#once again 90% of this chapter is flirting

[puck-luck]

new beginnings | august 5 - 11

note: this is chapter 11 of 13 (plus an epilogue). we are in the final stretch! this chapter is 19.5K.

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71:90 – TREVOR

“And another grüner veltliner for the lady,” Sarah spouts with a fond chuckle, topping off Honey’s glass. 

Honey’s smile is dopey and her cheeks are growing pink from the wine. “Thank you, Sarah,” she says, sounding a whole lot like she does when she exaggeratedly flirts with Trevor. 

Trevor squints at Honey.

Sarah notices first and starts to laugh. “God, Trevor, you might need to be cut off,” she laughs. Trevor turns his eyes on her. She laughs harder. “Don’t look at your bartender like that, especially not if you want to keep daydrinking on a Monday afternoon.”

“He’s just mad ‘cause I’m being sweet to you,” Honey says, propping her chin on her palm and blinking at Sarah like a cat about to nap. “He doesn’t know how to share. Very jealous.”

“She’s a married woman,” Trevor grumbles, frowning at Honey.

Honey waves her hand at Trevor, just a flick of the wrist. “She has the wine, Trev. Be sweet.”

“Don’t wanna,” he pouts. 

Sarah snorts out a laugh and ruffles Trevor’s hair. “Can I get you anything else, bud? You’re not going to let your girlfriend drink alone, are you?”

“I’ll take–” Honey waves her glass in front of Trevor’s nose enticingly, but the smell of the wine stings his nose. “Not that. I don’t like that,” Trevor says, pushing her glass away. He tried it earlier. It tastes like pepper and celery and seeds. He doesn’t know how it’s her favorite. “Uh, something red. Fruity.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Honey laughs. 

Trevor fixes her with an unimpressed look. She remembered this morning that he and Jack were once two participants in a very poorly-executed threesome (not for lack of trying on Trevor’s part) and she’s been milking it ever since. Her chirps were funny the first time, just because Honey has never really chirped Trevor. They’ve always been more serious digs, not chirps, that come from her mouth. But now she’s chirping and it was funny and cute at first… but now it’s getting under Trevor’s skin.

Sarah walks away after nodding in assent to Trevor, signaling that she’ll be back with his order soon. 

Trevor’s look turns into a pout. “You’re so mean to me,” he complains, faking a pout. “I never should’ve told you about that threesome. We were 17, it was such a long time ago.”

“Your 17 was so much different than my 17,” Honey says with a laugh. She says it so casually, even taking a sip from her glass of wine. Trevor’s stomach turns thinking about that– how he was so carefree and happy when Honey was going through the worst time of her life. She clears her throat after swallowing her drink and says, “Hey, if you had to choose another one of the guys to have a threesome with me, who would it be?”

Trevor immediately balks. “None of them,” he replies, defensive. “Absolutely not.”

Honey laughs again. “Good answer,” she says. “You passed the test.” She shakes her head. “I wouldn’t let you have a threesome with Bea, either.”

“Have you?” Trevor asks. There’s something about the way she says it that makes him suspicious.

“No,” Honey says with a wave of her hand. “Bea didn’t actually start hooking up with people until we were eighteen, and I stopped having sex after the whole Thomas thing. If I couldn’t trust my partner, then why would I trust a random person, you know? We kissed once, though.”

“You and Bea? Like, recently?” Trevor raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Honey scrunches her nose at Trevor. “No, not recently,” she says. “Although she wishes she could pull the make-out trick at bars for free stuff. No, it was in middle school. It was a boy-girl party thing.” Honey grins. “I bet you loved the idea of two girls kissing when you were in middle school, Trev.”

Middle school, high school, rookie year… even now it’s not unappealing. He doesn’t seem to do a good job of keeping his face still and impassive. 

“I knew it,” Honey accuses, pointing at him with her index finger. “You’re such a boy.”

It’s then that Sarah returns with a new glass for Trevor, taking the empty one from their table. “This is your last one, both of you.”

“What? Why?” Honey whines. Before Sarah can reply, she turns to Trevor. “This is your fault, you weren’t nice to Sarah.”

“It’s not Trevor’s fault, Honey,” Sarah says with a smile. “You guys asked me to cut you off at 4:30 so you could go get fruit.”

Honey groans. “So not fair. Push it back to 5.”

“Babe, you’re going to be hungover for work tomorrow if you keep drinking. I’m trying to give you time to come down from this,” Sarah reasons.

“Thanks, Sarah, we understand,” Trevor jumps in, digging his hand into his pocket to find his wallet. “We’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“Yeah, you’d better be,” she teases, looking around the patio. There are only two other tables taken and neither occupants have been there for very long. “I was super worried about running out of table space.”

Honey is sulking. She crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at Sarah. “You shouldn’t turn away your patrons.”

Sarah stifles a laugh. “I think I’ll live.” She leaves the table, heading inside, and Trevor laughs when Honey sticks her tongue out at Sarah’s retreating back.

“Look who’s being mean now,” Trevor says. 

“She took the wine away,” Honey returns.

“You asked her to.”

“I didn’t think she’d do it!”

“Well, baby, I don’t know what to tell you.”

Honey groans. 

“But,” Trevor says enticingly. “Now we get to go to the fruit stand!”

Honey takes her glass and drinks, swallowing a mouthful before she eyes Trevor out of the side of her vision. “Who’s going to drive?”

“Drive?” Trevor asks. “To the fruit stand? We don’t need to drive. We can walk.”

“Okay, then after that,” Honey says. “Who’s going to drive us home? I’m in no state. You’re in no state, plus I wouldn’t let you drunk-drive me on the mountain roads anyway. You don’t know them well enough to even try.”

“We’ll call an Uber,” Trevor says, defaulting back to his go-to when he gets a little too tipsy on a night out.

Honey bursts into laughter. “In Litchton? Babydoll. There’s not even a taxi service in town.”

Now it’s Trevor’s turn to groan. “Well, why don’t we call Earl?”

“No, we can’t call Earl, he told me and Bea that if we ever called him again for a ride while we were drunk, he’ll make us pay for his mechanic bill. He’s had a check engine light on for like, three years, so we’re trying to wait him out.” Honey swirls the wine in her glass, then watches the legs drip down to join the settling liquid. 

“I can pay for his mechanic bill,” Trevor insists. “Hello, professional athlete over here? My contract is almost six million per year?”

Honey’s jaw drops. “Holy shit, Trev,” she says. “You’re… rich. I mean, I thought you were, but I didn’t think you were rich-rich. Six million, that’s… that’s a lot.”

“That’s just my contract,” Trevor explains, backpedaling. “I don’t actually make that much. I have to pay agent fees and trainer fees and stuff like that. I only take home, I don’t know, between two and three million.”

“Oh, only,” Honey parrots back sarcastically. “That’s more than I make…” she trails off, thinking hard. “That’s more than I’ve made ever. And you make that in a year? What’s your biweekly direct deposit like?”

Trevor blushes. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” This is one of those things that makes him vastly different from the rest of the world. That’s not to say that he doesn’t love his job and all the things it affords him; Trevor actually can’t imagine living a “normal�� life with a “normal” salary. Still… being called rich… it just makes him feel weird.

Honey continues to remind Trevor why she’s the world’s greatest person, because she’s quick to drop the subject. “What about our other resident threesome enjoyer?” she asks. “Could he drive us?”

Trevor furrows his brow. “Who?”

Honey chuckles at Trevor, giggling like they’re sharing a joke. She picks up her glass and sips.

Trevor laughs too, awkwardly, and picks up his own glass. He looks out toward the Appalachian mountains in the distance. There are pink flowers sprouting in the window-boxes along the edge of the patio, creeping up into eyeline. It’s so pretty here. He avoids Honey’s eyes.

“Cole, baby,” Honey says after a brief silence. “We could call Cole. He could drive us.”

“When did he– oh, yeah,” Trevor starts, then remembers. When Quinn blueballed Bea, both Jack and Cole went upstairs with her. He feels kind of stupid for forgetting. He definitely should have remembered this before Honey explained her joke– then, he wouldn’t have laughed so awkwardly and made it obvious that he had no idea what she’s talking about. Trevor hums in surprise, then stops. “Wait. But we’re on a date,” he says.

Honey nods and shrugs. “For all he knows, we’re just hanging out,” she says.

“But he’ll get sad that we didn’t invite him,” Trevor tells Honey. “And, like, they know we’re friends, but they don’t know we’re close enough friends to hang out just us.”

“Tell him we ran into each other in town,” Honey suggests. “It’s Cole. I don’t think he’ll care that much.”

Trevor stares at Honey. “He’s the most dramatic person I know.”

“More than Jack?”

“Yes, baby, more than Jack,” Trevor says seriously. 

Honey scoffs. “Ugh. Can we just call him? I’m sure it won’t be that big a deal.” She tilts her head back and finishes her glass of wine. “Tell him I’ll buy him a bottle of liquor at the liquor store tomorrow after work if he picks us up.”

She’s not going to budge on this, which Trevor realizes. “Alright, Hon,” he concedes. “Once I finish my drink, we’ll go buy some fruit, and then I’ll call Cole.” He lifts his glass, which is still about half full, to his lips and drinks.

Honey stands. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.” She touches Trevor’s cheek, her fingers a little more clumsy than normal. She jokes, “Chug, Trev, chug!” and heads inside.

Trevor is left alone, sipping on the remaining wine. Honey’s right, it would be easy to call Cole and ask him for a ride. It’s probably their best option. He has the car since Honey picked Trevor up from the house this morning and, to be fair, Cole was still asleep. That kind of throws their “we met in town” story out the window… which Trevor doesn’t love. As willing as Cole is to overlook trivial details, and as easily he transitions from one moment to the next, this might be too far. If Honey doesn’t want the boys to know because she’s not ready, then it might not be a good idea for Cole to pick them up.

But she’s so insistent. Maybe it’s because she’s drunk and, hell, Trevor is drunk too, but this just doesn’t seem… right.

Trevor takes a big deep breath before finishing his wine. Good timing, too. Honey has exited the bathroom and is now waving goodbye to Sarah, even blowing a kiss before she accidentally stumbles into one of the plush chairs in the interior of Wild Bloom. She’s laughing when she exits the building, eyes lighting up when she sees that Trevor succeeded in finishing his glass, just like she’d asked.

“Let’s go get some fruit!” Honey bounces onto her tiptoes as Trevor rises. She produces his card and hands it back to Trevor. “I’m thinking maybe not grapes? We’ve probably had enough.”

Trevor breathes out a little laugh. She’s so funny today– except for the overdone threesome stuff. Honey always has jokes, but she’s being very vocal today. Trevor might have to blame the alcohol.

Honey gasps suddenly, as Trevor stands and gets ready to leave the bar. 

“What?” Trevor asks. 

Honey is fumbling for her phone, dialing a number and holding the device to her ear. She reaches for Trevor’s hand and holds it, walking with him across the patio. She chews her bottom lip while she waits for the person to answer. When they do, she brightens again. “Hi, Bea!” She exclaims.

Trevor almost bursts out laughing. She’s acting like she would if Bea called her by surprise. 

“Can you do me a favor?” Honey asks. “You remember how you owe me because I’m always opening the store for you when you’re sleeping over with Quinn?”

Trevor smiles at the ground, kicking a piece of gravel in the alley where they walk.

“I need you to pick me up and open the store with me tomorrow,” Honey says. “Why? Because I’m drunk… and I’m not driving back to my house tonight. Is that good enough?” She pauses, waiting for Bea’s response to end. “Don’t call me irresponsible for getting drunk on a weekday, you’re just crabby because you’ve been in the car for almost six hours.” Another pause. “No, I can’t get Trevor to come get me, who do you think I’m with?” Honey looks to Trevor and makes a face at him, feigning annoyance at the words of her best friend. “We’re going to call Cole. Yes, Cole.”

Trevor still doesn’t feel any better about that.

“No, babe, I gotta go. We’re almost at the fruit stand. I’ll talk to you about this tomorrow. Unless you want to sleep over tonight?” Honey grins at Bea’s response. “Really? You’re not tired of that guy yet? Impressive.” She laughs. “Okay, bye. Love you.” Honey hangs up and puts her phone away, then lifts Trevor’s arm to bring it over her shoulders. She wraps her arm around his waist. 

They walk the rest of the way to the fruit stand like that, leaning on each other. Honey can’t seem to help herself, running her fingertips over the fuzzy surface of the peaches. Trevor’s not carrying her bag this time because, although he tried to keep it, Honey stole it from his shoulder. Instead, he’s able to watch her move in her own way. Her movements are practiced, like muscle memory, and it reminds Trevor of how she looked the first day they met. He has a sense of deja-vu when Honey tucks her hair behind her ears and plants one hand on her hip, pursing her lips as she looks at the fruit. 

“Hey, how did you know I was Greek?” Trevor asks suddenly, remembering how Honey’s eyes had illuminated when he told her his last name for the first time.

Honey looks over at him, drawing her eyebrows together.

“When we first met,” Trevor supplies. “Right here. I told you my name and you said ‘You’re Greek?’ all excited. You weren’t quite as excited after I told you I lived in Cali.”

Honey stares at him a moment longer, then she recalls the moment herself. “Oh!” She tilts her head to the side and hums, thinking. “Um, your nose? You’ve got a very Greek nose. And then I read an etymology book a while back, specifically about surnames around the world, and the Z and the -as in your name kind of gave it away.”

She’s so smart. Trevor likes her so much.

Honey breaks into a smile. “How cute of you, thinking about when we first met,” she teases. “What was your first impression of me?”

Trevor blushes, remembering exactly what he’d realized as he’d sat in the front seat of the car and looked at her from afar. “Uh, that you’re a lot prettier than the girls I know in California.” He scuffs the toe of his shoe against the concrete. “That I wanted– well, that I wanted your attention and I wanted you to like me.”

“I could tell,” Honey says, biting her bottom lip to curb the even-larger smile on her face. “You were trying really hard, Trev. It was… interesting.”

“I was interesting,” Trevor repeats. He squints at Honey and nudges her arm. “That’s all you thought about me?”

“I didn’t like you,” Honey laughs. “You bumped into me, nose in your phone, then you barely apologized, and then you came back a few minutes later and just started talking about shit, obviously lying to me about some of the details of your life. It was weird.”

Trevor tries not to pout at that. He had felt lame talking to Honey, but he didn’t realize that she’d actually found him off-putting. “You didn’t think I was cute or anything?”

Honey pauses, raising her eyebrows at him. “You’re very handsome, Trevor,” she says. She nods at him, blinking up at him in fake earnest. Trevor nearly rolls his eyes. Honey continues, “You were dressed like a bum, though.”

“I’d been in the car for eleven hours!” Trevor defends himself. 

Honey reaches over and pats his cheek. “Okay, sweetheart,” she says. “Don’t dwell on it. You’ve got me now, don’t’cha?”

Trevor grins. “Yeah.” He bends down and kisses her mouth. “I guess I’ll go call Cole.”

“Thanks,” Honey says. “I’ll be here.”

Trevor nods and walks away, just about a hundred feet. He leans against the brick wall of the grocery store and scrolls to find Cole’s contact. When he finds their shared messages, he clicks along until his phone is ringing and ready. 

Cole picks up in two rings. “Where are you?” he asks. “You’ve been gone all day. No note? Honestly, Z, you’re trying to kill me.”

“You were asleep when I left,” Trevor replies. 

“How did you leave? The car is here.” 

“Honey picked me up.” Trevor braces himself for impact, but Cole is quiet. “She had to run to Winston to pick up something, didn’t want to go alone, and I thought it might be nice to go see one of the girls I hooked up with who lives in Winston.”

Cole is quiet for a second longer, then he hums. “Okay. So… what, you want me to come out? Why are you calling me?”

Oh, now Trevor feels worse. Cole is going to hate that they went drinking without him, leaving him alone in the house. But, like… it was a date… Trevor should be allowed to go out with his girlfriend without a third wheel. “Um… well…”

Cole sighs into the speaker. “What,” he repeats impatiently.

“Honey and I went to Wild Bloom after we got back,” Trevor says. “Remember the wine bar that we went to with Ellen and Jim?”

Cole is eerily silent. 

“We’re a little drunk and we need you to pick us up from the grocery store,” Trevor admits sheepishly. “We, uh, we can’t drive like this.”

The silence stretches on.

“You’re calling me for a ride,” Cole says. “After you left me at home, alone, all day.”

Trevor presses his lips together. It really does sound bad. “Yeah.” At least Cole isn’t focusing on the fact that Trevor and Honey have been hanging out all day, one-on-one.

“Fuck you, dude. I’m on the way, but fuck you.” Cole promptly hangs up.

Trevor pulls the phone back from his ear and stares at the screen. He cringes, going through the conversation again in his head. He hates making the guys– but especially Cole– mad. Cole is his happy friend. When he gets angry… oh, when he gets angry… the mere thought sends a shiver up Trevor’s spine. The horrors of angry Cole…

He shakes his head and returns to Honey. “You ready, baby?” He asks, trying to sound upbeat.

Honey clocks him immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Trevor sighs. He wanted to pay at least before talking about this with Honey. “Cole’s mad,” he says. “I knew he would be. We should’ve invited him to drink.”

“I’m sure he’ll be over it by tomorrow,” Honey tells Trevor. “Cole never holds onto things for very long.” She tries to give Trevor a reassuring smile, but it doesn’t offer the same reprieve that it normally would. Trevor hates upsetting his friends.

“Let’s just pay, okay?” Trevor replies. He pulls his wallet out and hands it to Joan, who is quick to complete the payment and shoo them along. There are a couple of other people at the stand now, so it’s getting crowded. It’s not a huge stand. Regardless of how quickly she waves them off, Joan is sure to tell Honey and Trevor that she’ll see them next week.

Honey holds Trevor’s pinkie in hers silently for about five minutes as they walk around the grocery store, buying a case of beer for Cole. A big one– Honey said she’d pay for it, but Trevor refused, and they went for the 48-pack to really try and make it up to Cole. Honey lets go of Trevor’s pinkie once they’ve purchased the beer, insisting on holding it. She gets tired of holding the case and passes it off to Trevor within three minutes, frowning exaggeratedly until Trevor relents and takes the heavy item from her. 

Cole pulls up in front of the grocery store a few minutes later. He doesn’t say anything as Honey and Trevor climb into the car, except a brief thanks to Honey for the beer. His hands stay on the steering wheel and his eyes are set on the road in front of them. He doesn’t involve himself in conversation and the car ride slowly drifts into something stilted and tense. 

Trevor doesn’t walk Honey to the door, nor does he put her fruit away for her. He doesn’t kiss her goodnight and barely says more than a goodbye.

Cole still doesn’t speak when they drive back to the house. He doesn’t talk to Trevor when they go inside. He goes downstairs, puts on a show, and ignores Trevor when he sits on the couch next to Cole. 

The day went from really, really good to… this. Tomorrow will be better. Trevor wishes Honey was here.

72:90 – HONEY

Having Bea back is excellent, although Honey could live without the teasing over her relationship status. Fine, she called Trevor her boyfriend by accident and then made it official, but that doesn’t mean that Bea has to poke fun at Honey. It’s really not as funny as she thinks it is.

Their shift is long today, which Honey doesn’t mind. It’s National Night Out. On the first Tuesday of every August, the shops along Main Street stay open until well after dark and the citizens of Litchton are free to roam and mingle with their fellow townies. There’s a bouncy house in the grocery store parking lot for the kids, snow cone machines and carts for root beer floats lining the curb, and plenty of other games along the three-block section of road that closes down every year for the event. It’s one of Honey’s favorite days of the entire year.

She spent most of her afternoon setting up the outdoor booth that she and Bea will man after hours. Ada is planning on paying them for an entire day’s worth to extend the store’s hours– like she always does– even though Bea and Honey insisted that it wasn’t that serious and they would be fine taking their normal hourly pay. Honey still doesn’t think that sitting for five hours in the nice summer weather is worth a day’s pay, but Bea had eventually shushed her and said “This is not a thing that we should fight!”

The booth is all set up now and the ladies left the store around noon, so Honey is running out of things to do. The Reading Nook is an awesome place to work because there’s so much downtime, but Bea is currently sitting behind the cash register in Honey’s usual place, so she can’t sit and read like she normally does. Instead, Honey is curating a stack of books that they can throw on sale during NNO. She’ll probably take her break when she’s done– they get an extended break today because they’re working a fourteen-and-a-half hour day.

“Bea, can you pull up these titles and see the prices for me? I’m thinking 20% off,” Honey calls from one of the stacks, balancing a stack of books in her arms and pulling another from the shelf. 

“Mmm, if you put them on the counter for me,” Bea replies. “I don’t want to yell back and forth.”

“But then I have to walk back and forth to you,” Honey complains. She peeks her head around the stack and glares at Bea.

“Babe, if we’re having a lazy-off, you know I’m going to win,” Bea says. She closes her own book, one with a red cover and a dragon-looking beast on the front, and stares at Honey. She holds eye contact for a minute and then shrugs. 

Honey rolls her eyes and drops the first stack of books on the counter for Bea to flick through. She’s right– Honey prefers to be up and moving, whereas Bea is content with anything, even if it means staying in one spot for longer than an hour. 

She spends the better part of the next hour walking around the store and pulling books. Eventually, Ada stops Honey and asks if she’s trying to sell out the whole store. She takes the final stack from Honey’s arms and sends her out of the store to take her break.

At first, Honey isn’t sure what to do. She already ate lunch at the store when the ladies left. She doesn’t really need a coffee, although she wouldn’t hate to have one. She could grab one. Maybe that’s something to do towards the end of her break. Honey will wander a bit first.

The air in Litchton is nice in the midst of the afternoon, if only a little heavy. There will probably be a thunderstorm later tonight. If it doesn’t happen tonight, then tomorrow will certainly be full of rain and humidity. That kind of ruins Honey’s plans for after work tomorrow– she and Trevor were supposed to head out on a hike. If the ground is all muddy and wet, then she doesn’t really want to do that. Trevor can just come over and hang out in her bed instead. She’ll do the crossword in the Litchton Local, which she’s been neglecting lately because she’s been a bit too tired to wake up so early on Thursday mornings like she normally does. Honey blames Trevor. He’s been keeping her up late.

Honey is approaching the hardware store, ready to go inside and bother Earl, when her phone rings.

It’s… Trixie. Bea’s oldest sister.

Honey blinks at the screen, then slides her finger across the surface to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hey, H,” Trixie greets. “How’s it going? It’s been a minute since I checked in with you.”

“...Good,” Honey replies. Trixie is correct– the last time they talked was on Trixie’s birthday in January. Bea talks to her sister more often than Honey does, for obvious reasons. Honey’s a little confused why she’s getting a call now. “What’s up, Trix?”

“I can’t call my baby sister’s bestie and see how she is?” Trixie asks, laughing.

Honey looks into the distance like she’s staring into the face of a camera. She loves Trixie, and Cece for that matter, but she’s not close enough with either sister to talk to them regularly. Sure, they check in once in a while, but Trixie had already graduated from college– early, by the way, because she’s an overachiever– and moved to the coast before Honey and Bea moved to Litchton. She’s five years older than them and a great older sister figure, but Honey is grown up. She doesn’t really need advice from an older, wiser sister anymore. She didn’t even tell Trixie about Thomas when all of that happened; it was too embarrassing. Honey is pretty sure she knows now, given that Bea and Cece know all the hairy details, but Trixie has never outright talked about it. 

“You can, but I have a feeling you aren’t,” Honey answers. “You always text before you call and this time you called out of nowhere.”

“Well, Bea told me you were on break so I couldn’t call her and kill two birds with one stone,” Trixie says. “So I figured you had no good reason to ignore my call.”

So Trixie was talking to Bea just before this– if Honey is going by her gut, this will have something to do with the recent company they’ve had in Litchton. 

“Yeah, I’m just walking around Main Street.” Honey’s passing Bold Brews now, so she might as well get that coffee. “Hey, what coffee should I get during break?”

“I’ve been into matcha lately,” Trixie says. “It’s more tea than coffee, but it hits the spot when all the case briefs start blurring together.”

Oh, yeah– another reason why she’s an overachiever. Trixie is a lawyer. 

“Okay, give me a second.” Honey pulls the phone away from her ear and greets Joel, Bea’s ex who is actually working today, ordering a ‘Velvet Mist’ to go. It’s their matcha, with a shot of espresso, a bit of vanilla, and splash of rosewater, and it’s actually not all that bad. Honey doesn’t normally order it, usually going for the ‘Midnight Rider’ instead, but she likes a change every once in a while. The last time she ordered the ‘Velvet Mist’ was when it debuted on the menu a year and a half ago. After she pays and walks to the end of the counter to wait for her drink, Honey brings the phone back up to her ear. “So what are you calling about, Trix? Actually.”

“Ugh, fine,” Trixie relents. “You’re so stubborn. Next time we talk, at least pretend to enjoy the small talk. I miss you sometimes, you know.”

Honey accepts her drink from the other barista– she doesn’t actually know her name, which is surprising for a town like Litchton– and waves goodbye. She takes a sip from the straw and lets the taste mull over for a second. After a moment, Honey decides that it’s fine. She takes another sip. “Miss you too, Trix,” she parrots with an eye roll.

“I heard my two favorite country bumpkins got boyfriends this summer,” Trixie says. “And I was wondering if you guys would all like to come to the beach and stay with me this weekend. I want to meet your boys.”

Honey takes another sip. “Mm, where did you hear that?” She asks.

“Well, Cece told me about Quinn and when I called Bea just now, she was deflecting and being evasive and saying it wasn’t going to last past the end of the summer…”

Sounds about right, Honey thinks.

“...and then, as a last ditch effort to distract me, she told me about your boyfriend,” Trixie finishes, her tone salacious.

“She seems to have left out that my relationship is supposed to be a secret,” Honey says sarcastically. “In her effort to stop you from focusing on hers.”

Trixie scoffs. “You’re too young to have secrets. Who cares if you’re dating some guy?”

“Believe me, the boys would care.” Honey plops down on the bench outside of city hall and brings the phone to the other side of her head. She thinks about how Cole was silent and put off in the car yesterday, just like Trevor had said he would be. “They care about everything.”

