#this is so sick i love this steph design I WANT TO DRAW HER

[thattimdrakeguy]

ROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY - REVIEW!! - The GREAT, the okay, the meh, the wait what, and the freaking awful

None of the stories I’d consider bad in this besides the Super Sons one.

They have flaws, some don’t have any but aren’t that great, and just weird choices, with some disappointments.

I’m just gonna be honest about each story because that’s all I can do.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S FIRST STORY: Really freaking good.

My favorite story is probably the first one:

Like the art is the best in the whole issue, and the only real flaw is how mean they made Bruce through-out it.

It’s yet again another story of how and why Dick quit (I guess he didn’t get fired this time) being Robin, but it’s just nice. Nice pacing, timing, dialogue, good art, and because the people working on it are 80s writers and artists, it keeps it feeling classic.

Which is great for a little showing of the 80s world, and I’m no big 80s DC guy at all, but it’s a really nice flashback for that.

One thing that was disappointing but I won’t count as a flaw (since it’s really not, just a wasted opportunity) is that this kid didn’t end up being Tim:

It looks like a young Tim, it’s drawn by the first artist on Tim’s Robin ongoing, written by his creator, it’s about the history of Robin, and he’s an overeager Robin fanboy-- like why wasn’t this kid Tim? He even has that dorky bowlcut Tim had when he was little, just less 80s styled.

A missed opportunity honestly.

The story though shows Dick’s compassion, talent, frustrations as he became his own man, his views on Robin, some of his sense of humor even. So his characterization is pretty great, but it is written by the man that grew Dick his own unique character to begin with, and it’s great to see this story keeps it up. (Prolly gonna find out this is an old script, but hey, it’s a good one.)

A weird retcon story, but it’s a nice callback to the 80s, and I think it’s really well-done beyond Bruce being a controlling grumpy prick to the point it feels like parody.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S SECOND STORY: It’s just alright.

Where the first story is a flashback to the 80s, this is a direct flashback to he 90s, with the writer and artist that started his ongoing solo.

And it’s good. Like I had a lot of fun reading it, good heroics, feels of it’s era, but like the last story that’s the fun.

There’s nothing really to say about it besides it’s good. There isn’t anything too standout about it.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S THIRD STORY: It’s forgettable.

I forgot this was a thing in this, and it just feels like a waste of page.

It’s in no way bad that I seen, but it’s so very bland and one note. Titans fight and Dick acts as leader. Very generic.

The art’s really good though.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S FOURTH STORY: It’s better than that last one at least.

Unlike the last one, this feels like it at least has a point to be here, and it actually feels like it makes sense to be in he 80th anniversary as well.

I’m not a personal fan of the “Grayson” series, it just sexualized Dick too much honestly, made him cheesier again a bit, and the writing was a little on the off-side in a way that just made it all feel empty besides a few moments, but I never read the whole series to be a great judge on it.

But also because of that, I have no idea who these people are for this story to be grand. What makes it feel like it’s worthy of being here though is trying it back to the history of Robin like the first story with these little bits.

Without these moments though, you wouldn’t have a clue why this is there.

Also Dick just suddenly wears this:

Which is super duper off-putting. But Oh-ho gotta have sexy Dick in there somewhere I guess. Just-- wow, was that super sudden.

--

JASON TODD’S STORY: It’s good but this kid doesn’t look right.

The story is very simple and sweet, and I think it works a lot given Jason and Bruce’s complicated relationship.

It’s even written by Judd Winnick who did Under the Red Hood, which is awesome.

But who is this kid they keep calling Jason exactly? It irrationally bugs me, because all the art has been super spot on till this story. They even write him well, but it just genuinely doesn’t look like post-crisis Robin Jason.

Like to show what I mean--

You read it and this is how the kid speaks.

Super snarky,

a bit of a rude edge to it,

practical sounding but rough teen-ish still

yet still mature enough to feel like he can handle himself.

So you might place this around when Jason was 15 given he’s Robin, and when he was 15 and when they gave him a unique design finally away from a generic silver age Robin, he looked like a young body builder--

Like this is what Jason Todd looked like when they settled his look away from a Dick clone:

A young body builder type, strong jaw, working out, mature features for his age

So who the heck is this?

Like this isn’t what Jason looked like besides pre-crisis, but this is post-crisis Jason. They already settled what he looked like during that 80s run, and this isn’t it. He’s not supposed to look like a generic silver age Robin anymore.

Even beyond it not looking like what Jason’s supposed to, it doesn’t fit the dialogue. He’s written as a practical, snarky, yet in his own way still mature teen. Soooooo why’s he look 5?

It’s so off-putting and it bugs me.

However, beyond that, I really like the story, and at least the artist was good at drawing adult Jason.

Them representing Bruce’s and Jason’s complicate relationship of distant but still caring is something I really enjoy. It’s so much more true to character rather than acting like Jason is just a part of the family like nothing ever happened.

More of that dynamic for them, please.

--

TIM DRAKE’S FIRST STORY: It’s pretty good, but it’s missing something.

Not the highest praise ever, but I do like this story. I enjoy it’s setting at Tim’s school. High school was a constant setting for Tim’s comics in Robin, and they rarely ever treat it like that so I enjoy this story bringing it back.

I really enjoyed the connection  between extracurricular activities and what he does as Robin. It’s that blend of relatability and heroics that really made Tim work as a character. So that’s also great they brought back.

One of my favorite things that they bring up is Tim being into eSports, cuz it reminds me of how much Tim was into video games. It’s a very modern version of him being into the arcades in the 90s. Which is great.

However a downside is that it doesn’t really focus on Tim as a character like the other stories did with the other Robins.

Nothing about his never give up attitude, his insecurities, his underdog likability, how hard he is on himself, or things like that.

In-general this story says nothing about his personality besides a mention that he’s geeky. Which is a pretty big let-down because it keeps it from being any better, despite it already being good.

Freddie William’s art is also very hit or miss. It’s so crude sometimes, and Tim seems so buff compared to before in his actual Robin run. It’s very displeasing given that his early Tim work was top 5 Tim art material. However I still enjoyed that they brought him back even if he can’t draw Tim as well anymore. Tim’s still good in the babyface in most panels at least.

BUT-- this is still a pretty good Tim story. It’s just lacking.

Like it just should’ve been more about Tim as a character since it’s a Tim Drake story.

--

TIM DRAKE’S SECOND STORY: It’s honestly just pretentious.

Tim doesn’t talk like this. Tynion has a melodramatic tone to his characters that works great for characters like Batman, I’ve actually quite liked his Batman run so far partially because of that, but it doesn’t work for Tim.

This is not what Tim talks like. It’s so very unnatural sounding for a kid. Yet Tim talks in this incredibly dramatic tone except for a few light hearted spots, when I feel like it should be the opposite.

It’s also trying hard to be a character study, but again it’s so unnatural. It sounds like a fan describing their view of the characters, not the characters themselves. Like since have these guys became each others therapists?

And then he has Dick say these things that makes Tim seem like a Gary Stu and the greatest most talented guy ever.

Also having Tim hang out with Jason when Jason’s using guns even though Tim’s insanely against that sort of thing.

They even have Damian talk like a typical fan person who dislikes Tim based off of superficial things for a bit.

The fact it treats that Detective Comics Rebirth part of Tim’s character history as uber important is also a bit pretentious of the writer given he wrote that too. Despite Tim only being in that run for like three arcs and wasn’t even in-character for most of it.

Best part of it, is the vague acknowledgement that Tim didn’t want to be anything else but Robin to me.

Otherwise it just reeks of awkwardly written fan fiction.

Honorable mentions of quality though, is Dick and Tim being brothers train riding, and Damian’s mini-adult coming out. I’m so sick of them making Damian a generic kid sometimes that I actually liked this part even if it’s through a snarky filter.

--

STEPHANIE BROWN’S STORY: Better than expected, it’s actually pretty good.

I actually really liked this story. Overall I think Steph’s actual Robin run sucked, this is still a good story if I can get past the era it’s set in.

Unlike Tim’s stories, this actually uses her character.

How reckless she can be without it being super exaggerated, her attitude, love that they brought back the diary format for her inner-monologue too. 

There’s not much to say besides I’d actually consider this one of the best stories in the thing, except for the fact Steph clearly disobeys Batman and she was said to get fired for that. That’s a decent plot holes for me.

I super love the detail of Tim being so small that Steph can’t fit in his uniform. That cheered me up.

Them bringing back her Robin era artist was also great. Unlike Freddie Williams, their art actually really improved.

DAMIAN WAYNE’S FIRST STORY: The genuine worst story in it.

It’s so-- baaad.

Fan service can work if it’s in good quality. Like being in-character, or a nice homage. The train riding in Tynion’s story was that.

This isn’t that.

Damian and Jon didn’t get along right away, not even soon enough for this “mostly” part to feel right as a joke, because they obviously didn’t get along mostly right away. They fought a lot. They even show it on the full page them fighting, but they downplay how long they did fight just for fanservice. It took a long time, and even when they did it was still contrived.

Then they have Damian and Jon in the same class, when they aren’t the same age for that to make sense..

They even have Jon help Damian on his tests when it’s constantly shown that Damian is a brainiac who wouldn’t need that.

It’s literally even in the history summary at the end that he’s highly intelligent. So he probably wouldn’t even ever need a study partner considering he’s even said to have actual PHDs anyway. Which makes the study partner thing just plain out of character.

There’s also panels that straight up feels like oddly specific deviantart fetish art, which is so nasty. Especially considering that I know damn well that’s there’s pedophiles who make this same kind of oddly specific fetish art on there. So much so I had to stop using the site cuz of the anxiety it gave me.

And they downplay how mean Damian can be too Jon so much that it irks me.

This is the worst story in the whole comic, genuinely. Nothing good is in it, besides some decent enough art.

It’s certainly pandering to it’s fandom, but to certain parts it really shouldn’t be.

(This sort of stuff was still happening in their miniseries. Jon really shouldn’t want this as a brother. That’s stockholm syndrome.

--

DAMIAN WAYNE’S SECOND STORY: It’s better than the last one, but somethings missing still.

Unlike the last one avoiding talking about Damian’s actual character besides to play it down. This one actually uses it.

It’s just so quick, and empty feeling at the same time that it’s missing something. A bit like an inverse of Tim’s first story. Tim’s story had the setting and interesting story format, but no real character, while this has a lot of usage of the character but no interesting setting or story.

A lot of Damian’s character is that he’s not a natural Robin as far as attitude goes. He isn’t a typical Robin, and I enjoy how they play into that rather than be afraid of that. It’s what makes this actually work for me.

Although it makes you question why he’s still Robin, I consider that a good thing, because YOU SHOULD. You want the character’s to actually acknowledge things as if they’re real and not just ignoring things.

He’s not typical, he’s unique for better or worse. That’s Damian, and that’s what you should show of him.

This goes into why Damian’s the exact opposite of what a Robin normally is. That’s great.

But it’s missing anything memorable about it. However I think that’s cuz it leads into a future issue of Teen Titans which gives it a reasonable excuse.

I’m really hoping it leads into something.

Although i have a feeling they sadly might do the same thing as typical and ignore Damian’s actions more. Avoiding any genuine feelings.

--

OVERALL

It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Only two stories I’d actually call bad, which is a lot less than I thought With just occasionally sloppy art, not even what I’d call back, but just crude or not drawing the character accurately which will annoy some more than others.

When I heard of this book I got so worried, but only two stories is actually almost relieving how little that is given the potential ego-driven things they could’ve done, which only those two stories then.

To me, I say it’s worth a pick-up, just rip out a story or two to keep it friendlier to revisit

Mostly was just really missing that extra heart in a lot of the stories.

[emilystoryspot]

Bruce's Baby final part 4

Link to inspiration

part 1

part 2

part 3

word count is 1313

Months 7, 8 and 9

That morning me and Bruce had our normal trimester doctor's appointment, the doc informed us that the baby will be less active due to less room in the womb to move, we also were told that I may experience swelling, but both me and Bruce knew this. We were told for the eighth month that the baby will be more active, due to its brain in rapid development, our next appointment is now scheduled during the halfway point of the eighth month. Then it will be time. 

We get new photo prints of the baby, we head to work afterwards. From the moment we walk in we know the kids are planning something, Tim usually greets us at the front but he wasn't, it was Saturday and no one normally takes the dayshift for patrol because we all work here and can change here. 

Babs wasn't at the desk and Jason wasn't eating all the food on the 16th floor staff room. Me and Bruce both exchanged a look and hesitantly walked into his office, he walked in first, not knowing if they were going to jump out or if something worse had happened, for us though it was always worse. 

Bruce had a hand on my stomach, keeping it secure, we headed into the room, my hands on his one, he used his other hand to turn the knob, as we got in there, there was nothing. He let go of me and began to look around the room, I walked to the desk and picked up the only thing that was out of line, a bright green sticky note, “Wrong office, head to the other one! love the birds.” I held up the note and turned to Bruce who creeped up behind me and was reading over my shoulder. He placed a hand on my back as I led him to my office from across the hall, we heard whispering inside. 

We both look at each other, the relief leaving our bodies before we even open the door, to reveal all the kids, Lois and Clark, Diana. They all shouted surprise as we walked in. 

“We didn't know how you were doing things, so we decided along with the help of your other children to throw both of you a party to celebrate your child.” Diana said, “Other members of the league will be showing up.”

“It's a surprise party for us.” Bruce whispers in my ear.

“And for the baby.” I whisper in his.

Steph runs up and grabs me making me sit in my desk chair with an all new backpillow. Babs wheels up beside me and shows me the photo album her and Dick made over the last seven months. 

Hal and Barry show up at the same time and join in conversation with Dick, Damian, Bruce and Diana. 

The kids are gathered around me, sitting with trays of snacks and photo albums full of everyone and me through every stage of the pregnancy, with room for the next three months, there were more gifts and it was so relaxing, Jason performed a song, Dick tackled him when he said a cuss word. We laughed and Lois was giving me tips on how to raise a baby when a member of the justice league is his father. The party was fun but me and Bruce had to start getting out affairs in order for when the baby came.

In the following weeks It becomes a tradition to add something new to the babys walls, for Jason he loves drawing kid friendly designs and it brings him joy plus its free labor so he's good to go. Bruce forces me to take it easy by making sure we both have days off on the same days and more days off overall. We have lazy days where we spend all of it in bed and then we have bad days where the baby won't stop kicking, we are in the eighth month and some days the kicking is so bad it makes me sick and I can't eat, but then there are good days beside from the lazy days where he tries my random cravings and Bruce laughs at them and smiles because of how much I enjoy it. 

Soon we go in for an eight and a half month appointment basically a checkup to see if the baby is in the position which it is, we get the all good to go home. We have one of our successful lazy days curled up in bed with our pajamas on. He uses a hot water bottle to sooth my muscles and he gets me a back pillow and we fall asleep on the couch. We spend a lot of time in bed together with the two of us. 

