#she’d hand me a water bottle wrapper and be like ‘will you pay for this for me I’ll cash app u!’

[millyh23]

Selective Standards

Alessia Russo x Reader

word count:

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

Y/N walked into the changing room, expecting to find the usual post-training chaos—water bottles here, jerseys there, a few bits of kit scattered on the benches. But this was on another level. A mess of epic proportions.

Protein shake bottles lay on the floor, half-empty, with their lids off, spilling sticky liquid across the floor. An assortment of clothes, some still in training gear and others discarded in the middle of the room, was strewn about, creating an obstacle course. Half-open snack wrappers crinkled underfoot, and towels were abandoned haphazardly across the benches. It looked like someone had taken a whirlwind tour of the room and forgotten to clean up after themselves.

Y/N froze in the doorway, mouth agape.

“What the hell happened in here?” Y/N muttered, stepping into the chaos, surveying the damage. Her hands flew to her hips as she turned to face the team. “Who even leaves a place like this? This is so disrespectful. We’re a team, we’re supposed to take care of our space. Whoever made this mess should be reprimanded. They should pay a fine or be suspended for a game. This is ridiculous.”

The room fell silent. A few players exchanged awkward glances, and some even stifled small chuckles, glancing at each other. It wasn’t every day they saw Y/N go off like this. Normally cool-headed, Y/N’s frustration seemed to be bubbling over today.

Leah, who had just come out of the showers, raised an eyebrow, clearly amused but trying to hold back her laughter. “Y/N… I don’t think it’s that deep.”

“It’s that deep, Leah,” Y/N snapped, gesturing to the mess. “Look at this. It’s disrespectful to all of us. You know how hard we work. This—” She pointed to an empty water bottle rolling across the floor, “—this is a disaster.”

Katie, who was sitting on the bench nearby, grinned mischievously. “You know, you could always just pick it up yourself, right?”

“No,” Y/N huffed, her eyes scanning the room, clearly riled up. “Someone needs to be held accountable. This isn’t just a little accident. It’s a pattern of neglect.”

Just then, the door opened, and Alessia Russo walked in, her attention quickly drawn to the group as she noticed them all looking toward her. She hadn’t noticed the mess yet.

Y/N shot a pointed glance toward the protein shake bottle, still leaking a sticky mess onto the floor. “Whoever did this needs to clean it up—immediately. No exceptions.”

Leah couldn’t help but smile, taking a slow step toward Y/N. “Well, you might want to turn around, because—”

Before she could finish, Y/N’s voice rang out again, sharp and direct. “And I’m serious. If this happens again, I don’t care if it’s—”

“Uh, Y/N,” Leah interrupted, a grin tugging at her lips as she stepped to the side. “It’s Alessia’s mess.”

Y/N froze mid-sentence, her eyes wide. She turned slowly to see Alessia, who was now staring at the group, completely unaware of the mess she had left behind. Her eyes darted from teammate to teammate, catching their expressions. And then her gaze fell on the aftermath she’d left in her rush.

“Oh no,” Y/N muttered, her face turning bright red. She hadn’t even noticed that Alessia was the culprit when she was ranting. “I didn’t—uh… I didn’t realize it was—”

Katie raised an eyebrow, giving Y/N an amused look. “You sure? You were just about to have someone suspended for this.”

Y/N, caught in the moment, quickly tried to backtrack, her voice dropping an octave as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Well, I mean, we all get caught up in things, right? Just a little… oversight. Nothing major. It’s fine. Not a big deal. Right, Alessia?”

Alessia, who had been listening with an amused grin, walked over and casually tossed her gym bag on the bench. “Yeah, I was running late for media stuff,” she said with a shrug. “Guess I left a trail behind me. Sorry about that.”

Y/N, now visibly flustered, waved her hand dismissively, trying to cover up her earlier outburst. “No, no, it’s… it’s really not that serious. Just, maybe next time, a little more care when you’re in a rush? That’s all. Right, guys?” She forced a smile, but it was clear she was embarrassed.

Katie burst out laughing, slapping her hands on the bench. “Oh, you were so ready to fine someone for this mess, and now you’re backtracking?”

“I was just—” Y/N started, but she didn’t have the energy to continue. “I guess I got a little carried away. It’s Alessia. I’ll let it slide… just this once.”

Alessia, who had clearly caught the shift in Y/N’s tone, grinned and casually threw an arm around her shoulders. “It’s all good, babe. Thanks for being so understanding. I’ll do better next time.”

Y/N shot a playful glare at her, trying to regain her composure. “Just… don’t make me do a whole speech next time. I’ll have to give you a fine or something.”

The entire team erupted into laughter as Y/N’s serious demeanor quickly crumbled into a sheepish smile. Alessia leaned in close, still grinning. “You’re the best, Y/N. Maybe I’ll get you to help me clean up next time?”

“Yeah, sure,” Y/N muttered with a roll of her eyes, “I’ll bring the fine book.”

And with that, the room returned to its usual chaos—but this time, everyone was a little lighter, the tension having dissolved in a fit of laughter.

---

The team was starting to form more bad habits. Every day, without fail, more and more players were coming late to training. It wasn’t anything too serious at first—just a few minutes here and there—but Y/N, always one to stick to the rules and maintain discipline, was getting fed up.

It had been the third day in a row that several players were running through the gates minutes after the scheduled start time. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Alright, that’s it,” Y/N muttered to herself, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as the last player jogged onto the field. “Enough is enough.”

She marched up to the front, her voice firm and clear as she addressed the entire team. “I’m done with this. We’re all professionals here, and we can’t keep letting people stroll in whenever they feel like it. From now on, anyone who’s late will be fined. A minute late? A minute’s fine. You’re five minutes late? Five minutes’ worth of fines.”

The room went silent, the rest of the players exchanging nervous glances. They knew Y/N wasn’t messing around.

Katie, ever the troublemaker, leaned in and whispered to Leah, “She’s not serious, is she?”

“Oh, she’s dead serious,” Leah replied, eyes widening as she watched Y/N cross her arms and glare at the group. “You’ve seen her like this before.”

Y/N’s eyes scanned the room, locking onto the players who had been late. “This isn’t school, people. You all know better. You’re adults. You can show up on time. It’s disrespectful to your teammates, and we need to take this seriously.” She turned to face a particularly late-looking Kyra. “Five minutes late today. That’s a fiver.”

Kyra rolled her eyes but said nothing, too tired of the back-and-forth to argue. Y/N then turned her eyes to the next culprit, Alessia, who had just jogged in, breathless from her sprint to the field.

“Alessia, you’re late again!” Y/N snapped, hands on her hips, but before Alessia could even start to apologize, Y/N’s tone softened. “No, no. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s just—training was probably a little too early for you today. I’ll take care of the fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Alessia blinked, surprised by the sudden change in tone. “Really? You’ll take care of it?”

“Of course,” Y/N replied, shaking her head, her voice calming. “You don’t need the added stress. We’ll make sure your fine is covered. You can count on me.”

Y/N then glared back at the others. “But for everyone else? You’d better pay up. You’ve all been warned.”

Leah gave her a pointed look as Y/N turned her attention to the rest of the group. “If anyone else is late, there’s no excuse. I mean it. We’re not running a daycare here.”

The session went on, but Y/N couldn’t help but notice how the other players seemed to keep a little distance from her. They knew Y/N meant business, and with her new fine system, she wasn’t about to let anyone get away with being tardy.

The next few days passed, and the fines kept racking up. By the end of the week, Y/N had nearly filled a small notebook with the fines from late arrivals, most of which had come from the usual suspects: Katie, Beth, and a few others who just didn’t seem to care. But when Alessia was late yet again, Y/N was quick to brush it off.

“Alessia, don’t stress. I’ve got this,” she’d say, her voice soft and reassuring, even as she filled in the fine for her late arrival.

The others watched this dynamic unfold. The fines were getting hefty—very hefty—but every time Alessia was late, Y/N would simply wave it off and mutter that it was okay. They all found it strange, but there was something about the way Y/N spoke to Alessia that made her seem… untouchable, in a way.

By the end of the month, Y/N had paid off all of Alessia’s fines, covering the hundreds of euros in late fees. Every time she brought it up, Alessia would try to refuse.

“You really don’t need to do that, Y/N,” Alessia said, a hint of guilt in her voice.

“I’ve got it covered,” Y/N replied with a smile, brushing off Alessia’s concern. “It’s not a big deal.”

But even as she said it, Y/N couldn’t help but wonder why she was doing it. Why did she always soften when it came to Alessia? Why was she willing to put up with the fines when everyone else had to pay up without a second thought?

One evening, as they sat together after training, Y/N gave Alessia a sideways glance. “You know, if you just stopped being late, I wouldn’t have to pay these fines for you.”

Alessia looked at her with a half-smirk. “Maybe I’m just testing how far you’ll go.”

Y/N chuckled softly, rolling her eyes. “Well, consider this the last time, okay? I’m not made of money, and I’m not paying your fines forever.”

Alessia laughed, leaning in close. “I know. But I appreciate it, Y/N. More than you know.”

Y/N just smiled, knowing full well that no matter how many fines Alessia racked up, she’d always be the one to take care of it. She didn’t mind. Not when it was Alessia.

It was one of those days where the team was a little too playful for their own good, and Katie had a mischievous gleam in her eye. She leaned in towards Alessia, a sly grin creeping across her face as she whispered her idea.

“Why don't you come in an hour late to training? You know, just to test if Y/N will actually follow through with paying your fine,” Katie suggested, practically vibrating with excitement.

Alessia raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? You really think she’d pay a £200 fine?”

Katie’s grin only grew wider. “Y/N loves you. She’s a softie for you, trust me. She’ll pay without batting an eye.”

Alessia hesitated, but then the thought of seeing how far Y/N would go for her made her heart flutter. “Alright, fine. But if she gets mad, I’m blaming you.”

Katie winked. “Deal.”

The next day, as the team finished their warm-ups and got into their drills, Alessia sneaked in, only to join the sprints, breathless and looking sheepish as she entered the pitch.

Y/N, who had been keeping track of everyone’s arrival times as usual, immediately shot her a glare. “Alessia, you’re late,” she said, arms crossed and voice stern.

The team watched with baited breath, knowing full well that this was going to be interesting. Y/N pulled out her notebook, jotting down the fine.

“1 hour late, that’s £200,” she said, her voice sharp as she turned to the rest of the team. “You all know the rules. Late is late.”

Alessia bit her lip, trying to keep a straight face as she watched Y/N turn back to her, ready to pay the fine. Without a single word of complaint, Y/N pulled out her wallet, counted out the money, and handed it to the coach.

“Here you go,” Y/N said, her voice oddly calm.

Katie couldn’t contain her smirk. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

Y/N barely even looked at Katie. She turned back to Alessia, her face softening. “You don’t need to worry about this,” she said gently. “It’s not your fault. I’ll take care of it.���

Without thinking, Y/N reached forward and cupped Alessia’s cheek, leaning in for a kiss, soft and sweet, making the rest of the team collectively roll their eyes. When they pulled apart, Y/N smiled, her eyes full of affection.

The rest of the team, including Leah, watched in stunned silence, unsure of what to say. Katie, trying to keep a straight face, let out a dramatic gasp. “I can’t believe you actually paid it, Y/N! You’re such a sucker.”

Leah, smirking, chimed in, “Looks like Alessia’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle. “I’m not a sucker. I’m just making sure my girlfriend isn't stressed over something silly like fines.”

Katie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?"

Alessia leaned in, trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips. “You really didn’t have to do that, you know. I was just testing you…”

Y/N turned to the group, suddenly serious. “You shouldn’t have pressured poor Alessia into that,” she said, her voice taking on a more reprimanding tone. “If you all have issues, you come to me. We don’t put her in situations like that. You’ve all got to start acting your age. We’re supposed to be grown, not schoolkids that mess with each other for fun.”

The rest of the team exchanged glances, bored for Y/N's thousandth lecture, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Leah nudged Katie, both of them smirking. “I think Y/N’s getting soft,” Leah teased. “Guess the only one who can make her pay £2000 without a fight is Alessia.”

Katie laughed. “I’m just amazed. She didn’t even hesitate! It’s like she has a weakness for her. She's like kryptonite”

Y/N gave them a mock glare, but her voice had a playful edge. “Alright, alright, I get it. You two are clearly jealous because I didn’t pay your fines.”

Katie threw her hands up in defeat. “I mean, I would have asked, but I’m pretty sure you’re whipped for Alessia.”

Leah chuckled. “I think she just wants to see if she can get away with being that spoiled.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, turning back to Alessia, who was clearly enjoying the teasing. She gave her a smile, though. “You’re lucky you’re cute. And you know I’d do anything for you.”

Alessia grinned, her heart swelling with affection. “I know. I won’t make a habit of it. I swear.”

Y/N chuckled softly, her protective nature not fully letting go, but a warmth in her chest that reminded her just how much she cared for Alessia.

The rest of the team couldn’t help but laugh at the playful dynamic between the two, and even though they were teasing Y/N, there was a sense of warmth in the air. It was clear they were a team in more ways than one. Even if some of them had to be teased a little for their soft moments, they all knew Y/N had their backs—just as much as she had Alessia’s.

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

The End

[veganhamsalad]

I threw a bitch fit about it at the time but I miss working at Walmart with my sister sometimes

[tracybirds]

tidying is good for the soul

I just really really didn’t want to tidy my own room.... I forced Gordon to do it in my stead :)

Some angsty Pen&Ink decided to show their faces in the middle for ReasonsTM and I ran with it. I wish I could say the mess I’m avoiding is worse than Gordon’s... it is not.

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

The smell hit Scott first as he walked past, musty air filled with sweat, rotting food and something else he didn’t want to identify. The stale oxygen forced its way into his lungs as he peered into the room.

Breathing through his mouth only ensured he could taste the rich, ripe aroma. He bit back his instinctive reaction to gag, instead shoving his hand over his nose and mouth. He could see an egg on the plate sitting innocently on the chest of drawers, clearly abandoned in a rush to get to a rescue, still in its shell. Still in its shell, after what must have been days, the green-grey fuzz of mold cradling it gently where it lay.

“Gordon, you can’t live like this, you have to clean this up.”

“Huh?”

Scott gestured at the room at large.

“This! This garbage heap you call a room! How can you just lie there and… and… relax? When it’s like this?”

Gordon shrugged.

“Good defence mechanism.”

“You’ll get yourself sick like this, you know that.”

“It’ll strengthen my immune system.”

Scott coughed back the stench.

“Is that…?”

No. He didn’t want to know.

“I’ll be fine,” said Gordon, staring deliberately up at the projection on the ceiling. He was watching Buddy and Ellie again, nestled between two piles of laundry and exercise gear abandoned at his feet.

Scott knew what he had to do. He knew what he should do. He just couldn’t be sure if there were any landmines ahead of him if he strode into the room.

Necessity called.

He jabbed a finger at his comm and cut the power.

“HEY!!”

“Clean it up, Gordon. You’ll get your damn show back when it’s liveable again.”

“I was busy!”

“You were watching videos! And I know you’ve seen that episode before, at least four times.”

“At least give me my lights! Please?”

Scott shook his head, his mouth twisting in disgust.

“You can start by opening the curtains, and the windows too. Get some fresh air in here.”

Gordon grabbed at the water bottle, hidden in the clothes by his head, and threw it with the aim of an athlete at the door slamming shut. It hit with a loud thud and clattered as it hit the floor.

Water began to seep under the gap and Scott rolled his eyes at the sight. Let Gordon have his tantrum if he wanted. The space was becoming a hazard to them all, and his disorganised brother needed a push. He remembered the last ‘argument’ that had stemmed from someone else daring to do it for him. Scott still had the scar.

***

Gordon glared at the offending door in the dark. The glow of his comm on his wrist provided the only light in the gloom, being the only object not reliant on the power that Scott had taken away from him.

Guilt stabbed at him as he looked around. Now that Scott had brought it to his attention, he couldn’t deny the truth in his accusations. Most of the precarious piles in the space was trash he’d been holding on to, or items that needed a home that he couldn’t find the energy to designate. There were meals and dishes long forgotten as he traipsed in from a rescue in the small hours, stumbling forward with eyes only for his bed. By the time he’d woken up, they’d just become another faded feature of the past. And speaking of his bed, he’d been sharing that space with an assortment of clothing, tablets and oceanographic equipment for longer than he cared to remember.

Thank goodness Penny hadn’t dropped by for a visit. Not that she wanted to see him at the moment, a voice in the back of his mind reminded him slyly.

Gordon scowled, pushing the memory of their last meeting away with a practiced ease. He wasn’t dwelling.

He scrambled to his feet and picked his way across the background noise of the past two months. He yanked open the curtains and looked around, eyes blinking as he took in the sight of dishes piled eight deep glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

He could see Alan, waving up at him from the deck below, and felt the tug to join him, to dive into whatever his brother was doing, anything to not feel alone and stranded on this antipodean island.

Instead, he shoved open the balcony doors and scooped up the wrappers that spilled out of their caged position on the edge of his dresser.

It was a room of categories.

Trash and not-trash.

Things with a home, and things without a home.

Stuff that was mere clutter, and stuff he was still most definitely using, never mind that weeks had passed since they’d last found their way into his hands, thanks Scott.

He doubted Scott had ever found himself with a stray hair dropped on his bathroom floor, let alone sworn violently at a smear of toothpaste that somehow stretched from the mirror to the floor, smeared by a sleepy hand in a futile attempt to clean it off before Gordon collapsed.

Gordon was scrubbing at it now.

The food was an easy fix at least, and he’d quickly employed MAX for depositing the dishes in a soak, wash, rinse, purify with fire cycle.

The room was becoming semi presentable again, enough that Gordon could actually walk between the piles instead of taking strategic leaps from clearing to clearing. That one for laundry, that one for clean clothes, that one for clothes that might have once been clean but had been trapped under so much stuff he thought they might appreciate another rinse if only for a shot at seeing the local scenery.

He tugged at the comforter, trying to extract it from under the “still-being-finished” projects he’d placed lovingly out of the way on his bed. It might be nice to sleep under something that smelt fresher than his socks.

A final jerk, accompanied by a necessary grunt, pulled the bedspread clear, turning Gordon’s sound of frustrated power into a hard-earned yell.

He fell, yelping as his shoulder struck the edge of his drawers and sent a precarious collection of borrowed items cascading to the ground. With him underneath.

A sharp knock on the door drew his attention.

“Gordon? You alright in there?”

Gordon scowled at the door, imagining the way he might throttle Virgil if he came in now, with his barely disguised approval and his wide-eyed sympathy that Gordon couldn’t keep his space straight like the rest of them. Especially now that the once clear floor was covered in junk all over again.

He hit his head against the floor with a thunk.

“Fine. Get lost.”

He didn’t need X-ray vision to see the huff and rolling eyes Virgil gave in response.

“Have it your way. Scott’s got dinner sorted in an hour or so if you want it.”

Gordon was very certain he would not.

He didn’t move even after he had heard Virgil’s footsteps fade away. The afternoon light had turned golden warm as the sun began to set. He could ask Scott for the lights back, he knew Scott had only turned them off to grab his attention, but the dimming room suited his dark mood just fine.

He wished he could call Penny, twelve hours behind him and a world away, just to complain and joke about ways to pay Scott back tenfold for the trouble he’d caused him.

He wondered if she still bothered to wake up early when there was no one scheduled to call anymore. His 0400 alarm had hardly wavered, his body attuned to the rhythm and his heart wishing beyond reason to hear word of the daily minutia of life in high society London.

He couldn’t call her just to talk about junk.

He couldn’t call her to talk about anything.

Gordon scrubbed at his face, drawing his legs in as he made to stand once more. He reached out, fingers splayed on the floor, as he hauled himself upright. His eyes fell on the shimmering pink material at the base of the tower that now lay scattered across the room.

A scarf, but not just any scarf, as she’d haughtily told him. A gift from a Duchess, another high end and frivolous purchase, on loan from a very, very good friend of her father – Gordon could hardly remember the details, laughing at her affronted look while he downplayed its importance.

“Just a piece of fabric, Penny, no better, no worse than my pants.”

“Than your trousers, I should say.”

Gordon laughed again.

“Nah, Pen, definitely my pants.”

Maybe it had meant something to her, but she’d let him take it home, covered in her perfume and her love and her firm belief that he deserved something special of hers.

A tangible image of her heart and he’d taken it in with irreverence and mockery, and hidden it away beneath clutter and trash and the needs of everyone and anyone that wasn’t her. Lost it among a pile of junk now strewn on the floor, none of which even mattered, not even to him. He’d thrown half his life away, only to find her still draped all over him.

Draped, no thrown carelessly on his chest of drawers, with none of the delicacy and care that her vulnerability and trust deserved, none of the precious love he had sworn up and down was hers.

His vision blurred as he ran his rough hands through the soft folds and he tapped the comm before he could think twice about the consequences.

He couldn’t look at the holo as it answered, its blue light spilling out into the room, cold and lifeless. It might have been Parker for all he knew as he sobbed into the scarf.

“Gordon?”

Her voice was a balm against the wound rending him in two.

“Pen, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Her silence chased his mumbled apologies and regret into the darkened room.

“Thank you, Gordon.”

[dragoqueen]

Whoops! Wrong Way 7/8

Summary: Peter has been living at Avengers Tower for 2 years, known to the workers and Avengers as Peter Parker-Stark-Rogers.  When his teacher announces that they're going on a field trip to Avengers Tower, or SI,  he's going to have to attempt to survive a day of embarrassment and keeping a secret identity.

Words: 2278

“Parker!” Flash calls from across the hallway, “you. Here. Now.”

Peter quickly walks over to Flash, peering cautiously around the hallway in a search for cameras. Flash seems to realize what he’s doing and also looks for cameras. Upon spotting one he grabs Peter and throws him into an empty storage room with no cameras. “What the heck was that in there?” 

“W-what? What are you talking about?” Peter stutters. 

“You know what I’m talking about! That stunt you pulled with the Avengers? Making everyone think that they know you and with the Avengers? Making everyone think that they know you and have some sort of training with them. I’m not falling for it. You better fess up now or you’ll regret it.”

“Flash, I- I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fine then, have it your way, Peter.” 

The first hit comes, causing Peter’s spider-sense to flair up. Warning! incoming  hit, face. But he can’t do anything about it. From there, each hit comes one after another. Finally, when Peter’s slumped up on the floor in a fetal position, Flash decides he’s done. “Have fun missing out on the rest of the trip, Peter,” he says, leaving the room. 

I… I just have to ask FRIDAY for help. She’ll send help. “F-FRIDAY?” Peter says to the ceiling.

“What do you need, MiniStark?”

“Can you ask MJ or Ned if they can meet me in whatever room this is? Tell them discreetly and make sure no one sees them leave.”

There’s a pause and for a second Peter thinks he’s doomed to lay here until his healing gives him enough strength to find someone. But then, he hears FRIDAY’s voice, “they have been informed and are coming your way.”

“Thanks FRIDAY” he manages to say before blinking once… twice… then, darkness. 

___

“Ter…? Eter…?” what? What’s the noise, Peter thinks to himself. 

“Peter, can you hear us?” 

