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deewithani · 3 years ago

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Baby in the Palace

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Boba Fett x F!Reader

Word count: Approx. 1.4k

Warnings: Established relationship, pregnancy, childbirth, mention of sexual intercourse

A/N: Inspired by my friends in the Boba Fett chat. Fluffy slice of life fic.

“Congratulations, Sir. She has given birth to a healthy baby girl.”

Boba wasn't paying attention. The Kingpin of Tatooine was lost in thought, scared and unsure, but he wouldn't admit that sort of weakness to anyone. If anyone came into your private quarters at this very moment, they would see the Kingpin, the man who all feared and all respected. But no one would be coming, not right now anyway, not if they were smart. This was a private affair, and everyone knew it, so you would be left alone. Boba could let his guard down, just a bit, but he was wound up tighter than a coil.

“Sir?"

The medical droid's words finally pulled Boba from his thoughts. His mind had drifted to his own father, of Jango, taken from him so many years before. Bounty hunting was a deadly business, one Boba knew first hand, but it was also his father's trade, what he was trained in, and what he passed down to Boba. He listened to Jango's lessons, trained, learned, and worked as hard as he could to make him proud.

He hoped he was proud of him now.

Boba sat at your bedside for hours, the entirety of your labor, while Fennec took care of his business in the throne room. Just because he wasn't giving orders from his throne didn't mean he wasn't still in charge, though. Orders went out to any droid, staff member, or guest who was unlucky enough to be passing in earshot of your room. Everything from making sure your favorite reading nook was comfortable, to keeping fresh, cold water coming to your room in regular intervals, to double-checking that everything the baby would need was gathered, put together, or on its way to the palace. Excitement was bubbling over.

He had it in his power to give his family the life and comfort that he had never had himself, and he was going to make sure that it was done.

His family.

Family.

Ten fingers, ten toes, and a head full of curly black hair, laid out on her mother's chest. Perfect, and more than Boba could have ever imagined having in his life. He had long believed that he would never have a family, that his only family, his father, was gone, and all that was left was drifting around the galaxy for work, and surviving. That changed the day you came to the palace, stomping mad because some bounty hunters under his employ had made a mess of your stall while chasing after a target in Mos Eisley. They refused to make it right, so you were going to go to the boss himself, and come hell or a sand storm, your stall would be fixed.

Boba was impressed. Few dared to stand toe to toe with him before, and now that he ruled Tatooine? He was more likely to see a two-headed rancor than to see someone stand their ground against him. He fixed your stall, and started having his staff buy some of his supplies from you as recompense. He started visiting himself, on occasions he could get away from his duty, to see how his spunky reseller was doing.

He fell hard, and quick, and you did as well. He was tough, and set in his ways, but you saw a kindness from him that others didn't see or care to notice. He paid a premium for the parts and supplies that he would order from you, much more than what they were worth, but he insisted. Having extra money gave you more free time, so you filled it with volunteering at the school.

Your time went similarly once you had moved. Cleaning out rooms, doing inventory, rearranging storage, cleaning and repairing parts and droids, and making regular trips into town to visit the school, feed the kids, repair busted holopads. Anything that anyone needed done. You were gifted with the skill and the patience, and if it wasn't for the help of others you wouldn't be in the position you were in to give back.

Your life went this way for some time, buying interesting and useful items from travelers to the spaceport, reselling them, finding specifically requested items for Boba whenever he would come by your stall, and spending your extra time helping at the school whenever there was a lull in travelers or you were sold out of stock. One day Fennec stopped by your stall and asked if you wanted a permanent position at the palace. It was a promise of good pay, an extended network of contacts and traders to locate the products you were looking for, and guaranteed time off to continue your volunteer work in Mos Eisley. It also required a move to the palace, to a room of your own away from the spaceport. Boba was already your biggest customer, and Mos Eisley was rough. Dealing with the general rabble was difficult and the prospect of being able to help the kids of the town even more was tempting. So you took the job and moved into the palace.

Boba would never admit it, not to you or to anyone, but you really did a number on him the day you showed up at his palace and stormed to the front of his dias. You were yelling and pointing widely, accusing some of his men of not only wrecking your stall, but telling you, in no uncertain terms, that it was your problem, not theirs. A tilt of his head was all it took and they were running for the garage, picking up any tools they could get their hands on and running back to Mos Eisley as quickly as their speeders could take them.

And now here you were, holding his daughter to your chest, sweat dripping from your brow and unshed tears glistening in your eyes. He had never seen you look so radiant, not when you stood before his throne with fire in your eyes, not the first time he took you in his bed, not the day he married you and made you his Queen. Sweaty, naked, tired, and with a new baby that hadn't even been cleaned up yet, placenta still attached, and you were both more perfect than anything he had ever seen.

The medical droid spoke once again. “It is time to cut the cord now, sir. Do you want to assist?” “Just a minute, I'll be right back.” Boba left your side then, the only time during or after your labor, and went to a small closet at the far side of the room. You watched as he pulled something from a shelf at the top, looking at it with a odd look in his eyes and holding it carefully in his hands. Blue fabric of some sort, but it didn't look new like the stacks of baby blankets you had received from just about every person who had passed through the palace.

When he returned he began helping the droid, clamping the cord and cutting where he was told and cleaning the remnants of blood and birth from his child's tiny frame. The droid went to wrap the baby in a blanket before Boba quickly stopped it. “Wait. I'll handle this.” You watch as he gently laid out the fabric he had taken from the closet, quickly realizing it was a shirt. Light blue and faded, nothing like the soft fabrics that had been gifted for your child, but obviously important to Boba, as he took great care to spread the shirt out and smooth the wrinkles in the fabric.

Your daughter looked up at her father with tired eyes and yawned, letting a tiny mewl leave her throat. “Tired already little one? Being born is a hard job, isn't it? Let me sit down and tell you all about your Granddad Jango while you sleep.”

“Now, let me see my girl.” Boba handled her with care, holding her close to his chest and cradling her head as if he was born to be a father. He laid her down in the middle of the blue shirt and swaddled her gently, bringing the bottom hem up and wrapping the arms around her little body. “That's your granddad's shirt, little one. He would have been so glad to meet you.”

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Taglist: @latenightsthoughtsnstuff @return-of-the-simp

If anyone would like added to my taglist, let me know!

#boba fett x reader #cw: pregnancy #cw: childbirth

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starkerforlife6969 · 5 years ago

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Howard buys Tony an Omega part 6 - Starker

Can be read an as independent! Read the rest here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I received an amazing list of prompts, and this is just one of them, but they were all so good you can probably expect the rest soon, you genius anon: tony is driving when he and peter are in an accident, cue tony's guilt and hovering

TW: car accident, mild references to injury, Tony feeling guilty, v mild angst, a/o dynamics

High off his summer graduation, high after the rush of his degree (top of his class, of course) Tony finally feels a little more settled come that Christmas.

He feels like an adult. He’s been working for his dad’s company since he finished college, but in the new year, he’s going to branch out. Start up his own tech place. Wow investors with the charisma that oozes out of his pores.

To kick off his new adulthood, a Christmas alone with his omega, nestled in their snowy cabin in Vermont, is the perfect bon voyage.

Speaking of, he lets his eyes drift from the icy road to Peter. The omega’s cuddled up on the passenger’s seat, feet tucked under himself, facing Tony (that adoring gaze leaves a warm mark on Tony’s cheek. Or well, it had, for the first few hours. Peter’s asleep now) and snug as a bug in Tony’s college sweatshirt.

Tony can’t wait to see Peter’s face as they drive up. He’s had the place decked out. There are gonna be lights everywhere, a huge Christmas tree- presents already wrapped, christmas crackers and a roast dinner already waiting for them.

He knows Peter loves to cook, but just this once, he’s going to have to make do with being lavished by other people.

Jingle Bell Rock is playing quietly on the radio- but the connection keeps getting cut out. Tony’s not surprised. This far into rural Vermont, the connection’s spotty. There’ll be premium wifi once they’re there, though.

His mother had tried to insist on them having Happy drive them, but Tony had shrugged her off. A road trip with his omega was the best early Christmas present. Stopping along diners for piled-high pancakes, stopping to take photos with state road signs- Peter’s face as gorgeous landscape after gorgeous landscape rolled by the window.

It’s been brilliant.

Tony’s never been this happy.

He doesn’t take his eyes from the road when they near the icier turns. He slows down, he shuts the radio off when the static between giddy up jingle horse gets to be too irritating.

It doesn’t stop it. A deceptive looking patch of snow covers a deep crack in the road, and his grip on the steering wheel isn’t quite strong enough.

There’s a horrible lurch, a bad feeling in his stomach-

And then it all happens so fast.

***

When he wakes up, silent night is crooning without a hitch on the radio, and his face is burning.

He lets out a strangled gasp when everything comes flooding back to him. He jerks and flails. He’s upside down- all the blood is in his head, and he scrabbles for purchase, he can’t see anything out of the windscreen but white snow.

He turns desperately and-

The passenger side is empty.

“Oh god,” he chokes, fumbling for his seatbelt and collapsing into a heap when gravity hauls him down. It takes a few frantic moments to right himself, but when he does, he crawls out of the passenger side door which has been flung open.

It’s freezing. A bone-chilling type of cold, and Tony gets to his feet- feeling dizzy, but, but otherwise okay, except not okay, because-

“Peter!” He yells, white puffs of ice hovering in the air after he speaks, “Peter! Baby, are you-” he turns wildly, and there, he spots his college sweatshirt and a tuft of honey hair.

It’s hard to sprint through the thick snow, but he does the best he can, dropping to his knees beside the fallen figure.

Tears burn as they slide down his face, and he carefully- gently- turns Peter over.

His omega is pale, snowflakes caught on his dark lashes, and there’s a small trickle of blood down the side of his face.

Agony lurches through Tony’s stomach. He wants to vomit, but instead, he cradles his omega as gently as he can, fingers shaking not from the cold, as they feel for Peter’s pulse.

“Sweetheart?” He croaks, voice pathetic, “Peter, baby, are you okay? Please, please, say something, I-”

There’s a pulse under Tony’s fingers. Not a weak, quiet thing, but strong and firm and consistent.

Relief swells within him.

“Peter,” he says again, more loudly, “Peter, Peter, wake up, darling, baby, please-”

There’s a gentle moan, and those amber eyes are revealed to him.

They’re unfocused, a little dizzy, but okay.

“Ton…” Peter slurs, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion, “‘r you…”

“Don’t you dare worry about me.” Tony hisses through tears, reaching over to scoop Peter more firmly into his arms.

Fuck, this is all his fault. What kind of shitty alpha is he? They’re out here now- Peter’s so small, so cold, Tony holds him tight, looking around, thoughts racing.

In the distance, he hears a motor.

“Assistance has arrived.” The cool, automated voice of the car chimes, and Tony collapses, Peter in his arms, and thanks the sky that Elon Musk designed his car.

***

Peter dips a chicken leg in gravy and takes a huge bite of the delicious, crispy skin.

Tony watches him like a hawk, pushing another bowl of stuffing towards him.

His omega shoots him a gorgeous, lopsided smile. “Alpha,” he giggles, even as he takes a spoonful, “you eat!”

Tony doesn’t want to eat. He reaches over the table, cups the back of his boy’s head and kisses his shiny, buttery lips. “I want you to eat.” He murmurs, giving Peter more mashed potatoes.

His omega looks up at him with curious, clever eyes, but doesn’t ask again.

He can sense it, probably, the fear and worry radiating off of Tony in waves. Peter’s always been very good like that.

Tony doesn’t want to eat. He has no appetite. He had no appetite when he’d batted away the hands of the paramedics who’d tried to tend to his non-existent wounds. He sent them to Peter- his Peter, who he hasn’t taken his eyes off since it happened. His perfect Peter sitting perched in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a silver blanket, torch shining in his eyes.

“You guys are just fine,” the paramedic had told Tony warmly, dropping them both off at the cabin, where a number of attendants were anxiously awaiting them.

Tony had glared at him. “I don’t want Peter to just be fine,” he’d snarled, “I want him to be perfect.”

“He’s going to be okay, son,” the man had promised, “just a little rest and warm food, I promise.”

The cut on Peter’s head, nestled in those curls, has only needed butterfly stitches. A small nick. Head wounds always bleed a lot, Tony knows that, but still.

A long hot bath, some fluffy, non-snow logged clothes, and here they were.

Peter, eating an enormous roast for two, all by himself.

Tony pours him more juice.

It makes him feel better inside. Warmer than the new sweater and sweatpants and fuzzy socks. He feels warmer seeing Peter with chicken between his teeth- starlight in his eyes.

His boy drinks the juice even though Tony doesn’t think he’s thirsty.

He keeps eating until Tony finally stops offering him food.

“Okay, baby,” Tony murmurs, moving round the table to hoist his omega into his arms and carry him over to the couch by the fire. “I’ll get you some dessert. I had them make fondant, your favourite. How’s that? Hm? With some hot chocolate and marshmallows and whipped cream? And chocolate shavings, of course, and- you like sprinkles, don’t you? My little rainbow omega.”

Peter sits where Tony’s perched him amidst the cushions on the couch, and reaches up, clutching his alpha’s large hand in his two smaller ones.

“Alpha,” Peter pouts, a warm blush across his cheeks, “‘m really not hungry. Just want you.”

Tony chews on the inside of his mouth. “Just some fondant then,”

Peter laughs, and pulls him down onto the couch.

Well, he tries, bless him, and Tony flops down onto it anyway, drawing the boy into his arms.

Peter snuggles into him, peppers kisses all across his face. “I’m okay,” Peter whispers, not for the first time this evening. “Really I am.”

“You could’ve been so hurt,” Tony splutters out, turning his head away from Peter’s affections. He doesn’t deserve them.

His omega won’t let him wrangle away that easily. Sits on his lap and keeps kissing him. “You saved me. Good alpha.” The boy chirps, pressing a kiss onto Tony’s left eyebrow.

Tony hugs him tight, breathing him in. “I fuckin’ love you, Pete.” He whispers, “if something happened to you, I’d just-”

“I’m here,” Peter promises, sinking into Tony’s embrace. “I’d never leave you. I promise.”

***

In the morning, Tony wakes up to a full english, and Peter’s expectant eyes.

He has to sit in bed and eat every last bite, not that it’s a hardship, he’s starving and Peter’s the best cook he knows.

He tries to bite down on his hovering, on his urge to smother Peter with affection, to not let him out of arm’s reach, and he tries his best to smile. “What’s on for today then, gorgeous? We can do anything you like. Sledging? Go to the little market place in town?”

Peter moves the breakfast tray and snuggles up beside him in bed. “Just stay here?” He asks, finding his place cuddled on Tony’s chest. “Watch movies.”

A whole day with Peter B Parker in his arms?

“That sounds perfect, baby,” Tony mumbles, his relief palpable, holding him close. Goddamn, Peter can see right through him.

He can feel Peter’s smile through his shirt. “Maybe some fondant later?” Comes the sweet voice, lilt hopeful.

Tony laughs at that, full bodied and surprised, “how about a whole fucking fondant? How about three?”

