#oh i just had these extra tickets to the tropics! take them! Take Them. Go.

[aerequets]

beckys dad gets earnestly invested in providing yor and loid with as many vacations as possible so becky will stop crushing on loid

[clairvoyance7465]

SBI Home Alone AU

Merry christmas! Here are some drabbles of an AU i brainrotted while watching this movie with my family this holiday

enjoy!

so, 

SBI is going on a trip, because Phil is a great dad who loves his sons, they’re going to Florida for Christmas and that is that. He pack’s up the car, he yells for his sons, he's gets in the driver’s seat and he's ready to go to the airport for a tropical christmas goddamnit Will I swear to god if you complain about the time one MORE TIME-

Of course, the flight is at like 4am. Because Why Not. And Dadza is Tired TM, so he's trusting his boys to get their shit in the car.

His only thoughts upon leaving: coffee, drive, Florida, cool.

None of the Craft’s like mornings, they get to the airport, they get through secuirty, they're boarding the plane. The energy is off, its 3:30am, they're just doing their best to survive the crowded airport. Security and things are a little wild, whatever, they get through.

Phil turns periodically, doing a headcount of his 3 boys.

Tall and brunette. Check.

Tall and pink. Check.

Tall and - wait, where was tall and blonde?

Phil panics for just a moment, before he sees a blonde tuft peek out from behind Wil’s shoulder, he’s wearing a purple hoodie, he’s right there, and he lets himself relax.

This continues on all the way to the gate, and somehow, miraculously, they arrive just in time to board.

The Craft family joins the single file line, they each hand the hostess their tickets and they’re on their way.

Finally, they’ve boarded the plane

Phil booked 6 seats for the four of them because they're all tall bastards who need the extra space, two entire rows just for the 4 Craft’s.

Techno sits, Phil slides in after him, Wilbur is moving into the row behind them. 

Phil and Techno are already reaching for eye masks, while Wilbur is digging through his carry on for his earbuds.

Earbuds in hand, Wil sits, he instinctively turns to smirk at Tommy, knowing how annoyed he’d be at not getting the window seat

When he realizes:

Tommy is not getting into the seat next to him, which means,

Tommy could be stuck in an airport terminal, lost,

Tommy could be in a cheesy airport gift shop, forgotten,

Tommy could have fallen out of the plane while they were boarding-

Where could he be? Phil had been keeping an eye on them all, right? Oh god, did they leave him in the bathroom? Where the hell is Tommy?

He reaches for Phil’s shoulder, shaking the already half-asleep man.

“Wha- Wil what the fuck, it’s four o’clock in the morning go to -”

“Where is Tommy?”

That shut up Phil’s complaining pretty quickly.

Cue frantic discussion between the three of them as to when they last saw him, Phil looking around frantically, until he sees a tuft of blond hair towards the back of the plane.

Phil is almost relieved, until the blond turns and Phil sees his purple hoodie and oh christ that is not Tommy how long has that not been Tommy -

And then, what feels like mere seconds later to Wil’s exhaustion-addled mind, the plane takes off

Without Tommy.

Little do they know, Tommy is asleep at home, snuggled up with his stuffed cow, dreaming of whatever the fuck he dreams of, oblivious to the situation his family has put him in.

Later, Tommy is waking up at a reasonable 9am on a Saturday to a strangely quiet, albeit messy, house.

Everyone's suitcases are gone, Tommy is incredibly confused, and in all of his ~14 year old genius he decides that they've simply vanished into thin air. Obviously. Which is fine, because they were all bitches anyways (especially Wilbur, honestly, fuck that guy, amiright)

SO he spends the day doing shit he should not be doing, touching Wilbur's guitar and Techno's fencing equipment and Phil's prized miniature model of an underwater sea temple.

He’s fine, really, he’s pretty sure he’s not even going to miss them that much.

Meanwhile, the rest of his family is frantically trying to get back to Tommy, Wilbur especially, how the hell could they have just ditched him, Phil is a bad father, oh god, oh no, oh god- (he and Tommy probably also had some stupid fight he’d currently beating himself up over)

It's christmas, flights are booked, Phil is going full Karen on some poor ticket clerk, and then Wilbur bumps into a group of rather interesting people who are traveling by bus (IE Jack, Niki and Fundy), headed towards where SBI lives, so naturally Wilbur decides to hitch a ride with them

There is only room for one, so Phil is like "we'll keep trying to get a flight, you get back to Tommy"

And Wilbur goes off on his adventure with his new friends

Back in SBI's neighborhood, a strange string of robberies have been occuring

No one sees the perpetrator enter or exit, almost as though they're teleporting in and out of the house.

Police are wary because the items being stolen are oddly random. They have no idea what these thieves are planning, most of the things they take aren’t even that valuable.

All they know about the thieves is that one is freakishly tall and the other is oddly short

So, while our dear Tommy is home alone (and without a smartphone, this is the 90s) he hears a noise at the back of the house.

He's kinda dumb, sure, but he's seen the papers, he knows his area has been targeted by burglars

So naturally, he looks for the source of the sound.

Cue a very tall masked figure (halfway climbing through an expertly picked window), seeing Tommy and immediately diving back out of said window and high tailing it away.

Tommy decides that since his family is gone and he is now, officially, the biggest man in the house, it is his job to keep their residence safe.

He sets up the fake dinner party and spends probably too long talking to the cardboard cut out of the queen he put in the window.

The burglars lay off, but the next night they tried again, only this time Tommy was waiting for them.

Tall bitch steps on an ornament under the window and the guy is once again running for the hills, Tommy is cackling, these guys are stupid.

Tommy, in all his great wisdom, decides that this means war.

So he booby traps his entire fucking house.

To the nines.

And then waits.

(Wilbur has become quite good friends with the bus people, Techno and Phil are chilling in a hotel waiting for a flight)

That night, he hears two voices coming from the back door, and instead of just the one really tall figure, he sees a shorter guy too

Cue booby trap chase sequence

Short thief keeps making incredibly graphic threats while tall thief is just trying to steal shit (eventually his goal is just to get out of this, this kid is fucking insane)

Short thief is getting more murderous by the second.

(Also, both of their faces are completely covered, Tall Thief with a mask and sunglasses and Short Thief with a ski mask)

They fight all night, tall guy gets hit with all of the booby traps because short guy triggers them and then runs.

Tommy finally has them caught.

He pulls off their masks scooby doo style and has a moment of "what the fuck, you are children, hi, why are you robbing me"

Short Thief is pissed, Tall Thief is terrified and Tommy has so many questions.

Tall Guy says “fuck it, so we're very poor and we ran away from an orphanage and we've been stealing to survive, also I am Ranboo and this is Tubbo”

and Tubbo is pissed that Ranboo told annoying blonde dude anything, but they're kinda stuck now

Ranboo is certain Crazy Guy is gonna call the cops, Tubbo is ready to bite things, the tension is real.

However Tommy's gears are turning and he's looking at these kids that he just has a lot of fun torturing and he makes a decision.

These kids are freezing, the only thing the tried to take was a radio and food.

So he offers an olive branch.

He had a ton of fun tormenting them, but it’s Christmas and his family vanished into thin air and he’d rather not decorate the christmas tree alone.

(At this point, Tommy’s ready to admit that he maybe misses his family, A little bit. Sort of.)

So they stay. Ranboo tries to make them dinner but after the fourth mention of putting spaghetti in ham honestly ranboo its ham please put the spaghetti away-

The trio put up and decorated the Craft’s tree, they wrap things they found around the house to give to one another, they watch cheesy movies, Tommy likes these guys, and they like him when he’s not trying to kill them.

The house is kinda trashed, and now that they know Crazy Blonde Guy is actually nice, the young thieves feel kind of guilty (read: Ranboo feels guilty and is bothering Tubbo about it), so they all help clean up the disaster they made.

The night’s been disastrous, but it’s been a bonding experience to say the least. Tubbo and Ranboo have full stomachs for the first time in a long time, and Tommy’s happy he’s not alone.

When Wilbur gets home on christmas morning, it’s  to a strangely tidy house (especially considering that Tommy had been alone and that kid is a walking tornado)

Wil is calling Tommy's name, running up to his room, but Tommy isn't in his bed.

He starts running around frantically looking for Tommy when he hears shuffling from Phil's room.

Where he finds three teenagers, two of which he does not recognize, one of whom is covered in bruises(?), all sleeping on Phil's massively large double king bed

(they wouldn't all fit on Tommy's, and naturally they couldn’t all sleep alone; the windows are broken and its cold Tubbo cmon)

Wilbur lets out a sigh of relief, pulls the covers over the boys and resigns himself to asking about it when they wake up. Niki, Jack and Fundy are in the living room, because they’re all besties now and they’re gonna spend Christmas together.

Phil and Techno get home shortly after Wilbur, they make sure Tommy is okay and they meet the boys’ new friends.

When the boys wake up they'll explain what happened (and the broken window), the guest room will become a bedroom and the robberies on their street stop suddenly. Strange.

The End

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 24 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

Happy Saturday my loves! A little fluff/angst double whammy for your afternoon :) 

contains: grouchy aaron, food mention, description of anxiety, canon-typical description of murder

wordcount: 2.4k

“I seem to remember you being the one lecturing me about the bureau’s generous sick leave policy not all that long ago,” You told Aaron as you gently shoved him back into bed three days after he’d broken his leg. 

“I also recall that in that situation, you were the one who was injured,” Aaron grumbles, and you roll your eyes. 

“Yes, and you stayed home to take care of me. Now, I’m returning the favor,” you reminded him. 

“I’m not going to get a brain bleed, I just need the leg to heal. You don’t need to stay with me all day while I sit in bed.” He argues.

“You’re right, but I think we both know that if I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t stay in bed, and seeing as how you can’t get as far as the bathroom without my help, that might present a problem.” You chastise him. “I’m not coming home to you bleeding out in the hallway because you fell over and couldn’t help yourself.”

“You make me sound like I’m eighty years old.” he scoffed. 

“Well, if you agree to wear a life alert, maybe I’ll go back to work.” You said, throwing your head against the pillows. There’s a few moments of silence, punctuated by Aaron’s deep sigh. 

“I’m glad you’re here. Sorry I’m being grumpy.” He apologized. “I just don’t want you to have to take care of me.” 

“You’re injured and in pain. You’re allowed to be grumpy,” you told him. “And I plan on taking care of you for the rest of my life, so you should start to get used to it.”

“Can I hold you for a little while? You don’t have to go near my leg,” he says, knowing you’ve been extra-gentle to avoid his injury since you’ve been home together. “You could put your head on my chest and I could just… hold you,” Aaron asks shyly, and your heart melts. 

“Of course, baby.” you say, snuggling your torso in close, leaning your head against his pec and resisting the urge to toss your legs over his. “See? Sick leave isn’t all that bad,” you tease him.

“No, I suppose not,” he smiles, rubbing an arm up and down your back.

“Jack is so excited to have you home.” You comment.

“Not that it matters, I can’t even take him to the park or ride a bike with him.” Aaron grouses. 

“Aaron, he’s over the moon just to have time to spend with you. He could sit here in bed with you watching Toy Story on a loop for the next six weeks and I’m sure he’d tell you it was the best month and a half of his life.” 

“A month and a half… I’m gonna go crazy.” Aarom remarks, more to himself than to you. 

“You’re gonna have to take up a hobby. Maybe knitting,” you snort, and Aaron smiles. 

“Yeah, or braiding or something,” he agrees offhandedly.

“Braiding?” You ask. 

“Oh, I mean, or maybe I could get back into Chess, finally get good enough to beat Spencer--” 

“No, no, back up, what made you bring up braiding?” 

“Uh… it’s just… something I’ve been thinking about in case we ever, you know, made a decision, and felt like maybe---” 

“Aaron, spit it out,” you laughed. 

“Just… if we had kids, or a daughter, I would want to be able to do her hair. Because if you’re not home, I don’t want to be the dad that doesn’t know how to do his daughter’s hair.” He confesses, the embarrassment clear in his tone. You place a kiss to his chest. 

“You are a good man, Aaron Hotchner.” 

“I’m glad you think so, anyways.”

“Alright, you’re getting grumpy and self-deprecating, which is a bad combo. You need a nap.” You instruct him teasingly. 

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” He asks, tightening his hold on you just slightly. 

“Of course, love. You go ahead and rest. I’m not going anywhere.”

You went back to work a little over a week later, when Aaron was mostly off of his pain meds, and able to get himself around the apartment without any assistance. You were still staying there when you weren’t on a case, and found yourself grateful that you’d decided to sign a month-to-month lease-- you weren’t sure what the point was of keeping up the pretense of separate places anymore. But, then again, with Aaron injured, now probably wasn’t the best time for a move. You're working through a few scenarios in your head when Spencer interrupts your train of thought. 

“How’s Hotch feeling?” He asks as you and the rest of the team board the jet to head home after a case. 

“He’s doing better,” you tell him. “The pain isn’t bothering him as much and he’s getting a little bit of his range of motion back. I’m still trying my best to keep him in bed, but I’m sure you can imagine how well that’s going,” you tell him with a smile. 

“Well, tell him I can’t wait to have him back. I hate all this paperwork,” Morgan cuts in with a playful chuckle, and you shove at his shoulder. 

“I’m trying to keep him home, Derek. Besides, we all know that Spencer is doing most of the paperwork for you,” you called him out, and Emily and JJ laughed.

“He’s just so fast,” Morgan defends himself, and now everyone is laughing. 

“We do want him back,” Emily tells you. “But not until he’s good and ready. And then, you know, maybe even a few weeks after that. Wouldn’t kill him to take a vacation.” 

“I’m not so sure about that,” JJ smirks. 

“Please, he’s already itching to get back to work. I think he’d leave me if I asked for a vacation.” You tell Emily.

“No, if you asked for a vacation he’d buy a plane ticket in an instant. And he’d bring his work phone and his computer to the beach and try to solve a murder from underneath a palm tree,” Morgan argued playfully. 

“Sometimes when we take a case somewhere warm, I stand in the parking lot for five minutes and face the sun. And if you close your eyes, it’s almost like a vacation.” You say. 

“Weren’t you literally taken hostage the last time you did that?” Spencer asks, and you roll your eyes goodnaturedly. 

“Well, there goes my tropical getaway,” you tease. 

With Morgan as acting unit chief, paperwork deadlines are considerably more flexible, which is to say nonexistent. Strauss would probably have a field day when she went to review the case file, but that wasn’t your problem. And, quite frankly, as you rushed to your car to get home to your boys, you couldn’t care less. 

When you swing the door open, you interrupt a very spirited game of Connect Four between Jack and Aaron. You notice that Aaron has at least three opportunities to make a winning move, all of which he ignores in favor of allowing Jack to push his chips in at random. 

“You’re home!” Jack exclaims when he sees you, scrambling across the living room and wordlessly commanding to be held by you. 

You hoist him up onto your hip, not without difficulty. He was getting big, and it made you a little sad. It strikes you that you won’t be able to do this forever, wrap him up in your arms and make him feel small and safe and secure. You squeeze him tighter. “Were you good for your daddy while I was gone?” 

“Uh-huh.” He nods, pulling back to look at you and running the collar of your shirt in between his thumb and forefinger absentmindedly. 

“And was Daddy good? He stayed off of his booboo leg?” You asked the only Hotchner who would give you a truthful answer. 

“Daddy was good.” Jack confirms, and you narrow your eyes skeptically. 

“Did he bribe you to say that? Ice cream for breakfast, or a new comic book?” You ask. 

“No. We watched Toy Story and I learned checkers. I had cereal for breakfast, not ice cream.” He tells you, and you relent. 

“Sounds like you had a lot of fun, bug.” You say, putting him down and crossing the living room to sit next to Aaron on the couch, who leaned over to press a kiss to the top of your head and placed a hand in your lap. 

“I did. But I missed you.” Jack tells you, climbing onto the couch next to you. 

“He’s not the only one,” Aaron whispers, pressing another kiss to your hair. 

“I missed you both, very very much,” you tell them, snuggling closer into Aaron and placing a hand in Jack’s hair. 

“We had pasta for dinner. I saved you a plate,” Aaron tells you. 

“Thank you, baby.” You tell him. “But, I’m pretty sure it’s past somebody’s bedtime…” You mention, and Jack pouts immediately. 

“I told him he could stay up until you got home, but he promised he wasn’t going to fight when it was time for bed, right buddy?” Aaron reminds his son. 

“Come on, sweet boy. I’ll tuck you in,” You tell him, pecking Aaron’s lips briefly before scooping Jack up off of the sofa and bringing him to his bed, tucking him in with extra stories and kisses to make up for the nights you missed while you were gone. 

When you come back into the kitchen, Aaron has heated up the leftover pasta and is waiting for you at the counter. 

“You didn’t have to get up, I would have done that,” you tell Aaron, knowing full well that he’d never actually listen.

“How was the case?” He asks as you settle in and start to eat. 

“It wasn’t too bad. We got the guy to surrender without hurting any of the hostages. A few of them were in pretty rough shape, but they should all recover.” you tell him in between bites. 

“And the team? Everyone’s doing okay?” 

“We’re all good, babe. JJ’s getting really good at the geographic profile, but I think it annoys her to stay at the station when we’re all out.” 

“She’s pregnant. It’s not worth the risk,” Aaron reminds you. 

“I know, honey, but it’s still annoying. It’s kind of like when you break your leg and you’re not allowed to go to work but you still have to hear all about it from your girlfriend,” you point out, and he smirks at you. 

“Morgan’s doing okay? The field agents aren’t giving him any trouble?” 

“Morgan can handle himself just fine against any cocky field agent. You don’t need to worry about us, sweetheart. We’re okay. You trained us up good,” you smiled at him, and he blushed, rolling his eyes at you. “We want you back, but we want you back healthy,” you tell him.

“Well, the doctor cleared me to start PT in two weeks. So hopefully I’ll be back sooner rather than later,” Aaron tells you. 

“That's great news! So the cast is coming off soon?” You ask. 

“Yeah, he wants to see me again to take it off and give me the final go-ahead for PT.”

“And you’re gonna take it easy at PT, because you know you can’t rush recovery, right?” You remind him. 

“Yes, mom,” he teases you with a smile. 

“It’s my turn to fret over you. Karma’s a bitch,” you smile at him as you get up to take his plate to the dishwasher. As you do so, his phone rings. 

“Hotchner,” he says into the receiver. “Woah, woah. Slow down, please. Are you okay?” Aaron says, and you turn around immediately, concerned. “Garcia, hold on. I’m going to put you on speaker. Yeah, she’s home. She’s here with me.” Aaron says, his eyes flicking over to you as he pulls the phone away from his ear and adjusts the volume. 

“Okay, so, I have been keeping an eye on Josh’s arrest record, awaiting his arraignment and his court dates so that we could throw a big ‘Josh is in prison for life party,’” she tells you, spitting out information a mile a minute. “There hadn’t been any movement for a few days, and I couldn’t figure out why, but I decided to check one more time before I went to bed tonight, and Josh’s dealer posted bail for him four days ago.”

“What?” You say. You heard her, heard every word she said in perfect clarity. But there had to be a mistake, right?

“Garcia, what do you have on the dealer? What has Josh been doing for the past four days?” Aaron asks, and you hear him, but you also… don’t. Everything sounds like you have cotton stuck inside your ears, or like you’re underwater. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?

“That’s a trigger,” you mumble quietly, and you think that Aaron doesn’t hear you, he’s so focused on his conversation with Garcia that you try hopelessly to follow. He turns to you, after a moment, tucking his phone back into his pocket. 

“What did you say, doll?”  He asks you. 

“That’s a trigger. You know, how we say that serial killers have triggers that make them start killing people. This is probably a trigger to start killing,” you say, staring at a spot of dirt on the tile. Jack must have tracked it on his cleats, and Aaron couldn’t mop with his injury. You should really clean that. You needed to get the dirt off the floor. Mop, mop, where did Aaron keep the mop? You pulled it out of the closet and were headed for the stain when you felt Aaron’s hands come to rest on your shoulders, blocking your path. 

“Hon, what are you doing?’ He asks, trying to make eye contact with you, which you avoided. 

“The floor needs to be mopped.” You answer, emotionless. 

“Why don’t you come sit down, the floor can wait,” he says, trying to guide you towards the sofa. 