Slowly, he opens his eyes, quickly moving his hand up to shield himself from the bright lights. “Shoot, FRIDAY can you dim the lights please?” he hears MJ say before the light in the room seems to go to a darker glow, allowing him to open his eyes again. He looks around. In front of him are his two best friends. “Guys? What happened? How long was I out?”

“Only for about 30 minutes. FRIDAY alerted us that you were hurt and needed us. The intern lab part of the tour is almost over, are you okay?” “I, uh… I guess? I think so.”

“What happened?”

“I… it was… nothing I just…”

“It was Flash wasn’t it?”

He sighs, “yeah.” 

“Y’know, Stark’s going to kill him.”

“NO! Please, no. Dad can’t know. He will kill him and I can’t deal with that. People will find out about my relationship with the Avengers and then they might figure out that I’m Spiderman and I don’t want to deal with that. Once I graduate and I finally decide it’s okay, I’ll reveal my identity. Until then I just want to be me, Peter Parker. Ordinary kid who might’ve sort’ve gotten accidentally bit by a radioactive spider.”

“I know Peter, but… I think he might already know. FRIDAY?”

“Boss and SSMWP (Star Spangled Man with a Plan) have already been alerted. Baby Monitor Protocol, Baby’s Gotta Boo-Boo has been activated.”

Peter groans, “I’m surprised they’re not here already. They’re probably working on getting Mr. Harrington fired and Flash expelled and took off recommendation for any good college in the country.” 

“He deserves it. But we need to get back to the class, do you think you can walk?” Slowly, Peter uses the wall and MJ to stand up. He takes a single step forward, testing his ability to walk. Finally, when he realizes he’s able to walk, he lets go of MJ and takes a few steps on his own. He spreads his arm out and does a quick spin to face them, waving his hands almost as if to say “ta da”. “Great, you can walk ya dork. Guess that Spidey-healing of yours works faster than I thought.”

“Yeah, Uncle Bruce has been working on protein shakes and bars for me that increase the speed of it. Do I have any bruises that are visible?”

“You have a scar above your eyebrow and a small bruise on your arm, but that’s it.”

“Thank goodness. Let’s get back to the tour group before anyone else figures out that we’re gone.” 

“Alright, but take it slow okay? We don’t need you passing out again.”

“Aye-aye captain,” he says, giving her a mock salute. 

Before they leave MJ hands him a bottle of water and a protein bar. The protein bar was made specifically for Peter and helped with his enhanced metabolism and healing. Both MJ and Ned, as well as the Avengers when they were out with Peter, had them on hand. He eats it quickly, throwing away the wrapper in the trash and chugging the rest of the water as they leave the room to resume the tour.

They make their way back to the tour, quietly slipping in to the back seemingly unnoticed as the rest of the students watch Bruce give a demonstration on one of the intern’s newest projects. Mr. Harrington looks at Peter, giving him a stern look before quietly making his way over to him and pulling him to the side, “where were you, Parker?”

“I, I was in the bathroom?”

“You were not in the bathroom for 30 minutes. Flash informed me that he saw you trying to steal files from one of the rooms, is this true?”

“No, sir! I would never do such a thing. And anyways, all of the files are digital so I would have to hack into the SI mainframe and with FRIDAY that’d be nearly impossible.” “Listen Peter. You’re a good kid. Really smart. In fact, I have no doubt that when you go to college you’ll have no trouble getting an internship here. But, Stark Industries doesn’t accept high schoolers, no matter their smartness. This lie has gone far enough. Once we return to school you and I will be having a conversation with the principal as I have no other choice but to recommend you for expulsion.”

“But, sir! I’m not lying! Has nothing here you’ve seen today proven that?” “Peter, hacking into an AI and paying off the staff to pretend to know you isn’t proof. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were exempt from any chances of receiving an internship at Stark Industries. Now, go join the rest of the class. We will talk about this later.”

Peter slowly retreats back to Ned and MJ, head staring at the floor, trying not to make eye contact with Flash or Bruce. When he reaches his friends MJ gives him a questioning look, “Harrington is going to try and expel me,” he whispers.

“What do you mean? Why?”

“For lying and “trying to steal SI files.”

“But you aren’t lying, and why would you steal files? Ned asks. 

“I don’t know. Let’s just… try and make it to the end of the day. I’m sure Dad or Aunt Pepper will clear it up and I’ll be fine. If not, well, I guess it’s time to actually go to MIT.”

“Dude, no. You can’t leave us.” “I’m not saying I am, but if I get expelled it’s not like I’ll have a choice. You guys can still come over and we can still hangout. Just… not at school.”

MJ sighs, “Stark better be able to figure this out, otherwise I’ll fight the school myself.”

“Thanks MJ,” Peter grins, turning back to focus on what Bruce is talking about. 

“... so, that’s why we now have a testing room with bulletproof glass. Now, if you guys want to wonder around a bit, just try not to disturb the interns to much and leave if they say you’re bothering or distracting them.” he spreads out his arms, motioning for them to wander around the room.

The group disperses, walking around to look at different projects and some asking a few questions. Even Flash and goons look interested in what the interns are working on. Bruce walks casually over to Peter and his group, “hey kid. Where were you? Was my presentation really that boring?” he asks.

“Nah, got held up. Although, I’m sure it was great. Did Dad sign you up for this?” “Unfortunately. Except I’m not trying to embarrass you. However, there is another… surprise for you?”

“What is it-” he’s interrupted by a voice from across the room shouting, “Petey!”

Peter turns and sees Morgan running over to him. The interns around the room smile, used to the presence of the young Stark around the labs and actually enjoying her benign around. She was sweet and their favorite of Stark’s kids, after Peter. “Hey Morgana! What are you doing here?”

“Me and Happy are playing hide and seek! I decided to come see you.”

He laughs, “does Happy know you guys are playing hide and seek?”

“Nope!” she giggles. 

“Come here M,” MJ says, opening her arms towards the little girl. 

Morgan squeals in delight and runs to MJ, happily being picked up and swung around a few times before settling on her arms. Peter smiles before looking up at the nearest camera, “Hey FRIDAY, can you tell Happy that Morgan is down here in the Coffee Induced lab?”

“Of course, MiniStark.” she replies. 

While they’re waiting for Happy to meet them they begin wandering around, chatting with a few of the interns and entertaining Morgan. A bit before Happy finds his way to the lab, Mr. Harrington spots the trio carrying around the young Stark and quickly makes his way over to them, “Mr. Parker, what is the meaning of this?”

“You mean the child?” “Of course I mean the child. Who is she and why is she in this highly dangerous lab?” “Sure, it’s actually fine. She’s Stark’s daughter and actually hangs out in the labs a lot. With adult, or teen, supervision of course.” one of the nearby interns chip in. 

“Well adult supervision or not, a child should not be in a lab.”

During all of the commotion, Flash has taken a notice to Morgan. He instantly recognizes her from different press and runs over, “Hey MJ, why the heck are you holding Tony Stark’s daughter?” “Because she wanted me to hold her, why else Flash?” “You shouldn’t be holding her. She’d probably be way more comfortable in the hands of someone more higher-class then you. Isn’t that right, Morgana?”

“It’s Morgan! And no. I prefer MJ. she’s a lot nicer than you, meany.” Morgan snaps. 

At that moment, Happy finally appears from the elevator, out of breath. He spots the situation and quickly runs over to the group, relieved to see he didn’t completely lose Morgan. “Morgan! Peter! Thank God I found you all. Morgan, what are you doing down here? You know you’re not supposed to be in the labs without supervision.” “But Petey and his friends are down here, so it’s fine!” she says. 

“Come here, let’s get you upstairs and get you a snack, alright?” “Yay! I want Uncle Bucky’s cookies!” she exclaims, quickly transferring herself from MJ’s arms to Happy’s arms.”

“Thanks for helping Peter, I’ll see you tonight, alright?”

“Alright Happy, see you later!”

The rest of the class, having turned their attention to the commotion happening with Stark’s kid, just continues staring. How does Puny Parker know Tony Stark’s daughter? And how does his friends know her too? Mr. Harrington, still in shock, hasn’t been able to say anything at all. Flash, on the other hand, has a bucket load of things to say, “what the actual fuck Parker?”

“I- uh, what?”

“What the fuck is happening here. First the stunt with the scanners. Then pretending to know the interns. And then the thing with the nerf gun battle. How the actual heck are you doing this?” “Maybe he just wasn't lying, Flash.” MJ says, noticing that Peter seems to be at a lack of words at the moment.

“No, regular interns aren’t able to do this stuff. Regular interns don’t know the avengers and Tony Stark’s daughter. So what’s happening.” “Flash, I really don’t know what to tell you. I’m an intern here, you know this, or should. That’s all.” Flash tries to continue the conversation but Mars announces that they now have the chance to attend a Q & A with the Avengers themselves, causing everyone to rush over to the elevator, chatting amongst themselves about meeting the Avengers and the different questions they're going to ask. Flash glares at Peter before whispering, “when we get back to school, you’re dead Parker. Especially after I expose you in front of the Avengers at the Q & A.”

Peter watches in disbelief as Flash moves back to his goons and chats with them like nothing just happened. He looks to his friends for support. MJ shakes her head and wraps an arm around his shoulder, guiding him over to the group as they pile into the elevator. Ned offers him an apologetic smile. While in the elevator MJ promises to not let Flash get anywhere near Peter while Ned comes up with suggestions to let Peter stay at Stark industries when they leave so that he won’t have to interact with Flash when they get back to school. None of them notice the lack of Avengers in the Q & A room until a door slams open by the stage scaring everyone, including Peter. 

[k-llama-llama]

Consultant

Monsta X AU: 8th member

Zoey x Monsta X

Wonho wants Zoey’s advice.

A/N: ALSO FYI check out my patreon (patreon.com/kllamallama for exclusive posts!)

Requests are CLOSED…but your feedback is still super important to me.

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“I really don’t think you need to change anything.” Zoey insisted. “It’s really good the way it is.”

“Yeah, maybe. But it could be better.” Wonho sat down on the bench, throwing her bottle of water at her and taking a sip of his own. “Which is why you’re here.”

“I thought I was here because you enjoyed my company.” Zoey took a seat on the floor, pulling down her shorts, which had ridden up.

“I do.” He promised. “I just also need professional Zoey for a bit.”

“Urgh.” She groaned. “But professional Zoey is so boring. And she’s mean.”

“That’s why I love her.” He dug through his gym bag, before chucking a granola bar at her head. “Eat, you’re getting too skinny.”

Zoey rolled her eyes, but still peeled back the wrapper.

Despite all of her complaining, Zoey was having the time of her life. It had been months since they’d been in the dance studio together, and the second Wonho had called and said that he wanted her to work on his title track choreography with him, she’d been thrilled. And now, two hours and one smoothie run later, Zoey had the entire choreography memorized. She thought it was perfect, honestly, she did, but Wonho was insisting that she change things to make it better.

“What do you think if I change the formation up going into the bridge?” He suggested, resting his hands on his knees. “And I could move to stand at the side. Would that work?”

“It would work.” Zoey nodded, laying down on the floor and patting her stomach. “But Oppa, it’s really perfect the way that it is. I don’t think you should change anything.”

“But I-“

“You made it. Which makes it perfect. Monbebes – sorry, Wenees, will love and appreciate it because it’s you.” She smiled at him.

He just frowned. “This isn’t professional Zoey.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do. Even I can’t improve upon perfection.”

“You’ve choreographed like a million songs, and they’ve all gotten awards and stuff.” Wonho pointed out. “I want you to give my song the Zoey treatment.”

Zoey just shook her head. “Sadly, it’s too good.”

“Zoey!” He exclaimed. “You’re not being helpful.”

“No, I’m being fun.” She pointed at herself. “Fun Zoey.”

He sighed. “Will you at least come to the studio with me and listen to the teaser clips and-“

“Oppa!” Zoey shouted. “Stop it. You’re stressing me out.”

“What?”

“You’re stressing me out. And I don’t get stressed out. If I get wrinkles because of you we’re really going to have a problem.”

Wonho hopped off the bench, coming to lay down on the floor next to her. “If I’m stressed, you have to be stressed too.”

“I don’t want you to be stressed.” Zoey rolled over so she was looking down at him, supported on her elbows. She reached forward and pushed his hair off his forehead, smoothing the crease between his eyebrows with her thumb. “It makes me worry.”

“You? Worry about me?” He snorted. “That’s my job.”

Zoey gave him a smile. “I’m a grown up now. Which means I get to worry about my brother as much as he worries about me.”

He pouted. “I don’t like that.”

“Too bad.” Zoey grinned. “Now, tell me why you’re stressed so I can make it better.”

Wonho sighed loudly, closing his eyes. “It’s just….a lot. I mean…what if it doesn’t do well? What if people don’t like it?”

“Then I’ll beat them up.” Zoey smiled. “But they’ll love it, Oppa. I promise. I’m not a very good liar, and I really think that this is amazing.”

“You’re telling the truth?” He asked. “Because I’ll beat you up.”

“I’ll win.” She winked. “Yes, I’m telling the truth. And I’ve already ordered my copies of it.”

“Copies?”

“Three. And I made Seungcheol buy three too.” She grinned. “See? I’m supportive.”

“You are supportive.” He reached over to pull on her braid. “Maybe you are a grown up.”

“I’d better be. I’m hosting dinners at my place now, instead of just paying at a restaurant.” She smacked his arm. “Which reminds me, you’re coming over next week, right? Your mom told you?”

“I don’t know…..are you the one cooking?” He teased.

Zoey frowned at him. “I could cook….if I wanted to.”

“But are you?”

“No, Seungcheol is. And your mom is bringing some.” She crossed her arms. “I’ll get dessert. And I have the wine.”

“Ohh, fancy.” He grinned. “Yes, I’ll be there. Family dinners, and all. Even if Seungcheol is there now.”

“He’s family too.” Zoey scolded.

“Whatever. I’m still making up my mind on him.”

“Oppa!”

“Just kidding.” He laughed. “Come on, if you’re not going to help me I’m not going to waste time in the studio with you.”

He pushed himself up from the floor, holding out a hand to pull her up.

“Are you getting rid of me?” Zoey pouted.

“No, I’m taking you out for lunch.” He poked her rib. “Too skinny.”

“You know, I think I’ve actually put on weight.”

“I don’t buy it. I need to have a talk with Seungcheol.”

“Urgh, you’re annoying.” Zoey said, but she was smiling. “Can we go get barbecue? I’m starving.”

“All you can eat.” He promised. “Let’s go.”

[afy2018]

Going Through Changes Ch. 1

[Aug. 24th, 2020]

It was very early, that Monday morning, when Sara woke up. The curtain, being partially closed, revealed the sun’s strong rays. She glanced over to her roommate, Samantha Santos, who was still sound asleep. Sara slid out of her bed and quietly got changed, taking a moment to turn off her alarm so it would not go off. She grabbed her bag and books before swiping her wallet, keys, and phone. It was almost completely quiet in the dorms. She could hear some muffled conversations as she made her way down the hall. There was a student in the lobby, working as a campus officer and another working the desk.

Sara waved and continued to the cafeteria. The campus had a few students walking around, but most were either already in class or just getting ready for another early morning class. Even the breeze was calm and tired, barely grazing through the trees. The building’s lights were still on like stars to pave the way through the university. Sara gazed at the stars that still lightly speckled the sky. She tried to find the familiar constellations before they disappeared into the daylight.

Sara made her way into the cafeteria where there were only five other students getting breakfast as they waited for their day to begin. Sara walked in line to buy a breakfast burrito and a bottle of orange juice.

She peeled back the thin shiny wrapper and made her way to her classroom. There were more students walking around as she made her way through the campus and to the F Building. The professor’s offices were mostly dark with only one person in their room - that Sara could see. She made her way to her classroom. Still fifteen minutes ahead, Sara walked into the almost empty classroom. Her Professor stood at the podium-desk next to his notes and a pile of syllabi, just waiting to start the new semester. Professor Wright was a portly old man with a bulbous nose that hooked at the end. His dark eyes were full of life as he waited for the lecture hall to fill up and the hour to pass over.

Sara sat in the middle of the hall as the seats around her quickly filled up. She was surprised to see the number of women in the class. From what she could see, there was about one girl for every three boys in there with her. The moment the thin black minute hand on the clock at the back of the classroom ticked over the twelve, Professor Wright sprung to life.

“Good morning class. Welcome back.” He called out to his students. “I would like to start with those on the waitlist. Raise your hands so I can see… who or how many I need to add,” He quickly corrected, counting the seven students on the waitlist. “Okay. After class come up and I’ll email you the add code. Now,” He sighed, grabbing a stack of papers, “time for my favorite part, the syllabus.” He handed it to a blonde boy up in the front of the row and walked back to his desk. “Now, I have a PDF on canvas if there aren’t enough to go around. The important dates and my office hours are on the front. My rules of the classroom are on the second page, my recommended resources- all free- are listed in the very back. In the middle, you will find the description for your Final, your Midterm, and your three research papers. There isn’t any homework for this class. Show up to the lectures and you will pass. I take attendance once that hand reaches 8:00. If you are late to class because of reasons you cannot control, call, text, and email in that order with evidence Like hospital wrist band, pictures of your car troubles, et cetera. Any questions?”

A few students began to ask questions. Someone asked about the way he wanted the assignments turned in, another asked about the late policy. As important as these questions and answers were, Sara felt like something was off. She glanced around the slanted beige room and found a pair of dark chocolate eyes watching her. Her father had always taught her to be vigilant to any threat, especially on campus, but as she glanced at the person staring at her, she just nodded in their direction, feeling no malice, just curiosity from them.

There was a young woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. She had tan golden skin that was mostly covered with by a dark green sweatshirt that said “CCRI Knights”; the rest was too small for Sara to read. The woman quickly glanced at another student in the room with her, twirling her pencil around her fingers.

Sara tore her gaze away from her and focused back on her professor. Wright was talking about his thoughts on social media for some reason, making Sara wish she’d learned the context to this rant. By studying how he spoke, Sara could tell that this guy was a rambler as the reviews on Rate My Professor had warned, but he was the highest rated professor for this class, so she decided that she’d just have to sit through it. Of all types of professors to have, “The Rambler” was not the worst kind at all.

Lost in her thoughts, Sara missed whatever Professor Wright had said to end the class. She quickly gathered her belongings and headed to the cafeteria. On her way there, she passed by the art wing. There was a glinting and sparkling piece that caught her eye from one of the hallways. She followed the way down, taking a quick moment to explore the small art garden.

There was a large glittering glass mosaic wall. It was a beautiful piece reflecting the native flora and fauna of New Jersey. There was a deer and a fox by the river with a fish hopping out. The colors were beautiful, with iridescent glass on the birds and trees, bronze for the deer, and a fiery amber for the fox.

Sara glanced at her phone to check the time, she still had an hour and forty minutes until her next class, great to get food from Jeepers. She headed back out of the art garden and to the casual restaurant. Sara had been there before because it came with her meal plan. Jeepers was a fun place with a lot of seating for the students. She kind of wondered how busy it was going to be.

Walking into Jeepers, Sara spotted a familiar face by the windows on the barstool. It was that girl in the forest green sweater. Even though her back was turned to her, Sara could still tell it was her. She decided to grab a bite before the lines got too long and sit next to her. They could swap numbers just in case either of them missed a class.

Sara walked in line and ordered an Asian chicken wrap, grabbed a bag of original Skinny Pop, a banana, and a bottle of water. She waited behind a string bean guy who could not have been any taller than Sara herself. He had a slight frame with messy brown hair. When he turned to look back at Sara, she first noticed his thick sharp brown eyebrows, then his wide and inviting smile.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

The young man shrugged and grabbed his food. “Pretty good. I just got out of my first college class.” He finished with an excited smile.

Sara couldn’t help but smile back. “So this is your first year?” She asked paying for her meal.

“Yeah! I’m Barry, Barry Allen.” He introduced, quickly reaching over to shake her hand.

“Hey, Barry, I’m Sara Lance.” She smiled. “I’m a Junior here.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” She answered, taking her food and thanking the cashier. “Did you get the turkey club?”

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason.” She shrugged, “Bye Barry.”

“Wait, why?” He asked again.

Sara chuckled to herself, just pulling his leg. She walked to the window where her classmate was sitting and took the spot to her left. The girl looked at Sara, tearing her focus away from the textbook in front of her.

“Hey, you’re in my Ethics class right?” Sara inquired.

“Yeah, I’m Nyssa.” She greeted, closing her book.

“Sara, without an H.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“So Criminal Justice major, too?”

“Yeah. I’m here for my masters before I join the UN Security Force.”

“Same here, but I want to join the CIA or the FBI. What’s the UN Security Force?”

“The part I want to join in is the Blue Berets, it’s their armed forces. They’re also known as the Peacekeepers. They help protect people like the victims of African raiders and ISIS.”

“Wow.”

“What about you?”

“I want to become an agent. Hey, do you want to swap numbers, you know just in case one of us misses class?”

“Oh, yeah, sounds good to me.”

Sara reached into her backpack and pulled out a pencil and pad of sticky notes. She quickly jotted down her phone number, email, and name before peeling it off and handing it to Nyssa.

“So what’s CCRI?” She asked while entering the number into her phone.

“Community College of Rhode Island.”

“Oh wow, that’s a long ways away.”

“Yeah, but I really wanted to get out of there,” Nyssa sighed. “What about you. Where are you from?”

“New York.”

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there! What’s it like?”

“I mean, it’s a mix. One moment you’re in the city and the next you’re in the suburban hills, then you’re in another state. What about Rhode Island, I’ve never been there.”

“I mean, really it’s a tiny state that it mostly a bay then another state almost right away.” She joked, glancing at the clock on her phone. “Well, I have to go. I’ll see you around, Sara.”

“See you, Nyssa.” Sara smiled, not partaking in her meal as Nyssa walked away.

As Nyssa walked away, Sara’s phone went off in her pocket. A text lit up from her phone with the message “Hey Sara, it’s Nyssa.”

Sara texted back, “Hey, dude”, before adding her into her contacts as, ‘Nyssa (The Cute Girl)’. She glanced at her phone and continued to eat her lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was her third and final class of the day and Sara was actually kind of glad. She walked to the building and went down the hallway to her last class. She was glad to have ceramics between her major classes because it was a nice break. Sara walked into the classroom and sat down in the middle with a few other students. She set up her belongings, getting ready to write down her schedule and organized her planner, highlighting the two syllabi she placed on her desk. Someone tapped on her shoulder, making Sara glance up at them. It was Nyssa again. Sara quickly moved her backpack out of the chair next to her and smiled up at her.

“You stalking me, Nyssa?” She joked.

“I mean you saved me a spot.” She taunted back. “Were you expecting me?”

Sara chuckled and went back to fixing her planner as their teacher spoke to a few students. She glanced at her phone, two minutes before class, and their professor had already begun to hand out the syllabus and a few other papers. Once they made their round to Sara and Nyssa, it seemed that the extra papers were meant to introduce the students to their teacher. It was a Getting-to-Know-You page off of the internet. Sara filled out the survey and re-read her answers again.

“Alright, I want you to go to seven people and learn their name and one thing off of that paper.” He proclaimed, sitting back in his chair.

Sara turned to Nyssa and asked, “What was your first pet’s name?”

“Levi, he was a frog. What about you?”

“I had a Canary named Tweedie.”

“Like Tweety bird?”

“Yeah.” Sara chuckled writing Nyssa’s answer by the question.

