#poor guy was too busy nerding in the academy this is his first time

[avid-mreower]

kockdaily 131 & 125

17.01.24 - 02.02.24

[gastricpierrot]

Title: Heartbeat

Series: Promare

Pairing: GaloLio

Rating: T

Summary:

Lio turns himself in after the final battle, the start of a new life he must get used to.

This is a story of how Lio Fotia navigates through the days that follow, learns that support comes in more forms than he’s ever familiar with, and deals with his alarmingly developing feelings for Galo Thymos.

Also on AO3

[Prologue][Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5]

[Chapter 6]

Lio’s new roommates are pretty normal upon a first impression.

Gueira and Meis are assigned to different rooms as well; perhaps it is done on purpose to encourage them to mingle around with others. At any rate, Lio’s not too bothered. As long as he’s staying with people who know how to respect boundaries and keep their mess to themselves, he’s got no complaints.

The enrollment day of fire training isn’t too eventful. They're made to sit through hours of briefings once they report in and leave their belongings in their rooms, they’re given tours across the facility. It doesn’t take long for the excited faces around Lio to slowly dim as boredom and exhaustion set in. Lio finds himself stifling some yawns of his own and suppressing a growing tinge of annoyance. The main instructor in charge of their orientation is trying too hard, speaking too loud, and being too obnoxious. There really isn’t a need to project such a forced image of toughness just to convince them that their regimen would be grueling; Lio’s sure everyone who’s signed up and passed the physical screenings are fully aware of what they’re getting themselves into.

He diligently sits through the entire program nonetheless, even making sure to take notes when necessary. Their daily schedule begins at six in the morning and ends at five in the evening. Classes are interspersed between physical training, lessons consisting of the basics and the theoretical sides of firefighting and rescue work. Trainees are allowed to eventually choose from a handful of electives as well, mainly on mission strategy, Gear piloting, and equipment maintenance. Their eligibility to choose between streams are dependent on their scores for each screening test segment.

Lio didn’t struggle too much on the written exams—those lessons during his detention did end up helping him—but he must admit to have ran into some troubles during the physical ones. He’s a bit stiffer compared to a few years back, his reaction time seems to be slightly slower than he remembers. His muscle strength and endurance seem to have improved from all the time spent doing community service, though, but Lio personally isn’t happy with how he can’t seem to pull off more explosive movements like he used to easily.  

It frustrates him, not being able to move the way he did when he’s just a little younger. It makes him wonder just how much had he depended on the Promare, and how much of his abilities then had been his own prowess.

He forces himself not to think too much about it. All he has to do is train harder if he’s that unsatisfied with his physical capabilities. He no longer has the luxury of moping around.

Lio’s enrolled into the FDPP’s academy under special circumstances, with the help of Galo and his team captain vouching for him. His expenses are covered through a grant—a scholarship of sorts. Everything he needs while training is supplied to him free of charge as long as he meets the performance standards expected of him. He's to take up extra lessons to earn his driver’s license on Sundays, the only full free day given to trainees. Lio knows he wouldn’t have the time and energy to think of unnecessary matters.

His day ends with a simple meal with his brothers at the dorm cafeteria. Gueira and Meis offer to keep him company for just a while longer, but Lio’s had enough social interaction for the day. He itches for a shower, eager to finally catch his breath and settle down to the music of a rhythm game.

Until he remembers he’s not with his usual source of music. And he still doesn’t own a phone yet.

Lio spends his entire time in the shower stall wondering how he should pass the night.

When he returns to his room later, the atmosphere there is...odd, to say the least. All three of his roommates are there, seemingly have been talking fervently among themselves when Lio enters. They stare at him intently, and he stares back, raising an eyebrow in question.

Two of them then turn away to exchange gazes among themselves, and they leave the room without another word. Lio doesn’t pay mind to any of it, stepping aside to make way. They're not the first ones who gradually recognized who he is and stared. Lio’s already ignored a dozen frowns directed at him from the older trainees and even some of the instructors. People are going to judge his decision based on his past as a Burnish, it can’t be helped. What's important that he himself maintains a clear grasp of his own goals and motivations.

“You’re the Burnish leader, Lio Fotia.”

Lio regards his remaining roommate, a boy several years younger than himself. What he senses from him isn’t the animosity he’s used to dealing with whenever someone remembers who he used to be, but rather a buzz of...excitement? Lio can no longer see where this conversation would go.

“I was,” he answers evenly, confusion growing when the boy looks at him even more starry-eyed.

“I knew it!! I thought you looked familiar when I saw you this morning!” his roommate hypes, and at this point Lio’s thought process has completely crashed. The boy then extends his hand towards him, face red. “I really!! Admire you!!”

Now this is really not within expectations.

“I’m?? Honored??” Lio hesitantly shakes, half wondering if this kid has somehow jumbled up his figures of admiration. “But can I ask, whatever for?”

His roommate retracts his hand and cradles it close, looking like he’s decided he’s never going to wash it ever again. “Um?? I just think you’re really cool!!! Fighting for your people like that!!” He then seems to abruptly notice his own intensity and grows embarrassed, averting his gaze and rubbing his nose with the joint of his finger.

“Sorry, I was still kinda young when I read about you on the news so maybe I’m still influenced by my past naivety,” he says, sullen before he perks up again. “But I still think you’re amazing, though!! Especially when you turned yourself in, my respect for you really skyrocketed when that happened!”

“It’s honestly nothing to be admired for,” Lio protests weakly, also getting sheepish as the conversation progresses. He's truly not used to receiving such genuine sentiments from strangers, much less from someone who wasn’t once Burnish themselves. “It was just something I thought I had to do.”

“It’s because you were willing to take responsibility that I’m so impressed!” His roommate insists. “You owned up even though the things you’ve done have been largely circumstantial. And that’s right after you saved the world! That must’ve taken a lot of pride and courage.”

“It really wasn’t—” Lio begins but is immediately cut off with a louder “It is!!! Incredible in my eyes!! Please at the very least accept my appreciation!!”

And what else can he do other than try not to get even more flustered and mutter a thank you? He really is too helpless in the face of people who aggressively throw praises at him like this.

“And another thing!!” The boy continues, and holy heck this kid is even more of a hurricane than Galo, Lio couldn’t help but think as he only blinks and lets himself be swept away by the flow. “How close are you to Galo Thymos??”

This, though, Lio’s expected to hear at least once while he’s here. Galo’s the super rookie of his team when he first started, the hero of Promepolis within a mere few years of being in service. With the sheer amount of merchandise Lio has stumbled upon while he wandered the streets and peeked into shops, he doesn’t doubt there’s at least one person in fire training who looks up to him. He's basically the local celebrity!

“We’re friends,” Lio answers, not one to reveal more unnecessary information that may cause troublesome misunderstandings. He figures if he mentions about being housemates with Galo for a bit the poor guy would lose his mind.

Sure enough, just knowing that they’re still in contact with each other almost sends his roommate into a fit. He makes an odd noise at the back of his throat, face growing redder with excitement.

“What kind!! Of a person is he???”

And for a moment, Lio’s stumped. It’s not a question he can answer as offhandedly as before. Galo...isn’t someone who could be summarized within a handful of words. Lio is certain that he’s yet to see many more sides of him; parts of him he may like, parts of him he may not. There’s still so much more to know, so much more to learn about.

“He’s as you see him on TV.” Lio makes his way to the bottom bunk he’d called dips on, taking a seat at the edge of his mattress. “Loud, obnoxious. Confident.”

He doesn’t notice how his tone softens as he goes on.

“He’s dumb, but not stupid. He's got an annoying habit of butting into people’s business, always trying to help even when it’s got nothing to do with him.”

He’s selfless, ambitious. He’s a nerd for his interests. He cooks well and keeps his home surprisingly tidy. He eats too much pizza for his own good. He’s too reckless for his own good.

“You seem really fond of him,” Lio’s told in the end. His roommate seems bemused, like he realized he’s accidentally stumbled upon something a bit too private. Lio ponders over his words for a moment. Well, yeah. He is fond of him. Otherwise he wouldn’t spend quite so much time with him, now would he?

“He’s been really good to me,” Lio says, hugging his elbows. “I hope to make it all up to him one day.”

“I’m sure you will!” His roommate assures, and he only smiles slightly in response.

“I’ll do my best.”

They engage in a little more small talk before Lio excuses himself, climbing on fully onto his bed and pulling the curtains shut. He lies on his side, pillow in his arms. Breathe in deeply, then out. Over and over.

He didn’t think he still remembers how to feel homesick.

xXx

The hardest part about fire training is arguably having to wake up at five in the morning to compete for the washrooms and shove breakfast down his throat within an hour.

Apart from that, though? Lio would say he’s doing pretty good. Physical training is tough, but he doesn’t think it’d kill him. He's used to physically demanding construction work, being almost constantly at it for five years. His current regimen might make use of completely different sets of muscles, but Lio’s long learnt to pace himself well and to avoid thinking of doing things like it’s a competition.

Most trainees seem to have been athletes as far as he can tell, all having the physiques one would expect to need for fire training. This also means that the younger ones in particular, are keen on showing off to one another throughout the first few days. Rivalries are declared and coarse encouragements are exchanged, and Lio can’t help marveling at how carefree youths could be, to treat job training like it’s some sort of social activity. They'll be stuck together for the next three months or so; he supposes it probably is worth building rapport among each other for the long term.

Speaking of rapport, Lio discovers the reason why his two other roommates left the room after a single look at him the night before. It turns out that they were trying to decide if Lio really is the Mad Burnish Lio, and upon finding out that he is and that the remaining guy is a huge fan, they just didn’t bother staying behind to watch him fanboy. It’s truly something Lio could never have imagined, but it’s nice to know that not every non-Burnish who recognizes him hates his guts. As insignificant as it is, it makes his chest feel just a little lighter.

Lio’s first week passes in a flurry of activities, each so new and energy-consuming that he could hardly stay upright at the end of each day. It’s almost impossible to muster enough focus to go over the textbook materials they’ll be quizzed on when he is uncomfortably aware of every muscle on his body and they are all aching. Lio has to admit that he does grow a little discouraged especially when the nightly headaches begin—until he remembers that even Galo has managed to pass the same program.

Now he definitely can’t lose. Even if it means developing a coffee addiction along with Meis and Gueira.

Sunday eventually rolls around, and Lio finishes his first driving lesson without a hitch. It’s just an online course about road rules and other such theoretical information regarding driving, held within the training facility’s computer lab over three hours. Lio’s supposed to revise the course contents over the week and pass the exam next Sunday if he wants to progress to the hands-on part of the lessons. He's not too worried about either; traffic rules seem straightforward enough to remember and he’s familiar with riding a motorcycle. He might be a little rusty after having not used his beloved Detroit for so long, but he’s confident he won’t fail. Mostly.

At any rate, that’s for future him to worry about. Present him exits the room with a slight, subconscious bounce in his steps, glad that his week is finally over. His heartbeat quickens just a little from anticipation as he heads toward the gates.

He hears the ruckus before he sees it. Galo’s standing to one side of the facility entrance, and he’s currently surrounded by a small group of excited firefighter trainees asking for autographs and training tips. He glances up just as Lio approaches, and his grin widens the moment he spots him.

“Sorry, you guys—I'll have to be going now!” he announces with an apologetic laugh. The trainees around him are fortunately understanding enough to instantly give him space, though they do give Lio strange looks when they realize he’s the one Galo’s been waiting for. The only one who speaks up is Lio’s roommate who also happens to be there, cheerfully telling him to have a great time and to be safe while he’s outside.

“Lio, you’ve made a friend!” Galo observes excitedly once they walk a bit further off to look for a place to eat. Lio wonders if it really is something that warrants that much disbelief in his voice.

“He’s my roommate,” he says, the corners of his lips curling upwards, nonetheless. “Kid’s pretty nice.”

“Look at you already going around getting along with people!!” Galo swings an arm across Lio’s shoulders in his enthusiasm. “You need to tell me everything that’s been going on while you were gone!!”

Lio’s now used to this sort of contact with him, their close proximity a comfort he realizes he misses just lately. He lets himself indulge in the moment for bit before protesting halfheartedly. “Galo, it’s hard to walk like this.”

“Right, right.” Galo withdraws his arm, and Lio bites back a wince when cold air immediately fills his absence. “Sorry, it just feels like I haven’t seen you in a while?”

“It’s only been a week,” Lio reminds him, though he can’t say he doesn’t understand. It’s only been a week, yet the sleepy mornings and quiet nights and soft “welcome home”s and “I’m home”s already feel so far gone. It feels like Lio hasn’t heard the jingle of Galo’s mobile game in forever, hasn’t humored Galo’s unpredictable energy spikes in a long while. His days have never felt quite complete ever since he left the apartment.

His days have never felt quite complete without Galo in them.

They keep up their idle chatter all the way until they find an eatery they both fancy. Lio waits until they’re seated and have made their orders before he continues sharing about the shenanigans he’s witnessed during fire training, the friendly rivalries going all around, the one time Gueira ingested so much coffee to study for a surprise quiz that he was out of it for the next day and a half. Galo’s a great listener as always, knowing well where and how to react, never shy about sharing his own anecdotes of mischief he’s seen and participated in back when he was training himself. It’s been quite a number of years since Galo attended the academy, yet so many things seem to remain unchanged. The system, the course contents, the facilities—and the trainee behaviors most of all.

Lio finds it all strangely fascinating.

“But all that aside,” Galo takes a sip of his melon soda, “I think you really are amazing, Lio.”

Lio doesn’t think he’ll ever be used to this compliment coming from Galo in particular. “What’s with that again, all of the sudden?”

“No, it’s just that it’s been on my mind for a while and—” Galo fiddles with his fingers, pausing a split second to gather his thoughts— “You’re already doing so well even though you looked so lost just a little more than a month ago! I’m just really glad that you seem to have found a goal again.”

