#ok bye that was my annual check in

[reidslibrarybook]

SURPRISE IM BACK TO CHECK IN ON MY PPL

wait guys this is sad that no one's here anymore. tbt to when i used to be on cmblr 24/7 and managed to put out fics every other day and also do well in school.

[knifebaby3000]

you can see my heart burning in the distance

[redspex]

Hello from the depths!

Hi hi hi. I'm still kicking! Here's an update, from me to you:

I plan on being more active on here in the near future, as some fun stuff has been happening with me that has given me some more free time! First: time abroad for work is, as far as I know, wrapped up for the forceable future. Maybe one day you'll hear about my time in Europe (if 4CL gives me clearance to disclose :P - some of it was pretty silly + goofy, a lot of it was having an atrocious sleep schedule, missing my cat, and getting into my normal amount of trouble). Maybe I'll check with my boss and see if I can pass field notes? Could be big. Second: I graduated! Managing Fourcast time and school time was not easy at all, but now that the latter is wrapped up I will have more time for stuff that's not the Lab, which I desperately need. There are a lot of things I want to get back into the swing of (after I catch up on sleep), especially in terms of having something to focus my creative energy on; one thing is this page, making my little weird collages and all, but I have my little personal projects to keep myself entertained.

I've been running a (at best, semi-annual) DND campaign with some friends that I will hopefully be able to put more time into in terms of writing/planning/playing (I am the forever DM of my friendgroup, which has its pros and cons :,) ). I have also been incredibly tempted to get back into fanfiction writing lelelel - writing has kind of always been in my life, but it had to take a backburner these last few years and I've missed it, so being cringe but free may help me scratch that itch. Technically this is a personal blog so 4Cast couldn't stop me from posting fanfiction here, but if you're from the Lab and you're seeing this: you're not allowed to read my fanfiction. But who knows, maybe that will happen, maybe not? Maybe at the depths of a hyperfixation I'll be possessed to throw something out there.

But that's pretty much it :) happy pride month being queer rules ok bye now talk later yep sounds good ok bye

[ambiguoslyambitious]

Chapter Three: (Overdue) Introductions PT. I

Author: ambiguoslyambitious (me!)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3,839

Summary: Today's the day that Bela will finally make her debut in Pelican Town and meet some of the townspeople. Will she be able to salvage her reputation or has her fresh start already began to expire?

“Wait, so you’re telling me that the townspeople have been trying to welcome me all week?” Bela lowered her eyes in shame, her face reddening once again. Yoba, they must think I’m some stuck up city bitch.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Victor answered reassuringly. “However, none of us knew that you were...hearing impaired.” Victor rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look sweeping across his face. Something Mayor Lewis failed to mention. Thanks a lot.

“Oh, Yoba,” Bela shook her head. “The whole town must think that I’m so rude.” So much for a fresh start. Maybe I should just become a hermit. No socialization. Just me and Mother Nature.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure we can clear this all up.” Suddenly, Victor’s dark eyes brightened. “Would you like to accompany me into town? I know that my mother wanted to invite you over to our residence for dinner. I-if you aren’t too busy, that is.” He quickly looked away, cheeks flooded with pink.

“Oh, uh,” Bela also averted her gaze briefly. “T-that would be lovely.” Shit, meeting the mom already.

Victor shot her a sheepish grin. “Splendid! Hopefully, we’ll be able to run into a few of the townspeople and try to salvage your reputation.”

The pair proceeded to exit the farmhouse.

“I must say, Bela,” Victor said, sweeping his gaze across the farm. “You’ve done a magnificent job so far.”

“Thank you,” Bela responded shyly. "I admit, I hadn't realized how much this old farm had gone into ruin." She stared out sadly out towards the other islands she hadn't reached yet, remembering when the farm was bustling with activity. And I still have so much work left to do.

Sensing her sadness, Victor tried to lighten the mood. "You used to visit this farm, right?"

"Yeah," Bela gave a sad smile. "When I was a kid, I used to spend the entire summer here, helping Grandfather tend to the chickens and cows, and watering the crops each morning."

"Sounds like you two were close."

"Not really," Bela admitted. "Summertime was the only time I got to see Grandfather. He and my father weren't very close. The last summer I spent here was ten years ago. Before he got sick and..." Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Victor apologized, looking over at her worried. "I don't mean to remind you of such sorrowful things."

"It's fine," Bela offered a half-smile. She brought her gaze up to the bright afternoon sky, taking in the sweet scent of grass and the warm spring breeze. "Not all of my memories of him are sad. I know that there were really great times that are just easy to forget now that he's gone."

This time, Victor was the one to offer a half-smile. "I suppose it is easier to remember the bad times. Remembering the good times forces you to remember how much you miss the ones you've lost."

“HELLO, VICTOR!” called out a frantic, yet cheerful voice. “OH MY YOBA, IS THAT THE NEW FARMER? HI!” A bubbly young woman, adorn in bubblegum pink rushed over to meet them on the dirt path across from the defunct bus stop heading towards town.

“Tabitha, this is Bela.” Victor smiled, knowing that Tabitha was one of the friendliest people in town to meet. She had a habit of making even the grumpiest people smile. Thank Yoba, we've run into Tabitha. She can quickly turn around this somber conversation.

“Hi, Bela! It’s so nice to meet you!” Tabitha giggled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “My twin brother Theo and I moved here a year ago and run The Stray Café across from the bus stop. Hopefully, you’ll be able to meet him soon, though he isn’t much of a socializer.”

“Hi, Tabitha.” Bela smiled unconsciously, the young woman’s happy energy was infectious.

“Those are cool headphones!” Tabitha said, taking notice of the devices in Bela’s ears. “Listening to any good music?”

Victor quickly glanced over at Bela before responding. “Um, Tabitha. Those aren’t headph-”

“These are actually hearing aids.” Bela interrupted.

Suddenly, Tabitha’s face fell. “I’m so sorry! I hope that I didn’t offend you!” The poor woman looked close to tears. Yoba, how can I be so stupid and insensitive?! Theo always tells me to never assume. I'm sure she hates me now.

“It’s ok!” Bela quickly reassured the young lady. “It’s an honest mistake.”

Tabitha visibly relaxed at Bela's words, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm glad that I didn't ruin our chances of becoming best friends."

"Hold on," Victor laughed. "Who says that I'm not already Bela's best friend?"

Tabitha rolled her eyes playfully. "I guess then we will all just have to be besties."

Bela let out a laugh, with the pair soon joining in. Maybe meeting the townspeople will go more smoothly than I thought. At least I 've managed to make friends with these two.

"So, besties," Tabitha glanced between Victor and Bela. "Where are you guys headed?"

"I was just bringing Bela into town to meet everyone." Victor responded. "My mother invited her over for dinner and I figured that I would take her to the saloon afterwards."

"That's a good idea. Why don't you guys come with me to Pierre's first?"

"Sure," Victor nodded. Then he looked over at Bela sheepishly. "That is, if it's ok with you."

Bela smiled at them. "Yeah, that's fine. You guys know the town better than me."

_____________________________________________________________

The trio continued their way into town, heading east towards Pierre’s General Store. As they entered the store, Pierre looked up from the catalogue he was reading at the register.

“It’s farmer Bela!” Pierre greets excitedly. “Welcome to Pierre’s! If you’re looking to buy seeds, my shop is the place to go.” Finally, a new customer.

Bela offered a small smile. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Bela’s eyes swung around the small shop, taking note of the tall shelves filled with different kinds of seeds. Small containers held fresh produce with labels containing the names of all the local farms.

“I’ll also purchase whatever produce you make on your farm for a good price.” Pierre’s grin became slightly more forced as he continued making his sales pitch. Hopefully, this city kid will be able to produce crops worth selling. Can't be any worse than anything Andy brings.

“Hopefully, I’ll have something worthy to sell soon.” Bela awkwardly joked. “ Yoba, this guy is intense.

To the right of the counter, a door suddenly slammed open. Pierre rolled his eyes as a purple-headed figure stepped out looking annoyed.

“Really, Abigail?” Pierre glared at her.

Abigail shot back a similarly annoyed look. “What? You know the door gets stuck. It’s not a big deal.”

She dramatically rolled her eyes, walking towards the exit. She shot a quick glance at Victor and nodded, coming to a stop once she laid eyes on the new farmer, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Who are you?”

Victor smiled, seemingly unperturbed by the young woman’s rudeness. “Abigail, this is Bela, the new farmer.”

“Hi,” Bela waved awkwardly. Well, she definitely doesn’t like me.

“Oh, I heard someone was moving into that old farm,” Abigail said, looking Bela up and down without meeting her eyes. “A shame, I liked exploring around there.” Without another word, Abigail walked out of the store.

“Ms. Rivers?” called out a small, quiet voice from the right. Bela could barely hear the man even with her hearing aids turned on. She turned to look over and was surprised to see a tall man, with thick glasses and an even thicker moustache. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Harvey Hickey, the local doctor.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Hickey.”

“Please, call me Dr. Harvey.” He offered an awkward smile. “I work, well and live, in the clinic next door with Paul, the town’s optometrist.” Suddenly his ears burned red. “A-as roommates of course!”

Bela just smiled politely. And they were roommates.

“Uh,” Harvey rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Well, um, please, uh, make sure to, uh, schedule your annual check up at, uh, some point. It was, uh, nice to meet you.” He awkwardly made his way up the register, a simple protein bar in hand.

"Well, I've got to pick up some things for the café," Tabitha said with a smile. "I'll see you guys around!"

"You're not coming to the saloon?" Bela furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh, uh," Tabitha started stammering nervously. "T-that's not, uh, really my scene." I hope Bela doesn't think I'm lame.

"That's fine," Bela replied reassuringly. "Since we're neighbors, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other often. I'll try and visit the café soon."

"Oh, you should! I can't wait to introduce you to my brother!" Tabitha's eyes lit up once again. “Bye. Bela! Bye, Victor!” Tabitha waved goodbye, as she proceeded to gather supplies for the café.

"Well," Victor said, a hint of nervousness creeping into his usually calm voice. "Now it's time to meet my mother."

_____________________________________________________________

Bela and Victor exited the store, making their way east to the Jenkins’ Residence, which happened to be located directly next to Pierre's General Store.

“I told you this would be a short walk.” Victor smiled as they approached the giant, two-story manor which was painted a beautiful shade of robin’s egg blue. Bela’s eyes widened at the vastness of the manor, whose front entrance was guarded by a set of beautiful bronze gates.

Victor pushed the gate open and gestured for Bela to head inside. She followed the ornate crystal path until she reached a set of giant oak doors.

“Allow me.” Victor again held open the door for Bela, who stood in the entryway desperately trying to take in all the grandeur. Directly across from her was a beautiful wooden staircase, hinting that more beauty was yet to be seen. To her left was the living room, adorned in rich red and gold curtains and rugs. To her right, a kitchen with a large mahogany table sat with matching chairs.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful in here.” Bela’s eyes glowed with wonder.

“Why, thank you.” called out a sultry, yet sophisticated voice. An elegantly dressed woman appeared to cascade down the stairs effortlessly. “You must be Ms. Bela Rivers.” The woman extended a hand in greeting, which Bela immediately took.

“Yes, it is nice to meet you, Mrs. Jenkins.” Bela smiled nervously. I can’t believe this is Victor’s mother.

“Please, call me Olivia.” She gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Is this really the same girl who ignored Caroline and Jodi? She seems polite enough.

“Well, Olivia,” Bela said awkwardly. “Thank you for inviting me over. I appreciate your hospitality.”

“Don’t worry, Bela.” Victor chimed in. “My mother loves any opportunity to entertain guests.”

”Well, I wouldn’t want this manor to go to waste!” Olivia gives a dry laugh. “Let’s head over to the kitchen.” She quickly turned on her heels and elegantly strutted away. Victor offered a small smile to Bela before following his mother.

As the pair took their seats, Olivia brought a large platter with a covering on top of it.

“What fine dish have you prepared this time, Mother?”

“Well, since, I heard that our guest used to live in Zuzu City,” Olivia smiled coyly as she lifted the top. “ I decided to prepare pan-seared butterfish over a plate of assorted vegetables from the garden.”

Both Bela and Victor stared at the platter in absolute wonder. The butterfish was a brilliant shade of gold, contrasting the rich greens of the cabbage and lettuce underneath.

“This looks amazing!” Bela exclaimed, remembering the holidays when her mother would prepare this. Her heart tinged with sadness, as her eyes began burning with unshed tears. I need to think about something else.

“Is something troubling you dear?” Olivia asked inquisitively, eyes narrowing as she glanced over the newcomer. She noticed a faint glint emitting from Bela’s ear, eyes widening in realization. She's deaf! That's why no one's been able to get in contact with her. Can't wait to clear that up with the ladies.

“Oh, i-it’s nothing.” Bela offered a flicker of a smile before lowering her gaze.

Olivia shot her son a look, to which Victor responded by shrugging.

“Perhaps,” Victor looked between his mother and Bela. “I should pour us each a glass of wine.”

Olivia nodded, stealing another glance at Bela. “Why don’t you grab some pomegranate wine from the cellar? I’m sure the tartness will compliment the sweetness of the butterfish wonderfully.” The young woman also nodded in agreement. Oh, Victor, please don't leave me alone with your mom. There's just something scary about her.

Victor glanced over at Bela once more. “Of course. I’ll be just a moment.” He gracefully walked away from the table, disappearing down the stairs of the cellar.

“So, Bela,” Olivia clasped her hands together. “What brings you to Pelican Town?”

“Well,” Bela nervously met the older woman’s gaze. “I decided that I wanted a fresh start.” Bela purposely kept her answer vague. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk about her parents just yet.

“A fresh start?” Olivia’s gaze hardened. There must be something this girl is running from. Why else would she need a fresh start so young?

“Yes,” Bela responded, meeting her gaze. “I found that life in Zuzu City just wasn’t for me anymore.”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “But, what about your career? If I’m not mistaken, I heard that you had a very promising job at Joja in their corporate office.”

“I did.” Bela responded. “However, I’ve found the work to be...unfulfilling.”

Olivia’s eyes widened and she leaned back in surprise, a hand raised up against her chest. “Unfulfilling? By Yoba, I spent thirty years working my way to become an accounting manager and accumulating all of this.” She gestured with her hand carelessly.

“Mother,” Victor chided, walking up the stairs from the cellar with a dark red bottle. “Not everyone wants to be a corporate monkey.”

“Didn’t this corporate monkey earn enough to give you a full-ride to one of the finest universities in the entirety of the Ferngill Republic?” Olivia shot back, her tone icy.

“Yes, Mother,” Victor’s tone softened considerably, as he began pouring the wine, “But, money shouldn’t be the only thing you work for.” Why can't she understand that money isn't everything?

“Oh, really?” Olivia retorted, condescendingly taking a sip. “But was it not money that afforded you this life of privilege?”

The room suddenly went silent. Well, this has gotten awkward, Bela thought to herself, her fork lazily moving some of the greens in front of her.

Victor's jaw clenched, struggling to maintain his composure. Why can't my mother just realize that I'm not trying to be ungrateful. I just want to be happy.

"I recently lost my parents," Bela said quietly, interrupting the momentary silence. "A-and I didn't know what to do with myself. One day, I just found this envelope from my grandfather that said that one day I'd be in need of change and that I had this farm for when I needed it."

Victor gently placed a hand on her shoulder, as she fought to keep tears from streaming down her face. "I'm sorry for your loss, Bela."

"I'm sorry." Olivia said, glassy-eyed as well. She quickly grabbed a napkin, dabbing her eyes delicately. "Part of the reason why Victor and I moved to Pelican Town was due to my husband's...passing." Yoba, I should've been more sympathetic instead of interrogating this poor girl. I should've recognized that she was also going through loss.

Victor exchanged a somber look with his mother before looking back over at Bela. He reached over and grabbed his glass, raising it up in a toast. "To new beginnings."

Bela and Olivia followed in suit, each taking a long gulp of wine to help assuage some of the emotional pain caused by their respective grief.

_____________________________________________________________

"Well, that could have gone more smoothly," Victor shook his head as he and Bela left the manor for the saloon.

"It certainly was an interesting dinner," Bela responded gently. The rest of the dinner had been eaten in an awkward silence. "Your mom is a really good cook." And an even better interrogator. Maybe she volunteered part-time at the Zuzu City PD?

"Yeah, well she's usually an even better host." His eyes looked apologetic as they met Bela's. "I'm really sorry for the way dinner turned out. My mother can be...a lot."

Bela gave him a smile, playfully pushing his arm, "Don't even worry about it. I'm already making memories in this town."

Victor pushed open the thick oak door of The Stardrop Saloon, a barrage of sounds and smells overwhelming the new farmer. Bela was hit with the warm, bitter scent of beer as a jaunty folk tune played in the background, accompanied by the sounds of glasses clinking and laughter.

“Why if it isn’t the new farmer, Ms. Bela Rivers,” a kind voice greeted. “Welcome to The Stardrop Saloon! What can I get for ya?”

“Hello, Gus,” Victor smiled, taking a seat at the bar and gesturing for Bela to join him. “Why don’t we just take two glasses of wine to start?” The mustached man glanced over at Bela.

“Uh, yes,” Bela smiled. “Thank you.”

Victor leaned closer and whispered in her ear, his breath warm and gentle, “I hope you don’t mind me ordering for you. I figured you’d want to still be coherent while meeting some more of the townspeople.” He let out a small chuckle as he pulled away.

“What,” Bela teased, as her cheeks turned pink. “You think I can’t handle more than a couple glasses of wine?”

Before he could respond, a perky blue-haired woman arrived back with the two glasses of wine in hand. “Here you go!” She gently placed them before the pair. As Victor reached for his wallet, Emily gently shook her head, “This one’s on the house.”

She turned to face Bela, her blue eyes glowing with kindness. “Hello, Bela, I’m Emily!” Ooh, she has a nice aura. I'm sure we'll be good friends.

Bela smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well, if it isn’t the new farmer,” came a sultry voice from the right of the bar. A beautiful woman slid onto the barstool next to Bela, while Emily placed a glass of wine in front of her.

“Yeah, I’m Bela,” Bela responded, still taking in the woman’s striking appearance. Her face was like a porcelain doll’s, smooth and pale with only a single mole marking her otherwise unblemished skin. Something about her seems familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

The woman extended her hand, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Shiko.”

Bela’s eyes widened in partial recognition. “Shiko? Shiko Takahashi?”

Shiko smiled back dryly. “Ah, so you have heard of me. Makes sense since I heard you’re from the city.”

“What's a model doing here?” Bela’s jaw dropped.

“ Former model,” Shiko flipped her dark locks over her shoulder carelessly. “I decided to retire and live the simple life.” She smiled at Bela, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Kind of like you, huh?”

Bela returned the smile. “Something like that.”

Victor raised his glass, taking a careful sip before looking over at Bela. “Well, it’s always a pleasure seeing you, Shiko. If you don’t mind, I’d like to introduce Bela to some of my friends.”

The pair got up from their stools, heading over to what appeared to be a game room. Two old school arcade games greeted them at the entrance, where the angsty, purple haired teen was violently shaking the joysticks and shooting out creative combos of curse words.

“Obviously, you’ve already met Abigail.”

The girl shot a dirty look at Bela. “Victor, you done showing the new girl around? I need your help. I can’t get past this damn level.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “I was just bringing BELA over to meet everyone.” Why does Abigail ALWAYS have to be so fucking rude?

Bela gave an awkward smile as Abigail turned her attention back to the game in front of her. What is this girl’s problem with me?

