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chicknstripz · 2 years ago

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∘₊✧ [ The Escape ] ✧₊∘

Pairing|| Reader X Fox Word Count || 2115 Tags || Angst, Paranoia, Mild Threat, Mentions of Death, Established relationship Synopsis || You try to escape Coruscant with a frightened charge, only to get caught by the man you love. Prompts || 'You give pieces of yourself to people but never let them see the whole picture. I've seen it. I know who you are' & 'The weight of her gaze was tangible, like the steel he held in his hands.'

A @cloneficgiftexchangegift for @agenteliix.

How did it come to this?

You were crouched like a frightened animal in the middle of a dingy alley, waiting for the world to come crashing down on you as you watched a group of teens pass you by. The child that huddled beside you was similarly affected, the quiver in their fingers so pronounced you could feel it in your heart!

Twenty hours ago they’d been chattering to their creche mates, sharing a colorful story about their idol, but now? There was no telling what their future held, the golden light of a prosperous knighthood shattered by the very people you’d trusted with your lives. Stars, you still can’t believe what you’d seen earlier that night! The terror on the crechling’s face potent beyond belief as they raced toward you, chased like prey by a trooper in guard red.

There had been no time for ‘why’ or ‘what’, no time to wonder why an honorable man had turned into a monster, no, all you’d had time for was an instinctual reaction, your finger pulling the trigger before you even realized you had a blaster in hand.

The offending weapon was still held in your hand, the cold metal accusatory as you listened to far off chatter. Most people were talking about the end of the war, their voices chirpy as they discussed what this would mean for their businesses. Others were talking about the attack on the temple, the amber glow still evident on the horizon some five hours later. But the thing you expected to hear was absent, your guilt festering as you ushered the child in the direction of the space port.

“Where will we go?”

To be honest you didn’t know, the path was checked before you crossed the next intersection. As big as Coruscant was there was no hiding from the eyes of the Guard. You should know! You’d spent too many days being surprised by your gruff partner, his eyes alight with mischief as he appeared from around a corner with a caff in hand. A small part of you hoped to see him waiting for you at the port, his serious lips curled in a rare show of concern as he waved you to a waiting transport whilst the other - it feared it. The memory of his rabid brother making your blood run cold as you used your cowl to hide your face from casual onlookers.

“Anywhere that isn’t here.”

Dantooine perhaps? It had always been welcoming to offworlders, its senator one of many that had fought for clone rights, and you could easily see it turning a blind eye to ‘refugees’ such as yourselves. What about Pantora? It too was represented by a vocal proponent of clone rights, your heart aching as you thought of the sisterly bond you shared with Riyo. She’d been the one who’d encouraged you to pursue Fox, her lips curled in a beatific smile as she shoved a canteen of caff in your hands. She’d also been the one who’d encouraged you to keep trying when he turned you down, her insistence that he was just playing hard to get making you laugh as you watched him inspect his men.

You’d pay anything to hear that laugh round about now, a quick glance at the space port revealing limited options for your escape.

Whatever was going on had been labeled as a terrorist threat, the luminescent glow of red text filling the waiting area below the departures holo. Sentients moved too and fro across the glimmering plaza, but there was nowhere near as many people as you’d see on a normal day - the PA cycling through yet another announcement that all citizens must shelter in place until further notice. Which was a problem. How were you supposed to get off planet if there were no commercial flights running? You frowned as you considered your next move, your panicked heart beating all the faster as you covered your fearful ward with your coat.

“What now?”

“If you were smart you’d turn yourselves in.”

The world comes to a halt as the familiar voice encircles your mind, the smooth accent as charming as ever despite the edge of malice.

“You and I both know we wouldn’t get a fair trial.”

You’ve caught him in an impasse, the silent tilt of his helmet as much a language as the one you spoke every day. Stars! What had he done with his paintwork? The scarlet red that once adorned his plates now swapped for standard guard livery, and you mused that you wouldn’t have known you were speaking to Fox if you weren't so familiar with his body language. He always held himself with the utmost pride, his back ramrod straight and shoulders pulled back whether or not he was at ease, and you could still see that pride in him despite the tension that hardened his voice.

“This isn’t the republic any more. I will make sure the judge shows you leniency if you cooperate and hand over the traitor.”

You tuck the youngster behind you, keeping one hand on their head whilst the other shook uncontrollably by your side. Where was the Fox who’d slam his hands on the table if a nat-born insisted on the arrest of a minor? Where was the Fox who’d bailed them out if he found one in the cells? He was gone. Swept away by the same madness that’d caused his brother to chase the youngling through the streets.

“Traitor? Kark’s sake Fox, they’re just a kid! Where’s your compassion gone all of a sudden?”

Your outburst had gathered quite the crowd, but you didn’t care! This was, perhaps, your only hope of escaping. The brief hope that you could break through this murderous insanity fluttering like a bird in your chest.

“Where was his when his order turned its back on democracy?”

The feeling shatters as you feel a blaster pressed to your back, the weapon that’d once protected you from escaped ‘pets’ now used to herd you like one. You flash Fox a baleful look as you pass him by, the shine of your eyes reflected by the black abyss of his visor. It used to be something that filled you with warmth, the knowledge that he was looking at you with soft eyes making your spirit soar, but now? There was nothing but cold nothingness, the dark abyss swallowing you whole as you tried to make sense of his words.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

The way he was acting now? It was the way the public saw him on the daily. Cold. Ruthless. A cop who’d stop at nothing to catch the bad guy. Even you had assumed things about him when you first met him, his gruff persona and matter of fact words making you wonder how his brothers could stand him. But with each day that passed you saw more of the real Fox. The Fox that would stay up late so his younger vode wouldn't have to file flimsi. The Fox that brought a caff machine when the GAR refused funding for a new one. The Fox that would do anything and everything to protect his vode from the wrath of idle politicians.

He was so much more than what people assumed him to be, so much more than the monster that told his men he’d deal with you personally, and you grieved for your loss as they bundled you and the kid into the back of a transport.

You can still hear the sounds of coruscant through the hull of the transport, the white and red of Fox’s armor broken up by the thick mesh that separated you. You couldn’t count the number of times you’d seen him bundle a struggling criminal into one of these things, couldn’t count the number of times you’d heard them beg for leniency, and you hated that you’d become another statistic - your palms laid to the mesh as you flushed yourself to the unforgiving metal.

"Please Fox, this isn’t you! You give pieces of yourself to people but never let them see the whole picture. I've seen it. I know who you are"

“No -- you don’t!”

The pause is brief, a slight inhale of air that causes his modulator to crackle in protest.

“Yes I do! I don’t know what offense his order has committed against the republic, but you wouldn’t arrest a minor for it!”

You tilt your head toward your charge, their small form tucked into the furthest corner of the space. It was almost as if they hoped it would swallow them whole, the curve of their shoulders laden with fearful acceptance.

“I have my orders”

“Orders? Force alive! You might be a Commander, but you’ve never cared for orders - especially if they came from that di’kut’la Chancellor.”

His shoulders stiffened, giving you the answer to where this particular order had come from. Maker! If this had come from the chancellor then there was no hope for you. You’d be dead and buried before the end of the week - a footnote in the grand annals of history whilst the Chancellor continued to feed at the trough.

“This order came from him? Didn’t it --”

You trial off as you tip your head backward, the strain causing the muscles at the back of your neck to twitch in protest. You don’t know what to say, what to do, the world as you’d once known it twisted beyond all recognition.

“Fox. We both know he’s as corrupt as they come! Just look at what he did to Fives --”

“Shut up!”

“No! I won’t! Not until you’ve seen sense!”

You hate yourself for digging up this particular ghost, but it’s the only way to get through to him!

“Where is the chip he supposedly presented to the Chancellor? And what about Tup? What about his autopsy report? Surely you find it a bit suspicious that they found nothing wrong with a man who shot his general in the back of the head? And what evidence does he have that the Jedi turned on the Republic? Think Fox, think! The man clearly has some kind of hidden agenda!”

What that might be was beyond you. You were a civilian, not a detective! You exhaled as you dropped your chin to your chest, the tension that sat in your shoulders mirrored in his spotless plastoid. You could always tell when he was at war with himself, could always tell when his Kaminoan training clashed with his Coruscanti heart. He’d go silent and stiff, his whole body vibrating whilst he tried his best to silence the voices. Sometimes he won, sometimes he didn’t, but he’d always be your Fox regardless - the quiver of his voice rekindling lost hope.

“He -- said ---”

The transport shifted beneath you, the change in gravitational pull lifting your stomach to your throat.

“-- Kriff -- we don’t have much time --”

Whatever madness had assaulted him had loosened its grip on his mind, the spectre of it hanging about his shoulders as he cut ties with the outside world. The transponder, the coms! Everything! He turned them all off one by one, the routine so ingrained he could do it with his eyes closed. Maker! He can feel the weight of your gaze on the back of his head. It was a tangible thing that anchored him to reality, like the steel he held in his hands, the yoke held tight as he bundled the voices into the back of his mind.

Good soldiers might follow orders, but great ones questioned them!

Maker! He still can’t believe he’d pulled a blaster on you and the kid, still can’t believe how close he’d come to repeating the one mistake he’d never forget. Fives’ face swam in and out of his thoughts as he darted into a busy sky lane - doing his best to put distance between himself and his brothers. It wouldn’t be long until they realized he’d gone rogue. Wouldn’t be long until they were pursuing him like the criminals they’d once fought on the streets, and he needed to be off the capitol before that happened!

But was this not worth it?

Yes, yes it was! The weight of your arms, and the scent of your body lotion filling his nose the moment he freed you from your confines. He’d go to any lengths to save you from the empire, his conviction growing stronger with every moment that passed. And if he had to save you from himself? Well, he’d do that too - the worry that the madness might return haunting his dreams that night and every night after.

#CFGE #GFGE2023 #star wars #the clone wars #clone wars fanfiction #fox x reader #commander fox #my first time writing for a prompt #Wasn't expecting it to be so long #but here we are!#enjoy your angst with a touch of fluff #<3

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halcyon-digest · 4 months ago

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2020

Art Klaudt: Walking around the cliffs near my parents house listening to Clube Da Esquina

Anonymous 1: on stimulants and obsessed with staying in my room reading and categorizing

ava: covid lockdown

kate: I finally graduated with my Master's in engineering and got a job, at a company I still work at, though things have evolved. I had actually applied to the company pre-pandemic for a different role, but they were hiring people for a team formed specifically in response to the pandemic, so in a way I have covid to thank for the last 4 years of my employment. I don't remember my first day as much as the interview and little I knew about how to interact with the recruiter vs the hiring manager or how many stages there would be, and how awkward it felt when they revealed it was actually for a "more junior" role for a contractor instead of being a full time employee. Like I hadn't qualified to be a "real" engineer but I did qualify to be a meat shield between them and covid. But the joke was on them because the contracting company actually miscalculated how much they wanted us to be paid and the hourly rate came out to about $104k/yr. It was wild to get out of college and immediately be making 6 figures doing a job that did not feel like it should be 6 figures, in the middle of a pandemic to boot. Anyways now I'm a real employee and making essentially the same lol.

Anonymous 2: i have a lot of trouble remembering things from this year. the only thing i can really think of is walking my dog around the suburban development my family lived in

Lucas: COVID lockdowns

Anonymous 3: Waking up at 5am to phone B. who at the time was in a city on the west coast of America where it was 9pm. Our conversation springing straight out from the non-differentiation of my sleep made it easy to get to the purity of reflexivity that he and I were always trying to reach in our conversations at that time. Feeling the fractal purity of talking about the act of talking, of trying to be as present to the reality of the moment without interjecting "topics" to talk "about", which when our conversations were at their best was the whole point of them, to be the only real way of trying to connect two subjectivities, feeling like this was the closest I'd ever come to genuinely sharing an experience with someone in a shared subjectivity, instead of being trapped as two subjectivities irrevocably in object positions vis a vis each other, and that feeling being love.

Anonymous 4: Online school and a ton of work at Five Below

superswag: All the events, covid shopping, CHAZ

v0w0v: The Minneapolis Uprising. I had just moved into the city and was very involved from day one. I was in contact with a lot of mutual aid networks and as the only person in the house with a car i found myself doing a lot of stuff on behalf of the people I lived with. It was a very busy time. I saw and did a lot of things. Something that stood out to this day is when I was on the way to meet with a front lines aid group. I came to an intersection that had a car crash. Someone had crawled out of the car and was crying out in pain. There was national guard soldier on the corner by an apartment complex standing by with a huge automatic rifle, just watching along with the crowd of onlookers. They didn't try to help the person at all. They were not equipped to help. There was a heavy military presence in the whole city. I remember the smell of tear gas.

Anonymous 6: Being isolated, sitting in a faraday cage at an art exhibit as heat lamps droned above me, still instinctively trying to flick on my phone.

Anonymous 7: watching nge.

binnie: A blur

Anonymous 8: COVID, Having my first seizure and getting cheated on

April M. Mildew: Falling down the stairs at a ski lodge while listening to the 2015 recording of Times to Die by Car Seat Headrest on a Nintendo 3DS. It must have been in February. January?

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hong-kong-art-man · 1 year ago

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Causeway Bay: The Fascinating History Of ‘The Diamond Of Hong Kong’, From Coffee Farm To Simple And Innocent Residential Area With Warehouses In The 1950s, As Recollected By A Barrister David Lai

I do not keep a diary. I remember too little. When I was in a scene, I hardly paid it any mind. The memory of being with others is often offered by others to me as a lasting impression of their own.

Causeway Bay (CWB) (銅鑼灣) is a very famous shopping district in Hong Kong. There is a big department store Sogo and what in front of it is the super busy pedestrian scramble crossing. Every minute, people in all directions inundate the entire intersection. The spectacular sight ‘Sogo Crossing’ is akin to the famous ‘Shibuya Crossing’ in Tokyo.

CWB means Copper Gong Bay. In 1916, the southern foothills of it were coffee plantations. There is still a cemetery by the nickname of ‘coffee plantation cemetery’ (咖啡園墳場). Its proper name is Mount Caroline Cemetery.

CWB was originally a bay located between North Point (北角) and Wan Chai (灣仔). The area has been chiefly reclaimed along the southern seashore of Victoria Harbour(維多利亞港). CWB of today is an area that was water a few hundred years ago. In 1841, the British colonial government sold a large plot of land, very near the typhoon shelter where thousands of fishermen lived, to the opium trader Jardine Matheson and they turned the area into godowns and factories.

My barrister friend David Lai (黎德誠) remembered, “In the 1950s when I was a child living there, Causeway Bay was not as busy as Central (中環) or Wan Chai (灣仔). The huge warehouses area was later demolished and turned into many stylish residential blocks with seaview balconies in the late 50s. These blocks now form the bustling shopping district of Paterson Street (百德新街), Great George Street (記利佐治街) and Kingston Street (京士頓街).”

David is quick-witted, helpful and sincere. His grandfather and father were grain trading merchant in Mainland China, Hong Kong and South Asia before World War II. After the war, his father assisted in managing one of the first 5-star Chinese restaurant Café de Chine (大華大飯店) with a nightclub on the rooftop at the junction of Pedder Street (畢打街) and Queen’s Road Central (皇后大道中). He was a sporty and righteous young man. In the 70s, he was an Assistant Station Officer of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, starting as a Probationary Inspector of the Royal Hong Kong Police and, as time went by, served as the Personal Assistant of the Commissioner of Police Raymon Anning (顏理國) and as the Head of Interpol Hong Kong before leaving the Force to join the private sector as top executive of local entities and regional head of multinational corporations. Fond of law and court trials, the secret urge of being a brave barrister crashed on him. He gave up his corporate’s top executive career and started afresh as a junior lawyer. Now, he is a busy barrister boxed up in his office helping people to look for justice especially over trust and commercial matters.

David sighed, “When I was a child, the northeast side of Causeway Bay was quiet as there were many warehouses including cold storage(The Dairy Farm Ice & Cold Storage Co) and ice factories. A typhoon shelter was outside the waterfront (it was later reclaimed to become Victoria Park (維多利亞公園), the biggest park in Hong Kong).

During the day, thousands of fishermen lived on boats in the shelter. At night, some boats hang up red lanterns and put up colourful paper festoons. They became seafood restaurants. Other boats became floating cabarets. The air was pervaded with singing, music of erhu and claps of the hands. The water shelter was also a ‘swimming pool’ for the kids. We caught small mussels, cockles and clams and later surrendered them to mother for cooking.”

I asked David, “What are your special memories about Causeway Bay in the 50s?” He smiled, “In the 50s, you could park your car anywhere in Causeway Bay. Now, there is hardly any place for one to stand or any space for a car to pass in the clamour of the crowded streets.”

David carried on, “In those days, funeral service at home was legal. The end of the ceremony was that coffin would be lowered with a rope from balcony to the street. Then, a funeral procession ensued. The deceased was carried by a van to the final resting place. Family members followed the vehicle on foot. Musicians played traditional Chinese farewell music and suonas (‘啲打’), gongs (鑼) and drums(鼓) were the common instruments. We, as kids, shared no sorrow but made fun of such events.”

I explored history, “What made Causeway Bay a busy shopping district in the 60s?” David felt pity, “From 1958 to 1962, there was an economic and social campaign called ‘The Great Leap Forward (大躍進)’ in China. The campaign was to reconstruct the country from an agrarian economy into an industrialized society through extreme measures. But, the campaign failed and a famine was resulted. Refugees flocked to Hong Kong and Causeway Bay was suddenly flooded by thousands of homeless people strewing along, down and across the roads. I recall that they slept on the staircases and roofs of buildings, including our block. Even the Police could not stop such tramps. Some squatters took over empty roofs and built iron sheet houses. Other opportunistic flat owners subdivided their units into small cubicles and let them to refugees. The loss was that Causeway Bay became so beaten down that it stopped having the refined middle-class residential aura. The gain was that consensual interest of new immigrants in Causeway Bay made her a very densely-populated area. Gradually, old, elegant and spacious blocks without ground-level shops were pulled down. Tall, packed and multi-functional buildings with tiny dwellings, shops and workshops for tailors, goldsmiths and shoemakers replaced. The simple and innocent Causeway Bay in the 50s was gone. I told myself it was vital to be optimistic when the world seemed to have suddenly a very strange face!”

I listened with great enthusiasm, “Does it ring true that Causeway Bay was a lucky place with great ‘earth pulse’ feng shui?” David thought about it, “Not necessarily true. There are objective factors. Watching football matches was a popular pastime in those years. The Hong Kong Stadium (former name ‘Government Stadium’) there, opened in 1955, housed more than 20,000 audience members. So, every day, thousands of people went in and out of Causeway Bay. Besides, Causeway Bay was a new area and it was easier to accommodate the construction of huge cinemas. There were almost 10 in the district, the then mega movies like Ben-Hur (1959), The Longest Day (1962) and Zulu (1964) were shown in big cinemas like Roxy(樂聲) and Hoover(豪華).” I added, “When I was a small boy living in Wan Chai, my parents often took me to Causeway Bay to watch movies. They said Causeway Bay offered more varieties such as Hollywood, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong movies.”

David concluded, “In 1960, the first Japanese department store Daimaru (大丸) arrived in Hong Kong and it settled down in Causeway Bay. The shopping paradise selling Japanese trendy things attracted crowds after crowds. It is a regret that Daimaru, once hot, was no longer hot. It finally vanished in 1998! Surely, it contributed tremendously to the past prosperity of Causeway Bay.”

We cannot get through a single day without changes around us. The present Causeway Bay was developed 70 years ago but can it survive the challenge of another 70 years? We yearn for the better changes. Whenever I walk around in Causeway Bay, I find new shops and restaurants. Sadly, it is also getting aged and dirty at the same time. Need for urban renewal is a pressing problem in Hong Kong. One has to endure bad traffic, air pollution and crowdedness in Causeway Bay now. We all look forward to more gentrification there, the transformation of a city neighbourhood from poor environment to higher-value surroundings particularly with more trees. The 2 eye-soaring filthy footbridges in Yee Wo Street are already the ‘monsters’, worth the urgency of rebuilding!

Maurice Lee

Chinese Version 中文版: https://www.patreon.com/posts/da-lu-shi-li-de-88472217?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Causeway Bay in the 70s Acknowledgement – Pun Pun

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Causeway Bay in the 70s Acknowledgement-老朋友

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Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay in 1962 Acknowledgement-知多一點點2

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Typhoon Shelter in Causeway Bay since 1945 Acknowledgement-歴史時空3.0進級版

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#Daimaru 大丸 #Shibuya Crossing #Youtube

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pollylynn · 4 years ago

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Title: Superscript WC: 1100 Episode: Demons (4 x 06)

When it comes to the murder of Jack Sinclair—when it comes to all the wrangling over the nonsensical idea that there are ghosts in the world that require wrangling—what she is doing is perfectly sensible. She, as usual, is doing her job. What he is doing is . . . kind of extra, even for him. She wonders what that’s about.

She can only wonder about it part time. She does, after all, have a murder to solve. And not only is she clearly not going to get any useful help from him on that front, he has managed to turn one of her actual detectives to the dark side. Ryan, whom she suspects of getting a sizable under-the-table allowance from Dad for obsequious supporting roles played and annoying services rendered, has fully defected to Team Supernatural. Add to that—or subtract, rather—the time that Esposito is spending whining about little brother getting to play Ghost Hooky, and Team Rational is not operating at fully capacity.

