#please yell at the elsa bitch more

[bluefireskiesfox]

[booman86]

Daryl Stand Up To Bully

Riverside High School

Bullying can happen to anyone at any time, at any place. High School is where Bullying commonly happens in most cases. Popular presses the unpopular, brawny go after the brainy. Enter the young lady Kea who had moved into town with her family and had been registered to AHS. Kea was extremely shy and soft spoken, she usually kept to herself and mainly stayed in the background and out of anyone's line of eyesight. Being in a new area wasn't easy to adapt for Kea, not only did she have to get used to a whole new school but also learn how to interact with others that were all around her. Her father was an ex-military man and he instilled strong morals in his daughter from the get-go.

On the opposite side of the spectrum was the all-around pains in the ass of Riverside High. Karen the rich snobbish spoiled little brat. Some people hate her but at the same time they still want her to like them. She is an evil genius, a bully, and a manipulator who loves to make fun of poor people. She is just a really angry girl who had no boundaries or guidance. She is also the girlfriend of douche number two and star of the football team Donald. He constantly bullied anyone who wouldn't fight back against him.

Enter the Archer's family. Nancy Flower Archer famously known as the 50-foot woman had over time grown in size reaching well over 130 ft and would've become a mother to a young human sized son named Terry Archer and an equally towering brunette daughter named Daryl Archer and adopted mother to her adopted daughter Elsa Gilmore who is attended college at Florida University. Nancy was a very loving mother who loved spending time with her children. They were never alone, always with other people present so that they could be protected. Terry and Daryl along with Daryl's boyfriend Alucard were the polar opposites to Donald and Karen. Donald usually gives Terry a hard time when he was on the Basketball team and was getting more attention than Donald himself. However, Alucard usually steps in and confronts Donald and gets him to back off, while Daryl is usually intimidating in her own right thanks to her giant size.

Donald and Karen then set their sights on picking on new student Kea who was busy talking with the school janitor for directions for the school. "Well now looky here," said Donald. "The new kid has made friends with the freak." The entire class laughed at this remark, but it didn't stop there. It soon turned into someone shoving her and Donald and Karen following suit by doing the same thing. "P-please leave me alone," said Kea. "Yeah right, you think we're stupid," replied Donald. "What if I wanted to mess with you?" asked Karen. "You won't get away with this!" yelled Kea. Donald and Karen laughed. "If you don't shut up, you'll see what I'm going to do with these hands!" yelled Karen. "Come on Karen, let's get her!" said Donald. Kea runs off crying with the two hots on her trail.

As Kea runs through the halls, she then ducks into a nearby broom closet to hide from her tormentors. Kea looks around to see if she evaded her bullies. However, she hears a loud cough. There, standing in front of her is Karen. "Going somewhere you little bitch," said Karen with an evil smirk on her face. Kea was about to run but Donald was right behind her and grabbed her. "LET ME GO!!" Shouts Kea. Karen just laughs and pulls her closer. "I bet you're really scared aren't you," said Karen. Kea tries to escape again. Donald keeps her from escaping. "Stop it! Please stop it!" says Kea. "Oh please, I'm just warming up!" said Karen. Suddenly Karen pulls out a pair of scissors and proceeds to cut Kea's hair off. After several students laughed at her, and took pictures of her with their phones, she was left crying her eyes out. Karen ran past Alucard who will get his book at the locker. Alucard hadn't paid any attention, but he had a bad feeling that something had happened to Karen. The Bullying continued over time, for weeks on end. Kea, who had to wear a hat to cover up her clipped-up hair, was always in the duo's sights. But they never hurt her physically, they only tried to humiliate her and call her ugly.

On one particular day, Donald and Karen walked past Kea and then pretended to trip her. Then they laughed loudly. This time the bullying escalated when the duo decided to throw a ball of paper at her. Fortunately, she dodged it. However, the next time they threw it, she couldn't dodge it. The ball hit her right in the face, leaving her with a black eye. This bullying had then gotten the attention of Alucard and Terry. "This is terrible," said Alucard. "We need to help her. But what can we do?" asked Terry. "Well, I have a plan," said Alucard. "What is your plan?" asked Terry. "I think it's time we teach those little bastards a lesson," said Alucard. "Let's go tell Daryl about this too," said Terry. Later on in the day Kea was nursing her eye with an ice pack sniffling. Just then she sees a huge shadow looming over her. She looks up and thinks it's Donald and Karen coming after her again.

"Oh no please leave me alone!!" Screamed Kea. "Whoa whoa, easy there! I'm not going to hurt you." Said the voice Kea then looks up to see that it wasn't her two tormentors but rather Daryl looming above her with Terry and Alucard on her shoulder. "Oh my God," whimpered Kea. "I know. I get that a lot around here," said Daryl. "Sorry I-I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I never seen anyone like you," said Kea. Daryl then smiles at her.

"That's okay, it's fine I get that all the time too." said Daryl. The two then share a laugh with each other. "My name is Kea," said Kea. "My name is Daryl Archer, and those two over here are Terry my brother and Alucard my little boyfriend," said Daryl pointing to Terry and Alucard. "Wait Archer? As in Nancy Archer!?" Kea asked. "Yes, as in Nancy Archer, she's our mother," said Terry. "Wow," said Kea. "I've never met the famous Archer family before," said Kea. "Well, you will if you stick around here long enough. Said Daryl smiling. "I bet you're the talk of the school," said Kea. Daryl giggled a little before she told Kea she attended homeschool. The only reason she attended homeschool was because of her size. Because the school is afraid that she could cause a lot of damage.

"I wish I could be as popular as you were." said Kea as she had gotten a saddened look on her face. "Hi, I'm not that popular. Most people would run from me at the first sight they see me," said Daryl. "Well, I'm new in town and I'm having a hard time trying to find some friends plus I had a less than stellar welcoming party," said Kea. "Oh, I know all about Tweddle Dick and Tweddle Cheese harassing you constantly, Terry and Alucard told me all about it," said Daryl. "Yeah, Donald used to go after me all the time when I joined the Basketball team," said Terry. "Until I stepped in to check his ass," said Alucard. Daryl asked Alucard how he stopped Donald from bullying Terry. Which Alucard told Daryl he began to troll Donald every day at school. Stealing wheels off his brand-new Corvette, pulling pranks on them in school and beating him in wrestling doing PE class. "And Karen is an annoying little pest as well that needs to be humbled constantly," said Daryl.

"Anyway, how about you come by our house next Saturday? You won't regret it," said Daryl. Terry then writes up their address on a piece of paper. "OK, thanks," Kea said. "And don't worry about Donald and Karen, we'll make sure to keep them off of your back," said Alucard. They then gave Kea a hug goodbye. "You guys are the best," said Kea.

The next week, Kea came to school and saw Daryl and Terry standing outside of the front gates. She was so happy to see them. And she was really glad that they hadn't forgotten about her. "Hey there," said Daryl. "How are you doing?" asked Terry. "Doing great thank you," said Kea. Kea then took off her hat. "Hey, your hair is starting to grow back," said Terry. "Yep!" Said Kea. "It looks nice," added Daryl. "Thanks Daryl," said Kea. "So, you're ready for tomorrow?" Asked Daryl. "Yeah, but what do you guys have planned?" Asked Kea.

"Oh, you'll see," said Daryl. "OK, I gotta go to my class now I'll see you later," said Kea. "Bye Kea, said Terry. "OK did you manage to send out the invites for tomorrow?" Asked Daryl. "Already handled," said Terry. "And as added insurance we sent fake invites to Donald and Karen," said Alucard. "Good work we don't need those two messing around," said Daryl.

The Weekend had finally arrived and Kea who was wearing a bright yellow dress and grey coat was on her way to the Archer home. "This must be the place," Kea, who had just arrived at the address and saw multiple cars outside. "This place is huge!" Kea said to herself as she saw the mansion that was home for the Giantess. The door opens and Kea is greeted by the towering mother of Daryl, Nancy Archer herself! "Oh, hello there, you must be Kea," said Nancy crouching down. "Oh my, I never knew that you were this big," said Kea looking up at the former 50-foot woman. "Come in come in Daryl is waiting for you," said Nancy who then carries her inside.

Once inside the Mansion, Kea is welcomed by many people. All of the people were dressed in formal attire and looked extremely handsome and beautiful. "Wow! This is quite the party!" said Kea. "What's going on here?" asked Kea as she came closer to one of the men. He turns around and greets Kea. Daryl then arrives and walks over to Kea. "Hey you made it!" Said Daryl happily. "Yeah, but what's the party?" Asked Kea. "This party is all for you, consider it a welcoming party!" Said Daryl. Kea was overwhelmed and almost on the verge of crying, by Daryl's kindness to her after dealing with Karen and Donald constantly this was a great change of pace for her.

Daryl then takes Kea to the party area where people are dancing in circles and having fun. There were also tables with food and drinks. "This is amazing," said Kea. "I love parties like these," said Kea. "Welcome to the Archer's world, enjoy yourself!" said Daryl. "I will!" said Kea. Kea then sees Daryl sitting next to his mom. While Alucard is laying down on her leg. She goes over and sits beside them. "Hello Kea, how are you holding up?" Asked Nancy. "Great actually." Said Kea. "I'm really enjoying the party."

Meanwhile, right outside the Archers home Donald and Karen had arrived only to find that they were locked outside and kept from the party. "Damn it! That big bitch tricked us into going in circles!" Said Karen. "And there's a huge party going on inside without us!" Donald added. They pick in on the party and see Kea dancing with several people. "So, the little nobody is the life of the part huh?" Sniped Karen. "Well come next week. We're going to knock her and Gigantic the sex bitch down a peg!" Said Donald. After telling about what happened to Kea and the gang, Donald and Karen walked away angered. They weren't able to enter the party because the Archers had locked them out and there was no other way in.

The party continued with many people dancing and enjoying themselves. There was also a band playing music which caused everyone to dance even more. Not only that but Alucard's cousin Mizuki was also performing with the band. "Oh my God. Is that really Mizuki performing?" said Kea. "Yeah. She's Alucard's cousin," said Terry. "I didn't know his cousin was a famous J-Pop singer," said Kea. It was a great time and Kea was having a blast. After some time had passed, Kea was walking through the party with Nancy Archer. "Thank you for inviting me to this wonderful party Mrs. Archer," said Kea. "Oh, please call me Nancy," replied Nancy. "Ok Nancy, I appreciate it," said Kea. "So, Kea, Terry tells me, are you a good student?" Asked Nancy. "Yes, I am Mrs. Archer," answered Kea.

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" Asked Nancy. "No, I mean yes, well...," said Kea. "You want to say something?" Asked Nancy. "Well, um...," said Kea. "Speak your mind," said Nancy. "Well, I kind of feel like I'm not good enough for you guys," said Kea. "Why?" Asked Nancy. "Because you're so tall and everybody seems to look up to you!" Kea said. Nancy looked at Kea and smiled. "Oh, my dear Kea, I don't care about height or size. You are a person and a human being, and I have always treated you as such," said Nancy. "That's good to hear," said Kea. "Now let's get back to the party," said Nancy as she carried Kea back.

A new week had just begun, and Kea was happy to be headed to school. Daryl's kindness had lifted her spirits up in the best way. As she arrived at school she was met with many kind and friendly greetings from a lot of the students there. She was then met by Alucard, Terry and of course Daryl. "Hey Kea," said Daryl. "Hi guys," said Kea happily. They all head off to their first class of the day.

After school Kea's group goes to the library. "I know why I was invited to this party," said Kea. "What do you mean?" Asked Daryl as she was talking to Kea through the window. "My friends think I'm not good enough for you guys," said Kea. "Oh, but we both know that isn't true," said Daryl. "I mean it's just so nice to have someone who cares about me, instead of just being cruel to me," said Kea. "I didn't realize you felt that way," said Daryl.

Kea then looks up at him smiling. "Well, thank you Daryl, it means a lot to me," said Kea. "Anytime my dear," said Daryl. "I think I'll go find some books now," said Kea. She then walks towards the shelves.

Everyone was shocked when they saw Kea walk past them. However, trouble hasn't ended yet as Kea was about to head on to lunch a bright red sports car speeds by and in the process splashes mud all over her. The car it was owned by none other than Karen and Donald. Daryl, Terry, and Alucard had saw the whole thing and go over to intervene. "Oh, I'm sorry did we splash you mud slug!?" Said Karen in a sarcastic tone. "That's for not inviting us to that fat big, butted bitch's party!" Added Donald. "Why are you always after me? I've done nothing wrong to you," said Kea. "Because you little mutt we're the king and queen of this school and there's nothing you can do about it!" Said Donald. Donald walks up to Kea and grabs Kea by the arm. "HI! Let me go," said Kea and she tried to pull away from Donald. Donald just laughs at her as he seems to enjoy seeing Kea suffer. "You're. . . you're hurting me," said Kea. Oh, I'll show you what hurting is," said Donald. Donald was about to strike Kea in the face. Until Alucard grabs Donald by arm forcing him to release Kea.

"You're ok Kea," asked Alucard. Kea numbs her head. Alucard stares at Donald as Alucard's eyes begin to turn red. "You have a lot of nerve to put your hand on a girl," said Alucard. Donald just stares at him with a wicked smirk on his face. "That's just like you, Alucard. Always sticking your nose and other folks' business," said Donald. "It's my business with a douchebag like you always picking on the weak," said Alucard. Donald took off his jacket as he showed that he was about to fight Alucard. "Kick his ass Donald," shout Karen. Alucard looked at Karen and said, "Nobody cares about you Karen or fake ass clothes". "Did you just talk to my girl," said Donald. "Oh, please I won't talk to that stuck up brat," said Alucard. Donald looked at Daryl as you had an evil look on his face. Donald had a plan; he knew Alucard's girlfriend is Daryl. And he knows what he is going to hurt him at. "You know it's kind of funny that my girlfriend is way hotter than your girlfriend," said Donald. Alucard just laughed at him as he began to walk away. "And funny about it, your girlfriend is nothing more than a freak," said Donald. Alucard suddenly stops, as he slowly turns his head towards Donald. "Yeah, he screwed up," said Terry.

"What the hell do you just call my Daryl," asked Alucard. Donald decided to repeat what he said. But before you can finish his word. Alucard delivers a powerful punch, knocking Donald out cold. Daryl then walks up behind both Karen and Kea. "So, I have a fat butt huh?" Said an angry Daryl. "Did I stutter bitch!?" Snapped Karen. "Well, you wanna know what's the best thing about having a fat butt like mine?" Asked Daryl. "What," asked Karen. She then gets her answer when Daryl turns around and slams her big ass down onto Karen's sports car! "I can drop it like it's hot!" Said Daryl grinding her big ass cheeks on to the car further crushing it. "My car!!" Shouts Karen. "You broke my fucking car!" "That's the price you pay for being such a rude bitch!!" Yelled Daryl. "Oh my God. I'm definitely going to bang Daryl tonight," said Alucard. "Dude serious," Terry. "I can't help it, Daryl has a sexy booty," said Alucard. Everyone was shocked by what they had seen. Kea was watching the scene unfold.

Daryl then picks up Karen by her shirt and then hangs her up on the school's flagpole. "PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW, YOU FREAK! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM OR WHO MY DADDY IS!?! THOSE LOSERS HAD THEIR WHOLE TREATMENT COMING, AND YOU HAD NO BUSINESS BARGING IN LIKE THAT JUST CAUSE YOU'RE STUPIDLY BIG YOU GIANT CUNT!!" Screamed Karen.

"Big words coming from a spoiled bitch, someone needs to teach you some respect; and I'm here to teach you some manners, so you're going to stay up there until you apologize to my friend!" Said Daryl. "Never!!!" Karen fired back. "Then enjoy the view up," said Daryl who walked away. "Are you ok Kea?" Asked Daryl. "Yeah, I'm fine." Said Kea. Then Alucard comes up to Daryl and says, "I'm sorry but I couldn't let that happen."

"It's alright sweetie, I've dealt with this before," said Daryl as she gave Alucard a big wet kiss. "So have I, so have I," said Alucard. "Thank you both," said Kea. Then Alucard walks off. After all this drama, Kea and company go out for lunch.

[mayraki]

“the adventures of babysitting” - jj maybank

-> hvitstark’s gif!

summary: when the cute boy who mows the lawn for the kook family you babysit shows up, weird and unexpected events start to happen.

masterlist

Babysitting wasn’t something you planned to do when summer started, but when you saw that lonely dollar that you had in your pocket you decided to change that. And what better way, than to take care of the rich kids when their parents are too focused on their golf sessions?

It didn’t took you long to find a parent like that, since in Outer Banks, 90% of the parents had the stupid necessity to go golfing every day, leaving their poor kids on the house. Well, “poor” is a matter of speech, because if you had a pool the side of your entire house and free WiFi to play any game that ever existed, you wouldn’t complain.

“The food is in the refrigerator. Maybe start making it at 12 pm, she likes to eat early.” Mrs. Johnson was saying while she had her big bag on her shoulders, ready to leave the house. “Lily!” She yelled so loudly that you squint your eyes for the sudden scream. “Oh, and before I forget, in a couple of hours the boy that’s going to cut the grass is going to show up. But you don’t have to do anything, he already knows his way around the front yard.” You nodded with a little smile.

“Great!”

“Lily! Get down here, now!” She yelled so firmly that you could tell the fire on her eyes, making you feel a little bit intimidated by the rich house wife. As soon as she went back to you, a smile appeared on her face again changing her expression completely in a matter of one second, making you feel a little bit scared. “Do you have any more questions for the day?”

“No! I’m fine, we’ll be fine.”

“Y/n!” You heard the little girl calling your name while she was running to welcome you with a hug.

“Lily! Come here you little angel!” You picked her up so she could wrap her arms around your shoulders.

“Lily, behave.” Mrs. Johnson said and Lily nodded.

“Yes, mommy, like always.”

“No cookies until lunch is over, got it?”

Lily nodded again, this time more quicker. “Got it.”

Not trusting her daughter, Mrs. Johnson turned to you. “Got it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” Mrs. Johnson gave Lily a kiss on the forehead before walking towards the door. “See you later Mrs. Johnson!” You waved until you saw her outside and she was no longer in your sight.

“Do you want to see my barbie?” Lily said once her feet touched the ground.

“Sure!”

“Cool! Let me look for it.” She grabbed your hand to walk you to her room. “I did a makeover that took me the whole week. Because when I got her she was so ugly, the change was necessary.” She was saying like a professional fashion icon. Her sass was one of your favorite things about her. “That’s what my mom says all the time. If you don’t like something, you change it so it fits you.” After a walk that seemed to took forever since the house was bigger than the whole frontyard itself, you arrived at her room. While Lily was looking for her barbie to show you, you went over her room like it was the first time your eyes were seeing it. The wall colors looked like an unicorn had throw up in them and then a fairy had her glitter thrown at it. The main color was pink, her bed, her night stand, her desk, even her TV was the color pink. You never hated that color, but her room was making you feel nauseous. It was all so colourful and an interesting thing to look at, but the thing that always caught your attention was the thousand posters of the movie ‘Frozen’. Elsa, Anna and all of those characters you couldn’t remember the names where in her wall smiling. They were so many of them that you started to feel creeped out by them. “Here she is!” Finally, Lily found her barbie as was already walking towards you with her toy in her hand waving it like she was trying to get something out of her. She handed the barbie to you with the biggest and proudest smile ever, but the moment you grabbed the toy the smile disappeared from your face for a second.

“Oh my-” the normal long hair that Barbies have isn’t longer in this one, it was short and it looked like some punk girl from the 80’s with he hairs all lift up. You didn’t even know if it was punk, she looked like she touched a wire with a fork! She had a short dress that looked like it had been on dirt, washed but then she fell on grass, making it look even more dirty and destroyed. Her skin was painted red and blue with some pink dots all over her body. She definitely didn’t had a good day. You looked at Lily and noticed the proud smile and the excitement on her eyes as you were watching the barbie, so you put your biggest fake smile on your face not wanting to break the poor girl’s heart. “She looks wonderful!”

“I know! I’m good at it!”

You quickly nodded. “Yeah!”

“Maybe I can be a fashion designer when I grow up!” Lily started clapping and grabbed the barbie from your hand while you were nodding non stop not knowing what to say.

Models from the future; I’m so sorry and good luck.

You thanked the Gods for Lily not wanting to show you anymore of her creations, instead she wanted to watch a movie, and as soon as she said that, you already knew what she wanted to see.

“Let it gooooo! Let it goooooo!” You heard Elsa sing while Lily’s eyes were glued to the TV, her body was slowly moving while she was whispering the song. You knew she loved the movie so much she never wanted to outsing Elsa, and deep down, you were grateful for that.

“Yes, please Elsa,” you said in a whisper not wanting Lily to hear you while you were sitting down in the couch behind her “let it fucking go. Stop it.” As soon as you tilted your head backwards annoyed, a sound came from the front yard. “What was that? You asked with your eyes glued to the door, but there was no response from Lily, since her little mind was too focused on the movie. You headed to the window to cheek what it was while all the horror movies and serial killers documentaries went through your mind. With your heart beating a little faster you opened the curtains and wondered with your eyes your surroundings, but nothing was there. You were calming down until you heard your phone rang in your pocket, making you jump from the scare.

“What’s up bitch?” Your best friend, Hannah, said on the phone once you picked up.

“Hi, I’m babysitting.” You said still checking the front yard.

“Oh, got it, you have to watch your tongue.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think this kid is listening to me right now, Elsa has that covered.” You did quick look on Lily, who’s eyes were still glued to the TV.

“Ugh, I hate that movie.”

“I don’t. But the amount of times I watched it here isn’t helping on that.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Checking if the guy- oh my god.” You stopped as soon as your eyes noticed a boy standing in the front yard. Because he was too far away you could only see clearly his blonde hair and his dark brown boots. He had a white shirt on and some light brown shorts, he was far, but the way he was moving and carrying himself was what attracted you and made your eyes stare at him twice, making sure you were seeing correctly.

“What?”

“The guy that cuts the grass for this family is...” you did a quick turn to Lily to check if she was listening, but she was still too focused on the movie. You turned back to see the boy, but before you could continue your sentence, Hannah spoke before you.

“Hot?”

“Oh, more than that.”

“Who is it?” Hannah said intrigued.

“Can’t see, he’s too far.”

“What is he doing?” You saw how his arms tensed when he grabbed some machine you never saw before. They were so strong that you suddenly got the need to walk towards him touch them, but that would be extremely weird.

“I don’t know, turning the machine I guess.” You tried to focus more on his face and try to figure out if you knew him, but he was too far for your poor sight.

“Go talk to him.”

“What? No!”

“Why not? He’s hot, you’re hot. Perfect match.”

“He is definitely a...” Again, you turned around making sure Lily wasn’t hearing. Even if she wasn’t, you choose your next words carefully. “major babe.”

“Major babe?” Hannah let out a tiny laugh. “What are? 30?”

“The kid is still here!” You whispered loudly.

“What is a major babe?” Fuck.

You turned around to see Lily standing there with her Barbie between her hands. The movie was still playing but it looked like your conversation gained her attention even more.

“What? Oh, nothing.” You shook your head with your phone still against your ear. “Don’t worry about it baby. Keep watching Elsa.”

“I want to know what that means.” Lily said with her firm tone, letting you know she wasn’t going to let it go.

“I think you’re in trouble.” Hannah said on the other side, and you knew she was trying to not laugh at your current situation.

“Bye!” You ended the call before leaving your phone in your pocker to kneeled down and be closer to Lily’s face. “A major babe is someone who is... cute.” You said trying to choose the perfect words. Explaining something like this to a six year old isn’t something that you would ever choose to do.

“Cute?” Lily asked confused.

“Yeah, pretty.”

“Like Elsa?”

“Yeah? Yeah!”

You thought the conversation was over when Lily let out a giant smile and nodded convinced. But then, she opened her mouth: “So you think the guy who cuts the grass is pretty?”

“Well-” You got up trying to take those thoughts out of her mind, but before you could say anything Lily started clapping excited.

“You do! Y/n and JJ sitting in a tree-” She started singing but you stopped hearing once you heard the name ‘JJ’.

“Wait, JJ? The guy’s name is JJ?” You said confused, hoping it wasn’t who you thought it was.

“Yeah! He comes every week since last year!”

“JJ? JJ Maybank?” You were praying Lily was going to shake her head and say it was another JJ, but deep down you knew there wasn’t any other guy with that name.

“Yeah!” Lily said happily, unaware of your thoughts and your not so happy face.

Well, fuck.

“Oh my god.” You said when it finally hit you. “Sweetie, I think Anna is dying.” You said gently turning Lily towards the TV.

“Oh no!” She went back to the movie. You turned to the window and moved the curtain while a sigh came out of your mouth.

JJ Maybank. The guy that was known for being the life of the party, getting into trouble or starting a fight. He would almost every time leave the party with some girl around his arm. You weren’t going to lie, you wished sometimes you were that girl. Having a crush on a boy that doesn’t know you exists isn’t... the best. You met JJ at school when you were a kid and that’s when it all started, when he defended you from some Kook kid that was annoying you at lunch. The crush didn’t grew more, the opposite, it went down passing the years. But that didn’t stop you from looking at him when he showed up at the party you were at or feeling nervous when he was around. You weren’t the type to do so, but there was something about him that made you feel as awkward as you could ever be.

The fact that he was in the same house as you made you feel something inside your stomach, making you move uncomfortably in your sit while Lily was watching, for the second time, Frozen. You don’t have to talk to him, there’s nothing to worry about. You were thinking over and over again trying to calm yourself down. Or maybe this is your opportunity to talk to him. You thought in Hannah’s voice, since she knew about your crush she would often say that you should start a conversation with him, or at least introduce yourself.

You didn’t know if he knew who you were. You only talked once, back when you were kids and you thanked him for defending you. That was it. You remembered it, but you were sure he didn’t.

C’mon, what are you waiting for? Go offer him some water! Hannah’s voice was saying in your head like she was next to you giving you the courage you needed to do so. And somehow, it worked. After making sure Lily was safe while watching the movie, you walked towards the kitchen and poured water on a cup to bring outside.

As soon as your hand touched the door to open it, you felt the heat of the sun touching your skin and you heart beating faster, already knowing your next moves.

You saw him getting ready to cut the grass with the same machine you saw before. His skin and hair were glowing under the sun making your heart beat faster than before and him looking more beautiful than he already was.

“Hey!” You said loudly once you were a couple of steps away from him.

JJ immediately turned to you making your heart drop to your stomach. He furrowed his eyebrows confused while trying to figure out who you were. “Hi? Are you the babysitter?” He pointed at you and you nodded with a smile.

“Yeah. Y/n.”

“JJ.” He let out a tiny smile. Fuuuuuuck.

Silence came between you two while your brain was trying to remember what you came outside. “Oh! I bought you some water, it’s pretty hot out here.” You handed him the cup which he took gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, I don’t want you passing out. I don’t want to deal with that.” You said and immediately regretted it, why would you say that? That makes you sound like a terrible babysitter!

But as soon as he let out a genuine laugh, your mind gave you a break.

“Sure. So, since when did you started working with this family?” He said before giving a sip to the water.

“Last week.”

“I haven’t seen you around much. You live in the Cut, right?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I do. My dad owns the store across the beach.”

JJ didn’t respond immediately. He stood there watching your eyes carefully, so much, that your heart started beating faster once again. “Really? He has some good boards, dude.”

“Thanks. He’s really proud of them.”

“Make sure to tell him. Thank you for the water.” He gave you the now empty cup and you shook your head with a little smile.

“Don’t worry about it. If you need anything just tell me.”

JJ let out a tiny laugh. “You take care better of me than Mrs. Johnson.”

You smiled back while on the inside you were freaking out. “It’s no-” you were saying but the water hitting your body cut you off.

“What the fuck?” JJ said as soon as both of you noticed the water feeling like rain against your body. You looked up to see if it was, but the sky was as as clear as you last saw it.

“Where is that water coming from?!”

“It’s the automatic water for the grass!” JJ said looking down and pointing at the tiny machine going off behind you. You turned around and looked at it confused, trying to not get hit in the face by putting your hands in front of your face.

“But it never turns on during the day! Do you know how to turn it off?!” You asked at JJ with the hope that he did, and luckily, he nodded turning around and leading to some part of the front yard you’ve never been before. When you arrived to where he was you noticed he was kneeled down and with a quicker twist of his hand, the water was off. “What the hell was that?” You said turning to where the water was coming from.

“I don’t know.” JJ said and looked down to his body all wet. You turned to him and did the same, but not to your own body, to his. The way his shirt was glued to his torso would mark his abs and let you nothing to the imagination. You immediately looked down once you realize you were staring, you felt so embarrassed like you weren’t supposed to see what you just did. “Maybe this will help with the sun and I won’t pass out.” He said with a smile once he looked up at you and you smiled, thankful he didn’t notice you staring at him and his fit body.

“You’re dripping.” You said. “You have to dry yourself otherwise you won’t be able to work with those heavy clothes. C’mon.” You pointed at the house and started walking, but his voice cut you off.

“I’m not sure I’m aloud to go in.”

“Do you want to get your work done or not? Because I don’t think you’ll be able to.” You did a quick look to the drops of water goind down. “It’s your decision, but I think Mrs. Johnson won’t be happy if she comes back and her grass isn’t done. Do whatever you want.” You said knowing that it was going to convince him to go with you. You did this tactic with Lily sometimes, making it their choice and having the control over the situation. Like you suspected, as soon as you made a couple of steps away from JJ, you heard his feet moving and getting closer to yours. Seconds later, he was already next to you.

“Maybe we should go to the bathroom, I don’t want to make a mess.” You said the moment you stepped inside the house. Lily, who was now sitting down on the couch, looked at you two with an exaggerated surprised face and walked to where you two where.

“Oh! What happened?”

“The water of your front yard went kinda crazy.” You said grabbing your sticky shirt and trying to get it away from your skin.

“Really?” Lily asked and then turned to JJ, who nodded.

“Lily I want you to stay here watching the movie, ok? We need to get dry.” You said leading the way to the bathroom. “Don’t open the door to anyone, did you hear me?”

“Yes!” Lily said while quickly nodding and then leaving to continue watching her movie. “Stupid Hans!” She yelled at the TV.

“She really likes that movie doesn’t she?” JJ said with a smile once he turned around to follow you.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “we watched it three times today.”

“Ouch.” You let out a laugh before entering the bathroom and quickly grabbing the towel and turning around to face JJ.

“Here, have the towe-” You were saying but once your eyes noticed JJ’s naked torso, your tongue went completely numb. “Oh.”

“Is everything ok?” He asked noticing your shook face, but then a little grin escaped his lips while he grabbed the towel from your hand.

“Yeah. Yeah! Everything’s fine.” You said quickly shaking your head a little bit, trying so hard to not let your now red cheeks make you feel embarrassed.

