#physics tutor austin

[ohbueckers]

WHAT’S MY NAME? not everybody knows how to work my body, knows how to make me want it, but, girl, you stay up on it.

THIS IS PART FIVE! pairing, paige bueckers x tutor!oc. notes, it took me so long to perfect this the way i wanted so enjoy muahahaha. also paige saying she prefers netflix & chill fits so well with this it’s so funny. warnings, sexual content (thhhheeee moment) honestly just filth.

paige laid sprawled across the stiff hotel bed in austin, her back against a pile of pillows she’d thrown together. the only light in the room was from the bedside table lamp to her right, and her phone was propped up in front of her, angled perfectly so that she could take in every detail of liana’s face on the screen. paige knew she should be asleep, or at least pretending to be, considering tomorrow’s game. but she couldn’t help herself.

liana was curled up on her couch, wearing an oversized crewneck that slipped off one shoulder, revealing only a slip of her skin. her curls framed her face just like always, a few stray tendrils catching the light as she shifted slightly under her blanket. paige couldn’t stop staring.

“you look way too tired, bro,” paige teased, her lips curling into a smirk that liana was getting way too used to seeing. “let me find out somebody else been gettin’ you right while i was gone.”

liana’s eyes widened from their previously low state, the blonde’s words sending her into a fit of laughter. “please! you’re the only one keeping me up these days. literally.”

paige nodded eagerly, tilting her head up with a smile as if she was completely satisfied with that response. “good. ‘cause i’d hate to have to come back and handle business.” they’d obviously just been flirting, but there was always some realness behind that. it was more like, ‘let me find out naomi been gettin’ you right while i was gone.’

liana knew paige wasn’t just talking about coming back from austin; she was talking about coming back to her, making sure no one else had taken her place. making sure that talk had really happened.

liana let her head fall back against the couch. “work’s just been killing me,” she admitted, her voice a little bit quieter now. “and of course, i miss you.” liana, if honest, didn’t usually say things like that. not with naomi, not with anyone she’d been with before—at least not so plainly. but with paige, it felt different. it felt necessary. maybe it was because, since the day they met, they’d spent nearly every day together or at least made time to talk, even when things got hectic. it had become part of her routine, part of her day-to-day existence. and if you didn’t know, that’s the quickest, easiest way to get attached to someone, especially when that someone is putting in the exact same amount of effort.

it wasn’t just about the physical attraction, though that was undeniably there. it was the connection, the way they could talk about anything—or nothing at all—and it still felt like they were sharing something important. the little moments, the ones that seemed insignificant, were starting to mean everything. and that’s what made it all so complicated for the both of them.

“i miss you too, liana,” paige said finally, not able to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips as she moved her arm behind her head, adjusting her posture a little. following that, she couldn’t help the extra bit of focus she had on her screen. her eyes scanned down liana’s face, and as she licked her lips slowly, her attention was fully locked in.

liana noticed immediately. the look wasn’t exactly subtle, it never was. it made her pulse quicken, moving her phone out of frame as she rolled her eyes, unable to keep the smile from breaking through. “paige, stop trying to rizz me up over the phone.”

paige’s grin widened, chuckling as she ran a hand down her face. “so it’s working?” she asked.

liana laughed, shaking her head. “yeah, okay. you know exactly what you’re doing.” and she did. paige always knew how to push just the right buttons, how to get under her skin in a way that made her feel seen and wanted. it was part of what made it so hard to ignore. and maybe that was part of the problem, too—because liana knew just how easy it was to get swept up in all of it, to let herself fall into something that felt too good to be true.

and then, just like that, the door to paige’s hotel room swung open, breaking the moment. kk came in first, loud as always, with aaliyah, aubrey, and nika trailing behind her. liana couldn’t help but laugh as kk made her way over to paige’s bed, the blonde’s face immediately scrunching up, clearly annoyed they were interrupted.

“yo, p, you still cupcaking your girl over here?” kk teased, making her way over to paige with zero hesitation. she leaned over her shoulder, her widest smile filling the screen as she greeted liana. “what’s good, lili!?”

liana chuckled, the tiredness from before easing as she straightened up. “hey, kk. y’all treating paige alright?”

kk flashed a grin, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed now. “you should be asking if paige is treating us alright,” she shot back, the blonde instantly moving against the sheets to jerk her head back at kk’s words. but before she could say anything, kk continued her thought. “she gets annoying as hell when she can’t get to her phone to text you back.“

paige immediately rolled her eyes, trying to play it off, smacking her lips. “alright, alright, i didn’t know the feds was in the room,” she muttered, shooting her teammate a glare as she made sure to move kk’s frame from the screen.

aaliyah chimed in, of course. “yeah, she’s been getting real soft on us lately—smiling at her phone and everything.”

ice just shook her head, laughing along with the room. “she’s down bad, liana.”

liana couldn’t help but chuckle herself, the entirety of their words being absolutely hilarious, but also cute. there was something in the way they all talked about paige’s softness, the way she was smiling despite their jokes, that made her stomach twist in a good way. she liked knowing she had this effect on her, that she could make her feel something deeper, something real. it made liana feel a little more sure of what she wanted, of who she wanted.

the exhaustion from the day began catching up with her, and as she yawned, she could feel the weight of it settling into her bones, covering her mouth. paige, ever the noticer, shooed her teammates off, her teasing tone softening as she let her eyes fall over the large frame on her phone.

“imma let you go,” paige said quietly, running a hand down her ponytail. “you needa rest.”

liana nodded, smiling. “yeah. you do, too, though,” she lectured, flipping over to her side. “good luck with your game tomorrow.”

“we’ll talk after, okay?” paige replied, her eyes never leaving her screen. she hesitated for a moment, searching liana’s face for any sign of doubt, any worry that something was off. the doubt still tried to worm its way into paige’s mind, especially with everything unsaid between them. but she didn’t prodde, as much as she wanted to. she trusted liana, trusted what they had, even if there were moments when it all felt a little too fragile. in a few days, when they were finally together again, paige knew she’d let her actions speak louder than her words ever could.

after a busy day being back in storrs—filled with practice sessions and home game prep—paige was finally heading over to liana’s apartment. it seemed like their schedules had aligned perfectly for once, but even so, paige couldn’t shake the nagging wish that she’d been able to spend more of the day with her. the season was always busy, but lately, she found herself getting frustrated with it in a way she hadn’t before. it wasn’t just the games or the practices—it was the fact that she actually had someone she wanted to see, and it made everything less satisfying because it kept them apart. the promise of a quiet night together felt like a much-needed respite. the evening had settled in, and as paige approached liana’s building, she felt almost nervous. she’d actually been invited to sleep over, which they’d never done before. it felt intimately scary.

when she walked into the apartment, she was greeted by the soft sound of running water coming from the bathroom. paige closed the door behind her, locking it out of habit before making her way to the back. liana had insisted she come in without knocking, saying she’d be in the shower when she arrived.

paige wandered into the bedroom, dropping her overnight bag onto the floor as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. her tv played some music, and although paige had been in this room a few times before, it felt strange… different. it’s only because you haven’t seen her, stop it.

she could hear the water shut off in the bathroom, followed by the sound of liana moving around. paige leaned back on her hands, letting her eyes wander around the room, trying to steady her thoughts, but something caught her attention, her mind obviously wanting her to do anything but. it was a small pile of clothes sitting neatly on the bed right next to her. she blinked, realizing that liana had left them there, which meant one thing: she’d have to come out in just her towel.

paige licked her lips, her nerves quickly giving way to a different kind of anticipation. she knew she should probably look away, give her some space, but she couldn’t help but feel like the girl had done it on purpose.

her attention drifted toward the bathroom door just as it creaked open. and there she was—liana, wrapped snugly in a white towel, steam still trailing behind her as she stepped out. her skin glowed, still damp from the shower water, and her hair was still dry, cascading perfectly over her revealed shoulders.

a smirk pulled at paige’s lips, saying the one and only thing that came to mind. “daddy’s home,” she mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

liana rolled her eyes, though the laugh that bubbled up within her betrayed her amusement. “whatever,” she shot back, quickly grabbed the clothes off the bed, clutching them to her chest as she turned, making her way back to the bathroom to change.

paige’s eyes followed her every step, appreciating the way the towel hugged her figure until she disappeared behind the door again. when liana finally emerged, she was dressed in an off-the-shoulder tee and a pair of short shorts that showed off just enough to keep paige’s attention firmly locked on her.

“there,” liana said with a grin as she walked back over to where paige sat, sliding herself into the space between her legs. the closeness was natural, easy, like it had always been this way. “better?”

paige shook her head in a way that was deliberately iffy, still smirking as she admired her. “eh. you sure we’re not married yet? ’cause it’s starting to feel like it.” her hands found their way to liana’s body almost instinctively, fingers resting just below her hips. the touch was subtle, yet possessive in that way paige always seemed to manage without trying too hard.

liana looked down at her, placing her hands on paige’s shoulders. “married, huh? i don’t know, p… feels like you’d have to put in a bit more work for that,” she teased, though her voice softened toward the end. they both knew what they were doing, toeing that line between playful and serious, testing the waters without saying too much.

paige tilted her head up slightly, eyebrows raised. “really? feels like i been working overtime for you,” she shot back.

liana chuckled, her fingers absently playing with the ends of paige’s hair as she looked down at her. “you think so?” she asked, overall rhetorical. “maybe i’ll give you some credit… for effort.”

a few moments later, the two girls had long since found their spots at the top of liana’s bed, limbs tangled up together like they were made to fit this way. the room felt even smaller now, or it could’ve just been the proximity. liana had her head nestled on paige’s chest, her cheek pressed against her heartbeat that was trying to stay at a normal pace.

paige kept one arm draped around her, her other hand resting on liana’s thigh in a way to ground it, keep it in place. because paige was sure if she moved, she wouldn’t be able to contain herself. that same leg was thrown over her longer legs, her body angling into her. the movie played on, but neither of them were really paying much attention.

paige’s eyes drifted down to the girl in her arms, watching the soft rise and fall of her breath, the way her lashes fluttered slightly as if she were lost in thought. she felt liana shift slightly, her breath hitching for just a second before she settled again. paige tightened her grip ever so slightly, as if she could keep her from slipping away. she wasn’t sure if it was for liana’s benefit or her own, but it didn’t matter.

it was liana who broke the silence first.

“paige?” she whispered, her voice slightly shaky.

“yeah?”

liana hesitated. “can you move your hand?”

paige adjusted her posture slightly, letting her hand slide a little further up liana’s thigh, closer to her heat. she was still gentle, her movements innocent from anyone looking from above the covers. she cleared her throat. “‘course. wanna tell me why, though, baby?”

liana turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting paige’s with some soft intensity. they could make out each other’s features through the dark, knowing it like the back of their own hands. “making me feel things,” she murmured, voice almost shy.

paige’s smirk softened into something more genuine as she tilted her head, or maybe more mocking. “that a bad thing?”

she hesitated, eyes darting between paige’s eyes and lips, chin still nestled comfortably on her hand. “no.” her reply was a short, almost whiny breath as she shook her head.

paige felt a sense of satisfaction at liana’s response, that tiny, breathy “no” probably making her feel the same way. she loved this—the way she could reduce liana to these quiet, needy sounds with just a look or a touch. she felt almost addicted to the power she held, the way liana’s eyes darted between her own and her lips, as if she were waiting for permission. but beneath that, there was a softness too that came from knowing that liana trusted her enough to be this vulnerable, to fall victim to her with little shame.

there was no doubt they were inching towards something they couldn’t come back from. it should be savored, or simply not done at all, but only one of those options were actually doable. paige let her hand move just a bit higher up liana’s thigh, right where the girl needed her to be, fingers curling slightly against the fabric. “good,” she murmured. “’cause i don’t think you invited me over here just to sleep.”

liana nodded slightly, smiling. “definitely not just to sleep,” and before paige could say anything else, liana closed the distance between them, kissing her with all the strength and roughness her smaller body could muster up.

paige responded immediately, using one hand to guide liana’s body until she was perched on top of her, straddling her thigh. the weight of her smaller frame settled perfectly against her, and paige let out a low hum, eyebrows furrowing at the feeling of the heat radiating off of her. it was safe to say that they both unshamefully had some pressure built up.

liana’s hands found their way to paige’s shoulders, gripping tightly as she tried to keep up with the intensity. she could feel paige’s muscled thigh pressing into her, and her body was already reacting, hips instinctively grinding down, seeking out more of her if that were even possible. it was all-consuming, the way paige effortlessly took control, guiding her movements, making her feel everything all at once. like she knew she had to.

paige slipped her tongue past liana’s lips, exploring her mouth as her hands did their part on her lower body. hands roaming underneath her shirt, fingers digging into her soft skin as she pulled her even closer. paige’s heart raced, her thoughts hazy with the overwhelming urge to make liana just forget about everything else. about naomi, about any doubts or second thoughts. it was just them now, and she was determined to make sure liana knew exactly where she belonged.

every little sound she made drove paige deeper into wanting her. she loved the way liana’s fingers dug into her shoulders, the way her hips moved so instinctively. it was the kind of control that went beyond just physical—she could feel it in the way she was giving herself over. her fingers slipped into the waistband of her shorts, moving them right over her clit, not being interested in making her girl wait. with thought-out slowness, she began to rub at her heat, feeling the dampness that had already soaked through thanks to her lack of underwear.

“fuck, liana.” her mutter against her jawline almost went unnoticed, her voice low as she placed soft, messy kisses along her skin. “so wet. knew you needed me, huh? could feel it the second you started grinding this pussy on me.”

liana’s eyes screwed shut at paige’s words, her entire body shivering as she pressed herself harder against her fingers. the slickness between her thighs only intensified, her need growing with every passing second. she could barely form coherent thoughts, let alone words, but she managed to let out a shaky, “y-yeah… needed you… so bad…”

paige grinned against her skin, her lips trailing down liana’s neck, ghosting over the spot from their night in the car that had started to fade with time. she made sure to leave a new one, sucking at it relentlessly for a few moments. liana bit her lip, trying to stifle the whimpers that kept slipping out, but it was useless. paige knew exactly how to unravel her.

liana’s moans grew louder, her hips bucking uncontrollably as paige’s fingers moved faster, in circles, up and down… the pressure building inside her. it was overwhelming, the pleasure throbbing through her in waves, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. “p-paige… i’m—fuck!“ she said, clearly frustrated she could hardly get her words out.

paige watched liana lose control underneath her with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, quickly throwing the thick blanket off of them so she had more room to move. “go ahead. lemme hear you.” her heart pounded in her chest, her own restraint hanging by a thread as she focused on driving liana over the edge. none of their other encounters had ever felt like this, this personal and damn good.

paige’s words hit liana like a command she couldn’t disobey. her entire body responded, trembling as the tension that had been building inside of her finally snapped. she cried out, following the blonde’s commands word for word as every muscle in her body tightened, then released in a rush, leaving her breathless and spent.

paige kept her eyes locked onto liana’s face as she watched every moment of her unraveling, licking her lips and leaving them glistening. she was lost, so completely undone by her hands alone. “that’s it, baby,” she murmured, her voice bringing liana back to reality, opening her eyes as paige slowed her movements, drawing out liana’s climax. “so fuckin’ perfect.”

liana’s breathing began to steady, though her legs still trembled slightly in the aftermath. paige, all in her lust, leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips. then another one, and another one… all while helping her off her leg and settle back into the pillows, smoothing the damp curls away from her forehead, her thumb brushing softly along her flushed cheeks. she just wanted to take care of her in every way.

for a second, paige thought about stopping there. that shared vulnerability was already enough, right? the way liana had lost herself, gotten comfortable real quickly—it felt almost sacred. they could have left it at that, and it would have been more than enough. but when paige looked into liana’s eyes—saw the way her chest still heaved with shallow breaths, the softness of her expression, the way her lips were parted in that unguarded, needy way—she knew they weren’t done.

liana looked like she wanted more. hell, paige knew she wanted more too.

she leaned in, capturing liana’s lips again, this time with more intent, more need, the kiss deepening as her fingers ghosted down her side. she loved the way her body responded underneath her, arching ever so slightly into her touch, like she was asking for it without saying a word.

paige pulled back just enough to murmur against her lips, “you good?”

liana’s eyes fluttered open, lips still plump, but there was a small, almost shy nod. “yeah… i’m good. i’m really good.”

paige smirked at that, kissing her again just to feel liana melt a little more before slowly hooking a finger into the waistband of her shorts, pulling them down and letting them drop off the side of the bed. she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of liana spread out beneath her, chest rising and falling as she watched her with those wide, expectant eyes. without breaking eye contact, paige grabbed the hem of her own shirt, tugging it off in one quick motion, leaving herself in just her sports bra. her shorts followed, discarded just as easily as liana’s.

leaning over the side of the bed, the blonde pulled her overnight bag up, rummaging through it for a second before pulling out the strap she’d packed. liana’s eyes widened a little, watching as she slid the harness on, adjusting it snugly around her hips. her focus was on the way paige moved—so sure of herself, so in control. but underneath that control, the girl was just as nervous, the receiving end of the strap pressing against her, giving her just enough to heighten every movement she made.

paige climbed back onto the bed, hovering over liana as she pressed a few kisses along her collarbone, down her chest. liana’s breath got caught in her throat when paige’s lips brushed just above her stomach, her hands instinctively finding their way to her sides, fingers digging into her skin as she waited for what was next. paige settled between her legs, hands firm on her thighs as she focused on stretching her out to get her ready.

