#offices movers in reading

[cosmicpuzzle]

Negatives of Mercury in Each House

Mercury in 1st House: Overthinker, mental overload, takes things too literally, impatient, not a good listener, interrupts while talking, opinionated, critical, argumentative, fussy with details, nervous.

Mercury in 2nd House: Does not keep promises, mismanages money, financial trickster, bad salesman, lies about money matters, stammering.

Mercury in 3rd House: Too much into details, information gatherer, thinks but not acts, cluttered mind, breathing and lungs issues, smoker, loses the big picture, media addict, smartphone addicts.

Mercury in 4th House: Unsettled mind, emotional issues, analyses feelings than feeling them, not able to settle at one place /city, frequent mover, shy outside home, nervous, anxious mother, tension at home, sibling quarrels, property troubles, documentation troubles.

Mercury in 5th House: flirtatious, casual lover, critical of children's education, too mental in love and expressing affections, takes risk with speculation, poor gambler, worried over children, micromanages children's life.

Mercury in 6th House: Argumentative, picks intellectual fights, overzealous in health matters, troubles with co worker, gossips at office/ workplace, criticizes others work, perfectionist, makes mistakes at work, skin eruptions.

Mercury in 7th House: changes partners frequently, falls in love then discards, trouble with contracts, marries for documents purpose(like spouse sponsoring a visa), mental relationships, not serious in love, experiments new partners, falls in love with 2 people at same time.

Mercury in 8th House: Secretive, schemer, cold, sarcastic, suspicious, corporate frauds, abuses through words, foul language, trouble through inheritance, relatives, nervous disorders like paralysis, respiratory illnesses, obsessed about death.

Mercury in 9th House: Fundamentalist, thinks too optimistically than practically, can't see immediate consequences, focused only on the big vision but doesn't take practical steps, questions religion and faith systems, cannot believe without proof.

Mercury in 10th House: Changes career frequently for promotion or increments, too smart and then deceives oneself, lies at work, thinks only about gain, not emotional, works only for results, no imagination or creativity at work, works as per the letter of law than to the spirit.

Mercury in 11th House: Makes more acquaintances than true friends, social climbers, makes contacts for sake of it, deceitful friends or deceits friends, financial mismanagement, greedy for profits, attracted to quick rich schemes, cheats others financially, lies to others.

Mercury in 12th House: Poor concentration, poor focus, dreamy, impractical, poor memory, lack of action, forgets important things, does not solve problems, not good with details, does not speak properly, not responsive to others, over imagination.

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Magha Sidereal Astrology🌙 (@maghastrology) / X (twitter.com)

[honeypiehotchner]

The Gambit (Hotch x Fem!Reader) -- part one

I'm backkk 👀 Reminder that y'all do NOT like each other (for now 🤭)

I did a lot of math to make sure I had my timeline in order but I won't bore y'all with all the numbers. Some basics, tho: we're somewhere in s5/6, Foyet doesn't exist here but Haley and Hotch are divorced and Jack lives with Haley, Reader is in her mid 30s and Hotch is in his mid 40s. That's all for now, happy reading! xxx

Chapter warnings: these two are at each other's throats! and a new case begins ofc

Your day started out perfectly.

You sorted more of your belongings into boxes for the movers. Everything will be shipped ahead so it arrives shortly after you do at your apartment in Virginia. You’re running ahead of schedule, so you even have time to stop for a good breakfast before heading into the office.

The day felt…too good to be true. And you quickly find out why. 

“The BAU?”

Your superior, Agent Reynolds, sits across from you and raises an eyebrow, assuming incorrectly that you haven’t heard of the branch. “The Behavioral Analy—”

“Yes, I know what the BAU is,” you cut him off, something he’s used to, waving your hand sharply. “Why the BAU?”

“You were requested,” he replies simply with a slight shrug.

“By who?”

“Agent Hotchner, as I’m told.”

That is the last name you ever expected him to say. 

“Hotch?” you echo incredulously. “You’re kidding.”

Reynolds sighs. “I’m really not.” You know deep down Reynolds will miss you, but he’ll also thank god every day that he doesn’t have to put up with your attitude anymore. 

“Huh.” You could laugh. You almost do. “Interesting.”

Your now ex-boss gives you a look, and a sigh. “What now?”

“Oh, nothing,” you shake your head. “Agent Hotchner and I have met before, that’s all.”

+++

Ten and a half years prior to the present day, you worked on a case with Aaron Hotchner. 

Key word: case. One singular case.

You were joined by agents Gideon, Morgan, and, of course, Hotchner. You were the only woman with them at the time, and that already threatened to drive you up a wall. To make matters worse, you and Hotch could not get along to save anyone’s lives. 

The two of you butted heads for two weeks straight, but even that is sugar coating it. He raised his voice at you and you raised your voice right back. Of course, only in private. In the field, you were as professional as can be. But in the tiny conference room that you had to set up for them coming in unannounced? All bets were off.

You’ve never been a particularly angry person, but something about Hotch brought all your anger to the surface.

He was the most arrogant man you had ever come across. He explained things to you that you already knew, and even when you told him you were aware of the topic, he’d continue explaining like he hadn’t heard you, just out of spite.

He underestimated you in ways that had your blood boiling. He wouldn’t send you to interview anyone, despite that being your area of expertise. He had you doing busy work, like a goddamn intern. 

You were your office’s own little BAU. You had read Gideon’s papers, been to profiling lectures. You became a profiler because you knew your city needed one, and by your fifth year in the office, you were one. You knew what you were doing, and Hotch treated you like a newbie. 

He always walked around in a damn suit and tie. Does he not own a t-shirt? Does he know what that is? Would it kill him to breathe once in a while?

Why does he have to look like he constantly has a stick up his ass?

Of course, you aren’t totally innocent. You found his buttons and pushed them since day one. He hated being talked over or shouted at, so those became your favorite things. Especially after he began doing them to you.

Don’t disobey direct orders, he said. You did. And you got the results needed, so he had no choice but to move on.

Don’t come into the interrogation room unless asked for, he said. You did anyway. The unsub needed to feel important, a high priority, and he wasn’t. So, you walked in and told Hotch that the Attorney General of the United States was on the phone. It worked. While Hotch “spoke with the Attorney General,” you got a confession. Hotch had to thank you through gritted teeth.

When the case was solved and the BAU left town, you popped a bottle of fucking champagne. Good riddance you screamed and drank straight from the foaming top.

+++

You mutter under your breath the entire drive to the BAU. Your boxes arrived this morning, but you haven’t had a chance to unpack them, so your apartment is currently a shitshow. 

And now you’re driving to deal with another shitshow. 

You haven’t received any emails or texts from Hotch, which is odd, but you’re sure as hell not questioning it. The less you have to deal with him, the better. He probably shares the same sentiment, which is why he hasn’t contacted you.

From far away, Quantico looks more like a prison than it does a headquarters. You hope it doesn’t feel the same way it looks.

The BAU office is just a short elevator ride up from the parking garage, and you dread every second of it. When the doors open on the BAU floor, you want to scream.

But you’re a professional, not a toddler, so you walk your ass through the glass doors and into the bullpen, your head held high like an adult.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

“Hi Morgan,” you mirror his grin, accepting his hug. “Miss me?”

He’s in the same black t-shirt and black jeans he always wears, his haircut just the same but shorter. And he finally got rid of the “shaving my face every morning” routine. Stubble looks much better on him.

“For ten years,” Morgan reminds you. “What brings you here?”

You shrug cheekily, feigning innocence. “I heard there was an opening.”

His grin, somehow, grows wider and brighter. “Come here!” He tackles you in another hug, this time lifting you up and spinning you. “God is on my side to-day. Where’s Reid?”

“Putting a disastrous amount of sugar in his coffee,” a blonde woman says as she passes, then stops. “Oh, hi. I’m JJ, you must be Agent L/N. I heard you were coming in today.”

You escape from Morgan’s grip to shake JJ’s hand. “That’s me. JJ, you said?”

She nods, shifting her feet to a more comfortable position in her heels. “I’m the BAU liaison, so you’ll see a lot of me. And very little of me. It’s complicated.”

“I hear that,” you chuckle, just glad to see another woman has joined the team.

And to your surprise, another joins the circle, this one with black hair parted down the middle. “Emily Prentiss,” she says, sticking out her hand. “Are we finally getting another woman around here?”

You nod, glad to hear she agrees with your unspoken comment. “Looks like it.”

“Did someone call my name?”

You turn and see the infamous Dr. Reid stirring a mug of sugar with a splash of coffee. He’s wearing a cardigan, per usual, and what looks like the same pair converse from when you first met him five years ago at a lecture the BAU put on. He was brand new back then. His eyebrows furrow when he sees you, and then they go wide.

“Y/N? Hi!” he says excitedly, nearly spilling his drink. “It’s been so long! Wha— What are you doing here?”

You give JJ and Emily a look that only you three truly understand. “Why do none of the men assume I’ll be joining the team?”

Emily laughs. “Believe me, I wish I knew.”

“Wait, seriously?” Reid blurts. “Are you really joining us?”

“Sure am,” you grin. “And once I get out of this meeting with Hotch, you’re telling me when the hell you joined a boyband.”

“Oh, ouch,” Morgan taps Reid’s arm lightly with a grin.

“Uh, you too, Derek,” you punch him, letting him know he isn’t off the hook either. “What’s up with the shirt? Do you not own another color?”

“Damn, momma,” Morgan groans. “You haven’t changed.”

“Neither have you,” you pat his cheek.

“I like you already,” Emily grins.

“Agent L/N,” an unmistakable voice comes from the top of the stairs, effectively ruining the moment. 

He definitely hasn’t changed, you think to yourself as you slowly turn around. 

“Agent Hotchner,” you mimic his tone. “Nice to see you again.”

He grips the railing a little too tightly. And he’s still wearing a damn suit, with a damn tie knotted so tight you wonder if it’s choking him. If it’s not, you want it to be. Maybe he’ll shut up then. 

“I believe our meeting was scheduled for 9am,” he says, earning a sideways glance from the other man standing on the balcony. 

“It still is,” you reply, looking beside his head at the clock on the wall and shit. “I’m late. That’s my fault, sir. I apologize.”

“Yes, it is,” he says. “We need to make this short. Hurry up.” 

He turns and disappears into his office like some imitation of Dracula. You give Derek a helpless look.

“Welcome back,” Reid says, grimacing.

“Thanks, bud,” you reply, knowing he means well. “If any of you hear any screaming, pay no mind, that’s just how we greet each oth—”

“Agent L/N!” Hotch shouts from his doorway.

“Coming!” you shout back, just as loud and just as annoyed. “For fuck’s sake,” you mutter to yourself.

You hop up the stairs two at a time, reaching Hotch’s office in seconds. 

The man that was beside Hotch offers you a smile. “I’m Agent Rossi,” he extends his hand. 

“Agent L/N,” you return the friendly expression, shaking his hand, just glad that he at least seems happy to meet you. “I’ll see you soon, I’m sure.”

Rossi nods slowly, mouthing, “Good luck.”

You like him already. You smirk.

Hotch is standing behind his desk when you walk into his office, anger written all over his face. His arms are crossed over his chest, fingers picking at his nails ever so slightly.

“Close the door.”

“Promise not to shoot me?” you joke, but it doesn’t land. You shut the door and take a seat in front of his desk while he remains standing. “Well?”

Finally, he speaks. “What the hell are you doing here?”

You let out a laugh. “Oh, great.” You sit up because this is just stupid. “Are you kidding me? This is the last division I wanted to work in, but I was transferred here. At your behest, might I add—”

“I can assure you, Agent L/N, I did not request that you join my team,” he says as he sits down, rolling toward his desk and placing his arms over the files littered before him.

“Well then Agent Reynolds is a fucking liar, I guess,” you deadpan. “He’s the one who told me I was assigned to the BAU — because of you.”

“Well it wasn’t me.”

“Glad we got that settled,” you shoot back, wanting instead to add, like I fucking care if it was you or not. “Listen, whether either of us likes it or not, I was assigned here, so I’m here. If you want me to leave, take it up with Agent Reynolds or whoever the fuck really requested me. But I can’t do shit about this, and this is now my job, so I’m not leaving just because you want to have some pissing contest.”

He looks like he’s chewing on fire. “Your job security is not my problem—”

“For God’s sake, call your fucking boss, it won’t make you any less of a man to ask a goddamn question about why you have a new agent in your office.”

Hotch glares at you, but does as you say, picking up his desk phone and pressing a few buttons.

You sit back in your chair, waiting in silence. You turn your head to look through the blinds because Hotch didn’t close them all the way, and you nearly start to laugh. Huddled around one desk, Morgan, JJ, Emily, Reid, and another blonde woman dressed in bright colors and shapes are listening intently to Reid who is no doubt lip reading and translating this entire conversation.

Finally, the line connects and Hotch starts speaking. Almost as quick as the phone call begins, it ends.

“Well?” you ask.

“There was some miscommunication,” Hotch admits, though he does not look happy about it. “Welcome to the Behavioral Analysis Unit.”

You smile sarcastically. “Thank you, Agent Hotchner.”

“You’re dismissed,” he says. “We’ll meet in the conference room in five minutes to discuss the rest of today. Don’t be late.”

“Yes, sir,” you mutter as you escape his office, just glad he didn’t torture you with a handshake.

Emerging from Hotch’s office, you stand against the railing and ask the team where the conference room is.

Morgan points to your left. “Why?”

“He told me we’re meeting there to discuss—”

“That’s on hold now,” JJ says, whirling around the BAU with an armful of files. “We’ve got a case. Missing girl, thirteen years old.” She passes out files in the bullpen, handing one to you as she ascends the stairs.

“Shit,” you mutter. “How long has she been missing?”

“Starting without me?” Hotch asks as he walks out of his office. He takes a file from JJ and says a quiet, “Thanks.”

“Yep, we are,” you say right back, scanning your file. You think you hear Rossi let out a chuckle at your response. “Gone since this morning. Are they certain it wasn’t overnight?”

“The mother dropped Lila off at school this morning at seven, and by nine, she was absent,” JJ explains as everyone fills into the conference room. “They paged her at school over the intercom, but she’s not in any of the classrooms.”

“How are we hearing about this so quickly?” Morgan asks. “I mean, I’m glad, but it’s been…just over an hour. We don’t normally have this much time.”

“Because,” JJ pauses, pointing the remote toward the TV. “This is Lila’s father.”

On the screen, the FBI’s Most Wanted are staring back at you. JJ clicks again, and one face comes forward.

“Who?” Emily says.

“Richard Monroe,” Reid says aloud. “He’s been on the run for almost two years. He’s said to have killed a dozen people, all females, but they suspect there might be more. Every time we’ve come close to catching him, he gets away.”

“And now his daughter is missing,” Rossi adds. “I’m guessing this guy is our unsub.”

“I don’t know,” you stare into Richard’s eyes on the screen. “When was he last seen?”

“You can investigate that when we get there,” Hotch says curtly. “They’re waiting for us and we’ll lose time by flying. Wheels up in ten.”

Everyone files out of the room and Hotch stays back, waiting for you to be the last one in the room.

“Agent L/N,” Hotch gets your attention. “Since you’ve never tackled a case like this before, try your best to follow orders, and watch what the team does. Don’t make any rash decisions and don’t go off on your own.”

None of his comments anger you as much as the first one. “You don’t know that I’ve never encountered something like this.”

“Don’t argue with me when we have a missing girl,” Hotch snaps. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” you reply, pushing past him.

“I hope you have a go bag,” he calls after you. “There will be no time for shopping when we’re on the ground.”

“Then I’ll just wear your clothes!” you yell back, knowing it’ll get a rise out of him. You hear Morgan snicker down in the bullpen. 

“Agent L/N,” Hotch says, and when you turn around, you see he’s giving you his famous stare.

You sigh. “My bag is in my car. It’ll take me two minutes to grab it. That’s clearly less than ten. Unless you have anything else to say that might delay me further?”

“Go,” he says, waving you away as he heads into his office to grab his bag. “Now.”

+++

While you’re on the jet, you do some research on Richard Monroe. He’s a grade A piece of shit if you’ve ever seen one.

But he’s not the type to go after his daughter.

“Garcia, can you check and see if Richard tried at all to contact Lila on her cell?” you ask.

“I would, sweets, but I can’t find Lila’s phone. Their house phone, however, has no calls.”

“He wouldn’t call the house phone, not with Lila’s mom watching over her like a hawk,” you murmur. 

Hotch lifts his head. “How do you know that?”

“Know what?”

“That her mother would be overbearing.”

“Her father’s a serial killer on the run, Hotch,” you reply. “Any mother would keep tabs on her daughter’s every breath if she had a father like that. It’s logic.”

“She makes a fair point,” Rossi says.

“It’s unfounded,” Hotch ignores him, still dead set on irritating you. “Until you talk to her mother, don’t jump to any conclusions about her behavior.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Until I do?”

“Yes, you will be talking to her mother when we get on the ground. Morgan will go with you.” He nods to Derek. “Reid, you and JJ get set up at the precinct. Prentiss, Rossi, and I will go to the middle school. We’ll meet back at the precinct to discuss our next steps.”

You share a look with Morgan before sinking back in your chair, glaring at the file instead of Hotch.

It's going to be a long fucking day.

[ecc-poetry]

BALANCE THE PARTY

social justice barbarian Never met a nazi they wouldn't punch. Never met a cop they wouldn't call a nazi. Treats the soft animal of their body like a lance to the heart of a tyrant. Their anger is a gift from God– it transubstantiates.

social justice necromancer Reads her history. Says their names. Goes through cemeteries leaving flowers, grave-borrowing tactics. Coaxes the spirits from their beds to let them dance; we realize we have always been beautiful.

social justice rogue Unplucks the landlord's tapestries at night. She covers her face, she code-names, wipes the prints from her hand after shaking. She's a lot. A blade in the dark that daylight can't soften. She hums a mantra called mission; it's all the warning you'll get.

social justice bard Makes his sincerity a lute and plucks fingers raw upon it. Has brass knuckles on the inside of his throat. Knows what to say to soothe the scared guy sleeping rough, to make the officer laugh instead of shove.

social justice druid Gives you grace and space to grow. Makes a weird balm to calm your hurts. Turns into a panther once a day dispensing courage; turns into a dove once a day dispensing peace. Serves the world from the half-empty vessel in their heart.

social justice warlock Sold her soul to do DEI for a Fortune 500 company. Walks each day through thicketed razors, carving footholds in a hill of glass. The job takes its pint of blood so slowly, it is possible to believe she doesn't feel it.

social justice paladin Always knows the words. Is afraid of what will happen if they forget them. It's not an excuse, but it is sandpaper, truths nailed into the shoebeds. They're implacable from the outside. They can't believe I would love them without their fury.

social justice cleric The people tell her, "Your mouth ruined our movement. You suffer in silence all the time–what's one more?" She believes in a love whose demands cut friends and enemies alike. She cleanses, sad surgeon. She is martyred twice. From the ground where her tears fall, a perfect flower grows.

social justice warforged Has a fuckin' truck!!! He rolls up to mutual aid and the people rejoice at his truck. He is become a mover of things, a Christ-bearer: mattresses and gasoline, the girl who needs a ride across the state. She says bless you, bless your truck, and his heart swells. He never knew he could be so needed.

social justice giant crab Strength +1. Intelligence -5. She is a crab. She has 13 hit points and claws for hands– but she can breathe water and air. She knows what the surface looks like from underneath. She carries wisdom in her crab body that the arc of the universe will always bend to rediscover. Don't you get it? That we all have gifts to give?

