#sab business one partners

[softcoresolutions]

Navigating Data Security and Compliance with SAP Business One  

Data security has become crucial in today’s day and age. With hackers orchestrating virtual attacks, businesses need to stay on guard. A lapse could mean damage that might be irrecoverable. Further, it will even lower a business image in front of their clients'. Hence, it is mandatory for an organization to have robust security and compliance management built-in to its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. SAP Business One is the robust ERP solution to this challenge. 

SAP Business One offers a comprehensive solution to tackle all the security and compliance requirements of an organization. Let’s have a close look.  

Data Security and Compliance with SAP Business One: 

1. Automation: SAP Business One automation ensures data integrity is maintained. There is an insurance against errors, which are common occurrences where manual data entry is involved. This automation helps in the mitigation of risks for a business.  

2. User Rights: Not all users require access rights to access everything. SAP Business One allows for granular control when it comes to user management. Depending on the role of the user, only limited access is offered. This ensures there are no data breaches due to unauthorized access.  

3. Data Encryption: SAP Business One provides an additional layer of data security. Industry grade encryption ensures all the sensitive and confidential data of the business stays protected. This covers the database as well as data in transit, offering end-to-end security. Encrypted data can further only be accessed by authorized personnel.  

4. Updates and Patches: Software is only secure until it is being regularly updated and patched. New vulnerabilities are discovered, and the developers spring into action to ensure SAP Business One is always a step ahead of the hackers. As a business leader, you should ensure these patches and updates happen on a timely basis.  

5. Audit Trails: SAP Business One offers detailed audit trails that log critical events. The user, the data accessed with timestamps ensure a holistic approach towards data security and compliance. Changes made to current data are recorded too. This trail helps in figuring out any unauthorized access to the data.  

  6. Backup: It is always recommended to have a data backup, as at times, even despite best data security practices, data can be compromised. Here, SAP Business One offers quick backup and restore functionality. In the event of a data loss due to a security breach, a backup copy could be restored within no time.       Why choose Softcore Solutions – SAP Gold Partner for Data Security and Compliance?    Softcore Solutions have perfected the art of SAP implementations with an industry experience of 23+ years. Having served 700+ happy clients across 10+ countries under 16+ industry verticals, we understand what it takes to provide the best SAP Business One implementation. Our SAP B1 services include;    # Implementation: We provide complete implementation of SAB B1 ERP solution.    # Customization: As per your requirements, we provide tailormade customizations to the SAP Business One implementation.    # Migration: If you wish to migrate data from other systems to SAP Business One, we cover that as well.    # Support: We provide support in form of email, tickets, and call for your SAP Business One implementation. Further, product updates, patching and user trainings are also a part of our offerings.    We work closely to give you the best SAP implementation so you could improve business efficiency and scale quickly.   

Conclusion:  

Data security is paramount. SAP Business One provides state-of-the-art data security and compliance management. Organizations can be assured that their critical business secrets will stay a secret with the implementation of the best ERP solution around.   

We at Softcore Solutions, SAP Gold Partner, offer SAP Business One solutions for SMEs. Our expert team with over two decades of industry experience will ensure you are up and running in no time with the best ERP solution. We offer comprehensive support with an emphasis on data security and compliance with our clients. Invest in the best and put all your security and compliance worries to the rest with the best SAP Business One partner in Bangalore. Give us a call and let us help you with SAP B1 solution for your business. 

[gojonanami]

Does the idea of househusband gojo inetrest you? 👀👀👀 yes it does omg — imagine gojo as a househusband - he’d be such a simp for his partner like — oh the envy of every person who sees him picking up their kids… I love it #sab [asks] #sab [anons] #pls send me asks about this I’m obsessed

in an alternate universe, sukuna and kenjaku are defeated and satoru is alive.

satoru has lived his whole life being a sorcerer. he lived in a vacuum of a society – almost as though he was living in a parallel universe.

and so, in this universe, the ultimate result of the merger is the following: cursed energy gets absorbed and, as such, sorcerers are eradicated.

and so, you end up using this as a way of telling satoru that he needs a break, and, as a result, he ends up becoming a househusband.

why? because why not?

you may have a job you like.

say, as a result of jujutsu, you accumulated knowledge regarding curses/mythology/psychology in various forms of media ranging mosaics to cinema, and you decided to become a professor and teach on that topic? well, now you can, and you don't have to worry about jujutsu any longer! it's a thing of the past.

or, say, your true passion was business and finance? well, now you can! now, you get to live out your dreams of being a hot boss woman in a world full of finance bros.

or maybe your dream was to become an artist, and you never had the time to properly dedicate time for it, but, guess what, now you can! and perhaps you end up making works that reference the curses that you've seen or the experiences that you felt, and you may wish to translate them via oil paint or video art or even performance art, and somehow, perhaps because it's so familiar yet unfamiliar, your work gets popular and disseminated, and even awarded? who knows?

regardless, now, the world is your oyster! nothing is holding you back.

and you want satoru to take a break.

you gently encourage him, perhaps, by first suggesting that it's a temporary arrangement.

but regardless, even in this world of jujutsu that is of the past, satoru has accumulated so many years of work due to being a special grade sorcerer that he has accumulated years of exhaustion. and what ends up being a temporary arrangement of him getting rest for his efforts turns into a semi-permanent arrangement. perhaps.

and while you worked a lot, too, you didn't work in the same way that satoru did when he was a sorcerer. although, to some, it may look like satoru mucked about, he didn't. while juggling responsibilities as a teacher, he also had to tackle and cover a huge number of missions in the whole of Japan as well as abroad. that is one mission after another after another with little to no breaks. perhaps none at all. that is not to dismiss your efforts, of course, but to contextualise them.

meanwhile, you encourage him to try out the things that he might like – be it baseball or singing or something else entirely. or maybe get back into teaching? later?

and so, this marks a foray into the world of satoru the househusband – sorcerer extraordinaire of the past, and househusband extraordinaire of the present.

what comes later? who knows! cats? dogs? children? parrots? a house with a view by the sea? a trip to see giotto & his bottega's frescoes at assisi? or a trip to the andes mountains? a couples' retreat in phuket?

regardless, you take it easy and go with the flow.

and you encourage satoru to take it easy.

did you read my mind?? I literally was thinking this — set exactly after the end of jjk omg. I love this — and he would struggle so much, after being held to such expectations and being forced to work all the time — he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He probably would even get depressed and anxious — and then eventually he would get used to it.

And oh my god if you had kids, he would be so excited to stay home and play and take care of them— he wouldn’t even want you to work since he’s rich, but if you wanted to, he wouldn’t be opposed

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Birdsong: Hard Sell

Fandom: Grishaverse: Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows, and The Grisha Trilogy Summary: Every other time in her life, when she got everything she thought she wanted, the rug had been pulled out from beneath her feet. What was stopping this from being any different? Warnings: Depression, self-destructive behaviors, mentions of grooming, fatphobia, body dysmorphia, and anxiety Word Count: 11,988 Ship(s): Nina Zenik/Matthias Helvar/Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa/Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

Archive link!

A/N: We've reached the last fic in this series! I may return to it one day but I don't have any plans to do so. I really like the way that it turned out here with the focus on Nina from each of the partners and then herself. I hope that you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, it means a lot to me as the first SaB fic that I wrote. Thank you all so much for reading! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

Birdsong:

Hard Sell

A Grishaverse Fanfiction

A Nina Zenik/Matthias Helvar/Kaz Brekker/Wylan Van Eck/Jesper Fahey/Inej Ghafa Fanfiction

By Sissytobitch10seconds

Tour was both everything that she had ever hoped it was and the hardest thing that she had ever done.

Nina had dreamed about being a big enough artist to go out and do tours since she had decided that she wanted to be a performer. When the manager of Shadow and Bone brought it up, agreeing to do it was a no-brainer for her. Alina was the only one that had gone on tour before, with Nikolai doing a mini set back when he was performing as Sturmhond, and she had been a bit more wary of the whole thing. It had been a decision that they had decided coincided perfectly with the official release of their first album, so they took it. They were doing a single show in every city that they went to with a couple of days resting in some of the bigger places. Nina knew that the open days were going to get filled with shows as time went on and there was proof for the demand of them, she was well aware of how that worked.

Shadow and Bone was growing vastly in popularity the longer that they continued to produce music. Even in just the year that she had been together with her partners, which was six months after the band had reformed, they had already exploded in the number of streams that their songs had on Spotify. They were finally in a place where they were getting enough money from the Shadow and Bone merch and album purchases that they could support themselves. Alina was the one that needed that the most, since Kirigan had taken most of the money that she had made under the stage name The Sun Summoner. Zoya came after her when it came to being supported by the band, since the money that she got from being a touring drummer was only so good. Nikolai had never been hurting for money with how wealthy his family was. Nina was still getting quite a bit of money from her Heartrender music, too.

They were apparently also getting a lot more popular because of the imploding that The Fold was doing. More and more artists were following in Alina and Nina’s footsteps as they revealed the shady and shitty business practices that they had. The public opinion of the recording studio was plummeting, which meant that more people were reaching out to Shadow and Bone since one of their singers had been the face of the company for a while.

While they were on tour, a couple of the days that had been free on their schedule were instead taken up with interviews. Alina was the one that was focused on during them, but Nina and Zoya were also asked a couple of questions about everything that they had gone through. Nina released what she was comfortable with and kept quiet about what she wasn’t. That had gotten her quite a lot of flak from unhappy studios that hadn’t gotten the massive scoop that they were hoping for. The fans on the internet backed her up, as did her partners and bandmates, but it was beginning to wear her down.

She had always struggled with feeling like she was doing the right thing and being signed under Kirigan had only worsened that. During the harder days, the words that her mother had said would intermingle with his until she felt like a shell of herself.

“You’ll never be ladylike if you do that. You need to be more graceful. Cut down on your portions so that your future husband will actually want you. No wonder your father didn’t fight that hard in the custody battle if this is how you’re going to act.” Her mother.

“Just trust me, why are you so difficult? Calm down and actually listen for once. You’re just not as talented, it’s something you’re going to have to accept. Maybe if you were prettier then you would be selling better.” Kirigan.

She knew that Alina had it worse. She had been raised in the same kind of strict environment as Nina, which is where they had met. She had the worst of the abuse since she had also been in a romantic relationship with the horrible narcissist stealing their money from them as young teenagers. The words still ate Nina from the inside out, turning all-consuming and threatening to never leave.

She was aware that they would eventually leave, they always did. Regardless of what life threw at her, she was always there to take the next step forward and keep living. She wasn’t going to let something like her own depression and anxiety keep her from living the dreams that she had before they set in. She knew that she was going to struggle on the tour since things in the band were still a little rocky and the manager was going to be pushing them as hard as he could to get as much money as they could out of it.

They played sold-out show after sold-out show. They met with countless fans and spent hours talking to them when they tried to get food. They had even had to take off late one morning because someone had found their tour bus and wanted to get a picture.

Despite the constant go-go-go nature of the tour lifestyle that she now found herself in, there were still good moments. She woke up every morning to a picture of her partners, Inej sending her own separate one, letting them know that they missed her. She got near constant updates about what they were doing, like their group chat had become their polycule’s own specific social media. She knew that the certain set of vibrations in her pocket would mean that her partners were checking in with her, which always filled her up with so much love she felt as though she might burst.

Nina also lived for being able to play the music live. She could only imagine how intense it would be if she had brought some of her more scream-adjacent songs from her Heartrender discography instead of the more chill music that Shadow and Bone produced. She lived for the sound of the fans cheering back at her and the bass reverberating through the stage as it traveled through the speakers. Her favorite part was when everyone heard their favorite song and began to cheer even louder than they had been before. 

Their biggest show was in the capitol, which was also where they  had been doing a bunch of interviews with famous celebrities for late night talk shows. It was exhausting and so rewarding to finally step onto the tour bus so they could be taken to the next place that they needed to be.

Currently, she had performed her last show and was sitting in the hotel room that reminded her that she was a hop, skip, and jump away from her home with her partners. That idea had been thrilling up to a point, until she realized that she was going to be getting home at just the wrong time. Inej wouldn’t be back until the next day from her own set of shows. Matthias and Jesper would be doing their own respective jobs at the theater, with the former moving around sets and fixing broken props while the latter acted the main roll. Wylan had just had to travel out of the state so that he could attend a conference with other scientists as his study was coming to a close. Kaz would be opening the bar and it was one of the more important nights where he couldn't just step out unless there was an emergency.

Arguably, it was probably better for her to have a night alone in her apartment before she swamped herself with even more interaction. It would give her tired body a chance to actually rest and recuperate like she desperately needed, but she didn’t want it. She only ever really felt safe and warm when she was wrapped up in the arms of one of her partners. Even if Kaz was still feeling cuddled out like he had mentioned in the group chat that morning, being next to him or even in the same room as him made her soul feel like it was finally at rest.

Guilt sprang up in her stomach at the thought. She was the one that had decided that she was going to go on the tour and now she was complaining that even more people couldn’t warp their lives around her own wants in her schedule.

She missed them so aggressively that her brain couldn’t help but mention how much they didn’t. Logically, she knew that those things had to be wrong. They had enough partners with each other that if they really didn’t want her then they would have told her before they got to the point in their relationship that they had. Then again, her mind chimed in helpfully to remind her, they had another girlfriend in the chat that they were likely corresponding with over her.

Nina had been so worn down because of the travel that she hadn’t been able to reply consistently to them. She had instead had to give them a barrage of things and reactions to what they had done when she finally got a break for the night. Even then, she usually fell asleep on her bunk on the bus before they got the chance to reply back to her.

She had been the absolute worst for the last month that she had been touring. She knew that they deserved better than her, and she could see what the better example of her was. Genya had always been a complicated person to get to know but she was quite literally everything that Nina wasn’t.

She had been signed with Kirigan before Nina and Alina had the chance. She was quiet, demure, and beautiful beyond all belief. She found time to call her finance every night before she turned in to bed and each morning when she woke up. She was careful of how much she ate and every action that she made while she moved. Nikolai had always been somewhat ambivalent towards her, but Zoya and Alina were thick as thieves with her. It was difficult for Nina to watch, but she forced herself to do so anyway. 

Sitting on the floor of her hotel room by herself, in the dark, her mind really came to life. It began to take apart every single text that she had received that was less than glowing, every single comment and message that she had gotten from fans and interviewers alike, and every action of her bandmates. Her mind rifled through the memories of the past month to remind her of all the bad things that had happened, every action that meant she was unwanted or causing problems in some way.

She had been trying to sleep for the duration of the night and gave up somewhere around three in the morning. She would be able to sleep a little bit on the bus as it brought them back to where they had started. The motion always lulled her into a fugue state anyway, which would work in tandem with her depressive episode. 

Nina slipped off of the bed and then dressed in one of Matthias’ shirts that had gotten mixed in with the things in her bag when she was packing. She was wearing the ring that Jesper had given her for their six month anniversary on a chain around her neck, right next to the locket that Inej had gifted her containing a picture of all their partners together. She had a sweatshirt from Wylan that she draped over her shoulders to keep her back warm while she worked. Kaz was the only person that she didn’t have something of, which had been eating at her during their month of separation as well.

She set her phone down on the desk in front of her and then turned on the desk light. It illuminated her in soft yellow light, but wasn’t bright enough that it might shine through the window and let other people know that she was awake. She had become a bit paranoid about some of their fans finding out where she was and coming to her hotel room, likely because of some of the stories Genya had been telling during their trip.

The mirror in front of the desk stared back at her as soon as she turned on the light. Her hair was a little messy, the curls shoved back into the ponytail that she had managed to find at the bottom of her toiletries bag after her post-show shower. A couple of them had already escaped and were falling down into her eyes and across her cheeks. She could see every tiny imperfection of her skin, including the blackhead that had formed next to her nose and the line of zits on her hairline. The discoloration of the freckles on the bridge of her nose was upsetting when it wasn’t being hidden by the makeup that was packed away in her suitcase. She had dark bags under her eyes from her struggles to sleep on the bus consistently.

Still, she had to do something or she was going to lose her mind from stress and the voices in the back of her mind. She plugged in her phone and then got it propped up so that it was filming her entire upper half. She grabbed her guitar and situated it in her lap before she flicked to Instagram and went live. Most of her fans lived in the same country as her since her music hadn’t quite gone international even when she had been making a few covers of traditionally Slavic songs to honor her mother. She wasn’t expecting her fans to be up or willing to jump on a live with her at that time. She also usually announced that she was going to go live an hour before she did, which was also going to decrease the number pretty significantly.

She leaned back in the desk chair, looking up at the ceiling of the hotel. She could already see the number beginning to climb until it hovered around a hundred. She gave her usually, dorky little wave to her phone as she said, “Hey everyone! I know that I haven’t been as active as usual, but tour ended up being a lot busier than I thought it was going to be. I hope you’re all having a wonderful night.”

A small smile crossed her face as she saw the messages already streaming in. Most of them were saying hi back to her, or reassuring her that it was okay that she hadn’t been as active. One asked her which city she was in now, which was a question that she could actually answer. She liked being able to interact with her fans on a much smaller scale than usual, it felt almost like returning to when she and Alina were dumb sixteen-year-olds making music on their bedroom floors.

“Where’s Alina? She’s in the other room sleeping right now, probably,” Nina forced herself to laugh. It was getting really old to be pushed to the side for her friend, especially when she was the one that put the most effort into the songwriting and sung most of their album. “What did you guys think of the album? Should I play you something from that or would you prefer something new?”

She was plucking at the strings of her guitar as she carefully turned the pegs back and forth. She was worried that after having to tune her instrument to so many different songs that the strings were finally going to snap, which would result in her being instrument-less until Jesper could take her to the store to buy some more. She winced as she remembered her partner, her mind reminding her time and time again that he had been happier without her. She brought a raincloud with her that ruined and soured the lives that she touched.

She looked down at the chat and forced another smile as she saw that they were all cheering for something new. “I’ve been working on this song for a while, actually, so I’m kind of excited to share it with you all. Zoya has been helping me with it and it sounds much better with her, but you’ll have to settle for now.”

Nina took a deep breath as she found her fingering on the guitar neck and began to sing, “I'm trying to make something of myself. My better days, I go buy the hard sell. But I feel like I'm working with barbed wire and moth wings 'cause I can't really get a hold of many things. I'm one deep breath away from a breakdown. My nerves are wrecked and coming unwound. The world is hostile and I'm fragile and I need someone to kiss the cuts and tell me to keep trying. Is it me? Is it really just me? Does everybody have it together or are we all pretending? Is it me? Is it really just me? Holding it together with one loose string that I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop pulling. I rip myself apart at the seams. I find one weak spot and start unraveling, hoping I can find a better me. A fresh new start buried under me. Is it me? Is it really just me? Does everybody have it together or are we all pretending? Is it me? Is it really just me? Holding it together with one loose string that I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop pulling. Can we stop pretending now? Can we stop pretending now? Can we all admit that we don't have it figured out? Can we stop pretending now? Can we stop pretending now? Can we all admit that we don't have it figured out? Is it me? Is it really just me? Does everybody have it together or are we all pretending? Is it me? Is it really just me? Holding it together with one loose string that I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop pulling, I can't stop pulling, I can't stop pulling.”

At some point during the song, she had started crying. She barely even noticed the hot tears streaking down her face and onto her chin as she sang until she was pulled out of it. Her eyes had been clamped shut as she remembered each lyric that followed the one coming from her mouth. Her heart ached in her chest and her throat felt raw when she had finally stopped. 

Her stomach dropped dramatically when she realized that she had started crying. She sniffled and wiped the tears away as quickly as she could. Nina forced another smile onto her face like she had been doing the entire day as she said, “Sorry for that, you guys. I didn’t mean to get all sentimental on you. I’ve had a really long couple of weeks, believe it or not.”

The chat had calmed down slightly but she was still getting a flood of little heart emojis. As soon as the apology had left her lips, people began to rave about her song and a couple even commented that they wished they had been there to hear the whole thing. “I think that I can chat for a while longer, but I don’t think that I should play any more music. I don’t want to wake up Nikolai, you would not believe how grumpy he is until he gets his coffee,” Nina said. She placed her head on her hand and tried not to look at the face that was reflected back at her. She usually felt so confident in her own body, but she had gotten so many comments about it from the stage crews that had helped the band and the interviewers that it was in the forefront of her mind.

She answered a few more questions until her phone started to get really hot from charging while she was live-streaming. She waved goodbye to all of her fans and then ended it so that she could collapse back into her bed. 

The smell of Wylan and Matthias wrapped around her in a way that should have just been comforting, but instead made her heart ache even more than it had before. She felt like a pit was opening up inside of her and the only thing that she could get out of it were the horrible things that her mother and Kirigan had said to her. It was sucking all of the energy, the love, the joy that she should have been feeling out of her and replacing it with self-hatred and pain.

She stripped off the jacket and the shirt, placing them tenderly and carefully down onto the bed. She put on the shirt that she was going to be wearing during transit that day and then carefully folded the two garments. She removed the chain with the ring and the locket, even though it felt like she was losing a hand as she did so. She placed it carefully down in the center of the shirt and then layered the hoodie over the top of it. She carefully placed them both down in the suitcase lid and zipped it closed so that it would be safe when it was being moved around but also inaccessible to her.

Nina went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, watching the imperfections of her face crease and move as she tilted her head this way and that. She poked and prodded at the places of her body she didn’t like, the fat rolls on her back and the plumpness of her stomach.

Voices in the back of her mind reminded her of everything she wasn’t. Alina was able to eat anything she wanted and maintained the stick-figure thin outline. Genya took time out of her day instead of focusing on something silly so that she could actually take care of her skin. Zoya had curly hair that she could actually contain and a youthful face. Nikolai never had to worry about what he looked like because he was never subjected to the harsh beauty standards that she, as a woman, had to endure every day since she became a teenager.

