#so much studying happening in this chili's tonight

[awkwardpenguinproductions]

i actually just recently reread all the yuyan stuff and im stopping by to say you're an incredible author and it was a blast to read. take your time with the final stuff because real life and your mental health absolutely comes first, and know that we will still be here when you're ready!!!!

Thank you most kindly, anon!

Hilariously, it's not my mental health throwing a wrench in the works this time, aside from just not having enough mental spoons.

About a year and a half ago now, my rabbi asked me to become a b'nei mitzvah tutor for our synagogue, since we have a bumper crop of students this year and next and not nearly enough tutors. She'd first asked me a year beforehand to do this, and since I wasn't given a firm deadline at the time, my silly ADHD brain said "yeah, sure!", bought the the texts I needed to learn how to chant Torah, and then left them sitting on the bookshelf for the better part of a year. When Rabbi asked me again a year later, I blue-screened, sheepishly admitted that I hadn't really been studying all that much, and then set to teaching myself Torah trope in time to start working with my first student this past June. Well, since then, I've added another student, saw that first student through her Bat Mitzvah, am now working with a third student who has a whopper of a portion and is set to have his Bar Mitzvah in June of this year (Y I K E S), and have agreed to chant a portion in May. So a good portion of my free time is now spent learning and recording various Torah and Haftarah portions, as well as general Friday night/Saturday morning prayers because the recordings on the Temple website are shit.

I have also been tacitly (though not officially and with no start date or documentation as of yet-- basically Rabbi asked me if I was interested, I said yes, she said cool you're first on the list of one name) hired to take over the position of Temple Administrator for the Synagogue, which is going to involve accounting skills that I do not yet have. So I am desperately ripping through Idiot's Guides and For Dummies books because I have no idea when this is going to start and I can't study this stuff in the two-ish hours of free-ish time I have at work with Smoller Bean now in preschool, because being the friendly people that they are, Boss Lady and Mr. Dad will want to know what I'm doing, and I really don't want to have that conversation until I know for a fact that I have a job lined up just in case they decide to fire me before I can quit. So when I'm not ruining my vocal chords or bugging Poppa Penguin with pronunciation questions, I'm giving myself carpal tunnel with the amount of notes I'm taking. All of this on top of the usual daily chaos of trying to keep the Beans from killing themselves, each other, or me, as well as the general busywork of keeping myself fed and watered and at a publicly acceptable level of hygiene.

So you can imagine the kind of stress I am under.

Anyway, apologies for using your ask to basically info dump on the current state of the Iceberg, Anon, but I figured I might as well let everyone know why I've basically fallen off the face of the planet. I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding, and I'll get to it when I get to it 😆😆😆

[abednadirsgf]

TROBEDISON ROOMATE HCS PLS I WOULD LIKE 2 HEAR!!

YES LETS GO TROBEDISON !!!

midnight icecream together!!! they're all in their pjs (troy and abed got annie a set of pjs for their first christmas/notchristmas/notpresent/hanukkah/holidayday/gift not gift that matched theirs but in purple :)) they eat icecream with sprinkles, with chocolate syrup, with marshmallows, with chopped nuts on top, with multiple flakes, with m&ms - the whole shebang. they might have some inspector spacetime in the background whilst they talk and giggle and make funny faces at each other. they leave the dishes in the sink for later that morning and probably end up sleeping and cuddling together on cushions or on the sofa for the rest of the night.

annie has lots of pillows and bears and plushies etc, a whole collection. so, troy and abed decide to get her a new plush every birthday/not Christmas Christmas holiday day or just when they see one that looks cool and so her whole bed is just filled with different animals or weirdly shaped cushions they found in charity shops or drugstores or furniture stores or ebay or something lol (they make sure they clean them beforehand obviously so they smell of nice lavender fabric conditioner) and annie allows them to name some of them too ;)

Annie listens to Mitski, she a mitski gal like me, and she tends to listen to 'bury me at make out creek' or 'lush' albums when she's sad or feels overwhelmed with emotions or feeling insecure :// so when Troy hears the familiar sound of Francis Forever through her door when he goes to ask if she wants takeout tonight, he knocks on the door before entering and seeing her on her bed with a tear stricken face :( he gives her a big big hug, turns the music off and just holds her and tells her the things that happened in his day, like how he saw a cat with one eye outside the apartment building and tried to feed it the leftover chips he had at lunch but it might have scratched him and the cut on his hand don't look so good and then annie bursts into laughter and slaps troy's chest calling him an idiot and fixes up his hand so it doesn't get infected

abed and annie watch the xfiles together, they go through s1-s9 and even dress up as fox mulder and dana scully respectively for one Halloween!!! they watch the movies together and think up of their own conspiracies about the show or real life government. and it's partially what pushed Annie to pursue forensics and the fbi further and Abed 100% backed her and encouraged her (also got her to promise to give him a special fbi hq tour and may or may not write his own spin off special episode take on Annie working at the fbi hehe and also makes sure she reports back all the tales she has for script inspo) when the latter seasons of 10&11 come out whilst they're apart, they Skype each other and do watch parties and britta might pitch in too.

Abed loves his buttered noodles and Troy loves eating pizza all the time and as much as Annie loves takeout and easy eating, she knows its not healthy to have it all the time (and its expensive!!!) so they have a day of the week (I'm feeling Thursday) when they cook a proper homecooked meal together like lasagna or chili con carne and save leftovers for lunch the next day too. Annie also makes sure they eat some fruit so sometimes when they study she makes them all fruit cups and adds a little bit of sprinkled sugar ontop of strawberries ;)

Troy loves to bake. he loves it. he loves making a mess of flour and sugar and having his friends and family tasting his creations. he learnt a lot from Shirley and makes a realllll good pumpkin pie for thanksgiving every year. he loves making apple crumble bc of the texture and he loves decorating cakes and cupcakes (though he does like drawing dicks with icing and makes jokes whenever someone eats one lol) and although he doesn't celebrate birthdays, he still makes abed and annie a cake and he gets them to decorate it with him so it has a some of the flair of the not birthday person. I feel like baking is one of his love languages and he just loves to feed his family the delicious treats and gets super happy when they like them or bake with him :)))

obviously movie nights!! binging tv show nights!! movie marathons!! popcorn galore!! they all know each others comfort movie/show and just watch and cuddle on the sofa when they need it

pillow and blanket forts <33 they might have little studies sessions in them or troy and abed just go to Annie's room and sit in her bed on the many pillows she has hehe

they just love each other and are always there for each other <3 I love them and they're my fave trio <3

[aching-tummies]

if i was your partner... I'd take you on a date to the county fair. I know you have a sweet tooth, and I promise to buy you whatever you want. When we get there, we haven't had dinner yet so we get a big meal of hamburgers and hot dogs, and some fried dough and cotton candy for you. I tell you I want to take a lap around the fair to see what rides there are, and get you as many treats as you want. Ice cream, churros, sodas and milkshakes all end up in your belly... 1/?

I’ve never been to a fair/amusement park or anything so when my beloved suggests we go I’m excited. Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to go to these things because friends that have gone always have such cool stories about the rides or cute ones about laughing and having fun with their dates. Also…the occasional fair food item sounds delicious.

At the same time, I’m wary of the food because I’ve eaten stuff like ice cream, churros, milkshakes, and hot dogs before. Not at a fair setting and definitely not all in the same day. Past experience tells me that these are the kinds of foods that give me a queasy tummy ache individually. The idea of eating them all in the same day has me apprehensive. Absentmindedly, I press my hands to my tummy as though guarding it from the thought of such a nasty ache.

The day of the fair arrives and excitement has given way to nerves and those nerves have gone straight to my stomach. As we get out of the car and approach the fair grounds my stomach clenches and does flips. An empty growl splits the air but peters off into an inaudible, nauseous burble. I haven’t eaten much since you told me about our visit to the fair. The thought of fair-food filled me with dread since I knew we were coming and I guess I subconsciously lost my appetite in preparation…to try to give the fair-food a blank slate as though in hopes it’ll hurt less if it’s just the fair-food bouncing around in my gut. I rub my tummy with both hands, squeezing my eyes shut against the sensations rolling within it. I want to bolt. I want to go home. It’s like my tummy knows exactly where we are going and knows it’s in for something nasty.

I toy with the idea of asking that we just go on rides. I try to formulate the words, to make up a reason why I won’t be eating anything at the fair. Variations of “my tummy’s upset” or “I ate earlier and I’m full” come to mind. The latter wouldn’t be something I could fool you with. We’ve been together the whole day and you know naught but water has passed my lips all day. If my stomach weren’t sickeningly empty, I would definitely have thrown up by now. The anxiety of the impending situation twists in my gut, and I feel like a solid mass is forming inside my hollow gut…an imagined mass that sends urgent “puke” signals to my brain. I feel my stomach muscles convulse and I squeeze my eyes shut as it snarls again.

Your hand comes to my stomach and jolts me out of my thoughts.

“Aww…hungry?” You say as you pat my stomach through my clothes. You heard the hunger part of the growl and you took my hands on my tummy as a sign of a hunger pang. Or so I think.

“Uhm��n-not exac—"

“They sell food in there. Let’s grab some hotdogs before we check out the rides.” You pat your own stomach, triggering a growl that has no hint of nausea in it. “I’m hungry too.”

My stomach burbles as you all but push me forward, walking us to the entrance of the grounds. Each step brings the thought, “dead man (stomach) walking”. I had opted to eat less/not at all in preparation for this day because I didn’t want to come to the grounds with an upset tummy. My own stupid anxiety over what this kind of food does to me foiled that plan. If I had known my stomach would be upset entering the grounds regardless of whether or not I had eaten anything I would have just eaten something rather than endure hunger for so long.

“Uhm…d-darling? Hotdogs…uhm…y-you know what hot dogs do to my stom—”

“Ooh! Chilli-dogs! Yeah, those beat hot-dogs any day. We’re getting some!” It’s like you didn’t hear me. Tears prickle my lashes as I realize you’ve cut off all my attempts at telling you something is wrong. I open my mouth again but the glint in your eye shuts me up.

You know. The way your hand is snaked around my waist and how your palm is pressed up against my tummy is a new clue. The gentle, subtle rubs you’re giving me, that I haven’t noticed until now—you’ve done similar motions before. When I lost a dear family member you made those same motions on the back of my neck and on my shoulder when you put your arm around me. It’s your go to ‘comforting’ move. You know what’s on my mind. You know how upset my tummy is. You know I’m anxious about the impending stomach ache. And I know about your fascination with my stomach; we aren’t just here for the fair.

“Let’s walk and eat. Fair grounds are huge and I don’t know exactly what rides they have this year. Let’s do a lap, or two, and fill our tummies with all the different food as we narrow down which ones we want to go on.”

You’re still rubbing lazy circles on my tummy. Your voice and the gentle rubs slowly bring me out of my own head and the tight vice-like coil of anxiety in my gut unclenches just a little. The anxiety lessens just enough for a hungry growl to squeeze out. You know exactly what rides are offered. You studied the pamphlet thoroughly and I know for a fact you have a ranking order of your favorite rides. You love the fair and are a seasoned fair-goer. The walk is for my benefit. Suggesting two laps and suggesting that we slowly fill our bellies is entirely for the sake of my tummy. Starting at the fair with an already upset tummy wasn’t in the plan. You don’t just want to deal with an anxious tummy or a sickly one…the food and the fair-experience are part of your script for tonight. I take a deep breath and try to calm my nerves. If I let myself throw up it’s all over—that’ll be the end of the night. I don’t want to rob you of your opportunity to enjoy the fair. It only happens once a year. I don’t want to imagine having to deal with an entire year of an anxiety-induced stomach ache—knowing that you’ll try again next year.

“O-Okay…uhm…c-could we just split the food? I-I just want a bite or two of everything.” I pat my tummy. “You know my capacity is garbage.” You grin.

“Sure! One large chili-dog it is. Wanna choose what flavor milkshake we get? Oh, and the churros at one particular truck are to die for—you gotta try ‘em!”

And…we’re off. Your hand slides away from my waist and takes my hand instead as you pull me into the fair. I slide a reassuring hand on my tummy, hidden behind my messenger-bag. I rub my tummy gently, trying to quell the upset.

2/? ... and by the time we're ready to ride a ride, I can hear your tummy grumbling noisily. I ask if you're okay, and you insist, though you look a bit nauseous. We end up on the Tilt-A-Whirl, and afterwards, your stomach is louder than ever. I ask if you're hungry, if maybe that'll help your loud, bloated aching belly, and you say yes. More treats end up in your tummy, until its aching so bad you can barely stand...

A large chili-dog, a sub-par burger, and a churro have disappeared between both our guts and I’m currently polishing off the large choco-banana milkshake we ordered. Sure, you had most of the chili-dog and the burger was because you were still hungry—I’ve let you have the lion’s share of the solid foods. I meant to let you have most of the milkshake too, but you’ve been sneakily finding ways to have it end up in my hands and to my lips.

My stomach is comfortable right now. There’s a barely-there queasiness in it but it’s slight enough to be ignored. It’s quite noisy though, churning away as it tries to break down what’s gone into it. You’ve been rubbing my tummy as we’ve been walking for the last ten minutes or so and I’m sure your rubs are the only reason my stomach is comfortable right now. Without the rubs, a normal fast-food combo has been enough to give me a twisting ache in my gut, enough to get me to cry and dash off to a bathroom to be rid of the mess.

“Oh, hey! Let’s go on that!” You gesture to the roller-coaster we’ve arrived at. I’ve never been on one. “Oh…damn…no drinks allowed on it.”

I raise my eyebrow quizzically as I rattle the empty milkshake cup. You offer a sheepish smile and hold up a full cup of cola you’ve been clutching in your other hand. “Came with the burger. Could’ja help? My tummy’s gettin’ kinda full.” You place a hand on your slightly rounded tummy.

Sure, it’s only cola…but neither of us is in the habit of wasting food. Steeling my nerves, I grab the cola and begin to suck at the straw, taking it down in gulps and thanking the heavens that it’s small as far as beverage containers go.

You pat my grumbling tummy as I finish the cola, forcing a sharp belch to pass my lips. “You didn’t have to chug it, we could have come back.” You coo as you continue to pat and rub my tummy. I groan, realizing my stupidity. My stomach sloshes sickeningly and rumbles violently at the sudden addition.

“Nah. We’ve already done two laps around the grounds. If we’re going to ride anything now’s the time.” A part of me just wants this night to be over. That cola pushed the discomfort meter in my gut higher. There’s a tight pressure inside of me right now and I want to believe it’s just the carbonation from the cola.

We share a car in the roller coaster. I grip the bar. Do not throw up. Do not throw up. Do not throw up. Repeats like a mantra in my head. Just as the coaster starts rolling, you release the bar and put both hands on my gut. You knead into my tummy, forcing burps out as I grip the rail tightly for the both of us. We have seatbelts and all that…the bar is just there for an extra level of safety. You’re experienced, you know we won’t fall even if we aren’t white-knuckling it so you put your hands to a different use. Each loop and sharp turn of the coaster causes your grip on my tummy to tighten. A particularly sharp turn sends your entire form slamming against me and your elbow meets my stomach and has me feeling something wet surge up my esophagus but I fight it down. You’ve managed to get most of the gas out of my tummy before the big loop of the coaster, at which point you offer one last pat to my tummy and turn to face forward properly. My stomach churns as we slow and watch the looming loop seeming to creep up on us. As we crawl up the loop my own hands clutch my tummy and I begin to squeeze, short and small burps burble out of me. You raise an eyebrow but are more fixated on the coaster. I want the gas out. I don’t want the inversion to cause a burp to bring up something else when we’re completely upside-down.

As we climb out of the coaster all that is left in my gut is a dense mass of thick sludge swirling around in a lake of cola. Some of the milk from the shake most definitely curdled in the acid bath of the cola. I let out a few moans as I walk and my hands have not left my tummy since we got off. I cradle my churning gut as I make my way to a miraculously empty bench.

“Babe, you okay?” Concern colors your voice as you skip after me. I need a few minutes for my stomach to re-orient itself. I can feel the thick sludge swimming in my gut and it is not a pleasant feeling. The squeals and whines from my gut betray that it doesn’t like the sensations either.

You’ve disappeared and I’m too absorbed in the activity in my tummy to care. Bathroom break, maybe. I press into my tummy cautiously, wincing at the churning grumble that is pushed forth from it. I can’t help but groan under my breath. My stomach really sick. I feel like it’s a sack of vomit churning violently rather than a stomach at this point.

I hear the crinkle of paper and I open my eyes. Something crisp and golden is shoved into my face as though you are presenting me with a bouquet of flowers.

“Is that?” My eyes widen.

“Yup! A Bloomin’ Onion! I saw a stall selling ‘em while we were on the coaster.” You announce proudly as you plop yourself down next to me.

Eagerly, I reach to tear off a piece of the treat, my nauseous tummy forgotten.

“I thought you’d need something to settle your stomach and maybe absorb some of the mess in there.” You pat my noisily churning tummy. “A-also…you’ve always wanted to try this thing, right? ‘cuz you love onion rings.”

“Mmph.” I give you an affirmative grunt as my mouth is full of the treat. You giggle and tear off some for yourself.

Once the onion has disappeared between the two of us my stomach is feeling moderately better. I’ve eaten most of it. I’ll definitely come to regret putting something so oily down the hatch, but I take your hand and suggest more rides before it has time to bloom into a full-blown sickly ache. I’m resigned to it now. We’ve got precious few minutes before my stomach begins to literally belly-ache about what’s gone into it.

We arrive at your favorite, the Tilt-a-Whirl. Nothing will stop me from letting you enjoy this ride tonight. I hope my stomach gets the memo. As I hear the screams from the ride, I notice someone off to the side of it, hurling into a convenient trash bin. I grimace, willing that not to be me.

“Babe, you sure you’re up for this?” You’re worried. I take your hand as we get in the (thankfully) short line.

“Yeah. You love this ride. It’s fine.” My tummy grumbles deeply, sounding like a dying lawn mower or something.

You slide your hands around my waist, rubbing and patting at the upset vat that is my stomach. Your hands are magic. By the time we’re at the front of the line my stomach is still churning, and aching, but not as violently as it was before. There’s a very present ache in my guts but it’s just under the threshold between a full-blown stomach ache and something that could just be classified as discomfort.

The seatbelt is tight against my tummy and I have doubts, almost caving and telling the staff I’ve changed my mind and to let me off before the ride has even begun. As the cup spins the centrifugal force causes the belt to cut into my stomach jostling it every which way. I grow steadily more and more nauseous as the ride goes on. I don’t have your miracle hands on my tummy and that thought is enough to make me want to cry. Seeking some escapism, I let my mind wander as I try to focus on anything but the violent churning in my tummy. This ride has accomplished in thirty seconds what it took your hands thirty minutes to fix.

I imagine how this ride looks from above. It must look pretty cool—my thoughts are interrupted by a new one: how this ride looks from above is how my stomach feels right now. Uneven, unpredictable churning with little bits seeming to churn within the mess. Yeah, the inventor of this thing must have seen some cruel irony in fabricating a ride that was an external representation of what it was causing internally.

When the ride ends I practically stumble into you. You laugh, dizzy yourself, and we move together. I’m leaning on you, whimpering and clutching at my distressed tummy. I can feel it. I want to throw up. The vomit signals are very strong but it feels like one of the chunks of curdled whatever has blocked the path to my esophagus. My stomach convulses and I whine as it grumbles angrily.

Your hand comes to my tummy. “Aww…baby…you hungry? The most of a solid thing you’ve eaten today has been that onion. Maybe something more solid in your tummy will calm it down?”

I can no longer tell if you’re sticking to your kink-script or if you genuinely believe my sickly tummy is in need of some proper sustenance. My stomach feels too awful to care so I let you lead me by the hand wherever it is you want us to go.

I don’t protest when something is shoved into my hands. You tell me to eat and I mechanically bring it to my mouth and take bites. I don’t even know what it is you’re making me eat, but many different treats disappear into my tummy. I think there was a burrito of some sort at one point. At least two different churros have made an appearance too. A slice of pizza, dripping with grease, is definitely one of the items if the layer of grease floating in my gut is any indication.

“Ergh…ugh…” I curl, bringing my knees up and sandwiching my arms over my belly. You led me to a sort of hidden bench. We’re kind of behind one of the tents for some carnival game and there’s tree-coverage around us. You wanted some privacy while you fed me and I’m grateful for it because I’m certain my stomach is about to spill out of my mouth and I do not want an audience. Upset doesn’t even begin to cover how bad it feels. I feel like I’ve swallowed lava and the molten mass is burning away my digestive organs. The lingering ‘discomfort’ of an ache threatening to bloom finally explodes and I curl up tightly, the added pressure not doing any favors for my poor, achy tummy. “Ugh…urp…n-no more…please? Ugh…babe…it hurts. My tummy hurts so, so much…” My stomach protests just vocally as I do.

I end up flopping over onto my side on the bench, knees still curled up to press my arms into my sickly belly. You guide me to make sure my head is on your lap. You try to get me to uncurl, to grant you access to my tummy, but my limbs refuse to budge so you settle on rubbing my side and back.

“Aww…baby…maybe a walk would settle your tummy?” Your voice is sickly sweet and I groan as it goes straight to my stomach, feeling like I just guzzled another cola.

“Umph…nuh-uh—nope. Not gunna.” I curl up, my tears soaking into the fabric on your lap as I whimper a little. I try to bring up a burp, desperately trying to relieve some of the pressure in my gut. Nothing comes up. I know there’s some in there—there has to be—but each time I clench my abdomen it feels like there’s something sickly blocking the path of the gas. If I were to really push it I could maybe clear the blockage…but I’d almost definitely end up vomiting all over your lap.

“Babe…how about that walk?” You suggest again and this time I glare at you from your lap. I glare at you and uncurl just a little. You can see the pain lancing through my eyes for a split second. I watch as your gaze travels to my gut and then I jab at it with a hand. I bite back the groan of pain so that you can hear the resulting rumble. The turbulent sounds from the jab continue for a few moments even as I curl up again.

“A walk? You kiddin’ me? My tummy hurts, babe. Hurt doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can’t even stand up straight ‘cuz my tummy is imploding; and you want me to walk?!”

I’m being curt with you. I know I am and I regret it even as the words spill from my mouth. It’s the stomach ache. I haven’t had such a nasty one in a very long time.

3/3 I feel terribly you're not feeling so well, and offer to help you to the car. You lean on me heavily, and I rub your aching belly as we make our way back to the car. I have to help you in, and the seatbelt barely fits over your round tummy. I rub it as we drive home, and carry you into our house where I'll nurse your tummy back to health... or maybe give you more snacks ;)

“Oh, baby…I’m sorry.” You’re genuinely sorry and that makes me feel even worse about snapping at you. I pull a hand out from its position on my tummy, reaching over to brush against your face, to apologize in some way.

A sharp cramp shoots through my unhappy tummy and I let out an exclamation of pain. It felt like I got punched, from the inside. I whimper and close my eyes, breaths labored as I clutch at my tummy again. My stomach convulses violently and you can tell that I’m trying very hard both to vomit and to keep it in me. The struggle exhausts me and it breaks your heart to see it go down.

The fit dies down after a while and I eventually lie still on your lap. My stomach continues to churn within me and you can hear the sickly burbling. You’ve taken to carding a hand through my hair and using your other hand to rub at whatever you can reach—arm, side, back. The shooting cramps die down somewhat and I manage to uncurl. I find your hand and guide it to my stomach and you rub it gently. I’m still biting back grunts with each breath but you can tell that your massage is slowly doing something for my sickly tummy.

“Do you think you can get to the car? I think we’re done here.”

I whimper, shaking my head and guiding your hand back to my tummy. “Not yet. Ugh…please?” I look at you, silently begging for more rubs. “If I get up now I’m gonna hurl.” You continue rubbing my tummy and we continue in our positions for a while.

My stomach is fairly distended. I usually don’t eat much in a single day and you managed to cram a whole lot of stuff I usually wouldn’t touch into me today. Sugar, fried foods, salt, milkshakes. This is stuff I only allow myself to indulge in a couple of times a year…and only one at a time, usually. Like…before meeting you I was the type to see a can of cola as a treat. That was my dessert quota for the day or week. After we got together the occasional scoop of ice-cream became another dessert option—but always only one scoop. This is our first time at the fair as a couple and you really let me have it. You gave me the ‘full’ experience in more ways than one and my tummy is suffering for it.

“Urp…ugh…nachos? When did I eat nachos?” You laugh at my observation, a sign that I’m doing a bit better.

“I think it was between the second burrito and the banana split.” You inform me as I sit up.

“Second? Banana…split?” I’m surprised. I know I was out of it when you were feeding me, too caught up in the agony swirling in my tummy, but I didn’t think I was that out of it. “Wait…when was the pizza?” You laugh at my dumbfounded expression.

“I only gave you a few bites of the banana split ‘cuz I wanted it…and ‘cuz it looked like you were going to be sick at that point. You ate a whole slice of that pizza before the ice-cream.” My stomach burbles as it’s reminded and I put a hand on it.

“I don’t think that qualified as pizza. It feels like it was grease with a side of dough and cheese.” I groan, patting my tummy gently and rubbing up and down slightly. I still feel sick but the crippling ache has subsided…for now.

I take your hand and get up off the bench. You’re up immediately and drag one of my arms over to rest around your shoulders. We stumble our way toward the exit with your hands resting on my waist. My other hand on my belly is more to support the extra weight while yours provide some much-needed rubs. It’s a team effort to get to the car in my state.

You help me into the passenger seat as I moan. The cramps are building in intensity. You fasten my seatbelt and I almost push you off when you put too much pressure leaning over me to get the thing buckled. Now that I am sitting up my belly is really prominently distended. As you back up I immediately recline the seat, giving my belly some much needed room.

“Do not throw up in the car.” You admonish.

“Urgh…urp…ulp…ugh…no promises.” I whimper. You close the door and the impact jostles my belly. I clutch at it with a groan, swallowing back something thick and wet.

It’s a long drive back home. I’m reclined as far as the seat will go. You have one hand on the wheel and the other rubbing absentmindedly over the crest of my tummy when it’s not needed to steer or shift gears or whatever.

A part of you feels horrible for what we have done tonight. While both of us are into tummies, this is the first time we’ve ever done something like this. We’ve done some minor stuffings before. We’ve done other things in the realm of tummy kink before. This is a first where you stuffed me with foods that would normally cause me great distress all on their own and you decided to cram them all into me in the span of six hours.