“Aren’t you gonna change?”

“I’ll wait for you to be over and then I’ll do it. Don’t worry about it.”

He nodded and the continued drying his body. “I still don’t know what happened with that.”

“Maybe the clock failed?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Anyway, thank you.” He handed you the towel. “I have to continue with work.”

“Yeah!” You quickly nodded. “You go.” You watched how he turned around letting you have a perfect veiw of his back, which made you feel like when you saw his torso naked without any warning. You looked away once he left the bathroom and slapped your forehead with the palm of your hand, already overthinking everything you just did.

As soon as you were finished you walked towards the living room to check on Lily who was now finishing the movie just one more time. You grabbed your phone from your pocket to see the time and realized it was lunch time, so trying to focus every thought of Lily, you called her so she would follow you into the kitchen. You grabbed everything that was on the refrigerator like Mrs. Johnson has told you while your mind was making the recipe for Lily’s meal. You were trying so hard to keep your mind focus and not thing of the cute guy that was still working on the front yard, a couple of steps away from you.

“Did you really fell for Hans because I didn’t. It was pretty obvious.” Lily said while watching you prepare her lunch.

“You think? I didn’t see it coming.”

“I didn’t like Hans since the beginning.” Lily nodded proudly of herself.

“You didn’t? I thought he was really cute and charming, maybe that what’s wrong with princes.” As soon as you said that, a thought came into your head. You stayed still like everything in your life just made sense and you understood it in that exact moment. “And maybe that’s why I like the boys I like.” You continued, talking more to your lard than to Lily. “They’re charming and sweet, but then they forget about your face even if you’re wearing a tiny mask, or they kiss you without even consenting it.” You were saying while your head was inside the refrigerator, looking for the mayonnaise to complete Lily’s lunch. “Or they even think because they have money we will automatically fall for them!” The moment that you said that you realized that you were babbling all to yourself about boys while Lily was listening to you, so you turned around shaking all your thoughts away. “Anyway-” you were about to change the subject but when you opened the water from the kitchen sink it all exploded and went all over your face and clothes. “WHAT THE HELL?” You yelled putting your hand in front of your face to prevent the water hitting your eyes.

“I’ll call JJ!” Lily said once she noticed the water wasn’t stopping.

“What- no! I got this!” You tried to stop her but it was too late, she was already out of your sight. “What’s the fucking problem with water today?” You asked trying to turn the water off, but no matter what you did with the switch, it wasn’t stopping.

“What happened?!” You heard JJ asking once he arrived next to you.

“I turned it on and it went crazy!” You turned around to see the water all over the floor. JJ kneeled down and opened the doors down the sink and just like before, stopped the water. You let your hands rest beside your body and let out an annoyed sigh at the feeling of sticky and wet clothes against your skin.

“Just like before?” JJ asked getting up to lock eyes with you.

You nodded. “Yeah. I think the thingy is broken.” You pointed at the sink looking at it confused but when you heard JJ let out a tiny laugh, you turned to him. “What?”

“The thingy?”

“Yeah, where the water comes out.”

JJ nodded still with a funny smile on his face. “Do you know how to fix it?”

“Do you?”

“Dad has tools!” Lily yelled, appearing on the conversation for the first time. You turned to her and she had a big smile on her face while her fingers were playing with each other. “Maybe Y/n can show you where they are?”

“Oh, yeah,” you nodded remembering the time you helped Mr. Johnson fix something for Lily. “I think they’re next to the bathroom. C’mon.” You said looking at JJ but then you turned to Lily. “While we repair that finish your lunch.”

She quickly nodded before you left her behind. “Ok!”

Even if you had JJ behind you, you felt his eyes on you as you were walking. Maybe they weren’t on you, but somehow, your mind had convince you they were making you feel uncomfortable under them. You were hearing his steps behind you, they were so close you could feel the air he was pushing with his arms while walking. The hallway was darker as usual since having JJ in your mind you forgot to turn on the light, but you knew the house like the palm of your hand.

“I think this is the room- yes it is!” You said entering the room next to the bathroom. “Tools tools tools...”

“Here.” JJ said behind you while grabbing a big dark brown box.

“Oh, ok. Better get that thing fixed so you can get back to work.” JJ nodded so you walked to the now closed door. You looked at it confused since you didn’t remember closing it. “What? Did you close the door?”

“No I didn’t.” JJ said.

“Then why the hell is it closed?” You asked before grabbing the handle, but it wasn’t opening. “And locked?!” Your heart dropped to your stomach the moment you realized you were locked and Lily was outside alone. “Oh my god, Lily? Can you open the door please? Lily?!”

Your heart started to beat faster but then, luckily, she spoke from the other side. “Are you guys locked?”

“Yeah! Can you open it from the outside?”

“I don’t know!”

“Can you check sweetie?”

“She’s a six year old? What can she do?” JJ asked behind you not faced by the situation at all.

“Well? Do you have any ideas genius? Lily is out there on her own!”

JJ lifted the box of the tools and let out a grin. “We have tools?”

“You can’t use them! Do you want to break the door?!”

“Do you want to get stuck in here until Mrs. Johnson comes back? Because I don’t think she’ll be happy to know that you left the little girl outside all by herself.” You let out a tiny sigh when JJ used the same tactic you used on him moments ago. You hated when they were used against you.

“Lily, are you still there?” You asked turning to face the door.

“Yeah. Are you two fighting in there?” She asked softly.

“No, sweetie, why would you think that?”

“I don’t know...”

“Do you want me to break the door then?” JJ asked lifting his eyebrow.

“Maybe you can do something without breaking it?”

“I’ll try. But I’m not a magician.” He said getting closer to the door to grab the handle. You noticed he put a lot of strength in it, but you didn’t understand what he was doing. “I think I got it, but I need your help.”

“What do you want me to do?” You walked to stand next to him.

“Grab the handle and pull it really hard when I say so.” You did as he told you and then looked at him, waiting for his words. “Ready?” You nodded. “Go!”

You pulled the handle with all your strength just like JJ told you while JJ was pushing the door to open, and before you could think of something else the door opened. You and JJ had so much strength into it, that the sudden movement of the door opening, made you two lose balance. JJ tried to grab your waist and prevent you from falling, but it didn’t work since your body was already half way to the floor, it only managed to turn you around by twisting you from your waist and not fall on your face. Once your back hit the floor, you felt a body algo hitting yours.

You opened your eyes once the pain in your back passed enough for you to move, to see some blue eyes staring at you. JJ’s face was so close to yours that you were feeling his heavy breathing against your skin. You felt like his eyes were casting a spell on you since you felt like you couldn’t move, and not because you had his body on top of yours. Even if would be normal for you to feel crushed under a body, you weren’t feeling his. You were so lost in his eyes that you forgot everything around you, it was just him and his breathing gently hitting your face.

“Guys-” Lily said softly next to you. That made you return to the moment and realize in the position you two were. He quickly got up and walked back nervously, like he didn’t know what just happened either.

“Lily! Are you alright?” You walked towards her and hugged her body.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She broke the hug to look at JJ, who was still standing in the corner nervously. “You two looked like Anna and Kristoff there.”

“What’s that?” You asked quickly, feeling your cheeks getting hot.

“Yeah, when they looked at each other. With so much looooove.” Lily said and then let out a silly laugh. You wanted the floor to eat you and throw you whatever it wanted, as long as it wasn’t there. Silence surrounded the hallway for a couple of seconds while you were trying to think of something to change the subject and pretend that what just happened, didn’t. But JJ spoke before you.

“Maybe I should get back to work.” He said and you nodded.

“Maybe you should.” The second you said that, he quickly walked passed your body to leave you and Lily behind. You watched his back and noticed he was looking down, maybe you weren’t the only one who got embarrassed. But what did happen?

The moment that you two locked eyes with each other you felt like there was nothing else around you, like you were melting under his eyes. You never felt something like that, and you never wanted to do it again. So lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realize Lily has taken you to the living room to play with some of her new toys. You were hearing her voice talk but non of her words were entering your body. You tried to keep your eyes on the toys but the second that you looked up, your eyes met with his. He quickly looked down and walked away, leaving your sight from the window. You sighed, disappointed.

It wasn’t that you wanted to stare at him... well, maybe it was. But you didn’t want to distract yourself from your work and taking care of Lily, the girl that had to be your number one throught until you left the house. So erasing your unwanted thoughts, you focused your mind into Lily’s game, who seemed to be super invested in.

“Barbie and Ken are going to get married tomorrow, I already planned everything.” Lily was saying the second your mind started to pick up her words. “I’m so excited!”

“I’m pretty sure Barbie and Ken are as well!” You said with a smile, playing along with her.

After a couple of minutes playing with Lily you were glad JJ wasn’t consuming your brain, playing with Lily did helped you get your thoughts straight and focus on what was important. It all seemed to be going back to normal, you weren’t thinking of what happened earlier, Lily and her funny game with her Barbies were definitely making you laugh, and the clock was getting closer to the end of the day, so you were definitely going back to your normal self, until you heard some steps getting inside the house.

“Hey, can I have another glass of water?” JJ asked standing next to the door. You looked up and him and slowly nodded, not opening your mouth. Without giving the opportunity to anything else to happen, you got up from where you were and walked to the kitchen. You heard the door closing and you sighed, glad that JJ didn’t followed you to the kitchen. You didn’t want to talk to him, you knew you were going to be your awkward self and probably embarrass yourself like you usually do, so better to avoid him and forget he even excited... if that’s even possible. You looked at the glass of water that you had now on your hand and stared at it for a couple of seconds. You didn’t want to go out and give it to him, so a better idea came into your head.

“Hey, sweetie,” you called Lily and seconds later she was in front of you with an innocent smile on her face. “can you take this to JJ?” She nodded and grabbed the glass of water before leaving the kitchen behind.

While waiting for her to come back, you closed your eyes when the last time you had JJ in front of you came back to your mind. Well, on top of you is the better choice for words. Your heart dropped to your stomach and the memory slowly came back to your eyes and the feeling of his breathing against your face. Not wanting to have that on your mind, you slapped yourself on the forehead with the palm of your hand. But that didn’t work at all, and what you saw when you opened your eyes didn’t help either.

“Hi.” He said while standing next to the kitchen entrance.

“Hi.” You said, surprised he was inside the house.

“My water?” He asked looking to your hand and noticing they weren’t holding anything.

You furrowed your eyebrows confused, trying to not think you telling Lily about JJ’s water was all your mind playing tricks on you. “I just sent Lily with a glass of water for you.”

“She said that you had it here.”

“What? Lily?” You called her but there was no response. “Lily!” You walked to the living room but she wasn’t there. Feeling your heart beating faster you walked outside hoping she was there. Once your eyes went over the entire front yard while your heart was slowly beating faster passing the seconds, your eyes finally landed on Lily, but that didn’t calmed you down, since she was standing right next to the pool. “What are you doing?”

“I want to take a swim!” She yelled once you started to walk towards her, followed by JJ.

“You don’t know how to swim! Your mom doesn’t let you in if she’s not here! Come back!”

“But I want to swim!”

“Lily you can’t! I’m pretty sure you will when your mom comes home.” You said but Lily didn’t respond you, instead she turned towards the pool. “Lily?” The moment she lifted her foot your heart dropped to your stomach. Your eyes followed her body falling inside the pool once she jumped and threw some water drops into the air, you saw it all like it happened in slow motion. “Lily!” You yelled like you never did before. You started running towards her ready to jump and grab her, but JJ being faster than you, with quick moves took off his boots and jumped into the pool.

Once inside, the water was making it difficult for you to fully see their movements. That was making your hands sweat and your heart to beat faster, it felt like it was going to jump out of your body. But then, you saw JJ’s head above the water, followed by Lily’s.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” You yelled once JJ left Lily’s body outside the pool. “Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!” You patted her back while she was getting all the water outside from her body. You felt your heart getting heavy and slowing its speed while your breathing was letting out relief breaths.

“I’m sorry.” Lily said, once she stopped cuffing.

“Why- why would you do that Lily? You know you can’t swim!”

Lily looked up and JJ, who was breathing heavily with his body covered in water and his clothes sticking to his skin, but then she went back to looking at the floor. “I wanted- I wanted to be Anna.”

“What?” You asked confused.

“And I wanted JJ to be Kristoff.” As soon as she said those words you locked eyes with JJ, who seemed to understand the same thing as you on the same moment. Lily wanted to have a love like the characters of her favorite movie.

“Oh... Sweetie,” you kneeled down to be closer to her face. “And you thought that jumping into the pool when you can’t swim was going to make JJ your Kristoff because you wanted him to save you?”

She slowly nodded. “Yeah. And I- I also turned on the water earlier.”

“What?” You and JJ asked at the same time.

“The water for the grass- I did it.”

“Why?” JJ asked once you got up.

“And I broke the water tap. And I locked you two in the closet.” You opened your mouth surprised before looking at JJ, who was just as surprised as you.

“How?” He asked.

“Why would you do that?”

Lily shrugged her shoulders and that made JJ let out a tiny laugh while shaking his head.

“At least we know the house isn’t haunted.” He said, turning the conversation into something funny.

“You little devil.” You said, after letting the funny in the situation hit you.

“Are you gonna tell my mom?” Lily asked softly once she locked eyes with you.

“Lily, do you promise you won’t do it again?”

She quickly nodded with a smile. “I do.”

“Then this will be out little secret.”

“Thank you Y/n!” For the first time during those long hours, you felt like there was nothing else that could go wrong. You didn’t felt uncomfortable under JJ’s eyes, Lily was completely fine and JJ didn’t seem to bother that a little girl almost drowned for him... it all felt just alright. “And you calling JJ a major babe will be our little secret too!” Lily yelled and quickly added, noticing your cheeks go red and JJ letting out a grin once he locked eyes with you. “Oh, sorry.” Lily said softly.

“Shit.”

Well... it had to happen, just another thing going completely wrong.

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[the-broken-truth]

I just went through of your HC and man I'm loving it❤️❤️❤️ don't know if your still taking request but I love your Lady Dimitrescu X Male Hc❤️ if ever your taking request " what would the Dimitrescu family reaction be when the lady is pregnant and gave birth (it can be a boy or girl of your choices) specially the daughters

Broken Truth: Oh, a pregnancy headcanon! This will be fun, let the words weave together.

[How They Would Find Out]

Alcina and [Y/N] had a doctor from the village come to the castle when Alcina would complain about being tired all the time & was craving more and more of her husband's blood than she normally would.

Imagine the shock on the Lord & Lady of Castle Dimitrescu Face's when the doctor told them that Alcina was 5 weeks pregnant.

[Y/N] was sure that he used protection...except that one time when Alcina saw him exercising that morning and forced him into their bedroom; could that be when it happened?

On the other hand, Alcina was confused; she was certain that her blood disease made it impossible for her to have a child of her own but...there she sat - with a child growing in her stomach.

She asked her husband if he would be happy with his own child.

His answer: "I already have 3 daughters; one more child would just make my family bigger and make me a lot happier."

Alcina was pleased to hear her lover was happy to have another child, but she wasn't sure how others would take it.

[When They Informed The Others]

Their daughters were the first ones they told of the new addition to the family.

Bela grabbed her father figure by the collar of his shirt and shook him like a ragdoll for not 'wrapping it up & knocking up' her mother.

Cassandra was wondering what the gender of the baby would be - sure she had her sisters but she always wondered what it would be like if she had a brother.

Daniela was too busy being happy that she was no longer the youngest of the Dimitrescu Family anymore. She finally had someone who would look up to her as a role model and made it her mission to be the favorite sister.

When they attended the next Lord Meeting - Alcina made the announcement she was carrying the next of the Dimitrescu Bloodline as she rubbed her stomach gently with a smile on her face; her husband with a protective hand on her right shoulder as he smiled down at her.

Karl began making jokes that Lady Super-Sized Bitch' was going to have a 'Super-Sized Baby' but he did give her congratulations to the expecting parents.

Angie began jumping around in excitement to have someone new to play with while Donna gave her regards to the expecting parents.

Moreau was happy for them and promised to be there whenever his brother-in-law or sister needed him. Considering [Y/N] viewed Moreau as the best brother-in-law, it meant a lot to Moreau when [Y/N] asked him if he wanted to be the godfather of their baby.

He talked about it with Alcina the night before.

Alcina then asked Donna if she wanted to the godmother but before Donna could answer - Miranda began making her way over to Alcina with a gleam in her eyes and a smile on her face.

[Y/N] already didn't like Miranda but he respected her because Alcina asked him to.

She began asking questions: How far along was she? Was she eating enough? Did she know what the gender of the baby was?

[Y/N] could tell that Alcina was uncomfortable with Miranda's questions but when the Village Leader began reaching to touch her belly, the man's hand lashed out and knocked Miranda's hand away before helping Alcina to her feet and the two of them left.

[As The Months Passed]

As the months ticked by, Alcina's belly grew and everyone was doing their parts to prepare for the birth of the baby.

[Y/N] asked the daughters to bring any problem to him and he would take care of it - these 9 months were going to be hard for Alcina and he didn't want her to deal with any kind of stress.

The daughters picked out the best room in the house for the baby to take - it was close to the master bedroom and the royal red color was nice for the room - it was a royal baby after all.

With the power of the internet and the recommendations of his daughters, [Y/N] found a few things that would fit in the room; like a changing table and a good number of diapers and toys.

Karl surprised the family with a handmade crib with the House Dimitrescu Crest engraved on the top of the headboard.

Donna sews some dolls and teddy bears, as well as some onesies that she believed would fit the baby.

Moreau didn't have much but he was able to make a blank baby book to capture the baby's life - [Y/N] already started using it to document how Alcina's pregnancy was going.

Then - There was Mother Miranda.

She would visit the castle almost every single day and question Alcina about the baby or bring her some kind of elixirs that she made and wanted Alcina to drink to make sure the baby would be born healthy.

[Y/N] would take the strange liquids and pour them out when Miranda left - he didn't know what she was planning but he wasn't going to let her use his baby as a test subject for her lost cause.

One day - Miranda came and she found the father waking in the baby's room and began questioning him - that's when he had enough.

"Listen, Miranda. You know that I don't like you but I respect you because you mean something to Alcina and you are the village leader. Let me let you know something - this is Alcina and Mine's Baby, not yours; you will not have any say in what goes on with it. It is our child - not yours and it damn sure isn't your next experiment."

Miranda didn't come around as often after that.

[During The Birth]

Alcina went into labor during dinner and everyone became panicked.

They called all the lords as well as Mother Miranda - as much as [Y/N] didn't want to, she was the only one who could deliver the baby safely.

When Alcina was ready, Miranda yelled at her to push; that pain was unbearable for the Lady of Castle Dimitrescu but she did what she had to do and pushed with all her might.

She kept at it until Miranda said she could see the head and told her o push one last time.

She did...

And her scream was overshadowed by the cries of an infant.

"It's a boy!" Miranda said as she lifted the baby in her arms; the little flesh jelly screamed with his fists balled and his eyes closed.

Alcina wanted to ask to see her baby when she suddenly screamed again.

Miranda looked and her eyes widened as she handed the baby in her hands to Bela.

"There's another one!" She yelled out as she ordered Alcina to pushed again.

The Lady of the Castle pushed again and again until she felt the pain suddenly fade and the cries of the second infant broke the sound barrier.

"It's...it's a girl." Miranda said as she cradles the baby girl to her chest and looked at her with a sparkling in her eyes.

[Y/N], Bela and Cassandra began to help Alcina to make sure she didn't lose too much blood and got her clean as Dani cleaned her little brother before placing him in a diaper and one of the onesies Donna made before placing him on his mother's chest.

Miranda still held the bloody baby girl close to her chest and smiled at her before the man walked over to her with a glare in his eyes and his hands out.

"Give me my daughter, Miranda." He demanded.

She glared at him but did as he said before storming out of the room.

He cleaned and dressed his daughter before giving her to Alcina and allowed the other lords into the room to see the babies.

"So...what are their names?" Karl asked.

Alcina smiled at her daughter, "My daughter's name shall be Elsa Dimitrescu-[L/N]."

"And my son shall be Fenrir Dimitrescu-[L/N]." The father said with a smile.

[End}

[imgonnapanic]

Third gym squad with a theater kid s/o:

Kuroo Tetsurou

Tbh, he knew what he was signing up for when he started dating you.

He’s just not used to it, because he doesn’t have many extroverted friends who aren’t annoying pieces of-

I can envision you both going on the hub to watch pirated musicals. Hamilton, Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen, you name it.

He loooves your singing voice, even if it’s your nervous purposely bad one.

You love the musicals that include allll the good stuff (trauma, death, tragedy, etc.)

Or the iconic ones. You can’t forget about those.

So you’re less-than-thrilled when your school chooses “Honk! The Musical” for this years play.

It’s a spin off of the ugly duckling that no one has heard of.

And when you come up to Kuroo sulking about this boring play you’re emotionally obliged to do, he can’t help but laugh a little.

But his laughter stops when he sees your eyes down at your shoes.

And then he shuts the fuck up because you’re actually upset.

After assuring that you will still be Broadway material even if you’re dressed up as a goose, you feel a little better.

In the two weeks leading up to auditions, Kuroo is starting to get caught humming “A Poultry Tale” at practice.

I mean, his Spotify feed went from Kendrick Lamar to Legally Blonde within one month of dating you, so cut the guy a break.

The day of auditions, you’re a bundle of nerves as you go over the dumb song again and again.

And Kuroo is like “calm down babe you’re gonna do great.”

That sure did a ton.

“Shut up Heather”

...

“Sorry Heather”

He’s also a bundle of nerves at practice, though. He just couldn’t let you see it.

By now, all of the Nekoma team knows you’re auditioning today, and the minute he walks in he just holds up a hand.

“They’re auditioning as we speak”

He’s not surprised when you get the lead.

He looks like the cat who ate the canary he’s a little amused when he figures out the lead is named “Ugly” but by now he has learned to keep it on the inside.

Your schedule is now jam packed, but that’s okay, because Nationals are also coming up for Kuroo and needs to put in some extra hours at the gym anyways.

You better believe two months later Kuroo is making his entire team buy a ticket.

Kuroo didn’t even get to see you on opening night because of dress rehearsals, but that’s okay.

He cleared his entire schedule that day and now has time to wallow in his own excitement and buy you some flowers.

He’s there with the squad team at 6PM sharp, dressed up, and trying to keep his dignity.

When you first walk on stage, the team snickers a little bit at your costume, but Kuroo was completely enraptured by your singing voice, your blocking, your makeup, everything.

This was much better than the demo CD that they had given you.

Afterwards, he gives you your flowers and is glued to your side for the rest of the night, babbling about how proud he was of you, and how talented you are, Nekoma team be damned.

Tsukishima Kei

Tsukki-poo already had a soft spot for the arts before he met you.

Not that he would tell anyone, ever.

When you started dating him though, it gave him an excuse to share his favorite soundtracks.

“you can hit that note, you know.”

*cue the arguing about how you aren’t Barbara Streisand*

When you two are walking through the hallway with him and you see the poster reading “Auditions for Karasuno High School’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ are open!” You start freaking out.

You love that movie! And Kei tolerates it!

Kei honestly thought you would be Ariel/Prince Eric when he first heard you singing “Part of Your World”

Like, you have the voice of a fucking lark. The directors have to be batshit crazy not to cast you.

In his humble opinion.

So he’s a bit taken aback when you get the role of Flounder, but he’s very proud anyways. Especially after you explain that there’s musical numbers that you’re in that aren’t in the movie.

He just hates your director for no reason now.

Practicing your lines with him in your free time becomes almost inevitable because you both have nothing else better to do.

And he can see how into it you are.

And let me just say that you are killing it.

Seriously. You have no problem getting into character, and Kei doesn’t say this much but-

It’s fucking adorable, okay? He has little goth moths in his stomach.

And he can’t wait to see the show, because then he can show you off.

That doesn’t mean he likes the other first years prying at your progress.

Hinata’s incessant questioning about theater anatomy and the memorization of your lines gets really annoying.

Even for someone with a normal temper like you-

“Yes it’s called the right wing. NOT wing spiker. Yes they’re off book. Now will you shut your trap already?”

Dress Rehearsals come, and you’re spinning around his room, face morphing from complete concentration to happy, go-lucky Flounder.

You, Kei, and Yamaguchi (your little third wheel-) all know the soundtrack pretty much up and down, left and right, backwards and inside out.

He still shivers remembering the time you just walked into his house not registering that Flounder’s makeup looks kind of scary up close-

All of his pride was sacrificed that day. All of it.

On the morning of opening night, Kei was walking you to the school, pretending to be bitchy about it being on a Saturday.

“C’mon, what am I supposed to do all day?”

As luck would have it, he’s stuck sitting next to one Hinata Shoyo. Lovely.

So he sat down next to him, and ignored him the whole show. I mean, it worked, he shut up after thirty seconds.

After the show, Kei has to wait a bit for you to take your makeup off, but when you come running out, he can’t hold back a tiny grin.

“That was good. I’m proud of you.”

And then he took you to dinner because singing makes a bad bleep hungry 😌

Bokuto Kotarou

Listen, you’re loud, Bokuto’s loud-

So basically you two are on a mission to not annoy Akaashi for as long as you can before inevitably getting yelled at for your affection and love and shit.

Now, both of you would love for this to be possible.

But the Frozen soundtrack makes it too difficult.

Especially when you can edit the lyrics just to piss off Konoha.

“Turn away and slAm the door *on Konoha”

“The wind is howling like the storm inside *of Konoha”

The possibilities are endless, really.

The game changer is when you two are belting out the song where Elsa and Anna are arguing.

And you accidentally hit the “I-i-I CANNNNT”

Akaashi is like for the love of GOD just audition for the play.

He quickly realizes that his suggestion was not a good idea.

Since guess what the musical is.

You’re auditioning as a joke, okay? You love Frozen, but this is a Fukurōdani Academy level play.

You didn’t expect to land the role of Olaf.

Your director sat you down and bluntly told you that he thought that you had the charisma and energy to be Olaf, but he knew that you were auditioning for a joke.

He needed you to be committed.

And hell yeah, you were gonna be committed.

At first, Bokuto was super proud of you! His s/o as a lead role? So impressive!

You even taught Bokuto your choreography for “In Summer”

He only retained half of it, but eh.

He’s a volleyball player. He tried.

As rehearsal times became longer and longer, Bokuto was a little upset at himself because he didn’t realize how committed you were until it hit him in the face.

Akaashi is there to get him out of his funk when you aren’t, though.

“They feel the same way when you need to be in the gym longer. It’s just a part of having a passion. Just utilize your time with them wisely.”

This bitch knows full well Bokuto doesn’t do ‘wise’ though, so he also sets to him a little more.

Dress rehearsals start, and Bokuto is always waiting for you to come out of the auditorium to ride the bus home.

You’re just bubbling over with stories about the magic of being on stage.

The lights, the microphones, the costumes, just talking about it makes you nostalgic already.

On opening night, Bokuto and Akaashi are there in the front row, going through the program.

“There’s y/n!!!!”

And you can’t see him because of the blinding spotlight, but you can hear Bokuto cheering for you after you finish “In Summer”

Afterwards he gives you a big hug, and you guys go home and watch Frozen.

Akaashi Keiji

When you start dating Akaashi in your second year at Fukurōdani, you’ve been on stage for the last ten years of your life.

Singing, acting, dancing, you love it all.

You’re even considering making it your career.

Akaashi doesn’t know much about theater at all, but he makes sure to do his research since it’s such a big part of your life.

The company you take acting classes with is having their winter show soon, and you couldn’t be happier when you figure out it’s ‘Into the Woods.’

Akaashi makes the mistake of asking the plot of the story.

“So basically there are these two infertile bakers with dead parents and there’s this witch that’s old and wrinkly and she comes to their house because fifty years ago the bakers dad stole her veggies and took the magic beans that made her look old and wrinkly-“

(A/n: this isn’t even half the plot)

He decides he’ll figure it out when he sees the play.

Akaashi knows that it’s a difficult one, though.

Sondheim doesn’t fuck around.

So you shouldn’t be beating yourself up about cracking on some of the high notes and screaming into your pillow.

He feels like an idiot every time you ask him to give you constructive criticism.

He doesn’t know what to say. “That was good” is obviously not what you want to hear.

When the date of your audition rolls around, he has early morning practice.

So he sends you a text saying how far you’ve come already and he’ll be proud even if you end up being a tree and break a leg (he’s very proud of that part. Theater lingo with Akaashi 101)

He’s very pleased to hear through your extremely fast and animated chattering that you killed it.

You were going to be Jack from “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

He’s still not sure how that correlates with infertile bakers, but he’ll go with it.

You also have a notoriously hard solo, “Giants in the sky.”

Akaashi is very impressed.

All you two do is practice that song, until Akaashi is half sure he could sing the song if he really gave an effort.

(He tries seriously one time. He can’t sing. To save his life. Sorry Keiji and RIP y/n’s ears.)

“Maybe you’re just not a soprano?”

“I’ll leave the limelight to you.”

Rehearsals always leave you drained. There are so many dance numbers in the play that you have to go over.

And songs, oh god, the songs are pieces of work.

But you wouldn’t trade it for the world, so Keiji stays close, and is endlessly supportive.

You sent him a picture of your Jack costume, and Keiji is like that is kind of adorable ngl-

He walks into the auditorium you’re performing in, and even he’s nervous to be in there. It’s huge.

But when you walk on the stage, and start belting, all the breath leaves his lungs.

Oh. Ohhhhhhh. He understands the plot now.

[maybeimamuppet]

characters!! elsa, anna, and uhhhhh heather duke and martha

sorry if that was too many

lol hiii friends

let’s give this a go

ELSA

first impression: i saw let it go before anything so it was HELLO SONG IS VERY CATCHY

impression now: anxious snow bby. get the babe some therapy PLEASE

favorite moment: depends!! in the stage show i just love the whole entire coronation scene (like the bit with anna and the dress and everything) and in the movieeee probably the ending of the first movie where they all go ice skating :)

idea for a story: MEAN GIRLS FROZEN AU but one where elsa would actually be like. in it. it’d be really angsty but i realized the other day that the first decision she probably had to make as queen was whether or not to try recovering her parents’ bodies so maybe her trying to do that bc why not

unpopular opinion: FUCK THE ENDING OF FROZEN II

favorite relationship: romantically, her and honeymaren. but her love for her sister kinda sells the whole movie so we love some sweet sisters too. also if you ship elsanna gtfo pls :)

favorite headcanon: she doodles with her snow. so when she’s thinking or something she makes little snow/ice things. olaf loves them and has them all on a shelf.

