#they must gave such a special place in each others lives after working together on this

[polin-erospsyche]

Don’t read too much into this, don’t read too much into this, don’t read too much into this …

[redphlox]

No matter how bnha ends, I'm grateful that I became invested because it brought me joy, and it gifted me the euphoric experience of getting to know one of my favorite characters ever: Touya Todoroki, Dabi. I will always love him, and he will always have a special place in my heart. Nothing can change that or take that away from me. Shouto, too. The soba brothers are eternal to me.

It's so typical of me to be drawn to the mysterious, cold, brooding characters, haha. Shouto and Dabi immediately captured my attention when I first watched/read bnha with @fox-conscious. I took a break from following the series for a few years until November 2020, when I casually logged into Tumblr after months of not checking and saw chapter 290 Dabi's Dance leaks. It must have been fate. Suddenly, I was fully immersed in the manga again, excited that the obvious familial connection between my two favorites was officially confirmed. This reveal reignited my excitement and gave me something to focus on and look forward to during a challenging first semester in grad school, when I was on the cusp of realizing I needed professional help for my eating disorder.

To deal with the stress and have fun, I turned to reading and writing meta, and trying to make friends to share the experience with. That's the most important thing that has come from following this series... I've met so many incredible people who mean a lot to me:

@haleigh-sloth has become a really dear and close friend of mine. We met because of this manga and bonded over crepes, breakfast foods, pasta or ramen dinners, shopping at the mall, swimming in the river, walking her dogs, sleepovers, traveling, and road trips because of our shared love of the characters and story. We are basically the same person and constantly say the same things at the same time. Through the ups and downs of school, work, moving, and even now, we've always had each other's backs and shared countless moments of laughter and ugly cackling because we can't take shit seriously, ever. She's one of my best friends for life and I can't imagine NOT having her around!

@todomitoukei was one of the first friends I made in this fandom. I can always count on her to make the funniest jokes I've ever heard, especially during a completely serious conversation, and I'm astounded how smart, quick-witted, and talented she is. Truly an inspiration. I always look forward to seeing notifications that she messaged me because she brightens my day <3

I've had the great pleasure of meeting and hugging @hamliet TWICE! She has a generous heart and an inviting, calm aura. Her kindness and intelligence are remarkable. I genuinely enjoy discussing all sorts of topics with her, both silly and serious: life, hopes and dreams, fears and daily struggles, funny memes, reading and writing. I also love seeing her pet photos and can't wait to meet them in the future.

@transhawks is truly my most insane friend, and I say that lovingly and in the most ironic way because he's level-headed, creative, articulate, and self-aware. I'm always learning from him. I can talk to him for hours and never run out of things to say, and I always look forward to his insightful commentary about anything and everything.

And of course, I'm grateful for all the discord shenanigans with my friends: watching the anime together, voice calls, memes, sharing ideas, etc. @chocolate-biscuit who always pops into the chat with funny one-liners that leave me cackling for days when they flash in my head randomly, @bootlickerhawks who is the bestest horse person ever and I get excited to see on my dash, @helga-grinduil who is the saltiest and funniest person on this hellsite and also happens to make the best bnhaedits in this entire fandom, @jecook who is one of the sweetest people I've ever met and can't wait to read fix-it fics from, @mettywiththenotes who sends cute dog pictures and makes the most hilarious memes. Together we are all unhinged, and I love it. Despite living in different time zones, different counties, we've all create a fun space to cohabitate, and I think that's really cool and beautiful.

Hmm. Looks like the real treasure was the friends I made along the way, and the shared trauma of having our favorite characters mishandled by their creator was worth it. Can't wait to keep writing fics, making memes, and making new friends like @shortstrawberryshake because of this manga. And, I can't wait to keep loving Touya and Shouto Todoroki, of course <3

[c-m-stuff]

Secret Santa

Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

-Description: You and Spencer are together. It's secret Santa time.

-Warnings: Fluffiness

-Word count: 1157

-Note: A sweet fic for the upcoming holidays. Do you guys love Christmas as much as me?🎄🎁

Masterlist

Y/N POV:

'That was delicious, Dave.' JJ complimented the Italian man, the whole team agreeing.

'You really went all out this year.'

'Of course, I went all out. It's Christmas Eve for God's sake.' he replied, while we all laughed.

'My favorite was the wiiiiine.' Penelope giggled, as she poured herself another glass of wine, causing everyone to chuckle.

It became a tradition to all celebrate Christmas Eve at David's place. It was nice, spending time together without standing next to a dead body. Another tradition was secret Santa. The game you pull blindly a name out of a bowl to thereafter buy a Christmas present for that person. I've always loved it.

'Calm down with the wine, baby girl. We don't want a re-do of last year, when you all told us what's in the presents, before we got to actually open them.'

I giggled at Derek's statement, as I felt someone sitting on the couch next to me. Looking up, it was my genius boyfriend.

After pinning at one another for almost a year, the pretty boy himself admitted his feelings and asked me out for a date. The situation it happened wasn't the normal one, though. It was the end of a workday at the BAU, as the elevator suddenly decided to stop working. While we were in it! After panicking at first, and calling the team, we got stuck for a good hour. Which let us to admit our feelings for one another, all while curled up on the elevator floor. After that, time went on, and so did the dates. And, then there was one special moment were he asked me to be his girlfriend. I am still thankful for that elevator to stop working on that special day.

'It's secret Santa time!' David announced, and everyone went to grab their presents from under the Christmas tree, before heading to the comfortable couch.

JJ pulled Emily's name and bought her a gift card from a nice clothing shop and a tequila bottle. Emily got Aaron and decided to gift him with a black coat and a reading light for if he goes over paperwork in bed. Aaron drew Derek's name and bought him two tickets to a football game and a new tool belt for when he is renovating homes. Derek got David and gifted him new cooking equipment and a bottle of 30 years old scotch. David pulled Penelope's name and decided to gift her a pair of beautiful, pink heels and two tickets to a theater play. Penelope got JJ and presented her with a gorgeous necklace she's been talking about buying but never got around to and a mock with a text saying: "I'm a mom, what's your superpower?".

As everyone was done gifting the other their presents, they all realized Spencer and I drew each others names, considering we're the only ones left.

'Of course the two love birds got each other.' Derek commented, a grin plastered on his face. Although, it didn't went unnoticed by me when Derek winked at JJ, who was already grinning by herself. Then, it hit me that JJ was the one who was in charge of the bowl full of names.

'Okay, pretty girl, you first.' Derek said, as I gave my present to Spencer.

I watched as he carefully tore the wrapping paper off, revealing the first edition copy of the book The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

'No (Y/N), you did not!' he exclaimed, enthusiastic.

'How did you- Where did you-' he looked flabbergasted and guilty at the same time.

'You didn't have to, I would have been fine with a gift card from the book store. This must have costed you a fortune.'

'Ahh, not quite, genius. Well, I was last helping my grandparents with moving out. They're going to live in an apartment instead of a way too big house, like I told you. And, surprisingly, I found the book on the attic amongst some other books. I got it for free.' he kept staring at me in shock, still flabbergasted. He instantly wrapped me into a greatful hug, pressing multiple kisses on my head.

'Thank you. Thank you so much!'

'That's not all, pretty boy. Open the book.' I told him, as he did. A gift card from the bookstore revealed. Everyone laughed at the earlier mention of a gift card for books, as Spencer once again thanked me with words and a hug.

Then, he gave me a gift bag, covered with Christmas trees. I took the first thing I felt and tore off the wrapping paper. It revealed a stunning vintage camera. My eyes widened, admiring the, in my eyes, piece of art. I've always adored polaroid photos.

'I remembered you saying that you really wanted one. You wanted to capture moments like these, and that you loved the reality of the photos because you have only one shot.'

'Thank you so much! It's amazing!' I pressed him in a tight hug, before he spoke again:

'There's more, though.'

We ended the hug, as I reached for the bag and took the other present out. I was quick in ripping of the wrapping paper, seeing it was a beautiful notebook. He clearly knows my love for notebooks and this one was covered with blue butterflies. Absolutely gorgeous.

'Thank you! I love it!' once again, we shared a tight hug, as Spencer whispered something in my ear.

'That's not everything.' I pulled back and looked at him with a surprised face.

'There is more?' he nodded, gave me the most sweetest smile, and went down on one knee. I gasped, tears already forming into my eyes.

'(Y/N), you're the best thing that ever happened to me. Since the first day I met you, you were nothing but kind, you listened always to my rambling, and you made me a better person. I love you for for being you. You are beautiful, inside and outside. (Y/N), you are my future. Make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?' I was still shocked and couldn't believe this was happening. My soulmate was proposing. I couldn't be more happy.

'YES! YES, I WILL!' I flew in his arms, everyone cheering and clapping.

Tears were now fully pouring out of my eyes, and it wasn't different for Spencer. My fiancé. It felt so good using that word.

'And, I can't wait for you to be my husband.'

'I can't wait for you to be my wife.' he whispered in my ear, as I did the same with him.

_________________________

[thatwavephenomenon]

The concept of Inquisitor Anders (and Justice) is so special to me actually. Everyone agree that everything the "regular" Inquisitor goes through/accomplishes is already mind-blowing. But for Anders to be the Inquisitor? The stakes would be even more impossible.

Anders thought he was going to die for what he had done, but Hawke spared him. After that he has to go on with no plan whatsoever, as best as he can while on the run as one of the most wanted man in Thedas. The only thing that is clear to him is that he has to keep helping the mage rebellion until he is either caught and killed, or until his Calling. All he has is borrowed time. So even as a fugitive, Anders' story is likely already written and over.

And then the Conclave happens, and Anders not only has his eyes glow blue sometimes, but he now has an occasionally green glowy hand as well.

So here he is, Anders the apostate, Anders the Kirkwall Chantry criminal, who has nothing but with *everything* to prove.

Remember. This is the man that gave everything that he had, everything he was to his cause. He fought for *years* in Kirkwall with his clinic, his manifesto, with the Mages Underground and still things worsened, with barely anyone listening to him until he blew the Chantry up. And now he has to convince everyone that he isn't responsible for the explosion at the Conclave? Right, as if his track record would permit that. How could he possibly be able to close the breach in the sky when he was the one who started the war between the templars and the mages in the first place?

The regular Inquisitor already has trouble proving themselves trustworthy at the beginning of DAI, so imagine it now with Anders. People would literally be out for blood. The Chantry would not only discredit the Inquisition as heretics, it would call for his immediate dissolution/destruction. Anders would also try to help all the refugees just like before in Kirkwall, while being the very reason these people lost so much in the first place this time.

Now on to the advisors and companions. How would Leliana, who also walk the path of violence for her cause, who is pro-mages but also had great faith in Justinia, interact with Anders? Even if Cullen has left the templars, could he and Anders even manage to cooperate after everything? Especially considering that Cullen was Meredith's second and the one who dismantled Anders' Mages Underground? How would Josephine and Anders work together to promote their cause, with how Anders must regard nobility after living in Darktown for years or after watching Kirkwall nobles interact with Hawke?

After investigating what happened in Kirkwall, Cassandra would probably be more than wary of Anders. But at the same time in DAI she is among the first ones to believe that the character must be the Herald of Andraste. I imagine that Cassandra would be particularly conflicted on how to treat Anders because of this.

Varric. Anders was his friend. Anders is the one who set Kirkwall on fire. For all that they know each other, things would probably still be tense between them at first. Varric also followed Hawke to see him rise from having barely anything to his name to becoming the Champion of Kirkwall. What would he think about Anders, a companion of the initial protagonist (or even protagonists, if you take into account DA Awakening), when he's now taking a path that seems to lead him towards becoming so much more? Especially considering that in DAI Varric struggles with how to perceive the Inquisitor, having to juggle between seeing the character as his friend (if you have a good relationship with him) and seeing them as an icon, the Herald of Andraste.

Anders and Vivienne would absolutely despise each other and their snark matches would be the stuff of legends. The only reason those two could even work together is if they agree that closing the breach takes priority over everything else.

I imagine that Anders, Justice and Solas would have some interesting conversations about spirits and the Fade while also butting heads on a lot of things. Both would be convinced that they are the authority on these subjects. But perhaps they would learn to eventually concede on some things with time.

I think Sera would really like Anders for his continued dedication towards helping people and his insistance to give up what he has for others. Sera's fear of magic and Anders absolute pro-mages stance would definitely cause more than one row between them however. Not to mention Justice. Their relationship would be one of the most interesting there in my opinion.

Blackwall would also be another greatly interesting character to watch interact with Inquisitor Anders. Anders would be able to tell that Blackwall is bullshitting about being a Warden from the get-go, because he was one and can sense the taint. Those two would definitely have some interesting debates on justice (and with Justice), or talks about how to go on and do good after having committed an atrocious crime. Blackwall's admiration for the Grey Wardens versus Anders "Oh yeah, I was a Warden once, then I just quit" attitude would also result in some great banters I'm sure.

Anders would say to Iron Bull that he is very different from all the other Qunaris that were in Kirkwall, though I don't know how that conversation would go. Iron Bull would also definitely be afraid of Justice. I can see him adressing the question/problem of Anders being an "abomination" quite directly, because he is not comfortable with spirits/demons that are capable of taking over someone's mind, and Anders is a living proof of that fear. Despite this, I like to imagine that Justice would actually grow to respect the Iron Bull in some parts after hearing the Chargers' stories about him and seeing how protective of them Iron Bull is.

Despite their different upbringings, I think Dorian would somewhat remind Anders of himself when we was younger/before he merged with Justice. If Hawke isn't a mage, I can imagine Anders' relief and joy about finally being able to talk to someone about magic normally and openly. They would have conversations about Tevinter, politics, etc. In DAI, the Inquisitor can inspire Dorian and support him in his fight to change Tevinter. With Anders as the Inquisitor, this aspiration for social changes could be even more relevant.

Cole and Anders/Justice interactions would be another cool thing to see. Justice would recognize Cole as a spirit of Compassion right away. Despite their differences as spirits, I could see Justice becoming quite protective of Cole and defending him against people like Cassandra or Vivienne, having an unfortonate amount of experience being treated as a "demon" or "abomination". Cole would also try to help Anders with his guilt of course.