“Aaron, your knee! Go sit. Go, go. I just need to get the floor clean. Please just go sit and I can fix it. It’s okay. I got it.” You got more and more worked up as you continued to stare at the dirt, watching the stain grow as your vision blurred, as if the dirt were mocking you. 

“Hey, hey hey. Where’d you go, angel? Come back here with me, love. You’re gonna be okay. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” He says, wrapping his arms around you. 

You’d never wished more that you believed him. 

tagging:  @romanogersendgame @wanniiieeee      @zheezs14      @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13  @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner  @ijustwannaread2k19    @rexit-mo @shmaptainhotchnersmain @qtip-blog @averyhotchner  @the-modernmary @itsmytimetoodream @choppa-style @hotforhotchner11 @infinite-tides @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @bakugouswh0r3 @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads

[builder051]

Whumptober 2021 day 5: Misunderstanding

Nat on fire

Small mentions of drug use, sickness, emeto

___________________________

Nat gets the call to action a few minutes past five on Wednesday morning. Her phone, stashed in the bed and still on its charger , begins to blare loudly, as does the pager she’s long since thrown into the depths of the closet. Once she answers one, they’ll both stop. It’s usually convenient, except that today she’s nowhere near either of them.

On a normal morning, Nat would still be in bed. Probably still in the dregs of REM, but lately, she’s just been drifting off at this hour, the drink and drugs in her system wearing down and leaving her to catch a short rest.

That’s not today, though. It’s the middle of the week, and Nat’s not stupid. She hasn’t shot up in two days. She hates to think that small of a break would put her in withdrawal, for she can’t be that addicted, can she? But that’s about the only logical cause Nat can think of for her sudden and desperate urge to leap out of bed and spill her guts into the toilet.

She’s been at it since…midnight? Maybe two. There was definitely a two showing on her glowing digital alarm clock when she dashed past it and skidded on her knees into the tiny bathroom. Hours have passed; Nat can tell without turning around to look at the clock. Her abdominal muscles have begin to hurt from heaving. She’s distinctly lightheaded, even perched up with the support of the toilet seat. Everything tastes like sour tropical fruit and salt and sweat. And Fury has a general rule about not calling before don’t-be-a-dick o’clock.

There’s a pause in the loud ringing from the bedroom behind her, then it all starts up again. Someone’s hit redial. Nat sighs and leans away from the toilet bowl, testing herself before leaving it completely. She’s fine, though shaky, and her throat seems both abraded and extra wet. “Ok,” she says, trying to push out speech without having to cough first.

Nat reaches around in the now-cold bedclothes and finds her phone, lit up and flashing Fury’s name.

“What?” Nat groans, almost before she has the speaker to her ear.

“Well, good morning to you,” Fury says in a clipped, annoyed tone. “What took you so long?”

“I was asleep…”

“Yeah, well, speedy reaction times are still a thing.”

Nat rolls her eyes, but but the movement brings back full-on nausea, so she stops, presses her shaky, slightly damp hand to her forehead, and takes two steps back until she finds the closet door against which to ground herself.

“Romanov?” Fury seems mildly concerned about her. Or maybe the connection of the call.

“Yeah,” Nat answers. “Here.”

“Briefing at 6:30. Trouble’s come up,” Fury explains shortly. “In country, so at least the flight’ll be short.”

“Urgent, uh, stuff…?” Nat hazards, her head more than her stomach telling her she’d be more comfortable back in the bathroom. She’s sure she’s emptied out, but that doesn’t mean the urge to retch is gone.

“Do I call you in for anything else?” Fury asks, as if she’s stupid.

“Well, um—“

“Briefing. 6:30,”. Fury shores up. “We still have a coffee machine.”

“Oh—“. Nat has to move her hand down over her mouth. “I’m really not feeling—“

“You’re up to it,” Fury says. “I promise. You’ll be finished by lunch, and you can all go and have your little celebratory hamburgers and what all.”

Nat’s going to explode. She presses what she hopes is the red button to end the call and throws her phone back on the bed. Then she turns on the spot and runs the three or four paces it takes to re-enter the bathroom. She bends at the waist and violently heaves, bringing up absolutely nothing except a dribble of foamy spit.

“Fabulous…”. Nat wipes her mouth on the back of her hand, then tries to force her fuzzy brain into motion. She needs to go into the office, there’s really no choice there. Then things are largely up to fate; she can sit seasick through a PowerPoint and bum along on a mission where she may or my not throw up on a jet, or she can get to the office and experience things going downhill from there. Nat can’t visualize an outcome where everything goes well.

Once she’s feeling steady enough, Nat gets back to her feet and turns on the bathroom light. She ignores the pale yellowish ring she’s made in the toilet and grabs a brush to see to her hair. Under the sink there’s a dusty gallon jug of distilled water, probably meant for the steam iron left untouched on the top shelf of the pantry. Fluids are fluids, though, and Nat has no Gatorade at the moment, so she unseals the lid and lifts the heavy bottle with both hands in order to take a drink. The water tastes like plastic, but anything’s better than the horror currently festering behind her molars.

Nat wore clothes to bed, a pair of faded black sweats and a SHIELD academy t-shirt, so she doesn’t bother getting dressed. She shoves her feet into tennis shoes without socks. Then she nabs a plastic grocery sack that’s listlessly floating across the kitchen tile opposite the window unit AC and stashes inside a pair of rolled up jeans and her phone. Nat takes her keys from the hook beside the front door, then takes a last deep breath and steps out into the hazy dawn.

It’s humid, and Nat’s car is covered in soft condensation. The moisture in the air settles on her upper lip, making her feel artificially hot and sick all over again. It’s only for a second, though, for once Nat’s in her vehicle, she blasts the cold air until she’s thoroughly chilled. Her hand shakes as she adjusts the temperature again to something more moderate, and it takes nearly the entire ride up the highway for her body to settle.

Nat’s fine, apart from a few hard swallows and intent breaths, until she gets to the side streets leading up to the SHIELD building. Half of them are one-way, and with cars illegally parked at intervals where she’d like to be driving, rather more attention is required than she’s prepared to give at the moment.

Nat’s stomach groans as she manages to squeeze past a crooked PT Cruiser with one tire attached to the curb. She swallows quickly a few times, but her mouth waters, and she isn’t sure anything is actually going down.

The next turn puts her at the entrance to the parking garage. Nat’s grateful that her full-time status lets her whiz past the barrier without having to stop and take a ticket. She loops around the first level, then the second. She’s about to go up the third and park on four, which puts her closest to the correct set of offices and locker rooms, but she’s beginning to taste bile again, and she knows she won’t last.

There’s a cluster of parking spaces in front of Nat, the weird angled ones that are most likely to get backed into by other cars as they escape at the end of the day, but, hey. She needs a spot and she needs one now. Nat means to let the car coast forward into the space, but it stagnates, and she hits the accelerator lightly. She has to slam on the break to keep from plowing into the blockade, and the jolt sends pure agony through her head, which then feeds down her spine, and into her abdomen.

“Fuck,” Nat mutters, trying to open the door and escape without first taking off her seatbelt. She hangs out of the car door, gagging for a moment, then her nausea dispels long enough for her come to her senses, disengage the seatbelt, and completely exit the car.

Unsteady on her feet, Nat clings to the door and hangs her head. Her breaths come fast and light perspiration forms on her forehead. Her throat feels gunky and sore, and she’s unaware of what or how much she’s expelling until she hears the splatter agains the garage floor.

A car horn honks suddenly behind Nat, and she starts, whipping her head around. Headlights nearly blind her, but Nat can make out the silhouette of an open door and someone moving toward her.

“Nat?” A familiar voice calls, and she can see him pick up his pace, running now to close the gap between his car and hers.

Nat curses under her breath, then spits and shakes her head. There’s no real hiding the evidence, not at this point. Best she can do is come up with a convincing lie and hope her body can roll with it.

“Are you ok?” Steve asks, approaching her with arm outstretched. He goes to touch her shoulder, but changes his mind at the last moment and places his palm atop the roof of the sedan.

“Um. Yeah.” Nat clears her throat a little, which burns and brings on a secondary desire to turn her insides out, but she clenches every muscle esophagus to colon and manages to keep it down.

“Are you—?”

“Coffee.” Nat tries to find her voice. “Didn’t quite agree with me.”

“Uh…”. Steve shakes his head. “That’s not coffee.”

Nat turns her head a micrometer and sees him looking at the hideously yellow bile running downhill toward her tires.

“Why are you so interested in looking at my…” Nat accuses. “You know. And why’d you honk at me?”

“That was a mistake.” Steve looks mildly ashamed. “I just traded in for a newer model…” He trails off.

“No matter what year it is, you shouldn’t leave it idling like that,” Nat snaps. She gets a swipe in at her face while Steve’s looking backward at his inappropriate high beams.

“You seem like you’re in trouble,” Steve says abruptly, still turned away. “You’re really sick.”

The flickering fluorescents overhead can’t be doing anything good for her complexion. “Eh. Everybody gets hit sometimes.”

“You shouldn’t have had to come in.”

Nat’s laugh comes out more like a weak, hitching sigh. “Try telling that to Fury.”

“You downplay things. Hard. You know?” Steve’s free hand comes out of nowhere and the backs of his fingers rest lightly below Nat’s cheekbone.

“Get off, you creep—“

“Relax. I’m just checking your temperature.” Steve’s smile looks placating, but his eyes are wide and honest.

“Hm.” Nat sniffs and waits for him to be done.

Steve drops his hand back to his side and nods conclusively.

“What?”

“Just what I thought. You’re warm.” Steve doesn’t waste time. “C’mon, I’ll quit idling my engine and take you home.”

“Nah, I’ll probably ruin your new upholstery.” Nat gulps, disgusted by the possibility of new car smell filling her lungs and sinus cavities. “I don’t know. I’ll just…”. Nat looks into her vehicle, dreading the journey back to her apartment. She shifts her eyes back to Steve. “And I’ll have to beg out to Fury first, anyway.”

“I’ll do it for you,” Steve says. “On my word.”

“You’re not going to take pictures on your phone, are you?” Nat asks weakly. “You’re going to need proof to get past that guy…”

“If you can’t ride in a car, you need to be in medical.” Steve seems to realize he hasn’t broken it to her gently, so he backtracks and says, “With beds, you know?”

Nat wants to disagree. Even if she’s not fit for a mission, she can at least be independent. Take care of herself. But what’s she even thinking? She’s barfing in a damn parking garage, getting rescued by a coworker because she can’t even get up to the right floor.

“Fine,” Nat practically growls. “But no needles.” The nurse babysitting her doesn’t need to see the baby track marks dotting her inner elbow. She’ll keep those to herself, thank you very much. “No IVs. Bed. Bin. That’s all.”

“I’ll make sure that’s clearly communicated.” Steve nods , then jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “Let me go park that thing, and I’ll walk you in.”

“Sure…”

Steve vanishes, and a moment later, the offensive headlights dim to something more manageable. His car moves forward and comes to a stop a few places down from hers.

Nat could vanish, too. Run into the building. Jump into her driver’s seat and speed off.

She doesn’t need the help. Or the charity. Or the friendship, really. She isn’t quite sure why, but she stays.

[vexfulfolly]

The Fondest Memories

hi @cosmicpines I was your gifter for @codesecretsanta!!! I hope you enjoy!

It seemed like a great idea, bringing Aelita into the real world and enrolling her at their school. It wasn’t like they didn’t have time to plan things out— to make sure her transition was as smooth as possible— because they had plenty of time to do so. Whether or not that time was spent agonizing over details that were practically meaningless until confronted later. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there was their daily motto for almost an entire year. 

So they weren’t exactly thinking it all the way through when they created Aelita’s new identity. At a glance, it was watertight. No one would dare to look too deep into anyone associated with the de la Robbias. Looking at Odd’s records was an absolute mess, so why even bother with Aelita’s? 

It was a quick way to get her in the door and out of deep scrutiny, but that in and of itself presented problems. Like right now. It was a month before winter break and each warrior’s family was making plans to bring their children home for the holidays. Except Aelita. 

As it stood, there were only two viable options; someone had to take Aelita home with them (which would be the markedly tougher option), or someone would have to stay behind with her. Despite being somewhat acclimated to Earth, she was still wobbling on fawn-like legs during social situations. Or most situations, granted she was unsupervised. 

Which was what brought everyone together on a crisp afternoon in early November, piled into Jérémie’s room and in deep discussion.

“I hate to say it, but I can’t stay,” Jérémie sighed. “My parents have already booked a flight for me. They thought having a tropical Christmas would be a good idea for some reason.” 

To add insult to injury, he sounded truly apologetic. 

“I’ll be around the corner, but granted I don’t stay at the dorms anyway, my parents definitely won’t take well to me “sneaking off” during family time,” Yumi grimaced, making sure her displeasure over the last few words was clear. 

If the rest of the conversation went as positively as this first two minutes had, they were all screwed. The only two people that remained were Odd and Ulrich— the two people most likely to want to stay at Kadic through the break. 

Odd snorted. “My parents won’t even notice if I’m here or there, but they did book train tickets. If I never showed, they wouldn’t care. So, what say you, good buddy? Am I staying behind or have you already worked it out?” 

Every eye fell on Ulrich in anticipation. 

“I’m staying,” he said simply. 

He was met with several sighs of relief, and one disappointed Odd. “You’re really gonna make me go?” He pouted, though it sounded more like a demand. 

“Yeah, otherwise Jim will get suspicious of too many of us staying behind. Besides, you’ll be able to let Kiwi play in the snow without worrying about getting caught.” 

The resulting whine from the blonde was a cross between exasperation and resignation, and Ulrich had never heard a sound so sweet. Aelita decided she’d make presence known at that point, carefully patting the blonde on the back as he grumbled. “Well, what do you even do over a break? Especially the winter one?” She asked. 

Ulrich shrugged. “Winter stuff.” 

The topic was dropped. 

The first day of the winter break was reserved exclusively for seeing the gang off. Most kids were heading home, though a teeny-tiny minority stayed behind. Ulrich and Aelita were now a part of that minority. 

By the time everyone had left the school, and the halls no longer buzzed with sound, dinner was ending and it was almost curfew. Aelita and Ulrich had spaghetti and meatballs together— much to Odd’s vocal displeasure when he saw it on that evening’s menu— and parted once they reached the dorms. 

“What will we be doing tomorrow?” Aelita asked. 

Ever the over-communicator, Ulrich glanced out the window at the blanket of snow that never seemed to stop growing. “I’ll introduce you to normal winter stuff. Dress warm, we’ll be outside,” he said before waving. “Good night.” 

The next morning found Ulrich walking Aelita through the woods. They wound through thickets and tall snow banks, truly getting to experience what winter had to offer. It was a quiet walk (though, at this point, it was more of a hike than a walk). As they approached the tree line, Aelita’s emerald eyes caught sight of the factory from between the bare trunks. 

“The factory?” She blinked, like it was the last place she’d expect to see. “Why are we here?”

“We’re not here for the factory,” Ulrich started. The duo broke through the edge of the forest and basked in the midday sun. It was then that Aelita noticed that the water that acted like a moat was frozen. 

“We’re here for the lake.” 

Suffice to say, without ice skates, music, and other skaters, the duo were nothing but inelegant. Ulrich taught Aelita how to slide about on the ice, how to skid into something resembling a stop, and getting her to glide backwards. Eventually their ice skating devolved into races around the factory, and to hockey— which they played with two tree branches and a pine cone. 

By the time they started heading back to the school, the sky was dimming. Aelita’s cheeks were cherry red and her breath was coming in short puffs of exhaustion, but the grin on her lips was the most genuine thing. Ulrich even found his own lips tilting upward at the sound of her elated laughter. 

“Oh, that was wonderful, Ulrich!” She beamed, bouncing to and fro through the snow banks. “Can we do this again tomorrow?”

He fought off a chuckle. “Sure. I can show you the other stuff later.” 

Though her curiosity was piqued, she didn’t inquire further about the “other stuff”. Ulrich was coming to realize that she liked surprises. 

Aelita hummed happily the entire walk back to Kadic. The thought made Ulrich warm. When they stumbled back indoors, the fiery sensation of needles on bare skin told the duo they’d been out a bit too long. The back of Ulrich’s thighs were on fire, and Aelita’s fingers cried out in pain. 

She was wincing and nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot when Ulrich pulled her out of her head. 

“There’s only one cure to freezer burn,” he started leading her to the cafeteria, though dinner wasn’t going to be served for hours. “C’mon, I’ll show you how to make it.” 

When they made it into the cafeteria, Ulrich made straight for the kitchen doors, which gave Aelita pause. Students weren’t allowed in the kitchen on a good day— what made Ulrich think trying to get in there over winter break would be a better idea? Even then, one of the lunch ladies was probably in there starting on dinner. They’d be caught in no time, so what was Ulrich planning? 

“You coming, Princess?” 

Aelita had been so deep in thought that she’d completely stopped walking, and was staring intently at Ulrich’s relaxed form. 

“Are you sure that—“

“We’ll be fine. Trust me.” 

With Ulrich acting as cocksure and confident as Odd, Aelita could do nothing more than follow behind him and hope for the best. The moment the door swished shut behind her, Ulrich was greeting Glenda with a nod before heading to the opposite side of the kitchen. He flitted in and out of cupboards and pantry doors before placing a shallow pot on the stove. 

He was still gathering things here and there when Aelita asked, “Why aren’t we getting in trouble?”

Ulrich placed two mugs side by side on the counter. “Odd and I have had our fair share of early mornings and late evenings. Glenda’s always the first one in and the last to leave. Let’s just say, she’s fine with us being here so long as the other students don’t know and we pick up after ourselves.”

Aelita didn’t know why she was so surprised by that fact. Of course, every warrior had their fair share of trauma from Xana. If Odd and Ulrich suffered from nightmares or insomnia, Aelita was no one to judge. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she watched as Ulrich melted a good amount of chocolate in the pot before mixing in some milk. He stirred it lightly for a few minutes more before splitting the contents of the pan between the two mugs. He added a tad extra milk to each one before passing the pinkette a plastic spoon. 

Ulrich tilted his mug in her direction, as if to toast. “To winter break?” He asked. 

“To winter break,” she replied. 

Their cups clinked together, and the second day of winter break came to a close. 

“Since when did you know how to cook?” Aelita asked later that evening. “I didn’t take you as one to— not to offend— be knowledgeable about it.”

Ulrich chuckled lightly. “I’m a terrible cook, I just know how to make hot chocolate. My mother taught me when I was younger. Every year we’d play hockey in brook behind the house, and when we came back we’d make hot chocolate to warm us up.”

Ulrich hasn’t said that many words directly to Aelita for almost as long as they’ve known each other. 

Aelita smiles tentatively. “That’s… really nice.”

Ulrich hums warmly before waving good night to the girl. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early,” he says. 

And Aelita can’t stymie the excited laugh that bubbles up from within. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” 

Even as they walk their separate ways, Aelita likes to think she sees a ghost of a smile on his lips in the reflection on the windows. 

By the time winter break is over, Aelita has been officially inducted into the exclusive group of students given kitchen rights. Four days after starting classes once again, Aelita finds herself standing in the kitchen at half past the witching hour, wondering why her world weary body brought her here. When Glenda sees the girl half asleep in her cup of cocoa, she simply gives the girl a nudge and pushes her out. “Wait! I didn’t get to do the dishes!” She tries to argue. 

“Get some sleep before classes start, and I might forgive ‘ya,” Glenda tuts, and Aelita knows that the lunch lady has won this round. 

When Aelita curls up in her bed, anxieties and nightmares long forgotten, she takes in the lingering scene of hot chocolate in the air and thinks about Ulrich and the week of shrieking laughter and restrained joy they shared. 

Aelita sleeps through the first three classes and shuffles down for lunch looking like death warmed over, but Glenda serves her the best part of the lasagna with a knowing look, and the young girl dines with her friends. 

She feels more like a living, breathing human at that moment than during any other. 

To her, the most human emotion isn’t rage or something as simple as love, she thinks it’s the gleeful innocence of playing in the snow on a cold day, and the creature comfort that is fuzzy socks and diamond snow. 

She no longer feels in binary and thinks in CSS. 