“paige,” liana whispered, trying to find herself before they got around to that. “i’ve never…” her voice came out practically breathless, and it took a second for paige to process the words, but as they sank in, she stilled, looking up from where her fingers had been previously getting to work. her mind instantly went back to the conversation they’d had in the bar, the first time liana had really opened up. that night when she’d admitted she’d never been with any guys. she’d said it so casually at the time, and it didn’t matter then.

it mattered now.

she pushed herself up slightly, hands resting gently on liana’s hips. “it’s alright,” paige said softly. “we ain’t gotta do nothing y’aren’t ready for.” she didn’t rush or push, even though every nerve in her body screamed at her to keep going. liana’s comfort mattered more than anything else.

liana’s eyes were as wide as they always were, still dark with uncertainty as she contemplated something within herself. paige kept her gaze steady, her thumb brushing soothing circles against liana’s skin, doing everything to show her that this was her call. no pressure. no expectations.

she swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling as she looked at paige, the connection between them pulling tighter.

“i want it to be with you.”

those words, where she felt so sure, slammed into paige like a million bricks. it was everything and more than she’d expected, and yet, hearing it made her chest tighten. nobody had liana feeling like this but her. she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, nodding slow. “okay,” paige said, her voice low. “just gotta know, li… you sure?” her tone was gentler than usual, but still distinctly her with that bit of edge that was all paige. she tilted her head, eyes never leaving the girl in front of her’s every expression.

“yeah… i’m sure,” liana whispered back, her lips barely moving as she adjusted her spot on the bed, and it was clear she wasn’t just saying it to say it. she meant it.

and with that, paige nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as liana’s first time was now left in her hands. she pulled back to focus, hands finding their way between her legs, fingertips grazing her wetness just like she’d done before. her movements were slow, deliberate, taking her time as she positioned herself, letting the tip of the strap brush against her heat.

she didn’t say anything, and she didn’t have to. she guided the tip along her folds, moving it slowly in gentle circles. liana’s hips bucked involuntarily, eyes squeezing shut as the sensation built. without another word, paige angled herself and slowly pushed inside, her movements careful and measured as she watched liana’s expression shift—first a slight wince, then her lips parting in a quiet gasp as she adjusted.

paige’s movements were thoughtful before they picked up, each thrust slow as she sought to make the experience as comfortable and intense for liana as possible. her blue eyes never left her face, as if tracking her down. the first subtle wince, the way her lips parted in a breathless gasp as paige pressed deeper another inch of her length.

liana’s hips bucked gently as she adjusted to the fullness. paige’s hands were steady, veiny, and using their grip firmly against her hips, sure to leave some kinda of mark. as liana’s breathing grew more ragged, paige guided her hand to her lower stomach, pressing it down so the girl could feel the bulge of the strap moving inside her. “feel that, baby?” her voice was low and throaty, yet expectant of an answer. “feel how deep t’shit’s in you?”

liana’s eyes mouth fell agape, her frame rocking up and down against the bed. her hand trembled slightly as it rested on her stomach, and the sensation was overwhelmingly good. she’d expected her first time to feel like a lot of things, this not being one of them. paige made sure to take care of her. she nodded, her voice a breathy whisper as she responded, “yeah… i can feel it… oh!”

paige’s grip tightened just a fraction, head falling over as she took in the sight herself, blonde hair creating a tent around her face. she let out a soft, appreciative groan, eyes locked on liana’s face as she took in the intimate scene.

as the intensity built, paige’s breathing became uneven, her hands still guiding liana through it, ensuring that every moment was as fulfilling as it could be. “doing so well,” paige murmured, as she watched liana become more lost in the moment.

her thrusts became more urgent, less controlled, and more sloppy. she could feel her own climax creeping closer—too close. she gritted her teeth, unwilling to let it take her first, not before she could feel liana fully surrender to it. with a low groan, paige pulled back, the sound of their heavy breathing filling the room as she steadied herself.

in one smooth motion, she shifted, pulling liana on top of her. “c’mere,” paige directed, positioning her so she straddled her waist. liana’s eyes fluttered open, dazed and already fucked-out, the slickness between her thighs coating paige’s strap as she lowered herself down, immediately gasping at the depth of the new angle.

paige’s hands found their spot just under her ass, fingers gripping firmly but leaving enough space for her to move as she pleased. “take it at your pace,” paige whispered, though her voice was thick with the kind of strain that said she was barely hanging on herself. watching liana ride her like this, hair tumbling down around her face, wasn’t doing anything to help her keep her composure. her hips rolled in the same motion over and over, riding like a fucking pro. no way she hadn’t done this before… or maybe the ‘things come easily to me’ gene ran further than just in the books.

liana bit her lip, her breath coming out in short, soft gasps as she rocked her hips harder, feeling every inch inside her. she leaned forward, pressing her chest against paige’s, entire body trembling as she whispered, “feels so good, p…” although it was more a whine.

“i know it does, li,” paige responded, her own voice starting to fray around the edges, overwhelmed by the sight and feel of liana on top of her, and now her broken voice saying all the right things in her ear, chests bonded together by the sweat. if this was what skin to skin was like, the blonde wanted to take her in like that forever. “takin’ me so good. you gonna come?” her hands slid up to her hips, tightening slightly and pulling her just a little closer.

liana’s body trembled, lips parted as she gasped for breath, barely able to nod. “yeah… oh my God… i’m so close…”

“yeah?” her response was breathless, almost there herself as she jerked her hips up to help, wanting liana to feel her deeper as she let her own hands drop, letting her get off by herself. “just let go. i got you.”

liana’s pace quickened, her moans becoming louder and more desperate as her body tensed. her head fell forward, hair falling over her face, and paige could hear the exact moment when she lost herself to the sensation. the heat between them exploded, and with one last thrust from paige, they both came undone at the same time, the release hitting like the best thing all night.

for a moment, everything was quiet except for their heavy breathing, the sound of their chests rising and falling in unison. paige could barely think, let alone speak, as she wrapped her arms around liana, pulling her close as they both came down from the high. the only light in the room came from the mounted tv, now playing random netflix previews, but it was the least of their worries.

paige was the first to break the silence. well, kind-of. it was a breathless laugh, her normal shit-eating smile returning to her face.

liana sat up from paige’s chest, her eyebrows furrowing in mock annoyance, though the corner of her lips quirked up against her will. “don’t look so smug.”

paige’s grin widened, hands still mindlessly rubbing her back slowly. “i’m liana bales’ first body.” her voice was filled with some playful arrogance, and she was clearly just poking fun, but she had only really come to terms with it now.

liana rolled her eyes, but her own smile broke through, and she shook her head. “don’t make it a thing.”

“oh, it’s a thing.”

[soul-controller]

Hey there everyone, it's been a while since I posted a full-length story and I apologize about that. My real life is a bit of a clusterfuck right now and I've been dealing with illness (both physical and mental), work-related issues, and just having to get my car's transmission fixed so being active here has been the last thing on my mind.

Given how long it's been, I thought I'd give everyone the opportunity to vote on what full-length story should be released here next. There's a bunch of options of various types of transformations, so I look forward to seeing what people want to read the most!

[thisismeracing]

bono!reader head-canons

she learned how to ride a bike through brawn team members taking turns at races during the pre-race track walks to oversee her attempting to balance on her small pink bike with tassels on the end of the handles

she had a tutor for her pre-undergrad education because you cant tell me bono left this kid in the uk while he worked all over the world. but also because by the age of 5 this kid knew how advanced physics and aerodynamics worked. she needs something to challenge her and normal public school education for her age bracket was not going to cut it

there is a wall in brackley where there’s a series of marks indicating her height over the years and the team still makes her do it from time to time (imagine bono standing on a stool taking his much taller kid’s height and it being posted on the merc insta captioned: just like old times. it’s a swipe post where the first pick is bono squatting down to take 6 year old bon’s height and the second pic is the one where bono is on the stool)

she had multiple ear piercings. and they indicate her most important accomplishments. her first lobe piercing indicates her bachelors deg., and her second lobe piercing is her masters and she’s saving her 3rd lobe piercing for a potential doctorate degree. maybe she has a cartildge piercings for being hired at merc and another for being promoted to team lead

has her dad’s birthday tattooed on her somewhere, im thinking somewhere on her back

she babysits miss laura magnussen from time to time and makes everyone feel old as fuck because their og grid kid is looking after the next gen grid kid (ahhhhhhh im so soft about this hc in praticular) i think a pic of laura and bon gets posted on both the haas and merc insta captioned something along the lines of “one generation to the next”

i think she’s a high top shoe type of girl, i cant see her being a low top type of person

continuing along the same lines, is an ankle boot wearer whether it be chelsea or laced

is very proficient at riding a horse without any prior experience (i think this one gets found out after bon and bono make it out to austin to the schumacher family ranch)

not a contacts person, wears frames like her dad does but her frames are the semi round ones (think same shape as that one pic of lewis with silver frames and silver suit)

☕️

omggggg yes to all of these!!! I love those hcs smmmmm

Idk why but the shoes makes sm sense to me too. Yes to the piercings and tattoos (maybe she even got matching ones with someone in the grid or something - maybe she's the one that convinces mick to get one). the height thing made me tear up bc yes!!!!!! traditions!! traditions is the word for bono baby and we love it, we love every detail about them.

[totsntutors]

Science Tutoring Austin TX. Science tutoring has become an invaluable resource for students across all grade levels in Austin, Texas, whether they are struggling with basic concepts in biology, chemistry, or physics, or are looking for support in more advanced areas like AP science courses or preparation for standardized tests. As science education becomes more complex, and as students face increasing academic pressures, finding a qualified science tutor can make a significant difference in comprehension and performance.

[mathtutoraustin0-blog]

Are you looking for a Math and Physics tutor in Austin, Texas, then Arye Shapiro will be your best choice. He has experienced in home tutoring or remote tutoring, with including the test preparations. You can schedule your time and location as per your convenience and ask for tuition.  

[foreverdolly]

𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐊 | 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐜

𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭! 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭! 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

At first sight, he had tried to rationalize your presence. Austin had his leather apron tied tightly around his slim waist, his  glasses pushed on top of his head as he tinkered away with his mortar and pestle. “Are you here to pick up a prescription. . . ?” After he had readjusted his glasses so that he might see the patron properly, he began to trail off. One might think that because Austin was attractive, that he must have courted his fair share of ladies in the past. This, however, was blatantly untrue. He wasn’t the most sociable creature. He was awkward around others, and found it difficult to carry normal conversations with non-academics. He never read the gossip column of the gazette, rarely attended any sort of parties that didn’t have to do with fundraisers for the science and medical department of the local college, and found himself overwhelmed with normal social cues. Pretty women were just that to him. Pretty women. They often regretted approaching him the second that they tried to make conversation. He found himself nervous by the newcomer, his blue eyes widening ever so softly, and his hand tightening around the marble pestle. His movements stilled all together, and for a second all he could do was stare. “Not exactly,” Your heels clicked softly against the wooden floors of his shop as you approached, your cheeks warming as you allowed your eyes to excitedly look around the large shop. There were herbs, spices, and oils that you had only ever dreamed of working with. Rare imports from all over the world that should have been impossible for a normal apothecarist to get their hands on. “I have a small health and wellness article in the local gazette, and I was dropping off the piece for tomorrow's paper just as you were leaving.” That did little to answer his question, and though he would have been short and to the point with anyone else, he found himself nodding along, imploring you to continue. He wasn’t sure why, but there was just something about you that intrigued him. You were one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen, but that wasn’t the reason for his tight chest and sweaty palms. He could tell that you were leagues above even the noblewomen that he had spoken to in the past. Your confidence, curious eyes, and obvious knowledge about the contents of his shop wasn’t the product of private tutoring or a public education.

You were just like him. 

Perhaps you two were friends, close confidants, or even lovers in a past life. There’s very little logic when it comes to love. It’s a chemical reaction. It’s a state of being so powerful that it can have physical reactions on the human body. There’s a sick sense of freedom in the possession of love. All Austin knew for certain was that you were the accomplice that he had been searching for, and that he was unwilling to let you and your non-judgemental eyes go any time soon. So against his better judgment, he stalked his way across his shop and locked the door. “You might want to sit down, because what I’m about to tell you will reshape the way you perceive both life and death.” 

And much to his relief, you leaned back against the wooden shelf, motioning for him to continue. 

Austin had never felt so overcome with admiration.

He often stayed cooped up in the library, hunched over his large oak desk, his rounded glasses perched on the edge of his nose. 

You found him most beautiful like that; soft lips parted and gently mouthing the words as he read, blue eyes narrowed on the page, the long fingers of his free hand pressed against his pale cheek. You had long-since decided that you could stare at him for hours. He had employed you to help him cheat death, and yet the only thing you truly found yourself experimenting with were the boundaries of your own emotions. There was bound to eventually be some sort of tension between the two of you, what with the sheer amount of time that you spent at each other’s sides. From the moment the both of you opened your eyes each morning, you were connected at the hip.

Ever so slowly he reached out, taking the sleeve of your dress in his hands before giving it a gentle pull so that you would be forced to shuffle towards him. You moved closer, your heart nearly pounding right out of your chest. “Right again, my dear. Honestly. . . I often think that I should be the one working for you.” You could have died and gone to heaven. Doctor Butler was a genius, and had been cited in many of the very same textbooks that you studied during your own years in college. You had always admired him for his forward way of thinking, and the progressive strides that he was taking in the world of academics. He thought that you were clever. He never once had talked down to you, and never elaborated during his ramblings unless asked. Austin Butler didn’t care that you were a woman, quite the contrary. He respected you even more because of it. He knew that you were wildly intelligent, and here he was. . . praising you. You could have melted into a pool a goo just beneath his feet.