She then went to a six other classmates of hers, learning that a boy named Nicola was born in Montana, a girl named Denise is a Pisces, another boy named James wanted to be a farmer growing up, Rachel has four siblings, Evan would want to rename himself, Charles, and Alex played bass in a Math-Rock band. It was fun, much more fun than Sara thought it would be. She was glad that she could keep the paper, it was interesting to learn more about her peers. As their class ended, they packed their belongings and began out the door.

“Hey, Nyssa, you wanna get something to eat at the cafeteria?” Sara asked, trying to catch up with her.

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, judging by your community college, I’m guessing that you’re not a local.” Sara wondered on their way.

“Yeah, I’m staying in University Court.”

“Really? Me, too. I’m in building 8.”

“Building 2.”

“So, what are you getting?”

“I haven’t tried their pasta choices yet.” Nyssa shrugged.

“Might I recommend the manicotti? It’s stuffed with ricotta and Italian sausage. It’s really filling.”

“How much do you get?” Nyssa asked pulling out her wallet.

“Like,” Sara began trying to size it up with her hands, “this big, and you get two.”

“Wow… I mean I’ve never had the manicotti?”

“Yeah, and they’re really good. Especially the ones they make here.”

“I think I’ll get it then. What about you?”

Sara glanced at the menu and shrugged. “I’m gonna get a burrito, or… nah, I’ll just stick with a Ceasar salad. After this, we should head back to the dorms.”

“Oh, why?”

“They close at 8:30.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s in, like, fifteen minutes.” Nyssa nodded before going up to order.

“So,” Sara began, unfolding a paper in her pocket, “while our food’s getting ready. ‘What is your favorite holiday?’”

“The questionnaire?”

“Yup.”

“Halloween. You?”

“Christmas.”

“Wasn’t one of the questions, like, what’s your least favorite holiday?”

“Yeah, mine’s Christmas again.”

“Why?”

Because my birthday’s Christmas day and it’s kind of annoying to constantly be compared to Jesus by religious friends, the antichrist by regular friends, and a Christmas miracle by distant family.”

“I bet you only got Christmas presents, too. Not much of a birthday celebration?”

“Yeah. No parties either because everyone traveled for the holidays.”

“So,” Nyssa asked glancing at the paper. “You can hotwire a car?”

“Yeah.”

“How’d you learn that?”

“From some friends in high school.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. What’s a weird fact about you?”

“Well, it’s not really weird more as it’s just a fact about me.”

“Anything will do.”

“Well, I did jujitsu until high school.”

“Really? Why’d you stop?” Sara asked grabbing their food.

“I started wrestling. It became too much to play a sport and do another one outside of school. Did you play any sports in high school?”

“No, but I did use to fight. It helped that had learned some basic skills from my dad.”

“Wait, like fist fighting?”

“Yeah, I’d fight for money.”

“Wow, were you good?”

“My stats were pretty good. I could beat most people, but I wasn’t great, just had a lot of stamina.”

“I did not expect that from you, you look like… well like…”

“A princess? Yeah, just to the public, but in private I’m not so nice and proper.” She joked.

“Are you a secret queen of underground fighting rings?”

“Depends, are you gonna 21 Jump Street me?”

Nyssa rolled her eyes and took a bite of the manicotti. “Oh wow, that’s pretty damn good!”

“I know right?” Sara chuckled looking at the paper again. “So, we did one weird fact, siblings?”

“I have an older sister, Talia, and a younger brother, Saracon.” She told her, rounding the corner to University Court.

“I have an older sister, too, Laurel.”

“So what’s she up to?”

“She’s a lawyer. Right now she’s working for a small company. Last time she texted me, she said that she was getting ready for her first case defending a divorce settlement.”

“Wow, my sister works for my Dad’s business and my brother’s kind of AWOL, well to my dad and Talia, that is. My turn.” Nyssa said changing the subject to look at the paper. “If you could rename yourself what would it be?”

“Sara with an H.”

“So people don’t-”

“Don’t get my name wrong, yeah. What about you?”

“Amaal, I don’t know I just wrote down a random name.”

“Why Amaal first?”

“It’s a common name in my community.” She shrugged as they came upon the dorms. “Well, this is my stop.”

“Mine, too.”

“See you on Wednesday?”

“Yeah, I’m not planning on dropping any classes, so.”

“Alright, night, Sara without an H.”

“Night, Amaal,” Sara smirked, going to her dorm.

She went into the dorm and began to room 124. She took out her card key and placed it against the sensor, waiting for the beep, the green light, and the sound of the lock clicking out of place. She walked into the low lit room to see her roommate and “Big Sister” Sam Santos on her bed with her blankets pulled up her legs, her laptop slapped onto her stomach as she typed something onto the keyboard. Her hood was pulled over her head. She glanced around her device at Sara and gave her a large smile and closed the lid. Sam sat up and took a swig from her hydro flask.

“How was the first day?”

“Good. I met a new student who’s in my first and last class.”

“Cool.”

“What about you?”

“Very easy, so far.” She smirked brandishing her laptop.

“When’s your next class?”

“Well I have an online lecture at 9 and then an art class at noon, and finally my history classes back to back from 2 to 6.”

“I have the same schedule.”

“I don’t know how you do the early bird-night owl schedule.” Sam huffed.

“I enjoy it. Hey, when’s our first meeting?”

“It’s Sunday at noon. We have to sign up for shifts for Club Day.”

“Don’t we also have to elect a new leader?”

“Oh yeah, well, in the Spring.”

“Ally texted me that she wanted to start early.” Sara inquired, looking at her phone. “Dina said that they were talking about it… anyway, I don’t know though.”

“They’ll decide soon enough.” Sam sighed looking down at her laptop and opened it up again. “Oh, so about your new friend, what’s she like?”

“She’s nice and weirdly serious and laid back at the same time.”

“Sounds mysterious.”

“I don’t know about that. She’s a criminal justice major like myself,” Sara shrugged pulling on her pajamas, “she seems kind of nerdy though.”

“Sounds like a good girl,” Sam noted peeking up from her laptop.

Sara paused halfway pulling her shirt on. “It’s not like that.”

“Okay, okay, that’s not what you said about Riley Appletree.”

“First of all, it’s Riley Oglesbee. Second, he wasn’t too bad.”

“He was one of the messiest people I had ever met.”

“I liked him, he was really nice.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah… we went out to sushi a lot.” Sara shrugged.

“You liked him because he took you out for food and bought you stuff.”

“Yup.” She huffed sliding onto her bed.

“Honestly, I don’t blame you… but I do judge you.” Sam chuckled opening up a bag of kettle corn Popchips.

“You know I can’t let just you eat those.”

“I know.” She nodded scooting over for Sara.

[hijackedacademia]

A Friendly Favor (Tenya Iida x Fem!Reader)

Characters: Reader (Fem), Uraraka, Jiro, Iida, Mina, Midoriya (briefly), Sero (briefly), Kaminari (briefly)

Request: No

Requested by: N/A

Warnings: none? If there are lemme know and I’ll tag them. Also I didn’t edit this.

Words: 2240

A/N: I wrote Iida w/ red eyes because that’s their color in the manga and I’m a sucker for red eyes. Also forgive me, this is my first time writing for him properly so he may be a little bit out of character?

——

Training had been rather rough on you today. Every muscle in your body ached, and your PE uniform was drenched in sweat (and possibly some tears) by the time you’d made it back to the girls locker room to peel it off. You toweled yourself off before throwing your uniform back on. A few of the other girls seemed just as exhausted as you were, while the others were just as chipper as ever.

This is what you got for slacking off to play video games. 

Again. 

Uraraka was the first to approach you, asking if you wanted to walk with her back to the dorms. She’d pushed back her hair with a plush, pink headband you were 98% sure had belonged to Aoyama at some point, and she was holding out a cooled water bottle that you just couldn’t say no to.

“Sure,” You said, taking the bottle. “Thanks.”

“No problem, (L/N)! You really look like you need it. Is everything okay?” Uraraka tilted her head a bit, her lips pulled back into a caring smile.

“Oh, yeah,” You started. “I’m fine, just feeling a bit behind it all. This is the last time I let Kaminari convince me to stay up till midnight to play Minecraft.”

“Oh did he rope you into helping him build that castle he was going on about?” She asked. 

“We played for three and a half hours and we’re still flattening the earth for it.” You grumbled.

“I told him to just use creative mode.” Jiro piped in, coming to stand beside you. “But that idiot wants to do it all the natural way.” Jiro mocked Kaminari, rolling her eyes all the while. You snorted.

“Tell me about it, when I mentioned going into creative mode I thought he’d had an aneurysm.” You took a long sip from the water. The three of you began to exit the locker room. “At this point I’m pretty sure I know more about the durability of a stone pickaxe than I know about the math Ectoplasm is trying to teach us.”

“Are you falling behind on your studies, (L/N)?” You all but jumped out of your skin, turning to face Iida with a flushed face.

Of course it was him who heard you. You smiled up at him.

“Not so much falling behind on studying, more not understanding the work.” You said. “I was never very good at math back in middle school, so the stuff we’re learning now is pretty difficult for me.” You rubbed the back of your neck, averting your eyes. Uraraka wiggles her eyebrows playfully at you from beside Iida, and you frown at her.

You regret telling her about your crush on the engine-quirked boy.

“Well if you should need any assistance with studying, I would be happy to help you. I plan on working on my math after we finish dinner.” He adjusted his glasses as he spoke, his crimson eyes never leaving your own.

Curse him and his need for eye contact.

“Speaking of dinner,” Jiro said. “Who’s cooking tonight?”

“Sero and Kirishima.” You said, turning away from Iida. “It was supposed to be Sero and Mina, but Kiri owed her a favor.”

“Why didn’t they inform everyone of this? The whole schedule we set up-” Iida started, but you calmly cut him off.

“Iida,” you sighed. “The schedule will be fine. Kiri will help cook this meal, and the next meal he’s assigned to. There’s nothing wrong with a friendly favor.” Before Iida could say something, Midoriya exited the boys locker room, a towel thrown over his shoulders. He smiled when he saw the small group.

“Hey, guys! Heading back to the dorms?” He asked.

“Yeah!” Uraraka confirmed. “Come on, guys! We should get going before Mr. Aizawa yells at us again.” She grabbed your wrist to tug you along, and you let her pull you in the direction of the dorms. Jiro, Midoriya, and Iida followed suit.

The only other people in the dorms when you got back were Mina, Kaminari, and Sero. Sero had set out getting everything together for dinner while he waited for Kirishima. When Mina saw you, Jiro, and Uraraka approaching she ran up, an excited look on her face.

“My parents delivered my Wii console! We can finally play Just Dance together! Whatddya say, wanna play tonight?” You were about to let out a whoop in excitement, when you saw Iida looking at you from his seat at the tables. He was already getting to work. He looked away rather quickly when he noticed your gaze turn in his direction.

“Actually, guys, I uh… I think I’m gonna take tonight to study.” Uraraka’s head snapped in your direction. The mischievous glint in her eyes surprised you momentarily.

“Oooo, you taking Iida up on his offer?” She teased you. Mina squealed, drawing in others' attention. You smacked her arm, but she seemed undeterred.

“Iida,” She said in a harsh whisper. “So is it like, a date-”

“We’re just going to be studying-”

“A study date, then?” Mina seemed more excited about the prospect than you did. You’d been looking for a reason to spend more time with Iida alone, but he always seemed to be busy with school work, or was always around Midoriya and Uraraka.

“No.” You say. “Just two friends studying math.”

“Sure.” Mina continued to tease. You really wished she wouldn’t do this while he was right there, but Iida either didn’t hear what was happening or he wasn’t paying you guys much attention because his eyes were trained on his work. You ignore your friends and go to approach him.

He looked up when you reached the table.

“Hey,” You said.

“Hello, (L/N). How can I help you?”

“So were you… serious, about that offer? To help me with the math?” You wanted to slap yourself. Of course he was serious. When was Iida not serious about something?

“I was,” He nodded. “Like I said, I should be getting to my math after we eat.”

“Awesome.” You nodded. “Thanks again, Iida.” He nodded back before returning to his work. You went up to your room to throw on more comfortable clothes, using a couple of wipes to clean up the oil on your forehead and cheeks. You had been laying on your bed scrolling through the various apps on your phone for around an hour when Tsu came to get you for dinner.

Part of you wanted to shovel down the food - the faster you ate, the faster you could study.

But the other part of you wanted nothing more than to never finish dinner so that you couldn’t possibly embarrass yourself in front of Iida. It was bound to happen, you were sure of it. You would say something stupid with such confidence and then Iida would know just how dumb you really were.

But it smelled so good, and the way your stomach rumbled - surely you couldn’t say anything that stupid.

Right?

Uraraka gave you a quizzical look.

“Are you gonna eat it or are you just gonna drool over it?” She asked. Snapping from your thoughts, on instinct, you wiped at your mouth - she was right. You had been drooling. How embarrassing, you seethed. “Everything alright, (L/N)?”

“Yeah,” you said. “Yeah I’m fine. Just thinking.” Without a second thought you began to stuff your face.

When class 1-A first moved into the dorms, a good chunk of the class sucked at cooking. It was typically Bakugo, Uraraka, or Sato who cooked meals.

That was, until the hot headed gremlin decided enough was enough and there needed to be some kind of proper schedule and some kind of lesson.

“I’m not gonna be cooking for you damned bastards for the rest of school.” He’d said. “Either you learn to cook or you starve.”

The only people who couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen were Mineta, Higakure, and Aoyama.

Those three could burn water without turning the stove on.

Kirishima had become one of the better cooks - so having been paired with Sero, who himself was fairly decent, the meal was amazing. Maybe not Lunch Rush amazing, but enough to make you want seconds.

By the time you’d finish your plate, most of the girls and a handful of the guys had scattered, finished with their meals and prepared to unwind or get to work. You took your plate to the kitchen and then went to your room to wash up. You retrieved your homework, notes, and textbook, and after wiping the sweat off your palms, went to go find Iida.

He sat at one of the tables in the common room alone, surprisingly. Usually after a meal Midoriya and Uraraka would sit with him for a bit before going their separate ways. But not tonight. 

Were they both joining in on Mina’s game? Or had you just taken that long to get ready?

“Uh, hey, Iida.” He looked up from his work and gave you a kind smile.

“Ah, (L/N), are you ready to work?” He asked. You nodded quickly and moved to put your stuff down across from him. “Perhaps you should come sit over here. It would make it much easier to show you what to do.”

“Oh. Um, okay.” Your fingers gripped your wares tightly as you came around to sit beside Iida. He had his text book open to the pages you guys had been assigned earlier that day - his paper was already filled with notes. “Well, uh, where do we start?” 

Listening to Iida go on about math was much easier than listening to Ectoplasm, in your opinion. Maybe it was the fact that you could listen to Iida talk about anything - he could read you the ingredients off of a candy bar wrapper and you would be entranced.

Or maybe it was because what he was saying actually made sense.

“Mr. Ectoplasm tends to explain things in a lot less detail than he should.” Iida admitted. “But I used to sit with my brother when he did his math homework, so it’s pretty easy for me to figure out.”

“How is he, by the way?” The thought of Iida’s brother had been itching in the back of your mind. Ever since he got hurt you’d never seen Iida more determined. You worried sometimes. When you saw a sad look in Iida’s eyes, a part of you regretted asking. His gaze bore holes into the textbook, but he smiled.

“He is healing. Slowly, but surely.” That was all Iida had to say on the matter. Before you could say anything else about it, he was back to explaining the equation you were working on before.

The two of you worked for an hour and a half, and by the time you’d gotten to the last equation you felt proud of yourself. Usually math took you a lot longer. Sometimes you didn’t bother doing them at all (not that you’d ever tell Iida this).

“How are you feeling? Did you understand everything we went over?” Iida asked, setting aside his pencil.

“I think so.” You smiled. “I definitely understand more than I did this morning.”

“Well, I’m glad.” Iida removed his glasses, and cleaned them with a small cloth that he’d kept folded beside his text book. “I’m about to start on English, if you should need assistance with that as well.”

“No,” you smiled. “I’m actually fairly good in English.” You closed your textbook, piling the homework and notes you’d taken on top along with your pencil and pen. “Thanks again for helping me Iida, I owe you one.” You said as you stood up from the table, a couple of joints popping in the process.

“Like a friendly favor?” The question surprised you, but after the initial shock washed away you smiled.

“Yeah.” You said. “A friendly favor.” You picked up your things, ready to depart. 

After a moment's thought and a short rush of confidence, you found yourself giving the class rep a short hug, your free arm wrapped around his shoulder and your cheek pressed against the top of his head. He tensed up for a moment, but instead of pushing you away like you imagined he would, he placed a hand on your arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Thanks again, Iida.” You pulled your arm away and all but skipped out of the common area. When you made it back upstairs to your dorm room, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. After setting your homework back into your bag, you went to read the text.

It was from Iida. You frowned.

Had you forgotten something downstairs?

Unlocking your phone, you open the text.

T. Iida: So

T. Iida: About that favor.

(Y/N): Yeah?

T. Iida: Perhaps you might be willing to join me this Sunday to the nearby café? I was going to go with Midoriya and Uraraka but they are now busy and I would prefer not to go alone.

You flushed a bit. Iida was asking you to go with him to his favorite café (you’d heard him mention how much he loved the place before - the best lattes he’d ever had, if you remembered correctly) with him. Alone.

Just you and Iida.

(Y/N): Count me in. Id love to join you!

T. Iida: Perfect. It’s a date then.

A date.

This boy was going to be the end of you.

[keichanz]

Move Your Body || pt. 2

Part 1 || Part 2

“When’s your next class with Sango?” Inuyasha asked her around 4 am and tipped back a water bottle to drain the rest of its contents.

Lowering her own drink that Inuyasha had provided for them sometime around two in the morning, Kagome sighed and tilted her head as she thought.

“Um, Wednesday,” she supplied. “I know she does them every day, but I can only come in every other because of classes.”

He nodded. “After your sessions with Sango you’ll come up here and we can begin our own. A month isn’t that long to come up with an entire routine, so plan to stay all day. I’ll provide food and shit and we can take breaks.”

Kagome wrinkled her nose but nodded without complaint. He was right; they didn’t have a lot of time, and with her having classes and his own job demanding his time, they couldn’t get together every day.

Inuyasha grunted, carelessly tossed his empty water bottle onto the table and released a hearty belch, ignoring Kagome’s look of disgust as he snatched up her phone and brought up her messaging app.

“I’m sending myself a text so you’ll have my number,” he told her, typing out a quick “hi” and sending it before handing it over. “Feel free to text me about any ideas you might have, or questions you wanna ask. Don’t matter when, if I’m busy or in a meeting I’ll reply when I’m done. I’ll do the same if I think of something and we can brainstorm.”

Kagome took back her phone with a nod and walked over to stash it in her bag. She spotted the remnants of her destroyed t-shirt and suddenly remembered her state of dress and blanched. Oh crap, what was she going to wear when she left?! She couldn’t walk home in nothing but shorts and a sports bra!

Inuyasha followed her gaze, watched her eyes go wide and the color drain from her face and rolled his eyes, walking over to his own discarded shirt on the floor and tossing it at her.

“Here,” he said as she automatically caught it. “Just bring it with you Wednesday and if you forget, it’s not a big deal. It’s just a shirt.” He shrugged and raised his arms above him in a stretch, releasing a yawn. Fuck, he needed to get to bed soon since he had a meeting in like...five hours. Shit.

Sending him a grateful smile but not without a blush, Kagome pulled his shirt over her head, immediately feeling better now that she had some cover. True, she’d been in nothing but shorts and her bra for the past few hours and she was more or less used to it now, but part of her still felt the need to hide herself. But they were working on that, and she couldn’t begin to express her gratitude for his help.

Picking up her bag and shrugging the strap over her shoulder, Kagome leveled him with one last genuine smile.

“Thank you,” she said softly, sincerely as her eyes collided with deep amber, “for everything. It means a lot that you’re taking the time to do this and...well.” She laughed softly and lifted a shoulder in half-shrug. “I appreciate it.”

Inuyasha studied her for a moment, golden eyes speculative, before he quirked a grin at her. “It’s my pleasure, babydoll,” he told her, being completely honest. “I’ll see you Wednesday. You okay to walk by yourself?” He didn’t like the thought of her walking alone at nearly 4:30 in the morning, but he really did need to get some sleep. However, if she asked him to accompany her he wouldn’t say no.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured with a smile, touched that he truly seemed to care. “It’s not far, just a ten minute walk. See you Wednesday.” She turned and headed toward the doorway, giving a yawn. Damn, she hadn’t realized how tired she was. She was very glad her first class wasn’t until noon.

“I’ll text you,” Inuyasha murmured as he watched her go and after she disappeared into the elevator, giving one last wave and smile before the doors slid shut, he sighed, shut off the lights, locked up, and headed upstairs to get some much needed shut eye.

Inuyasha fell heavily into his office chair with a groan and immediately started yanking off the tie that had been gradually suffocating him since nine that morning. It was now a little after noon and he’d just returned from the meeting that had run much longer than originally planned. It was the quarterly meeting, where Sesshomaru and his advisors went over profit and a bunch of other technical jargon that he didn’t particularly care for, and he had been bored out of his goddamn mind for the majority of it. Sesshomaru had kept sending him warning glares whenever he couldn’t hold back a yawn but he couldn’t help it; while he didn’t need as much sleep as the regular human, it had still been a while since he’d stayed up that late and he was paying for it now.

Finally loosening his tie with a grunt, he let it hang around his neck and leaned back in his plush chair, tossing an arm over his eyes and debating on the merits of a brief nap. But then he remembered he had an appointment at one with some spoiled brat that fancied herself a dancer because her rich daddy had called the day before and practically begged him to see her. Inuyasha had only said yes just to get the guy to shut up; he had no intention of taking on another client. Not right now, anyway. Between his actual jobs and the side project he had going on with Kagome, he didn’t have nearly enough time to dedicate to the private lessons that had been requested.

At the thought of his blue-eyed, dark-haired “student,” a grin lifted the comers of his lips and miraculously the pounding in his head lessened a degree. He’d only spent a few short hours with her, but already Inuyasha was eager for tomorrow to come so he could see her again. He liked her spunk, admired her determination and the flash of temper that always sparked in her eyes whenever he criticized her form or made her do a certain move again, but better and faster.

Though clearly not a fan of his methods of instruction, Kagome never complained and did as she was as told, preforming a move again and again and again until he was satisfied. She was a hard worker, he was quick to realize, and a fast learner which blessedly made their time together much easier. He was really looking forward to the day where she could put everything he taught her together and put on a little show for him, but until then he was content in slowly getting to know her in increments.

He’d learned little snippets about her life last night during times when idle chatter had been had, things like she’d been friends with Sango since middle school, she had a younger brother, and being a nurse had been a goal since she was a little girl. She liked helping people, she was a terrible cook, and she was deathly afraid of spiders.

Inuyasha had also learned she’d only ever had one boyfriend, some shmuck named Houjo she’d dated in high school, and they’d broken up when he left for the States for college. She was a virgin – he’d gleaned that obvious information by himself – she was completely inexperienced when it came to intimacy, and she really, truly thought that she wasn’t the least bit attractive.