“Okay, so frame it like this,” Trixie proposes. “It’s a free beach weekend. Just a group of friends going to Bea’s sister’s house and enjoying the sand, salt, and sun.”

Trevor would probably like being at the beach again, like he’s in California. The Hughes boys might like the open water– they had been whining about a “real” lake. They could experience the real ocean instead, which Honey thinks is better than a lake. Cole might… well, a beach trip might make him forget about being forgotten.

Ugh, it really does sound bad when Honey says it like that.

“I’ll talk to the guys,” Honey says after a brief pause, in which Trixie waits on the other end of the call with baited breath. “I’ll text you in like an hour, okay?”

“Sick, I’ll start preparing the guest room for you and Bea and the living room for the guys,” Trixie says. “Oh, this is going to be so fun! I can’t wait to see you, H. Hey, for revenge, don’t tell Bea until after the guys say yes. That’s what she gets for trying to keep secrets from me.”

That’s something Honey can agree with. It’s also revenge for revealing her secret to Trixie without warning Honey first. “Okay, sounds good. No promises! The guys might not want to come.”

“It’s a free beach weekend. They’ll come. Bye, Honey-bun! Love you.”

Before Honey can say it back, Trixie has hung up. Honey pulls the phone away and snorts out a laugh, shaking her head. She takes a second to drink her beverage before composing a text to Trevor.

Would Cole forgive you if I secured us all a free weekend trip to the beach? Honey asks.

Within minutes, Trevor is replying. He might try to kiss me on the mouth, Trevor says.

Wouldn’t be the first time. So Beach Trip is a go? Ask Q.

That reply comes a bit after. He wants to know how soon we can go.

Thursday?

Thursday works. Have you talked to Ada already??? What about work on Fri

I’ll talk to her now. Plan on Thursday night to drive down. See you tn for NNO?

YYES

Honey rolls her eyes at his joke and hearts the message, then puts her phone away. She’ll have to pick out a couple of books that Trevor might like for the sale. She can convince him to buy them and it’ll give him an excuse to hang out at the booth– Bea will probably sneak off with Quinn to get a snowcone or play a round of cornhole, so Honey needs someone to keep her company.

She texts Trixie on the way back to the Nook, confirming that the boys are down. She’s sure to include that there are five of them, all relatively rowdy and annoying, so Trixie should hide anything expensive before they get there. 

Back at the Nook, Honey rests her elbows on the counter and faces Bea. “So you told your sister about my boyfriend to avoid talking about your own boyfriend, huh?” Honey asks knowingly.

Bea glares at her. “You know how they get about boys.”

Honey laughs. “Which means you thought it would be better to throw me under the bus? Trixie didn’t fall for it, Buzzy.”

Bea groans, deflating. She shoves her bookmark into her book and tucks it underneath the counter, on the shelf next to Honey’s book. Bea then crosses her arms over her chest. “Damn, I was hoping she’d be too excited for you and she’d forget about me.”

“Well, she didn’t,” Honey says. “And you know what that means?”

“What?” Bea asks, a tinge of exasperation in her voice. Honey revels in it. She should be annoyed. Payback for spilling Honey’s business to her family– not that it really matters. Honey was going to tell Trixie and Cece eventually, probably around Thanksgiving when they get together next.

Honey leans forward and raises a finger to tap the tip of Bea’s nose. “You bought yourself a beach weekend in Topsail. Your boyfriend already agreed to go.”

“You coerced him,” Bea accuses.

“I didn’t coerce him, I just… conveniently left out a few details,” Honey replies. She grins at Bea, who is scowling. “You’re paying for gas.”

“I’m going to make sure Trixie interrogates Trevor just as much as she interrogates Quinn,” Bea threatens. “Just you wait.”

Honey shrugs. “This all could’ve been avoided if you’d kept your mouth shut.”

Bea sticks her tongue out at Honey petulatntly.

Honey laughs and reaches out to try and pinch Bea’s tongue between her fingers, just to be an annoyance, but Bea flinches away. Instead, Honey tweaks her nose and pretends to steal it like she used to do to Luca in her babysitting days. Honey waves the “stolen nose” triumphantly over her head as she walks back to the stacks, ready to pick out her next few books, and Bea overexaggerates an annoyed huff at the desk. 

She might pretend like she’s annoyed, but she’ll enjoy the time in Topsail. Honey knows that she will.

73:90 – TREVOR

The hike up the mountain today is a stark contrast from the hike that Honey and Trevor first took together. For one, Honey isn’t sprinting up the mountain. Trevor isn’t chasing her, trying to catch up and ignoring the dull ache in his ankle with every other step. They’re walking up a trail named Cedar Hollow Path with which Honey seems very familiar, the sun is starting to set, and they’re hand-in-hand. It’s the picture of romance.

According to Honey, they’re less than five minutes from the peak of the mountain. They’ll stop for a break, then they’ll head back down. It’ll take about 45 minutes to get back down to the car, and then another 30 in the car. 

Honey’s phone is connected to Trevor’s mini speaker, which is clipped onto his backpack. He’d told her to play whatever she wanted and she’d thrown on her hiking playlist. Trevor doesn’t recognize some of the songs, but he likes them– what he likes more is that he gets to see the kind of music that Honey likes. It feels like a peek into her soul.

He loves this, being around her in what can only be described as her natural habitat. Each gust of wind and each patch of golden light that filters through the trees reminds Trevor of the girl by his side. 

The song they’re listening to now is warm like the sun. Trevor can’t say that he knows it, although he probably should. The voice of the man singing is familiar and the guitar plays an acoustic melody that makes Trevor bob his head to the beat. It’s one of those songs that could’ve been written last week or fifty years ago and Trevor wouldn’t be surprised either way. Everything seems slower while it plays and Trevor is all the more aware of each step that they take, and the way that Honey swings their hands between their bodies. Her crew socks are bunched up around the top of her hiking shoes, which are a lot more practical than Trevor’s sneakers. 

At the end of the song, a harmonica comes in, and Trevor looks out at the view cresting over the horizon. There’s a neat clearing in the trees and the sun is off to their left, so they’re not blinded by the brightness that is unfiltered by the woods around them. Trevor takes in the ridges and valleys of the mountains, which seem to be bathing in the sunshower. He looks at the way the light brightens Honey’s tan, summer skin.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be in the mountains again without thinking about you,” Trevor thinks aloud, breaking the silence. He squeezes Honey’s hand when he’s done speaking.

Honey’s lips quirk up at the corners, taking a full deep breath before she tears her eyes from the view and turns to Trevor. She squeezes his hand back. “I’m really glad you came here,” she says softly. She technically changed the subject, but Trevor can’t imagine another reply working any better than this one did.

Trevor’s expression smooths out and matches Honey’s. He leans in and presses his lips to her mouth. 

Honey pulls away. “Let’s snack, then we’ll head back down,” she decides. Her voice has returned to its normal slightly-bossy tone, which Trevor finds amusing. She’s so matter-of-fact all the time and she’s not shy about it. 

Trevor follows her to a boulder and takes a seat with his thighs brushing hers. He swings his backpack around his shoulders and doesn’t protest when Honey snatches it from his grasp, looking in the big pocket and digging around for the tiny bag that she’d stuffed inside so that she wouldn’t have to carry anything this time. “What’s the good of having a boyfriend if he doesn’t carry all your stuff?” Honey had asked and Trevor had pretended to be annoyed, just to appease her and make her smug about getting one over on him. He would have carried it anyway, but she likes that she managed to get him to do it without actually asking him to.

She grins devilishly at him when she pulls her back out and unzips it, finding her snack and drawing it out.

Trevor groans. “You can’t be serious.”

Honey turns the banana over in her hands. “What do you mean?” She peels it from the bottom, holding the stem in her fist like it’s a handle. “Potassium means that your muscles won’t cramp as much. We’re hiking, I think it’s important that I don’t get a cramp.” She takes a bite of the fruit, sure to hold eye contact with Trevor the whole time.

“You are not as funny as you think you are,” Trevor tells her. He takes his backpack from her lap and finds his own snack– a peanut butter protein bar. 

Honey shrugs. She tilts her head down slightly, blinking her eyes innocently, and slides the banana into her mouth just enough for Trevor to get the picture before biting into the fruit and chewing proudly. 

Trevor has to look out at the mountains on the horizon or else Honey will keep up this behavior, dissatisfied with her performance until he’s got a hard-on. His protein bar tastes like cardboard in his mouth, but Trevor chews it resolutely, probably more forcefully than he needs to, to keep his mind from wandering.

“So Ada is letting us take off work on Friday,” Honey says after she’s done with her banana. She throws the peel onto Trevor’s lap when she is finished with it. “Which means we can leave on Thursday after work. It’s almost a five hour drive, but there will be five of us in the car, so we only have to do an hour each. Ish. That’ll be nice, I think.”

“I think Jack and Luke are going to fly into Wilmington and drive up on Thursday night. Can you send me the address so I can send it to them?” Trevor replies.

Honey waves him off. “I have Jack’s number, I’ll just text him. Cut out the middleman.” Honey rests her chin on her hand and makes a face at Trevor. “I know you said you’re bone-tired of being the middleman.”

Trevor rolls his eyes at her joke. “Tired of being Bea’s middleman,” he corrects. He pops the last bit of protein bar in his mouth and tucks his trash into the side pocket of his backpack. “I’d be your middleman any day of the week.”

“How sweet of you,” Honey deadpans, laughing to herself. She rises from the boulder and pulls Trevor up when he extends his hands. 

He stands right in her space and rests his hands on her hips before she can step away. He pecks her lips once, then twice. He thumbs over the skin of her waist, which is pleasantly bare due to the heat and humidity of the day. Honey is wearing a tiny sports bra and those biker shorts she loves so much, leaving very little to Trevor’s imagination. He wants to bite her stomach and leave a hickey there.

“And then we’ll leave on Sunday,” Honey adds belatedly. Her fingertip brushes the middle of his stomach, like their minds are connected. Trevor had forgone his shirt when he saw that she’d done the same. “Because Bea said you guys wanted to go to the rink on Monday. Gotta get one last practice in at Bojangles.”

“Do you want to come?” Trevor asks. He wants her to come. Last time they went, she got into a fight with Bea. Honey should have a good experience at the rink. Plus, maybe this time she’ll agree to road head.

“Monday is the 12th,” Honey replies.

Before, when she changed the subject after Trevor said something, it was fine. He felt like her non-answer was a perfectly good response. This non-answer is more on topic, yet… somehow worse. He’s confused. Does Honey have work or something on the 12th? Is it some book holiday that Trevor knows nothing about? “So?”

Honey scrunches up her nose. “The 12th is my parents’ anniversary,” she says. “Chris and Steph are celebrating the big 3-0 this year.”

Trevor’s not sure what to do with that information. “Is that a weird day for you? Do you want to stay home? I don’t mind if you do,” he tells Honey. He takes her hand and they start down the path from which they came.

Honey bites her lower lip, chewing on it for a second. Trevor gives her the space to think, instead focusing on the song that plays through his speakers. This one, he recognizes. It’s by that guy– Jack something. The one who always makes Trevor think of Curious George. The song is Banana Pancakes.

Lots of banana references seem to be appearing in Trevor’s life lately.

“I was thinking more like… I might want to see them,” Honey reveals after a few minutes of silence. She’s hesitant to admit it, Trevor can tell. “And, well, if we’re already in Charlotte… do you think you’d, I don’t know, want to meet them?”

Trevor chokes on his own spit in surprise, although he keeps himself from coughing. Of all the things he expected Honey to say, an invitation to meet her parents was not one of those things. 

“You can say no,” Honey says in a rush, like she’s covering up her tracks. “Really, you can. I was just– ugh– I don’t really want to go alone and I love Bea, but she already knows my parents, if that makes sense? Like, she has a history with them, so it would be really easy for all of us to rely on her to guide the conversation, and that’s just not fair. If I’m going to see my parents, then I should be the one to talk to them.”

Trevor still doesn’t know what to say. Meeting Honey’s parents? The parents she doesn’t talk to? That’s… a lot.

But she’s still not done talking. Her voice grows quieter, so quiet that Trevor has to strain to hear her. “I think it would keep me calm if I could hold your hand, too,” Honey mumbles.

Well, if that doesn’t damn Trevor. The second she utters those words, he’s hopeless to say no to her. Trevor’s not the kind of guy who meets the parents, considering the fact that all of his other relationships have been fairly casual and low-key, but he’s going to have to meet Honey’s parents at some point. He wasn’t exactly sure when, but it was somewhere in the distant future… or so he thought.

“Of course I’ll go with you,” Trevor tells Honey. “It’ll be cool to meet your parents. I mean, it might be awkward, but I’d like to meet the people who made you.”

Honey makes a face and recoils slightly. “Don’t say it like that.”

Trevor laughs. “I thought you liked your parents,” he says. “Even though you don’t talk to them. So why are you cringing at the thought of them?”

“I like my parents a normal amount,” Honey says. “Which means that I don’t want to think about them ‘making me’ ever. How would you feel if I talked about how your parents made you? And your brother, and your sister? Those two were made while you were alive, Trevor. You could’ve been in the next room over.”

“That’s too far,” Trevor interjects, scowling at Honey. “You don’t get to flaunt your only-child-ness in that context.”

“Who says I’m an only child?” Honey asks, grinning at Trevor. 

Immediately, he comes up short. Has Honey ever outright said she’s an only child? Trevor asks himself. Or is he assuming something else about her, yet again? This is like when he assumed she was from Litchton all over again…

“I’m kidding, Trev. Yes, I’m an only child, you got that one right,” Honey assures him. “But there’s something I was thinking about last night that might come up when I see my parents.”

“What’s that?” Trevor asks, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“They know I go by Honey, obviously. I’ve been using that name since I was in kindergarten.” Honey lets go of Trevor’s hand to walk in front of him, since the path is narrowing too much to walk side-by-side.

“Wait, Honey’s not your real name?” Trevor teases, pretending to be aghast. “All this time, I thought that was on your birth certificate. I thought your parents were just really into beekeeping or something.”

“Hardy har,” Honey jibes sarcastically. “No, Trev. You know that’s not my real name.”

Which is true, Trevor does know that Honey isn’t her real name. He doesn’t actually know Honey’s real name, since she never uses it, but he has a feeling he’s about to find out.

“I was overthinking last night and started tweaking about, like–” Honey adopts a mocking, low voice. “What if my parents feel just as awkward as I do and they call me ‘Charlotte?’ I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.”

“Your name is Charlotte?” Trevor demands, his voice sprouting an edge as a result of his surprise. “That doesn’t fit you at all.”

“Oh-kay,” Honey replies that in the same tone, looking over at Trevor and curling her lip. She shakes her head and flips her hand up in exasperation. “It’s not like I chose it, Trevor. Also, that’s not what you say when someone tells you their name. Have you ever met a person before in your life?”

“I’ve met many people and most of them enjoy my company, but thank you for the advice,” Trevor says. “Still, though, you know what I mean. Charlotte isn’t your vibe.”

“What do you think my name should’ve been, then?” Honey challenges. 

“I don’t know,” Trevor replies. “Ava or Lauren, maybe. You look like an Ava.”

He can’t see her, but Trevor has a feeling that she’s huffing and rolling her eyes.

“But, like, your name is Honey. Honey fits. That makes sense. I don’t know why they named you Charlotte, especially since you were living in Charlotte anyway. Doesn’t that get tiresome? That’s like if my parents named me Bedford– which is a terrible name, by the way,” Trevor continues on, rambling a bit and spewing whatever comes to his mind, speaking to the back of Honey��s head.

Honey turns around and walks backwards down the trail, tilting her head at Trevor and nodding exaggeratedly. Her eyes are comically wide. She holds her hands up as if she’s saying ‘Yeah, Trev, that’s exactly it.’

“They named you Charlotte because you lived in Charlotte?” Trevor asks, seeking clarification.

“Yeah, it was very creative,” Honey replies, turning back around and leading the way. Her ponytail bounces. “Charlotte was also my mom’s favorite character in Sex and the City.”

Trevor hums at that, but doesn’t reply. They continue down the slope, weaving through trees and avoiding mud puddles from the rain the right before. All the while, Honey’s music plays on. 

A thought pops into Trevor’s head and he makes the joke before realizing that it’s funny. “Double homicide to Charlotte, H. First you forsake your name and then you move away? You really have something against Charlottes, huh?”

Honey steps walking and hangs her head, her chest shaking with quiet laughter. She takes takes a breath and sighs aloud, “Ohhh my God.” She turns back to Trevor and takes his hand, clasping it in both of her own. “You have got to start thinking before you speak if I’m going to bring you home to my parents, Trev. I don’t think they want you insulting the name of their city or the name that they picked for their daughter.”

She kisses his mouth, then they walk the rest of the trail in silence, hand-in-hand.

74:90 – HONEY

Taking one car to Topsail might’ve been this summer’s biggest mistake.

Really, it made the most sense. They took Quinn’s car with its three rows of seats and Honey was happy to relegate herself to the way-way back after her turn behind the wheel. Her duffelbag is on the seat next to her, containing four different outfits for the next three days, pajamas, toiletries, bathing suits, her slippers and birkenclogs, and a beach towel in case Trixie didn’t have enough at her place. The rest of the bags are in the back of the car, behind Honey’s seat. 

Right now, Cole is behind the wheel. He’s actually not a bad driver, even though he’d complained about having to drive at all. He says he’s more of a passenger– which Bea had agreed with– but that excuse hadn’t worked for either of them. For Cole, it hadn’t worked because no one wanted to drive for more than their fair share. For Bea, Quinn had offered to take her place… but Honey had chimed in and explained that Bea is the person who is most familiar with Trixie’s home. It only makes sense that she takes the last driving shift– which is already shorter than the rest anyway– and is the one to pull into her sister’s driveway.

Bea had huffed about it, but she’d been outvoted. Honey thought it was only fair that she drive, Trevor agrees with anything Honey says, and Cole had been adamant that if he had to drive, then Bea had to drive too.

On the bright side, they’re more than halfway through the drive. They’re in the Siler City to Raleigh leg of the trip, which means that they’re still in civilization. The final stretch of the drive is along backroads, but Honey likes it. It’s like there’s a Litchton-style small-town-vibe on both coasts.

What she likes less is that she’s been trying to nap in the back for a little while now and Bea is starting to get annoyed with the music in the car.

They created a Spotify blend with all of their accounts. It had taken thirty minutes to get the blend set up, since Bea is against giving her phone number to anyone but Honey and Trevor. First, everyone needed to join the blend. Then, Honey had to send the blend to Bea. Then, all they had to do was hit play on Cole’s phone, since he was the one who started the blend in the first place. There were only three steps. It still took way longer than it should have.

“You can’t just skip every song that you don’t like,” Trevor fights from the seat just in front of Honey, trying to reach around the passenger seat and grab the phone from Bea’s hands. “It’s not fair to the rest of us who do like those songs.”

“No one wants to listen to ‘Devil in a New Dress’ by Kayne West, Trevor!” Bea exclaims. She leans forward and rests her head against the dashboard, out of Trevor’s reach. The phone stays between her knees, well away from everyone else in the car. “Isn’t he still, like, a terrible fucking person?”

“Your precious Taylor Swift is flying all over the world without a care about how it’s affecting the environment,” Trevor shoots back. “What is it all of her fans say when people bring that up? ‘Separate the art from the artist?’”

“Do we have to have the Taylor Swift vs. Kanye debate,” Cole tries to interrupt, sounding just as fed up as Honey. 

“My precious Taylor Swift?” Bea demands, speaking over Cole. “Don't sit on your high horse and act like you hate her when I saw you singing ‘You Belong With Me’ in the mirror earlier!”

Trevor opens his mouth and closes it a few times, not having a good comeback ready.

“Kanye West is an anti-Semite who said on record that slavery was a choice,” Bea continues. “Trevor, out of the four friends that have been living with you all summer, three are Jewish.”

“Not actively practicing,” Quinn points out. 

Honey thinks this is novel. It’s the first time he’s ever said anything to contradict Bea– at least, to her face. There was that one time in the car when Honey called him out for not committing and he’d said “I’m committed,” as if he wasn’t the problem.

“You’re Jewish by matrilineal descent!” Bea scoffs. “That’s, like, the whole thing with being ethnically Jewish. Do you think Kanye West gives a fuck if you’re practicing Judaism or not? He would absolutely have something against you and I don’t want to listen to a person who spreads hate!”

“Didn’t you play ‘Call Me Maybe’ two hours ago?” Trevor asks. “Isn’t Carly Rae a shit person too? Wasn’t she racist towards CupcakKe?”

Bea pauses, relenting slightly. “Okay, I don’t actually know who CupcakKe is and I’ve never heard that Carly Rae Jepson stuff, so… T-B-D on that argument until I can do some light googling. But, still, Trevor– you should not be giving your attention to Kanye.”

“Bea, I am going to be completely honest with you right now, I don’t think this is the hill you want to die on,” Trevor says, still arguing. “I feel like there are more pressing issues in the world than a singer’s beliefs.”

“He’s insanely influential, Trevor! People listen to his shit for entertainment, but there’s a very real possibility that they’ll take his word as Gospel because he’s a ‘good artist’ or whatever–”

“Can we all shut up?” Honey snaps. “It’s not this fucking serious.”

“It is this serious,” Bea tries, but stops speaking when Honey buries her face in the back of Trevor’s chair and lets out a muffled scream.

“You two are the most insufferable people ever,” Honey spits out. “No one wants to listen to you bicker like children. I don’t like Kanye West either, but you’re both being stupid and stubborn and we still have two hours left in the car. I will break the back window and throw myself onto the highway if I have to listen to any more of your bullshit. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Trevor mumbles. He looks over his shoulder and frowns at Honey, like she’ll commiserate with him at the sheer sight of his sad face. She won’t, because he deserved it. It’s partially his fault that she’s raising her voice at all. 

“Yes,” Bea groans. Honey can hear her rolling her eyes. 

“Yes, Honey,” Cole echoes. He actually sounds the saddest of them all and he wasn’t even in the fight.

Honey has to suppress a smile at his agreement. She doesn’t want to diminish her successful scolding by bursting into laughter. “Good,” she says, trying to hold her voice steady. “Now, if you don’t mind, I am trying to take a nap.” She promptly turns in her seat and tries to curl up as best she can without unbuckling her seatbelt. 

There’s five songs of silence by Honey’s count, and then a slow country duet begins to play. 

Within thirty seconds, just as Honey is deciding that she likes the song, Bea announces, “Well, this is too slow. We can’t listen to this. We’ll be put to sleep.”

“That’s the whole point,” Honey jumps in before she can skip the track. She opens one eye and squints at Bea. “Plus, I thought you hated when people– Jack– skip through songs instead of letting them play though.”

Bea scowls. “You suck. I’m not going to let you sleep in the guest room with me.”

“I suck ‘cause I’m right?” Honey laughs. “As if Trixie would let you kick me out of the guest room anyway. She likes me better because I didn’t cut off Felicity’s hair over a stupid birthday party invitation.”

“That’s not fair,” Bea complains. “Everyone got an invitation except me.”

“What happened?” Quinn asks, his growing smile looking slightly askew and crooked on his face. “Who’s Felicity?”

“Trixie’s American Girl doll, who she loved,” Honey explains. “Like, her most prized possession, and on her eleventh birthday she hand-wrote cute invitations for all of her friends and Bea was pissed that she didn’t get one–”

“Again, not fair, because you got one and you were only invited to the party because my parents let me choose a friend to hang out with that day,” Bea interrupts.

“The party was at your house! You lived there, you didn’t need a special invitation,” Honey exclaims, then turns back to Quinn. “So Bea, five years old and pissed off, sneaks into Trixie’s room and chops off all of Felicity’s hair, and puts it in a gift basket for Trixie to unwrap at the party!”

Quinn’s eyes grow wide and he starts to laugh out loud, eyes darting over to Bea.

“So Trixie unwraps it and starts crying over her favorite doll being ruined and that kills the vibe of the party, and then–”

“No–” Bea growls, turning in her seat and waving a finger at Honey.

“–Then, Bea lies about it to her mom and dad and gets away with it for a whole month, until her mom finds the scissors in Bea’s sock drawer, which had been missing since the Felicity incident,” Honey continues, entirely unafraid of Bea’s threat. “And Trixie didn’t speak to Bea for, like, two weeks and Felicity was never the same after coming back from the Doll Hospital.”

“The scissors were a plant by Cece because I put them back when I was done and she overreacted,” Bea justifies. “Felicity came back just fine, practically brand new–”

“She overreacted,” Honey repeats, gobsmacked that Bea still maintains that she didn’t do anything wrong. “You destroyed her $90 doll on her birthday!”

“I was five,” Bea says.

“You did all of that over a piece of paper written in sparkly gel pen!”

“That’s it?” Cole demands. “Bea, dude, I’ll write you an invitation to a party in sparkly gel pen right now just so you can let this go.”

“I’m not the one who brought it up,” Bea defends herself. “Honey’s the one who can’t let it go.”

“Who knew you were such a monster, baby,” Quinn joins in, reaching forward to pinch the skin on the back of Bea’s elbow.

Bea jerks her arm away. “Ugh, whatever,” she grumbles. She turns toward the window and pouts, glaring into the settling dusk. Honey isn’t worried about knocking her down a few pegs– she’ll be over it by the time the next Miley Cyrus song rolls around.

Honey actually falls asleep when Cole and Trevor switch spots after getting gas in Raleigh. Cole sings along with as many songs as he can– he actually does a rather impressive Dolly Parton– and Bea eventually joins in.

The post-debate liveliness in the car is a good sign for the weekend ahead. Honey’s really excited for Jack and Luke to drive up, too, just to reunite the group. Jack’s text announcing his ETA came in just before Honey fell asleep and they’re slated to make it to Trixie’s house about an hour after the Litchton car does. 

Honey’s already planning the full beach day tomorrow. She’s going to bury Jack in the sand in the shape of a mermaid’s tail. It’s what he deserves.

75:90 – TREVOR

Trevor wakes to soft voices drifting in from the kitchen. The layout of Bea’s sister’s house is pretty open, which is great for the lighting in the place, but not great for those who like to sleep in. She lives alone, so she’s only got one guest room and that’s where the girls are sleeping. Trevor and the rest of the boys are in the living room. 