-elisa chavez

[artbyblastweave]

So, both Marvel and DC periodically do "fascist takeover of America" crossover events. The one I read the most of was the 2006-2010 mega-arc spanning Avengers Disassembled and Siege, where the high-profile superheroic fuckups of Avengers Disassembled, Secret War and House of M create the political climate necessary for Civil War, and the subsequent government consolidation of power over superheroes, the regulatory infrastructure created downstream of that, is then directly implicated in Norman Osborn's eventual soft takeover of the American Security State- at least until he overplays his hand and gets curbstomped in the usual status-quo reset manner. On balance I genuinely really liked this arc, which is at least partially down to nostalgia- but part of it is that I very broadly find the whole thing plausible, essentially a four-color and comparatively toothless implementation of the ideas Bendis and Millar were playing with in the Ultimate Marvel sandbox. It raises questions about Superheroic accountability that the really aggressive shooters for that idea can't really weasel out of- accountability to who? You think the fucking Bush Administration should get to sign off on what superheroes can and can't do? The freaks who got millions of people killed in the middle east with a fake-nuke fig-leaf over their hardon for the gun salesmen?

(I call this a toothless implementation because Ultimate Marvel had Bush personally, directly deploy Captain America and company in Iraq. Mainline Marvel gestured at this but, due to the number of authors involved, ended up being a lot more thematically confused in regards to whether they liked the government or not. I like Ultimate Marvel.)

Anyway. The thing about the "fascist takeover of America" plot is that even though it's typically gesturing at plausible real-life concerns- The Military Industrial complex run amok, the NSA with superpowered attack dogs, and so on- it always ends up doing so from within the superheroic idiom in a way that robs the real-life referents of their power. A slick demagogue takes over the government, but that demagogues a conventional supervillain and once you unmask him and punch him out everything is back to normal. The CIA has unleashed an army of killbots but once you destroy the secret killbot factory and arrest five or six people all is normal again in heaven and earth. There's always some inner circle, always some prime mover you can beat to a pulp about it. It's never painted as just the inevitable consequence of a significant chunk of the American populace being subsapient authoritarians who elect a bunch of criminal maniacs to enact an unmanaged suicide of the modern administrative state.

There's an extent to which doing something like this is always going to fall outside of the big-two mandate because going all in on what I'm about to talk about would put so much of a lie to the basic aspirational premise of the thing so as to make it unrecoverable. But a story I'd really like to see is a registration act situation where the superheroes are integrated under government power, it's cool, it's cool, and then over the course of a couple administrations, a couple economic downturns and maybe an adventurist overseas war it very pointedly becomes uncool. Some cornfed fascist slides into the oval office, and there is no genre-specific mitigating element. It's not because of his mind-control powers, it's not because he's a catspaw for a supervillain or an ancient conspiracy. It's just the the proven American propensity for electing evil morons- or possibly the proven American propensity for electing evil genteel politicians, norms-and-civility ghouls who drone strike exactly as many weddings as the evil morons, if not more. And now the political moment has beaten down the gates to the walled fairyland garden of the superheroic cops-and-robbers runaround, and superheroes find themselves being sicced on campus protests and whistleblowers and overseas targets, every other evil exercise of power associated with the cops and the military and the national guard, and there's no smoky backroom you can beat up to ensure a return to normalcy, because this is normal. This isn't what they signed up for. This is exactly what they signed up for.

[r3starttt]

Lady of the moon

caitlyn kiramman x reader | read this or DNI

an: I highly suggest you read the request, also, might be part one if this gets enough support bcs this idea has been sooo long on my drafts but it wasn’t until this req that I actually put my mind into it. Pls reblog, comment, whatever, thx mwah

moonlight in a quiet garden, that’s her beauty

Another day of the usual stealing, running and trying not to get caught by pultover citizens as an attempt to survive in the undercity.

You were currently at the roof of what seemed like the fanciest mansion you've ever stepped, luxurious white decorating It's external walls and a deep dark blue on the roof that shined by the almost unbearable sun.

A jump and you were already outside a balcony, desperately trying to open the door as fast as possible at the sight of a nice amount of enforcers at the main entrance. Until desperation kicked in.

Something you've learned is topsiders have nothing to worry about, with that said, their security sucked. So a kick and you were inside what seemed like an office.

There were at least four bookshelfs fulled with books of all kinds of stuff, a huge table in the middle near the biggest window and the door you've came in, it had some sheets with designs, maths and other stuff written you could barely understand.

Aware of the minimum time you had to grab everything and leave and amused by all the stuff you would gain a good reward of, you disposed to sarcastically and slowly grab every peace of whatever artifacts you could find to put It Inside a small bag. Looking trough the books for anything that looked valuable.

That until a weird shimmer cought your eye. Blue and small there was a round crystal directing the shine of the sun to your eye, so you grabbed it.

It wasn't the only one so you didn't think twice and grabbed them all.

Humming, you didn't realize there were footsteps approaching until you heard some keys trying to unlock the door.

You've never get caught, so the panic of it all made you fall, and with it one of the blue orbits you've caught some seconds before broke.

As your hand extended to grab it the door got open, you closed your fingers in the palm of your hand, making of it a tight fist.

"Yeah, I think you should change this door, it's not the first time it blocks itself" That was the most feminine and sophisticated voice you've ever heard, accompanied by the profile of a girl probably your age, with blue dark hair. It reminded you of the crystals you've found. How could someone like her have a place like this for herself you thought, interrupted by a face completely terrified.

"Wait!" She screamed to whoever was accompanying her. You mover your fist to your face, relaxing it as your fingers expressed a silent emotion, warning her to not make any silence.

"What now? You forgot something again?" A male voice was heard, if it's wasn't for that girl you would be dead already, something you knew was men could only mean danger here.

The blue haired girl nodded, rapidly realizing she couldn't be seen so she spoke again "Yeah! I'm so sorry, just... leave the boxes here and I promise I'll help you"

Fancy black shoes stepped inside the office, gently approaching to you as the man probably mid upstairs groaned.

Accompanied by more steps, now going away and the loud sound of boxes hitting the ground right outside the place you just robbed. Your heart beat could be felt all over you'd body.

Why would a topsider panic about you? Why wouldn't she just try to directly kill you as you were told they would if they ever caught you?

"Just go, I won't say anything, I promise" she gently kneeled on the floor, leaving the box she had in hand as quiet as possible.

And of course you didn't believe any of it, but what else could you do besides running away from here?

"Don't come here again, it's dangerous" her voice and words caught you of guard. "Yeah I know that" you responded sarcastically, grabbing the broken crystal from the floor "Your people, they're all crazy"

You could notice a small pout appearing on her face "I'm sorry"

Ignoring her words you turned around, readjusting your bag now heavy on your shoulders, stepping slowly to the outside of the balcony, to leave right like you came in. "Don't be"

You shrugged, giving her a last look. She was the most prettiest girl you've ever seen, and somehow, even not believing any word she said, you could feel her warmth, she wasn't like the others.

And that tought as much as it made your heart feel nice, it also made you worried. Because piltover is made for the cruel and hunger of power, not for the nice and tender like her.

"Take this" her hand had something that looked like a music box, but by the way it looked it was probably the most expensive music box. Yet, it couldn't be so easy right?

You laughed taking it away from her and quickly saving it in your bag "Why for?"

"My dad's money, you won't get in trouble" the way she spoke elicted a smile on your face "thanks uh..." your hands moved, expressing you wanted to know her name

"Caitlyn" "Yeah, thanks caitlyn, hope to see you next time" she was about to laugh until everything went white. A loud pit covered your eyes, blinding you and making you jump out of there.

As you recovered the very small vision you could get you noticed the balcony floor cracking. Did she do this?

Did she do this?

You glanced at her, noticing a blue shine near her. It had been a peace of the stone it fell when she caught you.

Could the others explode? It didn't matter. You had to run away.

The voice of people screaming in fear caught your attention, making you look down at the floor that was starting to fall.

But before you could do anything there was someone waiting ro you already. By the way it screamed caitlyns name it was probably the same man you heard before.

-

"I've heard you were running around piltovers finest?" Silco's voice was hear the moment you stepped inside what was home for you, for him.

"Don't be so mortified, look" as you left the bag fall to the floor you saw his face pointing at the big aquarium. "Beautful aren't they? Yet, up there... at the surfece, no one even know they exist"

His eyes narrowed back at you, opening his arms as he wanted for you to step closer. Once you did he placed his hand on your back, moving it up and down "they're monsters" you shrugged

"There's a monster inside all of us" you nodded, chuckling at the sight of a syringe. Grabbing it nonethelessly and turning your body to properly face him. Injecting it into his eye.

-

The nation of zaun, that’s what you cared most about. You were born there, grew up there, saw your life get slowly destroyed in front of your eyes at the youngest age possible. You learned to forgive, on your own, ironically based on what you’ve seen. What you lived with that blue haired girl named caitlyn you managed to keep in contact after that one time you got caught.

You thought that both sides were doing their bests to have the highest life quality, to keep its people alive and to keep its own spaces existing. You knew you were part of the bad guys, the dangerous and dirty. Even though you weren’t, so, how fair was it to think the same about the other side?

Piltover’s citizens were people like you, afraid of the unknown, with imaginary enemies they were thought to hate since birth. People trying to survive with the peacefullest life possible, with dreams, families, life’s to give a chance experiencing in the best way possible.

So you couldn’t really hate them, because to you, that was ironic, stupid, nonsense.

Oposite to Silco, the man you grew up with, the one that saved your life, the one that was your only family. He thought you to hate them, to be powerful and never fear anyone, never trust people, not even your own, because it was only the two of you in this world.

And you couldn’t blame him either, he suffered what you saw, so you couldn’t really relate to anyone’s pain, specifically not his.

You were the reason this all existed. And how he would let you know, every day, every time. You’re everything that’s behind The nation of Zaun, you found everything that was necessary to create it and make it a possibility. For you it was someone else, a person you omitted while explaining to Silco what had happen and a detail Sevika didn’t know either. For you it was all thanks to caitlyn, who made sure no one searched for you after that, the girl that somehow managed to make people forget everything that happened.

The girl you were currently looking for, most exactly, waiting for since you failed to find her. She genuinely cared about you, and knew the danger of your stance in piltover, so the window of her room would always be open for you.

Laying on her bed you heard steps coming closer and closer outside her room, it could only be her so you waited for her usual entrance where she would catch on her bed the moment she stepped inside, smiling at you an practically running to ramble with you about whatever.

But today wasn’t the case apparently. You noticed the trophy she had in hand, probably her parents did something again and she didn’t like it. “Why so blue kiramman?” she laughed humorlessly “so funny” her eyes rolled as she stepped closer to her bed, you sat on it, waiting for her to come sit next to you.

“I’m a hundred percent sure it was your mom so, please cait, stop being so annoying and stubborn and enjoy your privilege yeah?” she shocked her head, grabbing the trophy in between her legs, making them dance on the air “it was someone else, I… uhm, wanted to tell you something”

You furrowed your brows almost immediately “did you do something? someone did something to you?” your eyes wandered all over her face, trying to read her mind somehow. She didn’t look physically hurt, she couldn’t be but you had to check anyway by how she was acting, you could never know with this people.

Caitlyn extended her trophy to you, confused, you just grabbed it in silence. But it all made sense the moment you read the word enforcer “You’re fucking kidding me? what’s wrong with you caitlyn?”

You leaned your face to make her look back at you “I knew I could never trust you” you groaned in annoyance. It made her look back at you, grabbing your writs and her trophy back, placing it on her bed “don’t say that, you know I have no more options”

“You do, you just want to make things harder for everyone. Just do what your mom says and let her give you a princess life Caitlyn” you swayed her hand away, walking to the window near her bed.

“But you know I don’t want that” her murmur made you so angry for some reason, you always agreed on it, you were the one to support her on not doing what her mom suggested. But she omitted a huge detail, one that you felt like a direct attack to you and what you cared most about, zaunties.

“I don’t want what my family wants either and look at me! I do what Im told and still manage to enjoy parts of it. You’re so privileged… it’s stupid that you’re tying to play the nice humble girl when you’re not, you could never know what it is to be like that”

You weren’t sure of what was more hurtful from this whole situation, but didn’t care either. “Playing the good guy involves me being the bad one, my people being the bad guys, and we’re not, caitlyn”

The tears that were slowly covering her face made you regret saying those words, but god how hurt you felt, how betrayed. Maybe Silco was right and it was only the two of you alone in this whole thing. Or maybe Caitlyn was growing up to become like her people, and so were you. Maybe oil and water can’t get along.

-

“Golden boy…” you whispered at the huge sheet in front of you with the face of the man that was also the reason of everything. Jayce, caitlyn had told you about him. Everyone kept on saying how perfect he was but you were proven more than once topsiders are a bunch of pretty faces trying to play the humble.

Every time you saw that blue uniform you got a feeling in your stomach, nostalgia and disgust. You could only imagine it would at least look good on caitlyn, with her pretty blue hair and her pretty face, because you never believed there was a way she would actually made the job. Only for her convenience of course, like making even harder zaunties life’s, making your life harder, making Silco’s life harder.

Because that’s why you and your people were here for, the blue orbs that would make the difference.

After that fight with Caitlyn you stopped coming back in a while, fearing she could find you and you could attack her, fearing she could attack you and you would have to let her hurt you, fearing you could get her in troubles or she could get you in troubles. Yet here you are, doing it all for Silco.

Well, you weren’t supposed to be here exactly, but jinx insisted on letting her do the hard job. Sevika was there too so she would manage all, or so she insisted always, no matter what you or jinx or anyone else did she could always do better, so you were taking advantage of it to get what you wanted all at once.

Proving nor sevika or jinx could do this as you could, and taking a peek of caitlyn who had to be somewhere. Her family would do anything to keep her from seeing real world but as any other citizen in here, they had to play the humble and caring people so there was no way she wasn’t working on a day like this. Progress day, being also close with that golden boy she had to be at least standing somewhere looking pretty and pretending to work.

To your surprise there she was, right in front of you, some meters apart. She was standing in front of a tent until she turned around. Due the position you were in you couldn’t see who she was talked to, but she looked entertained. Until she didn’t, you lost her out of sight.

-

“Caitlyn kiramman, why does that don’t surprise me?” you chuckled at the sight of amused eyes of a man that worked with you, covered by her, trying to make him speak with her usual sweetness, the same way she did with you. You had a gun pointed at him, ordering him to keep quiet as you kneeled near them.

She turned around, her face showed a mix of confusion but warmth, like the first time you ever saw her. You moved the gun closer to the man, signaling to leave, which he did immediately.

“If you care so much about the undercity why not ask your old friend mhm?” You saved the gun, extending your hand to help her stand again, which she ignored, eliciting a laugh from you “You did this?” her voice, it caused the same feeling that uniform, and her face, and this place. It made you feel dizzy in some sort of way.

You nodded “why, you’re gonna take me to prison or something?” Caitlyn rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she stepped back. “You haven’t changed” “Yeah?” you mocked.

Next to her on the ground you noticed some pictures, you just glanced at them, knowing she would pick them up the moment she noticed you looking at them.

“That’s not me, the mask” she narrowed her eyes at you, doing exactly as you’ve expected “He said something about a man, you work for someone now?” she seemed surprised

You shrugged “I always did” her mouth opened yet before she said anything you spoke again “I thought you didn’t do your job, you looked better standing and just looking pretty outside your mom’s tent”

“You were watching me?” her eyes studied your figure, furrowing her brows “it was her tent then? I guessed that” her hand traveled to the side of your arm, giving it a gentle snap, which made you jump back “What was that?”

“You disappear for years and now this?” now you were the one rolling the eyes “I thought something had happened to you”

You watches the scene in our silence, she looked genuinely worried, intrigued by this whole situation. It made you realize how normal you were about all this, how you’ve created a whole reality of her person now, and how inaccurate that might be.

But then you remembered why you left her on the first place, the words Silco said to you.

“So you agree your people’s dangerous?” you let out a sigh, turning around and watching all the mess your crew had done “enforcers are dangerous” you murmured, hearing her steps roaming somewhere behind you.

“I’m not, I’m here because I know something’s been wrong and I want to help the undercity” you shifter your gaze back to her “Why?” “For you”

[kenananamin]

Beside Each Other

Chapter 1: Moving in

[masterlist]

Summary: Single mom moves into a third floor apartment with her 5 year old daughter. Nanami Kento lives on the second floor and knows someone is moving in when he hears the furniture scraping across the floor to find its spot in the apartment. He expects the noise to end in a day or two but then hears the little pitter patter of tiny feet followed by a muffled, "Stop running!" Well... this should be interesting.

fluff, nanami kento x fem!reader

~3.6k words

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Monday

*Second floor, Nanami's apartment* 

Team leader Nanami Kento grabs his mug of freshly brewed tea and goes to sit in his office to begin the work day. It's almost the same thing every single day but he enjoys the job so far. The team is responsible and quick, he can work quietly from home, and most importantly, the pay is much better than any of his past jobs. He'll be able to save most of his check and save enough to move to a better place soon. The current building was breaking down and it seemed that every neighbor had a new complaint every day. He really does feel bad for anyone that falls for the listing and is conned by the landlady who just wants to fill the apartments for rent. He should've known better, a two bed two bath for much less than anything in the area was bound to have its conditions.

He sighs thinking about the apartment but logs in for the day and begins reading through the emails that came in over the weekend. A few emails in and he hears a couple loud thumps upstairs. He knew Truman left last week but the landlady was very quick to con someone (again) to take that space.

Nanami sighs, "Welcome to the money pit, neighbor."

He continues his morning while hearing the furniture scraping across the floor to find its spot in the apartment. The heavier furniture was loud and slow and the lighter stuff was clear and quick. It should only be a day or two at most of this noise. That is, until he hears quick and small pitter patters from the living room to right above his office.

Nanami pauses and focuses to listen through the thin walls. He hears a very muffled, "This is my room, mommy! Mommy! Momma!"

A kid? Nanami wonders.

*Third floor, your apartment*

You swing the door open and pout at the old discolored paint. This apartment wasn't at the top of your list, not even in your top 10, but it was cheaper than everything else and close to Yunn's school. Mr. Truman warned you about this apartment but also said it was a good temporary spot for you and Yunn. At least until your application was approved for any of the other apartments, townhouses, or rental houses you applied for. Mr. Truman and Jessie promised they'd let you know if they ever passed by any 'For Rent' sign.