Peter whoops and Tony tickles him till the sheets are a mess and the Grinch is wrapping Cindy Lou Who up as a present.

Read the rest here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

#starker #peter x tony #howard buys tony an omega #part 6 #omega peter #alpha tony #rich tony #simple omega peter #established relationship #hurt comfort #happy ending #mild angst #christmas feels #fluff #precious peter parker #tony stark has a heart #protective tony stark #car accidents #mild injury

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artisticestheticreads · 5 years ago

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Summertime Magic (V)

A/N: It’s N’Jadaka/Erik Killmonger day. In this chapter, it is Sheila’s birthday so the group tries to make it memorable but what happens at night will change everything forever.

TO CATCH UP AND READ IN ORDER, CLICK HERE. All bolded and italicized words are links.

WARNING: Tearjerks, love dovey stuff, fear and fluffiness of course.

SONG RECOMMENDATION: While We’re Young by Jhene Aiko

A couple of weeks had past and Y/N had spent all her time with N’Jadaka; they were inseparable. Since Kesha was staying that week at her place, Y/N had to hang with him outside whether it was to get food or helping her run errands. Kesha was planning on going back home until her neighbor called and told her Sandra was in the neighborhood. Y/N finished her last client with Kesha on the couch, painting her toes. “Girl, I can not wait for my wedding. Everything is gonna be amazing and all. Thank you for doing my hair that day again.”

“Love, it is no problem at all. Congratulations again. I know it is gonna be beautiful.” She showed her the style and she gasped; it was lowcut with waves on the side and bleach blond. “This is incredible. Tony is gonna love it”, she stood and hugged her. She handed her the money and envelope with a smile. “What is this for?”

“It is your invite, girl. After everything you’ve done for me, you gotta be there. The colors are burgundy, navy blue, and cream, open bar, tons of food and all. Of course, you can have a plus one and the wedding is in two months.”

“So, September then?” Her client nodded and asked, “please tell me you’ll come.” Y/N nodded with a smile and they shared another hug. “Great, I will see you in two weeks. Bye, Y/N. Bye, Kesha”, she said with a grin and wave. Kesha looked up and waved back; as soon as she left, Kesha face dropped and flicked her back off. “Ol’ happy ass. Ain’t no one that happy”, she said with an attitude in her voice. Y/N fixed her curled yarn locs in the full body mirror and rolled her eyes. “Shay. I think it’s really sweet. Megan and her man is in love and finally getting married. I’m happy for them.” Y/N fixed her matching set and smiled at her reflection.

She started to sweep up the hair and put all her tools away as well before sitting down. “Whew, I am tired”, she said and Kesha lied her head on her thighs. “You been working nonstop.” Y/N leaned her head back on the couch looking at the ceiling. “Tryna get this money for my future shop. I’m so close I can taste it”, she told her imaging her shop with a wide grin on her face. Soon, Kesha was going on when she received a text which she looked at. “What yo cute ass doing”, Daka asked her and she looked at her friend still talking and watching TV.

“Nothing. Talking to Shay.”

“She over there with her nosey ass?”

She giggled.

“Ofc she is.” She placed her phone but then soon received another text. “Well, what you got planned for tonight?” She thought about it as she typed “Netflix, why wassup?” She watched the three dots appeared and she blushed.

She couldn’t help but blush and smile big. “Y/N!? Heffa, is you listening?” Y/N looked down at her and said “I is. Geez.” Kesha continued as Y/N kept texting her new friend. “What you had in mind”, she asked him and he instantly replied.“Shit, I was gonna go shopping and get a couple of gifts for Sheila Baby. Her birthday tomorrow”. As she thought about it, he sent another reading her mind. “Come with me and get away from ya crazy-ass friend.”

Y/N hopped up causing Kesha to fall on the ground. “What the fuck”, she yelled out and got back up. She saw Y/N running into her room and slipping on her red Converse to match her outfit. “I thought we were going to have a movie night tonight.” Y/N grabbed her fanny pack putting on and said “Shay, every night was movie night. Chill, girl. Daka wants to go get a gift for his homegirl.” Kesha stood in the doorway watching her friend put on a little bit of mascara and lip gloss. “This nigga got you more sprung than a muthafucka,” she said with folded arms. “Girl, what are you talking about”, she asked with her hand in her hip. “This nigga say jump and you say how high,” she said before Y/N heard a honk. “See, this nigga is no good. He giving me Rodney vibes and I ain’t with it.”

Y/N looked at her with a stern look and said “he is nothing like that nigga. I will be back and I might bring food fo yo old scary ass.” Y/N locked her bedroom door and made her way out the front; Erik stood in a black v-neck and jeans with sneakers. He had Y/N give him a fade and he was feeling like that man. “Hey, there go my baby girl. Looking like a cute ass cherry”, he announced loud making her laugh. “Hey, Daka.” They shared a hug before he opened the door for her and got to his side. Trey Songz was playing in the air between them as he sang off-key making her giggle. “Boy, hush. Let Trey sing. Which mall we going to anyways?”

“Fox Hills. We ain’t going to some ghetto ass, Crenshaw.”

“Can we go by there anyway? I wanna show you the shop.”

Soon, Y/N looked into the empty space of the store. “Isn’t it amazing? This will be mine one day”, she said with him standing behind her doing the same. “It’s nice. I can see you in there. Now, let’s hit Fox Hills before niggas show up and ruin shit”. They made their way over and walked to the Footlocker, shoulder to shoulder. “So, what is Sheila doing for her birthday”, Y/N asked as they continued. “Well, her ol country bumpkin ass wants to hit the fair in San Diego tomorrow. So, a few of us muthafuckas are going up there. Of course, me having my truck, I gotta drive. Cheap muthafuckas.” She laughed as they entered. “Hey, y’all welcome to FootLocker. If you need anything, let me know”, one employee said and N’Jadaka nodded.

Y/N walked over to the woman side when she saw a shoe that caught her eye. The Nike Air Max 720 had a red ombre that faded into a blue shade that reminded her of an icee. She held the shoe in her hands and smiled down at it as if it was check for a million dollars. Daka came over to her side looking at the shoes for a pair for his friend. He looked down at her before reaching for a pair himself. “Try em on” is what she heard followed by “it won’t hurt to just see how they look. What size you were?”

“9 will be fine” and with that, he waved down the same employee. She sat down on the bench behind her waited for the pair as N’Jadaka continued to look at the Women’s wall. He saw a pair he knew Sheila would like and wear all the time; a pink and white pair of Nike Epic React Flyknit 2. He sat beside her as she still waiting. She looked at the shoe and told him how cute they were. “You like these too, baby girl?” She nodded as she felt a hand on her shoulder; the young man handed her the box with a smile.

“Did you want to those in a size too, sir?”

“Yeah, let me get a 7.5 and 9.” The employee hurried off to the back and Y/N slipped the shoes on; she stood to look in the mirror. “I really like these. They remind me of slushies”, she said pacing back and forth as he watched her. “They look good on you. Get ‘em.”

“I wish I could but I’m trying to take care of needs before wants. They can wait.”

“Then, I’ll buy them”, N’Jadaka told her with a smirk. Shre turned to him looking at his face. “Daka, no. We are here for Sheila. My birthday isn’t for another few months. Really, I can wait”, she said as she slipped out of the shoes and placed them in the box. Once she was done, N’Jadaka took the box from her and walked up to the employee, handing it to him. He chose another shoe but off the men’s wall; a pomegranate Timberland 6" Premium Waterproof Boots.

Y/N turned before tying her shoes and saw him holding them. “Oh, those are really nice. You should get those.” He nodded and said “yeah. I ain’t got this color yet.” She turned back and mentioned how she never had a pair; he went up to the employee at the register who went off to the back. Y/N stood beside him as they waited when the man came back. “Alright, boss man. We got two Timbs in a 7.5 and 12 for men and three more in women’s 7.5 and 2 9′s”, the employee said with a smile on his face but Y/N was confused. When she read the box, she saw it was the pair she had on. “Daka, I said I could wait.”

“I know. But I can’t”, he said with side smirk. She walked away distraught until she heard the total. “Ok, sir. Your total is 946.57.” She walked beside him and looked up to him. “Daka, I don’t need the shoes. Please don’t.” N’Jadaka looked at the shoes and shrugged; pulling a clip of hundreds. “Shit, I usually spend at least 15 hunnid in one store. Here ya go, brotha”, he handed him the money, got his change and grabbed the bags. He held them all in his right hand as he wrapped his left around her neck when they walked out. “N’Jadaka, I didn’t need the shoes.”

“Baby Girl, I know. Just let me do some nice shit for you. You work hard as fuck and all. It don’t hurt for me to at least buy you some nice shit”, he said before kissing her forehead. She wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Well, thank you. But where would I wear the Timbs to anyways?” N’Jadaka chuckled and said “shit, well you can come to the fair with us tomorrow. Then, we can do some head ass shit and match.” Y/N shook her head at the thought but she had to admit it was cute. “Aight, we can do that. What time should I get ready tomorrow?”

“Shit, 9. It’s like a 2-hour ride and we planned to go to breakfast before.”

They went into Forever 21 since they can easily find stuff in the men’s section to wear. N’Jadaka grabbed them two flannels that match their boots perfectly and a pair of overalls for him. As they were about to the register, a woman on her phone bumped into her. “I’m so sorry”, they said in unison until they say each other. “Leslie!” They hopped in each other’s arms and kissed cheeks. “Girl, what you doing down here? Thought you ain’t worked out here anymore.” Leslie was in a complete black pantsuit and buttondown with matching red bottoms and her hair still braided. “Girl, the DM asked me to come over here to back them up for the week. So, I am literally going back and forth from home because he let one the managers go.” Leslie placed her phone back in her purse before she saw N’Jadaka.

“Hello there, Mister Man. You must be N’Jadaka. I am Y/N’s friend, Leslie”, she held out her hand and he shook it. “Nice to meet ya.” She smiled then looked at Y/N. “So what do y’all have planned for today if y’all don't mind me asking,” she said as she put her hands in her pockets. “We just doing a little shopping then some dinner”, he told her with a smile and holding Y/N close to his left. “I see, I see. What y’all get me”, she asked them as they laughed. “Nah, I’m fucking with you. But your name sounds African.”

“It is. I’m from Wakanda actually.”

“Oh shit. For real? I actually had an ancestor out there. My late great grandmother from like decades before my grandma was born. I actually know a little of the language. Still learning though.” N’Jadaka nodded and said “that’s dope. You need to teach ya homegirl here just in case she wants to go one day”. He smiled at Y/N as she rolled her eyes. “You are way more fluent than me, N’Jadaka. You might as well.” He agreed and she said her goodbyes. “Watch her for me. Keep her safe. She is precious to me”, with that she was gone. They stood in line as the waited. “How long you knew her”, he asked and she responded. “High school during our spring semester. She been my ride or die since then.”

“I thought Shay was?”

“I mean, she can be but I’m usually the one protecting and shit.”

“Well, I like Leslie more than Kesha. Her vibe is coo wit me.”

They bought the clothes and made their way to Lady Footlocker where he got Y/N’s help to get Sheila more shoes; Adidas slides, and a tracksuit to match her shoes from earlier. The whole time, he held her hand and wrapped his arms around her as they walked around. They were on their way to another store on the third level when Y/N saw Leslie helping a customer. She noticed how she looked tired and N’Jadaka did too; that’s why before they continued shopping, they for her some Starbucks for a pick me up. N’Jadaka handed her the cup and she smiled giving him a one-arm hug, sipping from it. Before they left, Leslie winked to Y/N in approval.

N’Jadaka and Y/N grabbed some ice cream where she fed him since he didn’t wanna let go. She wondered if she should ask what they were but she didn’t want her hopes to be up then her heart gets broken. They decided to leave and head to the Slauson Swapmeet so she can pick up her cleaned jewelry. That’s when saw the necklace; a gold chain with a dog tag hanging from it. “Oh, that’s cute.” He looked down into the case and said “oh, yea. It’s coo. You can engrave it with anything, huh?”

“Yeah, the owner makes so many of them because she always sells out. My family has been coming to her for years since before I was born”, she told him as they walked around to look more and finally went to the hamburger spot down the way. They got an order of cheeseburgers burgers and fries with large strawberry sodas. They sat in the truck watching Netflix on her phone and enjoyed the rest of the day together until night came. They pulled up to the house to see Kesha was still there. “I wish you can come in”, she said looking at him. He kissed her forehead and said “me too, baby girl. But we literally spendin’ the whole day tomorrow.” She looked at his lips as he talked but she had to fight the urge so she kissed his cheek. “I’ll be ready tomorrow. Thanks, again for my shoes and for dinner. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, wit yo cute ass.” She went into the house and saw Kesha on her couch. “Y/N, why you so late? And where is my food”, she asked making Y/N roll her eyes. “There is food in the kitchen. Goodnight”, she smiled walking into her bedroom with her shoes.

The next day, Y/N had on her overalls, a white V-neck and flannel around her waist. She was in the middle of doing her makeup when she got a call. “Hey, girl”, Leslie’s voice said through the speakerphone. “Hey, Lez. What’s up?”

“Oh, girl nothing. I wanted to slide through before I head to work.”

“Yeah, come on. You got ya key, right”, she asked and heard her keys jingle. “Of course. I’m pulling up right now.” They hung up as Y/N was finishing up then she heard her front door open and lock; a knock was on her door. “Come in”, then Leslie came in with covered eyes. “IS you naked or nah”, she asked making Y/N laugh. “Come in, ol goofy ass and quietly or Shay gonna wake up.”

“She here?”

“Yes”, she said then was startled by a slam of the door. “Lez, you gonna wake her up”, Y/N told her and watched her walk to a wall, slamming it. “Her ass needs to wake up anyways. She don’t fuckin’ live here no ways. Why she here anyways? Wait, lemme guess. She still hiding from Sandy’s ass” she asked and Y/N nodded. “Girl, Sandy gonna be looking here next. Mark my words.”

“Sandra knows not to come over here especially since I do her grandma’s hair. You must not know about her.”

“Oh, g ma don’t play that shit. But enough about her trifling ass. What you look so cute for? Got a date with Mister Man again”, Leslie questioned her and Y/N turned to her smiling. “Not a date at all. N’Jadaka and I are just friends, so hursh”, she mentioned as she got up to clean before packing her leather backpack. “Girl, please. I see how he looks at you and how he be all over you, sis. See, he wanna be with you just as much as yo ass wanna be with him/ Whenever we talk, he is all you talk about.”

“Let me guess. I sound hella sprung?” Leslie looked at her with a confused look. “What? No, you really like him. There is nothing sprung about that. Y/N, he seems like a really good man. Way better than you know who. Like, he got that hood nigga cupid vibe to ‘em.” Y/N laughed as she packed her leather backpack and sat next to her on the bed. “I just don’t wanna be hurt again, Lez. I don’t want it to be like Rodney again.” She put her head Lez’s shoulder and she said “boo, you can’t get hurt if you aren’t willing to see. You are only hurting yourself if you don’t see what it would be like again. You can’t be single forever, love. I mean you could but we both know yo ass hate cats.” They laughed as Shay barged in wide open. “Hello, Leslie”, she said in a voice with no emotion. Leslie gave her a nod and that’s when Shay saw Y/N. “Why you look like a ghetto cowboy”, she asked as Y/N was putting her rings and bamboo earrings. “If you must know, Daka is taking me to the fair for a friend’s birthday, nosey.”

