#oh I’ll collect the Canadians

[slytherinshua]

I’m in love with mark lee

[lvrhughes]

Underage | L. Hughes

word count: 1.79k

pairing: Luke Hughes x fem!reader

warnings: underage drinking? (it's legal in Canada though??)

summary: Luke meets a pretty girl at the bar

requested: no

notes: i don’t understand drinking age in the US i’ll be so real i’m canadian it’s legal at 18 or 19 here

not my gif!

“Are you even legal?” The question slipped out before you could think, quickly hiding the embarrassment with a sip of your drink while you watched the boys cheeks turn a dark pink.

“I- um.” He barely could speak, his voice shaky and his hands just as bad. Who you had to assume to be his brother, stood beside his, leaned up to rest his arm around the taller ones shoulder. 

“He’s not but we just needed him for some team bonding so we thought it’d be fine, he won’t drink or anything.” The older one assured, his tone was calm and collected, ignoring the odd idea that some random girl who just happened to be walking past the group would ask such an absurd question.

“Oh man, I don’t care if he does. I don’t work here. I just clearly have had too much and no filter.” The words slipped out again, the realization of how stupid you might have sounded hitting you after. 

A look of relief flashed over the younger one's face though, his posture relaxing a little more while his brother’s, as you assumed, arm slid off his shoulder, bending over in laughter.

“Holy shit! Luke, you looked horrified!” the shorter one spoke, words interrupted by laughter, while you tried not to laugh with him.

The taller one, Luke, rolled his eyes, smacking his brother before speaking again.

“I thought I was about to be kicked out, I think being a little scared is fair.” He grumbled, staring his brother down while he simply laughed. 

“I’m sorry I scared you, if it makes you feel better I’m not supposed to be here either.” Your hand shot to your mouth quickly, immediately knowing that saying that aloud would lead to you being kicked out.

“What?” The shorter one spoke again, you really needed to learn his name, with a look of shock among his features.

“I shouldn't have said that.”

“How did you get in?” It was Luke this time, his voice filled with curiosity. 

“My best friend works here, she gets me in.”

He nodded his head, the brunette beside him staring in awe while you shyly mixed the drink you held, damn near empty now. 

“Can I get your number?” Luke spoke quickly and quietly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he asked. 

You nodded, a small smile on your face at the awkward yet cute movements of the boy, allowing him to pass you his phone. Typing your number quickly before snapping a quick selfie, creating a perfect contact for the cute boy you’d just met at the bar. You watched him look over the contact as he held the phone in his hands, a soft smile and blush covering his cheeks. 

“Why don’t you sit with us?” The shorter of the brothers spoke again, his arm wrapping around your waist for a second, pulling you off guard, as he moved you from passing strangers. 

“I thought you had some team bonding thing happening here?”

“Oh we do, they just definitely won’t care. This is just an excuse for the team to get drunk together once more before the season starts.” He explained, Luke standing uncomfortably behind him.

You simply nodded, not having any words to answer. If you said no you’d be missing out on a really cute boy, but if you said yes you're subject to meeting more strangers tonight. It seemed like a loose-loose scenario, so fuck it.

“Yeah I’ll sit with y’all, just let me get another drink.” 

The boys nodded, Luke offering to come with you while the other deemed he’d be at the table with the team.

“So is that your brother?” The question came quick, the moment it was just you and Luke walking towards the counter.

“Yeah, he’s one of my older brothers.” 

You nodded, asking more short questions to get to know the tall, curly haired boy more. Allowing his short and simple answers to gather more about him, listening to the tone of his voice while he spoke. He only silenced when you’d reached the bar, glancing for your friend before calling her over.

“Another one? Already?” The bartender smiled, shaking her head while you shone a shy smile towards your best friend. “I see you got company though.” 

She wiggled her eyebrows while you reached over the counter, smacking her arm lightly while she laughed. She continued mixing the drink, unphased by your previous actions as Luke stood and stared in awe, simple thoughts running through his mind of how pretty you looked. 

“Hey, be nice to the bartender, I could just not make you drinks!” She spoke after, pouring the finished drink into another glass before sliding it to you. 

“You’d never, you love me too much.” You grinded, sending a kiss in the air to her, watching her pretend to catch it while you walked away with Luke.

“So, what’s your team like?”

The question came from your lips quickly, taking a small sip of the drink you had just gained after while Luke scratched at the back of his neck. 

“They’re… a lot sometimes but they’re the best I could even ask for.” His words had a sense of pride in them, proving how much his team meant to him.

“What is your team for?” 

A blush quickly covered his face, leaving him a soft, mumbling mess. His hand running through his curls rapidly while he tried to figure out how to answer the question. 

“I- Uh-” He interrupted himself with a sigh, deeming lying held no hope, “You ever watch the NHL?”

Confusion struck your features, stopping in your tracks to stare down the tall boy for a moment, seeing the concern that struck his features. You shook your head slightly, seeing his shoulders drop in relief at the admission that you don’t watch hockey. 

“Well I- uh, play for the New Jersey Devils?” The sentence came out more of a question than anything else, his hand still anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. 

“That’s cool.” You smiled at him, seeing the shock that covered his face when you seemingly did not care that he was a household name. 

“Thank God you didn’t freak out.” He mumbled, a small smile appearing across his features again, taking your hand in his tentatively.

Leading you to the table, seeing his group of rowdy teammates taking up an entire corner in the bar, leading you to the end of the table, pulling out a chair for you while you glanced through the roster. 

A few faces seemed familiar, probably from the few times you had watched a hockey game with your best friend, who was a hockey fanatic, but not of the Devils. No, her heart was set on the Canucks, having come from Vancouver. 

“Lukey! You got a girl now?” One cheered, his voice loud over the noise, clear he’d already had a few too many drinks. 

“Fuck off Daws.” Luke groaned, his arm wrapping around the top of your chair, pulling it right beside his. 

“She scared the shit out of him when we were walking in!” Luke’s brother cheered back, going into detail of how you met the brothers. 

“Lu,” You whispered, leaning into him to gain his attention, “What’s your brother’s name?” 

A pink flushed over his face when he turned, leaving barely three inches between your faces, before he answered. 

“Jack,” He paused, leaning back and pointing out his teammates one by one, “That’s Dougie, Nico, Timo, Šimon..” 

His list continued, watching certain players acknowledge his introductions and wave towards you while others continued their own conversations, laughing with each other. You smiled at a few of the players, letting your gaze wander back onto Luke after, watching the way his eyes lit up as he heard his teammates talking about something that piqued his interest, quickly shoving his way into the conversation. 

“Luke, pay some attention to your girl before she leaves you.” One man spoke up, shoving Luke back towards you from where he’d been leaning, if you remembered right, it was Dougie. 

A darker shade covered his cheeks, his attention turning to you, where you had been sitting, admiring the boy talking to his friends. His eyes caught your quickly, holding until you broke, glancing down at his lips before you could stop and think. 

A small smile covered his face, his attention fully on you as he maneuvered your body, pulling your legs over his, pulling you as close as possible. A look beyond normal flooded his eyes, his brother could see it from miles away, the look of admiration, of love and lust that threatened to take over. 

“Would you go on a date with me?” His voice held a note of fear, yet the question slipped out before he could think, his teammates silencing their conversations to listen quickly. 

“I’d love to.” 

The smile that broke out on his face was enough to elicit one from you, matching grins painting your faces while his brother shared a similar one. A sense of pride flowing from Jack, watching his little brother find a girl. 

Your eyes flashed down to Luke’s lips once more, more confident than the last look. His eyes followed yours, watching your gaze drop while he did the same to you before reaching out.

His arm wrapping around your waist, sliding you forwards, gently as if to give you the choice to pull away. Like you ever would.

He dropped his head, his face barely apart from yours, your breaths mingling together while he waited, seeing if you’d pull back. He watched you carefully, watching you lean forward slightly, lessening the distance between, before he made his move. 

Pressing his lips against yours, feeling your body melt into his, his hands holding your waist while your legs stayed over his lap, sitting sideways in the uncomfortable bar chair while your hands moved to his hair. Running a soft hand through his curls, feeling the way he leaned in for more, feeling how much he liked having your hands in his hair. Feeling him pull way for air, pressing his forehead against yours to keep you close, making sure your hands stayed where they were. 

A smile covered your lips, seeing one cover his lips too. His cheeks flushed pink while cheers from his teammates filled the bar, earning your move to hide your face in his chest, having his arms wrap around you tightly, protectively. 

“So how about that date?” 

You laughed at his words, leaning back to stare up at him, seeing the sly smile on his face before you leaned forward to press another soft kiss to his lips, silencing his horrible jokes.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kurt Eichenwald at The Threats Within:

In the latest episode of Seriously, Is This Real Life?, businessman and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has revealed that President-elect Donald Trump isn’t just fantasizing about turning Canada into America’s 51st state—he’s actually hosting discussions about it at Mar-a-Lago. Yes, while most people might spend their time planning sensible policies or staffing a competent cabinet, Trump is apparently doodling maple leaves on “Make Canada American, Eh?” baseball caps and strategizing annexation over shrimp cocktails. Trump singing the praises for his idea (of course) on his puttering Twitter rip-off, Truth Social (of course again): “If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them.” Because clearly, Canadians are lying awake at night, trembling in fear of rogue fishing boats and theoretical invasions. Let’s be clear: this isn’t diplomacy. It’s the political equivalent of showing up uninvited to your neighbor’s barbecue, demanding their beer fridge, and explaining it’s for their own good. Trump’s pitch is less about partnership and more about a hostile corporate takeover, with all the charm of a bad infomercial. And it’s safe to say Canadians, who already politely endure their proximity to the U.S., are not clamoring for an upgrade to full membership in Trump’s America. Starting off - health care. Canadians may grumble about wait times, but they’d take their universal system over America’s medical Hunger Games any day. A recent poll found that 86.2% of Canadians support strengthening public healthcare instead of expanding for-profit services. Trump’s version of “freedom” might involve a $10,000 ambulance ride, but Canadians prefer their version, which lets them hit the slopes without worrying about whether a broken leg will also break the bank. Sorry, Donald, but paying $300 for an Advil isn’t exactly what they’d call “great again.”