And still, she siphons off a little focus to wonder why he’s so intent on horror movie explanations—and why she’s feeling a little sharp about that. The two go together, the way his mood and her mood so often do, don’t they?

These, at least, are all in good fun. or they’re mostly in good fun. He stays up all night writing a ghost story on the flip side of her murder board, and she rolls her eyes about it. She plays the decidedly not obsequious role of the Fun Police, as though she doesn’t find it endearing when he knows that he’s in for torture—he knows that there is a back-to-reality bitch slap in his near future—but he can’t contain his excitement.

This, she thinks, goes beyond that dynamic, though. She could write it off to just him and the time of year. She could take the fact of him staying up all night—alone, in the precinct—to be this year’s wandering through a graveyard in suspenders. But it seems like it might be a little extra.

For one thing, the shit gets real when it turns out that he’s drunk her coffee—and his coffee, and what? Did he wander into the street before dawn in some kind of fugue state to get them? Then it gets very real indeed when he fails to fulfill his sacred vow to make her a replacement coffee before he and his favorite son head off in the Mystery Machine to pointlessly interview the former tenants who were credulous enough to get scared off from the very unhaunted McLaren house.

That whole incident, she supposes, puts caffeine deprivation on the table as an explanation. It’s possible that there’s nothing extra here in reality, it just looks that way through the glare of her ocular headache. But that explanation doesn’t satisfy once she has finally bent the damnable cappuccino machine to her will.

He is not just stumbling into the bitch slap with his enthusiasm for the supernatural. He is courting the bitch slap. He is sassing her about being too busy solving her murder to follow-up on the lead his Ghost Hooky date with Ryan yielded and implying—actually implying—that he’d rather hop right back into the Mystery Machine than ride with her to take down a grifter of interest in the murder of their mountebank. He is showing up, unannounced, on her doorstep to spout jargon and smugly ask how her solo canvas under the Team Rational banner went.

It is all very definitely extra, so she turns around and puts a little extra in her own push back. She snickers about proton packs and makes him beg before she says it—I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. She shoots him the mother of all smug looks when Detective Smith wonders what kind of jackass would buy the demon storyline that Matt Benton apparently tried to sell. And even as she delivers shot after shot, she can’t help wondering why it is they’re pushing and pulling a little more forcefully than usual.

The demon storyline, much as she’s loath to admit it, knocks something loose for her. The demon storyline is where they—against all odds—intersect, she in her quest for mundane, completely off-this-world explanations, he with the ghost story he’s writing on the fly.

Matt Benton is—or was, as it turns out—a demon. They both have to look away from the photos of Melanie that tumble out of the domestic complaint file they dig up. They both find the floor in Pete Benton’s office suddenly fascinating as the man’s voice cracks and he doesn’t know whether to be relieved or horrified that his brother did not, as he has believed all these years, brutally murder the woman he himself had once loved.

Addison Smith is a demon. A man charged with protecting people—a man who had seen in the flesh what the two of them have to look away from in two infinitely removed dimensions—stands there snarling about everyone else’s guilt. He stands there in the middle of that hideous, patterned floor that has so recently been rendered all the more awful with the wild, violent spray of Jack Sinclair’s blood, and would have the world believe that everyone else is at fault.

It’s pure evil. It’s the devil’s handiwork they’re standing on now, they’ve been wandering through lately, from Brian Hayes, impaled on a sculpture, to the carelessly brutal disposal of Jane Herzfeld’s body, from Tyler Faris, split in two, to the Lester Hamilton-less pool of Lester Hamilton’s blood—it’s a lot.

It’s a lot on top of everything that isn’t a crime scene, isn’t a mystery to puzzle out, him leading with wild theories, her tugging them back to earth. It’s a lot, and this—his push and pull, his sass and her bitch slap—is how they cope together.

And in the end, she’ll take the finishing touches he puts on his ghost story. Matt Benton was a demon. Addison Smith is a demon. Those are facts from Team Rational and they suck badly enough that she’s willing to play Ghost Hooky. with him.

She’s willing to agree that Jack Sinclair very well might have nudged some things on this mortal plane to give them an assist when they most needed it. Jack Sinclair very well might have gotten something like justice for himself from beyond the grave.

Everything has sucked lately. Everything has extra sucked. So just this once, she’s Team Supernatural.

A/N: Racing against the lack of morphousness in my old, constantly crashing laptop at 4 AM. Like you do. There is no morphousness in this ghost story.

images via homeofthenutty

#Castle #Caskett #Castle: Season 4 #Castle: Demons #Kate Beckett #Richard Castle #Kevin Ryan #Javier Esposito #Fic #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Fan Fic #Fan Fiction #Writing #Tell Me More

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urmomsstuntdouble · 4 years ago

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89 for the writing promp game? 👀👀 whichever characters u feel like it fits

oof this took a while. wasn’t sure who to write it about, and i didnt use those exact words, but. yeah. here it is!

(3rd person pov, lithuania x romano)

Nobody enjoyed world meetings. It was a known fact, and one regular humans would probably assume without knowing what transpired at such meetings- Which wasn’t much, in all honesty. And while they weren’t fun, they weren’t always bad. Sometimes they’d be in a nice city, and flights would line up with those of friends, and so forth- Today was not one of those days.

Tolvydas had stumbled off their train at three o’clock in the morning, and into their hotel bed two hours later. Their body now ran on two hours of sleep, and the conditions of the meeting didn't do much to help them stay awake. Jackets and ties were folded over the backs of several chairs, and some of the other nations held small wooden fans in death grips. Some were slumped over, and others stayed at attention. Of the other Baltic states, Estonia had removed his glasses and Latvia was clearly more focussed on his smartphone than the presentation. Tolvydas couldn’t blame them. The heat of the room seemed a cage, pressing in on them and making sweat drip down their back.

Why did the meeting have to be in Southern Europe? Tolvydas could handle the heat, but being trapped inside for an entire day- On which nothing tainted the pure azure of the sky- was a lot. A glance around told them they weren’t alone, as nearly every forehead shone with sweat. Every now and then, Tolvydas’ head touched their chest and they jerked back to attention. Their efforts were futile, though, and they’d yet to catch a single word of Paraguay’s speech.

Someone tapped their shoulder- Feliks, sitting at their left. Tolvydas looked down at them, where they’d rested their head on crossed arms.

“So bored,” they mouthed, and Tolvydas nodded. They shifted their notepad into Feliks’ line of sight and gouged the word TIRED into the paper. Feliks nodded with pink cheeks and drooping eyelids, and swiped the pen away from Tolvydas. Wish there was air conditioning. LORENZO DOESN’T BELIEVE IN AIR CONDITIONING.

Feliks giggled at that, attracting the glares of some nearby nations. Pink cheeks turned red, and they sank down a bit in their seat, folding their arms. Tolvydas sighed, and rested their head in their hands. Would it be a good idea to tape their eyes open? No, and they didn’t have any tape…shame. Tolvydas tilted their head around, looking for the host nation. Lorenzo. Romano, or Italy- They hardly ever spoke of things related to their nationhood. In fact, they only spoke as a result of social happenstance, that being Feliciano’s friendship with Feliks, and the Italy brothers shared a car, and that Tolvydas had spent much of the 90s on Feliks’ couch. A coincidence Tolvydas was fond of, actually. It was rare that nations befriended each other purely for social reasons. Even Feliks came into their life for the sake of politics.

Tolvydas looked around the room yet again, this time searching for Lorenzo. Would he be drowning in sweat too, they wondered? The answer seemed to be yes, and they bit back a smile upon seeing him. He sat hunched over the desk, with his suit jacket resting on the back of his chair. Dark circles lined both his armpits and eyes. As if cued by their staring, Lorenzo opened his water bottle and took four hearty gulps, then returned it, empty, to the desk. Tolvydas blinked, and wiped some sweat from their forehead. When they returned to their hotel room, they would get rid of all these clothes and lay on the bed with the windows open until they fell asleep.

They shuffled their papers about, searching for the weekend’s itinerary. They gave their speech the day before, but about a hundred nations still had to take their turns…According to the schedule, today’s last presenter would be Qatar. So the meeting would be over by…seven, maybe? Tolvydas pushed some air through their lips and picked at a loose thread in their shirt sleeve.

It wasn’t until about seven thirty that Qatar gave her presentation, and closing the meeting took another half hour. Once that was done, the nations milled about and spoke, as per their custom. Rare was it that they were allowed to be people- Tolvydas would never understand how people could say they ‘didn’t pay attention to politics.’ Paying attention to politics was all they could ever do. Then again, they were Lithuania, not a person.

Fortunately, many of the nations elected to move outside after the meeting ended. They fit right in with the students, bustling around the university campus. Nations fragmented here, splitting off with friends or returning to their hotels. Most importantly, though, they were stopped by people asking to take selfies. Tolvydas smiled and laughed when required, and let themself be dragged around with the other EU members.

“Where are we going?” Asked Feliks at their side, and they nodded, glancing around. Tolvydas wasn’t sure they recognized this city- They’d been to so many, it was hard to remember, and European cities started to look the same after a while.

“Not sure,” said somebody- Hungary. “I think Vene said something about a bar? I wasn’t really paying attention.” She snorted like it was punctuation, and Feliks laughed.

“Oh, Erzsi! Hey, I didn’t see you there!” Feliks launched himself at her, and was lucky that she reacted fast enough to catch him.

“Hi, Erzsebet,” Tolvydas said, suppressing a laugh.

“Hey, losers,” She said, arms clenched around Feliks’ waist. “Glad to see you here, that meeting was stuffy as hell.”

“Ugh, I know, right?” Feliks said. They righted themself, walking independent of Erzsebet again. “I was practically dying of the heatstroke.”

“I don’t think you can get heatstroke if you’re not in the sun,” Tolvydas said.

“You can,” a voice chimed in- Spain. “Trust me, summers are brutal at my place. Hey, can I ask you a question, Lithuania?” Tolvydas glanced over their shoulder, as if there was some other Lithuania he could be talking to.

“Uh, yes,” They said.

“Do you have nude beaches in your country?” Tolvydas choked on their own spit, and let out a strangled chuckle.

“Y-Yes,” They laughed, “Sorry, I didn’t expect you to ask something like that-”

“I was thinking about all the ways I’ve gotten heat stroke before,” Spain told them, holding his hands in front of his chest like a T-Rex.

“And one was at a nude beach?”

“Well, yes…” He narrowed his eyes. “More than one, actually. I don’t like nude beaches, Lithuania, because if you’re not careful you can get sunburned…I mean, you can on a regular beach, but it’s so awkward to be, like, in front of your people and putting sunscreen on your entire body, you know? And I’m a country, so it’s a lot of attention, and all that…You know?”

“Well,” Tolvydas said, “Not really, because I don’t get a lot of sun, but yeah, sort of.” They bit their lip- Since they’d been talking to Spain, they had totally lost track of where they were in the city. The university was out of sight, and Feliks was now absorbed into a conversation with Hungary and the other EU Slavs.

“Hm. You are pretty pale.” Tolvydas tucked some hair behind their ear.

“Yeah,” They said, not sure what else to say.

“Yeah,” Spain murmured, eyes darting about the street. “Where are you taking us, Feli?”

“What?!” Asked Italy. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, causing Finland to crash into him. “Oh, crap! I’m sorry, Finland.” Finland gave him a smile and assured him it was no problem.

“I said, where are you taking us?” Spain shouted, “I don’t recognize this street.”

“Umm, I actually forget?” Italy laughed, “My brother has a bar he likes that’s near here, but I don’t like it so I don’t remember what it’s called? And he’s busy now, so- Yeah. Oh, hi Lithuania! I didn't see you there, how’re you doing today?” Tolvydas started, eyes widening.

“Hi,” They said, “I’m tired, but it’s alright. You have a lovely home.”

“Thanks,” Italy said, “Though it’s really my brother’s, I…I don’t really like it that much down here, to be honest. Don’t tell him I said that. But it is nice to visit!”

“Excuse you, it’s lovely here!” Spain said, “I’m telling on you, Feli.”

“Don't!” Italy shrieked, “Please?” He turned to Spain with wide eyes. Even Tolvydas would have to oblige, and they had plenty of experience saying no to cute people. Well. Cute dogs. And Raivis. And Feliks, and Russia. Maybe they did have experience saying no to cute people after all.

“I’m only joking,” Spain said, “Besides, Lithuania here agrees with me, don’t you?”

“Uh,” Tolvydas said, “I do, yes. It’s- It’s a very nice climate you have here. And I like this street- Very, uh, very nice cobblestones.” Italy snorted, his hair falling into his eyes.

“Thanks, I’m glad you like them,” He said, though they weren’t his. Tolvydas hummed, and took a moment to really look at the street they were on. Buildings kept the sun from reaching them, but not the warmth. Storefronts beckoned here and there, with parked motorcycles at intersections and window boxes at second floor windows. Every so often they passed some graffiti, though most of it was nonsensical to Tolvydas. Not once did they see a street sign. If it weren’t for Lorenzo’s lead, Tolvydas would be completely lost.

Finally, the group made it to the bar. It was a nice, quiet place- Tolvydas felt bad for the staff. They hoped nobody would get kicked out, though it was unlikely. Who was a nation, really, if they’d never been asked to leave a bar before?

Tolvydas wound up sitting beside Spain, with Lorenzo on their other side. Neither spoke to them- Spain was discussing the art of bartending with Italy, and Lorenzo preferred glaring into his cocktail. Tolvydas wondered if they should talk to him- They’d only spoken a brief hello today, after all, and that was a formality. But he seemed annoyed, with his furrowed brow and crossed arms…And now he was looking at them.

“Why are you looking at me?” Tolvydas sat a little straighter.

“Um. I, uh, I was wondering if it would be okay for me to talk to you,” They said, mouth dry. Lorenzo bit the corner of his lip, eyebrows raised.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know, you looked, like, a bit irritated,” Tolvydas said, “S-Sorry.”

“You’re right, I am,” Lorenzo said, “Fuckin’ hate hosting world meetings. There’s so many people who are just in my space, you know? And I didn’t even realize there were so many people following me when we were on the way here.” He lifted his cocktail. Black salt rimmed the glass, and Lorenzo licked some away. “Was talking to Belgium, got distracted. But she left to go back to her hotel, so. Anyway.” He hung his head between his shoulders. “That’s a bit much, I know.”

“No,” Tolvydas said, “World meetings suck, whether you’re hosting or not…I don’t hate it but also there’s that invasion-y feeling.”

“Invasion-y feeling, yeah,” Lorenzo murmured, and licked more salt from the rim of his glass. “‘M tired.”

“Me too,” Tolvydas said. “I need to bring hair ties tomorrow.”

“That sounds useful,” Lorenzo mumbled. He took a slow drink of his cocktail, wincing at the end. “You don’t have anything to drink.” Tolvydas glanced down at the bar in front of them, and no, they didn’t. Huh, they hadn’t noticed.

“I don't,” They said, and glanced over at the bartender. A young man with veiny forearms, chatting as he shook up a new drink. His hair was greased back into a pseudo helmet.

“Giulio!” Lorenzo shouted, catching his attention. Giulio paused in his drink-making and glanced back, then nodded and went on with his business. “He’ll get you in a second.”

“Thanks,” Tolvydas murmured, “I could’ve waited.”

“Yeah, but you’re talking to me right now,” Lorenzo said. He sipped his drink again. “And I don’t want to talk to you when I’m drinking and you’re not. Then it’s not equal.”

“Fair enough,” Tolvydas said, “I can just shut up if you want me to-”

“No, we’re talking now,” Lorenzo said, “I want to talk. And it’s my country, so…yeah.” He took a drink.

“I think it’s nice here,” Tolvydas said, “Very warm.” Lorenzo hummed, then glanced up- Giulio stood at the ready, finished with his previous drink. He exchanged some words with Lorenzo, who turned to Tolvydas after a moment.

“What do you want?”

“Um- Could I please have a krambambula?” Lorenzo relayed the message, and Giulio was up to drink-mixing.

“What’s a krambambula?” Lorenzo mused, peering over the bar.

“Wine and vodka,” Tolvydas responded, “Belarus’ favorite.” Lorenzo hummed.

“Didn’t you used to be married to her or something?” Tolvydas bowed their head, letting hair fall in front of their eyes. “So you did, huh?”

“Y-Yes,” Tolvydas stammered, “Briefly, a hundred years ago-”

“She good in bed?”

“What?” Their cheeks grew warm, too warm for it to simply be the heat. “No- I mean- I don’t know, see-”

“Hey, calm down, I’m just making conversation.” Lorenzo waved a hand, “It’s none of my business, I know.”

“We, um. Never slept together,” Tolvydas said, “She doesn’t like me very much, actually.”

“Oh. That’s a shame,” Lorenzo said, and Tolvydas nodded, though they weren't sure what the shame actually was. A shame they never slept together? Maybe- Since she didn’t reciprocate their feelings, it was hard to really fantasize. They could daydream about kissing her all they wanted, but they’d still know that acting on it would be assault. So their feelings were in the process of fading away. A shame she didn’t like them very much? Eh, they would get over it. Eventually, maybe. They had time.

Giulio returned with their drink.

“Can I have a taste?” Lorenzo asked, “Never tried that before.”

“Of course,” Tolvydas said, and handed him the glass. He took a sip, and struggled to keep his face from contorting in disgust. “You don't like vodka?” Tolvydas asked, taking a swig.

“Shit’s nasty,” Lorenzo said, “Tastes like sadness. And like, we’ve all got issues or whatever, but mine aren’t so bad I need to drink vodka.” Tolvydas snorted.

“Okay. Lightweight.”

“Lightweight?!”

“Yeah, vodka’s like 95% alcohol volume.”

“Psh, whatever.” Lorenzo scoffed, and Tolvydas giggled at the sheer nonsense of it. “Why are you laughing at me?” He asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“Psh, whatever?” They repeated, “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It does so,” He said, “You’re too small-brained to get it.” That stung a bit, but Tolvydas didn't mind. They understood it was a joke, though they didn’t appreciate it any more for understanding.

“Whatever,” They said, looking away. Their eyes naturally picked Feliks out of the group- He sat on the bar, legs crossed, with a glass of wine held in both hands. He’d unbuttoned his shirt to the third button. Tolvydas shook their head- It wouldn’t be very long before they were completely drunk.

“I hope Feliks doesn’t overdo it,” They thought.

“Probably will. They look like they’d be wasted after two glasses of wine,” Lorenzo commented. Tolvydas jolted- They hadn't realized they were speaking aloud.

“They’re- Yeah,” Tolvydas said, “They like parties, always have, but they get drunk too fast to enjoy it.”

“Maybe that’s why they like parties so much. ‘Cause they don’t remember what one’s like, from all the drinking,” Lorenzo said, “Toni’s like that, sort of.” Tolvydas hummed, and swirled their drink around in the glass.

“I don’t think such heavy drinking is a sign that one likes parties,” They murmured, “After all, if you like doing something, wouldn’t you want to experience as much of it as you can?” Lorenzo scoffed, and they turned their head to look at him. His arm was thrown around the back of his chair, with his chest out and facing them. Sweat still clung to his forehead- It was less oppressively hot in this bar than the meeting room, but only just.

“Part of the allure of drinking is that it can make you forget about things,” He said, “Happy people don’t develop alcohol issues. And, you know, for people like us, it’s different, seeing as how we can’t fucking die.” Tolvydas shrugged in response. They shifted in their seat, feeling the cheap leather through their pants, and took another sip of their drink. Lorenzo was correct in that one liked to drink to forget. For people like them, there were virtually no downsides, save whatever you did while you were drinking. Once, Tolvydas had set a cow on fire and didn’t find out until the next morning when, in the clutches of a hangover, they were arrested.

“I guess,” They said. Then, mind caught on the cow-arson, “What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done while drunk?” Lorenzo sucked air in through his teeth.

“Done too much stupid shit to tell you off the top of my head,” He admitted, “But, uh, this one time, I drank up a town’s entire supply of wine. Bad move. Had to regrow my kidney.” Tolvydas winced, a bit less inclined to finish their drink.

“That sounds painful.”

“Yeah,” Lorenzo said, “Much like hosting the fucking world meetings.” Hosting the world meetings was terrible- It was a constant headache to have so many other nations around you, especially if it was in your capital city. Tolvydas had never had maggots in a wound before, but they imagined that was what it felt like.

“Oh, I know,” They said. It was a good thing they all shared the burden of hosting the meetings. Locations cycled through nations, such that Lithuania wouldn’t be the host country for another ten years- They’d still have to do smaller meetings, of course, like the EU and UN and such, but at least it wasn’t a world meeting. Over two hundred nations in the same city could make even the humans feel a bit off.

“I’d be better if all you people hadn’t- hadn’t fucking followed me here. I mean- I didn’t want my idiot brother to invite the entire goddamn continent.”