ANNA

first impression: can’t tell ya that for Personal Reasons™ but basically OMG NO WAY

impression now: tiny tornado. a bean. just wants her sissy’s attention and also LITERALLY YAS QUEEN

favorite moment: for the first time in forever. just that whole scene

idea for a story: super cliche but anna really wants to have double dates so she tries to set elsa and honeymaren up only to learn they’ve been together for like six months and are just very amused by her antics. or one where she kidnaps elsa and makes her move back home

unpopular opinion: FUCK. THE ENDING. OF FROZEN II.

favorite relationship: kristoff, duh. but platonically she’s got a real cute thing happening with olaf and we still love some snow sisters

favorite headcanon: she and olaf have little get togethers every week. they go to elsa’s palace and have sandwiches with marshmallow and the snowgies and anna teaches olaf how to read

HEATHER DUKE

first impression: bitch

impression now: bitch (affectionate)

favorite moment: her riff in candy store. fuk u chandler let her finish

idea for a story: as part of her recovery she teaches all the heathers and veronica (her girlfriends, obvs) how to cook some of her family’s recipes

unpopular opinion: i’ve never seen anyone more asexual

favorite relationship: poly heathers and veronica :))) and post redemption arc i like the idea of her and martha being buds. but also her and a sane jd as buds

favorite headcanon: she and chandler first became friends bc they both loved to read. duke still reads a lot bc it reminds her of how chandler used to be and she secretly hopes they’ll be like that again someday

MARTHA

first impression: aww

impression now: AWW also yes queen you sing that song abt kindergarten

favorite moment: NANCY DREW’S ONTO YOU VERONICA

idea for a story: she shows all the heathers the princess bride. bc she and veronica are best friends and it’s important to her to have a good relationship with her best friend’s girlfriends. the heathers have all already seen it but they play along for her sake and bc they know veronica will yell at them if they don’t

unpopular opinion: she deserves better than veronica

favorite relationship: anyone but ram

favorite headcanon: she is the queen of dirty jokes. nobody expects it but she will find an innuendo that isn’t even there

[elsanna-shenanigans]

June Contest Submission #12: Boom Boom Pow

Words: ca. 3,300 Setting: mAU Lemon: lime CW: sand, alcohol, beanbags, dash of lime, language

“Do you like the stars?”

“Anna it’s fucking noon, the sun is up, it’s bright as shit. Why are you asking about stars?”

“Yo, my dude, chill. The sun is a star… right?”

Elsa rolled her eyes and turned up the radio, blasting 80’s music, but only the good songs. “I don’t know why I agree to come with you on these things.”

At this Anna laughed and danced a bit offbeat to the song that was playing. She didn’t know the lyrics, but the bass line was nice and she could vibe with that. She let the whole song play out before answering.

“Because you loooove me” She sing-songed, earning another eye roll from the driver. “You love me and we’re going to the beach and it’s going to be a good time.”

“If I didn’t love you, would it still be a good time?” Elsa asked, smirking.

As a response, Anna reached over and changed the radio. A loud, bass-heavy rap song overtook the speakers. The signer immediately spitting out questionably appropriate lyrics for the radio. Elsa’s face reddened under her large glasses and she reached to change channels so quickly that she turned it off. Enveloping the small sedan in a brief silence till Anna’s laughter filled the space.

And it went on like this the entire car ride, bits and pieces of random songs rapidly changing. Anna would allow something Elsa liked to play out entirely but when it was her turn she either skipped around or Elsa changed the station for her. The older woman apparently hated both rap and country music. The first part Anna didn’t understand and the latter, she agreed with. She was desperately trying to find a gospel station, just to see her sister’s reaction, but she found nothing but commercials.

Finally, she heard what she was looking for and turned to see Elsa’s reaction just as the other girl reached over and turned the radio off again. Anna was going to protest when she realized they were in a drive-thru.

“What can I get started for you today?” a tired-sounding voice asked over the intercom.

Anna leaned over Elsa to get closer to the open window and thus the speaker box. Making sure to be just close enough to be annoying.

“We would like to get married please, with Elvis if you have him, if not we’ll take what you have.”

“Anna!” Elsa exclaimed, slapping her on the shoulder.

There was an audible sigh come over the loudspeaker, “Ma’am this is a Wendy’s.”

“Oh right, then I’ll take a cheeseburger and a medium Coke, no ice. Thank you!”

“Anything else?” the tired voice asked. “I’ll have the same thing.”

They continued driving towards the beach after the drive-thru. Cupholders full of sodas in flimsy paper cups, and Anna’s lap full of white paper bags of greasy food. She kept sneaking a fry when she thought Elsa wasn’t looking. But it was a small car and Elsa could see every bit of fried potato Anna took.

The closer they got to the beach, the darker the sky became. Tall looming clouds crept over the horizon. They couldn’t see the beach yet as it was the east coast, and most roads took you to the beach straight on instead of winding down cliff faces like the Pacific was famous for. But still, the clouds loomed. Elsa knew there was a storm somewhere off the coast, but it seemed far away last she checked, which wasn’t today. She refused to check the weather today for fear of bad news.

On the main highway, traffic was starting to get heavy, more tourists were headed for their long-awaited vacations and the road ahead was either congested to the point of slowing down. Or there was an accident and everyone had to slow to a crawl to creep a glance at the carnage.

Thankfully the girls weren’t tourists, unthankfully they lived close to this tiny town that became a major city in the summer months. Having to deal with millions of tourists every year meant that locals had a series of short-cuts. So when traffic started building, Elsa took the next exit rather suddenly, cutting across the solid white lines and nearly missing the crash barrier.

“Elsa! Shit! What the fuck!” Anna yelled and shot out her hands with nearly inhuman speed to catch the drinks before they spilled out of their too-small cupholders. “There’s a backup, I’m not sitting in that,” Elsa replied, taking the next turn so hard that the car nearly tilted on two wheels.

“But I saw flashing lights, it could have been a firetruck!”

“It could have been a police car…”

“But Elsa you don’t understand, the hot firemen! …and women.”

“Anna I’m not sitting in traffic for 30 minutes or even longer, just for you to ogle at people in uniform.”

Anna took another fry, “Not people in uniform, F-I-R-E-M-E-N and women. It is very different.”

Elsa let out a heavy sigh as they came to a stop at a red light. “If I buy you that stupid Australian calendar will you shut up?”

“Wow, harsh.” Anna dramatically threw one braid over her shoulder. “But, yes.”

Again, Elsa rolled her eyes and continued forward when the light changed. It was only a short while later that they left the main road and turned into a small, older housing development. The narrow street lead them all the way to the ocean, coming out on the far end of the main strip. Highrise condos and hotels dotted the skyline to their left, but right in front of them was the beach, concealed behind a short sand dune. Because life is a bitch like that sometimes.

Luckily for them, there was also free parking at this end if you didn’t mind a bit of a walk. Which, for the price of 17 bucks to park next to the beach, who wouldn’t mind the walk. 17 dollars could buy many cheeseburgers, Anna pointed out.

The beach wasn’t nearly as crowded down where they were, away from the boardwalk and the hotels. The sand also happened to be rockier, rough and pitted with long-forgotten footprints and broken shells. The beach groomers didn’t come this far. Which was fine by them, they would take a rough sandy beach with fewer people over a crowded hellscape any day.

There’s nothing more relaxing than simultaneously listening to eight different speakers all playing different music. While children screamed for no reason and the air was filled with a mix of sunscreen and cigarette smoke.

So yes they will miss out on the hot lifeguards and yes there will be fewer people to watch. But you can’t put a price on the quiet and the fresh air that this section of the beach had to offer.

After crossing the highway on foot, climbing the dune, and laying out their towels, only then did they pause to look out on the water. The ocean was angry, white caps dotted the surface as far as they could see. The horizon line was blurred with fog or rain and the dark clouds from before were more ominous than ever. Why the two women didn’t notice all these signs until now was some kind of act of God. Or stupidly. Probably the latter.

The beach itself was even more sparsely populated than normal. A smart person would have gone home after seeing all the warning signs. But this was Anna’s only day off for the next few weeks. And Elsa, well Elsa was too stubborn to admit her beach idea was a bad one.

They both laid down, on separate towels, choosing to ignore the warning signs and attempting to soak up as much sun as possible before it was swallowed by the coming storm. Elsa tried not to think about it too much. Neither was sure how long it had been before they were interpreted.

“What are you two gay ass losers doing?” Came a female voice.

“Ch’yeah it’s like gonna rain bruh.” Said a male’s.

Elsa opened one eye to see her cousin and her boyfriend, or so it fiancé now? Standing over them. The sky beyond them somehow looked even darker than before, which was very rude.

“Trying to enjoy the sunshine, obviously.” She mumbled in response.

“What sun?” their cousin asked, in a weird out of place, and badly performed accent.

“Wait but what is that voice?” Anna asked, sitting up and brushing the sand off her arms. How that girl could get sand everywhere, Elsa would never know.

“It’s like our new characters,” Eugene answered, earning not an eye roll from Rapunzel but a nod of approval.

“I’m New York and he’s Los Angeles. Both strong and independent cities that you could almost say are their own character. And those characters are us.” She added

“Why though?” Elsa was also now sitting up and confused, though nowhere near as sandy because she wasn’t a dirt gremlin-like her sister.

“Because we wanted to be unique characters, otherwise we’re just boring white people and where’s the fun in that?” Eugene or rather Los Angeles answered.

“Oh boring, like you watch Star Trek and try to fit it into everything even though it has no business being there?”

Eugene shot Anna finger guns, “exactly, this one gets it… bruh.”

A boom was heard in the distance and it sent a few people running towards their cars, towels billowing behind them. A long-distance away, over the water, there was a flash and with it, the wind picked up.

“Looks like our beach day is ruined, I’m sorry Anna.” Elsa stood and began to roll up her towel. Even with the limited sun, she was already red on her front, making a stark difference to the pale skin of her back.

“Nah we just getting started, come back to our place and play some ping pong. We just pulled the table out of storage.” Rapunzel aka New York offered. The two of them didn’t live far from the beach, having taken over Rapunzel’s parent’s beach house. It was very old and run down, but the pair was fixing it up in exchange for free rent.

‘Aye New York is right, and we can take my new whip… bruh.” Los Angeles gestured over his shoulder towards the dunes. They couldn’t see it yet because that dang dune was blocking things again. But everyone knew he was referring to his new golf cart.

Reluctantly the girls agreed and a few long minutes later they were rushing inside an old house to avoid the rain that had just started to fall. Their car was left abandoned in the free parking lot.

Inside was an odd mix of old and new. Brand new stainless steel appliances dotted a kitchen with dark wood cabinets and a yellow linoleum floor. A half-torn-down wall gave way to the living room with floor-to-ceiling wood paneling and floral print furniture.

“It ain’t much but it’s home.” Los Angeles said once everyone was inside. He walked beyond the torn-down wall and slapped his hand on the wood paneling. “New York over there hates this stuff, but it’s hella soundproof if you know what I mean.” With this, he wiggled his eyebrows and finally, earned an eye roll from New York.

“How did you know we were on the beach by the way?” Elsa asked as she took a step further into the kitchen to look at the collection of magnets on the fridge.

“Your sister posted about it on her tumblr of all places. Honestly, get an Instagram like the rest of us already.” New York said throwing her hands up dramatically. The drama ran in the family apparently.

The ping pong table was in the basement, a dimly light space with concrete walls and a tiled floor. Mix-matched chairs lined the walls and a mini-fridge sat in the corner next to a shelf full of liquor bottles.

The ping pong game quickly descended into beer pong with a twist. No one had to drink from the cups the ball landed in. Because that’s gross, don’t do that. Inside if someone managed to land the ball in a cup the other team had to take half a shot of vodka. Los Angeles had wanted to do full shots but Elsa and New York talked him out of it, if only for not dying reasons.

Even so after a few games with no true stand-out winner, just a bunch of dumb luck, they were all fairly buzzed. Flushed creeks and slurred speech. Outside the storm finally hit. Rain battered the small basement windows and thunder boomed overhead.

With each thunderclap, Elsa reached for Anna’s hand and wouldn’t let go till the other girl gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Finally, everyone seemed to have enough of the game and collapsed into bean bag bars that Anna and Elsa had both not noticed before. Elsa scooted her bean bag closer to Anna’s, the other two people didn’t seem to notice. New York was hanging all over Los Angeles. Her fingers tracing the curve of his jawline down, her eyes practically boring holes into his face. He acted like he didn’t see, but it was obvious he knew.

“You guys can stay here for the night if you want since the storm sounds so bad,” Eugene said, dropping his horrible accent.

“That’s very kind, but it’s just a little rain, we’ll be alright,” Anna replied, completely forgetting their car was many blocks away.

New York stopped messing with her man and turned to them. “Anna, it’s more than a little rain. It’s a hurricane, I mean it was a tropical storm and it was supposed to miss us. But you know how it be sometimes.” She said with amazing clarity for a drunkard.

Elsa’s hand shot to Anna’s and she let out an audible gasp. She had refused to check the weather before heading out the door today, figuring what she didn’t know, can’t hurt her. Which was stupid and out of character for someone who claims to be responsible.

Another boom followed by a bright flash of lightning illuminated the room for a brief second. Elsa looked terrified so Anna took it upon herself to change the subject.

“So we will be seeing you in two weeks right?”

Rapunzel playing New York smiled and clapped her hands together, “Yes! At the church!”

“For things better left unspoken,” Eugene playing Los Angeles groaned, covering his eyes with his forearm.

Another boom and the room was suddenly cast in darkness and accompanied by an eerie quiet. You never notice how much sound your electronics make till everything is off. Elsa grabbed Anna’s entire arm, holding it so tightly Anna was worried she would lose it.

“Ah fuck the power is out. We have some candles upstairs, I’ll be right back, Rapunzel can you see if the camping lantern is over on the shelf?”

“Um excuse me, it’s New York, but yes I will look.”

Two bodies moved away in the darkness, their paths illuminated by the small light on their phones. Next to Anna, Elsa’s breathing became rapid and she clung to Anna as if she was in danger of being blown away.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Anna whispered, using her free hand to pet the top of Elsa’s head. The older girl shifted so in one fluid motion she was off her beanbag and on Anna’s before curling into the young girl’s side.

“I found it!” Rapunzel slash New York exclaimed. She turned it on and the room was partly lit up. She walked back to where the other two women were cuddled together and sat back down in her own beanbag.

“Wow, that’s like hella gay.” She said, pointing to the pair.

“Oh shut up, she just doesn’t like storms, you know that.” Anna quipped

Elsa let go of Anna’s arm long enough to extend a hand and flip off her cousin, earning her a laugh in response.

Eugene returned shortly after with the candles, a tray of food, and some cards. “Anyone up for a game of hurricane poker? It’s like regular poker only there’s a hurricane.”

He rejoined the group, placing the tray in the middle of everyone and paying no mind to the two women who now shared a beanbag.

Elsa lifted her head to look, the tray was adorned with a random assortment of food. Celery sticks, M&M’s, KitKat bars, Cheetos, Grapes, and some animal crackers. She made a face.

“What’s wrong uh bruh?” Eugene asked in a bad attempt to get back in character. Los Angeles would never quite be the character that New York was.

“I’ll only eat celery sticks if you pay me,” Elsa responded.

The next few hours consisted of Eugene completely wiping the floor with everyone. They played for the M&M’s, of which he now owned all of. With the power still out and the storm still raging on the decision was made for the sisters to spend the night over.

Their room was completely unrenovated, the same wood paneling from the living room made up the walls and the carpet was a thick green shag rug. Eugene was right about one thing though, the paneling sure did dampen the sound. Once the door was shut the two women could hardly hear anything, which was good because Rapunzel had started blasting Mandy Moore music for some reason.

There was only one bed, pushed into the corner, but it didn’t matter anyway. There could have been 80 beds and they still would have shared just one.

Anna laid down on her back and traced the grains in the wooden wall. “Really makes you want to carve something in this stuff you know? Something that would be around for hundreds of years.”

“Please don’t vandalize our cousin’s house,” Elsa said before sitting on the edge of the bed. She turned the lantern off so the only source of the light in the room was the candle on the nightstand.

“You alright?” Anna asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

“Yeah, I’m just worried about the storm, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Anna reached out and gently grabbed Elsa’s arm, guiding her back to lay in the bed next to her. “Do you want to sleep or keep your mind off things?”

Elsa paused for a brief moment before removing her arm from Anna’s grip. “I don’t know…”

“It’s your choice, either way, I’m here for you.” Anna smiled at her, a flash of lightning lit up the room but no thunder.

It startled Elsa but she remained where she was, staring at Anna. Thinking, always thinking.

“It’s just a storm and this old house seems to be built like a tank anyway.” She made a fist and pounded the wall to prove her point.

Elsa started twirling the end of one of Anna’s braids but her eyes remained locked on Anna’s. The delayed thunderclap came and Elsa inhaled sharply. Anna leaned over and kissed the top of her forehead.

“You sure this is okay?” Elsa asked and Anna nodded, running the back of her hand down the other girl’s cheek. “Let’s get our mind off of things then.”

Elsa crawled till she was straddling Anna who gazed up at her with eyes that shown like stars in the candlelight.

“What’s your favorite constellation?”

“Hmm, probably Orion, because you can find his belt so easy,” Anna answered, “Yours?” “Your eyes”

“Ew, that’s so fucking cheesy.”

Elsa leaned down, her mouth slightly agape. Anna’s eyes fluttered shut as her hands found their way to the other woman’s shoulders.

The storm, the damage, their car, all these things could wait until tomorrow. Tonight they were out of their control so for tonight they didn’t matter.

Elsa blew out the candle, and they both plunged into the sinful escape of the darkness.

[edorazzi]

It’s the post everyone’s been waiting for! 

It’s taken a little while for me to get around to this, but it’s worth it for being able to make a full reaction post. This is really long so I’ll put it under a cut, but check it out for my complete scene-by-scene reaction of Miraculous’ “Felix” episode! (´∀｀)♡

Okay, I’ve been putting this off for days now so it’s time to finally get to it. I’m comfy and undisturbed and have my supplies ready to go.

I know next to nothing about what I’m going into. I’ve seen a little bit here and there because some people haven’t tagged their content properly, but I haven’t watched either of the trailers. I haven’t even looked directly at the images of Felix which have been going around. I’ve tried to stay as blind as possible, so as a result I’m pretty excited but also very anxious. I’ve taken two beta blockers today and I’m considering taking a third.

I usually liveblog episodes on our Ladybug PV Discord server (message me for an invite!) but this time I’m making a proper post out of it. I’ll be typing up my reactions as I go then cleaning everything up a little bit afterwards. I think it’s the first time I’ve done something like this on my blog so here goes!

- “Script: Thomas Astruc” NO. HE REALLY COULDN’T JUST STEP AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE GRACEFULLY, COULD HE. HE HAD TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY. I’m not going to say “fuck this man” but, you know, identical sentiments. I’m opening my chocolate bar.

- God, Emilie looks more like ET every time I see her. Such an awkward model.

- Oh but wait, Sébastien Thibaudeau was on the script? That does actually give me some hope! Next to Zag himself he’s the only writer on this mess of a show I trust. HE FIXED WAYHEM, CAN HE DO FELIX A SOLID TOO? PLEASE. PLEASE SÉBASTIEN OL BUDDY OL PAL OL FRIENDA MINE

- Does Gabe have anything else to say to his wife other than monologuing his Miraculous plan over and over? They say people in comas can still hear things but Emilie’s probably double unconscious from how boring her husband is.

- DON’T LIKE THAT KNIFE SOUND EFFECT FROM THOSE RINGS. Am I supposed to find it sweet that Gabe’s taking such good care of their wedding bands or is he about to use them for evil? Also where’s Felix.

- ADRIEN SWEETHEART. I maintain that it’s weird to have a statue of your wife/mother/self in your own garden but it kills me that he’s just sitting there in front of it like a lost kitten.

- “Of course, someone will get you right away.” IS THAT FELIX. WAS SHE ON THE PHONE TO FELIX. WHERE’S MY SON, NATHALIE HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON

- That wide-eyed look Adrien turns up towards the window is killing me even more. I’M SO SAD. I see he also hasn’t noticed he’s sitting in the middle of a giant butterfly circle, unless he’s so used to it being Gabe’s logo that he’s just not paying it any mind. When was this all built? Has Gabe always used a butterfly motif even before he got his Miraculous and it was just a great coincidence, or did he commission this whole garden area after Emilie went missing? I guess you could pass it off as eccentricity but in the real world that would be a HUGE red flag that Gabe murdered her. I dunno man.

- DON’T WAVE AT HIM LIKE THAT, NATHALIE. YOU RATTED HIM OUT IN 5 SECONDS IN THAT THEORETICAL FUTURE WHERE YOU DISCOVERED HE WAS CHAT NOIR. YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS BOY. >:V

- “It’s been one year.” HAS IT? Hasn’t Adrien been at school for at least a year now? Didn’t his mom vanish two years prior to that?! Maybe she’s talking about how long Gabe has been fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir but knowing this show’s messy timeline it could be anything. WHERE’S FELIX.

- That’s the song from Chat Blanc! Was that something his mom taught him? OH NO, I’M EVEN SADDER NOW. This is what I mean about Sébastien’s writing, we’d never get this kind of focus on Adrien from Garbage Man Astruc. This kind of character exploration does wonders for ML whenever it’s brought up so I hope this is consistent.

- SHIT, GABRIEL’S OUT OF THE HOUSE. SOMETHING’S WRONG. THOSE EXPENSIVE LEATHER SHOES HAVEN’T TOUCHED ACTUAL GROUND IN YEARS. ADRIEN GET OUT OF THERE.

- I do like that Adrien doesn’t get up when his dad comes to stand right next to him like that. It’s just informal enough. He’s waiting for Gabe to make the first move this time and that’s nice development considering how stiff and cold their relationship was in S1.

- OOOOH GABE THAT’S AN AWKWARD CROUCH. Any lower down and his back is going to go. He’ll be stuck there. I do LOVE that he’s trying though, I don’t even know what he’s going to say to Adrien but this is already SO good.

- “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.” Finally time for The Talk, huh.

- GABE PLEASE. ADRIEN’S WAY TOO CHIRPY TO HAVE ACTUALLY CAUGHT ON TO WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY. HE THINKS YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY YOU LOVE HIM OR SOMETHING ELSE RIDICULOUS

- “I’ve noticed how close you and Nathalie have become!” CLOSE ENOUGH. Still in the ballpark of Adrien thinking his dad has real human feelings! 

- “HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK SUCH A THING??” I GENUINELY LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT HOW ANGRY GABE WAS ABOUT THAT. I’m not sure what to think of the “Nathalie replacing Emilie when Emilie’s technically still alive” plot either but GABE’S DECIDED FOR ME. Also good job yelling in your son’s face when you were JUST having a moment, good luck getting back up off your knees in order to storm away, old man.

- Oh alright, he did get up, but it was with a strange angry bow-legged prance. I think he still had trouble.

- I love the way Adrien just kinda wide-eye-blinks at him, like Gabe’s emotional outburst is going totally over his head. He’s been dealing with akuma FAR too long to be bothered by this.

- Guests, plural? I’m guessing Felix is one of them but is he with someone else? That makes sense given he’s (as far as I’ve gathered) the same age as Adrien so he wouldn’t be running around far from home unchaperoned, but OHHH this is so interesting.

- So they ARE claiming it’s been one year since Emilie vanished! This just doesn’t work as a Season 3 episode, especially with Nathalie and Gabe’s romantic development being as far along as it is. Emilie’s been gone for at LEAST three years by this point! Read your show bible once in a while you horrible garbage man!!! Also ADRIEN SWEETHEART THAT’S A LITTLE PREMATURE. You can say “went away forever” when you’re three years into her disappearance, the anniversary of one year really isn’t long enough to claim she’s never coming back!

- OH NO, IT’S THE GIRLS. I’m already bored. Unless Luka is here I really just do not care what they’re all up to. I haven’t missed Marinette at ALL in the first two-and-a-half minutes and I don’t want to see her now. WHERE’S FELIX.

- I’m sorry, how are Lila, Chloé AND Kagami all on a video call together without any blood being drawn? Also for god’s sake PLEASE leave Adrien alone, you want to ask first if he’d LIKE some company or if he’d prefer a quiet personal day to think about his mom? OF COURSE NOT MARINETTE, YOU WOULDN’T WOULD YOU. 

- Okay, a video message is definitely a better idea than trying to break into his house AGAIN. At least then he can watch it whenever he feels up to it. The first good, safe, noninvasive idea Mari’s had for SEVERAL episodes when it comes to Adrien.

- I’M REALLY TORN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENGLISH DUB. On one hand I hate how little screentime Nino has when he’s not just being Alya’s fashion accessory, but on the other hand I’m so glad they switched scenes the moment Nino started his video because I CANNOT handle his dub voice. Nino just deserves better in general really.

- HE WAS CRYING. MY BOY WAS CRYING AGAIN. I’M NOT COOL WITH THIS. IT’S NOT ABOVE YOUR PAYGRADE TO GIVE HIM A HUG, NATHALIE.

- ALRIGHT HI ELSA. IS THIS HIS AUNT? THAT’S SPOOKY. 

- Her name is Amelie? So their parents had twins and named them Amelie and Emilie, and they turned out the same right down to the over-the-shoulder Dead Anime Mom hairstyles? That’s lazy parenting down to a tee, can’t mix your twins up if you never have to learn the difference between them in the first place! But that’s INTERESTING that Felix is (I assume, still haven’t seen him yet) from Emilie’s side of the family, I’ve always had the impression he was a petit Gabriel.

- OHHH THAT’S MY BOY! I CAN SEE MY BOY IN THE DOORWAY!!! OH MY GOD GIVE HIM TO ME. GIVE ME FELIX. GIVE ME MY SON.

- ADRIEN IMMEDIATELY JUMPING ON HIM IN A HUG IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. WHILE FELIX’S HAND IS STILL OUTSTRETCHED FOR A HANDSHAKE. I know this episode is going to go downhill because there’s no way it won’t, but this one single moment is EVERYTHING I WANTED. I should just close the tab now and leave it at this, I really should.

- “Do you remember when they used to have so much fun pretending to be each other? Once they had you and Emilie fooled for a whole weekend!” WHERE HAS THIS BEEN FOR MY ENTIRE ORDEAL GETTING THROUGH THIS SERIES. I don’t even care if this Felix is a stone cold bitch, it’s enough to know he and Adrien were besties when they were kids and Adrien still wanted to hug him the second he walked through the door. AMAZING.

- “I WON’T BE FOOLED A SECOND TIME.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, GABE. THEY WERE PROBABLY TODDLERS. ARE YOU JUST SO USED TO GETTING YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU BY CHILDREN THAT YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS OF EVERY SINGLE ONE NOW

- Aww, Felix is American (dubbed, anyway). I was really hoping he’d be British with all the references to London over the last season. He does have a nice voice though! I can tell he shares Adrien’s actor but he’s got the softness I’d have expected from his character. There’s kind of an interesting look about his face though, I wish they’d tweaked it a bit to give him a sharper look but I guess he IS like 14, he can afford to still have a bit of baby-cheeked roundness. I’m going to find the positives in every part of this because I will NOT give Garbage Man Astruc the satisfaction of being disappointed like I know he wants me to be. It’s been a fucking war from the moment I saw his name in the writing credits and my best weapon is being pleased about everything in this episode.

- Okay, he looks a little better in the following closeup where his eyes are slightly narrowed. I think it’s the slightly-below-the-chin angle which doesn’t really work for his character model with his soft cheeks and high collar. FELIX IS A BABY.

- WHY WILL NOBODY SHAKE HIS HAND. Adrien hugged him instead and Gabe is ignoring him completely, Felix is clearly so perplexed and I love it. He’s fourteen! He’s fourteen and doing his best with social graces but NOBODY WILL HELP HIM.

- “Felix, you know your uncle’s never been the physical sort!” HE KICKED HIS OWN SON RIGHT ACROSS PARIS IN THE LAST EPISODE BUT SURE, IF YOU SAY SO.

- “Oh, how sweet! You’re still wearing your wedding band!” YEAH? IT’S BEEN LIKE A YEAR?? Again this would make more sense if it had been around three years like we KNOW Emilie’s been gone for, but picking someone out for still wearing their ring after 12 months?! And why isn’t Amelie more emotional about this anyway, isn’t it her sister who’s missing? I wouldn’t be poking fun at MY sister’s husband for keeping his ring if SHE went missing. No wonder Felix seems like he turned out weird.

- I CAN’T MAKE OUT THE NAME OF HER BRANCH OF THE FAMILY AND IT’S KILLING ME. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW WHAT THAT WAS. Graham de Vanily? I can’t place the words. I mean I’m going to keep calling Felix “Agreste” no matter what but I’d like to know what canon is trying to get at.

- “It’s been a long journey from London” I KNEW IT, I FFFFFFFFFUCKING KNEW IT. SO THEY ARE BRITISH?! BUT THEY HAVE AMERICAN ACCENTS?! I mean I guess they’re French first and foremost, but what the fuck is with the American accents if you’re making a POINT about them being from London?! I can’t wait for the French audio to be released, I really want to know what Felix sounds like there. Regardless AAAH MY SON IS FROM MY CITY, I’M SO PLEASED.

- “TakeFelixtoyourbedroom.” EASY GABE THEY JUST MET, ALSO THEY’RE COUSINS

- Poor Felix looks so depressed being saddled with Adrien. Sweetie it’s okay, think positive! You could be stuck with Marinette and THAT would be a true nightmare.

- Now why does Felix keep glancing at Gabe? Is there something going on there? Is he suspicious about what happened to his aunt? I can’t imagine he knows anything about the Miraculous so what’s the deal here?

- UuuuuUUUUGH we’re back with the rest of the gang. I’M NOT INTERESTED, SHOW ME MORE FELIX.

- “Help me Tikki! What would you tell a Kwami friend who’s lost their mom?!” You’re talking to a 5000-year-old demigoddess, Mari, I don’t think she’s gonna relate.

- MARI YOU CAN’T CONFESS TO ADRIEN. NOT AFTER CHAT BLANC. GABE WILL LOSE ALL HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TO WRECK THE LOVE SQUARE AND ALSO THE MOON’S GOING TO EXPLODE. WHY ISN’T BUNNIX HERE TO SLAP THE TABLET OUT OF YOUR HANDS

- Should Tikki really be encouraging this?! I have no idea where in the timeline this is supposed to be. Maybe this is at a stage where she doesn’t know Adrien is Plagg’s chosen so there’s no reason to steer Marinette away from bonding with him. Or maybe every episode just plays by its own rules and there’s really no such thing as continuity in this series. I want to see Felix again.

- YANKING AT AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ON THE OUTER EDGE OF A BOAT ISN’T GOING TO END WELL. DON’T. I do love how :D Alya is about it though, if nothing else I love what a supportive friend she is.

- Oh, the tablet didn’t go into the water! I’m genuinely surprised by that. Though I imagine Felix is going to fuck things up in some way so he’ll probably be the one to destroy the video somehow. We all know the relationship development isn’t allowed to move forward so SOMETHING’S going to happen to it.

