#these characters are supposed to be co workers and yet we know like….one or two dynamics

[showtoonzfan]

I just love it when I see upcoming indie creators/artists make drawings or a chart of what the dynamics are like between each of their main characters, going into depth about how each character bounces off of one another and how they see the other, because I’m SO used to a certain indie cartoon NOT doing that at all or exploring it. ☺️

[esperderek]

I have to have a chuckle at the Screenrant article posted recently about the Galactic Starcruiser, which totally wasn't about Jenny Nicholson's video honest.

In part, because early in Nicholson's video, she talks about how unnatural it is to have your influencers speak in adcopy and copyright rather than the more colloquial nicknames, and how it makes the people speaking about the product seem very insincere and, well, paid off. Because normal humans don't speak that way, but advertising does.

What's the first two lines in this article?

"As a life-long fan of Star Wars, there was nothing quite as exciting as finding out that I would be working on the immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience. Located at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Galactic Starcruiser opened on March 1, 2022, and welcomed passengers to board a two-day, two-night cruise through the stars, during which they could live out their own Star Wars adventure."

No one talks like this naturally. No one writes like this naturally.

This is supposed to be your passioned defense of the place you worked at, the people you worked with, and the memories you made along the way. C'mon! Why don't you open with a story, perhaps an anecdote about the best moment you had working there, or the devastation of the day you lost your dream job. We need to feel your humanity! But there's nothing of that here, to the point where you can just hear the TM behind Galactic Starcruiser.

The first half of this article continues in this vein, reading like a press release Disney marketing put out, just with past tense rather than present or future tense:

"Essentially, the Starcruiser experience was a 48-hour movie that passengers were actually a part of. It was all facilitated through the "datapad," which was accessed through the Play Disney Parks app."

"To facilitate the overarching immersive experience and storytelling, the Starcruiser built a jam-packed itinerary for each and every guest that would consist of a variety of important activities: the captain's toast at muster, a bridge training exercise, lightsaber training, and more. These types of events were essential to understanding what was happening, as they would give passengers the chance to interact with characters and build their story. This is why the Starcruiser could never be just a hotel; every part of it was designed for enthusiastic interaction."

Like, c'mon. I used to work in television. I've seen and used adcopy in my former job, and this is some serious adcopy. It honestly wouldn't shock me if the author dredged up some old adcopy they had lying around about the topic and just transferred it over, changing the tense. You're not here to sell us this product, because there is no product to sell. It's gone, it's been gone for a year, you don't have to sell us on IT. Speak about your experiences.

The next part is yet another topic that Jenny Nicholson pointed out, the bad faith excuses that influencers and advertisers made for the extreme price point:

"What many people don't know, however, is that the price included much more than just a room. The passengers' food, park tickets, recreation activities on board, non-alcoholic drinks, and more were all included - with merchandise being one of the few additional costs on board."

Which is absolute bad faith reasoning, especially when there are plenty of other vacation options that are ALSO all-inclusive, but are MUCH cheaper and offer MORE amenities than the Galactic Starcruiser did! Including Disney Cruises, owned by the same company! Seriously, you can go on a halfway decent sounding cruise or all-inclusive resort somewhere warm for, like, a week or two and spend far less than GSC cost.

Then the last part is essentially: "All the workers liked working there and the bad reviews afterwards make the workers who worked on it feel sad. :("

Which, like, companies have been hiding behind that reasoning for ages. Curiously, the author never offers....any reasons or stories. WHY did working on it impact you so much? What set it apart, what were the people like, what did you like about working there, why are you so passionate about it even a year later? There's nothing, just a generic sort of "We worked hard." and "We're sad it's gone." Why? How? What happened? The video you're obviously writing this in response to is filled with personal anecdotes and stories, it's the backbone of the video! Again, you need to give us something to show your humanity!

Especially when you consider that Nicholson repeatedly points out that the only highlight about her experience, the only thing that kept the damn thing going was the workers.

She had nothing but praise for them, and nothing but contempt for the higher ups who wasted and abused that enthusiasm, to the point where one of her last points was "Hey, Disney is basically exploiting labor."

Much like Jenny, I'm also not condemning anyone who had a good time working there. Good! If you were having a good time at work, that's great. If you have good memories about the people, awesome. But I'll note two things:

a) That doesn't meant you weren't being exploited, and

b) That doesn't mean you have to be a useful idiot for the corporation you worked for afterwards.

I'm not conspiracy brained enough to go "Oh, Disney TOTALLY forced this article into being.", because a cursory examination of the author's prior works and such suggests a lifelong passion for Star Wars, she did work at the hotel, and she's a Star Wars Editor (whatever THAT means in this day and age) for Screen Rant. Apparently one of the heads of Screen Rant says that Disney had no hand in it either.

Though, I can see why people would think that way. It READS like a press release, not something a normal human being would write about an experience they feel passionate about.

[michelle-is-writing]

Interview, Matthew Gray Gubler

He's so goofy, I love him

Word Count: 2.1k~

(C/n) : Character name for the show

I think even after all the years of doing acting, I will never be able to feel completely comfortable in an interview. Over time, it's gotten easier, but the lingering feeling of nervousness still creeps up into me. I always worry I'll say something that can be taken out of context, or I'll blurt out something I wasn't supposed to reveal just yet. However, if I'm with friends or co-workers during an interview, the anxiety isn't so prevalent.

Thankfully, right now, I'm in one of the rooms on set with four of my closest friends as a reporter from a nearby magazine publishing company interviews us. Kirsten, A.J., and Shamar sit along the largest sofa while Matthew and I share the loveseat in the room. It's fitting, actually.

Over time, Matthew and I have formed a relationship with each other outside of filming Criminal Minds. It wasn't planned, of course. We met on set knowing our characters would soon be forming a romantic relationship, and so, we started a friendship to better portray the chemistry on set. However, that chemistry went farther than I could've expected in such a short time, and now we sit as two lovers who can't reveal themselves to the world just yet.

In the show, my character, (C/n), and Spencer still haven't gotten together. They're perfect for each other, my character having been written specifically for Spencer's character, but they have issues like any other two people trying to get together. It's lead to a lot of ups and downs with many fans going online to tell us to just kiss already. Luckily for them, the next episode that's next to come finally breaks through that relationship barrier and our characters get together. Because of this, the producer has told us that it was alright Matthew and I could be together off-screen - however, we must keep our relationship secret and hidden away from the public to avoid any spoilers about the episode being released.

Due to the pressure of trying not to do any of the things I would usually do with Matthew, I'm a bit scared of this interview. I know the interviewer is going to ask us questions about our ever growing on-show relationship - that's a definite. With the increasing romantic tension between our two characters, I don't even think she has to ask any questions to get the answer she wants. It's happening, and it's obvious.

Once the interviewer enters the room, she introduces herself as Lacey and greets us all with a welcoming smile. Sitting down in the only arm chair in the room, she starts off by talking about the recent season to the camera while other cameras pan around to catch video of us all. With all of us being watched and recorded, Matthew waits until the cameras are pointing away from us before sliding his hand discreetly over to mine and linking our pinkies together. The simple action, makes me a bit calmer as a smile soon makes its way to my lips.

"So, JJ And Will," The interviewer starts, facing A.J. with the same smile as before, her arm draped against the arm rest while her leg is crossed over the other. "Are they thinking about having any more kids after this recent one? Maybe another boy, or a girl for change?"

At the question, A.J. smiles with a small laugh. "I think for now, Henry and Michael are enough for Jennifer," She explains, folding her hands together and placing them in her lap. "Plus, I think Mekhai and Phoenix are enough for me at the moment too," A.J. adds, causing all to laugh with her. The boys are wonderful, but with Phoenix barely six months old at the moment, I can understand why she would be apprehensive over thinking about another baby so soon.

"They are adorable kids, A.J.," Lacy tells her, earning a warm 'thank you' back. Turning toward Kirsten and Shemar, Lacey asks them her next question. "What about your characters?" She asks, "Are there anymore developing things to soon come along?"

"Just the same ol' incessant flirting from this old woman," Shemar jokes, earning a slap to his arm from Kirsten much to our amusement. However, Shemar quickly earns his friendship back from Kirsten with a hug as she struggles to keep her angry face. "But it's the flirting that I love! I love it! I'm glad it's incessant!" He further clarifies, taking Kirsten in his arms and swaying her as she laughs at him.

With that, our laughter grows until finally quieting down as Kirsten is back to wrapping her arms around Shemar's neck in a non-threatening gesture. This time, the interviewer turns toward Matthew and me with a smirk on her lips, his hand having already left mine moments ago as we felt the questions coming.

"Now," Lacey begins, her voice slow and calculated. I can't help but feel a bit anxious under her unmoving stare. "We have seen the relationship between (C/n) and Spencer grow and have breakthroughs on-screen, but, my question is..." She then pauses, her smirk turning into a grin. "What all do you have to say about yours and Matthew's relationship off-screen?"

Her question takes me by surprise. All of the questions we've been asked before were centered around the relationship between mine and Matthew's characters - never are they about me and Matthew in real life. We always chalked it up to the fact that we make sure we're careful in not revealing that we do have a relationship, but maybe Lacey just kind of sensed it. Although, how could she not?

"Oh, well," I start, looking over at Matthew as he smiles at me. To the others, it's just a plain, nonchalant smile, but to me, I can see the corner of his lips turning up into a smirk. "Our relationship is nothing more than friends," I lie, my voice calm as I continue lightly grinning. "We play around and joke around with each other constantly. We're very close," I add, being truthful for once. I know that Matthew desperately wants to stop hiding our relationship from the public, as do I, but we can't. At least, not for another week.

Lacey hums a response with the smirk back on her lips. "So, Matthew's arm around your shoulder was just a friend thing?" She can't help but ask.

"Okay, so, we're best friends!" I exclaim, rolling my eyes before letting out a small laugh. "Two friends can put their arms around each other without it meaning anything else. Right, Shemar?" I add, hearing the man in question agree with a 'I know that's right'. Meanwhile, Matthew has his own way of dealing with the unwanted questions.

"Whoah!" Matthew states, leaning back with a blank look, his hands help up in surprise. "Did you just friendzone me, babe?" He asks in a ridiculous voice, making me stifle a laugh. He's so goofy, but I guess he's trying to help me play it off all the while calming me down too. Like anything else he does for me, he's doing it successfully.

"You're lucky I even said 'best friend,' buddy," I add, crossing my arms with a smirk as I lean back against the couch rather than Matthew's arm like before. Meanwhile, Matthew just stares at me with his mouth agape, trying not to laugh at my words.

"Bu-buddy?!" He questions, purposely stuttering the word for a dramatic effect. "My heart!" He shouts, slapping a hand to his chest. This time, everyone begins laughing at our exchange as we smile at each other and slowly settle back down.

Thankfully, realizing that she won't get the answer she was wanting, Lacey doesn't question mine and Matthew's relationship again, nor does she ask anything more about Spencer and (C/n)'s growing relationship either. In fact, her attention is so far away from me and Matthew at this point that she doesn't even notice our new position with my back against Matthew's chest and his arm lazily strewn across my lap. Any other time, this wouldn't be happening, but with us establishing that we're just "friends" like Shemar and Kristen (funny enough, the only two that actually do know about our relationship), I feel as if we're in the clear.

After the interview is over and we're all released to head back to our dressing rooms, I make my way to mine with the intention of taking my makeup off before heading home and taking a nap. Of course, when I say 'home,' I mean mine and Matthew's apartment. Unfortunately, it's yet another thing we have to hide from everyone else.

Just as I toss my used makeup wipe into the trash bin, I hear my dressing room door open behind me before shortly closing afterward with a click. Turning around to see who walked in, I'm greeted by the person whom I want to see the most, and we can't help but smile at each other as soon as our eyes meet. Barely a few seconds pass before Matthew's arms are around me and my lips are on top of his.

Despite our touches being soft and sweet, they soon turn into something more as I find myself pressed against my dressing room counter with Matthew in between my legs and his hands planted firmly on my waist. "Matthew," I murmur in between kisses as his lips move down to my jaw. I know that if we don't stop now, there will be no stopping at all.

"Matthew, we can't," I whisper, pulling myself back to look at him. Staring back at me with lust blown eyes, I watch as he tries to catch his breath while I do the same. Having to hide our relationship everywhere we go builds up a certain passion that sometimes comes out in situations like now. Although, it's usually at home and not where practically anyone can catch us. "Not here."

"Why? No one's going to hear us," He quickly points out, shrugging as if it were nothing. Diving back into my neck, Matthew presses his lips onto the skin of my collarbone, prompting me to move a hand to his head and tug his hair back. Thankfully, this brings a halt to his actions, and instead of crying out in pain, Matthew jerks his head back into my hand and sighs through his nose, smirking. "Unless you keep that up."

Resisting the urge to laugh, I shake my head at him. "That's what I'm saying!" I almost exclaim, moving my hands to the sides of his smiling face. "Besides, we haven't come out as official yet. We were told to wait until next week's episode that way we don't give away our character's relationship at the same time," I remind him, feeling my heart slowly break as his smile falters.

Knowing that I'm right, Matthew sighs before laying his head against my chest in defeat. "I know, but I'm tired of waiting," He murmurs, his voice gentle and almost in-audible. Out of the two of us, I think Matthew's the one that this affects the most.

"Me too," I agree, my hand that had previously pulled at his hair now soothingly combing through the longer locks. "But, it's just another week, just one more," I point out, reminding us both that we don't have to wait that long anymore. "And then we can finally kiss and hold hands and hug without having a finger waved at us."

Nodding with a chuckle, Matthew continues resting against my chest as I massage his scalp. Although, a flip is switched within a matter of seconds and he's back to smirking. "You know, we could always just give them a sneak peek, nothing more," He suggests, turning his head to nuzzle further into the exposed skin from my v-neck blouse.

"Matthew, you are an animal!" I quietly exclaim, laughing as I have to once again push him away. With him grinning playfully, I move to stand back up in front of him, a similar grin making its way onto my face before I lean up and press my lips to his in a soft, but quick kiss. "I do love you though."

Smiling at my comment, Matthew tightens his arms around me and holds me close, my face now pressed into his chest for a change. "I love you too, (Y/n)," He murmurs, lowering his head as I feel him press a kiss to my hair. One more week is all we have to wait before revealing anything, and honestly, I don't know if this man is going to last that long.

And to be honest, I can't blame him.

[generalsdiary]

a stupid bet

gn!reader x Dr. Ratio

part two here

warnings: suggestive themes, kissing, cursing (?)

word count: 10k~

a/n: I don't know which demon possessed me to write a 10k fic about a character that isn't playable yet, istg I need help (the worst thing is I could've written even more, send help + if he is ooc mb he isn't out yet), not beta read (we die like Cocolia), Kavetham's son has me in a chokehold

description: you accept to do a bet to lighten up Dr. Ratio, one of your work colleagues and also a rival, you're not too fond of each other. things take a sharp turn when you do something quite haste to win the bet (could come off as a slower burn fic, rivals to something more?)

It was a bet. Your coworkers were certain no one could do, especially not you but now it fell onto you. To lighten him up.

Rivals of years, you and Veritas Ratio disliked each other for a long time. For some dumb reason, you were stern on doing this bet, the group of them and you stood to the side and you observed him, the way he stood next to his desk with a neutral expression on his face. Knowing your usual relationship, you were doomed to fail so your mind went to at least making him surprised. That should count to something, right?

It is past saving when you walk towards him. "Thought you could help me a bit."

He sighs, already annoyed at you. "What is it?"

Rather clumsily you point to his cheek, no idea what you should do.

He looked at his cheek, then back to you. Your pointing and leaning made him even more annoyed than he already was — he found it amusing that this was your idea of humor.

"Ah, the other one" You try to save yourself

Another sigh. Another glance. There was nothing on the other one either.

"You can't see it-" You mention.

He squints his eyes at you. He doesn't have time for your games. "Why don't you tell me what I'm supposed to see then."

"A crumb," you say simply. "Shall I?" Digging your grave deeper.

He raises a brow. He knew you had a big ego, but he was honestly surprised you really thought he would fall for this. “Sure, go ahead.”

In hopes this would at least catch him off guard, you reach with your hand to move the imaginary crumb, your fingers caressing his cheek and then pulling him in for a kiss.

His eyes widen, surprised, his heartbeat quickening, while he finds you irritating... he also finds you attractive. for some reason.. the kiss continues for a bit, his breath coming out in short gasps. you weren't expecting it to work.

Now you pull back, he is stunned, maybe a tad less irritated at you. You two stare at each other for a moment. The only noise is your heavy breathing, and something is cooking below the surface.

He stares at you for a bit longer, breath coming out in short gasps, as he processes what happened. Then he breaks the stare, his eyes scanning the area — some of your coworkers were watching, and probably laughing. But he didn’t care. At least... he didn’t want to care. He wanted to focus on you. Your eyes met his again, and you could see the blush still present on his cheeks, the warm look in his eyes.

You feel confused in this moment, what are these... feelings... you mentally shrug them off. "uhm... I gotta go-" You walk over to the co-workers to see if this counts as winning the bet.  As you turned to walk over to the observing co-workers, you could sense that his eyes were still watching you.

The acquaintances agreed that you won the bet. But found your way of achieving that interesting, especially since you two dislike each other. They leave and, the space is empty when you return to reading some papers.

After you’ve left, he spends a few moments pondering the event, and then, in an impulsive decision, he decides he wants to find you again. It wasn’t just the bet that he became, later on, aware of, or his wounded ego, that had him wanting to seek you out; he was intrigued by this newfound interaction. He wants to see where it leads.

He finds you sitting at a table. When you notice him approaching, you can feel the gaze of your coworkers. As he reaches you, you can feel their eyes still on you; there are some giggles and laughs in the background. When he speaks, his voice is a tad low. He also appears to be a bit timid, which isn’t the usual for him: “..May I join you?”

"What is it, Veritas?" Your voice was cold, and you look up at him.

He swallows, then glances at some of your co-workers. “I…” Your coworkers are still observing you with curiosity, so he lowers his voice while not looking at them. “... want to talk. To you.”

"We are talking," you say back, your gaze on the papers in your hands. You're dismissive towards him.

He hesitates but pushes on with his request, still keeping his voice low. “.. I want to talk to you in private.”

"Do we have anything to talk about?" you scoff, deeply ignoring the way it felt to kiss him. Chasing those thoughts away. You could see his face change to a microexpression you just about missed as he realized you hadn’t yet picked up on what he hoped for.

“You and I, we..” He hesitates to continue. You’d always been so formal, or irritating, with him. "we.. don’t get along.. usually.”

"We don't. So, leave? Why would we go talk in private?" you say. You knew this was about the bet. This was about the kiss - you chase those thoughts away, no. You will not think about not even for a second how soft- no. Stop. You return to reality. He is talking.

A moment of his hesitation. He lets out a small sigh before speaking again. “...We don’t get along, that’s correct. But..” He gestures to the observers and the whispers and giggles you can still hear in the background.

“...I think we should still talk privately.”

You sigh as well, rolling your eyes, finding his persistent attitude annoying. You stand up from your desk. "Lead the way, Doctor Ratio."

He smiles a bit at your response, and you can feel some hint of amusement.

He turns to lead you away from the others, turning a corner. Just as you begin to turn the corner you hear the observing coworkers make another comment; a girl says something about shipping.

"Private enough"? You ask after walking for a bit, looking around the empty hallway. it isn't a busy one usually.

He stops walking as you do, then looks at you for a moment. Your sarcasm is amusing him. He smiles at you, thinking of what to say. Then he begins to speak, and his facial expression is more relaxed than normal. “...I want to ask you something.”

"Ask." You sigh "What is it, Veritas?"

You could notice your words and attitude irking him, but, surprisingly, you could see him actually relaxing more as he spoke, a smile still plastered on his face. “...What is it that makes us dislike each other so much?”

You quickly answer. "We are both full of ourselves, intelligent, arrogant, and have zero patience for idiots. Is this why you wanted to talk in private- you're wasting my time, Veritas"

That response got a chuckle out of him, and you could tell he agreed with you, based on the way he nodded. A silence falls between you two, and then the silence is broken by him.. “...Have you ever wondered, as much as we are alike... how much we’re also different?” What a nonsensical question.

You are tired of him beating around the bush, so you decide to bring it up. "If this is about the bet- just- you're wasting my time"

Your dismissive attitude made him chuckle as you spoke. He thought about your statement. While the bet was an excuse to talk to you again, he had genuine thoughts in mind. Although, he didn’t let it show. “... It’s not about the bet. I just wanted to talk..”

"Why?"

You could sense the faintest hint of embarrassment in his voice, but otherwise, his expression was relaxed and casual. He says, “... Because I want to get to know you.”

You feel stunned, "...why?" Finding it strange he'd want anything to do with you.

That was the reaction he wanted. Your eyes were wide open, and you were surprised. He kept staring at you. He was aware of how ridiculous this might sound, but he meant it. He wants to know you. He found you irritating, yes, but there was something about you he wanted to explore more.

You shook your head gently, confused. "Veritas- what? Is this because of the-"

He sighs. “..The kiss? No. Yes, it made me think of you differently. But not in the way you seem to think.” He keeps his gaze on you. “The kiss made me realize I want to know you.”

"Why- what do you mean-" you stumbled over your sentences, unlike him. "Veritas- it is obvious you kissed back, no reason to" small exhale, since you were talking too fast "get to know me"

A small smirk appeared at the corners of his lips. “I kissed back, it’s true. But let me ask you something...”

He stares at you for a moment. "What did you feel when we kissed?"

You deadpan. "My emotions aren't your business.“ then you straight up lie. „-only hoping to win the bet.“-

He can’t help but chuckle. You lied, and he knew it; he could just tell from the way you spoke.

He keeps looking at you, the smile still present on his face.

“Do you think I believe it? I doubt you felt nothing while we kissed.”

„Doubt all you freaking want, Veritas“ you roll your eyes, „you can't prove shit“

He looks at you still, grinning now. You can see the amusement in his eyes, and the way he is staring, as if he’s seeing you for the very first time. “You’re right. I can’t prove you felt anything. All I have is my intuition. And my intuition says that you’re lying."

"You can't prove it." you cross your arms across your chest. "Stop these accusations and your 'intuition' is wrong." You sound arrogant, and dismissive, trying to wiggle your way out of the conversation.

He chuckles once more, then he speaks, a bit more directly this time. “My intuition has never done me wrong. You can keep on denying it, acting arrogant—and that’s fine. But I bet you anything that, if I were to kiss you again, a second time, you would kiss me back. Just as passionately as the first time."

"You were the one to kiss passionately the first and only time we kissed." you shake your head "Veritas this is a waste of time- you want to 'get to know' me, oh please" gesturing with your hand.

Even as you speak, he is still laughing. He could tell your pride is wounded.

He keeps a straight, smug face. His words carry no arrogance, but the way he speaks has enough confidence for both of you. “...Then let me prove it to you. Just let me kiss you again.”

You are quiet for a moment too long because you are surprised at his suggestion, and refuse to think again about- "no."

He knows he’s caught you off guard. Your silence is an answer itself. One that just gives him more confidence. He smirks.

„...Afraid?”

„I am a scientist like you, I am not afraid. I kissed you in the first hand. I don't need to prove anything“

He chuckles. “You’re absolutely right, you don’t need to prove anything. Except you kissed me for the sake of a bet. But I kissed you for the sake of understanding you.” He’s still smirking he is planning something, but he keeps his gaze on you. “..And I bet the kiss meant more for you than you care to admit.” There's a knowing look in his eyes.

"You didn't kiss me, why are you talking in the past tense?" you scoff when he attempts to change the situation around.

He raises his brow, slightly impressed, and shrugs. “..Alright, you’re right. Let me change that.”

Without breaking eye contact, he reaches out and pulls your face toward his. You could feel his warm breath on your face as he stared at you for a second or two, and just when it felt as though he would actually kiss you again. Completely surprised you gasp at the sudden proximity.

You can tell he’s enjoying the moment, since he leans in just a tad more, just enough for your lips to almost touch; his breath is hot and heavy, and his eyes still keep locking with yours as he waits.

It takes you a moment to place your hands on his chest and push him away. "Veritas, stop these foolish actions." You feel flustered at his advances.

He lets out an amused chuckle and steps slightly away. Though he has stopped his action, he is still smiling—which he knows is annoying for you to see. He still has a smirk and speaks. “..Do you think this was foolish of me?” There's something calculated in his voice.

"You won't prove anything and the one and only kiss that happened happened cos of the bet. Nothing more"

He keeps his smirk. “..Then how do you explain the chemistry between us? It’s all there, whether you’d like to admit it or not.” The neverending banter between the two scientists continues, both two proud to be that vulnerable with the other or to even take the other seriously.

