#okay but seriously urgently can someone help me figure this out???

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Hey!! Apologies, but I just wanted to let you know that (because of tumblr’s awful tagging style) the tag you use for non-prompt posts still shows up in the geraskier tag :(( it may work better if you switched to smthin without the word geraskier in it ?

Love your blog !!!!

Would it still show up for "prompts" if it's "#not a prompt"? I gotta come up with some random baloney for when I ramble? Make up a word???

[strqwberryscapes]

hiii, i was thinking reader could be vernestra’s current padawan, and when they meet qimir he finds this out. he wants to protect them and train them instead so that they’re safe from vernestra

a new dawn, part one

part two

summary -> you're running from your master, who accused you of turning to the dark side, of failing, when suddenly you bump into a stranger who seems to know your past

content warnings -> canon typical violence

no use of y/n. she/her pronouns

a/n : wait i love this idea omg i have a scenario in mind already...

she rummaged through the crowded market, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest. she knew her master would eventually find her anyways- it was just a matter of time. the pouring rain didn't help, blurring her vision and wetting her robes.

for someone who was force sensitive, it was easy to sense powerful emotions. fear, anger, loss... the extent of them radiating from the small cloaked figure caught qimir's attention. even more so when he saw the lightsaber on her belt.

her chest heavied, as she tried to keep calm. she needed to get as far away as possible from here, now. keeping her head down, she didn't notice a person standing in her way, and she bumped into them.

"oh- sorry! sorry i, uh-"

she fretted, immediately regaining her composure. she took in the man in front on her. black medium-length hair, dark eyes, messy robes...probably a merchant.

"it's alright." he muttered, then tilted his head. "are you...okay?"

she knew it was easy to spot her distress with the way she carried herself, but the question caught her off guard.

"i'm fine. i just- i'm in a hurry."

she replied urgently, wanting to go. her eyes scanned the environment around her.

"you don't look fine." the stranger stated, then his eyes dropped to her belt. he immediately straightened up. "you're a jedi! is someone chasing you? are you on a mission? it must be important! whatever it is i'm sure you could deal with it, but if you seriously need to hide i can-"

he started jabbering, too loud for her liking. but the word 'hide' caught her interest. maybe he could be useful...

"yes, i'm on a mission." she forced the most formal tone she could, trying to hide the desperation. "an important one. and i don't need to hide. i need to get as far away from here as i can. now."

the man seemed excited. "follow me!"

he was quick and swift with moving around the crowd, unlike how he was presenting himself.

"my ship is just minutes away! i can't believe I'm helping a jedi..." he beamed.

she sighed. well, it was certainly a better option that being found by the jedi master that was sent after her, and when he brings her back to master vernestra-

she didn't have time to dwell on that though, as suddenly an invisible force sent her flying. alerted, she immediately grabbed her lightsaber, going in a defensive position. her hands were shaky, and her breath uneven. there was no escape now.

then she saw him- the jedi that was sent to bring her back to vernestra. he called her name, and that alone made her shiver with fear. his next movements were quick. attack, a blow, a kick to the stomach, force push, another blow- and she ended up without her weapon, his lightsaber pointing at her.

"surrender." he demanded, his voice emotionless. "you're going back to the temple. master vernestra wishes to speak with you." no sympathy heard as he spoke. the jedi didn't have sympathy for those who ever dared to question their ways.

and she knew that vernestra wouldn't have it either, even towards her own padawan. she didn't want to think of what is going to happen if the jedi drags her back to her master. she preferred to die here. with some honor left.

"never."

she spat angrily, trying to hide just how terrified she was. the jedi lifted his blade. she shut her eyes, waiting for the final hit.

but it didn't come.

she dared to open her eyes.

and what she saw, froze her in place.

the jedi hung in the air, desperately trying to catch his breath, choking and kicking his legs. then, a crimson blade pierced his chest. she looked, entranced, as his lifeless body fell to her feet.

behind it, stood the man she met on the market, his expression hard. as if he was a completely different person.

he turned off his lightsaber, and his gaze dropped to her, shaken on the muddy ground.

"you're safe now." his voice became softer, when he crouched down in front of her. "i'm not going to let her hurt you."

she looked at him with wide eyes. why would he do that? how did he know about her master?

"who- who are you?"

he tilted his head again.

"i'm qimir."

the simplicity of his answer in such situation baffled her.

"qimir."

she repeated, dumbfounded.

"and you are a jedi, aren't you...?" qimir's voice was almost mocking. "vernestra's padawan. i suppose she saw the 'darkness within you'?" he scoffed.

she furrowed her brows. how could he possibly know that?

"what-? how did you...?"

qimir looked away for a second.

"i suppose that she doesn't talk about her previous pupils... after all, what is there to say if they're dead?"

she hesitated. was she lied to? told that she was her first padawan? master vernestra never mentioned she taught anyone before her...

a hand in front of her chest snapped her back to reality.

"come on, you're going to get soaked. my ship is just right there."

he pointed in the direction of the clearing, and she indeed saw the silver flickering between the trees.

"i don't trust you."

she eyed him up and down. he had a red lightsaber, which could only mean that he was something she never thought she will see. a sith.

"nor should you." he smirked. "but right now, i am your only option."

she chewed on her lip. he was right. if he didn't lie, and he really was vernestra's fallen apprentice... she felt that she needed to know more. she accepted his hand, and he pulled her up to her feet.

she followed qimir to his ship. he was completely unreadable, and she felt so exposed. but at the same time he intrigued her. his power, ability to hide his force signature...

that's what she was looking for. knowledge. knowledge that the jedi said leads to the dark side.

but she was ready to take that step, after everything that happened. and it looked like she had a guide. an anchor.

a promise of a new dawn.

a/n : i actually fw this one heavy lmao

reblog reblog reblog<33

masterlist

[toxicanonymity]

Hi!! Pls point me in the right direction if there’s been a similar ask already, but I’m recently obsessed with raider and also started my period today :// so I’m wondering how Joel would treat sweet pea on her period? Does he think it’s gross, does he still touch her on her period, does he let her have painkillers if she asks nicely, etc? Do you imagine her not even getting her period at all anymore from stress or malnourishment? Just a random thought I had :)

Raider Joel if you got your period

900 words, raider!Joel x f!reader.

SUMMARY/WARNINGS: this is mostly headcanon/kinda fluff I guess but brief angst and smut (period sex, oral m receiving), talk of sterility. Featuring Carter!

A/N: yeah, she doesn't have her period, from malnourishment or general conditions, like you mentioned, so if she got it I think it'd be a surprise to both of them. If this gets canonized I'll let y'all know but rn I don't wanna deal with tracking a period lol.

raider master list

Early one morning, when the sun is still rising, Joel has an arm wrapped over you and his hand creeps between your legs. He pulls you back into him, and his fingers slip between your thighs. You’re even wetter than usual, making him press his arousal into you with a quiet growl, and then, he can’t resist, he brings his finger to his mouth. Before he can taste it, he smells the familiar copper and his heart skips a beat. This all happens really fast: He throws the covers off you and sees a dark blotch smeared from when he pulled you into him. He backs up and lets you down onto your back. He says your name urgently, shakes your shoulder and hovers his cheek over your mouth to feel your breath.

As you begin to wake up, he remembers about periods and feels bad for making a big deal of it if that’s what’s going on. He cups your face and breathes a sigh of relief, but he still has to ask, “Are you hurt?”

You begin to stir awake. "You okay?" He asks. As you gain consciousness you register his wet finger on your cheek and put your hand over it. You feel how wet you are and squirm, then when you turn over to face him, you look down to reach down for the sheet and you see blood. It startles you, too. Then you register the familiar ache in your abdomen, and you never thought you’d *want* cramps but for some reason it makes you emotional to have it back.

You reflexively apologize, “Sorry, I think it’s just. . .it must be back,” you whisper. “My cycle.”

“It’s okay, you’re okay, right?” His heart rate is still elevated but he’s starting to calm down.

“Yeah,” you nod. “I’m sorry, it’s been gone for so-”

“It’s okay, you’re okay.”

–

I think he’d do his best to take care of you but would need some guidance. He’d probably ask you what you need. As much of a big tough guy as he is he does take his role seriously in taking care of you so I imagine he’d run you a bath and tell you to wait there. Maybe he’d send Carter to try to find some pads lmao.

-

Joel would jog down the hill to the stash house to get Carter. Joel would almost rather Carter just stay with you guys, but someone's still gotta keep an eye on things. Carter would still be waking up when Joel barges in asking for help. Carter's like, "easy, what's goin' on?"

"She's bleedin', I need you to-"

"What happened, is she okay??"

"No, yeah, she's got," Joel awkwardly gesticulate as he explains, "She's got her cycle"

"Her period?" Carter breathes a sigh of relief and chuckles. "made it sound like life or death, man. Ya know they're s'posed to get it every month right?"

"Can ya find her somethin'?"

“Joel, I dunno anything about-”

“Carter, please–can ya figure it out?”

Carter swallows and looks around. “Yeah. Sure, boss.”

(I guess this falls under "other duties as assigned" - taking down human scarecrows, finding menstrual products)

–

And yes, Joel has the drug connections and might offer you pills if you feel bad, or even if you don't. He might even try to help by washing the sheets while you're in the bath and Carter is out trying to find supplies.

–

Sexually, Joel has no aversion to your period. But maybe you’re still self conscious of the mess at first. He’s pounding you from behind, and you’ve just finished coming. He moans deeply as you squeeze him with an aftershock.

“Joel,” you look back at him.

He grunts and sighs as he buries his length in you, a mess spreading in his pubic hair and between your legs. He pants, “yeah sweet pea”

“Can i swallow it”

“Can ya —”

“Please?"

He sighs, wanting to slam into you and spill it already, but thinking, ok whatever. He pulls out, lays back on the bed, and you lick him clean before he cums and you swallow. Seeing you do it is such a turn-on, it might become a thing he wants you to do.

–

And then after, you suggest, “maybe I should swallow all the time from now on.”

His brow furrows “Why?”

“If I can get my period, i can probably get pregnant." It goes without saying neither of you would consider that a good things in this world.

“oh,” he mutters, then he’s pensive for a moment. “that ain’t gonna happen, sweet pea.”

“how do you know? are you ... fixed?”

He's short, but his tone is gentle. “yeah, it just ain’t gonna happen okay?” You feel bad for accidentally stumbling onto something from his past, but feel relieved at the revelation.

“okay,” you whisper as you put your head on his chest. “sorry.”

“’s'okay, baby. 's'a good thing, ain't it."

"Yeah," you sigh. "really good."

—

We don't know exactly why she doesn't have it, either malnourishment and/or stress conditions could be viable, I've tended to HC malnutrition but if she were to get it, maybe that'd be a sign of kind of settling into a (relative to the situation) normal-ish life there. At least she started picking dandelion leaves and stuff and foraging for mushrooms, and maybe they found some produce like with the apples and pumpkins HC.

—-

---

he's snipped that's why he can't

---

Thank you so much for reading! ❤️

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

The Harpy and the Hawk

Chapter 6

A Smitten Harpy

Days went by, Talanah hadn’t seen Aloy since she was brought to the nest, it was probably better if they didn’t see each other as much, everyone in town was already starting to get suspicious of Talanah and her disappearing she has been doing lately. She wondered if she’d ever see the Red Harpy again.

Back in the Harpy nest, Aloy paced around the cozy hole that was her and her family’s home. “What’s eating at you child?” Gaia asked, “I don’t know..I just wish I could see Talanah more often…I haven’t seen her in forever” Aloy said. “It’s been three days Aloy” Lis said, “UUUUGGHHHHH” the younger Harpy growled, “ugh….teenagers” Lis said, Gaia couldn’t help but chuckle at both of the Red Harpies, “If I didn’t know any better Lis, I’d say your teenager has a crush” Gaia said.

“What makes you think that?!” Lis asked in a surprised tone “Well, Aloy often talks about missing Talanah, she’s been grooming her feathers, and practicing mating dances” Gaia told Lis.

“I mean…that’s what happens to a smitten Harpy…she wants to do anything she can to impress her potential mate” Lis said, “…kind of like what happened to me years ago….but then…” Lis got lost her own thoughts. “Is something wrong Elisabet?” Gaia asked concerned, “I’m fine, I’m fine…I just…was thinking is all. Lis replied.

“But…she’s Carja Gaia…she can’t just leave her people to be with the thing that they fear” Lis said, “Like I said before…someone has to take the first step, and I believe Talanah is that someone” Gaia replied. “Well…can’t argue with the wise leader of the Harpies” Lis said as Gaia smiled at her.

“Well, if I really do have a smitten Harpy on my hands….Aloy…go see Talanah, just make sure no one else sees you” Lis said to the young Harpy. “REALLY?! Thank you! I promise I’ll be safe, see you later mom! Oh and bye Gaia and Beta!” Aloy said excitedly as she took off out of the nest, the girl really was smitten.

Talanah walked by the market, picking up fruits and vegetables for her father, she also bought a lot of fish and bread for the Harpies, she wanted to send them letters now that she got a new hawk companion named Khalis, she figured it was the best way to communicate with the Red Harpy family, and it was safer, she definitely didn’t want them getting hurt.

“Hi” Aloy said peeking into Talanah’s window, “GAH!” Talanah said as she heard Aloy’s voice.

“What are you doing here?” Talanah asked, “Well I haven’t seen you in a few days and I missed you so I thought I’d come and see you” Aloy told her. “How’d you find me?” Talanah asked, “I found you by scent, Harpy’s have a good sense of smell you know” Aloy said,

“huh…interesting…never knew Harpies could sniff things out” Talanah said in awe, “Okay but seriously, you can’t be here Aloy, my father lives here too and if he sees you your wings will be mounted on his wall” Talanah whispered in an urgent tone. “Okay okay just….ooooo” Aloy stopped mid sentence and started drooling. “What are you?….Oh…” Talanah said as she realized Aloy was eyeing her steak and rice, “Aloy…it’s great to see you but you need to go” Talanah told her, Aloy gave her puppy eyes “no no no…not the sad Harpy face” Talanah face palmed but then looked at the Harpy.

Talanah got lost in Aloy’s eyes again. They are such a pretty color, were her eyes always this beautiful? The two stared into each other’s eyes for a while. “You’re…really pretty Aloy…I mean, Red Harpies are pretty in general but…”

*GGGRRROOOWWWWLLLLL*~

Talanah was interrupted by Aloy’s stomach growling, “Woah…heh….sorry..I was so excited to see you I forgot to eat lunch” Aloy said sheepishly while rubbing her belly. “*sigh*….fine, you can have my dinner, but after that you need to leave” Talanah said to the hungry Harpy. “Thank you Talanah…and yes..I’ll go, I don’t think my butt hanging out your window is safe” Aloy laughed as she ate the food. “But before I leave I want to show you something” Aloy said after swallowing food. “Oh?…and what’s tha—-“

Aloy scooped up Talanah and flew off into the night sky with her.

[champion-of-thedas]

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 7: The Itch

·The moment this chapter title popped up, I assumed it was about them putting itching powder in Elaida’s clothes and her getting back at them for it. I’m probably wrong, but that would be hilarious.

·Moiraine is definitely trying to think several steps ahead about this baby thing.

·I kind of wonder if it was this sort of experience that led Siuan to making the wonder girls her Black Ajah hunters. This is a random thought for this chapter, but here she thinks she’s perfectly capable of finding the Dragon Reborn and saving the world (or at least Moiraine does) as Accepted. Later, the two of them would have to deal with the Black Ajah as newly minted Aes Sedai, which might as well mean that they are Accepted. She probably saw their potential and decided that if she could do it, so could they.

·I’m just going to say this: making lists also help settle me. I’m sure Moiraine doesn’t actually mean it, but sometimes if I get antsy, I start organizing weird things (like finding out all of the stuff I need to gather for crafting every item in a video game, or trying to plan out a writing schedule or when I will play a video game in what order; a lot of it has to do with video games, I’ll admit). I won’t always follow through, but it settles me. If this is actually the case with Moiraine, we can bond over it.

·KERENE! I know you’re going to die, but I’m excited to see you!

·More reminding me that the Green Ajah don’t actually go to battle. Seriously, why not just say they help out in the Borderlands occasionally? I don’t think this is actually true, because the Borderlanders get so excited when Moiraine shows up in Eye of the World, and I recall believing that it meant Aes Sedai came by every now and then to help out. This is definitely one of those times where I like the tv show more, because (while I get the commentary on resting on laurels or a standing military that isn’t actually necessary means nothing) the fact that this organization is made up of exclusively women means that instead of equating it with the institution, it is equating it with women.

·It is also because of the above thing that I believe the Ajah best prepared for the Last Battle was the Red. They have the most experience in battle and fighting channelers. I’m not sure that I don’t believe it even in the show because Green still don’t fight against channelers, but at least the gap is smaller.

·Rena or Rina or Reena? Hafton is Elyas’s Aes Sedai! We know he still seems to be a warder in the book series so I’m trying to figure out if Rina is in the main series at all. It is possible that he was released and it is just not mentioned. It’s so strange that the beginning of the series made it sound like releasing the bond was practically impossible and then towards the end people just… do it. This is without having communicated it with someone that discovered it, which makes it more confusing.

·I’m guess the lacquer on the doors represents their ranks, since they seem to follow military ranks.

·Stepin! Narrow shoulders and sad brown eyes. That makes sense.

·Also, the implication of the items in the room is that Kerene has seen combat. Maybe it’s just not in battle. So much about the Green Ajah just doesn’t make sense.

·It felt like about halfway through the series itself, women were fainting and crying and vomiting left and right so it’s nice to see an Aes Sedai receive what is probably extremely terrifying news (about the Dragon being reborn) and remaining unflappable like they were presented at the beginning of the series.

·Okay so she wasn’t told about that but being told to visit the Amyrlin urgently is probably worrying.

·All of these people being sent to search are going to be killed and probably tortured by the Black Ajah.

·This Keeper is not going to be important. Why am I getting an extensive description of her clothing and jewelry.

·The itch being Moiraine’s curiosity is adorable.