- Thank god we’re back to the mansion. I’m surprised and pleased that (for now at least) we’re only getting the girls in small doses and the plot is mainly focused around the Agrestes. Gorizilla is my favourite episode to date and it did a similar thing with allowing Marinette to be a side character for once along an Adrien-centric plotline, so hopefully this episode will be similar. I’m liking its odds so far but who knows what Horrible Garbage Man Astruc has up his sleeve.

- “I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral.” I’M SORRY WHAT? PARDON ME? THAT’S AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM I DIDN’T EXPECT. As a side note I love Felix being killer at basketball for some reason, he doesn’t look like the athletic type at ALL but he still made that net over his shoulder without even LOOKING. Goddamn. Can everyone please appreciate how cool my son is!!!

- “My father thought it would be too hard on me, considering everything that’s happened this year.” So Felix lost his dad VERY RECENTLY. OUCH. DON’T LIKE THAT. Or I DO like that because it’s already giving his character some extra depth when we’re still only just getting to know him, but on an emotional level I don’t like that. 

- “He’s very... protective of me.” CHAT BLANC REALLY WAS A HOT MESS OF AN EPISODE WASN’T IT. 

- Now Felix is giving Adrien a hug?! I didn’t see that one coming. My canon Felix would mean it but I don’t quite trust this new Felix yet, he’s probably up to something.

- WHAT A JARRING PIANO TRANSITION. Also why?! What does he have to gain from swiping Adrien’s phone? He’s probably got a terrible roaming plan on his own mobile, that’s always my problem when I go to France. If you truly loved your cousin you’d let him browse Reddit on your phone, Adrien. This is worse than not coming to his dad’s funeral.

- PLAGG KNOWS SOMETHING’S UP. He ought to, in another life he and Felix are STILL dealing with each other.

- Okay I take back what I said about Felix’s voice. Bryce Whatshisface isn’t doing a very good job separating the tones. I can buy that Adrien and Felix sound very similar but their delivery should be completely different! I really do want to watch this in French, I get the feeling it’ll sound much better.

- AH YES, HERE WE GO. I’m getting the feeling this is Garbage Man’s part of the episode. Squished cheese aside, I do like the implication Felix does (or did) card magic and karate. I’m thinking of that Mickey Mouse episode where he vanishes Donald’s car keys with a hand trick except it’s Felix vanishing Marinette’s phone when she’s about to text Adrien or something. I’ve got to draw that.

- “Mind if I take a shower?” WHY, FELIX. I mean I’d probably want to shower too after the London-Paris commute (and I’m sure he’s only going in there to wreak havoc, put food colouring in Adrien’s shampoo bottles or something) but what a weird time to ask!

- I mean Plagg has a point about difficult home situations not justifying bad behaviour (and I feel like that’s not what’s going on, with how he was glaring at Gabe I think he’s behaving like this for some other reason), but Felix’s dad LITERALLY DIED. Like they had a funeral and everything. Emilie is just “missing”. They’re SIMILAR but that’s still a false equivalence because Adrien’s got hope to hold on to and Felix doesn’t.

- So we’re not going to talk about how Felix got into Adrien’s passcode-protected phone? I guess he could have done the fogging-up-the-screen trick from Oblivio. Standing around in a steamy bathroom in three layers of clothing is a great way to sweat yourself out and ruin your hair though, way to get even more gross than a five-hour commute between countries.

- “Of course that idiot has a crush on a superhero!” EASY THERE, MR HOWLING-ON-A-ROOFTOP-BECAUSE-HE-SAW-THE-GIRL-HE-LIKED. WE’VE ALL SEEN THE PV.

- I’ve just noticed Felix has a ring too! I don’t know how I missed that before this scene! That’s NICE. He’s still not allowed to have it on his middle finger (LET HIM SWEAR) but that’s a nod back to Chat Noir which I really appreciate!

- ROSE HAS BEEN ON THE HELIUM. SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT THERE.

- FELIX KNOWS CHLOÉ! THAT’S NICE, THAT’S GOOD. I LIKE THAT. That’s also a really nice little video from her, I love the few small moments we’ve had that affirm she and Adrien really ARE friends, whether she wants to date him or not. 

- OOOH HE DELETED THE VIDEOS. I’m curious about him borrowing Adrien’s clothes too, are they going to dress the same? You’d think Adrien wouldn’t give someone an exact copy of the outfit he’s currently wearing but I genuinely don’t know if he owns anything different. I hope they don’t just use two Adrien models for the rest of the episode, please let me see Felix properly :/

- WHY. HONESTLY, WHY. CAN I PLEASE GET AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY FELIX IS DOING THIS.

- OOOH MARI YOU’RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS. I can imagine Felix is going to say something nasty and that’ll set the girls off and bring about the akuma of the week. I’m mildly entertained but I’m still not engaged with this idea without any proper explanation. We’d better get something by the end of the episode which justifies what’s made Felix do this, because “he’s just evil lol” would be a reeeeally low move from Garbage Man Astruc. 

- MARI SWEETIE. YOU’VE GOTTA LEARN TO CHECK A ROOM IS EMPTY BEFORE YOU RUN INSIDE AND START FREAKING OUT VERY LOUDLY. LUKA’S HEARD ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. 

- Luka is such a nice character. Why does he get to be so high quality when Felix has been turned into a cheese-smashing phone-stealing gremlin? I mean I KNOW why, but I’d like to think the showwriters are better than this. They’re not, but I’d like to think they are.

- WHAT A VIDEO MESSAGE. I love how Luka’s just sitting there grimacing while Mari speeds off into battle, he doesn’t know what she’s about to do but he knows better than to try stopping her.

- Back with Gabe and Nathalie. Is this what was being foreshadowed when Gabe claimed he wouldn’t be fooled by the boys’ identity switch twice? Is he GOING to be fooled again or will he be the one person who can tell immediately that this isn’t his son? 

- “FELIX.” WOW, HE REALLY WASN’T FOOLED TWICE. RESPECT. He may have trouble getting up off the ground if he sits down too low but he can at least identify his child in a difficult situation like this, props to Gabe this week.

- “All this disappointment might just help us get rid of our unwanted guests!” SHUT YOUR MOUTH, FELIX IS A DELIGHT. The only unwanted guest here is Astruc on the writing team.

- “Felix... I told you that you couldn’t fool me twice.” Way to blow your identity in five seconds Gabe. I guess he hasn’t sent out the akuma yet so this might just be a personal monologue, but he starts addressing his victims directly so often at this stage that I’m really not sure what they can or can’t hear. SHIT’S RISKY.

- OH OKAY, SO HE’S SENDING THIS TRIPLE AKUMA AFTER FELIX? AND/OR ADRIEN, DEPENDING ON HOW HARD IT IS TO TELL THEM APART? I guess that’s what he means by getting rid of their guests, if the house is attacked by a monster (or monsters?) they aren’t going to want to stick around, but I REALLY HOPE YOU’RE TAKING ADRIEN’S WELLBEING INTO ACCOUNT HERE GABE OL BUDDY :/

- “TIKKI, SPOTS ON! MNUURGH” ME TOO MARINETTE. I’M REALLY ONLY 12 MINUTES INTO THIS.

- I’m gonna be honest, I’m not really interested in the girls. I was hoping for a real triple akuma (like Oblivio was apparently Alya and Nino together) but they’re all just villains we’ve seen before. There’s stuff I could comment on here but I just want to see more of Felix, that’s what I’m here for.

- “Nathalie, get Adrien to a safe place far from his cousin!” YOU’RE REALLY JUST GONNA SACRIFICE FELIX LIKE THIS. I guess that makes sense, I WAS complaining during Chat Blanc that Adrien is Gabriel’s weak point, so all things considered I’m not surprised that he’ll protect Adrien but just flat-out wants Felix dead. Fair enough.

- WOW. I THOUGHT ADRIEN WAS GOING TO BE HEROIC AND DEFEND FELIX BUT HE WANTS HIM DEAD TOO. Or was that a double bluff to make the akuma think he MUST be Felix so he can lead them away and keep his cousin safe? He’s just run off with a wild cackle so I’m thinking it’s the latter. HE’S A GOOD BOY AND A TRUE HERO.

- I also find it kind of funny how Nathalie will jump in harm’s way to defend him when there have been INNUMERABLE other episodes of Gabe just setting an akuma directly on Adrien for the hell of it. Maybe because there isn’t really any ‘harm’ here to start with; the three girls’ powers are probably the least violent of all the akuma we’ve seen so far.

- AM I REALLY ABOUT TO SEE FELIX DRESSED AS ADRIEN DOING KARATE. I HOPE HE’S GOOD AT IT.

- OH MY GOD HE IS GOOD AT IT. That’s cool! I was expecting him to totally flop considering how badly his imposter trick went down a few minutes ago, but it’s nice to see he’s as capable at fighting as he is at basketball. When do I get to see his magic card tricks?

- YEAH I FEEL THE SAME PLAGG. WHAT’S EVEN HAPPENING. Not that I think Adrien shouldn’t save Felix, I just want to know WHY Felix felt like he had to do this in the first place! I feel like “can I PLEASE get a waffle” except instead of watching the employees fight I’m watching this episode careening away with no pauses to explain what’s going on.

- FELIX C’MON. STOP CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE. I can tell Garbage Man Astruc still has the reins here because causing even MORE trouble even AFTER Adrien saved his ass is a completely illogical course of action. PUT SÉBASTIEN BACK IN THE WRITERS CHAIR.

- “WHICH PART OF THE WORD ‘NO’ DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!” Oh perfect, great, can’t let this episode end without accusing Felix of not respecting consent! That’s a hot button issue and if Garbage Man Astruc can get him on that bandwagon then fans HAVE to hate this character! Great move! Fucking pillock!

- WOW CHAT THAT’S MEAN. I guess accusing Felix of having no friends is justified in the context of the episode but yikes :(

- Was that a flash of humiliation from Felix there? God will one of the writers PLEASE save this character, PLEASE don’t let this episode end without someone getting him out of the Garbage Man’s big meaty claws.

- Excuse me WHAT? Felix is talking directly to Papillon?! So he knows about all the Miraculous stuff?! Oh NO, is this about getting his dad back? I don’t know whether the One Wish is common knowledge (I don’t think it is?) but maybe Felix put the pieces together on his own back home, so all his behaviour here has been trying to incite an akuma that he can take advantage of to appeal to Papillon?! Or he could just be a bitch all on his own, which is probably what the Garbage Man would prefer, but this makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.

- BRO HE NEARLY DIED. BRO. BROOO.

- “I hope you’ve learned your lesson!” YOU’RE NOT EVEN GONNA ASK ABOUT THE PAPILLON THING? YOU CAN’T JUST TREAT THIS AS A REGULAR DISTURBANCE, FELIX KNOWS SHIT ABOUT THE MIRACULOUS YOU GUYS--

- FELIX’S MOM IS REALLY GOING TO BLAME HIS DEAD DAD FOR THIS? HARD YIKES. NO WONDER FELIX IS WEIRD.

- I’m expecting this isn’t over, because Felix still clearly wants something specific that he didn’t get, but I’ll take this cute hug for what it is. He didn’t have an evil expression behind Adrien’s back this time either and the music is all soft and nice, plus he FINALLY got a handshake from Gabe, but I absolutely do NOT imagine this episode will end without getting an extra shot in at the PV fans somehow. We’re not getting off this easy.

- Why doesn’t Gabriel want Adrien to go after Felix? Is he scared he’ll try to run off, or ask them to stay longer when he really wants to get rid of them?

- AHAHA FELIX STOLE GABE’S RING. WHAT A BRAT. Was that the “jewelry” he mentioned wanting in return for helping Papillon? I figured it was a Miraculous thing but maybe not.

- OHHH, look how much Felix loves his mom! This is such a sweet scene. I particularly like the idea that Amelie was trying to get the rings back to give one to Felix because the way she was speaking to Gabe made it sound like she wanted them Just Because. But you can’t mention some wild story connected to the rings and then not explain it! I want to know what that is, I want to know why Felix is so fascinated with it!!!

- ALSO, FELIX GETTING A BIG KISS RIGHT ON THE FOREHEAD. EXCELLENT. I’ll fucking BET this is another scene Sébastien sneaked in because it’s such an emotional quality shift from the whole clone mess. Like what the fuck even WAS that.

- Yep, Felix is still evil! WHY THOUGH. WHAT’S GOING ON. CAN I PLEASE GET A WAFFLE

- I was expecting a worse ending, but “Felix can’t ever come back to Paris because Gabriel will kill him with his bare hands if he does” is decent enough. If there’s no further confirmation (and NO, anything Garbage Man Astruc tweets later on does NOT fucking count so don’t try me) I’m going to take it that he WAS actually sorry for what he did to Adrien. That’s better than nothing.

.

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WELL THAT WAS AN EPISODE. That actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be - it could have been a lot better but it could have been a lot worse too. The beginning and end were nice enough even if the middle part was Garbage Man Astruc’s usual atrocious mess of self-service, though I do particularly despise the hamfisted consent issue shoved in there just to generate extra reasons to hate the character. WE GET IT, YOU DON’T LIKE FELIX. OFF YOU FUCK. 

I’ve slept on this next paragraph to give myself time to formulate some concrete thoughts about the plot, so... Well, it was a mess, that’s for sure. They spent way too much time establishing how oH sO eViL Felix was and not nearly enough time actually explaining his character. 

Why is he acting out like this? What has he got against Adrien in particular? Is he really sore about Adrien not supporting him at his dad’s funeral or is that just what Adrien thinks is his problem? What was his relationship with his dad before he died? Was his troublemaking all about trying to provoke an akuma and ask Papillon to help him get his family rings back (which he was clearly trying to steal from the moment he walked through the door, only Gabe wouldn’t shake his hand the first time), or was that just a side effect of causing shit for no reason? Did he mean his apology to Adrien at the end? WHAT was the deal with the rings and the story attached to them? There’s a whole interesting story buried in here which just got completely overlooked by the emphasis on how terrible he was and that’s really disappointing. 

I did like his damaged-but-still-good relationship with Adrien though, there’s still hope there and maybe Felix (if he ever shows up again, which I only hope he does if it’s NOT another excuse for Garbage Man Astruc to shit on the PV fandom again, for the love of FUCK don’t give this guy multiple opportunities) will start coming around and making the effort to be a better cousin since Adrien’s given him a second chance. I don’t know. What I liked just as much was Marinette actually barely being in this episode at all, for the first time since Gorizilla she’s ALLOWED to be the supporting character again and that’s GREAT.

I don’t really know what else to say. I’m exhausted. Adrien’s a darling and I think I prefer my Twin AU, though canon Felix being a delightful little gremlin who causes problems-on-purpose is something I can work with in the future too. 

Thanks for coming on this... interesting journey with me! I posted a set of tweets last night which I’ll leave here to finish up:

[ranboounlabeled]

Incorrect Quotes

So I had the bright idea one day to make incorrect quotes based on a DnD campaign and the players. Why not post them here? If any of them find this and request this to be deleted, I won’t mind. Blu - DM, any other character you don’t see listed here Tuck - Alzora Autumn/Me - Aria Maria - Yeet Bard - Tad Whipple - Niyana ~ Aria at 3AM: Alzora wake up Alzora, annoyed: What is it? Aria: If butterflies fall in love, do they feel humans/mobians in their stomach? Alzora: The rest of Team Supernova: Niyana: aria what the fuck Yeet: No no, wait. She has a point. Yeet: What if they’re mobian butterflies? Snipe: What if they just feel really tiny butterflies in their stomachs? Niyana: That’s morbid. ~ Aria: is pink panther a lion Alzora: say that again but slower Aria: i don't get it? Alzora: he's the pink PANTHER Aria: okay? but is he a lion? Alzora: Aria. he's a panther Aria: is that a kind of lion??? Alzora: no it's a fucking panther Aria: I just googled it. Are they not pink?  Alzora: AND LIONS ARE??? ~ Yeet: *gets shot* Shit. Alzora: Language! ~ Niyana: Is 4 alot? Aria/Alzora: Depends on the context. Aria/Alzora: Money? No. Aria/Alzora: Murders? Yes. ~ Yeet: Just a reminder that I'm non-binary so if you've got a crush on me, u gay bro ~

Alzora: if one of you says that stupid thing again I will not hesitate to give you frost bite Aria: aw that's so sad alexa play despacito Alzora: starting with you Alt idea from our DM (context, Alzora is an ice dragon and I compare her to Elsa alot): Aria: thats so sad, alexa play Let it Go. Alzora: you will die in 3 days ~ Niyana: THE FLOOR IS LAVA Yeet: *helps Snipe onto a chair* Alzora: *throws Aria off the table* revenge Niyana: There are two types of people ~ Alzora: If anyone says ‘mood’ ‘same’ or 'me’ in response to something I say ever again, I will throw you out the nearest window Yeet: Mood Aria: Same Niyana: Me Alzora calling tad: hello? Tad can you come here quickly? Tad: why what happened? Alzora: well lets just say there’s a gun in my hand, 3 dead bodies on the floor, blood on the walls floor and ceiling, and police on the way Tad: Tad: what Tad: The police are going to be there? Yeah, you're on your own ~ Aria: Mobius is a hot, molten core with a solid crust. Therefore, its a ravioli Alzora: Please stop Yeet, taking notes: No no let her finish ~ Aria: Comparing me and Alzora is like comparing apples to oranges. Aria: I mean, I like apples, and I really don't like oranges. Aria: Oranges are annoying. ~ nesta: fuck your cake! aria: 

~ Niyana: I’ve been working on my evil laugh! ‘Cause everybody’s got an evil laugh, you know, like... Ha ha ha ha HA! Like that. Alzora: Okay, here’s the thing. You’re not ready... for the evil laugh, okay, you can do a chuckle? Like a mildly upset chuckle? After MY evil laugh. ~ Snipe: You're smiling. Did something good happen? Aria: Can't I smile just because I feel like it? Niyana: Alzora tripped and fell down the stairs. ~ Yeet: So, why is Aria mad at you? Alzora: They sneezed and I accidentally said "shut the fuck up" instead of "bless you". Yeet: Alzora: Yeet: How do you accidentally say "shut the fuck up"?! ~ Alzora: Anyone who says 'uwu' or 'owo' again is being arrested for crimes against humanity! Aria: Cwimes against huwumanity. Alzora: I'm going to break your fingers. ~ Yeet, while crying: LOVE IS DEAD AND NEVER EXISTED! ALL YOU DID WAS BETRAY ME AS I LAY SICK AND FESTERING! YOU ARE THE DEFINITION OF DREAD! Snipe: Are you ok???  Yeet, crying even more: NIYANA STOLE MY FUCKIGN WEAPONS! [This breakdown is immediately followed by Yeet trying to beat the shit out of a 15 year-old] ~ Alzora: Good Morning!   Aria: Good Morning everyone Snipe: Good Morning. [ half of everyone else says their good mornings] Yeet: My god you all sound like robots! “good morning” this “good morning” that. Yeet: Spice it up!!! Niyana: HEY MOTHERFUCKERS ~ Alzora: *falls*  Alzora: Alzora: I suppose I’ll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies. ~ Aria: Tall people are the enemy! Alzora: I'm sorry, I can't hear you from up here. Aria: I will tie your fucking shoelaces together and you won't even know it! ~ Niyana: But rules were made to be broken! Tad: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken. Nesta: Uh, pinatas. Alzora: Glow sticks. Yeet: Karate boards. Aria: Spaghetti when you have a small pot. Niyana: And rules! Snipe: Don’t forget bones. Yeet: Ye-Wait no- ~ Aria: Onion rings are just vegetable doughnuts. Alzora, used to Aria: Sure they are, Aria. Aria: Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed. Alzora: Okay. Aria: Lasagna is just spaghetti-flavored cake. Alzora: … Aria, oblivious: Lobsters are mermaids to scorpions. Alzora, crying: Aria, please stop. Yeet, fascinated: No, continue. ~ Yeet: Hey, Snipe, what are you doing here? Snipe: This is where I come to cry. Yeet: What. Snipe: I said this is where I come to be a cool guy. ~ [loud crashing comes from Team Supernova's room, Tad runs in to find the room completely trashed] Tad: What happened in here!? [The rest of the Team are on an elevated surface]  Aria, on top of the bookshelf, shaking: We saw a spider... ~ Yeet: Isn’t it amazing what friends learn from each other? Aria: I learn a lot from Phin because he makes so many mistakes. ~ Aria: AVJDJAHDHSHS Tad: what is that? Aria: a keyboard smash Tad: how do I do it? Aria: just press anything Tad: 7 ~ Alzora: Bitch. Aria: Blocked. Alzora: Wait, unblock me, I need to tell you something. Aria: Unblocked. Alzora: Bitch. ~ Alzora: Don’t say a word. Aria: Aria: Fergalicious. Alzora: I said no words. Aria: Oh, I see. Two weeks ago playing Scrabble, it’s not a word. Now suddenly it is a word because it’s convenient for you. ~ Aria: Olli? Why are you outside? It's pouring! Olli, drenched: The aesthetic, Miss Aria. Aria: Olli, please. Olli: ThE aEsThEtIc, MiSs ArIa! ~ Niyana: There’s no “i” in happyness. Aria: There is if you fuckin’ spell it right. ~ Niyana: Do you care if I take the skin off the Furby? Niyana: I want to make him a God. Once he is free of his sinful flesh he can begin the path towards enlightenment. He will take care of Us. Niyana: Also I want to softhack his circuits. Yeet: I literally could not care less but never say anything as frightening as that sentence ever again. Tad, not looking up from his sketch book: I could design some long furby designs if you need me to. ~ Stella: I have a mafia! Yeet: We have a Niyana. ~ Yeet: Bro. Snipe: What bro? Yeet: Tell the whole world we’re bros. Snipe: *whispers* We’re bros. Yeet: Why’d you whisper bro? Snipe: Because you’re my whole world bro. Yeet: B R O. ~ Yeet: Your house is burning down! You can only save one thing. What do you save? Aria: My house?? ~ Aria: Yeet, do you ever want to talk about your emotions? Yeet: No. Alzora: I do. Aria: I know, Alzora. Alzora: I’m sad. Aria: I know, Alzora. ~ Stella: *looking around in closet* What should I change into? Snipe: A better person. ~ Whatever characters Yeet writes into fanfiction: *hugging and vibing* Yeet: Who would ever want to harm such a loving relationship? Yeet, brandishing a pen: I WOOOOULD! ~ Yeet: Chillax~ Alzora: That’s not a word. Yeet: Sometimes the ones who deny “chillax” are the ones who need to chillax the most. ~ Aria: 13 year old me would be both terrified and in awe at who I am now. Niyana: 13 year old me wouldn't think I'd get this far. Yeet: I would fight a 13 year old me. ~ Snipe: Yeet came into my room in the middle of the night, I pretended to be asleep, and they stroked my hair for a minute then left. Are they planning to kill me??? Aria: No they just care about you, idiot. ~ Yeet: Well, I guess you could say I’ve fallen for you. Snipe: You just fell down seven flights of stairs, how are you even alive? ~ Yeet: I wish I could block people in real life. Alzora: A restraining order. Niyana: Murder. ~ Alzora: What the frick is wrong with you? Snipe: Please be more specific and resubmit with the proper paperwork. ~ [on a city bus] Stranger: Are you traveling for business or pleasure? Alzora, in full armor: Combat. ~ Aria: Who ate my fries? Yeet? Yeet: I don’t like fries. Aria: Snipe? Snipe: I don’t need food. Aria: Niyana? Niyana: …It was Alzora. Alzora: Yeah it was. Aria: wh ~ Alzora: They are completely literal people. Metaphors go over their heads. Yeet: Nothing goes over my head... my reflexes are too fast! I would catch it. ~ Yeet: Live by the ass, die by the ass. Tad: S t o p ~ Niyana: Is there a word that is a mix between sad and mad? Tad: Malcontented, disgruntled, miserable, desolate. Yeet: Smad. ~ Tad: If someone is trying to rob a civilian, what is the correct course of action? Yeet: T-pose to assert dominance Tad: No. Niyana: Say "Thank you Chaos, for this meal I'm about to have" and then- Tad, interrupting: even worse Yeet, taking notes: Wait, let her finish ~ Aria: Hey Alzora, do you think Snipe feels regret? Because i just saw him choke down one of Tad’s pancakes in half a second. Alzora: Snipe has only one emotion and that’s hubris. ~ Yeet: *peeling a banana* May I take your jacket lol Snipe: Do you think other people can't hear you? ~ Aria: You have to pick your battles, Alzora. Alzora: I’m full of rage and I’m picking all of them. ~ Nesta, T-posing in the hallway: Good morning, parental figure. Tad, not looking up from his coffee: Hello, problem child. ~ Yeet, throwing his head in Snipe’s lap: Tell me I’m pretty. Snipe, lovingly stroking their hair: You’re pretty fucking annoying, that’s what you are. ~ Yeet, hoarsely: I think I'm losing my voice. Niyana: Ha! That means you can't yell at me anymore! [later that day]  Niyana: Turns out, Yeet is scarier when they’re quiet. ~ Snipe: WE'RE SINKING IN DEEP WATER. Yeet: Don't worry. I learned this from a survival TV show. Yeet: OH TOOOOODLES-- ~ Niyana: Who else uses can openers to drink soft drinks? Yeet: This is extremely unhinged I must try it immediately. ~ Snipe: Boil up some mountain dew. It’s gonna be a long night. Aria: You could have said anything else. Yeet: fire burn and cauldron bubble, baja blast to fuel my trouble. ~ Aria: What do you want for dinner? Niyana: How about Sonic? Aria: *whispers* He's so fast how would we catch him-

[buckysbitch107]

Karma’s A Bitch | Chris Evans x Reader

Summary: It wasn’t your fault you stubbed your toe. You were tired and that table was definitely about 2 inches to the left last time you walked past in. You’re obviously in pain, and looking for a little bit of sympathy, but Chris just laughs at you. But as your husband was laughing his ass off, you knew that karma would serve him a taste of his own medicine.

Requested by: @wintersoldierslut

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1.14K

A/N: This is my first request, I have three more to write. I will always be accepting requests! Hope y’all enjoy this one, and if you’re wondering, the interview in this fic is from MTV in 2015.

So maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up that late. You think, pulling the blanket wrapped around your shoulders closer to your body. You walk out of the bedroom, quietly shuffling down the hallway until you reach your living room. Your attention remains on the cereal box on the counter, the coffee table in front of you not being an object of your focus until your big toe collides with it, a jolt of pain shooting up your spine.

“OOOOOWWW!”

“You okay?” Your husband asks, popping his head and upper torso out from behind the bedroom door. Confusion floods his mind until you start hopping around on one foot, both hands wrapped tight around your tow.

“OWOWOWOWOWWWW! Oh, fuckity fuck!” Chris lets out a loud laugh before opening the bedroom door more. Dodger runs out of the room, his eyes set on you, who has now switched to rocking back and forth on the floor. The Jack Russell Terrier comes bounding down the hall, running into you and immediately starting to lick your face. Chris laughs harder as you try to cover your face from the attacks. “Dodger not now! Your mother is in pain!”

“He’s trying to help.” Chris wheezes, bent over with his hands on his knees. “Oh god, my stomach hurts. I should have abs after that.”

“Oh, shush, you already have abs.” He only shrugs before walking over to you, extending a hand out to you. “Need some help?”

“Oh fuck off.” You take his hand and pull yourself up. He helps you over to a chair and sits you down, taking off your sock and looking at your toe.

“It looks fine, babe.”

“IT’S ALREADY SWOLLEN!” You exclaim, pointing at it. Chris rolls his eyes and walks into the kitchen, grabbing two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch before strolling back over to the table and setting them down.

“Eat. I have an interview today, and I know you don’t wanna miss it.” You glare at him before digging your spoon into the cereal.

“Meanie.” You whisper, not expecting him to hear you.

“Whiny-baby.”

~~~

“The good news is, we’ve got-we’ve got food here.” The interviewer starts, making you quiet your conversation with Chris Hemsworth’s wife. “Because the human dorito is in the house, but we’ve also got-” Josh reaches next to his chair and pulls out a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, this bag adorned with a Captain America Figure by the logo.

“The real doritos!” Hemsworth exclaims, instantly stopping when he sees Captain America. “Just to point out, there is a Thor Doritos, but they all sold out.” That comment makes everyone in the studio burst into laughter.

“I’m really happy that they chose Cool Ranch though. Of all the flavors, Cool Ranch is like- I couldn’t have chosen a better flavor.” Your husband adds.

“Have you ever tasted yourself?” Josh asks, not realizing how his question sounds until it’s already too late. Chris H lets out a quick laugh before actually realizing what the interviewer said.

“Wot-” Chris E cuts him off with a ‘shhh’, obviously meant to be a curse but stopping himself. “What did he say? You are delicious, by the way.” Chris comments, causing you to cover your mouth with your arm in order to stifle your giggles.

“Oh, wicked good!” Your husband exclaims, taking another chip, his Boston accent coming out just a smidge.

“That’s exactly what I thought you’d taste like!” You choke on your drink and try to quiet your neverending laughter.

“More, I need more.” Josh comments, also dying of laughter.

“Can we use any of this?” Evans questions, still holding the bag of chips in his hands.

“Wait, Y/N!” Hemsworth yells, his mouth half full. You sigh, honestly a little scared about the next words to come out of his mouth. “You’ve tasted Chris, what does he taste like?!” At this comment, you spit out your drink, a little bit coming out of your nose. You start coughing wildly, trying not to choke on the liquid in your airways.

“Hemsworth! Don’t kill my wife!”

“Sorry!”

~~~

“Y’know, Y/N. Your toe looks a little swollen, you should get that checked out.” Elsa comments, glancing at your big toe peeking through the sandals you’re wearing. You nearly fall out of your seat as you jump up, grabbing her hand before rushing over to your husband, who is still seated in the interview chair. You turn to her with wide eyes and both of them have a confused look on their faces.

“Please repeat what you just said.” You ask, now turning to glare at your husband.

“I just said your toe looks swollen and you should get it checked out.” She shrugs, not seeing the look on Chris’ face.

“I TOLD YOU!” You exclaim, nodding your head in triumph before walking back to the little ‘wives’ area’ and sitting down again, waiting for the rest of the interview to be over.

~~~

“God, that interview was hilarious.” You cackle, opening the door to your house. Chris agrees and steps inside, Dodger greeting you two at the door. You close the door behind you and start taking off your shoes, your focus no longer on Chris. Apparently his focus was also somewhere because as he’s walking to your bedroom, you hear a muffled yell.

“Oh, shitballs.”

“You okay?” You ask, walking over to where the yell occurred from, instantly breaking out into a fit of laughter as you see your husband holding his toe. “PAYBACK BITCH!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But seriously, I think I broke my toe.”

“Well, I’m not helping you.” You speak, breaking out into another fit of giggles.

“What? Why?” He asks, a slightly hurt look on his face.

“Cause karma’s a bitch, and so am I.”

