#so next fic update is gonna be a bit more serious and then we’ll walk it down to get into the weeds about anakins grief

[tennessoui]

Glad you're back and relieved you're okay! How're you feeling about time and tide these days?

Here’s a little bit of the next chapter of time&tide that I wrote in the airport a few days ago!

(Anakin is not doing gr8 rn)

The room is untouched, and Anakin is ruined. It’s so—it’s so unfair. Anakin is shattered in a way time will never fix, in a way time has only made worse, and the fucking room looks pristine, like Anakin had never—like nothing had—like it was all—

It takes hours to struggle to his feet, and he isn’t sure he’ll be able to hold his own weight until he’s already vertical.

It’s not fair that the room is spotless, everything in its space, everything neat and where it belongs and Anakin has lost the only place he’s ever belonged.

Lifting the holocron nearest to him is hard. It takes minutes to convince his fingers to unwrap from the fist they’ve formed and then to grip the edges of the disc and raise it off its rest.

Anakin, don’t, a voice that sounds somehow as weary as his master and as scandalized as his lover murmurs in his ear, but both men are dead. Both men are gone.

The shattering of the holocron against the floor is louder than the whisper of a ghost.

It’s easier to lift the second; it feels right to throw it as hard as he can and watch it break as well.

It feels good to destroy, and it feels even better to look at the wreckage and know he caused it. The next person who steps into this room will be able to tell with just one look that something has happened, that something terrible has happened.

[kuroosweakness]

kiss kiss | sakusa kiyoomi <3 

this is the my favorite sakusa mini fic i’ve written yet :)) and my longest work! over 2000 words! 

“i don’t think i’ll ever understand the concept of kissing,” sakusa mumbles to komori as he leans down to tie his shoes. his shoes are already tied, but he needs to do something to hide his face for a couple of seconds. naturally, his curls fall to the sides of his face, just as he expected. 

komori quickly whirls around with a :) and a :0 face combined. “what was that??” he teases and crouches down to see his cousin’s hidden face. 

“i was just sayin’“ sakusa shrugs off. “it’s just people touching lips and sharing saliva. it’s disgusting. why people do it? i’ll never understand.” after dusting off his hands, sakusa gets up from the bench and stands up, having forgotten his tall height and head bumping right into a light. 

sakusa grimaces and rubs his head, trying his best to pretend it didn’t hurt at all. “stupid light,” he grumbles as he walks away. komori watches on, trying his best not to laugh while making a mental note to watch out for the low lights. 

~~~

“komori.” 

“hiya!” komori looks up at his cousin while continuing to stretch out his legs. 

“...have you ever kissed anyone?”

“...like, full on make-out?” komori quietly asks as he makes kissy hands to demonstrate. sakusa immediately frowns and crouches down. 

“stop making those weird gestures,” sakusa quietly scolds. “it’s embarrassing...” 

“what’s there to be embarrassed about?” komori softly chuckles while nervously scratching the back of his head. “why do you ask?” 

sakusa’s eyes divert away. “...just curious to know.” 

“well....” komori taps his chin in thought. “there’s this one friend i’ve kissed before. but it wasn’t anything too serious...”

sakusa looks at the ground below him, wondering if he should sit his whole butt down or keep crouching. he decides to keep asian-squating. “so how’d you initiate the kiss? like what did you do?” 

“...i think we’re supposed to be practicing receives right now,” komori sheepishly says while pointing at their teammates all practicing. the bump sounds and shoe creaks suddenly becomes audible to sakusa. 

“oh.” and with that, sakusa gets up and walks toward the pile of volleyballs. 

~~~

“remember the question i asked you last week?” sakusa breathes through his mask as he and komori jogs down the streets. he’s overly dressed for a jogger, especially in spring. everyone’s surprised he can move so freely in such a heavy jacket. 

“...what..... question?” komori asks, glancing at his cousin before looking back at the road in front of them. 

“you know what question.” 

“...i dont?” komori pants as he slows down his jogging pace. 

“the question....that....made you...do weird hand....gestures” 

“ohhhh the kissing question?” 

sakusa nods and moves to the side to avoid the kids walking toward them. 

“i’ve already told you....i’ve only kissed one person before. say, why’re you curious in my love life?” komori teasingly elbows sakusa as they come to a walking pace. 

sakusa annoyingly elbows him back. “is it so bad i want to know?” 

“it’s just not like you,” komori chuckles. at the sight of a bakery in front of them, his eyes immediately lightens up. “we should go there!!” 

sakusa’s eyes meet where komori’s pointing, then meets komori’s face, wondering if his cousin will share answers if he agrees. “okay. but back to my question about initiating the kiss.” 

“well, you’ll have to find someone you want to kiss first,” komori laughs. “and i don’t think you’ve found that person, judging from the way you always judge couples and bad breath.” 

“don’t be so quick to assume things,” sakusa grumbles under his mask. 

“anywaysss, you kinda have to know that the other person wants to kiss you too, ya’know?” 

“i don’t know,” sakusa dryly says, stating out the obvious. 

“yeah, tell me something i didn’t know,” komori replies and opens the bakery front door. waves of freshly baked bread fill their noses. komori dramatically inhales and exhales. sakusa lowers his mask. a little “ding” rings as the door opens and closes. 

“it’s so warm in here!” komori happily exclaims. “you sure you’re not gonna became toast yourself with that jacket on?” 

sakusa rolls his eyes. 

“back to the kissing topic,” komori starts. “consent is really important! you have to make sure they want to kiss you. and to know, just before kissing, you have to ask.” 

“lower your voice,” blushy-faced sakusa mumbles. “there’s people looking at us weirdly.” 

“not at me weirdly,” komori remarks. “just at you!” 

“i don’t know why i talk to you sometimes.” 

“i’ll pretend i didn’t hear that!” komori happily bounces over to the counter and tells the pretty cashier his order.  “kiyoomi, you want anything?” 

“no, not really.” 

“okay!” komori excitedly accepts his paper bag full of baked goods and eagerly munches into a chocolate croissant. “i was thinking that maybe we can stop and eat for a while” 

komori eating = less judgmental komori. who is he kidding, sakusa knows he himself is the most judgmental person he knows. “okay” 

as sakusa pulls out a seat facing away from the door, a little “ding” rings through the bakery. 

“oh look!” komori munches. “it’s y/n! hi y/n!”

sakusa’s stomach drops. his hands have never felt so clammy and cold before. maybe if he stays completely still, then you won’t notice him. 

“hi y/n!” komori calls again. 

“we’re going home. stop- stop stop stop we’re going home. i need to go home,” sakusa hastily mutters under his breath and gets up so fast, suddenly wishing his mask can cover his whole face. since you’re standing at the doorway, he waits until you walk inside to walk out. 

komori quickly gathers his stuff and says a quick apology to you. “sorry about him! well, we’ll catch ya later!” 

confused, yet unfazed, you give him a little smile and waves back. 

~~~

“so how was it?” 

“...not good,” sakusa’s face and curls fall into his hands. he groans and falls back on the his bed. “anyways, i need to study-” 

“no no no, i need to know!” komori insists. “most people’s first kiss isn’t that great so...you’re not the only one.” 

“how am i even supposed to see them again,” sakusa groans again and squirms around on the bedsheets. “it was so bad. so bad. so so bad. so so sooooo bad-” 

“do you have thoughts about kissing them again??” 

“yes,” he mumbles and swiftly grabs the nearest pillow and hugs it to his chest,  hiding his face in the process. “all the damn time.” 

“then it didn’t go as bad as i thought!” komori exclaims. 

~~~

“so you’re not gonna tell me how it went?” 

“why’re you so nosy???” sakusa scrunches up his nose. 

“you were the one who asked about my first kiss first,” komori defends, pulling back in playful offense. 

“like i said, it wasn’t good.” 

“how was it not good?” 

“the kissing tutorial videos didn’t work.” 

“....you watched kissing tutorials????!!” 

“komori motoya, if you don’t be quiet i swear-” 

“did they at least want to kiss you?” 

“...i don’t even know if we’re...together. this is so embarrassing. i was too impatient. i shouldn’t have. i rushed things. they didn’t even tell me they like me. what if they just went along with it and didn’t actually want-”

“i think you’re overthinking too much...” 

“can we just walk to school in silence?” 

“after you tell me first! i can give advice!” 

“i nearly missed their lips. and i froze up when we actually made contact. i was stiff. i couldn’t move. plus my mask shifted upward and completely interrupted us, which i’m kinda thankful for.”

komori stifles a laugh. “so...what’re you gonna do for your second one?” 

~~~

“i saw them with his stupid, ugly guy who if you put his teeth next to a beaver’s, no one would be able to tell the difference.” 

“....we all know you’re not the nicest person, but isn’t that a little mean..and a bit of an exaggeration?” komori chuckles and shifts his foot inside his volleyball shoes. 

“they have poor, poor taste in men.” 

“well...they did kiss you once...” 

“i don’t know anymore,” sakusa sighs. “i need to just focus on volleyball.” 

~~~

“i hate it here. absolutely hate. it. here.” with a grumble he tosses his clothes on his backpack and pads across the gym to get his water bottle. 

komori side-eyes his cousin. whether or not to ask what he’s talking about, even though he knows exactly what–no, who–he’s talking about. 

“is this volleyball related?” komori asks when sakusa walks back. 

... 

“you’ve never given up anything you’ve set your heart on,” komori kindly reminds him. “so why’re you giving up now?” 

“because all the things i’ve done, i was in completely control of” sakusa swings his backpack over his shoulder. “i can’t control other people’s feelings....nor do i want to.” 

“did something bad happen?” komori dashes to catch with his cousin, and the tea. 

“guess who i saw them with again? beaver guy.” 

“i heard they’re just classmates though,” komori gently reminds sakusa, hoping it’ll somewhat clear his senses. he jogs toward a mini puddle and jumps right into it. sakusa grimaces at the water splashes. 

“it doesn’t matter. i don’t care about them anymore. they can have beaver guy so they want. i’m one of the best volleyball players in the country, and i’m ...somewhat good looking, and i’m tall...their loss.” 

komori searches for more puddles. 

“is it because of my personality?” sakusa quietly says. when he sees his cousins jumping into more puddles, he rolls his eyes. “komori, i’m being serious here” 

“when are you not?” komori calls back. he jogs back to sakusa and says, “what makes you think it’s your personality?” 

“well....let’s not talk about it.” 

“...” komori glares at him. 

“well....they’re all smiles around other people and like :/ around me. and y’know, my cleanliness. not that i would change for anyone, but i’m just sayin’” 

“if they really liked you then, you wouldn’t want you to change. although, you can be nicer sometimes....just a little” komori cheekily says. 

“...you’re right,” sakusa sighs. 

~~~

“update: beaver guy’s no longer in their life. he tried to make a move on them and they didn’t like it so they cut him out of their life.” 

“wait whaaat? it’s been days since you last talked about y/n. what-” 

“can you not say their name so loud???” 

“so beaver guy pulled a move on them?” 

“yes. and they cut him off because he took advantage of their niceness.” 

“...” 

“so technically what happened to beaver guy also happened to me.” 

komori shakes his head. “y/n hasn’t cut you out of their life....they still talk to you sometimes! and even asked if you wanted to walk home, which you-” 

he points an accusing finger at sakusa. “which you said no to >:(” 

“don’t point, it’s rude.” sakusa looks away. 

“what’d you say no???” 

“i didn’t want to appear desperate.” 

~~~

“so...how long are you gonna stare at the ceiling? we’re supposed to be doing measurements right now.” 

“oh sorry,” sakusa slightly bows down and quietly adds, “i walked them home yesterday.” 

komori loudly gasps, which he apologizes for when everyone turns to look at him. “whaaat,” he whispers. “what happened?” 

“i walked them home and then walked myself home, that’s what happened.” 

“you’ve gotta be kidding me. give the details!”

“there’s nothing too important that happened. other than my confession.” 

._. “and you’re saying nothing important happened??” 

“turns out they like...me...too” sakusa stutters. his ears are bright red. “i feel like i’m gonna throw up.” sakusa’s hands presses against his stomach.

“the good kinda throw up?” 

“there’s no such thing as a ‘good throw up’“ sakusa barks back. 

~~~

“y/n looked really happy and cheerful today and so do you...which i thought i’d never see...” 

normally, sakusa would jab his cousin if he heard that, but today, he chooses to ignore it. 

“so what’s going on??” 

“nothing much. just some kissing,” sakusa says. his whole face is glowing. 

“remember when you said kissing was gross?” 

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” sakusa brushes off. “and you better not tell y/n i think they’re gross when i clearly don’t >:(” 

~~~ 

“hand-holding huhhhh?” 

“their hands were cold, that’s why.” 

“why am i so invested in your relationship,” komori softly chuckles to himself. “y’all are cute.” 

“it does feel nice to have someone to talk to about these things,” sakusa quietly says. komori pulls back in surprise. 

“well, i’ll always be here for ya! but don’t you dare try rubbing your relationship in my face.” 

“i’d never. i know what it’s like to be single.” 

“???? that’s the most non-sympathetic thing i’ve ever heard! obviously, everyone knows what it feels like to be single” komori rolls his eyes. 

~~~

“people are saying y/n’s dating me for my money.” 

“ignore them >:(” 

“people keep saying that y/n probably get no action and that i don’t even touch them.” 

“like i said, ignore those stupid people” 

“i wish it can be that easy,” sakusa sighs. 

~~~

“i’ve lost track of how many times i’ve kissed them.” 

komori jokingly pulls back in disgust. “no one keeps track, dummy.” 