The girl that is Aelita Stones is born on a cloudy day in December, and she is utterly grateful to the boy who pushed her into the wild and wonderful world she now resides in (even if he pushed her into a snowbank to do it).

[kenzieam]

Want to Waste - Chapter One

Rating: M

Warnings: Drama, angst, language, smut and bad language

Word Count: 1768

Tags: @jewels2876​​  @moonbeambucky​​  @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​​  @iammarylastar​​ @captstefanbrandt​​  @badassbaker​​  @pinknerdpanda​​  @oliviastan17​​ @mizzzpink​​​

***************************************************************

Lev and Bucky don’t get along but always seemed to get tossed together when their respective fiance’s, Steve and Nat, have to work on another project together. The last straw comes when Steve and Nat have to bail on a long anticipated vacation and Lev and Bucky decide to go anyway. What could possibly happen between two wounded people in paradise?

***************************************************************

“Oh, its only you.” Lev remarked, dropping into the booth.

“Yup,” Bucky drawled, leaning back insolently and resting his arm across the back.

“Nat late again?”

“You know it. Steve too?”

“You see him stuck to my ass?”

“Touché, Red.”

“Sorry.”

“Have a drink, maybe you’ll actually loosen up and sound sorry.”

Lev stuck her tongue out at him, rolling her eyes and he curled his lips in a wolf smile back.

The server appeared, having already brought Bucky his first drink a couple minutes ago.

“And for the lady?”

Lev considered something snarky, the guy was eying them like they were together or something equally outlandish. “Sea Breeze.”

“Ooh, doesn’t that, like, have sugar in it?” Bucky quipped, affecting a surprisingly accurate ‘Cali from the Valley’ accent as the server left.

“Thought I needed that.”

“Take more than sugar to sweeten your salty ass up.”

“Fuck off.”

“You fuck off.”

“Aaannnndddd I see they’re getting along just perfectly without us!” Nat announced, dropping in beside Bucky with a smirk.

Bucky forgot his glower across the table for a minute and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek. “Work?”

Nat gave him a side-eye. “Of course, baby.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Steve sing-songed, bouncing Lev slightly when he fell beside her. He pressed a loud kiss to Lev’s cheek while Bucky made a face at her, which she returned with a curled lip. “Patterson keeps dropping these new projects on us.”

Lev swallowed her irritation and forced a smile. “That’s alright, we only had to share the same table for a few minutes.”

“Yeah, Lev didn’t even have time to really unsheathe her claws.” Bucky added helpfully.

Nat and Steve traded a look before dropping it, this argument had gone so far past old it was almost new again.

“So? What did the old man unload this time?” Bucky asked, pulling his attention away from Lev and looking again at his girlfriend.

Nat shared a look with Steve. “Another realignment of assets.”

Bucky growled, sounding displeased. “Like what… that one a few months back? You didn’t get home any time before ten for like two weeks!”

Lev felt her heart sinking, the same displeasure Bucky was showing heating her skin. That was the trouble with dating someone high up in their profession, one Steve Rogers, compounded by the fact that they worked with your best friend, Nat Romanoff, and so you were always getting left with their asshat boytoy, James Barnes, Nat’s long-time plaything, whenever they got held up at their office.

“It won’t be like that.” Nat replied, flicking a glance at Steve, who replied by dropping his head to Lev’s and nuzzling into her hair, trying to tease out a smile.

Lev bit back a reluctant giggle, still feeling irritated. Bucky was right, Steve had been AWOL too, and always tired when he finally did come home. “Can’t you pass it on to someone else?”

“Not if you want that fancy wedding.” Steve murmured, his voice tender, lips tickling her ear, making her shiver.

Lev leaned back, pushing at Steve’s chest. “That’s not me, I told you I wanted small, you keep adding people to the list.”

“You too?” Bucky chuckled, glancing across the table before looking fondly at Nat. “Every time I think we have the guest list settled; this little minx thinks of five more people to add.”

Nat flicked him a mild glower before rolling her eyes at Steve.

“What are you all having?” Steve changed the subject, lifting the menu to peruse it.

*************************************************************************

Three Weeks Later

Lev raised a brow as Bucky approached, looking past him with an increasingly disbelieving scowl. “No, not this time.”

Bucky shrugged as he reached her side, drawing his compact aluminum wheeled suitcase to a stop beside him. “She said she’d meet us here directly from the office.” The overhead announcements continued above them, announcing incoming and outgoing flights in a brisk monotone.

“That’s what Steve said! Dammit, they better not be late, this is the first vacation we’ve had in forever.”

Bucky lifted his shoulder again. “They cancelled on us last time.” He reminded her.

“Yeah, with two days notice, not when we were standing right in the damn terminal!”

“Easy, Red.”

“Stop calling me that!”

Bucky smirked, looking past her and gesturing with his chin. “Go have a drink, calm down.”

Lev fixed him with a glare. “You talk like that’s all I do, throw fits and drink.”

For the briefest second, something besides a smirk hovered on his face. “Sorry, I just like teasing you. You’re cute when you get pissed, like a wet kitten.” At Lev’s surprised look he hurried on. “I mean, I have to entertain myself somehow, sometimes it seems like I spend more time with you waiting for my fiancé than I do with her.”

Lev looked away, too weary to continue the spat. It was true, it seemed like lately she and Bucky were always getting dumped together when their significant others had to bail, but that didn’t mean Lev was going to just accept it happening again.

“Not this time.” Lev growled, wondering vaguely if the sheer power of her thought vibes would be enough to hurry Steve along and get his ass here in time.

Glancing at her, Bucky strode past, his case trundling behind to sit near a large wall of windows, various jets visible on the tarmac beyond and, sighing, Lev turned to follow.

******************************************************************                               Lev glanced at her phone screen, knee bouncing agitatedly. She stopped in surprise when Bucky’s hand appeared and rested briefly on her leg, pulling away before she could slap it.

He glanced mildly at her and Lev swallowed her angry retort. It wasn’t Bucky she was pissed at anyway.

“Want a bottle of water or something?” He asked casually.

In answer, Lev’s cell began to ring, and Lev focused on it, holding her breath; then, as Bucky’s began to chime as well, she fought not to moan.

With a quick glance at each other, both answered their respective phones, a mix of frustration, anger, resignation and sadness growing on both their faces for anyone watching to plainly see.

“Whatever, Steve.” Lev mumbled, hitting the end button. She glanced over at Bucky, staring down at his phone, having already hung up with a similar goodbye.

“Nat?”

“Who else?”

“Gotta work?”

“Yep.”

“Dammit.” Lev snarled, taking several long, deep breaths to calm back down.

“Well,” Bucky declared, struggling to sound airy, “this was fun, see you around, Lev.” He stood, straightening his shirt and glancing back towards the terminal.

“Wait, you’re just leaving?” Lev asked, a kernel of an idea forming in her mind.

“Yeah,” Bucky answered, frowning down at her. “Nat’s not coming, the vacation’s off.” He spoke slowly, as if Lev was somehow mentally deficient. Anger tightened his jaw, he wasn’t letting on to the same degree as she was, but Bucky was just as disappointed and pissed off as Lev.

“No.” Lev replied, mind racing. “No.” She looked up into Bucky’s wary eyes. “I paid for a vacation, I took the time off work, I’m going on my goddamn vacation.”

Bucky’s frown deepened. “But Steve’s not coming.”

“So? I hardly see him anymore, anyway, how is this any different?” Lev began to speak faster, warming to the idea. “I’m going.” She announced simply, standing, Bucky’s startled gaze lifting to follow. “Steve can waste his ticket, but I’m not. I’ve been looking forward to laying on that beach for months.” She started to march towards the gate then turned to eye Bucky. “What about you?”

Bucky shook his head, confused. “What, go on this vacation with you instead?”

Lev shrugged airily, feeling strangely free. “No, not with me. It’s a big beach, we have separate hotel rooms; we don’t even have to see each other after we land, but are you going to let Nat wreck another trip for you?”

A shadow passed over his face and he looked out through the windows, watching the planes for few beats. “No.” He replied, almost curtly. “No, I’m not. Let’s fucking go.” His face was all hard determination when he looked back at Lev. “You’re right, not again.”

Lev faltered, suddenly rethinking her previous conviction. What was she saying? Go to a tropical resort with someone not Steve? As quickly as the hesitation hit, it melted away. She wasn’t going with Bucky, she was simply flying in the same plane, staying in the same hotel, beyond that they would be entirely separate. “Not again.” She replied firmly.

A surprisingly attractive grin flashed across his face, stunning Lev for a moment then he grabbed his phone, a trace of annoyance bleeding back into his eyes. “Gonna tell Nat.”

Lev grabbed her own phone, tapping Steve’s icon. “Yep.”

******************************************************************************              Lev relaxed back into her seat, grateful that she’d paid the extra for the upgrade. In the row in front of her, Bucky rummaged for something in his carry-on.

“What?” Steve asked, sounding supremely confused. “You’re going?”

“Yeah,” Lev grinned at the flippant tone in her voice. “It’s non-refundable, maybe you’re fine losing your money, but I’m not.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end and Lev could imagine the thoughts running through Steve’s head, all being rapidly dismissed for sounding too selfish or privileged. Finally, he replied. “Well, if you’re sure.”

“I am. I have Bucky for company anyway.” Lev blinked, where had that come from?

Steve huffed faintly.

“C’mon, Steve. You leave him with me all the time. Besides, we’re not going to do anything.”

“No, I know.” There was something in his voice, the beginnings of guilt. “Lev, I’m sorry.” He sounded genuinely remorseful. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

She’d heard that before. “I’ll call you when we land, okay?”

“Okay, and Lev? I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Bucky’s head appeared over the seat. “Do you have any gum?”

Lev smirked, pulling out a pack and tossing it his way.

Later she drowsed, lulled by the sound of the engines, the comfortable seat, the warmth of the sun through her window. She didn’t regret leaving, not yet anyway but she did genuinely miss Steve beside her.

A body thudded into the aisle seat, Steve’s seat, startling her. Bucky grinned merrily back at her bleary glower.

“C’mon, Red. Don’t be like that. It’s weird sitting by yourself, besides, my screen’s not working.” He reached up, flicking on the viewing screen in the headrest of the seat he was just moments ago sitting in.

Lev grumbled and rolled partially away, her eyelids growing heavy again.

[dirty-bitz]

This could not go on my main account with the rest of the short stories about these two for so many reasons...mostly the smut. Definitely the smut. And my main accounts are linked to some stuff that I know parents show their kids, so, dirty stuff here where it can’t be found by innocent eyes.

I wrote this for @inkly-heart, and did write a lot more interaction between these characters on my other account. The stories that are not sexy are here. Dit is hers, and so much fun to write about.

Warning: Below the tag is blood, sex, and other stuff. Don’t read if you’re not into that.

“I’m done with humans,” Nim grumbled as she sat with a beer, her other arm draped over the back of the sofa. “Men, women, both, I’m done with them. Just absolutely done.”

Dit looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. She was dressed up nice, in a lavender button-down shirt and black jeans. The woman had put bobby pins in her hair and combed it, wearing black high heels instead of her usual hiking boots. Nim looked like she was ready to hit the town when he arrived. There was even a tiny bit of glitter on her lips, a soft pink lip gloss. She had genuinely put some time into her appearance. It was a good look for her.

But when he had asked, the human had waved it off. She had ordered out delivery, instead of cooking, and had gotten some of his favorites. Now she was having a beer and looked absolutely frustrated with everything. The Ditto couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“Done with humans, huh?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yep, done with them. Completely done. Stupid idiot, cancelling on me because of the triplets.”

Dit stayed quiet, letting her rant. It seemed like the easiest way to figure out what was going. And rant Nim did, sitting up and waving one hand animatedly as she spoke. The Ditto had to lean away a bit when she got particularly annoyed at one point. His expression was one of bemused confusion as he started to work out what was on his friend’s mind.

“Let’s talk, let’s get to know each other. Hey, you’re great, you want to go on a date after a few weeks of talking? Oh, you’re perfect, I can’t wait to go to dinner with you! Wait, you call the Riolu pups your kids? Oh, you know, let’s cancel dinner, I think you’re a different sort of girl than I thought,” Nim growled, clearly imitating what someone else had said to her. “Screw that. Yes, the triplets are like kids to me, anyone who has got a problem with that is not going to work.”

Ah…so Nim had been ready to go on a date, and the guy had said something about the kids. Or girl, Dit wasn’t sure since Nim hadn’t said the gender of her cancelled date and it sounded like she was into both. But the woman had gotten her hopes up, gotten ready to do something for herself, and then had them dashed.

No wonder she was ranting and had gone for a beer.

The Ditto gave her a little smile. “Well, I think you’re a good mom,” he told her. “The triplets love you, and it’s cool that you treat them like your kids.”

“Thanks, Dit,” she said before taking a long swallow of her drink. “But yeah, no, humans suck.”

“Gonna try Pokémon?” he asked with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

She snorted. “No, I’m not, no offense meant to you. I think I’m just…done with dating for a bit. Maybe I’ll just stick to hanging out with friends.”

“Oh yeah? Like who?”

Nim made a bemused sound. “Um…hmm…you’re here?” she said with a shrug. “I need to get out, but the last few times I’ve tried have not ended well. And it feels so strange being around my co-workers and stuff. They just…don’t get it.”

“The weird stuff you deal with?” Dit asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. The weird stuff. Having to round off my rough edges and be ‘normal’ around them.”

The Ditto had to laugh at that. Nim gave him a confused look until he explained. “You? Normal? Nah. Normal doesn’t work for you, lady, it really doesn’t.”

“Probably right,” Nim agreed.

Dit paused when he realized why she was so frustrated. It wasn’t just the date ditching her after Nim had gotten so into the idea of getting out for herself. The woman was still trying to cling to a sense of normalcy. She didn’t get much of that, not with who all she knew and what all the human did for them. What normal interaction Nim got from work just wasn’t enough.

“Where were you going tonight?” he asked after a moment.

Nim shrugged. “Does it matter? Plans got cancelled.”

“It does, where?” he repeated.

He listened as she said that it was <i>The Rayquaza</i>- a fancy club in the uptown area. That was a nice date indeed, no wonder she was bummed about missing that. It was definitely the sort of place the tattooed Pokémon trainer would go to from what little Dit knew of it. Not his sort of thing, he didn’t go for that, but he could see why Nim had gotten all dressed up. She could be classy at times, when she wanted to.

When the woman leaned her head back against the sofa again, he subtly shifted his clothes to black slacks and a pink button-down shirt, open to the second button. He decided to leave the cap on, and kept his shoes as they were. Then Dit elbowed Nim, who didn’t look up but did make a sound of protest. “Pinky, why are you elbowing me?” she grumbled.

“Because, we’re going out,” he said, prodding her again. “So set down that beer and call a taxi. The kids are out, you made plans, let’s get going.”

She blinked when she saw that he’d changed his clothes. “How did you- right, never mind, you’re a Ditto, I forgot that you can do that. Kind of late for the club…but the plan was to go see a movie after dinner and a bit of dancing. I still have the tickets.”

“Movie then, we already ate dinner,” Dit told the woman.

Nim smiled when he got up, offering her a hand. The Pokémon trainer easily helped her to her own feet, even with the heels. Dit then shook his head when she reached for her cane. Instead, he offered her his elbow. There was no need for that tonight, he was going to spoil his friend like her date should have.

“This is nice,” she told him as she leaned on him a bit. “Thank you, Dit.”

“So, what movie are we heading out to see?” he asked curiously.

“A midnight showing of an old classic,” she said. “It’s a silly monster movie, and I’m not even sure there will be many people. It was supposed to be…y’know…the sort of fun movie where you can laugh and whisper to the person beside you. Maybe even kiss a bit if your date is feeling naughty.”

Dit grinned. “And you’re still going to have some fun, lady,” the trainer promised. “We’re going to have a good time.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The movie was as ridiculous as he thought it would be, and the theater was as dead as Nim had expected it to be. But it was nice to share popcorn and point out the obvious plot holes in the film. Dit hadn’t even known this old theater showed films like this late at night on the weekends.

When the ending credits rolled, he glanced over at Nim. She was relaxed and clearly having a great time with him. “This was fun,” he told her with a grin.

“It was, thanks for coming with me,” she replied. “Oof…how is it already two in the morning?”

Dit made sure that she got home alright, and was pleasantly surprised when Nim invited him to stay. The guest bedroom wasn’t made up, though, so she offered the Pokémon trainer her own room. “I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said with a shrug when he asked where she was planning on spending the night.

He gently caught her hand when Nim went to leave. “Hey, you should sleep in your own bed.”

Nim wrapped her fingers around his when he went to leave the room instead. “C’mon, it’s big enough for two if you don’t mind,” the woman told him with a smile.

The Ditto chuckled when Nim left to get changed into her pajamas. His was easier- he just shifted his clothes to a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. When Nim got back with extra pillows, dressed in her comfortable flannel pajamas, she found he’d already pulled the blankets back and closed the curtains so that the sun wouldn’t bother them in the morning.

“We are sleeping in a bit, lady, I know your Pokémon have everything they need to manage breakfast just fine,” he told her before sitting on the edge of the bed.

When Nim laid down, Dit tucked the blankets over both of them. He rubbed her shoulders and smiled when the human visibly relaxed. Dit scootched closer to use both hands, making Nim sigh. “Oooh that’s nice,” she told him. “Got shoulders as hard as a Graveler’s, lady, you need to take more time for yourself,” he teased.

“My bad,” Nim said sheepishly. He stopped after a few moments, rolling over so that his back was facing hers. “Sleep well, Nim. You definitely need it.”

“You too, Dit,” she murmured sleepily.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Pokémon trainer woke up the next morning to find that he was the big spoon, one arm draped over the waist of the other warm body in the bed. His hand had found her chest in the night, cradling the woman in bed with him close against his own body. Pleasant curves were pressed alongside him, even if they were clothed. And he definitely liked where his hand was at the moment. He made a soft sound before nuzzling his face into the hair tucked beneath his chin. It smelled good.

Then he paused when he realized it was the tropical perfume she wore, mingled with the coconut shampoo that Nim liked so much. Dit understood very quickly what an awkward position he was in. Right, the Ditto had been beside his friend the night before, they fell asleep in the same bed. Now he was awake with his hand groping the tattooed trainer in a very inappropriate place. Nim had made it clear many times they were just friends. Did he pretend not to be awake, or did he dare try to move away without waking her up?

Nim made a soft, sleepy sound. “You awake?” she asked, moving one hand to cover his before he could try to get away.

Busted. He nodded, surprised at the tenderness of her gesture. It seemed someone had liked him getting handsy in his sleep. Dit paused only a moment before giving her breast a light squeeze, nuzzling his face into her hair again with a soft sound. Nim didn’t smack him away or protest. If anything, she snuggled a bit closer to his body. It felt like her hand over his was encouragement instead of to stop him.

“When was the last time anyone did this for you?” he asked softly, his other hand sliding under her side to wrap around her stomach. He was holding the woman close to him, still lightly massaging her chest since Nim wasn’t complaining or asking him to stop.

“Held me close first thing in the morning, treating me like I was someone precious and sexy?” Nim said with a snort. “Oh hell, it’s been a while, Dit.”

He made a sound of annoyance for her sake before letting his hand stray down. Nim arched against him when the Ditto’s fingers reached between her legs, gasping a bit. “Hmm! Hey, whoa,” she said with a shaky laugh.

“Want me to stop?” Dit whispered in her ear. “I would if you want me to. I respect you, and I respect your decisions for your body. But when was the last time someone made you feel special? Feel desired? When were you last treated like a queen?”

“It’s been years,” she confessed, still pressed against him as he used his fingers to rub her crotch through the fabric of her clothes. “Ah! Ohhh that’s nice…hmm…don’t stop?”

Dit placed a gentle kiss behind her ear before letting his hands and mouth wander. He soon had Nim purring and wriggling against him, clearly aroused. She made a plaintive sound when he got up to make sure the door was locked. Then he slipped back under the covers with her, smiling at the woman. “Don’t worry, I’m not getting out of this bed again until you’ve gotten your fill of attention or noon, whatever comes last. So what do you like, hmm?” he asked as one hand found its way under her shirt.

“That,” Nim agreed with a sigh, arching into his hand. “Definitely that.”