~~~

The two of you lay in bed, Chris’s arm wrapped lazily around your shoulder. You turn slightly, moving your head to rest in the crook of his neck, the familiar scent of pine, honey, and a little bit of whiskey surrounding you. Chris tries to turn as well to make it more comfortable for you, but in doing so, he kicks his foot into yours, making both of your stubbed toes collide.

“OW!” You both exclaim, pushing away from each other.

“Okay, that was completely your fault.” You whine, holding your toe under the covers.

“No, it was not.”

“Yeah huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah hu-” You’re cut off by a hand slapping over your mouth, your eyes flicking up to glare at your husband.

“How about it was an equal fault between both of us, and we shush so we can both go to bed?”

“Fine.” You whisper, cuddling back into his side. Dodger jumps on the bed, lying at your feet as the three of you fall asleep to the sounds of soft heartbeats and chirping crickets.

Permanent Tags: @wintersoldierslut​ @breakmy-bedbarnes @stuckys-hot-dogs​ @andreasworlsboring101 @yaxamarvel

Just a reminder that all requests are open! My masterlist is in my bio, so you guys know who I specialize in, but really I do anyone y’all request. As I’ve mentioned, nothing is too fluffy, angsty, smutty, or gorey for me. I mainly write Marvel and its characters/actors. I can also write some characters from other things, you just have to ask! Also please let me know if you want to be a part of the Permanent Tags! But please, for now,

Call me Emily

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “I’ve gotta be me”. Uma looks around nervously)

Uma: I really hope nobody in there heard that

Ben: nah, don’t worry, I shielded and soundproofed is from them

Uma: surprisingly thoughtful, uhhhh, aheh, at this point I usually call you derogatorily by your last name

Ben: Le Roi. Well legally it’s Bach. But officially it’s Le Roi

Uma: Benjamin. Florian. Le Roi. Do you have any idea how fucking ridiculous that sounds?

Ben: and your last name would be

Uma: Facillier. She doesn’t have a last name

Ben: ah.

Uma: oh. Oh my.

Ben: what’s up? Oh. Yeah he does that.

Uma: s’clever.

Ben: that’s Doug for you

Uma: why am I interested by that

Ben: we’re eighteen. And therefore weak to his power.

(They’re watching Doug eat a bowl of peanuts with just his tongue. Ben snaps out of the stupor first)

Ben: moving swiftly onwards. Hit me

Uma: heh?

Ben: hit me, sock me one, deck me, gimme a knuckle sandwich. Any variations the phrase retains the same meaning. Punch me in the face.

Uma: why?

Ben: I’ve got a theory I wanna test out.

Uma: but aren’t you...

Ben: ...more powerful then you? Yes. So make sure to give it you’re all then. C’mon, cahmon. C’mon, cahmon. HitmehitmehitmehitmehitmeWOOOO

(Uma slogs him around the face do hard he flips horizontally in midair and lands flat on his back right next to where the gazebo was. A full three feet away)

Uma: Z’that what you wanted?

Ben (utterly jubilant): as a matter of fact. Yes

Uma: so now what? Gonna Tell the missus?

Ben: nope. I’m gonna offer you a job.

Uma: ahahah that’s funny. I thought you said you were offering me a job?

Ben: I figure. If you put that much effort punching me. You’ll put the same effort into protecting me.

Uma: n-no, no, you’re not supposed to do that. You’re supposed to hate me. I had you kidnapped. I almost had you thrown to sharks. I hypnotised you. I almost capsized your stinking yacht. And you wanna give me the job of protecting you? Who the fuck does that?!?! For all you know I could do that again?

Ben: now why would you do that when our interests align? Besides the fact that I forgive you. I want to get kids off the island. You want to get kids off the island. What better way to do that then by working together? And yeah. You could probably do that again. But I’m willing to take that chance.

Uma (as Ben’s saying all this, and devolving into tears): no, no, shut up I your forgiveness that’s not how it’s supposed to go you’re supposed to hate just like I hate her will you SHUT UP

Ben: ooh. (Through a Cheshire Cat grin) Finally

(She’s skewered Ben in the stomach with her sword. He smiles, bends the blade in half, pulls it out of him and throws it upwards. He leaps up ten foot in the air and gives it a flying kick, shattering it into a chunky powder. He lands next to Uma, conjures an umbrella, pulls her close and lifts the umbrella over them just as the powder lands on their heads. In response she blasts him away with magic. What follows is a very violent, very acrobatic duel that trashes the garden, obliterates what’s left of the gazebo and Harry, gives Uma a broken arm, Ben a broken nose and leaves both of them missing a foot each. As a form of foreshadowing, throughout the entire fight the instrumental for “superhero” plays)

Uma: god I hope you’re happy

Ben: I am actually. Cause now I know I’m right

Uma: what?

Ben: we are both almost perfectly evenly matched. My twelve months of sheer power with your eighteen years of practice and look what we managed to do?

Uma: give your future sister in law a coronary?

Ben: fight to a stalemate. Please? For six months. You’ll get paid to yell at people and beat them up if necessary

Uma:...no

(This is when “superhero” happens. After the song Ben starts fixing the garden)

Uma: ok then. Let’s say I did take the job? Wouldn’t one of your own be more trustworthy?

Ben: Jane’s still in school. Lonnie’s going off to college with Gil next year and she was only filling in for the summer anyway. And Doug’s my major-domo. So can’t choose them even if I wanted to.

Uma: and the other three?

Ben: conflict of interest. Carlos is legally my son and he’s also still in school. Mals my fiancé and Evie’s her sister. So again. No go.

Uma: couldn’t you...

Ben: duplicate myself and have him as my bodyguard? I could. But then I’d be breaking my promise to my mother

Uma: huh?

Ben: she was ok with me having magic so long as I legitimately practiced it, didn’t use it for schoolwork, didn’t use it for paperwork, didn’t use it for personal gain, and it didn’t give my subjects cause to worry. For a year at least

Uma: personal gains the best part of magic though

Ben: last time a king used the power he’d been afforded for personal gain...well. You grew up in the result so telling you wouldn’t achieve anything

Uma: oh. But...

Ben: I could use my magic to quicken the relocation? Like I said. Paperwork, personal gain, worrying the subjects. It’s definitely something that needs to happen. But I’m not taking shortcuts because it needs to be done properly and through the correct channels.

Uma: well that’s bullshit. Wait. What was all that fighting singy thing for then?

Ben: loophole

Uma (snickering): oh beasty boy you are perfect

Ben: why thank you kindly captain

Uma (flatly): Don’t push it

Ben: ok, ok

Uma: I’m serious though. The best part about magic is that you can do anything you want

(This is when “everything is not what it seems” happens. After the song they go back into the house to find it in chaos. Doug has Cj in a full Nelson with her head near the lit stove. Elsa’s downing an entire bottle of sambuca. Evie’s preventing Harriet and Hades from trying to patch up Harry. Mal has stuck Hadie to the sofa so he can’t help Harry. Jane’s drunkenly yelling about how much she loves her friends. Carlos is on Jay’s back, Celia and Dizzy are hanging off Jay’s arms and all four are chanting “kill her” at Doug. Lonnie’s eating a sloppy joe omelette and watching the events unfold intently. Gil is swirling round a smoothie. He notices them first)

Gil: oh you’re back. Finally. D’you wanna...?

Ben: yeah. Um...ooh. Yes that’s it. Uma. Take half of this sceptre and follow my lead

(He snaps his own, collapsible sceptre in half, hands one of those halves to Uma, jumps onto the kitchen island, helps Uma up and together they spin each half until they make a high pitched screeching sound that makes the chaos stop)

Ben: could all my friends please come over to my side

Uma: alright you useless fuckers, SIDDOWN!!!!

Ben: now, what happened

Uma: yeah ceej, what did you do?

Cj: why do you assume I did anything when it was clearly this heterosexual imbecile

Uma: cause I know you kid, since you were five in fact, so I know it was probably your doing

Ben: what happened Doug?

Doug: she insulted Evie and I in our own house, belittled our relationship and tried to stab me in the head with a rotisserie blade. And I f that wasn’t bad enough

Evie: she called me a traitor and slapped me around the face

Doug: and that is how the situation you walked in on transpired.

Cj: bald faced lies

Uma: eh I believe it. What about you beasty boy?

Ben: sounds airtight

Cj: I cannot and refuse to believe that

Uma: that I believe him over you? Well get used to kiddo. Ya just like Harry, no matter how much ya try to deny it

Ben: one question tbough. How are you a traitor

Mal: oooh yeah, you dunno do you? It’s ugly. Just like every Hook in existence

Evie: if everyone must know. When I was fourteen she flirted with me. And I turned her down

Cj: her mother braINWASHED HER

Everyone except for her siblings: shut up!

Evie: I turned her down. Because. A. I’m straight. And. B. Even if I wasn’t, I have higher standards then filthy pirates

Ben: were you rude?

Evie: pardon?

Ben: were you rude? Sometimes you can be a little bit rude.

Evie: if I remember correctly my exact words were “I’m very sorry but my gang sent me on a mission so I must go”

Ben: that was very polite

Evie: thank you. Plus. I even withheld the information from Grimhilde cause I know she wouldn’t take it well.

Cj: What has that got to do with anything?

Evie: Quinn Harts

(The room seems to grow colder as hades and the Vks, including the hooks, all look at each other uneasily)

Cj: oh. So it’s not because you’re

Evie: homophobic? God no. It was incompatible orientation pure and simple.

Cj (chuckling nervously now because the eggs on her face): but you see I thought

Doug: all straight people are jackasses? Quite a few are. But Evie and I aren’t. If we’re being wholly honest. Your sexuality is literally the only thing I respect about you. If you weren’t a pirate I might’ve even introduced you to my cousin Sadie. But you’re an asshole. So I won’t

Ben: good to hear that’s all cleared up

Evie: we are as well. Now. You three. Get the fuck out of my house. You stray bitches have been here too long. I’m sure there’s a nice posture ruining rock outside for you to sleep on

Harriet: we’re family

Hadie: actually. No. You and straw girl aren’t our family. Harry is. But not you.

Evie: nah. He can piss off too. I’m still waiting for a dna test. Until then. He can rot from the inside for all I care.

Mal: even when the test is confirmed he can still rot. (Uma scowls at her) What? It’ll be funny

Elsa: Jay. C’mere. Would it be completely out of the question for you to replicate your previous spell.

Jay: uhhhh....No. But I’d need a living conduit. Like a performer.

Hadie: I’ll do it. The party’s dying and that won’t do. What? I’m a disciple of Dionysus. Partying is literally my job description.

Elsa: as well as loose morals.

Hadie: harsh much?

Jay: she means you sleeping around with any dude that looks at you nicely. Ready

Hadie: fire away

Jay: To get rid of these ants in their pants/I command thee all to get up and dance. Again

(This is when “shut up and raise your glass” happens. After the song everyone but Hadie, Jayand Elsa looks very disgruntled)

Mal: seriously? Again? That’s like twice in one hour

Jay: had to be done. And it’s of my professional opinion that every time you guys get uppity I’m gonna help instigate an impromptu rave

Ben: well it worked. And it was funny. So two birds one stone. Now. I believe Doug and Evie asked you three to leave

Harriet: ya cannae do that man. Ya don’t have the authority

Doug: ok then. Get out of our house. NOW!

Harry: no I. I don’t think we will.

Celia: get out. Or I’ll throw you out.

Cj: you and what army?

Celia: this one

(Here is glow fuchsia and the wall is washed down in shadows)

Harriet: d’ya really think I’m scared of a little girl like you?

Ben: to hell with this. May I?

Doug: please

Ben: thank you. (He jumps off the kitchen island, lifts Harriet off the ground by her coat collar with one hand, morphs his face into that of a beast and screams in her face) GET OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!

(There’s a moment of deathly quiet. Harriet whimpers. There’s a sound like a leaky faucet. And Ben morphs back to his human face which now bears a look of disgust)

Ben: did you just...?

Harriet: it’s been a really stressful day with no let up

Ben: uh-huh. (He drops Harriet on the floor and turns to his brother) Gil, buddy, uh

Gil (stony faced): burn the shoes then burn them again then throw them out.

Ben: on it

(He poofs out. Celia turn to Doug and Evie)

Celia: my turn?

Evie: yup. But don’t break the glass

Celia: perfect (she grabs Harriet by the back of her coat) out ya go rummy. (She throws her towards the window making her dissipate into shadow before contact). I’ve wanted to do this for years (she slaps Harry around the face, he too turns into shadow) buh bye you fatuous egotist (she pulls Cj’s hair and the final pirate disappears into smoke) that felt good

Uma: where did you put them?

Celia: eh don’t worry. I put them in the nautilus. Now. Shall we crack on with the party?

Everyone but Uma: HEAR HEAR

(Mal inches over to Jane and Lonnie)

Mal: what do you say we get some air for a while

(They nod and two minutes later they’re all on the bench laughing their asses off about certain unsavoury topics)

Lonnie (crying due to laughter but still trying to speak): all I’m saying is going to my grans seventieth in my ROAR uniform is nothing compared to you and Ben and his you know what

Mal (in the same state as Lonnie): its still pretty damn funny though

Jane: my mother should be here

(The other two stop laughing)

Mal: I know hon

Jane: but if she were here she’d complain. “Leave room for Jesus”. “Time for the lobster quadrille”. “I know you can now but you shouldn’t drink when you have guests”. The only ones I wanted to invite are here. Plus the four stooges. And she didn’t even show up to the party she made me have!

Lonnie: oooh please can I call the squid a stooge M? Pretty please with merlot on top?

Mal: you shouldn’t really be calling her a squid or a stooge. But if you do. Ok not responsible for what happens to ya.

Lonnie: fine.

Mal: now Janey. What say you we try and get all these annoyances out huh?

Jane: errrr...I’m game if you are.

Mal: perfect. (She gets up, goes to the midpoint between the bench and the gazebo and magically constructs a model version of Verna) now. What do you wanna say to her?

Jane: I ha...I can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry.

Mal: it’s ok bud.

Lonnie: could uh could music help? Possibly?

Jane: it might. I dunno.

Mal: shall we try it?

Jane: yes. And uh. You can vent too, I mean, if you want.

Lonnie and Mal: well alright then

(Mal clicks her fingers, a copy of Maleficent and Fa Li appear and music starts up. This is when “you don’t own me happens”. After the song they look and feel better. That’s when they hear Evie scream a profanity and a slap rings out from the kitchen)

Mal (heaving a heavy sigh): and once again. Chaos reigns supreme.

Lonnie: I’ll stay with Jane. You go.

Mal: I’ll send Hadie out to keep you company

(She goes back inside just in time for Evie to stalk past her. Hades is on the floor with a slightly shocked expression, a handprint on his face and he’s apologising profusely to Doug)

Mal: you got it down here? (Doug nods). Good. I’ll go kick her head into gear.

(She heads upstairs. Doug turns to back to Hades)

Hades: I’m so sorry my boy, I was just trying to help, if I caused——

Doug: yeah, no, my opinion of you doesn’t matter. Only Evie’s does. I want to ask you a question.

Ben: uh. Doug. Can I eat what’s left in the freezer? Only I can smell somethings about to go out of date

Doug: yeah sure. There only meat products in it. Go crazy. But please please mute the chewing.

Ben (brightly): thank you!

Hades: what is it you want to know

Doug: Maleficent

(Up in the guest room. Evie enters in a huff and slams the door to show Mal hiding behind it)

Mal (sardonically imitating a British accent): hello Harold (Evie screams in surprise) we need to talk

Evie (fed up): what? What now? What could we possibly have to talk about?

Mal: what I thought you got over earlier toady

Evie (cackles hollowly): THAT? That! Was a fluke. And then he tried to “help” me by getting in my way

Mal: has it maybe occurred to you that he actually WAS trying to help?

Evie: if he really wanted to help then he wouldn’t have abandoned me with Grimhilde sixteen years ago

Mal: oh Christ. You know why he did that

Evie: I know why he did it but it still hurt though. He could’ve taken me with him. He could’ve taken us with him

Mal: they wouldve hunted us down and made him watch as they killed us. Or worse

Evie: that doesn’t make me feel any better

Mal (in what she hopes is a comforting voice): look on the bright side. You got me as a sister. That’s gotta count for something, right?

Evie: no, not really.

Mal: urrrrgh. Would me making a fool of myself help you feel less of a loser?

Evie:...mayhaps

Mal: fine. Remember back before graduation we got paired up for the senior class showcase because verna wouldn’t let you and Doug dirty dance?

Evie: yeah

Mal: Bea Arthur or Bette Midler?

Evie (chuckling slightly): surprise me

(Mal clicks her fingers, they’re transported to a music hall stage with an invisible audience and the song starts up. This is when “sisters” happens. After the song Evie looks briefly empowered. Then deflates and flops onto the bed face first. Mal chuckles at this)

Mal: uh. Sis. Your remember that apart from being the guest room, this is Lonnie and Gil’s room as well, right?

Evie (in a muffled tone of voice): what’s your point?

Mal: well besides both being very sweet they’re also a pair of incorrigible gym rats who always forget to clean up the bed before they leave for home. So it wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility that there’s still a certain amount of used up gym wear under the covers you’re currently laying on...

(Evie’s eyes snap open cartoonishly, she screams, jumps up from the bed, makes claw hands at Mal in an attempt to throttle her, flails at the window, then looks down at her clothes and screams again. Throughout all this Mal is calmly amused, silently watching her sister crisis. When she’s had enough she grabs Evie by the arm and hurls her into the en-suite. Evie re-emerges two seconds later in new clothes and a cloudy expression)

Mal: lemme guess. Doug make that sweater?.

Evie: of course. I can sew. Doug can knit.

Mal: mmkay. Now are you going to get over yourself and let go of this ridiculous grudge you have against our father?

Evie: you just don’t get it do you?

Mal: probably not so enlighten me

Evie: this isn’t something I’m gonna get over in a day. This isn’t mamma Mia. I found out who my father was in the middle of a crappy day with even more crappy events piled on it. The man I love was put in a coma. My daughter was missing for most of the day. Ive had to fight for my life at least twice. I’ve had no time to process any of this. And you’re expecting me to get over this massive family reveal instantaneously? No. Something like this will take a lot longer then a day to get over. He abandoned me. I understand why he did it. But it still hurts. And as much as you say that you’re not like me. You have to understand that I’m not like you either. I’m angry. I’m angry he could’ve been there for me and wasn’t. And that anger’s not gonna go away any time soon. Either accept that or get out of my face

Mal: ahhhh. Ok. Now I understand. Katara

Evie: what?

Mal: you’re acting like katara. She was mad that her dad went off to war because she was a kid who needed him but felt like she couldn’t be because the reason for him leaving was noble. Dad let us go to save our lives. So you feel pissed that he left us. But you also feel like you can’t be cause of the REASON he left. It’s ahh, it’s a dilemma for sure

Evie: that’s not a dilemma. A dilemma is deciding between chicken and fish at your wedding. This is an impasse

Mal: mhmm, mhmm, uh huh. You know what would help.

Evie: what?

Mal: talking to him. And I mean not just calling him a rat bastard abandoner. Actually talk to him.

Evie: it’s not that easy M. Not when you were raised by Grimhilde. Not when every time you try to talk something out your met with scorn.

Mal: ohhhh. So that’s where “when in doubt, don’t” came from.

Evie: yup.

Mal: you were the good child. The golden daughter. You never misbehaved and you never spoke up for yourself. And now it come back to use your posterior as an entree.

Evie: yup. So you understand why it’s difficult for me. I can’t. I just can’t. Not after how my upbringing went.

(This is when “here I am” happens. After the song Evie confronts Hades in the kitchen just as he’s finishing his talk with Doug)

Hade:...I’m sorry my boy that’s all I know. Hello dear

Evie: I’m mad at you. I’m always gonna be mad at you. But. I don’t hate you. If I’m being honest, to protect Dizzy, I would’ve done the same. But it’s going to take time for me to...accept you.

Hades: I understand

Hadie: per...perhaps it would help if she saw it. The uh...incident in question, pops, maybe she’d understand a bit more if she saw what happened?

Evie: what, what incident

Mal (who’s been listening in): when he made the decision to stop contacting us.

Hades: I’m going to need a wand. And...A hat.

(Mal takes the sceptre, shrinks it down so it resembles a wand, ignores Uma’s incensed expression and hands it to her father while Hadie hands him his top hat. Hades sticks the wand handle in his right ear up to the emitter, to the teenagers collective disgust, roots around for a minute, then pulls out what looks like ash grey smoke tinged with midnight blue and pours it all into the top hat)

Hades: there you go. Just put the hat on the floor and spin

Doug (taking the hat): thanks. I think.

Mal: that looks worse then the hair ball Dude coughed up at his birthday party last month

Doug: how can...

Mal: don’t ask

Doug: ready

Evie: I guess

(In devies room. They’re sitting in the footlocker at the bottom of they’re bed)

Doug: now remember. No ones pressuring you into anything. You can stop any time

Evie: you’re very sweet. But I need to do this.

Doug: well ok then

(He sets the hat on the floor and spins. It goes faster and faster until it’s a blur. Light fills the room and replaces it with an alleyway on the island. They see Hades in his John Barrowman guise arguing with Grimhilde. He obviously loses since he gets a horrified expression on his face and leaves as Grimhilde smirks. There’s no sign of Evie. In Hades’s lair)

Anastasia: it couldn’t have been that bad

Hades (now Sebastian Stan): they both said the same thing. Iris and Hestia will be imperilled if I remain in contact. I have no choice. Please Antoine. For me

Facilier (wearily): only if you’re sure

Hades: yes. It doesn’t matter about me. Do it. Now.

(In the foyer)

Doug: are you ok?

Evie: no. But I want to keep watching

Doug: as you wish

(Anastasia pours Hades a drink and Facillier gets started. This is when “losing your memory” happens)

[kricketwritesstories]

Trick or Treat (PT 1)

Fandom: Shazam!

Pairing: Freddy Freeman/Fem!Reader

Summary: You were the Ice Queen of the school and you’re assigned to tutor Pedro Peña. Are you really what people have been saying you are? And what is going on between you and Freddy?

OR

A little bit of coming out of your comfort zone plus a little bit of Halloween make good things happen!

Pedro Peña stood at the math teacher, Mrs. Lund’s desk. He knew it couldn’t be good; he’d failed every single quiz and test so far this year. Truth be told, he wasn’t doing well in any of his classes. He wasn’t stupid by any means, nothing seemed to click for some reason.

He looked to the ground hoping against hope this wasn’t the talk he’d been dreading: getting held back.

“Mr. Peña,” Mrs. Lund started once the last student left, “you’re a good kid, never cause any trouble...but your grades...”

She sighed loudly and Pedro internally braced himself for his worst fear.

“So I’ve found someone willing to tutor you for free,” she continued, “if you want to have any hope of passing on to the next grade, you’ll take advantage of her graceful offer. She’s proficient in every subject.”

Pedro looked up to see Mrs. Lund give him a knowing look. He released the breath he had been holding. Tutoring. He could handle that.

“Y/N L/N will meet you here during lunchtime today and you’ll come up with your tutoring schedule from there,” Mrs. Lund said as she nodded for him to go on and leave.

***

“Where’s Pedro going,” Darla asked curiously, “we have lunch.”

“I don’t know,” Mary answered, equally curious, “I’m sure he’ll tell us later.”

Pedro slunk into the math room and sat in his usual seat. He wasn’t the type to get nervous, but knowing it was you of all people tutoring him - he was nervous.

You had a reputation of sorts. If anyone bothered to talk to you or about you, you were referred to as “Ice Queen” or “Elsa.” You didn’t have any friends and you were known to have THE resting bitch face.

“Hello, Pedro,” you said interrupting Pedro’s thoughts, “I’m Y/N and I’ll be your tutor.”

Pedro looked up and for once his normally passive demeanor was shook. You were smiling and your eyes seemed very kind. You didn’t seem to judge him at all.

“So Mrs. Lund told me that you’re struggling in just about every area,” you said as you sat down in the seat next to him, “I just want you to know that if you work hard, together we can find out what studying and learning techniques work best for you and you’ll be on top of all your subjects in no time. What do you say? Are you up to the challenge?”

Pedro looked up and nodded. For the first time all school year he didn’t feel hopeless.

***

“I need the living room,” Pedro said as he and his siblings walked home from school.

“Why you got a girl coming over,” Eugene laughed.

“Yes.”

Everyone stopped walking and stared at him opened mouthed.

“It’s not like that,” he said casually, “Y/N is my tutor.”

“Y/N,” Freddy repeated, “as in Y/N L/N?”

“The Ice Queen,” Eugene said in awe.

“That’s not nice,” Mary pointed out.

“I’ve never seen you go out of your way to talk to her,” Billy countered.

Mary shifted uncomfortably, “I’m sure she’s a nice person.”

“That didn’t sound very convincing,” Darla said honestly.

“We’ll make sure to clear out the living room,” Mary promised as she ignored Darla’s comment.

***

“Creeper much,” Billy said as he came up behind Freddy who was currently camped out near the front door.

“What? No! Can’t a guy just chill by his front door without getting accused of being a creep,” Freddy prattled off.

“Sounds like someone’s got a crush,” Darla said as she walked past them.

“I do not,” Freddy called out, “I’m just -“

“Waiting for Elsa,” Billy finished for him.

“Don’t call her that,” Freddy said darkly.

“Woah easy there,” Billy said putting his hands up, “didn’t know you were that serious.”

“I don’t have a crush I mean she is beautiful,” Freddy stammered, “she’s just like a mystery, ya know? Like a superhero.”

“A superhero,” Billy repeated in disbelief.

“Yea like you can never tell what’s going on in her head,” Freddy said as his eyes darted out the window, “no one knows what she’s really like.”

“And you want to find out,” Billy teased.

“I can’t help it that I’m a naturally curious,” Freddy defended as he turned back to face Billy.

Billy was about to make another remark when there was a knock at the door.

“Crap, how’s my hair,” Freddy asked without thinking.

He cringed as soon as the question left his lips. Billy wouldn’t forget that.

Billy suppressed a laugh and ruffled his hair, “Perfectly...dorky. Now answer the door lover boy.”

Freddy took a breath and opened the door. He stopped breathing when you smiled brightly at him and said, “Hi Freddy! Is Pedro home?”

“Y-you know my name,” Freddy responded automatically.

“Of course I do,” you said surprised, “we’ve been in the same class since what....6th grade?”

Freddy nodded and stood rooted to the spot just staring at you. You shifted awkwardly under his gaze, unsure of what else to say.

“In here,” Pedro said popping his head out of the living room.

“Coming,” you called as you moved past Freddy.

***

“Okay you’re earning the creeper name now,” Billy whispered.

Freddy was sitting on the stairs where he had a perfect view of you and Pedro studying.

“She doesn’t seem cold at all,” Freddy said confused, “and she knew my name. I’ve never talked to her before.”

“Wow, what a dick you are,” Billy said honestly as he turned and went to their shared bedroom.

“What the hell,” Freddy whisper yelled as he got up and followed Billy.

“You of all people know what it’s like to be judged. Yea, you didn’t like me calling her Elsa but you’ve never talked to her,” Billy questioned.

“She’s out of my league,” Freddy said lamely as he began playing with his superhero memorabilia.

“You ever think she may want friends but no ones given her a chance,” Billy pointed out.

“You’re awful defensive, maybe you’re the one with the crush,” Freddy said with a hint of jealousy.

“I just think it’s bullshit that you want to ‘figure her out’ but you haven’t even tried talking to her before now,” Billy explained, “sounds hypocritical to me.”

“Well he’ll have his chance,” Mary said as she stood in the doorway, “mom and dad asked her to stay for dinner she’s seeing if it’s okay now.”

Freddy bolted down the stairs as fast as his crutch would let him. He would prove Billy wrong. He’s not a hypocrite.

He stopped short when he saw you standing by the front door on your phone. You looked...soft. That was the word that made sense to him.

“Are you sure it’s okay mom-mom,” he heard you ask, “I know, I know....it’s just tutoring mom-mom...no friends. You’re still my best friend. I love you...I love you more. Bye.”

You turned around to find yourself face to face with Freddy.

“Hello there,” you said smiling.

“How come you don’t do that all the time,” Freddy asked without thinking.

“Do what?”

Freddy froze, he was stuck now. He gulped and said, “Smile.”

Your smile faded and your usual stoic look replaced it. Freddy wanted the floor to swallow him up. He felt like a jackass.

“You mean why am I this Ice Queen,” you deadpanned.

“I didn’t - I mean - I - uh -“

You burst out laughing and he jumped and then sighed. You had the greatest laugh.

“Relax. School is strictly get in, get out. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in Mr. Drake’s chemistry class but it doesn’t really inspire smiles,” you joked.

“Where do you eat lunch,” he asked again without thinking.

“Library, I get more studying done there,” you explained.

“All alone?”

You nodded and this time he noted you looked a little sad about it.

“Are you able to stay for dinner,” Rosa said interrupting your awkward moment.

“Yes, my mom-mom said it was okay,” you said smiling.

***

Dinner was awkward for all of five seconds for you. Darla asked a million questions and you asked some back. Pretty soon everyone joined in and you felt your chest tighten with emotion. It had been... well...never since you felt this comfortable with this many people.

“Freddy, it’s your turn to do the dishes,” Victor reminded him.

“Please let me help,” you offered quickly.

“Oh no, you don’t have to,” Rosa insisted.

“It’s the least I can do, this was a wonderful meal,” you insisted back before turning to Freddy and saying, “I wash, you dry?”

“S-sure,” he stuttered as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

At first the two of you washed dishes in silence. You kept side eyeing him nervously. You had always thought Freddy was adorable and well you loved his shirts. What no one knew about the ice queen was that you were a huge nerd. Movies, music, books, and most definitely superheroes. You had a lot of free time on your hands and with no one to spend it with, you loved to lose yourself in any escape you could get your hands on.

“BythewayIreallyloveyourNightwingshirt,” you said quickly.

“What was that,” Freddy said confused.

You tucked some hair behind your ear nervously and whispered, “I really love your Nightwing shirt.”

You jumped as you heard the distinct sound of breaking glass.

“What was that,” Victor yelled.

“I dropped a cup,” Freddy said blankly.

You turned around, an unreadable expression on your face. You thought for sure he was going to make fun of you. Superheroes aren’t something dateable girls are into...not that you were trying to date Freddy...of course not.

“You know Nightwing,” he asked still with a monotone voice.

You cringed, “He’s not my favorite, but yea.”

“Favorite,” he repeated.

“Forget it,” you said as you turned back to the sink tears springing to your eyes.

This is why you don’t try. You’re a freak. No one likes you. Why would they?