You move out of the way while holding Yunn's hand to let the mover see the space to know what to bring up first. They quickly scan the room and go back down to bring the first bunch of furniture. You walk to the kitchen bar to check the papers left on the counter and look up to see the movers with the couch and side tables. 

"Momma, can I go see the rooms?"

"Yeap, but remember what I told you please."

Yunn indeed does not remember and sprints off to one end of the apartment towards the smaller room. "This is my room, mommy! Mommy! Momma!"

You try to do a quiet tip-toe run after your daughter to get her to quiet down. 

"Stop running!" you catch up to your excited daughter. “Yunnuen, I had told you to please not run and not yell. Please, baby, we just talked about this.”

She looks up and nods but continues to look around the room. Mr. Truman had said that although the neighbors constantly complained about management, they were very nice to each other. He told you the downstairs neighbor wouldn’t mind a little noise but you wanted to avoid making any noise, period. Mr. Truman said the neighbor worked from home and the last thing you wanted was to disturb someone while they worked or become a nuisance when they're trying to rest.

“Knock knock!”

“Ms. Jessie!” Yunn ran to the room door where Mr. Truman and Jessie stood.

“The movers are in and out and the door is open, we hope you don’t mind that we came in!”

Jessie was Yunn’s old pre-k teacher. She knew everything from your work schedule, to Yunn’s dad, to your struggle of finding a new place. You both grew close throughout the year especially after Yunn moved up to kinder. Mr. Truman is Jessie’s father. He works as a janitor at the same school and saw you often when you’d stay a bit longer after school to talk to Jessie and let Yunn play in the playground. He had to move in with Jessie after a back injury and told you about his old apartment. He did warn you about the shabbiness of it but said it’d be alright in the meantime. The kind older man offered to help with any maintenance issues and although you agreed at the time, you knew you would never call the poor man to work with his injured back. You’d figure it out… you hoped.

“No no, of course not! You didn’t have to come! It’s your day off, you should’ve stayed home to relax.”

Jessie looks up from hugging Yunn, “Didn’t want to stay home. I can help put some of the boxes in the correct rooms and at least start unboxing a few things.”

“And I wanted to show you a couple things around the building. Most of the things in here are old and get stuck. We all have — or had for me, our own ways of doing things around here,” Mr. Truman smiled at you. The gentlest smile, similar to the smile he always had around Jessie. “Come on, follow me down to the mailbox. Damn thing always gets stuck”

If anyone knew the building, it would be him. You start to follow Mr. Truman out the door when you turn and tell Yunnuen to stay with Jessie and not leave her sight.

*First floor, mailboxes*

Nanami pushes his mailbox slot to get it open. He wasn’t expecting any mail but he was making time for the new upstairs neighbor to finish moving things in the room directly above him to make a couple work calls. He takes a coupon page from the inside and closes his box. 

“Be careful with the last steep step here, hold that baby’s hand tight when coming down or she might tumble one day.”

The familiar voice made Nanami turn quickly. Was that…? “Truman?” Nanami asked.

“Nanami! Hello boy, good thing I caught you here, there’s someone you should meet.”

You were a couple steps behind Mr. Truman, carrying a couple welcome bags with things the elderly neighbors had given you after knowing you were a friend of their close friend and had a little girl.

“Nanami, this is y/n, she’s moving into my old place with her little girl. y/n, this is Nanami, the downstairs neighbor,” Mr. Truman fumbles for the mailbox key you handed him on the staircase, “I’m gonna show her my trick to box 303.”

Only her and her daughter... single mom? Nanami extends his hand, “Well, welcome to the building, y/n.”

You shake his hand and smile, “Thank you, Mr. Truman mentioned you work from home. Please let me know if we get too loud, I’ll try to keep our volume down either way but please let me know if it’s too much.”

Nanami shakes his head, “It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

You smile again, but still feel a little bad at the thought that Yunnuen could be running around while this man tried to work. Despite Mr. Truman telling you about this man's calm and patient behavior, you still wanted to avoid any extreme noise. It’s a temporary place, but you still want to be considerate to others.

Mr. Truman calls you over to show you how he would push the mailbox up and slightly to the left to get it open. Mr. Truman closes the mailbox after wiggling it around and continues to talk about the trash chute, the main doorway, avoiding the elevator unless you have heavy things, the never opened or available maintenance office, the broken window at the end of the hall, the flickering light on the 2nd floor staircase, and on and on and on. 

“Call me when you need something. I’m still close and know this building better than anyone, including that landlady!” Mr. Truman hits his chest to emphasize his point, making you smile. 

Nanami notices your hesitation about calling Truman, but excuses himself to go up to his apartment. 

“Don’t work too much, boy! It’s a holiday and it’s supposed to be a long weekend!”

Nanami gives a small smile to the old man, “Just a bit more today, promise.” He politely smiles, nods towards you and turns to leave.

Handsome, you thought.

Pretty, Nanami thought.

Thursday

*First floor, maintenance office*

Nanami opens the main entrance door and is immediately greeted by the warmth of the first floor. He pulls the bags on his right hand closer to himself and begins going up the stairs, but stops when he sees you trying to peek through the closed blinds of the maintenance office.

Nanami steps away from the staircase and walks a few feet towards you, “They’re supposed to be here Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at least half day but I’ve never seen them open for more than a couple hours at a time. You might have missed them already.”

You quickly turn towards him, slightly disgruntled at the closed office. You put your hands on your hips and ask, "do you think they’ll come in tomorrow?"

Nanami slightly tilts his head to the side and without saying a word, you understood completely. You sigh heavily and pace in front of the office before pointing to the closed door, “Would you happen to have a number or contact for any maintenance person?”

"Yeah," he shrugs, but before you get too excited, he said, "Truman. He was our unofficial in-house maintenance man and he was the one that everyone called."

You hesitate before saying, "I wouldn’t want to bother him. His back is still hurt pretty bad and I wouldn’t want him on the floor."

"On the floor?" Nanami raises his eyebrows.

Nanami notices how you hesitate to answer, but you continue, "I noticed a small leak underneath the kitchen sink and I thought I just had to tighten it so I did but it’s been leaking nonstop since yesterday. I wouldn’t want to call Mr. Truman and ask him to basically crawl under my sink to figure out what’s wrong."

Nanami looks at his watch and sees he has 40 minutes left of his lunch. He looks back up, "I know we just met and I’m not a maintenance man but Truman did teach me a few things. Before you, I was the youngest in this building and he said every young man needed to learn how to handle things around his apartment," He chuckles at the memory of the older man happily walking downstairs to Nanami's apartment to help, "He helped me at first, but towards the end, he would just bring me the tools and supplies and watch me fix things on my own. I can go up and see what’s wrong with it, I have about 40 minutes left so I can at least check it out."

"Didn't you just say Mr. Truman would take his tools to you?" you ask, trying to find a way to sneak in a kind no, thank you. 

"Yeah but he gave me about half his tool box when he moved out. Said I’d need it eventually," Nanami grins at the memory, "guess he was right."

Nanami sees you hesitate again and look down the hall. I don't want to ask any neighbor for this kind of help, I just moved in and don't know anything about him, you think. But — I do need the help, I can't have Yunn in a place without a properly working kitchen sink. You cross your arms and tell him, "I wouldn’t want to impose. I haven’t even been here in a week and I would already be asking you for something."

Nanami smiles and shakes his head. "It would be no imposition," he nods towards the staircase and motions you to walk up with him. "And I think you’ve held out long enough, maybe longer than the rest of us. A lot of us came down to the maintenance office the second day we were here."

Damn... I guess I can repay him later?

You lightly laugh and start ascending the stairs with your neighbor. "I'm y/n by the way, I know the last time I saw you was Monday," you stretch your hand out and Nanami introduces himself again.

"How can I pay you back? I wouldn’t want a free favor and I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity."

"Well let’s see what the issue is first. But I really don’t mind, Truman helped me when I needed it most. I’d be happy to help."

You turned your face away from Nanami, but he saw your tight-lipped smile. You both reach the second floor and tell Nanami you have a few tools he can use so he wouldn't have to stop to get his tools. Nanami nods and gives a small ok as you slowly reach your apartment door.

"Let me just say that I haven’t really had a chance to organize things how I would like and my daughter is not very good at picking things up before school," you reach into your pocket for the key and start to open your door.

Nanami laughs a bit behind you as you open the door. If it weren’t because you and Truman have mentioned your daughter, or the toys splattered on the living room floor, he wouldn’t believe a kid lived above him. Besides the first day and the chaos of moving in, he never heard any small footsteps running around or a child's laugh through the walls. He was somewhat impressed that you had kept your promise about keeping the noise down, but he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed though. Maybe he was looking forward to the noise of a child's laughter, sometimes the evenings were too quiet or they were filled with the elderly neighbor's drama filled evening programs.

"May I?" Nanami points to the bags in his hand and a spot on the floor near your door.

"Oh, I can take those, we can just put them on the table."

Nanami shrugs his shoulders a bit, his heavy coat becoming heavier in your warm apartment. You put his bags on an entryway table and ask him to follow you to the kitchen. He had been inside Truman’s apartment before and even though he knows it's the exact same layout as his own, he says nothing and lets you lead him in. 

Nanami sees you keep a good few feet from him in your apartment and he honestly can’t blame you, you just let a new neighbor you don’t know into your house. He avoids getting closer than necessary to not make you uncomfortable and opens the cabinets under the kitchen sink. You open the cupboard beside the sink and take out your toolbox for him to use.

"Thank you," he smiles and gives you a quick glance before turning back to the pipe underneath the sink. He shrugs his shoulders again to try to shift the increasingly warm jacket and reaches for the wrench to start working on the sink trap.

You leave the small kitchen and head for the area on the other side of the bar. If Nanami looked up, he would be able to find you and you weren’t sure where to stand while he worked. You didn't want to hover, but you also didn’t feel like you should leave him completely alone since he was doing you a favor. You grab a closed box and start unpacking the extra dishes and utensils. You can’t see what he’s doing exactly but you hear a couple tools moving on the pipes and the clanking of other tools in the toolbox.

You grab another box and start removing the newspaper from the top when you see Nanami shrugging again. Since it was cold outside, you always kept your home slightly warmer for Yunn. You’re comfortable and not too warm in what you’re wearing, but a 6-foot well-built man with a winter coat must feel like an oven.

"Umm, let me take your jacket. I can put it by your bags so it’s out of your way if you'd like." Your neighbor looks up and although you can only see the top half of his face, you notice the slight sweat building on his brow.

"Thank you, I don’t think it’ll take much longer, but I appreciate it," he drops the tool in his hand and stands to take off his jacket. He was definitely handsome, very handsome, in fact, and apparently very helpful. You nod and smile at the man and quickly turn to put his jacket by the entryway.

You return to your spot on the other side of the bar and he stands back up after unpacking your third box.

"So the sink trap is going to have to be replaced. If you ask management for the sink trap alone, then they can get it to you maybe early next week. Can't promise they'll do anything for the labor part of it but they'll send the part somewhat quickly," Nanami closes the cupboard and reaches back down for the toolbox.

You nod and take a mental note of what he says, "Can you show me which part that is? I can change it as soon as they give it to me."

Nanami looks at you round the kitchen bar to move next to him and asks, "Are you sure? I’m sure you would be able to figure it out, but I wouldn’t mind coming back and switching it quickly. This alone took," he looks back at his watch and continues, "10 minutes." 

You shift your weight from one leg to the other and contemplate his offer, "That’s a huge imposition, I can’t ask you to fix or switch everything for me."

Nanami gets on one knee to put the tools back in the cupboard where you retrieved them from. "I work eight hours a day, but I don’t have an exact assigned time to work. I can take my breaks whenever I want as long as I finish everything so I'd be able to replace it even during a break."

You hesitate again, but he continues, "Truman never let anybody help him. With the condition of the sink trap, I imagine that he couldn’t fix this himself, but he would be willing to help any of us if we needed anything. Think of this as me repaying him."

"Actually, he probably wasn't even aware of this, his daughter would take him home with her a lot towards the end of his lease here," you look up to your neighbor’s eyes. Even though the thought of a complete stranger in the same house as your daughter makes you nervous, you admit that you might need that help. It might be worth trusting Nanami especially when Mr. Truman kept talking about him so highly after your mailbox interaction last time.

The man is now gently smiling at you, waiting for your answer, and you smile back. "I work at the office two to three times a week. I work from home the rest of the week. I can let you know when I finally catch management so they can give me or order the part.” You pick at your fingernail, “I want you to know that I really really would not want to ask for any help, especially anything keeping you away from your real work or anything of yours, but I really would — do appreciate your help."

Nanami gives you another small smile and says, "Great, just let me know. You can just knock on my door or give me a call." He pulls out his wallet from his back pocket and hands you a business card. "It's my work cell but it's always on and I carry it everywhere."

You nod and take his card: Kento Nanami, Senior Mechanical Product Designer at Schneider Electric. Hmm, fancy. 

Nanami walks around you and heads to the front door. You follow behind as he's grabbing his jacket and bags from the table when he turns around to look at you. "I'm not sure if I should say this or not, but I really wouldn't mind if your daughter runs around a bit. I haven't heard anything from up here since the day you moved in... you don't have to be so careful. It's ok if you show a couple signs of life up here." He gives his last smile before opening the door, "See you soon, y/n." Nanami softly closes the door behind him. 

You stare at the door after his departure, his business card still in your hands. Show a couple signs of life up here. Anywhere else you've lived, you've been shushed through the walls and neighbors would complain about hearing your baby when you were trying your best to keep her quiet. You got used to keeping quiet ever since. Maybe it is ok — loud laughter, speaking a bit louder, maybe that much would be ok.

You smile down at the business card and put it behind your phone case for safekeeping.

Nanami returns to his apartment and looks at his watch. A little more than 25 minutes left for lunch. He sets his bags down and thinks about his pretty and nice neighbor. So she is a single mom. He sits on his couch and takes out his phone. 

Truman was no longer looking over his shoulder to make sure everything was being done correctly. Nanami did not want to mess this up.

Google search: how to replace a sink trap 

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Chapter 2: The Pizza and the Tooth Fairy

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 30, Epilogue - Pt. 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mild sexy stuff (Just some very light hand business. Very light.)

Word Count: 1.1k

Previously On...: You moved out of the Tower :(

A/N: This is it! The last part! You guys. I can't even. It's been a magical journey, and I'm so honored that I got to take it with all of you. I'm scheduling this post on Thursday in my office, and I'm fucking crying, because you've made this more than anything I could have ever hoped for. I love each and every one of you, so fucking much. Thank you for coming on this adventure with me. Thank you for loving Pocket. Thank you for sticking with Bucky and not throwing knives at him and his stupidity. Just, fucking THANK YOU. You are all amazing, beautiful people, and I could not have done this without you. Thirty Chapters, One Hundred Fifty Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Fourteen Words, and more to come. Bucky and Pocket's journey is not over! POOKIE LOVES YOU SO MUCH.

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Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

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Not even twenty minutes later– it was actually almost pathetic how close your new place was to the Tower, really– you were opening up the door of your brand new penthouse apartment. It was more extravagant than any other place you’d ever laid your head, and when Tony’s realtor had first shown it to you, you’d balked at the opulence of it. But Tony reminded you that you’d been shot, after all, and had almost died once, then actually died, all in the span of a few days, and after that, on top of everything else you had already endured in your life, wasn’t it time you treated yourself to something good? Besides, it wasn’t like you couldn’t afford it. So, here you were.

“Honey, I’m home,” you called out softly to the enormous, empty space. It would still be some time before the movers finished loading up and delivering everything from the Tower, and then you were going to have a lot of furniture shopping to do. Toeing off your shoes, you padded your way across the apartment to the terrace. Opening the glass doors, you stepped outside. You walked to the edge and rested your elbows against the railing. Taking a deep breath, you admired the view of the city before you, the Tower just a block away. Looking across, you could easily make out Tony and Pepper’s apartment. Waving at breakfast, indeed.

You felt a pair of strong arms slink around your midsection, tugging you into a broad, warm chest. “Thought I heard you come in,” Bucky said, nuzzling his head into the crook of your shoulder. 

“Hey, baby,” you smiled, reaching back to caress his face with your hand. You turned in his arms so you were facing him. “I missed you.”

 Bucky laughed as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips. “I only left the Tower two hours ago,” he said. “But I missed you, too.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and stood on your tiptoes to kiss him, pouring every ounce of love and affection you felt for him into the motion. “I can’t believe we finally did it,” you grinned.

“Took us long enough,” he mused back, but then turned thoughtful. “Probably would have happened a lot sooner if I hadn’t–”

You brought a finger to his lips, silencing him. “Stop. We agreed not to talk about that, remember? Dr. Whitmore said we can’t move forward if we keep hashing out the past, and I just want to move forward, with you.”

“Sorry,” he murmured, but you just smiled and kissed him again.

After you’d been released from the hospital, you and Bucky had had a long, emotional discussion about the future of your relationship. The only way you’d ever stand a real chance, you’d both decided, was if you committed to couples’ counseling and complete and total honesty. Bucky knew he didn’t deserve yet another chance from you, and you probably wouldn’t have given him one if you hadn’t loved him so fucking much. But you’d actually died, and you couldn’t stand the idea of wasting any more time without him. Now, after nearly a year of doing the work, both on your relationship and yourselves, you felt your connection was stronger than ever. And besides, when it really mattered, Bucky had proven, in the most definitive way, that he would pick you over Jade Carthage.

“So…,” you said once the kiss had been broken and you began playing with the hem of his shirt.

“So, what?” he asked. You raised an eyebrow at him suggestively. His eyes widened as he caught your meaning. “What? Here? Right now?!”

You tilted your head and looked up at him with the most innocent expression you could muster, given how completely un-innocent your current thoughts were. “Yeah, right here, right now. Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough, baby?” You trailed a hand down the center of his chest and his breath hitched. “Almost a full year, spent using my fingers, pretending they were you, never feeling full enough? Never getting off as good as I got off with you? It’s been so long since I felt you inside of me, Buck. So long, it fucking hurts.”

When you had decided to give your relationship a real reset, one of the rules you had established, with the advice of Dr. Whitmore, was no sex. You needed to establish emotional intimacy and boundaries once again, without the complications a sexual relationship would bring. She had even suggested you both try to date other people, to ensure that this was the relationship you both truly wanted, but neither one of you could bring yourselves to do it. And now, here you were, almost a full year since the last time you’d been together, and you were desperate. 

Bucky groaned at your words and you knew he was this close to giving in to you.

“Come on, baby,” you purred, reaching down and slowly unbuckling his belt. “Don’t you want me? Don’t you want to be inside of me?” You slowly began nibbling at his jaw, tasting the salty sweetness of his skin and letting it flood your senses.