The Pokémon trainer chuckled as he undid the buttons of her flannel pajama top with his other hand. “How does such a great lady go so long without having some fun?”

“A trust thing, I suppose,” Nim replied as he regarded her exposed curves beneath his spread fingers. “I just…haven’t really found anybody. It’s weird to think of having sex with someone who doesn’t know whole parts of your life. Then after the accident…finding someone willing to be careful of a disabled partner during fun stuff.”

Dit smiled at her when she paused. He could tell what was on her mind as he gently lifted her left leg up to his hip, leaving her less flexible right leg lying flat on the bed still. It was an intimate position that pressed them together in all the right places without putting stress on her, and he shifted out of his clothes as he spoke. “I’m nothing if not gentle, unless you want rougher,” he purred as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips.

Nim made a startled sound before leaning into it. She even wrapped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his thick hair. When his mouth moved from hers down to her throat and the sensitive crook of her neck, just above her shoulder, the woman pressed against him with a needy whine. Dit grinned when she felt just how much he was enjoying the moment, Nim giggling like a teenager. “Happy to see me?” she asked playfully.

“Very,” he agreed, sliding one hand down to her waistband before slipping his fingers under it, easing the fabric down. “I’d love to see more of you.”

The Ditto had gotten her out of her pants and was using his fingers when Nim flinched slightly, sitting up a bit. “What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly, moving his hand back.

“A reminder of why I pretty much gave up on sex with others,” she said quietly.

“Talk to me, what’s up? Got problems down there, too?” Dit prompted as he sat beside her, cradling Nim on his lap. He genuinely wanted her to have a good time, he could tell his friend needed it. And he himself was also really getting into the idea of having some fun with her.

Nim nodded, explaining. She had several health problems even before being hit by a car- and one of them was an issue where she’d clench up painfully if she wasn’t extremely ready. The woman had partners leave in frustration because they didn’t have the patience for what some people dismissed as a fake issue entirely.

Dit thought it over for a moment before grinning. Well, she had a lot stacked against her, but that wasn’t a bad thing at all. The Ditto knew what he was doing and was genuinely interested in showing her how nice things could be. “I can be patient with you,” he reassured her, gently fondling the woman’s breasts and kissing her neck. “More foreplay is not a bad thing.”

The Pokémon knew what he was doing. He’d been told many times before that he was great in bed- as he should be, all things considered. Dit started with one finger, slowly and carefully prepping the woman with lube from her bedstand to make sure it didn’t hurt. His other hand was at her breasts and stomach, focusing the sensitive areas he had seen were good for her. Nim was all gasps and moans, tense against him as he focused on her pleasure. The Ditto loved hearing how she groaned his name. Seeing her toes curl in delight and knowing that was all because of him was nice, too.

When Nim was good and ready, he shifted their positions so that she was laying on the bed, her head and shoulders propped up with pillows. Dit used one other trick to make sure he didn’t hurt her- he was a Ditto masquerading as a human, he could change anything about himself. Normally folks wanted bigger, but in this instance, he started smaller as he slid between her thighs. They could work their way up to what was most comfortable for the woman. Nim whimpered his name as he pressed himself within her, nails scratching at his back. He was going to have some lovely reminders of this later.

“Is that good?” he whispered in her ear. “Still doing alright?”

She nodded, nuzzling his neck. “Very,” Nim murmured.

Patience was a virtue, and when it came to good sex, Dit had it. He was more than happy to go slow with Nim, being everything she needed. It amused him to see that she definitely liked a very decent size when it was done right and didn’t cause her pain. The Ditto was sensitive to where her body usually hurt, taking care not to put pressure on her right leg or move it in a way that would cause her distress. There were plenty of positions to try that didn’t need her to use that leg much. He was having fun with this go-slow method, too, it felt good. There was time to enjoy things as he made his friend shout his name. He liked being in charge in the bedroom, and Nim had definitely given control of the situation over to the Ditto when he proved he could be the lover she needed.

It was quite honestly a very good time indeed. Dit made certain that they both got what they needed, Nim coming before he did, before happily cuddling with her in the afterglow. The fun stuff didn’t stop just because they’d both gotten good sex- snuggling together afterward was almost as good as the main event. He drew a little scrolling symbol on her stomach below her chest as they nestled together in the rumpled sheets. Both of them were sweaty, tired, but very satisfied.

“Bloody hell,” Nim said with a chuckle. “That was…wow.”

Dit kissed her neck, smiling as he spoke against her skin. “Told you it’d be fun, Nim.”

She giggled, wriggling down further under the blankets with him. “You definitely did,” the human agreed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had sex that good. Did you enjoy that, too?” He nodded before peppering her shoulders with kisses. “I had fun, Nim, that was good.”

Nim made a happy little sound at that. Dit snuggled his face into her hair and exhaled deeply. The two of them soon were sound asleep once more, exhausted from such an intense romp together.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Dit woke up again because Nim was stirring beside him, he saw that there was a tray with fast food bags and several bottled sodas on it. There was food he liked as well as things he knew Nim enjoyed. His best guess was that Lewis had been well aware of their activities, ordered food, and let himself into the room just long enough to drop it off before locking the door behind him again. Lots of protein and sugar, just what the two of them needed.

“How do you feel about lunch and round two?” the Ditto asked with a grin as he brought the tray over to the bed.

Nim sat up, her hair mussed and a big smile on her face. “How could I say no to that?” she asked playfully.

He grinned as he sat beside her once more. It was a bit odd to think that he and Nim had gotten so caught up in the moment like that. But at the same time…Dit liked it. The Pokémon had fun with his human body, while Nim had been in sore need of something good. “Where do we stand, lady?” he asked as he fondly brushed some of her hair away from her face.

The woman paused as she unwrapped her lunch. “You know, I was wondering the same thing,” she said softly. “Where are we at? I adore you, you’re an amazing friend, and what we did together was fantastic. But is dating really a thing either of us does seriously? And I wouldn’t call what we have love, not in a dating relationship sort of way. Not like…with the intent to marry.”

“Friends with benefits,” Dit offered, gesturing with his burger. “Our usual friendliness and stuff, but when you need some attention and we’re both in the mood…”

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Nim chuckled. She tilted her head and smiled fondly back at him. “You know? That’s not a bad idea at all, Pinky.”

The Ditto gave her a light kiss. “Less talking, more eating lunch.”

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round two had been just as much fun, though not nearly as intense. Afterwards they had cuddled together under the showerhead in the warm water. Dit liked the aftercare of washing with a partner. Both he and Nim were handsy under the pretense of soaping up, taking the time to explore the other’s body. The Ditto took note of every scar his hands found, his fingertips tracing them. Nim had a veritable constellation of healed wounds on her soft curves.

“That tickles,” she told him.

He wrapped both arms around the woman, drawing her close. “Be careful, alright?” Dit asked her softly.

Nim nodded as she leaned on him trustingly. The Ditto found it was so easy to kiss and let his hands roam even in the shower when she so willingly put herself in his arms. The tattooed woman made such lovely sounds when she was touched. Both were easily distracted when he started to show more interest than just light petting.

The water was almost cold by the time they were satisfied and had cleaned up again.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dit smiled as they snuggled on the sofa for a movie after taking care of both their Pokémon teams. Nim leaned against him, while he had his arm around her shoulders. Lucas looked mildly unnerved at the change in their behavior. The Lucario was an empath and had been able to tell that something was going on when Lewis insisted he stay outside in the barn until Nim came to get them. Nim hadn’t felt distressed, though he could tell that there was a lot of emotion, so he had listened to the Haunter.

But now he had a good idea of what had been going on in that bedroom.

It became all the more apparent as the two trainers playfully fed each other popcorn and Dit leaned in to give Nim a kiss on the cheek. Lucas gave them a horrified look before turning to Lewis. What on earth had happened? Last he remembered, his mother had been getting ready for a date, been stood up, and had gone to the theater with Dit instead. That surely hadn’t become a genuine date?

“Relax, we’re still just friends,” Dit told Lucas when he realized that the Lucario had been staring. “…with benefits. Lots of benefits. Very nice benefits.”

Nim playfully smacked his stomach with her arm. “Dit!” she protested with a giggle.

“You have very nice benefits,” he told her with a grin.

She snorted with laughter at that as she leaned against his shoulder. The Ditto hadn’t realized just how much she needed positive interaction and good things like sensual touch. Lately, aside from her team and family, everyone had been trying to hurt her when it was contact. Well, aside from when he would do little things, like holding Nim’s hand for a few moments or getting cuddly when he was on pokénip.

That had to have been building up. A good tumble in the sheets had been exactly the sort of positive outlet the other Pokémon trainer had needed. Dit was perfectly fine with being the one to give it to her. She was a good friend and really fun in bed when her partner was aware of her problems. It had been a good time, getting creative.

Lucas just stared, not sure what to make of it. But even he could tell that Nim was in a much better mood. It was just weird to think that Nim and Dit had done…<i>that</i>…with each other. Lewis elbowed him lightly before gesturing that he should watch the movie instead of worrying about their friend and trainer. Nim was a big girl, she knew what choices to make for herself. And the Haunter got the feeling this one had actually been a very good decision, unlike constantly throwing herself in harm’s way.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dit had come over for dinner and a good time when the male Mewtwo, who Nim and the others called MT, arrived in his preferred illusion of humanity. The big Pokémon looked perplexed at how bubbly and happy the tattooed trainer was as she worked in the kitchen. “What did you do?” he asked the Ditto slowly.

He grinned. “She’s doing better, isn’t that enough? Trust me, you probably don’t want to know more than that.”

MT raised one brow. He was about to ask just what the other Pokémon meant when Nim poked her head through the kitchen doorway. “Hey, dinner is almost ready- oh, hi, MT. How are you?”

“Good, you seem to be in high spirits,” he said after a moment.

“It’s a good day,” Nim agreed with a smile. “Here for a sparring match to clear your head a bit?”

He nodded, still looking very confused by the situation. Dit waited until he thought the Mewtwo was in the downstairs training room to catch Nim by the hips, pulling her close to him when she laughed. “And I’ll help you de-stress again later,” he promised, giving her rear a light smack. “Go take care of your friend.”

Nim made a delighted sound at that, perking up. She was about to respond when she realized that MT had come back upstairs for something and seen Dit flirt with her. The big Mewtwo had a very confused and semi-horrified look on his face when he realized what he had just witnessed.

“Are you two-” he started to ask.

“MT, you probably don’t want to know,” Nim said with an amused smile. “I’ll meet you downstairs, ok?”

The Mewtwo glanced at her, obviously having a mental conversation with Nim which Dit was not part of. The woman chuckled after a few moments and rolled her eyes, making a shooing gesture. MT gave Dit a little glare before going downstairs. Now he had a new string of concerns regarding the Ditto that he’d never thought would cross his mind.

“What was that about?” Dit asked Nim.

“Wanting to know if you were a gentleman and listened, yada yada,” Nim explained. “Protective family questions.”

“He’d gut me if I wasn’t,” the Pokémon trainer mused. “Not to mention anyone on your team, particularly Lewis.”

Nim made an amused sound as she gave him a kiss to the cheek. “You’re not wrong. See you in a bit, let me know when the timer goes off?”

He nodded, humming as he kept an eye on everything in the oven. The fixings were there for a lovely dinner- fries and a pan of berry bars in the oven, burger patties in the fridge to be cooked on the stove, and a really nice salad to go with everything. Nim had even gotten vanilla ice cream to make sundaes out of the berry bars.

...with pokénip, he could smell it from the baking treats already. Very naughty cuddles after dinner it was.

When Nim was done training with MT and working him through what was on his mind, she came back upstairs and sat down at the table with a tired sigh. “Lots of team family stuff?” Dit asked with a chuckle.

“Yup,” she agreed.

He waited until MT was gone to rub her shoulders, nuzzling her hair affectionately. “You didn’t tell me you put pokénip in the berry bars,” the Ditto said with a grin. “Naughty.”

“I know you like the stuff,” Nim replied, chuckling.

“I do, and you’re just going to have to sit and be cuddled until dinner is done because of it,” Dit told her.

The woman laughed out loud as Dit promptly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the back of her hair. “You know, Dit, I never took you for a flirty romantic.”

“I can be,” he purred.

“Get a room!” Lewis teased as he came through the wall. “Eeeew.” “No, that’s after dinner,” Dit managed to say with a straight face.

To be fair, they actually just ended up cuddling in Nim’s bed after dinner. Both of them were too relaxed and full from such a good meal to be properly horny. Kisses, snuggling, and back rubs was good enough to help them both wind down and fall asleep.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So let me get this straight,” Lewis said. “Friends with benefits, but only when you guys both really could use it. Some days there’s not even any hugs or hand holding?”

“Yep,” Dit agreed as he ate his lunch.

The Haunter tilted his head, mulling it over. “That actually makes sense. Honestly, I’m surprised Nim didn’t go for it sooner, she really has had terrible luck with dating.”

“We didn’t exactly have many opportunities to end up sleeping in the same bed together for me to get unintentionally handsy,” the Ditto reminded Lewis. “Was not even my plan, I just like warm bodies and went for the nearest one in my sleep.”

Lewis lightly poked Dit in the shoulder. “Well, I never would have seen this one coming, but you know what? Nim is doing a helluva lot better. So…thanks. Whatever you’re doing, it’s appreciated.” “Human bodies are fun. Like others, people need affection. They’re not usually wired to be alone. Having a bunch of failed dates who didn’t understand her had to be hard,” Dit said. “And don’t get me started on how toys just don’t cut it. They’re fun, yeah, but it’s not the same as the warmth of a person who is enjoying what you’re doing together.”

“Makes sense,” Lewis said. “Just gotta remind ya, hurt her and I’ll gut ya, yada yada yada. Friend stuff.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less,” Dit reassured him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dit made an amused sound as he cuddled with his friend in the grass. They’d had a Pokémon battle under the stars, then found a quieter, more secluded place to enjoy the adrenaline rush of a good fight. He had one arm acting as a pillow for her head, allowing him to stroke her hair as well, and his other hand was just lightly running along her body.

“Did not expect we’d ever end up having fun like this when we met,” he said slowly. “But also not complaining.”

She giggled, and was about to say something when they heard voices. “I’m telling you, I saw a major Pokémon battle this way,” the first voice said.

“It had better be worth the trek out here,” the second replied.

Nim made a frustrated sound. “Team Rocket goons, you think?” she asked Dit. “Probably,” he grumbled, shifting into clothes as he rose to his feet.

The woman groaned, then frantically dove for her clothes when she heard the footsteps nearby. “Crap, I am not having a Pokémon battle starkers!” she muttered.

Dit snickered at that as Nim hid in a nearby bush to get dressed. “Cute, lady,” he called out to her before squaring off against the pair from Team Rocket.

Nim had managed to get shoddily dressed, joining him a few moments later. She then managed to distract one with her use of Aura as a weapon, allowing Dit to easily dispatch the other. When he realized that his partner had been killed, the second goon tried to run. But the Ditto was not having that. He easily killed the other of the duo, standing with his legs spread in an aggressive stance as blood dripped from his clawed hands. Then he tilted his head and gave Nim the grin that so many found disconcerting.

“Now, where were we?” he asked as he reached for her. The woman snorted, skipping back. “Eeew! Dit, you are not getting cuddles until you wash up, no blood cuddles for you.”

“Awww, am I not handsome?” he asked as he raised one bloody hand to his cheek, reaching out to her with his claws.

That made the trainer roll her eyes. “Dit, seriously, gross! No bloody sex.”

“No more sex?” he asked in mock horror.

“Not what I meant and you know it,” Nim told him, hands on her hips.

He smirked, giving her the once-over. She looked good with her shirt mostly un-buttoned and her pants barely on her hips. The Ditto then gave a fake sigh. “If you insist,” he said with a pout.

“I do, no blood,” she said firmly.

The Pokémon trainer chuckled and shrugged. “Come on, let’s clean up this mess. But I expect more cuddles later, lady.”

Nim gave him a smile at that. “Good, because I was enjoying cuddling under the stars. Eeew, this is a mess, alright. You must have hit a few main arteries here, my friend.”

Dit grinned, sneaking a playful kiss to her cheek when Nim turned away. She squeaked, then rolled her eyes. “Dit!” Nim protested. “How can you be horny after that?”

“Pretty easily,” he mused as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Gets the blood pumping and all.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nim and Dit squared off against each other, each holding a pokéball. It was to be a one-on-one stress relief match. They needed a good fight every once in a while as much as a romp in the sheets. The Ditto respected Nim as a trainer, loving the challenge she proved to be. Win or lose, it was always a fantastic fight.

“You ready for this?” he asked with a smirk.

“Bring it, Pinky,” the woman replied with a determined grin of her own.

The Ditto had never imagined when they first met that they’d become friends. He certainly would never have expected how their relationship had changed. But it was good. Neither of them expected anything of the other, just the friendship they had made. The sex was nice, but Nim never judged that he had other partners or expected him to be monogamous, just as he didn’t expect it from her. It was just nice to burn off some tension in a way aside from a Pokémon battle.

…not that he wasn’t looking forward to a good fight.

“I don’t think you’re ready,” Dit teased. “Prove it, lady.”

Nim chuckled. “Oh, you asked for it.”

Considering Dit had tried to kill her several times in the early days of their relationship, things were pretty good now. And Nim offered as much a challenge as she always did. They might have been having fun in bed, but neither was about to go easy on the other when it came to a good Pokémon battle.

Just the way he liked it.

[astrodances]

Power Couple

I’m baaaaaaaack! And I come bearing words AND a drawing based on a fluffy little idea I’ve had for a while! 💜

––––––

The click of a metal door opening, followed by another of its closing.

“Well well well. I was told I would find you here, but this isn’t quite what I was expecting to find.”

Goldie has to shout her greeting a little above the melody of big band jazz music playing from a nearby radio. It’s lively, but not obnoxiously so. Scrooge’s current appearance, on the other hand...

He gives her a sheepish half-wave after having been caught in the act, with the photographer’s wave coming a bit more hesitantly over his shoulder, unsure of who she is or why she’s here. Scrooge stands against a green canvas backdrop, a handful of dollar bills stuffed into the band of his top hat, with more in each hand and a mess of them scattered at his feet. Beneath the harsh glare of the lights surrounding him, and with a perpetual grin still playing across his face, he looks as every bit the overconfident trillionaire that he is.

Goldie smirks while wishing she had a camera of her own to capture the scene as potential blackmail. But she knows how these things are and asks, “Magazine cover?”

Loosening up, Scrooge shakes his head. “Try board game cover.”

That gets a rise of genuine surprise out of her, and she waddles over to the card table holding the photographer’s computer and more stacks of money at the ready, picking up a clipboard with a list of needed camera shots. “$CROOGEOPOLY: The thrilling game of finance and property acquisition” is written across the top, and she can’t help but snort as she looks up at him. “Was this your idea?”

“Well, not exactly. Glomgold...inspired it, you could say,” Scrooge recalls, eyes traveling over the room, before landing on her again. “Long story. But enough of that. Something I can help you with?” He’s happy to see her, but last he heard, she was in Australia on personal business.

The photographer clears his throat, reminding them of his presence and, for Scrooge, his still-in-progress photo shoot.

“Oh, right. Uhh...”

Goldie looks between them and an idea strikes her. She gathers up a stack of money from the table, causing Scrooge to flinch and instinctively reach out, before pointing at the photographer. “You, camera boy. Keep shooting,” she instructs, walking over to the edge of the backdrop.

He glances towards his model in question of whether he should actually proceed or call security to escort this intruder out, and the latter shrugs in amused resignation, gesturing towards the camera.

“You heard the lady, Tuomas,” Scrooge agrees, eyes sliding over to Goldie with an adoring, mischievous smirk. “After all, she is the inspiration for ‘Dawson Drive’ on the board. You can bill me for the extra shots.”

Tuomas perks up at that and immediately gets into stance behind the tripod to adjust some settings, calling out, “Whatever you say, Mr. McDuck!”

That settled, Scrooge steps closer to Goldie, who’s still blushing over being incorporated into the game, and takes her hands to guide her through the surrounding lighting fixtures and over the slippery surface of greenbacks underfoot. Despite their earlier banter, he leans in to give her a brief peck as a true greeting before they turn partway towards the camera.