“Bela?” Suddenly, a messy-haired blonde was standing right in front of her, his eyes gleaming with recognition. “Yo, Sebby, it's really her!” His arms quickly enveloped Bela into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. It took everything in her to not spill any wine as the young man gently rocked her.

When he finally put her down, Bela was overcome with memories of her young self playing at the beach with a pair of blonde and black-haired boys. “Sam?”

His green eyes glowed with happiness. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s been, what, like ten years?” He looked over to the pool table where the raven-haired fellow was still poised with a billiards stick. “Fuck the game, Seb, come over here, it’s our Bela!”

Sebastian flinched when Sam said “our Bela”. Abigail’s head whipped over, shooting a venomous glare at Bela. “What do you mean, ‘our Bela’? I thought she just got here.”

Sam shook his head. “Don’t you remember? Bela used to visit every summer when we were kids.” Suddenly, Sam burst out into laughter.

Abigail’s eyes narrowed defensively, “What’s so funny?”

“Of course you don’t remember,” Sam managed to choke out. “You were too busy being besties with Haley.”

Even Sebastian let out a small laugh as Abigail’s pale face turned beet red. “Whatever, that was a long time ago.”

“Well,” Victor smiled, breaking the awkward tension that was beginning to form. “I hadn’t realized that you already knew each other.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sam smirked mischievously. “Bela and Seb knew each other REALLY well.”

Both Bela and Sebastian flushed red, ears burning hot. Abigail looked over in curiosity, annoyance written all over her face. What the fuck does that mean?

Victor raised an eyebrow quizzically, glancing between the two. “Really?”

“Sam,” Sebastian rolled his eyes, the red refusing to leave his face. “Why do you have to be such an ass?” I bet she doesn't even remember.

Bela looked over at Victor sheepishly. “It was just a middle school fling. We were kids.” I doubt Seb even remembers.

Victor burst out into laughter, while Bela and Sebastian bore similar mortified expressions. Sam joined Victor in laughter, with Abigail continuing to shoot death glares at Bela.

"So," Bela said in an attempt to break the awkwardness. "How've you been, Seb?" Yoba, I don't know what to say to him.

Sebastian avoided Bela's gaze, preferring to maintain eye contact with the wooden floors. "Oh, you know, nothing's new." Dammit Sam! Why'd you have to bring THAT up?

"Seems like there's been quite a few changes since I've been here."

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded, stealing a glance at her. "But, most things are still the same." Like how much I've missed you.

[bb-tings]

campfires & kegs

rudy pankow  

requested by: @ampanonyg

summary: y/n and rudy go on their annual camping trip and meet up with their friends. 

taglist: @ampanonyg @ims0golden @jjsmentalpolaroids @stargazingstarkey @letsgofullkook @jjmbanks @maybanksbaby @1-800-jjslut @simpforstarkey @jellyfishbeansontoast @ilovejjmaybank​ @royalpogue

(i have people who have requested to be on the taglist and then i have some friends who i would like nice criticism from, but if you want off i completely understand.)

______

        The couple was so excited when they finally pulled up to the campgrounds. The time for their annual camping trip had finally come around and they couldn’t wait. When they hopped out of the car and looked around to see a few of their friends that they had made from the many camping trips in the past, the pair’s smiles grew even wider. They knew that if their camp buddies were around too then there would be a campfire party that night. 

        Rudy and Y/n began getting everything out of the car and setting the tent up. Y/n swat at the mosquitoes that attacked her skin, trying to get to the red substance beneath. As much as she loved these trips with her boyfriend, she was over the little bugs as soon as they arrived on the camping grounds. She turned to Rudy who was getting things out of the car. 

“Roo, did you get the OFF,” Y/n questioned her blonde boyfriend as they put their things inside the tent. 

“No...was I supposed to?” When she didn’t respond he turned around to see her standing with her hands on her hips with an emotionless look. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Rudy, did you at least get the bag of snacks that we packed?”

         When the blonde didn’t respond she let out a frustrated sigh and walked away from him to put the blankets and sheets on the air mattress they had brought. Rudy felt really guilty, he knew that he could be really absent-minded at times. But he was just so eager to camp with his gorgeous girlfriend that everything else just escaped his brain.

        Rudy walked into the tent and pulled the blanket away from Y/n, throwing it on the bed. He grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the tent and he sat on the bench in their camp area. Rudy reached out and pulled her hips towards him, and wrapped his arms around her. Y/n’s hands landed on the blonde’s shoulders. She then slowly made her way to the back of his neck and played with his hair. 

        “I’m sorry.” Y/n heard his words, but she avoided his eyes. She had long forgiven him, but she liked it when Rudy fought for her. In any way, whether he was fighting someone else or fighting himself, as he was doing now. She kept her eyes locked on his lips. When Rudy noticed that he launched forward and gave her a quick peck. Returning to his original position=, he noticed the small smile on her face and her wide eyes. 

“What was that for?”

“I felt like you were assaulting me with your eyes. So I put a stop to it,” the young actor responded with a smirk. 

“Oh. I was assaulting you, was I? I’m sorry, am I making you feel uncomfortable? ‘Cause I’ll leave.” She sported a big smile as she tried to pull away from the boy, but let out a squeal when he tugged her to stand in between his knees again.

“Nah, I’m not uncomfortable. I’m good. But I am really sorry for being so forgetful.” He looked up at the girl with sad blue eyes and poked his bottom lip out for effect. 

“I know baby,” Y/n let out a sigh. “But now we have to add bug spray and snacks to the list of things we need from Walmart. This was supposed to be a cheap trip, remember!.” The girl made a silly angry face and made her voice deeper. 

‘It’s alright baby. I think my bank account can take a hit of about $40 dollars. I don’t know if you know this but I’m a famous actor. I work for Netflix.” the boy smirked up at the girl. 

“Yeah, I remember. You never let me forget,” Y/n started to pull away from Rudy and grabbed his keys from his pocket. “Come on, Mr. Big Shot, Walmart waits for nobody.”

“Alright, wait for me in the car. I’m gonna go tell Luke and Annie to watch our stuff.”

        Y/n watched as he walked the 10 foot distance between their tent and the biggest RV on the grounds. Anne Johnson and her husband, Luke Johnson, were the famous when it came to the specific campgrounds. They had been there the first time the pair had gone camping. The four of them hit it off immediately, being the same age but somehow all in different stages of their lives. 

        The married couple was known for their campfire parties they threw. Renting out the biggest camp spot, they would buy 2 keggers, find logs, build a fire, play music, and then drive around on their 4 wheeler, inviting everyone on the campgrounds. Just strangers, hanging out by a fire, listening to music, and having the time of their lives. 

        When Rudy mentioned their much-needed trip to Walmart, the couple didn’t hesitate to agree to watch their stuff. When Rudy said bye and turned around walking back to his car, Y/n saw Annie and Luke waving towards her. She smiled a big small and waved back, excited for the inevitable drinks the group would share later that night. 

“Tonights gonna be so fun baby.”

                                                   -

“Rudy we don’t need 3 packs of hotdogs, we’re here for 3 nights. Not a week,” Y/n scolded her boyfriend. 

“Well, last time we ran out of food. And you know I get hangry,” the boy pouted next to his girlfriend as they made their way to check out. 

“Well, that’s because last time, somebody forgot to pack the right stuff, and instead packed the year-old weenies. OH and trust me, I know.” 

“You still love me though,” Rudy smiled as he wrapped his arms around the girl as she tried to put the groceries on the conveyor belt. “Unfortunately.”

                                                    -

        Y/n allowed her jaw to drop as she stared unbelievingly at her boyfriend. They had left the store and drove back to the camp. Rudy then walked over to help Luke build the fire, while Y/n helped Annie make some fruity alcoholic beverages inside the RV. They had been there for about 3 hours now, and to say the pair was slightly drunk would be an understatement.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Roo,” Y/n looked towards her boyfriend as he looked genuinely confused. “That bitch was all over you.” 

        When the words left her mouth, she heard Annie and some other people they had met throughout their night, start laughing. She wished the girls had been at the grocery store with them, knowing that they would have been on her side, had they seen the girl, who apparently had a death wish, giving Rudy sexual glances. 

“Babe, she was doing her job,” Rudy slurred as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smothering the girl with his hoodie-clad chest. 

“Yeah, while simultaneously giving you bedroom eyes.”

        “Ok! Before this turns into a full out brawl, Luke is about to get his guitar out. It’s c-a-m-p-f-i-r-e-s-o-n-g time,” as Annie spelled out the famous lyrics from SpongeBob, Y/n pulled Rudy towards the benches around the orange and red flames. She made sure to grab the spots right next to the young boy with the guitar, wanting to get the best experience. 

        While Luke and Annie were talking around getting suggestions and requests for music, Y/n snuggled her way into Rudy. She was sitting beside him with her legs thrown over his through. 

        When Rudy turned his head to the left, Y/n took the time to kiss his neck. When her lips made contact with his smooth, freckled skin, she felt Rudy tense and squeeze her knee harder. “What’s wrong, bubba,” she questioned innocently.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be able to sit through this if you keep doing that.”

“What are you talking about Roo? I’m not doing anything wrong-”

“Alright! Kid rock it is!” Luke yelled to everyone and started playing his guitar.

Rudy looked at his girlfriend and glared into her eyes. “We’ll finish later.”

                                                    - 

“And we were trying different things, and we were smoking funny things!” 

When Y/n loudly sang the next lyrics she made eye contact with Rudy. “Making love out by the lake to our favorite song.”

        She felt bad for everybody who wasn’t there. Strangers sitting around a fire, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs, getting drunk, singing their lungs out. This was her favorite thing to do with Rudy. Before he met him, she had never gone camping but she was glad that he brought her along with that one year, because now she couldn’t think of another place she would rather be or other people she would rather be within that exact moment. 

                                                     -

Rudy picked up their last bags and waved goodbye to the Johnsons. He stuffed the bags in the backseat of the car, knowing that if he opened the trunk things would fall out, and then hopped into the driver’s seat. He looked towards Y/n to make sure she had all her electronics and chargers for the drive home and saw the sad look she was sporting. 

“What’s wrong baby?”

“I don’t wanna leave,” she responded with a pout. To this, the blonde boy let out a chuckle. He put his hand on the shoulder of her seat and looked behind him as he backed out of the spot, onto the main road. 

“I know baby, but there’s always next year,” he suggested this as he shifted into drive, then grabbed Y/n’s hand and placed a kiss on it. 

“That’s so far away, though.”

“Well, then you better start counting.” 

“Ugh! I’m taking a nap,” Y/n reached down between her seat and the door and relaxed as the chair slowly started to incline, while simultaneously letting out a yawn. 

“Ok baby. Dream of me.”

“I won’t.”

        When Rudy looked over towards the sleeping girl, he reminded himself how lucky he was. Watching her, he smiled to himself, thinking that she was so cute.  He loved the girl so much and he hoped he got to do just that for as long as she would let him. He just wanted to make her happy, then he too would find his happiness. 

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

HEYYY- do you know what Hanahaki disease is? (that diseases with flowers? Ya can Google "Hanahaki disease" and go to urban dictionary or fanlore to find out what it is, if you'd need... if you're up for it, or just ignore this- ) IF SO, would you have any fluffy and comforting headcanons for like TFP Wheeljack X Ratchet, Wheeljack being the one with the Hanahaki! I'd love to see what you'd come up with it, since it is pretty unknown trope. if it's not too much to ask for! Ok, thanks, BYE- :'D

Finally doing some stuff in my inbox! Pls note, I will not be answering EVERY ask, today just like, one or two, MAYBE three. I just happen to be absolutely, 100%, in love with this trope. The second I heard about it, I lost my goddamn shit. 

Quick sum for those who dunno,  Hanahaki disease is ‘is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies’.

I looked a BIT more into this purely for a refresher, and I notice it didnt specify a particular flower type when this happens, so imma personalize it a bit. For Wheeljack, imma picture him choking up shock o sunflowers (will provide a link for a visual example). They’re resilient, much like he is, but VERY beautiful. Also, he calls Ratchet sunshine=sunflowers??? I’m a fucking genius tell me otherwise.

Wheeljack, at first, ignores it. Cybertronians have vents, and randomly coughing up leaves or other little things like that, tends to happen.

Then he realizes it just keeps happening. He finds it more weird than anything, but he does notice his coughing gets particularly bad when hes by Ratchet. Thinks its a coincidence. 

He actually finds the disease's name thanks to Miko. She isnt a fanfic writer or anything, she just has a lot of friends back in japan who loved the trope. It’s suppose to be just a fictional trope, but when Wheeljack feels himself get warm, and coughs up more of the stupid petals, he realizes; hes fucked.

No one else figures it out, and it sucks on Ratchet’s end. Mainly because he notices Wheeljack’s condition, and tries FURIOUSLY to find a cure. Not just because Wheeljack clearly isn't faring well, but because he’s worried it could be something the whole team could be affected by. The selfless want to find a cure, somehow makes Wheeljack cough up even more petals.

Wheeljack suffers twice as fast during Ratchet’s study. The way Ratchet keeps checking up on him, the way he keeps his focus, the way he assures Wheeljack that he’ll be fine, the way his lips purse when he’s concentrating; Wheeljack has it BAD.

I know you said fluffy, but the whole thing in itself is KINDA fucked up. So imma look at this realistically here; Ratchet won’t find a cure, and Wheeljack is most likely gonna die. Wheeljack is too emotionally constipated, too scared, to be open with his feelings. He tries, but when Ratchet meets his optics, all he could do is puke up more of those stupid petals. The best he’s gonna do is joking about wanting to get in ratchet’s guts.

Wheeljack kinda accepts it. If he can spend his final moments at Ratchet’s care, listening to him bitch and scoff, well damn, it’s a hell of a way to go.

Funny thing is? Ratchet loves him too. But he’d never tell Wheeljack, he has to focus on the cure, not falling for a patient.

Example of the flowers I used here;

https://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/sunflowers/shock-o-lat-sunflower-seeds.html

[dailyaudiobible]

02/14/2021 DAB Transcript

Exodus 37:1-38:31, Matthew 28:1-20, Psalms 34:11-22, Proverbs 9:9-10

Today is the 14th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian welcome to a brand-new shiny sparkly week out in front of us. And happy St. Valentine's Day. One year ago, one year ago today we were on our way to Israel for our Israel annual pilgrimage and we were passing through Italy, I remember this, just before like these rumors of like this bad virus, they had been kind of swirling around, but they were not starting… starting to actually take hold in earnest, especially in Italy, and then like right after we got out of there to Israel it wasn't just a few days before Italy shut down. And that began because I think…I believe they were the first country, like officially closed down and trying to isolate from the virus. And, so, wow, what…what can happen in a year. Look at what can transpire in a year of time and look what can change in our lives over the course of a year. And, so, let's just remember that these changes are happening day by day step by step, including today. So, happy St. Valentine's Day. We got a brand-new week. We will read from the Common English Bible this week and we will be picking up the story in the book of Exodus. And it feels like we’ve been camping out in Exodus for a while now because we have but we’ll conclude the book of Exodus tomorrow. But that's then and this is now. Today, Exodus chapters 37 and 38.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and for bringing us this far…this far into the year, this this brand-new week that is opening up to us, this St. Valentine's Day where we commemorate and observe love, love in the world, especially the romantic kind of love and we’re grateful for that gift. And we are thankful for the story that we read in the book of Matthew today, the story of the resurrection, the story that has set our hearts on fire but has also set everything into motion, everything that comes next into motion because of Your resurrection. And, so, Father we are…we’re here in the…pretty much the dead center of the month, but we are turning pages and getting ready to move into some new territory. We concluded the gospel of Matthew today, the first of the four Gospels. So, we will move forward into another gospel tomorrow. And we will conclude the book of Exodus tomorrow and begin to move forward from there, the day after that. So, the next couple of days are going to be days of transition for us as we continue to move forward, we invite Your Holy Spirit into this…into this week and everything we do, everything that we think, everything that we say, all of the motives of our hearts, may they be surrendered to You we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

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If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if life and light and good news are being spoken into your life and bringing life and direction from the Scriptures, if that makes a difference, if that matters to you then thank you profoundly for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that's your preference, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button that looks kinda like a hotline button in the app up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi this is Tiffany from Cleveland and I just want to thank everyone that has prayed for me and my husband Tony for the death of our daughter Jeanna. And I also want to ask that you pray…that I could receive joy again. My joy was lost when my daughter died, and I believe in the Lord and I believe in His peace and I believe that He can give me joy but it's gone, and I desire it. I also want to pray for all those that have lost their children, that their children have died through miscarriage, infant loss, disease, sickness, cancer. It's so hard on us. Our lives are never the same after our children die. I just pray that we could receive peace and joy again in our lives and as we live and learn to live without them. In Jesus’ name.

Hello this is Susan and I'm calling on February the 11th. I just wanted to reply to Jessica from California who spoke today on the…as I was listening to Daily Audio Bible and just to say how much she encouraged me. My father…it was always difficult to communicate with my father. For many years I was not sure why then I found out recently he’s probably on the autistic spectrum. I've also been separated from my husband going on eight years. And, so, a relationship with men is sometimes difficult. I have more male colleagues now at my work and I was just coming home today feeling rather pitiful, discouraged and not sure if I can communicate or compete in the male workplace where more males around me and then come home and look after my children, be strong for all of them. So, thank you so much for the words of encouragement, the words that you say to yourself, thank you God for just the way I am. Thank you God for just the way I am.” And also, the verse in the Bible, I think it's Psalm 139 saying, “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” So, I just wanted to say thank you Jessica from California for the encouragement you gave me today. Thank you.

Hello everybody my name is Doug from Oklahoma I've been a long-time listener I've just never called in. I have a vaccine schedule tomorrow for Covid and I'm really, really scared. I have bad anxiety and panic attacks and…but I feel like I need to get this vaccine and I would just like your prayers, that nothing goes wrong, I don't have any bad reactions or anything. And, of course, then I'll have to get a second one. So, I love you guys. I…I…I pray for you all too. And I just don't call in very much because I really don't…I'm not a very good talker as you can tell. But anyways your prayers are appreciated for tomorrow. I know the time you hear this the vaccine will be over but, you know, God already knows. So, I thank you all. Doug from Oklahoma. Love you. Bye.

Good evening DABbers my sisters and brothers in Christ this prayer is going to Latasha in California. You spoke of being homeless with your children at one point and just now getting into the housing and afraid that you're going to lose it and be homeless again. I've been homeless before Latasha and I had a young son and I know how scary it is especially when you don't know where you're going to live the next day. Besides if things fall apart you have no safety net. So, Father God I come to You as humble as I know how Father. Father we have a mother right now Father that doesn't know what the situation…how the situation is going to turn out. She's being torn between one person saying one thing and someone expecting another Father God, but I just ask that You put in her heart Father that to stand and feel Your Salvation. God if she stands, she knows where her help will come from. You didn't bring her this far Father for her and her children to be back into the homeless situation. Father, so I ask that You give her strength, give her confidence, give her peace Father, that peace that surpasses all understanding Father that things will be OK. And Latasha, you say you're fearful. God did not give us a spirit of fear but of sound mind. So, just stand and watch his Salvation work this out for you. I look forward to hearing a praise report on how things will work out, not going to, but will. Running Desperately to Jesus. Also known as...