By the time that the voices had taken over her mind, she was crying again. Her face was tilted down towards the sink as she tried to stifle the sobs. They threatened to break through the air around her, to make her pain more real. She shouldn’t have been having that pain at all, she reminded herself. This is exactly what she had done when she was signed under Kirigan and it had made her life in the music industry so much harder until she had Alina by her side. The guilt over the resentment her friend coming out and being believed instead of her was going to consume Nina. It was already trying.

She forced down the emotion and decided that she was going to effect as few lives as possible. She pulled out her makeup and covered up all of the imperfections that she hated. A simple smokey eye with catwing eyeliner, like she had done for every day when she was on tour during the time that she wasn’t performing. Her favorite color of strawberry lipstick went on her lips, plumpening them enough that she was more appealing and less pouty.

Nina then shoved everything into her toiletries kit and put that in her suitcase as well. Her bag was packed other than her book, laptop, phone, and its charger. 

Remembering the device that lay on the hotel desk reminded her of the next step in her plan. She sat back down in the chair that she had been in before and opened up the texting app. It had brought her so much light and life to see each text as it rolled in while she was being whisked from place to place, but she wasn’t sure the same could be said for her partners. On the off chance that they did love her and they weren’t doing it out of some kind of strange obligation, she knew how much it had to be tearing them up to have her away from them. She had seen how much Matthias and Jesper both pouted when Inej was gone. Having two girlfriends without either of them being in reach had to be torture, she knew that it was for her. So she was going to end that pain for them.

It would hurt for a while to do it this way, but they would have each other to use to recover and then they would be fine. She wouldn’t drag them down and she wouldn’t ruin their lives like she had every other partner, friend, and parent that she had ever known. 

She opened up the app and voiced the message as she wrote it, “Hey, sorry for the late text. I just wanted to let you all know that this last year has been the absolute best in my life and I adore you all very much. But I think that it’s time we finally admit that you’d all be happier without me. You’ve done nothing to persuade me of this, you’ve all been absolutely wonderful and the problem could never be with you. It’s just with me, the problem is always with me. I hope that you can help each other through any pain that might come from this break up. Know that I did and do truly love you, I’m doing this to help you live better lives.”

She left the chat and then abandoned her phone on the table. She tilted her head up and blinked furiously to try and keep the tears from running down her face again. She had enough time to redo her makeup if she did cry again, but it felt like giving into the part of herself that she was furiously trying to keep behind lock and key. 

Nina marched to her bed and grabbed her laptop. She sat with the duvet discarded off to the side, only using the top sheet to keep herself warm since the other blanket reminded her too much of her now ex-girlfriend. She plugged in her headphones and pulled up her favorite comfort show so that she could forget all of the pain that was plaguing her life until she had to get up in the morning.

---

She went through breakfast without eating anything despite the waffle maker almost screaming her name. Nothing could be louder than the voice of Kirigan right behind her eyes, reminding her that if her body was more desirable then she wouldn’t struggle so much to get the same amount of fame as Alina. Being around her bandmates and manager felt like torture but she stuck through it, smiling pleasantly when Genya said good morning to her despite her wanting to scream and sob.

They were finally back on the bus and she had an excuse to be relatively alone. She was sitting in one of the little booths, the one that had the table where a few of them had taken to eating at, and stared out the window. Her headphones were on and plugged into the phone that she had turned off, playing nothing into her head but being a relatively effective deterrent. She had to prove to herself and the glimmering hope in her breast that her bandmates were fine without her. She couldn’t leave them because it would be more of a hassle to replace her than to put up with her curse, but they didn’t need her as a friend.

She was doing fine, ignoring her feelings and passing the time with her own thoughts and song lyrics, until Nikolai slid into the seat across from her. He grabbed her phone and unplugged her headphones from the jack to get her to pay attention to him, which was actually one of his favorite things to do when he felt he wasn’t getting enough stimulus from the others.

“What?” she asked, immediately regretting it when she realized how snappish the words had been when they came out of her mouth.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“Why do you always assume that I’ve done something?” she asked, snatching her phone back.

He was staring down at the device like it was going to blow up in his hand since it hadn’t immediately turned on when he took it from her like it always did. She removed her headphones so that they were around her neck and then plugged the jack back in while waiting for him to finally explain himself. Nikolai shook his head to rid the thoughts he had been focused on, much like a dog. “Tolya said that Jesper has been freaking out since early this morning. I assume that since he was one of your boys, you had something to do with it.”

Her heart ached in her chest, spreading pain throughout the rest of her body. The skin on her arms and over her chest felt like it was peeling away from her in the desperation for her soul to be pressed back into her body. She felt unlike herself, moments away from screaming or crying. She couldn’t figure out which one was right but she knew that the emotions brewing in her gut had to go somewhere.

Nina shoved it down immediately. She was going to remove herself from everyone’s lives, that had been her plan. She couldn’t allow herself to explode and to hurt others when they had been nothing but tolerant of her. Her hurt was for her to deal with alone, as she always had.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” she lied through gritted teeth. “I’m guessing that Inej came back early or something.”

“I don’t think so,” Nikolai shook his head. “From what Tolya was complaining about nothing that Jesper was doing was particularly… exciting.”

“All you said was that he was freaking out,” Nina replied, a little bit annoyed at the whole situation. She didn’t want him prying into the very tender wound that was her recent breakup. 

Every time she thought about the fact that she was never going to see those people again, she felt as though she was going to die on the spot. Her mind kept informing her that she would never have Matthias’ arms around her or hear Wylan practicing the piano while he composed something new, or listen to Kaz argue with Jesper over something unimportant, or smell Inej’s body wash when they were hiding in her loft bed, or dance in the living room with Jesper after everyone else had gone to bed ever again. It felt raw and painful in a way that none of her other breakups had felt. There was no relief at having to fake the love any longer, to pretend that she was comfortable going on expensive dates or getting pricey gifts. She only felt the pain that came with knowing that a part of her life that she had really enjoyed was over.

“Nina, what’s the matter?” Nikolai asked. He folded his hands in front of him and leaned forward so that he was a bit closer than before. He was acting like that was going to make it easier for them to hide what they were talking about, to give them some modicum of privacy when they hadn’t had that since they had stepped onto the godforsaken bus.

“Nothing is the matter,” she said, which even she could tell sounded like a lie. There was a waver in her throat and her makeup had already been destroyed around her waterline. The fact that she had tucked herself away in the booth instead of lounging out over the couch while chatting with Alina and Zoya was a big show of that.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his, holding it like he had when they had first decided to make the band. Everything was making her lust after a time that she could no longer ever have, one that had passed her by and compounded new trauma in the forefront of her mind. “We’ve been friends for years, that excuse really isn’t going to work on me,” he assured her. “You can just tell me what’s wrong. I’m not going to judge you and I want to be here for you.”

She carefully took her hand back from him and then began to fiddle with the edge of her phone case. It was one that Wylan had ordered for her after she kept complaining about how terrifying it was to think about all the cracks she could get while performing with it even just in her pocket. It was a construction grade case that was still sleek and had now been decorated with a sticker from her own favorite band. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

Nikolai sat back in his chair, looking over her with those critical eyes that made her feel bare. She didn’t like people examining her that closely, especially when she already felt as self-conscious as she did. “How about I give you another hour on the bus and then we’ll talk again, okay?”

“Okay,” she finally relented. She had enough wear in her soul already from not being able to sleep the night before and all the crying that she couldn’t keep fighting him. Her only hope at the moment was that he would forget before the time came and she’d be able to avoid it regardless. 

He dislodged himself from the booth and walked over to another part of the bus so that he could join in the conversation that Zoya and Alina were having. Nina grabbed her phone and headphones, balling them both up in her hand so that they were constricting around her neck any longer, and then removed herself from the booth as well. She walked back to the bunk that she had been using and collapsed into it. She dropped her headphones and phone next to her, useless since the device was turned off and the headphone trick hadn’t even worked. 

She turned her head away from the curtain that was only half drawn to cover herself as she pretended to nap and looked over everything. She had taped several polaroids of herself and her partners to the walls to keep herself happy when she was missing her partners. She missed them even more than she had when she was traveling, now knowing that she had resigned herself to not be able to see them when she got back. She was so dreadfully alone and it was all her own doing, even if it had been for the protection of the people that she loved.

---

An hour of driving passed by before someone came to rouse her from the nap she had dozed off into. She had still been aware of where she was in her bunk and what was happening around it, so all it took was their hand on her ankle for her to startle awake “Is everything okay?” she asked nervously as she pulled back the curtain so that the other was revealed.

“I came to ask you the same question,” Alina replied. “Do you wanna cuddle and talk about it?”

That was something that they had done often when they were teenagers in high school. They would go to one of their houses, usually Alina’s because her foster mother was almost always at work, and cuddle underneath the blankets. They would hold each other while the other blubbered about boys, girls, breakups, heartache, and all the other shitty things that came with learning how to be a human in the world. It was cathartic and something that had brought them together even more than their shared Catholic school trauma had.

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, which brought her attention to the fact that even more of her untamable curls had escaped the confines of her ponytail.

Alina pouted a little bit. “I think that it would maybe make you feel better.”

“What do you know about it?” she asked, her mouth flickering down into a frown. The idea that Nikolai had brought her problems to the attention of all the others in the band made the guilt inside of her stomach grow even wider. She felt like she was drowning in her emotions, being pulled into the ocean of sadness and pain by a riptide that she had no hope of escaping.

“Nikolai mentioned that Tolya wouldn’t shut up about Jesper not being able to shut up,” she explained. “And I noticed that you didn’t come out when we stopped for lunch.”

“I’m not hungry,” Nina lied. She had been starving and they were getting fast food at her favorite place. The sensitivity around how much she ate was still there in full-force, overwhelming and gnawing at her body.

“You didn’t eat anything at breakfast either,” Alina noted. Her brows furrowed together as she poked her best friend further into the bunk. She climbed in so that they were laying side by side, tilted so that their fronts were facing each other so that they could both fit in the tiny space. “Nina, what’s going on?”

She closed her eyes as she tried to keep the emotions locked where they belonged, deep inside of her heart in the place that only her ex-partners had ever been able to reach. She took a deep breath as she answered, “It’s not a big deal, I’m just having a bad day.”

Nina could almost hear Alina’s frown as she said, “I think that’s actually a monumental big deal.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re my best friend and you were there for all of my bad days. You’ve also been going through it recently,” she replied immediately. Alina reached down and grasped Nina’s hand, so hard that the other woman could feel the scar along in her palm. “You were there for me when I finally ended things with Kirigan and through the whole process of trying to reach out to Mal again. The least I can do is support you when you’re having a bad brain day.”

Nina whimpered as she snuggled closer to Alina. Her arms wrapped around the other girl’s hips and her face was lost in the space of her collarbone, hiding away from the world. Alina responded by completing the hug, weaving her arms behind Nina’s back. It didn’t feel as good as when Matthias and Inej did it, or the rare moments that she got to cuddle Jesper for longer than five minutes, but it was better than nothing. It soothed the touch starved ache burning under her skin by micrometers.

She waited for a while, threading her fingers through her childhood friend’s hair for a while before asked again, “What’s going on?”

“I broke up with them, Alina,” she finally admitted. Saying it out loud made the entire thing feel more real. That was why she had verbalized the text as she was sending it, to try and cement it in her head that what she was doing was the right thing in the long run. Finally admitting that she had broken it off with the healthiest relationship she had ever had in her entire life made everything come crashing down around her. “I’m so fucking selfish. All I can think about is how much I hate my face and my body and being second to you even though we make the music together and I just… they deserve so much better than me.”

“What?” Alina asked, pulling back. She sat up so fast and so suddenly that she hit her head on the top of the bunk and immediately winced, being forced back down while cradling the back of her skull. “Come on, we’re going to go talk with the others about this,” she insisted.

They both slipped out of the bunk so that they were standing. Nina was crying so hard that her makeup was already streaking off, she could feel the heat of her tears beginning to seep down to her skin. She wasn’t able to stop the sobs as they bubbled out of that black abyss in her gut, forcing their way through her throat. 

Alina grabbed her hand and nearly dragged her to the main living area where everyone else was sitting. She stopped on the way to grab a packet of makeup wipes and a box of tissues. She dumped them both down on the coffee table in front of the couch in the living room area of the tour bus before she pushed Nina down onto the seat beside Nikolai and Zoya. Both of their aforementioned band partners balked when they saw the state that the woman was in.

“You were right, Zoya, she’s not okay,” Alina sighed as she sat down in front of Nina. She held the other woman’s hand again, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles. Another massive wave of grief washed over Nina as she wished that it was Wylan doing that instead.

“We can see that, Alina. And I’m always right,” Zoya said, her chin jutting out with a strike of confidence.

Nikolai waved his hand in between the two of them to get them to shut up before they could start another one of their tedious arguments. “None of that now, we need to focus on Nina.”

“No you don’t,” she sniffled mournfully.

“Of course we do, we’re your friends and we love you,” Zoya informed her, the touch of annoyance that almost always clung to her words somehow gone. She reached over onto the table and handed Nina one of the makeup wipes so that she could get rid of the streaks that were left over after her crying.

She was still sobbing, unable to stop the emotions from bursting forth out of her after what she had admitted to her friend. She still took the offered item and then used it to wipe down her face. When she finished, Alina took it from her and placed the box of tissues directly down into the center of Nina’s lap.

Alina took a deep breath as she finally announced, “Nina is having a bad brain day. She hasn’t eaten anything all day and she broke up with her partners.”

Next to her, Nikolai wrapped an arm around the back of her shoulders to bring her into a hug and winced. “That would explain why Jesper is freaking out.”

“You didn’t think that bit of information was important to bring up to the rest of us?” Zoya asked. She dislodged herself from the couch and walked over to the kitchenette part of the bus. She got out a bottle of water and one of the leftover peanut butter cracker packs that they had. The snacks were rather bare bones at that point in their trip since they were all headed back home. They had just enough that no one would have to get hangry while waiting to pull into town so that they could get something. 

She returned back to the table and handed them both to Nina with a no-nonsense expression painted over her strict features. “Thank you,” she mumbled as she took them both. She opened the water first and sipped on it while she tried to quiet her tears on her own. She swallowed and they were gone, the emotion still hovering just behind her eyes and sitting in a lump in the middle of her chest but not visible to the outside.

“It’s fucking horrifying that you know how to do that,” Nikolai shook his head, his nose wrinkling with his distaste. 

“Catholic school,” Nina and Alina echoed at the same time. That caused a small giggle from the former, which made the latter smile reassuringly.

Zoya kicked the edge of the couch as she sat down to get them both to turn towards her. “Can I ask why you thought that it was a good idea to break up with the rest of your polycule? Things were good with them and you were having a good time.”

“It just…” she shook her head. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

She peaked through the curls now hanging down into her eyes as the other shared a look with each other before they turned properly back to their friend. Alina was the one that restarted the conversation, “Fine. Self destructive break up talk can happen later. Do you think you can talk about some of the other things that you mentioned?”

Nina fidgeted. She tipped her head back and finished half of the water bottle in one go. Zoya nodded at her approvingly and then nudged the crackers with her hand to try and coax her into eating them. Despite not being particularly hungry, her stomach clenching into a knot as she thought about all of the comments that had been made about her, she opened the package and popped one into her mouth.

After she had swallowed it, she said, “I just… the comments that some of the fans were making got to me. The interviewers weren’t much better.”

“It was really fucking frustrating to have to watch them fawn over Alina when you’re the one that got screwed over by the company even harder,” Nikolai nodded reassuringly. “Trust me, Zoya and I were about a second away from pulling you out of the chair and refusing to let them talk to you during that last one.”

“That guy was an ass,” Alina nodded her head in agreement so emphatically that Nina was worried she was going to break her own neck in the process. She then carefully said, “I know that we can’t really do anything to undo the damage that he did to you when it comes to your body, but I promise that you’re beautiful.”

“I can think of something,” Genya said, startling them all. They hadn’t realized that she had walked out of the master bedroom space at the back of the bus. “You know that the only reason he kept me around was because he thought I was beautiful, which is why I was fired pretty quickly after the accident,” she gestured to the patch over her eye where the scars around were just peaking past the fabric.

Nina nodded, guilt gnawing at her insides. She knew that Genya suffered from the same self-conscious and poor body image issues that she did, so it made her envy of the other woman feel all the more intrusive and wrong.

The redhead walked over to the table, sitting down beside Alina. “You are beautiful. Just because you don’t fit the modern day aesthetic of skinny women that somehow have huge boobs doesn’t mean that you’re not. Imagine how many young people out in the audience saw you all dolled up and pretty on the stage and saw themselves. You may not have confidence in your own body, but to them you are the walking embodiment of their own beauty and confidence.”

That did make her feel a little bit better. The reassurance that she was getting from her friends was exactly what she needed. The conversation veered back to the less than favorable things that the interviewers had done when they had the whole band or even the two main singers. Nina finished her water and crackers, cleaning her face of the tears with the tissues in her lap. She ended up falling asleep with her head on Nikolai’s shoulder for the rest of the trip.

---

She felt like walking death as she hauled all of her belongings up the stairs to her apartment. The elevator was still broken, as it had been when she had left a month before. Her phone hung heavy in her pocket, turned all the way off so that she couldn’t get any texts or social media messages that would make her bad day even worse. It was good when it came to her sensitivity around her body and place in the band but bad whenever her mind flitted towards her ex-partners.

She had been wondering if they were trying to reach out to her about everything that had happened or if they had all simply deleted their conversations with her and unfollowed her on social media to be well and truly done with her. Her mind kept creating fake scenarios of them reaching out to her, asking what was wrong, and reassuring her that their lives were richer with her in them.

She couldn’t imagine that was true. They would fight valiantly to try and figure out what the actual reason she had broken up with them was, which is why she had turned her phone off for the duration of the day. 

Nina was beginning to doubt her decision to tell Zoya that she would be fine getting back to her apartment on her own. She kind of wished that she had taken her friend up on the offer of them staying together for a while until the post-breakup blues and depressive spiral was over. She couldn’t rely on other people to help her with everything, especially after what they had done to help her on the bus. So she had politely declined and made her own way back to her home.

She stopped in front of her door, opening it with the keys clutched in her hand. She deposited them next to her phone and wallet in the little bowl on top of the bookshelf beside her door. She slid her suitcase through into her little walkway and then closed the door before she dumped her backpack next to it. She was so tired from the tour overall, but it was only aggravated by her not being able to sleep the night before and the emotional turmoil that she had been suffering with the whole day. The nap that she had taken on the bus had only helped a little.

“Food and unpacking,” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her bag and officially turned around. A gasp ripped itself from her lips as she saw that there was another figure in her home, sitting in the light of the quickly setting sun. It had been close to eight at night when the bus had finally pulled back into the town and it took another hour for them to get everything loaded off of it and into their own vehicles.

The man that was sitting in her chair was a very familiar face, one that her heart had been yearning after the entire day. His hair was mused like he had been running his hands through it all day, the scar on his lip aggravated and red from chewing on it. His clothes consisted of a pair of slim fitting satiny pants and a disheveled looking white button down. His hands were bare on top of the cane that he was clutching like it was going to run away from him.

“Kaz?” she asked, her brows furrowing together with confusion. “What are you-”

She was barely able to get anything else out before another pair of lips were suddenly on top of her own. Her back hit the door that she had just closed, sending her backpack and suitcase tumbling over. Nina heard the clatter of the cane join the cacophony of noise as he brought both of his hands to her hips to keep her in place. She didn’t push him off or tell him that she didn’t want it because then she would be lying to him, and she couldn’t do that again. Instead she began to cry as she kissed him back. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and threaded through his already destroyed hair, holding his body to her own like he would suddenly disappear.

“What… what was that?” she asked when he finally broke away from her to let her breathe.

“What the fuck did you think that you were doing?” Kaz seethed, pain and anger mixing in eyes in a way that made her stomach flip and her heart flutter. 

She didn’t know what the proper response to that would have been, especially since her own question hadn’t yet been answered. So she just tried a weak, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can almost guarantee that you do,” Kaz replied, fire and bitterness seeping into every word that he spoke. He took a step back from her so that she could finally free herself from the wall, but he didn’t remove his eyes from her for a moment. It was like he thought that if he looked away, she would vanish back into the nothingness that she had been before. 

Nina shook that thought from her head the second that it crossed into her mind. There was no way that someone could love her that much. “Is this about the text?” she asked, nervously running her fingers along the seam of her pants.

“No, it’s about the fact that Jesper didn’t show up for dinner today, of course it’s about the text!” he shouted. “How did you think that kind of thing was okay to spring on us when none of us were around to talk you out of it?”

She brought her arms around herself so that she was holding in all of the emotion that was threatening to burst forth from her. “I thought that it would be the best way to do it. I know that breaking up over text isn’t something that’s really praised when it comes to judging whether or not an ex has been fair to you but I knew that I couldn’t do it face-to-face.”

Kaz limped past her so that he was sitting on her couch. Silence hung between them for a moment, and she took in her surroundings so that she could look anywhere but at her very upset boyfriend. Her home had pale cream colored walls with a white ceiling, a single black ceiling light hanging from the center. She had a red velvet couch in between two black metal tables, both of which were overflowing with notebooks, lamps, and plants. The entertainment center that held her small collection of DVDs and television matched the coffee table, which had been unintentional but fit the room perfectly. She had a thick black rug underneath it all that she and Wylan had spent almost an hour laying on the first time that they had spent time alone post-relationship. The living room led directly into the kitchen, which was separated from the space with a counter and cabinets.

“Why do you think that was?” Kaz asked when he finally got the energy to speak up again. She could see him charging up the attack like a canon preparing to fire before the words fell from his scarred lips.

“What?” she asked, shifting back and forth to rid herself of the nervous energy building up in her limbs. She had spent too long exerting herself to her limit every night and then cramped in a bus every day to just stand still in front of him.

“Why do you think that it would have been almost impossible to ask us to break up with you if you had been in front of us?” he asked. 