Discovering that Corypheus is their enemy would be less of a "oh it's him again/oh okay this is the villain" moment and become a lot more personal, with the worry that Anders could fall under his control if he is not strong enough.

Meeting Hawke once again in Skyhold would be An Event for sure, espeeecially if Hawke and Anders were (are?) in a romance. I'm letting everyone imagine how that would go with their own Hawke here.

And The Choice in the Fade, you know the one, would be even more heart-wrenching. Particularly if the Warden is someone that Anders knows, like Nathaniel Howe or even the Hero of Ferelden/Warden-Commander.

Bonus: Anders could also meet Fenris by chance during a mission to eliminate some Venatori.

Anyways. I really like the idea of Inquisitor Anders, yes.

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Hurt and a Plan - FNAf 2023

Mike Schmidt x fem!reader

warning : fluff, comfort, blood, kissing

Summary : When Mike comes home from work and is injured, he is glad that a his sister is already asleep and b his girlfriend is waiting for him and taking loving care of him.

Info : Long story short I needed some more Mike and some comfort so yeah here you have it. Have fun reading ;)

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~

His work already sucked, his dreams were more disturbing than usual and to make matters worse, the cut on his cheek and arm was more painful than he wanted to admit.

The animatronics, the whole place his own mind it was time to go home and he was glad and grateful for the first time that his junk car started. ,,Just away and home," he mumbled as he closed the door behind him and got into his car, the engine started on this still dark morning and he disappeared down the road to the settlement.

Please let Abby sleep and don't leave her with cuddly toys, he hoped inwardly as he glanced at the little stuffed monkey that was still lying on the back seat after he had taken his sister away.

She had insisted and he was glad that he had locked the office otherwise he wouldn't know what he would have said to Steven if the game machines or the animatronics had broken.

But he trusted in his girlfriend, she was his blessing and his everything. An encounter at his last job they had both bumped into each other while watering the plants in one of the flower stores and had both had to squeeze into the staff room in front of the dryer to get reasonably presentable.

And then she gave me her jacket... she wanted me to keep it, he thought, looking at the jacket on the passenger seat. It was an encounter that led to a committed relationship. She had the way to his heart and he to hers.

He had his own family for the first time...sort of. The thought was still strange, but when he parked the car in front of the house and saw the light still on in the living room, he knew she was still alive.

She was waiting for him, his sweetie. Entering as quietly as possible, he found himself in the small living room and dining room. Two in one, clearly saving space the last thing they had.

But even though he sometimes felt ashamed of his house, his favorite was there to find him and reassure him that it was all right. ,,Good morning-oh my goodness darling, what's happened?" he heard his partner say excitedly and worriedly as she got up from the chair.

She had seen the blood seeping through his sweater and he was grateful that the TV was still on to drown out any conversation, the last thing he wanted was for Abby to wake up and get scared.

,,Nothing I mean I got stuck and fell...I'm fine" he tried to shrug it off already trying to push past her he could feel his fear of her rejection, his pain, his thoughts of her leaving him. It was bad, the whole day was a tragedy.

But before he could crawl into the bathroom, he felt her hand on his shoulder. She looked at him with a gentle look,

,,Mike, hey, what's going on? I-I know this isn't easy, Mike, but I'm okay? Let me help you," she said as she saw him avoid her gaze, afraid of what was to come, before she slowly pulled him towards the bedroom. She saw how he seemed to be praying inside that Abby wouldn't wake up.

Luckily for her, as far as she could see it was not a complete deep cut, so he must have escaped to avoid a deep cut. ,,This is going to hurt a little...tell me what happened if you want" she began and opened the suitcase, seeing him turn his gaze from the ground back up to her.

Saw that tears were still in his eyes but also deep gratitude for their love, their relationship together and everything. ,,I-I fell asleep... well nothing special... but then I don't know my brother he-" he interrupted himself to let out a pained groan as she disinfected the wound he held onto her lightly and the blanket probably suppressed a painful cry.

,,Shh it's okay take it easy it's over you're here you see" she said and gave him a soft kiss on the stinr knew he liked it he wanted such a kiss every morning he almost begged for it and they both started laughing just for a kiss but she gave it to him.

Just like he always gave her a double kiss on her cheek. It was a little ritual of love but now they seemed to need each other even more. He was always there for her when she came home for the short time of sharing they both enjoyed, he brought her food with Abby when she forgot hers like al to fot or she brought him pictures and coffee with Abby.

It was all so fitting until those dark moments of reality. She heard his whimpering a mix of his joy and pain as she took care of his wound again after the reassuring kiss.

It looked better after a few minutes, the cut would heal with further treatment and she closed the bandage around his arm before putting the materials away and coming back to him. ,,Thank you, I know, I know I'm not with me today, the dreams, the job, everything is difficult," he began, turning to her and taking her hand in his, the trembling seeming to ease as he touched her. It always reassured him when they were together again.

He slowly fell backwards onto the bed, pulling her with him, the sound penetrating the silence before she cuddled up to him, resting her head on his chest, his heartbeat calm and almost slow. The fright and pain still made it beat a little fast but not so alarmingly that he had a panic attack. However, there was no longer any reason for him to be safe and with his family for now.

He put his hand on hers and drew small circles again, ,,I know it's difficult Mike...but believe me I'll stay with you I won't leave you and do you want my honest opinion?" she asked looking at him and saw that he had closed his eyes probably happy about the calm after the storm. ,,Please," he mumbled, just letting her go, even though she knew he always wanted to hear the truth anyway.

They would make it, but they both knew inside that it wasn't possible here. ,,Let's get out of here, make another ship and me too and then just get away from all this," she said the words they both hadn't dared to say knowing what it meant. She saw him open his eyes again from the poster on his ceiling that he was holding on to and look at her.

She saw uncertainty and fear flash inside him again, his eyes reflecting the fear. ,,Away? Where to? We don't have a home, there's nothing left except my money-losing aunt," he countered, knowing that his aunt was the biggest and only problem in all of this.

His aunt didn't like her either, but that was mutual. None of them liked her. ,,I don't know, I mean we've been saving up a bit to go to another state or get out of here altogether," she went on, but continued to hold on to him, making it clear to him that no matter what he said, she wouldn't leave him. Silence fell between them and she feared he would pull away from the room.

But instead he gave her a kiss on the head. ,,A month...a month to work as much as we can and you can look for a new place together," he said, she seemed to be watching him think about where they could go, how they could build a new life and whether Abby would even go along with it.