"Screw chemistry. We dislike each other. And you pulled me away from my work to chat privately 'cos you wish to get to know me better? And now you wanna prove to me that I'm wrong by wanting to kiss me again? waste of my time-" you puff, you didn't even get a chance to think about the kiss today, and this isn't the moment to think about that. You can see the smirk fall for a second when you begin speaking, but then he smiles again. There is clearly something you aren't telling him.

He listens to your rant, and it only furthers his conviction. “..I agree, we do dislike each other. But that doesn't mean there can't be anything else. There are layers to dislike, and to liking someone.” He pauses. “..I want to see those layers.”

You roll your eyes „What I felt during the kiss is hope to win the bet that's it.“

He chuckles and speaks right away. “...Fine, I'll pretend to believe you, and not the way your face flushes as you speak. I'll pretend I don't feel the tension between us. And, I'll pretend that I don't want to kiss you again.” He takes a step forward and leans in again. “..And if you’re sure you didn't feel anything, then you shouldn’t care if I kiss you again. Because then, there's nothing to hide, right?”

"Well- no- maybe I don't want to be touched or something" you sigh, your brain just now processing the information. "you want to kiss me again?" the soft blush creeps up your cheeks. He wants to kiss you again? You don't know what to think, or feel about that, and this isn't the time to process that either.

His smirk grew as you spoke. “Or, maybe you don’t want to be touched because you’ll feel something. If there’s nothing to hide, then there’s nothing to refuse. Just let me kiss you once more, just to prove that you’re lying to me.”

„I'm not lying.“ You crossed your arms.

He smirks once more, and a hint of satisfaction crosses his face.

“Then let me kiss you. Why refuse, if you believe that all it was is only a bet? I want to kiss you to prove you are lying about not caring about the kiss. I want to kiss you to prove you are lying when you claim to have felt nothing, that it didn't feel good. So it isn’t about winning, isn’t it..? It’s about you being embarrassed at how much the kiss felt good to you.”

„Why are you so needy about wanting to kiss me- we dislike each other-„ you hush your voice as a coworker passes by, you two were still standing in the hallway. „-and no point for me to kiss you to prove a point. I'm above that.“

He follows your movement and lowers his voice to match yours. “...The reason I’m so adamant about wanting this kiss, is because I think we’ll have a revelation. I know we dislike each other, but..” He pauses for a moment. “...But there’s more to us than that. So come on, if you don’t have anything to hide, kiss me again. No one else is watching.”

„No“ you stand your ground „I don't need to prove it, Veritas“ Your pride wouldn't let you do anything less than stand your ground.

He chuckles at your stubbornness. “...I have to give you credit for that, it’s admirable. But I’ll keep on trying until it works.” Still keeping his voice low, he speaks once more. “...Kiss me. Please.”

He sees your stern gaze falter when he asks so blatantly and also says please.

„My emotions during what I did for the bet are none of your business-„ Your voice getting hushed as another coworker passes by „-Veritas.“

He takes that small sign of weakness and uses it as an advantage, leaning towards you a bit. His breath is still hot on your face, and you can see his smirk grow wider. He speaks, with an amused, almost teasing tone of voice. “..Are you refusing to kiss me so adamantly because you might actually enjoy it? Because you have emotions you don’t want me to know about?”

You sigh. „Veritas- cmon, this is pointless at this point.“

He keeps leaning closer to you, and he speaks while still teasing you. “..Well, you keep denying everything I said about you. You keep insisting that you only kissed me for the bet. So then, prove it and kiss me again—and feel nothing. Prove it right now.”

„I'm tired of this, Veritas.“ you sigh. Even in your apparent exhaustion, he feels the tension in your voice, the small crackle of doubt and curiosity in your words. Again, he speaks as he keeps leaning in, his breath still hot on your face.

“...Just one more kiss. To prove you're telling the truth. Then nothing else.”

„To shut you up, fine“ When your lips meet, you are doing your best to not move them in the beginning, to not touch him, and to stay fully still.

And you do, at first, stay fully still. Your lips are warm, and you can feel him leaning in more and more, but you refuse to do anything in return.

After some time, however, you feel a shift. With his movements, he’s now coaxing you. He pulls you towards him a bit more, his breath is still warm, and he’s now kissing you, softly but passionately, as he wants you to kiss back... He notices how you aren't budging putting on a good performance of not feeling anything. He wants to see more of a response, and he begins to nudge you to see how you would react. He places his hands on either side of your face and continues the kiss. He wants to see you lose control, instead of being this disciplined. He wants you to feel passion.

His hands actually touching your face almost makes you lose your focus, but not quite. He can feel you start to crack under pressure. It’s almost cute to watch you struggle. He decides to test his theory; he begins pulling you against himself, your bodies now pressed against each other. One arm wraps around your waist.

When you feel him pull you closer the focus breaks, your lips depart and you return the kiss, the kiss itself turning longer. Not even caring when a coworker passes by, your eyes are closed.

He can feel you responding to him finally, instead of trying to prove a point. Your eyes are closed, you’re no longer trying to hold back. His fingers trace your cheek as he keeps pulling you even closer so that your bodies are now up against each other.

Your back against a wall and he pressed against you, your hand traveling up to rest on his chest as the kiss kept going, turning more passionate

You can feel him press himself against you, and he wraps his other arm around your back; both his arms are now on you. He is taking charge and is leading the kiss. His fingers move from your cheek to your hair, as he pulls on it, and keeps the passion steady. His hands, your lips, his body pressed against your back... Everything feels so close and so warm... It’s as though no one or anything else exists except for you two.

And it feels good.. the kiss feels good for the both of you, each touch, you both feel the slow burn in your lungs for air, but keep kissing.

It feels extremely good. To feel your lips against his, to feel the heat and passion that keeps growing. Your arms around him, his arms around you. The feeling of your warm body against his body. The slow burn in your lungs, yet wanting more and more... The only sound that continues to play is just the sound of you both slowly breathing together, as your lips continue to lock together. Each touch brings in more and more passion...

You pull away, leaning his head against a wall to breathe. Your lips are swollen slightly as you breathe heavily.

Veritas pulls away as well and leans back from the kiss with a smirk. His lips were also plump, and swollen. Your breathing is heavy and quick, and he can see that your cheeks are slightly red. He seems slightly pleased and looks at you with that same teasing, smug smile.

„Proves nothing“ you deny it immediately.

His chuckle grows louder. “..You really hate admitting you enjoyed it, don't you? Even now, even after the long kiss. So much denial. So many excuses.”

„Tsk, you proved nothing. I'm just a good kisser that's all“

He laughs at your continued denial. “..You sound like a child now. Good kisser, who are you trying to fool? I saw your breathing and your expressions. I felt you getting more and more into it until the kiss became passionate. You’re denying the truth now just because you don't want to admit it.”

„There's nothing to admit except that we dislike each other, Veritas.“

“If there’s nothing to admit then there's no problem if I kiss you one more time, right?” He begins to lean in towards you and raises his brows as he waits for a response.

„What for?“ you protest, but the protest is much smaller than when he wanted to kiss you the last time. You can see his amused smirk form again, but he keeps his demeanor calm as he replies.

“..For the last time. To really get proof from you that the kiss meant nothing. A long, slow kiss, where you can’t deny anything. Surely you won’t say no to another kiss from a good kisser like me, now will you?”

„You have your proof, Veritas!“ He whispers it loudly as someone passes by.

His smirk grows wider, and he leans even closer this time. You can see the amusement in his eyes as he speaks in the same tone as you. “...There’s obviously still something missing. If you’re going to insist that the kiss meant nothing and that you have nothing to prove, then you must have no problem if I give you one last kiss.”

„You got enough of my lips today.“ You raise your chin, shaking your head gently. He really did… get to kiss you a lot today.

He chuckles at this, and even though he has heard it before, his smile grows wide. The more playful you get in your protests, the more confident he gets in his stance. “Just another one won’t hurt then, right? I mean, after all... you’re the supposed ‘good kisser’ here. And I believe that you’re good enough to kiss me in a way that makes me realize that the kiss meant nothing to you, correct?”

You sigh. „You aren't letting this go?“

He laughs at your sigh. “...Just another kiss to shut me up, that’s all. Come on, it should be easy then. Unless you’re afraid of what might happen?” He leans closer and raises an eyebrow.

„Fine. One last to prove you wrong again. How do you want it this time?“ You question him, annoyed at first sight, sighing.

“..Same as last time. Slow and passionate, with you completely giving in to your feelings. But just one more request this time. Make it longer... I want this kiss to last a little longer than the last one.”

„The last one was too long, and passionate. Why would I repeat it?“

He chuckles and replies, his voice now teasing. “...Do it how I want this time. Make me believe that the last 10 minutes or so was nothing but a game. Prove to me that you’re just a good kisser. Prove it by giving in to me and my kiss. I want to feel all your emotions. I want to make you lose control. So do exactly what I say.”

„I am just a good kisser“ you sigh „Fine, c'mere“ you gesture to him, as you are still leaning on the wall, to come to kiss you.

Veritas seems amused by your continued protest, and his smile grows. But he does do as you say; he begins to close the distance between the two of you until your bodies are once again pressed against each other. You can see the smug smile on his face, knowing he has gained the upper hand in this 'game’. He begins to kiss you, as you requested, and he pulls you into him with his hands on your waist, letting the kiss last longer...

You again try to hold back for a moment, but his hands on your waist relax you... you kiss back.

Veritas feels you relax, and he continues the kiss, using his hands on your waist to pull you even closer to him. His fingers trail up and down your back, and he is now fully embracing you in his lips. He is taking a deep breath in now, as he keeps kissing you. You can feel the heat of your bodies pressed against each other, and feel each of the sighs from your both. This kiss seems like it will never end, and this 'game' is now in another league entirely.

You enjoy the kiss, the soft caressing of his fingers on your body. Your hands go up his torso to hold onto your shirt, one hand moving higher to tangle in his hair.

Your touch causes him to feel something even deeper within himself, something that he hasn't felt in a long time. His passion starts growing more intense the longer the kiss goes, and he can feel you letting yourself go. The heat from your body is so intense, and the scent of his cologne combined with your scent is intoxicating. Your fingers running through his dark blue hair are sending shivers down his spine, and the embrace of his hands around your waist is like a safe shelter around you.

Then you both get lost in the kiss, with no thoughts, or rivalry or who is passing by, just each other's touch and lips. Other thoughts quickly vanish from your mind, and all you can focus on is this kiss. Your bodies are pressed tightly against each other, the heat growing hotter as time goes on. Nothing is more important right now; there's just both of your lips and the two of your bodies. Nothing else exists right now. It feels like the kiss will never end, and it feels so right. The passion is undeniable and unrelenting.

In a moment you separate to breathe, technically where the kiss should've ended, just before he puts his lips on yours again you exhale and whisper his name „Veritas...“ And meet his lips as he kisses you once more.

Your whisper sends a shiver down his spine, and he pulls you closer once more. At this moment, his name is enough. The way you said it so softly, almost in a whisper, is enough.

It doesn't even register to you that your lips separated and started another, until you hear a group of people, about to turn your corner, who are talking. You pull your lips away, leaning away from him, your head leaning onto a wall, and moving your hands off of him.

It makes you realize just where the two of you are standing. Veritas looks down, slightly embarrassed but you can see the faintest of smiles on his lips. His fingers brush your cheek as you both break the embrace. The lingering scent of his cologne is still heavy in the air, and you can feel the heat of the hug still lingering on your body. You can feel his breath against your cheek.

People pass by, and you don't say anything.

Once you both seem to fully realize the gravity of what just happened, the reality of your situation kicks in. It was an innocent but long kiss, made only longer when you had both decided to keep the whole thing going. The voices of people are louder now, and the two of you are both still breathing heavily and still hot from the heat of the long kiss. The moment is now over, though the scent of his cologne and the lingering taste of the kiss still lingers.

You are preparing yourself for your accusations of lying and that it wasn't just you being a good kisser, you curse yourself for mumbling his name earlier.

There is a moment of silence between the two of you. The noise of people passing by gets ever louder, but it still seems faint to you. The scent of his cologne is still lingering in the air, filling your lungs and your mind. You can feel the breath of his voice against your cheek, as you still feel every inch of the touch from his body that you just experienced.

He looks into your eyes, and for a moment, the silence, the smell of his cologne, and the taste of his kiss are all so intoxicating that it's almost like nothing else exists. Your lips are slightly swollen from his kiss, and there are still some traces of his saliva mixed into your lips.

„Veritas...“ you start, attempting to make up another excuse

He looks at you with a teasing and playful look on his lips. From the expression on his face and the way he's staring at you, it's like he knows he's cornered you now. He smiles at you, and a small twinkles in his eyes. He can't help but chuckle. His look is now mixed with amusement as well because he knows your pride will stop you from admitting anything. He raises one of his eyebrows and waits for you to continue.

When he doesn't interrupt you, like you hoped he would, and then he even smirks and raises an eyebrow...you know you are defeated, you can't make a truthful excuse, caught red-handed… you turn away from him, lightly hitting the wall with your hand and resting your head against it and he can hear you mumble a quiet „... shit“

Veritas’s smirk grows wider as he looks at the defeated look on your face. You still refuse to actually speak, and he can’t help but feel amused at the realization that your pride is completely keeping you from admitting what is obvious. He knows that all he has to do now is let the silence set in. The silence in itself and your attitude towards him makes it obvious.

You turn back around and face him again, and the exact moment you meet his eyes you look elsewhere.

He laughs quietly as he stares at you. Your blush is bright, and your face is slightly red, which is why the first thing you do after turning back around is to avoid eye contact. He can't help but smirk at this, and he can't stop himself from speaking. "Can't look at me anymore, can you? Am I that captivating?"

„You're like… average“ you scoff, not looking at him still. Which almost makes you laugh but you manage to hold it in, the lie too obvious as you say it aloud.

He scoffs, not able to hide his amusement. He knows damn well he's not average. He can see that you know he's not 'average' as well.  "You want me to take that as a way of you finally admitting that you let yourself enjoy that kiss? Or is this still some desperate attempt to play it off as nothing?"

„Veritas please stop this torture.“ You complain.

He laughs softly for a moment and then sighs. There is a moment of silence again, as he stares at you. "I think I've made this painful enough. If you just admit the kiss meant something to you too, then the 'torture' will stop. Do you want that?"

You nod „Fine. It is rather obvious now.“

His whole demeanor shifts immediately. His mischievous grin that was playing on his lips immediately turned into a soft, genuine smile. He can see that the game has ended and that now he is talking to the real you, the one who let themselves get carried away with that kiss. He has a look of affection that he had been hiding behind the disguise of mockery.

You aren't meeting his gaze, arms crossed, lips swollen, cheeks blushed... and if someone were to come close enough they'd smell the two different scents… your perfume and his cologne.

He chuckles because he sees that you still can't quite meet his gaze just yet. He stares at your lips for a moment, thinking of that kiss and just how intense it all seemed. The scents of both your perfumes are still lingering in the air, and for a moment, you feel like you're still locked in that kiss.

„Fine. Fine. Fine.“ you sigh „Bet was the bet, nothing special, earlier today. I- then- just- didn't expect you to kiss back. I didn't feel anything special.“ And yet later on now... you have kissed three more times.

He laughs softly, knowing exactly how wrong your entire statement was. Both of you know it. It's obvious that you actually cared enough to play this 'game' with him, and you felt enough to get lost in that kiss. He can spot the hesitation in your eyes, the way you avoided your gaze, and the stutter in your words. But he still can't help but tease you. "Is that right? If you felt nothing special, then why did you let it go on for so much longer than it had to? And why the second kiss? And... the third one?"

„No, I meant the bet… was nothing special. Well.. mostly“ Your honesty is a double-edged sword.

That answer alone tells him everything that he needs to know. "Mostly? And what was the rest of it then? Were the other kisses something special for you? Or are you just gonna say they were just you being a good kisser?" He scoffs quietly.

„The bet one... I didn't expect you to kiss back- I kissed you just cos of the bet- to "lighten" you up, and then you returned the kiss.. and that was... surprising.. and then you wanted to chat in private and requested kisses to prove a point.“

He sighs silently, hearing your explanation. He can feel that your words are just excuses, that the kisses still mean more to you than you let on. The more you say, the more he smiles. It's clear that you actually want to continue this flirtation, even if you might not want to admit it. "Is that so? Because it seemed as if it meant something even during our bet... and the whole conversation we had in private. It all meant something to you, didn't it?"

„I think it was obvious I'm too deep in to make excuses after the last one- remember I turned around, punched the wall- I had nothing to say- why are you pushing this?“

A soft smile spreads across his face, and he chuckles. He can see that this flirtatious exchange has gone far beyond a simple game of proving a point. There's something about you that simply has pulled him in completely, something that he just cannot help but tease and flirt with. He's now just enjoying it and enjoying you as well. "I'm pushing this because I want to see you admit more about your feelings. And... I like teasing and flirting with you. Because it feels so damn good just being around you."

„Since when do you feel good being around me? We dislike each other. I...“ Your words are honest, „I don't know why it felt so good..“

He laughs softly, amused again that you refuse to actually see what you're feeling now. "We dislike each other, huh? So that was what our conversation was then... A long, intimate debate about how much we dislike each other. And that whole kiss, just a simple game of me teasing you. And this too."

His soft laugh is filled with a teasing tone, as he begins to lean closer and brush his nose against yours.

You sigh „Veritas... it appears to be... complicated“

He hums, as he leans in closer. His words are softer now, as he speaks with that same teasing, playful voice. "Complicated, huh? How complicated? Are you starting to admit to yourself that you feel something between us?"

„I can admit. But I do not know what it is, I only found out today and so did you, unless you're hiding something from me?“ You speak quietly.

Your quietness only sparks him even more, as he continues to stay just a few inches away from your lips and your face. He looks at you with that mischievous smirk on his face, as he can sense your confusion. "So does that mean the kisses were not just meaningless flirts then? Because from my perspective, you seemed to be enjoying it a lot. I'm not hiding anything. Also realized today."

„You enjoyed them too.“ You softly say.

His smirk grows wider; he can't help but love the teasing moments like this. Both of them enjoy these little flirts, but neither wants to be the first to just admit their feelings. "You... you're right. I enjoyed the hell out of every kiss. It was intense, it was passionate... and I couldn't help but get completely lost in it."

You look into the distance recalling the way it all felt... You zone out for a couple of moments.

He hums, sensing that the two of you are now getting more serious. Neither of you can deny the chemistry between you both, and that has only grown the more the two of you have kissed. He can see how much your thoughts are wandering now, and he loves that he has you this speechless, filled with so much emotion, and yet so clueless about how you're feeling. This is the most vulnerable that you have looked at so far, and he wants to keep it that way...

He moves closer now, getting just inches away from your face. He can smell your cologne and the air that is filled with both of your scents. The air feels so heavy and so full of emotions, where every inch of you feels so close in his presence. His voice is soft, and he begins to speak softly, almost in a whisper. "If you truly do want us to end this little game of back and forth... then you can just admit it now. Say the words, just say how these kisses meant something to you."

„I already did, Veritas“ you sigh.

His smirk grows and he nods his head, his eyes still staring right at you. The silence at that moment makes the feeling all the more intense, and even just being so close to one another felt so intoxicating. The quietness of his words had you feeling nervous, feeling excited all over again, and yet even that moment felt so real and...so honest. "I know you've been hinting at it....“

„The kiss felt good, you felt good.“

"Good? You felt good, I felt good... but is that it? Is that just the full story? Because I have a feeling that there's more."

You roll your eyes „Veritas Ratio, I won't repeat myself.“

The teasing moments that had made him feel so intoxicated earlier have suddenly turned into something else... something deeper. It felt as if the two of them were not playing games but expressing their honesty. He leans even closer now, as close as he can possibly get without actually touching your lips. "How about a deal, then? I will stop pushing you to admit how you've felt... if you say one more thing that you haven't said yet."

You meet his eyes „What is it?“

He lets the silence settle and linger for a moment, as he stares at you with that same, mischievous grin on his face. He can sense that this is finally getting far more serious, and that has his attention completely drawn in. He leans in even closer until he is practically touching your lips with his own, he's so close. "Tell me what made you enjoy every single one of our kisses... and just how much you actually have enjoyed me."

„Those are stupid questions, Veritas“ you scoff quietly due to close proximity. He is just trying to tease at this point.

He chuckles softly at the scoff, his eyes narrowing, but still holding that same mischievous grin on his lips. The proximity feels intense, the closeness of their faces, the heat coming from either of them, the two of them being so close that their bodies are almost touching. "But I don't think they're stupid at all. I don't think they're stupid because I want to hear each word from your lips, each and every reason as to why you've liked our kisses so far."

„How about you talk a bit about why you wanted to kiss me and your assumed feelings?“

His smirk grows wider, and a soft laugh exits his lips. You can sense the amusement in him still, but he also takes another look at you. He sighs and nods, and he looks away from you and speaks truthfully. "Why did I want to kiss you? Why did I enjoy them? The same reason as you, I think. Which is... because my emotions have been completely tied up around you. I want that closeness, I want that intimacy. That was the whole reason why I even continued flirting with you..."

You sigh, seemingly lost in thought, but if he asked you to look at him, he'd also see that you are smitten. Seeing that you are lost in thought, he doesn't say a word. You can see the expression of amusement on his face slowly fading, and being replaced with a more affectionate look and expression. He seems to sense the truth in your thoughts and the way your words have suddenly become more honest. You feel like if you asked him to look at you, the same expression of endearment would fill his eyes.

The kisses make your confused feelings bare, naked, vulnerable in front of him. You for some reason like him. And now you wait as to what he will do.

It's as if this unspoken understanding has been fully created between you both. You both seem to sense how deep these moments have become for one another, and it doesn't even need verbal words for you two to sense just how much these kisses really mean to you both. For the first time, you have fully revealed your emotions to one another.

All he can do is sigh, and he begins to speak softly again, the tease of a flirt just completely replaced by that of a heartfelt, affectionate moment. "It's true that these kisses felt good because I felt like I could finally express my emotions toward you. These kisses felt good because the whole reason I've been flirting with you is that... I've felt...this deep connection with you that I can't explain. This connection, I've wanted it to be more... I've wanted to be closer with you. And... all these kisses just felt so good because... because I've just wanted nothing but to be with you. Well, I only realized it recently."

„I'm surprised that we discovered this... after disliking each other for years up until this day.“

"We've finally discovered it, and I'm not surprised that neither one of us has admitted it earlier today. We've always been so stuck in this game of hatred that we've missed out on...something amazing. I guess you could say that we've played this game too long, and so it took a few kisses to finally start seeing just how wrong we both were."

You nod „Gods-„ you put your head into your hands „The rumors will be awful“ You remember hearing footsteps during the last kiss.

He sighs softly, as he places his hands onto the back of your head and gently begins to brush your hair with his fingers. It was true that the rumors were something you two would have to face, he felt like it would somehow be worth it. "Do you think we should really care about the rumors though? There's always going to be rumors, and this is one that you and I know is true. So, let them talk, but let us focus on what is really important."

You look up at him „Veritas...“

He grins softly, as he sees that your gaze has now met his. He feels so happy as if he can finally be honest with you at this moment. The rumors may spread, but you feel as if that would be a small price to pay for what it would be worth. "Yes?"

You just sigh softly.

He hums, as his hand begins to brush your chin, which leads him to gently stroke your cheek. The way you sighed so softly made him feel so...so warm and happy. You both were finally seeing the full truth of your feelings, and it felt as if everything bad in the world was melting away.

„We gotta go back to work...“ As your words break the silence of that tender moment, his smile fades away, and he sighs. It was true that all this was happening during working hours, and the both of you had been gone for a while already. "You're right, isn't it late already? We've been gone for too long..."

„Too long yes...“

He nods and pulls his hand away. "Yeah... we've both been gone too long. So, should we... should we go back before they notice?“

„Oh trust, they have noticed“

He chuckles softly, as he nods again. "Yeah, you're right about that. I'm just more surprised they hadn't come to check up on us yet."

„They wouldn't dare. They probably thought we were fighting… but the rumors will start soon.“

He nods. "They probably did. But you're right, rumors will definitely start spreading soon. I wonder what would they say about us though... about how far we went... about what we could have been doing in this hallway..."