Austin had never believed in a God, but there was something about you that made him want to change his mind. It was the way that you carried yourself that made his legs feel unsteady and his hands shaky. Your quick wit and sharp tongue made him want nothing more than to be given the opportunity to kneel at your feet in worship. Never in his life had he ever met his match in another person, but he had found that in you. It felt as though he had spent his entire life searching for a companion that could understand him and his endeavors, and here you were. Fate must have had a hand in the way that you had turned up on his doorstep. He had wished for a miracle every night before bed, and you had landed right in his lap. He wanted to shape his entire future around you. Your glorious laugh would be the soundtrack of his life, and your split-cheek smile the sun. Austin orbited around you. He woke up each morning when you did, eagerly getting himself dressed when he heard the creaking door to your own wardrobe just so that he could meet you out in the hall. Your doe-like eyes were still heavy with sleep, your cheeks an adorable warm shade of flushed that he wanted nothing more than to feel beneath his lips. 

Doctor Butler loved you to the point of constant pain. 

His chest was heavy with it.

[ssaalexmiller]

I Was in Love with My Tutor Pt. 1

Y/N recounts memories of her high school crush with the team while on the plane back to Quantico. 

 tw// small mention of rape, kidnapping, and hatecrimes (very small... literally two sentences)“Come on, Y/N. You didn’t date anyone in high school?”

            The team was flying back to Virginia after a case in Phoenix, where the unsub had kidnapped and raped three women who looked like his high school sweetheart. The case had been solved in three days, being quite easy considering the unsub failed to cover his tracks very well after the second victim. It wasn’t a particularly hard case—the only reason they were called in was because of the time between victims, which was too short for comfort--so light-hearted conversation was not excluded from the options of what to do on the flight back.

            First, it started with Dave teasing Hotch about his upcoming date with Beth during their weekend off. Then, it slowly escalated into JJ, Spencer, and Y/N joining into the pestering—before being dragged in to talk about their love lives.

            JJ, obviously, didn’t have much to say because she had just come fresh off of her honeymoon with Will, and Spencer didn’t have much to say about his little old fling with Austin, the bartender from four years prior.

            “We decided we would be better as friends,” Spencer explained, shrugging before looking over to Y/N. “Didn’t you have a thing with Jordan Todd?”

            Y/N blushed after being pushed into the spotlight, before stammering, “Uh… no?”

            Hotch and Dave laughed at Y/N’s blatant lie, the latter commenting, “So the fact that you guys arrived to the office at the exact same time on multiple occasions was just a very weird coincidence?”

            JJ, who had been on maternity leave during Jordan’s time at the BAU, asked curiously, “You and Jordan dated?”

            Y/N sighed, before finally coming clean and confessing, “Yeah. It wasn’t anything serious, though. It was hard to find time together after she went back to counterterrorism. Plus, she’s not my usual type.”

            Slowly, the conversation got into past relationships, landing on the topic of high school sweethearts. Hotch elected not to speak about his experiences with Haley, which the team understood was still incredibly difficult for him to talk about, so he just ended up listening to the rest of the team’s stories.

            “Let’s just say that there’s a reason I was voted ‘Most likely to be late to graduation’,” Dave jested, earning a laugh from the team.

            “They had superlatives in the 50’s?”

            “I’m not that old, L/N.”

            “Whatever you say, pasta man.”

            That’s when Dave decided to exact revenge by bringing Y/N’s high school love life into light. It took a bit of coaxing from JJ and Hotch, but eventually Y/N brought up her high school math tutor.

            “Alright, alright. I didn’t date anyone in high school out of fear of being hate-crimed, but I did do some incredibly stupid things to get the attention of my high school tutor,” Y/N said, taking a sip of her water as she leaned back against the airplane sofa. “Her name was Alex; she was a year ahead of me, but we were in the same math class in my junior year because I skipped ahead a class in order to take AP Physics.

            “Basically, I took a page from Mean Girls and pulled a Catie Heron,” Y/N sighed, before seeing the confused look on Reid’s face and deciding to elaborate on what she meant. “I pretended to be terrible at math so she would tutor me.”

1987 in Kansas City, Missouri 

            Y/N looked at the graded test in front of her and smiled proudly at the A+ that was written in red marker on the front page. Math was never her favourite subject, but this year it had been incredibly easy thanks to her independent summer studying. In fact, she could’ve moved out of the class at the beginning of the year, but she needed the easy class if she wanted any time to deal with APUSH and AP Physics.

            She put her test sheet in her binder, before closing it up and packing her bag as she waited for the last five minutes of the class to tick away on the clock. As she shoved her binder in her backpack, a voice next to her asked, “How’d you do on the test?”

            Y/N turned to see the cute senior girl moving her chair closer to make it easier to talk the nerdy junior. The senior, whose name was Alex, was arguably the smartest out of her graduating class—high scores on many a math test, accepted into UC Berkeley, as well as a perfect score in her AP Literature class. Not to mention the way she breezed through assignments in the rest of her classes and practically left most of her peers in the dust. If there was anything that Y/N thought was more beautiful than Alex’s smile, it was definitely Alex’s mind.

            “I did okay… what about you?” Y/N asked, manipulating the conversation so that Alex would talk more. “I’m assuming a perfect score, like always.”

            Alex grinned, which made Y/N’s stomach start jumping onto her intestines out of pure affection, and answered, “I got one wrong, but it’s enough to keep my credibility as a math tutor.”

            Y/N knew that Alex was a tutor, why wouldn’t she be? She’s so smart and thoughtful… and beautiful…and smart—

            “Y/N?”

            Y/N snapped back into reality and apologized, “Sorry. I was thinking about my physics quiz.”

            Alex nodded, before Y/N thought of a purely stupid idea.

            “Hey, um… do you think you could tutor me for this class?”

      ��     Alex, seemingly suspecting nothing, politely agreed, “Of course! Um, where do you want to meet up?”

            Y/N and Alex hashed out the details right before the bell rang, signalling for them to head to their next class. Y/N walked away, in absolute disbelief about how she just lied about being bad at math so Alex would tutor her.

2014 in Quantico, Virginia

            “Long story short, she came over, we had a nice session, and then she left and a few classes later she saw my perfect score on the exam, said I didn’t need tutoring. She graduated and I never saw her again,” Y/N explained vaguely, ignoring the memory that popped up in her head. “Honestly the dumbest thing I’ve ever done for someone I liked, but I guess I should’ve known it wouldn’t have lasted.”

            The flight continued with JJ’s crush horror story, before the plane touched down onto the government hanger. It was nine in the morning when the team arrived at the office, and they almost immediately walked up to the round-table room, until Anderson stopped Hotch from walking too far in.

            “Sorry, Agent Hotchner. Um, Dr. Miller is here today if you’d like to talk to her,” Anderson informed, before gesturing over to the desk next to Y/N’s.

            JJ, Dave, and Y/N were all excited to meet the new agent, but Spencer just followed them to say hi to his old acquaintance. Hotch politely greeted the new agent, and she stood up from her desk. Y/N’s heart started beating faster all of a sudden, and she froze slightly.

            “Dr. Miller, welcome to the team,” Hotch greeted, offering a small, professional smile. “You know Dr. Reid—these are agents Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, and Y/N L/N.”

            Nearly the whole team noticed Alex’s slight reaction to the last agent’s name, but she made a point to shake hands with JJ, Hotch, and Rossi, before turning her attention to Y/N.

            “Nice to see you again, Y/N,” Alex said, offering a small grin to Y/N, whose heart fluttered. “Nice to meet the rest of you, as well.”

            “You two know each other?” JJ asked, though she knew the answer already.

            “Uh, yeah. She was in my calculus class in high school. I tutored her for a brief moment, as well.”

            Hotch, JJ, and Dave exchanged a small smirk, watching Y/N shake Alex’s hand.

            “Yeah, um, nice to see you again as well, Alex…”

            The team, with the exception of Alex and Y/N, knew that this was going to be fun to play around with.

  1987 in Kansas City, Missouri

            “Oh, hi! Come in.”

            Alex smiled and walked into Y/N’s house, before following the junior to their living room.

            “Sorry I’m early. My brother had somewhere to be,” Alex apologized, setting her things down on the floor. “Are you ready to start or do you need some time to prepare?”

            “No, I’m fine. We can start now.”

            For the next hour, Alex and Y/N reviewed partial derivatives, ending with a little assignment that Y/N completed in less than ten minutes. Alex complimented Y/N’s skill on picking things up very quickly, to which Y/N brushed off while she focused on doing the math problems. Once she had finished, however, Alex’s ride hadn’t arrived.

            “Would you like some water? Food? Anything?” Y/N asked politely.

            The time was six-thirty in the evening, and Alex’s brother was due to pick her up at seven. Y/N wasn’t entirely sure how to handle the situation, especially now that she didn’t have math to distract her from the beautiful girl sitting next to her on her couch.

            “No, I’m alright,” Alex answered. “I’m sorry for overstaying my time.”

            Y/N gave her an innocent little smile, and emphasized, “You’re fine. Don’t worry about it. You’re good company.”

            “And you are too… plus you’re a quick learner,” Alex hummed. “Or, I should say, a very bad liar.”

            Y/N just looked back at Alex, who had a little smirk ghosting her thin and pink lips.

            “I don’t know what you mean.”

            “Come on, Y/N. We’ve been sitting next to each other for the entire year. Did you think I wouldn’t notice the steady stream of perfect scores on your assignments?” Alex teased, leaning back onto the couch. “If you wanted to hang out with me, then you could’ve just asked.”

            Y/N blushed, shoving her face into her hands briefly, before asking, “If you knew, then why’d you play along for the first hour?”

            “I wanted to see how far you would take the act.”

            Alex and Y/N then spent the rest of their time together talking and joking around with each other—they had a positive energy that bounced nicely off of each other. If their interactions would have taken place in public and it wasn’t 1987, people might have speculated that they were a couple. Maybe, just maybe, their chemistry would have escalated past the deep conversation, and taken a more physical aspect which would be considered quite scandalous for the time. Unfortunately, it didn’t, as when the clock struck seven, Alex’s brother had arrived to pick her up.

            Y/N walked Alex out and the latter said, “If you ever want to just hang out, let me know. Or, ask me for tutoring again.”

            Y/N chuckled at the small tease, before saying goodbye to Alex, who entered her car with a smile on her face.

[shootingstarwritings]

FEStival Fiasco

Part 3 So Long, Space Cowboy

Alcor was an elite by name alone. Throughout the semester, he has failed to score higher than any of his classmates in all exams and assignments. Rumors flew about the academy of the first elite to flunk entirely, but Centaurus paid them, and Alcor, little mind. While Alcor’s haughty and elitist attitude certainly annoyed Centaurus, he did not face any physical or verbal threats from Alcor.

At most, Centaurus overheard Alcor say, "Bested by a female and worm of all things!" to himself when he believes no one could hear. If he did not go spend at least a few minutes every session of class saying, “I remember my father graduated with top honors at this academy,” and, “I believe I covered this subject with my private tutors,” he would’ve certainly faced the same scrutiny and violence that Zathina inflicted on Centaurus.

Because of that, Centaurus paid him no mind and Alcor did the same. Oddly, Centaurus got along best with Alcor, as there was never a day either of them ever fought or competed against each other.

Too good to speak to a worm? Centaurus idly thought as he strolled through the festival grounds. Stalls full of brightly-colored games such as ring toss and whack-a-mole gathered crowds while the scent of fatty, sweet, and salty snacks gathered their money. Centaurus smiled as he walked by and took in the sights of the people making memories with each other. Couldn’t hurt to indulge every once in a while, right?

He walked to a booth with just another player on the opposite side and paid to play a game. “So just gotta pop three balloons with these here darts?” he asked the booth’s owner, who nodded. “Gotcha, I’ll—“

“Unbelievable, this game is clearly rigged!” A haughty voice cut him off. The other player sneered at the booth’s owner—who now sported an exhausted look—and held his hand out. “Either you give me more darts to attempt this ridiculous game or you give me my money back, peasant.”

His vernacular was certainly similar to Alcor’s, but Centaurus remained silent to allow more slips of the tongue.

"Sir, this is your second warning," the booth owner replied with a monotone voice. "Another outburst like that and I’ll have to call security on you. You lost fair and square, and, frankly, I have no clue how to rig this game against you.” She glanced back and forth between the darts in Centaurus’ hand and the balloon on the opposite wall with a dumbfounded expression. “Seriously, none. The problem is your aim.”

“How dare you?” the haughty man said, teeth gritted at the poor girl. “My position is certainly above yours, peasant.” The booth owner narrowed her eyes, and Centaurus could tell she was ready to start beating the sucker to the ground.

“Now now, no need to have that kinda attitude," Centaurus cut in, hands raised in a peaceful gesture. It wasn't as if he had wanted to perform an altruistic task for the poor booth owner, but he did want to satiate his curiosity. “Hold on there, partner. Let’s try ‘n’ take it one step at a time. Now, the name’s Austin. Yours?”

“Hmph! Well, it’s rude to decline another’s request for your name after they offer their own. Fine, then. You may call me Milo. Milo Palmer. And you?” Milo cocked an eyebrow as he looked me up and down. “You… you dress very peculiarly.”

How often did a person, regardless of how sheltered they were, not recognize a cowboy? Not just that, but the attitude was familiar to Centaurus. All of it screamed ‘Mizar.’ However, Centaurus decided to play along. “I’m a cowboy, partner.”

“I’m not your partner.”

“And I wanna propose a li’l wager for ya.”

Centaurus internally grinned as he saw the glint in Milo’s eyes at the word. Mizar or not, it was clear that the one in front of him highly valued competition. “What sort of wager are you walking about, cowboy?”

“Austin. And we play a few rounds over here. If I win, we leave the booth peacefully. You win, then you can say that you’re certainly much better than these ‘plebians,’ as I’m assuming yer ‘bout to start callin’ them.”

Milo shook his head. “No no, I demand a much better reward than that.” With a smug, high-born smirk, Milo said, “Become my slave for the rest of the festival, and then I’ll agree to your terms, cowman.”

“Cowboy,” Centaurus said, rolling his eyes. “Well, don’t mind ‘em terms. I ain’t afraid of losin’.” Passing the booth owner, who now had gratitude in her eyes, some dollars, Centaurus asked for two sets of darts.

“Let’s rock.”

“Let us duel.”

To Centaurus’ relief, Austin was particularly talented in darts. Years of playing drunk and just barely avoiding poking someone’s eye out helped out quite a bit in this bet. In just a few minutes, all of his balloons were nothing but scraps of plastic on the ground while Milo failed to hit a single one. “Well, that prove it t’ya?”

At first, Milo didn’t say anything. He simply stared down at the ground, hands trembling. While the booth owner threw out an excuse to temporarily leave, Centaurus lightly tapped Milo’s shoulder. “D-Don’t touch me, cowman!” he shouted as he jumped back. “Don’t think you’ve beaten me simply because this game is fixed.”

With a bemused click of his tongue, Centaurus smirked and said, “So y’ain’t bad, the game is?”

“Well… the way I said it is certainly much more eloquent, but the general idea is certainly there." Thankfully, Milo chuckled at that. "But! I cannot allow this stain on my honor to continue. Please, let us continue with more duels at this festival. Surely I will be able to best you at all the others."