Inuyasha frowned. He wasn’t stupid; he knew a single night and him simply telling her it was false wasn’t enough to convince her otherwise. He didn’t understand how such a knockout like Kagome could possibly have self-esteem issues, but everybody had his or her reasons, he supposed.  

Something might have happened in her past to make her think that, or maybe even something had happened just recently, but whatever the case Inuyasha was making it a personal goal to make her see herself through his eyes. She was a beautiful young woman worthy of praise and confidence, and he meant what he’d said; if he had to say it every day, shower her with compliments until she blushed and stuttered like a schoolgirl, he would.

Heaving a sigh, Inuyasha lowered his arm and cracked his neck, glancing at the clock and thinking he should probably get up and get something to eat when his office door opened without warning. His top instructor walked in like she owned the damn place, donned in her usual work attire of tank top and capri leggings with her dark hair secured in a high pony-tail.

Sango hip checked the door closed and strode over to his desk, calm as you please. Then Inuyasha noticed what she had in her hands and instantly he was alert, ears perking up and back straightening in his chair as he leaned forward.

“Fuck, I love you,” Inuyasha muttered as she set down a hot coffee from Starbucks and a McDonald’s bag on his desk. Knowing from experience not to immediately chug down the steaming brew, Inuyasha went for the food first, fishing out a Big Mac and barely getting the wrapper off all the way before chomping down with a groan of pleasure.

“I know,” Sango answered as she sat on his desk as opposed to one of the two chairs in front of it and sipped her caramel frappe. “Figured you’d be hungry since you never eat breakfast and your meeting ran late.”

Inuyasha grunted, polished off the burger with another three bites, and then started on the fries next.

“And also,” Sango continued a little too casually and idly played with the straw of her drink, “after I apologized about forgetting to unlock the door last night, a little birdie told me today that you didn’t get to bed until very late, hence the java.”

Then she paused and cut her eyes to his and Inuyasha froze.

Goddammit. He really should have known she’d tell her. Didn’t she say they’d been friends since middle school?

Heaving a sigh and rolling his eyes, Inuyasha shoved a few more fries into his mouth and then took a careful sip of his coffee. He let his silence be his answer and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes as he savored the Americano with one sugar. He tasted a hint of mocha too and he grunted in approval.

Sango’s lips twitched. “Are you seriously going to help her come up with an entire dance routine?”

He glared at her over the rim of his venti.

Unfazed, the dance instructor shrugged and turned her gaze to her drink, taking another pull on the straw. “I was just curious,” she said innocently, trying not to smile.

Her boss’s scoff told her exactly what he thought about her curiosity and that time she couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across her face.

“What’d she do to get you to help? Bat those big blue eyes at you and smile?”

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, and then kicked up his feet onto his desk and leaned back in his chair as he nursed his coffee.

“I offered,” he told her.

Sango’s smile dropped. “What?”

He raised a brow and took another sip of his espresso.

Sango blinked at him and then her eyes widened. Holy crap, he was serious.

“Holy crap, you’re serious,” she said, incredulous.

Inuyasha looked a little offended at that and scowled at her. “Why the fuck wouldn’t I be? Despite what you and the pervert think, I ain’t heartless, Sango. The girl clearly needs help, and as it just so happens I have the qualifications that fit her needs perfectly. She’s just another client and just because she’s your friend doesn’t make her any goddamn different than anybody else.”

Sango’s stare hardened and she squared her shoulders. He may be her boss, but he was also her friend, and she wasn’t about to take any of his shit.

“I know for a fact that Kagome’s not paying you so don’t tell me she’s not any different,” she spat, her protective instincts kicking in as they always did whenever her dear friend’s delicate nature was compromised. “She thinks you’re helping her free of charge out of the goodness of your heart, and I swear to god, Inuyasha, if she’s another one of your charity cases to get more publicity or you want you want your payment to come from other means—”

“Shut the fuckup, Sango,” Inuyasha growled and shot forward in his chair so fast Sango flinched back. Golden eyes flashing fire and fangs exposed in a dark scowl, the half-demon seethed, “Kagome’s not a goddamn charity case and you know I would never take advantage of her innocence like that, or anybody else for that matter, so fuck you for even saying that.”

Alarmed by the heated vehemence in his voice, Sango snapped her jaw shut and simply stared at him with wide magenta eyes, at a complete loss for words. She’d never seen him react like this before about any woman and it was completely unexpected, if a little disconcerting. She supposed he head every right, though; she always lost her head a little whenever it came to Kagome’s safety and she admitted she shouldn’t have accused him of such a horrible thing, because he would never do that.

“Not that it’s any of your business, because it’s not, helping Kagome is actually helping me,” he continued, still glaring, though his voice had lost its growl. “Sesshomaru’s been on my ass about new material and this is the perfect opportunity to get it. Kagome gets her dance, shoves her victory in that bitch Kamlyn’s face, and I have new material to give to that tightwad. Everybody wins.”

That said, Inuyasha sat back in his chair once more, lifted his coffee to his mouth, and looked to the side, his eyebrows down low over his eyes. He glowered at some random point on the wall, still pissed that his friend would even insinuate he would ever take advantage of a woman like that.

A tense silence developed between them after that and Sango stared pensively into her drink while Inuyasha nursed his coffee and fished his phone from his pocket. He’d gotten a text earlier during the meeting but hadn’t had the chance to check it yet...

Sango sighed, drawing his attention, and he flicked his gaze over to her, expression carefully blank.

“Look, I’m sorry,” she began, looking and sounding guilty enough that his anger softened a little and he gave her his full attention. Sango glanced at him and grimaced. “You’re right, I know you would never do that. It was stupid.”

He snorted but her glare quickly shut him up.

“It’s just...” Sango sighed again and pushed her fingers through her bangs, brow furrowing as she gathered her thoughts. “You have to understand, Inuyasha, Kagome is...fragile. I was honestly surprised when she told me she signed up for this competition because she...well, she...”

“She has no confidence,” Inuyasha supplied for her and at her look of surprise he sighed and nodded. “I already know she has low self-esteem and thinks its necessary to hide behind baggy clothes. It’s another reason why I chose to do this, Sango. I wanna help her. Really. Kagome is fucking beautiful and I want her to see that.”

He stared directly into her eyes and the sincerity was unmistakable in the honeyed depths. Inuyasha was being totally and completely honest and if Sango were being honest herself, she was floored at the hanyou’s dedication to this cause. It was one she approved of, definitely, but in all of her years as his closest friend, she’d never witnessed him going this far for any woman before.

And with a start, she realized that he was exactly what her shy, self-conscious friend needed. Inuyasha’s unique brand of arrogance, dedication and tenacity would no doubt draw Kagome out of her shell and slowly transform her into the confident, brave woman Sango knew she could be.

Sango would just consider it a bonus that Kagome was also just what the doctor ordered for the oftentimes hotheaded hanyou, even if he didn’t realize it yet.

Finally offering her friend a genuine smile, Sango nodded once. “Keep me posted?” she asked. “And if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do my best.”

Releasing a breath, Inuyasha nodded in return and thrust a hand through his hair, glancing at the clock. 12:28. He still had a bit of time left before Daddy’s Little Princess showed up, so in the mean time he had one last question for his friend.

“Hey, Sango,” he began, idly tracing the cap of his coffee with a claw as the instructor glanced over at him inquisitively. “...Why is Kagome like that? Did something happen?”

Sango sighed and took another drink of her frappe, brows dipped down into a slight frown. She’d had a feeling he’d ask, and while she supposed he had a right to know since he was going to help with Kagome’s self-image, it didn’t make it any easier to reveal. Perhaps Kagome herself should be the one telling him this, but Sango also knew it wouldn’t be right for him to ask, and her friend wouldn’t reveal that information to him without cause anyway.

“It goes without saying,” she began slowly, “but please keep this to yourself. Kagome hasn’t always looked the way she does, Inuyasha. When she was in elementary school, before I met her, she was chubby and mercilessly picked on because of it. She told me she didn’t have a lot of friends because of how she looked, and it only got worse when she entered middle school. She gained a little more weight, and the bullying got worse, to the point she would refuse to go to school the next day.

“The day I met her she was surrounded by high school boys and they were calling her names, bullying her about her weight, and laughing because she was crying. I managed to chase them away by screaming for the nearest teacher and threatening to kick them in the balls if they didn’t leave her alone and ever since then Kagome has been my best friend. I became her protector against the bullies and it wasn’t until Kagome’s appearance started to hinder her health that she decided to do something about it.

“She started exercising daily, with me being her constant support of course, eating healthier, and taking care of her body. By high school she looked like a completely different person, a lot like she does now, and that’s when she got her first boyfriend.”

Inuyasha frowned. “Houjo.”

Sango blinked in surprise. “She told you about him?”

He shrugged. “In passing. She didn’t give any details and I didn’t ask.”

“Anyway,” she continued and took a sip of her drink to wet her throat. “Dating Houjo helped a lot with Kagome’s self-esteem, but even he couldn’t erase the scars from years of bullying. And even though they parted on friendly terms because it was a mutual breakup, Kagome regressed back to her previous way of thinking and now it’s just a subconscious habit to dress in baggy clothes and deny any compliment that’s given to her, an instinctive way of protecting herself, I imagine. I’m always telling her she looks great, but she just blushes, shrugs, and changes the subject.”

Sango sighed and chewed on the end of her straw with a thoughtful frown. “She’s still eating healthy and exercising when she can, but you have to understand, Inuyasha, after years of being called degrading names, bullied because of how she looked, and believing she was ugly or didn’t deserve affection, I’d imagine it’d be quite difficult to accept any sort of praise, even if it’s true. She’s been cruelly conditioned to think like that, and without Houjo there as a constant reminder that she’s worthy and beautiful...”

She paused and stole a look at her unusually quiet half-demon boss and friend. Inuyasha was staring down at his desk, claws tapping against the thick paper of his coffee cup as he drummed his fingers. It was hard to determine what exactly the prevalent emotion on his face was, however judging by the dark frown that gradually lowered his brows over his eyes and the way his lip curled over sharp fangs, Sango wagered that anger had reigned supreme.

Relatable. Sango often felt the same whenever she thought about how rough her best friend had had it and the desire to go back in time and kick some ass was always present.

But then it vanished as quickly as it had arrived and Inuyasha shook his head, closing his eyes as he thrust a hand through his hair. It was obvious he was still perturbed at this new information however, because though less prominent, the frown on his face hadn’t diminished and he sat back in his chair. The rough grunt he emitted as he lifted his coffee to his lips articulated exactly what he thought about that and Sango nodded.

“Same,” she agreed.

Translation: I don’t fucking like this.

Then he sighed, nodded, and cut his eyes to hers with the steely determination that Sango recognized and her expression softened into a smile as she easily decoded what that meant.

But I’m gonna do my damnedest to fix it.

“Good,” Sango whispered and by mutual agreement, the two lapsed into silence as Inuyasha finished off his coffee and dumped the evidence of his lunch into the trash while Sango noisily and obnoxiously slurped up the remnants of her frappe.

Inuyasha’s ears pinned and he pegged her with an annoyed glare. She returned it with an innocent smile and while keeping eye contact, drew on the straw one last time, resulting in another grating slurping sound. He scowled at her.

Visibly pleased and resisting the urge to cackle, Sango sucked up the last of the tasty caramel before finally tossing it into the trash. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and dug around in his desk for his cigs and lighter, lamenting on the fact that his friends and instructors were children in adult bodies.

“By the way,” Sango said as she prepared to leave, “you’re one o’clock is here.”

Inuyasha paused and aimed a frown at her. “How the hell do you know?”

She smiled sweetly. “I saw her waiting in the lobby when I got back from getting your lunch. She was quite rude and demanded that I ‘fetch Mr. Taisho tout de suite, he’s expecting me and I mustn’t keep him waiting.’ So I gave her my murder-smile and said, ‘Right away, miss,’ then came up here and had a half-hour conversation with you.”

Her boss stared at her blankly for a moment and then a delighted grin spread across his face. “You are a fucking queen.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Sango quipped with a wink and headed for the door.

Inuyasha snorted and looked at the clock. From what Sango told him, Miss Daddy’s Princess must have gotten here shortly after he did, nearly a fucking hour early. What the actual fuck.

Growling in annoyance but figuring he might as well get it over with, he grunted and said, “Send her up.”

“I’m not your secretary,” Sango snorted as she reached the door and swung it open.

“I’m sorry, who signs your paychecks?”

“Asshat.”

“Bitch.”

“That’s Queen Bitch, thankyouverymuch.” Sango flipped him off and Inuyasha returned the gesture, straight-faced.

Rolling her eyes and grumbling, his friend finally left his office, but Inuyasha didn’t fail to miss the smile that crept onto her face right before the door closed behind her.

Chuckling, Inuyasha shook his head and wondered not for the first time how such a sorry son of a bitch like him lucked out with such amazing friends before once more rifling through his desk for his nicotine sticks. He ended up finding them on his desk under a pile of paperwork along with his lighter and he wasted no time in lighting up.

The sound of the elevator chiming outside his office was his only warning and he just barely managed to shove his hat down onto his head before his door was unceremoniously thrust open and his one o’clock appointment sauntered in without a care in the word. Inuyasha cocked a brow at her audacity at not bothering to knock before barging in but said nothing, leaning back in his chair and peering at the woman that strolled confidently toward him from under the bill of his hat.

Crossing his arms, the cherry of his cig flared orange as he inhaled and Inuyasha watched Miss Daddy’s Princess give him her best beauty pageant smile that he bet she practiced doing in front of a mirror and claimed one of the plush chairs before his desk. He first thing he noticed was that her tits were so full of silicone they could be considered paperweights and when she not so subtly thrust out her chest, they threatened to spill from her very low cut blouse. Christ, the buttons looked about ready to burst open and Inuyasha nearly choked on smoke as he disguised a laugh.

“Mr. Taisho,” she purred, crossing her legs at the knee and causing her short skirt to ride up either further. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I was here nearly half an hour ago, but that bi—uh, that lady made me wait.” She huffed and pretended to pout.

Inuyasha didn’t deign that with a comment and took in the rest of her, releasing a stream of smoke in a smooth exhale. Tanning salon worthy dark skin, long brown hair with so much product in it stung his nose, and the greenest eyes he had ever seen.

Contacts, he surmised and flicked the ashes off his cig into an ashtray. She was pretty, he’d give her that, but in an artificial way and he was willing to bet her personality was just as fake as those rock hard bags on her chest. She knew how to manipulate a situation and what to say to get what she wanted, but that was okay. Inuyasha had dealt with countless women like her before so he was prepared for whatever she threw at him.

“Miss...Soma, was it?” Inuyasha drawled and stuck his fag between his lips again.

She smiled again, perfect white teeth flashing. Of course.

“Call me Kamlyn, Mr. Taisho.”

Inuyasha choked on his next inhale and surged forward, blindly reaching for the half-full bottle of water sitting on his desk.

He lied. He certainly hadn’t been prepared for that.

Kamlyn Soma, the bitch that had apparently been tormenting Kagome for the past three years, blinked and frowned at him.

“Are you...okay?” she asked and actually sounded genuinely concerned.

Chugging back the contents of the bottle, Inuyasha held up a finger in the universal “one moment” signal and after successfully soothing the irritant in his throat, he lowered the water and released a loud breath.

“M’fine,” he finally answered and looked around for his cig, scowling when he found it on the floor by his feet. Grumbling he stooped down to pick it up before settling back in his chair, inspecting it carefully.

Eh, whatever; he gave a mental shrug and placed it between his lips again. He didn’t want to waste a perfectly good cig he’d just started and besides, his office was vacuumed daily and shampooed monthly from the same company he hired to clean the studios.

Remembering he had an audience, Inuyasha turned his attention back to the woman before him. She was still eyeing him a little strangely but wiped the expression from her face when his eyes connected with hers, straightening her back and offering him another practiced smile.

“What can I do for you, Miss Soma?”

“Kamlyn.”

He stared at her and wordlessly opened his mouth to let a few tendrils of smoke drift lazily upward.

Undeterred, Miss Kamlyn Soma, aka Kagome’s Tormenter, cleared her throat and launched into an entire spiel that Inuyasha was positive she practiced for hours beforehand, complete with the sultry lilt to her voice.

“So, Mr. Taisho, I have a...proposition for you.” Her smile turned rather suggestive and she leaned forward in her seat, deliberately showing a generous amount of cleavage. “You see, my school is having a dance competition...”

Eighteen minutes later, lazily puffing away on his second cigarette without a damn care in the world, Inuyasha watched in unabashed amusement as Kamlyn Soma stormed out of his office, face beat red and body stiff with anger. Aside from an ear flicking beneath his hat when she slammed his door as hard as she could, he didn’t react and merely tapped more ashes into the ashtray, calm as you please.

Her less than stellar behavior had been entirely expected. When her methods of seduction had failed to garner what she wanted – i.e., assistance in planning a show-stopping routine – she’d thrown a tantrum and resorted to threatening him with her daddy’s money and power. Inuyasha had been unimpressed – Ryukotsusei Soma couldn’t do shit to him – and once more turned her down with the true reasoning of he was too busy.

He’d been professional and polite, keeping his tone respectful even when her calm composure had begun to deteriorate and she’d tried one last tactic, desperation causing her to lose all pretenses of seduction and outright promising him that she’d give him the ride of his life if only he would agree to help. She’d pay him generously of course, implying that money would not be the only means, but when still he’d replied in the negative, even looking bored while he said it, that was when she’d dropped her façade and her viper attitude had shown its fangs.

Inuyasha had merely watched, face blank, as she’d ranted and raved at him for a good five minutes, threatening that she would destroy his reputation and pretty much throwing a little spoiled princess hissy fit before huffily stomping away and childishly slamming the door in her wake.

Fuck, but Ryukotsusei must have the patience of a goddamn saint to put up with that every day.

Snorting, Inuyasha carelessly tossed his hat onto his desk, freeing his ears, and reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. Waking up the screen, he was a little disappointed to see the text he’d received earlier wasn’t from Kagome, but then again, it wasn’t that surprising. Considering how insecure and shy she was, it was a given she wouldn’t text him first, probably thinking she’d be bothering him or something and not wanting to be a nuisance. He hoped soon she’d be comfortable enough to text him whenever she wanted, but for now he was content to initiate their conversations.

Ignoring the message from Kikyou telling him to call her later, Inuyasha brought the text he’d sent from Kagome’s phone last night and swiftly typed in a new message.

you’ll never guess who I just had the pleasure of meeting with and then stormed outta my office looking pissed enough to commit murder

He hit send, paused, and then sent a second one. mine, specifically

Expecting it might be a while before she replied since he had no idea what her class schedule entailed, Inuyasha flipped up his laptop and decided it’d be a good idea to actually get some work done. He needed to check his emails, reply back to some if necessary, call and check in with a few of his clients, call Kikyou, draw up some contracts, review and sign a few contracts, file said contracts, go over payroll and yell at Miroku for his frequent habit of coming in late, and then go over some reports that were past due.

Fuck my life, he groused, grumbling as he brought up his email, crushing the stub of his cigarette in the ashtray and lighting up a fresh one. He stared longingly at his office’s custom bar he’d added in some years back but thought better of it. Sango would kill him if she caught him drinking in the middle of the day, no matter how justifiable it was after putting up with someone like Kamlyn Soma for nearly twenty minutes, and he was pretty sure he’d finished his JD last week anyway.

Shame.

He wasn’t even half-way through reading his second email when his phone buzzed beside his computer. Surprised, but delighted, Inuyasha abandoned the email to swipe up the device and lean back in his chair to read his newest text.

????

He snorted even as the corners of his lips quirked up into a slight grin.

A one kamlyn soma maybe you’ve heard of her

Her reply was instant that time.

GET. OUT!!!!!!!!!

Inuyasha laughed.

srsly. tried seducing her way into getting me to help w her dance was hilarious

Taking a drag, Inuyasha exhaled through the side of his mouth and idly tapped this thumb against the screen as he waited for her to reply. The three dots appeared, vanished, appeared, and then disappeared again and he frowned when it stayed that way. He narrowed his eyes, and then to keep himself from asking what the hell she was doing, he closed the app and after thinking about it for a split second, brought up Facebook.

He brought up his friends, found Sango, and browsed her friends until—ah. There she was.

Grinning victoriously and with a single tap, he brought up Kagome Higurashi’s profile and took his time going through her timeline, chuckling at some of the memes and pictures she’d shared that gave him a glimpse into her sense of humor. Then he came across a selfie of her and Sango, looking positively radiant as they laughed together, and his expression softened.

Truly, how could she ever think that she wasn’t pretty with something like this as proof?

He’d just decided to browse her albums to see what other gems he could find when finally his mobile vibrated with an incoming message. And instead of the lengthy reply he’d been expecting because she was taking so long, the notification that dropped down had his brows snapping low over his eyes in an annoyed frown.

You agreed??

Ears pinning flat against his head and growling low, Inuyasha gripped his phone with both hands and hastily typed out his response, pissed the hell off that she actually had to fucking ask that in the first place.

what the fuck kagome NO I didn’t agree u don’t fucking think I would actual

Inuyasha stopped mid-word. Blinked down at his phone and reread what he’d typed. Then he sighed, briefly closed his eyes, and promptly deleted everything he’d written before starting again.

no babydoll. I didn’t my time is yours

He hit send and dragged a hand down his face as his previous anger quickly fled. Kagome was insecure and Kamlyn was her hot, although still fake as fuck, enemy; it wasn’t farfetched that she’d assume he would agree. He was a businessman, and what businessman didn’t want…well, more business? He’d have to keep reminding himself that Kagome was just acting on instinct, doing what her brain had been unconsciously hardwired to do, and he’d definitely have to start exercising more restraint.

It was like Sango said; Kagome as fragile, or at least her state of mind was, and Inuyasha knew if he directed one of his infamous blowups at her, it would cause more damage than he could repair. And he’d never be able to forgive himself.

Blessedly her reply came much quicker this time around and glancing down at the mobile cradled in his lax grip, he released a breath and was suddenly infinitely glad he’d decided to change his last message.

:)

Grinning, Inuyasha sent the dog emoji back, practically able to hear the giggle he knew it would elicit, and then grudgingly put down his cell to actually get some work done. In a significantly lighter mood than before, he went back to his email, unaware of the smile that lingered on his face as he scanned the page.

Part 3

Buy me a coffee? :)

[lovesickjily]

feel like glitter

JILY CHALLENGE ( @jilychallenge​ ) | @lovesickjily​ vs @chierafied​

"you have horrible taste in festival snacks, the clear winner is a pot of pringles and all you've got is some crappy cereal bars in here"

ffn or ao3

***

If James Potter had a dollar for every time someone offered him drugs, he swore he’d have twice the money in his bank account.

That should have been a given because hello? Music festival? Home to Instagram influencers and modern-day hippies alike? James shouldn’t have been surprised at the turn out.

Still, he didn’t think it would have been that bad.

Sure, the music was decent enough, but no one had warned him of strangers after strangers offering him their equally strange drugs. No one had warned him that once the sun went down, he’d see dark silhouettes hunched over bushes and smell what could have only been natural body waste.

And least of all, no one warned him that once he returned to his tent, he’d be greeted by a stranger sprawled out amidst the snacks that Sirius had been so insistent on bringing. A pretty stranger, no less.