Baby Moiraine is so tenacious and adorable. She is going to be trying to leave a lot sooner after Tamra dies and the next Amyrlin starts pushing for her to become Queen. I’m also wondering what Tamra thinks Siuan and Moiraine are doing and how she would deal with it if she knew or what would change if she didn’t. I’m pretty sure the Black Ajah are going to kill her any time now, so I’m kind of waiting for the next big plot point. It is either Tamra’s death or the Aes Sedai test. The order those two fall in will alter a lot of the framing of how my story goes depending on if I decide to follow New Spring’s timeline. A lot of this part of the story will be gone, since the search is gone, which is changing a lot more than I remember.

[ketso]

Episode 48

Yoh, the work here at Keith’s office! It’s a lot! And with him still scouting a PA, I’m also that too. We had to phone mzala to come stay with us for a while so she could help us with Risuna. My mom said she’d come up, but she still has work. Mzala needs the money. Now my mom lives with Mzala’s kids while mzala is here helping us with Risuna. We work longer hours and the board meeting preps are insane. Last week, I made notes and talking points for Keith for his first board meeting, and he had their faith instantly. Now, he wants me to do that with all his meetings. People actually like me around here. I have a desk where I sit with everyone else in the open plan. But Keith obviously calls me into his office sometimes for love, hugs and sex. People say he’s more bearable when I’m here. His executives love how I manage his time and his office. So there have been no complaints about me being here. There was even a vote about me getting paid. So now, I get a nice salary shame. But I don’t want this job permanently. I don’t even want to lie. It’s a lot. And I really miss my son.

I’m at my desk right now doing some heavy admin exercise that needs to be submitted by 4pm today. I’d work in Keith’s office for peace, but he’d be undressing me by now. Our sexual appetite for each other has shot up and I don’t understand why. I once read that a couple working together is not good for marriage… but us… we’ve become closer and more sexual with each other. I keep telling him that he will impregnate me again. He just laughs and says that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“Mrs N”, Leticia says to me.

She’s Keith’s secretary. The PA is gone. She’s someone else’s problem now. So Leticia and I now figure out a way to fill her role while recruiters look for another PA for Keith. I’m kind of the PA for now.

“Yes darling?”

“I’ve put together some brief files for Mr N for his meeting with his executives. Please give these a second pair of eyes before I take these to him?”

“Sure babe”, I say.

Keith is not nice at work. But I try not to tell him how to be a boss. He’s run a successful company before. So he clearly knows what he’s doing. But people are so scared of him. Now, I’m their vetting board. Things go through me before they go to him. And this just adds on unnecessary work for me.

I’m going through these files and putting together some corrections when some HOT lady walks right past me, headed to Keith’s office. I’m instantly intimidated. I will not lie.

“Excuse me! Can I help you?” I say.

“I’m here to see Keith.” She says.

“Do you have an appointment? Is he expecting you?” I ask.

Everyone is looking at us and the looks that they are giving us tells me that ho na le taba mo.

“I’ve heard about you… the rude PA that doesn’t even deserve to be here. You were just hired because you are a board member’s blessee. Surely, you are not expecting me to take you seriously as a human being.” This woman says.

“That would be the previous PA. She’s already moved on. I made sure of it. I am Keith’s wife, Basetsana Nkuna… and unless you want me to make sure that you move on to, you’ll tow the line a little bit.”

She stares at me in shock.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realise -

The people around us are giggling.

“I’m sure you didn’t. I wouldn’t expect you to. Now, do you have an appointment to see Keith?”

She clears her throat and says, “It can wait.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t have to. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way here in your short dress and designer heels for nothing. I’ll just let him know that you are here and have an urgent matter to discuss with him. Who are you again?”

She clears her throat, suddenly pulling down her dress and holding herself as if uncomfortable. Then she says, “Diana.”

I nod my head then head to Keith’s office.

Luckily, he’s not in a call. But he is focused on something.

“My love”, he says.

“Diana is here to see you.” I say.

He also gets uncomfortable.

“So ujola komsebetseng now?” I ask him.

“Jola? No baby. It’s nothing like that.”

“So what’s it like?” I ask him.

“Maybe we can both meet with her. You’ll understand.”

“I don’t want to be blindsided. Ke mang motho oe? And why is she coming to see you in short dresses and designer heels?”

He takes a deep breath.

“Well?”

“She’s Noria’s cousin.” He says.

My eyes!

My heart!

My disbelief!

I need to sit down.

“And you hired her?!” I ask him.

“She was already staff when I joined.” He says.

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

He’s silent. Now he has nothing to say.

I see him going to call that woman in.

They walk back in together. She sits on another vacant chair in here. Keith sits in his chair. I straighten my face and not let this woman see me sweat. She doesn’t deserve to see me worried or sweat.

“Diana, I see that you’ve met my wife.” Keith says.

“I have. And I’m sorry about the way that I spoke to you. I genuinely did not mean to disrespect you. I had no idea that you are Keith’s wife.”

I just look at her. And my look makes it very clear that we are not going to be friends.

“How can I help you, Diana?” Keith.

Diana clears her throat.

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it with my wife present. We are partners in every sense of the word.” Keith says.

Diana nods her head then says, “I have been speaking to my aunt, Ria’s mother.”

I look at her.

She looks at me.

Keith is looking at both of us.

“What does this have to do with Keith?” I ask her. Because really, why must Keith know that?

“I think it’s something that the both of you need to know.” Diana says.

I look at her.

“Ria has been kidnapped.” She says.

Heh!

“Kidnapped or she escaped from prison?” Me.

Diana takes offence then says, “my cousin could be in danger! She’s not a hardened criminal, you know! She’s been kidnapped by someone who kidnaps female prisoners for zama-zama miners to rape and sexually enslave. I know you don’t like her, but some sympathy would be nice.”

Hai khona!

“Isn’t your cousin the same person that kidnapped my son from an accident scene? The same person who’s been charged with more than five accounts of murder? That’s not a hardened criminal to you? That’s not someone who is capable of practically staging a kidnap whereas she actually escaped from prison?”

She looks at me with so much anger.

“The point is, Keith, she’s in trouble. We don’t even know if she’s dead or alive. And with her father in prison, he can’t even use his connections to try and find her or help her.”

“So what do you want Keith to do? Because my husband is not lifting a finger to help that animal!” I say.

“Keith, can we have this conversation without her?” Diana.

“Askies?! SIBITI!” Me.

Now there’s silence.

“I’m sorry this has happened to Noria, Diana. I really am. But I have to echo my wife’s question here… what do you want me to do?” Keith.

“After everything that our family has done for you, Keith? You can’t even help us when we tell you that a woman you were married to - before this black witch came along - could die in the hands of danger?!”

“Who are you calling a black witch, wena?!”

“You! You sleep with my sister’s husband, use a bastard of a child to separate them, and now you pounce around here like the queen of Sheba, sitting on your high horse and judging my cousin! Who do you think you are?!”

“Keith! Kgalemela ntja eh! Before ke mo bontsa sibunu!” I’m actually angry now.

“Keith, phone a contact or two and help us find Ria! Please! She could be anywhere! And she could be in serious danger! Anyone who can kidnap someone out of a prison without anyone seeing anything is clearly dangerous! And yes, that prison warden is now arrested, but he can’t even tell authorities where he took Ria and what happened to her! She could be trafficked for all we know. Please, Keith! This family has never asked you for anything before. This is the one thing that we are asking. We are asking for your help to find Ria. Please! Even her father is on his knees on this one, begging you. He specifically asked me to beg you himself. And you know my uncle doesn’t beg. He’s too proud. We can’t lose Ria, Keith. Aseblief.” She says.

I look at Keith.

“I need to talk to my wife, Diana.” Keith says.

“Every three seconds, a woman across the world is being trafficked or raped. Noria Nkuna - a woman you once loved and probably still love… she’s now become a statistic, Keith. There’s no time on our side. She could die. Surely, whatever hatred you feel for her doesn’t run deep enough for you to wish her death, or allow life to kill her.” Diana.

“It will be good karma for the families that have mourned their loved ones because of her. I say good riddance to bad rubbish. This will probably make the world 2% better than what it was when she was fully operational and untouchable.” I say.

I don’t know what to make of Keith’s reaction. But Diana is on her feet ready to attack me.

“Just so we are clear… if you ever put your hands on me, I’ll use the connections that you expect us to use to find your sister, to make sure that you join her at whatever rape camp that she’s at. Am I clear?” I say.

She’s instantly scared.

Even Keith is a bit…

“Le ntlwayela masepa le dushu le!” I say as I get up and leave this office.

…

I’d be lying if I said that I’m not worried about Noria. Truly. Diana is not lying when she is saying that their family did a lot for me. They did!

I didn’t exactly come from a background of unending opportunities or an education that set me up for life. When I met Noria, I was the son of a drunk man and an abused woman. They’ve both never really had formal employment, so the education that I did have is the best that my mother could do on the salary of a temp worker and sometimes donations from people who were kind enough to remember us. My father had no interest in supporting us, so one cannot even include the peanuts that he got paid in my upbringing.

Noria and her father put me through formal university education - I even did a course at Harvard University. Yes, I lived there and all with Noria. They made Keith Nkuna, the reputable CEO. I owe them a lot.

But telling this to Bassie would be pointless. When it comes to Noria, Bassie hears nothing.

And I understand Bassie’s position. Noria not only hates Bassie and is not afraid to show it, but she also kidnapped our son. I understand why Bassie doesn’t want us to have anything to do with this mess. Noria should be in prison. And if she finds the slightest way to be safe and out of prison, she could come for Bassie and me.

When I was with Noria and I knew that Bassie needed my help, I helped Bassie without Noria’s knowledge. But I don’t know if I’d get away with it if I helped Noria behind Bassie’s back. Also, it just doesn’t feel right.

“I’m going home. I want to catch Risuna before bedtime”, Bassie says, peeping through my door. I check the time. It’s 7pm.

“We drove here together though”, I say.

“I’ll request a private taxi.” She says.

“Can you give me ten minutes? I’ll leave with you.”

She nods her head then closes my door.

She’s distant. Off even. I just know that this has everything to do with Diana’s request.

I pack up my bags and shut down my system, preparing to go home.

After a few minutes, I’m ready to leave.

I leave my office.

Bassie is already waiting for me, chatting on her phone. She’s probably on the WhatsApp group with her friends where they interact and gossip everyday.

The drive home is a bit quiet. She’s still busy on the WhatsApp group.

“Your day is quite busy tomorrow. Your meeting with the supplier CEOs will only end at 8pm.” She tells me.

“Thanks for sorting that out for me.” I say.

“Ja, but I’ll use a different car tomorrow. That way, I can still make it home early. How long until they find a PA for you?” She asks me.

“You don’t want to work with me anymore?” I ask her.

“It’s not that. It’s just that… I don’t want to see the Dianas of the world coming and going as they please in your office. I don’t enjoy the humiliation”, she says.

I’m silent.

“So maybe we should just be husband and wife… nothing more than that.” She says.

“Bassie, I try my best to be a good husband to you. Where am I not doing okay?” I ask her.

“I didn’t say that you were a bad husband. Those words have never come out of my mouth. Ever!”

“Ja… it’s just the treatment that you give me. I mean, what did I do wrong today? Why am I being punished?”

“I’m just telling you that I don’t want to bump into women walking in and out of your office dressed in short dresses and heels. Being a jealous wife is not professional. So I shouldn’t put myself in those positions because I cannot help myself. Then to find out that you are working there with your ex’s relatives? I’m just not prepared for such things… especially at a work place. People don’t even look at me professionally. It’s as if people are waiting to see how long it takes for me to snap and react at the nonsense that no wife would tolerate in that setting.” She says.

I take a deep breath.

We just drive on.

We get home. She puts her bags down and makes her way to Risuna who is just laughing as he speaks to mzala while eating.

“Mzala, ujwang?” Bassie greets mzala as she picks up Risuna and smothers him with hugs and kisses.

“Ke shup mzala. Wena?”

“I’m good thanks. I just missed my little boy so much! Hello baby! Hello wena handsome one”, Bassie goes at Risuna. I watch them, falling in love with her all over again. Risuna is laughing and happy to see his mother too.

“Mzala, ushup?” Me.

“Ke shup, mzala.”

“You can knock off now. We will take it from here. Thank you for everything, mzala.” I say.

She smiles, says thank you then retires to her nanny flat.

I chill with Bassie and Risuna. He’s in his playpen. Bassie is outside of the playpen playing with him. I sit on the other side of the playpen and join in the fun.

Bassie looks at me with a smile. I smile at her too.

“We made an incredible human being, hey”, she says.

I laugh and say, “we did. We should make more.”

She just shakes her head.

“How was school, papa?” She asks Risuna.

“School is always boring. But at least I have friends now.” He says.

“Really? Who are your friends?” I ask.

“Ryan the naughty monkey. Jarred the dirty dog. Lethabo the weird one.”

And then? The adjectives?

“Risuna, why are you calling people monkeys, dogs and weird?” Bassie.

“It’s not me. It’s our teacher. She calls people these names when she shouts at them. She even calls me Risuna the thief.”

I see Bassie get angry instantly.

“You are not a thief. And don’t ever allow anyone to call you that.” I say.

“Can I tell that to my teacher?”

“Yes. In fact, I insist you tell that to your teacher!” Bassie.

“I won’t get into trouble?”

“Not with us, no.” I say.

“And I’m going to talk to your teacher and your principal tomorrow morning.” Bassie.

Okay, it’s going down at the school tomorrow. She will probably even ask for the teacher to get fired.

…

I’m living in a house that houses prostitutes. I’m not a prostitute though, thank goodness for that. I just need a hideout place. What better place to hide than a hijacked house owned by someone who’s not even legally in this country, housing people that are also not legally here and are selling sex? Plus, they have cops on payroll to not raid this place. They sell drugs and sex here.

I ended up living here because I deliberately went into Durban town and looked for a sex work kind of place. When I found it, I asked to see the owner of the house. After hassles and jumping through hoops, I finally met him. His name is Immi. I don’t know what his real name is and I frankly don’t care. I asked him if I could rent a room in his house. He asked me how I’d pay for the room. I told him I had the money. I have enough money that could pay rent for two years. He took a long stare at me then said, give me six months rent upfront then. I gave him the whole year’s rent up front. He gave me the second biggest room in this house and it has its own bathroom. He has the biggest room. I’ve never been in there, but I know that a lot of shit happens in there.

So I’m staying here until I figure out my next move. I’ve obviously hid my money. I’m living in a drug and whore house. Of course my money is not protected, especially because they know that I have it. But I try to “buy” my protection. Like I buy groceries and I cook for everyone every day. Which I don’t mind. I love cooking and I miss cooking for my family and Keith. So here, it goes a long way. When people are out during the day, I clean the house. I clean the common areas but stay out of the bedrooms. Yerrr! These people live in filth. Ha!

Then when they get to work, I lock myself up in my room. I have a TV in here. I bought it off one of Immi’s friends. He even illegally connected DSTV for me so trust me, it keeps me entertained.

Yoh, I miss Keith so much.

Also, my escape from prison is nowhere on the media. I knew they’d delay putting it out there to the public, but this is too quiet. I wonder why… are they really THAT committed to not exposing their corrupt prison official who let me out in the first place?

I’m in disbelief!

There’s a knock on my door as I’m in bed, in blankets and watching some movie.

“Natasha, it’s me.” It’s Kim. She’s one of the prostitutes that live here. And yes, I told everyone that my name is Natasha.

I get out of bed and walk to the door, I unlock my door.

My door is always locked. Always. I paid Immi to buy my own locks so that I could have my safety guaranteed. So you literally have to drill this door down to enter. Yes, I got a new door too. The men that come into this place sometimes get too lost around here. I don’t play those games.

“Hey girl”, she says as she walks in.

“Hey. You not working tonight?” I ask her.

“My last client just left. I just thought that I’d come chill up here at five star with you.”

The girls call my room five star. It’s just clean, unlike their rooms. And I stay alone, I’m not sharing with five other people like them. I kid you not… one bedroom houses six to ten girls. It’s crazy. Even I don’t know how they do the dirty with a million of them in there.

I let Kim in then lock my door.

I wound say that she’s my friend. I don’t have friends here. But of everyone in this house, she’s the one girl that I can trust.

“I want out of this prostitution life hey”, she tells me.

She must not start. I’m not here for her like that. Please! I also have my own issues.

“But I don’t have a plan. I have to send money back to Nigeria every month for my children, my sick mother and my sister. Even the peanuts I make here don’t really help me. I’ve tried to go to shops and apply for work, but they pay even less than the sex work. It’s probably because I’m a foreigner and I’m desperate because I don’t have the papers to be here. I’m easily cheap labour. The loan sharks don’t even give us money. They say we don’t have enough collateral.”

“Kim, are you asking me for money?” Because really, this PowerPoint is unnecessary.

“Eh eh! I’m just sharing now!”

I roll my eyes.

“But if you do have money, my friend -

“I don’t have money. You can see that I spent my money on my room and rent. I help you guys around here with groceries as well. And unlike you, I don’t have a job.”

“You got a blesser neh?”

“Kim, if I had a blesser, would I be living here? I mean really.”

“So where does your money come from?”

“You don’t need to know that. Ask Immi for money.” I say.

“Ah ah! Are you mad?!”

“You are bitching and moaning here! I’m coming up with solutions. I don’t hear you coming up with solutions.”

“Does Immi give you money, my friend? How much? And what do you do for him? I mean… he gives you the nicest room and you live alone in a mansion of a room.”

“Go ask him yourself.”

“You want Immi to kill me now? Eh eh eh!”

I’m tired of this girl already.

“Why don’t you open a business? Loan people like us money. No one in South Africa wants to loan us money. If you loan illegal foreigners money, you could make money.”

“I’m not going to do that because I’m not stupid. You are all undocumented. There’s a reason why even illegal financial service providers won’t touch you. And I don’t have money to hire hitmen to kill you if you refuse to pay me back.”

“Just think about it, my friend. You’ll even monopolise this thing… have an interest of your own… then while you live here, you know you have an income. Eh?! Come on now.”

I just look at her.

“I want to sleep, Kim.” I say.

“Let me sleep here with you for one night, please.”

“No! Bye!”

I don’t trust anyone here enough to share a bed with them. The hell?!