The next few weeks are sorta crazy as the due date gets closer, our bags are packed and already in the car for the hospital, Jason and Steph have been staying up to paint murals of animals on the walls, Alfred insists on teaching the two of us on how to care for the baby because we've only ever had children who are already grown. Babs and Cassie constantly make sure we're stocked with all the supplies although if we ever run out everyone has already volunteered to make runs and as for the names on the fridge the name dino nugget has suddenly disappeared. 

While at work because no one wants me to get up and do stuff other than work on a computer , Tim sits in with me most of the time. He does all my running back and forth and filing. Bruce is in a meeting somewhere, when suddenly I start feeling a pain in my abdomen, I pass it off as Braxton hicks but it's not when I feel a trickling sensation down my leg. “Tim.” I breathe out as the pain from down below kicks in again. He turns and looks at me while still being consumed by one of my files, “My water just broke.” 

Panic was Tim's first thought I could tell because the files fluttlerd to the floor, his eyes wide as he was breathing more heavily than me. “I'll go find Bruce, can you get to the first floor?” I nod my head as he runs out of the room towards the conference floor. I see him push the down button on the elevator for me. I begin to fast walk. As the pain returns more strong this time. 

“Ah” I moan in pain as I get into the elevator, I was unaware that the elevator was moving until I got to the first floor where Bruce was waiting, he grabbed me and whispered words I couldn't understand while we walked to the car, he helped me get in and while I buckled up he got in and began driving, “Bruce… i'm ugh” He looks at me as he continues to drive through the city, “I'm gonna be a mom.” He puts his hand on mine and pulls into the hospital and runs in with me. 

Next thing I know I'm in one of those light hospital gowns and and being told to wait, Bruce is there holding my hand hour after hour whispering words of encouragement.  I know he hates seeing me like this, screaming and crying and just being in pain in general. I'm sweating and a nurse gives Bruce a rag to wipe it and eventually after seven hours it's time to push so I do and after that in my head time stops. Bruce lets go of my hand when cries fill the air and then he's holding the baby, tears are streaking down his face, he loves us so much. 

A new member of our big family has just been welcomed.

THE END

[black-streak]

Saturday night's alright for fighting (but Sundays are meant for rest) - Deprived

Part 13

In case y'all forgot, their entire relationship started with sleeping and cuddles. If you're sick of reading about it, I don't know how you made it this far. Last! Bit! Until the bet's end! Warning, it might take me forever to write part 14. Thoughts are always loved.

Tags!: @emjrabbitwolf @mystery-5-5 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @fandomkitty8 @dast218 @silvergold-swirl @shizukiryuu . @my-name-is-michell @kurogaya913 @elspethshadow @thecatnipmademedoit @shamefullove @ladylucina28 @crazylittlemunchkin @rayray384 @cassiejaydee @yuulxd @ladysblackcat @naclychilli @caffeinetheory @persephonebutkore @fertileleaf @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @weird-pale-blonde-person @st0rmy-w1th1n @littleblue5mcdork @dudet @naoryllis @disneyfoxuniverse @lordsmeldingtonthethird @taoiichii @resignedcatservant @iloontjeboontje @a-fan-fighting-for-equality

~---~

Missing someone starts simple enough. You raincheck a date or have to cancel a few times because life just demanded too much of you that week. Not that big of a deal, especially for a new couple. Surely the attachment and codependency hasn't settled in too heavily yet. Except maybe you're accustomed to seeing them at least four nights and two days every week at minimum even before dating. Perhaps that person helps with your bad habits and the lack of their presence disperses half your impulse control. There's even a chance that your basic human needs get tossed into a shallow grave with no marker because who really needs food and water and sleep? Those are optional right? But really, to skip all the roundabout half speak, it all accumulated into one basic thought, 'I miss Tim.'

...

"Something I should know about?" Robin spoke, not turning towards her where she landed at his side. 

"Not allowed to follow my bestie every now and again?"

"Tt. I am well aware that I am not your usual choice of company, Tuemessian. Angel's? Maybe. Not yours."

She hesitated a moment, contemplating teasing only to stop herself. She came to confide in him, not annoy and he had already offered the branch. No need to have it retracted.

"Batman decided to tail Red a few days ago."

"Hmm, Red Robin hasn't been on any particularly difficult cases lately. Why would he need the extra help?"

"Because of me."

"We all know you shadow him. No reason to start getting uppity about it now," he paused for a moment before shooting her an accusatory look, "Something must have changed. And you neglected to inform me."

Heaving a long suffering sigh at Robin's tone, she fell against his side.

"Might've gotten on Batman's bad side. And let him see me. And hung off Red."

"So he's babysitting you now," he realized.

"Pretty much."

"And you came running to me in retaliation so as not to be observed," he observed with an unimpressed scowl.

"I will not be tailed by a man in a glorified onesie. It's demeaning and rude," she sniffed, nose turned up in a perfect imitation of Chloe.

"Suppose I should get used to my new patrol partner then?"

"Until Bats gets his head out of where it doesn't belong anyways," she pouted further, "I'm going to miss Red."

"If you plan to whine about it, I won't stick around to hear it," he threatened.

"Yeah right, you love me too much to just abandon me."

"Don't push it."

…

Two nights later, Jason found Marinette sitting on the roof of the manor, drawing in her sketch pad.

"You know Littlewing is out tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright sugarcube, what's up? You always follow him on patrol nights," Jason asked, settling behind her and letting her lean back into his chest, taking comfort in the contact, "Unless you're the reason Batsy bitched all of last night?"

"He confronted Tim on why Vixen wasn't following Red Robin anymore. Said that Vixen was his responsibility and he was shirking it."

"And Tim told him to stop supervising his nights out," Jason filled in the blanks, chuckling at the memory, "thought he'd blow a gasket when Tim ignored him after that."

"Red told me he'd let me know when Bruce decided to back off so I could come out again. Followed Robin the last two nights, but it got boring. Taking a night off."

"Yeah, kid's too serious in the suit to be much fun. What you working on up here anyways?"

"New outfit for Kori. Owe her one," she stifled a yawn, concentrating once more on the mechanics of making a crop top that didn't move or lift with your arms up or when turned upside down, without being skin tight.

"And the roof was the best option for this, obviously."

"No distractions up here."

"Or really?"

"Don't even think about it!"

He snagged the sketchbook and took off back through the window and down the hall, laughing when he heard a shriek and the immediate sounds of Mari giving chase.

"Jason get back here with that!"

…

Stephanie dropped into the apartment on a Thursday, taking in the fabric bound chaos of the living area, particularly thick around a work desk that seemingly exploded. Scattered bits of boning, lacing, eyelets, three seam rippers and notably a few chains, sticking out of the disaster. In the center of it all sat a tiny designer with a vicious snarl curling the edge of her lip.

Skipping over, Steph wrapped her hands around and squeezed at the tense shoulders, noticing the concerning lack of reaction.

"Mari, I'm hungry."

"I'll make you something later."

"Hmm, don't think so. I'm calling for pizza. You're joining me and no, work is not allowed during pizza time." 

With that, she dragged Marinette off the chair and into the bedroom, both dropping onto the bed as Stephanie made the call, not needing to ask what the other wanted. Marinette didn't bother arguing, which was only more concerning. Steph wondered for a moment if she should call in reinforcement, but ultimately opted out. 'Nah, I got this.'

"Okay, should be here soon," she stated, relaxing into the comforter for a while, letting the other recover from being abruptly yanked out of work mode; read ten minutes of silence before curiosity won out.

"So what are you killing yourself over this time? Oh! Your suit for the next show? You have to let me see it!"

"No no, that was finished a week ago. You can stop by the studio tomorrow to check it out. You're still coming with me, right? I have a dress set aside for you."

"Obviously. I'm your date. However, that doesn't answer what you were getting so pissy with out there?" She teased, peaking at the other from the corner of her eye.

"It's a corset. Like, an actual, structured, hand embroidered, perfectly laced up corset. My hands feel like a crime scene with how much I've torn into them trying to get this right."

"Oh god, those things are so intricate. You're going to be screaming bloody murder by the end, why would you even do that to yourself?"

"... Haven't been sleeping much, figured it'd help get the frustration out."

"You never sleep much. Hence the sleep cuddle club," she pondered the thought a moment before snickering, "you two could make a business out of that if you weren't already swamping yourselves. Cuddle sessions for the sleep deprived and lonely. Oh! I'll go grab the door. I'm stealing your wallet by the way." 

Stephanie launched out of the room to the sound of a knocking door and a Mari grumbling about it hardly being stealing when you announce it and the owner doesn't care. Walking back in, she dropped the box between them, yanked the top off and grabbed for the garlic butter sauce they ordered to dip the crusts in.

"You're disgusting."

"And you lack respect for sauce. What else is new?"

"... I've been skipping nap time too," Mari muttered, hoping the other wouldn't hear.

"What do you mean you've been skipping naps? That's like, the only time you two ever sleep! Marinette, you cannot be awake 24/7."

"Pshh, more like 23/6. I crash hard on day 7."

"... That's a whole mood. Might I ask as to why you hate yourself so suddenly?"

"My commissions have gone through the roof with award season coming up, and spring weddings start up immediately after that. I might be clientele only, but my client basis is massive at this point! I don't have time and the few moments I've been free, Tim's been out for the night. And lord knows I don't sleep well alone."

"Uh-huh. And how long has this been going on?" Steph focused on the cheese stringing from her mouth that just would not let go, to give the other a chance to build up to tell the truth without having a guilty stare off.

"Um. About two weeks?" Mari flinched, wishing she were Tuemessian so she could disappear right there.

"So what you're telling me is that you haven't slept more than 12 collective hours, you're overworking yourself to the point of compliance to my antics, and your boyfriend, who's just as much of a sleepless wreck as you are, hasn't dragged you off for your regularly scheduled nap dates. Is that correct?"

"Well yeah. Wait, my boyfriend?"

"Don't even try me, I know you and Tim are a thing. No denying it. It's so damn blatant, it's ridiculous the others seem so oblivious to it," Steph rolled her eyes, daintily wiping her fingers off and grabbing a half empty water bottle off the nightstand to drain. A perfect contradiction of uppity and uncaring that only she seemed to pull off.

Marinette could only blink in surprise for a moment before nodding along, "We didn't plan for this," she murmured, half distracted.

"For what?"

"Nothing," she shook her head to clear the thought, "point is.Yes? I mean, we're just really busy and haven't found time and he knows how important this all is to me and even if he doesn't approve, it's not like he can get away to prevent it. Which would make him a total hypocrite if he called me out on it. Honestly, it's not even that bad, I'm catching up on so much now and I'll get to see him soon I'm sure, just as soon as I get through this season and!"

"That's it! I'm staging an intervention! We're finishing this pizza, cleaning you up and then I'm dropping you off at his apartment where you will sleep. Tomorrow the two of you are not leaving the bed until noon at the earliest. No work, only rest. Understood?"

"Noooo, Stephanniiieee, I'm busy!"

"Are you telling me you don't want snuggles?"

"... No."

"Then quit your bitchin, your arguments are lost on me. Now help me with this before I eat it all, itty bitty."

…

It took maybe fifteen minutes to finish the food and get some water down, another twenty to shower and get coerced into wearing cozy black fleece leggings, lavender tank top, and a soft, deep royal purple cardigan, and finally an extra ten minutes to lock up and make it out of the complex.

While Marinette was locked away in the bathroom, Stephanie called up Tim.

"Tell me you're at home. Or can be back in the next fifteen minutes."

"I just walked in?"

"Perfect, I'm dropping Mari off soon. She's like the walking dead right now and that's coming from the Dead Robins Club VP."

"VP…"

"Duh, Jason's the President. Damian's a recruit. Mari's not allowed to become the newbie. She's not even a Robin, it'd make no sense."

"What about Dick and I?"

"You two never actually died, doesn't count."

"Fair… wait, what's going on with ma loutine?"

"When's the last time you slept properly? Or even napped?"

"..."

"So when do you think she last slept or napped?"

"..."

"We'll be there soon."

…

Marinette found herself dragged up to his apartment, the door opening as she was pushed forward into a warm, familiar chest.

Since being dragged from her work, the lack of self care was slowly catching up to her. She hadn't even bothered to pull her hair out of her face, just letting the freshly blow dried fluff fall were it may. She had a vague idea of how they got here, but either way was grateful to find herself warm and held, even if it was in a doorway with the two talking over her head. She caught only snippets: something about not skipping out on each other anymore and a suggestion about living situations that made the body pressed to hers flush. Eventually the two stopped and Stephanie left. A hand pressed to the side of her face and she looked up to Tim who tilted to rest his forehead on hers.

"Hello sweetheart."

"Mon Somnambule," she smiled, eyes closing automatically.

"Think you're beating me there. When have you last slept?"

"Hypocrite."

"That's not an answer."

Mari pouted, not looking like she wanted to answer.

"Have you slept beyond an hour at a time?"

"I can't remember," she admitted.

"Why haven't you slept? You're usually better at self regulation than I am."

"Missed you."

"It's more than that though, isn't it?"

She pulled back and burrowed back into his chest, concentrating on the sound of his heartbeat.

"Couldn't sleep alone. Dark figure stalking me. Brought back bad memories. Became a nonentity for a reason. I do the following now. I make others uncomfortable, observe and toy with them. Not the other way round."

"I took care of that. He won't follow me anymore. You can come back out. But sweetheart, why didn't you call me?"

"Too risky at night with him following you. Too busy during the day. Didn't seem like there was a good time," she admitted.

He frowned, but let it go, gently tugging her arms over his shoulders to clasp behind his neck and placed his hands on the back of her thighs in a prompt to jump up. With her firmly wrapped around him, he made way to his bedroom, sitting down on the edge and pulling back a touch.

"Maybe Steph was right about living situations," he muttered to himself, hushing her when she hummed in confusion.

"Are you comfortable sleeping in that?"

She tugged at the cardigan, accidently getting tangled until he helped her out of it, folding it off to the side. She tucked her face down into the side of his neck and slumped into him completely. Turning them about, he settled her down, curling around her.

"Sleep well, love."

[hockeybabestars]

New Year, Same Us - Auston Matthews - Eight

a/n: im going out of town for a football game/visiting friends this weekend and i’m not bringing my computer so i thought i would post this early for yall!! thank you to every person who has been keeping up with this story and liking or reblogging! you mean so much to me! i hope yall enjoy the longest chapter of new year same us, to make up for the shortest in chapter seven (yikes!) we’re almost through with this story yall! we have a lil flashback in this chapter! (in italics) and finally have the prompt that started it all! (in bold)

September 18, 2018

Austons P.O.V

“Aus?!” She yelled from her room. “Are you almost ready?” 

I had been ready for 20 minutes and was sitting on our couch waiting for her to finish up. “Yeah I’m ready now!” I rolled up my sleeve to get a better look at my watch, “are you almost ready? It would look really bad if my plus one made us late.” I snicker as I heard her heels clack, the light to the hallway going off simultaneously.

 I got up from the sofa as she entered, and boy, was I going to have to keep an eye on her tonight. She looked stunning. The light pink dress cinched her curves in all the right places, and her hair was in waves. She was like something out of a dream. She didn’t bat an eye as she went to the kitchen looking for the keys. I came up behind her and dangled them in her face, and before she could snatch them I pulled them away. She reached for them again but I held them behind my head, and suddenly she was all too close to my face. I glanced down at her lips, wanting to kiss them badly but then I quickly diverted back up to her eyes. “You look stunning (Y/N).”