Again, Centaurus laughed. “If ya wanna keep playin’, just say so, Milo-man. I don’t mind.” By now, he didn’t doubt that it was indeed Alcor before him. The attitude and lack of social cues that only an elite with a silver spoon up his ass certainly fit. However, while being someone else, this was the first time Centaurus had ever had a decent conversation with him. “C’mon, let’s see what else we can play.” Once they were done fooling around, he was certain he could pull off the same trick as Mizar and eliminate him from the competition.

However, several games in, Centaurus found himself lost in the joy of the festival. “Watch this shit!” he cried out as he raised the mallet and slammed it onto the target. The bell rang, signaling his strength. “Hell yeah!” Making sure that Alcor was watching, he flexed both of his biceps. Alcor sneered.

Later on, during a large jigsaw event, Centaurus gritted his teeth as he tried to form the picture in his head. For whatever reason, Austin was just particularly challenged in putting the oversized puzzle pieces together. The colors and shapes just didn’t seem to match. That was one of the pitfalls of the way Centaurus took over hosts. Strengths and weaknesses all carried over to him. However, once he finally put it all together, he rose from his seat proclaiming, “Done!”

“Finally,” Alcor said, clutching two different prizes with a self-satisfied smirk. “I have my own areas of expertise, I’ll have you know,” said Alcor. For the first time since Centaurus had met the guy, Alcor truly did deserve that arrogant air. By the time they had finished most of the booths in the area, they were tied in wins.

“Goddamn. Yer a tough nut to crack,” said Centaurus while the two rested at a bench. For all their running around and eagerness to show off, the men now sat down, panting heavily as the summer heat bore down on them.

“And—ha—you—haaa—are certainly no mere cowman either,” said Alcor in between his heavy pants as well. “I have to admit, I sincerely thought that his whole festival was full of nonsense and clowns earlier, but now...”

“Now…?”

Chuckling, Alcor finished with, “Now I know it also has handsome yet foolish cowmen as well.” While Centaurus pouted, he added, “I had fun. Thanks, Austin.”

“Can’t deny it. I had a fun time too.”

They stared ahead in a comfortable silence—just gazing at the people passing by. The day was far from over, but Centaurus felt more tired than he ever had on this planet. However, it was a satisfying exhaustion. Like he had accomplished far more than his goal. “Hey—“

“Do you mind if we go to that booth next?” Alcor cut in, pointing ahead. Centaurus followed his finger and saw a cartoonist drawing exaggerated portraits of people. “I would like to see his rendition of you.”

Shrugging, Centaurus said, “Sure.”

After about 20 minutes, Alcor glared down at the drawing. The inking and proportions were certainly ridiculous, but Centaurus truly knew nothing about art. Austin knew even less. However, from Alcor’s reaction, Centaurus was honestly starting to believe that something was off about the illustration. “Hmm...” Alcor hummed, his brow furrowed in thought.

“Somethin’ wrong?”

“Yes, there is,” snapped Alcor. “Follow me.” The whole walk Centaurus continued to prod and pester to understand what the hell Alcor’s problem was, but no dice. Only once they arrived at a nice, flat table did Alcor finally explain. “The drawing is inadequate.”

“Whu-?”

"Sit. Let me draw you." Producing a pencil from who-knows-where, Alcor began to doodle. Centaurus, not having a reason to deny the request, obliged. The two shared a few words, but Centaurus mainly focused on keeping still. He wasn't sure what he would gain from indulging in Alcor like this, but he did wish to satiate his curiosity. What exactly was he planning…? Unlike Centaurus, Alcor and the rest of his classmates rarely opened up to their host's mind as he did. They shouldn't have access to many skills or talents, and certainly nothing as delicate as art. Was Alcor simply like this?

After a while, Alcor finally announced, “Finished. Here you go, cowman. Tell me what you think.”

There was no arrogance in Alcor’s voice, and no lack of talent in his drawing, either. Centaurus stared at the man—at Austin—in silent awe. A lump of guilt built up in his throat and his eyes grew moist. Austin’s kind yet cocky smile, his warm eyes, and his powerful physique all translated well into the sheet he held in his hands. “Yer… somethin’ else… This is amazin’.”

“I appreciate it, Austin,” said Alcor. “I’ve wanted to be an artist since… since I can remember.” His voice was far away, as if he was caught in a dream. “The aesthetic, the beauty of the world… I’ve always loved it all. I worked hard, in secret. But that dream will remain unfulfilled.”

“Why? Ya got the talent, the skill. Ya got the drive, dontcha?”

“That’s not what I meant, cowman.” Alcor rolled his eyes. “It is not as simple as becoming an artist simply because I wish to. I have… responsibilities. I am an elite, remember?”

“With how often you repeated it, how could I forget?”

Coughing to hide the embarrassment, Alcor continued. “Because of my status, my family expects great things from me. Extremely great things, but I do not.” He furrowed his brow before frowning in thought. “No, my apologies. Allow me to rephrase that. My family expects me to obtain a certain position after graduating from my academy with flying colors, but if I’m being honest, such a thing disgusts me," he said, wrinkling his nose. "In the end, as the firstborn male, I am nothing more than a puppet for the position, just as my friend had become."

“Yer friend?”

Alcor sighed, smiling almost nostalgically as he spoke about his past. “She was a delicate flower. Gentle, kind, intelligent. We often played together when we were young. But, that never lasted. We became separated after a while. Recently, at the academy, I met her again, but she was completely different.” Lips curled up in a tight frown, stared up at the sky with a frustrated groan. “She barely even acknowledges my presence. It’s as though she became a completely different person. When I tried to ask her about that...” Fear appeared in his eyes, “she threatened me with physical violence. And there was clear power behind it as well. Nothing at all like the gentle flower I once knew.

Centaurus let out a grunt to indicate he was listening. The girl from Alcor’s past seemed like the exact opposite of Zathina, but there was no doubt that they were the same person. More surprising was how little shock Centaurus actually experienced. It made sense for a female elite to begin her life with little knowledge of violence or the drive to be a soldier, but then what changed? What caused Zathina to become like this?

“If I continue the path I am on, then my freedom will be stripped away from me,” continued Alcor. “Of course,” he added with a chuckle, “that’s ignoring the fact that I’m absolutely not fit for the position my family wants from me in the first place.” Centaurus did not join in. Instead, he gripped Alcor’s hand and squeezed it to both of their surprises.

“A-Ah...” Voice cracking for just the tiniest moment, Alcor said, “I appreciate you not laughing, and for listening. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve said any of this out loud.”

“Yer lookin’ a li’l bit more relaxed. Shoulders less stiff. Stick must’ve fallen outta yer ass when ya started talkin’.”

“Ha ha,” Alcor rolled his eyes and playfully slapped Centaurus’ arm with his free hand. “Shut up, cowman. Let me be as melodramatic as I wish to be.”

“So yer gonna run away? How?”

“I am not sure yet, but I am determined to try. Even if I am taken away and executed, I still want to try.” Alcor said those words, but he didn’t hide the way his hands trembled. “I want to find a way to draw the universe’s beauty. If I can’t draw and paint, then I might as well not even be alive.”

Centaurus looked back at the drawing Alcor made of them. There was an undeniable amount of skill demonstrated in such short time. A familiar emotion welled up inside of him. Envy. Once more, Centaurus was drowning in envy. Not just for Alcor's skill, but also the path he wanted to choose for himself.

However, as much as Centaurus wished to scream and shout, he found himself unable to. It should have been easy, to crush Alcor's dream by seducing him in such a way as to gain an advantage, but Centaurus wasn’t able to do anything. Thousands of scenarios played in his head, and all of them ended in his favor.

However, Centaurus instead said, “I’ll help you.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll help ya escape this hellhole of a future yer in,” Centaurus proclaimed. He extended his hand out for Alcor to shake. “To be honest, it'd be a shame if a skill like yours remains unfulfilled. And also, it’s the least he could do fer a dear friend.”

“Dear friend?” Alcor asked, raising an eyebrow. “You hardly know me.”

Centaurus shrugged. “What can I say? Kindred spirits, I guess,” he said, grinning at his very first friend. Though Alcor truly had no idea, Centaurus knew, and that was all that mattered. "Listen, lemme tell ya the plan." He leaned over and whispered a hazardous mess hastily cobbled together, but it was all Centaurus could do on such short notice and a person he needed to protect. Overall, it wasn't very complicated, but so much hinged on everything going exactly right.

It was a gamble, but Centaurus figured that, as long as he was in Austin’s body, he didn’t mind becoming the cowboy that rode off into the sunset with his ally just like in the films. Now all he had to do was avoiding perishing before his plan began.

“Yer a cutie,” Centaurus whispered to the man, licking off the last remains of cum. The man shivered in pleasure. “C’mon, let me give ya a taste of yer own milk.” Eager for more, the man swiftly dove into a kiss only to get a mouthful of alien. While Austin’s body remained crouched on the bathroom floor, the other man fell back. He struck the stall’s wall as his body convulsed and soon lost control of his body.

Centaurus shook the exhaustion away. "All right, one more," he said to his former body. His heart ached as he looked down at Austin again. The memories of his kindness nearly caused him to choke, but Centaurus swallowed down the guilt. There were more important things in front of him. “I’m sorry,” he said to Austin.

The two left the stall just in time to see another man exit the stall next door. Time was limited, so Centaurus and the mind-controlled Austin quickly jumped the man, covering his mouth to prevent him from screaming.

Austin and three bodies. That was the minimum that Centaurus would have to work before the chaos began. Not needing to fully dive and dissect the memories of the two men, Centaurus slithered back into Austin and began to put his plan into action.

While he worked to grab Austin’s motorcycle and park it on the outskirts of the festival, his two victims would set off the pieces. The three of them left at different times to not arouse suspicion. All of this just to fool their professor and their classmates.

At the very epicenter of both the festival and the crowd, Centaurus kept an eye out. It had only been a few minutes, so the venom’s effect should hold. Once a voice shouted, “What the fuck, man?!” he grinned and turned to walk away. Another rang out, saying, "I'll teach you to disobey me, worm!" with a tone that sounded just like Zathina. Might as well throw some bait in her general direction.

A few yells went out as a brawl began. With any luck, a small riot should snowball from the two bodies engaging in a fistfight. Through his peripheral vision, Centaurus saw numerous folk turn their heads to stare at the spectacle that unfolded before them.

Perfect, he thought. All Alcor needed was a spectacle to last for a few minutes. Of course, another body would make the situation ideal if Centaurus’ instincts were right.

There was a man on his own near the outskirts of the festival grounds. He stood on his toes as he tried to get a closer look at whatever the attendants were crowding around. Suspecting nothing, he approached Centaurus and asked, “Hey man, what’s going on over there?”

“Hmm? Oh, well… lemme show ya real quick," Centaurus grinned at the man. "C'mere. Don't wanna say it too loudly." Brow furrowed, the man hesitated before leaning in slightly. That was all Centaurus needed. Already, venom spread throughout Austin's system, mixing into the spinal fluid. He opened Austin's mouth and shot into the other's man's mouth as Austin held him close.

“HMPH! MMMPH!” Centaurus’ body strangled any of the man’s startled cries. He quickly slithered through the man and bit down on his brain. The man convulsed as he struggled to vomit the bug out but remained in place as Austin put him into a tight embrace.

“Calm down, li’l fella,” Austin whispered as the Centaurus took control. “I gotcha.”

Once the man’s limbs and core warmed under Centaurus’ influence, he nearly fell over. “F-Fuck, the fuck...” he gasped. A cold and hollow sensation spread washed over his new body. He could still feel the man’s body under his control, but alongside it was something completely foreign.

“Y’okay?”

“N-No, but that doesn’t matter right now,” Centaurus replied. “Can barely walk… y’know where to leave me.” Austin nodded and half-carried half-dragged Centaurus alongside him.

As Centaurus allowed himself to be carried, the sounds of police sirens echoed in the air. Security got involved and now the police were here to arrest those caught up in his little distraction. Despite the nausea that threatened to make him vomit, Centaurus couldn’t help but grin at how successful his plan was. The sirens would help mask the sound of Austin’s motorcycle run down the street.

“Tell me something, Austin,” said Centaurus. Was he feverish or just plainly ill? He couldn’t tell anymore. A numbing feeling spread throughout his borrowed body. He could no longer feel his fingertips. “I’m doing something good, aren’t I?”

“I think so.”

“Do you really?”

“Dunno. You tell me. I’m fully under yer control.”

“When’d you get so sassy?”

Austin shrugged. “Hard to say, maybe the venom’s startin’ to run its course. Still, what yer doin’… it ain’t wrong, but yer not doin’ it just cause you felt sorry for this friend o’ yours.”

Centaurus glared at the ground but didn’t respond.

“Not gonna go with him?” Austin asked. “Ya really wanna, dontcha? Leave everythin’ behind and run. Like the cowboys ‘n ‘em westerns ya love.”

Every bit of Centaurus wanted to shout, “Of course I will!” However, he remained silent. No matter how much his heart wished to cry out for the world to hear, he silenced himself and simply thought his plans over. After Alcor and Mizar, he would need to take down Arcturus, Merak, and Zathina will be last. Then, Centaurus could finally win. Victory was just a few hours away.

Centaurus vomited as Austin set him down. Centaurus now rested against a building housing more bathrooms for the festival-goers. Around the corner was the parking lot where Austin's motorcycle was already in place. Centaurus didn't doubt that Alcor had already arrived. “G-Get in position,” he said, gagging at the taste. “Y’know he’s waiting for you. Get.”

Austin hesitated for only a moment before nodding. The little venom Centaurus could afford to inject into him was no doubt at its limit. However, it only needed to last for another few seconds; but it would only be worth it if his gamble paid off. As Austin disappeared from view, Centaurus leaned back and shut his eyes. The numbness was deeply uncomfortable but soothing at the same time. Perhaps if he gave it his best shot, he could simply pretend as though he was merely floating through space on a ship.

“Such a dumbass,” Centaurus whispered to himself. “Wasting so much venom… 4 hosts in just ten minutes? Stupid dumbass...”

Austin’s cries were loud enough that Centaurus could hear them from so far away. However, he smiled. Alcor was so unsubtle and so unfit to be a Dreadfighter. It only furthered Centaurus’ resolve that what he was doing was right.

Then why the hell do I feel so shitty?

The roar of a motorcycle soon echoed down the road. Centaurus couldn’t see it. Even as he opened his eyes, he found his vision impaired. The world was nothing but blotches and mystifying shapes that all blended together. As expected, the sirens helped mask it. To the festival-goers who stood by the violence and police, it might as well have been a kitten’s purr.

“There you go, Alcor,” said Centaurus to nobody but himself. “Follow that dream of yours. Don’t look back at this worm...”

Austin—or was it Centaurus himself?—completely read him. The desire to run, to ride off into the sunset with his friend in tow, was tempting beyond belief. However, Centaurus knew that he could never do anything like that.

“All this worm can do is look upwards, Alcor,” he continued to chide himself. “I don’t… I don’t have anything inside of myself. No talent, no skill… I don’t have anything but this dream.” Without the idea of becoming a Dreadfighter, without that hunger for a better life, there would be nothing to define Centaurus. A dream or an obsession? Centaurus wasn’t sure at this point, but it was all he had left. No family, no money, and no other future. “Guess she was always right. Well, I knew she was right, I always knew… but just...”

Just once Centaurus wanted to forget that he was a worm. Just once Centaurus wanted that person to pretend alongside him that he could achieve something.

“Why can’t I have something?”

“My my, you’re in a real rough spot.”

A shadow washed over the mess of light and color that made up Centaurus' vision. Just by the sound of the voice, Centaurus felt a pang of annoyance.