“Always want you, Pocket,” he growled, tightening his grip on your waist and pulling you flush against his hips. You let out a low moan when you felt the evidence of his arousal press into your stomach through his jeans. 

“Then have me, Barnes,” you whispered, carding your hands through his hair. “Have me on this balcony, have me on every fucking surface of this apartment, as many times as you want.”

Any remaining sense of resolve Bucky may have possessed snapped, and he was on you, sucking on the skin of your neck as he rutted his hips against you, and it felt so. fucking. good. to feel him like that again. His hand dipped into the waistband of your pants, where he found you wet and eager for him. “Fuck, sweetheart,” he growled into your skin as his fingers slipped through your slick folds to toy with your clit. “All this for me?”

You groaned as you felt one finger gently breach your entrance. “Only you, love,” you moaned. “Only ever you.”

You both froze when you heard the sound of the elevator ding, and Bucky quickly withdrew his hand, popping his finger into his mouth to suck away the evidence of his actions. Grunting in frustration, you looked around him to see the elevator doors open and the movers begin to unload dollies of boxes from the Tower into your new apartment.

“Fuck,” you whispered. “So much for reunion sex. I swear, I’ve got blue balls, Barnes”

Bucky grinned at you, leaning down to give you a quick kiss before redoing his belt and heading over to help the movers. “This’ll only take a little while, doll,” he winked at you. “We’ve got the rest of our lives together to make up for lost time.”

<- Previous Part / The End

[jumblekinz]

unspoken/"secret" webkinz tips (feel free to reblog and add!)

trash appears in the park every 5 minutes - usually, the more pets in the park, the more trash appears

when playing cash cow 2, you want to keep the chocolate milk bottle on the screen! do not try and get rid of it. I didn't know this until I was like 18 lmao cause I never read instructions

when playing zingoz switcherooz, it's super risky and usually doesn't pay off to make a gap in your block of zingoz - even if it's the only move you have (I tried to illustrate this below). it may give you more zingoz for that move, but it's going to leave a hole where your opponent can switch all the zingoz you just got back over to their color. that said, if your opponent makes a gap, take that spot immediately

no, you're not going insane if you're playing checkers in the tournament arena and your opponent's checker moves onto a spot where there's already a checker - this is a glitch and has been glitching forever

another common glitch is text speech not working in the kinzchat+ clubhouse when trading - you may have to exit the trade or even the clubhouse and come back to it

some of the higher level classes in the kinzville academy get insanely hard - for classes like grooming or style, take screenshots or pictures with your phone so you have a reference picture

you can also take pictures for some employment office jobs! I usually screenshot where the gems are for the gem mining job because I swear it doesn't give you enough time otherwise

if you need more time when doing the kinzville mover job, you can hit the 'x' to quit, which brings up a pop up box. you can then still move the boxes behind the pop up!

when a deluxe membership only game is game of the day, anyone can play it - you don't have to be deluxe!

when your pet's hunger meter is full (i.e., when they are full/not hungry) you can feed foods to your pet and the food will not disappear but it will count toward quests that are like "feed your pet 5 hot chocolates"

[wandussyfantasy]

Free Use (WandaNat)

Summary: After the events of Feeling Twenty-Two, Wanda invites you to stay with her and Natasha as long as you please. With the condition that they can have you whenever they want.

Word Count: 2.1k

WARNINGS:

18+ ONLY, MINORS DO NOT READ & DO NOT INTERACT!!!

bottom fem reader, g!p Wanda, g!p Nat, oral, threesome, legal age gap, praising, degrading, creampie, and freeuse

𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓. 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.

“I just don't understand why you won't tell us where you're moving to?” Kate gripes as she moves a box of your things into the moving truck. Wanda was happy to pay for it and even offered to hire movers but you didn't want to explain something you couldn't afford to your friends. After your trip to your home town, you returned to start a new semester at school. But you couldn't stop thinking about the women who made your twenty second birthday the most memorable birthday ever. They even took care of you the next morning and you never wanted to leave but you told them you had a flight a couple days from then that you couldn't miss. They understood and Wanda made you an offer that she allowed you to think about. She didn't want an immediate answer. She wanted you to think about it.

Which you did, every moment of every day. It was an unusual offer. But it was also a very beneficial one. It took her until the end of her summer break to feel confident in an answer. She had gone on several bad dates within that time and no one caught her eye enough to have a one night stand with. But she had plenty of nights by herself, masterbating to the memories of that night. 

“Kate, will you please drop it? I’ll come visit when I can. Besides, we have a few classes together. It's not the end of the world,” you say to comfort your friend. When you finally called Wanda and agreed, she invited you to her office. She is a lawyer, so she had a few legal documents of the arrangement drawn up. There is a discretion clause, meaning that you couldn't just parade around that you agreed to be a sex object for the couple. She said that you are allowed to have outside relationships and even have friends over at the house. But until you could figure out a way to explain your situation without explaining it, you didn't want your friends and family to know anything.

“Alright, I guess I can't say anything to make you stay,” Kate throws her hands up in defeat. “Just know, it's your fault if I end up in prison.”

You laugh at the thought of her blaming you for her actions. “How would that be my fault?”

Kate shrugs, “You keep me from doing stupid stuff. Now I can do all of the stupid stuff I want.”

You shake your head, “I’m sure your new girlfriend will supervise you.”

“Yelena will be in the cell with me, excuse you,” she pretends to be offended. 

The two of you share a laugh. You look around to see that everything you own is inside of the moving truck. “I’ll see you in class next week,” you pull your now former roommate into a tight hug. 

“I’m not going to see you for a whole week!” she is upset by the idea, but you couldn't promise any sooner. Not when it's your first week on the job. 

Live-in Nanny, is your official title. They don't have kids or even pets for that matter. But it looks good on paper for when you have to get a job after graduation and employers won't ask too many questions. “You’ll be fine without me for a week,” you say as you shut and lock the truck. 

You pull Kate into a quick hug before getting into the cab of the vehicle. You are anxious to get to Wanda and Natasha’s. Wanda had messaged you that they have a special welcome home celebration planned. You wanted to be there several hours ago. 

Arriving at the mansion again, your pussy gets wet at the first memories made here. The night of fucking and the morning of aftercare. Oh how excited you are to be back here. Once you park the vehicle, a moving team is ready to unpack the truck. You climb out and look at Wanda and Natasha with confusion written all over your face. “As excited as we are for you to move in, we aren’t going to waste time with that,” Natasha explains. 

“It’s not a waste of time,” Wanda corrects her wife. “We would have been happy to help you move in,” Wanda guides you into the house with an arm around you. “We just thought it was to preserve our energy for… other things.” You shift as you think about what the energy will be spent. 

“The little whore wants to ride our dicks while the movers work,” Natasha says to her wife in a low tone. Wanda shakes her head.

“Well, she will have to wait. I made a special dinner.” Wanda surprises you with a kiss on your neck. “But don't worry, babe, we'll have fun as soon as your stuff is moved in and the audience is gone,” she promises. 

“Of course, uh, what are we having?” Walking into the dining room, your question is answered without either having to say a word. Displayed among an extravagant dining table is a full spread of delicious looking food. “You really didn't have to,” you say to Wanda. 

“We know,” Natasha says as she pulls a chair out for herself. “But that's what makes Wanda so amazing,” she blows a kiss to her wife. She blushes and you love the way the couple interacts with each other. Wanda informed you that they've been together for close to eleven years but only married for four years. You asked her why they wanted to include you if they were happy with each other. Wanda told you that they have always wanted to have a more polyamorous relationship. But never could find someone that worked for both of them. Sure, there were people that were okay with being with a married person. But there weren't many that were okay with being with both Wanda and Natasha. You are the first. 

The meal is fun and easy. You were worried that although there is a great sexual chemistry, there might not be any other connection. But, those fears fade as the three of you engage in conversation for hours without an awkward silence. The food was amazing and you made sure to compliment Wanda. She flushed and asked you to stop raving, “You can thank me later,” she continued suggestively.

“I most definitely will,” you say as you imagine what you're going to do with her once you can. 

The three of you move to the living area to watch a movie. They insist that you sit in the middle and snuggle up to you shortly after the film starts. Halfway through the movie, the manager of the moving crew informs you all that they are finished. Wanda gets up to pay the man and his team. She leads him away and once the front door shuts, Natasha nudges you onto her lap. You comply out of curiosity and feel her erection at your entrance. She tries to pull down your yoga pants but finds it difficult to do so. Annoyed, Natasha rips the pants open so that your ass and pussy are exposed. She roughly massages your ass as you continue to watch the movie while getting increasingly aroused. 

Then, Natasha unzips her jeans and pulls herself out. She rubs her cock along your entrance, getting it covered in your juices. “Of course, you're ready for me,” she slips inside and you let out a low moan. Natasha bounces you on her cock. “Oh I hate this part of the movie,” she says. 

“Yeah, it's, it's, it's not my favorite,” you respond. When Wanda returns, she has a bowl of popcorn and she sits comfortably next to you and Natasha. You get turned on even more as they go about things as normal while Natasha is fucking you. When you had signed the contract and agreed to the FreeUse clause, you had no idea just how much you were going to enjoy it. 

Natasha cums inside of you and plops you back onto the sofa. She tucks her softening cock away and they pick the next movie. Wanda takes your hand and places it over her bulge. You hungrily release her penis from the tightening pants and put it in your mouth. You love the taste of her cock, especially her cum which you are working hard to earn. Already on your first day, you have cum dripping from your pussy and cum in your mouth. You are going to love it here.

A few weeks later, you are laying on your bed as you study for an exam when Wanda enters the room. Her cock is standing out of her pants and she climbs onto the bed, hovering over your body from behind. She enters you without warning and you gasp. “Hey Wanda,” you greet as she slowly humps into you. 

“Hey darling,” she kisses your neck. “What are you working on?” 

“I have an exam at the end of the week, just getting some studying out of the way,” you say. Wanda reaches around your body to play with your clitoris, causing you to clench around her thick cock. 

“That’s great, I love how studious you are.” Wanda praises. “You’re going to make a great business woman one day.”

“Thank you, baby. That means a lot coming from you. Oooh,” Wanda picks up her pace a little bit and you start to lose focus on your notes. She rubs your clit harder and harder until your body is spasming around her cock, milking her cum out of her. 

Wanda doesn't leave before eating out the mess from your pussy, giving you another organism. She kisses you and wishes you luck with your studying. You thank her and she is gone. 

A couple days later, you are making breakfast when Natasha walks in with her morning wood. “Wanda already left for work,” she says as she roughly enters you. She doesn't have a lot of time so she pounds into you until she is ready to cum. She pulls out and shoots her sperm on your back. “That looks good, have a plate ready for me when I come back down, please.” 

“Of course,” you say as you finish making the meal. 

One day, you arrive home after class to find Wanda and Natasha fucking on the kitchen table. You drop your things to join them. Gravitating to Wanda’s cock to suck on her as Natasha rams her cock into the woman's pussy. “Welcome home,” Wanda says through gasps. “How was your day?”

You pop her cock out of your mouth to answer. “It was good, I'm happy to be home though.” You take her cock back into your mouth and Wanda's head falls back at the over stimulation of her cock and pussy at the same time. When she is cumming, Natasha swiftly pulls out of her and pulls you off of Wanda by your hair and shoves her cock into your mouth. Wanda's cum continues to shoot out, making a mess on her stomach and table. Natasha fucks your face ruthlessly until she is releasing her orgasm in your mouth. 

“We’re so happy to have you back,” Natasha says through her grunts. She pulls out of your mouth breathlessly and looks at her dirty wife. “Clean her up,” she orders you as she walks away. 

Dutifully, you nod and start to lick up all of Wanda’s cum. “Thank you, baby,” she says as she lazily strokes your hair. You kiss her belly once it's only glistening with your saliva. She looks so beautiful and delicious splayed out naked on the table. You can't help kissing the rest of the way down to have your tongue in her sensitive pussy. “Ohhh,” Wanda says as you lick her just the way she likes. “I’m so happy you agreed to love us,” she says. 

“Not as happy as I am,” you reply sweetly. “Besides, it's easy loving the two of you.” 

Your words make Wanda emotional and she sits up on the table, requesting that you stand up. She pulls you into a deep kiss as she wraps her legs around your middle and her arms around your shoulders. “Please don't leave us.” 

“Never,” you promise, because you have no plans on ever doing so. 

“Nat and I have been wondering,” she starts a little nervously. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable. “Would you start sleeping in our bedroom, with us?”

You grin, feeling giddy as the relationship progresses, “Of course!” 

Wanda mirrors your expression. “I’m glad because,” she pulls your ear close to her lips, “I want to wake up with your tongue inside of me,” you get wet at the idea of how much more access the three of you will have to each other now. You never thought when you agreed to go home with her almost a year ago that this would be your life. But you are so grateful that it is.

[tylermileslockett]

POSEIDON

“I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god, mover of the earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae. A two-fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships!”  

(-Homeric Hymn, translated by H.G. Evelyn white)

POSEIDON(puh-SAI-din) is the God of the seas, earthquakes, droughts, and horses. Pulled along in his seashell chariot by half-horse, half-fish creatures called Hippocampi, he holds his sacred trident high, bringing a tumultuous storm behind him. Standing beside him is his sea nymph wife, Amphitrite, who is the eldest of fifty nereid daughters of Nereus; the “old man of the sea.” 

Amongst the waters are the god’s faithful followers. The half-fish, half-man creature at bottom right is Triton, herald son of Poseidon, who uses a conch shell to calm the waves and announce the God’s arrival. In the middle is a Nereid, a female sea nymph, typically portrayed as a maiden riding a dolphin. Bottom left is Palaimon, sea god and protector of sailors, sometimes depicted as a boy on a dolphin. 

The god of the sea is known for his savage retributions. One fascinating episode involves Poseidon and Athena entering a competition to become the patron god of Athens. Upon the Acropolis, Poseidon produces a salt water spring for the Athenians, while Athena wins by creating the first olive tree. The sea god, in his anger, sends a flood to punish the mortals. In the odyssey, after Odysseus blinds Poseidon’s son, the giant cyclops Polyphemus, the god causes havoc and disaster for the hero and his crew as they attempt to sail home. Poseidon sends Cetusthe sea serpent to punish QueenCassiopa for her hubris in comparing her daughter Andromedato the nereids. And, he sends a bull from the sea to terrorize Theseus’ son Hippolytus’ chariot.

Want to own my Illustrated Greek myth book jam packed with over 130 illustrations like this? Support my book kickstarter "Lockett Illustrated: Greek Gods and Heroes" coming in early 2024. check my bio LINKTREE

Thanks for looking and reading! :)

[da-rulah]

Is there any way you could do one about Copia surprising reader with the prime mover ritual on their 5th wedding anniversary because he sees reader with the children of the clergy

This is such a sweet idea.... I hope this is the kind of thing you wanted 🥹

TW/ Mildly suggestive theme.

It was never the right time.

Between tours, Copia's ascension, your own promotions within the clergy and the mountains of work that needed doing, it had never been the right time.

In fact, since the day you had married, you hadn't had the time.

Which is probably why you spent as much of your free time as you could at the nursery for the children of the Clergy and Siblings. It wasn't your job, you had no duty there but in the absence of the chance to have your own children, you had found yourself wanting to just be around them, maternal instincts too strong.

Copia had just returned from another tour - finishing in Australia this time, and he was looking forward to a few months respite before heading out again on another album cycle. He could spend All Hallow's Eve with you, Yule too but most importantly, your wedding anniversary was coming soon - the first he'd been able to spend with you at home in two years.

After spending some time recovering from his ridiculous jet lag, he had emerged looking for you one morning to find you playing with the children of the Clergy, jumping into piles of raked leaves in the grounds of the Ministry.

His heart thrummed in his chest at the sight. How radiant you looked, surrounded by the autumnal oranges and reds, smiling so brightly as you skipped through the piles, throwing some over the children with a laugh that sounded like the sweetest song.

He ached to give you that, to give you the children he knew you'd always wanted. He wanted that too, wanted to be the father he never had to a tiny version of you...

You looked up to see him stood on the steps of the Ministry, stilling the spin you were in whilst holding a little one's hands and waving to him instead, beautiful smile widening at the sight of your husband, your Papa, watching on. Had you been any closer, you might have see the glossy look in his eyes, but from a distance, you were none the wiser that anything was amiss.

It was this look that gave him the idea.

A week had gone by, and he'd seen you more often that not playing with the children at the nursery or out in the leaves again. He saw you teaching them to paint, to read, to dance, and his heart swelled a little more each time.

The night of your Fifth wedding anniversary had come around quickly, and as far as you were aware, you were to join him for dinner, meeting at his office once you were ready, in the gorgeous deep red gown he had bought for you - if you liked it, of course. His little (expensive) treat.

But when you arrived at his office, he was nowhere to be seen. You sighed, hoping he hadn't been tangled up with Sister Imperator in an overrun meeting or got into a verbal boxing match with his useless spectre of a father again. But you noticed a note on his desk, addressed to 'mia cara moglie' - his darling wife.

Cara,

Please join me in the Chapel, I have my gift to you waiting.

Hurry - I can barely wait any longer.

~ C

You wondered what on earth he could possibly have waiting in the Chapel for you - you could only imagine he had set up a picturesque dinner surrounded by candlelight, perhaps with his newer Ghouls playing their beautiful cellos in the background.

On your way through the halls, you noticed an eerie feeling, a stillness, a quietness you should only experience in the early hours of the morning in these halls... But not a single sibling or ghoul was in sight, not a shuffle of feet or a click of a door latch... Just silence.

When you reached the large double doors of the Chapel, two of Papa's favourite Ghouls - Swiss and Phantom - were stood, hands clasped behind them, in their formal attire.

"This is a bit much for dinner, boys..." you laughed. They shared a look that you couldn't quite discern from behind their masks... You grew suspicious.

Without a word, they opened the doors, stepping to the side to allow you to see just what Copia had waiting for you.

The Chapel was full, standing room only. Every single sibling and clergy member filled the pews, the balconies, lined the walls. When the doors had opened, they all stood and turned to face you. And then you noticed Copia...

He stood at the alter, Sister Imperator to his left, and Papa Nihil floating to his right. He was dressed in his Papal robes, gems glinting beautifully on his Mitre in the candlelight. He smiled at you, taking a deep breath out of his own nerves, and held his gloved hand out to you.

Swiss and Phantom moved to your sides, offering their elbows to walk you down the aisle between the pews of the Chapel. As you did, your audience sent you looks of happiness, of pride. They looked at you like they had on your wedding day, five years ago.

At the front of the Chapel, the Ghouls stepped away from you, bowing to Papa and making themselves scarce to the edge of the Chapel. Copia removed his gloves, and took your hands in his.

"Copia, what's going on? Are you... are we renewing our vows?" you asked, fighting tears as the mere thought of it.