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Renzo from Maryland I just want to say just really appreciate what you guys are doing, just keep encouraging people, just keep getting them closer to the Lord. It's amazing to see everybody, all the age groups, all the different ages young and old. It's crazy just to see what the Lord is doing. And just…just asking for prayers for my family, for my mom my dad and my grandfather. Recently they've…they…they've had Covid but they've been getting better and their quarantines about to be up by the grace of God. I just thank God for you…for you guys prayers. And my mom was starting to feel better. She suffers with complex regional pain syndrome and just chronic pain in every part of her body and the Corona virus really hit her really bad but I'm just glad that she's feeling a little bit better. And I just thank the Lord for everything He's blessed me with. And just please just keep them in prayers. And I just want to pray for any of you guys going through anything. Father God I just thank You for everything You bless us with Lord and just please help us to just get closer and closer to You Lord and I thank You for the Daily Audio Bible family and everything they’re doing to encourage and keep Your name to be known. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. God bless you guys. Have a blessed rest of your day. Jesus loves you. God bless.

Hello DAB family this is your brother Daniel Johnson junior from beautiful Cincinnati OH. Hey, let's pray. Almighty God, You are omniscient all powerful all seeing all knowing and ever…and everywhere omnipresent. God You are so good to all of us and I know that You're working through mankind in all these different ways. I pray for our medical professionals, especially those that are making this vaccine and the distribution of this vaccine, everybody that's in charge of all this. I pray that everybody everywhere can get this vaccine, that Your enemy will be completely defeated as he's looking to tear and seek and skill and destroy…steal, kill, and destroy. I come against the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ and I pray that Your spiritual forces of good, Your spiritual sources Jesus because You’ve achieved…You achieved the complete and total victory, that Your spiritual forces would levy and lay down a serious nuclear style beat down against the enemy to force them back…to…I bind and banish the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ in regard to everything that is related to this coronavirus. May it be according to Your will in Jesus’ name. Amen. Hey God bless you all from beautiful Cincinnati OH this is Daniel Johnson junior. Make it a great day.

[27emailsicantsend]

Christmas Eve: A Rina Fic

Author’s Note: Literally no one asked for this, I just wanted to write it. 😂 I’m also in the process of making a part two to this fic for New Year’s Eve, so I’ll link it when I’m finished!

“Both of my parents are working...” Ej sighed.

“Ok, well- moving on!” Miss Jenn said awkwardly as she looked over at Carlos. “What will you be doing for Christmas?”

Carlos smiled at Seb and placed a hand on his desk. “We’ll be singing Christmas Carols door to door”.

“Oh how wonderful! Please make sure to send me copies,” Miss Jenn requested.

Carlos gave her a look of disbelief, “what kind of co-captain would I be if I didn’t send my leading lady a copy? Of course, you will get one”.

Miss Jenn gave an amused giggle. She brought her composure back. “Ricky? How about you? And your dad? Right? You’ll be with your dad Christmas Eve? He shouldn’t have to be alone”.

Ricky grimaced uncomfortably. He didn’t mind Miss Jenn liking his dad, or even them dating, but she asks about him... a LOT. And the last time she asked, she asked if he wore the skinny jeans she bought him for Christmas. Apparently it “outlined” his figure nicely.

“Yes, Miss Jenn,” Ricky said, slightly through his teeth. “It’ll just be my dad and I”. She looked hopeful- Ricky crushed that quickly. “But we were probably going over to Nini’s to help her, her mom’s, Kourtney and her family bake cookies. They give them to the homeless shelter every year”. Ricky hesitated over every part of his remark, especially the part about Nini.

He had spent all of his time with Gina before she moved, then when he thought she wasn’t coming back, he kissed Nini. He liked Nini, right? And they dated and now she finally liked him, so what was the problem? Well... it’s Gina. She moved back and ever since things have been... weird between them. They smile awkwardly at each other in the hallway, almost hugged opening night during the last scene but decided against it, and one time they almost had a conversation more than five sentences when Gina asked Ricky about the missed science homework. But then Big Red came in and saved the day himself. Gina gave a gracious thank you and eye roll and walked away.

Gina’s head was eyeing the marks on her desk, so Ricky couldn’t tell if she was upset or not at the mention of Nini. She traced the writings on the wood with her finger as Miss Jenn asked everyone else in the cast circle about their holiday plans.

Big Red was going to play video games and seemed saltier than usual that Ricky was bailing on their annual video game plans to spend time with Nini, Ashlyn invited EJ to fly down with her family since her sister was in college and ended up not being able to make the family trip in time. EJ had the money to cover the costs and gave a delighted, “yes!”

All eyes shifted to Gina, who was last to be asked. “Oh, you know, we’ll be doing all sorts of fun plans. Decorating the tree, making treats, watching movies... Christmas is... great”. Ricky knew Gina was lying.

The bell gave a sharp ring. Carlos was in the background yelling, “ok everyone! Pre-order for mine and Seb’s Christmas CD is on the piano! 40% off if you order now!... Red! Phone numbers ONLY please. Stop drawing that!...”

Ricky tried to run up and stop Gina, but she was about two steps ahead of him. Just as he began to speak, Gina bolted out and he felt an arm on his shoulder. Miss Jenn.

“Rickyyy!!!”

“H-h-hey, Miss Jenn,” Ricky said, avoiding eye contact.

She placed a firm arm around his shoulders as she walked him to the door, speaking without taking a breath. “Listen, I know you’re going to be busy with Nini and I’m sure your dad doesn’t have any plans, so if your dad wants I won’t be doing anything. I would love to have some company that night. My mom got me this ham, but I don’t really want to eat it all by myself- oh! And then you two can have leftovers and I’m sure you guys needs ham leftovers, right? Well, if he wants to hang out with me or something like I said I won’t be busy so he can just let me know,” Miss Jenn pushed Ricky out the auditorium door. “Ok bye now!” She shut it enthusiastically as Ricky shook his head trying to make sense of what happened.

Ricky looked around the semi-crowded hallway as students made their way to their classes. Gina was long gone.

***********

Miss Jenn breathed a quick sigh from behind the door, perked up, flattened her skirt, and swiftly made her way to the piano to pick up some extra sheet music.

“Miss Jenn?” She heard a soft voice come from opposite stage.

“Gina?” Miss Jenn’s face crumpled as she double checked the closed door. “I thought? I saw?... you leave that way?...”

“There’s a door on that side of the stage too”.

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“Anyway...” Gina gritted her teeth awkwardly, “want some help?”

“Umm... sure, Gina”. Miss Jenn smiled delightfully. “There’s some chairs that need to be stacked”.

Gina made her way over to the chairs. She stacked two in silence and began the third by asking, “so you don’t have plans for Christmas Eve?”

Miss Jenn froze. “What?! No! I have tons of them. Family, friends... so many wonderful people-“

Gina cut her off. “I heard you tell Ricky you didn’t”.

Miss Jenn lowered her head while she meekly straightened her papers on the piano top.

“It’s ok, Miss Jenn. I don’t have any either”.

“Well, that’s interesting Gina, considering you told the entire class you did,” Miss Jenn shot back defensively.

Gina threw her hands up, surrendering, “ok, ok, I’m caught. I just didn’t want anyone worrying about me. My mom is my only family around, but she’s working. So yeah, it’s just me. But... I was planning on just watching YouTube tutorials on how to make eclairs and build puzzles that day anyway... and I think those are activities you can do with two people”.

Miss Jenn finally made eye contact with Gina, “...do you like ham?”

Gina grinned, “love it”.

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

Christmas Eve

Nini was pulling the last batch of sugar cookies out of the oven while Ricky and Kourtney were slapping on globs of green, blue and red frosting on the cooled ones.

“Oh no...” Dana, Nini’s mom, said scrolling through her phone.

“What?” Nini asked as she started sliding cookies onto the cooling rack.

“The weather... it looks like a bad storm is rolling in tonight. The homeless shelter will be incredibly hard to get to with traffic and this storm. I don’t know, Nini, I don’t think we should go”.

“But mom, we do this every year!” Nini protested. “And what would we do with all of these?!”

Ricky used his finger to take some frosting off of his chin and eat it. Nini glared at him as if her eyes were to say “not the time”.

“Oh. Sorry,” Ricky set down his currently half frosted cookie and knife.

Kourtney got up and gave Nini a side hug as she rested her head on Nini’s shoulder.

“There’s got to be something we can do”. Ricky’s dad, Mike, interjected.

“Well, It’s not the exact same, but we could give them to some people around the area. And we can always make cookies again for New Years or something and bring them then,” Carol suggested.

“That works,” Nini looked disappointed, but accepting considering the circumstance.

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

Gina was adjusting the fork next to the paper plate at her small table. It wasn’t much, but Gina really tried to make the place nice for her special guest. She turned on her fireplace, hung up two socks with duct tape, set out some holiday paper plates and plastic ware, and even cut and taped a bunch of paper snowflakes all over the house. She had strung some lights and put up the few Christmas decorations she found in a small box in her attic. She didn’t have a tree, so she put up a faux one on her tv screen from a channel that showed it with Christmas music playing in the background. It wasn’t much, but it made Gina giddy.

Gina heard her doorbell ring. She swung the door open fast and immediately her eyes fixated on Miss Jenn’s arms. In one she was carrying her cooked ham and the other had a small gift bag and her purse. Gina couldn’t afford to get Miss Jenn anything and immediately felt horrible.

“Uh... um... come on in,” Gina stammered.

Miss Jenn looked around as she placed the items on the kitchen counter. “Gina, it’s beautiful”.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Gina said sheepishly.

Miss Jenn set a gentle hand on Gina’s shoulder. “Really, it looks great”.

Gina bit her lip thoughtfully. “Well, how about that ham?”

“Oh yes! I have just the thing for it!” Miss Jenn zipped open her purse and pulled out a plastic handle with a cover. When she slid the cover off it revealed a giant knife- to which Gina’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Uhm... you don’t carry that around with you... all the time... do you miss Jenn?”

“Oh no, of course not silly,” Miss Jenn said as she made the first carve into the ham. “I can’t carry it at airports,” she said as she winked playfully at Gina.

Right when Gina was about to say Christmas was cancelled, she heard the doorbell ring again.

“Weird. I didn’t invite anyone else,” Gina thought outloud.

“Nini? Ricky?” Gina said, her face puzzled. She heard the knife clud! in the background and Miss Jenn scurry to the front door. “Mike?!” She said, enthusiastically.

Nini, Ricky, Mike, and Kourtney were all standing in the doorway holding a giant plate of cookies.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We brought cookies!” Ricky said as he tried to present them with a fancy hand gesture.

Kourtney, unable to keep her mouth shut, piped in, “No offense, but Miss Jenn what are you doing here?”

Nini shot Kourtney a look.

“Celebrating Christmas?” Miss Jenn said with a strained smile.

“Come on in”. Gina has to force the words out of her mouth. As soon as she turned around, she rolled her eyes and mouthed “whyyyyy”.

The gang let themselves in. The teens put the cookies on one of them empty counters in the kitchen and Mike made his way over to the ham. “Hey, Jenn, did you carve this?”

Jenn perked up, “yes, why?” She said with a confident smile.

“Well... uh... it’s great... it’s just you carved into the bone and that might break the knife”. Jenn’s eyes widened in embarrassment.

“It’s ok! You did great”. Mike tried to save himself.

“No, I actually don’t know how to carve a ham”. Miss Jenn got a calculated look in her eyes. “But maybe you could teach me?”

Mike looked at the kids, knowing they had more stops to go. “Would you guys be alright if I helped Miss Jenn with this ham?”

Everyone said yes, minus Nini who said no, but when she realized she was the only one, quickly changed her answer to yes.

Gina heard the doorbell ring again.

“What the-?” She asked outloud. She opened up her door and “The First Day of Christmas” was belted in her face by none other than Carlos and Seb. They barely got through the first day before Gina hushed them and stepped onto her small porch.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“Caroling!” Carlos chimed, before noticing everyone else in the window. “What are they doing here?!” He asked offended. “Are you having an official cast party without me?! Gina! How could you? I thought we were frie-“.

Gina cut him off, slightly annoyed. “Will you be quiet? It’s not! I lied. Ok? I didn’t have anyone coming over for Christmas so I invited Miss Jenn and then the Three Musketeers and their father randomly showed up and they’re the last people I want here”.

“Gina, the more the merrier. Seb and I’s families can wait. Let’s make sure you get a Christmas to remember”.

Carlos then pushed past Gina and went into her house. “Hellooooo everyone!” He greeted. The other three ran over and gave him and Seb enthusiastic hugs.

Gina accepted her fate and walked back inside.

About fifteen minutes later, she was showing Kourtney how she found her “tree channel” on the TV when another knock came on the door.

Gina opened it up, now officially confused. “Red? What on Earth could you be doing here?”

He was carrying a small Christmas bag. “Well, I heard there was a party here-“

“Carlos?”

“Yeah,” Gina perched her lips, “anyway, Ricky also left this at my house and I heard he was here so I made sure to bring it with me. I also brought video games!”

Red let himself in and that was when Gina noticed the giant black backpack stuffed to the brim hanging from his back.

Gina yelled out to the empty street, “anyone else want to join? Apparently there’s a party at my house!”

And as if, on cue, Gina saw two more figures appear. Ashlyn and EJ. “Hellloooo! We heard there was a party here!” Ashlyn hollered carrying a giant pack of soda’s and EJ with chips and other treats in his arms.

“You two are supposed to be in Denver!”

“We were,” stated Ashlyn, “but my flight was with my sister- which EJ took- and it ended up being cancelled because of the storm. My whole family is there so we’re stuck here”.

“Storm? What storm?” Gina asked puzzled.

“Dude, you didn’t hear?” EJ asked.

“No, dude,” Gina retorted in a salty tone, “I didn’t”.

“Well, it’s massive. People are being told that after 6- so like fifteen minutes from now- we need to stay indoors. It’s supposed to be icy and snow like fifteen inches. It’s crazy. So we decided to come here, hopefully beating the storm. Besides, when Carlos declares a party, we have to be there”.

Gina sighed as she gave up. She should have expected a Carlos-party at her house sometime, might as well be now. She let the two, now shivering, in.

She called her mom and explained the situation. Her mom was surprisingly ok with all of the people there, mostly because there was adult supervision. Unfortunately, because of the storm, her mom wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. The office was requesting people stay to be safe, so the entire city was basically on lockdown at this point.

Gina made her way back to the kitchen. Everyone was scattered and chatting throughout her house. She found Miss Jenn and Mike finishing up the ham. She gently tapped Miss Jenn on the shoulder. “Um... Miss Jenn... some more people showed up”.

Miss Jenn must have really been in her own thoughts because she jumped back into Mike’s arms when she noticed all the new people that had arrived since Mike. They awkwardly pushed away from each other and brushed their clothes off.

“Oh... I’m going to need more ham”.

Gina saw Ricky approaching her and tried to push past Red and Ashlyn having a rousing conversation about dinosaurs.

“Hey, Gina!” She heard him call. She pretended not to hear him as she pushed through Red and Ashlyn. Ricky shook his head in frustration and returned back to Nini.

“Everything ok?” Nini asked cautiously.

“Yup. Just fine. Can we please just get back to... whatever we were doing?”

“We were just talking Ricky”.

“Yeah um, never mind. I’m going to get a drink,” Ricky said as he made his way to a canned Dr. Pepper.

About twenty minutes later, Carlos saw Gina sitting alone in her home office. She was sitting in a giant, faded swivel chair- her back to the doorframe, staring somberly out the window.

Carlos sighed dramatically. “OOOhhhh”. This caused Gina to jump, swivel around quickly, and glare at him.

He sighed even more dramatically as he fell against the doorway, palm to his forward, “OOOOHHHHHHH”.

“Yes, Carlos?” Gina asked, unamused.

“Well,” Carlos said, sauntering to a chair, his antics still high. He fell dramatically in the chair as he whimpered, “I’m just so. bored. at this amazing party you threw”.

Nothing.

“So I was thinking we should play a game”.

“Carlos, I own like, no board games”.

“Oh that’s fine!” Carlos perked up. “Charades doesn’t need board games,” he said with a wink. He popped up and held out his hand fashionably toward her.

Gina smiled and shook her head as she took his hand and they ran out to the living room. She noticed they were all already sitting around, a bag with paper strips sat neatly in the center of her coffee table. “Attention! Attention! We are ALL playing charades. No one gets a choice. Pick a teammate,” Carlos demanded royally.

Carlos ran over and grabbed Seb’s hand. Ashlyn and Red looked at each other and shrugged. Jenn scooted closer to Mike in the kitchen. Which left Nini, EJ, Ricky, and Kourtney sitting on the couches and Gina awkwardly standing in the corner.

“I call Gina,” Ricky said without hesitation. Both Nini and Gina gave him weird looks.

“Well then...” Carlos said apparently discomfited, “ I guess that leaves Nini, EJ, and Kourtney on the other team. That’s fine. Throuples are fun!” Carlos didn’t even hesitate with his last statement, but it made the entire room incredibly tense.

“Well go on!” Carlos pushed Gina in Ricky’s direction. “Go sit by your teammate”. Gina sat down next to Ricky, who was now perfectly settled in between her and Nini on the two seater couch.

“We’ll go first!” Miss Jenn volunteered. The game was fun, but Jenn was incredibly competitive and rubbed the fact she and Mike were winning in everyone’s face. Red and Ashlyn cheated the entire time which made Carlos annoyed. And Nini was barely giving any spirit to her team. Gina and Ricky cooperatively played together- at first it was awkward, but about two turns in they were already high-fiving and celebrating their victories and secretly celebrating their opponents losses.

It was the fourth round and it became Gina and Ricky’s turn again. She reached in the grocery bag and pulled out a little white paper with Seb’s handwriting poorly written on it. It read “Gabriella”. She got horrible flashbacks of seeing Ricky and Gina kiss during the show and after the show. Behind stage. Where they still don’t know she saw them.

“Uhh... umm...” she made an elephant trunk draping her arm from her nose and flailing her hand.

“Elephant!” Ricky yelled gleefully.

“Yeah, sure,” Gina said and then swiftly exited the room.

“That’s weird...,”Seb said under his breath. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t put elephant in there...”

Ashlyn chimed in, “let’s keep going,” which was perfect, because it broke the tension. Red ran over to Gina who was walking quickly to her bedroom. “Are you still playing?”

“Umm... no... I’m gonna take a break. Games wear me out,” she said as she let out a half-hearted laugh. “Just have Nini be Ricky’s partner or something”.

“Ok...” Red said as he awkwardly exited the room, slightly tripping on her bedroom frame.

Gina grabbed the small box filled with thick string and began braiding an intricate design on a bracelet she had been working on the past week.

She heard a small tap on the door and looked up from her bracelet.

“Hey Nini, what’s up?”

“Are you alright?” Nini asked, approaching and slowly sitting on the edge of Gina’s bed.

Gina sat up from laying on her stomach and let her back fall into her pillows. She began fumbling with her bracelet again.

“I’m good. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well... you left the game kind of... abruptly?”

Gina shrugged.

“Alright, I’m just going to ask. I don’t want to beat around the bush. Is this about Ricky and me?”

Gina scoffed. “Hah! No. Why would it be? Why would I care if the guy I got close to and hung out with for weeks turned around and found someone else right after I left? We were just friends. No big. It’s chill or whatever..”

This stung Nini a little- because it’s what she did to Ricky.

Nini let out a breath. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say next.

“Ricky liked you too”.

Gina dropped the bracelet.

“What?! I- I- mean... what?!! I never said I liked him”.

“It’s ok, Gina. It was obvious you did. I couldn’t blame you. I was pretty jealous. And yes, Ricky and I are together, but things haven’t been the same since. He never said he liked you, but he talks about you non-stop. And he’s the one who suggested we bring you cookies tonight- honestly, I tried to stop him. I don’t think he ever stopped liking you”.

