you .

My mother would tell me time and time again that any type of relationship separated by physical distance would never work. I had never believed her, but after receiving this email, I understood. Why had I ever believed that the perfect friendship would be through time differences of at least five hours? These relationships do not automatically create a barrier of trust, often making it even harder to trust. There are always going to be worries about who that person is and what their intentions are. There is no safety net to keep you from being hurt or feeling pain. Once there is a roadblock within your barrier of communication, you cannot simply get it back after running into each other at Walmart or flashing them a fake smile as you pass them in the hallway at school. As soon as one person blocks the other or the number of unread emails increases substantially over months, that person is gone forever.

[eyoricka]

Venice

So this one is pretty much inspired by Far from home but it’s kind of an AU since Peter just spend casual holidays with his class with no superhero business included. It will be divided in 3parts one for each city. This is supposed to be gender neutral and if anybody has critics to help me to improve it don’t hesitate! I had written in English for a while so if you have any remarks about the grammar and all tell me!

words: 2700

warnings: none

 Saying that you were excited to visit Europe was an understatement. You were beyond happy to spend time with your best friends and your boyfriend in beautiful old cities. So, when you got stuck in the traffic jam, you couldn’t help but show nervousness, too scared to possibly miss your flight. Your mum sighed when she heard people honk. She smiled at you and assured you that you would be at the airport on time since you insisted on leaving the house really early just in case. Actually, you could be stuck in the traffic for two hours you would still be on the time. You tried your best to focus on the music on the radio, to imagine the trip and not think about missing this plane but you couldn’t help yourself. When you eventually noticed that you were close to the airport you felt a wave of relief. Your mum looked at you with the “I told you it would be alright” look. You checked that you had everything one last time before letting her drop you off not before giving you a tight hug. You smiled at her and practically ran to the gate where you would meet your friends. Peter wasn’t there, you were one of the first one, it was just you, Ned, a nice girl from your drama class and your teacher. After few minutes of a funny discussion with Ned, you felt someone’s arms around your waist and you instantly knew who it was. You would recognize his touch even in the middle of a crowd of unknown people, you would recognize his sweet and conforming smell in the middle of a perfume store. You turned and buried your face in his neck as he played with your hair. You could bet he had his adorable smile, the one you couldn’t resist. You were lost in your bubble when you heard someone coughed and noticed MJ. “Please stop trying to kill us all with your overloaded cuteness” she stated before sending you a smirk. You grabbed your luggage and Peter’s hand and get closer to the teacher who was checking everybody’s pass.

You arrived in Venice at night, so you directly went to the hotel. The quick view you had from the city with night lights and the reflection of the moon and stars in the water was like a dream. You were a bit too tired to really enjoy it though. As you entered in the hotel you just wished to be quickly assigned a room and sleep. When you heard that you were on the fifth floor without lift, you groaned. Peter brushed your hair away from your face and grabbed your luggage like it was a feather. You followed him in the stairs and when you finally reached the fifth floor, he seemed exhausted. “Did you pack all your house for the trip Y/N?” you shrugged and replied: “We are never too careful.” He playfully rolled his eyes at you. he kissed you goodnight and whispered that he was really glad to visit the city with you tomorrow.

You were one of the first to wake up the following morning, you tried to be discreet as you change in a cute summer outfit. You left the room in silent and were joined by MJ. You walked together to the breakfast room, both of you were silent, clearly hating loud noisy people before having drink or eat something. You served yourself a cappuccino while MJ was enjoying an orzo. You were not really hungry because you were jumping from excitement but when Ned and Peter finally met you, your boyfriend insisted on sharing a crostata with sour cherry jam filling and it was so good that you ended up eating two mores, one filled with apricot jam and one with wild berries jam. Ned watched you with amusement as he never thought that you could have such appetite after saying that you wouldn’t eat anything.