“Come on, Centaurus! Lemme fix you up! Maybe even let me take a look inside of you. Hehe…! Don’t worry, I promise I’ll stitch you up. It’ll just hurt a liiiiitle bit. By the way, anesthesia's out of the question. Ahaha!”

With the last of his strength, Centaurus said one thing:

"So long, Space Cowboy," he said, wishing only the best for his one and only friend.

[sidehugsnsideblogs]

FCSU #71 Starting School

AJ and Teresa spent the summer looking for new homes for their families. Teresa and Isaac found a new cabin deep in the woods with a great view of Brindleton Bay. Allie-Jayne grew discouraged as her search wore on. Ultimately it was determined that she and her children would join Andrew in his trailer which would be towed to a trailer park. The aluminum double-wide only had two bedrooms but AJ was determined to made it work. The girls: Abby, Autumn and Anna took the larger room while the boys occupied the second. Andrew would be leaving for college at the end of the year so the boys had the smaller room. AJ slept on a foldout cot in the living room with little Avery. She was doing well at her fast food job where she'd taken on as many hours as possible. It was hard to support a family of eight on her salary so she was looking for a second job to make ends meet.

As fall rolled around the children were excited to finally start school. Isaac had done a good job getting everyone caught up to their correct grade level. (or close to it) To make matters even better, they would be attending the same school as their cousins. Alex would even be in the same class as Thomas and Ryder! Austin was nervous to be in a different grade than his brother but his thirst for knowledge kept him busy reading in the library most lunchbreaks. After a lifetime of strictly religious texts, he tore into every kind of fiction he had access to. It seemed like he was determined to read the entire library!

Andrew was now a senior in high school. He’d begrudgingly allowed his family to move in with him. He was often frustrated by his siblings and the lack of privacy in the house but deep down he was happy to be living with his mom and siblings again. He had a part time job but AJ wouldn't let him contribute to the household bills; she insisted he save his money for college next year. With his background in construction and his aunt and uncle's tutoring in math and physics, he was aiming for a career in engineering.

Abby and her mother had come to an agreement; she would finish school, age up and then she could choose whether she wanted to rejoin the cult. Even though she'd agreed to attend a townie school, Abby wouldn't budge on her attire. She proudly wore her prairie dress in a sea of shorts and crop tops. She'd bullied Autumn into keeping modest as well. The girls would be separated during class, however due to their age difference. Autumn was reserved and quiet for the first few weeks. She eventually made a few friends in her art class. They who viewed her upbringing as a tragic backstory and encouraged her to work through her feelings through art. Slowly Autumn began to adopt some of their hair and makeup styles, which caused a bit of a rift with her sister. 

Finally Allie-Jayne was offered a full-time restaurant job. She'd be starting from the bottom but hoped to quickly work her way up. She planted a small garden to grow vegetables and make sure they always had enough to eat. Things were finally able to settle down somewhat. AJ worked mostly nights so the teens could be home watching their younger siblings, Abby had calmed down and was putting all her energy into finishing school as quickly as possible. They still still met up with Teresa and Isaac for family camping trips and frequent playdates. She also kept in touch with Penny and Becca in San Myshuno.

Unbeknownst to Abby, she wasn't the only FCSU member attending public school. Clarity Culton had been enrolled by her foster parents, Bob and Eliza Pancakes. They wished to give her an education before she was returned to her family and jailed husband. Their relationship began a little rocky. They looked unlike anyone Clarity had ever met and they seemed very nice. It was clear they'd fostered dozens of times before. She tried to be polite but kept to herself for the first few weeks.

They gave her a huge bedroom and decorated in her favourite colour, pink. There was also a bassinet in the corner for her impending infant. The room was also cluttered with toys. Clarity hadn't seen any toys since she lived in The Parched Prospect. Her father preached that they were merely distractions to keep children from becoming useful. She looked at the large, elaborate bed and sat down for a quick prayer. She had her instructions, pray every two hours, rise at five-thirty am. Keep with the covenants, raise a righteous child.

The fourteen held fast to her beliefs and restrictions until one morning she was awoke to a delicious smell she couldn't place. She headed downstairs where Bob presented her with a plate of bacon and eggs. Clarity stared at the plate. Such decadence. She been allowed to eat greasy food ever! The Culton family took pride in their size and most of the women survived on merely fruit and salads. She was starving however, the baby was stealing all the food she'd eaten. She took one bite, then another. She couldn't resist. Clarity silently prayed that her father never found out about this.

Eliza and Bob were gentle with Clarity. They understood her anger about not being returned to her family. They hoped that by subtle, thought-provoking conversions with their young ward, they'd eventually be able to convince her that her much older uncle was not a suitable partner. Clarity was used to chipping in around the house, so she helped with chores and cooked dinner for the family once per week. Her mood was much better when she had something to do instead of stewing all day. Over time the Pancakes managed to build some trust with Clarity.

Three months into her stay, Clarity went into labour. Eliza was a midwife and gave her the option of delivering at home or in a hospital. She'd done some research on the FCSU and knew that they were taught to fear townie doctors. Clarity opted to labour in her room. The contractions lasted throughout the night and at 8:22am with Eliza's help, she delivered Liberty "Libby" Culton. Looking at her precious daughter gave Clarity a strange feeling- some clarity. She threw herself into raising her daughter.

As Libby met each milestone Clarity was forced to confront the problems with FCSU child-rearing. Though the church was deep into physical punishment Clarity just couldn’t bring herself to hit her precious daughter. She couldn’t deny her toys to play with or books to read aloud. She wanted Libby to have a childhood. It slowly dawned on her that her own had been stolen. When Libby was a year old Clarity asked to be enrolled in school. Her delighted foster parents agreed.

[marjansmarwani]

we’re not broken, just bent

7.1k || ao3

When the school year started, Carlos Reyes had not been expecting to fall for the new English teacher. When he met TK Strand, Carlos had not expected to find the love he had always wanted so close at hand. Now that they have each other everything seems just a bit brighter, and a bit lighter. Navigating the twists of turns or life and teaching and relationships isn’t always easy, but if Carlos gets to keep TK Strand in his life, he will do anything to make it work - even if he doesn’t always get it right on the first try. 

Or, Teacher AU, Part 2

Revisiting one of my favorite AUs for Day 6 of Carlos Reyes Week. Find the first part here. 

------------

“You would think that by now you would know better than to have your phone out at my table, Carlos Alberto Reyes.” 

Carlos looked, startled, from his phone to find his mother looking at him pointedly while his dad tried not to look too amused from his seat across from Carlos. He blinked, before realizing he must have been staring at his phone for longer than he had thought before hastily sliding it back into his pocket. “Sorry,” he offered sheepishly, “were you saying something?”

His father didn’t even bother to contain his laughter at that and his mother rolled her eyes, “I was, but now I’m more interested to know who this boy that has you glued to your phone is.”

“Who says it’s a boy?” Carlos said defensively, ignoring the feeling of heat climbing up his cheeks. 

“Unless something significant has changed in the past 2 weeks I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet, mijo,” his mother deadpanned. “He must be something special to make you smile like that.”

“I wasn’t smiling.” 

His mom looked unimpressed, but his dad snorted outright, “it’s a good thing you’re a good teacher kid, because you would make a lousy actor.” 

“You know if you guys are just going to keep ganging up on me I might just stop coming over for Sunday lunches.” 

“It’s not wise to make empty threats Carlos, we all know you can’t resist my cooking.” 

“I wonder what it’s like to have nice parents.” 

Both of his parents ignored his jab. His dad returned his attention to his lunch while his mother leaned closer, “you know I have to tease you, Carlos, it’s my job. But if this boy makes you as happy as those smiles seem to indicate, then I am happy for you. I’d also like to meet him,” she added almost as an afterthought. 

“Mom.”

“It’s a mother’s prerogative, Carlos. You should bring him by for lunch one Sunday.”

His mother was looking at him earnestly, but Carlos turned his gaze instead to the food on his plate, “things are still pretty new,” he admitted, “I don’t want to move too fast. He’s still a little gun shy from some past experiences, I want to make sure we go at a pace that works for him.”

He could feel the gaze of both of his parents on him now, but he kept his focus on his plate. It was something that he had been reminding himself of every day. TK had opened up to him, had told him everything and all the ways his ex had hurt him. He had made huge strides and put so much of it behind him, but Carlos was still wary. He didn’t want to push too hard; he didn’t want to risk what they were starting by being too hasty. What they had right now was so good, and if being patient and a little cautious meant he got to keep it, Carlos was okay with that. 

He knew his mother was studying him without even having to see her face. When he did look up and meet her eyes, she gave him a smile, “You have always had a big heart mijo, it’s one of the things that makes you so special. You’ve spent your life always looking out for others, so I just need to ask: is that what you want too? Is that what is going to make you happy?” 

He holds his mother’s gaze, and can feel his father watching them both. They’re waiting for him to answer, giving him time to think about it, but he doesn’t need to: “Yes Mom, he makes me happy.” 

She smiles wide and reaches out to place a hand on top of his, “Then I am sure we will love him, whenever we get to meet him.” 

-----------

“How was lunch with your parents?” 

Carlos looked up from the coffee machine on TK’s counter to see his boyfriend watching him from the table. Carlos shrugged as the pot finished brewing, pouring the fresh coffee into two mugs, “Pretty much the usual, but with the addition of them giving me shit about being on my phone because someone was texting me.” 

“I refuse to be guilted for wanting to talk to my boyfriend,” TK declared as he accepted the offered mug, “besides, if I had to suffer through Mateo’s niece's softball game, I wasn’t going to do it alone.” 

“Good to know I could bring you some comfort in such trying times.” 

TK rolled his eyes at him as he settled into the seat across from him and he grinned. He studied TK for a moment, taking in how at ease he looked. It was a far cry from the man he had met back in September, with walls a mile high and still living out of boxes because he was too scared to put down roots. Looking around his apartment now, you would never know. 

The bookshelves were haphazardly arranged with books and mementos, and the walls were covered in pictures. Some included the backdrop of the Big Apple, but more and more were of his new life here in Austin. There were pictures of TK and his team on trivia nights and bowling outings. There was a picture from the faculty-student volleyball game, and more than a few of TK and Carlos. It was a physical reminder of how far they’d come; a visual representation of their journey together. 

Not that Carlos had forgotten a single moment of it, but it was still nice to see it memorialized. 

That reminded him of his mom’s question earlier, and his answer. He hadn’t needed to think about it and here was the proof: he was happy. It had only been a few months, but being with TK Strand was everything Carlos had always wanted, but had been becoming less and less sure he would ever get. 

“They asked about you, actually,” he finally said, breaking the comfortable silence. 

TK looked up abruptly, surprise written all over his face, “They did?” 

Carlos nodded, “They, uh...they want you to come over for lunch with me some week.” 

“Oh.” 

The response was soft, but it set Carlos’s nerves on end. They were in such a good place, he didn’t want to ruin this. He should have never brought it up, “I told them it was too soon,” he said quickly, “that we were taking it slow.” 

“Oh,” TK said again, voice still quiet, “okay.” 

There was something in his expression Carlos couldn’t quite identify, but before he could dive deeper into it, TK changed the subject. 

“Remind me again why we always seem to save all this for Sunday night?” 

Carlos glanced down to his abandoned stack of papers waiting to be graded and back to find TK looking at him mournfully beside his own stack. 

“Because we are responsible adults who understand time management?” he offered. 

“Sounds right,” TK agreed, turning his focus back down to the paragraph he had been reading. Carlos finished the paper he had been on before he decided they needed fresh coffee and reached for the next one in the stack, only to frown as he read the first line: In the novel Things Fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo…

He doesn’t read the rest, because his classes don’t read Things Fall Apart. He holds it up to TK instead, “I think this is one of yours.”

TK scowled at the offending paper, “Do you want to grade it?” 

“I do not.”  

“And here I thought you liked me.” 

Carlos gave him an unimpressed look and pushed the paper towards him. TK took the offered paper with a dramatic sigh, “I love teaching, I really do, but every time I let the grading pile up I question my life choices all over again.” 

“I guess that is on us for deciding to teach English,” Carlos mused, “I hear other content areas don’t have to grade piles of writing each week.” 

“So you’re saying we should switch content areas? Just show up tomorrow and tell Judd we’re teaching new stuff now?”

“Gym teacher always did sound kind of appealing,” Carlos admitted wistfully, “it would be a lot less grading.” 

“Now that is an idea I can get behind,” TK said appreciatively, running a suggestive gaze over Carlos’s form, “does it come with those little shorts?”

Carlos gave his boyfriend an exasperated look before reaching over to grab a pen, which he threw at him, “Focus, Strand. Work now, play later.” 

“Authoritative too - I’m liking gym teacher Carlos more and more.” 

“You’re incorrigible.” 

“Prepping for your SAT tutoring sessions?” 

“Yes, actually. Which is why I really need to get this done, if you don’t mind.” 

The words had far more bite than he had intended and he regretted them the moment they were out of his mouth. TK’s expression softened as he handed the pen Carlos had just tossed at him, “I’m sorry Carlos, I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I didn’t mean to distract you.” 

“No,” Carlos countered, running a hand through his hair, “you’re fine, I’m sorry for snapping. I’m just a little tense, I think.”

“Can’t imagine why,” TK said lightly, “it’s not like you were asked to take over SAT prep for the entire 12th grade on top of everything you already do or anything.” 

“Not the whole thing, just the English portion.” 

“That’s enough Carlos. And you’re going to do great with it because you're an amazing teacher. And I’m going to help you, however I can - starting with shutting up and getting my work done so you can get some work done, I promise.” 

TK gave him a smile and Carlos watched as he returned to his work, biting on his lip absentmindedly as he read, reaching down occasionally to write something in the margins. As he thought he gently tapped his pen against his mouth and when he went to stretch his shirt rode up ever so slightly, giving Carlos a peek at his toned chest. As all this was happening, Carlos made a decision. 

“One more hour, then we put it away,” he announced. 

TK glanced at him in surprise, “You sure? We still have a lot to do.”  

“Nobody’s going to die if these assignments aren’t graded tonight,” Carlos reminded him. “Besides, I can think of many other things I would rather do on a Sunday night when I have you all to myself, Mr. Strand.” 

TK confused expression melted and a coy grin took its place, “Oh, is that so Mr. Reyes?”

“I guess you’ll just have to wait an hour to find out.” 

-------------

“Remind me again what we’re doing?” 

“We’re putting up a bulletin board of 9th graders who have been on the honor roll for the first two quarters.” 

“Uh-huh. And why am I - someone who does not teach 9th graders - the one helping you?” 

“Because Marwani and Chavez get too distracted during this kind of stuff and while your boyfriend would usually be my choice, he’s grading essays. And you know how he gets when he’s grading essays. Besides, don’t pretend like you’re hating the chance to get to see some more of my face, Reyes.” 

Carlos rolled his eyes at Paul as he handed him the next stack of papers to be stapled to the bulletin board in the front entry of the school, “That is blatantly false, I object.” 

“Then maybe it’s the fact that you’re too nice to tell me no.” 

“I am not too nice to leave you stranded here with no help Strickland, don’t tempt me.” 

“It always does my heart good to hear the dulcet tones of inter-grade level cooperation,” a new voice said wryly and Carlos twisted around to see Judd Ryder approaching. “Do y’all need a babysitter or can you play nice?” 

“I think we can handle it,” Carlos assured him, “but if not I’ll let you know.” 

“Please try not too, I have so much paperwork to catch up on.” 