…

It’s the silence that wakes me up. You know it’s the next morning around here when there is absolute silence. The unfaithful men who paid big money to cheat on their families with the likes of Basetsana have gone back to their homes to paint the perfect family picture before the public eye. Immi has been paid his money for the night. And the ladies are fast asleep… sleeping away the secrets of most men in this country, resting so that they can wake up later today and make Immi even more money.

I stretch as I get out of bed. I make my bed, check that the only bag that I have is safely packed away. I don’t have anything in cupboards. I’m not stupid. Any day, a raid can happen here. I need to be ready to LEAVE! When I went to go buy myself some more clothes in these dodge CBD shops that sell clothes for R15 and the most expensive item is R150, I bought myself a bigger overnight bag. It’s actually a nice bag… a whole LV bag. And it’s the real deal. Sold for R150? Either these people don’t know LV, or the owner was probably mugged and the bag is literally a steal.

I finally found the time to count the money that I stole from those miners. I actually have R100k on me. I don’t understand how mere miners would have that kind of money. Maybe they are zama-zamas. But anyway, I packed the money all the way at the bottom of the bag. I put some money in the inner side pocket. That would be transport money should I need to run. Then my clothes are all on top of the money.

As soon as I’m done showering, I put my toiletries in my bag. The only things that are not in here are my wet underwear and wet face cloth.

I quickly get dressed, put my bag under the bed, then head to the kitchen. My plan is to make breakfast, but I’m distracted by seeing police vans and inyalas parking outside the gate of this house.

What if these people are here for me?

I’m instantly shaking!

I head to the bedroom and grab my bag, put my face cloth and wet underwear in there. I check the back… there are no cars or cops in there. I use the back door to leave the house. I jump the fence and find myself in a block of flats. I keep moving. None of these flats are supervised. Like zero!

I go into some Chinese shop. I buy a cheap phone nyana and pay for it. I buy airtime and data. Then, I head to a taxi rank.

“Uyaphi sisi?” A driver asks me.

Now I actually need to have a plan.

“Bloemfontein”, I say.

“Okay sisi, it’s two taxis ahead.” He says.

I walk to the taxi.

There are a few people here, but it still needs more people before it’s full.

I sit at the back, next to some woman. I’m in the middle again. Perfect.

I switch on this phone. I load the airtime and data that I bought. I put this phone on silent.

I check twitter. Maybe I’ll see what’s happening at that house.

I check what’s trending.

Nothing about that house.

Some two ladies come in with a bunch of kids, so the taxi is now full.

“Sisi, do you have R50? Ngiyashoda tu.” the lady next to me says.

“I’ll pay for you. It’s fine.” I say. I take out enough money for two people then I give it to the person in front of me.

In no time, people have paid and the taxi is moving.

Someone starts, “Did you see that the police did a raid at the prostitution houses?” Someone in the taxi says.

“About time! Yoh!”

“There’s a specific drug lord that they were looking for. Phela they raided them all at once. So many prostitutes and people found in the houses got arrested.”

“Kuyafana! They will be released in no time. Umuntu nje must just move to Tholoana Kingdom. That’s the only place where amanyala anjena don’t happen. And if they do, they make sure that the people involved are dealt with. Manje thina la… we have too many rights! And we probably have government officials that are on the payroll of these people. That’s why they are forever getting away with it!”

This conversation goes on for a while.

I decide to phone my mom while the conversation is on-going, hoping no one will pay attention to me.

“Hello? It’s Cheryl speaking.”

“Mommy. Is ek.”

She’s silent. She even sobs.

“I’ve been worried sick about you! The police say that you were kidnapped!”

“Huh?!”

“Ja. They said a prison warden who’s just been arrested for kidnapping female prisoners and feeding them to zama-zamas took you and there’s no guarantee that I’d ever get you back! Where are you?!”

I just breathe.

“Are you at least okay?”

“I’m okay, mommy. I miss Keith so badly.” I find myself saying, then I even start crying.

“Keith has moved on, Noria. And I strongly suggest that you do the same.”

“It’s so difficult, mommy. I miss him so badly.”

“Look, your father is coming out of prison soon.”

“How?”

“He has his ways and his connections. When he comes out, what’s left of our family is getting on a private plane and we are moving to the UK. Noria, come with us. Aseblief my babatjie.”

This is actually not a bad idea at all.

“Okay.” I say.

“Dankie Lord! Dankie! We leave from Cape Town. Can you get to ouma’s house by tomorrow evening? We fly out at 10pm.”

“Okay.”

“Good. Ek is lief vir jou, my babatjie.”

“Ek is lief vir jou, mommy.”

We hang up.

I wipe my tears.

They are still talking about the prostitutes and their arrest.

I take a deep breath.

I think about calling Keith. But that could be my downfall. Honestly. He could throw the cops on my scent. I just want to say goodbye. But with him, maybe I must just say goodbye in my heart.

Goodbye my Keith. I hope wherever you are, you’ve found your happiness. I’ll always love you, my Mr Nkuna.

[insipid-drivel]

1. I can’t really keep big gestures secret, like celebrating a holiday or giving a gift I sent out for and therefore have a lot of excitement/expectation for arriving. That just plasters what it is in front of their faces. I have tried to surprise them “spontaneously”, and they react, but I can pretty easily tell they’re faking the surprise so I don’t feel the wind taken out of my sails for spoiling my own surprise by thinking too hard about it. However, if it’s a kneejerk, gut moment like “and THIS is for you!”, that’s when the surprise can be genuine. I like to surprise my alters with gifts and gestures that validate them. They cry every time.

2. Kind of both. I generally get the sense that they’re chatting quietly “out of earshot” when I’m focusing on working, talking, or not hurting myself in the middle of a daily task. It feels similar to being unable to make out different groups of people in a crowd chatting amongst themselves, but not hearing distinct words. They try their best not to intrude when I need to be present. However, they can sometimes shout over my own thoughts (especially to make a joke), or even hijack my ability to speak abruptly in order to interrupt an actual conversation. They only ever interrupt if it’s socially okay or if there’s something urgent and they can’t wait for me to give them the go-ahead. I’ve reached the point that the sensation of total silence in my mind makes me anxious and panicky, and to make me feel better (because sometimes I can get into a stressful state and can’t hear them at all until someone forces their way through), one of my alters figured out how to program a “radio static” noise to play in my head to signal I’m not okay and they’re struggling to get to me, and I therefore need to calm down and try to reach back to them. Sometimes their “conversations” are just facial expressions that pop up in the forefront of my imagination in response to a conversation I’m having.

3. Mine can understand one another’s thoughts only to a certain degree without forcing it. For the most part, they each prefer either to only be open that way to one or two other alters (plus me) that I assign to each of them. It’s only when someone is in real distress that we’ll break the rule and try to “see” into each other’s thoughts. Sal is very therapeutically-minded, Alex would be a doctor already if he had his own body, and Aever is kind of a savant when it comes to neurology, so breaking the “no mind-reading” rule for diagnostic purposes is okay.

4. My alters are highly selective about who they’re comfortable allowing touch me in any way whatsoever, much less with gestures of intimacy. Even doctors have to be screened and questioned thoroughly. Sometimes they genuinely can’t help disliking a particular person (usually with very good reason), and I can’t control feeling as uncomfortable as they would about being touched or approached by them. I take their discomforts seriously because, at their core, they’re reflective of something that’s bothering me about that person, too, that I wouldn’t otherwise be conscious of. I can’t allow gestures of intimacy that my alters insist are dangerous to permit. Their discomfort is my discomfort, and steamrolling over their feelings isn’t healthy for us as a whole.

5. Both, depending on what makes sense in the moment. If there’s nobody around, we keep it internal and confined to our shared headspace. If I’m around people I feel comfortable with, like close family who have gotten used to my alters, I’ll intentionally have us communicate verbally and respond to one another verbally (even to comments that weren’t verbally spoken by another alter) so that way my facial expressions don’t give people around me the wrong impression about how I’m reacting to them personally.

6. No. A condition of being able to switch rapidly from being in back or in front that my alters stipulated is that they have access to my thoughts and emotions when I’m in back. This is so they can communicate on my behalf to others if my feelings or hurt, I’ve been triggered, or just need to keep someone updated on my wellbeing. We also don’t do nothing when I go in back and let someone else front. When I go in the back, I’m always accompanied by someone and they stay with me. In order for us to interact in that space, they have to be able to access my imagination. What they can’t anticipate, however, is what I’ll say in response to what they say and do. They can get a sense of it, but they can’t preview my words unless I want them to.

7. Yes. If I’m frantically distracted by Lots And Lots Of Things Happening, it’s kind of like they become flat shadows in the background that are easy to temporarily ignore to stay on-task. However, if I start to get too wound up, we can become temporarily cut off from each other and have to brute force the connection back open. I hate it when the connection goes down and I can’t hear them when I want to so much that I get panicky if they’re too quiet for too long. Sometimes, they need an aggressive and visceral trigger (like someone calling their names, touching me, or startling me) to break through that temporary block. Some of them have their own “sleep” cycles, too, or dormancy periods for a few hours to a few days at a time. I can wake them if I need or want to, but usually leave them alone if someone’s resting. It’s like walking into your living room and finding your best friend dozed off on the couch after a long day. It’s polite to quiet down and tiptoe around them in particular so they can rest.

8. Sharing memories is the foundation of our symbiotic relationship as a system. However, certain memories of mine are still locked away from me due to trauma, and my eldest alters keep them under lock and key and have refused to let me see them before. They tend to stipulate that I have to be psychologically and emotionally prepared (sometimes demanding preemptive therapy sessions, even) before they’ll open the door on a memory of mine they’ve taken away due to the pain it would cause if I could remember it at all. Sometimes, they insist that they accompany me through remembering it so I don’t feel vulnerable. I don’t really know how they remember more than I do, but they’ve shared mental images of “snapshots” of what their memories of before I was aware of them were like. Most of their time spent before they knew what they were or what was going on was spent either with a great deal of boredom, or a great deal of loneliness.

9. It took a lot of years of practice through writing, but yes, we can. My inner world is really their inner world that I bequeathed to them in thanks for what they did in helping me survive my childhood, and they each have their own “pockets” in my imagination they’ve made into their own spaces and stories. Sometimes I’ll get a sense that someone wants their privacy or would prefer quiet time, but for the most part, I can approach them in theirs whenever I want or need to. They can get annoyed with each other, but they maintain an open-door policy with me at all times because sometimes I need one-on-one time and attention. However, there are other times where I’ll feel one of them “tugging” on the link we share in our consciousness, like a spider plucking at a web, and it’s the signal that someone wants to be alone with me. Mine are energized by and thrive on gestures of intimacy, trust, and love.

10. I can feel gender dysphoria - diagnosed by my therapist - sometimes as a result of switching with a male alter, particularly Alex (I now identify as genderfluid; I even have a button I can wear that shows the name of who’s in front and what their pronouns are now). I was in serious long-term relationships with trans people in the past, which gave me the benefit of kind of having a glimpse on what the symptoms of dysphoria are and what a partner can do to help. I talked with my therapist, and then my close family that know Alex, and my little brother (who adores Alex) decided to buy him a binder. I can’t afford a second wardrobe, so my brother now goes out of his way to buy Alex clothes to feel more like himself in. So far, Alex has decided he’s a fan of the flannel+t-shirt and jeans looks. The others that aren’t otherwise human figured out humanoid appearances that help them practice behaving like humans when they’re in front. They cut loose when they’re in the back. They understand that my imagination gives them a lot freedom back there, but I can’t make the whole universe accommodate them when they’re in front. They take the forms they need to to be the most effective helpers, and when they’re free to let their hair/scales/feathers/fur down again, I write their adventures and even join them to show how much I care about their feelings of identity and self-expression in the one space they can feel limitless in.

DID Systems, I have more questions:

Is it possible to keep secrets from your alters (Nothing shady or sinister, just maybe like a birthday or Christmas present/surprise)?

When you hear your alters talking in your head, is it random or do you need to concentrate to hear them?

Can alters hear each other's thoughts (like if you think about something, would they hear it)

If you kiss or hug someone, would your alters be able to tell?

When you talk to your alters, do you talk out loud, or do you think it?

Can you block off the person who's fronting from hearing you in your head?

Can the person who's fronting block the rest of the system out?

Is it possible to share each other's memories? How?

Can you visit each other's inner worlds?

How do child, animal, and opposite gender alters work? Do they dress/talk like a child/opposite gender and act like the animal?

Thanks a bunch!

[mercy-burning]

Myth or Movie

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Unbeknownst to the two of them, Y/N and Spencer's children have worked up a plan to get them to meet... Category: SMUT (18+) Content: Strong language, oral sex (female receiving), penetrative/unprotected sex, someone is misgendered (nothing too bad, it’s very brief, and it’s sincerely apologized for by the person who misgenders) Word Count: 4.2k

MASTERLIST

NOTE: This is my 2nd entry for Pom’s ( @imagining-in-the-margins ) Enemies To Lover’s Writing Challenge! This one was one of the prompts she provided: You and (Character)'s kids don't get along, so you have to have a talk. Turns out you... really really get along... and I couldn’t wait to tackle it! I believe my exact words were: “I’m gonna Parent Trap these bitches”... So do with that what you will lol

———

"I'm so sorry I'm late!"

Two heads turn to stare at me as I burst through the doors. I'm out of breath from running through the building, something the staff really didn't seem to appreciate, though their shouts and annoyed glances were the last thing on my mind.

As I try to catch my breath, the two heads stand, and suddenly I feel a lot smaller.

One of them I recognize— Principal Anteros. I'd met with her before over some of Sky's academic achievements, all positive things, which is why today's circumstances make being in this office rather uncomfortable.

It's also why I seem to shrink with embarrassment at my tardiness— and appearance. Waitressing has its benefits, but today's whirlwind of phone calls and a mention at meeting another parent are not any of them.

Speaking of, the other person in the room is one I've never seen before. He's taller than both Anteros and I, extremely well dressed, and probably the most intimidatingly beautiful human being I'd ever met. I can barely meet his eyes, and so I try not to think about what he's doing here—to think about having to talk to him.

I shrink even further.

"Ms. Y/L/N," Principal Anteros greets. Thankfully she doesn't sound too upset given the circumstances. "Please, have a seat."

I do, brushing off my uniform as if that will somehow help my appearance. The soft leather of the chairs, however comfortable they might be, fail to bring me any comfort at all.

"As I'm sure you've guessed already, this is Doctor Reid, Vivian's father."

Great, he's a fucking doctor? This already bodes well for me...

Regardless of my reservations, I turn to him and give a faint smile. He waves in turn, and for the time being I'm extremely glad he doesn't insist on shaking my hand.

"It's nice to meet you," he says, surely nothing but a formality.

"You, too," I say quickly, then turn back to Principal Anteros. "Your phone call sounded urgent... Is everything alright?"

As soon as I say it, I feel kind of dumb. Because of course everything isn't alright. My child's principal called a meeting with another parent, and that can never mean anything good, not to mention the fucking intimidation and awkwardness in the room right now. I almost apologize, trying to explain that that wasn't exactly what I meant to get across, but then I would have just been talking for way too long, embarrassing myself further.

Once again, I'm thankful for Anteros's ability to move the conversation along. "I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem so. I only bring this to attention because Sky and Vivian are both stellar students. They've never had any disciplinary issues or difficulties with other students..."

"No one's hurt, right?" Mr. Reid asks. I know he's just concerned for his child, but for some reason it feels like an attack on me, like he assumes my kid had something to do with it.

"No, no one's hurt. Thankfully there weren't any physical altercations. But it seems your girls are quite... loud."

The doctor looks like he wants to say something, but I'm quick to jump in before he can. "Sorry... Sky is non-binary. They use they/them pronouns."

I half expect one or either of them to make a big deal or just roll their eyes at me, as most people seem to do when I correct them on the matter, but Anteros gives a sincere apology and Reid probably couldn't have cared any less.

I still can't tell if I like him or not...

But that doesn't matter right now.

"What do you mean by loud?" I continue.

Anteros sighs. "Well, while there hasn't been any physical violence, your kids seem to have very heated arguments, usually during lunch or in the hallway in passing... We thought maybe we could resolve it here since, like I said, they're both excellent students, but then it started escalating to classroom arguments... It's a lot of screaming..."

I have never known Sky to raise their voice at anyone, not even in a situation where I probably would have. Lord knows I'm thankful they don't have my impatience and tendency to get pissed off easily...

So what happened that was so bad, it made them snap?

"You... You're sure you mean Vivian is acting out like this?" Reid asks slowly, and I can't stop myself from laughing out loud.

"Come on, she's a professional. This has been going on for weeks, in her school, I'm sure she would know if it was your kid having a screaming match with someone else..."

This time Doctor Reid actually looks over at me, an eyebrow raised, and though I very much believe what I've just told him, the way he's looking at me right now drops my heart straight down to my stomach, like he's the principal and I'm the student acting out—No, it's worse than that... I feel like he's a disappointed parent, but not with Vivian, with me.

I avoid his intimidating stare and look down at the ground. "Sorry... I'm just... This isn't like Sky, either, I don't know what to do..."

"Well, usually when we have these sort of disputes, we like to have the students talk it out amongst themselves with a moderator present. But we've tried that, and it seems that they still haven't made any progress. Now, I know your children are good at heart, and it seems like you both are excellent parents— You know your children better than anyone here ever could. So, I'm proposing the two of you take a meeting some time and try to figure out how to settle this."

Seriously? If it hasn't been made clear already, this man is a doctor of some kind, planets away from my league in any capacity, and I can just picture the two of us in a screaming match close to what I imagine our children's looked like...

Maybe we can just e-mail.

"Okay," he agrees evenly, and I'm surprised he seems this calm considering I've just practically yelled at him... "I have free time this afternoon if you want to talk it over."

"I have to get back to work, but I get done at five," I sigh, wanting to get this over with. "Are you free then?"

"Mhm."

"Good," Anteros chirps, standing and leaving Doctor Reid and I to follow suit. "Perhaps over the weekend we can get this settled."

I sure as hell hope so.

———

"Ms. Y/L/N, wait!"