“Want me to stay and watch the house?” Before she can answer, Lez asked “Kesha, why you still here anyway? Barging and shit like you pay bills. All because Sandy wants to kick ya ass. Stop being a punk and a face the muthafuckin music. You better put ya fuckin’ big girl draws on and stop being a scaredy-cat.” Kesha rolled her eyes and said “fine. Ima go but if I get fucked, it’s y’all hoes fault.” She walked out to the front door as Y/N and Lez looked at another with an eye roll. “Y/N, ya nigga here!”; the girls walked out with her bag in hand to see N’Jadaka standing on her side of the truck. He wore the same thing as her instead of his overalls being longer. He wore Ray-Ban shades and his gold cap fangs.

“There goes my cute ass twin”, he yelled out with his arms out and walking up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed into the crook her neck making her laugh. “Hey, Leslie. How you doin’ ”, he asked with his gold in the sunshine. “I’m good. I was about to head to work but y’all have fun and get her lots of prizes.” She kissed their cheeks and waved at all the folks in the car before driving off. Shay looked behind them to the other talking then asked: “if friends are invited then why didn’t I get one?” N’Jadaka wrapped his arm around Y/N’s neck and said “it was last minute. You can come if you want.” She looked Y/N and back at him. “Nah, I’m good. Enjoy, love” and with that, she left. They got in the front seats and as Y/N buckled her seatbelt, she saw Sheila in Jerald’s lap, Marcus and Trevon; they were off.

“Hey, y’all. Happy birthday, Sheila Love”, she handed her a birthday card. “Thank you, girl. I’m glad you came wit us and thanks for hooking me up too”, she said pointing to her ghana braids. “Don’t mention it girl. You look cute by the way.” Sheila had full-on cowgirl wear with a matching hat and boots. “Gotta rep Texas for the one time. Real Hot Girl shit.” N’Jadaka looked in the rearview mirror and said, “nah, Sheila Baby. You back there look like real lukewarm shit. Sat down somewhere”; they all laughed except for until Jerald kissed her cheek. “I’m kiddin’, sis. Where ya baby ass wanna eat at”, he asked like he didn’t know the answer.

They pulled up to the iHop in the shopping center and as they got out, Y/N walked over to the other side passed N’Jadaka. She stood in front of her soon to be storefront when he came up behind her. “It’ll be yours one day”, he wrapped her neck and they walked to the iHop with the others. They all sat in a huge booth and Sheila sat there with a huge smile on her face and all her gifts around her. “Are all these for little ol’ meeeeee”, she sung making everyone laugh. “Ok, first gift is from Marcus and there’s a card.” She cleared her throat before she read out loud. “Dear SheGo. I am very glad that I had a friend like you for so long. We laughed, cry and done hood rat shit together. I will always have your back, no matter what. Love, Marcus ‘19.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. When she opened the box, she saw a framed picture of them at prom together. “Awe, I remember this. When our dates both stood us up last minute and we went together.” He nodded and gave her a side hug as she held it close and placed it back in the bag.

“Before I cry, let’s got to Trevon.” She opened the car and began. “Dear Sheila, thanks for making my bro a happy man and making him all in love and ish. Outta all the girls, he has dated, you are the most amazing one. He is a lucky man. Happy birthday, Baby Girl. From, Trey. PS, Ima need more nieces and nephews soon.” Everyone laughed as she dug in the huge bag for a tiny box. She called him a jack ass under her breath before she opened the box. She smiled when she saw it was a lasso charm. “Awe, for my bracelet,” she said making him put it on her. “Thanks, jackass.” She saw all the bags from N’Jadaka and danced in her seat.

“Dear Sheila Baby, I remember when we first met at base. I wonder how can someone so small and flawless be here in a place with fucked up people but then you told us about your father and how she fought for not only his country but also his family.” She stopped to wipe a tear and kept going. “I remember how you used to talk about your pops and how he passed before you went away. He was proud and still is. No matter what. You are a great mother to your children, a great girlfriend to J and also a great baby sister to me. I love you, Sheila. You will always be a diamond in the rough to me. Love your big brother, N’Jadaka.”

She looked at him pouting and said: “damn it, you thick neck idiot.” She leaned over Jerald and kissed her brother’s cheek. Se finally wiped her tears and opened her gifts; she loved them all. Jerald told her that she would get her gift later on and they all began to order; they finished eating and were on the rode. “Bro, play some shit that gets us pumped up”, Trevon asked and N’Jadaka delivered; YG Stop Snitchin’ Remix and he rapped YG’s part as they did background.

“I can smell a bitch nigga a mile away Type of nigga so bitch, he should put "bitch-made" on his license plate From that real shit, you bitch niggas play hide and seek Me and bitch niggas, we don't conversate Bitch niggas love saying real niggas tryna hate But nah, nigga, I'm a real nigga, I had to bag up weight You got fear in your heart so you cooperate I can't stand how bitch niggas operate You's a bitch, your mama know you a bitch Your girl even know you a bitch”

They all rapped the chorus over and over again. Trevon was getting ready for his part but stopped when he saw Y/N making hand movements to the song and everyone watched her as she started.

“Want me to rap, you gotta book a nigga I fucked his bitch, I took that pussy from a pussy nigga I'm bringin' real niggas back, they overlooked a nigga You like to show these niggas guns, I beat him, took your pistol I fuck her all off in the kitchen and I'm cookin' with her She made me bacon with the eggs, thought she was cookin' dinner Two hours later, you on IG takin' pictures with her Soon as I woke up, gave me head, that's breakfast in bed Told on your nigga, he went fed, they found out you scared You play with me, you gotta go, I ain't gotta say it I pull it out, bitch, I'ma blow, so watch how you play it, you lil'... “

Sheila shook Y/N’s shoulder as they all finished the song; N’Jadaka gave her dap. “She took my part”, Trevon said and N’Jadaka laughed at him. The next song was Cash S**t and she rapped Megan’s first part until N’Jadaka started DaBaby’s part.

“You know why these bitches love me? 'Cause Baby don't give a fuck I be fixin' the weave while she suckin' my dick Pull it out, then I titty fuck I fuck her from the back and she nasty, killin' her Know how I give it up I be cool on 'em, bitch, ain't no pressure 'Til I met this lil' freak, her name Megan”

He looked at her as he continued and she did the same.

“This lil' thing here a stallion, look how she walk Look how she talk, she sexy, muah I like when they pretty and ghetto Type of bitch that don't even say hello And whenever we fuck, she be fuckin' me back Put her in the headlock with my elbow Now she done reversed it Got up on the dick and ride the shit like a Camaro, uh.”

She blushed looking away when she felt her fingers intertwining with his. They finally arrived at the fair when they pulled into the lot. They all made their way to the booth and started walking around. Shelia took Y/N’s arm as they did so and talked. “So, Y/N, do you like my brother”, she asked and Y/N looked back at the guys, playing around. “Kinda.”

“Kinda? Nah, you like him. I noticed at the party how close you two were. The way y’all look at him. Besides, I never seen him like that before. I lovey and shit. He only is like that with his family especially his aunt. She’s like his mom. But it’s nice to see him like that out here. I know what I think doesn’t matter but, baby girl, you should have my approval.” Y/N whispered to her and said: “well, thank you.” As they laughed, N’Jadaka wrapped his arms around both of their necks. “Ya talkin’ shit, sis?”

“No, nigga. Just girl talk. Ya know, PMS, periods, breasts and all”, Sheila said making Y/N snicker. “Damn, Sheila got us around a bunch of mayo eating muthafuckas, my G”, Trevon said in his cowboy hat. Sheila looked back at him and told him “hush, the fair is for everyone. There are plenty of negros here.”

“Yeah, niggas with they white bitches. I got a real question why when black women they get white muthafuckas that look like niggas and shit but when brothas get white females, they gotta be the most sloppy, trailer park bunch ever, Like what the fuck is that about”, Marcus asked making the group laugh as they thought about it. “I have noticed that. Like, my cousin is with a white man and they always look like that about to hit the runaway or somethin’”, Y/N mentioned. N’Jadaka looked over at her still with his arm around her and asked a serious question. “So, you never been with a white man before?”

“Nah, I like my men like I like my coffee. Black and strong.” Sheila looked to her and told her “sis, that was a good one.” They fist touched and Y/N asked him “have you dated other races before?” He shook his and chuckled to himself before saying “Nah, I like my women like I like my oatmeal, brown suga and thick as hell.” He looked to her and winked, making her roll her eyes with a smile. Sheila looked to her right when she saw a stuffed unicorn, pushing N’Jadaka away from here and running towards it. “It’s so fluffy. I’m gonna die”, she shrieked and Jerald wrapped his arms around her waist; “ol’ despicable me ass.”

“Blame our kids. Made me love that damn movie. I want it for Shannon...and myself”, Sheila told him and he paid the man to play the game; a ball and bottle game. When he didn’t win, he still got a small unicorn for her and kissed her. “I’m sorry, baby.” Y/N looked at the game and handed the man the money to play. She stood back and did a fastball pitch as they all watched; winning the game. She passed Sheila the stuffie and said “happy birthday, Sheila.” N’Jadaka gave her dap as they continued walking.

Y/N saw a cotton candy stand and walked over as N’Jadaka was still attached to her. “Can I get one, please”, she asked N’Jadaka and he handed the woman the total. As they began walking, N’Jadaka opened his mouth with his long tongue out and she giggled. “Is that how you ask”, she said to him making him pout. “Please, baby girl. Don’t be stingy.” She smiled and tore off a small piece for him. He looked at her then bit into the huge fluff she didn’t wanna share. “Daka”, she whined and pouted; he kissed her temple and held her tighter.

What saw her next caught her eye; a cute black jaguar stuffed animal. It was half N’Jadaka’s size and it looked so soft. She noticed that the game was a tight rope game that she had to ring a bell at the top; her fear of heights kicked in. “Baby girl, wassup”, Daka asked. “I want the jaguar but I can’t climb the rope.”

“Why not? You seem strong.”

“Yeah, but I, uh, I’m scared of heights.” He looked up to the rope and looked down at her. “Y’know, you’ll have to get over it, right?” She looked up and heard “you should be glad I did this in boot camp before the Navy.” He detached himself from her and made his way to the rope but stopped. “If I can climb this rope all the way there and win you that stuffed animal, you gotta get ya thick ass on that ride with me.” He pointed to a huge ride with many loops, turns, and jerks. She took a deep breath and nodded. He paid the woman for the game and rubbed his hands before the buzzer went off. Y/N watched as he climbed up, veins appeared against his biceps and forearms. His strong legs helped to pull him up. The sun shined against his gold jewelry and diamond studs. She slightly bit her lip as she continued to watch until.

*DING, DING, DING, DING.*

He hit the bell extra hard and slid down, landing on the plush mat. He got the panther and handed it to her with a kiss on the forehead. “Aight, y’all. Let’s hit Screamer”, everyone started to yell in excitement except for Y/N. When they got there, Y/N looked up to the ride hugging her new toy scared out of her mind; he noticed. “Baby Girl, I’ll be right there with you. I’m not going anywhere, ok? Now, let’s go.” She still said nothing until she felt him picking her up and putting her on his shoulder. “Daka, put me down. This is funny”, she yelled until she felt a smack to her thigh. “When I tell you to do something, I mean that shit. Not turning back now”, he placed her down on the ground and looked into her face. She looked behind and tried to run but his big toned chest was in the way.

They all got in and Y/N pouted holding her stuffie as he bucked them in. “I’m here. Okay. Don’t be a baby”, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer. “Ok, Ok. Welcome to the Screamer. Please keep our legs and hands inside of the ride and please make sure you have all valuables during flight. Also, make sure you are buckled in safely and enjoy the ride”, the baritone voice said on the intercom. The ride took slow ease up and Y/N can feel anxious and scared until she felt Daka getting closer. “It’s ok, baby girl. You’ll be fine. I promise”, he whispered in her ear before she kissed the shell of her ear. With the first hoop coming up, she screamed and so did everyone else. All the obstacles became easier to handle to the point her screams of terror became yells of joy and excitement.

When they got off, the group described how they felt as N’Jadaka looked at her with concern. “You ok?” She looked at the group with a straight face before smiling wide. “I’m going again!” She threw the animal at N’Jadaka, which he caught and ran for the ride. The group followed as they laughed. After riding again, she felt dizzy as she giggled. As they walked, she hopped on his back and he gave her a piggyback ride. After a few games, they won each other gifts that he ended give his to her. They found a canvas bag at a booth they can place all the gifts in before heading to bumper cards and finally to get some food.

The sky was now an indigo shade and Y/N was still on his back sliding down. Her eyes were looking up at the bright lights of the Ferris wheel. N’Jadaka noticed and took her hand as the went over; Trevon and Marcus stayed on the ground, holding the prizes and eating. They got into a couple seater and Sheila sat behind them with Jerald. “I see you ain’t scared, little one”, N’Jadaka said and she rolled her eyes. They went off into the sky and she can see the stars against it. Since they lived in a big city, they really couldn’t see the stars at night. “It’s beautiful”, she blurted out and he looked down at her. “Yeah, it is”, N’Jadaka said as he caressed her chin. They looked at one another’s eyes, leaning in closer.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, YES. I WILL MARRY YOU, JERRY”. They turned to see a huge rock on Sheila’s ring finger. “Guys, we getting married”, Sheila said before she showered Jerald with kissed. They looked at one another and turned straight again. The night came to an end when everyone packed in the car and fell asleep. N’Jadaka yawned as he looked at them as he droved and his eyes stopped on Y/N’s calm face. Her eyes were shut and she held JD the Jaguar; he smiled.

Soon, he dropped everyone off and he opened the door for Y/N. “Thanks for inviting me, Daka. I had fun”, she mentioned and he agreed. She looked into his face and saw something was wrong. “Is everything okay”, she asked and heh rubbed his hands on his face. “I should have told you earlier but I, uh, I gotta go back home for a while. In Wakanda. Apparently, they need me for some issues and they need me to come down.”

“Oh, how long will you be gone?”

“A month.”

She looked around them, sad at just thinking about how far he will be for so long. “I didn’t wanna tell you until now because I didn’t wanna ruin shit. But I promise to call any chance I get. Facetime and everythin’.” She nodded still not looking at him and before she can stop herself, she said: “Daka, what are we?” He stepped back with his arms behind his back. “What you mean”, he asked with a brow raised. She took a deep breath and said “well, we spend every day together, constantly talking no matter what, been out to eating and all. We touch a lot and you make slick comments like callin’ me cute and stuff. I guess-” She stopped when she felt his thumb on her chin and him stepping closer. He leaned down with his eyes on hers as they fluttered and felt their lips hover over another.

