#this year he planned a skiing trip for us because I haven’t seen snow in so long

[katanaski-main]

—𝓐 𝓚𝓐𝓣𝓐𝓝𝓐𝓢𝓚𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓲𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 ☃️

𖥔 ݁ ˖⋆ ˚❆ Snowball fights, horse riding in the mountains, cuddling by the fireplace, bonfires, hot chocolate and hotsprings. Walks into town, dinner for two under the northern lights and kisses at midnight ☃︎₊˚⊹♡

What does a holiday gateway look like with your fave? An exotic place? A cozy place only the two of you know? Show me what your time with you favorite lover looks like

☃︎𖠰₊ ⊹❆₊ ⊹ᨒ↟ 𖠰

[quillsandtypos]

Ski Trip

Summary: when the reader agrees to go on the annual ski trip up to the mountains with her boyfriend, Luke, and her friends she expected to go looking at mountains. But what she ends up doing doesn't require much hiking

Pairings: alive!Luke Patterson x reader

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: THIS IS NSFW FOREPLAY SMUT PEOPLE

If any of you have ever had a conversation with me and you read this fic, no you didn't

...........................................

"What are you two doing tomorrow?" Julie asked you.

You rolled into your stomach and propped your head up in your hands. “I’m not sure, but I know what we're doing next weekend, unfortunately.”

That peaked Julie’s interest, you weren’t usually much of a complainer. “Why unfortunately?” she questioned.

“Because I'm going on the Ski trip with him,” you whined. You wanted to spend time with Luke, you just didn't wanna go on the trip.

“Oh my god, you get to go?” she excitedly asked.

“Not helping,” you commented.

Julie smirked. “Sorry not sorry, I’ve been trying to get you to go for the past two years. And the first year, I couldn’t even go,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, so why would I have gone if you and Flynn weren’t even gonna be there?” you asked. As if on cue, Flynn walked down the stairs.

“Heard you guys were talking about me, all good things I hope?” she spoke as she walked down the stairs.

“Always,” you said, somewhat sarcastically.

She motioned for you to scoot over so she could have some space on the couch.

“So, if we’re done talking about me, did I hear someone say something about the ski trip?” Flynn questioned.

Before you could open your mouth Julie was already telling Flynn about how you were coming on the trip.

“You are?” Flynn squealed.

You tried to not get excited from their joy, but it was impossible; they were contagious.

You shyly smiled. “Yes, I’m going.”

“Yayyy!” Flynn yelled. The girl was practically jumping up and down.

“Oh who are you sharing a room with?” Flynn asked.

“Luke and I are,” you answered.

The girls exchanged a look you knew all too well.

“Shut up!” You covered your face with a pillow.

“We didn’t say anything!” they protested in almost complete unison.

You could feel your cheeks burning up. “Yeah, but you thought it,” you argued.

“Well whether we thought it or said it, you’re sharing a room with your boyyyyyyyfriend,” Flynn sang.

“If you guys start sing teasing me, I will leave,” you threatened.

“Don’t you need us to pick out your outfits?” Julie remembered.

“Oh, shit, yeah.”

“So in other words you have no leverage?” Flynn realized.

“I’m your ride home,” you reminded her.

“Outfits it is, but do not think we will be forgetting about this!” Flynn cried as she walked up to your bedroom.

“Whatever Flynn!” you yelled back.

“She’s right you know,” Julie slyly commented.

You just huffed in response.

The two of them did a very good job at helping maximize your california wardrobe for the mountains. Granted you had to go buy a couple things in advance, but overall, you felt confident that you could bear the cold of the mountains.

“Alright, I think you’ll survive,” Flynn proclaimed.

You closed your suitcase, and surprisingly you didn’t even have to sit on it.

“Thank you guys, I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, it was our pleasure, especially since you’re actually coming this year,” Julie said.

You dropped them both back off their houses and they were nice enough to spare you from embarrassing you in the car ride.

...........

You heard someone creeping up behind you as you grabbed your stuff to head to your second class, and as you felt arms wrap around your waist you knew it was Luke.

You turned to face him. “So I was thinking if we get one of the window rooms then we can see the snow when it falls,” he proposed.

Your face lit up. “Wait, it’s gonna snow when we’re up there?” you excitedly asked.

He happily watched your beaming face “I mean that’s what the weather said.”

“Oh my god! I haven’t seen snow since-” you paused, “actually I don’t remember, but it’s been awhile.”

“Well there’s a good chance that’s gonna happen,” he said.

“You know you’re actually required to show up to school for them to allow you to come right?” you teased. Though originally it had been a legitimate concern.

He licked his lips. “I’ve been coming everyday so I could come on this trip,” he defended himself.

“Coming to school and staying in school are two very different things Patterson,” you playfully reminded him.

He leaned in closer and his voice got quieter. “And what’s that?”

You resisted the urge to swallow and pulled away from him. “One is what I’m doing right now, because I need to go to class.”

He pulled his lips tightly before sighing. “You got me there,” he admitted.

“I always do,” you said, as you started walking off. You turned around to see him still standing there, you would be lying if you said it didn’t bring you joy.

“Go to class Luke!” you yelled back at him.

“You got it!” he saluted you and walked the other way.

You playfully rolled your eyes. That boy would be the death of you, but you supposed there were worse ways to go.

That Friday you didn’t have any school since the school board figured it was pointless to send a bunch of kids to school the day before they went on a ski trip. There wasn’t going to be any actual learning anyway. You usually would’ve spent some of the day at Julie’s; which you did, but today it wasn’t in the studio for practice. You figured since she had helped you pack, you could at least keep her company as she packed.

“So who are you sharing a room with?” you asked her, as she sorted through her jeans.

“Me and Flynn just figured we’d share one,” Julie said offhandedly.

You chose to not comment on how she was obviously forcing herself to be casual.

“Ah I see, do you know if Alex and Reg are coming?”

“Yeah, and get this Alex and Willie are sharing a room,” she gossiped.

“I’m calling it right now, they're gonna start dating by the end of the weekend,” you hypothesized.

“I 100% agree.”

The two of you spent the next hour or so just discussing what sort of things you wanted to do while you were there over the weekend, and of course how much Flynn was running around her house frantically changing outfits. You actually were excited about going, not necessarily about the actual trip, and about dealing with certain classmates, but you were looking forward to being with Luke and hanging out with your friends.

For some reason when you woke up the next morning you were a little nervous, you supposed it was because you had never been skiing or snowboarding for that matter.

You got ready pretty minimally considering you were soon to be on a five hour bus ride. None of your family was up yet so when Luke pulled into your driveway you slipped out the door.

“You got everything?” Luke asked.

“Everything except my chill,” you responded with a smile.

“You’re gonna be alright, and you don’t have to do anything there you don’t wanna do, so if you don’t wanna risk a broken leg, then don’t.”

Despite your anxieties, you knew he was still right.

“Thanks Luke.”

“Anything for you.”

When the two of you got to the bus everyone else in your group had already gotten there. You, the rest of the band, Flynn, and Willie had made a plan for the bus.

“We have arrived,” you announced to your friends as you and Luke took your spots.

“And just in time too, people kept trying to take your seats,” Willie reported.

“Thanks for saving them,” Luke responded.

The two of you continued chatting with the rest of your friends until the bus driver instructed everyone to take their seats. The majority of everyone slept on the way up there but you were too anxious to get there to sleep. Instead you watched youtube as Luke napped on your shoulder.

“Luke, Luuuuuuuuuuuke, Luooooooooooooooke,” you spoke. You were trying to wake him up quietly but you were starting to realize that wasn’t going to work.

Luckily Reggie was awake. “Oh he’s a heavy sleeper, that’s not gonna work.”

Reggie basically got himself so he was dangling off both sides of his chair before yelling in his ear.

Luke awakened with a jolt, looking fairly startled.

You weren’t entirely sure whether you should laugh, throw Reggie under the bus, or maybe both.

“What happened?” Luke asked.

“I woke you up,” Reggie answered innocently.

“By yelling in my ear?” Luke groggily questioned.

Reggie quickly tried to backpedal himself out of this situation. “I mean I don’t think the method is relevant, the important thing is that you’re up.”

Luke wasn’t awake enough to deal with the situation at hand. He just chose to lay his head back on your shoulder.

By the time you had made it to the hotel you were ready to collapse. Luke laughed when you flung yourself onto one the beds.

“Should I be worried?” he asked, mostly as a joke.

“No,” you smiled and rubbed your face, “I’m just really tired.”

“You couldn’t sleep on the bus?” he guessed.

“Yeah,” you groaned.

“You know what would help?” he asked.

“Do tell,” you inquired, from your face down position.

“This,” he said, before he jumped on the bed beside you. He curled his warm body around you and pulled you in.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yes,” you responded. You attempted to melt further into him. You laid there in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes.

“Luke we should probably go do things,” you suggested. You attempted to get up but he pulled you back down.

You stayed with him but you turned around so you were facing him. “Luke?”

“Yes, y/n?”

You bit your lip, you had to admit, it was pretty cute. “Are you going to let me get up?” you asked.

He looked into your eyes lovingly. “Well if you’re trying to leave then no.”

“So that would be a no.”

“Well if you look at it that way then yeah,” he admitted with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Luke come o-” the rest of your sentence didn’t quite make it out. Your smart boyfriend decided to use your weak spot on your back against you.

“You wanna go now?” he teased.

“Not necessarily,” you lazily responded.

You could feel your willpower fading as the light stokes up and down your back sent a calm wave of chills through your body. But you knew if you didn’t use your chance now there was a good chance you weren’t getting out of that bed today.

“Luke come on we gotta go,” you whined. It’s not like you weren’t enjoying yourself, you most definitely were, but your friends had to be wondering where the two of you were.

“Alright, alright, fine,” he gave in.

“Can I have a kiss though?” he sweetly pleaded.

You gladly agreed, but you realized his plan of not leaving the room hadn’t quite ended when the kiss started leading down to your jaw.

“Luke you’re not sly,” you laughed.

“Oh is that so?” he asked, as he moved down to your jawline.

You nodded your head.

“Then why aren’t you moving?” he purred.

Okay, so he maybe had a point.

“You can tell me to stop,” he reminded you. He looked into your eyes for any sign of you wanting him to stop and waited.

“Unless of course, you don’t want me to stop?” he asked, with the biggest smirk you had ever seen on his face.

“Not necessarily,” you said, completely avoiding his eye contact.

He crawled over top of you, “What was that princess?” he asked.

You forced yourself to look into those beautiful blue eyes, and that devilish smile. “No, I don’t want you to stop Luke.”

“That’s what I needed to hear.” He bent his head down at your jawline, this time starting on the side of your jaw bone. He sucked at the skin and you bit your cheek down on a moan. He moved down from your neck pressing harder and making it harder for you to control yourself.

“Luke,” you moaned.

“Yes?”

“No marks.”

He smirked. “It’s a little late for that one.”

You rolled your eyes at his antics. “You suck.”

“I don’t think you're exactly in the position to be saying those sort of things,” he warned.

You raised your eyebrows. As if he thought you would back down that easily. “Really?”

He licked his lips and shrugged.

“Make me,” you insisted.

“Bad choice of words,” he threatened. In a second his shirt was off and one of his arms held your’s down and above you.

This time he noticed when you swallowed. “Nervous?” he asked, his lips quirked up.

He might’ve been starting to get to you, but you weren’t going to admit to it. “You wish Patterson,” you tested.

His head dipped down towards your collarbone. He lightly sucked on it and gradually increased his intensity until your body unwillingly gave you away and you gutturally moaned.

He jutted his chin out, the fire in his eyes on stage was nothing in comparison to this. “What about now?”

“Yes, Luke,” you groaned out.

He somehow managed to pull your shirt off with you laying down, and managed to unhook your bra with minimal difficulties.

His mouth softly sucked on the very top of your nipple.

“Fuck,” you moaned.

As he continued sucking at a rapid rate you felt the knot in your stomach twisting further, just as you thought it was going to release Luke stopped.

“How much do you want it?” he asked as he slowly pulled your pants down.

You were not going to give him the satisfaction of begging.

You felt a finger glide across your clit ever so slightly and back and forth he kept going, ever so slowly.

A whimper escaped your lips.

“Beg for me, that’s all you have to do,” he promised. He was most definitely enjoying himself.

He moved back up to your nipples but instead he moved as slow as he could, he was trying to break you.

“Come on princess, you know you want it,” he taunted.

A sole finger swiped down your pussy and your breath hitched.

“Luke please,” you moaned.

“What please? I think it has something to do with fucking you silly,” he hinted. He once again crawled over top of you to be able to see your face. Like a predator stalking prey.

“Please rail the shit out of me Luke,” you whined.

“That was all you had to say princess.”

[ssatoritendou]

Baby It’s Cold Outside

iwaizumi hajime 

Pairing: iwaizumi/reader

Word count: 3.8k 

+ summary: Oikawa plans a wonderful holiday weekend for you all the horrible part is your enemy and former crush Iwaizumi is going. He is awfully rude to you but is acting like your best friend so not to anger Tooru. Could this weekend get any worse? 