I could feel her breath hitch against my own lips and the minty flavor of her gum hit my nose before she smiled genuinely, her signature smile where her lips tilted a little crooked at the corners, and it made my heart flutter. “Thanks Aus, you don’t look too bad yourself.” 

She stepped away and we did a once over of our apartment, making sure we didn’t forget anything. I grinned and opened our front door for her, watching her walk as she went. I locked the door and we went down the hall towards the elevator, “just out of curiosity,” she toyed with a strand of her hair, eyes flicking up to me through long lashes, “how much did your suit cost?” She was smirking at me and I couldn’t resist really. “Wanna bet on it?” The elevator dinged for us to get on and she rolled her eyes, “do I even have a choice?”

“No use fighting at this point babydoll.” I flashed her my signature smirk as the floor indicator ticked down.

“Does that really work on girls?” She played.

“Apparently not on you.” I laughed but deep down I kinda hoped it did.

“It’s because I know you better than you know you.” She stated matter of factly. She did though. That was the scary part. We hit the first level and strolled out, before she added thoughtfully, “did you want it to work on me?”

I felt my cheeks flame, and was thankful she was walking slightly ahead of me, “uhh,” I faltered before gaining my confidence back, “depends on if you wanted it too.” 

She stopped for a split second, giving me a chance to catch up before she continued walking, this time leaning into me a little bit, “maybe.”

My heart jumped at that, “Still wanna make that bet?” I opened the car door for her. She thanked me and I hopped in the drivers side.

“Am I betting high or low.” She gave me side eye as she buckled her seat belt and we were off.

“What do you think?” I grinned. There’s no way she gets this. “Do you know your suits? What brand am I even wearing?” I smiled. 

I could feel her eyes on me as mine were on the road, and she reached over and ran her finger down the lapel of it, feeling the fabric. I tried to concentrate on the road but she was leaned over the console examining the details of my suit, looking for anything that would give away the designer or price. I needed to think fast, I could tell this would be a long night already and it hadn’t really even begun. 

I swatted her hand away, “hey stop it! that’s cheating.” I smiled and looked over at her as we hit a light. She placed her palm flat against my chest as she mocked me, pulling her lower lip into a pout. I could feel my heartbeat pick up and surely she could too.

 “Just seeing what I have to work with Aus.” The nickname melted off her tongue like butter and really I only like it when she says it anyway. The light flashed green and I grabbed her hand off my chest, entwining our fingers together and resting them over the middle console. “I’m betting high, what like $7,000? Is that too much for a suit? What is it Gucci? Aren’t you like their poster boy or something?” 

I laughed at her accusations and she squeezed my hand a little too hard. “Ow! Jeez woman that hurt. Those are my money makers!” 

She swatted at me again, “sorry not sorry. Isn’t like half your closet Gucci or something. I feel like I should know this but I’m really drawing a blank here.”

A smile crept up onto my face. She’s cute when she’s thinking too hard. She always over thinks or over-analyzes everything. It’s like it’s written in her DNA or something.

She looked over at me and I attempted to keep a straight face, “it’s Gucci isn’t it.” I nodded. “$7000 close?”

I kept a tight lip. She turned towards me, “it’s fuckin higher isn’t it!!!” Her voice raised towards the end and I burst out laughing. 

“$10,000.” Her jaw dropped, “what do I get since you couldn’t guess it?”

“I can’t believe you spent $10,000 on a suit.” She was in awe, “that’s like a trip to Europe, or a down payment on a car, what are you psycho?”

“Are you really belittling me right now?” I chuckled, “you guessed $7,000 that’s just as high!!!” 

“Yeah but-“

“But what? $7000 okay to drop but $10 is too much?” Her face went blank as she tried to process it and I howled as her eyebrows knit together. She was something else.

“I hate you.” She fought to keep the smile off her face.

“Your mouth says otherwise.” She covered her lips with her hands as we pulled up to the venue, she finally pulled them off as we valeted the car. And as we walked into the rustic barn I elbowed her a bit, grinning wildly, “seriously though, what’s my prize since you didn’t guess right?” 

She linked our arms as we tried to figure out where we were sitting and smirked at me, “Bragging rights.”

“I bet we could make it a little more interesting.”

“Oh of course you bet huh.”

“You owe me a dance.”

She pouted. “Aus-“ 

“Nuh-Uh. We’re dancing later, it’s the least you can do.”

I can tell she wanted to press me further but instead she just nodded, “Okay.”

“Wow, I didn’t think that would be this easy. I need to win bets more often.” I knew how much she hated dancing. It was because she had two left feet and literally tripped over herself on any normal day. She didn’t like to embarrass herself. The truth was, she wasn’t a bad dancer at all. She could dance fine by herself, especially after a drink or two. But she was clumsy enough that partner dancing wasn’t really her thing. I always try to get her to at weddings and events but she doesn’t budge. She's stubborn as hell, but it’s why I love her. She doesn’t change for anyone. Not even me. I always ended up finding some random bridesmaid to dance with at these things, but tonight she was mine. 

We wandered further into the barn stopping for a few pictures together before the ceremony as Paige snapped away on her phone and a film camera as well. Mitch and Steph found their way to us too and soon enough we had group pictures with the six of us, then guys, girls, and finally as we finished up it was about time to find our seats. 

The Tavares wedding was really going to be something. Greenery was everywhere and there was a modern feel to their set up even with the more natural elements. I put a hand on (Y/N)’s lower back and guided her to our seats on the grooms side. We were in the middle back and slid into the refurbished white bench with ease, the rest of our group following suit, filing into the row after us. I wrapped an arm around the back of (Y/N)’s seat as she crossed her ankles, leaning into me while we waited for the ceremony to start. A comfortable silence settled over us and somehow both our free hands found each other on their own accord. Soon enough she was playing with my fingers, clasping and unclasping them, tracing the outline of my hand and holding our palms up to watch our hands align. It was something we had done plenty of times before. Whenever we got bored or were watching Netflix or at family events. It was inevitable that our hands would meet. Her hand was a lot smaller than mine, and we quietly played a game of thumb wars before the loud chattering settled down. I could hear the preacher say to rise, so I gently grabbed her hand in mine and lead her up. She was still leaning into me as we waited for the bride to make her way down the aisle. 

John and Aryne chose to say their own vows although short and sweet. It was nice. Being here, celebrating them. (Y/N) was the perfect wedding date. She was classy and reserved when needed but could definitely open up and make conversation with anyone who approached her. And soooo many people approached her. Which was crazy because she was the plus one. But that’s just (Y/N), stealing everyone’s heart the way she stole mine. 

It had to be obvious at this point. I thought my incessant flirting and annoying her every chance I got would be enough to give her the hint, but apparently not. I thought that living together was another sign that maybe I was kind of into her but she just took it at face value since it was the most logical option. I think I really realized how I've felt this past May. I mean, it was there all along, but I didn’t admit it to myself until then. She started hooking up with some random guy at college, and when I walked into some kid in our apartment it made my stomach lurch. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that sick in my life.

I had talked to her earlier in the day. We were on a long road trip in the west and I was excited to get back and see her. 

It felt like maybe things had been changing between us lately, and I wanted to get back and test the waters a little just to see if she even felt a tiny bit the same. It was easy with her. I missed her like crazy, constantly texting to see what she was up to, and sending snapchat updates of what the boys and I were doing, just because I knew she would send a picture back and I could see that gorgeous face again. 

Our flight was delayed because weather in Toronto was pretty bad.  And we didn’t end up landing till pretty late. I texted her when we landed at 12 that I would be home soon. I never got a response so I figured she was asleep. 

What I didn’t expect, when I came home at 1am on a Saturday, was some random guy going through the cupboards in our kitchen with just his boxers on. 

“Uh who are you?” I had a sour taste in my mouth.

The guy looked up from his position on the floor, going through the bottom cabinets and I swear almost shit himself. “Oh my god you’re Auston Matthews.” I frowned. Oh jeez a hockey fan, how rare in this city! He shook his head in disbelief and stood up, walking over to me and put his hand out for me to shake. I took it, begrudgingly. “I’m Reese, it’s really nice to meet you, although I never thought it would be like this.”

I scoffed, but he didn’t seem to notice. He found (Y/N)’s post it notes on the kitchen island and pulled one off handing it to me, “do you think you could sign this for me?”

“What the hell is going on here? Reese I thought-” (Y/N) ‘s voice sounded a little groggy, like she might’ve been sleeping, but when she came out of her room, only clad in black lace underwear and a t-shirt I presumed to be his, my breath caught in my throat. One because she looked damn good. And two because she was wearing his clothes and practically nothing else. I felt a fire in my chest. I swallowed hard and tried to remain neutral. 

When she finally realized I was home her eyes went wide. “Oh, uh, hey Aus.”

“(Y/N) you didn’t tell me your roommate was the Auston Matthews.” This guy was still here?

She uncomfortably glanced over at me. Yeah me too. “Uh roommate? Try best friend.” I said smugly.

“I didn't see a reason to bring it up.” She said. Ouch that hurt.

“Sorry Reese bro, but I’m gonna have to ask you to leave, I really need to get to bed and I’m sure your friend (Y/N) here can fill you in on all the dirty details later. Have a great night.” I walked past them and into my room, shutting the door. Trying to get ready for bed without my head exploding from everything that just happened. I waited until I could hear him leave before I went and knocked on her door.

“What Matthews?” I opened it slightly and peered in, leaning on the door frame and watching her fix her bedding a bit, now in another old t-shirt. 

“Matthews huh? Can I come in?” She nodded and crawled under the white comforter patting the spot next to her. I sat down on top of it before rethinking this whole situation. “Actually can we go to my room?” I wasn’t really comfortable that they just fucked in here and wasn’t too keen on sitting in the bed that someone else got to touch her in. 

She nodded and as I grabbed her hand, I felt tingles. I didn’t dare to look behind me as I lead her to my room. We crawled under the covers and sat against the headboard.

 We stared up at the ceiling a bit before she turned to me. “You’re so dramatic.” 

I looked over to her and I could tell she was slightly upset. “But I know that’s not exactly the most fun thing to come home to and I’m sorry.”

“S’okay. Were you ever gonna tell me you were kinda seeing someone?” My jealousy got the best of me, and I couldn’t help but let it seep into my voice a little as I ask.

“No not really, you never tell me when you do...So.” She shrugged, and I tilted my head back a little, groaning.

“You don’t tell people we’re friends either?” It sucked knowing that maybe she was ashamed of me for whatever reason. I always told everyone about her. I loved to talk about her and how proud I am of her for working hard in college and her internship which she officially secured, and just being the amazing, kind hearted person that she is.

“It’s different… I- I don’t tell strangers or people I just met or at least until I have a grasp on their personality. I stopped doing that a long time ago. I can never tell if they want to be friends with me, or have a relationship with me, for me or to get to you.” 

“Oh.” It sucks, but it makes sense.

“Oh. Is right. Also I don’t want people to be up either of our asses if they're just clout chasers.” She smiled, shaking her head as I laughed, “Just not how I want to spend my time.”

I sighed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kick him out, that was just weird and I wasn’t expecting you to have company and-“

“Auston. It’s okay. I should’ve warned you in some way, or gone to his place. Maybe this whole thing could’ve been prevented. I’m the one who’s sorry. That situation was pretty awkward.” I don’t want her at some guys place. I want her with me.

I grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. My stomach churning as I did so, “Stop worrying. Don’t be sorry either. We good?” She nodded and entwined our pinky’s. “Always.” And with that she slipped out of the darkness of my room and back down the hallway to hers. And my heart ached with every step.

Maybe I wasn’t doing enough, maybe I just needed to be upfront. 

I took a swig of the beer I was drinking and set it back on the table as I watched her converse with Steph, Paige, and Aryne, Probably complementing the bride on her gown and the allure of the wedding.

Pretty soon we were eating steak, mashed potatoes and wedding cake, and my stomach was all too full when the bride and groom shared their first dance. I looked to (Y/N) to see her swooning at John and Aryne adoringly. She was facing the back of her chair, hands resting on the back of it, and chin resting on her hands. “Don’t you just love those two together?” Her nose crinkled. It was really cute.

I stood and held my hand out to her as other couples started to join in on the dance floor. She looked up to me, eyes slightly glazed from her glasses of champagne, but I knew she was at a good level. Sober enough to make good decisions, buzzed enough to have a good time. “Are you gonna dance with me?” My heart felt like it was racing as I waited for her answer.

She took my hand so I took it as a yes. I lead her out to the dance floor, Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran coming on as we stopped in the middle. She wrapped her arms around my neck and my hands settled on her waist, pulling her close. My stomach churned with nerves and a little bit of excitement. I looked down at her, her head on a swivel, looking everywhere but me. Other people are looking at us and her brow knit in confusion. Her hand was burning a hole where it was placed flat against my chest. 

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” I touched her forehead lightly, then bringing my hand back down and wrapping it around her waist securely.

She looked back to me, eyes widening, “It’s nothing.”

“You know you can tell me anything right?” I tried, pulling her back into me as she slowly tried to pull herself away. “That’s what friends are for. And hey, quit trying to leave me!” I laugh, grinning. “Were kind of in the middle of that dance you owe me.”

She smiles back softly but glances around the room again, this time almost self consciously. “It’s just that… I don’t know- I don’t really know how to say it without sounding weird.”

“Are you okay? Is something wrong? You know nothing you say will ever sound weird to me? I’m pretty sure we’ve been through it all.” I leaned my forehead against hers and try to ease her mind but she seems so off. I don’t know what happened because everything seemed normal when we first got here.

She took a breath and pulled back a little looking right at me, “Everyone thinks we’re a couple.” I could see the nerves riddling her features and it made me curious as to why. It’s not what I was expecting, but it made me grin, “I know.” 

“You know? It doesn’t bother you?” Her nose scrunched again.

“Should it? Does it bother you? I mean, personally I think I could do worse as far as fake lovers go, but…” She playfully shoved me and we fell right back into place, swaying as the song went on melodically.

“It really doesn’t bother you?” She seemed unsure, but avoided my question nonetheless, looking up at me as if the only answer I could give would be yes. That it does bother me. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I shrugged trying to play it cool, “why would it bother me?”

 “I don’t know…” She looked away, back to the surrounding crowd as the song changed. “You’re Auston Matthews.” She huffed. “You can get any girl you want. Wouldn’t people believing that… we’re an item… wouldn’t that get in the way?”

I grabbed her hands in mine, looking down at them. She instinctively clasped them together and my heart warmed as I glanced back up at her. “That’s just the thing.” We had stopped dancing at this point, and I’m pretty sure we were in the way of people trying to dance, but I didn’t mind. “You don’t see me as the Auston Matthews. You never did. You just see me as Auston Matthews, your extremely good looking and talented best friend.” I smirked.

“Way to ruin it.” She laughed.