“Ready to make it rain?” he asks, hands poised to toss money into the air.

“Hang on.” Goldie takes a few bills and slides them deep within her neckline, with a few more folded-up ones in the rolls of her sleeves for good measure, making Scrooge lose all rational thought momentarily. When she looks back up to nod, urging him on with an eager “let’s do this,” he snaps his gaze back to her own.

“You’re a minx, ye know that?”

Her eyes glitter with devious intention. “I know.”

The cadence of saxophones and drums permeates their senses once more, and on three, they toss thousands of dollars into the air, prompting Tuomas to capture their magic. This time, Goldie takes Scrooge’s hands and they shuffle back and forth in a delightful dance of laughter and cheers, letting the music guide them into various poses.

During one shot that has them standing back-to-back with arms crossed, a king and queen ready to rule the world, Scrooge relays over his shoulder, so only she can hear, “So, what brings you into town?” He’s certain he knows the answer already, but he’s curious to see if she’ll be honest with him.

“Business meeting,” she responds simply, innocently. At this point the camera flashes no longer faze her.

“Uh huh.” He rolls his eyes. “And so this ‘meeting’ has nothing to do with the Eye of Vishnu that was just brought in for display at the Duckburg Museum?”

Goldie‘s voice drips smoothly like sweet honey, and she spares him an assessing glance. “Oh, is that what all those billboards are for? Huh, I’ll have to go buy a ticket.”

He shakes his head in disbelief, and bends down for a second to collect some dollar bills to shower over them again. “How about I buy you that ticket instead, and take you out to dinner afterwards?” So I can keep an eye on you, he can’t help but add in his head.

“It’s gonna take more than that to keep me in check, Scroogie,” she says, picking up the implication. “But why not? I could use the challenge.”

A thrill runs through him as they turn towards each other again, and her playful yet ever-so-dangerous grin reminds him of why he loves her. The photo shoot might be for a pastime based on his likeness, but not even that can overpower the truth that Goldie, and all the excitement that she brings, is his favorite game. She’s the wildcard that he never wants to lose.

The tune switches to something steadier, sensual yet still zestful. The camera’s already filled with dozens of images of them together, but neither of them are in any rush to have it end, so Tuomas keeps snapping away.

Scrooge lifts Goldie up bridal-style and twirls her around, eliciting a shriek of breathless joy from her before he leans in to chase her into a kiss. She pulls him in deeper by the collar, and with what little coherency he has left, he makes a mental note that this shot is definitely a keeper for his wallet.

Minds properly left in a euphoric tizzy, he sets her down and they continue to dance around with each other for a bit.

They make quite a charming duo, their lone audience member notices. Every step, every dip, is a testament to their chemistry. Every shared laugh and every teasing quip make him both want to give the lovebirds the privacy they so clearly deserve and yet set up another photo shoot dedicated exclusively to them. He briefly wonders if he should mention his rates for engagement announcement shoots, judging by the lack of rings adorning their fingers.

At some point, Scrooge grabs Goldie’s hands and crosses an arm over her head to flip her around so her back is to him. He pulls her in, willing himself to stay strong as she gladly takes the opportunity to wriggle her tail feathers against him before relaxing into his embrace. The scent of tropical flowers and adventure tickles his senses, leaving him with a heady feeling of desire as he breathes it in.

As one arm crosses over her chest to hold her closer, the other rests over hers on her waist. Fingers overlay and intertwine, squeezing together in some unspoken promise.

A perfect fit. The Yukon’s greatest power couple, together once more.

“I’ve missed you,” Scrooge rumbles into her ear, pressing a kiss to her golden locks.

Goldie cranes her neck towards him to nuzzle his beak in return. “Mmm, I’ve missed you, too, Moneybags.”

His eyes fall closed with hers, and as their foreheads touch, his hat gets displaced ever so. They sway as one with the music, hips rocking together.

It’s only when she lets out a dreamy hum, the reverberation traveling through him down to his core, that Scrooge dares to peek an eye open, and his heart nearly bursts at what he sees.

Goldie looks utterly lovely, with a blissful grin quirking at the corners of her beak. A strand of hair untucked and brushing against her face just so, her chest rising and falling in a rhythmic peace under his arm, the warmth of her body sending him to cloud nine...

He’s holding a paragon of enrapturing beauty and splendid wonder in his arms, one that he never wants to let go. It’s enough to make him want to believe in luck so he can thank his stars.

Scrooge settles his eyes shut again, but not before Tuomas manages to capture the tender sparkle in his gaze. 

Another keeper.

[johnny-and-dora]

sweet dreams are made of this

41. “go back to sleep” the first of the 3k celebration prompts! requested by the queen of my life @fourdrinkamy - i made it extra horny just for you, my dear <3

(post florida fluff) read on ao3

-

He knows it can’t have been more than a few hours since they last saw each other, but Jake really misses his girlfriend.

It’s kind of ridiculous, he muses as he pulls up to her apartment building – he’s seen her almost every day for the past three weeks. The squad practically had to pry her away from his hospital bedside in Florida, and ever since he was discharged and debriefed he’s practically been living at Amy’s place – something he’s still holding out hope could become a little more permanent in the future.

The night shift has definitely provided an interesting challenge (one he’s ridiculously excited to take on in just a few days’ time) – but they’ve pretty much been inseparable since coming home, especially now that Jake’s pretty sure the freaking moon would feel like home as long as he was with her. Apparently his pain meds make him more sappy and clingy than usual, but he doesn’t mind.

Six months of missing every tiny little detail of her has blissfully melted away into a bad dream, and yet now he can barely spend half a day without her before feeling that old familiar ache in his chest.

It’s why he gets so excited limping up the stairs to her apartment with his new dope-ass pimp cane. He loved spending the afternoon with his mom as she doted on him and caught him up with all the new gossip about the lesbians across the street, but all he really wants to do right now is be with Amy – especially because the last text she sent him alluded to a “surprise” for when he comes back.

Between that and the dozen heart eyes emojis she’d signed off with, it’s basically been taking all the willpower Jake has not to risk a speeding ticket.

(He’s slightly worried the surprise might just be another documentary about fonts, but as long as they can make out on the couch for most of it, he’s good.)

It’s reason enough to be concerned when he lets himself in and she’s nowhere to be seen. He frowns, taking her shoes, bag and the fact that the thermostat is turned up to a tropical 83 degrees as solid proof that she’s definitely home, hobbling as quickly as he can inside.

His concern is instantly laid to rest upon peering around her bedroom door – he finds her curled up and fast asleep on top of a neatly made bed, dark hair fanned out on one of her many pillows, more serene then he’s seen her since they woke up in his cramped, uncomfortable hospital bed that first night.

He’d be paying more attention to the details of the scene, even going as far to call it adorable - but somehow he finds his mind drifting…elsewhere. In fact, Jake’s pretty sure his brain is completely short-circuiting as he takes a moment to process the sight of his girlfriend, fast asleep and dressed in delicate, lacy, stupid hot lingerie he’s never seen before on her. It’s making a lot of blood rush to a lot of places.  

Wow. Wow. Amy. He has to take a minute to remember how to breathe.

As horny as he inevitably is, he also feels a pang of guilt seeing her completely out like that  – he knows how exhausting she’s been finding the night shift even though she’s repeatedly assured him   (often through stifling a yawn) that it was worth it to get him and Holt back.

Having to completely upturn her perfectly scheduled daily routine is clearly making her miserable,  though, and he hates seeing her so exhausted, only finding comfort in the fact that he’ll soon be joining her. He deliberates whether or not to wake her before deciding that the least he can do is get her to change into something warmer.

“Hey, babe.” He says, as softly as he can, leaning over and stroking her hair. She shifts slightly, giving a slight moan of discomfort that evokes another sharp twinge of guilt – but he quickly dismisses it at the way her eyes swim with unadulterated affection once she finally opens them long enough to realise that he’s back.

“Mmm. Hey.” She says, gently tilting her head up to look at him properly, pushing hair out of her face, clearly oblivious to what she’s wearing and how it’s seriously driving him crazy. He raises an eyebrow at her, hoping that she’ll get the hint, but when she just looks confused he clears his throat.

“…So, is this what you wear to do chores now? Because that’s one way to convince me to do the dishes.”

“Oh, god.” Amy gasps, eyes wide as she looks down, and he can’t help but exhale a small laugh of pure endearment at the way her entire body seems to flush with embarrassment. She quickly grabs at her quilt to cover herself up, making herself as small as possible. He instantly feels bad at how self-conscious she seems to feel, like she somehow doesn’t know that he thinks she’s the most beautiful woman in the entire world.

“It was supposed to be a surprise for you, but I’m so exhausted from the stupid night shift I must have fallen asleep. I’m so sorry, Jake.” She quickly rambles an explanation, biting her lip as he sits down on the bed beside her, putting a steady arm around her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t be sorry. What are you apologising for?”

“I feel ridiculous.” She’s deliberately averting his gaze, and it breaks his heart a little.

“Ames. Hey, look at me.” He says, firmly – she finally meets his eyes with all this concern and anxiety and embarrassment that he’s determined to do everything he can to soothe. He’d take it all away, if he could, and he’ll never stop being frustrated that it’s just not that simple; he just wants her to know that whatever she tells herself, he thinks she couldn’t be more perfect.

“You are so sweet, and so thoughtful, and God, you are so hot.”

“Really?” She seems sceptical, but he thinks he can see the ghost of a smile on her face, which means he’s winning.

“Are you kidding me? You are so sexy. If the meds that make me supes drowsy totally weren’t kicking in and if I wasn’t totally convinced that you definitely need more sleep, we would definitely be having some seriously sexy timez right now because you’re driving me crazy.” She laughs, his favourite sound in the entire world, and lets the quilt fall a little.

“Would that be ‘Sexy Timez’ with a Z, by any chance?”

“You know it, babe.” He grins at her and Amy finally lets the quilt go, still blushing a little as he takes the pleasure of being able to drink every inch of her in, exactly the way he spent so many nights alone in his own personal swampy hell desperately wishing he could do.

“…Does this, um, work? For you?” She says, looking down self-consciously, and he instantly softens.

“Oh my god, yes. You’re so beautiful.” He’s completely sincere, and the way she kisses him is enough to satisfy him that she’s finally sure of it, at least for tonight. He wishes she could really see just how incredible she is, but he doesn’t quite have the vocabulary to express it, so he settles for the next best thing.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. So, what do we do now?” Amy asks, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Well, you’re going to go back to sleep, and I’m going to join you, and then we’re going to wake up late and have some seriously epic morning sex before lounging around in our pyjamas all day so that you can actually rest before going to work. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.” The way she doesn’t even protest a full Peralta special slug day means she definitely needs to get more sleep. He smiles – given how hard she’s worked taking care of him over the past few weeks, it’s nice to take care of her for a change. He’s wholeheartedly determined from now on to be the boyfriend that she actually deserves.

(He’s still being the little spoon, though, and he’s not afraid to play the “you shot me” guilt card if he has to. He has a feeling that one’s going to come in handy for a while.)

[itslulu42]

Part Two

To The Highest Bidder

Previous Chapter

The Tsunade-mandated date

The dinner took place in a small beach town three hours south of Konoha.  Standing outside of the restaurant, Kakashi’s mouth watered. He checked that the loops of his paper mask were secure before stepping inside. Tsunade had reserved the entire restaurant for the Charity Dates.  The restaurant had been sectioned off for privacy with flowery curtains. Aburame Shino stat in a chair near the entrance, nodding at Kakashi when they made eye contact.

Kakashi’s mission scroll had mentioned that there would be a date supervisor on the scene to report. Tsunade wanted to ensure both parties would be on their best behavior during the dinner. Kakashi believed it was Tsunade’s way of ensuring the participants showed up in their mission-mandated attire.  Yes, the restaurant had a nice beach theme going on. But Tsuande could have let them wear a shirt along with the swim trunks.

“Reservation B,” Kakashi said to restaurant worker who standing at the podium. One of the interior pockets of his jounin vest was rubbing against his nipple; he resisted the urge to scratch it.

“Right this way,” the server responded, who didn’t seem at all surprised about Kakashi’s random attire.

The server parted the curtain to allow Kakashi to step in, to an empty room with a table set for two. A cheery fire in the corner of the room gave enough light to see, but still provided a sense of privacy and coziness. And a line of sconces lined the wall with hanging flowers. Kakashi unzipped his jounin vest and draped it over the seat of his chair before sitting down.

Kakashi rubbed his chest, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that had erupted over his skin. Moving aside the pineapple centerpiece, he picked up the menu.

“You’re still wearing your mask.”

Kakashi skimmed the entrees, looking up when Sakura’s footsteps stopped.

Oh

“Is that a coconut bra?” Kakashi asked as he took in Sakura’s attire, or lack of it. He suddenly felt a lot less self-conscious about being shirtless.

“This isn’t a real date so I thought I would have a bit of fun and go along with the theme.” Sakura twirled in place, causing her bathing suit sarong to flutter. “It’s not too much, is it?”

Too much?

“It’s perfect,” Kakashi replied after finding his voice. He stared at her chest as she took a seat, his mind open to new, wonderful possibilities. He poured Sakura a glass of water as he took a deep breath, trying to ground himself back into reality. This was Sakura, after all. No need to lose his cool yet.

“You better not try to charm your way out of showing me your face, Kakashi.” Sakura waggled her finger at him.

“Maaa, that’s not fair. I am required by Tsunade to be charming during this dinner. If I’m not, she might stick me in the missions’ office to take reports for three months.” Kakashi slid the menu in her direction after pointing out what he wanted to the server. “I’ll take the mask off when dinner is served. This face is only for you.”

Sakura bit her lip and looked away. “What did I just say about the charm? You don’t have to do that. This isn’t a real date,” she said as she looked down at the menu.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. That was an odd statement to say twice. It sounded an awful lot like Sakura was trying to convince herself. He observed her as she scanned the menu. Sakura had grown her hair out since the last time he saw her seven months ago. She had curled her hair in soft waves that came down mid-back. It was pinned away from her face with a large tropical flower behind her ear. And while it wasn’t unusual for Sakura to wear make-up, her choices this time around were definitely bolder. 

‘Especially her lipstick,’ Kakashi thought, as her lips formed a pout.

Sakura plucked at a lock of hair by her ear. “Is there something wrong with my face? You’re staring.”

“I was”—Kakashi hesitated, hoping he was reading the signals right— “admiring.” He tilted his head to the side. “It’s not just the Tsunade-mandated charm. You really do look lovely.”

A blush bloomed on Sakura’s face as she laughed; Kakashi watched the flush crawl down her neck. He wondered what it would take to make it trail further down to her chest. Feeling warm, he polished off his ice water.

Damn coconut bra.

Fortunately, the server stepped into the room to deliver their food. Kakashi used the opportunity to evaluate his situation. On one hand, he could be reading the signals wrong. He might ruin their amicable, but somewhat distant, relationship. Tsuande wouldn’t care about it and put them together on frequent missions, leading to months of awkwardness. On the other hand, Sakura was very handsy with him during the bidding auction.

On a third hand, they both weren’t wearing shirts, so it could be the beach setting.

Sakura squirmed in her seat as the server returned with their plates, practically vibrating in anticipation for his face reveal. Kakashi chuckled as the server vanished behind the curtain. “Impatient?” he asked as tugged at one of the earloops.

“I’ve been waiting half my life for yo—” Sakura’s jaw dropped as the mask came off. Kakashi smiled, delighted with her reaction. “Unngh. You—uh—houfff.” She covered her face with her hands.

Kakashi chuckled as he reached for his chopsticks. There was no use in letting his food grow cold while she recovered. He caught her peeking at him between her fingers as he took a bite of food. She squeaked.

“Is something wrong?” Kakashi asked, wondering why she was acting so timid. Where was the woman who had struck fear in him the night of the auction?

Sakura took her hand away from her face to glare at him. “Don’t take the innocent route. You know very well how attractive you are.” She moaned, a sound that little to stave off Kakashi’s growing interest. “What the hell is up with your teeth? Are you an Inuzuka?” She poured some alcohol into her cup and slammed it down.

Kakashi nibbled at his roasted eggplant. “My nose is sensitive because my great-grandmother was a branch member. I have to wear a mask because don’t have any of their clan jutsu to control it.”

“You’re so hot,” Sakura said miserably as she refilled her glass. “I wish you were wearing a shirt. How the hell can I concentrate on my food when you nipples are right there?”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Charity Auction Sakura had definitely been on the tipsy side. Maybe Sober Sakura was just a little shy? He raised an elbow on the table so he could rest his chin in his hand. “I’m sure you’ll manage. I would love to hear about your six-month trip to Mist. Did you try the mackerel?”

Sakura laughed, the tension in her shoulders melting away. “Oh my god, that stuff is disgusting.”

“It’s definitely an acquired taste. The only people who like the seasoning they used are from the country.”

“It was a long six months. I was making antidotes the entire time, and it was so boring. Most of it was stuff that I had learned how to make five years ago. I spent everything I earned on that mission on this date—I mean— this dinner.” Sakura poked at her food. “Ino had bought the dinner ticket and a bidding paddle for me. I had tossed the paddle in the lobby trashcan so I wasn’t planning on bidding. I had to dig it out of the trash when you changed the rules. I came back into the room and heard Tsunade was about to close the bidding. I didn’t know what was the final number, so I bid as high as I could afford. If anyone deserved to see your face, it was me, and not some old bat from another country.”

“I hope you think it was worth every Ryo,”—Kakashi gave her a sly smile— “to have me for the entire night.”

Sakura’s chopstick froze halfway to her mouth as her jaw dropped. “What?” Kakashi’s responded with a wink. “Oh my god, are you flirting with me?”

Kakashi kept eye contact as he finished chewing his food, and then deliberately trailed his eyes down to stare at her breasts. He was fascinated by her fuzzy bra. Was it made from a real coconut or was it synthetic? His hand twitched, eager to find out. “Yes. Do you want me to stop?”

Sakura blinked, her mouth stilled parted. Her eyes flickered down to his chest; Kakashi flexed his pecs.

Sakura laughed in delight, her hand rising to cover her growing smile. She turned away to look at one of the sconces on the wall. He waited patiently for her response as he continued eating his rice. If she said no, he would continue as they always had, sticking to conversations about missions and jutsu. After dinner, he would put his jounin vest back on, and walk her to room as he told her goodnight. Then, he would avoid her for three months so the awkwardness could pass.

If she said yes, Kakashi would do everything he could to find out what was hiding behind her coconuts.

Sakura turned back to him, her hand returning to her chopsticks. He smiles on her face had turned dangerous, a coy smirk that Kakashi was compelled to return.

“Do you want me to stop?” he repeated as Sakura took a bite of her food.  A bit of sauce ended up on the corner of her mouth.

“No,” Sakura replied, slowly dragging her tongue over her lip to wipe up the sauce. Kakashi clenched his fist at the provocative gesture; there was no reason for her to act like that so early into dinner. 

Sakura fluttered her eyelashes.  “Is something wrong, Kakashi?” She took another slow bite, her mouth parting to show her pink tongue.

“No,” Kakashi said, his voice deeper than had been a moment ago. He hated that she was already pulling at the delicate threads of his sanity and it was only the main course. The erection that had been threatening to grow since she walked in the room could no longer be willed away. “More water?” He raised the pitcher, topping off his own cup.

“I’m good,” Sakura pointed to the bottle of sake next to her.

“Excellent.” Kakashi poured the pitcher of ice water directly on his chest, wincing as the cool water pooled onto his crotch. He grabbed one of the ice cubes in his lab and rubbed it along his upper body, giving extra care to each of his nipples.

Sakura was panting from across the table. “Oh my god!” Her hand reached for the sake and she slammed the rest of the bottled back. “I’m done with my dinner, are you?”

Kakashi took a look at his half-eaten plate. “I think so.” The ice cubes in his lap clattered to the floor when he stood. He held his jounin vest in front of his crotch to hide the damp spot. “Lead the way, Sakura."

PART THREE

[ace-and-spade]

Tour of the Hotel || Prologue [4/5]

With the mention of a tour, you assumed Amora would move, but she stayed exactly where she was.