Genre: enemies to lovers; fluff 

Damn Oikawa Tooru. Damn the entire Oikawa family at this point if someone can make a person like him possible. His brilliant idea to get together and stay in the cabin. You had all been at different universities. Well, almost all of you. You and Iwaizumi attend the same uni. One would think after attending Aoba Johsai together and ending up in the same uni you would still be friends. But no. In fact, just after graduation, he cut you off. He said to you in a text message after you innocently said can’t wait to make more memories with you for the next four years, ‘I was only friends with you for Oikawa. You were his friend that just tagged along. I think it would be best if you and I didn’t interact at uni.’ A little difficult if you are both freshmen and take a majority of the same courses since you were both under the same major. But here’s the icing on the top: he acting like your best friend on this trip. And Tooru is making you share a room. Here is all how it started. There was knocking on your dorm door at 6 in the morning on a Saturday. “What?!” “Jesus I take it you're not a morning person.” Iwaizumi said standing in your hallway like he has been up for hours. “I’m assuming you got Shittykawa’s text last night?” “Yeah what do you not want me to go?” He rolled his eyes at this. “No Oikawa asked me to make sure we took the same train together since we go to the same uni.” “Well if he asked then fine. Can you go now? You messed up with my morning routine.”

That was a week ago. You had just finished exams. Now you get to relax on a long vacation with your friends and Iwaizumi Hajime. When you arrived at the cabin you were greeted by Mattsun, Makki, and for lack of better terms Shittykawa. “Iwa! N/n! Finally, you are here. I hope Iwa is taking care of my little N/n.” “Baka! Of course, I am.” Iwaizumi said in a huff. “Can we go inside now? It’s freezing out here.” He was lying to Tooru. His best friend since diapers. Straight lied. You hadn’t talked to him since graduation. “This way my good friends,” Oikawa said, leading the group forward on the lightly snowed path. You were picking up your bag when Mattsun picked it up. “I carry it myself, Issei.” You said laughing. “Nonsense why would I let you the clumsiest person I know carry her bags in the snow.” He said. You started to get cocky and walked backward. “Please it’s not even snow-” You ended up slipping on the ice cover by the snow. “I see your point.” “Just hold on to my arm.” He said trying to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. “Always a gentleman Mattsun.” You were trailing behind the others further away from Tooru. See Mattsun knew what Iwaizumi said to you and how he blatantly ignores you. “I have a question, are you guys friends?” “No. Not even close. I have no clue why he lied to him. Makes me think that if Tooru asks about me does he lie about that too. Just last week when we were invited Tooru asked him to take the same train as me. But he was still completely rude.” “I have no clue what his problem is. I didn’t know he had so much disdain towards you. He was always so nice to you in school.”   You shook your head at this comment What could you have done to offend Iwaizumi Hajime so much?

“Shittykawa how could you not know there were only 3 bedrooms!” Iwaizumi shouted at him. “I’m sorry Iwa but look at this place it was nice and big for an affordable price for all of us.” Oikawa shuddered under the angry gaze of the former wing-spiked. “It’s fine, it's not like we haven’t slept in the same bed before,” Makki said. “Or seen each other naked.” “No one here has seen N/n naked or slept in the same bed as her,” Oikawa said. “Yes and I attend to keep it that way. So I think that settles and I get my own room.” “Hell No!” Iwaizumi, Makki, and Mattsun yelled. “I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t share a bed or room with Oikawa Tooru again,” Makki said. “He either sleeps like a mummy with headphones and a face mask in the middle of the bed.” Iwaizumi said. “Or he stays up all night watching stuff on his laptop,” Mattsun said. “Fine, then I’ll stay with Mattsun.” You said. To this statement, Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Fine with me.” Mattsun put his arm on your shoulder with a smile. You picked his hand off your shoulder. “You sir are sleeping at the foot of the bed.” “I’m just messing. I’ll bring our bags to a room.” Mattsun picked up the bags and walked down the hallway. Iwaizumi and Makki did the same. “You knew it had 3 bedrooms, didn’t you? To get a room all to yourself?” “N/n I would never!” He laughed.

You wanted to shower after a long train ride and as you went to open the door to your room. Makki opened the door. “Y/n I wouldn’t go in there. Mattsun is sick and I know how much of a germaphobe you are. And I shared a drink with him earlier. So you have to share a room with Iwaizumi.” You flinched away from Makki and the room in general. A nightmare. Nightmare. “Ok. Tell Mattsun I hope he feels better and I hope you also don’t get sick as well.” “Thank you,” Makki said. You walked down the hall and knocked on the door. “What do you want?” “Mattsun is sick and Makki drank from his water today.” “Oh, right you are a germaphobe. So we are sharing rooms. Just great.” “Yeah yeah. Can I take a shower? I need to get the train germs off me and Mattsun's germs. Like right now.” You said in a haste to hope into a scalding shower to get this gross feeling off of you. It started to itch in the back of the brain. “Yeah, I guess.” He moved out of the way. “Where are your bags?” “I think Issei still has them. I’ll just go and get them.” “No. I’ll get them. Just go take a shower.” He said in a huff.

“Jesus Christ, what happened to your arms?” Iwaizumi asked. “I cleaned myself.” “I’m just going to go shower you can get dressed.” He walked into the bathroom. “Y/n is barely any soap left.” “Sorry.” You quickly got dressed in your pajamas and took whatever extra pillows you could find and made a wall in the middle of the bed. You laid down leaving the desk lamp on for Iwaizumi. “What’s that?” Iwaizumi asked while pointing at the pillow brigade. “Something to keep us apart and respect each other's boundaries.” “Huh. Typical.” “And what does that mean?” “Oh, nothing I just know you wouldn’t do this for your precious Issei.” “Actually no because he is nice to me and isn’t fake nice to me just to make Tooru feel better.” “You want to break his heart?” “What does that mean?” “Uh nevermind. Good night.” He yanked the chain on the desk lamp off.

“So what are we going to do today?” Mattsun asked with a mask on. “Why don’t you take that stupid mask off for starters. You too Makki.” Iwaizumi said to them. “We are both sick and we are respecting Y/n’s boundaries.” “There is a great town nearby with cute little shops. There is a small ski and park.” Oikawa said with a cheery tone. “Let’s shop first for an hour then go to that park,” Makki suggested. “Cool with me. Let’s go.” You got to the little town and it was a little kitschy but overall it was cute. You got an idea when you saw a drug store to call Sakusa. He knew all the good ways to prevent colds and any illness. “L/n what is the reason you are calling me or is it because you found another sanitizer that works well.” “No no. I was wondering if you have any recommendations for cold medicine. One of my friends that I’m traveling with is sick and I wanted to get him the best medication.” “Mmm. Symptoms?” “Congestion, wet cough, runny nose.” “Stick with the basics Mucinex and even a neti pot. It will flush out everything.” “Who the fuck are you on the phone with?” Iwaizumi said out of nowhere starling you. You put up your hand annoyed. “Thank you again Sakusa. Sorry to bother you on holiday.” “No trouble. Have a nice trip with your friends.” You smiled and hung up. “Why were you talking to Sakusa Kiyoomi?” He said with a snarl. “I was asking him about cold medicine for Issei and Makki. Why did you follow me?” “I didn't. Oikawa told me to find you after you peeled away from the group. Why do you have his number?” “That’s really none of your business. You aren’t my friend, remember.” You said you open the door to the drug store. And of course, he followed you inside. You picked out the things you need for your friends. “Why do you call Mattsun and Oikawa by their first names?” “Because they asked me too. Why are you so curious? Are you jealous, Hajime?” You emphasized his first name which you have never said to him in the time you have known him. “Don’t call me that.” “Why does it bother you Hajime?” “Yes.” “Fine then I won’t.” You pecked his cheek and left the store smiling, leaving him speechless.

After a full afternoon of shopping, you became tired and started to get a headache. “Guys I think I’m getting sick I think I’m just going back to the house. You guys can go ahead without me.” “Ahh. My poor little N/n I’m sorry.” “If you are going to go back maybe I should walk you back,” Mattsun said. “Issei you don’t have to. Just stay here and have fun in the snow.” You smiled. “Iwa said he didn’t even want to go.” You cringed at the idea of spending the rest of the day with him alone. “I actually changed my mind Shittykawa.” “It’s fine guys I can walk back by myself.” To this Mattsun and Makki laughed. “Just enjoy the afternoon. I'm probably just going to sleep anyways.” “Ok be careful though N/n!”

“Why did you tell Y/n to be careful?” Iwaizumi asked Mattsun. “Why do you care?” Mattsun scoffed back on the ski lift. “Huh?” “One would think the great Hajime Iwaizumi would notice how clumsy she is. Like really clumsy. Slipping off the couch clumsy while just sitting there. Why do you act like such a dick to her? Huh? Then proceed to lie to Oikawa that she is fine. You don’t know a thing about her.” “She told you.” “I was there when you sent that text. She was hurt really bad. She didn’t know what she did wrong. And the worse part is I couldn’t tell her to put her mind at ease. Because you know why? Because she was very kind and respectful towards you. For three years. She cried. And she is going to hate me for saying this but she really liked you. She didn’t say anything afraid of how Oikawa would react. You put up a front for three years acting so kind towards her and took care sometimes too, I thought you liked her back. But you did that to her and broke her heart. For what?” Iwaizumi was shocked at Mattsun's sudden outburst. He was always a man of few words and relied more on actions. “Forget it.” He said in a huff and got off the lift to ski. While Iwaizumi sat there confused. You liked him. For the longest time, he thought you liked Oikawa or Mattsun based on how you treated them. He sat back and thought about how you acted around him in your high school years. You were always cautious around him but ask how he was doing and if he needed help with anything. Most of the time it was English and you were really good at it. But you stayed a comfortable distance away from him but never looked at him in his eyes when talking to him. He picked up on that around your second year. You would always look at the tip of his nose or at his brow line. He also picked up how close you were with Mattsun. He would always touch you. Hug you from behind, pull your places, give you head pats, pick you up, etc,. He thought maybe he liked you too and he couldn’t make a move if one of his friends like you. He made the decision to distance from you in college hoping his feelings would die without seeing you. But if you liked him this whole time… Shit he messed up big time. You hate him and worse of all he was resentful that his feelings for you were reciprocated and was horribly mean to you. The lift came back to its station. “Hey, dude are you gonna get off?” Iwaizumi snapped out of his trance and quickly hopped off to find you. In hopes of salvaging what had happened between you two.

Mattsun and Makki were right to laugh at you for not making it home safely. You were making your way up the trail just outside of the house and you slipped once again on black ice hurting your ankle really badly. There was no one around and the cell service was bad. You were stuck there until the boys came back to one laugh at you, two then for Oikawa to scold you for not being careful and three for them to actually help you. You laid down in the frigid cold air and the cold wet snow with the slight cold approaching teeth chattering. You heard crunches in the snow hoping it wasn’t wildlife to snack on your body. You quickly lifted your head to see Iwaizumi there. “Iwaizumi I thought you were skiing?” “I got bored. What happened?” He asked concerned. “Promise not to laugh?” He nodded. “I slipped on black ice and I think I sprained my ankle when I tried to get up and stand on it, it really hurt. I don’t think I heard a crack so that’s a plus. Can you help me up?” He leaned down and picked you up bridal style. You thought he would just give you his arm or let you use him as a crunch as you hobbled your way back to the house. You couldn’t help to look at him. He seemed different. “How long were you there?” He asked. “I think for an hour.” You chattered your teeth at the end of the statement. “Are you cold?” “Very much.” And with that comment, he brought you closer to his body. Sure it was a nice gesture and warm and made you involuntarily melt into him but he was acting weird. He was being nice to you. When you finally got to the house he placed you on the couch making sure pillows were supporting your back and elevated your foot. He carefully untied the book and slid it off. You wince when you saw it bruised and swollen. “Yeah, it looks sprained to me. You might need to get it x-rayed to make sure. But you should stay off it for the remainder of the trip. I’m gonna make a fire to warm you up. Then I’ll get you your pajamas and warm socks. And I’ll make you hot chocolate with cinnamon your favorite.” “Are you sick Iwaizumi?” You said putting your hand to his head to check for a fever. “No.” He swatted your hand away. “I’m not totally heartless.” “Are you taking care of me because of pity? Because if you are I’m just going to go to bed and sleep it off. Because I don’t neee-” you stretched out the e’s in need when you were getting off the couch. “Jeez, I’m just trying to take care of you. What is the harm in that?” “Because you hate me. You shouldn’t be doing this. You are only nice to me in front of Tooru and now you are acting as if he is here watching us.” “I’m not acting.” “Then what changed your tune. Because I thought you saw me as a nuisance at least that is what you said to me. So tell me what it is that is making you act like I’m in the Bizzaro?” “Mattsun told me you like me!” You were frozen. More so than you already were. You did like him when you were in high school, maybe you still did. Maybe you were still hung up on the fact that he was so kind to you and you laughed together that it led to that hurtful text you received. “Are you going to say anything?” “Are you doing this out of pity because I liked you?” “No, no. See the thing is….” God how was he going to tell you that he likes you too. And he thought pushing you away was the best decision for him. “I-I like you as well.” “Then why do you act like a prick?!” “I like you a lot and I thought for the longest time you liked Mattsun and he liked you. I wasn’t going to do anything and hurt him. I thought we would go to different colleges and only see each other when Oikawa did things like this. But then we were going to go to the same college and I couldn’t deal with being around you if you didn’t have the same feelings. So I pushed you away. I didn’t know what I said hurt you so bad until today when Mattsun told me. And for that I’m sorry. My intention was never to hurt you just push you away.” You leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. “You are an idiot. You need to make it up to me big time. You said some hurtful words to me.”   “You can forgive me? After what I did-” This time you pecked him on the lips to shut him up. “Yes, idiot I forgive you.” He pulled you in for a hug and you heard his heart beating really fast. “Are you ok?” “Better than ok.” He leaned down to kiss you but was met with a glove to the face. “Get off her Iwa!” Oikawa shouted from the doorway. “Shittykawa what the fuck!” “Tooru it is fine.” You said. “No! No! I made him promise me not to make out in front of me with you. It is like watching my siblings kiss. Gross. Vulgar.” “It is not gross, Shittykawa!!” You said to him. “N/n don’t call me that,” Tooru said, sounding like a wounded puppy. Iwaizumi got up from the couch and kissed the top of your head. “I’m gonna get your pajamas you lay here and don’t move.” He whispered. On his way out he hit Oikawa in the back of the head. “Leave her alone Shittykawa. You gave me your blessing about 3 years ago so shut up.”   Makki and Mattsun walked into the living area and saw your ankle. “Couldn’t be careful once?” “See you try not to slip on black ice. And I don’t have years of volleyball muscle in my legs.” “Clumsy as ever. Let’s hope that heart of yours doesn’t slip and get shattered.” Mattsun said. “Because if he does hurt you I’ll hit him till he breaks.” With a haunting smile saying Oikawa’s catchphrase.