And let’s talk about social progress, a subject that would likely give Trump and his base a collective nosebleed. Canada legalized gay marriage way back in 2005, leaving the U.S. scrambling to catch up a full decade later. And in 2017, the Canadian Human Rights Act was updated to protect gender identity and gender expression, making Canada a global leader in LGBTQ+ rights. Canadians support protecting transgender people in housing, employment, and public spaces, while Trump’s crowd throws around the term “groomer” like it’s a national sport. The idea of merging these two wildly different value systems is as absurd as serving poutine with ketchup instead of gravy—an insult to both sides.

Of course, don’t forget the gun thing. Trump’s America treats guns like a sacred birthright, while Canadians approach firearms with the kind of cautious distance usually reserved for overly friendly raccoons. The U.S. has more guns than people; Canada regulates them with a level of care that would make even Switzerland blush. Canadians aren’t about to give up their relatively low gun violence rates to adopt a system where a trip to Walmart can involve dodging an active shooter.

There’s also the cultural chasm that is Trump-style politics, which would leave Canadians feeling like they’ve stepped out of the library into a WWE wrestling match. Canadian politics may be dull by comparison, but that’s kind of the point. Canadians are happy to settle disputes over coffee and donuts, not angry tweet storms and “Stop the Steal” rallies. Watching Trump declare “CANADA IS A DISASTER, I’LL FIX IT!” would likely send Canadians scrambling for the border—just not in the direction he’s hoping for. And guns—oh, the guns. America has more firearms than people, and Trump seems to think that’s a feature, not a bug. Canadians, on the other hand, treat guns with the same wary respect they reserve for grizzly bears: necessary in some situations, but not something you invite into your home for fun. The idea of adopting the U.S.’s trigger-happy culture would likely send Canadians running—not walking—to the border.

Being apart from the US is the whole raison d’être of Canada’s being, and almost nobody in that nation would want Canada to be dragged into the USA.

[hoziersmicrophone]

coffee | ross macdonald

A/N: this is my first fic!! & it was inspired by the song “coffee” by Chappell roan, I highly recommend listening to it:)

WARNINGS: angst, suggestions of smut, not a happy ending‼️

pls enjoy <3

Can't meet you for dinner at the Italian place

It's where I met your family, some words were exchanged

I'd suggest the jazz bar on MaryAnn Street but

You'd buy me a drink and we know where that leads, so

“I don’t think I’ll be able to make dinner tonight, something’s come up. I’m really sorry. Do you want to do something maybe during the day tomorrow before you leave for Toronto?”

As soon as she sent the text message, she began to get anxious and rubbed her fingers against each other. She was aware that Ross would be fine with switching things up, as he usually is, but she regrets calling off their long-planned dinner. In less than 48 hours, he was heading out for the Canadian portion of the tour.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and saw that he was calling. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, before swiping to answer the call and bringing the phone to her ear.

“Ross, hi,”

“Is everything okay, love? What’s come up? Is something wrong?” his concerned voice echoed on the other end of the line, she knew he was alone in his hotel room.

She smiled softly at his sincerity, “Nothing’s wrong, and I’m okay, I promise. It’s just been a long day and I don’t really feel up for dinner. I’m tired,”

“Ah,” he sighed, “Okay, well, if you want, I can come over to your place for a bit? We can just relax, maybe watch a movie? I know you’ve been wanting to watch Challengers for a while- we could rent it yeah?”

He sounded calm and collected, but on the other end of the phone call, Ross had begun to wonder if she didn’t want to see him at all, and that this was just her way of attempting to let him down easy.

“That sounds great, actually. I’ll see you in an hour or so?”

He repressed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Sounds good, I’ll see you then.”

With a sigh, she ended the call and collapsed onto her couch. He was heading out with the guys shortly; they would be gone for six months, only doing two shows in Scotland during that time. She didn't want to upset him, but she also didn't want to drop everything she was doing to go on tour with her boyfriend.

They hadn't discussed the tour much, and she didn't want to be the first to bring it up. In fact, Ross hadn't even asked her if she wanted to go. She loved him, and even though she didn't want to end things, she wasn't able to see their future together as clearly as she once could.

I'll meet you for coffee 'cause if we have wine

You'll say that you want me, I know that's a lie

If I didn't love you, it would be fine

I'll meet you for coffee, only for coffee

An hour later Ross was at her apartment. He knocked twice on the door, and she opened it, wearing sweatpants, smiling at the man in front of her.

He offered a small hug, which she reciprocated as he walked through the door, “I brought wine,” he handed her a bottle of Merlot.

“Oh thank you,” she paused and put the bottle on the counter, “That was very thoughtful of you.”

“Shall I get the glasses?” he asked as he headed towards the kitchen, “I can make some popcorn too,”

“Sure Ross,” she smiled softly, “That would be amazing, thank you,” and she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, finding the movie.

A few minutes later, Ross came back and set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table while offering her a glass. She gave him a thank-you smile, and as the movie began, he put an arm around her and pulled her in close.

“I’m gonna miss this,” he whispered into the top of her head, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She nodded, blinking away the stray tears that had formed in her eyes at his words. He evidently had no plans of asking her to join him on tour, he just expected her to sit around and wait for his return.

She exhaled shakily and took a sip of her wine, “Me too,”

They sat in silence and comfort as they watched the film, with a few quips being made at the sex scenes and the intensity of them. The movie ended and Ross stood up, “Do you want another glass to finish off the bottle?”

With a nod, she got to her feet and asked, "Why don't I get them this time?" and she proceeded to the kitchen with their glasses. As she reached for the bottle, removed the cork, and started to pour, she heard his footsteps behind her but chose not to acknowledge him.

Ross’s arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close, hugging her from behind.

“Ross,” she exhaled as she took a sip of her wine.

“Hm?” he murmured as he kissed the part of her shoulder that was exposed from her sweater.

“We need to talk about something,” she pulled out of his arms and turned around to face him, worry evidently etched on her features.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re going away for six months,” she sighed, “And you- you didn’t even ask me how I felt about it or if I wanted to come with you.”

“Love,” he frowned, “I know how you feel about it, but it's my job! Besides, I didn’t think you’d want to come with us, I know you have a life here and-”

“I still would have liked to have been asked,” she said, her voice almost a whisper as she avoided his gaze.

“Well, do you want to come on tour with me?”

“Now you’re just asking out of pity, Ross.”

“What else do you want from me?!” he exhaled sharply. The wine on his breath was potent.

She met his gaze, “Don’t snap at me like that. I was just voicing how I was feeling, there is no reason for you to be defensive.”

His jaw locked and he repressed the urge to roll his eyes, “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what else to say here,”

“You don’t have to say or ask me anything, I just wanted to feel heard.”

“Well, do you?”

“I don’t know. It feels a bit like you’re having this conversation out of obligation.” she looked away again as her eyes welled up with tears once more, “I’m not going to sit around and wait for you like some kind of dog, Ross. Not for half a year.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t feel wanted in this relationship anymore, and don’t really know if I want it for myself,”

“Well I want you!” Ross exclaimed. He ran his hand through his hair and grabbed her hand, “I love you.”

“I love you too, but-” she was cut off by his lips on hers.

“Let’s not talk anymore,” he whispered against her lips, taking her wine glass out of her hand and placing it on the counter, “At least not right now.”

Her eyes began to well up with tears once more, but she forced a smile on her face and gave him another, stronger kiss. She was determined to make the most out of their final night together if it was to be their last. With a drunken gait, they staggered through the house until they arrived at her bedroom. With their lips still attached, the door closed behind them.

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your place

You said let's do the park 'cause I love the park

That may be true but god forbid it gets dark

Here come the excuses that fuel the illusions

But I'd rather feel something than nothing at all, so

Ross and the rest of The 1975 crew were in town for their shows in Scotland, and it had been three months since she'd seen or really spoken to him. Even though she hadn't heard from any of them all day and wasn't really expecting it, the fact that their show was in two hours and she hadn't heard anything still stung.

Just as the thought of not hearing anything entered her mind once more, her phone began to vibrate on the table in front of her. She saw that it was George calling, and answered.

“George?”

“Hey doll, how’s it going?”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, “I’ve been better…how’s tour going? You guys are in town tonight, right? Glasgow?”

“Been keeping tabs on us?”

“Oh shut up, Daniel,”

He laughed, “Are you coming out tonight?”

“Couldn’t snag tickets.” That was only partially the truth. She did want to go, but didn’t want to see Ross. That, and the fight for tickets was a fucking bloodbath.

“If you come to the backdoors one of us will let you in sweetheart,”

“Really desperate to get me there tonight aren’t you George?”

“Would it be wrong of me to say that we miss you?”

“We?” She asked, her voice laced with skepticism.

“Yeah! Me, Matty, Hahn, Charli, Polly, hell even Jamie misses you!”

Her heart felt heavy at the lack of Ross’s name coming out of George’s mouth, but she brushed it off with a light laugh, “I’ll see you in a bit, but I want a backstage pass.”

“Sure thing doll,” and he hung up the phone.

An hour later, she found herself at the backdoors of the venue the boys were performing at. She had just texted George that she was here and had put her phone in her pocket when the doors swung open and she was pulled into and off the ground by the blonde balding man himself in a bone crushing hug.

“Jesus Christ, Daniel!” she exclaimed as she laughed, being put back down on the ground.