“Superman is my favorite,” Freddy said coming up next to you, “please tell me yours.”

“Wonder Woman,” you said softly, concentrating on the dishes.

“You know it’s rumored that Superman and Wonder Woman had a thing at one point,” Freddy said casually.

“Psh,” you scoffed, “her and Batman all the way.”

“Bats? Really,” Freddy exclaimed.

“If you watch Superhero Theory’s channel -“

“You watch Superhero Theory,” he asked shocked.

“Every night before bed, it’s like a ritual,” you said caught up in the excitement.

“Shit...I’m in love,” Freddy thought.

***

“Now where’s Freddy going,” Darla asked the next day as she walked to the lunchroom.

“I don’t know,” Mary said honestly.

“We changed our lunchtime just for him,” Darla pointed out.

“I’m sure he’s got a good reason,” Mary sighed.

[cupidmarwani-archive]

The Med Groupchat

Summary: The title speaks for itself.

WC: 1.5k

[crickett has renamed the chat “SEXY BITCHES”]

crickett: my city now

[Maggie<3 has renamed the chat “Gaffney ED”]

Maggie<3: Absolutely not

J. Lanik: Dr. Marcel, I can just kick you out of the chat if you cannot take this seriously.

crickett: rude

[J. Lanik has changed “crickett”’s username to “Crockett Marcel”]

[Crockett Marcel has changed “Crockett Marcel”’s username to “crickett”]

[crickett has added “HUBBY” to the chat]

HUBBY: Hi this is Ethan Crockett made my username and I don’t know how to change it

J. Lanik: I can change it in the chat for you I have admin privileges

crickett: no fun

HUBBY: Please change my username

[J. Lanik has changed “HUBBY”’s username to “Ethan Choi”]

crickett: how come u have all the power

J. Lanik: Because I’m an adult.

FreeWilly: who acts like a five year old lmao

J. Lanik: YOU KNEW I WAS SAVING THAT SORBET FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AS A TREAT FOR MYSELF

crickett: no need to yell

[crickett has sent an image to the chat]

FreeWilly: WHAT THE FUCK CROCKETT

J. Lanik: HOLY SHIT

[Maggie<3 has left the chat]

[crickett has deleted a message from the chat]

crickett: sorry babes i meant to send that to @EthanChoi

Ethan Choi: I’m breaking up with you

[J. Lanik has added “Maggie<3” to the chat]

Ethan Choi: You’re safe now, Maggie

Lesbian’s Wife: hey google how do i bleach my brain

Lesbian: Seconded

Maggie<3: Remind me which one of you is which

Lesbian: I’m Ava

FreeWilly: I remember cos Sarah never shuts up about being Ava’s wife

Lesbian’s Wife: I’m Ava’s wife <3

[J. Lanik has changed “Lesbian”’s username to “Bekker”]

[J. Lanik has changed “Lesbian’s Wife”’s username to “Other Bekker”]

crickett: not that i dont love and support dr bekker but this is the ed chat 

crickett: since u wont let me name it the sexy bitches chat

J. Lanik: She’s married to Sarah and cardiology is always down here.

J. Lanik: WAIT

[J. Lanik has added “connor” to the chat]

[J. Lanik has added “MommyPower” to the chat]

Maggie<3: I love you, Nat, but please change your username

crickett: give me admin power

[MommyPower has changed “MommyPower”’s username to “Nat”]

Nat: I’m in a mom chat leave me alone

Maggie<3: How’s Owen btw

crickett: @J.Lanik give me admin give me admin

Ethan Choi: do not give him admin I’m begging you

[J. Lanik has promoted “Ethan Choi” to administrator]

[Ethan Choi has changed “J. Lanik”’s username to “BooBoo the Fool”]

Nat: Owen is great thanks for asking! He just started soccer.

[Ethan Choi has removed “BooBoo the Fool” from the chat]

Ethan Choi: YOU FOOL

Ethan Choi: I HAVE ACCESS TO ETHAN’S PHONE

Ethan Choi: AND HE IS EASILY DISTRACTIBLE!

crickett: He locked himself in the bathroom with my phone. But now I have his

Ethan Choi: WAIT NO I HAVE PRIVATE STUFF THERE

Maggie<3: More private than your dick pics?

Connor: his WHAT

[Ethan Choi has added “BooBoo the Fool” to the chat.]

[BooBoo the Fool has changed “BooBoo the Fool”’s username to “Lanik”]

[Lanik has demoted “Ethan Choi” from administrator]

Lanik: This close to removing you from the chat, Marcel.

crickett: u love me too much

Bekker: Crockett sent us all his dick earlier @connor

crickett: NOT ON PURPOSE

connor: ...is it a good dick

crickett: i mean yeah? i hope so 

Ethan Choi: I’d like to stop talking about my husband’s dick please

Ethan Choi: (but for the record @connor it is a good dick)

Other Bekker: can we not talk abt his dick

Other Bekker: not unless i can talk about the strap but lanik said thats not allowed

Bekker: So he can send nudes but Sarah can’t talk about our new strap?

[Lanik has added “Dr. Charles” to the chat]

Lanik: Will this make you all calm down?

Dr. Charles: I don’t want to be involved here.

[Dr. Charles has left the chat]

Other Bekker: DAD

connor: lmao daddy issues

Bekker: @connor is this the hill you wanna die on?

[connor has deleted a message from the chat]

FreeWilly: can we all calm down lol

crickett: no. @connor dm if you wanna see my dick

Ethan Choi: …

crickett: i was kidding!!

crickett: haha unless……..

Lanik: Please do not plan threesomes in the work groupchat.

April: @Lanik bitter because you weren’t invited

crickett: OOOOOH burn

Ethan Choi: Does @no-ah have us on mute

April: yes

crickett: I’ll dm him some booty pics

Ethan Choi: Do not dm him booty pics

crickett: doing so is a public service

FreeWilly: to be fair Ethan he does get naked anywhere and everywhere

Nat: Including my birthday party >:(

crickett: in my defense u and april and sarah were also naked

Other Bekker: i remember that lmao

Lanik: This is a work chat.

FreeWilly: we should have a nude exchange

[Lanik has removed “FreeWilly” from the chat]

crickett: ooooh drama. are yall gonna break up

[Lanik has muted “crickett”]

Maggie<3: It’s so… quiet

Ethan Choi: Please unmute him he’s whiny

[Lanik has unmuted “crickett”]

connor: anyways 

connor: who wants to talk about their trauma

Bekker: @connor Like when you accused me of murder

Other Bekker: when i was a kid my mom really hated me and ive never really felt loved and maybe thats why im in a constant state of loneliness and being unfulfilled and even though im the happiest ive ever been i constantly feel like im on the edge of a cliff and at any moment im gonna fall over the edge and die

connor: that was loaded

Other Bekker: you asked

Maggie<3: I was traumatized by seeing Crockett’s penis

connor: lucky :(

Lanik: Jeez kids can you lighten up a little

Nat: HE KNOWS MEMES HE KNOWS MEMES

crickett: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THIS JIMOTHY

Lanik: Don’t call me Jimothy.

Ethan Choi: @connor why are you thirsty

[Lanik has added “FreeWilly” to the chat]

Lanik: It’s worse without you

FreeWilly: that may be the nicest thing youve ever said to me…

crickett: hey baby

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

Nat: Use dm

crickett: baby

crickett: baby

Ethan Choi: What

crickett: since ur going to the hospital tonight can u pick up my meds uwu <3

Ethan Choi: Only if you promise to never say uwu again

[Other Bekker has renamed the chat “uwu”]

Nat: uwu

connor: uwu

Other Bekker: uwu

Bekker: uwu

April: uwu

Maggie<3: uwu

FreeWilly: uwu

Crickett: OWO

Ethan Choi: I want a divorce

[Lanik has renamed the chat “SHUT THE FUCK UP MARCEL”]

connor: lanik snapped

FreeWilly: hot

connor: WAIT CROCKETT DID YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE

crickett: ;)

Bekker: What did he do

connor: i saw the dick pick. @EthanChoi you were right its nice

Lanik: Please stop planning threesomes in the chat

Ethan Choi: @connor I’ll set up a private chat

connor: yesyesyesyesyes

Nat: I wish I could get laid this easily…

April: You can

Maggie<3: I’m with @Lanik can you guys not be horny in this chat

Other Bekker: my two modes are horny and depressed

Bekker: Actually you have a third- hungry

Other Bekker: fair

No-ah: This is why I have the chat muted

[No-ah has left the chat]

[Lanik has added “Queen Elsa” to the chat]

Bekker: Rounding out the lesbianism I see

Queen Elsa: Is this even a chat I want to be in?

Ethan Choi: No

Maggie<3: No

crickett: yes

Other Bekker: to summarize: crockett sent a dickpic on accident and connor was disappointed he didnt see it and now hes gonna sleep with ethan and crockett and also i think nat and april are gonna get laid and also in case you didnt know yet will and jimmy are dating

Other Bekker: AND @Bekker IS MY WIFE!

Maggie<3: There it is

Lanik: Hi, Ms. Curry. This is the groupchat for the ED and I trust that you’ll treat this respectfully unlike some of the other doctors have been

Queen Elsa: Did you just call me a doctor?

crickett: do not listen to him this chat is all fun and games and dickpics

Queen Elsa: If that last part is true, I’m leaving the chat.

crickett: it only happened once and it was an accident

[Other Bekker has sent an image]

Other Bekker: look at my wife look at my wife look at my wife

FreeWilly: @April @Nat are you guys still here

Maggie<3: It looks like they both have us on mute

crickett: good for them,, we been knew they were in love

Ethan Choi: Please act like a person

crickett: bold of u to assume im a person

[connor has renamed the chat “tinder for lonely gay doctors and nurses”]

Other Bekker: DOES THIS MEAN WE CAN HELP ELSA GET A GIRLFRIEND

Queen Elsa: I have one.

Other Bekker: omg omg omg spill

Lanik: I feel like none of you are taking this seriously.

[Lanik has promoted “Maggie<3” to administrator]

Lanik: Never let it be said that I did not try.

[Maggie<3 has changed “Lanik”’s username to”BooBoo the Fool”]

[BooBoo the Fool has left the chat]

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

Thanks for coming along on this historic journey! Don't worry, a Part II will be forthcoming after a short break to do more editing, but we thought it best for Part I to wind up with Anna returning to her own time (despite that not being how the movies are divided). Don't forget to follow this account for updates! We hope you'll keep reading along with us!

-Frui and Jess

The next thing Anna knew, she was being tossed into an open trunk, the lid slammed down on her and closing her off into darkness. At least Hans and his 'crew' didn't seem to be murderers, just jerks. That thought didn't really comfort her, knowing exactly what was going through Hans' head.

'I'm gonna kill him,' ran through her own. She couldn't even be sure she was exaggerating; not if he went through with what she thought he was doing. All their lives, he had been this kind of dirtbag? How could everyone look the other way? How had no one run him out of town?!

"HEY!" she screamed, pounding at the inside and flailing, rocking the vehicle. She heard some laughter and shouts from outside. "Let me out! You can't do this!"

She yelled and screamed, beating the ceiling of the trunk until her hands felt swollen and bruised. Time had no meaning, and she felt frustrated tears drip down her face. It wasn't fair.

She didn't know how long she had been trying to fight her way out of the car before suddenly the lid was being prised open. Never before had she been so glad to see a group of complete strangers.

"What the…?"

"Hey!" she panted, and when one of them reached in, she flinched. But she took it when she realised this was a friendly hand, not an aggressive one. "Oh… th-thank you, I'm… I didn't mean-"

"It's alright, girl," the man said, eyes narrowed in concern. The rest of them were preoccupied, having turned back to check on one of their friends once they were certain the girl was alive and seemed to be okay. She briefly saw that he seemed to be cradling his arm or something, but she couldn't stay.

"Thank you. God, thank you SO much, but my friend is…" Oh God. Elsa. As she took off, she heard them shouting in concern, but she couldn't waste any more time. Elsa was in trouble!

When she finally turned the corner, she was just in time to see the grand finale. Hans was standing outside the Gremlin's door… and then sliding down its surface, plopping onto the ground in an unconscious heap. What the hell had happened while she was gone?

Kristoff happened.

Both of Anna's fists had to come up to rub at her eyes, just to make sure they weren't deceiving her. Kristoff, of all the people in the universe, was standing over Hans, his fist flecked with blood. His barrel chest was heaving, and his eyes slightly unfocused in vague shock. Then he began to laugh breathlessly, dazed.

"Son of a bitch," she managed to whisper, noticing that a crowd was beginning to form around her, slightly cutting off her view of the mayhem. Perhaps that was for the best. Finally, finally her parents were together. They made their way towards the hall, though Anna could see Elsa looking around for her. She didn't want to interrupt, but she was cognisant of the time – and the fact that, the last Elsa had seen of her, she was being dragged off by Hans' cronies.

The thing that pained Anna was simply the desperation with which she wanted to go to Elsa, make sure she was okay. Comfort her if necessary. But that was not what Elsa – or she – needed. They both needed that privilege to belong to Kristoff; Elsa because he had been the one to save her, and Anna because, really, he'd saved her too. Smiling to herself, she turned to follow them at a distance. Perhaps she should go and find Principal Weselton, make sure he knew what the "star athlete" was doing to his fellow classmates.

Pulling out the photograph – more a way to calm her mind than anything – Anna was prepared to let Elsa have a dance and then announce her sudden departure from their lives.

Her heart stopped when she realised her brother hadn't returned. Not only that, but half of her sister was missing.

The plan failed.

Turning around, she began to stumble back the way she had come, gaping at the item in her hand. So much so that she bumped into one of the tall, dark, handsome men that had rescued her from the trunk-prison.

"Oh, sorry," she breathed. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't even worry about it." His voice was weary as he turned around. "We're getting out of here, anyway. Glad you're alright, girl. Wish I had some shoes to loan you."

But she couldn't worry about shoes at the moment. She had just noticed they were all dressed in tuxedos. Much worse – they were all in the same tuxedos. A sneaking suspicion came over her when she saw one of the men nursing a cut across his palm.

"Are you… why are you guys leaving?" she asked, still not fully sure why she needed to know. Call it a gut feeling; this was important. She just didn't consciously realise why yet.

"Look at Marvin's hand," he said, tapping the bandage. There was blood leaking through the gauze. "I might be the golden throat of our act, but without him on the axe, we don't really have a show. And if we don't have a show, then we sure as hell don't need to be hangin' around a bunch of nerdy white teenagers for no goddamn reason."

"Sorry, Seb," the guy hissed. "Thought I could jimmy the lock with the crowbar, but…"

"Don't sweat it. You know it wasn't on purpose, we all do. There was a girl in trouble; what kind of men would we be if we didn't try?"

"Wait… you're the band." All five of them turned to glare at her. "So I'm a little slow. Are you saying that… you can't go in there and perform? Oh… this is… not great." She swayed on the spot, and shaking her head, she turned to them, desperate. "You don't understand. If you don't play, they don't dance. If they don't dance, they don't kiss, they never fall in love and I'm history."

"What? Look, Little Orphan Annie, unless you know someone who can play, we don't got a choice, do we?"

Ignoring the comment about her red hair, Anna thought fast. This was why she was still disappearing! Because her mother and father shared their first kiss at this dance! There seemed to be only one way to prevent this disaster now.

"Wait! Hey, you need a guitarist, right? I can play. Let me help, please?"

The men looked between themselves, seemingly communicating nonverbally. "You think you can keep up with us?" one asked. Grinning, Anna nodded.

"Think you can keep up with me?"

                                            ~ o ~

Being on stage was a dream come true. And scary. Anna was grateful that she wasn't expected to sing this time, because she was afraid the tremble in her throat would be too obvious – plus something something space-time continuum. She should be keeping a lower profile than this, but she didn't have much choice anymore.

As soon as Elsa caught sight of her, her eyes lit up, a soft smile playing on her lips. Raising her fingertips to her lips, Anna pressed them there for a moment before flicking out towards Elsa, encouraging her to turn back to dance with Kristoff. It was as close as she could get.

The next song chosen was a classic – perfect, too, as painful as it was. Yet another reason Anna was glad she wasn't singing; she'd probably start crying halfway through. The previous upbeat pop tune faded out, and then Sebastian took a step closer to he microphone, clearing his throat as their pianist began to play.

"This one's a little slower for all you lovers to get super close." It seemed cheesy banter was part and parcel of being a band at a high school dance.

When her cue came up, Anna lent her electric guitar skills, sending note after soaring note to wash over the crowd. The few guys who had looked at her dubiously when they saw some chick in a prom dress holding a guitar began to shrug and turn back toward their dates. Indifference was better than being booed off the stage.

"I wanted to be with you alone," Seb started crooning. "And talk about the weather…"

Anna was really glad they were playing 'contemporary' hits. Dances seemed to have a tendency to want to push 'older music' because it was safer and more family-appropriate, even though families didn't attend homecoming-slash-autumn dances. But 80s pop was right in her wheelhouse. She didn't know a lot of Flamingos or Penguins, but she knew the hell out of Tears For Fears.

"Something happens, and I'm head over heels – I never find out till I'm head over heels…"

As she looked on, Kristoff and Elsa began to sway gently on the dance floor. She looked right at home in his arms, even if she didn't look as excited as she had been in Anna's. This was the safer option… but 'safe' had a different meaning now that she had been rescued by the sandy-haired boy. He loved her enough to stand up to a bully who struck actual terror into his heart all throughout high school – perhaps all throughout his life. That was enough to turn any girl's head.

So Anna played her heart out, watched as they danced together. Her head was getting lighter, and her stomach felt a little odd… but she ignored it as best she could. Just had to get through this song.

When she saw Elsa looking at her over his shoulder, eyebrows raised, a thousand emotions swimming through her vision, Anna only flashed a smile she didn't truly feel and nodded. When she had a half-second, she raised her other hand and waved her on. That seemed to be all Elsa needed; permission from the girl she had just gone further with than ever before. Encouragement to let what was happening unfold.

Unfortunately, the action had the effect of knocking Anna off-balance. She stumbled to the side, strumming horribly off-key. Somewhere in her periphery, she noticed Sebastian watching her, eyebrow quirked. Yeah, she really wasn't doing as well as she thought she would; where had all her skill gone?

Eyes trained on where Elsa and Kristoff were currently making eyes at each other, she couldn't help but smile…

…before she tipped right over, landing rather heavily on her side. Fucking oww. Putting her hand out to try and push herself up, it instead slipped on something that had fallen from her bra. Her head felt light, and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. Fingers finally managing to grasp whatever it was on the ground, she brought it up to her face.

Oh. The picture. Except now her sister had vanished, too. Right in front of her eyes, before they slowly began to fill with tears, Anna could see herself slowly fading.

It felt really crummy, too. Especially when she saw the hand actually holding the picture was fading – in real life. She was going to disappear.

"Well… that sucks," she whispered. But if this was going to be her last moment, then she didn't want to spend it thinking of dark things. Not when there were better things to look at. Swallowing her tears, she let the picture drop, gaze alighting on Elsa instead.

Apparently, some girl with black hair and a perm had cut in and was now dancing with Kristoff. Elsa looked a little annoyed, but she was sighing and turning toward the stage, resigned to letting him go. Eventually, she dodged around some other guy who tried to ask her to dance and headed toward the stage.

"No," Anna breathed in dismay. If she was going to go, she wanted to know Elsa would be taken care of…

And somehow, she heard her. Even over the song, which was muddling through without her guitar, and the chattering crowd, her mother's eyes perked up to see her – and they immediately filled with concern. But Anna mustered the last of her strength and pointed – with the less-invisible hand – at Kristoff. Just as Sebastian was singing, "Don't throw it away," Anna's mouth very clearly formed the words:

"Get him back!"

Elsa glanced between the two of them, and seemed as if she was going to protest… until she saw Kristoff sighing and rolling his eyes. Probably at something the unknown girl had said.

It was almost like magic. Even as Elsa began to stride toward them with a purpose, Anna felt energy slowly trickling back into her limbs. And when she watched her non-violent mother reach between them and physically shove the other girl's face backward until she left room for Jesus, her heart began to beat wildly.

"Don't worry," Elsa told him as she took one of his hands and rested the other on his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere."

And as she leaned up to give him a kiss – a kiss that barely even qualified, really, as her lips pressed against his cheek, yet was so full of thanks and friendship, if not the blossoming beginnings of love – Anna surged to her feet and began to play again.

"And this is my four-leaf clover…" Sebastian sang, smiling as he saw Anna recover. Along with him and the rest of the band, Anna began to sing the backup "La la la la la" as she strummed, and they kept that up far longer than the original song required. She decided she was alright with that.

As the song reached its end, the words "Funny how time flies" echoing unnaturally, the students all began to cheer and clap. Anna took that opportunity to glance at her hand, then hastily look at the picture. It was back. Well, her siblings were wearing slightly different clothes, but all three of them were in the picture again, flashing similar plastic smiles and waving. She did it. Unbelievably, she didn't screw something up for once!

God she felt good. An energy, unfamiliar, seemed to fill her. Moving towards Sebastian, she said, "Mind a request for the next song?"

"Heh, sure thing kid," he said, stepping back from the microphone. Opening the floor to her. Beaming, she took the spot even as she turned to glance at the band.

"Now okay, this is a classic. We're gonna switch up the tempo and have a bit of fun with it, though."

Shooting a wink out into the crowd – aimed more specifically at one particular couple – she began the first few bars. It took the band a few seconds to get into it, but they must have really known their stuff because they played along perfectly.

And then Anna started sing, and she was really in her zone.

"Goddess on a mountain top," she cried. Looking over the crowd, it made her pretty damn happy that the kids were getting into it. A few looked confused, and a couple were mumbling amongst themselves. Ahh, who cared? "Burning like a silver flame!"

Elsa looked up, briefly, to smile at her again. This time, the wink was most certainly for one particular person. Ducking her head, Elsa turned back to Kristoff. He was uncoordinated and looked a bit awkward, but he was smiling, and Elsa was smiling. As she approached the chorus, Anna watched Kristoff lean down a little to ask Elsa something.

When Elsa glanced at Anna, eyes wide, she had an idea of what he asked. So, grinning, she gave a nod. The kiss Kristoff gave her was short and sweet. Barely a peck. But it was on her lips, and Elsa kissed back, and Anna's veins may have been on fire for all she knew. Maybe she did have mixed feelings about it, since she and Elsa had just pushed the bonds of friendship really far in her car less than an hour ago, but…

Everything was going to be okay. The world was not going to end, there would be no paradox, and her parents were together.

Therefore, the scream was very naturally welling up from the depths of her soul just before she got to the chorus. Putting one bare foot up on the monitor speaker, she leaned in as she sang out.

"She's got it! Yeah, baby, she's got it! Well I'm your Venus, I'm your fire and your desire!"

                                            ~ o ~

The rest of the dance went off without a hitch. Elsa and Kristoff smiled at her between their gyrations. Maybe they weren't the most sensual couple out there, the very "nerdy white teenagers" the band had bemoaned, but at least they looked like they were having fun. Anna could take that all the way to the bank. Save for one final incident in which she started mashing up random Katy Perry lyrics in with 'Venus', which made the rest of the band a little confused, they sounded great together.

"Another song?" Sebastian asked as she took off the guitar strap. "Don't gotta run off like this; you're a pretty bad mama jama!"

"Actually, I do," she laughed. "Wish I could stay, but… yeah, gotta bounce!"

As she sprinted backstage, he called after her, "Bounce what?!"

However, just as she was trying to slip out the side door, she saw Kristoff and Elsa heading in her direction. They had clearly already spotted her, so there was no use in trying to flee. She had been hoping to avoid this talk, but she stopped moving, hanging out as close to the door as she could get. It had to be getting late now so she couldn't stay for long, but they deserved better.

"TORI!" Elsa cried. Perhaps she had forgotten that she was surrounded by her schoolmates, and that Kristoff was standing right next to her. Maybe even the couple of swigs of alcohol from earlier was to blame. Either way, Anna was surprised when Elsa threw her arms around her, pressing a subtle kiss to her cheek.

"Wha-"

"That was amazing! I don't know where you got the idea for a dance-mix of Venus, but man, it worked!"

"Heh, thanks!" Wait, wasn't it already released? Damn; yet another time-travel screwup. "Well, I just got uh, inspired," she said. Then, looking between the two of them, continued, "So, uh… you guys, huh? Didn't I tell you?!"

Elsa looked away, light embarrassment coating her features. "After- after you were dragged away, Hans started to uh… But then Kristoff must have heard, or seen something, because then Hans was getting pulled off me and Kristoff punched him and- and I'm…" Here, her voice lowered. Kristoff could probably still hear it but he was doing a very good job of pretending like he couldn't, instead being completely taken with the band – which didn't sound nearly as good without a guitarist. "Is it possible to be like… part-lesbian?" she asked softly. Anna snorted, then smiled.

"You can be whatever you want, Elsa. You don't even have to label yourself at all if you don't want to. But I think 'bisexual' is the term you're looking for – if it applies. Totally up to you."

Elsa nodded thoughtfully. "Bisexual… I'll remember that word. Sounds kind of weird, but… but I think it's the perfect word for me. You think about things really differently from anyone I've ever met. You know, I'd love to come see where you live sometime; it sounds completely radical."

"It is," she chuckled, looking down in slight chagrin. "And I think you might like it there, but… that probably can't happen. Not for a long while, anyway. Wish I could say otherwise."

They were all quiet for a moment. It was Kristoff who first murmured, "You're taking off, aren't you? After tonight."

"Yeah." She had to work very, very hard to ignore Elsa's stricken gaze. That was too painful. "Um… but you two looked great together out there. I called it, right? Didn't I call it?"

As she was fingergunning, they both laughed. Then Kristoff chuckled, "You 'called it', I guess. I mean, I knew I liked her; just didn't think I stood a snowball's chance in Hell."

"Well now you know. And, um…" This was her last chance to set their future on the right path. Maybe she should leave well enough alone, but… "Don't forget to communicate. Always important; as long as you talk to each other, you can figure your way around any obstacle. Three children, three years apart, is the perfect number. Don't forget what I said about alcohol," she added to Elsa a little more specifically, even as she was still blushing from the last comment. "And um… if you ever catch a little girl accidentally setting fire to the living room rug when she's about eight… go easy on her?"

"Um… okay, we will," Kristoff laughed, pulling Anna into a hug. "Your advice might be mondo bizarro, but it seems to turn out to be just what we need to know, so… yeah, I'll never forget any of it."

"Follow your dreams, writer," she whispered to him before letting him go. "And it's been great getting to know both of you. Really, um… educational."

Then she turned to pad out of the gym. Her feet were beginning to protest being shoeless for so long, but she couldn't even care; the cool outside air refreshed her, and she felt contentment all throughout her body. The digital watch Doc had given her still had yet to go off; they weren't late. As long as she kept to this timetable-

"Wait," came a soft plea from behind her.

As she had already come to accept, Anna was completely helpless when it came to Elsa. The bleach-blonde gave a furtive glance around, then took Anna's hand to lead her closer to the door. Kristoff was facing away from them and watching the band again, but now that Anna thought about it, he was acting as a pretty good buffer from the rest of the hall. Maybe that was on purpose.

Even when they'd stopped moving, Elsa didn't say anything. Her eyes roamed Anna's face, the feeling of want, etched deep, that had become so familiar over the past week cascading from her in waves. She hadn't released Anna's hand – and when she realised that, she only held on tighter.

"Do you have to go? I- will I ever see you again?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but Anna had the feeling that, had it been louder, the tremble would have been more obvious. God. Now Anna wanted to cry. She was about to go home and never see this Elsa again. No, she could only look forward to a mother who was barely present, her only saving grace being that she was never abusive. But neither was she much of a mother.

And the saddest part was that… it was Elsa's future. This bright spark of a girl would be reduced to nothing but the vodka bottles strewn haphazardly on the floor next to her bed. Anna couldn't answer. Her chest felt heavy and her head throbbed; though at least this time it wasn't from her rapidly-fading existence. In that moment, she realised why Doc had been so adamant about not knowing the future. It cursed and it cursed; not only oneself, but the people they cared about too.

Swallowing, she tried a smile. "Maybe…" she said finally. "When you least expect it, and the time is right. No- no promises, though." Oh god, and now Elsa was tearing up. She released one of Anna's hands to wipe at her face.

"I think I love you," she choked. Valiantly giving a pathetic smile. Anna sniffled.

"I know I love you, Elsa," Anna responded. She wasn't sure what kind of love that was anymore, but clear as day, it was there. She could lie to herself, but right now, in this moment, she refused to lie to Elsa. Still, there was a mission to maintain. "But you belong with Kristoff. Okay? I just wish-"

But whatever she wished was cut off as Elsa surged forward, pressing their lips together one last time. Anna, who had been holding the future of her whole family on her shoulders, crumpled under the crushing weight. Desperation fueled her lips as they savored Elsa's. A thousand decisions which may have doomed them all drew a fierce tremble from her hands, and she clung to the only support she had.

A guttural sob rolled up Anna's throat, which she quashed into a desperate whimper. Her knees buckled. She didn't even feel when she sank to the steps, nor when strong, familiar arms encircled her. All she felt was the absence of lips on her own — and in that moment, her tears stopped.

"You've… you've got somewhere to be, huh?" Elsa's eyes were bright and wide as she brushed her thumbs along Anna's wet cheeks. A meek nod followed, and Elsa pressed a kiss to each rosy cheek. "I'll see you again. Like, in the future?"

Despite everything, Anna barked out a hoarse laugh before refocusing on Elsa's perfect features. 'I really want to remember this Elsa… so I might as well do this right.' So Anna claimed Elsa's now trembling lips. The smell, the taste, and the weight of the body on hers, committing each to memory. The kiss was harder than before but also more brief; she couldn't draw it out or she'd never make it.

When they finally parted, Elsa let out a wet laugh and whispered, "If it ever is the right time, for you and me… you'll know where to find me."

"Yeah. But I think Kristoff is going to take great care of you. I can't believe how chill he's being about this."

"Oh, we talked about it already," Elsa admitted, cheeks burning. "Um, I had to tell him the whole story of how Hans got to me in the first place. He knows what you and I had is… special. Different, and a separate thing."

"A separate thing…" Anna could live with that. Maybe it would be painful, but she could live with thinking of this as 'separate'; not part of her own time, her own life. Whether or not it was accurate, it could help her let go.

Then her watch did beep. She glanced down at it, and then up at her parents. "I, um… have a ride to catch. Doc – I mean, my uncle – is so overprotective sometimes, y'know?"

"Thank you so much," Kristoff told her again, waving. He looked distinctly ruffled by having watched them kiss, but to his credit, he wasn't quite perving on them the way she would expect a 'birdwatcher' to be. Maybe everything he had been through had changed that within him.