“Ah, the glamorous life of an administrator,” Paul noted as he stapled more student names up onto the board, “next you’re going to wow us with tales of your endless meetings.” 

“You laugh now, but give it a few more years and you might just decide to give it a try yourself. I think you'd have a knack for it - both of you.” 

“But if we took you up on that you’d be down two teachers,” Carlos pointed out, “better not risk it.” 

“Besides,” Paul added as he climbed down from the chair he had been standing on, “I greatly prefer only having to deal with misbehaving teenagers. You can have all the problem-causing adults, thank you very much.” 

“I’d try to argue, but you’re right. Sometimes I miss the days where the kids were the only ones I was responsible for. Since I’ve got you here though Reyes, I wanted to check in - how’s the SAT prep going?” 

Carlos shrugged, “we’re having our first session tonight, but the signup sheet makes it look like there should be a good turn out.” 

“Good. Thanks again for taking on the extra work, I know it can’t have been easy.” 

Carlos shrugged again, “if it helps them then why not? It’s only a few sessions, not a big deal.”

Judd nodded and gave him a smile, “Still, I really appreciate it. I do actually have stuff to do so I’m going to head back to my office, try to behave yourselves out here.” 

With a wave to them both he was gone, and Paul turned to Carlos with raised eyebrows, “It’s only a few sessions, not a big deal? Man, talk about brown-nosing: you have been a walking stress headache since you took that on.”  

“Yeah, but that was all the prep work. Running the actual sessions should be fine.” 

“Either you’re Superman or you’re lying to yourself.” 

“How are things going in the 9th grade wing? I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to stop by in a while.” 

Paul’s look clearly stated how much subtlety Carlos lacked, but he answered regardless, “Pretty good. No major drama for the past few months, thank god. Just a lot of the typical teen drama.” 

“Then I guess they don’t change all that much because that’s pretty much how the Seniors are, with the added bonus of college applications. How’s Seth doing?” 

“Better. He’s been doing some one on ones with TK and I think they’ve really helped.”

“I think they’ve helped them both,” Carlos admitted, “I think being able to see his past as something to help someone else has been a good thing.”

Paul smiled sadly as he began to gather up the extra supplies, “I’m happy for him. I hated seeing him so ashamed about it, and no amount of saying it was fine ever seemed to get through to him.” 

“Are you calling TK Strand stubborn Paul?” 

“Perish the thought.” 

Carlos laughed as he helped Paul gather the last of the supplies and they turned back towards the 9th grade wing and Paul’s classroom. They walked in silence for a bit before Paul spoke, “Are you sure you don’t need any help with these extra sessions? I don’t know how much help I would be with the actual content part as a science teacher, but if you just want another body in the room or something all you have to do is ask.”

Carlos shook his head and gave the other man a smile, “I’m good Paul, really. Besides, TK has already offered at least 6 times.” 

“Still, if you need anything...” 

“If I need any help with a bulletin board, I’ll know exactly who to call.”  

Paul rolled his eyes but made no comment as they neared his classroom. As they walked by the door to TK’s neighboring room Carlos paused. TK was walking through the room, glancing at student’s papers as they worked. As Carlos watched he paused and crouched down next to a student desk, looking at something on their paper, listening as the student asked their question. He answered, but as he was getting back up he looked towards the door and gave Carlos a smile that warmed him from the inside out. 

Carlos smiled back, hoping that even a fraction of the affection he felt for the other man showed in the simple gesture. He lingered for only a moment more before he stepped out of the doorway, hoping he had left before he was spotted by any of his boyfriend’s students. The last time they had caught him in the doorway they hadn’t stopped teasing TK for a week, which meant that Carlos had gotten to hear about it for a week. 

Paul noticed his hasty retreat and snorted, “Scared of some 15-year-olds, Reyes?” 

“Not willing to deal with my annoyed boyfriend if said 15-year-olds drive him nuts for a week.” 

Paul shook his head as he unlocked his classroom door, holding it open so Carlos could follow him in. They dropped the supplies on a table in the back before Carlos glanced at his watch. 

“And I have a class starting in 3 minutes. Guess this is goodbye then.” 

“Yeah, but try not to be such a stranger. I know you may not like us all as much as your boyfriend, but we’re still here you know.” 

“Who are you again?” 

Paul rolled his eyes, “everyone’s a comedian,” he muttered. 

Carlos grinned, but paused right before he stepped out the door, “we should try to do something as a group after school, soon,” he amended, and Paul smiled at him. 

“Apology accepted Reyes. Now get lost before you’re late for class.” 

--------

At the end of his first SAT prep session, Carlos gathered his bag and headed out of his room, locking the door behind him. It had gone better than he had expected because, despite all his insistence that it would be fine, he had been nervous. But it had gone well, really. Yes, the extra prep work wasn’t ideal and it did cut into his free time, but now that the first one was done he realized that he had actually enjoyed it. Which was certainly not a realization he thought he would be having today. 

If he was being completely honest with himself, he had been hesitant from the moment Judd had approached him. He wasn’t a fan of the concept of the SATs as a whole to start with, but like them or not they were a part of the college admission process, as Judd had reminded him. More than that, there were scholarships that were dependent on SAT scores. They were a necessary evil their students who were applying to college needed to face, and while maybe some could afford private tutors, most couldn’t. 

Looking at it from that perspective, of trying to give students a leg up in an unfair situation, had helped to justify the extra time spent to himself. Now after their first session, he realized that he should have done it regardless. This was nothing more than kids wanting to learn, and he could never say no to that. 

He left his room but instead of heading towards the exit, he turned towards TK’s classroom instead. He had told him that they could meet up after he was done, but TK has been insistent that he would wait for Carlos, that he had more than enough work to keep him busy while Carlos was working. Objectively Carlos knew that was true, but the thought that TK had wanted to wait for him to continue their habit of leaving together each day even when his day was significantly longer than usual filled him with such affection he couldn’t even put it into words. If he had to though, he would say it felt a little bit like love. 

But he quickly abandoned that thought process. They hadn’t said those words yet and Carlos didn’t want to push. Slow and steady was their pace, and Carlos was loath to do anything to jeopardize what they had. 

When he turned the corner into TK’s hallway to find the lone light of his classroom shining into the dark corridor, he was surprised to hear voices coming from the room. He approached quietly, peeking his head into the room and surprised to find his boyfriend sitting at his desk alone. 

TK looked up at the sound of his footsteps and smiled at him, holding up his phone so Carlos could see that it was on, and on speaker. There was an unfamiliar voice coming over the line and TK indicated for Carlos to wait a moment before he turned his attention back to the phone, “Dad, I’m going to have to go now, but I’ll talk to you soon.” 

“Okay, kiddo. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.” 

With that TK hung up the phone and beamed at Carlos, “Hey babe, how’d the session go?” 

“It went really well, actually,” Carlos admitted as he entered the room. 

“I told you it would, but I’m still proud of you.” 

Carlos smiled even wider at that, “Thanks, TK.” He watched as TK got up from his desk and began to gather his papers and begin piling them into his bag. “How’s your dad?” 

“He’s good,” TK said absently as he searched his desk for something. He made a triumphant noise as he found it, placed it in his bag and zipped it, hiking it up on his shoulder as he turned to face Carlos, “He’s coming to visit.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah. He has a good amount of vacation time saved up and figured escaping a New York winter for a bit might not be such a bad idea.” 

“Any idea when?” 

“Three weeks from now.” 

“Wow, that’s exciting,” Carlos said, but really all he felt was panic. He didn’t know how they were supposed to approach this. He wasn’t sure if TK was ready to cross the “meet the parents” bridge, and he didn’t know how to ask. He also wasn’t sure how to avoid it if he wasn’t. 

His anxiety spiral was interrupted by TK crossing to him and taking his hand before leading the way to the door. “He can’t wait to meet you.” 

“Oh,” Carlos said, unable to hide his surprise, “is that what you want?” 

TK froze at the doorway, turning to face Carlos with a furrowed brow, “Of course it is. You’re one of the most important parts of my life, of course I want you to meet my dad. Why, do you not want to?” 

“No!” Carlos said hastily, “No, I don’t mind. It’s just, with the whole taking things slow and everything I wasn’t sure…” 

He trailed off and TK’s expression softened as he dropped Carlos's hand and instead reached up to cup his face, “Carlos Reyes, you are somebody I am proud to be with, and I cannot wait to show you off to my dad.”

The intensity of his expression took Carlos’s breath away and they stood like that for several long moments: TK’s hand on Carlos’s face as they stood alone in the evening silence of the empty high school. 

All too soon TK lowered his hand and gave a lighter grin, “Besides, think of all the embarrassing secrets you’ll get to learn, if you want to come that is.” 

Carlos reached out and took TK’s hand in his own and gave him a warm smile, “Well, how could I possibly turn down an offer like that?”

---------

“Are you sure it’s not too soon though?” 

“Carlos,” Michelle said, exasperation evident in her tone, “it’s been 3 months.” 

“Yeah, but-” 

“But what, Carlos? It’s been 3 months, you guys are solid, his dad is coming across the country to visit him and he wants you to meet him. It’s not that complicated.”

He scowled at Michelle who turned her attention back to her salad, jabbing at the arugula with more force than strictly necessary, “You’re mean today.” 

“I am not mean, you are insane. He likes you, Carlos! He wants you to meet his dad! It’s not weird so stop trying to make it seem like it is!”

Carlos groaned and ran a hand across his face, “It’s just that we agreed to go slow, because he wasn’t sure if he was ready for anything else and meeting the parents seems like it might be surpassing the ‘going slow’ plan. I already got around it with my parents and I wasn’t expecting it to come up on his end.” 

“Your parents want to meet him?” 

“Yeah, they mentioned it at lunch a few weeks ago.” 

“Did you ask TK about it?” 

“I mentioned it.” 

The look Michelle gave him was withering, “I would throw something at you right now but I don’t think anything in my salad would make enough of an impact.” 

“There’s no need for violence, Michelle.” 

“There’s no need for someone as smart as you to make such idiotic decisions either, but here we are.” 

Carlos gave her a baffled look and she rolled her eyes before setting down her fork to explain, “When you mentioned that your parents wanted to meet him, what did he say?” 

“He didn’t. I mentioned it and he looked kind of like a deer in the headlights, so I told him that I had already told them it was too soon.” 

Michelle stared at him for a moment before dropping her head into her hands with a groan. When she looked up again a few seconds later her voice was measured as she spoke, “Did you even ask him if he wants to meet your parents before you made up your mind?” 

Carlos held her gaze for several long seconds before he admitted, “No.” 

“Carlos Reyes, I love you, but sometimes you can be an idiot.” 

---------

Carlos rang the bell and waited anxiously outside the door of TK’s apartment, twisting the paper bag in his hand nervously. TK had texted him that they had gotten back from the airport and that he had picked up stuff for dinner, so logically he knew everything should be pretty much normal. But there was also a huge addition that made everything seem so far from normal Carlos could barely wrap his head around it. That was probably his anxiety talking, but the fact remained. 

The door swung open to reveal his boyfriend but rather an older man with a striking resemblance to his boyfriend. Their eyes met and after a moment of confusion Owen Strand - for that had to be who this was - stepped forward with a smile and an extended hand, “You must be Carlos.” 

Carlos matched the man’s smile and took the offered hand, “Yes sir.”

TK’s father stepped aside to let him in and waved off his formalities, “Please, call me Owen.” 

“Well then Owen, it is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Likewise, Carlos. What do you have there?” 

“Oh,” Carlos said, suddenly remembering the bag in his hands, “Biscuits from Olamaie - a local restaurant.” 

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” Owen assured him, “but judging by the smell of those I think I’m glad you did.” 

Carlos smiled at the older man, who stepped further into the apartment, clearing the entry hall for Carlos could enter as well. As he steps into the main room his eyes find the kitchen, where TK is pulling a stack of plates from the cupboard, “Hey Carlos, I’m just getting dinner together. Why don’t you and my dad get settled at the table.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” he asked, partially because anytime TK stepped into the kitchen it was a cause for concern in his experience, and partially because Carlos dreaded the idea of having to make small talk with his boyfriend’s father. 

TK paused long enough to roll his eyes, “it’s already cooked, all I have to do is warm it up and get it on plates. Pretty sure I can handle that.” 

“Okay, but if you change your mind…” 

“Go,” TK said with a laugh and Carlos grinned before heading to the table and joining Owen. He sat down and looked at the other man, who was clearly appraising him. “How was your flight?” he ventured, not sure what else to say.

“Good, it was good,” Owen said with a vague nod. Carlos nodded too and they lapsed into silence. He was searching his mind, trying to come up with something to say, wishing he had done a google search of “conversation starters with your boyfriend’s parent” before he came when Owen broke the silence. 

“Listen, Carlos,” he said, glancing over at the kitchen where TK was still intently assembling dinner, “I know we just met, but I wanted to make sure I got a chance to say thank you.” 

Carlos frowned, he had absolutely no idea where this was coming from, “Thank you for what?” 

“For being there for TK, for helping him find himself again. He wasn’t in the best place when he came down here, but I can tell from our phone calls and now seeing him again that he is happier than I have seen him in far too long. And I know that a good part of that is because of you, so thank you.” 

“I’m happy you think he’s happy with me,” Carlos countered, “but I didn’t do much. Everything he did, all the healing and growing, is because of what he did, not anyone else. I was just in the room when it happened.” 

He wasn’t sure what reaction he expected from the older man, but a beaming smile was not one of them. “I really am so glad that you found each other,” he said, voice thick, “and I am so glad he has someone like you.” He paused and gestured to the pictures lining the walls, “having my only kid move across the country has been hard not only because I miss him, but also because I was worried about him. Coming here and seeing this, seeing you with him, makes me feel so much better. So thank you, really.” 

Carlos doesn’t know what to say to that, but he is saved by the arrival of TK bearing a platter of food and a stack of plates. He jumps up to help him carry them to the table and sits down with him. 

“What have you two been talking about?” TK asks as he serves food onto plates for everyone. 

“Oh, just getting to know each other,” Owen responded breezily, “and I think I like this one TK.” 

“That’s good dad,” TK quipped, meeting Carlos’s eyes, “because I like him too.” 

Carlos smiled back at him and as the food was passed around, the conversation morphed. Soon enough it was Owen holding court, filling Carlos in on all of teen TK’s antics while TK grimaced from his seat. 

“And then,” Owen was saying, already laughing, “he decided…” 

“Okay!” TK interrupted, face going red, “I think that’s more than enough for one night. Pace yourself dad, you’ve still got a couple more nights here. Wouldn’t want to use up all your material.” 

“Oh, don’t worry kid: I have no intention of leaving any stone unturned or any story untold.” 

“Great,” TK deadpanned, “remind me again why I was excited for you to visit?” 

Carlos chuckled and TK turned his attention to him, “And you are enjoying this far too much.” 

“I would say I am enjoying it the appropriate amount, actually,” Carlos corrected. 

TK narrowed his eyes at him but Carlos just laughed before glancing at his watch, “it’s really late, I should go and let you two get some sleep too.” 

“See you tomorrow, Carlos?” Owen asked as Carlos rose from the table. 

“Count on it,” Carlos assured him, “there are so many more stories I still need to hear.” 

“I’ll walk you out, you traitor,” TK said with a roll of his eyes. 

Carlos waited until they were at the door before he spoke, “I really like him.”

“You only like him because he provides you with premium blackmail material.” 

“True,” Carlos mused, “but I also like him because he’s a lot like you. Besides, when you meet my parents it will be exactly the same, I assure you. I’m just enjoying this before the tables are turned.” 