Quinn and Jack are sharing the pull-out couch, Luke is reclining in the plush chair, and Trevor and Cole are sharing the blow-up mattress. The coffee table is pushed against the wall underneath the TV.

Trevor recognizes Honey’s voice after he’s done blinking the sleep from his eyes. It’s the same soft tone she uses when she apologizes for waking him up as she gets out of bed. Trevor stretches, then shifts out from under the blanket he’s sharing with Cole. He rolls onto the floor in order to minimize his chance of waking Cole and picks himself up, tiptoeing into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Trixie greets as Trevor walks into the room. She holds a mug of coffee near her chin and raises her eyebrows, which are dark, like her hair. She looks just like Bea, but her hair is nearly black. Trevor wonders if it’s dyed. “Which one are you again?”

Trevor breathes out a little laugh and sidles up behind Honey, kissing her bare shoulder. “G’morning.”

“Mm, that one,” Trixie hums. “You want a coffee, Trevor?” 

She’s turning and pouring a mug before Trevor can decline. Trevor looks at the clock on the microwave and sees that it’s not even seven yet, which is typical Honey behavior. He’s been trying hard all summer to keep her in bed until a reasonable eight o’clock, but she loves her routine and she’s actually very chipper in the morning. 

“You’re up early,” Honey comments, sipping from her own mug. 

“Someone woke me up.” Trevor smiles.

“We weren’t talking that loud,” Honey replies. She looks over at Trixie. “Were we?”

Trixie scoffs. “God, no. I don’t reach above twenty decibels until I hit morning traffic. It’s a pretty steep jump after that.” She sets the steaming mug in front of Trevor and leans against the counter.

“Why are you up so early?” Trevor asks. “I know why she’s up, but why are you?” He points his thumb at Honey when he references her, then wraps his hand around the handle of his mug.

Trixie’s lips quirk up. “Not all of us have summers off from work.” She sounds amused. “I have to head to the office in a little bit. I have meetings today, so I’m having a cup of coffee and heading out.”

“She’s a lawyer,” Honey supplies, answering Trevor’s question before he asks. “Real estate law.”

Trevor doesn’t know anything about real estate law. “That’s cool,” he says, shrugging. 

Trixie hums in the back of her throat and narrows her eyes. “I don’t know about ‘cool,’” she teases. “But it works for me.”

“Anyway, I was telling Trixie that I was going to go to the store before everyone wakes up,” Honey says to Trevor. “Do you want to come?”

“We can’t eat the food in the fridge?” Trevor asks.

“I didn’t go shopping for seven people,” Trixie says. She sips from her coffee, inspects the mug, and downs the rest of the liquid inside. “Plus, some of that shit is old. I need to clean out. You guys need to buy your own stuff. I can only provide so much to your traveling band of vagabonds.” She sets her mug in the sink and rinses it out, but leaves it sitting there. “Alright.”

“Alright,” Honey parrots.

“I’m going to throw on my good clothes and then I’m off,” Trixie says. She rounds the counter and presses a kiss to the side of Honey’s head, squishing her cheeks. “Don’t set my house on fire while I’m gone.”

“Are there any dolls lying around that we should know about?” Trevor jokes, thinking about the Bea story from yesterday.

Luckily, Trixie’s shoulders jump with a laugh. “Nah, those are in the safe. I had to lock them and the scissors away just in case. That’s funny, Trevor.” She flicks the back of his head as she walks away, which stings a bit, but Trevor figures it’s just as affectionate as the kiss she gave Honey.

Trevor waits for her to walk out of earshot, then turns to Honey. “She doesn’t actually still have dolls, though, right? Because that would be kind of creepy,” he admits. 

Honey rolls her eyes and reaches over to pat Trevor’s hand. “No, I don’t think Trixie has any dolls in this place. She kind of outgrew that when she hit middle school, bud.”

Trevor deflates at the nickname. 

“Don’t make that face,” Honey chides quietly. She tosses a look over her shoulder, towards where the rest of the guys are sleeping. “You know I can’t talk to you like that right now.”

“I know,” Trevor sighs. “What about at the store, though?”

Honey smiles into her coffee. “Yes, you can be all… you… at the grocery store.”

“Sick.” Trevor celebrates getting permission to act like a boyfriend with a fist pump. “Let me get dressed and we can go.”

Honey hums and finishes off her coffee. She takes Trevor’s mug, which he had no intentions of finishing anyway, and takes it with her to the guest bedroom. 

Trixie sneaks out the front door with a wave to Trevor a few minutes later. She’s wearing a pencil skirt and a nice blouse, which is pretty impressive. Trevor likes his walk-up suits, but he doesn’t really think he could wear them for an entire day of work. They’re too stuffy.

Honey follows not far behind. She’s in a pretty sundress and her birkenclogs and Trevor can see the strings of her bikini rise up and loop around the back of her neck. She takes the keys to the smaller car that Jack and Luke drove up from Wilmington last night and waves Trevor forward, shutting the door quietly behind them.

The drive to the grocery store is practically a straight line. They turn out of Trixie’s driveway onto the main road, then turn into the parking lot of another Food Lion, like the one in Litchton. It must be a North Carolina thing. Trevor had never seen a grocery store called “Food Lion” until he got here.

Honey grabs the cart from the collection area when they walk in the store, then allows Trevor to bump her out of the way and take the reigns. He’s on good behavior for a while, dutifully rolling the cart beside Honey and waiting patiently while she tries to decide between fusili or orecchiette noodles for a homemade mac’n’cheese that she wants to put together for Trixie. Apparently, macaroni noodles aren’t good enough because mac’n’cheese is Trixie’s favorite side dish and has been since she was a child.

The grocery store isn’t very full, given that it’s 7:30 in the morning on a Friday, and the barren hallways are too tempting. Trevor starts to drifts around corners, pop wheelies, and races down aisles far ahead of Honey. When he accidentally bumps into her in the chip aisle, she shoots him a glare that would melt ice, and sends him off to go find hamburger patties for Quinn to grill later tonight.

He takes the grocery cart with him. She might be able to discourage him from performing his NASCAR tricks while she’s around, but what Honey doesn’t see won’t hurt her. Trevor’s not going to let one accidental collision ruin his fun.

He coasts down to the ground beef, staring at his options. Would Quinn rather have pre-made patties, or would he like to form the patties himself? He is weird like that. Maybe smash burgers would be fun…

Trevor reaches for the meat that he thinks would work best, dropping it in the cart. As he walks toward the slices of cheese, a guy with a Giants hat accidentally cuts him off.

“Sorry, man,” the guy laughs, gesturing for Trevor to go ahead. He uses the carton of chocolate milk in his hand to wave Trevor forward.

“No, dude, don’t worry about it,” Trevor replies, letting the guy go ahead of him. “It’s all good. Can’t hold anything against a fellow Giants fan.”

“Oh, you’re a New York guy?” The guy reaches for a pack of string cheese, the ones that mix mozzarella and cheddar in a fun swirl. That’s not a bad idea. Trevor might pick up a pack of those for himself. “Excited for the big centennial next year?”

“It’s gonna be awesome,” Trevor says. “I hope we make the playoffs.”

“Hey, me too,” he tells Trevor with a chuckle. He looks at Trevor for a second, then blinks. “Wait, aren’t you–”

Trevor allows a smile to take over his face, hoping that it doesn’t look as forced as it feels. He forgot how awkward it is to be recognized in public, especially when you’re doing something as mundane as grocery shopping. “Yeah.” He extends his hand. “Trevor. It’s nice to meet you, dude.”

“Tommy,” the guy returns, grasping Trevor’s hand firmly. “What are you doing all the way out here, man? Don’t you play for Anaheim?”

“My girlfriend and our friends are spending the weekend at the beach during the off-season, actually. We just got in last night.” Trevor nods along with his own statement. He waves his hand at the contents of the cart. “She wakes up early, so I thought I’d tag along with the grocery shopping.”

“Good man,” Tommy praises. He holds up the cheese and chocolate milk. “I got sent out on my own. Pregnancy cravings from the wife.”

“Good man yourself,” Trevor laughs.

“Where’d you drive in from, if you don’t mind me asking?” Tommy asks. “Long road trip from Cali?”

“Nah, I’m not built for that shit,” Trevor jokes. “Why do you think the league has jets now? No, my girlfriend lives near Winston-Salem. Tiny town. Litchton, actually, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

“I have, actually. Been there once, too– I used to know someone who lives up there.” Tommy shifts his items into one hand and reaches for his phone. “Hey, would you mind if we get a picture?”

Trevor’s about to comply, but he sees Honey exit from the chip aisle with her arms full. He raises a hand to wave her over. “Hon,” Trevor calls. “Over here. Check it out, a Giants fan all the way down south. Tommy and I were just about to take a picture–”

“Is that what you go by now? Tommy?” Honey asks. Her eyes were sparkling when she first spotted Trevor, but now they’ve turned sullen and guarded and she’s stopped walking forward. 

Trevor takes in her body language, how she’s tersely holding the chips in front of her body like a barrier. Her shoulders are pulled back and her jaw is set tightly. Trevor suddenly stands to his full height. 

This must be Thomas.

He’s sandwiched between them, having turned to Honey when Trevor’s eyes slid over his shoulder and lit up at the sight of his girlfriend. Thomas is looking between them, although he mostly stares at the girl down the corridor to his right.

At least he has the decency to look like he’s seen a ghost.

“Oh my God, Honey,” Thomas grimaces. 

“You’re Thomas,” Trevor says aloud, repeating his internal monologue. His voice is hard. “You’re that Thomas.”

“Ruined any lives lately?” Honey snaps, her eyes narrowed and fierce. 

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Thomas tries. “Really, I am. It was, well, you know how it was. We were kids and I was hopped up on all this shit, but I’m clean now and I found Jesus again and–”

“I ‘really’ don’t give a fuck,” Honey interrupts, mocking him. Her movements are becoming exaggerated, the way they do when she’s barely containing her rage. 

“I’m going to have to turn you down for that picture,” Trevor says, jerking the cart back and starting to push it towards Honey. He pauses and looks Thomas dead in the eyes. “I know you have quite the reputation when it comes to photos.”

Trevor pushes past the man, feeling sick and seeing red. He was nice to this guy. He was having a good conversation with him. Fuck– they talked about his wife. He’s got a pregnant wife at home. That makes Trevor want to throw up.

Honey is still standing her ground and staring at her ex-boyfriend, refusing to be the first to break eye contact. Trevor has to take her arm and pull her away.

Without speaking, they head straight for the cash register. Honey is stewing and grinding her teeth, so Trevor sends her out to the car. The teenage cashier was starting to send him panicked looks, evidently thinking that Honey’s glare was directed at her. When he steps outside, groceries in hand, Honey has parked the car right in front of the store. The flashers are on and Trevor appreciates not having to walk all the way to the vehicle, but he is a little apprehensive about Honey driving.

It’s a straight line. It can’t be that bad.

Trevor keeps an eye on her, though. He’s obvious about it. He faces her during the first half of the ride, counting the times Honey’s jaw clenches and unclenches, and plans to continue his count for the rest of the ride. He loses track as soon as Honey speaks.

“Stop looking at me,” Honey says.

Trevor won’t. He’s not sure what she’s thinking and he won’t stop searching her face until he knows. “No.”

“Okay, then stop looking at me like that,” Honey amends. “I can see you trying to figure me out. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Just give me a minute to process it, dude–”

“Don’t call me dude,” Trevor interrupts with a frown. It’s like when she calls him ‘Z,’ or earlier, when she called him ‘bud.’ He’s not her friend. He’s her boyfriend. He deserves more than ‘dude,’ especially because he’s only looking at her like this because he cares and he’s worried.

“–and then I’ll tell you how I’m feeling,” Honey finishes. She tosses a glance at Trevor, eyebrows pinched together. “Also, it’s a force of habit. I’m not calling you ‘dude’ to be a bitch. Stop acting like I am.”

Trevor doesn’t think he’s acting like that, but that’s an argument for another time. Tensions are high right now. He should’ve thought about that a second ago– again, with the ‘thinking before he speaks’ idea. Maybe Honey has a point.

She flicks the turn signal on and creeps into Trixie’s driveway. Honey throws the car into park and pulls the key from the ignition. She sits back in her seat borderline-agressively and huffs. Trevor would laugh at the way she crosses her arms over her chest if it weren’t for the situation at hand. She lets out a deep breath. “Five fucking years,” she curses. Her attention turns to Trevor. “I hate him. Even after five fucking years.”

Trevor nods. “I think he deserves that.”

Honey inhales, nodding and chewing on the inside of her cheek. She’s more angry than upset and Trevor can’t help but feel like that might be better than a freak-out. He also isn’t one to label things, but… her anger is a good sign, to him. Honey’s not drowning in the debris that Thomas left. She’s practically surfing on it, running on adrenaline and fury. That’ll fade eventually, but Trevor thinks that this might be a step forward rather than two steps back.

To be determined.

She takes a few more breaths, her face slowly becoming less tense with each exhale. After a minute, the wrinkle between her eyebrows has faded and her mouth is in a straight line rather than a frown.

Trevor reaches out and cups Honey’s face. He doesn’t know what to say, so he just musters up a sympathetic smile. 

Honey holds eye contact, then her lips quirk up and her lashes flutter in a little eye roll. “I need to talk to Bea,” she says. She leans into his touch. “She was there. No offense, but she’ll get it more than you do.”

Trevor breathes out a laugh. “I think you’re right.”

Honey leans over the center console and kisses Trevor’s lips in a fleeting, yet sweet, pass. “Can you take the boys to the beach so they don’t hear? I think we might scream and yell a bit.”

“Anything you want,” Trevor agrees. He pauses. “But… you’ll talk to me after, right?”

Honey kisses him again, gently. “Yeah. I’ll talk to you after. I just… I want to get my mind wrapped around this first. I might have to sleep on it.” She looks at that clock, then jokes, “Even though it’s not even nine in the morning yet.”

“Maybe you’ll take a midday nap,” Trevor replies with a wink.

Honey snorts. “Be patient, Trev.”

Trevor draws back and releases his hold on Honey’s cheek. He changes the subject. “You go on up. I’ll put the groceries away, then I’ll round up the boys.”

Honey thanks him, then exits the car. She leaves the keys with him and heads up the stairs, disappearing from Trevor’s sight.

He’ll do as he promised, taking the groceries up for Honey and leaving the house with the boys within thirty minutes of their arrival. They had to pack a cooler, to be fair, and that always takes a little time. 

By the time Honey and Bea make it down to the beach around midday, the boys are ravenous. Honey and Bea come bearing sandwiches and they eat in a circle, sitting on their towels, like it’s a picnic.

After lunch, Cole digs a hole. Bea and Quinn head into the water, bobbing in the waves. At the same time, Honey buries Jack in the sand with help from Luke, giving him a mermaid tail and a seashell bra. Trevor sits on his towel and watches the group, feigning nonchalance, but he’s really watching Honey.

Thomas doesn’t seem to plague her mind, but Trevor doesn’t really know. She’s giggling with the group and yelling at Cole to stop throwing sand near them, which Trevor takes as a good sign.

He guesses he’ll find out what she really thinks tomorrow. He can wait that long.

76:90 – HONEY

Honey had told herself that the two cocktails at dinner would be her last drinks of the night. The boys have a kind of routine on their beach days– they pack as many drinks as the cooler can fit and they crush them. Honey, Bea, and Trixie had done their best to keep up, and it had resulted in quite a buzz.

There had been time to come down, too– Honey left the beach around 3:30 because she’d gotten sleepy. She’d showered and taken a nap, then woken up before dinner to see Bea napping in bed next to her. The guys had been in the same state when she went into the living room. Luke was the only one awake and he was watching golf on low volume, his eyes glazed over. Honey thinks he might be so zoned out that he’s dead to the world.

After dinner, though, everyone had been reinvigorated. The boys had cracked open new beers and Trixie had produced a box of seltzers from her minifridge in the garage. She and Bea are party girls, as is Cece, so it must be a McLean thing. They’d been adamant that the group played a few drinking games before winding down for the night. 

They’d played Flip Cup first– dividing into two teams of four and pounding drinks up and down the length of Trixie’s dining table. Bea and Trixie had captained the teams and drafted their picks because the boys thought it was most fair. Bea’s first pick was, unsurprisingly, Quinn. Trixie had picked Jack. At first, Honey had thought it was because of his frat-boy energy.

The more drunk everyone got, the more Honey noticed that Jack and Trixie were flirting. By the time they moved onto Stack Cup, Jack and Trixie were standing next to each other and Trixie was shrieking each time Jack nearly lapped her. When he finally did and she’d had to chug the Bitch Cup, Trixie had pulled Bea’s signature pout.

Honey was not surprised when they disappeared into Trixie’s bedroom, presumably, less than an hour later. Neither was anyone else, apparently. Cole had snorted and said that Bea and Jack were two peas in a pod, since they both collected siblings like it was nothing. Everyone laughed at that, then they’d split into smaller groups. Cole and Trevor started playing Ride The Bus with a stack of cards they found in Trixie’s junk drawer, Quinn and Luke had settled on the couch to watch TV, and Honey and Bea took a girl’s trip to the bathroom.

Bea finds a fresh thing of moisturizer while she’s digging through Trixie’s bathroom cabinet and goes to smell it, catching a strong whiff of eucalyptus. She gags, stomach lurching… and pushes Honey out of the way while she’s pulling up her sweatpants so that she can vomit into the toilet.

Typical. 

Honey braids Bea’s hair back messily while she yacks, then helps pat her face with a cold towel when she’s done. They decide to go to bed, even though Bea says that she’s fine. Honey thinks she needs to rest after throwing up the many, many drinks she had today, so she and Bea throw on their pajamas– a fun matching nightgown set that they always bring on their trips outside of Litchton– and cuddle up in bed. Honey is glad she made Bea brush her teeth before they left the bathroom, even if their faces aren’t close enough for her to smell Bea’s breath.

“You didn’t talk to Trevor,” Bea mumbles. She’s got her arm thrown over her face, eyes buried in the crook of her elbow. “You said you would today.”

Honey gets a flashback to the previous morning– how Bea had been aghast and furious that Thomas was in the same town as them, how she’d been elated that Honey had called Thomas out and been mean to him at the store, and how she’d pretended like it took all of her energy to praise Trevor for reacting the way he did. Honey knows that Bea likes Trevor deep down, even if she treats him like an annoying brother.

Honey groans, shifting under the covers. “I don’t want to get up.”

“You have to talk to him,” Bea replies. Her voice is monotone and tired. “You promised you would. You know how he gets when he’s worried.”

She’s right, unfortunately. It takes a lot out of Honey to sit up, especially with the last of the booze that is coursing through her veins. She feels a bit like an old man, grunting through a stretch, but she finally swings her legs over the side of the bed and begins to make her way to the door.

It bangs open before she reaches for the handle.

“Bea!” Jack exclaims, shouldering into the bedroom in nothing but his sweatpants and underwear– Honey can see the Nike lettering peeking out from under the gray waistband slung low on his hips. “New PR!”

Bea’s arm falls from her face and she squints at Jack with one eye. “What?” she asks groggily.

“I beat my time!” Jack catches Honey’s wrist as she passes him and raises her hand to give himself a high-five.

Honey fails to hold back a laugh, producing a stifled snort. Just as Jack jumps onto the bed and crosses his legs, getting comfortable, Honey slips away.

She walks as quietly as she can past Trixie’s room, finding her way to the end of the hallway and slipping through the glass door to the balcony. It’s there that she finds Trixie in her bathrobe, looking up at the stars and twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

“Hey,” Honey greets quietly. “I heard Jack broke his record.”

Trixie chuckles. “Yeah, he told me. I think it’s cute how excited he was.”

“How long was it?” Honey asks.

“I don’t know, twenty minutes, maybe? From the time we got naked to the time it was over?” Trixie shrugs. “It wasn’t bad. He’s definitely good looking enough to get away with that.”

“One night stand?”

Trixie nods. “Definitely, one night stand. I’m not looking to do anything more than hook up with a guy who’s five years younger than me.” She drops her hand and slaps her knees. “Do you need the balcony?”

“Yeah, I need to talk to Trevor about something,” Honey says. “Do you remember Thomas?”

Trixie makes a face. There’s Honey’s confirmation that Cece and Bea did have a tell-all with Trix when Honey and Thomas broke up. “Yeah, I remember that dipshit. He should’ve gone to jail for what he did to you.”

“We saw him at the store yesterday,” Honey tells her. “Me and Trev.”

“Shit.” Trixie’s eyes are wide. “Are you okay?”

“Surprisingly, yeah,” Honey replies with a bit of a laugh. “I was mad when I saw him. Even after we left, I wasn’t upset. It was just like, ‘Oh, here’s the bitch that changed my life. I hope I never see him again after this’ and then I was fine.” She shrugs. “Bea and I talked about it. I’m not happy with what he did, obviously, but I’m past it.”

Trixie smiles and stands, bringing Honey in for a hug. “I’m happy for you.” She squeezes Honey tight, then lets her go, palms on Honey’s elbows. “You are such an impressive and resilient person.”

Honey doesn’t know quite what to say to Trixie. She thinks that if she opens her mouth to talk, her voice will break. That was so nice.

Trixie pats Honey’s arm one last time and heads toward the sliding glass door. “Goodnight, Hon. Have a good talk with Trevor.”

“Do you like him?” Honey blurts out as Trixie steps through the door. “For me?”

Trixie turns back and nods. “I do.” She slides the door shut and disappears down the hallway.

Honey smiles to herself, feeling a blush creep over her cheeks. She shakes it away, pulling her phone out and texting Trevor to meet her on the balcony. She hopes he’s awake.

He sends her a “!!!!” within seconds and Honey hears his feet padding down the hallway a minute later. 

“Hey,” Trevor whispers as he closes the door behind him. He crosses the balcony and wraps his arms around Honey’s waist. He buries his face in Honey’s neck and kisses her, biting lightly over her pulse point. “I hated not being able to touch you all day. Y’looked so good in your pretty bikini, baby.”

Honey sighs and relaxes into Trevor’s touch, breathing in the traces of his cologne. It’s mostly worn off by now, but if she closes her eyes, she can still take it in. Honey wraps her arms around Trevor’s neck and holds him close.

Trevor is the first to pull away. “You okay?” he asks. “You seem… pretty okay, all things considered.”

“I am, actually,” Honey murmurs, bringing her hand to Trevor’s hair and stroking the strands along his temple. She can feel Trevor’s gaze on her face, never straying. “I think I’m really moving on. Not just fake-moving on like I’ve been doing for the past couple years.”

A smile creeps over Trevor’s face. “That’s awesome, babe.”

“I think you’ve been helping,” Honey admits quietly. “More than I wanted you to in the first place.”

“Yeah, baby, you hated me,” Trevor teases. He nudges Honey’s nose with his, then kisses her. “You didn’t think I’d be any good to you this summer.”

“That’s not true,” Honey fights back, frowning. “I thought it would be nice to have people to hang out with.”

“Hmm, I bet you meant the other guys,” Trevor continues in the same tone. He brings his hands to Honey’s hips and walks her back as he kisses her, only stopping when he’s got her pressed up against the wall. He starts to kiss down her neck, bringing his hands to her bare thighs and pushing at the hem of her nightgown.

“I gave you one week before you went back home,” Honey says. She raises a leg and tries to wrap it over Trevor’s hip. She slips at first, but then Trevor grips the fat of her thigh and holds her leg in place. 

“Well, I’m still here,” Trevor replies. His right hand slips between Honey’s legs and traces her folds before shifting her underwear to the side and diving in. “And you know I’m not leaving.”

“But you are, though,” Honey chokes out. She’s reeling from the way he just shoved two of his fingers into her cunt.

Trevor hums. “Okay, physically,” he says. “But I’m not leaving you. You’re stuck with me.”

“I fail to see how that’s a good thing,” Honey jokes, but she’s lost the fighting edge in her voice. It’s so obvious that Trevor is affecting her, considering the way her breath has grown weary and how she’s biting her lower lip.

Trevor laughs anyway. “I can show you,” he says. 

He kisses Honey, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes drift all the way shut and she fists the neckline of his t-shirt. He tastes like the drinks that he’s been consuming all day, but with an overt layer of minty toothpaste. His lips are soft and Honey likes how he smiles between kisses.

“Is that a good enough reason?” Trevor asks softly, trailing his lips down to Honey’s jaw and sucking softly. It’s not enough to leave a mark, but she can feel his tongue massaging her skin and his teeth scraping over the area when he’s done.

“No, I already knew you were good at that,” Honey says. She feels a little stuck in her head, waiting for Trevor to do more.

His thumb presses against her clit and starts to circle. “I guess I have to up my game.” Trevor fits his teeth around Honey’s collarbone and nibbles. “You want me to talk about how pretty you are, baby?”

“It wouldn’t hurt.” Honey cards her fingers through Trevor’s hair and sighs.

He snuffles out another laugh. “You are the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Trevor tells Honey. 

“Thing?”

Trevor actually chuckles. “Not thing. You know that’s just a saying.” He adopts a southern accent. “Prettiest ‘thang’ I’ve ever seen.”

“You are so goofy.”

Trevor twists his fingers inside of Honey and makes her choke on a breath. “Don’t be mean, Hon. Let me talk.”

“Then talk,” Honey bites.

“Attention seeker.”

“Now you’re being mean.”

“If I was mean, I’d stop fingering you and head back inside.”

Honey rolls her eyes. She grinds down on Trevor’s fingers and pulls him up for another kiss.

“You’re so beautiful,” Trevor continues, jumping back into the bit. He noses against Honey’s cheek. “Honestly, Honey, you steal my breath. It’s unreal. I think about how pretty you are all the time.”

“Jerking off?” Honey gasps out. Her stomach is starting to turn from the pleasure.

“Mm.” Trevor smiles against her neck. “Sometimes. You turn me on, baby, but your looks aren’t the only thing I like about you. I’m determined to stay around for other reasons, you know.”

Honey hums, prompting him to continue. She is a bit of a glutton for praise– but who isn’t? She likes when people like her. She likes when Trevor likes her.