“I told you I missed you, sweetheart,”

“If you don’t lose that nickname soon, the next thing you lose will be your dick,” she warned but grinned, “I missed you too.”

“Let’s go say hi to everyone,” George grabbed her hand and dragged her into the dimly lit backstage, letting the doors slam shut behind them.

She had a blast reuniniting with almost the entire band, and was almost brought to the ground by Matty who would not release her from his hug.

“Shit, are you okay Healy?” She asked between laughing fits.

“He misses you and feels like shit,” Matty spoke in a hushed tone in her ear.

“I’m sure he does, and to be fair, he should feel shitty,” she responded, “I’m not here for him,” she spoke a bit louder as she pulled away from Matty’s hug.

“Who’s not here for who?” asked a voice, cutting around George and stepping into the light where she could see him and he could see her.

She straightened her back and turned around, “Hi,” she said, smiling at the tall man who looked shocked to see her.

“You aren’t here for me?” Ross’s eyes softened as he took in her features.

“Jesus, Ross. Whether or not you choose to believe it, my life does not revolve around you,” she brushed the hostile comment off with a small laugh and turned back to Matty, “You guys go on soon, can I just watch from the wings?”

“Yeah, of course,” he responded with a small glance at Ross, who’s expression remained indifferent.

“Alright lads, let’s get a move on with this show then,” George said, clapping Ross on the back, bringing him back to reality, “And let’s get our dear guest a bottle of wine to drink while she enjoys our performance,” he said to a stagehand, shooting her a wink.

She stood on stage left, which was the audiences’ stage right and watched the show from the wings. It also happened to be the side of the stage Ross played on for the majority of the show. The two kept making eye contact throughout the numbers, but he kept looking away the second her eyes met his. She had consumed over half of the bottle of wine, and was enjoying the buzz as her ears burned with the songs they were performing.

It wasn’t until the second verse of ‘Sex’ when she got distracted watching him play. The way his hair framed his face and he focused so intently on the bass line of the song. The way he almost vibrated with the way the stage shook and how he ignored the screams of the crowd, evidently in love with him. The way his fingers moved; god, she loved his fingers. She was slightly drunk at this moment, but didn’t care. She was happy for the first time in months and never wanted the feeling to go away.

As she was evidently distracted by his performance, she didn’t notice him catching her staring and the slight smirk that creeped its way onto his face.

The song came to an end and he placed his bass on the stand as the rest of the band exited the stage, leaving Polly alone to sing ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America.’

Ross walked directly towards her and watched as her mouth formed a soft smile with a hint of a twinkle in her eye. “What?” he asked, a puzzled but playful expression on his face.

She grabbed him by the front of the red crewneck he was wearing and pulled him down to face her, and kissed him with just as much intensity as she had done the last time they had seen each other, three months ago. He responded into the kiss for a few seconds then pulled back, grabbing her hand,

“Where is this coming from?”

“Just shut up and kiss me, MacDonald”

He looked like he wanted to ask another question, but decided to ask it later as he kissed her again, pulling her backwards into the dark of the poorly lit backstage. She laughed against his lips as he walked into a mic stand, covering her mouth with her hand to hide a grin.

“Are you okay?” she asked, trying to stifle another laugh.

“Now who needs to shut up?” He retorted before kissing her again.

I'll meet you for coffee 'cause if we have wine

You'll say that you're sorry, I know that's a lie

If I didn't trust you, it would be fine

I'll meet you for coffee, only for coffee

Another three months had passed since the band’s Glasgow shows, and it had been another three months since she had seen Ross. Yes, they saw each other at the show and for the 48 hours the band was in Glasgow, but after that, they took off again, and she was left to her studio apartment and her thoughts.

She was sitting in her pajamas on her couch and was watching a live stream of the band’s last show. They all had high spirits, but she could tell that they were all a little defeated about it being the last one; both fatigue and sadness.

Her iPad screen went black as the stream ended and her heart swelled with pride for the band. They had all worked so hard the past six months and it most definitely paid off. A break was well deserved.

She was woken up by her phone vibrating beside her. According to her clock it was 3AM. Grabbing it, she rubbed her eyes as the screen illuminated the room.

RM: Hey, I get back to Glasgow tomorrow around 1. Do you wanna grab a coffee and chat?

She stared at the text as another came through.

RM: FUCK. I forgot about the time difference. I’m so sorry. Get back to me when you wake up x.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m awake. And I can do coffee, same spot as always?”

RM: Did I wake you?????

“No, you didn’t lol”

RM: Don’t lie to me, it’s 3AM. You’re never up that late.”

“Fine, you did wake me up, but again, don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow ”

RM: See you then x

She smiled and put her phone back down, before rolling back over and falling asleep, only waking up when her 11AM weekend alarm went off.

If I didn't trust you, it would be fine

I'll meet you for coffee, only for coffee

She walked into the coffee shop, the one they always used to go to, and saw that he was already sitting at a table with two cups in front of him.

Ross stood up when he saw her, and gave her a small hug before she sat down adjacent to him, “I got you a mocha,”

“You remember my order?”

“Of course I do, it’s disgustingly sweet,”

“I’m going to ignore that. How was the rest of the tour?”

They talked about the band, the shows that were better than others, and what they all got up to for the months on the road. Ross mentioned that Polly had started talking to one of the security guards at their show in Toronto and that the two now text almost everyday, and that Polly was planning to spend part of their hiatus in Canada.

“And how were your adventures on the road? Did you get up to anything interesting?” She teased, with a mild smile on her face.

“Not much, really,” he responded.

“Come on MacDonald, you have to give me more than that.”

“Fine,” he sighed, “I was pretty lonely if I’m being honest.”

She inhaled sharply, preparing for the conversation that was about to occur, “It was you who chose to be lonely, you did that to yourself, Ross,”

“I suppose I did,” he responded, absent-mindedly picking at his fingers, “I did miss you, you know,”

“Is that why I didn’t hear from you at all for the first three months and then hardly after the two days you were in town?” Her eyes reflected the sadness that was mirrored in his.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to reach out,”

“But I tried reaching out to you, and was met with radio silence! You can say you missed me all you want, Ross, but those are those words. You did not put in the effort to keep in touch with me and just that alone shows me more than you will ever be able to say,”

She stared at him with a fixed gaze. He stared back, each word she said had felt like a stab in his chest. He knew she was right, in a sense, but could not find the words to fix the animosity that had fallen in between them.

Their coffees had begun to get cold, and she was the first to avert her gaze from his as her phone vibrated on the table. Turning it over so the screen didn’t light up, she looked back up at him. Her eyes slightly softened,

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your-

“Did you expect me to just be okay with you coming back into my life?”

“No, I-” he started,

“That I would just put my life on pause for you at any given moment? What happened three months ago in Glasgow was a lapse in judgement on my part, and yes, it was fun, but it was not what I had intended when George invited me to the show.”

“It’s not what I intended either, I don’t know what-”

She cut him off again, “Oh fuck off with that bullshit. You’re telling me you didn’t intend for my legs to open for you when you showed up at my door with two bottles of wine and flowers?” Her voice had lowered to a whisper, not wanting to alert any of the other customers to their conversation.

She paused, her eyes glistening with tears, “You are the only person who knows me inside and out, Ross, and I know you too. So you cannot tell me you showed up that night after the second show with my favourite wine to only watch whatever program was on that night. I’m not that stupid.”

“I have never ever thought that you were stupid” Ross’s eyes stared into hers, and he clenched his fists together, “And it pains me that you would think that I only see you as a way to get a quick fuck and then leave.”

“How else am I supposed to see myself in your eyes when you only reach out to me when it is convenient for you. I am not at your beck and call Ross, and I am certainly not something you can dispose of once you’ve used,”

“I need you to stop talking so negatively about yourself, please. You have to believe me when I say that none of this was ever my intention, and I never want to hurt you. I love you.” Ross’s eyes were now starting to well up with tears, but he blinked them away when he saw that hers were beginning to stain her cheeks.

“I love you too, Ross. But I think that’s why it's so hard for me. You are all consuming, and it’s ruining my life,” she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently, “I think I need to let you go,”

“What do you mean? I’m back home for at least a few months now, we can make this work!” He was pleading, and his eyes showed nothing but desperation.

“I don’t know if I want to make it work, I don’t know if my heart can take it.”

“So what? We’re just going to go our separate ways now? Forever?” Ross felt his voice crack at the word as his eyes welled up once more.

“For now, yeah. I think we both just need a lot of space to think about this Ross, think about what we really want.”

She wiped away the tears that had fallen and took her hand out of his, standing up and grabbing her coat off the back of the chair. He followed suit, and the two walked out of the coffee shop so they were standing beside her car. She opened her mouth to say something else when she felt him wrap his arms around her, enveloping her in the tightest hug she had ever received.

She buried her head into his chest as the tears fell down her face once more, and felt him kiss the top of her head. The two embraced for what felt like eternity, when it was only a matter of minutes before he pulled away.

“I do love you, you know,” he said with a sad smile, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you needed.”

“I don’t want you to blame yourself, it’s the lifestyle you signed up for, it’s just not what I can cope with anymore. You really are one of the best men I have ever met,” she responded, “And I love you too, Ross.”

She turned away from him as more tears started to fall, and she got into her car. The engine turned on and she drove out of the parking lot without giving him a last glance. This would always be a losing battle they would face, so they both needed to be strong and let the other go, because in doing so, they could find themselves.

The carousel never stops turning, so sometimes one of the best things you can do is get off.

We've done this before

And I don't need it anymore

So let's not do coffee, let's not even try

It's better we leave it and give it some time

If I didn't love you, it would be fine

'Cause If we do coffee, it's never just coffee

It's never just coffee

A/N: that marks the end of my first fanfic!! please reblog and let me know what you think! <3<3 also shoutout to @mads198-9 for being my beta reader, ily loser💕💕💕💕

[wosowrites]

Canadian Wonders (Jessie Fleming x Reader)

Warnings: None

A/N: This is so cute my heart melts for jessie

Prompt: Reader is australian, and has never seen a lot of snow before. So Jessie takes her to her home town to meet her family and have a traditional Canadian winter.