She might have looked like the other girls who James had passed up— glitter decorating her cheeks like they were a cake and sprinkled atop her hair like snow stuck to a person’s clothes— but something about her set her apart from everyone else. It could have been her silky red hair, or those sparkling green eyes, but whatever it was, all James knew was that she was gorgeous. Supermodel— more than a supermodel— gorgeous. 

“Is this your tent?” she asked, her mouth full of what James could only assume to be Sirius’s snacks. No hi, or hello, no greeting. Hell, not even an apology for trespassing on his property— nevermind the fact that the turf that the festival was on technically didn’t belong to him—  and yet that, in combination with the crumbs decorating the perimeter of her lips, still made her look pretty.

He leaned against the pole holding up the tent, ignoring the smell of the unholy combination of drugs and alcohol wafting from the tents besides his, and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Is this yours?”

“Obviously not. I’ve actually got some taste buds.”

“And I don’t?”

She sat up, sticking her hands out to steady herself, and it was apparent that the readily-supplied stock of alcohol at the festival had gotten to her. "You have horrible taste in festival snacks, the clear winner is a pot of pringles, and all you've got are some crappy cereal bars in here.”

Right. Of course. Out of all the people that could have raided his and Sirius’s tent, it had to be someone critical of the poor, innocent snacks sitting in a messy heap on the floor. Even if he agreed that the snacks weren’t the best.

“Would you believe me if I said that I wasn’t in charge of the snacks?”

She hummed, pondering his wonders for a moment. “That would be a relief. Otherwise I would have questioned what evil entity in their right mind would give someone so fit a horrible taste in junk food.”

At his age, he shouldn’t have been so affected by someone complimenting his appearances, unable to help the light smirk forming on his face. “Think that horrible entity does exist.” He nodded towards the pile of her empty wrappers. “You practically ate all the snacks we packed.”

“The food here is horribly overpriced, and if not that, it’s swarming with flies.” She grimaced, plucking another Pringle from the box and shoving it into her mouth. “I’m terribly hungry, so do you really blame me?”

“Fair enough,” James said, and he decided that there was no harm in letting himself into the tent. It was his tent after all. “Move over.”

She complied, her hand still gripping the box of Pringles. With eyes greener than the fields and constellations of mascara dotting her cheeks, she suspiciously peered up at him. “What’s your name? Oh!” She clapped her hands together. “Don’t tell me. You look like… a Harry.”

“A Harry?” James asked, amused by the drunken rambles of an equally drunk girl. He leaned back, letting his body rock the chair with his weight. “My grandpa was named Henry, but no. It’s James. Potter.”

“James,” she echoed, and he liked the way the words fell from her lips. “I guessed a Prince name, so I suppose I wasn’t too far off.”

“You think I’m a prince?”

“Well, are you? Otherwise, I think I’ll have to leave a message for the Queen and tell her that I’ve found her long-lost son.”

“Tell her I’ve run away for good. Avoiding responsibilities and all that.”

“Obviously you aren’t here to court noble women.”

“Maybe I am,” James said, flashing her a slight cocky grin, and he bowed, outrageously curtsying her. “My lady.”

She laughed. “You’re bold, courting me when you don’t know my name.”

“‘Course I do. The name gods have told me that it’s…” He looked at her for help.

“Lily,” she finished.

“Lily,” he repeated, liking the sound of it rolling off his lips. “You a flower, then?”

She sighed, leaning back. “Maybe. I’ve got a sister named Petunia if that helps my case.”

James shrugged. “Depends on if you want to be a flower or not.”

“What I want right now,” she started, flopping her head back onto one of the pillows littering the tent floor and holding up the now-empty can of Pringles. “Are better snacks.”

“I reckon if you raid one of the other gazillion tents, you’ll be able to get that.”

“That, unfortunately, means I’d have to get up.” She buried her head further into the pillow as if to prove her point. “Is this yours?”

“I mean, it is my tent.”

“That’s the wrong answer. It’s mine now.”

James smiled, no doubt amused even more than he would have been had he chosen to stay out to listen to Sirius’s horrible interpretations of the EDM beats that were currently blaring throughout the air. “Take good care of it, yeah? It’s my most prized possession.”

“Is it really?”

“Nah,” he replied, shaking his head. “There was a pack of pillows on sale at the store the other day.”

She laughed. “You’re supposed to be wooing me here.”

“Thought I was. You’re not into thrifty blokes? Thought you’d be the type, seeing as we’re at a music festival and all.”

“And yet we’re not participating. Why is that so?”

“Because I found you raiding my tent and eating all the snacks?” James replied, and she let out a huff, weakly and terribly chucking a pillow that sent his athletic side into tears. “Couldn’t help but get sideswept.”

She sat up. “What do you say we get out there, then?”

He grinned. “Lead the way.”

***

In theory, it shouldn’t have been so hard to lead someone around, to take them by their hand and show them the way.

In reality, it was the exact opposite— so bloody hard. Because even if said someone was the prettiest girl that James had ever seen in his life,  it was really hard to maneuver the two of them around throngs of people who were all out of it. Thank the bloody drugs.

As they got closer and closer to the main stage, James careful to step over what he hoped could have only been throw up and not something else, the music grew louder and louder. And, apparently, Lily’s excitement grew as well. 

“I love this song!” she exclaimed over the music, moving her body to the beat.

“Yeah? You a fan?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of them in my life, but you can’t deny how good they are!”

Lily swayed to the beat, grabbing his hands to make him move along to the rhythm. If he was being honest, he didn’t think he’d find himself in the company of another person who wasn’t Sirius— not tonight, at least. Perhaps it was the alcohol from earlier that day, or maybe it was the adrenaline that came with the thrill of being one among an entire crowd of people jumping and dancing and throwing their hearts— and stomach’s contents, to the slight disgust of James— out, but James didn’t think he felt so alive.

WIth everyone singing along to the song, James couldn’t help but to join in, screaming along with them and watching Lily jump around. And it wasn’t planned. It just sort of… happened.

Even surrounded by people, it still somehow felt like just the two of them, and he kissed her. Spontaneously. Hands looping around her waist and pulling her to his chest, James pressed his lips around hers, slowly and tentatively, before it escalated into something a little more.

Her lips tasted salty— perhaps from the Pringles that she’d eaten— but he didn’t mind a bit, determined to deepen the kiss. The action seemed to elevate every one of his senses, pounding at his ears even harder as the music seemed to grow louder.

And when they— he didn’t even know who had done it first— pulled away, he didn’t think he was letting her go anytime soon.

***

The bright, sudden sun jolted James awake.

“Rise and fucking shine,” Sirius announced, walking in through the flap of the tent and making a beeline towards the cooler. 

James groaned. “Fuck off.”

“I was about to, actually. It reeks of a potential relationship in here,” Sirius said with a grimace, and satisfied with the water bottle in his hand, he turned back around. “We’re leaving in ten.”

And then it was James and Lily alone once again.

Lily shifted besides James, having spent the night in the tent with him, and to keep Sirius away, she promised that she’d pay him back for all his snacks that she’d eaten. She rolled over, snuggling herself into the crook of his neck. “Good morning. Did you get a good night’s sleep?”

“As good that sleep could be with the bloody mosquitoes flying around. Swear I had to swat off at least a dozen for my lady.”

“And who is your lady?”

WIth her tucked against his person, it was obvious who that title belonged to. “Am I being too presumptuous?”

“No,” she hummed. “But I’ve got a massive headache right now, and I don’t think the flutters in my stomach are helping any matters.”

“Ah. That’s my bad. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“Well…” she started, looking over at him with a light glint in her eyes. “There is something.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And would that involve maybe seeing you again?”

“Only if you get better snacks next time,” she said, and James let out a chuckle, letting his hand fly down to hers and giving it a slight squeeze.

“Deal.”

[iamartemisday]

Lokane Week- Sonder

A week later, she finally asked him.

“So what brought you all the way out here?” They were at the bar on one of her rare thirty-minute breaks between self-imposed twelve-hour shifts and she asked during a lull in the conversation.

Loki prided himself in always thinking ahead, and he had not forgotten this detail when crafting his human identity. 

“I’m an analyst,” he said. The foreign word slid off his tongue like second nature. “I’m to spend the next few weeks assessing the education, crime rates, and general quality of living in this quaint little village.”

Jane’s cheeks bulged with half-chewed pretzel bites stuck in her frozen jaw. “You mean Puente Antiguo?”

“I don’t know where else,” he replied.

Soggy crumbs gathered at her lips before she finally thought to swallow. “Sorry, just… well, it’s not that I don’t like it here, but this place is kind of far out of the way. I didn’t think the state government would care enough to send a representative.”

“You must get used to surprises.”

“And you must tell the bartender what you’re doing here.” She popped another pretzel into her mouth. “We might get a free refill out of it.”

Jane had a strict two drink limit and she did not break the rules that night. After paying her tab, they walked into the dying sun down the street past an ice cream shop and the dying remains of what had once been a shoe store. ‘Shoes’ is the only word left on the broken down sign. The rest have long since eroded away, perhaps before Jane was even born. 

Loki made a show of studying each store and the shoppers inside. If this was how proper analysts went about their job, he didn’t know, but neither did Jane. 

“Do you need to ask me any questions?”

“Hmm…” His eyes were caught on hair salon with a mysterious brown stain dripping down the far wall. “What about?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. About the town and what it’s like living here. We talk all the time about my work, this is my first time hearing about yours.”

Her face was so earnest, her eyes the deepest brown. They shone with curiosity usually reserved for her work. It sent a pang through Loki’s heart that he couldn’t identify. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.

“I suppose,” he said, pursing his lips. “Then you like it here?”

“Eh, can’t complain,” she said, clasping her hands behind her back. “It’s boiling in the day, freezing at night, but at least we have a 7-11 and, of course, OK Furniture.”

She pointed out the store two doors down. It was gray, box shaped, and carried a faint odor of sawdust. The windows were caked in grime. The man at the register appeared to have mastered the art of sleeping standing up

Jane shook her head. “Sorry, I just love that they named it that.”

“It does seem fitting.”

They stopped at 7-11 for snacks. Jane’s supply of kettle chips was low and Darcy would whine if she didn’t get her daily chocolate fix. Loki followed her into a sea of gaudy colors. Red and orange candy wrappers; yellow and green chip bags; enough soda and water bottles to sate the thirst of an army. Multiple bags of ‘Funyuns’ were arranged on display, selling at two for three dollars. The dried out golden rings on the label did not scream ‘fun’ to Loki, so he decided against making a purchase.

He waited at the counter for Jane to finish. The cashier, a young woman with brown skin and long black hair, eyed him over her phone when she thought he wasn’t looking. Loki met her gaze once, smiling to himself as she immediately turned to reorganize the cigarette display. 

“They actually had sour cream and onion Ruffles today,” Jane said, carrying two armfuls of processed treats to the register. 

The cashier smiled. “Will Darcy be happy?”

“Absolutely ecstatic,” Jane grinned. “Anyway, how are you doing, Rosa? Looking forward to August?”

The girl, Rosa, blew out a puff of air. “Oh man, Jane, it’s been crazy. I’ve been so stressed these last few months with moving and scholarship applications. My Abuelita’s convinced I’m going to move to New York and never come back.”

“I thought you were going to Yale.”

“I am! I keep telling her it’s in Connecticut, but she doesn’t believe me. Now my dad’s been lecturing me about underage drinking and my brother keeps saying he’s going to take my room when I’m gone-”

Jane nodded along and made sounds of sympathy as the girl bemoaned her misfortunes and Loki found a much more interesting flyer for one free candy bar with the purchase of three Coke products. Two more customers had arrived in this time, a man and a woman. The man wore one of those hats, a cowboy hat as he now knew them to be called. He glanced at the beef jerky display, then fixed Loki with a suspicious stare.

“Never seen you ‘round these parts, stranger,” he said, which was slightly redundant in Loki’s opinion. 

“I am here to evaluate the standards and practices of this town and provide a detailed report of the living conditions therein.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “You tearing this place down and building a shopping mall?”

“...no, I don’t think so.”

“Oh.” The man wandered down the chip aisle. “Shame…”

Jane paid for her food and left after reassuring Rosa that she’d do great in college and not to worry about her family. The whole process took an extra ten minutes and Loki considered ‘taking his leave’ without her several times. Back home in Asgard, the servants would be dying to know what their remaining prince did holed up in his room all day.

“Sorry that took so long,” Jane said as she rushed to meet him with plastic bags in hand. “One nice thing about Puente Antiguo. Lots of people to talk to.”

“So I’ve seen.” Loki held the door for her. “And they have quite a lot to say.”

“I’m surprised you’re not used to it, working for the government and all.”

Loki thought back to the last party he attended with Thor and their friends. His ears still rang with the roar of their drunken laughter. “I have… met such people.”

She giggled, a much more pleasant sound by far. “Remind me to introduce you to Izzy at the diner. She’s been here longer than anyone.”

“That would be nice,” he said, though if he were honest, there was only one mortal voice he cared to hear.

[tisfan]

Going My Way

 for @sunalsolove

Pairing: Melinda May/Piper Warning: No Power, CIA: AU, mechanic/pilot!Piper, bisexual Piper, bisexual Melinda May Summary: Melinda May is going to see her sister graduate from college if it kills her. Problem is? She just broke down in West Texas.

The car made a soft thunk and then spluttered like an old man with a chest cough, before billowing up a huge cloud of noxious gray smoke.

Agent Melinda May swore, took her foot off the gas. There was no point in hitting the brake particularly hard, the car had already been struggling up the steep hill. Within thirty seconds, she did, in fact, have to slam on the brakes because the car started rolling backward.

She fought with gravity for a while, glanced in the rearview mirror. There was nothing out there. So, she sighed, gave up, and let the car roll back down to the little flat spot between hills.

She indulged in a short temper tantrum. She slammed her hands into the steering wheel and swore. She screamed once before swearing again. Strangely, she felt much better afterward. She would never have let anyone see that; she had a reputation in the agency of being cool, calm. Reliable. Unflappable.

Then she checked her phone. Zero bars. 20% battery life. Fuck. Maybe she’d get bars at the top of the hill. She popped the phone into power saving mode and tucked it back in her jacket pocket. Well, having had a meltdown, there was nothing left to do aside from start walking.

There was a fuckton of nothing out here. Aside from ridiculous hills.

Thinking back, May’d seen exactly two other cars since she left the gas station two hours ago. Both of them had been going the other way.

She stared west; she’d checked the map before leaving the gas station. The next station was not quite two hundred miles from where she’d filled up. She’d been driving for two hours at speeds that varied wildly between eighty or ninety on the downsides and less than thirty near the top of the hill. Probably, she was closer to the unknown station than the known one.

She wrote out a detailed note, who she was, where she was headed, and left it on the driver’s seat of the car, clearly visible from the window.

Not that there was much of value in the car to take, aside from her suitcase in the trunk.

Eighty miles. Probably. Ish.

“You can do this, May,” she told herself.

She grabbed all four of her water bottles and tucked them in her purse -- a ridiculous little leather backpack that her father had gotten her in Italy and that she hated, but she’d grabbed anyway, because she was planning to see her father, and he liked it when she used the things he’d given her -- took one last longing look down the road to see if she could discern houses, or power lines, or anything. Another car would be great, but she couldn’t count on miracles.

Nothing.

She started walking.

“I’ll spare you all the stupid remarks, and-- just get in,” the woman said, having pulled up just in front of May in a rusty yellow pickup. She was wearing the most ridiculous clothes, a brilliant pink and purple sports bra, clearly visible under a white tank top, and a set of mechanics coveralls that were peeled down to her waist out of respect for the heat. She had a smudge of grease on her cheek, a quick, jaunty smile that appeared and disappeared nervously, and short, punky hair that looked as if she only had a nodding acquaintance with a comb.

“At this point, I’d almost be grateful if you were an ax murderer,” May said to the woman, and climbed into the truck. Two weeks ago, she wouldn’t have even noticed the truck at all, two days ago, she might have sneered at the fact that there was a cooler in the footwell and burrito wrappers all over the seat. Two hours ago, she might have reluctantly flagged the truck down. Now… she climbed in, shoving wrappers onto the floor without concern and unbuttoning her shirt to take advantage of the icy cold air conditioning.

“Nah, blood’s messy. I’ll crack you upside the head with a socket wrench. By the way, this is yours,” she said, and held out… an oily piece of metal that looked somewhat like a picture frame, if the photograph had melted and been stretched out.

“Great. What is it?”

“Transmission gasket,” she said. “You blew it.”

“Leave my personal life out of this,” May said. She wiped her fingers on her pants. They were long since ruined from sweat and the one time she’d fallen when some of the road had crumbled under her feet.

“All your trans fluid probably went up in a big cloud of smoke,” the woman said. “I’ve called my partner, he’s on his way.”

“Partner in what, hitting me on the head with a wrench? I don’t advise it,” May said.

“Davis drives the rig,” the woman said. “You can call me Piper. I run the local garage. Of course, I’m usually fixing tractors and other farm vehicles, but I know my way around a Dodge.”

“You’re a mechanic?” May stared at the woman. She did have very muscular-looking biceps, and the grease certainly fit the role.

“Mechanic, handyman, plumber, pilot, and instructor,” she said. “What do you do?”

May looked down at her ruined suitpants, the sweaty silk camisole and the jacket, the shoes that, at least weren’t heels, but her feet were swimming in sweat, and she was positive that she had at least two broken blisters. “Suffer.” She took a deep breath. “I work for the CIA. Melinda Mays, nice to meet you, Ms. Piper.”

“Nah, just Piper. Pipes if ya gotta,” she said. “What’s a CIA lady doing in west Texas in a Chevy POS?”

“Attempting to visit my younger sister,” May said. “She is graduating from college. I have not been a very good sister to her, and I really wanted to be there, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to get there in time, even if you can fix my car.”

“Where’s she matriculating from?”

May bit the inside of her cheek for a moment; people frequently messed up the words matriculating and graduating.

“Texas Tech,” May said. “I was on assignment down in Orlando, thought I could make the drive in two days, and then drive back. Extra long weekend.”

“Obviously you have never been to Texas before.”

“Not voluntarily, no,” May said. “Been here on assignment once, Fort Worth.”

“That’s practically a whole different country from Lubbock,” Piper said. “But, you’re in luck. Not only can I fix your car, but Lubbock has a very nice executive airport.”

May stared. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You forget part of my resume,” Piper said. “Pilot. I can fly you out there, grab a hotel, fly you back tomorrow and fix your transmission. Have you back on the road, headed East by Monday mid-day.”

“Why?” May said. “I…” She wasn’t really flush with cash; thus not flying in the first place. Her boyfriend, Grant, had dumped her at the beginning of the year for someone younger, leaving her to pay the entire mortgage on her own. And then she had several major appliances break down: dishwasher, dryer, and then her fridge. All of that, she could have handled, she had savings, but-- her wallet was getting very thin.

“My parents couldn’t be bothered to come see me graduate,” Piper said. “I like people who make an effort for their family. Family’s important. So, I’m gonna get you where you need to be.”  

“Thank you,” May said. She was going to be at her baby sister’s graduation. She could feel guilty about it later. “Can I… I don’t know, do something for you?” She eyed Piper; the purple and pink top, the punky hair. “Buy you dinner?”

“Yes, yes you can,” Piper said. “I think I’d like that.”

divider bar

[cami-chats]

Mail Order Bride

Title: Mail Order Bride

Link: AO3

Square Filled: Accent Kink

Ship: Tony Stark/Natasha Romanov

Rating: Explicit

Major Tags: None

Summary: “Tony knew as soon as he woke up that he'd done something stupid last night, but it would take a while for him to figure out just how bad it was. As far as mail order brides went though, Natalia was something of a god send.”

Word Count: 2834

Created for @mcukinkbingo

Full text also below

Tony knew as soon as he woke up that he'd done something stupid last night, but it would take a while for him to figure out just how bad it was. He didn't think that he had anything out of the ordinary to worry about though, only the normal 'I got super wasted last night' problems. He groaned as he rolled over, hoping that drunk him had been a kind, considering person before collapsing on the bed and had left him a bottle of water.

He whimpered when he found nothing, turning his face into his pillow. It was times like these that he wished he had given Jarvis a body, because then he wouldn't have to get out of bed and hope that he was steady enough on his feet to reach a sink-- or a toilet if his stomach wasn't happy with moving. He laid there for a while, hoping that he'd go back to sleep, but that didn't happen. After a little more self-pity, he levered himself to a vaguely standing position and stumbled towards the bathroom. He almost cracked his head on the counter, but that was par for the course when he was hungover so he didn't worry about it. He sat on the toilet lid and laid his cheek against the cold counter, trying to gain the motivation to move enough to fill the cup with water. He'd slosh it all over himself, he knew, but that was the least of his worries.

After he'd chugged what felt like a gallon of water and taken aspirin then eaten, he tried to remember what he'd done the night before. These days when he drank it was because he was sad, so the usual consequence was a missing pint of ice cream or a littering of candy wrappers on the floor from where he hadn't cleaned it up.

Let's see, he'd been feeling lonely and spending time with the bots only made him feel worse. So he'd gone upstairs, grabbed a bottle and a large glass so that he wouldn't be drinking from the bottle but also wouldn't have to refill his glass too often. He'd put on a rom-com and hunted around for some chocolates, only to discover that he didn't have any. He'd cried a bit, but he could blame that on the alcohol if he needed the excuse. He didn't remember much after that. He was pretty sure he'd watched the movie to the end, but he didn't actually remember watching it. His memory started to get fuzzy right around the time the lead woman started to get interested in her love interest.

He checked his phone to make sure he hadn't called or drunk texted anyone, and found it clean. He breathed a sigh of relief and went on about his day.

In hindsight, he should have asked Jarvis for a recap of the night before.

*

Jarvis reminded him that he needed to go the airport, and Tony went with only mild confusion. He didn't remember needing to pick anyone up, but that was what he had Jarvis for after all: to remind him of the details he couldn't be bothered to remember. Jarvis told him the gate number, and told him that Miss Romanova would recognize him.

"Alright. Thanks buddy."

"Good luck sir."

Tony frowned, but there wasn't time for him to turn around and ask Jarvis what that was supposed to mean. Did he have a meeting he was supposed to be prepared for? He tapped out quick message to Pepper, asking if there was a big meeting he was supposed to go to in the next couple days. Her response had been, "No, for once. You asked for this week free."

He... did not remember doing that, but he wasn't going to tell her so. He thanked her then picked out a car, driving for the airport with something close to trepidation. He thought about it on the drive though, and by the time he arrived came to the conclusion that there was nothing waiting for him in there that he couldn't handle.

Tony walked to the baggage claim Jarvis had specified and waited, pulling out his phone after a minute to play a game. When he saw people starting to stand around to wait for their bags, he tucked his phone into a pocket, figuring that even if he didn't know who he was waiting for, it would be easier for her to find him if he wasn't hunched over hiding his face. Suitcases started to drop onto the conveyor, and it reminded him that he did not like flying commercial. Save the planet blah blah blah he didn't care. Nothing was worth this. Another wave of travelers showed up, but Tony didn't think anything about it. Until one of them came up to him of course.