TK's gaze was piercing as he studied Carlos, “When I meet your parents?”

Carlos nodded, “When. As in, whenever you are ready. I realized I should have asked you if you wanted to before just assuming you didn’t. So the ball is in your court: if you want to, I’d be honored to bring you home to my parents.” 

TK smiled and leaned in to kiss him. When he pulled away - far too soon for Carlos’s liking - he smiled, “I’d like that a lot, and I think we should. Maybe next week, after my dad leaves?”

Carlos nodded, “consider it a date, Tyler Kennedy.” 

“Oh he did not tell you that!” he exclaimed, throwing a glare back to where his father was still sitting. 

“I like it.” 

“And you’re lucky I like you, not everyone can get away with using that and live.” 

“Oh, so I’m special?” 

He said it as a joke, but the way TK held his gaze nearly toppled him. There was so much more intensity in his eyes than Carlos had been expecting, “You’re very special to me, Carlos Reyes.”  

They head each other’s gaze in the doorway to TK’s apartment in the late hours of the night and Carlos could practically feel all the things going unsaid between them. Now wasn’t the time to say them yet, but maybe, he thought, that time could be soon. 

----------

Carlos checked the clock on the wall above his desk. 8:01, the exam had just started. He leaned back in his chair with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He knew that there was no reason to be here, he knew there was nothing more he could do. He had spent 5 weeks preparing these kids though, and had offered to come in early on the Saturday of the exam for any last-minute questions and pep talks. There had been more than a few takers but now they were all in the gym, opening their test booklets and Carlos was left with nothing more to do but wait. 

Logically he knew he could wait and worry just as well from home, but somehow being here made him feel a little better. He pulled a stack of papers from the turn in tray on his desk on the pretense of grading them while he waited, but he knew that he wouldn’t get anything done. He was just considering maybe attempting to organize something instead when there was a soft knock at his door. He looked up to see TK, standing in the doorway with a tray holding two paper cups, a bag, and a warm smile, “Hey you.” 

“Hey yourself, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you,” he added hastily, “I just wasn’t expecting you.” 

“Why, because it’s Saturday before 9 am and you're in your classroom?”  

“More or less, yeah.” 

TK grinned as he entered, setting down the bag to drag one of the chairs up to Carlos’s desk so he could join him. 

“Usually you’d be right,” he admitted as he pulled two foil wrapped burritos out of the bag and handed one to Carlos, “but I knew you would be here, and I knew you’d spend the whole time worrying. So I figured you should at least have breakfast while you worried. And coffee,” he added pressing one of the cups into Carlos’s hand. 

Carlos was too stunned to say anything, so he took a sip of the coffee. It was perfect, exactly the way he liked it. He set down the cup and studied TK, who was sipping his own coffee. 

“You’re perfect, have I ever told you that?”

“Maybe, but a guy can never get too sick of hearing it.” 

“So modest too.” 

TK rolled his eyes but smiled as he settled into his seat at the corner of Carlos’s desk, unwrapping his burrito. 

“Thanks for coming, I appreciate it. I could really use the company.” 

TK nodded, “I figured as much. Besides, I kind of like spending time here, it makes me a little nostalgic.” At Carlos’s questioning look he explained, “this is where we had our first real conversation, and where I decided that you were someone I should risk getting to know, even though I was afraid of it ending up exactly where it did.” 

“Oh, so you were scared of me?”

“Eh, I was,” TK said dismissively, “turns out you’re not that scary. And,” he added, voice going more sincere, “it turns out I wasn’t as broken as I thought. I just needed someone to help me see that.” 

Carlos smiled at him, but soon enough his eyes were pulled back to the clock. It was 8:05 now. 

“Okay, spill.” 

“What?” Carlos asked, looking over at TK with a bewildered expression. 

“Spill. I know you’re nervous, but maybe if you tell me why, I can help.” 

Carlos took a deep breath and let his eyes wander to the clock one more time before turning his focus back to TK, “I know I’ve done everything I could think of, but this is still an important test. Most of the kids taking it today are taking it again in hopes of raising their scores so they can qualify for more scholarships. There’s so much riding on this; it could determine some of their futures. And, I just don’t know if I did enough - if I was enough.” 

“Carlos…” 

“There are so many other people in the department TK, I don’t know why they asked me. I’m not anything special, and this whole time I keep thinking that someone else could have done a better job. I’m worried that I let these kids down.” 

“Carlos,” TK said again, more forcefully, “you are special. Don’t ever say you’re not again. You were asked because you are an amazing teacher. Don’t deny it,” he said when Carlos opened his mouth to interrupt, “because I’m right. I’ve seen you with your classes. They don’t only respect you, they trust you. They feel safe enough to ask you questions, to show that they don’t know something. And you have never responded to any question with anything less than understanding and compassion. You always find a way to help. That’s why they asked you - because you are the best at this. Sure, maybe someone else might be better with the technicalities, but no one can hold a candle to Carlos Reyes when it comes to helping students grow. It’s one of the things I love about you.” 

Carlos could already feel emotions building within him at TK’s words and the sincerity with which he said them, but his last sentence froze him in his tracks. He was pretty sure his brain was short circuiting; it kept playing the last sentence on loop: It’s one of the things I love about you.

“Carlos?” TK asked, expression furrowing in concern, “are you okay?” 

“Do you mean that?” Carlos asked instead. 

The look he gave him in response was truly baffled, “mean what?” 

“You said ‘it’s one of the things I love about you.’”

TK’s eyes widened for just a second, before he smiled, “Yes,” he said softly, “I do. I love you, Carlos Reyes, because of all of that and because of so many other things.” 

Carlos blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears that had tried to sneak out without his permission. This was everything he had ever wanted; TK was everything he had ever dreamed of. He had wanted this for so long, and he had felt the same way for TK for months now, even if he had been denying it. To hear that his boyfriend felt the same way meant more to him than he could ever possibly say. 

So he settled on the next best thing, “I love you too, Tyler Kennedy, more than I have ever loved anyone. More than I thought I could ever love anyone.” 

TK rolled his eyes, but it did nothing to detract from his beaming smile, “You just had to use the full name, didn’t you?” 

“Unfortunately for you, I love it because it’s yours; and I happen to love everything about you.”

“You are a sap Carlos Reyes.” 

“Yeah, but that’s one of the things you love about me, right?” 

“Definitely,” TK agreed, before glancing at the clock. Carlos followed his gaze; it was 8:15 now. 

“We still have 3 hours,” TK noted, “I think that might be time to get through some of the other things, if you’re interested.” 

Carlos leaned forward to give him a quick but tender kiss. He took a moment to rest his forehead on TK’s, savoring the feel of the contact for another moment before he pulled back and grinned at him, “I’m interested in anything, as long as it’s with you.” 

-----------

The next afternoon Carlos pulled into the driveway of his childhood home. He put the car in park and turned to look at his passenger. TK was fiddling with the collar of his shirt and anxiously smoothing it for imaginary wrinkles. Carlos reached over and grabbed one of his hands. 

“Hey,” he said, “stop worrying, you look perfect. They’re going to love you.” 

“Are you sure?” TK asked and Carlos’s heart hurt to hear his voice so small and full of doubt, “I can’t imagine that too many parents would love the idea of their child dating an addict.” 

“What matters is that you have overcome it,” Carlos said firmly, “and that I love you. That’s all they need to know, and it will be enough.” 

They had said those words roughly a hundred times since TK had first let it slip in his classroom yesterday morning and each time Carlos could feel his heartbeat just a little bit faster. He loved TK Strand and he was loved by TK Strand. Nothing in the world had ever felt so good. Now he was going to take TK inside to meet his parents where he would undoubtedly learn all sorts of embarrassing stories and become that much further entrenched in Carlos’s life and in his heart. He couldn’t think of a better possible next step than that. 

He leaned over to press a kiss to TK’s lips, smiling when he felt some of the tension melt from the other man. When he pulled away he met TK’s gorgeous eyes and squeezed the hand he was still holding. 

“It’s going to be fine and I’m going to be right beside you, no matter what.”

“Promise?” 

Carlos nodded with a smile, “Yeah, I promise. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” 

[faedawayyy]

ALL GENERATIONS OF CARMICHAELS aesthetics here. 

GRANDPARENTS.

hank carmichael (- grandfather of the family, grew up in a wealthy family in london & gained control of his family’s multimillion dollar film company by killing his older brother, who was supposed to take it over.    sylvia carmichael - the daughter of a widowed russian man. she moved to london at 16 to model and was cast in several films from hank’s studio before they met and married.  

PARENTS/AUNTS/UNCLES. 

edwin carmichael - (eldest son) a very successful real estate agent, he came out as gay when he was 14 and was bullied a lot but has refused to not be proud. theatre enthusiast and married jonah when he was 45 & adopted ruby from italy as a baby. 

james carmichael - (second eldest son) an ambitious visionary, a creative and worked with hank from the age of 15 on the film studio. it’s always been his passion but he also got greedy later in life and dabbled in a lot of crime which got out of hand.  jonathan carmichael - (youngest son - written by synn) so how I imagine Jonathan is that he is very strict with Theo, and has held him to the standard of “why can’t you be more like Anastasia and Leo?”  I always imagined he was a bit jealous James was head of the company, and really wanted to be it too. However, I feel like he’s doing what he can to keep a “my life is going exactly how I imagined it” façade, and won’t really voice his frustrations other than with Theo and his wife behind closed doors (important to note this doesn’t mean any form of physical abuse. Only verbal). I feel like he’s kinda excited that Theo is coming around to more acting because it’s closer to what he wanted for him, but he won’t admit to it ofc  hes a bit salty with Theo for not wanting to marry Margaret even though that’s what HE wanted, like with brody and Disney and Kendall and mason. elizabeth carmichael - (oldest daughter) she got married incredibly young to the man hank pushed her towards and it was toxic from the get-go. when she fell pregnant, he left her and she spent all of her twenties as a single parent raising marcus. she’s now the cool rich aunt. 

cynthia billings - (youngest child) also married the man she was pushed towards - an owner of a successful restaurant chain - and it worked out like a fairytale. they live in lilac heights. cynthia is a complete disney adult and proud, basically a big kid. 

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

patricia carmichael - (wife of james) she never wanted to marry james in the beginning but her dad, who was the governor of new hampshire at the time, knew hank and thought it was a brilliant idea. she’s artistic, passive, quiet, idealistic and the calm to james’ bold and abrupt nature. she grew to love him and lived most of her life in his shadow. 

jonah carmichael >> edwin’s husband  agatha carmichael >> jonathan’s husband laurence billings >> cynthia’s huband 

THE GRANDCHILDREN - age order/the characters in the same block are around the same age (oldest/middles/youngest) 

theodore carmichael (?) - (jonathan’s son, played by synn)  denver billings (29) - (oldest son of cynthia) - went through college and trained to be a doctor before deciding against it & travelling the world, a backpacker, owns a camper van, homosexaul, responsible. (sam claflin)  anastasia carmichael (28) - (oldest of james, played by zoë) - driven and intelligent, business-minded and has a great eye for fashion. never wants to disappoint her parent or grandparents but has recently divorced her husband, ryden banks. (elsa hosk) iris billings (27) - (second oldest of cynthia) - worked as a fashion journalist in los angeles for the longest time & was constantly made to feel less than because of her body and size. at 26, she threw in the towel and ditched city life for the east coast. she now lives in her grandparents hamptons holiday home and is starting a fresh. (nicola coughlan)  leonardo carmichael (27) - (second oldest of james, played by katie) - leo’s the oldest son of james and often put on a pedestal because of it. he was raised to be an all-rounder and has the typical mindset of a carmichael man. however, unlike his younger brother, he often fails to meet the extra expectations on his love life and avoids settling with the girl his parents want for him. (chad michael murray)  marcus carmichael (27) - (son of elizabeth) - elizabeth’s child. despite their money, he grew up seeing the heartache and crap his dad put her through and became hardened through that. he also did a lot of underhand and shady jobs for james, landing him in jai once or twice. (bill skarsgaard)  hayley billings (26) - (third oldest of cynthia) - hayley started living with a boyfriend none of her family approved of when she was 16. he was 42. she dropped out of school and worked at his bar in london, cutting of the rest of the family when they objected. her boyfriend - shocker - turned out to be a piece of shit and majorly abusive. 10 years later, she’s escaped him and has plucked up the courage to move back home and is reconnecting with the family. (victoria pendretti)  mason carmichael (26)  - (third oldest of james) - mason’s artistic and on the more introverted side of the family. even though he’s praised in his own way, he’s always felt like he needs to be more like brody and leo. his love life is definitely in the spotlight just as much as his projects. (austin butler)  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- brody carmichael (25) - (fourth oldest of james) - the product of being raised on “masculinity”. in high school, he was a sports star, he’s always been a charmer and never learned how to lose. people would call him a mini-leo but it quickly became clear who the real favourite was when he made his relationship with disney official. despite the aggressive drinking problem, it’s been hard for any of his siblings to impress their parents quite as much. (zac efron)  marie billings (24) - (fourth oldest of cynthia) - her mothers daughter, a lover of fantasy, magic and romance and never wants to grow up. she works as a primary school teacher & adores it. yet, she struggles to actually date/branch out like most do. her expectations and daydreams of romance are more fulfilling than the real thing to her. (sophie turner/saorise ronan)  ruby rosini (23) - (edwin’s daughter, played by nadine)   miles carmichael (22) - (second youngest of james) - cynical, sarcastic and the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family. miles is massively introverted and the least enthusiastic about any family gathering. last year he found out he isn’t james’ biological son and has felt disconnected ever since. (hero finneas-tifin) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------betty billings (21) - (fifth oldest of cynthia) - betty simply hates the idea of having to work. she’s dramatic and extroverted and the family’s kim kardashian. she has star quality, for sure and a ton of charisma. she’s a shop-a-holic and people struggle to get her to do anything else. (olivia holt)  bella carmichael (19) - (youngest of james, played by nadine) - bella is the youngest child of james and has burnt out. after being thrown into ballet, sports, tutoring and every other class you can imagine from the age of 4, she’s done with teachers and being an over-achiever. bella hasn’t been herself since her dad’s “death” but is very good at hiding it to the point where everyone thinks she’s doing amazing. (anna bruevla/katherine newton/elle fanning)  hadley billings (18) (twin, youngest of cynthia) - hadley is the oldest of the billings twins by five minutes. he’s vegan and an animal lover and very interested in politics. he is an anti-carmichael man in the sense that he shows more than anger, saddness and horniness in his emotional range. very gentle and arguably the nicest cousin. (ross lynch)  freddy billings (18) (twin, youngest of cynthia) - freddy is the youngest and also the brightest of the bunch by far, to the point where an IQ test dubbed him a genius at just 7. he was put into all sorts of competitions and given all kinds of scholarships. but because teachers and adults love him so much, he’s also a little shit, the definition of a class clown. he doesn’t work hard to achieve, he just does and that’s what annoys people the most. (romeo beckham) 

[sciencespies]

Songbirds and humans share some common speech patterns

https://sciencespies.com/nature/songbirds-and-humans-share-some-common-speech-patterns/

Songbirds and humans share some common speech patterns

If you listen to songbirds, you will recognize repeated melodies or phrases. Each phrase is made up of distinct sounds, strung together. A study from researchers at McGill University has found that the song phrases of many songbird species follow patterns that are similar to those used in human speech. At least in some respects.

The songbirds the researchers studied, like humans — no matter what language they speak — tend to use shorter elements (whether these are words or sounds) when they are putting together longer phrases. Linguists speculate that this pattern, known as Menzerath’s Law, may make communication more efficient by making things easier to understand or say.