“This right here is the lobby!” Amora exclaimed. Oh...so she was actually going to explain what the lobby was, huh? “As you can see, there are plenty of couches to relax on, so feel free to come in here if you ever need a change of pace. Over here is the front desk.” She gestured to the front desk she’d sprung up from behind not too long before. “Since you’re all already checked in, you don’t need to worry about too much. But if you ever have any questions for me, you can just approach the front desk like so…” She approached the desk. “And ring this bell.” Her hand came down on the bell, but her hand just phased right through it. She didn’t appear to notice. “If you do that, I’ll come right over and answer any questions you have! Alright, good!”

There were a couple of glass doors at the front of the lobby. On the outside, you could see lush, island life sprouting and the sun shining brightly.

“Over there are the doors out, but since you guys are just high schoolers, I’d better not catch any of you trying to sneak out there without Mrs. Moretti’s permission.” Amora puffed her cheeks out. “The island is fun, but you shouldn’t go wandering alone. I’m sure you guys will have plenty of time to go exploring later, but just enjoy the hotel for now.”

Away from the doors, she pointed down to the far end of the lobby where two elevator doors could be seen.

“Those over there are the elevators, but for right now, let’s just stick to the first floor, kay? There’s lots to enjoy down here and there’s some grown-up stuff on the upper floors. And you guys are still just high schoolers, so maybe save going up for another time.”

She looked away from the elevators and off to a door to the right.

“Come on, then! Follow me!”

Even before the doors to the new room opened, you knew what was inside. Even if they weren’t made from glass, the high-pitched pinging sounds and 8-bit music gave it away. Inside was an arcade!

As Amora approached the door, the glass doors swung open without her even touching them.

“As you guys can see, right in here there’s an arcade for you guys to enjoy! Age appropriate fun for high schoolers! There’s plenty of games to choose from in here, enjoy them to your heart’s content, completely free of charge. And if you do well enough at some of these games, you might win some tickets and get to exchange them at the prize counter.”

Amora gestured to a prize counter towards the entrance of the room. It didn’t seem all that impressive, with crappy stuffed animals, candy, and little plastic baubles, but it might still be fun anyway.

Amora exited out through the door back into the lobby. You might notice a small hallway close by the arcade, but Amora just passed on by, completely ignoring it. She continued to lead you out to the left side of the lobby, entering through a door on the bottom. She continued going down, straight into a room that smelled so exquisite, it immediately sent your stomach growling. Why did it feel like it had been so long since you last ate?

Upon entering the room, you could see rows upon rows of food and plates stacked up beside them.

“This in here is our award winning buffet! Any food you could possibly want, you can get in here. And if there’s a food you want but can’t find, no problem! All you need to do is take out your tablet -- we’ll get to that later -- and submit an order to the kitchen and they’ll get your meal out pronto!”

She gestured to a set of swinging double doors at the back of the buffet.

“And right through there is the kitchen! I won’t bother showing you in there since you’ll never have a need to go in there. Come on, now, there’s a bit more to show you!”

She exited the buffet and walked up to the upper hallway and through the door. Immediately, entering brought along the scent of chlorine in the air, yet there was still no pool in sight.

“This here is the indoor pool! To reach the pool, you must go through one of the two sides of dressing rooms. Generally, we would prefer you use the dressing room aligned with your gender. My apologies to any non-binary guests we may have here. Feel free to use the room you’re more comfortable with or change in your own room. Unfortunately, the hotel wasn’t designed with gender inclusivity in mind, but thankfully this is the only instance of the gender binary coming into play. Now, follow me and I’ll show you to the pool!”

Amora entered through the right dressing room labelled for ‘Women’ and led everyone into the pool area. The pool itself was rather large, definitely big enough to comfortably fit the entire class. Around the pool, there were plenty of reclining chairs and tables for people to use. The entire area felt rather dark, however.

The walls were covered in thick, grey panels. One of them in the far corner of the room had a tablet attached onto it.

“Come here, come here, kids!” She waited until everyone gathered around. “This pool is special, you see, there are plenty of environments to choose from!” She pressed on the panel with her hands, but though her fingers went right through it, it still lit up as though she’d pressed it. At once, all the plain grey panels in the room transformed into a tropical beach. The entire room lit up accordingly, and there were even the sounds of birds cawing and ocean waves rolling. “Like so! There’s a lot more, but I’ll let you guys play with it. There’s also a wave function where you can turn on some artificial waves in the pool!”

Amora turned away from the panel and gestured to an extra door next to the dressing rooms.

“That over there is the storage room. There’s all of our cleaning supplies in there, and as our guests you’ll never be expected to clean. However, there’s a bunch of pool toys in there too, so feel free to search around.”

Amora moved back through the changing rooms and outside of the pool area back into the hallways. She went down to the lower hallway next, where rows of doors could be seen lined up.

“And these here are your rooms! I’ll let Mrs. Moretti take over and explain now!”

Amora stepped back and allowed Ariadne to take center stage once more.

[mayewritesstuff-blog]

Eye of the Hurricane | Draco Malfoy

Requested by @ssweet-dizpositionn​: can you write an imaging where the reader is a halfblood that grew up in the muggle word. Then she came to hogwarts and was sorted to slytherin and eventually had something with draco. Then he set up a muggle date (even though he hates muggles) where they went to the amusement park and attended a concert of the reader’s fave artist knowing that the reader is a music freak hehe. +++extra fluff pls hehe

a/n: it’s been so long my friends, but life has kind of gotten in the way. Alsooo, (Y/F/N) stands for “Your Full Name”

word count: 1,921

EYE OF THE HURRICANE: The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of strong tropical cyclones.

The big oak doors that led to the infamous Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry opened, revealing its full majestic glory; its four long house tables placed neatly and packed with students in black robes and its floating candles that moved swiftly underneath the enchanted ceiling, which mirrored the starry night sky outdoors.

(Y/N), being an eleven year old and having spent her whole life living in the Muggle World, couldn’t quite believe her eyes. When she received her Hogwarts letter, she couldn’t have been happier; her mother, a gifted witch, had always kept magic out of (Y/N)’s reach so she could learn to appreciate her father’s world. Now, it was finally her turn to experience magic first hand. She couldn’t be happier to be born a witch.

Professor McGonagall called out the names of her fellow companions, inviting them to sit on a wooden stool for the Sorting Hat to sort them in one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Finally, the strict witch called out her name.

“(Y/F/N)” she said.

(Y/N) took a sharp gasp and held her breath as she climbed up the steps and sat at the stool. The Sorting Hat was then placed on top of her head, and began whispering into her ear as the room watched attentively in silence.

“Mmm, I see…” the patched, ragged old hat said “I see –oh, well, well, well…”

“SLYTHERIN!” shouted The Sorting Hat. (Y/N) hopped off from the stool and made her way happily to the clapping table which bore the colors of green and silver proudly. As she took her seat next to a fifth year boy with a chubby nose and bright red cheeks, another person was sorted into the same house as hers.

A tall, blond, smug-looking boy took a seat in front of (Y/N), next to a boy that looked very much like a grumpy gorilla. He suddenly caught (Y/N) staring at him and shot her a smug smile, which she returned.

“I’m Malfoy,” the boy said confidently “Draco Malfoy. And this,” he signaled the boy next to him “is Crabbe.”

He stretched out his hand, and (Y/N) had to repress a giggle at how proper he was being. Nonetheless, she pulled out her own hand and took his with a firm grasp.

“I’m (Y/F/N)”

Ever since that night, Draco and (Y/N) became good friends. It wasn’t until the fourth year that they got closer –and not just in the friendly way. With hormones and puberty sweeping through the air and entering the now teenagers’ bodies through their skin and lungs, the two Slytherins began to see each other as more than friends. It wasn’t until December, with the Yule Ball approaching, that Draco dared to spill out his heart onto (Y/N)’s hands, confessing his most sincere feelings for her. Feelings, that he had never had had for anyone before.

And by art of the heavens, (Y/N) felt the same way about him too.

Now, two years later and with Draco’s birthday knocking on the door, he wanted to do something special for (Y/N). After he met her, it all stopped being about himself, so weeks prior to June, Draco contacted (Y/N)’s mother and asked for help, which ended in a mysterious envelope from a mysterious sender landing on the girl’s lap on a sunny afternoon at the Black Lake.

“(Y/N), from all the forty-six words you just said, I only understood one. And it was my name.”

Draco grunted as he saw that what he had just said didn’t reach (Y/N) at all. The girl was clutching a letter tightly to her chest as tears streamed down her face, letting out several squeals every now and then.

The boy looked around nervously, watching a group of seven years staring at them with judgmental looks plastered on their faces.

“(Y/N)…” he urged “Can you stop crying? People are staring…”

“Draco!” she cried excitedly. The girl then pulled out two rectangular pieces of paper and shoved them into the boy’s face. “Look at this!”

The blond took the papers and brought them closer to his face in order to read them, pretending to not understand a word.

“Who is Wembley Arena?” he said, narrowing his eyes. He then dropped his hand and stared at the girl with wide eyes. “Are you cheating on me?”

“What –no! Draco, no!” she said, taking the tickets from the boy’s hand. “Wembley Arena is not a who, is a where. It’s a venue for concerts!”  

“Oh,” he said, relaxing comically. “Wait, so those are tickets?”

“Yes!” (Y/N) exclaimed “for us!”

“Whoa –us? Who in their right mind would perform in a Muggle Arena?!” said Draco, scrunching up his nose at the thought of the Muggle World. He didn’t have to fake his look of disgust though.

“A Muggle band, you silly!” she said.

He held a hand up to (Y/N)’s face and processed her words slowly.

“You, (Y/N), my girlfriend, who knows me, better than anyone, want me to go to the Muggle World?” he said, pretending shock.

“Yes.” the girl said.

“No.”

“What –why?” argued (Y/N), furrowing her eyebrows in a confused manner.

“Come on, love, you know I strongly dislike Muggle stuff.” he said smoothly. Draco and (Y/N) had had many arguments about Draco’s hatred for Muggles that he had learned to say ‘strongly dislike’ instead of hate and ‘Muggle stuff’ instead of Muggles in general.

“I know,” grunted (Y/N). Then, her lips formed into a smile “But you strongly like me.”

“That I do.” said Draco, smiling warmly at her and moving forward to peck her lips lovingly.

“Come with me, please.” muttered (Y/N), still close to Draco’s face.

He sighed.

“Pleeease,” cried the girl “for me?”

She then pulled her best puppy face yet, sticking out her bottom lip and opening her eyes comically.

“Don’t,” grunted Draco, trying to cover the girl’s face with his hand, but failing miserably as she moved so he couldn’t touch it.

He then committed the big mistake of looking into her eyes. A soft smile etched upon his face as he realized he could no longer pretend.

Letting out a big grunt, he sighed.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” squealed (Y/N) as she threw her arms around his neck and planted kisses all over his face.

--

The summer holidays arrived with high expectations from (Y/N) and deep regret from Draco. He, of course, hadn’t dared telling his parents that he was travelling to the Muggle World –what would they say? Instead, he had chosen to lie and say he was spending the first days of summer at a friend’s house, when, in reality, he was sitting on a “Taxi Cab”, as (Y/N) had called it, making their way to a park.

Once they arrived, the Slytherin boy was completely surprised –he was expecting to see a big, boring green land displayed in front of his eyes. Instead, there were all types of machines, colorful lights and booths all around the place.

“Love?” he called, trying to stay away from Muggle’s touch, as the place seemed to be overflown with them. “Didn’t you say we were going to a park?”

“This, Draco, is an amusement park.” she said.

Before Draco could really begin to comprehend what his girlfriend had just said, (Y/N) had pulled her into a line.

“What is this?” he asked, glaring at the Muggles in front of them.

“We’re going on this one.” declared (Y/N), referring to the rollercoaster.

“And why do we have to stand here?”

“Uh, wait for our turn?” (Y/N) said as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth. Next, Draco scoffed and pulled his girlfriend further into the line, ignoring all sorts of protests from the bystanders and managing to reach the very beginning of the line, crossing the boy who was securing the rollercoaster’s seats and picking the very last place available.

“Draco!” gasped the girl, with a mixture of surprise and shock.

The security bars suddenly went down, making Draco jump on his seat and reach for (Y/N).

“What is happening?” he asked, sounding nervous.

The girl let out a loud laugh.

“It’s beginning. Hold my hand.”

(Y/N) stretched her hand out for his boyfriend to hold. He took it in less than a second and held onto it tightly.

The attraction suddenly began moving forward slowly. Draco looked pretty calm –after all, it was like that ride that they had taken on the “Taxi Cab”. Then the worst came.

Just as the machine moved forward and Draco relaxed, a big, high fall stood above them. The boy furrowed his eyebrows, but thought nothing about it –that, until he heard the people at the very front row scream as they descended.

He instinctively tightened his grip on (Y/N)’s hand, wishing with all his heart to Appareate somewhere else as the machine dropped quickly and dramatically. Draco let out a wail of fear as (Y/N) screamed with joy. This continued until the end of the ride, which left the boy looking paler than usual.

“Are you okay?” (Y/N) asked as she watched her boyfriend clutch his chest.

“Never again, (Y/N)” he panted.

Since then, Draco refused to go on any attractions that seemed extreme –even the Ferris wheel. Instead, they just spent the rest of the day playing small arcade games, in which (Y/N) got most of the prizes, and then searched for food until it was time to leave. They took a small Taxi Cab once again and headed to the Wembley Arena, where (Y/N)’s favorite band would be performing in a matter of minutes.

They finally arrived, and even if Draco was disgusted with how much Muggles were crowded in a single place, he couldn’t stop staring at his girl, who was beyond excited, even in the dull light of expectation as the crowd waited for the concert to begin. The only time he had ever seen (Y/N) that happy was when both finally declared their feelings for each other, two years ago with the dopamine flowing through their fourteen year old bodies. Hell, it was even the same face of pure ecstasy and joy; a nervous, yet big smile plastered on her plump lips that he adored so much, big, shinning eyes that became small every time she smiled and that same old nervous tick of pushing her hair behind her ear every two minutes.

--àSuddenly, the lights went off and (Y/N) let out a scream, clutching Draco’s arm firmly as the first chords of a guitar echoed through the arena. Her hand found his in a matter of seconds, and as a surreal light illuminated her face, Draco could only stare at her, completely dumbfounded. It all seemed to be moving in slow motion, almost like the world wanted him to admire every single piece of her.

Then, she looked at him. Her silky hair moving down her shoulders and the luminous lights casting a shadow on one half of her face, and It was in that moment that Draco knew he had picked out the best gift for himself until now.

“I love you.” said Draco. He could only just assume that she had read her lips, for the music was too loud and her face had drawn a beautifully warm smile.

And as a guitar solo began, the distance between them became inexistent as their lips touched, leaving them in a state that resembled the eye of the hurricane as they kissed.

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[wanderbitesbybobbie]

ANTIQUE: Misadventures and Cold Springs

Antique (An-ti-ke), that is how you pronounce it. My foreign friends were puzzled when I posted my Antique photos on my Instagram Account and wouldn’t stop asking where in the world I was. “It’s Antique, friends!” It’s a province in the Philippines located in the Western Part of the Visayas Region. It’s not “antique”, the adjective that you use to describe something ancient. It’s AN-TI-KE. Please don’t be confused.

I generally had no idea what I’m putting myself into when I decided to travel to Antique by land from Iloilo. But just as they say, the moments of happiness that we enjoy take us by surprise. On a rainy day, I flew from Manila to Iloilo to visit my good friends, Krizia and Mike. I also had some travel writing business to attend to so it was a two-in-one trip. I always stay with them every time I travel to Iloilo. I am very grateful that they receive me in their home very openly each time. I only had a few days left from my vacation in the Philippines. I was scheduled to go back to Sydney in two weeks, so I promised myself that I would make the most out of the remaining days. I have told Krizia that I wanted to go hiking at Mararison Island to take photos of “Rafflesias“. You know, the huge flowers that eat humans. Just kidding. They eat parasites, but whatever. They are carnivores, and it is fascinating to see some of the species up close and personal. I was very excited to see them. Mike was actually thrilled too, as he is a big fan of things like those, plants, animals, and nature. Both of them are animal and nature-lovers which makes them a very compatible super couple. But during that time, Mike was exceedingly interested to see a Rafflesia in person. So over dinner and a couple of beers, we planned our Antique itinerary. For this trip, I spent my “Day 1” just food-blogging around Iloilo since I was invited by a number of restaurants and cafes prior to my arrival. That night we planned my “Day 2”. We googled everything from transportation to activities, and in a snap, we weren’t going to Mararison anymore. There was a better eco-tourist spot in the middle of a lush tropical rain forest. MALUMPATI COLD SPRINGS.

Photo from TripAdvisor

Oh my gosh! The google images were just so captivating that we have to experience it ourselves. No. Actually, WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE IT OURSELVES. It has become imperative now, it’s not just a whim anymore. That was it, the deciding point! We’re ditching Mararison! The planned itinerary was:

Take the earliest bus to Antique, head straight to Pandan (where Malumpati Cold Springs is located)

Stop by Tibiao on the way back to experience the very intriguing Kawa Hot Bath, maybe get a chance to see a Rafflesia somewhere

Head back to Iloilo before night time.

It’s gonna be a one day trip, so we all settled to go to bed early so we can catch the first bus. Another friend was coming with us. It was the first time I have met Kim that time. He went with us for dinner the night before, and he was a part of the “Day 2 Planning”. Kim is years younger than us. He’s a unicorn (well at least that’s what his Facebook Profile says). He’s in his early twenties and this guy has a very contagious laughter. He’s the type of person that will liven up a very boring classroom. It was just at that night that he have decided to come with us. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, but Kim made everything extra fun – starting from the bus ride.

THE CERES BUS RIDE

If you will google “How to go to Antique from Iloilo”, the first thing that would come up is the Iloilo International Airport. Apparently, Google suggests that the fastest way to Antique is by plane. But, that was not an option for us. We were working on a very limited budget so we all woke up early and proceeded to the Ceres Bus Terminal in Molo. As early as 5:15 AM, we were already out, riding a jeepney from Jaro to Molo to catch the 6:00 AM bus. Based on what we have researched, we would be arriving in Antique by 8:30 to 9:00 AM. We decided to skip shower that morning (we took a shower the night before), since we would be plunging in the cold springs in a matter of two and a half hours anyway. Plus the fact that it was really cold in the crack of dawn. So the three of us were already in the bus, Mike, Krizia, and me. The bus conductor handed over our tickets and reminded us that the bus would be leaving at exactly 6:00 AM. OMG. Kim was still missing in action. We thought he was already at the bus station, but there was no sign of Kim anywhere. Where is he? Is he still asleep? We did not receive any replies via SMS. We kept on calling his mobile, and that was the only time he finally answered. There’s only 5 minutes left, the bus would be leaving, and Kim was running from his house to the bus station. There were no jeepneys in his area, so he was forced to walk (I mean run). The conductor kept on checking up on us and Krizia kept on apologizing in Ilonggo (the dialect in Iloilo). The bus driver started the engine. We were all stressed out so early in the morning. Kim was on loud speaker and he talked to the bus conductor saying that he was only 5 minutes away. We could hear him panting in the background. The driver drove slowly and asked which way was Kim coming from. They explained to us that we cannot wait for him any longer because the bus timetable would be messed up. We cannot be late, otherwise we would be delaying the next bus schedule. OMG. Finally, there was Kim. Running a few meters behind the bus. We started laughing at the mere sight of him struggling to catch the bus with his backpack. He was waving at the bus conductor yelling, “I’m here! I’m here!” in Ilonggo. He was out of breath when he stepped inside the bus. The conductor literally pulled him up from the bus entrance, and all the other passengers started to laugh. Whew! That was a close call. He almost missed the bus!

It was the start of the long bus ride. A ticket to Antique cost us P210 ($7.50 AUD) for a non air-conditioned bus. I chose a window seat to get a hold of some fresh air, and I immediately fell asleep as soon as the bus started running.