“I’m sorry,” Tolvydas said, “I was just going with everyone else-”

“I don’t- You know, actually, I need to continue this conversation outside,” Lorenzo said, and stood up. He said a few words to Giulio and turned around, making for the door. Tolvydas’ skin pricked- What had they done wrong? It was just a simple conversation- But of course they’d manage to screw it up. They remained on the edge of their seat, with their eyes fixed on Lorenzo, as he walked out of the bar. As he got to the door, they stood. Should they apologise? Or- Or did Lorenzo want to fight them now? They pushed away the idea, knowing it was all probably fine.

Tolvydas pulled out their wallet, and left a few euros beside their drink. They followed Lorenzo outside, stumbling when they left the bar. The moon had risen while they were in the bar. He stood in the middle of the sidewalk, bathed in silver light save the faint glow of a lit cigarette. Tolvydas swallowed. While it was dark outside, the heat from the day had yet to evaporate. Tolvydas speculated that if they were to touch Lorenzo’s skin, he’d be as warm as if he were sunbathing. Right, Lorenzo- They were not here to stare at him.

“Are you okay?” Lorenzo jumped, turning around with wide eyes. His shoulders sagged when he saw them.

“Yeah,” He mumbled, “Just fuckin’ tired. Want to go home.”

“Oh,” Tolydas said, “Sorry then, I’ll- I’ll fuck off now.” They turned away, poised to return to the bar.

“No,” Lorenzo said, then bit his lips. “I mean-” He put his cigarette between his lips and took a long drag. He looked hollow for a moment before he turned his head and blew a ring with the smoke. “You smoke?”

“Uh, no, not really…not anymore.”

Lorenzo hummed. “Shame. I could teach you how to blow rings, if you did.”

“You still can,” Tolvydas said, voice paper-thin, “If you want. And if I could borrow a cigarette. World meetings are hard on the rest of us too.” Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, and pulled a pack of cigarettes out from his back pocket.

“Ah, but you’re not the host, Lithuania. And you represent your entire country.”

“You can call me Tolvydas,” They said, “I mean, if you’re comfortable with that.”

“I just offered to teach you how to blow smoke rings. I don’t do that with everyone you know,” Lorenzo said, “Maybe I’m still fucked up from the meeting…But okay, sure. Tolvydas.”

“Thanks,” They muttered, “Also yeah, sorry about your. Brother.” Lorenzo shrugged, and took another drag.

“I don't want to think about him right now…No, I want to go home…” He bit his lip, and swayed from side to side. Was he alright? Tolvydas ran through a list of all the little things they knew to do if a nation was sick. Lorenzo coughed, and they twitched, hands reaching out for him. Instead of falling or even stumbling, Lorenzo put his cigarette to his lips another time. His cheeks shone in the orange glow. When he was done, he ground the butt under his heel. Three smoke rings floated away from his mouth.

“I’m gonna go get drunk at home now…You can come if you want.” He turned on his heel, reducing the cigarette butt into a stain of ash. He had a nice gait, Tolvydas thought. A medium sized stride, and they couldn't help but notice the sway of his hips…

Several short and fast steps later, Tolvydas was by his side.

song lyric asks

#oof i thought tumblr ate this ask and i was about to be so pissed #fortunately it did not!#anyway this was fun to write #i hope you enjoy it !#hetalia #hws #hws lithuania #hws romano #my writing #my fic #ceros posting #ask #romaliet ?

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mrsalwayswrite · 4 years ago

Text

This Night (40s!Bucky Barnes x Hispanic!OFC)

Summary: When she saved a scrawny blond in a back alley, she would never have anticipated the ripple effects it would have. Nor how meeting someone with a pair of baby blue eyes and cocky smirk would draw her in, encouraging her that for one night, to taste revelry like she never had before.

This is my submission for @allaboardthereadingrailroad Marvel Diversity Challenge! My prompt was “a little danger never hurt”.

I am going to admit, I’m super nervous to post this. I’ve never written a person of color before and would be horrified to accidently offend someone. That being said, I also had so much fun writing this piece. I adore 40s Bucky and Steve, so I was excited to finally have the inspiration to write them.

Few notes:

-All translations are via google and what I can remember from university (if any of my Spanish is wrong, please please please someone tell me and i’ll correct it!)

-I threw in some 40s slang for fun, so that will be in italics.

-In the little research I did (again, someone please correct me if I am wrong), in the 40s there were not many Hispanic or Latino people living in NYC yet. So for my OFC and her family, they would very much stand out.

Warnings: a few swear words, some angst, sexual tension, topic of racial discrimination and inequality

Words: 8k (the story kept growing, i’m so sorry)

She clutched the parcel to her chest, trying to avoid the muddy puddles on the sidewalk. Mr. Hendricks would be furious with her if she got any mud on the packaging of the parcel. He always said it reflected his reputation.

Weaving through those walking down the busy Brooklyn sidewalk, she could feel the few glares and inaudible comments following in her wake. She tried to ignore it, knowing was not the first nor last time others judged her for her different skin tone. Though she doubted she would ever get used to it. One of her older brothers would try and cheer her up saying the white folks were jealous since they burned when in the sun too long while Spaniards became more beautiful. Without fail, she would smack him but end up laughing along.

Peeking at the address scrawled in precise handwriting, she surveyed the street names around. A sinking feeling in her gut confirmed her fear- she had somehow gotten lost.

“Mierda.” She hissed, turning around in a circle. Not just to try and relocate her whereabouts but on the off chance her mother happened to be behind her to whack her over the head for swearing.

Not wanting to be run over by a fellow pedestrian, she stepped off the sidewalk into an alley nearby while she tried to get her bearings. She brushed down the front of her workwear, dark blue, princess style dress with its Peter Pan collar, double pockets and pleated skirt. A glance at her tights showed a couple spots of mud she somehow managed to still get on her even though her kitten heels were still mostly clean. A miracle really.

It was only mid-afternoon but Mr. Hendricks hated when she returned late from delivering parcels. He was the best tailor in Brooklyn and practically thrived off that title. He employed her to help keep things organized, the shop looking nice and delivering parcels to their patrons. It was mindless work but that did not bother her. It was a job...and she was lucky to have one. Being from one of the few Hispanic families in the area was not a perk when trying to find work. She knew the only reason she even got this job was she willingly took half the pay he would have given to anyone else, she could sew well, and she was pretty.

A crash at the end of the alley drew her attention behind her. There was some hushed talking followed by another sound of something hitting the ground. Hard.

Logically, she knew she should walk away. She was already lost. Her mother frequently reminded her to not involve herself in other people's business, it would only get her in trouble. The problem was her curiosity was a near palpable thing, driving her forward, along with her independent streak the size of the Upper Bay. So when she heard what sounded like a smack and another crash, her feet started moving without a second thought.

She darted around a half brick wall to find herself at an "L" intersection. And at the end of both alleys, stood a tall man with a face like a bulldog and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, fists at his side. Below him lay a much smaller, blond man who was sprawled out on the dirty ground. The smaller man groaned, rubbing a hand on his jaw. He rolled onto his side, then slowly and painfully rose back onto his feet, his own fists in front of him in a poor imitation of a boxer.

"You think you somethin' special, huh?" The larger man jeered, a nasty smirk on his face. He leaned on his back foot, preparing to throw another punch.

The smaller man raised his fists but made no other move, prepared to take the hit and most likely go back down.

So, she decided to do something stupid.

"BILL!!" She cried out, her voice echoing off the brick walls of the alleys.

Both men froze, turning to look at her.

Tucking the parcel under her arm, she jogged over to the smaller man, uncaring now of the muddy puddles. "There you are, Bill. I've been so worried. You promised to show me where Mrs. Wilcox lives. I tried to find her myself but I got so lost." Ignoring the quizzical look from the blond man, she stood between the two men, meeting the eyes of the larger one. She twirled a strand of her long, black hair around her finger, nerves getting to her but she pressed on. "I'm so sorry for whatever trouble he has caused you. He won't bother you again. We have to go now; our boss will dock our wages if we aren't back soon."

The man trailed his eyes over her as if looking for a lie tattooed on her skin or dress. Finding nothing of interest, he stared hard at his victim for a long moment. She found herself holding her breath, silently praying her ruse worked.

Finally, he rolled his shoulders and unclenched his fists, his thick jowls still tense. "Keep ‘im away from me or next time his ass will end up in the hospital."

Slowly, she released her breath as she watched the bulldog of a man turn on his heel and stomp away, back down the alley and onto the main sidewalk.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, looking over the smaller man. As he dusted off his brown trousers and tan jacket, she was surprised to realize he stood about her height, and probably about her age, in the young twenties. If her guessing was any good.

He rubbed his jaw again and winced where an impressive bruise was already growing. "I've had worse."

She could not help but smile at his nonchalance. His bright blue eyes met her own honey brown. A timid smile echoed hers, his face so open and expressive. Something about the man she found endearing already. Maybe defending him was not such a stupid action.

"All that stuff you said, about lookin' for me and gettin' lost…"

She huffed a laugh. "I am actually lost. I'm trying to find this address here." She showed him the scrap of paper with the address scribbled on it.

It took only a glance before he handed the paper back with a smile. "You're not too far. Only three streets away….I... I can take you there if you like."

"Oh, I'd hate to impose on you."

"No, it's really fine. Seems you saved me from...well…" He shrugged, sticking his hands in the pockets of his tan jacket.

"And... you...don't mind, you know, being seen with me?"

"No, why?" Eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed slightly, he stared at her like that was the strangest question.

It was in that moment she knew, whoever this scrawny man was- he was a good man. The difference in their ethnicity made no difference to him. He was a rarity in her experience with most New Yorkers.

Even though it was 1940 and this was supposed to be a land of equal opportunity.

It was not.

With a shrug and momentarily, awkward silence as they both thought about their own answers to his question, they fell into step with one another as they headed back out of the alley.

"So, what's your name? Or is it actually Bill?" She spoke up once they hit the sidewalk.

"Do I look like a Bill?"

She squinted her eyes then shook her head giggling. "No, you don't."

"It's Steve…. Steve Rogers."

"It's nice to meet you, Steve."

He directed them down another street. Their shoulders brushed occasionally as they walked, due more to their need to maneuver around puddles and other pedestrians than any sense of intimacy. "You gonna tell me your name or do I have to make one up for you?"

"Oh! Sorry. It's Elana Morales-Díaz. So, what caused the fight?"

The tips of his ears and cheeks turned pink as he ducked his head. "He, um, we...we had a disagreement."

"Obviously. I would hate to know you're friends and beat each other up for fun."

"My best friend is a boxer. He's tryin’ to teach me some moves…. does that count as beating each other up?"

She pretended to think about it. "I may let that one slide but it sounds like you might need some new friends."

"Yeah," he chuckled and peeked over at her. "Know of any openings?"

"I just might."

They stood at an intersection waiting to cross the street when they heard a shout from further down the road. Neither paid much attention initially until the shout repeated itself.

"STEVE!"

The blond looked down the road, a smile on his lips. He waved and tugged on Elana to move away from the curb. She followed along, surprised since he told her they needed to cross.

A man glided through the pedestrians easily, a few lingering looks thrown his way by some of the women. When he noticed her standing next to Steve, his eyes widened for a brief moment before a lazy smirk appeared on his face and his strut became more pronounced. With boxing gloves dangling over his shoulder, his white shirt and black trousers, he looked like he just walked out of a gym. Especially with the way his dark brown hair ruffled in the breeze, a few strands sticking up like he had run his hands through it a few times.

"I leave you for one afternoon and I come back to find you with the prettiest gal in all of New York."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You're always at the gym now."

The man put Steve in a teasing headlock. Only after a flirtatious wink at her, he released the smaller man. "So, you gonna introduce me to this wolfess, Steve?"

"Ah, right. Elana, this is my best friend, Bucky Barnes. Buck, this is Elana."

"Nice to meet you." She said, a small smile at their interactions. It reminded her of her brothers.

The man -Bucky- reached over and took her hand but instead of shaking it, pressed a kiss to her knuckles, maintaining eye contact the whole time. "Pleasure is mine."

Oh, he was a charmer. The kind her mother warned her about. Then again, her father had the same devilish charisma and Elana liked to remind her mother of that. To which her mother would laugh and say that's why she warned her daughter of those men, she knew from experience. With just a wink and kiss, she would fall madly in love, leave her home and give him five babies before she even knew it. It was always after this statement often said loudly and with feigned annoyance that Elana's father would wrap his arms around his wife, lovingly kiss her temple and remind her how long he had to chase her before she even agreed to go on a date with him.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Bucky asked, those blue eyes bouncing between the two of them.

Steve coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. It was then Bucky finally seemed to notice the slowly darkening bruise on Steve's jaw.

"Steve!" He grabbed his friend's face and glanced over him, concern etched in his movements and expression. "What happened this time, punk?"

"Nothin'...just a disagreement. I had 'im on the ropes."

He dropped his hand, running it through his brunet hair. "You gotta stop pickin’ fights, one of these days…" The implications hung heavily in the air.

"Ah, Steve…" When he looked over at her, she nodded toward the parcel still in her arms.

"Oh right! Sorry. Buck, I gotta take her to drop somethin' off."

Bucky shrugged. "Lead the way, punk."

"Jerk."

The three of them quickly crossed the street. Steve, and soon Bucky when he understood what was going on, pointed out markers for her in case she got lost again. In a short time, they arrived at the house, one of the nicer ones in Brooklyn. The boys waited on the sidewalk as Elana walked up to the front door and handed the parcel over with the man's tailored suit.

"Where you off to now, doll?" Bucky asked when she approached them.

"Oh, I need to get back to the shop. Mr. Hendricks will most likely be upset with how late I am anyway."

"The tailorin’ shop near Prospect Park?"

"Yeah." She played with a strand of her hair, trying to hide her nerves.

"What a coincidence. We were headed that way ourselves, right, Steve?"

"What?" Steve looked at Bucky, head tilted in confusion. Bucky cuffed him in the back of the head. "Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, gonna take a nice walk in the park."

Elana could not help but giggle at the two. With Bucky looking skyward like he was silently praying for patience to deal with his best friend; meanwhile Steve rubbed the back of his head and glared at his best friend. Although she just met them and hardly knew them, she found herself enjoying their presence. Friends were not something she had in great supply...or any supply really.

Plus, if she was being honest with herself, she found her gaze drifting to the tall, charming brunet more times than she cared to admit. The butterflies in her stomach did not help the situation. She knew it was foolish. He was attractive and knew it. But when he turned those baby blues on her and winked, she could not help but be drawn to him, like a moth to the flame.

"How come we ain't seen you round before? I know I'd remember a dame as beautiful as you round Brooklyn." Bucky said on her left side while Steve walked on her right. Neither one crowded her space. Sometimes one would touch a hand to her back to direct her steps or hold her elbow when she jumped a puddle. It was sweet instead of condescending.

She shrugged. "I recently got the job at the tailor shop and I live in Queens."

They both winced making her laugh. She would never understand this animosity the boroughs had with each other.

"Well that explains a lot." Steve muttered.

"Hey!" She nudged the blond with her shoulder as she muttered. "Me gusta Queens. Ustedes dos están celosos."

"What language is that?" Steve asked, curiosity evident.

"Spanish."

"Is that why you have an accent?"

She nodded, unable to meet their gazes as she answered. "My family moved here from Spain when I was six." Although she had grown up here in New York City, gone to school just like the other kids, she still maintained a slight accent to her words, different from the stereotypical New Yorker's accent.

"Say somethin’ else." Bucky smiled down at her.

She laughed. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Anythin’."

"El cielo es azul. Me duelen los pies con estos tacones. Me he reído más con ustedes dos que en semanas".

Bucky had almost a dazed look on his face. "That's beautiful."

"You have no idea what I said."

"Doesn't matter." The brunet stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Steve can talk in Irish."

"Buck…"

"What?"

"I mean, a little." He rubbed the back of his neck. "My ma came from Ireland."

Bucky snorted. "You wrote a poem for a girl in the second grade in Irish and read it to her on the playground. I'd say that's more than a little."

Steve's face was red and jaw dropped as he stared at his friend. "How...how...how do you know that?" He sputtered. "We weren't even friends yet."

Bucky winked at Elana as he answered. "Gotta be friends with the right people."

The three of them walked back, talking and laughing. Well it was mostly the boys talking and teasing one another but she enjoyed just listening to their banter. Occasionally they would direct a question to her or she would throw out a remark that had them laughing.

She guided them to the back alley of the street front shops. Mr. Hendricks disliked her walking through the front unless she had her work apron on and clean shoes.

"Well thank you for helping me and walking me back."

"It's not a big deal." Steve said.

"We'll see you round, yeah? I'd hate to just meet a gorgeous dame like you then never see her again." Bucky threw a wink at her, adjusting the boxing gloves still over his shoulder.

She opened her mouth to tease them then stopped. She truly hoped this was not the last time she saw these two. In a spur of the moment decision, she stepped closer to say goodbye. She pressed her cheeks to Steve's first, giving the traditional cheek kiss. She did the same to Bucky, though she had to rise on her toes to reach his face, and she suspected he bent over slightly.

"Hasta luego, mis amigos."

"What was that, doll?"

She looked from Bucky's smirk to Steve's red face and back. "A traditional goodbye."

"Mmm…I could get used to that." The boxer teased, nudging his friend who refused to meet her eyes now.

She smiled and started to open the back door when Bucky's hand grabbed her forearm, stalling her movements.

"Hey, wait." Those baby blue eyes met her honey brown ones. "It's Friday night. We usually go to the Stork Club for drinks and dancin’. Come with us."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"Come on. It'll be great. If it helps, we'll pick you up from your house."

She could not help the laugh that slipped out at the thought. "You'd come to Queens... to get me?"

"It might break my heart to leave my beloved Brooklyn but I'd do it for you, doll."

"Honestly it'd be dangerous for you to come to my house."

"A little danger never hurt." He brushed some of her hair behind her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

He was trouble, complete trouble for her...and she knew it. But the longer he stared at her with those pleading eyes and hand now at the nape of her neck, she could feel her resolve crumbling. "I have three brothers and a protective father."

"They can't be that bad… Come on, please? Steve, help me out!"

Steve just laughed, raising his hands in surrender.

She bit the inside of her cheek thinking about it. Her brother Mateo owed her for when she covered for him when he almost got caught smoking cigarettes behind the apartment building. Tonight, her parents were supposed to visit her eldest brother and his new wife in the Bronx.

"Ok…" She whispered.

"Yeah?" A beaming grin spread over his face.

"Ok...I'll meet you there though."

"Yes!" Bucky bent over and kissed her cheek loudly. "You won't regret it! Nine o'clock!"

"Nueve. Estaré allí."

"I still don't know what you said, doll, but I love it."

She laughed, pushing him away from her. "Go! Before I'm even more late."

Before they were three steps away, she ducked inside the back of the shop. Hopefully she was able to slip in unnoticed. The shop should be closing soon so Mr. Hendricks would be in his little office room.

She leaned against the back door, hands pressed against her cheeks to will away the warmth in them. Thankfully with her brown skin, the blush would be harder to notice. As she stood there, the realization of what she just agreed to finally hit her. An icy fist landed in her gut, drowning the blush away. She had never been to a club before. She had no idea what to wear...or how to act. How was she even going to get there?

Underneath the fear though was a determination to go. Why couldn't she have fun for one night, like other young women she regularly saw and envied. Both of those Brooklyn boys seemed nice. Thinking about them brought the flush back to her skin, especially when she thought of the kiss on the cheek from Bucky. He was trouble and fun and charming and devilish and… and she wanted to spend more time with him. And Steve, the sweet, kind, funny guy that he was. She liked them both. But when thinking about those baby blue eyes, insufferable smirk and broad shoulders...her heartbeat sped up and butterflies erupted in her belly.

"Oh Dios, ¿qué voy a hacer?" She whispered to herself.

*****

Just after nine o'clock, Elana climbed out of the taxi. She stared up at the sign that brightly screamed ‘Stork Club’. So many people milled about, either walking into the club or chatting, waiting for others in their group. A couple people already looked like they had been hitting the bottles for some time, if the rambunctious yelling and obnoxious laughter said anything. The atmosphere was loud and vibrant with an air of debauchery...and she had not even stepped foot in the door.

"Oh Dios, ¿por qué estoy aquí? Estúpido. Tan estúpido. Debería irme. Ni siquiera se darán cuenta." She murmured to herself, her hands wringing the strap on her clutch. Actually, it was not even hers. She "borrowed" it from her mother's closet and prayed that she could return it before her mother noticed.

"Elana!"

At the call of her name, she turned around to see Bucky and Steve crossing the street, dodging a car that decided they were taking too long.

"You made it!" Bucky exclaimed, bubbling with excitement. He scanned her over, giving a low whistle. "Damn, doll, you look beautiful."

"Gracias." She smoothed down her floral-patterned tea dress that reached mid-calf, her kitten heels still on from earlier. Her raven hair hung loosely down her back, unstyled in the typical curls that most women wore. There had been no time to try one of those hair styles and not bring attention to herself before she snuck out. Just to make her even more self-conscious, the cherry red lipstick she wore felt heavy on her lips. Something she only wore on rare occasions. "You fellas clean up nicely."