You laugh „Ah yes“ in a mocking tone „Rumor spreads about Doctor Ratio and the lead researcher, long hated rivals seen making out in a hallway“

His smirk grows, as he chuckles softly, too. Your words seem hilarious, and yet they are also a bit...a bit too true. He can see that he would definitely not be surprised if this was suddenly the newest rumor around the office, with many, many different versions and details. "Lead researcher and hated rival found together... making out in a private room... for at least an hour. The rumors will probably even mention how long our kiss lasted, and just how much we wanted it to continue."

„Oh stop it“ you gesture as you two walk slowly back, just at the mention of the kiss you remember how good it felt.

He laughs softly and follows along, also remembering the kiss but feeling how it has made him more affectionate. He reaches his free hand over and rubs your shoulder, his touch feeling affectionate. "You know it's true. The way you feel, the way I feel, and the way they will now interpret what's going on. If I'm being honest."

You sigh „Probably “ you stop for a moment, closing your eyes in the memory of the kiss, his cologne taking you back.

He stops alongside you, as he smiles. He can't help but look at the way you have just closed your eyes as if you can picture the moments clearly and as if the kiss has become a core memory for you. He doesn't say a word, not even wanting to break that peaceful silence.

„Sorry-„ you open your eyes, realizing you stopped walking, giving him the perfect opportunity for him to also seize this moment and do it again. This time, he takes advantage of that moment, and he begins to lean in again cupping your cheek, his lips now almost touching yours. He holds his breath, his body beginning to lean towards you all on its own. He stops for just a moment, only a breath's distance away from your lips before he leans just a bit closer...

„Veritas-„ you speak his name.

Your words have become the trigger for this kiss, one that you will never forget and will always cherish. As he hears his name called, all those emotions inside of him suddenly begin to boil up. Your voice... the way you call his name has so much depth and feeling in it. The feeling of you saying his name is what sends him off the edge, as his mouth instantly meets yours...

You return it immediately, no longer pretending at the beginning of the kisses.

The two of you have finally let the kiss take over, as you return the passionate gesture in kind. Your kiss is no longer filled with the awkwardness or the tease of the flirt, it has become something passionate and almost...something more. Your voices may have spoken about how far you feel from one another, but the kiss you two had just shared speaks for itself, and it says so much more than words have ever could.

Your hand travels up to his hair pulling your lips closer.

He can't help but gasp as a loud moan escapes his lips, and the feeling of having his hair pulled fills him with even more energy. Your touch feels just the right amount of rough and soft, as he leans into that pull and meets your lips even further. That pull in his hair seems to have added just that little bit of spice to this passionate, energetic kiss.

You're surprised with his loud noise, and quickly swallow his moan with your lips, drowning the sound from anyone who may hear it.

The way you had instantly swallowed your moans had only brought him to moan even louder. This was more than just a simple kiss, this was an intense, passionate kiss. One that was completely out of control and only getting worse. It was exactly how this kiss should be, and he can't help but moan even louder in response, and he only pulls you in even closer now. You whine softly when he pulls you closer, you think how he will just get you both in trouble by being that loud. Truly a menace with the way he keeps making lewd noises.

He laughs quietly now, a soft and almost teasing laugh, as he pulls back for just a moment just to speak. "You know you like it when I pull you in this close. I can hear you whining, and it sounds so damn good."

„Did you have to moan- three times?“ you scold him, whispering.

He smirks at your scornful and seductive tone. "I mean...I could have just groaned once. That would have been enough for the effect, right?"

You stop your movements, your brain trying to imagine how his groaning would sound... you lean onto the wall behind you „Fuck... d- don't give my head ideas to imagine.“

He laughs at your reaction, a soft and teasing laugh once more. To you, he seems to have this way of making you feel both embarrassed and intrigued. This time is no different, as he leans just close enough so that he can whisper into your ear. "Don't worry my dear, now I have you picturing all sorts of things in your head..."

You whisper back „Fuck off“ And then you add „Don't you dare groan in my ear or I swear-„

He only laughs again, a bit more playfully this time. And then he whispers closely to your ear. "Just imagine me just groaning into your ear right now. It's almost as if I can hear your heart racing with that thought, it's so loud..."

„Veritas“ you warn „Don't you dare“ You feel like the energy and tension between you two is high now, and those types of noises would do some things to the both of you.

Instead of listening to your warning, he only leans in even further, to the point where he is whispering mere inches away from your ear. "Come on now, imagine the deep and sexy groan, the way my body almost presses into you. There's no denying this connection between us, dear..." The small nickname makes you smile.

You keep imagining, but you fear he'd actually groan on purpose which makes your knees weak. He senses your weakness, and so he whispers once more. "I could start to groan at any second now, and that thought alone probably makes you feel weak and weak in the knees. I bet that the thought of me just slowly groaning into your ear, sensually, makes your heart race with desire..."

You whisper back „Fuck off Veritas“ He is teasing at this point.

He laughs, and then he whispers back. "Why? You're thinking about it, aren't you? The thought of a deep, loud, sensual groan? The idea of it almost pushes you to your limits... to just let yourself become so overtaken by that feeling of desire..."

„I have to return to work you menace-„ you whisper.

"Oh, I see. You're back to just calling me names. I suppose that means I really am driving you crazy, am I?" He whispers, teasingly, as he then adds. "And what is it that will happen if I keep whispering things into your ear? Will you suddenly explode from too much desire? Or will you just be too embarrassed?"

„Veritas“ you warn sternly.

He sighs, as he finally leans away, back to his original distance from you. Instead of laughing back at you this time, he simply chuckles and gives a playful smirk. "Is that a warning? I didn't realize I had such an effect on you. Do I need to stop with my playful flirting, my dear?"

„We will see how you behave when I threaten you with such a noise- except you didn't actually make the noise“  Speaking normally now. And you're right… but maybe you should raise the stakes… play this game.

That sudden change to your volume has brought out a soft and teasing grin on his face. "Oh, so now you're going to threaten me with noises that you're going to make? I suppose then I'll have to threaten you on the sound of kisses. Because it is your lips that I keep on imagining, and it only makes my imagination run wild as I remember that sweet and sensual kiss..."

„Hm“ you tilt your head, smirking, then lean in to whisper „Imagine just us laying on the bed... wouldn't it be so nice the way I would moan your name, Veritas? wouldn't it sound so good?“ Then you actually moan into his ear just to tease him back and drive him insane.

He laughs softly as he feels the moan against his ear. He can feel some chills run down his spine, as his body begins to shiver a bit, too. It seemed this moan of yours...this moan that was now echoing in his ears...it was beginning to drive him absolutely insane. He was finding it easier and easier to picture the two of you lying on the bed together, and your moans suddenly felt all too real now.

You left him standing there with his thoughts, he seemed zoned out as you are now walking a tad further ahead.

He sighs as he begins to follow you as well. It seemed that the flirting was a bit too much to think about right now. However, he is curious about one thing.

"Just one question, my dear. How many kisses did we even share just now? How much time was dedicated to only kissing one another? We've kissed many times during the day, but this one...this one felt so real.“

You say simply. „5“

His eyes widen, as he listens to your answer. He's surprised to hear such a high number. There were indeed several kisses in their conversation, but did time seem to have really been that fast with each kiss? "Five kisses...wow. Really? I guess when two people who have such high intellect and intelligence, time does seem to pass us by too often, doesn't it?"

You are soon by your lab doors, slowing down your walking. Once you do arrive at the lab's door, he just stares silently at you for just a moment. He knows that there won't be another moment for flirting today, as work is soon back on the plan of action for both of you. And yet, he can't help but gaze at you for this last moment, this look is filled with affection, admiration, and even a small bit of desire.

„Staring is rude, Veritas~“ You smirk as he stares at you.

He simply chuckles, as he continues to stare even after you speak. "Staring at you... staring at you can never be rude. You are like a picture - a rare artwork that everyone should appreciate, look at, and examine. The only thing that is rude about staring is that I can't do it all the time. Your beauty should always be on full display for others to gaze at in awe."

You laugh softly „I'm more of a need-only-one-person-in-my-life type of person“

"I am not one to argue on that. Although I am curious to know what I am that makes you want only me. Is it my voice? My looks? My personality? Or something else that has kept you on a leash?" He smirks, his stare still not changing one bit.

„Go work, Veritas“ you smirk entering your lab, not answering to his assumption that you only want him. But it was a correct assumption. Refusing to also answer to his remark of being kept on a leash. You can only laugh to yourself at his words.

He smiles, and then he rolls his eyes, but there is no true annoyance behind this gesture. Instead, it's more humorous now. "Fine, I got work to do too. Just remember, you're not getting rid of me that easily." He then waves his hand back at you, before heading off to his own lab to finish his work.

[tonyboneysblog]

MOTHER HEN: PART TWO

parings: hawks x mother!reader

word count: 1.9k

warnings: minor character death!

notes: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE ON PART ONE, ITS ALWAYS APPRECIATED❤️

summary: you, the mother of Tokoyami Fumikage, are just a simple nurse! Who has caught the eye of a certain pro.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

your alarm is blaring at 4:00 in the morning, work always has you coming in at weird times.

but you so warm in your bed, the comforters are the just right amount of warmth, the fan is blowing at the perfect speed, and your in the perfect position.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

maybe work can wait for at least one day…no people need your there- if you asked for an off day you and someone died you could never forgive yourself.

So you begrudgingly rise from your bed, getting ready for your day.

Washing your face, brushing your teeth, dressing yourself, etc.

You walk out of your room making your way into the kitchen, while on your way you spot Tokoyami on the couch.

“Fumikage?” you say sleepily.

His head peeks up from the couch slowly, “uhm, hi mom..”

“what’re you doing up?”

“nothing.”

You sigh, “did you get some sleep at least?”

“Yea I-i did mama, don’t worry.” He scratches at his head.

“We’ll make sure to take a nap at least before you get ready for school…” you ruffle the feathers on the top of his head and kiss his forehead.

Tokoyami yawns, “I’ll see you soon, mama.”

you smile, “Course sweetie…”

You make your way out of the house finally, getting into your car and driving to work.

As you pull in there are multiple ambulances surrounding the hospital, which isn’t unusual but it wakes you up from your tiredness.

Was there an accident? It seems like there’s a lot more than there should be usually…but you didn’t see anything on the news? well you forgot to turn it on.

You walk into the hospital and check in, nurses are going everywhere and nowhere at the same time. What happed anyways?

You can see Emi, your co-worker, run up to you. See seems more stressed than usual…

“Oh y/n, thank the gods your here- t-there was an accident up the street, some building collapsed, and we are almost fully packed.” She says hurriedly.

“Hey, hey calm down. We can handle this okay, Emi?”

“O-okay” she takes a quick deep breath, “You need to be at room D3 at the intensive care unit, they need more hands.”

“Got it, deep breaths okay? I’ll see you later.” You walk away, well that explains why there’s so many people here.

You’ve never really worked at the intensive care unit before but people usually make it back to stability in your hands.

Emi days you have a magical touch, Fumikage says it’s because you’re amazing.

You walk into the intensive care unit, a another nurse, Monika, waves you down to the room.

You hurry in, the patient isn’t in the best shape. doctor starts talking about an emergency surgery.

You sanitize and put your gear on, starting it immediately, you listen when the surgeon calls for a new instrument.

You’re worried, you keep your eye on the monitor- is it supposed to be going down like that?

The surgery continues.

the monitor drops.

“8:17, time of death.”

it hits you like a brick.

Monika pats your back, she basically lives in intensive care. She knows what it’s like.

“There was nothing you could do, there in a better place, okay?” She says trying to comfort you.

You haven’t experienced a death yet while working, which sounds insane since you work all the time but..you’ve never seen it.

you’ve never heard the monitor stop beeping.

You have to continue though- you need too.

You have other people to save so you keep working, that’s what Fumikages father hated about you.

5 dead, 34 injured. That was the count at the end of the day, apparently hero’s were still pulling out body’s from the rumble.

“Take your break, y/n” Monika says.

That’s really the only thing you can do at the moment.

So you sit down next to Emi, her head is in her hands.

“Do you think we did enough?” She says with sorrow in her voice.

“I don’t know.”

Her voice shakes, “That was my first time I saw someone die on the table like that.”

“Yea, mine too.”

“I’m sorry, y/n.” Her voice breaks.

It’s okay thought, all of this just toughens you up! sometimes it haunts your dreams but you always wake up in the end.

You started dreaming it was Fumikage on the table and not just some patient.

it makes you want to vomit.

You hear Monika walking around the corner, she waves.

She hands you a drink, “Here”

“Wish it were alcohol”, you chuckle.

“Well apple juice is all we got, don’t get stuck in your head y/n.”

“Tell that to Emi.” You take a swig of the apple juice.

Monika sits next to Emi and starts talking to her so softly you can’t really pick up on it.

It’s 5:18, you haven’t eaten yet, it’s probably a good time to clock out.

Maybe you’ll go to that new chicken place, Fumikage said it was good.

So you decide to walk there, you don’t really trust yourself to drive at the moment anyways.

It’s close to the hospital so it was an easy walk, your legs ached a little bit and they only ached more at the thought of walking back to your car.

You walk in with a ding from the door, you texted Fumikage on the way to ask for his order.

You look around for a moment then walk up to the counter, ordering you and your sons meals.

They ring it up and give it to you, you sit

down and one of the booths.

You start to eat, re-thinking all of the events of your day until you can hear someone slide into your booth while you’re munching on your food!

You look up to see who would do that, because yknow-boundaries, only to see the bird hero?

“Rough day?” He says with a soft smile.

you sigh, “you don’t even know.”

He giggles, “yea, you look rough Mrs. Nurse.”

you shot him a glare, he just shrugs.

“How’s your kid, U.A. And all that?”

“Ah, he’s doing good, not getting enough sleep though.”

He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head, “no good, needs his beauty rest.”

You smile softly, suppose some hero’s also save people how are just having a rough day.

He focuses, “And how’s the old ball and chain?”

“The what?”

“your…husband?” He says hesitantly.

“Oh!” You laugh, “please haven’t seen him since I was 16.”

He blushes and stammers, “Sorry, I-i just thought..yknow?”

“Thought he’d stay? we were young yknow, he didn’t want my son and I did.”

“sorry to hear that.”

“We always fought anyways so, good riddance I suppose.” You chuckle.

Hawks sneaks away a fry from your bag of food, “We keep meeting, don’t we?”

“Yea, you might be a stalker, Hawks.”

He blushes as his wings puff up, “n-not true!”

you laugh, it’s nice.

This is nice.

You look at the time on your phone, 5:48, you don’t wanna worry Fumikage so-

“Oh gosh, I need to go.” You say in an apologetic voice.

“I can fly you back.”

“I have my own wings, hawks.”

“You look tired.”

“I am, but I have a car I need to take home so-“

“Why drive when you have wings?”

Good question, your wings are actually too small to carry your weight through the sky so there’s not really a point throwing yourself off a roof to see if you actually can.

“You can walk me to my car?”

“great idea, mama bird.”

“Mama bird?”

“Well you’re a mom and I assume that your son has a bird quirk…so.”

I mean he’s correct. The two of you leave the restaurant with the food in tow, making your way to your car.

Hawks wings jitter anxiously though he shows composure, “So, his old man ain’t around?”

“Nah, left right when he found out, haven’t really tried to date since- well I have but yknow.”

“Hard out there for single moms?”

“Yea, it was bad about 4 years ago? Met this guy and he put his hands on Fumikage, called the cops and made sure he stayed far away from him.”

Hawks looks off to the side slightly, lost in thought but only for a moment.

“My car is right here.”

He grins, “Nice car, Mrs nurse.”

“Oh please, it’s Y/N Tokoyami” you chuckle out.

“Got it in my brain.” He points towards his head.

You just laugh and shake your head while getting into your car.

Hawks stands next to your window, “see you again?”

“We keep meeting so probably- how’s your head also?”

“Hm, from what?” He questions.

“The hospital remember? I’m surprised you’re already back on patrol.”

Hawks rubs the back of his neck, “guess you just have a magic touch?”

You laugh and shake your hand while rolling up your window, reminds you of Emi- wonder how she’s doing.

You start to drive home, you can see hawks waving in the rear view mirror, he’s nice.

Fumikage will be happy, you hope he had a good day.

You hope hawks had a good day too.

Finally you reach home, you probably look like a walking zombie who had a death grip on a chicken bag when they died.

Tokoyami greets you right when you open the door.

“Mother, I heard about the building- a-and I was worried that-“

“Don’t worry so much Fumi..your mama saved people too.”

Fumikages speech slows, “It’s just…I know how you get.”

You really wish you didn’t have to be all down in the dumps in front of Fumikage.

Long days and stressful days at the hospital always get to you, you wished that they didn’t.

Sure it was your first time actively seeing someone die in the hospital but you always knew that you’d see it one day.

“Hey look on the bright side, I got chicken?”

Fumikage sighs, “I hope you know my classmates would consider that cannibalism.”

“They better be nice to you.”

“They are- well we haven’t really talked but no one’s really mean.” Tokoyami responds sheepishly.

“Don’t lie to me, silly goose”

Fumikage starts to unpack the food bag, “well there’s this one boy, bakugo, he is like obsessed with destroying another boy named Midoriya.”

“Destroying?” You giggle.

Fumikage sits down at the table, “yea totally, we were paired up today to act like hero’s and villains- and they got the opposite from each-other and they destroyed the whole building!”

again, that’s an email.

“Who’d you get paired up with?”

Fumikage looks away from your curious gaze, “this girl named Tsu.”

“Is she cute?”

“mama.”

You laugh, “I’m just asking!”

Fumikage retorts, “What about that hawks guy, is he cute?”

“Now why’re talking about him, hm?”

“Press caught him walking you to your car, scandalous old woman.”

Ah, the paparazzi….you wish you could send an email about them.

You gasp dramatically, “Old woman?!”

“Answer my question!”

“He’s alright, I like em rougher you know?”

Fumikage gags, “gross, mama.”

“You asked!”

You and Fumikage continued talking about small things that happen in your day, apparently a boy named Shoto slipped on his own ice while no one was looking- except Fumikage was.

Now reaching almost ten o’clock, you force Fumikage and yourself to bed.

Fumikage begrudgingly walks over to his bedroom, still wanting to talk to you a little more.

“Night, mama.”

You walk over and kiss his temple, ruffling his feathers.

“Night night, my little chick.”

Fumikage shakes his head and retreats to his room, you return to yours as well.

Cuddling into your nest, which is really just your bed with an in godly amount of pillows, blankets, and plushies- you let sleep come over you.

You wonder if hawks gets to sleep this good at night, or even if he has someone to talk to about his tough days.

Wait, why’re you thinking about him anyways?

PART THREE: MOTHER HEN: PART THREE

[milfgyuu]

Lessons in Love Pairing: Choi Jongho x Fem!Reader Series: Mr. Right Next Door Tags: 3.5k, Co-Worker!AU, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Humor Warnings: One good smooch and mentions of more smooching. Summary: Your students learn that both you and the teacher next door are single which brings up the pressing matter of getting you two together. Immediately.

You love teaching your fourth-grade class - they are still sweet and inquisitive. Still learning how the world works and all its wonders. They’ve yet to outgrow their innocence and kindness. It’s a beautiful age to experience with an adult perspective and even more amazing that you’re allowed a hand in growing their ever-expanding knowledge and shaping their character. 

One thing you hadn’t considered was their surprisingly persistent interest in your lack of a love life. 

It had begun at the start of the year when you were getting to know your students and in turn, allowed them to get to know you as well. The kids had so many questions. Did you have a dog? A cat? A house? An apartment? Did you live with your parents? Can you drive a car? Are you married?

It was the answer to the last question that had struck them the most for some reason. You were a grown up but you weren’t married. In their minds, being married is just part of being a grown up so why were you single? What does being single even mean? Do you not know anyone to marry?

A simple introduction had turned into the great inquisition and with wide eyes and a nervous chuckle, you had to re-direct them to the only other interesting topic you could think of. 

Recess. 

Those clever little things hadn’t forgotten about the lack of a band on your left hand though and made it a point to bring it up every few weeks. Did you go on any dates this weekend? What kind of person would you like to date? If you have lunch with someone every day could that be counted as a date?

Admittedly, you fumbled through those. 

You hadn’t realized that you might regret the way in which you answered them because it seems your ever-observant children have been spying you in the cafeteria with the teacher next door whom they’ve also learned is single. 

“So, do you like Mr. Choi? You guys always have lunch together!”

“Yeah! And you guys are always smiling and laughing together!”

“And Mr. Choi brings you coffee!”

“My friend in Mr. Choi’s class said that he is single too!”

“Mr. Choi said you had pretty hair!”

“Mr. Choi has really shiny hair too so your kids would have nice hair!”

Left and right the children pelted you with words you had stopped comprehending after the first mention of ‘Mr. Choi’.

Oh boy. 

Mr. Choi is your next-door neighbor at school. His classroom is actually attached to yours by a shared storage room and you suppose you do spend quite a bit of time together in front of the students but that’s only natural - you spend just as much time with the other fourth grade teachers. 

Well, maybe not the exact same amount of time. You’re usually on lunch and recess patrols together. You always get paired up to chaperone field trips and tend to volunteer for many of the same events like dances and fundraisers. 

If you had to really stop and think about it, Jongho was quite handsome. Broad shoulders, pretty smile, kind eyes. His surprisingly dry sense of humor did always make you laugh and he always leaves a coffee on your desk when he notices you’re running late since he is a chronic early riser. 

Again, you manage to calm the children and their increasing pitch - your eyes darting to the adjoining door between you and Jongho’s classrooms. 

It doesn’t end there, unfortunately, for you and your white blouse, exactly four days later. 

“Imagine the fallout if the kids found out we went on a real date…”

Your mouthful of juice sputters and dribbles down your chin before staining the silk of your top with bright red liquid. 

Jongho’s mouth straightens into a flat line and he hands you several napkins to dab at your ruined mess. “That doesn’t hurt my feelings at all.”

Leveling him with a peeved look you sigh, “It’s not like that,” and glance back down at your blouse, “You just caught me off guard at the worst possible moment.”

Neither of you are on lunch duties today so you’re sat across from each other at a craft table in the corner of your empty classroom. Little paper chains rustle in the crisp air pumping from the school’s icy vents and you’re grateful for them in the moment since they make you keep a long grey cardigan hung over the back of your chair at all times. 

You push back and ignore the sound of your knees popping when you stand to full height. Pinching the material of your shirt you tug at it rapidly as if you have some hope of at least drying the wet spots and speak openly to Jongho who is still diligently picking apart his salad from the cafeteria. 

“I can’t believe they’re all so invested,” you comment before rolling your eyes, “Little gossips.”

Jongho snorts. “I’m surprised that you’re surprised. They love ‘spilling the tea’,” he says with an added flair that tells you it’s something he’s picked up from his students, “Whatever that means.”

“Look at you using the lingo,” you chuckle as you sit back down, “And what ‘real date’? Last I checked cafeteria lunch didn’t count. Thought you’d be more of a romantic, Mr. Choi.”

You’re smirking with mirth until Jongho decides to match your teasing, hooking his foot behind the leg of your chair to haul you closer to the table. You squeak in shock at the jolting motion and he laughs, stabbing another bit of cucumber and moving on like you’re not internally marveling at his flippant show of strength. 

His thighs are kind of thick and firm you suppose if you think about it. 

Which you’re not. 

That would be weird. 

“What?”

You say it so hastily that Jongho looks at you like you’re losing it and laughs. “I didn’t say anything.”

Oh, so it was because you are crazy. 

Embarrassed you shove too much of your sub in your mouth, awkwardly and probably repulsively chewing to manage the gargantuan bite. The sound masks that of the napkin sliding across the table under one of Jongho’s fingers. You look up at him and he just pinches his lips together like he’s sure you don’t want to hear anything he might have to say about the mess on your face. 

After the driest most excruciating swallow you’ve experienced to date, you attempt to wash it down with your water in your stupidly expensive bottle and nothing comes out. Pathetically, you whine and try to pry it open. There is a mechanism on the inside of the lid that keeps jamming and you really could use a new one but they’re pricey and you’re living on a teaching salary and a prayer. 

“Let me help,” he says, pushing back in his little chair to rub his hands over his jeans like he’s preparing to empty his full strength into the effort to open your bottle but when it gives without so much as a pause he snickers and shrugs handing it back over to you. “Not really much of an opportunity to show off.”

You gawk at him. “What are you talking about? That thing was like welded shut!”

Jongho’s brows playfully rise until they’re high enough to hide beneath his fringe and the overwhelming urge to giggle and playfully swat at him nearly swallows you whole. He is so flirting with you.

Openly.

And you’re tripping all over yourself with glee.