I’m lost to the pain as we pull up to our place. I’m in the same incoherent state I was in when you fed me all those things I didn’t register. Gently, you unbuckle the seatbelt, guiding it home so that it doesn’t have a chance to upset my belly further. I groan and nearly lose my gorge as you slide your arms under my back and my knees and lift me out of the car with a massive heave.

The vertigo goes right to my tummy and I’m a groaning mess as you whisper reassurances at me. We’re almost home. Don’t throw up on you. Etc.

You set me on the couch. The bedroom is too far a walk and you don’t want to risk dropping me. The extra weight of all that indigestion is more than you anticipated.

I can’t move. My tummy is pinning me down and the threat of vomiting is extreme. I feel like a thermometer or something with the sludge going up and down my esophagus.

You set a bin within reach of me before disappearing to the kitchen. I whimper, wishing I could call out. I need your hands on my belly. I feel so sick.

I hear clattering in the kitchen. The tell-tale signs of something being microwaved. I hope it’s a heat pack or something even if the added pressure of it is sure to make me vomit. You return with a plate of pizza bites and my stomach pulls a move where it feels like it’s trying to drop out of me and run. I can’t move. I’m too full, too sick, and in too much pain. I only hope you have a night of rubs planned and that you’ve got a hair-tie somewhere ‘cuz there is no way this night ends without me throwing up.

[garbagevanfleet]

Brightest Blue (series)

PART SIX 

Pairing: Josh x reader Warnings: major marijuana usage!!  Summary:  Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: say hello to your new potential love interest - he’s cute, no? let’s see how he compares. 

As always, if you see @lantern-inthenight​, tell her thank you for being the very best editor. 

taglist: @valleyd0ll @satingrass-maidensfair @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @peaceisouranthem @oblvions @hansonobsessed @myownparadise96 @lara-gvf @anditsmywholeheart @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies @bigblack-catattack​

On Monday it had dusted snow, but tragically, it had happened while you were in class. You hadn’t even known until you were leaving campus and had seen the lightest coating left on some spots of the grass by the treeline. 

When you got back to the apartment, Josh was already there, stirring a huge pot of something on the stove. The room smelled like a restaurant.

“Josh, oh my god, it snowed and I missed it!” you exclaimed, tossing your jacket over the back of the chair. 

He paused what he was doing to look up at you and chuckled. “Don’t worry, I promise that’s not the last time.”

“What are you making?” you asked, padding across the linoleum to peer over his shoulder. 

“Vegetarian chili,” he answered, lifting a wooden spoon to your face. You blew on it for a moment before taking a taste. “It needs something, but I can’t figure out what.”

“I think it’s perfect,” you replied and meant it, suddenly excited to have a bowl of it. 

He hummed at you. “Thanks, but it’ll be a while before it’s done.”

You watched as he swiped the scraps from vegetables from the cutting table into the compost bucket. 

“You want to watch a movie tonight?” he asked. 

You frowned back at him. “I wish I could, but I’ve got a lot of work to do on my presentation. I’m supposed to be reading it to the class in like two days.”

“Alright,” he agreed, just a shade on the solemn side. There was one thing you knew for sure, and it was that there was a lot you would endure to make sure you didn’t have to see him looking sad. 

“I think I can still concentrate on it if I sit with you during a movie.” 

He laughed under his breath at your bargain. “It’s okay, you can work in your room instead if you’d like. Or, you can have the living room and I’ll keep to my bedroom.”

You scowled at him and pointedly replied, “Don’t be stupid, Joshua. Okay, I’ll make you a deal. I’m going to work on my paper until dinner time, then we can watch a movie.”

“I’ll take that deal.” He reached out and took your hand, shaking it once in a faux professional manner. 

“But, that means I have to work all night on it tomorrow,” you warned, looking directly into his eyes. 

He just grinned back mischievously. 

+++

“So, what happened?” you prompted, dipping a spoon into a cup of strawberry yogurt. Kate peeked up at you over the rim of her cup, crunching a piece of ice as she set it back down on the cafeteria table. 

You had been expecting Josh to join you for lunch, but you’d gotten a text telling you that he had to bail to work on production stuff and he’d see you later. You had been a bit disappointed, but you had to admit that you envied his dedication. Plus, you had Kate to keep you company. 

She poured more of her Diet Cherry Coke from the bottle into the cup of ice as she talked. “Not much, honestly.” She looked like she was going to continue until her gaze caught on something over your shoulder. 

You were just about to turn your head to find what she was looking at when she spoke again abruptly, making you halt all movement. “Don’t look, but there’s a guy by the vending machine that keeps looking at you.” 

You gave her a surprised look. “Oh, what does he look like?”

“He’s kinda handsome - short blonde hair, probably a little taller than you, a little shorter than me.” She paused, fiddling with the cap of her soda bottle as he snuck peeks at him from across the room. “Okay, quick look.”

You chanced a glance over your shoulder and hummed as you turned back to her. “I think I’ve seen him around. I don’t really know him though,” you stated. “Are you sure he’s not looking at you?”

She huffed amusedly at you. “Pretty sure he’s not.”

“Ooh, speaking of,” you started, reaching out and nabbing one of the waffle fries off of her plate and popping it into your mouth. “Have you been texting Jake?” 

“Not really.” A scarlet-colored smile was forming on her lips. 

“Does that mean yes?” you pressed when you realized that was all the information she was going to give you. 

She shrugged at you, already collecting the remainder of her lunch to toss away with a cheeky look. 

It wasn’t until your last class that you realized where you’d seen that boy before, and embarrassingly, it wasn’t until he was already sitting next to you. 

You glanced over at him, trying not to look too surprised. 

“Hey, do you care if I take this spot today?” he asked, seemingly knowing what your answer would be. You kind of wanted to say no, just to prove him wrong. 

“Yeah, sure,” you agreed sweetly instead. 

“I hope this isn’t weird, but I saw you at Bennie’s party on Saturday and I guess I just wanted to formally introduce myself. I’m Trevor.”

He held out an open palm for you to take, and you cautiously did. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He looked pleased that this was going as smoothly as he had clearly intended - not that he was lacking confidence, but something about his facial posture told you he had expected you to give him a hard time. 

“So, I’m not going to lie, this is partly because you seem to be really good at this class, but would you like to study together sometime? We could maybe get coffee after class.”

You looked at him for a silent beat before replying. “What’s the other part of the reason?”

“You seem nice, and I think you’re very pretty,” he said honestly, giving you a smile. 

You mirrored it back to him with a nod. “Coffee sounds nice.”

+++

You had made it a point to message Kate, telling her exactly where you were and who you were with, and you had texted Josh, telling him you’d be back in a couple of hours. 

Trevor was nice and somewhat funny. He seemed a little intellectually shallow, but you couldn’t actually judge that from an hour and a half long hang out in a coffee shop. 

When you got back to your apartment and checked your phone, you had six messages from Kate. 

Oh i’m kinda shocked

Good for you tho

Is he cuter up close?

Are you guys actually studding

*studying

i’m going to ask around and see if anyone knows anything about him

You snickered to yourself as you were reading them, before quickly typing back, let me know what you find out tomorrow. 

You were greeted by an empty living room and kitchen, but you could see that Josh’s bedroom light was on, so you headed that way as you shedded your extra layers of clothing. 

You knocked on the door frame, though the door was wide open to reveal Josh laying out on his bed with a lit joint between his lips and Penny on his bedside table. Folk music was playing from his laptop in a tinny quality. 

He peeked an eye open at the sound of your entrance, greeting you with a smile. 

“You’re not falling asleep with a lit spliff, are you?” 

“This is my second one,” he replied as if that was supposed to answer your question or quell your concern. “You want some? Or do you want to work on your paper?”

You ran your teeth over your bottom lip. “I finished my paper in class today. My professor gave us the whole period to work on it.”

He perked up then. “I can’t help but notice that wasn’t a no.” And after a pause he finished, “And congratulations - I’m proud of you.”

You gave him an awkward thumbs up that he promptly barked a laugh at.

 “You wanna?”

“I’ve never smoked before,” you reminded him like it might change his mind. 

“C’mere. I’ll help you.” 

You held a finger up at him. “Hang on, I’m going to change. Don’t look at me like that, I don’t want my new sweater to smell like pot, dude.” 

You returned back in your pajamas, still nervous, but now comfy. He patted the spot in front of him on his bed, prompting you to clamber on. Once you were situated, you tugged his comforter over your shoulders from where it was bunched up at the bottom of his bed. 

“Are you good?” he asked. 

You nodded at him, nervous enough that he could sense it. 

“I’m going to shotgun you, okay?” He put his hand on your knee for comfort, and you had to admit that the touch helped ground you. 

“Okay,” you replied quickly. 

“Okay?” he prompted again, looking less convinced. 

“What does shotgun mean?” you whispered like it was a secret, making him giggle into his shoulder. 

“I’m going to blow the smoke into your mouth. Since it’s your first time, I don’t want you to get super high.”

“Oh. Yeah, that wouldn’t be good,” you agreed. 

“Okay, I’m going to take a drag, and you’re going to open your mouth and suck in the smoke when I blow it out.”

You watched him raise the paper to his lips, the cherry turning bright orange as he inhaled. It wasn’t until he leaned forward with a closed mouth that you realized how...intimate the moment was. 

You weren’t positive he wasn’t going to press his lips directly to yours until you opened your mouth and pulled in his exhale. 

“Hold it in a second if you can,” he instructed, his voice a bit deeper from the smoke. 

You did as you were told, grimacing as you exhaled. “It tastes like dirty socks.”

He snorted a laugh, tipping his head back until it was rested against the wall. 

“I’m not sure what I expected though, because it also smells like dirty socks,” you continued, prompting his laughing to continue until he was sighing contentedly. 

“That’s cute,” he said through a grin. “Innocent.”

You could feel your cheeks warming by the second. You rolled your eyes at him playfully. 

“Do you feel anything?” he asked, sitting back up to attend to you. 

You shook your head. “Not really,” you admitted. 

“You wanna try again? You can just take a hit yourself if you want.”

“Actually could you do it again?” you asked, embarrassed, but not enough so that you were willing to do it alone. 

He gave you a grin, lifting the blunt back to his lips, but this time when he leaned forward, the fingers of his right hand found your jawline, pulling you into him too. When he blew the smoke to you, it was just inches from your lips, and this time you drank it in, forcing it deep into your lungs and holding it there. 

It started to hit you moments after you exhaled it - this pleasant, warm feeling. 

“Hang on,” you said excitedly, throwing the blanket off of you as you scrambled to get off the bed. When you returned you had a little speaker and your phone. The playlist that the two of you had collaborated on for cleaning days started playing, and even though he was laying out flat on his bed, you could see his lips turn up into a smile. 

You laid next to him, resting your head on his arm and giving a pleasant sigh. 

“What’s it feel like?” he asked, a rasp behind the words. He lolled his head to the side to look at you. 

“Warm and fuzzy. Kinda like being in love or seeing a really cute kitten. But also kinda like being on a sailboat in the middle of...I don’t know, some European sea. I can’t think of a single one right now if I’m being honest though.”

When you met his eyes, he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Damn, that’s awesome.”

He sat up on his elbow and reached past you to grab something from his nightstand. You were going to look and see what it was, but staring at the little speckles of plaster on his ceiling was suddenly the best thing you’d ever experienced. 

“Do you always wear cologne?” you asked, suddenly unsure if you were talking really slowly or if your brain just couldn’t process the sound on time. 

“Usually.” When you were able to look over at him, he had a bag of Tootsie Pops by his side, one of the sticks hanging out of his mouth. “You want one?”

You agreed by holding out your hand, letting him give you whatever flavor chance had picked for you. 

He had unwrapped it already, which you thanked him for as the flavor of grape hit your tongue. 

“What flavor did you get?” you asked, turning over so you could lay on your stomach, head propped up by your hands. 

“Cherry,” he replied through a smile, opening his mouth to show you after he asked, “Is my tongue red?”

You giggled at him. “Yeah, it definitely is.”

There was a long, comfortable pause, but you were in no state to determine how long it lasted. 

“I went on a date today.” It came out like an admission, despite your efforts to keep the statement casual. 

He had an impressed look on his face ”Oh, yeah? With who?”

He sat up with what looked like some effort until he was sitting cross-legged. You breathed a laugh, casting your eyes to the pendant of his necklace where it rested against his sternum.

“This guy, Trevor.”

The shocked smile he gave you felt a little surreal in your state. “I didn’t know you even knew any other people here.”

“I actually met him today,” you admitted. 

“And you went on a date with him?” And before you could answer, he continued. “How did it go?”

“It wasn’t really a date, per se. We just had coffee,” you informed. “And, actually, I even bought my own. “

He raised his eyebrows at you until you realized he wanted you to answer the other part of his question. 

“Oh, it was okay. I liked him.”

“Was he kind to you?” he asked, keeping his expression level. 

You nodded. “Yeah, he was. He offered to get my coffee, but I didn’t want him to think he was like. Doing me some big favor, you know?”

Josh huffed a laugh. “That sounds about right. Sounds like you.”

“We made plans for him to come over on Thursday and study.”

Josh tossed the stick of his sucker across the room, landing it perfectly in the little trash can by his door. “Would you like me to be gone for that?”

You frowned at nothing in particular. “Two things. One, how did you just make that shot? I can’t even move. And two, no, why would I want you to go?”

He shrugged, popping another sucker into his mouth. “I’m full of surprises, you’ve just gotta stick around.”

“Well, I live here so I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” The way you had muttered made him smirk at you. “But no, you obviously don’t have to leave while he’s here. Actually, I’d prefer if you didn’t - I don’t know him very well.”

Josh looked up at you through his lashes for a moment. “Then I’ll be here.”

The both of you hung out on his bed for an indiscernible amount of time, and not once did you ever feel less high. You had intended to get up and brush your teeth, but it didn’t happen, and there was nothing you could do about it. Your eyelids started to feel heavier than you could ever remember them being - like something had ahold of your leg and was dragging you down into sleep. 

The last thing you could recall was the sound of Josh’s smoked-out voice, quietly humming along to the chorus of a song and the visualization of the sound behind your eyes, sweeping back and forth between notes. 

[lightlavenders]

Time for my Entrapdak rant (a.k.a. why Hordak was better for her than literally anyone else, a.k.a. I’m not bias I swear)

as I read through Entrapta/Hordak/princess gang discourse on this site I started to realise the reason why I loved Entrapdak so much in the first place, and I will now talk about that here (some of these points are stolen from better posts). ALSO no matter how much I shit on other characters just know this isn’t an attack of any of them. This is gonna be VERY ENTRAPTA FOCUSED.

OK SO we get introduced to Entrapta pretty early in season 1 and we get to learn a lot about her. It also quickly becomes clear that she’s neurodivergent - something confirmed to be intentional by many of the creators. Entrapta has a passion for technology, science and inventing, and (same as the previous princesses) the best friend squad decide they need her in the alliance so she can build them weapons (whICH SHE NEVER ACTUALLY DOES i think BUT THATS NOT THE POINT). 

Throughout the episode though, the squad (mostly Glimmer bc she’s the one who gets to closely interact with Entrapta the most... Adora being completely out of it and Bow with the kitchen staff) seems to slowly run out of patience for her - Glimmer very obviously puts up a front of tolerance despite her frustration. This is unlike the other episodes, where all the princesses get along in the end and become best friends oh boy! So... we have our only neurodivergent character so far who isn’t really welcomed into the group the same way as the others... and her autistic behaviour is only tolerated because they need her... okay, maybe that’ll change later.

Or not? When Entrapta joins the others on the quest to save Glimmer, she is constantly infantilised by the others and not taken seriously. She runs off to study Horde tech and actually helps rescue Sea Hawk, two very helpful things, but Perfuma talks down to her like a child and PUTS HER ON A LEASH? SHE’S 30!!! SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP! And no one tells Sea Hawk off for getting lost and alerting Scorpia to their presence, which wasn’t helpful at all. Then later, Mermista says she’ll keep an eye on her “in case she decides to befriend any more robots” like okay... she isn’t a child, and she didn’t run off because she wanted to play with robots or something?

Okay, so, Entrapta is left behind, which I won’t blame them for because it definitely looked like she died (they get over it pretty quickly but I digress), and she comes across Catra. Okay! Here’s a chance for Entrapta to make a true friend, right? Or not, because Entrapta and Catra’s friendship is built entirely on manipulation. At least Scorpia was sincere. 

Here Entrapta is again, in a position where she’s being used for her skills and in a we’re-sort-of-friends-but-I-only-tolerate-you-because-you’re-useful situation, with Scorpia probably being her only true friend at the moment. She starts helping out the horde, because they actually let her do what she wants and at the very least don’t treat her like a child. Then, she stumbles into Hordak’s lab.

I’m gonna say this now because I’ll get murdered if I don’t - Hordak is a bad guy. He does bad guy stuff. But so does Entrapta sometimes (I’ll talk about that later) so good morals don’t need to play into their relationship I think. It’s about how they treat each other.

At first, Hordak is very defensive and angry towards Entrapta, as he would be to anyone coming in to his lab without permission and discovering his secret portal project. But then she fixes said portal and he immediately sees her as an intellectual equal. Again, Entrapta has had to prove herself to someone by making herself useful, but it actually goes further. ALSO can I say how Hordak is the ONLY person who interacts directly with Entrapta who doesn’t treat her like a child or emotionally manipulate her, with the exception of Wrong Hordak, Emily, and Imp of all characters... Even Scorpia is guilty of this later.

So, Entrapta and Hordak start working together, and Entrapta is obviously very excited to have someone treat her as an equal (they’re lab partners!!). On top of that, Hordak is also happy to have someone he can actually trust. Catra and Scorpia at separate times both remark on how Entrapta spends all of her time with him now, and who can fucking blame her when he’s the only one that has literally spent all this time growing close to her and understanding her as a person, not just using her, not just tolerating her, not talking down to her constantly. Hordak opens up his trauma to Entrapta and she responds by opening up a bit in return, literally saying that she doesn’t fit in and that Catra doesn’t even talk to her anymore. They are obviously comfortable around each other, and if Hordak was manipulating her, then why was he so distraught when she was taken away? Why did he CRY??? Why did he consider giving up on his life’s purpose and abandoning what is essentially his god for her???

Anyway, stuff happens, and Entrapta shows that she isn’t the irresponsible child everyone thinks she is by agreeing to shut off the portal. But of course, Catra betrays her and sends her away. To die. How nice. Catra tells Hordak that Entrapta betrayed him, and instead of flipping out and turning all Hal Stewart incel “if I can’t have you no one can” he just gets sad... and then later all he really wants is to see her again, even if it is on the battlefield. I’m not sure what he would’ve done so we can’t say for sure, but I seriously doubt he wanted to hurt her.

sidenote - I’m not gonna blame Scorpia for letting Catra doing this, Scorpia had her own shit going on and was essentially trapped in an abusive relationship and she also later makes up for letting Entrapta down by getting her rescued

SO then the best friend squad go to save her from Beast Island, and she’s literally completely given up. Gee, I wonder why. Could it be because it seems like every friend she’s ever had has abandoned her, scolded her, or outright zapped her unconscious and sent her to die in a monster filled island? But the squad save her and affirm to her that they didn’t give up on her and that they’re still her friends. Actions speak louder than words, guys, but okay, cool! To Bow and Adora’s credit, they were the least patronising and mean out of anyone... so, that’s something. Anyway! Affirmations! Some respect from her friends! I hope this lasts... 

It didn’t! Season 5, Entrapta goes along with the others to help find out where Glimmer is. Here is where I quickly have to say something - Entrapta does indeed make some ‘evil’ and stupid decisions sometimes - hacking the black garnet, building robots that attack her old friends, walking out absentmindedly in front of a robot and compromising her team. Some of these things can be explained by her neurodivergence, but do not always justify it. That being said. Entrapta is not evil, she is not stupid, and her “weirdness” does not give her friends the excuse to treat her like a child. 

Here’s where it gets bad!! Perfuma puts Entrapta on a leash AGAIN!!!!!! WHAT? Writers? Wyd?? Not only this, but the others talk about her behind her back, and then scold her without any consideration for how she, as a neurodivergent person, was interpreting the situation. They could’ve explained their feelings to her in a calm way, instead of shunning her and expecting her to pick up on their cues, then exploding at her when they didn’t. THEN THEY CALL HER A BAD FRIEND.... and I feel hypocrisy in this chili’s tonight... and then Scorpia... doesn’t say anything? Girl help. Ik we can’t totally blame her since she was new to the squad and probably didn’t wanna get kicked out or yelled at like with Catra, but please... that is your friend...say something. also why did mermista need to pull her hair and then later say “you’re still a weirdo” like what. why do people ship them? because mermista cried when entrapta ‘died’? Okay??

I think Entrapta actually goes through some character development after this which is pretty cool - she outwardly expresses her concern for Glimmer, which is affirming to her friends the squad, and later at the end of the series, intentionally keeps herself focused during the most high stakes moment instead of running off. I’m not qualified to talk about if these traits, which could be considered traits of autistic people, deserve to be treated as flaws to be fixed, that’s a whole other bag of worms, but yay character development.

Finally, at the end, Hordak properly reunites with Entrapta and he decides to rebel against his creator and his purpose to save her life, showing that Entrapta, and their connection, is his priority now. And once Adora saves Hordak from Prime (thanks Adora), the two finally reunite in a spinning hug - that is literally the most physical contact either of them have had with anyone, how could anyone not believe in their connection and mutual trust???

Mermista gives us one last jab, an understandable one considering Hordak was conquering their planet for years on end, but still - “so, are we all just like, okay with this?” yes girl, we are. He’s literally the only one who ever treated her with real respect and love, the only one who ever prioritised her.

I know some people are gonna be like “just ship her with wrong Hordak” and if you really like that... go ahead I guess? But do we need to force a clone who just got control of his own mind into a relationship, or a girl who is very much in love with someone else into a relationship with one of her friends? You can do what you want though, it’s literally fine, I’m the one who just spent over 1500 words talking about why a 30 year old science woman should go out with an alien warlord.

In conclusion - Hordak and Entrapta deserve each other, because Entrapta deserves someone who treats her right, and I love her.

[kurt-nightcrawler]

And I figured out we’re dating in this Chili’s tonight

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Request: Mother Nature and warren have my whole ass HEART!!!!! I loved flower so much. I know you’re gonna write lil dates one day I wonder if you’ll write something of how they officially got together?? Like who asked who to be each other’s girlf/boyf . Would be so cute I know you’re busy but either way all your fics are *chefs kiss* —(I think this was from an anon!)

Blurb: Mother Nature and Warren are officially dating! They figured it out!

Warnings: some language and mentions of sex

Word Count: 7.6k

A/N: the timeline is kind of all over. This is set before Decay but I posted it way after! Anyway! Enjoy!

Warren was on Instagram as Scott explained the plot of Fast and The Furious 7 to Jean. 

“It’s not good— but my dad loves them— mostly for the cars— but it’s supposed to be the last movie in the franchise. I think…” 

Warren rarely posted— on his story and his main page— but he looked at what his friends were up to. 

He tapped on (Y/N)’s profile icon to view her story— the highlight of his lunch period. She wasn’t around for the time being— she had mentioned a test she was retaking, which made Warren sad. He wouldn’t get to sit next to her and share whatever fruit she grew for lunch, but he also wanted her to do well and get good grades. 

(Y/N) had posted a photo of a movie poster with the caption, “OHMYGOD!! ” followed by a blue and yellow shocked face emoji and a heart-eyed emoji. The movie poster in question was for the animated Addams Family movie. 

“Is there a new Addams family movie coming out?” Warren asked. 

“Yeah, (Y/N) watched the latest trailer during class. She’s really excited about it,” Jean told him.

Warren felt himself get shaky with nerves and excitement. He could ask her to go see it with him. Just him. Not with the whole group, or Jubilee third-wheeling, or Jean and Scott with them, making out in the seat next to them. 

Wait. 

Am I going to ask her on a date? Is that what this is? A date? 

“You good?” Scott asked.

“What?” Warren glanced at him. “Oh, yeah… Yeah, I’m good.” 

“Okay.”

Warren went back to his phone, pressing reply to (Y/N)’s story post about the Addams Family movie coming out. 

He started to type out a message. 

“Hey. Would you want to see this together when it comes out? We could also go out for dinner?” Warren then promptly deleted the entire message. 

No, no. That makes me sound like a lonely middle-aged mom. He thought to himself.

“I think it was fine!”

“Ah!” Warren flinched. “Did you read my mind, Jean?” 

“No…” Jean denied.

Warren frowned. 

“I was curious as to what you were doing, and you were really nervous and your thoughts are loud anyway.” 

“What?” Scott asked. 

“Warren’s trying to ask (Y/N) out on a date to the movies,” Jean explained.

“It’s not a date!” Warren tried to defend.

“When is it ever going to be a date?” Scott asked. “It wasn’t a date when she slept over in your room and you watched Phineas and Ferb and ordered pizza. It wasn’t a date when you spent three hours at the library studying together. It wasn’t a date when you spent the afternoon together and she told you her secret brownie recipe! When is it ever going to be a date?”

“I… I don’t… Those were not dates...” 

“They kind of were,” Jean admitted. “That’s what people do on dates. Scott and I do stuff like that all the time…” 

Warren blinked. 

“You’ve dated people before, right?” Scott asked him.

“I mean “date” is a loose term but, yeah…” 

 Scott decided he didn’t have time to unpack that sentence. “Okay. What did you do with them to like, spend time together, and stuff?”

“We mostly just got drunk and hooked up…” 

Scott sighed, “You sound like my brother after he got out of jail.” 

“Warren, have… you… never been on a real date before?” Jean asked.

“Well, um, I mean, my last “girlfriend” and I went to clubs and stuff in Germany, but we’d usually go with some friends…” He admitted.   

“Oh my god…” Scott mumbled.

Warren panicked. “Wait, did— Did (Y/N) think we were dating this whole time?” 

“I don’t know,” Jean shrugged.

“Everyone else thought you guys were,” Scott muttered. 

“So we’ve been dating this whole time?” 

“I mean, kind of…” 

Warren paled. He had no idea what to do. Were they dating? Were they not dating? What was he supposed to do as a boyfriend? Or not a boyfriend? 

“Just ask her, ‘what are we?’ That should clear things up.” 

Warren gawked at Scott. “What are we? That’s the cliche that makes guys run for the hills! I can’t ask her that!”

“(Y/N)’s reasonable,” Jean reminded him. “If you ask her that, she won’t run away.” 

Warren didn’t say anything back. 

“Just ask her what you were originally going to say on Instagram.”

Warren whined. 

“Do it now.” Jean advised. “Before Jubilee makes plans to see the movie with her.” 

Warren paled at the possibility of (Y/N) not being available. He quickly typed out another message and sent it. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god, I just did that! Hhhhh…” Warren quickly threw his phone on the table and refused to look at it. 