She tilted her head down towards the floor and tried her best not to start crying again. “I said it in the message. I love you all so, so much. It would have torn me apart to see your faces when you realized that this isn’t going to work out for you.”

“You don’t get to decide that for us, Nina!” Kaz shouted, springing from the couch. He winced, obviously having bent his bad knee too quickly, and collapsed back onto the furniture. “We’re the ones that get to make the decision about who is in our life and our relationship. We’re all consenting adults that are within a few years of each other, there’s no power imbalance. There’s no coercion or pressure, consent is explicit in everything that we do and no judgment gets passed when someone has to opt out of an activity. We would have let you know if we didn’t want to date you. You don’t get to fucking decide that for us!”

“You don’t understand!” she screamed, throwing her arms out in a wide gesture to accentuate her point. “I’m fucking cursed! Every time that my life has been this could something has come out of goddamn left field to try and ruin all of it. I could already see it happening when I was on tour and I wanted to save you all from it. You have each other to support you through the initial pain of the breakup, but you’ll be fine once that’s all over. Don’t you see why I can’t be around you? I’m going to hurt you like I did this time and one day it’ll be so big that you’ll start to resent me like everyone always does.”

Kaz slowly pushed himself up from the couch and limped over to her. He placed his ungloved hands on either side of her face and then brought his lips forward so that he was kissing her forehead. She had started crying again, all of the water that Zoya had forced her to drink on the bus now streaming down her face in well-traced rivulets.

She collapsed into him, letting out a wail that shook her entire body. Her face was buried into his neck and her arms were still wrapping around herself to try and get a small amount of extra comfort that way. He was holding her like she was going to disappear, just the way she liked it. It made her feel grounded and stable.

Nina cried and cried until there were no more tears left. She was hiccuping slightly as she pulled back and used the end of her sleeves to mop up the tears still on her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He was about to say something when his phone went off in his pocket. Unable to contain her own curiosity, she asked, “Who’s that?”

“Backup,” Kaz replied shortly. He was still upset with her but had already mostly forgiven her.

“What, were you going to trap me until I came back to the relationship?” she asked, trying to tease him like she always did before she had done that catastrophically stupid thing. 

“Nina,” he warned, looking towards her. He had pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it on so that he could see who it was that had texted him, but he immediately shoved it back into the pocket of his pants. Kaz’s dark eyes were shining with a kind of fear that he had only see after he woke up from his infrequent nightmares. That struck something deep inside of her and she immediately decided that she was never going to do something like that ever again, not for as long as she lived.

He stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of her face again. “I-I can’t fucking live without you. Any of you. I’ve lost so many people. I can’t lose you too. You hear me? I don’t care if you have some sort of fucking curse, I’ll handle whatever it throws at us. But I cannot lose you,” he spoke with such sincerity that it almost restarted her tears.

Instead, she flung herself around him so that he was buried into the edge of her body. She kissed his neck and then whispered, like it was a secret for just the two of them despite them still being alone in the apartment, “I’m sorry. I promise that I won’t do it again. Never ever.”

“Good,” Kaz replied. He cleared his throat and turned his face away from her so that she couldn’t see the tears glistening on his dark lashes, though she was able to catch a glimpse regardless. He slumped back onto the couch while sticking his bad leg out in front of him so that he didn’t further irritate the nerve sheaths that had been damaged. “I want you to go and put on the locket and ring that you always wear. If you have any clothing from our boys then you’re to put that on as well. They’re going to be coming over as soon as Matthias and Jesper’s show is over.”

“Don’t they have a cast party tonight?” she asked, already moving to do as he had asked. She felt rubbed raw with all of the emotion that she had just had to endure again, after sitting with the turmoil while trapped with her own mind on a bus for hours. She wanted to see the rest of her partners as soon as she could, to apologize to them as she had done to Kaz, but she wasn’t sure how much more crying she could honestly handle.

“Making sure that their girlfriend doesn’t break up with them trumps a cast party that they can attend after every show that they perform in,” Kaz replied, giving her a look that told her she should have been able to guess that.

Nina made herself busy to hide the burning on her freckled cheeks. She opened up her suitcase and got out the items she had so carefully put away early that morning. She secured the necklace right where it belonged, hanging over her collarbone. She then shed her travel shirt and put on Matthias’ shirt and Wylan’s hoodie. The rest of the clothing in the suitcase was thrown haphazardly into the washer so that it could be doing something productive. Kaz let her out of his sight long enough for her to also put away her makeup and the suitcase itself. When she came back, she handed Kaz back his cane and sat down on the ground in front of him.

“I really am sorry, you know,” she whispered.

“I could tell from the crying. I never want to see you that upset again,” he informed her as though he was scolding her. She knew how to see through the Kaz-speak well enough to tell that he was actually telling her how much he hated seeing her when she was in pain.

“Were…” she trailed off, burying her face in the soft velvet of the couch. She put her cheek on it instead, looking up at him while resisting the urge to put her head in his lap. “Were the others also upset?”

“Of course they were, Nina,” he replied. His voice was soft instead of gravely and biting like it normally was when they were having their verbal sparring sessions. She felt special to finally be the one that was receiving his tenderness, usually she was on the outside while watching it be given to Inej and Jesper. He continued, which she had not been expecting, “Jesper immediately started trying to find a way that he could track the bus and find a way to drive out to meet you to prove how much he loved you. Inej got a flight back a day early so that she could be here as soon as she possibly could. Wylan is currently driving back from his conference, he told them that he had a family emergency.”

“But he didn’t!” Nina gasped. Wylan took his job very seriously so the idea that he had lied to his associates about what he was doing absolutely flummoxed her.

“Darling, he did,” Kaz reminded her softly. “One of the only two women in his life that he has ever loved outside of a familiar sense threatened to leave him and break his heart. He had to come back to you.”

She sniffled again, but refused to let herself start crying. Kaz scooted over on the couch so that her head was actually pillowed on his thighs. She relaxed as his bare fingers began to card through her dark chocolate curls, an ever-present reminder of how loved she was. Kaz finally concluded, “I’ve never seen Matthias more broken or upset. He was absolutely devastated that he hadn’t proved to you just how adored you were by both him and us. I felt the same way. I had someone else open the Crow Club tonight just to wait for you.”

“I feel really bad for making you all do that. I thought that this would be the easiest way to protect you, to do it when none of you could come after me,” Nina mumbled as she hid her face away in his lap.

Kaz let the silent hang between them for a moment as he continued to weave his fingers through her curls. “I know. You were technically very clever with how you did it. You let your depression trick you into thinking that you didn’t deserve us or that we wouldn’t want you, and then you decided on a plan that would allow us to supposedly be ‘free’ of you with the least amount of chance of us getting to you to convince you to change your mind. What you didn’t account for was how much we loved you and how desperate we are to keep you near us.”

“Did any of you consider that I actually wanted to breakup?” Nina asked, curiosity getting the better of her. The words slipped through her mouth before she even had a chance to think about why that kind of thing might be hurtful to ask.

“No,” he replied immediately. “You made it very clear in the text that you sent that this was a self-destructive behavior and not something that you actually wanted to be happening. If you had sent any other message then there may have been some doubt in my mind, though.”

“You can read me so well,” she murmured. She grabbed his hand with her own and began to toy with the ends of his fingers.

They both sat in silence for a while until there was a knock on her door. Kaz got up, motioning for her to stay on the couch while he limped towards it. He grabbed his cane from where he had left it on the ground and then answered.

Almost as soon as the door opened, two other members of her polycule had piled in. Kaz had stepped to the side to allow them to, though Nina noticed for a moment that he didn’t actually close to the door or move away from it. Her attention was pulled away from him and to her other boyfriends, Matthias and Jesper immediately crowding her vision.

“Min elskede, vær venlig aldrig at skræmme mig sådan igen. Jeg elsker dig mere end hele verden og kan ikke fatte at skulle være uden dig,” Matthias was speaking so quickly that she was only able to catch a couple of the words that he was saying. Nina had always been naturally gifted when it came to languages, so she had been studying the native tongues of some of her partners so that she could speak with them in a language personal to them specifically. She hadn’t gotten far enough in her Danish lessons to be able to tell what he was saying then.

Her mind was racing to try and figure out what he had said so that she could have some tiny hope at translating it when Jesper dragged her out of it. “Did Kaz talk to you?”

“Yeah,” she whispered with a little nod. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t! Don’t fucking apologize to me,” Jesper shook his head. He knelt down on the ground in front of her and took her hand with his own. Matthias had already fallen to his knees in front of Nina like he was worshiping at an alter. In any other situation she would have found it incredibly erotic, but all she could think about was how guilty she was for causing them pain and how much she absolutely adored them with her entire heart.

He took a shaky breath in through his nose as he wrapped both of his calloused hands around hers. He brought it up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm before he cupped his own cheek with her hand. “I love you, Nina. I truly do. I know that I’m not the best at speaking your love language and sometimes I fuck up and I hurt people, but I love you. Please never make me live without you because you think that I don’t want you.”

“I won’t, never ever again,” she shook her head. She took her hand away from Matthias just long enough to cup his other cheek. She kissed the top of Jesper’s forehead, his coiled black hair tickling the edge of her nose. She then pressed her lips to his for a longer time than was absolutely necessary.

She turned to her other boyfriend then and gave him a watery smile. She was determined not to cry no matter how many feelings she had brewing inside of her, deciding that she had reached her limit for tears. “You’re going to have to repeat what you said if you want me to be able to translate it, baby.”

“I love you,” he said, his English rough and heavily accented with emotion. “Jepser said everything else I had wanted to say. Please do not leave us.”

“I’m not going to, I promise,” she whispered. She kissed him as well.

By the time that she had finished soothing the worries that were brewing inside of her two boys, the door shut. She looked up and around Matthias to see Inej and Wylan standing there. They both looked harried and worn out from the traveling and change of plans that they had to do that day, both also carrying bags from their trips. “I’m sorry,” was the only thing that she could get out of her throat.

“I know,” Inej replied. She stalked over to the other woman, Matthias and Jesper moving away from her so that she had the space she needed. “There was a reason that I sent Kaz to talk you down. Draga mea, you are not cursed. You have had bad things happen to you because bad people were trying to hurt you. Now you have us to protect you from both your own mind and the people trying to hurt you. Never throw away your armor because the knife is shining nicely.”

Nina giggled and then nodded. Inej leaned down and kissed her.

“So you’re going to stay with us? We’re not breaking up anymore?” Wylan asked, his shoulders sagging in relief.

“No, I’m sorry. I got too into my own head and then I guess I just couldn’t keep it inside any longer,” Nina shook her head. She stood up and moved away from the three partners crowding the couch as she wrapped herself around Wylan. He buried himself into her body and clung to her to make sure that she was really there in front of him.

She removed her head from his fluffy brown-red hair to look over all of her partners. They had all gone to such great lengths to make sure that she was still together with them and so that she knew that they loved her. She was never going to hurt them like that again, for as long as she lived. 

[solreix]

tsukishima kei is her best friend. it should not be more than that.

ilang on and off relationship na ba ni tsukishima ang nasaksihan niya, at ilang on and off friendship na rin ang nagkaro'n sa kanila dahil tuwing may partner si tsukishima, siya na ang umiiwas.

yet, both of them still acknowledged the fact that they were best friends since diapers. magkaibigan ang nanay nila. kaya naman tuwing family outing, nasa kanila siya, o si tsukishima ang nasa kanila.

that's why when she heard about this family outing, she's so frustrated because she's getting more and more transparent with her feelings. tanga kasi siya. kapag bestfriend, bestfriend lang dapat.

tulad ngayon.

hindi naman siya ganito ka-problemado noon. kaya lang, it has just been a week when she realized her feelings for him. at sa linggong iyon, nagagamit niya ang pagka-busy sa finals para maiwasan ang isa.

pero hindi niya iyon magagawa ngayon. that's why even though she's been shaking, she remained on the pool. tulala lang siyang nakasandal sa pader, bandang gitna, nakalubog hanggang balikat niya. she wanted to go, change, and eat but she could still hear his polite chuckles. panigurado, kapag nakita siya nitong umahon, lalapit ito sa kaniya.

"ate, hindi ka pa ba aahon? nilalamig ka na ah."

gulat siyang lumingon sa pinsan nang nagsalita ito. "hindi pa. gusto ko pa maligo!" at dinugtungan niya ito ng tawa para kapani-paniwala.

she doubt it's as believable as she believed it would be dahil naningkit lang ang mata ng pinsan. "iniiwasan mo ba si kuya kei?"

nanlaki ang mata niya. ganoon na ba siya ka-obvious?

"hindi ah! why would i?"

"crush mo na, 'no?"

"hindi rin!" winisikan niyo ito ng tubig. "ano ba 'yan, sab, kung ano-ano na lang iniisip mo. magswimming ka na nga lang," suway niya dahil lalo lang tumindi ang tibok ng puso niya.

sab's grin widened. instead of going away as she instructed, she just went beside her, and leaned on the wall also. "ang obvious kayang iniiwasan mo siya. dati kapag ganito halos hindi na kayo mapaghiwalay. pa'no hindi ka marunong lumangoy pero ang hilig-hilig mong pumunta sa dulo, lagi tuloy nakabuntot sa'yo si kuya kei." humalakhak ito. "mangiyak-ngiyak ka pa one time kasi akala mo malulunod ka na. as if hahayaan ni kuya kei 'yon!"

umirap siya, ramdam ang pamumula ng pisngi. sa kilig? sa hiya? hindi niya na alam. "eh hindi naman ako nagdudulo ngayon kaya hindi kami magkasama."

"that's what i've been saying! you're not risking going over there kasi alam mong kapag ginawa mo 'yon, pupunta rito si kuya kei." kumindat pa ang nakababatang pinsan.

"ang talino mo masyado, 'no?" sarkastiko niyang sagot.

"ako lang 'to—ay! kuya kei!"

nanlaki ang mata niya dahil sa sinabi nito. she was about to swim away but she already felt his big hand on her head.

"hindi ka pa ba aahon?"

still, she didn't look at him as she shook her head. "gusto ko pa magswimming."

before she could swim again, sab already held her arms. "don't believe her kuya! ikaw na bahala sa kaniya, akala mo ngayon lang nakaligo eh."

"kulit naman!" she whined.

"nanginginig ka na, tanga." si tsukishima iyon.

umirap siya. finally, nilingon niya na ang kaibigan at nakitang nakaumang na ang braso nito sa kaniya. hinayaan niyang hilahin siya nito paahon sa pool, pero kung nasa normal na estado siya, malamang ay hinila niya na ito sa tubig.

as she felt tsukishima's hand on her arms, she couldn't help but get angrier at herself. alam niya naman kasing wala sa mga kamag-anak niya ang nakatingin o nanghuhusga sa kanila dahil normal occurrence na lang ito. wala namang bago sa pakikitungo ni tsukishima sa kaniya, pero ito siya at nag-iinarte.

"so, what makes you stay in that pool kahit obvious na hindi mo kaya?"

nilingon niya ito nang ibalot nito ang dilaw nitong tuwalya sa kaniya. napakalapad na tao ni tsukishima kaya naman halos magdalawang balot sa kaniya ang tuwalya nito.

"na-miss ko lang magswimming."

"magkakasakit ka sa ginagawa mo. buti hindi ka dumudulo, tanga ka pa naman."

sinuntok niya ito nang marahan sa braso. "alam mo ikaw!"

tatawa-tawa nitong sinalag ang kamay niya, ang isang kamay nito ay nakaalalay sa tuwalya. "bakit? hilig mo 'yon ah, tapos naiiyak ka kasi akala mo walang tao sa gilid mo."

"wala ka kasing kwenta!" sagot niya.

kahit ga'no kabilis ang tibok ng puso niya ngayon, nagagawa niya pa ring sumabay sa biro nito. it just always came out as natural, maybe because hanggang dito na lang siya. dapat lang natural na ito sa kaniya.

naka-robe lang siya ng lumabas siya ng banyo, inaasahan na wala na si tsukishima sa kwarto, pero mali ang inaasahan niya. napalunok siya. imbis na pansinin itong nakaupo, mabilis niyang dinaklot ang damit na inihanda nito sa kama para sa kaniya.

she came out wearing a brown loose shirt, manipis ito pero tama lang para sa lamig ngayon, and her green dinosaur pajamas. nang marealize niyang suot din ni tsukishima ang kaparehong pajama, muntik na siyang hindi lumabas.

and she was right. she looked at him, longer than a friend should, wearing a white loose shirt, and his green dinosaur pajamas. si tsukishima ang bumili nito para parehas silang dalawa two years ago. suot din nito ang salamin na bigay niya.

"ba't 'di ka pa bumaba?" bungad niya habang inaayos ang pagkakasaksak ng blower.

"sabay na tayo, tinatamad ako makipagsocialize kila tito," sagot nito na ikinatawa niya.

"bakit? pinapa-shot ka na naman?"

umirap ito, binato sa kaniya ang maliit na unan. "yes."

"humihina ka na ba?" pang-aasar niya pa.

"tanga. tinatamad lang akong uminom."

humalakhak siya. muli silang nanahimik at tanging tunog lang ng aircon, at blower ang namamagitan sa kanila. hindi awkward. or so she hoped, because there's nothing to be awkward about. sanay naman na siyang nasa likod niya ito habang nag-aayos siya, minsan nga ay ito pa ang nagbblower sa kaniya.

bakit kasi nag-iba? kasalanan niya ito eh.

finally, her hair was done so she immediately put it in a bun. she grabbed her glasses from the table, before both of them went down.

"kain!" she exclaimed, jumping away from tsukishima.

iba talaga ang hagod ng inihaw tuwing swimming.

"dahan-dahan, madapa ka," suway ng tita niya. "nasaan si kei? hindi mo pa ayain?"

hindi niya nilingon ang tita na nagsalita. she simply pointed at her back as her eyes remained on the different food in front of her. kanina pa siya nagugutom!

"slow down, hoy." she felt his hand on her back, pero hindi niya ito nilingon.

"walang slow down slow down sa taong gutom."

"oh, sinong may kasalanan?" he gave her a deadpan look, while also giving her a plate with rice on it.

"oo na ako na, maya mo na ako pagalitan gutom ako," dire-diretso niyang sagot at tinanggap ang pinggan.

nang matapos siyang makakuha ng pagkain, akma siyang didiretso sa hagdan para maupo nang hatakin nito ang kamay niya. "dami pang upuan sa gilid, huwag ka humarang."

she pouted. that's when she realized he's holding her hand which was not holding the plate.

normal lang 'to. normal lang 'to.

"kinakabahan ako bukas!" she exclaimed as she delved on her food.

"bakit?" kalmado nitong tanong, busy ang kamay sa pagtulong sa paghimay ng hipon sa pinggan niya.

uminom muna siya ng tubig bago sumagot. "two days na tayo rito, hindi pa rin nanghahagis sila tito!" she shuddered at the thought. "last day na bukas, hindi naman na siguro sila manghahagis, 'no?"

"huwag ka na umasa." tumawa ito. "they were just talking about it earlier. may bago raw silang plano."

her eyes widened. it's their family's tradition to always throw people to the pool. it doesn't matter who, kung sino ang mapili ng mga tito niyang nanghahagis, kahit hindi ka marunong lumangoy, ihahagis ka. well, if you don't know how to swim, they will have someone to catch you on the pool. and even if you do, may naka-standby pa rin na tito sa gilid.

but even though it's safe, she's still nervous! lalo na iba-iba ang trip ng mga tito niya.

"what plan? may pa-gymnastics pa ba!?" she cried.

tawa nang tawa si tsukishima sa kaniya. napansin niyang hindi pa ito kumakain dahil himay nang himay ng pagkain niya kaya naman tinulak niya ang noo nito.

"kumain ka na nga! mabilaukan ka sana." she subtly moved away her plate.

delikado talaga siya kay tsukishima.

and their dinner remained like that. tinatawan ang mga nakababatang pinsan, nakikipag-asaran sa mga tito na lasing.

until silence ensued dahil nasa balcony na siya.

she silently went out of their room earlier, magkakasama sa kwarto ang magkakaedad na pinsan, kasama si tsukishima. right now, she was under the darkness of the balcony dahil hindi niya na binuksan ang ilaw. the moon was enough to capture the scenery below.

ang peaceful. especially with the stars.

however, despite the peacful environment tonight, her head was in chaos. she could feel her heart beat going faster and faster as she thought of tsukishima.

hindi naman siya nagsisising kaibigan niya ito, pero bakit sa lahat ng pwede niyang magustuhan, kaibigan niya pa?

she never had a crush before, nor someone she truly love enough to commit. 19 years, and nbsb siya by choice. pero kung mayroon mang makatitibag nito, ayos lang din. alam niya naman sa sariling ready na siya.

she just didn't expect that her first feelings would involve her bestfriend.

"tila... tala," she murmured. "sa kalangitan..." she wasn't even singing the song, simply saying it as if wishing.

bakit kasi ikaw pa, kei?

"malabo... malabo..."

"alin?"

"ay malabo!" she immediately cupped her mouth when she realized her voice got loud. nilingon niya ang may kasalanan, kasabay ng paglagay nito ng makapal na jacket sa balikat niya.

"anong malabo?" muling tanong ni tsukishima, nakasuot na rin ito ng jacket.

umirap siya. "mata ko, malabo," sagot niya. isinandal niya ang sarili paharap sa railings, kabaliktaran ni tsukishima na likod ang isinandal pero ang mata ay nasa kaniya.

"why are you here? wala ka pang jacket."

"pumasok ka na lang kung pagagalitan mo ako—aray!" hinawakan niya ang noong pinitik nito. "inaano kita?" mangiyak-ngiyak niyang tanong.

tsukishima only chuckled, keeping his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

ginaya niya ito at tumingala muli. she couldn't help but notice how the moon seemed to be brighter now than earlier, so were the stars.