When you’ve lived in the land down under for 20 years, and then move to play for a huge club like Chelsea at 21, a lot of things take adjusting. But somehow, it wasn’t the intense training, or the new people, that was the biggest adjustment. It was the weather. You never went to university, not being a big scholar and being raised in a broken home with little money. Instead, you opted to go pro right away. You went pro in 2020, and was relieved to know you would have another aussie at the club with you. You and Sam Kerr had been playing together since you were 15 and she was 18. Soon enough, you got known as a pretty dynamic duo, arriving to winter practices in huge puffy coats, and covered head to toe. You were both strikers, and Emma loved playing you both at the top. In a bit over two years, you both reached your 100th game for Chelsea, having collected between the both of you, 169 goals and 32 assists.

In the middle of 2020, you met Jessie Fleming.

You both started dating in 2021, and 2 years later, you were still going strong. Jessie finally decided she wanted you to meet her family in person, and see her home town. So, in january of 2023, you hoped on a plane to London, Ontario. And you thought London, England was cold…

You stepped out of the small London, Ontario airport, the freezing cold hitting you right away. "I told you to put a coat on baby," Jessie said, laughing at your shocked face. "I didn’t think it would be this cold!" You said, shivering. "I warned you!" Jessie said, opening her long winter coat. You quickly dropped your bag at your feet and abandoned your suitcase, putting your arms around her and feeling the comfort of her body. Jessie closed the big coat around the both of you, kissing the top of your head.

You were taller than her only by an inch, but in your cold state, you were hunched over to stay warm.

"How quickly is Eylsse gonna get here?" You whined. "Just texted her, she’ll be here in- oh there she is." Jessie said.

You reluctantly left the comfort of your girlfriends body, pulling away and seeing Elysse and Tristan driving up in the family subaru. You saw the pure joy in their eyes, the happiness of seeing their sister. You felt happy for Jessie, happy she had that bond with her siblings, but also sad that yours hadn’t reached out to you in years.

Tristan and Elysse stepped out of the car, Elysse running up to Jessie and jumping in her arms. Tristan seemed more reserved, more like Jessie, so you opted for a simple handshake. "It’s nice to meet you in person, you’re taller than you seem on family facetimes." Tristan says. "Don’t lie to me," you laughed, knowing very well you were not tall. "Hey, Elysse!" You said. She hugged you tightly, smiling at you wildly. "I love your nose piercing, oh my god it looks so good on you! I’ve always wanted one but I don’t know if it would suit me." You say to Elysse. "You should get one! I know a really good guy if you want!" Elysse said, smiling at you. "I’ll think about it. Let’s just please get out of the cold." You said, grabbing both yours and Jessie’s luggage and bringing it to the car.

"Did you not tell your aussie girlfriend to wear a coat in Canada?" Elysse laughed, addressing her sister. "I did! She didn’t listen!" Jessie answered, watching as her girlfriend and brother put the luggage in the trunk. "She’s a gentleman," Elysse said, smiling. "You haven’t seen anything yet."

———

Michaele and John Fleming met you with open arms. Literally. The Fleming’s were warm, and inviting, the house smelled like fresh food and slightly of paint. You had all finished eating supper, a meal cooked to perfection by both Jessie’s parents, and were now sitting in the living room.

"I’m so happy you all managed to get time off work and school." Michaele said, pouring you a cup of coffee. "Me too, it’s really nice here." You said, thanking her with a nod for the warm drink. "You haven’t even hiked yet." Jessie told you. "Hiking? It’s too cold to hike." You said, shocked people went outside willingly in this weather. "Is not. In fact, that’s our first activity."

It was known to everyone that Jessie loved order. So when she told you that she had specific activities planned, you weren’t at all suprised.

"Tomorrow morning, 5:00 am, sunrise hike. Then skating on the mountain, then I want to bring you to a really cute coffee shop and show you my elementary school." Jessie said. "5:00 am!" You said, but we’re ignored. "Don’t forget your appointment! You’re getting a nose ring at 5:00 pm tomorrow." Elysse said.

It was true, the youngest Fleming had convinced you to go for it. Worse case scenario, you didn’t like it and let the hole close.

"How could I forget? Just you and me for that one, Els?" You asked her. "Yeah, mum and I are making supper. We’re only here three days." Jessie said.

A few hours later, you went to bed in Jessie’s childhood bedroom. It was surreal being in that are, seeing the trophies, the blue walls, the medals and framed pictures. "What would 14 year old you say if she knew that 24 year old you was lying in this same bed with her girlfriend?" You asked her as she traced patterns on your stomach. "I think she would pass out."

———

As Jessie had said, the next morning she had woken you up at 5:00 am. The whole thing was a blur. You remembered her literally having to dress you, and her telling you to be quiet as you tip toed down the stairs. She had bundled you up in a warm hat, a big winter coat, gloves and a scarf. Your hood was up the second you were out the door. You had fallen asleep in the car, and by the time you were to the mountains, it was almost 6:30.

"You ready baby?" Jessie said, opening the door for you and laughing at your grunt of an answer. You didn’t stay mad for long though, as you saw the still starry winter night peeking through the pine trees. "Oh, Jess. This is beautiful." You told her.

The both of you started your hike. Jessie had her camera with her and was taking pictures of you, and the world surrounding you the whole time you walked up the mountain. The snow was mangeable, due to the trail having been plowed. By the time you arrived at the top of the mountain, the sun was rising. Jessie pulled out a cover from her bag and put it in the snow. You cuddled up next to her, sipping a mocha Jessie had made.

The sky was painted orange, pink, red, yellow and purple, it was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Well, second most beautiful thing. Jessie would always be first. "I’m happy you brought me here." you told her, peering into her eyes. "I’m happy you like it here." She answered. "One day, when we retire from football, I wouldn’t mind having a family with you here." You told her, nervous of her answer.

You didn’t meet her eyes, that is until she used her gloved fingers to lift your chin up. "I want that more than anything." Jessie said, kissing you lovingly.

[gta-v-drabbles-and-such]

Accidentally meeting Wade.

Gender Neutral, x reader, fluff, cannon typical language, violence and crimes.

The sun rains down harshly over the desert landscape of sandy shores. Working for Trevor Philips Industries has its perks here and there. But the damn sun isn’t one. It’s hotter than a gorillas ass out there and still you’re walking your sweaty ass down to Trevor’s trailer to drop off the monthly income from your “investments”. Inside of a duffel bag you had mountains of cash. Not that you’d get more than a few hundreds from it. Sweat dripping off your forehead you finally saw his beat up truck outside his trailer.

You’d only been working with him for a month, only seen him face to face once. It was horrifying, still it beat working that stupid Burger Shot job. After rubbing your hands on your shirt to rid at least some of the sweat from your palms you reached out to knock on the door. However before you could it swung open smacking you harshly in the face. Knocking you back into the grimy sofa. A soft worried voice slipped out from behind the door.

“Uhh T-Trevor, I think I hit a ghost!” Whoever it was you didn’t recognize the voice. The southern twang and heavy lisp was distinctly not your psychotic Canadian employer. Though as the door slowly moved you could see this man, roughly 26 years old, around 6 feet tall. With ash blonde dreadlocks and enough facial piercings to effectively make airports even more of a nightmare. He wasn’t even paying any attention towards you, mainly looking back at what you could only assume was Trevor.

“Umm Hi? I haven’t met you yet have I? You must be a friend of Trevor’s I imagine?” You question rubbing your head to relieve at least some of the pain.

“Oh shit a person!” He turned to face you as he laid his eyes on you his jaw dropped. “H-hi m’names Wade..” he smiled holding out a hand as Trevor shoved him out of the way, and promptly into the railing.

“Out of the fucking way.” Trevor huffed “ahh Y/n good to see you.” His voice practically burned your ears. “you have the money? Because if not we are going to have a few issues.”

You scramble to sit up holding out the duffel bag. “Yep it’s all right here.” He roughly takes the bag inside letting the door close in your face

“Wait here while I count. If I find out you so much as stepped off this porch you’re dead.” He shouted leaving you with one very flustered Wade.

“Oh, you know Trevor already then! He’s.. Uhmmm.. Trevor. I-I guess” Wade sputtered fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “Trevor don’t like to tell me when people are gonna come over.” He sat back against the railing “He and Ron don’t let me outta the house often. It’s nice to meet someone.”

You couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Trevor was mean to him, just in the 5 minutes you were here so far. He’s been nearly shoved over a railing and then fully ignored. You smiled moving to stand beside him. As you did he ran his palm up over his nose wiping whatever he managed to collect on his pants. “I don’t really have anything going on later.. maybe I could convince them to let me take you out of the house.” You mentioned.

“REALLY?” He gasped quickly quieting down as Trevor bangs on the glass. “Sorry Trevor, I’d really like that.. if you can convince him. I heard him call you Y/n is that your name?”

“Yep you’re right.” You chuckled “But yeah I’ll do my best to convince him.”