Checking over them, they each wore nice suits. Though Steve's looked a size or two too large and the prominent bruise on his cheek ruined the look a bit. Bucky was practically sinful in his suit, showing off his broad shoulders and strong legs, his hair slicked back. Improper thoughts flooded her mind and a heat warmed her cheeks. She had a feeling she would need to go to confession tomorrow. That was tomorrow’s worry though, tonight was about fun.

"Ready to have the time of your life?" Bucky asked, excitement practically bubbled under his skin.

"That's a high standard."

"Guess I better not disappoint. C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the crowded, open door. In her sudden fear, she reached back and snagged Steve's hand, dragging him along. She would never admit it but having both of them on either side of her made her feel better.

There were several different calls for Bucky, vying for his attention. He just waved or yelled something back but kept her hand in his, pulling them through. She noticed more than one disappointed female face when Bucky passed them. It churned something in her stomach which she tried to ignore.

When they finally entered the dance hall, she froze. It was nothing like she imagined and so much better. At the far end was a stage with a large band playing an upbeat song that made her bounce on her toes without realizing it. A large bar area was set up, packed with people already looking for something to wet their throats. Booths and tables lined the walls. Already the hardwood, dance floor looked packed with couples jiving. Mirrors and photographs hung on the walls making the place feel bigger even when it was so crowded. The air smelled of alcohol, sweat and a youthful zeal she had never experienced.

It was intoxicating and nerve-wracking. She could not wait to join in.

The next thing she noticed when she glanced at all the people...she was the only non-white person there.

"Let's get a table." Bucky tugged them along towards an open booth on the right side of the dance floor.

She slid in on one side while Steve scooted in on the other. Bucky stood at the end, grinning ear to ear as he seemed to quickly survey the place.

"Right." He tossed his suit jacket on the seat next to her then clapped his hands, the sound muffled by the volume from the band nearby. "What kinda drink would you like?"

"Ah, vino?"

He nodded and waltzed towards the bar, throwing an arm around the shoulder of one of the men standing there waiting.

She turned back to the blond. "You're not drinking?"

"Nah, too many health issues to make it worth it."

She hummed and took note of Steve's fidgeting. "Is this your first time too?"

He chuckled. "No. I just don't...well, this isn't where I'd prefer to be on a Friday night...but don't tell Bucky... though he probably knows."

"What would you rather be doing?"

"Drawin’ or paintin’, maybe playin’ cards but I'm terrible at them."

"You're an artist?" The realization warmed her heart. This scrawny man with a heart too big for his body and kindness an invisible cloak around him. It made sense somehow. He could look past the ugly and see beauty and somehow capture it.

"I don't know if I'd say that...I just enjoy it. It's usually what I end up doin’ when I come here. Doodlin’ on a napkin while Buck dances with every girl he can."

Her stomach dropped while hearing that, which was stupid. So stupid. She swallowed thickly, hoping Steve did not notice, before she spoke again to distract herself. "Well if you doodle something tonight, can I see it after?"

"If you like."

Bucky appeared a minute later with a foamy glass of beer and a glass of red wine. Carefully, he placed them both on the table. "Ready to cut a rug?" He asked, looking at her expectedly.

"Um, I don't...I've never danced like this before." She hesitantly admitted. Steve gave her a sympathetic smile like he understood.

"Don't matter. I bet you're a swell dancer." He held out his hand for her. When she did not immediately accept his hand, he wiggled his fingers. "C'mon, ain't that hard. I'll teach you."

With a sigh, she took his hand, his smile beaming as he tugged her out of the booth. She could not help but smile back at his sheer enthusiasm. It was contagious.

He led her off to the side of the dance floor. Putting one hand on her lower back and taking the other in his hand, he began demonstrating the steps. Her eyes stayed glued to his feet while he moved, willing her brain to understand and not make a fool of her.

"You got this, doll. Told you, you're a natural. Just follow my movement, let me lead."

So she did and before she knew it, they were flying around the dance floor.

Bucky was an amazing dancer and it showed in how he effortlessly led her. A couple times she stumbled or stepped on his toes but he would just grin and encourage her to keep going. The faces of those around them blurred. The music seemed to sink into her blood and with every beat of the drum or clap of the hands from the band, her heartbeat echoed it. It was intoxicating and she had not even had a sip of alcohol. Now she understood why people flocked to these dance halls. There was something freeing in them, losing yourself to the music and movements. For a short time, you could ignore the outside world and all its trials. Here, you could be free.

Eventually she begged a break, practically panting from the several songs they danced through. The brightness in her eyes and smile though showed how much fun she was having. Still holding hands, they weaved through the crowd back to their booth where Steve sat with a napkin in front of him, pencil in hand and eyes focused downward. She slid into the booth first, Bucky right behind her.

"Have fun?" Steve asked, eyes bouncing between the two before him.

"I can't breathe." She giggled out, hand pressed to her chest. Her lungs struggled to fill up properly but instead of installing fear into her, it only made her laugh.

Bucky took a long sip of his beer and slung his arm behind Elana, on the back of the booth. "Told you, you'd have fun. You're a great dancer."

"Only cause I had a great teacher." Taking a sip of her wine, she focused on the quiet artist. "Did you draw something, Steve?"

"Yeah, just a little sketch."

"Can I see it?"

He slid the napkin over to her, nerves obvious. Giving him a small, reassuring smile, she flipped the napkin over and felt her heart stop and jaw drop. The pencil sketch was of Bucky and her dancing. His mouth was next to her ear, whispering instructions or flirtatious comments, his hand on her lower back. Her gaze was on his chest but the brilliant smile on her lips gave her away. The sketch was so realistic, it was astounding. It completely captured Bucky's confidence and her nervousness but somehow the opposite emotions only added to the image, bringing a sense of balance and trust between the two dancing partners.

"Steve, esto es…. hermoso…. increíble." She breathed out, never taking her eyes off the napkin. When she finally looked up to see him blushing and fiddling with the pencil, she smiled.

Bucky had been leaning against her so he could see the sketch also. "That might be your best one yet, pal."

"Thanks, guys. S'nothing."

"May I keep it?" She softly asked, eyes tracing the delicate lines and shading.

The embarrassed blond flapped a hand at her. "Course. It was for you if you wanted it anyway."

Silently, she reached across and squeezed Steve's hand, unable to convey all the emotions she was feeling. "There's one thing you got wrong."

"What's that?"

"I'm not that pretty."

Both Steve and Bucky chuckled.

"Elana," Bucky started, gazing down at her. "He drew you like-"

"Bucky!" A silky voice interrupted. A young woman stood at the end of their booth. Her blonde hair in perfect curls, bright red lipstick matched the equally bright red dress she wore. Her eyes zeroed in on the handsome brunet at the table, ignoring the other two patrons like they were just wallpaper. "Wanna dance?"

The sun-kissed woman could feel Bucky's hesitation. Nudging him gently in the ribs, she nodded towards the interloper. "Go. Have fun. I still need to catch my breath."

With a nod, he slipped out of the booth and followed the beautiful woman onto the dance floor. The two easily fell into step like they had done this a million times, each movement flawless and smiles on both of their faces.

She turned back to Steve, ignoring the churning in her gut. "What's your favorite thing to draw?"

They talked for a few minutes about art classes he had taken and the few commissioned pieces he had done for local businesses. The passion he spoke with about art, hands flapping and eyes alight, it was impossible not to join in his enthusiasm.

The presence of someone standing at the end of the table drew their attention away from the quick sketch of a monkey Steve had drawn on another napkin. This young woman had a haughty expression on her otherwise pretty face, glaring down her nose at Elana.

"You shouldn't be here." She stated, venom lacing every word. Hands on her curvy hips, the gold stitching in her emerald dress catching the light from above.

"Ruby, we-"

"No one is talkin’ to you, Steve." She barked then continued glaring at Elana. "I bet you're a real floozy, comin’ in here lookin’ like that. Well news flash, no one wants you or your kind here."

Tears stung in Elana’s eyes, threatening to fall. She knew this would happen. It always happened. There was always someone to remind her she was not one of them, even if her own eyes could see it. She had hoped tonight would be different. That for once, she could fit in.

"I want her here. She's my date."

The lady -Ruby- spun on her heel so quick, her dress flared out. "Bucky," she crooned, her voice sugary-sweet, so different than a moment ago. "You're lookin' like a real Fred Astaire out there tonight. Let's go-"

Bucky did not even look her way as he slid back onto the bench, eyes focused on Elana. "You alright there, doll?"

She nodded numbly, staring at the table. Twirling a strand of hair absent-mindedly around her finger, she tried to force the tears from falling. It was not even the worst insult she had heard hurled at her, but it still cut her to the quick. Every time.

"Why don't we head out, yeah? Steve there looks like he's gettin' a little warm and the music ain't so good tonight." Bucky said gently.

She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak.

"Bucky, stay…" Ruby tried one last time but he leveled a glare at her that made her take a step back.

"Take a powder, Ruby, I ain't interested."

Bucky wrapped his hand around Elana's, entwining their fingers as he slid out of the booth with her right behind him. Without even a backwards glance, he led the three of them out of the dance hall. Elana kept her head down the whole time, unable to meet anyone's eyes for fear of what she would see.

The night air was blissfully cool after the heat of the dance hall. It kissed her skin as if trying to help calm her down. At this point, the street was not as busy, everyone mostly inside now. Only a few pedestrians and cars interrupted the quiet scene.

"Elana, I'm so sorry."

"Debería irme. No debería haber venido. Soy tan estúpida." She muttered to herself, not even hearing Bucky's statement. It was a foolish idea to come out. For so long she had tried to fit in, especially as a child. Her mother always told her to be herself and embrace her difference. That was easier said than done. Tonight felt like a taste of it when she was on the dance floor. What things could have been like if everyone was accepted. If where she was from did not matter. She had been so happy dancing with Bucky, this handsome devil who treated her like she was special, holding her hand in front of everyone. Sure, Steve said he danced with a lot of girls but for tonight, she was someone while on his arm. She was someone special.

And oh, did she love the feeling of his hand wrapped around hers. Him holding her close as they danced, his warm breath hitting her neck just right. He was trouble, through and through. Her mother would call him a Casanova and tell her to run the other way. Yet she did not want to. He drew something out of her. An almost recklessness. A desire for more. More in life. To experience life with a passion. Both this new feeling and Bucky’s presence were addicting...and she found herself unable to turn away. At least not for tonight. She wanted to revel in it tonight.

It was not until a hand cupped her cheek and tilted her head up to meet a pair of worried baby blue eyes that she was jolted from her internal spiral.

"Hey, hey. I have no idea what you're sayin' but it don't sound good. Why don't we walk for a bit, mmm? The night's still young."

Wordlessly, she followed. It was then she noticed Bucky was still holding her hand, palms flat against one another's. That realization drew a small smile on her lips. On her other side walked Steve, hands in his pockets but a genuine smile on his face when he caught her eye. Even after all this, these two Brooklyn boys wanted to be with her. With that in mind, she shoved her despair and pain away. Let tomorrow bring what worries that came with it. Tonight she wanted to be reckless without fear of the consequences. Tonight was supposed to be fun.

"Can't believe Ruby would say that. Always thought she was a nice dame." The brunet mused, slipping his suit jacket back on before taking Elana's hand once again.

"She only showed what she wanted you to see, Buck."

"Dance with a girl a couple times and she thinks you owe her or somethin'."

The blond quirked an eyebrow at his friend. "Was it only dancin'?"

"What you gettin' at, Rogers?"

"You ditched some other girl for her once before."

His head swiveled to stare at the smaller man in shock. "I did?"

Elana spoke up. "Sounds like you have quite the selection of dance partners to choose from."

Steve snorted. "Guy has been doll-dizzy since he was twelve."

"What can I say? I appreciate fine art." Bucky said with a self-satisfied grin.

"Don't usually lock lips with paintings or statues…"

"You know what, Rogers!"

Elana laughed as Bucky let go of her hand to race around her and put Steve in a headlock. The two pretended to box for a couple minutes, grins on both their faces. When finished, the champion boxer slid up to her, a rakish smile teasing his lips as he claimed her hand back.

"Well if those gals are fine art, you sweetheart, are a masterpiece." He twirled her around once, making her dress flare out around her legs. "Have I told you yet how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Yes, Bucky."

"Good, I'd hate for you to forget." He winked and the trio started walking again.

"Oh, here." Steve suddenly said, fishing something out of his pocket. He held out his hand almost shyly.

She took the offered item to see it was the napkin with the sketch on it. "Oh, Steve. Muchas gracias." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving a red stain behind. "Oops."

"Here." Bucky tossed over a handkerchief to Steve.

She glanced at the napkin one more time before reverently placing it in her clutch. She already knew where she was going to put this in her room so she would always remember this night.

"Oh drat." Steve said after glancing at his watch. "It's almost eleven. I have class early tomorrow."

"Go on, punk. I'll look after her."

Elana hugged Steve and was thrilled when he squeezed her back just as tightly. "I'm so happy to have met you."

"This isn't goodbye, right?"

"I hope not. You have more artwork to show me."

He blushed yet nodded before giving Bucky a quick hug.

"Night, Steve."

"Night, jerk."

Together, they watched Steve walk down the sidewalk, wave back at them then disappear down the next street.

"Wanna keep walkin'?"

She nodded. She knew she should go home. It was getting late and she still had to get back to Queens. Yet walking side by side with this man whom she had only met several hours ago, she found the idea abhorrent. Glancing up at the night sky, only a couple of the stars were visible through the smoke, clouds and street lamps. They were lovely though, a reminder that there were greater things out there, one just had to look for them. At least, that is what her father always said.

"Hey," Bucky's voice pulled her attention back, "I never got to say it earlier but thanks...for havin’ Steve's back earlier today. Punk doesn't know when to quit."

"I'm glad he got in that fight...is that odd? If he didn't, I wouldn’t have met either one of you."

"Alright, this ONE time I'm glad he got in a fight. Though, we probably would have ran into each other eventually."

They walked in comfortable silence for a couple minutes. Two cars passed them separately and only a handful of people walked their way. Otherwise it almost felt like they were alone. It was peaceful, still holding hands and wandering the streets of Brooklyn.

"Y'know, I was kinda hopin' we'd get at least one slow song at the dance hall."

"Me too." She confessed.

"Well, we should!" An idea sparked in his eyes. "Wait here." He moved over to one of the parked cars near them. He tried to open it but it was locked so he moved to the next one. This one opened without hesitation and he slid in. The whole time Elana switched between watching Bucky and scanning the streets for someone to yell at them. What was he thinking? Suddenly music came on, drifting from the radio through the open passenger door.

Bucky stood there, leaning against the car with the biggest grin on his smug face. "Who needs a dance hall?"

She laughed, understanding what he had done. "We’re going to get in trouble."

"No, we ain't. C'mon."

"Oh, Dios mío, yes we are!"

"Dance with me." He cooed, standing before her looking like an Adonis.

With that lazy smirk and enthralling blue eyes staring down at her, refusal was not an option. The words died on her tongue as she stared up at him. The music was slow, a singer crooning about his love. The moment felt like something from a fairytale story her mother would tell her as a little girl. She knew she should go home. Stop this heat that seared through her when she found herself caught in his eyes. Stop the butterflies in her stomach when around him. Stop the way she melted under his touch, his hands always so gentle.

But she wanted this. Right now. To pretend this was her reality. To dance with her prince under the stars. That love did not care about the differences in their skin tones. For when the sun rose and this dream faded, reality would seep back in. Plus, he was a charmer. Doll-dizzy. She would not keep his attention past this night.

For now though, she could pretend. Enjoy the night in a way she never had before.

He placed her hands behind his neck and his on her hips. Standing there under the streetlight and distant starlight, they danced, swaying back and forth. Her head landed on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath it. So steady and soothing. The world faded away around them, the only things that mattered was their dancing and the music. It wrapped around them like a warm, thick blanket. Enveloping them in a sense of security and vitality. One of his hands slowly traced her spine leaving a trail of fire behind. His cheek pressed against the top of her head. She felt safe...and wanted. A heady feeling that she could sense herself beginning to crave even more. Her hand tangled in the hair, her fingers lightly scraping the back of his neck.

"Say something in Spanish." He whispered, his lips against her scalp.

"Gracias por esto ... todo esto. Ha sido la mejor noche de mi vida".

She looked back up at him, hoping to convey without words what she said. As she lifted her head up, their eyes locked. Tension filled the empty space around them, pulling them closer. For a split second, his eyes drifted to her lips and back up. Her heartbeat began racing anew. Slowly, as if waiting for her to turn away, his head tilted towards hers, his hands gripping her just a little tighter. His breath fanned across her face, warming her inside and out. She swore her heart was going to beat out of her chest. His nose brushed hers, an almost timid action that drew a smile from her. He chuckled silently then somehow pulled her even closer. She closed her eyes, a gasp escaping her when she felt the faintest touch of his lips on the corner of her mouth.

"Hey! Hey, you kids! What ya doin’ with my car?!"

All the tension evaporated like rain drops under the scorching sun.

"Shit...c'mon!" He grabbed her hand and started running away. Holding on tight, she ran next to him, as well as she could while wearing heels. The yells of the car's owner soon a distant sound behind them.

Finally, they stopped two streets later. He let go of her hand, running his hands through his hair and pacing. She leaned against the brick wall, hand over her mouth, giggles spilling forth between gasps of air. Never in her life had she done anything like this. She closed her eyes as the giggles turned into full-body laughter. One hand covered her mouth and the other wrapped around her own waist to try and contain the sound. This night was nothing like she expected but it only seemed to get better and better. This newfound revelry of youthful zeal, this silly recklessness...she wanted more and more of it.

When the laughter dissolved into small chuckles, she wiped her eyes as she opened them, hoping her make-up had not smudged too much. Not that she particularly cared in the moment.

What she saw standing before her killed the laughter on her tongue.

Bucky stood just at arm's length, staring at her like she was the stars in the heavens.

In a single step, he crowded her against the brick wall. "Elana…" he growled, voice low, and it might have been the most exhilarating sound she had ever heard. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, as he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle, their lips just pressed together. A soft pressure that made her melt into his arms.

He leaned back to press his forehead against hers. His breath just as shaky as hers, both still breathing hard from their run.

"That was my first kiss." She blurted out, immediately regretting the words once they escaped.

He leaned back to look her in the eye. "Really?"

She shrugged nervously. "Not many fellas lining up to kiss a girl like me."

"Their loss, doll face." He smirked, running a thumb over her bottom lip. "May I have the honor of your second kiss ever?"

She giggled and nodded.

This time when their lips touched, it felt like more. The first was like licking the spoon used after mixing cookie dough. A taste of what was to come. The second kiss was eating warm cookies right out of the oven and practically ascending to heaven.

His lips slanted over hers perfectly, as if they were formed just for her. Their mouths moved in tandem, picking up speed. No longer were the kisses sweet and gentle. His tongue traced her bottom lip and she willingly opened her mouth to receive it like a present. These kisses were all-consuming and fiery. It was as if his touch seared into her soul, leaving an imprint there for all eternity.

She knew right away when she met Bucky Barnes, he was trouble. He was the kind of man her mother warned her about. The kind to sweep her off her feet and make her forget the world around her. He was kind, charming and so full of life. Yet she knew even as she was wrapped in his arms, lips pressed against his, that there was one truth that would haunt her. Even if she ignored it for now. That truth would never leave. So she overlooked it, sinking deeper and deeper into his kisses and embrace. Drowning herself in him. With her back pressed against the wall, her hands tangled in his hair and mouths devouring one another, she had never felt more alive.

Tonight, she would choose the fire he poured into her. Tonight, she wanted to enjoy life without fear. Tonight, she wanted to pretend that this night would never end. To thrive in this feeling of passion and life, that nothing could go wrong.

For the truth was one day, he was bound to break her heart.

#marveldiversitychallenge #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #Bucky Barnes #James Buchanan Bucky Barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky/ofc #bucky fic #Steve Rogers #Hispanic!ofc #POC character #40s!steve #40s!bucky #40s!#1940s #mzwrites

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ahsoka-lives · 4 years ago

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Apprentice pt. 4

Inquisitor!Cal Soulmate AU

A/N: Umm, I’m sorry!!! My life is very hectic and will probably stay that way for a long time :/ I still want to update my fics and talk to you guys when I can. Thank you for almost 200 followers already!! I hope this part will have been worth the wait, I rewrote it like three times!!! Please feel free to leave a comment or an ask in my box and I hope to update again soon!!

P.S. I will either write a part 6 and continue Iris or write an epilogue, feel free to let me know what you guys prefer! It will take quite a while but it will come! As will updates to my other fics! <3

Warnings: Canon-typical violence

Word Count: 1671

Songs I listened to: A Guide to Live By by Remo Drive, Delilah by Florence+the machine, Misfit Love by QOTSA

Cal Kestis

“How much longer is this going to take?”

“Just another moment, Master Kestis.” The medical droid replied as it finished taping up Cal’s broken ribs.

Cal was in a hurry, you could hear it in his voice and see it on his stress-ridden face. He woke up on that table, he guessed it’d been about 12 hours since you’d left him in that field of grass. A lot could happen in 12 hours.

The second that droid finished, Cal was on his feet and briefing the squadron. They rarely saw him like this. For the most part, he was playfully arrogant, his missions were always successful and he didn’t need much help from the troopers. Today, he was stern and to the point, only a flicker of excitement could be seen by those looking for it.