"kei, may tanong ako."

she saw him glanced at her, no, fixating his eyes on her. at wala siyang kakayahan para gantihan ang tingin nito.

"go on."

"what does it feel to be in a committed relationship?" she started. bumibilis ang tibok ng puso niya, handa nang masaktan sa mga example nito.

but imagine her suprise when she saw him shrugged. "i haven't done commitments yet."

"huh?" she looked at him. "what do you mean eh last girlfriend mo nga six months ago? tapos three months before that may boyfriend ka naman? halos recently ka lang nabakante huy."

once again, pinitik ni tsukishima ang noo niya. "they're not commitments. ever heard of flings?"

"oh."

"yes, oh." inilapat ni tsukishima ang daliri sa noo niya, at bahagya itong hinagod bago nagpatuloy, "those were all mutual decisions, by the way. pare-parehong landian, o gusto ng experience."

"i didn't... think of that." she chuckled. "but do you think one day you'll commit?"

"of course... i'm just waiting." tsukishima's voice sounded so soft. he's only like this when he's really talking about something he's passionate about, and she couldn't help but feel jealous for the person he would be willing to commit to. "bakit ka pala nagtatanong? are you ready to commit? meron na ba?"

she bit her lower lip. she couldn't look at him, so she stared at the pool instead. "yes," she answered. hindi niya alam kung pagsisihan niya pero—bahala na. "i mean, yes i'm ready. ngayon ko lang naramdaman 'tong readiness na ganito, so tingin ko okay na."

"is that why you're quoting syd hartha earlier?"

surprised, she looked at him. pero nang makita niya ang mapang-asar nitong ngiti, muli niya itong sinuntok sa braso. "tigilan mo nga!"

natawa ito. "but really? sinong malas naman nagugustuhan mo at napa-ready ka na magcommit bigla?"

tanga ka, ikaw.

"ba't ko sasabihin?" she stuck her tongue out. "eh ikaw, anong hinihintay mo para magcommit? tamang panahon?" her laughs echoed the night.

he shook his head, smiling fondly. "siya."

"huh?" nahinto ang tawa niya.

"hinihintay ko na lang siyang maging handa."

ang ganda ng ngiti niya. nagseselos ako.

tsukishima kei what have you done to her? she has never felt like this before, everything is so foreign pero sigurado siyang nagseselos siya. sigurado siyang hinihiling niya ngayon na sana siya ang tinutukoy nito.

"what if ready na siya tapos maunahan ka? sigurado ka bang gusto ka rin niya?"

"sakit mo naman magtanong." tumawa ito, itinulak ang salamin. "sa tingin ko hindi ako mauunahan kung kikilos agad ako ngayong alam ko nang handa na siya. but if she doesn't like me back, and she has someone—ewan, shot na lang siguro."

this time, dalawa na silang tumatawa. "tama. hindi ako umiinom, pero sasamahan na lang kita."

silence ensued after that laugh. she looked at him, and this time, ang mata nito ay nananatili sa pool sa ibaba. subtly, she took a step back. she took that liberty to stare at his golden locks, being blown by the wind, his broad shoulders, his hand that's touching the railings now. she imagined it holding someone that's not her, and it hurt.

flings pa lang lumalayo na siya. panigurado, once he's committed to his someone, lalayo pa siya lalo. not literally, pero they won't be as close as this. she doesn't want to give the woman a hard time dahil babae rin siya. gets niya. masakit lang. probably once the feelings fade, babalik siya bilang kaibigan na lang talaga.

pero ngayon, siguro... siguro aamin na siya. para mabilis ang paglayo, mabilis din siyang babalik dahil mabilis siyang makaka-move on na. hindi magkakaroon nang dahilan ang someone nito para magselos sa kaniya.

ang hirap naman nito! nakaka-miss noong calculus lang ang problema niya.

her fist clenched inside the jacket. imbis na magmukmok, kinuha niya ang cellphone sa bulsa ng pajama at ilang beses na kinuhanan ng litrato ang anino nilang dalawa. nang muntik na siya mahuli, kinuhanan niya naman ang buwan na sa paningin niya ay lumalabo.

she was about to say something when tsukishima grabbed her phone from her hand. she watched as he turned it to selfie mode, and put his arms on her head, squishing her under. wala na siyang nagawa kundi mamula habang kumukuha ng litrato ang lalaki.

"parang tanga naman, 'to? walang sabi-sabi, hitsura ko ro'n."

"lagi namang ganiyan mukha mo, okay na 'yan."

"ano, mukha na namang tanga?"

"ikaw nagsabi niyan." humalakhak ito.

"ewan ko sa'yo!" huling sabi niya bago padabog na bumalik sa kwarto.

she woke up screaming as her uncles carried her from the room. the sunlight was already hitting her face habang maingat na hawak ng isang tito niya ang mga braso, at ang isa naman ay sa paa. hindi pa niya naip-process ang nangyayari sa paligid hanggang sa makarinig siya ng tawanan sa paligid.

"ayan ang huling alay! tagal mo gumising ah!" she heard one of her cousins.

she was just screaming until she felt she was being shook. pin-prepare na siyang ibato sa gitna ng swimming pool. hindi niya maidilat ang mata, pero nagsisisi siyang hindi niya man lang hinubad ang jacket kagabi! ang bigat tuloy!

"ah!" she screamed before finally feeling herself being thrown. she felt a gentle arms caught her on the pool, mukhang napaaga ang pagsalo nito dahil halos hindi niya maramdaman ang tubig sa katawan. pero nang marahan siya nitong inilubog, tinira lamang ang mukha niya sa ibabaw ng tubig, pinaghahampas niya ito.

"bwisit ka!" bago siya tumawa nang tumawa.

"napaaga eh!" tumawa rin ito. "anong gusto? anong gusto?" pang-aasar nito.

"duga ni kuya kei sinalo agad!" rinig niyang sigaw ni sab.

"kuya kei bakit ako muntik nang malunod!?" biro ng isa pa.

"ikaw," bulong niya.

"huh?"

"ikaw, gusto ko," sagot niya, nakataas ang noo. akala mo ay hindi basang-basa at bagong gising. akala mo ay hindi na halos mamatay sa kabog ng dibdib.

"what do you mean?"

"figure it out, stupid." umirap siya. itinulak niya ang dibdib nito dahil buhat pa rin siya nito. "iahon mo na 'ko, tanga. makakaagaw pa ng atensyon dito."

sinamaan siya ng tingin ni tsukishima, pero kita niya ang pamumula ng mukha nito. "mag-uusap tayo pag-ahon mo."

"mag-uusap tayo pag-ahon mo," she mocked, making faces as they went off the pool.

[desidarling123]

Ever get in ur feels abt that one clearly-deleted SAB S2 scene from the bloopers where Kaz is telling Jesper "Fifth Harbor is our future"

OUR FUTURE *OUR FUTURE*

BITCH IM GOING FERAL

(honorary) brothers and now business partners abt to take over ruling ketterdam TOGETHER!!

SHOW!KAZ HONEY UR DOING SO GOOD MWAH

I could write a 5000 word essay on how much I love Show!Kaz and Show!Jesper's dynamic it's crazy

[crosslink12]

Top Business Set Up Companies In Dubai

Top Business Set Up Companies

In today’s global economy, entrepreneurship has flourished, with new businesses emerging across various industries. Setting up a company requires more than just a Top Business Set Up Companies In Dubai. Entrepreneurs face numerous challenges, from legal paperwork and tax registration to office space and local regulations. To overcome these obstacles and navigate complex bureaucratic systems, many businesses turn to professional business setup companies for support.

Business setup companies help entrepreneurs and investors establish their enterprises in different countries, especially in regions with specific legal and administrative requirements. These firms provide end-to-end services, from company registration to office leasing, tax planning, and more. In this article, we highlight some of the leading business setup companies globally, renowned for their expertise and customer-centric services.

1. Regus

Regus is a global leader in providing flexible office spaces and business setup services. The company operates in over 3,000 locations worldwide and offers workspace solutions for startups, SMEs, and large corporations. Regus assists clients with company registration, virtual offices, and flexible co-working spaces, making it ideal for businesses looking to scale.

Key Services:

Company registration

Virtual offices and co-working spaces

Business address services

Why Choose Regus? Regus offers global expertise with localized support, making it a convenient option for businesses looking to establish an international presence.

2. LegalZoom

LegalZoom is one of the most recognized business setup companies in the United States. It provides an extensive range of services from forming LLCs to trademark registration and filing legal documents. LegalZoom simplifies the process of setting up a business, allowing entrepreneurs to complete legal tasks through an online platform.

Key Services:

LLC and corporation formation

Trademark and intellectual property registration

Legal document filing and advisory

Why Choose LegalZoom? Its user-friendly platform, extensive legal resources, and customer support make it a go-to choice for businesses looking for legal solutions and setup assistance.

3. Hawksford

Hawksford is an international business setup firm with operations in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It specializes in corporate, private client, and fund administration services. Hawksford helps businesses with everything from compliance to taxation, offering solutions tailored to multinational corporations and investment firms.

Key Services:

Corporate governance and compliance

Tax advisory and accounting services

Fund administration and fiduciary services

Why Choose Hawksford? With a global network of offices, Hawksford offers comprehensive corporate services, making it ideal for larger organizations that require sophisticated solutions for cross-border operations.

4. Incorp Asia

Incorp Asia is a Singapore-based business setup company that specializes in helping international companies set up in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. They offer everything from business registration to tax and regulatory compliance, making them a trusted partner for startups and large enterprises alike.

Key Services:

Company incorporation

Tax and accounting services

Regulatory compliance

Why Choose Incorp Asia? Incorp Asia provides local expertise in Southeast Asia, ensuring that businesses comply with the region’s unique legal and tax requirements.

5. Start Any Business (SAB)

SAB is a Dubai-based company that focuses on Top Business Set Up Companies In Dubai. With extensive knowledge of UAE regulations and market dynamics, SAB assists businesses in establishing their operations in free zones, mainland, and offshore sectors. From licensing to PRO services, they provide a full range of services to ensure smooth business incorporation in Dubai.

Key Services:

Business registration in UAE free zones

PRO services

Office space and visa processing

Why Choose SAB? Their focus on the UAE market, particularly Dubai, combined with an extensive network of local partners, makes SAB a top choice for businesses looking to establish a presence in the Middle East.

Conclusion

Whether you are a startup, a growing SME, or an established multinational, working with a business setup company can simplify the process of establishing your business in a new location. These firms offer a variety of services, including legal, financial, and administrative support, ensuring that businesses can focus on their core operations. Companies like Regus, LegalZoom, Hawksford, Incorp Asia, and Start Any Business are some of the top choices, each offering unique benefits tailored to different markets and industries.

By partnering with a reputable business setup company, entrepreneurs and businesses can overcome initial hurdles and start operating smoothly and legally in their chosen jurisdiction.

This article highlights the key players in the business setup industry and the services they offer to help companies establish themselves in various parts of the world. Let me know if you'd like to make any changes or add further details!

[teamdekizl]

Week 3:

Last week, we are tasked to find a potential client that is willing to partnered with us. By searching through out the city, we were able to get an Event planner business that is located right at G/F Abalos Building, Sab Miguel Coner Burgos St. Poblacion Iligan City.

To gather the requirements, we went to the shop and hoping to have our initial interview. The goal is to acquire some important information about the shop itself such as who is the owner, name of the business, their nature of business and etc.

We also promised to comeback for our formal interview. We wrote a permission letter to be sent to the manager of Red Carpet Wedding Services. After completing the letter, we took a jeep to go to Iligan City, where we visited its shop. Unfortunately, the manager was not present, so we politely asked the personnel in the shop to kindly deliver the letter to the manager. Now, we are waiting for their feedback. We held a brief conversation at our school to improve the questions we intended to ask our interviewee because we weren't able to do the brief interview on our scheduled date. To guarantee that we were well-prepared for the interview and to prevent unplanned questions, our goal was to collect ideas. Also, only two of our team members were present throughout the discussion due to one member's absence, as shown in the first picture. We overcame this difficulty by initiating additional discussions via Google Meet, which allowed us to come up with further questions and make insightful conclusions about our project.

We are hopeful that this week we will have the opportunity to conduct the interview with Red Carpet Wedding Services. As we work to be fully prepared for the responsibilities at hand, this interview will allow us to obtain important updates for our project and increase our progress in the capstone.

[kittensandforeheadkisses]

Chapter 4

Raghav's POV

Ranveer sighed, dragging his hand across his face. "Me jaa rha hu."

He made to get out of his bed, but a hiss escaped him when he tried to stand up. Raghav's heartbeat jumped. Oh he's going to tear through him. Eat him alive.

Ranveer fell back onto the bed and grabbed his ankle, tenderly touching the swollen area. He cursed under his breath when pain must have shot through him at the contact.

"How bad is it?" Raghav winced.

"Bad enough that I might not be able to practice for a day or two." He glowered at him.

It might not seem that bad, but with the competition not even a fortnight away, they were already cutting it short. And now with Ranveer's injury, it'd be a miracle if they completed the choreography on time, forget executing the piece with the level of flawlessness required for winning the competition. And it's all Raghav's fault. If he had not pushed Ranveer to perfect the move, despite his clear warning that he cannot strain his ankle anymore, this wouldn't have happened. He'd already secured their loss before the competition had even started.

The guilt was enough to make him go red in shame. And whatever was about to come out of Ranveer's mouth, he held it in after seeing the expression on his face. As if agreeing with what was going through Raghav's head.

Instead, he groaned, flopping on his back, "Ab me ghar kaise jaunga?"

"Apne family me se kisi ko call krle? They'll pick you up." It occurred to him he knows nothing about his family. "And in the meantime, have dinner here"

His face scrunched up in an expression he cannot read. "Aaj sab busy hai." He lifted his left hand to answer his second question, "And meko khana kon khilaega? Tu? "

He shrugged, "I don't mind. It's the least I could do."

He flashed his teeth at that, "Rehne do janab, aapne bohot kuch kar diya. Apna ulta haath use kr lunga. Pata chale khilate khilate tune chhammatch se bhi kisi tarah mar diya"

Raghav winced at that. "Well… "

"What?"

He looked at his bloodied lip. Since he's not able to taste the blood in his mouth, the injury must've been minor. It certainly looked minor when he checked earlier.

Following his line of sight, Ranveer touched his lips. Swore when he saw blood on his finger.

"Great. Aur koi chot bachi h jiske baare me meko pata hona chahiye? Perhaps on my skull?? Or will I find out about that one when I'm under the shower and see the bloodied water on the floor and nearly shit myself into panic?! "

Raghav wanted to say that he should already know where he's hurt since it's his body, but perhaps those areas might be numb. And he had a feeling that correcting his partner while he's spitting fire might not be a good idea.

"There's an ointment downstairs which can be used for mouth injuries. I'll bring it once you finish this food. If you don't, mumma will be hurt."

He grumbled, but didn't walk out.

"Alright" Ranveer called one of his friends while Raghav dug into his pulaav. He slid his phone when he was done, looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Khila bhai!"

He raised his eyebrow "I thought tu apna ulta haath use karega"

Ranveer shot him an exasperated look. "I was kidding."

"You said it with such conviction" He grumbled, but heeded him.

Raghav took a spoonful of that flavorful rice and held it up in front of his mouth. Ranveer swore on his first bite, flinching back.

Raghav winced again. He's been doing that alot.

Somehow, after a few, very painful looking initial bites, Ranveer figured out how to eat without burning his mouth. And for some reason, Raghav couldn't stop himself from looking at his mouth. He told himself it was to just prevent the spoon from coming in contact with the injured area, but he knows, he knows that's not the reason. To say that it was conflicting would be an understatement. There were feelings skyrocketing through his mind and body and it was driving him mad. And Ranveer's eyes on him weren't helping. His eyes are already intense on a normal day, but the glaring look he was sending him throughout the meal was bothering him on a level he doesn't ever want to analyze.

When they were done, he'd gone downstairs to get the ointment and drop the dishes. When he came back, he stopped just outside his room. Ranveer was talking to someone, and he sounded pissed.

"—yaad aa raha h? Aapko pata tha, aapko pata tha meko unki kitni zarurat thi but aap vo bhi spare nhi kar skte? Mere liye nahi but Ananya—" He choked on that name. "Me abhi baat nahi kar sakta, bye."

He hung up, but kept staring at the windows. Raghav gave him a minute or two before making his presence known.

"Here, you can take it with you if you want. Teen se chaar dino me theek ho jaega" He handed him the medicine and cleared his throat. He didn't let it show that he eavesdropped his conversation. Or at least tried not to. He was never the one to be able to hide his expression. But Ranveer didn't notice, didn't even looked at him while taking the small tube in his hands.

After an awkward silence of a minute or two, Raghav finally worked up the nerve to ask him if he's okay. Just as he opened his mouth, Ranveer's phone vibrated. "Mera dost aagya. Me niklta hu. We'll practice tomorrow" He said quietly.

He again opened his mouth to tell him that he'll make his ankle worse if he tried to practice, but again shut it. Let him come tomorrow, he'll make him understand then because now doesn't seem like the right time to argue with him.

He followed his limping partner downstairs, saw him bidding a quiet goodbye to mother and left, completely ignoring him. His mother shot him a confusing look when he shut the door, leaning against it. "Kya hogya use? Vo theek toh hai na? Chot zyada zor ki lagi hai? "

And he knew, he knew that Ranveer knows he eavesdropped on his obviously very private conversation.

"Pata nahi mumma. Vo aesi cheeze kisi ko nahi batata"

Dancing On Your Heartstrings

Chapter 1

Ranveer POV

"Ranveer Kashyap. Sweet name, by the way."

Ranveer turned to face the boy －the eternally exhausting, exasperating boy－ and said, "Hindi bol le, angrez ki aulad."

Raghav put down his coke and feigned hurt, placing a hand above his heart. "Aap mujhe aisa kaise keh sakte hain?" he said in a dramatically British accent. 

For the nth time that day, Ranveer sighed. Why did he ever think this could work out? No- Why did the principal think this could work out. He and Raghav could never work together. The boy was simply too… draining. He was a goddamned vampire dressed in neon jackets that sucked your life force out of you. Two days with him and Ranveer was already thinking of getting a prescription of migraine meds. 

"The competition is in two weeks, Raghav. And we haven't even choreographed yet!" 

Raghav, however, didn't seem the slightest bit pressed. "So? We can choreograph in two days, practice for ten days, rehearse on the last two days. Easy."

Ranveer wanted to grab him by the neck and shove his face into chullu bhar paani. "Easy? Easy!? Easy hogi meri chappal. Tu do minute cooperate to kar. Main akela thodi kar lunga ham dono ka dance choreograph?"

"Arey bas, yaar. Chill kar na thoda. See, main kathak se related kuch choreograph karta hu, tu hip hop jaisa kuch dhundh. Dono ke genres intermix to karke kuch dynamic banate hai."

"Dynamic to apna ban jayega. Pata bhi hai BCPA ki team ne kab ki preparations shuru kar di? Aur tune aaj ka pura din waste karwa diya. Na kuch kiya na karne diya," Ranveer grumbled, shoving his feet into his shoes. He shouldered his bag and walked out of the practice room. After waiting for a while, he noticed Raghav was still in the room. "Chaliye, maharaj. Mujhe is room ko lock karke warden ko keys bhi deni hai."

Raghav was rooted in his place. This guy was just one weird thing after another. His coffee-brown curls really looked like a bird's nest after a whole another day of goofing around and doing no real practice. His face had a thoughtful expression, eyes squinting, gazing into the distance. "Oye!" Ranveer called out to him. Then, he seemed to come back to his senses. 

For some reason, there was a slight tint of redness on his cheeks. Perhaps from exhaustion. Maybe being stupid did make you tired, Ranveer had thought idiots never ran out of energy. 

"Listen," Raghav called out. Ranveer quirked up an eyebrow. "You want to practise right? Come to my house. I don't have any siblings, to koi pareshan bhi nahi karega. We can look up dance moves and choreograph together."

Ranveer wanted to refuse, but when he actually considered it, it wasn't that bad of an idea. Begrudgingly, he replied, "Okay."

Raghav flashed him a grin, showing his pretty teeth that Ranveer was always so tempted to break. 

Once again, Ranveer sighed. "Ab maharaj baahar aayenge ya aapke liye paalki bulai jaae?"

• • • 

It was five pm when the bell to the patil household rang.

"Aati hu!" chimed in a woman's voice from inside the house. Not long after, the door opened. 

It was Mrs Patil, Raghav's mother, probably. She looked at him, head to toe, from his sleek black hair, to the slight stubble on the dark skin of his face. Shit, should he have shaved? Was she judging him? He was already going mad overthinking. But then Mrs Patil tilted her head and asked, "Ranveer?" 

Oh, she has never seen me before. That's why. Ranveer smiled and nodded, earning a warm smile from Mrs Patil too. She had benevolent-looking eyes and deep dimples. So that's where Raghav got them from. Ranveer had always thought he got them from his father, since he looked so much like the man. 

"Arey, andar aao na, beta. Raghav told me you would come today. Do you want chai?"

Ranveer took the corner seat of the sofa and looked around. Mrs Patil hadn't waited for his answer and was already pouring a cup of chai for him. "Thank you," he said and took the cup she handed him.

"If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen, beta. Raghav bhi aata hi hoga."

With that, she disappeared into the kitchen. Ranveer sipped on his chai and cursed himself for not asking her for her name. Now he'll have to be stuck calling her "Mrs Patil" or "Aunty".

Thought the word aunty wouldn't suit her. Despite her age, she had the sort of radiance in her that many women seemed to lack. Until now, Ranveer couldn't place a name on it, but now he realised that he had seen the same untiring energy in Raghav. He had only met Raghav's father, because he also taught at their college. So he had connected all the dots about him to his father and filled in the blank spaces, the things he didn't know about them, with his imagination. 

It had been easy, both him and his father were equally energetic. Though the teacher knew how to keep a class in check, and Raghav didn't even know how to keep himself in check.