Jean chuckled and rolled her eyes, taking his phone to see if (Y/N) replied.

—

(Y/N) finished her test early and decided to check up on some of the plants in the attic greenhouse before her next class. 

She had been focusing on a baby caladium, making sure it had plenty of sun and water and was growing at a healthy pace. 

(Y/N) named it, Warren Worthington IV, but she told no one and would take that piece of information to the grave.  

 As she was poking Warren the Fourth’s soil to see if it needed water for the day, she felt her phone vibrate against her thigh in her pocket. 

She pulled it out to see that Warren— the Third— had replied to her Instagram story. Her eyes turned pink just by reading his name on her phone screen.  

“Do you want to see this together Friday night? We could go to Chili’s before and get dinner?”

(Y/N) read the message over at least ten times. Dinner and a movie? Was Warren asking her on a date? 

Her eyes were orange in confusion and purple due to nerves. 

She took a few minutes but finally responded with, “Yeah! There’s a showing on Friday at 9 at the theatre by the mall. Does that work?” 

Warren immediately hearted the message and said, “Yeah :)” 

(Y/N) hearted his message. Excited and a bit nervous for Friday, she left the attic and headed to her next class. 

—

(Y/N) ignored any work she had after class and immediately went through her closet, rummaging for clothes.

“Whatcha doing?” Ororo asked, setting her books on her bed. 

“You’ve been on plenty of not date dates,” (Y/N) began. Ororo gave her a curious look. “What would you wear?”

“Are you going out on a date?” Ororo asked. 

“Well, not exactly…” (Y/N) confessed. 

Ororo smirked as she opened her notebook and started working on an assignment, “Is it with Warren?”

“Who else would it be?” (Y/N) asked.

“I don’t know… Dylan from math class? Ruby from my yoga class? The handful of people from Bayville you’ve kissed at house parties before you even knew Warren? There are options.”

(Y/N) was not amused. 

“Are you and Warren going out on a date? Or is this a ‘we’re just hanging out… alone together… but just as friends! Because we are friends! Who like each other very romantically! But we refuse to do anything about it!’”

(Y/N) sighed. “Okay, so he didn’t explicitly say it was a date, but we’re seeing the new Addams Family movie and going to Chili’s.” 

Ororo blinked in shock, Warren asked (Y/N) to see a movie about one of her favorite franchises and go to one of her favorite go-to restaurants, and he didn’t clarify if it was a date or not? 

What a dumbass, Ororo mused, tearing herself away from her work to go on her phone.

 Ororo

Are you and (Y/N) going on a date?

 No response. 

Ororo went back to her homework, glancing at (Y/N) every so often to give feedback on the numerous items she pulled out of her closet. 

“Is a dress too much?” 

“Definitely,” Ororo stated without looking up. “I’ve only worn a dress twice since I came here and one I borrowed from Jubilee.” 

(Y/N) sighed and kept looking for options. Ororo’s phone screen lit up, and she quickly grabbed it, checking to see if Warren responded.

 Warren

I think so???

 Ororo

What do you mean? “i tHiNk So” 

 Warren

*not amused emoji* 

I’m not sure if we’re dating or not. We were gonna talk about it at dinner.

 “Are you and Warren dating?” Ororo asked. 

(Y/N) froze at the question, unsure what to say. “I mean… no… but like, we like each other— or I like him. I think he likes me. Sometimes I’m not really sure—”

“—(Y/N),” Ororo interrupted. “He likes you a lot. Assume this is a date.” 

“Assume— What?” (Y/N) gaped.   

Ororo looked at her phone again, seeing five text messages from Warren in panic, asking why she didn’t respond.

 Ororo

Calm down!

You should thank me

 Warren

Ro…

What did you do?...

 Ororo

You have to trust me… ;)

 Warren

*Not amused emoji*

 Ororo left Warren on read and continued her assignment. Until someone barged into the room, unexpected.

Jubilee came in, bubbling with enthusiasm. “I heard from Jean! Oh my god, I have to help you pick out an outfit! This is huge!” 

“It’s not a date…” (Y/N) awkwardly tried to explain.

“Oh, no— it definitely is!” 

Ororo and (Y/N) were both confused. 

“We all know Warren is a little… emotionally hesitant…” Juilee carefully stated. “But like, if it was anyone else they would have literally said, “Wanna go on a date with me and see The Addams Family?” Warren’s just scared you’d say no— which you’d never do.” 

“Is he— I thought he knew I liked him?”

“He’s a guy,” Jubilee explained as she looked in (Y/N)’s closet for something she could wear. “They never know what they’re doing.”

(Y/N) sat on the floor, with more questions than answers from everything Jubilee had said.

“This would be perfect!” It was a black skater skirt. “Skirts are your best friend in times like these.” 

“Huh?” 

“Incase anything happens… Duh!” Jubilee stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. (Y/N) didn’t respond, causing Jubilee to groan. 

“From That 70s Show? Skirts are your best friend for sex. Zip, zip, bim, bam! You’re done, you’re dressed, you’re back to whatever you were doing. Nobody suspects a thing!” 

“Jubilee, they’re seeing a kids movie, not having sex,” Ororo told her.

“Hmm…” Jubilee crossed her arms. “You should still wear the skirt. You look really pretty in it anyway.” 

(Y/N) sat there, eyes wide and purple, mind reeling, trying to process what Jubilee said.

“We’re… We’re not going to have sex, are we? I’m not— I don’t think— I don’t even know if we’re dating or not!” 

“Hey, hey— Jubilee’s just messing around.” Ororo moved from her bed to sit next to (Y/N) and rub her back. “She’s just used to Scott and Jean’s shenanigans. Plus, Warren’s a good guy! He won’t pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to and he’s too nervous to do anything like that anyway.”

 “Warren’s like, obsessed with you, in a good way. And if he doesn’t respect your boundaries I can snap his neck for you.” Jubilee innocently smiled and batted her eyes. 

“Thanks… Do you think my soft dark green sweater would look good with the skirt?”

  “Oh my god yes!” Jubilee grabbed it out of the closet and set it on (Y/N)’s bed. “And with your Doc Martens? Goth little plant goddess vibes. I love it.”

“You think I’ll be warm enough? Should I bring a jacket?” (Y/N) checked the weather on her phone. 

“You should be fine! Besides, if you’re cold…” Jubilee smirked. “You can always cuddle with Warren in the movie theatre.” 

Ororo smiled and rolled her eyes, while (Y/N) decided to humor her, “I’ll keep it in mind.” 

—

Friday couldn’t come soon enough— Warren kept thinking about how (Y/N) said, “Yes.” And about what might happen, how he would bring up the question that would change everything. He was distracted during training, nervous, and lost in thought. He constantly talked about his weekend plans with some of their friends. 

Some found it annoying at first, but most had never seen Warren so passionate about something before. It was sweet.

“I dunno, I just want things to go well. But what if I make things awkward? I say or do something really stupid? What if I spill my drink all over my crotch and then it looks like I peed myself?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Ororo reassured him. 

“What if our server flirts with her?”

“Just glare at them. You’re scary enough.” 

Warren sighed, wishing time moved as fast for him as it did for Peter.

“Just be yourself and have a good time. Open doors for her, tell her she’s beautiful, if she’s cold give her your jacket, walk her back to her dorm room— things like that.” Ororo told him. “Those will make it obvious that it’s a date. Because you guys do date activities all the time, and you refuse to admit it’s a date.” 

Warren huffed at her. Ororo stuck out her tongue.  

—

It was Friday.

(Y/N) had been antsy in all of her classes, just wanting them to end so she could get ready for the night. 

She had her outfit picked out and ready. (Y/N) planned on light makeup— a little eyeshadow and lipgloss— and she had a small little purse packed with a few things. 

 (Y/N) started to doubt herself. “Maybe a skirt is too much… It’s dinner and a movie… Maybe I should just wear jeans…”  

She huffed as she held the skirt up to her waist. “But I wanna look cute… Screw it!” 

(Y/N) slipped the skirt and sweater on, doing a french tuck, and then started to apply makeup. She was done in under thirty minutes, and then looked over her hair in the mirror, trying to hastily pluck out leaves and shove flowers into different areas of her head and strategically place them under specific sections. 

Once (Y/N) was satisfied with how she looked, she checked the time. It was 5:30, and (Y/N) and Warren weren’t leaving until six. So she had time to just sit around and wait.

(Y/N) pulled her phone out and opened Snapchat, choosing to take at least a hundred selfies with different filters. 

Holding her phone from different angles, making different faces, posing in slightly different positions, and choosing a new filter every five photos, almost like a mini-photoshoot in the palm of her hand. Some selfies got posted to her Snapchat story, others were sent to Jubilee and Ororo, and the remainder were saved but would probably never see the light of day. She huffed and tapped through people’s Snapchat stories to kill more time.

Warren asked Jubilee for help. 

Well, he didn’t exactly ask, she just texted him, “I’m helping you get ready.” And he thanked her. 

“One of the hottest things a guy can do is have good hygiene. You, surprisingly, already have accomplished that—”

“Hey!” Warren frowned as he pulled his leather jacket out from his closet. “Did you, like, think I didn’t?”

“No! I’m just surprised you know what exfoliate means… Do you have a different jacket? That one is cute and everything, but it’s a bit much.” 

“It’s the easiest one I can get my wings out of,” Warren explained while slipping on a black shirt.

“Why? Also, do you only wear black?” Jubilee complained.

“In case (Y/N) gets cold…? Also, no, I have that one yellow sweater you made me get and some white shirts.” Warren defended.

Jubilee almost scoffed, “(Y/N)’s not going to get cold. You’re going out to eat and the movies.”

“Well, Ororo said I should give her my jacket in case she is cold.” 

“Fair enough,” Jubilee mumbled. “I was supposed to hang out with Ororo tonight… We were going to make Tiktoks and watch Wonder Woman.”

“I thought she went stargazing with Kurt?” Warren asked as he laced up his boots. 

“Yeah! And they didn’t invite me!” Jubilee flopped onto Kurt’s empty bed and huffed.

“Jubilee— I don’t think—”

“I’m a fucking delight to be around!” 

Warren’s eyes widened, “I didn’t say you weren’t.” 

“It sucks because Kurt’s got the accent, he can sword fight, he likes movies but hates Tarantino, he’s respectful, god and he’s just as hot as Ororo.” 

“Um…” Warren furrowed his brows. “Do you think, maybe— maybe uh, Ororo thinks you like Kurt?” 

Jubilee looked at him with a deadpan expression. Warren panicked, thinking he said the wrong thing. 

“I like both of them, Bird brain! It’s the fact they haven’t expressed liking me at all and probably don’t want that. Also like half of the girls at Bayville think Kurt’s hot and try to kiss him at house parties.” 

“Oh…” Warren hadn’t considered that. “Um… I uh, I had a threesome once—” 

“Oh my god! Stop!” Jubilee cringed. “I don’t wanna hear about that right now! Go get your girlfriend, and like, yawn, and stretch your arm out over her while Gomez confesses his undying love for Morticia for the millionth time.” 

“Okay, okay.” Warren grabbed his phone and wallet. “Don’t spend all night in here,” He advised, leaving Jubilee alone in his room. 

—

Warren sent (Y/N) a text, asking if she was ready. She said yes, and asked him to meet her in the common room area. 

Warren found her sitting in a lounge chair, talking to a student. (Y/N) turned her head and saw Warren. She got up and smiled, bid the other person goodbye, and then walked over to Warren. 

“Hey!” She greeted him. 

“Uh, hey.” Warren tried to discreetly check her out. She looked nice. “You look really nice.” 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” (Y/N)’s pink eyes shifted to a slightly purple hue. “You do too.”   

“Thanks… Are you ready to go?” 

(Y/N) nodded, “Yeah. What car are we taking?”

“Um…” Warren realized he didn’t decide on which one of Xavier’s numerous cars he was taking out for the night. Not that it mattered, but he was a bit frustrated with himself on that one. 

“I don’t know…” 

(Y/N) snickered to herself. “That’s fine. It doesn’t matter. Jubilee and I do have a rule though.” 

“What is it?” 

“Whatever car Scott and Jean took last, don’t even touch it.” 

Warren blinked, “I don’t get it.” 

(Y/N)’s eyes turned purple completely. 

“Um, uh, it’s cause um— it’s not... clean...”

“Oh…” Suddenly, everything connected in Warren’s mind.  

“Oh!”       

(Y/N) nodded, “Yeah...” 

“Scott likes the Oldsmobile rocket. Maybe we should avoid that one…”

“Yeah. Yeah…”

They picked a different car. Warren didn’t get a chance to open the door for (Y/N), but he told himself the night had only just begun, and he’d get another chance. 

 “Want me to play some music?” (Y/N) asked.

“Sure! Play whatever you want.”

“You don’t have a preference or anything…?” She questioned, while her thumb hovered over the play button of a playlist. 

“Not really… Besides, I can pick next time.” 

(Y/N)’s eyes flashed purple and she mumbled in agreement and started a playlist. 

Warren cursed internally to himself. Why would I say that? Why did I say that!? As if I’d have the privilege of going out with her again after that dumbass sentence. 

Warren made a lame attempt to change the subject. “Are you excited about the movie?”

 “Yeah! They announced the cast like a year ago, and I thought it was going to be live-action, but animation is probably better for The Addams Family. It’s supposed to be really good! Oscar Isaac is voicing Gomez—” 

“—Who?”

“Poe from Star Wars…”

“Finn’s boyfriend?” Warren asked.

(Y/N) smiled, “Yeah, yeah. Him.” 

“I haven’t seen anything else he’s been in, but Kurt and Scott say he’s a really good actor.”

“Hmm…” I wonder if she thinks he’s hot… I mean Oscar is, but I doubt I can compete with that. 

No, no, Worthington. Remember what Jean said, “No self-deprecating thoughts.”

“Pugsley’s voiced by Finn Wolfhard. He was in Stranger Things…”

Warren nodded, he knew what Stranger Things was. He watched it with Jubilee, Kurt, and Ororo over Labor Day weekend.  

“He plays Will, right?” 

“No. Finn has curly hair…” “Dustin?...” Warren was unsure about his answer, but he knew Dustin had curly hair. 

“Mike. Eleven’s boyfriend? Black hair?” 

“Oh… Okay… I feel really stupid. I should have known that.” 

(Y/N) scoffed, “You’re fine. There’s like seven of them, and that’s not even including the adults and the characters our age.”

“Yeah, that’s true, I guess. I might rewatch it…” 

An idea came to (Y/N), “We should have like, a marathon with our friends! We could also play D&D.” 

“I never played before,” Warren admitted. 

“I haven’t either really… but I kind of know how to play… Scott’s played before! He was really into D&D before he came to Xavier’s.” 

Warren chuckled quietly, “That doesn’t surprise me.” 

“Yeah, he’s kind of a dork, but just because you play a board game doesn’t mean you’re lame.”

“Yeah— Do you see any parking spots?” Warren asked.

(Y/N) shifted in her seat, looking for an empty spot, “Yeah, right there.” 

 Warren slowed down and started to pull in. “God, I’m so bad at parking. Please don’t judge me.” 

(Y/N) laughed, “You can’t be bad as Jubilee. She tried to park at the mall and ran over a curb. We thought the tired popped off!” 

“No!” Warren gasped. 

(Y/N) nodded, “The car was fine, but Jubilee had Jean drive home.” 

Warren snickered as he put the car in park and then turned it off. 

(Y/N) got out before Warren could open the door for her. He bit his lip in frustration. 

“Oh, the sun is so pretty!” (Y/N) cooed. “I love golden hour sometimes.”

 “I don’t… What?” Warren wasn’t too sure what golden hour was. Jubilee had mentioned it before, but he never asked what it meant. 

“Come here—” (Y/N) pulled out her phone and held it horizontally. “Get in the frame and smile!” 

Warren obliged, smiling and doing an awkward peace sign. (Y/N) grinned, also doing a peace sign, with her eyes closed and tongue poking out slightly. 

“Let me see how it turned out— Oh my god! We look amazing.” She was practically gleaming as she angled the phone towards Warren so he could see the photo. 

Warren smiled. 

“Want me to send this to you?” (Y/N) asked. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“There!” (Y/N) smiled. “I sent it.” Warren thanked her and they headed into Chili’s.  

He managed to open the door in time for (Y/N). 

“Oh…” Her eyes shifted to a slight violet hue, the nerves of is this a date or not? Coming back to her. “Thanks…” 

“You’re welcome.”  

The hostess greeted them and asked how many were in their party. 

“Two,” Warren responded. 

“Alright, follow me.” She grabbed two menus and had them follow her to a booth.

“Here you guys are. Your server will be with you soon.” 

“Oh my god, I’m really hungry…” (Y/N) unfolded her menu and buried her nose in it.

“Uh, me too…” Warren browsed his menu.

“Hi, I’m Ariana, I’ll be your server tonight! What can I get you guys started with to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke Zero,” Warren told her.

“I’ll have a strawberry lemonade,” (Y/N) answered. 

“I’ll get those right out for you.” 

“Thanks!”

She walked off, leaving Warren and (Y/N) alone. 

“Do you know what you’re gonna get?” (Y/N) asked. She was eyeing the nachos and the chicken crispers.

“Uh… Not really…” Warren awkwardly admitted. “The fajitas look good, but that’s a lot of food.” 

“Yeah, they’re good though.” 

Their server came back with their drinks asking if they needed more time to look at the menu. She smiled and said she’d be back. 

“You’ve been here before, right?” (Y/N) asked Warren. She swore he had, but perhaps she was wrong.

“Once, with the guys. We were comforting Peter after another failed Tinder date. I think I got... nachos? I don’t remember.” 

(Y/N) chuckled to herself. “Peter needs to try another dating app.”

“He’s got like three.” 

“Oh, jeez— Jubilee almost downloaded tinder but she doesn’t need it.” 

Warren furrowed his brows, “Huh? Isn’t she into that one dude from Bayville? And Ororo?”

(Y/N) nodded and took a sip of her lemonade. 

Warren jokingly rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand her.” 

Ariana came back, asking if they were ready to order. 

“Yeah, um, I’ll have the nachos with chicken,” (Y/N) told her. 

“Nachos with chicken,” Ariana repeated. “And you?” She asked Warren.

“I’ll have the Santa Fe chicken salad.”

She wrote it down on a little notepad, “Santa Fe chicken salad. Alrighty! Those will be right out.” 

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.” 

(Y/N) took another sip of her lemonade, letting it fill the silence. 

Warren was suddenly very nervous. “Um…”  “You okay?... Is there something on my face? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?” (Y/N) started to worry. 

“You don’t have any lipstick on…” Warren stated a bit dumbfounded. 

“Oh…” 

“Um, anyway, I um— I like— I want, no. Um, is this— Is this a date?” 

“Um…” (Y/N) froze up for a moment. “You asked me out.” 

“Um, yeah, if you don’t want this to be a date, it like, isn’t then, you know? I mean, I didn’t really specify.”

“I kind of thought this was a date,” (Y/N) admitted.

Kind of… That’s good— Wait. Does she not want this to be a date?

“Do you want this to be a date?” Warren asked.

“Uh, yeah. I wouldn’t mind if it was, but like, we’re just friends so if you didn’t mean for it to be a date then that’s cool. Pretend I didn’t say anything.” 

(Y/N) avoided eye contact as she drank more lemonade, her eyes fully purple.   

“No, no! Um, I do want this to be a date. I um, I really, uh, I really like you.” Warren nervously confessed.

God, I hope I die here, right now, He silently pleaded. 

“Uh, yeah… I like you too… That’s kind of why I’ve been like, hanging out with you, alone, um, a lot…” 

“Me, um— me too.” Warren awkwardly took a sip of his soda. 

“Great.” 

“Great.”

“...”

“...” 

“Are— are we... dating?” Warren asked.

“Uh… I guess so?” (Y/N) wasn’t too sure how to respond, but when she saw Warren’s face fall slightly she quickly changed her words. 

“I mean, I think we are. I hope so. Um—”

“—We’re dating then?” Warren asked.

“We’re dating!” 

“Great!”

“Great!”

Soon as they figured it out, Ariana came in with their food. 

“Alright, I’ve got the Sante Fe chicken salad,” She set the plate in front of Warren. “And the nachos with chicken!” She set that plate in front of (Y/N). 

“Do you guys need anything else?” 

“I think we’re good for now,” Warren told her. “Thanks, though.” 

“Let me know if you need anything!” Ariana left the couple to eat their food. 

“Oh my gosh, yours looks really good,” (Y/N) commented.  

 “You can have some if you want,” Warren offered. 

“Oh, thanks!” 

“Yeah, of course.” 

The conversation died down a bit as Warren and (Y/N) focused on their food, but Warren was internally stressing.

I have no idea what boyfriends do. Am I doing a good job right now? What if she tells Jubilee and then Jubilee murders me because so far I’m a shitty boyfriend? 

Maybe I can hold her hand while we watch The Addams Family… How do I initiate that? What if she doesn’t want to hold my hand? 

Why do I want to hold her hand?... Warren almost visibly shuddered at the feeling of love. Ew… feelings…

Warren snapped back into reality for a moment, watching (Y/N) spill a piece of chicken into her lap. 

“Shoot!” 

Warren didn’t need his eyes to turn pink to show he was awestruck by her. She’s adorable… I’m so lucky to be her boyfriend…

—

Once they had finished, their server Ariana came back asking if they needed to-go boxes and if they wanted the check.

“Do you want it separate or together?” 

“Together,” Warren told her. (Y/N) furrowed her brows for a moment, eyes a bit orange, as Ariana left to go get the check. 

“I’m paying,” Warren stated nonchalantly as he got his card out. 

“Oh, okay.” 

Ariana came back with two to-go boxes and the check. 

Warren handed her his card and she walked away. 

(Y/N) started to put her leftover nachos in her box. Warren scooped his leftover salad into his to-go box. 

“Alright! Here’s your card and receipt,” Ariana handed those to Warren. “Do you guys need anything else?” 

“I think we’re good.” 

“Alright! Have a good night!” 

“You too!”

Warren was figuring out how much to tip. “Is like, $10 good?” 

“What?” (Y/N) asked.

“To tip…?” Warren awkwardly said.

“What’s the total?”

“Uh… $28.76.” 

“Warren, that’s like a 35% tip, right?” (Y/N) asked.

Warren shrugged. “Look, servers don’t get paid enough.” 

“You’re right.” 

Warren finished filling out his receipt, then he looked at (Y/N). “Are you ready to go?” 

“Yep! I’ll get the boxes.” (Y/N) picked hers up and reached over for Warren’s.

“No, I got it. I can carry them.” 

“No, I can carry them,” (Y/N) insisted. 

“I’m your boyfriend, let me carry them,” Warren insisted. 

(Y/N)’s heart did a flip at the fact he said, boyfriend. 

“... Fine…” She let Warren carry the to-go boxes. 

He also managed to open the door for her when they left. 

(Y/N) was still trying to process the fact they were dating. 

What’s the date? I should write it down. So I can remember for our first anniversary! 

Will we last that long?... I hope so… I really like Warren… Maybe I should tell him?

No… That’s kind of embarrassing…

“So…” (Y/N) trailed off.

“Yeah?” Warren asked, eyes on the road.

“I don’t know…” She admitted.

“Oh…” Things were starting to get awkward. Warren didn’t want things to be awkward. Awkwardness would ruin the relationship.

But Warren was bad at small talk. He was bad at socializing, period. And while he had improved, he still got nervous. He hated being nervous— scared. He didn’t want to come off as weak or vulnerable. 

But he didn’t want to come off as scary or cold-hearted either. 

It was a hard scale to balance. 

“Okay, I don’t want to be rude, but who taught you how to drive?” (Y/N) asked.

“Sean…?” Warren stated. 

(Y/N) face practically lit up in realization, “That explains a lot.”

”What do you mean?”

“You were taught how to drive by someone who originally learned how to drive on the other side of the road!”

“That— What does that have to do with my shitty parking?” Warren asked. “I drive on the “right side of the road”. 

(Y/N) laughed. 

“Look,” Warren explained. “If I’m bad at parking that’s on me. The lines caught me!” 

“Haha! Yeah.” (Y/N) laughed. “At least you don’t hit curbs like Jubilee.” 

Warren laughed, “Yeah!” 

“Come on— I want to get good seats!” Warren put the car in park and turned it off. (Y/N) and he both got out and walked towards the theatre. Along the way she (not-so) discreetly slipped her hand into Warren’s. He blushed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. (Y/N) did her best to not grin her face off. 

Warren had to let go of (Y/N)’s hand momentarily, so he could open the door, causing her to frown a bit and her eyes to go a bit grey. 

This is a crime! I don’t want to let go of his hand!

Warren slipped his hand back into (Y/N)’s once they were inside, and her eyes went back to their “normal” pink shade. 

Warren paid for their tickets and they picked out seats in the back row. They weren’t in the center, but sitting in the back row was best due to Warren’s wings. 

“Auditorium three is on your left!” The ticket ripper told them as she ripped their tickets in half and handed them back. 

“Thanks!... Do you want any snacks?” Warren asked (Y/N) as they passed the concession stand to auditorium three. 

“Nah, I’m not hungry,” (Y/N) said. “You?”

“No, not really.” 

They walked into auditorium three and looked around for their seats. 

“Wow, it’s really crowded,” Warren observed. He was a bit nervous, folding his wings back tightly as he could. 

“Yeah, it’s opening night,” (Y/N) reminded him. “Row G is up this way.”

He was used to the stares for the most part, but he hadn’t been exposed to many kids and soccer moms outside the mansion— not that there exactly were any soccer moms at Xavier’s. 

Luckily, Warren didn’t see anyone glare at him or (Y/N). They both got into their seats without any problem. Their seats were recliners, where if you moved the arm up, you could almost be on top of each other. 

Warren thought this would be perfect for him to maybe wrap his arm around (Y/N), but he was far too nervous. Their hands were still intertwined, which was good enough for him, but Warren was trying with all his might to not have his hand get sweaty. 

That would be so embarrassing…

Once they got situated, and the movie trailers began, (Y/N)’s eyes were focused on the screen. Warren glanced at her for a moment, once the lights dimmed, but his gaze quickly flickered to the screen as to not get caught.

“That movie looks good!” (Y/N) whispered into Warren’s ear. He nodded, not exactly sure what he should respond with. 

Halfway through the film, while Gomez was saying something stupidly romantic to Morticia, Warren did something risky.

Well, not necessarily risky, but if Jubilee or Scott caught him doing it, they’d tease him relentlessly.  