I gently pulled her closer, “you see me as the dumb kid who broke his arm at your eighth birthday party, and the horrible friend who spilled punch on your prom dress, and the annoying son of bitch who always tries to force you to dance. You never see me as someone who’s untouchable,” I grab her hand and place it over my heart, “you always touch me.” She looked as if she lost her breath, eyes swirling with emotions. She carefully removed the hand that was over my heart and stood still for a second. She looked back up to me meticulously, “let’s get some air yeah?” I let my hand rest on the small of her back and nodded as she lead the way out, one step ahead of me. My heart was pounding in my chest.

I couldn’t be more grateful for the little piece of privacy that we had out here. The air had turned slightly cooler, and I could see her shiver a little, although she would never admit she’s cold. I shrugged my suit jacket off anyway as we walked along the outside of the barn. The sun was starting to go down and the chill in the air picked up. I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders, and used it to pull her in closer to me. 

She muttered a thanks and I sucked in a breath. Now or never Matt’s.

But she turned to me sharply, beating me to the punch, “you can’t just say stuff like that you know?” 

“Why not?” Her eyes met mine and the wary look on her face told me what I needed to know. I know what she’s thinking. And she means more to me than anyone. She must know that. She has too.

“You could never get in the way of anything (Y/N).” I tucked a lone strand of hair behind her ear as her eyes sparkled and flickered up to mine. “It doesn’t bother me because I don’t want just any girl.” I toe around the subject, hoping she can figure it out before I have to say it outright.

“Well, what do you want Aus?” I want you. Don’t make me say it. Don’t make me ruin a good thing (Y/N). I don’t want to lose us.

My eyes flicker down to her lips. I close my eyes and lean in a little, nudging her nose with my own. Slowly but surely closing the gap between us. I could feel the electricity radiating off her, our lips barely touching before I heard a voice coming from the door. We broke apart, wide eyed, hearts racing, both looking to see who joined us outside.

Kappy looked drunk. And Paige looked like she was dying from laughter. They spotted us and made their way over. I looked back at (Y/N), her cheeks flushed and managing to look anywhere but me, although my arm was still wrapped around her. She leaned into my touch as they approached.

“Youuuuu guyssss.” Kap slurred and Paige just seemed to notice the position we were in.

“Uh Kappy needed some air, but I see you guys did too.” She grabbed his hand and tried to lean him into her for leverage. “We’ll just let you guys have some privacy.”

(Y/N) turned her face into my shoulder as Paige tried to shove Kappy back into the reception. I looked down to her and laughed. She did too, bringing her face out of my shoulder. I would’ve tried to recreate the moment but it seemed like it was lost as she grabbed my hand and tugged me back inside. “C’mon Aus, we should get back.” And I had no choice but to follow.

[1dffexchange]

Snowflake

To: Vanessa @halfwaygones​

From: Steph @harrysmeadow​

Summary: It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but not when your parents leave you on your own for the holidays and the best thing you’ve got is a ready meal from M&S to see you through the big day. So when Elsie  travels to a different home for Christmas, will the day be as magical as she hoped it would be?

“We’ve always been a good team haven’t we?” Elsie mused, as she put the final touches on the work she and her closest friend had spent the past few hours on.

“We have,” Harry agreed with a grin, going to stand by her. “This just proves it.”

Stood in the corner of the Styles’ living room was the newly decorated Christmas tree. With beads instead of tinsel, and an absolute mis-mash of baubles that didn’t at all match, it was slightly different than usual, but a different that Harry liked, a different he could get used to. Elsie had always had a unique way of doing things, she was different in her own way, but still always fit in.

And stood next to the twinkling tree, propped up on her tiptoes, trying to make sure the angel on the highest branch was secure, was the most beautiful angel Harry had ever seen. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her with him at Christmas, even if it wasn’t in the exact way that he wished for. He felt guilty though, the circumstances weren’t great for her, but she’d ended up with him, and for that he had to be thankful.

“Oh wow!” Another voice called out from behind them. “The tree looks great guys!”

“Thanks Mum,” Harry replied happily.

“Elsie, do you want to come round and decorate for us every year? The Styles household could do with a bit of Elsie Christmas magic,” Anne winked in Harry’s direction. He shuffled away quickly pretending to fix something on the tree, and tried desperately hard not to blush.

“Thank you so much again for having me Anne,” Elsie said. “It’s so lovely getting to spend Christmas with you all. Although I’m sure Harry is sick of me following him around everywhere, he can’t get rid of me at work and now I’m here too!”

“You’re more than welcome my love, couldn’t have you all on your own at Christmas now could we? She replied.

“Well I really appreciate it, it was very kind of Harry to offer.”

***

It was a cold winter’s morning when Harry had put the plans for a new project they’d just signed on to on Elsie’s desk and she’d thanked him with a grin and a promise to buy him a cinnamon swirl from the bakery across the road at lunch time. A little while later when he decided it was time for a brew, he headed to the breakroom. He popped the kettle on, and grabbed his ‘Mr Work-a-holic” mug Elsie had bought him for his birthday last year, which reminded him to ask her if she wanted a drink too. He turned in the direction of her office, but remained at the kitchen counter watching her instead when he saw her through the glass.

She was on the phone, to who Harry didn’t know, but he could tell, even from the distance that she was upset. She was slumped back in her chair and the corner of her mouth was twitching slightly, her free hand was continuously raking through her long blonde hair and tugging at the knots caused by the winter winds at the end.

He hoped it wasn’t a client she was talking to. He knew how hard she worked on every project that landed on her desk, and if someone was telling her that what she created wasn’t good enough, it would crush her.

Abandoning his tea Harry rushed back to his own office and rummaged around his drawers until he found what he was looking for. Elsie’s emergency hot chocolate. He didn’t even know if this was a true hot chocolate worthy emergency yet, but he felt like it would be appreciated nonetheless.

When he went back to the break room to make her drink he saw her hang up the phone and drop her head to her chest, and in doing so Harry’s heart dropped too. He didn’t know whether she was feeling sadness, anger or pain, but he did know that he didn’t ever want her to feel those things.

Elsie spun around in her chair and a small but thankful smile appeared on her lips, when she saw Harry appear at her doorway holding out the mug towards her. “How did you know?” She asked, sounding slightly dejected as she reached out to take the hot drink from his hands.

“Was in the breakroom and saw you on the phone, it didn’t look good so I brought in the big guns,” he joked, and she huffed a small chuckle before taking a sip.

“You’re an angel,” she smiled, and Harry resisted the urge to tell her the same.

“You ok Els?” He asked.

She drew a deep breath and placed the mug on the desk, immediately she began twisting the rings on her fingers, turning them so the jewels on each one sat perfectly in the middle.

Elsie was a perfectionist, she always had been. Everything she did was carefully planned and prepared for, whether it was the next week’s dinner she was making in advance or the final design for a client at work. She didn’t like surprises. She wasn’t a control freak, she knew when to step back and let others have a turn, but when she did have the chance to do things her way she’d try her best to make sure everyone was happy.

“Yeah I’m fine. I just got off the phone with my Mum. She said her and Dad are going on a cruise for Christmas. She got some deal on an over 50’s couples package. So looks like I’ll be having a ready meal from M&S at dinner time on the big day,” she huffed, before taking a big swig of the hot chocolate.

“You’re joking right?” Harry replied confused. Why would anyone not want to be with Elsie at Christmas he thought.

“Nope. First time ever I’m not gonna see my parents on Christmas day.”

“Could you not go to Immie’s? Surely your sister would take you in?” he puzzled, trying to think of some ideas that might help.

“I’m not homeless Harry!” she laughed.

“Right, yeah sorry,” he chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Well I love a good spinach and ricotta ravioli from M&S anyway, so who’s the real winner?” she joked, but Harry could see through her bright exterior.

“Els, you can’t be serious. You’re not sitting at home on your own on Christmas day,” he stressed. Harry knew how much she loved Christmas and the holiday season, he only had to look around the room the were in to find an abundance of decorations that she brought out every year in the office. As soon as bonfire night was over, the next day she’d show up to work with a festive jumper and a big box of tinsel to hang up and around the cupboards in the break room. ‘It makes people happy!’ she would reply to Harry when every year he asked her why she was so excited to put them up.

“Well what am I supposed to do instead?” she replied exasperated, because it was true, she didn’t want to be alone on Christmas day. Elsie had always believed the holidays were about spending time with family, friends and loved ones. She adored the traditions her own family had come to make over the years, like how every year they’d each get a new bauble and they all put them on the tree before they started opening presents. She loved the afternoon walk around the fields that surrounded the village she lived in after she’d stuffed herself full of Christmas dinner and seeing the smiling faces of her younger family members fully enchanted by the Christmas spirit made her heart so warm.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, his subconscious egging him on to ask the question, but Harry couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Come to mine!” he wanted to exclaim! Because Harry wanted nothing more than to welcome her into his home that would be full of love and joy at Christmas. He didn’t think he’d be able to sit through his family Christmas dinner knowing that Elsie was sat alone in her flat with a TV dinner.

There were other reasons why he wanted her there too, reasons that were fighting to jump out of the box he’d had them stored them away in for so long because of fear and doubt, but now wasn’t a time he was prepared to let them out.

The invitation never came, and instead he mumbled a generic ‘I’m sure you’ll figure it out’ as the thoughts in his brain started eating away at him, and he left her alone in the room.

***

“Did you finish drawing up the plans for Mrs Dean’s guest bedroom today?” Elsie asked as she locked the office door behind them for the night.

“Yeah I did, remind me to give them to you in the morning,” Harry replied, waiting by the door and rocking back on his heels with his hand in his pockets trying to keep them warm.

“Oh brilliant,” she said turning around adjusting her scarf to try and keep out the cold. “I had some ideas for the wallpaper and carpet but I didn’t want to start on a mood board until you’d finished them,” she shrugged.

“Elsie, you’re not supposed to base your design around how I’ve done the plan,” he laughed. “How many times have we had this conversation?”

“We’re a team Harry! We’re meant to work around each other, that’s all I was doing,” she grinned cheekily, knowing he wouldn’t argue with her any more.

As they started the familiar route home the fallen autumn leaves whirring around Harry’s feet reminded him of the thoughts that wouldn’t settle in his mind.

Christmas, family, Elsie, work, secret santa, Elsie, Elsie, Elsie.

As the hours ticked by after he’d left her office, Harry had only grown more and more frustrated with himself. Was he truly so selfish as to leave her alone at Christmas to protect his own feelings?

He could already hear the nagging words of his Mum when she would inevitably find out that Elsie spent the holidays by herself. “I did not raise you to be so ignorant and rude, you know she’s always welcome here, why would you not invite her? I have half a mind to make you drive to her house and bring her here now!’ she would probably say, and Harry would agree with her, that he wasn’t raised that way, but he couldn’t tell her the reasons why he never asked.

Every time he’d walked past her office door and he saw the dull look on her face, that didn’t at all match the tinsel and lights that surrounded her, he wanted to kick himself. He’d had a chance to make her happy, and he didn’t take it.

He looked down to where his trusty winter boots trampled across the crumbling leaves and a small smile crept onto his lips at the sight of the pair that walked beside him. It was a familiar sight, but one he still loved. After all this time she was still there, right by him when he needed her most. He couldn’t help but smile, it was just an automatic reaction when it came to Elsie and it had been that way for years. Harry decided that he had to be brave. He couldn’t let her down.

The bitter chill in the air had made her cheeks and the tip of her nose a rosy pink, and as much as the chunky grey scarf that was wrapped around her tried to keep her toasty and warm, it didn’t hide the shivers that made her hands and shoulders shake. Well not from Harry at least.

Harry noticed a lot of things about Elsie. When they met at university some of the first things he noticed were how her nose would always twitch twice before she sneezed, and that she almost never wore matching socks. As they got to know one another it was her kind and gentle nature that Harry was so drawn to. After a few months she’d memorised his lecture timetable and whenever she could, she’d have a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive waiting for him when he got back to the flat.

Harry supposed it was the way they noticed so much about each other that cemented their friendship so quickly into something long lasting.

When they lived together in second and third year he realised quickly how fiercely loyal she was. Never one to leave a friend behind on a group night out, she was always the one to make sure everyone got home safely. When his Grandma Rose passed away and he couldn’t make it back home to be with his family, Elsie was the one quietly slipped out of the house giving him some alone time. When she returned though, she had with her the most beautiful rose he’d ever seen. It hadn’t yet fully bloomed, but she fed it, watered it and loved it right up until they had move out when they graduated. She was the one who kept it alive.

After they got their degree and the idea of setting up their own business together was still just that, an idea, it was her determined spirit that got them off the ground. They’d both refined the skills they were taught at university and their strengths worked perfectly together. All the years of hard work and studying that they’d spent together only made her more confident that they could do it.

If it wasn’t for Elsie, Harry had no idea how his life could have turned out.

And just like the leaves that remained on the tree’s branches, hanging on while the wind blew around them, Harry was running out of time before his idea would tumble to the ground. ‘Come on Harry, be brave,’ he thought.

“Would you wanna spend Christmas with me?” he blurted out quickly before the sudden burst of confidence disappeared.

Her wide eyes told him nothing of what she was thinking, and he tried desperately not to immediately retract the offer in an attempt to save his pride. He could feel a sudden heat in his cheeks despite the icy weather, and he didn’t know what to do to save himself from the embarrassment of being rejected.

Why this had become such a big deal in his mind, Harry couldn’t quite figure out. It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t ever see her again if she said no, they’d be back at work together in the new year. He supposed it was just something about this time of the year. Christmas always makes everyone so happy. And Harry was happy, he couldn’t be more grateful for everything that he had, but when it seemed to him that everyone around him was spending the holidays with a significant other, it was hard for him to ignore the feelings he’d been holding back for so long.

The gentle touch of a hand grabbing his own pulled him from his never-ending thoughts. Elsie stood with her eyes on him and a smile that Harry knew he’d never forget.

“Harry that’s so kind, I’d love to,” she gleamed.

“Are you sure?” he replied, without thinking.

“Yes, Harry! Of course I am, thank you so much. I promise you won’t even notice I’m there.”

***

Harry was sure she was otherworldly by design. Like a snowflake never the same, because every day he saw something new and different in her, that he thought only made her more beautiful.

The way that the twinkle in her eye was like a glint of sunlight bouncing off of a precious crystal, had him entranced. He thought they should name a crystal after the colour of her eyes.

“Harry!?”

“Huh?” He replied, slightly startled. Looking up quickly from the comfort of his Grandad’s old armchair to where Elsie stood in front of him looking concerned.

“You’re away with the fairies! Are you ok? You seemed miles away,” she asked.

“Sorry, yeah I’m fine. Just thinking about work,” he lied, easily. Over the years Harry had become quite good at thinking up quick excuses after he’d been caught daydreaming about Elsie. It happened more than he’d like to admit.

“Harry, come on now, you need to stop stressing. It’s Christmas Eve, not time for work,” she lightly scalded. “Anyway, I’ve got something to get you in the festive spirit, come on!” She reached for him, and he gladly took her hand as he stood from the chair. He didn’t know where she was taking him, but he was sure he’d follow her anywhere.