“C’mere”, he said and she placed her lips closer to his. They started off with a soft peck and let their tongues join in on the fun. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his wrapped tightly around her waist. When they stopped, their lips were still touching when he said: “does that answer your question” in a soft voice. She shook her head and said, “I’ll need a better answer than that.” They smirked at each other before they continued the passionate kiss.

Whew, I did what? THAT! Now, this is the final chapter of part one but do not worry. Every Tuesday, I will post a new chapter of this series so be on the lookout. To be added to the tag list, just ask.(:

𝒯𝒜𝒢𝒢𝐸𝒟 𝐿𝒪𝒱𝐸𝒮

@muse-of-mbaku

@im5ftbutmythroat66

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#n'jadaka #n'jadaka udaku #N'Jadaka Udaka #n'jadaka x reader #n'jadaka x oc #Erik Stevens #Erik Killmonger #Erik killmonger x Reader #bp fandom #bp fanfic #summertime magic fic

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cupidmarwani-archive · 5 years ago

Text

Denial (Rhodestead)

Summary: Will is straight, but has this habit of watching videos of a faceless man on the internet get himself off.

Warnings: internalized homophobia, homophobia, eventual smut

WC: 6569

Here’s the thing: Will Halstead is straight.

Really, he is, no kidding. He likes women, and their chests, and their legs, and all that. He’s had girlfriends, and even had sex with one of them, once, when he was in med school. Her bed had been squeaky and the mattress too small, and the whole time he looked at this poster she had on her wall. It was for the Princess Bride. Buttercup and Wesley together, under beautiful text he could barely see because the lights were off.

He does not, on the other hand, like men. He has no interest in the way their shoulders move when they walk, or the veins on their hands, or their smiles, or the sharp angles of their jaws, or the tenor of their voices, or the way their bottom lips shadows over their chins, or the curve of- anyways. The point is, Will Halstead is completely, one hundred percent heterosexual.

But the other thing is, he follows this account on instagram, prncehrts. It’s some guy that never shows his face, just photos from the neck down. Some of his chest. His legs. His ass. He has a little muscle, but not enough to be overbearing or falsified. In some pictures he has the faint outline of abs, but in others his stomach looks soft, like the kind made to be bitten and covered in violet marks. Not that Will thinks about that of course.

And of course, there’s prncehrts’ other account, on some blogging platform called tumblr. The premium one. The one that Will pays $15/month to follow because these are photos too explicit to go anywhere else, like the ones that showcase his soft cock lying against one of his marked up thighs, or those that show him on his hands and knees, a hand wrapped around a silicon looking purple toy practically dripping with lube.

Will has the subscription for the express purpose of making sure prncehrts is safe. There are a lot of gay men- not that Will is at all one of them- who don’t always know what they’re doing, and could hurt themselves. It’s a matter of safety that Will watches. His body reacts, sometimes, but it just does that because of course he reacts to naked bodies. Because Will isn’t gay.

He watches, though, at least once a week. Refreshes prncehrts’ blog to see if there’s anything new, and takes a look at whatever comes up. Sometimes it’s a picture, sometimes a video, sometimes both and/or more than one.

For about five months, Will watches, listens, and vehemently reminds himself that he’s not gay and there’s nothing gay about this, even when he sometimes has to press the heel of his hand between his legs in an effort to relieve the pressure that comes just because his body reacts to nudity. Just prncehrts’ though, not any of the girlfriends he’s had in the past, including the one he had sex with once before breaking up with her because there wasn’t a real spark. And for five months, he doesn’t think about the real person who makes these videos until he clicks on one of prncehrts kneeling in front of the camera, everything above his smile cut off.

“Hey, so I was hoping for a little help,” prncehrts says, and his voice is so much deeper than most of the moans Will has come to associate with him. “You all know how much I adore Edward.” He holds up the silicone toy he uses so often, and is apparently named Edward. “But unfortunately, he’s torn a bit right here. So, I’m in the market for something new. I’ve got a wishlist in the caption of this video of some stuff I’ve been meaning to try out. Buy it for me and I’ll make something just for you. I promise.”

And Will doesn’t think about it. He clicks the wishlist, and buys the first thing on it, and leaves the username of the account he had to make to have access to prncehrts' premium accound in the “messages” section. He finds himself paying for overnight shipping, too. He just wants the best for this man he’s never met, even though he should probably be saving that money for a rainy day. He’s not off badly, he’s got plenty of money, but not enough that he should be splurging like this when he already has to budget every month for the fees to just look at prncehrts.

When it arrives the next day, he gets two notifications: one from his amazon account, saying the package was delivered, and several hours later, one from prncehrts over DM. Of course, he doesn’t look at it until his shift is over and he’s home, at which point he doesn’t hurry to see what he’s been sent. And he doesn’t kick off his scrubs before throwing himself on the bed, he just gets rid of them because he’s tired and wants to relax.

He taps on the little thumbnail, and the video fills his screen.

“Forgive the mess, sweetheart. Just got a new place.”

Will waves a hand dismissively, even though he’s watching a video recorded quite a while ago. Prncehrts is laying on a mattress on the floor instead of his usual luxurious sheets, but it doesn’t matter much. He’s still beautiful, and when he starts rubbing a lubed finger against his hole, his muscles tense and that soft stomach turns back to muscle, and that would be a good place to put his mouth too. The thought keeps coming to him, and he isn’t sure why. Will could never have sex with a man. He’s just not interested. He doubts he’d be able to get it up, he thinks, even as he lets his own fingers trace against the bulge in his boxers.

He watches the video, start to finish, twice. The path the video takes, the sounds that drip from prncehrts’ mouth, the way the toy looks inside of him, none of it matters, and neither does the new stain on the inside of Will’s underwear. He’s just not gay, so it couldn’t matter, even though he falls asleep with an image of soft lips and the working of a capable hand slipping against the back of his eyelids. It’s there all night, paints itself in front of his eyes again in the morning. He can’t stop thinking about it. And then he starts in on taking over the movement of the toy himself, pushing down on the small of prncehrts’ back and listening to those moans in real life, not just on a tinny video clearly not made professionally.

Maybe he should stop watching these videos. He shakes his head to clear it and goes for his morning coffee, wishing he had thought to completely pull off his underwear instead of just kicking them halfway down his legs last night. A shower, and coffee, and his scrubs, and he can go to work to think about things other than the fact that he needs to reevaluate watching prncehrts so much, considering he’s not gay. At this point, it’s just weird.

Then he gets to work, and doesn’t think about it for a while, because things are busy like they always are, especially with the new ED opening. It’s christened with a train crash, of all things, and some hotshot new doctor comes riding in doing chest compressions on a gurney, yelling out orders, and Will freezes where he stands because he knows that voice too well. Just twelve hours ago it apologized to him for the messy background. A few minutes after that came a very sincere, breathy, thank you.

The new doctor is prncehrts. He knows what the new doctor’s penis looks like before he knows his name. Will thinks he’s going to throw up. Instead, he gets around to actually helping with the influx of patients, and doesn’t even have time to think about it until he gets off work much later. When he has an ER full of trauma patients, they’re more important than remembering all the different positions (Will almost laughs when he thinks that particular word) he’s seen his new colleague.

After it all, however? After, he can’t get it out of his mind. Prncehrts, or rather, Dr. Connor Rhodes, is more stunning in real life. He has a good smile, and kind eyes, and he’s tall and Will’s eyes are drawn to him. But it’s just a matter of curiosity, because, again, Will isn’t gay. He knows better. He wants to see exactly how much different Connor looks in person, but just out of some sort of curiosity he can absolutely control. Will is the master of self control, especially when it comes to absolutely ridiculous thoughts like these.

Except he goes home that night, rewatches his private video, and comes in his boxers again.

He keeps up the routine, very intentionally not mentioning the connection he’s made. It’s not the kind of thing a person just says- “Hey, by the way, I know you have a side business selling nudes and I bought you a vibrating dildo which you sent me a video of you getting yourself off with. Oh, yeah, and I get off on it sometimes, but in a straight way, because I just happen to get off to the sight of any naked body, not just yours in particular. Hope this doesn’t make things awkward!” Not exactly light chit chat.

So Will doesn’t say anything, even when he watches Connor start flirting with one of the other surgeons, and then they kiss at work, and then there comes the day that prncehrts posts a new video of Connor being fucked by a slight woman with fairly short auburn hair. Fucked by, not fucking. With vague fascination, he watches her fuck him with a strap on, and listens to the needy moans it earns. But he doesn’t finish the video, because there’s this feeling in his gut of wrong. Watching the video suddenly feels wrong. He isn’t sure why, or what about it is different besides the woman appearing, but all in all it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. It's a short video, a teaser, for the full one available on her own premier blog. Will almost pays the fee to see the whole thing, but can't bring himself to. Something about it isn't right.

For three days afterward, Will feels weird about this whole thing. Tells himself he should stop watching, because he's straight and so is Connor and it's not the sort of thing a straight man does. For three whole days, his routine of looking and touching and thinking is disrupted, and he may be a little pent up when Connor shoves him against the wall of an elevator and argues with him, and his lips are against Will's ear as he speaks.

He doesn’t process the words being said, just the sound of Connor’s voice and the feel of his body and he melts. It’s easy to melt for him. And Connor definitely notices, but before Will has time to panic, Connor moves and then they’re face to face. Millimeters apart. And Will has studied these lips, studied the hands on his waist.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Will nods, and just like that, Connor is kissing him. It’s like he’s imagined, not that he’s put any thought into this at all. He’s straight. He’s straight, and he’s kissing prncehrts and hands he’s intimately familiar with slip beneath his shirt and stroke along the bottom of his rib cage. This is wrong. Wrong. It feels perfect, but it’s wrong, and Will pushes at Connor’s chest and looks anywhere but at him.

“Your videos. I’ve uh, I’ve seen them.”

“Okay.”

“I’m straight.”

At that, Connor starts laughing. It’s not the sultry one he uses in videos, but something honest and open, and Will likes it even better. It’s genuine. “Dr. Halstead, if you watch my porn and just kissed me, I don’t think you’re straight.”

The elevator dings and the door opens back to the ED, because Connor wouldn’t let him go to the clinical trial ward. “I’ve got a patient to check up on.”

“Will-”

“I’m busy.”

He walks too quickly, his lips tingling with what he just did. He shouldn’t have let Connor kiss him. He shouldn’t have mentioned what he’s seen. He shouldn’t have watched any of the videos in the first place. He’s ruined everything, because he can never talk to Connor again. He’ll have to find a new job. Everything is screwed up and Will is a good three seconds from having a complete meltdown.

Except before he can even go to a patient, Connor grabs his arm and makes him stop. “Will. Listen. What happened, we can ignore it, but-”

“I’m not gay. So yeah, we can ignore what you did to me.”

It’s like a switch has been flipped. “What I ‘did to you?’ What the fuck does that mean?”

Will should shut his mouth. He should walk away. He should stop, for just a moment at the very least, but he can’t because deep down, he’s scared. He’s not gay. No can ever think he is, because Will would lose everything. His family, his friends, his job. He isn’t. He’s not gay. He’s absolutely not gay.

“I asked first-”

“No,” Will argues, “you said you were going to kiss me. You didn’t give me a choice.”

“You nodded, you kissed me back-”

“Yeah, because I didn’t wanna get the shit beat out of me by some pushy homo-”

“Wow. Fuck you, Halstead.”

“I just told you, I’m not gay. So leave me the fuck alone.”

This time when Will turns to storm away, Connor doesn’t stop him. He knows he crossed a line, that he shouldn’t have said anything, but he’s not gay. Nothing he’s ever done has been indicative of that, and it’s not his fault that Connor made assumptions because he’s gay. Or maybe not, because he had been fooling around with that woman in the video Will saw a few days ago. Who cares? Will is straight, and he’s going to put this whole day, including the issue with his patient, behind him with as much alcohol as he can drain into his system without giving himself alcohol poisoning. And he absolutely won’t be checking prncehrts tonight.

Less than an hour later, however, Will finds himself being called to Ms. Goodwin’s office. Connor is sitting in one of the chairs, arms crossed, one leg bouncing anxiously.

“A patient reported something very concerning to me, Dr. Halstead. He said that you, quote, ‘accused Dr. Rhodes of forcing you to kiss him and called him a homo.’ Is that true?”

“That’s what happened, yes.”

“We don’t tolerate homophobia at this hospital, Dr. Halstead, as I’m sure you’re aware,” she starts.

Will doesn’t let her get that far. “But you tolerate him assaulting me?”

“Dr. Rhodes told me his side of the story, and the cameras back it up. You nodded when he asked permission, you pulled him closer. If you have… feelings for Dr. Rhodes, or are exploring your sexuality, that’s one thing, but your language was inappropriate.”

“So what, you’re going to write me up?”

“Dr. Rhodes specifically asked me not to. Why, I don’t know. But I don’t ever want to hear about this again, from either of you, am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” they both say, and they’re dismissed for now, but Will feels like he’s going to throw up because he hates being reprimanded, and absolutely hates feeling as though he’s disappointed an authority figure.

“Next time you have a crisis,” Connor says before they go their separate ways, “don’t use me as your little experiment and accuse me of… whatever that was.”

Just like that, they don’t interact for the last couple hours of Will’s shift, thankfully, and he’s able to go home and drink in the dark. And when he gets the buzz of a notification that prncehrts’ instagram, which is more suggestive than outright sexual, has posted again. He shouldn’t click on it, especially given what happened today.

But Will doesn’t have much self control, and he opens the notification anyways to a photo of Connor’s chest, starting just below his jaw and going all the way down to follow where his hair thickens into an obvious happy trail that would be fun to trace with Will’s fingers. He never would, but he has the thought.

Rough day. Livestream on my premium tonight to help destress?

All the comments are affirmatives, emojis, dirty words that make Will feel like his chest is folding in on himself and he isn’t entirely sure why. He also isn’t entirely sure why he opens up his computer to the premium account and joins the livestream, which hasn’t quite started yet. Connor is just kneeling in front of the camera, hands folded on his thighs and covering his crotch almost modestly.

The chat is going a mile a minute. Compliments. Demands. Will’s never said anything in these before, and isn’t about to start now, but he feels like he should say something. He has to say something. He doesn’t, though, he just watches.

“I’m gonna be honest with you all,” Connor says. Well, he’s not Connor, Will thinks. He’s prncehrts. They have different personalities. Act differently. “I’m not doing this stream for you, or for me. I’ve got this friend- acquaintance more like. Apparently, he’s one of you. He likes to watch.” Connor pauses, probably scanning the chat. “Yes, yes, I know, I’m not giving you a show yet. Be patient. He and I had an interesting day, and I got this feeling that he’d be watching. Are you watching?”

“I’m watching,” Will says in the silence of his bedroom. “Always.”

“This is a stupid idea, but you know, I figured I might as well have some fun. I'll be taking requests tonight from anyone who gives them, but you know, if you admit you're watching, I'll just listen to you. I know you want that, don't you? That's why you watch. So now's your chance."

It's obviously baiting. Connor wants to prove that Will isn't straight, that there's something wrong with him, that he’s not what he should be. He shouldn’t do this. He should close out of the window. Instead, he holds his phone tightly and debates sending Connor a text. It would be so easy. But the fact is, Will isn’t gay, and it’s one thing to just look, but another entirely to dictate what happens.