"In a way, Cara... I wanted to ask you something," he brings your hands up to kiss your knuckles, one at a time. "I have so much I wish to give you, so much more to offer you. But this must come first. And if you are not ready, I will understand, and a vow renewal is all this will be."

Your heart beat like a hummingbird's wings in your chest, sending rippling flutters through your body. He wasn't about to... surely not...

"I could never imagine my future without you, you know this. And what a future we could have," he began, "Amore mio, would you ascend with me? Will you become my Prime Mover?"

The Hummingbird stopped. Time stopped. The earth's rotation stopped.

Prime Mover was a step above marriage; it was a sacred binding, offered only to the truest of soulmates, the chosen few who would continue the lineage of the Papacy. It had to be passed from one Prime Mover, to the next - like a crown from one Queen to the next.

And here was Sister Imperator, ready and waiting to give that to you.

"Copia... Prime Mover?" you asked, in disbelief. You hadn't talked about the lineage for so long, hadn't thought the time for children together would be anywhere close and yet this was exactly what he was asking of you.

To perform the Ancient Rite, to bind yourselves under Lucifer's gaze and receive his blessing to bring new life into the world to continue his work.

"If you are ready, amore..." You saw his anxiety, waiting for an answer that you hadn't given yet.

"Y-yes... Yes. Of course! I want to be your Prime Mover... I want that with you, Copia," you launched yourself forwards in a moment of unceremonious need to be close to him, wrapping your arms around his neck and almost knocking his Mitre from his head. He steadied himself in time, enveloping you in his long sleeves of his robes as he held you to him.

"Then let's perform the ritual, the binding... And then the rest of the night, amore..." he pulled back from your embrace, moving to whisper in your ear for only you to hear, "we will spend together. Alone."

A rush of goosebumps raised on your skin at his promise, and he winked at you as he pulled back.

"Sister, we are to go ahead..." he smiled at his Mother, who in her pride, could only nod and smile back without tears spilling from her eyes.

And after the vows, the incense, the blood oath... Copia took you back to your quarters as promised - as his Prime Mover, future mother to his children.

And he would not let you go until he was sure he had completed the ritual...

[bupia]

Love letter: Chapter 1 - Cardinal Copia x Fem!Reader

Summary: Working as the Cardinal’s assistant, one day you find a letter inside of one of his filing cabinet. As you take it in your hands, you notice there’s no “from” or “to” written on it. 

Words: 3.159

Warnings: Some Italian swearing. This chapter is pure romance, but there may be smut in the upcoming chapters.

It was pretty early in the morning and you were already making your bed while all the other siblings who shared the dormitory with you were still asleep. You were the Cardinal's assistant, although you weren't sure why he chose you. You hadn't been in the Ministry for very long compared to other few siblings who applied for the role. To be fair, you were not sure how many people applied to be Cardinal's assistant. He was not as popular in the ministry as Papa Emeritus III, Terzo. Many siblings in the ministry would do anything to be close to Papa, but it was well known that Terzo didn't care for any siblings in the ministry. There were rumors that his heart was already taken, some rumors suggested that he already had what people would call his “Prime Mover”, but you weren't sure about it as you didn't know much about him. Nevertheless, you decided to do the best job you could.

When you first started as his assistant, you thought the job would be boring. In the beginning, it felt a little dull, but as time passed, you and the Cardinal developed a good relationship. Working with him became your favorite thing to do at the ministry, especially when he would call you by Italian nicknames. 

You had been working together for 7 months now, and although waking up early wasn't your favorite thing, being near the Cardinal was pleasant. Cardinal Copia was a nice old man - gentle, clumsy, silly, focused, and respectful. He also had a habit that you found amusing. Sometimes, he would mumble words in Italian. You weren't able to understand all of it, but you were already used to some words like "cazzo" and "merda." 

With all the time you spent together, you started to see the Cardinal in a different way. He was not just your clumsy boss anymore; you started to feel something else. Hearing him call you by your name, was the highlight of your day. You loved how your name sounded on his voice with his accent. But you needed to keep it extremely professional, not showing any emotions, controlling yourself to not blush or talk to him in a shaky voice whenever he was too close to you. 

Looking at the clock on your bedside table, you realize that you are already a few minutes late. You rush to the door, opening it quickly, causing Sister Emily to almost drop the laundry basket she was carrying.

"Is everything okay, Si-sister?" She asked, her voice shaky from being startled by you.

"Yes, I'm sorry Sister Emily, I didn't mean to scare you." You apologized before leaving your dormitory in a hurry.

You run down the stairs and head straight to Cardinal's office. Luckily, it's still early and there aren't many people in the corridors. You reach his office door, grab the keys, and unlock it. You breathe a sigh of relief when you hear the click of the door unlocking, indicating that Cardinal hasn't arrived yet.

Once inside, you open the curtains to let in some light and notice that his desk is a bit messy. "He must have stayed here late last night after I left." You think as you start organizing the pens on his desk before getting on your knees to organize the files in the filing cabinet of his desk.

As you're organizing the files in the filing cabinet, you come across an envelope that doesn't belong there. There's no "From" or "To" written on it, just a blank envelope with a paper inside. You consider putting it back in the folder, but your curiosity gets the best of you and you decide to open it, but before you can read the contents of the letter, you hear a click at the door. You quickly stand up, close the cabinet door, and shove the letter into your pocket fixing your habit. 

"Buongiorno, sorella!" Cardinal greets you as he enters the room, looking at you suspiciously. "Is everything okay?" he asks while he takes some steps ahead getting close to his desk.

"Yes, Cardinal. I was just organizing some papers you left on your desk." You explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot to organize them yesterday." He apologized.

"No problem, Cardinal. I'm here to help you with whatever you need." You assure him with a smile.

He smiled back at you, pulling his chair to sit on. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you, sorella. You're one of the best things that has happened to me recently. I really made a very good choice, sì?" He giggled.

In an impulsive act, you got up quickly from your chair, putting your hands on the table and taking a deep breath.

"What's the problem, sorella?" He looked at you, sitting in his chair.

"I just noticed I forgot your coffee, Cardinal." You said, turning your back to him and walking to the door before he could say something.

Feeling your heart jumping from your chest, you closed the door behind you. Those words messed with you, you know you had an impulsive reaction but you didn't know what to do when you heard him calling you as "one of the best things that has happened to me recently." You were pretty aware of how you felt about Cardinal Copia and you didn't want to let it show.

Walking to the kitchen, you could smell the coffee. The scent of the coffee was filling the corridors already. You could also smell bread being baked.

"I came to get Cardinal's coffee!" You said as you entered the kitchen.

"Sister! We thought you wouldn't come!" One of the siblings said, getting the tray with Copia's breakfast and lending it to you.

"Oh! I didn't forget at all, I was just busy with some duties." With the tray on your hands you left the kitchen and headed to his office again. 

Stopping by the door, you opened it slowly, keeping the tray straight with one hand. When you stepped inside the office, you saw Cardinal Copia in front of the window behind his desk with his gloved hands behind his back. You stayed in silence for a while, just staring at him. Today, he was wearing your favorite cassock, the black one. Not that you didn't like the other ones, but there was something about the black that would make you look at him more than usual. 

Using one of your feet, you closed the door behind you. As the door clicked shut, Copia turned his head to look at you over his shoulder. As you took steps to get closer to his desk, Copia turned his body in your direction and gave you a gentle smile.

"Oh, sorella. You're too good for this old man. What would I do without you, sì?" Giggling, you placed the tray on his desk in front of his chair.

"Well, Cardinal, I'm just doing my work." You smiled at him as he sat in his chair. "And also, if I didn't get it for you, you would totally forget to eat because we both know you get too focused on your work and forget to eat!"

"Sì, sì, you're right, sorella, but you are not 'just doing your work.' You do a lot more for me." He reached for your hand and held it. You froze at the touch of his hand reaching for the one that was still holding the tray handle. Turning your eyes from your hand to his face, you saw that he was staring into your eyes.

What only took a few seconds felt like hours due to the silence that filled the room after his touch. Giving him a shy smile, you could swear you saw him blush. As he let go of your hand, you walk back to your desk trying not to loose your composure.

For the rest of the day, you and Copia stayed in silence while doing your jobs. It was not common to work with him in complete silence. He would call your name to ask for something or just to point out some information. Sometimes, he would also engage in casual conversation. However, at times, you could swear you felt him looking at you.

Lunchtime came after a long morning of silence. It almost felt like time had stopped. Looking at the clock on the wall, you see that it is almost time to get Cardinal's lunch.

“Co-, Cardinal Copia” You took a deep breath before keep talking. “I’m gonna get your lunch at the kitchen with the other siblings.” You got up from your chair and walked to his desk to pick up the tray that was on the right side of his desk.

“Oh! Sorella, don’t need to worry about it. Go have your lunch with the other siblings and I will ask for someone to clean it and bring the lunch.” You stopped walking to his direction and nod with your head.

Turning your back to him, you left his office and went straight to the cafeteria. It was the first time that Copia hadn't asked you to do something for him or allowed you to do it. Today was definitely not a normal day, but at least it was Friday, which meant that whatever was happening between you and the Cardinal, the weekend would probably fix it.

-

Returning to the office after eating with the other siblings, you hear Cardinal's voice screaming in a not-too-unfamiliar language and loud noises coming from inside the office. You hurried your steps and opened the door, finding his office in a big mess. Cardinal Copia was throwing papers in the air, and some were already on the ground. The shelves were disorganized, all the drawers from his desk were fully open, and only your desk remained untouched. You stepped inside the office, closing the door behind you looking around all the mess having no idea what was happening.

"Cazzo! Merda! Dov'è?" Cardinal was now on his knees on the floor, taking out papers from the filing cabinet.

"Cardinal, is everything okay?" You asked, approaching him getting on your knees in front of him.

"Sorella! Great! I'm glad you're here!" He grabbed your hand, looking at you. "Sorella, per favore, essere onesta con me, did you see an envelope today when you arrived at the office early this morning?"

You knew exactly what he was talking about. "I'm sorry, Cardinal. I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen it." You lied. You wanted to tell him that yes, you saw it and yes, it was in your pocket, but you were too afraid to admit it. What would he think of you? There was no plausible excuse for having it in your habit's pocket.

"I may have taken it with me somewhere else. Are you sure you didn't see anything, cara?" Cardinal sighed.

You nod your head. "I'm sorry, Cardinal. I'm sure we'll find it somewhere, right?" You give him a smile.

"Sì, cara, you're right." 

"Should I help you clean up this mess?" You put your other hand on top of his.

"Ah... sì..." You felt his grip on your hand getting tighter, and you let go of his hand. Cardinal get up giving you his hand for you to hold helping you to get up after him. You smile at him grabbing his hand, holding your habit, you get up.

As you and Cardinal starts to organize the room, you couldn't stop thinking that the envelope was still in your pocket. Not only that, but you had also lied to him about not knowing what he was talking about. If it wasn’t bad enough that you had taken it from his filing cabinet, imagine how much worse it was now that you had lied about it.

While you were organizing his documents in the filing cabinet, you thought you could just put it there without him noticing it. But that would be strange, if you just looked at him saying: "Look, Cardinal, it was here the whole time!"

So you had to think in a better plan. Maybe when it was time for you to leave his office, you could tell him that you would stay just a little bit longer, so you could hide the envelope somewhere and tell him how you found it on Monday.

-

As the last hours of the workday approached, Cardinal Copia got up from his chair. He walked towards your desk and stopped in front of it.  "Sorella, I suppose we're finished for today, sì?"

"Oh! Cardinal, I haven't finished these papers yet. Is it okay if I stay for just one more hour?" Your face was glued to the papers in front of you just to avoid his gaze.

"Are you sure, sorella? Do you want some company?" He asked, not moving from in front of your desk.

"Yes, Cardinal. I'm sure. I'll finish these papers in an hour or less, and you can go rest now. Don't worry, I'll lock the door when I leave.” You replied, still focused on the papers.

He grumbled some words to himself.

"Hm?" You lift your head in his direction. "What did you say, Cardinal?"

"Nothing, sorella. Just thinking out loud, sì?" He took a step back from your table and walked to the door. "Buona notte, cara. Don't forget to lock the door when you leave." You smiled nodding at him as he left and closed the door behind him.

After he left, you returned to focusing on the papers in front of you. They weren't a big deal; you just needed to review some official documents from the Clergy to make sure everything was in order.

By the time you finish with the papers, you get up from your chair, stretch your back, and start to clean up your desk right away. You organize the files in the shelf and check if Copia's desk needs attention. With everything in order, you leave the office and lock the door. The corridors are already quiet, and you can only hear the sound of crickets outside the Ministry.

As you approached your dormitory, you retrieved your keys from your pocket. Suddenly, an envelope fell out. You realized with dismay that it was the letter you had forgotten to replace. You couldn't believe you had forgotten it.

Picking up the letter envelope from the floor, you weren't sure what to do next. Should you return it to his office, dispose of it, or keep it with you until Monday?

With so many options and thoughts running through your mind, you decided to head back to your dormitory. At this point, you regretted taking the letter from Cardinal's filing cabinet. However, it was too late, and you already had it in your possession, even worse, in your room.

Realizing it was a lost cause, you placed the envelope under your pillow and took a quick, relaxing shower. Upon returning, you checked under your pillow to ensure the envelope was still there. Unfortunately, it was.

Lying down, you couldn't stop thinking about what you had done. You had lied and hid it from Cardinal Copia, and if you told him what you had done, he would probably be disappointed and remove you from your position. You were supposed to return it after he left, but you got so distracted with the papers that you forgot.

But there was something else on your mind: why did Cardinal look so worried about this envelope? What was in the letter? If he was hiding it, it was probably something important. Your curiosity started to hammer in your head with questions that could only be answered if you read the letter, but should you? Invading Cardinal's privacy like this would probably put you on a tightrope. In fact, you had already invaded his privacy when you took it from the filing cabinet and shoved it into your pocket. And yes, you had the intention to give it a look before, but now, after seeing Cardinal on his knees throwing the papers all around, you weren't sure if you really should read it.

Yet, curiosity wasn't leaving you alone. You swiped your hand under your pillow and grabbed the envelope, bringing it close to your chest and taking a deep breath. You look around to make sure all the siblings were asleep and with a trembling hand, you open the envelope and take out the letter from inside. You still hold it close to your chest, gathering the courage you need. 

Unfolding the letter, you realize that it bears the handwriting of the Cardinal. As you begin to read, you do not see any name mentioned in the first few lines but the next few lines made your eyes widen.

“If you are reading this, it's probably because I have finally mustered the courage to deliver this letter. I know that a man of my age and position in the Ministry shouldn't be feeling what I feel for you, but it's inevitable to do not feel the way I feel when you are one of the few people who truly show compassion for me here. You've turned my world upside down in these last few months. Through small acts of affection and words, I try to show what I feel for you, but being close to you is like losing my breath, and whenever you look at me, I feel my body freeze and I have no reaction, that’s because I see gentleness in your eyes whenever you look at me, and it's almost impossible for me to maintain my composure. Your smile brightens up the room and your voice calling me as “Cardinal” is like music to my ears, although, I really wish you’d call me as Copia. Sometimes, I'm afraid of speaking too much and letting my feelings escape from within me. I can't say if this is love, passion, attraction, or something beyond that, but I know that I want to be the one holding your hand, Finally, I would like to say that even if my feelings for you are not reciprocated, I hope you can still understand that...”

"What?!" you exclaimed in your head. You turned the paper over to see if there was anything on the other side, but the letter ended there. It was inconclusive. "How can someone leave a love letter inconclusive?" you ask to yourself. Oh- wait. You sit up fast on your bed, noticing you've just read a love letter from the Cardinal, and you have no idea who he wrote it for. You've just read that Cardinal Copia is in love with someone from the Ministry, and you start to wonder who it is. But, do you really want to know? You feel a tightness in your chest. It was going to be a long weekend until Monday, but not forgetting about the Sunday mass. You’d see Cardinal Copia earlier than you thought.

Chapter 2 

Grammar

⸻

Cazzo - fuck Merda - shit Sorella - sister Buongiorno - good morning Cara - dear Dov’è? - where is it? Essere onesta con me - be honest with me Sì - yes/right Buona notte - good night

[bellaxgiornata]

Falling For the Devil [Part eighty-six: "The Moving Day"]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: The day you move in with Matt has finally arrived!

Or Some strange, nervous feeling eats at you all day and then keeps you up that night.

[Series of one-shots about Reader meeting, falling for, and dating Matt Murdock.]

Warnings: 18+ for this series; contains humor, fluff, romance, angst, smut (like...a lot of it later in the series), language, some violence

Word Count: 4.8k

a/n: Somehow light angst crept into this installment when I was writing it and it took me a few days to figure out why Reader was acting so strange on me and Matt, BUT I figured it out and left it in for some Sweet Matty at the end. Y'all know I love the shit out of him. So technically this is a light bit of angst with comfort at the end? Either way, I hope you enjoy Reader FINALY MOVING IN WITH MATT! Y'all that have been reading this series since back in February have been waiting months in real time just for this day to finally come!! Now it's finally here! And as always, feedback is always appreciated!

Tag List: @ninacotte @mattkinsella @stilldreaming666 @murdocksclient @madscamp02 @1988-fiend @lina-mar @pinkratts @schneeflocky @acharliecoxedfan @yarrystyleeza @theetherealbloom @danzer8705 @lionalsowrites @harperdoodle

The movers had already finished bringing all of your things up into Matt’s apartment–or rather, both of yours’ apartment as you’d often had to keep reminding yourself today–about twenty minutes ago. You knew Matt, Foggy, and Karen would be showing up from their half day at the office any minute, which was why you'd begun unpacking in the bedroom first. You didn’t particularly need your friends helping you put away your underwear and some of the other, more personal items which you had packed in your bedroom boxes. Though you certainly had a feeling Marci would only be all too happy to snoop when she showed up later after work.

Fortunately it hadn’t taken you long to put away your more private items before you’d moved on to hanging up more of your clothing in the left hand side of the closet where Matt had long ago made space for your things. On the far right neatly hung all of his suits with their braille tags on each of the hangers. Seeing more of your things hanging next to his still had you feeling inexplicably giddy, but ever since you’d left your apartment for the last time this morning and come to Matt’s, something else that you couldn’t quite place had slowly begun to take root in your mind. 

This whole situation felt surreal to you. You’d spent a long time wanting to be with Matt during your friendship after you had first met him. Through all of that time you never thought you would be good enough for him, never remotely the kind of woman who could possibly catch Matthew Murdock's attention. Not after you had seen all of the women he usually had been hit on by and those you’d seen him flirt with in return. And especially not with how charismatic, intelligent, and successful he was. You were just the awkward journalist that he’d always said made any situation highly amusing and uncomfortable in a matter of seconds. Yet here you were, hanging your skirts next to his dress slacks in the same closet. Your toothbrush sat next to his on the bathroom counter. And soon your coffee mugs and dishware would be mixed in along with his on the shelves in the kitchen. 