Iwaizumi came back with sweatpants and took you to the bathroom to help you put them on. He then put you back on the couch where the boys were watching a movie, chosen by Oikawa. (He chose Titanic; he was crying the whole time.) Iwaizumi proceeded to make your hot chocolate which led him to make some for everyone and a fire. You started drifting to sleep and he picked you up from the couch and brought you to bed and tucked you in. He must have taken down the pillows in the middle because when he came into bed his arms were around you. You felt safe in his arms. He kissed your cheek again and said, “You can call me Hajime but never Iwa.” To this, you smirked and replied, “Goodnight Hajime.”

[pretend-writer]

Invisible Man (Diego Hargreeves x reader)

Summary: Y/N confesses her crush to her best friend, Diego who happens to be someone who he is very familiar and close with.

Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x reader

Title Reference: Invisible Man x 98 Degrees

Word Count: 2.3k words

Warning: swearing, mention of death, fluff

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Diego’s POV

This man was all Y/N talked about, always wondering if this superhero was hiding among us just like us human beings. Was he a waiter at a local restaurant or was he working as a business man? 

My response was always ‘Yeah, maybe you’ve already met him.’ She would always laugh and say ‘No, there’s no way. I would know if I’ve met him.’ 

What she doesn’t know was that the guy she’s crushing over was me. Not me, me. But me in disguise.

The superpower I had was in my blood since I was born. My siblings and I were adopted by a man who raised us as a group of heroes that would stop crimes around town. 

Father named us by numbers, we never had a name. Until our "robot" mother decided to give us a name, since then I've been called Diego. To my father however, I was always Number Two.

He treated us the way he named us, some object for his experiment. Me and my six other siblings were nothing but a tool for his amusement. I always enjoyed fighting crimes because it made the rest of the town happy but I missed every single childhood that "normal" kids had.

Growing up in this household, I started to realize I had enough of my father's experiment. When I was old enough to leave my father and this "fantastic group" that he would call The Umbrella Academy, I walked through that front door and never looked back. That was the day I decided to throw away everything I was and live as Diego Hargreeves, a normal man with normal dreams.

But it wasn't for long.

I missed the feeling of accomplishment and the sense of worth I had when I fought the bad guys; the only time I felt like I was something, like I mattered to the world. That was when I decided I was going to be Number Two once again.

This time, I kept it a secret and hid my identity. Showing my true self would've been exactly what my father wanted; fame and fortune. I didn't want that, however; I did it for me and to save the citizens of this town. I didn't care for all of that other crap. Besides, Diego was the new me and I couldn't give that up.

Then I met Y/N, the person I've been in love with since I've laid eyes on her. She came by for boxing lessons one day and from that moment I knew she was someone special.

We've grew closer, eventually going to places like watching movies or mini-golfing. She would even invite me to her friends' house for parties and introduce me to them. This was the first time I felt like a part of something important, a family.

I always had that thought in my head where I told myself "Maybe she feels the same way." There were moments where I wanted to tell her the truth; my true feelings toward her. Then that one day when I planned everything out, that was when she started talking about Number Two.

"Number Two is so brave."

"I wonder if he's alone and needs a friend."

"He's always saving everyone, that's the most selfless thing anyone can do."

It was just so hard to see someone you love talk about another man. Especially when that person was someone you were really familiar with.

Some days I wanted to tell her that I was him. The person who she was looking for, the man of her dreams was right there in front of her.

But how can I?

She loved the man that was selfless and caring, saving everyone in the city one by one. Y/N loves the thrill of the mystery behind Number Two, his hidden identity and figure out who he can possibly be.

Not only will that ruin her fantasy, she would be disappointed that it would be me. Seeing her reaction would just crush me. It also wasn't worth losing an amazing friendship over. There was no way I could live without her, I couldn't lose her.

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'A ski trip?' I questioned Y/N as I sipped my coffee. 'It's in the middle of January, probably the coldest time of the year. You sure you want to go?'

'Diego, I've been planning this trip for months. You know how much I need this.' She did her puppy dog face, knowing there was no resisting.

Rolling my eyes, I chuckled. 'You'd go anyways even if I say it's a little dangerous. There's no stopping you.'

'That's right.' She grinned, 'Besides, it wouldn't be as tragic if something happened to me anyways.'

'Why would you say that?' I frowned, not waiting anything bad to happen to her.

'Number Two might come and save me.' Her grin got wider as she fantasized about being rescued. 'Wouldn't that be romantic?'

Faking a smile, I nodded. 'I guess but I wouldn't know though, I don't know anything about romance.'

'You don't have anyone you admire, Diego?'

'No.' Maybe I answered too quickly as I tried to hide my feelings. It didn't really matter because Y/N knew me too well and detected my fib easily.

'Well, whoever the girl is Diego, she must be really great.' She giggled.

'Yeah, she's amazing and beautiful.' I smiled but deep down I wasn't feeling alright. All those words were towards her but she didn't even know how great she was.

Y/N finished her coffee as she started eating her pastry. 'You know, we can invite you to the ski trip and maybe you'll be able to hit it off with this mystery girl.'

'No, no. I'd prefer to enjoy my Y/N free weekend.' She gasped and hit me on my arm playfully. 'I'm not joking.'

'Har har. I know you'll definitely miss me, Diego.'

'Yeah, I will.' This time, I didn't joke. It was only for a few days away from her but I know I'd think about her all the time.

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Y/N’s POV

Diego was right

I hated admitting he was right but dammit he was. I was walking around a snow storm which of course had to be on the day when my friends and I decided to snowboard.

The vision was terrible and I couldn't see anything but snow on my goggles. I knew that my two friends weren't near me because I haven't heard them say anything for a few minutes now.

No matter how much I shouted their names, I got nothing. They were most likely long gone and who knows, they probably lost each other too.

The longer I was here all alone with nothing but the sound of the wind blowing, the more scared I got. I've walked everywhere but I could be just walking in circles. At this point, I didn't know anymore.

Suddenly, I felt a grip on my wrist and heard whispers in my ear. 'Follow me, I'll help you.'

With the wind blowing strongly, I barely heard what he said but I knew for a fact it was a voice of a man. I had no choice but to follow him, it was either go with him or die in the cold snow.

As the man led me to God knows where, I silently followed from behind him as he continued to pull me through the snowstorms. Even though I had a sense of relief of someone actually saving me, I could've gotten kidnapped by some freak. I still didn't feel a hundred percent safe.

After a few more minutes of hiking, I saw a small shed where the man took us both in. The place must of been some kind of equipment storage as I saw a few things they sold to us down at the lodge.

As I patted some snow off of my face and the rest of my body, I laughed. 'Thank you for saving me back there. Or kidnapping me. Either way I'm out of the snow for now.'

I heard the man chuckle but hasn't said anything else. He looked around the snow equipments with his back against me as though he was highly intrigued, I could tell he was listening but wasn't much of a talker.

Deciding to have a good look at him, I took off my goggles. Getting a clearer view, I've recognized the black outfit, it was practically engraved in my mind. Granted the journalists never had clear pictures of the man, we all knew the signature mask and the outfit he always wore.

'Number Two? Is it really you?'

He stopped moving and froze in place as I figured out who the man really was. He still didn't want to turn around but I wish he did so I could officially thank him.

'I thought I was going to die out there so thanks for saving me, uhm sir?' I bit my lip and face palmed, thinking to myself "way to go dummy. what was I thinking saying that!?"

Number Two paced towards the door, about to leave me in the shed. I went up to him to try to stop him. I tapped on his shoulder, 'Wait!'

'Oh, oops. I didn't mean to touch you I'm so sorry sir. Anyways, uhm. I really admire you and your work so the fact that you came all the way here to save me means so much. Just thought you should know.'

Number Two continued to just stand there, frozen in place; He hasn't said a word either. I didn't want to move either especially because scaring him away was the last thing I wanted to do.

As I was about to give up, he slowly turned around, revealing his face with a mask covering around his eyes. This was the first time that anyone has seen Number Two upclose as in the articles, they all say he would vanish right after he saves the people in need. Hence the lack of photographs of him.

If there were pictures of him however, I would've definitely recognized the superhero as his face was too familiar. 'Diego?'

'Surprise?' He mumbled, looking down on the ground shyly as he avoided eye contact.

My mind froze as I was still trying to put two and two together. 'Wait... so all this time, it was really you?'

Diego nodded as he scratched the back of his head, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you.'

'No, it's-' I stuttered as my mouth didn't keep up with my mind. After all, there were so many thoughts running through my head.

'Don't worry, I made sure your friends were safe too. They're back in the cabin but they were really worried about you.' Diego spoke softly, knowing that I was still processing everything.

There were more I wanted to say to Number Two but now that I found out he was Diego all along, I didn't know the right words to say. Everything was confusing at first but as it gradually started to sink in, I realized who my feelings were really for this whole time.

Reaching for Diego's arm, I pulled him closer to me and stared into his eyes, 'Who's the girl?'

He cocked his head, confused on the change of the subject. 'What do you mean?'

'The girl you said that was amazing and beautiful. Who's the girl?'

Diego sighed, fighting in his mind whether to say it aloud or not. It took a lot of him to turn around and reveal his true identity, he wasn't sure if he was ready to reveal his feelings.

'It's okay, just say it.' All this time I was blinded by my infatuation for Number Two, I blocked out my real feelings for someone else. 'Tell me.'

'Y/N...' He had a nervous look on his face, having second thoughts about blurting out the next words. 'It's you, Y/N.'

I caressed his cheeks, inching slowly to his mask as I took it off of his face. He licked his lips which gave away that he was feeling vulnerable. Diego and I knew each other so well, we knew the body languages of one another. 'You're not fucking with me, right?'

Diego eyed me up and down, then shook his head. 'I'll never do that to you.'

With my hand back on his cheek, I pulled him in for a kiss. Diego was surprised, not expecting this outcome as he paused to take his new reality all in. As the realization hits Diego, he cupped my face and finally kissed me back.

Slowly pulling away, I breathed heavily. I looked into his eyes and smiled. 'Number Two was some crush I fantasized about but it was always you, Diego. I'm sorry it took me until now to realize that.'

'Don't apologize for anything. I just want you to be happy.'

'I am, I really am. Especially because you saved me from freezing to death or flying away in the snowstorm.'

'Glad I helped you when I had the chance.' The cute grin slowly turned into a chuckle.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I asked. 'What are you laughing about.'

'"Uhm, sir. I admire you so much."' Diego mocked me and laughed louder.

'Ah, can we not relive that please.' I scrunched my face, closing my eyes as if that would help the memory go away.

'Nu-uh! That was too funny. You know, I was this close to laughing my ass off, Y/N.' Diego crouched and held onto his stomach, dying of laughter.

'Oh my-' I covered my face from embarrassment. 'I was nervous okay! I didn't know what to say.'

'Okay, okay. It was cute though, don't worry.' I gave him a death glare, knowing that he'll never drop this conversation.