"For everything," Elsa added, squeezing both of Anna's hands. "I'll never forget you, Tori. Never."

There weren't any other words. At least, none that Anna could think of. So she merely gave the hands one last squeeze back, then took off running across the lawn toward the front entrance to the school. The cold blades of grass tickled her soles, the wind ruined her ornate bun… and she felt alive and free. Whole. Happy.

                                            ~ o ~

All the way to the street where they had the 'weather experiment' set up, Anna struggled and rolled around in Doc's back seat to get out of her dress and into the clothes she had arrived in. Thanking the stars that her regular shoes were back there, she finished off by pulling them on, and felt relieved to be back in her jeans and tee. Even if the make-up and sophisticated hairstyle looked a little odd with the casual outfit, there just wasn't time.

But she did pack the dress, wrapping it carefully around Elsa's mixtape. Neither of those things would exist in 1985 if she didn't time travel; taking them out of the timeline was helping to preserve it, not causing further disaster.

"Alright," Doc sighed as they hopped out and approached the DeLorean where it lay beneath a tarp. "Now you remember the plan, don't you? Need a refresher?"

"Uhh…" Anna blanked briefly, her mind still stuck on everything that had happened that night. A sudden rumble in the sky had her moving a little faster than perhaps she would have otherwise. "Maybe you should go over it again. Just to be sure."

Doc squinted at her, but seemed to take her words at face-value when he replied, "I've marked a spot way over there." He pointed a few blocks east of the clock tower, along the main road. "And I've added a small alarm clock to the dash. As soon as it rings, you floor it, getting up to 88 miles per hour and holding it steady. As soon as the antenna makes contact with the cable – which will happen immediately succeeding the lighting strike – you'll be whisked off, safe and sound, back into 2015."

Anna nodded. "Well, I guess I better get going…" she said softly. A larger crackle, and the sky lit up briefly. Doc smiled, and Anna had a sudden urge to hug the old man. She didn't think she had hugged this past version of him before, but now it seemed appropriate. "Thanks, Doc. For everything."

He patted her back, a little awkward – she hadn't expected anything less. "It's been a pleasure, my dear. I'm sure the knowledge of my success will keep me motivated for years, too. Why, who knows what I'll invent after this!"

"Wait, Doc, about that-"

This time, the thunder was much closer, and lasted much longer. Anna could no longer talk – now she had to yell to be heard. The wind whipped up around their heads, making her hair crazier than usual.

"In 2015, something happens! You really gotta-"

"NO TIME!" he was shouting, cupping his ear with one hand and waving toward the DeLorean with the other. "Go! We have a timetable to keep!"

Gritting her teeth, she saluted him briefly and said, "See you in thirty years!" Then took off to run and hop into the car, peeling out and heading down the road toward the large stripe of white paint the Doc had laid down to mark where she should begin.

"Damn it, Doc," she hissed under her breath, manoeuvring into position. "Why are you so hard-headed? I guess my plan B will have to be enough." Though she also found herself wishing that she didn't have to make multiple plans about everything.

Just about the time the clock rang, she was having second thoughts. Why couldn't she stay in 1985? Sure, her band and Punz were waiting for her in the future, but a real, meaningful relationship with her parents was thriving today, in this era. She might never have that again if she abandoned it. But she knew Doc was right; much as she hated to admit it, staying in the past and leaving everything up in the air was almost guaranteed to destroy the universe.

Not to mention that it would probably destroy the people in the future. She'd be one of those disappearing kids, except this time, there would never be a body. Maybe Elsa's alcoholism would get even worse.

Painfully, Anna forced those thoughts away. It was pointless. She was going back to 2015. To be with her actual family, as broken and fragmented as they were. This version of Elsa and Kristoff didn't need her anymore. The other version did. And so did that Doc…

Eyes falling to the console with all the dates displayed upon it, Anna noticed that he'd planned to send her back at the same time she'd vanished. Like she'd never been gone at all. But what if… she went back a little early? Maybe ten minutes? That would surely be enough time to get to Doc before the nationalists without seriously damaging the timeline.

"Heh," she chuckled to herself. "This is some serious Prisoner of Azkaban shit."

Just then, the buzzer went off. No sooner had she punched in the new time coordinates than she floored it, racing for the end of the street. She had no more time to waste.

But when she got closer to the courthouse, she saw something distressing: Doc flying down from the clock at speed, attached to the wire as though it were a flying fox. What the hell was he doing?! But as she looked on in utter confusion, watching him struggling with the wires as they hooked up to the lamppost-

The sky flashed. The lightning struck.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. All ten fingers clamped down around the steering wheel as Anna accelerated toward the thick cable strung between the lampposts, sparks erupting all around the DeLorean. The flux capacitor was ready and only needed the nuclear reaction to power the time-jump. And it was getting it; no sooner had Doc connected two wires at the last possible moment was he blown back from the force of the electricity racing through the connection into a shrub.

Anna McFly squeezed her eyes shut, praying she made it home.

NOT The End!

To Be Continued In FRACTAL THE FUTURE, Part II!

[elsanna-shenanigans]

February Contest Submission #2: Quo Vadis

words: ca. 6000 setting: Ancient Rome AU lemon: no cw: Blood, violence, injuries, death, swords

Quo Vadis - Part 1 [abridged] 

—

“Aut viam inveniam aut faciam tibi,” Anna said.

She heard Elsa sigh and turned to face her, the older woman stood with her arms folded over the stomach of her simple toga. They were standing in front of the gladiator dorms. A small dirt patch surrounded by small apartments jammed into a corner of Rome not far from the Colosseum. The true training area was in a city further south.

“Must you become a gladiator?” Elsa asked her.

“I’m a good fighter already, this would be an easy way to earn us money.”

“You could die, Anna, did you even consider that?” 

“I’m quick on my feet Elsa, I would be amazing with a blade.” 

“You do realize this is selling yourself into servitude?” 

“How is that different from what you do now?” Anna asked, referring to Elsa’s job with a local shopkeeper. She was stuck working with this man till her debt was paid. Thankfully he was a kind soul with a large family and just needed someone to help with the day-to-day. He afforded Elsa a lot of freedoms and she was careful to never abuse them. 

“I’m not risking my life for entertainment,” Elsa argued back. 

“Elsa, when was the last time you saw a gladiator die?”

“Last week…”

“The emperor gave the thumbs down, it happens.” 

“And that could happen to you!” 

Anna shrugged, “Then I will die like a Roman, not a poor coward.” Anna folded her arms across her chest. “I’m signing up.” 

At that, the two men standing behind the nearby table perked up. One had been watching them intently, the other was busy picking at his nails. Both had whips, a stark reminder that however well the gladiators were treated and however much they were loved by the masses, they were still locked into contracts of servitude. Just like Elsa, but much more dangerous.

“What do you want, woman?” the one who had been watching asked.

“To sign up!” She answered, trying to project as much confidence as possible.

“A woman, willingly signing up? Now I have seen everything.” 

“Do you know what you’re getting into, girl? You do not fight like the men, you are just entertainment,” the one picking his nails asked.

Elsa looked desperate and scared, she reached out and grabbed her arm. “Anna please, please just think about this,” she begged 

“I have,” Anna replied and then looked at the men “If no one watches, I will make them watch!” 

“I love you,” Elsa choked out, a common phrase. 

Anna looked over her shoulder as she walked away and casually threw back a response, “I love you too.” 

“How sweet,” the nail-picker remarked. “You are in a 5-month contract, you renew unless you are with child. I am Mattias, I am your lanista, tomorrow you will fight.” 

“Tomorrow? Don’t I get any training? Or a room?”

“No, women do not train and thus do not get dormitory space unless they are a fugitivus. You are not, so go home. If you do not return, I will have you killed or worse.” 

***

The first thing she noticed was how loud the Colosseum was. People shouting and cheering above the sound of clashing swords and metal on metal. The second thing she noticed was that she was one of four women. All prisoners, Anna was the only one who had signed up willingly. 

She watched one named Megara select a trident and net before sitting down on the bench with the other two women. Roman soldiers stood at the entrances, looking bored. 

Mattias had been watching stone-faced from the wall. Once Megara had selected her weapon he turned to Anna. “Pick up a sword and shield, you’ll fight her.” 

Anna did as she was told. She was surprised at how heavy the shield was and she struggled to secure it to her arm. Mattias just turned up his nose, it wasn’t his problem. He felt getting stuck with the women was beneath him, something he said frequently. Anna had only been here for an hour and he had already mentioned it seven times. 

“Let me assist,” the woman named Mulan said in broken Roman. Anna hesitated then held out her arm. 

Once the shield was secured tightly to her arm Mulan smiled before sitting back on the bench again. Megara rolled her eyes and spat on the floor. 

“It is dishonorable to fight for the entertainment of others. I view this as sparing, training if you will,” Mulan added. 

“Whatever,” Megara muttered and put her helmet on. 

Anna copied her, the helmet she selected was big and moved around on her head. 

“Doesn’t matter, loose, tight, it’s all for show, we never fight for real.” 

Mattias pointed to the door. Megara stood and walked through it, Anna followed. It was a long hallway that sloped upwards and ended in a closed gate, beyond which was the arena.

Anna’s heart pounded, she was nervous. Next to her Megara yawned audibly. 

“Hope this is everything you signed up for. Some of us didn’t have the choice,” Megara said, her tone dripping with venom. She continued before Anna could reply. “You walk out first, I’ll come running. Doge the net, I’ll always swing it to your left. Hit my trident, I’ll drop it, then I’ll net you, take your sword and win. Got it?” 

“Wait, you mean we’re not going to fight?” 

“No, idiot. Just go through the motions, no one gets hurt, we get food and go home. Now go!” She shoved a confused Anna forward as the gate opened. 

Anna stumbled out into the sunlight and squinted. She looked around the arena, Mattias and Megara weren’t kidding, no one was watching. People were milling around, eating, or having conversations. They paid little mind that she was even in the arena. The loudness she had heard earlier was now a dull roar of sounds not unlike the market on a busy day. 

Quick footsteps behind her made her turn to see Megara running at her with her net spinning. Anna held her sword and shield at the ready like she had seen other gladiators do. In the back of her mind she knew this wasn’t a real fight but her adrenalin took over. 

Magara’s net hit the ground to Anna’s left, causing a cloud of dust to flare up.  

Anna hid behind her shield and heard Magara grunt as she swung again, the net flaring out in a wide arc to Anna’s left. Magara was watching it fly and not looking at Anna, it left her open and vulnerable. 

Some kind of deep-seated instinct took over. Anna planted her right foot and lunged forward leaning into the shield so it carried nearly all of her weight. She connected with Megara and sent the other woman flying backward. 

Anna held her footing and crouched low, she gripped her sword tightly and held it to the side of the shield. She watched Magara stand up, her muscles and actions stiff. She was mad.

“Bitch!” she yelled and came running. Her net was gone. She charged with the trident. 

Anna sidestepped the charge, slashed with her blade when the other woman passed. It easily cut into her thin leather armor. It wasn’t enough to go all the way through, but enough that she must have felt it. So much for dull weapons. Megara pivoted on one heel and shouted, thrusting wildly with her trident. Anna blocked each jab with her sword. Her shield was old and wooden — she wasn’t sure if it could withstand an attack. 

An opening presented itself and Anna repeated her shield bashing but Megara was ready this time and kept her footing. Landing one pong of the trident in Anna’s arm. It stung but Anna didn’t have time to think about it as she swung her blade at Magara’s throat. 

Her lack of training showed itself and she missed the throat and buried her blade into the flash of Megara’s bicep. Both girls now sporting arm wounds, disengaged and stepped back, circling, waiting. 

Megara made the first move, taking a running charge at Anna, her trident held forward like a battering ram. 

Anna ducked behind her shield again and braced, the trident made contact and sunk into the wood. Anna took a gamble that Megara had a bad grip and moved her shield arm down and away. The trident came with and Anna delivered a kick to Megara’s midsection. 

Somewhere in the stands, she thought she heard a gasp. 

Anna stumbled a bit on her recovery, the trident was heavy and threw off her balance. She tried to shake the shield off her arm but Mulan had secured it too well. 

Megara came running at her and Anna couldn’t swing the heavy shield/trident combo fast enough to block her. The other woman tackled the redhead and sent them into the dirt. Her too-big helmet flew off and the impact dislodged the trident but it didn’t matter. Megara straddled Anna’s hips and held down her shoulders. 

“You know if you didn’t just completely disregard everything I said and tried to kill me, this would be very hot,” Megara said, so close that Anna could see her eyes through the helmet grate. She meant her words. 

In an arena full of strangers, Anna felt embarrassed and flushed and awkward. It left her open in a way she had never thought to prepare for and this time Megara took advantage. She grabbed Anna’s head and smashed her own helmeted head into it. Hard. 

Darkness. 

***

“I think she’s waking up,” came Elsa’s voice.

“Oh joy, guess I’ll cancel the elaborate funeral plans I made, praise the gods or whatever,” Megara replied.

They both sounded very far away. Anna brought a hand up to touch a knot on her temple. 

“Ouch,” she mumbled. 

“Oh you’re fine softy, just shake it out. You’ll have a headache today, it will be gone by tomorrow. Serves you right for trying to kill me,” Megara said, sounding annoyed. 

“Thank you for bringing her home,” Elsa said, her voice lacking any discernible tone.

“Don’t mention it. And don’t expect it again, I only carried her here because it was her first day.” Megara didn’t wait for more conversation and left abruptly, leaving the sisters alone.

Elsa was watching her. Which felt welcoming until she saw her worried face. Then the guilt sat in. 

“Anna.” She touched Anna’s face with gentle fingers and Anna felt herself leaning into her hand. 

Today felt long and Elsa felt comforting. 

A single torch burned on the wall. It was late afternoon yet inside their small home it was dim. Anna found herself thankful, maybe Elsa was distracted by the slash across her face and didn’t notice the bruise now forming on her head, or the wound on her shoulder, or the mess that was her back. 

Elsa saw because of course she did. Anna watched her light the room more. They were lucky that, although a lower class, Elsa’s employer-provided them with a space behind and above the shop. The lower floor had a small table, a hearth, and a water basin crammed near the entrance. The rest of the space was storage for the shop itself including an area where Elsa mended cloth goods. A ladder next to the table went to a loft with two beds. There was little in the way of privacy, but the shop owner never entered the loft. He was an old man and the ladder was not stable. 

“I thought you said you wouldn’t get hurt,” Elsa mused now, seemingly satisfied that Anna was alright. 

“Yes well, it is just the first day, I’m finding my footing, my style,” Anna boasted, earning a frown from Elsa.

“I still don’t like this, you know.” 

“I know.” 

Elsa leaned down, glancing quickly towards the passageway to the shop front, and kissed the cheek without the slash. “Promise me you’ll be more careful,” 

Anna felt a warming comfort wash over her body, Elsa always doted on her but something about that touch felt different. First Magara and now this, maybe that hit to the head was messing with Anna more than she thought. 

“I’m going to lie down,” she announced, standing up slowly, a little off balance. Elsa eyed her but said nothing. 

Elsa followed her upstairs and covered her with a blanket. This one she had stitched a small flower in the corner that Anna always pulled up to her face to sleep. 

Elsa brushed Anna’s bangs aside, her hand lingering on Anna’s face. She was staring right into the redhead’s eyes. Sky blue locking with the sea. “I love you,” she whispered 

And Anna knew she meant it. 

*** 

The next few months passed without incident. Anna only fought once a week. To call the activity a fight was being generous. They were more of a dance, a flashy show with no stakes or consequences. Even so, Magara always seemed to hit a little harder than she needed to. Anna suffered no deep wounds but on days she fought Magara she would always return home with small cuts and bruises. 

Part of Anna didn’t mind because Elsa would always tenderly care for her on those days. Anna did notice though, that her touches lingered longer, her proximity was closer, her eyes seemed to look directly into Anna’s soul. Anna took it for increased concern and nothing more. Even if the back of her mind screamed otherwise. 

On her off days of fighting Anna cleaned the blood, sweat and who knows what else off the men’s armor. She found herself growing increasingly more jealous of them every day. The men had more action, the crowd actually cared what happened. A hard hit was met with thunderous applause no matter if it was against armor or into flesh. 

Others often turned away from the wounds, but Anna looked and studied; tried to imagine what led to a slash on the thigh or a jab to the ribs. Had they not blocked? Did their opponent have a longer reach? She wanted to know more, needed to know more. 

When the opportunity came up to work in the ring, collecting discarded weapons or other objects between matches, Anna took the opportunity. Mattias himself suggested it, because Anna was terrible at cleaning, much too distracted. 

From the arena side, she studied the matches, the styles of fighting. The popular gladiators knew what they were doing with their weapons, their feet working in coordination with their swings. Newer gladiators or perhaps those less skilled stumbled around. Throwing their whole weight into a swing or a block, leaving them open and off-balance. She loved the sword and shield battles the most — the Secutors, Provocators, Murmillo fighters. She made sure to watch them all intently. 

*** 

The dorms were nearly empty except for a pair of young boys—of noble descent based on their clothes—bashing sticks together and shouting. Anna paid them no mind. She walked to the small storage room where the tunics were kept and tripped over something on the floor, spilling the clean linens she was carrying. 

“Ow!” came a man’s voice

Anna spun around to see a man half laying on the floor, his shoulders propped up against the wall and his arms and legs sprawled out on the floor. She recognized him as the smaller man who was defeated earlier and spared, and lowered the fist she just realized she had raised on instinct. 

“What are you doing here?” she demanded 

“Hiding,” he answered.

“A Roman doesn’t hide—” 

“I’m not a Roman,” he said, cutting her off and holding up his hand to show the branding there. 

She sat her mouth in a thin line and looked at him. He was small, lacking in much muscle definition and boyish features to his face overall he looked defeated and empty. 

“Who are you?” she demanded, not having caught his name before the fight. 

“Kristoff.” He sighed and sat up straighter. “I was a soldier once from a land far from here. Now I am just another body for the arena till they finally put me out of my misery.” 

“I saw you today, why do you not fight? You were a soldier, you must know how.” 

“There is no glory in these fights, everything I’ve ever known was taken from me. What am I fighting for? The praise and respect of people from the land who burned mine?” He looked her right in the eyes as he spoke. His brown irises, the color of drying mud, held no secrets. 

And Anna felt pity for him. Her life was merely half a step above his and only because she wasn’t branded slave. She did, however, still love her city and her people, and she hated how he was in a position to fight for the respect of the masses, the honor of being a Roman. He was living the life she thought she wanted, yet he wanted to throw it all away. 

Then all at once, an idea washed over her. Elsa always said she got ideas like she was struck with an arrow. And Elsa was going to hate this. 

“You don’t want to be a gladiator.” It was more of a statement than a question. Even so, he nodded. “And I want to be a gladiator.” 

He tilted his head. “I’ve seen you, you are a gladiatrix.” 

“I’m a puppet in a play.” She knelt to his level. “What if we work out a deal. You train me, I fight using your name and we split the winnings.”

At this, he laughed, a full-bellied laugh that caused him to throw his head back against the wall. “A woman who sold herself, lowered herself for a few coins, now wants to fight as a man. Wouldn’t it be easier to just sell your body to lonely souls?” 

She slapped him and he stopped laughing, choosing instead to rub his face and glare at her. “I’m serious,” she stated. 

“I can see that, you’re stronger than you look, that hurt.” He paused for a moment then added, “You could die, either by the blade or when they find out you’re not me.” 

“I’d rather die by the blade like a Roman.”

He sighed, “I’ll help you train. Mostly because I don’t think I can change your mind. And, if I’m honest, not fighting in the arena is ideal. Tell me though, what about the armor issue?” He placed a hand on his chest then gestured vaguely at hers. 

Anna had seen him fight, he was billed as a Provocator but dressed more like a Secutor for some reason. Meaning he had previously fought bare-chested.  Provocator gladiators were newer to the game, less popular, and typically only fought each other, they also happened to wear a breastplate.  

“You have your full armor right?” she questioned. 

***

“You’ve been coming home late,” Elsa said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Anna looked up at her, the torch lights dancing in shadows across her sister’s face. It made her look older, more serious. Anna wondered if she was mad or just tired.

“Mattias, has me doing more.” 

Elsa stared at her, icy blue eyes seemed to be cutting right through. 

“You seemed to have gained some muscle and you’re eating more. When we go to bed you’re out as soon as your head hits the pillow. Whatever he’s having you do must be some hard labor.” Elsa reached across the table and grabbed one of Anna’s hands and flipped it so the younger girl’s palm was facing up. She watched in silence as Elsa traced the outline of blisters with cool fingers. 

“You’ve been fighting more haven’t you?” she asked.

“What? No, just training.” She placed her free hand on top of Elsa’s. “I promise.” And it wasn’t a lie, she had spent nearly all her free time training with Kristoff in his tiny single room in the gladiator dorms. People assumed the wrong thing with her going to his room followed by the sounds of grunting. Let them think that, as it was as good of a cover as any. 

Elsa leaned in and moved a copper strand of hair behind Anna’s ear and she felt her breath catch. “You never tell me about your day anymore.” 

She was so close, Anna could almost taste the mix of smells from the shop still lingering on her skin. And she wanted to tell her everything, tell her about the training with Kristoff, about her plan to fight in his place, about her first fight tomorrow, about splitting the money, about how Megara seems to keep flirting with her, about how much she likes Elsa being this close.

She couldn’t do any of those things because, above everything else, Anna didn’t want Elsa to worry. So instead she smiled and said, “My days are boring, I cleaned a sword, I shined a helmet, none of that makes for a good story.” 

“None of your stories are boring to me.” Elsa leaned back again and Anna felt herself moving forward to keep the closeness before she caught herself. “I have the day off tomorrow, I’m going to come to watch you fight.”

Anna panicked, her eyes wide, and she clenched a fist “I do–I–I mean I don’t fight tomorrow.” she lied 

Elsa narrowed her eyes, “Is that so?” she challenged. 

Anna stood abruptly, she had to get out of Elsa’s gaze, it felt suffocating. Of course, she fought tomorrow but not as herself. “I’m going to bed, goodnight.”

“Anna wait,” Elsa grabbed her wrist and held Anna in place with the lightest of touches. “What are you hiding? What are you not telling me?” 

Anna’s free hand was wrapped around one of the rungs of the ladder to the loft. She clenched and unclenched her grip, stalling. A million things were running through her head as she weighed her options. Then a single thought drifted down like the first snowflake of the season, till it settled in the forefront of her mind, spreading out and taking over. It was a stupid idea, it would change the subject completely but it was so incredibly stupid that she considered bashing her own head against the table instead. 

She turned to face Elsa. The older woman didn’t look mad or upset, more so worried and confused. She was about to become even more confused. 

A leap of faith disguised as a step and Anna was there, the distance between them narrowed. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause, before she closed the gap entirely, capturing Elsa’s lips with her own. She felt her sister gasp and Anna tried to pull back but pale hands anchored her. To Anna’s surprise, Elsa deepened what was supposed to be a quick peck. 

The kiss was like a flower, finally blooming after a long winter, bursting with new life and exploding with colors. It was so vibrant that it frightened Anna, so she pulled back abruptly and put a few steps between them.

“Anna I—”

“I’m going to sleep.” She turned and scurried up the ladder, leaving Elsa alone downstairs. 

  ***

Anna arrived early, to avoid Elsa and to make sure to change into Kristoff’s armor when no one was around. She was, thankfully, one of the first fights of the day. She felt uneasy as the other gladiators started to populate the space, the air turning into a mix of leather, sweat, and iron. A few of them gave her a weird look since she was sitting on the furthest of benches, full armor, with a helmet on, while the rest of them were considerably dressed down. Some weren’t even dressed at all. 

She had seen naked men countless times. Still, it never got easier. They looked so rough, all hard edges, hairy, and solid in the wrong places. Not soft like the women she fought with. Not soft like Elsa. 

Her mind drifted back to the previous night, her thoughts twisting into a mix of confusion and shame. She had heard of family being together, always a brother and sister. Not two sisters. Not them. How was she to further Rome’s population if she were to be with a woman? This was of course all assuming Elsa wanted anything to do with her. 

Foolish thoughts that did nothing more than distract her. She pulled on the linen wrapped around her hand, concealing her skin that lacked the mark Kristoff had. 

“Provocator! I see you dressed correctly today,” a well-dressed man said. He walked towards her, his toga held across his arm so as to not drag on the ground. “Cloth around your breast? Does the armor hurt you? Is that why you do not wear it?” He seemed genuine in his concern, this must be the man who owned Kristoff. It was in his best interest that his gladiator was comfortable and able to move well. Even so, the fact he was looking that closely worried Anna, and she knew she could not verbally answer. 

Instead, she nodded and proceeded to twist her torso back and forth to show the ease of movement. This seemed to please the man. 

“Well if you only need simple cloth to wear your armor correctly you should have mentioned it sooner! Nevertheless, do try to win today. You’re embarrassing me and I am beginning to lose my patience.” 

Anna pounded her chest with a fist and nodded. This also pleased him and he smiled, and just like that he was gone. An empty man looking over his cattle for slaughter.

It wasn’t long till Anna was standing at the gate, waiting for it to open and the battle to begin. Her heart pounded so hard it sounded like someone was knocking on her helmet. She checked her arm straps on her shield once more and rolled her shoulders. She was nervous but she had to focus, this wasn’t a dance, this was real. 

The gate rose before her and she stepped out into the bright sun. The noise of the crowd picked up as it always did when a new gladiator entered the arena. She spotted her opponent in the middle of the field. Another provocator, his helmet had two circles of latticework much like hers, only he sported two tall blue feathers that matched his loincloth and shield. 

She approached him and the match began. He pushed forward with his shield and swung weakly with his sword. Anna met his attack with a loud bang as shield hit shield. He stepped back and lunged forward with his shield again, Anna blocked and tried to swing her sword into his elbow. He responded by rotating his shield, blocking her swing but leaving his legs open. Anna disengaged then stepped forward into a lounge, he parried by stabbing with his shield, throwing off her momentum. 

A few more lounges and blocks and it was clear that he favored his shield to his blade. So much so that he often left his sword arm completely open. It was covered in thick heavy armor so she knew she couldn’t easily land a hit but she could force him to block differently. He came at her again and she slashed at this armor. To no one’s surprise her blade did little more than scratch the leather. The crowd loved it though, roaring. 

The man wasted no time in trying to hit her exposed kneecap with his shield, a move she had seen him do on another opponent recently. She jumped back and he followed with his shield. Again, she went to slash his blade arm. This time he rotated his shield to black, leaving his stomach completely open. Anna maneuvered mid-swing, her blade cutting a Z shape in the air before she sliced deep into his surprisingly soft flesh. She followed with a shield bash and a stab into his leg.

The man dropped his blade and grabbed at his largest wound, he pulled his hand up and looked at the blood before dropping to his knees and looking at the emperor with a raised arm. 

Anna could not believe he was giving up that quickly. All around them the audience erupted in boos. He had not fought well, gave up after two wounds. A better gladiator would have kept fighting. Thus Anna was not surprised when the thumbs down was given. 

She didn’t think, didn’t allow herself to. She approached him and grabbed his helmet. He grabbed her upper thigh, at least he was willing to die an honorable death. Through the latticework on his helmet, he looked her right in the eyes and she felt his grip tighten. 

“You are no ma—” 

His words cut off when Anna plunged her sword into his neck. The blade went in too easily, then stopped, and the awful sound would haunt her forever. He was dead; his lifeless body slumped to the side. 

Blood.

There was so much more blood. So much more blood being this close and not four stories up in the stands.

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause and Anna stood and stared at them, she rolled her showers back and puffed her chest, doing everything to look tough and victorious like she had seen others do. Thankful for the distance that they couldn’t see her shaking hands and more thankful still for the helmet that hid her tears. 

***

“My Beautiful boy!” the rich well-dressed man called to her as soon as she was back undercover. She had to give him credit for how quickly he moved. He stopped short of reaching her, obviously not wanting to get blood on his pristine toga. “I said win, not to kill the man!” he laughed. 

Anna grunted as deeply as she could in response. 

“Oh it is nothing, I’ll pay his lanista. Worth every coin my boy, what a show! The crowd loves a kill. Keep this up and there will be great things in your future!” The man walked away, not bothering to excuse himself. He was above Anna, above Kristoff, and had no reason to be polite. 

Anna continued down the dark hall till it opened to the dimly lit room. Thankfully her luck continued and the baths were completely empty. Most of the men liked to wait till the end of the day to trade combat stories over the steam. 

“You survived,” came a deep voice from a darkened corner, the torch on either side had been extinguished, casting a black shadow and completely concealing the figure. Even so, she recognized the voice to be Kristoff’s. 

She exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “I did, the other guy did not.” 

“You killed someone?” Kristoff stepped out of the shadow and gestured for her to take his place. 

Once she was concealed she removed her breastplate and handed it to Kristoff, who put on his own body. His only unique armor, decorated with his symbols, was his helmet and chest piece.

She had just handed him his helmet back when loud footsteps drew near. Anna pressed her back into the corner as much as possible when a man entered the baths. 

“Kristoff, why did you come all the way here in armor?” he demanded, he was another gladiator, not a lanista or guard, he was large with a long scar across his face. 

Kristoff hesitated to answer as Anna struggled to remove her leg guard.

“I wanted to bathe in my victory,” Kristoff finally said right has Anna got the guard off. The arm would have to stay.

“You’ll make your helmet rust, why is it so dark?” He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer.

Anna reacted quickly. She fell out of the darkness into Kristoff, giggling and hiding her armor-clad arm behind him. The man stopped and smirked.  

“Women love a man in armor.” He turned to leave. “Enjoy your victory bath. If she wants more, come find ME!” 

“That was too close,” Kristoff said once the footsteps had faded. 

Anna nodded. “We’ll have to be more careful next time.” 

“Next time? We nearly got caught this time.” 

“No, we just didn’t have a good plan, people already think things about me going to your room every day, so of course I would meet you here too. Let’s play up that story.”

“I don’t like that plan,” he said, helping her out of her arm guard. 

“We’re not actually going to do anything, just let them think we are so they leave us alone long enough for me to change.” 

He grumbled something under his breath and she leaned close to him without thinking much of it. Anna heard his breath hitch when she accidentally brushed against his chest. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. His eyes were half-lidded, his pupils full. He tilted his head to the side with a wordless question. 

Anna felt nothing. 

She stepped back, letting the arm guard fall to the ground with a thud. Kristoff let out a sigh and climbed into the bath without removing his loincloth, defeated. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Anna said hesitantly and he waved her off, staring at a different wall. 

***

“I heard a gladiator was executed today,” Elsa said over dinner. 

Anna nearly dropped the chunk of bread she was holding. “What, how did you hear that?” 

Elsa didn’t seem to notice or if she did she didn’t say anything. “When the emperor gives the thumbs down, the word travels fast from the arena.” 

“Oh, yes it does.”