,,I love you Mike no matter what we end up doing," she told him, hearing his ,,I love you even more" words back before she felt him kiss her and pull her a little closer. The pain of the wound, his dream and trauma over for now. Whatever they would both have in the end, they would stay together.

~~~~~~~~~

[serhum]

[Part 1] Birthday Game - Reader x Shohei Ohtani x Yuki Ishikawa AU - NSFW

Disclaimer: This is a 18+ writing so if you’re not comfortable reading this, please skip it! There will be a lot of smut & mentions of sex in this work so beware. ;)

🖤🖤🖤🖤

I have been living with my partner, Yuki Ishikawa, for almost 2 years. His apartment in Milan is close to his volleyball training centre and here I am, working in the heart of Italy as a fashion PR. Today is our day off and we decided to stay indoor and spend quality time together.

“Babe, are we expecting a guest today?” ask me while he is doing the dishes and reorganizing the tablecloth. 

“Actually yes. Do you remember Shohei? He will be coming tonight. He took a vacation in Italy for several days.” my eyes went into shock. Did he mean Shohei Ohtani? 

“Shohei from the Angels?” ask me one more time. 😳

“Yes. Your idol.” he replied with a small chuckle. 

“Well, I thought he is in recovery mode as he recently underwent a surgery. Anyway, do you think we should prepare food or something?” 

“I think wine and pasta is enough.” I nodded in agreement.

“Sure. Let’s go to the grocery then. It’s 4pm already and I don’t want him to be disappointed when he sees nothing on our table.” I reply and hurriedly go to our bedroom to change.

“You are okay with him coming tonight, right?” Yuki suddenly pops out behind me with his arms lingering my waist. I turn my head to see him and smile.

“It’s fine. We can have quality time everyday but welcoming him in person is such a rare one.” He smiles after hearing my thought. I feel his lips on my temple and I hug him.

“Tomorrow is your special day and I have present ready for you.” Yuki told me.

“Oh what is it? I can’t wait to see it!”

“You’ll see. Soon.” He smirks. 

— 

“Ding dong ding dong” I stopped my hand from scrolling the tv channel when I heard the bell rang. It must be Shohei! 

I look around and realized that Yuki is still in the bathroom so I get up and walk to the door. I don’t know why my heart is beating fast knowing that Shohei is right in front of our apartment. I’ve met him so many times before but it feels different each time. I am indeed his fangirl! 

“Hi! How are you?” I said as I open the door and see him smile with a bottle of wine.

“Hi y/n! Long time no see. How are you? I’m great.” He leans closer and hugs me for a second.

“Likewise. You look great in that polo shirt! Come in!” I complimented and his smile turns bigger. 

“Thanks. I brought you and Yuki a wine from Cali. It’s really tasty to be paired with cheese.” He follows me to the dining area and puts the wine bottle on the table.

“You don’t have to. Thank you, Shohei. Umm Yuki is in the bathroom and please make yourself at home.” I said and sit down on the sofa with him following beside me. He then places his bag near the sofa.

“How’s life so far? I saw the news that you undergone a surgery. Are you okay?” I open the conversation when I noticed that his elbow is still covered with bandage.

“Well it happens you know. I’m totally fine now. How about you-“ 

“Shohei Ohtani!! My brother! How are you man?” Before he finished his sentence, Yuki came up and patted his shoulder. Shohei immediately stood up and gave Yuki a brotherly hug. 

“Great! You look bigger now hahaha” Shohei jokes to Yuki. 

“Yeah I’ve been lifting a lot these days. But look at you! Bulkier than ever.“ And the convo continues around their life. It’s so warm seeing their interactions and how they become close to each other because of their profession as athletes, representing their country in the global stage. They had so many things alike.

While they are on it, I started to prepare the dinner. The time is 8.00pm already. 

“Yuki, can you help me open the wine that Shohei gave us?” He stopped talking for a sec and walked across the room. “Thanks” I smiled when he opened the wine and poured it to our glasses. “You guys are so cute.” I added and he just smile coyly and returned to Shohei. 

“Well the dinner’s ready guys! Let’s eat” I announce and take a sit first. Yuki and I made carbonara pasta and tiramisu.

“So how’s your relationship with Yuki, y/n? He doesn’t give you a hard time, right?” Shohei asked. He’s now sat across me while Yuki is beside me.

I chuckled and turned my head to Yuki. “Sometimes haha.. But I am so proud of him. He worked so hard and he deserves what he have now. I just don’t like it when he started to blame himself when his team lost.” I rub the back of Yuki’s head softly to showcase my affection. 

“Aww.. look at these two lovey dovey couple. I’m happy for you both.” Shohei added. His aura is so calm and cool, similar to Yuki but there’s something different.

“Thanks, babe. It’s hard not to blame myself though. You don’t have to expose me to Shohei like that” and with that, all of us are laughing. 

“The pasta is delicious. Did you make it yourself, y/n?” Shohei asks while chewing. I nodded, “Yuki helps me with the tiramisu as well. You should try it with the wine!” 

“I’m so happy you guys made the tiramisu. I’ve been wanting to taste it for a long time.” He added. 

“Her cooking skills is no joke, bro. I can gain weight easily but thanks to her, she always looks after my diet.” I can feel his hand and stare on mine. I love this guy!

“Can I make a toast for both of these gentlemen?” I asked and both Yuki and Shohei nodded. “You guys are hardworking, successful, and love sports a lot. Be it volleyball or baseball. I just want to say, keep going and make your country and fans proud. Cheers!” the sound of wine glasses clash each other can be heard with big smiles on their faces. 

After we finished dinner, we continue to chit chat in the balcony. “How long will you stay in Italy?” asked me. “It’s short. I’m here for 5 days. I want Yuki to show me around, of course when he’s not working.” Shohei pokes Yuki’s belly in a friendly manner. “I can do that! Let’s take time off together.” Yuki replied him.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Shohei excuses himself to the bathroom. 

“Babe, are you happy Shohei is here?” Yuki take a seat next to me and holds me in his arms. He is so close that I can feel his breath on my neck. 

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my eyebrows. 

“I am thinking that maybe we can try something new for your birthday. Not tomorrow but tonight.” my head tilts towards him. I don’t know what he’s talking about at all.

“I don’t get it, Yuki. Talk clearly please.” 

“I know for a fact that Shohei is your biggest idol. I want you to feel intimate with him.” I shiver after listening to what he just say. “Why don’t we have a threesome?” My mouth went wide. I am shocked to hear him saying that thing.

“What? Are you kidding me?” He shakes his head. “I don’t think of him in that way, Yuki. I can only be intimate with you, my boyfriend. Don’t you feel jealous by saying that?” I pull my body from him. Standing up and staring at him. A bit irritated.

“Of course I am jealous. But, tomorrow is your birthday. I want you to have pleasure you haven’t had experienced before. We can have sex anytime but imagine having it with your specific idol too? Won’t you be on the cloud nine?” He stood up and came closer to me. As if he want to convince me, I see seriousness in his eyes instead of jealousy. My heart went racing right now. Did Yuki just give permission to me to have sex with Shohei? His best friend?

I take his hand and place it on my chest. “Do you feel it? I feel really nervous with your statement. What would Shohei think about it?” I am blushing so hard right now. Yuki started to grin and whisper to me. “I already told him and he agreed.” He hugs me. “Don’t be afraid. I am here with you.” 

Is this the present that Yuki mentioned to me earlier? And Shohei agreed to do this already? Yuki is so unpredictable! How dare  you! I felt dumbfounded now.. 

“If you say so,” I paused for a moment. “But I am shy.” 

“Don’t be. You will take the lead and we are all yours.” he winked. “You dirty boy.” I added and punch him jokingly. 

How should I act now that I know Shohei is here to have threesome with me and Yuki? I am totally embarrassed. I don’t know what to do. I get more surprised when Shohei walked towards the balcony with no shirt. W-wait… is this starting already? 🥵

“Shall we have fun now?” Shohei lends his right hand to me as if he wants to reach me. I tilt my head to Yuki and he nods. “Are you okay with this, Shohei?” ask me. I don’t want things go awkward after this if he doesn’t want to then I shall not start the fire. 

“Anything for the birthday girl.” he smirks and reaches my hand without hesitation. 

His footsteps are fast, just like Yuki’s, and I follow him. He makes me sit down on the sofa. This time he is facing me and holding my hands gently. I can see clearly his toned body. He is slightly bigger and chiseled than Yuki. His skin tone is warmer than Yuki. Wait.. I shouldn’t compare him to Yuki.. 

“Babe, don’t be shy.” I felt Yuki’s arms suddenly around my body. He hugged me from behind. I feel like he tries to encourage me to make the first move. 

“Alright. We can play this game unless both of you follow my rules.” I bravely said. “One, you can do whatever you want with me tonight. Two, you can be rough but make it gentle. Last, you guys have way higher stamina than me and I might unable to keep up, so give me chance to breath. Ok?” saying that feels unreal and I feel like explaining to two school boys. 

“Of course. I ain’t gonna hurt you.” Shohei replied me with smile. I can feel Yuki nods on the crook of my neck. “So, what do you like the most during sex?” Shohei’s hand started to trace my knees in circle. Oh god, I’m not your strongest soldier tonight. “I like dirty talk. What about you?” 

“I like women on top of me.” he said with eyes staring into my soul. I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE WHY IS HE SO BRAZEN. “Ugh.. okay.” was the only word that came out of my lips.

“Yuki, do you want to watch us first before you join?” Shohei asked him and I felt Yuki’s arms are no longer holding me and he pulled himself. “Yeah, you guys can warm up the game. I will follow.”

Right after he said that, Shohei took my body and lifted me without a warning. We have no space left between us. I can feel his hot breath on my face. God, why did I wear short dress in the first place, my legs hug his waist and my skin was revealed too much in this position. I feel his right hand on my ass, trying to keep me in this position. Hence, my hands are holding his shoulders tightly. 

“Where are you taking me?” I gasped when he brings me closer to the kitchen. He put me down on the island, “Have you tried doing it in the kitchen with Yuki?” I nervously shake my head. He smirks and leans closer to my ear, “Let me show you how good it is without your boyfriend touch.” I AM DONE. He made sure Yuki doesn’t hear that as he lower down his voice. I shudder hearing his husky voice. 

He started to kiss me passionately while his hands are grabbing my neck softly. I kissed him back and moved my hands on his chest, roaming his chiseled body. His body is built different. I can feel it. “Ahh” I react when his tongue tried to play with mine. He is getting deeper in my mouth and he tastes so sweet. 

His hands are now exploring my body here and there. “Shohei” I called his name when he starts to caressing my covered breasts. “Do you want me to stop?” I shake my head. “Keep going.” I mumble in his kiss. 

That sentence triggers him to undress me. He unclasp my bra and pull my dress together with it so easily. He throws them on the floor, leaving me naked with my panties. Why do I feel so shy? I try to cover my body with my arms only to make him say, “Don’t cover it. You are beautiful and I can’t wait to feel you.” his voice was so low but really calming me.

“It’s my first time getting naked with other man. I’m too shy to stare at you now..” then he chuckles lightly. “You’re so sexy.” Then he kissed my neck and traced down to my shoulder and boobs with his lips. Leaving some saliva traces on me and I’m getting shiver all over my body. After removing my hands, he licked and sucked my nipple so hard that I feel stimulated down there. I play with his hair while feeling so good with what he did to my body. “Ohh yes” I finally let that moan out. Did Yuki hear it too? 

I turned my head back to see where’s Yuki at. He’s standing in the corner watching us. His face seems quite red and he smirks when our eyes met. I can’t comprehend whether he’s mad or enjoying the view. 

Shohei’s fingers are now trying to pull down my panties while he nibbles my ear. The cold surface of the island gives a tingling sensation to my body. “Are you wet for me already, princess?” More dirty talks coming out of his little mouth. I felt his fingers in between my clothed pussy. I put my hand on his finger down there, trying to pause him. I didn’t realized I was that wet when I touch the fabric of my panties. “Be gentle.” I told him when our eyes met. He nodded and get down on his knees.

He pulled my panties, spread my legs and I saw his amused face when seeing my pussy. He blow some air before I feel his lips kissing me there. “Ohh sweet Jesus!” I scream when he gets to the right spot with his playful tongue. My body automatically jerks on his face. I feel the pleasure hits me.

His technique is different to Yuki’s, he keeps unfold and folding my vaginal lips and he shows how passionate he is by caressing my inner thighs while doing his magic. “Faster please..” I beg and I feel him smiles. He gets faster and I lay down on my back, feeling the cold surface, and biting my lips out of pleasure. “Uh-huh, I feel it coming.” I close my legs created more pressure from his mouth. He then caressed my clit real fast and I was sent to heaven.

When I opened my eyes, I saw him standing and lick his fingers. “It’s unfair how you’re still in your pants, Sho” I cry while punching his area in a teasing manner. It feels as if my order is his command.

He started to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. I’m lying if I act unsurprised with how huge his  boner is.  He reached my hand and pulled me until I sit on the edge. He removed his brief and then located my hand on his bulge. Seeing his puppy eyes, I rub it slowly while staring at him. He whimpered every time my hand reaches the tip. “Is it enough, Sho?” I innocently ask him on the pace. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. I take it as a yes.

I think it’s time for me to take actions after what he done to me. I keep doing the handjob while I trail kisses on his upper body. “Faster” he said. Not long after, he hugged me and put his lips on my ear, “You are amazing”. I can feel his broad shoulders on mine and his heart beats quickly. This feels different to hugging Yuki. 

“Hold me tight. I like it.” I whisper back to him while holding his strong biceps. “Do you like it when I touch you there?” he whispered back. I nod and see him smile. His little eyes are very attractive when he smiles. “Yuki, any ideas what position should we all try?” Shohei speaks up while still hugging me. I was smiling like crazy underneath his body when hearing that. He’s so blunt and careless. I heard Yuki laughs. 

“Come here and bring me my girlfriend.” Yuki replied with his hand signaling us to follow him. All of us chuckles together. “Did you enjoy watching us?” I asked him but he doesn’t respond and walked away to the bedroom.

Shohei didn’t let go of me and he carries me bridal style towards the bedroom. “Your eyes are beautiful, Sho. Are they brown?” I asked him before we reach the bedroom. “Yeah. You like what you see from that angle?” he teases me with his fingers caressing my cheek and I can’t help but smile. He is such a warm and lovable person. This is the only time I can compliment and touch him without Yuki being mad. 

🖤🖤🖤🖤

To be continued

[fablesrose]

Ch 10 - The Two Live Crew Job

Series Rewrite Masterlist 

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Ford!Reader

Description: Stealing a family painting back for the client becomes more complicated when a competing crew comes to town.

Words: 3273

A/n: I wanted to get this out earlier, but here it is. I hope you like it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was supposed to be a simple job. Stealing a stolen painting, giving it back to the rightful owners. But no, not only did someone beat us to the punch, but delivered a bomb to Sophie’s apartment. Now I stood here next to Nate at Sophie’s funeral. Though she was being buried under a different name. After Eliot, Parker, and Hardison all spoke, Nate went and closed the casket, giving it a soft pat as the pallbearers took it away towards the grave. 

I watched the curtain under the table where the casket sat, to see if it ruffled. It did as Sophie looked out quickly, gave me a wink and snuck out the other side where no one would see her. 

Faking someone’s death was surprisingly fun, especially when trying to find her potential killer. The four of us left, leaving Nate (and Sophie in a disguise) to keep scanning the mourners to see if one of them had any potential red flags of being her supposed killer. Only one man fit the bill. 

Sophie started the slides once we got back to Nate’s apartment, “Marcus Starke, brilliant grifter, even better forger.”