He’s still watching, though, when Connor begins taking commands from the chat and starts touching himself, shifting restlessly into the touch of his own hand, a hand that had felt blisteringly hot on Will’s skin only a few hours ago. Every slightest movement is mesmerizing, but nothing as much so as the way Connor keeps biting his lips around the softest moans.

“C’mon. Text me, call me. You know I’ll answer it. Whatever you’re scared of, don’t be.”

Connor stops his hand movements and whimpers, clearly following someone’s instructions in the chat. A lot of his viewers like to see him desperate. But if Will was there, that’s not what he’d be like. He’d just want to make Connor feel good, make him smile and moan and be happy. Not that Will has ever thought about what it would feel like, or would he would do given the opportunity.

Will picks up his cell phone and his fingers dance over the keypad without permission. He can’t help himself. He types, and presses send, and then drops his phone before he can think about it any more. All he does is watch. About a minute later, there’s an audible buzz on the livestream, and Connor picks up his phone.

“Aww, guys,” he says, “my dear Romeo just sent me his address. I guess that means we’re finished for now. But I promise, next video will be lots of fun.”

Blowing one last kiss to the camera, Connor ends the livestream and Will slams his computer shut. What did he do? His lungs aren’t working, and he doesn’t know why he did that because he’s not fucking gay. He should text Connor back and tell him not to come over, or clean up his apartment, or do something other than sit here, still in his scrubs, his phone in one hand and a half bottle of beer in the other.

For fifteen minutes, he stays there in indecision until someone knocks on his door, and he knows it’s Connor. He shouldn’t open the door. All of this was a mistake and he’s about to cry. But he goes to the door nonetheless. Smooths down his shirt. Opens the front door to reveal Connor standing there in a tee shirt and sweatpants. There’s no smile on his face.

“I was watching.”

“No kidding.” Connor strolls inside and throws himself down on the couch like he belongs here. He does, in a sense. He was invited. “I knew you would be.”

Will sits down on the coffee table across from him, still holding his beer bottle loosely. “Listen, I uh, I don’t think I want you to, uh, to- to-”

“You think I’d walk in here and just take off my pants, let you fuck me over your kitchen counter?”

“I…”

He laughs that genuine laugh again, the one that fills Will with warmth. “Listen. I get it. You’re repressed as fuck and I’m your nice little experiment and you never actually meant to meet me in person. It’s awkward. If you wanna watch my videos, look at my pictures, then by all means, since you’re paying me to look. But I don’t much appreciate whatever your little meltdown was today, got that? I’m willing to help you out, if you really do wanna ‘explore’ or whatever. But no more bullshit. If I help you, if we fool around, no more of that ‘I’m not gay’ crap.”

“But I’m not.”

Connor rolls his eyes. “And yet, you still watched the livestream.”

Will leans forward a little, enough to reach out a hand and cup Connor’s face. It’s warm, his stubble rough, and his eyes so soft and affectionate. Or something like that. No one has ever really looked at Will like that, except maybe the ex-girlfriend he shared one dull night with in his college days. There’s still a part of him that screams this is wrong, but a louder voice tells him this is the most natural thing he’s ever done.

“You’re in charge here. What do you want?”

He gets off the table to kneel in front of Connor and kiss him, this time without pretenses. It’s a strange feeling, but it makes him feel warm from his lips to his toes and everywhere in between. And better yet, Connor kisses him back, and it’s perfect. This is perfect.

Then it ends. Not because he wanted it to, but because Connor has decided to sit up properly, and he looks so beautiful with pink cheeks and swollen lips and blown wide pupils, all the things that the camera doesn’t show. Here, there’s no ambiguity on what’s happening, and every choice has been placed in Will’s hands so he can’t claim later that it wasn’t his fault or his desire.

“Can I… Can I touch you?”

“Where?” Connor asks softly.

Instead of coming out of his mouth, the words stick like peanut butter and Will can’t make himself say it. He gestures at Connor’s lower stomach, hoping it’s good enough.

“You want to touch my dick?”

Has to be crass, doesn’t he? Will nods, and Connor takes one of his wrists gently and guides it to the crotch of his sweatpants. There’s a bulge beneath the fabric, but he’s not entirely hard yet. Carefully, Will curls his fingers around it and moves his hand just a bit, like he was rubbing himself off through his clothes because it can’t be that different. Of course, he feels Connor slowly get hard, hears his breathing get heavier and faster.

“Just like that, Sunshine,”

Those words shoot down Will’s spine, and he asks, “Can you kiss me again?”

Connor immediately acquiesces, kisses him with a little more intensity. It’s nice, but Will craves more. He wants to be closer, touch more, do more, and for once his brain isn’t reminding him all the things that are wrong with what he’s doing right now. It feels good, and he needs just a little bit more, but he isn’t sure what that would mean.

“You wanna sit in my lap? Might be more comfortable.”

Yes, that sounds wonderful, sounds perfect. Will nods, and suddenly he’s being lifted into Connor’s lap and he can feel, against his ass, how hard Connor is, and that’s something he did. He caused that. With his own hand. In all honesty, Will doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he remembers that in a lot of videos Connor likes to grind against things, so maybe he could be one of those. He squirms a little, not entirely sure of what he’s doing, which makes Connor grab his hips tightly and throw his head back against the couch and make the most intoxicating sound Will thinks he’s ever heard.

“Do that again.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Connor says breathlessly. Now he’s the one moving, lifting his hips off the couch and rubbing himself against Will’s ass. “Do you want me to touch you?”

“Yes?”

Connor stops moving altogether, which is the worst possible thing that could have happened, in Will’s opinion. “Is that a question or an answer?”

“Yes, please touch me.”

“Look at you, so polite.”

He kisses Will again, and then slides a hand between them to wrap around Will’s cock, his palm almost stiflingly hot through the thin fabric of his scrubs. It’s like all the times he’s touched himself, but more, because this is someone else’s hand. This is Connor’s hand, specifically. There’s another man here, touching his dick, rubbing a thumb against the head in a way that has him struggling not to moan, but Will is straight. He doesn’t like men. At this moment, he isn’t sure if he wants to keep going or jump away and throw up into the sink. His chest is fluttering like a butterfly’s wings in a storm.

“What happens next?” he asks between breathless kisses, which, of course, makes Connor laugh all over again.

“Whatever you want. We can just do this, we can stop, we can get naked. It’s all up to you.”

There’s nothing to hide behind now. If Will wants something, he has to ask, and he almost doesn’t want to because it’s easier to just stop now. But he doesn’t want to. He slips his hands under Connor’s shirt and just feels, because he can touch and there’s no reason not to. The hair on his chest is more wiry than soft, he notes, and keeps touching because he can, and he’s allowed to do whatever he chooses right now.

He could come like this. It’s embarrassing as hell, but he might, in his pants, the way he does when rolling his hips into his palm while watching Connor’s videos. The real thing is different, especially the way Connor touches him, the way he feels still grinding up against Will’s ass and moaning without pretense because this is not a show designed to please a viewer. Yet again, he finds himself in love with the real Connor, not the version of him that he sells online.

“I wanna make- I wanna make it good for you,” Will admits. “How do I do that?”

“This feels good enough-”

Will groans and presses his hands harder against Connor’s chest. “I don’t care about ‘good enough.’ I want to- how do I do more?"

“Are you asking if you can fuck me?”

“I don’t know?”

“Do you even have lube?”

He shakes his head, which gets Connor smiling at him again, and it’s blinding. Life changing. “Like I said when I got here, we’re not doing that tonight. I’ll help you get off, but that’s as far as we’re going for now. Okay?”

For now is an implication of more to come later, that Connor will give him the opportunity to do more than whatever is happening now. Will won’t take it, but the thought feels nice. He nods and keeps feeling, touching, taking as Connor makes both of them feel good in a way Will has never experienced before in his life.

“Connor…”

“Don’t. Whatever stupid shit you’re gonna ask me, don’t.”

“No, I- it um, I think…”

Connor rolls his eyes. “You’re going to come?”

Nodding, Will shuts his eyes and focuses on the way all of this feels, the way it overwhelms him. The way Connor takes care of him. He doesn’t have to think, just this once. Instead, he thinks about the way it feels to be touched, to touch, to know that he can do this because it’s good and maybe, just this once, Will deserves something that’s good. Connor doesn’t hesitate, or stop. He keeps touching, keeps making Will feel like he’s on cloud nine, and then the sensations crest and the next thing he knows his eyes are squeezed shut and his face is against Connor’s, cheek to cheek, touching, and it’s perfect.

Then it’s over, but Connor hasn’t stopped moving. He’s still rolling his hips up into Will, still breathing heavy and still needing to be taken care of, and Will panics because he’s past the moment of ecstacy, and he’s here, in a man’s lap, and what just happened isn’t right.

Will stands up and stumbles on shaky legs toward the kitchen. His underwear are wet. Connor is talking to him, but he doesn’t hear it, doesn’t hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears as his hands grab onto the edge of his counter and he leans over his sink to throw up. The magic is gone. All that’s left is pain and fear and disgust and Will has tears on his face.

“Hey, hey, Will? What’s wrong?”

“I’m not gay!”

Connor is quiet, then. Will can feel his presence just a few inches away, wanting to comfort but afraid to touch, his breath still not entirely under control. He doesn’t retort, or bring up what he said when he got here, but just stands there in silence beside Will as he dry heaves over the sink. The smell is awful.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

The second he touches Will’s back, Will jerks away. “Don’t fucking touch me, fuck, fuck-”

“You need to calm down,” Connor says in his ‘crazy patient’ voice. “Will, just a few minutes ago, you were asking about having real sex. Now, you’re… you need to know that it’s okay to like men, Will. There’s nothing wrong with it, wrong with you.”

“Yes there is! Oh my God. I’m gonna throw up again.”

He just dry heaves for the millionth time. But Connor is still there, and rubs between his shoulder blades until he stops. Then he guides him away, toward the hallway, and opens doors until he finds the bathroom.

“You take a hot shower and calm down. I’m gonna let myself out, and you’ll be on your own. If you need, or want, anything, you can always call me. I’ll cover for you if you wanna call out tomorrow. But really, Will, I promise, there’s nothing wrong with liking men.”

Connor leaves, then, and Will looks at his reflection. His hair is all messy and his cheeks are flushed cherry red. But he also sees what’s not there. Imprints of Connor’s hands on him. He’s dirty. He’s broken. He wants to claw off his skin, make this feeling go away. It would be easier.

Instead, he turns the shower on as hot as it gets, strips off his soiled clothes, and steps beneath the spray. Maybe it’ll clear him. He lets the water wash away what he did, even if it still clings in spite of his best efforts to wash everything away. He did something he shouldn’t have, touched something he shouldn’t have. He’s not fucking gay. If his stomach wasn’t empty, he might throw up all over again.

He scrubs himself raw, three times over, before getting out and surrounding himself in a fluffy bath towel. He walks slow, careful, to bed and buries himself in his covers still not completely dried off. It doesn’t matter. First thing in the morning, he has to go to work, and see Connor, and he knows he won’t be able to stop thinking about what happened tonight, especially if he sees Connor. He should call out.

Instead of doing either of those things, he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, it’s because his phone is ringing loudly- not his pager though, which means it’s not the hospital. He smacks it twice before getting a hand around it and sliding the answer button. “Hmm?”

“Hey, I wanted to check on you.”

He damn near throws the phone across the room. ‘What do you want, Connor?”

“Like I said, I wanted to check on you. You seemed pretty freaked out last night, and I uh, I feel bad about it. Thought I should make sure you’re okay. And if you’re up to it, I could come make you breakfast? Eggs, bacon, some orange juice. Maybe pancakes. Whatever you want.”

“Connor.”

“Please, let me? I promise I won’t do anything untoward.”

Will sits up and pushes his hair out of his face. “Okay, but I don’t have anything here.”

“I’ll stop by the store, don’t worry. See you in ten to fifteen.”

Connor hands up, then, and Will is left to think about what this means. Over the last day, things have been confusing, terrifying, wrong. He isn’t sure what happens now. Obviously, Connor is angry with him, and this could very well be an excuse to yell at him or hurt him. The last thing Will should’ve done is say yes. But it’s too late now, so he just forces himself out of bed and puts on clean clothes, runs his hands through his hair to try and tame it. There isn’t time. He doesn’t have time.

The time goes so quickly, but also too slowly, until someone knocks on his door and he opens it for Connor, arms laden with two grocery bags and dark bags under his eyes like he didn’t sleep last night, like he took this harder than Will did.

“You’ll have to show me where the dishes are,” Connor says.

Nothing else. He’s quiet, but proud in the way he stands with his shoulders in a perfect line, the way his torso cuts in slimmer at his waist, the way his hip cocks outward to shut a drawer after pulling a spatula free. He’s cracking the eggs in the blink of an eye, whisking them together in a bowl as he throws butter into the pan, and it feels domestic. Like something that would happen if they loved each other, if they had something worthwhile.

“I-”

“Shush,” Connor says. “I’m making you breakfast, and while you eat, I’m going to talk and you’re going to listen. Am I clear?”

Will nods and takes a seat at his table to just watch, because he can’t do anything better. Connor fries bacon as he scrambles eggs, humming to himself, too at ease for what happened between them. But it’s peaceful, and Will almost enjoys watching. The smell of something good cooking in his house, the crackling sound of grease, the slow bubble of orange juice poured into a glass. The last time someone cooked for him had to be before he left home.

It only takes a few minutes, but then a plate is served in front of him alongside a glass, and Connor smiles at him before sitting down. He has this urge to kiss him, but Will knows better. He’s not gay. And he’s fucked up enough at one time. So he doesn’t, he just cuts into the egg with his fork and starts eating while Connor studies him closely.

“Obviously, I made a mistake last night. Not because you aren’t attractive, but because it’s clear that you aren’t ready to admit that you’re gay, or bi, or- in whatever capacity- attracted to men. What happened last night, me coming over here, it wasn’t okay. Not for you, and absolutely not for me. It is not my job to coddle you, or show you the ropes, or help you through your crisis. It’s not fair to me.”

It isn’t fair, but Will wants it in a way he can’t entirely understand.

“So I’m not going to keep this up. I’m not going to kiss you, I’m not going to touch you, and I’m certainly not going to provoke you. That livestream, what I said was inappropriate. My actions, both then and everything that came after, weren’t okay, and I’m sorry for that.”

Connor shifts in his seat, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. WIll’s always hated his wallet, because it’s made of that expensive leather and it’s thick and he has all these cards and all this cash in it. Not because of his second job, but because the world has always been in Connor’s back pocket. It’s no wonder he never had to worry about being read as gay.

He pulls out two business cards and sets them on the table in front of Will. One has an icon on it of a heart, half rainbow and half some weird stripe design of blue, pink and white. The other is more professional and sleek.

“These are for people who can help. That one, that’s a support group I went to when I was younger. Maybe sixteen, seventeen. I went for a couple. It’s full of people of all ages, just like you, who are figuring out who they are. And this one is for a really good therapist who helps people struggling with their identity. Some of them are gay, or trans, or just people who are having an identity crisis about who they wanna be when they grow up. Either of them, or both, could really help you. But it isn’t my job, okay? I’ll support you however you want or need, but it isn’t my job to completely get you through this.”