“As you all know, this is not our usual manhunt. The target is one of ours, they are armed and force sensitive. The symptoms of withdrawal will render them unstable which will only feed into the effects of their conditioning, I don’t need to explain how vital it is that they be put back under supervision. Unfortunately for all of you, I will not be- ”

“Sir, s-sorry to interrupt...” Panted a very worn out officer. The officer clutched a datapad tightly to his chest and blinked rapidly as he tried to collect himself in front of his superior. “...we’ve gotten word that the target is on a nearby moon in the mid-rim but they’re on the move, sir. Intel says they’re scouting out a ship.”

“A ship? They can fly?” Cal grit his teeth, his eyebrows drawn together in clear frustration.

You’d think that was something worth mentioning. Cal was relying on your helplessness to get this job done faster.

“I-ntel d-doesn’t suggest they were looking for a p-pilot.” The man winced as Cal towered over him.

With a deep breath, Cal stepped away from the officer and turned to the troopers. They stood stock-still, afraid that the simplest movement would finally set him off.

“I want them on this ship alive by the end of the rotation, don’t disappoint me.”

-Reader

Your teeth ground together as you gave one last tug on the robe that lay beneath the unconscious man. Your first choice was to buy one but that just wasn’t an option. This patron was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The uniform of the inquisition was drawing too much attention in the outskirts of the city you’ve found yourself in. Your eyes stared back at you in the mirror while you gave yourself one last pep talk.

Once you left the refresher of this cantina it would be a few miles to the heart of the city. You needed to find a shipyard, any shipyard. Living on Bracca taught you the inner workings of a variety of ships, it was just time to put the theory into practice.

Eyes seemed to follow you as you left the refresher but it felt like that ever since you’d gotten off of Trilla’s ship. She was gracious enough to drop you here after you held the point of your saber close enough to your throat. A symphony of pleas from ‘Let me help you’ to ‘You don’t know what you’re getting into’ fell from her lips. Every one of them made the itch to do something a bit more drastic to grow stronger.

There was something about you that was different, you couldn’t quite grasp it but your thoughts seemed to get away from you. It felt primal like you were being controlled more by instincts than morals. As you walked down the rainy dirt path, the question of what changed had already left. Too focused on the task at hand, you decided it was a problem for another time.

So focused, in fact, that you didn’t notice the surveillance droid that was following close behind you.

Your boots splashed into the puddles on the concrete. The populous streets were providing much-needed cover, the business filled the air with the sound of tapping shoes and mild chatter. The streets were lined with troopers, there wasn’t a corner left unguarded. It seemed excessive for a supposedly unsuspecting city.

Eyes remained fixed on the ground in front of you. As you reached the end of the street you caught a glimpse of a ship, then another and another. Jackpot. Within moments your feet had carried you just in front of the fence surrounding it.

As your eyes flickered over the ships closest to the fence you caught onto how suspicious you must have looked. Immediately, you looked around and to your surprise the street was empty. Gone was the chatter that filled your ears, only the slight whistle of the wind moving through the skyscrapers.

Panic struck you, this isn’t right.

Your heartbeat quickened and you started away from the fence, a strong sense of urgency pulling you back. Somehow you knew something was waiting in that shipyard for you. Someone or many someones if Cal stuck to any kind of pattern.

You secured the hood over your head once more and tried to cross the street as casually as possible, not that it mattered if what you feared was true. The safety of a crowed street felt all too far away. As you neared a skyscraper on the corner of the street you froze in place. Was that...

Your head swung around, looking to confirm your suspicion. Troopers wore heavy armor that clacked together ever so slightly at the knee, it was a distinct sound if you knew what to listen for. But there wasn’t a soul in sight.

The atmosphere was feeling oddly artificial without the others walking about. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand, your ears were buzzing all too loudly. It felt like the world was crashing into your chest without a single warning. Your hand reached for the saber on your belt and your feet took hesitant steps away from the corner of the building.

Eyes fixed on the reflective glass that met the concrete floors, trying desperately to see beyond it. You were so certain that any moment a stormtrooper would emerge and blast you.

In your moment of concentration you failed to notice the wall behind you. Your back hit the sturdy concrete sending a shock through your system.

“Well, that was easy.” The deep, modulated voice spoke.

You frantically pushed away from the voice and tried to turn to face him. Cal moved too quickly for you, he threw you up and over his shoulder before you could even get a word out.

“How did you even find me!” You grunted and fought against him.

“Don’t tell me you’re not happy to see me, not that you can see much from up here.” He chuckled sarcastically.

You stopped your useless struggle and played along for a moment, there had to be something..

“You know, if anyone should be mad, it’s me. You broke my ribs, and let that irritatingly little padawan go. I will say, I am proud of how..”

You were paying almost no attention to his rambling. Instead, you were fumbling with the only other weapon on your person. A switchblade securely strapped to your waist, a little too secure. Your heart jumped with excitement when you felt the button snap open.

You quickly sank the small blade into his calf. Cal groaned and his grip faltered enough for you to push off of him and to drop to the floor. Without wasting a second, you took off running down the road. A quick glance over your shoulder showed Cal knelt on the ground speaking into his comlink. His wrist held just below his chin while the other hand crudely ripped the knife from his skin.

He won’t be down for long.

You were surprised to see he stopped at all.

You couldn’t stop for a second, you had to keep going, but where? The shipyard was behind him and the shipyard was your way out. You didn’t have much time to think as you heard footsteps picking up behind you. Just as you reached an intersection at the end of the street, troopers pulled out in front of you. They formed a blockade around you on their speeders and fixed their blasters on you. At least thirteen laser scopes pointed directly at your heart.

You whipped hoping to go back down the street only to find an Inquisitor standing in your way.

“Their weapons are set to stun but it’ll still hurt. Of course, they won’t have to shoot you if you come quietly.” His tone was completely different. In place of the somewhat welcoming voice he had moments ago, he presented as the negotiator, calm and emotionless.

You stayed silent, your eyes looked passed him to the shipyard that was barely in sight.

“Really? That’s how this is gonna be?” He rolled his eyes and shook his head, clearly annoyed. “Watch the face, everyone, I quite like it the way it is.”

The next few seconds seemed to move by painstakingly slow. Cal gave the signal for the men to open fire and stepped back with his hands crossed behind his back. Without conscious thought, your hands quickly found the crimson lightsaber at your waist. You wished you’d had more practice with this thing. The troopers fire relentlessly and you weren’t able to keep up.

A stun got past your defenses then another, and another. Your ears rang loudly and the world spun around you as your back hit the floor. The firing ceased and the world around you grew quiet. Black leather boots took quick strides over to you and you felt a gloved hand cup the side of your face. Gently, you were made to look at Cal who had at some point removed the helmet. His eyes examined your face, turning it from side to side with a smirk. Even in your dazed state you couldn’t help but think he still had the face of an angel.

“Mm, not a scratch. Great work, everyone.”

Some angel.

#jfo #inquisitor!cal #cal kestis x reader #cal kestis #star wars #ahsokalives #apprentice part 4 #soulmate au

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writing-freak · 5 years ago

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Softly Soaring hcs

(GIF credit to its owner :)) )

Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Request: @greywarenns

greywarenns asked:Hi! I discovered your blog recently and I absolutely loved the "facts of the universe" hcs you did with bakugo x reader who is his childhood best friend and crush! Is it alright if I ask for hcs like that with todoroki please?👉👈 I totally understand if you don't feel like writing it bc you don't want it to be repetitive! whether you decide to write this request or not, thank you so much!💕

A/N: umm ok so I went like way overboard, but this was also so fun so I couldn’t help myself hehe. this is my first time writing for todoroki ahhh but it was so fun and I hope it’s alright?? thanks for the request, and thanks everyone for reading! stay safe, have a great day! 500 follower celebration coming next!!

so I’ve been obsessed with this song lately, and ended up sorta basing this on it cause I can’t get it out of my head, I would totally recommend listening, but it’s not 100% necessary to the story :)

The song is Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie

also i have a hand holding kink

Warnings: slight mention of Todoroki’s trauma, but mostly pure fluff

Masterlist

Todoroki Shouto

being todoroki’s best friend came with its fair share of difficulties

especially since you had known him since you were in diapers, and had been a part of every rocky event that shaped the course of his complicated familial relationships, his dealings with trauma, and the stubbornness and emotional instability that came with being a teenager

sometimes you wondered how your friendship lasted so long, but then you spent just a moment around the boy, and you fell back into the comfortable rhythm you shared

for you, todoroki was home

he was playing on the playground, falling asleep way past your bedtime beneath the starlights decorating your ceiling

for him, you were what it felt like to be understood, especially when his stoic demeanor and “blank” face led him to be considered the “dark and mysterious” resident bad boy, who was more likely to be admired and avoided rather than considered a real person with very real feelings

you could see past the stoic expressions in a heartbeat, and knew where to draw the line between a bad day at school and nearing a mental breakdown with memories from his past flooding his senses

you saw the moment his eyes withdrew, the moment he slipped out of the world around him and into one he’s constructed in his mind out of walls and barricades to keep everyone else out

you were the only one allowed a key to the door of that world, and only because you’d spent years constructing it yourself

you had become so reliant on each other in so many ways, but at this point, it barely registered

you shared a world, an atmosphere, a universe

you shared blankets, clothes, and dorm rooms too

half of your friendship is simply being there, because you’ve gone on so long you’re fully comfortable sitting in silence on the floor of his dorm room all afternoon, reading to yourself while he does his homework

you’ve snuck yourself out of his dorm after accidentally dozing off too many mornings to count

the rest of class 1-a is convinced you’re dating, or at least...you know....

todoroki can’t make fun of you, though, because we all know he’s falling asleep on your shoulder at every occasion you have a moment’s break

we also know he’s doing it when you’re busy too, cause this boi can sleep through anything

you share music the most, because you love lying next to him, your heads barely touching, as you share a world beyond your own, forced to think and feel the same as the musicians mold your mind and soul

so it’s not surprising at all to todoroki when you’re pounding on his door frantically at 1 am, your phone clutched in your hand as you shove an earbud in his face

he blinks the sleep out of his eyes as you invite yourself in, dragging him to sit beside you on his bed

“listen to this song,” you say, completely serious, with wide, intense eyes as you hold the earbud out to him, more gently this time

“o-okay,” he says, confused but not surprised

you close your eyes as the song you spent the whole night falling in love with begins to play in your ear

I want to live, where soul meets body, and let the sun wrap its arms around me

as the song softly finishes, a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere, you open your eyes slowly, tears staining your cheeks as you look expectantly at your friend

his eyes are closed, in what you initially thought was focus, or, as in your case, peace and emotional vulnerability

but when they didn’t open, even as you tugged your headphones back, you realized it was, in fact, in sleep

angry you just shared what you thought was an emotional moment with an unconscious idiot, you slapped the boy awake, pouting as he looked at you in accusation

“you were supposed to be listening,” you said, fuming

todoroki at least has the decency to look sheepish, but he doesn’t apologize, instead opting for a “it’s after one in the morning”

if he thought looks could kill before…

instead of yelling (like you want to), you shove the earbud (a bit harshly) back in his ear as you cue the song again

this time, you leave your eyes open, locking onto todoroki’s with a glare

you play the song, and it softly begins again, and this time, you’re watching his eyes closely to see his reaction (and to be sure there is one at all)

And I do believe it’s true, that there are roads left in both of our shoes

But if the silence takes you then I hope it takes me too

you see something flash in his eyes at that line, though you’re not sure if it’s your own tears returning once more as the beautiful words wash over you for the millionth time tonight

So brown eyes I’ll hold you near, cause you’re the only song I want to hear

todoroki tilts his head just slightly to the side, and you’re suddenly bombarded with the memory of his soft locks tickling your temple as you stare up at the stars, tiny fingers interlocked like your mom taught you to do when crossing the street

cause everything with todoroki felt like that, like crossing the street, like following your own roads that always intersected, were one and the same

a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

and as the musician’s voice pierced your eardrums, you were met with the sounds of a thousand artists before him, the sounds of countless nights listening with your best friend, the sound of his voice as he counted down the numbers before hide and seek, the melodic sound of his voice as he woke you early after a night spent crashing on his floor

a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

you didn’t realize the song was over until todoroki touched your face, and you let out a breath you hadn’t known you had been holding in

there’s a teasing smile on his face, but something in his eyes tells you the words changed him like they changed you

“just checking to make sure you didn’t fall asleep,” he says, before letting out a yawn, and you’re suddenly jolted back into reality, where you sat, on your best friend’s bed, in the middle of the night, sharing music like you always did

you’re up in a second, pulling your headphones to yourself frantically, blushing up a storm as you realize just what you had been thinking

“I have to go,” you stammer, and you’re running out of there stumbling as tears of embarrassment threaten to spill from your eyes

you make it all the way back to your dorm before you cry real tears, confused and upset by the way your best friend was making you feel

but jokes on you if you think you’re going to get away with leaving like that

you know todoroki like the back of your hand, but he knows you just the same, and when you wake the next morning, you know avoiding him is out of the question

he finds you quickly in the halls of the dorms, and you just let out a sigh as you greet him

“I really liked that song,” he says softly, slow to start the conversation you know is coming

so you sigh again, and look away, sheepish, a feeling completely alien to you around your closest friend flooding your veins

“I spent all night listening to that song alone,” you say, wringing your hands together, “thinking about what it would feel like to feel that way about a person, to know someone who cleanses you and makes you whole and makes your soul a part of you again”

“and then I heard it again while I was looking at your eyes, and I realized I already had that”

“it just scared me, that’s all, cause I’d never looked at you that way before”

he was silent through your confession, and you were terrified to look at him, knowing you’d know the second you saw him what he was thinking, and afraid you wouldn’t like what it was

“shou?” you finally ask, your voice breaking as you chance a glance in his direction

but you find his eyes gazing at you softly, a look you recognize as understanding on his face

he reaches for you, and you let him pull you in, your fingers intertwining as you’re brought in close

his free hand cups your cheek, and you lean into him, your lips brushing as you finally embrace

it’s like a sigh, a finally, and you feel like you’re breathing in air after being underwater for so long

you part so soon, and your foreheads are resting on one another, the familiar feeling of his soft hair tickling your skin making you giggle softly

you squeeze his hand, your eyes fluttering open until you’re gazing into his eyes, your noses brushing affectionately

a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Taglist: @anything-and-everything-here69 @crystal-lilac

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sevenstarsinning · 4 years ago

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Summary: Raditz loses his mate when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and finds himself working alongside Prince Vegeta. When he comes to Earth to recruit his brother, he’s dealt another devastating blow when Goku refuses to join and leaves him near death. He’s found by a human and attempts to adapt to life on Earth.

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4

Chapter 5

Morning dew coated the outside of the pod and birds chirped on the tree branch nearby. It was way too cheery for early morning. Being awake at that time usually meant you either couldn't sleep at all or woke up long before you should have.

That morning you woke up too early but it was entirely Raditz's fault and you were more than okay with that.

Sometime during the night he wrapped his tail around your waist and pulled you up to sleep on his chest. That was where you woke up and that's where you remained, listening to him purr while his body heat kept you warm. The rise and fall of his chest was like a gentle rocking putting you completely at ease. That was no easy feat and there he was making you feel safe and content without even trying.

You lifted your head up to see he was awake. It felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered in your stomach when you realized something was different.

"You're awake... and you're still purring."

His eyes locked onto yours and the butterfly feeling spread to your chest and throat leaving you seconds from saying something you probably shouldn't say.

"I'm comfo-"

"You're beautiful," you blurted. Your eyes widened and you let out a nervous laugh.

His brow raised in surprise, mouth slightly ajar. For a moment, you expected him to push you over to your side of the pod.

Instead, he smiled and struggled to keep his eyes on yours. He was nervous and you had no idea why.

"I've been called many things but uh... that's a new one," he finally said, breaking the anxiety inducing silence between you.

"Was that a bad thing to say?" You asked, unable to hide the worry in your voice and on your face.

"No, not bad at all. Just new."

When you saw the smile that spread across his face, you realized making a complete fool of yourself in front of him didn't bother you at all. In fact, you were willing to let it happen more just to see that smile. It was like a potent dose of serotonin and you needed more.

"I think I have a solution to our housing problem," you revealed, changing the subject to avoid doing something incredibly stupid.

His tail tightened around your waist and you knew he wasn't letting you up anytime soon.

Later that day, you and Raditz embarked on your first journey away from the house together. He usually stayed back when there were errands to run or groceries to buy. He wasn't a small guy by any stretch of the imagination and walking side by side with him downtown drew the gaze of many people passing by. It wasn't just his size that made people take notice, it was also his gorgeous mane of black hair that nearly touched the ground and his bulging muscles stretching the material of his t-shirt and jeans. It was Raditz in general, all the way down to the way he carried himself and the air of confidence he seemed to be naturally gifted with.

"This is definitely the place," you said, opening the door to a white dome shaped building.

Raditz shuffled in behind you, almost filling the doorway completely. A purple haired girl with the Capsule insignia on her shirt approached.

"Welcome to the Capsule store, my name is Lynn. Is there anything I can help you find?"

Her eyes drifted over to the huge saiyan next to you. He tilted his head, curious about her. Then it struck you, Raditz had little to no experience around other humans.

"Yeah, my house was half demolished when a... plane crashed into it." You knew exactly how ridiculous it sounded but saying a space pod carrying a hot alien crash landed on your house was out of the question.

"Was it a... an alien ship?" Lynn asked, glancing up at Raditz.

"How do you know that, human?" He said, stepping closer to the much smaller human.

"My boyfriend- " Before she could finish her sentence, an alarm blared and red lights flashed overhead. The ceiling opened up but before you could see what was happening, the tail tucked under Raditz's shirt flung out and coiled around your waist, pulling you safely behind him.

"You're supposed to be dead!" A voice called out amidst the chaos.

You peeked around Raditz to see an entire row of artillery from the ceiling aimed at him. A teal haired woman standing on the other side glared, not the least bit intimidated.

"Hey, can you get the insane security to stand down, he's not going to hurt anyone," you yelled back, waving your hand.

"Is that... is that a human behind you?" The woman asked, trying to get a better view.

"Help me out, big guy, your tail won't let me go," you said. Your heart felt like it might beat out of your chest. Everything happened so fast you barely had time to react.

"And put you in harm's way? No, you stay back there, this is Kakarot's friend," Raditz growled.

"Wait... you mean Goku?" Lynn said from behind a shield that went up around her automatically.

"Raditz, calm down. They haven't attacked, we can talk to them," you whispered. It was hard to hide the panic in your voice over the predicament you found yourself in.

"Human, where is Kakarot?" Raditz asked, turning his attention to Lynn.

"Enough!" The other woman shouted. "If you promise to keep him on a leash, I'll disarm security."

"Raditz, please?" You begged, lightly scratching the back of his head to soothe him.

He let out a little growl and loosened his tail. "Fine."

The red lights retracted along with the row of weapons and disappeared into the ceiling.

"All I have to do is hit one button and those will come back out, so don't try anything," the woman said, approaching him without a trace of fear.

"I'm Bulma, I'm assuming you're the one taming the saiyan?" She stepped around him to look at you.

"Trying to," you laughed nervously. Raditz still had his tail around you, protecting you even without an immediate threat.

"Come on, let's go out back and talk. Lynn, close up and go home. Make sure Goku knows about this," Bulma said, giving out orders as she guided you and Raditz towards the back of the dome.

The back door led to a shaded patio with a row of tables and thick, beautiful foliage lining the sides to offer privacy to anyone sitting out there.

"Raditz can sit there," Bulma said, pointing at the first table, "we're going to the back table."

"No, I'm staying with her," he snapped, his tail coiling tight around your waist again.

"It's okay, big guy. I'm safe, this is like the smartest and richest woman in the world," you said, nodding towards Bulma. He eyed her wearily but relented and loosened his hold.

You gave him a reassuring smile before following her to the last table.

"Sorry about the security system in there, it's not even loaded with ammo, it's just a deterrent. What did you come in for?" Bulma asked, taking a seat at the last round white table.

"A house. His pod wrecked mine when he landed. We've actually been sort of living in his pod and it's not very roomy," you explained.

Bulma was unfazed by all of it and that piqued your curiosity.

"You've been sleeping in the pod with him? Has anything happened?" She leaned in and kept her voice low.

"Not really. It was a little rough at first but he's adjusting," you said in a hushed voice.

"That's good. He's definitely a lot less hostile than I remember." She glanced past you at Raditz. You could tell her mind was racing, sorting through the chaos that just came back into her life.

The two of you talked for a while, you filled her in on Raditz and she told you about Goku and the little bit she knew about saiyans. You were looking forward to meeting him at some point and even though it was a long shot given the history, maybe Raditz and Goku could at least talk. That could be a step towards him finding happiness on Earth.

"I'll make you deal. If you keep an eye on him and tell me if anything weird happens, I'll give you a capsule house." She said it like she was giving you a piece of cake as opposed to a whole house.

"Bulma, no. That's way too much, let me pay," you countered.

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of capsules. "How many bedrooms were you thinking?"