Gina didn’t understand.

“W-why are you telling me this? You said you’re together with him”.

“Because I think I’m realizing what I realized before I got back with him the second time. I don’t want someone who’s only half-in. I deserve to have someone who wants me completely and so do you”.

“Are... you saying you want me to be with Ricky?”

“I’m saying, let’s see where things go”. Nini gently touched Gina’s hand. “But please don’t let some boy come in between our friendship and this party. I thought we were starting to become friends again before you moved”.

Gina laughed thinking of Thanksgiving and almost getting to have a sleepover. “We were, weren’t we?”

“So come just enjoy Christmas with your friends, ok? No matter what happens, we’re all family and that’s what matters”.

Gina smiled. Nini grabbed her hand and they walked downstairs. Everyone was eating ham and smiling and joking around. Gina was glad Nini came when she did. She would have been bummed to miss out on everything.

“Hey Gina! Glad to see you join us again!” Jenn said with a big grin.

“There’s some ham left on the stove!” Mike piped in, standing next to her.

Gina made herself a plate and walked quietly around the room. She saw an empty seat next to Ricky.

“May I sit here?” She said with a soft smile.

Ricky’s face beamed. “All yours”.

Nini glanced over at them and smiled. She went and sat at the small table with Kourtney and Ashlyn.

Red, Carlos, Seb, Gina, and Ricky sat and laughed and cracked jokes about the play and things that went wrong that none of the audience would have noticed. Gina couldn’t help but feel right at home with them. She and Ricky exchanged a small glance and she blushed as she looked away.

“Hey, do you want to play the switch, Ricky?” Red asked.

“It wouldn’t be a normal Christmas Eve without it”.

The night passed with video games, the girls doing each other’s hair, a lot of snacks, a small living room karaoke session, and a wild game of sardines. People had began to fall asleep in random places throughout Gina’s house. Some on the floor, couches, her mom’s bed and even Jenn had an emergency blow up mattress in her car she brought in.

Red and Ricky were the only other two up still playing video games at about 3 am. Gina decided to turn in and go to sleep.

Ricky jumped up and ran over to her while Red pretended not to listen.

“Hey Gina?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for letting us stay here. It was really nice of you guys.”

“Well, we didn’t really have a choice,” Gina giggled. “It was over -45 outside. You would’ve frozen immediately”.

“True,” Ricky smiled.

They stood in silence for a moment.

“Good night, Ricky”.

“Good night, Gina. Merry Christmas”.

Gina began to walk to the staircase, laid her hand on it, turned around and gave a soft smile to Ricky, and then walked back up the stairs.

The next morning, Gina went into her hall closet and got out the emergency stash of tooth brushes her mom keeps. Because they have times when they frequently run low on money, her mom keeps a large collection of necessaries handy (when she does get paid), for emergencies. Things like soap, shampoo, tooth paste, and tooth brushes that are long lasting are among the stored parts.

She placed a tooth brush and mini tooth paste from previous dentist visits next to each person, so when they woke up at least they could brush their teeth.

She then went into the kitchen and got out a frozen loaf of toast to thaw and the filled carton of eggs. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it could tide everyone over until the city was cleared to be on the roads again. Nini and Mike were among the first to wake up, with Jenn and Red the last. (Red also woke up in his own drool puddle, but no one was surprised. Ricky was just thankful he didn’t bring any of his “sleeping gear”).

Everyone sat around and ate breakfast, called families, and watched Elf. During Elf, Gina noticed Nini lay her head on Ricky’s shoulder, feeling like their conversation last night was too good to be true. But she could have sworn she caught Ricky giving her a couple glances...

The morning was quickly dissembling when Gina watched Nini and Ricky walk off to another room after the movie finished while everyone else helped clean up decorations and garbage from the day before.

Seb was on his phone when he screeched, “FINALLY. WE CAN GO HOME”.

Carlos looked at him, concerned. “Seb, honey, you ok?”

“I WAS GOING CRAZY. I WAS TRYING TO BE NICE BUT I HATE ENCLOSED SPACES. I CANT BREATHE AND I WANT TO GO HOME. THIS STORM IS OVER- thanks again, Gina- BUT LET’S GOOOO”.

Carlos just shook his head and giggled. They were definitely the first to leave. Red, Ashlyn and EJ were next. Mike walked Miss Jenn to her car, while Nini and Kourtney were in Gina’s room talking. Gina was watching Mike give Jenn a hug when she heard Ricky’s voice behind her.

“You think she’s going to be my new mom?”

“I don’t know. Would you be upset if she was?”

Ricky smiled. “I don’t know”.

Gina watched them talk a few more seconds and then turned around. “Listen, Ricky, about last night...”

“It’s no worries. I get it’s been a little weird between us...”

“A little?!-“

“-ok a lot-”

“-We’ve hardly talked! I mean I get you’re in a relationship and all-“

“What relationship?”

“... with Nini?” Gina asked confused.

“Yeah... I think we decided during Elf to put the breaks on that”.

“Is that why you left?”

“Yeah... Nini feels like she needs to find herself without someone.... whatever that means”.

Gina felt a little tingle swirl in her stomach. She repressed the smile that was beginning to take over her face.

“Well... that’s just a big bummer then”. The statement came out a lot more sarcastic than Gina intended, but luckily Ricky didn’t notice because he giggled back.

“Yeah, a real bummer”.

Nini and Kourtney came down the stairs.

“Ready to go?” She smiled at Ricky.

“Sure,” he smiled back politely.

“Thank you so much,” said Kourtney to Gina.

“Yes, thank you. We owe you. You sure you’re going to be ok? I don’t want to leave you alone on Christmas,” echoed Nini.

“I promise, I’m good. My mom will be home in like, an hour, tops. You guys go enjoy your missed time with your families. They need it too,” Gina reassures them.

“Ok, well, Merry Christmas,” Nini said.

The others copied this sentiment with some goodbye’s and a giant group hug before they headed out the door.

Nini smiled as she locked the door behind them and went over to the kitchen counter. The gifts! They had been so wrapped up in the fun, they never opened the gifts. Gina hurried and look at the tags to see who they belonged to so she could return the presents to their rightful owners.

The one from Miss Jenn was definitely for her so she decided not to make that call... but who’s was Red’s for? Gina looked at the tag.

To: Gina

From: Ricky

Gina set both presents down at the table and slowly pulled the paper maché from the gift bag from Miss Jenn. She had given Gina a handmade ornament that looked like a little cartoon version of herself with a small name plaque that read “Taylor”. Gina smiled as she stared at the detailing on the little figurine. It was so thoughtful and she appreciated Miss Jenn coming over in the first place. Regardless of what actually happened last night, Gina couldn’t help but appreciate how much fun she would have had with Miss Jenn alone. She really was an amazing teacher.

Then she pulled the other little bag towards her and carefully pulled the paper out of it. Inside was a knitted scarf. There were multiple colors in no particular pattern and parts of it had looser seams than others. Gina wrapped the scarf around her neck- it smelt like Ricky. It smelt like home.

Just then she heard the door bell ring. She stood up to answer it, but then realized her scarf was still on. She fought it like a snake wrapped around her neck. When it was finally done suffocating her, she ran to the door.

She swung it open and Ricky bolted in, slamming the door behind him.

“I forgot to give you your present!!!”

Gina giggled, “no you didn’t.” She nodded toward her table.

Ricky giggled. “It’s so bad. I’m so sorry. I was just trying to do this really nice thing-“

“Ricky, stop,” Gina said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. “I love it”.

Ricky blushed as he hung his for a second.

He began to walk back towards the door but as he reached for the handle, he dropped his hand. “Oh and Gina?”

“Yeah?”

“I meant what I said about how nice it was that you let us stay here. I don’t even think I realized how much I appreciated it when I said it”.

He then leaned over and gave Gina a soft peck on the cheek, making her entire body relax with this one small moment.

“Merry Christmas, Gina”.

She smiled and said, “Merry Christmas,” softly as he closed the door behind him.

Gina then walked over, wrapped her colorful scarf around her neck, put her little ornament up to her cheek, and did a small happy dance. This happy dance broke into full on spins. And as she moved and hummed throughout the bottom half of her house, she promised to herself that she would not forget about her best Christmas ever.

[heywardsarchive]

DIWALI PARTY (PETER PARKER X INDIAN!READER)

Summary: Peter Parker is dating an indian girl who takes him to her house for a Diwali party. Peter is apprehensive but little does he know that it would be one of the best days ever! Reader introduces him to authentic indian food and culture. At the same time her family and Peter are getting to know each other. Madness ensues.

Warnings: none, just Peter getting overwhelmed by readers family😂 Also there will be many lines in hindi for which I will put a translation beside it.

Alright let's begin!

*********

Peter Parker was good at many things. He was spiderman, he was Tony stark's intern and he excelled in school. But Peter Parker was not good at meeting new people. He almost always became a cute stuttering mess. This never was a problem until one fine day in October when his lovely girlfriend informed him that her parents wanted him to come for the annual diwali get together.

"y/n what is Diwali and why do I have to come with you?" "Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated all over india and by Indians all over the world over five days in October or November. You have to come with me because my mom told everybody I have a boyfriend and now they all want to meet you. Don't worry it won't be too bad. They might just grill you a tiny bit." Peter was going to be majorly grilled. "Ok it can't be that bad can it? It's next week right? I'll be there." Y/n smiled at Peter and kissed his cheek. "I'll pick you up at 4 the both of us will go together." He nodded.

The week leading up to the party was the most stressful week of peters life. He was nervous. He wanted to make a good impression on y/n's family. He liked her alot you see. He spent hours reading up on indian culture and even learnt a few hindi phrases which proved to be a bit tough for him. May was very amused at her nephew's behaviour. Two days before the party Peter could not take the stress anymore. Even the reassurance provided by y/n was not enough. He went to May and told her everything. "Peter, did you get any traditional clothes?" "Traditional clothes? " Peter was confused. May sighed. "Peter if you want to make a good impression on y/n's family you'll have to dress appropriately. You can't show up in jeans and a sweat shirt. Diwali is a very important festival to indians!" "Now what do I do?" The very same evening Peter was taken to get traditional clothes by his aunt. He tried on many kurtas (traditional Indian outfit) and finally picked a light yellow one with gold designs on it.

It was finally the day. Peter looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted his outfit. He checked that he had everything before leaving the room. The doorbell rang and on opening it he saw y/n. She looked so gorgeous in her ghagra choli (indian skirt and top)

Peters mouth fell open. "Close your mouth you'll catch flies." She giggled. "You look so pretty!" "You don't look too bad yourself Parker." She laughed and pulled Peter in for a kiss. "Remember, no kissing in front of my family or they will kill you. Alright? Let's go." Peter nodded. "Bye May!" "Wait! Peter." May ran out with a camera and a gift. "One picture!" Peter and y/n smiled for the camera. May handed Peter the gift bad and they left for y/n's house.

Just before opening the door, y/n looked at Peter. "Don't get overwhelmed by the number of people inside alright? None of them will try to kill you. You don't need to talk to all of them just the main people. One of my sisters has also got her boyfriend so don't worry you won't be alone. Don't worry about who is who I'll introduce you inside. Just call all the ladies aunty and the men uncle and you should be fine. Maybe not actually? I think I should teach you basic hindi phrases?" She started to panic. Peter smiled at her. "Calm down. I learnt a few lines in hindi, although I'm terrible at it. If you help me I'm sure I'll be fine." She smiled at him and sighed to herself. She rang the doorbell. "Oh I almost forgot. Take off your shoes outside the house." Y/n said removing her own heels. Peter nodded and did the same.

The door opened. It was a middle aged man wearing spectacles who opened the door. He saw y/n and a big smile appeared on his lips. "Y/n beta! Kaise ho?" (Y/n dear! How are you?) "Theek hoon mamaji aal kaise ho?" (I'm fine uncle. How are you?" "Main be theek hoon. Acha yeh batao ki wo ladka tumhara boyfriend hain kya?" (Im also fine. So tell me, is that boy your boyfriend?" Y/n nodded beckoning Peter toward the man. "Peter, this is my mother's brother. He's my uncle." Peter tugged at his collar. Now was his chance to show off his hindi skills and prove to be the better boyfriend. "Namaste uncle. Mera naam Peter hain." (Good day sir. My name is Peter." "He can speak Hindi! You got a good one y/n. Come inside what are you waiting for?"

He turned away and y/n gave Peter a bug smile and a thumbs up. Peter sighed in relief. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. The whole room was filled with the fragrance of spices and sweets. Y/n had walked over to her parents whom Peter had met before. "Hello mrs y/l/n hello mr y/l/n." "Hi Peter! Im glad to see you made it." Said y/n's mother. Her father clapped Peter on the back and told y/n to introduce Peter to her grandparents. "Come with me." She pulled him to two old people. "Nani, nanu, (maternal grandparents.) This is my boyfriend." "Namaste aunty, uncle. Mera nam Peter hain." Her grandparents looked impressed. "Hello Peter. I see you're our granddaughter's boyfriend. Take good care of her will you?" Peter smiled and nodded already feeling better about the situation. He met a few more people and they were all impressed that he knew how to speak Hindi. Finally he got to meet her cousins. And boy they were in a much larger number than the adults who were also a huge number of people.

They were all sitting in the balcony all dressed in traditional clothes. Some of the younger children were bursting crakers. "Y/n!" Said one of her cousin brothers. She instantly ran into his arms. They spoke for a while and then she went and greeted her other cousins. Peter stood behind her passing smiles at everyone. One of her sisters put an arm around y/n's shoulder. "So this is the boyfriend huh." She smirked. "Yeah." I muttered feeling insecure. "Hey don't bully him. He's a sweetheart!" Y/n smiled at him making Peter feel a bit reassured. "I gotta go to the loo. Please do not trouble Peter while I'm gone ok?" She warned and left.

"so Peter. You're dating my little cousin." Said the boy who first hugged y/n. "Yeah..." Peter said meekly. "Don't break her heart man. Or you'll deal with us." Said her sister. "I-i would never!" Peter practically squeaked. Where was y/n! The cousins asked Peter a few more questions when finally y/n walked in. "Dinners ready!" Everyone ran out of the door. "I hope they didn't bother you too much. They're very protective you see." Peter nodded.

They sat down at the table where all the children were sitting. The food was all traditional Indian food and there were a large variety of sweets as well. Y/n served Peter more sweets than food. "Wanna make him fat ey?" Said one of the boys laughing. "Shut up. You know the food may be too spicy for him." Y/n said and glared at him. He nodded and stopped laughing. Peter thought he was scared of y/n. The rest of the dinner passed by smoothly. The food was indeed too spicy for Peter but he thoroughly enjoyed the meal. He was definitely going to eat Indian food again.

At last the party was over. Y/n and her parents and Peter bid everyone goodbye and left the house. "We're glad you came Peter. And we hope you enjoyed yourself. If you ever want to come over again we'll be glad to have you!" Peter smiled and agreed. Y/n's parents stopped at peters apartment and told her to drop him upstairs and that they were waiting for her. She nodded and they got off the car.

"I am truly glad you came. I know how anxious you were. " "Im glad I came too. I had a great time today. And I would always do anything for you because I love you." "I love you too Peter." They shared a sweet kiss before bidding each other goodbye.

That night Peter went to sleep with a happy heart.

********

I know this story is a bit wierd but the idea kept nagging me. I hope you enjoyed! Leave requests in my ask!

[negrowhat]

Happy Anniversary!

It’s Sun and Mork’s One Year Anniversary, duh.

Mork looked up in surprise when he saw his best friend passing him on the side stairs of the cafe. “Hey man, where are you going?” Mork asked his friend as he checked the time on his watch, “It’s late.”

Rain adjusted the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulder. “I’m going to sleep over at Kao’s for the weekend,” he told his best friend.

A confused Mork raised his brows, “Why?”

Rain flashed a wide grin, “It’s my anniversary gift to you and P’Sun,” he said. “What is?” Mork asked. “An empty apartment...so you guys can...you know,” Rain explained with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

“Shit!” Mork suddenly cursed, “That’s today isn’t it?” He felt his heart fill with dread, he totally forgot. He was a terrible boyfriend. Rain couldn’t help but laugh, “You forgot your own anniversary? Really? How?”

Mork gave his friend a stale face, “I’ve been so busy with my internship and I’ve never had an anniversary before,” he tried to justify. Rain laughed harder and nudged his friend’s shoulder, “That’s not an excuse friend. You’re a terrible boyfriend.”

Mork dropped his head, “I know,” he agreed pitifully. Rain stifled his laughter and patted Mork’s shoulder in mock-sympathy. “Yea. Well bye!” He yelled as he began to descend the stairs again, “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BRO!”

“SCREW YOU!” Mork shouted back before turning and walking up the rest of the stairs to their home. He swung the front door open to see an empty living room. He was half-expecting to see Sun standing there holding roses and waiting for him.

“P’Sun!” he called out into the dark apartment as he dropped his bag down on the floor by his shoes. “I’m right here, stop yelling,” Sun scolded as he poked his head out of their bedroom.

Mork flipped the lights on and pouted cutely at the elder, “I forgot our anniversary,” he admitted. Sun leaned against the door frame and chuckled, “Yea I figured as much when you went the whole day without saying anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Mork quickly said feeling ashamed, “I’m a bad boyfriend.” Sun sucked his teeth and pushed off the wall, moving closer to younger. “You’re not a bad boyfriend. You’re a busy boyfriend,” he corrected.

“So you aren’t mad?” Mork asked his boyfriend hopefully. Sun shook his head and grabbed the younger’s hand, “No. It’s OK,” he easily said. He led Mork to the couch and urged him to sit.

“Are you hungry? I ordered takeout,” Sun offered. Mork shook his head, “No I grabbed something on the way home.”

Mork settled into the couch, breathing out a sigh of relief. Sun was way too understanding sometimes, he thought. He was glad his boyfriend wasn’t mad though.

Sun sat down beside his boyfriend, close enough for their knees to touch, and grabbed the student’s hand in his. “Long day?” he asked him as he laced their fingers together, pulling their hands into his lap.

Mork nodded and dropped his head down to tiredly rub the back of his neck with his free hand. “I’ll be happy when this stupid internship is over,” he grumbled out before leaning his head back against the couch.

Sun unlaced their fingers to reach up and push his boyfriend’s dark hair out of his face, “I’m sorry,” he offered as he ran soothing fingers through his hair. Mork patted his boyfriend’s thigh, “Thanks.”

Sun remained quiet and smiled fond at his boyfriend as he continued to stroke his hair. “What?” Mork asked with a raised eyebrow, “Why are you so quiet?” Sun laughed and responded, “I have something for you.” “Oh?” Mork asked in surprise, “You got me something?”

His face lit up like a child’s at Christmas, “Really?”

“Sort of,” Sun cryptically said before standing up, “Wait a moment.” Mork watched the elder disappear into their bedroom. He frowned, “Sort of?” he asked aloud.

Sun returned wearing a large grin with his hands tucked behind his back. Mork looked on curiously, “What do you have, P’Sun?” he asked him. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands,” Sun requested. Mork nodded and held a hand out to receive his present.

“Both hands, Mork,” the elder ordered. Mork rolled his eyes before putting the other hand up, letting his eyes slide shut. “Hurry up, uncle,” Mork barked out.

Sun chuckled and pulled the gift from behind his back.

Mork frowned again when he felt something cold and hard weigh his outstretched palms down. He opened his eyes to see a large cylindrical glass jar cupped in his hands. It was filled with cash and coins. “What’s this?” he asked in pure surprise.