The End (for now)

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

who’s excited for stats so far?? i bet none of you are but i’m inflicting them anyway! ...under a cut.

so far, though, we have 198 separate submissions across 166 works!

so far the longest submission piece is 551 words long! wow! there are also another 3 submissions that are over 300 words long, and one piece has 797 words across 7 submissions! the shortest submission, to contrast, is 5 words long! that’s also great!

there are currently 4 artists that have had 3 pieces of art each submitted, and 8 artists that have had 2 pieces. that means there’s currently 137 other artists! oh sorry, while i was drafting this post we got a fourth submission for one of the four.

how about things anyone can go look at? there are currently 7 pieces of public art that have been submitted! four of them are from canada (and 3 are from the calgary specifically), one is in the netherlands, one is in spain, and one is in new york. the fourth canadian one also has copies in spain, japan, and arkansas. there are also 3 submitted buildings! two are in spain, and one is in thailand!

gender! we’ve got 122 pieces from male artists, and 32 pieces by female artists! yes that doesn’t add up to 166, the other 12 are either multiple artists, unknown artists, or i felt like a creeper trying to trawl through their tumblr/website and it wasn’t in their bio. sadly, we don’t have any openly trans, nb, or otherwise genderqueer artists submitted (where openly is “i could find it in the same 5 second google search to determine nationalities”)

even more niche stats! the largest submission (that isn’t a building, a cave, or public art) is 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) x 34.14 m (112.0 ft) and weighs 4 tons! close behind it is another that's approximately 3.7m x 25.2m (12ft x 72.9ft) but weighs significantly less! i did not feel like mathing which had more square footage. the smallest submission (that is, a physical piece in real life, digital art can be insanely small) is 5.9 x 6 cm (2 5/16 x 2 3/8 in.)!

how about locations? excluding the multiple copies ones, there are 32 pieces located in the united states, 9 in spain, 8 in france, 6 in canada, 5 in england, 4 in italy, 3 each in russia, australia and mexico, 2 each in the netherlands, wales, scotland, and ireland, and 1 each in israel, finland, germany, portugal, poland, japan, austria, ecuador, thailand, latvia, singapore, belgium, and argentina! i know that doesn’t add up but there’s a lot of pieces in private collections, owned by the artist, or we just couldn’t find their location, sadly.

artist nationalities get a lot more variable! i did my best to look up every artist i could and include their birth country and the country they did their works in! except john singer sargent because he just didn’t want to settle down and i didn’t want to give him like six different countries. 

starting off, we have 43 submissions by american artists! 18 by french artists, 17 by english, 8 each by canadians and italians, 6 each by russians and spaniards, 5 each by chinese, irish, and germans, 4 each by dutch, mexican and belgians, 3 by latvians, 2 each by finnish, polish, scottish, malay, serbian, and armenians, and 1 each by portuguese, japanese, austrian, ecuadorian, thai, swiss, argentine, cuban, kazhak, colombian, danish, and iranian! 

i do not currently have stats for jewish artists for you, because i forgot to write it down my first time through wiki, and now i have to go through all ~140 articles and websites again. relatedly: there are 8 works by known-to-be-gay artists, but i’m already running into wikipedia going “well he sure did a lot of male nudes but he also might have had relationships with women” and i am feeling uncomfortable poking through people’s private lives so... i hope you don’t mind it i stop... counting..... i mean if they’re open about it i’ll write it down still.

how about the ages of works? there are 4 things from before the 1400s, 3 from the 1400s, 6 from the 1500s, 3 from the 1600s, and 2 from the 1700s! 5 from 1800-1850, 4 from 1850-1880, 10 from the 1880s, and 9 from the 1890s! 9 from the 1900s (that is, 1900-1909), 5 from the 1910s, 5 from the 1920s, 4 from the 1930s, 4 from the 1940s, and 6 from the 1950s! 3 from the 60s, 4 from the 70s, 7 from the 80s, 15 from the 90s, 12 from the new oughts, 17 from the 2010s, and 13 from the 2020s! and three ongoing projects!

and to wrap things up: there are 101 paintings, 12 sculptures, 17 what i’m calling installations (they’re often mixed media or unusual media, i would give examples but i feel like i would bias submissions), 6 photographs, 2 pieces of textile art, and 21 digital arts, drawings, or comics!

[rreskk]

Love your work and have been binge reading everything Trevor :3 just have to throw that out there <3

A request I have is having the reader being recruited for a heist because she’s ex military and knows how to drive or good with guns (no real preference tbh you can work whatever angle you’d like) and Michael and Trevor both petty fight over who gets to be with her but she ultimately chooses T?

Amazing idea! Thank you :)

Summary: A new job needed a new crew member. You had caught Trev's and Michael's attention strongly. But who do you pick?

TW: -Suggestive content (sexual)

Word count: 927

Pairings: Ex- military Fem!reader/Trevor Philips

“Ex military, huh? Well… I guess me and [l/n] already have a lot in common.”

Michael rolled his eyes at Trevor’s suggestive comment and slumped in his seat. He looked at the board, your picture pinned as a potential gunwoman for the next job. You were extremely attractive, and ex-military (which had caught Trevor’s attention the most). He liked a good, strong woman after all.

“She ain’t a discharged mentally ill pilot from the Canadian air force, you Loonie.”

“Shut the fuck up, Mikey.” Trevor growled, his anger being triggered by the mentions of his past failure. He still had his eyes set on your printed picture, desperate for your part in the team – talented or not.

Lester had mentioned beforehand that you’ll be arriving soon to discuss any further concerns. The both men were pouncing in their seats, the only difference being; Michael was more calm and collected while Trev… Well, Trevor was already groping himself at the thought of you.

“Jesus, can you stop? You’ll scare her off.” Disturbed, Mikey glared at his buddy who was self-relieving.

“She’s ex-military, cupcake. A gunwoman who can handle herself – “ He groaned, “Damn… When she’s comin’ Molester? I’m getting’ impatient.”

“She’ll come in her own time… Just… Keep your mouth closed, I’ll do the talking.” Lester responded as he began writing some extra information on the board.

“Booorrriinnngggg! Hey, I’m sure a lady like herself would need a man as… Wild as me.”

Michael nudged Trevor’s shoulder in attempts to shut him up. However, before Trevor could react, the door opened and you walked in.

All eyes were set on you.

“Hey, I hope I wasn’t too late.” Your voice endearing and pleasant. You smiled at them all, clearly balanced in your frame of mind. For a lady who shot enemies senselessly in the military for years and years, you were a gentle soul. There was a shy glimpse in your eyes, someone feeble but independent and strong-minded.

“Ah, [y/n],” Lester offered his hand and you shook it gracefully. He then motioned to the seat beside Trevor – “Please, sit.”

You didn’t notice the eager guy at first. Not until you sat down.

“Hey.” He’d grin.

Luckily Trevor had stopped his groping just before you made an appearance. He was manspreading in his seat, observing your body language and occasionally trying to take a small peek at your ass. His heart flustered when you made eye-contact. He saw the Devil in your eyes, even if it was hidden by the ray of rainbows and innocence. Trevor’s grin grew wider, knowing he’s sat next to a lady who has killed without shame, and for her country.

“Nice to meet you.” You smiled.

“Ohhh… The pleasure is all mine.” The seductive labour of his tongue had made you visibly aware of his intensions. Trevor smirked when you got the hang of it, and winked.

“Ah, excuse Trevor…” The man beside him spoke, smiling at you, “I’m Michael. You must be [y/n]?”

You nodded.

“We heard that you’re pretty good with the gun?” Michael asked.

“Oh, yeah. I was a marksman for some years. I know my way around a rifle and assault rifles quite well.”

Trevor grunted from beside you, finding the urge to touch himself again. The bulge in between his legs was growing with every word you said.

“Impressive. Me and Trev, we ain’t professional, but we easily could be – “

“Wait, wait! Hey, I am a professional. I was in the air force.” He winked at you.

“Yeah… was,” Michael scoffed, “Besides, I’m talkin’ about the military, dumbass.”

“Oh, the air force? That’s cool. A pilot?”

Trevor’s eyes lit up when you took interest in his past profession. He shuffled a bit closer to you and smirked.

“Indeed. A fuckin’ great pilot. I’m talkin’ jets and nuclear drops.”

“Oh, damn. That’s pretty awesome. I respect your service.”

“And… I respect yours, as well.” His voice getting lower and his sinister grin widening.

“Okay, enough. We got to work on this thing,” Lester pouched, pointing to the board – “Now, [y/n], you’ll have to either assist Michael or…” He looked at Trevor, who was staring, admiring your beauty, “So… Michael is working on the south access, sniper. It’s able to be a one-person job, but a little help would be efficient. But, uh, Trevor’s route is on the North. He’s got the more open position and will be using an assault rifle. Two gunners would also be good… Either way, your help is much needed.”

You listened closely then realised you had to pick your partner. Michael and Trevor began hoping, yearning for your answer. They both had their ears out in case you say their name.

“You mentioned two gunners would be good? I wouldn’t mind partnering with Trevor.”

The way he threw his hands up in the air with victory. You jumped, not preparing for his sudden outburst.

“YES! FUCKIN’ YES!”

Michael looked defeated and he rolled his eyes, refusing to look in your direction. He was bitter that his old pal had caught your attention the most; the psychotic, mommy-issued freak.

“Oh, sugar, I ain’t gonna let you down.” He’d giddily chuckle and lean into your shoulder.

“Alright, [y/n] and Trevor are together. The plan is… Essentially closed.” Announced Lester.

“Yeah, yeah… Whatever. I got shit to do.”

“Awww, don’t be such a bad loser, Mikey. I’ll be sure to tell you all about our fun when it’s over.” Trevor winked before throwing an arm around your shoulder, “Now… [l/n]. How’d you like the sound of T.P.I?”

[cricketnationrise]

4:24pm jack's apartment tater

:D

okay for some reason my instinct is to write sad tater but i battled against that bc i didn't want to be sad today. thanks for the prompt, hope you like it!

want your own ficlet? TWO DAYS LEFT rules here.

🏒🏒🏒🏒

jack's apartment, 4:24pm

“But consider this,” Jack is saying, as Bitty pushes him towards the door, “I could stay here instead.”