"Just one, that's all I can really do at the moment."

She settled on a pink capsule and placed it on the table in front of you. "That's a three bedroom. It's one of the models we used for photos so it's fully furnished and you're not paying for it."

"Bulma, you don't even know me. I-"

"Your saiyan back there came to Earth to recruit Goku. The only reason he's here is because of my friend which means your house is gone because of this. It's the least we can do for you," she said, pushing the capsule closer.

"And remember, call me immediately if anything feels off with him, okay? This is a direct line to me," she said, passing a business card to you with the Capsule logo shimmering on the top left corner and a phone number scrawled across the bottom.

"At least let me pay you something for this, please?" You pleaded with her.

"Absolutely not. Just come to my next party, I’ll introduce you to Goku," she said, refusing to take no for an answer as she headed back inside the building.

On your way back to the car, Raditz remained silent. There was no good way to approach the subject of his brother. That had to be weighing on him.

"What's that place?" He finally spoke, pointing towards the small building on the other side of the road.

"It's a bar. One of my favorites actually," you replied, coming to a stop at a four way intersection.

"What's a bar?"

"A place where people usually drink strong tasting liquids that make them feel funny."

"Strong liquids?" He raised an eyebrow and sat forward just enough to see past his hair which had taken up residence between the two of you.

"We call it alcohol. It's how I ended up in that field the night I found you."

"Libations. That's what we called them."

Instead of continuing straight through the intersection, you made a quick left followed by a right and pulled into the parking lot.

You entered the old, dimly lit bar with Raditz in tow. The evening crowd was starting to trickle in.

Raditz found a table while you ordered drinks. You leaned back against the bar while you waited, watching him mess with the phone you gave him. It looked so small in his hands and he looked adorable navigating what he called primitive technology.

After very carefully walking back to your table, you sat a tray full of drinks in the middle and pulled out a chair.

A big, strong arm wrapped around your waist and the next thing you knew, you were sitting in Raditz's lap. You were already so used to cuddling with him in the pod that you didn't think anything of it.

As the day turned to night, you introduced Raditz to all of your favorite drinks and even some you didn't like just to see his reaction. Aside from trips back to the bar to order more drinks, he kept you in his lap with an arm around your waist.

He required a ton of alcohol to even get a buzz and you were content sipping and never getting totally drunk. One of you had to stay a little sober to avoid bad decisions.

"What is this one?" Raditz asked, holding up a pint glass of blue liquid.

"That is your last drink of the night, big guy." You grabbed it and took a quick sip before handing it back.

"It's called... last drink of the night?" He stared at the glass, confused by the weird name.

"It's called an Adios Motherfucker."

"Say that again but... slower," he said with a big goofy smile. Drunk Raditz wasn't too different from the sober version. The thing you noticed the most was the sadness in his eyes. You watched it slowly fade until it was gone completely. His smiles lit up his entire face and he laughed louder.

"Can I have another one of these?" He asked, holding up his empty glass.

"Dude, I've already had to drag you to my house once, we're not doing that again," you chided.

"Human... sweetheart- just one?" He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted.

"Human sweetheart. That's a new one," you laughed, shaking your head at how ridiculously cute he was.

You relented and bought him one more drink. The expensive bar tab made you feel sick but it was worth every penny to see him finally shed the darkness that enveloped him. Even if it was only for a night.

As soon as the chilly night air hit your face, you regretted not bringing a jacket.

"Saiyan, give me your warmth," you said, ducking underneath his massive arm.

"We not driving?" He asked, lifting you into his arms like a child.

"I've had one too many drinks." You buried your face against his neck and settled in for the walk home. Luckily it wasn't far and you liked getting carried by Raditz, especially with his hands on your ass to hold you up.

"You smell good," he said in a sleepy voice as you neared your half destroyed house.

"You can still smell my perfume? I figured that would've faded by now."

"No... not that," he muttered, burying his face against your neck to sniff you. If it was anyone else, you probably would've freaked out.

"Your scent, the normal one."

You pulled back and smiled. “Wait, do you have some kind of heightened sense of smell that I don’t know about?”

“Yeah, it’s a saiyan thing. We can pick up on scents and changes in scents we’re familiar with. Particularly with females we’re close to or want to be close to.”

He crossed the lawn to the backyard and lowered you to the ground. “How does this capsule thing work?”

You pulled it from your pocket, clicked the small button and tossed it approximately where you wanted your new house to be.

“Holy shit, Bulma,” you said in awe of the beautiful house she gave you. It was far too much and you were already trying to figure out ways to pay her back. You and Raditz explored the house briefly before calling it a night, exhausted from the day.

You tossed and turned even though the new bed was the most comfortable thing you had ever laid on. The temperature in the room was perfect and it was dark enough, but something still wasn't right.

You knew what it was but you didn't want to acknowledge it. Lines had already been crossed on multiple levels with your unexpected roommate. You shared the pod out of necessity, nothing more.

Minutes ticked by and you only seemed to get less sleepy. You finally got annoyed enough to get out of bed and go to the living room, but you didn't make it there. You ran straight into a wall of saiyan at the end of the hallway.

"Holy shit! What the hell are you doing out here?" You stepped back and saw him carrying a glass of water.

"I can't sleep so I got a glass of water. That a crime, you tiny pain in the ass?" He asked with a little smirk.

"No, it's not a crime, you giant pain in the ass," you said in a mocking tone.

"Can I sleep with you?"

You knew he meant actual sleep, but your brain processed it in a different way entirely and it left your panties wet.

"Sure," you said, against your better judgement.

He followed you back to your room and walked around to the other side of the bed while you got back under the covers on your side. He laid down and turned on his side to face you.

"Bedroom not comfy enough?" You asked, scooting closer to him. He draped his arm over you and started to fade right away.

"Not that... just didn't have you," he said before drifting off to sleep.

You were wide awake until he started purring, head rested against your shoulder. It didn't matter how much you tried to fight off the feelings you were having for him, they weren't going away. The last thought you had before you finally fell asleep was the realization that you needed Raditz by your side to fall asleep.

A loud crash outside made the entire house shake. Raditz was up in the blink of an eye checking the window to see what it was. His tail fluffed up and moved wildly behind him.

You scrambled out of bed to look for yourself but there was nothing, just the backyard.

"What's wrong, big guy? Are you seeing something I'm not?"

"I need you to stay behind me and if anything happens to me, run," he said, effectively scaring the hell out of you.

"What? You can't just say that with no explanation! What's going on?" Your anxiety skyrocketed as he moved past you to head towards the living room.

"Raditz- "

"Behind me," he snapped.

Before you could protest, the front door was kicked completely off the hinges and left in a mangled heap on the floor. A tall, muscular guy with short, spiky black hair walked in. One eye was covered with some kind of device you had never seen.

"This is what you've been doing, huh? There's something incredibly wrong about a domesticated Saiyan," the man said with a cocky grin.

A shorter man stepped in behind him, black hair shooting towards the sky like small spires. He also had the same device covering one of his eyes and he somehow looked even more intimidating than the bigger one.

"Prince Vegeta, Turles," Raditz said, giving them each a nod.

#raditz x reader #raditz #let you go fic #supremeleadershitlord

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lillaxtrigger · 3 years ago

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Young Hope: Chapter 41

The tall, clear glass set within the towering buildings of Townsville reflect the glisten of the afternoon sun and shine them down upon the people of Townsville; walking through the streets and driving through the roads on the way through their daily communes, almost nothing but the city ambiance echoing through block after block. Simply going through the motions of their day to day lives, the people walking through the sidewalk are broken from their near trance like state when a wisp of emerald green wavers past; some of them leaping out of the way when a pair of speeding figures soon follow after. Among their pursuit after the fleeting green spirit flame do both Mally and Biz swerve around both people and vehicles alike, some of the cars they pass honk to them while other’s rudely flip the old middle bird; ignoring their upset fits to simply focus on what they pursue. The magenta woman that Mally calls her mentor speeds forth as both of them are on approach of a busy intersection that the wisp hovers right over; Biz soon leaping off the pavement and gliding right along the glass surface of the building beside her; wall grinding higher and higher. Nearing the crosswalk, the magenta skater leaps out in the peek of her grind and bounds above the passing cars and trucks; Mally watching in utter awe as her teacher manages make it out to the other side of the street unscathed. Peering out ahead to what could aid her pulling off the same stunt, the orange girl’s eye lock out to a street lamp standing just short of the crosswalk; Mally taking her beloved grapple yo as her mind rings up an idea. The skater casts her gadget straight out to the light and lets its string hug its top; the very moment that her gadget finishes wrapping around the light’s steel does the orange skater jerk herself up into the air and swing out above. The people of the city watch anxiously as the orange girl bounds right over the line of busy traffic; some of them holding their breath as Mally grazes right off the top of a semi truck. The crowd lets out a relieved sigh when she lands right on the other side of the street, all while Mally continuing her pursuit after her mentor and the wisp unabated.

In her chase after the coveted emerald spirit, Biz finds the fleeting ghost hovering straight up a set of concrete steps; the woman picking up as much speed as she could as she approaches the railing splitting the stairs. Finally nearing the base of the steps does the magenta skater hop right atop the rustic incline, all the speed she had built up letting her ascend up to the very top of the steps with ease. In following her teach does Mally then build up as much speed as she could as she closes in on the rail; finally hopping right along the bottom end and smoothly sliding right up to the very top. Hopping right off the rails does she come to witness her teacher take an extremely tight turn from the split road up ahead; Mally once again glancing to her surroundings ahead for a way to follow after, a stop sign along the corner of the street giving her just what she needs. The orange skater tosses her grapple yo once more out to the approaching sign ahead and envelopes its string right around its very neck; Mally holding on tight as takes the turn without loosing a single bit of momentum.

That very boost around the corner lets her catch up to the magenta skater, Mally skating right aside Biz as she asks her: “Any luck catching the wisp?” “Slippery little bastard. Just a couple inches closer and we could trap it with this thing.” Biz claims, digging through her pants pocket to pull out metallic jar fitted with lines of neon green. “Why don’t I give it a go?” the orange girl persists as she snatches the jar right out from her mentors grasp, zipping straight ahead after the fleeing spirit. “Mal, hang on a sec!” her teacher attempts to warn, though her words fall of deaf ears as her pupil simply speeds off.

Out to the fleeing green wisp ahead does Mally speed through the streets, the girl tasting the green bits of spirit the wisp leaves behind in its wake as she grows closer and closer to its tail. The feverish chase leads the young lady to entering a busy highway, where countless vehicles flow through the concrete roads like a running river of metal. As the cowardly emerald wisp flutters between the numerous vehicles, the girl that pursues it skirts across the sides of these cars and trucks as she refuses to give up the chase; some of the drivers within jumping when the orange lass leaps off their side windows. Despite her feverish pursuit after the ghostly spirit, Mally finds the distance beginning to grow and ponders for a way to close the gap as the cars aside zoom past. Its in the Doppler effect of some of these vehicles passing my that she gets another idea and jumps up to the top of a nearby car; the gap between her and the spirit swiftly closing as she leaps from motor vehicle to vehicle. Meager moments before the girl could swipe the spirit from the air does the wisp suddenly veer straight off the side; Mally waiting not another moment as she hangs off the side of the semi and leap right after the fleeting spirit. Careening through the air, the orange skater reaches out as far as she could as she glides closer and closer to the flighty wisp; finally swiping the spirit in the metal bottle. “Gotcha!”

Though excited over the prospect of capturing the slippery wisp, her demeanor is swiftly shot down when realizing herself falling down off the side of the highway and down the long drop towards the concrete below; the girl yelping out as she starts to descend. Midst her screaming descent does she peer over to discover her magenta mentor zooming through the air beside her; Biz shouting out to: “Throw your yoyo to me!” Without so much as another word does Mally do just that and flings her gadget out to her teacher; Biz catching her students grapple yo and clutching it tight as she drags the orange girl through the air with her. Descending down upon the pavement of an empty road, the magenta skater cleanly lands on her feet before manages to catch her plummeting pupil in the nick of time before she could smack into the asphalt. Upon catching her student, Biz finally puts the breaks onto her skate through the streets as she comes close towards the side of an apartment building behind them; coming to a skidding halt before both of them could crash right along its hard brickwork.

“You okay there, Mal?” the magenta woman questions as she sets her pupil down on her own two skates. “Yep. Caught the wisp in all its ghoulish glory.” the student response with presenting the enclosed metallic jar glowing bright green. “Nice. Pretty ballsy of you to just leap off the edge of a highway like that.” “Eh. After helping your brother’s take down a primordial cosmic shaper of the universe alongside the other sort of stuff I been up against, not a lot phases ya no more. It’s still pretty much a blast though.” “That’s what I like to here. Kickin ass and taking names. You might just have a future in the supernatural if ya keep this up.” Biz compliments as she takes the captured wisp from her pupils grasp.

On that very queue do the two of them suddenly hear a distinct ring go off in the magenta woman’s torn up jeans; Biz digging right in her pocket to pull out her phone making the noise, gazing to the screen to find the alarm mentioning how its almost time for work. “Dammit. Gotta punch in the clock for work. Mal, I really hope you’ll get a better future then I have. It’d definitely beat going on the grind everyday at this run down diner, serving cock head assholes while getting yelled at my your shitty boss.” “Why you working as a waitress anyway? Don’t these supernatural hunt jobs get you by enough?” “They help from time to time, but the pay ain’t nowhere near enough to get by in this day and age. So much crap to keep track of. Food, phone, internet, rent, water bill, electric, and all that just for an overpriced apartment. God, being a grownup fucking sucks, makes me miss being with my uncle Dib. If there’s one piece of advice I wanna leave ya with, Mal, its to plan for life to fling shit her way; cause sooner or laters, its gonna.”

Right as her magenta mentor was on the cusp of splitting, something the woman’s pupil asks makes her stop right in her tracks; Mally questioning: “What time do ya get off?” “Clock out after 8. Why?” “Why don’t ya let your food bill take a little break and come over to my place for a bite. My mom ain’t the best cook out there, but she always finds a way to make’em take real homey.” “Sure, why not. I’ll stop by your place once I clock out. See ya.” Biz accepts before she skates off with the trapped wisp secure in her hands. Amidst waving goodbye to her mentor, a small metaphorical thorn pricks the back of the orange lass’s head; making her wonder what exactly she’s forgotten about. … “Oh hell, Vivi!”

Set in the middle of a lone suburban backyard are numerous training dummies spread out among the fresh cut grass; all of them surrounding a half skeletal blonde, who tightly clutches the neck of a scythe as she prepares to lunge forth. Finally taking the first steps in her assault, Vivian manages to roughly cut straight through the bodies of these dummies as easily as slicing paper; the skull girl slicing straight through their straw necks, chests, and torsos with multiple strokes. “Hey Vivi.” Mally sudden pops in among the girl’s swinging frenzy. With it too late for her skeletal pal to stop her own swing, Mally pulls out her grapple yo against the scythes very blade; countless sparks flying as the blade slides against the gadgets hard shell.

Having gotten so close to her orange pal, literally face to face, Vivian backs away from Mally’s personal space in a fluster; shouting out how: “Mal! Fuck sake girl. Nearly yeeted ya damn head off! You’re so-” “Late? Yeah, I know. I was taking care of some stuff. But the way you cut through all those dummies like better. Sick as hell.” “I...Th-th-thanks, comes with some practice.” the skull girl stutters, her face glowing bright red. “Though I gotta ask, why are ya so amendment on practicing with that scythe? Thought you hated so much as the thought of touching it.” “Ah, I still hate this fucking thing. Just can’t get out what Ryan bitched at me outta my head.” “Vivi, you still thinking about that. It’s okay, you don’t gotta worry about it.” “But I do, Mal. The first time I used this damn scythe to help her out outta that hole city wide riot, felt as if a horrible dread was creeping on very being the more she used it. Thought I could just ignore all that helping you guys take down that Mall guy. That bull just made things worse, couldn’t use it like I did back in Townsville. Best my sorry ass could do was just jump around and cut stuff. That whole trip I took with you really forced the truth right down my throat.”

“Viv…” Mally utters. “Yep. Pretty much the whole reason I signed up for the League.” “The-the Vanguard league!? You sure about that, Vivi?” Mally questions after the initial jump. “Pretty damn sure. Standing alongside the other fresh meat outta gimme the motivation I need to push through the wall of my own pent up shit.” “Viv, the league ain’t a contest. Its a superhero organization made to help people.” “Its why I signed up. Figure if I can use this fucking oversized gardening tool for some good, maybe I can convince myself that its powers aren’t so bad.” the skull girl explains. “Alright. If you think that’ll help.”

“Yeah...Speakin of help, the hell were you doing that made ya an hour late?” “Oh, uh...I got sidetracked helping my teach out catching this loose wisp through the city messing with people. Bothering the elderly, flipping the bird to drivers, possessing people to make them commit sexual harassment. Ya should’ve been there Viv, both of us were just skating through the streets, grinding rails, gliding along walls, jumping on cars just to try and catch the little bastard. Finally wound up catching it jumping on the side of the highway. My teach saved my ass last minute before I could splat on the pavement.” “Damn Mal, sounds like your teach be real bitchen.” “Oh yeah. All that and more. Gonna have her over at my place for dinner. Wanna meet her?” “Hells yeah. When should I bust down yer door down to eat?” Vivian asks. “She said something about not getting off work til 8. Try comin over then, kay.” “Cool. What’s on the menu?” “Not sure. Haven’t exactly told mom about it yet.” “And you throw shit at me for being reckless.” “It’s like what close to what, 3 right now? I got plenty of time. Let’s just help you out with your practice right now.” Offering such do that do they immediately get started on practice, Mally donning her Yoyo and taking up a stance while Vivi does the same with her scythe.

The first out from the two to start, Vivian takes charge straight out to her sparing partner with blade in hand; ready to swing out its sharp end out to the orange girl before her. Midst ducking right underneath her skeletal opponent scythe swipe, Mally sweeps at one of Vivi’s legs to make her lose her balance and fall flat on her back; the orange skater’s shadow blanketing her foe as she asks the downed skull girl: “So, wanna try that again?” “Oh, you are fucking asking for it.” Vivi states as she pulls herself off the grass.

Lunging out to her opponent once more, the skull girl this time slashes vertically out to the orange girl; Mally sidestepping out from the swipe easily and thrusting her fist out to counter once more. This time however is the skull girl more prepared and holds the flat of her blade out to block her foe’s assault; the metal of the blade vibrating from the harsh impact. “Nice block.” Mally compliments. “Got more up my ass than that!” Vivi claims as she pushes the orange girl back. As the skater backs away from her skeletal sparring partner, she tosses her out grapple yo out in her retreat; its string wrapping right around the neck of Vivi’s weapon. Despite attempting to hold onto the scythe the best she could, Mally ultimately yanks the weapon straight out from her grasp; Vivian’s boney arm incidentally popping off as it holds onto neck of the blade for dear life. The blade thrusting straight into the dirt behind the skater. “Seems you been left utterly disarmed.” the orange girl jests. “Fucking! Sure as hell ain’t over yet.”

The match not declared over, Vivi recklessly charges after her orange opponent with but a single remaining arm raised; Mally ready for what she has to throw out as the skull girl’s other arm lets go of the scythe and works on uprooting it from the earth. Even with a punch thrown, a kick swung, and a head butted, any strikes that Vivi attempts to inflict are dodged and easily blocked; soon jumping back to try and catch her breath. Seeing the moment to strike, Mally takes charge after the skull girl to attack from the side and knock her sparring partner down on her ass once more. “Whelp, that about wraps it up.” the orange girl claims, Vivian peering behind her to find her skeleton arm having finally dug her weapon out from the dirt. “Don’t count me out just yet.” In but a single throw, Vivi’s detached arm casts the scythe out their way; the weapon hurdling right past the orange skater and landing right in Vivian’s other arm. Her confident smile his suddenly broken apart when seeing her sparring partner fall onto her knee’s, clutching her side as she doubles over in pain.

“Mal!” the skull girl screams out as she races over to her downed friend. “Oh god! Are you okay!” “Yeah, think I will...But you won’t be.” the orange skater answers with glaring up to the skull girl with a sly grin. Faster than she could possibly react, the orange girl trips up her opponent and swipes her weapon as she tumbles back; Vivi falling onto the ground once more and finding herself on the other side of her weapon, the one that her opponent now wields.

“You fucking cheat!” she quickly accuses Mally with. “Hmm. I don’t remember us setting any sort of rules before we fought, did we? And hey, this should be a pretty important point to remember; something one of my bros taught me a good while. In a fight for your life, there ain’t no such thing as cheating.” “Dare ya to eat those words!” Vivi exclaims. In a brief instance does the skull girl take a page from her pal and sweep at Mally’s leg; causing the orange skater to fall forward right next to her and dropping the scythe. Glancing aside does Mally find her friend staring to her with a smug grin, Mally letting out a little chuckle and claims that: “Alright, guess we can call it a draw.” As the two of them pull eachother off the fresh cut grass, Vivi can’t help but ask: “So. That teach of yours taught ya that?” “Well, she’s helped me refine some skills I was already working on. That and teaching me how to bash people’s skull’s in with a hockey stick.” “Color me fucking intrigued. Definitely gonna be stopping by at your place now. Just hope I can convince my folks to let me go over by my own. I love’em, but they can be pretty damn embarrassing.”