But now he realised, Raghav was much more like his mother than his father. In only a few seconds, his mother had made Ranveer recall Raghav so many times you'd think he was in love with him, thinking of him every few seconds and all.

Ranveer pushed the intrusive thought out of his mind. Phew, his mind could be a weird place. Especially when he was drinking chai with this much masala. He was pretty sure he was tasting mulethi, and he'd never had mulethi in chai before. Weird, weird family and their weird, weird chai habits. 

He was finished with his cup when the door sprung open. Raghav, who didn't even have the common sense of not calling someone to his home when he's not even at home himself, grinned at him and threw his bag beside him. "I'll go wash my face. You can wait for me in my room."

Ranveer went to put his cup in the kitchen sink, but he couldn't stop the heat in his cheeks from seeing the grin on Raghav's face. One look at him and Ranveer's own brain betrayed him, replaying that same intrusive thought for some reason. 

Weird. 

[94erz]

The shipping delays on Weverse are actually insane. The 2nd pre-order for Namjoon’s book won’t even be released until next year. JK’s got in early enough that you’ll get it by the end of December but given lately there’s been additional push back none of these books will be out until 2023. 

At some point the world’s gotta figure out how to get shipping back to normal it’s going on 3 years and shit is still incredibly fucked up.

[sneakybananabox]

Would it be ok for u to write a fic where Bea gets absolutely drunk (to rid of jealousy because seeing poppy with carter hurts her) at a bar causing her to makeout with another woman where said girl takes her to a private room to get intimate and Bea passes out in the middle of it? And Poppy happens to see this all unfold and…. U can decide what happens next

I got really into this prompt. Thank you for the request.

Warning: Cursing, drinking, SA

I'm sorry

Bea waited for her popcorn to finish and thought about what she would watch on Netflix, ready for her night in. She decided early on that night she just needed a break. Like every college kid, she was being crushed by tests, notes, and more tests. She was ready to watch some shitty show and enjoy some snacks that probably weren’t the best for her health. Not like it mattered much since her body was toned from working on the farm and her fast metabolism.

Staying in felt like a relief, she didn’t want to be around anyone, especially a certain strawberry blonde. It had been a week since their encounter and it took every part of her thoughts. Everything, in the end, led to her thinking about Poppy and she hated it. She wished that night never happened, even though it was the night she knew she had feelings for one Poppy Min-Sinclair. 

“This is going to be a blast.” Sabina jumped excitedly in costume. She fixed her zoot suit hat and suspenders. The black button shirt and white suspenders with the gray striped dress pants gave her the perfect mafia boss vibe. She kept three buttons open to show off her chest tattoos. 

“I guess.” Bea threw on her red puffy vest, she loved back to the future so when she found the Marty Mcfly costume she was ecstatic. She even found the Nike Bruins with the red swoosh. 

“Don’t be a buzzkill, Bea.” Zoey came from her room in her Dorothy costume. Sabina couldn’t help but admire her. She looked at her smooth legs and the way the dress captured her figure. 

“Wow Zoey. You look beautiful.” 

“Sab, better pick up your jaw off the ground before you trip over it. Bea, I know Halloween isn’t exactly your thing. Tonight is about us letting loose though. We deserve a night to relax and forget all our problems. Now my gorgeous roommates let’s go.”

After arriving the trio went straight to the bar. Now with the strength of liquid courage, it was time for dancing. They were enjoying themselves, letting the music drown out everything. Sabina danced with one of the Zetas before disappearing with her newfound dance partner. Bea looked around for Zoey before seeing her talking to someone from one of her classes. An arm pulled Bea out of the crowd and was met with Veronica.

“Hey Hughes, follow me.” Bea was skeptical. Why was one of Poppy’s minions actually talking to her? She let the alcohol make the call and followed the Zeta anyway.  Veronica entered a room upstairs and sat joining the circle on the ground. Bea looked and saw Chloe, Poppy, Carter, Ford, Liam, and Luis. 

“Veronica what the fuck!? Why is Farmsville here?”

“Well, I figured the most attractive people should be here. Zoey and Sab were unfortunately busy or nowhere to be found. Plus Bea is hot as fuck.” Veronica winked at Bea. She couldn’t help but blush at the compliment.

“Whatever. Everyone just sit down. We are playing spin the bottle. The group will rate the kiss and if you get a low score then you do seven minutes in heaven with that person. The queen will go first.” Poppy spun the bottle and it landed on Carter. She pulled Carter by his costumes and they definitely made sure they got a high score.

Bea went next and the bottle landed on Veronica. 

“Well, Veronicats I hope you enjoy the show. 'Veronica sauntered over to Bea and wrapped her arms around her neck. Their lips met, Veronica’s lips tasted like cherries, and Bea did love cherries. She grabbed Vi by her hips and pulled her closer. She wasn’t always this bold, she would have to thank the vodka for that. Veronica nipped Bea’s lip, but her soft lips soothed her immediately. Finally, they pulled back.

“Damn Bea. We should have done that a lot sooner.” Veronica smiled and pecked her lips one more time before going back to her spot.

“Shit that was hot.” Ford cheered on the two girls.

“Whatever, it wasn't that great,” Poppy mumbled. She didn’t know why everyone was impressed with Hughes. She had done nothing but ruined everything from the moment she stepped onto campus. Another feeling was bubbling in her chest. She decided to just push it down.

The time passed and almost everyone had kissed, even the Alphas had kissed each other. The only person Bea hadn’t kissed was Poppy. She was sure Poppy was using any telepathy to keep the bottle from landing on her, she wouldn’t have been surprised with how much she hated Bea. 

Poppy spun and the bottle twirled, the only thing that could be heard was the glass on the floor. The bottle slowed and landed directly on her arch-nemesis. Bea looked up and wasn’t sure what emotion flashed across Poppy’s face. She got up and approached Poppy and offered her hand.

“Looks like you are unlucky tonight Poptart.” Poppy dreaded this moment but knew it would happen eventually. She grabbed Bea's hand and got up, she stumbled a bit and landed in Bea’s arms. “Falling for me already? We haven’t even kissed.” Bea smirked at Poppy.

“Let’s get this over with.” Poppy grabbed Bea’s shirt and pulled her close. Their lips met hard, but soon they found their rhythm. Poppy tasted like strawberry, way better than cherries. As quickly as it started they broke apart. 

“Hm, I don’t know guys. I think Poppy and Hughes got the lowest score of the night.” Liam announced to the group. 

“I agree Liam. Looks like you two have to do the seven minutes.” Luis agreed. 

“You two are out of your mind.” Poppy complained while glaring at the Alphas. Everyone agreed with Ford and Luis. 

They found themselves in a closet. Bea looked at Poppy and admired her devil costume. It made her look devilish and it made Bea want to sin. 

“Keep your eyes to yourself, Farmhand.” Poppy snarled, she would have to think of a way to get back at the Alphas for forcing this situation. 

“Are we just going to stand here staring at each other?”  Bea wanted to change the subject, she couldn’t help staring at Poppy otherwise. 

“If you think I am going to kiss you again then you are out of your mind.” 

“Okay, I am out of here.” Bea began to walk out of the room, but Poppy grabbed her hand. The room suddenly became ten degrees hotter. Poppy pulled Bea closer, she could feel her breath on her neck. 

“I am no quitter Hughes and I don’t want it live-streamed on Veronica’s stupid channel.” Poppy kissed Bea, snuffing out any words that were at the tip of her tongue. This kiss was different, it wasn’t as angry as before. Poppy rested her arms around Bea’s neck and got closer. She could feel the warmth radiate from the Zeta queen. She pulled her close, emitting a moan from Poppy. Her heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest. Her tongue met Poppy’s lips parting her lips. Their kiss was more than lust, Bea could feel it. They heard a timer, reluctant to part from one another. Without saying another word Poppy disappeared out of the room. All Bea could do was look at the spot the woman once stood in front of her. 

Whenever they would encounter each other after that time, Poppy would avoid her. Her words during their sporadic encounters weren’t as angry. It was like the ice queen lost her chill. She missed seeing Poppy as much. She was grateful that Sab and Zoey came to interrupt her thoughts. 

“Hey sis. I know you have a date with popcorn and Netflix, but there is a party at this crazy house. I heard they have the best catering in the city and Lil Nos F is going to be performing.” Sabina hopped on the couch next to Bea, stealing her popcorn.

“No, absolutely not.” Bea snatched her popcorn back away from Sab.

“Bea, please. I am a huge fan of Nos and if I can talk to him maybe it can help with my djing.” Zoey pleaded while batting her eyes at Bea. She knew that her roommate wouldn’t be able to resist the power of her gorgeous brown eyes. 

“Ugh fine. Only because you asked and not for Sab.”

“Hey! I am right here.”

Bea got ready and they all piled into Zoey’s Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 SUV. They reached the new house at the height of the party. While coming in they greeted their peers as they passed, the trio had taken the campus by storm and were popular amongst the student body. There were waiters with different drinks on platters and different snacks. Bea thought this had to be the fanciest university party she had ever been to, that was saying something considering the school she went to. She grabbed a glittery purple drink from one of the trays to sip on. It tasted fruity but still had the burn going down.

She tried her best to mingle and enjoy herself, she should have snuck some popcorn into the party. She went to the kitchen in hopes of scrounging up her favorite buttery snack. She wasn’t prepared for what she walked in. Sitting on the counter was Poppy making out with Carter. Her head tilted up as he kissed her neck. The whole house could collapse and Bea wouldn’t be able to notice the difference, she had already been crushed. 

Poppy looked at her, but before she could say anything Bea ran out the room. She tried so hard to hold back the tears but failed as they ran down her cheeks. She was mad at herself, of course, Poppy would never be with her. She only saw her as some farmhand. She thought Poppy and Carter had broken up a long time ago. It didn’t matter now, her chance at the ice queen was gone. Bea took another drink, this time a brown liquid, and downed it in seconds. She would do anything not to feel anymore. She needed another drink and quickly.

Four and a half drinks later and the only thing felt was spacey. The music seemed better and everything seemed more vibrant. She was having a blast dancing in the main living room. A girl caught her eye across the makeshift dance floor. She was gorgeous and she couldn’t keep her eyes off Bea. Tonight was a good night to try new things, so with all her courage, she went over to the woman. Walking wasn’t as easy as before, the drinks were doing the walking now, and Bea was just along for the ride.

“Would you care to dance?” Bea offered her hand to the mysterious stranger, only slightly slurring. The woman gave her hand and they went over to the dance floor. They danced closely, their hands roaming each other’s bodies. Bea felt thirsty from the dancing, downing two more drinks to quench her thirst. The stranger and Bea’s lips met messily. Things were getting heated quickly. The woman led Bea to a room upstairs, closing the door. Bea stumbled over to the bed barely able to walk straight. She landed on the bed and could barely keep her eyes open. The girl started kissing Bea and took off her jacket. Bea looked up at the woman and that was the last thing she saw.

Poppy just wanted to get Bea Hughes off her mind tonight. That night back at the costume party meant more than she knew. Poppy had felt something that night in the closet. What would it look like if she ended up with her arch-nemesis? She would lose any credibility she had built for herself. Her pride caused her to take a couple drinks back and almost hook up with Carter at the party tonight. She didn’t think she would run into Bea that night but also wished she would. The look of hurt would be ingrained in Poppy’s brain forever. She left Carter at that moment and just stayed with the Zetas. She watched Bea from afar drinking and enjoying the company of some stranger. The jealous feeling ran through her veins. She had no right to be jealous after the events earlier in the night. She pried her eyes away only to see Bea later stumble barely able to walk going upstairs. Something felt wrong. Poppy went to find Sabina and then get to Bea.

Poppy went to the first door and knocked and heard the girl. She couldn’t hear Bea though. Adrenaline took over Poppy’s thought process, and she was lucky her parents enrolled her in taekwondo. She kicked in the door and saw Bea passed out on the bed. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” The mysterious woman shouted. Poppy wasn’t going to let her get another word out. She rushed and threw a punch at the stranger, landing straight on her cheek. The woman fell to the ground out cold.

"Don't you ever fucking touch her again or I will ruin your fucking life," Poppy growled at the woman on the ground.

Sabina, Zoey and Poppy ran over to Bea. They helped carry her back to Zoey’s SUV and back to the dorm. 

Bea woke up, feeling like she took a brick to the head. She looked around and saw she was back in her room. Sleeping in the chair in her room was Poppy. Maybe she was still drunk or asleep. She looked over and saw aspirin and water next to her bed. She drank the water with the aspirin, knocking over the bottle of pain meds when setting down the water. Poppy jolted awake and blinked sleepily.

“Sorry for waking you Pops.” Bea looked down instead at the blonde in front of her. 

“How are you feeling Bea?” Bea shot her head up making herself dizzy, she had never used her first name before. 

“I feel hungover and stupid. I drank way too much last night.”

“Do you remember anything about last night Bea?”

Bea felt sick as Poppy retold the events from last night and it wasn’t just from the hangover. She was grateful Poppy saw what was happening. She couldn’t help, but feel impressed at the thought of her throwing a punch. Bea looked over and saw Poppy’s lightly bruised knuckles, damn and she hit hard. Shuffling to the kitchen Bea got an ice pack wrapped in a napkin to help Poppy’s knuckles feel better.

“Thanks, Hughes.” A sense of disappointment washed over Bea already missing hearing her first name move past Poppy’s lips.

“I am the one who should be thanking you. You saved me.”

“Be honest with me Hughes. Why did you drink so much?” Bea didn’t know how to answer the question. She didn’t want to burden Poppy with any sense of guilt. 

“I don’t know.”

“Bullshit Hughes. We may not always have been friends, but I know you well enough that you just lied.”

“Ok. Ok. I let my emotions get the best of me last night. I was um- jealous and hurt seeing you and Carter.”

“Shit,” Poppy mumbled under her breath, when would she stop hurting people.

“Don’t do that, Pops. I know what it’s like taking on guilt for other peoples’ actions. You carry that shit around with you and it will ruin you from the inside out.”

“I hurt you and you are still trying to console me. You are something else Hughes” They sat in silence for a moment. Seeing Bea in trouble made Poppy realize that she felt something for Bea. It was more than a kiss that night a month ago. It was time she worked on putting her pride aside. “Bea, what you saw in the kitchen with Carter was a mistake. I did it because I was trying to deny what I felt for.. you.” 

Bea wasn’t sure if it was because of last night or all the emotions coursing through her, but she thought she was going to throw up. Poppy was admitting her feelings for her.

“Poppy Min-Sinclair, are you saying you like me? With this much luck I better try the lottery tonight.”

“Don’t ruin it Hughes. If you don’t feel the sa-”

“Poptart I feel the same way.” Poppy thought her heart exploded for a moment. Her smile beamed across her face. “I know a great breakfast place. I swear the omelets could solve any problem.” 

“A date Hughes? Already?”

“I move quick.” Bea got up and offered her hand to Poppy. She was inches away from Poppy’s lips. “Maybe this kiss gets a better rating than last night?

“Don’t ruin it, Bea.” Poppy closed the distance and kissed Bea, her girlfriend. 

[daddyreid]

dusk til dawn. (stucky x reader)

summary: you had a terrible day and all you want is to be home with your super soldiers, but saving the world is a busy job.

pairing: steve rogers x bucky barnes x fem!reader

word count: 2.3k

content warnings: polyamory, dd/lg dynamics (no age regression), slight angst, reader has a bit of a break down and goes into sub space, daddy!bucky, eventual daddy!steve (if you need any additional tags, please let me know!)

a/n: hi!! oh my gosh i haven't written a oneshot in like six months but i'm back and bringing you stucky x reader content!! this is my first time writing for the mcu, and i really hope you enjoy! <3 sab

☆☆☆☆

This wasn't like you. You were sure of that, and your strong belief in that statement made you feel even worse. It was five PM on a rainy Tuesday, and you had just finished with all your responsibilities for the day. The entire day seemed like it was testing you, throwing obstacles your way at least once every hour. You were exhausted, to be honest, and wanted nothing more than to come home to the Avengers Compound nd be greeted by your two super soldiers. Unfortunately, you knew that one was away on a mission and the other was busy overseeing an entire task force.

You had prepared yourself for the empty apartment, but your heart still sank when you entered it, the silence confirming and elevating your sadness. You shut your eyes, recalling the times when you would come home to Bucky in your shared bed, arms open and waiting for you. You sighed at the thought of being in his warm hold, feeling so safe and shielded from the entire world around you. It was even better when Steve was home, too, and you were sandwiched between two men who you knew would do anything to protect you. These thoughts only made things worse, making you feel guilty for wanting them there when they had such important work to do. You also knew Steve would be back at some point tonight, but Bucky's homecoming remained unknown. His mission status was on a strict need-to-know basis, and even as his girlfriend, you didn't make the cut. Steve, however, did, making you even more anxious for his return so he could tell you how your partner was doing, and if he was safe.

You sulked over to your bed, replaying the unfortunate and frustrating events of the day over and over in your head. Each time you recalled the inconveniences, you got angrier and sadder, annoyed with yourself for getting so emotional. It really wasn't like you to be so broken up over their absences, but something about today had really, really bothered you. You thought of Bucky again, somewhere far away and most likely dangerous, and shivers went up your spine. You knew he was built and trained for combat, but that didn't stop you from worrying.

The sight of your empty bed stung, the smell of Bucky's aftershave and Steve's cologne ghosting over your sheets. You so badly longed for them to be home, to take over and baby you and let you forget about everything else. Your anger rose, not at them, but at yourself for feeling so needy and lonely without them. The dynamic you were used to made your bed feel even bigger and emptier, making your chest tighten.

Your thoughts drifted back to Bucky, and how he would normally calm you down after a hard day. Bucky adored being dominant and your caretaker, taking every opportunity to spoil and coddle you, forcing you to leave all your adult worries behind. He would run you a hot bath and sit you in his lap while it filled, pressing kisses all over your face and whispering reassurance into your ear. While Steve was equally as caring and protective, he hadn't labelled himself as your daddy yet, while Bucky had.

You felt your brain spiraling and felt equally as helpless as the thoughts flowed. You balled your fists up and squeezed your nails against your palms in frustration, a bad habit that Steve had been trying to get you to break. Knowing you were engaging in a forbidden habit fueled your emotions even more, guilting you further and making your head pound. You felt tears forming under your eyelids and shook your head aggressively, refusing to let yourself be taken over by the growing storm.

As you fought your ever-growing emotions, there was a knock on the door that startled you from your thoughts. The last thing you wanted was to be bothered, and you felt your anger rise at the audacity of whoever had arrived to engage with you.

"What?!" You nearly shrieked, a new wave of anger overtaking your senses. You stormed over to your bedroom door to swing it open, ready to unleash your frustration on whoever stood behind it.

Unfortunately, the one person you could not do so with was standing awkwardly behind the wooden frame, their eyes wide at your outburst.

"Steve..." Your heart sank as your eyes met his, immediately feeling incredibly guilty for yelling at him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean- I didn't know..." You mumbled, tears welling up in your eyes as you refused to meet his gaze. You were already so upset over one of your boyfriends' absence, you couldn't believe you just screamed at the other one. Your anger towards yourself outweighed the relief of having Steve in front of you, and he could practically feel you beating yourself up. Steve stepped towards you carefully, not wanting to overwhelm you.

"Hey, hey, it's okay..." He started, slowly and gently moving you into his arms. "I know." He held you against him for a moment as you breathed heavily, desperately trying to swallow the lump in your throat. Steve then pulled back to look at you, tilting your chin up and forcing you to meet his soft blue eyes. You sniffled as he looked at you with such care and concern, tucking some stray hair behind your ear as he caressed your cheek with his other thumb. He surveyed your face, reading loudly and clearly what you wanted. "You miss Bucky, huh?"

And with that, the dam broke. The mention of his name caused you to burst, tears flowing freely as you let out soft cries. Steve quickly pulled you back against his chest, squeezing you tightly as you sobbed. You felt so guilty, knowing Bucky had a job to do and you should be grateful that Steve was there, but your heart ached too much to listen to logic.

"It's okay, babygirl." Steve shushed you and rocked you slowly back and forth, trying to push every ounce of love he had onto you. "I do, too." He confessed. You felt even worse at his confession, suddenly feeling incredibly selfish. You knew Steve missed Bucky, too, and you weren't the only one in pain when he went away.

"I don't know why I'm crying..." You mumbled into his chest, your hands gripping tightly onto the fabric of his t-shirt. "Today has just been so hard and I'm so tired and I wanted him to be home to hold me but he wasn't and-"

"Baby," Steve shushed you again, not silencing your words out of annoyance, but to tell you there was no need to explain; He understood. He held you as you continued crying, feeling absolutely pathetic in his arms.

"I'm so glad you're here." You whispered, pushing your body against him even tighter. "I love you so much." The reminder made Steve smile. He knew it wasn't that you preferred Bucky's presence over his, you just wanted both your boys home after a hard day. He had had times when you were away where Bucky was spooning him but all he wanted was your touch, and Bucky had understood then, too. That was a crucial part of your relationship for all three of you- acknowledging that you loved each other equally, and loving two people meant sometimes you missed one more than the other. There was no jealousy and no hostility, you made sure of that.

"I love you, too." He sighed into your hair, placing a soft kiss on the top of your head. "Why don't we go lie down?" He suggested once your breathing slowed. You nodded silently, wiping your tears with the back of your sleeve. You sniffled again as Steve placed his hand on your back, gently guiding you back to your bed, where he helped you sit down before climbing in himself. You reflexively moved so you were pressed tightly into his side, your head resting on his chest and hands on his abdomen. Steve wrapped his arm around you tightly, tangling your legs together and pulling the comforter over the two of you.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered, running his fingers lightly through your hair. You shook your head and cuddled into him further, breathing in his familiar scent, trying to erase all memories of your day and just be there with Steve. "That's okay, baby." He reassured you, scratching your scalp in an attempt to relax you. Steve knew all your sweet spots and smiled to himself as you melted into him, your breath evening out and your body finally relaxing. Steve decided to take a page from Bucky's book (quite literally), and read to you, slowly lulling you into a calm and submissive state. He watched as your body language changed, still clinging tightly to his t-shirt as your brain let go of the day's events and let Steve take care of you. Eventually, his voice put you to sleep.