“i’d say about 43 times” 

~~~

and now sakusa kisses you like he’s a starved man who hasn’t eaten in days 😐 basically, engulfing you. long, passionate kisses that gets your heart pounding every time. 

and that’s it for now :)) tell me what you think! <3

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

I Won’t Say I’m In Love

Fandom: Harry Potter 

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Characters: George Weasley, Reader, Fred Weasley 

Word Count: 1796

Rating: Teen 

Summary: Girl don't be proud it's okay you're in love.

Tags/ Warnings: Arguing, Angst, Fluff, Fighting, K*sses, New Relationships, Admitting Feelings, Admitting Love, Siblings, Defensive, Songfic 

Notes: I Won’t Say I’m In Love - Hercules [x] [updated 9/22]

Advent Calendar of Fics // Day Sixteen 

I walked down the spiral staircase to the common room. It was buzzing with activity. People were doing homework at the desks, warming themselves by the fire and there seemed to be a fierce game of gob stones going on near the portrait hole. My eyes scanned the room for my friends. As I searched the sea of faces I noticed two mops of red hair tucked behind a crowd of people in the corner. I should’ve known. I walked over to where the twins were. They were flogging some of their new products from Weasley’s wizard wheezes to expectant first years who seemed more than happy to hand over their cash. George looked up as I parted the crowd and gave me a beaming smile. 

‘And here’s our glamorous assistant,’ he said. 

‘Yeah, she’s trialled all our products! She’s approved of them all! She even does our homework so we can make more!’ Fred chuckled. 

‘I definitely think the teachers would be able to tell if you tried to pass my work off as yours but sure. Speaking of you agreed to do some homework tonight,’ I said sitting down on the bench beside them, ‘now get all you can because the shop is closing in five minutes, right guys?’ 

‘Right,’ George said, ‘so buy one item now and get another one for half price!’ 

There was a flurry of activity. Galleons exchanged hands at lightning speed as the two of them gave out stock just as fast. Pretty soon they were out of everything and the boys closed up their suitcase. Fred stood up and tucked it under his arm, ‘I’m gonna go and put this upstairs.’

‘Okay,’ George said, ‘we’ll wait down here for you.’

‘No, no it’s okay.’

‘Why not?’ I asked curiously. 

‘Oh, I know when I’m not wanted. Besides I have no interest in doing homework,’ Fred said. I tried to interject but before I could he was running through the common room and up the staircase and out of sight. 

‘What was that about?’ I asked but George just shrugged though I could tell by his face he knew more than he was letting on. 

I decided to let it go and the two of us left the common room and headed to the library. We used a couple of books for our potions essay and borrowed some parchment from Mrs Pince. George didn’t do a lot of work, though he never did. Every time I looked over he was lost in a new doodle of some idea he had for the shop. I would nudge him and he would look up at me with his signature cheeky grin and get back to work before eventually trailing back to doodling. We got most of our homework done and headed back to the common room. 

When we got there the room was deserted. I looked at my watch and noticed the time. 

‘Woah, it’s later than I thought,’ I said. George nodded and then tried to stifle a yawn. 

‘You’re right,’ he chuckled. I smiled. 

‘Come on then. We better hit the hay,’ I said making my way to the staircase. Just before I reached the entrance I heard my name called from behind me and I turned to find George standing smack bang behind where I had stopped. He was quite a bit taller than me so I had to pull back so I could see him. 

‘Y/N,’ he said. He looked at me with concern in his eyes which made my stomach turn. He was never serious and now he looked as if he was going to give me some devastating news or something.

‘What?’ I said in a low breathy tone. I didn’t realise how dry my throat had gone at that moment. 

‘There’s something I want to tell you… something I’ve wanted to say for quite a while,’ he said. 

‘What is it?’ I asked. He pulled away and went and sat on the stairs next to us looking upset. 

‘It’s just-’

‘Come on. You can tell me anything. You know that,’ I said going and sitting on the step next to him. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and watched as he looked up at me. I had never noticed how muscular he had become this year. I could feel the toned muscles in his back through his jumper. His shaggy ginger hair was in his face and I reached my other hand around to tuck it behind his ear. He was so handsome. His chalky skin and his red hair complimented his bright green eyes so much. 

He said nothing and then in barely a second, he had closed the gap between us and his soft plump lips were on mine kissing me gently. I froze. I didn’t know what to do with myself. George and I had been friends forever and I liked him a lot. He was my best friend. And he was kissing me. He sensed my awkwardness and pulled back to see my face, frozen in shock. His face fell into an embarrassed frown as he pulled back and shook my arms off of him. 

‘George…’ I started though I didn’t know where my sentence was going. 

‘Don’t. It’s okay,’ he said standing up and walking up the next few steps, ‘just forget it.’

‘George!’ I shouted but then he was gone. He disappeared up the boy’s staircase and out of sight leaving me confused and upset. 

My head reeled. I didn’t know what to think. I liked George. Of course, I did he was my best friend. He was cute. I knew that too. He was funny. And charming. And caring. And resourceful. And humble. He was a great guy all around but that didn’t mean I liked him, right?

No, I couldn’t. I couldn’t like my best friend. I couldn’t be his girlfriend. What would happen if we split up? Would we be able to recover? Would I lose him? Would I lose Fred too? Besides I had never been able to pick boyfriends that were good for me. They were never worth my time but George was. George was so worth it but that didn’t mean I deserved him. 

I traipsed up the stairs in a daze and I was still in that trance as I tucked myself into bed and eventually dozed off. When I woke up I got changed and headed downstairs with a feeling of trepidation in the pit of my stomach. When I got into the great hall I scanned the Gryffindor table for my friends and found Fred sitting alone down the other end of the table. I took a seat on the opposite bench and said, ‘Good morning.’

‘Morning,’ he said with a lukewarm smile. 

‘Have you done Trewlawney’s homework yet? I’ve not enough dreams to fill my journal and I was wondering if you could give me any ideas,’ I said as I munched on a slice of toast. Fred looked up from his plate with a slight scowl.

‘So you’re just going to ignore it huh?’ he said. The pit that had disappeared came back in a flash. 

‘Ignore what?’ 

‘George.’

‘Fred I don’t think it’s any of your business.’

‘He’s my brother Y/N. He poured his heart out to you and you just ignored him and then come down here this morning as if nothing has happened and start talking about Trelawney’s homework whilst he’s up in his room wallowing in self-pity.’  

‘Woah, before you start shouting at me what are you talking about?’

‘Last night,’ he said.

‘First of all, George didn’t pour his heart and soul out to me he kissed me without warning and then bolted when I didn’t confess my undying love for him.’

‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I didn’t know.’

‘No you didn’t and before you say anything else why are you fighting his battles for him? He’s hiding away and I’m getting yelled at for something I don’t know anything about,’ I said. Before Fred could say anything I got up and stormed out of the great hall. I was so incensed I paid no attention to where I was going and walked smack bang into George as I had last night. 

‘Y/N,’ he said with surprise. 

‘George, your attack dog is sat in there waiting for you,’ I said in an irritated tone as I attempted to storm past him. He held one arm out which stopped me in my tracks. 

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Fred. He was on at me about last night,’ I said. 

‘Oh…’ he said quietly, ‘well I didn’t ask him to. And I don’t want you to feel awkward about it. It was nothing okay.’ 

‘Then why did you do it?’ I said, ‘why did you kiss me?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘I was going to tell you… nevermind, it doesn’t matter.’

‘It does matter! I’ve spent all night trying to figure out what it meant and now you’re acting like it didn’t happen. It obviously meant something otherwise you wouldn’t have done it.’

‘I did it because I’m a coward okay? I wanted to tell you I really like you but I got scared and I thought that it would be okay if I kissed you. But it’s not. Because you didn’t kiss me back. You don’t feel the same.’

‘Don’t tell me how I feel Weasley. You didn’t even give me a chance to speak let alone say how I felt. But if you must know. I think I like you too okay? I’ve been thinking about it all night and all the reasons when I spoke to Fred this morning I realised I didn’t care about that because the only thing that mattered to me when he was shouting at me was that you were upset and upstairs. And I cared for you so much I didn’t want you to be sad. In fact, that’s where I was headed when-’ my voice was stopped by George’s lips on my own once more. Except for this time, I didn’t freeze. I let my arms pull him closer to me as his hands held my face to his. 

Once we finally broke apart I was short of breath and watched him as he smiled at me beamingly.

‘Take it the two of you made up then,’ came a voice from the side of us. We turned and found Fred hanging out by the great hall entrance watching us with a sly smile. 

‘Just about,’ George said with a chuckle. 

‘Good, because I need help with my homework and I’ve only got ten minutes to do it,’ he said beckoning us to follow him. 

Looks like things were just the same as always. 

[barnesandrogersfanfics]

Ocean Eyes - Part 11

A/N- OMG i finally updated!!

Please like/comment/share if you like this. Seeing that people are actually enjoying this fic makes me wanna write more lol 💕💕

I got next to no sleep, i just laid in bed going over and over the things Chris had said....was he being serious?? or was it the alcohol talking??

Finally giving up on sleep at 5:30am i got up and dressed and decided i needed to talk to someone about all this. When i went downstairs i made a cup of tea and grabbed Chris's coat from the back of the chair then headed outback, Dodger following behind me.

I walked down to the pool area and sat down at the table and chairs that were next to it where i was far enough away from the house to have a private conversation. I unlocked my phone smiling at the photo of Chris, Scott and Mason before scrolling to my recent contacts and hitting call.

"Hello" she answered after two rings.

"Hey ma, i didnt wake you did i?"

"No sweetheart, you know me I've been up since 5am"

"Thats because you're crazy" i chuckled.

"why are you up this early? This is very unlike you"

"Ive not really slept..... mom something happened with Chris last night and i'm kinda freaking out...."

"Oh god please tell me you haven't slept with him already....."

"No! Jesus Ma...."

"Thats good, so what happened?"

"Well after Mason went to bed last night i stayed up with Chris and Scott, we had a few drinks and just hung out you know? Everything was fine until Scott went to bed" i started explaining shaking my head, i told her all about Chris ending things with his girlfriend, about him getting jealous about Derek and then i dropped the kicker.... Chris confessed to still loving me and wanting a second chance!

"Wow, thats alot to take in"

"Tell me about it! Ive been up all night going over it again and again"

"So what did you tell Chris?"

"I just said that we needed to talk about this when we were both sober. I mean he could wake up and forget he even said any of this to me last night"

"Would you still bring it up if he does forget?"

"I don't know Ma, i don't know what to do"

"Only you can answer that, i can't tell you the right thing to do here baby. All i know is that you have loved that man since i can remember, even when he left and broke your heart you still loved him"

"You love who you love right?.... i just feel like an idiot" i mumbled picking at the sleeve of Chris's coat nervously.

"You're not an idiot"

"I feel like one!"

"Just talk to him, take things slow.... maybe use this time together to get to know eachother again before you decide on anything. Also, just remember this effects Mason now"

"Thats what makes it worse ma" i quickly wiped away a tear that rolled down my face, Dodger came over putting his face in my lap and i smiled as i scratched behind his ear. When i looked up my breath caught when i saw Chris slipping out the sliding door and heading my way.

"Shit, he's coming over.... i gotta go Ma. I'll call you later"

"Okay sweetheart, good luck.... deep breaths, i love you"

"Love you too, bye".

I locked my phone and placed it on the table before wrapping Chris's coat tighter around me. Dodger spotted Chris and went bounding over to him excited to see him up and about.

"Morning, you're up early" he said before sitting in the chair beside me.

"Morning, i couldn't sleep. Thought id call my mom to check in"

"All the way out here?"

"Its early i didn't want to wake anyone up" i shrugged picking up my tea taking a mouthful.

"You sure thats all it was?"

"Mmhmmm"

"You're not hiding from me after last night?" He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly.

"So you remember what you said last night?"

"Of course, i wasn't that drunk" he scoffed reaching for my tea and helping himself to a few mouthfuls.

"Im not hiding, just.... thinking"

"About?"

"About what the fuck i'm supposed to do!"

"Do you love me?" He suddenly asked making me look up at him, into those eyes.... damn him!

"What?"

"Do you still love me? Its a simple question babe"

"Its not a simple answer Chris" i shrugged "i mean of course i do but i just..... the way you treated me before.... how do i know that wont happen again?"

"It wont i promise! I know how bad i messed up...."

"You say that now but i can't help but worry about you changing your mind.

You broke my heart when you left me and now we have Mason to think about.... i don't want him getting hurt if this doesn't work out again".

"So your answer's no? You wont give me a second chance?" He asked sadly his eyes tearing up, i forgot how emotional he could get.

"Maybe we should just spend this time together, get to know each other again and go from there?" I said taking my mom's advise.

"So you're not ruling it out completely? Its not a hard no?"

"Im saying maybe, just... baby steps" i smiled over at him and he nodded smiling back at me as he reached over and took my hand.

"I promise you i wont let you down again, i wanna be the man you deserve and the dad that Mason deserves"

"Id like that a lot, even though i hated you for what you did... i still missed you"

"I know, i missed you too"

"Lets go in im freezing" i said getting up, Chris was suddenly standing and pulling me into his arms holding me tight.

"Chris..." i mumbled into his chest as my hands landed on his waist.

"Im sorry i just needed to hold you"

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him... as nervous as this made me it felt so good to be in his arms again.

"I'll make things right again i promise" he mumbled pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

The weeks were flying by and we were all still in lockdown, it was now May and there was no sign of anything changing just yet.

Chris was doing a lot of online interviews to promote his new show 'Defending Jacob', when these video chats took place Scott and I made sure to take Mason to another part of the house so he wouldn't interrupt.

Things with Chris and I had been going good, we wouldn't act any differently around Mason but once he was in bed we'd snuggle on the sofa.... we'd shared a few kisses here and there but thats as far as it had gone.

"Mom can we take Dodger for a walk?" Mason came running in from the backyard with Dodger diving on the sofa next to me.

"You better go ask your dad buddy"

"Dad!!!!" Mason yelled loudly making me laugh.

"Why are you yelling?? i'm right here" Chris said walking in from the kitchen with coffee's. Mason chuckled cuddling up to me suddenly going all silly.

"Why you getting all shy?" I asked as i run my fingers through his hair.

"I don't know" he mumbled hiding his face against me, Chris sat down next to him and picked him up pulling him into his lap.

"Whats up pal? Why was you calling me?"

"Mom said i had to ask you if we can take Dodger for a walk"

"Sure we can! Why don't you go get your shoes on and grab Dodgers leash while your mom and i finish our coffee then we'll go"

"Yes!! thank you dad!" Mason wriggled down from Chris's lap and run upstairs to the room he'd been staying in.

"Maybe it'll wear him out enough that he has a nap, kid has too much energy!" I said looking over at Chris.

"He loves walking Dodger thats all"

"So do i but not this much! Poor Dodge is probably begging for a rest!"

"He's fine, we'll just walk up the road a bit throw the ball around... we don't have to be gone long"

"I guess"

"You coming with us?"

"Yeah why not".

We walked Dodger as promised and let him and Mason run around playing fetch. Chris took me by surprise by grabbing hold of my hand pulling me close enough to kiss me.

"Hey! We said not in front of Mace...."

"He's not looking its fine" he laughed "so, i was thinking maybe you could stay in my room tonight?"

"And what if Mason catches us??"

"We'll say we're having a sleepover" he smirked.

"You're terrible!"

"You didn't say no though" he wriggled his eyebrows at me.

"I didn't say yes either. Mace, come on Bud we're heading back" i called out stepping away from Chris even though all i wanted to do was pounce on him!

As i looked over to where Mason and Dodger were playing i spotted a familiar car parked across the street outside of the gated area.

"You've got to be shitting me....."

"Whats wrong?"

"Thats Brian's car out there"

"What?!!! Are you sure?"

"Yeah"

"Im gonna kick this guys ass i swear to god...." Chris said as he started to storm towards Brian, i quickly grabbed his arm pulling him back.

"Lets just go back inside, call the police. I don't want you getting into trouble over that jackass. Just get Mason and Dodger and lets go. He cant get in here"

"Okay.... okay lets go" he whistled for Dodger who came bounding over followed by an out of breath Mason and we walked back up to the house locking ourselves safely inside while Chris called and reported Brian.

Everything taglist: @jesseswartzwelder @dumblani @barnesandrogersworld @patzammit @rynabarnesrogers-reading @rainbowkisses31 @rororo06 @supernaturalwintersoldier @fairlightswiftly @hiddelstannerbarnes

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@jakiki94 @torntaltos @my-dearest-agent @buchanansebba @ms-betsy-fangirl

[adhdeancas]

Sunset Sound: God is Dead?

I might start updating twice a week because I am writing this story at BREAKNECK speed. this is my favorite chapter so far. enjoy! (special thanks to @friedchickenangelwings once again for sticking with me and my incessant rambling about this story at all hours during holidays)

Fic Summary:  Everything is the same up to the end of 15x20. Chuck has been “defeated,” but it was all a farce. When Jack absorbed Chuck, Chuck easily took over the 3 year old’s body and acted as if he were defeated. Chuck!Jack then had the Rusty Nail placed in the barn where Dean died, and with Cas gone, Dean didn’t fight it. Chuck did reimagine Heaven, but he’s fed the same lie to them all: that everything is perfect, they are free, they are in real paradise. Except it’s all an illusion insulated by blue skies and endless horizons. Because, just like the Good Place, people make Heaven into Hell for each other. And there’s nothing Chuck loves more than the natural order of tragedy. He “let it slip��� to Bobby that he brought Cas back, when he really left him to rot in the Empty. Dean has to find his best friend before it’s too late, and he has to keep a happy face for everyone else, because Chuck is watching. Always watching. 

“You know?” Dean shakes his head. “What’s going on?” 

Charlie leans back against the bar. “Well, after Ash and I found each other-” they give a cute little nod of the head in sync, dorks, “through the frankly shitty wifi they’ve got up here, we got to talking.” 

“Yeah, we realized some shit just didn’t add up. Like angel radio.” Ash spins around and ducks into his backroom, coming back with a laptop that’s way more advanced than it was last time. Dean raises his eyebrows at it. “Yeah, man, it’s sick, right? Charlie upgraded my systems, it’s bitchin’.” he reaches past Dean’s shoulder to give Charlie a fist bump (enthusiastically returned) and Dean backs off. 

“Yeah, bitchin’,” Dean repeats with a grin. He’s too dumb for these people. But he sure is glad they’re on his side.  “Well, hey, show me whatcha got.” 

Ash nods and taps his temple. He mutters to himself and pulls the system toward him while Dean watches anxiously. Ash pauses and looks at him. “Dude. Gimme a second? This setup is a lil’ more complicated than your blackberry.”

Dean snorts and gives him space, followed by Charlie. “Dude. you’ve been dead too long. Blackberrys haven’t existed for like… ten years.”

Ash gives him a genial middle finger and Dean grins. Charlie sits up on the pool table and Dean leans against it next to her. “Listen, Charlie, I gotta. I gotta say sorry, again, for…” He clears his throat. 

“Dying?” Charlie asks lightly.

“Uh, yeah.” 

“Not your fault, Dean.” She shrugs, and she actually manages to look cheerful. Damn, Dean loves this chick. She puts her hand on his shoulder and shakes her head. “Seriously, Dean. Let it go! I have! Seriously, I got to spend a few years with my high school girlfriend watching Lord of the Rings - she was a cheerleader - and sneaking out to design some fucking world-altering programs with Ash! Being dead, for me, it’s kinda amazing.” She smiles at him. “Guessing you don’t feel the same though, huh?” 

Dean swallows. He doesn’t know how much he wants to say about that, but being dead… it definitely sucks. And not in the good way. “Guess it just feels like I got more to do. Now, at least.” Now that Cas is… and heaven is…

Charlie looks like she doesn’t know what to say. Luckily, they’re interrupted before she has to think of something.

“Eyo! Sorry, amigos,” he leans over backwards to look at them. “Found it.” 

Charlie jumps off the table and grabs Dean’s hand. After a few steps she shoves him with her shoulder until he bumps into Ash’s back. Dean bounces off his soft form and clears his throat. “Sorry,” he mutters, throwing a death glare back at his surrogate sister. She flashes him a smug grin before focusing back on the computer screen. 

Ash recovers from getting jostled in time to point. “Yeah, so, we got word on Angel FM that this Jack kid is goin’ real Jim Jones over here.” He holds a finger up at several paragraphs as he’s flipping through them. “Preachin’ all kinda love and peace and hippy commune shit, but if somebody even questions it, he snaps. Naomi no-likey,” He smirks up at Dean and points to a group of cuss-words even Dean barely uses. “Rough translation.” 

Dean shakes his head. “That doesn’t sound like Jack.” Jack, especially Jack-with-a-soul, almost never got mad. I mean, he’d spent quality time with Lucifer without blowing up. The kid is level-headed to a fault. “Anything else?”

Ash frowns at him. “Y’know, going through angels’ personal phone calls is a lotta work.” 

Dean rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’re a genius. Got anything else?” 

“Ash, what about the human rumors?” 

Ash looks at Charlie and they have a silent battle of wills, but Dean’s too impatient to see who wins. “What human rumors?” 

They pause and come to an agreement. “Fighting. People fighting. Couples. Families. Friends. All over, since the reboot. People are happy, but… it’s like earth. People can talk - people can fight.” 

“And?” Dean raises his eyebrows. There’s something they’re not telling him, and he thinks he knows what.

Ash raises them right back. He’s not about to divulge. “Hombre, this ain’t earth. People are supposed to be happy. If they ain’t… like a glitch in the matrix, y’know?

Dean grunts. “Anything else weird on the radio? Anything at all.” 

Ash’s sigh sounds labored. He leans back in his chair and wobbles, obviously sorting through all the enochian bullshit he’s read over the past… whenever. “Meh… I got… I don’t know, God was singing?” 

“Singing? Singing what?” Dean leans in, intent. If it was Taylor Swift, Beyonce, maybe Lizzo… 

Ash cocks an eyebrow. “Folk shit. Indie music.” 

That’s what Dean was afraid of. “Shit.”

“Why? What does that mean?” Charlie grabs onto his arm. 

Dean’s worst fears, that’s what. “It means that ain’t my kid. It’s Chuck.” 

“Who the hell is that?” Ash stands up as Dean walks away, cursing every stupid atom that had decided to make this dumb universe. Although, he guesses, that was Chuck’s purview too. 

“He’s god! God before the reboot I mean, the dick who up and left and only came back to screw me and Sam over. Fuck, I thought we’d finally gotten out from under his thumb! Now, apparently, he’s just using my kid for his meat-suit.” Dean takes a deep breath. This is bad. Worse than bad-bad. 

“So… what do we do? How do we nuke God?” Charlie asks the question like it’s normal, just another Saturday afternoon. 

Dean thumps his forehead onto the nearest table. Sure, sure, good, great. They were back to square fucking one. “I don’t fucking know,” 

“Alright, break it down. We need more mojo, right? How do we get more mojo?” 

“Well, angels are the next best thing, right? Maybe if we get them all together, they’re obviously not psyched about folk-God, or whatever,”

Ash points at her like she’s a genius. “Alright, yeah!” 

“Guys, there aren’t enough angels left to even try.” Dean feels hopeless. There’s nothing to do. They are literally out of options. There’s no hope. 

“Well, where can we get some more angels, then?” 

Dean stands up. “I know a place.” His heart feels like it’s being squeezed like a lemon. It’s a crazy idea. It’s practically impossible. And probably suicide. And he’s gotta find a way. “We gotta break open the Empty.” 

“The Empty?” Ash looks skeptical. Dean smirks. 

“Yeah, angel/demon afterlife. We punch our way in there and we’ve got juice for days, man.” He spreads his arms out, asks the question. 

Ash glances at Charlie then back at Dean. He sniffs and nods. “I’m in.” 

Dean looks to Charlie, who scoffs. “Duh. Of course. So what, we get in and say pretty please help us kill your dad?” 

A warm feeling spreads through Dean’s chest. “Well, we’ll have a little help on the inside. Cas.”

“Castiel? The angel dude?” 

“He’s dead?” Charlie’s voice has much more concern than Ash’s. Dean nods in response to both questions. It still makes him feel like he’s swallowing glass to think about it. “What happened?” 

Dean looks down at his boots. It’s only the scene that keeps playing on repeat behind his eyelids. Cas crying, holding onto his shoulder, telling him… telling him goodbye. Telling him that. “He saved me.” he starts, expression guarded. “He made a deal.” 

Ash grunts and nods, ready to drop it. Charlie stays quiet too, but she clearly wants to say something. Dean’s thankful for the drop. He doesn’t know what he’d say if they asked more. All he knows is that he needs Cas back. And he needs to talk to him. He needs to tell him that - that he wants him to just stay fucking put, damn it. That he needs to stop dying on him. And that he can’t just go and say something like that and then leave. It’s a bitch-ass move. 

“Yo, Deano?” 

Dean jerks his head back up. “Yeah. Sorry.” 

“How do we jail-break ‘em?” 

“Guessing we’re gonna need some serious magic shit. And since we can’t get to Rowena…” 

Ash breaks into a wide grin. “Pamela? I’ll give her a call.” 

Pamela is “busy,” so they have to wait for her to finish up with Jesse before she can come by. Dean has to hand it to her, it’s just about the most Pamela thing in the world to put off their realms-saving work for a heavenly hookup. Dean hangs around talking for a bit, filling his friends in on the latest on Earth, but he can’t concentrate. Ever since they’d decided the next thing is to get into the Empty, he can’t relax. He takes his beer and goes outside to wait, settling down on the Roadhouse’s front step to watch for Pamela.

After a bit, Charlie plops down next to him, a soft grin on her lips. He returns it half-heartedly before looking out across the clearing. She leans her head against his shoulder. A few minutes pass in comfortable silence before she turns into him. “So we gotta get into the Empty.” she sighs. Dean nods glumly. Just his fucking luck. Even heaven is ruined. But at least… at least they’ve got a shot. “And get Castiel.” 

Dean frowns and pulls away to look at her. Maybe it’s just his paranoia, but he hears some deeper meaning in her voice. “The guy died for me. I gotta,” he presses his lips together, hating himself for the half-lie he’s telling. Cas deserves better. Charlie just nods and watches, like she’s waiting for him to keep going. When he manages to talk again, his voice cracks. “We gotta get him, Charlie.” 

Charlie pulls him into a side hug. “I always said he was dreamy, that angel.” She points out. Dean snorts. He remembers. He’d blushed like an idiot after she said that the first time. 

“Yeah.” He mutters. Okay, so she knows. That he and Cas are… that Dean’s… good. Cas deserves recognition. He deserves someone to talk about him. For Dean to talk about him. But then Charlie just hasn’t spoken, and he feels like he needs some explanation. “I… there were other guys, before him.” He continues, clearing his throat. His mind wanders to Benny and Lee, Crowley. “But he’s… he’s it.” 

He risks a look at Charlie and she is just staring at him with a fond smile. She surges forward and kisses his cheek, squealing. “Yes, I fucking knew it, you bisexual dumbass! Bi, right?” 

Dean laughs. “Yeah, I guess- wait, you knew?” 

Charlie looks around, like Dean’s a dumbass it was so obvious. “Well, yeah, dude. Game recognize game.” She motions between the two of them and he scoffs. That’s right. Gaydar. That would’ve been nice to have for the last, oh, 12 years? “We’ll get him back.” 

Dean pulls Charlie in for another hug and leaves her tucked under his arm until a motorcycle pulls up and Pamela gets off, shaking her hair loose like a blind slow-motion model in a porno. She grins at the pair on the steps like she can see them. “Take a picture, you two. It’ll last longer.”

“How did you-”

She throws a hand out in dismissal. “Please, I can feel ogling from a mile away.” She pauses, laughing at the embarrassed silence Charlie and Dean are sporting. “Nah, I’m just joking. I do the hair-shake for a reason. I deserve a good stare. Hell, it’s half the reason I own this motorcycle.” She throws her helmet in the general direction of the motorcycle and greets her friends. Dean can’t decide whose hug is more flirty, his or Charlie’s. 

“Alright, bitches. Let’s séance some shit.” 

tag list: (ask or dm to be removed or added)

@dochunterwitch  @justonecitizenoftheearth @gnbrules @purpe @castiel-is-a-cat @alienapparatus

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Sixty-Six

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff. Smut…there’s, um, some more butt stuff…

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Friday after work you meet Harry at the first of three locations he wanted to look at. He really trusted your eye and vision for things. You didn’t like the first location.

“Not enough foot traffic. You’ll want people to be able to walk in and make appointments.”

He agreed with you. Harry’s main thing was to make sure there were two offices in the back. He needed a private space for himself, and for Mariah if she decided to join him.

“You should also see if you can sell frames and other products to help add to your profit. You could offer special deals for those booklets you make.”

“Good idea. That’ll give Isaac somethin’ to do too if he comes along.”

You liked the second location the best out of the three. It was closer to home, and near a park. There were other businesses and a ton of foot traffic. There were two offices, one in the back, and one upstairs. Harry liked the idea of it being two stories. There was also a large storage closet.

“With some paint and some new furniture, this could be a really great place.”

“Yeah, and the price is right in my budget.” Harry says looking over his paperwork. “Are there many offers on this space yet?”

“Not yet, but it’ll move fast. Take the weekend to think things over and let me know Monday, yeah?”

“Alright, sounds good.”

You and Harry were having Mariah and Isaac over for lunch Saturday, so that would give everyone time to think a lot of things over.

“You have the money in your budget for renovations and stuff like that?” You ask him as you get into the car.

“Yup, I think I’ve thought of just about everything. I’d need to put my two weeks in at work quick though because I’d need to spend my free time fixin’ the place up.”

“Which means you’d need to file for insurance soon…”

“Yeah, and I’d need to get my LLC insured too. This is all happening so fast.” He says excitedly. “When can we start working on the website?”

“How about tomorrow night? Once we know if Mariah’s on board we can add her info to it.”

“Thanks again for helpin’ with all this, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He gives your hand a squeeze.

“I’d do anything for you, Harry.” You smile at him and he nearly starts to cry.

//

“So…what exactly are we doing here, other than to have lunch?” Mariah asks as you set a plate of sandwiches in front of everyone.

“Well, I’m finally jumpin’ into my own business, and to be up front, I want you both to come with me.”

“Me?” Isaac asks in shock.

“Yes.” Harry hands them his business plan. “It’s all right there. Y/N and I looked at some spaces yesterday and found one we think could suit all of us. My freelance work alone would be enough to sustain us, so imagine the few people you work with on top of that Mariah. And Isaac, there’s no one else I’d trust bookin’ shit f’me. I know I’m asking you to leave something comfortable, and it might seem rocky at first, but I think this could be great.”

“What would you call the business? Or is it just a space we’d use together?” She asks flipping through.

“Well, that’s somethin’ we could talk about. I mean I’d want us to have business cards that match. It could just be our last names or we could come up with somethin’.”

“I think we should just call it Styles Photography.” She suggests.

“But you’d be my partner, so where does your name go?”

“I’d be working for you, and it would go on my business card. Your name should be everywhere, this is your thing.” She smiles.

“Harry, I have to say, I’m really impressed with this. I mean the salary you’re suggesting for me is way more than I make now.” Isaac says.

“It’s what you deserve to be paid, you work really hard. And Y/N suggested we sell other little things to help offset other costs, which I think is brilliant.”

“Yeah, we could sell some of those techie frames where you digitally load the photos. People go nuts for those.” Mariah says. “Fuck it, I’m in.”

“Me too.”

“Are you both serious?! I wouldn’t be able to provide many benefits…that’s the only thing.”

“I’m still on my parent’s insurance for a couple more years.” Isasc says.

“So am I, actually.” Mariah says. “So we’d have time save up for all that.”

“My question is, when would we start?”

“Well, I’d be leaving Plant Geo far before either of you. I need to lease the space and fix it up. I’d say by June we could be up and running. Y/N’s going to help put a legitimate website together for us, and she’s going to do this social media campaign to help get the word out.”