In a couple of hours, the bus stopped. I was already feeling the hot breeze on my face, the sun was already up so I was wide awake. It was around 9:00 AM and we have finally arrived in Antique. It was a 3-hour travel. But the thing is, we haven’t arrived at our destination yet. The conductor informed us that it would take another hour before we reach Pandan. We were just stopping by to stretch out a bit and for a quick toilet break. It was the final stop for most of the passengers so there was less than half of the people in the bus. As we headed on, the people in the bus went down one by one until there were only a few left. The bus probably stopped for about 15 times before we finally reached Pandan. It seemed endless. By the time we got there, it was only the 4 of us left inside the bus plus the driver and bus conductor.

IT WASN’T ANOTHER HOUR. IT WAS A TOTAL LIE. It was already around 11:30 AM when we finally reached Pandan Bus Terminal! Like whooooot??? So much for sunbathing at 9! I kept on asking the conductor if we were there yet each time the bus would stop. I probably pissed him off for asking every half hour. I felt so stupid. I was the leader of the pack, how could I miss this part from my google searches? We were just so enticed with the picturesque view of Malumpati Cold Springs, that we just missed that part where it says it’s another 3 freaking hours from the main proper of Tibiao. We were so exhausted from the bus ride. We felt sticky and grouchy from the very humid weather. The sun was glaring at us! Remember, we didn’t take a shower thinking we would be bathing in the Cold Springs by that time. But no. We were in the middle of Pandan Bus Terminal, not knowing where to go next. I took out my phone and started to check out Google Maps to navigate. Signal was on and off. I needed to find a data spot. It sounds like a scene from a thriller movie. No signal + stuck in the middle of somewhere. As soon as my data started working, I instantly turned on my GPS. Good grief!!! Our location pin was at the end of the island, a few minutes away we could already be in Boracay Island. 7 freaking hours of travel by land! We should have just gone to Boracay for goodness sake! What in the world was I thinking? I don’t remember signing up for a 7-hour land travel! Had I known that it would be a laborious travel, I would have pushed through with Mararison. How could this be such an epic fail?

But anyway, Google says it’s another half hour to reach Malumpati Cold Springs. We hailed a tricycle to take us there. We traversed for about 20 minutes. We paid for P50 ($1.5 AUD) per head, so a total of P200 ($6 AUD) for the 4 of us. A signage welcomed us by the entrance.

We paid the entrance fees and to our luck, the road to the cold springs was steep. We all had to get off to help the driver push his tricycle. We were already so pissed at this point. We were so behind our schedule! We were already ranting all the way through, both in Tagalog (Manila dialect) and in Ilonggo. Upon hearing our frustrations, the tricycle driver offered to pick us up for free. It was already past 12 noon and we all agreed to return to the bus terminal at 3:00 PM. You can just imagine how exasperated we were. THE FREAKING LAND TRAVEL WAS LONGER THAN OUR STAY. In the original schedule, we’re supposed to be traveling back to Iloilo by 3:00 PM. But we cannot skip the rest of the itinerary at this point. Not when we’ve traveled a long way already.

MALUMPATI COLD SPRINGS, FINALLY!

Our first look into the cold springs, we were like, “Ito na ‘yun?” (This is it?) We felt like our expectations weren’t met because we traveled all the way from Iloilo just to see what was in front of us. We have all declared IT WAS NOT WORTH IT! The butt-hurts from the long raging hours in the bus, the steep tricycle ride… and this was it? Our point of view has changed however after we settled down, refreshed ourselves, and took another look. All of a sudden, it has become beautiful without any pretenses.

It is true that seeing things from a composed outlook alters everything. I wowed my Instagram followers with a view of the cold springs. Every angle, wherever you look is just invigorating. I badly wanted to jump into the waters as soon as I saw it, but I pacified myself from over-excitement. I have this mentality that if you are too happy, something unlucky would come up next. So calm down! Calm down, Bobbie! The 4 of us decided to have lunch first before we explored the entirety of it.

Since we came in late, we had less to none choices for lunch. We had no right to be picky. There was a small canteen near the life-vest rental shack, and it was the only stall that was open that time. We devoured whatever was left in their food keepers and realized we could have saved a lot more by bringing our packed lunch if we had planned this better. Our 7-hour travel made us really hungry. We haven’t had anything since we woke up at 5:00 AM.

This happens to be our view as a compensation for all the inconvenience. Since we came on a weekday, we had the place to ourselves. Krizia had to warn me every now and then to be careful with places like this. I am a very inquisitive person. Every time I go somewhere, the “travel journalist” in me automatically comes out. But on this particular trip, I was careful. We were visitors, and we don’t know the people (and the creatures) that reside in the place. There are a lot of mythical stories in this part of the country, it is best not to stare at people and mind your own business. The cold springs might be enchanted by some fairy spirits or something. I’m sorry, I did not mean to spook you or creep you out in any way. I am not a believer of myths myself. They are called myths for a reason. But it’s always better safe than sorry.

The 16-feet pristine spring water is very inviting. It looks like a natural pool with trees and wooden bridges on the facade. Aside from swimming, there are other activities that can be enjoyed in Malumpati Cold Springs. You can go “water tubing”, where you ride the inner tube of a rubber tire and steer your way through the gushing waters on the other side of the springs. A guide will help you navigate. It’s like wild water rafting, but it’s not as wild. There’s also rappelling, zip-lining, and trekking, of course every activity has a price.

RAPPEL: P50 ($1.50 AUD)

TREKKING WITH GUIDE: P150-P200 ($5-6 AUD)

ZIPLINE: P200 ($6 AUD)

WATER TUBING: P200 ($6 AUD)

We just decided to rent a rubber tube without fully experiencing water tubing. We had very limited time, as we still planned to push through with our intended itinerary despite the fact that we were already so behind schedule.

We didn’t have any other choice anyway. We were already there. What else could we do but to jump into the turquoise waters and enjoy the view. I even brought my favorite goggles with me and the funny part is… I LOST IT THERE! It was just a pair of goggles, I know. But a little mishap like that, added to all the other misfortunes we went through just to get there ignited our belief that the day of this misdaventure just doesn’t end there.

TO BE CONTINUED…

HAVE YOU BEEN TO ANTIQUE?

WHERE EXACTLY DID YOU GO?

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

ANTIQUE: Misadventures and Cold Springs was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

[fashiontrendin-blog]

My First Fashion Week Has Been Imperfect and Strangely Life-Affirming

http://fashion-trendin.com/my-first-fashion-week-has-been-imperfect-and-strangely-life-affirming/

My First Fashion Week Has Been Imperfect and Strangely Life-Affirming

This is my very first fashion week! I’m very excited and also nervous and oh my god what will I wear I hope I don’t fall over at some point. I love fashion as something to think about and observe in others, but I feel I’m very firmly not a “fashion person,” if that makes sense? I sort of feel like a band nerd at a jock party, but I have no doubt this week will be fun (if I don’t fall). This is also my first fashion week as a managing editor, so while we’ve had meetings and google docs and emails galore, 90% of my anxiety comes from a deep need to not mess this up. Below, a recording of my first few days — let me know whether you think I succeeded.

Thursday

10 a.m.

I’m working from home today and have knocked out the work-from-home essentials: brush your teeth, wash your face, put on a bra and make a huge pot of coffee. I spend most of the morning doing normal non-fashion week things.

2 p.m

I make one of those weird work-from-home lunches that’s just a bowl of stuff from your fridge.

6:30 p.m.

I sign off to get ready for the DapperQ show at the Brooklyn Museum.

7 p.m.

I decide to walk because it’s finally not a million degrees out and immediately get rained on. I regret nothing as it is important to see the outside world for at least 20 minute on a work-from-home day.

7:30 p.m.

I meet up with my friend Naima and head in. It’s a full-on scene. Technically this is my very first fashion show, but it’s on what feels like my home turf. The general public can and is encouraged to buy tickets so it’s more of an event than anything else. There are pop-up boutiques, a gif booth, the world’s longest bar line and a station to get all of your measurements taken.

8:10 p.m.

The show starts and it’s actually 10 different labels showing: A/C Space, Audio Helkuik, Jag & Co, Kris Harring Apparel Group, Nicole Wilson, SALT, Stuzo clothing, The Phluid Project, TomboyX + Squirrel Vs. Coyote, and THÚY Custom Clothier. It’s a mix of incredibly tailored suits for all types of bodies and all types of gender expressions, flowy linen tunics and pants that feel like tropical menocore, ’90s inspired rave wear and a truly great bike short look. The models that are sent down the runway are all races, ages, sizes and orientations.

9:15 p.m.

That was a very long show, I fell in love at least three times and now I need to buy a suit. First fashion show down!

Friday

10:30 a.m.

I get into the office late because the Q was majorly delayed this morning and it was physically impossible to get on the first one that came. Haley, Simedar and I spend five minutes talking about how dumb New York is as an idea. Someone points out there’s a nutella cookie on the counter and I decide to treat my emotional wounds with too much sugar.

11 a.m.

The office is a ghost town, between people dashing in and out for shows, working remotely and squeezing in end-of-summer vacations. I get a lot of the task-based stuff done (pay freelancers, update our project management software, send some strongly worded emails). I think/hope we prepared well for fashion week this year. We had two meetings to try to get ahead of everything but also decided that this year everyone will be flexible within reason. There’s no need to stay up till midnight working on a post.

1 p.m.

Amelia turns around her Tory Burch post with lightning speed, Edith finds the photos and we turn it live! Nothing like the rush of timely content!!!

5 p.m.

Maybe it’s the sugar, maybe it’s the fashion week adrenaline, but it is 5 o’clock and we have lost our minds. We get on the topic of tattooing celebrities on our thighs, Haley has busted out her weird animal toys and I keep changing my hair. I’m going to Chromat in a few and feel like this is the day to just go for a fulllllll look. I’m wearing a purple jump suit and more makeup and jewelry than I ever do, but changing from a high bun to a messy low ponytail feels like a true leap into a fashion-forward existence. Haley loans me her incredible white coat and while every part of my always-underdressed soul is screaming for me to take it off, a small voice says, it’s fashion week.

5:50 p.m.

Eliz and I arrive at the Chromat show after a quick walk (that girl can walk). There’s a lot of street style hullabaloo and when a nice guy asks to take my photo I say YES. Fashion week has turned me into a whole new woman!! It was a weird process but whatever, I’m an old pro by the time we meet up with Simon and he snaps my photo for this here diary. We’re in line for about 30 minutes but it goes quickly because there is just so much to see, so many people to watch.

6:20 p.m.

After a somewhat confusing line situation and an elevator ride that set off my anxiety (made an iPhone note: “Play about fashion people stuck in an elevator???” I don’t think it’s a hit), we get into the space. In the rush to find our seats I see one Whoopi Goldberg and feel beyond blessed.

6:50 p.m.

The show is over and it was so fun! Once again we were blessed with a gorgeous mix of models including Ericka Hart, whose hair I’m copying immediately. Their swimsuits and sunglasses and beads almost made me sad that summer is over, but I now have some full looks to dream about for the next 10 months or so.

7:15 p.m.

Back in the office to send the final end-of-day editorial email and check in on some things before running off to surprise my friend who just got engaged!! Feeling very happy and grateful for this day.

Saturday

10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Very chill morning, made some breakfast, did some reading, wrote for myself, went to the gym, ate a second breakfast, took a shower and put my “look” together.

1-2 p.m.

Getting ready for the Christian Siriano show and am VERY excited. I got to talk to him ever-so-briefly earlier this year and love not only the stuff that he makes but the people he casts. Also hoping to see my tall sister Leslie Jones.

Feeling a bit of an emotional hangover from pushing myself outside of my comfort zone (amazing what the right coat can do), so I just threw on the Levi’s from this story, a black turtleneck and some dad sneakers. Feeling very much in my comfort zone, I left, giving myself 20 more minutes than Google maps told me I needed because of the raggedy-ass MTA.

2:15 p.m.

The Q isn’t coming for 17 minutes. The B isn’t running at all. I remember how much fun I had in Baltimore earlier this year and briefly imagine what Baltimore Nora is doing right at this very moment.

2:32 p.m.

The train is beyond crowded but I push myself on because I can’t be late. I hope that all of my I’ll-wait-for-the-next-one karma has been stored up for this very moment. Texting with Haley and Em to let them know I’ll be late-late. Because, oh, guess what? This late-ass Q is now running local instead of express. A 3-year-old-girl is pummeling her older brother while their dad plays a phone game. Her brother pushes her and she falls on my shoes, the dad finally looks up. I double check that I’ve registered to vote.

4:17 p.m.

I finally meet Emily outside in line. We have standing tickets and Haley has a seat so she already went in. We chat, see Tiffany Hadish walk in (she ready, I mumble enthusiastically to myself) and I think Carmen Electra? It is raining and the line is outside.

4:23 p.m.

No room at the inn! Someone tells one person at the front of the line that we all have to go home and it quickly becomes the world’s saddest/grouchiest game of telephone. Em and I are both a little bummed and decide to just head home rather than wait to see people exit. I get back on the Q train, it is running as it should.

I’m a little annoyed and frustrated and the high of last night’s New York magic has worn off. The afternoon was stressful, challenging, disappointing and no one likes to feel like they’re being left out. It felt like what I was nervous would happen (“mmm you’re not cool!”) happened and I know it’s not personal and I know it’s not an actual big deal but I’m just…over it.

5:20 p.m.

Grab some groceries on the walk home, come back to send a few emails, update a few headlines and check in on everyone else. My ticket for Pyer Moss is standing also and I’m feeling a little Eeyore-ish and think about skipping it. My friend Morgan’s birthday is tonight and so is my friend Michelle’s goodbye and I could use the extra energy/hours. But I ultimately decide against ditching. So I eat too much cheese, sigh and put on my shoes, and head out the door. Feel free to bookmark that as an inspirational quote.

6:30 p.m.

The show is in Brooklyn at the Weeksville Heritage Center so I splurge on a Lyft since it’s kind of close. I get there and just like that, I’m back in it. Roughly 98% of the people outside are black and there are some fantastic outfits. I bump into my new pal Simon who was smart enough to wear a rain poncho. We wait in line for a bit which gives me ample time to covet the Pyer Moss sweatshirts the staff and crew are wearing. There are also staff members with shirts that say “If You’re Just Hearing About Pyer Moss We Forgive You.” I’ll take two. I don’t know anyone but it’s fine, because I’m just happy to be there.

7 p.m.

I walk into the space and it’s amazing. It is full on raining so it’s a bit of a bummer that it’s outside but very much worth it. I wander over to the back where the historic houses are. Which, I feel like I should explain something here: I LOVE historic homes and historic house tours. Like 80% of my personality is loving historic homes. These particular historic homes are the Hunterfly Road Houses , built at the height of Weeksville’s time as a thriving free black community in the 19th and early 20th century. Okay. Back to fashion. Shaun Ross is here! I think MJ Rodriguez is here too! Karruche is for sure here!

7:15 p.m.

A jazz quartet walks out. They’re all dressed in white and posted up to the side of the houses: I’m about to witness some black excellence, I think to myself. I’m standing by the stage manager and hear her say “the choir is coming out now” into a headset. Which, okay, sorry to keep doing this — I LOVE choirs, and while we’re here on this historic black site about to watch a black designer send black models down the runway while a jazz quartet plays, I watch this choir come out and think about how much being in choir helped shaped my identity and community and realize that, at this moment, it feels a bit like a community, and I get in my feelings, just a little bit. What would it have been like to see this future for myself? What is it like to grow up now with all these infinite ways to be black and successful?

8ish p.m.

The show is over and it was incredible. Yellow pleather overalls, a yellow mesh dress that I would not be surprised to see on MR sometime in the future, gorgeous pleated pants, amazing graphic prints and a gospel choir that swag surf-ed. I would see a look and think of a black actor it would be perfect for, or a friend (I’m matchmaking Crystal and those pleather overalls for sure). It just felt special.

It’s been a rough couple of news days, so standing in that space in awe of all that we do and all that we create was the first time I truly felt what it means for fashion to transcend clothing or magazines or trends. To be at the heart of how fashion can be the start of a conversation or even a feeling.

There was a cookout, with Hennesy, duh, but I decided to leave on a high note. I turned around to look at the Hunterfly Houses all lit up as an amazing 90s R&B mix floated out from the party and I remember why I love New York. That all parts of myself are given a place to thrive, to be seen. That in three days you can see different pieces of what matter to you reflected back in all of the crazy glory of the city at its most insane. I’m signing off to celebrate a friend and say goodbye to another, to give thanks for this city and the people that fill it.

Feature photo by Simon Chetrit. 

[theowlreblogs]

I was tagged eons ago but I write this now because I suck!

A tagg!

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

Oh godness, it's a little shameful, but more cereal! I just love it, Although it's been a while since the last time I had cereal for breakfast

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

I adore it, especially early in the morning, it makes me feel both nostalgic and happy... Somewhat, alive

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

Tickets, leafs, random papers xvx;; But I try to use bookmars!

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

With sugar and milk!

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

Oh--! Sometimes! But I try to calm that feeling down. I love laughing and smiling, after all. I do that all the time, can't help it!

6: do you keep plants?

I love my lil' cactuses... They three are named off things important to me! (Yes, even Mr Pickles, fuck off)

7: do you name your plants?

OH GODNESS. Yes. Yes I do. The names of my plants are Sócrates, Eainstein (Tamy named him!) and Mr Pickles.

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

Usually, writing. I used to draw for that too, but I barely do it now. I ought start to do it again.

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

Oh boy, I am always humming and I do love singing

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

It depends! I don't care that much, I usually sleep on my back, I think? But I also like to sleep on my right side?? idk

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends?

...Too many, gods

12: what's your favorite planet?

Mars! Dunno why

13: what's something that made you smile today?

Mhmmm... A little kid in the hairdressing salon. She was just too pure and cute!! And she was super excited of getting a nice hairstyle. I also smiled while watching some more eps of B99 with my brother- And when we made some cherry shake ~ ! Idk, I smile a lot lately

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

AAAHHhhhh hmmmm!!! Oh gods that sounds so dreamy. It will be so full of books, plants, cactuses everywhere. Stars in the roof, stars in the walls. I'll buy any glowing in dark paint to use it in the walls and make a galaxy. I imagine it all magic and beautiful--- I would try to have that flat really pretty!! I love to decorate rooms. We would have a ton of animals living with us too!!! ofc

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

"Most stars take millions of years to die. When a star like the Sun has burned all of its hydrogen fuel, it expands to become a red giant. " I googles when a star dies. I had no idea of what to search...

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?

PISTO!

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

Dark blue...! Probably? Oh, godness. I wish i had the guts to actually do it.

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

I've started to laugh only to think about the QUESTION. I am that friend who always make stupid shit. It's so ridiculous! A thing that is always remember in my friends group is a time when we were eating cake and then a piece of chocolate fell from Maria's cake. I started to laugh so hard I choke. I MEAN I REALLY CHOKE, I WAS ABOUT TO DIE THAT NIGHT. Maria always remembers it because she says that it all was so irreal. Two deaths for the price of one! (Her chocolate x me)

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

I have a book journal! I draw a little something every time I finish a book.

20: what's your favorite eye color?

Blue... A lil's bit obsessed with them, to be honest.

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

The one who gave me moms's first friend when we moved to Lugo! It's brown and big, I've been putting badges around it. It's a little old already (it has like four years) but I feel so comfortable with it!! it has just so many pockets and I adore it!!

22: are you a morning person?

Not that much, to be honest <XD;;

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

Playing videogames and reading (probably fics)! Oh boy I love both things

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

I used to have that but-- Not now. The closest is my brother! We both traveled around so many places, moved out so many times, that we are like-- the best friend of each other? We had no choide. We both were the only person that were always... there. I know he never ever ever ever EVER will hurt or betray me, and I never evER EVER EVER will hurt or betray him either, but he is my lil' bro- you know, there are some stuff I wouldn't tell him <XDD;;

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into?

Mhm... I can't remember now? I can turn normal places in weird ones -sparkles-

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

;v;" None... all my shoes are less than a year now...

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor?

MINTH! And tropical fruits =///u///=

28: sunrise or sunset?

Sunset! The sky-- burns then

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

Always, when we sea each other, doesn't really matter how a shitty day we had, I can't stop but smile when I see Maria! And she always starts to smile and laugh too, although she almost always asks what is that fun. I just find it too cute! How we are always happy to see each other, I miss so much her...

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

Yeah... five years ago I was pretty sure that I was dying, and I was about two or three days being not able to sleep or eat. Just-- for that thought. If I ete something, I would throw up.