Steve put the book down and watched over you as you rested, still running his fingers through your hair and feeling grateful to have you in his arms. He was glad that he could still calm you down on his own, something he hadn't had to do very often since the three-way relationship was formed. He wasn't jealous of your and Bucky's dynamic, but rather cherished the one he had with you when you were feeling more yourself. He truly loved you and Bucky more than anything, and watching you two share something so special made his heart warm.

His watch suddenly buzzed with an alert, a red light flashing briefly as the small screen read:

MISSION 214-A77 COMPLETED

ALL AGENTS EN ROUTE TO BASE

Steve sighed in relief and glanced back at your sleeping form before reaching for his phone. He tapped the necessary buttons to compose a new message to Bucky.

"How did it go? Everybody okay?"

"Tip-top shape. Full mission report is uploading as we speak. I'll give you the handout in the morning."

Steve chuckled to himself, appreciating that Bucky remembered his preference for paper copies. Before he could type back a retort, another gray bubble appeared.

"How is she?"

Steve glanced back at you again, letting his gaze linger for a few seconds as he watched your chest rise and fall. You were still curled tightly into his side, sleeping seemingly peacefully, but the way your hands gripped his t-shirt, he knew you were still missing Bucky's touch.

"She misses you. She had a rough day but she's sleeping now."

There was a beat of silence while Bucky typed back, Steve absentmindedly running his hand up and down your back softly.

"Tell her Daddy will be home soon."

A smile crept onto Steve's face as he read the message, his heart warming as he thought of his boyfriend coming home, and how happy you would be to hear the news. He checked Bucky's location on his tablet, seeing that the jet was only thirty minutes away from the compound. Steve didn't want you to have to miss Bucky any longer, so he gently woke you from your slumber.

"Hey, I have some news." He whispered in your ear, rubbing your back in an attempt to awaken your senses. You groaned into his chest, still exhausted and barely making sense of his words. Steve chuckled again, before bringing his lips to your jaw and whispering once more. "Daddy's on his way home."

It was as if he had said the magic words, you perking up immediately to stare at him with wide, excited eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, princess, he'll be here in just half an hour." He reassured you, your heart pounding as a smile grew on your lips. Your energy quickly faltered though, relief flowing through you and making you aware of just how tired you really were. Steve noticed and pulled you back into his grip, strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. "Go back to sleep, baby. I'll wake you up when he's home." You nodded sleepily, falling back under with a soft smile on your face.

☆☆☆☆

"How was it?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

You awoke to soft whispers, the room now dark as the sun had completely set. You squirmed in Steve's arms at the noise, peeking your eyes open to see Bucky sitting at the foot of your bed, pulling off his boots.

"Well, hey there, gorgeous." He smirked once he noticed your gaze, quickly taking off his other boot to crawl towards you. Steve released his hold on you, letting you scramble to sit up and fall into Bucky's arms. You hugged him as tightly as you could, earning a chuckle from the man himself as he squeezed you back, holding your head firmly against his shoulder. "I missed you, too." He sighed, reading your thoughts. Steve sat up to wrap an arm around you both and you felt your eyes well up with tears again, overwhelmed with joy to have both of your boys home. Bucky held you in place but swiveled his head to give Steve a quick kiss on his lips.

"My beautiful girl," He started, turning his attention back to you and lifting you into his lap. "Daddy missed you so much." You buried your face in his neck, squeezing him tighter and relishing in the sound of his voice. "Stevie took good care of you, though, right?" You nodded, mumbling something against his skin. "Speak up, princess."

"I've got the best daddies in the world." You whispered, and Steve couldn't help the grin that broke out on his face. Bucky shared his expression, his perfect teeth on display as he smiled down at you.

"Damn right, you do."

☆☆☆☆

[tellywoodtrash]

channa mereya 14.10.22 lb

ginni packing to go home and checking her list

adi comes huffily snatches it

and like YOU FORGOT ME ON THIS LIST

he is a childddd

pouty lil babie

she's like you the one who did that hotass ailaan in front of everyone

now follow the reeti rivaaj you so desperately wanted to nibhaofy

he's like who made all these faltu rules and she's like khud pata karo i gtg

he's like chalo family court and we'll be married in half hour no need for you to go anywhere

she's like nuh uh

he's now trying dhaaba angle

saying reeti rivaaj is waste of time

dhaaba khada karna haina

concentrate on dhaaba

she's like you're so right

so imma go live at the dhaaba

and give it my full focus

lol she's so giggly and he's so sulky they're sooooooooo cute I wanna smooosh them

he's like meri yaad aayegi toh roti aaogi

she's like pls I'll be too busy with all my friends having too much fun

grabbbbby time

godh mein bithaya😭😭😭

baal hataaaye, chin on shoulder

softttttttt voice

"I promise, roz milne aaonga. kaise milna hai, tumhari zimmedaari"

THE CASUAL INTIMACY I AM DYING

like it's soooooooooo ahejrjdshshshshs NORMAL

but endearingggggggg

gulaabo ji calling for ginni

adi reluctant to let her outta lap

saying promise roz milogi, chup chup kar

she's like yeah yeah ok

but he won't let goooooooooo

she's like arre pakka promise

gets up to go

he pouty baby

rasta roka with sulkyyyy face

"jaana zaroori hai???"

ugh imma slaaaaap you for being so damn cute

she said yeaaaah and he moved away sad

gave him kissy on gaal and ran away

he's 🤯🤯🤯🤯💞💕💕🫠🫠🫠❤️‍🔥🫠❤️‍🔥🫠😇😇🥹🥹🥹☺️😊😊☺️🥰🥰🥰🥰

UGH AUR USS SCENE KI SAARI GOOD VIBES KHARAAB KARNE

demon daddy and shaitaani Sam ka team up

idgaf about your evil shenanigans, fuckin die both of you

fwding

oh dad has video of Sam setting dhaaba on fire

v good

cant wait for this to get into adi ginni's hands

chotu singh is like angel didi mat jaooooo

adi like fuck it bro she don't currrrrr

idhar rasmo ki baatein

udhar team rocket saazish banaati hui

WHY IS THIS DAD SO FUCKIN HELLBENT ON RUINING GINNIS LIFE

he's just so……… ugh

adi is liptofied against pillar all saaaaad

giving smouldering looksssss

watching each other as she goessssss

oh there's some real anxiety and sad as she steps out the house

on both sides

she turnedddd and he's giving reassuring smile

and she feels better

and goes

Sam is thinking I know you think I'm just a pawn but wait till I find out your real agenda and I use it against you, ambar

which, good for her

between these two I'm certainly on her team

Sam asking what your issue with ginni anyway

and he's evading (been multiple times now)

ginni and fam cleaning up jala hua dhaaba

gulaabo ji like vyaah sar pe hai think about it blah blah

AMMA PLS

let her have a purpose outside shaadi

uss area mein sab set hai na

toh why should she waste time and energy thinking about problems that aren't there

instead of this task at hand

Sam is being meherbaan on ginni in front of Goldie and he's suspicious

he's like I dunno if ginni will ever forgive me etc etc

she's playing up bhai behen ka rishta up hardddd

God why is this Goldie so damn stupid

istg this track better redeem him

by having him be on ginnis side

ginni like yeah I got a good life partner

"par naye rishte judne se puraane rishton ki na ahemiyat kam hoti hai na humaari unke taraf zimmedaari"

SERIOUSLY WHO'S WRITING THIS SHOW

and why are they the only person in this industry with a braincell

"saada dhaaba bikhra pada hai, aur ginni doli chadh jaaye? Aisa kaise ho sakta hai???"

Sam is kaan bharing

ki just make things right with ginni

and her bada sasuraal will make you business partner

Godddddddddd BASED ON WHAT?!??!? he's a fuckin idiot

he shared a womb with ginni and just used up resources

saari akal aur mehnat aur sab ginni ko hi mile

loser

anyway he's like ginni won't forgive this time

but she continues kaan bharing and goldie says he'll try

lmao sam's impressed with her own acting skills and thinking mummy kehti thi go to mumbai and become heroine, shoulda done that

lol tbh I'm beginning to enjoy her villain arc, i always love it when they acknowledge they're being shitty people and getting kicks outta it

ginni and her saada dhaaba speech, samajh gaye na behennnnn

gulaabo ji is still like shaadi shaadi shaadi

but ginni won't be dissuaded thank God

she's vowing to find and fuck up whoever pulled this bs

and ooooooooh boy cannot wait lololololol

adi sitting around stating at phone and getting huffy

and saying I didn't know days were this long

but she dgaf about me no phone no message

SIR SHE HAS SHIT TO DO OTHER THAN PYAAR ISHQ MOHABBAT

not all of us are born into generational wealth

meanwhile she's also staring at her phone saying kitna drama he was doing, not letting me come

and now look no call nothing

y'all corny af

precap: taayiji bhadkaofying adi ki all your mom's jewelry is with supreet

and he's as usual doing way ott badtameezi with her

saying stay away from me and my shaadi

oh she's soooooo sad

ambar yelling at her sab ready hain, why you not

God adi I kinda wanna kick your ass

WHY ARE MEN

ugh

[tenacityreturns]

aokaga drabble: post-nba

plot: kagami cuts off all his friends after forced retirement from the nba, and goes to live in japan again so that he can rebuild himself from the ground up. aomine’s girlfriend, sabs (whom we love), breaks up with him and aomine follows kagami to try and reconnect after a quiet few months. he’s worried as hell, he loves kagami, who he knows without hearing from him that he is miserable. it’s angst. word count: 5860 notes: sfw, future verse, aomine’s pov. it’s specific to my future verse hcs but hopefully it makes sense even if u dont know them lol. nijimura and kagami are ( thank you so much for reminding me about this. present tense. they ARE ) besties, i think that comes up. 

god, it's just too weird coming back here. everything is the same. same cream wallpaper, same dirty mirror in the lift. same buttons, circled with red once pressed. same shitty elevator music. it hums melodically, creating the pretence of relaxation, but daiki is anything but. he stares at himself in the mirror. not much taller than the last time he'd been inside, on his way to see an exuberant redhead in that same, ridiculous penthouse apartment he'd had by himself. would it seem small now that he'd seen the world? now that he had money of his own, lived in a big apartment himself? there are lines in his brow as he inspects it. he doesn't try to fix it. allows himself these nerves because they remind him that he cares. if he didn't, he wouldn't have come back to stay with his parents. wouldn't have followed taiga across the world despite the months of radio silence. missed calls ( ignored calls ). unanswered texts. daiki had tried everything. called taiga’s dad, asked if he'd heard anything recently from him. he never had. never gave daiki anything, anyway. all 'oh, I'm sure he's fine, he's probably just sulking about his injuries.' yeah, that's what daiki is worried about. asao had always got on his nerves. how is he so blind? why can't he see that taiga's devastated to be retiring? he still had as much fight in him as he'd had when they were teenagers. so much fight, and grit, and impossible potential.

the elevator dings. he doesn't move for a moment. ghosts surround him. that time taiga dragged him way too roughly into his apartment, only to kiss him like he's made of glass. the times they'd held hands in the full elevator and no one had minded. the time someone had, and taiga nearly beat him up for it. like, really nearly. all the occasions taiga found to cook meals for him. all the excuses. how the hell could taiga stand to come back here and relive all those memories?

the doors shut. daiki grunts and pushes the button to open them again. he has to buck up. he has to gather himself, all the courage in the world, and tell taiga everything. he was waiting inside, anyway. he'd buzzed him up. yeah, alright. he'd said at the door. yeah, alright. he sounds different now. colder. the knot in his stomach is eating him alive. tearing organs apart. his knees are weak, barely carrying him into the hallway.

how will he phrase it? Daiki makes his way to taiga's door. it's the same colour. same paint, it's peeling a little. he feels sick. so sick. it's fight or flight, isn't it? the nerves. well, he'd already flown away. already allowed taiga to think he didn't care. maybe he hadn't. maybe love had drifted between them, fluttering around like a butterfly in spring. sabina had been a flower daiki visited, she was everything he thought he'd wanted in a partner. funny, clever, interested in him. not like in love him, which she had been, but she'd asked how his day was. sabs was great, but she wasn't taiga. they fought a lot, but not in the same way he'd fought with taiga. and taiga had dated people too, like that hot business guy. older, smart, in love. daiki recognised the way he'd looked at taiga during that terrible doubt date they'd gone on. softly, in awe, like there had been no one else in the room. and taiga had been looking at daiki. saying something with a smirk, trying to get a rise out of him. daiki could have kissed him then.

but he's broken up with sabs when taiga retired. all daiki had done was call him, text him, trying to find out if he was okay. of course he wasn't, but daiki wanted to be there for him. sabs grew tired of it. he doesn't blame her for it. he doesn't blame himself for being in love with taiga, either. it's the natural way of things. and it has been the natural way of things to go back to Japan as soon as he could get a break away from work. he stayed with his parents, kept his head down. reconnected with other old friends from high school, tried to pretend it was just a social call. Tried to pretend he hadn't come all the over here on the off chance taiga might be around to see him, wherever he'd been. what a bittersweet moment when taiga first texted back a few months ago. all casualness, he’d said don’t worry about me, i’m fine. talk soon x and that had been it. he’d replied in english, daiki had texted in english. daiki called him about a week ago and taiga had answered. hearing his voice had been jarring. he’d been waiting so long, so patiently. always hoping taiga would call him for a change.

“i’m in tokyo visiting family,” daiki had said hastily, shocked that he’d actually get a reply this time. he waited. nothing. fine. he kept talking. “i get it if you don’t wanna talk to me, or whatever, but---

“no, i wanna see you. come over. i’m back in my old apartment, you remember where that is? come by next saturday.” and they agreed on a time like it was the most normal thing in the world.

daiki sees his hand raise to knock on the door, and he wonders how many times in his life he’d done this. his knuckles had met the door hundreds of times before, when they’d been younger. less experienced. happier. god, daiki’s scared. it’s too weird coming back here.

the door opens. it’s taiga. he looks tired. he’s put on weight, his bare arms are still tree trunks but they’re not showing muscle definition anymore. he makes grey sweats and a black t-shirt look classic for a reason. daiki stares at him, taking it all in, suddenly tongue-tied. he doesn’t have the right words, they don’t exist. there’s nothing to say. he shouldn’t have come.

“makes you feel old, don’t it?” taiga says, rubbing his neck.

"what?”

“being back here. i feel like i should ask you if you wanna play one-on-one then go to maji’s.” the joke hurts. red eyes hold such sadness in them. it looks like it hurts to look at daiki, too. he shouldn’t have come.

“taiga---”

“i can’t, i dunno if you heard. i can’t play again. i’m still recovering. i had to choose between being able to walk when i’m sixty, or playing basketball another year. i was so close to picking basketball.”

daiki trudges inside. he fights the instinct to sweep taiga into an all-encompassing hug. it’s awful being in this room again. the furniture is different, thank god, but the essentials are in the same place. the kitchen is the same. there’s the spot daiki would always perch when taiga was cooking something for him. the sofa is in a different position. how clearly he can see the old layout now that he stands amongst its replacements. daiki doesn’t know what to say to taiga’s crushing statement. could he speak if he wanted to? there’s a lump in his throat. he takes his shoes off. those are taiga’s jordans. it’s good he still wears basketball shoes. it’s wrong when he doesn’t. they’re like an extension of him, like the colour of his hair. scarlet in the sunlight.

“isn’t that what you wanted to hear?” taiga’s voice is so dark, he hasn’t shut the door yet. when daiki looks over, the hand on the door is tense, as if trying to make a fist through the wood. it takes daiki by surprise to see this rage. “isn’t that what anyone wants to know, whether i care if i played again?”

“i---” he blinks. “i don’t care about basketball.”

wrong answer. the door slams. daiki flinches. taiga stalks into the kitchen.

“i mean, of course i care, it’s just-- you scared the shit outta me. i figured you didn’t wanna see me of all people, then i heard you cut everyone off, all your old teammates. gave everyone the cold shoulder. we just wanna help you, man, you’re not alone in this.”

“i’m over it.”

“i wouldn’t be, if i was you.”

“you have no idea how i feel, daiki,” taiga pulls two beers from the fridge. daiki had half expected banana milk. the thought makes him feel worse.

“nobody does, you won’t talk to anyone.” it’s a leap, maybe he had been, but had avoided daiki’s questions when he’d asked them. did nijimura know how he felt? did satsuki, and they just hadn’t told him?

“i don’t want to,” he takes the drinks to the couch, and daiki follows. daiki sits in a chair where his beanbag had once been. taiga continues, “i don’t wanna even think about basketball. that’s why i never messaged you back. i knew it would all come out once i saw you.”

daiki doesn’t open his beer. he stares at it guiltily, but he can’t bear opening it. can’t bear disturbing the quiet falling between them.

“i would’ve left you alone if you hurt yourself,” taiga goes on, in too smooth of a tone to have been anything but the truth. “i would’ve known you wouldn’t want to see me because it’d remind you of the old times.”

silence. he really shouldn’t have come.

“i’ve always had basketball,” taiga says quietly, sipping on his beer. “all my friends were into it too. back when i had this place first, i figured everyone was only interested because i was good. especially you guys.” he clicks his tongue. “you, generation of miracles. i didn’t blame you, either. i got it. tetsu, ryouta, tatsuya. i’d think about whether you’d lose interest if i got hurt and couldn’t play anymore. i didn’t wanna face it.”

“is that--- is that what you think about me now?”

no reply. he drinks more beer. daiki shifts to the edge of his seat.

“taiga. answer me.”

“i considered it. at first, definitely. then you kept calling, i guessed it was your conscience or something. don’t feel bad about it, or whatever--”

“don’t feel bad? why would you think that? i--” he has to take a breath. it’s taiga’s mistake. it’s something in his past that caused him to think that the limits of his worth are tied with his ability to play ball. that’s awful. but it’s not something to argue over. it won’t help. “look, you’re wrong. alright? don’t ever think that about me again.”

taiga shrugs. “you wanted to know how i felt.”

it’s a blow. it hurts. no doubt about it. when daiki had said i love you, had taiga always heard i love your basketball? that’s ridiculous. daiki had loved taiga’s way of playing, but that wasn’t just it?! there are corners of taiga’s mind that daiki doesn’t like, doesn’t get along with. but despite that, he loves that, too. loves taiga. loves, loves, loves him. he always has, he always will.

“you once said there’s nothing a winner can say to a loser. ain’t that how it is here? what could you say to me i haven’t heard from everyone else who can still play basketball?”

“if you couldn’t walk now, do you really think i wouldn’t wanna be there to help you with your wheelchair?” it slipped out, almost venomously. defensively. taiga blinks, quiet as the dead. daiki sighs, setting the drink down unopened. “you’re one of my best friends, taiga. you’re more than that. i think i made myself pretty clear when i called you and texted you. sorry if that was the wrong thing to do... but... if you stopped playing basketball after high school, i’d still have wanted you around, you know. even if you were some boring ass banker in another country, i still would’ve kept in touch.”

daiki doesn’t look at taiga now. he can’t. it’s too much honesty. there’s too much weight to his words. ( if he had looked over, he’d see the shaking hand raising beer to lips, hiding that they too quiver under the threat of tears. )

“sorry if i’m just saying stuff you’ve heard before. i’ll leave if i’m making it worse. i didn’t mean to.”

continued silence. what does he say next? what can he say? he doesn't want to leave. he should have come. daiki sighs, sinking back into his seat with his eyes anywhere but on taiga. this chair is hard. it's a sand-coloured linen armchair with deep mahogany accents. the kind of chair that really isn't meant to be sat in. sabs had one like this. it was a glorified bowl. totally uncomfortable, and even he was never able to sleep in it. this chair is similar. its voice is loud and harsh: i am an adult purchase. daiki misses the beanbag. the most comfortable thing he'd ever slept on. second most. he finally looks at taiga. the couch is different. it's also sand in colour, and cuboid, but the arm-rests are low and with the right cushion, their rounded corners would make for a good napping area.

the old sofa hadn't been comfortable. he'd convinced himself that it was, until taiga became the perfect cushion between sofa and daiki. it's a stupid thought, but is a toned body really that comfortable of a cushion? the soft lines of taiga's broad shoulders look just as enticing. but... the beanbag... daiki's bought beanbags for himself since then but they've never been the same. even the same brand (model discontinued) hadn't been the same. it wasn't just that it was oblong and firm enough that he doesn't touch the floor, while still retaining body-moulding softness. it was partly that. daiki had realised it the first time he settled into his new and immediately rejected beanbag years ago, when he and taiga had broken up for the second major time. it was that he'd been on taiga's floor, exhausted after an almost challenging one-on-one, waiting for his rival to make him his dinner. even before they'd started dating, daiki had felt a special sort of peace here. there's comfort in finding someone who you can be your authentic self with. daiki's basketball ability didn't scare taiga off.

"daiki?"

daiki had been staring at the window when taiga spoke. he immediately looked over, momentarily forgetting everything that was said minutes before. forgetting why he's here, what brought him, what chair he's sitting in. he's in the beanbag again. taiga's about to ask him to solve a history question, and daiki's half a second away from making up a completely fictitious answer so he doesn't have to bashfully admit that he doesn't know.

“can i ask you something?”