You walked hand in hand with Peter to the Saint Mark’s basilica and almost lost the class as you stopped really often to admire every single house, building, gondola... Peter loved to look at your shining eyes and partly opened lips as you were  registering the beauty around you, it was funny to think that he had exactly the same face anytime he was admiring your features. After visiting the basilica and the Doges Palace with the class and trying to remember every single details of the places you had free time until the night. Soon MJ, Betty, Ned joined you and Peter and asked you if you had any plans for the rest of the day. You grinned widely and nodded furiously. “I was thinking we could visit the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta and then take a ferry to the Torcello island and eat a gelato there and I know that tomorrow we will go to the Gallerie dell’Accademia which is super cool so I guess that during the afternoon we can take a gondola to visit thanks to the canal…” you didn’t get time to finish that you heard Ned chuckled and added “For the gondola I think we will leave the two of you alone but no funny business.” You blushed violently at the joke and even more when you heard Peter soft giggle and felt his finger brushed your cheeks. “Anyway let’s go I don’t want to lose any more time” you said trying to regain your composure.

As you entered in the church your eyes grew wide at the beauty of the place. There were so much detailed on the sculptures and the bronze doors of the main entrance left you thinking you were entering a castle. “So the church was built in 1729, so it is one of the most recent church of the city, and inside we can find the martyrdom of st Lawrence by Titian. On the left transept…” You were about to continue when someone snorted behind you and you were face to face with a mischievously grinning Flash. “Hey nerd did you read the entire Wikipedia page before coming, you probably had nothing better to do.” You immediately shut up and looked at the ground shamefully. Peter protectively put a hand around your waist. “Don’t talk to Y/N like that. I knew you were petty Thompson but really don’t you have nothing better to do?!” Flash rolled his eyes at the both of you before leaving. You remained silent for the rest of the visit just thinking about what Flash had said. In fact, you didn’t fully enjoy the rest of the visit, just looking at the ground, which by the way was beautiful in itself, and walked quickly. Peter sensed that you were uncomfortable and grabbed your hand and draw some pattern on your palm to calm you down. He let you walk to the exit. Once you were out he put a hand on your cheek and force you to look at him. He had so much love in his eyes. He put his forehead on yours and rubbed his nose against yours. The action appeased you. He leaned to your ear and whispered “Y/N you’re so beautiful and kind and clever and I could go on like that for hours if you let me. Don’t let Flash’s words undermined you, make you feel low because he is an ass and you are incredible.” You buried your head in his chest as he hugged you tightly. You broke the embrace when the other had finished their visit.

You looked at your watch and realized that you had to run to catch the ferry. You were out of breath when you reached the bridge of the ferry and when you noticed that Peter was alright you thought that you should ask him to give you his workout session. You sat on one of the benches on the ferry between Ned and Peter. Since you would stay 45min there you decided to read the book you had taken with you. You quickly got lost in your own bubble when you felt some finger brushing your cheek. You looked at Peter with a questioning look, but he simply smiled at you. you smiled back and read again. Not two minutes passed, and you felt someone tickling your ribs. You threw Peter an annoyed look, but he gave you his puppies innocent eyes you couldn’t resist. You were about to lose yourself again in the fictive world when suddenly Ned took the book out of your hands and closed it. You loudly gasped at him and he just gave the book to your boyfriend. “Peter give it back to me please” you pouted, and he shook his head in a no. “Please” you whispered and gave him the doe eyes. He bit his lips as you batted your eyelashes. “But I am bored Y/N” he said as he handed you your precious book. You heard Ned added a quick “Yeah me too and this excursion was your idea so you have at least to help us to entertain” “Really? I feel like I am hanging out with children sometimes” you sighed. “I share this feeling” Betty complained as she sat on Ned’s laps.

The afternoon on the small island flied rapidly between the visit of the church and museum. At the end of the afternoon MJ insisted on eating the gelato you talked about during the morning. You dragged them to a small place you read good reviews about on internet, it was said to be truly traditional and delicious. You went for the amarena perfume while Peter get a stracciatella but you ended sharing your ice cream anyway. You had still more than one hour before the departure of the ferry for Venice and since it was sunny you decided to lay in the grass surrounding the lagoon where there were pink flamingo. Betty and Ned had a huge debate to know who was the best pink flamingo impersonator and you laughed to tears at their impersonations and at the fact that their only fights were over those kinds of consideration. They were so cute together and it brought you a little smile to see your friend happy.