Like any free moment in your school day, it comes to an end far too quickly and your classes are due to arrive in less than five minutes to continue instruction. Ignoring the butterflies in your belly, you take both your trash and Jongho’s to dispose of while he straightens up the table and then it’s time for him to head back to his own room and yet…you both awkwardly linger by the door instead.

“We should-”

“Maybe we-”

Embarrassingly enough, you open your mouths at the same time and talk over each other but you know you do not want to finish your own sentence and Jongho rocks back on his heels knowing he’s got a solid sixty seconds before little voices trail down the hall toward the door.

He takes a deep breath and says your name which is so odd because has he ever said your first name? Surely, he has…so why does it sound different now?

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

It comes out in a bit of a rush and he tacks on a “please” after a second thought and you nod because words don’t seem to form and you’re just stupidly staring back at him but…yes…you would like that. A lot. 

Jongho blinks as if he’s shocked that you actually said yes…or well, gestured, that yes you wanted to have dinner together. He hadn’t even planned to ask. He’s not sure when the idea sprouted in his head but once it bubbled up and up and up he just had to let it out. 

Now he has to plan the perfect date in less than five hours which means…

He grins and throws his hand up, thumb pointed toward the door behind you. “Gotta meet the kids…How’s seven o’clock? My place? I’ll cook.”

Still nodding, you manage to say something at last, “Yeah…yes. That’s…fine.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

He slips out the door and you let out a long laughter-filled breath. With your room still empty, no one catches you twirling all the way back to your desk before you flop down into your chair. Well, it’s possible one person saw you since your door bursts open right after and you’re jumping up and into an incredibly animated history lesson.

Meanwhile, Jongho is assembling his kids in a group huddle because they have a new assignment: Helping him decide what to cook.

Your hands shake down at your sides just after you ring Jongho’s doorbell. 

Fingers dance along the skirts of your dress - one different than you’d wear in the classroom. Typically, you wear fun floral or artful prints with plants or planets. Things the kids love to talk about. This however is one you hope Jongho will think about, even after your gone. Even when he sees you in your overalls on Monday because your kids are working on art projects.

The door clicks open and there is Jongho in fitted black slacks and a loose white button-down smiling back at you. His hair is…fluffier than usual which is an odd distinction to latch onto but the combination of his hair and his clothing, the relaxed slope of his posture….you can’t seem to stop looking at him.

“You look different.”

Jongho chuckles. “You look the same,” he says and it jolts an incredulous laugh out of you, “I meant that to say I think you always look good but I see that sentiment isn’t shared.”

“Are you going to invite me inside or what, Mr. Choi?”

“Wouldn’t dream of sending you away in that dress,” he smarts, stepping aside to let you in, “Besides,” he closes the door behind you both, “You have to see what a romantic I truly am since you decided to tease me about it.”

A romantic indeed.

His home is crisp, clean, inviting, and it smells heavenly between the cooking he’s been doing and the candles lit throughout. Your eyes dart to little details along the walls and shelves as he guides you to the dining room - also set perfectly with flowers and more candles.

It’s not at all what you expected.

At work, Jongho is relatively quiet but you learned after a few meetings that he was rather charming and engaging. He likes sports and cars - kind of a man’s man. When you became closer, you realized he was chock-full of sarcasm and dry humor. You appreciated him for his company and the laughter that he supplied more than anything and that still stands true but this is a different side of him you haven’t really mapped out.

Hardly noticing that your feet have stopped moving, you’re surprised when you hear Jongho chuckle from your right. “How did I do?”

He almost sounds unsure of himself until you turn to him with a warm smile. “It’s really nice, Jongho.”

Just the sound of his name from your lips makes the tips of his ear tingle. “The kids said flowers and candles were the way to go.”

Taking your seats at the table, you agree. “The kids seem to know too much about romancing for their age.”

Jongho gestures to your glass with the bottle of red in his hands and fills your glass when you nod. “It’s a little admirable though,” he mentions, eyes glancing up to yours, “They have such a pure and simple definition of love. Everything is still so beautiful in their eyes so all they know is a happily ever after and I wish it would stay that way for them.”

“Oh, you’re such a softie.”

Jongho pokes his tongue into his cheek and grins, using his fork to point toward your plate, “Shut up and try the food.”

Again, not something you imagined Jongho would be good at but the food is delicious and there isn’t a takeout box in sight. He mentions something about not getting too excited because he only knows how to make a handful of meals on rotation but it’s still impressive. He also keeps you laughing and entertained throughout the meal, even with the prickles of ‘holy cow, this is a real date’ floating around in your head. It all feels so natural.

“So, you clean up nice, your house is immaculate, you can cook, you’re good with kids…” You twirl you wine, bellies full and plates empty as you sit across from one another, “What are you hiding, Mr. Choi? Where is the catch?”

He grins, crossing his thick arms over his chest. “No, catch. I’m perfect.”

“The catch is that you’re an awful smartass,” you chuckle before draining the last of you drink. “I suppose I already knew that though.”

“I suppose you do,” he returns, gathering the dishes to deposit in the sink for later - for now, he moves you both into the living room to relax on the couch and continue the conversation. “I am genuinely a ‘what you see is what you get’ kinda guy so I don’t know how much I’ll surprise you but ask the hard questions and I’ll answer them honestly. Anything you might want to know before we decide this is a good idea or just mutual attraction and peer pressure from ten-year-olds.”

Because you’re both adults, co-workers, and friends. It would be a waste to pursue a relationship you both want different things out of.

You purse your lips and think for a minute. “Dogs or cats?”

“Both,” he answers easily, “You?”

You tilt your chin in thought, “Both is good…I’m still in the ‘plant mom’ phase so I don’t have any pets but I’d like to. Any plans to relocate in the future?”

Jongho shrugs, “I’m not particularly attached one way or the other. The area here is pretty nice but there are lots of nice places.”

“You’re not overly picky, are you?”

He laughs. “No, not really. I’m pretty laid back.”

In the time you’ve known and worked with him, that tracks. You pivot in your seat, facing him a little more fully. “Oh, boy,” he jests, “Getting to the big stuff, huh?”

“Marriage…kids,” you state plainly, “Thoughts and feelings.”

Jongho rolls his shoulders. “I’m interested in both,” he says simply, though there is a tinge of hesitation like he’s waiting for your reaction, “My parents have been married for thirty years and are still very much in love so it’s probably given me a set of rose-colored glasses when it comes to long-term commitment but the idea of having ‘a person’...like “my person’ to share love and life with, to grow old together…that sounds good to me.”

You nod, chewing on his answer. “And kids? Singular? Plural?”

“Eight.”

You instinctively recoil. He’s playing with you, so you’ll play.

“Well, this has been great,” you pretend to stand up to leave, “See you Monday, frien-”

A funny little ‘oof!’ puffs from your lips when Jongho grabs your hand and pulls you back down onto the couch. It’s just a lucky coincidence you land much closer this time and when Jongho releases your hand, he keeps it close, almost hovering nearby like he’s aching to take it again.

“Yes, I would like kids and no, I don’t care how many. Even one is a blessing and I would be over the moon to be a dad,” his eyes twinkle and it kindles a little warmth in your chest, “You look all ooey-gooey right now. I think you like me.”

You give into the urge to swat him this time. Right in the chest.

Jongho loves it.

“I already like you,” you roll your eyes at yourself for admitting so out loud but it’s a bit obvious at this point and he’s teasing. “I’m not ready for all…that…just yet but I would agree we have enough in common to maybe…give this a try?”

You don’t mean for it to sound so unsure but you haven’t dated anyone in a while and this is your friend, your co-worker…this is kind of a big decision to pursue a relationship and you want to take it seriously.

Jongho squeezes your hand and doesn’t remove it this time.

“If you’re asking me to go steady, I’d gladly accept.”

You let yourself lean into him as you laugh. “Do you always have to give me a hard time? You’re so unserious!”

“That’s not even a word! Aren’t you a teacher?”

You push yourself back with a hand against his arm, “Unserious is totally a word! Aren’t you a teacher?!”

Dissolving into laughter, you wind up holding your hands over your belly to soothe the ache, heads dropped back against the couch. It takes several minutes to settle down, no thanks to Jongho and his smart mouth, but you’re having so much fun you don’t care that your stomach hurts or that your cheeks sting from smiling too much.

Spending time with him like this is something you want more of. 

Rolling your head toward him, you break open the fresh silence with a question.

“So, Jongho,” you manage, still a little breathy from laughing, “Would you like to go steady with me?”

He smiles and it’s gorgeous to behold. “Yes, I would.”

Both shoulders jump up to your ears as if the excitement you feel is trying to escape your body and you grin like a fool. 

A boyfriend. That’s fun.

“Don’t get mad,” Jongho chuckles, taking your hand back into his, now playing with your fingers comfortably, “I might have seen you dance all the way back to your desk after I asked you out today. You’re really cute.”

Like a vortex opening up and swallowing you whole, you crumble, shrinking into the couch. “You’re kidding...”

Jongho almost feels bad for sweeping your high away so quickly but he’s telling the truth. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen and shot his ego through the roof. “If it makes you feel better, I called an emergency meeting with my students. They helped me choose dinner and suggested the flowers and candles.”

“And the wine?” you raise a brow, coming back out of your shell.

Jongho uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head. “Called my mom.”

It’s quiet for only a moment and then you’re fawning all over him. “Awww!!! Who’s cute now? That’s so sweet!”

He pretends not to love all your attention. “Yeah, yeah…so, it’s a Friday night and we don’t have school tomorrow…”

“Mhm,” you grin, nodding along playfully.

Jongho lists options off as if he’s reading off a menu. “We can grab another glass of wine, or a beer, I have that too,” he winks, “and bullshit the night away. We could watch a movie or if you’re tired of my company I could just kiss you goodnight - I mean - walk you out.”

He’s smirking like he’s just so funny.

“You could kiss me now, grab me a beer, and then we could talk shit for a little while longer,” you suggest with equal teasing, and his brows shoot up.

Butterflies hardly have time to take flight in your belly before Jongho’s lips touch yours, though it’s not rushed at all. It’s an easy sort of confidence in his movements like he’s so comfortable kissing you - like it’s not the first time and most certainly won’t be the last.

One hand cradles your jaw and he’s still smirking when he pulls away because it was a good kiss and he knows it.

You know it. The universe knows it. 

“Beer, movie, and makeout?” he jokingly suggests and you’re hopelessly falling for every ridiculous, unserious word coming out of his mouth.

“You really are just a man’s man, aren’t you?”

Jongho shrugs and gets up to retrieve two cold beers from the fridge calling over his shoulder, “I’m not really into guys, but I could be your man!”

Letting out a sigh that fades into a breathy laugh, you smile to yourself. Yeah, he absolutely could be your man.

Series M.List | ATEEZ M.List | Main M.List

→ Do not copy, re-post, translate, or share any of my works on other platforms WITHOUT PERMISSION! All stories are copyrighted, Bubblebeom, 2021. ©️

[hana-no-seiiki]

お客様は神様　(THE GUEST IS GOD)

HOST CLUB PREPARATIONS / PROLOGUE - 女中 [THE MAID]

YANDERE GUEST X GENDER NEUTRAL! HOST CLUB WORKER! READER X (IMPLIED) YANDERE/YANGIRE BOSS + COWORKERS

waiver: the place is set in “japan” ,characters speak in japanese, so if you don’t like honorifics or terms (e.g. senpai, san, sama) then uh yeah. this doesn’t mean your character has to be japanese though! i’ve added a lot of “foreigner”characters so it wouldn’t be weird for you to be one as well.

mc is a total bitch and a half. like an absolute asshole.

sexual harassment, sexual assault, yandere guest gropes your everywhere and forces you to grope him, violence.

Reminder that the Guest is God Host Club isn’t responsible for any injuries and/or deaths that happen. please take proper precautions, honorable guests!

host description: drunk out of his mind, your apparent “ex” starts harassing you in the host club you happen to be serving in.

and as much as you’d love to punch him into oblivion, it is imperative you show him as good time.

the guest of this place is god after all.

host status: unedited, will add images later on.

more about the host: THIS IS AN INTRODUCTORY POST TO MY OCS AND MY WEBTOON CONCEPTS. Final OC designs might be incredibly different in the webtoon itself.

although reader may be called a maid, they aren’t explicitly fem. they will be using gender neutral pronouns.

MINORS / PEOPLE WITH NO IDS (AGELESS BLOGS) AREN’T ALLOWED TO ENTER.

If you’d like to be updated for when we next open, please reply to this post to be subscribed to our taglist!

YOU WERE AWFULLY FORTUNATE WHEN IT CAME TO FINANCIAL MATTERS. You had rich benefactors (whoever they were) and enough money to live several lifetimes in comfort. Despite not knowing where all this wealth came from, you learnt to just be content with your ignorance. It wasn’t as if it was threatening your life, and the stream of money was always consistent in terms of amount and the dates it came in.

But that is exactly why you found yourself in this situation.

It started from one of your days lounging at your extravagant penthouse apartment. With nothing to do but play games and throw money at fictional characters, and escorts. You were fine with your lavish yet miserably lonely lifestyle. So, it was safe to say you were surprised to have suddenly received an envelop on your doorstep.

It was red with shiny accents of spider lilies. You open it to see a letter (what a suprise!). It seemed handwritten, judging from the slight differences some letters appeared but still high quality none the less.

You’ve watched enough survival games to know where this was going.

And sure enough, you were forced into a job as someone that serves and accommodates guests.

These guest varied from people you’ve never even met before, to friends and even people you loathed.

Like the one you’re facing right now.

You weren’t supposed to accommodate this guest at all, in fact, you were already done with your shift. But as you were unzipping the maid costume you were forced to wear during workdays, you hear timid voice from behind you.

“U-uhm…[L/N]-先輩…”

Hazu, a tall but extremely shy co-worker of yours called your name.

His costume was completely different from yours. Sporting a suit with fetish-wear straps that accentuated his long legs, and a pair of short whore gloves, Hazu was forced by your employer to play the “Dom/Sadist” archetype.

And, like you in the beginning, was terrible at it.

“Let me guess, your guest is a hard sub and you’re having trouble keeping up?”

“N-no. I think they were mi-mis-categorized!” Hazu made fists and shook them in air in frustration. What a cutie. “I mean, seriously! He seems more like a sadist! He kept insulting my height! I’m just a little above average d-damn it!”

You placed a hand on his hair. Soft, and fluffy brown, you always tried to make an excuse to touch it before. But nowadays you just touched it whenever you two had overlapping shifts. Which happened to be most days, lucky you.

“Your 先輩 will take care of it then.” Hazu melts under your touch. You always managed to disintegrate any and all anxieties he faced. It was miraculous really. He’d always been a nervous person. But the way you almost parented him, checked on him every step of his journey towards graduation, provided him with his favorite food just so he gains that extra bit of comfortability… you…you were just perfect in every way.

If only he knew the side of you that comes out after shifts.

“If he tries to hurt you…”

“If he tries hurting me our boss and/or bodyguard will deal with it. Don’t worry too much okay? Take care.”

And you left, not bothering to wait for a response. You wanted this night to be done and dealt with. You had hobbies to get to, and your darling spouse (that is your bed) to greet when you came home.

You sighed as you left the staff room.

“Useless piece of shit.”

“お客様—“

“[Y/N]? Hah! It is you!” The man, Hazu’s ex guest, yelled into your ear. His breath reeked of alcohol.

And you had no recollection of ever meeting him.

He had white hair, shaved at the sides, and green eyes that reminded you of pine trees. Piercings on his ears, nose and below his lips. He wore jewelry all over his hands and a collar.

With your name on it.

Shit.

“What, yer family’s money finally gone down the drain?” His hands moved to grope every part of your body. It was that moment when you realized he might not be the delusional asshole you pegged him to be.

He knew just the places you were sensitive in. His hands felt so familiar,

yet so wrong at the same time.

“Nah it couldn’t have been, shit like that is impossible to lose easily.”

He was right. Even if you tried to blow away all the money you held it was almost impossible to go into debt. Any time you went past your budget and checked, it would have been already been paid by your anonymous benefactor.

You wondered if they knew the situation you were in, and why the hell they haven’t done anything to save you yet.

You eventually broke out of the man’s hold, it wasn’t hard considering he was drunk. “お客様, kindly move aside so that this lowly servant may be able to clean your seat.”

“You’re doing this for some weird fetish aren’t you? Just like how-“ He gagged, and you were about to bolt in case he threw up again but thankfully he didn’t, “Just like how you used me *hic* so that you’d be the most popular or whatever.”

He pulled you closer again. In a few moments, you found him atop the mess he made earlier and you above his lap. You took a deep breath and prayed to everything that is holy for him to not barf on you or your uniform touching whatever it is he vomited on the couch.

But he only stared at you. Your features. Traced every part with a soft look on his face that you wanted oh so dearly to rip off of him for some reason.

Scratch that, you did have a specific reason and that was his hard-on that you can feel poking your ass.

“お客様—“

“Fuck, I’m hard.”

Yeah, you could tell.

“[Y/N]. You feel this right?”

‘Yes.’ You glared at him, biting your lip to ensure you didn’t say anything that would go on record and make your boss go nuts again for going out of character. Whoever this man was, he was definitely lucky he found you in uniform. In any other place or situation you would have definitely destroyed his family jewels at this point.

“I fucked *hic* so many whores but none of them where like *hic* you.”

‘Fucking horndog.’

“Hey, [Y/N]. Let’s get back together, alright? I miss you baby. I know you miss me too.”

He leaned forward and your lips almost touched if it weren’t for metallic claws ripping him away from you.

His mangled body, though still alive, would definitely have to go through several months in the hospital if not a whole year to recover. His blood mixed with the filth that covered the floor and furniture.

‘Finally.’ You adjusted your uniform and began sanitizing everything.

“Excellent show of self control, Mx. [L/N].” You heard clapping behind you.

“It is all thanks to you, sir Melchior.” You stood up and immediately gave him a 90 degree bow. Your tools hidden behind you.

“Oh, you flatterer!” His golden eyes shone even under the dim lighting.

Although Aurum Melchior, your boss, was old enough to be your grandfather at this point. The years adored him. He looked breathtakingly handsome for a man whose silver hair overtook his blond ones ages ago.

He wore a dark grey suit, with a long fur coat on his shoulders. The threatening grin on his face never left him whenever he faced your form.

“But it seems that I’m who’d like this fool gone. You know, murder is quite a big sentence to deal with . . .”

“Oh but is it really murder if there are no witnesses?”

“Touché.” The cane he always brought around despite being able to walk properly poked and prodded at your guest’s unconscious face. “Bear. Get rid of the drunkard.”

A woman with a bear mask behind him nodded, carrying the body and quickly making an exit. How she did so with those sharp claws, you never knew nor did you ever want to. Ursa wasn’t really much of a talker anyways.

Besides, you preferred her silent yet efficient attitude in comparison to blabbering messes most of your co-workers are. Seriously, the amount of times you had to comfort Hazu was uncountable. You could unconsciously feel the tears and snot running down your shoulders. Why couldn’t he just get a move on and get with the persona given to him already?

“Au revoir, Mx. [L/N]. There are still many shifts until your graduation.”

“Have a pleasant night, boss.”

“Have a pleasant night.”

THANK YOU FOR VISITING THE GUEST IS GOD HOST CLUB!

Have these, free of service!

先輩 - senpai - senior (work/school)

お客様 - okyakusama - honorable guest/visitor

If you’d like to be updated for when we next open, please reply to this post to be subscribed to our taglist!

[opening schedules] [next opening]

If you’d like to be updated for when we next open, please reply to this post to be subscribed to our taglist !

If you’d like to be updated for when we next open, please reply to this post to be subscribed!

We hope to see you soon.

[beastabyss666]

Here ya go.

https://desuarchive.org/co/thread/134770451/#134770956

You’ll have to read through the thread.

OH MAAAAAN-

I've already seen this thread and......Yeah, Viv's workers don't like her at all for sure lmao-

So, it comes out that the leaks we got several months ago were true....And Adam(HH angel guy) was true as well. I was quite sure in that because his design is so Vivziepopish, you know. One colour that is smeared all over the character, eyes without pupils, simple but overdetailed look, thin limbs. He looks so stereotypically angelic with this long robe, wings, halo and golden colour, but at the same time not. Why do angels have horns and why does he have sharp teeth? Why is he a rock star(isn't rock Satan's music, lol)? I don't know. But his design is just rough-and-ready. No effort. That's just a total ass, I'm sorry.

Continuing about the leaks, there are also dozens of dialogue pages and I've barely digested them. I have no idea who wrote that disaster, maybe it's Vivzie herself, anyway these third-rate writers shouldn't, just SHOULD NOT touch the script. Those are just identical lines with filthy language everywhere, incredibly flat "jokes" and overall strange words? Idk, this just seems unnatural. And the worst is that you couldn't understand who says what. All characters in HH are from absolutely different time periods, yet still sound the same and curse a lot. Hell, even Alastor uses foul language though he's supposed to be so rinky-dink. Also, I saw a leak with 3 pieces of storyboards for 6 and 12 episodes of Helluva Boss and I have nothing to say about it. I mean, I knew that this series is gonna be a soppy melodrama with Stolas pity party. This is just super predictable. I think I'm losing interest in these two shows.

By the way, seems like the exterminator angels' names refer to female genitalia. Yes, all exterminator angels are women for some reason. And they have names like Clitorissa, Labyanne, Pusscilla etc. Congratulations, Viv, that's a peak of humour.

[arkiwii]

Will start with this one then, that I wrote to pass time in the plane

It would be funny if we put an animal between the hands of two unfunctional divorced lesbians don't you think

There's a lot of mistakes and typos probably, I didn't had time to proofread and I'm not native English speaker, so my bad

________________

Somehow, Silence and Saria end up having to take care of an injured Musbeast… Of course, things can only not go well when these two have to do any sort of collaboration, especially when it involves a being's life.

Characters

Silence, Saria, Ifrit

Warnings

Description of injury, description of surgery, injured animal

________________

"May I know what you were doing here?"

A dry voice, normally known to be soft and calm, reached the ears of the silver haired person. This one is found forced to stop her tracks to look up towards the origin of the familiar voice, slightly moving the paper sheet she was observing from her sight.

It was a normal day, nothing really special; just a calm evening in Rhodes Island. In those summer days, it was common for operators to take it easy, simply doing the work they were supposed to do, without doing much, and rarely had to face emergencies. Adding to this, some operators decided to take vacations, taking profit of the sunshine, hanging out with their friends or family, which resulted in turning the normally noisy and busy ship into a calmer and emptier one.

Well, of course, with the exception of these two. The Liberi and the Vouivre simply had no concept of "vacation" or "break", it seems. Why spend days, or weeks, chilling at the beach, when you can work twelve hours per day? The Infecteds' lives don't take a break. Medicine and science discoveries neither.

And even less the condition of their protected one.

"I was printing a copy of Ifrit's health report." The taller woman replied in a monotone voice, with not a single emotion. The facts, straight and direct to the point, nothing else was needed.

A complete opposite to the medic in front of her, who frowned behind her round glasses, grasping at the documents she was holding. "How does it even concern you? You're not part of the medical team." Now that she thinks about it, how long has it been that Saria was looking at the reports of Ifrit's condition? Maybe since the very start - her heart skipped a beat at the thought, suddenly scared about what it could mean, or what intentions the defender had to do such a thing. Under the mess of thoughts, she slightly raised her voice, suddenly seeming aggressive, or at least, on the defensive. "Are you trying to keep an eye on your experi-"

"I'm just making sure she's fine." The tall woman frowned, yet her voice remained neutral. Finally a bit of emotion, even if it seems to be disbelief that her co-worker was still believing that she only had intentions to hurt this child. "Now, I will leave, to not bother you more. Good day."

With a tail wave, she simply just walked away, passing in front of the brown haired Liberi, who was ready to let her leave with not a single additional word, or a goodbye. But she barely took any steps further that rushed footsteps made her stop, followed by a screaming voice.

"Sillleenceee! Quick, I need your help!"

The sudden voice of the younger one immediately changed the hard expression on Silence's face, who quickly turned toward its source in surprise - followed by the Vouivre, who could not help it.

"Ifrit? Is everything alri- Wait, what is that?"

The owl squinted as the Sarkaz approached, noticing a mass of brown fur and feathers in her arms that she was unable to identify at this distance. Saria took some steps forward, closing her distance with the researcher until she was just next to her. "It looks like…"

"I-" The child finally stopped her course to take a few breaths, now just in front of the two adults. "I was playing outside and- And I found this beast… It seems very injured!"