***

Wrapped in layers of jumpers and scarves they headed out into the cold. The air was bitter and the ground had a sheen of frost, there hadn’t been snow yet, but thick grey clouds hung low in the sky giving an early warning of the weather to come.

Only the addition of snow would have made the back streets of Harry’s hometown look like one from the front of a christmas card. The towering Victorian town houses already had bushy wreaths full of hops and holly, hanging from different coloured painted wooden doors, and the big bay windows were filled with decorated trees of all sizes, and framed with twinkling lights.

Harry loved his home at Christmas time. Being away from the city he found happiness in the small things, like watching the Robin’s and Chaffinches in the garden while he sipped on his morning tea, rather than having to wait in line at the cafe opposite the office. Being able to spend time with his family at home, was something he never took for granted.

He looked over to his side at Elsie as they rounded the corner onto the main street in town, she seemed happy, content at least. And that was all he could ask for. All the while they’d been at Harry’s Mum’s house he’d taken to paying more attention to Elsie than usual. If that was even possible. He was so worried about her getting down because she wasn’t with her own family he was constantly checking up on her, asking if she was ok.

Having a shower in the morning had become the most stressful part of the day for him. A million questions circled his brain while he was trying to focus on just having a wash. Was she ok without him? Did she need a drink? Had she realised she’d forgotten to pack something and was too shy to ask his Mum to borrow it? Was his sister asking intrusive questions? Was she too cold and needed a blanket? But he couldn’t help her if she needed it or not, he was in the shower. He thought maybe he should change his schedule, to shower when she slept so he wouldn’t stress as much.

Instead he’d rush downstairs as quick as he could, his hair not even dry, the ringlets dropping tiny droplets of water onto the carpet as he went. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he spotted her in the kitchen, she was sitting alone.

“Are you ok?” he fretted, as soon as he walked into the room.

Elsie jumped at the sound of his voice, startled by his entrance that she hadn’t seen. “Bloody hell Harry be careful, I’ve got a boiling tea in my hand, almost made me drop it!” she exclaimed.

“Elsie dear I don’t mean to speak for you,” another voice said, which in turn startled Harry. He’d been so preoccupied with Elsie he hadn’t even noticed his Mum sitting across at the other side if the table. “But Harry love, I get that you’re trying to make our guest comfortable, but stop being so intense, she’s fine,” Anne stressed with a roll of her eyes, and Harry didn’t miss the giggle that escaped from Elsie that she tried to hide behind her mug of tea.

“Right, yeah sorry,” he mumbled.

He made a conscious effort to cool off after that, but he was struggling a bit. What if she was cold now and needed another scarf? Or what if the cold air was giving her a sniffly nose and she needed a tissue?

Elsie turned her head, obviously able to sense his stare, and met his eyes.

“Harry, stop worrying!” she begged. “I can see you getting in your own head, I’m fine!” she laughed from beside him, gripping at his arm and pulling herself closer to him.

When they reached the market square at the end of the main street in the town they wandered through the stalls. Their arms unlinked at some point as their interests took them in different directions, Elsie chatted away to the little old ladies selling charity Christmas cards and Harry stopped by the floristry stall to get a bouquet for his Mum.

“Harry, come look at these!” she called over to him, from where he was now looking at what was left of the seasonal veggies that everyone had clearly bought in time for their Christmas dinner. Only a few rogue sprouts remained.

He joined her at another market stall, one that was a lot more exciting than the vegetables. The table was covered in hand decorated Christmas tree baubles, of all different colours and textures. As they turned and swung gently in the breeze, the winter sun reflected and twinkled from the glittering surfaces.

“Wow they’re so pretty.” he commented, picking one up and inspecting it closely.

“I know, if I was going home for Christmas I would have bought one for Mum to put on the tree like I usually do,” Elsie replied.

It was only in that moment that Harry was reminded of his reality. He’d become so wrapped up in the time he was getting to spend with Elsie, that he’d forgotten that it probably wouldn’t ever happen again. They weren’t supposed to spend Christmas with each other. In the end she’d go back to her own family.

“It’s ok to miss them,” Harry told her.

“I know! But they’ve only gone on a bloody cruise, they’re not dead! I’ll see them next week! Don’t know why I’m moping around so much.” She exclaimed, turning away from Harry and walking back into the bustling market.

***

Out in the hallway, rocking back and forth on his heels and looking down to the small parcel in his hands, Harry’s mind was running over and over. The creaking sound of the floorboards were doing nothing to calm his nerves as he went back and forth deciding whether what he was about to do was a good idea or not.

It was still dark outside, but no stars were out, they’d had their time through the night to come out and shine and watchover the world while it slept, but they’d begun to retreat back behind the clouds to make way for the brightest giant that appeared in the morning.

And Harry thought it best to do what he wanted to do before the sun woke everyone else up.

With a steady hand he lightly pushed open the door beside him, and crept quietly into the room. He could see the stocking, hanging onto the end of the bed frame where his Mum had placed it before Elsie had arrived in the hopes of making her feel more welcome.

“Santa?” a sleepy voice sounded.

He hadn’t noticed in his quest to dodge the cushions that were scattered on the floor on his way to the stocking that Elsie had risen from her sleep.

“Uhhh yeah, sure. It’s me Santa. Go back to sleep,” he tried, not wanting to look up.

“Wait. Harry.. Are you Santa?” she replied excitedly.

He couldn’t help but laugh at that one and he looked up to where she was attempting to crawl across the messed up duvet on the bed to try and see what he was doing.

Her hair looked to Harry like one giant knot, with ends poking out in all different directions, and the remnants of a bit of mascara she’d missed when washing her face the night before were smeared underneath her eyes. The festive Christmas pj’s she had on were bunched up above the fluffy socks that were keeping her feet warm in the cold winter nights, and even though she’d just woken up Harry was sure her eyes were shining as bright as the stars that had just hidden themselves away.

“Well I mean, I do have a gift with me so maybe I am,” he joked.

“For me?” she asked as she reached the edge of the bed closest to where Harry was still stood with the box in his hands.

“Yeah, I was trying to sneak in and put it in your stocking, but I should have remembered from uni how much of light sleeper you are,” he grinned and she giggled.

“This is probably the first time I’ve seen you in your pj’s since then,” she commented.

“Yeah you’re probably right,” Harry replied a little awkwardly, as he definitely hadn’t planned on having Elsie see his Grinch pajamas his Mum had bought him.

“I miss our movie and pj days,” she mused, looking up to him through her lashes.

Harry did too. Any one on one time he got to spend with Elsie he missed. University to Harry now seemed like a distant memory he wasn’t even one hundred percent sure happened, it seemed more like a dream.

He spent pretty much every waking hour with Elsie, having breakfast together before going to lectures and seminars, coming home and cooking tea for each other, sharing a blanket on the sofa in an evening watching the latest ITV drama. It was the simple things.

Sure they worked together now, but it was different. He didn’t get to have his arm draped over her shoulder when they went for lunch at the deli across the street, like he used to be able to when she’d get scared by the film they were watching and wanted somewhere to hide. He couldn’t knock on her office door and complain about all the work they had to do, and then just not do the work and instead spend the rest of the day drinking tea and talking and laughing together.

“Yeah me too, anyway do you want me to leave this in the stocking or take it downstairs and put it under the tree?” he asked, quickly trying to brush over the sensitive topic.

“Can I maybe open it now while you’re here?” she asked tentatively, biting the corner of her bottom lip.

Harry knew he couldn’t say no, even though this was what he’d desperately tried to avoid. “Uh yeah, here you go,” he mumbled, passing over the somewhat neatly wrapped parcel to her.

“Why are you being weird?” she puzzled, slowly taking the package from him.

“I’m not!” he countered quickly.

“Yes you are,” she claimed. “You haven’t moved from that one spot this whole time and you’re just acting funny.”

“Well I don’t know if you even want me in here or not, I wasn’t supposed to be!”

Elsie rolled her eyes. “Harry of course I do, why wouldn’t I?” she huffed as she threw back the covers from where she’d made her way back to the top of the bed and made room for him beside her. “Come on, in you get.”

He shuffled in beside her, quitely relishing in her warmth, but trying not to overstep the boundaries.

He watched her intently as she began to rip the paper from the present, “Merry Christmas Elsie,” he smiled as the last piece of paper fell away to revealing what was inside.

As she held the bauble up in her hands by the loop at the top it began to turn. The teal and gold colours weren’t traditionally ‘christmassy’, but Elsie had never liked to go with the crowd. The light from the rising sun which was barely peeking through the curtains in thin little streams began to bounce and reflect off of the glitter and sparkle which covered the bauble in all different patterns and shapes. Harry watched as the walls became scattered with twinkling light, it looked like the stars had reappeared.

Elsie watched the bauble, and as it spun in her hands, she thought. Thought about Christmas, her family, her home, and Harry. Harry who, throughout all the years they’d known each other had done nothing but care for her and support her. Harry who had brought her into his family home at Christmas and done everything possible to try and make her happy and comfortable. Harry who was timid and shy, but listened intently to everything she had to say. Harry who knew she was missing home, and still found a way to bring home to her.

“Do you like it?” he asked timidly.

Harry saw first a tear that was threatening to escape the corner of her eye when she turned to look at him, and it sparked an instant feeling of worry in his gut.

“No! No it was supposed to make you happy! Not make you cry!” He fretted, reaching out to her and gently wiping away the tear that was rolling down her cheek.

As soon as he’d had the chance to sneak away at the market the day before, he knew he wanted to get her one of the decorations that they’d both been enchanted by. If she couldn’t give one to someone else and hang it on her tree at home as part of her tradition, then he’d give her one to put anywhere she wanted.

Elsie carefully put down the decoration in between them on the bed, and placed her hand on Harry’s that was still settled gently on her cheek. He could feel her beginning to form a smile underneath his hand before he saw it, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Harry I’m so happy you have no idea,” she said. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Just like you,” he whispered, almost to himself.

He wasn’t sure where the confidence came from for him to say that, but he thought it might have had something to do with the way Elsie had intertwined her fingers with his and was gently leaning into his hand. It was only something small, but with Elsie, Harry always noticed.

“I just didn’t want you to have to miss out on your tradition just because you’re here,” he added.

“Thank you Harry you’re an angel,” she gushed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go.

He suddenly became aware of how long he’d been touching her for, he pulled his hand away from her cheek and quickly began picking at the rough edges of his fingers, subconsciously hoping the pain there would distract him from how he noticed that he instantly missed the warmth of her skin.

He could feel her shuffling around next to him, and he took that as a sign for him to move. He’d overstayed his welcome. But as he made his way across her room, she dropped her feet to the floor over the side of the bed and eagerly followed him to the door.

“Where do you think I should put it?” Elsie pondered, holding the decoration up in front of her as she reached him.

“You don’t have to put it anywhere if you don’t want to,” Harry spluttered, backing himself again the door and grabbing hold of the handle getting ready to leave. “I know it’s not your house so you may not feel the same about it and it’s fine, I want you to do what you like with it, but youare allowed to put it up here if you want to, it’s ok mum won’t mind, there’s room on the tree downst-”

Suddenly her hand was on his again pushing the door behind them closed, but her lips were on his too.

It was a new and foreign feeling for Harry but one that he’d dreamt of a thousand times over or more. And if he thought his head was spinning when he was only thinking about it, to actually experience it felt like he’d been turned upside-down and thrown into a different dimension.

Her lips were soft and sweet but she was holding herself against him like she was about to be pulled away. Her fingers had slotted themselves between his own that remained balanced on the door handle and her other arm was trapped between them, her fist gripping onto his t-shirt tightly.

Even though his own hands were resting lightly on her waist, all he wanted to do was throw his arms around her and pull her even closer, hold on to her as tight as he could hoping that she could somehow feel all the love he’d had locked away for her that he was finally letting free.

Their lips moved like a dance that had been rehearsed a hundred times, in sync and working perfectly together. Just like Harry had always hoped they would.

When their lips parted, their foreheads met and the smile that Harry saw on Elsie’s face was the best Christmas present he could have asked for. They spent a minute just feeling the moment, processing what it meant for them and their future. Neither of them pulled away.

Elsie had always known the way Harry looked at her was different, but she wondered if he’d known the way she looked at him was different too. It hadn’t always been that way for her, but her feelings had grown and changed over time. With the way he was with her, how could she not fall for him? He’d always been timid and shy, and Elsie knew it was only right to give him the time he needed to make a decision about her. She knew that Harry was struggling, but she never wanted to push. She could wait.

Harry on the other hand was wondering why he ever waited at all. If he’d known the possibility of rejection would seem so small and feeble compared to the pure bliss of just being able to hold her close he wouldn’t have even waited a day to tell her how he felt.

Looking down at her now, the closest they’d ever been, he was already seeing so much more than he had before. He’d always been mesmerized by her eyes, but seeing up close all the colours that made them what they were, he was sure they must have missed some out of the rainbow. He brought his hand up to her face, his thumb lightly tracing over her soft skin, he still had to make sure this was real.

Biting down on her bottom lip Elsie couldn’t hide the level of pure delight she was feeling being in Harry’s hands, and in her moment of glee she peered up at him through her lashes and placed another short and sweet kiss on his lips.

“Angel,” she giggled.

“My Snowflake,” he whispered.

[chibinightowl]

Bakery AU Jaytim if you’re still doing prompts? 💕

I am! But I think I’ll save the rest of the ones I received for this next weekend. It was a fun way to spend my downtime at work. 