“Like how loyal you are to your friends,” Trevor says. “I couldn’t handle Bea for as long as you have, but you know that.”

“You handle Jack,” Honey points out. “That’s the same.”

“Fair point,” Trevor surmises. “I’m so… taken with how you act, babe.”

“Trevor,” Honey warns. She’s getting closer to the edge. His fingers are dancing inside of her, unrelenting, and his words aren’t helping. She still wants him to talk more, though.

“Do you know how proud I am that you stood your ground with Thomas at the store?” Trevor murmurs, moving his hand from Honey’s thigh to thumb over her nipple. 

“Oh my God,” Honey moans out when he pokes the spongy spot inside of her. She jumps, then whimpers, pulling his face back up so that she can bit his neck.

“It was amazing,” Trevor praises. “You’re so brave. I love how fiery you were when you saw him and how well you’ve bounced back from it over the past day and a half.”

Honey’s hips jerk into his touch. Her mouth drops open and eyes roll back. She knocks her head against the wall, but the sting doesn’t actually hurt. She barely feels it. Honey snaps, her resolve crumbling as Trevor’s fingers thrust into her at what feels like lightning speed. Her hands clutch at Trevor’s bicep and the back of his neck, fingernails digging into his skin and leaving red crescent-moons behind. “I love you,” Honey whines. She’s praising Trevor and his unique ability to give her everything she’s craved in a partner, especially since Thomas destroyed her confidence the way he did. 

Trevor’s hips roll against Honey’s hip like they’re controlled by an external force. His fingers continue to fill her just right. He draws his lip into his mouth and his stunning, shining eyes lock in on her expression. “I love you,” he repeats, natural and easy like nothing else.

Flickers of recognition pass through his pupils. “Oh, fuck, I love you,” he repeats again, conscious and strangled and desperate and true.

Honey melts into his gasp, her chest heaving with a sob as her climax rearranges the atoms in her eyesight. Honey’s admission, which is slowly dawning on her, has taken all the tension from her body and sent it out into the universe like a flood.

Trevor’s trying to kiss her again.

Honey gulps and wiggles away from him.

Trevor doesn’t seem to notice how she’s inching towards the sliding door. His hands slip off of her hips for one second and Honey is gone.

That was not supposed to happen. The whole “I love you” thing was supposed to be a nonissue. That’s what she told herself when she thought it– and now that she’s said it… Honey’s head cannot stop racing with thoughts.

You know what? Maybe Trevor didn’t hear her.

Okay, that’s stupid. He replied. Twice. 

Maybe he didn’t realize it either.

No, that’s why he repeated it. 

This is terrible. This should’ve happened a year from now over some stupid, sentimental, and dry candlelit dinner that Trevor tried to cook in his California apartment. This should’ve happened while Honey was trying to stomach the food without being mean and make sure that the candles didn’t light the flowers on fire, and she would’ve distracted him by telling him that she loves him.

Honey hasn’t thought about this at all. It– ugh– it was a dream she had a few nights ago. It should be noted that she woke with a start, sitting up, and nearly had a heart attack when Trevor’s arm had tightened around her waist to keep her in place.

She bursts through her bedroom door, interrupting Jack and Bea’s conversation. Honey slams the door shut behind her and plasters herself to the cool wood. She can hold the door shut if Trevor tries to barge in.

Bea blinks at Honey. “You okay?”

“I told him I love him,” Honey announces. She fumbles for the doorhandle and turns the lock.

“I thought you were going to talk to him about Thomas,” Bea says incredulously.

“Yeah, I was, but then we started…” Honey tilts her head and makes a high-pitched humming noise in the back of her throat as an insinuation, then opens her mouth again. “And it just slipped out.”

“During?” Bea demands. “During?”

“Yes, during!” 

“I’m sorry,” Jack cuts in, sitting forward on the bed. “I’m lost. Who are we talking about?”

“Trevor!” Honey and Bea exclaim at the same time, both rounding on Jack in identical fashion. 

He flinches back and holds his hands up in surrender. “Geez, sorry, I didn’t know.” It takes a moment, but their shared word registers. “Wait, I’m sorry, you’re in love with Trevor?”

“What are you going to do?” Bea asks, waving a hand at Jack to silence him. 

“Hide out in here for the rest of the weekend, probably,” Honey answers. She might’ve reached a pitch that only dogs can hear, but Bea and Jack seem to be faring well enough.

“Okay, not to interrupt again, but you know Trevor’s been fucking random girls all summer, right?” Jack continues.

“Oh my God, no, he hasn’t,” Honey says. The jig is up now and she doesn’t have time for Jack’s well-meaning warnings and confused comments. She has bigger problems.

“Yes, he has,” Jack insists. “He’s on Raya, dude. We’ve been talking about it for weeks. He’s very open about it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Bea scoffs. She faces Jack and puts her hand on his shoulder, looking deep into his eyes. “Jack, I love you dearly–”

Honey groans and covers her face with her hands.

“Sorry, Hon, I didn’t mean to trigger you.” Bea raises half of a hand-heart for Honey. “But, J, Trevor and Honey have been fucking for months. The Raya hookups were a cover.”

“What?” Jack looks at Honey, mouth open in surprise. He turns back to Bea. “And you knew? And you didn’t tell me?”

“Of course I didn’t tell you, no one knows!”

“What about Quinn?” Jack asks.

Bea relents. “Okay, Quinn knows. But Luke and Cole don’t know, so you have to shut up about it.”

Jack’s face turns from offended to slack and pale. “Oh, I’m not good at keeping secrets,” he says. Honey knows that– he’s said it before.

“I’ll give you two hundred dollars to keep your mouth shut,” Bea bargains.

Jack purses his lips. “Well, now, that’s an interesting point,” he muses. 

“Hey, hi,” Honey urges, waving her hand at the duo on the bed. “Can we get back to my problem now?”

“Honey, I wouldn’t, like, call it a problem, necessarily?” Bea says, but she’s stammering a little when she says it.

Honey scoffs and widens her eyes, feeling like she’s going crazy. “You haven’t said it back to Quinn!”

“You haven’t said it back to Quinn?” Jack demands. He covers his face with his hands. “Oh my God, I should’ve just gone to bed after hooking up with Trixie. This is so much drama.”

“It’s not drama!” Bea exclaims. “Did Trevor say it back?”

“Yes!” Honey reveals, shrugging. She raises a hand and gestures into the air. “So what?”

“So what?” Bea repeats. “You have nothing to worry about. He said he loves you, you said you love him.”

“Other way around,” Honey corrects.

Bea stares at Honey for a beat, then starts to laugh. “Semantics! Dude, who cares? You’re in love! I bet he’s on the other side of the door, waiting for you to let him in so he can say it again.”

“I am, actually,” comes Trevor’s muffled voice. Honey feels one of his fingers poke her heel from the crack under the door. “Can you let me in?”

Honey resists the urge to stomp on his finger. She groans, tilting her head back and crumpling her face. She doesn’t want to face Trevor right now, for two reasons. One: she’s not over saying “I love you.” and two, it’s embarrassing. She ran away from him. She whines, slightly annoyed with herself, as she turns to the door and unlocks it. She turns the handle and Trevor crashes into the room in a similar manner as Honey did.

He kicks the door shut and brings his palms to Honey’s jaw, cradling her face in his hands. He kisses her hard. He stays there, then pulls away.

“Jack’s here,” Honey says.

“Hi, Z,” Jack supplies. 

“I don’t care,” Trevor tells Honey. He lays kiss after kiss against her lips. He speaks between pecks. “I love you.” Peck. “Don’t run away.” Peck. “You said what I was getting ready to say, baby.” Peck. “I’m so glad you feel the same. I love you.”

Honey hums against his lips. “I love you, too,” she mumbles quietly. “I just–”

“Let me enjoy this for a second,” Trevor says, stopping her short. “Fuck, you make me happy.”

Honey relaxes with a little whimper, feeling a little wounded by how lovely he is. He’s so nice to her, even as wishy-washy as she’s been. He said he wasn’t going anywhere, even if he’s physically leaving at the end of the summer, and Honey is the one who’s constantly changing things up on Trevor. Ugh, how annoying. 

Jack hoots from the bed, interrupting their moment. Bea, at least, had the decency to stay silent with a big grin on her face.

Trevor pulls away from Honey and glares at Jack. “Dude, get out.”

“You should be thanking me, bro,” Jack says as he stands from the bed. “I’m the one who told Honey that you like her in the first place.”

“Not to be like that, either,” Bea jumps in. “But this is technically my bedroom, and I’m a little sleepy, so I think you guys might have to wrap it up. You can consummate your love when we get back to Litchton, if that’s okay with you.”

“Well, it’s not okay with me.” Trevor rolls his eyes. His hands are still on Honey, but resting on her waist instead of cupping her cheeks. “This is kind of a big deal for us.”

“And I so get that, Trev,” Bea continues, inflecting her voice like Alexis from Schitt’s Creek. “But, also, I’m not leaving so you can have sex in the bed that I’m sleeping in after you’re done. That’s like, not…”

Honey dips her forehead and laughs. She pats Trevor’s chest and pushes him back towards the door. “It’s okay, Trev. It’s late.”

Trevor holds onto her hand and brings it to his lips, pouting. Jack catches Trevor’s shirt and tugs him towards the door.

Honey can barely contain a coy smile. “I love you,” she mouths as Jack drags him away. She brings a hand to her mouth and blows a kiss in his direction.

Trevor smiles as wide as Honey has ever seen and allows himself to be pulled from the room, barely catching the handle and closing the door behind him.

Bea jumps from the bed onto Honey’s back and screeches in her ear. She hugs Honey in a partial headlock, arms locked on Honey until she can’t breathe.

“Okay, get off of me,” Honey chokes out, slamming Bea into the mattress. 

“This is so exciting,” Bea squeals. She hits Honey’s shoulder with each word. “Honey! This is so wonderful!”

“Can we just go to bed?” Honey asks, feeling her skin crawl a bit. Yes, everything is fine on paper, but another shoe has got to be on the precipice of dropping. 

“Yes, but I’m cuddling you all night to celebrate,” Bea agrees. She grabs Honey’s shoulders and shakes her until Honey feels like her eyes are about to pop out of her head. “Honey!”

“Shut up,” Honey groans. She buries herself under the covers, pulling the sheets over her head and disappearing into a lump.

“Are you so excited at least?” Bea aks, wrapping her arms around Honey’s middle and pressing her cheek into Honey’s back. 

Honey smiles into the pillow. “It’s exciting,” she admits.

Bea squeals again and squeezes Honey’s waist like a belt that’s too tight.

“Alright, that’s enough, stop it with the Heimlich,” Honey scolds, pinching Bea’s forearm. Her grip slackens after a moment. “You already threw up tonight, I don’t want to either.”

“Do you think you’re going to?”

Honey’s not sure. It is a little nauseating to have said what she said to Trevor, even if he received it well. She said it back again and she wants to keep saying it back, but it’s still weird. She’ll either throw up from being excited or from being so surprised that she told Trevor how she feels.

She buries her face in the pillow and screams.

77:90 – TREVOR

Trevor has been riding on a high since last night. He’d been hesitant to tell Honey how he felt, how he loved her, but after running into Thomas and seeing how she’d handled that so well, Trevor had thought that there was no better time than the present.

He’d been trying to build up to it. He was praising the girl and trying to fill her head with a bunch of pretty– and genuine– compliments so that she didn’t freak out when he uttered those three words.

She’d said it first. Honey had beat him to the punch by about one second, which surprised Trevor. Her statement hadn’t really computed in his brain until after he’d said his piece, which is when he’d felt so surprised that all he could do was repeat himself. 

It wasn’t surprising that Honey bolted after the fact. She’d been in an abject state of denial after calling Trevor her boyfriend by mistake the week prior, so it made sense that she was surprised and confused and frustrated with herself when she’d accidentally said “I love you.” Trevor knows Honey well enough to assume that she hadn’t meant to tell him that. He’d bet money on it.

It feels like a quick turnaround on paper, Trevor thinks. He’s never actually said “I love you” to anyone other than his family members and his closest friends, so he doesn’t know what the “right” time is. He’s known Honey for two and a half months now, but like she always says, mountain time passes differently. It feels more like he’s known her for five or six months. Quite frankly, Trevor has had feelings for Honey since he saw her outside of the grocery store on his first day in Litchton. He’s liked her since then and he can’t really pinpoint the moment that his admiration for Honey evolved into love, but it happened, and now they’re here. 

They’re one step closer to telling everyone, too. Jack knows, which isn’t ideal since everyone knows that the boy can’t keep a secret, but Trevor’s okay with that. Sure, he threatened Jack and made sure he wasn’t going to tell Cole or Luke, but he only did that to protect what Honey wants. She might be in love with Trevor, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready for everyone to know.

Which is why Trevor is managing to contain himself during their last trip to the beach this morning. Bea is skipping church because she’s on vacation, so everyone is together under the ocean sun for the last time this summer. 

Honey looks practically edible in her red swimsuit. She reminds him of the classic Baywatch, the original series that Trevor would sometimes catch replays of when he was young. Yasmine Bleeth might’ve been Trevor’s first awakening, the one who made him realize that girls are pretty. Honey is yet another reminder and Trevor is having trouble keeping his eyes away from her.

She’s standing at the edge of the water with Cole. Occasionally, one of them will pick up a rock or a shell and skip it against the waves. One of Cole’s shells hits Luke, who is bobbing in the waves and tossing a football with Jack. Honey laughs with her whole body, bending at the waist.

“Eyes off, Trevor,” Bea murmurs, reaching out to slap at Trevor’s arm. 

She’s lying next to him on her towel, back bared to the sky. The tie behind her back is undone to prevent an uneven tan, but Trevor thinks she has bigger problems to worry about. Quinn’s head is resting on the small of her back and his arm is wrapped around her body, palm flat on her hip. Talk about an uneven tan, Trevor thinks.

“Why?” he questions. “It’s not like anyone up here doesn’t know about it.”

Bea groans. “Because you’re being obvious. I know that you’re in love, or whatever, but Luke and Cole don’t know anything.”

“She looks hot,” Trevor argues. “Maybe I’m just ogling her because she’s sexy. Cole and Luke can’t argue with that.”

“Do you really want Cole and Luke to ask you why you’re looking at Honey like that?” Bea points out. “You’ll have to tell them she’s hot and then they’ll look at Honey like she’s hot.”

“And they’d be right to think that,” Trixie adds in a disinterested voice. She’s preoccupied with the stack of papers in one hand and the legal pad balanced on her knee. She waves her hair out of her face and looks at Trevor, tilting her head down to that she can meet his eyes above the rims of her sunglasses. “You’re lucky that she decided to date you.”

“I know,” Trevor replies, feeling like he has to defend himself against the sisters. He doesn’t take advantage of being Honey’s boyfriend, nor does he take her for granted. He knows that their relationship is still pretty fragile and new, even if they love each other. 

Bea hums, squinting at him. She seems to decide to take his word for it, because she changes the subject. “I gave Jack $200 to keep his mouth shut.”

“That’s terrible,” Quinn mumbles. He picks his head up and turns to face the back of Bea’s head. “You don’t have to pay Jack to keep their secret.”

Bea shrugs. “I don’t mind. I’d rather pay him to stay silent than just have blind faith in him.”

Quinn snorts and kisses down Bea’s spine. “I think the world is lucky that you’re not in a position of power,” he comments. “If you’re so willing to resort to bribery.”

“What has Ada been teaching you at that store, Bea?” Trixie jumps in. “I hope you’re not bribing customers or your suppliers. I’d get so fired for bribing people.”

“We’re not allowed to bribe people either,” Quinn adds. “Although I bet Z would if he could. Anaheim sucks.”

“I would not,” Trevor refutes. He’s still fighting with the group and defending himself. They start laughing like it’s all some big joke, but his feathers are still ruffled. Trevor huffs and turns away from them, looking back at Honey and Cole. 

Cole has Honey thrown over his shoulder and he’s marching into the waves. She’s shrieking and Cole stumbles over the sandbar and sends them both tumbling into the waves. Honey surfaces with a sputter and pushes Cole into a wave, jumping onto him and holding him underwater. Luke and Jack get involved not long after.

The rest of the day passes far faster than Trevor would like. They eat cold cut sandwiches as a group for lunch. Jack gets far too sunburnt, despite Honey and Bea’s better efforts to convince him to wear sunscreen. He claimed he didn’t need it since he tans well, but his pink skin is proof that he doesn’t tan as well as he thinks he does.

In the afternoon, Trixie runs up to the house and gets a volleyball. They play beach volleyball without a net, instead drawing a line in the sand that marks the barriers of the game. They don’t keep track of who’s winning or who’s on what team. The game isn’t serious and there’s a boatload of cheating– Bea pushes Luke over while his head it turned towards the sky, despite being on the same team, and they all laugh about it. Jack puts Honey on his shoulders so she can block a hit from Trixie. The ball ends up hitting her straight in the chest and knocks the wind out of her. When they finally head up to the house in the early evening, Honey’s still got an imprint of the ball on her skin. She calls it her battle scar and compares it to the mark on Quinn’s cheek. Quinn tells Honey that hers will fade.

For dinner, they eat the burgers that Trevor had bought when they ran into Thomas. Trixie whips up a salad to go with the meal and they all eat at her dining room table.

After dinner, they pack and divide into cars. Honey, Bea, and Quinn take Quinn’s rental car back. Trevor, Jack, Luke, and Cole are relegated to the other car. They speed home, losing Quinn’s car within the second hour, once they pass Raleigh. Cole falls asleep halfway through the drive and doesn’t wake up until they get back to Litchton. 

One of Honey’s favorite songs starts to play from Trevor’s liked songs as they turn onto the main road. He closes his eyes and leans back against the headrest. Jack has the windows rolled down and the air smells clearer up here. 

Trevor can’t imagine driving down this mountain in two weeks, knowing that he won’t be back until next year.

[ejzah]

In Miss Blye’s Class, Part 21

***

They kissed for several minutes, unhurried and freed by their mutual revelations. Deeks could have easily spent all night with one hand along Kensi’s back, the other woven through her hair, lips playing softly against each other.

Unfortunately, the scent of perfectly spiced roast wafted towards from inside. Deeks eased away from Kensi reluctantly, kissing the corner of her lips a final time before he settled both hands on her lower back.

“I hate to say this, but we should probably stop unless we want dinner to be cold,” he said regretfully.

“Mm, I think cold beef tips sounds like a delicacy,” Kensi teased, eyes playful as she toyed with his collar. “But I wouldn’t want all your hard work to go to waste. Besides, we have all night, right?”

Running her nose along his jaw, the sensation enough to make him shiver, Kensi stepped out of his arms, spinning around once. Deeks’ eyes fell to her legs as her skirt swirled around, revealing tantalizing hints of golden skin. She sashayed to the patio table, leaving a stunned Deeks in her wake.

“You’re going to be the death of me!” he called after her. Kensi’s laughter drifted back to him as he wandered back to the house.

He filled two plates with beef tips, potatoes and gravy, carrots, and sautéed asparagus, adding each item with care. The whole time, his mind kept returning to the compelling thought of Kensi’s legs, the perfect curves of her shoulders framed by thin strips of red, the way he ached every time they kissed.

It felt like his awareness of Kensi had suddenly increased tenfold in the last day. Maybe it had something to do with basically admitting their importance to each other. Or the knowledge that for tonight, he didn’t have Caleb to distract him, for better or worse.

Putting a damper on his wandering thoughts, he grabbed both plates, bringing them out to the patio. He placed on in front of Kensi and the other on the setting across from her, then uncorked a nice Cabernet, and poured two glasses with a flourish.

“Impressive. Did you learn all this from your mom too?” Kensi asked, waiting for Deeks to it down before she took her first bite. “Oh my god!”

He was momentarily struck silent when she tossed her head back, eyes closed, the long line of her neck so inviting. “Uh, some of it. I also worked in a pretty high end restaurant senior year of high school through undergrad where I picked up a lot of tips.” Deeks winked, and added, “But don’t tell my mom that. As far as she’s concerned, she taught me everything I know.”

“I won’t say a word,” she promised. “So, I know you’ve worked for your mom, at a restaurant, and bartending before you became a lawyer, what else have you done?”

“Oh, I’m not sure I want to go there,” Deeks sighed, already embarrassed as he thought about his least favorite, but most lucrative college job.

“It can’t be that bad. I took a low level modeling job freshman year. It sucked.” Spearing another piece of meat, Kensi wrinkled her nose. He was dying to ask for more details, but given his own reticence, that hardly seemed fair.

When Deeks still hesitated, running his hands along his thighs, Kensi leaned forward, clasping his forearm.

“Hey, whatever it is, I promise not to judge. And, I’ll even tell you something embarrassing about myself.”

Deeks was touched by her offer, and after another moment of deliberating, exhaled heavily. “Ok,” he relented. “When I was in law school, I was an…exotic dancer for a while to make ends meet.”

Kensi’s eyebrows incredibly high, but otherwise, she gave no indication Deeks had said anything unusual.

“Huh, and here I thought you were going to say you made adult movies or were a male escort or something,” she said bluntly after a second, and Deeks snorted the sip of wine he’d just taken.

“Kensi!”

“What? That would be really surprising. No judgment though, if that’s what you needed to do to get by,” she continued, and Deeks was grateful for her purposely flippant response.

Monica had found his prior procession hilarious when he first told her, mocking him, and even going on to bring it up to her friends. She’d never seemed to understand his shame or embarrassment around the topic.

He slid his hand into Kensi’s, trying to communicate the strength of his gratitude. At first she seemed startled by the intensity of his stare. Then after a few moments, she relaxed into a smile and squeezed back.

“Ok, so what’s your big, dark secret?” he asked, and Kensi groaned.

“Damn, I hoped you would forget that part. Fine.” She took a healthy sip of wine, apparently for courage. “My sophomore year of college, one of my college roommates moved out of our apartment, in the middle of the night, while I was out cramming for finals,” she told him with the air that she was revealing something truly horrid.

“That’s rude. Why?”

“Ok, you are absolutely not allowed to laugh at this,” she warned him severely, and that alone had him fighting back a smile. She inhaled deeply and held it for a count of five. “She left a note that said I was too messy and she couldn’t take it anymore.”

Deeks snorted despite himself, and shook his head.

Before he could say anything, she added, “In my defense, I was super busy that year and I’ve gotten way better since then.”

He nodded with mock understanding. “I’m sure. If it makes you feel any better, one of my college buddies was arrested for smoking pot.”

“Oh my god! What happened?”

“Well, I already knew I wanted to go to law school, so I, a Junior with shoulder length hair and zero idea what I was doing, tried to negotiate his release.”

“I’m guessing it didn’t work,” Kensi surmised.

“Nope,” he said, pursing his lips. “Not even a little bit.“ He smiled reminiscently. “Shortly after that, Ray decided that college wasn’t really for him and dropped out.”

“Ah, I should have known it was the infamous “Ray” at center of this story.”

“Yeah, Ray always had a knack for getting both of us in trouble. Now he’s a mechanic and has a nice little family. So he turned ok in the end.”

“I’m glad,” Kensi said, and from her voice, he gathered she happy for his sake more so than Ray’s.

With a contented sigh, she pushed her plate away, leaning back in her seat, and stretching her arms above her head, flashing him a delightful peek at the top of her breasts.

Kensi caught him staring before he could look away, a knowing smirk raising the corners of her lips. Instead of stopping, she picked up her glass of wine, arching her back, deliberately accentuating her curves. Still holding his gaze, she lifted one sandal covered foot to the edge of Deeks’ chair, as she took a slow, seductive sip of wine. His shirt felt too warm and tight.

He swallowed thickly as her dress fell back to reveal her entire thigh. He suddenly had the desire to run his lips along the warm brown skin. Or sweep the dishes off the table and lay her down across its surface.

He lifted his gaze to Kensi’s, tilting his head in an unspoken question. She stared right back, a challenge in her eyes.

“Are you trying to tell me something, Kensi? Cause I’m not sure I’m getting the message,” he teased, and Kensi made an exasperated sound.

Sliding out of her chair, she walked the few feet to him, sliding one leg along the side of his. Deeks rose up to meet her as she cupped the back of his head, angling his mouth to kiss him.

[morbethgames]

The Recoding of The Bureau is Finished

I’m done recoding the game. All in all, it was honestly about what I expected to be slimmed off once I got a good look at some of the scenes. As I expected, 90% of that were from the first 3 chapters. I am a mix of emotions after arduously spending hours upon hours replacing gender variables one at a time by hand. Which unfortunately, I couldn’t think of another way for doing it, because all of the characters were using the same gender variables instead of independent ones for each character.

I’m relieved it’s done. Disappointed in myself that I had to do it at all. Irritated that some people decided to put the game on blast for it rather than give actionable suggestions on how to fix it. Excited to finally be able to continue writing both the extra scenes that need to be written and the main story. I honestly don’t know which one I’m going to continue with first.

Please leave feedback.

There are still no doubt one or two spots with maybe 1-2k words each that could be slimmed down, but that would require a lot of work for very little payoff. So yes, I’m comfortable saying, the game is almost 400k words long in total. 85k words per playthrough. That’s not including the extra scenes in the stats screen, because randomtest doesn’t go in the stats screen (to my knowledge at least, someone can correct me if I’m wrong). So you still have to play the game roughly 5 times and choose different choices to see everything it has to offer.

Is the game smaller? A bit, yeah. Is it 100-150k? It’s more than double that.

Now, that doesn’t say anything for the state of some of the writing. If I have to read someone nodding, or smiling, or ‘slightly’, ‘a bit’, or ‘a little’ something in my own work again, I’m gonna jump out a window. Obviously, back when I started writing this, I was very much influenced by Wayhaven. I’ve since grown out of that idea. Since the game has taken on an identity of its own, and while I will forever be grateful to that series and continue to support it, there’s gonna be some changes in the final version of this game. Less of what I said above, less ellipses, and the flirting (especially in the beginning) will seem much more down to earth and believable for the setting it’s in, with a bit of wiggle room since this is still very much a YA game.

Please leave feedback.

The rewrite will not be happening until the first draft of the game is fully finished. I refuse to get stuck in a rewrite phase, mostly because I would just find it way too boring.