When you arrived at your hotel you were even more exhausted than the previous day but you were beyond excited since your teacher had explained that you would eat a typical Italian meal in the dining room. You took a warm shower and put on comfy clothes, an old jean with one shirt Peter left at your place the last time he slept there. You joined everybody just in time for the starter some antipasti that is to say a plate per table full of cheese bread salame mortadella and prosciutto. The first course was a risotto and your mouth watered just at the smell. For the second course you had some seafood with raw and cooked vegetables. You felt so full so your eyes widened when another plate composed of leafy vegetables was brought. Then there were the cheese and even if you weren’t hungry anymore you tried to taste a bit of each, they were so good so you couldn’t think of not tasting one. Because the dinner was heavy for the dessert you chose a panna cotta and you clearly didn’t regret it when you notice Peter struggling to finish his own dessert: a plate of fritole. The tradition was to take an espresso after the meal but you felt like you would never be able to eat or drink anything, so you politely declined the offer. You thought the others would joke about your small fragile stomach but actually they all refused clearly in the same state as you which was kind of funny considering that Peter Ned and MJ were often doing food contest among each other.

The second day in Venice was one of the most memorable of your life. The morning was in a blur, your class went to the Gallerie dell’Accademia and you were amazed by so much wonderful piece of art in one place. Peter had to repeat you like ten times that everybody had already left, and you had to hurry a bit. You joined your class in a small restaurant and MJ had already ordered you some bigoli pasta with a mascarpone sorbet with rosemary honey and you smiled widely at her, that girl knew you like the back on her hand. After that you went to the gondola with Peter. It was truly magical, just being in the arms of your lover enjoying the view of the canal, taking picture of the bridge di Rialto and the bridge of sighs. The gondolieri was recounting you the tales of the city as Peter had his head buried in your hair totally lost in the scent of your shampoo that he loved so much. He was thinking that one day he would bring back here for your honeymoon. After one hour and half of this dreamy fantasy the gondola brought you back on the ground. He helped you to steady yourself in a gentleman way and you muttered him “grazie mille” and he replied a sweet “di niente, è sempre un piacere aiutare una bella ragazza”1 Peter seemed a bit upset at the flirty behavior of the guy and jumped out of the small boat to join you. Unfortunately, the on the edge of the walkway was covered of slippery algae and Peter slipped on them in the water. You let out a shriek as he swam to the surface and splashed around in the water. You helped him with the older man to get out of the water. He was soaked and you couldn’t help your laugh now that he was safe. He threw you a glare clearly hurt in his ego, but you didn’t care that was to ridiculously funny. You were eager to tell that to the other. Since Peter began to feel cold because of his soaked clothes you decided to head back to the hotel to take a warm shower and let him change into new clothes. During all the way back, Peter was curiously silent, and you wondered when he would talk again. In the hotel you waited for him to change before joining your friends at Venice Lido. Since he took his time you lost yourself in you Tumblr timeline. You eventually heard your hotel door cracked open and someone sat on your bed. You raised an eyebrow at Peter who was still pouting. You felt like he would never talk so you decided to play with his weak spot. You put yourself behind him and placed your arms around him. You immediately felt him relax under your touch. After few seconds like that you merciless began to tickle him.  He busted into laughter and begged you to stop. “Only if you stop pouting like a baby” you teased. “I wasn’t pouting” he managed to say between two laughter. “Stop lying Parker you make your case worse!” You giggled and finally stop placing yourself next to him with your head on his shoulder. “I am not lying; I wasn’t pouting just trying to fix my bruised ego” he pleaded. He put his arms around you and peppered your face with kisses.  After few minutes you heard him mumbled against your skin “Do we really have to join the others, I mean we did everything you wanted and that is just a beach. Tomorrow we are taking the plane to Prague really early don’t you think it would be a better idea to stay in and cuddle until we fall asleep.” You had to admit that even if the beach was tempting, Peter’s proposition seemed more appealing. You let him lay next to you and hugged you tight, your face in his chest. You put a hand on his cheek before seductively whispering “Don’t think it will prevent me from spilling everything to the others tomorrow”.