Warren yawned, not very loudly, and then stretched his arm out and over (Y/N)’s shoulders. He fiddled with a leave that dangled from her head. 

His heart was racing. Oh my god, she’s going to think I’m a weirdo. Why did I do that? Who even does the yawn and stretch move anymore? Literally no one!

(Y/N)’s heart started racing when she realized what he had done, Oh my god! Oh my god… This is happening! Oh my god! Just relax, (Y/N), just relax. Be cool. Warren’s cool… he’s being effortless at this “dating” thing… 

They were both too nervous to initiate any further and decided to get reabsorbed in the plot of the movie.

—

As the credits rolled and the lights came back on, Warren and (Y/N) gained space between them awkwardly pretending like nothing happened. 

(Y/N) filled the awkward silence by raving about the film. 

“I loved it! I thought it was so cool, you could see all the family members in the background and like, the backstory they gave them was really creative, and just oh my god the animation style was super neat too! I liked what they did with Ophelia’s design, even though she wasn’t in it very long.”

“Who’s Ophelia?” Warren asked. 

“So she’s Morticia’s sister— they look almost the same, except Morticia is goth and Ophelia is more like me. She has flowers growing on her head and stuff— she was in the background, you probably missed her.”

“That’s cool,” Warren mused. 

“Yeah, she was more in the TV show… What did you think of the movie?” 

“Oh! I thought it was really good! I liked it. The story really, like, reaches out to modern issues and stuff…” 

“Like how everyone was rude to the Addams family because they were gothic and a little different?” (Y/N) asked as she pushed open the door. 

“Yeah. I think if the Addams were real, they’d be mutants,” Warren said as they walked out on to the parking lot.   

“Oh definitely!” (Y/N) agreed. 

Warren smiled as he fished the car keys out of his pocket, and unlocked the car. 

(Y/N) and Warren both got in the car and put on their seat belts. Warren then backed out of the parking lot and made his way onto the main road to drive back to Xavier’s. 

“So uh… Are we gonna, like, tell our friends we’re dating?” (Y/N) asked.

Warren blinked. 

“Yeah? Did you— do you not want to?” Warren felt like he had just seen someone kick a puppy.

“No!— No, I do!” (Y/N) clarified.

Whew!

 “I just— I don’t know how I guess? Jubilee walked in on Jean and Scott making out in her room and then she told everyone and then Scott was all, like, super awkward about it, but then they admitted they were dating.”  

“Sounds stressful,” Warren decided. “We could just like, text the group chat?”

“Yeah,” (Y/N) shrugged. “That works.”

 X-BABES

 (Y/N)

So… Warren and I dating

 Jubilee

Finally!

 Scott

^^lol. Congrats.

 Kurt

Weren’t you already dating?

 (Y/N)

No?...

 Kurt

…

……….

 (Y/N) laughed quietly to herself. 

“What’s up?” Warren asked.

“Kurt thought we were dating this whole time,” She explained.

“Oh… Oh?” 

(Y/N) nodded, “Yeah.” 

“I didn’t— I didn’t tell him anything— that like, wasn’t true. I don’t know why he thought that—”

(Y/N) giggled. “Ren, it’s fine. We’ve shared a bed before— in your guys’ room no less— he’s gonna assume stuff.” 

“Still…” 

“Well, we’re dating now… So, it doesn’t really matter,” (Y/N) pointed out.

Warren couldn’t hide the blush on his face at the fact they were finally dating. He hoped it was too dark for (Y/N) to see it.

“Do I turn left here?” He asked.

“Yeah, then you turn into the gates.” 

Warren did so and drove around the X-Mansion, into the garage.   

“I’ll grab the food and put it in the fridge,” (Y/N) told Warren as he turned the car off. 

“Okay.” 

They both got out of the car— (Y/N) opening the back door to grab the white to-go boxes.

Warren followed her into the mansion. 

They stopped in the kitchen and (Y/N) set the boxes on the counter. “Do you see a sticky note or a pen or something? I need to mark these as ours.” 

“Uh…” Warren looked around the room before spotting a marker. “Here,” He handed it to (Y/N). She scribbled their names down and shoved the leftovers into the fridge.  

 “Now what do you wanna do?” (Y/N) asked Warren.

“Uh… we could um… like, go upstairs maybe?” 

“Do you want to?” She asked.

“I mean if you want to, yeah.” 

“Oh, um, okay.” 

Warren panicked a bit. “If you don’t we don’t have to. We can, like, just kind of chill and see what our friends are doing.” 

“No, no, it’s fine.” 

“Oh, okay.” Warren avoided awkward eye contact as they headed upstairs. 

“We could, um, go to my room…?” (Y/N) offered up. 

“Uh, yeah, that sounds good,” Warren was nervous. He wasn’t sure why— He had no reason to be. He’d been in (Y/N)’s room before. Alone. They’d also spent loads of time together alone doing “couple things” as Scott put it. 

So why was he nervous?

Warren didn’t have time to linger on the thought as he walked into (Y/N)’s room. 

It was a bit cluttered, but he wouldn’t consider it messy. With plants strewn everywhere— floor, walls, ceiling— and some books, posters, and other things you’d expect in (Y/N) and Ororo’s room. 

Ororo wasn’t there though.

“Um, I had a really fun time tonight,” (Y/N) said. Her back was facing Warren for a moment as she doted on a small potted plant. 

“Me too… um… what are you doing tomorrow?” 

“Uh, nothing? I mean Jubilee mentioned going to the skate park tomorrow to take pictures… but she didn’t really say when…” (Y/N) trailed off and turned around to face Warren. 

Their eyes met. (Y/N) stepped forward, towards him.

She glanced at his lips for a moment too long. 

Warren gulped. 

“Can I kiss you…?” (Y/N) murmured. 

Warren’s mouth gaped. “Uh, yeah.” 

(Y/N) leaned in to kiss him, her hands cupping his face. Their lips met. (Y/N) shifted her head a bit as her lips pressed onto his and kissed him. She hooked his bottom lip with her teeth, lightly biting it for a moment. Her hands grabbed the hair near the nape of his neck. 

Warren’s arms were wrapped around her waist, his hands resting on the small of her back. 

(Y/N)’s tongue snuck into his mouth, their lips still pressing together. Warren could feel her smiling. Warren had to break away, for a moment, and regain compulsion. 

(Y/N)’s eyes flashed grey for a split second. She didn’t want to stop. She had become ravenous for Warren’s lips, his tongue… for him in general. It wasn’t exactly a new feeling, but it was foreign, and she liked it.

She blinked. “Sorry, um, I didn’t mean— um, never mind.” 

Warren’s jaw was practically slack. He was speechless. He was not expecting that. At all.

“Warren?” (Y/N) asked. “Are you okay?” 

“What? Yeah, I’m fine!”Warren tried to seem chill.  “I’m fine.” 

“Oh… Well, um, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything.” (Y/N) started to worry a bit, thinking maybe she went too far and he didn’t like it.

“I’m— I’m’ not uncomfortable— uh, far from it actually— um, it was, it was really nice, actually.” Warren hoped she wouldn’t look down. 

“Oh, okay. Good.”    

“Um, it’s kind of late—“ 

“—Yeah, definitely.” (Y/N) agreed. 

“You said you were going to… Ulta?... With Jubilee tomorrow?” Warren awkwardly asked.

(Y/N) nodded. 

“Um, I should probably go then… You don’t want to oversleep or anything…” Warren mentally scolded himself for being so awkward. He was usually better than that. 

“Oh, yeah… I’ll see you tomorrow though…” (Y/N) reminded him. “We live here…” 

“Right! Right…” 

“...”

“...” 

“I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight.” Warren quickly kissed (Y/N)’s cheek and headed out the door to his dorm. 

(Y/N) stood there, still processing what just happened. 

“Oh my god… Oh my god! OH MY GOD!” (Y/N) let out. 

She buried her face in her hands. “HOLY SHIT! I like— Oh my god! I did that. I kissed Warren with force and passion and with tongue!” She exclaimed. 

“I kissed my boyfriend with tongue. I cannot believe I did that! Oh my god!” 

Unbeknownst to her, Warren had heard most of her excited screams as he left her room. He was ecstatic by her enthusiasm. 

Warren went down the halls to the boys’ dormitory. Kurt wasn’t in their room, leaving Warren alone. He wanted to be alone. Alone with his thoughts for the first time in a long time. Warren wanted to lay in his bed and have the night’s events replay in his mind as he fell asleep. 

Warren was officially dating (Y/N). 

He didn’t have to assume things, dance on eggshells wondering if he was doing too much, he no longer had to wish he was her, and Warren didn’t have to admire her in secret. 

Warren wanted to text her, but he wasn’t sure what to say. He sighed, and slipped into some pajamas, and brushed his teeth, leaving his phone open. Hoping by some miracle (Y/N) would text first and he could spend the whole night overthinking what to say back. 

(Y/N) hadn’t texted him. 

Warren got under his sheets and settled into bed, lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. 

He grabbed his phone and decided to text her. 

Warren looked at the last thing (Y/N) had sent him. It was the golden hour selfie they took together in the Chili’s parking lot. 

Warren thought he looked rather silly, but he liked the photo nonetheless. He saved it to his camera roll and turned it into his lock screen background. 

Warren couldn’t take it any longer, despite it only being a few minutes, he decided to text (Y/N). 

 Warren

hi 

 (Y/N)

heyyy I thought u were going to bed *side eye emoji*

Warren

Couldn’t sleep

 (Y/N) 

ohhh

whatcha doing right now?

 Warren

Laying in bed. not much really

 (Y/N) 

lol, me too. I just finished spraying the ivy hanging above my bed and my air plant, Clark

 Warren’s heart swelled and he smiled at (Y/N) being so passionate about her plants. 

 Warren

Is that the one in the llama pot?

 (Y/N)

Yea! he’s grown a lot since I got him *bug-eye emoji*

 Warren

That’s good! :)

 (Y/N) 

Yeah!!! 

I hate to do this but I’m really tired, so I’m going to go to sleep

 Warren

That’s okay!! I’m going to watch some YouTube or something to fall asleep. 

 (Y/N)

Okay

Goodnight! *kissy-face emoji with closed eyes and blush* *smiling and blushing face with closed eyes with three hearts around it*

 Warren

*bug-eyed emoji* night, flower

 Warren set his phone off to the side and shifted to a more comfortable position before drifting off to sleep. 

[drwcn]

The Shadow Beneath the Light: Complete 

Concept: Sect Master Wen Qing & her harem of Jiang heirs demonic cultivators. CQL Verse. 

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Epilogue]

--

A few years later...

“A-Kuo, one last fish and we’ll go, okay? Gan’die says we’ll have to be back before dinner; if we’re  late again, yi’fu is going to make us copy Lan Precepts whilst doing handstands -”

“Yes! Gotcha, you son of a -”

“A-Kuo.” 

Lan Jingyi laughed, reeling in the line to inspect his largest catch yet. The koi fish flopped and writhed as he pulled it out of the water, a triumphant grin on his seven year old face. 

“A-Yuan, look!” He turned to his adoptive brother, who sat on the shore with sleeves and pant-legs rolled up as he diligently cleaned the contents of the small basket filled with their afternoon’s effort. “And for the upmteenth time, call me Jingyi. I have a courtesy name now - you now - like a real cultivator.” 

Jingyi said ‘real cultivator’ like he meant ‘big boy’.   

“Right. Real cultivator.” Wen Yuan smiled. “Excellent, can the real cultivator among us bring over his large catch, so I can clean it? We can turn that one into a stew tonight, with chili peppers and pickled veggies - your favourite.” 

Spring was Wen Yuan’s favourite’s time of the year. Every spring since his adoptive fathers were officially married, they would leave behind their sects and their duties to bring him and his brother to live at their small cottage, situated in the serene forest east of Mt. Dafan.  

His family was the happiest, most relaxed when they were at the cottage. Their days were simple, filled with a quiet kind of a bliss and a soft, unassuming love. They dressed like all mountain households did, sturdy clothes of hemp and cotton dyed dark blues and browns; drank water from the well gan’die dug in the yard; and ate the food yi’fu managed to prepare. They rose with the sun, not at the strict hour of five (much to A-Kuo’s joy), and rested when their fathers said so. (Note: gan’die and yi’fu are both terms used for godfather or adoptive father) 

Boys your age need to grow, so you must get plenty of sleep. 

Wen Yuan knew they were getting spoiled as it were, and soon maybe their careless days would be coming to an end. He overheard yi’fu speaking with gan’die about sending him and A-Kuo to Cloud Recesses to study there permanently instead of just a few short summer months each year. Already, yi’fu had picked out a courtesy name for A-Kuo - Jingyi - which gan’die liked very much, but they had yet to come to an agreement for himself. 

Wen Yuan wondered what name he was to be given. He took the new catch from Jingyi, cut and cleaned it the way shushu taught him last autumn when they visited Lotus Pier for the first time. The rebuilding efforts had begun, just as Wen-gugu promised. Gan’die said soon they may even be able to get their own rooms installed. Wen-gugu had written several weeks ago stating she planned to move Nevenight’s court every autumn and winter to the Wen sect’s new secondary palace in Yiling, so that Jiang Yanli and Jiang Wanyin may be close to Lotus Pier, their ancestral home. 

Gan’die had gotten rather emotional at that, and after he read Wen Qing’s letter, he had cuddled against yi’fu for a good hour decidedly not crying. 

“Wen Qing wants their next heir to be born in Yunmeng. It’s what she promised shijie and Jiang Cheng.” Gan’die had explained to yi’fu. Wen Yuan figured that meant he was getting another cousin soon. 

Little Wen Lian, the absolute pearl in her parents eyes - all three of them - was already turning two. 

“There, finished.” He plopped the fish into the basket and wiped his hands on a cloth. “Ready to go?” 

“Yep,” Jingyi stuffed his feet back into his shoes, smoothed down his robes and cringed. “I stink.” 

“Me too. We need to bath tonight or we’ll end up going to Jinlintai smelling like fish.” Wen Yuan looped his arm through the vine straps of the basket and hauled it onto his small back. For an eight year old, he was rather strong. 

“I don’t want to go to Jinlintai. It’s a wedding, so we’ll have to get all dressed up. I hope gan’die won’t make me wear the robes Jiang-shushu sent. They’re so...extra.” 

Wen Yuan laughed at Jingyi’s obvious ire. “No, yi’fu promised you can just wear your Lan robes. Only gan’die has to wear shushu’s designs. It’s a set for three anyway. Something about being the ‘better-dressed’ 3-zun...apparently there’s both pride and money on the line.” 

Jiang Cheng always insisted the Three Demonic Grandmasters could not allow the Venerated Triad to outdo them in the wardrobe department. Everyone knew Wen Qing indulged him, plying him with yards and yards of silk and satin and damask, but maybe she should stop, because it was getting ridiculous. 

A lot has happened in the last couple of years, many changes Wen Yuan and Lan Kuo didn’t see coming. One day Wen Yuan was a simple village boy up on the mountains of Dafan and the next he was being whisked away to Nevernight and placed in a position of importance and respect. He had lost his family during the war, and Wen Qing, his aunt of distant relations, was his guardian. She loved him and cared for him, but she had others to love as well. Ultimately it was not Wen Qing with whom A-Yuan had formed an attachment. When Wei Wuxian remarried, Qishan Wen and Gusu Lan formed an alliance and a child from each clan was adopted by Yiling Laozu and Hanguang-jun. Wen Yuan was the obvious choice, but Jingyi was the unexpected. 

A-Yuan looked to the other boy and smiled. He couldn’t have asked for a better brother. 

The sun was just starting to set by the time the two of them trekked their way back to their home - a little provincial cottage tucked away in the woods. Yi’fu and gan’die had build it just for the four of them. It was a quaint little place, surrounded by a bamboo fence with a stone well in the front, a little vegetable garden in the back and enough clearing space for them to practice their forms each morning. Under the arching willow tree by the south end, yi’fu had strung up a simple wood-plank swing, something that never failed to bring a smile to gan’die’s face. 

Wen Yuan and Lan Jingyi loved this cottage. As much as Cloud Recesses was ethereal, and as much as Nevernight was magnificent, it could not measure up to this home in the woods that was theirs. 

Wei Wuxian was collecting dried laundry from the clothing line and folding them into the woven basket when he saw them. Straightening up, he huffed and called out over his shoulder, “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, they’re back! No need to go look for them.”  

By the external hearth, Lan Wangji was chopping firewood into smaller pieces. “Good.” 

“Oi, you rascals, you were gone for so long we were starting to worry you’d fallen into the river and got washed away.” Wei Wuxian admonished them half-heartedly, already lifting their baskets to inspect their batch. “Not bad, not bad indeed. I taught you well! Your yi’fu will make a stew for dinner.” 

Lan Wangji thumped his axe onto the block, scooped up the firewood and nodded. “Mn.” 

Living away from Cloud Recesses for so many seasons, he had slowly learned to cook non-vegetarian dishes for his family, especially for Jingyi, who had quite a carnivorous appetite. They’re growing boys, so they should have plenty of fish and soy and lean meat. 

When Jiang Cheng was their age, Wei Wuxian had lamented to Lan Wangji one night, his eyes taking on a far away look, he could eat Madam Yu and Uncle Jiang out of their house and home. 

“I’ll make Jingyi’s favourite. They did very well today,” Lan Wangji gave them a little smile.  

The boys grinned, basking in their father’s approval. 

“With pickled vegetables and chili pepper?” Jingyi pleaded hopefully, glowing with anticipation. 

Wei Wuxian pinched his cheeks, “Yes, my little dirt ball. Now go wash up, you’re both filthy, dear immortals. There’s water in the basin. A-Yuan, do you know how to use the fire talisman to -”

“Yes, gan’die.” The boys dropped their baskets onto the ground and sprinted off with a little cheer. 

Wei Wuxian sighed in contentment. “Boys...hmm!” 

Lan Wangji drew him shamelessly into his arms and was pressing kisses against his neck. “Hahahahaha, Lan Zhan, that tickles! And the neighbours will talk!” 

“We don’t have neighbours.” Lan Wangji mumbled against his nape, hiding a small smirk. It was true. The nearest hut was at least a good half a mile walk from theirs. 

“But they’ll still talk! Auntie Chen gave me the smuggest grin last I was in town to pick up supplies!” Wei Wuxian protested, half indignant, half delighted.  

Well, the truth was the venerated Hanguang-jun was a shameless exhibitionist when he was in the mood. A couple weeks back, they had been high up in the mountains cultivating together through duelling. The fight lasted the better half of the day and when they were done, Lan Wangji had apparently worked up another kind of appetite and ambushed the unsuspecting Wei Wuxian, ravishing him right up against an old pine three. Not expecting anyone to catch them in the act, Wei Wuxian saw no reason to keep quiet, which was how the two of them ended up giving a group of herb-picking aunties an eyeful of their “rigorous exercise.” 

That, and Lan Wangij’s increasing habit of leaving marks high up on his neck, too high to be covered by the fold of his lapel. 

And then there were nights when they’ve sent the boys off to be looked after by one of the many people who would be more than happy to spoil them (Nie Mingjue was somehow the worst but given the way Nie Huaisang turned out, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise), Wei Wuxian would emerge from a quick bath to find Lan Wangji draped across their bed in not a stitch, beckoning him with a demure little lowering of his gaze. 

“How would the fearless Yiling Laozu like Wangji tonight.” 

Wei Wuxian nearly died on the spot that one time. 

Lan Zhan, you absolute shameless tart.

Sometimes he had to remind himself that this was the man who once walked away from Cloud Recesses to volunteer himself for Wen Qing’s harem. Wen Qing was a strong woman who worshipped Jiang Yanli and adored Jiang Wanyin, but hmm…sometimes Wei Wuxian believed that if Lan Wangji wanted to, eventually even Wen Qing would have caved. Ooh, and then they would have a real harem. 

Jiang Cheng would be so jealous. 

Wei Wuxian chuckled inwardly. He was glad though that it was just Lan Zhan, the boys and himself in this quiet little cottage. It was almost the end of spring now, which meant they’d have to return to Cloud Recesses soon for the summer. Wei Wuxian sighed, content in Lan Wangji’s arm. He leaned back into him and watched the sun fade beyond the trees. 

The whole world was golden. 

“Wei Ying.” 

“Yah?” 

“Are you happy?” 