My patreon will continue to have static fiction on it, as well as sneak peeks into upcoming stuff. In case you’ve been missing it, Love In Stasis is up to Chapter 6 at this point, with more to come. I’m also thinking about potentially starting a horror static fiction.

I’ll be relying on people to playtest this new version of the game to tell me about any continuity errors, and gender errors, any anything errors. So please, play the demo. Let me know if you notice anything. I think if I’ve proved anything at this point, it’s that I act and fix things based on feedback.

And pettiness.

But mostly feedback.

Please leave feedback.

Last thing I’ll say; I’m gonna stop saying I’m bad at coding. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to implement the text boxes and fine tune them. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to code Golden Eyes. Someone who’s bad at coding wouldn’t have been able to slim down the game that much from where it was. So it’s time I give myself the credit of someone who at least knows what they’re doing. I’m not adept at it, but I’m certainly not bad at it either.

I’m still expecting the game to end up over 500k words when all is said and done. It will not be one million words, but I’m actually kind of happy about that. This is proof I’m still working on this game, and the next time it updates, it will have new content. Thanks for those that are patient and stick around, your support does still genuinely mean a lot.

Please leave feedback.

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

P.S. Please leave feedback.

🛡️Patreon | Forum Page | Demo Link🛡️

[lizardsfromspace]

A key piece of the Jones puzzle is that, once upon a time, being a burnt out conspiracy weirdo was a significantly more bipartisan pastime. The right-wing conspiracy weirdos were way more dangerous - they made up the entirety of the militia movement in the 90s - and the more political, as they focused on fears of government takeovers, but it was once extremely common to find someone on the left - or who wasn't political at all - who couldn't stop talking about how UFOs were real and one was the Grassy Knoll.

This is exemplified by Behold a Pale Horse, a big tent conspiracy book that was meant for militia types, but also had chapters on UFOs, and also had chapters about how AIDS was bio-engineered to wipe out African-Americans, which garnered it an audience broad enough to include white supremacists and black nationalists and general UFO kooks, but also one of the chapters was literally just the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. People picked and chose what was relevant to them and ignored the rest

The last gasp of this was 9/11 trutherism, which is often inaccurately reported as primarily or exclusively left-wing, but there were a lot of left-wing believers, and it was the last conspiracy theory of its kind to gain currency on the left. One reason the protest art of the Bush years was so often, uh, bad was that too much of it flirted with trutherism, like, not directly but in a "we should ask Questions" way. If I had a nickle for every prominent political rap song of the era that paused for a verse about how Bush brought down the towers, I'd have two nickles etc. The first and only time I listened to Air America was some show where someone said we had to hear truthers out and. No.

But that was the era conspiracy theories not only gravitated towards the right, but also became far more current. People stopped talking about UFOs (even the UAP stories couldn't get people talking about them again) and they stopped talking about ancient events like JFK and MLK, once Obama was elected it was all about how he was going to throw all Christians into prisons inside Wal-Marts next Tuesday (a real thing they believed for a hot minute, it was called Jade Helm). We paved the burnt out stoner cousins talking about UFO abductions and put up a Joe Rogan. What a loss...?

[grandpeachpersona]

It's A Man's World Chapter 7 (Nice)

Warnings: Flirting slightly, no smut, slow burn, injury (nothing major or no injury to Joe) slight blood mentioned. Lots of Sports talk.

Word Count: 2,930 (Overboard)

A;N Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🧡

Today is a pivotal day—the last game of the season, and it’s a nail-biter. With a record of 90-75, the stakes couldn't be higher. If we lose, there's still a flicker of hope for a wild card spot. But a victory? That would catapult us straight into the Divisional Championship Game, a dream scenario for any player.

On top of that, I have the incredible opportunity to watch Mr. Joe Cool in action, whom Mia playfully calls my “Future Husband.” Back in college, I was a dedicated fan, never missing a game where he showcased his extraordinary talent. Every time he stepped onto the field, I was mesmerized and captivated by his grace, skill, and looks if you know what I mean.

As I enter Truist Park, an electric energy fills the air. There's a palpable buzz among the fans, an atmosphere that feels almost tangible like anticipation hanging thick and heavy. It's a feeling that's hard to articulate but ignites something deep within me.

Stepping into what could be one of the biggest games of my life, the weight of the moment hangs around me like a cloak. While many might crack under such intense pressure, I choose to thrive in it. The doubters, the naysayers—they only serve to fuel my determination. Their negativity pushes me to dig deeper, to push harder, to give everything I've got. Today is more than just a game; it’s a chance to shine.

The game began on a strong note, with both teams holding their ground during the first couple of innings. Now, we find ourselves at the bottom of the third, and I'm stepping up to bat.

As "Do I Do" by Stevie Wonder plays, I approach home plate with a focused demeanor, considering my options for this at-bat.

Mark Andrew, the pitcher for the Washington Nationals, prepares himself on the mound as my walkout song fades and I assume my batting stance.

He takes a deep breath and delivers his pitch. I notice it's outside the zone, so I refrain from swinging and let the ball pass.

“1 and 0 is the count,” the umpire calls from behind me.

I get myself ready again as he gears up for his next pitch. He winds up and throws once more.

I swing but miss as the curveball passes by.

“Strike!” the umpire shouts.

I nod in acknowledgment and take a step back. That was the pitch I had anticipated; he boasts one of the best curveballs in the league right now.

I step back into the box a raise my bat. ‘Come on, give me something to hit,’ I said in my head

He threw his next pitch, and it all happened so fast. One moment, I was watching the ball being thrown for me to hit, and the next, I found myself on the ground, holding the side of my head because I had just been hit by a baseball. My helmet absorbed most of the impact, but when a baseball comes at you at 95 miles an hour, you definitely feel it.

A gasp swept through the ballpark as the scene unfolded. The catcher immediately waved for a trainer from my dugout before leaning down and putting a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?” he asked.

For some reason, his voice sounded distant, and I couldn't respond. I just nodded, still holding the side of my head. I guess my helmet flew off when I hit the ground.

Soon, the trainer arrived with a towel. “That was a hard hit. Do you think you can roll over?” he asked, but again, his voice sounded muffled. So, I nodded once more, and they helped roll me over.

I groaned in pain as they rolled me onto my back. Finally opening my eyes, the ringing in my ears stopped, and my hearing returned to normal. “Fuck,” I groaned, hoping the microphones on the field didn’t pick it up.

Justin squatted down next to me. “Hey, we need to get you to the trainer's room. That ball got you pretty good.”

Taking in his words, I moved my hands from my face. “Shit,” I gasped as I noticed my glove was stained with more than just dirt; I was busted open.

I managed to sit up while the trainer pressed a towel against my head. Damn, I’d rather be hit with tennis balls than this—at least they had some cushion.

With their help, I slowly got to my feet as a round of applause filled the stadium. This was definitely not how I envisioned my day going.

Unfortunately, I found myself benched after that incident, nursing a fresh set of stitches on my forehead. While I was grateful there was no concussion or major head injury involved—just a wayward pitch that went terribly wrong—I couldn’t help but feel the sting of frustration. Mark was the pitcher, and I held no grudges against him; I knew it wasn’t intentional. Just hours earlier, we’d been laughing and joking around, sharing inside jokes and pre-game camaraderie. But that’s baseball for you; sometimes, in the heat of the moment, a pitcher loses their grip, and you end up taking a hit.

It was the bottom of the ninth inning, with the air crackling with tension. The scoreboard lit up with a nail-biting 3-3 tie. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as two outs hung in the balance. Austin stepped up to the plate, a determined look on his face. My pinch replacement, Tommy Reese, was on deck, stretching and warming up, ready to step in if the situation called for it.

Over at first base, Ronald Acuña Jr. stood poised, his athletic frame ready to explode into action. All Austin needed to do was make solid contact with the ball and drive it into the outfield. With Ronald’s incredible speed, we all knew he could beat the throw home.

As the closer took his position on the mound, I felt my heart racing in sync with the crowd’s energy. He shot a quick glance back at Acuña before winding up to pitch to Austin.

Austin stood firm, carefully checking his swing as the first pitch sailed by—ball one. It was a good start, and my confidence began to build.

I leaned forward, elbows digging into my knees, every muscle in my body tense with expectation. This was it—the moment we had all been waiting for.

The pitcher glanced once more at Ronald, then took a deep breath and delivered the next pitch. It was as if everything slowed down for just a heartbeat. Austin, eyes locked on the ball, swung with ferocity and precision. The crack of the bat echoed like thunder as the ball soared into the air, arcing gracefully toward the outfield. It sailed further and further until it disappeared into the majestic waterfall display at the park.

A walk-off home run! Victory was ours!

The stadium erupted into a wild celebration, a thunderous roar that sent vibrations through the very ground beneath us. It felt as if the entire stands shook with joy and excitement. Everyone from the dugout charged the field, sprinting toward home plate, united in the thrill of triumph as Austin rounded the bases, his expression a blend of disbelief and exhilaration.

I stood just outside the circle, wise enough to be cautious with my stitches, but that didn’t stop me from celebrating with every ounce of energy I had. I cheered and clapped, sharing in the jubilant atmosphere that surrounded me.

We were heading to the NLDS, baby!

As I settled into my seat for the post-game press conference, I offered a soft but warm greeting to the room, a subtle “hello” that echoed in the anticipation-filled space.

One of the reporters, a familiar face I would later come to know as Dave, leaned forward and asked, “Riley, how are you feeling right now?”

I let out a light chuckle, a mix of relief and exhilaration washing over me. “Honestly, I’m feeling great! The adrenaline is really pumping through me right now, so I’m not even feeling this,” I said, gesturing lightly to my head. “But overall, I’m feeling good.”

From the back of the room, a voice rang out, filled with curiosity. “How proud are you of Austin?” A woman inquired, her tone sincere and warm.

A broad smile broke across my face as I thought about my brother. “I’m incredibly proud of him. That’s my twin right there,” I replied, injecting a bit of humor into the moment. It was a playful reference to the nickname we had given each other for our shared last name.

Laughter erupted around the room, lifting the spirits of everyone present. Just as the chuckles faded, another reporter asked, “When you got hurt earlier, the team looked visibly shaken, but they managed to pull themselves together. How do you all stay focused and regain your composure in such moments?”

I took a breath and nodded firmly.

I nodded firmly. “No matter how much I’m hurting or how tough things get for the team, we stand by each other, always. When you train with the same group through the spring and share the field with them through the summer. A strong bond forms. So whether we win or lose, when you underestimate us, we step onto that field and prove that we are just too nice for yall”

“Girl, you okay? I saw you got knocked upside the head,” Mia asked from the other side of the phone on her way home from work.

Leaning my head back against the headrest of the car as Kyle drove to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, I replied, “Sis, I’m cool. I got a few stitches. I'll be fine in a couple of days.”

“Alright, if you say so,” she sighed. “Are you still going to the game?”

“Pulling up to the stadium as we speak,” I responded, looking out the tinted window.

“Alright, be careful; tell Ja’marr and Joe I said hi,” she said.

“Yes, Mom,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “And I will.”

We hung up just as Kyle pulled into the private parking lot. He looked up in the rearview mirror and asked, “Ready?”

“Let’s get this show on the road,” I replied, putting on my shades. He nodded and got out to open the door for me. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” I offered.

He smiled and shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’m a Cowboys fan anyway,” he said.

I feigned a shocked look. “Wow, I’m hurt, Kyle,” I said, shaking my head.

“Sorry, not sorry,” he replied, getting back into the driver's seat.

As I walked into the stadium, security guards escorted me to a private box. It was about thirty minutes until kickoff, and fans were filling the stands, ready for some Thursday night football.

When I entered the box, I noticed a few women already there. At first, I thought the guard had led me to the wrong room, but they reassured me that I was in the right place and welcomed me in. During our conversation, I quickly learned that they were WAGS.

“So, which one are you here for?” one of the women asked. I learned her name was Emma.

I shook my head. “Oh, I’m not dating anyone on the team. Joe, Ja’marr, and I all went to college together, so I'm just here to watch them.”

Speaking of the devils, there they were, taking the field for pregame warm-ups. My eyes drifted to Joe in his uniform. He really looked good in everything—the way his hair fell perfectly and how his tights gripped his thighs.

Girl, get ahold of yourself.

“You okay?” Lexi asked to my left with a slight chuckle.

“Yep... just great,” I responded, crossing my legs to calm myself down somewhat.

Joe started looking around the stadium until he finally found me. When he did, he tapped Ja’marr on the back, said something in his ear, and pointed up at me.

I waved at both of them, and they waved back before turning their attention back to their warm-ups.

God, help me.

The score was 27-27 in the 4 quarter with just 60 seconds left on the clock and the Bengals had the ball if I know Joe he does not want to take this thing into overtime at all.

I sat there holding my breath as the ball was snapped into Joe's hands he looked around the field before he threw a Hail Mary pass to the in-zone hoping someone would catch it and ill be dammed.

Tee Higgins caught that ball at what was the last possible second to give the Bengals the touchdown.

The stadium goes crazy, and so do I. The Bengals just won the game with that play. There was only time for the kick for the extra point.

As Joe made his way back to the sideline he pointed up to my box with a nod. I nod my head back with a smirk, something we did back in LSU as to say,y ‘Who they think they playing with’

The Bengals walked into Atlanta and got the dub 34-27.

After things calm down a bit, security takes me down to the field. I immediately spotted Ja'marr's back talking to Joe. They said Joe and I were thick as thieves. Every time you turned around, these two were together.

Deciding to mess with Ja'marr a bit I ran and jumped on his back.

“What the hell,” he said confused at first then he heard my giggles “Girl if you don't get off of me,” he said in this fake serious tone.

“You'll be okay,” I patted his chest. “Congrats on the dub, you two,” I said, hoping down.

“Thanks same to you, Divisional huh?” Ja’marr congrats me.

I nodded my head with a slight smile. “She's going to get a ring before us, Joe,” Ja’marr said with a fake cry.

I shook my head at him. “You sure he didn't get tackled too hard.”

Joe played along, “You know, been asking myself the same question all season.”

Ja’marr’s jaw drops dramatically. “You know what? I'm going to hit the showers 'cause yall doing too much.”

He walked through the tunnel before he disappeared. “Thought you weren't coming. saw you got hit earlier,” Joe said, turning his attention to me his eyes going straight to the bandage on my forehead.

Looking up at him even though I'm 5 '7 Joe still had a couple of couple inches on me. “I wasn't going to let a hit stop me from seeing you.”

He turned his head, and I could tell he was fighting a grin because the corners of his mouth twitched. “Just me?” he asked.

I pretend to think about it for a minute. “Well, you and Ja’marr if you want to throw him in there, but mostly you.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I won't tell him what you said,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.

I shrugged. “It's ok, he knows.”

Joe and I continued talking for a minute before his name was shouted out of the tunnel by a Bengals staff member

He turned his head, and I heard him slightly curse “You totally forgot you had a press conference didn't you” I asked trying not to giggle.

He nodded his head “Yep,” he said, popping the “P”

I shook my head. Joe had a one-track mind. He shouted to the person calling for him “I'll be there in a sec” then turned back to me.

“Duty Calls,” he opened his arms for a hug, and of course, I gave him one. Closing the gap, I hugged back despite the bulk of his gear.

It was like home, ignoring the sweat and the smell of grass and mud. I could smell the faint scent of his cologne it just felt all too familiar.

To my dislike we had to let go “Text me when you get home” he said releasing me. I didn't get a chance to respond before he was off toward the tunnel.

Yeah, I guess I will

After popping a Tylenol for my head, I climb into bed, ready to call it a night, but not before reaching for my phone and opening my text messages.

Me

I'm home.

Joe Burrr 🧡

Good. Started to get worried for a minute.

Me

Sorry after the game my head was screaming at me.

Joe Burrr 🧡

Did you take something for it?

Me

Took a Tylenol. Hasn't let me down yet.

Joe Burrr 🧡

Good..You're not going to miss any of your games right?

Me

Naw I'm too tough and got too much on the line to be benched now. I'll be ready come next week.

Joe Burrr 🧡

I know you will but just come out the next one without a hit to the face.

Me

I will try to avoid those the best I can 🫡

Joe Burrr 🧡

Please do. You have to pretty of a face for someone to be playing target practice.

Me

Watch it Joe

Joe Burrr 🧡

What! All I did was give my friend a compliment on her amazing looks.

Me

Well I thank you but now I wanna know what's your favorite look on me?

Joe Burrr 🧡

Any look you have on is my favorite. Ri.

Me

Ok, I'll give you that one

For now…

Joe Burrr 🧡

Maybe I'll have an answer for you in a couple weeks

[sinkingteethinwhitenoise]

Limoncello - Chapter 10

Pairing: Nick Folio x OFC (Maeve)

Warnings: Fluff, kissing, fish, flirting, sexual tension if you squint, scary stuff at the end, MDNI

Word Count: 1.8k

Series Masterlist

“Heaven’s hiding barely out of frame, but Hell embraces like a hurricane.” ~ Thousand Below, Hell Finds You Everywhere

Maeve awoke late the next morning with arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Gentle kisses and warm breath tickled her neck. “G’morning,” she murmured, smiling, voice raspy from sleep.

“Good morning, doll,” Nick rasped into her neck. “You sleep well?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, turning to face him. “Did you?”

“Slept like a baby,” he grinned. He moved his arms so that she could face him fully, then rested a hand on her hip, rubbing his thumb across the sliver of skin exposed from her shirt riding up. Nick’s hair was tussled, his eyes sleepy, and his goofy smile was spread across his face like he’d just won the lottery. To him, he had.

“How’s your hand?” she questioned. She placed her hand on his bicep and ran it down his arm until she reached his hand, grabbing it and moving it from her hip to in front of her.

“It’s a little sore,” Nick shrugged. “I’m not too worried about it.” He watched fondly as she inspected the bandage that was still securely in place around his knuckles. With a gentle touch and focused gaze, she began to unwrap his hand to check the wound underneath.

“It looks a little better,” she commented under her breath once she could see the wound. She set the bandage on her nightstand before she pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles as she made eye contact with him.

Nick felt his heart jump into his throat and his eyes began to crinkle from how hard he was smiling. “It’s all thanks to you,” he grinned. He took his hand from her gentle hold and used it to pull her closer to him. “Best nurse ever,” he chuckled before pulling her in for a kiss.

Maeve giggled against his lips as she kissed back, her hands moving to cup his face. The kiss was soft and slow. Both of them kept accidentally breaking the kiss because they couldn’t stop smiling.

Nick was the first to fully pull away. “Can I take you fishing today?”

“I don’t really know how to fish,” Maeve shrugged. “But I’ll come with you.”

“I’ll teach you,” Nick sat up excitedly. “This is gonna be sick.”

“Slow your roll,” Maeve giggled, sitting up. “I need coffee and food first.”

After a quick breakfast, Maeve sat in the passenger’s seat of Nick’s truck with the air conditioner blasting while Nick loaded up the poles, chairs, tackle boxes, and a cooler filled with water and beer. It was absolutely precious how excited he was to take her fishing. He hadn’t stopped smiling once, rushing around to get everything they needed packed up like a kid helping pack the car for Disneyland. The next thing she knew, the driver’s side door swung open and Nick plopped into the seat. “You ready?” he chirped, buckling his seatbelt with a quickness.

“Ready.”

Nick plugged his phone into the aux and put on a mix of 90s and early 2000s country music before peeling out of the driveway. His right hand made purchase on Maeve’s thigh for the majority of the drive, which took about 30 minutes. It felt like no time at all as they laughed and joked all the way to the lake.

When they arrived, Maeve tried to get out of the truck. Nick stopped her. “Ah ah ah,” he patted her thigh. “Don’t touch that door.” Maeve furrowed her eyebrows at him as he got out of the truck and ran to the passengers side to open the door for her. He offered her his hand.

She grabbed it with a giggle. “Thank you,” she chirped, getting out of the truck with his help and pressing a quick kiss to his check. She didn’t miss the way his face flushed.

Maeve stood by as he unloaded the truck. He was trying to figure out how to carry everything in one trip, and struggling.

“Nick,” Maeve laughed. “Let me help.”

“No way, doll,” he grunted, trying again to adjust his grip and ultimately failing. “Shit.”

“Please?” she asked with a slight whine to her voice, eyes wide and lips pouted.

Nick looked up at her and nearly dropped everything he was holding. “Fuck, you’re so cute,” his lips curved up into a smile. “Fine. C’mere and grab something.”

She smiled victoriously as she walked over to him. She pushed her prescription sunglasses up the bridge of her nose before she took the lawn chairs and tackle box off his hands, her own bag hanging on her shoulder. He was left to carry the poles and the cooler, which was definitely the heaviest thing he’d brought. They then started the short hike to Nick’s favorite spot on the lake.

Once everything was set down, Nick pulled Maeve close and pressed a long kiss to her lips. His hands held onto her hips while hers snaked around his neck. “What was that for?” she asked, giggling, once he pulled away.

“For helping me,” he pecked her lips. “And for coming with me.”

They pulled away from each other and Nick unfolded both of the chairs. He sat down and started to set up the poles. Maeve got her sunscreen out of her bag and began to apply it. When she was done, she stood in front of Nick. “Babe,” she said.

He looked up at her with a smile, eyes sparkling. “What’s up, doll?”

“Let me put sunscreen on you.”

“I don’t burn. I’ll be okay.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Nick, you need sunscreen.”

“Alright,” he chuckled, setting the pole he was working on to the side. “Go for it.”

Maeve smiled and sat down on his lap, facing him, not noticing how his eyes turned into saucers as she did. She put sunscreen in her hands and gently spread it on his face, ears, and neck, rubbing it into his skin with a soft touch. She did his arms next and then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “All done,” she stood up.

Nick cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Thank you, baby,” he breathed, face burning hot. He went back to setting up the poles. When he was done, he handed one to her, leaving the other leaned up against the chair. “I’m gonna teach you how to cast, okay?”

Maeve awkwardly held the pole and nodded at him. He led her to the edge of the water. He adjusted her hands so that her left hand held the bottom of the grip and the right hand was above it near the reel. “Just keep your hands here,” he murmured as he adjusted them. “Now, take your right pointer finger and press the line against the pole,” he instructed. She followed his instruction. “Good,” he hummed. “Now, take your left hand off the pole.” She did. “Now, flick the reel up.” He guided her hand to the correct part of the reel and she flicked it up.

“Good job, doll,” he praised. Her face was red. “Put your left hand back on the pole.” When she did that, he continued. “You’re going to swing the pole over your shoulder, don’t let go of the line.” He wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands over hers to guide her motion. “Now, swing it forward and let go of the line. Flick the reel back down when it hits the water.” He guided her arms to swing the pole forward and helped her carry through and finish the cast. Satisfied, he kissed her cheek with a huge, goofy smile. “Great job, baby.” Then he grabbed his own pole and casted.

“Now what?” Maeve asked, holding back a smile as she reminded herself to breathe.

“We wait,” Nick shrugged.

It took a while for the fish to start biting. Maeve got the first bite. The top of her pole began to bend. “Nick,” she squeaked. “What do I do?”

He looked over, “Reel it in.” He stepped closer to her and held his pole between his legs as he helped her. The fish flopped as it was reeled into shore. Maeve squealed when it was finally out of the water. She held the pole while Nick worked to get it off of the hook. “Look at that,” he smiled proudly. “First catch of the day. Wanna hold it?”

She smiled wide, “Yeah, actually. I kinda do.”

“Alright,” he moved the fish closer to her. “Put your thumb in its mouth and pinch.”

She did as directed and Nick pulled his hand away once she had a good grip. She giggled as she held it, “Holy shit.” Then it started to flop around in her grip, splashing her with water. She squealed and held it further away from herself. “Take it,” she squealed. “I don’t wanna hold it anymore.”

Nick laughed and laughed hard as he took the fish back and tossed it back into the water. “You big baby,” he teased.

The rest of the day was spent fishing and drinking. Nick even chased Maeve around with one of the fish he caught just so she’d scream and laugh. That resulted with him getting pushed into the water, and her getting pulled down with him.

When they returned home, the sun was setting. It would be dark in no time. “Do you wanna come over and hang out?” Nick asked her as they turned down their street.

“Yes,” she chirped. “But I need to shower first. I’ll come over after.”

“That’s fair,” Nick nodded, parking the truck. “I should do that too.”

“Yeah you should,” Maeve teased. “You stink.”

Nick rolled his eyes playfully, “We’re here. Go shower. And be quick because I already miss you.”

Maeve gave Nick a quick kiss before grabbing her bag and hopping out of the truck.

Maeve went into her house and locked the door behind her before rushing to her bathroom to take a shower. It was a relatively quick shower. She did her skincare right after. By the time she walked into her bedroom and put on a cute lounge set, it was dark outside. She threw her hair into a ponytail and was ready to go.

Just as she reached her bedroom door to leave, she heard glass shatter. She figured it was likely a window. She nearly jumped out of her skin. In the heat of the moment, she was somehow able to keep herself from screaming. Frozen in fear, she heard a chilling voice, taunting her.

“Honey, I’m home,” the creepy voice sang.

She instantly sprung into action. She knew that voice anywhere. Gripping her phone tightly in her hand, she locked her bedroom door and quickly made it into her closet, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. She hid herself in a pile of clothes that were on the floor as she heard heavy footsteps booming throughout her home, headed straight for her room. “You can’t hide from me,” the voice shouted threateningly. With trembling fingers, she pulled up her and Nick’s text messages.

‘I need help. Call 911.’

She sent the text before calling 911 herself. Her eyes welled up with tears as she silently prayed that someone would get to her before Tanner did.

[nimuetheseawitch]

Non military Bradley 🤗

This is one of my favorites. To be fair, I love all my WIPs, but this AU is full of some of my favorite headcanons: Bradley dealing with tons of medical debt and struggling to pay for college because of it, Carole and Penny dating in the 90s, tattoo artist Carole, and so much more. And to clarify, it isn't just non-military Bradley, this Bradley is actively anti-military and ended up a Poli Sci professor. But he and Jake manage to make it work anyway, or at least they have for a few years, and now they're dealing with this mission.