The cute and romantic moment was over, but I'm not surprised because of course it was. It was Diego for crying out loud, the boy who thought "romance stinks." But man, I loved my best friend so much; I couldn't hate him.

He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing again. 'Fine, fine I'll stop. We'll just talk about it again tomorrow.'

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taglist; @seiraswriting​

[barcaavengers]

Letting Go || John Ambrose McClaren || Part 2

Note: Its hereeeeee! Was going to only do two parts but then saw the chance for some angst so here we go! Thank you all for your patience! Don't forget to leave some feedback and see if I post part three whiiiich I'm working on! Heads up to @noxceleste and @dreamingspark !

The weekend went awfully fast and you haven't spoken to John after your little stunt confessing your feelings and you weren't looking forward to seeing him at school. So you decided to skip a few days with an apparent headache and strong pains of your shark week, that's how you called your lady days. You didn't bother texting him either because you remember he was organizing the Belleview dance with Lara Jean. It was probably too overwhelming for him. He wasn't done processing that Lara Jean was dating Peter and you were already blurting out that you liked him. Go you, right?

Today was that ball and you were contemplating on going. He had invited you before the whole mess and he didn't take it back...but would it be worth it? What would you do? Be awkwardly there with a dress...Oh God, you had to wear a dress...Did you even want to? Did he want to see you now? Would it be too awkward between you two? Probably. Most definitely, but it would be worth it to either fix things or see how it goes...

You decide to go out and at least make an attempt to find a good dress, but nothing that screamed you tried too much. You weren't much of a dress up person and it would see way too off for you. Same for makeup, you used the least you could and that was how it was going to be when you got ready.

As you drive by the stores, you decide to stop at a small diner and find Peter sitting by himself sipping on a soda with some fries on the side.

"Hey" you wave awkwardly at him to get his attention.

"Oh, hey! Y/N, right?"

"That would be me" you nod your head with a smile. "Waiting for Lara Jean?"

"Nah, her and I…we…." you arch an eyebrow and he shakes his head, "its complicated."

"You wanna talk about it? It looks like its bugging you" you were doing it with the best intentions, not for any other reason. Peter seemed like an active person, and seeing him by himself in the diner and not expecting anyone seemed weird to you even when you only knew him for maybe three or four hours.

"It is" he says and looks up at you before gesturing to the chair before him. "I don't want to annoy you though. It might be awkward since we barely know each other."

"Yet we have a lot in common" you say and shrug. "You don't have to if you don't want to. It just looked like you needed a friend" you offer him a sincere smile and he smirks.

"That helpless I look?"

"Well, to my eyes you do, considering that the first and last time I saw you you were very talkative and smiley and now you are not. I was expecting some sass at first hand."

"Nah" he chuckles and slides his glass to the side. "It's just…I messed up with Lara Jean and I didn't know how to handle things," he explains. "Gen is my ex girlfriend and ever since I started dating Lara Jean she kept looking for me and I was hung over her for a while until I fell for Lara Jean" he continues and you eye him, confused. "Sorry, important detail, Covey and I started fake dating to get to Gen and her to avoid one of her old crushes and it turned...real after a few months."

"How romantic" you tease.

"So I left things clear with Gen, but Covey found out that I was waiting for Gen at this ski trip instead of her after we had a fight, and now she knows I went to see Gen recently but it wasn't for any bad reason. She is going through some things that I went through and Covey thinks I'm cheating on her and I am not."

"So I'm guessing that she found out about this all together, right?" He nods. "She is probably overwhelmed, you know? So many things being found out at once about something you were suspicious about is not easy to handle even if it happened a while back" you assure him.

"Yeah, I know….but then there is McClaren around. I figured that he likes her and she seems to be loving the idea of it…I mean, I'm not a good boyfriend, clearly, and McClaren seems to give her the kind of relationship she may want…"

"Wait, what?" You frown. "What do you mean he is giving her the relationship?" Has John Ambrose not noticed your disappearance from his life because he was together with Lara Jean?

"He wrote her letters, like the letter she wrote to him, I'm sure you know about that. Um, planning the whole dance, going to this place to do the service. It's like...They have more things in common and she likes that" this time he frowns. "She just seems so happy…"

"And you will just let her go on with it? She chose you first, she fell for you when she didn't, I think...she is just confused…" you admit to him. "Feelings don't go away just like that you know? Trust me." Ah yes, how you wished to forget feelings just like that.

"McClaren got you too?" He asks and you nod your head. "He is charming" you both chuckle.

"Not to be that person, but he is dreamy. He is what most girls would want, but for what I've seen and heard, Lara Jean is no typical girl."

"She is not. I would know" he says smiling and the two of you stay silent for a moment, looking or playing with your drinks.

"You should try to explain things to her, not let anyone else do it or things will get even more complicated" you shrug. "I would be mad but I would rather have that person to explain to me what exactly happened, rather than someone else."

"You are probably right," he says and stands up. "You coming?"

Your hues look up at him, "What?"

"You gave me the pep talk to go to Lara Jean, so let's go so you can talk to McClaren."

"I-I don't think it's a good idea" you pause. "Plus I haven't even gotten a dress. John asked me to go before everything happened..."

"If he has any feelings for you I'm sure that he won't care how you show up."

"Can I at least make myself decent?"

"Come on, come on" he goes behind your chair and pulls it back making you squeal. As you stand, he leaves the money on top of the table before you two walk out. "I'll meet you here in twenty minutes because I have no idea how to get there."

"Deal. Um, just in case get my number" you say and he pulls his phone out and types it. You both part your ways to later meet up.

You put together a small effort in your clothing. Yeah Peter was right but at least you wanted to look nice. Lara Jean would probably be flawless and you couldn't fight that but at least try. You could already feel your heart increasing its beat, you were getting nervous, unsure of what you would find but at least Peter would be there. With how he reacted after you talked him into speaking with Lara Jean, you could tell a friendship was growing there. He acted so different and the beam that surged through him when he realized it was not late only made you smile. Peter was like you in a way, and it was nice.

When you got to the diner, Peter was already there leaning against his car, looking through his phone. His free hand was stacked inside the pocket of his jacket, some sort of dark grey and wore a dark shirt underneath. You had your own long jacket as it was announced it would snow and you could feel it. The tip of your fingers were starting to feel funny which meant such weather. You had some decent black jeans and a simple blue shirt underneath. "Ready?"

"She doesn't like driving in the snow" Peter says randomly as he looks up at the sky, noticing the flurries falling.

"Who likes to drive in the snow?" You say with a smirk. "Come on" you change your shift from parking and start to drive off to Belleview.

Your teeth catch the inside of your cheek as you chew nervously on it as you drive, Peter's Jeep right behind you. A thought occurred to you then, what were you going to say to John Ambrose? Peter was going to apologize and explain, but what were you going to do? You had nothing. The ball was in his court now. The snow was falling heavy now as you made your way up the hill where Belleview was, you parked your car in the closest open spot and so did Peter.

"Damn it's cold" you shiver as you put your coat on, the change from the heat of your car to the outside had you like that, but it wasn't that cold.

"Where should we go? This place is huge" Peter says as he looks at the building. It honestly looked like a palace. A palace where Lara Jean and John Ambrose were probably dancing and giggling. Meanwhile, Peter and you were there to steal them from each other. Saying it like that? It sounded so selfish.

"Go to the entrance, I'll go on the back side" you say and he nods before you both split.

Your sneakers left the prints on the now covered snow as you walked. You liked these days, they were perfect to enjoy with great company. John Ambrose and you would meet at a park or at a house for snowball fights and angels. Childish as it was, it made John smile and you loved it. He had the most beautiful smile and laugh...

The songs you can hear clearly as you walk down the small hill that took you over to the back. It was where the people should be right? Unless it was all indoor as it probably is because of the snow. Your footsteps stop as you rethink it yet your hues focus on a particular thing that it made your heart stop for a moment.

There they were. Lara Jean throwing snowballs at John and him laughing. Just like he used to do with you. The same laugh, the same smile. Lara Jean looked gorgeous, the blue dress and her hair done made her look like a princess, you couldn't deny it. Maybe that's why John and Peter liked her. Then there was John, the white tuxedo too big for him but it matched him perfectly. It made him look like a prince. A princess and a prince having their dance...Your heart drops at the thought. Peter was right, they seemed to be perfect for each other. But what about you two? Weren't you two a match? What about all those years spent together? Not even a few weeks ago he was being this certain way with you...Did you take the signs in a completely different way? Was it all in your head?

You feel like you should look away, to move from the spot where you were currently hiding behind a wall, almost at the top of the stairs, yet you don't know why, you can't. Then it happens, John Ambrose spins her and they are chest to chest, so close. Their lips so close and you know what comes next, everyone knows, you should definitely look away, but you see it. Disappointment, betrayal, jealousy, sadness, anger, all the emotions merged into one as a lump formed on your throat. How many times have you thought about John's soft lips against yours? Now they were being shared with someone who just came into the picture again, because she wasn't there!

As you are about to turn on your heel, you hear it.

"I can't-I can't do this...I'm sorry…" you hear Lara Jean's voice and you turn around to find her walking away, leaving a boy with his heart breaking as she did. His gaze was fixed on the snow, probably processing what just happened. The perfect ending for the night just….gone. And you want to go to him. Hug him. Tell him it wasn't meant to be. Hell, even kiss him even if it would make matters worse probably. You hadn't noticed that your feet had gone two steps lower, now in full sight and when he lifts his gaze, your eyes widen. Left? Right? Up? Up is where your car is.

"Y/N?" He asks. You stand still for a few seconds, hoping that his mind tells him he is seeing visions, and then you turn on your heel, stumble on the stairs because of the tears shimmering in your eyes and run for the hills before he sees you all torn apart. "Y/N, wait!"

You stop once close to your car, what was the point? Confronting him or not, things will be awkward, he will be awkward, you will be awkward. Things would not be the same after this. You wipe a tear from your eye, take a deep breath to stop your voice from quivering when you speak and turn around, arms rising and dropping in defeat. "Surprise?" You shrug.

"What are you doing here?" He asks as he eyes you. Yeah, sorry to disappoint him for not looking like a girl pulled straight out of a love story.

"You invited me…"

"And you didn't talk to me for days. I thought you wouldn't come because of your shark days" he says gesturing with his hand at your body. Oh yeah, he was so understanding of those days.

"Shark week, and…Um- Yeah, I guess I was feeling much better and wanted to give you a surprise" you lift one shoulder and pause as you can feel the lump in your throat growing. "I came with Peter" you gesture to the Jeep. "He wanted to get Lara Jean back…"

"Kavinsky is here?" His eyebrows rose as his eyes widened.

"Yep...Talked him into talking with Lara Jean...Get her back…" You pause as you get a sudden urge… "I wanted to confront you about what happened the other day. I thought you had enough time to think, you know? Here I was thinking that you would realize the moments we shared and all and it would make you see and appreciate them…"

"Y/N, come on, I do appreciate those moments. You know that" he reaches for you but you dodge. If he touched you you were sure to break.

"Not how I wanted it" your lower lip quivers and you bite on it. "I guess that I- I just thought that our moments would top anything with someone who just got into your life and, gosh! I was so wrong" you laugh at how you should be sounding. Helpless. "I guess that I was the one who was surprised, huh?" You give him a sad smile.

"Y/N, come on. I can't lose you too. You are my best friend-"

"Do you think things will be normal between us? Because it won't. I know it for sure. I'm here blurting out my feelings which are not corresponded and you think I can look past this?" You scoff. "Maybe. Maybe in a few months but I have to see you everyday, Ambrose."

He remains silent, brown hues dropping and his jaw clenches. "I don't know what to say...Maybe now is not our time…"

"Is there even a time for us? Was there ever? Did you even consider it?" You ask in disbelief. "I mean, while that time comes, what? I'll have to see you with her, hear you talking about her?"

"She left! And if she is with Kavins-" he trails off and your features are sure to show your confusion, so you follow his eyes and see it. Peter and Lara Jean kissing. The nerve! She just kissed John Ambrose and now….that!?

You turn to look at John, who looks even more heartbroken now. "I guess you know that feeling now" you say and lick your lips, your posture fixes. "She chose the one who was there before you" your fingers slide to your coat pocket and pull your keys, pressing the beeper to open it.

"I- I thought-"

"I know…" you offer him a smile, after all, you had to sympathize because he was going through the same thing as you. "I know you thought everything would fall into place…" you open the door to your car. "I thought about it too." He turns to glance at you, he looks like a lost puppy. Damn it! You would do anything to cheer him up, but who would cheer you up? You won't be able to pretend everything is fine for so long until he is back to not thinking about her. "I'll see you around in school, Ambrose" you reach forward and press a soft kiss against his cheek, that side that if he moved you'd finally feel his lips against yours. Maybe you were expecting him to move. Selfish? Yes. As you pull, he only looks at you and you smile softly at him, not showing teeth, your lips together and just curving them enough to make it look like a smile.

As you start the car, Peter and Lara Jean walk besides each other linked by their hands to his car. John had started walking away. You were happy for Peter, at least things worked his way.