Because you were finally moving in with him. 

The full reality of the situation hadn’t completely hit you yet. Though you had a feeling it would later tonight, after all your friends had left and it was just you and Matt here afterwards, when all of your things were fully blended with his. Despite the excitement you felt at moving in with Matt, and with what that might mean for your relationship moving forward, there had been a nagging feeling in the back of your mind slowly growing louder as the day wore on. You knew you were going to be freaking out once the giddiness wore off and the reality settled in, but you’d tried to keep that pushed to the side as you unpacked. You didn’t have time to try to unpack that right now, too.

As you finished hanging one of your skirts on a hanger, you overheard the sound of the apartment door unlocking before it swung open. It was mere seconds before you heard Matt’s voice through the apartment.

“Sweetheart?” he called out.

Chewing your lip, your heart nervously sped up in your chest at the sound of his voice. You hung up the skirt you’d had in your hand in the closet before you turned and made your way out of the bedroom. As you maneuvered around the boxes, you could hear the loud scoff Foggy made all the way across the apartment. 

“Matt!” he complained. “You were supposed to shout ‘honey, I’m home’ when you came in!”

“Foggy, I told you I wasn't doing that,” Matt replied.

A small grin settled on your face as you listened to the three of them taking their shoes off in the entryway hall. You did your best to navigate through the messy living room where there were boxes piled everywhere as you listened to them. 

“Don’t ruin this for me, Matt!” Foggy snapped. “This is a big day for me!”

“For you?” Karen said with a laugh. “You’re not the one moving in!”

“No, but do you know how long I hoped for this day for Matt?” Foggy countered. “ Especially after learning about what he does in his free time outside of work? I never thought he’d find someone and settle down. I was afraid he’d be alone forever!”

“Thanks, Fog,” Matt said flatly.

Skirting around another stack of boxes, you heard Matt calling out your name. You laughed lightly as you overheard Karen and Foggy continuing the conversation Matt clearly wasn’t remotely interested in.

“I’m here, Matty,” you called back. “Just trying to make my way through the mess that has become your place.”

“Our place,” he immediately corrected.

“Right, yeah,” you agreed quickly. “That might take me a bit to get used to.”

You came to a stop beside the leather couch when Matt came into view at the end of the entryway hall. Grinning wide at the sight of him standing there smiling in your direction, you felt your cheeks heat. 

For some reason you felt unnecessarily nervous. You hadn’t seen Matt since yesterday morning, and because you’d spent most of this past week packing, you’d been unable to spend much time with him. You hadn’t seen him nearly as much this week as you often did, so now the sight of him was suddenly shaking loose all sorts of dormant butterflies in your stomach. Once again you were awkwardly gnawing on your bottom lip, unsure how to properly greet him in the moment–and then that was only making you further nervous.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Matt said, sliding his glasses off of his face.

Matt’s eyes lowered to your chest, a small smile playing across his lips. No doubt he was noticing the way your heart was nervously beating at the moment. You knew he always loved the way it reacted to him, but you also knew he was unaware of exactly why you were nervous this time. Granted, you weren’t entirely sure what was with your nerves, either, today.

“Hey, Matty,” you greeted back softly.

You continued to worry your bottom lip between your teeth, your hands fidgeting in front of yourself as you took in the sight of him. His suit coat was draped over one of his arms, leaving him in just his light blue dress shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up already. He looked good–like he always did–just standing there smiling at you with so much warmth and love on his face.

“For fuck’s sake– kiss her already!” Foggy shouted.

“Foggy,” Karen sharply reprimanded him.

Your cheeks only flamed further as Matt’s smile widened. Wordlessly he crossed the room, easily stepping around a box as he made his way towards you. Breath catching in your throat, you watched as he tossed his suit coat onto the back of his couch in a fluid motion before he was standing before you. Without pause his hands reached up and cradled your face in both of his palms, tilting your mouth up towards his before he dove in for a sweet, lingering kiss. When he pulled back away, smiling down at you with that absolutely breathtaking smile of his, you were left stunned and speechless.

“It was lonely here without you this week,” he whispered.

You swore your heart skipped a beat in your chest. “Well I’m–I’m here now, Matty,” you murmured.

“Great!” Foggy exclaimed, clapping his hands loudly together and causing Matt and you to jump apart. “Now let’s get started unpacking so we can get to the pizza and beer part of the day!”

______

Changing out of the jeans and tee-shirt you’d been wearing all day, you gradually got ready for bed in the bedroom. Down the hall, you could hear Matt brushing his teeth in the bathroom. You both were worn out from the excitement of the day, and you were just ready for sleep already. Between overseeing the movers, unpacking all of your things into Matt’s space, and socializing with your friends, you felt exhausted. And for some unexplainable reason there was still something that just felt off with you. There was still some nervous energy you could feel lingering inside of you that you couldn’t quite place. It had only grown stronger ever since your friends had left and Matt and you had straightened up the apartment a bit before bed.

It made no sense why you felt this way, either. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t stayed the night at Matt’s apartment countless times over the past few months now. You’d spent many nights brushing your teeth and changing your clothes getting ready for bed here, plugging your phone into the very same charger on the nightstand by your side of the bed at least a hundred times now. You knew Matt wanted you here–hell, he’d told you that at least ten times today already.

So why were you feeling that nervous, queasy feeling in your stomach? Why was the prospect of staying here tonight–and every night from here on out–giving you butterflies of a different kind all of the sudden? Why was there that nagging little voice in the back of your head still growing louder and louder despite your inability to decipher its meaning? It didn’t make sense.

“You alright?” 

Startling at Matt’s voice, you spun on the spot and found him standing in the doorway of the bedroom. His brows were drawn together on his forehead as he eyed you curiously. 

“Yeah,” you said with a nod, turning and grabbing the pair of cotton sleep shorts you had laid out on the side of the bed. “I’m just tired. It was a long day.”

“You want me to get the light for you?” he asked.

“Sure, thanks,” you replied.

As you pulled your shorts up your legs, you noticed how Matt hesitated in the doorway, just silently focused on you. It wasn’t until you grabbed your shirt from the bed next that Matt finally turned off the light before you heard him gradually making his way through the bedroom and over towards his side of the bed. 

You knew he’d already undressed before brushing his teeth, currently wearing nothing but his usual black boxers as he pulled the sheets back on his side of the bed. Normally that would elicit a reaction from your body, because knowing he was almost naked and you were about to be in bed with him, even when you were too tired for sex, made you feel something . Because he looked like one of those Greek gods chiseled from marble under his clothes and your body always unconsciously reacted to him. But tonight all you felt was that ball of nerves sitting in the pit of your stomach. It didn’t help that you figured he was probably picking up on something being off with you, too. 

Drawing the sheets back, you climbed into the bed beside Matt. Nervously you rolled onto your side to face him, soon feeling his warm hands landing on your hips over the fabric of your clothes. Grabbing you tenderly, Matt pulled you in towards his body and until you were resting with your head on his chest. He gradually settled underneath you, one arm wrapped under your waist while the other draped over the top of it. Timidly your own hand reached out as you lightly slid it across his toned, warm chest. 

“Mmm, finally,” Matt contentedly hummed out. “I spent all week missing falling asleep with you, but now I’ll always have you here with me.”

For some reason his words only caused the nerves to twist in your stomach just a bit more. You hummed out an affirmative noise in response, unable to trust your voice as you smiled softly in the dark. Internally you were trying to understand what the hell was going on with you. You’d been so excited this morning at the prospect of finally moving in with him. Excited that this move meant Matt and you were so much closer to bigger things in your relationship–like a possible engagement. 

So what the hell was with this strange, nervous feeling?

You startled when you felt Matt’s fingers gently brushing some of your hair from your face, having been too deep in your thoughts to have noticed he’d moved. You knew he’d caught that little surprised jump instantly when his fingers paused along your temple.

"Are you sure you're alright, sweetheart?" Matt asked carefully. "You've seemed unusually nervous today. Your body still seems a bit tense."

“I uhm,” you began, your index finger lightly tracing a pattern along Matt’s bare chest, “I’m just a little nervous. You know me.”

You laughed briefly, trying to make light of the situation so he would drop it. You knew how excited Matt was for you to finally be here and how long he’d been waiting for this moment. And it certainly wasn’t like you hadn’t felt the same, but you didn’t want to ruin your first night here with these weird nerves you couldn’t begin to explain. Knowing Matt, he’d feel bad and think he’d done something wrong, or that your anxious feeling was somehow because you didn’t want this or him–which was not the case. You’d never been more sure of anyone before. You knew you loved Matt.

“Okay,” he said slowly, his fingers sliding down from where they’d lingered along your temple to lovingly stroke your cheek. “But if you want to talk, you know I’m always here. You can tell me anything, sweetheart.”

You forced the smile onto your face again as you gazed up at him from your place along his chest, the rough pads of his fingers still tracing your cheekbone gently. He was so good to you and that only made you feel worse about hiding something from him, no matter how stupid it seemed. 

“I’m just tired,” you told him. “It was a long day dealing with everything with the move. I’m sure I’ll be my normal, slightly less nervous self in the morning.”

“I’ll love you however you are in the morning,” he murmured, leaning forward to kiss your forehead. “Because I love you .”

A more genuine smile slipped onto your lips, your eyes closing. “I love you, too, Matty,” you whispered back.

Silence settled in the bedroom as you felt Matt’s body relax beneath you. No doubt he was exhausted from having worked late last night, helping you unpack your things today, and then trying to relearn where some things now were in the space that had been just his for so long. You knew he’d had a long day, too.

With your eyes closed, you tried to let yourself relax and drift off to sleep. You did your best to focus on the usual faint sounds of the city a few floors below the apartment in conjunction with the steady breaths you could just barely hear coming from Matt. Despite how toned and firm Matt’s body was, you’d always found lying with your head on his chest far more comfortable than using a pillow. You weren’t sure if it was really because Matt was that comfortable or if you just loved that level of closeness and intimacy with him, though for some reason tonight you were finding yourself unable to just fall asleep. 

Without a clock, you weren’t sure how long you’d laid there awake, curled up alongside Matt trying and failing to sleep. Though it had to have been awhile because you’d long since noticed Matt had fallen asleep, the steady and rhythmic rise and fall of his chest easily cluing you in. Yet still you just couldn’t shake that nervous feeling swirling uncomfortably inside of you. The longer you tried to force sleep to come, the more awake you steadily felt yourself becoming. 

Eyes flying back open, you laid there for a moment in the dark as they tried to adjust to the near blackness in the bedroom. Gradually your head rose and fell along with each of Matt’s even breaths, but you only found yourself growing more restless next to his peaceful form. Lifting your head slowly from him, you very carefully tried to disentangle yourself from the hold he had on you without waking him. Which truthfully was a near impossible feat to accomplish– except for when he’d recently fallen into a deep sleep. Like right now.

Moving slowly, you slid towards the edge of the bed, carefully pulling the sheets from yourself  before you climbed off of the mattress. A chill ran through you at the loss of Matt’s body heat, the cold air of the apartment in comparison drawing goosebumps along your bare arms. You pulled the sheets back up on the bed and turned, quietly making your way towards the bedroom door. Cautiously you slid it open, not fully closing it all the way behind yourself afterwards before you turned and focused on the space before you. 

Now that you were out of bed, you weren’t entirely sure what to do. As you stood there trying to figure it out, your arms wrapping around your chest, you watched the light from the billboard just outside the large windows wash the space in a glow of blues and greens. After a moment you figured you could get yourself a glass of water and that might help you relax.

Making your way through the living room towards the kitchen, you came to a stop just in front of the shelf filled with cups. Both your glass cups and Matt’s were perfectly lined up side by side. On the shelf beside it, your plates and bowls were stacked neatly on top of the few that Matt already had. For a minute you just found yourself staring at them, realizing how full Matt’s normally sparse shelves looked. Glancing back over your shoulder, you spotted your television stand now situated across from Matt’s leather couch, your television sitting on top of it. The two armchairs that had always been opposite the coffee table were both now to the left of the couch, still giving Matt plenty of room to navigate from the entry hall to the living room, and from the living room to the stairs that led to the roof access. It looked different though, despite the familiar light from the billboard swathing the furniture in a myriad of colors. 

As you stood there staring at the furniture, that nauseating, nervous feeling finally fully uncoiled inside of yourself. You suddenly understood what had been gnawing at you all day. 

It felt almost familiar here. It wasn’t quite Matt’s place that you’d grown accustomed to over the year the two of you had been together, but at the same time it still was the apartment you’d spent so much time at. But it just felt different. It certainly wasn’t your apartment and it wasn’t exactly his, either. It was something else entirely. And that was what had been nagging at you all day–the unfamiliarity of this space.

For some reason the longer you stared at the television and everything that looked different and changed, the more you felt the increasing sting of tears in your eyes. Why you were suddenly getting emotional was beyond you, though. Reaching up, you wiped a hand at your eyes, trying to force the tears back. Somehow that only had them watering more.

And that was precisely when you heard the bedroom door slide open all the way and you jumped in the kitchen at the sound. Your focus shifted from the television to Matt standing at the edge of the bedroom, clad in only his dark boxers. There was a small frown on his face as he focused on you, his head slightly tilted to the side.

“Sweetheart?” he called out. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

You nodded immediately, trying to smile despite the tears still welling up. “Yeah, Matty, I’m fine,” you answered.

His shoulders dropped at your words and you wondered if that had registered as a lie to his ears. Matt immediately began shuffling his way towards you through the living room, his bare feet gently padding along the floor as he moved. You saw his brows faintly pull together and noticed the frown was still on his face as he made his way towards you. His focus never left you as he maneuvered around the rearranged space, though. 

“Are you crying?” he asked softly, entering the kitchen.

“No, I–”

You stopped at the same time Matt came to stand just in front of you. A look of concern was etched on his face as he reached a hand up, his fingers gently grabbing onto your chin and tilting your face up towards him. His eyes worriedly scanned around your face, searching for answers as he quietly said your name.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I–I just–” you broke off, shaking your head as he still held your chin. “It just feels…different here. Not the same,” you finally admitted. 

“Is that what’s been bothering you all day today?” he asked.

Pressing your lips together, you nodded. Matt’s expression softened as he continued to gaze back at you, his thumb brushing along your chin.

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” he asked.

“Because I didn’t want to upset you. And I didn’t know what I was feeling,” you confessed. “Not until I couldn’t sleep and I came out here and saw your furniture all rearranged and a television in your living room. And–”  you waved a hand at the shelves beside you, “– actual dishware on your kitchen shelves. And there’s a fruit bowl with actual fruit on your counter. I mean there’s–there’s actually food in the fridge here, not just beer and eggs,” you continued on, the words tumbling out of you. “All of my clothes are in your closet or your dresser now. There’s tampons in your bathroom, Matt!” you exclaimed, the little amused chuckle he made barely registering in your ears as the words continued to nervously spill out of you. “I have dirty clothes in your laundry bin and my skincare products in your medicine cabinet and a vibrator in the nighstand–”

“What’s that now?” Matt asked, quick to cut you off as his brows rose, a cheeky little smile pulling at his lips. “What’s in the nightstand?”

You shot Matt a pointed look, one hand lightly swatting at his bare chest. The cheeky smile grew into a grin as he released your chin, both of his hands landing on your hips as he took a step closer towards you, closing the bit of space there had been.

“It feels different to me, too,” Matt admitted. “Things aren’t where I’m used to them being. And your scent is vastly stronger now with all of your things here. Not to mention there’s now a light buzz from the television–”

“I’m sorry,” you immediately blurted.

He continued to grin, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize, I can tune it out. I don’t expect you to never relax and watch your shows again, sweetheart. Or to not keep tampons in the bathroom or food in the fridge. But do you know why it feels different?” he asked you.

“Because all of my shit is here cluttering up your space now?” you joked.

He silently shook his head, suddenly walking you backwards and guiding you with the hands he had on your hips. Your brows drew together as he led you a handful of steps back until you eventually bumped into the counter behind you. Before you knew what was happening, Matt’s hands had lifted you up and set you on the countertop behind you, that smile on his face never wavering as the billboard washed him in red. His hands slid your bare knees apart as he slotted himself between your legs, your faces almost eye level now as he focused along your mouth.

“Because it isn’t my place and it isn’t your place,” he whispered. “It’s our place. And it might feel a little different,” he continued, his hands making their way to behind your back as he clasped them together, his eyes still focused on you. “And maybe it’s a little overwhelming right now, too.” 

He leaned forward, lowering his face to press a kiss to your shoulder. Your eyelids dropped closed, a small smile playing along your lips at the sweet gesture. Arms raising up, you encircled them around Matt’s neck and held him to you.

“But this place is what we make it now,” he finished softly. “You and me. Because it’s ours . Like I’ve been saying all this time.”

Eyelids fluttering open, you saw Matt’s face was mere inches from yours now. A tender expression was etched along his features as he stared back at you, slowly lowering his forehead to yours. Leaning in towards him, you connected your mouth to his for a kiss that was full of emotion. His mouth moved so gentle and slow against yours, the feel of him reassuring and calming. You could feel all of your nerves slowly dissipating and leaving your body the longer he kissed you. Relaxing even further into him, your arms tightened around his neck as he deepened the kiss. 

The two of you stayed like that in the kitchen for a few minutes, entirely lost in the moment, before Matt gradually broke away. His nose lightly bumped against yours, a smile tugging his lips upwards. Biting your own lip, you couldn’t fight back the smile that was slowly spreading across your mouth in return.

“You know, I told you I bought mint ice cream in the event you needed some comfort tonight,” he reminded you. 

You rolled your eyes. “Matt, it’s late,” you pointed out. Removing your forehead from his, you glanced at the time on the oven behind him. “It’s almost three in the morning.”

“So?” he asked.

He unwound his arms from around your waist, in turn causing you to remove your arms from around his neck. He took a couple of steps to the right, opening the silverware drawer and pulling out two spoons. As he closed the drawer he glanced up at you, a small smirk pulling at his lips as he raised a dark brow at you. He held out one of the spoons.

“You want some?” he asked. “Or are you going to make me eat toothpaste flavored ice cream at almost three in the morning all by myself?”

Warmth flooded your chest as you stared back at Matt standing there, a spoon in each hand. The simple fact that he’d gotten you your favorite dessert–the one you’d told him about way back on your first date–to hopefully help you feel comfortable here only filled you with so much love and gratitude for him. Reaching out, you accepted the spoon from his outstretched hand, your heart hammering loudly in your ears. The smirk grew on Matt’s face before he turned, about to make his way to the freezer to grab the ice cream. Without a single thought, you leaned forward and reached out, latching onto his arm before he had taken two steps. Matt stopped in his tracks, glancing curiously over his shoulder at you with furrowed brows. 