“And who do you think helped me the most to get where I am now?” Lio places his elbow on the table and rests his chin against his palm, a lopsided smile across his lips as he gazes at Galo. “You’ll always be the most amazing one in my eyes, Galo. People look up to you, people strive to be like you. You stay true to yourself no matter what you face.”

And I’ve always thought that someone like me will never be worthy of staying by your side.

Galo frowns the moment he catches the words Lio muttered last, ready to argue when Lio speaks first.

“But I don’t want to give up,” he declares, adjusting his posture to sit a little straighter, a little prouder. “I’ll catch up to you soon enough.”

And at that, Galo grins, eyes bright. “I’ll be looking forward to that, then!”

Then as his elation fades, he seems to suddenly recall something. There’s a sly lilt to his voice when he speaks again. “Though, aren’t you being the romantic one this time, Lio?”

Lio gets the reference soon enough, and tilts his head in feigned innocence. “Why? Did it sound like a romantic confession?”

“Well, yeaaah.” Galo crosses his arms and squints, familiar enough with Lio by now to recognize certain signs indicating his verbal traps. “Kinda.”

Lio, on the other hand, isn’t nearly as bothered. “Good. I suppose it is one.”

...

“Huh?”

Lio remains calm, mostly because his brain hasn’t exactly caught up to his mouth just yet in the heat of the moment. He watches Galo’s reaction in fond amusement, heart beating just a tad faster as the words tumble out on their own, unrestrained as though freed by the realization that has finally dawned him.

“I’m in love with you, Galo.”

[agreateryesterday]

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Summary Unavailable

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Haunted By Love by iuwumilo

(Last updated Feb 7, 2016) 4 chapters

Kellin Quinn and his mom moved to San Diego to leave all their bad memories in Michigan. They tried to find an affordable and decent house. I mean, it’s affordable; but, is it really decent? Decent my ass. The house is fucking haunted. The house was built in 1908. All the house owners has died in that house. Well, there’s this certain ghost; Vic Fuentes. Ever since Kellin stepped in that house, Vic was certainly interested in him.

Mute by poisonhoney

(Last updated Nov 10, 2018) 14 chapters

Kellin Quinn was a name nobody heard. He is a loner, a nobody. No one cared when he moved schools. No one cared about the mysterious bruises and cuts on his body. No one cared when he was hospitalized for something his father did to him. He always thought no one cared for him. It’s just how his life always went. So how does he cope when someone tries to show that they care about him? Will he br able to let them in, or will he push them away?

50 Shades of Kellic by endlessgoodbyes

(Last updated June 3, 2018) 7 chapters

A dom needs to be needed. A sub needs to feel wanted. Without each other thay are nothing. Only together are they complete.

It’s Just Not Me by dropdeadkellin

(Last updated Sep 5, 2016) 46 chapters

“Wow, I thought you were an asshole but you’ve really opened my eyes. You’re a bitch, too.” In which a pretty boy who likes to dress as a girl crosses paths with a punk asshole who learns there is more to just a pretty skirt than people see.

Princess by ohcuriousity

(Last updated Jul 26, 2015) 8 chapters

Kellin is a lighthearted fun guy. Vic is a bad boy. Or an AU where Vic threatens Kellin and Kellin doesn’t listen.

When It’s All You Know by alullabyformydemons

(Last updated April 8, 2015) 15 chapters

Kellin is a runaway. He is living his life on the edge of a knife, recklessly putting himself in harms way and drowning in the lies he has built up around himself. But when Vic forces his way into Kellin’s secluded life will he finally commit to something and tell the truth before he brings trouble to both Vic and himself, or will he take the easy way out and revert back to the only way he knows; running.

Congratulations, You’re The Man by OfTonyAndPerry

(Last updated May 7, 2017) 13 chapters

Two groups who hate each other are going to have to tolerate each other when Vic and Kellin forget something important during something that shouldn’t have happened. What was it they forgot? Will this mistake be enough to bring the two geoups back together?

So Keep In Happiness by You-Say-Im-A-Sinner

(Last updated Dec 12, 2014) 2 chapters

Kellin is bullied and tries to kill himself, sending him to San Diego for a home for suicidal boys, where he meets Vic.

Enemies With Benefits by SulfurAndTheSea

(Last updated June 26, 2016) 47 chapters

Kellin Quinn and Vic Fuentes have always hated each other with a butning passion. Everyone knew that, it was a simple fact. It was as simple as the sky being blue or the grass being green. Throught both of their soccer careers, they’ve had a feud. Now, when they are both accepted into a prestigious college known for its soccer team, they are forced to get over their differences and playwith each other, on the same team. Not only do they have to share a college, they have to share a room. Could life get any worse?

And Now I’m Nothing by patrickstuhmpz

*Finished* 37 chapters

The one where the popular guy gets dared to ask out the outcast.

The Story of Us by thevicandthekellin

*Finished* 45 chapters

While cleaning out his room to leave for college, Kellin discovers a mysterious book which holds his whole life story. Past, present, and future. So what happens when Kellin discovers Vic Fuentes, fellow student, in his future? Many things. Many good and bad things to be exact.

Another Boy Without a Sharper Knife by piercethelowandmen

*Finished* 31 chapters

Vic has been through a lot in the past few days. He lost his best friend and almost took his own life. That’s why he ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Kellin has been in the hospital for 20 days now but that’s okay, he doesn’t want to go home to his abusive family. They dont really care about him anyway. Will these two be able to help each other or watch each other burn?

I’m The Killer Who Burned Your Home by Hold On Till Gray

(Last updated June 13, 2014) 2 chapters

Kellin was a normal dude; worked at a local coffee shop, had friends, and lived a simple life. Vic would know. He’s watched Kellin from afar for a while now. After seeing his brother in a perfect relationship, he became desperate wanting one of his own. After 3 years of looking for what he calls “The One” he finally finds Kellin. Again he repeats these same steps he’s been taking over those 3 years.... Those who know what he does call him a “crazy stalker”. But in reality he’s just looking for a little bit of love in this heart break city.

All For You by piercetheprice

*Finished* 39 chapters

Kellin is the self destructive, quiet boy, witha poisonous home life. He has no one and all he wants is to end it all. Vic is the self assured, new kid who gets seated next to Kellin. He’s determined to try and save him.

Blue Eyes In A Sea Of Brown by Driftwood_Heart

*Finished* 34 chapters

Kellin gets paired with Vic to do a science project. As he prepares to do all the work his self he gets a real surprise when things turn out different than he expected.

Ambivalence by theidleteen

(Last updated May 17, 2016) 14 chapters

When two best friends are separated by rival gangs, they swear that they’d never look back. Vic Fuentes desperately tries to erase any good memory he’d ever had of his ex-bestfriend Kellin Quinn. To Vic, Kellin’s just another case of bad news. To Kellin, Vic will always be the one that got away.

Ghosts in the Walls by LendyISheree

(Last updated May 20, 2015) 18 chapters

What happens when Vic moves into a haunted house?? A house haunted by Kellin:)

[the-canary]

Bel Ami - B.B (6)

Summary: You had bigger fish to fry in NYC between your new job, living in a new city and old friend – you were sure in over your head, but who’s that cute stranger that keeps helping you out?(Reader/Bucky Barnes)  

Prompt:  Person A: “Okay, I have something to confess… I like you. I have for the past two years now and it’s been killing me to hold it in this long but I think you deserve to know.” Person B: “You nerd, we’ve been dating for the past two years.

A/N: this is for @sgtjbuccky‘s writing challenge. please welcome to even bigger idiots :)

Feedback is always welcomed.

“Are you telling me that’s the girl Bucky can’t stop thinking of?”

“The exact one.”

“Well, no wonder the date was a failure. You should see the eyes he was making at her.”

“He’s not in love,” Steve remarks as green eyes look at him in disbelief, “His words not mind.”

“That poor deluded bastard.”

You aren’t sure what to think about Bucky and his invasion from before, as the weekend comes closer and he sends you a message to meet near the library close to the Barnes Towers. You are sure it is just meant as a friendship sort of thing and as much as you feel a certain type of disappointment with it all, you are just happy to have Bucky back in your life -- maybe, he’ll bring another dog with him too.

You weren’t sure if in the eleventh hour, you should be freaking about what you should be wearing or enjoying stuffing your face with pizza on the couch and looking for something to watch.   

“What do you think that you should be doing right now?” Wanda asks like she knows your inner turmoil, as she watches you hang up from ordering from your favorite pizza place. She is currently putting on some extra earrings, to match her silver heels and red dress for a night out on the town with Viz.

“I think,” you sigh out, “I should forget about this and fantasizing over being Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman again.”

“Richard Gere again?” she questions as she takes a seat across from you and the shitty little thing you call a kitchen countertop.

“Peek Richard Gere,” you correct her as she laughs. You pout for a second, waiting for the second show to drop as Wanda enters mother hen mode.

“If it’s just as friends, just be casual and happy you,” Wanda explains her point-of-view, “If not, maybe you should--”

“I don’t want him like that, Wan,” you whisper as brown eyes give you a sympathetic look.

“I didn’t spend a whole month see you mope over this Borky for you to lie to me,” Wanda fights back, before cupping your cheek so that you could look at her straight in the eyes. You let keep going though you want to correct her and oh so many things, “But, if denial makes it easier for you, and I’ll gladly help with that--”

“But?”

“But,” she starts off once more with a sympathetic smile, “If being around someone hurts you, you can always cut them off. It’s always in your power to do so.”

“I know,” you remark, thinking about why you followed with your plans from moving to New York from Syracuse in the first place, as she smiles and nods once more before the doorbell rings. Maybe, Viz was here to finally pick her up.  

She gets up from her place and grabs her bag before looking at you once more: “Enjoy your 90’s movie binge.”

“I’ll try!” you yell back as she disappears through the small hallway and you are left once alone.

Now, you aren’t so sure if you could watch the damn movie without thinking of how much Richard Gere’s character reminded you of one Bucky Barnes, though you weren’t exactly Julia Roberts. Eventually, you decide on watching Top Gun instead and ignoring that denial could be an island of one.

As you binge on old 90’s movies to forget your anxiety over tomorrow, you are completely unaware that there is another person pushing all the details that he loves about New York into the itinerary for tomorrow with a lovestruck look on his face -- though he’ll deny it when asked by Steve or Sam. However, with a certain red-head, it is a completely different story.

“So, I am guessing she’s the reason our date went so bad,” Nat gives him a small smile, though there are no bad feelings behind it, “The one Steve told me about.”

“Stevie doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about,” Bucky remarks as Natasha gives him a skeptical look, “She’s just a friend.”

Natasha tries her hardest to stop herself from singing the second part to a certain song, as she proceeds to shrug: “Sure, but just remember you’re just going to have the same problem again.”

“I know that,” Bucky remarks in frustration as he pushes a hand through his face, “But, it isn’t like that...I don’t see her in that way.”

Natasha just shakes her head before stating that she has to go back to work and back to seeing Clint, because as least she didn’t have the rich kid problems that came with being one James Buchanan Barnes.

Bucky drives the memory from his head before moving forward with what you guys should have for lunch.

You end up meeting Bucky in the steps of one of older libraries in New York City. The weather is slightly cooler than usual and are falling asleep on the couch after crying over The Green Mile for the what seems like the 20th time, you end up taking a quick shower and picky a breezy open top, a light sweater,  and jeans. You aren’t sure what the day is going to entail, but as you see Bucky wearing a simple flannel button up and jeans with Lucas at his side, you can’t help but secretly rejoice over your choice of clothing.

I mean, you didn’t want to seem desperate to the man.  

“Morning,” you exclaim with a grin as the large dog perks up for a second, and for a second with those big blue eyes staring at you and you can’t help but hope that Bucky is as well.

“Hey,” Bucky breathe out, as you take a step down and greet Lucas as well. He can’t help but grin at the sight of the dog leaning into your touch before you get up once more and look at him prepared to start the day.

“So, where are we going, oh great tour guide?” you laugh just a little and Bucky can’t help but feel that butterflies in his stomach as his heart speeds up for just a second.

“The Planetarium,” Bucky manages to answer back, as you nod while motioning for Lucas to follow you. The dot agrees to do so with a bark, as Bucky stays in the back.

And as the three of you walk the busy streets of New York, Bucky can’t help but feel like this is going to end up being a very bad idea.

Bucky ends up taking to around Central Park, his favorite bookstore, and a very good pizza place not too far from Madison Square Garden. You also got to know more about Bucky -- about he has gone a few tours when he was younger, how he got connected to the Service Dog Academy he worked with after he came back (as you took Lucas back), and even a little about his family and how he grew up in Brooklyn with his best friend. In exchange, you talked about Wanda and Pietro and how you moved around a lot before settling in Syracuse for the rest of your school, though you didn’t talk much about what lead you to New York.

“Do you like dancing?” Bucky remarks as the afternoon slowly turns into evening and while you had never been the best dancer, you can’t help but want to try it out with Bucky.

“Here and there,” you remark vaguely as Bucky smiles, grabbing your hand and dragging you down the sidewalk.

That’s how you end up at a place called C’mon Everybody.

It’s a quaint little place that seems to be playing a little bit of everything tonight, completely different from that other club where you had meet Bucky before you knew him. However, instead of standing at the sidelines, he quickly grabs a small table, orders drinks, and quickly moves you to the dance floor. You aren’t familiar with some songs, but you do your best with Bucky’s instructions.

It’s a fast twirl of laughs and bad dance moves, as you move from one song to another, quite unsure of where all of this is going but if Bucky is happy you are as well. It hits you like a rock and at that moment, Bucky dips you.

The world pauses and shrinks to the two of you in the darkly lit room, as your eyes meet blue eyes and you realize just how close your face is. Because if you move your face in the right angle, you swear that you could capture his lips with yours and--

That’s when the song comes to an end.