“You are just the sweetest thing, aintcha? But we both know you’ll melt if you’re away from ice any longer you big Canadian moose. Go skate with Shitty – I know you’ve missed him somethin’ fierce since he was here after the Cup.”

Tater sniggers into the couch cushions at the sight of Jack Laurent Zimmermann – college graduate with honors, top five for the Rocket Richard and Art Ross, runner up for the Conn Smythe, Calder Cup Winner, and Stanley Cup Champion – pouting at his boyfriend.

“Bits—”

“Get out of here, Mr. Zimmermann,” Bitty laughs. “We’ll be just fine on our own, and we’ll be here when you get back.”

“Fine.” Jack leans in for one more kiss and Bitty pushes up into the contact so easily that Tater actually looks away, feeling a little like he’s intruding – only looking up again at the sound of the door closing.

Bitty collects Tater’s evening meds and a slice of pie for both of them before making his way back into the living room, shaking his head fondly. “Never thought I’d see the day when Jack Zimmermann was whining about going to the rink. Somewhere pigs are flyin’.”

“Seem to me like good reason to pout: Little B staying home.”

“You’re sweet as all get out.”

“Am best,” Tater confirms before shoveling blueberry pie into his mouth with a groan of pleasure.

“How’s your leg today? Still sore after PT today?”

“Da. But feels stronger. I’ll be back to start next season I’m thinking.”

Bitty does a little dance in his seat in celebration. “Tater, that’s fantastic! I’m so pleased for you, hon.”

“Is rough, no skate, no running, only bike and swimming sometimes. Feel с ума – not sure what English is – like not wanting to sit still, but forced to.”

“Oh, stir-crazy?” Tater nods. “I totally get that – I got a bad concussion my frog year, couldn’t do anything with impact until the start of the next season. I didn’t think I would miss running in the Georgia heat, but Lord, I would have given anything just to go for a jog, I was so bored.”

Tater lifts his plate and waggles his eyebrows. “Pie helps lots. Would be sad without.”

“Well we can’t have that,” Bitty says, mock seriously before sitting up straight. “Now, to business. Jack will be gone for at least two hours, probably closer to three since Shitty will drag him out for dinner after.”

“We have time to finish Drag Race?”

“We do indeed.”

“Was wrong before. Little B is best.”

Bitty doesn’t say anything, just smiles at Tater fondly, grabs the remote and settles himself against Tater’s side, tucked safely under Tater’s arm. His leg is sore, he’s itching to get back to the ice and conditioning, but Bitty has a way of making all his frustration melt away. 

[sorrow-already-spoiled]

Midnight Glow Martini

_______

Notes: Hello! A combination Chai and Ani piece for your consideration! This was very inspired by the Lackadaisy pilot episode! The vibes are very fun!

_______

“Are you sure this is the place?” The shovel drives another few inches into the loose gravedirt. 

“Of course I’m sure! Shut up and dig!” 

“You could help!” Animozapino turns to look at Chaimoiw from where she is standing on a mausoleum rooftop, scandalized. 

“I’m the look out! And I’m wearing a skirt!” Chai makes an irritated noise in the back of her throat and strikes down again. It makes a dull metallic thud as it collides with something solid. Ani and Chai both look towards the sound, their bickering instantly forgotten. Ani jumps off the mausoleum and grabs a shovel. 

_______

It doesn’t take long to uncover the rest of the coffin. The pair of them stare down at the six foot long box, hesitating at the prospect of cracking it open. 

“Do you want to….” 

“No, no. You do the honors.” Ani steps back, as Chai nods and jumps into the hole. With a creaking groan of splintering wood, the lid of the coffin springs free to reveal cobwebs and amber glass bottles. Chai breathes a sigh of relief. 

“You were right.” Ani scoffs, twirling a face-framing ringlet curl around her finger.

“Of course I was.” Ani had in fact, not been sure, but she would sooner die than admit that. “It is my wife we’re stealing from after all.” Chai glanced up.

“I thought you were getting a divorce?”

“Paperwork hasn’t gone through yet.” It hadn’t gone through yet because Ani hadn’t submitted it yet. She had stopped by the notary office with every intention of doing so, but couldn’t do it. Apparently, Zerea hadn’t submitted hers either. Ani wasn’t sure what that meant, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. “We should get out of here quick though. Zerea would never leave an asset uncollected for long, especially not with how expensive Canadian whiskey is these days. Practically liquid gold!” Chai nods, and starts passing up bottles. 

The tell-tale rumble of a motor starts to hum in the vicinity, and not from their own vehicle. Ani and Chai look at each other in alarm, all too aware of what that means this far out of town. 

“Uh, Ani? I think your wife is coming to collect.” Ani shakes her head.

“She’s got goons for this kind of thing, which is much worse for us. Hurry!” The precious glass cargo clattered together as they made a mad dash for the car. Ani threw open the door to come face to face with the startled eyes of Folceli causing them both to shriek in surprise. “What are you doing here?!” 

“Chai said I could come?” Ani’s head whips around so quickly she feels her neck crack. Chai is already looking at Folceli with a look of utter betrayal. 

“No, I said you could come someday, not necessarily today! How did you even get here?” Chai hauls Folceli out of the vehicle to start piling the bottles of whiskey in the backseat. 

“I was in the back seat!” Folceli’s defense was cut short by the bright beams of headlights illuminating the car, and the three figures. “Oh shit.”

“Language, kid!” Chai chides as she shoves Folceli back into the backseat with the rest of the bottles that clink together worryingly, rolling about freely. 

“I’ll drive.” Ani gathers her skirt in her hands to swing up into the driver’s seat, turning the crank to fire the engine as the first spray of bullets pepper the back of the vehicle. Ani steps on the gas, wheels digging into the grass for a terrifying moment before gaining traction and taking off. The sudden movement causes the bottles to shift, and for one of them to roll out of the not-quite-yet closed door. It bounces off the floor and out into the air, inevitably going to shatter. 

Folceli dives for it, catching it firmly in their grasp and flopping the majority of their body out of the vehicle in the process. Ani can do nothing but watch in the rearview mirror, cursing loudly. Only Chai’s quick reaction time allows her to reach out and grab their ankles, and haul them back into the backseat. She slams the door closed firmly, looking at Folceli who cradles the bottle they rescued. 

“That was scary.” Chai laughs despite herself, spinning the wheel to start heading towards the entrance of the cemetery. Chai pats Folceli on the head and takes the bottle from them. 

“Help me move these.” The pair in the backseat shove the whiskey bottles onto the floor, trying to keep their balance as Ani erratically swerves the vehicle to avoid as much of the gunfire from behind as possible. 

“Chai, do something about these people trying to kill us already, will you?! My hands are a bit tied!” Ani was a hell of a shot herself, she was proud to say, but there was no chance in hell she would let Chai drive at this speed (or any speed at all), and Folceli was still a child. 

“I’m fucking trying to!” The back windshield explodes into a thousand shards of glass as Chai tries to pull up the back seat to access the storage compartment as Folceli mouths the word ‘language’ with an irked expression. The car tilts dangerously to the side as Ani turns sharply, careening around a mausoleum and heading for the graveyard entrance. The black car follows their path, gaining ground quicker than Ani would like. 

“Bingo.” Chai holds up two slim cases, one containing a rifle, the other a gatling gun with a clip of bullets. Chai tosses the slim case to Folceli and unclips the larger for herself.  The mechanical sound of the clip sliding into position is followed by a heartbeat of silence and Chai’s maniac grin as she looks out through the gaping hole that used to contain their back windshield. “Hello there!” 

The glow of exploding gunfire lights up the backseat as bullets pepper across the hood of the enemy car. It swerves to try to avoid some of the fire, narrowly avoiding crashing into the gatepost on the way out of the cemetery. 

The rough grass and mud beneath the tires turns to the packed dirt of a proper road. Ani cranks the gear shift and pins the gas pedal to the floor. It only takes a few seconds for the other car to recover and regain their pursuit, still well within gunfire range. 

Click. The backseat goes quiet as the gatling gun’s clip runs out of bullets. 

“Oh that’s not good.” Chai tosses the now useless gun to the floor. 

“Did you even hit them?!” 

“Of course I did, Ani! But it’s an armored car! What do you want from me?!” 

BANG. A single shot rings out, and gunsmoke fills the car. The pursuing spins out of control and flips onto its side in the ditch. 

“The wheels weren’t armored.” Folceli pulls their face away from the scope of the rifle, the empty shell shot falling to the ground. 

“Oh shit… Good shot kid.” Ani grinned at them through the rearview mirror. She lets Chai fuss over Folceli in the backseat and focuses on getting them as far away as possible before the goons have time to recover. She breathes a sigh of relief as they hit the city outskirts, and are able to hide in the multitude of narrow side streets on their way back to the King’s Club.

_______ 

Underneath the lavish Kingsley Hotel, was a little known secret of the city: the King’s Club. Rich red and gold decor mixed with natural dark woods, all accented with semi-functional mechanical elements made quite a sight. A stage stood empty, only a few patrons sitting at the plethora of tables. Once upon a time, this had been a lively jazz club, with music, dancing, and plenty of alcohol, though Ani had never seen it in its prime. Since prohibition had rolled in, it had become risky to keep the King’s Club operational, and the price of acquiring alcohol only continued to rise. Many patrons weren’t willing to risk the hard hand of the law for good music and mediocre whiskey.  The resource competition with Zerea’s own speakeasy, “StarDrop'', didn’t help either. One of these days, someone was going to end up dead, if tonight's car chase had been any indication. 

The mood in the club is downright gloomy when Ani, Folceli and Chai return. This place had just started to feel like home for Ani, after the Kingsley family had so graciously taken her in after…. Well. Just after.

A pair of figures sit at the bar, and Ani moves towards them with her armful of bottles (fewer than they had started with, the dangerous road home had claimed four of the 18 bottles, leaving dark stains across the carpet of the car. Although, honestly, the car had bigger issues after tonight). Folceli and Chai follow, setting the bottles down on the bar. 