Quickly you tugged him to your place on the countertop, Matt willingly allowing you to pull him back towards you. Without hesitation your hand reached up and grabbed his stubbled cheek, drawing him close before your lips abruptly crashed back onto his. Clearly taken by surprise, it took Matt a brief second before his mouth responded to yours. The moment his lips began to react, you could feel him easily matching the intensity and enthusiasm that you were displaying. You did your best to pour everything you felt for him into that kiss, hoping he understood exactly what you were trying to say in that moment. 

When you finally pulled away from him, breathless and with swollen lips, you smiled back at Matt’s grinning face. Just to make sure he fully understood the message, you held his face firmly in your hand, your eyes locked on his when you spoke.

“I love you, Matthew Michael Murdock,” you told him. “And I want you to know you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

His smile widened into something bright, lighting up his entire face along with the red light from the billboard across the street. You could see the glisten of unshed tears in his eyes as he gazed back at you with so much affection written plain across his face. There was only the briefest of moments after your declaration before Matt abruptly closed the distance between you both again, capturing your lips with his in a passionate kiss that had you forgetting about absolutely everything except you and Matt in that very moment.

[k-kizkhalifa]

}Master post

“Let's load the gun.. make her eat the tape in the bathroom mirror 

A/n: Hey all, I finally got around to this. Most of my writing includes darker themes of nature such as: toxic, abuse, stalking, violence, and anger. Sometimes suicidal ideation is mentioned, depression, mental health awareness, and at times addiction and death. Most of my stories are slash fiction/smut, most are rated Mature (M) or Explicit (E). I always say please read the tags for your safety, and enjoy. ~ kiz

See if she can guess what, a hollow point does to a naked body..

Draco Malfoy + Harry James Potter

Halloween: 

A Friend of a Friend - Maybe, Potter left the door unlocked, or maybe Draco crawled through the window. Maybe, Potter asked, or maybe Draco liked it far more than he ought to.

I’m A Muggle - It's Halloween for the 8th-year students at Hogwarts, and what's Halloween without a makeshift party, alcohol, and dancing? Oh. Costumes too.

One-Shots:

Harry Potter Would Never Hurt Him Again - Harry let Draco leave, and then he didn't. Draco would make sure, Harry Potter never hurt him again.

Haunted - Who would you kill for? Die for? Live for? It's all darkness when your obsession leaves. // You want me? You're lucky? I'm pinned to the door. Slap, kiss, bite. Foreplay. //

Beholden To - It's only months after the war and Draco can't handle it any longer. Stupid Potter, and his stupid attitude and his stupid having to die almost killed him. That's what happens when you're a Veela mated to the reckless golden boy. [Story for Veela Valentine - Happy February!]

Priceless - The John? His best friend. The Doctor? A friend with a nickname. The movers? He was getting a new carpet. The money? His own. The lesson? Priceless. [Dark!Harry. Non-Magic, Pimp AU. Rated: MA.]

Needy Arse - They're needy, just needy. [Chubby!Draco Prompt. Rated: MA. Drarry AU. Please read warnings.]

I Just Don’t Want To - Draco's not okay, he hasn't been okay for a long. / "I could tell him... I could live without him but I don't want to. I don't even want to think about it." /

I Was Broken - Draco Malfoy calls for help, during one of the darkest times in his life but a man like him can't hang on to happiness for too long. It always gets taken away. [Non-Magic/Modern AU.]

The Storm - Something should have told Draco how much of a storm Harry Potter was, someone should have. He should have been prepared for the fight he was in for with the man he was already head over heels in love with. / Late nights brought The Chosen One and The Slytherin Prince together, long nights tore them apart. [Rated: MA. A/U. Time skip/Post war.]

I Like Me Better - It's easier to like someone else than it is to like yourself.

Collections of One-Shots - 

Training for the Ballet Potter? - Collection of shorter one-shots, usually prompt-based writing. (Closed in 2018. I will pull The Chosen One from this collection and make it, its own series.) 

A Collection Of Ficlets About Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter - A more aptly named collection, and straight to the point. (Open in 2024.)

Chapter Fics/Series:

The Couch In Potter’s Office - Malfoy, the best attorney money can buy, and Potter, the best Auror the Ministry has known, are brought together over a case. They're bound to destroy each other, right?

It Was So.... - Collection of fics dedicated to Chubby!Draco, and a loving Harry Potter. With that being said most of these can be stand-alone, I never see myself adding more to this series, I wrote this whole collection for an old friend. 

Let's fuck her up... manifest pain at the core of pleasure

Things I am working on: 

The Fear In Your Eyes -Summary: It seemed unlikely Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter could share the same fears, but it seemed even more unlikely that they would know how to silence the fears for one another. [Drarry. Year 8 AU. EWE? Rated: MA. Prompt Writing.] (New addition to be posted in 2025)

Someone That Can Over Look - The one in which Harry Potter orders a call guy for dinner (+ fun) and Draco Malfoy shows up. (New addition to be posted in 2025)

You Don’t Have To Say A Thing - "I can go back to ignoring you, if you'd rather, Potter. How'd you say it earlier? Hating you?" / "I don't think I would rather that." / You move on, you grow up, you change, but how can you accept those changes when your past haunts you? Do you really have to do it all alone? [Drarry. Year 8 AU. EWE? Rated: MA. Prompt Writing.]

Pink - Pink bag, with a pink box, and a pink set of lingerie started the whole thing. Late nights, a sinister case, and Teddy Lupin brought them together. Will magic, power, and darkness tear them apart? What choices did they have, in the end? 

Alibi and Accomplice - Draco Malfoy invited Harry Potter out for Christmas Eve, since they were both going to be alone. Potter never imagined his holiday was going to take the turn it did.

I'll see you when the wrath comes around.” - Nazareth, Sleep Token

What Is To Come in 2025: 

All of My Tomorrows - Harry gave everything he had to the wizarding world, and then some. When is this curse over, when can he just enjoy his happiness? 

The Little Office With The Entrance In The Back - This is a collaboration piece with @klinefelterrible. Hitman!AU - a little quirky and humorous (on their part), and a little dark and grimy (on mine). 

Drarry Week 2025 - Hosted by @drarry-week (Posting begings January 5th - 11th)

“You taste like new flesh, say my name again. Fold, secrets in the sweat like I...

Tom Riddle + Harry James Potter 

Sugar, I’ve Developed A Taste For You - Desire, blood-lust, hunger, pain, want, and need. Tom stalks his willing prey through an open window, ready to devour every inch of him but at what cost?

Until I wake I, dine on old encounters until...

Katie Holt + Keith Kogan

Fast Enough - Pidge and Keith, it fit. It went together. Almost like the word Kidge was used every day by everyone. [Soulmate!AU] Part 2 // Part 3 

Kiz’s Kidge AU - It was affectionately called this and then became a 10-part series.

Kidge Week 2018 

Kidge Month 2018

There's something in the way you lay. Enough to make the dead switch graves...

Other Fics Posted

Noctis Lucis Calem + Gladiolus Amectia

If You Go Down, I Go Down With You - Being a Prince was hard work with the Imperial Empire trying to kill you at every turn, but maybe it isn't so bad with the help of some good friends. / "As you wish, My Prince." / [MA. Slash. GladxNoct. A/U. Fluff/smut. Dark Themes.] 

Misaki Takahasi + Akihiko Usami

Work and Boundaries - Misaki has been working late, and Akihiko has been hating it. But, they've talked about this. Boundaries. When a day off comes, Akihiko has one thing in mind, and that's all. Maybe, Misaki does too?

You taste like new flesh. My hands are not worthy.” - Jericho, Sleep Token

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency

* * * *

The power of a single voice.

February 14, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

We have all been in a situation where an audience sits in awkward silence as a loudmouth makes rude and offensive comments that disrupt the event. People look nervously at one another for social cues to confirm what everyone is thinking: “This guy is a jerk. Someone should tell him to shut up.”

And then a single voice says, “Be quiet. Sit down. You are ruining it for everyone.” And then a chorus arises, “Sit down! Boo! Hiss!” The power of a single voice can unleash the strength of collective action.

Being the first mover is risky and (depending on the situation) dangerous when the stakes are high. It takes courage and moral conviction. On Thursday, the acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle R. Sassoon, demonstrated courage and moral conviction. She refused to dismiss the indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams—as she had been ordered to do by Emil Bove, the acting US Deputy Attorney General.

Danielle Sassoon explained her decision not to dismiss the charges against Eric Adams in a carefully crafted, respectful, thoughtful letter, which is here: Letter from Danielle R. Sassoon to AG Pamela Bondi.

Everyone should read portions of her letter to appreciate her fine legal analysis and sincerity of her appeal to Pam Bondi. I urge lawyers to read Sassoon’s letter start to finish. It is an outstanding example of legal reasoning that expertly combines clear analysis and deft advocacy while upholding the best traditions of the legal profession.

We should all be proud of Danielle Sassoon. She has taken the first step to remediating the disgrace visited on the legal profession by dozens of Trump's legal sycophants.

Emil Bove accepted Sassoon’s politely tendered offer of resignation in her letter. Bove then went shopping for a lawyer cowardly enough to carry out the corrupt dismissal of the charges against Adams—which Sassoon argued “amounted to a quid pro quo” of dismissal in exchange for cooperating with Trump's lawless immigration raids.

Sassoon wrote in her letter:

I attended a meeting on January 31, 2025, with Mr. Bove, Adams’s counsel, and members of my office. Adams’s attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed. Mr. Bove admonished a member of my team who took notes during that meeting and directed the collection of those notes at the meeting’s conclusion.

Bove believed he could find corruptible lawyers in the DOJ’s Public Integrity unit, so he transferred oversight of the case to D.C. As I write, five lawyers from that unit have resigned rather than carry out Bove’s order to dismiss the well-founded charges of corruption against Eric Adams. See NYTimes, Order to Drop Adams Case Prompts Resignations in New York and Washington. (Accessible to all.)

As I write on Thursday evening, it is not clear when Emil Bove will find a corruptible lawyer to ask the court to enter a corrupt dismissal. Given the number of Trump-appointed prosecutors scattered throughout the nation, he will likely succeed in his quest for a coward. Whoever steps up to perform the corrupt bidding of Bove will go down in history as the Robert Bork of our time—the weakest link in the Department of Justice willing to do the president’s bidding.

The details of this story are much more complicated than I have explained above. For further details, I recommend the NYTimes article. Three important points deserve emphasis before addressing the lessons from this episode.

First, a memo circulated by Emil Bove lends support to Danielle Sassoon’s allegation that the dismissal was a corrupt quid pro quo. As reported by NBC, Emil Bove authored a memo stating that the prosecution against Adams should be dropped, in part, because it “limited Adams' ability to aid Trump's crackdown on immigrants and to fight crime.”

Quid = dismissal of charges; quo = “aiding Trump's crackdown on immigration.”

Second, in an apparent effort to deliver the “quo” for the “quid,” Eric Adams agreed to violate an ordinance passed by the New York City council by agreeing to give ICE agents access to the municipal jail at Rikers Island.

Third, New York Governor Kathleen Hochul has the authority to dismiss Eric Adams, but Hochul told Rachel Maddow on Thursday evening that she would not make a “knee-jerk” decision to do so. Instead, she said she would consider her options after consultation with leaders in New York. See Raw Story, NY gov defies calls to oust Adams despite 'extremely concerning' allegations' — for now

Replacing Eric Adams at this point might lead Emil Bove to withdraw the dismissal request—because as an ex-mayor, Eric Adams would not be able to continue delivering the “quo” for the “quid.” If Adams is no longer mayor, he has no value to Trump, who would no longer care if Adams was prosecuted.

Moreover, if the current request to dismiss the case is withdrawn, the judge presiding over the case will not have cause to investigate whether the request for dismissal is corrupt. But if the DOJ pursues the request for dismissal, US District Judge Dale Ho will likely make an inquiry into whether the request for dismissal promotes the interests of justice.

Such an inquiry could turn into a political embarrassment (or worse) for Emil Bove and others acting at the behest of Trump. Offering to drop a criminal case in exchange for a political benefit may qualify as a bribe, extortion, obstruction of justice, or other criminal conduct.

But the legal details are secondary to the fact that Danielle Sassoon has opened a new front in the resistance against Trump. She follows others who have resigned rather than carry out illegal orders by Trump and Musk, but her stand is the highest-profile act of resistance to date—and one that may have given others in the DOJ the courage to follow her example.

Her stand is the perfect example of why we must use every tool available to resist Trump. We will never know which spark will catch fire and inspire others to join the resistance. But if we create enough sparks, the odds increase that one will be the tipping point to unleash the flood. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors!)

The power of one voice is all it takes to start a wave of resistance. That voice could be yours. Take heart from the events of Thursday and use your voice to urge others to resist and act.

Hegseth tries to walk back comments suggesting that Ukraine must surrender

On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Hegseth shocked everyone (including Trump, apparently) by saying that it was unrealistic to restore Ukraine’s borders to their pre-war status and that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO as part of any settlement.

Hegseth was flamed by everyone, including the White House, for his reckless, shameful abandonment of Ukraine. On Thursday, he said that he “just talking” but that any negotiating decisions would be made by Trump. See The Hill, Hegseth clarifies NATO comments amid criticism and Mediate, Pete Hegseth Roasted Over 'Huge F*ck Up' on Ukraine Policy.

As noted in the Mediate article,

The Economist’s Shashank Joshi added, “Hegseth’s lack of experience is already showing. Publicly makes a series of pre-emptive concessions prior to the most important negotiations in many years, and then has to publicly explain that he had no authority to say any of those things.”

The problem with Hegseth’s comments is that once concessions are uttered in a negotiation, it is impossible to withdraw them—no matter how lame the excuse for making them in the first instance. Pete Hegseth is an amateur who is in over his head. He needs to keep his mouth shut to avoid inflicting more damage.

Judicial efforts to restrain Trump and Musk

A federal judge has extended the ban on Trump's effort to put the entire staff of USAID on leave—a move that would effectively shutter the agency. See The Hill, Federal judge extends block on Trump putting USAID workers on leave. The problem is that all work has ground to a halt at USAID as third party agencies and contractors are frozen by the chaos and indecision at USAID.

Staff are being held in a state of suspended animation, working “at home” in remote locations around the world, unsure of whether USAID will arrange for their return travel to the US. Food is rotting in warehouses and on docks. See The Independent, USAID inspector fired after revealing nearly $500m in food aid was about to spoil amid Trump funding freeze.

The judge who issued the temporary stay seemed skeptical of the union’s claims that workers are suffering irreparable injury, asking why they cannot simply sue for damages if they have been wrongfully terminated.

A lawyer for the union employees responded, “Once the agency is dissolved, it cannot be put back together again.”

And that is Trump's plan: inflict damage that cannot be repaired and worry about the consequences later. Meanwhile, people are dying of disease and starvation as Trump effectively shuts down the work of the agency by blocking “external communications.”

Per The Independent,

$489 million worth of food assistance was at risk of spoilage after the Trump administration issued an unclear aid freeze guidance, ordered staff to refrain from “external communications” and placed more than 90 percent of USAID workforce on paid administrative leave.

In a separate action, another federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore funding to USAID to honor contracts with third party providers. See Reuters, Judge orders US to restore funds for foreign aid programs. But without staff to administer the contracts, restoring the funding may be a futile act.

On Wednesday, a federal judge lifted an order that restrained Trump from firing thousands of federal workers. On Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management authorized the firing of workers who were still within their probationary period. See Politico, Trump administration fires thousands of federal workers.

Per Politico,

Officials would not say how many layoff notices they plan to send, but acknowledged they expect to go well beyond the 77,000 employees who have already accepted offers to leave. The voluntary resignation program — ended after a judge’s ruling Wednesday — culled 3 percent of the workforce, well short of the administration’s 10 percent goal.

Although 77,000 sounds like a large number of employees accepting the “buyout” offer, it is less than the normal attrition that would take place during the eight months covered by the offer. Normal attrition is in the 5% to 6% range, while the buyout offer acceptance rate of 3% over eight months. See Federal News Network, Federal workforce attrition rises back up to pre-pandemic levels. (Attrition was “6.1% and 6% in 2019 and 2018, respectively.”)

The Trump / Musk hatchet job is affecting the judiciary

The judiciary is a co-equal, independent branch of government. Its budget is set by Congress directly and is not managed by the executive branch. The Treasury and GAO do serve as the bank and bookkeeper for the judiciary as a matter of convenience. But the president has no authority over the judiciary or its budget.

But the ham-fisted approach of Musk and Trump to federal cuts is sweeping the judiciary without regard to its independence. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo addresses the issue at length in an article entitled, Judicial Branch Scrambles To Limit Spillover From Trump’s Executive Branch Rampage.

For example, Musk and Trump have inadvertently terminated or frozen leases for judiciary offices and attempted to place executive branch staff in judiciary buildings as part of the forced “return to office” initiatives in the executive branch.

Chief Justice John Roberts plays a role in the budgeting process for the judiciary and must be aware that the Musk / Trump initiatives are impinging on the independence of the federal judiciary. Whether Roberts cares or will do anything is not clear.

Celebrities quit Kennedy Center Board after Trump appoints himself chair

Trump appointed himself chair of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. After announcing that he was appointing himself chair, Trump crowed that he was “unanimously” elected by the board to his self-appointed position.

Part of the reason Trump's election was unanimous was that celebrities began to resign from the board after Trump announced his intention to seize control of the center. See The Hill, Stars flee Kennedy Center groups after Donald Trump seizes chair. Shonda Rhimes, Ben Folds, and Renee Fleming resigned from the board of trustees after Trump’s announcement.

And then Trump dismissed the entire remaining board of trustees (in violation of their six year terms) and appointed his own board of trustees who—unsurprisingly—voted unanimously for Trump to serve as chair.

This is next level weird ****. Again, imagine if Joe Biden dismissed the board of trustees—which would have been heavily represented by Trump appointees—and installed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center. But so far as I can tell, no one in the legacy media is bothered by the fact that Trump is acting like an out-of-control narcissist in the manner of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Kim Jung Un, Putin, Stalin, etc.

Wall Street Journal’s comment on Trump's tariffs and inflation.

Trump announced on Thursday that more “reciprocal” sanctions would be coming next week. See Politico, Trump sets out process for imposing global reciprocal tariffs.

Given the reported spike in inflation in January, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board headlined an editorial with the following, which says it all: ‘Does He Understand Money?’: Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal Slams Donald Trump’s Intellect | The Daily Beast.

Concluding Thoughts

I will host a Substack livestream on Saturday morning, February 15, at 9:00 am PST / 12:00 noon EST. There is no link. Just open the Substack app at the appointed time and you will see a notification that I have opened a livestream session. I will send a reminder email 30 minutes before I start the session.

The resistance within the DOJ is freighted with significance. Danielle Sassoon is a Republican appointee with sterling Republican credentials—a Scalia clerk who is a member of the Federalist Society. And yet she put her loyalty to the Constitution above her loyalty to Donald Trump.