“I have to use the bathroom,” you admit and thus breaking the moment as Bucky lets you go. You run to where the restrooms are indicated to be, as Bucky starts to move towards the table once more. His breathing was a bit heavier than usual, as he tried to calm down whatever adrenaline and emotions he was feeling from that dance.

“Fuck,” he curses to himself, “What the hell was that?”

Bucky knew deep down what it was, everyone had been telling him so for months but now he was finally facing the realization that he really was attracted to you -- he wasn’t sure what to do.

He really couldn’t do anything about it, unless he wanted a Dot incident all over again. Bucky runs a hand through his hair in frustration over his idiocy and just how much he might actually like you. It’s another twenty whole minutes before you come out of the bathroom and by that time he has already called a cab for you.

“W-What?” you manage to stutter out, as Bucky pushes you towards the front of the dance hall. Your heart is jumping in anxiety and fear over what had happened, but you didn’t think that his reaction would have been so negative.

“I-I just realized I have a long day tomorrow,” Bucky remarks trying not to look at your soft lips and watering eyes, “I’m sorry I can’t take you home, but it’s better that way.”

It’s better this way.

The familiar and all too heartbreaking phase causes to you freeze and move forward without another word, as Bucky pushes you into the cab with a weary smile but you aren’t looking at him anymore. You give the man your address and Bucky spots him a hundred before giving you a brief goodbye. He tries to grab your hand but you pull back and say goodnight.

“I’m sorry,” he states, though he isn’t sure if he is saying it for you or for himself as he begins to close the door.

“No,” he hears you whisper, “You aren’t.”

You pull the door to close completely as the cab drives off. You’re left in hurt and confusion as to whether James Barnes was just playing with to begin with or if he just realized he was wasting his time, as you try your hardest not to cry on the way back home.

Bucky is left standing there on the sidewalk, unsure of what to do next but he knows everything is more fucked up than it should be now.

[uraberika]

Kissing Booth

Title: Kissing Booth Characters: Urabe Rika, Aphrodi, Mutou Satoshi Pairing: SatoTeru Rated: T  Genres: Humor, Romance Words: 4300 words Summary: Rika drags Aphrodi into organising a kissing booth at the upcoming school fair and things don't go as smoothly as Aphrodi had excpected them to.  On other platforms: ff.net / ao3  Author’s note: This started as a silly headcanon of mine but after months and months that it haunted me, I finally had written it. I screamed about this to @zafiro-satoshi who drew an amazingly adorable art of if too which you can check out here.

Afuro Terumi was screwed. Yet again. He huffed in annoyance as he ran a hand through his blond locks for what felt like the billionth time.  He couldn’t believe that he let himself be fooled like that! He really should have seen it coming, after all the years he had spent being Rika’s friend (and, well, occasional lab rat for her crazy ideas).  Urabe Rika was a girl who he could only describe as batshit crazy. However, she was one of Aphrodi’s closest friends and the boy wasn’t sure if he should be glad or terrified by the fact. Rika was loud, annoyingly girly, and had the most absurd ideas in the world. Like this one, for instance, when she convinced Aphrodi to organise a kissing booth for the school fair. A kissing booth for a school fair, like in some idiotic American high school romcom! The girl had guts, that’s for sure. And, apparently, had the brains too, since she managed to get the school board to actually give their blessing to it. So that’s how Aphrodi ended up with a really enthusiastic Rika behind a stall with a sign “kissing booth” and a price for a kiss which was way too low for Aphrodi’s liking. But that wasn’t the thing that bothered the blond boy the most. What really got on his nerves was Rika’s “sense of time” as the girl liked to call it. When Rika reeled Aphrodi into this whole mess, they had agreed to man the booth in equal amounts, just to be fair. The first round would be Rika’s, then after an hour Aphrodi would take over, then Rika again after another hour, then Aphrodi again and so on, until the event would arrive to its end. It was such a simple plan; even an ape would have understood it. But of course plans are meant to be ruined even though everything started off smoothly at first. Rika started her first hour, smiling charmingly at people passing by and shouting after them something on the lines of “This is a chance not to miss/’cause you get to kiss/this beautiful miss!” which immediately caused Aphrodi to mentally cringe at the awkward poem. She was jumping up and down in excitement while making weird gestures with her hands. No wonder she was a cheerleader, Aphrodi thought. With that voice of hers, she could rouse the dead from their eternal slumber and make them win a game even against the national team. So the first hour passed in loud shouting while Rika distributed kisses to every poor soul who dared to approach the stall within two meters. They had a moderate amount of success; their shoe box of coins was still only full about to a quarter. Aphrodi snickered as he remembered that this definitely wasn’t what the principal was expecting. Even though Rika managed to get his approval, it was on the condition of donating the raised money to the school’s rather empty foundation.  The gym needed new equipment, the library needed faster computers, and the canteen was waiting for a big renewal as well. But with this amount of money, the school would be able to buy a few second-hand textbooks the most. However, it was none of Aphrodi’s concern; he just hoped that the principal wouldn’t make a big scandal about it. So when the time arrived, he took over the booth with little worry. In retrospect, he should have been worried.

He wasn’t even manning the booth for what felt like fifteen minutes when Aphrodi had to realize that people were clearly more interested in him than they were in Rika. At another time, he sure would have appreciated the attention, but in this particular case, he just wanted to get over with it. He checked his watch for the fiftieth time, took a sharp breath and let his eyes wander over the small crowd gathering in front of the DIY cardboard structure decorated with plenty of glitter and paper hearts (courtesy of Rika). Oh boy, this was going to be a long hour!

And in fact, it was one hell of an hour. Aphrodi kissed more people than he could care to count and now all he wished for was a break. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait any longer for it. He turned his head to the side and looked down at Rika. The blue haired girl was crouched next to Aphrodi, her back leaning against the wall with phone in one hand. She seemed greatly immersed in her phone and was typing so furiously, Aphrodi thought the screen would crack any minute. Rika suddenly realized Aphrodi was staring at her, and she looked up at him.

“Hey, guess what! My Darling had a match yesterday, and a video of it got uploaded, so of course, I had to check it to see my man play again but then I scrolled down and you wouldn’t believe what I saw!” she ignored the sarcastic-faked horrified gasp coming from Aphrodi and put one hand to her heart in a dramatic pose. “Someone was writing trash about PA!” PA was short for Pegasus Academy, the top-notch prissy American private school Rika’s boyfriend went to. They were exclusive and super strict when it came to rules. The school of course, not Rika and her boyfriend. To be honest, Aphrodi knew very little of Rika’s One True Love, he had only met him twice while he was staying at Rika’s for a short time. The guy seemed nice enough if not a bit anxious at times. Or maybe it was just due to Rika, to whose random outbursts the poor boy usually ducked his head in an automatic defence measure.

“Rika!” Aphrodi pinched the bridge of his nose. “People talk trash all the time on the internet. They are called trolls for a reason. Don’t waste your time with them. Come and man the booth instead, it’s your turn.”

“I can’t right now. A bitch is waiting to be roasted,” the cheerleader said and her attention was immediately focused back onto the screen. “Plus, with you, the business is booming!” Aphrodi sighed in exasperation but decided against arguing with her. Starting a fight with Rika was almost pointless since she wouldn’t even care to listen. Whenever her Darling was involved in something, her hearing and vision became quite selective.  So he chose the next best option instead.

“Ten minutes max,” he said in a threatening voice and turned back to the slowly dissipating crowd in front of the booth. He could manage ten more minutes, Aphrodi assured himself. The only problem was that Rika’s dictionary didn’t actually contain the expression “ten minutes”. Because suddenly, ten minutes turned into fifteen, then into twenty and then into twenty-five minutes, and Rika still hadn’t looked up from her phone. After an hour had passed, Aphrodi was seriously on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“What the hell takes you so damn long?” the blond boy hissed through gritted teeth. And at last, Rika finally lifted her gaze off the screen.

“Hey, look!” she said cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. “Touko has been transferred back here, she sent a pic from the base!” and indeed, in the picture was a girl with a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon with messy shoulder-length red hair, dressed in a khaki uniform and hat. Zaizen Touko was a former upperclassman of Rika’s and her best friend before Aphrodi transferred here. When she graduated, she joined the army and now worked as a general at a small military unit, but in the picture, she was smiling as if she had never gone through the worst of hell at the army. She was way too young to serve in the military in Aphrodi’s opinion, but the girl was a tough one, he could tell, even if just from Rika’s anecdotes. “We can finally meet again!” Rika turned back excitedly to her phone and Aphrodi could literally feel the veins starting to pulse in his head. So, he changed tactics.

“Girl, I’m really happy for you. Really, I am. But we agreed on switching, and I swear to the Gods, if you don’t stand up and take my place in the next three seconds, I’ll go and dump this shoebox of cash into the dumpsters, and I don’t care if we get expelled for it.” This new plan turned out to be more effective, since Rika quickly rose to her feet, her face wrinkled up in a pout as she begrudgingly changed places with Aphrodi while murmuring something along the lines of “no need the unleash that divine wrath of yours”, but Aphrodi just rolled his eyes.  The divine or god jokes were really nothing new to him. People always made teasing remarks about him or his appearance or his love for Ancient Greek culture and mythology, so he was used to people making jokes about him being a god and all that. Actually, that was the reason why he got the nickname “Aphrodi”. Almost everyone in school called him that because he was clearly and openly a mythology nerd and, well, his appearance did seem to resemble in some way that of the Goddess of Love with his long, blond hair and delicate frame.

So, Aphrodi could finally sit back and relax. He leaned against the wall with a contended sigh and closed his eyes, letting the relaxing feel of his muscles unclenching surge through his body. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked around. It was clear that the school fair was slowly but surely coming to an end. Even though there was still almost an hour left of the event, a lot of stalls had closed shop already due to selling out or simply because of the exhausted students.  Aphrodi himself wished to pack up and just leave, but that would be admitting defeat. Rika finally took her turn, and she would work for all that money that Aphrodi had raised. Because by the looks of it, Rika wasn’t getting many customers. It was not her fault though, the corridor was almost empty, and most of the students have already sneaked out of the building. It was an extra-curricular event, so no one really bothered to check whether everyone was staying until the last hour.  Occasionally, one or two students walked by, but none of them spared even a glance at the stall.

As he heard the sound of footsteps growing louder and louder in the acoustic corridor, Aphrodi cracked one eye open, and it immediately went wide. He quickly opened his other eye, because he had to double check to make it sure, but indeed, his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The one crossing the corridor was none other than Mutou Satoshi. The boy had long, purple hair, reaching way down past his shoulder blades and the warmest hazel eyes Aphrodi has ever seen. He had a white towel around his neck and was taking quick breaths as he dabbed his damp hair with the end of the towel. He must have come from practice, the sane part of Aphrodi observed. Mutou played as a striker in the school’s football team, and no, the fact didn’t make him any less attractive. Aphrodi has been crushing on him for almost a year now. He met the boy through Rika, at one of the parties that were thrown after a big victory (or an unfair lose) at some player’s house. Rika dragged Aphrodi along because her Darling wasn’t free that night, and Rika needed supervision when it came to partying. That was when Rika introduced him to the whole football team (and, well, to the cheerleader team as well, but that didn’t really grasp Aphrodi’s interest), and that was when Aphrodi first saw Mutou. After a brief handshake, neither of them really spoke to each other (due to the fact that Aphrodi was so stunned by the boy’s handsomeness that he suddenly forgot all the communication skills he used to have, and, because, as he came to know later on, Mutou wasn’t really the one for small talk. Or for talk, in general. As from what information Aphrodi gathered within several months, Mutou was a calm and collected boy with a solid moral compass but with few social abilities, and his comportment had a certain distinctness to it. His moves were delicate but calculated. His speech was always polite but at the same time somewhat reserved. So, Mutou was everything the hot headed blond wasn’t; but that didn’t stop Aphrodi from falling head over heels for the poor boy who must have had no idea about the whole situation.  Despite their first awkward meeting, Aphrodi and Mutou remained good acquaintances. They would wave at each other while passing in the hallway and, sometimes, they would eventually make small talk after practice, while both of them were waiting for their friends to change and finally be able to be off. So it was no surprise that the purple-haired striker waved and headed towards them when he spotted the duo behind the stall. Nevertheless, Aphrodi’s heart skipped a beat while he tried to get his knees to cooperate in standing up and moving his body next to Rika.

As soon as the cheerleader spotted Mutou, her face lit up. While Aphrodi was still contemplating on which form of greeting to choose (“good day” sounded so formal, while a casual “hello” made Aphrodi think that he would seem careless), Rika had no such qualms about it.

“Hey, Mutou-kun!” she shouted enthusiastically, letting everyone know even on the third floor that, indeed, Urabe Rika has spotted a friend. She waved towards him in an over exaggerated manner while a small smile spread across the boy’s lips.

“Hello, Rika-san!” he said and turned his head towards Aphrodi and nodded slightly, his gaze never meeting the blonde’s. “Aphrodi-san.”

Suddenly, Aphrodi was too aware of how the temperature in the corridor seemed to rise. This was absolutely abnormal. It was May, for the Gods, who would ever think of turning the heating on in here?! No wonder the school needed money, if they heat away all of their funds!

“How are you doing, Mutou-kun?” the blue haired girl asked. “How was practice?”

“It was fine,” the boy said, and even though he wasn’t actually smiling anymore, Aphrodi could hear the delight in his voice. “We still got a lot to work on, but I’m actually quite optimistic this time,” the boy said, and that was when Aphrodi knew that that football team must be really something. Mutou was the most realistic guy he had ever met; he had a real down-to-earth mentality and he didn’t throw around praises in the air just for nothing. Aphrodi couldn’t help but let a goofy smile loom its way to his expression. He really liked when Mutou was optimistic.  “And you, guys?” came the question, and Aphrodi was shaken out of his daydreaming in an instant. Somehow he actually realised that they were indeed doing a kissing booth, and oh boy, if this wasn’t his luckiest day in years!