You arrive home and close the door of your bedroom and flop on your bed. Tears streamed down your cheeks as quiet sobs made you shudder and you closed your eyes. A ring from your phone getting you out of your thoughts for a moment. At first, you thought it would be Ambrose, but the person who it was surprised you.

Peter:Thanks for the pep talk. I saw you talking with McClaren, everything alright?

Me: You are very welcomed. Happy it worked out for you. (:

Me: Didn't go as I thought it would, but I guess time will tell.

Peter:Wow. I'm sorry to hear that.

Peter: McClaren is blind if he doesn't see you like that.

Me: You barely know me xD

Peter: You did say we were alike. So I know :P

Peter:I owe you one. When do we meet up? Lunch is on me and so is the therapy.

You can't help but giggle. There it was, a great friendship coming up.

Me:I'll let you know. I need some alone therapy before going to the outside world.

Peter:Got it. Totally. If you need to talk, while McClaren is gone, I'll be here. Night.

You smile and place your phone down and as you do, another message comes up. You think of something sassy to say to Peter if he was teasing but it wasn't him.

Ambrose: Can we please talk? When you are comfortable. I don't want to lose what we have.

Your lips purse.

Me:Okay.

And that's all you write for the night. Your head goes to many places while sleep catches you. Maybe in three days you will be able to talk to him, yet not forget everything. Yes, you will try your best to make it normal but, would it ever be? Probably not. Three days would do to talk, but the rest was unknown and it all depended on what happened then. Maybe in three days you could try to forget...

[tealin]

Basler to the Beardmore 1: You See a Plane, You Take It

As always, the original post is up at the official blog – the formatting definitely works there, if you are having issues with it here.

When planning my research trip with the Antarctic Artists & Writers Program, I had to make a wishlist of places to visit.  One of the more important ones was the Beardmore Glacier, the route by which Scott and his men climbed from the Ross Ice Shelf (or, as they called it, the Barrier) to the Polar Plateau.  It's one of the largest glaciers in the world, but is hardly visited anymore so is rarely photographed, and despite the blessing of Google Image Search, I had too poor a sense of it to draw a journey up or down it with any confidence.

Setting foot on the Beardmore turned out be prohibitively demanding, logistically, but there are regular LC-130 flights between McMurdo Station and the Pole which traverse the Beardmore en route.  The plan we made was for me to get on one of those, and snap as much as I could from one of the small windows as we flew.

November 2019 turned out to be a terrible time for Pole flights – if the weather was OK at Pole, there was a problem with the planes, or vice versa.  However, the weather delays worked in my favour, because they affected not only Pole flights, but one particular season-opening flight, which had been bumped so many times that it still hadn't gone when I turned up. That meant I could get a seat.

The big flights ffor the USAP’s operations in East Antarctica – cargo and passenger flights on/off continent, and to major stations like Pole and WAIS Divide – are handled by the New York Air National Guard, and their fleet of enormous military airplanes, namely a C-17 and small handful of LC-130 Hercules.  There are lots of smaller trips from McMurdo to satellite stations, and these are serviced by Kenn Borek Air, a Canadian company which operates out of Calgary, Alberta.  At the start of every season, they fly their fleet of Twin Otters and Baslers down the length of North and South America, then leapfrog depots down the Peninsula and thence to various hubs including McMurdo.  From there they move people and stuff where they need to go, and also restock those fuel depots.  There was one depot flight that remained to be done, and it happened to be to a cache near the base of the Beardmore, so they agreed to take me along.

I was not the only extra job tacked on to the flight. After depoting the fuel, we were to scout out a camp in the Transantarctic Mountains which had been in regular use until a some fierce winds a few years ago had scoured great furrows in the landing strip.  Was it landable again?  What state was the camp in?  We would find out.  They also wanted to scope out a historic site that left no physical trace, to get updated intel on its condition.  Then we would fly north again via the Beardmore and the coordinates for One Ton Depot.

As soon as the Basler had finished her more pressing engagements, we were put on alert for the depot run.  Everything in Antarctica is weather-dependent, and that can change on a dime, so one is always on standby.  Because they needed to make the most of the Basler's time, they would put two missions on for any given day, then the one with the best prospects would be activated.  For five days I was ready to go – breakfasted, fully suited up, lunch packed, ECW bag to hand – at 7 a.m., in case my flight was the one that was going.  Flight status would be announced on the screens at the entrance to the Galley.

For four mornings I joined the poor Thwaites Glacier team anxiously hanging on the screens – they were trying to get out to WAIS Divide (the high point of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, from which they would catch a flight to the Thwaites camp) where the weather had been abominable for a month.  One of those mornings my flight was activated and I got all the way out to the airfield only for it to be called off at the last minute because of a change in forecast for the depot site.  But finally, the fifth morning, it was all systems go!

There are two airfields that serve McMurdo: Phoenix, which is designed to take the massive C-17s on a packed snow runway where they can land with wheels, and Williams Field, of groomed snow, for ski'd aircraft.  The extra special thing about Williams Field is that it's more or less where Scott's 'Safety Camp' was located – so named because it was far enough onto the ice shelf not to break up and float out to sea – so the view to Ross Island from there would have been very familiar to our explorers.  On the day of my false start, while waiting to find out that the plane wasn't going after all, I got to take some good pictures of the view from there.  It was also a good day to get a sense of the 'bad light' that obliterated contrast on the snow and made navigation difficult:

The Sea Ice Incident took place between us and the conical hill to the left!  Wild!

Anyway, Try no. 5 was on a much nicer day.  Here is the magnificent bird with her spanking new paint job:

It was a funny experience – I mean, besides sharing the fuselage with many hundreds of gallons of flammable liquid – in that it was an island of Canada amidst all the Americans. The crew all lived in BC when they weren't in Antarctica, and next to my seat were the usual set of flight safety brochures, in English and French, just as if we were flying out of Calgary.

Our pilot was named Steve, and I learned from him that, if you're training to be a pilot in Canada, you have to do your qualifying hours in the North.  Most people put in their time and then get a comfortable job flying passengers between major southern cities, but Steve liked the North so much he stayed and stayed, until he got the job with Kenn Borek and ended up South.  As much as I feel obliged to make a facetious quip about my flammable fellow passengers, I can honestly say I have never felt safer in an airplane than this one.  This was just as well, as one of the first things we did once we were in the air was rather exciting.

The Basler is a workhorse, and one of the Antarctic planes (though I never found out if it was this one) had actually flown in WWII – they just keep going and going.  However, the hydraulics that lift the landing gear were designed to lift just the landing gear, not the landing gear plus 650-pound skis, so in order to get them up we had to lose some weight.  And we did this by climbing steeply up and then nose-diving, bringing us temporarily closer to zero G.  We had to do this every time we took off, and it took 2-3 goes to get the skis up successfully.  You'd expect someone with a history of nervous flying and a sensitivity to motion sickness to find this unpleasant, but it was just plain awesome.

This post is getting long already, so I will describe our errands in detail over the next two posts.  I really must take the time here, though, to give my regards to Kenn Borek Air. I don't think anyone in Canada knows how absolutely vital they are to everything that gets done in Antarctica; their vermillion planes keep camps supplied and people moving around, and are the everyday lifeblood of the continent, in the most literal circulatory sense.  Steve and the Basler may possibly have saved the Thwaites Glacier project this season – after a month of delays getting people and freight out to the field camps, it was reaching a point where they might have called off the massive international project for this year.  But they allocated the Basler to the WAIS flights and Steve landed it in conditions that the NYANG wouldn't – the Basler couldn't fly nearly as much cargo as a Herc, but they got enough out there that some work could begin.  I haven't seen this mentioned in any of the Thwaites coverage and I'm sure it hasn't been covered in Canada, but for a country that doesn't even have a national Antarctic program, they should be mighty proud of the central role their people play in making other countries' programs happen.

[punkscowardschampions]

Ava & James

Ava: [Picture of this invite]

Ava: That was unexpected?

James: Yes, it is rather

Ava: Did you give her my address?

Ava: Not intending to sound accusatory there, it would be relatively easy for her to find

James: she definitely didn’t get it from me, that would have given us both some warning that she was planning to invite you, which was clearly not her intent

Ava: I didn’t think you would just give it and then no warning, so yeah

Ava: Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice that she thought of me though

James: I’m not sure it is nice, but perhaps I’m being paranoid

Ava: It did come as a surprise mostly due to how well our interactions went at Mattie’s party

Ava: She’s your sister, you’d know better than I would either way

James: unfortunately I do, but the RSVP is your decision either way

Ava: Well I don’t want to make things awkward for you by doing what I’m not meant to

Ava: Do you think she expects me to turn up?

James: she’s counting on you feeling obligated to, if only for my sake

Ava: Is there something you’d rather I do?

Ava: Or shall I just think about it, from what I would want to do without factoring in you or her and the rest of your family?

James: in all honesty, I’m equally as tempted to suggest you suffer through it so she has nothing to complain about as I am to trust my judgement that there’s no feasible benefit for you in attending

Ava: Hmm

Ava: I don’t mind going

Ava: There’s no logic in spoiling her own baby shower for my benefit

Ava: I can handle being the odd one out or however awkward it may be if it means not having something to hold against you at a later date

James: I suppose if our suspicions are proved in any way correct you can just leave & you’d have definite allies in awkwardness & feeling left out in both Allegra & Cressida, I have a feeling they won’t handle their invites half as well given neither has any choice but to be there

Ava: I can’t imagine suddenly having a step mum who was only a decade ish older than me

Ava: That must be an adjustment

James: they have my sympathies, Diana won’t have eased the transition as much as she could have

Ava: I’m sure it was strange for her too, at first

Ava: but it’s not as if it’s been a total whirlwind

Ava: I better start looking for appropriate blue attire

Ava: and a gift that’ll pass muster

James: she’s the adult allegedly, who stepped into this new role in their lives willingly, they haven’t had any say in the matter, the least she could do is behave according to said role instead of expecting them to adore & respect her immediately with no effort on her part

James: it’s the beginning of a rant I’m aware it’s too late to have, even if she were a receptive listener

James: but if you would like a shopping partner, I’ll check my calendar under no duress whatsoever

Ava: I agree, and would be happy to listen if it’s a rant you ever want to have in full

Ava: despite me not being the desired/required audience really

Ava: I mean, we’ve all seen the set-up before

Ava: They’ll either drive her mad first or he’ll get a new new model, that’s the cynical approach we’ve been taught to adopt, anyway

Ava: Thanks 🙃 I’ll let you know if anything in my wardrobe is working

James: it’s an approach her husband has been happy to follow through with

James: I’d be much happier, however, to discuss the set-up of the photoshoot that’ll be necessary as you investigate the suitability of your wardrobe as well as my desire to be the intended audience

Ava: I’d be happiest if you could be photographer but I’ll do my best to fulfil that desire solo

Ava: Serious question, are the guests going to be like, mostly your sister’s age, or her husband’s age

Ava: Because that changes everything

James: maybe I could be

James: hers, without question, there are no women her husband’s age allowed in either of their circles, they cease to be socially relevant after 35, my mother aside

Ava: Really? 😗

Ava: Duh, I should’ve known that

Ava: as long as I keep the faux pas between us it’ll be fine

James: I wouldn’t call it a faux pas that your mind doesn’t work in the same manner as theirs

Ava: Maybe the attempt is to show me how out of my depth I am?

James: I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess at what she is trying to attempt here, because as you’ve already said, her baby shower hardly seems the appropriate place to do so & yet

Ava: Sorry, I’m not going to say I’ll go, then worry about it the whole time

Ava: Whatever her potential intentions, I’ve decided mine

Ava: and I’m more interested in potentially seeing you today?

James: as you quite rightly should be

James: [tell her when you are and aren’t free today sir]

Ava: Okay, so I’ll save all my best outfits for [a time] then

James: if you’ve decided your intentions with regards to me & then

Ava: Mini Stepford wife isn’t very sexy

Ava: safe to say my intentions for then are

Ava: and if you don’t know my intentions with you by now, I probably need to pick up a pen or typewriter too

James: I need to pick you up as soon as possible is what I know

Ava: Please do

Ava: I need your discerning eye to help me, obviously

James: of course

Ava: I love you

James: I love you too, so much

James: the second everything with the house is finalised & I don’t have to be in constant contact with the owners I intend to take you somewhere far away from my entire family, I promise

Ava: Where do you want to go?

Ava: If we could go anywhere

James: as long as there are several feet of snow, I’ll be inspired & content

Ava: You are the cutest

Ava: but you picked the right time of year for it

Ava: now I’m not looking for listings I can look at Cabins and Ski Lodges 😍

James: blushing being your thing isn’t the only reason I’d prefer the possibility of shivering but it’s a very important factor nonetheless

Ava: Your cheeks will have the chance to get rosy in plenty of other ways and I won’t be mad at all

Ava: I haven’t been skiing in a long while

James: me either, on both counts

Ava: Not to mention so many of the trips people planned never involved much skiing anyway 🙄

Ava: It’ll be more fun with you

James: I recognise that experience & that I’ll have a much better one with you

Ava: Right answer 😋

James: any other answer would be a lie & not even one which spares your feelings

Ava: I trust you

Ava: [a hilariously inappropriate outfit choice]

Ava: You trust me too, yeah?