We all gathered around the living room to hear Sophie explain who this guy was. Parker sat next to Sophie, staring at her curiously.

“It’s like you’re haunting us.”

“Parker, I’m not really dead,” Sophie said. Parker poked her testingly. “I’m not dead!”

Parker replied with an unconvinced ‘okay’ before leaving her alone. 

“We used to work together,” Sophie continued about this Starke fella. “We did the Copenhagen job of ‘97, the Berlin Polytech job of ‘98, and, Nate,” she turned to him specifically, “remember that great run in Moscow?”

“‘That great run?’” he repeated, “I chased ya for three months.”

“Well, technically, you chased us,” she replied, “sorry.”

“Are you saying that you saw other teams before us?” Hardison asked.

“Really just another Nate, before Nate,” Parker rebutted. 

“Let me ask you a question,” Eliot said to Nate, “what bugs you more, is it the fact that he was with Sophie first or that he outsmarted ya?”

There were a few beats of uncomfortable silence before Nate expressionlessly said, “Moving on,” in a gravelly voice that showed he was very much bothered. 

“Ouch,” I whispered, of which Eliot replied with a smug huff. 

“Um, Starke doesn’t keep a permanent crew” Sophie continued, “He specializes in whiz mobs. He puts a team together, they slam into town on one high-profile job, and then they scatter. But usually they do one sm-” she paused as recognition spread across her face, “they do one smaller job first just to work out the kinks in the team.”

“Like our client’s painting, for example?” Nate asked. 

“Wrong place, wrong time,” Sophie said, mostly to herself, “Starke must have seen me, and now that I’m one of the good guys, and decided to get rid of me because… why?” She continued to think out loud, “because… I know his scams. Because… I know his favorite scam: the Mona Lisa variant.”

“Ooo!” Parker clapped a couple of times, “that was the first one I learned! In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen, and the conman who did it made six identical copies.”

“And then they put it on the black market, and each buyer thought that they had the original,” Nate finished. 

“So the dude sold the same painting six times,” Hardison said. 

“Seven,” I corrected, “depending on what he did with the original… the six copies plus the original, right?”

Nate nodded at me in agreement, but a bit distractedly. I glanced at Hardison to see he was agreeing, but a little embarrassed. 

“Not that that particular detail matters right now,” I added, motioning for them to continue.

“Hardison, pull up all the auctions in Boston in the next two days,” Sophie instructed, tossing him the remote. “Starke never stays in a city more than two days,” she explained. 

“Wait a minute, not museums?” Eliot asked. 

“No, no,” Nate answered, “Starke likes to use auctions to figure out who wants the painting. He picks who he’s gonna sell the fakes to.”

“That bit was actually my part of the scam,” Sophie said. “I made that up, it’s good isn’t it?”

“That’s still a lot of paintings,” Eliot said. 

“Yeah, it’s high profile,” Nate agreed. “A scam like this requires a lot of publicity, paintings ten million dollars or more.” 

“He does all his own forgeries,” Sophie said, “post impressionists, late 1800s.”

The screen showed all of the paintings available at auctions in the allotted time frame and slowly disappeared as they were eliminated on the given criteria just given by Nate and Sophie until there was only a couple left. 

“There,” Sophie pointed at one in particular, “That’s it. Van Gogh. He has a soft spot for Van Gogh.” 

The painting was a street scene, focussing on what seemed to be a restaurant or cafe with outdoor seating. I could tell that it was Van Gogh from the painting style once Sophie mentioned it. It was a quiet scene, peaceful, but the bright colors gave it life and energy. I could see the appeal to it. 

“So we just– we call the cops,” Hardison concluded. 

“Why is that the first thing you thought of, considering what we do,” I asked. I then said to myself, “I thought I was becoming part of the team, because that was not my first thought.”

“No,” Sophie said to Hardison, backing me up a bit. “If Starke goes down for this, there’s no guarantee we can get that painting back for the Mercers. He even smells the police, he’s gonna run, and we’ll get nowhere near it.”

“He did try to kill you, Sophie,” Nate reminded her. 

“We risk our lives all the time,” Sophie said quietly. “No,” She continued more resolutely, “We need to barter. We need something to trade for the Mercers’ painting.”

“Such as?” Hardison asked. 

Sophie looked back at the screen that showed the Van Gogh painting, “That. That’s what he’s come for. That’s what he wants.”

Nate turned to us, “We just gotta get there first.”

I turned to the rest of the team, “I feel a bit over my head on this one.”

Parker turned to me with a puzzled look, “What do you mean? You help us steal things all the time now. This is no different.”

“This is totally different, I mean, we’ve had time crunches before but this is a race. Against other professionals. I have learned a bit here and there, but not enough to be an asset against professionals,” I emphasized.

Nate shook his head, “Nah, you’ll be fine. We’ll find something for you to do. Come on, let’s go.” He walked away and everyone started to file out after him. I sat there watching them for a moment before following with a shake of my head. This will be interesting. 

There were people milling about the high end auction place, looking at the paintings on display. It was a relatively relaxed atmosphere, with servers handing out flutes of what seemed to be white wine, but I didn’t know enough about alcohol to pay much attention and I declined when one was offered to me. I wanted to stay particularly sharp in case we ran into trouble. 

We all had our assigned roles, with me acting more like a floater. Nate was obviously doing his point thing, making sure everyone was on task and being the brains of the operation, Parker acting like a server to swipe security credentials from the auction house manager, Hardison on computers and cams, with Eliot and I doing other general recon. Sophie was stuck in the van with Hardison, at least she felt like she was stuck. We had to keep her behind the curtain so to speak with her supposed to be dead and all. 

Eliot leisurely sipped on a glass next to me, surveying the room. With his hair pulled back with a beanie and his glasses, he looked comfortable. I could tell he was on alert, his eyes always peeled, but confident. I couldn’t help but admire him out of the corner of my eye until Hardison gave a direction.

“Eliot, check out the back corridor. I think I see an access point.”

Eliot looked at me and nodded his head in that direction, silently asking if I would come along. I nodded and followed him. It wasn’t long before there was some static in the comms with a voice I didn’t recognize coming through. Hardison argued with the voice, talking about baby monitor frequency and hacker whatnot. 

“Hardison, what is going on?” I asked, still following Eliot.

The voice responded before Hardison, “Ooooh, now who is the owner of that delectable voice?”

The voice was so… greasy that I reflexively gagged, silently, luckily.

Still, Eliot caught my response and growled into comms, “Who are you?”

“Nuh uh, we are stopping that right there,” Hardison answered. “Switching to backup comm frequencies. Eliot, they’re here, they’re here!”

“What are you talking about?” He asked as we turned a corner. At the end of the hall, an absolutely bombshell of a beautiful woman suddenly stopped as we spotted each other. She had a hand to her ear which she was talking to, which clued me in that she was part of the other crew. Eliot saw it too and quickly but gently pushed me back behind the corner as he analyzed the threat. I was in a position where I was relatively out of sight, but could watch both parties. 

I simultaneously listened on comms to Nate trying to figure out what was going on when Starke approached, striking up conversation, clearly already knowing who he was. I listened as it seemed the crew members paired off with their rival counterparts, battling it out in their respective fields. At least, I assumed that was what was happening in front of me as Eliot and this chick shifted between different combat stances. When each of them changed their form, the other seemed to flinch, leading to the conclusion that this was a more psychological battle. 

There was a look in Eliot’s eyes that I wasn’t sure I liked, particularly looking at this unfamiliar woman. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, and I didn’t want to explore the feeling any longer, so I turned away from them to go search for that access point Hardison mentioned. I thought I found it when I heard the manager ask everyone to leave. I worked my way back to where I left Eliot to find that Nate beat me there to grab him.

“Done giving her bedroom eyes?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and teasing, but I was sure there was a different undertone present.

The laugh he had on the tip of his tongue from the interaction (or lack thereof) seemed to fall, and he gave me a light scoff and eyeroll, “Whatever, y/n.”

I raised my hands defensively as we exited the auction house, “Just calling it as I see it.” I walked ahead of him, passing Nate to load into the van, claiming the passenger seat for myself on the ride back. 

Coming back to Nate’s apartment to debrief a bit, Nate had a new fire and determination about him. It seemed like Starke pissed him off a bit.We reviewed the other members of the team with Parker and Hardison mirroring Nate’s annoyance for their own rivals. Parker was up against a thief named Apollo and Hardison against a hacker who goes by Chaos. 

“Was that who I was hearing on comms? He sounded greasy, gross,” I commented.

Hardison laughed once, “Well he is, and unfortunately very much knows what he’s doing.”

 Eliot, on the other hand, seemed to admire the girl, Mikel, and her reputation. She sounded very skilled and very scary. 

Once the opposing team members were established in the debrief, Nate was scrambling through papers and information. Trying to retain as much as possible. 

Eliot turned towards Sophie, “How’s this gonna play out?”

“He’s been challenged, okay?” She answered. “His pride is hurt. His… his ego’s at stake. He’s gonna… he’s gonna come up with a bigger, riskier plan than…”

“You talkin’ about Nate?” Eliot asked.

“Nate, yeah,” Sophie agreed, though a little distractedly. 

Eliot looked towards me and I hesitantly nodded in agreement as well. I didn’t know this side of Nate as well as Sophie, but the more I watched as Nate became more frustrated, she was right. I knew Nate was competitive, he’s been like that as long as I could remember, but in this environment, with the constant undertone of at least a little bit of danger, it seems to be on a whole new level. 

“There’s no way. There’s no way this crew is gonna get to that painting before we do. No way,” Nate repeated, determined. 

“We’re not giving up on our only hope of helping the Mercers,” Sophie added. “They’ve waited their entire lives for justice and we are not gonna fail them now.”

“Yeah, yeah. That. sure. Yeah,” Nate haphazardly agreed. “But I mean, who does this guy think he is?”

I looked at the team cautiously, and it looked like we were all on edge. This might be becoming personal.

“We know their MO, their strengths, their weaknesses,” Nate continued. 

“No, no, no,” Hardison interjected. “I have noticed a distinct lack of weaknesses.”

“We know their target,” Nate reassured, “even better, we know their timeline. That painting is going up for auction tomorrow, and it gets sold, it walks out that door. That means they have to hit it tonight. We gotta go in hot. In and out before they even…”

“Tripled security since today,” Eliot reminded him. 

“We barely had time to check out the cameras, the motion sensors,” Parker added. 

“Whatever happens, one way or another, we are walking out of that auction house tonight with that painting,” Nate finished, “No matter what.”

There was a beat of silence, tension clearly hanging in the air. 

“You got it?” He asked.

We all nodded and voiced the affirmative. 

“Now, let’s go steal ourselves a masterpiece.”

 Before I knew it, it was go time. I graciously took a minor role with how technical this plan was, leaving Hardison, Parker, and Eliot to their specific niche. Nate was the main distraction to have Eliot and Parker sneak in, but I was there hanging in the background in case more attention needed to be drawn. 

It didn’t take long for Parker and Eliot to run into their rival counterparts and for Hardison to get in a hacking battle with Chaos, stealing security capabilities from each other. Nate was holding the attention of the guards pretty well, but he started to lose them after the motion sensors went off. I was about to step in when none other than Starke stepped up to aid in the distraction, posing as Nathan Ford, with the insurance company. 

That might have been as bold of a move as any. 

Starke led Nate away from the gates towards the park where I was hiding out. This was when we were put on our back foot. Parker was stuck with the lasers that Chaos turned on after he locked Hardison out of security. It sounded like Eliot was still fighting Mikel. 

“What do you want me to do, Nate?” I asked him through comms, staying hidden. I watched as he glanced at Starke and the time on his watch. 

“Come on out, I’m still thinking.”

I approached the pair and watched as Starke spotted me, a curious expression crossing his face. 

“Ahh, see,” Starke turned back to Nate, pointing at him, “we found information and learned about your whole crew,” he turned back to me, “with the exception of you.”

“Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” Nate replied, just as a police car pulled up to the auction house, lights and sirens blazing. 

“You all out of tricks, Nate?” Starke asked.

“Oh, I think he has one more,” Sophie called as she stepped out of the driver's seat of the police cruiser. 

“Sophie?” Starke asked, surprised. 

“Oooh!”

“You’re not-”

“Dead? Yes.” She stepped up beside Nate and I.

“You went through all this just to set me up?”

“Uh-uh. No. We went through all of this to save you,” Sophie corrected. 

“Now, Hardison,” Nate spoke smugly. 

I smiled as I heard Hardison get himself up and running again, activating the alarms as planned. Parker was acting as a police officer inside and ‘arresting’ the other thief and grabbing the painting; Eliot was ‘arresting’ Mikel. Hardison went in as a third officer to smooth things over with the guards. We as a group watched as they all walked out of the front door.

“This is saving me, how?” Starke asked. 

Nate nodded at me to go and help the others get everything sorted out. I still listened as Sophie and Nate explained how Chaos was going to double cross Starke and how he was the one who tried to kill Sophie. I flinched as Starke’s car exploded down the street, catching me off guard. 

“Easy, y/n,” Hardison teased, packing up the artwork.

“Explosions happen all the time, nothing to be afraid of,” Parker commented casually as she pushed Apollo into the back of the police car, even though it was unnecessary. 

I laughed, “Well Parker, I’m not used to it yet. Explosions don’t happen on the daily for most people.”

She had a puzzled look on her face, “Huh, weird.”

 It didn’t take long for it to come to the traditional celebration of a job well done. Both teams gathered at the pub for bonding and the exchange of paintings. Parker was racing Apollo in picking locks and Eliot was exchanging scar stories with Mikel. I tried not to linger my gaze on them from where I sat at the bar and moved onto Sophie and Nate. They had made Starke hand the Mercer’s painting back to the aging couple who were overjoyed at its return. Starke was only satisfied when he received his compensation in the form of the Van Gogh painting.

We all shared a knowing smile as he left the pub. We had snuck into their home base while they were gone and had stolen his forgeries of the painting. Nate had given Starke one of the fakes, sending the rest of the paintings, including the original, to the airport under Chaos’ name. That should be sufficient evidence to frame him for forgery and theft. 

I didn’t stick around the pub for very long. It, for some reason, felt a bit disingenuous to insert myself anywhere after playing the backburner in this job. No matter how wrong I knew that feeling to be, I couldn’t quite shake it. Hardison had joined the thief table with his laptop, but was mostly admiring Parker with her determination to beat Apollo. My heart warmed with his genuineness that I could read even from a distance. 

I caught Nate’s eye from his booth where he was sitting with Sophie and nodded my head towards the stairs to signal I was heading home. Once he returned a nod in understanding, I exited the pub. I put effort into not making eye contact with anyone else to reduce the chances of being stopped. All the same, I wondered if anyone else noticed I left, or if Eliot would tear his eyes away from Mikel to see me leave. 

I didn’t even want to know.

A/n: Reblogs and comments are welcome and encouraged! Thank you for reading!

Tags: @instantdinosaurtidalwave @kniselle @technikerin23 @kiwikitty133 @plasticbottleholder

[cardierreh15]

Post Human

hey y'all, this one has been sitting in my drafts/docs for a while now and ive edited and changed and had it beta'd read 85 fucking times lol so I hope it lives up to some of yalls standards and enjoy it.