“Harry, do you think you could have some legitimate contracts made up for us?” Isaac asks.

“Definitely. I could have them to you by the end of next week probably. So we’re doin’ this, I can go lease the space?”

“Yeah! Do you have any pictures?” Mariah asks. Harry hands her his phone. “I was thinkin’ of putting a wall up in the back and adding a small kitchen area. There’s an office in the back for you, and I would take the one upstairs. Huge storage closet for all our shit. I was thinkin’ of getting a custom desk made for you too Isaac.”

“Can you do all that yourself?” You ask.

“Yeah, I’m pretty handy. So are Lou and Niall, they could help when I need it.”

“My dad could help too…” You bite your bottom lip. You hadn’t really spoken to your dad in a while.

“We’ll see…” Harry smiles. “Anyways, I’m really excited you guys are on board.”

“Me too, I’ve been getting sick of all the drama there.” Mariah says.

“Chris is gonna flip losing her three best people.” Isaac says.

“You two need to keep quiet that you’re comin’ with me. I’m not even tellin’ her I’m getting my own studio, I’m just telling her I’m going to freelance full time.”

“Good idea.”

The three shake on it, and Harry tells them they’ll get proper contacts soon. After they leave he calls the realtor and tells him he’ll take the space and will have a check for him Monday.

“Once I get the blue prints of the place I can get the permits I need for renovations.” He tells you. “Do you really think your dad would help?”

“Sure, I mean it would be good to have him there in case you stumble into any electrical mishaps. Plus he has a ton of tools. He could borrow my brother’s truck and meet you out there. And he’s free labor. Well, mostly free, you’d need to buy him a beer or two.”

“What’s his number I’ll call him.”

“You wanna call my dad?”

“Why would I have you call him? So he can ask you a ton of questions and make you angry? No way, I’ll talk to him.”

You give Harry your dad’s number and he dials it on his phone. He picks up after a few rings. Harry puts the phone on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hi Mr. Y/L/N, it’s Harry…”

“Oh! Um, hi. Is everything okay with Y/N?” You two smile at each other.

“Yeah, she’s fine, I asked her for your number actually.”

“Oh boy…you’re not calling for the reason I think you are?” Harry’s face goes beat red.

“Uh, no, no, no, not yet anyways.” He laughs nervously. “She actually told me to call you because I’m officially renting my own studio space and I’m going to be doing some renovations to it. Y/N said you could be a great help.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a much better reason to call.” You roll your eyes and Harry swats an arm at you. “What do you need help with?”

“Well, a lot actually.” Harry takes the phone off speaker and walks away so he can explain everything to your dad.

About an hour or so later Harry comes back to you and plops down on the couch. He takes a deep breath and looks at you.

“Your dad is a chatty guy.” He laughs.

“Yeah, no shit. Did he really think you were calling to ask if you could marry me?”

“Yes, and he talked my ear off about how even though he knows we love each other, we just need to slow down a bit and that it’s too soon for all that.”

“I’m sorry.” You can’t help but laugh.

“S’alright. Don’t really need his permission though do I.” It wasn’t a question.

“Nope.” You smile. “So what did he say about helping?”

“Oh, he’s all for it. Said it would give him somethin’ to do. He said your brother could probably help too. He said once I get all the right permits he’d be able to jump in wherever.”

“That’s great!”

“God, I can’t wait to give my two weeks to Chris on Monday. Been there for four years, feels way longer.”

“I’m so proud of you Harry, this is going to be great.”

//

Monday morning Harry walked into Christin’s office and handed her his two weeks notice.

“What’s this?” She asks looking up at him.

“I’m leavin’ Plant Geo. I’m goin’ to invest more into my own work. No hard feelings, I just can’t do this anymore. The work doesn’t make me happy like it used to.”

“There’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay? You’re the best photographer we’ve got.”

“I’m sorry, Chris. It’s just not what I want anymore. I wanna be my own boss.”

“I understand.”

“I’d like to keep this quiet, I don’t want anyone makin’ a fuss.” She nods and he walks out of her office to go to his own.

//

Harry made a ton of phone calls all week to get the ball rolling on the permits he’d need to start making renovations to the studio. He also worked on the contracts he’d need to give Mariah and Isaac. He asked Rachel if she’d be able to help paint once it was all ready for that. Harry felt lucky to have so many friends that were willing to support him.

Every night you and Harry sat at the dining room table getting his website together. He loved watching you work. He was beyond grateful for you. You’d make sure everything looked the way he wanted. You both worked really well together.

“As you’re renovating we should post on Instagram to show everyone updates. You’ll need to give me the login to your professional insta.”

“Should we just make a brand new one for the LLC?”

“No, we can just update yours. Then we can post an announcement to Facebook, and let everyone know about the site. I can set it up so they book with you on the site too. Isaac would have the final approval on the reservation of course, that way you wouldn’t get overworked.”

“I’ve told a few people and they said they were really excited. A lot of people have more time during the week to get their pictures taken than I thought. Plus I can still freelance for other magazines if I want.”

“Did Christin tell you that?”

“Yeah, we spoke and she said if I ever needed the work she’d give it to me.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, I appreciated it.”

//

A couple of weeks later, your dad started helping Harry with the renovations. Your dad was actually impressed that Harry had a lot of the proper things he needed like masks and goggles. Harry made sure to take before and after pictures for you to post updates on social media. One night he came home in a pair of jeans, workboots, and a longsleeve shirt. It was starting to get warmer out, but the longsleeve helped keep dust and other scraps off his skin.

“I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I’m actually havin’ fun with your dad. He’s helpin’ me get the kitchen together this week.”

“That’s great.” You bite your bottom lip while he runs a hand through his hair.

“What?”

“Nothing…you just look…hot. Where’s your tool belt?”

“Left it in my trunk.” He smirks. He comes over to you and rests his hands on your hips. “Why?”

“Be nice if you brought it home some night.”

“You should come by one of the mornings your dad isn’t there.”

“I’m not fucking you in your studio.”

“C’mon, why not? Now that would be hot.”

“Harry.” You suck your teeth and pull his hands off you. He pulls you back closer to him.

“Okay, okay.” He presses his forehead to yours. “I have a wedding to shoot this weekend.”

“I know.”

“So we won’t have much time together again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m gonna spend some time with Rachel.”

“Oh good.” He kisses your nose. “I needa shower, I must smell like a goat.”

“A very sexy goat.”

//

Rachel comes over Saturday while is off taking wedding photos. You’re enjoying catching up with her. She tells you how excited she is to help paint at the studio, and how excited Mariah is to work with Harry.

“I’m really glad she’s my girlfriend, she’s awesome.”

“I’m so happy for you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.” You take a sip your tea. “Can I ask you something kind of personal?”

“Always.”

“Well…you know about the things Sarah and I bought for the boys?”

“Oh yeah, she filled me in on all that.”

“Okay cool, so it’s been a while since Harry and I dove back into all that. He’s just been so busy with everything, I’ve sort of felt bad asking you know?”

“Sure.”

“So like…how do straps work?”

“Oh my god, you wanna peg him?”

“You have no idea how badly I wanna get into that ass.” You both laugh.

“Yes, oh my god, okay, well, I’ve never used one in someone’s butt before, but using the strap in general just makes it easier to like hold onto the person. It’s not like using a dildo where you have to keep your hand gripped on it.”

“But how do you know what you’re doing?”

“You just feel around, talk to your partner make sure they like what you’re doing. Does he know you wanna fuck him like that?”

“Yeah.”

“And he’s cool with it?”

“He didn’t seem not cool with it. You should have seen how amazing he looked when I used the plug on him, Jesus, he was beautiful.”

“I never expected you to be into something like this, I love this for you.”

“I didn’t expect it either. I just don’t know how to bring it up. He hasn’t had a free second.”

“Have you had sex otherwise?”

“Oh sure. We always make time for it. We just haven’t had time for the things that take a little longer.”

“Do you think he’ll want to do it to you?”

“He’s not really a give to get kind of person. I don’t want it for myself and he knows that.”

“Oh that’s nice. Yeah, I don’t really like the strap used on me, I don’t need the dick.” You both laugh.

“So sex with Mariah is good then?”

“So good. I’ve never really connected with someone the way I’ve connected with her.”

“That’s great Rach.”

“Please don’t keep me in the dark about if/when you actually peg Harry. I’m gonna need all the details.” You both start laughing just as he’s walking in.

“Oi, what’s so funny.” He smirks at them, loosening his tie.

“Hi!” You say blushing. “Did you just walk in?”

“Mhm. Hi Rach.”

“Hey Harry.” She smiles at him then at you. “Well, I’ll get going, I have some projects I need to grade actually. God, summer cannot come fast enough.”

“I hear that.” You stand up to walk her out. “Thanks for coming over today.”

“Course! It was fun to catch up. Bye!” You turn back to look at Harry.

“She didn’t need to leave.”

“Oh she’s been here for hours it’s fine. You’re home earlier than I thought.”

“It was an early morning wedding, and they didn’t need me for the reception, just family shots, so I got outta there as soon as I could.” He slips hit suit jacket off and walks down the hall to your bedroom. You follow him. “What was so funny when I walked in?”

“Hm? Oh, I can’t even remember. Sometimes we just get into these laughing fits.” You sit on the bed and watch him undress. He hangs up his suit and looks at you. “You know Aunt Flow left yesterday.”

“Did she now?”

“Mhm.”

“Is that your way of tellin’ me you wanna bone?” You giggle and bite your bottom lip.

“Maybe.”

“Well, we gotta make it quick. I need to go to the studio and get some things done.” He stands between your legs and you can’t help but pout. “Whatsa matter, angel?”

“We’ve been making it quick a lot lately.” You say looking up at him. You put your hands on his hips.

“Aw, you want us to take our time baby?”

“Yes.”

“How about a quick shag now, and then tonight when I get back we can take our time, hm? We’ll do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Sure.” He smiles. “Now take your pants off.” You grin and stand up to take your leggings off.

Harry fingered you until you came and then fucked you into the mattress before he left for the studio. You got caught up on some homework while he was gone and made dinner. He got home around seven, exhausted.

“Please take a day off from it tomorrow.”

“I will, I will. I just wanted to get some things done. Your dad is comin’ back to help Monday so I brought some lumbar over and some other things we’d need.”

You both eat quickly. He goes over to sit on the couch, but you put your hands on your hips and make a grunting noise.

“What?” He looks at you just as he was about to turn the TV on. You point to the bedroom. “Babe, I just need-“

“No, you said when you got home we could do whatever I wanted. Now get that ass up and into our bedroom.”

He couldn’t say no to that, so he stands walks with you into the bedroom. He sees that you’ve pulled out the special box and stops short.

“You…you wanna do this tonight?”

“Neither of us have anywhere to be tomorrow, and we haven’t done it since the first time.” You bite your inner cheek. “If you don’t want to we don’t have to.”

“S’not that I don’t want to…what’s the end goal here?”

“I want to be able to fuck you in the ass.” You say bluntly and he nods. “Are you okay with that?”

“I think I could be.” He sits down on the edge of the bed and you stand between his legs. He looks up at you. “I’ve been reading into it a little.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, can’t say I’m not curious…but there’s gonna have to be things that you’ll have to do. I mean you’re legitimately going to need to finger me to stretch me out and stuff. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Maybe if you shower first.” You giggle.

“Alright, let me go shower.” He stands up and starts taking his clothes off. “I want you naked on this bed ready f’me when I get out. I’m still a little hungry, and I really only want one thing.”

You do as he says and excitedly get on the bed and wait for him while he showers. Harry makes sure he’s all clean and comes out to you. He gets on the bed and hovers over you. He kisses your lips and then makes his way down your chest. He takes your nipple between his teeth before sucking on your breast.

“Ah.” Your head rolls back while he sucks on one and kneads the other.

He makes his way to suck on the other, wanting to give equal attention. He kisses down your chest and belly. He kisses one of your hips and sucks on the skin harshly letting it go with a pop. He spreads your legs apart and dives in. He licks a flat tripe up from your center to your clit. He laps at your folds and sucks where he pleases. His tongue goes up inside you while his thumb works your clit. He was really taking his time, only make small, slow circles. Your chest was rising and falling rapids. When he wraps his mouth around your clit, your hands fly to his hair. His middle and forefinger plunge inside you, going in knuckle deep.

“Shit.” He looks up at you while your eyes are rolled back.

He took a great deal of satisfaction knowing that even though in a few minutes you’d totally be in charge, but no matter what he’d always be the one in control. If he really wanted to he could fuck you so hard you wouldn’t be able to walk for a week, let alone stand.

He curls his fingers up inside you while the tip of his tongue flicks back and forth against your swollen nub. You tug at his hair harder. He feels you start to clench around his fingers as he hits that spongy spot you love so much.

“Harry.” You moan. You moan his name over over until you’re coming. He takes his fingers out of you and slips his tongue back inside to suck on you. He wanted all you’d give him. “Fuck.” You were out of breath.

He sits up between your legs and wipes chin with the back of his hand.

“Go get the towel and the lube.” He says to you.

You practically squeal while you grab everything. You lay the towel down for him and he sits on top of it.

“Are you sure it won’t be easier on your stomach?”

“No, I want to be able to look at you while you do it. I’ll just hold my legs up like last time.”

“Okay. I’m just gonna blow you for a few minutes first.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You smile and lick up his shaft. You wrap your lips around his tip and slide down. His hips buck up slightly. He felt like he could explode at any second. Going down on you really got him going. Your tongue slides back forth on his slit, lapping up at his precome.

“Shit.” He groans. One of your hands cradles his balls and massages them lightly. “So good, babe.”

You come off him with a popping sound. You grab the lube and put some on your fingers. You warm it up as best you can. You look at him.

“All clean right?”

“Mhm, I sprayed the water right up in there.” You both giggle.

“Okay.”

You lean up and press your forehead against his while he hooks his arms under his knees to give you better access. Your finger tip lightly grazes around him. You start laughing and so does he.

“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous.” You look at him.

“I am too, it’s okay. We can laugh through it, we don’t need to be so serious. S’kinda funny anyways.”

“Yeah, like, my bare finger is gonna go into your ass.”

“Yup.” You both laugh again. “Hold on, before you push in, just like squirt some of th lube directly on me.”

“Won’t that be too cold?”

“It’s fine, I’ll adjust.”

You grab the bottle and put it directly on him. He clenches at how cool it is but he relaxes again. You kiss him as you lightly play with his hole, getting him to relax more and more. Eventually you start to push your middle finger inside of him. He winces at first.

“Nail’s a little long.”

“Shit, I should have clipped them.”

“S’okay, just be careful.”

You continue to kiss him and you feel him relax around you as your finger goes in deeper. There was so much trust between the two of you and you were so happy. You get it all the way in and you pause.

“What should I do now? Curl it up? Move it?”

“Bring it out all the way slowly, put more lube on, and then put it back in.”

You nod and do just that. Eventually you’re able to get a second finger in, and he seems to be enjoying it by the way his cock twitches.

“Doing okay, Harry?”

“Mhm.” Beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead. “Doesn’t feel too bad actually. DO you wanna get the plug now, think I’m stretched out enough.”

“Yeah!” You pull your fingers out of him. “I’m just gonna go wash my hands, one second.” You race into the bathroom and scrub your fingers quickly. You return with the plug in your hand. You get it lubed up and start to push it inside him.

He gasps but relaxes. You had done a pretty good job of stretching him out. Once you get it all the way in, you focus your attention on his cock. You wrap your mouth around his dripping tip and suckle on it.

“Did you…did you wanna try…” He was panting. You look up at him and you can’t help but smile at the beautiful blush covering his cheeks.

“What is it, Harry? Tell me what you want.” You coo as you pump his dick.

“The, uh, you know…the dildo.”

“Babe, it doesn’t have a base.”

“So tie somethin’ around the end of it.”

“Is that safe?”

“I just…I need somethin’ to go deeper.” Your mouth falls open and then you bite your bottom lip.

“Okay, don’t be mad, but I did buy something else.”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t done this in a while and I didn’t want you to get freaked out.”

You get off the bed and go into the back of your closet. You grab a bag and your hands shake as you take the item in it out.

“Oh.”

“I…I’m a little nervous to put it on. Is this going to be weird for you?”

“I think we’ve crossed the point of weird, don’t you?” He chuckles.

“But it’s going to be me…with a penis.”

“Not really. Let’s just remember to laugh, okay?”

“Okay.”

You slip it on over yourself and you look at him.

“Straps around your ass look nice.”

“Stop” You laugh. “Should I put a condom on it?”

“Um, I think just the lube should be fine.”

“Okay.”

You take a deep breath and get on the bed. You carefully pull the plug out of him.

“You’re about this, we don’t have to do this, Harry.”

“No, I want to.”

“Not just because I want to?”

“Y/N…” He cups your cheek with his hand. “If you’re too nervous, we don’t have to go this far tonight. I’m honestly okay.”

“Alright.”

You take the lube and squirt it into your hand. You rub it all over the dildo attached to the strap.

“Ready?”

“Mhm.” He keeps his legs held back for you as you slowly slip inside him. He lets out a deep breath and relaxes as much as he can.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“How does it…how does it feel?”

“Lotta pressure.” He says through gritted teeth. He looks up at you and smirks.

“What?” You start chuckling.

“You just look…sexy, I don’t know how to describe it.”

“It is pretty hot isn’t it?”

“Little bit, yeah.” He relaxes more and you’re able to fit the whole thing inside him. “Holy shit.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, opposite of hurt.”

“Oh! Maybe I hit your prostate.”

“Look at that, you’re a natural.” You both laugh.

You starts to pull out a little and you get some more lube on the dildo to add to his comfort. You thrust back in slowly and he lets out another breath. Eventually it actually starts to feel really good for him. You pump his cock while you go in and out of him. Keeping your eyes on his face the whole time to make sure he’s alright.

“You’re doing so well, Harry. How’s it feel, am I making you feel good?” The tip of the dildo keeps brushing against just where he needs it to, and your hand wrapped around hip, thumb working his tip, was pushing him over the edge.”

“I think I’m gonna come.” He gasps. “Oh my goooodd, please let me come on your tits.”

His moans were really getting to you. You angle his dick towards his chest, and with a couple final pumps and thrusts he was coming all over you.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He groans.

You both take a second to catch your breaths. You slowly slide out of him and take the strap off. His legs fall onto the bed. A lot of the lube comes out of him, but you try not to look. You straddle his hips and hover over him. You hug him close to you, neither of you really caring about how messy everything is.

“Are you okay? You did so good, sooo good Harry.” You give him gentle kisses on lips and cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, we don’t ever have to do it again if you didn’t like it.”

“Babe.” He says breathlessly. “I’m good.” He cups your cheeks in his hands and brings you down to kiss him. “We can do it again.”

“Really? It felt that good?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard.” You smile at him. “And you looked…I mean…it was hot.” You kiss him again. “Not an all the time thing though…maybe for like…special occasions?”

“Sure! How ‘bout if you’re in the mood for it, you tell me.”

“That sounds like a good deal.”

“How are your legs, you had them up for a while?”

“They’re fine, just tired. I feel like I have a whole new respect for what I put your body through all the time.” You giggle and kiss him.

“Would you like me to draw us a bath? Get all clean and cozy?”

“Yeah, I think that would be nice.”

“Okay.”

You climb off him and he watches you go into the bathroom. His asshole was on fire, but he couldn’t muster the energy to care. He was exhausted. You throw a bath bomb into the water and the room fills with the smell of cinnamon and apples.

“Baby? Tub’s all filled.”

“Okay.” He swings his legs over the edge of the bed and you help him up.

“I’ll clean the bed up when we’re done.”

“Alright.”

He lets you get into the water first so he can sit in front of you. He leans his head back against your shoulder and closes his eyes. He just needed some time to come back. You massaged his scalp and peppered light kisses to his temple.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, baby?” You coo.

“Do you think you’ll ever want to try it?” He tilts his head to look at you. “M’just curious.”

“I…don’t know. Maybe. I could try the plug some time I suppose.”

“Only if you want.”

“We’ll see.” You smile and he nestles back down. “So…did it hurt at all?”

“Um, it’s not that it hurt, it was mostly like discomfort for a little bit. But then it sort of just started to feel good, I can’t explain it. You were really careful with me, I appreciate it.” He takes of your hands and kisses the back of it.

“I love you, Harry.”

“I love you too.” He sighs happily.

“Wanna watch a movie tonight? We could get cozy on the sofa in our robes, and I could do your nails for you, and I could pop some popcorn.”

“I will never say no to you offering to do my nails, that all sounds great.”

Harry gets into his robe and meets you to the sofa after you’ve cleaned the bedroom. You come over with some popcorn and a couple of beers. You let him pick through your polish colors, and you let him pick the movie. Believe it or not he really wanted to watch To All The Boys I Loved Before.

“Read the book when I was younger.”

“Don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

You take his old polish off and file his nails. You end up painting them a nice pastel blue and purple.

“How’s it look?”

“Perfect, thank you.” You lean in to kiss him.

“You’re more than welcome.”

“Now, come lay with me so I can spoon you. Time to may some attention to the other bum in this house.”

You giggle and lay down with him, one of his legs slipping between you. He holds onto you and you both enjoy the movie. When you think about what had happened only an hour or so prior, you feel like anyone on the outside looking in would think it was weird. Or that maybe Harry wasn’t as into women as he led on. But you knew none of that was the case. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought because it wasn’t weird for either of you. And if there was one thing Harry loved, it was a vagina. It wasn’t really about him needing or wanting something up his butt. It was about the two of you exploring something together, and seeing where the journey took you.

You roll onto your back and he looks down at you with an eyebrow raised.

“I love you.” You say.

“I love you too.” He says back, and gives you a tender kiss.

Even though he had just been freshly fucked, and he honestly still looked like it, he had caught a second wind. Before you knew it the two of you were giggling with your legs over his shoulders while he fucked you on the sofa. Yup, he still had complete control.

[shinsorokiri]

UA Idol | Chapter One

Hitoshi Shinsou x Reader

Word Count: 2,058

Warnings: Language, big anxiety

A/N: So here’s chapter one! This is the first My Hero fic I’ve ever written and published, so I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it! Now, there’s gonna be a lot of chapters. I’m not sure how many yet, but it will be updated every week, so every Saturday (where I live) is when I will upload! There will also be a tag list, so let me know if you would like to be on it. I have a lot of ideas for this, and I hope I’m able to translate them through writing. Anyways, please enjoy!

UA Idol Masterlist

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You anxiously picked at the number stickered onto your thigh. “Mina, I really don’t think I should be here, this is a lot,” you mumble, motioning your head to the camera crew in front of you setting up. “Oh shush, (Y/n/n). The only reason they’re interviewing us is because we’re cute and are friends and they’re hoping one of us will get through while the other doesn’t and there will be drama, and we both know that if that happens there will only be support. Although I think we’ll both get through. You especially.” You snort at her enthusiasm and shake your head. “Definitely not, but okay. Whatever you say.”

“Okay! Give us your name and where you two are from and if you have any specific reason you’re here.”

“Well, I’m Mina and I’m from Tokyo, and this is (Y/n) and she’s from (hometown). We’re actually roommates and best friends, not to brag, but I’m really here to support her! She’s amazing!”

“Literally shut up, Mina you’re better than me,” you mumble, rolling your eyes at your enthusiastic best friend. “I most definitely am not! Besides, this is a great fuck you to your ex. You know the one who told you that you would never be able to become a singer and shit on you every opportunity he got.”

“Yeah. Thank you for bringing him up.”

“Yes! Thank you for bringing him up! Could you talk about him a little more? If that’s okay?”

You stare at the producer and sigh. “Yeah. Sure, whatever. I had a boyfriend a while back who didn’t support me in my artsy ways. Since he was older, he would always make sure I knew that he thought it was a childish hobby, and that I should grow up and do something that I would actually be able to survive on. He kind of ruined my love for music, but after he broke up with me, I got it back since it was how I coped with it.”

“So, you’re here to get back at him? Show him what you’re made of?”

“Well, no... but that would be pretty dope, not gonna lie, he can go fuck himself,” you say, with a small smirk on your face. After a few more questions about your ex-boyfriend and yours and Mina’s crippling student debt, the producers wander off to someone else. “They are totally using your story for television,” Mina says, and you scoff. “They only use stories for people who they want the audience to vote for, I know how these shows work,” you say, glancing around and having your eyes land on the next poor soul the producers trapped. Looked like it was a very sleepy purple haired e-boy. Damn. He’d for sure make it through if this competition was based off of looks alone. How the hell were you supposed to compete with people who looked like that. “I don’t think I should be here, Mina,” you mumble, tearing your eyes away from him. Unbeknownst to you your gaze was replaced by his as his quick little interview ended. “What? (Y/n), stop with that! What were you just looking at that made you even think that?” Mina asks, frantically searching around. “Well the producers were-”

“Oh my god! Denki?! (Y/n), that’s one of the guys I was really good friends with when we were in high school, come on you have to meet him,” Mina cuts you off, literally dragging you over. “Mina?! Why didn’t you tell me you were gonna be here?! We have phones you know,” You watch the blonde with a black streak in his hair tackle your best friend in a hug with an unamused expression. You didn’t want to meet anyone. You were tired. The anxiety of this situation kept you up all night long. Then again, staying up all night was normal for you. At least you looked bomb though. You felt the burning sensation of someone staring at you, so naturally you turn your head in that direction. Your eyes were met with the back of the purple haired boys messy head, but no one was looking though, so you shrug it off. Probably someone just scoping out the competition or something. “Denki, this is-”

“Contestants number 14788 and 14789? Follow me please,” a producer cuts off Mina and you feel a wave of anxiety wash over you. You grip the neck of your guitar tighter than you had been gripping it before. It’s not performing that makes you nervous, it’s performing in front of the panel of world-renowned judges that makes you nervous. And try as you might you can’t hide it. “Oh, shit, sorry Denki, I’ll talk to you after, okay? See ya!”

“Break a leg, Mina,” Denki says as Mina links arms with you and pulls you along with her happy steps. “I’ll introduce him to you after we both make it, I wanna know more about his friend anyways, so he better not leave until I interrogate him,” she starts rambling and you laugh a bit. “Awww, does Mina have a crush on the purple haired boy? Pink and purple go well together, you know.”

“No, she doesn’t. She thinks that you would look great with him though.”

“No. Not happening.”

“Come on, (Y/n), you gotta put yourself out there! It’s been two whole years since he who shall not be named broke up with you, you can-”

“Mina. Drop it. Please.”

“…Okay. So, I’m going first. hopefully I come out with a golden ticket, but if I don’t don’t let that psych you out, okay? You got this you crazy talented bitch,” Mina says, trying to lighten the mood. She knows you don’t want to be in a relationship ever again after what happened with your ex, but she can’t help it. She loves playing matchmaker and she just wants you to be happy. Recently you’ve been a little sadder the usual, so she’s concerned. It was like she turned back time to when you two first moved into your apartment and you were dealing with school and your douche of an ex. She knows you find Denki’s friend attractive, he’s 100% your type and you two would look amazing as a couple. Not to mention that his friend just so happened to be staring at you at any moment you weren’t looking in his general direction. Not able to read her mind going 100 miles a minute, you just nod at her words as you come face to face with the most famous emcee there is. Hizashi Yamada. Better known as his stage name, Present Mic, PM for short. “HELLO!!! You two look amazing! You ready to become the next UA Idol or what?!” he says, way too enthusiastically. You always wondered just how loud he was in real life, and he rivals Mina. That’s saying something. “I’m totally ready!” she responds, and you laugh at PM’s face when he realizes she’s just as loud, if not louder, than him. “So, you’re both auditioning, right? Are you going together? Separate?”

“Separate, we’re just here to wait outside for moral support,” Mina responds, and he nods. “Awesome! Well, tell me your names! If you two get through to Hell Week there’s a good chance you’ll be televised, so I would like to just talk for a minute!” he says, and you both introduce yourselves again. “Amazing! I’m assuming you two are great friends, I mean you must be pretty important to each other to have it just be you two with no partners or family or anything coming. Reminds me of me and Aizawa!”

“Yeah, but we’re just best friends actually! And roommates, we moved here away from our families and we’re both single, so all we have is each other,” Mina says, pulling you into a quick little squeeze. Present Mic screams something about how adorable that was before wishing Mina luck and sending her in. Shockingly, you’re both quiet as you hear her audition begin, and unsurprisingly, she flawlessly hits all the notes in Lady Marmalade. Her voice isn’t only loud when she talks, after all. PM’s eyes go big as he points at the door, looking at you and mouthing “She’s really good!” You just grin and nod. This isn’t news to you. After hearing her blast Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey all the time and belting out their runs and matching their high notes for about three years, it’s not shocking to you how great she can sing this song. Eventually, her singing stops, and PM waits a minute or two before he begins talking again, not necessarily quiet, but quieter than before. “I did not expect that kind of soul to come out of that little body of hers!”

“Yeah, she can be unpredictable like that... now imagine living with her,” you mumble, half kidding and half serious, but he laughs at that. Loudly. Not even a moment later, Mina walks through the doors and violently shakes the ticket in her hand at you. “I DID IT! I DID IT, KICK ASS, TAKE NAMES, AND MAKE SURE YOU COME TO HELL WEEK WITH ME SO YOU’RE NOT ALONE AT THE APARTMENT FOR A WHOLE WEEK!”

“I won’t be alone; Nyx will be there she is great company.”

“(Y/n), she is a black cat.”

“She is our third roommate and you will treat her as such,” you point your finger at her before PM gives you the clear to go in the room. “Make sure to hit your mark! That’s the tape shaped like a T on the floor! Break a leg,” he says, giving you two thumbs up. You nervously make your way through the short hallway, eventually landing right smack in the middle of the room. You make sure to hit the mark, as PM instructed, and you need to tell yourself to calm down as you look at four of the most influential people in music. In front of you sat Shouta Aizawa, Keigo Takami, Nemuri Kayama, and Toshinori Yagi.

Better known as just Aizawa, a well-known singer-songwriter. He stays behind the scenes mostly, and the rumor is he’s written over 20,000 songs for himself as well as other artists. The majority of course go to other artists, as he isn’t a big fan of all the fame and things, but the few albums he’s put out have some of your favorite songs ever written. He’s genuinely someone you’ve been looking up to for years upon years.

Then there’s Keigo Takami, who is known as Hawks. He chose his stage name because he’s always admired the strength and freedom of hawks and he decided that he wanted to be the same way. And he is, he literally can do everything. Every song of his sounds different, varying from rock to country. A lot of people really support his country music considering he calls his fans his chickadees. People just think it fits. The genre he seems to gravitate toward the most is definitely more of a rock vibe, even having his own band. And yes, the band’s emblem is a pair of red wings.