James: I’m pleased to hear it, because despite the pen being mightier, I’m not sure it would suffice if you don’t trust me by now

James: your sense of humour does have me wishing I was currently sat at a typewriter though

Ava: There’s no more you need to say, or write, you’ve shown why I can over and over

Ava: We can take one and make it a real retreat

James: right answer

Ava: [Wanna skip to the day of this shitshow baby?]

James: [why not, we know that’s why we’re really here, I like to think he dropped her off even though there’s no need because a nice throwback to when they literally had to spend whatever moments they could together in cars, but obvs that’s before Chlo got there]

Ava: [That’s cute, and you can drop your presents off to this snake sister]

James: [literally your last chance to tell him you invited his ex missus but okay babe don’t bother yet again]

Ava: [seriously, you must’ve thought she weren’t showing by now, think again]

James: [fashionably late but looking a state actually]

Ava: [you’ve had months to slay this lmao, gurl]

James: [who in the hell is this new bloke and what’s his damage tbh]

Ava: [I vibe that for it to last he has to be as crazy as she is, which bodes well for their kids, hence it’ll probably be interesting for Mattie to go find them]

James: [yeah I definitely think that should be one of her storylines]

Ava: [anyway, let me do this]

Ava: Okay

Ava: I don’t want to just do this like this

Ava: but I don’t think a call will make it any better, really

Ava: plus why am I going outside or whatever, right

Ava: but Chloe just walked in

Ava: not a poor attempt at humour, or some kind of early sign of a fever, she really did

James: Oh

James: you did the right thing, I’d rather that Jay didn’t overhear even one side of that hypothetical phone call

Ava: Exactly, I know you’re all out right now, I would never want to do that

Ava: I don’t want to, at all

Ava: If telling you after, once I left, seemed like a good idea, I would have gone for that

Ava: but the fact you didn’t know to tell me, that you didn’t know, full stop

Ava: It felt unfair for me to also keep up the secrecy, not something I wanted a part in

Ava: Your sister seems… Surprised. But not, ‘it’s been half a year and you’ve shown up totally unannounced’, surprised

Ava: Your mum couldn’t contain her actual shock though, that I am sure of, from the brief look she gave Diana alone

James: I'm sorry, Ava

James: are you leaving now?

Ava: Do you need me to?

Ava: I could come find you, if you want

James: I need her to, but it’s unlikely I’ll get my own way

Ava: She’s

Ava: I can’t believe she’s done this

Ava: Doing this

James: I can believe she’d show up, but not that my own sister would invite her to do so

Ava: I don’t understand, either

Ava: I’d love to ask

Ava: among other questions for Chloe

Ava: but I won’t

James: you’d be perfectly entitled to, under the circumstances

Ava: I’m not letting her suggest I’m speaking for you

James: I know, you’re the one reliable certainty in all this

Ava: It’s clear she already came here to lie

Ava: even she couldn’t show up and admit she’s made 0 attempts to contact the girls, or even ask about them

James: my mother must be holding her tongue valiantly to avoid pointing any of those discrepancies out

Ava: She shouldn’t

Ava: and I won’t if she plans to do it within earshot

Ava: there’s not confronting her and then there’s letting her spread a false narrative unchecked and unopposed

Ava: defence isn’t attack, whatever she claims

James: my family’s love of a false narrative has been well documented within the earshot of the entire postcode, any necessary private confrontation will, of course, be left down to me, like it or not

Ava: She knows this isn’t true though

Ava: Diana bloody knows

James: yes, but she concerns herself with honesty even less than Diana does, or anyone else I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting

Ava: I’m so sorry, that she’s doing this

James: it’s not your apology, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that my sister invited you there to witness everything my ex wife is going to do

Ava: Try to do

Ava: She isn’t going to get away with it, I swear

James: you don't have to promise me anything

Ava: The truth always comes out

Ava: and you have the call and text history to prove it if anyone actually believed her

Ava: She’s just bringing entertainment, and that’s all people who have no real stake in any of this care about, and they’ll be bored and onto the next before she achieves anything

Ava: If you were even half as bad as she says, why would a decent mother leave her kids with you?

Ava: They wouldn’t and she isn’t, even her fake story has her in a bad light

Ava: Just not as bad as what she really did and what really happened to you and the girls, now and for all the years before

James: whether or not the actual truth comes out or if her particular brand of it remains what's taken as truth, you & I both know what really happened

James: my priority right now is protecting the girls from what she has already done & whatever else she is intending to do for the duration of her return, however long that will be

Ava: And they are all that matters

Ava: I can totally respect that is how it is for you

Ava: And I can see how they are the top priority, regardless of any other factors

Ava: but I do care about how this is affecting you, or could, will

Ava: you know that

James: of course I do & I care just as much about how it could or would impact you, despite knowing full well you can handle any of those effects

Ava: I’m angrier than I could ever be capable of being upset right now, there’s no room for it in my head yet

Ava: but that’s definitely a good thing because if I do start thinking about the potential hurt she could do to the girls with this, I will have to leave or

Ava: just no

Ava: She hasn’t mentioned them once

Ava: not even as a point score

James: whenever you're ready to leave, we'll all be delighted to see you

Ava: Thank you

James: it doesn't feel selfless enough to deserve thanks, particularly when I think about having to engage her in conversation once the champagne has worn off

Ava: You don’t have to come here and pick me up

Ava: and you don’t have to talk to her today

Ava: it’s not as if she has bothered to tell you she’s here

James: no, unless she’s altered her drinking habits whilst being at the villa I won’t be talking to her today, but I’ll pick you up if you want

Ava: Oh she’s certainly celebrating like it’s her baby shower

Ava: I can make my way back to the flat, it’s not too far, I’m fine, promise

James: the only way this could be worse is if that was an announcement she came back to reveal

James: I’m sure you can, nevertheless this has been a horrific surprise & I don’t like to think of you making your own way anywhere to then sit alone with every daunting ‘what if’ & ‘why’ to process when you don’t have to

Ava: Not quite

Ava: I don’t know if it’ll even be pertinent

Ava: but she has ‘subtly’ dropped plenty of loud hints about a new man

Ava: and you’re right, I’m just trying not to be another problem or worry for you to have to think about, but being stubborn about this would do just that

Ava: Whenever you’re ready to come get me, do, I’ll be ready

James: okay, if I drop enough loud hints of my own that we’re on our way to rescue you, Jay is bound to hurry up

Ava: How has your outing been, up until this point?

James: we have had a lovely time with no apparent foreshadowing, which I suppose is appropriate because when I commit this to paper in an effort to understand it, our readers will also be left feeling equally cheated to discover no written warning forthcoming, & there will be some ease in the act, at least, in not to having to think up & in turn add a satisfactory plot device where the source material had none

Ava: Her lack of interest in making the story make sense is in character, if nothing else

Ava: Frustrating and angering and

Ava: Well

Ava: Contempt for the truth at least shows she knows, on some level, that she’s in the wrong, right?

James: hopefully, yes, but as you said, there's a definite losing battle in trying to make sense of her motivations at the best of times & we're far from there at the moment

Ava: I know

Ava: It’s worrying

Ava: Her parents can’t like… make her get some help?

Ava: I know that never works but it might

James: even more worryingly, they can't make her do anything

Ava: Hmm

Ava: I can sense that

James: it wouldn't surprise me if she hasn't told them she's back either

Ava: Jesus

Ava: Whatever hotel she’s booked whilst she’s here will be on them though

James: along with her flights, cars & everything else

James: maybe I should call them in case they don't learn of her whereabouts until she posts baby shower photos

Ava: It would be decent of you, though it shouldn’t be your call to be decent on her behalf

Ava: wouldn’t blame you if you didn't

James: performing tasks or behaving a certain way on her behalf did become second nature to me

Ava: That’s only logical

Ava: When there was so much she wouldn’t do herself, that she should or needed to be done

Ava: You had to step up for two

James: but now there is no longer a need to project the false united front & it's a habit I have to break

Ava: In this case, it isn’t a bad thing you care about their feelings

Ava: bizarre that you do more than her, but still, bizarre by how little she does

Ava: Do what YOU think is right

Ava: Don’t consider her at all, in the things that is a possibility

James: you're right, I will

James: thank you

Ava: This is not ideal, we both know that

Ava: but she hasn’t mentioned any permanent plans to stay or anything like that

Ava: but whatever she does, this will be okay, we’ll work it out, you will

James: I appreciate your belief in my ability to handle this, I hope you know that as well

Ava: I do

Ava: on both counts

James: then yes, it’ll be okay

James: I promise we are on our way to collect you, just bear with me while I call her parents

Ava: Take as long as you need

Ava: Initial shock over… as much as it can be

Ava: I don’t need Chloe thinking I can’t handle her

James: [please do phone them in case they don't know and see those posts then come back]

James: you don't need to worry about what she thinks

Ava: [can you bloody imagine lmao]

Ava: Not about me, never

James: on any subject

Ava: Diana’s step daughters have behaved more maturely

James: I'd feel confident in predicting Jay also has, over the course of the day

Ava: and she only had like, three tantrums, right? 😏

James: I couldn't possibly give you the tally, lest you tell Frank & provoke an even worse reaction

Ava: 🤫🤐

Ava: He’ll never know

Ava: he’s definitely had the best day of us all 😴🥩🥎😴

James: I'm happy to hear his criteria has been met, but I'll be ecstatic if I can do the same for yours

Ava: My criteria is slightly different but I’d take 😴🥩🥎😴 at a push

James: I'd rather you decided to elaborate than compromise

Ava: I only need the one emoji

James: oh really?

Ava: Mhmm

Ava: I won’t ask you to guess

James: are you sure? It wouldn't be much of a hypothetical perfect day if you couldn't ask whatever you like of me

Ava: I don’t need hypothetical or real perfect

James: you don't have to need something for me to want to offer it to you

Ava: All I need from you, is you

James: wouldn't you like to forget about all this?

Ava: Is that possible?

James: I'll be finding out as you do

Ava: Okay

James: so where is this fool's errand taking us?

Ava: Well 🤔 what helps people forget that isn’t champagne

Ava: 🌳🎞📚🖼💚 as your day out was cut somewhat short

James: okay, I'll of course start us off with 📚

James: I suggest we let the girls pick 🌳 or 🖼 because of their awful taste in 🎞 but I'll let you make your own decision before I mention any of this to either of them

Ava: Harsh 😅

Ava: but I’ve sat through enough films that aren’t Twilight to know you’re not lying

Ava: I’ve missed you today, all of you

James: we've missed you too, especially me, even though you've ruined me for any & all films but Twilight

Ava: At least you also have the perfect soundtrack for the 💔

James: it'll work just as well for the traffic we end up stuck in

Ava: Where would we be without the traffic, help or hindrance

James: personally, I’ve recently had more positive associations with it & where I would be without those is inconceivable to me

Ava: I feel the same

James: I’ve really missed you today

Ava: I wouldn’t wish this particular event on you, especially with the unexpected bonus of Chloe

Ava: but it’s better doing things with you, the stuff we don’t want to particularly do included, even if they’re not as nice as the good things

James: I would’ve come with you, in spite of her arrival & because of, had I been allowed

James: she isn’t someone you should have to deal with on your own, not when we made the choices that contributed to her disappearance together

Ava: She’s got enough blame for the both of us, definitely

Ava: but I can’t see anyone seriously buying it…

Ava: anyway, we know how it was

James: yes we do & you’ve never doubted what I’ve said the truth was, anyone who takes her word instead is the least of my worries, because they clearly have their own

Ava: Exactly

Ava: and maybe I could take the homewrecker bit more seriously if she was making any effort to fight for any of you

Ava: not that you’re even asking her to fight to see the girls 🙄

James: precisely

James: tomorrow I’ll be the one fighting against her clear reluctance to spend time with them & then again to ensure Jay doesn’t overhear that she’s back when that plan inevitably fails

Ava: Of course

Ava: There’s no need to do that

Ava: it’s bad enough without the anxiety of waiting, not to mention the potential disappointment

Ava: If she comes, she comes

Ava: When Jay is a bit older, it might be better for Chloe to have to arrange it with her herself, but not yet

James: from experience it would be better if she refuses to come, I couldn’t get her to feign even the slightest interest when they were both living in the same house, occupying the same rooms, she’s unlikely to if she has to put herself out to meet us

James: & it was one thing to tell Jay when we move into the new house mummy isn’t living with us, it’s quite another to try & explain she doesn’t want to visit her anywhere at any time, or worse still, to have her agree to do that & behave worse than the children themselves

Ava: It’s so bloody difficult

Ava: because that is true, or does seem to be true, from all the available past experience you shared and behaviour she’s exhibited then and since

Ava: but it’s unfair to leave the onus on you to ever have to have that conversation with Jay, and Mattie, when you can