“Actually,” the blond boy cleared his throat. “I was about to take over the booth, since Rika-chan’s shift was just about to end.” He tried to smile as innocently as he could while he also prayed that Rika would get the hint being a self-proclaimed love expert and all.

“You what now?” Rika asked incredulously. “C’mon man, you’ve been whining for a whole hour wanting me switch you out, and now that I’ve taken over, you actually want to switch back?” she asked in pure confusion. Looks like Aphrodi overestimated Rika’s expertise in the domain of love and subtle hints. Oh well, there’s nothing that a good shove in the ribs wouldn’t solve.  

While Rika was trying to grasp her side and catch her breath not too obviously, Aphrodi put on his most charming smile and turned to the boy at the other end of the booth who watched the events with a mildly confused expression and a raised brow. A couple of seconds passed while Rika regained her composure. She stared at the duo warily, her gaze darting from one to another with incredible speed. And finally, after what felt like an eternity to Aphrodi, the penny dropped. Her face lit up as the realisation hit her, and she sent a rather smug smirk towards Aphrodi spiced with a weird suggestive lift of her blue eyebrows (an expression which was sure to haunt Aphrodi in his future nightmares).

“Of course!” she slapped a hand across her forehead. “I was just about to head for the…” her voice seemed the waver for a minute. “Toilets,” she finished with absolute conviction. Well, Rika wasn’t the best at improvisation, but Aphrodi had to give her kudos for the dramatic vehemence. “I’ll trust you can take care of things while I’m away?” she said as she was clearly fighting to be able to keep the amusement and mockery out of her voice. “Good luck, make sure he pays just as much as any customer would!” she shouted over her shoulder, then all Aphrodi could make out was a blue blur, and suddenly the ever-enthusiastic cheerleader was gone.

As soon as Rika disappeared out of sight, a slightly awkward silence settled between the two boys. Aphrodi still couldn’t believe his luck that he actually managed to get into this situation with Mutou of all people! Just like in some idiotic American high school romcom, he smiled to himself. He must have done something really noble for the Gods to provide him such a lucky situation, he amused as he stared at the purple-haired striker with a rather starstruck expression. On the other hand, Mutou’s expression wasn’t as trusting. He eyed the blond boy warily as one would scrutinize a wildcat in its cage: fascinated but ready to bolt at any minute in case something bad happened. So, Aphrodi decided to step up his game. After all, he wasn’t nicknamed after the goddess of love for nothing!

He flashed his brightest smile and looked the boy right into the eyes, determined to say something flirty.

“So, you come here often?” Aphrodi wanted to mentally slap his own face for the slip-up. Way to go, Casanova, just barge down that damn door, wouldn’t you?!

Mutou looked around the area with furrowed brows and asked: “You mean… the corridor?” Well, there’s no turning back now, so Aphrodi just slightly nodded. Mutou’s expression didn’t soften, but he shrugged. “I guess,” he replied. “Though I have classes more frequently on the third floor.”

Aphrodi quickly swallowed back the laughter threatening to burst through his mouth. The boy took his question literally!

“I see,” Aphrodi replied to gain some time to think. “So, care to help us out in raising funds for the school?” he asked next. This time Aphrodi mentally patted himself on the back. That was so subtle that even he wasn’t sure where he wanted this conversation to go.

“Sure. The gym could use a few new soccer balls. What you guys doing?” the striker asked, his distrust slowly dissolving. Aphrodi pointed upwards, to the huge sign with “kissing booth” written all over in pink and filled with so many drawn red hearts that Aphrodi was pretty sure that it was unhealthy. Mutou followed the motion with his gaze, finally settling onto the ominous carton board. What happened next was absolutely unexpected: the ever-collected boy, who was always polite and whose expression rarely betrayed his thoughts, turned to a curious shade of beet.

“Ah I see…” he murmured to himself as he was clearly trying to recompose himself. Aphrodi knew that a lot of people were against their idea and some of them (like Nagumo) even cared to voice their displeasure. Maybe Mutou was one of those people who found a kissing booth on a school fair scandalous. Aphrodi decided it was time to backtrack before Mutou gave a piece of his mind too on the matter, just like Nagumo did.

“Of course, if you’re against the idea, I absolutely understand, the thought is what counts,” the blond boy said quickly.

“No-no, of course not,” Mutou quickly reassured him. “It’s a really… hmm…” he coughed. “Creative way of raising funds. And everything for a better equipped school, right?” he asked and fished out a few coins of the pocket of his shorts. He laughed, but the sound was strained as if he was trying to convince himself to put the money into the box. Finally, he dropped the coins into the makeshift bank. He then stared at Aphrodi expectantly with the colour not fading a bit on his face. Aphrodi was glad that even though he had a pale complexion, he wasn’t the one to easily blush. And on the few occasions when he felt insecure or embarrassed or overjoyed, only his earns turned red. Thus the long hair, and he thanked the Gods that this time his ears were safely tucked behind his blond locks because he could feel that they were almost flaming.

Aphrodi looked back at Mutou as he listened to the pounding of his heart in his ears. Should he make the first move? Should he be the one to lean in? Or should he just wait until Mutou feels comfortable enough to come closer? As he looked at the boy, he could clearly see the hesitation on his face. Does he not like him? Funny enough, this thought had never crossed Aphrodi’s mind before. Everyone is always so swept away by his appearance and manners and his whole charm that the thought has never actually occurred to him. But what if Mutou only liked him as a friend?

However, before Aphrodi could fall into an endless cycle of overthinking, the purple-haired boy suddenly moved towards him and put his lips to Aphrodi’s. Immediately, all coherent thoughts stopped coursing through Aphrodi’s brain while he felt the strength escaping his legs.  He quickly braced himself on the top of the counter as he tried not to get lost in the kiss too much. It was really the sweetest and most innocent kiss Aphrodi had today, hell, even his whole life, and he didn’t want this moment to ever end. But this time, the Gods decided that this was enough luck for today and the next thing Aphrodi knew was that Mutou had drawn back and was face to face again with him. His whole face was burning and Aphrodi could also feel that the heat had finally spread across his own cheeks as well. They stared at each other for a few seconds; both not quite comprehending what they had just done. Finally, after an eternity, Mutou coughed in embarrassment and turned away.

“Well, good luck to the rest of the fair,” he croaked and repositioned a strand of hair behind his ear. He was clearly going, and Aphrodi started to panic. No, this can’t end like this! After a whole year of pining that’s it? Maybe Mutuo didn’t get the message that he likes him? Nah, that can’t be it, Aphrodi literally kissed him on the lips! Well, as part of a kissing booth project where they were raising funds by kissing people, and Aphrodi had kissed a lot of people, and oh for the love of the Gods, Mutou had no idea! Aphrodi had to think of something quickly before Mutou’s retreating back disappeared completely out of sight. So, he decided to act upon instinct.

“Wait!” he didn’t really even think through what he was going to say, but Mutou immediately turned around and raised a questioning eyebrow at his direction. “Are you free on Sunday?” There goes nothing!

“Uhm… I guess?” the purple-haired boy scratched his neck; feeling embarrassed at the sudden attention Aphrodi gave him as his cheeks turned yet again a faint shade of red. “I’ll have practice in the morning but after that I’m mostly free. Why?” he asked suspiciously as if he was waiting for Aphrodi to take back what he said at any moment.

“You see…”Aphrodi started. “Rika’s boyfriend is having a match, a super elite one, that is. And of course, Rika, being her girlfriend, got a couple of extra tickets. Of course she would get, why wouldn’t she, right?” oh for the Gods’ sake, now he was rambling! He should have been named after the goddess of nonsense, not the goddess of love! “And you see, I actually got a plus one, and since you are a striker and everything I thought you’d be interested, and maybe we could go there together so I could show you the place, it’s an amazingly huge stadium really, one of the best, and you see…” Aphrodi was tripping on his words and he saw Mutuo’s lips curving into small smile at his struggling.

“Thank you for thinking of me,” the boy replied, his voice more measured than ever and for a moment Aphrodi’s heart skipped a beat as he became sure that Mutou was going to decline his sort-of-clumsy-date-proposal. “I would love to watch Ichinose-san’s match with you,” he said.

“Oh, great,” Aphrodi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “So how about we meet half an hour before the match at the park next to the school? Around six? “

“Sounds great,” Mutou smiled amicably, blush fading on his face. And the next moment, the purple-haired boy was gone just like an illusion, but Aphrodi knew that it was anything but an illusion. He placed his head in the palm of his hands as he grinned at the empty corridor like some idiot. Oh boy, Rika was going to freak out so much!

[secretlystephaniebrown]

Take My Love: 2/?

Thanks guys for following along with this self-indulgent nonsense! <3

Just a tiny warning for this chapter, this is high school. Feelings get hurt. People are asses. Also, more world building about Jackie's (and Wash's and Donut's) home planet! Fun times!

Summary: Allison Texas is a wanted woman. She stole something very valuable from the Alliance. And even if it’s going to bring a world of trouble down on their heads, Carolina can’t help but think it might be worth it.

Pairings: Church/Tex/Jackie (OC)

Previous

Also on Ao3

The day after they meet, another boy steals Church’s glasses so Jackie kicks him in the shin.

She gets a bloody lip for that, but Church manages to grab his glasses and they go hide in the library. Not under the table this time, but on top of the thickest, widest shelves, perching out of sight and out of reach. .

“Why’d you do that?” He demands, glaring at her. “That was fucking dumb!”

Jackie stares at him, frowning. “You shouldn’t use that word, you’ll get in trouble,” she says.

“You’ll get in fucking trouble!” He yells, throwing his hands into the air. “It wasn’t a big deal, it’s just glasses!”

Jackie stares at him. “They’re expensive,” she says. The last time one of her bullies broke her glasses, it meant no new books or clothes for three months. Her family back in Iowa was stable, was comfortable, but there was never money for extras.

Church looks at her, confused. Then his mouth closes. “Oh.” He shifts, uncomfortable. “I can afford it,” he says. “Really.”

And that’s when Jackie is reminded that he’s from a whole other world. Things are different, here.

“Oh,” she says, and she feels her cheeks heat up.

Church grins at her, clearly trying to distract her, but she’ll take it. And never mention it, because even after knowing Church for only a day, she knows he’ll deny it. “Can’t believe you kicked that guy though. Did you see his face?”

Jackie smiles back, clutching her books to her chest.

“Still was fucking dumb,” he tells her.

“You’re such a jerk,” she sighs.

It’s an important thing to know about Leonard Church, she realizes later.

Two months later, Church tells her about Tex, who punched a guy in the face for him. “It was awesome,” he tells her, eyes wide and eager. He doesn’t shut up about her for a whole week, before Jackie finally gets to meet her, and sees what Church is talking about.

Tex is a whole year older than them, and she’s taller than Jackie by two full inches. Her hair is long and blonde and she’s got hard brown eyes and eyebrows that always seem sharp and angled, even when she’s laughing. She’s one of the kids who are going to be soldiers, so her uniform’s different. She’s scholarship, but Core scholarship, not Rim scholarship, and even Jackie, still trying to figure out the culture and nuances of the Core, can tell there’s an important difference.

She’s beautiful and tough and she doesn’t punch Jackie or take her books or make fun of her uniform. She just joins them at lunch one day and when Church starts to make fun of people, Tex joins in without even a second’s hesitation.

She starts to hang out with them sometimes. At first, Jackie’s not sure what to think about that; Tex gets bored in the library and prefers to punch her way out of problems than to run from them or to screw with their heads.

She’s really more of Church’s friend than Jackie’s. Jackie gets the feeling that Tex is distinctly unimpressed with her. Which hurts a little, because Tex is cool and pretty, even if she’s a bit mean sometimes. But Jackie’s used to people not liking her.

Then one of the older girls rips up one of the few pictures Jackie brought from home.

Jackie doesn’t leave her room all weekend, crying and missing home and wondering how much her parents would hate her if she flunked out so they’d send her back.

Church tries to come visit her. She doesn’t let him in.

When she comes out of her room, she finds two things.

A digital version of the photograph has been emailed to her account. She can see the tape holding it together, but it’s intact, and that’s what really matters.

And the girl who did it has a giant black eye and won’t even look at Jackie.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jackie says to Tex, because who else would it have been?

Tex glances up at her. “She made you cry,” Tex says. “Seemed like she deserve it.”

Jackie smiles tentatively at Tex, and sits down next to her, closer than she’s let herself sit before.

After that, it’s different. Tex is her friend too, now. Jackie learns to be willing to put down her books every now and then to go follow Tex on whatever weird thing she wants to do that day--scale the fence and go into town, play a prank on the sports teams, break into the school gym and play loud music at midnight.

Jackie’s never done anything like that before in her life, and Church hasn’t, either. She loves this, spending time with them. Church tells stories; all sorts, both real and fictional. He’s good with words, and he knows a lot of things.

They play games; Church breaks couples up, Jackie sets them up, Tex places bets on it. Tex, Jackie learns, is poor, despite being from the Core. She never tells Tex that Core poor sounds pretty comfortable, really, because that’d be rude. Tex splits her winnings, sometimes, which is nice, since Mom and Dad haven’t been able to send much, with David being at the military academy. Mitch is helping out on the ranch, but Martha’s apprenticeship to a mechanic had to be paid for, and extra things for Jackie--spare uniforms, new glasses, some decent clothes to wear into town on their free weekends--have to fall to the side. Everything’s more expensive in the Core.

Church is rich, they learn. His father’s someone important, his mother is dead, he also has a sister at the military academy. Her name is Carolina. Jackie wonders if Carolina has met David. She considers writing to him, asking if they know each other, but she decides against it.

“Maybe you’ll find them, when you go,” Jackie tells Tex. It’s always hanging over their heads, the knowledge that Tex will graduate before them, move on to real military training, and then the army. She’ll leave them behind.