I have no idea what he could possibly want from me now that we've set a time and place to talk tonight, but I'm just praying desperately that he doesn't want to take this time alone in the parking lot to get back at me for accosting him in Anteros's office...

Thankfully, his face when he approaches seems rather kind.

"You can call me Y/N..."

"Right," he says, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and nodding. "I'm Spencer."

"Spencer... So, um... Did you need something?"

"O—Oh, I just... I know you have to get back to work so I'll make this short, but I wanted to see if you wanted to do, uh... dinner tonight?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I just figured since we probably didn't expect for our weekend to go this way... We should make it worth it?"

"Are you really trying to turn this into a date?"

"W— No, not really, I just... You know, I thought it might be nice to... make this less like a chore, you know? A—And don't feel like you have to say yes, it was just a thought, I'm sorry if I made this weirder..."

The fact that I still can't figure this man out bothers me, but right now he's blushing, and he looks like he's trying to save himself from embarrassment, and it's so fucking adorable that I don't really care that I was just annoyed.

So I tell him, "Sure. Why not?"

"Really?"

"Yeah... Besides, Lord knows I haven't gone out for dinner in a long time."

The doctor is relieved, a smile creeping up on his lips that suddenly tugs at my insides and makes me wish for a second that it really is a date he's offering... "Okay, good. Do you want to meet at Waterstone, seven o'clock?"

The excitement starts to drain from me as he says it, followed by an incoming wave of embarrassment. "Oh, man, that... That place is kind of expensive, I don't—"

"Oh, it's okay, I'll pay for everything. I'll even wait outside for you so we can go in together if you'd like..."

Why he's being so nice to me I have no idea, but it's making my annoyance melt and my heart start to beat faster, and I really don't know how to feel about that. In fact I'm pretty sure it's weird as fuck given the circumstances.

But all I have to do is make it through this weekend, hopefully all will be back to normal, and I won't ever have to think about it ever again.

"Alright... It's a date."

———

Out of all the scenarios I'd pictured for the end of the night, this definitely had not been one of them.

I finished my shift at the diner, imagining on my drive home the look on his face when I inevitably showed up with something on my face or stained on my dress; Instead I showed up to Waterstone and was greeted with wandering eyes and showered with bashful compliments.

I expected to get into some type of argument about how each of our kids were better than the other or something, but we ended up talking through their traits with compassion, interest, and pride, all while agreeing that we just have to sit with them this weekend and explain that there are easier, better ways to sort out disagreements than screaming at each other in public.

I expected not to have much fun at all, but by the time we gathered the check and headed out the door, Spencer and I were laughing, just a little tipsy on Cabernet, our hands gently brushing and sparks shooting up my arm at the feeling.

I expected to go our separate ways and walk to my car and drive home, but instead he ended up telling me he was taking the Subway home, and I offered to give him a ride to the opposite side of town where I lived (Waterstone was right in the middle).

I expected to walk through the door, stumble straight up to bed, and sleep until Sky inevitably woke me up with them saying I've slept in too late and needed to get ready for work, but instead I ended up following Spencer up to his door to say goodnight.

And now we're at a fork in the road, and I can take one of two paths.

I can say goodnight, watch him walk in, and then go home and forget about this whole thing.

Or I can keep letting him stare at me until I find myself leaning in to kiss him. Whether or not he'll actually reciprocate is another story, but the little bit of wine tingling in the surface of my body and the dark, intense look in his eye gives me more courage than I've had since I met him.

Before I can make a move, Spencer talks, his voice small and inviting. "Do you want to come inside?" The beating of my heart quickens immensely as he takes another step forward and brings his fingers out to graze my chin. "Vivian's with her mom tonight."

Yes. Vivian's mom, who divorced Spencer pretty soon in the marriage after she just decided his job was too much to handle. He'd quit and took a teaching job, but even still, she declined his pleading to stay married and eventually admitted that she just wasn't in love with him anymore. At least she had the decency to let him have joint custody once his schedule cleared up, and it seemed like they were decent co-parents. Maybe even friends.

I think about Sky, how much they wish their dad had stayed, and how much I wish he had too. I was devastated when he left without anything more than a note. For years it took a huge toll on us, and I barely had the headspace to even think about dating anyone since then.

But here I am now, standing with this man who has also lost a spouse, who's somewhat of a single parent, and who seems kind and genuine enough that I don't think I'd have to worry about bringing him into the life of my child.

Though, I don't even know it'll go that far. I'm getting too far ahead of myself, and so to slow down I look at what's right in front of me. Right now.

Spencer looks at me like he wants to devour me. My whole body is tingling from head to toe. I want to kiss him, and I'm pretty damn sure he wants to kiss me back. He just invited me inside, which means that if I accept, we'll most likely end up sleeping with each other.

Again... Definitely not one of the scenarios I'd had in mind when I left the school today. But it's a damn good one, and he's so hot I want to cry.

My flirty switch turns on so fast, it nearly gives me whiplash. "And what are you gonna do if I say yes?"

"Depends... How badly do you want to walk tomorrow?"

My first instinct is to jokingly tell him to put me in a wheelchair, but I settle for kissing him instead, hoping that gives the same sentiment.

The way he melts into my body tells me I've succeeded. My arms fly up to his neck and pull him closer, and he holds me tightly to him, waiting for my lips to part so he can expertly slip his tongue past them.

I whine out and take a step towards the door. Spencer comes with me and fumbles with the keys in his pocket before reluctantly pulling away to get us inside.

Once we take our jackets and shoes off, he clings to me like static, drawn to me like a magnet, and I let him near without a second thought. Our lips find each other perfectly, like they've always meant to fit together. And as pieces of clothing come off on our way through the house and up to his bedroom, our limbs fit together just as well. Nothing is out of place.

Hell, I don't even remember how inferior to him I felt earlier in the day. Our jobs and lifestyles might seem like polar opposites, but for right now, the two of us are on very equal footing, coming together like it's always been meant to be.

I nearly fall apart when his fingers gather wetness from my cunt, just enough to tease me before pulling away and bringing them to his lips. I watch with a whine waiting on the back of my tongue as he slips his fingers past his mouth and sighs.

"More," is all he manages, and I want so badly to tease him—tell him how I know he can be more eloquent than that—but words are all lost on me too, when he drops to his knees and spreads me apart with ease. I have no choice but to reach behind and grip the foot-end of the bed as he works his tongue expertly against me.

Each of my sighs and whines are met with more avidity from him, taking the form of sharp flicks of the tongue over my clit, and once he adds his fingers to the mix, pumping them expertly inside me, I'm a fucking goner.

I come with a silent shout, clenching my thighs around his face and gripping the foot of the bed so tightly it feels like my hands might go numb.

Once my body loosens, Spencer gets up and kisses me, nearly knocking me over. I'm breathless and dizzy as the tang of my arousal coats my tastebuds. His hands are gentle despite the hunger in his lips, and the medley of sensations of all of these things has me weak in the knees.

"Getting harder to stand already, sweetheart?" he laughs, catching me as I fall into him. His hands clutch at my thighs and he carries me to the edge of the bed, crawling over top of me and kissing down my neck. "That's okay... I'll take good care of you."

I still can't manage to speak as he gently pushes in, the slow burn of him splitting me in two rendering me utterly incapable of even thought. I gladly welcome the pressure, especially once he's inside me all the way and lowering his body to mine. Our chests press firmly together as he pulls back and starts a steady pace with his hips. He traps me with his arms, bringing them to either side of my face. And when his fingers brush the hair from my eyes, he stares into them with intensity as he fucks me.

It's slow and hard. It's heart-pounding. It's earth-shattering. It's everything that makes sex worth having. In that moment we're two equals, so wrapped up in the mere feeling of each other that everything else is just background noise. He breathes me in and I do the same, and with each cant forward of his hips, he brings me deeper into this world we've both ultimately created together.

I want more than anything to wrap my legs around him and keep him close to me, but he's fucking me so good that I don't have the willpower. Instead, they lay spread out, lazy and open as his hips move between them. I'm warm all over, tingling everywhere our skin connects. When he kisses me, swallowing my pathetic attempts at whimpering his name, I'm positive that this is what Heaven must feel like.

Whether it's hours or only minutes later, eventually my body tenses, unable to hold back any further, and two particularly deep thrusts from Spencer send me barreling over the edge.

"There it is, sweetheart..." he praises, caressing my face with long, gentle fingers and leaving little kisses wherever they trail. His voice only seems to help me along, each warm syllable soothing the muscles that pulled taut at his mercy. "That's a good girl..."

I feel tired, calmed, and relaxed, when he pulls out only to jerk off over my lower stomach. Through tired eyes, I watch as he lets go and covers me with his release. Hearing him grunt out my name as he does it nearly wakes me up again, and it even finally brings some words out of me.

"God, you're so fucking hot..."

Well... Not exactly elegant, but the feeling gets across.

Spencer laughs and rolls over so that he isn't nearly crushing me anymore. He kisses down my neck, my arm, and he ever-so-slightly swipes the tip of his tongue over the mess he made before kissing my thigh and getting up to leave— presumably to get me something to clean up with.

Sure enough, he returns shortly with a wet washcloth and tenderly cleans me up. I manage to sit, leaning back on my elbows once he's done and smile at him. He's practically kneeling in front of me again, smiling back as his lips press featherlight kisses to the inside of my leg.

"How're you feeling?" he drawls, letting me pull him up to lay down with me.

"Really good. I haven't done that in so long..."

"Me either... I um... I hadn't really thought much about seeing other people once Lena and I got divorced... I guess I just wanted to put all my focus into being the best father I could, you know?"

"Mhm," I answer, turning to face him and interlocking our fingers. "I know exactly what you mean."

We lay like that for a few moments in comfortable silence, hands and limbs tangled while we breathe the same air and revel in the afterglow we've just created.

Suddenly Spencer laughs, and I squeeze his hand. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking... We probably wouldn't have met if not for Anteros calling us in, right?"

"Yeah..." I piece it together. "Guess I never thought of it that way."

"I just think it's funny, because in Greek mythology, Anteros was an Erote, known as an avenger of unrequited love, and he punished those who scoffed at romantic advances made by others... You and I never even thought about dating after our separations, and yet... Here we are now, because of Anteros."

Hearing him educate me on Greek mythology only serves to remind me how different we are. Still, the little story brings a comforting smile to my lips. "Well... Remind me to send her a basket of muffins or something to thank her."

"And tell her what? That you're grateful she got you laid?"

"Yeah. And what about it?"

The two of us dissolve into laughter that eventually fizzles and leaves us silent again. Our fingers are still tangled, and somehow we've snuggled in even closer.

"In any case, I'm glad I got to meet you, Doctor Reid."

"And I, you, Ms. Y/L/N..."

———

In the past two weeks since that first meeting, I hadn't received any more phone calls from Principal Anteros, which bode as a good sign.

Spencer and I decided to see each other as secretly as we could, which meant only giving vague details to our kids as to what we were doing in our spare time— It seemed weird to spring it on them if they didn't get along, so we figured it was best to wait until the situation was handled.

I tried to talk to Sky about their progress with Vivian, but they only insisted that everything was fine and they wouldn't have to worry anymore. And after relaying this information to Spencer, he informed me that Viv had said the same thing to him.

It wasn't until we both realized that they'd said the same things verbatim each time we asked, that something odd was going on.

And that's how we end up right here, Sky and I sitting on a park bench bathed in the golden October sun while I patiently wait for Spencer to 'coincidentally' show up with Vivian.

Thankfully I don't have to wait too long, because almost five minutes after we sit, I hear the familiar sound of my name falling from his lips, and it's hard to contain the cocky, playful smile that appears upon my own.

"Spencer, hey!" I call back, standing up and going to give him a hug. He pulls me in and he's nice and warm. He smells like burnt wood for some reason, and I want to breathe him in forever. Instead, I settle for a sweet kiss on the lips, both because I simply want to and also because it should baffle the fuck out of our kids.

Sure enough we pull away and look to them, and they look panicked. They have no idea what to do, what to say...

"Oh! Sorry... Viv, this is Y/N, Sky's mom."

The pure amusement in Spencer's voice makes me feel even warmer than being in his embrace. I look to his daughter and give her a wave. "Hi."

"H—Hi..."

It almost seems cruel to laugh at their predicament, but as I turn to Sky and introduce them to Spencer, they have clear annoyance written all over their face.

"Okay, Mom, I think we get it... How did you guys figure it out?"

"What, that you two pretended to hate each other so your principal would have to call us both in to meet?"

The pre-teens look at each other and sigh, truly defeated once and for all. "Yeah," they mutter simultaneously.

"Well, it surely didn't make any sense when you got in trouble for yelling at each other in the first place," Spencer points out. "And then when we asked you how things were working out, you both said the same exact thing..."

"It wasn't that hard to figure out, but we appreciate the effort," I add, reaching out to ruffle Sky's hair. They jerk away playfully, and I can't help but notice their smile as they peek over at Vivian.

"Our plan worked, though, so I call it a win," Vivian says with a shrug.

"As long as you two don't plan on causing any more disruptions at school..." Spencer looks between the both of them, and then at me, his eyes softening as he takes my hand and squeezes it. "Then yes. I'd call it a win, too."

I lean into him and laugh. "Turns out it wasn't Greek mythology that brought us together. It was The Parent Trap."

He raises an eyebrow, like he doesn't get what I mean, and before I can ask or explain, Vivian does it for me. "He's never seen it."

Spencer looks between the three of us like a lost and confused puppy, and we all laugh.

"Well, then, maybe we'll have to have a movie night sometime soon," I offer, reaching out for Sky.

Hand in hand, the four of us continue down the pathway, walking away from the setting sun while dried leaves rustle under our feet.

———

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[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Request: Imagine being Lin Beifong’s daughter and having a crush on Iroh II

Tags: @tincdraws

Growing up as the daughter of Lin Beifong metal and earth bending were your whole life. You learnt to earth bend by the time you could walk and your mother had you in training from a young age so you graduated from the earth bending school at the top of your class with your eyes firmly set on following in your mother’s footsteps whilst also trying to emulate your grandmother’s success. You had a sharp focus and nothing else really caught your attention. You had friends but training came first and dating seemed something superficial you could live without. Republic city was your life and you would never dream of leaving it but your mother had other ideas.

Your mother thought you needed more worldly experience before you joined the police force so she sent you to the fire nation to gain some training as an officer. She claimed the fire nation had some of the best officers in the world and that they would help you learn invaluable real-life experience. You did not agree and protested the whole thing. All your training had revolved around the needs of Republic City specifically and you couldn’t see how you’d learn anything new about how to protect your city by travelling all the way to fire nation but your mother refused to change her mind and that was that.

So you were shipped off to the fire nation fresh out of the academy. Your mother had spoken to Firelord Izumi and it was agreed you’d be staying at the palace so not only would you be unfamiliar with the environment, you’d be in a place where every small look, word or action had large consequences. You didn’t know much about the fire nation and couldn’t really recall the royal family. You were aware your grandmother was very close with the late Firelord Zuko but since then things had changed. Although your grandmother’s friends (mainly Katara) had tried to keep the group close it was hard with everyone scattered across the four nations and so with each generation the group had drifted further and further apart. You knew Firelord Izumi had a daughter older than you and a son around your age called Iroh. You recalled meeting Iroh when you were younger at some event in the south pole but couldn’t remember much more than a serious fire nation child. So you arrived on the steps of the palace utterly out of your depth determined to see these three months through so you could return to your beloved city. You were shown into the palace immediately, your belongings taken by maids who refused to let you carry them yourself as you were a royal guest. You weren’t used to finery so proceeded through the palace partly in awe and partly in utter confusion why someone needed this many paintings of old men everywhere. You were finally shown into a large room. “Ah you must be y/n Beifong” a voice called and you turned to see someone who looked vaguely familiar. You knew he wasn’t Firelord Zuko or Firelord Izumi’s husband as he was too young so figured by his royal outfit this was Izumi’s second child the prince. “Prince Iroh, it’s an honour to see you again” you said bowing and he chuckled “I bet you thought that would be a winning line with any fire nation citizen didn’t you? Because we’re still all obsessed with honour like we were centuries ago?” Iroh asked and you hesitated. “If I caused any offence...” you started but Iroh cut you off breaking out in a large smile “no I was only kidding, it is a winning line we are still obsessed with honour”. You watched as Iroh laughed at his own joke surprised, you didn’t expect the prince of the fire nation to be like this. You figured royalty lacked the ability or the clearance to have a sense of humour but apparently not. “So have I really not changed since we were eight?” Iroh asked and when you frowned he elaborated “you recognised me but the last time we met was just over ten years ago”. You paused “ow no I didn’t actually recognise you, you were young, dressed in fine clothes with royal hairpins, not to mention you’re in the palace...you had to be the prince”. “Good deductions officer” Iroh said saluting you before he grinned “i’m in training too”. That piqued your interest “really? for the fire nation army?”. He nodded “yep! I’m an officer but my hope is to be general one day and to fully earn it, rather than just get it because of who my family is...hopefully in a few years i’ll get there”. “I’m sure you will” you agreed and Iroh led you into a large dining room. “Are we dining alone?” you asked confused and Iroh smirked. “Why? Not pleased with me?” he asked and you rushed to assure him that wasn’t the case when he laughed again “I’m joking again y/n, I know my grandfather told you the whole family would be dining with you in his letter to your mother but he, my parents and sister were all called away to an urgent matter and asked me to fill in as we’re similar ages”. “Ow” you nodded “that makes sense...is everything okay?”. Iroh nodded “everything’s fine just boring fire nation stuff...so shall we?” he asked holding out his arm to you. You weren’t sure if this was appropriate so averted your eyes and only took his arm lightly. Iroh smirked at your caution and led you into the room.

The meal with Iroh was nice. He was friendly, hard-working and interesting. You soon got used to his humour and learnt not to take him too seriously. You hadn’t met many other people your age who shared your passion for a military career and found it was nice, a sentiment Iroh apparently shared. He enquired what you were doing the rest of the week and when you replied nothing as training didn’t start for another week he soon had several of your days planned out with fire nation sights to show you. Iroh seemed to understand you didn’t know much about the fire nation so planned to take you to all the important sites as well as areas relevant to the army to peak both your interests. You enjoyed the prince’s tours greatly and even when training did start you continued meeting with Iroh regularly. You liked his company and were surprised that didn’t fade the more time you spent with him, if anything it grew more and more. You thought he’d be a spoilt entitled prince but he was kind and considerate pleasantly surprising you.