Ava: it shouldn’t be one you should ever have to have

Ava: but the reality is, it might be, parents leave, and the parent who stays has to do the lion’s share and then some, dealing with whatever the deserter has left in their wake…

Ava: we’re just programmed to be far more shocked and appalled when that parent is the mother, not the father

Ava: but it is shocking, and can in some cases be appalling, regardless of role and gender, I’ve seen it within my own family

Ava: but in others, I’ve seen it is ultimately for the best, and to have that parent around would make life worse, if they had chosen to be involved

James: you said yourself she hasn’t expressed any desire to stay & her parents weren’t prepared for the eventuality when I spoke to them, our instinct that this is a short visit is the one I trust in right now & the one I’m readying myself & the girls for

James: whether or not she engages with them tomorrow, the reality is, her parenting has only ever been performative & taking a picture of or with them in response to comments she receives under the ones from today isn’t going to trick Jay into thinking they’ve spent quality time together the way it did when she was younger, she may already have questions I’m struggling to find appropriate answers for, but I know expecting her mother to supply them would be disastrous & I can do better than that

James: what has happened so far has been for the best, I don’t know what possessed my sister to send that invitation & jeopardize things

Ava: I hope she intends to explain, as well as apologize

Ava: Whatever she was thinking, it’s safe to say it’s backfired, unless her intention was to cause potential harm to her own niece

Ava: which you have to hope was not

Ava: All you can do is all you can do

Ava: Chloe is going to do, or not do, whatever she wants, that’s apparent

Ava: Jay’s fast approaching an age where she won’t engage with that performativeness and I don’t think anyone will blame her if she decides not to

Ava: Then Chloe will have to decide if she is actually going to try or not

James: I love you for being the type of person to sincerely write out & send that message when it’s unfortunately as apparent we can’t really hold out any such hope for Diana’s character, regardless of what’s happened, she’ll be steadfast in her conviction her intentions were good & she was right

James: all I can do is expect less than nothing from either of them, at this point

Ava: If it wasn’t her baby shower, your mum might have beat me to confronting her on it

James: perhaps there’s some hope for my mother yet

Ava: Perhaps

Ava: or she was just livid to be caught out of the loop, who’s to say really

James: realistically yes, I think we can say it’s the latter

Ava: They’re not invited on our redux day out regardless so

James: speaking of, we’re finally here

Ava: Yay 🙌🙌 I’ll make my excuses and be right out

James: take as much time as you need, I know what my family & sister’s friends are like

Ava: I’d love to see them pretend they’re dying for me to stay, honestly

James: as long as you’re expecting a performance on a par with the lowest-rated children’s film in place of one from the Twilight saga

Ava: 😏 you’ll make me laugh, which might help my own performance

James: oh good, I’d love nothing more than to grant you the fastest possible exit

[sea-salted-wolverine]

Okay so last week was a shitkicker and was literally so bad I spent the better part of the week trying to delude myself into thinking it was a good day. Like, we're talking, "the sun is shining and I'm here to see it so today is a good day" and "I'm having a bad day- fuck me I am not haveing a bad day- I'm having a good day- I'm not having a bad day". Denial is a powerful tool for mental health, apply judiciously. I get that everyone on earth is kinda having a shitty year but it feels like things just kinda escalated in my little corner

The 7th had a huge snow storm that brought traffic to a stand still. No one could leave the house and university class was online anyway. Batshit customer demanded to pick up her gear anyway. I drove in because I was the only person with keys to the shop that could get to the building. It took me a solid 2 hours going 15mph on the highway. The snow in the parking lot was up past the fenders of my truck. Crazy lady gets 10 out of 18 of her survival suits back but the other 8 still have holes in them because our only repair tech is also the only one who answers the phone or runs the computer or handles customers or cleans or disinfects anything or stores gear. I'll give you one guess who that person is.

Did you guess me? Good for you. Fun fact this was not the case in October.

Crazy lady swans off through the snowed in parking lot and because she cant find the exit, blasts straight through the ditch and onto the road.

I say fuck it and leave. I've been at work for 2 hours. I have made 24 dollars for my trouble. It takes me another hour to get home.

The 8th is Saturday and I'm supposed to be at work. No one can drive. There was another 10 8nches of snow last night. I say fuck work and go to dig out the plow truck. The canopy over the plow truck collapses as I walk out to clear the snow of it.

I do not scream.

My partner and I get the truck running and go plow people out of their driveways and then go do the shop.

We come back home and the heater doesn't work. We just spent most of last week frantically trying to limp the thing along because no heat at -20°F is in a word fucking unpleasant. At least now its 40 degrees warmer because if the snowstorm. We take it apart again. The house smells like diesel. The house smells like exhaust. The house is not cold because the wood stove can keep up at 20 above zero but it won't keep us through the winter.

There is no saving the oil heater. We need a new one.

Its 730 and neither of us have eaten. I start rice in the pressure cooker so I can throw a tasty bite on top and call it dinner and that dies too. Explosively.

Dinner is half cooked rice and microwaved curry.

Sunday is spent finding a way to stretch our increasingly thin budget to buy a new heater. Between us we actually have 2275$ and we will still cover the mortgage. Somehow. All our Christmas gifts will be hand made this year. The next thing that breaks will stay broken.

Monday, power outages due to snow storm. No wifi, no zoom meetings. Another 8 inches of snow. This is now more snow than my city gets for the full year.

My boss calls sobbing. The dog died. Joey, an 11 year old, 130lb mastiff with a tumor the size of a football on his liver has been her constant companion for at least 8 years. The pandemic has confused the bejesus out of him because while he loves the lock down and going out to play every hour or so he doesnt really like the concept of strangers in masks. Hes a guard dog and doesnt understand that men in masks coming into the shop are not here to kill mom they're wearing masks so they don't kill mom.

Mondays the shop is closed anyway and I spend it installing the new heater. It doesn't quite fit in the space the old heater came out of but its warm.

Tuesday, I go to work, everyone cancels class, I once again gently explain to a regular that eugenics is bad. I would like to curse him out. I cant. He drops a grand on scuba gear and leaves, talking about how great his trip to Mexico will be.

I do not scream.

A friend calls to ask how I'm doing. Not great. Yea, her niether. She asks if I want to go out to the backcountry with her over the weekend. I explain that my leg physically does not move and I'm downing copious amounts of advil to remain upright. The doctor sent me in for an MRI but has not yet called back. Plus I'm supposed to go to Valdez for the weekend and actually go diving. That I can do with limited use of my leg.

She says yikes, take it easy, take care of yourself, I love you.

I say, yikes, I'm tired of taking it easy, I wanna play, I love you too.

Hit me up if your plans open up and we can do something gentle on your leg. She says.

God yes. The cold woods away from people sounds like paradise. I dont even care that it will cause me rending physical pain to get there. I need a break.

Its Wednesday. I go to school. I get pulled over. Miraculously I dont get a ticket. I'm white female and conventionaly attractive, maybe not so miraculous. I rolled through a stop sign but I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford a ticket.

I get a text in class. One of the instructors who works with the dive shop has tested positive for covid. I haven't seen the man in 2 months. I needed a spare instructor but he was nowhere to be found. But hey, evidently that's a good thing.

I go to work. I vacillate between doing the job a 4 people and having nothing to do.

I go to the grocery store because I misjudged my last monthly grocery run and even though I'm increasing my exposure I'm out of cheese and tea damnit.

The store is packed. Pandemic who?

My partner and I haven't had a date nite in a while and this week has been shitty. I want a nice dinner. I pick up a couple boxes of the carton sushi which isnt terrible and is about as nice as I can justify on the new budget. I grab a gallon of milk and a few other things. I forgot my wallet in the truck and the cashier is chill and sets my stuff aside while I grab it.

I pay and take my stuff home and realize I left one of my bags at the store. No cheese or tea for me.

Thursday. 10am my phone goes off with an emergency alert. The govoner has grown a spine in light of recent elections and is instituting a voluntary lock down. My state has 500 new cases a day. That might not sound like a lot but theres only 300,000 people in Alaska and we've got poor medical infrastructure.

Unfortunately Alaska is full of Alaskans and nobody can tell us what to do. Nothing changes. 7pm rolls around and I'm teaching scuba classes in the pool.

I load a few hundred pounds of scuba gear into the back of my truck. In a wet wetsuit. In the snow. In a fabric facemask. 6 feet apart. In the pool.

I dont get paid for pool time.

Over the summer we had 6 dive masters including me, all big burly dudes, much better suited to picking things up. Its November and I'm the only one.

The kids I'm teaching are going to Hawaii. They're 10 and 13 and so wildly excited about breathing underwater its beautiful to watch. And they're traveling to an island. In a pandemic.

Friday.

Unload scuba gear so it doesnt get stolen out of the back of my truck while I'm at class. Were doing a make up lab today. Hey of the five student in my class only one of us has covid so theres that.

My boss calls an let's me know that shes left for Valdez without me. If I'd like to make an 8 hour drive by myself in a snowstorm I'm welcome to follow.

I'm in class till an hour before shop closing. I'm not driving across town so I can run on the open sign for half an hour.

The shop stays closed on Friday.

Saturday.

I explained to everyone we had business with that the shop would be closed over the weekend and Friday. I planned on being in Valdez. Hell I canceled plans to be in Valdez.

I open the shop and immediately field calls about why we werent open. I start to explain about the Valdez trip and logistical difficulties and then I realize that shes not mad about that. The woman was here before I opened early this morning. We have never been open that early. The hours are on the door.

A regular comes in. Hes also confused as to why I'm here.

Sunday finds me curled up in bed, reluctant to leave. Getting out of bed has not played out well for me recently.

A friend comes over to chat with my partner about specialist rifle parts. This isnt that wierd, he works at a gun shop and they've been discussing upgrading my partners current rifle set up.

He is wearing a full Scottish kilt. Red tartan. Looks very lovely.

I make zucchini bread and my proportions are a little off because I have too much zucchini so it's a little over moist but it's good. I'm recovering from an asskicker of a week and next week will be better.

Monday morning:

Baby brother has covid

Dads getting the results of his rapid test tonight.

Mom isnt getting tested because she says she doesnt have symptoms but that's not the fucking point mom.

So, I'm not going home for thanksgiving. I'm not diving in Valdez. I'm not skiing backcountry.

I'm not sick. I'm not flat broke yet. I dont have a ticket. I have a job. I have people who care about me. Im managing my physical and mental health as best I can. Im just fucking exhausted.

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Green Christmas (Luffa Annual 1)

Normal Brain: Write a Coffee Shop AU

Big Brain: With my own OC’s

Galaxy Brain: Set it in Japan to make it harder.

Cosmic Brain: Also, it’s a Christmas story.

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.   This story is set on a Monday.

[December 23, 2019.   Kiyosu, Japan.]

There was a very light drizzle outside.   It didn't snow often in Kiyosu, and when it did, it usually happened in February, not December.  

"It's a shame, y'know?   This is a romantic time of year.    Just once, it'd be nice to have a White Christmas without having to head out to Shirakawago or someplace up north."

Yamcha was a regular at the Emerald Eye Cafe.   He liked to chat while he paid for his order.   Every year around Christmas, he would wax poetic about the lack of snowfall in the Aichi Prefecture, and speak idly about someday taking a trip to a ski resort in Hokkaido.   Zatte didn't know if he would ever make the trip.    She only knew that he visited her store nearly every day, and she suspected that he enjoyed talking about snow and travel than the actual experience.      He had a large iced milk coffee and a potato salad sandwich, which came to 1260 yen.  

Zatte never minded the lack of snow.   It meant one less obstacle to the day-to-day routine.   She didn't know how people got along in snowy parts of the world, and she wasn't terribly interested in finding out.    Christmas was Christmas whether it snowed or not.    The sound system in the cafe was playing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the fourth time that day, and she had been selling Christmas cakes for the better part of the month.   Half of her customers spoke excitedly of their plans for the holiday, and the absence of snow didn't seem to discourage any of them.   And then there was her "favorite" tradition of the season.    

"... might call her up tonight and see if she wants to check out the lights downtown.   You know, keep it casual.    How about you?   You got any big plans for Christmas?"  

Zatte shook her head.    "Maybe," she said.   She had learned a long time ago that this was the best way to keep conversations short.    Yamcha might have had unlimited time to talk, but she needed to head back to the kitchen at some point.     Answering "no" only invited a polite argument.   "Come on... I'm sure a young lady like yourself must have something to do on Christmas!" and so on.    Answering "yes" was a lie, and it only invited the other person to press for details that didn't exist.    

"Maybe, huh?"   Yamcha replied.    He finally fished the money out of his wallet and laid it on the counter.    "Well, that's better than nothing, after all.    Hang in there."    

"Out of 1500 yen, 240 yen and your receipt," Zatte said, handing him a few coins and a slip of paper.    

"Radical.    Well, I'll get out of your hair," Yamcha said.   "Thanks!"