“Maybe,” Tex says, but she looks doubtful. “They sound boring though.”

Jackie laughs. “Tex! Don’t be rude.”

Tex and Church both roll their eyes at her.

Tex is not impressed by Jackie when she first meets her.

Most thirteen year olds are generally unimpressive to Tex, who is fourteen and thus that much more mature. But Jackie is a tiny little scrap of a a girl who follows Church around like a lost puppy. She’s... mousy, that’s the best word Tex has. Brown hair that never seems to be in control, blue eyes that never stay still, glasses that never seem to be on straight.

She barely even seems speak, those first few weeks, and when she does get started, it’s to correct or to ramble, and Tex doesn’t take either of those particularly well.

She’s a nerd, Tex decides, and she tolerates Church. Which is probably why Church sticks around. That and the adoring look on Jackie’s face most days. Church probably likes the ego boost.

One day though, Tex learns that one of the jerks that gave Church a black eye last week, who she’d warned off, had gone after him again.

Tex is planning on teaching them a lesson. A much more painful one than last time.

When she gets near the corner, she hears Jackie, and pauses, listening.

“So get out of here! And if I see you near Church again--”

The guy rips past Tex, face pale and his eyes red. Like he’d been crying. Like he was scared.

She peeks around the corner, and sees Jackie, looking very satisfied with herself. The look on her face isn’t mousy at all. It’s almost predatory in its confidence.

Tex’s eyebrow raises slowly, and she finds herself grinning.

It looks like she’s underestimated Jackie.

Tex resolves to pay more attention to her from then on.

When they’re fifteen, Church and Tex start dating.

Jackie’s fine with that; she’s glad they’ve finally stopped dancing around it, because they’ve obviously liked each other for ages, even if it means they’re too busy for her a lot of the time, instead spending their days just hanging out with just each other.

It’s fine, she tells herself, as she watches them walk away, holding hands. She has other friends. She’s good at making friends, now that the bullies are too scared of Tex to go after her. She spends more time with other people, focuses on her studies more. She runs a successful campaign to get one of the nicest girls in the class the title of homecoming queen, utterly humiliating the girl who’d been so sure she’d win, and probably would have if she hadn’t cheated off Church’s test last week.

But she doesn't get to share it with the other two, and Jackie pauses, missing them, even though they’re right across the common room from her. But they’re holding hands and laughing, and she doesn’t want to get in the way.

So she goes back to the library to study more.

Tex and Church lasts two months, a week and three days before they break up for the first time. There’s a huge row, a lot of broken china plates, and they both get detention for a week. They try to pass along angry messages through her and yell a lot.

Jackie’s bewildered, unsure of what to do or how to handle this. This is nothing like the relationships she saw back on Iowa. It lasts three whole days before she catches them making out in a broom closet.

Soon she gets used to it; the regular ups and downs, the breakups, the fights, the getting back together, the blissful weeks between those points, where things are calm and they’re getting along.

It’s not perfect; every time they break up, they tend to yank her back and forth like it’s a game of tug-of-war, and they tend to ignore her when they’re together, busy gazing at each other and kissing in corners. Jackie alternates between feeling harried and stressed and lonely and sad. She sleeps fitfully at night, missing the time before.

Jackie tries to date other people herself, trying to see what the big deal is. But they all tend to be boring, and every time she hangs out with them, she keeps thinking of Church or Tex, and that’s not fair on anyone, so she always ends it quickly. She’s not sure Tex or Church ever even notice any of them.

She gives up on that endeavor pretty quickly, and goes back to trying to make sure the two of them don’t forget to hand in their homework when they’re dating and passing messages between them when they’re broken up.

She sits on a couch across from them, while they cuddle and talk about a vid they went to see yesterday, and Jackie reads her book and tries to ignore the nasty, clawing feeling in her stomach.

It’s fine, she reminds herself. It’s a waste of time, being jealous. What she’s jealous of, she’s never quite sure. Is she jealous of Church? Of Tex? Of both of them, for having something like that? Is it even jealousy, or is it just her being bitter that they’re leaving her behind?

She’s never sure. She wishes that it would just go away though. It’s making things harder, when she should just be happy for them.

Then comes the big one. The nasty one.

Jackie isn’t even sure what it’s about, but this time, she thinks, they might be broken up for good. Tex is furious, spitting mad, and Church is quietly sulking. They don’t even want to talk to each other through her, and every time they meet, they yell and fight again, making Jackie want to run away until the dust settles. She splits her time between the two of them as best she can, trying to help keep them apart to avoid hurt feelings.

“He’s just such a jerk,” Tex says. They’re on the roof of the school, which they’re not supposed to be, but Jackie’s bad at telling Tex she’s scared to do things. Jackie hasn’t ever managed to convey to Tex just how horrible it would be, to go back to the Rim. Tex hates school, most days, and misses home. So does Church.

Jackie misses her family, but she does not miss the Rim. She doesn’t miss hungry nights or dust storms or schools where the teachers don’t know what to do with her. She doesn’t miss no one else being able to follow her rapid fire train of thoughts or to see things. Even her family was slow, most days. She misses them like crazy, but she still has letters, and she needs this. She needs to do something. She needs to matter.

She knows what everyone sees. A girl in second hand clothes, clinging to her scholarship with everything she has, competing to be the smartest to stand out, to prove herself. But all her awards can’t erase the Rim accent, all her fancy books don’t change the fact that she slips into farm idioms on occasion, and all of her hard work doesn’t make her uniform fit better or fix the scuffs on her shoes.

She’ll always be the girl from the Rim, but back home, she’d just be a useless burnout with hands too soft to use a hoe, so she’ll suck it up and take it.

This world is bright and real and clever and she loves it, even if she hates what it stands for. And she’ll do anything to stay here.

“He can be, yeah,” she says, staring upwards, trying to see if she can make out any constellations. The stars aren’t real here. They’re projections. She wonders what the stars look like, back home.

“He doesn’t control me, why doesn’t he get that? Why can’t he just trust me?” Tex asks.

“He’s stupid, sometimes,” Jackie says, leaning against Tex’s arm. “He’s a boy.”

Tex lets out a huff. “Sometimes I’m sick of boys.” Then she leans away from Jackie, as if she just saw something.

Jackie lifts her face up to look at Tex, curious about what she saw, and then Tex is kissing her.

Jackie doesn’t even hesitate before kissing back, bunching her hands in the thick fabric of Tex’s coat, because she’s thought about this way more times than she should admit, even to herself. Jackie’s never kissed someone before, and the fact that it’s Tex makes it even better. It’s warm and nice, almost idyllic. Tex tastes like the sweets Tex stole from her roommate’s stash and it makes Jackie want to laugh, because it’s so perfectly Tex. Jackie’s eyes are closed and she tries to convince herself she’s not dreaming.

Then there’s a clatter of something against the ground--books hitting the ground, and Jackie pulls away from Tex, and she realizes why Tex kissed her in a moment of horrifying clarity.

Church is standing there, looking wide eyed and hurt and the warm, dizzy feeling that had just filled Jackie only moments ago is suddenly gone, replaced with white hot fury and pain.

“Stay away from me!” Jackie pushes Tex away, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Stupid, how could she ever think that Tex would—how could she do that to Church?

She runs away, and neither of them try to stop her.

Church comes to find her the next morning. He’s waiting outside of her door, as usual after a fight, hands in his pockets, head bowed.

“I’m sorry,” she blurts out, the second she sees him, clutching her book to her chest.

He gives her a watery grin. “It’s fine,” he says, but he’s still hurt. She knows he’s only not yelling at her, calling her names, because he doesn’t want to talk about it. If he wasn’t so hurt, he’d be making her grovel and cry, lashing out with his infamous temper. She swallows, and tries to make him happy. She helps him arrange a gigantic breakup of the school’s power couple and lets him play his stupid videogames all night instead of making him do his history project. She does it for him, carefully imitating his messy handwriting and practicing his turns of phrases while he curses loudly as he misses every shot.

She determinedly does not think about Tex, or the kiss.

They’re studying at the library late one night, rubbing elbows while making fun of each other’s fields of study, when Church grabs her arm, breaking off a tangent she was in the middle of.

(It’s been fifteen days since the kiss. Fifteen days since she’s let herself be in the same room as Tex.)

“You like me, right?” He blurts. His eyes are wide, and she thinks he might look nervous.

Jackie stares at him, confused by the expression on his face. She’s good at reading people, but she has no idea what to say. She doesn’t know what’s the right answer.

“Yeah,” she says, slowly.

“Good,” Church says, and then he leans forward and presses his lips against hers.

It’s different than kissing Tex; Tex was harder, fiercer, more sure of herself, while Church is softer, cradling her face in his hands.

Jackie melts into it just a little, leaning forward, bumping her nose against his. Her mind, normally firing off in a thousand directions at once, focuses on one thing only, and it’s Church. He tastes like bitter coffee and his hair is soft beneath her hands and Jackie’s wanted to do this for so long. Their glasses bump together and Jackie smiles against Church’s lips.

“Am I interrupting something?” Tex’s voice is acerbic and cutting and Jackie flinches away from Church with enough force that she knocks over her own chair, landing on the floor of the library in a sprawl.

She stares up at Church, who’s flushing and looking angry, and then stares at Tex, who doesn’t look hurt. Tex doesn't do hurt. Tex looks furious.

The realization that she’s just been used again sits heavy in her stomach.

“I can’t believe you!” She yells at Church, and this time she’s not fast enough, tears flowing down her face. “Both of you! You’re such—” A sob cuts off whatever she’s going to say next and she grabs her books and runs away again.

And again, neither of them chase her. She hears the echoes of their fighting down the hall as she runs as far away from the library as she can manage.

Jackie manages to avoid them for a full week, which, given the size of the school, is pretty impressive.

They manage to corner her on the grounds. She’s been studying in the small grove of fake trees instead of in the library to avoid Church, but they must have spotted her or bribed her roommate, since they corner her.

They’re holding hands. Jackie struggles with the waves of emotions that threaten to overwhelm her—happiness and jealousy and sadness and anger.

Jackie wonders if they’re mad at her. She can’t figure out their expressions, can’t figure out what they’re thinking. She did kiss them both back. She wonders if they’re going to tell her she’s not their friend anymore because she kissed them.

She hopes not. She might have other friends, but she doesn’t have other Texes or Churches.

“What do you want?” She demands, drawing her knees up to her chest. She’s not ready to talk to them. She’s hurt and mad and upset in ways she doesn’t quite understand.

“We’re sorry!” Church blurts.

Tex is looking at the ground very carefully. “Shouldn’t have done that,” she mutters. “Made you cry.”

Jackie flushes. “It’s—” She stops herself from saying it’s alright, because it’s not. She knows that. She’s not just going to be okay with that. “That’s why you’re sorry? Because I cried?”

“It wasn’t right to drag you into our mess,” Tex says, finally looking up. “Not fair on you.”

Jackie swallows. Her throat hurts. It’s not what she wants them to be sorry for, but they don’t know why she’s upset, and she’s not about to tell them. “Okay,” she whispers. “I guess that’s—that’s okay then.” She offers them a smile, wobbly as it is.

They grin at her, and sit down on either side, wedging her firmly between them. The tightness in her chest loosens, even if her throat still hurts. She’s missed this. She’s missed them.

“Hey Jackie,” Tex says, pulling Jackie out of her thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Want to try something? For science?”

Jackie lowers her book. “You always make fun of my experiments,” she says, accusing.

“It’s an important experiment,” Church tells her.

She looks between the two of them, frowning. “Fine,” she says suspiciously. “What do I need—”

Tex cuts her off by curling her fingers around Jackie’s neck and kissing her again.

Jackie freezes this time, refusing to melt, even though Tex’s mouth is warm and firm and demanding. Tex’s other hand brushes against her cheek in a way that’s oddly tender and then Jackie gives in, kissing back with everything she has. This is a dream, she thinks, closing her eyes. Her mind again is hyperfocusing, refusing to acknowledge the existence of anything besides Tex and her lips and the way that Church is pressed up on her other side and how fast her heart is racing.

Church’s fingers dig into her arm, bringing reality back just a little. “My turn,” he says, and Tex pulls away and Jackie is dizzy and then Church is kissing her, with Tex’s hand still warm against the back of her neck and Jackie gives in even faster this time, grabbing the collar of Church’s uniform to pull him closer, and Church lets out a small yelp, which makes Tex laugh, the sound reverberating through her chest in a way that Jackie, pressed up against her, can feel.

She pulls away, her brains still not working right. “What?” She asks, blearily and confused. Tex has a hand wrapped around her wrist, as if to prevent her from running away again.

“We like you,” Tex says, and Jackie twists around to stare at her, wide eyed, because she could not have just heard that.

“You like us,” Church offers, slightly less sure of himself. “And well, we like each other. So it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Jackie’s mouth hangs open, in shock, while her brain tries to process this information. “You… you mean it?” She hates how her voice sounds. How vulnerable she sounds.

“Yes,” Tex says, close enough to her ear to make her shiver.

“C’mon, Jacks,” Church says, fingers threading through the hand that Tex isn’t holding captive. “We did the experiment. I’d say it was a success.”

“What do you say?” Tex cups Jackie’s face in her other hand, her eyes oddly serious.

“I—I—”

“Stop stalling,” Tex orders. “I know you’ve got an answer in that big brain of yours.”

Jackie manages to nod, her heart still racing in her ears.

Tex smirks. “Great.” She yanks Jackie forward onto her lap and kisses her again.

They spend the rest of the evening on the grounds, just kissing each other and laughing.

Jackie runs her fingers through Church’s hair and leans against Tex’s shoulder and smiles so wide that her face hurts.

They have six months, two weeks, and three days before everything changes.

Tex finishes school and gets transferred to the military academy.

“I’ll call,” Tex tells them, pressing her forehead against Church’s, then Jackie’s. “This doesn’t change anything.”