“shoot,”

“were you just thinking about your old beanbag?”

ah. busted. he blinks, dazed. taiga’s expression starts to change. his eyes search daiki’s from across the room and gradually, a smile forms. the sun comes out. literally. the shadow-stealing grey sky gave the city a brief interlude of hope in a few, impossibly long seconds of proper sunlight. the weather, daiki noticed, linked inextricably with a personal epiphany. it doesn’t matter whether he’s an easy read. at any given moment, daiki is thinking about his next meal or his next sleep. but that, in the depths of their conversation, taiga had pulled himself out of it enough to come to the correct conclusion on what daiki was thinking about. it wasn’t basketball, it wasn’t their history ( not entirely, at least ), and it wasn’t taiga’s injuries ( though maybe it should have been? ). it was his old beanbag. not taiga’s. not nijimura’s. his. and he’s smiling again, for the first time today. a wall has come down.

the future starts to fit into place. is that dramatic? it’s fate. it’s fate. does taiga see it too? does he knows that daiki could walk to the ends of the earth for him? daiki smiles too, now. he sinks deeper into his awful seat, shoulders almost meeting his ears.

“i hate this chair, taiga.”

“me too, but i hated the beanbag more.”

“you didn’t,” a critical insult! “why’d you keep it if you hated it so much?”

taiga sighs now, shifting in his seat so that his arm rested on the back of the couch, head against his hand. he stares with an unimpressed downwards turn to his mouth, and a double chin beneath his jaw. because you loved it, his eyes replied in words his mouth couldn’t betray, and i loved you. past tense, daiki can’t flatter himself into thinking that taiga is in any kind of place to be thinking about relationships. but they’d been in love before. daiki had been taiga’s first ( almost ) everything. it’s over in a split second, but he remembers thinking they’d be together forever.

“do you really think i could’ve been a banker?”

the question, offered casually under the guise of an innocent topic change, has weight to it. daiki knows this, but it doesn’t matter. his answer comes from the heart. their eyes meet.

“y’know,” daiki straightens up a little, “yeah, i do. i still think you could be a banker, dude. you’re one of the few people i’ve met who can really do anything you set your mind to.”

“i’m too stupid to be a banker.”

insecure words don’t suit taiga’s voice. they sound wrong. daiki doesn’t look away. “your tenacity outweighs your stupidity any day.”

taiga rolls his eyes and sips his beer. his smile fades. what’s he thinking about? daiki feels guilty realising he can’t read taiga as well as the other way around, but the last time they’d been in this room, it would have been a fair guess to suggest basketball was on his mind. it had almost always been on his mind. and now that his eyes no longer sparkle, basketball or lack thereof would also be a decent guess, but daiki didn’t think it was just that. does taiga think of the past? does he regret not paying attention in school and not giving himself any kind of backup career? daiki does. their parents do.

god, why can’t he think of anything to say? why is he so fucking silent all of a sudden? daiki’s usually quick as a whip, can spark a laugh or a fight at his whim. he usually knows just what to say when taiga’s not feeling great. or knows just what to do. all he can think of is a hug and what good has a hug ever done, really? he wants to wrap his arms around his old friend’s shoulders and tell him it’s all going to be alright. would taiga push him away? would he get mad?

“so,” taiga stands unexpectedly. is he about to tell him to get lost? “how are you doing?”

it takes him aback. uh, he’s been shit. he’s been worrying to death over taiga’s lack of communication, and fearing the worst with every phone call ignored. daiki exhales, watching taiga walk over to the sliding doors to the tiny balcony. it’s early evening and the city is starting to twinkle. does taiga admire its familiar beauty, or does he stare out with an empty gaze? for the love of all things good, daiki, for fuck’s sake! just say something!

“fine,” excellent.

“good. how’s sabs?”

“sabs?”

“yeah. i heard things were getting serious with you two.” his voice is impossible to hear, but he’s not mocking him. taiga’s ignorance at the situation is baffling, but he isn’t being spiteful.

“uh. we-- we broke up, man, ages ago. like, a few months.”

“huh.”

silence returned. daiki hates this. he understands not googling each other, but hadn’t anyone told taiga about sabs and him? had taiga really not asked? he’d been avoiding every other basketball guy he knows, why would daiki be any different? was it possible that taiga doesn’t care anymore? no, cool it. no talking about relationships right now, it’s not the time. fuck knows what conversation this moment does call for, but it’s not that. leave it. chill. have some beer.

daiki follows his own advice and finally opens his beer. it’s gross. he’s more of a wine guy, while taiga has always liked his beers. unsurprisingly, the drink does little to distract him.

“how are your parents?”

so is this what it was going to be? small talk? daiki would prefer going back to aggressively telling taiga how fucking amazing he is, just to fight the voice that had said i’m too stupid to be a banker.

“dad’s retiring soon,” daiki replies in a sigh, “there’ll be a party. you should come.”

taiga chuckles dryly.

you don’t have to, jesus. daiki doesn’t say it, and fights the irritation as best as he can. he’s using the same patience that taiga had used with him in the past when the world had felt like it was collapsing. “mom asks about you all the time.”

a grunt this time; it’s kind of like the surprised huh from earlier, mixed with a noise of amused rejection.

“how’s your dad?”

“he doesn’t get it at all. i tried telling him imagine you lost both your hands and couldn’t work anymore, but it’s not the same. he doesn’t love his work.”

daiki’s moving before he can help it. he comes to stand beside taiga to watch the city. he can’t see beyond the reflection of taiga’s sorrowful face in the glass. he’d been right, earlier. those gorgeous eyes were empty. if he was looking at the view, his eyes were dead on the horizon.

taiga continues without interruption. “he only works as an escape from everything he fucked up in his life. me, for instance.”

“taiga,” daiki’s heart aches.

“i should’a listened when i was a kid. that’s it. i should’a paced myself.”

“would you have joined seirin’s team if you paced yourself?”

silence.

“your intensity is a part of you, taiga,” daiki says gently. taiga’s distant eyes hone in on the reflection, too, and now they’re looking at each other in the glass. daiki is first to look away like a coward. “i think if you had paced yourself, you’d have come to one of seirin’s games. you would’a found out about the generation of miracles and thought i wanna take those asshole down a notch.”

“you told me my light’s too dim when we first met, though.” taiga turns his head so that he’s facing the city again. “even if i joined the team, we still lost before we got to finally beat you.”

“it was tetsu who lifted you up to my level,” daiki’s reply is barely a whisper. he’s falling into his own memories and his eyes drop to the windowpane. it had always been him. they both dwelled on it, he didn’t have to be a mind-reader for that. he misses kuroko like hell.

“you ever wish you hated basketball?” taiga’s voice cracks. he takes a sip of beer and daiki copies him.

“yeah,” before he’d met taiga, he’d been plagued with the idea of never meeting anyone up to his standards. anyone better. kise came close, but daiki had lost to seirin. that felt like lifetimes ago now.

“this fucking sucks,” he’d finished his beer now. daiki glances over in time to see taiga blindly toss his beer bottle over his shoulder. he looks back to see where it landed. it hadn’t shattered, but flown safely onto the sofa where taiga had been sitting. taiga doesn’t move. he doesn’t react at all.

daiki feels it keenly too, can’t taiga see? he’s not alone. sure, daiki can’t fully understand how it feels to be forced into retirement due to injury, but he’s on his way there. his body is tired and it is always sore. one of these days, he’ll land funny and never properly recover. and then daiki will isolate from the world until he can figure himself out. it will be like carving the basketball out of himself. having played for his whole life, what will be left? he comes to stare at taiga so gradually that he hadn’t noticed when it happened. he sees a strong man with a huge heart and the rest of his life ahead of him. he is awesome at cooking, maybe he’ll do something with that? he has enough money that, if he’s sensible with it ( which he always has been ), he’s financially secure. hell, taiga’s always been financially secure.

he sees a man waging a war in his mind. he sees broken pieces desperately held together. daiki sees himself.

“i’ll leave if you want me to, tai. i don’t wanna make it worse.”

taiga shakes his head. he looked, for a second, like he’d say something. his mouth opened, but he changed his mind last minute and closes it again. daiki can’t stand to see him this way. if they never talk about basketball again for the rest of their lives, he’ll find something else to say. they can’t just stop talking because they can’t play against each other anymore. unless that’s really what taiga wants, which daiki doubts.

it’s a bold move, perhaps, but he bumps his knuckles gently against taiga’s hand hanging beside them. the redhead glances between them, but it doesn’t put daiki off. he carefully offers his hand to hold, forgoing breathing lest it spark an outburst. there’s no rage this time. their hands connect like they had a million times before. daiki already feels better for it, selfishly, as if how he feels is what’s important right now. fuck, he just loves taiga so much. he’ll be fine, he’s taiga. of course he will. he’s at a low point and it’s weird to see him so lost, it’s unnatural somehow, but he’ll get through it. daiki believes in him. he believes in him with his whole goddamn heart.

taiga meets his eyes just as he’s feeling like he could just say it outright. daiki sees tired, teary eyes. he squeezes his hand. “what are you thinking about?” taiga asks quietly.

“how amazing you are,” he replies. “you’ll get through this. i know you will.”

taiga scoffs, but it doesn't sound like an outright rejection. not totally, at least.

a silence settles between them as they each think of something to say. daiki wishes there was something he could do to fix it. fix all the hurt. wrap it up in a ball and throw it outside. it's more of a distraction than anything, but hadn't that metaphor sounded like basketball? it would be impossible to cut the sport from himself. he doesn't think he'd be able to do it. this must be hell for taiga. he glances over and meets teary eyes unexpectedly looking at him, too.

"come here," daiki pulls his hand away, only to slide in and wrap his arms around taiga's waist. he hadn't thought twice about it this time. it's the right thing to do.

"i'm fine," taiga sniffs.

"then it's for my benefit," he snaps. it works, and he feels familiar arms wrap around him in kind. they stand in gentle silence, there’s a wall clock ticking somewhere in the background. cars beneath them sound like crashing waves. a siren. daiki runs his hands along taiga’s back soothingly, and notes that the form is softer now where muscles had laid careful marks of definition. taiga had always been bulkier than him, but this added weight makes the guy seem immovable. and here he is, hiding his face in daiki’s shoulder in the world’s saddest hug. he has to stop himself from kissing him there and then. as if that would help anything. it used to. enough kisses peppered on taiga’s face had always been enough to lift his mood. it’s strange to love taiga with restraint, but he will, if that is what he needs.

"you were right, by the way," taiga mutters, "I haven't talked this through with anybody."

"yeah. i'm here for you, tai. but we don't gotta talk about it if you don't want to. hell, we could pretend i'm the one who works at the bank and never talk about basketball again."

"you, a banker? that's just unrealistic." it's a joke delivered totally pathetically, with a shaking voice.

"shut up," and it's a defence without any bite to it.

“sorry about sabs,” daiki feels the words mumbled into his shoulder, feels taiga’s lips say her name against his t-shirt. taiga sounds guilty. he must know.

“don’t worry about it.”

“i heard you say in that interview that you were gonna have kids. i thought you were gonna end up with her.”

“interview?” daiki frowns. taiga breaks out of the hug and opens the sliding door. he comes to lean against the balcony, and daiki is still standing where he had been, racking his brain for what the hell he was talking about? he remembers an invasive question from a dickhead reporter along those lines, but daiki hadn’t said that he was going to? have them with sabs? he had never even considered it. really never considered it. hell no. “uh,” he finally replies, realising that he hadn’t yet, “no.”

“would you, in the future? not with sabs. i just mean, in general.”

daiki slides the door further open and steps into the cool air. he rests against the railing with his forearms, looking down and out at the city. for all that it could mean, he looks over with a gentle expression at the only person that would change his mind about it. “would you?”

taiga remains fixed on the horizon. his shoulders shrug. “i never thought about shit like that before. i think so, maybe.”

daiki hums. he doesn’t say anything. he doesn’t admit to being happy to hear that taiga is open to it, doesn’t admit that he’s always liked the idea of having kids. at least one, maybe two. being an only child is difficult, but then, the adoption process is difficult. hopefully two kids. he recalls a conversation they had had a long time ago, or maybe it had been a moment in passing that stuck out. taiga has changed his mind. back then, daiki distinctly remembers hearing that taiga didn’t think he’d make for a very good dad. he remembers, because he knows how much he disagreed. a guy like him with a heart like that? please. it’s a given.

“while you’re here, you should visit nijimura and his kids at teiko.”

daiki blinks. the speed at which the conversation was going is leaving him behind. he’d done that before, sure, but not as often as taiga. that makes sense though, right? taiga was always good at making time for shit like that. he shrugs his shoulders. “yeah, i guess. i hadn’t thought about it.”

“daiki?” taiga says quietly. when daiki looks over, their eyes meet. god, taiga’s eyes are so fucking sad. he can’t deal with it. daiki nods, taiga continues. “i’m gonna give you a word of advice. you should really think about what you’re gonna do when you can’t play anymore. i wish i had. there’s no point dwelling on the past, but if i can stop you from feeling like this, then it won’t all be for nothing.”

daiki categorically doesn’t like talking about stuff like this. his injuries will heal. they always do. and he will play again. he is not strong like taiga, he can’t just carve it out and build himself up again. taiga will be able to tell by the look on daiki’s face that he has taken the advice to heart, even if he can’t speak for the lump in his throat. when he can, after a moment, daiki replies.

“i get it if you wanna be alone right now,” his eyes drift back to the city, “and i’ll go stand on the side-lines ‘til you’re ready if that’s what you want, but if our roles were reversed like you mentioned earlier, i hope you would know to come find me.”

“of course i would,” taiga rests forwards on the balcony, mirroring daiki. their arms touch, neither move. “when you put it like that... i’m sorry i was so hard to find.”

daiki doesn’t tell him that he loves him now. not in words. he says it between the lines, in the diminishing space between his fingertips and taiga’s skin. any excuse to touch him, he makes. now, as his head comes to rest momentarily on taiga’s shoulder. can he stay there? taiga allows it. he does. on the arm, later, as a story is told, on the hand. taiga returns it in a drifting touch across daiki’s shoulders as he’s passing in the kitchen, or that one, affectionate moment where taiga had playfully scuffed his knuckles against daiki’s chin. god, it had driven him crazy. taiga is so beautiful. his hair is a little longer. the guy’s always wanted a mullet, maybe now he’s actually growing it out? his hands, his back, his thighs. they’d been friends with benefits a few years ago because they couldn’t handle being in the same room without physically reacting to it. then they’d started taking other people. and now, daiki feels that gut instinct to give taiga everything again. but he won’t. not tonight.

instead, he’ll confess his love in the respectful silences, in reassuring smiles, the changes of conversation, the nah, i’ve got nowhere to be when 11 o’clock hit and taiga was embarrassed to have taken up so much of his time. he says i love you in the way that they briefly hold hands. in the words unsaid because now isn’t the time. in the lingering glances, in the i’ll take the couch tonight. ( taiga, in his way, says i love you as he says no you won’t, you’ll sleep with me. or at least he says i know you love me, which is good enough. ) of course they sleep together. taiga’s head comes to rest upon his chest. they’re clothed. it’s weird not immediately making out with him now that all that daiki can smell is taiga. they are silent as their arms find comfortable ways to settle to sleep. daiki waits for the longest time before he speaks. he waits for breathing to even out, and grip to loosen where taiga’s hand had come to rest at his hip. and, when he does speak, it’s barely a whisper scraped through his tired, croaking throat:

“i love you, tai.”

nothing happens. taiga had been asleep. the night wears on and daiki’s mind walks through every sentence they had spoken. he falls asleep as the stars start to fade, wakes up again when taiga is getting out of bed, but doesn’t stay up. later, the smell of breakfast makes him stir ( it’s never failed before ). taiga tells him that he’s got a job at a bakery, so this bread is actually made by him. it’s perfect, but of course it is. it’s his.

[waterloou]

can i get one fact about all of ur sab ocs

Ziv actually was born in Kjerna and trained as a Drüskelle until he had to flee when he was found to be a Durast(he also had to change his name). He’s one of the best shots and now works with Arken to help get people across the fold.

King Tusya gets Grisha who have betrayed General Kirigin and sends them to the wandering isle.

Aksinya lived IN the fold for a short period of time, and now can cross it with no issue.

Fyodot falls in love with everyone he’s a real romantic in the non depressed way and he has a new lover each week (but he’s v in love with Sanvi)

Sanvi walks around town each morning to see if there are any people who are injured/need help and she heals them and makes sure they have nutrients.

Jaya resides in Kerch, and she’s a squaller. Works with the crows a lot 👀

Esfir works in the fishing business and is known to snatch one or two to feed kids on the street. She works in an orphanage as another job.

Gojko lost his eye in a chemical accident when he was young.

Laika rescues Mal from the fold on one of his quests. She goes in every once in a while to pull out bodies if they’re expected.

Oxana sells in the market place, she met Arken by selling him chimes for his train.

Venus and Zoya were sparring partners in later training.

Tanis has helped Alina escape a total of 4 times.

Zinovia punched David on their first meeting.

Taisiya has a little cat that follows her wherever (no matter how long she’s tried to evade it)

[captainscanadian]

Exception | Carter Baizen x Reader (Part 5)

My Masterlist

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Summary: You were his one exception. But he was not your apocalypse, not anymore.

Word Count: 5400+

Pairing: CEO!Carter Baizen x Lawyer!Reader,

Warnings: Swearing, Gossip Girl References, Drugs, Infidelity, Car Accident, Blood

A/N: This is my entry for @baezen​​‘s writing challenge. She knew this was going to happen and still let me write it. A lot of people are going to be pissed at me but I don’t care. I don’t own the gifs. AND I’M SORRY, OKAY? ELIF, I’M SORRY BUT GO AHEAD AND YELL AT ME... SAB, PLEASE DON’T HATE ME. THEORY ANON, I STILL LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH. Okay, I’m just going to go and cry... </3

You sighed as you looked at your reflection in the mirror, donning the Stella McCartney cocktail dress that Annalise had graciously picked out for your forced dinner date with Carter Baizen. The moment those words had escaped his mouth; you had wanted to lash out at him. You wanted to fight. You wanted to express just how much you loathed him for everything that he had put you through, both then and now.

But none of the emotions you had been feeling inside had dared to spill out through your quivering lips. Your body felt numb, as though frozen in place. You felt like you could only make the moves as to please him, for the sake of your company and your father’s legacy. You had no choice but to abide by his request, which felt more like an order if you were being honest.

You remembered Annalise’s words the other day, when she had mentioned how you needed to be forced into certain things. And now, you were being forced into going on a date with him. You weren’t nervous. It was not a first date. Even on your first real date, you had not been nervous. He had been your friend long before he had become your boyfriend, so you did not see a reason to be nervous about such things.

While most of the Constance girls claimed that he was bad news, you had shooed them off when you had decided to go out with him. You had told them that you knew Carter and that he would never dare to do you wrong, even though this turned out to be so untrue. The Carter you knew was not the same man you had dated and you had learned this the hardest way possible.

“I feel like an unsuspecting cow being brought into a slaughterhouse.” You mumbled as Annalise wrapped a Pashmina scarf over your shoulder. “I fucking hate this, Annalise.”

She rubbed your back soothingly before you turned around to face her, a frown on your lips as you pulled her into a hug. “Miss. Y/N...”

You were fighting the tears, because you knew what would follow them. Every time you burst out with the weight of your emotions, it always ended in a disaster. You could not cry and risk it, now that you had gotten dolled up for your date.

The woman frowned at how fragile you seemed that night, and a part of her wondered if things would ever get better for you. The seventeen year old girl who had ran around this penthouse, she who had been spoiled with love and riches at once, was long gone now. As much as she wanted to see a glimpse of her again, Annalise knew that Carter Baizen had a huge part to play in bringing her back. After all, he was the one who sent her away.

“You loved Mr. Carter. No matter how much you deny it and how upset you get at the thought of him, you know you loved him. That’s the Mr. Carter you’re seeing tonight, Miss. Y/N. Just think of it that way and give him a chance. You don’t have to date him if you don’t want to. But the least you could do tonight is be honest with him. You know that’s the right thing to do and you’ve put it off long enough...”

“I can’t believe that I’ve let things come this far. And for what? Why did I do what I did? Why did I just pack up and leave for good? What even was the point of that?” You felt defeated. You regretted so many of your decisions. You were unsure of whether or not you had made the right call when you had done what you had done.

You bit down on your bottom lip as you pondered about your current situation, the weight of your emotions crushing your heart like a boulder. “It was my all my fault, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t blame yourself for it all, Miss. Y/N.” Your maid told you with a frown. “It takes two. It did take two. But remember, you’re not doing this for yourself. You’re doing it for Carter. You’re doing it for dad.”

You grabbed your purse as you gave her a nod. “I guess you’re right about that. It did take two.” It took both you and Carter for what had happened. You had to admit that you both had to be held accountable for your mistakes. But were they an equal share of the faults? Or did one of you get more screwed over by the other?

With that, you made your way out of the penthouse and into the private elevator that only belonged to your mother’s suite. Perks of living in the penthouse, you had your own elevator that led to the ground floor. The quiet space and the time it took to reach the ground floor was exactly what you needed. You burst into tears right then and there.  

Your breakdown had only lasted a few moments, for the buzzing sound of your mobile phone vibrating in your purse had startled you in an instant. Perhaps, it was a good thing though.

Had you cried your eyes out, you would have been no fit to go on a date. That would have been a short-term solution to your dilemma. But you had to go through with this date, for the sake of the company, for the sake of your father and for the sake of your Carter.

You were quick to wipe away your tears, seeing the Caller ID and realizing that the phone call was from your mother. You answered the call just as you stepped out of the elevator at once, gaining your composure as you walked down the hallway towards the lobby. “Hey... mom, how’s it going?” Your voice was breaking, but you hoped she would not notice.

Your mother had been back in London for about four days now and she had been packing up the whole life you had left behind for your sake. As your father had requested to be one big family again, you had made the decision to make your stay in New York a long-term one. In order to carry out this plan though, you desperately needed your mother’s help.

Clearly, she had been better at handling that side of things than you were. While you had given your extended leave of absence from your firm and handed over your clients to your partners through email, your mother had done her part in dealing with all of the domestic affairs while being there in person.