You didn’t become aware that you liked Iroh as anything more until one of your friends at the academy pointed it out. Since starting training you were progressing well, you achieved high grades and were held in high esteem by your fellow recruits. You had made some friends and often trained with them after the academy retired for the day. After a long training session you were heading to the palace when one of your friends called out to you “hey y/n some of us were going into town to celebrate our class’s good progress, do you want to come?”. You smiled pleased they wanted you to come when you remembered you couldn’t go “I’d love to Shani but sorry I can’t I have plans”. “Of course you do” she smirked as your other friend Aizori grinned “is it with Iroh by any chance”. “Actually it is” you said frowning at their shared look “why?”. “Ow nothing just it’s not every day your friend is dating the crowned prince”. “Me and Iroh are not dating!” you cried “our families are old friends that’s all”. “Uh...hu, if that’s true then what are your plans together may we ask?”. “We’re attending a party at the palace”. “Together?” Shani asked and you blushed “yes but he only asked me because it’s a formal event that’s apparently really boring so he wanted a friend there, trust me we’re not dating”. “But how can you resist?” Aizori asked “I’ve only seen the prince a handful of times but he seems to get better looking every single time! How don’t you get lost in those golden eyes and that chiselled jaw? The royal family has some amazing genes not even a Beifong can resist”. You paused considering it. For you looks weren’t very important so you didn’t tend to notice them. You held work ethic and determination as much higher priorities and Iroh scored very highly in both but in looks...you honestly couldn’t say. “I’m not sure I’ve noticed” you admitted and the girls rolled their eyes not believing you.

When you arrived back at the palace your friend’s words were ringing in your head and when you next saw Iroh something felt different. You took note of his looks and were surprised by what you’d found. Iroh was attractive, very attractive, how had you missed that? You stared at Iroh wondering if his eyes had always been that bright? Was his jaw always that sharp? His hair that good regularly when he frowned “why are you staring at me?”. “Nothing” you cried and he paused before shrugging “Are you ready to go?” he asked “the party has already started” offering you his arm. You nodded and took it cautiously following Iroh into the ballroom.

You could see why Iroh had wanted to invite you, everyone in the room was at least 60 years old or some stiff nobel person from an ancient line of fire nation families. All they seemed to want to discuss was old family bloodlines, territories or ancient traditions. After your fifth boring ambush by some old fire nation man Iroh pointedly headed for the gardens. You frowned as he exited discreetly, closing the door behind him, and headed away from the hall. “Iroh I’m pretty sure the party is inside” you commented and Iroh grinned “I know but I can’t take another second in there so humour me? One lap of the gardens then we’ll head back, please? I know you haven’t seen them properly yet so how about a tour?” Iroh holding out his hand to you. You rolled your eyes but took his hand happily. 

Iroh led you around the gardens explaining the different flora to you and their history. “I spent so many parties hiding in here as a kid” he grinned “this place is so huge they couldn’t find me for hours”. You smiled at the thought “my mother would’ve killed me if I did that”. “Mine did” Iroh chuckled “but I’d honestly rather face her wrath than some boring commander who wants to lecture me about our family’s history and why it’s so important...they’re literally my own family and even I don’t care” Iroh cried making you smile. “I see why you escaped out here so often, I’m very grateful formal parties were not a part of my childhood”. Iroh smiled and went to comment when the smile was wiped from his face and he grabbed you, quickly pushing you behind a large fern. “Iroh what are you...”. “Shhh they’ve come for us” he hissed and you frowned when you heard a voice. “Prince Iroh?” a man you recognised as the palace coordinator called “Are you out here? You’re needed inside”. You smirked and Iroh rolled his eyes “they’re relentless”.  “Master Iroh if you’re out there please return to the ballroom, your mother’s orders”. There was silence and then the sound of the butler coming closer. Your eyes widened and Iroh put a hand over your mouth pushing you further into the bushes. “Prince Iroh?” a voice called literally right beside you and Iroh smirked as you grabbed his arm in surprise. You heard a sigh and the sound of the man retreating. When the footsteps died away Iroh dropped his hold on you and you both burst into laughter. “I thought we were going to be caught and then royally punished...literally” you added and Iroh smirked “I wouldn’t let them punish you, it’s not your fault I dragged you out here”. “True but I didn’t try hard to stop you”. “You did encourage me” Iroh nodded thinking “okay it’s all your fault”. You gaped laughing “I never said that! You are such a liar” you cried pushing him and Iroh laughed grabbing your arm “okay okay maybe we share the blame 50:50?”. “No way” you smiled and Iroh paused “60:40?”. “I think 90:10?” you said grinning and Iroh sighed “fine, i’ll take 10% of the blame”. You shook your head at how wonderfully infuriating he was and smiled at him fondly. Iroh grinned back and you realised suddenly how close his face was to yours. Iroh seemed to notice too, he glanced down at your lips and you panicked moving away from him suddenly. There was an awkward tension in the air and you broke it with a cough “so want to show me more of the gardens then?”. Iroh nodded “right this way my lady” the awkwardness gone and led you further into the garden.

When you were safely hidden from the ballroom Iroh stopped walking, explaining this was one of his favourite spots in the whole garden and you gratefully took a break sitting down. “I can’t believe you’ve already been here a month” Iroh commented and you nodded “I know only 2 more to go then my mandatory 3 months work experience is done”. Iroh frowned “mandatory...so you could stay longer if you wanted to?”. “Hypothetically” you agreed and Iroh hesitated “do you think you’d extend it? Hypothetically?”. You paused “I’m not sure, I have enjoyed the fire nation far more than I thought I would but I’ve always wanted to complete my training as quickly as possible, I hope to be chief of police one day and I’ll need many years of service for that...”. Iroh frowned “isn’t the youngest chief like 41?”. You nodded “yeah so i’ve got time I guess, maybe i’ll stay for longer...is this just so you have someone to skirt your royal duties with?”. Iroh laughed “maybe...I like you being here, it’s nice not being the only person under 30 in every room”. You smiled “well i’m glad my presence isn’t displeasing to you...you’ve been pleasant as well” you added blushing and Iroh grinned. “Wait did I make a Beifong blush? That’s like a legendary occurrence, this is amazing!”. “Stop it” you cried but Iroh wouldn’t let you turn away “no, this will go down in history, Beifong blushes are rarer than dragons so I’m soaking up every second”. For the second time that day Iroh stared at you closely and you blushed more under his gaze but this time you didn’t move away. Iroh continued gazing at you before he lightly moved his hand to your cheek “y/n...” he said softly leaning in closer when a figure appeared. “There you are!” a voice cried and you both jumped away from one another. Your jaw dropped when you realised who it was and you dropped into a bow “Firelord Izumi...i’m so sorry I didn’t see you approach”. “Rise child you did nothing wrong” she said warmly “my son on the other hand...” she trailed off glancing at Iroh who paled. “Hey mom” he frowned and she raised an eyebrow “really? That’s all you have to say? No apology or grovelling”. “Erm I’m sorry for ditching?” Iroh offered and Izumi sighed. “Y/n would you please excuse us, I want to have a word with my son”. “Of course” you agreed bowing and you rushed away.

Iroh returned not long after with his mother and told you he had to stay in the ballroom for the rest of the party. You agreed to stay with him and he smiled gratefully at you making you blush and look away rapidly. The night passed and neither you nor Iroh spoke about what happened in the garden. How he’d almost kissed you and how you were going to let him. You couldn’t believe your own recklessness. What good did you think would come out of kissing the prince of the fire nation? You were obviously not an appropriate match and so there was nothing to be encouraged there. You resolved to never find yourself in that situation again and decided to just stay as friends no matter how much you got along or how attractive he was. Getting involved with a fire nation prince was not responsible behaviour. So after that night you made sure to put distance between you and Iroh. You didn’t stop seeing him you just made sure to emphasise it was a friendship. You didn’t let yourself get caught up in him the way you had in the gardens and always kept a level head. Iroh never tried anything or mentioned that night either and you supposed he picked up on your not so subtle hints. You carried on as before but there was definitely an unmentioned barrier between you which you never let fade.

You left the fire nation 2 months later. You didn’t extend your stay as with your feelings for Iroh you didn’t think it would be wise. Iroh saw you off and hugged you tightly before you got onto the airship. “It’s been nice having you around Beifong, I’ll miss you”. Iroh’s words made you hesitate and you hugged him tighter. For that time in Iroh’s arms you imagined what would have happened if you’d kissed him in the gardens that night. Iroh didn’t strike you as someone who flitted from person to person taking what he wanted, you think if he wanted to kiss you he must have felt something for you too and perhaps would have suggested dating. You imagined all the things you’d have done together but as a couple and wondered if you’d made a mistake, maybe you should have just gone for it? But then reality set in. If you really wanted to be chief of police then you couldn’t have short relationships with high ranking members of the fire nation. Other candidates could use it to show you had compromised morals and there was no way it would be a long term relationship due to your lack of fire nation heritage. Sure the fire nation was pretty progressive but that didn’t really apply to royalty. They had thousand-year-old traditions to uphold that couldn’t be broken easily so Iroh was never a long term option for you. Therefore all logical signs said you’d done the correct thing not persuing something with him...so why did it feel so shit? You finally pulled away from Iroh and he noticed your expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked and you shook your head looking away “nothing i’ll just miss it here...promise you’ll keep in touch?”. “Cross my heart” Iroh smiled “you’re not someone I intend to let slip away, expect a visit every time I come to republic city”. You pushed away the rational voice in your mind telling you to keep a distance from him and smiled “you’ll always be welcome and I’m very much looking forward to it”. Iroh blushed “thank you y/n” and you nodded back, just looking at him in admiration before catching yourself. “I should go...” and Iroh nodded “safe travels” and with a final look you walked away.

2 years later

After your departure you and Iroh stayed in regular contact and your letters only halted when he was deployed by the military but the second we was out he would write and arrange to come visit you in Republic City. You still thought about him and your feelings for him regularly and every time you saw him you knew your crush hadn’t lessened. You loved Iroh’s visits and soon they became the thing you cherished most. You told yourself all of this was fine because you’d never act on your feelings but sometimes you wondered if Iroh felt something too? You’d catch him staring at you or he’d blush if you smiled at him in a certain way. The very idea of Iroh liking you made you very excited but you also knew it would only lead to heartache. He wouldn’t be allowed to settle down with someone outside the fire nation so it didn’t matter if he liked you too. So you settled for his friendship which was more than enough for you. When Iroh was posted in republic city when he became general you were thrilled and you only continued to grow closer.

However republic city wasn’t as peaceful. There had been multiple attacks on the city from Amon’s chi blockers to Vaatu’s take over and you and Iroh were constantly pushed into the fray. Multiple times you’d faced staggering odds and every single time you wondered if you should confess your feelings to Iroh in case the unthinkable happened but every time you chickened out. You and Iroh had been safe every time but there was only so much you could push your luck.  

You’d been wary of Kuvira’s take over of the earth kingdom from the very start. Your aunt Su Yin had told you all about her so you weren’t surprised when she set her sights on Republic City but that didn’t mean you weren’t terrified. The avatar and her friends informed you what you were facing and you weren’t sure how you could even think about facing a giant mecha suit with spirit cannons. Iroh shared your sentiment but as general of Republic City’s army he was forced by President Raiko to lead his troops out there. Watching Iroh take to the front line you were swept with the desire once again to be honest with him, to tell him how you felt before it was too late. You decided three was too many times to chance it and so decided to finally tell him how you felt. You made your way to the general’s tent and found Iroh with Korra discussing strategies. You greeted them both warmly before making your way to Iroh’s side “could we please talk? I have something to tell you”. You knew Iroh had a hundred things to do but he nodded warmly squeezing your hand “of course just give me one second to...” when the radio sprang into action. President Raiko had surendering to Kuvira’s demands. Republic City was hers.

The avatar was furious and you matched her sentiment. You and Iroh joined her as she met with other leaders in the city like Tenzin and your mother and they all agreed something had to be done to stop Kuvira. A plan was quickly assembled, it was agreed that airbenders would attack the suit from the sky and earth benders would attack from the ground. You didn’t actually expect to damage the suit, you only had to distract Kuvira long enough for Korra to get inside. You were agreeing fervently getting ready to leave with your cousins when Iroh grabbed your arm. “Wait Y/n are you sure you want to do this?” he asked nervously “that mecha suit is dangerous there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to stop it”. I know but it’s my home, I swore to protect it and I won’t break my oath. I have to try and help”. Iroh sighed thinking and you watched him wondering what he’d say. “I understand why you’re doing it and I want to come too”. You paused pleasantly surprised “You do...but I thought President Raiko told you to retreat and surrender?”. “He told me to surrender the army not that I couldn’t personally engage in fighting, i’m not fighting as a general but as plain old Iroh” he announced proudly and you smiled “there’s nothing plain about you even without your titles”. Iroh beamed at you “Does this mean you agree? We can fight this giant together!”. You nodded your head “okay let’s go meet up with the others”.

You and Iroh rushed after the others and found them all suiting up. “Finally” your mother said spotting you but she frowned when she saw Iroh with you “y/n tell me you didn’t bring the general who is also the prince of the fire nation into this”. “She didn’t, I volunteered” Iroh spoke up “I’m not here as a general or as a prince but as a civilian so, where can I help?”. “You know your mother won’t like this” Tenzin commented and Iroh nodded “I know but some things are worth facing her wrath for” he said shooting you a smile and you blushed.

So it was agreed Iroh would stay. Your mother thought it would be best to place him on the roof with the airbenders, she ordered him to shoot lightning at the joints to try and cause some malfunctioning. When you’d all suited up the teams said their goodbyes and Iroh appeared in front of you. You didn’t have long, Kuvira’s giant suit was already in view and the ground shook whenever it took a single step. Iroh stared at you and sighed heavily “Y/n...”. “Don’t say it like that, we don’t have time and we’re both going to be fine okay?” you said faking a smile but Iroh saw right through it. “What did you want to tell me earlier?”. You froze caught off guard and blushed “I...I just wanted to...it doesn’t matter”. The ground jumped and Iroh looked at it nervously before stepping closer to you “I think I can guess what you were going to say”. “You can?” you asked nervously and Iroh smiled “yeah...you had another Beifong blush moment and I’ve noticed you do them around me a lot”. You went bright red and Iroh chuckled “yeah like that...”. You looked down embarrassed but Iroh took your hand gently “don’t, I blush a lot around you too”. You smiled blushing more and Iroh chuckled softly. “Y/n are you ready?” your mom asked and Iroh gripped your hand tightly. “Wait I want to tell you everything before you leave” Iroh cried but you squeezed his hand gently. “It’ll be okay” you smiled “you can tell me everything later and I think I can guess too”. Iroh grinned blushing “later then...just got to get through this”. “We’ll be fine, this is what he trained for” you smiled confidently “I promise I’ll see you on the other side”. Iroh nodded and stared at your lips, he went to move in when your mother called “y/n are you coming or are we leaving you behind”. “I’m coming!” you yelled and stepped away from Iroh “mothers” you commented and he smiled “go, i’ll see you after” and with a last look you both rushed off to your assigned group.

The battle

The fight went about as good as could be expected. The suit swatted the air benders away like flies and your group’s earth, metal and even lava bending barely slowed it down. But it didn’t matter, all that mattered was the avatar and her team managed to find a way into that thing and your team cheered when you saw she’d done just that. Now the fight was Korra’s so you let your guard down when suddenly the machine began malfunctioning. Your mother yelled for you all to take cover but you were too far away from the building. The suit exploded with a blast and you saw a blinding light and then black.

After the suit exploded everyone assumed the battle won. Half the air benders went after Korra to help her with Kuvira and the other half went to the ground to make sure the others were okay, of course Iroh went with the latter. He saw Bolin, your aunt and cousins but no sign of you or your mother. They told him they were all searching for you and he rushed to join in. With each street he passed his heart began to sink when finally he spotted you! In the arms of your mother unconscious. Iroh ran forward dropping to his knees beside you. “What happened?” he cried and your mother clutched you desperately “that thing exploded and she was too far to get into cover, it hit her sending her flying through the street and now she’s...she’s...”. Iroh saw the blood seeping through your mother’s hands where she held them against you. “No” he said viciously “y/n won’t...she can’t! We need a medic” he yelled loudly before taking off his jacket to wrap around your wound. “Maybe I can cauterise the wound?” he asked “seal it to stop her losing so much blood?”. Lin paused “I think the wounds too big but it’s worth a shot”. Iroh nodded and Lin lifted the bottom of your uniform. Iroh saw a large gash across your stomach and winced. He lit his hand on fire and pressed his hands against the wound. You gasped suddenly and your eyes shot open. “Y/n” your mother and Iroh cried in unison and you blinked trying to make sense of the situation before you groaned in pain. You tensed trying to get away from the burning but your mother held onto you “please y/n just hang on Iroh is trying to cauterise your wound”. “It’s not working” you grimaced resisting the urge to scream “Iroh stop! Please!” you cried and he yelled in frustration moving his hands away from you. “No it has to work if it doesn’t then you’ll.....we need a medic down here” he yelled again but he knew everyone else was spread out and there were no healers in the group. “It’s okay” you said breathing heavily as the situation dawned on you “Iroh it’s alright”. “No it’s not” he cried sinking onto his knees beside you “it’s not y/n, you can’t...you have to fight this, you can’t leave me”. You nodded “trust me i’m trying but Iroh if I do...”. “No y/n don’t even think about it! I won’t let you go it’s not going to happen”. “I don’t think we have a choice” you admitted trying to smile but Iroh just shook his head “but we never got our shot, we never got to talk, I never got to tell you...I love you y/n” he said simply “I have for years, that’s why I never found anyone from the fire nation because the perfect person for me is you. I know there’s traditions and rules but I don’t care, I don’t want anyone else but you. I’d give up anything for you and we were finally heading in that direction and now that stupid spirit cannon”. Tears leaked down Iroh’s face and you reached out a hand to him shakily. He took it and you stroked his face “it’s okay, i’m sorry for being too scared and cautious, I’m sorry for wasting our time together but I love you too, I hope that’s enough”. Iroh nodded “It’s more than I ever hoped, you didn’t waste time you have nothing to be sorry for y/n Beifong, do you hear me?”. “I do” you smiled before coughing in pain and your mother clutched you tighter. “Y/n” your mother cried and you smiled up at her “it’s okay mom, don’t worry. It’s all going to be okay”. You clutched her hand against your chest and took Iroh’s other one. “I’m with the two people I love the most, I’m happy. This is the best way for it to...”. “Stop” Iroh said crying but you just gripped his hand tighter “Iroh look at me”. He blinked through the tears but looked at you. “It’s okay, I promise you everything will be okay”. Iroh just said your name softly and rested his head against yours. Your mother wrapped her arms around both of you and you held onto both of them the best you could when you felt the world fading away. You heard sobbing and your mother faintly saying your name until everything turned dark and it was over.