“Okay,” Jackie says, kissing Tex quickly. “We’ll be here.”

And they are, for a month and five days. They message her and have video calls and things are okay.

And then Church gets transferred to the Academy.

Jackie’s heard about the Academy. It’s prestigious and fancy. Only the best of the best get in there.

She also knows, although Church doesn’t like to talk about it, that Church’s father is in charge of the Academy. And she knows that Church hasn’t seen his father in years. In all the ways that counts, she knows, it’s just Church and his sister, Carolina. (Carolina’s in the same school as Tex now, as David. Jackie wonders if Tex has found them.)

Church hates his father. But he won’t say no to the Academy. It’s too big, too important. With the resources and the training they can offer him, he can do anything. The sky’s the limit.

“My scores in physics were high enough that they decided they wanted me,” he says, staring at the email. “I—Jacks…”

“Hey,” she twines her fingers through his and squeezes. “I’ll join you soon, probably. Pysch exams are in a few months. I’ll probably be high enough to make the cut, don’t you think?”

He looks at her. “Maybe,” he says, smirking.

Jackie elbows him in the side. “Jerk,” she says.

He kisses her, leaving his forehead pressed against hers, their glasses knocking together. “Keep in touch, okay?”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” she promises.

Church hates his father. But that’s okay. He doesn't need him. That’s why he has her and Tex.

Jackie wants to take Church home, someday. Show him the farm and let her siblings pry things out of him and her mother fuss over him and Dad tutt over how skinny he is and feed him until he can’t move.

One day, she tells herself, as she helps him pack his bags.

One day, she’ll bring them home with her.

It takes Church three weeks to realize what’s wrong with the Academy.

He also knows that Jackie isn’t a guarantee for a spot. Psych students are a dime a dozen, and they aren’t that interested in Jackie from what he can tell, poking around in their computer files every chance he gets.

She can’t come here. Church thinks, looking at the face of his roommate after her last“session”. He’s seen the blood on the floors, he’s heard the screams. There’s nothing he can do to stop this, nothing he can do to save anyone, not even himself. They monitor communications, and while he has relative freedom as a new student who hasn’t been pulled for a session, he knows it’s only a matter of time.

It’s not like he thought, it’s not like they were told.

He doesn’t know what they want, he doesn’t know what they’re planning.

But he does know this. That a girlfriend (or two) is a weakness he can’t afford. They use people against you, in the Academy.

He needs to keep her safe. They can’t touch Tex, they can’t touch Carolina, but Jackie’s just a kid from the Rim. No one would care if Jackie goes missing. Or, even if they did, no one could do anything about it, and that’s what really matters.

“I don’t think this will work. Sorry. –Church.”

[spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia]

Christmas Gift

December 24th. 2177.

 Steam flew off of the engine as a sleek limousine parked, its shiny hood now submerged in snow.

 A click, and the door opened, revealing a grown woman and man, both in grey winter jackets, goggles on to face the harsh snow.

 The future always seemed to struggle from excess snow, for some reason. Promises had been made to fix that, but they were not being kept.

 The harsh winter continued as the two people walked towards the B.O.T.T building’s door, passing a pamphlet passing green android with suckers on its hands and a moving ramp sidewalk for those who don’t want to use those useless leg things.

 The shiny doors opened, revealing a place that seemed to never change, despite a very recent administrative  coup: Mr. Block had resigned (and was still MIA) and Ms. Barrier (a hated figure by those who knew her) was very much in charge.

 “Attention, all employees: A blizzard will reportedly be striking in 1.5 hours. Alert your close ones and prepare for weather control!”, a voice rang out.

 The man sighed. “Weather control? Oh man!”

 “You only hate it because we need to schlepp out the weather transformers.”, The woman retorted, pressing the elevator button.

 “Whatever. I’m much more interested in checking in on Billy. I can’t believe we inspired him to join the academy!”, The man replied, jubilant. Pride was evident from his behavior.

 The woman smiled warmly back. “As am I.”

 She then sighed as the new elevator shrunk into a bullet and moved through a tube, a speck amongst hundreds of tiny elevators.

 “Let’s just hope his academy days are better than ours…”

 The woman was thankful for one thing: Ms. Barrier wouldn’t instruct the boy. At least that wouldn’t damage him.

 “That depends: Will he let his legacy hurt him?”, The man said.

 The two nodded sadly as the elevator enlargened and arrived

 There are a million stories in B.O.T.T.

 This one is about Agent Savannah, Agent Brick, and Academy hopeful (and star student, though not in behavior) Billy Decker.

 So let’s get on with it!

      “Aim!”

 20 blasters are aimed at a wall, the target lying “safely” behind it.

 “Fingers on the trigger, at the ready!”

 19 fingers nervously shake.

 1 finger knows just what it’s doing.

 A smirk from the only one with confidence, and then 20 shadows on the floor as the camera pans up to show…

 A transparent wall.

 “You have 5 seconds to look at the target, breath…”

 The instructor, with a veiny, throbby face, and a sneer, fixes his coat and barely addresses his students.

 “…And succeed.”

 19 pairs of eyes dart around and shake as they panic at the time that’s running out.

 1 pair is shut tight.

 The wall turns solid again.

 The guns are at the ready.

 19 students continue to worry.

 1 yawns.

 “And…”

 The instructor looks up from his textbook about The Robert Muller Report.

 “…Fire!”

 20 gunshots, 19 miss…

 1, right at the heart.

 Billy Decker can do it with his eyes closed.

 The only reason he didn’t do it with his back turned was because his instructor would have chewed him out.

 Not that he would have listened.

 He’d have been too busy hitting on the girls at lunch.

 “Excellent, as ever, 75-24-30! The rest of you…”

 The instructor scoffed, disgusted. “Are beneath my level to even be insulted. All of you better improve! There will be perfection in my classroom!”

 19 students got out of their battle armor and walked off, depressed.

 Billy Decker whistled merrily as he began to leave the room, only to encounter…

 “And I thought it might actually be better…”, she commented.

 “She is in charge. She probably asked them to be assholes.”, he replied.

 “Agent Savannah? Agent Brick?”

 Billy was normally extremely confident, but there was something about seeing the two agents who had recommended him and had given him a chance to be more that made him more modest.

 More humble.

 Saluting passionately, he couldn’t help but grin. “I didn’t realize you were checking up on us. What do you think?”

 The new agents uniforms were definitely different. Once, the agents were tasked with formal wear (or in Cavendish and Dakota’s case, time appropriate wear).

 But part of the countless recent changes Barrier had offered were to update the uniforms to give a sense of unity to the agents, and a sense of security to the public.

 “We nearly lost everything when Fisk almost killed Professor Time.”, she reminded the board when she arrived. “Times are changing… So we must to.”

 Still, Savannah and Brick found the pure white outfits that shined and shimmered a bit much.

 “You won’t believe how hard it is to polish these things!”, Billy joked, his ginger hair almost as bouncy as his freckles.

 “I can believe.”, Brick said as he saw a dirty one pass by in the hall.

 Stepping in to the radiated room, Brick and Savannah surprisingly didn’t feel comfortable enough to take off their jackets.

  The sound of footsteps alerted the attention of the instructor, who looked up from his book with glazed eyes.

 “Agent Brick…”, he greeted, as the top agents stood next to him, towering, yet not in charge.

 Savannah stared at the instructor, but silence was all she needed to know that change was still not in currency.

 Chairs rose from beneath them, holes opening up in the ground to allow them to sit on rigid, wooden chairs.

 From above, more holes, now in the ceiling, dropping refreshments.

 Billy’s look of idolization was not shared.

 Brick and Savannah found all this a bit…

 Odd.

 Different.

 And not in a good way.

 But now was time for something else.

 The instructor sighed and put his book away, a bookmark materializing on the right page the moment he put it down.

 “I assume you’re here to see how 75-24-30 is progressing?”

 Savannah scoffed and Brick gulped. She’d been uneased the moment they entered, and she clearly didn’t like this new look.

 “He has a name, Mr. Spacer.”

 She suddenly leaned forwards, eyes full of electricity.

 “As do I…”

 But Mr. Spacer ignored that last statement.

 “Very well. Trainee Decker, why don’t you tell them how you’re doing?”

 His slimy smile was a mirrored contrast to the worried frowns of the two adults and the cocky grin of the boy.

 “Why, I’m kicking ass! I’ve aced every exam they’ve given me, I’m a natural with a blaster, and I’ve studied 10 cycles!”

 Brick and Savannas were now gaping. This was extraordinary!

 Speechless, they let Mr. Spacer do the rest.

 “With some more guidance, he’ll graduate by February.”, he said, clearly pleased with how things were developing.

 “Billy! You the man!”, Brick congratulated, high fiving the kid, but Savannah was less enthused.

 “That’s the fastest it’s ever been! Even Barrier was…”

 “I know, I know it’s the fastest ever.”, Spacer replied, getting serious.

 He leaned close, taking the woman in front of him seriously for the first time. “But trust me: I don’t exaggerate about these things. He is not miles, he’s leagues ahead of the rest here.”

 He looks uneasy, almost concerned over what he’s seeing. “I…”

 His eyes blink rapidly, his fingers drum. “I… I haven’t seen such raw talent in years.”

 Mr. Spacer had been teaching almost since Barrier, and since being promoted to main instructor last month, he had been delighted with his star pupil.

 But such strength was worrying, even for those with dubious intentions.

 Savannah calculated this, fearful thoughts passing her mind as Brick continued to catch up with Billy, asking him if his girl tips helped.

 Billy’s skills were evident. She had seen the demonstration.

 But graduating after only 3 months?

 And with the new people in charge…

 She and Dakota were very much concerned about the direction the Bureau was taking. She had personal interest, true…

 But something felt odd about this whole place. About Barrier, about the new armor, the new policies…

 Block had been a failure, true…

 But perhaps they had jumped from the frying pan and into the fire.

 Savannah remembered her education, Brick’s education, Dakota and Cavendish’s educations…

 Billy was being treated significantly better…

 But something didn’t feel right.

 And Billy’s ego was unfortunately quite inflated, as she observed while she and Brick walked down with him to his dorm room to collect his things.

 Even B.O.T.T allowed winter breaks, and Billy was excited to go back home to his family.

 “I can’t wait to see their faces!”, he shouted out as he ran inside, riding his skateboard for no reason to reach for his already made suitcase.

 He hadn’t even noticed the poor saps he had pushed out of the way in the halls, or the guy carrying a really heavy suitcase that had asked him for help.

 He definitely didn’t notice his gross and overfilled sink.

 Brick chuckled at Billy’s excitement, but Savannah nudged him, making a “Do as I say” look.

 Brick nodded, unsure of where this was going, but willing to follow her lead.

 A marked contrast from the past. He allowed himself a moment of self pride before refocusing.

 Billy, meanwhile, was busy collecting his action figures of Milo Murphy, Melissa Chase, Zack Underwood, Perry the Platypus and Phineas and Ferb Flynn-Fletcher, and eating a half eaten sandwich from the morning.

 “Isn’t this great, guys? I’m finally doing something with my life, making friends, getting all the gals, not getting shit from adults!”

 He grinned at them as they stood in the opening to the messy yellow-orange room, B.O.T.T propaganda posters everywhere, and a blaster sitting on a pedestal above his bed.

 “I’m finally living up to the family name!”

 He hesitated, then hugged them.

 “And all because of you!”

 “Billy… We don’t think you’re ready for graduation.”, Savannah said, and Brick, not 100% sure, but having noticed the signs, nodded too.

 Billy’s face was now filled with confusion, even shock. “…What?”

 A few minutes later…

 “Too arrogant?!”, he shouted, kicking a janitor’s broom to the ground.

 “Hey! I need that, kid!”, the janitor called out, and Billy (after ignoring the janitor) sighed as he leaned back on the desk, joined only by fellow 17 year old recruit and precocious nerd girl Penelope Parker.

 She looked at him with wide eyes from her glasses, encouraging as ever. “How’s kicks, Billy? I heard you really nailed it at target practice!”

 Billy scoffed, crossing his arms. “Yeah, but apparently I’m not good enough!”

 Penelope sighed and asked an unnecessary question. “Your mentors not happy?”

 “They don’t think I’m ready. To full of myself, something about “dangerous enviorment” or some junk like that.”

 Billy’s anger was soon replaced with disappointment. For years he felt like a wanderer, lost and confused, meaningless.

 When he was sent here, he felt like there was a reason for him to live! Finally, he was making a man of himself!

 What was he doing wrong? Why was he again not good enough?

 Was it fate? Was he destined to never live up to his great ancestor?

 Billy sighed again and began to walk off. “I’m clearly good enough! You’ve seen me in training, I’m more talented than all of them put together!”

 Penelope blushed softly. “You ARE pretty cool…”

 She then put a comforting hand on his shoulder, which cooled him down for some reason. “But I don’t think they’d say it with no reason. I’m sure they’ve got your best interest at heart.”

 Despite only knowing them for a month, Billy agreed. Maybe he just needed some time to think.

 “Besides…”, Penelope added, a little shyly now. “It’s only been a month and you’re already going. I’ll miss you.”

 Billy smiled at her, putting an arm around her. “I’ll miss you too, Pen! You’re my best friend here!”

 Penelope didn’t mind being friendzoned, she knew it would take him time to realize. He was fast in everything but what was under his nose.

 Besides, as if being just friends was a terrible punishment! She was there for him, couple or not!

 Billy took another breath, as a tiny dust killing microbes walked over his feet.

 Maybe some fresh air would clear his journey up.

 “I think I need a walk. Find where I’m standing, you know?”

 “Sure thing!”

 Penelope saw him walk away, and called out “Will you be singing up to the minecraft server later? I gotta rant to you about the new Weirdo Squad movie!”

 “Dude, if I’m not, I’m dead!”, he called back and laughed.

 Finally, he opened the doors and left, the snow greeting him coldly.