***I do not give anyone permission to repost or copy my work!!!

Warnings 18+: Cursing , Sexual Situations , Gore , Blood , Clickers & Stalker .

Pairings: August Walker x Roslyn(Black!Female Oc)

Special Guests: Ellie (Sister/Best Friend) , Joel (Father Figure)

Description: It's quite the special day for our beloved Roslyn so August gots something planned for her.

Word Count: 5.8K

Song (in order): Snooze By SZA

III

October 21st

Roslyn was standing in line at the mess hall. For once, she was able to just stand there without a yawn or a stretch. It was then that someone came up behind her and tapped her on her shoulder. 

She whipped her head around to look at the individual. It was Ellie, with this goofy grin on her lips and a cupcake in her calloused hands. Then, it dawned on her. 

‘Happy Birthday loser!’ 

Roslyn chuckled and rolled her eyes as she reached out and gave her sister a hug. 

‘How many years have we known each other? You do this every year.’ 

She looked around to see if anyone had spotted them. And sure as the sunset in the west, the attention was on her.

‘Awww shit and you fight me on this every year. Just take the damn cupcake.’ Ellie practically shoved it in her hands.

Ros gave her an unapproved glare before chuckling, ‘You’re hard headed. That doesn’t seem to improve with each year but instead declines!’ She rolled her eyes and turned around in line, ‘Is this what you were up to this morning? Or were you sniffing under Dina’s skirt again?’

Ellie rolled her eyes and gave her shoulder a gentle nudge. ‘Yes, actually! Dina is just a friend. You’re jealous that she's taking up all our bonding time?’ she teased.

‘No. I don’t care.’

‘Oh, I know you don’t,’ Ellie leaned in and whispered. ‘You’ve been too busy mumbling about your own friend in your sleep.’

Roslyn’s eyes grew and she snapped her head over at Ellie. 

‘What? Don't be so surprised Ron, I've told you before you talk in your sleep!'  

She gave her a snarky smirk with a raised brow.

‘You’re such an ass,’ Roslyn chuckled and shook her head as the girls finally made it up to the counter to collect their breakfast.

Afterwards, they began to make their journey to their designated spot in the corner of the cafeteria. As soon as they sat down, Ellie didn’t hold back on the questions. 

‘So! What happened after patrol?!’ she teased as she sprinkled some salt over her eggs.

‘Well, if you must know, nothing happened! We talked and went our separate ways.' She took a sip of her coffee and began to unwrap her breakfast burrito. 

‘Really? That’s it?!’

‘That’s it,’ Roslyn repeated.

‘Hmmm. Well what do you think about him?'

Roslyn pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, 'Ellie, I barely know him. He and his brother just got here a few weeks ago!'

Ellie broke off a piece of her burrito and placed it on her tongue, 'Well you know enough to be dreamin' about 'em.'

'Jesus Christ would you stop?!' Roslyn gritted through her teeth as she balled up a napkin and threw it at her face.

Ellie laughed and held her hands up in defense and ducked her head.

She wasn't going to let that shit go. Ever

Suddenly, the girls could hear familiar laughter across the cafeteria. Roslyn looked over to see August and Tommy walking through the double doors. 

‘Aw shit. Speaking of the devil.’ 

Roslyn glanced over at Ellie who wore a smug look on her face. 

‘You’re so annoying.’

Meanwhile, her heart was palpitating in her chest.

‘I know.’ 

The men looked over at the girls. August's glare was a bit longer and more intense than Tommy’s as he jerked his head up in a greeting. 

Roslyn fought the grin that was threatening to curl on her lips. She had to hurry and look away before he caught it. She quickly looked down at her burrito to try to hide that smirk on her face.

‘Uh-oh! There it is!’ Ellie chuckled as she reached over and landed a few smacks on her arm. ‘You look so cute when you’re in love!’ she mocked.

Her head snapped up at her sister and threw the balled up napkin at her face. 

‘You talkin’ casanova?’

Ellie laughed and raised her hands in surrender, ‘Nope! Look Roslyn, it’s okay to have a crush on someone. Hell, you used to be infatuated with what’s his name!’ she snapped her fingers together as she thought.

‘You mean Chad?’ A snarl curled up on her lips before she took her first bite into her burrito.

‘Yeah! And now look at ya! Moved on to bigger… and better things! That bigger was just literal.’ 

Roslyn chuckled for a second before their names were called. 

‘Ros! Ellie!’ Tommy called out towards them.

‘Tommy!’ Ellie called out before Roslyn turned to look over her shoulder. 

Both of the men were walking towards them.

‘Sup Tommy!’ Roslyn smiled softly before she stood up to hug her uncle. 

‘Happy Birthday, kiddo!’ he said as he embraced her in a tight hug and kissed her head. 

‘Thanks,’ she grinned and looked over at August who stood next to Tommy. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey,’ he said with a small smile.

‘Aye, y’all mind if we joined y’all for breakfast this mornin’?’

A lump grew in Roslyn’s throat. ‘Hmm?’ was all she could hum out.

‘Of course!’ Ellie grinned cunningly. 

Roslyn snapped her head over at Ellie, ‘Th-they can?’ her eyes were pleading for her to give this shit up. 

‘Of course they can! It’s just breakfast, Roslyn,' she teased. 

Roslyn glared at Ellie with great loathe. 

A smile cracked up on her lips and she spoke through her teeth, ‘Sure… y’all can sit with us!’ 

***

Their morning consisted of hearty laughter and storytelling. 

Roslyn didn’t know why she was so adamant at first. But it felt good to share a good laugh with the people she loved. Even August. 

The four of them walked outside together, all in fits of giggles. Tommy then looked down at Roslyn. 

‘Come by the house later on! Me and Maria got sumn waitin’ on ya. Ellie, be safe on patrol today!’ he said, turning away.

‘I’ll be there!’ Roslyn smiled.

‘You got it, Tommy!’ Ellie added and then turned to look at Roslyn. ‘I gotta go. I’ll be back in a few hours.’

She balled up her fist for Roslyn to pound it.

‘Be safe. Love ya.’ She gave Ellie a pound on her fist and they leaned in to give one another a kiss on the cheek. 

‘See ya later, August!’ and with that, she headed off to the stables.

The pair stood there in silence for a moment before August decided to initiate the conversation, ‘I didn’t know your birthday was today. Sorry, I didn’t bring a gift for you.’

Roslyn looked ahead and smiled softly, ‘yeah. I really don’t like to celebrate it. It’s just another day for me.’

‘Well you should! There's like a one in a million chance of you being here so…’

‘Technically the statistic is one in 400 million…’

‘Yeah but as you can tell, humans are a limited edition nowadays,’ he chuckled. 

She giggled and nodded, ‘You’re right about that.’

‘Anyway though, you should celebrate it like it’s your last. Tomorrow is never promised y’know?’

Roslyn rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, ‘I’m starting to believe you and Ellie knew each other in a past life or something.’ 

They both shared a small chuckle before she spoke up again, ‘I’ll try to take that advice. No promises though.’ 

She turned away to walk but he instantly followed. 

‘At least you’d try. So, um… you have any plans today?’

‘Nope.’

‘Oh. Do they throw parties?’

‘Mmmm,’ she looked up in thought. ‘Sometimes. They do that for you guys back in Washington?’

August pressed his lips together as he shoved his hands in his pockets, ‘sometimes. More like a small gathering kind of thing.’ He smirked as he looked over at her. 

‘Oh. Cool,’ she gave him a friendly yet small grin this time before she walked up the steps to the library. 

Suddenly, a beeping captured August’s attention. He looked down at his watch. 9:30am. 

‘Damn,’ he cursed and looked up at Roslyn. ‘Hey, I gotta—‘ he threw his thumb back, ‘head back. Gotta go give Mikey his medicine.’ 

Roslyn turned around and gave him an understanding nod, ‘of course! No worries, go take care of your brother!’

August licked his lips, ‘Will I see you later?’ 

‘Why wouldn’t you?’ she asked, her head fallin’ to the side as a smile quirked up on her lips. 

A chuckle rumbled in August’s chest. ‘That’s what I like to hear.’ 

He shot her a wink and took a few steps back before spinning swiftly on his toes and walking back in the same direction they’d just come from. 

With heated cheeks, Roslyn just watched him for a moment before letting out a deep, shaky breath and walked into the library. 

***

Her day was as mundane and regular as she let it be. She did her best to keep herself busy. A few people wished her a happy birthday and thanked her for always being the best version of herself. But nothing out of the ordinary. 

Except that was far-fetched of course. It was 7:43pm now and she was walking up the few steps of Maria’s cabin. She knocked on the door. They barely gave it a second before the door swung open. 

‘Hey! Come in!’ Maria said with a cheeky grin curled up on her face. 

She found that rather odd. Maria was a gorgeous woman but smiling was a rare thing for her simply because she had been through a lot. 

‘Okay,’ Roslyn uttered as she walked through the threshold. 

She began to unbutton her coat but Maria raised her hand, ‘aht! Don’t take that off, we’re going to the pub afterwards. I just wanna give you something.’ 

Then Maria disappeared upstairs.

Letting out a deep breath through her nose, she bit the inside of her cheek and zipped her coat right back up, shoveing her hands in the pockets as she stared at the pictures of Maria and Tommy on the wall.

Sometimes, it seems like Maria and Tommy just dealt with one another. It looked like it wasn’t really love but, in those photos… They looked head over heels. 

Roslyn snapped her head over at Maria who came trotting down the steps with a small box wrapped in old newspaper in her hand. 

‘What’s this?’ Roslyn asked with her eyes narrowed. 

‘It’s a gift from Tommy. I just happened to give you my gift way too early,’ Maria giggled. 

Roslyn rolled her eyes and shook the box next to her ear. She heard a small jingle on the inside. 

‘What is it?’ 

‘Check it out,' Maria reassured as she walked over to the coat rack and threw on her own jacket. 

‘Hmm,’ Roslyn hummed and tore the old newspaper off. Just a plain black box.

‘Alright,’ she sighed, before popping open the lid of the box. 

On the inside of the box was a solid gold rope necklace. 

‘What?!’ Roslyn laughed as she snatched the gold out of the box. ‘Holy shit!’ she continued to laugh hysterically. 

‘A gold necklace?!’

Maria cackled as she zipped up her coat, ‘Yeah. Tommy told me a while ago about you wanting one. So, he and Joel damn near flipped the mall in the east upside down until they found you one. Almost got them killed but, I’m sure they’d do it again.’ 

Well, she definitely couldn’t give it back; especially now that she knew the bullshit that came with them getting it in the first place.

‘It’s beautiful. Could you put it on for me?’ 

‘Of course.’ 

The smile plastered on Roslyn’s face hadn’t faltered. 

She scooped up her long braids and held them up as Maria wrapped the chain around her neck and clipped it together.

‘There,’ Maria said as Roslyn turned around to face her. ‘It compliments you so well, Ros.’ 

‘For real?!’ 

‘Would I lie to you?’ she grinned. 

‘Valid,' Roslyn laughed.

‘C’mon, let’s go have a drink.’ 

***

On their short journey to the pub, Roslyn noticed the lack of people walking around outside. She looked down at her watch. It was only 8:06. So why the hell were the streets damn near empty? Something was fishy. 

Once they made it to the pub, the lights were off there too. Roslyn raised a brow in thought, ‘The pub? Closed this early?’ 

‘Yeah, Seth probably closed up early tonight. But, she pulled out a large ring of keys and jingled them. ‘They don’t call me the key holder for no reason!’ 

‘Whoa— we aren’t breaking in the pub are we?’ 

Maria laughed as she stuck the key in the door and twisted it, ‘Is it really breaking in if I have the key?’ 

She then pushed the door open and jerked her head forward. 

Letting out a breath, she nodded in agreement, ‘Yeah. That’s true.’ And with that, she walked in the dark space. 

Maria walked in behind her and flickered on the lights and everyone jumped out shouting, 

‘SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSLYN!’ 

Roslyn jumped as her mouth fell. It was safe to say that she was definitely surprised. Streamers hung from the ceiling with a Happy Birthday banner hanging against the back wall. 

She wanted to be so angry about this considering her thinking about birthdays only brought humans a year closer to death. But everyone she loved and adored was here with goofy triangular hats sitting on their heads. For once, everything felt alright with the world. 

She began to laugh hysterically and looked back at Maria, ‘Whose fucking idea was this?!’ 

Maria gave her a playful shrug as she strapped a pink party hat to her own head. 

‘It was mine!’ Roslyn looked back as August just emerged from the crowd and walked up to her. 

He would. 

‘Happy Birthday, Ros.’ 

I can’t lose. When I’m with you. How could I snooze and miss the moment, you’re just too important. Nobody do body like you do. 

She just looked up into his eyes, her heart raced inside her chest. She was so amazed with him, lost for words! 

‘Thank you,’ she grinned up at him. 

‘Alright, alright. Break this up!’ Joel called out, walking up and putting his arms between them and breaking them apart. 

The both of them laughed in slight embarrassment before Joel embraced his girl in his arms. 

‘Happy Birthday baby girl,’ he placed a kiss against her ear, ‘I’m proud of you.’ 

‘Thanks Joel,' she sniffed as she held on to him tightly, trying her best not to ugly cry. 

When the hug was broken, she carefully wiped the corner of her eyes as she laughed. 

‘Awww don’t cry, Roslyn,' Ellie smiled as she walked up to hug her.

‘Shut up! I’m not crying,’ Roslyn cackled. 

Ellie quickly embraced her in a tight hug. 

‘I love you, sis,’ Ellie said softly in her ear as they rocked in sync. ‘I’ve lost so much… so many. And I’m so glad… My journey has brought me to you, Ros. I love you forever.’ 

Roslyn squeezed Ellie tighter as she clamped her eyes shut, hiding her face in Ellie’s shoulder so no one would see the tear that finally fought its way out. 

This was all a very intimate and beautiful moment with Roslyn and her family. As a child she longed for something like this. And now, her biggest fear was losing them. They were her reason for existing. 

Once Roslyn pulled away, she dried her eyes and let out a deep shaky breath,

‘Okay! Enough of this shit! Let’s get this party started!’ 

The pub cheered happily and the music began to play. Roslyn turned to look up at August who had just put a party horn between his teeth. He paused before giving it a strong blow. Roslyn tried to keep her composure but she just laughed and playfully landed a soft punch on his chest. 

‘You’re. Such. An ass! You know I don’t do this kind of stuff!’ 

‘I don’t actually!’ he leaned in with his hands behind his back. 

‘You do! I told you I don’t like celebrating my birthday!’ 

‘You used to not like it. Since I’m gone be stickin’ around… you might get one of these every year. Now, here!’ He reached behind him and picked up a yellow party hat and carefully put it on her head. 

‘Enjoy your party, princess! It’s your day!’ 

I can’t lose. When I’m with you. How could I snooze and miss the moment, you’re just too important. Nobody do body like you do, you do. 

***

The party was now in full swing. It was almost like something out of a movie. People were dancing, drinking, laughing. It was almost like Mother Earth wasn’t choking them to death. 

Roslyn walked over to the bar where August was sitting and staring at her. 

‘You’ve spent the whole night staring at me.’

August chuckled, ‘Is that a bad thing?’ 

‘Nah. Just a little creepy,’ she said, reaching down to grab the elastic band beneath his chin, and snapped it.

‘Ow!’ he laughed as he covered his chin. ‘What was that for?!’ he stood up, towering over her.

‘No reason. So, you're gonna stop being a weirdo and come dance with me?’

‘Hmmm,’ August thought for a minute. ‘Actually, I got a better idea,’ he reached up and took off the party hat. ‘How about we ditch the party.’ 

Roslyn raised a brow, ‘Ditch the party? That you threw for me?’ She poked herself in her chest with her index finger. 

‘Yeah!’ He sounded so positive. 

‘And do what?’

‘That’s for me to know. C’mon! We’ll be back before it’s over.’ He then took her hat off of her head and stacked their hats together before he grabbed her hand. He grabbed their coats and they left the pub in a hurry.  

First they stopped by his house. She waited outside on his porch before he came back out. 

‘That was quick!’ 

‘Yeah. Mikey is up and moving around so he’s taking his own meds now.’

‘Oh well that’s good to hear! Wait, why didn’t he come to the party tonight?’ 

‘I tried to get him to come but he was complaining about the weather.’ 

Well, she could understand that. The only good thing about the cold was it stunted the movement in the herds. At least that’s what everyone thought. 

‘I get that. Anyway,’ she sighed out, ‘Where we goin’?’

August gave her a sinister smirk and leaned in, ‘just wait.’ 

He walked past her and towards the back of the compound. 

Her eyes grew in shock once she’d realized what he was doing. The cold air burned at her chest as she jogged up behind him. 

‘August! August!’ She ran in front of him and placed her hands on his wrists, ‘What the hell are you doing?!’ 

‘We… are sneaking out.’ 