"Wait, Ifrit, breathe." The concerned Liberi put a hand on the blonde child's shoulder. Her gaze turned then to the creature in her arms, quickly analyzing it. "It's still breathing, but it's rather slow… I will have to analyze it in a proper place, come with me."

She made a sign to Ifrit to follow, who did so, under the silent stare of the defender. But contrary to what Silence secretly wished, the horned child will not miss an occasion to include Saria in this affair. "Saria! You will help too, right? You're so good at helping people, I'm sure you would do amazing!" Her little tail swinged as she spoke, an excited smile on her face.

An excitement that was not shared by the two of them, the first was looking at the kid with surprised eyes, while the second ruffled her feathers up. "Saria is bus-" She went to grab Ifrit's arm to drag her away, but she dodged it and returned in front of the Vouivre.

"Busy with what?! It's summer! C'moonn, I'm sure she would help a lot… Just like with me before!" The bright orange eyes of the child seemed to wet up as she begged. Memories of the old times where she and Saria used to collaborate in Rhine Lab remade the surface, against her will. The former director did not know what to say in the entire situation, a part of her wished to accept, but never she would break the boundaries of Silence, boundaries that included staying feets away from the scientist.

"That's up to Silence if she wants help." That's all she replied, redirecting her gaze to the Liberi, this reply betraying that she was indeed up to offer a hand. That's now a situation that the owl has to face. Many replies, many thoughts appeared in her head, as she opened her lips slightly as to say one, but none came out. Her mind screamed to refuse, her heart screamed to accept, and she was just here, fighting mentally to make a decision. Just one, any, but one-

"...Fine. She can come." She deeply sighed, to herself or to the situation, she didn't know. "I might need more pairs of hands anyway." An addition that was not that necessary, if not to convince herself that she did not accept because she wanted Saria to be around. "Now let's not lose more time."

"It really is a nasty wound…" Silence squinted as she was analyzing the Musbeast on a large operation table that was carefully draped with a tissue. The creature was showing a big wound on one of its forepaws, similar to a bite, probably made by a hound. It was covered in dried blood, mixed with fur and feathers, despite the medic's attempt to shave around the it for a proper look.

"Will it survive?" Ifrit was still here, looking as well as the wound. Even if it was not a suitable sight for a child, she was not any child, and it was probably something she was very used to seeing, if not worse, in the operations she had taken. Her tone was concerned - even if she could play the overconfident side time by time, she can't hide her sensitivity to other being's health. In the meantime, Saria was preparing some tools in silence.

"The chances are high, yes… Don't worry, we will try our best to save it." She kindly smiled to the child, gently ruffling her hair with one hand, which was replied to with an awkward laugh from her. "You should leave us to take care of it now… You can go back playing outside, I will tell you if anything happens, alright?"

"Alright alright." The kid walked away, giving a last glance to the beast, but then her gaze switched to the two adults. "I will go but, I better not catch you two arguing or something, OK?" Ah well, it was not words she expected to hear from someone as young as Ifrit, so Silence couldn't help but chuckle at it, but nervously.

"Not when a being's life is between our hands, no." She only replied this, her voice suddenly lowering mid-sentence, realizing how much of a lie it was - after all, they both argued a lot about Ifrit's life. The young Sarkaz then squinted at them, doing the hand sign for "I am watching", before leaving the medical room, carefully closing the door behind her.

An awkward silence installed itself between them very soon after. Both simply just stranded here, their bodies turned to the door. Finally, the Vouivre was the first to break the quiet ambiance.

"...Just like the old times."

She couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth in nostalgia, while the Liberi did not dared a look towards her, instead focusing her attention on the patient. "Except it's a beast. I hope that you at least have some knowledge in animal health." After putting on a medical mask, the brune owl grabbed a tool holding on a cotton that she dipped in disinfectant.

"I don't. I may be useless after all." She followed her co-worker by putting on a mask as well, but soon got surprised by the sudden reaction of the creature under the cotton being pressed on the wound. "Ah, wait, do you need me to hold it for you?"

"That'd be nice." The owl dryly replied, allowing the Vouivre to move to the other side of the table to place her hands on the creature, who was panicking and breathing. "Be careful to not hurt it. And don't let it go." She whispered a warning before going back to her task to clean up the wound.

"I'm not as…" Saria instinctively replied, but upon realizing this reply was surely useless, she finally just nodded. "Alright." She was holding the beast against the table, tight enough to not allow it to leave despite its struggling attempts, but also not too tight to hurt it.

Seeing this beast trying to break free under her hands only reminded her of another problematic little beast.

"Ptilopsis is not with you?" she finally asked, and realized that she had not seen Silence's assistant at all today, despite the fact that the two are normally always sticking around each other. The concerned one barely looked up at the question, still focusing on the beast who was now letting out small cries. "No. She went out with Mayer this morning. They're going to get new materials for Lutra Workshop. I thought that letting her go outside with someone else would do her goo-" She suddenly stopped herself to sigh, the noisy creature under her hands refusing to calm down, masking the words of the Liberi. "You're a noisy one, you know that?"

She gently rubbed a finger behind one of the ears of the beast, hoping that this kind action would help it to calm down, under the warm look of her co-worker. "Seems like the pain woke it up." She simply commented with a smile, not moving her hands one bit from the creature.

"At least it's a good sign." The brown haired one shrugged, finally setting down the tool she was previously using to clean up the wound. "But it's going to be a struggle for when I'd have to sew that wound."

As she spoke, she looked around for her next tool, while the Vouivre gave her an interrogated look with round eyes. "Shouldn't we put it asleep first?"

Her question stopped the owl, who then moved a hand on her chin, knitting her eyebrows. "Maybe? I don't know how it works… Ketamine?"

"That might be too strong for a Musbeast."

"You're right." The medic slided a look to the animal, who seemed to have relaxed now that the wound wasn't touched anymore. "Maybe propofol then? I'm really unsure what is the best…" she moved a hand to her forehead, grabbing some of her hair as she looked in the void, trying her best to think of a solution. Unfortunately, she really did not know anything about animal medicine, having studied human biology more.

"We can still make an attempt." Saria's voice, still calm, finally stopped Silence in her train of thoughts. "If anything, we would still have tried." She closed her eyes for a bit, finally moving one hand to gently give pets to the beast, brushing the long feathered antennas on its head.

"I don't want to make Ifrit sad if we fail." The Liberi turned her head away, showing a concerned expression despite herself. While the white haired defender was burning with the urge to put a hand on her shoulder, to gently stroke her feathers, to give her comfort like she used to do, she did nothing. She only responded, but in her normally strict voice could be heard some kindness.

"We won't. I promise you that I won't let it happen."

Silence only took a short breath. Can she really trust the person she wanted away from her? She ended up closing her eyes, but then adjusted her glasses with a gloved finger, before turning back to Saria and nodding to her.

No, she can't trust her. But she does not have much of a choice.

It's been such, such a long time since the two conversed this way. None of them can recall how long, but it's been too long, it's all they knew. It was hard for Silence to accept that when it did not come to Ifrit or Rhine Lab, talking with Saria was really pleasing. They both seemed to be on the same level, on some understanding, with a common goal; to protect those in need.

It's when Silence thinks about it that she could not help but feel a slight pain in her chest. On one hand, she craved to forgive Saria, to come back to her side, to feel the comfort she used to give her, this feeling of security and trust. But on the other hand, she was scared to do so; scared that she might be making a mistake, that she might lose the ones she wished to protect and save, that she would fall in the hands of Rhine Lab again.

It was not hate that she had for Saria anymore, not with those years spent with her in Rhodes Island. It was fear. For herself, for Ifrit.

The operation went well. The deep wound on the beast's arm was nothing to be afraid of anymore, sewed back and covered with a bandage to prevent any contact with it. The Liberi was now washing the tools she used, while the Vouivre was reorganizing them, peeping at the sleeping animal time by time. It should not be long before it awakens, now.

"What is the plan now?" The white haired one asked after another look, without looking at the other person in the room.

"Well, obviously it can't be left in nature this way." Silence replied, cutting off the water a moment to speak. "We'd have to keep it around until it's fully healed."

"In Rhodes Island?"

"Maybe. Unless you know somewhere else to keep it - I don't. In a dorm, with someone to watch it carefully, it would suffice." She finally dried up the tools she was washing, walking back near Saria to put them back in their places. "I'm not sure if Ifrit is a good candidate for this, however. As much as I trust her, you know how she can act impulsively…"

"And about you and Ptilopsis?" The dragon took a step backwards to not get too close to her co-worker, and decided to instead focus back her attention on the animal.

"I don't know if Ptilopsis would be alright with it. But even so, it might be difficult for us, as we tend to be often distracted, or focused on work…" Other candidates would surely fit better, but as she thought of Mayer or maybe Magallan, she could not help but decide to play a bit with Saria. "How about you? Let's see how great Lady the former Director is with animals." She caught herself smiling, suppressing this expression the moment she realized she was doing it.

"Not that great." Saria waved her tail, betraying how nervous she felt about it, despite her expression staying neutral. She stared at the Musbeast, who was now slowly waking up. "But I don't mind trying if it's better."

The room went quiet as the two were now staring at the little one. It seemed to be really confused, proceeding where it was and what happened. Instinctively, it went on its paws, and attempted to walk, but soon fell on the table, causing a pressed movement from Silence.

"Ah, be careful-" But the moment she took a step forward, her hands raised as if to grab the animal, it immediately freaked out, and tried to get up instantly to run away. It was not that fast, limping slowly, but still fast enough to escape Silence. Thankfully for her, Saria, who had way better reflexes in this kind of situation, jumped forward to gently catch the animal before it could fall. "Ah… Thank you Saria." the Liberi sighed with relief, glad that the beast was alright, despite its slow movements to escape Saria's grip. It seemed that it was still tired and confused from the anesthesia, but no less ferocious.

"You're welcome… I will have to be careful and keep a constant eye on it, then." her eyes moved to the Musbeast, trying to make sure to not hurt it with her firm hands.

The owl nodded to confirm it, before turning away slightly. "I will continue to clean everything up, and as well contact Mayer and Joye to bring some pet food while they're out, we'll definitely need it. As well as a cone… And pet special medecine…" she started to mumble, a hand to her chin, her eyes straying away. For a moment, the Vouivre was just standing here, the animal in her hands - who calmed down after realizing how meaningless its efforts were - her orange stare on her co-worker. At the moment, she simply just lost herself looking at her, not realizing it. In fact, it's Silence who remarked it first, frowning in confusion at Saria.

"Saria? You can go now. I'll take care of the rest."

"Ah- Right. My apologizes." She nodded politely, feeling her tail swinging in awkwardness, before leaving the room.

A soft knock on her door made her perk her head up.

"I'm coming."

Soft morning sun rays drowned the dorm in warm colors. It was the next day, and Saria had spent the rest of the day in her room, watching her new protected one. Even if it has been a single day, the place was now covered in an overwhelming scent of pet food that she felt like she would have a hard time to get rid of.

As she said, the draconic one stood up to walk to the mechanical door, allowing this one to open, revealing the short brown haired Liberi behind.

"Good morning, Silence."

"Good… morning, Saria." Silence's voice sounded strangely hesitant, as if she was not planning on greeting the person in front of her, but was still caught off guard by the greeting, politeness forcing her to reply despite herself. "I brought the medicine for the beast. Is everything alright so far?"

She tried to slide a look behind Saria, with great difficulty considering how she was built compared to Silence, but upon seeing her struggle, the Vouivre took a step aside to allow the smaller one to see - and maybe enter. "Nothing concerning. It seems to be doing fine, but is still trying to get used to it. Ah, you can enter if you don't mind."

If Silence doesn't mind? Of course she does mind. The idea of entering in the dorm of the person she trusts the least is not making her feel the greatest. She only looked inside, quietly, but decided to shut the thoughts in her head. She's here as a medic, a professional, to help a living being - she doesn't have time to put her personal life in it. Forcing herself to keep a neutral look, she entered the place, and quickly spotted the beast on the bed. At least, it seems like it got used to Saria's presence enough. She placed the medicine she brought on the desk in the room, noticing how clean and organized this one was. Of course, she already knows Saria well to know that her dorm would be very neutral and clean, as if it was unoccupied and untouched since she started to work at Rhodes Island. The only noticeable elements would be her shield, her clothes, documents, and… A slightly burnt feather. Silence frowned at this sight, but did her best to ignore it and focus on the matter, as the dorm's owner closed the door to make sure the beast wouldn't try to flee.

"So let's see this…" Silence muttered as she approached the animal, who was already staring at her with big eyes, the antennas and ears on its head perked up in alert, despite the big plastic cone around. The moment the Liberi was a little bit too close, it stood up, and walked backwards, until its butt hit the wall behind. "Still scared I see…" She whispered, but couldn't help a very slightly amused smile at the animal when it tried to turn around, but the cone hit the wall. Saria approached as well, but simply sat on the bed, before raising a hand carefully at the beast to allow it to sniffle it.

"It's alright, Quill, don't be afraid…"

"Quill?" The Liberi blinked at the name. She really was not expecting Saria, ex-director of the Defense section, known for her cold behavior and for being more sturdy than diamond itself, to be attached to a small fluffy animal that she met a day ago. And apparently, Saria herself was not expecting it, as she stiffened up, waving her tail around nervously. "I was thinking that a name would be more friendly… And, its feathers remind me of yours."

Ah. As soon as she said those words, a very awkward silence took place. The Vouivre, who was looking away, slided a look at the owl, whose expression was… really hard to describe. Surprise? Anger? Fluster? Guilt? Tender? Disgust? A mix of all of those at once? Whatever she was dealing with, something could be guessed; she did not want to deal with it. "I… Hum. Could you try to hold it please? I need to examine its wound."

After that, no more words were exchanged between them. Saria obeyed, picking up the small animal after gently reassuring it, and held it in a way that its arm would be easier to see. The Liberi quickly looked at it - maybe too quick, Saria can guess it's the fact that she had to be closer to her that was making her act this way -, before noting in a low voice that it seemed all alright and starting to heal up. She then went to take the medicine, asking for Saria to force the animal's mouth open for her to put it in its throat. Everything went well, and after being released from Saria's hands, the beast gently jumped out of bed - well, "jumped" in the best way it could -, before hiding under it.

Now, it was just the two of them. Silence did not dare to look at Saria again, instead turning around. "I'm leaving the medicine here. One pill every morning until it's all healed up. I guess you can do the check ups yourself." She walked away to the door, leaving Saria to reply with an agreeing growl, but she finally built the courage to call for the Medic before she leaves.

"Olivia."

"Don't-"

"I'm sorry."

The look of anger on Silence's face upon hearing her first name suddenly vanished at the apology. She finally let out a sigh, looking towards the door, but did not take another step. "Listen I… I just don't know what to think about it. I was hoping you would have forgotten…" she looked behind at the desk, towards the feather, where the defender's eyes followed. "I just need a moment." The feather tufts on her head lowered, but she finally left before Saria could reply anything else.

Since this day, Silence never visited again. Sometimes, it would be Mayer or Ptilopsis, even Magallan once, and of course Ifrit - always supervised by one of the first two. They seemed always glad to see the little beast, who started to feel more at ease at the sight of new faces. They would even bring some treats time by time, Mayer would bring a Meeboo to play around, or take note of its anatomy to perfect her robots. Ifrit was always eager to play or pet the animal, even though she was often asked to leave it alone, as it could not do much in its stade, and Ptilopsis took the role of checking in to keep track of its health.

But never Silence. Saria grew worried about it, sometimes asking news to Ifrit or Ptilopsis, but it seemed that she was doing fine. So she was really just giving her the cold shoulder - she was used to it after all. It was probably better for Silence, staying around Saria against her will probably have stressed her up.

It has been a week now. The cone around Quill's head - name officialized as Ifrit loved it - was removed, and it seemed that its situation was better. Saria would of course not spend all her time in her dorm, she would often wander to the training room, or check around Rhodes Island to see if any operator was in need of assistance or anything. The ship really was calmer and more silent in summer, it was almost boring. At least, she could somewhat entertain herself with Quill. And speaking of it, she was spending this evening sitting on her bed, the small animal laying down on her lap as she gave it a few strokes on its head, gently sliding her fingers on the length of its feathers, her mind somewhere else.

The feathers were extremely soft. She always loved the feel of the texture of those on her fingers, the palm of her hand, against her body. While slightly ticklish, they still brought something to her; a feeling of warmth, of sweetness.

Eyes closed, she could almost feel her presence again. Her head resting against her, and her hand gently brushing her hair and feathers. Bright memories of a past she could never live again. Why wouldn't she fight for it? She could - but she thinks she does not deserve it.

The accusations were false, but the guilt was here. She could, no, she should have known. She should have stopped them before. Before it happened, before these innocents were harmed. It was too late now to go back, but she will still try. She will keep on protecting them, and try to stop those who did it. Even if she was now alone, it was certainly better. So the ones she cares about won't be hurt if she fails. And she won't hurt herself.

She opened her eyes again when the fluffy creature yawned, moving her hand to not disturb it. But as she did, she caught something shining under the light of her room, on its forepaw. Muttering reassuring words to the beast, she picked up its leg to examine it. Now that she thinks about it, it has been a while since Ptilopsis did a check up, maybe she decided it was not necessary anymore. As Saria looked at the wound, she squinted, before catching up what got her attention between the black wires that were used to stitch back the injury; black crystals.

“Saria..?”

It’s a small voice that welcomed her as she opened the door. It was pretty late in the evening, but never too late for the literal night owl that is Silence. She was of course in her laboratory, where she spent most of her time, and that’s where Saria found her. The expression on her face was strange, she seemed surprised, but also not glad to see her; and the Vouivre could not help but notice how her hair seemed greasy and messy, as if she had not taken care of herself for the whole time.

“It’s about Qu… The Musbeast.” she hesitated, thinking that hearing that name again might not do her the best. Silence seemed to relax a bit, maybe was she afraid that it was about her or, maybe, the both of them. “Ah. Did something happen?”

“It got infected.”

She blinked once, then twice, before readjusting her glasses. “I did not know it could happen… I should have watched it more carefully.” Her eyes seemed to wander away, as she lost herself in her thoughts, the way she always did. “How is it feeling right now? Joyce reported to me it was getting better, and nothing was alarming.”

“That’s the case. There’s no sign of an advanced stage of Oripathy, just a few crystals have appeared on its wound.” Saria’s voice remained calm as always.

“...Alright. I will go take a look. Is it still in your room?” As she spoke, she took off the lab coat she still had on her, revealing her clear brown turtleneck under it.

“Wait,” Saria called out the moment the Liberi was leaving the laboratory, getting her to stop in her tracks to look at her. “Have you taken care of yourself recently?” She dared to ask this question, earning a frown as a reaction.

“It’s not about me.”

While Saria’s tone barely changed, someone who is used to hearing her like Silence could guess a certain concern behind it. “The beast can wait, it’s not in an emergency state, you should try to at least take a sh-”

“I can take care of myself- and, w-what are you trying to achieve with all of this anyway?” Contrary to the person in front of her, Silence could not keep her voice calm, and raised her tone slightly, showing a certain anger - or maybe fear, or maybe both, even. It was as if she was afraid of a certain conclusion, that she had been rejecting for long, so long.

Saria could play the innocence card, and ask what she meant by “all of this”, but she did nothing, only opening her lips slightly as if the words refused to leave. She already knew what she meant, so instead she simply looked down, her tail swinging slightly behind her, but soon rolling up around her legs. “I can’t forget.”

The next second, she could only hear a deep inhale from the owl, who closed her eyes as if to calm herself down. But instead of replying, she only turned herself to walk in the hallway. “We’ll talk about it later. But first, let’s take care of this.”

They simply walked for a bit, in complete silence, Saria staying a certain distance from her co-worker as if it was preferable for her to forget that Saria was here at all. Once they arrived, and after a scan from Saria’s ID card to open the door, they were greeted with the animal in the center of the piece, who immediately rushed under the bed upon seeing them. Silence took note of how it walked, it seemed that it was getting way better, only slightly limping. After allowing Saria to catch the Musbeast, she joined to take a look at the wound. Saria could hear her click her tongue before she stood up.

"It's not looking very bad, it's only at early stages… But I don't know how to deal with that." She sighed before sitting on the bed, but keeping a distance from Saria. She was tired, visibly, but still tried to hide it. "Is the treatment the same as humans? How long can it survive? I don't know anything about its biology either." Her eyes focused on an indeterminate point, as she tapped her fingers on her second arm, now turned into a wing. Saria stared at her for a moment, letting go of the Musbeast who decided that it was getting hungry.

The situation was awfully similar to what happened back in Rhine Lab. A patient both had to take care of, yet they could not understand, but a will to save it regardless. That Ifrit was a human child and Quill a simple animal does not change that both deserve a life. But this time, no one was to blame; it was only nature.

She balanced her tail, her hands now resting on her laps. "I guess there is not much we can do… But that does not mean we can't try."

"I guess." Silence's voice sounded deeper, surely due to her tiredness. It would be hard to deny that she has been neglecting herself. "I would have to take a sample of its blood when I will remove the threads… I just don't know how to announce it to Ifrit now."

"There's nothing we could have done to prevent it anyway." Saria nodded, before looking at the beast who was curiously staring at them, sniffing the air as if to get hints if Silence was an enemy or an ally. "The least we can do now would be to give it a good life."

Silence's feathers tufts dropped slightly at these words. "But… I could probably try to find a way to cure it. If I work hard enough…"

"Olivia, you already work enough." The taller woman's voice was strict at those words, but still somewhat full of concern. The Liberi could have been mad at the sound of her name, but at the moment, her mind was too focused on the matter, and too tired to pay attention, that hearing it again sounded more of a habit than something she would reject. "You do a lot for Ifrit. And not just her. For Ptilopsis. For this small Liberi woman you met as well. For Rhodes Island as a whole." She would have liked to offer way more than just her words - to be able to hold her again, to reassure her like she used to do. But not right now. "You need to take care of yourself too."

Silence sighed deeply, closing her eyes to not reopen them, feeling way more comfortable this way. "I feel like I'm hearing Joyce… Since when did you care about us?"

"I always did." The amber eyes of the draconic one looked away, at the Musbeast, who was now approaching them to jump on the bed, before taking place between the two of them - but closer to Saria, to whom it was the most used to. Both looked at it silently, eventually Silence dared to approach a hand to gently pet it, noting that it was as soft as her own feathers.

"I still don't know if I can really trust you." She finally started, her eyes not moving from the creature who was still showered in tender pets. "I'm afraid to. I'm afraid that if I go back, things will get worse, that I might lose her. But this time we spent together… Taking care of this beast… It just reminded me of the days in Rhine Lab, and how much I missed them." She finally let go, and now brought back her two hands together, before staring away once again. "Even if we were running towards a bad end, things were easier, and we were happy together… But now, I'm afraid of being blinded again. Of being used."

Saria could only listen in silence. Her heart tightened at the words, it has been so long since she heard Silence speak her heart open this way. She only nodded to show that she saw listening, even yet the Liberi woman could not see it.

"So long story short, I don't know what to do. But I need time. I'm still afraid for Ifrit. And I still don't trust you." She took a sharp breath, before sliding a look at Saria, finally. "But either way, we both are working towards the same objective, right? So you better not break my trust again, and my heart."

Maybe Saria was dreaming, or maybe she really did see a smile on Silence's face. Or maybe this one was so tired that she was not paying attention anymore. Her head dropped to look at Quill, now simply laying down against her lap, comfortably. "I won't. That's a promise you can trust."

"I wish." Silence whispered, her eyes closed, before letting once again calm install itself between them. It was a strange conversation they just had, never they spoke this way. Exposing each other's heart, so calmly, and yet, despite the terms they were on now, they could still somewhat find a common goal to fight for. To protect Ifrit.

"Alright," the owl finally stood up after a moment, feeling as if she was falling asleep, and despite having found a consensus, she absolutely refuses to fall asleep on her ex-lover's bed. "I won't take any longer. I still have work to do."

She walked towards the door, Saria looking at her do so, blocked by the small animal who seemed to have fallen asleep near her.

"Good night, Olivia."

Silence stopped just in front of the door, but did not look behind. "It's Silence, until otherwise. Good night, Saria."

And now, it was just Saria and Quill again. Now alone, the Vouivre could not help but drop a tender smile, whispering to the pet next to her, as if it could hear her.

"She really is something, huh…"

[mable-stitchpunk]

So hi, big fan of your work. Too few fics touch on like the whole possession aspect of FNAF, imo. Seriously I swear I’ve seen more time travel fix it fics than like ones that actually attempt to cover the whole ghost aspects of FNAF, which admittedly cannon is not helping.