“I am, Lan Zhan, I am.” 

~~~

Jiang Cheng opened an eye to the fading sun. He was lying on a luxurious wicker lounge chaise with silk pillows and fur paddings, taking a glorious nap under the tall blooming willow tree. 

The warm weight of a small body burrowed into his side like a puppy drew his attention away from the sky. Pressed against his chest was a round, rosy cheek, slightly wet from the drool that trickled down from a rose-petal like mouth, a sight which endeared Jiang Cheng to no end. 

Very carefully, he shifted his weight and curled his arm around the toddler. 

“Jiang-xiansheng.” A servant curtseyed and greeted him quietly. It seemed she had waited for him to come to for some time. 

He had returned at noon from a week-long night hunt excursion with a blend of Wen and Jiang disciples. Both Wen Qing and A-jie were busy tending to sect matters, so he bathed, consumed a light lunch and found rest under his favourite willow tree. He hadn’t thought he would have company, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. 

“Cui-momo,” Jiang Cheng greeted. 

The old nanny smiled and said, “Lian’er-guniang wanted to nap by her diedie.”

“Of course she did.” At three years old, his only daughter and child was absolutely a spoiled princess. “You’re free to go, Cui-momo. I’ll take her from here on.” 

The momo hesitated. “Ah -” 

“Something the matter?” 

“Ah no. Just, fu’ren sent word saying she and the sect master will be dining here tonight, and that afterwards the sect master would be staying, so perhaps it would be inconvenient for guniang to stay.” 

Even after all these years, Jiang Cheng still couldn’t manage to hide a blush. Wen Qing was never one for public displays of affections, but it was no secret how much she adored Jiang Wanyin. And Jiang Yanli too was incredibly secure in her position and belief of Wen Qing’s affection that she often created little occasions for Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng to have quality time together while she monopolized little Wen Lian.

A-Qing, don’t neglect my little brother, she’d admonish, as if Wen Qing would ever. 

You just want A-Lian to yourself. 

Yes, that is true, and I want more A-Lians, so you and A-Cheng should go make more. 

Yanli!  

Wen Qing loved him and his sister beyond reason, equal but different. With Yanli, her feelings were almost akin to a reverent kind of worship, poignant and consuming in a way that her feelings for Jiang Cheng just wasn’t. A-jie once said that Wen Qing made her feel invincible, more than the demonic arts ever did, and Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure how they could love the same person and be so different in their love. 

With Jiang Cheng, Wen Qing was soft and gentle, their affection for each other easy and sustained, like a stream of clear water melting in the spring. His favourite moments are the mornings when Wen Qing would lean out the window by their bed, letting the sun catch the shine in her loose, spilling hair, in no rush to be anywhere or do anything except enjoy the moment with him at her side. 

Jiang Cheng sighed. After Lotus Pier’s massacre, he never thought he could be so happy again. 

“It’s quite alright, Cui-momo, I’m sure A-jie will want to take Lian’er for the night.” Jiang Cheng said to the old nanny. He picked up Wen Lian in his arms, rising from his lounge chair. The child slept on, none the wiser. 

“We’ll be heading down to Lanling in three days time. Have the packages been sent to Wei Wuxian?” 

“Yes, Hanguang-jun wrote back saying the robes are all in Wei-gongzi’s measurements.” 

“Excellent.” 

As a rule, Jiang Cheng didn’t enjoy going to Lanling, mostly because he couldn’t stand to even think about Jin Guangshan’s face. But the old fucker has been dead for a couple of years now - an “unfortunate” encounter with a small bout of qi deviation and falling down stairs - and Lanling Jin has become greatly more tolerable under Jin Zixuan’s leadership. With any luck, his union with Luo Qingyang would rid their clan of the residual effect of Jin Guangshan’s bullshit all together. 

“It won’t do to let the ‘venerated triad’ win in the wardrobe department. Lan Xichen is getting far too comfortable thinking he’s the epitome of fashion. I think we ought to keep him on his toes, don’t you think so, Cui-momo?” 

“Indeed, Jiang-xiansheng, I do.” 

Jiang Cheng smirked to himself, bouncing his precious toddler softly as he made his way back inside, not a worry on his mind. 

~ FIN

[blitheringmcgonagall]

i'm feeling god in this chili's tonight bc of your ask to petals about your husband, feeling truly emo and very very moved you are an inspiration, can you talk about your love more if you are comfortable?

Aaaah that’s sweet, thank you! There isn’t anything extraordinary to tell really, this is going to be very boring! We met in university, were friends for about a year (I was about 18 when we met) before we started dating (actually I thought he was a big headed idiot at the very start, because he wore designer stuff at the time, etc. I was right, btw, he was an idiot, I stand by it 😂!) and have been together ever since.

We were the first of our friends to get married which was a bit scary I suppose but I’m so glad we did. I think we suit each other, opposites attract etc. He’s a bit of an introvert and has a tendency to be tetchy/grumpy but he’s very kind, has a good sense of humour and always apologises and admits when he’s wrong (which is one of my absolute favourite things about him) and is very brave in real life emergencies. He kind of gives me Remus vibes? I’m ridiculously positive and optimistic most of the time but I sometimes lose my temper, or tell it like it is, I’m usually relaxed and laid back, and I think that works for us. I also always do the boring paperwork, book holidays etc which he is infinitely grateful for, and he now he does most of the cooking, which I’m infinitely grateful for in my turn. He’s also good at sewing, not joking, which I’m shit at. Who knew??

We both read a ridiculous amount and it really pisses him off how much faster I read... I love pissing him off. He’s scarily clever. The kind of person who knows obscure random facts and knows loads of the answers to University Challenge???? Ridiculous. Very attractive too, IMO? So, before we started going out, when we were “mates”, I told him I was shit at physics, as it was true, I hadn’t done it before university, and he offered to tutor me... I mean obviously I said yes? But we were just friends. Yeah. That’s all. A Nice friend who happened to have beautiful forearms and hands and biceps and went to the gym a few times a week. And had gorgeous blue eyes and cute soft, ash coloured hair and yeah. And gives you crossbars home on his bike (there was only one bike 😱😂😂😂!!! Well mine was initially stolen and then conveniently forgot to rush out and buy a replacement ....!) Anyway, he is an excellent teacher (he works in a job related to teaching now) and I genuinely learnt lots when I wasn’t ogling, ahem. And I ended up getting better marks than him in the physics exam.... 😬😂!! He was super pissed off (I mean a mix of that and super impressed. What can I say??? Poor chap!!). My friends were so embarrassing btw, kept trying to set us up, awkward af... literally walked out and left us in one of their flats (locked us in there!!) so we would “hurry up and snog”... 🤦‍♀️! We were too cringed (babies!) then we did get together eventually (like eventually, everyone face palming thank Merlin etc)... also, we did sit near each other in the library in college, but not right next to each other as I would literally get zero study done 🙄🤷‍♀️? Don’t blame me. (PS I had disgusting, mad, unruly, thick hair, ugly glasses and hardly ever bothered wearing my lenses, and wore a horrendous orange cycling helmet and despite that, and a ton of mad Italian relatives who asked too many questions and are way too pass- remarkable, he still liked me. So I knew I was onto a winner.)

Things are not always perfect. Not that this is an advice piece, but I definitely recommend talking if you’re not happy about something. Say what the problem is, how it makes you feel, what you’d like them to do differently, maybe volunteer to do something better yourself too? Don’t get grumpy and expect the other person to know what they’re doing wrong/ what’s annoying you! And always try to respect their POV even if your initial thought is “what a load of crap”, often I change my mind or at least reach a compromise after listening to his side.

And it’s not that I don’t sometimes still get the shivers looking at him, especially if he comes in wearing a tux on a special occasion. And he sometimes says “I saw this woman walking towards me and thought she looks gorgeous and then I realised it was you” 🤦‍♀️😂 (I think he needs his eyes tested). And like I said, after being with someone so long, it’s what someone described as - your heart rate no longer speeds up every time you see them, it calms down. And when you’re with them, you feel warm and secure and home. You have insider jokes that only you two get, you have quotes from films for particular situations, you call each other ridiculous names (I won’t tell you, but it’s in my fics somewhere!), you can’t imagine them not being there. Sometimes one of you just makes a facial expression and the other one knows what you’re going to say.

I hate getting up early so he always makes me tea that’s ready for when I have to get up. He hates staying up too late so if there’s stuff that needs doing late in the evening I’ll fly around and do it and he’s in awe (honestly he’s such an early bird and I’m so the opposite, he thinks getting up before 6am is completely fine!). And he’s my best friend as well as my husband? He’s very observant. I love that he notices thing, always notices if I’m wearing something new, got my hair trimmed, makes me feel good about myself. And I feel like I can completely, 100% trust him, in everything. I’m very lucky 😭❤️ it’s not perfect, definitely not, but it’s perfect for me?

I have no idea what you were interested in knowing but there you go!

[wkemeup]

To Be Happy

inbox request: “is there ever a time where y/n sort of gets overwhelmed with how much her life has changed ?? but in a good way ??” by anonymous ❤️ pairing: bucky x reader chapter word count: 1.5k warnings: none ❤️ 🌹series masterlist 🌹

“Wait, wait! You promised to tell us more about Hydra if we all did the reading this week!” one of the criminal justice majors enrolled in your 20th Century Literature course raised his arm desperately, moments before the end of class.

“I suppose I did,” you nodded, laughing as several other students, even the ones appropriately in the correct course for their major, nodded along eagerly. You took off your glasses and set them on the table. The whole classroom sank back into their seats as if watching a movie.

You didn’t give them much, just enough to keep them interested for more and willing to do the assigned readings. If it encouraged participation, you didn’t mind sharing what you’d learned about Hydra over the years. The kids were fascinated and it earned you a reputation around campus enough to have your classes filled within seconds of registration.

Today, you told them about the secret back room in the Lernaean. It had been a long time since you’d even thought about the club Brock had used to launder money for Hydra, but the kids seemed enthralled at the idea of a hidden door behind the bar.

As you dismissed the class for the day, gathering your things and ready to head home after three lectures and five hours of open office hours, you found a student waiting for you by the door. She held her books tight to her chest, nervously smiling at you as you caught her attention.

“Hi.”

“Hi, Daisy,” you chuckled, throwing your bag over your shoulder. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh.” She seemed surprised by your question, as if she were expecting she wouldn’t get that far. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was wondering if I could schedule office hours with you? I was hoping you could help me with a paper I’m writing on—"

“It’s a little early to work on the final, Daisy,” you suggested with a smile, gesturing for her to follow you as you made your way out of the lecture hall, “but I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

“Actually, it’s for my women’s studies class,” Daisy blurted out, causing you to pause. You narrowed your eyes on her, waiting for her to continue. She clearly her throat. “Professor Hill asked us to pick a woman in history we admire and write about how they persevered when the whole world was against them.”

“Oh, Daisy,” you started, a little stunned, “I don’t know if I would be an appropriate choice for—”

“My dad was killed by Hydra when I was little,” Daisy explained quietly. “What you did, teaming up with the feds and taking down Hydra from the inside after all they did to you… It’s amazing. I know the CJ guys in this class are all caught up on the Hydra of it all, but I’d really like to be able to learn more about you and what it was like on the inside, why you decided to fight, and how you did it. I already ran it by Professor Hill and she was on board as long as it was okay with you.”

You watched Daisy for a minute, surprised by the confidence growing in her stance as she spoke. This was important to her and there were few people you’d be willing to share those kinds of stories with, but as she glanced up hopefully, you couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s okay with me,” you said, and Daisy nearly jumped off the ground. “You can add your name to the list outside my office for the time you’d like, okay?”

“Yes! Yes, of course! Thank you!” Daisy was already halfway down the hall, waving enthusiastically as she sprinted towards your office. You laughed to yourself as you watched her disappear amongst the crowd of students.

***

“You’ll never guess what happened at work today,” you said as you closed the apartment door behind you, quickly overcome by a wave of cumin and chili powder. 

Taco night. 

Chopped tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and tortillas lined the table with tiny bowls filled with toppings and spices. At the edge, a chemistry textbook. You paused, narrowing your eyes.

Peter emerged from the bathroom, grinning wide as he spotted you at the front door. “You’re home!”

“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” you laughed, rushing in to give him a hug.

“Aunt May’s working late tonight and Bucky said ‘tacos’ so I was on the first train over.”

“Obviously.”

“Give me ten minutes and we’re good to go!” Bucky called from the kitchen. He was dressed in an old pair of jeans ripped at the knees and a t-shirt that had gone through the wash a few too many times. It was faded and stretched at the neck, but he was comfortable and grinning wildly as he wafted the steam of the ground beef from the pan.

“I’ll move my stuff!” Peter cheered, lunging for the textbook and tossing it into his bag.

“Are you done studying?” you questioned to which Peter scrunched his nose at you.

“You sound like Aunt May.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“It’s taco night, Y/n!”

“Yeah, Y/n, it’s taco night,” Bucky chimed in, smirking as Peter nodded along.

“If Aunt May calls over here wondering why I let you off the hook on studying for this exam, I’m blaming the two of you,” you conceded, sinking down into the chair and Bucky placed a margarita on front of you.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

***

“Wait, that’s so cool,” Peter said, mouth half full of his four taco. “This girl’s writing an essay on you?”

“I guess so,” you shrugged, trying to play it off but the truth was you were far more excited than you let on. You hadn’t had a chance to tell your side of the story outside of the connections you made with the women down at Hope Haven and despite the fact that the only reader would likely be your good friend Maria Hill, it meant something to you.

“That’s amazing,” Bucky nodded, reaching for your hand under the table and giving it a light squeeze.

“Definitely better than that punk at my school who wouldn’t keep his mouth shut,” Peter grumbled, angrily biting into another taco as the hard shell cracked to pieces on his plate. “At least he learned his lesson.”

“Watch yourself, Peter,” you warned. “You don’t need to be defending my honor to a high school senior, okay?”

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot more kids talking about how cool you are anyway,” Peter shrugged casually. “MJ is probably your biggest supporter and most kids at the school are afraid of her so… no more fist fights for me.”

“Well good,” you laughed. “I like MJ.”

“Me, too,” Peter replied dreamily, a little caught up in his head to notice the hearts consuming his eyes. You glanced over at Bucky, laughing quietly amongst yourselves.

It was strange, you realized, this foreign feeling in your stomach. It came up every once in a while in moments like these; where Bucky sat comfortably at the seat to your left, his hand holding yours under the table, Peter sitting across from you going on and on about what colleges he was thinking about applying to.

It was a comfortable feeling, a safe feeling, one you didn’t question whether it would be ripped out from under you or break apart at the seams. Something so simple, so domestic, that most people wouldn’t think twice about, but as you watched Peter and Bucky make their way into the kitchen to clean up, laughing amongst themselves as Bucky swatted Peter on the arm with a dishrag, it didn’t feel so simple. It felt extraordinary.

After all you’d been through, to survive the reign of Hydra, to escape the control of a man who was hellbent on keeping you under his thumb, to come out the other side to a man who loved you beyond what you thought capable, to a classroom full of eager students, to a family you never thought you’d have.

“You alright, honey?” Bucky called from the kitchen, his face softening as he noticed the way you were watching them.

You nodded, brushing away the tears under your eyes and offering him a smile that felt near contagious. “I’m perfect, Buck. Just really happy is all.”

Bucky smiled at that, extending up into his cheeks and wrinkling by his eyes. “Good. Stay that way forever, okay?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, nodding along as Peter came up behind Bucky’s shoulder and muffled out a ‘yeah!’ between bites of shredded cheese. Cheddar scampered along the floor to sniff at the few pieces of cheese that had slipped from between Peter’s fingers, before he turned his head away in favor of the food bowl sitting in the corner of the kitchen.

Surrounded by your boys. Perfectly content. Safe. and Loved. 

[super-unpredictable98]

Another All Nighter (Tales From the Original Timeline)

Fandom: Misfits Pairing: Nathan x Lydia (OC - Hard Candy’ verse) Word Count: around 1,3k Warning: Strong language, spiders (if anyone's scared of that)

(Masterlist)

Finals preparation was killing me, there was so much to study, so much to remember... My parents and Simon were starting to worry about me, locked in my room all day and night, reading those stupid flashcards and barely eating anything or getting any sleep.

One of those nights, while I was revising my science notes once again, I heard a weird knocking on my window. I thought I was just going mental from the sleep deprivation, but it happened again. When I looked back, I noticed someone was throwing pebbles.

I rolled my eyes with a smile, there's only one person who would waste their time doing this stupid shit for me... I got up to open the window and looked down:

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet," I leaned over the edge.

"I understood about 30% of what y'just said."

"Heya, Nats."

"Hey, Lollipop," he grinned widely. "Haven't seen you around and Barry told me you've been locked in there for ages, so I thought I'd drop by... I've got food and some beers."

"I suppose a break wouldn't kill me," I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. "Come up."

Of course Nathan wouldn't ring the doorbell and come in like a normal person... He looked down at the floor and it slowly raised, forming a flight of stairs that lead to my room. He climbed up and I helped him in.

"I brought your favorite," Nathan handed me the paper bag. "Cheeseburger with caramelized onions and chili fries."

"Oh, you're an angel," I groaned. "I'm starving!"

"So I've been told..."

"Did Simon ask you to come?" I got into bed and Nathan joined me.

"No, that was actually my idea... Well, mine and Junior's, he suggested the burgers t'cheer you up."

"Aw, I love that little guy," I giggled before taking my first bite.

"He loves you," he chuckled. "I think he has a little crush. He actually wanted t'come tonight, but I asked him t'stay and take care of mummy."

"That explains the proposal last week," I joked.

"Well, the little fella has good taste, gotta give him that..."

My heart raced with that observation and I nearly choked, but that might've been because I was absolutely devouring my dinner.

"Someone's real hungry, huh?" Nathan watched me eating like I've been fasting for a week.

"Don't you judge me..." I pushed him playfully.

"I'm not, I think it's cute," he started eating as well. "You could've given me a call t'let me know your parents aren't feedin' ya."

"My stomach has been in a knot since this shitshow started."

"Glad that I was able t'fix it. So what you readin'?"

"Um..." I tried to hide the fact that I was watching the movement of his adam's apple. "Science, it's zoology."

"Zoology? That's cool, I like that."

"You like zoology?" I said skeptically. "Since when?"

"Since always, I love animals, I'm always watchin' those documentaries about wildlife and shit... I can help."

"That would be really nice, actually," I smiled to myself. "You're way too nice to me, you're ruining me for other guys."

"That's good, if a guy doesn't treat you as well as I do, he doesn't deserve shit. I'm settin' those standards real high."

"Yeah, that's why I'm single..."

"Sounds like Rick is gone then?"

"Yep, broke up with him last week."

"Good for you, he was a bit of twat," Nathan leaned back, my eyes followed his bicep as he put one arm behind his head. "Never liked him."

"His sense of humor was shit."

"You love a funny guy, don'tcha?"

"I guess I do..."

"Poor fellas at your school don't stand a chance."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"Cause we're friends, and I'm the funniest guy around."

"You cocky bastard..." I pinched his cheek.

A silence started eating us alive, my gaze moved between his eyes and his lips. Sometimes I thought he knew, he knew about my feelings. What if he knew and all those nice things he did for me was his way of telling me that he liked me too? Or maybe of making me feel less bad about being a pathetic romantic idiot pining after a married man.

"Y'got a little ketchup..." Nathan dragged his thumb over the corner of my mouth slowly and licked it right after.

We were so close, I could feel his breathing against my skin, I could smell his body wash, just one move and we could kiss. What If I kissed him? What would happen? Would he kiss me back or never look me in the eye again?

For a second I thought he was going to kiss me. His tongue quickly wet his lips, he leaned in closer, his hand was firmly on the back of my neck, he swallowed nervously before shutting his eyes and shaking his head as if trying to get rid of an intrusive thought.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Yeah, yeah..." he waved dismissively with his usual bravado. "I just thought I saw somethin' over there, but it was a shadow."

"Oh, okay," I felt dumb for even thinking a man like Nathan would even consider kissing me.

I had lost my chance, which wasn't fair to begin with, my chance was when I was 12? Now that I'm old enough he's taken and has a kid... So typical of me to lose at a game I didn't even get the chance to play.

Once we finished our dinner, he grabbed my notes and started looking through them, pretending to understand everything, but it was pretty clear he was a little lost.

"Uh, insects..." he mused, scratching his shy goatee. "Well, what makes an animal an insect?"

"Three body segments and six legs?"

"Well, yeah, but it's more than that..."

Nathan covered the palm of his hand for a second, and when he uncovered there was a beautiful blue butterfly there. I gasped at how amazing that was.

"What d'you see here?"

"Wings?"

"Yeah, lots of insects have wings, but not all of them," Nate slowly stroked the butterfly's wings, it seemed to like it. "But one thing that every insect has is a pair of antennae, see?"

"Aw, it's so cute!"

"You can touch it if you want, d'you wanna hold it?"

I nodded and Nathan placed his hand on top of mine, transferring the butterfly to me.

"So three body segments: head, thorax, and abdomen," I carefully analyzed the adorable creature.

"Exactly," he checked the notes once again. "Now arachnids..."

"Are you just gonna make animals out of thin air to help me study?"

"It's helpin', innit?" he chuckled, making the butterfly turn into a spider in my hand.

"JESUS CHRIST, NATHAN!" I screamed and he laughed.

"It's alright, look at it, it's cute... Look at this adorable little face."

After a closer look, I concluded that the jumping spider resting between my fingers was actually quite friendly.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," Nate sighed amusedly. "So arachnids have eight legs and-"

"Nathan?" Simon's voice made both of us jump.

"Barry, Jesus!" he clutched his chest. "Scared the shit outta me!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing! Y'mentioned Lyddie wasn't eatin' right so I brought her some dinner, and now we're studyin'."

Simon was gonna say something snarky, but seeing me well fed and all happy with my jumping spider, he didn't have the nerve to. He simply shook his head with a timid smile, closing the door again.

"Next time ring the doorbell like a normal person!"

Tag List: @elliethesuperfruitlover @firstpersonnarrator @spanishmossmagnolia​@a-ghoulish-tale @seanfalco

[universalfanfic]

Stutton Spooky Mermaid  AU

I blacked out and wrote almost 8k words of a prequel Stutton spooky mermaid au based off @inkoutsidethelines Mary/Owen au

Sutton flopped back on the bed and let out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead with her free hand.  

“I just got in tonight, Vicki,” she said. “I haven’t even had time to see if anything is weird yet. The hotel receptionist seemed normal?” 

Vicki huffed from the other end of the phone. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get a better feel for the town tomorrow. I’m telling you, there’s something about that place. Disappearances, a body that ‘decomposed’, like, immediately, and not even any local reports on any of it? It’s perfect for the podcast.” 

“I can’t believe I agreed to come here.” 

Vicki laughed.

“I don’t remember you complaining when I told you it was a beach town.” 

“True.” Sutton rolled over and rested her chin on her arm. “Maybe I’ll play hooky one of the days I’m here.” 

“On partially my dime? Try again. I want as much research as you can possibly get. And don’t forget to interview some locals. Personal accounts always sound professional in these true crime things.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bemoaned Sutton.

She rolled over again and hung up after reconfirming to Vicki her plans and forbidding her from making a podcast episode about her if something happened during her stay. 

That got another laugh. 

---

Sutton emerged bright and early the next day to hit the town. In the light of day it looked even less like a spooky murder town than it still didn’t during the night. Sidewalks boarded the main road, giving pedestrians easy ability to access shops, and there were cheerful sandwich board signs beckoning people in to take a look at gift shop sales and reasonably priced breakfasts. 

She stopped at a local diner first, figuring she might as well eat and fuel up before getting down to business. The building looked like it was in the middle of renovation, with a makeshift menu board and cans of paint in the corner. The woman at the counter proudly explained that she and her boyfriend were trying to get the place up and running. 

“Who knows,” she said with a wink as she rang up Sutton’s order. “If this business works out, maybe I’ll marry him.”

It seemed they were getting a decent stream of customers despite the construction mess, probably due to the fact that there were only so many choices in the area. Perhaps their relationship was in luck.

Sutton sat down in a booth and pulled out some paperwork to look over while she waited. Vicki had printed out everything concerning the weird occurrences in the area, and it still wasn’t much. What spoke more loudly about the oddness of the occurrences was what wasn’t done or recorded. 

For several missing people to have this town be their last known location, it was startling how little investigation there was done by local police. 

Sutton shifted her notes and grimaced as she came across a grainy photo Vicki printed. 

A few months ago they actually found a body a mile or so outside the town. Another police department had photographed the scene before the town’s department had suddenly taken over. 

In the picture, a man laid on the side of the road, like he'd been traveling on foot, and he looked- Sutton scraped her tongue with her teeth- gross. 

Apparently from the time he went missing to when his body was found was only three days, but by that point his body was already... in advanced decomposition? But that didn’t feel right. It looked more- crusty to Sutton. Like a dry sponge. 

Besides, bodies didn’t decompose to that point in three days; even if they were left in the sun.

Ultimately the death was ruled to be due to a heart condition and the case closed. 

Sutton covered the photo and looked for something less disturbing before breakfast. Though, really, there wasn’t much to go off of. They weren’t trying to solve the mystery here, but it’d be helpful to have enough info to throw out some theories for listeners.

--

She finished breakfast and set out to get to work. Speaking to random people was a little intimidating at the moment, so she decided to start at the library to see if there were any records there. 

The library was a bit musty and underfunded. Sutton slipped passed the fiction sections and made straight for the newspaper archives. 

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much there. Sutton had hoped they just hadn’t discovered the internet here, but even their paper records revealed very little.  She sifted through articles on small burglaries, high school sports, and chili cook-offs. Nothing to imply the Hallmark-esque town would have any dark secrets. The best thing she could find was a notice from over ten years ago warning visitors away from partying at some place simply called ‘the lagoon’. But no other references to the location popped up and Sutton brushed it off to focus on other things.  Eventually she gave up with the library and took what meager notes she scratched down as she made her way back out in the town. As awkward as it might be, she was probably going to have to start asking people questions. She stopped in a kitschy gift shop and pretended to peruse the wares. Luckily there weren’t many people inside, and Sutton was grateful she came during the off season. She picked up a conch shell and inspected it before looking up and making eye contact with the clerk at the register. 

“You, ah, have neat stuff!” 

The clerk gave a flat sort of bemused look as they shrugged.

“Thanks? You like shells?” 

Sutton put the shell down. 

“Um, they’re fine. I was thinking for gifts, though.” She moseyed closer to the register as casually as she could.  “What’s popular with tourists?” She asked. “I’m sure you get a lot of people through here.” 

“A bit more in the summer,” the clerk replied. “And people seem to like the wind chimes.” 

“Cool, cool.” Said Sutton. “A lot of people, huh? Any weird customers?” 

The clerk blew air out of their nose.

“I mean, always.”

It wasn’t quite the answer Sutton was looking for. 

“I mean, any good stories? Maybe, I don’t know, strange people hanging around?” 

The clerk’s expression flickered and they eased back as they looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“What?”

Sutton winced. 

 “I just mean, I read there have been some disappearances around-”

The clerk’s expression completely shut down and they stepped back from the register like Sutton was dangerous. 

“Actually,” they said, “I have some things to organize in the back. If you’ll excuse me.” 

They ducked away and Sutton was left floundering alone with even more questions. 

-

Her luck didn’t get any better the rest of the day, and her stomach only churned more with every local who avoided her like the plague after a few polite inquiries. Whatever was going on around here, no one wanted any part of it and Vicki wasn’t going to be thrilled that she went a whole day without anything juicy. 

Sutton felt queasy about the situation. Clearly there was something if everyone looked so freaked out when she even mentioned it. 

She stopped by the diner again for coffee and a snack and decided she wouldn’t ask anyone there about the disappearances in case they refused to serve her afterwards. 