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell?

really, just talk about socks.

I LOVE socks!!! They rock /SNORTS. I mostly have boring socks now, I really should start buying weird ones- I will!

About if I sleep with them-- I do, where I live nights are cold (even in summer!) so, yeah.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

Once... When I was in a friend's house we TOUGHT we saw a weird/ghostly shadow????? It was just so

NOPENOPENOPEBOPENOPENOPE

33: what's your fave pastry?

Mhhm~ Tiramisu?

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

U-umh... Her name is Luna and she is a dalmatian dog... She's been with me since I was six? I love her... I used to be super scared of dark and nightmares until I got her

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

I love them! I have some brown pens and I use them way too much. The type that use BROWN to write test and such- In my schools I am known for 'that one who uses the brown pen'

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now?

I've been the past hour listening to Gregory and the Hawk

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

Clean! But it gets messy too easily

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

I can't stand when people don't look at me in the eyes!

39: what color do you wear the most?

Oh... Black! It isn't a color per se... Then, blues!

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you?

A star of some gem I don't remember now. Paula gave it to me last summer! It's one of my treasures -nods-

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving?

MHHMM... If you ignore the relationship of... two characters, Interview with the vampire is pretty nice. It makes you think!

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!

OH!! It's called Señor León (Sir Lion)!! They are super nice and cheap and give so many free food I love them!!!

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

I can't remember--

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

Mhmm... The last time my brother and I went to a Burger King after having a shopping day. I just felt so calm and comfy... Like everything in life was good

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

I do!

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

P2 ! (In Spanish. I won't explain it, 'tho. Sorry /snorts)

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

GUTS! Eeeew

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

It was darkness... and it really isn't anymore. In fact, I am like 0% afraid of darkness now. Isn't the light what makes us see what is hidden there?

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

UH- Ummmmh... I don't... actually do that? Youtube is my friend -sweats-

50: what's an odd thing you collect?

Cans? I like pretty cans...

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

My friends Lorena! With this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blQA4W8B0OI

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

Oh my god, so many-- The one of the stars, probably

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers?

beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

Heathers! With Sari and Juan, some months ago. And Beetlejuice when I was a kid, so I don't really remember much of it.

I really liked Heathers! The irony and sarcasm is on point

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

MMMMMMMMH... my mom?

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point?

Oh my god I have no idea, I am super extra for the lols all the time

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

When they smile, calmy, so tenderly, at something they enjoy/love when they think that nobody is seeing them...

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

Dude I always have that song in my soul, I don't ever NEED to listen to it- I love it, so much, it makes my heart aches, even

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? Why?

The vodka aunt is Tamy! The wine mom probably is Lorena. I am the hen mom who tries to feed and take care of everyone /ohboi

59: what's your favorite myth?

A Galician one... The one of the crossed paths. It says... That if you pass over a path that intersects with each other after midnight, you may see somebody sweeping the exactly spot in wich both paths are connected. And that somebody would be-- a witch that you better ignore and don't look into her eyes

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

I love Machado and Ruben Dario! La princesa está triste being one of my faves

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?

The one i've given-- A freaking joice! All neatly wrapped and all. The stupidest I've recieved... a toilet brush holder shaped as an owl!! I like to make gifs as joke, and my family/friends like to make them to me too because they know how silly am I

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

Sometimes! Usually of orange, but I like the one of pineapple too!!

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

I keep them organized by shapes!!! My babies

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?

Dark! It's late here

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?

So.. many people? My friends life far away now...

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

Roses and mimosa flowers!

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

Well, here it usually is like that, so it makes me feel just... normal?

68: what's winter like where you live?

Super cold!

69: what are your favorite board games?

MONOPOLY! I am such a nerd of Monopoly, all my friends are tired of my shit with that game. I also like Cards againt humanity pretty much

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

Nop. And never will. There are some stuff we gotta leave alone, you know.

71: what's your favorite kind of tea?

Black! With milk

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?

...Yes. Pretty much

73: what are some of your worst habits?

Mhmmm... Talking too loud, probably. I am kinda, aaah... escandalous?

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

A nerd of blue eyes with a dreamy smile who makes everything they touch super cute. Their aesthetic? Red roses, vintage stuff and plushies. Gives the best hugs ever and never ever ever even in thousand years I would hurt them. (I am full of love for all my friends! But I hang out with them some days ago and I am still super glad they exist)

75: tell us about your pets!

Her name is Tana and she is a BITH

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?

Probably drawing... or sleeping. My back is killing me

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

MANGO lemonade!

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

Hate them- Although some of their mercha is pretty cute

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

Mhmhmhmmmmmm... so many stuff--? I am so grateful everytime somebody makes anything to me. But a thing I find it super cute is when my friends lend me their own clothes when it's cold and I am an stoopid who brought a summer thing... ///

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

White! They are pretty boring -v- I didn't choose it

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

Like open, clean skies, with long, pale eyelashes. Golden petals in the irises... (It's a different blue of the other person I was talking to!!)

82: are/were you good in school?

People tend to think that I am super nerd, but I am just okay, tbh

83: what's some of your favorite album art?

I don't really know I don't owe any...

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

Oh! Yes, maybe! Wings in my back, something in my wrist. I am still not sure what. I used to want the dark mark but gods, I fell out of love with HP last year =v="

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

YES! I really enjoy reading shojo 9//9

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

Oh! Yes. The ones about weird photographies are usually my faves

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

Megamind, Ever after and Amelie

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

Oh! Reneassance and Dada, probably. I like pretty much impressionism too

89: are you close to your parents?

Eh! Only to my mom. Although she sometimes it a little too... much, being honest.

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.

Madrid? Probably. Even if it smells like piss

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?

I am not planning to travel anywhere- Maybe to Santiago in my brother and me's birthdays, just to chill

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

I love cheese, but I usually only use a tiny bit of it on my pasta

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most?

I only let my hair down, I am a simple Lani

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

Certain Rene! > v >

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

MMMMMMMh... Going out with some friends! I don't know where, 'tho

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

I install them p fast! I try to take good care of my bab

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

INFP | Virgo | Slytherin (I am all the good stuff!!)

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

HMMM... I live in a place we have nature everywhere, so explain which exactly means ‘hiking’, because so many times I end up in a place that looks like a mountain (oh!)

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfUKpLGgts4 <- "If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky. You can hide underneath me and come out at night. When I turn jet black and you show off your light I live to let you shine " one of my very favourites ever. I feel like it did sum up my feeling many times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klHpznbGeYc <- "Try not to mistake what you have with what you hate " Love that one..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlAiq0_BXac <- "Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed? I'm just a ghost out of his grave. I won't put white into your hair... I won't make noises in your stairs. I will be kind and I'll be sweet if you stop staring straight through me " I can't explain how much this one means to me... I even have a comic planned because of it

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? Why?

To the past. I will fix so many stuff now that I know better.

[fortunatelydeepestfan-blog]

Hiking Support Bromo - A new Travel Manual

When contemplating a vacation in Indonesia, Bali is frequently what 1st comes to mind. Persistently voted among the best hawaiian islands in the world, the isle is a top contender for heavenly honeymoons and comforting holidays in a year-round tropical environment. And while yes, it is a beautiful tropical isle, when exploring all that method it would be a new waste to go back home with out crossed the particular Bali Strait to go to its more substantial brother: Coffee. Home to Jakarta, Indonesia’s funds, Java is easily the most populated tropical isle in the world and it is probably most common in the traveller’s community for being the place of Yogyakarta and the Borobudur temple. Regrettably, the japanese part of Espresso mostly remains out of the spot light, even though it provides some of the most beautiful scenery associated with not only South east Asia, however arguably the entire world. The reason for this kind of underappreciation lies in the truth that the visitor infrastructure on this part of Espresso is not as developed and as such, is usually a bit hard visit the National Parks, especially when exploring on a cord budget. Nevertheless, having just attended Eastern Caffeine this summer, I’m the following to give you current, trustworthy, and also step-by-step instructions involving visiting the absolute highlight in the region: Attach Bromo. Following Yogyakarta Bromo Ijen Tour , you’ll be able to accomplish Bromo on a budget * even with your pound with its existing rate. How to Get to Mount Bromo So how do you get to Attach Bromo? Or more especially, how does one get to Cemoro Lawang, the mountain village that’s close to the edge in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park? Essentially, you’ve got 2 options: sometimes hire a automobile and car owner to take you there as well as take trains and. Using a exclusive transfer The most popular routes leave either Surabaya or perhaps Malang to arrive inside Bromo in the afternoon, then go let's move on to the Ijen Crater around the second day time, and get to Bali for the third day. Naturally, this kind of trip can even be done in change. As our travelling friends this summer had been respectively 62 and Sixty nine years of age, we chose for comfort more than public transport, and hired a car with a motorist to take people to the Banyuwangi ferry boat terminal within three days time for 3,400,000 Indonesian rupiah (IDR). It appears like a lot of dough, however it’s actually a rather sweet deal when you’re going as a small group of 3 or 4 men and women. Divided through three, it had been just £65/€75 every person such as taxes, insurance policy, gas and also transportation for several days (or £22/€25 per man or woman per day). In addition long-distance rental cars inside Indonesia are typically of rather high quality, ours had been always very comfortable and spacious, and that we could even participate in our own tunes on the vehicle stereo using the Bluetooth link! What more could you wish for during a road trip, correct? While this selection requires a number of advance arranging, as the auto has to be earmarked at least a couple weeks ahead of your trip, it also comes with a added bonus: the possibility of coming to the Madikarapura waterfalls! The actual falls are only a slight detour through Surabaya to Bromo, certainly not reachable by public transport, however very much worth a visit. Through the car park at the falls you can walk 3 miles to the actual front door to the is catagorized or consider an exciting ojek (motorbike taxi) ride down into the particular valley, that is only 12,000IDR (£0.60/€0.70) one of the ways. The access tickets for your falls cost similarly, plus your only various other added expense will be tipping your guide after your Twice 45 instant hike through the entrance on the actual drops and again. And yes, you do actually need a guide, and you accomplish actually want to choose the ponchos that they’re offering along the way, because the walk underneath the falls will be both dangerous and very, very wet. Nevertheless oh consequently stunning! Or trains to Mount Bromo If, nonetheless, you’ve seen your fair share regarding waterfalls as well as feel that after Niagara or Iguazu these relatively small Javanese jungle drops just aren’t worth the extra money, and then taking public transport directly to Bromo feels like the right choice in your case. In this case, you’ll need to start from Surabaya, because there just isn’t a fantastic connection from Malang to the Park. The closest section to Cemoro Lawang is Probolinggo, which is reachable from Surabaya upon several immediate trains each day. It’s a 2-hour interconnection for which the cheapest second-class seat will cost you only 62,000IDR (£3.65/€4.25). Talking from expertise, however, it's worth taking on 50% more to the AC within first class (eksekutif). Though please brain that Indonesians don’t alter AC: when it’s on, it’s In, and you will need a sweater as well as a scarf to help keep from obtaining cold! The particular trains usually run on period, and even whenever they do not, don’t be concerned too much, because the subsequent transport to Bromo does not run to a fixed schedule, but only when they’re entire to make it much more feasible. Until you’re from South east Asia oneself, you will immediately be accepted as a visitor upon showing up in Probolinggo and folks will offer to take you to your Bayuangga bus airport terminal which is Some miles / nearly Several kilometres absent. The official price tag for a bemo (contributed taxi) must be 5,000IDR for each person, which in turn amounts to effectively under fifty percent a pound as well as euro. Holidaymakers tend to be overcharged as well as scammed * so pay attention: if there’s correspondence D around the Bemo, that shows that it is an formal one as well as chances of receiving ripped off are usually substantially less. Upon coming to the bus critical, prepare yourself in your mind for the last and quite a few difficult part of the backpacker-budget friendly journey to Install Bromo. No, certainly not the 2-hour journey up in the mountains themselves, but locating a driver whom won’t rip you off. Local people will tell you the long-distance bemo, sometimes called buffalo, to Cemoro Lawang, no more exists, currently left, or is full. Don't fall for this till you’ve inspected each and every corner with the terminal at least 2 times over the course of half an hour! Fact is when you’re arriving right after 4pm, the last bemo may possibly indeed have gone already, and achieving another one might not be possible. Therefore, your best bet is to take a exclusive car, which in turn charges about 200,000IDR (£12/€14) per man or woman. So along with with this in mind, try and arrive at the Probolinggo place before 3pm, since sharing the bemo to Cemoro Lawang is only 35,000IDR (£2.10/€2.Fortyfive) per man or woman, meaning that you are able to travel through Surabaya to Install Bromo for properly under a tenner! Front door to the community, by the way, is 10,000IDR (£0.60/€0.Seventy) per individual. Where to Snooze I usually usher in Booking.net as the penultimate hotel website in the world, having reserved hotel rooms there from the metropolis centre associated with Leeds to outlying Romania and through the south of Spain to eastern Azerbaijan. Even so, it really isn’t the best option when attempting to discover accommodation around Bromo. The website doesn’t actually recognise Cemoro Lawang like an actual small town and only offers hotel rooms for Probolinggo, which is the name of the town. Granted, some hotels are in reality in Cemoro Lawang, quite a few them are the same 2-hour drive from the park front door that you just had taken, and you don’t want to risk that. Agoda.com is a touch better, but also in truth, most of the accommodation in Cemoro Lawang is found in private-run homestays that aren't reservable online. Just walk approximately one of them on your own day of arrival and most likely they’ll have a opening at a reasonable cost. If you want a extra peace of mind beforehand, however, there’s yet another valid finances option for a person: Cafe Lava Hostel. Located right behind the actual Cemara Indah Hotel, it’s the second-closest accommodation towards the park access and it provides very basic private rooms through 150,000IDR per double place in reduced season. That’s approximately 5 quid for every person! You'll have to share your bathrooms though along with the room is literally nothing more than any bed, power, a lamp fixture and a desk, but you’ll have stunning opinions of the clouds over the mountain village. You'll be able to sit inside the restaurant for warmth, where a hearty morning meal only costs 45,000IDR (£2.40/€2.80), along with dinner is achievable from just double that will. Although the web site looks fairly professional, they’re not really as high-tech as they make out to get, as you have to call them to make a reservation. Yes, all the way to Belgium, across Six or seven time zones. And also to make concerns even worse regarding nervous tourists, they don’t publish anything down but your name, date of arrival, time of departure, and your place preference. Simply no confirmation, absolutely no contact information, charge card or passport number, nothing! Still, this kind of very basic technique seems to hold. Even so, become very clear in stating that you’d such as the Economy Double! If you get through the hotel with out a reservation, they will be sure to tell you just how all Economic climate rooms are sold out and your only option is to stay at a Standard Space, which is virtually three times while expensive (however includes breakfast every day). And even if you have booked an Economy place beforehand, they may tell you that they’re just about all full, while they did when camping, but if you only remain quite insistent that you’ve earmarked it on the phone months ago you’ll see that like magic a vacancy opens up. Consider travelling within Indonesia as a possible exciting journey, a perpetual haggle where you’re consistently trying to find the check between exactly what you’re willing to devote and what believe that you’ve got in your pocketbook! How to Start to see the National Park For Free So here’s the thing… Entrance fees to the National Park were significantly raised with regard to foreigners a few years ago, now waiting on 217,500IDR (£13/€15) on mondays to fridays and a monstrous 320,000IDR (£19/€22) in weekends and also holidays. Beside that, you must take a 4x4 into the recreation area and into the caldera, which costs around 300,000IDR (£24/€28) regardless of the number of passengers. Doesn’t quite sound thus budget-friendly anymore, currently does it? But wait… There’s another way. Virtually. The most famous dawn photographs of Mount Bromo are taken from among the many vantage vista points in Mount Penanjakan, your mountain looking over the volcano. Hiking up the mountain is always no cost, as it is not an official section of the National Park, staying just outside in the border. So here’s my massive tip: when you’ve reached the viewpoint and seen the incredibly stunning dawn from there, you can walk a lttle bit further, for the road exactly where all the jeeps are parked, and walk into the caldera as well as the National Park after that. Without passing any check points. Congratulations, you’ve only circumvented the entrance price AND the fee for a truck! How to Ascend Mount Penanjakan And also Bromo The night before, eat an early on bird dinner and try to get ready for the night time around 8-10 or 9pm, due to the fact you’ll have to set a 2.30am alarm system if you want to hike up the huge batch. Dress warmly! Even though you’re inside the tropics, you’re also over a mountain dealing with the night, and so the temperature will likely be just over freezing. Even though you’ll be hot as you’re trekking, the chilly will drain through to your current bones after you stop, so bring those mittens and that loath for the view at the top! Ultimately, you should abandon your accommodation in time to be at the Cemara Indah Hotel about 3am to start the hike way up. You won’t be the only one right now there, so if you’re hiking solo just like me (my aged family members each wisely chosen the offroad), you’ll definitely manage to find some business. Straight across from the resort, there is a paved asphalt road that goes the mountain. Start off walking on the perimeters of that street and just maintain following the idea until you get to a viewpoint after some house and several lighting. Sleep if you want to, however keep on heading. After about an hour of trekking in total, most still carried out on the same twisting asphalt road, you’ll reach the official #2 viewpoint. It is going to get quite busy there later on, while it’s directly accessible by automobile, so to stay away from the crowds, double back a couple of meters and take the concrete stairs increasing. After a while the steps will are a trail which can be pretty unsafe at times, because volcanic ash makes all the ground a bit slippery. If you keep using the torch on your phone and so are wearing trekking boots you’ll end up being fine although. Do take plenty of sleep, once each and every few minutes ideally, just to catch your breath and to beverage plenty of fluids while rising. At a particular point, you’ll encounter side monitors off the path, or even a separating where you’re no more sure which usually path may be the main one particular. We just retained choosing the pathways on behavioral instinct the entire time making it it to the top seemingly with no detours. We were walking in the other of what we're able to make out to be the Bromo for a while, however i presume that's just the all-natural curve in the path across the mountain. I personally presume that every paths lead to the panorama level as it’s the main reason everyone outdoor hikes up Attach Penanjakan. We ultimately reached the viewpoint, called King Kong Slope, after 60 minutes and Forty-five minutes of hiking, and we counseled me just relatively experienced backpackers. We could get actually still left half an hour later and still have had the experience to grab a great spot before the crowds arrived, so if you’re a real mountaineering lover, you could leave as overdue as Three.45 yet still be on period. While you’re trembling in the chilly, waiting for the sun's rays to rise, you can aquire a coffee or even a snack from one of the residents selling this there. After you’ve blissfully stared at the view of the most gorgeous sunrise of your life (most likely), it’s time to follow a flat walkway for the main path, which is just about a 5-10 instant walk with no incline. There, you can either opt to hike down again and further into the caldera, which may take 2 to 3 hours depending on your fitness level. What you could in addition do, that is what we did, is method one of the many ojeks drive an automobile you lower, cutting concerning 1.Five - Couple of hours off the travel. We paid 100,Thousand per cycle, but there are two people for each new driver, so that averaged to about £3 or perhaps €3.50 per person. Worth the energy and time saved! It was about a 20-minute ride along, long enough on your legs to get started on cramping, but the views manufactured everything worth the cost! Crossing over the incredible Seashore of Fine sand we were influenced all the way to the particular parking position for the jeeps. From that point, it’s about a Fortyfive minute stroll to get up to the rim in the crater. If you’ve obtained breathing difficulties, deliver a surgery mask, and again, put on proper walking boots as it could get very slippery about the stairs up towards the crater and so on the side itself! The particular sound originating from the crater quickly increases the closer you get, and also the minute you look into it anyone can’t help nevertheless be amazed and scared as well. It is definitely a really, very energetic volcano: thick plumes associated with white smoke cigarettes come out consistently and the extreme, thunderous roar of Mother Nature is strong adequate to make grown men leak. If you’re sensible, you’ll start getting friendly to the people while you’re about Mount Bromo, to be able to convince these phones give you a journey in their leased jeep look out onto Cemoro Lawang…. Otherwise, you can just hike rear for an hour and you will still be back for your accommodation prior to a 9am breakfast time. After morning meal, find a bemo to look at you time for Probolinggo, and be in your merry approach again! Great job, you did Bromo on a tight budget!