As the bright afternoon sun starts its descent down into the horizon, its light shines through the glass of a window leading straight into Mally standing in the middle of her living room; the girl facing her blue haired mother sitting onto the couch having just heard the plans her daughter has. “Yeah, I ain’t too sure about this whole evening set up Mally.” the mom replies. “Hey, if ya need help in the kitchen tonight, ain’t nothing stopping me from tagging in.” Mally offers. “That isn’t what has me weary here. Its the fact your bringing over two of your friends who have never met with each other before. Believe me when I say a situation like that can veer off real fast.” “That’s why I’m wanting to invite them over, to get them to warm up to each other. If both Biz and Viv like me, then they outta like each other, right?” “Mally, you can’t make everyone you like get along with each other.” “I can try, mom. I sure as hel- heck can try.” “Remember the last time you “Tried”? Thankfully we had Tore and Roy to help crowbar everyone off eachother and get them to calm down for a single second.”

Being reminded of this past blunder causes the orange skater to let out an irritated groan as she flops down onto the couch next to her mom; the blue momma herself gazing to her youngest daughter and consoling to her how: “Mal, I know you just want all your friends to be happy with eachother, but trying to just glue together people like that isn’t wise.” “But I know that both my girls can get along, they got so much in common; both are brash, ready to jump into action, always looking to bust people’s balls. I mean, they’re practically like long lost sisters already.” “Hmm...Just be prepared for anything sweetie. Now if you’ll excuse me. I gotta prep a dinner for six that she was completely prepared to make tonight?” the blue woman states with snide sarcasm. “Hey, I said I was gonna help out.”

Eventually does the twilight sun fully set out in the horizon and the stars above glimmer across the moonlight sky; a figure sliding through the darkness and stopping just short of a suburban home. As the door to this abode creaks open, the escaping light reveals this visitor to be the magenta skater herself to greet with: “Sup, Mrs. Mal’s mom.” “Biz. Glad you showed up. We just got plates set up. Why don’t you come in and have a seat.” the blue haired woman welcomes, letting the magenta woman into her abode.

The very first site she beholds to when passing through the living room and to the dinning room is the face of her orange pupil; who welcomes her teach with: “Biz, glad you made it.” “Yeah, thank god my boss let me off when he did. Practically a miracle he didn’t make me work over...time…” Biz’s speech starts to wane when seeing another guest after finding both of her pupils bro’s sitting at the table; a blonde girl with a skeletal like complexion sitting at the other end sporting a little grin. “Uh...You’re bro’s invite someone else tonight or…” the magenta woman questions. “Nah, I lent them a ticket in. Vivi here heard about the shenanigans we get into and the sort of moves you’ve been teaching me. Wanted a front row seat.” “Hella fine to finally put a face on the bitch whose been teaching my girl how to shove her foot straight up some unlucky bastards sweaty asses.” the skull girl greets with. “Mean, its not that she’s been training with us for 6 years of her life or anything…” Roy whispers under his breath.

Sitting her ass down on one of the available seat set before her, Biz asks the mother: “So. What sort of platter you cooking up tonight?” “I’m just about done grilling everyone’s burgers out here. Only thing left is to grill the buns.” “God, I...seriously can’t get enough of the way that woman grills em. Don’t know what the hell kinda spices she uses, but the way she butters and toasts the buns is a fucking fantasy, like holy shit.” The purple merc then compliment. “Yeah...Wasn’t there a restaurant chain that did that wit their buns, butter the bottoms and put them on the grill. I know there was one out there that did.” Tore then joins in to ask everyone. “Think it might be five guys.” Viv chimes in with. “Nah. Ate there last week. They don’t do that.” Roy denies. “You sure you ain’t thinking of a local joint? Ton’s of those will do that for ya if you ask.” Biz then wonders. “No, I specifically remember it being a chain restaurant of some sort.” “Are you sure you ain’t mistaking them for mom’s burgers she made for one of her friends parties a couple years back?” Mally then questions.

Right upon that very queue does the mom finally come in with a tray filled with numerous, well dressed, delectable burgers; both Biz and Vivi left somewhat astonished by the presentation of the meals. “Damn. That sure looks hella real to the kind of gourmet shit they make over in the real expensive joints.” “Thanks there, Viv. I got the recipe from one of my brother’s that runs a restaurant back in Florida, his burgers were the real deal so much, it’d practically spoil you for every other burger.” “Which one was that? You guys got like six uncles or something.” The violet angel then asks. “I think it might’ve been Darren. He was always in the kitchen cooking stuff when we were little.” the mom answers.

Upon taking the first bite does Biz start to realize what she means by this, letting out a moaning awe from the swirling taste through her mouth. Though the rest of them start on their plates, they are left ultimately distracted when seeing the magenta woman scarf her burger down in a messy manner: “Damn girl. You don’t get enough to eat back home?” Vivi questions. “With as tight as my budget as mine, don’t get to to eat anything as good as this. Best I can scrape up is cheap store brand garbage they somehow got away with classifying as edible.” the magenta lass answers with. “We were talking about this earlier. The supernatural jobs she takes aren’t going for enough money; some of the barely breaking 1’000, and that’ including her working at this dinner for about 9.50 an hour.” Mally then adds. “Damn Mal, seems ya got yer work cut out for ya getting both your girlfriends outta some tight spots.” Roy then mentions. “I’m 24, jackass.” Biz then reprimands. “You poor girl. Don’t you have family to go to?” the mom then asks. “Did have any uncle that raised me for a good long while. Nice guy. Though last we saw each other, we didn’t exactly see things eye to eye. Let’s leave it at that.” Biz mentions.

“The hell kind of odd jobs you go around doing.” Vivian then follows up with. “Investigations, hunts, searches, etc. Usually with ghosts, chimeras, aliens, just other weird stuff. Course, prices out there’ve been going down ever since this new league’s been out. Why hire some random woman when you could ask for a bunch of organized kids to help ya for free, am I right? Know its for the greater good or some other type of bull like that, but god does it mess with my paycheck at the end of the day” Biz rants out. “Ya know Biz. If ya looking for merc work, think you should expand your horizons out for more than just ghost hunts, and chimera sitting. There’s stuff out there that can get ya from earning the hundreds to the thousands.” Roy goes on to explains. “The skill set I got on me is for supernatural hunts, though. Doubt that stuff could apply anywhere else.” Biz retorts. “From the sort of stuff Mally’s told me ya pull off, ya could put those skills to use in other fields. Delivering unmarked packages, assassinations, personal extraction and retrieval, anonymous handies to rich cows.” “Roy remember, no sex talk at the dinner table.” the mom butts in with. “Point is that there’s all sorts of other stuff you can do for people under the shade that need done.” “Eh, maybe.” “That type of money can get ya out of eating bologna every night.” Mally then adds. “...I might consider it.”

An awkward silence waning through the dinning table, Mally decides to break through the quiet by asking Vivi: “So, how’d ya convince your parents to let ya come here my yourself with them being so mildly overprotective?” “Told the two of them I was practically 15 and can handle myself. My dad was seriously crying so fucking hard, it looked like he was on the verge of pissing himself from the snot coming out from his balloon red nose. But once I convinced them that this’d give them some alone time with eachother, mom was all on board and sent me off; she always looks pissed as all hell, but saying all that made her mood change.” These specific details reaching Biz’s very ears, a certain suspicious starts to sprout up within her as her site narrows to the young skull girl.

“Man Vivi. Feel a little sorry with how strict your parents sound. Heck, when we were around ten or so, Mom had Roy, Mally and I fly a couple towns over to help one of our uncles move out. He told us to get some stuff to help out in the trip from downtown; and during the trip, we ran into this weird shadowy cult that was kidnapping people and taking their organs. They lured us into some sort of warehouse where they kept all the people they were gonna harvest. But when the time came for them to pick off someone to, us three leaped right on in and beat the loving crap out of every single one of them.” Tore inputs with. “I remember one of the sharting himself when I punched him in the stomach. Seriously laughing at him while he was just breaking down in tears thinking “How the hell did my life turn this sour?” Good stuff.” Roy then adds. “Once we got outta there, we went over to get what their uncle needed to move and went back home. Course when mom found out about the whole thing, she nearly had a panic attack.” Mally concludes. “When I heard all three of them fought their way out that easily, I realized something that day. After incidence like that one happened so many times before hand. no matter what sort of trouble they all wind up getting into, they’d have the fortitude to get themselves right out of it.” the mom explains.

“How was living with your uncle like Biz?” Tore then questions. “Well Uncle Dib didn’t really put that many restrictions on me; always just about letting me do almost anything. Skip some days of school just to bring me along in one if his supernatural ventures. I still remembers the time I took a blaster out on this big specter and shot dozens of holes straight through its body; that was my first successful ghost hunt I had bagging one. Still remember how my uncle said he was proud of me.” “He-...He let you use a gun while you were that little? Like a gun gun?” the mom blurts in with. “Technically laser rifles and stuff like that.” the magenta woman corrects. “Goodness.” “Then there was this other time he took me out in the middle of a quarry to investigate a banshee that was going around gouging people’s eye’s out; gnarly shit seeing the dead bodies.” “How old were you then.” the blue haired woman worries. “Uh, say about 11, 12 back then.” “And he didn’t mind you seeing that stuff with your own eyes?” “Mauricia, you act like this is some sort of surprise. All of us seen way worse when we were younger.” Roy then defends. “But you really shouldn’t have.” “Yeah. Even with a some screws loose in the head, my uncle always loved and cared for me like his own, even if they’re lifestyle and line of work was unhinged as all hell.” “I-I…” “You wind up catching it?” Tore then resumes to ask. “The strangest thing wound up happening when we found its lair, it was already left a bloody corpse on the cave floor; something had made a clean slice straight through its torso.”

“Damn. All that makes me recall the time I went with my parents along a trip to reclaim some lost souls after Grim was meant to collect them.” Vivi starts her story with, the very name she had mentions perking some suspicion within Biz as she and the rest of them continue to listen to the skull girl. “A lot of the fuckin time we were trying to chase after all those souls, my dad wound up getting distracted at almost every turn; sometimes from a display window of puppies, other times it was cause he spotted a penny in the road. It happened so often that my mom just decides to leave him be and just move on ahead after some of the souls. We then actually started to get some actual progress, getting wandering spirits left and right to have Grim let them pass on. It was the last soul they needed to catch that was actually pretty tricky for us to catch up with; going through walls and possessing people left and right. We didn’t know what the hell to do to nab the bastard. Right then and their did my dad happen to come back along after somehow finding them and showing up with this huge vacuum cleaner and through sheer luck wound up sucking the damn spirit right out from the air. Damndest thing, really. Still got the pictures we all took during that little shitshow.”

Mentioning this does Vivian then pull out her phone to show everyone the numerous pictures depicting her alongside a woman with a nasty scowl, a man with a huge nose, and a hooded figure wielding a scythe. The magenta woman’s eyes start to widen as she beholds her parents within these photo’s; suddenly reaching over and swiping the skull girl’s phone right out from her grasp as she goes: “Let me see that!” “Whoa! The fuck!” Among beholding the photo’s up close, the woman’s arms start to tremble as her fist tightly ball up; her expression souring to bitter resentment in the span of seconds. Finally left at her very limit, Biz tosses the phone across the table and back in the hands of the skeletal lass; the woman standing up and marching towards the door as she coldly leaves with: “Thanks for the meal." “Biz. Biz, wait!” Mally then shouts out while chasing right after her magenta mentor.

As soon as she races out the front door and into the yard, the orange skater peers out to both ends of her street in hopes of finding which way her mentor had ran out in a huff; gazing to the left to discover the shadow of the magenta woman skating off. “Biz!” Mally sprints off after the skating away young woman as fast as her bare legs could carry her, Biz growing further away despite her pupil pleading out to her with: “Biz! Biz! Biz, wait! What’s the matter!? Say something! Please!” Among her skating retreat through the streets does Biz finally humor the notion of listening to her and slowly comes to a complete stop, turning back to face her orange pupil as Mally finally catches up; the young girl taking a moment to catch her breath before she finally asks: “What was all that about? You just snatch Vivi’s phone out of her hands and just leave? Why the change in mood? Was it the burgers!” A forlorn breath escapes from the magenta woman’s mouth as she stares to Mally; finally explaining to the girl how: “No. Burgers were good!” “Then whats the problem?” “...I told ya about my parents, didn’t I?” “Y-yeah? Your mom quite literally threw you at your dad to take care of ya.” “Then after like several years did my dad doing little to support me, his friend forced him to gimme right back to my mom; who still didn’t give a shit and just hauled me off straight to uncle Dib.” “What’s all that gotta do with tonight?” Mally then in turn questions. “You get a look at the dad right? You find anything familiar about him?” “N-Not really. Only thing I could really notice was the guys nose; kinda looks a lot like y-...No.” “Yep.” “That guy in the picture’s is your dad!?...But that...so that woman he was with is-” “The same one who made him toss me out. Made my dad give me back up to a mom who wanted nothing to do with me. “You all fucking serious?”

Upon hearing this does Mally peer back to discover Vivian herself standing behind her; left at an utter loss over what she had just heard and could only utter out: “Does that make you...my sister?” Rather than answer the skull girl that stands behind her pupil, the magenta woman simply decides to turn back and skate off into the nightly darkness; all without another word. “I-I…” Gazing back to her skeletal pal does Mally find a thick coat of utter dumbfound plaster everywhere long the blonde girl; Vivian struggling to even speak as all she could force herself to say is: “I gotta go!” With Vivi now retreating out into the suburban night streets, both of the girls leave the orange skater to crumble to her knee’s as they walk off in the opposite directions.

Just outside the orange girl’s home do both Tore and his Mom stand upon the porch and keep their eyes down the very street that Mally had gone down after their magenta house guest; Roy standing right along the door frame as all of them patiently await for their youngest’s return. “She gonna be okay?” Tore asks his mother. “I’m not sure. With Biz just racing off in a huff like that, me thinks that there be some uncovered secrets poking out from the surface.” “Do...do you think we need to go get her or will she just-” “She’s coming back.” Roy claims, not even looking in the same direction as either of them.

Out from the dark recesses of the suburban streets do the two of them find Roy’s claim to be accurate as Mally emerges out from the shadows; the orange skater going at a snails pace as her head is slumped towards the concrete. The three step off the porch out to the slowly approaching girl, the blue haired boy among the trio first asking: “So...What happened?” A small breath winds up leaving the young girls lungs as she shakes her head; finally answering out: “So...Turns out Biz and Vivi are half sisters...And on top of that, Biz has resentment over Vivi’s parents ditching her when she was little.” “...You seriously pull that old soap opera bull outta yer ass or what?” Roy doubts over. “Oh, poor girls. I can’t imagine what sort of thoughts are going through their heads about all of this.” the mother pities over. “Heck, I’m still trying to process what just happened. I mean neither of them barely even look like they come out from the same guy.” the orange girl then claims. “Maybe talking things out outta clean some air.” Tore suggests. “I wouldn’t even know the first step towards getting that far. Biz basically hates both of Viv’s parents and from the way she’s described it, I can’t exactly blame her.” the orange girl states. “So, you needin both ya girls to come together and cooperate, huh. Think I might have a good idea on how to bait them both:” the purple merc offers, a devious grin cracking across his grin. “And I’m already not liking this.” Mally responds with.

Out along the middle of Townsvilles park the very next day does Mally rest on a wooden bench; the orange girl gazing out through the park field as she waits patiently with nothing but the song of the birds to keep her company as she waits for both of her girls to arrive on the scene. How in the world is anybody supposed to untangle this whole mess to reach a compromise here? So many ties left tightly woven into other sensitive knot. One wrong move and there might not be any way left to mend this mess; just left as a whole cluster of confusing angst, bitter resentment, and enraging sentiments. Just don’t fuck it up, Mal. Just don’t fuck it all up.

In the middle of repeating these words of warning to herself does the orange skater suddenly hear in outcry of distraught echo out in the distance; Mally peering over to witness Vivi bolting through the park in a frantic hurry, racing over any park goers and flowers that stand in her way. “Mal, holy shit!” Vivian shouts, the orange girl in question hopping off the park bench as the skull girl approaches. “Vivi, what’s the matter!?” Mally urgently questions as her skeletal pal takes a moment to catch her breath. “Ah, ah, ah. One…one of your bros came over and mentioned something about you getting your arms and legs blown off and was literally an hour away from fucking eating the bucket...Why are your limbs still on?” “I-Is that seriously what Roy went to feed you to come over here? Jesus. If I knew he was gonna come up with something that drastic, I’d just make up something myself.” “So your fine then?” another familiar voice chimes in with. Peering back do the two of them discover the magenta woman they had dined with last night standing before them both, Vivian’s face souring fast as she goes: “Are you fucking shitting me?”

“I’m outta here.” Biz declares as she starts waltzing back. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” her student begs, prompting her to stop right in her tracks. “I know this looks bad, but the reason I brought the two of you here is cause I wanted to work things out with the two of you. I know’s that there’s probably a lot going through both of their heads about this whole long lost sister cliché, which is why I set this whole thing up to have them talk things out; maybe fish out some questions bobbing up along the surface of their pondering minds.” Despite giving the two of them her reason for fooling the both of them to come together, such an explanation leaves the two of them utterly silent, the orange girl growing less hopeful as the quiet is drawn on. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to loose you both to this.” Upon hearing their girl comment this sad truth to the two of them do both of them finally turn back to face one another; a little smile forming underneath Mally’s nose as both Vivi and Biz sit themselves down onto the bench.

That hopeful smile starts to waver unfortunately when finding neither of her friends willing to even lay a single glance to each other, both of them peering off in the opposite direction. “Alright, um...How bout we begin this whole makeshift unregistered therapy session off by going over our upringing’s with yer dad, that’d be a good start. Why don’t you go first Biz so that we can gain some perspective on why ya mad.” Mally starts off with. “Where to even start? Thinking back to it, I can’t recount the sort of neglectful bullshit I wound up dealing with. That fucking idiot even noticed I was even there.” Despite growing further upset over the woman beside her insulting their dad like this, Vivi nonetheless remains quiet as she further listens to the magenta woman go on how: “The few times he realized I was there and played with me might as well be but small bumps in the road of my life. Hell, his other family wound up raising me more than he did. And don’t even get me started on what that blonde bitch he wound up having another kid with who threatened to do to me whenever I wound up acting up, telling me she was gonna leave me out in the middle of the woods.”

“Shut your goddamn mouth! You don’t know what the fuck your talking about.” the skull girl beside her blurts out. “Viv, I-” Mally attempts to speak over, but is left unsuccessful as Vivian simply continues to rant. “Both my mom and dad aren’t anything like that. My dad was the funniest guy I knew, always playing catch, cracking jokes, and always letting me go on life threatening adventures with him. And my mom is one of the most incredible, tough, most badass women that I’ve ever known, always standing up to others when they mock the way I look; sometimes even kicking the shit outta them. Sure, she can be scary, but that cruel? Both of them had helped comfort me throughout all the years of mocking, bullying, bitching, even fights that I had to put up dealing with from other people; all the piss I’d gone through because of how she looks, how I don’t look like one of them. I absolutely fucking refuses to believe that my two parents that comforted her through all that shit could be so neglectful and heartless.”

“You gotta be kidding.” Biz remarks as her mood sours further, standing off the park bench and threatening to bail. Before the magenta woman could go very far however does her orange pupil suddenly race right in her way; skidding before her pleading with: “Biz, wait! We just started.” “I can’t listen to this shit any more, Mal. The fact that my dad wound up putting in more years of love and care into his second kid than his first. And don’t get me started on that horrible nightmarish woman that girl over there calls a mom. Fucking hell. The fact that woman is capable of parental love at all just pisses me off to no end. The only thing I felt during the times I was alone with her was unrelenting fear and paranoia. Felt like the woman would snap any second. And hearing those two having a kid and loving her…” Midst ranting over all this does it take every single ounce of willpower in the magenta woman to not break down; her entire body trembling as she attempts to calm herself from all the rage boiling inside her.

“Listen, I get what your saying, Biz. But you ever think that fact that they raised Vivi so well might show some remorse over how they treated you?” Mally then counters with. Hearing this from her orange pupil, the magenta woman starts to calm herself a bit, her body ceasing to quake as takes deep breath to retort back over: “Mally. They had every chance to feel like that in the 9 years I’ve been with them, and it was only after the fact they gave me away did they even humor it. You think that cause they didn’t fuck up one kid means makes the other one they did screw over all okay? That I should let everything slide with a hug and a kiss?” “I- No. But-” From behind them does Vivian then literally leaps out from her seat and bust right in the middle of this argument, the skeletal girl countering with: “So that makes it okay to give em shit over what happened before I was even born!? How all the crap they did is supposed to come back into hating me and how my life turned out compared to yours?” “I...I don’t hate you, alright? Just the way those two raise me compared to you.” Biz then admits, her statement quelling some of the skull girls fury.