Epilogue

Following your death the fire nation, earth kingdom and republic city all paid their respects in their traditional fashions. A statue was raised by your mother in the spot of your death and every year on the anniversary of your death both her and Iroh would visit it. Iroh and your mother supported one another following your death being the only one’s who understood how monumental the loss of your life was. They managed to get through it together and although neither of them ever stopped loving you they found a way to carry on. Iroh never married, he couldn’t even consider the idea and his family never pushed him to. He still lived a long and happy life. He was very involved with his sister’s children who he loved dearly and his family never stopped supporting him. If he went quiet and got a teary look in his eye or if he struggled serving in the earth kingdom they understood. Your family also treated him like one of their own, with Lin even calling him her son on a few occasions, and he was invited to all your family’s events in recognition of your love for him. Your memory never faded and when Iroh’s life eventually ended he passed on to find you waiting for him. He knew all the suffering and heartache was over, you were finally together at last. 

____

So initially I was going to write a happy ending as well but then I thought screw it, I want to cry so I killed off the reader...but I can release the happy ending as a part two if anyone wants it. 

Edit: For the happy ending version click here

[bestintheparsec]

Between the Lines

Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Summary: A trip to the bookstore brings you more than you’re looking for.

A/N: This is just something short/sweet I came up with (it’s probably the least deep or angsty thing I’ve ever written, unlike my usual). It’s a standalone, but obviously I have a thing for coffee...anyways, I hope you like it!

Words: 1.8k

Warnings: none

(Masterlist pinned to my page)

~

You've found it.

After countless stops at multiple bookstores, you've managed to track down the book you've been searching long and hard for. It's a new release you've been eager to get your hands on—collector's edition, special content included. Every store you've gone to has been completely sold out of it, but after many phone calls and Google searches you'd found a store, one town over, that still had it.

Determined to get it this time, you'd shown up as soon as the store opened today. Stepping inside you see that it's a fairly big store, but it seems to be a local place since you'd never heard of it prior to your extensive search. You make a mental note to come back here more often, taking in the quaintness of it. There's plenty of books, of course, but there's also a section full of cute memorabilia and stationery, and a cozy coffee place tucked into the back corner.

It doesn't take you long to find the section you're looking for—you easily spot the beautiful cover on a display at the center of the store. There's only one copy left, and you're giddy with excitement and relief as you reach for it, sliding it out of its spot. It's the last one on the shelf, but it's in impeccable condition—no wrinkles or folds on the cover or pages, and not a single fingerprint on the jacket. Usually the last ones to go are ones that have been handled by other readers, shoved aside for a more pristine copy on the shelf. But this is your copy now, and it's perfect.

Smiling to yourself and cradling it in your arms, you walk hurriedly back to the front to pay for it and finally take it home. Turning quickly around the corner and not paying attention to anything else in particular, you wonder how long it'll take you to finish it.

And then you crash into something large and sturdy. The book falls onto the floor with a clunk and you feel something hot splash onto your skin. Someone steadies you, only for a moment before stepping back.

You gasp and blurt out an ouch! before realizing that said large and sturdy person was holding a cup of coffee, which is now spilled all over the front of your shirt and the floor.

“Shit, I'm so sorry, are you okay?” a deep voice asks frantically. Still processing what happened, you haven't looked up, focusing on shaking the brown beverage off of yourself.

Some of the hot liquid is on your arm so you briskly brush it off and shake out the front of your shirt, trying to cool off your skin. It's not until a large pair of hands gently takes your wrist, dabbing your arm with a napkin hastily pulled out of his pocket, that you finally look up at this person—and find an unassumingly handsome, albeit panicked-looking, man with wide brown eyes and a face that looks about as hot as your skin feels. You let yourself imagine that if this weren't an inconvenient moment, you might be looking at him as if something clicked into place.

“I'm so sorry, we should get some cold water on that,” he says again, urgently, wiping away at your skin before realizing he's still holding onto your arm and awkwardly letting go.

“No, it's fine, I'm a klutz, really,” you mutter to yourself, dropping your eyes to the book on the ground. It's covered in coffee now, too, much to your disappointment. Way to go, you chide yourself, deflated at the sight. Not only have you ruined the book you've gone through so much trouble to find, but you've also embarrassed yourself in front of this cute stranger in the process.

This is why you stick to books.

“I've ruined your shirt...and this book,” the man murmurs, bending down to pick it up. His furrowed brows and pursed lips make him appear softer than you might expect.

He meets your eyes, swallowing hard and peering at you with what can only be considered as puppy dog eyes. You really look at him for the first time, noticing the unruly dark curls poking out from under his cap, and the distinctly “outdoorsy” attire he has on, worn-out flannel button-up and suede jacket and all. Honestly, he looks mortified, but it's sort of endearing that he's so concerned when many others would've just muttered a curt apology before leaving you to your business. In any case, you find yourself wanting to know more about him. It's a thought you immediately push away; after all, you'd only just met him and he probably only thinks of you as some clumsy girl.

“It's okay, really, it's my fault,” you shake your head at him. “I'm an idiot, I wasn't watching where I was going.”

“But that coffee was really hot, it might've burned you—” he insists.

“I'm wearing another layer under this,” you reassure the man. Taking the book from his hands, you sigh quietly. “I can't say the same for this, though.”

He looks like he's about to ask you something else when another man, probably his friend, walks up next to him, glancing back and forth between you before making a face like yikes when he sees the large stain on your shirt.

"It's not his fault," you sputter at the same time that Coffee Man mumbles, "It was my fault."

After inquiring if you're alright, his friend reaches down to pick up the now-empty cup from the ground, then playfully smacks the man's arm.

“I can't even leave you alone for one minute,” he shakes his head jovially and you almost miss the mischievous eyebrow raise he gives him before turning back to you. “You know...you should let Francisco here take care of that. He's military—first-aid-trained and all,” the friend says with a grin and knowing wink. Coffee Man's jaw clenches, glancing timidly at you as his friend keeps talking, then shooting him a glare that says please stop fucking talking.

"Now you've ruined my coffee and a pretty girl's shirt," his friend jokes.

Coffee Man tries to smile but is visibly embarrassed as he swats his friend on the arm. “Get your own fucking coffee, then, Santi,” he tells him under his breath, which elicits a grin out of you.

Santi throws his hands up in mock-surrender. “Alright, alright. It was nice meeting you,” he nods and smiles at you before walking away.

“I really am sorry,” he tells you again as soon as his friend is out of sight. He fidgets with his hat, removing it for a second to smooth out his hair and then pulling it snugly back down. “I—I'll get you another copy of the book. And a new shirt…”

You chuckle, trying to put him at ease. “Seriously, it's fine…um, Francisco, was it?”

“Oh—Frankie,” he tells you, the smallest of smiles on his lips. He peers at you with that concerned gaze again and you both keep eye contact for what feels like several moments longer than necessary. Despite yourself, you start to feel heat creeping into your face.

Smiling softly back at him, you suddenly feel self-conscious and hug your arms to yourself. “Well, Frankie, it's no big deal. I was going to go home after this, and this shirt is old, anyways." You examine the damage to the book, flipping through the pages. "Mostly I just wanted this book—it's the last copy in the store...but that's okay, too. There are worse things.”

“What's it about?”

“Hmm?” you reply, looking back up at him.

“What's, um, what's the...book about? It has to be good if you were so excited to get it.”

You hadn't expected him to care what you were reading, and you can tell by the shy look in his eyes that it's a genuine question and not anything more.

“Oh. Well…” you start, and it doesn't take long for you to go off about its synopsis and why you've been waiting forever for it. It takes a while for you to realize that you're rambling, and you stop your muddled train of thought. But by the soft look in his eyes as he listens, you get the feeling that Frankie doesn't mind. That, or he's the kind of person who always makes the people around him feel comfortable.

"Anyways, I should let you go on with your day…" you trail off, but both of you remain where you are, not seeming to want to move.

“Wait—will you let me pay for the book?” Frankie insists. “They'll want someone to cover the damage. It's the least I can do.”

“Actually...I think I'm going to keep this copy,” you tell him. “It's still in decent condition and I can read it while I wait for them to get more in.”

Frankie smiles at you, genuinely and without embarrassment for the first time. “You really are excited for it, aren't you?”

“Yep,” you reply with a nod. “It's the same story, even if covered in your friend's drink,” you tease.

“Okay, if you're sure,” he continues. “I'm sorry again, um…I didn't catch your name.”

You tell him and he smiles again, repeating it.

“It was nice meeting you, Frankie,” you tell him as his large hand shakes yours. “Please don't worry about all this.”

Returning the sentiment, Frankie turns to head back to his friend. For a second you consider calling to him, asking to see him again. Not that you'd be bold enough to actually do that. But he quickly disappears behind the rows of shelves and you figure he has other places to be, anyways.

~

It's almost a week later when you return to the bookstore.

You'd given the front desk your number so they could call you when more copies came in, so you asked them to hold one for you, which they happily did. When you get to the register you find the same cashier who helped you last time, greeting her with a smile. She knows what happened last time, grinning as she hands you the book carefully wrapped in a plastic bag.

When you reach for your wallet she shakes her head. “Oh, no, honey. You're good to go,” she tells you. 

You look at her, confused, and she smiles again. “Think of it as a makeup for the last one you already paid for.”

After her insistence, and many thanks on your part, you take the book and leave. When you get to the car, you take it out of the bag, pleased to finally have it. You find the smooth receipt neatly tucked in between the pages and pull it out.

What you don't expect is, at the bottom, it has some handwriting scribbled in pen along with a phone number jotted down under the note. Warmth sneaks into your cheeks and you smile as you read the words.

Would you maybe like to get coffee sometime? I promise not to spill it on you this time. -Frankie

 ~

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[khaleesiofalicante]

I found this on my laptop?

Magnus frowned at Maia but she didn’t bat an eye. Alright, he thought, it was time to bring out the big guns.

He pouted at her.

“So, I can’t give free drinks to any cute people?” he asked, leaning against the wooden counter.

“Nope,” Maia replied shortly.

Huh. Maybe the pout needed more voltage.

“But what if they are super cute?” Magnus asked, pouting even further. “Like Chris Pine cute?”

“Still nope,” Maia shook her head.

“Are you telling me that if Chris Pine walks in here tonight, I can’t offer him a free drink?” Magnus asked incredulously.

Maia sighed, half tired and half exasperated. “I can assure you that Chris Pine is not going to walk into this bar on a Sunday night.”

She paused and looked at Magnus seriously.

“He better not walk into this bar when I am not bartending,” Maia said. “I will be so fucking pissed if that ever happens.”

Magnus wondered how much it would cost him to hire Chris Pine to visit the bar on Maia’s birthday.

“What’s the point of running a bar if you don’t get to give free drinks to cute people?” Magnus gestured at the patrons.

It was Sunday night and Hunters Moon was buzzing with anyone who hated Mondays – which was pretty much everyone.

“The point is to make profit so I can pay off my student loans,” Maia answered and slammed the cash register with a loud thud – she could be a little extra sometimes.

“You had to guilt me with the student loans, didn’t you?” Magnus pouted, for real this time. “Capitalism is a bitch.”

“Magnus, you don’t have to-”

He jumped over the counter in one smooth motion and put a finger on her lips. Cute people come and go – but friends are forever.

“I promised I will take over for you tonight,” Magnus smiled. “I won’t give anyone free drinks – even if they are Chris Pine cute. I promise.”

“Just for a couple of hours okay?” Maia said, as she picked up a napkin from the cupboard, probably hoping to clean the counter for the hundredth time. “It’s mostly just kids from the nearby campus. You can close up by 11.”

He smiled at her and took the napkin from her hands and put it over his shoulder. “Maia, I’ve got this. I just need to look pretty and serve alcohol. I’ve been doing that might my whole life. Just ask my dad.”

“Magnus, your jokes are more depressing than they are funny,” Maia pointed out, looking rather concerned.

“Hush, you!” Magnus shushed her. “Now why don’t you go back to the apartment and prep for the interview with the bank tomorrow?”

Maia was applying for a loan so she can renovate Hunters Moon to make it bigger and better. He wished he had the money to make her dream come true – but he didn’t. So he had decided to help her in whatever way he could. If that meant serving alcohol to redheads and Star Wars nerds with what were clearly fake IDs, Magnus didn’t mind one bit.

“You are the best-est,” Maia smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You are sure you can handle it, right?”

“Maia, I know my way around alcohol,” Magnus reminder her again. “I once drank so much gin that I almost got married to a plate in Poland. Or was it in Philippines? It was a country starting with P. I remember that much.”

“If that anecdote was supposed to make me feel better, it failed miserably,” Maia groaned, shaking her head.

“The only thing that can make you feel better is some hardcore prepping for your interview tomorrow,” Magnus informed her. “Now off you go. I’ve got this.”

He turned around, already taking orders from a blonde girl in a leather jacket. He saw Maia exiting the counter and picking up her backpack. She turned around and gave him a fond smile.

“One drink,” she said. “You can give one free drink.”

“One?” Magnus said in disbelief. “But there are so many cute people here!”

Maia put her backpack over her shoulder and winked at him. “Then you better find the cutest of them all – and it better not be Chris Pine!”

Magnus pouted at the door, which closed after her. He looked around the bar once more - the small cozy space which will hopefully be a big cozy space in the future. It was full of cute people alright. But how could he just choose one of them? It seemed like an impossible mission.

“Alright cutest of them all, show yourself!” Magnus announced dramatically, half joking and half wishing.

Right on cue, the front door bell jingled and two ridiculously good looking people walked in. They looked like students – but Magnus did not make that assumption based on the usual signs like the dark circles under their eyes or the ramen stains on their t-shirts.

These two were actually carrying a pile of giant text books as they found a corner booth and settled down. Magnus was trying to figure out which one of them was cuter when the door opened more and his quest to find the cutest of was settled – probably forever.

The man wore a simple gray sweater and had dark floppy hair that fell just above his eyes. Magnus wanted to know whether he didn’t comb his hair or didn’t know how to.

And his face. Oh my god, his face. 

It was cute. Probably the cutest thing Magnus had ever seen – which is really saying something because Magnus had once attended a cat fashion show a couple of years ago.

The cute, no – cutest – guy’s face scanned the space, searching for someone – probably his girlfriend, if Magnus’ past luck was anything to go by. Even if this cute stranger turned out to be miraculously and conveniently gay, he was probably still here to meet up his boyfriend.

Magnus was used to his shitty luck.

The man’s eyes stopped on him and his mouth parted open, forming a slight O. He shook his head, his ridiculously cute hair flopping around making him look even cuter. The man started looking around again, this time more urgently.

“Face!” he yelled at someone. Or may it was Trace. Magnus couldn’t hear him over the patrons.

Mr. Cutest of Them All walked towards the two ridiculously good-looking students and immediately started gesturing aggressively at the counter. The two students peered over at the counter – at him? – and pointed at their books.

The man sighed and put his face in his hands. Clearly the three of them were dealing with some sort of personal drama. Magnus, despite wanting nothing but to talk to the cute guy, decided to give them space.

For now, he decided to do his job as promised and started taking and making more orders. One hour down, Magnus had successfully poured drinks, breaking zero glasses – although he did break a couple of hearts when he refused to give them his number.

They should really blame the stupid cute guy who was now brooding in the corner booth. The two mysteriously good-looking friends – friends? – seemed to be reading (studying? In a bar?) their giant textbooks in silence.

The blonde one did come over to get a couple of beers but didn’t say much. Magnus wondered if it would be a good idea to send over a drink to their table. Maia did say he could give one free drink after all and he didn’t think no one cuter could walk into that bar tonight – or any other night for that matter.

The bar was starting to empty out slowly as Maia had promised although the corner booth remained the same. Magnus shrugged and decided to clean up the counter since he had to close up in half hour. He was looking for Maia’s cleaning cloth – which she probably should wash more often – when someone loudly and awkwardly cleared their throat.

Magnus turned around to find the cute guy sitting on one of the bar stools, his fingers clasped neatly on the counter before him.

If he had thought the other man was good looking before, he didn’t have words for what he was feeling right now. Magnus could actually see his clearly now. His face, pale but beautiful – like porcelain that you want to caress at first sight. His blue eyes were so deep and enchanting and would definitely give Chris Pine run for his money.

The counter was empty, and so was the bar mostly, but one customer was still a customer. So Magnus decided to stop thirsting and starting pouring – alcohol, just to be clear.

“What can I get you?” Magnus asked, putting on his best smile.

No harm in smiling, right? It was just good customer service.

Okay he might have also unbuttoned one (or two) or his buttons while he pretended to look for something but that’s mostly because New York can be ridiculously warm in…January.

Whatever.

“Can I get a Cake by the Ocean, please?” the man asked.

“A what?” Magnus blinked.

“A Cake by the Ocean?”

“Uh, I don’t know how to make one of those,” Magnus replied helplessly.

Great his first impression on his cute stranger was that he was a loser who didn’t know fancy alcoholic beverages.

“I am sorry,” Magnus said quickly. “I am not a professional bartender. I am just covering for a friend. But I can look it up on the internet and see if I can make it for you.”

“No worries,” the man smiled, and Magnus wanted to kiss him. “It smells like orange juice and vodka. But also tastes like cranberries, I think? Oh – and peach schnapps!!”