Next to him is Nemuri Kayama, or Midnight. She’s a world-famous popstar, but she makes sure to include some soul sounding belts in every single one of her songs. She’s Mina’s literal idol, and the amount of times you’ve had to listen to Midnight’s songs? So many. So many times. Not that you were complaining, her voice is amazing. You just wished she didn’t sing about love and sex all the fucking time.

And finally, there’s Toshinori Yagi. People tend to shorten his name to Nori, but he���s the most famous judge here. Not only does he own the All Might Record Label, he has won 11 Grammys, his music is played everywhere all the time, and he manages some of the biggest stars today. Unlike his rival record company, Endeavor Records, it’s said that Toshinori is ridiculously nice as well as a little strange, but in comparison to Enji Todoroki? The nicest man to walk the planet. 100%. Not to mention he’s also a singer himself. His songs are instant smashes, and everyone loves his voice. Even if he isn’t mean, he’s so ridiculously powerful in the business.

To say you were intimidated was an understatement.

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 18 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hieeee babies! We are so excited to share this very dramatic chapter with you! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Monday morning madness when Violet discovered that Courtney screwed up the Fashion Week confirmations.  

This Chapter: Courtney faces the music, we meet a very determined reporter, and Violet loses her shit.

***

“Hey gorgeous! To what do we owe the honor of this visit?” Alaska asked cheerfully.

Courtney stepped forward, into Alaska’s office. Even the charming decor, which usually filled Courtney with happiness, did nothing to alleviate the guilt that was pressing down on her lungs.

“I have to tell you something.”

“Shit, sounds serious,” Alaska said. “Okay, have a seat.”

Courtney sat, biting her trembling lip and taking in a shaky, shallow breath.

“They didn’t send you down here to fire me, did they?” Alaska giggled, then realized that Courtney wasn’t laughing along and grew slightly more somber, folding her hands. “What’s wrong, honey?”

She was just so nice, and it made Courtney hate herself even more.

“I...really messed up.”

“How so?” Alaska looked genuinely concerned, which only made Courtney feel worse.

“Um…” There was no way around it except biting the bullet. “I was handling the Fashion Week confirmations, but…” Courtney took a deep breath. “I missed some of the tabs on the spreadsheet, and so I didn’t reach out to people until this morning and some of them have taken other jobs.”

“You ‘missed tabs’?” Alaska repeated, her voice filled with disbelief.

“Yeah, I just...I didn’t see that there was more than one, so-”

Alaska sighed heavily, letting out a small, aggravated sound, before asking, “So then...okay, how bad is it?”

“Um…”

“How many people are unavailable, Courtney?”

Courtney handed over the pages in her hands, unable to look Alaska in the eye. She just couldn’t face the disappointment and anger that she knew would be on her face right now. She pressed her lips together, still trying to hold back the flood of tears, cheeks burning hot with shame, as Alaska looked over the lists.

“Jesus christ…” she muttered, then picked up the phone. “Kim? Hi, it’s me. Sooooo, there was a bit of a snafu with some of the Fashion Week staff and we need to pull names for alternates...Uh huh...Probably at least 15—...I know, I know. I’m sorry, this is...Yeah, you know what? Get me some recommendations from Yara Sofia, and I’ll see who’s working some of the shows 2 days before...Yeah, let’s make some calls and then reconvene in 30...Okay...Yeah, I get it, I’m sorry...Bye.”

“I’m so sorry, Alaska,” Courtney said. “I don’t know how I could have been so careless. But...please just tell me what I can do to help you guys-”

“I think you’ve done enough. You should go.”

Courtney nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat and standing up. Telling herself that she just had to get to the bathroom before letting any tears fall.

Without another word, she turned and ran, racing blindly for the nearest restroom, where she locked herself into a stall and finally let herself fall apart, crying like the useless baby that she was. What was she doing in this job? Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to trust her with so many important tasks for such a huge company? How come, no matter how hard she tried, she was just never able to stay on top of it all?

A few minutes later, she heard the door open and heels click softly as they walked towards her.

She tried to get ahold of herself, especially once she saw the houndstooth pumps under the stall door, but it was no use.

“Courtney.”

“Y-yes?”

“This sucks. Okay? And it’s gonna be a huge headache to fix, and just something we really didn’t need today on top of everything else we’re dealing with—”

“I know,” Courtney said, breath hitching.

“—but...we’ll manage. Okay? So stop beating yourself up, and just do better in the future. I know you can.” Alaska paused before adding, “You’re better than this one mistake.”

Something about her kindness, even after all that, made Courtney lose it even more. A sob escaped her chest, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Enough of this, okay?” Alaska said. “Take a minute, then wash your face and come back to my office. I have a job for you.”

***

Courtney knocked tentatively on Alaska’s open door. She’d managed to pull herself together, and though everything in head was screaming to turn and run--from this company, from this job, from the silly dreams that kept her in this country--she’d forced herself to return and face the music.

“Sit.” Alaska pointed to a spot on the sofa, where a phone and a blank notepad were lined up on the coffee table. “Violet said that we could borrow you for the afternoon, so you can help us get out of this mess. I’ve emailed you the contact info for a bunch of makeup artists and hairstylists. You need to find out their availability, and if they have recommendations. If they’re free, tell them we’ll return with confirmation and a deal memo by the end of the day.”

Courtney nodded, sitting down and eagerly getting to work, relieved that she could have a small part of the solution.

“And Courtney…”

“Yes?” Courtney looked back up at her.

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Not Violet,” Courtney muttered, almost as a reflex, and Alaska burst out laughing.

“Are you kidding? Violet’s been here for over a year now, but when she first got the job, that office was a mess. Everyonemakes mistakes. Trust me. The real test is what you do afterwards.”

“Thanks, Alaska,” said Courtney, looking up at her with a smile for the first time all day.

“No problem. Now get to work!”

Courtney grinned, lifting the receiver and dialing the first number on her list. It took them almost 4 hours (and a bribe from Kim’s favorite sushi place to keep everyone working through lunch), but they eventually found people for all of the positions. When they finally finished, Courtney headed back upstairs to print out all the signed deal memos and update the spreadsheet with their new staff.

Violet was gone, having accompanied Fame to a meeting at Saks, but she’d left something wonderful behind on Courtney’s desk—not one, but two Fashion Week party invitations, with a yellow Post-It note with the word “sorry” written on it.

Courtney picked up her phone, sending a text to Violet with just the word ‘thanks.’

***

Willam hated his boss.

He hadn’t always. When he first got the job at OK!, Detox had been almost like a hero to him. But as the months wore on, and story after story got tossed or ripped to shreds or cut down to a two-line caption for some stupid photo collage, the resentment had built up to the point where he felt physical anger every time he saw Detox, or his stupid face, or his hideous yellow hair.

It just wasn’t fair. Willam knew that he was a more talented reporter, and a smarter person, than anyone else on staff. But in the meeting today, Rhea’s idiotic idea about a spread on celebrity foodstagrams had gotten praise, whereas he’d gotten chewed out, treated like garbage, all for pursuing a story that Detox failed to understand. Or worse, was actively trying to cover up.

“Hey bro. You alright?” Rhea asked, poking her head in the door.

“No. And fuck off,” Willam spat, turning to his computer.

“Ooh, someone’s maaad…” Rhea didn’t take the hint at all, slipping into the office and shutting the door behind her.

“I mean it, Rhea, get the fuck out of here.”

“Awww, it’s okay. I can handle your wittle tantrum, baby,” she said mockingly. “You need a snacky? Juice box? A wittle baby nappy?”

She reached forward to tousle his hair, and he pushed her away, eyes blazing with anger.

“This is bullshit and you know it!” he exclaimed.

“Bro, it’s not that big of a deal. Just drop it and find a different story to work on.” Rhea yawned, examining her nails.

“But I’m finally getting somewhere!”

“Are you? Because you said you’d hit a dead end with that sexy lesbian-”

“Sure. Pearl was a dead end. But-”

“Tragic,” Rhea clucked. “I could have made magic with her…” She punctuated her statement with an extremely lewd tongue gesture.

“Gross. And fine, yes, she didn’t give me anything, but-”

“And Detox literally told you 5 times that there’s no story there.”

“Exactly, Rhea! So what’s he trying to cover up? He obviously didn’t like that I was getting too close to something big. You know he’s friends with her.”

“Sure...but even if you’re right, then what?” Rhea said. “Say you find some crazy dirt, you really think he’ll publish it?”

“I think that if I find some crazy dirt, Detox fucking Sanderson won’t matter. I’ll be able to sell the story anywhere.”

Rhea chuckled, shaking her head.

“Alright, but you haven’t found anything yet. So what’s your next move, champ? Because so far you’ve got nothing.”

“I got a new mark…” He pulled up a folder of photos on his computer. “Look.”

Rhea looked, head tilted, a puzzled expression on her face.

“These are just pictures of Fame. What am I looking at? You have lost it, bro”

“Look closer. See the chick who’s behind her in every photo?” Willam zoomed in on a striking but clearly camera-shy brunette.

“Okay...her assistant? And?”

“Exactly. And assistants know all their boss’s dirt. But it’s not her I’m after.” Willam clicked through a few more photos, finally finding the one he was looking for. “Bingo.”

In this picture, the brunette was nowhere to be found, but an adorable, bewildered looking blonde was standing behind Fame in a pretty little mint green dress, bogged down with bags.

“A different assistant. Hashtag who cares?”

“A new assistant, Rhea. And new means vulnerable. Trust me...that girl? Is my ticket to aaalllll the dirt.”

***

Pearl opened the door to Laganja’s office, her hands filled with boxes upon boxes of invitations to Fashion Week shows and parties.

Fashion Week was a beast, Fashion Month was a monster. Fame was traveling to London as soon as New York was over, Milan and then Paris following, the prep work to get all of that ready always a struggle. Her assistants bore the brunt of it, Fame’s expensive taste and particular likes and dislikes not changing just because she was on another continent.

Pearl however, had a job to do too. As boss in the social media department, it was Pearl’s job to decide which shows, parties and events would be worth covering for their social media, and what different employees of Galactica should show up to, to best feature and nourish their brand in all four cities.

“Ready to crunch down?”

“I was born ready, mama.”

***

“I have Fame for Raja,” Violet said into the phone, her finger was on the button, ready to patch the call through.

“Oh, sorry. Raja’s in the conference room!” Ivy was always so cheerful, and for the hundredth time Violet wondered how she did it. “She’s working on the model castings. Should I interrupt?”

Violet bit her lip. Fame hated when she was bogged down by unimportant details, but she hated it even more when decisions were made without her.

“Hang on.” Violet clicked back over to Fame. “Raja is working on model casting in the conference room. Should I interrupt?”

“Where is my fruit salad?”  

“On it’s way Miss.” Violet glanced at Courtney’s empty seat, checking her watch. She’d never understand how Courtney could be so slow at everything she did.

“Well hurry up.” Fame hung up, and the line went dead. Violet quickly pressed back to her call with Ivy, wondering to herself if she should text Courtney to speed it along with the food. Not that it would do any good. The last time she sent that message, she got a glib response along the lines of ‘I’ll tell them to chop faster.’

“No need to interru-”

“Violet.” The door to the office opened, and Fame sailed out, snapping her fingers. “Come.”

Violet hung up right away, knowing that Ivy would understand as she grabbed her notebook and phone. By the time she caught up, Miss Fame was already halfway to the conference room.

Shit. She really should have predicted this.

Fame wanted to be involved, no decision too small if it’s subject caught her attention.

Violet tried to text Courtney, a quick shoe emoji to Ivy telling her they were on their way, as she hurried along, making sure the clack of her heels matched Fame’s perfectly so her boss wouldn’t get annoyed at the dual sounds.

As they walked past the glass wall in the conference room, Violet glanced inside.

Raja was sitting at the table. She was wearing a purple silk shirt, heavy gold decorating her ears, fingers and neck, her hair collected in a high ponytail. Trixie was there too, his sweatshirt of the day a bubblegum pink number.

The table was filled with black portfolio folders, and Violet recognized about fifty model cards that were spread out amongst the polaroids of their finished looks.

Violet was just about to get in front of Fame, so she could hold the conference room door open, when she felt her stomach drop.

Right there, at the opposite end of the table, was Sutan.

He was stunning in burgundy, his entire attention focused on his sister as he was talking to her, Raja laughing at something he said.

Sutan hadn’t spotted her yet, but Violet wanted to cry. There was no way she could hide, nowhere to escape to, the other without a doubt recognizing her the minute she stepped inside, and then it’d all be over.

Violet could feel her throat close up, panic clawing at her chest.

“Miss-”

Fame turned to look at her, Violet not even recognizing that she was the one who had called for her boss’s attention.

“I-” Violet was blank. Completely blank.

“I don’t have all day, Violet.”

“I’m going to go get your food.”

“Fine.”

Violet had no idea where it had come from, but Fame turned away from her, clearly dismissing her and blessedly leaving her outside of the conference room.

“Tantan! Were you really going to come by without saying hi-”

The door to the conference room closed, cutting the sound of Fame’s voice off, and Violet did the only thing she could think of.

She ran.

Slamming the door to the office closed helped a little, but her heart was still in her throat. She checked her hair and makeup in her black computer screen, yanking off her ID card and smoothing down her dress over and over again as she walked in a small circle, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Violet?”

Courtney came in through the door, the blonde holding the promised fruit salad in her hand, and for the first time, Violet felt relief course through her body at the sight of her.

“Are you okay?” Courtney asked.

Violet was utterly screwed, but maybe, just maybe, she would be able to pull off the impossible.

All she needed was for Courtney to follow her instructions perfectly.

“Fame is in the conference room for a meeting.”

“So why aren’t you there? Is everything alright?” Courtney’s brow furrowed.

It was a fair question, but it was also a fair question Violet wasn’t going to answer.

“I need you to bring her the food, and take notes.”

“What? Are you sick?”

Violet had started to trust Courtney more and more, but she still hadn’t allowed her to even attempt to take down Fame’s rapid fire orders during meetings, forgetting something at one of those a fatal mistake.

“Go. Now. Please.”

Courtney looked at her like she was insane, but she quickly plated the fruit, grabbed a roll of silverware, her notebook and phone, and hurried to the conference room.

***

Courtney entered the conference room, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible as she set Fame’s bowl of fruit down in front of her, along with the wrapped silverware. She opened her notebook, trying to find a place to stand where she wouldn’t be in the way.

Should she sit? She’d never been present in this room for a meeting where she had nothing to do but listen. It seemed inappropriate somehow to sit down beside Fame at the table, but also weird to be standing behind her, especially since the table was mostly empty.

Courtney vaguely remembered seeing assistants stand along the wall, so she did just that.

Everyone around the table was talking animatedly, Raja and Fame so firm in their opinions it almost sounded like they were fighting, but Courtney couldn’t focus on them or what they were saying.

All she could think about was Violet.

Courtney had never seen her coworker so visibly flustered.

Eyes wild, cheeks red, voice cracking.

She had looked like she was in genuine distress, and something told her that she should just forget about this impromptu meeting and go back to check on Violet.

After all, Fame could easily call her back if she needed something, right?

On the other hand, Violet had ordered her in no uncertain terms to stay with Fame, and there was a chance that whatever was upsetting her would be worse if she had the added stress of being worried about her boss. So Courtney supposed that she should just stay and do what she was told. She tried to follow the conversation about models, taking what notes she could manage. The good news was, nobody seemed to notice or care that she was there, so she assumed that her position near the door, back pressed against the wall, had been the right move.

“You’re blind.”

“It’s an opinion.”

“Trixie, not now darling. Why are all of these- Sutan where is that model I like?”

“I’m going to need a bit more information to go on if you want my help.”

“Who was that model from that latest Vogue?” Fame asked, waving her hand in the air. “The one on my desk with the red?” When her boss tossed a questioning look over her shoulder, Courtney realized that this question must be directed at her.

““I-I’m not sure, Miss?” Was this the sort of thing Violet got asked and was expected to answer? “Would you like me to go get-”

“Ugh,” Fame let out an annoyed scoff, and seemed to only now realize that Courtney was the one who was there. “Where’s Violet?”

“She’s taking care of something in the office,” Courtney said quickly, not really lying through her teeth, though the thing Violet was taking care of most of all was that she looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Go tell her that if she enjoys her job,” Fame said slowly, “she’ll get back here immediately.”

Courtney hesitated for a split second before Fame snapped her fingers, adding, “Now!”

“Yes, Miss!” Courtney said, rushing from the room.

***

Violet was trying desperately to stay calm. She was pacing the office, her brain working in overdrive, her fingers tugging at her skirt.

Violet was no stranger to digging her own grave, but this was an especially deep one, and she wasn’t sure if she could get out.

Under normal circumstances, Violet would run away. She’d burn the bridge, never look back, and walk away from her mistake, but she didn’t want to walk away from Sutan.

She hadn’t lied to him, not exactly, but she still wanted to cry.

Sutan was everything she could ask for, not because he earned more money a month than Violet would in a year, even as a designer, not because of his connections and how he seemed to know everyone who was anything.

No. So far, Sutan had been perfect because of how he acted. He was attentive and kind, respecting Violet’s boundaries without any kind of fight. It felt like he was interested in what she was saying, his eyes lighting up in delight when she shared her opinion.

Violet had no idea why he seemed to like her so much, why he chose to spend time with her and he could have anyone he pointed at, pretty girl after pretty girl probably standing in line to hang on his arm, but somehow, he had chosen her.

There was no way, however, no way at all, that he’d want to continue that when he found out who she really was.

When he saw that she was nothing more than an assistant, who couldn’t even do her job right.

“Um…”

Violet turned around to see Courtney in the doorway.

“I’m really sorry, Violet, but Miss Fame asked for you.”

That was it then. Violet was dead. Her plan had failed, and she had to face the music. She gathered her things, nausea rumbling in her stomach.

“I can tell her you’re sick.”

Violet looked over her shoulder at Courtney who was still standing by the door, a lock of blonde hair twisted around her finger, her lip between her teeth.

“Whatever you want,” she added.

Courtney was a ridiculously good friend, and Violet snorted, the harsh sound betraying how utterly fucked she felt.

“She asked something about a model in the Vogue on her desk, so I can just go get-”

“Jourdan Dunn?” Violet had no idea why Courtney didn’t know that, Fame actually mentioning the model by name one day when Violet had brought her a coffee.

“Great!” Courtney scribbled the name down. “If you need to go, like to the doctor or something, you should go. I’ll message you if anything comes up, or leave you alone completely if that’s what you need, just tell me-”

Violet was pretty sure Courtney had no idea what she had just offered, the blonde in no way ready to run the office on her own.

“No.”

Violet could feel green eyes on her, Courtney watching her every move.

“I’ll go.”

Violet took a deep breath, grabbed her things from the desk and said a slight prayer before she made her way to the conference room, already mourning her lost relationship with Sutan as she closed the door behind her.

***

Sutan was drumming his fingers against the table, a half finished bottle of pellegrino in front of him. He had perked up immediately when Fame had said Violet’s name, the anonymous blonde disappearing to go get her.

He had texted Violet as soon as he had gotten the email from Raja that she wanted him at Galactica, and that she wanted him there now, but as always, she hadn’t seen his message yet.

“I like your new bag, Trixie-” Sutan smiled as he looked at Trixie who had gotten up to stretch, the man looking out the window. Trixie had a fanny pack hanging off of his hip, the cut a lot like what Sutan had seen the European male models run around with over their shoulders, but while theirs was black, Trixie’s was a hot pink and completely covered in jewels.

“Very very stylish.”

“Katya made it for me.”

Sutan wondered if he was supposed to know who Katya was, but Trixie seemed to love it, and fashion was fun at it’s core, or so he had been told.

Sutan was just about to get up himself for a stretch when Violet opened the door and stepped inside, a notebook in hand, her back completely straight.

She was just as pretty as always, an art printed poplin dress in white and light blue paired with a set of elegant heels, her black hair falling down her shoulders, a golden hair clip holding it in place.

He knew that Violet was a designer, but he was pleasantly surprised, and even a little proud, that she was apparently high enough on the food chain to be needed for a meeting like this. It was impressive, only 23, and already invaluable to senior management.

“Hello-“

“Glad you could finally grace us with your presence, Miss Chachki,” Fame drawled, looking bored and kind of impatient. “I need the name of the girl from Vogue, the one with the red-��

“Jourdan Dunn, Miss?”

“Yes!” Fame snapped her fingers. “Jourdan Dunn.”

“You want Jourdan? Now?” Sutan snorted. The model had been booked for months, and while he was very good at his job, he couldn’t make magic happen just because one of his friends changed her mind. “And would you like unicorns at your show as well-”

He was cut off as Raja kicked him under the table, his twin shooting him a serious look that told him to watch his mouth.

“You want someone like Jourdan.” Sutan put it down on the piece of paper in front of him. “Noted.”

“It suits our more tropical, garden-y type of theme for the collection,” Raja picked up a few girls, moving them over and into the approved pile. “Green does look wonderful on darker skin tones.”

Trixie, Fame and Raja chatted back and forth for a bit, Sutan at first caught up in their conversation, but as they started to discuss hairstyles, he zoned out. What they actually did with the models once they were booked was not his business, and while hair could be uncomfortable to endure, it was rarely a violation.

His attention wandered, his gaze settling on something much more interesting than clip on bangs.

Violet was standing against the wall, the woman writing away, noting down everything that was being said.

Sutan tried to catch her eye, tried to get Violet’s attention, but it almost felt like she was avoiding him completely, her gaze glued to her notes.

“Violet?”

Sutan was pulled out of his thoughts as Fame called Violet’s name.

“We need a round of coffees.”

Sutan’s brow furrowed, confused. Why would Miss Fame be sending a lead designer for coffees?

He looked around the room, only now realizing that the apparently useless blonde from earlier wasn’t in attendance anymore.

“Yes, Miss,” Violet said, voice so soft it was almost a whisper, before speaking up a bit more clearly. “What can I get for you all?”

“Hmm, mint tea would be great,” Raja said.

“Can I get an iced mocha with extra whip?” Trixie asked. Violet nodded, writing it down. “Thanks, you’re an angel.”

Violet finally looked Sutan in the eye for the first time all day.

“Anything for you… Sir?”

Sir? Violet had never called him sir, her brown eyes looking at him for the first time, and that was when it clicked. Fame wasn’t sending a designer out for coffees.

“Umh…” Sutan sat up in his chair, the whole situation absolutely bizarre. “No thanks.”

Violet nodded, the tears clear in her eyes as she turned towards the door, walking slowly and precisely. To anyone who didn’t know her, she seemed perfectly calm, but Sutan knew better.

“Please, Violet, continue to move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me,” Fame said drily, before turning her attention back to the model cards, pointing. “I like her…”

Sutan sat in his chair, a little dumbfounded. Violet was Fame’s assistant? Why hadn’t she told him that before? And why was she so upset? Nothing made sense at the moment.

“Hello? Tan?” Fame snapped her fingers, trying to get his attention.

“Yes?”

“Good lord, what is wrong with everyone today?” Fame tapped on one of the cards. “I want her. Trixie, don’t you think she’d be perfect for the resort look?”

“Her chest is a little flat.”

“But look at that waist! Those eyes! Sew some chicken cutlets into the top and she’ll be fine.”

“I can do that.” Trixie made a note.

“Put her on hold, Sutan,” Fame said, handing him the modeling card.

“Are you okay?” Raja asked, her head tilted in concern as she surveyed her brother up and down.

“Yes.” [Actually. No.] Sutan swallowed, his throat feeling as dry as sandpaper. [I need a-] “I need a minute to...excuse me.”

He rose from his chair, and Fame threw up her hands in exasperation.

“Is Mercury in retrograde?”

***

Courtney jumped up from her desk when Violet re-entered. She’d busied herself with updating the schedule and ordering office supplies, but found it impossible to concentrate when she was this worried. Something was really wrong with Violet, and even though Courtney didn’t know what, she felt awful just sitting here doing nothing.

“Violet!” Courtney rushed towards her. “Please tell me what’s wrong, are you-”

“I’m fine.” Violet pushed her way past her, tears falling from her eyes as she grabbed her jacket and her sunglasses, covering herself up so quickly Courtney almost doubted that she had even seen tears fall from Violet’s eyes before she grabbed for her keycard as well.

Courtney had never seen Violet like this before, had never seen her express any emotion beyond calm professionalism or indignant anger, so Violet’s tears shook her to the very core. She also seemed to be having trouble breathing, her skin red and blotchy.

“Please Violet, tell me what’s going on,” Courtney begged.

“Everything is fucked, that’s what’s wrong,” Violet hissed, the tinge of panic back in her voice. “I couldn’t even look at him! Couldn't even-”

“Couldn’t look at who?” Courtney racked her brain. She highly doubted that Trixie could be responsible for this reaction. The jovial head of design was everyone’s best friend, and she’d seen with her own eyes how much he respected Violet. So she must be talking about that other man, the tall one. Courtney’s eyes narrowed.  

*

“Couldn’t look at who?”

“Fuck!” Violet swore as she couldn’t get her stupid jacket to close properly. Her fingers felt numb, clumsy, useless, useless just like her, her mind spiraling, her world zoomed in on the button she couldn’t even manage to close, her mother's voice ringing in her ears, the sharp tone one she hadn't heard in months.

“Violet?”

Her mother would never call her Violet, the word said with a gentle question she knew Courtney could never manage.

Violet turned around, and right there, right in front of her, was Sutan.

*

Courtney twirled to the man who was standing in the door, fury welling up in her chest.

How dare he show up here in the office? She didn’t know what he'd done to Violet, but she could very well use her imagination.

She stepped between them, arms crossed, asking coldly, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” the man said, his voice annoyingly calm. “You can step away for a couple of minutes so that I can talk to Violet.”

“No, I’m sorry, that’s not going to be possible.” Courtney squared her shoulders, showing him she meant business.

The man let out a chuckle of disbelief before giving her a patient, charming smile.

“Listen, dear-”

“My name is not dear!” Courtney said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

He took a deep breath before trying a different tactic.

“Well, dear, I don’t know your name, but if you kindly fuck off for 5 minutes, then I’ll happily name my first born child after you.”

Courtney’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. She didn’t care, at the moment, if she got fired. She was not going to let this man intimidate her, or mess with Violet any more than he already had.

“I think you’re the one who needs to fuck off, sir. So back away right now or I’ll have to call securi-”

“Courtney.”

Courtney felt a hand on her arm, Violet’s slender fingers on her.

“Can you go get the coffees?” Violet had pushed her sunglasses into her hair, her dark eyes liquid with tears she barely managed to hold back. “Please.”

“Are you sure?” Courtney asked softly. She really didn’t want to leave Violet alone with this horrible man, but she also didn’t want to say no to her, not in this vulnerable state.

“Yes.” Violet pressed a sheet of paper with the coffee order into her hand. “And Miss Fame’s usual.”

“Okay. But...text me if you need anything.” Courtney picked up her phone and notepad, casting an extra dirty look at that asshole as she left the office.

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

You Asked, I Told and Update

CW: Spoilers for Baghdad Waltz up to chapter 36 and some non-graphic discussion of childhood sexual abuse 

Hello!!!

Wow, I am so, so sorry for falling off the grid like that. I thought I was going to have WAY more time in October/November to work on the fic and work on fandom stuff in general, but my professional life threw me a huge right hook and I got completely sidetracked for weeks. So I’m off schedule a bit, in terms of having the next chapter. I’m sorry for the delay. 

I’m done with the full draft of Chapter 37 (about 23k - “short” but emotionally very dense) and am working through final revisions now. However, I also had to do an extensive amount of 9/11-related research for it, and part of that research has been reviewing oral histories of New Yorkers from the day of the attacks, and I came to the shocking realization that much of the prologue is historically inaccurate. Moreover, it’s shamefully inconsistent with the way that New Yorkers would respond to such an event. I’m embarrassed by how shoddy of a job I did with it.

Thus, I’m also going to be rewriting the prologue and including more accurate details, both historically and in terms of character dynamics. I mean, there’s no way Bucky could even live in Brooklyn and be a first responder at Ground Zero! All the bridges and tunnels were shut down. Shame on me. There will be ripple effects throughout the entire fic. Sigh. This is just round one of the massive amount of revisions I will be doing to the early chapters of the fic, which I wrote years ago now. I was going to wait to post both at the same time, but I don’t want to make you wait that long. I’ll just give you a notification when I finish the prologue revisions, and it’ll be like a little bonus chapter.

Anyway, here are some asks! Starting with a two-parter

First, thank you for the kind words. I’m glad you’re finding this fic moving. It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster for these characters, and my hope (I guess?) is to have that be a parallel process for the readers. I think you hit the nail on the head that this relationship is exhausting. And you’re also right that not everyone would have the perseverance to keep coming back to it. It would be so much easier to amputate, pack up and go home. But once these characters get back into each other’s orbit, it’s very challenging for them to not keep crashing back into each other. It’s partially because they just love each other so much, but it’s also because they have an unhealthy relationship dynamic that sets them up for these toxic cycles. This will become especially apparent in the next chapter. They love each other, yes, but they also use each other to fill the gaping holes and insecurities they have within themselves. And they’re horrible communicators to boot. It’s a perfect storm. But at least they are going to try out some of this therapy crap maybe…?? We’ll see!

Along a similar line…

Thank you so much. That is so lovely of you to say, and I’m happy that I have your trust with this story. That said, I don’t know if it’s weakness if you’re not willing to run yourself through a miserable gauntlet of suffering the way Steve and Bucky are doing in this story. Would we call Rikki weak for drawing a boundary and stepping away from Bucky when his alcoholism was destroying their family? Some people used other words, but I’m not sure if weakness is the thing that might make someone walk away from a relationship like this. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you should keep slamming your face against the same wall until you’re black and blue. This is a highly dysfunctional couple, and these men have serious issues they are grappling with personally that make them ripe for this kind of relationship. Bucky is an open wound, crippled with shame, desperate to do anything to feel better. Steve has deep attachment injuries from his chronically ill mother and deadbeat dad, as well as major control issues, and he wants to latch on and fix and make right, and if he manages every variable just right, he really thinks he can do it. And then throw in a fuckton of PTSD and TBI and alcoholism and physical injuries on top of it. So no, I wouldn’t rush to judge yourself for not envisioning yourself gutting it out in this grim scenario. 