After the last prompt I filled, I decided I need to end my day on a fluffy note. Have some sweetness! ~*~

Tim bites his tongue as he concentrates on carefully icing the delicate cupcake in front of him. It’s a special order for a wedding and he wants each one to be perfect. Stephanie teases him for being too intent on his decorating but it’s the meticulous nature of it that appeals to him in the first place. That and the creative freedom. He still can’t believe he runs a small business — and a bakery to boot. How far the Drake name has fallen. Whatever, Tim’s happy and that’s all that matters. He took what little inheritance he got after his parent’s death (that survived the conservatorship while he was in the foster system) and promptly invested it. Baking always served as an escape for him, and his foster grandma encouraged it and taught him all kinds of things, so after he graduated high school, he went to culinary school to become a pastry chef. The intense pace of restaurant life didn’t suit him, so he sold all his stocks and bought a food truck where he started selling cupcakes and other easy to make (but no less delicious) baked goods. Thanks to his tech savvy, Tim maintained a strong presence on social media and soon his business grew. After six months, he hired Stephanie as his baking assistant and they hit it off fabulously, with her bright energy contrasting nicely against his somewhat intense personality. And now, here he is with his own storefront. Stephanie still takes the truck out during peak hours but now Tim stays behind for the most part to hide in his kitchen and simply create. Customers occasionally interrupt but most of his work now comes from special orders. Like the six dozen black forest cake cupcakes with a dark cherry filling and a blood red buttercream frosting dusted with edible gold glitter. They’re for a gothic inspired wedding, which Tim finds awesome. If there’s one thing he’s learned over the last few years, it’s the eclectic crowd that inspires his creativity the most. “Tim!” Steph all but shouts as she comes bursting into the kitchen. He’s used to it so he barely startles and keeps working. “Oh. My. God. You won’t believe who just walked in and asked for you.” “Let me guess. Mickey Mouse?”That earns him a smack upside the back of his head. “No! It’s Jason Wayne.” It takes a moment for the name to sink in. When it does, Tim drops his piping tube. “You’re shitting me.” Jason Wayne. Second son (adopted) of Bruce Wayne. Formerly Robin and now Redwing. Tim is a fan. A massive fan. He’s been a fan of Robin since he first figured out Dick Grayson was Batman’s sidekick at the tender age of 9. But Jason…Tim always kind of considered him his Robin, especially after the night he rescued a younger Tim from some gang on his way home from the library late one night. His foster family didn’t live in the best part of town but it wasn’t the worst either. “I know!!” Steph all but squeals as she shoves him toward the door. “He says he has a special order he wants to run by you. Now get out there!” She picks up the piping bag to take over. The cupcakes have to be done in a couple hours. Tim stumbles through the door but he still takes a moment to glare back over his shoulder at his friend and assistant. “Just be careful with those!”“Since when am I not? You taught me how to do it, Mr. Picky-Pants.” His ears burn as Tim turns around to greet his famous customer. Of course he heard that. Jason leans casually against the counter and grins at him. “She’s feisty, huh?”“You have no idea.” Tim rubs his hands on his icing smeared apron and grimaces when they’re still red. “Uhh, excuse me if I don’t shake your hand.”“Don’t worry about it. A little icing never hurt anyone.” Jason holds out his hand. “I’m Jason Wayne.”“I know,” Tim replies and then blinks. “Umm. Sorry. Tim Drake.” He shakes Jason’s hand. It’s big and warm and wow, there’s a lot of scars on his knuckles. Jason must notice where Tim’s eyes land. “I box and do some MMA,” he offers. “Oh. Yeah.” Tim reluctantly lets go and tries to put his business face on, much to the dismay of his inner fanboy who is screaming and bouncing in glee at meeting one of his heroes. “So! Steph says you want me to make something for you?” The taller man chuckles easily. He must be used to this. “I am. Normally we have Alfred make cakes, but he just broke his foot and he’s getting up there in age, so I thought maybe we’d contract out this year.” “Oh? What’s the occasion?” “Damian’s 15th birthday.” Jason doesn’t sound enthused. Even Tim’s heard and seen stories about how challenging the youngest Wayne (and current Robin) is. “Gotcha. So, teenager then.” His wheels are already turning. He grabs a pad of paper and a pencil and then heads over to a small table in the front of the shop. “Come into my office,” Tim jokes. Jason takes a seat, his long legs sticking out from either side of the table. The denim of his jeans strains over his incredibly muscular thighs and Tim does his best not to whimper. But it’s hard because the man just hits every single one of his buttons. It’s not fair.“What does Damian like?”The question garners an eye roll from Jason. “Sharp pointy objects. Art. Dogs. Any music that involves a symphony orchestra.”Tim’s done dog cakes before and even one that resembled Monet’s garden, which had been a bitch and a half. “So, a violin perhaps? Oh! Maybe a throwing star! Does he like ninja?” He gets all excited and starts sketching, completely missing the sharp look Jason gives him. “He hates ninja, but loves throwing stars. He’s got a few,” the man replies cautiously. But Tim’s in the zone, drawing a design for a modified star-shaped cake and sharpening the edges, tightening some lines and widening others. “I haven’t seen one since I stopped watching Naruto, but I think it’s something like this.” He shows Jason the drawing. He stares at it a moment before grinning broadly. “That looks fucking awesome. You think you can pull it off?” Tim scoffs. “I don’t see why not. It’s laying flat after all. Unless I can get it to stand…” the wheels start to turn again but Jason brings him back to the present by actually waving his hand in Tim’s face. “Slow your roll there, Timmers. Flat is fine.” “Oh. Okay.” He can’t help the slightly disappointed feeling that he won’t get a chance to really show off for his favorite Robin. Tim forces himself to focus. “So what kind of flavors does Damian like?”Jason rattles off a list of some definitely uncommon tastes, but by the end, Tim only has one idea and he can’t wait to give it a try. “I wonder if I can make a spiced chai cake.” “That…that would be awesome if you can pull it off.” Jason sounds impressed. Tim is already making a shopping list as star anise and cardamom aren’t spices he keeps on hand. “I’ll have to make some samples to see how it turns out. Are you available at all for a tasting?” Another really important question comes to mind and Tim brushes his bangs away from his face. “When do you need this by?” Jason’s staring at him in bemusement. “Two weeks. I know it’s short notice with what I saw online but I was kinda hoping maybe you’d make an exception.” Tim laughs at him. “I’m making Damian Wayne’s birthday cake. Even if it’s just for a small party, that kind of exposure is huge for a little business like mine. I’d be a fool not to.”“In that case, I can stop by next week for a tasting,” Jason says and stands. This meeting is apparently over, at least for now. “That should be plenty of time. This is going to be fun.” Tim knows he sounds eager and doesn’t care.

Jason smiles again, and Tim wants to just melt because it’s so unlike the playboy smile he sees on TV or his Instagram feed (because of course he follows Jason Wayne). “You really like a challenge, don’t you?” he asks.

“I love a good challenge,” Tim agrees, grinning back at his hero.

“So do I.” Jason hesitates, then reaches out and runs his thumb over Tim’s cheek. It comes back red, which Tim swears could probably be from the amount of blood rushing to his face because Jason just touched him. “You always covered in frosting?”

For once, Tim’s brain lines up with his mouth and he says something that sounds clever. “Only on special occasions.”

Or not.

But Jason smirks and raises his thumb to his mouth, the tip of his tongue darting out to taste the red frosting that has apparently been on Tim’s face the entire time they were speaking. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He takes the pencil and pad of paper from Tim and writes something on it before handing it back. “See you soon.”

Tim stands there petrified as Jason walks out and drives away in an absolutely sick red car that screams money and horsepower. Once he’s out of sight, he looks down at the pad of paper.

There’s a phone number written next to his picture. More importantly, there’s a little note in a bold print.

I wonder if you taste as good as your frosting?

[acaddicts]

Meet your Admins!

**Not all admins are pictured above**

>Click their title/name to see their posts on our page<

Head Admin: @sunflowercrosser 

Name: Amy-Louise

Nickname: Ames, Amylou, "Queen"

Age: 20 Birthday: 24th November Timezone: BST (GMT in Winter) • Best Available: after 5pm Fave Villager/NPC: Rosie|Phylis Fave AC Game: New Leaf About Me: I am a full time carer at the moment. Originally a secretary. I have a puppy called Sox. I am a devoted auntie, and love spending time with my family. Originally from Northern Ireland. Suffer with several chronic illnesses.

Co-Head Admin:

🌿 Name: Eliana 💕 ✨ Nickname: Eli, El 🌿 Age: 18 😱 ✨ Birthday: July 2nd 🌿 Timezone: EST (I think EDT in winter??) ✨ Best Availability: I’m active 90% of the time if I’m not in school or at work 🌿 Fave Villager/NPC: L O B O npc is Sable ✨ Fave AC Game: Honestly New Leaf it’s really great 🌿 A little about you: I am a mother to a chinchilla, I like to play guitar, I’m a huge sims fan, did I mention my chinchilla? And I love everyone here so much💕

Head Artist:

• Name : Cynthia • Nickname : Anakya • Age : 23 • Birthday : February 5 • Timezone : Est • Best Availability : Night • Fave Villager/NPC : Spork • Fave AC Game : New Leaf • A little about you : Im Canadian french. Im a big fan of plushies I think I have an obsession with plushes. Im a big gamer, if I have some free times im probably drawing or playing pc or ps4.

Head Security: @wickedwitchofacnl

• Name: Michelle • Nickname: Mish, mama Mish • Age: 24 • Birthday: October 1st • Timezone: EST • Best Availability: Pretty much at any time, except between midnight and 7 AM • Fave Villager/NPC: Skye • Fave AC Game: ACNL • A little about you: I am a mom of 2.5, I like to be outside and write. I hope one day to become an L&D nurse, or maybe an OBGYN. I love to read and my favorite animal is a penguin.

Co Head Security:

- Jessica - Jess - 19 - 24/09/98 - probably best available in the evening time or late afternoon or weekend mornings (or day cause I'm allowed on my phone at work ) - UK time zone (can never remember proper name lmao) - Benjamin has been my fave for about 5 months but it always changes 😂 - new leaf probably I've spent the most time on it - uh I'm pretty sure you all know me by now, but I have a cat called Murphy who is my fave boi, my created gecko called morph and two fish called tipp and ponyo.. and broccoli is my fave vegetable could eat it all the time 🍒

Head Hacker:

- Candyce - Candy - 17 - January 16, 2001 - Central (USA) - It differs, but usually at night - I love Pudge :) - City Folk - I love cats, plan on becoming a graphic designer, work at a bubble tea shop, and I have celiac, body dysphoria, and lots of anxiety disorders. I've fully recovered from depression and mostly from my eating disorder (it turned into the dysphoria). I'm in a long distance relationship of 4 years and I like to play Wizard101    

Co-Head Hacker: @ladykayacnl

• Name - Kayla • Nickname - Kay, Kaylala, Layla, Kayduhx • Age - 27 • Birthday - September 11 • Timezone - Central • Best Availability - All day • Fave Villager/NPC - Cookie! <3 • Fave AC Game - New Leaf :) • A little about you -I've been married for 8 years and I have 5 kids! I'm an Air Force Veteran :). I love tattoos, music, anime, reading, coffee, and helping people! I suffer from resting bitch face, PTSD, and anxiety. I'm generally really nice until someone messes with my family (both IRL and my Addicts family <3).

Head Services Admin: @chibi-bat

Name: Keisha

Nickname:Red 🦇 Age: 24 💜 Birthday: July 20th 🦇 Timezone: PST 💜 Best Availability: Anytime 🦇 Favorite Villager: Gayle & Lucky 💜 Favorite AC Game: New Leaf 🦇 A Little About Me: I am a natural redhead, a mother of 2 boys and have been with my soul mate for 7 years. (We are officially getting married October 27, 2018) We also have a Jack Russell called Kaia. I love video games, am currently obsessed with Paladins & Overwatch. My dream is to become a published author! I am obsessed with bats, foxes, and all things spooky. My favorite time of the year is fall and I love when it rains. 🎃

Head Landscaper:

🌸 Name • Laird Deanna 🌸 Nickname • Marshmallow Melli (Long story) 🌸 Age • 27 🌸 Birthday • 3rd April 1991 🌸 Timezone • GMT 🌸 Best Availability • Evenings and late nights. 🌸 Fave Villager/NPC • Stitches and Sable 🌸 Fave AC Game • New Leaf by far 🌸 A little about you • I come from one of the largest clans in Scotland and proud of it. I also followed in my families footsteps and am a trained seamstress. I make a lot of clothes for myself, headbands, turn up trousers so they don't drag on the floor cuz I'm a short ass, even made a couple of quilts in my time (currently planning another one)

Co-Head Landscaper:

• Name - Stephanie • Nickname - Don’t really have one but I dislike being called Steph! • Age - 27 • Birthday - January 14th • Timezone - CST • Best Availability - Evenings/Nights/Weekends • Fave Villager/NPC - Ankha & Labelle • Fave AC Game - New Leaf 🍃 • A little about you - I’m a pharmacy technician, licensed esthetician and video game addict. I loooooove cats and baking is my favorite hobby besides ACNL 😍😝

Mods

Alanys. 🌌Nickname: Ally or Marie. 💜 🌠Age: 16. 🌌Birthday: October 18th. 🎃 🌠Timezone: AST. 🌌Availability: 3:30 pm to 10:30pm on weekdays, 12:00pm to around 3:00am on weekends. 🌠Fave villagers/npc: Marshal, Merengue, Étoile (even though I'll never get her card 😥😭) and Resetti. 🌌Fave ac game: New leaf. 🍃 🌠A little about me: I'm from Puerto Rico, I speak spanish and love to teach people about it if they ask, I'm going to uni next year and I absolutely want to be a psychologist. I love to help people and hear a thank you, and for some reason I like to hold doors open for everyone. 😂 I love to read about anything Greek mythology, and sometimes I create my own characters based on it. 🏛 My fav games are Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid, God Of War, Danganronpa and two games on my phone called Mystic Messenger and DBZ Dokkan Battle. My fav food is pasta! 🍝 I hate coffee, but I love hot chocolate, and I have a thing for strawberries, strawberry frappes/smoothies and strawberry popsicles. 🍓 I love spending time with my bf and my mom, mostly when I acompany her to go shopping or help her cook! I like watching cooking videos even though I can burn water. 😂 Other than my main hobbies, I like to read/write fanfics, look at memes, listen to music, dance, and play with babies and animals. 💕 Used to want to be a part time babysitter too haha! 💜 And I also love anything related to the galaxy. 🌌💕

Andrea Nickname🌻 •Andi Age🌼 •19 Birthday💫 •30.12.98 Time zone✨ •UTC + 2 Best availability⚡️ •Depends, but normally 12 pm - 8 pm Fave villager/NPC🌷 •Bob is by far my favourite villager! He is my baby. My favourite NPC would be Isabelle, she’s so sweet. Fave AC game🌟 •New Leaf A little about me😸 I love cats. Almost everything I own is cat related. I currently work in a kindergarten (whenever someone is sick I come in), but my dream is to become a dementia nurse. I’m engaged and we live together in a small apartment in Northern Norway. I struggle with my mental health, but I try my best to beat it and do my best to help out in our lovely group. When I don’t play AC or do admin stuff I play other games (Skyrim, Pokèmon) or watch Netflix😎

Ashleigh

🌺 Nickname: Ash 💖Age: 23 🌺Birthday: 19/12 💖Timezone: ACDT 🌺Best Availability: Anytime 💖Fave Villager/NPC: Bluebear 🌺Fave AC Game: New Leaf 💖A little about you: Other than ACNL, I love playing Sims 4 and Pokemon. My favourite Pokemon happens to be lucario.

Ava

🌈Nickname: Vee 🌺Age: 15 (Mentally 5) 🌈Birthday: January 1, 2003 🌺Timezone: CDT (CST during winter) 🌈Best Availability: I’m available about 70% of the time when I’m not in school 🌺Fave Villager/NPC: Favorite villager is Bob (we share the same birthday!) and my favorite NPC is Isabelle 🌈Fave AC Game: New Leaf 🌺A little about me: Starting in September, I will be a sophomore in high school. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I’m in a very unhealthy relationship with my boyfriend but I’m staying in it anyway because I find it too hard to break up with him. My parents are divorced, so I live with my mom until I am old enough to legally move out, but that doesn’t bother me since I get to live with my three year old sister (I swear she’s the most adorable thing ever) and I’m looking forward to having a baby brother sometime near September! I love video games (but nothing can beat Animal Crossing, in my opinion). I also love hanging with friends, reading, and coffee! And of course, the Addicts family❤️

Berkeley

• Nickname: Borkeley, Jo • Age: 23 • Birthday:June 28th, I'm a cancer! • Timezone: EST • Best Availability: Anytime really. • Fave Villager/NPC: Lily + Sable • Fave AC Game: New Leaf or Population Growing • A little about you: I'm a married cat mom, I'm a twitch streamer + i love Gavin Free. Thats about it!