Will picks up the two cards. They’re slick, smooth in his hand. Light as a feather but still incredibly heavy with their meaning. He holds them, looks at the little heart on the first card and wonders what it would be like just to go, just to see other people like him who might be struggling with the same thoughts.

“What’s the other half of this,” he asks instead of trying to keep processing. “Next to the rainbow.”

“That’s the trans pride flag. You know what that is, I assume?”

“Yeah, I know what being transgender is.”

Connor nods and Will doesn’t know entirely what to do next besides keep eating and stare at the cards.

“Just remember, you don’t have to go through this alone. Me, and the people on these business cards, we’re all family.”

#mine #fic #rhodestead #connor rhodes #will halstead #idek what this is jhkfjg

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connywrites · 5 years ago

Text

of flesh and blood 27

start - part [26]

The bar was sparse and quiet, as was typical for a Monday night, considering most of the regulars showed up on the weekends. For once, Hank kept his load light as he ordered a coke with double shots of whiskey, occasionally glancing at the door in wonder of if Gavin was going to arrive at all.

Eventually, once he’d scooted the tip of $10..00 after a night of heavily mixed drinks, and he’d nearly gone to stand before the sound of the opening bar door caught his attention. 12:55; the place would close in an hour, and Hank wondered if the three-hours-late timing was intentional or not.

“G’morning,” Hank greeted with jest as Gavin took a seat next to him, immediately turning to the bartender while anxious hands dug fingernails into the wooden bar counter.

“Double straight,” Gavin ordered, and while he wanted to, Hank didn’t question him, offering his shot glass to toast once both their orders were filled. Gavin seemed content to oblige, downing the shots in one swift go before slamming the small glass on the counter, then looking Hank dead in the eyes.

“So, you come here often?” Gavin’s sarcasm was spiteful, but Hank didn’t mind as his personality typically resembled a similar demeanor; if anything, he knew it was why he could handle Gavin, hopefully even after a few drinks.

“Used to. Not as much anymore,” Hank said with modesty and a shrug.

“Beats drinkin’ home alone by myself,” Gavin mused aloud. While he knew that particular feeling, Hank couldn’t help but wonder if Gavin had experienced the same, assuming so if he’s already drank his way through more than a few bottles. Gavin stares, then looks away, scratching his forehead in lieu of anything to do meanwhile.

“I usually drink with friends,” Gavin said barely loud enough for Hank to hear, and he nodded in response.

“I used to, too.” Gavin sighed, and Hank motioned the bartender over to fill a pitcher of premium lager for the both of them.

“So, you start drinkin’ now that it’s gone?” The question was serious, but Gavin scoffed and looked away with a coy smile, even if the subject at hand wasn’t’ necessarily funny.

“I know, right?” Gavin kept his smile and mustered a guttural chuckle that was still heavily soaked in mocking sarcasm.

“Should have started before it left. Might’a helped to forget a few things.” Gavin’s voice was light in nature, but his eyes were focused and calculated with a stone-cold expression Hank had grown to know all too well. Hank smiled with a small laugh, able to acknowledge he’d be a hypocrite if he’d disciplined Gavin for behaviors he was already guilty of, but had a hard time separating the situation from himself.

“Haha, nah,” Hank chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Been there, tried that. You’ll never forget.” His words were crisp and somber enough Gavin felt like he had no choice but to take them seriously, waiting while he let them sink in. Somehow he seemed even more unnerved than before.

“I killed the thing,” he spat in a sudden breath right below a whisper; loud enough Hank could hear the statement, prompting him to pause for a few seconds in attempt to register the concept.

“I killed it and it wanted to kill me.”

For a moment, the words didn’t digest, and Hank didn’t take him seriously until killed met his ears a third time, and a few more moments were spent trying to wrap his mind around such a situation. Gesturing to Jimmy with a glance beneath uncertain eyebrows, Hank silently told him he was ready to leave, standing from the counter as Jimmy immediately began to wipe down the polished wood top of the bar. Adding a few more dollars to the $10 he’d left on the counter, he waved an arm as he turned to steer towards the front entrance. Gavin appeared dumbfounded, shaking his head in silent convincing, so for the time being, Hank stayed.

“It wanted to kill you?” Repeating what Gavin had said in an attempt to make sure he’d heard right, he waited until they were outside to speak so loud and clear. Gavin nodded rapidly, then shrugged, clutching his upper arm with the opposite hand while he averted his gaze.

“Well, it talked about wanting to.” He wanted to flinch, but every splice of muscle in his body was still. Hank’s expression remained unwavering. Gavin averted his gaze to the side, glancing at the art on the wall or the color of the seating booths; trying to think of anything but the matter at hand.

“And you couldn’t do anything about it,” Hank assumed, nodding his head.

“Not a chance,” Gavin muttered back under his breath, ordering a round of double whiskeys for both of them; he had the funds, after all, and wasn’t so eager to leave as Hank was when they still had fifteen minutes to spare.

“So much for helping the force, huh?” Hank mused aloud, but he wasn’t anymore inclined to continue thinking about it than Gavin was talking over the subject.

“I dunno. Can’t say he didn’t help me,” Gavin admitted softly with a self-conscious shrug, downing the drink as soon as he heard it clink onto the countertop.

“Just sure as hell hurt along the way.” Hank stared at him thoughtfully, thinking over the situation in his head as he lifted the glass, paused, and slugged it down. He had no idea what to do or say aside from the fact he wish he did.

Small talk was difficult on Gavin, and Hank picked up on the fact; maybe it wasn’t the best idea to invite another antisocial person to hang out with, let alone in a public area, but he knew how it was drinking yourself to sleep under heavy liquor over someone else; it was miserable and undignifying at best. While he wasn’t sure if he was really in the place to talk, he also knew he would have given anything for someone else to intervene when his drinking was at its worst, the bad habit having picked up centrally after his son’s death. While Gavin’s situation was hardly comparable, it was obvious the repercussions were similar, and he wasn’t about to watch the asshole drink himself to death over something he didn’t even cause to begin with, as far as he knew.

"Hey, let's take my car back," Gavin offered, much to Hank's surprise.

"Sure," he agreed, "I took a taxi here anyway. Looks like it was a good excuse not to bring Connor along." The look of fear in Gavin's eyes made him regret bringing up the name.

"Er, yeah. Let's get outta here," he repeated, groaning from the pain in his hip as he stood up to leave, and Gavin followed close behind.

Pausing when they walked up to the car, Hank paused to look it over, nodding slowly with his hands on his hips as he momentarily felt like an approving father.

"That make isn't even on sale yet, is it?"

"Nope," Gavin responded, flashing a cocky smile as he swiped open the passenger side door; it lifted upwards in a smooth motion and leaned to blend against the roof of the car in a sleek and stylish manner. Lifting his eyebrows, Hank curiously waved a hand over the panel that was the door, cuing it to lift and slide into position the same way. Looking impressed, Hank ducked down to slip into the passenger seat.

"It goes to insane speeds, too, but I'll save you the heart attack, old man," Gavin chimed, pressing the button that started up the engine with an electronic hum. Knowing Hank's popular taste in music, he turned the radio to the heavy metal station, the music surrounding them with crystal-clear clarity and outstanding bass. Hank whistled.

"At least you had a sugar daddy for a minute, huh?" He wasn't sure if it was too soon to joke in such a way, but Gavin chuckled after an appreciative scoff. It seemed the night at the bar had lifted his mood, and Hank was grateful.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm loaded. I still haven't even touched that money," he admitted with a single-shoulder shrug, gaining a questioning stare from Hank.

"Why not? Spoiled enough already?" Gavin rolled down the windows with the swipe over another panel button before popping open his glove box - another pane that slid down into the structure of the dashboard as it opened - to grab his cigarettes, pulling one out to light before replacing them, the small door closing automatically once he pulled away.

"What am I gonna do, buy a hot tub?" Taking a deep drag, he flicked ashes out the window and shook his head while he blew out the smoke.

"I've got food, a bed, a great stereo, a nice big TV... might as well hold onto it. Can't find anything else I want, I guess."

"Seems like you could use a pet," Hank suggested. Gavin didn't immediately respond.

"Maybe a dog to keep an eye out. Or a cat that'll yell at you when you come home." Gavin couldn't deny the idea being a bit favorable, now that he could afford all the commodities and vet visits.

"Yeah, maybe," he finally said after another sigh of smoke. Hank glanced away, watching the passing buildings as he tried to avoid inhaling the smog.

"Or a fish if ya don't like all the responsibility. Got a few for Connor, but it’s a pretty nice touch for the house." Gavin furrowed his eyebrows; setting all that up seemed like a hassle to him.

"No thanks. If I get an animal is gonna be more than furniture," he mused.

"Wait, does Connor live with you?" Hank hesitated, then shrugged.

"Might as well. Follows me and caters me around enough."

"You too, huh?" Gavin sighed.

"Damn 900 wouldn't leave me alone. I had a stalker that kidnapped me in my own home," he grumbled, and Hank's gaze turned somber, yet still appeared slightly surprised at his honesty.

"Good riddance," Hank huffed boisterously, adding emphasis to the phrase. Gavin nodded, turning his attention to the road in time to catch sight of the bright, white headlights on the front of a semi coming towards them. Hank's shout to watch out was drowned out by the sound of the loud, long honk, and he spotted the way it was veering towards them at an angle as it must have slipped on the ice; the music died out as the car warned him of danger in that usual polite, feminine voice, the vehicle turning itself away from the semi. Whirling to the left, Hank was on the side of the collision as the sound of crunching metal filled the air, and the small, light frame of the car caved in on itself while the truck shoved it across the road. Now pressed against the bumper of the larger vehicle, the thick glass shattered and the passenger door caved in, missing Hank by a sliver.

Once everything was still, Hank's angry voice filled the air before Gavin’s ears started to ring. He spotted the fire starting up from the semi's leaking oil, and any and all coherent thought was dismissed in favor of primal fear overcoming his entire body.

Finally registering the situation, he turned to look at Hank, his breath leaving his body in one fell lungful of surprise and horror at the sight. With the side of his head and the front of his shirt soaked in blood, Gavin saw Hank’s right leg now stuck in the cramped area of crushed metal between the door, his seat and the dashboard. Without knowing what to do, he glanced back to the growing fire, then to Hank, biting his lip in the moment of panic.

"Can you get out?"

Hank grunted as he gripped his thigh with both hands, giving it one good yank as he tried to pull it free; a sharp piece of metal grazed across his knee with an ugly gash, but he was able to free himself, and Gavin wasted no time swiping the panel on his door to try and get out-- but the programming locking it shut seemed to have malfunctioned as scattered red pixels flashed ERROR at the low center on the inside of the windshield. Muttering something under his breath, he started smacking the door, as if it might help him escape.

"We'll never get out that way," Hank urged.

"Break the windshield and get out first, I'll follow you." Nodding, Gavin whipped off his shirt to wrap around his hand, winding up for a strong punch that cracked a circle into the glass, but didn't break it. Punching a few more times, he managed to make a hole, grabbing the edges to pry the cracked pieces away until the opening was big enough to crawl through. With the smoke from the truck filling the air in the small vehicle, he held his breath and lunged forward, crawling over the dashboard onto the hood and turning around to reach for Hank. Taking Gavin’s hand, he tried to pull himself forward, but felt his ankle yank as it snagged on another fractured piece of the car and grunting as the pain in his knee and lower leg increased from the tension. Panicking, Gavin jerked harder, only proving to strain the limb worse as Hank shouted in pain.

"Ah, fuck it! Get outta here, Gavin," he demanded, ushering him away with a shooing arm motion. Looking scared and uncertain, Gavin shook his head.

"I won't live with myself if you die, motherfucker," he spat under his breath, shifting to lean further into the vehicle and trying to get a better look at the part that had Hank stuck, all the while feeling the heat of the fire growing closer behind him.

"Better me than both of us!" Hank glared at him with a serious look that almost scared Gavin into listening.

"Go!" Hank shoved Gavin and the younger man sighed, sliding backward and down off of the front of the car in one smooth go, glancing to the way the flames were growing; the truck was bound to explode soon, he thought, fumbling to grab his phone and call 911.

"I've got a car accident on Stark boulevard and Claymore avenue, a live man is still in the vehicle and needs help. Hurry!" He only waited long enough to hear confirmation they were on their way before hanging up and glancing back to the scene, mind scrambling with fear as he wished there was more he could do.

"Since Hank won't be in work for a good while at least, you're taking his place," Fowler stated.

"I understand your relationship with the RK900 was difficult, so Connor will only come with you if you need the help, but for sake of paperwork I have to say you're partnered." Gavin's expression fell and his face turned pale.

"Also, he requested you go and feed his dog every day, since no one else can look after him while Anderson's in the hospital."

"Fuck," Gavin couldn't help saying with the amount of surprise, fright and frustration he felt.

"How bad is it?" Catching Fowler's gaze under low eyebrows, it was clear he was still uncomfortable showing the concern.

"Is..is he okay?" Fowler sighed, lacing his fingers together as he stared down at his desk in a second of thought.

"Broken bones, a bad concussion, burns everywhere... doesn't sound pretty," he said quietly, tone somber and respectful. Gavin didn't know what to do, nodding

"Right. Can't the robot take care of the dog?"

"It's not protocol for that kind of android," he retorted.

"'Sides, I don't think the company could hurt you, huh? Sumo's hardly any danger." Sighing, Gavin nodded again, reminding himself not to complain over trivial matters, as the RK would have said.

"Okay. Thanks for working with me, Fowler." Raising his vision to Gavin, he nodded acceptingly. Gavin offered his hand, and he stood to take it and exchange the shake.

"You're good, or we wouldn't. Try to keep up the work. I know our team hasn't been particularly forgiving," he offered with a statement that ended in a sigh.

"I'm sorry for the predicament you were in, but I look forward to working with y--"

"Cut the shit, Connor," Gavin whipped, before wincing and looking around as he still expected recrimination for speaking such a way.

"I don't want to work with you, I just know I have to," he added with an ugly glower. Connor politely dipped his head.

"Yes, sir." While the response didn't mean anything contextually, a spark fired in his brain in response to hearing the words, and in reply to him. It'd been so long since he was the one in power, he'd forgotten it was possible.

"Now that, I like that," he quipped with a crooked grin. Connor mimicked him with one of his own awkward smiles in response.

"Let's get in the cruiser, then.”

"Yeah the bitch in the semi wants to sue me and it's bullshit," Gavin huffed, downing the next cup of coffee at the break table.

"Well, it's not like you can't afford it," Tina responded flatly. Furrowing his eyebrows, he snarled.

"That's my money, and that thing almost killed Anderson. If anything, he should be paying us!" Raising her eyebrows, she propped her chin on her hand while she listened to him.

"Do you have insurance? Or maybe Cyberlife can cover it, since they like paying you so much." Blinking, he thought over the statement; she was right. His situation was already weird on its own, but Cyberlife inadvertently paying him was definitely unusual.