“Looks like you three had a successful evening.” Leander turns to look at the three of them, pinstriped suit jacket undone, the sleeves pushed up casually. “Any issues?” Of the four Kingsley children, Leander was by far the easiest to deal with, and the least prone to worrying or overreacting. 

“Yes.” Chai answered immediately, and Ani shot her a look that said ‘zip it’. 

“Nothing we couldn’t handle, of course.” Not her smoothest cover, but Ani would take it. “Where’s Daisy? I need her to look at the car.” Leander’s hand freezes halfway to his mouth, and he stares at his watered down whiskey for a second before answering, 

“Out.” and slamming back the rest. Chai made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, muttering. 

“I don’t know what she sees in him.” She jumps over the bar and waves the bartender away. “Anyways… shall we taste test what we nearly got shot for?” Leander’s eyebrows raise, but he says nothing. 

With practiced ease, Chai sets up a neat row of crystal glasses and cracks the seal on one of the whiskey bottles. She pours a perfect two fingers in three of the glasses, sliding one to Leander, one to Ani. The fourth glass is filled with milk and cocoa powder, which is slid across to Folceli. They know better than to complain, and take their chocolate milk without complaint. Chai grabs her own glass. 

“Cheers!” the crystal clinks together as they all take a sip. “You know… that’s actually pretty good.”

“Best I’ve had in a long time, that's for sure. Might be worth the risk, eh ladies?” Leander says while swirling the whiskey in his glass. “Still not sure where you got the tip on the shipment from.” 

“Course it’s worth the risk, and if you want it to keep coming, you shouldn’t ask where we’re getting it from.” Chai stares down Leander with a dark grin, and the conversation divulges into pleasantries, only briefly interrupted by Chai practically chasing Folceli out of the Club at bedtime. It was all familiar, and comfortable. Ani leans back against the bar. Maybe her luck was going to turn around after all.

[voyageofthenautilus]

Mod Blue’s Thoughts: March 13/14

The Sargasso Sea, Part 2

”Once this voyage was over, might not Captain Nemo consent to set us free in return for our promise never to reveal his existence? Our word of honor, which we sincerely would have kept.” My dude, you are literally in the middle of writing a tell-all memoir, but suuuure, let’s believe you would have kept your word… (More on this in a hot second.)

“He had thumbed through my work on the great ocean depths, and the margins were covered with his notes, which sometimes contradicted my theories and formulations. But the captain remained content with this method of refining my work, and he rarely discussed it with me.” What a passive-aggressive king.

I love how a good portion of the fish lists in this chapter is Aronnax going “sounds fake, but okay.”

I also love that Nemo is asking Aronnax to explain stuff to him, when I feel like it’s usually been the other way around in their relationship. Maybe he’s pretending not to know so that Aronnax will keep talking. (I’m now picturing him gazing into Aronnax’s eyes and twirling his hair and going “ummm I don’t think I understand, can you explain it again? *giggle*” And… now I am not sure what to do with that mental image.)

Oh my god I forgot about the photo-taking scene! How delightful!

okay, so here’s my thought from the beginning that I wanted to go back to. “I attach a print of the positive.” This makes it sound like Aronnax definitely has an audience in mind for his diary. Is he meant to be writing this diary while he’s on board the Nautilus? Is he meant to be writing this after the events of the story? I know there’s a chapter where he mentions that he has started writing the diary… but some chapters definitely sound like he’s writing in hindsight. And then there’s the details that The Mysterious Island brings… and now that I’m thinking about that, I’m having a lot of Feelings, but I’ll expound upon those elsewhere once I do my Mysterious Island re-read, I suppose.

Finally, as epic a closing scene as the Nautilus leaping out of the water is… that would NOT end well in real life…

Sperm Whales and Baleen Whales

I feel SO bad for Ned, being trapped on the Nautilus away from his friends and family on land and unable to partake in his favorite pastimes… even if his favorite pastimes are killing sea life, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

“Do these animals live a long time?” Conseil asked.

“A thousand years,” the Canadian replied without hesitation.

“And how, Ned,” I asked, “do you know that’s so?”

“Because people say so.”

“And why do people say so?”

“Because people know so.”

LMAO. Also, Ned’s theory about whales and how they used to swim faster is just… what in the Ishmael?!

“But Ned my friend,” Conseil said, “why not ask Captain Nemo for permission to hunt—”

Before Conseil could finish his sentence, Ned Land scooted down the hatch and ran to look for the captain.

A common refrain, but: someone needs to draw this.

Wow, Nemo really hates those sperm whales. What’d they do to him, kill his family or someth—

okay, but that ending is horrible. What the hell, Nemo. I forgot how much earlier in the narrative this side of his character starts to rear its head (we’ve already seen a bit of it, but this act in particular does not bode well and sets up for some major shit later on). And to think he killed them all in the name of protecting the baleen whales, but the very end reveals that at least one of the baleen whales was still killed by the sperm whales, so what was the point of all that? Let nature do its thing and don’t try to meddle with it in some show of superiority. Anyway, this isn’t usually the kind of thing that makes me emotional but I am genuinely upset over that baby baleen whale…

…and then Nemo and the crew go and collect milk from it without another thought, and Aronnax is somehow able to shove all the nasty business out of his head and enjoy the experience of trying the milk. Wow. I have… Thoughts about this.

The Ice Bank, Part 1

*reads chapter title* OH, YES! YESSSSSSSS this means my second-favorite chapter is coming up in a bit! So hyped…

Iceberg classification! Is there anything Conseil can’t classify?

[5ducksinatrenchcoat]

oh i love tori soooo much i think she's soo relatable!!! have you read solitaire?

i won't be answering that because i think if i do it'll reveal who i am and you're not supposed to know that yet lmao! but that sounds like such a fun place to visit

are you buying anything this black friday? i know youre canadian so your thanksgiving wasn't yesterday but what are some things you're thankful for?

🪿🪿🪿

yess i love solitaire!! let’s just say it’s what got me on tumblr lmao

and ok but i’ll be back to collect these answers after the big reveal :)

so far the only things i bought were christmas/birthday presents for my family but i think i’m going to the mall this weekend and i might get some clothes or a book

and i’m thankful for ice cream cake, my friends, my family, and modern family <3 now i miss thanksgiving 😭 where’s my pumpkin pie at 😭

[domi-scu]

Panel day

The first half of the day is not worth mentioning- work & some more work. Thankfully again in the garden with a nice view so still a lot more fun than just a usual work day. I only had a quick snack before heading off to the venue which I regretted very quickly because I was starving but oh well. Who’s got time to eat when you’re having fun, or something along those lines.

Today’s venue was on the other side of the city than what we’ve visited so far. This meant a fairly long car ride in bad traffic which equalled pretty bad motion sickness that I had to breathe through for a few minutes after arriving. But nothing ever starts on time around here so I was able to do that while watching Malotira’s sound check- you could already tell that it was gonna be fun.

The panel was really interesting despite the heat. We were sat in a museum under a collection of clocks. I kinda wish it was longer than an hour because there is definitely a lot more to talk about and I would be interested in learning more about how things work/ don’t work in Armenia when it comes to collecting royalties. The bits I have heard from the women I have spoken to have been very enlightening.

However, it was time to get some air downstairs and watch Dailo and Malotira play. So. Much. Fun. There is a group of Iranian tourists who are now coming to these shows and they danced their little hearts out. I originally watched from the back but had to move closer to get some better shots of the guys and also enjoy the vibe a lot more. Although I admit, I did get a little distracted by a kitten that kept getting into anything and everything.

A Canadian-Armenian woman then gave us a lift to the next venue. Not sure if the sentence ‘let me just finish this wine and we can go’ is something you want to hear from your driver when the seat belts don't work but it was a free ride and we didn’t die. The venue was already packed but I was starving and ran off to the first place I found that had food. It was a takeout-ish place with couple tables but I didn’t see a menu so when the man asked how he could help me I just went ‘food…?’ That was apparently the correct thing to say because 10min later I had an amazing sammich with chili chicken.

I only caught the gig towards the end and once again, I wish I ate before I came out because the band sounded great. Had a nice long chat with a bunch of people afterwards outside, partially about politics between Armenia and various neighbouring countries. We also did a bit of planning for tomorrow’s trip. And by planning I mean:

‘train to Sevan and then we figure it out?’

‘yeah, that sounds good’.

Josefa and I then went to get some cash out around the corner and we bumped into the rest of his band having food. Good thing we did because two of them were leaving the next morning (or rather in couple of hours) so at least I got to say bye to them. Marian also checked the trains for us to Sevan tomorrow and as it turns out, there is only one a day at 8.30am and we were not willing to wake up that early considering it was already midnight. The plan has therefore changed to

‘I’ll text you around 10 and we’ll figure out how to get there.’

Good enough. Eli and Ruben said they’d be down to join in on the trip too as they haven’t ventured out of Yerevan yet so it should be good.

[probablyadhdapparently]

Sakura petals and cats

an: I never check my grammar so sorry if there’s any mistakes I’m sorry

Chapter 1

‘I don’t know why I hang out with these freaks. There’s the idiot slime boy, cool-faced but brain dead Canadian, a head of lettuce that’s also a manwhore, and a cotton candy haired, AI tech bro, billionaire goon. It sucks and then there’s the literal clown in the corner. As per usual I’m just gonna ignore them, put my headphones on and play on my switch and who’s that? And why are they looking at me like that?’

“Chat, is this real? Ain’t no way that’s the legendary skateboarding prodigy Miya Chinen?! In the flesh?!?!”

‘Oh God no.’