Sun laughed and sat back down beside his boyfriend. “This is my ‘Mork Bailout Fund’,” Sun explained with a finger pointed at the jar, “I started to save it when we got together.”

“Why?” Mork asked as he unscrewed the lid to the jar, clenching it between his thighs so he could use both hands. “Because I was worried about you getting arrested again for fighting. I just wanted to be prepared just in case I had to bail you out again,” Sun said with a shrug.

“But I promised I wouldn’t get into anymore fights, remember?” Mork queried, “You didn’t believe in me?”

Sun quickly shook his head, “Don’t be offended,” he told the younger, “Of course I believed you could keep your promise, but I also know how you get when it’s not just you being threatened. This money was saved in case you got into a situation where you had no choice but to fight. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Fine,” Mork said as his frown deepened, “Then why are you giving it to me now?” he queried.

Sun chuckled and answered, “Because it’s not your bailout money anymore. Now it’s our ‘Mork and Sun Annual Vacation Fund.’”  Mork pulled out a few bills in awe, “You saved so much. How often did you think I was gonna get arrested?” he asked.

Sun shrugged, “I honestly didn’t think you would. I trust you, but after awhile it just became second nature to put a little in whenever I could. It was for you and that’s all I cared about.” he explained.

“Thanks, it’s nice to know you care so much,” Mork laughed and screwed the top back on, “Where should we go?”

Sun threw an arm over his boyfriend’s shoulders, “You pick,” he said hugging Mork closer to his side, “Anywhere with you is fine.”

Mork felt his cheeks warm and elbowed the elder away, “You’re so corny, uncle.”

[thadelightfulone]

Apollo Night

So, my good friend @shaekingshitup placed this idea in my head. It is an already planned series of one- or two-shots of College Erik shenanigans. I hope you all enjoy. Those who want to be tagged just let me know. As always, my OCs are always black!

Summary: Melanie just wanted to get more involved on campus.

It is Melanie’s first year at Cal State, and she has been looking for a way to make new friends, get more involved on campus, and experience all college life has to offer. Some of the girls in her Sunday School class at church were students on campus and BSU board members. They advertised their annual Apollo Night on Sunday before class began since it was open to the community as well. She decided that this might be an excellent way to meet some of her goals as she finishes her freshman year in college.  

The following Saturday morning, she goes to campus for auditions for the show. While waiting, she sees a few groups from various fraternities and sororities preparing song and dance numbers for their auditions. She moves off to a corner of the building and practices vocal exercises until they call her name. She follows her friend, Marie, from church, to where she will be auditioning. Along the way, they pass a group of rowdy guys leaving their audition, clearly excited because their act was chosen to perform.

She looks up, making eye contact with one of the guys as he passes her while waving to Marie. Shining dark brown eyes meet her timid hazel ones. He smiles down at her since her 5'2 frame is much shorter than his own 6 ft. Dimples and gold canines in full view, she internally swoons while meeting his smile. Melanie didn’t realize that she picked up her pace, and stops short right before running into Marie. He chuckles and continues behind his boys. She drops her head and follows her to the audition room.

The audition goes well, and Melanie is informed right there on the spot that she will be performing in the show. The board explains to her how the show will go – following closely to how A Night at the Apollo does their Amateur Night. They have someone who will be Sandman and remove folks who are booed for longer than 15 secs off the stage. They let her know that it is not like singing at church; no one will coddle her. And if Melanie wants to make sure she stays in the competition, then she should make sure she has some friends who can make serious noise in the audience – just in case. Melanie sighs but nods her head in understanding.

She is given the date and location of the show. The board lets her know about the optional walk-through rehearsal two hours before the show. Also, the latest time that she can check-in for the show because she will need a soundcheck if she doesn’t attend the rehearsal. Melanie thanks the board for their time, and quietly exits the building. Mentally running through a checklist of things she will need to do before the show in two weeks. She frowns when she remembers what the board said about having support, most of her friends were across the country at HBCUs or the Ivy League schools of their choice. Not paying attention to what she was doing, Melanie pushes on the door leading out of the building hard enough to hit some people standing on the other side.

“Aye, watch it!” One guy jumps out of the way as the door swings wide.

“Damn, girl!” Another voice calls out, and when Melanie looks over, he is rubbing his upper arm after taking most of the impact.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” She looks down away from the group of guys who all turned to face her. “I wasn’t paying attention. My bad.” Melanie looks up and realizes it is the group she saw on her way into the audition. The guy she hit was the one who smiled at her earlier, now frowning in her direction.

“I take it the audition didn’t go well.” Melanie barely hears his words over, watching his muscular arms flex and stretch in response to her attack with the door. She shakes her head, “No?” He stops moving and looks directly at her.

“Oh no, I mean, it was fine. I got through.” A small smile appears on her face. “It’s just a lot to think about, I have never performed in front of a group I don’t know before.” All the guys nod their heads in understanding. “Well, I guess I will see you guys at the show. I should go.” Melanie looks back up at him. “Again, I’m sorry about that.”

He waves her off, “You’re good. We all celebrate differently. Just be careful next time.”

“Will do,” she waves at the guys, “Bye.” They all watch her leave before breaking out into laughter.

“Oh no, nope.” Luke, who was the other guy who almost got hit, says, “Too easy.” He stands in front of Erik, who Melanie hit with the door, and looks at him, “Not her.”

Darrin, another member of their group, speaks up, “Why not? She would be perfect.”

“I agree, I don’t see why we can’t make her it,” Erik spoke.                                

“You saw her first. You are never supposed to encounter the mark. We choose them the night of the show.” Marcus, the last member of the group, lowers his voice as he walks closer to them, so no one will hear what they are discussing.

“Ok, so we do it differently this year. My vote is for her.” Erik responds. The guys all look at him.

“Are you sure about this?” Luke asks warily.

Darrin slaps Luke on the back, “You heard the man. She’s the one.” He shrugs when Luke moves out of his grasp and closer to Marcus. “Besides, it’s his choice this year anyway. Who cares when it was decided?”

“Fine. Don’t make us regret this.” Luke says before walking away.

— Two Weeks Later —

Melanie walks into the Student Union Pavilions, where the show was going to be. She sees Marie and some of the other board members finishing up the final touches to the stage. She decided to skip the rehearsal and just come in for a soundcheck. Marie takes her music to the sound guy who plays it while Melanie hums along, he makes sure to mark the levels on both the music and mic so she can be heard clearly on the mic.

Once that is done, she heads to the bathroom to change into her outfit for the night. Melanie chose a navy blue shift dress that has a deep shawl collar with some black velvet booties. The dress wasn’t too form-fitting, but anyone could see the curves she was rocking. Her natural curls were already pinned up in a chignon bun with loose tendrils framing her face. She wasn’t one for much make up but decided to put on some black mascara with a matte raisin lipstick. She pouted her lips, took a couple selfies in the mirror for her snap before calling herself ready.  

Walking into the waiting room, she sees all the acts gathering around while waiting for the lineup announcement. She goes to a corner and decides to run a few vocal exercises to warm up since she didn’t sing full out at her soundcheck. She starts at her normal chest voice, “Ma Me Mi Mo Mu – oooh,” going up half a step, she gets through 3 repetitions before she hears a throat clearing behind her.

Looking up from her seat, she sees the guy she hit with the door the day of her audition. “Ahhh, so she sings.” She smiles at him as he sits next to her. Holding out his hand, "I’m Erik.”

She takes his hand, “Melanie.”

“Nice to meet you, Melanie.” He lets go of her hand, “I haven’t seen you around campus before. You go here?”

“Yeah. It’s my first year here.” Erik nods at her. “Trying to get more involved on campus.”

“That’s kool. You a member of the BSU?” He takes a sip of some water.

"Not yet, but I know a few of the board members from my church.” He nearly chokes on his water.

“You go to church with Marie and her friends?” She nods at him. Coughing a bit more to clear his airways, “That’s what’s up. I bet she wants you to pledge S G Rho, too?”

“Actually, the girls from Zeta are already trying to recruit me.” She looks down at his outfit, noticing he is in a blue jersey with white writing on it. The Greek letters of Phi Beta Sigma big and bold, going down the right side. Erik smiles at her, nodding his head.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to practicing. Break a leg tonight, Melanie.” Erik stands to leave.

“Thanks. You, too Erik.” She returns to finishing her vocal warmups, as Erik makes a hasty retreat from Melanie over to his group members, and frat brothers.

“Yo, we gotta pick someone else.“ Marcus, Luke, and Darrin look at him, shaking their heads.  

"No, can do. Word is out about the chosen act of the night. It’s a done deal.” Marcus looks at Erik.

“What happened to change your mind?” Luke asks.

“Doesn’t matter, she doesn’t deserve it. So, pick someone else.” He hisses out, keeping his voice low.

“No one does, Erik. That’s what makes it so great.” Darrin laughs while looking around. “Do we know when she goes on?”

“Second half. Speedy just read off her name.” Marcus answers, “Gives us enough time to spread the word during the intermission.”

“Fuck all that and listen to me! Pick. Someone. Else.” Erik keeps looking over at Melanie, who moved outside the door to sing a little louder without bothering anyone.

“Nah, we got our one. We’re good.” Luke walks outside, “Let’s get that last part together before we go onstage.” Passing Melanie, who is coming back inside, “Aye, break a leg tonight, young lady.”

She smiles at all of them, “Thanks fellas, you too.” She continues out to the Pavilion, deciding to watch the first part of the show since she didn’t perform until the second half.

—

The host of the evening was a local SoCal comedian by the name of Speedy. He welcomed everyone to the BSU’s Annual Apollo Night, explaining how the show would go. Speedy completed a short comedic set and introduced Ace Money, the special guest performer for the evening. Ace Money opened the show and brought out the first performer of the competition.

About 5 acts into the show, Speedy came out asking the audience about their love of the Divine Nine. The crowd went wild as they knew this means the next few acts represented the black fraternity and sorority chapters on campus. First up was a guy from the school’s shared chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, reciting some poetry earning plenty of snaps and praise for his prose. Followed by a quartet of girls from the campus chapter of Delta Sigma Theta singing  Giving Something He Can Feel as En Vogue in their long red gowns.

Before Speedy even returned to the stage, the crowd was loud already knowing who was next up to perform. “Well, I guess these brothers really don’t need this introduction, but ya’ll gonna get it anyway.” He walked across the stage to the side where Darrin and Luke were standing, “Keep making some noise for the Men of Fire and Brimstone, PHI BETA SIGMA!!!”

The music starts, and the audience goes nuts as Erik, Darrin, Marcus, and Luke all stroll out from both sides of the stage to 112’s Dance with Me. They stood in a straight line across the stage before breaking out into their choreography for the song. As the song progressed, they made their way off the stage and down into the audience.  

Erik was on Melanie’s side, and he spotted her immediately on the aisle not far from the stage. So when he made his way down, he went directly to her and started dancing in front of her. Much to the delight of her classmates who she sat with during the show. He takes her hands and lifts her from the seat right as the call and response part of the song came on –

If you sexy and you know it clap your hands (claps)

Erik dances behind Melanie, holding her by her hips, waiting for her to clap along. When she doesn’t, he takes her hands and claps them for her in tune with the song.

If you sexy and you know it clap your hands (claps) If you sexy and you know it and you really wanna show it, If you sexy and you know it clap your hands (claps)

Yeah!

Before Erik heads back up to the stage, he pulls Melanie in and whispers in her ear, “Thank you.“ He makes his way back to finish the performance on stage, and Melanie drops back into her seat, as her friends laugh and snicker around her. The song ends, and the guys bow before leaving the stage.

Speedy comes out and starts fanning girls he sees in the front row, "Yeah, I think now is a good time to call for an intermission. Some of you need to cool off. See ya in 20 minutes.”

Melanie had a big old grin on her face as she faced the people around her. “Who was that?” Alicia, a girl in her math class, asked.

“Just a guy I met before the show began. It’s nothing.“ The other two girls look at her and laugh, "Whatever, I’m gonna get some water and head backstage. I’ll see you all after the show.” They all gave her hugs and well wishes before watching her disappear behind the stage.

—

Speedy came back out on stage after the intermission and told a few jokes before starting the second half of the show.  

“Alright, ya’ll ready for your next act?” He holds his mic out to the crowd.

“YEAH,” variations of it overlapped as he got everyone hyped for the next performance.

“I said, are you ready for your next act?”

“YEAH!” the crowd returns much louder than before.

“Please welcome to the stage, Miss Melanie Alonzo.” Melanie walks out, smiling to Speedy and then the crowd. He brushes past her and wishes her luck.  

She takes a moment to breathe and looks to the back, cueing the sound guy. Melanie has an accompanying track for her song, but she starts off acapella. Following her favorite version of the song, she starts singing –

Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel

Some cheers come from the audience as they recognize the song she is doing. She exhales as she continues feeling herself relax more as she adjusts to her sound on the stage.

It’s a new dawn It’s a new day It’s a new life for me Ooooooooh And I’m feelin’ good

She looks over the audience as she continues to sing and get more comfortable at the mic. The friends who were able to make the show smiling at her as the music starts.

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel River runnin’ free, you know how I feel Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel

As she pulls the mic from the stand to move around the stage, she starts hearing ‘boos’ coming from opposite corners of the room. She looks out at the audience and recognizes one of the guys booing her as one of Erik’s groupmates. She slows her pace on the stage as she continues singing while the ‘boos’ get increasingly louder.

It’s a new dawn It’s a new day It’s a new life for me And I’m feelin’ good

Eyes roaming the audience, she can see make out that each one of Erik’s group members is spaced out and booing at her from their spots in the crowd. She was the Boo Boo Act for the night.

Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean Don’t you know Butterflies all havin’ fun, you know what I mean

She can see her friends trying to cheer louder for her along with others in the audience who are enjoying her performance. Even their Sandman is holding back from running her off the stage.

Sleep in peace when day is done, that’s what I mean And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me She continues singing, hoping that the mixed reaction is enough to keep her in the competition when she spots someone dead center in the audience, Erik. He isn’t booing or cheering, just looking directly at her with a confused expression. Melanie is ready to bolt from the stage in embarrassment, but she won’t let him and his childish group of friends win. She puts the mic back on the stand, stares straight into the spotlight, and continues singing.

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel Scent of the pine, you know how I feel Oh, freedom is mine, and I know how I feel It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me

Melanie’s voice increases in strength, and she belts out the last part, along with her own variation of Nina Simone’s scat before ending the song.

And I’m feelin’ – good

She holds that last note loud, long, and proud as the music ends, and she immediately exits the stage. Melanie had no idea that she earned a standing ovation or saw that Erik was cheering the loudest as she finished the song.

Speedy returns to the stage and looks back at Melanie, who went back to the waiting room. “I don’t know what that girl did to ya, but she handled that very well.” He shakes his head, looking down at his list of upcoming acts. “That couldn’t have been me, no sir.” There are a few scattered laughs and claps as the audience agrees with him.

—

Speedy calls out all the acts that made it through to the end. There was another act that the audience successfully managed to boo off the stage. He was still in the backstage waiting room. Melanie didn’t even want to be bothered with it anymore. She stayed in the back and listened from the open door. When a girl who sang Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill, was announced as the winner, Melanie moved away from the door.

Everyone came back in and was congratulating one another for a job well done and an incredible show. Erik and his group were the loudest, cheering on their friend who won the competition. Melanie stayed out of the way towards the back. Gathering her things together when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turns around to find the guest artist, Money Ace, a new rapper gaining traction around the SoCal rap scene, standing there.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know I thought you did a great job out there.” She looks him up and down, not saying anything. “I get it. Sometimes, it’s just not your night, and your voice just doesn’t match the song.“

Melanie rolls her eyes at him, “Yeah, thanks. I appreciate it.” She grabs her bag and moves to leave. He grabs her arm, stopping her in front of him.

“Wait, I am always looking for people to sing hooks on my songs.” He pulls out a business card, “Maybe we can find something for you to sing for me.” Ace takes Melanie’s hand and slides the card into it. “Just think about it.” She nods, and he walks away right as Erik makes his way over to her. Melanie puts on her jacket, double checks that she has all her stuff before heading for the back door leading out of the TSU.

Erik had been watching her since he got back to the waiting room, he noticed she never came out on the stage with everyone else. When he finally got a moment away from everyone, he saw that she was talking to Money Ace. He tried patiently to wait for them to finish before approaching her. When he shook her hand, Erik moved towards her, but Ace caught him and wanted to chat.

Melanie was walking over to her friends when she heard her name being called from behind her. She turned and saw Erik standing there. She turned back around and continued walking.

“MELANIE! Melanie, wait up!”

She stopped in front of her friends and turned around to face him. "What do you want, Erik? There’s no crowd here to embarrass me in front of, so I don’t know what’s in it for you.”

He scoffed at her, “It wasn’t even like that. I promise you.” She sucks her teeth at him. He looks at the card in her hand. “What did he want?”

“Oh, Ace?” She twirls the card between her fingers. “He likes my sound and wanted to see if I was interested in singing hooks on some of his tracks.” She knew she had no intention of doing anything with it, but it serves Erik right for acting bothered by it after what he just did.

Erik frowns at her, then reaches out and grabs the card, “Nah, you don’t need friends like that.” He tosses it in the nearest trashcan.

“But I need friends like you?”

“He only wants to fuck, Mel. You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?” She shrugs at him. "And as I said, it wasn’t even like that.”

“Then what was it like? Because I was just starting and then I get booed. I look out in the audience and notice your friends are the ones egging people on.” Erik lowers his head. “Oh, and let’s not forget the not-so-secretly hushed rumor that one act was chosen to be the Boo Boo Act. I guess it was just a good thing that I had enough people on my side to make sure I wasn’t booed off like-” she takes a minute to remember the name, “like Vanessa was last year.” Erik is wringing his hands in front of him. “I take it that was you and your frat buddies at work again, right?” Erik looks at Melanie, who has begun tearing up in front of him. “What did I ever do to you and your friends? Did you really think I deserved that?”

“I told them to call it off.” He responds lowly.

“Clearly, they didn’t hear you, or they didn’t care.” Melanie inhales deeply, “Doesn’t matter, I don’t need that kind of friend either.” She wipes her eyes of the tears that started to fall. “Please just leave me alone.” Turning around to her friends who witnessed their whole interaction, they leave Erik standing by himself in the fresh night air.

“I tried to warn you, E.” A clap on the back brings him face-to-face with his frat brothers. Luke has a smirk on his face. “You think she’ll participate in Apollo Night next year? She did pass with flying colors.”

“Why did you do it? I told you I wanted it stopped.” Erik looks at all three, Luke, Marcus, and Darrin.

“Now, E, you know we couldn’t do that. It goes against the rules.” Darrin replies.

“Once the act is picked, it is final.” Marcus recites in a precise manner.

“Besides, you stupidly chose her two weeks ago. And we knew it was a bad idea, but you never backed down until tonight when it was too late to pick another.” Luke chimed in.

“This is why we wait until the night of the show. When we have the chance to meet the performers and speak with them during the rehearsal or soundcheck.” Marcus throws his hands up. “You were warned.” Erik walks away from them.

“So, how bad did you fuck this one up, Erik?” Darrin catches up to walk beside him as they head back inside the TSU.

“She told me to leave her alone.” Erik stops short of the entrance.

“Serves you right, nigga. Picking on lonely girls like that.” Luke utters as he passes Erik, who trips him at the door. They all watch Luke try to catch his balance before he hits the ground, “Damn, man. It’s not my fault that you fucked up.”