Because I love it so, so much, you're getting a long snippet from the first chapter, which will be under the cut.

Fanboy set the beers he’d just picked up down distractedly and hissed at them, “Guys! Guys! See the dude at the bar chatting with Penny?”

Everyone took surreptitious looks in that direction while fending off Fanboy’s protestations about not looking all at once. Jake and Javy shared a look and smirked.

“Yes, and?” Jake raised an eyebrow.

“Well, he definitely knows Penny, but I couldn’t get a read on him. Do you think he’s flirting with her?”

As one, all the aviators turned to watch just as the guy at the bar said something that had Penny throwing her head back in laughter.

“Well, they do look pretty friendly,” Halo mused.

Omaha nodded. “But he really doesn’t seem like her type.”

Jake snorted in amusement. “You can say that again.”

“Look at those patches and pins on his vest – he looks like he just came from a protest,” Yale chimed in.

“And that hair – is that a mullet? And with the mustache? He looks like a fucking hippie,” Harvard added.

“I would’ve gone with ‘hipster’ over ‘hippie’ with those piercings,” Fritz jumped in. “And are those tattoos?”

All of them watched as Penny leaned forward on the bar and placed her hand on the man’s forearm, which was indeed covered in tattoos.

“Well, Fanboy’s right, there’s definitely something between them.” Payback took a swig of his beer but continued to watch the bar.

“Of course, you agree with him.” Phoenix turned a thoughtful look to Bob before asking, “What do you think?”

“Hmm...,” Bob took a sip of his drink. “I think we’re missing something.”

Any further conversation was cut off as they all went silent when Penny pulled the man in and kissed him on the cheek before handing him a beer. He turned towards them, and all the aviators quickly turned away, trying to look like they hadn’t just been staring.

Fanboy snuck a quick glance back at him. “Oh, fuck, he’s walking towards us. Do you think he noticed us watching?”

Javy couldn’t keep it in anymore and burst out laughing, and everyone stared at him. Phoenix narrowed her eyes and looked between him and Jake, who was rolling his eyes. She was opening her mouth to say something when Bradley came up next to him and slipped his free arm around Jake’s waist before leaning in for a quick kiss.

“Hey, babe. Sorry, I had to catch up with Aunt Penny.”

The rest of the squad just gaped at them, but Jake ignored them in favor of properly greeting his boyfriend. He pulled him back for another kiss, indulging in the softness of Bradley’s lips and the familiar scratch of his mustache. When he pulled back from the kiss, he didn’t let Bradley go far. “Missed you darlin’.”

Bradley smiled. “Missed you too.” He glanced to the side briefly before turning his gaze back to Jake. “You gonna introduce me to your squad?”

“Who, these judgmental assholes?” Jake smirked at the pained noises coming from the other aviators. “I guess so.”

Before he could turn back to everyone, Javy pulled him away and swept Bradley up in a hug. “Bradshaw, man, it’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Javy.”

By the time they all turned back to the squad, they seemed to mostly have gathered their wits about them, although Fanboy was mouthing ‘Aunt Penny?’ and looking lost at sea. Phoenix looked between the three of them and then turned to punch Jake in the shoulder. “So, this is the boyfriend, Bagman? You couldn’t have told us sooner?”

“In my defense, it was much funnier to listen to you guys try to figure out how he knew Penny.” The look he threw Bradley was full of mischief, and Bradley’s mouth quirked up like he knew a secret.

“Yeah, how do you know Penny?” Fritz asked.

Bradley shrugged. “She’s an old family friend. I think she went out with my godfather in the 80s briefly, and then she lived with us for a bit in the 90s when she was dating my mom. Reconnected with her after she bought the Hard Deck when I was at UCSD.”

Everyone just stared at him, speechless for a bit, until Fanboy took a long drink of his beer and said, “That is...not what I would’ve guessed.”

Jake cleared his throat. “Anyway. This is Bradley, my boyfriend. Bradley, these are, apparently, the best the Navy has to offer.”

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

Hi- Wil nightmare scene anon, I debated a bit whether or not send an ask again but figured it might you help balance stuff out stat/story wise if i do so have a little more detailed review?

So first of all- it seems like the issue might be purely if you do a playthrough from the start. In the chapter scene questions it mentioned raising artificially one of the other RO's to see a scene related to them, so I'm guessing that nudge is what finally broke the tie Wil/RO that was going on. I only found out because I had to go back with my Mal-mancer MC because i wanted the spicy scene but had selected a Demi/Ace (unsure which was the term used) (Also, on this side, now that I got the chance to ask, is there any other character/moment where that preference would matter? As I personally am Ace, but like reading those scenes so it would be good to know what other chances to get a spicy scene might happen and plan accordingly with my MC lol) option when prompted chapters ago lol. I did a run before that one as Aro, and romancing either Kay or Teddie (Unsure which one, right now), and, as mentioned, the first couple ones i did was going after Wil. All of those runs (including the first one with Mal) were playing from the start, where the second one was through the chapter selector!

I did give my phone number to Wil each time when prompted, and helped when needed (as i tend to gravitate towards non confrontational MCs for the first, and just plain out felt bad on the second) so maybe that helped raise the stat a lot more than intended (which fair, an MC that is hostile to Wil would not have the same issue i do) but other than that chose the RO that i was after each time

Hope it helps when tweaking the stats!

This is helpful; Wil is generally quite agreeable so it may also be a balancing thing with how easy it is to raise their rel compared to others. Like I said before, the tweaks should prioritise the selected RO now.

There's a demi style option.

(I'm not against romance, but I'd have to be really close to somebody to take it any further.)

and an actually ace option

(I'm not against romance, but I'd have to be really close to somebody to take it any further.)

With ace and aro stuff I've generally been coding it such that options just don't show. So you've probably noticed but if you're aro the 'flirt' options are absent entirely (I sort of assumed that people wouldn't want it to be present). Mal can still flirt with you once or twice, but that's cause it's Mal and they don't know yet.

With the demi thing, if I recall correctly, MC automatically shies away from hooking up with Mal, with my reasoning being that since it's explicitly a one night stand, a demi person would not want to do that. Future encounters are likely to be up to the player's discretion as to whether they want them to be sexual (I'm 90% sure that Teddie's romance can start with a sex scene)

[thebibliosphere]

Hi Joy,

Sorry if you have answered this before, but I was wondering which purchasing platform actually gives you the most money (or is most beneficial to you if there are other factors in play)? I would prefer my purchase to benefit you the most.

I have, but thanks for asking!

I gain the most money from my Payhip storefront, where I'm able to offer DRM-free editions of all my work.

But if that doesn't work for you, anywhere you buy from is good for me as it helps boost my sales ranking.

For paperbacks, I do earn slightly more from BookShop.org because they offer better affiliate rates (Flirting Edition) (Fluff), but otherwise I earn roughly the same flat rate across the board for all paperbacks regardless of how much the bookstore is charging, with the exception being Australia where the conversion rate faffs things.

My paperback rates will be going up in the last week of February to accommodate for the price hikes the publishers are pushing again, so if anyone's been thinking about it, now might be a good time.

(I list the books as $14.99, but retailers are allowed to take that as a suggestion and charge significantly more. I'll likely be raising it to $17.99 on my end because, at present, I'm earning 90 cents per paperback, or in the case of Australia, $00.01 🙃)

For audiobooks, I'd appreciate it if people bought from my Payhip rather than Audible, as Audible takes 80% of my royalties and doesn't let me set my own prices. As requested, I'll be uploading large files along with the chapter-by-chapter files for those who wanted that. (I'm actually doing that just now!)

But again, if Audible is more convenient or you've got credits, great! That boosts my sales rankings which makes it more likely for the algorithm to push it.

Speaking of algorithims, once a book or audiobook gets more than 50 reviews, the Amazon algorithm starts pushing it to wider audiences, so that's another great way you can help authors! So if anyone ever feels guilty about only ever being able to afford Amazon, please know authors still appreciate the sales, but we'd love it even more if you left reviews!

[you-cant-fuck-megaman]

An interesting tale is that, in the manga, Centaur Man was written to be a woman in disguise pretending to be a man. While the canonicity of the manga is questionable at best, the entire point of being in disguise is that you present as something else, and so nothing else in the series really debunks this. With Crystal Lady being rejected for Crystal Man and Roll’s status as a robot master being up in the air, this makes Centaur Man possibly the first female robot master.

See, in Shigeto Ikehara's manga of Megaman 6, there's a lot of interactions between the different robot masters. It’s really quite cool to see all of them banter back and forth, interacting together.

みそこなわないてほしいわミスターX / "Make sure you watch real closely, Mr. X!" (Rough translation, my Japanese is rusty. Please don't take this as a scanlation)

Most notably are the interactions between Centaur Man and Knight Man. Centaur Man and Knight Man share a lot of scenes together, most notably with Knight Man training harder against a group of baddies (and ranting because none of them have a spine) and Centaur Man being worried about him.

There’s even a big ol’ scene where Centaur Man is pining over him.

ナイトマンは今ごろロックマソと... / "KnightMan is now with RockMan..." ナイトマンの騎土達に反しないものなら今すぐにでもとんで行ってー緒に野いたい / "If it wasn't against Knight Man's wishes, I'd love to go wild and jump into the fray myself." でも...ナイトマンの名誉をまもるには... / "But, to protect Knight Man's honor..." ここであなたの勝利をいのるしかないわ... / "I must wait for your victory here...” ナイトマン... / "Knight Man..." (Again, rough translation, my Japanese is quite rusty)

Unsurprisingly, Knight Man is destroyed by Megaman in a dramatic fight. One of his remaining minions limps away from the carnage to tell Centaur Man the news, and Centaur Man breaks down into tears, screaming in anguish at the sky. Once Megaman actually shows up, Centaur Man goes on the aggressive, tearing into Megaman and screaming at him about Knight Man (and Mr. X’s orders) the entire while.

Eventually, Megaman equips Knight Crush and slugs it into Centaur Man, the helmet breaking away and revealing an 女, or a woman. Long-haired men who wear earrings don’t exist in this world, I suppose, but this was the early 90s and Bob Capcom (or more specifically the writers for tie-in media) hadn’t really discovered what exactly an unreliable narrator is yet. Anyway, she screams about how she won’t let go of her hate against him, and Megaman muses very briefly about if she disguised herself to be with him. But either way, the battle must continue. Despite all of his emotions running high and the questions going through his mind, Megaman continues using Knight Crush and crushes her utterly, letting her exit this world in a smoking pile of debris and death.

Tears streaming down his face, he slowly starts moving on. Another robot master defeated. But, for just a brief moment, there was something more--something that was forcibly taken away from her.

It’s a stirring chapter in an otherwise-pretty-dry manga, flirting (very lightly) with a pretty poignant subject. Even if your enemies are evil, or in this case programmed to be evil, they still hope and dream and love much in the same way you do. It very much reminded me of the classic Cyborg 009 stories that a lot of Megaman took inspiration from.

It was all a very touching tale about love and unnecessary sacrifice, and you can't fuck Centaur Man.

[themoontoyourshine]

Thanks again to Lin, @ssahotchswife , for inspiring me and answering all of my questions.

SUMMARY: What happens when Aaron’s neighbor has a bad dream? Will he see just how much she cares about him and his son?

PAIRING: Aaron Hotchner x Neighbor(fem)! Reader

WARNINGS: Some content may be triggering so please read before continuing. 18+ Minors DNI

INCLUDES: This chapter includes strong language and partial nudity. The word ‘blood’ is mentioned once and so is ‘stroke’. One line eludes to a minor but there is no minor in this story. Jack is mentioned but is out camping with the scouts. Is the reader more of a brat than we thought? Is Aaron more of a flirt than we thought? Who are the six people at the foot of the bed? Please let me know if I miss anything. This chapter is a little lighter and hopefully you laugh. This chapter does contain a steamy make out session.

WORD COUNT: 3,533

A/N: This story is probably going to have 5 chapters. I initially broke it down so it wouldn’t be too long all at once. Chapter 5 will be the smut chapter and I’m still currently writing it. I may have messed you guys up because now it’s looking like chapter 5 will be lllooooong. I don’t want to break chapter 5 down because nobody wants their smut cut in half lol. It might not be too bad. We’ll see. I’ve never done anything like this so please be patient with me. Feedback is always appreciated. AGAIN, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I’M DOING!!! As always, I love you guys. Without further ado, chapter two!

Link to chapter one:

Taglist: @ah-blossom

Daydreams and Nightmares

Chapter 2

“Guys, what the actual fuck? Why are you all standing in my bedroom?”

“You were supposed to meet us for breakfast but you never showed.” a tall, skinny blonde woman answered.

“We tried calling but we couldn’t reach you.” said a pretty brunet woman.

“We were worried, sir.” a colorful blonde stated.

“I used my spare key Aaron.” an older man with a goatee admitted.

“Who is your friend?” said a muscled man in a teasing tone with a smirk plastered on his face. Your cheeks heated and for the first time you and Aaron looked at each other.

“How old are you?” asked a tall, skinny guy looking right at you. That earned him a look from Aaron that you had never seen before as well as a nudge in the ribs by the muscled man.

“Oh, uh, I-I’m 21.” you managed to stutter out. Aaron ran a hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. “But this isn’t what it looks like. I can’t even imagine what you all must be thinking. I’m Aaron’s neighbor, y/n. Last night I had a bad dream that he was in trouble and I needed to see that he was safe. He let me tell him about my dream but then I must have fallen asleep on accident. Nothing happened. Nothing has ever happened. Aaron is a complete gentleman. Y’all must know that.” You were talking 90 miles an hour and you hadn’t taken a breath. Everyone was looking at you with wide eyes. You didn’t want them to tease Aaron.

“Y/N,” Aaron said, putting his hand on your shoulder. “You’re rambling. This is my team, JJ, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Dave Rossi, Derek Morgan, and Spencer Reid.” he said going down the line and pointing to each one. They all offered you a smile and small wave.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’ve heard a lot about each of you. Aaron always speaks so highly of y’all. I wish it were under different circumstances” you say through a nervous laugh.

“Y/N, do you mind going in the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee so I can have a moment alone with my team?” It was at this moment that you remembered that you were only wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt and a pair of Harry Potter underwear.

“Sure,” you said, “I’ll even make everyone breakfast seeing as how ya’ll didn’t eat. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m not wearing pants.” you admitted, slinging your legs off the bed and standing. Your shirt almost covered your ass. Everyone’s eyes followed you as you rounded the foot of the bed to get to Aaron’s nightstand where you left your keys. When Aaron saw you, his eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“I thought you were kidding when you said you weren’t wearing pants”.

“Sorry,” you whispered with a guilty expression. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep here, and I certainly didn’t think I’d be meeting your team.”

“Ugh” he groans, running his hands down his tired face. “It’s too early for this shit” he swore. With your keys in hand, you turn and head for the door. “Wait, what does your butt say?” Aaron asks.

“I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.” a man you now knew as Spencer replied. The team tried to contain their giggles. You were mortified and Aaron looked like he was on the verge of a stroke. Yap, it was going to be one of those days.

You were pouring the fourth cup of coffee when you heard voices coming down the hall. “Hey, lil’ mama, boss man wants to see you” Derek said while wiggling his eyebrows. After you finished pouring the coffee, you passed out the 6 cups and placed the cream and sugar on the kitchen table. Taking a deep breath, you slowly walked back to Aaron’s room not knowing what to expect. When you walked in, Aaron had put on a white t-shirt.

“Aww, come on Aaron. I can’t be the only half naked person at breakfast” you teased. He huffed a laugh through his nose.

“You won’t be” he said, turning to face you with a pair of blue plaid pajama pants from his dresser. “Use the draw string to tighten the waist and you may need to roll the bottoms up a bit.”

“Not exactly how I imagined getting in your pants but it’ll do” you smirked.

“Y/N,” he said in a warning tone “I need you to solemnly swear to be up to good around my team.”

“And when we’re not around your team?” you deadpanned with a cocked eyebrow.

Suddenly he took your chin between his thumb and pointer, raising it to look you in the eyes. “Don’t be a brat.” That shouldn’t have made your stomach do cartwheels like it did. Getting a hold of yourself, you walked yourself back until the backs of your knees hit his bed. You sat down and began putting on his pants.

“How bad was it?” At his confused stare, you elaborated. “The teasing. I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I’m sure they gave you a hard time.” He sat down beside you and gently squeezed your knee to comfort you.

“It really wasn’t that bad. You have nothing to apologize for. They don’t really have any room to talk. None of them. They’ll tease me for a few days before something similar happens to one of them. My money is on Dave.” You chuckled at that.

“Do they hate me?”

He turned to face you and grabbed both of your shoulders. “Look at me” he said in all seriousness. “These people are my family and I love them. They love me so if I like you, they’ll like you…and I do like you. They thought it was funny. They are the least judgmental people in the world. If they tease you, they like you. It’ll all be in good fun. It’s when they’re nice to you that you have to worry” he said with a wink.

“Gee thanks, that makes me feel a lot better” you laughed playing with his messy bed head. “I really like morning Aaron. No suit. Crazy hair. I could get used to him. I also didn’t hate waking up in your bed” you said playfully. Before he could answer, Dave appeared in the doorway.

“If you two could solemnly swear to behave, I’m hungry and we were promised breakfast.” You and Aaron exchanged glances while standing up.

“Dave, I can behave, it’s Aaron you have to worry about.”

“Don’t I know it, kiddo.”

Just then you felt a slight tug on your wrist causing you to fall a couple steps behind. “Don’t make me spank you” Aaron warned.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time” you retorted, making your way through the living room and towards the kitchen.

“Aww man, Hotch, why did you give her pants?” Derek said with a smirk as he noticed you.

“This is your only warning Morgan!” Aaron said, pointing a finger at Derek. Derek raised his hands in mock surrender. You couldn’t help but blush, both at Derek’s comment and Aaron’s reaction.

“So, y’all call each other by last name?” you asked, after hearing their exchange. The team nodded around you.

“I tell everyone to call me Hotch instead of Hotchner.” You just look at Aaron and nod in understanding.   

Picking up the remaining two cups of coffee, you offered one to Aaron. “Alright, what does everyone want for breakfast” you asked the seven people sitting at Aaron’s table.

“What are the options?” Emily asked.

“Good question” you said, opening Aaron’s pantry door. “I see oatmeal, bran flakes, and pancake mix in here.”

“Oh, I’ll take pancakes love. Now seems like a good time to mention I’m a vegetarian” Penelope said.

“Good to know. Any other dietary restrictions I should know about?”

“No, that’s it, but I’ll have the pancakes too” JJ said.

“Me too” Emily echoed.

“I’ll eat some oatmeal” you heard Dave say. Just then you felt Aaron’s hand on the small of your back.

“Here, I’ll help you” he said, grabbing the cereal he clearly wanted as well as the oatmeal. “You don’t have to do this” he whispered.

“I know. I want to. It’s my fault they’re hungry.”

“They are capable of feeding themselves.” Following Aaron over to the island, y’all set everything down. You made your way to the fridge next.

“In here we appear to have orange juice, eggs, facon, and fauxsage. Aaron, what the hell is facon and fauxsage?”

“It’s meatless bacon and sausage” he answered.

“You’ve got to be shitting me” you mumbled under your breath.

“I’ll take some facon” Penelope said with enthusiasm.

“Me too, please” Spencer said.

“What’s good enough for my baby girl is good enough for me” Derek chimed in.

“What the hell, count me in” Dave said.

“Alright,” you shrugged “I guess I’m taking a gamble with the fauxsage. Anyone brave enough to try it with me?”

“Me” you heard Emily and JJ say at the same time.

“I’ll take fauxsage too” Aaron said as he carried the orange juice and eggs to the island before getting out all of the dishes you were going to need to cook breakfast.

“Who wants orange juice?” you asked. Seven hands went up at the same time. “And eggs?” Spencer and Derek both kept their hands raised.

At that point you told Aaron to have a seat and leave you to it. He had laid out everything you were going to need. You had something going on every stove and you were terrified of messing this up. You wanted to make up for the teams first impression of you. 

You were flipping pancakes when you felt a presence beside you. “Hey, I’m sorry if I offended you earlier.” You looked over to see Spencer. “I didn’t mean anything when I asked your age. I don’t know how much Hotch has told you about us, but I’m not great with social cues. I know Hotch would never have an underage girl in his bed. I guess the whole situation took me by surprise.”

“Spencer, you have nothing to apologize for. I was embarrassed and overwhelmed by the whole situation but I was never angry. You guys seem great and it’s amazing how much better I feel in pants” you joked.

“Well that’s good, because we all really like you. Hotch hasn’t been this happy in a long time. I know you are not seeing each other romantically but you seem to make him smile which is no easy feat.” That thought warmed your heart and made you smile.

“Go take a seat Spencer. I’m ready to dish up plates.” He nodded with a tight lipped smile as he walked away.

“Ok, I have two plates of facon and eggs” you said as Derek and Spencer raised their hands. “Here y’all go.”

“Next up, two plates of pancakes and fauxsage” JJ and Emily were pointing at themselves.

“Penelope, here is your facon and pancakes” you say, setting her plate down in front of her.

“Dave, here is your oatmeal and facon. Aaron, last but certainly not least, here is your bowl of cereal and fauxsage. I’ll be right back with your milk.” You came back to the table and sat down the milk and orange juice. You sat your oatmeal and fauxsage down next to Aaron. “Does anyone need anything else before I sit down?” you ask, standing behind the last available chair.

“No sweetheart, this looks amazing” Dave said.

“Yeah, thank you so much cupcake” Penelope beamed.

“We really do appreciate it.” Aaron smiled at you as you sat down beside him. You just winked at him.

“So sweet cheeks” Derek began “how long have you lived in the building?”

“About four months” you responded.

“And there really is nothing going on between the two of you?” JJ asked.

“Aaron is just a great friend and I am lucky to have him and Jack in my life. You can ask him. He’ll tell you the same thing” you reassured her, pointing to Aaron.

“They’re profiling you” Aaron said, looking at his team.

“I’m sorry?” you said, confused.

“We’re all professional liars. We have to be for the job. They know if they ask me about us, they wouldn’t be able to tell if I was telling the truth or not” Aaron said, not taking his eyes off his team.

“I see” you said, suddenly feeling nervous about saying the wrong thing.

“But you do like Hotch, don’t you?” Emily inquired. You couldn’t stop the nervous laugh or the way your eyes fell to your oatmeal.

“That’s enough, Prentiss.” Aaron retorted.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” she replied, sheepishly.

“It’s fine, really.” you assured her.

“It’s not like we didn’t get the answer from her giggle.”

“Damn it, Dave, you too?” Aaron bellowed.

“You’re right, I apologize.” he said.

“Ok, Ok, new topic” Spencer proposed.

“Good idea pretty boy. Let’s play two truths and a lie with the new girl” Derek suggested.

“Alright, I’m in” you agreed. “One, I grew up in Nashville. Two, I have a cat named Garfield. Three, growing up I took dance lessons and was part of a competition team”

“To be fair,” Penelope said, standing up “I’m going to grab a pen and everyone is going to write their guess down on their napkin.”

“Ok, but Aaron can’t play because he knows the answer” you inform everyone. “I’m not playing either” Penelope said, sitting back down with a pen. “I’m not a profiler, I’m their technical analyst.”

“So you’re the brains of their whole operation?” you ask.”Basically!” she says with her signature smile.

You watched as the pen made its way quickly around the table. “Alright everybody, wow me!” you said with a hint of skepticism in your voice. Five napkins went up all revealing the number two on all of them. Your jaw hit the floor.

You felt Aaron’s arm around your shoulder. “Close your mouth, it’s giving me ideas.” he whispered in your ear. Your head jerked around so fast you thought you might have whip lash. Aaron had never been this forward with you. He had the biggest smirk on his face you’d ever seen and you had never blushed so hard in your life. You knew he was proud of himself for that one. You quickly averted your eyes back to the team, remembering what was going on.

“Ok, how did y’all guess my lie?”

“You broke eye contact when talking about the cat like you were having to think of something to make up” Spencer answered.

“Well color me impressed,” you said “I’m officially sold on this whole profiling business. I’m genuinely fascinated by y’alls ability to do this. The fact that y’all use this to hunt down the worst of the worst is mind blowing to me” you confess.

“Well, we appreciate you fussing over us but I think it’s time we head out Bella” Dave said, standing and pushing in his chair. Everyone seemed to agree and follow suit. You appreciated everyone taking their dishes to the sink and putting any trash in the trash can. It was going to make cleaning up easier. You really did enjoy meeting his team. Aaron was right, they didn’t judge you. They shared their embarrassing stories and even teased you a bit like Aaron said they would. The girls didn’t leave without giving you their number and within minutes you were part of a group text. Everyone hugged you bye including Spencer.

Turning around to look at Aaron, he already looked exhausted. “You want to take a nap old man?” you teased.

“Keep it up, see where it gets you.” You smiled at his threat before facing the sink and turning on the water. “Nope, you’re not cleaning up after you cooked” he said.

“Watch me” you hollered over your shoulder, already loading the dishwasher. All of a sudden you felt him pressed up against your back. Both of his hands were on the counter on either side of you effectively caging you in.

“Bold choice of words, care to try again?” You had never felt anything like the shiver currently shooting down your spine.

“Aaron,” you began, “please just let me finish what I started.”

“Fine, but I’m helping” he said, grabbing a dish.

“Your friends are great” you say after a few minutes of silence.

“They are” he agreed “and they really seemed to like you.”

“Were you worried they wouldn’t?”

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect after the way we woke up.”

“I’m sorry. You have no idea how bad I feel.”

“I thought I told you not to apologize again. Everything turned out fine.”

“I know. I just can’t help it. If it hadn’t been for that stupid dream. Gosh Aaron, I still see it all so clearly. I’m awake and I know you’re ok but I still see everything so vividly. I hate it” you say, exasperatedly, handing him the last dish to load in the dishwasher.

After he started the dishwasher he grabbed you in a tight embrace. “That’s how nightmares work. I probably share too much of my work life with you. Combine that with all the blood you see on a daily basis and it’s a recipe for disaster. I’m glad you felt comfortable talking to me about it though and I’m always here if you ever need to talk some more…about anything.”