              ‘The boy? Girl? Whatever they approach me with overfamiliarity and confidence rambling on about how cool I am occasionally using words like “skibbidi” and “sigma” which fuelled a certain hatred within me but words of flattery are always welcome until you’re up in my face, ok now it’s a problem. Luckily the tech bro comes in to save the day; on quite close inspection they look similar. Don’t tell me the lettuce headed gorrilla manwhore and the AI goon tech bro actually- oh it’s just his nephew… don’t know what I was thinking for a minute and I don’t want to.”

“Hi! My name’s Sakura, I like to draw and I’ll be spending the whole summer with uncle Kaoru!” 

‘God please.’ 

“SooooI’ll be busy harassing you until we’re friends, Chinen!” 

‘God isn’t real.’

                  ‘That kid spent all day stalking me. He seems to get along with hot and cold pretty well they’re best buddies already, especially him and Reki. They’re both equally slimy so I’m not surprised.’

“Miya!”

“Who said you could use my first name?”

“I don’t know, just wanted to.”

“Ok well it’s CHINEN to you.”

“How about Chi-no.”

‘This kid is something special I swear to God.’

“Have some respect for your idol, kid”

“I never said you were my idol. Also we’re the same age, don't call me kid, kid.”

‘He continues to swing on the swings and watch the Canadian flop over on his board. But like how rude.”

“Miya!”

“For the last time it’s Chinen!”

“Whatever, why aren’t you joining us?”

“Because I don’t associate with slimes.”

“Hey! We’re not slimes, most certainly not him or him or me either!” ‘Now I’ve got the red head all riled up’

“Shut up Reki!”

‘Oh no. Why is the cotton candy clone approaching me? No stay there stay- why is he dragging me leave me alone!’

“Hey put me down!”

“Nope. Not until you show me some cool tricks!”

“Let me go! I’m not your personal performer!”

                 ‘Reluctantly I obliged. This sucks tho. I have nothing prepared so I guess I just have to show him my routine for last year’s tournament.’

“Oh wow! That’s so cool, Miya!

“Wooooww….”

‘The slime boy and Canadian seem impressed what about-‘

“MID.”

“Wha-“

“Huh?”

‘WHAAAAAaTTT?!!!?! No way he just said ‘mid.’

“I’ve seen this already, that's just your routine from that one tournament you were in last year.”

“AND?! You ask for a show and here it is!”

“Ok, but not an old one I’ve already seen before. I want something new.”

“Tch.” 

‘This kid really is something. Y’know what. Let’s show off a little, give him my best stuff.’

“Still boring… C’mon don’t you have anything you haven’t performed yet? I’ll settle for the routine you’re coming up with for the next competition you’re in.”

“Y’know what: no. Screw you, why don’t you show us some tricks? You’ve got a board haven’t you? Go on, show us something, cotton candy clone.”

“Never call me that again, I can’t skate all that well…”

“And you have the audacity to criticise me?! Do you have cotton candy for brains or something?”

“Woah, hey, Miya be nice.”

“Yeah, that’s not very polite, Miya.”

‘I don’t care if I’m being a little rude. He called my act boring. Of course I have to remind him of his place a little.’

“No worries, it’s fine I’m just gonna say nothing cause I still plan on being your friend Miya! Also I don’t really like skateboarding that much. I worry I’ll get hurt. I prefer collecting and painting the boards anyway. Check this out!”

‘His board has a painting of some sakuras blooming on it. It’s cool I guess…’

“Oh wow you design and paint skateboards!!”

“Yea, as a hobby…”

“That’s awesome! I should take you down to the old man’s shop sometime soon. He’s been looking for someone to paint boards since the other guy broke his wrist. He could totally use your help!”

‘Ugh the scatterbrained redhead is glazing again. Does he have no shame?’

“In fact let’s head there now!”

“Oh, okay!”

“Hang on, Reki!”

‘These idiots are a lot of work.’

“Hey! Wait for me, Slimes.”

“Better catch up then Rat!”

“Hey!”

‘This brat has some nerve.’

                      “Oh my goodness is that a fennec fox?! Aaaahh!! So cute! And soft and fluffy! Aaaaahhh!!! How are you girlie?” 

“Yep! Someone’s been studying.”

“But like aren’t they illegal?”

“Uhhh…” 

“How did you get her?”

“…”

 “HOW?!”

‘Cotton candy clone actually looks kinda cute cradling that fox… wait a minute…”

“So little lady, I heard you can paint.”

“I’m not a girl. Don’t ever call me a girl again.”

“Sorry, young man then?”

“Better. Continue.”

“Sooo… you paint boards as a hobby, huh? Wanna turn that into a bit of cash?”

“Sure, I guess it would be a nice summer gig.”

“All right it’s settled!”

“Hey, uh isn’t this child labour?”

“Reki shut up for a minute would ya?”

“Hey, can I start now? I’ve got a really cool idea!”

“Sure! Go ahead! Mi casa et su casa!”

                  ‘When he starts the creative process he looks so calm and focused. It’s almost like we’re not here watching him and he’s got lots of thoughts on his mind… I wonder what?’

‘Aaaahh!!! They’re all watching me.’

‘Must be something like the types of paints he’s gonna use or…’

‘I have no clue what I’m doing. Also they’re still watching meeeee!!!’

‘I wonder what he’s sketching? Lemme take a closer look.’

‘Aaaaahhh!!! Why is Miya so close? Back up! Please I don’t want you to see me sketch the boobs!’ 

‘Huh? His hand’s getting shaky.’

“Hey uh Miya?”

“What do you want?”

“Could ALL OF YOU LEAVE?!!”

[hyadesfm]

willow pham? gee, i just missed them getting into town! i’m sure i’ll see them around later; the nymphs are throwing a block party! — accepted! welcome to hyades, han. please have your account in within 24 hours, and in the meantime here is our checklist! star slade is now taken.

( star slade, 24, cis woman + she/her ) habibi by tamino  🏹 a neglected and rotting grave without a name or marker, a sense of comfort in the darkness, a dark coldness following you every time you enter a space, an all black wardrobe save for some dark - purple hues, a flower growing through the snow and frozen ground in the middle of a canadian winter, a large collection of books with worn covers and well-loved spines / the child of hades? the gothic romance author? oh, that must be willow pham! they’ve been around hyades for 10 months, but did you know they were reborn and sometimes have dreams of their death? it might just be town gossip, but i think they’re pretty good with that connection to the dead/undead, aren’t they? you know, maybe that’s why i always see them with platform doc martens. oh well - may the gods bless them. (han, 28, they/them, mountain)

[vintagemiserie]

They were alone, which was a massive weight off John’s back. Getting the hotel room to themselves was a real game changer. Daniel stepped out of the bathroom, clad in just a towel and hair still dripping with water. The latent moisture did wonders to accentuate his chest in the dim light. He was hot enough that John set down his Gameboy to put his attention where it mattered.

“Stop it,” Daniel said. He hung his head through his giggling, as if he was ever shy in private. “I thought we agreed not to do anything tonight, ‘n’ now you’re looking at me like I’m a piece of meat.”

John smiled. “You look pretty tasty, I dunno,” he said. Daniel sat down on the bed beside him and, other than grabbing his glasses, didn’t make a move for clothes. His hand ran through John’s hair before finding a spot to rest at the nape of his neck; John leaned closer, looking up at him. “So, what’re you gonna do, Danny?”

Daniel leaned in and kissed him, paying very close attention to his lip piercings as he pulled away to collect his thoughts. He moved back in quickly, and John put an arm around him to keep him there. Daniel was so fit, so strong. It was no wonder that girls flocked to him despite his small size and profile. John could feel the flex and movement of his muscles under his fingertips and felt a ping of what was almost as much envy as it was lust. At least Daniel went just as crazy for him.

His fingers were fidgeting around the hem of John’s shirt as he pulled back and stayed back. John opened his eyes to see him sitting up, staring back toward the door. “This is a bad idea,” Daniel said. “I feel like Mick’ll, like, definitely walk in on us.”

“Yeah,” John said, because it was all he could say that wasn’t less talking, more kissing. “I mean, that wouldn’t be that bad, would it? Especially if we, like, kept it to just making out, which we were gonna do anyways, probably. At least, I mean, I figured that tonight we would—”

“You talk a lot when you’re horny,” Daniel said.

John didn’t know how to reply to that.

Daniel laughed to himself as he grabbed his bag. “You’re a fucken dork, Johnny, it’s so cute. But seriously, you know that if we do anything while I’m wearing just a towel, I’ll get kicked outta the band. And I’m not doing anything risky when I have the self-control to wait a week for sex. Hey, can I have that one sweatshirt of yours, the one with the… the fleece inside?”

John sighed and rolled over so he could rifle through his own bag. “You’re such a cockblock, Danny,” he muttered, tossing the sweatshirt over his shoulder toward Daniel. “Kissing me up before the show, giving me a strip tease and a half—now and during the show, it counts—making out, and then denying me even a quick fuck? La-ame. And it’s less than a week, by the way. We’ll be home in six days.”

He watched Daniel dress and really hated how the sweatshirt fit him, erasing all the detail of his physique. It was almost understandable how Daniel could feel the same way about John, at least whenever he was wearing something untailored. Still, it was different when Daniel was so pretty. “Six days. Whatever. You know, I intend on getting you undressed the millisecond we get home, bud.”

The ultimate phrasing was so unsexy that it made John laugh. “Oh shore, bud,” he said, mostly to himself. Daniel scoffed in protest before flopping down beside him. “Good show today, eh?”

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Hill,” Daniel said. He was biting his lip to try to keep back his smile, and was failing miserably.

John resisted the urge to make fun of his Canadianisms more or say something about how he was starting to steal Jamie’s verbal habits too. He couldn’t resist every thought that went through his head, though. “Make me,” he replied, suppressing his own laughter.

Lucky for him, Daniel obliged.