“That’s not gonna stop him,” Marcus says as he helps Luke up. They all look over at Erik and can just see the wheels turning in his head. He grins at them while scratching his beard. “Ahhh, here it goes.”

[jungshookz]

Hey hi um I was wondering how about one where Jiminie had been silently pining over you forever and vice versa but y'all are clueless morons and it's driving the boys mad so they hatch a plan to get you both to kiss under the mistletoe?? Perhaps with a dash of clingybaby!chimchim??? Also je t'aime 💜💜

🎄 pairing: park jimin x reader

🎄 genre: warning this is SICKENINGLY fluffy pls contact ur doctor before proceeding, u and jimin are a pair of shy babies

🎄 wordcount: 3.7k these are getting very long i apologize

note: je t’aime beaucoup!!! this seems to be a very popular request because like eight of u asked for this very specific drabble but u know what i LOVE the enthusiasm also i’m sorry this is a lil late!! 

let’s get to the main focus of this

you’ve had the faTTest crush on jimin for like a year now

you two have only known each other for like two-ish years?? you were introduced to him through kook

anyways

it’s just

it’s so eaSy to fall in love with park jimin

his adorable smile

his twinkly laugh

those oh so pillowy lips of his

face of an angel and body of a greek god

the best of both worlds!!

also

he’s very intelligent

very well-spoken

he’s sweet and caring and funny and uGH he’s just the perFect package

and u bet he has the perfect package too ;-)

bonUS point he’s an amazing dancer and you bust a nut every time you see him do a body roll

ahem

you’re at jin’s annual holiday party and so far things are going great

you’re hanging in the kitchen with kook and the others because there really isn’t anywhere else to go and also the kitchen is where the fOOD is

you’re in the middle of shovelling chips and dip into your mouth and scrolling through your instagram feed while the boys are just chit chatting with each other

yoongi glances over at you and sees that you’re completely entranced by your phone which is certainly noT party behaviour and you promised him you’d try to be a little more social this time around

so he takes action

“y/n” yoongi clears his throat and leans against the counter

“mhm” you look up at him across the table before looking back down at your phone

“oh look it’s jimin” yoongi points to over your shoulder and you immediately scramble to the other side of the counter where he is and duCK down “jeSus y/n i was kidding” he laughs lightly and yanks you back up

at least you’re not on your phone anymore

“don’t do that!!” you hiss and smooth down your sweater before looking to where he pointed and triple checking that jimin’s not actually there

“what’s the matter with you?? you always get so jumpy whenever i mention jimin” he teases and pokes your arm “is it because you have a faTASS crush on him?”

“i don’t- i don’T Have a crush on him!!” you scowl and decide to distract yourself by making a drink

the thing is

whenever you have a crush on someone you like to keep it to yourself

you don’t even tell kook about your crushes because you know you’d have to face endless teasing and you’re just not about that lifestyle

but when someone accuses you of crushing on someone you immediately get all defensive and you’re like pshHHShshs mE? no. no crush. love is dead. i am  ro bot. good bye.

but like

c’mon

it’s pretty damn obvious u have a thing for jimin

the longing gaze filled with love that you only give to him is a dead giveaway

“you gonna talk to him tonight?” yoongi nudges your side and your cheeks flare up immediately

just the thought of having to talk to jimin is making you piss yourself

he’s obviously part of the friend group and he’s known the boys longer than u have and he’s one of the bros but he just..,,. he makes u sO nerVous

you can’t look him in the eye for more than three seconds without blushing and looking away

“what are we talking about?” tae pops up next to yoongi clutching a bottle of beer

“we’re talking about how much y/n loves jimin” yoongi smirks and you whack his arm before scowling

“oOH i loVe talking about th- you guYS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT Y/N AND JIMIN-“

“no doN’T-“

but it’s too late

soon enough you’re surrounded by six idiots who are all making kissy noises and teasing you about your crush on jimin that you keep deNYING

“how about that thing she does where she feeds him a bite of her food like all the time but she nEver gives it to us unless we ask”

“one time she purposely threw out her umbrella so that they had to shAre an umbrella when it was raining”

“my umbrella was broken!!!!!”

“mmmmmm sure it was”

“she always aLways helps him with his homework and all his projects and of course he passes with flying colours”

“i’ve caught her staring at his lips like more than ten times now”

“to be fair his lips are thiCC and juiCY”

“ew tae don’t be weird”

“oH MY go- u know what i’m done with you people i’m going uPstairs” you grumble and shove past the boys and head towards the staircase

all of the boys exchange glances

“how have they not gotten together yet??” kook groans in frustration and pinches the bridge of his nose

all of the boys have been actively trying to get u two together but nothing seems to be working

because you aren’t making a move

jimin isn’t making a move

you two are aduLTs and you’re acting like three year olds

u know what that’s not accurate because a couple of three year olds are probably more ballsy than u and jimin

“hey guys!! sorry i’m late!!” everyone looks up to see jimin

he shivers and shakes some snow off the top of his head

“we were just talking about you” jin hums and pops a cracker into his mouth

“oh yeah? what about?” jimin shrugs his jacket off and puts it on a chair

“we were talking about how wimpy you and y/- mMP” namjoon slaps a hand over hoseok’s mouth

“do you want a drink or anything?? a beer or some punch?” tae clears his throat and gestures over to the ice bucket

“eh it’s alright i’ll get something later”

yoongi purses his lips

hm

he’s going to conduct a little experiment

“oh look it’s y/n” yoongi points to over jimin’s shoulder and jimin juMps and immediately falls to the ground

his hair is a mess you can’t sEE HIM LIKE THIS

yoongi blinks down at a crouching jimin

god

you two really are meant for each other

match made in heaven

“god help me” yoongi grumbles to himself and yanks jimin up to his feet “what’s the matter?? slip on a wet patch??”

“hyung- why do you do that????” jimin reaches up to fix his hair and he scowls at yoongi

yoongi wants to shove jimin’s face into the punch bowl and tell him to just aSK Y/N OUT U WIMP

it’s so infuriating

literally everyone knows about how you and jimin like each other

everyone knows

except for you and jimin

okay listen

jimin’s liked you for like?? maybe a year maybe a little bit more than that

you’re just so….,,. you’re sucH a y/n

you’re so kind to everyone you talk to and you have a great sense of humour and your smile is so cute and that little snort that escapes you when you’re laughing really loudly at something is SO endearing

and you’re so pretty and he thinks you’re so cute when you have your reading glasses on because u look a lil dorky and he loves that

aND not to be that guy but you have a great ass

he likes you so much

he wants to hold your hand and kiss your cheeks and kiss yOu and hug u and snuggle w u and he definITELY wants to- [statement redacted]

“you like her, don’t you?” yoongi nudges jimin and he shrugs casually before heading over to the punch bowl

“so what if i do?” jimin grumbles

jimin’s more open with his feelings than you are so all the boys know how he feels about you

but he’s still pretty shy about it and he gets all weird when someone brings it up

he hates talking about this because he’s pretty sure you don’t feel the same way about him and he doesn’t need the reminder thank u very much

you guys are good friends and he knows for a fact u only see him as a friend

he’s also pretty sure you have a thing for yoongi

you’re always hanging around him n stuff and maybe ur just into older guys

jimin could totally pull off the whole bad boy thing like yoongi

he looks down at his flowy white dress shirt and sensible blue jeans and looks over at yoongi and his loose black tee tucked into a pair of very ripped skinny jeans

.,., ok maybe he can’t

he lets out a breath and looks into his cup

well

now he’s kind of depressed

gr8

speaking of u

where even are you

“just, um, just out of curiosity, where’s y/n?”

“who wants to know?” hoseok wiggles his brows

“oh! i love this game! jimin! jimin wants to know where y/n-“ kook flaiLs his arm a little too aggressively in jimin’s direction and ends up whacking his hand making jimin toSs punch all over his WHITE SHIRT “…oops”

“jungkook! this shirt was new!!!!!!” jimin groans and grabs some napkins to try and dab the punch off

“u should go find y/n and ask her to help u clean it she’s real good with stains” jungkook offers sheepishly

jimin gives the younger boy a pointed look and jungkook shrugs

what it’s true

you’re great at doing laundry!!!

“i’m gonna go clean this mess up” jimin mutters and leaves the kitchen to go find the washroom

“good diversion kook” hoseok pats jungkook’s back and jungkook’s like ?? binch that was an accident i didn’t do it on purpose “i have a plan”

“what kind of plan?”

“a plan of romance”

“is this going to be like that time u put jimin and y/n in the closet for seven minutes in heaven hoping they’d make out but when we opened the door they were just looking at puppies on instagram together”

“well i guarantee this plan is completely fool-proof!!!!!” okay - this is what i’m thinking.” hoseok slams his hands down on the kitchen counter and everyone leans in

commence operation set y/n and jimin up

bit of a lengthy title but hobi will come up with something better laTER

you’re in the middle of a very interesting buzzfeed quiz (pick these items from urban outfitters and we’ll tell u what kind of bread u r) you notice a shadow blocking the hallway light and you look up slowly to see hoseok and jungkook’s smiling faces

hoseok’s holding a blindfold

okay

this is slightly disturbing

“i have pepper spray in my purse” you warn and kook rolls his eyes

“why are you hiding in the hallway?”

“i’m not hiding in the hallway i just needed some peace and quiet and moSt of the rooms are occupied” you mutter and return your attention back to the quiz

“well, stand up! we’re playing a christmas game and you’re not allowed to leave this house until you play one game”

“what kind of game is this?” you ask suspiciously and narrow your eyes before putting your phone down

jungkook and hoseok exchange glances and hobi shrugs

jungkook smiles widely and looks down at you

“it’s a christmas game! we, uh, we blindfold you and you have to guess where you are and, uh.. if you guess correctly you get to… um..,,.”

“you get a prize!” hoseok cuts in and nudges kook out of the way

you furrow your brows and cross your arms

okay

this kinda shady

“what kind of prize?”

“that’s for us to know and you to find out. now, c’mon! up on your feet. let me blindfold ya” he grins and wiggles his brows

you let out a sigh

you know for a fact they’re not going to leave you alone if you say no so you don’t really have a choice right now

“what happens if i don’t guess correctly?” you wonder out loud as hoseok puts the blindfold on you

you feel hands grasp you and kook starts walking you out to the living room

“watch your step- well, if you don’t guess correctly.,., you.,.,., uh.,, we kiLL YOU”

..,.,.kook’s never been good at improvising

“i’ll kill you before you get a chance to kill me” you mutter and blindly elbow kook in the stomach

he groans in pain before playfully pinching the back of your arm

namjoon and tae have taken a different approach with jimin

“ow- oW OKAY I’M COMING” jimin stumbles over his feet because namjoon literally poPPED OUT of a bedroom with a blindfold and tae grabbed jimin’s arm from behind so he couldn’t sprint away

“why do you have to blindfold me now???”

“that’s the point of the game weren’t you listening??”

jimin stubs his toe into the wall and curses loudly and both namjoon and tae hiss in pain on behalf of him

“i don’t like this gaME” jimin scowls and bends down to cradle his toe but tae yanks him back up

he feels like he’s about to be executed that’s what this game feels like

and it seems like the game has started because namjoon and tae set him down in one spot and let go of him

“i-“

“alright! blindfolds off in three, two, one-!”

it takes a second for your eyes to adjust in the light and you blink rapidly before-

“j-jimin?” you choke and he looks just as surprised to see you

“y/n! h-hey.,., hi..” he chuckles and scratches the back of his neck

the two of you turn and look at the croWd of people that are all staring at you

wha,,.,.., what kind of game is this..,,.,.

you feel your cheeks starting to burn up because jimin is literally like onE step away from you

you have no idea what the heck is going on this is a very confusing game

“wait hold on we didn’t get a chance to guess where we were because u ripped the blindfold off before-“

“oh no we just made that up to get the two of you here” jin deadpans and both you and jimin are like ?????

“look. let’s get to the chase. everyone in this room - everyone -“ jungkook emphasises and you look around the room at the faces of some of your classmates and acquaintances “is fully aware that you like jimin-“

jimin whips his head back around to look at you like :00000 but your eyes are glued on kook because it’s taking a second for the mortification of this situation to kick in

you’re going to slaughter jungkook

“-and jimin likes you.”

wait what

wait

what

WAIT WHAT

your heart starts racing in your chest and you feel the butterflies in your stomach

jimin likes you??? he likes you back???

JIMIN LIKES U BACK

“if you pay attention to your surroundings, you’ll notice something very special…” namjoon points out and his eyes flicker upwards before he looks back at you with a knowing smile

“what are you guys talking abou-“ you look up and your heart drops to your stomach when you see it

mistletoe

miSTLEtOE

you are standing under MISTLETOE with park jimin

your heart is racing in your chest and you want nothing more than for the ground to just open up and swallow you whole because this entire situation is just overwhELming like u juSt found out the guy you’ve been crushing on forever likes you back and now you have to kiss him in front of all of your friends and classmates

“c’mon, you two - you know the rules!!! kiss, kiss, kiss-“ taheyung starts chanting and soon enough everyone else joins in and the whole room is just chanting KISS KISS KISS KISS

“we don’t have to- if you’re uncomfortable?” jimin reaches out quickly and his hand brushes over your arm

“i’m- i’m not uncomfortable b-but like if yoU’re uncomfortable than we totally don’t-“

“well i don’t mind! i don’t mind! and like…, i’d hate to break the rules and stuff.,.,” he jokes and the two of you look up at the mistletoe again that just seems to be mocking you guys

“c’mon! just do it you wussies!!!!!!” yoongi groans loudly and you scowl playfully when he tosses some popcorn in your guys’ direction

“like, i, uh… i’d very much like to kiss you if you’d like to kiss me…?” jimin clears his throat

his heart is about to explode and his face is on fire

his ears are burning he can feeL it “BuT idk i don’t wanna pressure you into- mmph!”

jimin’s eyes flutter shut the moment he feels you plant your lips against his and everyone else erupts into victorious cheers and hoots

F I NALLY

FINALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY

and as cheesy as it is

it feels like time slows down

oh god

you’re in heaven

his lips are so soft and he tastes like sugar cookies

he instinctively reaches out and pulls you closer and his arms snake around your waist

you pull away far too soon for his liking and jimin finds himself chasing after your lips and you can’t help but giggle

he leans down and presses his forehead against yours and he can’t fight the wide smile on his face

your hands are still cupping his cheeks and you lean in to give him another tiny smooch and his heart flutters in his chest

his tongue pokes out and he runs it over his bottom lip before taking his bottom lip in between his teeth

“okAy okay we said kiss under the mistletoe not have mouth sex under it” jungkook clamours over the couch and grabs you and yaNks you away from jimin because even tho he loves u both it’s weird to stand here and watch u make out w each other

you spend the rest of the christmas party snuggled up to jimin on the couch while you and the others listen to another one of kook’s wild stories

truth be told you and jimin aren’t really paying attention to him because you’re so infatuated with each other and jimin keeps peppering kisses on your forehead and your cheeks and your nose and especiALLy your mouth

at one point it gets a little spicy because you guys are sure no one’s paying attention to you

jimin’s cupping your jaw and you have your hand resting on his chest and the two of u are 110% undoubtedly making out on the couch right now

you nip on his bottom lip gently and the arm that’s wrapped around your waist tightens a little bit

“naughty” he pulls away with a dopey grin and nudges his nose against yours and you’re about to lean back in to kiss him again

“ahem.”

you turn to look over your shoulder and you want to shrivel up and die when you see everyOne staring at the two of you and you’re about to profusely apologise because what else do u do in this situation  

jimin on the other hand

this cocky motherfucker

“can we help you?” he raises a brow and reaches up to run a hand through his hair

“i’m starting to regret setting the two of u up” kook raises a brow and the two of you blush and shoot everyone sheepish grins

“oh, leave them alone! they’re in loooooove” jin wiggles his brows

you pull away from jimin and sit up properly

“uh, what are we, what game are we playing?” you clear your throat

“we weren’t playing a game. we’re taking turns telling stories and it’s supposed to be your turn but obviously you’re a little occupied you hoRN-dogs”

whoopsies

at one point u head to the kitchen to grab some drinks for u and jimin

jimin wraps his arms around you from behind and props his chin up on your shoulder

“heY i told you to stay put” you turn and give him a quick kiss on the cheek

“i know but i missed u” he hums and buries his face into the crook of your neck “also you’re awful at mixing drinks so i came to save the day”

“wha- i’m great at mixing drinks!” you pout and look at the concoction you’ve made in your cup

it’s like 96% vodka and 4% peach juice

jimin peers into the cup and wrinkles his nose “how much vodka did you put in- are you trying to kill me?”

“i don’t wanna kill u i like u too much” you murmur shyly and jimin uWus and he can’t help but grAB you and squeeze you in a tight hug while peppering kisses all over your face

“why are you so damn cUTE” he groans in between kisses and you giggle when he smooshes a big fat kiSS on your cheek

he lets out a sigh and nudges his nose against yours gently

wow

he finally got the girl

his girl

“i like u too much too”

🎄the twelve drabbles of christmas! 🎄

❄️do you have a special christmas request? ❄️

[vampirefreakism]

The Scientist (Chapter 34)

Summary: In the events following Asgard’s destruction, Loki finds himself on Earth seeking refuge to await the inevitable. Much to his surprise, it comes from a source he would never have expected.

Warnings: a touch of angst

Word count: 3.7k

A/N:  First off: Happy Pride Month, children! Second, we made it to another chapter! Yay! Another set-up for future events, but hey, as long as y' all like it as much as I liked writing it, I think it's all fantastic any which way. Also, I am posting on AO3 and Wattpad and still making the playlist. The links for all these things are in the masterlist.

Masterlist

———-

Luna sat hunched over her microscope. This was a common occurrence for her in recent days. She would investigate her subjects, going from the C. elegans worms to the zebrafish embryo and back again. To her luck, the embryo was growing as expected, and at the rate it should be. Its hatching time was any minute now, and it held her at the edge of her seat.

Pulling away from the eyepiece, Luna shook out her hands and squinted at the clock. She huffed, still unable to see, and put on her glasses. Not yet lunchtime, but it mattered not. The homemade French toast with herbs and coffee she had for breakfast sated her well enough. She smiled, remembering how Loki enjoyed his and made a point to tell her twice – once when he was done and one more time as she was leaving. If they weren’t already friends, it would be a call for suspicion on her end.

Taking her glasses back off, Luna yawned and leaned back over the microscope. The embryo twitched and wiggled inside the egg, teasing its urge to come out into the world. As it stilled its body again, Luna watched its little heart beat inside its body, and she smiled. She could watch it a million times over with a million different embryos, and they would all bring her the same amount of joy. The joy of creating life and welcoming it into existence.

"Come on, baby. You can do it," Luna muttered. It moved again, and she snickered, making fun it could hear her. “FRIDAY, are you getting this?”

“Of course.”

“Excellent,” Luna whispered. Excitement coursed through her veins like a fast-burning fire, but she kept her breathing even. No need to disturb the serenity of the tiny baby fish. She drummed her fingers on the table. Any second now.

With a final hard thrash, the embryo broke through the chorion and out of the confining space.

“Yes! Oh, yes!” Luna exclaimed. “Hi there, little one. Are you gonna make some ice for me, maybe?” As though it was listening, miniscule frost particles formed around where it swam. Her mouth split into a proud grin. “Very good. Good job.”

She gazed at her new baby and recorded its every move. Appearance- and size-wise, it was normal. It moved comfortably in its space, and the yolk sac it retained was an appropriate size. Luna was content, feeling like she won the world.