“Hold on,” Magnus said slowly. “Are you talking about a Sex on the Beach?”

The man blinked at him once and then twice. His eyes widened in realization and he face palmed and groaned so hard that his friends looked over at the counter in concern.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” the man said, his voice muffled by his hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

“It’s really not,” Magnus smiled. Can this guy get any cuter?

“Why would anyone even call a cocktail that?” the man complained. “It’s a terrible name.”

“It was actually coined by this guy from Florida. He was asked by a peach schnapps company to create a cocktail featuring their product. So he made this,” Magnus gestured at the cocktail he was currently making, “He named it Sex on the Beach because most of the spring breakers who visited Florida at the time were looking for sex or the beach. It was really good marketing strategy to be honest.”

Cute guy looked both impressed and surprised at the same time. Cute guy looked cuter.

“I didn’t expect you to offer me an explanation and definitely not a comprehensive one at that,” the man said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Magnus winked – because of customer service.

“You said you are covering for a friend,” the man after a minute of silence. “So how do you know about the sex on the beach thing? Do you happen to know random details about random alcoholic beverages?”

“While that would certainly look excellent on my resume, unfortunately no. My knowledge of alcohol is limited to mixing cocktails and making hangover cures. But I was a linguistics major at Columbia. I spent an entire semester on etymology. I may have a little obsession about discovering the meaning of things. So I happen to know random shit like this.”

“That’s actually pretty cool,” the man smiled again.

“I am glad you think so,” Magnus said genuinely. “My dad doesn’t see the point of pursing linguistics.”

“Most parents don’t understand the purpose of learning for passion,” the man pointed out. “They think we need to get a degree so we can get a job. They don’t really care if we like what we to learn or enjoy what we do.”

Magnus blinked.

The man was not only breathtakingly beautiful but also eloquent and deep.

“I agree,” Magnus replied. “But if we are going to talk about our parents, we need something stronger than a cocktail with orange juice.”

The man chuckled.

Magnus used to think that the most beautiful sound in the world was the sound a cocktail mixer makes when you are getting yourself booze after a long day at work – or short day at home.

But now he wasn’t so sure.

Maia can think whatever she wants – but if his depressing jokes can get another laughter out of the mystery man it would be worth it.

“Alec,” the man said, now smiling.

“Short for Alexander?” Magnus smiled back.

“Yep,” Alec nodded.

“Do you know the etymology of your name?” Magnus asked, as he waved at the last patrons – other than Alec’s friends – who were leaving the bar.

“It means protector, right?” the man guessed. “For Alexander the Great or something.”

“Actually it goes further back,” Magnus corrected, glad they were talking about etymology and not something like…baseball. “It was actually an epithet given to the Greek goddess Hera. She was a total badass. You should be flattered.”

“Well then, consider me flattered,” Alec grinned.

[mslynnwrites]

So Dathen brought up the idea of Martin going with Jon to America in the Discord. Things snowballed, and all I could think about what Jon expecting the worst after he finds he’s dependent on the statements. I mean, our boy has like. NO self-esteem and is prone to martyring himself for what he thinks is right. It seemed like something he’d do.

AKA I had another excuse to write Jon being sad and then being comforted and I took it. Also they kees :3c

CW: panic, addiction (statement dependency) discussion, Jon’s incredibly low opinion of himself/depression

***

Jon leans over the balcony and watches the smoke of his cigarette drift up into the night sky like impossibly long fingers. He shudders and tries not to think about Michael. Tries not to think about the Circus. Just...tries not to think.

He...he wants to believe that there’s a perfectly rational explanation for why he feels...better. Martin had been fussing over him for days, now, trying anything to make him feel better, and that should have been all he needed! But now...well, he knows—perhaps Knows—that the statement was all he needed.

And Elias...he’d known and done nothing! Was that the point? To turn Jon into his little puppet to tug around along a string of statements he needed in order to...to what, exactly? He’s dependent on them, now, he’s sure—no matter how awful it is. But does he need them to...live? Is...is this what Jude meant?

He lets his head droop, despite feeling more awake and alive than he has for a week, and takes another drag of his cigarette. He doesn’t want to think. He doesn’t want any of this.

There is movement behind him, and he doesn’t need to turn to know that it’s Martin. He smiles internally; Martin has been...so much more than he’d ever dreamed. He never complains when Jon passes out on his shoulder during a long travel time. He’s pretty sure he remembers him wrapping an arm around him one of those times. He always takes Jon’s concerns seriously, even if they seem completely ludicrous. Hell, he even agreed when Jon mentioned he thought they were being followed. And he…

Jon doesn’t deserve him. Martin deserves so much better.

“Hey,” Martin says softly, leaning on the railing beside him. “Are you...how are you feeling?”

Jon lets out a dry laugh. “I feel good,” he rasps. “I shouldn’t, but…”

Martin looks over at him. There is something dark in his eyes, and Jon knows it’s because of what he is. “So it’ll...it’s going to ‘tide you over’, then?”

“I-I think so. Yes.”

Martin looks away again and starts picking at his fingernails. He doesn’t say anything, and his face is pinched in thought. Jon wishes he would just tell him off already. Tell him he’s disgusted and walk away.

His throat constricts. He knows it’s coming, and he hates it. He hates what he is, he hates Elias for doing this to him, he hates that Martin is trapped in this hell with him. He hates that he’s going to lose the only person who seems to care about him.

“So what do we do?” Martin asks, still not looking at him.

Jon swallows back his emotions and reels himself in. He will not cry here. He’ll save that for when Martin leaves; he doesn’t deserve to be pitied. “Th-there’s um...there’s a train leaving for Washington in the morning,” he croaks. “And...there’s a plane to London with a layover in Chicago leaving in 5 hours. I can...I’ll...stay- o-out here while...while you get your things together. Th-that way y-you don’t have to- to see...me.” He finishes with a half-choked sob. He doesn’t want Martin to go. He doesn’t deserve Martin to stay.

He wonders: will he treat him like Tim does? Or will it be more like Georgie—distancing himself? Honestly, that might be worse than violent hatred. Maybe it’s what he deserves.

Martin is looking at him, his expression twisted into confusion. “What? What are you talking about?”

His entire body is shaking, and he can feel the dam starting to break. He can’t—he can’t—let himself break, no matter how terrified and horrified and awfully good he feels. He is a monster. He deserves nothing. Nothing but pain and terror and abandonment.

He’s hyperventilating. There’s a panic attack tingling in his bones. It’d be so much easier if he were alone; he wouldn’t have to pretend. He could let everything out that he’s keeping bottled up right now. But he’s not, and he can’t.

There is a hand taking his. He thinks he hears Martin say his name. He thinks he must be hallucinating.

“Jon,” Martin says again, his voice urgent and stressed. He has both of his hands in his, now. He’s staring intensely into his eyes.

He can’t speak. He tries anyway, and all that comes out is a quiet whimper. Pathetic.

“Oh, Jon.” Martin’s hands leave his, and he screws his eyes shut because he cannot bear to watch him walk away. But then there are arms wrapping around his torso, and he is being pulled against a broad chest. “I’m not going anywhere, Jon.”

The dam overflows, and Jon crumples. His legs give way to the concrete floor beneath him, but Martin holds him. He gently settles him onto the ground, never letting go.

He tries to speak. He tries to apologise. He tries to do something that isn’t burying his face into Martin’s chest because he does not deserve this no matter how scared or upset he feels and he doesn’t understand why Martin isn’t walking away nor why he’s holding him so tightly and gently and warmly and he is scared and Martin is not leaving.

He’s whispering things that Jon can’t understand through his guilt-ridden haze, quietly shushing him and rubbing circles into his back the way he’d always wanted someone to but no one ever had.

Slowly, his sobs taper off until he can only shiver under Martin’s bulk with an occasional painful, wet gasp. Martin loosens his grip, and Jon doesn’t want to move even though he knows he should because he is a monster and Martin is wonderfully, beautifully human.

“It’s okay,” Martin whispers. “It’s okay; you’re not alone. I’m here. We’re gonna figure this out.”

“I don’t understand,” Jon gasps. He doesn’t understand why Martin is still here. Why would Martin want to stay—to help him?

“I know,” Martin replies. “None of this is your fault.”

“How could it not be?”

Martin shushes him. “You didn’t know. None of us knew. I’m not going to throw the blame on you just because- because you think you deserve to be hated, Jon.”

Jon finally finds the strength to pull himself out of Martin’s embrace. The warmth is gone and he is cold and afraid and he doesn’t understand. “I’m a monster,” he rasps. You should hate me.

Martin’s hands cup his cheeks and softly caress away the tears. “You’re not a monster,” he says, “not to me.”

If he’d had any tears left, they would be falling now. His whole body aches and his head is pounding and Martin is looking at him with an open yet unreadable expression and he has never been so close before.

He is slowly leaning closer, then stops when their noses touch. Jon searches his eyes and finds hesitation, fear, concern hidden in their oceanic depths. He is dizzyingly close and his fingertips are gently pressing into his cheeks while they’re sitting on the floor of the balcony of their shitty motel. Jon closes his eyes, barely breathing, anticipating, fearing, wanting.

Martin’s lips taste like mint. They are soft and gentle and do not pry. Jon balls his hands into Martin’s shirt and leans into the kiss like it’s the last drop of goodness in his hellish world.

It only lasts a few glorious seconds before Martin pulls away. Jon lets out an unconscious breath. He is still shaking, he is still a mess, he’s still a monster. But Martin...doesn’t care. Martin is going to stay. He doesn’t have to do this all alone.

“Where you go, I go,” Martin murmurs, resting their foreheads together. “Okay? I’m not going to leave you. Not ever.”

Jon takes in a shuddery breath. “O-okay…,” he whispers. “Th-that’s the deal.”

Martin is still smiling when he kisses him again.

[crippleprophet]

(Semi-Urgent!! Well, not really but im trying to make a decision by the end of the week) Hey, sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask if it's okay to get a cane for really rare occasions and like how to know if one would help you or if I've just made stuff up?? I think a cane might help me not get tired as fast on days where I'm walking alot, but I feel like I don't really need one, because it's extremely mild + rare. Idk if worth looking into seriously/getting, so I'm asking for your opinion??

i’m always pro mobility aid, even just to try out! the broad strokes are that a cane is likely to help if you have lower body pain, balance difficulties, or fatigue, and is likely to not be ideal if you have arm pain. my first cane was $10 from walmart and it lasted me 3 years until i gave it to a friend, so it’s a super reasonable thing to just see if it works for you, you don’t necessarily need anything fancy.

keep in mind than an offset handle is better for offloading weight & a T-shaped handle is better for balance difficulties! and make sure it’s sized correctly (the handle should come up to the inseam of your wrist when standing regularly in your normal shoes) because it can cause you more problems than it helps if it’s too short/tall.

ultimately, it’s okay to do things that help you. there’s no minimum requirement of suffering before you’re allowed to become a mobility aid user. in my idea of a perfect world, everyone would own several mobility aids that they can use whenever they have an injury or become disabled, rather than have to go through a process of figuring it out + convincing themselves they deserve for navigating their environment to be as easy as possible. but you do deserve that. i’m so far from being any sort of arbiter of disabled identity or mobility aid use, but if at this point in your journey you need someone to give you permission, you have it. i wish you so much luck and relief 🖤

[peachyteez]

little wanderer ≫ DAY FIVE, THE MAN DRESSED IN BLACK.

this fellow stray cat hybrid has been hanging around jiyu’s condo for as long as he could remember, although jiyu may not have noticed him. the cold winter breeze and jiyu’s open bedroom window prompts him to sneak into her bedroom one night. it was just suppose to be one night, but the gods must’ve been smiling upon him.

PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES.

✧ taglist: @defsoul15, @jaeminpeachy, @joongiebug, @sunsethw4, @t-tbinnie, @chanyeolol, @danibookmarks, @hello-its-ya-boi, @murralyn, @alienmashup, @panini, @moon8894, @koasworld, @taetae123094, @luv3rxcha, @treasure-hwa, @etherealbyeol, @hwaseongzzz, @lovely-sanie, @orbitiiny, @pirate-of-the-dark-seas, @babydolljo, @ms-starlight, @everrrlasting, @bls-luv-me, @atzgiggle, @arohabyeol, @rainbowmagicpixecorn, @soverystupid, @ayetothezee, @kingalls00, @sanstreasure0305, @sparklingmallow, @kpopnightingale, @rosesarethebest, @stillcantfindaproperusername, @bonbonhwa, @its-sarah-stark, @sanismybb, @frankenstein852, @peachseok, @woopetals, @exhofayemars, @pvrkacciosan, @c-sanshine

✧ notes: well this chapter took a turn 😭

✧ WARNING(S): mentions of misogyny, brief story of san attacking someone, a curse word (?)

back。|  next。

if jiyu had a dollar for every time she had been woken up in the middle of the night in the past week—well, she wouldn’t be rich, but she’d have a substantial amount of pocket change. 

“jiyu!” mingi whispered, gently shaking her out of her slumber. “wake up!”

groaning, she habitually scooted over to make room on the bed since mingi usually wandered into her room in the middle of the night due to nightmares. “just don’t take all the blanket—”

“no! this is urgent!” he frantically tried explaining. “i think someone’s trying to break in!”

her eyes instantly shot open and she immediately sat right up in bed. “mingi, why didn’t you just start with that?” she frantically whispered back, hurriedly slipping on a hoodie. 

“i tried, but you kept grumbling!”

“okay, we’ll have this conversation again later. let’s just see if the others are awake.” slowly opening her bedroom door, she and mingi peeked their heads out to see if anyone was outside. while they didn’t see anyone, they heard footsteps and clutters out by the front door. 

mingi clutched onto her hoodie as his eyes clamped shut out of terror and his ears were slumped down. jiyu took his hand in her’s and rubbed comforting circles on his knuckles. “shh, it’s okay mingi.”

while whispering to mingi, she noticed the others tip-toeing towards them as to not alert the perpetrator that they were awake. being the predator hybrids, seonghwa, hongjoong, and yeosang were on full alert. yunho scurried over to her and mingi, quietly whimpering, while san stood and frowned at the front door.

“i didn’t think they’d come so soon...” he mumbled once he caught whiff of the familiar human scent.

“was this the one that hurt you?” hongjoong whispered. 

san nodded. “he works for my...old owners. i thought he stopped tracking me down a while ago until the other night.” he looked to the floor, guilt flashing across his features. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to drag you into my affairs—”

jiyu interrupted while holding onto yunho and mingi. “san, i’ve mentioned it before, we chose to help you, meaning we won’t abandon you even if we’re also pulled into danger. so don’t apologize, okay?” 

seeing her small smile of reassurance, his guilt multiplied. but he couldn’t do anything about it now, so he just nodded while promising himself that he wouldn’t let a single hair on their heads get hurt. even if he would be the one to take the blunt of the pain.

“oi, choi san! i know you’re in there.”

they all froze at the unknown voice from the front door.

“why don’t you open the door and we can just talk this out like grown men?”

san climbed down the stairs and stood a distance away from the front door. seonghwa and hongjoong followed in case. “you beat me to a pulp the last time, and now you just want to talk? i don’t think so,” he hissed. 

the person on the other side let out a low chuckle. “ah, apologies for that. although you and i both know that it’d be a shame if you were too badly...injured. they do want you alive and well, after all. i can’t kill you, san.”

a moment of silence passed as they all held their breaths, anticipating the next move. but much to their surprise, the person showed no signs of breaking down the front door and wreaking havoc. 

“in all seriousness, san, i really did come to talk. no weapons, just to talk.”

“seonghwa,” jiyu whispered down to the wolf hybrid. “you can check the security camera over there,” she pointed to her tablet that was on the living room table. luckily, when they had first moved in, she had installed two security cameras, both so small to the human eye that anyone would just gloss over it. 

“and again, what makes you think i’d believe you?” san asked, while watching the wolf hybrid from the corner of his eye. seonghwa pulled up the security footage to see a man wearing a long, black trench coat, and his face was obscured by a black fedora hat. he stood with his hands in his pockets, and his overall figure practically screamed danger. 

suddenly, the man took out folded papers from his pockets and held it up—almost as if he knew they were watching him. “because i came with something that you’ve been after ever since you left.”

san’s eyes widened and his body froze. there’s no way—

“so what’s the move?” hongjoong asked to both san and jiyu. 

judging from his reaction, jiyu had a hunch that whatever the unknown man brought was really important to san. she didn’t know what it was, but looking at the security footage, he didn’t seem like he was hiding anything. and his voice, she could be hearing things, but it seemed as if it held a tinge of remorse.

“carefully open the door,” she decided. “but don’t let your guard down.”

despite looking he had some objections, hongjoong and seonghwa carefully walked ahead of san, who was still frozen in spot, and cracked the door open. they both anticipated either gunshots or the person to come barging through them, but they both peeked out to see the man standing there patiently.

“oh? i see you made some friends,” he commented. “meaning...you’re taking refuge with another human?”

“try anything funny, i’ll make sure you never step out of here alive,” seonghwa snarled before opening the door wide enough for the man to come in. hongjoong stood eyed the man suspiciously, as he waltzed in, stopping in front of san. 

with a better look at the man, they all noticed a mask that covered up to his eyes. the man was tall, but falling just a little short of yunho’s height, and he seemed to be in his mid-thirties or late-twenties. 

despite being terrified out of there wits, and even though yeosang was standing protectively by them, mingi and yunho stood in front of jiyu, scared that the man would try to harm her. but their shaking didn’t go unnoticed from her. she held their hands, hoping it could comfort them.

“i see you’ve aged well,” the man noted, looking san up and down. “to be quite honest, i’m surprised you managed to survive out on the streets all these years. i—no we, were sure you’d give up and come back.”

“as if i’d ever go back,” san lowly, but firmly stood his ground.

the man smirked before taking a look around at each of them. “so where’s your little human friend?”

she stepped out from behind yunho and mingi before peering down over the railings. “what business do you have here?” with the exception of yunho and seonghwa, they were all surprised at her composed and level-headed state.

letting out a huff of disbelief, he started straight up at her. “i wasn’t expecting a woman.”