A few people recognized her and gave her a wide berth as she walked through town and Sutton’s uneasiness only grew. But she was fine, nothing bad was going to happen. She had a can of pepper spray in her purse. 

There was a small park near the main beach, and Sutton stopped and sat on one of the benches to sip her coffee while she tried to brainstorm a new tactic. There were some kids climbing on the jungle gym and a few playing kickball on a small concrete pad. Further down she could see families walking the beach or flying kites. 

It looked so normal. 

A loud, snapping twang startled Sutton out of her observations and she yelped, almost spilling her coffee, as the red kickball the kids were playing with nearly smacked her in the face. 

It just missed and hit the back of the bench before rolling a few feet away. One of the little boys ran over waving his hand in apology as he scooped up the ball. 

“Sorry, lady,” he said. “That almost hit you right in your face!” 

“Yeah,” agreed Sutton. “I’m glad it didn’t.” 

The boy squinted at her for a minute as he swiped some hair out of his face, and then pointed a finger at her. 

“You new around here? I haven’t seen you before.” 

“I’m visiting.” 

An idea struck Sutton and she leaned closer. 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” 

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” 

Sutton rolled her eyes. It was a good practice, just inconvenient when he might be more likely to answer questions. 

“You already were,” she said. “Anyway, I’m Sutton. And I’m not going to offer you anything, like candy or a puppy.” 

“Well that sucks,” he commented. He paused briefly, thinking. “Let me see your ID.”

Oh for pete’s- 

Sutton handed him her driver’s license and the boy studied it with a haughty air before handing it back. 

“Okay, Sutton. You can ask one question and then I have to go. My team is losing the game so they’re already mad.” 

“Alright, -” Sutton paused, then was about to continue when the boy rolled his eyes right back. 

“Harley,” he said. 

“Alright, Harley. Do you know why everyone here gets scared when I ask about missing people?” Little Harley was the first person in the entire town not to go white when she brought up the subject. Instead he shrugged like the answer was simple. 

“That’s easy. It’s ‘cause the lagoon.” 

“The lagoon?” 

But Harley already ran off to rejoin his friends with little more than a backyards wave and a,

“See ya later!” 

Sutton sighed and stood. At least she got something; if the kid wasn’t just making things up. She downed the rest of her coffee and tossed it in a nearby trash. Casting one more glance back to make sure no stray kickballs were headed her way, she started to leave only to freeze. The kids were playing kickball again, but the messy brown hair of Harley was nowhere to be seen among them. 

----

Sutton got a night's sleep and headed back out the next day. At least this time she had something to focus on. The lagoon had come up twice, so it seemed like a safe bet, especially since she had no other leads. 

She packed a bag to take with her, a towel, hat, some water, and her bathing suit. Perhaps Vicki wasn’t on board with the idea of Sutton playing hooky, but if she could kill two birds with one stone, a little down time on a secluded beach and research, then Vicki didn’t need to know. 

Sutton stopped to grab a cheap boogie board as well on her quest to find this mysterious lagoon. Compared to finding answers, it was surprisingly easy to locate. 

It was a lovely spot, even if the hike almost made her wonder if it’d be worth the trek. That might have been part of the reason the article she found warned people from coming down here. If there was a group drinking, they’d have a hard time getting back out. 

But the trek through the brush was worth it. The lagoon was beautiful, with crystalline waters in almost a full circle boarded by nearly white sand. Out in the center of the circle of water was a large rock.

Sutton dropped her bag and set to arranging her stuff to spend the afternoon there. It was, afterall, research. She ought to be thorough. 

It was, of course, then that Vicki called to check in with her. 

“So? Anything?” Vicki asked immediately. 

Sutton sighed. 

“Not much, except more weirdness. No one wants to talk to me.” Vicki’s tone brightened. 

“That means there must be something good! You have to keep digging.” 

“I am! I’m at some spot called The Lagoon. I mean, it’s the best lead I have so far.” 

“A beach? Sutton, really?” 

“It’s a really pretty beach? Looks like something from a movie. Look, I’m going to do a sweep for bodies and then maybe I’ll swim out to the rock that’s out there and see if there are cryptic messages spelled out in the shrubbery or something. Does that make you feel better?” 

Vicki huffed. 

“Only slightly. Send me pics, I can use them for the Insta I’m starting to go with the podcast.” 

“Of course, your highness.”

---

Sutton did a few sweeps of the beach like she promised. There were no bodies or anything of real note. She found a few pairs of sunglasses, a flip flop, and a set of car keys; but nothing that screamed unusual or concerning. 

Like Vicki asked, she snapped a few pictures with her phone and then sent one to her mom just because the place was so pretty. 

While the sun was still up, she decided to swim out to the rock and get a panoramic shot of the full beach. She didn’t want to stay down on this beach by herself when it was getting dark, and she definitely wasn’t going to swim without the sun. Not to mention she hadn’t brought a flashlight for the return hike. 

Sutton put on her hat, grabbed a water bottle and her phone and sat them on the boogie board as she paddled out to the rock. Luckily it wasn’t a long swim, though the water became deep rather quickly. She was halfway to the rock when she thought to wonder if the warning about the lagoon had anything to do with riptides or sharks or something. 

She clambered up onto the rock quickly. 

The view from the water was even better than the view from the shore. It felt more magical, being surrounded by water, and the sand from the beach shone brilliantly in the sun. Sutton took a panoramic shot and then leaned back to let the sun rays soak into her skin. 

It was perfect down here. She wondered why the locals didn’t frequent it even if the hike was a struggle. It would wear down the path and shrubbery if more people came. 

But what in the world could this beach have to do with people disappearing? Even if it was an issue of drowning, that shouldn’t strike the level of fear in the locals eyes as it seemed to. 

Sutton leaned over and splashed her feet in the water, kicking up waves just to see if it summoned anything up. She didn’t even see any jellyfish. 

Given how calm the water was, she decided to risk it and swam a few laps around the rock and tried to open her eyes under the stinging water to see if she could see anything. She kind of wished she’d brought a waterproof phone case with her. But there didn’t seem to be anything other than some barnacle on the rock. 

She climbed back on the rock and sat to rest. There was only the quiet lapping of waves. Not even seagull calls pierced the air. After letting the silence linger, she decided she didn’t like it. It was easy here to forget that this town had multiple disappearances and a questionable death under its belt, but something about the silence of the lagoon brought those thoughts back to the forefront of her mind. 

“Yeah, no.”

Sutton wiped her wet hand on the warm rock and picked up her phone to play some music. 

She wouldn't stay much longer, she decided. There didn’t seem to be anything to help with her research, and if that Harley kid knew what he was talking about at all she definitely wasn’t going to linger around at dusk. 

Sutton tapped her bare feet and hummed along to the music as her thoughts drifted. She might have to try and see if the police station could give her any more information. Though she had a feeling they’d be just as talkative and welcoming to her questions as the townies. 

Leaning back on her hands, she stomped and shuffled her feet more as the music switched and picked up tempo. Sutton threw her head back and sang along with the song. 

“Always looking for a reason to leave Always finding something wrong with the season Your heart has just been hiding from the truth Like a circle always ready to spin Got that green light go all over your skin But the world is never gonna cut you loose  No matter where you go or what you do It’s gonna be there waiting

You keep running away  You keep running away You keep running away You’re gonna need some faster shoes”

She hummed again as she took a swig of water and checked the time. A few songs later she decided it was late enough in the afternoon to start heading back. She turned off the music and finished off the water bottle in preparation to leave. 

Slipping down the rock, Sutton tread water as she reached back for the boogie board and her things. Something about the deep, open water now made her stomach flip. An unexplainable chill ran up her spine and she gripped the board. 

It felt like someone was staring at her. 

Sutton sucked in a breath and scanned the beach, but there was no one there. 

“Don’t be stupid,” she muttered to herself. 

And just like that, in the warm glow of the late afternoon, the lagoon felt incredibly isolated and she, dangerously alone. Her pepper spray was back in her bag on the beach. 

She was halfway back when something grabbed her by the ankle and yaned her under. 

Sutton’s scream cut short as she was dragged down into the water. Her boogie board flipped over in her desperate scramble to keep hold of it, and all her things were plunged into the ocean.

Sutton kicked and struggled, but whatever had her wasn’t letting go. There were fingers around her ankle. Like a human hand. Heat seared at her ankle and she stopped herself from screaming in panic. She opened her eyes, desperate, but the salt burned and she couldn’t see through the bubbles her thrashing created. 

Could see nothing, that is, besides what looked like a pair of glowing blue eyes. 

Sutton fought harder, her lungs aching, and whatever had her let her go. She broke the surface with a coughing, sputtering gasp as she sucked in air and swam like her life depending on it. 

The minute her toes hit sand she was running. She barely paused to scoop up her bag before she dove into the brush and sprinted the hike back to her car. Only when she was back on pavement did she stop and look back. Nothing had followed her, but that didn’t stop the dread from flowering in her gut. 

Her feet were still bare. She’d left her shoes.

Her heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of her right ankle. Black marks curved and swirled around her leg, inky and crisp like a tattoo. She dropped down into a crouch and rubbed at the markings all while the blood drained from her body.

“No. No way. What the heck?”

Oh no. Oh heck no. 

Her eyes darted back to the trail, but still. Nothing emerged. 

Well. She wasn’t going to stick around and wait until something did. 

--

Sutton limped into the hotel lobby. Her feet were cut up, she was dripping wet, and her skin was pale as a ghost.

The receptionist jumped up from their chair and blinked at her with startled concern.

“Miss, are you alright,” she asked. 

Sutton swallowed.

“Actually, I’m going to need to check out early.”

“You- Is something wrong with your accommodations?”

“Something happened.”

The woman at the desk blinked again.

“Something happened?”

Sutton grimaced and adjusted her bag.

“I mean, something came up.

She rummaged through her bag for her wallet to pull out her card and found her hand shook as she tried to pass it over. 

The receptionist grew more concerned. She stepped around the small desk as if to help Sutton to a seat.

“Miss, you look-”

The woman froze and her face went ashen as she took in the puddle of water and spots of blood at Sutton’s feet. Suddenly she backed up and put the desk between them again. Sutton watched as she pasted on a tight smile. The sort of expression you give someone when you’re trying not to let on that something is horribly wrong.

“I’m afraid check out hours are over until tomorrow morning,” she said, voice thin. “You’ll have to come back when the manager is here.”

Sutton balked.

“But-!” 

“Have a good night.” 

And then the receptionist had the audacity to walk away. She disappeared inside the office and didn’t come back out even as Sutton lingered at the desk.

She didn’t get much sleep that night. Her thoughts kept churning over her near death experience, the receptionist’s terrified face, the strange black lines on her ankle. 

The answer to the uninvestigated disappearances hit her with a terrible, near unbelievable, clarity. This town had a monster and the people knew it. And what kind of monster let go of its prey after it caught them?

Sutton tried not to hyperventilate as she pulled the blankets up over her head. 

The kind that toyed with their food. 

--

When she woke up her throat was dry. More than dry. Like she hadn’t touched water in more than a day dry. She stumbled out of bed and gripped the edges of the bathroom sink, drinking straight from the faucet until the feeling died down. Water dripped down her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. She still looked pale and scared. Her hair was curling and frizzing out of control thanks to the salt water and the fact that she hadn’t thought to shower last night. 

To add insult to injury, since her phone was lost to the depths, Sutton had no way of contacting Vicki to let her know what was going on. Sure the hotel room had a landline, but Sutton had never bothered to memorize Vicki’s number after she’d added it to her contacts. 

She actually did know her mom’s home number, but when she tried to call it the phone didn’t have a dial tone. Her heart rate picked up as she tried several times to no avail. 

It was probably a faulty connection. The hotel was old and small. That was it.

The weather turned too, she noted as she packed up her things. Yesterday had been beautiful, but with it being the off season, poor weather was creeping in, and it only made her feel more anxious. 

With her car packed, she hurried back to the reception desk, ready to finally check out. 

“I’m afraid you can’t.”

Sutton blinked. The manager had a pinched look on his face as he stood ramrod straight and refused to make direct eye contact.

“Excuse me?”

He cleared his throat as his eyes flitted about the room. 

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we have a no refund policy. You’re booked until the end of the week, and I’m afraid that can’t be changed.” 

“You have to be kidding me.” 

But he wasn’t. No matter what she argued, he staunchly refused to check her out of her room and Sutton finally snatched back her card with a heated glare. 

“Fine,” she said, teeth flashing. “Email me the bill at the end of the week then.” 

He didn’t respond as she limped from the lobby and out to the parking lot. 

Sutton sat in her car a moment, just giving herself a chance to breathe. Heading out this early, she should be able to get home sometime after dinner if she didn’t make too many stops. She’d get back home and everything would be fine, and Vicki could have a first hand account for her podcast. That would make up for having to pay for the room for the full week. 

Straightening, she put her key in the ignition and turned. 

She waited. 

Nothing. 

Immediately she felt sick. Her car wouldn’t start and that made no sense. It ran perfectly fine before coming here. She’d filled the tank, changed the oil, checked tires, everything. Sutton smacked the dash a couple times and tried again. The engine didn’t even hiccup. 

“No, no, no, no.” 

She threw open her door and rounded the front as she shoved up the hood. Nothing looked wrong or missing, not that she exactly knew much about how engine’s worked. She jostled the battery cables a little and tried to start it again, but it remained dead. 

Dread creeped through her anew. What if-? 

Her gaze flickered to the hotel entrance. 

No. The locals were skittish, but they wouldn’t try to actively sabotage her. Would they? 

Sutton grit her teeth and grabbed her bag. It didn’t matter if they would or not. She was leaving this cursed town today. 

Luckily she had packed more than one pair of shoes, but it didn’t make up for the cuts she still had from running up the trail from the lagoon. The sky was overcast and she had a light jacket, but nothing really waterproof. Everything felt off kilter and skewed. Like she was living in a growing nightmare.

The town had to have a bus that traveled to the next town over. All she had to do was get on one and find a working phone away from this place. She could get her mom and Howard to come pick her up. 

She didn’t know what she was going to tell them about everything yet. Especially about her new unwanted tattoo. Could she even pass it off? It’d been less than a week since she’d last seen her family and weren’t tattoos red and swollen for a little while?

“Miss? Are you alright?” 

Sutton’s head snapped to the side. A police cruiser kept pace with her and a salt and pepper cop leaned slightly to see her through the passenger side window. She eyed him warily. He didn’t look as spooked as the hotel workers. If anything he looked more stern, which seemed natural with his profession. 

Sutton ran her tongue over her teeth. Her throat was already dry again. She only had so many water bottles left. 

“Um, I- actually, I’m trying to find the bus station,” she said. 

She was tempted to ask for a ride, her feet were killing her, but she was too afraid. The cop eyed her back a moment before he put on a look of confusion. 

“Bus station? I could, I suppose. But it wouldn’t do you much good.” 

Sutton’s throat threatened to close. 

“What do you mean?” 

He tipped his head in what she assumed was the direction of the station. 

“It only comes through here once a week, and you just missed it.”

She could cry. She couldn’t believe it. 

“Once a week? Are you serious?” 

The cop shrugged. 

“‘Fraid so. We’re a small town, you know. Hardly worth the gas for them, I suppose. Not unless it’s tourist season.” He gave her a pitying look then, and Sutton forced herself to hold back tears. 

“I suggest you go get a warm breakfast, drink some water. And rest your feet.” 

 He drove off before Sutton could question his statement. 

--

She only went back to the diner because she was at a loss with how to proceed. And she never brainstormed well on an empty stomach. Plus, she really was thirsty again. Unnaturally thirsty. 

She gulped down an entire glass of water and felt some measure of relief. 

But the food didn’t bring her any comfort. She glanced down at her ankle again and wondered if she ought to find a way to cover the mark up. 

No phone, no car, no bus. Sutton stirred her scrambled eggs around her plate. It felt like the only option left was to walk. 

Walk.

Her blood ran cold yet again. The dead guy in the picture looked like he’d been walking. Walking out of town. 

Sutton pushed her plate away and put her head in her hands. 

What in the world had she gotten into? And how in the world was she going to get out of it?

Could she?

The rain started while she was still picking at her food. Sutton sighed deep in her chest. It might as well. At this point she fully believed she was cursed by whatever was in that lagoon. A rumble came from outside and she lazily looked up to see if some thunder and lightning were being tossed in as well. 

A bus passed the diner and continued down the street towards the main highway. 

Sutton shot up in her seat. 

“That- that-” She shrieked in her throat. “That two-faced liar!” 

She did start crying then. Her lips pressed together even as tears fell. A police officer, a police officer, lied to her face to trap her here. Her breakfast threatened to make a reappearance. 

Every disappearance was from someone out of town. 

‘Human sacrifice’ sparked across her thoughts.

The diner was deathly silent and Sutton realized she was making a scene. Part of her didn’t care. Part of her wanted to scream at them that they wouldn’t get away with this, but it still felt too crazy to say aloud. 

Sutton finished off one more glass of water and went to pay for her food. The woman at the register who had been so friendly the day before now looked petrified. She passed Sutton’s card back, fingers barely touching the plastic, and someone knocked into Sutton’s side as she went to drop the card in her bag. She flashed a glare back, but the person didn’t pause to apologize.

She fled the diner, back out into the rain, and decided to screw it. She was going to go to the bus station and demand a schedule and buy a ticket, and if they really only came once a week then she was going to try her luck walking. 

The rain started to soak through her jacket by the time she found the bus station. There was one elderly man at the ticket booth and she pulled herself together as she faced him. 

“How can I help you, miss?” 

Sutton swallowed back her roiling emotions. 

“I was wondering what the bus schedule is. I was told it was once a week, but I just saw-”

The man leaned back, looking confused. 

“Once a week? Oh, no. That was the schedule years ago. The bus comes twice a day now. You can catch the one this evening.”

If she started crying again, the man kindly didn’t mention it. 

“Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I’ll get a ticket.” 

“One ticket! That’ll be twelve dollars.” 

Sutton dug in her bag for her card, but couldn’t find it blind. She huffed and propped the bag up to properly search through it, but it must have been buried. It shouldn’t be so difficult. She’d dropped it on top of everything in her rush to leave the diner. 

The man waited as Sutton’s search grew frantic. 

“I just had it,” she said. “It- it was in my bag, I swear.”

But it simply wasn’t there. Even when she turned her bag inside out and checked every pocket. It didn’t make sense. She’d paid for her meal, got her card back and- and

And someone had bumped into her. On purpose. 

“I- I think someone may have...stolen my card.” 

The man looked at her with pity. She only had three dollars in cash. 

“I’m sorry, dear.” 

When she stepped outside again the floodgates of heaven opened into a torrential downpour. She could hardly see five feet in front of her, let alone walk the distance to the next town. 

She was a pathetic, soggy mess as she limped back through the hotel lobby, her feet aching and her eyes red. The hotel clerk silently slid her key card back to her over the counter and Sutton grabbed it without a word or even looking at them. 

Nothing felt real. Sutton peeled off her clothes and showered on autopilot. She sat in the room and braided her wet hair back as she tried to process her situation. 

How long until the locals broke down her door and dragged her back to toss her into the lagoon?

She tried the phone again but it was still disconnected. 

Sutton grabbed her can of pepper spray and paced the room. 

---

Hours later she was still winding herself up and trying to talk herself down in a vicious cycle. If she hadn’t braided her hair it would have been standing on end with the amount of times she’d attempted to run her hands through it. 

She was just talking herself down from another frenzy when the worst happened. There was a reverberating knock on her hotel door. Sutton froze. 

Her voice was stuck in her throat, but she wouldn’t have answered even if she’d been able to. 

The knock came again and Sutton rushed to push a chair under the door handle. 

“Um, can you open up? It’s time to go.” 

It was a man’s voice. Deep, if not a little uncertain, and Sutton bit back a scream. This was it. They were coming to drag her away to feed her to a sea monster that she didn’t even believe in twenty-four hours ago. 

“Or, you don’t have to open the door yourself, I guess.” The man said. “Though I know it’s polite to ask.” 

He was taunting her. 

Sutton clutched her pepper spray closer and tried to catch her breath. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

There was a pause and the door handle jiggled. 

“You have to.” The man said. “You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.” 

Sutton went weak at the knees, black spots dancing around her vision.

“I’m not-” she choked trying to force the words out. “I’m not going to just let you drag me back to that lagoon. I won’t be the next person offered up in your sick ritual.” 

“You won’t be offered up,” the man said. He sounded mildly befuddled. “I already accepted the proposal.” 

Sutton bit down on her tongue. He already accepted? What did that mean? He got to be the one to throw her in? 

“You accepted.” She bit back. “So, what? You get the honors of taking me to the ocean then?”

“Yes,” he said. He sounded happy. It was sick. “And it’s an immense honor, believe me. You’re perfect.” 

She pressed a hand against her mouth and tried to breath so her heart didn’t explode. He was psycho and if he had his way she was going to end up like Nicholas Cage in that movie with the bees. 

“I’m coming in now,” he said. 

Her heart raced and she moved without thinking.

There were several loud screeches and groans of metal, and then the door handle snapped. She watched as the door eased open and the chair skidded to the side. The man poked his head in and Sutton only caught a flash of him. 

Tall, blonde, no shirt, incredibly well built. Strong enough to pop open a locked door and clearly strong enough to drag her off to be sacrificed. 

She pepper sprayed him thoroughly the moment he spotted her and opened his mouth to say something. 

He yelled in pain, swiping at his eyes as he stumbled back, and Sutton darted through the opening and out into the parking lot. It was still downpouring, but maybe she could use that to help hide her tracks. 

She ran blindly through the rain. Even with water pelting her in the face her throat still felt raw. Another cry of pain and frustration echoed behind her and sent tingles down her spine. 

“Come back, please!” 

Like heck. Let the sea monster eat him instead. 

--

The sky started to lighten from black to gray and it was still raining. Sutton forgot what it felt like to be dry and warm. She didn’t know where she was and it still didn’t feel like there was enough distance between her and the man she pepper sprayed. She thought she might cry if she didn’t get a drink of water soon and her skin was starting to itch and feel oddly rough given she was soaked to the bone. 

Eventually she crouched down in some bushes and cried into her hands. 

They were going to kill her. The man had confirmed it. 

You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.

She didn’t want to die. But she legitimately had run out of ideas of how to escape this wretched town. They’d clearly done this before and had their strategy down pat. Sutton had walked in completely blind. 

Someone cursed nearby and Sutton snapped her head up. It was the man. He stared directly at her and she wondered if she’d actually almost made it away from him, because he looked distressed. He reached her before she could take off running again, and she was so exhausted she wouldn’t have made it far even if he hadn’t. 

“I’m sorry, I should have caught up to you sooner,” he said. “You’re already starting to dry.”

Sutton wiggled in his hold, but he kept a firm, yet gentle, grip on her. 

“Hardly,” she snapped. “What’s it matter anyway? Does the sea monster have a preference with its snacks?” 

That made him still. 

“What?” 

Sutton sneered.

“I’m not stupid. Visitors going missing, the weird locals, my leg, that thing in the lagoon. You’re going to use me as some sort of human sacrifice so whatevers down there will leave the rest of you alone.” 

The man sputtered as he looked down at her. His brows furrowed. 

“What in the world-? That thing in the lagoon was me,” he said. “And I- I’m not going to eat you. I feel like there’s some sort of misunderstanding here.” 

“You?” Sutton tried to pull back but he still wouldn’t let her. “You’re the one that tried to drown me?” 

“I wasn’t trying to drown you! I was leaving the Mark. Accepting you as my wife.” 

Sutton went completely still. Her mind tried to understand what he said, but it felt like whiplash. 

“W- Wife?

He nodded.

“How about we try to start over? I’m Steve.” 

“What are you?” 

She was afraid to ask, but she had to. All this time she had no clue what she was dealing with and she was left scrambling. 

“I suppose you’d call me a merman,” he said. His voice was lighter now, like he was pleased with her finally calmly conversing with him. 

“Merman.” Sutton repeated quietly. 

“Can I know your name?” 

Sutton looked up at him as he stared at her with wide, hopeful eyes. Trusting eyes. 

“Put me down first and I’ll tell you.” 

He didn’t look like he approved of that, and she hurried to press the issue. 

“You’re making me nervous, and I- I just need some room.” 

Slowly, reluctantly, he put her down. His hands hovered over her arms as if she would fall over, but she knew it was more likely in case she ran. 

There was a pause and Sutton knew she only had so much time to stall. 

“I’m Sutton,” she said. 

Steve smiled widely as he repeated her name like it was precious. 

It was all ridiculous. They were both standing out in the rain, hair plastered to their faces, and she was actually believing he was a merman set on trying to marry her. 

“Steve,” she explained slowly, “I’m super honored to meet a merman, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t marry you. I have to go home.” 

He frowned again and his hand flinched. 

“The magic is already set,” he said. “You sang in the lagoon, and your voice called to me. You offered yourself and I accepted. If I don’t get you to the ocean to complete the change, you’ll die.” 

“Change?” 

He raised his brows. 

“Well you can’t exactly survive in the ocean as a human. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed your dehydration. And now look at your poor skin. Nothing will cure that but the ocean itself.” 

She looked down at where he gestured to her arm and noticed the flakey, drying skin for the first time. The itch was only growing and it felt taut like a sunburn. 

“I’m sorry I let it get this far,” Steve continued. “We should go.” 

Sutton took a step back and pulled her arm out of his reach. 

“No. No. I didn’t offer my hand in marriage, I sang along to the radio! I’m going home.” 

Steve sighed. 

“You participated in the magic voluntarily. You can’t be upset that it worked.”

“I didn’t know!”

He looked bemused.

“And not knowing should exempt you? Is that how humans handle their binding agreements?” 

Sutton got the impression he was implying she ought to have read the fine print.

She swallowed and jutted her chin. 

“I should have gotten a warning.” 

“You just said you knew about the disappearances. Was that not warning enough?” 

There were a thousand things she could respond with. That she only came for Vicki’s sake, that she didn’t know the disappearances were due to mermaids, that she could have avoided these “consequences” if the entire town hadn’t conspired against her. 

But they probably wouldn’t help her much. 

She didn’t want to argue with a crazy merman. She just wanted to escape. Her skin was shifting from itchy to painful, and she still felt dehydrated. 

“I don’t care about your magic rules,” she said. “I’m going home.” 

Steve’s jaw ticked before he let out another sigh. Almost like he was resigned. Maybe Sutton actually got her point across.  

“Yes,” he replied. “We are.” 

And then he leaned down, picked her up by the waist, and threw her over his shoulder. 

Sutton shrieked and tried to fight, but she was at an odd angle and she couldn’t get any leverage the way he was holding her legs. He began walking back, uncaring of her struggles. 

“You can’t do this!” 

“I’m not going to let you die. You’ll understand once we get back to the ocean.” 

She hit him in the back with a fist but it didn’t seem to phase him. 

“You can’t heft me like a sack of potatoes. Are you a merman or a neanderthal?”

“If you hadn’t poisoned me, maybe I would have had more time to convince you.” 

“Oh?” She sniped. “But your face called to it, and the pepper spray accepted.” 

Steve deigned not to respond to that. 

He lugged her all the way back to the trailhead of the lagoon and down. Sutton’s resistance was starting to wane. Her throat was bone dry, it was getting harder to breathe, and her skin felt like it might start to split. 

“We’re almost there,” Steve said as he sprinted over the sand. “Just hold on.” 

Sutton saw a few of the sun’s rays on ground as the rain lightened up, and then she was plunged under the water. 

--

She managed to take one last breath before he dragged her under. Sutton flinched as he adjusted his hold on her, straightening her out to face him. But she had her eyes scrunched closed and refused to move. Muscle used oxygen and she couldn’t afford to lose any. 

She also couldn’t afford to not reach the surface. 

“Sutton, you can breathe. That’s part of the change.” 

His voice sounded different underwater, somehow more full, and it startled her that she could understand him enough that she opened her eyes. The water didn’t sting. 

Steve smiled at her, looking relieved, and ran a thumb over her cheekbone. 

“There. You look healthy again.” 