Pulling away, you grabbed his hands in yours. “I know and I appreciate that” you said looking into his eyes “but I don’t want you to have to censor yourself around me. You can tell me anything. Besides, for every horrific thing you tell me, Jack tells me 10 silly little things to make me laugh. I absolutely adore him. I tolerate his dad” you joke.

“Oh, so now you just tolerate me? I’ll remember that.” he says, putting his hands behind his back, forcing you to hug his waist.

“I’m kidding” you laugh, burying your head in his chest and inhaling his intoxicating scent “but I should probably get going. Can I bring you your pants back later this evening?”

“Sure, or you can just keep them. Although they don’t seem to fit. You have them cinched as tight as they will go and they are still sitting dangerously low on your hips. Plus, you’ve rolled up about a foot of material on the legs.”

“Aaron, if I were going to steal an article of clothing from you, it’d be a hoodie. Or maybe one of your button ups.”

“I’ll keep that in mind” he says as y’all reach his door “thanks again for everything.”

“Oh, you mean embarrassing you in front of your team?”

“I told you that was no big deal. I meant the breakfast.”

“I know, and you’re welcome. Thank you for the pants” you said as he opened the door.

“Anytime” he said as you leaned up on your toes to kiss his cheek. It was at that exact moment that he turned his head and your lips collided for the briefest of seconds. It was like you had been struck by lightning. Instantly you apologized.

“Aaron, I am so sorry. I went to kiss your cheek and then you turned your head and I”

You were cut off by Aaron grabbing your face with both hands and crashing his lips to yours. If you had been struck by lightning before, this was Heaven. He ran his tongue across your bottom lip and you instantly parted your lips. One of his hands slid down to your hip while the other snaked behind your head allowing him to deepen the kiss. Your arms were on his shoulders both to keep him closer and ground yourself. This was the definition of euphoria. This kiss was all consuming. He was in complete control and he knew it. You don’t think either of you would have it any other way. Just as your lungs were beginning to burn, he pulled away with your bottom lip between his teeth. You whimpered at the loss of contact. He rested his forehead against yours as you both took in a much needed deep breath.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you like that” he apologized.

“It’s fine” you reassured him “I didn’t exactly try to stop you.”

“I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”

“Aaron, it was a great kiss. I’m not complaining” you say trying to ease his guilt. He let out a sad chuckle. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go home and write in my diary” you tease.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I have a list of things in my diary if you need inspiration” you say, winking over your shoulder from the hall. He just shakes his head at your antics with a grin. He waits until you shut your door before closing his.

[btsrunmylife]

21. Showcase

summary:  Park Jimin is a fuckboy through and through. It’s a well-known fact. His friends know it, the men and women he hooks up with know it, and people who’ve only heard whisperings of his name know it. But what if there’s more than meets the eye? What if that’s only a small part of him? What if…in your endeavor to find out more, you find out more than you bargained for?

pairing: jimin x f!reader

rating: pg13

genre: social media au, romance, comedy

chapter word count: 1.9k

permanent tag list (open):​ @lilacdreams-00​ ​@yoongiofmine @xianav

story tag list (closed):​ @nabiwrites @emmmui @renhold-nightspear @moon-write @90s-belladonna

to be added, message me with the story title or add yourself 

back | masterlist

“Bitna is actually a bit of a mess, huh?” you grumble around your bite of pizza.

Lisa snorts from beside you, but ends up grunting in agreement. “She’s chaotic, but still badass.”

Minji pouts. “All of these characters are a mess. Why can’t they just admit their feelings?”

You roll your eyes. “Because then the show would be boring.” You wrinkle your nose as Jae-eon appears on the screen. “Ugh, as if he’d actually even contemplate changing his ways for a woman.”

“To be fair, I don’t think he is,” Lisa points out, taking a sip of her cola. “He’s still flirting with every girl in sight.”

“But he does seem more focused on Nabi, doesn’t he?” Minji counters, crunching into her crust.

You sigh. “But that’s not what Nabi wants. She wants exclusivity. He clearly can’t give that to her.”

“Hm,” Lisa hums, nudging her elbow into your side. “Sounds familiar.”

You barely refrain from rolling your eyes, the alarm on your phone going off to let you know it’s 5pm. You sigh and toss the rest of your slice back onto your plate. “It’s time to get ready.”

“I still can’t believe you’re going to Park Jimin’s showcase tonight,” Minji mumbles, brushing crumbs from her chest before pausing the show.

“I’d still like to slap him,” Lisa scoffs, flexing her hand as she and Minji follow you into your bedroom.

“Which is why I invited you two to come with me,” you quip with a small smile.

“So I can punch him for you?” Lisa questions with a smirk, searching her handbag for her makeup.

You laugh. “No...but it’s nice to know you’ll be there if it comes to that.”

“Just say the word,” Lisa grins.

~*~*~

The small auditorium where the dance company’s showcase will be held is packed by the time you get there with Yoongi. People of all ages are crammed into the small theater, vying for seats as close to the stage as possible. Jungkook and Namjoon are already there with their girlfriends, saving seats for you, Yoongi, and your friends. You all greet each other with smiles as you file into the row with them, at least excited to see them all again.

Despite your rocky relationship with their friend, you find that you’ve kind of missed spending time with them all. Although you only hung out once, you’d be more than willing to do so again, especially if Lisa and Minji tag along. You have a feeling they’ll get along with Mica and Ivy and, as they all delve into conversation, you’re proven correct.

“You’ll have to come with Angel next time she comes over!” Mica exclaims, nudging Namjoon in the side. “Wouldn’t it be fun, babe?”

Namjoon glances at his girlfriend, lips curving into an amused, if not slightly uncertain, smile. “Of course. The more the merrier.”

“It’s settled then!” Ivy cheers. “You’re both invited.”

Yoongi blinks, glancing between you all with a contemplative frown. “We’re gonna need a bigger table.”

You snort, just as Jungkook squawks, “Some of us can sit in the living room, hyung. We don’t have to eat together.”

You grin as the conversation continues, taking the moment to glance around in search of the three missing members of the group. You frown. “Yoongi, where’s Hobi?”

Yoongi exchanges a glance with Namjoon before pasting on his best smile. “Ah, the others are running a little late. We’re saving them seats a few rows back.”

You nod, but before you can carry on with your line of questioning, the lights begin to dim. You face forward with your hands folded in your lap, patiently listening as the emcee welcomes everyone to the semi-annual showcase. Each teacher makes their way up to the stage to introduce their solo dancers, who have been selected to perform before each class performs together.

The first few groups are younger, preteens who have more rhythm than you could ever dream of having. They’re not perfect, but for their age and knowledge, they’re impressive. When the emcee introduces Jimin, your heart stutters in your chest at the sight of him in a white button-up tucked into a pair of black slacks, the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He takes the microphone with a grateful smile, squinting against the theater’s lights.

Thoughts of the last time you saw him cloud your mind, making it hard for you to listen properly. He looks good -- confident and completely unbothered. As if nothing has changed.

For him, you’re sure nothing has.

Interesting how one moment can mean one thing to one person and nothing to another. Interesting how people interpret things differently.

You feel a hand squeeze around yours and you offer a small, grateful smile to Lisa as she scoots a little closer to you. Yoongi is glancing your way too, but you ignore his observant gaze in favor of pretending to be listening to the tail-end of Jimin introducing his dancers.

Before you know it, he’s stepping off the stage and the lights are dimming, a solo dancer from one of his classes taking the stage. You actually don’t know very much about dance, nor do you know which types of dances there are, and your cousin hadn’t been entirely wrong in saying you’re not the best dancer. But one thing you’ve always loved is to watch other people dance.

Something about the way they embody the sounds, the music somehow becoming an extension of them as they move to the beat, rhythm and movements building in intensity the louder the music gets. There’s just something so free about it, something so beautiful, that even without knowing much about what they’re doing, you can’t help but be enraptured by it all.

And Jimin’s students don’t disappoint, not even when they come out to perform as a group. All of them move with so much passion, so much freedom, it makes something warm spread through your chest. And you can tell they truly love what they do, can tell how dedicated they are to their classes with how synchronized their movements are, with how unified they move as if one person is a mere extension of the other. It takes your breath away.

“Wow,” you mutter under your breath, and Namjoon sitting a few seats over from you nods.

“They’re amazing, right?” he breathes once they’re finished, all of you getting to your feet to scream and applaud.

Jimin retakes the stage with his students, broad grin stretching his pink lips, and bows before standing off to the side and holding his arms out for his dancers to take their bows. He waves his hand at the crowd, bowing one last time with a shouted “thank you” before they’re exiting the stage.

~*~*~

Your nerves about meeting up with Jimin afterwards return tenfold as soon as the showcase ends. Your stomach erupts with butterflies and you start to feel a little nauseous. You don’t particularly want to see him, but you also don’t want anyone aside from your friends to know what happened between the two of you. That is, if he hasn’t already bragged about it to all of them.

Granted, you figure at least one of them would have mentioned it by now if he had…

You sigh and hesitantly get to your feet, waiting with your friends until they all decide to start filing out into the lobby. It’s crowded, people pressing in from all angles to either leave or mingle. You clutch Lisa and Minji’s hands in an effort to not lose them in the chaos.

When you spot Jimin, you’re not at all surprised to find a crowd gathering around him to congratulate him on the showcase. You are a little surprised, however, to see a woman on his arm. She’s got long, dark black hair with purple streaks and a radiant smile that lights up her eyes. You wish you could say you don’t feel jealous at the way she’s hanging off him. You wish you could say you don’t feel just a smidge put-off by it.

But you do.

Your heart only sinks further when you hear a familiar voice behind you. You freeze, grip tightening on Lisa’s hand, who lets out a tired huff of disappointment as the three of you turn around to see Sunmi making her way out of the theater on Hoseok’s arm.

Hoseok, to his credit, flashes you a wavering smile as they approach, followed by Taehyung and Seokjin.

“Angel,” Hobi greets with a polite chirp, eyes moving between your friends. “Lisa, Minji! It’s good to see you again!”

Sunmi forces a smile. “Didn’t realize you were all invited too.” She glances around. “Where, exactly, is the man of the hour?”

Lisa rolls her eyes, jutting her thumb over her shoulder. “With his adoring fans.”

You all look in that direction and you purse your lips at the sight of the woman’s arm wrapped snugly around Jimin’s waist. Jimin is smiling his pearly smile, eyes creased with happiness as he chats with his students’ friends and family.

You sigh.

“Hmm,” Sunmi hums with a purse of her lips. “Looks like he’s moved on to his new flavor of the month.” Her gaze flicks to you, eyes moving down your form. “Did he finally get what he wanted or just get bored?”

Hoseok gasps and jerks away from her. “Sunmi!”

“What?” Sunmi asks innocently, glancing wide-eyed between everyone. “It’s not like it’s a secret that Park Jimin is only after one thing.” She sucks on her teeth and looks at her nails. “Believe me, if I can’t hold his attention, nobody can.”

You refrain from rolling your eyes, but as you glance Yoongi’s way, he’s rolling his eyes hard enough for the both of you.

“You’re not that interesting,” Lisa grumbles under her breath, and your hand flies to your mouth to hide your snort of laughter. Sunmi narrows her eyes at the pair of you and Lisa smirks, angling the two of you away to start up a conversation with Ivy and Mica.

By the time Jimin finally makes his way over to your group, the crowd has begun to dwindle down, most dancers and their families having left already. When he approaches, you’re a little shocked to see the woman on his arm is one of them.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Yoongi questions, arms crossed over his chest.

Jimin’s eyes dart to you, hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck, before he gives Yoongi a confused look. “Who?”

Yoongi lifts his eyebrows. “The girl that was just attached to your hip?”

Jimin glances over his shoulder, as if the woman would still be where they’d been standing, and clears his throat. “Oh, you mean Jiwan? She had plans.”

“Uh huh,” Yoongi grumbles, but doesn’t push the subject any further, instead glancing around the group. “Everyone ready to get drinks?”

“Hmm,” Sunmi hums. “As tempting as that is…” She eyes Jimin with a smirk. “I think I’m in the mood for something different tonight.”

Jimin visibly tenses beneath her gaze, jaw tightening as if readying himself for something. She giggles at his discomfort, coming forward to squeeze him in a hug. She mutters a congratulations before whispering something in his ear that makes his cheeks flush.

Jimin averts his gaze as she steps back. She hums, turning back to you with a satisfied smirk. “Not surprised.”

Your eyes widen as you watch her hug Yoongi and then say something about a man waiting for her call.

“I’ll see you around, Hobi,” she purrs, kissing him on the cheek. Casting you one last knowing grin, she brushes her hair over her shoulder and saunters away, leaving your group to stare after her in slight wonderment.

Maybe Sunmi really is getting tired of Park Jimin.

next

[percontaion-points]

Crush chapters 89-92

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 89

As I head for the door, I dread having to field Hudson’s snark in the middle of all this. But for once, he doesn’t make a sound.

Chapter 89 summary: Grace gets ready for the ceremony with Jaxon. Hudson is his usual charming self, and he gets into a heated argument with Grace about her not going to pick up the bloodstone. Meanwhile during all of that, Jaxon is kind of standing there, listening to whatever Grace says, and obviously unable to hear what Hudson says. 

Eventually, Jaxon says that there is another way, and that is to break the mating bond. Hudson doesn’t think that such a way exists, or else their mother would have left their father. But Jaxon says right after he realized that he’d been mated to Grace, he went to the bloodletter, who gave him a spell to sever it. But he threw it away when he got back, determined to at least talk to Grace so that they could work through these things. Grace is upset that he would have done something like that, and that he would even consider “breaking up” like that. 

Plot? What plot? Not in my 713 page novel. 

Chapter 90

As I head for the door, I dread having to field Hudson’s snark in the middle of all this. But for once, he doesn’t make a sound.

Chapter 90 summary: They go to the auditorium, where there’s too much faffing about. I’m done. 

Anyway, after the author finally remembers to get back to the fucking plot, they sit down and the doors are randomly locked. Cyril makes the winning team come up onto the stage, where the narration glosses over how they shake the hands of everybody else, but Cyril stops at Grace.

He then waxes poetically for way too long about her performance in the games. But then the chapter ends with him announcing that he’s basically going to force her to come to the vampire court with him. 

Chapter 91

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” I ask. 

Both Hudson and Jaxon reply at the same time. “Definitely.”

Chapter 91 summary: Cyril goes on to say that this is for Grace’s “protection”. But considering that Cyril was the one who exterminated the other gargoyles a thousand years earlier… I think that we all know that he’s full of it. 

Hudson instructs Grace to say that she challenges for inclusion, and how to demand that gargoyles will once again have a seat on the council. However, the test that she has to go to prove herself is basically the thing that eventually developed into the sport that they played the other day… but with more murder. And since it’s only allowed for couples, Jaxon is being dragged into this as well. But as Hudson says, it’s either that or wind up in daddy’s dungeon for a couple hundred years. 

Chapter 92

“Over my dead fucking body,” Jaxon replies, ice dripping from every word he bites out.

Chapter 92 summary: Back in his rooms, Jaxon and Grace get into a huge fight over this. The game that they have to play is the same one that they played the other day, but without any of the safety measures. People have died trying to challenge the leaders. 

Then everybody gets into an argument over how they’re going to go kill the “unkillable beast”. Hudson and Grace are having their own conversation about things, and Hudson admits that he wasn’t romantically involved with Lia. That he’d flirted with her a few days before he’d died, and he thinks that’s what sparked all of her insanity. 

Grace then says that they should do the removal without the unkillable beast part, but Jaxon is determined that if his brother must come back, then it will be without his powers. 

[sulphuryasecretcloset]

What if...10b

Okay, so this ‘epilogue’ became... a monster. I decided to split chapter 10 into two parts because it was already so big, and, uh, yeah, now I’m splitting 10b into three parts. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ENABLE ME, PEOPLE. Your lovely comments, your kind reblogs and support turned this from what was supposed to be no more than 4 chapters into 90 000 word ramble.

*ahem*

So part 10b is Dulcy POV, 10c is chaotic everyone POV, and then there will be a bonus part for someone who didn’t get to join Dulcy and Dav’s little family.

-

What if Dulsissia hadn’t died, what if she had grabbed Corin and fled? What if she met Davarax? What if…

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10a

Epilogue; Dulcy

“We’ll be back later, dad!” Corin exclaims from where he’s standing next to Din in the doorway, eager to call Davarax that at every occasion he can find.

Davarax nods and gives a light wave to the two teenagers about to step out of the house they have rented on this obscure, little planet and head into the nearby town. (Having picked up a bit of Motti credits makes things a lot easier.) “Duly noted, son.”

The slight smile on his face tells Dulsissia that Davarax is well aware of Corin’s need to constantly reaffirm their new relationship and indulges him with never-ending patience. But what she also notes is how Din hesitates half a second while Corin turns to leave and she sees there is hurt in his dark eyes as they linger on Davarax.

That evening, while Barthor wraps up his conversation with his father via the holo-communicator, Davarax holds Raga back until the boy is done and the line is free for her to call her parents.

Dulsissia glances after Barthor shuffling back towards their house, helmet held low and shoulders slumped. Just like during previous calls, his parents show close to no interest in their son and he is equally disappointed every time. “Dav?”

Davarax turns his attention away from Raga and over to Dulsissia. “Yeah?”

“Why don’t you adopt the others too? Like you did with Corin?” Her heart breaks every time she sees these children with sadness in their eyes and Davarax is the one who always brings smiles to their faces.

Sighing, Davarax leans against the door frame. “It’s not that easy…”

“Why not?”

“For one thing, Paz and Raga have their families. The Saxons are… unique, but they love her. And Dez, well, I hope that maybe he’ll come to his senses.” Davarax looks over at Barthor’s retreating shape as well. “Barthor… I might have to talk to him about it.”

Dulsissia frowns as he doesn’t mention the most obvious one of all; “What about Din?”

“Din…” Davarax looks down at the floor. He looks guilty. “I messed that up. Big time.”

“He’d forgive you in a heartbeat.” Dulsissia declares. “He worships you.”

“Maybe.” Davarax replies, not sounding convinced. “But I don’t deserve his forgiveness. And after what he’s been through, I think Din needs to be allowed to hold on to his roots before another adult tries to pressure their identity on him.”

What that boy needs is a father, Dulsissia thinks, but before she can voice her thoughts she’s distracted by someone shouting. Looking over, she sees Raga’s mother in the holo-projector screaming at someone out of sight before turning back to focus on her daughter again.

“What was that, Raga? You said something about how many push ups? You’re up to what now?”

“Fifty-”

“PUT THAT DOWN!” Raga’s mother bellows to her right and then makes a frustrated grunt and reaches out to grab someone. “Here. Talk to your brother. I have to murder your other two brothers for a bit.” She steps away and a smaller Mandalorian with a green helmet takes her place.

“Raga. Still ugly I see. You really should have kept the helmet on.”

“Sioben. Still a moron, I hear. I was kind of hoping dad had followed through on his threat to dropkick you into space.” Raga counters. “Paz taught me some new tricks. I’m going to kick your ass when I see you again.”

Sioben shakes his head. “I don’t know why he puts up with you. He could have anyone he wants, he’s a huge badass ‘and’ a Vizla. I can’t think of a single reason why he lets you stick around.”

“Don’t hurt your brain trying to think.” Raga snarls.

“At least I have a brain. Unlike you.” Sioben fires back.

A hand appears and smacks into Sioben’s helmet and he goes toppling out of sight and Raga’s mother appears again. “Listen, I have to go. I’m a bit busy here. Say hi to Davarax from me. Be careful out there, Raga. Byebye.” The woman’s holo-image dissolves and she’s gone.

When Raga walks out of the room, Dulsissia reaches out and touches her shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“What for?” Raga asks with a huge grin. “Didn’t you hear that? She didn’t yell at me once!”

Dulsissia looks over at Davarax with a look of slight belief while the girl walks away, humming happily and he can only offer a weak shrug in return.

-

And on the subject of Paz and Raga...

While there are still sides to the Mandalorian culture that are still a mystery to her, Dulsissia remembers more than enough about what it was like to be a human a teenager to see what is happening there.

The two have been drawn together as friends since they were small children, as far as Dulsissia understands. They always gravitate towards each other. If you see one, odds are good that the other is nearby or about to appear. And Dulsissia feels both compassion and amusement as she sees the growing awkwardness as a different kind of attraction between them starts to enter the picture.

Dulsissia tries to hide her laughter when she sees Raga pretending to need a water break but only so she can let her gaze roam all over Paz as he continues his intense training next to her. Raga has always been climbing him like a jungle gym, but these days it brings a flush to her cheeks when he holds her close or play-wrestle with her, and Raga even smiles in her sleep the times she drowses off with her head resting on his chest. It’s a shame she seems unable to voice what she feels.

This leads to the seething anger in Raga’s eyes when Paz mindlessly flirt with the local girls and basks in their attention. An anger which causes her to pick fights with Din and the others, violent fights that always ends badly for at least one of them and Davarax has to patch them up while trying to calm Raga down.

At the same time, with a stealth worthy of admiration, Paz’ gaze discretely seeks out Raga with an interest and longing he doesn’t show any of the local girls desperately trying to hold his attention. His attention trail along her curves, he flushes at glimpses of her skin and it is kind of cute how he’s only happy if Raga is happy.

Unfortunately Paz seems too insecure, which is absurd, to actually show how her how he feels.

His temper is as bad as Raga’s, though, which causes Paz to one day actually punch a hole in a wall. He flat out refuses to explain why he’d done it, even when Davarax wraps up his bleeding hand and asks in a frustrated voice what is going on with him, but Dulsissia accidentally overheard earlier when Raga agreed to go out on a date with a suitor of her own and suspects that is why.

“I’m going to help them.” Dulsissia declares one morning after Raga had managed to draw both Din and Corin into a vicious brawl the previous evening, just after Paz had gone out to meet some girl.

Davarax grunts, half-asleep on his stomach with his face partly burrowed into the pillow. “They’ll figure it out eventually.”

She sends him, or his back to be more precise, a dry glance. “Are you kidding me? Those two? If someone doesn’t help them along, it’ll take yeeaars.”

Davarax snorts a laugh. “At your own peril, cyare.”

Dulsissia thinks about all her excellent work as a matchmaker back on Seswenna. That included family ranks, politics and enough credits to buy a minor planet. These are two teenagers. She’s got this.

It’s a delicate mission. First Dulsissia establishes through a little research that there is absolutely no doubt that these two feel the same and are just too emotionally constipated to do something about it, then she goes to work on them separately. Hints, questions and light nudges.

It takes a surprisingly short time for them to admit to her what she already knows, but neither is willing to make the first move.

“Why not go for it?” Dulsissia eventually asks..

“I don’t think he/she thinks of me that way…” Raga/Paz replies. Her face bright red as she half-heartedly trains defensive moves with Dulsissia one sun-soaked day. Him with quiet sadness when Dulsissia delivers some clean laundry to his room one evening.

“I think you’d be surprised.” Dulsissia teases and winks.

After that, they become a little braver. Instead of just friendly bickering, Raga and Paz both add a little intent and teasing to their interactions, and that eventually develop into outright flirting.

During training Davarax sends Dulsissia a dry look when Paz, instead of following through with his attack, merely keeps his hands against the wall, fencing in the grinning and uncharacteristically passive Raga and hovers there with a slight smirk of his own. Davarax rolls his eyes when Raga, after flipping Paz over and have him land on his back, simply straddles his stomach and pretends to hold him down with her hands on his shoulders instead of following through with her attack and Paz, also uncharacteristically passive, looks like he’s enjoying himself more than anything else.

Dulsissia regrets nothing.

-

Barthor is in heavy denial, Din wrinkles his nose and Corin is incredibly oblivious as Paz and Raga keep inching their way closer to what they both dream about having. They push things as far as they can go and then some, before one of them finally dares to cross the line...

Sitting next to each other on the stairs behind the big battle arena, Paz and Raga had decided to sneak outside the building instead of staying with the others to watch the final game. Usually they both live and breathe for such big fights, but for some reason it seemed more tempting to sneak off like this.

They sit in this dark back-alley, her shoulder bumping lightly against his upper arm, talking.

It’s silly. They see each other every day, they talk every day, and yet they struggle to look at the other right now. Words tumble a little awkwardly. Hearts thump hard.

Then there is a huge cheer from the crowd inside the arena and Paz looks over at Raga. She looks back over at him, and after a moment of hesitation, he cautiously leans towards her.

Raga’s eyes light up. Oh. But just as she lifts her chin a little to meet him, giving him an unspoken invite, Paz abruptly loses his courage and quickly withdraws to stare down at the ground again.

Raga exhales, disappointed. Suddenly her eyes flare with angry annoyance and she thumps her shoulder against his arm, and when he looks at her, she quickly leans over and presses a brief, hard kiss to his lips. After that, she’s the one to turn to stare at the ground while heat burns in her face.

Stunned, Paz stares at her. He stares for what feels like a small eternity, then he slowly reaches out his hand, touches by her jawline and eases her into facing him again. And that is when he finally has the courage to lean over, his fingers still resting on her skin, and ever so softly touches his lips to hers.

It’s a gentle, trying thing. Raga draws a shivering breath, her lips trembling a little as well but soon they move to meet his as he cautiously coaxes a response from her.

After a little while, Paz pulls back and scans her face for her response.

Raga grins.

That makes him smile as well.

-

Dulsissia is obnoxiously pleased. Declaring herself the matchmaking champion.

Davarax only regrets not stopping her when stolen kisses in secret between the two becomes public make-out sessions. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have minded if had taken yeeeaars before he had to see that.

But he draws the line of having to watch it in their house. Entering the living room and finding them at it again, Davarax kicks at the sofa, making them jump apart. “Tongues in separate mouths when I’m around. Not negotiable.”

Paz flushes deep red. Raga glares.

And Dulsissia wonders who she can match up next...

-

While Dulsissia’s stop on Seswenna had resulted in them having a nice amount of credits to use on their family, Davarax knows they won’t last forever and he’s too used to support his family to stop, so he takes on the occasional job. And it’s easier now than before Dulsissia came into his life.