 1 you’re welcome, it’s always a pleasure to help a pretty girl

[purplesurveys]

553

Do you have sensitive skin? Kind of. I’m not sure what it’s sensitive to, I think it’s the humidity; but anyway when my legs are exposed to the air too much and for too long, it starts getting itchy like crazy. Scratching won’t fix anything and I’ll have to slap my skin till it becomes red, and even after then. Do you wear necklaces or earrings more? Earrings. Rings or bracelets? Bracelets. I’ve never felt the need to stock up on rings. Are you attracted to several guys at the moment? I’m not attracted to any one of them at the moment. Are you jealous of your best friend? Right now, no.

What year is it? It is 2019. Spring or autumn? I don’t know, we don’t experience either. Pasta or tacos? Pasta. I never really did like tacos. Water or soda? Water; I don’t drink soda. Irish accent or Aussie accent? Irish, I guess? Nothing wrong with the Australian accent, but if I had to pick I’d go with the former. Do you consider yourself to be a bit gangster? LOL no? Not at all. How many toilets are in your house? Two. Do you have an older sister? No, I’m the elder sister. Favorite song by Owl City? Vanilla Twilight. What color is your mum's car? She doesn’t claim any of our cars as exclusively hers, but we have two white cars and one blue-greenish car. Do you live in an apartment? Nope. I’ve never lived in one either. Is your attitude contagious? This is a question for the people around me to answer, but from observation, not really. I don’t like giving away too much of how I feel so I don’t see people acting the way I do a lot. Cats are usually cuter than dogs right? They’re both charming, but I hate cats. Do you have a wallet? Of course I do. When is the last time you went to church? Last Sunday. I got to skip church today because I was passed out drunk at Rita’s place HAHAHAHAHAHA YAY Where were you yesterday at 3pm? I was driving myself, Jum, and Tina to Rita’s house. By 3 PM we were probably somewhere in C5. Is your favorite color green? No, green is one of my least favorite colors. Do you think black people are usually annoying? This question is embarrassing... Do you own purple socks? Nope. Do you truly understand the (LDS) mormon religion? I didn’t claim to be familiar with it at all. Do you think it's bullshit? I don’t like religion but I’m not gonna walk around and say one of them is bullshit. Where do you keep your kitty litter box? My sister keeps hers in her room. Are you part Scandinavian? Zero parts Scandinavian right here.

Did your aunt ever take you to the park back in the day? No. I wish there were public parks to bring babies to in this country to begin with. Is your hair in a ponytail atm? Yes, but it’s the same ponytail I tied this morning so by now it’s very loose and messy. Are you rude to little children? Only if they are rude to me. Do you like ethiopian food? I’ve never tried but I’m always open to cuisines I haven’t tasted yet! Is your current crush younger than you? If we’re gonna be very technical about definitions, she’s two months younger. Are you a lighter complexion than your father? Nah he’s much lighter. I got the skin tone from my mom’s side. Do you know any white people who desperately want to be black or hispanic? Personally, no. I know this attitude exists, though. Do you like apricots? No. Do you go to the beach every summer? As much as possible, we try to. Ranch or barbeque sunflower seeds? I haven’t tried either but I feel like I’d like barbecue-flavored ones. Do you know the first 5 books of the bible in order? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Are you eager to attend anything tomorrow? NO. I have a meeting tomorrow but I am so not eager to attend it. Have you ever bullshitted a whole test or exam? Never an entire exam. I’ve bullshitted parts of various exams though. Are banana chips delicious? They can be, but only if it’s more sugary than banana-y. Do you have a pet fish? No.

Are you happy with your eye color? Sure. Do you have more energy at night or mornings? Mornings. I allow myself to stop working at night, cos evenings are meant for rest. Can you meow like a kitten? Decently. Ass our vagina? Wow that sounds like a horrible prospect. Is your mum beautiful? Sure. Dick or cock? Ugh these questions are awful now. Shrimp tacos or beef? Beef. I hate shrimp. Soft shell or hard shell? Soft. Do you live on the East coast? I live nowhere near the coasts. Do you like kinky sex? It’s fine. What country were you born in? Philippines. Solid soap bar or liquid body wash? Body wash. Do you believe being gay is a choice or a "disorder"? U G H. Crest or colgate? Colgate. Abortion? Cynical or justified? Not a fan, but justified.