Christina

• Nickname - Chriss or Vicko • Age - 21 • Birthday - July 24th • Timezone - UTC - 6 CST • Best Availability - Mornings and at night • Fave Villager/NPC - For NPC's, Kapp'n and the Porter, for villagers uff I have lots but specially, Molly and Muffy 　. • Fave AC Game - New leaf • A little about you - I love potatoes, anime and manga :3 , also I'm a student from college, I love doing pics editions, draws and such, so if you guys ever need help with thigns related to this, you now know who to call ;) I also can give spanish classes 😝

Emma • Nickname: I don’t really have one but if you call me Em I’m fine with that! • Age: 24 • Birthday: 16th of December • Timezone: PST • Best Availability: Evenings, nights, and weekends • Fave Villager/NPC: Tex and Lottie! • Fave AC Game: New Leaf 😍 • A little about you: I’m a substitute teacher and I’m in the process of going back to school to get my teaching degree! I hope to be an English teacher at either a middle school or a high school. I love reading and writing and I’m really passionate about sleeping 😂

Hanna Nickname: none Age: 22 Birthday: 4th August 1996 Timezone: GMT (Germany) Best Availability: most of the time, but the highest chance is in the evening Fave villager/NPC: Colton, Lobo Fave Ac Game: New Leaf A little about you: My AC passion started with ACWW and I also love Pokémon (Eevee is my fav) and other RPGs like Skyrim and Fallout. I also love my pets (I have a lot^^), reading books and draw some stuff. I’m a student and study the science of language and and literature (but mostly german literature).

 Hannah 👑 Nickname: Han 👑 Age: 24 👑 Birthday: Feb 7th 👑 Timezone: GMT/BST 👑 Best Availability: Evenings and Weekends 👑 Fave Villager/NPC: Chrissy & Cookie, Celeste 👑 Fave AC Game: New Leaf 👑 A little about you: My favourite Pokemon has always been and will always be Vulpix, so when Alolan Vulpix was revealed I lost my shit. I have anime, I write fanfiction, I write stories and edit for a living, I play a lot of other games like League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Persona, Bloodborne - you name it I've probably played it, I love sunflowers and roses, Sailor Moon is my life and aesthetic forever, and finally, I have three cats <3

Jennifer  • Nickname: Jen or Jenny • Age: 21 • Birthday: February 9th • Timezone: UK, GMT • Best Availability: Late night • Fave Villager/NPC : Whitney and Skye • Fave AC Game : New leaf • A little about you I work in retail maybe 2 days a week, I love animals, Disney, games, drawing, reading and writing. Im self teaching guitar and writing songs as a hobby. Tryng to be a vegetarian which is going well, haven't ate meat in a week, yay. The tv shows I like vary in type, I like: The walking daed, Once upon a time and A series of unfortunate events. Movies I like are mostly Disney , the lion king most of all. I also love animals , especially my dog Amber. I do hope to run my own business to rehalibitate pets and wild animals to find homes and re release the healed ones back into the wild. I also appreciate kind and loyal people 💜

Mollie 💖 Nickname: MolflakeMagic (my main gamer tag & online name) 💚 Age: 19 💖 Birthday: December 1st 💚 Timezone: GMT / BST (UK) 💖 Best Availability: Currently Afternoons through to Night unless I'm with family or my boyfriend :3 💚 Fave Villager / NPC: Goldie!! 😍😊 💖 Fave AC Game: Animal Crossing City Folk 😍😊 💚 A little about me: I'm generally very goofy and always looking to make people laugh and smile. I'm currently preparing to move to Nottingham to study at University in September, so essentially preparing to be an official adulty adult xD I play lots of League in my spare time but also love to design on New Leaf, and I'm currently working on completing all the collections for the museum. I also love to dance and I'm also currently starting to learn Japanese :3 When not with my goofball boyfriend or at home, you can usually find me at my grandparents with my doggy Poppy 😍😊

Panyia 🎀 Nickname: Pan/Panini/Pancakes 🎀 Age: 20 🎀 Birthday: Feb. 16th 🎀 Timezone: PST (soon to be HST) 🎀 Best Availability: Depends, usually 12pm - 10 pm 🎀 Fave Villager/NPC: Coco/Celeste 🎀 Fave AC Game: New Leaf 🎀 A little about you: I’m soon-to-be engaged, going to be moving in with my partner very soon. Im usually playing any Harvest Moon game series when I’m not playing AC and helping out with the group. I’ve played other games but it’s too many to name lol. I love watching anime too! They all help me with my mental health and depression, which I try not to let them get to me when I’m helping out with our group ❤️

Ruth 🌸Age: 21 🌸Birthday: 25th December 🌸Timezone: BST/GMT 🌸Best Availability: Usually evenings or any day that I’m off work 🌸Fave villager/NPC: Apple and my fave npc is Kicks ❤️ 🌸Fave AC Game: New Leaf 🌸 A Little about me: I have lived in the south west part of the uk all of my life with my parents and older brother. I love cats so much, I used to have a black cat called Twinkle but he was very ill and passed away from a heart murmur at only 7 years old. I now have a calico called Poppy who I love very much ❤️ I have suffered from anxiety and depression, with the occasional severe migraine (to the point I passed out) since 2013 (but thank goodness I’m nowhere near as bad now) I also love an incredible KPop band called BTS (you may have heard me talk about them already 😛) and playing games like Animal Crossing and Zelda ❤️ Sorry I’m rambling now 😂😂 

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #230

“Steph and Gem, Hg, Lie and Doc in Wine Country”

[gem] -wakes up in the tunnel and sees she is in one piece-

[Steph] -totally not looming in the distance of the tunnel peeking at gem-

[Steph] -totally-

[gem] -now that gem has full energy again a rush of white mist rushes past steph it's the guardians heading back to the house-

[Steph] -nervously slinks down tunnel to gem-

[gem] -sees steph and waves-

[Steph] -nervous smile- hey-- sorry.. sorry for up and bolting the other day--

[Gem] it's ok i figure my guardians just scared you so what can i do for you?

[Steph] Just.. Wanted to see you. Got you a flower? *bitches like flowers, becky lemme smash

-steph offers a simple poppy to Gem-

[Gem] -her eyes turn a light pink and she excepts the flower- thank you

[CP] Is lazing about on Lie's roof-

[Doc] Is walking by with a grin - Hi Cp!

[CP] Flips Doc off-

[Splender] - That's not very nice CP...

[Doc] Ah, I'm used to it. It's a lovely day out isn't it?

[CP] - The fuck do you want now?

[Doc] Nothing. We just visited Kore and we're both all charged up.

[CP] - Have they finally gotten rid of those stupid fucking statues?

[Doc] Of course not! They love us!

[CP] Growls-

[Splender] - Doc, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I should go check on Pinwheel

[Doc] Sure! Go ahead! Thank you for coming with me. It was fun.

[Splender] Waves farewell before teleporting off-

[Doc] You're such a pill, he loved the carvings they did of him. I've never seen him so excited and happy. Especially after I updated their server to get the colors update intalled.

[CP] - He see's drawings of himself all the time

[Doc] But this one is special, they did all kinds of spiral knots with his tentacles and even rubbed it with dye to get the colors right.

[CP] - The colors he sees all the time from the kids drawing pictures of him

[Doc] waves a hand- Bah. We had fun, and he made the little Testificate kids in the city happy too. They've been dressing up as us to play. It's adorable.

[CP] - They what?

[Doc] You know how kids are. They want to be like their idols.

[CP] Groans loudly-

[Lie] Sticks her head out the door- What's he groaning about now?

[Doc] I'm telling him adorable children stories about TLOT's Testificates.

[Lie] - Ah, alright.  Do you want any food Doc?  I'm just making lunch

[Doc] Nah, thank you though.

[Notch] Comes around the house at a quick pace- Doc!

[Doc] Hmm?

[Notch] I got the call. Hg is ready to come back.

[Doc] Ah, I guess I'm going right back out. I had a little excursion planned anyway...

[CP] - Good, you'll be leaving me alone then

[Doc] I was planning on it. You always make him cry anyway. I hoping Lie would accompany me.

[Lie] - Me?  Why?

[Doc] Because I think you'll like what I have planned.

[Lie] - What about CN?

[Doc] Cp doesn't want to go. He can keep an eye on him. It's not like he's destructive.

[Lie] - If you're sure...

[CP] - Oh fuck you!

[Doc] It's going to require a little bit of in and out though. Cp? Do you want to just grab HG and scare the fuck out of Jeb again?

[CP] - ...  Fine

[Notch] Jeb said he was up and around. I guess now is good.

[CP] Creates an opening and quickly passes through.  There's  a bit of screaming from the other end before CP reemerges with HG-

[Doc] tp's Hg to hir to get him down-

[HG] hi doc

[Doc] Good to see you back! How are you feeling? I planned a little excursion for us, but it's nowhere near where you were. So it was easier to come back here first.

[Lie] Grabs some food and offers it to HG-

[Doc] No! Don't eat. We're getting lunch out too.

[HG] oh ok no food here

[Lie] - Oh, alright...

[Doc] I asked Splender to do me a favor a while back so we should be able to go right to where I was planning. Lie? You ready? I'm sure you want me too.... change my clothes...

[Lie] - Yes please, let's try not to draw too much attention.  HG?  Do you have anything cleaner?

[HG] no this is all I have

[Lie] - Hmmm, Doc?  A little help?

[Doc] Sourly strips off hir coat and gloves - Hmm? Oh, yeah. Hang on...

[Doc] Actually wait... no. He'll fit right in where we're going. In fact Lie, you should put on some of your work clothes.

[Lie] - I don't really have any designated work clothes...

[Doc] Pulls out a red and black bundle- I've been saving this... I guess you can have it... - Xe passes the bundle to Lie. It's a red and back checkered shirt. If the resolution was higher, it would probably be plaid. - The shirt you have on is too nice.

[Lie] - Alright, just give me a chance to get some longer pants on- She retreats into the house to change

[Doc] Takes a copy of hir coat and changes it to black before stripping the tails off to make a short jacket.

[Lie] Returns with the new shirt hanging open on top of her usual shirt and her jeans-

[Doc] That's better, let me check the exit, so we aren't spotted. - Xe gets down into a bit of a crouch and violently headbangs forward. The space in front of hir seems to shatter into a small hole and xe looks out through it before turning back. -Coast is clear. Let's go! - Xe struggles to widen the hole and hold it. - Go quickly!

[Lie] Quickly slips through-

[HG] -goes though quickly-

-On the other side, the smell of fall hits them abruptly as they emerge from a small broken tv. It's hidden in some bracken by the side of a narrow but well paved road. The leaves are turning in the trees above them and the ground is carpeted with them as well. There's just the tiniest nip of cold in the air.

[Lie] Slips on her sunglasses- Oh no, we forgot about HG's eyes!

[Doc] Pulls out hir contacts, and fusses with them before blinking them in. - Eh, I can just copy yours. Unless you want some contacts HG?

[HG] no sunglasses will be fine

[Doc] Clicks at Lie and hands the spare glasses to him. - We have a little bit of a walk but I didn't want to risk anyone seeing us come in. Try to remember where the tv is.

[Lie] - I can leave a small trail of plants

[HG] -starts looking at the trees- the trees are more then one color are they sick?

[Lie] - It's fall, at this time of the year the trees...  Go to sleep, until spring arrives

[HG] well as long as they will be ok

[Doc] Just nothing too showy, I don't want anyone to stop and pick them. And Hg, this is also the time people harvest the plants, so they can save the seeds until it's time to plant again in the spring. - Xe's ambling along and the leaves are crunching pleasntly beneath hir boots.

[Lie] - Oh don't worry, this is normal

[HG] how many seeds do people get do you think we could get some if they have extra

[Doc] Most likely. We'll see what's there. This is an odd little area. It's mostly for tourists but it's also farm country.

[HG] -bounces a little at the word farm-

[Lie] - Just no watering HG, it will raise a lot of questions if you do

[HG] awe ok

[Doc] There's a little break in the trees and some familiar noise. The trees on the side of the road open up onto a field with several different types of cows roaming around.

[HG] are those cows they don't look exactly like the ones from home

[Lie] - Yes, out here there's a lot of different types of cows

[Doc] Follows the road as it dips down and around the side of a hill. A dirt parking lot opens out to several small businesses in houses and a large barn. Behind the building, and partially in sight, is a field of ripe pumpkins and fancy gourds.  There are tables out front with corn in many colors and jars of jam, jelly and honey for sale. There are people milling around, but not too many.

[Lie] - Oooh, it's been awhile since I've even thought about corn

[Doc] It looks interesting. What can you do with it?

[HG] is corn a plant and if so can we get some to plant?

[Doc] Yes and yes.

[Lie] - It's used in a lot of things, it's actually the only plant solely dependent on human's for it's ability to spread around.  You can feed it to animals...  Actually, you've had a product of corn Doc, it's kernels are used to make popcorn

[Doc] Oh! The little crunchy things that look like clouds.

[Doc] Pick some out, I'm paying.

[HG] gowning corn sound  like a job I wouldn't mind doing

[Lie] - Got it- She goes to the table and picks out some ears and a few small bags of seeds.  She grins as she see's a bag of "rainbow corn"

[Doc] Is looking at some of the honey jars. - Why are they different colors?

[Lie] - Because of where the hives are located and what the bee's mostly ate from

[HG] bees?

[Lie] - The real world equivalent of Touchies

[Doc] Ah, then I'll get some of that too. Xe grabs a jar and the corn and pulls out some actual money to pay for it. - And three tickets please.

[Lie] - Tickets?

[HG] tickets?

[Doc] Tickets. - Xe takes the little bits of paper and goes where the woman is indicating, behind the barn. Xe quietly stows hir spoils in hir inventory and looks to see their reaction.

-In the space is a variety of goats, full size and miniature, playing happily, as well as two ponies and a bored looking llama. There are some ducks as well passing easily under the wooden fence, and quacking for a handout. A younger lady takes the bits of paper and opens the gate to let them inside, where there are already some children and parents petting the animals.

[HG] i want to pet these cute animals

[Lie] Immediately goes towards the ponies, as small goats bump into her as well-

[Doc] Well go ahead. The tickets are to help the keepers pay for their feed.

[HG] -goes over to pet a goat-

[Lie] Pulls a bit of sugar from her inventory and slips it to the ponies-

[Minature goat] Bounces happily around Hg's feet and tries to nibble on his pants leg-

[Doc] Is having a bit of a staring contest with the llama-

-One pony is rather onry at the moment do to some flies and stomps it's feet-

[HG] -pets the goat as it nibbles he doesn't mind-

[Doc] Glad I have good shoes on. I know how painful those hooves can be...

[Lie] - Speaking of, how's Deer doing?

[Doc] She kicked me in the face. But I got her hooves taken care of.

[Lie] - Well I'm glad to hear she's okay, but she really kicked you in the face?

[Doc] It was a reflex, nothing malicious.