‘And why the fuck would you wanna do that?! Do you not realize how deep in shit you’d— WE would be in if anyone found out?!’ 

August gave her a gentle smile and his head fell to the side. ‘Just come with me. I promise… if we do get in trouble… I’ll take all the blame,’ he lended out his hand. 

‘Good… because this is your idea!’ she stared up at him and then slapped her hand into his. ‘And don’t count on me to bail your ass out. I’ll just tell them you kidnapped me.’

August smiled as the pair walked over to the fence. He then peeled the fence back and let her crawl through, then he followed. 

‘This better be worth it,’ she said glaring at him. 

‘It will! Promise. C’mon,’ and he began to jog ahead. 

‘Ugh! August, wait!’ she called out in a whisper before she went after him. 

But just like her warm breath in the cool air, he disappeared in a flash. 

‘August?!’ she called out for him. 

But nothing! Just the sound of the wind rustling the dead twigs and branches on the trees. Roslyn shivered as she reached in her back pocket, pulled out her beanie and tugged it over her head. 

‘That’s better,’ she hummed softly. ‘Now to see where this fool has gone.’ 

Roslyn clicked on her mini flashlight that was velcro to her coat and searched for any clues to lead her where he was hiding. 

‘August!’ she walked forward until she came across a pair of fresh prints. 

‘Gotcha. Sneaky little shit. August I’m going to kick your ass for leaving me out here by myself! Actually, I think I may tell Joel! He won’t like that too much,’ Roslyn chuckled softly before the quietness around her began to settle in once more. 

It was eerie and the feeling of being left alone made her heart sink. She heard a twig snap nearby. She looked behind her to see where the noise had come from. 

‘August?’ She said softly. ‘August stop playin’! This shit isn’t funny!’ 

The silence rang in the air. Now she was scared. Suddenly, she was hit upside her head with a snowball. 

‘OW!’ She wiped her face, taking off her beanie to shake out the snow and her braids. 

August came from behind a tree cackling like a menacing child as he walked over to her.

‘That’s not funny! You’re such a dick!’ She gave him a playful shove as she did her best not to laugh too.

‘Awww, come on. It was a little funny. Plus, I noticed how scared you were… did you really think I’d leave you out here like this?’ 

Roslyn sighed, softly tugging back on her beanie. 

The answer was delayed and really, she knew that she was safe with August. But she didn’t just trust anybody. This life was all about surviving and throwing anybody in the way of the freight train just to keep yourself alive. 

‘I don’t know. Would you?’

August’s head fell to the side gently as a small smirk grew on his lips, ‘you never have to worry about me leavin’ you, Ros. I got you.’

Her face grew warm as a smile curled up on her full lips, ‘that’s good to know, August. So,” she let out a gentle breath, ‘Where we goin’?’ 

‘Oh yeah! Come on, it’s not far,’ he jerked his head over and swiftly turned around to walk away. 

‘Mmhmm,’ Roslyn hummed playfully as she squatted down and scooped some snow in her hands and patted it into a round ball. 

Then, she allowed him to walk ahead before she threw it and hit him in the middle of his back. August stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. 

Roslyn stood there with a sinister grin curled on her lips.

August turned around to face her head on, ‘you really wanna do this with me right now? You’re not gonna win this.’ 

Roslyn laughed out and shook her head, ‘right now is as good as any. Look, it’s cold and I’m already ready to get back to the compound. So if I win… we’re going back home. If you win… we can keep going and we’ll both take the blame for our absence at the party tomorrow.’ 

He folded his arms across his chest and thought for a moment, ‘alright. Cool… first person to 10, wins.’ 

‘You’re on!’ she said as she walked up to him and they pounded fists. 

Once she made it back to her side, August launched a snowball and hit her in the shoulder. Roslyn swiftly turned around with a surprise and was hit in the face with another. 

‘Oh–!’ August called out as he covered his mouth and began to laugh.

‘YOU CHEATER!’ Roslyn growled out before snatching up some snow in her palms and running behind a tree. There, she began to form a ball that was stable enough to throw. 

August ran behind a tree and began to form a few balls of snow and stack them, ‘NOT A CHEATER! JUST AN OPPORTUNIST!’ 

‘A CHEATER!’ Roslyn laughed as she peeked around the tree to find him. Once she knew she wasn’t going to get him at this angle, she carefully moved forward to another tree. But not without him throwing another snowball. Thankfully, he missed. 

‘YOU'RE LUCKY! THAT WOULD’VE BEEN 3!’ 

‘IT WOULD’VE BEEN YOUR FIRST ONE PUMPKIN EATER!’ Roslyn called out.

August laughed out as he scooped up his artillery and moved in position to flank her. Stepping from behind her cover, she started to throw the balls at the last place she’d seen him. But little did she know, he was standing right behind her. 

Roslyn began to craft up more balls in a hurry, a goofy and giddy grin burning at her cold cheeks. 

Taking gentle steps, August moved like a thief in the night! He peaked over gently to see the amount of balls she’d created. Too bad she won’t be able to use them. 

He pressed his lips together before letting out a sharp whistle. 

Roslyn stopped her project once she realized she was bested. Closing her eyes, she lifted her hands, ‘OK! You got me!’ 

She laughed.

‘Stand up.’ August commands. 

She stood up slowly and let out a shuddered breath. 

‘Turn around.’ 

Roslyn slowly turned around and kept her hands up with this smug expression on her face. Her eyes caught a glimpse at the 5 balls that sat in his arm.

‘Hmph.’ August smirked, proudly.

‘Shit.’ 

‘Yup!’ 

‘It’s like that?’

‘Just like that.’ 

She shook her head before she looked behind him and a sunken look cursed her face. 

‘August….’ she whispered as she pointed behind him. 

He didn’t even think, the look on her face frightened him and he immediately looked behind him and dropped his snowballs to the ground. But nothing was there. 

‘Wha— there’s nothing—‘ 

When he looked back ahead, she had already darted towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist with her head resting on his abdomen. 

‘Ugh!’ He grunted as their bodies collided and he fell backwards.

Straddling his lap in a fast manner, she placed her hands on his chest as she breathed heavily. The both of them began to laugh playfully. 

‘Do you surrender?’ she asked.

‘I’m sorry but this wasn’t part of the rules.’

‘It doesn’t matter! You let your guard down.’ 

August laughed and shook his head before he lifted his knee up and rolled them over in a quick movement. Then, he snatched up her wrists and pinned them above her head. 

Roslyn squeaked in surprise at his sudden movement. 

August huffed heavily as he fought the brisk air that burned at his throat and chest, ‘I never let my guard down.’ 

She let out a shuddered breath as she looked up into his cobalt blue eyes. Taking in the icy-ness of them but finding warmth in that blotch of hazel in his eye. 

In the drop top riding round with you, I feel like Scarface. Like the white bitch with the bob, you’d be my main one. 

The air between them grew thick with tension. August’s tongue darted out to lick his lips. He forced his eyes away from hers to look down at her soft plump lips. Suddenly, his urges and thoughts clouded his brain. Causing him to rush in and place a tender kiss on lips; his grip loosening on her wrists.

Roslyn felt relieved that he crossed that line. Carefully pulling her hand away, she placed her gloved hand on his jaw as she savored the taste of his lips. 

August then gently broke the kiss, pulling back to look down at her. 

‘You’re so warm,’ his gaze never left her face, yet his eyes were hooded with such want and desire. 

‘So are you…’ she whispered as her brown eyes flickered to his lips. 

A devious smirk curled up on his lips, ‘I know of an interesting way of warming up… if you wanna.’ 

Roslyn raised a brow, instantly catching the idea. It had been awhile since she had some. And they were alone, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity but, good things don’t last forever… not in this life. 

‘I’m down if you’re down,’ she said in a sultry tone as she relaxed her thighs so he could lay comfortably there. 

‘Well now is as good as—‘

Then, a twig snapped behind them. August paused for a second, placing his index finger against his lips. Carefully and silently, August pulled himself up and helped her up to her feet. 

He then pulled out his gun and gave it to her, whispering, ‘take this. Just in case.’ 

‘Wha— what about you?’ She whispered back in worry. 

‘I have a spare. Just—‘

And an unsettling cracking and clicking filled the air followed by pained grunting and snarling.

‘Infected. What the hell are they doing this close to Jackson?’ Roslyn asked, perplexed.

‘I don’t know. But we have to get rid of them. You with me?’

‘Do you have to ask?’ she smirked. 

‘That’s my girl. Now… silence.’ 

She gave him a nod for him to lead the way, and she followed him in a stack. 

***

The walk was probably 15 minutes when they stumbled across an encampment. It was vacant. Sort of. It consisted of sleeping bags, a few trinkets and emptied cans of food. They’d even created a fire with stone and wood that was now frostbitten. The intruders were gone for sometime now.

August let out a gentle breath as he stepped over a dead log. Roslyn took a step forward but August threw up his fist for her to stop. She let out a shuddered breath as she kept her gun up just in case. Once he’d finished securing the area, he pressed his lips together as he walked back to the campsite. 

‘Come look at this,’ he sheaths his gun back in the holster and squat down before the sleeping bag.

Roslyn walked around the log and walked into the encampment. She’d taken note of the WLF gear that were engraved in their belongings. 

‘They were here…’ 

‘Yeah,’ he uttered and took a deep breath. This was really fucking bad.

Roslyn let out a deep breath and looked down at him. ‘They’re after you…’ 

August let out a shuddered breath, ‘yeah.’

She closed her eyes as reality began to set in. ‘I knew it. I fucking knew it,’ she said through gritted teeth. 

August quickly stood up and looked back at her, ‘is there something wrong?’ His tone was slightly annoyed. 

‘Yeah! As a matter of fact, there is!’ She placed her hands on her hips, ‘now the well-being of Jackson is at risk all because you decided to come here!’ 

‘Look, I didn’t know they’d follow us OK!? You think I’d purposely bring them here?! To hurt you?'

‘Listen, I don’t know what your motive is! But right now, you are the bad guy!’ 

That stung August in the chest. 

‘You think that lowly of me?! Roslyn, you know me!’

‘Ha!’ Roslyn cackled. ‘You think because you threw me a surprise birthday party you think I should know you better?!’ 

A loud screech filled the air, causing them to look ahead. They waited for a second before the grunting became guttural screaming. 

‘They’ve heard us.’

‘Fuck!’ Roslyn cursed as she pulled out her gun. 

Two runners emerged from the darkness of the trees and stumbling behind them were two clickers. 

‘CLICKER!!’ August shouted as he shot at the runners. 

Roslyn began to shoot at their heads. Pieces of cordycep growth ricochet off of them before she put them down. Letting out a breath in relief, she looked up to see August fighting with the last living infected. 

She aimed the gun at the runner’s head but then August shouted,‘ROS! BEHIND YOU!’ 

Looking back, Roslyn was instantly tackled by a stalker. 

‘Ugh!’ She whimpered out as she fought to keep the infected mouth away from her. She held her arm at its throat as her other hand reached out to search for the gun that flew out of her grasp.

‘ROSLYN!’ August shouted out in fear as he managed to grab his ka-bar and stab the runner in the head. 

The stalker began to chomp down as it stretched its neck to try to get a bite. It was getting harder to hold it back by the second. Suddenly, a gunshot rang in the air and the stalker fell into her chest, dead as a door knob. Her ears rang with an eerie vengeance.

‘Ros! ROSLYN’ August shouted as he rushed over to her. 

With blood and brain fragments on her face, she quickly pushed the dead infected off of her, rolled over and emptied the contents in her stomach. Her hands gripped the snow as she dry heaved. 

August quickly rushed over and grabbed her by her shoulders to look at her, ‘Roslyn! Look at me!’ He grabbed her face so she could look up at him. 

Her heaving had stopped but turned into deep breaths. Her eyes focused on his as they began to calm her down. 

‘Shhh… it’s ok. I've got you remember?!’ 

Roslyn gave him a hesitant nod before she felt a stinging pain in her shoulder, ‘ah!’ 

‘You’re hurt,’ August said as his eyes landed on the ripped piece of cloth. 

‘Let’s get this off of you yeah?’ He then unzipped her coat and dropped it to the ground. 

When he looked back up, he’d immediately saw the torn fabric of her sweater on her shoulder. His heart shattered at the grim sight. 

‘Ros…’

Roslyn looked down to find the searing pain. She’d been bitten. 

‘Ah! Oooh… ooh my god!’ She shuddered out, trembling in pain.

This would mean she'd have to tell her deepest darkest secret. The secret that could get everyone around her killed. 

‘Ros, Ros, Roslyn— it’s alright! Look!’ He said as his breathing began to hitch. 

‘It’s not that bad!’ He began to laugh hysterically, ‘it’s … it’s going to be alright… please. Tell me everything is going to be alright!’ his vision began to blur at the bloodied sight. 

‘August…’ she let out a shuddered breath as she caressed his jaw, ‘I have something to tell you. But you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Only Ellie, Joel and Tommy know of this.’

August’s face softened as he looked down at her. 

He carefully took her small hand in his and squeezed it, ‘I promise… what is it?’ 

Roslyn bit into her bottom lip before hissing at the throbbing pain. 

She placed her hand over her shoulder, ‘I’m immune.’

From The River To the Sea, Palestine will be free. I’d like to make it clear that in no shape or form does this page support Israel or Zionism. The creator of the game, Neil Druckmann is a Zionist and I would like to make it very clear that this page stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine 🇵🇸. Boycott the game, boycott the show! CLICK HERE to find links to support and donate to Palestine & please continue to Boycott! Palestine will be free.

[shingekinohyrulewrites]

Lips of an Angel

You and Eren had dated, but the two of you were horrible for each other, and the relationship ended horribly. The both of you moved on, but a single phone call has the two of you falling into each other's lives again.

Read first chapter on AO3 here

Read previous chapter on AO3 here

Eren Jaeger was in love.

Or so he thought.

He had been dating his girlfriend, Mina, for nearly half a year, and he was surprised that he was happy. The two had met on Tinder and, at first, had only been hooking up, not putting on labels and seeing each other whenever they felt like it. However, over time, the two had caught feelings and Eren had made the first move and asked her out.

Needless to say, she was delighted.

They began dating and moved in the month after, enjoying their honeymoon phase and truly believing they were meant for each other. Eren hadn’t been quite this happy in such a long time and he cherished every single moment they spent together. He quickly fell in love and spent every waking minute with her, trying not to come off as too clingy.

Mina was great, but she wasn’t you.

Eren knew he had been at fault with your relationship falling apart, and a part of him hated the person he used to be. He had always been so angry growing up, and it had severely impacted his relationships. After you had left, he had taken some time to reflect on the man he wanted to be and took steps to improve himself.

He took boxing classes to channel his anger. He went back to school and managed to finish with a law degree, pushing himself to finish in two years instead of three. Now, he was working at a small law firm specializing in cases involving healthcare. Most of his days were spent at work, but he tried to make sure he didn’t get home too late so he could see Mina for a little while. She would try to stay up for him, greeting him with a warm smile and a kiss before asking him about his day.

With all of this, Eren fell into a routine. He loved his job and absolutely adored his coworkers. His relationship honestly couldn’t be going better, and boxing had tightened his body into tip top shape. His friends made plans around his busy schedule, taking him out for drinks or coming over to his place for movie or game nights.

Despite all of this, Eren often found himself thinking about you.

He would never admit it to anyone but, when he was having sex with Mina, he pictured that it was you. He tried to remember all of the sounds you would make, the faces you would pull when he hit a certain spot, and how your skin felt under his touch. There had been moments where he had been close to groaning out your name but he had quickly caught himself, preventing disaster from striking. He wasn’t sure what it was, as your relationship had been so toxic and he remembered he had been more angry with you than sweet and loving. The night he had choked you still lingered in his head, and he sometimes dreamed of that night, remembering the fear that had lit your eyes and how you had desperately fought against him. To him, he had dumbly thought you were going along with it, but now he looked back on that memory guiltily.