“FRIDAY, are you able to get a read on the water temperature?”

“Right now, it is at room temperature.”

"Alright." Luna pulled away from the microscope and slipped her glasses on, turning to look at the clock. It wasn't lunchtime yet, but she could take a few extra minutes. "Keep an eye on the little guy, will you? I'm gonna take my lunch break. Alert me if there are any changes.”

“Will do.”

She made one last note in her lab notebook before closing it and locking it in a drawer. The dish of fish eggs was placed in an inconspicuous corner, and the microscope turned off. Pulling off her gloves and lab coat, Luna hung it and grabbed her lunch, bag, and tumbler from the cupboard.

The upper kitchen was barren. Luna had it all to herself, assuming Tony was out to lunch or for the day. She looked this way and that. No sign of anyone approaching, so she took out her earbuds and put them in. Pressing 'play' on her music, the bass thrum of a Fleetwood Mac song met her awaiting ears. She whispered a victorious “yes” and closed the distance to the microwave.

"Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom."

Luna snapped her fingers to the beat and used the other hand to punch in the time to heat her food. Today, the Tupperware held leftover acorn squash curry and rice. Watching the container turn slowly through the opaque window, Luna smiled as she remembered making it. Wishing Loki to help her cut the squash in two and bake it. Him hovering close by and watching her cook, like a curious hummingbird.

The timer was close to finishing, so Luna took the remaining seconds to fill her tumbler with Tony’s expensive coffee. Her maker at home worked as perfect as it did the day she got it, but sometimes stolen things tasted better.

The spicy aroma permeated the air. It had the power to turn heads if there were any in the room, save the individual who made it. A fresh paper towel in hand, Luna took her hot dish and coffee to her place on the sofa. She situated herself – careful not to spill anything – and started her hour of rest.

She took her time as her food came out hotter than desired. A few stirs and puffs of air did the trick. Halfway done with her lunch, some movement caught her eye. Someone had entered the room. Luna looked up and took out an earbud.

“Vision! Hi!” she greeted her new guest.

“Hello, Dr. Fields,” the android said back. Luna put her container and utensil down and stood to embrace him. “I say, you look well.” Vision pulled back and held her at arm’s length.

“Thank you. You look good too. Well, you always look good, but you know,” she chuckled a little. Luna sits back down and gestures to the open space beside her. Vision accepts the invitation and joins her. “When did you get back?”

“Not long ago. I figured I would stop by and say hello if you’re not too busy.”

Luna grins. “No, not at all. I’m always happy to talk to you.”

“That’s good. Wanda says hello too.”

Luna crossed one leg over the other and turned her body towards him. “Oh, how is she?”

“She’s doing well. Training with Ms. Romanoff and helping with the secret missions that I know nothing about.”

“Good, good.” Luna nodded, smiling a full-tooth smile. Vision silently regarded her, and she took notice. “What?”

“Nothing. You seem different. A good different.”

Luna wanted to probe on what he meant but didn't bother. "Yeah, I’m feeling good.”

“Excellent.” Vision jumped, remembering something previously forgotten. “Oh, I have something for you. A very late Christmas gift from us, if you will.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cubed box.

“Really? Thank you.” With great care, Luna took the box and opened it. Inside was a ring; all silver, with a little tree sitting in a circle. It was simple and elegant, like the last one he gifted. “Oh, Vis, I love it. Thank you so much.” She reached around him and pulled him close into another hug. He placed a hand on her arm, reciprocating as best he could.

“You are quite welcome." He gave her arm a pat, and they pulled away from each other.

“Do thank everyone else for me when you get the chance.”

“I will.”

“And I’m sorry I don’t have any friendship bracelets for you guys. No offense, but I didn’t plan on anyone showing up.” Luna cringed a little. Vision held up a dismissive hand.

“There’s no need. Knowing you think of us is gift enough.”

“Gosh, you have such a way with words,” Luna gushed.

“Well, I do possess the collective consciousness of five separate entities.” They shared a little laugh.

“Speaking of which, how’s the Stone been treating you?”

Vision brought a hand up to his forehead, touching the gem lightly. “It whispers occasionally. I still haven’t a clue what it’s telling me.”

“You seeing Tony about it or did you already see him?”

“I will, at a point. It’s nothing too alarming right now.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

Vision paused and looked down to Luna’s barely-steaming lunch. “As I seem to have caught you in the middle of your meal, I believe I should take my leave now and let you get back to it before it gets cold.” As he rose to his feet, Luna followed suit.

“Ok. See you later?”

“If you like. Farewell.” Luna opened her arms; an open invitation to hug him goodbye. He took it and embraced her one more time.

“Bye.” They let go of each other and Luna waved Vision off. He reciprocated the gesture and, instead of using the door, phased down through the floor. Once he was out of sight, Luna inhaled and put her hands over her face, minding her glasses. “I will never get used to that,” she sighed, voice muffled.

Dragging her hands down, Luna took her spot back and resumed her lunch, not bothering to turn her music back on. No need to let someone else sneak up on her. She was lucky it was Vision and not someone she’d rather not interact with during break time.

She concluded her lunch faster than desired, leaving plenty of time for anything else unrelated to work. As she rinsed her Tupperware and spoon, she pondered on what to fill the time with. Walks outside were off. The air was too chilly, and she lacked the proper clothes to trek through the snow blanketing the ground. An exercise session was out of the question unless she wished to lose the lunch she finished. Drying her things off in a daze, Luna decided to check on her – or rather, Loki's – rose.

She tucked her lunch bag in her personal cupboard and moseyed across the compound to the greenhouse. Taking her time, she looked nonchalantly through every window, doing her best not to disturb anyone inside meeting rooms. Unbelievable how employees could have regular meetings during lunch hour. They seemed to be no fun at all.

The greenhouse stood delightfully heated, as always. Plants turned out their leaves, and annuals continued their cycles of growth. Luna passed a hand through a few of them, feeling their smooth textures. So much life in one place. She reveled in it.

She reached her little clay pot and bent to behold it at eye-level. A spot of soil lay disturbed by the green shoot emerging from beneath it. Luna beamed and grabbed a nearby water can.

“Hey, good-lookin’,” she murmured to it. “How are you? Feeling ok?” She tipped the spout over the pot edge and allowed a bit of water to fall and seep into the dirt, turning it a color close to black. How warm and comforting it looked. The sight eased Luna’s spirit. “Yeah. You’re ok.”

Lowering herself to a squat, she wondered about how Loki would take the gift when the time came to give it to him. It was a personal thing he told her about once. Would she be overstepping? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Their relationship was going well enough, but she couldn’t tell where it would go or if he would stay long enough for the flower to bloom. She touched the stem, delicately tracing a line from the base to the top. All she could do now is hope things turn out alright.

Standing up, Luna stretched her arms out and yawned. She tucked the watering can back where it belonged and left. Her brain was abuzz with new matters and thoughts. Ones concerning her work, the future, and her best friend. Friend, or best friend? Hard to say. It tickled her brain like the beginnings of a headache. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. Loki wasn't the type to feel or think of feeling the same. She was thinking too much about nothing.

But Loki wasn’t nothing. He was something. A big something. If word got out he was alive and well and on Earth, he could have the world at his feet writing hate-gossip about him or idolizing him for trying to take over and rule them. Both were horrid avenues, and Luna did her best to avoid exposure. So far, it was working. The incident in the bar could be chalked up to someone having one-too-many to ease their aching heart and made a false drunken accusation. She imagined it happening more than once.

Each time they were out together, it was a risk, but it was a risk they enjoyed. It ebbed Luna's fear away, and Loki found entertainment in the mundanities of human life. They would never voice it, but the holding of hands was the most anticipated part of any excursion. The closeness and sensation of the other’s touch provided an air of safety.

Trekking down the last hallway to her lab, Luna held her own hand, pretending it was someone else’s. It was foolish. The gesture was nothing more than a clever tool used to mislead the public, as a close-up magician would utilize misdirection in a performance. They put on a show each time they went out, and their unassuming audience adored them.

Luna took a fast peek in her lab and went to freshen herself up in the restroom. She took her time. She could afford it. Looking in the mirror, she studied her reflection. The difference Vision saw was lost to her. Her eyes were the same. Her hair, a bit longer and due for a cut. Her skin, dull from the lack of sun. The only significant difference in her life was Loki, but no one could tell by looking. Could they? Luna frowned and swatted away the intrusive thoughts. Never mind them for now.

Back at the bench, Luna took a record of the zebrafish larvae. To her eye, it had no apparent impairments, though one thing on its body caught her attention.

“Hey, FRIDAY, what happened here?” she called out, keeping her gaze trained on the little yolk sac on the larvae’s abdomen.

“I was going to alert you to it, but you were already on your way back.”

“Ok.” Luna leaned back from the microscope and sighed. “Do you know by how much the yolk sac shrank? Like, how much more is gone than usual?”

“About 60% more than it should have by now.”

“Hmm.” She peered into the eyepiece. “Guess he’s really hungry,” she muttered under her breath. “Do we have protozoa for him to eat when he’s able?”

“I can make an order.”

“Yes, please do that.” Luna grabbed her notebook and jotted down her findings. “How are the vital signs?”

“They’re strong and holding steady.”

“Good, good.” She clicked her pen. “When do you think it’s possible to embed it and make an incision?”

“The usual wait time is six days post-fertilization, at the least.”

“And this is only day three.” Luna drummed the side of her pen against the table edge. “We can’t change too many variables. Make a note of it to do the next step of the experiment in four days, just to be safe.” She added the note to her page. “Do we have enough Petri dishes with agarose in stock?”

“Yes.”

“Great. Make a log of this in my private server and keep taking a record of any and all changes. We don’t want to lose anything.”

“Of course.”

Changing pen colors, Luna wrote down her plans and goals for the experiment. A habit from her undergrad days, fostered and encouraged by her many professors. They instilled in her the drive and desire to record everything, so she kept it up, for no information was useless and no step a waste of time.

Finishing her writing, a wave of fatigue washed over her, threatening to make her put her head on the table and doze off. She shook her head and took her gloves off. No sleeping in the lab. Rubbing her eyes, Luna slowly slid from her chair and to her feet. A little eye-break would do a body good.

She hung her lab coat and ambled to the lounge, phone in hand to read up on a science journal or two, and get some ideas on what else she could do. Getting comfortable in the armchair, Luna found a couple on zebrafish larvae and CRISPR-Cas9 gene therapy, but it didn’t take long for her attention to drift to her social media and lifestyle blogs. She would get mad at herself, but she hadn’t the energy or the will.

Every other post, companies and brands advertised their Valentine’s Day sales and special offers. Luna groaned – feeling a touch of second-hand embarrassment – and switched back to her CRISPR article. She could count the weeks left to the holiday on half of a hand, but the ads had been growing for over a month. In her mind, it was silly and superficial. Money-makers cared not for love, especially the love Luna held in her heart. To them, it was unnatural and worth as much money as she could give them.

She ground her teeth and put her phone down. No need getting upset over nothing, but it couldn't be helped. The exhaustion she felt shortened her temper, and the subject matter made it more so. It was invalidating, and she was sick of it. Everyone else seemed to always get what they wanted. But what did she want?

Coming down to it, she wanted basic things: respect, her time valued, her presence appreciated, and to be thought of as irreplaceable. Unfortunately for her, they were hard to come by. Closing her eyes, she put her head in her hands and sighed. Her heart desired a genuine friend.

In response, her head recalled one crucial detail: she had a friend. A good friend, sitting in her home, one phone call away. Luna rubbed the heels of her hands into her temples.

“Don’t. Don’t. It’s so stupid,” she mumbled, trying to convince herself to leave it alone. She glanced to her phone on the table. One call away. She moaned angrily and growled. “No. No. Ugh.” She stamped her foot on the ground. Two sides of her will waged war against each other till one of them won. Grimacing, she snatched her phone up and pulled up the recent call list. She pressed the top one and held the device to her ear. “Sure, the worst thing he'll say is 'no,' but then I'll be embarrassed forever."

The dial tone clicked off and was replaced by Loki’s smooth, low voice. “Hello?”

“Hi!” Luna forced a bit of cheerfulness, going so far as to don a smile. “Uh, how has your day gone so far?”

“Well. How has yours gone?”

Luna rubbed her forehead. “Lots of work, but my egg hatched.”

“Oh, that’s good,” he praised. “How is it?”

“It looks really good so far. And before you ask, yes, it did produce little particles of ice.”

She heard him chuckle, making her smile a little wider. “I expected no less.”

“So what are you doing right now?”

“I got onto your Netflix for a bit, and I started watching this fantastic show called 'Stranger Things.'  "

Luna gasped and exclaimed, “Oh, I love that show! Who’s your favorite character so far?”

“Eleven, for sure. She’s so strong yet so tragic. You could write an entire story only about her.” Loki sounded as enthusiastic about it as she felt.

“Yeah, I really like her too. She’s great.”

He hummed quietly. “So, uh, for what reason are you calling?”

“Oh, yeah.” Luna cringed, getting ready to tell him her reason. “There are actually a couple things I wanted to tell you before I forgot.”

“Ok.”

She decided to stall a little. “First off, I’m going to be a little late. I’m still in with this experiment, so I’m not sure when I can leave. I’m just taking a break right now.”

“Good. Breaks are good.”

She paused, feigning a faulty memory. “Oh, and the other thing I want to half-tell, half-ask you.”

She heard a spot of shuffling on his end like he was nervous too. "Alright.”

Luna inhaled and built up enough confidence to last her the next 10 seconds. “I have an idea about what we should do for Valentine’s Day.”

“Do enlighten me.”

“There’s, uh, there’s this really nice restaurant on 5th Street. Tony's gone there with Pepper a few times, and they say it's good, so would you be amenable to going?”

“Going with you?” He toyed with her. How cruel.

“Well, yeah, unless you’d rather go with Tony, then –”

“No! No." The thought created a visceral reaction, and he stopped her as quickly as he could. “I’d be delighted to accompany you.”

Luna dropped her tense shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief. “Great! Um, so since I’m not a Stark, I have to get a reservation before they all fill up, so does 7pm or 8pm sound good?”

“Ye-yeah.” Loki cleared his throat. “Sounds quite fair.”

Luna did a fist pump in the air. “Great. I’ll set that up.” She was on a roll. “And, uh, would you want to go shopping this weekend for a proper outfit? It's kind of a fancy place, and since you don't have your magic to conjure your John Wick getup, you’re going to need something to wear.”

“Oh, sure. And what about you?”

“Don’t worry, I have a little something.” She smirked and admired her nails as she pictured it. “Who knows? You might like it.”

“I think I just might.”

The tone in his comment made her do a brief double-take, but she shook it off and continued. “So, uh, I should make the reservation before it gets too late and all the spots are taken.”

“Oh, yes, you should do that.”

“I need to, uh, get off the phone to do it.”

“Mhm. Well, goodbye.”

“See you at home. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Luna hung up and set her phone in her lap. Folding her hands and resting them against her mouth, she beamed. She did it. She asked him, and it went better than expected. Rising from the chair with a surge of newfound energy, she pocketed her phone and sauntered back to the lab, snapping her fingers with each step and muttering,

“Snaps for you, Lu. Snaps for you.”

----------

A/N: Ok, get this. I was thinking of a ship name for them because everyone needs one and I have a proposition: FrostMoon. You dig? Or maybe LauFields, if we’re going directly on the name route? I'm just happy that y' all like these two :D

———-

Taglist:  @the-doctor-9-10 @pinkieperil @sherlockfan4life @kybaeza

[upthenorthmountain]

Only Love - Together

Happy birthday @karis-the-fangirl! For you, I have managed to finish this. I hope you have a wonderful day :D

Previous Chapters: Part 1, Part 2

This story and the larger upthenorthmountain modern AU Kristannaverse have no affiliation with the real-life town of Arundel and any similarities with the town, its people and its actual summer festival are purely coincidental.

Together

But as Anna lay on the sofa disconsolately that Sunday evening, her phone beeped. It was Jessica.

oh btw i gave kris your number hope thats ok

Anna scowled at her phone. Rude! I mean, if she wanted Kristoff to have her number, she would give it to him herself. Gladly. Or up until last night she would have. Ugh, now he would ring and be really nice and explain how he really liked her as a friend, and he was happy to forget everything that had happened, and he hoped he’d see her soon, but in a friend way. And she’d be forced to see him and pretend everything was cool while secretly dying inside. So she wouldn’t be able to go to Sven and Jessica’s ever again and she’d have to make all new friends and everything would be stupid and terrible and all because she couldn’t control herself and gave into every immediate instinct like a TODDLER or a, a GOAT.

The phone rang. An unknown mobile number. Anna jumped and dropped it on the floor.

It lay there, on its back, ringing. Oh god. Oh god oh god. Just answer it, woman, it’s probably a PPI spam call.

“Hello?”

“Ah, hi, Anna?”

It was him, oh god. Oh no oh no oh no. “Hi, Kris? I mean I guess this is Kris, Jessica just texted and said she gave you my number, which is fine, I just - um. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Ah. I - Anna, I wanted to apologise for last night. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you -”

“It’s - it’s okay! I should be apologising, and I am, I’m apologising. I’m the one who made everything awkward, I’d really like to just forget it. Pretend it never happened. I was drunk, I’m sorry.”

“Pretend it never happened?”

“Please. We’re friends, it’s cool.”

There was a pause. Then Kristoff said, “Well, this is awkward.”

“I guess…”

“No, I mean….” he cleared his throat. “Because the other reason I phoned you was to ask you out.”

“....what?”

“It has been explained to me,” he said, “At great length, over the course of this afternoon, that I am an idiot, and if I like you and you like me then we should spend some time just the two of us, to - explore that further. And that sounded about right to me, once Sven had finished his harangue, so I was wondering if you wanted to go to the festival thing in the park with me next weekend. There’s live bands and food stalls and things. I mean, if you want to. If I’m not being even more of an idiot.”

“....Sven spent a whole afternoon calling you an idiot and telling you to ask me out?”

“Except for when Jessica was doing it, yeah. You should probably know that they’re pretty invested in this. You haven’t actually answered.”

“No. I mean, no I haven’t, but yes. Yes, please.”

“Okay!” She could hear the relief in his voice. “That’s - awesome. Cool. Okay, I’ll check the times and call you later in the week, okay?”

“Okay, great. Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Bye, then. Anna.”

“Bye,” she almost whispered, and the line went dead as he ended the call.

Anna sat for a moment, her phone in her hands. Then she shook herself, and saved his number carefully to her contacts, and went to text Jessica and tell her - but no. Not straight away. She would let herself sit here for a moment, for one perfect moment, enjoying this feeling. Before she undoubtedly did something to muck it up again.

----

Her phone rang again about twenty minutes later.

“Soooo? Did he ask you out?”

“Jess!”

“Well, did he?”

“As if you don’t know.”

Jessica laughed. “I was just worried he’d bottle it. Sven practically had to threaten him.”

“That makes me feel great, thanks.”

“Oh, no, he wanted to! He was just all, what if she doesn’t want to talk to me, what if she says no, won’t it make everything awkward, and I was like, I got the impression everything was already awkward? But anyway. He did, so. He’s a good boy really.”

“Mm.”

“So, what are you going to wear?”

“I don’t know! He like literally JUST called. Oh no, I have to decide what do wear….what if I do something stupid. Like say something stupid. Or, or I spill my drink all over myself, or something, and he changes his mind about me, and -”

“What do you mean? Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway. He’s definitely seen you spill a drink on yourself before.”

“...um. Maybe?”