Anyway, tangent aside, I wanna ask an odd question, both in fic(s) and or generally.

Remember how in like sister location where there was like those two technicians that were hung for no good reason? You know those very important characters that uhhh… got an all of an ‘ok’ from the fandom. Thoughts?

seriously can’t believe how much death matters so little in this franchise, where the main villain is like a mad scientist two kills people over remnant or whatever and yet we get absolutely nothing about his crimes. not even like a concrete number??? like c’mon? it’s like William someone Saturday morning cartoon villian and not an actual horror game villain, thou I suppose that would require Scott to you know write a character that isn’t like rambling about at this point arguably ‘supernatural’ gloop. Like c’mon, can we get more than like ‘I am so evil and smart’ out of William, please.

Sorry about the ramble I have thoughts

Oh, thank you so much! And glad to hear it! 8D I can get it though. Possession can be a whole lot to get into. I got lucky enough making a really insanely long fic, but if I would've stuck to only twelve chapters it would've been much harder to handle it.

Though I do LOVE handling it. My favorite part being able to deconstruct where characters end and where the person they used to be starts. There's just so many layers to it! Not to mention the supernatural aspect of how far you can push it.

I will... admit that I haven't thought much about those technicians, but largely because they weren't really given much to think on. XD SL was a pretty short game, but if it HAD been longer, it might've been cool to have more moments where you could overhear the technicians talking. It could've added more context to the situation in the facility and shown the distance and dissonance between Michael and his other workers- I.E. contextually show he's a loner or showing that he is purposefully distancing himself from his co-workers. Or just showing how poorly the whole thing is being managed.

Heck, there could've been a segment where Michael has a conversation over the radio with one of them- a one-sided conversation or recording- that could've also added story context.

I suppose that wasn't required, but it could've given then a little more.

However, I definitely feel there should've been at least one line from Baby that explained why they couldn't use their bodies. Because I've seen people questioning this, and while it could be as simple as 'they wouldn't fit' or more likely 'Baby was targeting who she thought was Afton', the game doesn't specify either.

Really a line such as "It can only be you" or "You are the only one who fits" could've gone a long way.

As for in Home, at least, I actually played around with the idea of bringing the technicians back as animatronics in the future... but then I thought it would be too much of a reach. So instead, we must settle on Michael Afton and that Body we found in the Vent.

...

...

...

And yeah, the death thing bothers me too. >.< BUT the death thing bothers me a lot more with the addition of Remnant not just being metal infused with souls, but also a God material that reanimates and replaces flesh and brings back the dead.

Death willy-nilly causes it to lose impact (Walking Dead lol), but introducing something that ERASES death is hands down the biggest way to lose all stakes in a story. It is a crime against writing, lol.

This might seem weird to say because of how death is treated in Home- where someone may die and become an animatronic- but there's both an absolute death, where one cannot return, AND when someone 'dies' and becomes an animatronic they still have to deal with very serious consequences. Their life is now completely changed; in a way, they have still lost that old life.

But with remnant, there is no drawbacks. There isn't a Death Becomes Her twist where the body still breaks down. As long as you're not made of scrap metal- in which case you just have to carry remnant (a material without a shelf life) around with you- it basically fixes you up like brand-new.

And the fact that it also erases the need for death to explain animatronic creation makes the whole system very wibbly-wobbly. Though I suppose we can take consolation in the fact that so far, remnants application in the games isn't nearly as severe.

...Err, sorry about the length of that. XD

[ronqueesha]

WIP Wednesday

Holy hell I actually have something to post today!

I was tagged by @persephotea, thank you! And I've also been tagged in the recent past by @gaeadene, @lookbluesoup and @halkuonn, so thank you too!

I'm working on something I actually promised to write a year ago. But work has been so stressful and life so unforgiving that I haven't had the energy or motivation until now.

It's yet another smut fic, this time starring my and @halkuonn's Cyberpunk 2077 OC's, Zoe Iwasaki and Dante Alkan respectively. Since they're both corpo characters, we have a not-really-serious headcanon that they both exist in the same world, but the main story of Cyberpunk 2077 kicks off with whoever Jenkins picks for the fateful hit job. But before that happens, they were co-workers who hated each other's guts.

What better scenario for some fun hate-fucking, impact play and other naughtiness than putting these two hateful, egotistical douchebags in a tiny, sweltering motel room with nothing but a little bit of alcohol to ease tension?

The only thing that convinced Dante to use his corpo account on this rat-infested motel room was the sign in front of the building that advertised “air conditioned rooms”. The sun had gone down hours ago, and yet the day's intense heat still clung to his skin. Sweat ran like rivers down his back and pooled into uncomfortable places as he swung the rotting door open. He would have kicked it to spare himself the grime of having to touch it with his hand, but he doubted the door would have survived the blow. Besides, he dared not risk losing his balance against a shoddy door frame while his left hand contained the only cold thing in a hundred meters. Two beers, ice cold and fresh from the vending machine two corridors down. “Why'd it take so long to get a couple beers? Did you suck off some junkies on your way back?” The room's other occupant, and Dante's supposed business partner for this assignment asked from the single bed that occupied the tiny space. Rather than dignify her with a response, he just huffed a deep breath as the only warning before tossing one of the two beers in her direction. A gentle toss, though, not hard enough to cause any real damage to her or the crumbling walls. To his dismay, his companion caught the bottle without even looking away from whatever held her attention. Zoe Iwasaki, the bitch hired on almost the exact same day as him, who worked in the same fucking department, and whose entire life seemed dedicated to making him miserable. At the very least, Dante could take a small comfort in knowing that her delicate hair, nails and makeup, no doubt more expensive than the shabby cars filling the filthy streets outside, clung damp to her head and had started to streak under the intense heat and her constant sweating. So much for air conditioning Dante huffed to himself as he took in the first breath of the tiny room he had spent far too much money on. The stench of mold, cheap cleaning products, and the remains of something disturbingly organic overtook him, enough for Dante to gag and crack open his bottle as fast as his reflexes allowed. He gulped half the bottle just to fill his senses with something other than the smell.

[symphonxx]

After brief thinking, I’ve made up my mind.

Urabe is Saiko, who’s Kuboyasu’s boss at one of Kuboyasu’s other jobs since he isnt a fulltime teacher yet. ( im still doing a bit of research on the jobs nd how it works in Japan but this is what I have come up with? Or think of it as a part time job so he can atleast earn some money to continue keeping himself afloat )

Urabe is Adachi’s manager in Cherry Magic, where hes the type of manager to push most of his unfinished work to one of his juniors, requesting for them to finish it in place of him.

Kuboyasu nd Saiko has the same dynamic as the anime nd in place of Cherry Magic, except Kuboyasu doesnt feel like leaving the job ( despite threatening to ) because of how close he and Saiko has gotten over the years. Of course he minds the amount of work Saiko pushes to him but he helps out anyways.

—————

Fujisaki, is Aiura Mikoto and Teruhashi. Teruhashi works alongside Kuboyasu as another teacher and most of the students adore her. While Aiura works in a company near Saiki, so they usually travel to work together nd leave work together as well.

Fujisaki is a pretty girl who shares no interest in relationships and is one of only AroAce representation we get in Cherry Magic. Teruhashi and Aiura are the same way, they’re both uninterested in relationships until they found the right one ( Saiki ) but even after finding out that the one they like is in a relationship with another, they will feel contentment at the fact that said person is happy with the one they have chosen.

I needed to have Fujisaki be two different person bcs her character sincerely affected both Kurosawa and Adachi in the show. Mainly Adachi.

Aiura likes Saiki but she knows abt his crush on Kuboyasu, so she continues to push Saiki into confessing his love for the other and talk him through certain situations!

Teruhashi on the other hand, despite her crush on Saiki, she feels a sense of fondness for her longterm co-worker, Kuboyasu. Her jealousy would overtake her at times but she has slowly learnt to overcome that, watching the two of them blossom into a relationship as she supports them both from afar. Occasionally, she would be the one to drag Kuboyasu out from the terrifying realisation that THE Saiki Kusuo likes him.

Overall, im just playing around with their dynamics and im hoping to gain some traction for this two incredibly underrated friendship ( queerplatonic suckers )

———

Tsuge is Kaido, who’s still one of Kuboyasu’s closest friends. Kaido strives to be the best novelist and to maybe be as cool as Kuboyasu. Though he seemed like he has grown out of his chuunibyou phase, he still acts the exact same way whenever he and Kuboyasu are alone. His writing however, has improved a ton and has published a couple of fantasy romance book regarding the Dark Reunion. Even with his lack of understanding in romance, his books were great hits.

Minato is Chiyo Yumehara. Of course, the two of them ( Tsuge nd Minato ) were supposed to be a bl pairing but i do feel like Chiyo fits the role of Minato abit more.

The two of them dont really have that much to them but their dynamic in which they understand each other on a certain level means alot to them.

THAT BEING SAID..

I dont know whether have it remain like this, or merge both Rokkaku’s character and Tsuge’s character together. Kaido fits both of them perfectly, sincr he supports them both in every way, the same way both Rokkaku and Tsuge does for Adachi, Kurosawa!

Rokkaku was just Kurosawa’s assistant, but slowly, both Kurosawa and Adachi has grown much more fond of the little red head (?), finding his slight clinging much more amusing than annoying, more often than not. However, even with his eccentric behaviour, he shows that he can be capable in the things he does and looks up to both Adachi and Kurosawa as their junior.

Tsuge on the other hand, is Adachi’s long term friend, who is a novelist and well, the same thing as what I listed above, except the chuunibyou part. He owns a stray kitten named Udon and is incredibly fond of the delivery boy that comes by to deliver his parcel. Hes a romance novelist, despite being a virgin. Bcs of that, he ALSO gains magical telepathy powers! Hes really calm and collected, giving great insight into things whenever Adachi comes across sumn he cant solve. All in all, hes a great friend.

I’ll get back to the powers in a bit but lemme kno which one suits Kaido more.

————

Kurosawa and Adachi are Saiki and Kuboyasu.

So yes, this is a Kubosai post. A

As you all should know, Saiki is a psychic which supernatural powers. Kuboyasu, is not. ( but if u count his great reflexes and super attentive ass nature then yea, clairvoyance 💀 )

This all changes when Kuboyasu turns 30 and gains telepathic powers where he can read the thoughts of anyone by touching them, unlike Saiki. This happens because of a myth in Japan, where if you turn 30 as a virgin, you will gain magic powers. Aren regrets not believing his co-workers because he sure as hell do now, seeing as he has to deal with it.

Here are some facts for this AU

Both Kaido and Aren gained telepathic powers and can communicate via hand touching, which leads to a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding between the two couples.

Saiki still has some of the powers but hes adapted into not using it as often like he used to, and wears his germanium ring everytime he has to head out to work or whenever he js needs to hang out with his friends ( their thoughts can get too loud )

Teruhashi and Aiura confides with each other and formed a small support group together. They also talk shit abt their co-workers and the occasional gossip.

MOST CHARAS ARE ACE BECAUSE I AM ACE!!

Now for the magic thingy:

Kaido and Aren do not lose their telepathic powers in the end. Neither of them are fond of the thoughts on having intimate sex js to get rid of the powers.

Aren doesnt mind the powers that much, and hes gotten used to it. Of course it gets overwhelming sometimes when hes stuck in trapped spaces or when he accidentally brush hands with far too many that isnt Saiki and he has nothing to ground himself in that situation but as long as his boyfriend is around, he knows that he’s fine. He knows that he doesnt have to go through it alone and his boyfriend is around to help out whenever it gets too much.

<3

[ram-de]

"Lone heart, heals" [Book] Oliphant ~P385 (Fin)

My review of the novel Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

edit post-writing. ok not a review it's just a ramble!!

I ordered this book from August last year. It was one of these sudden want to read and impulsively brought. I read some of the reviews before I brought it too, and I know there's not a translated version yet to my native language. I know what I'm about to read, I thought.

How I found this book, well, it's actually the theme of the book itself. It portrays the keyword very delicately, sometime a bit too close for comfort. The keyword was loneliness.

At first, I thought it's a bit of a heavy thing to read. I struggled a bit with the words I didn't really understand, the humour, and the overall vibe of the introduction. I wasn't immediately fond of the characters too, with how mean and rude Eleanor seems on the outer surface and how Raymond doesn't exude the most hygienic guy... But like, I figured I was being too nitpicky and superficial. It doesn't take a long time, however for me to found a warm adoration over the two of them. They have flaws but isn't that what makes them charming in the first place?

I teared up a lot, a bit, because reading the book is just like being able to walk aside Eleanors journey in understanding herself, uncovering her wounds and also slowly letting it heal. It's gentle, it's delicate but there's some part where it's so... achingly raw.

Here's where I cut the opener, because, uh, spoiler I guess.

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

T/w suicide attempts, abuse

Starting off, I really thought it wouldn't be as heavy as it would. The segment Good Days, is what it describes, the good days. Eleanors daily mundane routine, snarky and alone. That doesn't deter her from living life as is, though. Introduced to Raymond, her co-worker from a different department, spontaneous and rather the one who drags Eleanor forward a bit. Come Sammy, an accident happened that pushes Eleanor to be dragged on by Raymond to help him, and from that, only new, warm experiences to happen for her.

That's the part that brings me warmth the most. It's... It's how the world slowly breaks off her bleak expectation about how things are supposed to be. It's all about meeting new people, tending a sick person, visitation to the nurse, learning how to dress herself, going into salon, invited to party, letting herself be free and dance, be hugged, hugging and all the genuine smiles and relief. It's just. I don't know, very human. I guess.

Stuff happened, Sammy died. The funeral is a tough one. It reminds her of what happened during her childhood. She always knew, though. Fire. Fire accident, and her mom left her. Blurs. She revert back to alcohol to sweep the thoughts away. But even then, there's Raymond, and I like that they slowly bond. He's a good pal to Eleanor, me thinks.

Even then, there's always this surrounding air of heaviness. Something is wrong, and that something become the central theme of the story itself. Eleanor obviously have a grim childhood, and at first we were told of how her mother contacts her each week. Each time, it just brings Eleanor pain to talk. Her mother gave her a project, to find someone suitable for the project, urging her to find the one. She never outwardly told about it all, it's something she hides. Unconciously. Something painful, something sorrow. When she followed the voice of her "Mummy", all is loose.

Bad Days took a lot for me to take it in. It's what it said, bad days. The project that she and her mother discussed a lot, finding a perfect partner. Turned out, she found a candidate. She created this whole perfect situation and scenario, and in her head, all would go well planned. I don't really understand it yet why this happened and why a partner specifically, but... Maybe after a second read. The thing is... The candidate isn't what she has in her mind. He doesn't even know her. It's all a mess. And...

And it's so chilling how the whole thing is portrayed in this part. Eleanor goes into the usual tangent about things, and it's so laidback, but then she said stuff about killing herself. It's so unsettling, because before this she never really said thoughts about taking her own life. It's so... What should I say. I just feel so bad for her. Her tendency to drink vodka to drown herself away from painful thoughts (which I assume vodka to be a strong liquor to drink, I don't know, I don't drink and I have zero knowledge about alcohol). She drinks as a routine, weekly, if I remember that correctly. And when she's at the worst place, she drunk it again and again. Unconcious, barely caring about herself and her home. Even the potted plant, one that she took care from she's a kid, is withering and died. It's so sad, that she too feel the need to just disappear and like... It's tough.

Raymond...! 🥺 My guy is just the goodest guy ever, very golden-retriever coded... While Eleanor is a black-cat coded. <-proven true because Raymond introduces her to her furred companion Glen later on. Anyway... I mean he's there for her. It's so weird reading it because I lowkey feel the warmth of genuine care like what the hell I guess fiction is powerful. I don't know what I'm writing at this point. Aaaaahhh.... Bad Days is just tough to read because of what it tells, but Raymond is out here becoming the sun, warm and bright.

Then, the counselor bits... It helped her just slowly, letting herself just took a small piece of her wounded heart, one by one, just to take a peek at the memory she hids all this time. She knows her mother have a chokehold on her, and soon the one thing she needs to do is to let go and let herself live without the restrain her mother always have.

And then... The memories itself;; Her calling her mother one last time is powerful, since later on it's revealed that her mother has died all this time. It's that guilt and trauma that led her to refuse forgiveness to herself. Guilt of letting her little sister died when she's just as young. Imagine spending 20 years being scared, being held back by guilt and all of that. It happens to real people too and it makes me;;

Overall the book is a heartache but it also embraces me tightly and I have become warm and although humanity isn't all good but some human does. Well... It's a different kind of story I usually consume, since my heart isn't good with angst and tragedy. And not going to lie, the theme this book have is heavy too, and I was taken aback kind of...

Better Days. The epilogue. I love... The hug, cute cheek kiss;; HELLO... FLUFF?!?!??!

Ah... My goodness. I was distracted mid-reading because I thought we would have a romance subplot with Raymond. Seems like it had an open end, but for me personally I thought it leaned to the romance rather than platonic. I think they're both is one important figure to eachother and thus complete eachother. I was against romance at first because Raymond is super snobby LOL but he is one charming guy like hold my hand too plz ok sorry a moment of weakness, but then the the band vocal guy is an even worse because Eleanor got this lowkey stalker tendency with the whole sneaking in and all. Okay. THIS ISN'T A REVIEW LOL and here I thought I'm going to write these like fancy book review but it's another ramble thoughts. I even thought of a profound title to give this post. OH WELL... HAHA

ANYWAYS! I'll add more thoughts as I go.

[blazenka]

Professional Affairs

During s3, Sarah and Connor meet and begin to grow closer. Could they just stay co-workers or fall into something more? How will Abby react when and if she finds out?

Original source: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6139386/1/Professional-Affairs

Chapters: 10

Published: 2010-07-14 - 2011-01-01  

Words: 17268

Rated: Fiction T - Language: English - Genre: Romance/Friendship - Characters: Connor T., Sarah P. - Reviews: 32 - Favs: 4 - Follows: 4

Exported with the assistance of FicHub.net

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

To say the atmosphere around the ARC field team was awkward would be an understatement.

Even though Danny was sort of in tuned to the relationships between the young scientists, Becker was pure ignorance and the rest of the workers and soldiers just did not want to know.

Connor was trying to figure out his emotions and feelings towards his two co-workers. He dreaded loosing either one as his friend but he knew it would be just plain wrong for him to keep both as love interests.

But which one to choose? The 'desired yet always avoiding best mate' or the 'willing and eager but totally wrong time new friend'? Connor was ready to beat his head in with his computer. Why, ever since he began working at the ARC, has his life gotten so complicated? Blokes lives were not suppose to be complicated; that was reserved for girls!

Yet, right on time to wake Connor up from his internal monologue, the ADD sounded its alarm. An anomaly had appeared.

A race track this time- there was a time Connor would be overjoyed like any male to see such a fusion of technology and cars. Now, especially with the passing of Cutter, the wonderment seemed to have died. At least it was better than the junk yard with the dragon and the crazy knight through downtown London with Danny. Despite how irritating the man could be, in the end he did save Sarah while Connor tried to keep his… er, the stubborn Abby from dying for the wounded dragon.

Sarah ad been extremely brave though, and of course he admitted this to her while also stating the outfit was attractive on her. He had enough common sense not to mention how it was a fantasy of his but still…

Connor sighed; he needed his bloody damn head examined.

Connor tried to 'chat' Sarah up but she still seemed to hold her little grudge from earlier, along with something else he couldn't quite place - he chalked it up to female angst or PMS.

"Connor, not now…" Sarah grumbled with her arms defensively crosses over her chest. "Sarah, I'm sorry?" "For what?" "I don't know but that usually works…" Connor smiled. "Let's just get to work, shall we?" Sarah stated bitterly. Connor nodded before giving her a reassuring rub on the back and kiss on the cheek - which had not gone unnoticed by members of the team.

But later, did she ever feel like a fool. Sarah kept waiting anxiously on the other side of the anomaly for her friends to come back. She just couldn't believe that somehow Abby's little brother was lost in the future with god knows what.

What if she was lost over there? What if… It was these musings and dreaded thoughts that were slowly driving Sarah insane. Cutter had made everything sound so… adventurous… like she wanted her profession at the museum to be. But now? It was filled with death and Sarah had never handled that well. She would talk to Connor later when he came back, because she was certain they would come back.

And they did come back, all of them and Sarah couldn't help but giggle with relief and almost hysteria of losing her friends. Yet, Connor and Abby seemed to disappear as the team broke everything down to return to the ARC. It didn't matter, she could always talk to him at the apartment and she had work to do anyway.

As selfish as it might be, Abby had a ton of alternate motives for kissing Connor, beside the fact he had not humiliated her brother right in front of her, Abby could not accept letting him go. Even when she was mad for seeing him and Sarah earlier (she realized with the kiss and smiles, those two had been around each other a lot lately) and even when she was infuriated that he could want her brother dead; even when she knew with time he probably could be happy with Sarah, since she was not a back stabber like Caroline. At least he smiled around Sarah instead of acting like a complete idiot but still…

Yet, Abby still leaned over the railing towards Connor's cupid bow lips and lightly set hers upon them. She could not deny the tingle up and down her spine or the look of sure bliss Connor wore when she pulled away. Abby rushed down the stairs with a sly smirk on her face for a moment before guilt took its place. It was completely selfish, but Abby would have done it again in a heartbeat.

Danny was shaking his head as he passed Sarah finishing with the anomaly. "What's so funny, Danny boy?" she asks as she types in some more commands.

"Those two…" Danny smirked again. "Who?" Sarah asked, drawing her attention from the computer. "Abby and Connor… necking like that. Those two just need to straighten out their feelings and… you alright, Sarah?" "Just fine… stupid program Connor created is… frustrating," 'Everything about Connor is frustrating' she added in her thoughts.

And then later when the two had returned to her apartment, Sarah still couldn't smile even while Connor made hot cheese sandwiches for her, she couldn't. It irritated her how… wait, was Connor even her proper boyfriend? He was just staying in her apartment for a while. It seemed even foolish now, Sara realized, since Connor had lived for Abby for so long… of course they would have feeling for each other - even if they never admitted them. It was like… she was the other woman… almost like she was having an affair with her co-worker.

Sarah sighed in aggravation, "Connor?" "Yes?" he replied cheerfully - even if it did not reach his eyes. "We need to talk," she stated point blank and as she looked up at Connor you would have sworn someone had shot him. "You're kicking me out?" "Connor I… wait, what? No, Connor… I'm not kicking you out, I wouldn't do that," she reassured him. "Then what?" he asked cautiously. "What am I to you Connor?" Connor stuttered a moment at her question before deciding to be honest. After all, honestly was the best policy, right?

"I've been trying to figure that out myself Sarah. I feel awful not being fully committed but… I do not honestly know how I feel and… then Abby and… I'm horribly but… you mean so…" Sarah stopped him with a delicate finger to his lips, "Connor, it's quite alright." "It is?" he mumbled under her lip.

"Yea, I understand. You've know Abby for so long and she has been there with you through so much. I could never honestly compete with her," she took a breath and hushed Connor again as he tried to interject. "I know I mean something to you Connor, I really appreciate that. You've been there for me too but…"

"But?" Connor inquired with seer worry and terror upon his face. "Connor…" Sarah began again as she lightly cupped his cheek in her hand. "I'm not about the beat myself and have you beat yourself over this. I think… it best if we remain and stay just friends," Sarah admitted, deciding this was the best action to take. "I've heard that way too many times before," but Connor smiled at the statement before pulling Sarah into an embrace… no, a friendly hug.

Sarah simply smiled, she would miss being with Connor but at least they both were smart enough to stop it before the intimacy escaladed and turned ugly. "And I can still stay on the couch, right?" "Of course Connor, you're more than welcome here."

Sarah could not believe it. Abby, Connor and Danny were 'lost' to an anomaly while trying to fight Helen Cutter and save the current world. She did not believe it because that would mean accepting the fact that while the ARC group possibly had succeeded in stopping Helen Cutter, there was the possibility they might not come back - at all.

"Sarah?" a voice rang through the large garage as she continued to work on the equipment, not sure what she was trying to do. "You should go home, it's late," Becker informed her as he gently laid his hand upon her shoulder. "I know," was all she could reply

"We will find them Sarah. It's just going to take some time but it is proof enough they succeeded since we are still here, isn't it?" Becker asks her, even though he should know better than to use logic to try to comfort her. "That's the thing though, we don't!" Sarah harshly stated before taking a deep breath to steady herself. Becker couldn't help but wince, "We will when they come back. For now, go home Sarah. You can complete all of this in the morning."