It’s strange not be be constantly exhausted. It’s even stranger not to have nightmares any more but wake up in the mornings with a sigh of satisfaction or even a smile on his face.

His favourite jobs are the ones where Dulsissia joins him. She’s come far from the helpless beauty he’d met what feels like a lifetime ago. Now she’s a deadly beauty. And the sight of her in Mandalorian armor is the best bonus he’s ever gotten on a job.

This is an easy contract. Just head up to a damaged cargo ship floating just above the planet, pick up the shipment and bring it to the owner on the surface. It’s the rumours of pirates in the area that makes them want to hire a couple of Mandalorians.

The ship is where it’s supposed to be, there are no signs of pirates, and Davarax does the mistake of thinking this mission will go without a hitch. He and Dulsissia board the ship and walk towards the cargo hold to secure their target.

It is years of experience combined with quick reflexes that saves Davarax’ life when something drops from the ceiling in the hallway. He jolts backwards and sparks fly as something sharp slides across his breastplate. Davarax tries to lift his blaster to fire at his attacker, but a boot kicks his arm and the shot goes wide.

It becomes a wild dance of attacks launched at him, sparks flying again and again when his armor takes the brunt, and he frantically back-pedals to stay alive. A streak of yellow spins in front of him and Davarax gets his arm up just in time for the vibro blade to impale it instead of his throat. The pain rages through him and instinct makes Davarax turn to the best weapon he has in such a close encounter; a harsh kov’nyn.

His opponent collapses while he stumbles backwards and clutches his arm. The blade is still vibrating and sending waves of agony through him while tearing more of his flesh. He yanks it out, fighting back the intense urge to scream with pain, unable to respond right away despite hearing Dulsissia calling out his name in fear.

Once his eyes clears again, Davarax realizes Dulsissia is by his side and trying to make him let her look at his arm and he sees the crumpled shape on the floor.

A skinny Twi’lek youth around Raga’s age. Her skin under layers of dirt looks to be pale yellow, her clothes are rags and even unconscious she looks angry.

Well, that was unexpected.

“She’s just a kid.” Dulsissia whispers with quiet disbelief, wrapping his arm.

“I was too busy trying to keep her from cutting my throat to notice.” Davarax rumbles, twitching slightly when Dulsissia tightens the bandage. His heart softens. “I wonder what her story is...”

Her name is Zev’sonya and she’s anything but friendly. Sure, his own kids have a habit of baring their teeth every once in a while, even at him, but this one? She’s outright hostile and extremely dangerous. And while his kids’ trust in others has been severely damaged, hers is non-existent. Whatever her story might be, she’s not telling them anything beyond her being on her own.

Davarax has absolutely no idea how Dulsissia manages to persuade the girl to come with them.

It takes over a standard week to make her stop trying to kill and rob them. A lot longer for her to actually trust them, especially Davarax.

-

Zev’sonya and Raga end up in a fist-fight two minutes after the initial introduction. Paz watches her with some cautiousness but he’s not unfriendly. Barthor avoids her like the plague. Corin is terrified of her and claims she keeps stealing the blades in the house. (Dulsissia knows he’s right as she keeps retrieving them from the twi’lek’s room.)

The only one she instantly connects with is Din, who seems to share her way of communicating in as few words as possible and have no fear of her scowls.

-

They renew their rent on the house and Davarax recruits Din to help build a couple of sheds and do some repairs on it.

After a scorchingly hot day, emerging from the refresher room, Dulsissia saunters over to the big bed in their room where Davarax is reading something on his datapad. She crawls into the bed and rolls over to face him with a dramatic sigh. “Dav? Cyare?”

“Mmh?” He replies, not looking up from his datapad.

“I’m hungry…”

Davarax lowers the datapad and reaches out to run his hand gently over her hair. “What are you in the mood for?”

“There’s leftovers from dinner...”

She rarely asks him to bring her things because she knows he will stop whatever he’s doing and get it and she doesn’t want to abuse that kindness. But this is a special occasion. After he’s padded out of the room, she slides the medical scanner out of her pocket and places it on his side of the bed.

A few minutes later, Davarax comes back with two plates. “Food for my love. And I brought some sweets for dessert too. Might as well make it a proper meal when we’re dining in bed.” He hands her one of the plates with flourish.

She leans up and gives him a kiss, which he is very pleased to accept, and waits as he circles the bed to get in on his side.

Davarax frowns a little when he sees something in his way, reaches down and picks it up so he can settle in his spot again. “This yours?” He holds it out to her.

Sighing, Dulsissia fails to hold back a smile. “Look at it.”

He studies the device but the numbers on the screen doesn’t make sense to him. Davarax glances over at her again, now a little worried. “A medical scanner? You’re not sick, are you?”

She shakes her head, losing the battle against a bubbling laugh. “No. Look at it, silly.”

Davarax looks again. “I’m looking, but what am I supposed to…” Finally the information on the screen makes sense to him and what it means. His gaze snaps back at her. The plate in his other hand is completely forgotten. “Y-you’re…? Are you…?”

Taking a bite of her food, Dulsissia nods and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “I’m pregnant.” It’s almost funny how happy she is with this fact. After Corin was born, the mere thought of having another baby offended Dulsissia after she had come to realize that was the only reason why Macero wanted her. But that was in the past. Things are so very different now.

Davarax nearly drops his plate, only his quick reflexes prevents him from spilling it all over the bed. He cautiously, but as quickly as possible, places his plate on the night-stand so he can hold on to the medical scanner with both hands, reading the information once again. “You… You’re sure?”

“You’re looking at the evidence, mister. I scanned ten minutes ago.” She takes another bite, endlessly amused by the whirlwind of emotions visibly rushing through him. He keeps wobbling back and forth between intense happiness, paralysing fear and blind excitement. It is so painfully sweet to see how much he wants this. “Breathe, baby.” Dulsissia advices.

Davarax gulps down some air, then puts the scanner aside and turns all of his focus on her. “Are… are you okay? Do you need me to do anything? What do I do?”

Laughing a little, even more charmed by him being so uncharacteristically clumsy and helpless, Dulsissia glances over at him. “I thought Mandalorians were experts on children. They didn’t teach you about how this is going to work?”

Davarax hesitates and then he reaches out and touches her hand. “Sort of, but all I care about is what you need me to do. Weapons and flowers, remember?”

Dulsissia feels the usual wave of warmth and adoration when Davarax is his sweet self and she curls her fingers around his. “I remember. And we’ll work this out as well.”

That seems to reassure him and his shoulders relaxes a little. Enough so that she lets go of his hand and goes back to eating. Maybe it is just knowing she’s pregnant again that makes her so hungry, but at least it is a very valid excuse to indulge.

Davarax is silent. Too silent.

After a while, Dulsissia has to laugh again as she realizes what he’s doing. He’s staring at her stomach. “There is nothing noticeable going on there quite yet. It’s too early. You’re going to have to be patient for a while before things get exciting for you.”

Davarax gives a tiny shake of his head. “This is already one of the most exciting things I’ve ever been a part of.” He looks like he’s about to say something more but loses courage.

“What?” Dulsissia asks, taking another bite of her food.

“Can I…?” He lifts his hand a little in a mute request.

Stars above, she loves this man more than she thought was possible. Dulsissia lets out a soft laugh. “There’s nothing much to feel right now, like I said, but… if you want to, go ahead.”

Davarax inches closer, reaches out further and cautiously places his hand on her stomach, below her bellybutton. His hand is warm and so very careful and lingers there for a while. “Hey, you…” Davarax eventually says in a quiet voice, a little strained with emotion. “Welcome to the family.”

Dulsissia doesn’t make a sound as the first tears trail from her eyes, overwhelmed by how right this feels, how much she loves him and their unborn child and their beautiful family. This time, she knows, this time everything will be perfect.

-

When Dulsissia tells him, Corin is incredibly excited to become a big brother. Paz declares he’s mighty pleased their clan is growing, sounding like the adult he now looks like despite still not having enough years on his back to deserve that title in Dulsissia’s eyes, and the other Mandalorian youngsters eagerly agree with him. Davarax looks a little awkward when they start talking about how they can create a Covert of their own at the pace their clan is growing.

Half an eternity later, when the evening comes where she feels the first barely noticeable change, Dulsissia calls Davarax over and slides his hand over her stomach. She feels him shiver and he looks at her with breathless awe. She has to laugh and then kisses that look off his face.

A little over six standard weeks after that, Davarax feels the first curving before she notices herself, on a sleepy morning when he, as usual, runs his hand over her stomach.

Corin and the other boys hover near her with innocent curiosity and watch the development with bright fascination, while Raga and Zev’sonya stay a little more in the back and observe with cautious interest.

When Dulsissia really starts showing, that is the point where Davarax’ self-control starts slipping. He has tried his hardest to act normal, yet now he becomes downright clingy. Others might have gotten a bit annoyed with the man’s behaviour, but Dulsissia knows the sadness of going through this with someone who doesn’t care, who can’t even bother to be there, so she happily suffers through his tactile presence.

Dulsissia even has to hide tears one evening when he inches close, runs his hand over her stomach yet again and softly hums a Mandalorian lullaby to their restless child.

Then she gets even bigger and Dulsissia realizes she’d forgotten this part. She gets grouchy, her feet aches, her back aches, everything aches, she has to pee all the time, she can barely get up if she does the mistake of sitting down, she can’t sleep like she wants to, and Dulsissia decides the thought of delivering the child isn’t all that bad if she can just get back to normal, please!

It is all worth it when the time comes after seven hours of hard work and sweet, sweet pain killers, and Dulsissia gets to meet her daughter as she’s placed in her arms.

She is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way and so very, very loved!

Looking up at Davarax by her side, Dulsissia is both crying and laughing at once. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Davarax, pale as a sheet, nods with a look of awe on his face.

Allowing herself another moment of holding their child, admiring her, kissing her, Dulsissia makes herself look up at Davarax again. “You want to hold her?”

To her surprise, he hesitates and looks like he’s about to take a step away. Catching himself, Davarax remains where he is and tries to remember how to speak. “I… Are you sure?”

Laughing a little, Dulsissia is far too exhausted to untangle the mystery of his mind at the moment. “Of course I’m sure. She’s your daughter too.”

“It’s just…” Davarax reaches out a cautious hand only to withdraw it before he can actually touch the wailing baby. “I don’t know how. I mean, I don’t want to hurt her. I-I’ve never held a baby before. She’s so tiny, Dulcy.”

“She’s tougher than you think.” Dulsissia replies, then turns a little to make it easier for him to pick up the baby. “Support her head, careful with the neck, like that, yeah… Perfect.” She leans back, exhausted and strangely enough a bit hungry, but for the time being she is satisfied to just take in the sight of her husband and their child connecting.

“Hello, ik’aad.” Davarax looks nervous, awkward and absolutely devastated by the intense adoration he feels for the still screaming bundle in his arms. The baby really do look tiny in his embrace, fragile even, but that doesn’t prevent her from aimlessly raising her tiny fist in what looks to be a threat.

Mandokarla from the birth.

Dulsissia sees how tears well up in Davarax’ eyes and he leans down to place a feather-light kiss on the baby’s head.

-

Corin is staring wide-eyed at the baby and eagerly reaches out when his mother eases her over into his arms.

“Say hello to your new sister.” Dulsissia says in a quiet voice, hoping not to wake the sleeping baby.

Din hovers over Corin’s right shoulder and reaches out to ever so gently run his fingers over the dark tufts of hair on her head. “She’s cute.”

“So tiny…” Paz observes, hovering over Corin’s left shoulder, sounding a bit worried.

“She’ll get bigger, idiot.” Barthor mutters, tilting his helmet as he studies the baby too.

“Are… are you okay?” Raga asks Dulsissia while the boys block the view to the new arrival.

Smiling, reaching out a hand and curling her fingers around Raga’s when she takes it, Dulsissia gives her a reassuring nod. “I’m fine, baby. Corin gave me a lot more trouble than this one.”

Corin blinks and looks up to focus on her for a moment. “I did?”

Dulsissia nods. “Yeah, you were not inclined to come out to greet the world. It took over two days to persuade you.”

“Two days?” Raga blurts out, with no small amount of horror.

“It sounds worse than it was.” Dulsissia reassures her. “Without the pain meds I’m sure it would have been a nightmare, but with them, it’s mostly just uncomfortable and boring.”

“Two days and you still decided to have another child?” Davarax asks from where he is hovering in the background.

“Well, yeah.” Dulsissia shrugs. The amount of joy her son has given her was well worth it. And without him she would never have broken free from her golden cage, so, no, she had not hesitated to do it all over again. Her daughter is already worth it too. “Zev. Baby. Come say hello. Don’t just hide over there.” She waves the Twi’lek over and fails to see everyone there stare at her with the kind of awe saved for the most impressive of Mandalorian warriors.

They call the baby Nemi.

[hello-nichya-here]

Zucest - Is It Really Flirting?

(Originally posted on AO3 as chapter 43 of Defending and Analysing Zucest)

@azdaema-does-art asked: So I think a big stumbling block for me with this ship is that I very much adhere to the reading of the show that holds:

Quasi-Seducer!Azula (as seen virtually anytime) and Quasi-Seducer!Zuko (as seen in "The Waterbending Scroll") are not actually expressions of desire from them. Rather, this is Zuko and Azula trying to be intimidating by modeling their behavior off their father (circling, personal-space-invading, low seductive tones, etc)

When actually trying to flirt neither Zuko nor Azula acts anything like that. When Zuko goes on that date with a girl in the Earth Kingdom, or Azula flirting with that guy on Ember Island, they're both awkward disasters.

I'd be curious to hear you address this. (Or point me to some awkward disaster!zucest fanfic.)

***

That is a really good point and I'm glad you brought it up. While I understand that reading of the show, I disagree with it slightly for a few reasons (beyond my own bias).

Need to be in control: No one can argue against the fact that neither Zuko nor Azula know how to have "normal", healthy relationships with others, mainly due to how unequal 99% of the relationships in the Fire Nation are since imposing your own will over someone else's has become part of their culture. Both Zuko and Azula accepted being treated like mere tools/punching bags by their father, Zuko was constantly insulting Iroh over the smallest things and Azula full on threatened Ty Lee's life to make her join her on her chase after her brother and the Avatar - both were scenarios where desire wasn't a factor at all (thought I know many fans that would like to think otherwise XD)

However, during The Beach, we saw how both of them try (and fail) to deal with romance. Zuko was extremelly paranoid that Mai was interested in another guy, for no real reason, and was constantly trying to intimidate her into either admiting to it or into saying she disliked the guy, even though she had clearly said she was completely indifferent to him. And Azula, after her kiss with Chan, decided, on her own and not giving a damn about his feelings on the matter, that not only would they be officially a couple, but that they'd dominate the earth together. Control is, more often than not, a major factor in all of their actions and relationships, so Azula wanting to intimidate Zuko in the bedroom scene (which she very much tried to do and succeeded at) doesn't automatically rule out the possibility of atraction.

Mixed feelings: While "I wanna fight/kill my sibling" is sort of these two default state, there are moments that show that they do have at least some positive feelings for each other. Zuko doesn't give a shit that Aang is going to kill Ozai, but seeing Azula falling "to her death" and then chained up and defeated after their Agni Kai quite clearly made him emotional, even if he tried to control himself. Azula's positive feelings for Zuko are so obvious I had to do an in length discussion of it in chapter 12 "Is Zucest just about sex?" Combine all of the conflicting emotions they have for each other with their need to control the other, and some scenes end up getting some connotations the writers weren't planning them to have... supposedly (I'll get into that in a bit)

Awareness and familiarity: Don't get me wrong, Zuko and Azula are two extremelly traumatized, socially awkward teenagers who have no idea how to flirt (or how to fit in with people their age) but we also need to take context into consideration, especiall when it comes to Zuko's date with Jin and Azula's interactions with Chan.

In Ba Sing Se, Zuko was outside of his comfort zone, away from home, in enemy territory, and so paranoid that he assumed Jin came into the tea shop so often because she knew they were Fire Nation, not because she had a crush on him or simply enjoyed their tea. And while he liked her and the date was nice, Zuko was very "stiff" and even looked a bit uncomfortable (not to say very uncomfortable) at some points - which is oddly simmilar to how he was acting during the bedroom scene (hell, Azula was quite clearly looking at him just like Jin did, as I pointed out in "The most important parallel in Avatar"). Finally, we cannot forget that, even though he was awkward as fuck during 90% of the night, Zuko did manage to do something kinda romantic by lighting up the place, meaning he isn't completely oblivious to the concept of flirting (which is proved by his relationship with Mai).

Now, when it comes to Azula, the poor girl has almost no idea how to flirt. Almost. Talking about Chan's sharp outfit shows she's got some of the basis down, like "say something nice" - the problem is that her concept of "nice" is very different than that of most people. She did sort of know what to do once Ty Lee gave her some tips... but she quickly reversed back to her regular ways - which once again shows that flirting/seduction has an element of control and intimidation for her. She probably doesn't always mean to act in ways that could be considered flirty, but that doesn't mean she is completely oblivious to the implications of, let's say, invading her brother's personal space and talking to him in a low tone while wearing nothing but a robe.

And since I mentioned Azula going back to what she knows, that leads us to another thing to take into account: the fact that Zuko and Azula quite literally knew each other their whole lives - meaning if they were to ever flirt with each other, it would probably look at least somewhat different than when they were out of their element. Azula was the one in control, so she was far more comfortable and confident than she had been with Chan, and Zuko was the one being intimidated, which explains why he kept his guard up. Once again, that "theory" is sort of confirmed if we compare how Zuko acted while flirting with Mai on The Headband versus how he tried to interact with her in The Beach - when he used a non-traditional, but very Mai-esque "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" he got her equivalent of an "I love you" when she told him she didn't hate him, but he tried to do more "normal" things like getting her a pretty shell it blew up on his face. He knows Mai since they were both kids, meaning he usually knows how to deal with her, just like Azula usually knows how to deal with him.  

Intensity: While a lot of Azula's behavior can be explained by her copying Ozai, we need to remember that there's only so much he could affect, especially since her way of "intimidating" Zuko was far more touchy and incestuous than his, and lasted a lot longer. Azula gets close to people when she's intimidating them (see how she toyed with Aang in The Drill), but not as close as she did with her brother. The sole exception to that being Sokka on The Day Of Black Sun - but that is on somewhat shaky ground despite the accidental sexual tension since the first time she got close to him she was being launched by the Dai Li and he just happened to be standing a little bellow the direction she was launched at, and the second time had him pinning her to the wall (which is in character since Sokka usually goes straight at his foes to intimidate them while fighting), and as soon as she had her firebending back she pushed him away. On top of that, she was trying to distract him, Aang and Toph, meaning he wasn't her focus at all, and she ignored him on all the other times their groups were facing each other.

With Zuko on the other hand, she was going full force, like I said on my analysis of the bedroom scene. She played coy, stared at him in a very intense, weird way, circled the pillar on her bed, stretched in front of him, got on his personal space touching his shoulder and chest, and bit her lip while talking basically purring her words. That is all a bit too much for me to believe it was just about intimidation. And the touching gets even more suspicious when you notice Azula does enjoy and is willing to give physical affection - she hugged both Mai and Ty Lee after seeing them again, pulled Ty Lee close while conforting her and apologizing for her harsh words at The Beach... and put her hand on Zuko's shoulder while saying he restored his own honor to reassure him after he was feeling bad for betraying his uncle.

Intention of the actors/writers/animators: Avatar is no stranger to parallels. It also isn't a stranger to adult themes/jokes, fanservice, and ship teasing. For instance, even thought they didn't end up together and were never canonically interested in each other, there was A LOT of hints/teases of Zutara - dude fucking took lightining to the heart for her.

Just like the writers and producers were aware of Zutara, Tokka and many, many other ships, they were also aware of Zucest and even jokingly shipped Azula and The Blue Spirit at a panel. The animators habit of sexualizing the characters speaks for itself, so I won't even go into that. Finally, Grey Delisle, Azula's voice actress is a Zucest shiper, has brought it up many times, asked people to send her fanart and fanfic of it, created the phrase "Zucest is best cest", and has full on said she voiced the scene as if Azula was trying to seduce Zuko,  - which regardless of whether or not the writers intended for the character to be doing, means that there is a very strong incest subtext to the scene and that, in a weird way, "Azula" herself confirmed her motives to act the way she did.

[weregonnaneedmorewhiskey]

Covet

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapter 5: “San Francisco Nights”

Let me know if you want to be tagged for future chapters :)

Warning: Strong Language

Songs for this chapter:

Westside- Ariana Grande

Loooooove Song- Rihanna ft Future

April 9th- 8:30pm

Karla

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again. I’m on a date with this guy again. Why did I let Adrienne convince me to go?! Maybe I should just get a cab and go home and he’ll never know I showed up to the hotel. What am I saying?! Of course he’ll find out, this guy found out which building I live in and paid my rent. Let me just go to the front desk and find out if he’s in his room”

Walking into the lobby of the hotel, I take a close look at the marble floors and bask in the beauty of my surroundings. If the Miami pool party felt like something out of a music video, then walking into the St Regis felt like I had just walked into a scene from Ocean’s 11.

“Welcome to the St Regis, how can help you?” The upbeat receptionist greets me. His name tag says his name is Edward. Looks middle aged and has a few greys hairs in his dark hair.

“Hi, I’m meeting someone at this hotel and could you let them know I have arrived and waiting for them in the lobby?” I ask him

“Sure. What’s the name of the guest?” He asks.

“James Brookes”

“And your name Miss? So I can let him know who’s waiting?” Edward informs me.

“Karla” Maybe I should have said my last name too. Oh who I am kidding, he’s gonna know it’s me, he’s the one that wanted to see me in the first place.

I take a quick look in the mirror whilst Edward the receptionist makes a call to his room. There I was. Slick back ponytail, black satin shirt slightly opened, leather pants and some strappy heels. Not exactly an outfit I’d typically wear but Adrienne decided to chose my outfit for tonight.

“Yes good evening Mr Brookes, I am just calling your room to inform you that Miss Karla is waiting for you in the lobby. Ok then. You’re welcome” Edward ends his brief phone call.

Suddenly, a bunch of butterflies enter my stomach and I feel...nervous. It’s not like I really liked James that much. Sure, he was attractive and intelligent but I don’t know if I’m interested in that way. Also that rent thing I still think is super weird.

“Karla” There it was once again, that baritone voice. The first thing I notice was the bed of curls on his head. In comparison to his slick back look in Miami, the curls made him look slightly younger, more boyish. The blazer, crisp white button down shirt dress pants and Louboutin loafers made him look like a GQ model.

“Hi James, so where are we going” I ask him

“Well there’s a pretty nice bar here so I was thinking we could stay in the hotel?” He suggests.

As soon as I heard the words “stay in the hotel” I immediately raise an eyebrow. Does he think he can fly out here just to fuck me?!

“I’m not trying to get your in bed, I just want to get a drink and enjoy your company” He breaks my train of thoughts. It’s almost like he knew what I was thinking. He goes to link his arms in mine and we walk towards the hotel bar.

“Well then, I’m assuming you’re paying for drinks since you have no problem paying several months of a woman you slept with once’s rent” I joke

“You’d be correct to assume correctly. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are finding San Francisco?” I ask him

“Good, I think it’s gonna get better though” He says. We find a couple seats at the bar and I couldn’t help but notice that his dress pants was well tailored especially around his ass but I’m looking respectfully.

“Well...aren’t you optimistic? I’ll have a glass of some very expensive merlot since you’re paying” Normally I wouldn't be so bold but fuck it, let me have some fun.

“Great. I'll order a bottle so I can have the same. How you been?” He asks and he actually sounds like he’s interested.

“I’ve been good actually. I didn't have a seminar today so I just sent out a few applications to some galleries. Thought I'd get a head-start on the job front you know?” 

A woman walks towards our table and I'm assuming she’s the waitress due to her all black uniform and apron or she just likes to dress like that.

“What can I get you two tonight?” She asks. She eyes Wyatt up and down like a predator eyes its prey and bats her lashes. How cliche. Might as well ask him if he’d like his dick sucked too. 

“Yes, I'd like a bottle of your most expensive merlot please” He barely looks at her and I can tell she’s bothered by that but instead she maintains her perky attitude and says...

“Fabolous, I'll be right back with that, Sir”. As she walks away, she sends a wink in his direction but still, he doesn’t look to catch this. Maybe he does like me...or just doesn’t care for that waitress.

“Which galleries are you looking to work at?” Once again, James baritone voice interrupts my inner monologue.

“Different studios. Some in the Bay Area, some in LA, some in New York, some in Atlanta. I don't like limiting my options. I want as many as I can get” I explain. 

“I have a couple art buyer friends that are looking for assistants if you're wanting to further expand your options” Once again, he just says that oh so casually like it’s normal.

“Is there anyone you don't know James or is that just the life of working in marketing?” 

“What can I say, Karla? I'm a sociable person. That’s all. I like making friends” He explains. I guess with a job like his, you would have to be a social person...or at least persuasive.

“Here is your bottle Sir. That will be $180. Would like to pay cash or card?” The perky waitress returns, still trying to flirt.

“Just charge it to my room. I'm staying in room 520″

“Will do, Sir” The perky facade melts away and you can see her disappointment that he still didn't notice her. 

He opens the bottle and pour two glasses with a concentrated expression on his face, tilting the glass at a 90 degree angle.

“For you. Here’s to...” He passes the glass to me. 

“Making new friends” I finish the sentence. 

Clinking our glasses, I take a sip of the merlot. I let the fruity taste dance on my tongue and reunite with that familiar burn in my veins that clouds my judgement. 

“So how long are you in town again?” I ask him

“Four days” He reminds me.

“There’s an opening at this gallery I did an internship at. I’m going to it tomorrow night” 

A smirk comes across his face upon hearing this information. “Are you asking me on a date?”

I shouldn't find that smirk sexy but I can't help. He's not even trying. Not that he has to try.

“Yes” On our first date, he very much had the power and tonight, the power was mine.

“What time?” 

Author’s Note: Ok, I’m the worst when it comes to update but writing this chapter got me so excited for where this story goes. Please let me know in the comments, DM or an Ask if you want to be tagged in future chapters

Taglist: @laketaj24 @emjayewrites