“Yes, you remember, it was only a couple of weeks ago and he was definitely there - and that time at the barbecue, when you took a bite of your burger and got ketchup all down your front - and at the mini golf, when you tripped over your club and fell over and skinned your knees, and we were all trying to give you tissues and things and you were insisting you were fine with blood running all down onto your socks -”

“WHY are we doing this?”

“I’m just saying - he’s seen all these things and he still asked you out. So I’m not sure what you could do to put him off, unless you were planning on being, like, WILDLY racist or something - oh, Anna, do you remember when someone made you laugh when you were eating Doritos and you choked and some went up your nose and then you blew your nose and it was all orange -”

“I’m a disaster human, I know, everyone apparently knows, please stop now.”

“Sorry. I’m stopping. But, isn’t it nice to go out with someone who already knows you this well? And wants to be with you anyway?”

“Rude.” But she had to admit, it was nice.

----

He felt - not broken, exactly, but - raw. Bruised. After Maria, part of him wanted to crawl away into a corner and lick his wounds, wait for everything to heal, wait to feel normal again, whatever normal felt like.

But.

If he waited, he’d miss her, he was certain of that. She was so - everything she was, and someone else would see it, soon enough. Sven had gone on at length about striking while the iron was hot and Kristoff knew he was right even as he wished for a little more time.

-----

The annual Arundel Summer Festival was in the park. Anna met Kristoff at the gates at four, or close enough to four, after she’d tried on every outfit she owned, and put her hair up and taken it down and put it half-up; and her sandals were super-pretty but also they rubbed if, for example, you had to run halfway across town because you were nearly late for a date you were super-excited about. But she was here now.

He was wearing a shirt, was the first thing she noticed. Not a t-shirt, a shirt with buttons, and jeans that looked suspiciously new. He’d brushed his hair, and he had a picnic blanket rolled up under his arm.

“I thought we could go listen to the music for a bit,” he said, “Then maybe get something to eat, there’s a lot of stalls - and there’s bands into the evening, I think, but we don’t have to stay the whole time, it’s up to you -”

“That sounds good! Great.”

“Great.” They beamed at each other.

Anna had been so worried it would be awkward, or she would make it awkward again somehow, but after the first little while everything was great. They sat on the picnic blanket - while on the stage a school band played a medley of musical theatre tunes that was actually pretty good - and talked. Then they walked round the food stalls and couldn’t decide what to eat so took a few things back to their blanket to share, and if Anna did nearly choke on a piece of naan because Kristoff made her laugh at the wrong moment then that was the kind of thing that could happen to anyone. A couple of times Anna got inquisitive texts but she ignored them. Jessica could wait.

Kristoff came back from putting the remains of their meal in the bin and sat down on the blanket next to her, leaning back on his hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed on a date before,” he said, then hesitated as if afraid he’d given too much away.

“Me neither. Must be the music,” Anna said, nodding towards the stage where some men with guitars were doing a sound check. Kristoff laughed.

He was so close. He was leaning right towards her, and his smile was slowly fading to be replaced with a look of almost wonder, almost - she didn’t know what; his eyes went to her lips then back up, and her heartbeat was almost drowning out the words kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me chanting in her head.

He bent his head down, leaning in, and the anticipation was delicious but also she was going to scream with the effort of not leaping forward and pinning him down. She closed her eyes instead, feeling his breath on her lips before, finally, gently, slowly, he kissed her.

Now she let herself push forward. Now she ran her hand over his shoulder and to the back of his neck, as he kissed her again, more assuredly this time.

He was so close, and he smelt so nice, and Anna longed to pull him down onto the blanket next to her - on top of her - and...

...and get thrown out of the Arundel Summer Festival for indecent, non-family-friendly behaviour, that was what. Anna couldn’t help it, she started giggling, and Kristoff pulled away. “What?” he said, smiling.

“Nothing,” Anna said. “Just happy, that’s all. The kiss was nice,” she added. “You can do that again if you want.”

So he did.

[damnthoseyes]

Don’t Wanna Leave

A/N: This is an extended version on Joel’s section of a preference/head-cannon thingy I did here. For some godforsaken reason, it helped me finish his section... Let me know what you think

"OK, we'll be in San Juan on the third and have a day or two off so I can get you a direct flight and meet you there."

You sighed and ran your fingers through your hair. He'd been looking through his calendar for the past fifteen minutes, making a list of when you could meet and join him on his five-month tour.

He was meant to be on a plane in less than four hours and you still couldn't come to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to be here tomorrow; you had no idea how you were going to go without him for weeks on end.

"And you've always wanted to go to Santo Domingo, right? You can stay while we're playing there." You could hear his smile. He was just about to burst with excitement. Bad sign. "But then we'll be in Mexico a couple of days later. You have to come with me! No point coming back at that point."

You folded your hand towel as neatly as you could and placed it by the sink. He raised his head briefly as you walked out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed by his knees. He was clicking furiously and his eyes kept darting around the screen. This had to stop.

"Babe?"

He hummed in response.

"Joel, honey, put the laptop down."

He looked at you for a few long seconds, took a deep breath, relaxed his shoulders, closed the lid and lifted the computer off his lap and onto the other side of the bed.

You crossed your legs, trying to find the right words.

"Babe, you know I have a job too, right?"

He pursed his lips and stared down at his hands.

"And you know annual leave takes a while to accumulate?"

He took a deep breath and started picking at his cuticles.

"And as much as I would love to drop everything and spend the next few months in some of the most beautiful places in the world, I can't. I have to stay here and be boring."

He smiled and looked up at you. He picked at one of your fingers, lifted it and held your hand in both of his. "You're anything but boring."

You couldn't take your eyes off your hand in his. He took two fingers and lifted your chin. He smiled and rested his forehead on yours. "You are going to visit me, aren't you?"

"When I can." You breathed.

"I don't know how I'm gonna quit you."

"You'll survive."

"I don't know," he teased. "Might end up in hospital because of you."

"Stop." You were barely hiding your smile.

He laced his fingers with yours and stretched your arms out. "Doc, you gotta help me! She broke my heart!" He pulled you over to the side until you collapsed over his outstretched legs. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without her!"

He inched his face closer, lightly grazed your lips, released one of your hands and let his fall into your hair. You held the back of his neck and pulled him closer. He licked his lips before meeting yours. You could feel him relax as your fingers slowly buried themselves into his curls.

His phone vibrated against the bedside table. His hand dug deeper into your hair. Your hand slid down to his shoulder and onto his chest, gently pushing him away. "You should get that."

He groaned and kissed your cheek and neck before raising himself and rolling over. You sat up and got off the bed trying to escape his grasp. You looked down at the dressing table, trying to find the lipstick that was now smudged.

"A car will be here in a couple of minutes," he groaned as he rolled over on his other side and stared at your reflection. You caught him smile and bite his lip before getting off the bed and grabbing the last of his things.

*****

"Well, this is it," you mumbled as you turned on your heel to face him.

He hadn't let go of your hand since you got into the car, making the check in process a lot more difficult than it had to be. His nervous energy was at the forefront by this point. He took your other hand in his and started swinging them from backwards and forwards causing your hips to turn in time. His backpack started sliding off his shoulder so he quickly let go your hand, let it fall to the floor and reached for you again.

"Smile for me, babe," he tilted his head to the side trying to find your eyes.

You looked up at him and gave him a small smile. He crossed his eyes and you started to giggle. "That's better."

"So, are you going to revisit your 'girl in every port' network or try to start a new one?" You pouted and raised your eyebrows expectantly.

"Nah, I think I'll start a new one," he smirked, "see what's out there. Change it up a bit."

You slapped him on the arm ever so lightly and rolled your eyes.

He took a cleansing breath and reattached your hands. "It's only three weeks, babe. What's three weeks to us?"

"We'll be together again before you know it. You won't even feel like you've had a break from me at all," you teased. He let out a tiny laugh and continued to look into your eyes. "You better go, you're gonna miss your plane."

He pressed his forehead into yours, sighed and kissed you goodbye.

"I'm gonna miss that."

You use your thumbs to stroke the heels of his hands and slowly stepped away from him, letting go. He bent over, picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder again.

"Have a safe flight, ok."

He smiled and leaned in for another, longer kiss before turning around and walking towards the customs area. You crossed your arms over your chest and slowly rubbed your upper arm as you watched him walk up to the queue and stop. Your eyes grew wide as you watched him turn around, jog back to you, cup your face and kiss you again. You laughed and called him crazy while he stroked your cheek.

"Ok, I'm going."

"Have fun!" You waved when he turned back and quickly saluted you.

Your hands slid into your back pockets and you let out a deep breath. Your shoulders dropped when he didn't even make it half way there, turned around and came back for another kiss. He pulled away for a second and you leaned in and kissed him again.

"You really have to go now," your hands covered his that were holding your face. "You're definitely going to miss your plane."

He smiled, ran his fingers through your hair and pressed his lips to your forehead. "Bye, baby. I'll call you when I land." You nodded. Your heart stopped for a second when he pulled away for the last time and started walking back to the line.

You turned around and headed for the exit. He turned, stepped out of the way for others to walk past and watched you walk away, waiting until you were out of sight before he scanned his boarding pass and headed through security.

[primeadv]

SITS DOWN

PULLS OUT 10 GIANT ALBUMS :))) 

(this came out way longer than I intended im so fuckgkdsdf sory)

How I feel about this character: EVERYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I’M IN LOVE WIHT RATCHET. I love him in all iterations of Transformers because he’s always the tired, pragmatic one of the group. In contrast, he’s also almost tiredly optimistic in some ways. He won’t get out of bed, but if someone gets shot in the head he’ll spend however long and beyond to resuscitate them. There’s 2 halves to this--the me who identifies with the beating exhaustion he exudes, and the me who’s in awe that he’ll still fight his way through life.  I won’t... get into each continuity...because that’s too much, so I’ll stick with probably the most unpopular version of him and that’s IDW (my impression, anyway). IDW Ratchet gets a lot of flack for being way too sour and like, maybe not selfish, but uncaring. He cares! A lot! He’s always thinking about everyone in really surprisingly thoughtful ways. Like when he’s 90% sure he’ll die due to Overlord and his last words are to promote First Aid to CMO (he’s ready!! god that’s sweet), and to give his hands to Whirl (though maybe a bit blindsided, he’s paid attention to some roots of Whirl’s trauma). Or yeah he’s hella mean to Drift in the beginning, but when Drift is dying in his arms he’s scREAMING at him “you’re gonna make it! You’re gonna be fine because I’m gonna make sure you’re gonna be fine”. He can be an asshole, but he knows the time and place. Death isn’t something to play with--he’s seen probably countless friends die, and he doesn’t want that to happen again. Even now, even after the war.  So I feel very confused when ppl act like he’s this mean, cold person. He’s exTREMELY emotional. He’s probably way too invested in everyone’s lives, honestly? He interrupts a round table story for Rung just to reminisce on the veery last time he, OP, and Roller were together in the same room (not even hanging out or anything, just being together one last time. who remembers that after 5+ millions years??). He started an illegal clinic in the bad part of town because he wanted to put his skills to better use! Like! LOL.  ALSO, a point that i think is unfair is that ppl think his atheism is just really mean. IT is! But I think it shows just how much of an emotional and extremely, deeply hurt person he is. It gets aggravating when he’s condescending of religion, because there’s no simple logic to it. He reacts the way he does because he’s a hurt person who’s gone through years of trauma and this is his way of coping. Is it healthy or right? Nah, but it’s humanizing. It’s why when he becomes closer to Drift he occupies this weird between space where he snarks but also tries to indulge more in perspectives outside of his own in his own dumb old tsundere way. He’s a person who believes in justice, ultimately, and religion to him doesn’t fall under justice.  ALSO, can I say that his inability to say good byes is so.. like relatable? I have rly bad social anxiety, and so I’ve definitely ghosted people who’ve been nothing but really supportive for me. It’s not because I wanted to burn them, but it freaks you out needing to, not even say goodbye, but communicate with ppl. And for Ratchet--how many times was he FORCED to say good bye to friends + patients who were dying beyond his help? Maybe, if he could help it, he doesn’t want to say goodbye. And it’s tragic the times he’s just left, these were people who ended up either dying for falling astray into insanity, i.e., beyond his help. But he learns. He chases after Drift, who he actually said, in a way, good bye to (helping him off the floor after being attacked, also I should point out that a very tiny handful of people were comfortable interacting w/ Drift at all, and how much Ratchet just doesn’t give a shit abt how other ppl think abt him. he’ll help drift off the floor bc t’s the right thing to do). He says goodbye in his old dumb way--First Aid calls him out on it. ALSO his trust in First Aid is super cute. ALSO he’s like.. genuinely nice to Ten (he helped him get a date with Minimus!!!). And he’s not afraid to call out on other ppl’s bullshit (telling rodi straight you dont deserve to be captain which, at the time, was really true). He’s also SUPER smart. Also there’s that post on tumblr that pointed out that Ratchet immediately goes to deescalate conflict. He’s willing to put aside pride and anything if it means ultimately coming to a resolution where EVERYONE involved is safe. The only time he doesn’t is FUCKING OVERLORD who he rightfully, immediately, tries to briefly incapacitate to lockdown his medibay (protect patients/information). Ok I gotta stop I can go on forever just going page to page. Also, despite my love, I can totally point out his flaws. He’s grating when it’s unnecessary, he’s abhorrently bad at communicating, he’s privileged, he’s narrow-minded at times, etc. ec. But again what I love about him is that despite all that, he’ll throw his own self out the window for others’s well-being bc he genuinely, genuinellyyy cares about other people. If only he could care for himself //cries All the people I ship romantically with this character OH god... everyone. He’s my bicycle.  ok look, ya’ll know I’m an intense dratchet shipper and I could literally write a god damn essay. ... here’s another essay???!! So, I’ma be real, I wasn’t a super dratchet shipper before. I wasn’t anti (i have no notps), but I was just “yeah they’re cute i guess haha”. But 99.99% the reason why I ship anything is all for super cute adorable fanart. and I kept drawing them because 1) ratchet’s my fav, 2) drift is super popular so I figured I should learn to draw him. And they became the only 2 mechs I could draw. I used to be way more into Scavengers + megarod. I used to only like 1 dratchet fanfic and that’s bc it was less romantic and more plot centric (still a fav tho). Then I kept seeing cute fanart, I would read posts by other dratchet shippers too about what makes them so nice? And I was yeah.. oh yeah. And it doesn’t help that in Lost Light, drift is CONSTANTLY by Ratchet’s side. He’s constantly checking up on him and holding him and touching him, like as if Ratchet is the thing that he needs to make sure, at all costs, is safe.  In Drift’s life, Ratchet is the one who appears to him when he needs support the most but is in the most denial of it. When Drift is at the brink of death, overdosed and about to be broken apart and Orion brings him to Ratchet’s clinic. Ratchet patches him up pro-bono and tells him that he sees something special in him.  like??? can you imagine how that feels? To have no one believe in you--you don’t even believe in yourself, and yet here’s this person who tells you “you’re gonna be great”. And it totally doesn’t hit Drift in anyway, at least in a way that’s tangible to him, until much later in life. Or maybe it does (hey, how do you weave character narratives when it’s been written by like 3 different ppl shrugs). And that statement means 2 different things to them. To Drift, it’s a reminder that he’s worth something, even if it’s a sliver of nearly nothing to hold onto. To Ratchet, it’s a reminder that the greatness he saw led to the deaths of thousands of people.  HEY can you imagine this person you saved, patched up, tried to encourage, ended up being a mass serial killer in the future? (have you ever read Monster by Naoki Urusawa). Ended up killing people you loved?  So it’s no wonder that a good part of Ratchet is absolutely mad at Drift. And I think if that was all, they probably would’ve ended up being amicable. But Drift also ended up being super religious and seeing the hand and primus in everything and oh my god is this person really waxing poetry on the value of life when he, himself, shot several bullets at me at one point?  I also believe they are uncomfortably similar as they are different. The reason why they constantly butt heads is they’re two people trying to escape a past they don’t want and found complete opposite ways to cope with their losses. Drift found religion, Ratchet is gratingly pragmatic, and they see each other and go “how could this guy choose to be this way?”. I’ve heard ppl like to cite the annual as the reason why they could never work out. BUT, can I point out, that they act around each other in a way they don’t with anyone else? Drift gets SO MAD. Ratchet gets extremely talkative and incredibly personal (pulled out an electro slug from someone’s spark, holy shit that fucking traumatized you didn’t it??). They challenge each other emotionally, and it’s so fucking difficult bc they’re both extremely depressed and suffer from PTSD and would probably rather just go on their dumb space adventure and look at stars--take 2 emotionally constipated idiots and you get them. And hell no, don’t tell me Drift is in-tune with his feelings bc he’s 10000% not. He uses religion to cope with a past and life that he doesn’t want to think about. He tries to re-contextualize himself because he hates who he is. OUCHHH. And Ratchet MAKES him confront the parts of himself he hates--bc Ratchet has seen his worst traits and isn’t afraid to make him think about it.  So why do they work out eventually? They realize how important they are to each other. Delphi, Drift saves Ratchet’s life while he’s barely holding onto his own because he probably feels like he owes Ratchet his own life. And that’s a huge turning point in their relationship--Ratchet sees that... Drift tries really really fucking hard. My friend Zig pointed out that post-Delphi, Drift is eating energon w/ chopsticks (what a fucking nerd), and you can see in a later panel that Ratchet (who chose to sit next to Drift) is using those chopsticks too. IT’s such a small thing, but they’re becoming closer by sharing and learning from each other. And then Drift takes the fall and leaves. And Ratchet realizes just how important Drift’s presence is in his life. I mentioned it already lol but the scene where Ratchet helps Drift up off the floor and it’s superimposed with the love message Rewind left for CD. They care about each other so much!! And Ratchet chases after him!! HOLY SHIT. If that isn’t romance, what is?? lol I kid, but it’s obvious just how important Drift’s presence meant to him. IT’s really because they became so so so close in a way that can’t be described as just friends. They deeply understand each other in really uncomfortable ways and bring out the absolute worst and absolute best in each other. And this point is where Ratchet again appears when Drift doesn’t realize he needs someone in his life. Drift thinks he can be a loner and just float aimlessly and voicelessly--hell no! He needs friends, he needs community. He NEEDs belonging, because he wants to belong somewhere. And Ratchet helps bridge him back to friends and found family.  And Ratchet slowly changes the more he’s with Drift. He reads religious text and tries to brag about it bc he’s a dumb tsundere lol but he’s trying to understand Drift’s interests more even if it takes a decade and more to get there. And Drift values him for being his rock. That’s why he’s constantly making sure Ratchet is safe and unharmed, because he owes at least that much to him. And yeah they eventually fall in love because they value each other in a way they haven’t anyone else. IM EMO I CAN GO ONE, this all probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense but yeah. I’m just so soft to the fact that they’re horribly hurt people who don’t know how to redirect their pain, but by being together they come out healthier and more confident. IT’S RLY ROMANTIC IDKKK My non-romantic OTP for this character As much as I also love OpRatch, they are also great best friend platonic ship. They know each other best, they’ve been through SO MUCH together. It’s honestly a shame they barely interact in IDW bc the small tidbits we have, they obviously deeply respect each other’s opinions and deeply value the relationship they’ve had over the past millions of years.  I’m also all for non-romanceOTP for dratchet because I can totally imagine they go to each other to talk about things they feel uncomfortable sharing with others (they’ve seen the absolute worst of each other afterall).  My unpopular opinion about this character I don’t... think I ahve one. Some ppl view my love for his as grating lol.  One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. Medic spin off.