Sutton frowned. Her skin didn’t feel like tearing sandpaper anymore. In fact she felt… good. Her throat didn’t burn. 

But her lungs were starting to. 

She clawed at the water, trying to move up towards the surface, to air, but Steve wouldn’t let her. 

“In through your nose, out through your mouth,” Steve said as he demonstrated. And didn’t he make it so tempting? “You’re going to be okay.” 

The idea of just breathing water went against every survival instinct she had. It wasn’t even just that she didn’t want to, but she couldn’t begin to make herself. 

He might be a merman, but she was human. 

Sutton kicked at him and tried to break free. Steve pulled her closer to himself and wrapped his arms around her. 

“You won’t die.” He said around her thrashing. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“No!” 

She was stupid enough to answer. 

Water rushed into her mouth, down her throat, filled her lungs. Sutton coughed and sputtered and wheezed. 

But she didn’t choke. 

She took in another greedy lungful and- still didn’t die. 

“You can trust me,” Steve said. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.” 

Sutton found herself a bit distracted that she could breathe underwater. Her fingers flexed over his forearms as her eyes darted around.

“Except kidnap me.”

Steve let out an irritated huff and bubbles wobbled around his face. 

“It’s not kidnapping.”

It bothered her that she somehow felt normal again now underwater. It felt like Steve had won an argument. She supposed on that end he had. But it irritated her. 

Her eyes finally focused back on him and found him patiently waiting. 

“I understand it’s an adjustment,” he said. “But I’m going to be by your side the entire time.” 

“Entire time?” It was stranger still to be able to speak. To hear her voice somehow clearly.  “There’s more?” 

His lips tipped to the side and he put his hands on the underside of her forearms as he began to swim backwards. 

“It’d be difficult for you if you had to live with legs the entire time.”

A thrill ran through her and she looked down. Steve had a tail. 

It shouldn’t have surprised her, but suddenly it was all so real. He had a tail. Mermaids were real. 

His tail was a beautiful rich blue with both darker and paler blues speckled here and there as well as accenting his fins. 

“I’m going to have a mermaid tail.” 

“Soon,” he said. “Your body has to adjust to one change at a time. But you will.” 

He was still swimming on his back as he propped her up and took them further and further out into the ocean. 

“I’m still not your wife.” 

He wobbled his head like he disagreed, but didn’t outright contradict her. 

“I know humans have their own courting rituals. And I’ll do everything I can to prove to you we’re meant for each other.” He gave her a smile as he plunged down back over where more land fell away. 

“After all, you still haven’t heard my song for you yet.” 

[wherearemyglassesbro]

ooh ooh!! can you do more characters in your genshin au?

Yeah!! ;-; I’m surprised y’all like it alsjalsksk thank you for humoring me :)

Sadik: Pyro, polearm, *

Yells a lot in his voice lines and despite having a whole polearm, he still uses his hands in combat as well. He switches attacks from a good ol polearm whack to a full on sucker punch. Such a variety

Sadik is the best chef at the finest restaurant in the Pyro region of Natlan

He runs the kitchen with an iron fist, nearly making his chefs cry cause he’s like...A muscular Gordon Ramsay. But he will soften up if he actually sees tears

Because of this discipline, his restraunt has 7 stars...When 5 is usually the best of the best. The food there is above and beyond! And only the richest can really go because it’s $5,000 for one serving of spiced chili slime secretions...it tastes better than it sounds

He has full sleeves of tattoos on both arms which show ingredients, dishes and scenery from all of the regions he studied in. His ink pretty much tells his life story so far. Once he runs out of room on his arms he’ll move on to his back

He does interviews for the newspaper and the reporters are like ‘how do you cook so well?’ And he looks at them and goes ‘I don’t burn it’ wow fantastic insight

He isn’t really into combat but he’s a playable character anyway! We have a (soon to be) playable nun so anything is possible

Abel: Pyro, claymore, *

Another hard hitting character who tends to be on the slow side cause of his weapon but his power move would inflict a lot of damage

Abel is a pro bounty hunter, hired by all kinds of people from the varying regions of Teyvat. He gets paid a lot but his line of work is scaryyyy he takes on like 3 ruin guards at once sometimes. His skin is littered with scars from hilichurl claws, burns and stab wounds. He doesn’t care. He looks super cool

His cabin is tucked away and it’s location is unknown to the general public. Only his brother and sister know but they aren’t allowed to go unless it’s an emergency. Whenever he meets them it has to happen at night within the walls of a city. He doesn’t want criminals or monsters finding out he has siblings

He has a map of each region tattooed somewhere on his hand or arm instead of using a paper map. Fire powers and paper dont go well together

Lilli: Geo, catalyst, Springvale Mondstat

She’s a healer and her attacks consist of meteors flying out of the sky and hitting enemies! Best used when enemies are not right up in her face cause she literally can’t do hand to hand combat at all so that’s her only drawback

She’s still a kid but her brother trains her to be the best she can be! Vash is visionless but he expected to get a Geo vision. He didn’t, his sister did. So he’s helping her get stronger and learn about her power. She is so grateful for him :’)

She goes to school as she should and does all of her work and on her days off, she practices out in the fields with her brother. Vash throws rocks at her and she uses her powers to stop them in midair and hurl them back in his direction. She’d never ever hurt him and if she did she’d literally stop using her vison forever

Her idle voice lines are mostly about her brother or getting home before sundown “Hm...I wonder what my brother is doing right now” “The sun is setting! We better get moving” “Ah...The breeze feels nice tonight...” “Let’s get moving! There’s so much to see out here!”

If she dies from fall damage or something her ‘death’ voice line is “Big brother...Please...Dont forget me...” OUCH

Raj: Geo, longsword, his ship

Super fast and attacks jump from one enemy to the other super quick!! Downside is that it’s hard to focus on one enemy if there’s multiple around you cause his attacks go from enemy to enemy

Raj is the captain and owner of a huge cargo ship. He has a crew of 40 strong fighters, all with visions. He carries cargo back and forth from Liyue to Snezhnaya and Inazuma. He carries minerals, food supplies, textiles, anything that pays well!

His sword looks super old and that’s cause it is! It belonged to his great grandfather and has been passed down allllll the way to him! He wields it proudly even though it needs a bit of fixing up here and there every other month

To pass the time while traveling by sea, he plays his flute and his crew sings songs! It warms his heart to see everyone get along

You could hold up any rock and he’d tell you what it is. He has studied up on everything he sells and I mean...He is a Geo vision holder so he takes rock knowledge seriously

Xiao-Mei: Dendro, archer, Liyue

Fast attacks that will knock enemies over for a few seconds, giving you time to run up to them and land a blow while they’re down

Xiao-Mei is a jewelry maker! She and her mother run a small shop under the docks of Liyue harbor. The placement of the shop is actually beneficial cause as ships dock, the crew will hurry in to buy something for their lovers before seeing them on the streets above! Very slick :)

Xiao-Mei works did metal and makes her own beads for her pieces. She incorporates a lot of shapes or colors from natire, often inspired by flowers like glaze lillies :)

She wears tons of necklaces, rings and bracelets at all times!! If someone likes something she’s wearing, she’ll sell it to them!

Antonio: Hydro, longsword, *

Attacks tend to focus on one enemy at a time and isn’t good for multitasking... Groups of hilichurls are his weakness but he’ll excel during big boss fights since it’s just one to focus attacks on!!

He has really flirty voice lines though jeez sir calm down...

Toni is an entertainer!! A sword fighting entertainer! People place bets on him and his opponent and it’s exhilarating work! Is it legal? Maybe! Maybe not! Everything is technically legal in the woods right?

He flirts with the ladies in the crowd and thinks he’s so slick but his pick up lines are just the worst “I’ve got a hydro vison :) I can make you...hehe...wet” STOP-

He tends to stay within the borders of the hydro region(Fontaine(?)) but will venture to other regions if his ‘career’ requires it!

He isn’t the smartest so he has a lot of moments where you’re like ‘wow...theres not a thought behind those pretty green eyes’ so...I mean he’s kinda a comic relief :)

Michelle: Hydro, catalyst, Raj’s ship

One of her power move things is a water shield!! She can shoot through it but things can’t hit her for like 30 seconds! Then the shield can be deployed again and can be used on other characters on your team

Michelle fishes and cooks for Raj and his crew! She was picked up off a beach, lost and disoriented. She’s made a family out of the ship crew and thinks of Raj as an older brother :)

She is a very talented chef but always makes more than needed so they have a lot of leftovers :0

She buys something from Xiao-Mei’s every time they dock in Liyue :)

[josthockeythings]

A Fireside Lovesong

Erik Johnson/Sam Girard

No Warnings

Rated M for making out and discussion of sex

For the @avsfamphotochallenge winter edition!!

---------

Erik was cold. Granted he was always cold. It’s part of the job. He stands, shaking the cold off, to grab another log to put on the fire. It was getting kind of low. The wind was starting to pick up. The clouds aren’t looking too happy. Erik grabs one of the wool blankets off the side of the hut when he sits back down by the fire.

It’s a weird time in the season. Too long after Thanksgiving for the early decorators but too long before Christmas for the late ones. Business has been steadily slow for the last week or so. Poinsettias line the porch of his sale hut. Evergreen trees stand tall in their roped section. Wreaths (made by him and decorated by the local townswomen) hang on the railings. Logs with red and green plaid cushions surround the firepit Erik fashioned from an old feed bin.

It’s business enough for the dead of winter. On the weekdays anyway. On the weekends his farm is a full-on Christmas Farm. He hires a Santa. His horses pull a dazzling cart. The kids can feed his animals treats. There’s hot cocoa and apple cider and treats galore. Erik decorates his farm, so it truly is a special winter wonderland. It’s a lot of work, but it is so worth it. He enjoys every second of it, despite what the townswomen say about his attitude toward the holiday season. He genuinely enjoys it. He just never shows when he enjoys anything, let alone the holidays.

He hugs his blanket a little closer as the wind get nippier and the angry clouds get a bit closer. He might just call it a day. It really looks like those clouds could turn into a storm and he needs to get the animals in and hatches battened down on everything around the farm so nothing flies away in the storm.

He gets up, bracing himself for the winter wind. He meticulously goes through everything at the stand, getting the blankets and poinsettias inside, the trees strapped down and the logs pilled against the side of the stand. He debates not putting out the fire, because the storm is bound to drop snow, but he can’t do it, not with so much product nearby and the wind so strong. He fills a large bucket with water and dumps it on the fire.

He gets in his truck to drive the short way to his farm. He whistles for his dogs when he hops out. Four dogs come sprinting after him. “Veda, Sebastian. Go!” He whistles and the two retrievers take off after his horses. The horses know what to do, seeing Veda and Seb. They follow the dogs back to the barn without question, where Erik leaves them hay and water before shutting it tightly behind him. The wind is getting nastier every minute he spends outside. He whistles for the dogs and Veda and Seb take off after his goats and sheep. He herds the chickens into their coop and meets all four of his pooches on the porch. Gia looks up at him with mournful eyes. He scratches her head then let’s them all inside.

The dogs hop onto their respective couch spots and Erik meticulously strips his warm outerwear. He can hear the wind starting to howl outside. He doesn’t remember a big storm like this being predicted, but anything can happen in Canadian winter.

He’s in the kitchen, checking the chili and getting a beer. Then, he hears the dogs scrambling before he hears a knock at the door.

“What the hell?” Erik mutters.

He walks out and looks out the window before opening the door. Standing outside is Sam. He’s a student in town at Nipissing. He’s also the son of a rich Quebec man that Erik buys equipment from for his farm. He tries to keep their relationship as friendly as possible because he gets discounts from the guy.

He opens the door, and Sam stumbles in. “What are you doing here?” Erik asks. It’s blowing snow now, the beginning of a blizzard.

“Wanted to hang out tonight. I did not expect the storm,” Sam says between breaths and stripping his outerwear.

“Why didn’t you call?” Erik says huffing. The boy looks so cold. Did he park his fancy SUV at the stand for Christ’s sake?

“I did,” Sam says looking up at him. “No one answered.”

“You didn’t try the stand or my cell?”

Sam shakes his head. He leans back against the wall, still sitting on the bench in the entryway. “I did not think to call the stand and you never answer your cell anyway.”

Erik’s brow furrows. He doesn’t like that this kid knows him so well. “You’re here now, I guess. Let’s get you warmed up and a beer in your hand.”

Sam beams and pops up. He idly rubs the dogs’ heads as they move to the kitchen. Erik opens the fridge and hands Sam a beer. Sam thanks him with a nod of his head. Sam takes his beer to the living room to hang out with the dogs who eagerly lap up his attention. They’ve always loved him. Erik shakes his head before he thinks anything more of it.

“How’s school?” he asks, looking into the slow cooker of chili. He begins to stir it idly.

“As good as school can be,” Sam responds.

“Are you off for break yet?” Erik tastes the chili. It’s pretty good, probably ready.

“Yeah. As long as the storm passes, I will be driving home later this week,” Sam says.

Erik starts getting the bowls down from the cupboards and serving the chili. “Well good luck with that. I hope it clears up for you.

Sam appears at his side smiling. “Yes. I do too.”

“Want some chili?” Erik asks.

Sam nods and takes the bowl from Erik’s hand, balancing it and his beer between his hands. Erik sets his own fixings on the kitchen bar next to Sam. He goes into the living room to throw a log on the fire. It’s starting to really get cold inside. He can see the snow blowing outside and nothing else. They might have a full-on blizzard on their hands. He hopes Sam’s decision to come here tonight doesn’t get him stuck.

The dogs lift their heads to watch him work. Then, they whine quietly and go back to almost sleeping on the couches.

When Erik returns back to the kitchen, Sam is halfway through his bowl of chili. Erik lets himself take a moment to admire the lines of Sam’s back. He must workout or play on a school club or athletic team of some sort to be in that good of shape. “What are you studying again?” Erik asks as he sits down. He needs to distract himself. He’s been interested in this boy for as long as he’s been working with his father. Sam is a friend. His father a couple decades older than Erik, but he himself about a decade younger than Erik. He shouldn’t be interested in Sam, and he’s definitely never let either party know his feelings towards the kid. It would be wildly inappropriate, not to mention what Sam’s father might do to Erik’s’ equipment prices if he ever found out. Erik relies on their friendly relationship to keep his costs down. He’s not sure if he’d be able to keep the farm if it weren’t for Sam’s family. His farm is everything to him. It definitely means more to him that some cute kid that happens to like to hang out with Erik a lot.

Sam hums through another bite of chili before answering. “I am getting my undergraduate in biology so I can move onto Nipissing’s graduate program for Kinesiology. I want to work as an athletic trainer for a hockey team someday.”

Erik notes the slight blush on Sam’s cheeks. He doesn’t know if it’s from the cold, the wind, or the warmth of the chili, or maybe even embarrassment. Erik can’t be sure. He also unfortunately notes how good it looks sitting high on his cheeks like that. He takes a bite of chili to hide whatever might be on his own face. “That would be really cool, kid.”

Sam scowls. “You know I am not a kid, anymore. I can drink legally in the United States, and I graduate with my first degree in the spring.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Erik says around a mouthful of chili. “But you will always be the eighteen-year-old kid you were when I met you.” He jokingly bumps shoulders with Sam, but he doesn’t seem to be as amused as other times Erik has made the joke.

Erik goes back to eating his chili, a tense silence falling over the two of them. The wind is still howling. It’s louder than the crackling of the fire in the living room. Sam stands up, bowl empty and rounds the counter to get some more.

“You still put down food like a growing kid,” Erik says, desperate to start the conversation again. Feelings aside, he does genuinely like Sam as a friend, even if it is a little weird that a guy in his young twenties hangs out with a farmer in his thirties.

Sam rolls his eyes, but a grin is pulling at his lips.

“Maybe next summer, I can convince your dad to let you stay here and learn what real work looks like.”

Erik is not expecting the look of sheer excitement on Sam’s face when he turns around from spooning more chili into his bowl. “Really?” Sam asks. “You’d do that?”

Erik doesn’t hesitate before he nods. “Absolutely.” He regrets it almost immediately. Having Sam in his house with just the prospect of it turning into multiple days because of this storm is scaring him. He shouldn’t be offering Sam a summer job, but at the same time, he’ll need the extra hands this summer. He hasn’t been getting many calls about people needing work this year. There’s still time of course, but Erik is beginning to worry a little. And extra hands are always welcome on a farm.

Sam sits down next to Erik with a sunny glow. He bumps his shoulder against Erik’s before he takes his first bite of his second bowl of chili. There are so many reasons Erik shouldn’t be into Sam, and yet here he is, with butterflies in his stomach.

They eat the rest of their meal in silence. After Erik gets up and puts his bowl in the sink, he gets the dogs’ food out of the cupboard. They bound happily over to him and wait patiently for him to finish serving their meal before starting.

“You have trained them well,” Sam says, lingering in the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Erik says. He tries not to let the confusion show in his voice. Sam has been over several times, a few times for dinner. He’s seen the dogs in action. Yet, this is the first time he’s ever commented on it.

Before Sam can respond the house is shaken with another gust of wind. They both look to the window. Erik doesn’t even want to guess how much snow is coming down. It looks like Sam will be staying the night, at least. They both startle when Sam’s phone starts to ring in his pocket. Erik ducks his head and moves to the sink to wash the dishes. Sam picks up the call and walks out into the living room.

Erik hates himself a little for listening.

“Salut, Papa.”

Pause.

“Oui. Je vais bien. Je suis chez Erik.”

Erik’s heart jumps at his name. He doesn’t really understand anything else. His French is terrible. Thankfully, Sam’s dad does business with him in English.

“Ça ne va pas bien.”

Pause.

“Vraiment?”

Pause.

“Oui, oui Papa. Je ferai attention.”

Pause.

“J’tamie Papa.”

Erik busies himself with the dishes when he hears Sam hang up.

“My dad is worried,” Sam says. He looks a little scared himself.

“What’s up?” Erik asks.

“He saw the weather report. Apparently, the blizzard is not expected to stop for another day at least.”

Erik swallows to cover the way his heart is jumping at the thought of spending several days with Sam. It’s stupid. He knows it. “So, you’re stuck here?”

Sam nods. “Is that… okay?”

Erik grins. “Of course. Come on. Let’s get the guest bedroom set up.”

Sam grins back at Erik. It almost looks sad, but Erik has no idea why. He grabs some sheets from the linens closet on the way to the bedroom and chucks them at Sam.

“Hey!” he complains, head peeking out from behind the pile.

Erik giggles and pushes into the guest bedroom. It starts fairly casual, pulling sheets down over the bed. Then, Sam hits Erik with a pillow when he wasn’t looking. Erik turns sharply to stare at the giggling Sam. He glares and grabs the other pillow from the bed. He launches over the bed and after Sammy. Sam yelps and runs around the bed looking for an escape. Erik smiles widely when he lands a hit on Sam’s chest. Sam stumbles backwards and swings back. Erik can’t help the bubble of joy building in his chest as the two whack themselves with pillows. It’s probably the most fun he’s had with someone in years. This isn’t “going out with the guys for beer” this is intimate fun you have with someone very close to you.

Erik has tackled Sam to ground and has him pinned while he tickles him when the power goes out. Everything stops. All Erik can hear is their breathing and the dogs’ whines from the living room.

“Shit,” Erik sighs when it’s clear that it’s not going to turn back on.

“Erik? Is everything alright?” Sam asks. The fear is clear in his voice. This isn’t just a snowy night. This isn’t just a blizzard. This is a power outage in the middle of a blizzard. This is a “gonna be stuck here for a while” blizzard. Erik hates the way Sam is trembling beneath him.

“Yeah. I think the snow took out the power line though.” Erik sits up and shifts off of Sam.

“What does that mean?” Sam asks. He leans into Erik’s shoulder, still shaking a little.

“It means we’re going to get the fire going as big as possible, first. Then, we’re gonna find all the blankets from around the house and get them into the living room. “We’re gonna be fine, Sammy, okay?”

Sam nods. Erik helps Sam stand and they go to the living room. The dogs are standing on the couches whimpering their direction as they walk in. The glow of the fire is all the light in the room. Sam rubs the dogs’ heads while Erik goes to grab more wood. He curses, remembering most of it is on the porch.

“Sam, there are flashlights in a drawer in the kitchen. Grab one and start gathering the blankets. I’ve gotta get some wood from outside. Won’t take too long.”

“You will be careful, yes?” Sam asks.

Erik nods. “Course kid. Now go get those blankets. We don’t wanna freeze tonight.” He gives Sam a wink before turning to get his winter clothes on.

He tromps outside in several layers. It takes a couple trips to get all the wood off the porch and into the house. Looking back, he’s probably gone a bit overboard. They’ll get the power up sometime tomorrow. He’s sure of it. Besides, the fireplace was built to heat the house if he needed it too. They’ll be fine.

He starts to stack some larger logs on the fire before stacking the excess against the wall in the entryway. Sam comes back to the living room with a pile of blankets taller than he is. A couple drag behind him. He looks like a child getting ready to make a fort. Erik kind of feels like that.

Erik smiles at him when Sam dumps the blankets in the middle of the room. They pull the cushions off the couch and with the blankets fashion an extremely oversized bed on the floor. The dogs take spots on the side and near the bottom. It looks like the coziest place on Earth and Erik wouldn’t want to be anywhere else tonight.

“Need sleep clothes?” he asks, knowing the answer. Sam didn’t expect to spend the night.

Sam nods, and they head back to Erik’s room. He hands Sam some sweats and an old, soft t-shirt. He feels tingles in his fingers where they brush Sam’s as he takes the clothes. This is stupid. He feels like a schoolgirl with a crush. Maybe, after tonight, things will settle. He’ll have spent a night with the kid, and that’ll help him get his feelings under control, at least a little. He changes quickly, while Sam changes in Erik’s bathroom. He grabs and few pillows from his bed for them to sleep with.

He’s in the living room when Sam comes out changed. Erik’s shirt is a little oversized and the sweats are much too long. His stomach swoops at the sight. He chastises himself, then let’s himself look his fill. Sam collapses on their makeshift bed in a heap.

“You are sure we are going to be okay, yes?” Sam asks.

Erik hooks his arm around Sam’s neck and pulls him in for a quick nougie. “Yes, dork. We’ll be fine. My house is equipped for something like this.” Even if I’m not, Erik finishes in his head. He will never be ready for the Sam sized gap in his heart.

Sam squirms out of Erik’s grip. “Alright. Alright.” He pats Beau who’s laying next to him. The lab shifts so his head is on Sam’s lap.

“So, is there anyone at school?” Erik asks. He grabs the pillows and starts shifting them underneath him. He hands a few to Sam.

“Anyone at school who what?” Sam asks. He’s not looking at Erik, giving all his attention to Beau who is glowing under the attention.

“Who you’re, well, you know…” Erik doesn’t really know how to ask what he’s asking. He mostly just wants to know there’s someone else in Sam’s life, to keep him out of it himself.

Sam turns to him a little confused. “Like, a girlfriend or boyfriend?”

Erik nods, turning his own attention to Veda.

“No. There’s not. Why?”

Erik doesn’t want to look at Sam’s face. “I was just wondering that’s all.”

“Erik.”

Erik swallows. Sam’s voice is soft, and it makes Erik feel like he’s about to be let down. But, when he turns to face Sam, his face is glowing, although it might be the firelight. He’s smiling brightly, and Beau is whining for lack of attention.

“Was it because, well, you might like me?” Sam asks, his voice full of hope.

Erik doesn’t know what to say to that. Thankfully, his face does all the talking for him, because Sam surges forward and presses his lips to Erik’s. Erik has never had a better kiss. He really hasn’t. He’s not sure he can describe it. It’s like fireworks and the warmth of being home and the happiness of Christmas all in one. It feels like Erik could burst. He pulls Sam in and kisses him like nothing in the world is wrong. Because, when you break it down, it really isn’t. He’s got all he’s ever wanted in this room: a roaring fire, his dogs, and someone he loves. He does, love Sam. It’s hard not to love the kid. And Erik wants his face around all the time now.

Sam’s hand slips lower, and Erik stops him, because as much as he wants to, getting it on right now would be a very, very bad idea. Sam whines questioningly into the kiss that Erik carefully breaks.

“I don’t think either one of us wants to clean up after. Let’s just do this tonight.”

Sam smiles and goes right back to kissing Erik. If nothing else, it helps keep them warm.

As they’re laying down for bed, Erik turns to Sam. “Just so we’re on the same page. This isn’t like a one time deal for me, Sammy. I can’t… I don’t think I’m the just-dating type either… I…” Sam cuts him off before he can continue.

“I know, mon chum. I know what I signed up for.” He kisses Erik again, softer. It’s the kind of kiss that says “I know and I want you too.” Erik sighs happily.

Later in the night, Erik wakes to Sam curling into his chest, then suddenly there’s a sharp knee in his ribs.

He groans. “Ow, fuck. Sam, you kneed me.”

Sam hums. “Yes, mon chum, I do need you.”

Erik’s heart soars. He wraps himself around Sam, gives him a kiss on the forehead and goes back to sleep.

[olicitysecretsanta]

Be Better

Hello all, so my secret santa assignment was for @bowsmoakandarrow , who wanted a fluffy fic with a dog. I hope I did her justice.

Just some background on some things. This takes place 2 years into the future, and so it has my predictions on some of the things that might happen during Crisis on Infinite Earths. It also alludes to one of my favorite GA story lines happening the year before (so next season) this fic takes place. Kudos to those who know which one. 

A gift by @bandanab310

>—> <—<

December 2020

Another year. another world ending crisis averted. Another Hanukkah missed. 

The yearly team ups with his other super friends (even though he will not admit that he calls them that to their faces) had become too regular and every once in awhile would interrupt more wanted festivities. Like this year. 

Oliver shouldn’t complain too much. At least this year’s fight didn’t cost him one of his good friends like the previous one did. 

He shakes the bad memories off. Barry’s been back for 7 months now. Iris is at least starting to forgive him for the deal that he made. And both along with the rest of team flash are coming in a few weeks for a Christmas dinner. Oh no he still need to figure out what he is going to make for that. So much food is going to be needed. Besides Barry, Kara (who has become even more of a good friend now that they are on the same earth) are going to eat him bankrupt, again. However suddenly a bright idea comes to him. He’ll make them his chili. Oliver smirks to himself as he walks into the grocery store remembering the last time that they ate his famous Queen chili. How Barry gave up after four bites and Kara lasted 7. 

“That’ll fill them up quick.” Oliver says out loud to himself, “Right, but not what I am shopping for tonight. Nope Hanukkah.” 

Oliver makes quick work gathering the ingredient for Latkes, sufganiyot, and other delicious Jewish treats. Every so often looking at the recipes that Donna has provided him with over the years. Oliver is determined to give his family a great holiday season. And even though it will be technically late, this Hanukkah dinner will be the perfect kick off. It’s been too long. Two years ago they were getting to know each other again, the newer versions of themselves, both with changed viewpoints of the world they lived in, due to his incarceration, that still needed to be realigned. Last year was spent in mourning. Of a friend. Dwelling in their contributions of what had happened. 

But that was behind them. Be better, be the light for those around you. It had become somewhat of a mantra to him since last year. Even though he was back, Oliver was still trying his best to keep his promise to Barry and be the hero that could inspire his city. He was not as serious as he once was. Tried to joke around and be playful in his attitude. And after a year of working on it, it was sticking. Not as much as Barry level of lightheartedness, he would never allow himself to be that sappy. His life and his city wouldn’t allow it. But he felt like he finally found a good balance of the carefree boy that left on the gambit and the experienced and ruthless vigilante that came home five years later. He felt like a hero and a good amount of his city believed it too. As was evident by his interaction with the older cashier women at the supermarket check out. 

“Oh why hello Mr Green Arrow”

“Lisa, I told you it’s Oliver.” 

“Three years ago it was Mr Mayor, last year Green Arrow. What’s next year The Flash.”

“Been there, done that.” Oliver jokes. 

“Ha, ha, Oliver. That’ll be $65.87”

“Thank You, till next time Lisa.” 

“Bye bye, Green Man, happy holidays”

Oliver walks around the building to the parking lot on the side, when suddenly a crash stops his movement, and trigger his senses to survey his surroundings. Another clash helps him locate the sounds coming from the small alley way to his right. Quietly lowering his bags, Oliver moves silently into the space. Another loud sound, this time of glass breaking, pulls him closer to the trash can at the far end of alley. On quickened, but still silent steps, Oliver rounds the other side of the dumpster to find…a dog. 

It was a yellow lab. Maybe a year or two old. Matted fur. And tired eyes. A stray. Once it see Oliver it starts to back away from the garbage bag it had been previously rifling through. Whimpering in cautionary fright. But it wasn’t getting too far too fast with it’s seemingly injured front paw that it was holding up while trying to hop backwards out of the alleyway on its three other legs. 

Oliver carefully moves closer to the animal  trying not to frighten it any more than it was. From his own personal experience oliver knows how it felt to be vulnerable and afraid of being helped. Believing the rest of the world existed to only to bring you harm and hurt. 