“However, I didn’t have to wait for the news, I saw it.” 

This time Anna did drop her bread, earning her a puzzled look from her sister. “You were there?”

“I told you I would be, I didn’t see you fight, however, just two other girls.” 

Anna could feel her staring but she refused to make eye contact. Instead, she picked at her bread, tearing off small chunks. 

“I don’t understand why you’ve been training so hard,” Elsa continued. “The fight between the women was barely a fight. Not that anyone would notice. Hardly anyone watched.” 

“Yes, no one cares. We just fill the time, there’s hardly a point,” Anna replied. 

“So why all the intensive training?” 

“To uh… get better, to make it look more real.” 

Elsa didn’t buy it. Anna risked looking at her face and saw the distrust. Her sister knew she was up to something. How do you tell someone you’re breaking countless laws just for the thrill of combat? And what a thrill that had been. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so alive. 

Well, she could. It was the other night when she kissed Elsa. 

“Seems like a fruitless task.” Elsa stood, cleaning the remains of her meal. “Please tell me the next time you fight, I wasted a lot of time at the circus today. I need to get up early tomorrow to make up for it.”  

She started to walk towards the ladder when Anna reached out and grabbed her wrist, Elsa stopped and looked at her. Really looked at her. Behind the tired icy blue eyes, Anna saw pain and that in itself made Anna feel guilty. 

“I thought you had the day off?” 

“You and I both know I never really have a day off.” Those same eyes flicked down to Anna’s lips and lingered there for perhaps a beat too long before looking back to the ladder. She tugged her arm away and Anna let her go. Neither of them was ready to acknowledge the other night.

Once Elsa was up in the loft and Anna was left alone, the weight of the day finally came crashing down on her. 

She had killed a man. 

Shoved the sword right into his neck and watched his crimson blood spill out onto the dirty sand. What if he had a family? A lover? A life had been cut short by her blade. Back in the arena, she had justified the kill because he had fought without honor. But wasn’t she also fighting without honor? She wore the mask of another, she deceived Rome — yet killed in its glory. 

She felt sick and leaned forward till her head rested on the cool surface of the table. Closing her eyes she breathed slowly in and out till the pounding in her chest subsided. She wanted nothing more than to talk to Elsa about everything, but she couldn’t. Desperate, broken, and alone, she mumbled into the darkness; “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam tibi.“ 

[collateralfiction]

09

Adrian

A club has to be the easiest way you can make money without getting into legal trouble. So that’s exactly where I happened to be tonight. Instead of enjoying the multiple performances downstairs, I remained upstairs, overlooking the scene below me on the balcony. No one knew I owned Cabaretand I liked it like that way. It was better being discreet than everyone knowing your business when they don’t have a right to. The bottle of Hennessy I asked for about ten minutes ago was seen being carried by one of the waitresses and a few glasses as she came up the spiral staircase. “Here you go, Adrian,” she smiled. “I know you like your dark liquor so there’s another bottle coming your way shortly,” I grabbed the Hennessy bottle out of her hand before signaling that the glasses could be placed on the table somewhere. The bottle was entirely for me; I would need it.

A light tap on my shoulder brought me away from the scene being displayed before me. I leaned off the balcony and turned around to come face to face with an undeniable gorgeous woman. I took a quick sip of the strong liquor, not fazed by the taste at all. I’ve been drinking Hennessy since I was seventeen. From there, that was the only liquor I preferred to have over the thousands of types. Without looking to the side of me, I placed the glass bottle beside me on the table and went to grab the woman in front of me by her slender hips. “I’m surprised you’re here,” shemumbled against my lips. I went to peck her lips again before staring at her intently.

“Same here,” I said. But I had a few things to handle tonight which is the only reason I’m here now.

With a small smile on her face, she pursed her lips to say something. “Why haven’t you called me lately?” she wondered, locking her hands behind my neck. Elsa and I are what you can label as complicated. When one person knows what they want, and the other is too distracted to put enough energy into this situationship, it gets complicated. As far as I was concerned, we had an open relationship. Since I couldn’t fully commit to one girl, the best I could give Elsa was a relationship that was lax without too many restrictions. I fuck who I please while she remains loyal, attempting to change my view and finally commit. However, that forbidden fruit is just too tempting.

“I’ve been busy,” I said shortly. She was wearing this two-piece outfit; a tight pencil skirt and a crop top that showed off her tone stomach. My mind wandered over to lustful thoughts that could be done in the back but, if we were to do something that would simply lead to questioning and nagging that I simply wasn’t down for. Yes, technically we were a couple and I should act like it regardless but why should I when we don’t have a real commitment to each other? “You look great,” I said, pulling her closer towards me. I knew what was coming next before it even happened so to stop that from occurring, I spoke up and complimented her to ease her mind. I heard her sigh lightly before she rested her head in the crook of my neck.

“Are you cheating on me?” she questioned quickly.

I pushed her off of me and mugged her frame. “Elsa, if you came over here just to pick an argument, I’m not going to entertain you tonight by letting you have it. You know our situation, you know the fucking deal and you know what the fuck I do!” I yelled, growing irritated by the second.

“I don’t, Adrian,” she said lowly. Kissing my teeth, I grabbed her hand and led the way towards my office not before grabbing a hold of the Hennessy bottle. Cabaretwas absolutely filled to capacity tonight, making it harder for me to navigate through the club. It was all good though. Finally, Elsa and I both made it towards the back where the music was barely heard. I used my key to open the door along with punching in the six-digit combination that was needed to officially open the space. Since I barely come around the club, my office wasn’t as up to par with the rest of my other establishment. This was more of Justin and August’s thing with concerns of handling the club.

“So, what you want me to do?” I said, locking the door behind me.

“I want you to tell me the truth and finally fucking commit,”

“I can’t,” I told her truthfully.

“So, what can you do?” she questioned with a scowl.

“Fuck you well,”

__

Good dick will easily make a bitch shut up. I can never seem to understand their logic, and this is why I support open relationships 110%. After satisfying Elsa for the time being, I promised her I would catch up with her later. I didn’t know how true that statement is, but I was going to attempt to stick to it. All I know is that she seemed satisfied with my promise as she got redressed. Apparently, she was going to head home with the group of friends she came with, so I was totally okay with that. If anything, I would think she just came to the club to get some dick. I hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed because when I took a look at my phone, it was well past midnight. Making sure I looked presentable, I began to leave out of my office, locking the door behind me and slipping out of the club without much of a notice. On the way towards my parked car, I began to dial my sister’s number. I haven’t heard from the two of them since I dropped Bailey off and I want to make sure things are running accordingly, especially with Bailey’s in my sister possession.

Before I had the chance to dial her number, an incoming text message came in from her.

From Justine: We’re at your house and where are you?!

To Justine: I’ll be there in a minute, sit tight.

With that, I threw my phone into the cup holder and sped down the street, passing by the red light. Heading from New York to New Jersey always seemed to be a bit of a hassle but with my race car driving skills it seemed like nothing. A forty-five minute drive ended up only taking less than thirty. When I pulled up in front of the house, Justine’s car was parked neatly opposite of mine. I grabbed my phone and the food I purchased on the way here. I slid the key into the keyhole before entering into the spacious house. I checked the kitchen for the two of them but was fruitless, so my best bet would be to check B’s room. Her door was wide open when I came up the spiral staircases. I stuck my head inside the room a bit and noticed the plethora of bags sitting on top of her bed.

Even in the worst of predicaments, women still find pleasure in shopping. Their logic really is screwed.

“Ayo, Bailey, Justine,” I called out. There was a bag of Sour Patches opened and I easily took the bag off of the bed and began to munch on it while sitting on the edge of her bed. The pattern of footsteps invaded my eardrum causing me to look up from my phone.

“What?” I cocked my head back at Justine’s blunt attitude. With her being a little younger than me, I didn’t expect her to listen to me as the elder of us because who would if we’re siblings? As Justine tells me all the time, she has her own mind and does what she pleases. Since she was my sister, I did let it slide as I do with most things dealing with her.

“I’m back,” I mumbled, stuffing another Sour Patch in my mouth.

“Welp, that’s obvious,” she snickered. I shrugged off her comment with ease, not fazed by her smartness. My eyes met Bailey’s as she stood there staring back at me; the only difference was that her eyes were on me to begin with. Licking my lips, I stuffed one more chewy candy in my mouth before placing it to the side of me. I left a few back for whoever that was.

“You’re welcome,” Bailey muttered.

“For what?” I said.

“That is my candy you just ate,” she pointed out with a mug.

“My fault, ma. This is fattening to begin with. You shouldn’t be eating it anyhow,”

“What are you trying to say?” she riposted.

“I wasn’t speaking figuratively. What I said is what I meant,” I stated simply. She rolled her beautiful brown eyes before grabbing a hold of a bag and shuffling off inside the closet; making herself at home already.

“You should really leave her alone, Nicholas,” My sister scolded. “I really don’t see why you can’t let her go on about her business like she should,” she grabbed ahold of her expensive Chanel purse, along with her jacket before exiting the bedroom. I followed behind her, not before taking the rest of the Sour Patches and trailing behind her as she went towards one of the many living rooms downstairs. I sat down on the couch and she decided to sit on the same couch as I, pulling her feet underneath her. I reached for the remote underneath the piles of paper and quickly turned the T.V. on, last night game highlights on for a repeat. “Are you listening to me?” she questioned.

“Yes, Justine,” I mumbled.

“So why don’t you let her go?” she retorted.

“Because that’s going to defeat the purpose, the hell?”

“What can she possibly do, that you can’t already? You obviously have more power than she will ever have so the need for her to be here seems unnecessary. You know, just by talking to her today, you can tell she has a bright future. Your selfish reasons are taking away from what she should be able to do without a problem. She has a family, Nicholas! How selfish can you be?” she snapped. I eyed her for a few seconds before kissing my teeth. All that she was saying was seeping into one ear and coming out the other. This is a conversation that I’ve heard plenty of times before and one I’ve never took much heed to before anyhow. I can be understanding but at this point, I was too stuck in my ways to think of anything else but my goal. Justine still can’t seem to wrap her head around that.

“I’m not trying to hear that right now,” I grumbled, laying back. “It’s not that serious. She still has her freedom. Shit, she should be happy right about now,”

“How?” she asked in bewilderment.

“Listen, if you’re ‘bout to lecture me over some shit like this, you can save your breath. I don’t need to hear it. If anything, since you’re my sister, you should stand behind my back about this!” I gritted.

“I always have your back when I shouldn’t,” she huffed. “I’m just stating my opinion,”

“No one asked for it,” I insisted.

“Fair enough,” she muttered. A slight disagreement between my sister and I never seemed to fail. It was something that happened more than I wished for it to and I couldn’t do much but allow it to happen. I get her worry and concern, but she really doesn’t realize, I’ll do what I please when I feel like, whenever. It sounds harsh, almost as if I’m not listening to her but I have to do what I feel is right and she knows it. She just doesn’t want to admit to it for whatever reason. A conversation like this always resulted in her being mute for a while as she contemplated her thoughts. No blind or deaf man would not be able to sense how frustrated my little sister was with me. Being that I’m twenty-six and she’s twenty-three, she has it set in her mind that since I’m older, I should do better. Since the tender age of fifteen, she knew just about everything I was doing and never once approved of it, just like mama. Good thing I was never asking for their approval. Justine was definitely the type that wasn’t one to hold her tongue. You might as well call her judgmental. I just find it ironic how she has the nerve to say something about what I do, when who she dated and produced a baby with is no better than I. “I still think it’s wrong and no better than the last,”

“The last time was a completely different story and you know that,” I said through clenched teeth.

“A different story,” she scoffed. “Isn’t this considered a different story?” she asked rhetorically. “You know what? Make the same mistakes over again and don’t listen to what the fuck I have to say ‘cause you never do, right? Right,” she declared.

“If that’s how you feel so be it,” I shrugged. I wasn’t going to go tit for tat with her about something such as. At the end of the day, she was the only sibling I had and an argument or disagreement like this was minuscule to the shit we’ve been through. I wasn’t trying to get her riled up which is usually why I try to keep her away from this. However, it seems like she finds some way to get involved back into shit like this and furthermore, her opinions are always heard when it’s the last thing needed.

“Well, I’m going to get going now. I just wanted to let you know Austin is being released next month from the hospital. I might need some help,”

“About that… I need y’all staying here for a few weeks,” Her eyebrows meshed together in confusion. “I know, you moved, you in a safe environment, I get it. But, I need to keep an eye on y’all for a bit and since this is the safest place you know, I want you to stay here while Austin recovers,”

“Nicholas, this is like a frat house! I like the guys and all but for Austin to recover in here is unimaginable,”

“There’s a guest house for a reason. It’s either you stay here or there. Not the brownstone,” I stated sternly. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head slowly. I doubt she could deal with living in the same vicinity as me without engaging in a tense argument. Luckily for her, the house was more than spacious so everyone wouldn’t collide into one another. Besides, we all have a respectful attitude towards one another and overstepping boundaries won’t happen, especially with my sister and nephew around. “It’s nothing permanent. Just for a few weeks,”

“I have to consult Austin’s father,”

“Man, fuck him,” I stressed.

“At the end of the day, that’s still his father,”

“Unfortunately,” I said. There was no secret that I wasn’t too fond of her choices in men and most importantly, the boy she chose to lay down and have a child with. Don’t get me wrong, I love my nephew but it’s unfortunate that he has such a deadbeat dad that doesn’t give a damn about the only kid he produced. Shit like that irks my nerves and it only adds to the fire when I think about Austin and how much he endured at such a young age. No matter how old you are, as young as Austin was, it was unacceptable that it occurred on account of someone else. Throughout the year of Austin being in the hospital, his father has never took the initiative to come by and check up on him. Justine on the other hand, seems to hold faith over the fact that her old flame will change and do better, but we know the deal. Justine is holding onto hope that’ll never come. “I don’t know why you have the littlest amount of faith in him. For what? He gon’ end up treating you wrong, again!” I said disapprovingly. “The only thing that nigga did good for you is give you Austin. But his ass is too irresponsible to care for the one child he has,” I spat, feeling aggravated.

“It’s not like that,” she whispered.

“I’m telling your ass this, leave the nigga alone. He is no good. His ass is grimy. You get hurt, I’m sorry to say but I will rub it in your face,” I huffed.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another and I can’t make this clear enough for my sister to realize. Something has got to give!

“Why would you say that?” she frowned.

“Tough love,” I shrugged. “You warned me before and now I’m warning you. Do what you please with my words but I swear to God, I’ll kill him before he hurts you again,” I stated with assurance. There’s been a few incidents where I ran into Lonnie, Austin’s father, and it’s never a pleasant circumstance. I attempt to tolerate him for Austin’s sake and Justine’s but I usually disregard their feelings for one minute because my attitude wouldn’t allow for shit to slide. Animosity between the two of us been building for the longest and it’s only so much I can take before shit gets crazy.

“I’ll be there when Austin is released. Where y’all finna stay? In here or the guest house?” I asked, rubbing my chin. The highlights of the Spurs Vs Heat game were making me anxious as hell. The Spurs had the series advantage over the Heat and if the Spurs didn’t win the series altogether, I’d be losing quite a few bucks.

“I’ll think about,” she responded with. “I’m going to leave before I end up in tears,” she sighed. “Please don’t hurt Bailey,” she pleaded.

“Just go say bye to her and go,” I fanned off. It really never failed for shit to go left when I could do without it.

She huffed and carried her ass upstairs; her footsteps being heard loud and clear. The front door opening caught my attention, so I stood to see who was coming in, only to be met by Caiden and Brian. “The strip is back on track,”

“So y’all took care of it?” I asked for clarification.

“Most definitely. Shady bitches need to learn their place and I think we did a good job at that today,” Brian stated with a mischievous grin.

“That’s good. I’ll check up on the block in a few weeks, keep ‘em on their toes,” I nodded. After that quick exchange of words, I headed back into the living room and took a seat. I was restless, not really sleeping as much as I should which causes me to be slightly grumpy and agitated over the smallest things. I need to sleep but I have too much on my mind to go to bed for a second. The most amount of hours I would receive each night would be at least four. By then, I would be up, plotting and thinking of ways to outcompete competition and destroy anyone in my way. Besides, you can’t get much done when you’re sleep anyhow. My stepfather always had this attitude about him that I liked because it embodied everything that represented power. I knew what I wanted since I was young, but I didn’t know the extent of what I wanted till now. Once you’re in too deep, it’s kind of hard to slip away casually. But, I don’t think I want to up and leave like most would.

“Okay, Nicholas, I’m leaving,”

“I can’t get a hug?” I questioned.

“The way you just talked to me like that, nah,” she said with all seriousness. By the morning, this’ll all blow over.

“I still love your slow ass,” I hollered.

“I do too, unfortunately,” she mumbled but I was still able to hear. I stood and trailed towards one of the windows, wanting to make sure that she got in her car safely. She didn’t even pull out of the driveway completely and I already had her on the phone, making sure she’d get home safe. Even through our disagreements, I still knew I had a duty as an older brother to look out for her. I would never let a disagreement lead for me to ignore her presence when that’s the last thing I can do. I done loss so many people and I’m not ‘bout to sit up and have to bury my younger sibling when it should be completely avoidable. I swear I spent at least thirty minutes on the phone with her, sometimes not even talking but just checking to make sure that she’d be alright. I don’t like her living by herself anyhow but she’s independent and for her to be a woman, I applaud that to a certain limit. “I’m home,” she finally said.

“Word?”

“Yes, now go to sleep. I’m fine,” she yawned. “I’ll call you in the morning,”

“Alright,” I mumbled. “Love you,”

“Mhm,” she mumbled. “Same here,”

Bailey

After a long day, I was happy to be in the confines of a room that belonged to me and me only. My thoughts seemed to resurface at times when I could do without them but there was a clear reason as to why I couldn’t function without a though reemerging; I was in dire need of my family. With Justine in my presence for the better half of the afternoon, I could admit honestly that she was a breath of fresh air. There was something about her demeanor that I liked but made me question a whole bunch of shit regarding her brother, I knew she wouldn’t be able to answer. However, I needed answers and I felt like I wouldn’t get a response to those questions anytime soon. I bit the inside of my cheek as I trailed back and forth between trying my luck with my phone. It’s been on my mind this whole time, but I had to be careful about this. I would have done it while I was out with Justine, but I realized it wouldn’t be right if I took advantage of her like that, like her brother mentioned.

If I was going to fuck around, I’d be in front of Adrian, not his sister.

But here I was? My phone in hand, walking across the soft carpet, debating on whether I should turn my phone on. Adrian had been downstairs for quite some time, so I suspected he was preoccupied with something or someone. His sister bided me a farewell over ten minutes ago, so I knew she was long gone by now. I just didn’t know when Adrian would decide to grace me with his lovely presence. “Fuck it,” I grumbled, I shuffled off into my bathroom, closing the door behind me. As I waited for my phone to fully turn on, I decided it would be best if I message Chance instead of calling and furthermore, getting everyone else riled up.

Chance was levelheaded. I don’t know how he’s exactly feeling but I know he’s rational and that’s what I need. A small smile graced my lips once I looked down at all the unread messages and unanswered phone calls. I had over forty voicemail messages, but all would be swept to the side. I had to be quick and smart about this and since Chance was my best resort, I quickly opened up a new message, wanting to clarify that I was alright. I know that alone would raise more curious thoughts but I didn’t have time for that.

Upon clicking his contact name and navigating towards the messages, my heart dropped at the numerous messages he left.

First, it started off with a small frown emoji.

This was probably after noticing that I took more than twenty minutes, supposedly talking to Ryan. Me talking to Ryan all of a sudden is a joke in itself but a joke Chance believed.

After the frowning emoji, Chance had notified me that he was just going to head to my mother’s house without me.

I still hadn’t responded, due to obvious reasons, but yet, he didn’t leave it alone like the best friend he is.

He continued to press the matter on why I wasn’t answering any of his calls or responding back to his questions on my whereabouts. Midway through reading his messages, I was on the verge of tears. With me being placed on the bathroom floor, tucked away in the corner, I felt like this was the perfect time to shed a few tears. But I didn’t. There were messages starting from yesterday afternoon to early this morning and by now, I could see panic reside in his aggressive messages. I was getting too lost into all of this, I nearly forgot what the purpose of having my phone in my hand was for. There were so many other things I could do with a phone, but I was too scared to do anything about it. Call the cops? That’s stupid. Do I know where I’m at? I had no reasonable choices but to assure that I was alright.

With shaky fingers, I began to generate a message I believed would soothe everyone for the time being.

To ChanceTheOG: You probably know by now but no, I am not with Ryan. Long story short, I needed some sort of break. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately and I just wanted to take a step back and relax. Sorry for not answering any of y’all calls but I don’t mean nothing by it. I’m safe and in good hands so no need to worry. Please spread the word. Love you, Chano!

The words seemed to spill easily with a few being a tad bit fabricated. Did I truly need a break from my family? No but would it seem convincing? Yes. However, did that mean Chance will truly believe me? I have no clue. I would hope so. The vibration of my phone caused me to jump slightly until I took notice that it was coming from my phone. The number in the corner of my phone continued to rise but I couldn’t bring myself to look at the rest of the messages. Chance’s latest message is all that I saw.

From ChanceTheOG: ARE YOU SURE?! PLEASE DON’T LIE TO ME…

His name flashed across my screen in seconds and I knew he was going to be persistent till I answered but I couldn’t. Pressing down on the small button at the top of the phone, I watched as my phone began to power off before I chucked it to the side of me. With a simple glimpse of a conversation like that, I don’t know when would be the next time I would have that half ass opportunity. Not only that but I had to find a way at re – hiding my phone once again and placing it back where I found it. Sighing loudly, I grasped my phone between my fingers and stood, walking out of the bathroom. In the brown chestnut dresser, I rested the small device in the corner of the top dresser under multiple clothes. If things took a turn, the last place Adrian would look for it would be in my dresser. It was too obvious. He would think I would outdo him when in actuality, I’m doing what any naïveperson would do. He doesn’t believe I’m naïve, so I have to act like I am some sort of way.

I took it upon myself to walk down the stairs and find some sort of human to communicate with. If I stay upstairs in isolation, I’ll only be driving myself insane and giving Adrian a reason to wonder about me. I haven’t given myself the grand tour of the house, but it was absolutely stunning. For about five men to live here and keep it super clean, I give them their props. Or, they could simply have a maid. All in all, it was a stunning house to begin with. The interior reminded me of my mother’s house, especially with the unique pieces of furniture. “Nice crib, huh?” I turned around, coming face to face with Adrian. I hadn’t even noticed I was in the living room.

“Yes, it’s nice,” I shrugged.

“Have a seat. I don’t have my glock on me, so you don’t have to be scared,”

“I’m not scared,” I said, pursing my lips together.  

“Sure?” he questioned, turning the volume down a bit.

“Yep,” I stated with confidence.

“Some come sit and watch this game with me,” Discreetly, I rolled my eyes and walked towards an available couch to sit on. My body was obviously tense, and he surely took notice of that, laughing at my uncomfortableness. “Relax, baby girl. Chill,” it was ironic that he could tell me to chill in the position I was in. From the conversation earlier with Justine, she depicted him in a different light; like some humanitarian. Since that is her brother, of course she will. But since she’s not in my position, I will be the one judging him.

“Miami is losing tonight,” I found myself saying. Riley was a huge basketball fan, just like any male, but his obsession with the game went further than most. Most wanted to just be able to play but no, he wanted to own a team – Miami Heat in fact. Watching a game like this would usually consist of him, Ryan, Rayne and myself. It was the most common thing for us to do and then some but after Riley was gunned down, that all changed quickly. I stopped looking at basketball games entirely so looking at it now was foreign.

“You know that because?” he questioned.

“LeBron isn’t really playing with his heart. Wade isn’t doing shit to help out the team. They already gave up once Spurs gained a lead in the series,”

“Let me find out you know something about ball,”

“I don’t know much, to be honest. But, I have a good gut feeling,” I shrugged.

“Is that so?” he said.

“Yes,”

“Well, damn, I must’ve hit the jackpot. You’re ‘bout to be a jack of all trades,” he chuckled as the game cut to halftime.

“Something like that,” I whispered. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just wasted…” he paused, counting something unaware to me. “… Seven syllables asking me can you ask a question, when technically, you just did. Why do you girls do that?” I smiled briefly, not realizing what I was doing in that very moment until I saw him mirroring my expression. Fuck.

“Well, a lot of y’all don’t like to be bothered by questions. Ironic enough, y’all not that confrontational unlike girls,”

“Is that a proven theory?” he retorted.Well, obviously you beat that statistic.

“Are you trying to move away from the fact that I want to ask you a question?”

“Trying to avoid confrontation, remember?” You really can’t beat him at his own game.

“That would be nice but seriously, why do you cause other people harm?” I said, twiddling the multiple rings that adorned my finger. Rings all bought by Ryan himself. I had the urge to pull them off my finger and throw them away, but I didn’t. I wore them on graduation day and it was the last bit of him I had left. I was still holding onto the little bit of faith I had with Ryan. I really shouldn’t try but I find myself doing it to this very moment. When I was upstairs, I should have seen if he had called me when I had the chance, but I would rather leave it at unknown than to actually know and be disappointed that he didn’t. After all, I haven’t heard from him in a month. Now all of a sudden is when he wants to check up on me or even show concern? I don’t know why I try.

“I don’t cause other people harm,” he stated nonchalantly.

“Okay… why do you do what you do then?” I said. “You’re only benefiting yourself and doing more harm than good,”

“So?” he asked with all seriousness. “Isn’t your boyfriend killing niggas for a living? Ain’t that an oxymoron right there?” he chuckled with a smirk. I couldn’t even deny the fact that he had me right there. I really can’t ask a question like that without sounding biased because Ryan and my father does the same thing. I don’t know much about Adrian, so I did assume that he’s obviously a threat. Why wouldn’t he be? He does carry a gun after all. “Right,” he dragged out. “Anyhow, why are you so curious? Just roll with the flow,”

“Should I not be?”

“Nope, you in good hands now,” He kept making references about Ryan that I was unaware of. What could he know about my boyfriend that I don’t know already? “There’s no reason to ask any more questions so don’t,” My lips were sealed after that and it seemed like perfect timing since halftime was now over and third quarter was in session. It was silent for the most part as Adrian kept his eyes planted on the television screen, munching on the food he brought from the kitchen after he dismissed our conversation. Call me crazy but the only reason I feel like he’s curving my questions is to protect him from showing raw emotions. Justine already told me that he’s a tough cookie to crack but that didn’t really falter or bother me much. I mean, I dated Ryan and he is the least bit easy to understand so why wouldn’t I be able to understand Adrian? I’m up for the challenge.

Since I was somewhat-turned around on the couch him and I sat on, I was given the perfect opportunity to really take in his looks. Everything from his smooth skin to his thick eyebrows. He was an odd beauty; not something I would typically go for but a gorgeous man. It was just a sweet bonus that he was tall, but he wasn’t mine. Ryan is and I don’t even know where we stand at the moment besides this so called break. Licking my lips, I noticed I was doing that more than what I would have liked to. The only good thing from this is that he didn’t catch me lusting over his looks. If he had, I wouldn’t hear the last of it and he would surely turn this into a direction I’m trying to avoid for as long as my stay last.

“Damn, Spurs ain’t playing this year at all,” he mumbled, taking a sip of the dark liquor in a clear glass. I twisted my head in the direction of the television and noticed the score. There was a huge gap and it was sad to see that the Heat were getting violated this badly. I know Riley’s not happy about that. “Good for me. I’ll be 100 grand richer,” he said, his fingers quickly glazing over the screen of his black iPhone.

“You bet?” I asked.

“I do it all,” he muttered.

“Kidnapping included?”

“You’re still not over that?” he asked in a gruff tone. “We need to move forward, baby girl. None of that working in the past shit,”

“If that’s that the case, I still have a few more questions,” I said firmly. “If you want me to cooperate, when I shouldn’t might I add, I want to know a few things first off bat,”

“Hold on,” he muttered, continuing to focus on the last few seconds of the basketball game. It was obvious the Spurs were going to win so I had no clue why he was acting as if he was waiting for something obscure to happen. Patiently tapping my acrylic nails against the material of my jeans, I waited for him to give me his undivided attention. When the game finally cut off, Adrian stood, grabbing ahold of all the plates and whatnot he had managed to pile on while snacking during the game. “Can you grab that for me?” he asked, pointing towards the empty bottles. I grabbed them and followed behind him towards the kitchen. Since they were glass bottles, I carefully placed them in the rightful space before waiting for Adrian. He went to wash his hands before grabbing a small container from the top shelf of one of the many cabinets. “Let’s talk outside,”

He threw that over his shoulder and once I caught a glimpse of his brown irises, he looked drained as fuck. “Let’s sit by the poolthen,” I mumbled. I find it to be oddly relaxing.

Surprisingly, he let me have it and took a seat right beside me. Only difference was his feet remained planted on the side, instead of the crystal-clear water.

“Want one?” He had offered a cigar, but I politely declined.

“You’re more relaxed during the night, why is that?” As far as I was concerned, he wasn’t as aggressive as he was in the day. That was obviously a difference I took notice of. He was mellower; he just had a smart mouth on him still but that was somewhat-tolerable. His actions weren’t. But I just found it strange how it seemed like he switched so easily. Maybe this is who he is and everything else is just a façade. Either way, everyone has a story that’s worth listening to despite the situation. I should be quick to say fuck him, but my heart wasn’t set up like that. It should be, I don’t know why it isn’t.

“Nah, I’m just plottin’ so I remain quiet until I need to talk,” he clarified, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth. “What you needed to ask?”

“Will I really be able to leave after you get what you need?” I would love to be able to go home after this is all over and remain secluded in one place no one will find me at and potentially, I’ll be able to put this all behind me.

“It’s up to you. I only need you for one thing at this point. I don’t know what the future holds but if you still happen to be around then so be it,” I nodded, a bit content with his answer. It was no different than what he said before but hearing him say it to me directly was a bit more reassuring. He seemed genuine about it so hopefully he was being true to his words. If anything, I was more curious to see how the turn of events would be in these upcoming weeks. All I knew was my life was still in danger because it seemed to me, Adrian and his boys could be a bit reckless.

“Will it be all work with you?” I pressed.

“Meaning?”

“No personal interference?” I clarified.

I watched the smoke mix in with the air around us, flowing away slowly. “None of that. I’m not trying to get sidetracked and that’s what y’all females being doing to a brotha. So, before that even starts, we gon’ dead those ifs and possibilities now,” That’s impossible but I remained mum on that. This obviously meant he was finding a way to barricade his feelings and from me exactly. In his mind, this was going to be strictly-business, but he knew that would be impossible; especially dealing with me.

“So why do you say I’m yours?” I asked.

“’Cause you are,” he stated.