Sarah reluctantly gathered her things as she let Becker escort her to her car. She couldn't help but ponder to herself what she was going to do now that practically all the people she had befriended at the ARC, except for Becker and Lester, were missing or dead. Sarah could feel parts of herself being to die as well.

One Year Later:

Connor and Abby walked tired but triumphantly into the ARC. They were home back with friends, which was all that mattered to Connor. The majority of the ARC, save for a couple new faces, rejoiced to see the assumed lost pair. After much blissful reunions Connor could not help but notice a certain face missing from the crowd. "Where's Sarah?"

Becker and Lester faces seemed to drop the instant Connor spoke her name but he couldn't understand why. "Yea, did she have the day off?" Abby joked right behind him until her face also fell with understanding. "She's gone," was all Lester could manage to get out, Becker was unnaturally silent.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Connor countered. Becker tried to continue the mask of indifference as he tried to explain, "She's not here anymore, Connor; she's gone." Connor shook his head, "She quit? That's doesn't make any sense…" Connor's voice died as Abby slowly hugged him, "Conn," she whispered. "No," he pulled away from her violently, "No, she knows better than… just decide… before I… we got back. She knows!" Abby hugged him again as tears began to stream down his face, "Connor… she knew, I'm sorry."

Connor stood at Sarah's tombstone with Abby by his side as he tried to comprehend the slab of stone before him. Abby stood awkwardly behind him similar much to what Connor did for Abby at Stephen's funeral. "Abbs, I thought we were past this?" Connor asked with dry amusement at her distance. She did not answer verbally but did wrap her arms around his waist.

"Sorry, Conn, I truly am," she muttered against his back. "We lose people in life, it's inevitable Abbs. I just wish," he paused as he took a needed breath, "I could have told her how much of a friend she really was despite how short of a time we knew her." Abby smiled and nodded, "I know…" as she remembers the encounter with the prehistoric rhinos that seemed to really bond together the two women.

"She will be missed," Abby stated as she stood beside Connor, fingers intertwined with his own. "And she will be loved," Connor replied as he lead them back to the ARC vehicle with a sad but resolved smile on his face.

previous chapter

A.N. So there; I thought Sarah and Connor could have had a happy ending but… when I heard she wasn't coming back for series 4 and 5, I could not think of any other ending. And then I found out later that she had died (somehow) between series 3 and 4, so I really could not see them having a life together with the work they do. (Hope that explains the change in direction)

It had been a nice run but in the end this became so hard to write I actually thought about just deleting it.

However now I challenge you, the readers, to make a story where this couple does have a 'happy' ending.

Thank you for reading. 

[boldlyvoid]

Wheels Up

Characters: Spencer Reid, Reader (Y/N), Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Savannah Hayes, Emily Prentiss, Elle Greenaway, Tara Lewis, Jennifer Jareau, Matt Simmons, Luke Alvez

Summary: JJ goes on maternity leave, Spencer falls in love with her replacement that he's supposed to be mentoring, Emily Prentiss and Elle Greenaway work a case together that brings Simmons and Alvez in for help...

Warnings: Genius!Reader, mutual pining, idiots in love, drinking, star gazing, lots of fluff, mentions of past assault, grooming, drug addiction, spencer's trauma, Abductions, Rape, Murder (typical canon violence)

word count: 9.4K

a/n: this is for @starry-eyed-spence and @simmonsmilf CM fanfiction week, Day One: Favorite Character... only I couldn't pick just one.

To say Spencer fell in love at the least opportune time was a bit of an understatement. Everyone he’s ever come close to admitting his love to has either left him or died. Now he’s stuck with loving someone in secret, keeping it to himself and hoping that one day she’ll love him back.

He fell in love with a co-worker once again… which wasn’t the worst thing, office romances happen and it’s quite frankly all Rossi’s fault that they even had to worry about fraternization policies. The part that makes liking Y/N so difficult is that he’s supposed to be her mentor, he’s 5 years older than her, and if he was to ever make a move she would feel inclined to reciprocate in order to keep her job because that’s the unfortunate truth behind office relationships with significant differences in positions.

And worst of all… she doesn’t like him that way at all. She’s called him the brother she always needed, a best friend, the best mentor ever. She wasn’t interested in him in the slightest.

“And why would she be?” He’s said this to everyone who knew about his crush on her. “I’m old and boring and she’s so cool?”

But he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand that every time she asked him to hang back to help her file something, or when they would buddy up in hotel rooms to discuss cases all night and end up down some star trek rabbit hole instead, every time he talked to her she was falling in love with him right back.

It once again all circles back to Rossi, if it wasn’t for him, Spencer wouldn’t even know her. She wouldn’t have ever been introduced to the unit, he wouldn’t be attached to her at the hip and he probably wouldn’t be as happy as he is with her in his life. Even if she wasn’t his girlfriend.

He’ll never forget the day Rossi asked him to meet her, to help her settle in…

“Spencer, can I talk to you for a minute?” Rossi called him into his office.

He sighed, putting his book down and walking up the stairs to his office. He closed the door behind himself and smiled awkwardly, “what’s up?”

“Sit,” he gestures to the chairs in front of his desk, where Spencer pulls one out and proceeds to sit down, anxiously. “As you know, both Kate and JJ will be out of the field in the next few months to have their babies and we need to bring someone in to fill the void until they return, so I reached out to the academy to see if they have any up and coming Dr. Reid like agents that they could loan us.”

“Why?” Spencer laughs at the choice of words.

“Well, honestly, why get new 2 agents when we could have two Reid’s? JJ will be back after a month or 2, it’s better to have more brains than brawn.”

“So they found someone and you want me to be their chaperone?” Spencer clues in. “Who are they?”

“Y/N Y/L/N, she’s a wonderful agent, but she’s pretty quiet, I don’t know much about her personally.” Rossi prefaces. “She’s a genius, high IQ like yours and just a plethora of knowledge inside that mind of hers. You’ll like her.”

“Alright,” he nods. “When do they start?”

“When JJ’s water breaks, but I’d like you to meet them and maybe even have them shadow you for a day?” Rossi asks, “I’ve actually arranged for you both to get dinner at a friend's restaurant?”

“Is this an arranged date or purely business? Don’t send me in there blind,” he worries. “I need at least a week's prep before I go on a date again.”

“It’s not a date, kid,” Rossi laughs. “She's just a lot like you were when I met you, and I know from watching you all these years that it’s not easy to do it alone, so can you just walk them through it?”

“Of course.”

That first dinner Rossi set up for them was more exquisite than either of them prepared for.

They spent the whole night discussing dissertations and their independent journeys through becoming a genius. He understood perfectly why Rossi and the Academy would think she was a lot like him, she was a genius, but she was awkward. It took a while for her to break out of her shell and open up, but by the end of the night, he already knew they were going to be friends.

“So,” she smirks, “would you mind telling me honestly how hard this job is?”

“Why?”

She sighs, “I’ve heard a lot about Thee Doctor Reid and how you were the youngest hired to the BAU and all the shit you’ve been through.”

“What are the rumours these days?” He awkwardly smiles back, rolling his eyes slightly.

“That you were brain dead in a cemetery from an overdose and yet you’re so smart you came back from the dead to kill the unsub and escape…” she looks more and more disappointed in the rumour as she tells it.

His tongue hits the roof of his mouth as he opens it to speak, making a tsk noise as he shakes his head. “Well, I did OD but it was the unsubs main personality that resuscitated me.”

“Holy shit,” she whispers.

He nods, “what about you? I’m sure you have a reputation based on a rumour?”

She presses her lips together the way he always did, just as awkward. She sighs, huffing the air out of her nose and looking fed up. “I was groomed and assaulted by an older boy who then told kids I had a stalkerish crush on him so if I was to ever tell anyone what happened, then no one would believe me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Spencer knows the words don’t make up for what happened. “I’m guessing that’s why you wanted to get into profiling?”

She nods, “I got away with some PTSD and trust issues, most girls go through much worse… they deserve someone who gets it to look into their cases.”

Spencer nods. “That’s how I felt after my kidnapping too. It took a while for me to look at crime scene photos and not think about how they felt, and wonder why I lived when so many die?”

“I’ve never been a religious person,” she prefaces. “But I do believe we are here for a reason. Whether you choseto be here after your last life or this is some learning opportunity, or God is actually real? And you’re supposed to do good.”

“In narcotics anonymous, they reference god a lot, it’s helpful for the addicts, but I never get into it,” he opens up with her more than he’s ever opened up with any friend. “If my Devine purpose is to suffer in order to relate to those I’m supposed to help that’s a load of bullshit… honestly, I can get pretty angry thinking about why I’ve gone through what I’ve gone through doing this job, but it’s not as bad as what happened to me growing up, and it leads me to believe that I probably wouldn’t have had an easy time no matter how I live.”

She nods, “I know, I get that.”

“Sorry,” he snaps out of it. “I didn’t mean to trauma dump on you.”

“It’s exactly what I asked for actually,” she reminds him with a soft smile. “If you can still come to work every day, after all that, you must be incredibly strong— and if I’m anything like you the way people say I am, I guess I can do it too.”

He had no idea she would end up being his best friend.

She shadowed him just once in the office, picked up everything right off the bat and immediately made a name for herself in the unit. Derek tried multiple names on her before one stuck, and they knew it stuck when even Hotch called her Baby Genius.

She brought a different knowledge base to the team, similar to Spencers but visibly younger. She fit in with the crowds of kids they had to interview, she understood why kids reacted the way they did to trauma and abuse, and she was still a kid at heart. It was the reason Spencer fell for her.

She allowed him to feel free again. They went out together outside of work, going to events he always wanted to go to with a partner but never had a chance. She loved all the same things as him, and she takes him to places he’d never imagine enjoying before her.

Like laser tag… that was an afternoon he’ll never forget with her.

When JJ went into labour, that’s when Y/N started full time and Hotch hired Tara Lewis in the same week. The team barely had time to adjust to being undermanned before they were restocked.

Joining Spencer every morning for every case, she waited out front of her apartment for him to pick her up most mornings, sticking to his side throughout the long days and nights until he drove her home again. Even at work, they were partnered up for everything: heading to the M.E. together, bouncing facts back and forth at the precinct, playing good cop bad cop with perverts, and her personal favourite… Making the geoprofile.

And Spencer liked doing that part with her as well. Because it typically meant they were completely alone in a room, spreading out a map and leaning in close to each other as they placed every sticker and marker. Brushing hands, bumping shoulders, longing glances as they made connections… he also just liked to watch her hands move.

She was delicate and careful and precise… and he was falling in love with everything about her as the days went by.

Everyone on the team had noticed. It was really hard not to when they’ve all known Spencer for almost 11 years now. He was so different with her in his life, he was happy and giddy and dressing even better than before. His hair was perfect and he was glued to Y/N’s side. Or she was glued to his.

Even though they were mentally similar, physically they were polar opposites. Y/N wore all black and was a lot more outgoing than they expected. Rossi thought she’d be quiet… But she was constantly talking. To Spencer, to other officers, to witnesses, she never stopped talking and starting conversations, and thank god she did because she’s cracked 4 cases that way.

The biggest surprise the team learned about her happened on a case in Florida, a shooting in a local park in broad daylight with lots of witnesses meant the whole team was on the boardwalk asking questions. She went out to do her thing, talking to the local skaters, asking them if they knew anything but they didn’t want to cooperate.

They were too cool for the feds.

“Can I see your board?” She asks, “if I do some tricks will you answer some questions for me and Doctor Reid?”

“Knock yourself out,” one of the boys laughs as he hands her his board.

She hands Spencer her gun and shoots him a wink before taking off to do a few tricks. The whole team watches in awe then as Y/N showed off. Cruising along the halfpipe effortlessly like she was a professional.

“Okay Tony Hawk,” Morgan teases her, “where did that come from?”

“Skateboarding is easy, it’s just physics,” she shrugs. “I can figure skate too…”

“What do you want to know?” The boy takes his board back. “We always see some sketchy guys around here.”

Morgan pats Y/N on the back with a smile, applauding her ability to get anyone to open up before leaving her to take the statement.

“Agent?” One of the girls pulls her aside just before they are about to leave, “how did you do that kickflip? I’ve been trying to learn and the boys won't help me.”

“Sure thing,” she takes the girl's board and demonstrates a kickflip first.

“So, you see as I start the kickflip I bend my knees?” She shows her another kickflip all while explaining it. “Much like the with an ollie, I’m building pressure so I can apply it to the tail, making the board pop. The one thing that makes this trick different from the ollie is that instead of sliding my foot up, I just flick my toe out to the right of the board, by doing this, the board flips in a 360-degree motion.

She demonstrates again and it’s another flawless kickflip, and a huge smile on her face as Spencer watches her.

“How fast the board spins depends on how much force I put into it when I flick it out. As soon as the board flips in a full 360, your feet should connect and drive the board back to the ground.”

She hands the board back to the girl, “your turn.”

She takes a deep breath and shakes her nerves out before taking off on her board, looping around and carefully bending her knees, she follows every step and it’s a flawless kickflip.

“Flawless!!” Y/N claps. “Those boys better watch out, you’re a natural.”

“Thank you,” she wraps her arms around Y/N and gives her a hug, “it’s taken me so long to be able to do that, you’re so cool.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiles. “Good luck out there.”

She waves as she takes off on her board, leaving Y/N with a smile as she turns to Spencer. “I miss being that age and thinking everything is so cool.”

“You are really cool,” he agrees. Smiling softly as a blush fills his cheeks. “You’re always surprising me. Is there anything you can’t do?”

She laughs, “yeah the one thing I want to do the most.”

“Which is?”

She sighs, “maybe I’ll tell you someday.”

—

He’s sitting beside Penelope and Savannah, watching Derek and Y/N get drinks for what’s left of the group as the night drags on.

“When are you going to tell her?” Savannah asks.

“What?” Spencer pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

“You have a crush on the new girl…” she pokes his cheek as he blushes and gives it away. “Tell her, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“She could feel forced to say yes because I’m a supervisory special agent and she isn’t and she wants to keep her job so she feels like she needs to,” Spencer worries. “I want her to like me back because she fell for me and I want her to initiate it because then I’ll know it’s not just a power dynamic issue.”

“Have you tried asking her, genius?” Penelope teases. “Because if you asked her then you’d know she has a crush on you and she’s afraid you’ll turn her down because you’re an SSA and she isn’t.”

“When did you hear that?”

Penelope pretends to lock up her lips and throw away the key, making Savannah laugh loud enough to get Derek's attention at the bar. When he and Y/N return, that’s when the questions start.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Spencer gets up and leaves the booth, walking out towards the smokers' exit at the back of the bar, getting a moment of semi-fresh air to think about what Penelope said.

“Spence?” She calls to him from the door, “are you okay? Can I come out here?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “Sorry, I needed some air, it’s nothing.”

“Do you need a hug? I read it helps the most when people are stressed out,” she plays it off with a shrug.

“So you do have a crush on me?”

“She told you?” Her face lights with fury, “what the fuck, Penelope?”

“She didn’t mean to,” he tries to cover it up. “It was only brought up because I have feelings for you as well.”

Her eyes widen, her brows raise and her mouth slowly opens as she freezes.

“Y/N?”

She blinks a few times and shakes her head, “impossible. There’s no way.”

He laughs, “I’ll take that hug now?”

She lunges for him and wraps her arms around him so tight. Breathing him in, her hands wander his back as she takes in every second if it and he does the same. He can’t believe she’s that close to him, her hair smells nice and she’s so soft in his arms.

It’s quiet outside, they can hear the music behind the door, the people in the ally talking and the crickets in the night. It’s just them outside, holding each other in the smoking section with smiles on their faces, amazed that it’s finally happening.

“Can we keep this between us?” She whispers into his ear. “Just for a bit? I don’t want to go through all the paperwork and have to separate in the field if it doesn’t work out?”

“Wait,” Spencer pulls back. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

She nods, “well yeah isn’t that what happens when two people have a mutual crush? They date?”

“Okay,” he smiles, staring at her lips and then flicking his gaze back to hers with a blush. “I have more than a crush on you, I really, really like you.”

“Prove it,” she teases, “let's go on a real date soon?”

“You know what, let’s get out of here. I have something I want to show you,” he takes her hand and waits for her to nod.

“Take my lead okay? You don’t feel good and you’re going to wait outside while I say goodbye,” she has a plan right away

“After you,” he holds the door open for her and lets her inside first.

—

“I’m taking Spencer home, he’s not doing well,” she’s a much better actress than Spencer expected, patting his back and watching him leave the bar before her like she asked him to do. “He’s really anxious?”

Penelope looks worried, “oh no, I fucked up. I told him you like him.”

She just shrugs, “if he didn’t know that already then I guess he’s not as smart as he pretends to be.”

“See,” Derek looks at Savannah. “I told you everyone else also thinks he’s faking being that smart.”

“Shut up,” she shoves him and turns her attention back to Y/N. “Go make him feel better, he’ll like your company.”

“I’ll see you guys at work on Monday,” she waves them goodbye, surprised they bought it as she rushes her way back outside to Spencer.

He’s already in his car, engine running and waiting for her with a smile. “Come on,” he hurries her inside and is taking off down the road before she even has her seatbelt on yet.

“What’s the rush, Spence? It’s only 1 in the morning I’m sure tones of places are open still?” She teases.

“You’re going to like this, I used to go here all the time when I started with the bureau,” he explains, leaving the main road to take a back root, and eventually they’re driving on gravel.

“If you’re taking me here to murder me this is a dumb way to do it because they all know I left with you,” she teases. “At least when you go to get rid of me, do yourself a favour and dig 6 one-foot holes instead of one 6 foot hole…”

He laughs, “would you really give your murderer tips?”

She nods, “my goal would be to piss him off so much he either lets me go or murders me quickly. I don’t want to go through all the pain.”

“It’s not fun, that’s for sure,” he shrugs it off but she knows it hits too hard.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, reaching her hand out for his to hold by the gear shift. “I think you’re like the strongest guy in the world, you know that, right?”

“Why?” He asks as if that's a preposterous thing to say.

“I think if I got kidnapped and tortured at 24 I wouldn’t still be working in the FBI,” she admits. “I barely made it through the academy, I know this job is intense but I don’t think I could handle being in that situation.”

“If it’s up to me,” Spencer squeezes her hand tighter and brings it to his lips for a kiss. “You’ll never experience anything like that.”

He’s so good at making her feel safe that she almost believes he has the power to do that. He would do anything and everything to move fate for her safety.

He turns down another back road then, around the edge of a lake and towards a clearing. He follows old tire tracks and parks by the dock. “I found this spot one night on a random drive to clear my head.”

“I thought you hated driving?” She quizzes him.

He shrugs, “I like to drive at night when no one else is on the road because then I don’t really have to worry about anyone else. I hate driving because I can’t always anticipate other drivers' movements. If I could read minds, then I’d drive more.”

“Valid,” she nods, “now why is this such a special spot that you needed to show me right away?”

“Well, I have a telescope and it’s been in my trunk for the last 13 years so that every time I come here, I can look up at the moon…”

“You brought me here to look at the moon with you?” She swoons, “that’s so cute.”

“You think?” He looks like his heart is doing the same swelling as hers.

She gets out of the car before she can lean over and kiss him the way she wants to. In his trunk, he does have a telescope, and a blanket, which they set out on the dock and sit upon.

The sound of the lake, the loons in the distance, frogs and crickets and music travelling from somewhere down the lake. The moon was big, the stars were amazing, and this was the closest she has ever seen them. It's amazing, and of course, it was Spencer showing her everything.

He was everything to her.

And it didn’t take long for him to become everything to her either.

Joining the BAU was a dream to many at the academy, but Y/N never thought that she would get the job, overjoyed that she did. They were a family unit; they got the job done, they protected each other, and it was a wonderful environment to be a part of. She obviously liked Spencer the most out of everyone. He took her in, he made her feel comfortable and safe and she opened up more with him than she has with anyone she’s labelled a “best friend” in the past.

She liked everything about him. The way he talked with his hands, how his sweater, vest, shirt and tie always match, his gun looks a little out of place on his belt, like it’s too big for him, but it’s cute. His hair’s been getting longer too, sometimes he wears glasses and sometimes if she’s lucky, he doesn’t shave every day.

She can’t take her eyes off him when he’s busy and won't notice, just to then move her focus away when he stared at her. She only wishes she could see the way he stares at her in awe, because if it’s anything like how she looks at him, he must love her.

She keeps her hand in his, trading the telescope back and forth in turns, her face was close to his every time they switched and she kept getting bolder with each exchange. Letting Spencer look, she kept her face close to his, kissing his cheek softly as soon as he was busy peering up at the moon.

He turned to her with a gasp, “what was that for?”

“You’re cute,” she shrugs. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while.”

“How long?” He teases, leaning in closer and kissing her nose to make her laugh.

“Since you dropped me off at my house after that first dinner…”

“So this is me,” she nods out the window, “thank you for the ride, I appreciate not having to be in an Uber all by myself.”

“Anytime you need a ride, you can give me a call?” He asks. “Seeing as we’ll be going to the same place anyway.”

She nods with a smile, “I’d love that, do you live close to here?”

“Just up the street,” he nods. “So we could carpool?”

“I can drive some days if you want?” She asks, “I know you mostly take the subway, and I know that because I’ve seen you reading on there before.”

He can’t help but smile, “so you never thought to say hello?”

“No,” she shakes her head, “you looked peaceful, and I’m sure you don’t get many moments like that in your line of work.”

He sighed, knowing she was right. “If it ever gets to be too much for you, please never feel like you have to pretend to be okay? None of us expect you to be stone cold, none of us are either. The job gets to us, just tell me if it gets to be too much?”

She looks from his lips back to his eyes and over again, “thanks, Spencer.”

He does the same to her, “anytime. Should I walk you to your door?”

She shakes her head, “that’s okay you’ve done enough for me tonight.”

“Fair enough,” he laughs. “Have a good night Y/N.”

“You too, Spencer,” she smiles before she exits his car, smiling at him from her porch before he drives away.

“So it’s been mutual this whole time?” He shakes his head at the absurdity. “I’ve been so lonely for so long and then I found you and you make me feel like I don’t need to be alone anymore.”

“You complete me too,” she makes one more comment before connecting their lips.

It’s like the world stops then. It’s silent and serene and everything she thought kissing Spencer Reid would be.

She pulls back with a smirk, “oh no.”

“What?” He worries.

“I’m going to want to kiss you all the time now…”

“Good,” he mumbles the words against her lips before reconnecting them.

—

At work on Monday, it’s very hard for them to look at each other without remembering that they’ve kissed. Spencer’s practically glowing with admiration for her that he gives it all away. He’s overly happy, offering to do things for others, standing way too close to her and bringing her coffee all morning.

“Okay, pretty boy,” Derek takes him by the scruff of the neck and redirects him into his office. “What’s going on with you today, I know you’re not this happy for JJ’s return?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you get laid or something?”

Spencer laughs, “no, you know I don’t get laid. You actually remind me of that fact quite often.”

“You’re so happy I’m worried you’ve moved to crack,” he says it. “Okay, you were acting weird on Friday, you missed brunch on Sunday and now you’re waaay too happy.”

“I’m not on drugs again,” Spencer assures him. “I’m just letting myself enjoy my time with Y/N, if she falls in love with me in the meantime that would also be nice.”

“Oh, so you’re doing this to get laid,” Derek teases him again. “That’s good, I’m sorry if I triggered you by asking, but I had to make sure you’re okay.”

“No, no,” he places his hands on Derek's shoulders, “thank you for caring.”

“Always—“

“Guys!” They hear Hotch yelling from the bullpen, cutting the tender moment short, saving Spencer from spilling the truth.

Rushing back, he sits beside Y/N at the briefing room table. “We have a bad one,” Emily Prentiss of all people walks in the door, followed by Elle Greenaway.

“We’ll have time to mingle in a minute, right now there is a woman who needs our help,” he announces.

Spencer quickly reads over the case files, recognizing Elles handwritten notes, she was a private investigator now. “With Penelope’s help, I’ve been able to set up alerts in College chatrooms in the area so that I can help to missing and assaulted women right away.”

“She’s alerted when someone reports a missing woman and she has advertisements for people to reach out to her for help,” Penelope explained.

“I’ve been working on these cases for the last 9 years,” Elle announces. “This morning Aasia Desai called me saying her sister Bahni never showed up for lunch and it’s not like her, we know she went clubbing last night and so far Penelope’s tracked her down an ally and then she’s gone.”

“Her parents are British diplomats so Interpol has asked me to join, luckily I was just in Ontario so it was a short trip over,” Emily adds. “JJ will be here in half an hour for her first day back, and we will celebrate when we can, but I see we have some new faces here?”