“I just wanted to let you know that I gave Roberta a heavy settlement before I let her go.” She replied, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips as she realized what it meant. She was still unable to believe that you had actually decided to move back to New York. She had never thought this day would come.

From the moment you had arrived in London from Santorini and with the way you had insisted that you would stay there forever, she would have placed her bets that her daughter would have been buried there as well. But she understood your circumstances anyways. “... and for taking care of you for the last fifteen years; for being your pillar of strength when you were grinding yourself at Cambridge, and for teaching you how to be the matriarch of your own family. It sure does come in handy now that your father’s not fit to handle that stress.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” You told her with a sigh, feeling your heart break at the thought of having let go of your British maid. You really were packing up your entire life in London and moving it all to New York with a matter of days. “I wish I could have been there to send her off in person though. It’s what she deserved...”

Annalise may have been your pillar of strength growing up, but Roberta had been more than that for you while you were in London. She had been a maid who had been hired by your mother when you had first arrived in London. But she had become more than that over the years that you had lived alone, with not much moral support from your parents.

While you had been financially secure, this woman had given you the sense of security that you really needed. She had kept your household down while you had been building yourself a career. You owed a majority of your success to her.

“Matriarch?” You laughed, bitterly, shaking your head as you realized that the way you had been crumbling under the weight of your emotions made you anything but. “But... um... when are you getting back, by the way?” You asked as you furrowed your eyebrows. The sooner she got back, the better it was for you and your father.

“Perhaps in a day or two, maybe even three days or four. I don’t know. It really depends. How did you feel when you were seventeen years old and you left New York for London so abruptly?” She asked, sighing. “I mean, it’s not up to me to decide and I’m not in a rush or anything like that. I’ll get there when I get there, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes in disbelief. “Mom, come on...”

“What else to you want me to do, sweetheart? I’ve done all that I can and this is not my call to make. It takes time.”

You rubbed your temples as you fought the tears that urged to escape your eyes. “I’m sorry, mom. I... didn’t mean to bring it all down on you like this. But it’s all been too much on me an there’s only so much that I could do from here. I’m trying, okay? I’m trying so hard here.”

“I know, baby. I know that you’re doing all that you could.” Your mother admitted, letting out another sigh. She really felt terrible for your situation. But there was only a limit to all that she could do for you. “Your father trusts you because he knows you can figure things out. You always figured things out, being on your own.”

“Yeah, I did...” You admitted as you stepped out of the building and into the sidewalk, looking around yourself for a moment. “Mom, I have to go. I have some... unfinished business that I need to take care of. I should probably let you go to bed now anyways. It’s getting late there. I’ll try to call you in the morning, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Hang in there, I’ll be home soon.”

And with that, you hung up the call and let out another sigh. Your lips quivered as you fought back the tears of frustration, waiting for your date to arrive and pick you up. Fucking Carter Baizen, why must you have fallen in love with someone like him out of all people? He had ruined your life beyond repair and there was no way you could fix this mess anymore.

February 14, 2005

Your cheeks heated up as you stepped out of your bedroom, wearing a custom made Versace dress and matching knee-high boots. Valentine’s Day in the Upper East Side was usually all kinds of festive, but Carter had insisted that the two of you skip the masquerade ball and do your own thing instead. Unlike most of your friends at Constance and St. Jude’s, the two of you had decided to spend the night with a dinner date and a little dessert of your own.

Carter walked up to greet you with a kiss, his arm wrapped around your waist as he handed you a bouquet of red roses. “Happy Valentine’s Day, beautiful.”

“How romantic...” Your teased him as you kissed him back, throwing your arms over his neck. “But I prefer that we don’t keep things so vanilla, hm...”

The moment the two of you had stepped into the elevator, you could not keep your hands off of each other. You grabbed onto his jaw as you kissed him roughly, pulling back for a moment as you slipped your hand down his neck before pulling him towards you by his tie. “Do we have to get through dinner for a little dessert?”

“You’re a little impatient, aren’t you?” He noted with a smirk. “It’s Valentine’s Day. It is tradition, princess.”

“Since when do you care about tradition, Baizen?” You asked him as you stepped out of the elevator. “Dinner dates are for saps.” Pulling him over to you, you leaned into his ear. “But if you’re so hungry then, you’re more than welcome to rip this fucking dress off of me and get a little taste...”

“You really do speak my language.” Carter laughed as the two of you strut across the lobby and climbed into the limo. “I booked us the penthouse at The Standard for tonight. How about we check in a little early and get straight to business?”

“Hm... I think I’d like that.”

Present Day

Dinner dates had never been your thing in the past, perhaps a little too formal for your wild and crazy teenage selves. But as you had grown older, you had started to appreciate the formality of a good fine dine and wine experience.

As you sat in the private dining room of The Gramercy Tavern, you could not help but wonder how different your life could have been. If things had been different, if Santorini had never happened, perhaps a few dinner dates like this one would have been your normal now. Was it even possible for it to be that way now? Could you and Carter ever go back to being how you used to be? Could you even be a couple or partners in business and at home? You could not be so sure about that.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat as you kept your eyes down on your plate, avoiding eye contact with the man who was sitting in front of you. You picked at your food to kill time; barely uttering a word as you continued to ponder if now was a good time to break the truth to him.

You knew that you did not have much time to keep it from him, maybe a day or two or three before you would have been forced into it. You did not want to be forced into it though. But you could not bring yourself to say it, for you knew that this truth was going to hurt him. As much as he had hurt you, you could not get yourself to hurt him like that.

“You’re awfully quiet nowadays...” Carter noted as he took a sip of his wine, chuckling slightly as he made small talk. He was trying to avoid the awkward silence to the best of his ability. But he was failing miserably at that, thanks to you. “It’s very unlike you, Y/N.”

You looked up at him with a nervous smile, licking your dry lips before you shrugged your shoulders. “I just don’t have much to talk about, I guess.” This was a lie, but he did not need to know that. You had so much to talk about, but you did not know how to start. You had been keeping this secret from him for fifteen years now.

Even Nate had been keeping this secret from him for fifteen years, and he was Carter’s family now. You had to tell him the truth by the end of the night but you did not know how. But unbeknownst to you, either way this date was bound to end in a disaster.

“Well, there’s so much that I wanted to talk to you about.” He admitted as he took a bite of his food and looked back up at you. “I mean, you’ve been living in London for a while now. That must have been crazy, right? It’s Europe, they do everything backwards.”

As much as he wanted the answers to his unanswered questions, he knew better than to put you on the spot like that. He had put you through enough by getting you to agree to this date the way that he did. He could not be too greedy about the time he was getting to spend with you.

You let out a soft chuckle as you shook your head. For a moment, you had forgotten all about the apprehension that you had been surrounded by. You could not deny that Carter was charming. He had always had his charm. You had fallen for it over and over again when you were younger. But you could not deny that he was really trying to make the most out of the night.

As much as you wanted to believe that Carter’s intentions were not right, you knew better than that. Perhaps, Annalise was right. This was your Carter. “After a while... you do get used to it.” You admitted with a small smile as you finally took a bite of your cold pasta. “At first, it seems a little scary. Like things are so different, from the metric system to which side of the road you’re driving on. Law school was an undergrad and that felt insane. I didn’t even think that I would get in at first when I applied. But I had to do their version of the LSATs and I guess my score really helped.”

“What made you want to go into Law?” He asked you, curiously. A part of him was relieved that you had decided to take some part in this conversation. He smiled at you, feeling much more comfortable and getting rid of his rigidness. “You got into Yale for business management, right? So, what made you change your mind and go into law?”

You noticed that he kept the conversation to be about you and your life in London. You appreciated that he did not make it about himself, because he was a chapter of your life that you did not want to reopen... at least not just yet. “I mean, I didn’t find a reason to go into business anymore.” You admitted with a shrug. “I had left behind my entire life in New York, including Pop’s business. I didn’t think I had a reason to come back here and take over the family business. It wasn’t my intention, so I threw that plan out the window and... I decided to do what felt right for me.”

“A law degree is three years, isn’t it?” He asked you, his brows furrowed as he took another bite of his steak. “When did you graduate?”

“2010.” You replied as you bit down on your bottom lip once more, taking another bite of your dinner and chewing rather slowly. There was a lump in your throat that you had managed to swallow and you felt your heart beating right out of your chest.

“Why the two year gap?” Was he doing the math? Had he figured it out?

“I was studying part-time.” You replied, picking up your wine glass and taking a sip. “A full-time course load was too much, you know... I mean, how would you know? You dropped out after a semester.”

Carter let out a sigh of disbelief as he reached across the table to grab your hand, shaking his head as you called him out on dropping out from college after a semester. “Did you ever miss me?” He asked as he chuckled nervously.

He wanted to know. He had missed you every waking moment of his life in the last fifteen years; from the day he left his parents to the day he left the Buckley’s. “At least once in the last fifteen years, did you ever think about me?”

You shook your head. “No... not really.” You replied with a shrug of your shoulders. It was an honest answer. “I didn’t have a reason to miss you, Carter.”

To say that your words had broken his heart would be an understatement. He was crushed, for he had spent so much time missing you and worrying about where you might have went or what you might have been up to. All the while, you had not even thought about him at once. Had you not fallen in love with him as he had fallen in love with you back then? Did you not love him enough to care?

“Why did you leave me, Y/N?” He asked, still not letting go of your hand. “Why did you leave me? Why did you go?” He did not want to bring any of this up during your date. But he could not help himself anymore. He knew that there was so much that you had kept from him and all he wanted was to know why you had done what you had done. “Did you not love me anymore?”

“Spiros saw you with Serena.” You replied as you fought back the tears, recalling that dreadful night for the umpteenth time in the last few hours. “He saw you leave the party with her and he told me what you did after.”

“That did not give you any reason to leave me like that, Y/N. Without even a chance to explain myself and no goodbye, is that what I deserved? I thought you were dead, Y/N. Everyone thought you were dead!”

“Really? Some guy who worked at the resort we were staying at tells me that my boyfriend was doing lines of cocaine with some other girl and left the party with her to go back to her room... and what do you expect me to do?!” You asked him.

“You know what you did that night, Carter! You might have been high as fuck but I know that you know what you did! He showed me photos of the two of you, high on coke and fucking- did you really think I would be fine after finding out that you cheated on me with Serena van der Woodsen?! Maybe, I was dead, Carter! I died the moment I found out that the guy who told me that he loved me and that I was his one exception... cheated on me. I found out that I was anything but your one exception. I was just another fling on your never-ending list of flings.”

Carter was silent, not knowing what to say. He did not remember much of what had happened that night, except that he had partied with Serena and she had invited him back to her hotel room. He knew now that he should not have gone with her, but then he had been careless back then. He wanted to have a good time. All that had been on his mind was that you had turned down his invite to the party, having made some lame excuse about being sick. He had been annoyed with you and Serena had offered him a good time. So, he took it.

It was not until he had sobered up the next morning and made his way back to your hotel room did he notice that you were nowhere to be found. Your pasty white bed sheets were covered in blood and Carter had panicked.

He had tried to call you on your phone. But you had not picked up. Before you knew it, shit had hit the fan. The entire resort was searching for you but you were gone. No one knew where you were and no one ever found out what had actually happened. He had cheated on you and you had walked out on him. He deserved that.

You took back your hand as you fought back the tears, although failing now that the emotions were pouring out of you. “You’ve put me through hell, Carter. Even then and even now, you broke my heart and played with my emotions like I’m your pawn in this stupid game of yours.” You set down your fork as you picked up your napkin, wiping your mouth as the salty tears streamed down your face and down to your lips. “I’ve let you destroy my life once. Go ahead and do it again, I dare you. Take the company, kill my father... maybe disappointing him over and over again is the price I have to pay for ever putting my faith in you. I deserve it.”

Carter did not know what to say, for the weight of his mistakes had been crushing down on him. He had cheated on you and you had walked out on him. He deserved to have been thrown out of your entire life like that. But he wished that he could explain himself, to beg for your forgiveness and tell you how much he really loved you. His love for you then may have been tarnished by his infidelity, but his love for you now was strong and pure. He knew that no words could ever make up for the pain that he had caused you and even if he did try to explain himself, you had every right to not pay heed to what he had to say. He deserved it.

You wanted to give up. You wanted to run away again. You had believed that you were strong enough to step back into your life in the Upper East Side, but you had been so wrong about that. Once again, Carter Baizen had been your apocalypse and turned you into a weakling; he had made you your father’s biggest disappointment once more.

Though you had poured your heart out to him, you could not bring yourself to tell him your whole truth. You had convinced yourself that he did not deserve to know it. You were punishing him for what he had put you through, even though he would not know that he was being punished until he found out the truth. Perhaps, you did have the upper hand at that now – if he dared to take away your family’s legacy, then you know that you were keeping his legacy from him too.

You rose from your seat in silence, watching as his cold blue eyes trail above to meet yours. “It was nice knowing you, Carter.” You muttered, your voice breaking along with your heart. As you turned around to walk away from him, you felt his hand grab onto yours.

“Y/N, p-please... don’t walk away from me again.” He begged as he had sprung from his seat and grabbed onto your hand, holding tightly. He knew now for sure that if he let you go, that he would really be letting you go forever. And he did not want to lose you now, for he had lost you once. “You can’t leave me again. You can’t walk away from me...”

“I did it once, Carter. I can do it again...” You whispered, pulling away from his grip as you began to walk away.

But he was not going to let you go. He was not going to give up that easily now. He had done it once he still lived to regret it. He was not going to make any more mistakes than he already had.

Even if it meant that you might never forgive him for what he had done to you, even if it meant that you would punish him for the rest of his life, he was not going to give up on you or his love ever again. “Y/N, don’t go... Y/N.” He followed after you as he cried, his feet taking him right behind you. He was not going to let you go, not now and never again. “Please, Y/N... please stop!”

You walked as fast as your Louboutin’s would take you, stomping down the hardwood floor of The Gramercy Tavern’s main dining room. As you reached the front door, you stopped to turn around.

As much as you denied it, your heart was cruel enough to want just one look at the man who had been the love of your life and your apocalypse, all at once. You wished that you would never see him again, not knowing how strong of a wish that it had been until a few moments later.

You walked out of the restaurant in a hurry, fumbling with your purse as you tried to retrieve your phone to call Walter. Even out in the open, in your hometown of New York City where you had grown up, you felt like you were suffocating. You could not breathe as you broke down into a sobbing mess, your lips quivering and your heart beating right out of your chest. You wanted nothing more than to get out of the anxiety-inducing mess that was the Upper East Side.

“Y/N, stop!” Carter ran after you. “Y/N!”

As you tried to turn your phone back on, your feet kept taking you far away from Carter. Your ears still ringed with his pleading voice, but you forced yourself to ignore it, in a complete trance of some sort. Your eyes kept down on your phone, a blurry mess from your tears, your feet tread down the sidewalk and stepping into the road, unaware of your surroundings, choosing to ignore Carter’s pleadings.

It was not until you felt his hands push you across the street did you come out of that trance, the sound of a loud thud followed by the screeching of the breaks as you landed on the other side of the road. You were quick to turn around when you saw it, in a matter of seconds as a car that had been coming at you with full speed, hitting Carter as he had gotten in the way and pushed you aside. He had saved your life.

“CARTER!” You had screamed as you watched him get tossed in the air by the impact, landing a few feet down from you with a thud. “CARTER, NO!” It was as though the entire Upper East Side had frozen in time, even though the cars had stopped and a crowd had gathered.

You stumbled across the pavement, your knees scratched and bruised from your fall. Your eyes were welled with tears that continued to pour down your face as you reached him. The love of your life, your apocalypse, he was lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood. “CARTER! CARTER, NO! NO!” You were a sobbing mess now as you dropped down next to him, your hands still trembling.  “C-Carter?” You gently shook him, watching as he looked at you for a moment, seeing that you were safe and alive before shutting his eyes.

“CARTER, NO! COME ON!” You gently put your right hand under his head. But before you could pull him onto your lap and cradle him, before you could hold him and cry, you felt the crimson blood pouring from the back of his skull, drenching your hand and dripping onto the pavement. “Carter, no...” You finally broke down, not trying to fight back the love that you had always felt for that man. You could not hold it back anymore, not when you had almost died, not when he had thrown himself in front of a moving car for you.

Within a matter of seconds, you began to bleed through your nose. You always got nose bleeds when you cried too hard. Carter was the only one who knew that. “CARTER, PLEASE... d-don’t die on  me...” You plead, grabbing the Pashmina scarf over your shoulder and wrapping it around his head, hoping to stop his bleeding and hoping that he would wake up. “C-Carter, I-I’m... sorry...” You cried, wiping off the blood from your nose with the back of your hand as you dropped your head down to hold him tight, not caring that you were on the middle of the street or that there was a growing crowd of bystanders around you. “It was my fucking fault, baby...” You cried against his chest, feeling his heart still beating rather faintly.

[architectnews]

60 Aldgate, Minories London Masterplan

60 Aldgate, Minories London 4C Hotels, Office Building Images, Residential Architecture News

60 Aldgate, Minories London

16 Dec 2020

60 Aldgate, Minories Masterplan

Design: ACME, Architects

Address: Minories, City of London, EC3N 1BQ, UK

Minories office – street view from Aldgate High Street: image courtesy of architects practice

Planning Approval for 60 Aldgate

This morning the City of London’s Planning & Transportation Committee approved the next phase of 4C Hotels’ Minories Masterplan, which is delivering major regeneration, economic growth, and attractive new architecture to the Minories and Aldgate area.

The Minories Masterplan is a mixed-use scheme with a refurbished hotel, a new office building and a residential building. The scheme also includes a landscaped park around the residential building and a number of urban squares with landscaping and seating areas. There are shops and business units at ground floor level alongside the office building.

4C Hotels are progressing with building out the new hotel, which will be a new Canopy by Hilton hotel opening in mid-2021, and work has started on the new residential building, which will deliver 87 new homes. This latest application focuses on improving the office building element of the scheme.

The new application was required following 4C Hotels acquiring adjoining sites, which was carried out in close liaison with the City of London. This has enabled a more comprehensive regeneration of the area, including securing a new, street-facing location for the Still and Star Public House, which is an important local heritage asset. The wider regeneration also enables greater public realm enhancements and better east/west and north/south pedestrian routes.

Minories office – entrance from Harrow Alley:

The key benefits of the new approach include:

– Improved additional public open space between the hotel and the newly proposed office scheme – Re-configured, wider and better lit Harrow Alley connecting Little Somerset Street with Aldgate High Street – Revitalised, commercially viable, Still and Star Public House benefiting from an Aldgate High Street frontage – New shared off-street loading facilities serving the Hotel, Residential Tower and the proposed office building, which will take -vehicles off the road and reduce pressure on Little Somerset Street – The provision of sustainable retail units serving the local community and adjacent occupiers.

4C Hotels’ Managing Director, Al-Karim Nathoo said:

“We are delighted that City of London councillors have given their approval for the rebuilding of the Still and Star and a major new office building at 60 Aldgate. This revised application will deliver a more comprehensive regeneration of the area, will protect key heritage assets, and deliver a more attractive public realm. “We are really excited about this next phase in the Minories regeneration. 4C Hotels are fully committed to delivering this important project and we look forward to the opening of the new hotel in 2021.”

Minories office – entrance view from Aldgate High Street:

ACME’s Director, Friedrich Ludewig said:

“ACME have worked closely with planning officers and local pub campaigners to design a new Gin Distillery and Public House that re-interprets the proud tradition of slum pubs at the Eastern Edge of the City of London.

“60 Aldgate will close an urban void between the City and Whitechapel, and create a new architectural landmark with a vaulted structure bridging over the London Underground tracks in the basement.”

The developer is delighted to be working with TfL on this landmark 250,000 sq ft office development which forms part of the Minories Masterplan, which will also provide a new 342 bedroom hotel and adjacent high-quality homes. This will positively contribute to the growth of Aldgate and its attractiveness as a prime business district within the City of London.

Head of Property Development at Transport for London (TfL), Scott Anderson said: “We are delighted that these plans to deliver highly sustainable and energy efficient office and retail properties at Aldgate have been given the go ahead. When completed, the scheme will improve public spaces while making it easier for people to travel sustainably in the local area with new or improved pedestrian routes and cycle parking.”

About ACME

ACME is an award winning architecture practice based in London, Berlin and Dublin. It’s 240 projects in 25 countries range from large public spaces and masterplans to bridges, workplaces, homes & hotels and interiors. Recently completed projects include Victoria Gate Leeds, Watermark Southampton, the Eastland Library in Melbourne, Robina Market in Queensland and Bumpers Oast in Kent.

Recent awards include the RIBA Award, MIPIM, MAPIC and WAF Best Project Awards, the ICSC Best of the Best Award and the RIBA Manser Medal for the best house of the year. 2021 will see the opening of the new Swansea Arena, the headquarters for the German bank SAB in Leipzig, a footbridge in Berlin, the Canopy Hilton in the City of London and Folkestone Harbour.

60 Aldgate, Minories London Masterplan images / information received 161220 from ACME

ACME

Location: 60 Aldgate, Minories, City of London, EC3N, England, UK

London Buildings

Contemporary London Architecture Designs

London Building Designs – chronological list

17 Jun 2014

Minories London

Design: ACME photo : Max Fordham Minories London Masterplan page

London Architecture News

New Motel One Building on the Minories, 24 – 26 Minories, City of London, EC3N Design: Mackay + Partners, Architects photography courtesy of Mackay + Partners, all rights reserved Motel One Minories Londong

Hotel Motel One London Tower Hill

Aldgate Buildings – architecture photos

London Architectural Tours – tailored UK capital city walks by e-architect

London Architecture Offices

Buildings / photos for the 60 Aldgate, Minories London Masterplan design by ACME Architects page welcome

The post 60 Aldgate, Minories London Masterplan appeared first on e-architect.