But I also think we can identify with at least one of these characters, and we can root for people who want to overcome the shit that life has thrown at them to be with the person they love. Because they really do love each other. There’s just so much noise that it’s hard to tease out the signal sometimes. 

Good call on Bucky being a notoriously unreliable narrator, and he’s someone who is likely to underreport his suffering. Aside from his war-related injuries and his psychological struggles, Bucky’s most symptomatic issues are his GI problems. He has both peptic and esophageal ulcers, which are slightly different creatures. Peptic (stomach) ulcers, in Bucky’s case, have been caused by H. pylori and exacerbated by smoking and drinking. The esophageal ulcer was most likely caused by an excess of stomach acid due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and, once again, exacerbated by drinking. Both of these have led to nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, and weight loss. They have really emerged since Bucky got out of the military and pursued drinking with renewed vigor. Though he wouldn’t know it at the time because he doesn’t keep up with these things, his GERD is very possibly linked to acute, high dose exposure to the exceedingly toxic “dust” from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. It’s one of the most widespread chronic health ailments of those exposed, aside from lower respiratory problems.

And now for some heavy-ass questions from licketysplittt — see CW above.

Yes, I am going to talk more about the context of Bucky’s abuse for sure, so I won’t go into the depths here. But I will say now that you are absolutely right that he has complex feelings for his abuser. I think it would have been easy to write him as just being unidimensionally angry or ashamed, but I know that’s not the experience of everyone who has experienced sexual abuse. This is especially the case if the person who commits the abuse it is a family member or caretaker or friend or trusted religious figure or someone who’s not just a “stranger in the bushes” type. I wanted to try to capture that experience in this fic. Bucky has also been multiply victimized by multiple people over the course of his life, which adds to this complexity and creates an internal narrative for him. Like what does it mean that this keeps happening to him? This is also not an uncommon experience for people who have been abused as children. And there’s also the added piece of this that Bucky’s gay, right? So he’s got this very, very young sexuality that’s on the verge of blooming (your Disney sexuality perhaps, sitting close, holding hands, etc) and this older male is making sexual advances toward him, and so he might ask if this person “saw” something in him aside from his social isolation that made him choose him. These are certainly questions he’s tortured himself over. I will get more into all of this, I promise. 

Winnie and George undoubtedly knew that their kid wasn’t a very popular one. But perhaps they always knew that he was a kid who wasn’t destined to have many friends because he’s “sensitive” or however they would characterize him (I’m sure they had different ways of viewing him). And I think it’s important to take into account the type of household that Bucky was in and the way he would shape his behavior. George was this total wildcard — “Best Dad in the World” most days but a screaming, violent tyrant at these odd, unpredictable times that were fucking terrifying for everyone in his path. This is a house where it’s best just to shut up and create as few problems as you can, because you don’t want to be the one that dad is gonna flip his shit at. And so everyone is walking on eggshells and Bucky is going to get very good at lying about how bad things are. And oh! Jamie finally has a friend, how wonderful. There will be more details in upcoming chapters about how this all transpires, but I think the dynamics at home made it possible for a lot of this to happen. And you’re right that these were not the most skillful parents, and their marriage was very strained and stressful for everyone. And these fictional assholes also frustrate me! The emotional content can be hard to write. It’s one reason these past few chapters have taken me soooooo painfully long. 

Great questions! You are all so thoughtful and kind. Sorry again for getting so terribly sidetracked. I am going to keep plugging away at the chapter and at comments and asks. I’m optimistic that I will have the next chapter for you within the next two weeks. I am pleased with this chapter and hope you’ll like it. Thank you for being so patient!!! 

[hunnywrites]

Arcade Dreams: Chapter Eighteen

Summary: There’s a new girl working at the Palace Arcade and Hawkins’ Family Video. Billy can’t stand her, and the feeling is mutual. No matter what everyone else seems to think.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: What’s this? A surprise, early Arcade Dreams update? I’ve been dying for y’all to read this chapter. We’re gonna move away from show canon a little, this is something I’ve been planning since I started writing this fic. This chapter has been a looong time coming, and we’re gonna get some insight to Teddi’s dad’s identity. I hope you enjoy! 

Billy and Teddi had gone out for pizza a few hours ago. Afterwards he’d been able to patch up her tires for a temporary fix until he had more time to replace them entirely. They had been on a bit of a time crunch. Neither of Teddi’s parents were home, and there was no real way of knowing when her mom (who would definitely tell her dad that a boy had been over) would turn up. 

Teddi had spent the rest of the night in her room. Her father didn’t bother her. Out of sight, out of  mind she figured. She was working on some homework when he walked into her room a few hours after he had come home from work. “Your mother and I are going out to dinner. I’m imagining you don’t have any plans tonight?” he asked. Teddi thought of her popped tires. Bastard, she thought bitterly. 

“No, sir. Just finishing up homework.” she motioned to her books. 

“Good girl. We’ll be home in a few hours.” and with that he left. Teddi stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. It was like nothing had happened between them. But come tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to boss her around anymore or torment her. She would be out of the house and on her own. She was practically giddy at the idea. 

Eventually she gave up on her homework. She just couldn’t make herself focus. This had to be how kids felt on Christmas Eve. So excited at the thought of the presents they’d get on Christmas morning that they couldn’t sit still. So she plopped down on the couch with some popcorn and settled in for some channel surfing. It wasn’t something she got to do very often. 

Teddi had settled on the Golden Girls when the phone rang. She nearly let it ring. It wasn’t like anyone was calling for her. But then if it was someone from her dad’s work and she didn’t take a message she knew she wouldn’t hear the end of it. So she got up from the couch with a heavy sigh and shuffled over to the kitchen. 

“Hello?”

“...Teddi?” it was Max. She was speaking quietly, like she was hiding from someone. It was too late for her to be calling just to chat. Teddi’s gut immediately told her something was wrong.

“Max? Is everything okay?” there was a long pause on the other end and Teddi could feel her palms growing clammy. 

“We can’t find Billy.” was all she said. 

Teddi’s heart was hammering in her chest. Everything had been fine earlier. What the hell could have happened between him leaving her to go back home? “Wh-what do you mean you can’t find him? What happened?” 

“He came home a few hours ago and he got in a huge fight with Neil. He stormed off and he hasn’t come home or called or anything...it was bad, Teddi. Do you have any idea where he might be? I mean, you’re his best friend. I’m starting to freak out.” Teddi almost couldn’t hear Max. All of the images of what Neil might have done to his son were running through her mind at a mile a minute. She almost felt sick.

“Um...I think I might have an idea,” she said finally, swallowing thickly. “I’ll go find him, okay? Just try and get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow once everything’s calmed down a little.” they both hung up and Teddi hurried to her room to grab her boots and puffy jacket. She knew there was a good chance that her tires might pop on her way to Billy, but did she really have any other choice? She definitely couldn’t walk out in the snow. 

She sped through the streets, praying that her patched tires would survive the drive and that she wouldn’t get pulled over by the cops. Everything in town was closed. There was only one place in Teddi’s mind that Billy could be. The Lake. It was their spot. Well, technically not their spot. They just coincidentally shared it. Teddi shook her head. That part didn’t matter right now. 

When she spotted the Camaro parked out at the water’s edge she let out a loud sigh of relief. She parked her van and hopped out, hurrying over to Billy’s car. She could barely make him out in the dark. The only light coming inside was coming from the end of his lit cigarette. The door was unlocked. She slid in next to him. Neither of them said anything for awhile. 

“...Max called me,” she finally said. “She’s really worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Billy spat.

She wasn’t going to let him off that easy this time. He wasn’t going to scare her away. “What happened, Billy? ...Did he hurt you?” he didn’t say anything. He simply blew out a cloud of smoke. “...Can I see?”

There was another long pause. Billy sniffed and angrily pushed on the light above them. Teddi’s hand slowly covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the gasp she wanted to let out. Billy’s left eye was swollen shut. His eyebrow had a cut in it that was deep enough for Teddi to know it would scar. It had stopped bleeding at least, but the blood had run down over his eye and down the left side of his face. There was also a nasty split in the center of his lip. Teddi was surprised he was smoking at all. The boy in front of her was almost unrecognizable. “Billy…” she said softly.

“I was in my room,” he said finally. “It was after I came back from your place. Everything was fine, you know? Susan was making dinner and Max and Neil were watching tv,” he swallowed loudly, flicking his cigarette out the window. His fingers gripped tightly at the steering wheel. “All of the sudden he starts getting on Max’s case about something. I don’t know what. But he wouldn’t stop. And she was arguing back. Sometimes she doesn’t know when to quit with him. But they just kept getting louder, so I stood out in the hall just in case...he just started screaming at her. And I’ve never seen her scared like that. Max isn’t scared of shit, y’know? But he just kept yelling and I could just feel that he was gonna hurt her if I didn’t stop him,” he trailed off, but Teddi didn’t need for him to finish. The shape he was in told her everything she needed to know. 

“I’m not fucking doing this anymore, Teddi. I can’t. Sometimes I catch myself imagining something horrible happening to him. Doing something horrible. And I never feel bad, you know? He deserves it. He’s the reason my mom left. He’s the reason she didn’t take me with her. He’s not my fucking father. Sometimes I think he’s barely even human.” 

Teddi’s heart ached when she saw his eyes welling up with tears. She took one of his hands in her own, her thumb running gently over his bruising knuckles. “I think...I think you should come with me. To the apartment.” she said.

Billy let out a loud sigh. “I can’t. Max-”

Teddi shook her head. “Billy, we need to get out. I know that you’re worried about Max. I’m worried about her too. But if we leave, if we get that apartment...it can be like a safe place for her to go. Whenever she needs it, you know? Until we can figure out how to get her out of that house,” she reached up and touched his face, her fingers ghosting gently over his bruised cheek. Her heart ached again when he leaned into her touch. “You can’t go back there,” after what felt like forever Billy finally nodded. “Come on. I have a first aid kit in my van. We can spend the night here, I’ll call Max in the morning and we’ll go see about the apartment, okay?” 

Billy followed her silently to her van. They climbed into the back, and Teddi pulled out the first aid kit that she kept under the driver’s seat. “Sorry, usually it’s just me using this so I kinda only have girly band-aids…” she mumbled, wincing and apologizing as Billy hissed at the feeling of the alcohol being dabbed at his cuts.

“A pink band-aid’s the least of my worries right now, Larsson.” he was trying to smile, trying to crack a joke with her. Teddi let out a soft laugh. 

“You know…” she said, gently blowing on the cut on his eyebrow before applying the band-aid. “Max said that I was your best friend…” she said with a smile.

Billy shifted uncomfortably. “What am I? A twelve year old girl?” he asked. 

Teddi only shrugged. “...You’re my best friend.” she confessed.

Billy scoffed. “Right.”

“I’m serious. I mean...me and Steve are pretty good friends, but you know way more about me than he does. You know stuff about me that he probably won’t ever know, you know? And like...you’re the first person I want to talk to when something happens. Good or bad. I don’t know...you just are.” she awkwardly shrugged again.

There was another long pause as Teddi finished cleaning Billy’s face. “...Are we gonna make matching bracelets?” he asked. 

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but don’t think for a second that I wouldn’t do that.” 

Billy let out a short laugh. “...Thanks for this, Teddi.”

“Don’t mention it. You’d do the same thing for me.” he would. Of course he would. 

Teddi pulled out her sleeping bag and unzipped it completely before kicking off her boots. “I think we both definitely need some sleep.” 

Billy kicked off his boots as well and slid under the sleeping bag with her. They laid next to each other, both staring up at the disco ball hanging above them. Teddi tentatively reached out, her hand finding Billy’s. He linked his fingers with hers. “...You sleep in here a lot?” he asked finally.

“I have a few times,” Teddi confessed. “Back in New York.”

“...What about your parents? Aren’t they gonna be pissed when you don’t come home?” 

“Who cares? We don’t have to worry about that sort of stuff anymore, right?”

It was a hard thought to wrap their minds around. This was it. No more answering to Greg or Neil. No more unfair rules or punishments. They would be out on their own. Together. 

---

The next morning the pair drove to the apartment building in the Camaro. It was obvious that the building used to be a motel. There was a gated pool out in front, with two vending machines nearby. There was what looked to be a working ice machine that sat just outside of the front office. If the old man running the place could tell that Billy and Teddi were obviously teenagers, he didn’t show it. Billy flashed a fake ID that said he was 23 and that had been enough for him. 

He showed them an apartment on the second floor. There wasn’t an elevator. Teddi was pretty sure it had been two adjoining rooms that they had turned into one larger apartment. There was a tiny living room with a counter that would be their kitchen. Two bedrooms sandwiched a very tiny bathroom between them. It wasn’t the worst thing. The apartment had gotten a fresh coat of paint and some tacky, flowery wallpaper. And it wasn’t like they were used to anything fancy. 

Between their three jobs they would definitely be able to handle the rent. It was close enough to Hawkins that they’d be able to make it to school and work without a problem. And what was most important; it was theirs. 

Teddi couldn’t control her smile as they drove back into town. Her cheeks were starting to hurt. Her eyes were stinging from the threat of tears. “...Is this really happening?” she asked. 

Billy nodded, a smile of his own spreading across his lips. “It’s really happening.” 

They both went quiet as Billy turned onto Cherry road. The Camaro came to a stop outside of the Hargrove’s house, the two of them looking up at the tiny house while holding their breaths. This was really it.

The most important thing would be getting Billy’s things before Neil came home. Or at least as much as they could. Max was outside skateboarding in the street. She hugged Billy tightly when she saw him. He awkwardly patted his step sister on the back. He’d never show it or admit it, but Teddi knew he appreciated the fact that Max cared about him. 

Susan was hovering awkwardly in the living room. She was asking Billy if he was alright and telling him that she had been worried about him when he never came home. Teddi believed her. Teddi believed that Susan loved Max and cared about Billy. She knew that Susan wasn’t the same as her own mother. But it didn’t make her like Susan any. She still sat back and let Neil rule his household with an iron fist. 

Teddi and Billy went to his room, Max and Susan following close behind them. Susan was asking a million questions and Billy ignored each of them. He went for his stereo first. He yanked the power cord free from the wall, turning and handing it over to Teddi. “Billy, please. Don’t you think this is an overreaction? I’m sure you and your father can work things out-” Susan pleased. 

“An overreaction?” Billy let out a dry laugh. “He’s your problem now, Susan. You don’t have to pretend to feel sorry for me and look the other way anymore,” he picked up a milk crate full of his records. “Maybe this is best for both of us, huh? You’ll finally see what a goddamn monster he is when it’s pointed in your direction.” 

That was enough to keep Susan out of their way. She sat on the couch, fidgeting anxiously as she watched Billy, Teddi and Max march back and forth between the Camaro and Billy’s room. His music had been the most important thing. Once his stereo, record player, cassettes and records were all safely in the back seat Billy grabbed a few trash bags and started filling it with his clothes. 

“...Where are you going?” Max finally asked. She and Teddi were both carefully taking Billy’s things from his closet, folding them before putting them in the large black bags. Billy was grabbing fists full of his clothes out of his drawers, angrily shoving them in the trash bags. 

“We got an apartment outside of town.” he muttered. 

Max looked between the both of them. “Together?” she asked. Max had never really understood why Teddi and Billy liked each other so much. She knew that they didn’t really have much in common aside from her and working at the pool. Max knew that Billy liked Teddi, and she knew that Teddi liked Billy. She and El had always thought it was obvious, even if they argued all of the time. But they assumed it was just because they were dumb teenagers that found each other attractive. Now suddenly, seeing Billy finally at his breaking point, and Teddi with a bruise that covered her left eye and cheek, she realized that they had more in common than she had ever imagined. 

Beneath the surface Billy and Teddi were two very lonely people. And now they had finally found someone to pull each other out of that loneliness. 

Teddi nodded, smiling a little. “Together. And Max, you’re allowed to come over whenever you want, okay? It’s small, but there’s a pullout couch with your name on it. You can even have sleepovers with El. Whatever you want. Just promise me that he ever makes you feel unsafe again you call me and I’ll come and get you, alright?”

Max looked over at Billy. He nodded, so slightly that Max almost wasn’t sure she’d seen it. “...I promise.” 

“I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow and show you the place, alright? C’mon, Ted. We gotta go. I’ll come back for the rest,” Teddi noticed Billy pulling a small wooden box out of his top drawer. It was about the size of his hand. It was a sandy color with something etched into the lid. He quickly shoved it into the pocket inside his jacket, like Teddi and Max weren’t supposed to see it. “...You gonna be okay, Max?” he asked. 

“I’m fine. Mom says I’m allowed to sleep over at El’s since Neil’s being an asshole….I’m sorry, Billy. That he went off on you like that. It was my fault. He wanted me to change the channel and I kept arguing with him…”

Billy placed a hand on his step sister’s shoulder, leaning down to meet her eyes. “Don’t ever apologize for him, got it? If it wasn’t that it would’ve been something else. You remember what I told you back home? At Captain Spauldings?” Max’s shoulders straightened a little as she nodded. Teddi couldn’t help but wonder what their secret was. “You call us if you need us, okay? We’ll be there.” Billy awkwardly ruffled the top of Max’s head before heading back to the Camaro. He didn’t bother to look in Susan’s direction as he passed.

He and Teddi finished loading his things into the trunk and got in. Max was on the porch, waving as they drove off. Teddi let out a shaky breath. She looked over at Billy, who was drumming his fingers against the steering wheel even though the radio was off. He looked...calm. This wasn’t a Billy she saw very often. There was a hint of a smile on his lips. He looked like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 

This all felt like a dream. To be in Billy’s Camaro, the two of them finally about to escape the nightmare that was their home lives. It all felt almost too good to be true. Like at any second something horrible would happen, or she would wake up and realize that none of this was even real. Billy bumped his elbow against Teddi’s, bringing her back to the real world. “Hey,” he said lowly. “You okay?”

He fished his pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and held it out to Teddi. She eyed them for a moment before taking a smoke, clamping it between her lips. “I’m just nervous,” she muttered as Billy lit the cigarette for her. Teddi took a long drag, her eyes falling shut and her head falling back against her seat. “My dad’ll be home soon…” 

“Don’t worry about him. You just worry about getting your stuff.” they both knew that that would be easier said than done. Billy would be somewhat of a safety net for her. Her dad probably wouldn’t do or say much of anything if there was someone around to see him in action. He had too much to lose. But he had been a little unpredictable lately, and Teddi was worried that Billy might have to take the brunt of what was about to come. 

While Billy had been to Teddi’s once before, this was the first time he had ever seen Teddi’s mother. Teddi looked a lot like her. He didn’t understand how Bonnie could look at her daughter, who was the spitting image of her, and feel absolutely nothing for her. Billy hated her. She was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels on TV when they walked in. When Teddi and Billy walked into her field of vision, she finally looked over at them with a bored expression. 

“And who’s this?” Bonnie asked, looking Billy up and down. If she felt any sort of way about him, she didn’t show it. It was like she wasn’t a real person. Like she was one of those mind control victims in those sci fi movies Max liked to watch. Billy briefly wondered if at one point Bonnie had been more like Teddi. Energetic and friendly. Maybe Greg had succeeded in beating her into submission, like Neil had tried with Billy’s mom. Now he had the perfect stepford wife that was loyal only to him. Even at the expense of his own daughter. 

“None of your business,” there was a confidence behind Teddi’s voice that Billy was a little surprised to hear. This wasn’t the same Teddi that had been fidgeting nervously in the Camaro just minutes before. “I’m leaving.” she announced before heading down the hall. He wasn’t surprised that Bonnie didn’t follow after them like Susan had. 

Billy followed Teddi to her room. He’d never seen it before. It was smaller than his room. There was only a tiny desk, a nightstand and Teddi’s bed packed tightly inside. Teddi opened her closet door, reaching in and pulling out a stack of flattened cardboard boxes. He wondered how many times she had pulled them out before, trying to work up the courage to pack before changing her mind. 

They were silent as they started to pack up her things. Teddi made quick work of emptying out her closet before standing up on her bed to peel the little glow in the dark stars off of her ceiling. Billy went over to her desk. There was a Carrie poster taped to the wall next to a tiny bulletin board. There were about a dozen different movie ticket stubs tacked to it. A grainy polaroid of the statue of liberty next to a photo of Teddi standing on a lake dock. She was in a bright blue bikini with white, star shaped sunglasses and she had her arm around a girl with a head of pink, unruly curls. Teddi looked happy. Genuinely happy. It was a gross contrast from the Teddi that was in front of him now. He carefully picked each of the things she had tacked up to the board and tucked them into a box along with the other things on her desk. 

“Your mother tells me you’re leaving.” Billy jumped a little at the sound of Greg Larsson’s voice. Teddi’s dad was a big guy. Easily about 6’4. He took up the entire doorway. His hair was shaved close on the sides and longer on top. Like at one point he’d been a jarhead and hadn’t been able to let it go. He looked like the poster boy for some sort of weird super soldier experiment gone wrong. Billy’s hands clenched into fists. It wasn’t like him and Neil. Neil was the same size as Billy. If Billy wanted to fight back he could. Greg was almost three times Teddi’s size. What kind of pathetic asshole picked on someone that was so helpless to defend themselves? You about two months ago? He reminded himself. His fists clenched tighter. 

Teddi turned to look at her father with a look of disgust before returning to her packing. “What do you care?” 

“Theodora...is this about the disagreement we had the other day?” he asked, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. 

Teddi laughed. “Disagreement? You mean when you called me a whore and almost fractured my skull?” she asked, pointing to the large bruise on her cheek. Billy knew that if he hadn’t been there she probably wouldn’t have said that to her father. He didn’t mind that him being there was an extra boost of courage. He was proud of her. “What do you even care if I leave? You don’t care about me. You and mom have never cared about me. So let me go and you can just pretend that I never existed like you’ve always wanted.” her voice cracked a little as she spoke, but she didn’t cry.

Billy wondered what might have happened if he hadn’t been there. If he hadn’t inched his way over between Teddi and Greg in case he decided to do something bold. He was thinking about it. Billy knew that he was. His sharp jaw clenched and unclenched. His hand was twitching as if he was trying to keep himself for lashing out at her. Greg watched his daughter with a cold expression. Like if he could kill her right then and there with a look, he would. 

“...If you leave, you are no longer welcome in this home. You’re not going to come crying to me when he gets tired of you and moves on to the next girl. You’re no longer my daughter.” 

Billy didn’t see that as much of a threat. Greg wasn’t Teddi’s father. He’d explained it to Max back in California when she had finally seen Neil for what he really was. Billy and Teddi could call Neil and Greg their fathers all they wanted. But men, and Billy used that term lightly, like Neil and Greg couldn’t be fathers to anyone. They were monsters. Monsters that were keeping Billy and Teddi hostage for their own sick enjoyment.

Teddi laughed again. Her eyes were shiny with the threat of tears. She picked up the box that sat at her feet, walking up to Greg with her head held high. “Good.” 

---

Billy and Teddi were both sitting on their new couch in their new apartment. They were both silent, staring at their reflection in the blank TV screen in front of them. Teddi had cried in the car after they left her parents’ house. She cried the entire drive to the apartment. Billy had reached over, putting his arm around her and pulling her towards him. Teddi cried into his shoulder, her tears soaking into his denim jacket. Neither of them said anything until Billy pulled into the parking lot of their apartment building.

Teddi pulled away from him, wiping her eyes roughly. Her bottom lip trembled, like she could start crying at any given second. She looked over at him, her cheeks still slick with tears. “...Thank you.” she finally said. 

He didn’t really know what she was thanking him for. Leaving with her. Helping her get her things. Letting her cry on his shoulder. It didn’t really matter to him. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a grin. “What are friends for, right?” 

Teddi let out a soft laugh. She bit down on her bottom lip as the two looked at each other. Billy could feel his heart beating harshly in his chest. Teddi looked beautiful. Otherworldly in the red light that was shining down onto the Camaro from the building’s neon sign. She sniffed softly, shifting nervously in her seat before her hand gently ghosted his bruised cheek, just like she had the night before. Billy didn’t move as she bit her lip again, leaning forward and kissing him so softly he was almost scared he had imagined it. She pulled away from him, watching him and waiting to see if what she had done was okay. 

Billy wrapped his arms around Teddi’s waist, pulling her back to him. He kissed her. Teddi let out a surprised sound, her hands gripping onto his shoulders. Teddi had wondered what this moment would be like. What it might be like to kiss Billy. None of it really matched up to the actual thing. Everything about him was...strong. His arms wrapped around her, the feel of his chest as her hands slid under his jacket. His lips. Everything about Billy Hargrove made Teddi feel safe. She never wanted this to end. She would be content staying there in Billy’s Camaro, kissing him and letting him hold her until the world ended. 

“If that’s how you say thank you I should’ve started being nicer a long time ago.” Billy smirked. His arms were still wrapped around her middle, and Teddi was gripping onto his shirt beneath his jacket. 

Teddi laughed a little and rolled her eyes. “Funny,” her hand reached up, her thumb stroking his jaw gently. “...We should probably get inside.” she sighed. 

They brought the things they’d packed up the stairs and inside their new home. Now they were on the couch, their hands just barely touching. “...We should skip school tomorrow. Celebrate our new freedom.” he finally said. 

“Celebrate our new freedom by being irresponsible?” she asked with a smile. 

“It’s one day, Larsson. Come on. Let’s do something fun.” 

Teddi eyed him carefully, trying to hide a smile as her cheeks blushed. “...You better be real careful with whatever you’re about to suggest, Hargrove.” she warned. 

Billy smirked. “Relax. I meant like going to the movies or something. What about that Terminator movie? Freddy said it was pretty badass.”

Teddi made a face. “I don’t know...I’m not super crazy about that Schwarzenegger guy. He’s always reminded me too much of my dad. What about Starman?” 

Billy blinked. “...What’s that?”

“It’s the one with Jeff Bridges who’s an alien pretending to be a human and he and he takes Marion from Indiana Jones with him to try and get back to space?” she explained, as if he were crazy for not knowing. Billy only stared at her. “It’s John Carpenter!” 

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” 

“Halloween? The Thing? Escape From New York? He’s like the best director ever.” 

Billy rolled his eyes and held his hands up. “....Whatever, Larsson. We’ll go see Spaceman.”

 “Starman.” 

“Whatever.” there was a different energy as they got back in the Camaro. They were both smiling, almost giddy. Teddi flipped through the collection of tapes Billy kept in the glove compartment. She settled on Journey, popping the tape into the deck. Billy’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel along to the beat. 

Their eyes met, the two of them sharing a smile. Billy propped his elbow up on the center console, holding out his middle finger to her. Teddi laughed, raising an eyebrow. “What is this, a Billy Hargrove pinky promise? What are we, five?” 

Billy smirked over at her. “Says the girl that wanted to make friendship bracelets,” he joked. Teddi let out a chuckle and linked her finger with his. His ring was cold against her skin. “It’s you and me now, Larsson. We’re in this together. You ready?” 

She was. Of course she was. They were quite the pair. Two misfits that felt like they didn’t belong anywhere. Battered and bruised. But they had finally found a home. With each other.  Teddi smiled as Billy brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her bruised knuckles. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

[eleanor-writes-stuff]

slide into my DMs [ficlet, i/iii]

Rey has an problem. Ben has a solution. Twitter brings them together.

OR: in which Ben shoots his shot - in the sweetest, most respectful, no-pressure way possible, because this is Ben Solo we’re talking about.

PART I: SHOOT YOUR SHOT | PART II | PART III

Update from the hell that is writer’s block: I’m still incapable of writing my usual proper one-shots. Instead, here’s yet another mini-fic that no one asked for - this time featuring social media, because I’m hip with the kids.

Also available on AO3.

Rey has been locked in a staring contest with her shower head for about five minutes now.

It’s been two hours since she got home from her shift at Maz’s, and she would like nothing more than to wash off the lingering smell of fried food and spilled beer. But fall has finally arrived and brought with it even-colder-than-usual ice water, and Rey can feel her lungs shaking at the mere thought of the shower that awaits her.

“Fuck everything,” she huffs, backing away from the shower for the fourth time in thirty minutes. Her phone sits on the countertop, lighting up every so often with notifications from friends tweeting about their super fun Friday night at the latest culinary hotspot or sharing bathroom selfies from fancy clubs Rey wouldn’t even be hired to work at, let alone be allowed into. Ignoring all of her classmates’ posturing, she quickly types out a tweet of her own.

endless pit @reyofsunshine

day 51 of ice cold showers because my landlord is a fucking cheapskate who refuses to fix anything

Bitching about her situation on social media won’t magically heat up her water, but it’s better than glaring at the cracked tiles of her bathroom wall. Even scrolling past everyone else’s over-the-top pictures seems preferable to a shower at this point, and Rey finally gives up – for now – as she trudges back into her bedroom and perches on the edge of her bed while she scoffs and laughs and shakes her head at her friends’ antics.

Finn, Rose, and Poe are at that weird new edible flower café, and based on their pictures she can tell Rose is about as baffled by the menu as she had been.

Jess and Kaydel finally managed to get a table at Coruscant, but they don’t seem that impressed by the itty-bitty portion sizes and the comparatively monstrous price tags.

Hux is in his usual Friday night hangout spot, spamming everyone’s feeds with bathroom selfies featuring the tacky gold wallpaper that’s unique to Finalizer, the most overpriced club in town. And judging by the way his cheeks match his hair, her least favorite classmate is already drunk as a skunk.

“Fun,” Rey mutters to herself as she navigates away from the app and moves to set her phone aside. It buzzes just before she can put it down, and a quick tap at the screen reveals one unread message from–

Rey tilts her head as she considers the sight of Ben Solo in her notifications. Have they ever even interacted on Twitter? They’ve traded messages on Instagram, mainly just snarky replies to each other’s stories, and they talk all the time in the group chat Poe added them to at the beginning of the semester, but this… this is new.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant I’ve got a great shower.

endless pit @reyofsunshine how nice for you