“Eren? Are you okay?”

The sound of Mina’s soft voice broke him from his reverie. The two of them were sitting on the couch, watching reruns of New Girl while eating burgers. She must have said something because she was peering at him curiously, brows furrowed in frustration.

“Yes baby, sorry. Just spaced out for a minute.”

“Did something happen at work?”

He shook his head.

“No baby, I’m okay. Finish your food so we can cuddle.”

Smiling, she gave a small nod and turned her head back to the TV, taking a bite of her burger. Eren gave a quiet sigh and tried to force himself to focus on Jess and Schmidt, who were in the midst of some stupid discussion. After a minute, he felt the couch shift and saw Mina making her way over to him, settling between his legs and resting her head against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head before watching the show again.

It didn’t take long before Mina fell asleep. She was softly snoring as New Girl kept playing, the episodes bleeding into each other. Eren couldn’t focus, his mind flickering back to you. The night went on, the light from outside darkening and the room being enveloped in darkness. It was a little before midnight when Mina stirred, rubbing her eyes before glancing up at Eren sleepily.

“I’m going to bed. Are you coming?”

“In a little bit, baby. I’m not quite tired yet.”

She stood up, yawning as she stretched her arms overhead.

“Okay babe, just try not to stay up too late. I love you.”

Eren listened to the sound of her footsteps padding away. When he heard the bedroom door close, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He logged on to Instagram, typing in your username and hoping that it was still the same. To his relief, he saw that it was and that your profile was now public. When you two had broken up, you had deleted each other on social media in the hopes that you would be able to move on. He had tried to check on you from time to time, but all of your profiles had been set to private. Occasionally he would hear from your mutual friends about your life but it was never detailed.

Your bio simply had your job title and company name. He clicked on your first photo and saw you smiling widely at the camera, a glass of wine in one hand at a seemingly high end restaurant. There was no denying that you were still attractive. You had cut your hair, the ends of it brushing just past your shoulders. There was a glow to you that he couldn’t explain, and he realized it was because you were happy.

The second photo had his heart stopping.

A man with swept back, dirty blonde hair had an arm wrapped around you, pressing you against him tightly. One of your hands was placed on his chest gently, the other wrapped around his waist. He had a small smile on his face, gray eyes staring intensely at the camera. You were leaning against him, head tilted towards him as you smiled warmly at the camera.

Ouch.

The rest of your photos were a mix of you at work events and with your partner. He was never tagged in photos but was named as “Porco” in some of the captions. Frowning, he typed Porco into the search bar and was able to quickly find him. Unlike you, his profile was set to private but his profile picture was one of you and him. His bio had your username along with a simple heart.

Eren threw his phone across the couch, pressing his hands against his face. He was stupid to think that you hadn’t moved on - if he had moved on, how the hell would you not have moved on too? Based on the photos, he assumed that you were happy, and he knew that he had to move on and just let you go.

Reaching for his phone, he closed Instagram and opened his contacts. Scrolling through, he kept looking until he found your name. He had changed your contact name from Babe 💖 to just your name. Biting his lip, he clicked on your name, showing your name and number.

I shouldn’t do this. Mina is just down the hall.

Sucking in a breath, he clicked on your number. The screen changed, showing your name along with calling. The phone began to ring, and he raised the phone to his ear with shaky hands. It took four rings before he heard a click and there was a moment of silence.

“Hello?”

[cellythefloshie]

ＩＭＡＧＩＮＥ: Ross Colton Coming Home to You After a Long Road Trip Celly's 300 Follower Appreciation

-long road stretches always took their toll

-bodies grew tires

-the back to back games on the weekends brutal 

-and when they were long enough, homesickness would become consuming

-especially when a player has someone waiting back home for them

-which was a new feeling for Ross as he saw wide awake on the flight into Tampa

-the two of you were still relatively new in your relationship compared to some of the other WAGs

-you didn’t live together 

-even though it had been a topic of discussion, you hadn’t done more than exchange keys for each other's place

-and it was your key his hand kept being drawn to on the flight home

-he knew he shouldn’t show up unannounced

-and he had yet to bring over much more than a toothbrush 

-but it wasn’t going to feel like home unless he got to see you when he landed

-he sent you a quick text when he landed on the tarmac 

-he received no reply

-you must have been asleep 

-it was the very early hours of the morning after all, he would have been concerned if you weren’t

-but it didn’t stop him

-even though it should have

-but he wasn’t taking his usual route home when he got into his car

-the street to your place was practically empty

-making the drive quick

-and he was relieved when the visitor parking for your building had a vacancy as if it was waiting just for him

-the soft beep of the car locking behind him filled the night air behind him as he left his car behind

-he walked into the apartment building with one bag thrown over his shoulder and the other rolling behind him in his wake

-he hesitated outside the apartment door for a moment, looking over the spy hole and the numbers carefully

-the last thing he wanted was to scare you

-so he slid the key into the lock carefully

-he let himself in with just enough noise to be heard

-the door closing softly behind him as he spoke out your name softly

-just loud enough for you to hear if you heard him come in

-he left his bags by the door and moved to the near sofa to sit down

-there, in the dark, he worked off his shoes and his suit before laying it out over the arm of the couch

-then, Ross moved quietly through the dark apartment and found your bedroom

-you let curled up in the bed, in such a deep sleep that you hadn’t heard the door when he had come in

-but you did feel as the bed shifted under his weight as Ross found his place in your bed

-“hey sweetheart,”

-his voice was so soft that you thought you were dreaming

-but then you felt his warm body against yours and he curled up next to you under the covers

-“ross? Baby, what time is it?”

-“late” was his simple answer as his arms consumed you with their embrace

-“i hope it’s alright that I let myself in”

-you rolled over in the bed carefully so that you were facing him

-you could barely see him in the darkness

-the moonlight casting soft shadows over his tired features

-“of course it’s okay, it’s why I gave you the key-”

-you could see the flash of his smile as his lips parted and you watched as he pushed up onto one arm and leaned in

-Ross kissed you slowly, softly, his lips lingering as a hand reached up to stroke over the angles of your cheeks and jawline

-he marveled in the warmth and softness of your skin

-and he drew back slowly only to settle himself among your pillows

-but he needed to be touching you

-and so he held you in his arms and tangled his legs with yours

-there was something special about being able to fall asleep and waking up next to you

-and while he was on the road he had missed it

[itcanbesour]

Jator reincarnation au!! It’s crackship time yall ,, except for me this is personally a rare pair and I love it dearly :3 (James/Lotor) also a thank you to a friend on mine because I didn’t come up with everything myself. We essentially gave each other ideas 🙏🙏

KISMET

I’ve always seen Lotor as immortal. He’s lived a long time and I can’t help but think of that’s because he is immortal. ik he isn’t but for this AU he is. In this AU he joins the Voltron coalition and is helping alongside the paladins before they arrived to earth, going against his parents wishes more or less betraying them. When Lotor & paladins arrive to earth Lotor sees someone that takes his interest, despite this guy being completely normal and not having anything special whatsoever (to the public eye). Except this guy, James Griffin (fighter pilot, squad captain, and officer) didn’t exactly care for Lotors presence. He knew the guy existed and that he was helping save earth, and to him that’s all that mattered. His princely title meant nothing to James. And so by default James only spoke to Lotor when it mattered. Lotor on the other hand really, really wanted to get to know James. Something about the other drew him in and like a moth to a light, he followed. It felt natural. Like this was his fate.

As time went on Lotor figured out the best way to get to talk to James, or get the man to really look at him. There’s been talk around how James is very adamant on the rules and regulations and there for: he acts out. If he acted out, James spoke to him. If he acts out, James looks at him. It’s what he was looking for. This is an on going thing, for months he does little things that he knows 1) isn’t enough to boot him from the garrison (not to mention it’s during the war. They can’t anyway he provided information since his father was Zarkon) and 2) enough where he can engage in small talk with James.

It doesn’t work at first, but after a while it does. Lotor made sure to be careful and respectful, letting James know that he is free anytime and would love to get to know him. James is confused by this. Someone wanted to get to know *him?* something about him mattered to another person? It wasn’t like it was shocking, just unexpected and unpredictable. And it comes to a time where they do actually, sorta hang out. It’s not as long as Lotor was hoping but when duty calls they have to answer.

James almost died that day.

And so after that the two hang out more! James successfully gets his team & Lotor to be somewhat friends (he just wanted to let them get along.) and it’s become a regular basis where he’s with Lotor. Whether it’s just strolls around the garrison, or James helping teach Lotor how to read and write in English, getting food together, maybe even training together. It didn’t exactly matter, they were by each other side no matter what. No matter what time or place.

Eventually the two men find out their feelings for each other, they go on a few dates, and in that year they spent together they start dating. It’s a fever dream, but damn was it worth it. For a time at least.

They spend their days together, even during the war and after. It takes takes to build earth but at some point Lotor learns the customs, even understands James’ culture and loves engaging with him in it. (Dabke, food, music) but all happy things must come to an end. James is admitted to the hospital and Lotor rushes to his beside.

They never got engaged. They just promised they would in years time.

And on James’ nightstand sat a note and the promise ring. The note described in detail how much he loved and was greatful to Lotor, being immensely apologetic and promising him that someday they’d find each other again.

Did I mention James doesn’t know Lotor is gonna live forever?

The funeral was on James’ birthday. (Up to you when that is.) and after that everything felt surreal. Lotor wasn’t sure what he was meant to do. His lover was gone and could’ve spent the rest of their lives together in just two years time. Must the universe forsake him like this? If this was his consequences, he could take it.

Until one morning about a year later after James’ passing there’s an all-too-familiar face walking down the street. It made Lotor freeze up. The nose was the same, the hair, the olive skin. Except he was still different. This man didn’t act the same. Unlike his former lover, the guy was quiet and kept to himself. Almost timid.

Lotor approaches anyway. It’s James. His James. The James he longed for since he passed away, his lover was back. The cycle repeats. He gets to know this new James, learns to love him and learns the way his personality clashes with his own.

But James’ fate is only repeated. They hold the funeral on his birthday, once more.

This happens a couple times actually. He finds James either a year later, or maybe even 5 years later. Falls in love with the man, learns to love him for what he is and not for what he was, and James dies. This goes on for a while and it only got worse. Sometimes James reincarnates as something unrecognizable: a flower, maybe even an animal. What is he meant to do when this brown and sandy cat walks up to him one late afternoon; rubs up against his leg and even calls for him? Well, of course. He takes in the stray as his own, crowning the animal with the name griffin.

He finds James, but he can’t *see* him. He’s almost completely different now, married to a beautiful woman, tall and gorgeous. with two little girls clutching at his legs. It was painful to watch, but he couldn’t do anything anyway. That ‘James’ lives till old age, different in contrast to how he died whilst dating Lotor.

Yet again, he finds James. It’s a bit humorous how he is now. The olive skin now pale, that hooked nose he loved to kiss was different, all recognizable features gone. It wasn’t the same anymore, learning to love this James pained him to his very core. Falling in love with this man and learning the beat of his rhythm was tough. Kissing his nose won’t ever be the same.

This wasn’t James anymore; he realizes. After what felt like forever he realizes this. He spent his years looking for the man who’d never be the same again.

And so Lotor becomes an author. An artist, didn’t matter. He’d teach and tell story’s of how two lovers came to be together in the same universe, different time lines. On how an immortal came to be with a mortal. It’s safe to say it wasn’t fictional. But that just meant Lotor stopped looking for his lover. He can’t love him for what he is now, cant love him for what he was then. He can only love him by honoring his memory, letting go and telling the story’s of how they came to be.

He really hopes james can forgive him when he falls in love with someone else.

End

Kismet

a hypothetical force or personified power that determines the course of the future events : FATE, DESTINY

[thezeinterviews]

B. T.: Rare interview with Ukraine's First Lady: There are things he doesn't say to me

Jeppe Elkjær Andersen

Apr 16, 2024 - 19:04

They see each other once a week at most - and there's a lot he never tells her.

She lives in an extremely special marriage. And now shares some rare details about life with Ukraine's world-famous president.

After more than two years, the war has left its mark not only on Ukraine, but also on its people.

No one has symbolized the Ukrainian people more than President Zelenskyj and his wife Olena. She admits that the hard times have also affected her as a person. She does so in a candid interview with B.T.

"War changes everyone," she says, looking up with sad eyes.

Before the Russian invasion of her native Ukraine, the former screenwriter suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar situation.

Her husband, the famous comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyj, had become President of Ukraine. Now she had to take on the role of First Lady of all Ukraine.

A completely different life.

However, the title of First Lady took on a whole new meaning on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Suddenly, her husband was world-famous and she had to find a way to be there for an entire nation that was in a fight for its life. A fight for its existence. A fight for her soul.

Both she and President Zelenskyj had to show strength in an almost impossible situation.

"You can't be brave when everyone around you is discouraged. It's a fairy tale," says Olena Zelenska, who B.T. met with Berlingske at a hotel in Copenhagen during the First Lady's second visit to Denmark.

"The image that people see of us is the result of a lot of work, where we try to communicate to the world that the Ukrainian President will lead the way in diplomacy. We are just more visible than others. But the real heroes are the Ukrainians who are defending us on the front line right now," she elaborates.

The first weeks and months of the Russian invasion were filled with despair in Ukraine.

Then came a period where Ukraine beat back the Russian invasion forces in several places.

But over the past several months, the situation has become difficult again.

First, a long-awaited offensive did not lead to the breakthrough many had hoped for.

And most recently, Russia has pushed Ukraine to the front line, while Ukrainian infrastructure is being bombed almost daily.

Morale is hard to keep up. But Olena Zelenska and her husband have a job. They must remain positive and hopeful.

Here they look inwards, says Olena Zelenska.

"I remember the first months of the war with the defense of the Kyiv region, when the people took matters into their own hands. It gave hope to the Ukrainian people."

She continues:

"Now we have to find our strength again. We must find it in our history, in our art, in our culture. Because we are up against an empire that enslaved us for hundreds of years. Now we have a chance to be free of it, forever. And that, I think, is what keeps us going."

The job of a First Lady in an invaded country can obviously be difficult.

Olena Zelenska doesn't see her husband as often as she would like.

Maybe once a week.

Here, they try to do things together that make time feel more normal.

"Sometimes... when things are difficult, I ask him to tell me something optimistic, something. And then he might tell me about a new military aid package. As a civilian, I don't understand how it will help us, but it often makes me happy," says Olena Zelenska.

She makes it clear that she doesn't get involved in things that are only for the president and his cabinet.

"That's how it is. The president is the president. He doesn't tell me about his plans, his deals or state secrets."

However, when there is the rare occasion that they do have time to spend some private time together as a couple, they have a fairly simple thing they resort to in order to cheer each other up.

"We like to watch movies together. For some reason, we like to watch movies from our childhood that we haven't seen in years - stupid comedies - just to relax. Just have an hour where you don't think."

As a family, when they get together, there are always private matters that need to be discussed. Just like any other family.

"We always have something to talk about. Our family, our children. There are always family things that we need to talk about, solve some important problems, make decisions," says Olena Zelenska.

But it's not just talk they take care of. Both Olena and Volodymyr have worked with humor in their previous lives.

And that's why it's important for them to laugh.

Even if the situation is unreal and brutal.

"We try to help each other remember to laugh. Somehow to laugh. But we don't always succeed," says Olena Zelenska.

And here she and her husband can draw on the Ukrainian history and culture that Olena Zelenska believes is so important for the survival of the nation.

"The Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka described in a famous poem how to 'laugh through tears'. We try to laugh, not cry," says Olena Zelenska.

Article

[writteninthesewalls28]

between shards and "I love you"s

A/n: This work is part of the "be my valentine challenge" by @bemyvalentinechallenge for the day 4 prompt.

Summary: Eris (reader) is a songwriter and Niall Horan´s girlfriend. but when she writes a song for Niall, she is scared that their relationship is going to end because of one single sentence.

Warnings: shards, curse words, cyber hate, not proof read

Right when I wrote down the words while humming the melody, I realized it would sound weird. "I´d rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you" was the most cheesy thing I ever thought of and it definitely wasn´t appropriet for a 3-month-relationship with a world-wide famous super star.

I had been a songwriter since- forever. The songwriting thing came before the singing part for me, I always loved that more.  The way you could express your emotions through the words and melody was something truly incredible. And then, in the next step, experiencing the love people give you back for creating a new song is an even better feeling than actually creating it. Me and Niall always say, it is a true win-win situation.

Yeah. Niall is the world-wide famous singer I was talking about earlier. I honestly don´t know when, how and why this with us happened, I guess it just- did. The best thing that ever just happened probably.

I was a special guest on his tour, he gave me his phone number after the concert, we went out on a date. And… well, lockdown happened. The pandemic has brought us together in his little flat in London where we were stuck, for a few months now.

All day long, we were basically annoying each other with our piano or guitar humming, but the chaos was manageable. Niall would maybe tell you otherwise though, I could be a very chaotic person sometimes.

Suddenly I heard a loud "BANG" near the kitchen aisle and immediately jumped up from my place on the sofa to run to the place where I heard the noise.

"Sorry, Eris! Just the new dishes you bought 4 months ago…" I heard Niall´s voice from the kitchen and slowed down. No one died. Good.

Wait-

"THE dishes?" When I entered the room, I saw it with my own eyes. There were sharp shards lying around everywhere. "Nialler! These were like- super expensive!" I cried out, kneeling down to pick up one rather big piece of the gorgeous, new plate with the little flowers on the edge.

I really liked those.

Not knowing what I was doing, I laid down my paper with the lyrics for the new song, the ones I actually was about to erase because they were so super romantic, and got me something to clean up  this mess.

As Niall was about to come and help me, he must´ve taken a look at my piece of paper and suddenly started laughing uncontrollably. "Did you write this?" he asked between his laughs and I´d rather suddenly vanish through a hole in the floor than answering this question.

"Well… yeah, but I was about to erase it anyways. I know it´s super cheesy." I said in an attempt to explain myself.

Niall was still laughing, but it wasn´t as embarrassing as before. "You are so cute when you´re nervous, you know that?" I looked up from my cleaning-up-the-broken-plates and gave my boyfriend a confused look. What should that mean now? "The little freckles on your nose look like they started dancing and you fidget around with your fingers on your left hand, it´s truly adorable." Niall explained his comment from earlier a little bit further and slowly took the cleaning utensils out of my right hand, just to place it next to the kitchen counter.

"Sooo, you don´t find it embarrassing?" I asked him, showing that his previous sentence confused me a little bit. Did he like it, or did he not like it?

"No, why would I find it embarrassing, it´s the truth, isn´t it? I´d rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you too, baby." he said, looking into my eyes deeply. He leaned in to give me a kiss and I pulled him close to me by grabbing his hair with my hands. Niall’s kisses always made my knees go weak. They were so full with love and could make me addicted to the feeling of his mouth against mine. It was truly amazing.

"I love you, Niall." As soon as I said it, I wish I could take the words back. It was too soon. Way too soon, to say a sentence as important as that.

"There. The freckles are dancing again." Niall laughed and wrapped me in a warm hug. "I love you too, Eris. Exited to hear the finished version of this song." and with these words, he gave me my paper back and took the cleaning utensil in his own hand to clean up the mess of shards himself.

[minsungotp]

Want so bad

Ch7 call me tonight

Changbin shook his head high key amused. One of his best friends had a very obvious crush on the new kid. And it was just hilarious to watch.

He observed as Han suddenly pinned leeknow to the wall on the other side of the room.

"Damn." He flinched. Who knew Han had that in him!

The sound of pure laughter rang in his ears and he turned towards it.

Felix was getting a piggyback ride from hyunjin.

Changbin watched them thoughtfully. There was something special about them both that made him double take. The atmosphere the two created made it even more interesting.

Before he could change his mind the rapper barged in.

"Hyunjin, Felix." He nodded.

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes in jealousy.

"Do you need something?" He asked in a chilly tone.

Felix reached for changbin's hand, making his heart melt. How could one man be such a sweetheart? An incredible source of positivity and joy. He had never seen anything like it. And hyunjin was so unapologetically himself. It was extremely refreshing. He found himself wanting to be apart of their little friendship.

Felix seemed thrilled to see him but hyunjin needed a bit more convincing.

Let's see which one of you angels falls harder. He thought to himself.

"Hyunjin~ he grabbed his shoulder and stamped a foot. "Hyunjinnie~" he complained. "Let me join you! Don't break my heart." He pouted playfully.

Hyunjin blinked a look of confusion in his eyes. It was clear that he had thought Changbin was there to flirt with his Felix. But here he was teasing him instead.

"Get off-" hyunjin grumbled, but he didn't actually feel that angry. If anything he was just curious and flattered now.

"Must escape!" He started hauling Felix across the room who shouted his enjoyment.

Changbin caught up to them at last and an idea popped into his head.

What better way to get closer to someone than cuddling up under the blankets?

"Hyunjinnie, jinnie. Can I join you please."

Hyunjin finally gave in with a slight eyeroll.

After a few more piggy back ride laps, Felix slid off hyunjin's back and onto the floor. He brushed hair out of his handsome face. Eyes piercing right through him directly to his core.

"Hyunnie. How can you carry me so easy?" He blinked. "So strong." He murmured, feeling up his arm. Hyunjin grew shy and Changbin flexed demanding attention as well.

Felix feeled up his arms longer than hyunjin. Because I have so much more to feel. He boasted silently.

Changbin grinned he was already having a lot of fun messing around with these two boys. The most interesting part of this new dynamic he had created is each boy brought out a completely different side of himself.

Hyunjin made him work harder with his snarky remarks and eyeroll. while all Felix had to do was breathe and Changbin would find him endearing,

He grabbed each boys hand and ran his thumbs over their knuckles. "Let's watch a movie together. At my place." He offered smoothly.

Hyunjin looked slightly confused but Felix lit up immediately.

"Blanket cuddles are the best kind." He informed hyunjin who grew increasingly shy with the remark.

"If Felix is in then I'm down." He agreed.

Changbin smirked. "Here's my number. Call me tonight if you don't have plans."

Pretty soon it was only him and Bangchan left in the

Room. The leader had seen the whole exchange.

"Why did you invite them to our house?" He asked curiously. Three racha were already living together long before the other members were chosen.

Changbin shrugged. "Movie. Is there a problem?" He asked sarcastically.

Bangchan narrowed his eyes. "But the couch is so small!" He spluttered.

Changbin wasn't phased.

"That's the point mr Chan."

Bangchan folded his arms

What am I going to do with all these boys?

[flameblade3]

You’ve been at this for a while- years. Hundreds of happy couples made under your guidance. You’ve learned a few things over the years, some people don’t have those threads yet. Maybe for infants they’re just not born yet, or for others maybe something needs to change in their future soulmate before they would be ready. You’ve seen people holding hands while each of their strings runs off in different directions. You swear you’ve seen a few people whose soulmates switch almost every week. Even asexual or aromantic people had one, they simply led them to someone who would be special to them, content to live with but no need to love. After all, no one truly wants to be alone. But one thing always remained the same… they had one. You waited and waited and waited, but you never were able to see those strings wrapped around your own fingers like everyone else’s. Leading soulmates together always had a rather violently bittersweet taste, knowing that you might never get to feel that same sweet sensation that they must all get when they realize how well things worked out. One day, a rather simple looking lady walked through your business’s door also without strings attached to her fingers. You were shocked

“Excuse me,” she started, “I heard this would be the place where people can always find their special someone?” She asked

You gave your usual business monologue: “well you heard correct! Here we have a near 100% success rate that every person we guide to another will live their happily ever after.”

The woman chuckled, you raised an eyebrow, “it’s funny,” she laughed again, you felt something in your chest, “I did the same thing for so many others back home, but could never find someone for me.”

Your heart skipped a beat. It was late so no one else was in the building. “Ma’am, could you come to the desk, please?” You asked, trying to hide the frantic tone in your voice

“Ah, of course!” She came forward

You leaned in and asked “can you see strings on people’s fingers that lead them to others?” Trying to sound as serious as possible so she knows you’re not joking

“Wh- I,” she stammered, “how did you know!?”

“Because I can do the same thing. And no matter how long I waited… I could never see strings on my own hands, and I can’t see them on your’s”

She was dead silent for a moment, she kept glancing between your hand, your face, and her hands. “Oh my… you’re right… I don’t believe it!”

“Well, it’s almost closing time for me, so how about I make you my last client for the day. Would you care to go for a walk? The travel must have been long and my desk is rather cramped. Plus, I know a really good place to grab dinner around here.” You stood up and held out your hand, she took it with a soft shake. Her hands were softer than you expected, she took better care of herself than her other features let on.

The two of you left your business as you locked up the building and began your walk, both of you hopeful that maybe, finally, you found your special someone.

Some say that an invisible red string is tied around the fingers of soulmates meant to be together forever. As it turns out, you can see these red strings, and have therefore created a highly successful matchmaking business.

[flowerandblood]

hii!! i love literally all of your stories and im obssessed with them!!!! <333

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i would love to know the most is what happend to the ofc and aemond after the ending of the impossible choice, the pearl and the sapphire, the white flame and girl with a pearl earring :)))

im actually curious about what happend later in your every series because you tend to leave kind of an open ending (which is isnt a bad thing) but i love all of your ofc so much and im really invested in them and aemond so i just what to know what happends to them

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Hello my love!!! Thank you so much, this is will be long one so sorry guys ❤️

⭐️The Impossible Choice - So the threat to them is now gone, so I imagine they would spend their lives peacefully on Dragonstone. Lady Baratheon must have borne him several more children, knowing Aemond and his desire to fill her.

After Aegon finally changed and with his brother's advice, he became as good a king as he could, finally appreciating Helaena who bore him another son and heir to the throne. This means that Daeron will remain just a prince, but will inherit the Dragonstone, which will pass to his children.

I imagine Aemond would be a similar father to Borros, strict but very connected to his children, only thinking about their future and fulfillment. He and Lady Baratheon would be the power couple of Westeros!

⭐️The Pearl and The Sapphire - Aemond would continue therapy and, as he said, he would start looking for a house in the suburbs. In the meantime, during their separation, they would call each other a lot, he would visit her from time to time in her family home, or she would visit him in his apartment.

Then they would slowly start arranging themselves, they would give Miss B her studio and room, Aemond would create his office and they would try to start their life together. He would slowly start telling her in the evenings by the fireplace, sitting with her in an armchair on his lap, about his past, about his complicated relationship with his family.

He would definitely introduce her to Alicent and Helaena eventually, feeling that what was between them was really serious. Eventually, he would decide that he wanted to propose to her and would ask Borros to create a ring for him decorated with pearls and sapphires, telling him about his plans.

⭐️ The White Flame - Aemond would go to college, wanting to finally fulfill his dreams. He would still play for the band, but he would devote himself largely to his studies and it gave him a lot of peace. He and Bunny moved into his apartment and lived a quiet life, while she still worked as a graphic designer.

⭐️ The Gril with Pearl Earring - She and Aemond would go together to the exhibition he invited her to and well, they would definitely sleep in the same hotel room, I think you can guess what was going on between the artist and his muse, I don't think Aemond would let her sleep.

In any case, they would officially be a couple, Aemond would take a lot of photos of her with his Instax, simply in their private space, loving to observe her, some of them would be nudes, but reserved for viewing only by him, which he would hide in a special hiding place.

After graduation, he would work as a photographer for large companies, shooting products, leaving portrait and artistic photography for his private life. I can imagine that both of them would work in marketing or advertising campaigns after their studies and they would fit in perfectly, having a similar sense of aesthetics.

I can imagine them as a melancholy, artistic, sweet couple in love, her sketching him while he reads a book, him photographing her as she lies in his bed in his shirt.

Ask me about my fics with emojis.