Trump's kryptonite is disloyalty. He melts like the Wicked Witch of the West when people refuse to be bullied. Dannielle Sassoon has demonstrated that there is a path forward that does not involve breaching an oath to defend the Constitution.

The Eric Adams Affair has yet to see its denouement. But we know the outcome. Trump loses. Even if he manages to dismiss the charges against Adams, he has suffered a grievous blow to his air of invincibility. And if he backs down, the sharks will smell blood in the water.

Trump can be defeated. All it takes is a single person with courage and moral conviction to inspire others to action. Each of us should raise our voices—because we cannot know in advance which of those voices will be the spark that sets the resistance aflame.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

Haunting chapter 1

Note: it's spooky time! this fic is strongly inspired by the book True Haunting (a true story and a must read if you're into ghost stories!). this was supposed to be a one shot, but the fic was becoming way too long, so I had to split it up.

Warnings: angst/horror/paranormal stuff.

pairing: Modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: You and Sihtric finally bought a house, but at what cost?

wordcount: 4k

Masterlist

'Something is wrong with this house!'

'I still can't believe it,' you wiped a tear as you looked at your new home, while the movers were busy moving your furniture inside.

'I know,' Sihtric smiled proudly, and pulled you in his arms, 'we did it, babe,' he kissed your forehead, 'we finally bought a house.'

'I just can't believe it,' you chuckled, 'I mean, the fact that a detached house was so… so cheap?'

'Yeah, it surprised me too. Apparently it's been on the market for a long time, the previous owners just really wanted to get rid of it.'

'I wonder why,' you scoffed and looked around, 'I mean, look at this place! It's a dream. It's in a quiet neighbourhood, the backyard is huge and it's located perfectly between the city centre and the forest. Why on earth would anyone want to leave this place?'

'I don't know, honey,' Sihtric shrugged, 'but I'm glad they did, because it's ours now.'

Sihtric picked you up and threw you over his shoulder as you yelped, and he carried you inside the house, where you both started unpacking boxes right away to make your dream home a reality.

For years you had been trying to buy a house together, but the prices were just absurd and even when you both worked full time you couldn't afford a house. Until Sihtric saw an ad in the local newspaper, and he called the number immediately. 

The real estate agent told Sihtric on the phone that he could pick up the keys at their office, and he was free to go and look around the house on his own. And so your husband of five years did, alone. He didn't want to give you any false hope, as previous houses you both had viewed always got sold to a couple who could afford to overbid, and Sihtric had seen the disappointment in your eyes each time. And he hated it. So, when you thought he was going to work one afternoon, he went to pick up the keys and drove to the house.

It was a huge, completely detached two story house, with a small windowless attic on the seemingly hidden third floor. The porch looked cosy and was surrounded by an impressive front yard, and when you walked around the house you ended up in a huge backyard. The lawn was so big that Sihtric already felt tired when he thought about all the work it needed. But he didn't care about that then, you both just really wanted to buy a house and finally move out of that horrible apartment building you rented a small studio at. You both wanted to start a family and it had been on hold, all because you just couldn't get a place that would be big enough for two adults and a child. And this house was big enough for two adults and four children, which is exactly what your husband wanted; a big family eventually.

Sihtric walked up the porch and put the key in the lock, but the door wouldn't open. He frowned and worried that maybe the real estate agent had given him the wrong key. Which didn't make much sense, Sihtric thought, because the key did fit in the lock, it just wouldn't fully turn. After a few tries he decided to walk around the house and ended up in the backyard, where he saw a back porch and went to try that door. At first he had the same issue, but after the third try the door suddenly flung open and Sihtric almost fell inside the house, in the kitchen. He chuckled and inspected the lock but saw nothing weird. He figured maybe the front door had an extra lock, and he'd check it out later.

He walked through the large kitchen and clearly the previous owners had moved out a while ago, as it was covered with quite the layer of dust, and thick cobwebs hung from the ceiling and lamps. To Sihtric's surprise, the kitchen had almost all the things one would need to live there. Cabinets full of plates and cups, as well as cutlery, all in good condition but a little dusty. He found a stack of towels, a bunch of pots and pans and even a drawer full of tablecloths.

'Odd,' Sihtric mumbled, and he was startled when the backdoor suddenly slammed shut. 

Sihtric cursed loudly but then laughed at the scare.

'Close the door, Sihtric!' your mother would say, he thought with a smile, which faded quickly as his sudden memory continued, 'or it will slam shut and wake up your father, and you know what he's like…'

Sihtric cleared his throat and shook the random negative childhood memory. He shivered as he started to feel a little cold, but then continued his viewing. From the kitchen he walked straight into the living room, which was also filled with furniture, dust and cobwebs. The couch could be replaced and the tv cabinet was a bit old, but the chairs and carpet all looked decent. Sihtric smiled; everything seemed perfect so far. Except that it was quite chilly inside while it was the middle of summer, and outside it was incredibly hot. In the summer the temperature inside was fine, but Sihtric worried about how cold it would be inside during the winter. But that again was a worry for later, just like the work that the yard would need. 

He walked out of the living room into the hallway, which looked almost royal with its high ceiling and large wooden stairs, which were also covered with dust and cobwebs. Sihtric checked the locks as he passed the front door, and to his surprise he found out there was nothing wrong with the door as he opened it without trouble from the inside.

'Odd,' Sihtric said again and closed the door, continuing his way to the second floor.

The wooden stairs creaked with each step Sihtric took, and he worried he'd fall through, but luckily that didn't happen. He noticed the second floor was even colder and he took a quick look in all the bedrooms which were, not surprisingly, also covered with dust and cobwebs. Everything was once again complete with furniture. Each room had a bed, a closet, a drawer and some rooms even had a desk. The master bedroom came with a huge king size bed, but Sihtric shuddered at the thought of what kind of nasty things the previous owners had done on that mattress, so he would definitely replace that with the bed you owned now. Strangely enough the master bedroom was also the coldest room in the house. And even though the sun was shining directly inside through the large windows, Sihtric could still see his own breath and he had goosebumps all over his body.

He took a quick look in the spacious bathroom, which came with an old but decent bathtub, and Sihtric decided he had seen enough already. He would check the attic once the house was sold to him, and he made an offer right away when he returned the key at the real estate office.

'You really want the place?' the agent asked, 'like… for real?'

'Yeah?' Sihtric frowned, 'sure, it needs some cleaning, but for that price? Bring it on.'

'Well,' the agent chuckled and mumbled, 'it's your life, not mine.'

And next thing he knew, Sihtric signed some papers and got to keep the key to the house. He surprised you with the news later that day, after dinner, and he drove you to see the house that same evening. 

You both agreed it needed work but it had been a bargain, and you were simply over the moon.

It took a few weeks to get the place all cleaned up, but once done it looked amazing. You both had a couple of weeks off when you just moved in, but now Sihtric had to go back to work again, while you worked from home. And you simply couldn't wait to use the brand new bedroom turned home office. 

And it was only when you could finally work in silence that you realised the mark your previous apartment had left in you. You often thought you heard stomping footsteps and muffled voices, but it had to be your imagination as you heard sounds like that the entire day and night in your old home. You simply ignored whatever you thought you heard and continued your work.

Everything went pretty normal in the following weeks. You and Sihtric were at peace. You both slept well at night after years of being kept awake by noisy neighbours, and you figured the bad luck you two had was finally turning around, for now...

'Have you seen my phone, hon?' Sihtric asked as he was running late for work one morning, 'I swore I put it on the cabinet in the hallway, but it's not there.'

'Oh?' you frowned and searched the kitchen alongside your husband, 'hm, no, baby,' you sighed, 'I haven't seen it anywhere. Did you leave it upstairs?'

'I already looked there.'

'Couch?'

'Already looked,' Sihtric groaned as he emptied another drawer, without any phone appearing, 'fuck,' he hissed, 'well, no phone then. I really gotta run, love,' he said and pecked your lips, 'love you, see you tonight.'

And with those words he ran out of the kitchen and slammed the front door shut behind him. After a few minutes you felt bothered by the fact that he couldn't find his phone, so you continued the search. There was no bother trying to call his number, because his phone was always on silent. You decided to look upstairs and, as you walked through the hallway, you found his phone on the cabinet.

'Men,' you snorted, then took a photo of your husband's phone which was in plain sight on the cabinet in the hallway, just where he said he had left it.

You texted the photo to Finan, a friend and colleague of Sihtric, knowing he'd show the photo to him at work.

You: tell my husband he's getting old ;) 

Finan: Sihtric asked if this is a prank

You: what? No, I swear. His phone was right there when I passed the cabinet…

Finan: he doesn't believe you

'Babe, I checked that cabinet like ten times,' Sihtric said during dinner that night.

'Siht, you don't actually think I hid your phone and let you leave the house without it?' you scoffed, 'you know how anxious I get when I can't reach you.'

Sihtric huffed. He knew you were right, but he just didn't understand how he hadn't seen his phone that morning.

'I don't know,' he said, 'I just can't explain it.'

'Well, I didn't touch it, okay?'

After a while of slight arguing, you both decided to drop the subject and cleaned up the kitchen together. And as you did the dishes, Sihtric snuck up behind you and circled his arms around your waist. He squeezed you in his arms and kissed your cheek.

'Want to take a bath together?' he asked, his smooth voice still making your legs go weak after all those years.

You nodded with a cheeky grin and your husband was quick to slap your ass before he ran off into the hallway and up the stairs. Sihtric filled the bathtub with pleasantly hot water, and threw in a multicoloured bath bomb before he switched off the tap. As he walked past the stairs, to the bedroom to grab some towels, he yelled that the bath was ready.

You quickly switched off all the lights downstairs and sprinted up the stairs. You were eager to have some romantic time with your husband, as that's the only thing that has been lacking since you had moved. You met Sihtric as he walked back to the bathroom, and you playfully shoved him to the side to get into the bathtub first. But when you were ready to take off your clothes and stared into the bathtub, you frowned and turned to your husband.

'Is this a joke?' you clicked your tongue, 'because it's not funny. I heard the water running, so you just wasted a shit ton of water, and apparently a bath bomb too,' you said, confused. 

'What?' Sihtric asked, equally confused, and he looked in the bathtub which was completely empty, except for the colours the bath bomb had left.

'Sihtric, we already don't have that much money left each month, don't waste water like this…'

'What the fuck?' he muttered, 'n-no, I filled it. It was completely filled up. Here!' he said and dropped the towels on the floor, 'see, you can still see the faint line of where the water was because of the bath bomb!' he pointed near the edge of the bathtub, and you couldn't disagree with him.

'Did the plug come out then?' you wondered out loud.

'I guess,' Sihtric scoffed, 'but… there's no way the water could have been drained this fast. I only left the bathroom for like twenty seconds.'

'Are you sure you plugged it?'

'Yes!' Sihtric hissed, 'I'm not an idiot!'

'Well, your phone-'

'It wasn't there when I checked!' he snarled, then sighed and raked his fingers through his curls, 'I'm sorry,' he said, 'I'm sorry, honey. It's just been a weird day, I don't mean to take it out on you. I'm sorry.'

'Yeah,' you mumbled, 'let's just… let's just go to bed, Siht,' you turned and walked out of the bathroom, 'I'm not in the mood anymore.'

The next morning Sihtric's phone was missing again, and he searched the entire house. Once he finally found it, in the fridge with a dead battery, he cursed loudly and went on to make breakfast. He switched on the stove and sat down at the table, annoyed. As you were still asleep he wanted to leave a note that his phone was broken, and he went into the living room to grab a pen and some paper. When Sihtric returned, he noticed the stove was off.

'This better not be broken,' he muttered and switched it on again.

He sat down to write you a note, but the pen didn't work so he left the kitchen again to get a new one. And when he returned the stove was once again switched off.

'What is this bullshit?' Sihtric mumbled.

He switched the stove on again and kept his eyes on it. For five minutes he stood there, arms crossed and jaw clenched, watching a perfectly fine working stove. Then he returned to writing his note, went back into the living room to put the pen back in the drawer, and when he came back the stove was again switched off. Sihtric cursed and left the kitchen, thinking he was going insane. He went upstairs and kissed you goodbye, then left for work without breakfast, as he'd grab something on the way. If he could leave at least, because when he grabbed his car keys he saw the key was bent.

'What is going on with you?' you asked when you found Sihtric still at home after you had woken up.

'My phone was gone again and when I found it, it was dead, I can't make any fucking breakfast because the stove keeps switching off whenever I leave the kitchen, and my fucking car key is bent out of shape!' he spat, 'I emailed Finan to let him know I'm not coming into work today.'

'Oh, okay,' you said, 'so, you're just home because you had a bad morning?'

Sihtric didn't answer and just stared out the window while sitting on the couch.

'Honey,' you said, 'we really need the money-'

'I know!' Sihtric snapped, 'I know we need the money! But something's… something's not right!'

'What do you mean?' you asked, 'w-with us?'

'No, not us. This house! Something is wrong with this house!' he yelled.

'It's an old house,' you scoffed, 'are you surprised-'

'No, not like that, sweetheart,' he exhaled sharply, 'I just… fuck,' he jumped up, 'I'm going for a walk.'

While Sihtric was out, clearing his head, you had gone upstairs to work in your little home office. Again you were taunted by the noises stuck in your head from your previous apartment. The sounds had only seemed to intensify the past few weeks, but the odd thing was that whenever you truly focused on the noise, it disappeared. But when you were working the noise was constantly there, driving you insane because it sounded so real and you couldn't explain it.

When Sihtric came back after a few hours you argued again. You had gotten angry about Sihtric's phone being broken and told him he had to pay more attention to his belongings, as you simply didn't have the money to replace everything right away. Sihtric got mad because he never broke things on purpose, and he did not mess with things he needed every day, like his phone or his car keys. After the heated argument you prepared dinner in silence. And you were both calm again when you sat at the table together.

'Sihtric?' you asked during dinner, 'have you heard any noises here?'

'What kind of noises?' he asked and stuffed his mouth with potatoes.

'Like… running,' you said cautiously, 'or voices?'

Sihtric furrowed his brow, 'What do you mean?'

'It's like… when I'm working, I keep hearing those kind of noises,' you explained, 'it's almost like we're still living in the apartment building. That kind of noise.'

'But that kind of noise is impossible, love,' Sihtric sat back, 'we don't have any direct neighbours.'

'I know, that's why I'm asking. It just… it feels like I'm going insane or something,' you chuckled, 'because I can't explain it. I guess it's like what happened to you with the stove.'

'How do you mean?'

'When I focus on the noise or try to figure out where it's coming from, I don't hear it anymore. The same way you told me you kept looking at the stove and it didn't switch off. But as soon as you stop paying attention, the problem returns again.'

'Huh,' Sihtric scoffed, a little concerned, 'but how is that possible?'

'I don't know.'

'And where does it sound like the noises come from?'

'From the attic,' you said, 'but I don't want to go up there, because the light doesn't work.'

'I know, I still need to fix that,' Sihtric sighed, 'I'll have a look tomorrow, okay? The running noises could just be old pipes that rattle. Like you said earlier, it's an old house.'

'Yeah,' you agreed, 'I guess you're right,' you smiled, and Sihtric kissed your forehead as he thanked you for the dinner.

'Do you think buying this house was a mistake?' he asked after a while.

'What? No. Why? Do you?'

'No,' he said, 'well, I mean… I… we've been arguing a lot since we moved here, haven't we? We never used to be like that.'

'I guess,' you agreed, 'but we're under a lot of stress too, Sihtric. We put all our money in this house. But still, I'm glad we live here. The house is amazing, but I think we're just getting caught up over little things we can't explain. We've never lived in a place this big before. It's not uncommon to misplace things, have a faulty stove, a bath that unplugs and to hear some sounds I suppose. We still have to get used to it.'

'Maybe,' Sihtric said, 'but what about my key being bent?'

'I don't know,' you shrugged, 'maybe you sat on it with that big butt of yours?'

'Hey,' Sihtric scowled, but then chuckled, 'I don't know,' he became serious again, 'I definitely didn't sit on it, and I also did not put my phone in the fridge.'

When you went to bed that night it was once again incredibly cold in the bedroom. You had switched on the heating but that didn't change anything. The room was freezing cold, but if you'd touch the radiator you'd burn your hands. You got under the sheets and not much later Sihtric joined you. He also complained about how cold it was but you were both too tired to argue about it, and you both fell asleep.

Hours later you woke up out of nowhere. You glanced at the clock and saw it was a little over three in the morning. You yawned and pulled the sheets up again as your shoulders were exposed to the cold room. And moments later the sheets suddenly got pulled off you with force.

'Sihtric, what the fuck?!' you shouted, angry, cold and tired, 'what the fuck are you doing?!'

'What?' Sihtric asked, startled as he woke up by your yelling, 'what did I do?' he rubbed his eyes and yawned, then shivered as he realised there was no blanket covering him anymore, 'where's the-'

'Did you not pull it off me?' you interrupted in the dark.

'What?'

'Did you pull the blankets off me?'

'I- what? No!' Sihtric hissed, and switched on a light, 'what are you talking about? Why would I-' he stopped talking as he looked at the floor.

You followed your husband's gaze and froze when you saw the bed sheet was on the floor, near the closet, at the opposite side of the bedroom.

'I can't fucking believe this,' Sihtric huffed the next morning when you met in the kitchen, after a horrendous night.

'What?' you yawned.

'This!' he said and held up the charger of his new phone, which was split in two.

'What the… how?' you frowned.

'I have no idea,' Sihtric threw the cable on the table, 'I'm fucking done. What the fuck is going on here?'

'I don't know, ghosts?' you tried to make light of the situation.

Sihtric glared at you.

'Don't joke about those things!'

'Sorry, mister superstitious,' you mumbled, 'hey, will you check that attic by the way?'

'Yeah, yeah,' Sihtric sighed and grabbed a flashlight, 'I'll do it before I go to work.'

'Thank you,' you kissed his cheek and he went on his way.

You sipped your tea in the kitchen, trying to stay awake after you had been up since three in the morning. You had been too afraid to sleep again and had clutched onto the bed sheet until morning came. Sihtric was brave enough to grab the blanket off the floor after the weird event, and he managed to fall asleep afterwards again, but you hadn't. And now you were paying the price.

Sihtric climbed up the steep attic stairs and clicked on the flashlight. He looked around the dusty place and took a closer look at the pipes, seeing if they were in need of replacement. But everything seemed fine and he had no idea what else could cause the noise you heard while you were working. When he turned to climb down the stairs again he suddenly saw a box in the otherwise empty attic, and he grabbed it.

As you sipped your tea you suddenly heard your husband storm down the stairs.

'Is this fucking funny to you!?' he shouted as he neared the kitchen, and you perked up.

'What?' 

'This!' Sihtric snarled, and threw his attic find in front of you on the table, 'did you plan this? You know I don't trust these things!'

You stared with big eyes at the old and nearly falling apart Ouija board box, which you had never seen before. And when you looked up at Sihtric, completely deprived of colour, he immediately knew that you were as spooked as he was. 

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