Rey replies almost immediately, rolling her eyes at Ben and his trust fund apartment in the nice part of town. Forget hot water; the guy probably has actual water pressure and one of those fancy massage shower heads.

He sees her message, and then takes his own sweet time writing and deleting, writing and deleting until–

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant And a really comfortable bed too. In case I wasn’t being obvious enough.

“Oh,” Rey says out loud, and somehow that single, dumbfounded word appears on her screen a second later.

Ben’s… her friend, in a way. More Poe’s friend than hers, but they still interact often enough that she counts him among the ten or so actual friends she’s made in her two years at college. He’s nice enough when he’s not giving her a hard time, but then again she’s always being an ass to him in return; it’s not like they even mean anything by it at this point, it’s just their thing.

Which makes this conversation all the more bizarre and unexpected, given the usual tone of their friendship.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant And a fully-stocked fridge.

Rey laughs despite her confusion.

endless pit @reyofsunshine next time lead with that

Next time? Next time?

Ben replies before she can freak out and rush into damage control mode.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Noted. So… Wanna come over?

She snorts at her phone and replies with the first thought that comes to mind, guiding them back to familiar ground.

endless pit @reyofsunshine wow you must be desperate bit of a dry spell, Solo?

But Ben’s always been stubborn – just as stubborn as her, according to Poe – so it comes as no surprise when he refuses to be herded back to safety.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant It doesn’t have to be like that. I just thought it’d be nice to spend time with you.

endless pit @reyofsunshine spend time with me? is that what they’re calling it these days?

Rey smirks as she watches the telltale dots appear and disappear, trying to picture Ben’s reaction on the other end of the conversation. Whether or not he meant it that way, she’d bet a good chunk of this month’s paycheck that he’s already blushing. It gives him away every time, even when he manages to bite back a smile and maintain intense eye contact – which he does with her a lot, now that Rey thinks about it.

Maybe she should’ve seen this coming.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Rey. I’m serious.

He’s got his serious face on, then – the one he wears in class, the one she occasionally sneaks glances at because the focus in his eyes is… admirable. His attention span in a class full of kids who are half-asleep is admirable, that’s all, and it’s not like she sometimes wonders what it’d feel like to have him look at her with that kind of single-minded focus.

endless pit @reyofsunshine so you’re asking me to go over for a free meal and a hot shower and then we’ll just… what, cuddle up in front of the TV?

It’s a cozy little scene right out of the domestic daydreams Rey tells herself she absolutely doesn’t have, but this is college. And Ben, decent though he may be, is still a college boy. Maybe he has a TV in his bedroom. Maybe this is the part where he not-so-jokingly suggests that they Netflix and chill.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant If that’s what you want.

Rey blinks at her screen and waits for him to add to that, to pepper their chat with increasingly suggestive alternative options for the evening.

A full minute later, it finally dawns on her.

endless pit @reyofsunshine wait oh my god you’re serious you actually mean that

She’s so caught up in her own thoughts that she fails to realize just how insulting her disbelief might be until Ben opts to ignore her in favor of cutting straight to the chase.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Yes or no, Rey?

He’s probably pacing the length of his apartment now, running one hand through his hair while he scowls at his phone, berating himself for even trying–

It’s an oddly displeasing image, especially when accompanied by the realization that there’s no reason for him to be so agitated – not when she’s surprisingly keen to say yes. But…

endless pit @reyofsunshine i’m carless this week and you’re way too far for me to walk

It seems like a poor excuse even to her, but Rey crosses her fingers and bites her lip and hopes Ben takes it as anything but, hopes he can tell how much she actually does want to spend the evening with him and his hot shower and his full fridge.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant I could go pick you up. If you want to come over.

Despite her relief, Rey finds herself staring at his message.

endless pit @reyofsunshine seriously???

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Sure, why not?

endless pit @reyofsunshine let me get this straight you’re gonna drive twenty minutes in the dark to pick me up take me to your place, feed me, and let me use your shower no funny business and you’re totally fine with that??

His reply comes not two seconds later, and sweeps away the last of Rey’s hesitation.

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Sounds good to me.

This man is not real. This man cannot be real.

But Rey’s been through enough crap in her life to know when something good is in front of her, and this could definitely be good. Great, even.

endless pit @reyofsunshine okay then let me know when you’re here

Ben Solo @accidentalgiant Will do, sweetheart. See you soon.

Rey stares at that message until her screen goes dark, and then it’s a mad rush to empty out her backpack and repack it with her nicest sleeping clothes.

Ben might not be planning on funny business, but she’s reasonably sure he wouldn’t object to it.

This is at least 60% DMs because I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing anymore - other than clearing out my dusty WIPs I thought I’d never write folder, apparently.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you gained at least some entertainment from this silly little thing. Please don’t hesitate to like/reblog/leave a comment!

UPDATE: somehow this has spawned a second chapter and a tiny epilogue.

AO3 | Ko-fi | Twitter

[kumkaniudaku]

Three’s Company (4K Fic Fest)

A/N: *runs in panting with papers balled up in my fist* I’m so sorry I’m late. I should’ve submitted my entry to @brianabreeze  ‘s fic fest a week ago. I’m so happy you made it to 4k with your content and wish you the best in everything you do. This went through so many different iterations before I landed on this one. It was inspired by a video that I’ll link at the end. Enjoy! 

“So, guys, here’s what I’m thinking.” 

Tasha balanced Noah on one hip and set up her hidden vlogging camera, searching for the perfect position that offered balance and a full view of the kitchen.

“Okay, so, Chad has been gone since Wednesday to scout some locations for something he’s working on this summer.”An alert from Chadwick updating her on his whereabouts made her giddy with excitement for several reasons. 

“That was him. He said he’ll be home in 30, so let me explain what’s going on. I’m about to tell Chad that I’m pregnant. Micah is at her god mother’s house, giving me the opportunity to do this without having the news spread everywhere before I can get it out. Daddy will be home soon so Noah and I will see y’all in a minute.”

When the action resumed, viewers were met with an excited dance from Tasha before she was forced to calm down and greet Chadwick. The alarm chime sparked a round of babbles from Noah as he heard his father’s footsteps in the foyer.

“You hear Daddy, big man,” she cooed before sliding a spoonful of chili into his mouth. “Daddy’s home to see us!”

“It smells like home in here. Where you at, baby?”

“We’re in the kitchen, babe!” Removing Noah from his high chair gave Tasha ample time to change her demeanor into one that carried less of a telling grin.

When Chadwick rounded the corner into the kitchen to greet his wife and son, it was time for Tasha’s life to get ready to spill the beans.

“There’s my boy,” he exclaimed, grabbing Noah from Tasha’s arms and smothering his chubby cheeks with kisses. “You been taking care of your mama and sister for me?”

“He did go to bed and stay in bed all night for me, so we’ll count that.”

Chadwick gave the growing infant’s stomach a few more tickles and raspberries before focusing his attention on his wife. “How you doing, baby? You look pretty.”

“Yeah, right,” Tasha scoffed as she walked into her husband’s open arms. Chadwick’s unexpected grip on her butt made her squeal into their shared kiss. “I look like I overslept for class.”

“Then let me be the reason you oversleep tomorrow too.” The thought of his suggestive comment coupled with a light pat to her backside being shared to thousands of subscribers in the morning nearly produced a giggle that would expose her secret.

Swallowing the urge, Tasha took her position on the other side of the marble island to keep her body in the frame.

“Tell me about the trip, Aaron. Did y’all find what you needed?”

“Eh, kind of. We found some options, but Cole is gonna look in Atlanta next week to see if there’s a better location there. I told him I couldn’t come, but to keep me updated. Is that chili?”

“It sure is. You want a bowl?”

“C’mon, Co. You know the answer to that. We both want some, huh, big boy?”

“Nuh uh! He just ate. Don’t give him more.” Though she knew Noah would ultimately end up consuming a second helping of food, the stern instructions buy her a bit more time before she had to come clean.

Chadwick gladly accepted the warm bowl of his favorite winter dish, immediately giving in to his son’s fake whines for a taste. “You feel better, baby? What ended up being wrong with your stomach?”

Remembering their conversation from earlier in the week, Tasha knew that this was the time to drop the bomb.

“Um, yeah, I did,” she started, shifting her face to reflect the serious nature of the situation. “We should talk.”

“Okay. Should I brace myself for something bad? You aren’t sick are you?”

“I might be for a few mornings after this one.” Tasha caught eyes with Chadwick who presented her with a blank stare as he shoveled food into his mouth.

“You on an antibiotic or something?”

“Noooo.” Chadwick scrunched his face at Tasha’s sing-song voice while watching her slide a plastic bag in his direction.

Skeptically, he grabbed the clear container and examined the contents in silence. One glance earned a shift in posture as he stood straight up with a large hand on Noah’s body to keep him balanced. Another look at the two devices made him grow still and tense before focusing his attention on his nervous wife.

“Cookie, what is this?”

“You see what it is. It’s pregnancy tests.”

“Yeah, but why are they here? And why are they positive?”

“They’re positive because I’m pregnant.” Tasha watched Chadwick shift his weight to his left leg and look at the bag again.

“When you say pregnant, you mean, like, having another baby? In this house? In 10 months? A fourth pregnancy? Third child?”

“Boy, yes!”

“How that happen?”

For the first time since she began, CoCo could release a laugh. Chadwick watched her giggle with dead eyes, not finding the humor in the situation.

“Babe, we have sex. Often at that.”

“I mean, yeah, but we wasn’t having that kind of sex. Not the baby-making kind.”

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know there was a different kind. I thought unprotected sex could result in pregnancy no matter what.”

“I wasn’t giving you ‘get pregnant’ strokes. I was giving you ‘call me daddy’ sex at best. Shit, maybe even just make me some tacos strokes. Not baby strokes though.” Chadwick took one last look at the tests before dropping them on the counter and scratching the top of his head with his eyes closed.

“You don’t look excited, honey.”

“Shit, I don’t know what I am right now. I feel like I’m about to pass out. Am I crying,” he asked as he looked up to give her a better view of his face. “I feel like crying. You just playing?”

“No! Where would I get two positive pregnancy tests?”

Silence hung in the air for several minutes, leaving Tasha to stare at Chadwick while he tried to distract himself by playing with Noah. She watched with hidden amusement as his eyes flickered toward the tests he thought confirmed a third child before looking away.

“Where is Micah?” The abrupt nature of his question indicated that he was beginning to wrestle with the truth in his mind. 

“She’s with Vonne and Ja’Niyah at the movies. She should be back in the next hour.”

Chadwick let out a soft grunt to acknowledge Tasha’s answer, “Hey, can you grab him real quick? I’m gonna, uh, go outside for some air. I’ll be back.”

“Yeah...yeah! Okay! You want me to put your food away?”

Chadwick answered with a stiff nod, barely acknowledging his wife as he made his way to the French doors leading to the backyard. When he was out of range, CoCo turned to the camera to sum up the recent happenings.

“Alright, yall, I can’t move the camera, but he’s outside walking back and forth. I didn’t expect him to react like this, but it’s kind of funny. He is stressed!” 

What followed was a two-minute time-lapse that covered 15 minutes of what went on in the kitchen while Chadwick questioned God outside. When he returned, he was greeted with a bottle of water and concern.

“Everything good,” Tasha asked as she cleaned the counter and entertained Noah in his highchair. “You feeling okay?”

“Co, what we gon’ do?”

“What you mean? We’re going to have a third child. Hopefully another little girl.” Tasha’s excitement didn’t transfer to her visibly stressed husband.

“Baby, we’re too old for another child. Noah isn’t even a year old yet!”

“We’re not that old!”

“You a got damn lie! We old as hell. Especially you with all that grey hair in your twist outs!”

“Aaron!” Another bout of unreciprocated laughter filled in gaps of tense silence. When Tasha was finally able to regain some semblance of her composure, she noticed Chadwick’s dejection and sadness. “Oh, baby, come here.”

Chadwick accepted her warm hug, resting his forehead on her shoulder for a moment as he took a deep breath. “I’m glad you think this is so funny.”

“I don’t think it’s funny. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You know I love you and our kids, but this wasn’t in the plan. We always said we would discuss when or if we were having a third,” He confessed. “It’s time for me to go back to working in a few months. What would I look like leaving you here with two kids and one on the way at any moment?”

Tasha was floored by her husband’s admission as guilt was slowly began to creep in. For every pregnancy announcement before this, it was almost impossible to keep a smile off of his face. While the conversation of one more child had happened in passing, both of them promised to thoroughly weigh the pros and cons of another baby before making such a life-altering decision. Neither Tasha or Chadwick were getting younger, leaving the possibilities of complications and life with younger children past 50 as major realities to consider.

The glassy veil covering Chadwick’s eyes was the sign that Tasha being some damage control. Taking a deep breath, she began a confession of her own.

“Aaron, look at me. Let me tell you something.” Chadwick reluctantly followed Tasha’s instructions, tightening his grip on her waist. “You don’t need to worry about me being here with three kids because I’m not pregnant.”

Noah’s giggle sounded like a pre-recorded laugh track on a sitcom as Chadwick tried to piece together what was happening. His eyes darted back and forth between his wife and the rest of the room, presumably looking for the camera or a sign that she was being truthful.

“Is this a prank for that YouTube thing?”

“Yes,” Tasha confirmed, finally breaking the act and smiling. “It’s a prank. I got you!”

“Why are you like this? You for real, or is this still part of the prank?”

“I’m serious this time. I’m not pregnant! There’s the camera.” Tasha pointed to the hidden device before picking it up for a closer shot. Chadwick groaned at the realization that he’d been pranked, releasing equal parts relief and laughter. “Did I get you, baby? You believed me, didn’t you.”

“I still do. Are you sure you not pregnant? Where you get those from?”

“I’m sure! TiTi is the one that’s pregnant, so she let me use some of her pee.”

“And you let me touch it,” Chadwick exclaimed in disgust. “Nah, I don’t believe you. Go take a test real quick.”

“Really, Chad?”

“Hell yeah!” CoCo watched in shock as her husband situated Noah on his hip and pulled the handheld camera from her hand. “Don’t look at me like that. Go ‘head. We’ll wait.”

Chadwick continued the recording, catching all of the gripes and groans from Tasha while she searched the house for another pregnancy test. He captured Noah attempting to walk during the process, though the 10-month-old ultimately decided to crawl instead. After four minutes of waiting for the entire process to conclude, he was invited to join Tasha in the bathroom for the big reveal.

“See, I told you I wasn’t pregnant! One line!” Tasha danced around the master bathroom in victory, earning a smile and laugh from the men in her life. “Ha! I got you for the first time ever! I’m the queen of pranks!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You damn near gave me a heart attack.”

“You were about to cry, babe.”

“Damn right,” he exclaimed. “We already have our hands full with the two we have. What the hell we gon’ do with another one?”

Tasha laughed at Chadwick’s animated facial expressions as he explained his fear of a new addition to the household.

“Well, maybe we can get a dog as a baby step to possibly having one more. No pun intended, of course.”

“With this stunt you pulled, you’ll be lucky to get some gas money from me. Now turn that thing off so we can get ready for my princess to come home. She wouldn’t lie to me like this.”

“You’re so dramatic,” she laughed, flipping the camera around to capture a shot her standing in the mirror. Tasha wore a triumphant smile as she prepared to sign off. “Let it be known that I am the queen of pranks in the Boseman house. Feel free to make clips of this and tag Chadwick in all of them. ‘Till next time, see you later lovelies!”

INSPIRATION VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dozJyW3GkA

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[superevilbadguy]

Diakko One-Shot Fic (part 2)

So I’m not really sure if this can be considered a ‘One-shot’ any longer... buuuuuuuuut..... whatever.

So first off, I’d like to thank everyone who liked and commented on the first part of this story and to say that I really REALLY appreciate all the support! I wasn’t planning on continuing this story (I do not consider myself a writer), though I did have a few visuals in mind, but after hearing from some of you, I realized I had more cute shenanigans I wanted to share. So thank you for the encouragement and I hope you enjoy my shamelessly fluffly continuation of the Bar/Band AU fic (with pictures!) . 

Update: Part 3 can be found “here” and the full story can be read on AO3!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean it’s cancelled?!” the brunette yells, shaking her friend by the shoulders.

Unfazed by her friend’s panic, Amanda responds, “It’s cancelled. The sound guy couldn’t show. What’s the big deal?”

“No no no no,” Akko releases Amanda and begins to pace around the room in a panic. “I’m supposed to meet up with Diana before the show, and then we were supposed to go on and play. But now if there’s no show, she has no reason to come early to the not happening show to meet up with me!” She walks over to the couch and falls face first into the cushions. 

“…”

“Are you being serious right now?” Sucy says looking incredulously over towards her slump of a friend. 

“Come on Akko,” Lotte takes a seat on the couch and comfortingly pats her friend’s head. “I’m sure Diana will still want to meet up.” 

“Though I can’t imagine why-” Sucy deadpans. Lotte shoots a disapproving glare over towards her before she continues, “In all seriousness, are you that dumb to think that she only said yes to come for the show?”

Akko turns her face out of the cushion to look towards her friends. A light indent of the couch seam red across her face.  

“You both looked like you were having a really nice time talking at the bar. She probably just wants to get to know you better.” Lotte says continuing to pat her head.

Sucy leans against the back of the couch and toys with Akko ponytail, “Yeah, with you there’s no lack of interesting stories.”

Jasminka steps over towards the couch, offering a salt and vinegar chip to Akko’s exposed face. “And you’re really nice.” Akko accepts the chip. 

Constanze holds up a notepad ‘sometimes almost too nice’ scribbled on the page.

Lotte takes her hand from Akko’s head and begins counting off fingers, “and you’re genuine and driven and-”

“Or maybe blondie’s just really into badasses with Shiny Chariot tattoos.” Amanda smiles cheekily. 

The room fills with laughter. A blushing Akko rolls her eyes and lets out a light chuckle.

“Alright, alright.” Akko pushes herself off her face and sits herself on the couch properly. She nestles back into the cushion, looking down at her fidgeting hands. “But what if she decides she doesn’t want to-” her face is pushed upward by Amanda poking her forehead. 

“Then she’s missing out!” she removes her finger from Akko’s head. “If it goes bad, we’ll be here for you okay?”

“But don’t assume it will!” Lotte interjects. “You’re going to have fun, it’s all going to work out!” She says with a big smile and a thumbs up.

“Akko smiles and looks around at her friends. “Okay… thanks guys.” She straightens up and takes a deep breath. “You’re right, it’s all gonna be okay!”

_____

“Not okay, NOT OKAY!” Akko panics in the bathroom of Café Meridies trying to dry her pants under the hand dryer. She came early in hopes of de-stressing before meeting up with the blonde, unfortunately, her nerves caused her to spill her coffee and do the exact opposite of calm her down. Luckily, the coffee she was drinking had time to cool before spilling on her pants, however, her lap and right leg was damp and smelled heavily of vanilla roast.

“Oh come on!” She rubs at her pant leg, the friction helping it dry. 

‘Good job Akko. At least you picked black pants!’ she thought to herself as she checked herself in the mirror. Her pants were dry enough, she would be fine letting the rest air dry. 

She sighs and looks into the mirror “Okay Akko. This is fine. YOU’RE fine. You’re gonna have a nice time with Diana and she’s not going to notice your wet pants.”

She steps closer to the mirror, a determined look in her eyes and a tremble in her fingers. “You’re just getting a drink with a girl, don’t be so nervous. A really nice, really smart, and… really… pretty…” her determined face begins to soften with a blush before she catches herself and refocuses. “Definitely nothing to worry about. You, Akko Kagari, are a CATCH!”

BANG BANG BANG 

She jumps with a yelp as she is interrupted by a rather urgent sounding knock on the door. 

“S-sorry! Just a minute!” 

As Akko leaves the bathroom trying not to make eye contact with the line leading to the women’s room, she feels a buzz in her pocket.  

She pulls out her phone and brightens seeing that it is a text from Diana.  

‘I’m so sorry, I may be a few minutes late. I got caught up at home. I am on my way now.’

Akko looks down at the text and smiles for a moment before sucking in a breath and responding.  

‘No problem! I just thought you should know though, the show got cancelled, so unfortunately the Broom Stix won’t be playing.’

She hits send nervously, an empty feeling welling in her chest. ‘What if she just decides to not come? I hope she didn’t have plans that she cancelled to come. Should I just reschedule or-‘ Akko continued her train of thought until she received a response from Diana a minute or so later. 

‘My apologies, I just got to a red light. I’m sorry to hear you won’t be playing. Are you still available to get a drink?’

Akko beams at the text. Practically vibrating from the force of her heart beat, she lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She types in a response as she gets in line for the counter.  

‘Absolutely! As long as that’s okay with you.’ 

A few moments pass as she wait for the next text. Akko is fully aware of the goofy smile spread across her face but can’t bring herself to try to hide it.  

‘Of course! I will see you shortly.’

Akko smiles, typing in a response reading ‘eyes on the road!’ but decides against sending it. 

When she got to the front of the line she ordered herself a hot chocolate, picked up some extra napkins (just in case), and sat back down, looking out the window across the café, waiting.

About ten leg-bouncing, cocoa sipping minutes later, Akko sees Diana walk through the doors of the café. She calls her name, getting her attention, and waves her over to the table.

“I am sorry for being late, I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.” Diana says while removing her coat and placing it on the back of her chair. 

Akko, distracted by looking at Diana’s button up shirt, snaps herself out of her daze before getting caught. “I-It’s no problem, I just got here myself.” She lied. “I’M sorry about there not being a show… I heard it was cancelled this morning and I didn’t know what to tell you… but I brought my guitar so um, I hope you’re not disappointed…”

“Akko, please.” Diana looks at her kindly, “It is no problem whatsoever. While I would have loved to see you play of course, I’m glad to have the time to talk with you.”

Akko blushes and looks down at the table. “Well, that’s a relief.” She laughs a little as she looks back up at the blonde. “I’m glad you came.” 

A warm, genuine smile graces Diana’s lips as a light tinge of pink crosses her cheeks. “I-I’m going to get a drink, would you like anything?”

“Oh, I’ll come with you.” Akko jumps out of her seat and accompanies Diana to the counter. 

After a few moments of contemplation, Diana orders a chai tea from the counter. As she reaches into her pocket to pull out her money, Akko gives her card to the barista. She looks up at Akko surprised. 

The brunette looks back at her smiling and raising her shoulders. “I wanted to make it up to you for the beer.”

Diana smiles and lets a small laugh escape her lips. “While I don’t think that is necessary, thank you.” She lightly bumps Akko’s shoulder with her own. 

The look, the smile, the laugh, and the brief contact were enough to make Akko’s chest fill with sudden warmth. She lets out a small cough, getting out of her daze. “n-no problem, I’m happy to.”

The two head back to the table, tea in hand and heat in chest.

“So,” Diana blows on her steaming tea, “how’d you and your friends get back the other night? The singer I believe, looked to be in pretty rough shape.”  

“Oh! Amanda.” She blushed remembering just how inappropriately drunk her friend was when she and Diana had said their goodbyes. “Well, she’s alright now… not so much through the night… or the next morning. But we got everyone home alright.”

“That’s good.” Diana takes a sip from her cup. “Do you all room with each other?”

“Nuh uh. I mean, I live with Lotte and Sucy.” She says while toying with the rim of her cup. “Amanda lives on the other side of town with Cons and Jaz, but we spend a lot of time at each other’s apartments, so we might as well be.” She chuckles, “We kinda have this thing where we have a sleepover after shows so we kind of just leave our stuff all over the place. 

Akko thinks back to that night’s sleepover and how all her friends grilled her over the cute blonde at the bar. Between Amanda’s trips to the bathroom and bouts of dozing off, she had quite a bit to say about her. Some of the things she said begin to come to mind causing a slow heat to rise in her cheeks. 

“D-do you live with anyone?” She asks, trying to ignore Amanda’s slurring voice in her head.

“I share an apartment with my close friends Hannah and Barbara. We had grown up together.” Diana places her cup onto the table, careful not to spill. “When they heard I was going to school around here, they practically broke into my dorm and moved my things into their spare room.”

“Are they the ones you came with to the show?” Akko tries to remember the group of girls standing by the stage.

“Yes, plus a few high school friends.”

“That’s cool.” Akko smiles with a short laugh, “they have good taste in bars!”

The blonde smiles, “I suppose they do.” Her blue eyes meet Akko’s crimson. “They encourage me to go out a bit more than I would typically, so I have them to thank for the other night.”

“Well, thank you Hannah and Barbara.” Akko says holding up her cup in a toast. 

Diana taps her cup to Akko’s and they both take a sip from their respective drinks. 

Akko’s eyes flit up to look towards Diana, who is covering her mouth, a humorous glint in her eyes. Akko looks at her confusedly as she sees the blonde swallow her tea and brush a finger over her top lip. It takes the brunette a moment before she mimics the movement and feels the residue of a hot chocolate mustache. Her eyes widen at the revelation as Diana holds out a napkin to her. 

“Thank you.” Akko laughs as she takes the offered napkin. 

“Is that hot chocolate?” Diana asks as Akko wipes her face.

“Yeah. I um… had some coffee earlier and uh, think it was making me jumpy.”

Diana gives her a sympathetic smile, “I understand that. I usually drink tea to calm my nerves.”

Akko smiles and glances down at the cup in front of the blonde. ‘Ok, cool. So, I’m not the only one who’s nervous.’

“Akko.” Akko’s head snaps to attention. “If you don’t mind my asking. When we first met you began introducing yourself by another name. Do you prefer to be called Akko?”

Akko raises her eyebrows at the question, honestly surprised she remembered… and a little flustered that she cared. “Oh, um, well, my name is actually Atsuko… but all my friends call me Akko… and...everyone else really.” She pauses, scrunching her face, remembering back. “Really, the only people who ever called me Atsuko were my old professors who didn’t like me too much.” She laughs. 

“Atsuko.” Diana says quietly. 

A swarm of butterflies flutter through the brunette as she hears her name from Diana’s lips. It had never sounded so… wow. ‘But you can definitely call me whatever you want…’ the thought crossed her mind. 

“Yyyup. Um.” She snaps out of her thoughts hoping that the pounding of her racing heart couldn't be felt through the table. “H-how about you?”

Diana looks at her, clearly noticing her abrupt return. She shakes her head, “Nope, nothing special. I am just Diana.”

Akko raises her eyebrow, her mouth spreading into a smile. Her better judgment begs her to stop to no avail. “That’s interesting. Well… okay, ‘JUST Diana’.”

A dramatic exhale leaves Diana’s lips as she hangs her head. “I feel like I should have seen that coming…”

Akko stretches in her seat and laughs out loud. 

Two hours and a double order of hot chocolate later, the girls continue deep in conversation. Comfort completely setting in after the first dad joke, their conversation was filled with genuine smiles and attentive interest. 

“Excuse me a moment, I will be right back. Do you know where the restroom is?” Diana asks as she pushes out her chair. 

After Akko directs her towards the bathroom, she catches herself biting her lip and staring as the blonde walks away. She feels the heat climb up her neck as she quickly turns herself to face forward. It was then that she noticed, a few tables away, a very poorly disguised Amanda and Constanze looking over towards her. 

Akko’s fiery eyes shot open and she suddenly paled. What expression she could see behind the wrinkled newspaper, aviator sunglasses and ridiculous fake mustache, clearly indicated that Amanda had caught her staring. The redhead’s smile peeked out from under the peeling mustache as her eyebrows wiggled over the tops of the sunglasses. 

Akko panics and looks behind her to make sure Diana wasn’t heading back to the table. By the time she looked back at Amanda she was demonstrating some very lewd actions with a doughnut. 

With cheeks rivaling her eye color, Akko angrily mouthed ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!’ to her friend. Amanda just smiled, sensually licking the frosting from her fingers. Akko covered her burning face with her hands to try to hide her embarrassment. 

A few moments later she feels a hand on her shoulder and jumps.

“Are you alright?” Diana looks down at her, blue eyes swimming with concern. 

Akko tries her best to quell the burning in her cheeks. “I-I’m fine.” She said almost convincingly. She spares a quick glance over towards Amanda and Constanze, seeing only Amanda’s sunglasses peeking above the newspaper and Constanze looking down blankly at the doughnut in front of her. 

“Uh um…” she looks up at Diana, her eyes about to follow her gaze to the table across from them. “Do you want to go for a walk?!” She said, maybe a little too loudly as evidenced by the sudden quiet in the café; but it did the trick since Diana returned her eyes to her, albeit a little startled. 

“I-it’s a little cool, but it’s so beautiful out.” Akko began to recover. “There’s a nice park around the corner and um, I can bring my guitar?”

Still confused about the brunette’s outburst, a small smile finds its way to her lips and she responds, “S-sure, that sounds nice.”

As they finish their drinks and begin putting on their coats, Akko looks over Diana’s shoulder towards her friends- Amanda giving her a thumbs-up and Constanze still looking blankly at her doughnut. 

She gives Amanda a glare who then lowers her glasses and gives her a wink. Akko shifts her eyes back to Diana, watching her as she pulls her hair out from under her coat allowing it to fall over her hood and shoulders. ‘So soft.’ She was mesmerized for a moment before pulling her attention away trying to hide her re-reddening cheeks. 

“Ready?” A strange humored expression crosses the blonde’s face.

“Y-yup!” Akko responds, eyes being drawn back to Diana’s hair. She wills herself to look out the window to keep from staring. “I just want to grab my guitar from my car and then we’ll head over! It’s a really nice park, I go there to write sometimes. They put in a new swing set and picnic tables over the summer…” she stops herself ‘Stop rambling, why am I getting all nervous again?!’

The two leave the café, the chilled winter air a vast change from the warmth of the café. Akko leads Diana to her car, a small four door sedan, the back adorned with a decal of Shiny Chariot’s first album cover. Akko unlocks the car door and reaches into the backseat, pulling out a guitar case. 

After slipping the straps of the case over her shoulders and re-locking the car, the two girls head towards the park. 

The walk was quiet. ‘Ohhhh! What did I do? C’mon Akko, say something. Why is this so much harder all of a sudden??’ Akko panics, shifting her eyes between the girl next to her and the apparently very interesting sidewalk. ‘I can’t believe Amanda was spying on us! Did Diana recognize her? Oh, please no.’

Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of a suppressed giggle. Akko worriedly looks over to the blonde next to her to see her forcing her lips shut. 

“I’m sorry.” Her barely controlled expression cracks, her eyes shining. “I… just... really like your jacket.” She says through a laugh. “It’s um, a lovely color.”

Akko looks down at her magnificently bright orange jacket and begins laughing alongside Diana. She then strikes a pose. “Well, I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t miss me!”

Diana laughs, “Well, mission accomplished. I don’t think I could if I tried.

They both laugh and then a moment of silence comes over them, far less daunting than before.  

“So, Diana.” The blonde turns her head towards Akko. “Tell me something I’d be surprised to learn about you.” 

She pauses for a moment, brows furrowed, thinking. Suddenly she brightens with a thoughtful expression.