"Yeah, my car's in the shop but I don't have to cover anything. Weak ass machine. Figures something went wrong with it in the first few weeks I had it."

"You can't blame the car, Gavin," she said with exasperation.

"It wasn't anyone's fault and you know that, no matter how hard it is. There's no scapegoat here." Tilting her head, she had a thought.

"You feel guilty?" Raising his eyebrows, he almost laughed, before waving a hand dismissively.

"No. Not my fault a truck driver didn't hit the brakes soon enough," he grumbled, but she had her doubts.

"We should get together with Chris and go visit him. You know nobody else will." He grimaced, but reluctantly came to terms with the idea.

"Okay. We can do that after work if he's up for visitors."

The sight was about as bad as he expected, bandages covering half of Hank's face as a portion of the wrap covered his right eye and cheek. The injured leg was wrapped in a brace and lifted, with more gauze wrapping his arm and side. Gavin dreaded imagining what it looked like underneath, let alone how much it hurt.

"Hey, Anderson," he greeted softly, uncharacteristically timid as he slowly stepped towards the hospital bed. Tina set down a bouquet of flowers on the stand, complimented with a get-well-soon card signed by everyone on the DPD.

"Aw, look at that," Hank cooed sarcastically, but wore an amused smile.

"Ya brought the whole family. Ain't that sweet." His voice sounded half as exhausted as he felt.

"Don't miss me too much, now," he said with a laugh that turned into a cough.

"Sorry about what happened, Hank," Chris offered, sharing a solemn stare.

"Wasn't no one's fault but the damn Detroit weather, but thanks. I appreciate it." Sighing, Hank glanced over to Gavin, nodding at him.

"How you holdin’ up?"

"Better than you," he quipped with a sly turn of his head.

"Can't deny that. How's Sumo?"

"Won't stop whining," Gavin informed.

"Doesn't eat so much, unless I sit there with him. Good dog," he commented absently.

"Yeah, I sure do miss him, but he wouldn't fit on the bed even if he was allowed in,” Hank mused aloud, happy to know his dog was doing well.

“Why don't you take him to stay with you?" Generally, he wouldn't trust Gavin near any live creatures, but felt like his regard towards the matter might have changed after his ‘ordeal’ with the RK900.

"It'll be easier on ya than swingin' by my place every day."

"How'd I know you'd ask?" Gavin smarted, but he’d already adjusted to the idea in his mind.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take him to the house after work tomorrow and uh, get... leashes or whatever, I guess." Hank smirked.

"I knew ya weren't so bad," he offered if only to increase Gavin's embarrassment, content when he'd earned a signature glare.

"Just adopt him already," Tina said in a voice of amusement.

"No one else is gonna look after the fucker, huh?" Hank snarked, cuing Chris to chuckle softly with agreement.

"I don't need a dad," Gavin snarked pointedly, and Hank shut up knowingly.

"How 'bout an uncle then?" Hank joked.

"Just kiddin'. You're too much even for me to handle," he added, and Gavin shook his head.

"Heal up quick, dickhead, it’s not the same without you and all that." While Gavin always sounded grouchy, Hank knew the sentiment was sincere or he wouldn't bother saying it.

"Have to catch on fire to get some appreciation on the work force, huh? Next thing I know I'll actually get a raise," he jested with another weak little laugh.

"Fowler was busy but he sends his best wishes," Chris informed him. Feeling appreciated, Hank closed his eyes with a nod.

"You brought flowers 'n' a card, but no donuts?" Hank teased. Gavin's expression fell as he realized he'd forgotten the pizza stop along the way.

"Oh yeah, I bet hospital food sucks ass," he commented, and Hank huffed in response.

"Eh, s'not so bad, but I avoid the meat," he said with a nearly warning tone. Chris shook his head.

"Take care, Lieutenant," he offered, locking eyes while they exchanged.

"You're a hard worker, Chris. Don't let your position get in the way of that." Climbing the career ladder was a long, strenuous and stressful process, and Chris still wore the innocent doe-eyes of a determined, but unjaded worker. He remembered bring in that position, ten years ago when he was in his middle ages and prime in his work, momentarily reminiscing on the old days; he usually thought he'd been with the DPD too long, worn out from all his hard efforts and the demands from higher-ranking officers, but days like this really proved his labors paid off.

"Thanks, Anderson," Chris responded, always formal in his demeanor.

"Well, I'm gonna pass the fuck out. See you guys in a few months," he grunted, trying to change position in the bed with little avail.

"Rest well," Chris chimed, nodding to him once before turning away. Tina followed close behind, but Gavin remained even after they'd let the room. Hank turned his head to look at him, curious.

"Sorry, uh, about the accident," Gavin murmured before he had time to change his mind.

"Nobody likes hearing you say sorry, detective Reed," Hank said on a serious tone he didn't remember hearing before.

"So cut it out." Surprised, Gavin stared at him.

"If anyone would say he's not anyone's little bitch, it'd be you, right?" Hank's eyes lit up while he tried to put across his point. Gavin didn't find it in himself to disagree.

"Stop being the 900's. It's not even here anymore." Despite the harshness of the words, Gavin knew he needed to hear them, brazen tone and all.

"Most people in your position would be in the psyche unit, the floor above me, right now. You're stronger than that, I know it," he continued.

"Don't let an android beat you down." Gavin avoided his gaze and folded his arms, but reluctantly nodded.

"Night, lieutenant," he offered in a weak voice.

"Night, Reed."

#almost 4k words in this one! hope yall enjoy etc :3

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donamoeba · 6 years ago

Audio

TRACK 1 || TRACK 2 || TRACK 3 || TRACK 4 Thank you @aliasanonyme for the audio clip!

TRANSLATION

Nao: So, Ikuya, what do you think we should do? How about nininbaori where we eat a piping hot oden stew? (T/N: Nininbaori is a comedy act similar to "Helping Hands" in the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? where two people wear the same large coat and one person acts as the face while the other is the arms. They are tasked to do mundane things, usually eating, and humor arises from the arms never being coordinated with the face.)

Ikuya: Absolutely no way!

Nao: Haha, I was just joking.

Ikuya: You sound like you really mean it, it's scary, Nao-senpai...

Nao: Eh, that's not very nice. Is that your impression on me?

Ikuya: Ugh... well... yes.

Nao: That’s pretty brutal, Ikuya. You're like Natsuya in that sense.

Ikuya: Actually, Nao-senpai, I'm sorry you got dragged into performing party tricks just because my brother decided on it out of a whim.

Nao: I'm used to it. Natsuya has always been like that... pushy, or should I say, the moment he thinks of something he just dives headlong into it.

Ikuya: Speaking of which, Nao-senpai, I heard that you were dragged into joining the swimming club by my brother.

Nao: That's true. He made me sign the club application form on the first day of middle school. It was amazing, the way he forced his way into the swimming club.

Ikuya: That stupid brother...

Nao: Well, it turned out alright in hindsight. But yeah, if he grows up to be the same and keeps being so pushy, maybe I'll be mad at him for real.

Ikuya: I'd be angry with him as well. Since he was a kid, Brother has always liked to get everyone to do what he enjoys doing.

Nao: Yeah, you're right.

Ikuya: He hasn't changed at all. When he finds a soft drink that he likes the taste of, he would buy it every single day.

Nao: Ah, that sounds like him.

Ikuya: And movies, too. When there's something he likes, he makes me watch it again and again, to the point I have the protagonist's lines all memorized. Worst of all, once he enjoyed cycling so much, he said he wanted to share the fun with me and without warning put me onto a mountain bike and took me to a slope, even though I just started on training wheels. Is that even normal!?

Nao: Wow, that's... ugh, so, could you ride it?

Ikuya: There was no way I could ride that bike! I fell hard and cried my eyes out.

Nao: That makes sense... come to think of it, I had a similar experience as well. It was in middle school and we were heading home from school together. We barely knew each other then, but we were in the same class, so it's kind of natural to end up going home together, right?

Ikuya: Well, I guess.

Nao: And then Natsuya said he knew a shortcut and tried to walk a straight path from the school to my house. He didn't even care that there were walls and fences in the way. Haha, I was so shocked! Even though it's the shortest distance for sure.

Ikuya: That stupid Brother!! I'm truly, deeply sorry.

Nao: It's okay, it was quite funny, actually. Since it's a route I'll definitely not take. By only changing the road home a litte, the sights I see on the way changes, too.

Ikuya: Nao-senpai...

Nao: But it was private property, so when we were caught later, both Natsuya and I got a good scolding from it.

Ikuya: Woaaaahhhh!?

Nao: Ikuya, all the different faces you're making are really funny.

Ikuya: Nao-senpai, could it be that you're just playing with me?

Nao: Of course not.

Ikuya: I doubt it.

Nao: Anyway, I wasn't lying when I said I'm not angry with Natsuya, and it's also true that I had fun.

Ikuya: Brother does these things out of good intentions, so if you really are uncomfortable with them, please make sure you yell at him.

Nao: Hmmm... it hasn't been that bad up until now. Besides, if he really goes too far, I'll make him eat the super-spicy lotus root filled with mustard paste in my lunchbox. He gets pretty quiet after eating it.

Ikuya: What an odd way to get your revenge... since Brother can't stand spicy food... but anyway, I'm glad it's not that bad for you.

Nao: What about you, Ikuya? Have you ever been seriously angry with Natsuya? Oh, except for that time.

Ikuya: Ah, well, um, I'm really sorry about it all.

Nao: It's fine. I'm glad both you and Natsuya are really enjoying yourselves now.

Ikuya: Yeah, in a way. Let's see... have I been angry with my brother before? Hmm... oh, I remember, the time when he gave me a box filled to the brim with cicadas that he spent a whole day catching in the mountains, I got really mad at him. I was so traumatized I couldn't stand cicadas ever since.

Nao: That does sound awful.

Ikuya: He was really happy and proud when he brought them back though.

Nao: I wonder if the cicadas looked like gold to him.

Ikuya: Maybe in his mind, they are of equal value.

Nao: I'm surprised you were so attached to him when this is what you went through in your childhood.

Ikuya: I was like you too, Nao-senpai. When all is said and done, I still had fun, and he took me to places that I wouldn't have gone to myself.

Nao: I see. I'm glad you brothers made up.

Ikuya: Well... yeah. Mom seems happy, too.

Nao: Natsuya has grown up a bit too, so he's a good big brother now, right?

Ikuya: Except for when he invented a really disgusting sports drink after reading a bunch of books on training and made me taste-test it... I guess?

Nao: What? He made you drink it as well? Ahaha, yeah it was pretty foul. It has a good balance of nutrients, but he didn't give taste much thought...

Ikuya: Seriously, Brother hasn't changed one bit.

Nao: The child is father of the man, as the saying goes.

[Chimes]

Nao: Oh, it's time for the swimming club.

Ikuya: We haven't decided what party tricks to do yet.

Nao: Let's go with nininbaori and piping hot oden stew!

Ikuya: Like I said, no way!

Nao: Really? Well then, let's just do something on the day.

Ikuya: Huh? We don't have to decide?

Nao: Don't worry, if we can't come up with anything, I'm sure the other can't either. I am sure.

Ikuya: I think... I now understand why you can stay as friends with my brother, Nao-senpai.

THE END

#free!#free! eternal summer #high speed!#nao serizawa #ikuya kirishima #translation #mypost #audio #free!official translation

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littlecactiguy · 6 years ago

Text

Because of a Cat

Lapidot AU Week Day 2: Flower Shop/Tattoo artist AU

Day 1 Post. AO3.

@lapidot-week

On Barn Street, there were two business that absolutely all the Beachtown (a small neighborhood in the larger Crystalopolis) locals knew, Painted Wings Tattoo Shop and Pumpkin’s Premium Flowers. Most outsiders to the neighborhood would wonder why these two small businesses, of all the unique, little shops clustered in that area, garnered the most attention. Some locals would spin a story about a decades-old feud. Others would just shrug and say they liked each of the shops’ services respectively. Most would roll their eyes. The owner of the small bakery/cafe a street over, Pearl, would sigh, share an exhausted look with her wife, the local jeweler who specialized in rare metals, Bismuth, and say it was because of a cat.

Some years back, an ex-Diamond Authority Officer, Peridot, arrived with her fat, orange-striped cat, Pumpkin, and started a flower shop selling whatever she could grow in the small backyard behind her shop. Most eyed her warily, as the Diamond Authority wasn’t exactly favored in this part of town, but she was friends with the youngest child of the DeMayo family, Steven. Since the DeMayos had been a part of the neighborhood as long as anyone could remember, it was communally decided that Peridot could stay. And then, it was found out that, if you spent just five minutes with Peridot, you’d learn she was just as weird as everyone else, so she quickly fit right in. Plus, everyone loved Pumpkin, who won a couple awards for Sweetest Cat Ever, which Peridot proudly hung behind the counter of her flower shop.

More recently, one Lapis Lazuli, also a friend of young Steven and someone who didn’t share much about herself, moved in to start Painted Wings Tattoos. Unlike Peridot, who’d quickly involved herself in every aspect of Beachtown life, Lapis kept to herself. She only really travelled out of her apartment above her shop to buy groceries and the occasional drink/donut combo from the Big Donut on the street corner.

That is, until Pumpkin decided to intervene in her life. And Peridot’s.

“For the last time, I do NOT have a crush!” Peridot slammed her hands down on the counter, causing her to lose her balance. The stool she used to be able to see over the counter wobbled, but, by now, Peridot was an expert in not letting it tip over.

From where she browsed that day’s selection of flowers, Bismuth laughed. “Sure you don’t, shorty.” She gestured to the flowers. “This all you got today? It’s our anniversary in a week but—”

“Your bouquet will be ready at the agreed upon pickup time of 9 am.” Peridot interrupted, relieved to jump back to the familiarity of work orders.

“I know, I know, but Pearl’s being having such a hard time getting her latest tart recipe juuust right. She won’t stop until it’s absolutely perfect.” Bismuth looked back to Peridot. “You know how she can get.”

Peridot nodded. There were Reasons she dreaded when Pearl came into the shop looking for flowers for Bismuth. She, Peridot, was the only perfectionist allowed to reign in Pumpkin’s Premium Flowers. Absolutely no one else ever was. Including Pearl. Who always, always tested that rule.

“Anyway, I was thinking I’d get her something small and special now, you know as a pick me up.” Bismuth approached the counter. “So, you got anything good for me? And remember, absolutely no roses.”

“I am aware of the ban on roses you two have,” Peridot answered. She prided herself in remembering all her regulars’ preferences, yet these two never failed in reminding her of their “no roses” rule. It was irritating to constantly be reminded, but she could say she understood it. She herself, wasn’t fond of being reminded of the past.

Peridot glanced all around at her stock, but there was nothing particularly extraordinary in the showcased bunch. “I’ll check the back.” She told Bismuth.

In her backroom, Peridot checked over her more unusual flowers. Most of what she grew were the normal fair; tulips, roses, daffodils, the general flowers customers wanted. But she also did a bit of experimenting where she could and her results were one-of-a-kind. She had flowers with petals each a different color. Flowers that chimed little melodies when they bloomed. Flowers that were so saturated in color that they made you want to stare at them all day long.