“How could I even start spiting you for what happened before you were even born? When you were nothing but a microbe swimming around in our dads ballsack?” “Biz, don’t. I get enough of that dirty talk from Roy.” the orange girl behind her then requests. “The sort of shit that went down back then was just between me and your folks Vivi, ain’t fair to pin all of it on you.” “If that’s what it is, then why don’t you come over and bitch to them about it. Like Mal said, all that bullshit that wound up happening with her might’ve made them think over each other when I came into the picture…Guess when ya put it like that, I should be thanking you, for turning them into better people for me. Honestly, think my life would be way worse if you didn’t come along and snap some sense into them.”

“Yeah. How bout we invite them into this sesh and we can try to get around all this together.” Mally backs up with. Despite her pupils backing up the skull girls suggestion, all that the magenta woman could do in response was was take in a small breath before answering: “Nah…Don’t think I’m ready to tackle whole wall of shit.” Mally’s hopeful grin starts to deflate when thinking this whole talking session was going straight down the crap shoot; the gears in her mind rapidly turning on how to fix it before she hears her teach go on to mention how: “But that don’t mean I should throw that cascade of piss out your way. This whole show’s between me and them, not you.” “...Gotta be honest here. Finding all this out’s been one hell of a mind fuck and a half. Kinda wondered how life’d turn out if I had a big sis like you around. Maybe some of those assholes might’ve backed off if they’ve seen what bad bitch of a sister I had.” the skull girl admits, the magenta woman left flattered by her statement.

With this all out in the open and somewhat resolved so far, Mally lets out a hella relieved sigh as she stands before both of them and claims how: “God, I’m so happy that this whole stunt didn’t spiral out of control like I thought it would. Seems like I don’t haveta choose between my two favorite girls after all.” “Yeah, maybe having a little sister to screw around with might not be that bad.” Biz claims. “But I thought I was already like a sister to you.” the orange girl them calls out. “Can’t say she can’t have more than one. I wound up seeing my girl in action couple times and thought maybe you can tell me how to kick as much ass as she can?” Vivi then asks the magenta woman, a sentiment which makes Mally blush. “Wait a sec. I thought Grim was teaching you how to use the scythe.” the orange girl then reminds her. “Eh, ain’t nothing wrong with getting some fine ass outside pointers every now and then.” “Just who are you even calling Grim.” Biz then wanders aloud.

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

And here we come to what would've been a rather messy situation for Mally to tackle between her two best girls, an unexpected family matter nearly splitting apart their relationships. Thankfully both Biz and Vivi worked it out in the end for the sake of their orange haired friend. Though this might prove just a flimsy patch job at best, for who knows how long it will last before some secrets come out from the floorboards to severe the ties of blood.

#lillaxtrigger #Young Hope #princesscallyie #callyieverse

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nearfreelandwa · 4 years ago

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Near Freeland WA

Freeland, WA

If you’re thinking whether Freeland, WA, is an excellent place to live or not, well, my answer is yes as always. Freeland, WA, has a population of more than 2000, with a median home price of 540, 000 which is high money. This location tends to lean conservative, and a lot of people own their houses. Although the costs of the home are pretty high, the median household income is also very high. It’s higher than the national average. If you opt to rent a house, the median rent is $1, 211 while the median individual income is $40 036.

Scott and Smith Attorneys at Law PLLC

The Law Offices of Andrew F. Scott and Associates PLLC, in its over 25 years of experience, have attended more than 3000 cases and over 100 jury trials. The team is known for its exceptional legal representation to its clients. Whether it be individual, family, or business clients in Island and Puget Sound. This law firm comprises attorneys and paralegals that bring together the knowledge, expertise, and experience in the field. These attorneys are all equally dedicated to achieving optimal results for business clients. They have a long history of success in every case they handled. They are the best in town with two offices – the Freeland and the Oak Harbor. For inquiries, call (360) 331-7101.

Teenager killed, another injured in South Whidbey crash

The Washington State Patrol reported that 17-year-old Taylor Daniels of Clinton was pronounced dead after being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Read more here

I read from South Whidbey Record that a teenager was killed, and another one was injured in the South Whidbey crash. This happens in a vehicle collision near the Freeland. After being airlifted to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Tylor Daniels, 17- years old, was pronounced dead while Nevin Daniels, 19, was injured and transported to Providence Hospital in Everett for treatment. According to the State Patrol, Taylor Daniels was driving a 1993 Geo Prizm on Bush Point Road and stopped at the intersection with State highway 525. It a bit saddening because he was still very young to die. Anyway, it’s an accident, so hopefully, things would be okay, especially about his family.

Mutiny Bay Distillery in Freeland, WA

In Freeland, WA, the Mutiny Bay Distillery started as a daydream when Rod and Kathy worked as pharmacists on Whidbey Island. Whidbey has been their home for more than twenty years, they have visions to be a part of this stunning island, a lot of hard work passed, and they were able to live with the distillery that they dream with their son. I like this Mutiny Bay Distillery that’s built upon a grain-to-glass philosophy by which the family works together to produce a handcrafted bottle of whiskey that bears this label. It’s incredible how to make this distillery running from the long drive of picking the wheat from the farm to the distillery process and hand labeling of the bottle.

Link to map

Driving Direction

3 min (1.1 miles)

via WA-525 S

Fastest route, the usual traffic

Mutiny Bay Distillery

5490 Cameron Rd, Freeland, WA 98249, United States

Head north on Cameron Rd toward WA-525 N

197 ft

Sharp right onto WA-525 S

0.9 mi

Turn left onto S Harbor Ave

0.1 mi

Turn left

240 ft

Turn right

Destination will be on the right

62 ft

Scott and Smith Attorneys at Law PLLC

1665 East Main Street Freeland,

WA 98249

#freeland lawyer #freeland attorney #attorney in freeland #lawyer in freeland #immigration attorney in freeland #freeland immigration lawyer #freeland estate planning #real estate lawyer in freeland #family lawyer in freeland #criminal defense lawyer in freeland

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baekhyyun · 5 years ago

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Accused Love | KNJ

» pairing: kim namjoon x reader (ft. lim jaebeom and byun baekhyun)

» genre: angst(???), cause it ain’t fluff children rn, sfw, mystery, stranger to semi-lovers

» rating: PG13

» word count: 3.3k

» Warnings: strong language, the lack of namjoon's name being used, jaebeom and baekhyun got more screen time than the damn main character i’m sorry

a / n: THIS IS ACTUALLY A NAMJOON FIC JGSKVSDS , even tho i mention his name like 5 times (ITS NOW 8) throughout the whole this fic (!!!!!) , this is also my first full fic so bare with my shitty writing and it's debuting after 5000 years. This beauty is apart of the Luv Library Project under the mystery category! There will be more than one part !!!! I wanted to post something before we got to the good part jfksnkvjdfkj. Thank you to everyone who has helped me and encouraged me with this fic!

Special thanks to @jungtaeyoongles for being there with me from the beginning, bouncing ideas off with, helping me plan this whole story and beta reading as well! Thank you to @meowxyoong for bouncing ideas with me too! Thank you to @thinksshesawolf and @ dee-ehn for beta reading this mess and clowning me in the process. We know who the real main character is in this fic.

The night sky was pitch-black, making the stars shine bright like diamonds against the darkness. Being located in the heart of Seoul, the stars shined brighter than the lights hopping off all of the tall buildings in the quiet, busy city. Jaebeom, one of the many infamous mafia leaders in South Korea, found himself waiting in the night for his next crime. Being the head meant sending someone under him to do the crime itself without getting his hands dirty. Yet with bad timing, he was out of luck for the night. All of his men found themselves in different missions committing different sins to bring in the money that the head wanted.

After becoming the head boss, he stopped going out and living life to protect his own, his hands never touching anything besides the gun strapped to his chest hidden from the public eye or the money that was earned by his henchmen. He felt like he was on top of the world again after being away from the scene for so long. Jaebeom, believing his skills were rusty, turned to money laundering to build up his skillset again. Oh, was he wrong.

He was on a hot streak and subsequently oozed cockiness from each movement he made. Every step Jaebeom took felt like pure muscle memory. He was a greedy man that wanted money. Money made the world go round. You could buy anything and anyone with a couple of hundred-dollar bills. The man had an insatiable desire for money. $100,000 was not enough to sustain his need for money. He wanted more. He wanted $500,000. It felt right to him. Not bothering to double-check his work, he just went for it as his life depended on it.

Never in a million years, would he have thought that he would be wiring money from a gaming company. Tencent, one of the largest Asian companies and known worldwide, did not scare him. He felt that this job was easy. Getting access to this place was a piece of cake, he thought. His charming personality is what got him the keys to the records room, housing every transaction that the company has ever made.

Jaebeom thought everything was going smoothly, but he could not be more wrong. After being here for three hours wiring this money, he realized that he made a rookie mistake. How could he use his ID card to get access to the files? Why did he not use his boss's card to open up the files? All these questions went through his head at lightning speed that caused his heart to start racing, he felt like his ears were going to burst from the sound of his own heart. The world around him was crashing down at a fast pace that he had to think of something fast.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jaebeom hissed to himself. How could I be so reckless? I can't let myself get caught over this shit. I gotta get out of here!"

His senses went haywire where he couldn't think straight. Getting caught in this building around this time was the least of his worries. He needed out and that's what he was trying to do with his mind racing.

As the clock ticked, Jaebeom rushed out the building to his car that was parked 5 blocks down the road. His only thought was to find a solution to this shit show that he had created the minute he walked in that building. His luck ran out.

"Fuck me, man!" he continued to tell himself while running as fast as he could.

"T-this is the o-one that f-fucks me o-over, and it's the simplest-t s-shit that gets me," he stuttered trying to control his breathing.

Relief washed over him as he spotted his car hidden behind a dumpster. He still wasn't out of the clear. Slowing his pace down, a new thought popped in his head: should he have called someone to help him out? He thought it was best, but he didn't want to feel embarrassed at the thought of his underlings catching a whiff of the mess he created doing a simple job. He was the mafia boss for crying out loud. Making a mistake was out of the question, getting help was out as well. The more he thought of calling someone the more he got frustrated with the idea.

The car roared to life, one hand reached the gear shift and set the car in reverse then back to drive. Hitting the gas pedal, he drove off with nothing but a dust cloud left behind. For being a mafia boss, he sure is fucking stupid, never once did he think that he would be making a mistake like that.

Reaching a red light at an intersection, he noticed that the city was waking up to begin their day. He only had a couple of hours to come up with a solid cover story until he was supposed to show up at work again. Looking out the window he noticed the cars pass by; one car caught his attention. He thought this was his chance that he couldn't miss. It was a perfect idea from his point of view. Framing someone else was a bit of a bitch move but if he got out the clear, fuck, he would do it a thousand times over.

He thought that using his rival would get rid of him for good so that he could be number one and rule Seoul from behind the scenes. Having everyone shirk in fear brought such joy to Jaebeom that he needs to go through with this plan. Becoming power-hungry made him crazy. He was thirsty for it and was going to do anything to get it.

Realizing that the light turned green, he makes his way back to the company for damage control. Who knew that bringing an end to his rival would make a man smile like a mad-man, but he thought it was so worth it to do so.

The ride back was fairly quick for Jaebeom. As he got closer to Tencent, the police were there parked in the front of the building. He had to find a way into the building without being spotted. Circling Tencent, he decided to go through the backway. He still had his ID card on him, so if the police caught him right there he for sure would kiss the $500,000 goodbye.

Parking his car in the alleyway behind the company, Jaebeom made his way to the back door cautiously. The perks of being named leader, it showed that you can handle any situation no matter the outcome, finding a solution to the mess he created was ironic.

Slowly making his way up the stairs, he avoided any main hallways, not wanting to draw unwanted attention. Climbing twenty flights of stairs was not something Jaebeom planned for. He felt more guilty with each step he took for messing up a simple thing. He wished he had powers to reverse time and start over from the very beginning, but alas, he was never going to get that wish.

Reaching the eighteenth floor, Jaebeom noticed no one near the entrance to the stairwell. He silently thanked the gods above to have come all the way up without getting caught. Twisting the knob to the door he slowly opened it and peaked his head to see if the coast was clear and surprisingly it was. Closing the door again, he stayed put in the stairwell. He found it strange that no one was guarding this floor, the floor where Jaebeom was located a couple of hours ago.

Jaebeom's suspicions grew more as he stayed put, thinking of all the possible outcomes of this situation. None of his answers made any sense, the dots were not connecting at all. This pissed him off more than it should have.

Deciding to give up, he moved on to the top floor where the CEO's office was, along with his own. Jaebeom's job title wasn't much, but that charming personality of his got him that spot on the top floor alongside the CEO. Everyone hated that Jaebeom got special treatment because he came here with no experience. He created enemies, did he care? No. It made him mad with power. He enjoyed that idea of people hating what he had and what they couldn't get.

There was a scream that pulled Jaebeom out of his thoughts. "Where is he?! What do you mean you can't find him?!" one of the cops said into his phone.

This is where it became challenging for Jaebeom, finding a clear path into the hallway without getting spotted by anyone. Peeking through the crack of the door, he noticed a tall man with a tan trenchcoat dressed up in an expensive suit. The realization hits him when he notices who the man was. It was none other than Kim Namjoon, a leader in the underground business and upper business, but to Jaebeom he was just a rival.

He wondered why Namjoon was here, he had no business being here. Yet here he was waltzing into the company like he owns the place. The confidence that Namjoon gave off made Jaebeom sick to his stomach. How could someone just act confident all the time?

"God, he's so infuriating, like can't this man even act normal," Jaebeom muttered to himself. "I just want to punch that stupid smirk off of his face."

The wheels were turning in Jaebeom's head that after everything, he was getting some luck after the morning he had today. Reopening the door, he noticed Namjoon walking away from the coat closet. This was his opportunity to get rid of his ID card.

He couldn't go out into the main hallway, he would get spotted quick. He needed to find a way to get himself into that coat closet. He had to think of something fast, there wasn't much time to waste. Looking back to where the officer was, Jaebeom couldn't find him.

"Where did he go? He was just there," he told himself. Another voice caught his attention and it was from the CEO, Baekhyun. He was talking to the officer that Jaebeom was looking for. He felt so blessed to have him occupied. Looking left and right, he noticed that the coast was clear and booked it straight to the coat closet.

Closing the door behind him, he was met with darkness, looking for the light switch with his hands. As he found the switch, the small closed space lit up. "Now where is that trenchcoat of yours," he whispered. "Ah, I found you, my dear sweet savior. Oh, how you are saving me from so much work."

Grabbing his ID from his coat pocket, he quickly placed it in Namjoon's trenchcoat and turned back around. Opening the door, he made sure the coast was clear once again and stepped out. Jaebeom made his way to the CEO's office and knocked on the door. Baekyhun and the officer turned their heads, noticing that it was Jaebeom.

"There he is! Get him," Baekyhun loudly spoke.

The officer was charged towards Jaebeom and before he could utter a word his hands were behind his back and his body slammed against the door. Groaning out loud from the impact Jaebeom asked, "What's going on, why am I getting slammed on a damn door by an officer?!"

"Quit playing coy, Lim, what did you do with the money you stole from the company?" Baekhyun asked.

Facing the man who asked the question, "I don't know what is going on, I just got here," Jaebeom's voice dropped a few octaves deeper.

Baekhyun darted towards Jaebeom pushing the officer out of the way and turning Jaebeom around to face him. "Lim, I won't ask you again. Where is the money?!" he yelled, stressing each word as he spoke.

"And I'm going to tell you again that I don't know what you are talking about!" Jaebeom rebutted back to the CEO.

Baekyhun was just fuming with anger from Jaebeom's answer. Baekyhun swore that he was just bluffing and acting dumb, but the confusion on his face made his story more believable. Letting go of Jaebeom, Baekyhun walked towards the window of his office that gave him the best view of the busy city below. He was at a crossroads, not knowing what to do. He wanted to believe Jaebeom but the evidence was right there.

Jaebeom silently watched his boss freak out, trying to understand the words that he spoke. His boss was at war with himself. Jaebeom thought he could use this as an advantage; to confuse the man more than he was.

"Baekhyun, you know that I would never do anything to harm this company or to betray your trust," he spoke out loud.

Baekhyun just stared at the man, his expression unreadable. Jaebeom couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Was Baekhyun figuring out that everything he's said was a lie? Jaebeom couldn't go down like this, this was not going to be the end.

"Baekhyun, please I don't know what is going on, but I can tell you that I haven't seen my ID since yesterday. If that can help my case in any way," he hopelessly said.

Jaebeom silently pleaded with Baekhyun to give him a chance to hear him out, which reluctantly he did. Baekyhun gave a hand signal to the police officer to leave the room and give the men privacy. "You have five minutes to tell me your side of the story or I'll ask the cops to take you away from here," he insisted.

"As I said before, I haven't seen my ID since yesterday. The last time I saw the thing it was on my desk in my office. After that, I couldn't find it," Jaebeom lied through his teeth.

"You lost your ID and didn't bother telling anyone about this?" Baekhyun questioned him.

"Listen, I didn't think much of it when I couldn't find it after I left work. I thought I could find it when I got here today, but here we are." Jaebeom briefly paused.

"I was planning on telling you today if I ended up not finding it!" he continued, "I can show you where I left it in my office and you can let the officer search too."

Baekhyun was hesitant on taking Jaebeom's offer on searching his office, he was stressed and he was doubting everything that was said by this man. His trust in him was dropping rapidly, but did he have another choice? He had to go for it even if he ended up looking like a fool.

Rising from his seat, Baekhyun walked around his desk and stood in front of Jaebeom and just stared him down. "If I found out that you are just fucking around and we find that ID of yours, you are out of here and out of my sight," leaving Jaebeom in his seat, Baekhyun walked towards the door and looked back, "Hurry up, we don't have all day. I have to do damage control because of you."

Jaebeom quickly got up from his seat and followed his boss from behind, making their way to his office. The officer trailing along asked where they both were heading, Baekhyun quickly answering, "To his office, we are going to search for that ID card of his that supposedly was lost."

"But sir, we don't have a search warrant to partake in this. We will not be able to assist you," the officer explained.

Baekhyun continued to make his way to Jaebeom's office, telling anyone that walked past him to follow. Not a word was uttered when he spoke to anyone. The workers just simply followed like mindless slaves, not questioning his orders.

Walking into the office, Baekhyun strolled quickly to the desk in the middle of the office and began to rummage through the files that laid on top neatly. Everyone that followed along began to do the same, going to different parts of the room and not leaving a corner unturned. Jaebeom just stood by the door not knowing what to do with himself besides watching the disaster unfold.

Looking up to face the man that caused all the distress, Baekhyun spoke out loud, "Lim, it is best if you stepped outside and just stood by with the officer. You are truly not needed here."

Jaebeom was offended by the words that the man spoke to him. It never crossed his mind that he would be pushed out of something that involved him. "To be fair Baekhyun, I don't think that is a good idea. What if one of the workers here is the culprit and trying to frame me over what happened? I'm sorry but I am not leaving this room until you all leave with me." His voice roared across the room.

Baekhuyn rolled his eyes at his subordinate's stubbornness, it made him feel sick to his stomach that he did not want to walk. This was something that Jaebeom took very seriously. Never once did this man raise his voice at anyone during the job. He took everything that was handed to him without a single complaint. It scared Baekhyun that Jaebeom stood his ground and didn't budge one bit.

"If you won't leave then stand by the door and don't get into anyone's way, Lim," he spoke with venom in his voice.

Pleased with the response from his boss, he walked back to the door and just watched. No one knew what was to come at the end of this search. It was entertaining to watch everyone look through his belongings. They were never going to find anything and it made him ecstatic to have this type of knowledge over people.

"Sir, we couldn't find anything in the cabinets,"

"Sir, the bookshelf is clean,"

One by one each person that Baekhyun brought with him ended up not finding anything. This made his blood boil, that not only could they not find anything, he as well couldn't come up with anything. His whole office was clean. Countless thoughts came to mind that gave him a migraine. Where could that ID of his be? Who took it? All these questions came to mind and none of the answers that he came up with seemed logical.

With a huge sigh, Baekhyun told everyone to go back to work, this was a huge blow for his ego. Being proven wrong was his least favorite thing in the world. Being right about everything made his day, the power he felt was his drug. It was intoxicating to him. He needed this. Slamming the folders that laid on the desk, Baekhyun paced towards Jaebeom with anger in his eyes, he was not pleased when everyone came up short in their findings.

"I don't know where you hid that ID of yours but if it's not found in the next twenty-four hours, you are on your own." he spat.

Jaebeom wasn't shocked that his boss was worked up over not finding the missing ID. It actually made his day. Playing coy was his strongest suit; he enjoyed playing clueless. This was a win for him, the sight of his boss losing hope little by little. Everything was falling into place on how he imagined it, sweet victory was close. All he needed was the last piece to fall into place.

Baekhyun sighed out loud, finally releasing Jaebeom from his grip and walked out of the ruined office. Jaebeom looked around and just smirked like a mad man and decided it was time to wrap things up. Shouts could be heard from his office, which made Jaebeom run out to where the commotion was. All he saw was three cops surrounding Namjoon, who was confused with everything trying to explain.

One of the officers quickly grabbed hold of Namjoon and roughly pushed him against the nearest wall, "Kim Namjoon, you're under arrest!"

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