“You’ll probably appreciate this.” She starts before putting her hands in her pockets. “I… used to play the flute.”

Akko’s mouth dropped. “Seriously?”

“Yup. I wasn’t very good, but my mother used to love it.” She says, a soft smile on her lips. “I picked it up a year or so before her passing. But once school got more competitive I put it down. So, it’s been a few years.” 

“That’s so cool!” Akko bursts. “When you get the time, you should totally start playing again! I’d love to hear! We could jam together!!!” 

Flustered from the girl’s enthusiastic response, Diana blushes, “Maybe.” Her face takes on a slightly more serious expression. “I’ll have to see if my aunt still has it…” She pauses in thought before returning the question to the brunette. 

“Hmm, well… This is a good one.” She laughs while rubbing the back of her neck. “When I was little I wanted to be a witch so soo badly. One time I broke my ankle jumping out of a tree with my mom’s broom. Needless to say, I didn’t fly, but that didn’t stop me from trying again.”

Diana looks at her sympathetically, humor dancing in her eyes. “I’m sorry you didn’t fly.”

“Right? It would have been so much fun!”

They continue their conversation until reaching the park’s chain link fence. 

“I can’t believe you were the horse girl!!!” Akko yells over a laugh. 

“I wouldn’t say that…” Diana denies to no result.

Akko tries to look at her seriously but cracks the second she reaches her eyes. She erupts into laughter “I’m sorry!”

Diana relents and starts laughing along with her, “Yeah that was bad. I can’t say I miss that year very much. I’m honestly surprised Hannah and Barbara stuck around.” 

“I’m sure you were adorable.” Akko tries to calm her laughing as she holds the park gate open for a pink cheeked Diana. 

“Aaaand we’re here!” Akko announces, holding her arms out in front of the park sign reading ‘Arcturus Park’. “Taa daa! Want me to show you around?”

Diana grins looking at the goofball doing spirit fingers in front of her. “Lead the way.”

They walked around the park which consisted of a pretty small woodchip covered playground area and a second grassy area behind a grouping of winter bared bushes for newly installed picnic tables. Akko’s tour consisted of memories; this park had been where she first met her friends, it was the location of her final attempt to fly on a broom (it was done in front of her friends which then resulted in them naming the band), where she played her first “show” (air quotes included), where she “ran away” to (also air quotes) when she heard Shiny Chariot quit performing, and to this day persists to be her favorite place to write songs.  

“In the summer, all back here is covered in dandelions and flowers, it’s really, really pretty.” Akko gushes as they approach the picnic tables. 

“I imagine it’s lovely.” Diana says, never taking her eyes off the girl in front of her. She was so captivating in her own energy, a genuine passion in every action. She shifts her attention towards her surroundings as crimson eyes turns to face her. 

“Do you want to sit?” Akko gestures towards a wooden table.

They settle down at a nearby picnic table, Akko removes her guitar bag from her back and places it on the table. Akko then looks over to Diana, an anxious expression across her face.

Nervously she begins, “So, I um, have been working on writing a song, and I was wondering if you would mind telling me what you think? There’s no words… yet… but um, would you be interested in…”

Diana, fully aware of how nervous this was making the girl in front of her, calmly puts her hand on Akko’s coat sleeve hoping to put her at ease. “I’d love to hear it.” Diana says with a smile before shifting her expression “I did come for the show after all.” She winks jokingly. 

“Psssh,” Akko laughs and takes a breath, a new feeling taking place of the nervousness from a moment before. She turns and unzips her guitar case, pulling out an acoustic guitar decorated with stickers. She then steps on the bench, carful to not hit the guitar on anything, and settles herself on the tabletop.

Diana watches her face closely as she rests the guitar in her lap and begins to tune it. ‘Her focused face is adorable.’ A welcoming warmth fills her chest.  

“This is my first guitar… good ol’ Woodward acoustic.” She says as she continues to tune the guitar. “It was a little hard to learn on because the neck is big and the strings are a little harder to push down… but it made learning electric so much easier. They’re so different.” She continues, closing her eyes listening to the strings.

She played a few chords and ran a scale before pausing and turning the tuning peg on the highest string just a bit. She strums, and decides she is happy with the sound. She looks over to Diana who is looking back, color on her cheeks. 

“Okay, so… let me know what you think…”

Diana nods and Akko takes a deep breath. ‘Don’t mess up don’t mess up.’ She exhales and begins moving her fingers over the strings, settling into her picking pattern. 

Diana watches Akko as she moves to the sound of the guitar. All her movements were fluidly drifting with the music, her fingers gliding from chord to chord. She was temporarily distracted by the bobbing of her ponytail to the cheery rhythm of the song, almost making her miss Akko’s side glance towards her before quickly averting her eyes to the neck of the guitar. ‘She wrote this? It’s simple, but what she’s doing with it is beautiful. She really is something else.’ Diana mused, suddenly focusing on Akko’s fingerpicking hand, mesmerized by its movement, concentrating on the sound they’re creating. ‘I suppose I can’t blame the alcohol for today.’ She chuckles to herself. 

Meanwhile, Akko is caught between the exciting calm of performing and complete panic. ‘Okay okay, doing good. Don’t mess up. Don’t make a weird face. Oh god what if she thinks this song is for her? I mean it sorta is. But would that be weird for her? Is it too much? Oh god why am I so warm? Is she bored? Ahhh. Oh it’s too late now.’

Akko continues to play until the end of the song, her fingers slowing in their movement ending in one final flourish before letting the strings ring out. Once the sound stops she looks over to Diana who begins to applaud softly. 

“That was beautiful!” she pauses to find the words to describe it, “It was… warm.” she clasps her hands together and places them on her lap. “I’m afraid I am a poor music critic, but it was lovely, Akko.”

Akko pauses for a moment staring into bright blue eyes. The same kind eyes that she thought of as she picked up her guitar later that night after they met. “I- I’m glad you liked it. I’m uh, I’m working on lyrics, but I haven’t settled on anything yet.” 

“Well, if you ever want to play for me again, I’d love to hear it.” 

A huge smile crosses the brunettes face as she scratches the back of her neck. “Would um, you want me to play something else? The acoustic version of Afterimage is a little different than the full band version… or wait, are you getting cold?”

“Not at all, I’m actually quite warm. I’d love to hear more, unless you’re cold?”

“No, I’m pretty warm too.” 

-----  

Time and songs pass, and eventually the sound of music turns yet again into laughter and conversation. The sun begins to set, taking with it what little warmth was in the air. The girls, caught off guard by the darkening sky decide to leave the park and head back to the café. 

“I didn’t realize how late it was.  I’m sorry.  I hope I didn’t keep you too long…” Akko apologizes, a small cloud forming from her breath. 

“Not at all! The time did seem to go by quite fast didn’t it?” Diana says looking towards her. 

“Yeah, it just started getting dark out of nowh-” the lip of the sidewalk catches the toe of her sneaker, causing Akko’s feet to come out from underneath her. Before she gets the chance to brace her fall, she feels Diana’s hand grab her own, allowing her the time to steady herself.

“Are you alright?” She asks. 

Akko, not quite sure if she was slightly in shock because of the close call of eating pavement in front of her date, or if it was because of said date’s hand holding her own.

“I-I uh” she stutters, absentmindedly looking down to their joined hands. ‘Yup, definitely because of the hands. Oh my gosh she’s so warm.’ 

Diana follows her gaze to their hands and for a moment worry comes over her expression, until she feels Akko’s hand tighten around hers. 

Blue eyes meet red. “T-thank you, that would have been embarrassing.” Akko says blushing, her free hand scratching the back of her head.  

“Of course.” Diana smiles, squeezing Akko’s hand in return. 

A light snowfall begins as the two walk back to the café hand in hand. Their walk is a little quieter than before, warm thoughts and the calm sound of footsteps taking the places of stories and laughter.

‘How is her hand so soft??’

‘Calm down Diana, she’s going to feel your heartbeat… Her hand feels so nice.’

The sunset made way for darkness as they approach the entrance of the café. Colored fairy lights decorate the outside window, Café Meridies written in gold on the glass. 

They face one another as they reach the window, interlocking their free hands. Standing in silence, their breath forms a cloud between them.

‘What do I do? Do I… kiss her? Isn’t that too fast? I mean it’s only our first time going out. I mean, I’d do it, but I don’t know if she’d be into that. My gosh she’s beautiful.’

Diana shivers slightly, snapping Akko out of her inner monologue. “Well, I suppose I should be heading home.” She says softly, never shifting her eyes from Akko’s. 

“Y-yeah. Me too.” They keep their hands interlocked, warm. A few more moments of silence as the two search each other’s faces. 

Diana takes in a deep breath and releases it into the air. She squeezes Akko’s hands. “I had a very nice time today.” She gives her a small smile before looking down at their hands. “I was wondering if you would be interested in maybe seeing a movie… um… with me… next weekend? If you aren’t busy of course.”

“I’d love to!” Akko interjects, a giddiness resonating through her.

The blonde is slightly taken aback by the speed of the response. “Oh, wonderful! Um. I… you said you enjoyed adventure films right? Would you be interested in that one, um, Triskellion? I think?”

“Sure! But, I think I heard it’s supposed to be a little scary…”

“I’ll keep you safe.”

Both girls flush red. Diana stands there frozen, wondering what on earth just came out of her mouth. And Akko stands there praying that the furnace burning inside of her won’t cause noticeable steam to rise from her body into the cold night. 

The overload of emotions running through Akko is too much to keep contained, causing her to blurt out in laughter, instantly breaking the tension. Diana follows suit shortly after, falling victim to the brunette’s contagious laughter. “You’re such a flirt.” Akko teases as she goes in for a hug, wrapping her arms around the other girl’s waist. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Diana eases her laughter, feigning surprise. She hugs Akko in return, laying her cheek against her hair. 

‘She smells so good.’

The girls pull apart from their warm embrace. Akko immediately missing Diana’s body against hers.

“Can I walk you to your car?” Akko asks, holding her hand out once more.

The snow comes down harder as the two reach the parking lot. Once they reach Diana’s car the two turn to face each other once more, separating their hands.

“Alright, so I’ll text you about the movie.” Akko says, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Have a goodnight, Dian-”

Diana reaches up to Akko’s face brushing a piece of snow off her cheek with her thumb. Her eyes looking at her softly. She seems to freeze in a slight panic from what she’s doing as she notices the wide-eyed brunette looking back at her slack jawed. She takes her hand from Akko’s face with as much composure as she can gather, which amounted to a similar amount to what someone has when accidentally touching a hot stove.  

“Y-you as well, Akko.” She unlocks her car and opens the door, pausing before getting in to turn back to face her. “Goodnight.” She smiles.

Akko stands there adorably touching her face, trying and failing to make it look like that is not exactly what she is doing. “G-goodnight.” Blue eyes lock on red as Diana gets into her car. Akko stands there for a while and watches the car drive away before heading to her own a few spaces away. 

She unlocks the car, places her guitar in the backseat and climbs into the front. She sits there for a moment just looking through the windshield at the snow coming down.  She closes her eyes calmly before throwing her head back, squealing, touching her heated cheek and stomping her feet excitedly. 

Her whole drive home, a grin was spread across her burning face. Her smile only faltered, turning to surprise, when she walked through her front door to see her friends all waiting.

“How did it go!?” Lotte and Amanda exploded as she steps inside, the rest huddling, listening intently. 

After a moment of recovery, Akko responds, “It was really nice!” Her smile temporarily reappearing on her face before shifting as she focuses her attention on Amanda, “EXCEPT for when some PERVY OLD MAN was SPYING on us!” 

The redhead shrugs her shoulders, unaffected her by the accusation, “I said I’d be there for ya, didn’t I?” she winks. “Besides, you’re welcome for getting you out of there… did you have fun at the park? All alone… keeping each other warm-”

“Nothing like that happened at all!” Akko’s face flushed a deep red. “We- we just talked and I played some songs for her…” 

“Awww!” Lotte sighs.

“I… I had a wonderful time with her.” Akko finishes, her blush calming. 

“When’s the next date?” Amanda chimes in. 

Akko’s blush returns with renewed vigor as she sputters out, “We-well she asked if I wanted to go see a movie with her next weekend.”

“She asked YOU?? Man, Akko, how desperate is she?” Sucy jokes, coming up behind the brunette poking her reddened cheek. 

“Hey!” Akko turns to her, “She’s not desperate! She’s smart, and caring, and funny, and gorgeo-” she is interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach.

Her friends look at her wide-eyed. 

“Did you eat anything?” Lotte asks seriously.

“I… kinda forgot, we were on a walk and I guess I kind of lost track of time…” Akko responds embarrassed. 

“Woah, Akko missed a meal for this girl. This must be serious.” Sucy teases. 

“Hey!” Akko puffs her cheeks out.

Amanda’s face cracks into a wicked smile. “I thought for sure you would have eaten out tonight…”

“AMANDA!!!”

_____

Diana brushes the snow off her jacket as she reaches her apartment door. When she walks thought the threshold she finds both Hannah and Barbara in matching robes sitting on the couch waiting for her. 

“What are you doing back so late?” Hannah looks at her disapprovingly.

“And why haven’t you answered any of your texts?” Barbara matching Hannah’s look. 

“We were worried!!!” the two yell in chorus, losing their serious expressions.

“I-I’m sorry, I-” Diana flinches for a moment before pulling out her phone to see 9 unopened texts as well as two missed calls from the two of them. “I had put my phone on silent because I didn’t want to interrupt the show. I’m sorry, I forgot to turn it back off.” She switches her phone off of silent mode. 

“Whatever!” Hannah waves her hand quickly dismissing the issue. Suddenly she and Barbara are at Diana’s sides peppering her with questions about the date.

“How did it go?”

“What was she like?”

“Was she as cute without booze on board?” 

“Did she pluck any heartstrings? OOH! Oh my gosh, did she write you a song?!?”

Diana just blushes and says “We had talked at the café and then went for a walk after. I had a very nice time with her…and... I’m hoping to see her next weekend for a movie.”

Her friends hold each other squealing happily. 

“Do you want us to come and watch out for you? You know, in case you get uncomfortable?” Hannah asks seriously.

“We could go in disguise!” Barbara adds excitedly. 

“You won’t even know we’re there.” Hannah waves any worry away. 

Diana nearly visibly sweat drops, “T-that won’t be necessary. But I do appreciate the offer…”

“DID SHE KISS YOU?” Barbara blurts out excitedly.

Diana turns beet red. Despite thinking about how badly she wanted to kiss Akko’s snow-covered cheek, she manages to sputter out a “N-no. We- we’re not at that point. Th-this is only the first time we’ve gone out.” She looks away from her who friends who look at her with sly smiles and sharp eyes.

“Methinks the lady Cavendish doth protest too much~” Hannah sings out as Barbara stifles a giggle. 

Diana rolls her eyes, willing the blush away, praying they would think it’s because of the cold, but she’s smart, she knows better. 

“I’m going to go change into something a little warmer.” Diana tries to steer the topic in another direction. “Have you eaten yet? I know I made you wait longer than expected.” She asks turning towards her bedroom. 

“We were just going order some takeout, did you want anything?” Hannah answers, fully aware of the diversion. “Maybe some… Japanese?” She and Barbara smile slyly. 

Diana turns her head to look at them, with an exhausted expression on her face, a tired laugh escapes her lips. “I’ll have whatever you two are having. Thank you. I’ll be back in a moment.” She continues to head to her room. 

Hannah and Barbara wait quietly until they hear Diana’s door close. 

“That will be ten dollars and a back massage please!” Barbara holds her hand out cheerily. 

“Are you kidding? She outright said ponytail didn’t kiss her!” Hannah looks at her, putting her hand on her hip defiantly. 

“But did you see her blushing? That was totally a lie.”

“No way!”

~

Diana reaches her bed and falls back onto her comforter and stares at the ceiling. ‘Oh gosh, what was I thinking? I shouldn’t have touched her face like that.’ She reaches up to her face and feels the red hotness emanating from her cheeks. ‘I can’t believe I did that. Have a little more self-control!’ she scolds herself. ‘I can’t believe what I’m thinking...But her laugh, her smile is contagious. And the way she looked when she was lost in her guitar… she smelled like vanilla…’ She closes her eyes, concentrating on her heartbeat. ‘I am happy to find my attraction to her had very little to do with the alcohol’ thinking about Hannah’s earlier question. She then feels a vibration from her phone in her back pocket. 

Diana pulls the phone from her back pocket, still laying on the bed and smiles as she reads the sender’s name. 

‘I feel like such a jerk! I should have taken you out for dinner!! Please forgive me <3’

‘Thank goodness...” She smiles relieved. Slightly caught up by the text heart, she types in a response. 

‘Maybe you can make it up to me by joining me for dinner before the movie?’ She hits send and sits herself up on her bed. 

A few moments pass and the phone vibrates in her hand. 

‘Deal! But it’s my treat!’ 

‘Well, if I have no choice. Though I do believe you are treat enough already.’ She sends the text, immediately questioning whether or not she may have overstepped. 

She doesn’t receive a response right away, which adds to her nervousness. She changes into a sweatshirt and flannel pants and is in the middle of putting her hair into a ponytail by the time she hears the vibration on her bed. She practically runs over to her phone to read:

‘FLIRT!!!!!’

She rolls her eyes, smiling, and starts typing. 

‘I suppose I am. ;) Should I stop?’

She waits for a response, this time it comes quickly. 

‘Absolutely not! Have a goodnight Diana! o^_^o’ 

‘Goodnight Akko :)‘  She texts back. Taking a moment to tame the smile on her face, she places her phone in her sweatshirt pocket and takes a breath.  With a warm fullness in her chest she heads towards the kitchen. 

‘Actually, Japanese would be nice.’

END

Bonus:

[lfthinkerwrites]

The Commission-Results

Title: From the Case Files of Edward Nigma, PI

Fandom: Batman

Rating: T

Summary: The Commission releases their recommendations, which causes shockwaves throughout Gotham.

Author’s Note: Thus ends this arc in the fic! Things are starting to get serious in Gotham, and soon, the last person Edward ever wanted to get involved with this mess will find herself entangled in it...

Saturday, February 24th, 9:30 am

"So when do we get to see the kid again?"

Edward looked up from where he was cleaning out his coffee mug and shot Deirdre an indulgent smile. "I told you, Sunday. We'll all go out for dinner at that Italian Restaurant on 4th street."

Deirdre nodded and went back to reading her newspaper where she was lying sprawled on the sofa, her head in Nina's lap. Nina carded her fingers through Deirdre's hair and smiled at Edward. "Just the four of us?"

Edward shook his head and dried out the mug with a washcloth before setting it in his dishwasher. "No, Selina will be there too." He tried not to laugh when he saw Nina's face curdle in displeasure. "Now now, don't be like that. Ellen's quite fond of her, you know. I won't have you sit next to her or anything like that."

Nina huffed. "Better not. What about your lady doctor friend? Will she be there?"

Edward hadn't even thought to ask Penelope if she'd want to join them. She probably wouldn't, workaholic that she was, not to mention the fact that given her testimony yesterday, the last thing she should risk was being seen with him in public. "Well, no,-"

"You didn't ask, did you boss?" Deirdre sassed.

Edward rolled his eyes. Any quip he was about to make was cut off by the sound of his cell phone ringing from the dining room table. "Bet that's her now," Nina added.

Edward crossed from the kitchen sink to the ringing phone. "Edward Nigma, Private Investigator."

"Edward it's me."

Penelope. Any annoyance he might have shown at Nina for being right was overtaken by how shaken his partner sounded over the phone. "What is it?"

"Victor Goodman's dead."

There was a name Edward had hoped he'd never have to hear again. "No offense, but is that really much of a surprise? The man did have terminal cancer."

"He committed suicide."

Well. He hadn't expected that. "Hold on just one second, Penelope." He looked at the couch where a curious Nina and Deirdre were watching him. "I need to take this. I'll just step in my room for a bit. I'll be right out." He quickly walked down the hall into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. "There, I'm back. Now, tell me everything."

"Strange called Commissioner Gordon an hour ago and told him that Goodman hanged himself in the Arkham Infirmary. Gordon called me half an hour ago to tell me."

Edward scoffed. "Nice to see that Arkham's supervision hasn't improved. You're not going to lose any sleep over Goodman's death, are you?"

Edward could almost see the irritated expression on Penelope's face when she spoke. "Of course not, but Edward, this is serious. Gordon asked for Goodman's body so GCPD could do an official autopsy, but Strange told him that Arkham had already conducted one and cremated Goodman's body."

This was a bit concerning. Edward furrowed his brow. "I take it that's not standard Arkham practice?"

"When I worked there, we did have our coroner conduct autopsies, but we always kept the body available for GCPD or the families if they requested an additional one. I'm suspicious about the timing of this too. Goodman's been incarcerated in Arkham for two months, and he chooses to commit suicide the night of my testimony before the commission? Perhaps I'm seeing things, but this isn't adding up."

Edward rubbed his chin. A suspicious death in Arkham...this seemed...almost familiar. "You think that Strange murdered Goodman."

"That was where my mind went first, but even that doesn't make much sense. Why would Strange kill him after I testify? As far as we both know, Strange wasn't involved in Goodman's rampage, so he doesn't have any reason to silence him. Strange has sadistic tendencies for certain, but in that case, he'd let cancer kill him." Penelope let out a sigh. "I'm just thinking out loud. What do you think?"

Edward considered this. "You're right," he said. "It is suspicious. But I don't think Strange killed him. If Goodman's death was a homicide, I think Strange is covering for someone else."

"Who? Bolton?"

"Not likely. Bolton's a minor thug. He's replaceable. It would have to be someone of much greater importance to Strange. Someone who he's been working with from the beginning." There was only one person Strange would lift a finger to help.

"Edward...you don't mean...Sharp?"

He grinned a bit. He knew there was a reason he liked this woman. "Who else? Sharp would still have access to the asylum as the former warden and the current mayor. And you said yourself, Sharp did begin to implement stricter policies at the Asylum when he was the warden."

"Yes, but Edward, it's a bit of a leap from that to murder-"

"You were all but accusing Strange of murder just a few moments ago," Edward chided. "You're the psychiatrist, Penelope. Sharp chose to become as entangled with Strange as he is for a reason."

"Sharp's many things, Edward. But a murderer? Believe me, it's not that I think Sharp is a good man deep down. He's pompous, demeaning, and he takes credit for things he hasn't done. He's a coward though. It's obvious in the way that he carries himself that he uses his position of power to overcompensate for a lack of character. I just don't see him as being capable of murder."

Edward hummed. His memories of Sharp from when he was incarcerated at Arkham were still faint at best, and from his own past interactions with the fool, he'd agree with Penelope's assessment. There was something nagging at him though at the back of his mind. "When did you first become acquainted with Sharp?"

"When he moved from Blackgate to Arkham, of course. I'd never met him before that."

Edward nodded. "And before? He was the warden of Blackgate?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm just saying, there's a lot we don't know about Sharp's background. If we want to understand Strange's plan, we need to understand Sharp and how and why the two became acquainted with each other."

There was a pause on the line before Penelope spoke again. "So then we should look into Sharp's background too."

"Exactly. I can begin some research on him this week."

"One thing still doesn't make sense to me. Sharp's the mayor. Why would he risk losing everything he's spent the last five years working for to murder Victor Goodman?"

Edward had an idea what Sharp's motive might have been. He just needed to put it in a way that wouldn't alarm her. He swallowed a bit before he began to speak. "Well, it's all in the timing. Goodman was killed the night of your testimony where you detailed exactly what he did to you. And you've said in the past that Sharp is paternalistic towards you, yes?"

"Oh my God," Penelope breathed. "He killed Goodman for me?"

Edward flinched a bit at the quavering in her voice. "It's a possibility." He bit his lower lip. "Do you want me to come over?"

Penelope's voice resumed its clinical tone. "That's not necessary, Edward. Joan said she'd be coming over today. I know you still have your friends over, I don't want to take up any more of your time."

"Alright, as long as you're sure," Edward said. "I don't want to be over-dramatic, but if my hunch is correct, then Sharp may have an unhealthy interest in you. Be careful around him."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Penelope said. "I'll see you Friday."

"Right-by the way, what are you doing Sunday?"

"I'm going to be over at Aaron's home visiting. Why?"

Edward sighed. It was just as well. "Never mind. I'll see you Friday." He hung up the phone and looked at it with a feeling he couldn't quite identify. If he was right, then Sharp was more dangerous than he'd anticipated. If he was right, what might he do to Penelope if he got his hands on her-he wouldn't. Edward wouldn't let that happen. He would not lose her. Not like he lost Jonathan.

Monday, February 26th, 9:00 am

"This is Vicki Vale, reporting live from Gotham City Hall with a breaking news development. After a dramatic week of testimony, the Sharp Commission will officially be releasing their report by the end of this week. The Sharp Commission was convened to review the actions of GCPD and Arkham officials during the crime spree of Victor Goodman last December. During the hearings, the conduct of senior GCPD Detectives Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya was specially called into question. During his closing statement this last Friday, lead Commission member Phillip Ward, warden of Blackgate Prison, stated that what happened last year during Goodman's rampage represents the inadequacy of Gotham's criminal justice institutions to deal with serious crime and that the complacency of GCPD under Commissioner Jim Gordon, in particular, has led to criminals becoming emboldened. He then stated that the commission will release recommendations to get at the heart of the problem of costumed crime in Gotham. We'll keep you informed as to the latest updates here on GCNN."

Gordon looked at the badge and gun on his desk, then at the detective who deposited them with a heavy heart. "Harvey," he said gently. "You don't have to do this."

Bullock wiped his face with the back of his hand and sighed. "Yeah, I do, Jim. They got my number. I let Nigma piss me off too much and I screwed up on the Goodman case."

"Harv, there was plenty of blame to go around. I should have kept a closer eye on Nigma-"

"I'm the one who detained him. If he hadn't broken out, Doc Young would have gotten killed. I own that. I'm not gonna let you or Renee get dragged down by this too."

Gordon shook his head. Bullock was stubborn as he was loyal. There was nothing he could to dissuade him from this course of action. "What are you going to do?"

Bullock shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll be a PI too, give the green asshat a run for his money."

Gordon let out a sad chuckle. "You would, too." He got out of his seat and stepped around to the front of his desk. He grabbed one of Bullock's hands and gave it a firm shake. "If there's anything you need, anything at all, you know where to find me."

Bullock nodded. "Yeah. I know." He slowly let go of Gordon's hand and walked towards the office door. "See you around, Jim. Don't let the creeps in City Hall get to you." Bullock opened the door and walked out into the bullpen for the last time. Gordon followed him to the open door and watched as Montoya gave him a hug and some younger cops shook his hand. Gordon's fist clenched. Sharp and his damn commission had cost him one of the best officers and men he'd ever known. Why? What was his goal?

Thursday, February 29th, 9:00 pm

Sharp sat in the plush chair behind his desk, reading over the document Ward had handed to him two minutes ago. The longer he read, the redder his face got and the more nervous Ward became. He furtively glanced at Dr. Strange, who was sitting behind Sharp, an impassive expression on his face. This did little to settle Ward's nerves. Finally, Ward spoke. "You'll see that Greene and Roberts went along with our recommended changes to the parole process for Arkham inmates-"

"Yes, and not much else!" Sharp shouted, crumpling the paper and throwing it towards the wastebasket in the left corner. "This isn't even half of what I asked for! What about the TYGER program?"

"Given the City's budget, it isn't feasible right now-"

"There's nothing in here about Gordon either! You both said you were going to use this commission to force him out!"

Ward took a sharp breath to avoid saying something he'd regret to the mayor. "I told you, Quincy. We can't quite get rid of Gordon yet. Your little friend from Arkham made it quite clear to me what would happen if we did."

Sharp shook his head furiously. "You must have misunderstood her. She wouldn't-"

"For God's sake Quincy! She all but said what her intentions were!" Ward shouted, pounding his fist on the desk. "She's not the woman we knew from Arkham anymore! She's a threat! You need to acknowledge that!"

Sharp shook his head again. "She's being misled by Gordon and his lackeys at GCPD. She'll come around. You'll see. I am her benefactor. She would not betray me." Ward sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Was this genuine affection for Young, or was this another one of Sharp's delusions? Or was he just being stubborn?

Before either Ward or Sharp could anything else, Strange stepped forward and placed his hand on Sharp's shoulder. "Patience, mayor. Patience," he soothed, his Teutonic voice low and slow. "I told you at the beginning that it would not be a quick process. I have it on good authority that Bullock has resigned. That will leave an opening for us to take advantage of. Why don't you go lie down?"

Almost robotically, Sharp stood up. "Yes," he repeated. "I think I should go lie down."

Strange smiled. "Good night, Mayor."

"Yes...Good night..." Sharp slowly walked out of the office and towards, Ward presumed, his bedroom.

As soon as the mayor was out of earshot, Ward looked at Strange. "What have you done with him?"

"Nothing drastic," Strange replied. "I've merely taken the liberty to up the dosage on his medication. After the incident with Goodman, I thought it was necessary."

Ward didn't fully believe the man but decided it was prudent not to press further. Instead, he sighed. "Quincy's right though. It's not exactly what we hoped for."

"It is a setback, yes, but it's not a total loss. We still have important provisions put in place."

Ward nodded. "Is it true about Bullock resigning?"

"Yes. It's not being reported on, but I have a source in GCPD who confirmed it. I have a man in position to take Bullock's place. If nothing else, we will have eyes and ears in GCPD to monitor Gordon's activities."

Ward let a small smile come to his face. It might not be exactly what they wanted, but it was a start.

Friday, March 1st, 9:30 am

"This is Summer Gleeson with a breaking news bulletin. The Sharp Commission has officially released its recommendations! We now to live to City Hall, where chief commission member and warden of Blackgate Prison, Phillip Ward, is addressing members of Gotham City's press corps, including our own Vicki Vale."

"...The Sharp Commission makes the following recommendations: 1. The Parole Process at Arkham Asylum must be overhauled. Patients should receive a minimum of five years of treatment before any consideration of parole. All parole decisions must receive approval from the Warden of Arkham Asylum. 2. Any released inmates of Arkham must make themselves available for further treatment at any time requested by the warden of Arkham Asylum, or be in violation of their parole. 3. Any deviation from a treatment plan will be considered a violation of parole. 4. Any association with any of the super criminals in Gotham City will be an automatic violation of parole. 5. All current and future Arkham inmates will be required to remain on a specially created registry for ten years after their parole and must report their status to any employer or law enforcement official without being asked. Furthermore, the Commission makes the following recommendations for inmates of Blackgate Penitentiary, Stonegate Penitentiary, Gotham City jail and Gotham County jail: 1. As with Arkham Inmates, all paroled inmates from these institutions must make themselves available to their parole officers and to correctional officers when requested. Any association with any of the super criminals in Gotham City will be an automatic parole violation. Any crimes carried out in service to the super criminals must come with an automatic sentence enhancement. Finally, any individual apprehended committing a crime while in any kind of mask or costume will face an automatic five-year sentence enhancement in addition to any other fines and penalties. The Sharp Commission will send these recommendations to Mayor Sharp for his approval before going through the proper channels to ensure their passage. Thank you."

Penelope switched off her radio, let out a long sigh and brought her fingers up to massage her temple. Across the desk from her, Edward was sitting back in his favored chair, watching her intently. "Well," he said in a breezy tone. "I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that the Arkham recommendations won't become retroactive, otherwise I'd be in a fix. What do you think?"