While she determined that a small, potted violet with crystal-like petals that refracted light beautifully would do nicely for Bismuth, Peridot heard the merry ding-ling of her shop bell. She returned to the main room.

And her entire world ended.

Lapis Lazuli was in her shop. Lapis Lazuli, who ran the tattoo shop across the street, was in her shop. Also she was holding Pumpkin in her arms. But the main thing here was that she was In Peridot’s Shop.

Instead of her usual welcome that she gave customers, a garbled mess of sounds spilled from Peridot’s mouth.

“Right. Absolutely no crush here.” Bismuth rolled her eyes.

“I—errr—I—um—I—” Peridot clamped her mouth shut before my syllables escaped.

Lapis approached the counter. “This is your cat, right?” She held up Pumpkin, who mewed. “Cause he wandered into my shop.”

Peridot was still in ‘Most Beautiful Person Ever Is In My Shop And Holding My Cat’ world, so Bismuth replied for her, “Yeah, that’s Pumpkin. Everyone knows her so Peri here lets her wander around to say hi.”

“Oh, um, ok. She’s really cute.” Lapis placed Pumpkin down on the counter. Pumpkin padded over to Peridot, rubbed against her arm, and purred. “But I don’t really want her in my shop.”

Lapis looked once between Bismuth and Peridot, who still hadn’t managed to remember how to do words. “So, yeah, um, I’m gonna go now. See ya later.” She left.

After the door closed behind her, Peridot inhaled a breath that could have set a world record. Then, “BISMUTH DID YOU SEE THAT SHE WAS IN MY SHOP AND SHE TALKED TO ME AND SHE LIKED PUMPKIN AND SHE SHE SHE—” Peridot fell backward off her stool. She landed on the floor and just lay there. “That’s it. My life is officially complete.”

“So…you’re not going to ask her out?” Bismuth leaned on the counter. She gave Peridot a knowing look.

“I—how can I? I can’t even speak around her. I wouldn’t know where to even begin.”

This time it was Pearl who was in Peridot’s shop when Lapis came in. Things, for once, were actually not going horribly. Ok, Pearl had only been inside three minutes so there was still time since she usually spent an estimated 30-40 minutes being wishy-washy over what she would purchase, but still. Those first minutes were usually an indicator of how things would go and, today, they were good.

“Um, hey.” Lapis offered a noncommittal wave of her hand as she walked in. “Your cat wandered into my shop again.” She held up Pumpkin, who mewed accordingly.

“Oh, hello. You’re Ms. Lazuli, right? From across the street?” Pearl spoke before Peridot could muster herself to do the same. “Bismuth just loves her new tattoo. You’re a very talented artist.”

“Thanks.” Lapis shrugged. She put Pumpkin down on the counter. The cat sat down, and then looked up at all three of them expectantly.

“So, how did you get into art, if you don’t mind me asking?” Pearl apparently wanted to make smalltalk.

Peridot scratched Pumpkin behind the ears, unsure of whether to be thankful or not that she didn’t necessarily have to navigate taking part of the conversation.

Lapis answered, “I’ve always liked drawing and ink is a nice medium to work with. It seemed like a natural path to take.” She turned to Peridot. “Hey, Peridot right? I’ve been thinking, you’ve got some cool plants in here. Would it be ok if I came in and drew them sometime? I don’t have many floral designs and they’d make for some wicked inspiration.”

“Yes!” Peridot winced. That sounded waaaay too excited. She gulped and tried again. “Yes, yes of course. Come over any time!”

Lapis smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“Yup.” Peridot tried to lean on the counter, but her elbow missed and she fell.

“Nice.” Lapis laughed before helping her up. “So I’ll come over tomorrow then? Around 8?”

Peridot pretended that she wasn’t blushing. “Yes, yes that is compatible with my schedule.”

Pearl looked between the two, noted the looks they were giving each other, and smiled to herself. “I’ll just let myself out.”

The next day, Peridot took all her unique flowers (even the ones she wasn’t really prepared to part with—look, when you spend hours of your life tenderly caring for a plant, naming it, and talking to it… yeah there were some emotional investments in being a gardener that Peridot had not foreseen) and set them up in the shop. She stared at them. Did some mental calculations. Reset where each and every plant was. Stared at them again. Was about to move them a second time, but Lapis walked in then.

“Hello! I’m glad you’re here! I was just getting them all set up! But I can move them if you need me to!” Was she yelling? Why was she yelling? Peridot grabbed Pumpkin and hugged the cat to her chest as if that would soothe her nerves. Which it did. A little.

“Sweet. These look great.” Lapis offered Peridot a small smile and it melted her heart. “I’ll just be here.” She sat down on the spare stool Peridot had set out for her. “I won’t be in your way at all.” Pumpkin jumped up on her lap and Lapis stroked the cat.

“Oh, and Peridot? Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

#steven universe #lapidot AU week #lapidot week #lapidot #lapis su #peridot su #su pearl #su bismuth #a little late but im still proud of myself for keeping to this #whirlpools writing

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notontumblr · 6 years ago

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Tips & Tricks for Trails of Cold Steel 1

A few of my friends snatched up Cold Steel in the Steam summer sale, so instead of saying the same thing over and over, I’m gonna just write up some general tips here.

General

Talk to every NPC, especially the Thors students. And talk to them every time there’s story progression. You can get recipes, books, and extra sidequests by doing this. And even if you don’t - there’s a lot of side stories going on throughout the game that are interesting to follow and give you a better sense of the world. If you want to save time, just prioritize talking to whoever the guide lists as having stuff and the Thors students, so you understand who the frick they are when they become more relevant in CS2.

Visit Trista’s bookshop once every chapter and buy all their books. These books will be listed in your key items menu, and using them will give you extra bonding points towards whichever character would be most interested by the book. Also sometimes you can learn new recipes this way!

Play Blade on every train ride with every party member at least once. You don’t have to win, but the first game of Blade will give you extra bonding points with the character you play against.

Try your best to collect all the books and recipes. You get good items near the end of the game if you do! You can find out where to get these in the walkthrough I’ll link down below.

Want easy cash? Cook omelets with Elliot. Elliot’s omelets will sell more than the ingredients cost and he joins your party very early in the game, so stock up on Fresh Eggs & Coarse Rock Salt at any grocery store and get him cooking. The game even lets you cook 99 at a time, so that’s nice.

Just utilize the cooking system honestly. A lot of the items are very useful as they will heal you AND cure abnormal statuses/give boosts. Plus some of the failed recipes are just funny.

Always give the cat fresh milk. ALWAYS. If you give her fresh milk enough times per chapter, she’ll give you Zeram Powder before you leave on a field study, which is a very useful item.

Smash all the boxes and vases in monster-areas. You get free shit. Make Link proud and show him what he taught you.

Fishing and resting at inns you pay for will restore CP. You can also get items for your fishing from Kenneth.

Machias, Laura, and Millium can all smash obstacles in your path. It’s not just Millium. Machias and Laura takes a couple extra hits, but they get the job done.

When opening ARCUS slots, prioritize your mages’ slots. Opening everyone’s slots is good, but as Sepith is in limited supply early on - you should focus on your mages first before the physical attackers. In other words focus on Elliot and Emma, followed by either Alisa and Jusis. Also, you will find lots of quartz on your travels so until all your slots are open- save your sepith for that unless there’s a quartz you REALLY want.

Don’t bother buying weapons/armor in Trista before you head out on a field study. You can get better items in the field study locations every time.

DO bother switching equipment before you head out on a field study. You’ll have access to everyone’s items the morning before you head off on the train. Make sure to swap out any gear you really want to use - including Master Quartz. If you’re worried about healing, I recommend giving Canon MQ to either Emma or Elliot depending on whose going.

Buy the Puppy Strap, Kitty Strap, and Frog Strap. You can turn them in to Colette in the final chapter for some material that lets you make an ultimate weapon.

In the final chapter, make sure you have 10 Coarse Rock Salt for the School Festival. If you forget to buy these, you’re free to head to the abandoned school house and grind for it monsters, don’t worry.

Save right before you talk to Celestin during the Patrick/Celestin sidequest in Chapter 6. Without spoiling, Celestin has you play a quick game that based on chance and you can’t repeat if you get it wrong which means you don’t get full AP. So save before you talk to him, and reset if needed.

If you miss an item, check Micht’s store. If you’re lucky, they’ll appear in his pawn shop.

You can change your field character to anyone in your active party. Fie, Alisa, Machias, Emma and Elliot all use ranged weapons, making sneaking up on monsters easier (though Emma and Elliot will stun monsters instead of knocking them out). Laura has a chance of knocking out a monster even if its facing her so keep whacking. But really, just go with your best boy/girl like I know you will.

Use your bonding points how YOU want. I cannot emphasize this enough. Some bonding events will help fill out your notebook, but you don’t get any rewards for completing your notebook beyond completionist satisfaction. But seriously, ignore the people who yell that their bonding choices are the “canon/right” ones, and just go with who you want to go with. My only recommendation is maybe hold off on Towa and Sara until NG+, as higher link levels benefit you in battle - but if you don’t care about that, by all means bond away with them. If you’re really worried about missing bonding events, all the bonding events can be found on youtube, NG+ offers the option of maximum bonding points so you can see everyone’s bonding events, and there’s always the classic saving and resetting trick.

However for the maximum gayest experience, pursue Crow or Elliot (Jusis is a good runner-up too). It’s a JRPG so there aren’t out and out gay romances - but the game is way more gay friendly than Persona 5. Along with that, you can still choose a guy as your final bonding partner or take them out on dates. The other boys have their gay stuff in them, but these guys take the cake. Without spoiling anything, Elliot’s a good boy you can bring home to your parents that’s somewhat a slowburn, while Crow is the fast and dirty Bad Crowmance. If you never want to hear the lines “you should’ve picked a girl” - pick Elliot for any romantic settings (like the Stellagarten) because that boy’s so gay his s-crafts are rainbowed theme. But if you really love another boy, then follow your heart.

Combat

Use whatever party combination you like best. Some game guides will recommend a certain party, but that is their OWN preference. Cold Steel characters are balanced well enough in that there’s no objectively bad character that you should always bench. It’s more a matter of which characters fit your play style best. The game will give you plenty of time to try out every character, so I won’t go on too much about each one. That said, I will be given suggestions on which character types are useful to have.

Have either Elliot or Emma (or both) in your party at all times. They are the mage characters that will pack the most punch with arts, heal well, and their attacks completely ignore physical defense (making them VERY useful on some monsters). Which one is better is up to preference: I personally prefer Elliot because his healing crafts are more useful but the game will force you have equal time with both, so you’ll have plenty of time to judge which one is more your taste.

Have either Laura, Machias, or Millium in your party for smashy times. They all play radically differently so there’s no point in comparing them, just pick one of them so they can smash any obstacles that are in your path.

Rean does not have to be in your active party. While he’s always in your party because main character, if your party has more than 4 characters? He can be swapped out in battle or moved to the support role through the camp menu just like anyone else if he’s not your style.

Learn how to do Arts. Arts are your friend. They are a little more time consuming than crafts since you have to set them up and they have casting times- but my god are they worth it. Especially in CS2 because Arts will get a boost while physical stuff will gets nerfed.

Save S-Crafts for when you see a “!” symbol for maximum damage. You can activate S-Crafts at anytime so long as you have enough CP, so take advantage of that.

Crafts with “Impede” are your best friends. These crafts will allow you to interrupt enemies casting arts that can really mess up your day. The following characters have Impede crafts: Rean (Autumn Leaf Cutter), Alisa (Flamberge), Machias (Break Shot), Jusis (Rapid Thrust), Fie (Sweep), Millium (Buster Shot). I don’t care which one you use, just for the love of god, use them.

Fie can be boosted to 100% Evasion. Equip her with Evade 1 & 2, Shining, Aeolus Gem, 2 Evergreens (which is expensive ngl.) and any armor/weapons that boost evasion. Even if you don’t make it to 100%, you can make it really high.

On the enemy info for strengths/weakness - if it’s above 100 it’s weak to something, if it’s below 100 it’s resistant to it. If it’s at 0, it’ll have no effect so don’t even try.

Nightmare will give a random status ailment once they wake up, so heal that shit ASAP. Stuff that can be used to cure Nightmare are Mint Drops, Roasted Coffee, Premium Coffee, Double Espresso, and any item/spell that heals all status effects.

Links

Gamefaq Walkthrough by Zoelius

All Bonding Events on Youtube (Contains spoilers so recommend you check out AFTER you complete the game)

All Final Bonding Events on Youtube (Spoilers, obviously)

And that’s about it for now! If more stuff comes to me, I’ll add it. But hopefully these tricks help you out!

#trails of cold steel #cs1

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pinkicingshopp · 4 years ago

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8 1 ptr leveling exper a I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt ce reduced fifth azerite armor ring added raid testing. So this is going to be a bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn. Placed an order back in july and earned 30 in children’s place cash that couldn’t be spent until mid september ordered 60 in september so I could use the 3 coupons not only did you drop 2 items from my order saying they were no longer available you refused to reissue my 30 in coupons after you lost my package but I didn’t learn and I ordered from you again with a 30 off coupon I just received an email stating that yet another item in my new order is no longer available let’s see if the rest of my order will arrive p s I ordered from carter’s after I ordered from you and their order has already arrived get your act together children’s place See Other related products: I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt

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teehamster · 4 years ago

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Christmas Funny Pajamas Let'S Get Lit Christmas Funny Raglan Baseball T Shirt

So this is going to be a Christmas Funny Pajamas Let'S Get Lit Christmas Funny Raglan Baseball T Shirt bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn. 8 1 ptr leveling experience reduced fifth azerite armor ring added raid testing. 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aeticon · 4 years ago

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French Bulldog 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts

Yesterday the French Bulldog 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts blm captured 57 horses from the four mile herd management area with no public observers present the agency had told the public that the roundup was cancelled for the day however they went ahead and rounded up more horses yesterday than any other day of the roundup out of public view how’s that for transparency the roundup continues today we’ll keep you posted blmabuse stoptheroundups. Throughout the month we’ll be working with invisible people to bring a face to the homeless epidemic in the united states hanesforgood givingtuesday. Line and define the latest in 90 s revival dark lips give your pout some definition with two new darker shades of our lip liner blending brush just 3 French Bulldog 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts

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After using the French Bulldog 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts diapers for almost two years I must say it s sad to have to cancel the bundles their customer service is awful and I m not sure what s going on with their diapers my last bundle 6 out of the 7 packs of diapers didn t work the sticky tags rip when trying to put the diaper some kept falling off so the diaper wouldn t stay up I contacted them through email and the person asked me for pictures to show how they aren t working ummm no I can t email you pictures of my half naked baby then she says not what I meant I mean pictures of the diapers so you want me to keep diapers that I have use and take pictures it really makes no sense so upsetting I guess they are okay for smaller babies but not for active 17 month old. So this is going to be a bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn. A sad day we’ve lost tammy grimes the actress whose voice brought molly grue so perfectly to life she was 82 years old

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