She was indisputably gorgeous and had clearly dressed up a little rather than sticking to sweats like most others. She was wearing a black shirt that hugged her backside but flowed freely around her legs, and a white button-up blouse with dark flowers on it. Of course she could have been in a track suit and managed to look good. As evidenced by his relationships with Pepper, Rowena, and Charlie, he was partial to red hair, which she unfortunately fit the bill for as well. He thinks 'unfortunate' because he doubted this was a halfway across the world hook-up. "Tony?" she asked, accent shaping around his name even though she was trying to suppress it.

He nodded.

She pointed at herself. "Natalia." She held out her hand and adjusted her backpack on her shoulder. He absently noted that it looked stuffed to the brim.

Tony took it, shaking it for a few seconds before letting go. "Nice to meet you Natalia." He wondered if he could get away with asking her why they were meeting up without offending her. Fuck it, he needed to know what was going on. "Uh, listen. I don't remember why I'm meeting you."

Her eyes went wide, panicked. "But-" she fumbled with her backpack, pulling out her phone. She tapped on it frantically, pulling something up, then showed it to Tony. There, on the screen, was a conversation between the two of them.

He took the phone from her hand gently, and she let him. He scrolled to the top and started from the beginning. He asked why she wanted to come to America, she explained that it wasn't safe for her and added that she was learning English so she would be able to get a job and pay her way. Tony on the phone told her not to worry about that for a while and said he would take care of everything. Then he'd sent a message telling her her flight information because apparently he'd made a deal to marry this woman and it was only fair that he pay her way since she was leaving everything behind.

Jesus christ no wonder she looked terrified at the prospect of him not remembering. If he didn't re-agree to this, she had nowhere to go, and no way of taking care of herself. He nodded, trying to remain calm, and handed back her phone. "Okay. Not a problem." He shot her a smile he hoped was comforting.

"No problem?" she asked.

"Nope, no problem. We'll just wait for your bag and then go home." Home. God he was going to have to explain why he lived in a tower instead of an apartment or a house, then he was going to have to get a marriage license, then he was going to have to try and explain all of this to Pepper and hope that she didn't kill him. Oh no what if Natalia had allergies? Drunk-Tony of the past hadn't thought to ask her, and he didn't want another strawberry debacle to happen. Or worse, for her to eat something and then he had to bring her to the hospital and try to explain when he didn't even know her middle name.

Okay he wasn't doing so great on staying calm. But Natalia looked a little better, so he would count it as a win. "I can hold your backpack for you. If you want," Tony offered awkwardly.

She hesitated for a moment before handing it over carefully. Knowing that it was about half of her entire earthly possessions, that made sense. She'd probably decided that she could trust him with her bag if she was going to marry him. She darted forward a minute later when her duffel dropped into the feed, pulling it up and out without a problem.

"Do you want me to carry that?" Tony asked when she was close again.

She shook her head. "I carry bag. You carry..." She frowned at the backpack on Tony's shoulder, trying to remember the word for it. "This," she said, poking it.

"You got it. My car's this way," he said, nodding towards the exit.

Natalia took a bracing breath, then nodded, walking beside him as they left.

*

Natalia got settled in quickly, and her understanding of English was better written down than spoken, so for any involved questions she had, that's how they communicated. He showed her a guest room-- her room, now-- and the kitchen, letting her know that she had free run of all the food on the floor if she got hungry while he was gone.

"You leave?" she asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I need to get a few things done. Here's my number if you need to contact me." He hadn't brought up Jarvis yet, guessing that she'd want to sleep off some jet lag before trying to understand everything his existence meant. He knew this was a green card marriage, but no one else would know that (hopefully), so he needed to buy rings and figure out if he could get a marriage license without knowing her middle name. He guessed not, but it was worth looking into while he was out.

All things considered, the wedding went smoothly. Sure they had to hire a witness since Natalia didn't have anyone and Tony was going to put off telling anyone he knew for as long as possible, but Pepper didn't show up while they were signing the certificate and rip the pen out of Tony's hands, so he considered it a win.

It was underwhelming actually, that nothing dramatic happened. They signed, exchanged rings, and Tony gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You want to go out for lunch?" he asked, feeling that they should mark the occasion in some way.

Natalia lit up. "Hamburger and ice cream?"

He'd been thinking more along the lines of some upscale bistro, but he wasn't going to say no to burgers.

*

They'd been married for a while now, and they were undoubtedly growing closer. She'd invited him to call her Natasha, and ever since then she'd started flirting with him. Well, maybe flirting was too timid a word for what she was doing. It was more touch him all the time, press her breasts up against him when leaning around him to grab something, give him bedroom eyes, and talk like she was simulating sex. Okay the last two were up for debate, especially the last one since every time Tony heard her accent he just about creamed in his pants like a fourteen year old. But the first two were solid, he felt.

They were watching Sleeping Beauty, partially for fun and partially to help her with her English even though she didn't need the extra help these days. She was watching the opening credits, humming along with the music when Tony came in. He sat beside her, spreading his legs to fit the gigantic bowl of popcorn in the space between his thighs. He snagged a couple pieces before Natasha stole the bowl from him. Not surprising, but generally she waited a little longer into the movie to do it.

What he was definitely not expecting, was for Natasha to replace the bowl with herself, snuggling back against him and grabbing his hands to place them on her thighs. Her bare thighs because she was dressed for bed, and her bed clothes were an overly large shirt with underwear and nothing else. If Tony blushed at that, well, there was no one around to see it.

Natasha hummed happily. "Much better, yes Antoshka?"

"Warmer," he said as a replacement for agreeing.

"Much." She grabbed the popcorn bowl, setting it in her lap and shoving a handful into her mouth.

Tony forced himself to relax, leaning back comfortably into the couch. This had the side effect of making Natasha something like a human blanket, which was equal parts lovely and anxiety-inducing. Especially when she talked throughout the movie, her mouth curving around the pronunciation of English words in a way that shouldn't have even been noteworthy but instead made him feel a little tight in his jeans.

He held his breath and hoped that Natasha wouldn't notice. Even when she shifted, she didn't pause like she'd felt it. The movie started to come to an end, and Tony thought that, miraculously, he'd managed to escape detection. But then Natasha didn't get up, she just leaned further back, setting the back of her head on Tony's shoulder. "I thought you did not like me at first. Perhaps, not attracted to women, no? But," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "there are pictures with women. In love with another? But no, your eyes do not wander. So I think, what can I do? How can I have your..." she licked her lips as she tried to think of the correct word, settling on, "attention? Then, so simple. You listen when I talk, so if I continue to talk, I will win your love." Her brow furrowed. "Not right word, but close. And then I see: what I say, it makes no difference. You listen. I finish, and you leave for a while, and come back flushed and relaxed. So maybe, I help this time?"

Tony swallowed, trying to keep his cool. It was a tough battle since apparently she not only knew he was interested in her, but was offering to 'help him out'. "Uh. You don't- you don't have to do that."

She frowned up at him. "Antoshka. I know I do not have to do this. I do not have to stay with husband if I do not like him. I... want you. I thought you felt same." She sat up, leaving Tony's front feeling decidedly cold, and turned to look at him. "I was wrong?"

"No, no you weren't wrong," Tony hurried to assure her. "I just thought you might feel pressured, since we're married, and I wanted to let you know that you don't have to do that if you don't want to. I'd thought you didn't, but now it sounds like you do."

Now that Natasha knew she hadn't misunderstood, she gave him a flat look. "Tony. I wore... shorts." She wrinkled her nose as she gestured to the top of her thigh, where her short-shorts had cut off. "It is not Rossiya cold, but it is not summer. They were tight and uncomfortable. And you did not look at me."

"I wanted you to be comfortable wearing what you liked," he said defensively. "I didn't want to stare."

"You need to stare," she said, glaring at him a little, but there was enough of a smile around her mouth that he knew she was joking. She crawled back into his lap, legs going on either side of him so she was straddling him. When he didn't immediately put his hands on her-- still too worried about this miraculously being a misunderstanding to act and screw it all up-- she grabbed his wrists and placed them on her hips. She put her arms around his neck and leaned forward, bumping their noses together before kissing across his cheek to his ear. "Kotyonok ty dolzhen potselovat' menya."

Tony had been working on learning Russian, but he didn't know enough to understand what she said. It didn't really matter though, because with her breath ghosting over his ear and the rumbling timber her voice had taken as she spoke her mother tongue was enough to make Tony turn his head and claim her mouth in a kiss. "I hope whatever you said was good," Tony whispered against her lips.

Her mouth curved into a smile and she gave him a quick peck. "Why did you kiss me if you did not know?"

"I like the way your voice sounds," he said, nudging her head back so he could kiss along her neck. Lick at the soft skin he'd been eyeing for a while.

"Does that mean I still talk when you kiss me?" she asked breathlessly, hand threading through his hair.

His cock twitched in his pants. "Yeah, yeah if you want."

[learntfromamillionmistakes]

Tyrus Week- Day 1, Crush

Summary- Cyrus surprises TJ and Buffy at basketball practice, the three then go to The Spoon where Buffy addresses what she's noticed with TJ. Deciding enough is enough she takes matter into her own hands.

Word Count- 2050

Read on AO3

“Hey Underdog,” TJ greets, throwing the ball to one of his team mates and walking over to the shorter guy. They were currently in practice, an intense practice. They have been having practice after school every day this week, it’s now Thursday, but all their work was paying off, they were a much better team now. TJ was about one basket away from calling it a day earlier than normal just because he was exhausted, but seeing Cyrus walk through the door gave him new energy.

“Hey not-so-scary-basketball-guy!” Cyrus greets in return, a smile across his face. Buffy watches on from the otherside of the court, paying minimal attention to their practice.

TJ gives him a slightly confused but amused look when he reaches him, “I thought that vest was just for the Space Otters and Jonah?”

Cyrus gives him a very serious look, “It’s multipurpose.” TJ smiles at him and his very serious face, letting out a small laugh.

“Well does this vest have a bottle of water for me?” He asks raising his eyebrows.

“Of course,” he hands the taller boy a bottle from one of the big front pockets. “And your favourite energy bar,” proudly, he hands TJ the bar with a proud grin on his face as he watches TJ react.

TJ raises his eyebrows in surprise, then smirks as he accepts it. “Thanks Underdog.” He takes a gulp of water then starts the bar. “What are you doing here anyway?” He asks after swallowing his first bite as he and Cyrus walk over to the stands to sit.

“Well Buffy said how you guys were here every day after school this week to practice. I thought that that sounded exhausting, even for sporty people,” he gives TJ a playful smile. “So I decided you could use some encouragement, and snacks,” he smiles and waves at Buffy, who has barely taken her eyes off of them for more than two seconds.

“You couldn’t have come at a better time,” TJ smiles at him then turns back to watch the team. “I was about to end practice because I was so exhausted, but this,” he holds up the now empty wrapper, “has given me the energy to keep going.” He gets up and heads back to the team.

“Please don’t tell them that! I don’t want them to hate me!” He all but shouts back, looking at how exhausted the others look. TJ turns back to him briefly and winks, then joins back in with his team. Buffy puts her attention back to the game just in time so TJ doesn’t notice she’s been watching them.

“Okay, I have to go to the little boys room,” Cyrus announces as he gets up from the booth he’s sharing with Buffy and TJ. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone,” the two roll their eyes.

Ever since TJ apologised a few months ago, properly apologised, they’d gotten much better at tolerating each other. And spending so much time in basketball practice, with TJ actually including Buffy in the game, had made them actually become friends. There was still a long way to go, but neither of them hated the other now, and they are able to enjoy each others company without wanting to shout at each other. It was progress.

“You like him,” Buffy states as soon as Cyrus is out of earshot. TJs eyes widen briefly before he manages to get over the shock and regain his composure.

“Cyrus? You think I like Cyrus? Don’t be ridiculous,” he grabs a few baby taters and fills his mouth with them to stop himself from rambling.

“TJ it’s okay,” she says reassuringly, he swallows his food, watching her. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have outed you like that to me, you should have go to tell me when you were ready,” she continues, her tone apologetic.

“No, uh- that's okay,” TJ replies, then clears his throat. Buffy gives him a questioning look. “I don’t really make an active effort to hide that I’m gay, I just don’t go around announcing it,” she gives him a slightly shocked reaction but soon recovers and nods. “Pretty much all the guys on the team know, I didn’t have to tell them really, they just kind of figured it out eventually. When they asked me about it I just confirmed it for them. Luckily for me they were all cool with it.”

“As they should be,” Buffy gives an understanding smile. “So,” her smile returns to its excited and knowing smile, “You do like Cyrus?”

TJ rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh, “Of course I like Cyrus.” Buffy lets out a small squeal of excitement, earning a short laugh from TJ. “How could I not. He’s great, and he makes me a much better person.”

Buffy laughs, “I agree with both those statements,” TJ playfully rolls his eyes. “Are you going to do anything about this crush?”

“I don’t kn-”

“I’m back!” Cyrus announces happily, walking over to the booth to rejoin them. “So, what are we talking about?” TJ glances at Buffy, a sign that she should come up with something.

Buffy briefly weighs her options. Option one, she could make up some lie and TJ would happily go along with it, and Cyrus would never know. Or option two, she could get TJ to admit his feelings. She’d have to be careful about how she did it, she doesn’t want to out him to Cyrus, even if he says he doesn’t really hide it. But she knows for a fact that Cyrus likes him too, and this option means they’d both confess and be happy together. And would make Buffy the fifth wheel, she internally rolls her eyes, the things she has to do.

“We were just discussing TJ’s crush,” she states, voice full of glee. TJ glares at her and gently, but purposefully, kicks her leg under the table, earning a glare from her.

Cyrus’ face falls with disappointment, but he quickly covers it up. “Ooooo, who’s the lucky girl?” His voice full of fake excitement.

TJ raises his eyebrows at the shorter boy, and Buffy gives him a big smile. TJ sighs, glancing at Buffy briefly, he simply corrects him, “Guy, not girl.” Cyrus looks to him, jaw slightly dropped, eyes wide, then looks to Buffy, who gives him a big smile.

“You’re gay?” Cyrus asks in a lowered tone, finally able to get the words out.

TJ rubs the back of his neck nervously, “Yeah,” he’d never really been nervous when talking about it before. He’d accepted himself pretty early on, he’d been lucky. But sitting in front of Cyrus, the guy he likes, and saying it, well it was nerve racking. “Is - uh - is that a problem for you or-” He knew it wouldn’t be, but there’s always that tiny part of his brain that says ‘he’ll hate you now and won’t want to be your friend any more,’ he hated that part of his brain. The idea of losing Cyrus as a friend killed him slightly, even if it was just a small part of his brain.

“No, no, no, no! Of course not! Actually - uh,” Cyrus looks to Buffy, who has been watching the scene unfold in front of her with a big smile on her face, and always feeling the slight need to bang their heads together in the hope they’d realise quicker that they like each other. She gives him a smile of encouragement, a smile that says ‘it’s okay to say it Cyrus.’

He gives her a small nod and turns back to TJ, letting out a long breath before continuing. “Me too,” he states simply. “I’m-” he swallows, preparing himself to say the words he hadn’t yet. “I’m gay too,” as soon as the words leave his mouth he feels a weight lift off his chest. Okay so he’s only said it once, and only Buffy, Andi and now TJ knew about this. But just saying it for the first time felt amazing, even if it was only to TJ.

TJs face looks as Cyrus’ did a few moments before, jaw slightly dropped, eyes wide. “You- You do?” TJ stutters, Cyrus nods. For a minute they both just look at each other, almost as though they are truly seeing the other for all that they are for the first time. The boys had grown close very quickly, they knew so much about each other, but now knowing this, it was as if the final piece clicked into place, and now they could see it all.

After a couple minutes of the boys staring at each other, Buffy gets impatient. “Okay as sweet as this is, is there anything you guys want to say to each other?” They both look to her, she rolls her eyes, does she have to do everything? “Like, I don’t know,” she exaggerates the last word, “How about who you’re both crushing on?”

They both look to her slightly wide-eyed. Part of them both knew that Buffy wasn’t cruel, she knew who they both liked, she wouldn’t set them up to be hurt. They let out a nervous sigh in unison before looking to each other once more, this time nervousness clear in both their eyes.

TJ gulps, “I like you Cyrus, you’re my crush.” Straightforward, clear, to the point, just how he wanted it, at least if this were to end painfully it would be over quick. Cyrus once again has shock written all over his face.

Buffy smiles at the pair as they continue to watch each other, “And Cyrus? Your turn.”

The boy doesn’t take his eyes off of TJ for even a second before saying, “I like you too TJ.” Both boys wear slightly shocked expressions on their faces, but now there is joy mixed in too.

Buffy lets out an excited squeal, causing the boys to draw their eyes away from each other. “This is so great!” She says with joy, both boys let out a small laugh at her excitement. “Now that you boys both know that you like each other, my work here is done!” She slides out of the booth. “I shall leave you two alone,” she says to them both before turning her attention to just Cyrus, “But you had better call me to talk about this later!” Cyrus nods and jokingly salutes her before she walks away. She glances back over her shoulder one last time as she reaches the door, a smile on her face. “All in a days work,” she whispers to herself before walking out the door.

“So,” TJ starts as they hear the door close behind Buffy, “You like me?” He asks, he knows Cyrus just said he liked him but he wanted to be sure. He couldn’t quite believe it yet.

“I do,” Cyrus confirms, “And you like me?” The taller boy nods. “So, what does this mean? What happens from here?”

“Honestly, you’re the first guy I’ve properly liked, and that I actually have a chance with. So I don’t know, I’ve never gotten this far before.”

“Well you’re the second guy I’ve liked, and the first I have a chance with. So I have no idea either,” Cyrus admits.

“Jonah?” TJ questions, Cyrus nods. “Wow your group really has a thing for him, huh?”

Cyrus lets out a small laugh, “The majority of us do, yeah.” They both laugh and smile at each other.

“Okay, how about we start simple?” TJ asks, earning a nod from Cyrus. “Why don’t I get us some baby taters to go and then we can go on a walk or to the swings, or both?”

“Sounds great!” Cyrus agrees with excitement, before getting up and both of them head to order.

As they leave The Spoon and head towards the park TJ gently touches the back of Cyrus’ hand with the back of his own, not wanting to assume that Cyrus would be okay with holding hands in public right away. Cyrus looks down at their barely touching hands, then up into TJs eyes, before deciding to intertwine their hands.

With a smile on both their faces they head to the park, for what they both guessed was kind of their first date.

[thelifepartners]

Cheyenne Morse

Guttering Out 

Photo by Mat Culpepper

The hospital room was washed with pale colors and it smelled of sanitization. The arm of the chair Tera sat in was polished by years of fidgeting by worried hands. Mack was in the bed, tubes and sensors attached to him at various points.  He was stable but he hadn’t woken up since Tera had dug him out of the rubble two days ago.

Tera had dozed off and on the night before and now existed strung between a state of exhaustion and the inability to sleep. The windows had the shades drawn tight against prying eyes but they glowed dimly in the late afternoon sun. Tera was wearing a floral print t-shirt she'd bought at the gift shop downstairs and a pair of maroon scrub pants that one of the nurses had kindly loaned her. They'd asked her to change out of her uniform, still bloody from her fight with Mack and dusty from when the building came down. The black and grey jumpsuit was in a bag on another chair along with the tattered remains they’d cut off of Mack. 

A nurse came in and checked him over. It was Kayla. She was the reason Tera felt comfortable bringing Mack to this place. This isn’t the first time she and Mack had fought in this town. Kayla had patched her up a time or two. Only Kayla and Dr. Jennings were allowed in. They were limiting access to the room. There would be plenty of people who would be happy see him dead. Tera was glad they were taking precautions. Kayla finished her check in but instead of leaving immediately she paused next to Tera.

“How are you doing, Lucent?” Kayla asked. Her scrubs were mint green and had a pattern of cupcakes all over them.  

“I’m fine,” Tera replied. An almost automatic response now, it was basically the only thing she’d said since she’d arrived and it was usually all she had to say.

“Have you eaten any real food recently?” Asked Kayla. Tera, who’d only been half paying attention, had to pull in all her focus.

“What?” Tera asked. Kayla eyed the small trash can next to her meaningfully. Only crinkly wrappers and cans from the vending machines down the hall were in evidence.

“Have you eaten anything today?”

“I had something earlier.”

“From the vending machine.” It was not a question.

“Breakfast of champions.”

Kayla made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat but said nothing further. The nurse excused herself with a nod. Tera’s focus slid back to Mack. She rubbed her eyes and sighed.

 A short while later Kayla reappeared in the room. She was holding two Styrofoam containers in one hand and two water bottles in the other.

“It’s my lunch break. I thought you could use some real food and maybe some company?” Kayla said. Tera smiled a little and gestured for her to take a seat. A moment of quiet shuffling passed as the women got situated and took a few bites of turkey sandwich.

“How is he?” Tara asked.

“Blaze is still stable. I think everyone expected to see improvement by now but that’s just because it’s Blaze.”

“Blaze,” Tera chuckled. “Please, call him Mack." Kayla looked over at her in surprise. "And you don’t have to call me Lucent, Tera is fine.”

             "Tera." Kayla said, trying it out. Tera smiled. It had been years since anyone but Mack had said her name. 

               “Thank you for trusting me with that,” Kayla said.

“I should have told you before. I just honestly didn’t even think of it."

“I guess it makes sense that you know each other but I'm a little surprised.” Kayla took a drink of water. “Why have code names if you already know who the other one is?"

"We never picked those out. It’s something the government did as spin control. What happened to us was inexplicable and once our existence went public it was a way for the world to accept us. Good or bad, it gave folks something to hold on to. I don't know if it helped in the long run. Once they branded Mack a supervillain there was nowhere he could go and nothing he could do to get away from it. That cut off a lot of pathways. Made it harder for him to come back, but maybe that’s just my wishful thinking. Maybe he never wanted to come back. He was my friend and I wanted to believe... had to believe that someday it would be different. That it could get back to where it used to be.”

"You two knew each other even before the incident?"

"We grew up together," Tera said. Kayla took a minute to let that sink in.  

"Most of the staff’s been assuming you camped out here in case he wakes up."

"I won't let him hurt anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about. If he activates his powers I'll haul his ass out of here. I won’t be nice about the catheter either." Tera said. Kayla chuckled.

“That’s not what I meant. Everyone is grateful that you’re here. Just in case he wakes up and to keep the mob outside at bay,” Kayla said. Tera grimaced. Since her arrival with Mack the hospital had been surrounded by the press and an ever growing hoard of people who didn’t think they should be treating Mack at all. “I just meant that you didn’t seem like someone standing guard. You look more like the families I see in here every day. Grieving.”

“I’ve been grieving over Mack for years. My whole damn life really. I can’t really remember a time before him. We both had shitty parents so we spent as much time out of the house as possible. We just sort of found each other.”

“I’m sorry, that’s a shitty way to grow up.”

“My dad was an asshole. He mostly left me alone but he was shit to my mother. Always treated her like a burden. Always made sure she knew that he didn’t think she was worth it. He threw things sometimes. He never hit her, god forbid that would make him realize he was a shitty person. But he threw things. He tossed things through the window. He smashed empty beer bottles. That was his favorite thing.

I don’t want to say I was never afraid because that’s not true. But when I heard him shouting or the sound of glass breaking I don’t really remember feeling afraid. When it was the middle of the night and I could hear all those terrible things I just remember feeling like I was drinking poison. Like all that rage in the air was creeping into my blood.