Penelope dropped her fingers and gave him an incredulous look. "What do I think?" she asked. "It's a complete overreach, that's what I think! Arkham Asylum is a mental asylum, not a prison! I could understand stricter protocols for the super criminals, but the majority of the inmates in Arkham aren't there because they're criminals! They're meant to be treated and reintegrated into society, not-" she let out an irritated huff. Edward's face had kept its curious expression and she bit her tongue to avoid from snapping at him.

"Notice who and what wasn't mentioned, however. GCPD. Gordon. Your testimony and your threat to Ward did something."

Penelope clasped her hands in front of her and looked down. "Not enough. Aaron told called me on Monday and told me that Bullock resigned."

"Good riddance. That's not on you. Bullock's resignation was a natural consequence of his own stupidity."

"He's Gordon's right-hand man, Edward."

"If I hadn't managed to get word to Selina about being detained, you would be dead. Because of Bullock. You don't owe him a thing-"

"It's not about Bullock, Edward! It's about Gordon, about GCPD as a whole! I don't like Bullock anymore than you do, but you have to-" Penelope paused. Edward had only begun his investigation after being directly attacked by Strange. The GCPD, Gotham City itself, Edward could care less about. He wasn't the heartless, irredeemable criminal she'd thought he was two years ago, and he had proven he did care about individual people, but it was a far cry from that to caring about the greater good. She worried her lip and continued in a cooler tone. "Bullock's resignation, no matter how much you think he deserves it, is a loss. And it's something Sharp and Strange are going to take advantage of."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I realize that. Which brings me to what I originally going to share with you." He reached down to the briefcase at the foot of his chair and placed it on Penelope's desk. He opened it and pulled out paperwork, which he neatly piled next to the case. "I managed to uncover some juicy details about our illustrious mayor." He looked up at her and his face grew uncharacteristically serious. "I think both of us have been underestimating Sharp."

Penelope felt her stomach sink. "What do you mean?"

Edward tapped his fingers on one stack in particular. "This is Sharp's biographical information. He comes from a military family and applied to West Point himself."

Penelope took the stack from Edward and began to thumb through the paperwork herself. "Applied...he didn't get accepted? He would have been the first of a long line of men in his family not too. That could be at the root of his overcompensation."

"He did not. You should see why."

Penelope looked through the stack and found a psychological evaluation. She gave Edward a sharp look. "Edward, this is strictly confidential. How did you-"

He gave her an impish shrug. "It's me, remember? Read on."

Penelope looked back at the file and read out loud. "'During evaluations, Sharp displayed symptoms of a schizophrenic personality disorder. He denied it when asked and has refused any further diagnosis or treatment.'" Penelope reached up to brush at her bangs. "Well, this is illuminating, but I'm not comfortable using Sharp's mental illness against him."

"Go on."

Penelope shook her head and continued to read. "'Beneath a pompous, self-important demeanor, Sharp is a cipher. He is psychologically susceptible to-'"Penelope's breath caught in her throat. "'to molding especially at the hands of an authority figure. He is not fit any sort of military duty.'" Penelope let out a shaky breath. "Oh God. Strange isn't just working with Sharp, he's working through Sharp. He's a puppet master."

"That's not the worst of it, Penelope."

Penelope scoffed and looked up at Edward. "What? What else did you find out?"

Edward bit his lip, then gestured to the other stacks on her desk. "I took the liberty of going through the lists of patient deaths from before Sharp arrived at Arkham and after."

Of course. If Sharp felt secure enough to kill Goodman, he must have done it before. "And?"

"In the twenty years Jeremiah Arkham served as the head of Arkham Asylum, there were three patient suicides, all of which were independently confirmed as such by the GCPD Medical Examiner. There were three patient suicides the first six months alone of Sharp's tenure. So, either Sharp was indirectly killing people through his reactionary policies, or-"

"He was killing them himself," Penelope finished dully. How had no one caught this? How did no one see this? Where had she been? "This is my fault. All of it. I was so focused on that damn experiment, my own career, I didn't-"

Penelope nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a pressure on her hands. She looked down to see Edward's gloved hand covering them, awkwardly petting them. "Enough of that," he scolded. "That won't get us anywhere. Put everything that happened out of your mind and treat him like he's any other patient or suspects you have to profile. What does all of this tell you?"

"I don't-"

Edward's hand gave her own a light squeeze. "I'm certainly the smartest person I know, but I can't look into the human psyche the way you can. You're an intelligent psychiatrist. Act like it."

That may have been the most touching thing Edward had ever said to her, awkward as it was. Penelope nodded, took a breath, then withdrew her hands to look over Sharp's psychiatric profile again. "Contrary to popular media perception, schizophrenics aren't any more likely to be violent than the rest of the population. However, Sharp's denial of his condition and his refusal to seek treatment suggests that he is ashamed of it. The overcompensation in his behavior likely stems from deep self-loathing. He projected this self-loathing onto the patients at Arkham Asylum hence the harsher policies and his behavior towards them. He always seemed disinterested at best and disgusted at worst. By killing patients, he's actually trying to kill the sickness he sees in himself. At some point, he crossed paths with Hugo Strange-"

"And Strange found a willing puppet," Edward finished with a smirk. "See? I knew you could do it."

Penelope scoffed. This man really was impossible. "We still can't prove anything. And now two dangerous men are controlling policies in this city."

"True," Edward shrugged. "But now that we have a better sense of who they are and what they're capable of, we can prepare for it." He smiled at her. "Right, partner?"

Despite herself, Penelope felt a small smile come to her own face. "Right." She looked down at the stack of papers again and tapped her finger on her desk. "There's still something I don't quite understand. The provision about criminals in costume."

Edward furrowed his brow. "I'll admit, that is something that stuck out to me too. I mean, the kind of person who puts on a costume to commit a crime isn't the sort of person this kind of deterrent works on. The only person who might care about this is-" Edward's eyes lit up and his mouth dropped open. "Of course," he muttered. "Of course! How did I miss this? How did I miss this?"

Penelope leaned forward in her chair. "Miss what?" Edward got up and began to pace up and down her office, almost as if he hadn't heard her. "Edward?" she asked louder. "Miss what? What are you talking about?"

Edward suddenly looked at her. "Sharp and Strange are targeting Gordon. Why? What do they gain by that?"

"What do they-well, they get rid of the one city official who would stand up to them-"

"No, there's more to it than that! Don't you see? Who has Gordon sanctioned for over ten years? Who has he protected? Who would find himself without an ally in Gotham City if Gordon resigned tomorrow?"

Penelope brought her hand up to her mouth. "Batman? Sharp and Strange are targeting Batman?"

Edward clapped his hands. "Exactly! One thing I've never forgotten Penelope. Eventually, everything in this city leads back to Batman."

Penelope sank back against her seat. "Why?"

Edward rubbed his chin and Penelope tried to ignore the excited gleam in his green eyes, the same gleam she'd seen when he was her patient in the not too distant past. "What are Strange and Sharp up to that they think me, Gordon and Batman are a threat to? That is a riddle, isn't it?"

Friday, March 1st, 9:30 pm

Bruce sat in his chair at the head of the dining room table in Wayne Manor. Around him sat Dick, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, and Cassandra. Alfred stood by his side. "Barbara?" Bruce spoke into the cell phone in front of him. "Are you there?"

"I'm here," she said over speakerphone. "What's going on Bruce?"

Bruce cleared his throat. "The Sharp Commission released its recommendations today. Mayor Sharp and the City Council will have them implemented by the end of the month at the earliest. The provision about the criminals in costume is troubling."

Tim sat straight up in his seat. "That's really about us, isn't it?"

Bruce nodded. "That's what I believe, yes."

To Bruce's left, Damian scoffed. "What do we have to fear from City Hall?"

"Damian, my father will have to enforce this law," Barbara's voice crackled through. "Whether he wants to or not."

Dick sighed. "What's the plan then?"

"Be vigilant on patrol. Try not to go alone if at all possible. Stay in communication with me and each other at all times. And if you see law enforcement, back off. Don't get into a situation where you end up in a confrontation with them. Understand?"

Dick, Tim, Stephanie, and Cassandra nodded. Damian huffed. Barbara then asked the question that Bruce hoped he wouldn't have to answer. "What about Jason?"

Bruce sighed. "I'll try to talk with Jason. In the meantime, don't approach him or the Narrows."

"No problem there, Boss," Stephanie saluted. The rest of the team voiced their agreement as well.

Alfred looked mournful but said nothing. Bruce gave his partners a nod. "Good." They all had work to do.

[urwarriorangel]

‘anything you want’ (bellamy blake au, part v)

part i, part ii, part iii, previously

Prompt: Things are finally a little smooth. You’re over Bellamy, you and Octavia are closer than ever. In fact, she’s asked you to be her son’s Godmother. You chose his name, you bought the gifts, and now it’s time for him to come into the world.

Pairing(s): Bellamy Blake x Reader, Linctavia, Surprise Character x Reader

Warning(s): angst y’all!!! letdown, surprise bf!!! heartbroken!bellamy, language

A/N: hey y’all this part is kinda cute tbh, it is angsty but also cute! please enjoy it, i love it very much! this is a bellamy x reader fic so please don’t worry! well, worry bc it’s an angsty fic but not bc of that!!! they’ll end up together! i love y’all! (!!!!!!!!!!GIFS NOT MINE!!!!!!!!!)

Looking back at it, you’re okay with missing Octavia’s wedding. You left the night of, making John in charge of your last day of maid of honor duties. Granted all he had to do was wear a pretty dress and tell Octavia everything was going to be alright because everything WAS going to be alright, you made sure of it. You even emailed Bellamy a list of the events in addition to everything else. In the end, you took care of everything during and after the wedding. You left the lovebirds a beautifully written note and they, of course, understood… granted you also paid for their honeymoon.

As far as Bellamy was concerned, he was ridden with guilt. He couldn’t wrap his head around why he did what he did and he’d never been more devastated. He tried to contact you after the fact, tempting you with pictures of the wedding and edible arrangements. You sent everything back. That man ruined you and you’d be damned if you let that happen again.

Now you’re hackling the cab driver, desperate to get to the hospital on time for the birth of your godson, which you got to name by the way.

“The hospital is literally five minutes away can we just--you know what? Never mind,” you throw a couple 20s, grab your purse and the three gift bags, and get out of the car--right into traffic, and you could not care less. If you were gonna get hit by a car, so be it. Maybe the ambulance could get you there quicker. You quickly cross the street and walk the few blocks left towards the hospital. On your way there, you keep checking your phone and muttering under your breath, somehow managing to miss the tall figure now walking next to you.

“So you still talk to yourself, huh?” You almost stop dead in your tracks at the sound of that voice you’d constantly curse in the middle of the night.

“Old habits die hard,” you whisper, not bothering to look at him or acknowledge him any further.

“Yeah, I know,” he whispers, unable to keep his eyes off of you. Each time he sees you, he doesn’t think he can admire you more and each time he’s wrong. There’s so many things he wants to say to you, so many apologies that he can finally-

“Bellamy, look,” you stop in your tracks and turn to look at him: Bellamy Blake, looking miserable as ever. You wish it would bring you joy. “You set out to ruin my life, you do know that, right? You wanted to turn everyone in my life against me, that’s how much you hated me, and to this day, I have no idea why. I mean, sure, I no longer cry myself to sleep and I don’t drink to forget the pain, but that doesn’t mean that the pain is gone. You hurt me, and I hate you. I hate you, Bellamy Blake. I’m here because I love Octavia and I love Lincoln and I love Augustus. That’s why you’re here, too. Let’s limit our conversation, to nonexistent. Got it?” You see a small smile on Bellamy’s face and your glare grows. “Why are you smiling?”

“Augustus?”

“Yes, Augustus. I love that name. Why? Didn’t they tell you?” Your anger turns into confusion and he chuckles.

“No, they didn’t tell me the name. They said you picked it and I would love it regardless. They were right,” his smile widens as realization hits you.

“Right,” you whisper, remembering the moment you shared with Bellamy all those years ago.

He was staying at your place, here to see Octavia. You couldn’t fall asleep, so you decided to make yourself some hot chocolate. In the process, you woke Bellamy up. The only way he’d shut up is if you made him a cup, too. So you did and you two spent the night talking about nearly everything under the sun.

He told you about Octavia: how he felt responsible for her, how he always wondered if he’d failed her at all, how he named her. He told you about himself: how he loved history, how we was a complete nerd in high school, how we loved soccer.

You didn’t speak much, too enthralled by the spectacle that was Bellamy Blake. When he realized how much he was talking, he blushed. And you remember laughing, appreciating the hell out of his rosy cheeks as it was one of the rarest sights.

“You remember,” Bellamy’s soft voice whispers, breaking you out of the trance.

“Yes, it seems so. You protected Octavia, now she can do the same to Augustus,” you turn, breaking out of the daze and making your way into the hospital, Bellamy quickly following after you.

He remains silent the rest of the way up, carefully choosing his next words. You two arrive in the waiting area, met with an ecstatic Lincoln.

“It’s almost time!” He smiles wide, tears evident in his eyes as he sees you and Bellamy.

“I’m so excited,” you whisper, tears forming in your eyes too as you think of holding your godson. “Get in there! She’s going to need you.”

“Right!” Lincoln laughs and wipes his eyes, grabbing your shoulder with one hand and Bellamy’s with the other. “Thank you guys so much!”

You smile at him and rub his hand. “Hey, keep bringing us little god-children and we’ll be here all the time. Now go!”

Lincoln nods and runs back to the room, a smile on your face as a few tears roll down. You’re not looking at him, but Bellamy’s quickly wiping his own tears. You can’t sit down, so you remain standing as you wait for the good news. In the meantime, you keep Clarke updated, seeing as she’s the only one who couldn’t make it to the hospital. Wells and Raven (yes, they’re together, with your blessing) are on their way, as is John. Everyone else is going to have to wait.

Just as Bellamy’s getting ready to talk to you, to tell you how much he misses you, you both hear another voice call out your name.

“Y/N,” you smile as you hear the voice and as Bellamy looks up, his heart shatters into a million pieces. You get up and wrap your arms around your current boyfriend, Finn Collins.

“Finn,” you smile softly, sighing in relief as he’s here to save you from the awkward tension. “You said you couldn’t make it.”

“Yeah,well I know how important this is for you,” he smiles widely down at you and you kiss him, momentarily forgetting Bellamy.

You and Finn got together at an odd time. At first, you just wanted someone to hook up with. And FInn was always the fuckboy, the guy you never gave any serious thought to, so theoretically perfect. But when you got to his house, hammered as hell, he let you in and tucked you into his bed, sleeping on the couch himself. You woke up, embarrassed as ever and much to your surprise, he asked you out on a date. And you said no the first few times, but eventually gave in and here you were, five months later, still really digging him.

“Ahem,” Bellamy clears his throat and you pull away from Finn’s embrace, almost embarrassed. He tries to keep his voice as serene as possible, reaching out a hand to Finn. “I’m Bellamy.”

“Hey, I’m Finn,” the guys smile at each other, shaking hands and never losing eye contact.

“Alright, you creeps let go already,” you roll your eyes, making your way towards the seats again. The boys both slowly let go of each other’s hands and sit on either side of you. Before any of you can say a word, Lincoln runs over to you guys.

“He’s here!” You jump up at Lincoln’s words, running towards O’s room with your gifts in hand.

“Oh my god,” you whisper and walk in, a smile on your face as you see a tired Octavia holding your godson.

“Meet your godson, Augustus Nyko Blake-Trikru,” Octavia smiles and you fight back the tears pooling together in your eyes.

“That poor kid is gonna have one hell of a time learning to spell his own name,” you laugh softly as Bellamy makes his way to the door.

“Is that--?”

“It’s Augustus Nyko Blake-Trikru,” you laugh softly as Bellamy tears up again, a wide smile on his face.

“That’s one hell of a name,” he says, still smiling at you and you nod your head in agreement.

“That’s what I said!”

“Alright godparents, get your asses over here and take him from me so I can rest for a little bit,” Octavia smiles and you drop the bags, running over to take Augustus from your best friend.

“Hi, my angel,” you whisper softly, finally letting the tears fall down your face as you watch the gorgeous little baby in your arms. He’s got his father’s lashes, the same toffee colored skin. He’s got his mother’s round eyes and dark brown (curly) locks. “I love you so much already,” you close your eyes and kiss his forehead as Bellamy watches, heart wrenching at the sight of you with his nephew.

God, he wished he could change things. He wished--

“Is that him?” Finn pops his head in and you look up, rolling your eyes at him even in this emotional state.

“No, we stole someone else’s kid.”

“Geeze, Y/N, let the kid down easy,” you hear John’s voice and smile as he walks in, followed by Wells and Raven.

“John, shut up and look how beautiful my godson is!” You whisper loudly, smiling as you look back down at the sleeping angel in your arms.

“Our godson,” Bellamy smiles and walks over, brushing a gentle, hesitant kiss over Augustus’s forehead and you swear your heart explodes. Fuck.

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

The Wolf of Farore - Chapter 28

An Ongoing Zelda/Witcher Fusion Fic - Updates Wednesdays/Thursdays

War has come to The Kingdom of Hyrule.  The people cry for a savior as monsters and spirits stalk the once green fields of the provinces.  Famine grips the populace as the Gerudo Tribes and their blin allies strike along the borders.  Hope for peace begins to drown in the blood spilled in No Man’s Land.  But Hyrule doesn’t need another hero.  It needs a professional.

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CHAPTER 28:  STAKEOUT

The goat pen was a simple fenced area with a small pair of weathered barns against the stone wall. At the moment it was empty, the goats in the nearby area to be milked and tended by the farm hands. Link pushed the gate open carefully with Epona right behind him.

“Try not to disturb the scene too much,” she said.

“I know what I’m doing,”

“I do too y’know. Seen you do this enough to know some things we’re looking for too.”

“Alright then.” He looked over his shoulder at her, smirking slightly. “How should we start here?”

“Well, we know the creature consumes blood. It might not be a very clean eater and any blood we find might give us an idea where the goat was standing. And the window might give us a good idea of which way they go when they come in and leave.”

“And?”

“You can use the charm Midna gave you. See if you sense any of the magic the goat was talking about. If it’s been around enough times, there has to be a trace of energy.”

“Which can give us an idea of how to handle it. Smart.” Link was nodding. “I’ve already got an idea too here to catch it in the act.” He walked to the entrance and pulled the gate open. Inside it looked like to have over two dozen goats in the pen would be a bit cramped, but there was enough room for them to move around, especially for livestock. Lending a careful eye to the room, he saw the open window at the top was facing the East.

“Link, over here!” He turned around to see Epona motioning to one of the corners. She was motioning with her head against the wall. “Couple dead birds! Swallows I think. And it smells kind of funny over here too! Not like a dead thing should smell!”

He knelt down and inspected the two dead swallows. They were huddled in a corner together, as if they were trying to hide from something. Link reached for the wolf charm around his neck and clenched it. A small pulse of magic from his fingers and the dirt blew ever so slightly around him. “Magic,” he said, feeling it. “Plenty powerful too.”

“I’m not seeing any other insects or small animals around this place either. And I think I remember Cia saying once that a powerful enough dark curse would drain the life out of things around the cursed individual.”

“She did say that.” He carefully picked up one of the birds and inspected it. As he did, it turned black and crumbled into ash and smoke in his gloved hand. “Completely consumed by the energies. Any insects or field mice probably burst into smoke when the spell was cast that paralyzed the goats.”

“So, this could be a cursed mage maybe?”

“Likely.” Link got to his feet again, adjusting his scabbard strap slightly. “You’d need a great deal of magic to curse a mage. Or else he’s worse with magic than I am.” He stroked his chin for a moment and looked to the window again. It looked like it could be knocked closed from the inside and latched.

“You said you had an idea how to catch this thing?”

He nodded. “We borrow a carpenter’s sawhorse from the workshop and cover it with an old goat pelt or two. Make it look like one of the goats that’s sleeping. I’ll hide under it. Move most of the goats in with the horses tonight, but leave a couple in here as bait.”

“I don’t think the goats are going to like that part of it.”

“I wouldn’t either. But we know at least it doesn’t kill them. And if it’s a wild animal, rather than kill, it might try and flee as it has lost an easy meal. Giving me the opportunity to take it down or a way to keep it from getting back in.” He looked to the gate out of the pen. “If it’s dangerous and does get out though I’m going to need you.”

“You can count on me, Link. If it can fly, might I suggest the obsidian bolts?”

“Yeah.” He looked around the pens a little more before starting for the exit.

“Once it’s down though, what’d you do about it?”

“If it’s a mindless beast or some magic entity, kill it. It’s been a threat to the people here. If it’s someone who is cursed though… Maybe we can break it.”

“And what if they’re the only thing that’s been keeping the livestock safe from human criminals?” Epona cocked her head and her left ear flicked a little.

“Mmm?” He stopped to look at the mare.

“We’ve seen people bearing curses before trying to help people and not breaking their curses. Like that priest you and Groose ran into a year back? Gave him some powers at the cost of an incredible pain. Was only that it drove him mad you two had to put him down and thought you were a pair of murderous moblins! And he did a lot of good before that happened.”

“In the end though, he became what he fought so hard to protect the village against. A raging monstrosity driven mad by the hate that caused the curse in the first place.” He looked out on the ranch. Malon was running over, followed by from a distance it looked like a woman with large feathery sleeves. “We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it though.”

“Link!” Malon said, catching her breath a little. “There’s a rito here looking for you!”

“I can see that…” As they approached, he instantly recognized the rito woman as a Handmaiden of Valoo. Her arms were folded over her dark grey robe and her wings hung down from her arms like giant sleeves. A red sash over her shoulder held a harp on her back and there was a red and white messenger bag on her hip. Her deep dark auburn hair was back in a long ponytail. She smiled warmly the second she saw Link. “Medli! What’re you doing here?”

  “Looking for you!” she said. “I got your letter and with things that have been happening, I knew I needed to find you.”

“You know her?” Malon asked.

“Yeah. She helped me on my first big assignment and some others too!” He smiled a little. “What’s going on, Medli?”

“Uh, can we talk a little more privately?” The rito looked at Malon. “No offense, but it’s a bit of a serious matter. Chief Komali said it’s need-to-know.”

“I can, but I’m in the middle of a contract,” Link said. He looked at Epona for a moment as the horse let out a whinny. “Malon, do you have any goat pelts?”

“We have a couple,” she replied.

“Good. I need them and a sawhorse. We need to make a fake goat I can hide under.”

“I can do that.” She smiled a bit. “Figured things out then?”

“Yeah. We’re going to try and catch it in the act.”

“Just tell me what else needs to be done.”

“Anything that makes it look and smell like a goat. We need to ensure it’s as realistic as possible. Gross as it might be, it’s really important it smells right too.”

“So it doesn’t suspect anything. Could be identifying them by the smell.” Malon was nodding as he spoke. “Okay. I’ll grab a couple hands and we’ll have it ready by sundown.”

“Thanks.” He watched her walk off and then felt Epona nudge him from behind. Link looked back at the mare. “What?”

“You’re gonna have to fill her in,” the mare said.

The rito smiled. “Good to see you too, Epona.” She walked over and petted her.

“Now, here’s someone who knows how to actually say hi! Not just appear out of thin air and magic with a laugh.” She shuddered. “Sometimes I still close my eyes and see my shadow with glowing red eyes!” Epona shuddered and shook her head, pushing her snout into the rito. Medli was more than happy to keep petting her.

“So, what’s going on?” Link asked. “You came yourself meaning it’s really important as opposed to just sending a courier.”

“That’s because someone is targeting our couriers,” Medli said, her voice clearly concerned. “Most of my trip has been on boats. A fishing ship to Windfall then the ferry to Aboda.” She let go of Epona and looked back at him, feathers fluffing up a little as she did. “We have lost seven in the past month. Four the one before. Link, I’m worried this is an attempt to pull us into the war. Or they think we’re feeding information to someone. Things that could change the course of the war.”

“That’s not good.”

She shook her head. “Nope. And you know how tough some of our couriers are.” Medli then stroked Epona’s snout once and turned back to face Link. “I know there’s a lot going on and with what you said in the letter… I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to do that. To just turn away from The Crown.”

“It was.” He looked down at his boots. “I keep telling myself that I’m doing what I was trained for.” Link looked back at her then. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing here? Trying to end this war by going against The Kingdom and The Tribes?”

“I don’t know, Link. We’ve always tried to stay out of politics like that. All I know is my tribe is in trouble right now. But with what you’ve done, I’m sure you are going to need help. And I can do some of that.”

“Your information network has never let me down. Having that at my disposal would help a lot. Especially for movements.”

“That’s easy for us.”

He looked back up at her. “Let me finish this job first. I’m on a bit of a time limit because I needed a special potion.”

“Hey! Tell her hi!” Epona said. “Like actually I’m talking to you because of it!”

Link stopped to glance at the horse and then back to Medli. “I can understand Epona right now. She wants to say ‘hi’.”

“Oh! Jabber nut extract.”

“You know it?”

She nodded. “Old minish recipe. Nearly impossible to find though. Must have a really good brewer then. Are you okay though? That sort of potion was only used by people who would regularly interact with the minish and their magic. And the last time someone did that was over a thousand years ago. And your body might be reacting to it in ways we don’t even know.”

“Yeah. I’m okay.” He stopped for a moment. “…I don’t look toxic, do I?”

“No. Perfectly normal. If you’re worried though, I can take a blood sample.”

“Might be for the best…” He folded his arms then. “If I have to go up against this creature I’m looking at, I’d prefer not to come back from it looking like a gibdo or using the only Nayru’s Tears I have to purge my system.”

“Yeah, and he spent all his rupees on getting the jabber nut one!” Epona added.

“It was a very specialized potion, Epona. And they didn’t charge me for it. Irene’s grandmother insisted I take it with me along with the others.” When he looked back at Medli, her brows were raised and mouth slightly open in surprise. He could read her face and what she was thinking. “…Yeah, it’s been a weird day so far.”

“So, what exactly are you two doing?” She put a hand on her hip and gripped the red sash across her body.

“Goat-vampire,” Epona said.

“It appears to be some sort of monster feeding off the goats,” Link said.

“That’s what I said.”

He looked over his shoulder. “How about you go talk to the other goats and let them know the plan so they don’t completely freak out while I fill Medli In?”

“Well, that would be a good use of our time… Hey! Could also figure ways we could maybe make you even sound like a goat! Really fool that monster.”

“And how would we do that?”

“Uh, Link?” Medli asked.

He looked back at her. “Sorry. As I was saying, we’ve got some monster. We’re pretty sure it comes in through the window in the goat pen at night.” Link watched Epona walk past him and head for the goats. “Thinking it might actually be a cursed man too.”

“So if it is, you think you can break it.”

“Hopefully.”

“Well, count me in.” She beamed. “I won’t be much use in a fight as I’m exhausted from flying all day, but I can still do a few things around here. I also have my grappling hook. Can ground it with that.”

“Perfect.”

It was evening. Link looked to see Epona standing in the open stable door for the horses, just waiting for when he’d whistle if the creature they were after would get away. He watched as the fake goat that had been put together by Malon and a couple ranch hands was placed near the window. Medli had perched herself on the roof of the pen and pulled a large cloak over herself to make it look like she was a massive brown owl. In her hands was the grappling hook on a long rope. She watched carefully around with a yawn and looked down to see Link walk into the pen.

Malon was already waiting for him. On her hip was a large quiver and she wore a heavy leather cloak, the hood back at the moment. Only about nine other goats were in the pen and many had looked to have fallen asleep already. “All ready?”

“Just about,” Link said. He pulled a vial from one of the pouches on his belt. It was a bright lime green and the small label wrapped around it named it Kaepora’s Vigil. “Go wait with Epona. Have your bow handy?”

“Just in case… I also have a couple of the guards with me who wanted to help.”

“If it starts to use any magic, get back. Me and Medli know how to handle it. And with the bird I showed you, last thing we need is that energy twisting someone.”

“I know.” Her eyes looked down for a moment. “What about you? Will you be okay if it uses magic?”

“I will. I’ve dealt with actual mages too. I know what to expect.”

“Okay.” Malon took a deep breath. “Be careful then.”

Link gave her a nod and watched her walk out of the pen. Once she was gone, he pulled the cork on the vial and drank the potion. He gagged as he felt flecks of burning pulp cling to his throat, but forced himself to finish it. His eyes dilated beyond the capability of a normal human and he felt his heart beginning to beat far quicker. Things became clearer as he was now able to see far better in the dark. The bit of exhaustion that he’d experienced earlier that evening had vanished. He shook his head a bit and forced his eyes to go wide. The darkness seemed to fade a little more from his sight even more. Link ran a hand over his face, feeling sweat collecting on his glove. Each bead had a tiny lime green tint to it. Prepared, Link pulled the crossbow from his belt and loaded one of the obsidian shard bolts. Cocking the weapon he then pulled the goat pelt back and hid under the sawhorse. All he needed now was to wait.

  The hours passed and a waxing moon hung in the sky. Link watched the goats and stayed as still as he could as he saw, at last, the creature appear. The charm around his neck danced on its chain. He grabbed it to keep it from causing too much noise. Peeking out from the goat pelts, he saw the figure of a man in a tattered robe with bare clawed feet. He had a great pair of yellow bat wings. He looked around carefully and if the feeling from the charm he was clutching was any indication, there was magic already flowing between the man’s hands. The window above closed, making him spin around. Link saw a great pair of horns on their head and the wings spread wider. The goats bleated in a panic, but to Link’s ears it was a jumble of accented ays and ohs. The creature beat its wings and went for the window once more. Link took the opportunity then to push the sawhorse off its base and leapt for them.

The surprise caused the creature to snarl and throw a clawed hand at him. Dark bolts of energy struck Link’s chest, sending him flying through the wall and into the pen. He rolled as best he could and was on his feet among the shattered wooden boards in moments. The creature stepped out, snarling. In the moonlight and thanks to the enhanced vision the elixir gave him, Link was able to clearly see the individual was human, or had been at one time. He pulled the crossbow from his belt and took aim. As he did, Link saw Medli throw her grappling hook from the roof as the creature took to the skies. The hook snagged his right wing. She pulled hard back. In spite of her efforts, the cursed man took to the skies, with the rito holding onto the rope and letting out a long shriek. They both went over the wall.

Link whistled for Epona. The mare bolted from the stables and Link ran to meet her. “That thing is way stronger than it looks!” she said. “C’mon, Link! Hop in the saddle already!”

“Slow down a little!” he said. The mare obeyed, but did not stop. Soon as he was in the saddle, Epona broke into a gallop and leaped the fence after their quarry. The wolf around his neck continued to shake violently from the magic it sensed.