“hm, sorry to disappoint then,” she sneered.

she was used to the misogynistic treatment; even back at home, people always underestimated her abilities since she was a girl. she’s heard the comments, backhanded compliments, and seen the undermining looks as people doubted her. but she swore to prove them wrong one day, even though she took five years off.

“so again, what do you want here?”

the man chuckled again at her defensive tone before holding his hands up. “i come in peace, ma’am.”

“and for your own sake, i hope that’s true,” she bit back before coming down the stairs. she left mingi and yunho with yeosang. the man let out an airy chuckle before making himself comfortable on the couch, aware of seonghwa’s and hongjoong’s preying gaze on him. 

“...did you really bring it?” san asked, not wanting to get his hopes up. this was the same man that hunted him down for years on end, yet he came here, claiming that he managed to retrieve the items san really wanted? it was near to impossible that he was telling the truth, but there was that sliver of hope.

bringing out the papers once again, the man laid it on the coffee table in front of him. “you can check for yourself. i may work for them, but i’m a man of my word.”

jiyu waltzed over and peered at the papers the man laid out. her eyebrows furrowed at the contents. his birth certificate and adoption forms? 

coming up next to her, san stared at the forms with widened eyes. they were indeed what he had been after for the past few years, and the man really did bring it to him. so many questions ran through his head that he couldn’t even form a single sentence. the home was dropped into a tense silence, the only sound being the ticking of the clock above the dining table. 

seconds turned into a minute before san could croak out a sentence, or rather, a question. “b-but, why—”

“i’ve had a lot of time—years—to think,” the man leaned back on the couch and stared up at san. “it’s pretty stupid and childish to chase you down for something that wasn’t even your fault, don’t you think?”

san was still cautious. “so you took these for me to do...what?”

“well, what do you think?” the man leaned forward, resting his arms in his lap.

jiyu’s eyes slightly widened with surprise. “you want to set him free, don’t you...” 

“that’s one way of putting it, yes.”

“there’s a catch, there’s always a catch,” san sarcastically scoffed. “no way you’d give these to me for free after all these years—”

the man let out an exasperated sigh before leaning back on the couch and throwing his hands over his face. “oh my god, i ended my contract with them, you fucking idiot.”

san just silently stared at the man with the most comedic look on his face—widened eyes and his jaw slacked open like it was unhinged. meanwhile, jiyu just facepalmed at the revelation. 

“now why didn’t you just open with that?” she grumbled. leaving out important information seemed to be the night’s theme. 

“i thought i’d make it a little more fun. it’s not all that fun to just say my piece and go, now don’t you think?” the man mused before standing up. “my contract was ensued until i brought you back. i just told them a little white lie about how your trails went cold after a while so i just assumed you were dead. and poof, took these and left,” he gestured to the papers on the table.

“...will they still look for him though?” jiyu asked, unsure that they’d just give up looking for san just like that. 

“probably not. they were one to never get their hands dirty anyways. especially since their daughter’s in the hospital—”

san tensed at the mention of hospital, something that certainly didn’t go unnoticed by the man. “so she doesn’t know, does she?” he referred to jiyu. “or all of them for that matter.” at some point along the way, yeosang, mingi, and yunho had joined them downstairs, yet they still stuck close to yeosang just in case things went downhill again.

san silently shook his head, mentally preparing for the worst when they found out about his sins. 

“san here,” the man started, “is the one that put the family’s only daughter in the hospital.”

they glanced at san with the same thought. how did a cat hybrid manage to put a human in the hospital?

“to put it short, something provoked him to go feral, and he ended up attacking her until she almost bled out. we don’t know what provoked him to this day, but the family turned on him after that incident. and since he has no memories of the moments right before and when he was feral, it was hard for him to defend himself, so he ran away.”

taking a look at san, who looked like he just wanted to disappear, she felt her heart ache for him. he’s been alone for so long...all because of a potential misunderstanding. 

“either way, i’m still the reason she’s been injured for so long. not only physically, but probably mentally, too. imagine the trauma from being attacked by a feral hybrid.” a deprecating chuckle escaped san’s lips. 

seeing him look so down, she stroked his head. “hey, it wasn’t your fault. hybrids can’t help themselves when they go feral. it’s like you’re trapped out of your own body, so don’t blame yourself. you might have attacked her, but it wasn’t you.”

it was amazing to him how reassuring her words were, and how it was so easy for him to almost believe. there always will be that small part of him that will always blame himself for what happened, whether he liked it or not.

the man stood up and brushed his pants. “i believe i’ve overstayed my welcome, so i’ll take my leave now,” he bowed to the six of them. “and i apologize for the fright i might’ve caused.”

before the man could open the door to leave, san felt compelled to at least thank him for what he’s done. “wait! thank you...for everything...”

after a moment’s pause, the man turned around, and judging from how his eyes turned upward, it seemed as though he was smiling. “it was the least i could do after everything i’ve put you through the last few years. i’ll see you around, choi san.”

and with that, the man took his leave. 

once he closed the door, he heard their muffled voices, most likely discussing san’s future. he smiled before looking up to the sky. “well now, where am i to go next?”

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Hello! I cannot stop thinking about the genuine airlock plotline.

So: how would a round where the impostor tries to throw Etho out the airlock go? He remembers the airlock, and he remembers them all agreeing not to use it...would he try to escape, be confused as to why something so cruel is about to be done to him when they all agreed that it was unnecessary and possibly unsafe? Would he realize that nobody else remembers, and if so, would he still go along with it? Would he be afraid, being dragged to the airlock and, unlike any victim before, knowing... Would he try to figure it out from the inside, either to find an escape or just to find out why and how this thing exists in the minute before he dies?

Just a whole heap of possible ideas, you definitely don't need to address all of them, I just really want to see an Imposter try to put Etho in that airlock when he knows

i’ve decided to start a tag for this AU bc i'm enjoying it so much, so now all content for this AU will be posted under ‘#true airlock au’ :)

…

It’s a fresh round, and the euphoria of a great win with Tango last round is wearing off Etho, leaving him with a clear mind. He has to be at the top of his game at all times; at least, that’s how he tries to play it. Whether imposter or crewmate, he always tries his best.

Early in the game, Etho is performing both his tasks in cafeteria when someone approaches him from behind and says, “Hey, Etho. How’s it going?”

Etho glances behind him, as if he couldn’t identify the person’s distinctive voice. “Hi, Joker. Are you here to do a task?”

“Nah, I thought you might like to come and see something cool.”

Etho’s heart skips a beat immediately. He thinks he knows exactly what this “something cool” is, and it makes him nervous.

“No, I…” He hesitates. “I’m okay, thanks.”

“Really?” Joker says with a grin. “Are you sure? It’s pretty cool. You should come check it out.”

“I’m…sure. Thanks.”

But as he turns to walk away, Joker grabs his wrist and gives him a smile that seems friendly on the outside, but there’s a clear sparkle of danger in his eyes. “C’mon. Humour me.”

Against his better judgement, Etho relents and lets Joker lead him away. Just as he expects, Joker takes him down to storage and opens up the door that Etho already knows is there.

But he’s never seen it for himself until now.

“You like it?” says Joker, the hint of a smirk on his face. “It’s impressive, right? You wanna go inside and check it out?”

No way in hell, Etho wants to say. But not only is he too Canadian to say that but also part of him does indeed want to check it out. He’s never seen the airlock in person; the game only chooses one random imposter every now and then to give its location to. So maybe he SHOULD check it out while he has the chance…

After a moment, Etho glances sideways at Joker. “I’d rather not. We agreed not to use it again, didn’t we?”

Joker scoffs. “Oh, yeah, sure, of course we did. So why don’t you step inside? Nothing to fear, surely.”

His friend’s flippant nature surprises Etho. Joker can be facetious but surely he saw how serious Etho was about using the airlock to kill people.

Finally, Etho steps towards the airlock.

Immediately, Joker shoves him forward into it.

Etho scrambles to his feet just as the doors start to slide closed and grabs the hem of Joker’s lab coat, yanking him towards him. Joker lets out a yelp as he lands in the airlock alongside Etho, the doors shutting behind him.

“ETHO!” Joker screeches. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!”

Etho hurriedly clamps his hands down on Joker’s shoulders, forcing him to stay in place. “Listen to me! This is urgent, Joker!”

“What?!” snarls Joker. “WHAT?! WHAT IS SO URGENT THAT YOU-”

“Joker, tell me you remember me saying not to use the airlock again!”

Joker tries to pull away. “You’re crazy! Do you seriously think I would forget if the airlock had been used before?!”

“It HAS!” Etho gives his friend a shake. “Joker, it HAS! This is the fourth time it’s been used and for some reason, nobody except me remembers. There’s something strange about it; in fact, it shouldn’t exist. I don’t know if you’ll remember this next round, but Joker, I need you to promise me that if I come up to you again and ask about the airlock, you’ll say the word “countdown” to show you remember.”

Joker stares at him in confusion and slight anger. “What? Why?”

“Promise me!”

Clearly sensing the urgency in Etho’s tone, Joker finally relents. “Fine. But I’m not gonna forget that you ruined this round for me.”

Etho just shakes his head. “Alright. Thank you.”

…

Etho doesn’t bother bringing up the airlock in the lobby after the round is over. Next round, he seeks Joker out immediately and draws him into admin, despite Joker’s protesting. “Don’t kill me this soon, man!” he complains. “I don’t wanna die first.”

“Joker, I need you to tell me that word,” Etho says urgently. “Remember? That word we agreed on last round.”

Joker gives him a look, as if Etho’s crazy. “I don’t know what you mean, dude.”

“Please, it’s urgent. It’s really urgent.”

“Sorry, but I really don’t know what you mean. I really don’t remember you telling me any particular word. Sorry.”

After a moment, Etho releases Joker and wordlessly leaves the room. He can’t say he’s very surprised but he’s disappointed nonetheless. He was so close to finally having another person remember the airlock.

He heads down to storage, but the airlock is nowhere to be found. And since he’s not the imposter, he has no way to even find it, let alone open it. All he knows that the airlock is in storage, but he can’t quite recall where, and the game doesn’t give him any hints.

The only thing he finds in storage is Zedaph standing at the gas can. He gives his friend a smile and a wave as he passes through. “Hey, Zedaph.”

Zedaph only says a single word in reply. A word that makes Etho spin around immediately, but Zedaph has already disappeared. Standing alone in the corridor between storage and electrical, he can’t help a shiver, as the word echoes in his mind, letting him know that this whole situation runs deeper than he first thought.

“Countdown.”

[prose-for-hire]

Shared Affection

Pairing: Willow x fem!reader; Xander x fem!reader [Bi reader !!]

Request: Hey! can you please write a Willow/Xander x fem reader story where they both have crushes on the reader and they're trying to figure out if she likes boys or girls only to find out shes bi?

Requested by: Anon

A/N: I feel like I’m still a little rusty but I did like writing a little something for this request !! Hope it’s what you wanted and I’m sorry about the wait 💖

You were a new transfer to UC Sunnydale. You could sense that you were on a Hellmouth as soon as you set foot in this new place you would call home. You could sense things, energies and what some may call magic. It just hadn’t occurred to you that this was any different to how other people felt and experienced the world. This would all change, however, once you met who would be your new group of friends. They would show you new possibilities as well as showing you just how powerful you truly are.

You met Buffy in a class you had both taken and subsequently bonded over how much you regretted it. From that first day you both vowed to help each other get through the year. It was as if you just clicked, she was an instant best friend, you could feel it. She then introduced you to her other friends, Willow, Anya and Xander. The latter didn’t actually go to college but he would sneak onto the campus so often and he was good company so you were pleased at this. You got on with everyone so well, it was clear that they had become fond of you almost instantly. Some, more than others.

Over the next five months, Xander and Willow had found themselves adoring you. Neither realising that the other held feelings for you. Xander and you both loved films. You would watch them together all of the time and it became a weekly tradition. You would either go to his basement or he would spend time in your dorm. Sometimes you would forget that the film was on and laugh until you cried at the comments he would make. He was so funny and you couldn’t help but feel so comfortable in his presence.

Willow and you spent time together, she had shown you some small spells for you to practice and you described to her the energy you felt especially now you were in Sunnydale. You could spend hours through the night, just talking. Laughing and sharing your deepest thoughts. She was so sweet to you and you really valued all of the time she spent with you.

Both of them had made you feel so welcome and you enjoyed the attention you had been getting more and more of from them both. You couldn’t lie and say you didn’t suspect that one or both of them may have feelings for you. Although, whenever you thought this you berated yourself for assuming more from their friendly natures.

You couldn’t help loving them, they were so kind and they both looked after you in their own ways. Willow and her magic, Xander and his courage. They were truly now extremely important people in your life. You were thinking of this as you saw Buffy saving your usual seat in your class.

She smile and got you up to speed on all of the latest news you might have missed since you saw her last night on patrol. She was now your closest friend and you basically told each other everything. She had finished telling you all about Riley and what she had found out after the Gentlemen had finally been taken care of. Although, she suddenly changed the topic with a smile and a glint in her eye. She wouldn’t go into detail although she happened to hint about you having a ‘secret admirer’. 

Your mind went to Xander and then to willow in almost the same second. Who you suppose you wished it to be. But then, would you want to choose between them? Hurt one at the expense of the other? Would you even be able to choose? Or could you share them both, forget about monogamy, or would that put a strain on their friendship?

Stop. You had to halt all of the scenarios spinning around your head. It was possible it was nobody in your new little friendship group. Perhaps it was a pretty demon that Anya used to know from the olden days that had seen you from afar.

Willow and Xander were sat in the college canteen while you and Buffy were finishing your lecture. Xander had slid in with a group of guys that had finished a game of football so that nobody would question him. They sat and talked for a little but both of their minds had been on you. On their feelings for you. Neither knew that they had never felt this strongly for another person before. They just didn’t know how you could take it.

Willow had been thinking though. She had told Buffy she was gay. She had finally done it. She was a lesbian. She liked girls and only wanted to date girls now. Specifically, you. God, she adored you. Buffy had been surprised at her coming out but after a few months found herself being Will’s biggest supporter. It was easier to accept as Buffy already knew about your sexuality. You had always been open with her about being bi, you just hadn’t gotten around to telling anyone else.

“So, what do you think?” she asked after her usual rambling as she tried to broach the subject with Xander. She needed to see what he would say. She had realised instead that he had zoned out. His eyes watching for someone who was supposed to be here soon.

“Hm?”

“About y/n. I was thinking of asking her out-”

“You can’t!” Xander said, his voice had gone high-pitched at the suggestion. He then coughed and deepened his voice more than he would usually speak it to compensate, “…She’s not gay, Will”

“You don’t know! What are you th-the king of gay people now?”

“No!” Xander said quickly but his heart wasn’t really in their conversation. All he could ever do now was think of you. There was a pause for a while as both of them thought of the other, knowing now that they both felt the same for you. Then they thought of you. Of how close you had become. How kind and affectionate you could be with them. You cared for each of them but neither of them could help but wish for more. Xander suddenly spoke up again, still staring into the distance, “I know, of course I know. Do you, uh, really think… you know?”

“Sometimes she looks at me and I forget to do the breath-y thing” Willow admitted, now rubbing her hands together in her anxiety.

“Well, yeah she does. She’s- Y/n!” He suddenly said, his voice announcing you as he saw you walk towards them. You smiled and waved a little as you weaved between the tables to get to your friends.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she’s-” Willow replied, not realising you had been standing behind

“Hey, Y/n! Our Y/n, uh, Y/n our friend!” Xander said a little more urgently, over whatever Willow had been trying to say about your sexuality.

You smile and slide into a seat beside them. Both of them made you so comfortable to be around, you had this sense of home around both of them.

“Buffy caught up to Riley in the corridor, so it’s just me today,”

“That’s good!” Willow said, “Well, n-not good that she isn’t here but good that you are and that they have time together”

“Yeah, I think they’ll be okay. I hope so anyway, he could be good for Buffy right? I don’t know much about Angel but she looks so sad every time someone talks about him”

Willow nodded but Xander wasn’t quite listening. He was trying to think of a way to subtly change the subject from Buffy’s love life to yours. He ended up throwing subtlety out of the window an blurt it out.

“So, Y/n, how would you describe your type. What would your ideal man-”

“O-or woman! Or anybody else!”

“Oh, uh, well I’m not sure I have one type. I fall for people for more than their looks I guess. It just depends on the person!” You smiled but faltered slightly as their brows furrowed at your answer. It wasn’t specific enough for them to gauge who you might be interested in.

However, Willow loved your answer, as did Xander. He was usually a little insecure that he wasn’t the best looking guy or that he made too many jokes to be taken seriously by anyone. But of course, with you, it was different. You could sense goodness from them. You could sense love and promise and potential and you adored spending time with them so much.

But you could feel there was a slight tension. As if they were competing where usually they wouldn’t. Or that they were in some kind of unresolved discussion.

“Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity! We are, um, curious cats”

“If for example, Willow asked you on a date and uh, for the sake of this totally hypothetical situation, I also asked you out too – who would you pick?”

“Well, I think that I would be happy with either of you” You shrugged. And their mouths both widened in surprise at the same time. Neither of them had even considered you might like men and women. Even after you said this as you had to elaborate, “I’m bisexual”

They smiled at you, somewhat satisfied with this answer and both hugged you tightly at you admittance. You couldn’t help grinning so wide at their warmth. Then they caught each other’s eye and saw that they mirrored each other’s expression. That they saw that they had a chance with you. At your love. As you got up and excused yourself that you had to get to another class, there was a silent agreement. Both of them were set on competing for your attention. Especially now that they knew they definitely could have a chance to be by your side.

You weren’t really sure what to make of their question, you told yourself not to think too much into it. Just in case your mind began to spit out unrealistic scenarios that would disappoint you. You left them, not aware that they were both intently watching you leave. Your form dancing away from them in that way that they loved. Their eyes never left you and their thoughts lingered even longer.

One day, you would probably have to make some kind of decision. For now, you were just pleased that they accepted you for who you were. That you couldn’t sense even the smallest change in their fondness for you when you told them. For now, you could enjoy their love, whether platonic or otherwise and keep spending as much free time as you could with them.