[Lie] - Good

[HG] -is trying to pets some of the ducks-

[Ducks] Are a little bit elusive because HG isn't trying to feed them.

[Baby goat] MAaaaaa

[Doc] Well that's almost familiar...

[HG] -has a huge smile on his face as he tries to pet as many animals as he can-

[Lie] Laughs a little- Yes, but I don't think they are as big

[Doc] Not yet at least. Hah.

[Goats] Mob Hg a little bit because he's being so affectionate.

[Doc] Looks at the ponies- Those don't look like colts..?

[Ponies] Snort and shift around, one kicks out a little-

[Lie] - Why are you so onry, huh?

[Lie] - No, these are ponies, smaller horses usually used with children

[HG] -is trying to pet all the goats at once-

[Doc] Oh, well they're cute. - chuckles- I just imagined what Stevie would have looked like riding one while he was a kid. Trying to keep up with his big brother.

[Lie] - Well, we do have a lot of children in the village...

[Doc] Should I work on the horse code to see if I can make them smaller?

[Lie] - If you want, there is a size smaller than this to

[Doc] You know, you could just let TLOT size down some of the horses you have.

[Lie] Gives Doc a look-

[Doc] Returns the look with interest - crazy horse lady.

[Lie] - Shush

[HG] -walks a little away from the goats to see if they will follow-

[Doc] You guys ready to go eat?

[Goats] Some follow Hg curiously-

[Lie] - Yeah, I could use some food

[HG] doc lie look i made animal friends

[Lie] - Yup, that you did

[Doc] Aww, and they're so cute.

[Assorted goats] - Maaaaa

[HG] do you think there is a mod with goats or somewhere in the in this world we could tame one?

[Lie] - I mean, we could buy one...

[Doc] You want to buy a goat? I don't know if they're for sale?

[Lie] - Maybe not here, but somewhere, we can look around online for one

[HG] they are so cute i would want one if we could get one

[Doc] Nods understandingly- you can buy anything online. Lets go get food.

[Lie] - Yeah, let's go

[HG] -pets the goats each one more time-

[Doc] Leaves the pen with an appreciative nod at the ticket girl and walks across the pumpkin patch towards one of the houses. People are picking out pumpkins and carrying them to a grubby scale to pay for them as they pass.

[Lie] - Guess it's getting close to Halloween...

[HG] what's Halloween?

[Lie] - A holiday where you get to dress up, sometimes you get candy to

[HG] that sounds like fun

[Lie] - Oh it can be, CP mentioned to me that it's one of the only times the creepy pasta's can freely wander around

[Doc] Xe walks up the wooden steps and opens the door. Inside is a long wooden bar and a bunch of cafe tables. There are pastries for sale in the glass counter and racks and racks of wine bottles behind it. The air is thick with the smell of fresh bread and there are baskets of colorful grapes on a table near the counter. A couple sits at one of the tables staring into eachothers eyes as they share a bottle of wine and a family is muching on pastries near the huge glass window at the back of the room. Outside the view is of a small lake bordered by the rows of corn.

[Lie] - Aw, this is a quaint little place

[HG] this place is nice

[Doc] Everything smells so good. Some of this is familiar, but I don't know what these are. - pokes a grape-

[Lie] - Grapes, a fruit which grows on vines.  It's made into wine

[HG] fruit like apples does that mean we could plant them?

[Lie] - Yes, but we'd have to build trellises for them to grow on

[HG] i don't know what those are but if it needs them i wouldn't mind building them

[Lie] - It can probably be accomplished with fence posts and strings

[Doc] Picks up a bunch of dark purple grapes and goes to look in the case and order some basic things.

[Doc] Do you guys want anything specific?

[HG] i don't know what kinds of food they have here

[Lie] - Nah, just get me something you think I'll like

[Doc] Pastries, wine, cheese, lots of fresh bread...

[Clerk] We have coffee, cocoa and tea too.

[Lie] - Do you have any cherry based pastries?  I'll take one of those if you do

[Doc] Is pointing at things. - Looks like there's danishes. Let's have two of those, and these... You guys have a seat and enjoy the view, I've got this.

[Lie] - You sure?

-Distantly there's the sound of geese honking as they fly over head-

[Doc] Well you can get the drinks I guess. - Theres three mugs on the counter already, they're thick white ceramic and steaming gently. - I figured you guys wouldn't want to get drunk.

[Lie] Looks at the contents-

-Two of them are cocoa, one is coffee.

[Lie] - Um, Doc?

[HG] -takes one of the cocoas-

[Doc] Oh! You need tea don't you... dammit. Hg, you get two. I made her pour them, it's not right to waste it.

[Lie] Asks the clerk for a non-caffeinated herbal tea instead-

[HG] -grabs the second cup of cocoa as well- this smells like coco beans

[Clerk] Fusses around and makes a cup of chamomile instead.

[Lie] - That's because it's cocoa, it's made from the beans

[Doc] Motions to the remaining cup and the one that was just placed with a tea bag string over the side of it.

[HG] coco does smell good and taste good so this must be good

[Lie] Thanks the clerk and takes the last two cups- HG and I will find seats, take your time Doc

[Doc] I won't be long.

[Lie] Urges HG to follow her as they look for a small table near a window-

-Outside the wind has picked up a little and the shutters rattle against the old wood-

[HG] -is looking out the window as he follows lie-

[Lie] Chooses a table and sits down-

[HG] -sits down and takes a sip of the cocoa- oh this is both hot and taste good

[Doc] Joins them after a moment with the clerk helping hir carry their food. There's a cheese tray with crackers and a big loaf of fresh bread that's all veined through with yellow cheese as well, little butter pats, Lie's danishes, three cups of applesauce that smells of spices and was likely made in the next room, and some curls of thin-sliced ham.

[Lie] - Good choices, these look really good

[Doc] Slides into the booth and warms hir hands on the coffee cup before thanking the clerk. - Ah... it's been so stressful the last few times I went out...

[HG] this all looks so good

[Doc] I know sitting out here being sick and feeling like crap sucks. Lie and I both suffered through it too. I wanted to take you someplace nice to celebrate afterwards.

[Lie] - It's a good idea- She sips her tea

[HG] well i am having a lot of fun today

[Doc] Me too, you're both most plesant company. -  Takes a knife and cuts a bit from the bread loaves to make a little sandwich.

[Lie] Picks up one of her Danish's and starts eating-

[Doc] It's weird and complicated out here. I can't even look at things too closely without getting hung up on all the details.

[Lie] - Makes me glad that this is where I originated from

[HG] -takes a piece of cheese ad tries it- it's more complicated but i also get excited to see all the plants i have never seen before

[Doc] I have no regrets. I love my home. And I have no shame about stealing a thing here and there and sneaking it back to add to my hoarde.

[Lie] - So I've noticed

[Doc] Grins- What can I say, I'm a dragon at hearts.

[HG] i am all for a hoarde if it means more plants and animals

[Doc] Ha! Nice to see we're all on board. As long as we keep the balance of predators and prey from getting out of balance, I'm all for diversity. - Chomps on hir sandwich

[Lie] Looks out the window to just watch the scenery-

[HG] -makes a sandwich like docs so he can try it-

-The corn is moving with the breeze and rippling in gentle waves over the hillside below. The ducks have taken to the pond and are diving for little fish in the sparkling blue waters, and there's the happy sounds of goats and ponies being fed next door.

[Lie] - You know, I've been in the game so long that this all feels kinda surreal

[Doc] Bites down on a grape and makes a suprised face as it gives with a wet squish. - Yeah, we're spoiled. The weather on the server is rainy, but steady in every other way. It's usually just warm. This is what you make wine with? It tastes odd.

[HG] odd like how?

[Lie] - And at least we don't get natural disasters on the server

[Doc] I don't know, just nothing at all like anything alcoholic I've ever had. - at Lie- Yeah! I've done a little bit of reading on that kind of thing. Earthquakes are freaky, the ground just like.. moves suddenly! It's scary to think about. And lava that actually bubbles up out of the ground out of control instead of staying in nice pools?! - Xe holds a grape out to Hg, - you try one.

[Lie] - Wine is fermented, and there's another type of grape as well, there are white grapes which are actually green

[HG] -takes the grape and eat it- it's sweet

[Doc] Yeah, I've seen TLOT make the touchie wine before. But it's still sweet after it's fermented. That's why it caught me off guard.

[Doc] Is quietly taking samples of the cheeses.

[HG] -drinks more cocoa-

[Lie] - So do we have anything else planned for today?

[Doc] Not really. Just a quiet lunch and we'll have to walk back anyway. - Xe finishes hir coffee with a satisfied smile. - we can always pack up the leftovers to take with.

[Lie] - Alright, it does look like it might start raining soon...

[HG] -finishes the first cup and start on the second cup he has-

[Doc] Yeah, I just got over being sick. Fucking Dn... Hows the little NOTCH?

[HG] Dn?

[Lie] - He's one reason why CP was outside

[Doc] Yeah. My NOTCH made an appearance and bullied his way into my personal space. He's a dirtbag with a heart of ice.

[HG] he sounds mean i don't want to meet him

[Doc] He's just cold and rude. He's not openly violent thankfully. But yeah, you probably don't want to meet him.

[Lie] - Mine showed up as well, he's just a child though

[HG] -eats some sandwich-

[Doc] Runs a spoon around the edge of hir applesauce bowl to get the last smudges. - Yeah... I know you wanted to have a kid at some point, but this is ridiculious.

[Lie] - It feels more like baby sitting, not actually mine

[HG] -tries some apple sauce- this tastes like apples and something else

[Doc] It is babysitting, as ar as I'm concerened. Same. It's kinda spicy?

[Lie] - It's probably cinnamon that you're tasting

[Doc] Well it tastes good, and I'm full.

[HG] what is cinnamon? -finishes the apple sauce he has-

[Doc] I know it's a spice.

[Lie] - Mmhm

[HG] well my hunger is full now as well

[Lie] - Same, should we start heading back

[Doc] Okay, we can go. My inventory is mostly full, you guys take some of the leftovers.

[Lie] With a resigned sigh Lie does so-

[Doc] Picks up the table a bit and takes the wooden charger back to the counter. - Should we get a bottle of wine to take with?

[HG] yes and we do this again sometime

[Lie] - I don't think that's necessary...

[Doc] Okay. We've got some nice spoils as it is. - Xe heads out with them. It's gotten a little chillier outside as they head back down the road.

[Lie] Pulls her flannel shirt a bit closer-

[HG] -picks up one yellow one orange and one red leaf as they walk-

-It's getting a bit darker and the sky is lit up with hues of gold, rose and purple. -

[Doc] Is looking for Lie's trail of flowers- Sheesh.... I might need a torch...

[Lie] - Come on, we shouldn't be to far

[HG] i could run us there

[Lie] - No, that's alright

-Night falls and their shadows grow in front of them and then melt away into the surrounding darkness. -

[Doc] Takes hir contacts out and searches for the flowers with the feeble glow from hir eyes.

[Lie] Removes her sunglasses, in the fading light the glow from her hair is growing more apparent-

[Doc] Stubs hir foot on the old tv with a small cry- fuck!

[Lie] - Found it

[HG] -take his sun glasses off as well so he can see-

[Doc] Fiddles with the tv but is having some trouble with the portal- Dammit, we need to get back a bit from the road. - Xe picks up the tv and tromps deeper into the woods.

[Lie] Follows and makes sure the path behind them is covered-

[HG] -puts the three leafs in his innovatory-

[Doc] Finds a break in the trees that opens into a field, in the distance three horses watch them suspiciously, as Doc climbs over the rustic old fence.

[Lie] - Doc don't you dare leave that tv in there!

[Doc] Well I can't open the crate with the crowbar that's inside of it Lie! No matter what I do I have to leave it out here, and I need space for a runnning start if you want to get home at all.

[Lie] - But those horses are bond to investigate it once we leave, which means, knowing horses, they'll break it and potentially get hurt from it!

[HG] I can get you to go fast in a short distance

[Doc] At Hg- trust me, no.  Well find a stump outside the paddock where you can elevate it a bit. The farmer is bound to see it and dispose of it then.

[Lie] - I don't know...  This is a big field...

[Doc] Do you want to go home?

[HG] I want to go home

[Lie] - Well yes...  Wait a minute, why don't we just have CP make the opening from the other end?

[Doc] Because I'm not in the mood to hear him bitch and it still won't get rid of the tv.

[Lie] Groans-

[Lie] - Fine- She creates a stump, wide enough that the horses will have a very difficult time getting to the tv

[Doc] Checks to make sure there aren't any lights nearby and backs up from the fence. - Be ready to race in after me- Xe hunkers down and runs full force at the tv from several hundred feet away-

[Lie] Readies herself-

[HG] -readies him self to run in full speed-

[Doc] Leaps at the halfway mark and shifts in the air using hir back feet to get an extra burst of speed, as xe leaps the fence, tears a hole in reality in front of the tv and shoots inside-

[Lie] Darts inside after them-

[HG] -runs in at blur speed-

[Doc] Goes skidding across Lie's yard and gets tangled up in the swings under her bridge-

-The portal snaps closed behind them-

[Lie] Stops soon after leaving the portal-

[Lie] - Ah, home again

[HG] -runs around the swings and in a circle before coming to a stop-

[Doc] Embarassed dragon smile- Sorry Lie.

[CP] Hears the noise and steps out onto the bridge and looks over the edge- The fuck are you doing now?

[Doc] Shifts back to hir normal self and is left hanging with the swing around hir belly-nooooothing.

[CP] Hops down, his expression like that of a cat which caught the canary as he picks his wife up-

[Doc] You look happy. Did Mb come over for a fight?

[CP] - Nope

[Doc] Okay. Well I'm glad you're in a good mood for a change. - Xe turns to Hg- Thanks for going out with us. I know you won't be able to make portals yet, but we'll schedule some practice. - Xe pats the other brine on the shoulder - Have fun then, I'm heading home. - Xe hops off the swing and starts to walk away.

[CP] - Watch your feet

[Doc] I know about the honesty blossoms Cp. I'm not going to walk in them-

[CP] - Oh that's not what I'm talking about

[Doc] Looks down. - You're right. My boots are muddy. But I'm going to clean up before I change back into my regular clothes.

[CP] - Yeah I think that's the least of your problems

[Doc] Cp, are you being nasty for no reason again?

[CP] - Oh I did nothing this time

[Doc] I think I'm missing something here. If you played a mean prank while I was gone...

[CP] - I did nothing, as I've already stated, however...  Well, Splender is in a bit of a panic right now

[Doc] Oh gods... why?!

[CP] Grins broadly- He can't find Pinwheel

[Doc] He should check under his bed.

[CP] - The path to the mainland was left up

[Doc] Shrugs- I guess I'll go help him find her then. She's deadly as fuck and a bit hard to miss. But she is intelligent. There's always the chance she'll come home on her own when she gets hungry or tired.

[CP] - Up to you, but I'm keeping my wife inside

[Doc] If you wish, but again. Pinwheel isn't stupid, she's just easily stressed out. - gives the creepypasta a knowing look- She's not a monster Cp.

[CP] - She also likes to bite

[Doc] And you like to punch- walks away-