But the McGill team suggest that, at least in songbirds, physical factors such as muscle fatigue and limited lung capacities may also play a role. They also speculate that similar factors could contribute to seeing Menzerath’s Law in humans.

Do physical elements play a role in songbird (and human) vocal patterns?

“Although we see Menzerath’s Law in all the songbird species we looked at, and others have seen it among primates and penguins, we aren’t sure this necessarily reflects enhanced communication efficiency in non-human animals,” said Jon Sakata, a professor in McGill’s Biology Department and the senior author on the paper that was recently published in Current Biology. “It is possible that these patterns of communication that we saw in songbirds are caused by physical predispositions and constraints.”

Interestingly, Sakata also notes that the brain mechanisms regulating breathing and vocal muscles seem to be organized in similar ways in birds and humans.

Even song from untutored birds follow similar patterns

The idea that physical elements may play a role in these song patterns is supported by the fact that when the researchers compared the song patterns of birds that had been typically reared and tutored by their parents with those that had not been taught to sing by their parents (untutored birds), they found the same patterns.

“The individual units of sound made by untutored birds were very different from those made by the typically raised birds,” said Logan James, the first author on the paper and a former PhD student in Professor Sakata’s lab, now a post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. “However, the ‘rules’ by which they organize these aberrant elements is indistinguishable from typically raised birds. These results suggest that physical predispositions or limitations may play a role in producing these song patterns.”

Further work will need to be done in this area to see whether this is indeed the case. For example, work linking species variation in the strength of Menzerath’s Law to species variation in the biomechanics of vocal production would be a useful next step.

Story Source:

Materials provided by McGill University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

#Nature

[totsntutors]

5 Effective Ways to Avoid Burnout in Texas as a Student | Tots N' Tutors LLC

Being a student in Texas can be both exciting and challenging. With the demands of academics, extracurricular activities, and the vibrant Texan lifestyle, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and experience burnout. If you are wondering how to avoid burnout in school, read on to learn five ways that could help you.

5 Tips on How to Avoid Burnout as a Student

Time Management and Prioritization

One of the main reasons students experience burnout is having an overwhelming workload. To keep your workload in check, mastering the art of time management and prioritization is key. Your first step should be creating a weekly schedule with separate time blocks for studying, attending classes, and participating in extracurricular activities. You should also prioritize your tasks, so you can tackle the most important ones when you’re at your peak energy levels. By managing your time and prioritizing your to-do list, you can reduce anxiety and create greater balance in your daily life.

Set Realistic Goals

Setting achievable goals is also important when it comes to preventing burnout. Many students set unrealistic expectations for themselves, leading to burnout symptoms of stress and exhaustion. Breaking your goals into small and manageable steps and celebrating your accomplishments will boost your motivation and prevent you from feeling so overwhelmed.

Practice Self-Care

Self-care is essential in preventing burnout as well. It’s easy to neglect self-care when you’re caught up in the busyness of student life; but it’s vital to take care of yourself as you strive to achieve academically for your mental and physical well-being. Prioritizing sleep, eating nutritious meals, and engaging in relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises can help.

Stay Connected and Seek Support

Sometimes it is difficult to stay balanced and avoid balance without help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to friends, family, or even your fellow students when you’re feeling stressed. Consider other professional resources, such as counseling, if you need outside support. Lean into your social connections and seek support when you need it. 

Take Brain Breaks

Finally, avoid burnout by incorporating breaks into your routine. It’s easy to get into a monotonous cycle of classes and studying, but this can lead to mental fatigue. Whether you choose to spend time outdoors or simply read for pleasure, taking “brain breaks” is beneficial to restoring your energy and motivation.

As a student, it’s crucial to avoid burnout to accomplish goals and achieve academically. By managing your time well, setting realistic goals, practicing self-care, and staying connected, you can maintain a healthy balance and thrive as a student in the Lone Star State.

Tots ‘N Tutors is a professional mobile and remote tutoring company based in Austin, Texas that works with students individually or in small groups, in person or virtually.  The caring and competent learning guides of Tots ‘N Tutors offer learning support to students in pre-kindergarten through high school and college. If you are interested in private, professional tutoring, contact Tots ‘N Tutors for more information on how it can serve you.

[wbooker]

♪  austin abrams. cis man. twenty four. he/him. ♪  is WES BOOKER here again? gosh, they really love it here. they have been coming to reckless records for THREE YEARS. they’re always requesting HOME BY TOM ROSENTHAL to be played. everyone says they’re +INTELLIGENT and +THOUGHTFUL but can also be -PARANOID and -OBSESSIVE.  oh look, they’re in aisle 10!

ABOUT THE MUN. what is that! that freaky thing! yes, that’s right, it’s a naked mole rat.

hello all, it’s me. pepper. if you read that in a hello god it’s me margaret vc we are simply meant to be <3 but omg yeah i really was out here plottin for mika and completely forgetting booker exists skjsdk sorry king. you deserve better. anyways, down below will be a bit about the boi because i am too lazy for a google doc !! maybe we’ll make it later we’ll see. 

BIO.  *doesnt check my academic email* everythings OK

wesley booker was an accident. let’s not sugar coat things here. he was a big fat fuckin mistake. you see his parents were on their way to retirement when he came into the picture. all of their other children were grown up, some even with children of their own. and then booker and his twin sister showed up. they weren’t exactly thrilled about the whole thing. 

i mean, they weren’t dicks about it. they fed the twins and clothed them and gave them like basic love and all that. but they definitely didn’t put as much energy into the last two kids as they did into those before them. so booker and his sister pretty much were left to their own devices majority of the time. 

so the twins very quickly learned to entertain themselves. they had each other for company and that was fine. for the most part the twins were actually pretty codependent until they got a bit older and found themselves when more friends. but to this day they are still quite close. 

whenever their parents got tired of dealing with them they would send the twins over to their uncle robs shop. customers probably got pretty used to the two kids running around reckless screaming their heads off, and playing hide and seek excitedly through the aisles. they gave poor rob more grey hair than a man should ever have at that age, but hey, they gave the shop character. booker and his sister spent pretty much majority of their childhood at reckless to be honest. they went their after school so that rob could take them home once the shop closed up. they were there one weekends, when they parents didn’t particularly want to deal with them. and later, when at least booker became of age, he even worked there. 

booker worked front counter at reckless for all of his high school career. and honestly, he was good at it too. he had the kind of thoughtful, detail oriented personality that worked well in that kind of environment. he started working at reckless when he was fourteen, and by the time he was in his senior year he was even assistant manager. things were good. really good. while rob was more of a chill boss, relaxed boss, booker actually had the ability to keep things organized and keep majority of the store under control. things were actually running smoothly while he was there. his uncle got extra sleep. all the customers were happy. 

and then booker quit to go to university. and well. the place dissolved into the good old chaos it was before. honestly, booker finds the disposition kind of stressful, but mostly funny. his uncle begs him to come back at least once a week, but with booker now being in graduate school and working as a side gig as a teaching assistant and tutor, well, he simply doesn’t have the time. he comes by often enough though, just to laugh and his uncles woes and occasionally force him to take a nap as he organizes the books for him, maybe watches the place. 

but booker’s real focus at the moment is his masters in film. your boy wants to be a director, so you can often catch him waxing poetic about classic movies or looking like a zombie after his exams. 

HEADCANNONS. how do you deal with anxiety? i let it fuck me up and then i go to bed.

a responsible boi ! honestly booker has been a tiny adult since he was a child. when he was a child he looked a lot like little luke crain from haunting of hill house. now he has contact lenses. 

a huge nerd. loves movies and comic books and classical literature. really such a dweeb. very smart, and quite humble about it but also a damn nerd yk. 

has an old beat up pickup truck he drives everywhere that he mostly fixes with duct tape skjdsj it was his dads and he’s only keeping it because he can’t afford another one but god,,, we hate it here. 

a push over honestly. super kind. if you need anything just as him and he will probably give it to you. very skeptical and paranoid of people he doesn’t know quite well tho. the duality of man <3

your boi has anxiety <3 he do be stressed! you can probably catch him studying for his exams and such in the back because i feel like he just ??? stays above the record store a bunch because it’s closer to where his school is that his family home yk

has a film journal that he rates literally every film he sees in. also has a regular journal and lowkey writes poetry in his spare time but he would die if anyone read it. the type to fall for someone and write a lil poem about them in his journal yk!!

but yeah!! that’s my boi pls like this if you would like to plot !!

WANTED CONNECTIONS. might fuck around and read a 500 page physical published book in one sitting like it’s 2006 and I’m being bullied in middle school so I take refuge in the library and inhale books at a frightening speed that I have not been able to replicate since

best friends, old coworkers, old high school enemies, an academic rival maybe, his twin sister but i am gonna put that in as a wc, exes, fwb or ewbs, someone he can confide in, a study buddy, someone he sees/discusses movies with, and an opposites attract vibe maybe!

[mathtutoraustin0-blog]

Arye Shapiro is an excellent Math and Physics tutor and a famous name in Austin tutoring. He has been experienced in tutoring for home and remote locations. He facilitates his students to schedule their time and location as per their convenience.

[ivressesdhier]

Virginia Woolf’s numerous & inventive ways of describing Vita Sackville-West in her diaries (The Diary of Virginia Woolf, vol. 2 & 3)

Excerpts from 1922 to 1930, in chronological order:

"I am too muzzy-headed to make out anything. This is partly the result of dining to meet the lovely gifted aristocratic Sackville West last night at Clive's."

"–knows everyone– But could I ever know her?"

"the aristocratic manners is something like the actresses–no false shyness or modesty: a bead dropped into her plate at dinner–given to Clide–asks for liqueur–has her hand on all the ropes–makes me feel virgin, shy, & schoolgirlish."

"She is a grenadier; hard; handsome, manly; inclined to double chin."

"She is a pronounced Sapphist, & may, thinks Ethel Sands, have an eye on me, old though I am. Nature might have sharpened her faculties. Snob as I am, I trace her passions 500 years back, & they become romantic to me, like old yellow wine."

"All these ancestors & centuries, & silver & gold, have bred a perfect body. She is stag like, or race horse like, save for the face, which pouts, & has no very sharp brain. [...] But as a body hers is perfection." 

"But its the breeding of Vita's that I took away with me as an impression, carrying her & Knole in my eye as I traveled up with the lower middle classes, through slums." 

"Vita was here for Sunday, gliding down the village in her new blue Austin car, which she manages consummately. She was dressed in ringed yellow jersey & large hat, & had a dressing case all full of silver & night gowns wrapped in tissue."

"But I like her being honorable, & she is it; a perfect lady, with all the dash and courage of the aristocracy, & less of its childishness than I expected."

"But she has shed the old verbiage, & come to terms with some sort of glimmer of art; so I think; & indeed, I rather marvel at her skill, & sensibility;"

“Vita, to attempt a return, is like an over ripe grape in features, moustached, pouting, will be a little heavy;"

"meanwhile, she strides on fine legs, in a well cut skirt, & though embarrassing at breakfast, has a manly good sense & simplicity about her which both L. and I find satisfactory. Oh yes, I like her; could tack her on to my equipage for all time;"

"With Vita we discussed the murder of Mr Joshua, Ottoline, literature. Then she took us to Charleston –& how one's world spins round–it looked all very grey & shabby & loosely cut in the light of her presence." 

"I like her & being with her, & the splendour–she shines in the grocers shop in Sevenoaks with a candle lit radiance, stalking on legs like beech trees, pink glowing, grape clustered, pearl hung. That is the secret of her glamour, I suppose." [...] There is her maturity & full breastedness [...] her being so much in full sails on the high tides, where I am coasting down backwaters; [...] her capacity I mean to take the floor in any company, to represent her country, to visit Chatsworth, to control silver, servants, chow dogs; her motherhood, her being in short (what I have never been) a real woman. [...] Then there is some voluptuousness about her; the grapes are ripe, & not reflective. No. In brain & insight she is not as highly organised as I am. But then she is aware of this, & so lavishes on me the maternal protection which, for some reason, is what I have always most wished from everyone."   

“She is not clever, but abundant & fruitful; truthful too." 

"Vita is a dumb letter writer, & I miss her. I miss the glow & the flattery & the festival."

"Her address was read in sad sulky tones like those of a schoolboy; her pendulous rich society face, glowing out under a black hat at the end of the smoky dismal room, looked very ancestral & like a picture under glass in gallery."

"Vita was very opulent, in her brown velvet coat with the baggy pockets, pearl necklace, & slightly furred cheeks. (They are like saviours flannel, of which she picked me a great bunch, in texture) [...] Of its kind this is the best, most representative human life I know: I mean, certain gifts & qualities & good fortunes are here miraculously combined–I liked Harold too."  

"Vita very free & easy, always giving me great pleasure to watch, & recalling some image of a ship breasting a sea, nobly, magnificently, with all sails spread, & the gold sunlight on them."

"Thus it has been a free quiet summer: I enjoyed the Eclipse; I enjoyed Long Barn; (where I went twice) I enjoyed sitting with Vita at Kew for 3 or 4 hours under a cloudy sky & dining at the Petit Riche with her [...] she refreshes me, & solaces me;"

"Vita very gallant & wild & tossing her head & taking me to the Zoo & saying she was wild & free & wd. make her money now herself by writing."

"Vita as usual like a lamp or torch in all this petty bourgeoisdom; a tribute to the breeding of the Sackvilles, for without care of her clothes she appears among them <in all the sanity & strength of a well-made body> like a lampost, straight, glowing. None of us have that; or know not how to carry it"

"A queer trait in Vita–her passion for the earnest middle-class intellectual, however drab & dreary." (this tantrum’s about Hilda Matheson)

"Then L. met us, punctually at 4 [...] & we sat on some prickly holly leaves on the heath & talked to Vita about Harold's letter. He says her poems aren't worth publishing. She is very calm & modest, & seems not to mind much–a less touchy poet never was."

"She was very much as usual; striding; silk stockings; shirt & skirt; opulent; easy; absent; talking spaciously & serenely to the Eton tutor, an admirable young man, with straight nose & white teeth who went to bed, or to his room, early, leaving us alone."

“Something happens in my mind. It refuses to go on registering impressions. It shuts itself up. It becomes chrysalis. I lie quite torpid, often with acute physical pain–as last year; only discomfort this. Then suddenly somethings springs. Two nights ago, Vita was here; & when she went, I began to feel the quality of the evening–how it was spring coming: a silver light; mixing with the early lamps; the cabs all rushing through the streets; I had a tremendous sense of life beginning; [...] Well, as I was saying, between these long pauses [...], I felt the spring beginning, & Vita's life so full & flush; & all the doors opening; & this is I believe the moth shaking its wings in me."

"My map of the world lacks rotundity. There is Vita. Yes–She was here the other day, after her Italian tour, with 2 boys; a dusty car, sand-shoes & Florentine candlepieces, novels & so on tumbling about on the seats.”

"The other night, sitting on the floor by my side, Vita suffered considerably from jealousy of Ethel. [...] She praised her, stoutly, but bitterly. She has all the abandonment that I, living in this age of subtlety & reserve, have lost. She claims you; rushes in where I force myself to hold back. [...] When Hugh was here he said casually that he had met Ethel at tea.” [earlier that day at Monk’s House]. “Such agony went through her she could not speak. And I noticed nothing; & in my usual blind way, made my usual mocking joke. This V. took seriously & brought out my letter for me to read."

Pictures from Virginia Woolf’s personal photo album.