“Special Agent Y/N Y/L/N,” she waves, still glued to Spencer’s side. “I’ve heard a lot about you both from Doctor Reid.”

“Doctor Tara Lewis,” she stands and shakes Emily’s hand, and then Elles.

“So it says here that the first missing case was in 2006 just after you left the BAU?” Spencer changes the subject before anyone can pry into why he would be telling her about the women who worked there before her.

“I did,” Elle nods. “I was too late for her, by the time her parents realized she was missing and called me in the case was cold. I started this as a way to get ahead of it.”

“How long has she been missing?” Tara asks.

“She was last seen at 1:07 this morning,” Elle confirms. “We have 25 hours, maybe, to beat the odds.”

“Reid,” Hotch cuts in, “I would like you and Elle to go check out the street she was last seen on, find any private cameras or anyone who might have seen something.”

He turns to Y/N who just shrugs in silence; “it’s fine.”

“Tara and Derek, I’d like you to interview Aasia when she and JJ get here, Garcia can you do a deep dive into Bahni’s spending and academic records?”

“Sure thing,” she starts clicking away on her computer immediately.

“And Y/N,” Elle looks at her. “I need you to go over the footage of the man who followed her to the alley and get familiar with his face. We’re using you as the face of the investigation to hopefully draw the unsub out.”

“How would she be able to do that alone?” Spencer gets defensive, a way he used to with JJ when she was the media liaison.

“If she goes on the news and makes Bahni seem like a person while describing the unsub as someone who can help solve the case, it will draw him out,” Emily explains for Hotch, who is glaring at Spencer for second-guessing the plan already.

“And she’s college-age,” Elle adds. “If that’s who he’s been going after all this time he will want to come in and talk IF he can talk to her.”

She places her hand on his leg under the table, “it’s a good plan.”

“It is,” Hotch agrees.

“What do you not have a saying to replace wheels up when they stay in town?” Elle teases him.

“Wheels away?” Emily joins her, “that works?”

“just get to work,” Hotch tries not to smirk at them.

Spencer stands up to leave with Elle, “can I just talk to Spencer before he leaves?” She carefully asks Hotch.

“Make it quick,” he agrees reluctantly and lets her follow him down to his desk.

Spencer rests his hands on the back of his desk chair, holding it tightly in an attempt to calm himself down.

“I’m going to be fine,” she assures him. “I don’t think the guy on the tape took her, we’d see him leave if he did.”

“Unless he lives in the alley,” Spencer combats. “Can you ask Penelope to do a background check on all the cars coming in and out of the campus and that street between midnight at 2 am?”

She nods, placing her hand on his gently. “Good luck out there, okay?”

He nods, “it’s been 2 days they’re going to know by the end of the week.”

She laughs, “so be it.”

He says fuck it right then and there, wrapping her up in a hug and kissing the top of her head as the team watches in the briefing room. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes you will,” she smacks his side as he lets her go. “If you’re going to make a scene at least give me a real kiss.”

“Hmm,” he teases. “No cause then I’d have to sign some paperwork and I’ve got to go…” he starts to back away.

“Coward,” she teases.

He just shrugs, meeting Elle by the door and heading towards the elevators in silence.

She doesn’t ask, not even when they get to the garage or inside the SUV. They’re driving down the road for maybe 2 minutes when Elle finally brings it up. “So—”

“What do you want to know?”

“It's that easy now? What happened to you?” She teases. “You’re so different from the baby Spence I left.”

“Well you missed my drug problem, my dad being a possible child molester, getting shot in the knee, getting shot in the neck, my girlfriend dying, and now my mom might have Alzheimer's so you know… I had to grow up a bit,” he lays it all out for her to ask any question she wants.

“Why don’t you ever call me? I would have been there for you through anything,” she reminds him.

“I know that,” he reaches over for her hand, “thank you. But I was a big fan of suffering in silence… and now I have Y/N and she makes me feel normal?”

“That’s good, you deserve some fraction of normal in your life and she’s really cute,” Elle smiles back at him before returning her focus to the road. “How old is she?”

“27,” he smiles. “She’s the best.”

“You love her,” Elle notices it.

He presses his lips together to fend off a smile as he nods, “I think I do.”

“Tell her, you deserve to hear that someone loves you back.”

—

She’s anxiously tapping her foot as she waits for the elevator to arrive with the suspect, Rossi standing just behind her. Only 15 minutes after being on the news, the man that was in the security footage contacted them. Making his way over for a voluntary interview.

He looks Y/N up and down with a smile, “I heard you were looking for me.”

“I sure was,” she plays along with it, smiling and making him think she’s interested as well. “I knew you’d get the message, we just need all the help we can get right now.”

“Of course,” he has his ego stroked so well that they can roll with it.

“Would you mind coming with me and Agent Rossi to talk about everything you saw?” She batts her lashes at him, really selling it.

“Sure,” he follows them down the hall.

Rossi opens the door and lets them in first, letting her get him settled and a glass of water. “So you can tell me everything from that night?”

“Sure,” he nods, explaining his taxi job, his run for the night and his alibi.

“So why did you step back into the doorway?” She asks as she sits in front of him. Straight-faced as she catches him off guard.

“Excuse me?”

“You stepped out of the way to let her pass and then followed her, she made no motion to say she wanted your services, so I’m just wondering why you would follow her before she disappeared?”

“Huh,” he suddenly feels played and his personality switches. “I thought this was just a chat?”

“I’m simply asking you questions? If you don’t have answers that makes you suspicious. An innocent person would have given me an answer,” she fights back.

“She’s right, you got very defensive very fast,” Rossi finally speaks up.

He shakes his head with a huff. “I was going to ask if she needed a ride, she looked pretty messed up. And then some guy came over and wrapped his arm around her and they walked off. They seemed to know one another. I thought she was safe in his hands.”

Only his tone doesn’t match the words. He sounds jealous— It’s not like she would have been a large tab, he wasn’t jealous because he lost a customer. No, he’s jealous like someone stepped in and prevented him from snatching an easy victim.

“Fair enough,” she pretends to believe him. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“I can go now?” He changes right back to confused.

She nods, “I’ll escort you down if you’d like?”

“Thanks,” he stands and follows her to the door where Rossi stops her.

“Are you sure?”

She nods, “I’ll be back up shortly.”

She catches up with him by the elevators, “did you have to drive far to get here?” She makes small talk.

“Not really,” he shakes it off. “I like your necklace.”

She touches her necklace and her face drops, “thanks.”

“Necklaces are my favourite.”

“You don’t wear any?” She notices in the form of a question.

He shakes his head as the elevator opens at the ground level. “I think they’re nice gifts.”

She nods along, pretending that didn’t set off every ret alert and alarm in her mind, “well here you are. Thanks again for all the help.”

“No problem,” he goes to leave, turning to stop and block the doors from closing. “If you want, later tonight I can show you everything I saw at the alley?”

“Yeah, sure,” she agrees with no plan to go.

“8 pm? At Cafe Linda?”

“See you then,” she agrees and he steps back letting the door close and then she loses her cool.

Feverishly smashing the floor 6 button, and begging to make it back up to Hotch to tell him everything. But she also just wants to cry but she holds it in as she makes it to their floor matching past Rossi and right into the briefing room.

“He may not be our unsub but that man is a creep,” she announces. “He not only complimented my necklace but he asked me to come to the alley tonight so he can walk me through what he saw.”

“You’re not going,” Hotch announces.

“I didn’t plan to,” she snaps. “I think we need to look into him because he’s either giving little girls necklaces to keep them quiet or he’s taking necklaces after he kills women.”

“Kathy’s parents said she was in a necklace when she went missing,” Emily adds. “His connection to this case and being at NYU right before she went missing gives us enough probable cause for a search warrant.”

Hotch sighs, “fine. I’ll call a judge, you and Y/N can go and search his place.”

“So shouldn’t we arrest him before he leaves the building?” Morgan asks.

“He’s still in the garage, I’ve let the security know to stop him and arrest him at the gate,” Garcia adds, listening in and planning in advance.

“Thank you,” Hotch smiles at her, “you’re always reading my mind.”

Garcia smiles back at him, “always, sir.”

“Okay, let’s go,” she looks at Emily and waiting for her to turn to leave the room.

“Let’s,” she motions for Y/N to take the lead and follows.

The drive to his house is so weird… she doesn’t quite know how to talk to Emily, knowing only slightly about her and her knowing nothing about Y/N.

“So how long have you and Spencer been dating?” Her first question just gets right to the point.

She laughs awkwardly, “3 days…”

“Oh…”

She hums as she nods along, looking out the window and avoiding Emily’s eye contact. “It’s new, we’re both pretty infatuated with each other but we’re taking it slower than most people because I’m afraid to let my feelings change how I do the job.”

“Makes sense,” Emily replies. Her voice is so sweet, she has an aura of calm that follows her and lets Y/N feel safe. She gets why Spencer said she was his best friend on the team before her.

“The necklace comment… why did it make you so wary of this guy?”

“When I was in middle school a guy gave me a necklace while he was grooming me,” she whispers. Looking out the window and pretending it doesn’t bother her now. “It’s fine, I don’t have it anymore, but I knew this guy had that same vibe.”

Emily put her hand out, letting Y/N interlock their fingers and hold it. “I know I just met you, but you’re family now. I’m here if you’re ever suddenly not fine with it anymore…”

“Thanks,” she smiles. “Let’s get this fucker.”

—

By the time the warrant went through, Spencer and Elle had joined them to search the first suspect's house while Emily left to help the rest of the team with suspect two. Tracking all the license plates in the area like Spencer suggested lead them to a Chinese food delivery driver in the area.

That didn’t stop Y/N from destroying her suspect's house. They tore the house apart, searching every nook and cranny for any answer that would make sense. She was tempted to lift the floorboards up, call in SCSI to run ground-penetrating radar and search the fucking walls if they had to.

But then she found it.

A small metal box in the laundry room contained some tools and when she lifted up the fake bottom, she found 5 necklaces.

“Elle!!” She yelled through the house.

They both came running down the hall to her, “is this Kathy’s necklace?”

“Oh my god,” she whispered with a nod.

“I want to kill this guy,” she mumbles under her breath as she places the necklaces back in the box and closes it up.

“Spencer doesn’t need another girl he has a crush on to murder someone and get kicked out of the bureau,” Elle teases.

“What?” Y/N asks.

“Way to go,” Spencer nudges her.

Y/N stands up with the box and slides it into a large evidence bag before taping it up. “I guess he has a type then.”

“I don’t,” Spencer tries to cover up. “I mean, if I do then it’s people who are nice to me…”

She smiles at him, unable to even pretend to be jealous or mad. “It’s hard to be mean to you when you’re so cute.”

“Ew,” Elle announces her disgust as she leaves the room.

“Let’s get out of here before I end up kissing you in a murderer's laundry room,” Spencer teases, taking her hand and leading her out of the house as the rest of the forensics team takes over the bagging of evidence.

“Guys,” Elle rushes back to them with her phone pressed to her ear. “We have a bigger problem than we thought with Bahni.”

They rush into the SUV, putting the team on the speaker to hear the most unthinkable. “So I did what Y/N suggested and searched every single driver coming in and off-campus and the last street she was seen on,” Penelope explains back. “And I came across a man who was delivering Chinese food under the name Tom Larson… and it’s ironic his name is tom because he has a plethora of peeping offences and general creepiness alongside a metric shit-ton of abuse from his dad and dead mother.”

“Okay?” Elle follows.

“Tom Larson lives near Bahni,” Emily explains, “I was just at his house where I found him and his father had been murdered.”

“So we have not 1 but 3 creeps in this case, and none of them are who took Bahni?” Spencer rubs his eyes. “Please tell me we know who was in Tom’s car last night.”

“That’s where it gets tricky,” Penelope says with the doles tones of keys clicking behind her words. “We were just contacted by the fugitive Taskforce because they believe one of the murderers they’ve been tracking took Bahni… but he has ties to a much larger scale global sex trafficking ring.”

Elle flies through the streets with their lights on, pulling back into headquarters and right up to the security check. “So who is this guy?”

“Once you get back up here, Agent Simmons and Alvez will explain everything,” Hotch confirms. “I’m taking Derek to see Cruze, we need to tell him what’s going on.”

“Sounds good,” Elle hangs up and throws the SUV in park.

Y/N hesitates, staying put and taking a few breaths as Spencer watches. Elle’s left the car and is already on her way to the elevator. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I just have a hug real quick?”

“Yeah,” he wraps his arms around her and holds her close. “Are you okay?”

She nods against him, “yeah it’s just good to have at least 8 hugs a day.”

“Hug me whenever you need to,” he whispers against her hair, kissing the side of her head before she pulls back.

“Kisses are helpful too?”

He smiles, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, mumbling against them, “how many?”

She hums, “10?”

He pecks her lips 10 times and counts each one, making her giggle, it takes so much effort to hold her smile back to keep kissing him but she feels much better.

“Thank you,” she beams and she can swear Spencer's eyes sparkle as he smiles back.

She pulls him into another hug, “I hate that we have to go catch a killer right now.”

“Come on then, as soon as we get him we can go on another date somewhere?”

She shakes her head, “after this case I think we should take a nap together… I’m exhausted and I don’t want to let you go.”

Spencer shakes his head in amazement, “you really like me?”

“Yeah, maybe I do,” she teases him. “You should get used to it because it’s only going to get more intense and I will smother you with love.”

He just shrugs, “it’s about time—“

They’re startled with a knock on the window, “we get it you’re in love, can we go now?”

“Sorry!” Y/N calls back with a giggle, pulling him in for one last kiss before getting out. Spencer follows with a deep blush that everyone will see when they get back upstairs, but it looks cute on him.

Luke Alvez has been trying to catch one criminal for the last 2 years. Simon Garrett has been a pain in the ass for the FBI, the CIA and DEA. He first showed up on their radar when his DNA was found on 14 women’s remains, all of who had been missing for at least 5 years.

His DNA was then traced to his son in the foster system, who’s been off the radar for the last 10 years. Everette Garrett.

“Now he’s interesting because I’ve been investigating his sex trafficking ring between Canada and the United States,” Matt adds. “All 14 women his father's DNA was found on were thought to be in his ring, which means when they get too old he hands them to his father to take care of.”

Y/N shakes her head as she listens, “so if you’ve been looking for them for this long what makes you think we can find them in time to save Bahni?”

“We’ve been tracking him for a while, we knew that he had a new girl on his radar and when we heard it was Bahni Desai we knew it was time to get you guys,” Matt explains.

“So far we know that she has to be taken to this warehouse in Alexandria before she goes any further, we’re going to intercept them before they make it to the warehouse and then use their car to gain access to take the whole thing down,” Luke rolls out a map of the facility then.

“We need to have the place surrounded for any runners, SWAT is getting prepped, we’re going tonight at 3 am,” Matt adds. “Morgan, Hotch, Prentiss, Alvez and Myself will be running a team at each of the 5 exits. Once inside, each team's swat unit will deploy gas to carefully knock everyone out, from there we need someone to cuff everyone at least until we know who is a victim and who is working there.”

“We’re taking everyone alive?” Spencer makes sure he hears them right.

“We need to know what the step after this warehouse is if we want to rescue more victims,” Luke’s voice is gentle yet stern as he explains. “I’ve seen this man take too many women from good homes and ruin their lives, I’m not letting him slip out of my fingers.”

“We’ve had this planned for months, we just needed to wait for the next confirmed drop-off.”

“Who’s driving?” Y/N asks, having a feeling it was her and Spencer.

“He’s Reids age,” Hotch announces from the door as he walks in with Cruze, “so we’ll replace Everette with Reid and Bahni with Y/L/N.”

“Rossi and Elle will be there to apprehend Everette, we’re setting up a fake traffic spot to irritate him and inhibit him from running. You two will be in a duplicate car arriving at the warehouse at the arranged time,” Emily confirms. “We just have to prep SWAT and then we can leave.”

“Alright, let’s get ready.”

—

Pretending to be kidnapped in the back of a car driven by her boyfriend was possibly the weirdest way to spend a Tuesday morning. Driving the exact make and model as their unsub, her heartbeat was loud enough to cover the sound of the engine and distract her from the long drive. She was overly anxious, and rightly so, it was her first sting.

And she was doing it all without coffee. Tired but full of adrenaline, she wanted to close her eyes and drift off but she knew she needed to be ready to apprehend the men at the gate with Spencer.

She feels the large bump, indicating they just went over a speed bump and she knows what that means. The car slows and she can hear the muffled talking before swat steps in, soon enough Spencer is cracking the trunk open and reaching in for her.

“Are you okay?” He helps her to her feet and makes sure her bulletproof vest is on right before handing her, her gun and watching her clip it on.

“Yeah, what happened?”

“The guards are down, Swat moved in as soon as we arrived, now we have to stand here and wait for them to clear the building,” Spencer explains as they walk to the front of her car.

She draws her gun and keeps it pointed low, guarded as they watch the front entrance for anyone to escape. “Do you know if Bahni is okay?” She whispers towards him.

He nods, “they radioed in that they got her, she’s being airlifted to the hospital with JJ right now.”

She nods with a deep breath, “okay good.”

“It’s going to be fine, we have enough SWAT here to take the government,” he tries to joke, getting a laugh from one of the officers… very strange to see someone laugh while holding an assault rifle.

One of the swat side steps towards Spencer, “I’m hearing on the line that they’ve cleared every room. They’re cuffing everyone, you’re free to enter.”

“Thanks,” Spencer replies.

The high-pitched screech rubber gripping asphalt in an attempt to stop draws their attention backwards. Elle and Rossi jumping out with their guns drawn, ready to join even though the exciting part is long over.

“No runners?” Elle asks, holstering her weapon. “Aw man, I was excited.”

“Not a one,” Y/N adds, watching the front entrance for the rest of the team to start funnelling out with the unsubs.

Luke exits first with a big smile on his face, Simon Garrett cuffed and barely stumbling out the door in front of him. He finally got him.

“well done,” Elle congratulates him. “Let me help you get him in SWAT van.”

“I think she has a thing for Luke,” Rossi leans into Y/N to gossip. “she wouldn’t stop asking about him on the drive…”

“Ooo,” Y/N teases, getting more and more tired as her adrenaline drops. Her eyes are heavy and Rossi can tell.

“Why don’t I bring you and the good doctor home, I don’t think they need all of us for the wrap-up,” Rossi pats her back. “You’ve had a long night, kid.”

“Thank you,” she smiles, holstering her gun and turning with him towards the SUV. “I’m so exhausted.”

“Well you’ve been on the job for almost 24 hours now, you’ve officially made it through your first overnight sting op,” Rossi congratulates her like he’s her grandpa.

She turns back when she doesn’t hear Spencer following her, “Spence? Are you coming?”

“Um,” he has something to ask as he follows then but he doesn’t say it. “Yeah, sorry.”

“It’s okay, come sit with me in the back?” She asks, sliding in beside him and resting her head on his shoulder as soon as their seatbelts are on.

“Did you still want to have a nap together?” He whispers, feeling her nod against his shoulder before she pulls back.

“Come here,” she tugs him in against her chest, snuggling in as best as she could in their sitting position. Holding him close and feeling him drift off in her arms. She has no problem following suit.

When she wakes, Rossi is parked outside of her apartment, “here you go, Y/N.”

She hums as she comes to, shaking Spencer awake too, “Spence, come on, let’s get to bed.”

“He’s going with you?”

She nods, “don’t tell Penelope. She’ll have a field day, I just want a nap.”

“You better get more than a nap,” Rossi orders. “You guys need to actually rest before you come back to work on Wednesday.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she teases him. “We will.”

“Bye Dave,” Spencer whispers as he gets out of the car. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Anytime kid,” Rossi waves them off, waiting for them to enter the building before driving away.

“Finally,” she sighs, dragging Spencer down the hall and towards her apartment. “I’m so fucking tired.”

“me too,” he barely says.

He follows her inside like a lost puppy, taking off his vest and shirt, slipping out of his pants until he’s in an undershirt, boxers and his mismatched socks. She’s amazed by how comfortable he is with her, but she has known him for 3 months, it’s enough time to fall in love with someone… right?

She’s loved him since she started working with him. When she realized he valued her opinions, he looked at her as a person and he genuinely loved her company. She felt a real connection with him, not just childish infatuation. He was everything to her.

She slides into bed beside him and snuggles in, wrapping an arm around his middle and resting her head on his chest.

“I guess I really can do everything,” she smirks.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She pokes his chest and giggles away the awkwardness, “the thing I wanted to do most, the thing that I couldn’t do… that was to fall in love with you, but I did it anyway.”

“Well, then I guess I can do everything too.”

She pulls away to look at him, “I love you, Spencer. I don’t know if it’s too soon, but I’ve loved you for a while.”

He pulls her in for a kiss, shocking her as he breathes her in and holds her there. “I love you, more Y/N.”

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[alexandria-is-my-firstname]

More sketches as always,,,

First one would be a Charles Raisinburger sketch, didn't like his boss form and felt like making him more menacing,,, perhaps having boss phases, starting with this Chainsaw Man inspired design as his half or mid-form,,,

(Raisinburger having his hammer as a head that could combust like a rocket aand having a chainsaw-attached gun arm, a mix of Denji's chainsaw and Gut's prosthetic arm)

Second yet supposedly first sketch,,,

Monster Ethan wearing a bigass bath robe cause there's nothing else he could wear in that form, was kinda inspired by Lady D,,, in a way,,, (couldn't find a thicker pencil, reason why the sketch doesn't look visible)

Third sketch,,,

Fairy God-mother and Meowy, Rose's two besties. Ethan's dynamic with Meowy is basically the dad who doesn't want pets but ends up becoming bros, as well Ethan sorta mimicking Meowy without realization (really deepens the Catboy Ethan headcanon, damn),,, (I did had an idea where Ethan - before getting booted to death - was allergic to cats, reason why he isn't fond of cats nor' having any pets nor' there were any pets shown in his and Mia's house)

Idea of Meowy started from here,,,

Lastly,,, the continu-angst-tion,,,

Last sketches were supposed to be drawn for a previous post but artblock hit me like a brick, but here we are,,,

Sketch 1-5: Thought about Ethan saying something that resulted Mia to stare and have interest in him, the quote "the rain sure is beautiful, surely an angel is near" was both from my mom who believes the rain were led by angels, and from a cultural belief where rain brings good luck (mostly for farmers) and kudos to my friend who turns it into a dialogue,,,

Sketch 6-11: I think Ethan watches a lot of movies, being the geek one in the office while Mia barely watches any movies, giving a reason for the two to hang out and afterwards date,,, (edit: it was supposed to be Ethan saying "we should have a movie night", damn my dialogue-forgetting arse)

Sketch 12-15: Imagine the happiest moment and the most painful moment drawn in one paper,,,

Sketch 16-19: Dunno what to write,,, so, for the people of RE7,,,

Sketch 20-23: for 20-21, Ethan and Mia were about to plant a flower (dunno know what else to say),,,

Sketch 24: Alas,,, they snuggled,,,

Origin of the last sketches,,,

Before ending it for today, Ethan being a systems engineer and geeky everyman to becoming the megamycete's host and the second-coming of the black god felt like something particularly out of Devilman, the protagonist who once lived a normal everyman or avarage joe life only to become a devilman yet who's heart still retain humanity and love.

I mean, Mia and other characters aside,,, imagine being Ethan's co-worker from the beginning of RE7, your acquaintance or perhaps office buddy called you and informed that he found his presumed-dead-wife's location,,, and of course, you'd be surprised by the news yet skeptic knowing that 3 years had passed and how would your office buddy's wife survived all those years?,,, and,,, after the call, your office buddy was never seen nor' heard again except for the article/newspaper relating to the Bakers' estate,,, and you were the last person to hear your office buddy,,, and as years passed by, you're not aware that your ol' buddy turned out to be a moldy corpse, had a mushroom-messiah-daughter and (in the continuation) became a mold god,,, shit escelated hard,,, and you're just a human continuing your joey days til' your dead,,,

To make it short, the concept of some normal guy being put in a situation where they develop into a dangerous entity who's heart is still pure really fascinates me as both artist and writer (I do have original works involving with that concept but i'll share later),,,

And alas, Mia putting Ethan in varies dangers - resulting him becoming a moldy boi - and feeling overwhelming guilt yet still being loved by Ethan after all the painful events is really something,,, can't find the right words to describe it but yeah (LIES!! IT'S THE SONG "Juan Karlos - Kalawakan" THAT HAS THE VIBE!!). That's it for today,,,

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And yes,,, Ethan's now a god and here's how,,,