 Sighing, Penelope took out her tool kit to prepare for Time Vehicle repair lessons.

 Looking at her compass/phone/toaster, she smiled sadly at the picture of her ancestor.

 “Oh, great-great-great-great-great grandmother. I wish that Billy wouldn’t worry so much. As you said, you can solve any problem if you stay calm.”

 The picture of Veronica didn’t respond. But it didn’t need to.

 Unlike Billy, Penelope wasn’t afraid of her legacy. She embraced the lessons of old and mixed in the experience of the new.

        Sitting in the bus stop, Billy Decker felt cold.

 But not because of the snow.

 After all, all bus stops had now personal heaters, little suns that could be turned on and off.

 It wasn’t malfunctioning: he was just feeling bad.

 “First mom and dad, then Brick and Savannah…”

 Billy sighed as he looked up at the tallest building in sight, the one and only Decker Foundation building, its namesake’s statue looking down at him with much judgment.

 “It seems like I just let everybody down. Even you, great-great-great-great-great grandfather.”

 Billy green winter wardrobe was weathering the storm mostly well, but he was still feeling sniffly as the daily announcements came through.

 Great. More reasons to feel lesser.

 “It’s 16:45 and we are proud to announce that major developments have occurred in the field of science! Our head researcher Esteban Lopez has managed to finally destroy Pizzazium Infanionaite, the most dangerous of elements! Fernando, as you know, is the great-great-great-great-great grandson of Amanda Lopez, former president of the United States, founder of Lopez Enteprises and savior of the universe! He’s clearly living up to the name!”

 The voice almost taunted him as it said “Are you?”

 Billy sighed and buried his head in his hands, feeling like shit.

 How could he ever make a difference? How could he ever be more than the great-great-great-great-great grandson of Elliot Decker?

 Snow continued to fall, and Billy looked around him.

 He didn’t understand why they didn’t think he was good enough.

 Cocky? Perhaps.

 A little full of himself? Maybe.

 But he was killing it! Did he not deserve some praise?

 How was he not ready?

 What was missing?

 “Sir?”

 Billy just didn’t understand. He put a thumb to his chin and thought.

 It wasn’t ground work, he had already passed some simulations.

 “Sir? Hello? Sir?”

 It definitely wasn’t weapons or physical fitness, he rocked that!

 “Sir? Yoo hoo!”

 The outfit? No, bossing that as well. Seriously, he was perfect, what could be possibly…

 “SIR! HEY! I’M TALKING HERE!”

 Billy jumped up and hit his head, immediately being offered a first aid kit from a robotic arm hidden in the bus stop.

 Rejecting it, he looked over at the little kid, no more than 8, who sat next to him.

 Billy wasn’t used to this. He wondered if the kid would talk like the ones in the movies, “W”’s instead of “R”’s and everything.

 “…Sup!”

 Never mind.

 Billy shrugged and put his arms behind his head, trying to create an illusion of confidence. “I’m pretty wizard. How’s you, little man? Shouldn’t be out here all alone.”

 “Oh, I’m only here on a job, which blows.”

 “Hear, hear.”, Billy said, and the two fist bumped.

 The coconut haired kid and Billy continued to sit, not saying much.

 “What’s your job?”, he asked.

 “I’ll tell, but first I gotta know if you’d actually help me.”

 Billy raised an eyebrow. “Whaddaya mean?”

 The kid rolled his eyes and pointed at people passing by. “This whole utopia thing is nice until you actually need someone to act like a member of it. Bunch of jackasses have completely ignored me so far.”

 Billy felt like there was a chance here! He’d prove his heroism and get graduated this evening!

 AND THEN HE’D GET CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! IT WAS A WIN IN EVERY WAY!

 Putting on his cockiest grin, he stood up and bowed.

 “At your service, my liege! I am the next biggest hero of the universe, Billy Decker!”

 He took out a pretend gun and slipped on his emergency pair of sunglasses.

 “Super spy…”, he whispered, cooly.

 “…Noice. Here, check this out, Mr. Decker.”

 The kid handed his business card, and Billy read over it, only to be very surprised.

 He was expecting something cool, and dangerous, and exciting, like a volcano inside an atom bomb, or shaolin monk sharks, or cyborg librarian pirates.

 Not…

 “…A soup kitchen?”

 The kid nodded, now feeling a little less confident. “As I said, Utopia’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Some of us are still trying to get there.”

 Billy hadn’t even realized that people still needed to be fed in the future. All around him he saw and heard of amazing successes.

 How come this wasn’t solved?

 At first, Billy felt bad for the kid and whoever else needed the kitchen’s help.

 He couldn’t even begin to imagine having no food at all, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine having to hope that someone makes it for you.

 And on Christmas Eve?

 It just felt wrong.

 It felt almost evil.

 Who let this happen?

 But…

 Well…

 “Gee, I want to help, but…”

 Billy felt a little weird. Wasn’t this beneath him? He was supposed to stop world wars and shit, not feed the poor!

 He was supposed to be up to his armpits with beautiful women and explosions, not the hungry and needy!

 Besides, he definitely didn’t want to spend his evening making food and washing dishes for a bunch of strangers!

 I mean, what kind of action movie would that be?

 Billy didn’t want to be a jerk…

 “Hard pass.”, he said, and he gave the card back to a very annoyed kid.

 “Jesus, what a prick!”, the kid went, but Billy didn’t notice as he began leaving.

 At first, Billy felt a bit bad. That kid looked like he needed to eat, and he was sure the others did too.

 But no one told him this was in the job description!

 He was supposed to do cool stuff, not hard stuff!

 Maybe if he’d just think about something else, it would help.

 Billy’s heart began to guilt trip him, asking him how could a hero turn down those in need, but Billy was not ready for this, so he took his phone and stared at the black screen for a few seconds, hoping that just the task of looking at the device would help.

 Of course, reality struck as Billy collided into a door.

 “OW!”, he cried out, and as he looked up he saw…

 “Great-great-great-great-great grandpa…”

 Brilliant. Just what he needed. A guilt trip 159 years in the making.

 Billy tried to avert his eyes but he found himself powerless.

 He tried to ignore his concionse, but it was knocking hard at his gates, calling and calling.

 The image of sad, hungry people, with no family, no support, no friends…

 No life…

 Billy knew what it was like to feel sad, and he had a loving family, great mentors and friends all around!

 Even when he was being scolded he was surrounded with support!

 These guys didn’t even have enough to eat.

 Billy looked up at an impossible to surmount legacy.

 How could he ever be a hero, when Elliot Decker existed?

 …How could he ever be a hero if he acted like a total dickhead?

 Billy truly wanted to do the right thing…

 Maybe the right thing wasn’t always what he wanted to do…

 But what he needed to do…

 Standing up and clenching his fists, Billy looked inside himself.

 What was the right thing to do?

 He so wanted to do something else…

To sit in bed and feel sorry for himself…

 But, as he made his mind up, he realized…

 “It’s the right thing to do…”

 And a sense of… Duty took over him. A sense of goodwill.

 Later that evening, people were fed. People were happy.

 People had a Christmas Eve they wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for him.

 And while no adoring crowds were around, Billy felt a warmth in his heart.

 Perhaps being a hero was more than being loved and feeling worthy.

 Perhaps, being a hero was about all of us.

 And for the first time in his education, Billy Decker felt as if he could really make a difference.

 So he smiled.

[mrsrcbinscn]

BDRPWriMo Task #16: TV Soundtrack

Task:  Jukebox Musical/TV or Movie Soundtrack - come up with a playlist of at least 10 songs, write a scene summary to go with each one.

AU: The Robinsons is a hit multigenerational Netflix show featuring an ensemble cast, chronicling the lives of main couple Franny and Cornelius Robinson from childhood all the way through their marriage, and the lives of their families. Rated TV-14 some episodes, but some have mature content rated MA.

These aren’t in chronological order, I was too lazy to fix everything because the ideas came to me out of order.

tw: violence, marijuana use, underage drinking (in the US anyway), abuse of prescription medication (ADHD meds), mentions of abortion (a side character), sexual themes, car accident

tagging my husband because lots of these involve him @nottomsellecksorry

[ooc: these events all happened, just obv not with cool background music]

Episode Title: Song

1. The Mugshot: Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison

(Inspired by the use of Istanbul in the diner fight scene in The Umbrella Academy)

Background: Since the beginning of the series, Franny Robinson has had a framed mugshot of herself throwing up the rock n’ roll hand gesture with a cut on her face on the wall of the Robinson home. This episode is where the mugshot’s origin is revealed.

Franny and Cornelius had only been married for a little over a year when they visited Franny’s parents in Georgia for her mother’s birthday. One night during their stay, they went out drinking in the city (Atlanta) with Franny’s youngest older brother (Art) and a bunch of Franny’s hometown friends. A man at one of the bars, one with a gorgeous outdoor bar, where the scene takes place, wouldn’t leave Franny alone even after she flashed her wedding ring. The situation quickly got heated and before Franny’s brother or friends could step in between them, the man shoved Franny back into a table.

[background noise is edited out in post-production, there is no sound but the sound of glasses falling and shattering on the bar’s patio as Franny looks down at her sandaled feet, now bleeding from glass cutting them a little.]

 And then;

[the first notes of Oh, Pretty Woman]

“He put his hands on me first. He shoved me first, you all saw that, right?” Franny said, holding out and index finger and pointing it at her husband, at her friends, at Art, and at strangers who had long since begun to spectate. 

“He touched me first. So this is self defense.” She said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail before launching herself at him. All five feet five inches of her came at him like a missile and absolutely knocked the crap out of this guy. Her big brother didn’t even need to throw a punch, she had this all on her own.

[Mercy!!] As Franny slams the man’s face onto a table. 

As they were both clearly fighting, both Franny and the man were arrested and taken to the police station, and while they took her mughot, Franny threw up the rock n’ roll gesture with a bored expression.

2. Payne Lake, Georgia: Blue by LeAnn Rimes

Background: Cornelius’s first EVER visit to Franny’s hometown of Payne Lake, Georgia. The first time she introduced him to her family. 

Neil and Franny join some of Franny’s friends at the little town’s bar on karaoke night, they’re hangin’ out, munching on the bar’s specialty - Irish Nachos; waffle fries with melted queso, scallions, ground beef, salsa, and black beans - with her regular hometown crew. But then her high school voice teacher (who is a bartender too because ‘Murica) is like “Franny Framagucci, it is KARAOKE night!!! Sing!!!!”

And Franny’s all like “Noooooo” because Neil’s only heard her sing in musical productions through NYU, or at showcases for jazz studies. So meticulously practiced and critiqued performances. She’d yet to invite him to any open mics she was going to or anything like that. This man thought she was perfect!! ! ! She needed to make sure he kept that myth as truth. 

So Franny was all “no, I simply CAN’T” but then her teacher started chanting ‘sing, sing, sing’ and her friends joined in, and then people around them recognized Franny - small towns, gotta love ‘em - and someone shouted out “Do Blue, Franny!”

“Haha, no way”

“Come ooooon”

“Well, if you inSIST”

When Franny was in high school, she’d learned to yodel to she could knock Blue out of the park to show up some bitch she hated at the county fair. Very South, Much Georgia, wow. So naturally, she stood on stage and rocked Blue in all her Georgia glory in front of her very Yankee boyfriend, exposing her very uncool country bumpkin side to him for the first time.

Except, it only made him think she was even MORE wonderful, he just got even bigger heart eyes than usual. 

3. Am I A Crazy Bitch?: Science vs Romance by Rilo Kiley

Background: Earlier in the episode, Franny had gone off on Cornelius because she was insulted he’d offered to pay for part of her tuition for the upcoming semester so she wouldn’t have to work as much. Because the last episode, he found out she’d been abusing Adderall on a semi-regular basis to be able to stay awake long enough to juggle school, work, a social life, and seeing him. And confronted her about it. So this episode, he was like “let me make it easier for you.” And Franny went off on him because she was A. insulted, and B. so mad at herself, because his response to his girlfriend abusing Adderall shouldn’t be ‘give her money for college.’ He should be!! Disappointed in her!! He should!! Hate her! And she felt disgusted with herself that he didn’t.

SO. 

The song plays while it flips between scenes of 

A. college-aged Franny sitting on the bathroom floor of her apartment smoking weed #hating herself after she went off on Neil before he left for a business trip to Europe. She can be heard muttered “stupid bitch, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you” as she moves to straight up laying down on the bathroom tile.

B. scenes of Neil in Berlin; in the back of a car halfheartedly listening to his assistant reading off the agenda for the day, pretending to listen to what his German nerd counterparts are saying as he’s just spaced out and sad, only picking at his food across the table from his assistant

C. Art (Franny’s youngest older brother) typing an e-mail to his parents because he’s too afraid to tell them in person he’s dropping out of university for the second time

D. Sophie (Franny’s mother) sitting alone in the kitchen of the Framagucci home after having woken up from a nightmare about her life under the Khmer Rouge, drinking hot tea 

E. Delia Weiss, one of Franny’s closest college friends and eventually lifelong friend, smoking a cigarette and standing outside of an abortion clinic that opens the next morning, after having found out earlier in the episode she was pregnant with her shitty ex’s baby, hinting to the audience she planned to come back tomorrow to terminate

4. Cambodian Independence Day: I’m A Cuckoo by Belle & Sebastian

Background: Franny, who had up until this point in her life, never cut her hair more than a few inches, was told she would need to bob her hair to star as Millie in NYU’s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Long hair is a cultural thing for many Cambodian women and while it didn’t carry too much significance to Franny personally, it very much mattered to her mother, Sophea (”Sophie”). The episode happens to be set on November 9th, which is the day Cambodia became independent from France.

I’m A Cuckoo plays as Franny’s standing in the kitchen of Cornelius’s NYC apartment, scissors in hand, just chopping off her hair that went down to just a couple inches above her tailbone. She keeps repeating, “I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m so dead.” Then says “Mak’s gonna skin my hide alive then use it as a lampshade, Ed Gein style.” 