I couldn’t understand how this guy who said he loved us when he was sober enough could just turn a switch in his brain. When I was feeling charitable I’d tell myself that it was the drink turning the switch, not him. When I wasn’t feeling so forgiving I’d remind myself that he was the one who kept drinking anyway.  

But if my dad could do it. So could I.  There is some terrible switch in the back of my mind waiting to be flipped. If he could be this friendly seeming person who said he cared about people and the things in their life and then just smash it all to pieces maybe I’m just one shitty day or one drink away from turning into a monster.

Mack was the same. His dad was a monster, a real one. So much worse than anything I had to deal with. At least my dad wasn’t around much. His dad had a keen interest in him. Paid certain attention to him being just the right way.

I wish people could have seen him when we were younger. The stuff he endured. It’s no excuse, nothing excuses what he's done, but he was so good. The darker everything else got the brighter he shone, the harder he fought, the better he was. But you get tired fighting everything all the time. Fighting the bad stuff inside of you, fighting people’s expectations of you. He just wore down over time. He tried so hard. Every time he reached out and got slapped away, every time he was punished for doing the right thing it was like I was watching him drink that same poison. I watched it practically kill him. I watched the good parts of him die.”

Kayla was shocked into silence. They both looked at Mack, looking vulnerable in the mess of sheets and pillows.

“I think that’s why I can’t just let him go, can’t just cut him out of my heart. Even now. Even knowing what I know about him. Because I know the taste of that poison. Because I know it’s not a fight you can ever win. Just because I made it this far doesn’t mean I won’t slip.” Tera couldn’t look at Kayla when she said it.

“I think he hates me a little bit because when he looks at me he sees what he could have been if he’d held on. Being around him kills me because I see how easy it is to slide from meaning the best to doing the worst. When we were kids we needed so much to believe that we didn’t have to be poisonous just because we’d been poisoned. Neither of us have quiet forgiven him for proving that wasn’t true.

But I’ll never give up on him, not all the way, because we both need to believe that there is a way for him to come back. Some day.” Tera exhaled a shaky breath. Her hands clenched into fists. “If only I could have protected him better when we were kids.”

“Cut yourself a little slack, you were just a kid too.” Kayla cut in. “You shouldn’t have had to protect anyone. You should have been protected.”

“Thanks, for saying so.” Tera’s voice was rough with emotion. She couldn’t remember ever talking about this with anyone before. Just Mack. Even they barely spoke about it, they would just remember together. Now it was just pouring out of her.

“You must have been young when the incident happened.”

“We were twelve or thirteen.”

“Were you still living at home?” Kayla asked. Tera knew where she was going next. She didn't have to finish the thought. Everyone thought they already knew the story.

"He didn't kill his father. I did." Tera pushed on before Kayla could really respond. "It was an accident. I hated his guts, I wished him dead a hundred times but I honestly didn't mean too."

"What happened?" Kayla's voice was calm but Tera could tell she was aghast.

“It was right after the incident. We had no idea we had powers. We were still shell shocked. Filthy from the explosion. We had no idea what had happened. We probably should have gone to the hospital but neither of our families could afford it and none of the first responders even knew to look for us out there. We stumbled back home, his place was closer but we should have known better than to go there. His father always wanted him to be just so, he wouldn't let him stay inside during the day but he was always supposed to be neat, combed hair. We were a mess. I don't know what he thought had happened but he walked in on us trying to clean ourselves up, muddy prints all the way back to the bathroom.” There was a darkness across her face.

“It was always about obedience. It wasn’t messy footprints that set him off, it’s that we thought we could do anything the way he thought we shouldn’t. It was so stupid. It would have taken five minutes to clean it up but he starts hollering at us and shaking Mack. He back handed him hard. I still remember the sound of it, almost like a rifle shot in that small room. He had a hold of Mack's shirt and was going to hit him again. I just wanted to stop him. I just wanted Mack to be okay. I grabbed his dad and I yanked him off." Tera reached out and grabbed a handful of air and jerked her hand back hard. Kayla was pale but she nodded.

"I broke his neck. A few hours ago he probably would have just shrugged me off, maybe given me a slap or two for interfering in things he didn't think were my business. But just then I had recently become one of the strongest people on the planet. It was over before we even knew what happened. I think that’s how they found us. We called it in. We were panicking."

"What did Mack do?"

“We were both so messed up, we just freaked out together. I kept expecting him to push me away. He knew it was an accident but still it was this enormous thing between us. I was terrified all the time. I thought maybe Mack would hate me for it.”

“Hate you because of his father? I mean it was his dad but he was terrible to him and you were his friend," Kayla said. Tera shook her head.

“Its hard to explain, his dad broke him down, tried to be the only thing in his life that mattered. When I killed his father I was saving him from an abusive asshole but I also killed the biggest thing in his life. His life revolved entirely around his father, trying to keep his distance, trying to keep his head down, trying to survive. Maybe he would have pushed me away if our lives had carried on normally but we got scooped up by a couple of agents and brought in to the compound with the others."

"There were others?"

"Five of us originally. We were the youngest by far. They gave us all these dark jumpsuits with a star on the shoulder. Like they were unsubtly trying to make us a team. Five coming together to make one. It was heavy handed but we were with the only other people in the world who would understand a now fundamental part of us. Matching uniforms or no, we came together as best we could.”

Kayla's eyes flicked over to the bag that had Tera's uniform in it. There wasn't a good view of it but anyone who'd read the paper in the last ten years knew that the trademark black and grey uniform she wore had a star over her heart.

“They kept us all cooped up in a facility to try and learn what had happened. They gave us all kinds of drugs, trying to suppress our powers, trying to make them stronger. God, that place was a nightmare, but where else did we have to go.”

“What happened to the other three? When you and Blaze… I mean you and Mack came on the scene it was all anyone could talk about. How could we miss three other people who could do the same thing?”

“Everyone else was dead before the world heard about us.”

“My God…”

“Hastings was the first to go.” Tera held up one hand, all five fingers extended. “He was right in the center of the explosion when he got his powers. He saw people all around him burning and screaming. He never recovered from that really. He was always stealing drugs from the infirmary to try and help himself sleep. That mixed with the crazy cocktail of drugs they had him on was just too much for his body to handle. One morning they went to wake him up and he was dead. No one ever knew if he did it on purpose or if it was an accident. Either way, he was gone.” Tera curled her pinky down.

“Patterson was how we learned our powers had limits. In the beginning we could only turn our powers on by accident, if we were scared or full of adrenalin, but once we learned to control it we could basically make ourselves invulnerable and super strong at will. No one could do it indefinitely. We have to focus on our powers to keep them active. If we are asleep or unconscious we are as vulnerable as anyone.”  

“I see,” Kayla said. This was something she had wondered about. She knew Tera had her limits but they’d never discussed them this openly before. Now Kayla wasn’t as sure as she’d been this morning that Mack was going to pull through.

“But if we were awake and focused we all thought we had control. They were doing a live fire test. Something they’d done with all of us but this time they were seeing how long Patterson could go. They assumed she would feel herself weakening in time to call the cease fire. But she didn’t. She took two bullets center mass. Her last words were ‘It’s gone, it’s just gone.’ She bled out before they got her back to the medical tent.” Tera curled down her ring finger.

“We did eventually learn to feel when the power was waning but it was too late for Patterson. After that they were worried they would kill us all off before they got any practical use out of us,” Tera said. Kayla answered with a disgruntled snort.

“I’d say I can’t believe they did that to you but I can.”

“They changed gears. Started putting us on search and rescue mission. Data or personnel retrieval from bases in areas with too much fighting to be recovered or places threatened by wild fires or natural disasters. It was nice to feel useful, to finally be protecting something instead of just surviving. We lost Fletcher to a fire. It was enormous. He almost made it back before he’s powers abandon him. We couldn’t see him but we heard him screaming. Mack went in after him but he was gone by the time Mack cleared the flames.” Tera curled her middle finger down. Only her pointer finger and thumb were still extended. Just two left. She made a fist with her hand and settled it back in her lap.

“I’m sorry you lost your friend like that. On top of everything else it must have been unbearable,” Kayla said.

“For a while after that we made it through out of stubbornness. With time we far exceeded Patterson’s limits and even though everything was shitty we had each other. It didn’t matter that there was always some threat hanging over our heads, it had been that way our whole lives. It sounds weird to say it out loud but it felt normal.”  

“What changed?”

“They started sending us on separate missions. They wanted better coverage or maybe they thought they’d be able to handle us better individually. Something went wrong. I never knew what. Word came down that Mack had killed the team he was with and gone AWOL. Everyone panicked. Most of the people we worked with appreciated what we could do but were afraid of us. My team was instructed to bring me in as soon as possible. A couple of them decided that they should take me out. Why wait for me to go rogue, it was just a matter of time in their opinion. They tried to get the drop on me but I’d been expecting it. Mack and I both figured this sort of reaction to us was just around the corner. It was pretty much why we kept working for them, hoping to sooth those fears. Knowing that quitting would just lead to hit squads on our ass.

I escaped. The next year was mostly hiding for both of us. We didn’t know how to find each other. I looked, I looked everywhere. I tracked him mostly through the news. You probably know most of the rest of it. All his earliest fights were self-defense but as he got angrier they became his first atrocities. People finally got wind of what was happening and the media went crazy. Superhuman monster decimates small town, authorities scramble to stop him.” For the last line Tera switched to a booming radio announcer voice.

“In the end he found me. I got caught up fighting a troop that were out hunting for him. I was low on power. Just about to my limit. I would have died out there but Mack swooped in. Killed every single one of them. I couldn’t stop him. I was hardly standing at that point.” Tera’s eyes were glossy, staring at some faraway place that Kayla couldn’t see.

“I begged him to stop. Begged him. But he didn’t stop until they were all dead.” She made an obscene twisting motion with her hands. Kayla felt suddenly nauseous.

“’Do you think I’d let them kill you?’ That’s what he said to me. He said he hadn’t done anything, that they’d turned on him for no reason, that he hadn’t had a choice. I believed him. Someone probably just got scared, did something stupid, and blamed it on Mack. I told him we could just run. The more we fought the worse it would get. We should just hide, it would be just us against the world, like it always had been.” Tera’s voice was rough with emotion. She reached across to briefly squeeze Mack’s arm.

“But he was done hiding. Done with everything. He had tried to be good and to do the right things and let people feel safe around him and it had all blown up in his face. There was no stopping now. He was going to keep going until the world surrendered and begged for his forgiveness. He asked me to come with him. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t think about it. But I didn’t want to be that kind of person, the person who hurt people just because they were too strong to be stopped.

He left me there. The next time we saw each other it was the big fight in down town Chicago.” Kayla nodded. Everyone knew about the Chicago fight. It had blown every other news story out of the water for weeks.

“The government finally stopped trying to kill me once they realized I was the only thing stopping Mack from tearing them apart. The rest of it, all the highlights at least, are public knowledge. It’s hard for us to do anything now without it ending up in the news or on the internet.”

  “Thank you,” Kayla said. “I don’t know if you hear it often enough but thank you. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like if you weren’t here to stop him. Thank you.”

“I did it as much for him as I did it for anyone else. We promised each other when we were kids that we'd stop each other if either of us started acting like our parents. We called it going dark side. ‘If I ever go dark side just stab me in the heart.’ I heard him say it a hundred times. I said it too, but I could never bring myself to kill him. I know everyone thinks I should but I can’t. I did promised to stop him, so I try. Maybe I shouldn’t have saved him after our fight. When I saw he wasn't moving I just panicked. No one else was in danger.  He wasn't a threat to anyone. Mack was the only one in trouble. I brought him here before I even stopped to think. Maybe the world would be safer with us gone."

“Why do you say 'us'? Even if it would be safer without him, we still need you. You've helped with so many things besides just Blaze."

“I doubt I'll last much longer than he does. Once he's out of the picture I think there is a pretty high chance that the government will start targeting me again. Once Mack is gone I'm more of a potential threat than a safety measure. As far as they are concerned if they blow my brains out and they were wrong about me being dangerous that is one innocent life lost. If they are wrong about me being a threat and don't take me out, they are looking at a huge potential for lost life in the future when I go dark side." Tera shrugged. "There wouldn't be anyone left to stop me. Once they start coming after me. How many people would I have to hurt to stay alive? Should I just vanish? Revert back to simply surviving? What worries me most is what I'll become when he's gone. Losing Mack is the worst thing I can imagine, what if it what tips me over the edge?  Maybe they will be justified when they kill me."

“You don’t have to be sorry for not killing your best friend. That shouldn’t be on you. People tell me all the time that we shouldn’t waste money one saving the drug addicts or criminals that come through here. But that’s when we become monsters, when start deciding who lives and dies based on personal opinion. We can’t save everyone but we can try. I’m glad you’re protecting us and not someone who thinks they can make that choice. I know if that time comes you’ll make the right choice,” Kayla said. Tera smiled weakly.

“We won’t be trouble for much longer. I had no idea he was sick. He should have had plenty of power left. We’ve always been nearly identical in how long we could keep our powers. He should have shrugged that rubble off. It should have been nothing to him. ” Tera said.

“We should run some tests on you too. Just in case.”

“Not now, we can do that after.”

“Of course,” Kayla said. She finally glanced at the clock.

“I gotta get back to work.” She pulled the lunch receipt out of her pocket and scribbled something on the back of it. “Here is my number, I know well be seeing plenty of each other in the next few days but if you need me when I’m not here call. My phone is always on.”

“I appreciate it. More than you know.” Tera accepted the paper and shook Kayla’s hand.

“I’ll be back to check on him—“ Kayla started but was cut off by the shrill sounds of warning coming from the equipment Mack was attached to.

“He’s coding. I need a crash cart in here.” Kayla shouted, already moving. The doctor rushed in and another nurse. They started prepping the paddles. Tera moved to the back of the room.

She stood in the corner basically invisible despite wearing dark colors against a pale wall. It was a skill that had served her well in her youth.  Her heart clenched like a fist, her breath caught between her teeth, readying herself for him pulling through and waking up swinging. Trying to prepare herself for if he didn’t.

[sprnklersplashes]

I Can Be Your Hero (chapter 4)

The buzz around the Swan had refused died down in the weeks after her fight with Fiona. There had been no more attacks form mutated lightening monsters for Emma to take down, so her outfit remained hanging in her wardrobe. She hadn’t even taken it out for a quick fly around the city, despite the fact she remained itching to get out there. It was making her restless, like something else inside of her was pushing to get out, her Storybrooke side. After being suppressed for so long, it was saying ‘not again, don’t push me out again’ and she wanted to listen to it.

Even though the Swan hadn’t resurfaced in the last weeks, her fanbase hadn’t. The city made the most of it; putting up a plaque at the place where she had taken down the Black Fairy and at the Wonderland apartments, selling t-shirts with her logo on it (that made her a little uncomfortable, but she could get by), mugs with her face on it (which Isaac in her office had and she nearly had a heart attack). She saw little girls posing heroically in the spot where she had defeated Fiona and she had admitted to Elsa that night, that was almost as rewarding as saving the city.

Killian had gotten more than a day off for his achievement of taking the photo. He had been in a few local news interviews, all desperate to get the story from the man who saw the Swan in the flesh and had met the Mayor. There were even rumours of him being considered for a Pulitzer.

She joked to him at the coffee machine that it was a marvel his head even fit on his shoulders any more.

“All I did was snap a lucky picture, Snow,” he pointed out. “Honestly if anyone should be meeting the Mayor it’s this Swan woman. Who seems to have disappeared into thin air.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll appear once a new crisis emerges.” She giggled to herself as she sipped her coffee.

“Well if she can keep getting me raises and fame, she can stick around as long as she liked,” he joked. “Plus, I’d like to see her back again. She was…. Inspiring.”

“Inspiring?” Emma smiled, ignoring the sense of pride flowing through her as she and Killian made their way back to her office.

“Well who wouldn’t be inspired by her?”

“Mr. Gold,” Emma huffed. Mr Gold seemed to be the only one who was not a fan of hers. For every positive interview or article about her, he Tweeted three negatives.

“Yes, well he is so up his own arse he expects everyone to call him Mr.” Emma choked on her coffee as she laughed. She leaned against her desk, throwing her hair back, not wanting this conversation to end. “Since when did the opinion of one single misogynistic douchebag matter?”

“I’ll drink to that,” she chuckled, toasting him with her coffee. Killian blushed slightly and looked around the room, licking the corner of his mouth slightly.

“And I am in your office. Where I should not be.”

It was like a spell had been broken. The light feeling in Emma’s stomach disappeared, that sensation of being weightless and carefree that she had had since she started talking to him. She straightened up suddenly and gave him an awkward smile.

“Well, thank you for walking me up,” she offered.

“I suppose I should return to my hovel now,” he said. He gave her a nod and turned to leave but was met with Zelena walking out of her office.

“You,” she said. “You don’t go here.”

“No, Miss West, I am on my way to my studio now,” he replied, but she waved his hand to dismiss him.

“No, stay here. I have an announcement that concerns you,” she said. He nodded and stepped back towards Emma, raising an eyebrow at her.

Zelena clapped twice, sharp and quick, and her employees snapped up to her attention.

“Mr Gold has decided to host a gala on Saturday night for his company to celebrate 50 years of him lording his wealth that Daddy gave him over the rest of us and, as per usual I have been invited. Emma, as my PA I need you to attend.” Emma looked over at Graham, mouth open. Zelena had never invited her to go any fancy parties with her. This was unusual indeed, but she wasn’t objecting. “Graham, you’re coming too, I like you and you’re one of the most respectable people here.” Graham smiled, clearly content with that remark. “That’s not exactly a compliment when you think of who works here.” His shoulders drooped, and Emma mouthed an “ouch” at him. “And you, photo man, Kieran.”

“Killian,” he corrected.

“Yes, you’re coming too. You make us look good. Plus, you took photos of the Swan, so your presence will probably piss him off. You three check your emails for the details I’ve forwarded them to you. And the rest of you…. Work harder. Then maybe you can be invited places.”

She turned and marched back into her office, the door clicking behind her, leaving an air of annoyance and excitement among her employees.

“Well, now. Guess us three lucky ones better get ourselves cleaned up for this shin-dig,” Killian said, looking from Emma to Graham. “Hard work pays off.”

“Yeah, you two get that, I got ‘you have to go because you’re my PA’,” Emma reminded him.

“And that makes you the most important player in the game, Snow,” Killian said. “Well I really must be going but I will see you two in all your finery on Saturday.”

He winked at Emma and strutted out the door. Emma pressed her cool hand to her face to try to force the red to leave, telling herself that she was simply overwhelmed with the excitement of the gala. Nothing else.

                                                                                               *****

Emma made her way down to the water cooler with her now empty sports bottle. Elsa had been leaving not so subtle hints that she wanted her to drink more water since they were teenagers but now that Emma was an official superhero, they had become more frequent and somehow more passive aggressive, to the point of buying her a Snow White themed sports bottle from the Disney store.

“We must stop running into each other lass,” a familiar voice joked behind her as she filled up her bottle. Emma couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she turned to face Killian. “Anyone would think you’re doing this on purpose.”

“Me?” she laughed. “You’re the one who keeps running into me.”

“Aye, that I do.” The look he had in his eyes made her stomach flip. She was so sure she imagined that interested look in those blue eyes, like he was fascinated by her. She rubbed the back of her neck and stepped aside to let him use the water cooler.

“So, how goes work up here?” he asked. He was taking his time with filling his plastic cup.

“Oh, you know, I’ve been on my feet all day and Zelena has me sending e-mails faster than one could receive them,” she sighed. “Yourself?”

“Well it’s a bit slow down here,” he confessed. “But here’s to demanding work.” He tapped his plastic cup against her sports bottle.

“What do you even do when you’re not out taking pictures of superheroes?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Well,” he began, cocking his head and smiling. “Mostly adding edits to the pictures, making sure they are the top quality that our good magazine deserves. Or indeed e-mailing our lovely journalists photos they need or asking what they need photographed. Or on the phone to some company that I need to convince to let me photograph something or other.” He ran his long along his bottom lip, sending a shiver down Emma’s spine, and straightened up. “Tell you what, love. If you’re not busy and you’re really, really interested in the art of photography, maybe I could take you down there and let you see how exactly I work my magic.”

His offer completely threw Emma off-guard. There was nothing dishonest in his face-and Emma was excellent at spotting a liar. He just seemed to wish to spend some time with her.

And she’d have been lying to herself if she didn’t want to do the same.

Plus, it was an extra five minutes out of the office.

“What do I have to lose?” she chuckled. “Five minutes?” With a triumphant smile, Killian offered her his arm and led her down to his photography studio.

The studio was messier than it was the last time she was in it; candy bar wrappers and empty water bottles littered the desk, two hoodies were strewn across two different chairs and the bin was overflowing.

“Yes, pardon the mess,” he stammered, lifting one of the hoodies and wringing it in his hand nervously. “I had forgotten about the disarray it was in and hadn’t thought about it when I invited you over.”

“It’s no worse than my own apartment,” she said. His shoulders immediately dropped at her words, a sigh escaping his mouth.

“Come, let me show you what I do,” he said, sitting at his laptop and pulling a chair over for her. He brought up the image of the Swan from a few weeks back, with her fight with Fiona. Emma prayed desperately that her blush would leave, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “This is the picture before I got my pretty little, uh…..hand on it.” And went into his folder and brought up the image Emma recognised form the cover. It was zoomed in on her, more focussed, her hair lightened, the strain and weariness on her face visible, but her posture stood out as she stood victorious. The lines around her family crest were sharper, making it stand out and drawing her eye. She felt a surge of pride in her chest knowing that people would see that on her. She blinked away her tears furiously.

“So, you make the photos look better?” she asked as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Not just better, cover-worthy,” he said. “Make it sharper, play with focus, amp up the colours and voila.”

“So you’re a glorified photoshopper?” she teased, thankful her eyes had dried.

“Oh I am much more than that, Miss Snow,” he replied, but he still had that easy going smile, that relaxed posture. “I am the one making these photos look engaging. I am the man who makes people stop and look at us. I am the reason this whole business is running.”

“Okay, now someone’s being cocky,” she smirked, shaking her head.

“Well, of course Zelena makes some contribution. As does her personal assistant, without whom she would be floundering.”

“And now you’re buttering me up,” she sighed, standing up. “Well I should get going.”

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to company to collapse because you weren’t there to forward on Zelena’s emails, would we?” Emma rolled her eyes as she made for the door. “I’m being serious.”

“You’re being sweet,” she called over her shoulder. “And it’s appreciated.”

“And if you ever need a refuge, you know where to find me.”

Emma couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she walked up to her floor, and she didn’t try to either.

                                                                                            ******

Graham straightened up as he saw Emma walk through the door, blonde hair now pulled back into a ponytail. He commanded that his heart stop its incessant pounding as she took her seat across from him.

This was it. This was the moment he had been building up to for six months. The day he finally took the plunge and asked Emma out.

He had been crushing-no, not crushing. He refused to use the word “crush” to describe Emma. He wasn’t a lovestruck schoolboy staring at a girl as she passed him in the hall. He had had feelings for Emma for six months now and for the last two months, had convinced himself at every opportunity he could he’d ask her out. He’d gotten tickets to some play, some band was coming to town, a new restaurant had just opened. And yet at every point he had chickened out.