Oliver slowly extends his hand towards the dog staying crouched to make himself less intimidating. “Hey Buddy, I’m not going to hurt you.” His low calming voice starting to do the trick as the dog stops moving backwards but still whimpers, like it’s cautious but slightly intrigued, hoping that expectations wins over experiences. Oliver gets that. 

“Need help with the paw there?”

The dog probably sensing that the human in front of it is no immediate danger hobbles towards Oliver’s outreached hand. 

“Good dog” Oliver praises as he ruffles the dog’s fur with one hand reaching for the injured paw. 

After making a fairly quick assessment of the damage Oliver says to dog (or himself maybe) “Well, it’s not broken just a little sprain. Just needs…a…little…”

Looking around the alley Oliver sees a wooden pallet leaning on the side of the the trash bin. 

“Stay right here,” he says to the yellow lab. And as if it understands already what Oliver is planning, it thump it’s butt to the ground and waits, it’s injured paw still raised in front of it. 

Oliver revels in the cute image that this dog paints for a few moments before refocusing on the task at hand. He brakes off two thin pieces of wood and comes back toward the dog, who he noticed now was a girl, taking his the scarf he’d been wearing off. 

“Come here girl. Let’s get that paw fixed up”

Oliver makes quick work on fashioning a splint, having done this kinda things enough times on himself, his friends, enemies even, but never for a dog. It’s a nice change of pace. 

Once he’s done he gently places the paw back on the ground and both he and the dog look at each other.

“Well there you go, good as new” 

The dog looks down at it’s own now wrapped and splinted paw. once it seems to deem Oliver’s work sufficient, she gives him a lick of appreciation, it’s tail thumping on the ground behind it.

“Oh is that your way of saying thank you” Oliver chuckles “well your very welcome”

With one more quick lick of the face the dog gets up on all four of his legs, turn and starts to walk away 

“Well I guess that is that”

Oliver starts to walk out the opposite way when a thought comes to mind, something that he would have never had considered a year ago. 

“Hey, girl!” 

———-

As soon as the apartment door closes behind Oliver and his new companion, a loud crash followed by a very familiar huff of annoyance fills the open space. 

As Oliver moves further into the living, the yellow lab close on his heels, he catches sight of his beautiful glowing wife grumpily looking through one of the stacks of boxes that are scattered around. Unlike the stacks of boxes from years past these do not represent a dissolving of their family but instead the growth of it, as is evident by Felicity’s 6-month rounded belly that seemingly just knocked over a standing light which is now on the floor not shattered so therefore already forgotten by her.

Felicity still obvious to her husband and the 30-pounds furry creature, mumbles to herself “Where the heck did they go?”

“Hon” Oliver tries to get Felicity’s attention. It’s to no avail as Felicity moves from one box to the next before yelling

“William have you seen the menorah candles”

“No, Felicity sorry I haven’t” their son yells back from the shower as Oliver registers the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

Huh kid’s been working on his heightened senses or are they just in-tuned to Felicity’s loud voice. 

“Hon” Oliver tries again a bit louder.

“Where’s a glowing green arrow of enlightenment when you need one”

“Felicity!” Oliver slightly yells at the same time as a bark fills the room.

Felicity startles at that. Quickly assessing that Oliver is there as well a four legged scruffy animal with what seems to be the scarf that Thea had given Oliver as a christmas gift last year around one of its front paws. 

“Who?” She questions as she points to the dog.

“Oh. Right. Um.” Oliver starts to babble “This is a friend that I found outside the supermarket. It needed help. So I helped. And then. Well, I kinda thought that maybe. If it’s ok with you. And William of course. Maybe we could keep. I mean I know with the baby. But I thought….” 

Before Oliver can continue with his best impression of Felicity, she’s kisses him. Wrapping her arms around him as much her bump allows her. After a few moments she breaks the kiss, much to the chagrin of her husband. 

“It’s completely ok. I think it’s a great idea. You know William has been begging for a dog for years. And hey we’re moving to a house anyway we’ll have plenty of room. And the studies say that having a companion pet allows a baby to further their spatial development. Not to mention the natural boost of immunity. 

“Thank you.” Oliver says before giving Felicity a quick peck on the lips “and you won’t find the menorah candles in any of these boxes” 

Felicity looks up with a quizzical look, “why not?”

“Because that was one of the things that I had to get, remember?”

“Frack” his wife mumbles as she rests her head on his chest in defeat as it rumbles with his low laugh. 

Their silent moment is short lived as a bark once again notifies of the new member of their family. 

“Right. Hey doggy.” Felicity address the dog as she, with the help of Oliver, lowers to sit across for the dog who immediately starts to lick her outstretched palm while the other begins to scratch behind it’s ear. 

“So what should your name be…hmmm….how about Apollo?”

“Hon, she’s a girl.” 

Felicity quickly raises and lowers the dog’s back leg. “Oh yes you certainly are. Excuse me. Well, Artemis is kinda a tainted name for us soooo…how…a…bout…Archer.” 

“Don’t you think it’s too much on the nose, Felicity?”

“What good is not having a secret identity when you can’t have a bit of fun.”

She’s got a point there, Oliver thinks. Have some fun. “Sure why not.”

“Yay Archer, welcome to the family girl. You’re going to fit right in. Us Queens are all survivors just like you but don’t worry we’re better for it.”

That they were. While he will never forget all of the things that have happened to him and his loved ones, Oliver’s doesn’t let it solely define him anymore. He doesn’t have to feed off his darkness as much nowadays. He has a light now inside to motivate him. It’s been slow going but maybe one day soon it will be the only thing that he needs. Be better. Be a Hero.

[kitty-bandit]

I love hearing about you delinquent au! Can’t wait to read it

How about a sneak peek, Anon? (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Lavi shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. The late September days were still warm, but nights turned surprising cold. He wished he’d brought his favorite scarf as he stood next to the raffle table. Excited shouting came from the packed bleachers, and he looked up just in time to see a few players celebrating in the endzone. He sighed, sitting next to Lenalee in one of the empty folding chairs behind the table. “I should’ve listened to Yuu. This is kinda boring.”

“That’s why I bribed you with food.” Lenalee smiled and greeted another group who stopped at the table. After taking their money and handing them tickets, she turned back to Lavi. “It’s been almost two hours and I am ready to leave.”

“Where is your partner, anyway?” Lavi asked, peeking into the bucket with the ticket stubs.

“Please do not call him that,” Lenalee said, rubbing her temple under the dark purple knit hat she had worn for the night. Her hair was plaited into two pigtail that hung over each shoulder. “He went to get another roll of tickets from the supply closet. We’re almost out.”

With a chuckle, Lavi leaned back in the chair, the metal scraping against the cement sidewalk underfoot. The table was set up near the entrance, close to the ticket booth—specifically placed so no one could miss it as they entered the field. “What is the raffle even for?”

“I thought you could read?” Lenalee teased, pointing the the sign on the table. “We’re giving away a mini fridge. One of the student’s parents donated it.”  As another group of students passed the table, Lenalee smiled and waved.

Lavi’s good eye widened in surprise. “That’s actually not an awful prize.” He leaned forward peering at the sign. “Maybe I should buy a ticket…”

“Five bucks gets you one ticket, twenty gets you five,” Lenalee recited, as she had been all night.

Lavi winced at the prices. “Too rich for my blood.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Speaking of rich, I could go for some of that overpriced food you promised me.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Lenalee, grinning wide.

“And here I was hoping you’d forget.” She shook her head before something caught her eye. “You’re in luck. Link’s back.”

Lavi looked up and spotted the Lenalee’s number two, as it were. The vice president of the student council looked more the part than Lenalee did, and that was an accomplishment. Link’s blond hair was plaited tight and neat, the long braid swinging as he strode towards the table. He looked completely out of place in his dress shirt and sweater combo, especially as he passed another group of students decked out in sweatshirts and jeans. His khakis looked stiffer than his personality.

“This is the last of the tickets,” Link announced, setting the bright red roll to the side. He looked at Lavi, who had stolen his seat, disapproval in his russet eyes.

“That’s fine—there’s barely an hour left in the game and sales have slowed a bit.” Lenalee stood, straightening out her light coat and grabbing her purse from under her chair. “I’m going to take a break. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Fine,” Link replied, taking back his seat as soon as Lavi had vacated it. “Don’t linger. The table really should have two people working it at all times.”

Lena smiled as she bit back a comment. “Of course.” She grabbed Lavi by the elbow and dragged him off towards the bleachers. As soon as they were out of earshot, she sighed, the noise sounding more angry than any breath had the right to be. “He sure has some nerve saying that after he left me there for nearly thirty minutes.”

Lavi didn’t fight her pull, stumbling along next to her as they headed up the steps. “He should really see a doctor about that stick lodged up his ass.”

She managed a quick laugh, her fake smile turning into a genuine one. “If only it wasn’t permanently stuck.” She spotted Kanda and Alma at the top of the bleachers huddled close to each other. When Alma spotted them, they waved, grinning widely.

“You managed to escape!” they said, making room for Lavi and Lenalee on the bench.

“I told Link I would be gone for ten minutes, but I’ll stretch that to thirty.” Lena wrapped her arm around Alma as she sat down, sitting as close as she could to keep warm. “Lavi and I are going to the concession stand. Did you two want anything?”

“Yes. I want to leave,” Kanda grumbled, tucking his chin into the folds of his jacket.

Alma rolled their eyes. “Don’t listen to him. We’re having fun.” They rested their head against Kanda’s shoulder, pink painted lips stretching wide over their face. “Something warm would be nice. It’s colder than I thought it would be tonight.”

“I think we can manage that.” She nudged Lavi, elbowing him in the side. “Ready to get some sub-par, overpriced food?”

“Always.”

They walked back down the metal bleachers, avoiding the crowded walkway and headed to the nearby concession stand. As they stood in line, Lavi checked the menu tacked on the wall next to the small order window and balked at the prices. “Yeesh. Are you sure you can buy stuff for everyone? This is more expensive than I thought.”

She pulled her wallet from her purse and held it up as if she was brandishing a sword. “Komui gave me his credit card for tonight, so we’re living large on chili cheese fries and king sized nachos.”

Lavi grinned, rubbing his hands together as he studied the menu board again. “Now that’s what I like to hear.”

When they reached the order window, Lenalee listed off their choices—hotdogs, chili cheese fries, nachos, and a hot chocolate for each of them. By the time their order was ready, they had their arms full as they precariously balanced each item. Lavi winced as he juggled four hot chocolates in his hands.

“This is the definition of hubris, isn’t it?” he asked, carefully following Lenalee back up the bleachers. Every step was a challenge to keep the chocolate in the too-thin paper cups and off his fingers.

“Don’t talk. You’ll lose your concentration and spill,” Lenalee replied, carefully balancing all of the food in her hands. Her stacking technique was impressive, and Lavi would have congratulated her if he didn’t have to worry about spilling hot cocoa all over himself.

When Alma noticed their burdened states, they hurried down to help with the final leg of the journey. “Ah, careful!” they said, taking two of the cups from Lavi’s hands before heading back up the stairs.

“Why did we pick the highest seats on the bleachers again?” Lavi asked, setting the last two cups on the bench to help Lena distribute the food.

“Because Yuu doesn’t like people sitting behind him,” Alma reminded them, grabbing one of the hotdogs and settling in next to Kanda again.

“So, it’s my fault?” Kanda asked, frowning as he grabbed his hot chocolate from Lenalee and sipped it angrily.

“Hush and eat your nachos,” Lenalee said, pushing the flimsy paper container into his hands. Once the food had been distributed, she sat down, only to sigh again. “I forgot napkins.”

“I’ll get them,” Lavi said, setting his food down on the cool bench and heading down the bleacher stairs. He heard Lenalee’s faint call of ‘thank you’ mixed in with a sudden cheer from the crowd. He looked up at the field again, having missed whatever play had happened to cause the ruckus. He hopped down off the last couple of steps and turned to walk towards the concession stand when something under the bleachers caught his eye.

Just under the bleachers was Allen, reaching into the back pocket of someone’s pants. Lavi watched as Allen slipped their wallet out with ease, pocketing the cash inside, and then returning it as if nothing had happened. He did it again and again, systematically grabbing any wallet or purse within reach and cleaning the money from the billfolds. Lavi stared in awe, watching Allen’s swift, nimble fingers steal hundreds of dollars in cash from the unsuspecting parents watching the football game. That same feeling bubbled up in Lavi’s stomach—the one he’d felt when he’d witnessed Allen pinching those candy bars from the convenience store weeks ago. Nervousness mixed with admiration, and a healthy dose of concern. Lavi had never stolen anything in his life, but watching Allen do it almost felt as if he was an accomplice—too dumbstruck to say anything or try to stop the crime in progress.

As Allen pocketed the last of the cash, he looked up and met Lavi’s frozen gaze. He stiffened for a brief moment before that same smug smile pulled at the corners of his lips. Lavi felt his heart rattle against his chest, cheeks flushed against the cold breeze blowing against them. He didn’t know what to do, and as much as he wanted to run away and forget what he’d seen, his feet were glued to ground, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi.

Then, before Lavi could move or say anything, Allen approached him.

Lavi swallowed, throat tight as he watched Allen close the distance between them. He was wearing that same oversized sweatshirt Lavi had first seen him in, and a black knit stocking cap to hide his shock white hair. Lavi didn’t doubt he’d come to the game for this exact reason—to steal from the crowd. And from what Lavi had seen, it was easy pickings.

Allen stopped just in front of Lavi, looking up at the redhead with a calm smile. He reached up and pressed a finger to Lavi’s lips, his skin cold and chapped from the wind. “This is our little secret, right?”

“I, uh—” Lavi began, lips moving against Allen’s finger. With his stomach tied in knots, Lavi nodded, his heart flipping in his chest and nearly jumping right out of his mouth. “Sure.”

Allen pulled his finger back, his smile softening. He tilted his head, looking Lavi up and down, as if he was assessing something—though the redhead wasn’t sure what. “You’re Lavi, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Thanks.” He winked, brushing past Lavi and merging into a large group of students heading towards the exit. “See you later.”

As Allen disappeared into the crowd, Lavi’s heart continued to beat like a drum in his ribcage. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

What the fuck was that about?

[mind-reader1]

Queen of Hearts (Ch.15)

Drake x MC (Emma Barnes)

TRR AU: What would happen if Emma loved Drake but had to marry Liam?

Catch up here

Warnings: NSFW

Note: I almost didn’t post this after @ooo-barff-ooo ‘s amazing chapter of Girl Crush, but I knew I wouldn’t have time tomorrow. Enjoy! Let me know if you’d like to be added to or removed from the tag list!

Word Count: 2872

Summary: The court has arrived at Kiara’s duchy, but things for the art festival don’t go as planned. Kiara throws herself at Drake causing some tension between Drake and Emma before their R-rated movie date. Doubts start to creep into Drake’s head just before they find Liam waiting for them.

Chapter 15: A Thousand Years - Christina Perri

The day we met, Frozen I held my breath Right from the start I knew that I'd found a home for my heart Beats fast Colors and promises How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall But watching you stand alone? All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer I have died everyday waiting for you

Darling don't be afraid I have loved you For a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still Beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything take away What's standing in front of me Every breath Every hour has come to this

Emma was up early the next morning, she wandered down to find Hakim and Francesco in a panic. The gallery had flooded in the night, it was supposed to open this morning. Emma texted her friends 911 and they all came down to the sitting room.

“What happened?” Liam was the first to arrive. Francesco explained again, he was sure that it was sabotage. It was the same attackers from the homecoming ball, they were sure of it. Hakin and Francesco began planning to cancel the festival, they wouldn't be able to clear out the water in time, that would devastate all the work they had just done in Applewood to rally the people.

“No. What if we didn't have to cancel. No art was damaged, spin it as an art installation! It can be to raise awareness about the flooding in Portavira. Show that we're united and support the other duchies.”

“It would strengthen morale among the people!” Liam chimed in. Hakim stopped and considered their words.

“How would we pull it off?”

“I'll put it all over social media! An exclusive exhibit available today and here only!” Emma nodded at Maxwell, he began firing away on his phone.

“I'll direct clean up. I'm probably the only person here who knows how to use a bucket and mop.” Drake said.

“We get the worst of the water out and it won't look too messy.”

“If we pass out color coordinated rain boots at the door, we can add to the experience!” Hana had taken color theory lessons and so she was the perfect person for the job.

“This is a great plan but why are you doing this for us?” Emma smiled.

“It's the right thing to do. You're a citizen of Cordonia, we do everything we can do our citizens.”

“Let's get started then!” Hakim hired a cleanup crew, and everyone got to work. A few hours later, Madeleine had Emma meet her at a local boutique. Madeleine was on Emma's case about recruiting Hakim and Joelle even though she was sure they would come since she had just saved their gallery. Madeleine just rolled her eyes and held up an off the shoulder dress with different shades of purple, pink, blue and white that all complemented each other. The dress looked like an abstract canvas. She wore a small, rhinestone necklace to complement the dress, Drake's ring tucked safely away. By the time Emma arrived at the gallery, guests had already begun arriving and Hana had given them a pair of rainboots that matched their outfits better than expected. She joined her friends in the center of the gallery and Drake ran his eyes up and down her body hungrily.

“I… uh...wow.” Drake mumbled unable to form a coherent sentence.

“So, you like the dress?” He nodded.

“It's lovely Emma. Are you ready to address the crowd?” Liam and Emma addressed the crowd and told them that the water installation was an anonymous artist. They wandered through the exhibit themselves, stopping to discuss various paintings. They stopped at an abstract piece and everyone struggled to make sense of it, Drake and Emma, having had no training on the subject. As the others wandered through the gallery, Emma stopped next to Drake and followed his gaze to an “EXIT” sign with glowing green letters.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out the idea of modern art. Take this for example, it's just a sign that says exit, but what does it mean? Is it saying we all exit life eventually? Is it meant to be a warning?”

“Are you saying you want to get as far away from possible as me?” Emma teased, and Drake playfully rolled his eyes.

“As deep and profound as that was Drake, I think this is just an exit sign.” He frowned, and then sighed as a patron walked out the door just beneath it.

“Whatever.”

“Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what?” Maxwell appeared behind them silently making them both jump.

“Uuuh how great that painting is!” Emma pointed randomly at a painting. Maxwell smiled and delved into a story known as the Great Ketchup Incident of ‘96. Bertrand approached seemingly out of nowhere, the first time they had seen him in days, handling Beaumont house affairs. He was there only briefly, mentioned that Maxwell was helping with the affairs and then he was gone. Emma and Maxwell were concerned, on top of all his stress, he was trying to mend his relationship with Savannah and Bartie. Emma approached Joelle next, admiring the piece she had completed yesterday when they first met. They had a discussion about what her art meant and how it translated to what she and Hakim wanted for Cordonia. After they all regrouped, they left the art exhibit for the food, needless to say, Drake and Maxwell were quite excited.

All kinds of various smells wafted through the air, spicy, sweet, even sour, it was glorious. Instead of trying everything like Maxwell suggested, they wandered around to try everyone's favorites. Hana got everyone some ash-e reshteh, a Persian dish. It was a savory soup with beans and parsley, the flavors blending together well. Even Drake was impressed. Liam led everyone over to a colorful booth that smelled of various spices, getting everyone some chicken tagine. As everyone ate, Liam and Drake shared the story of how thanks to Leo, it became one of Liam's favorite dishes, sibling rivalry at its finest which escalated into a full blown prank war. Drake was eager to pick the next dish, feijoda. It was similar to chili, a mixture of beans and meat garnished with an orange slice. It was rich and salty with the pork and beef, very clearly a Drake dish. Instead of picking a food, Maxwell ran off, following the sounds of a live band. He wanted everyone to dance. Emma longed to dance with Drake, but with too many prying eyes she danced with Liam and watched as Kiara approached Drake and asked him to dance. Emma tensed up and watched as she wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed in time to the music, slowly getting closer to him. When the music stopped, Drake unhooked Kiara from him and walked over to his friends. Emma could feel her blood boiling, but she forced herself to smile and walk over to Olivia and Penelope on the edge of the crowd, Kiara rejoining them. They left to go get some cotton candy and the rest of the group began to leave until Drake pulled Emma back.

“I'm sorry.” He whispered. Emma nodded, she knew he couldn't have turned Kiara down without looking incredibly rude.

“Come here, there's one more thing I want to show you.” He led Emma to a freezer stand with an Italian flag. Gelato, it was Emma's favorite dessert, she had studied abroad in Florence for a semester in college and she became very familiar with the ice cream like treat. Drake ordered a chocolate gelato while Emma settled for a fruity raspberry. It was the perfect mixture of creamy and sweet, melting on their tongues.

“How is it?” Emma giggled as she got a brain freeze.

“The only thing that would make this better would be if I could kiss you right now.” Drake grinned mischievously and looked at Emma.

“I wish we weren't in public right now, the things I want to do to you.” He leaned in to whisper. Emma felt herself blushing as he stepped back. She seductively took a bite of ice cream, exaggerating how good it tasted, moaning.

“Keep it going until tonight Mr. Walker.” She winked just before they left the festival to catch up with their friends. On their way out, they ran into Hakim and Joelle. They were so impressed by Emma's willingness to step up that in return they agreed to attend her wedding. As they return to the estate, she couldn't stop thinking about how in love Hakim and Joelle still were after so many years together.

“What are you thinking about?” Emma looked at Drake unsure of how long he had been staring at her.

“Nothing.”

“Barnes I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, you've got that look on your face, the one you get when you're lost in your own head.”

“I was thinking about Hakim and Joelle. Look how in love they still are with each other. Do you think you'll still love me that much, years from now?” Drake chuckled and carefully checked their surroundings before pulling Emma close to him.

“Barnes, I love you more and more every day. I think we're going to love each other even more than they do when we're their age.” Emma pulled Drake in for a tender kiss as he pulled her body flush against his dipping her down. When they stood up and he released her, she was light headed, her heart swelled.

“The real question is will you still love me that much.” She cupped his cheek and smiled.

“You're the only one for me Drake Walker.” Once back at the estate, Emma left to go find Liam to discuss what food from the festival they would serve at the wedding and Drake mentioned something about looking up movie times. She found Drake in the sitting room, lounging on a couch, he looked exhausted.

“Drake?” He didn't seem to hear her.

“Knock knock, anyone home?” She waved her hand in front of Drake's face and he blinked his eyes back into focus.

“Oh, hey Barnes. Sorry.”

“Everything okay?” he sighed.

“All this courtly stuff is suffocating. I thought it would be nice to get out, see a movie tonight, like normal people. Try to stay sane.”

“I feel like there's a ‘but’ coming.” Drake dragged his hand over his face and Emma knew it wasn't good.

“But Kiara cornered me, again.” Emma rolled her eyes, she was ready to kick Kiara out of court, tell her to stay home.

“What happened Drake?” Emma's tone was flat, and Drake flinched at the thought of having to tell her.

“I mentioned I was going to the movies and she invited herself.” Emma groaned before suddenly jumping off the couch.

“You did WHAT?!” Emma was furious, she wanted some alone time with Drake and Kiara kept getting in the way.

“She invited herself Barnes. It's not like I could say, actually I'm taking my best friend's fiancé out on a date.”

“Call a cab, I'll meet you outside in five minutes. We're leaving right now before she can crash.” Emma didn't give him a chance to answer, she dashed off to her room to change into a little black dress, casual enough for the movies.Even if he did have time to answer, he wasn’t going to protest, he thought Emma might kill him. Once they arrived, they settled on a spy thriller full of romance, it was that or a horror movie which wasn't exactly romantic when you couldn't cuddle in public. Drake bought the tickets and a large bucket of buttery popcorn.

“This is nice Barnes.” He scooped up some popcorn, ready to eat it but Emma snatched it out if his hands with her mouth playfully. Drake pretended to pout as he watched her eat his popcorn, but the corner of his lips twitched up into a grin.

“That's how you want to play it Barnes?” She giggled and scooped up some popcorn of her own, throwing it at Drake who tried to catch it, before she finished it. They laughed walking into the theatre together, unaware they had been spotted. Emma dragged him to the very back corner of the theatre and Drake frowned.

“What are we doing back here Barnes?”

“Getting the full movie experience. You'll see.” More people shuffled into the theatre, spread out across the seats. Finally, the lights dimmed, and the movie began playing. Drake was into the movie, but Emma had other things in mind. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Drake kissing her on the way back from the festival, her imagination running wild. She placed her hand on Drake's thigh and slowly moved her hand up until she reached Drake's crotch. He gasped as she grabbed him, looking over at her surprised, she met him with a heated kiss. Drake fell into it and tangled his hands in her hair as Emma continued to rub over his jeans, feeling him grow hard. He moaned against her lips as she quietly undid his jeans and freed his hard length.

“Barnes what are you doing?” He hissed as her lips surrounded him. She began sucking, running her tongue up and down his shaft, teasing the tip with her tongue. Drake moaned a little too loudly and someone glanced back, Drake pretended to be watching the movie while Emma remained hidden behind the seats in front of her.

“You have to be quiet Drake.” She whispered before going back down on him, bobbing her head until he came, gripping the arm rests as he tried to stay quiet. Emma smiled, licking her lips as Drake tried to compose himself, tucking his dick back into his pants.

“What was that for?” Emma smiled mischievously and leaned in to whisper in his ear again.

“The full movie experience. What do you think the back row is for?” Drake shook his head grinning.

“We're not done Drake.” He turned to look at her surprised.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to feel your fingers inside of me Drake.”

“Barnes.” Drake wanted nothing more than to please Emma but he had never done something like that in a room full of people before.

“Drake, if you want to sneak into my room tonight and make it out of this duchy alive, you'll do as I ask.” Her tone was threatening and his stare even.

"I took you on a real date, we almost got caught a couple seconds ago. Do we really need to do this Barnes?" He didn't need lots of light to see the look on her face. He wasn't going to make it out of the theatre alive if he protested, besides everyday he looked forward to sneaking into her room. He wasn't ready to give that up, and he had to admit that almost getting caught was kind of hot, the thrill of it. Emma surprised him again when she leaned back against the wall and put her legs up, grabbing Drake's hand and rubbing it between her legs. He stifled a gasp when he realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. Drake started slow, rubbing circles on her clit and then dragging his fingers between her lips to see if she was wet. Drake teased her entrance as she pushed her hips towards him, but he pulled away and began rubbing her clit again. He was going to have some fun with it, payback for almost getting them busted. Again, he teased her entrance which was dripping wet at this point.

“Drake.” She begged. He loved hearing her say his name. Finally, he slipped one finger inside her, she whispered, it wasn't enough, so he slipped another and began pumping, hitting her g-spot perfectly. He felt her hips buck forward and he knew she was close, so he pulled out and waited for a few seconds before teasing her clit, bringing her right to the edge again. She was breathing hard, trying not to be heard by anyone else. She met Drake's eyes with a pleading gaze. He slipped his fingers inside her and pumped until he felt her cum on him, her muscles spasming around his fingers. She watched, satisfied and worn out as he grabbed some popcorn and ate it before sucking her cum off his fingers. Emma pulled her skirt down and was scooting over to kiss Drake when the lights came on. She jumped back and looked around as everyone began leaving. The people in front of them, turned around to see who had been sitting behind them, to see if they could figure out why it sounded like Drake was moaning but they didn't look disheveled, so the people left.

“So how was your real movie experience?” Emma asked as they walked out, dumping the popcorn bucket on the way.

“I'd definitely do that again. What got into you though?”

“Kiara’s been all over you since we got here. I needed to know that you were still mine and I was still yours.” Drake felt a pang of guilt, he wanted nothing more than to push Kiara away, and kiss Emma in front of everyone like no one was watching, but he knew that could never happen. Dark thoughts about how this was going to work long term began to slip into his mind, of course he wanted it to work, he loved Emma, he would never love anyone again that much, but there would always be another Kiara.

“I told you earlier Em, you've got nothing to worry about.” They held hands in the taxi back to the estate, running into Liam on their way to her room. He didn't look pleased.

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