When Cornelius laughs at her joke she whines, “It’s not funny, I’m serious! When my mother kills me say somethin’ nice about me at the funeral.”

Scene skips ahead to Franny examining her hair in Neil’s bathroom mirror, biting down on her lip and whimpering. He slips his arms around her waist and kisses her cheek, “I think it looks nice.” 

“I’m going to be buried. Alive, most likely.”

“Shh.”

“Mak’s going to kill me, revive me, then kill me again.” *whines* “I look like a Boy Scout.”

*Neil turns her away from the mirror to face him. “You look beautiful.”

“You always say that.”

“It’s always true.”

Aaaaaand some more kissing later, they’re having Hot Sex against the bathroom counter.  They’re horny 20-somethings, what can ya do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

5 & 6. Am I A Manic Pixie Dream Girl?: I Held Her In My Arms by Violent Femmes // Prove My Love by Violent Femmes

Background: Franny decided to give Cornelius a glimpse into what poor people do for fun. When she couldn’t afford concert tickets, she and her friends both back home and in NYC would go to parking decks overlooking amphitheater venues to see concerts. So she took Neil to a parking deck to watch a Violent Femmes concert - and planned to, for the first time ever, open up about some parts of her life.

I Held Her In My Arms plays and Franny’s dancing, having a great time, and tbh this is sUCH a manic pixie dream girl moment, I’m ashamed. She’s ashamed. God is ashamed.

Fast forward, and she’s back to sitting down, her legs fit under the barrier between the parking deck and the drop to the concrete below, so her feet are comfortably dangling in the air as she-- know what, lemme just copy-paste a selection from our Discord DMs 

mckala 10/26/2019 Oh wow wanna know the first time Franny was Purposely vulnerable in front of him vs. he-caught-her-at-her-worst-moments

mary 10/26/2019 uuhh yes pls, i say knowing i will regret

mckala 10/26/2019 OH the good news is, it's not SUPER sad, but it's #revealing SO

She opens up about how poor her family is, and how much she'd been bullied for being Asian, biracial, having an immigrant mother and Swiss immigrant stepdad and their funny accents, and how she puts all this pressure on herself to succeed since she couldn't be smart in the "right" way (STEM), so she HAS to do well in the arts against all odds to make her parents proud, and to make enough money so that her mom and dad don't have to work past retirement age. "So my mom can enjoy her life after what she went through in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge."

But she does it...lowkey romantically, like

Franny takes Cornelius to the parking deck overlooking a lil amphitheater concert venue to watch a Violent Femmes concert, and now Franny has like a part-time job while in school so she CAN afford tickets -- and she has a rich boyfriend -- but she purposely took him to the parking deck to listen to the music and at one point she turned to him and said "When I was in middle and high school in Atlanta, we'd do this a lot. It was the only way we could afford to go see live shows."

And then she's like "We were - /are/ poor. Really poor. Not like you." Bc she assumes he was always decently well-off once he was adopted since his mother probably made at least six figures by her estimate. 

And she's monologuing pretty much until her eyes water without her really REALIZING. Just monologues about how much pressure she puts on herself to BE perfect, to BE the best, to not make mistakes because she already made the big mistake of not "Being smart enough to be a doctor, or an engineer, or a lawyer, or half as smart as you."

mary 10/26/2019 oW, my hEART meanwhile neil is just like, "there is no right way to be smart. and you're smarter than me in a million different ways, so we're going to put an end to that line of thinking right here and now." because he didnt look at music as anything other than white noise until she came into his life

mckala 10/26/2019 OHHH MYYYY GOD

SO. They’re all snuggling and kissing for a bit, then at one point Franny’s like “We need to go to the car right now so we can ;)” and he’s not picking up what she’s putting down because he is far less sexperienced than her lmao, so he’s like “...what? Wait, but - oh. OH.”

And Prove My Love plays as Franny gets nerdy, newly sexually active Neil to have sex with her in a his car in a public parking deck, SMH. At [special favors come in thirty-one flavors] the camera pans to Franny’s face as she’s receiving oral ASDFGHJKL; and at [third verse, same as the first] the episode goes to end credits.

7.  I’m Twenty-Two Years Old: I’m Sixteen Years Old by Ros Sereysothea

****TW: CAR ACCIDENT*****

I’m Sixteen is a running musical theme throughout the episode

Background: The previous episode, Franny and the rest of the cast that were NYU students have graduated from NYU. Last episode ended with Franny and Cornelius celebrating her graduation with both of their families, and plenty of nudges from both sets of parents ‘sooo, can we expect a summer wedding, orrrrrr does Franny want to take the summer to think about masters’ programs?’ A lot of Franny and Neil hissing at their mothers ‘Mak/Mom, stoooop’ but earlier that episode Franny and Neil actually talked about getting married next spring, once they figured out whether or not they were staying in New York now that Franny was done with NYU.

The episode I’m Twenty-Two Years Old begins with Franny driving at a comfortable five over the speed limit on the interstate at night. A cassette tape of Cambodian 60′s and 70′s psychedelic rock is playing in Franny’s car as she’s finishing up a phone call on her good ol’ Nokia 5190. (Remember, this was 2002.)

[I’m Sixteen begins to play in the background during the phone call when it was on Franny’s end]

“Yes ma’am, I should be at the house in about an hour.”

[camera shows Lucille Robinson in her neighborhood finishing up a night jog] 

“Franny Framagucci, you know I told you to call me Lucille. You and your manners.”

“I can’t help it, my mama would kill me if she knew I let Lucille slip sometimes.”

 “If you marry my son you can just call me mom.”

“What d’you mean if? It’s when. It’s for sure when, we just- we want to sort a couple things out post-NYU first.”

“So you’ve talked about it?”

“Mmhm. I’m going to talk to him about it again when he’s back from Beijing. I’ll tell you everything when I get to the house. Thanks again for lettin’ me crash a couple days. I dunno, I just feel kinda melancholy about graduatin’. Didn’t wanna be at the apartment all alone for a whole week.”

“You’re family, you’re welcome anytime.”

“I know. Love yoooou, see you soon!”

She tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and turned the music up. [I’m Sixteen is now playing loudly.]  Soon, a car going the wrong way comes speeding at Franny and Franny screams shrilly above the music as she’s aware there’s no avoiding impact. The scene fades to black and a countdown clock appears on screen.

9:00:00. Nine hours, zero minutes, zero seconds before the accident. 

Franny’s dancing around their apartment in one of Neil’s shirts and her underwear listening to that same cassette of Khmer 60s and 70s music. [I’m Sixteen is playing.] She’s singing along and when Cornelius steps out of the bedroom wheeling his suitcase behind him, Franny briefly interrupts her dancing to wave at him before she grabs a handful of Swedish Fish gummies (her favorite American candy) from an open bag on the countertop and pops one into her mouth while dancing.

She dances her way over to Neil and shoves a Swedish Fish in his mouth and asks him. “Got your deodorant?” He hums an affirmative. “Backup underwear and pants in case you spill stuff on your lap thrice in one day again?” 

“Must you have so little-” he’s given pause when she shoves another fish in his mouth. “-faith in me?”

Franny grins. “My love, I have all the faith in the world...in your clumsiness.” Commence some cute kissing before Franny’s like “hey, heeeey, no getting handsy. Because then I’m going to take your clothes off and you’re going to miss your flight, and Tanya [Neil’s assistant at the time] is going to kill me.”

Scenes between several of the cast of characters happen, yadda yadda.

Eventually when the clock strikes 00:00:00, Neil’s plane from his first layover at Dallas-Fort Worth touches down at LAX at the same time of Franny’s car accident. 

The scene cuts to the wreckage of the two cars, it is out of focus and shaky with occasional flashes of clarity to show important actions. Franny’s car falling into place upside down, Franny’s neck not supporting her head anymore because she’s unconscious and her head the rolling to one side, other drivers leaping out of their cars and running to the wreck.

Cut to what can be assumed to be a couple hours later, at LAX. Neil’s still waiting on his flight to China and just chilling, humming the tune of I’m Sixteen because it was in his head from this morning. He begins to mumble an approximation of the lyrics, but he’s immediately disgusted with his lack of ability to speak Khmer. He turns to Tanya.

“Do you think I should learn Khmer?”

“Huh?”

“Khmer. I should learn it.”

“Oh, that language your girlfriend speaks? Good luck. It sounds rough. Every time she’s on the phone with her mother I think they’re fighting.”

Cornelius shook his head. “I think it’s beautiful.”

“You’d think it was beautiful if it was just high-pitched screeching because it’s to do with her.” Tanya poked affectionately.

Neil’s phone rings. Caller ID says Art, Franny’s middle brother.

[I’m Sixteen plays over the background noises of the following scenes spliced together]

Cornelius shooting out of his seat and listening with wide eyes before running to the nearest counter to find the first flight back to New York, Franny in surgery, Bud and Lucille (who were the first people Franny’s family in Georgia called to ask them to go to the hospital since they’re in New York, they’re in Georgia) scurrying out of the house, and poor Tanya looking frustrated as fuck as she realizes Cornelius is about to just throw away important investment opportunities to fly back to New York for a situation he has literally no control over.

8. Brothers and Sisters: She’s Actin’Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles) by Gary Stewart

Two years before Franny even met Cornelius, she was an eighteen year old high school senior and her oldest brother was Going Through Some Shit. Specifically, a breakup.

He was laying on his bedroom floor listenin’ to sad cowboy music and she was like “fuuuuuck no” so her 5′5 ass grabbed her over six foot tall big brother up off the floor and hissed “We’re going to Uncle Lemmy’s garage right the fuck now!”

In one hand was the cassette Gaston was listening to, tucked under her armpit was a bottle of Maker’s Mark she swiped from their vati’s (father’s) collection on the way out, and she had an iron grip on Gaston’s hand with her other hand.

Unlce Lemmy was a Vietnamese man actually called Tất Văn Hữu Liêm  in proper Vietnamese naming custom, but to the neighborhood kids he was Uncle Lemmy. 

“Bác Lemmy!” Franny called out in Vietnamese as she let herself in after knocking. “We need to use the garage. Gaston’s girlfriend just broke up with him.”

“Oh, dear. Do you kids need anything?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any goi cuon laying around would you?”

“I can roll some!”

“Don’t trouble yourself, Bac Lemmy.”

“Nonsense. Gaston is in crisis!”

In Uncle Lemmy’s garage was a karaoke machine. Franny popped in the cassette of sad cowboy music and shoved the mic into Gaston’s hand. “Sing it out, you sad bastard.”

She opened the bottle of Maker’s Mark and took a swig, handing the whiskey out to Gaston, too. The songs you listen to in your sad cowboy hours? They covered them all. All My Ex’s Live In Texas. Neon Moon. Long Gone Lonesome Blues. (”Whooo, fuck that bitch!” shouted Franny at some point during Hank Williams.) Misery Loves Company. I Told You So. 

The highlight of Framagucci siblings drunk karaoke at 2:30 in the afternoon? She’s Actin’ Single.

[I've seen men look at her before And they think, I don't see] “God,” Franny slurred, very, very drunk. “How fucked is that? Fuck off, partner, that ain’t your woman.”

[I know she'll be lookin' back The minute I'm not there While she pours herself on some stranger I pour myself a drink somewhere]  “Daaaaaaamn, bitch.”

By the chorus, Franny and Gaston were just wasted scream-singing the lyrics at each other.

9. Go Ahead:  Go Ahead by Rilo Kiley 

Basically, the song the soundtrack team put over the scene where Franny took Neil’s virginity lmao. You can tell I stayed up til 6:30 am yesterday working on this task, and now it is almost 4 AM the next day and I’m still trying to finish, so I’m very much trying to stop being Extra now.

It was v soft and giggly and the most wholesome sex scene in cinema mmkay

10. That Damned Penguin Song: Papa Pingouin by Sophie & Magaly

One week when Wilbur was very small, Cornelius and Franny made the mistake of letting Franny’s Swiss Italian-French-German speaking father be the main one to watch Wilbur for a four-day period when both Franny and Neil were insanely busy. Adrien was a godsend, really. Whenever Wilbur was being fussy he would sing and dance to the 1980 absolute BOP that is Papa Pingouin.

But when Adrien Framagucci left Swynlake after his visit? 

“Muuuuummy, Daaaaaaaddy. Penguin! Sing penguin!” 

Except, neither of them knew what the actual fuck Wilbur was talking about, until Franny suddenly remembered from her childhood. When Adrien, who wasn’t her biological father, was trying to convince Franny to like him so she’d let him marry her mother, she vaguely recalled a French song relating to a penguin.

In her memory, six year old Franny had demanded Adrien do something stupid in public and he obliged by singing a French song and acting like a penguin.

Slowly, tentatively, Franny sang the first few bars

Le papa pingouin, le papa pingouin Le papa, le papa, le papa pingouin Le papa pingouin s'ennuie sur la banquise...?

“Muuuuuummy noooo, you gotta do dance! Pépère does the dance.”

Franny inhaled sharply and turned to Cornelius. “How much do you love me, dear?”

“Huh?”

“You married me. It’s not like a Wal-mart where you can just return me if you bring the receipt, yes?” “Uh...”

“I’ll explain after the little guy is satisfied.” With that she turned to Wilbur, sighed, and did Papa Pingouin with full enthusiasm. If French wasn’t Cornelius’s best second language, it was by the time Wilbur outgrew Papa Pingouin.

The penguin song was Wilbur’s favorite until he outgrew it. For years. Years. Y E A R S, Neil and Franny were in a loop of Papa Pingouin. Cornelius is now 45 and Franny is about to be 40. Papa Pingouin still haunts their dreams.

IT IS 5 AM ON DAY 2 OF WORKING ON THIS LMAO FINALLY DONE