But now, Zelena had gifted him with a golden opportunity. The gala. She would be there, he would be there, a black suit and tie event. All he needed to do was officially seal the deal and ask her as his date.

“Where have you been?” he asked, noticing how she seemed lighter than she was when she had left. Happier. That water break must have done wonders for her.

“Oh you know, taking in the wonders of the water cooler.” She still had that open, dreamy smile on her face and Graham’s plans halted in his mind as another possibility took over it. “I talked to Killian for a bit.” It was as if Emma had read his mind and wanted to confirm it.

She was sitting there with a ridiculously cute and happy smile on her face, she was practically bouncing, and her cheeks were still pink.

Graham sighed inwardly and turned to his computer, disappointment crashing over him. Even if Emma hadn’t admitted it to herself, she clearly had feelings for Killian. And what kind of friend would he be if he made her turn away from them?

                                                                                               ******

Anna lifted two more dresses off the rack, not even the sale rack, and skipped off to the dressing room, Emma rolling her eyes and following in tow. When she had agreed to a day out with Anna to go dress shopping for the gala after work, she had expected to find one cute enough dress in the first shop they went to. This was the third and Emma still hadn’t found one she liked, and Anna approved of, the latter of which was infinitely more difficult. Her feet were aching and her legs were practically jell-o at this point. She half-hoped for another burning building.

But even with her weary muscles, Emma couldn’t stop the small smile on her face as Anna flitted through the store to the dressing room, humming some kid’s song under her breath and pausing to look at some multi-coloured knitted scarf. Anna was Anna, crazy and bubbly and distracted as she was, and Emma wasn’t sure she’d want her any other way.

“Okay try this one on first.” Anna thrust a soft blue number into her arms and shoved her into the changing room before she could even protest. And to Emma’s utter dismay, she shook her head when she came out.

“Anna, we’ve been doing this for hours,” she complained.

“An hour and a half,” Anna corrected. “But I have a really good feeling about this one.” She threw a short red one at her and motioned for her to go back into the cubicle. “I’ll make it up to you!”

“You better.”

The red one really was better. The skirt reached to her knees and was loose enough to be comfortable but not so much that she worried about a Marylin Monroe incident. The dress was sleeveless with a low neckline, decorated with sequins.

“Emma, come on,” Anna called from outside. When Emma padded out to her, Anna gasped. “This is it. This is the one.”

“It is?” Emma could have danced. “We’re done?”

“Yes we are,” Anna chuckled. “Hurry up and pay, Elsa’s ready to meet us at the Starbucks up the street.”

After changing, Emma linked arms with her sister and made her way to the counter.

                                                                                                               ******

The night of the gala, Emma was adding in some red earrings and strapping up some black high-heeled sandals that she had kept in her closet since her college graduation. Anna had been around earlier to apply make-up and she had outdone herself with a smoky black and grey eye-makeup and red lipstick.

Graham’s knock at the door was perfectly timed; she had just finished strapping up her shoes. She opened the door to find Graham in a full tux, a pretty big change from his usual shirt and jeans routine.

“You clean up well, Humbert,” she teased, adjusting the hem of her skirt slightly. Graham on the other hand couldn’t seem to close his mouth.

“You look amazing, Emma,” he muttered. Emma shifted uncomfortably when she saw red spread across his face and decided to get their night moving, hoping to cut through the dense atmosphere.

“Come on,” she said, offering him her arm. “I need you to help me down these stairs in heels.”

                                                                                               ******

Graham let out a low whistle as he followed his sat-nav’s directions and pulled up outside Gold’s mansion, where the gala was being held. A red carpet led right up to the double doors of the massive red brick house, French windows decorated with fairy lights and photographers flashing their cameras, making Emma dizzy. Briefly, she wondered if Killian was among them.

As Graham helped her out of the passenger seat, Zelena’s black car pulled up next to them. How she managed to keep it looking new despite the fact she owned it for years was a mystery to Emma.  She stepped out in a tight black dress and stilettos, her hair pinned up in a bun with emerald hairpins.

“Miss West,” Emma greeted, not entirely sure what to say.

“Emma. You look nice,” Zelena said. “Come on.” Before Emma had a chance to respond, she was walking in the direction of the mansion and Emma was stumbling after her alongside Graham. “Gold’s obviously going to want to meet with me inside. We’re keeping it quick and snappy. And it would be best if you didn’t talk.”

“Got it,” Emma mumbled while being blinded by the camera flashes. She thanked God Graham was there to make sure she didn’t stumble and land in one of these photographers’ laps.

The entrance was a marble floor and high ceiling with a diamond chandelier and a spiral staircase. Emma felt like she had been sent back to some 1930s murder mystery event. Men and women in white shirts and tight black trousers walked around with trays of finger food and champagne and the sound of violins could be heard in the next room.

“Well we definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore,” she muttered, which got a chuckle from Graham.

“Oh, alert.” Emma looked in the direction Graham had gestured to and saw a thin man with long brown hair, a metallic cane and a slightly disgusted facial expression as he took in some of his guests.

“Mr Gold,” Emma sighed. “Ruthless and cruel but apparently can throw one hell of a party.”

Zelena looked in his direction and drew in a deep breath.

“All right, lets get this over with,” she muttered. Gold noticed her and immediately started moving towards her.

“Miss West,” he greeted with a pained smile on his face. “I am utterly delighted you could attend.”

“Of course,” she replied, her voice smooth but her arm tense as she shook his hand. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Adam.” Emma chuckled and disguised it as a cough even though Gold wasn’t paying her any attention. It was like watching two sharks circle each other and Zelena clearly had the upper hand. “Congratulations by the way on your…. Development? Forgive me Adam, so much happens these days its hard to keep track of the little things.”

Emma was sure that if they weren’t at a media covered event, Zelena would have gotten a punch to the chin. Gold took a deep breath and composed himself, baring his teeth.

“No matter Miss West. And we have an extra cause for celebration tonight.” A young woman with thick dark hair appeared and placed her hand lightly on Gold’s arm. “Miss West, I don’t suppose you know my wife, Belle?”

Behind her, Graham choked on whatever he had nabbed from a server’s tray.

“Wife?” he whispered. “She’s about half his age!” Emma huffed in agreement and looked at her, noticed the glass of lemonade in her hand while everyone around her drank champagne, noticed the slight swell in her abdomen.

“Well Belle and I are expecting our first child together, aren’t we darling?” Belle nodded demurely. Emma couldn’t help but take in her smile that didn’t reach her eyes, how she looked at the floor, the tension in her arms. It broke her heart.

“Oh, Adam that is just lovely,” she smiled. “When are you due?” Belle opened her mouth, but it was Gold who answered.

“Six months from now. So, as I said tonight is another reason for celebration.” He patted Belle’s hand. “What about you, Miss West? Your family, how are they?” Emma new that struck a nerve, Zelena never spoke about her family, but true to form she didn’t show it on her face.

“Oh, you know how it is Adam. I wish you all the best with your child. Especially after what happened with the first one.”

Neither Emma nor Graham had any idea what she was talking about, but if looks could kill, Zelena may just have dropped dead on the spot.

“Indeed,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Come my darling, why don’t we greet more of our guests. I hope you and your employees enjoy the party, Miss West.”

Zelena turned to face Emma and Graham. She had a self-righteous smile on her face, but her eyes were upset, and her hands curled into tight fists.

“You two enjoy yourself. I need a drink after that.” She walked off to the bar.

Graham and Emma made their way to the main ballroom. It was about the size of Emma’s apartment, maybe larger, with a white wall with ornate cold designs. Silver curtains hung at either side of the French windows and the set of glass doors which led out to an immaculately kept garden. At one end there was a long white table covered with finger food and more servers with glasses of champagne.

“I think I am going to take advantage of the free food,” Graham said. “You want to come?”

“I do not want to face down this crowd. But bring me back something?”

“Got it. I’ll look for anything either friend, cheesy or chocolate covered.” Emma laughed as Graham left her for the food table.

“Snow?” a familiar voice asked behind her. She smiled as she turned to face Killian, who wore a black shirt, slightly open, and black jacket with a red trim, his hook replaced by a black prosthetic hand. Emma forced herself to maintain eye contact but damn, did he look good. “You look absolutely amazing.”

“You’re looking pretty well yourself,” she replied. “Although I am fairly certain the invitation said ‘black tie’.”

“Well, it did but it also said ‘the finest champagne in New York City’ and frankly, its average at best.”

“So, in addition to being a photoshop wizard, you’re a drinks expert.”

“I may have a rather refined pallet, yes.” He smiled at her, making her hands twist into the fabric of her dress. “So this is quite the hoe-down isn’t it?” Emma laughed at how wrong the word ‘hoe-down’ sounded in his accent.

“Is that how you think Americans talk?” she asked.

“Well I spent a semester in Texas and it is exactly how they spoke,” he replied, making Emma laugh again.

The musicians changed their tune to some slow, classical piece she vaguely remembered being on the radio.

“Not exactly keeping with the times with this music, are they?” he asked.

“No, but Mr Gold is getting up in the years,” she joked. “Maybe this was the tune of his day.”

“Aye, possibly,” he said. He licked his lip slightly and his hands reached up to scratch lightly behind his ear. “Emma, I hope I’m not being too foreward, but would you do me the honour of dancing with me?”

Emma’s stomach dropped to the floor, two conflicting thoughts battling in her head. One said “say yes say yes say yes” and the other brought up painful memories of her attempts at slow dancing with her first girlfriend Lily during her high school prom.

“I would,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “As long as you don’t mind me standing on your foot.” Killian chuckled and stepped closer, offering her his hand.

“I have a feeling you’ll do grand.” Emma placed her hand in his warm one, sending warmth throughout her whole body and making the smile on her face wider. “There’s just one rule when it comes to these kinds of dances. Pick a partner who knows what he’s doing.”

Emma allowed him to place her hands on his shoulders and for him to place his hand and prosthetic on her waist. She moved her hands until they were clasped at the back of his neck, her thumb running across the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Just follow my lead.” They swayed together in a comfortable silence, small smiles passing between them as Emma’s rapid heartbeat gradually slowed down, not to its normal pace, but so she could feel comfortable but still have the buzz of adrenaline. “You know, Snow, I think you’re too hard on yourself. You are quite good.”

“Shut up,” she said, red creeping across her cheeks. “Where did you learn to dance?”

“Well, my mother taught me,” he said, sadness flickering across his eyes for a moment.

“Your mom?” Emma asked, not knowing what else to say. Her mother had danced with her, but that was just fun, not serious, slow dancing which involved holding another person close like the way she was doing with Killian.

“Aye. She was adamant that my brother and I grow up to be proper gentlemen. Which would involve being able to spin a lady-or man-across the dancefloor with grace and poise.”

“Well she taught you well.” Emma wanted to ask more about his childhood but held herself back. She barely knew this man. She was not going to pry into his childhood.

And she was not staring at his lips. And she was not inching closer to him, tilting her head and parting her lips slightly, her eyes half closed. And his warm breath smelling only slightly like champagne was not on her face.

The sound of a window crashing caused her to jump back from Killian, her hand wrapping around his of its own accord.

The window closest to them was smashed, the glass looking like diamonds on the floor, but that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was the black robot that had crashed through. It was taller than a human, broader. At the end of one of its arms there was a canon-like device which glowed red. On its blank face there were two glowing red eyes.

The canon fired at the wall, staining it black and burning a crater in it.

Immediately the party descending into panic, people feeling towards the exit as fast as humanly possible. Emma’s eyes scanned the crowds to try to find Graham as she and Killian squeezed through the crowds closing in on the exits.

They stumbled into the lobby, only for Emma to almost trip over the person in front of her as the crowd came to a standstill. A scream shot through the air and Emma felt a weight press on her chest as murmurs slithered through the crowd.

“There’s ones blocking the exit!” someone in front of her gasped. Killian squeezed her hand tightly, terror written all over his face.

Emma didn’t need to think about what she had to do. Killian was scanning the crowd for an exit and she took that opportunity to take her hand out of his and push backwards through the crowd. She squeezed out of the crowd, slipped down a narrow corridor and into a closet containing various light switches.

Hastily, she ripped off her glasses and unzipped her dress. This party needed a hero.

                                                                                               ******

The Swan flew out of the mansion and back round to the ballroom. The robot was still in the window, not moving except for its head, which moved left and right every so often. She focussed hard on the back of his neck and allowed her lasers to shoot out, drilling into it until a sad metallic groan came form it and it fell to the ground.

Wasting no time, she flew over the destroyed robot and into the entrance.

“Look, the Swan!” someone called from below. Gasps rippled throughout the crowd as they craned their necks to see her. Somewhere in the crowd, Emma saw she dishevelled hair and blue eyes of Graham and smiled. He was safe, for now at least.

“They’ve blocked the exits!” someone called up to her. She was surprised when she turned and saw that the voice belonged to Belle, Mr Gold’s wife. Her husband wasn’t around. “The main entrance and side doors. We can’t get out.”

“I can take care of this,” she called back, and Belle immediately relaxed. “I need you all to remain calm.”

The Swan flew over the crowd and landed squarely in front of the robot blocking the main doorway.

“Who are you?” The robot tilted its head to the side. The blank expression sent a chill down Emma’s back. At least with Fiona she was, at least partially, human. Whatever this was, it was just a void staring back at her. “Are you from this planet?” Again, nothing. “What do you want?” The robot raised its arm in response, a red laser firing up inside it. “Okay so we’re doing this.”

Emma wasn’t sure her plan would work, but it was better than nothing. She flew to its side-it was too big and clumsy to respond-and used her laser eyes to cut through the metal, wincing as sparks and shards came close to her, but the arm fell off and the laser died down.

“Now, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?” she smirked before lasering off its head and watching as its motionless body toppled. She didn’t stay to enjoy her victory, instead flying to the next door, only to be greeted with another robot. “Okay Robocop, let’s do this.” Same as before she lasered the head off it and let it topple to the ground.

A ripple of applause caused her to turn around and face the around. There were even people screaming their appreciation for her.

Emma didn’t take time to stop and appreciate it. She focussed, blocked out the applause and listened closely. She took off down the corridor and found herself face to face with yet another robot. The same routine applied; laser the head off. She supposed she should be happy they were predictable. She repeated the same chore at three other exits before heading back to the main ballroom.

“I think I’ve stopped all of them,” she called to the worried crowd. “But just stay here for now while I keep checking this out.”

“What are they?” Mr Gold asked. He seemed to be the only one not impressed by her, if the tight grip on his cane and gritted teeth were anything to go by.

“Honestly, I am not entirely sure, but we will find out. If you can call police and your loved ones to make sure they know you’re okay.” She didn’t wait for his response before she did another sweep of the building and to her relief she found all other exits clear. She swept back to the crowd to break the good news.

“We’re clear. There are no more robots blocking the exits. I think we’re good.”

It appeared she spoke too soon; one of the robots jerked to life almost the second she had said “good” and began firing up its weapon. The next Emma knew, she was speeding towards it, feeling the head of the blast on her face and shoving it away from the crowd, causing it to make a rather large dent in the wall. When she turned to face the crowd again, she saw Graham facing her, mouth open in shock. She felt her stomach drop at the thought of losing him.

“You said we were safe,” Gold snapped as she lasered off both its arms to be safe.

“Forgive me if I wasn’t totally sure, I’m not used to damn robots,” she replied before she could stop herself.

“Just who are you, Swan?” he asked, her name venomous on his tongue. Emma didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply, just made another tour of the mansion and disarmed (literally, she supposed) the robots. As she did, she noticed the red and blue lights of police cars flashing outside the window. As well as the presence of a large black van. She felt certain it was the same one she had seen that night with Fiona.

Police, armed with guns, ran through the front door of the mansion, followed by hounds of reporters, no doubt hoping to catch another glimpse of the Swan.

                                                                                               ******

Emma, now once again Emma, the Swan discarded and thrown away, slipped back into the crowd. Everyone else was too distracted by the police and reporters to even pay attention to her as she pushed her way back through the crowd searching for Killian.

“Snow,” he said behind her as he took her hand gently. Emma turned to see his relieved face. He smiled and moved towards her, arms outstretched, before pulling back. “I lost you in that crowd and I didn’t know what to think…..”

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” she sighed. “The crowd was too big, and I couldn’t hold on to you. Have you seen Graham?” She knew he was safe, thanks to her, but she still saw her terrified face in her mind.

As if someone granted her wish, Graham appeared in her line of vision. She squeezed Killian’s arm and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Hey,” she sighed as he hugged her back. “Graham I was so worried there.”

“I think I need a drink,” he muttered. “Or ten.”

“Tell me about it, that robot arm almost killed you,” she said as she pulled back. Graham’s smile faltered, his eyebrows knotted.

“How did you know about that? You weren’t with me, how did you see it?”

Oh shit Emma thought. She slipped up, probably a side effect of the adrenaline wearing off. She felt herself growing hotter as she fumbled for an explanation.

“Excuse me, I need you to evacuate this place now,” a dark haired girl in a black uniform said. Tiredly, Emma thought to herself that it wasn’t like any uniform she had seen before, she wasn’t police but clearly wasn’t the army.

She allowed Graham to lead her outside. She gave another smile to Killian Jones as she and Graham made their way to his car.

“Big universe, huh?” she asked. “Sorry about the dance.”

“Oh, it’s nothing Snow,” he said. “You can simply owe me.” Before she could ask what he meant, he nodded and opened his car door. “Safe home.”

Emma nodded and turned to Graham’s car. Graham still had questions, but he wasn’t pressing. She took one look back at Gold’s mansion. The black van near the entrance. It gave Emma an uneasy feeling, and not knowing what the van was for frustrated her a lot, to put it mildly.

But not nearly as much as the fact she was going to have to think up some way to explain to Graham how she saw him when she was nowhere near him. She slipped into Graham’s passenger seat, her weary muscles relaxing into the leather covers he had. Graham looked at her sceptically for a moment, but said nothing.

This was going to be a long night.

[mistye-dawne]

Galu 33

Prompt: “Hey my porch lights are not on! Fuck off!” for Galu

Happy Halloween

October 31st, Halloween night and one of Lucy’s favorite holidays. The twenty-seven year old always enjoyed seeing the various costumes everyone’s children were dressed in. This year was the first year she’d be able to hand out candy to the adorable little monsters, or it would have been had she not had such a shitty day. She’d bought plenty of candy, but since she’d gotten home from work nearly three hours ago, she’d cleared out and entire bag.

The day had started off well enough. So what if the deadline she’d been given originally had been pushed up, leaving her way less time to work. And screw her ex who was too much of a wuss that he had to break up with her over a damn text. Hell, it gave her more time to focus on her work. But fuck that goddamn sexy police officer who had pulled her over for speeding just because she turned into the neighborhood a little too fast. Okay maybe she was going fifteen over. She’d pay the ticket but damn it all.

Today was just a shitty day and Lucy decided that she was just going to order too much chinese food, pig out on candy, and watch Netflix until she passed out from a fucking sugar coma.

She was three episodes in when there was a knock on her door. She ignored it, thinking that maybe it was just some trick-or-treaters who hadn’t paid attention to the fact her porch light was off. A handful of seconds later, there was another knock. Lucy grumbled, paused her show, and then stopped to the door as the individual on the other side knocked for a third time.

“Hey, my porch lights are not on!” she yelled. “Fuck off!”

Thankfully there weren’t any children at her door when she flung it open and glared at the culprit who’d interrupted her night of self pity. She recognized the black-haired man as the officer that had pulled her over earlier. He was out of uniform and in civilian clothes. He blinked at her and her face grew hot.

“Umm, hey,” he greeted rather hesitantly. Lucy was still frozen in place, unable to speak. “Listen, I thought you looked troubled earlier and I knew that you lived down the street from me,” he explained pointing to five houses down from hers. “I just wanted to ask if everything was okay.”

Lucy stood there for another moment before she started crying. No everything was not okay and this neighbor that she didn’t know was the first person to ask her that day. Gajeel blanched and quickly apologized, noting the parents and children outside were beginning to stare. He had only recognized the girl as his neighbor earlier that day and wanted to make sure she wasn’t in any trouble. That’s why he’d stopped by. He hadn’t meant to make her feel worse about it.

Amidst her crying, the blonde felt her stomach turn and rushed to the bathroom. The man stepped inside, closing the door behind him, when he heard her getting sick. His eyes were drawn to a mess of candy wrappers and cold leftover takeout. No wonder she was sick. He walked to her kitchen, well aware that he hadn’t been invited inside. It wasn’t like he could just walk away from her when she might need help.

He searched for a glass and filled with some tap water and went to the bathroom. He leaned close to listen for her and could hear her breathing steadily. He knocked on the door and waited until she cracked it open. “I brought you some water,” he offered her the glass through to partially open door.

“Thank you,” she croaked, her throat raw from cry and vomiting. Lucy took the glass and took tiny sips, being sure not to agitate her stomach again.

After a moment of being sure she wasn’t going to throw up again, Lucy grabbed the sink and pulled herself up. She washed her face and rinsed the taste of bile from her mouth as best she could, remembering that the officer from earlier was just outside her bathroom. When she was done and opened the door, he looked into her eyes from where he was leaning against the wall.

“I’m sorry for causing a scene, officer,” she said then sniffled. She didn’t catch his name before running off, if he’d even offered it.

“Gajeel is fine,” he offered. “I’m sorry if I upset you.” Lucy watched him rub the back of his neck and glance away from her.

“I’m Lucy, though you might already know that.” He nodded. “Anyway, there’s no need to apologize. It’s just been a bad day,” she assured him. “Umm, can I get you something to drink?”

He looked at her. “Huh?”

“Would you like something to drink? Or do you have somewhere to be?” she asked.

Gajeel could only nod and followed her to the kitchen. She was obviously not in the best of moods but she was still trying to be a good hostess to him of all people who had undoubtedly made her day worse earlier that day. She shut the fridge and slid a beer to him.

“Someone’s got good taste,” he commented looking at the bottle. “My ex was the one who drank that. It you like it, then they’re all yours.”

“Ex?” He eyed her as she walked across the foyer and started cleaning up the mess in there.

“Yep. Coward dumped me with a text today,” she scoffed.

“What a pussy,” Gajeel chuckled. “Guy like him obviously isn’t worth your time.”

“He was pretty high maintenance. I probably would have dumped him sooner or later,” she admitted.

“That’s harsh, men like to be taken care of every now and then you know.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the man. “Coming over to my house and demanding that I make your ass dinner after I’ve had a long day at work and wasn’t even going to cook for myself, fuck outta here with your fancy ass beer.” Gajeel laughed at her statement but stopped when she directed her next words at him. “And you, mister sexy police officer are an ass.”

“Hey now,” his voice growing a tiny bit serious, “You were speeding when you turned into the neighborhood.”

She shook her head and leaned against the counter. “The next time you think there might be something wrong with the person you pull over, don’t hesitate to ask.”

He really should have asked her earlier so that he didn’t feel like an ass when she’d driven off. It was why he stopped by in the first place. “I know. And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier.”

Lucy shrugged. “Eh, no worries. Gotta admit, had you said something earlier, I’d still be alone right now.”

Gajeel took a sip of his drink then smirked at the woman. Happy Halloween indeed.

Halloween’s still a bit away but I couldn’t resist. Thanks for the request dearie!