She relaxed a bit when he left the store.    Truthfully, he was one of the best customers--courteous, patient, and easy to please.   Outside of work, he was probably an okay person to hang out with, if you liked hanging out with middle-aged civil servants.       But in a customer service setting, life was all about getting the clients' orders filled and getting them on their way with as little fuss as possible.    Zatte didn't think of herself as an introvert, but working retail seemed to have a funny way of making her feel like one for a few hours.

She supposed that it would be kind of fun to be chummy with the regulars, but the fact was that she had too many responsibilities behind the counter.    She had to count the money later.   The tables would need to be wiped down.     Fresh muffins had to go on the display.    The cook would probably need help, sooner or later.    The customers saw this place as her home, and she was a hostess providing companionship in addition to food and a place to relax.    That was the business model, of course, but it was still a business.  

She chided herself for feeling grumpy, but decided that she had at least kept an even keel through the morning.  The key was to accept the bad moods when they came, so long as she put on a pleasant face for the customers.   They had their own lives and their own problems, after all.    It wasn't fair to them--or profitable for her-- to burden them with her own troubles.    

*******

Two hours later, she was reminded of one of those troubles.    

"You haven't seen Roshi at all today, have you?"  

A shiver ran down Zatte's spine at the name.   "Not today, why?"    

Krillin took his latte from her and shrugged slightly.    "Well, let's just say I need to talk to him about something," he said evenly.   Krillin was a police officer, which tended to inform statements like these, but he still felt a need to be as discreet as possible.    

"Did something happen?" Zatte asked.    

"Hey, you've gotten really good at making pictures with the foam," Krillin said.   He pointed at the surface of his drink.   "It looks just like that guy from One Piece."

"Thanks," Zatte said.   "I'm still trying to get the hang of it, but luckily he's not too tough to draw.   He's good practice."    

"I oughta watch that show sometime," Krillin said.    "Everyone at the station keeps saying I sound like the guy, but I don't even know anything about it.    What's his name?   'Luffa' or something.    No, hold on, that was the girl who used to be your cook, wasn't it?"  

"Uh, yeah," Zatte said.    She was sorely tempted to use "maybe", but that seemed kind of pointless here.    Luffa was something of a legend at the Emerald Eye.    Even if Krillin hadn't remembered her name, he would still know her reputation, so there was no point pretending she didn't exist.    

"Whatever happened to her, anyway?" Krillin asked.    He took a sip of his latte and added: "Nothing against the new guy, but she made the best danishes.   And that egg salad!    Boy, I could go for some of that right about now."  

"Would you like me to get you--?" Zatte started to ask, but Krillin shook his head.    

"Nah, it just wouldn't be the same," he said.    "Something about the spices.   Paprika, I think.    Better to live with the memories."    

"Understood," Zatte said, though she really didn't understand at all.  

"Anyway, I'll be around for a little while, but if you see Roshi later, let me know, all right?   And... don't tell him I said anything."  

"Of course," Zatte said.   As Krillin turned and went to his usual seat, Zatte wondered what sort of trouble that man had gotten into this time.    It was always something with him.   She wanted to believe that this time would be different, but somehow he always managed to get away with his bad behavior.    

Later, as luck would have it, Roshi did stumble into the cafe.   "Well hell-oooooooo, nurse!" he crooned as he staggered to the counter.    The stench of alcohol on his breath was unmistakable.    Public drinking was legal in Japan, though Roshi seemed to consider this license to make an ass of himself whenever he pleased.  

"Can I help you?" Zatte said, struggling to maintain her composure.  

"Well, you see," Roshi said with a mischievous grin, "It's my nose.    It's awfully cold this time of year, and I was hoping I could... heh-heh-heh... warm it up."

Zatte looked toward Krillin's seat, ready and eager to call out to him.    But it was empty.    Had he already left?  

"Now I know this is a coffee shop and all, but I don't think hot beverages will do the trick here.    No, sir.   I was thinking more along the lines of..." He held up his hands to pantomime the act of shoving his face into a pair of large breasts.   Then he started smiling, like he had just suggested the most brilliant idea, ever.

Zatte wasn't sure that what she felt for this man qualified as hate, or pity, or revulsion.    She only knew that he was a pathetic old man, who seemed to think his crudeness was quaint, or charming in some way.   He was sorely mistaken, and she wanted him out of the store, permanently.    Did that mean she wanted him dead?    The thought of this worried Zatte, more for her own sake than for his.    

"Sir, if you want something, you'll need to place an order," she said through clenched teeth.   Below the countertop, her right hand clenched into a fist.

"Oh, well in that case," Roshi said, "I'd like to buy a pair of... heh-heh-heh... panties please!   Used ones, of course!"    

Zatte wanted him dead.   If that reflected negatively on her character, then so be it.    If Roshi had a heart attack and died right in front of her, she was sure she would feel relieved instead of sad.   It wasn't even the harassment so much as the fact that he used the same five or six lines every time he came into the store.   He wants to "puff-puff", he wants someone's panties, he wants to have coffee in the ladies' restroom, he wants to take showers with any woman in the store, and so on.   Roshi embodied the absolute worst qualities of customers.   He seemed to thrive on the power of going into shops and forcing cashiers and waitstaff to listen to his crude and pointless jabber, precisely because they had little choice but to put up with it.  

And then, just as Roshi was telling the one about putting his grimy hands on someone's buttocks, Krillin stepped out of the men's room.    "Oh, there you are," he said as he noticed Roshi at the counter.    

"Eh?   Krillin?    What are you doing here?" Roshi asked.    His jovial tone was suddenly gone.  He almost sounded sober.    Almost.

"We got another complaint about you," Krillin said with a sigh.   "That maid cafe you keep messing around with."

"Th-that was just a joke!" Roshi protested.    "Can't an old man have a bit of harmless fun anymore?"

"That girl you were picking on didn't think it was so harmless," Krillin grumbled.   "Look, I have to take you down to the station."

"What?   You can't do that!"   He tried to run out the door, but Krillin caught up to him before he could get there.  

"Just settle down," Krillin said.     "Don't make this any more difficult than it already is."

This only made Roshi even more difficult than he already was.    Eventually, Krillin managed to get the handcuffs on him, and he frog-marched Roshi out the door.   By the time they left, everyone in the shop was staring.     With Krillin and Roshi now gone, that left them no one to look at but Zatte.    

"Uh, sorry for the disturbance," she said awkwardly.    She wasn't sure how to feel about what had just happened, but she hoped that this meant Roshi wouldn't be back for a long time.   That should have made her feel more at ease, but somehow she felt more tense than before.

*******

More than anything, Zatte just wanted some normal customers.    She was starting to miss Yamcha, but then Tien entered the store, and she felt a sense of relief.    Of all of her regulars, he was one of the easiest to deal with.    

"Hello," he said evenly.  

"How can I help you, sir?"  she asked pleasantly.    

He gestured to the smaller man who had followed him into the store.   Zatte had never seen a little person before, but she was pretty sure this man was small enough to qualify as one.    

"This is my brother, Chiaotzu," he explained.   "I've been showing him around while he's in town."  

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," she said with a slight bow.  

Chiaotzu did not move.    

"I get my coffee here after work," Tien said to him.    "Black, please.    No sugar."

"Of course," Zatte said.    "And for your brother?"

"Ice cream cafe au lait," Chiaotzu said after a pregnant pause.   He never blinked.   He just stared at Zatte as though gazing into her soul.    

"Certainly.   Your total is 1140 yen."

They paid and she brought the drinks to their table a few minutes later.    Zatte forgot about them after that, until she happened to look up while counting the money in the register.   Chiaotzu was still staring at her.   His expression was completely neutral.    

What made it even stranger was how normally Tien behaved by contrast.    He was facing away from Zatte, but he was moving his head and arms like anyone having a normal conversation.    If he even noticed Chiaotzu staring past him, he didn't seem to care.  

She tried to ignore him, but this proved more difficult than she imagined.    Every time she happened to glance in his direction, there he was, still staring, never moving.    The cup in front of him was already empty.    At some point he must have drank his au lait, but Zatte had no idea when that could have happened.    

What was it about his eyes?   Those bottomless, pitiless eyes?   Looking at them just made her realize how pale his complexion was, like one of those stories about a vampire secretly living among humans.   She was grateful for the next few customers who came in, as they gave her something else to think about, if only for a few minutes at a time.    

She turned away from the counter to tidy up her workspace, and when she looked around again, he was suddenly standing there, glaring at her through the display glass.  

"Orange cranberry muffins," Chiaotzu said.  

"Huh?" Zatte said, trying to hide how much he had startled her.  

He pressed his face up to the glass.   By this time of day, the display case was nearly empty, as the demand for baked goods was too low to justify making more.  "Do you still sell them?   Or did you just run out?"  Chiaotzu asked.    

"Um, we stopped selling them," Zatte said.    "We, uh, changed cooks a while ago.    So we changed the menu.   I'm sorry."

Chiaotzu never took his eyes off her, and after a long pause, he finally uttered: "Oh.   That's too bad."

"There you are," Tien said as he walked up to the counter.    "Come on, Chiaotzu, we need to get going."

Chiaotzu turned and followed him out the door, and Zatte was never so grateful to see the back of someone's head.    He was bald, so she half expected a second pair of eyes to be there waiting for her.   Instead, he turned back toward her, just as he stepped through the door.  

"Thanks for the coffee," he said, though his expression looked more like he should be accusing Zatte of desecrating his own empty grave.

When he was finally gone, she glanced down at the display case.    Luffa used to restock it herself, multiple times a day.    It was a welcome distraction from the rigors of the day, even though she only popped out of the kitchen for a minute or two.   She would have whispered something like "Get a load of that guy," to her, and they would have shared a quiet chuckle over it.  

But Luffa was gone, and the new cook was fine, even if he wasn't quite as good, or fast, or popular with the customers.    It made the workday slower, but Zatte was determined not to let that get in her way.    She considered herself a survivor, someone who could adapt and endure anything life threw at her.    All that mattered was getting through the day and closing up the shop, and then getting through tomorrow, and the day after, and so on.    She didn't need Luffa, or anyone else to do that.  

At least, that was what she told herself.  

*******

Keda usually got home from school by 3:45 P.M.   Today, she returned an hour early.    Zatte wanted to know why, but there were too many customers for her to ask, and Keda walked straight through the swinging gate at the counter, and into the door that led to the upstairs apartment where they lived.  

Ten minutes later, she came back down, having swapped her school uniform for a blue "Emerald Eye" apron.   Under that, she wore one of her collection of T-shirts commemorating various professional wrestlers.   This one said "NIGHTMARE ANGELS" in English, with the words "KNEE THE ELITE" in smaller text.    Zatte was grateful that the apron kept the customers from seeing the entire shirt, and she hoped most of them didn't know enough English to be able to read it and wonder what it meant.    She was pretty sure Keda would try to explain it if someone asked, but no one did, and Zatte was grateful for this as well.    

"Need some help?" Keda asked.  

"Why are you out of school so early?" Zatte asked as she finished handing someone their change.    

"They let us out early," Keda said.   "It's the Emperor's Birthday."  

"Not anymore," Zatte said.   "The Emperor abdicated, remember?   The new Emperor's birthday won't be until February."

"Well, we convinced the school that it wasn't fair," Keda said with a shrug.   "I mean, December 23rd is a good place for a holiday, isn't it?    Right before Christmas.    The new Emperor can't help being born in February, but it's not right that we don't have an Emperor's Birthday holiday in 2019.   It just seems disrespectful, doesn't it?   So the student council talked it over with the faculty, and we agreed to let out two hours early as a compromise."

"Why can't you just say you cut classes like all the other kids?" Zatte grumbled.  

"Because that's not what happened," Keda said.   "Can I help it if the President of the Student Council likes my ideas?    Can I help it if the faculty is really open to suggestions?"  

She picked up a small cup and put less than fifty milliliters of hazelnut coffee in it from the dispenser behind the cash register.   Keda smelled it, but decided it was too hot to drink.    This was part of her after-school ritual.  

"I wish you'd stop doing that," Zatte said.    

"Everyone says it's an acquired taste," Keda said.    "I'm almost twelve, Zatte.   In a few years, boys are gonna want to take me to coffee shops.    I mean, not this one, that'd be kind of awkward.   Getting waited on by your own sister.    But a coffee shop, and I need to be ready to drink coffee by then."  

"Now if only I could get you to put that kind of dedication into your schoolwork," Zatte said.    

"Oh, I've got that under control," Keda said.    "You see my grades, right?   I've got a high school picked out and everything.    But none of that matters if a boy buys me a coffee and I start gagging at the first sip."

As she said this, Keda decided her drink was cool enough, and she carefully raised it to her lips.    She winced, but managed to swallow it, though the face she made indicated that it was an unpleasant achievement.    "Ugh.   Okay... okay... I'm getting there."

"Why would you want to go on a coffee date anyway?" Zatte asked.   "Just tell a boy that you work at a cafe and you'd rather see a movie instead."  

"That's the beauty of it!" Keda explained.   "If he takes me to a coffee shop, it's like I'm on my own turf.    It gives me the advantage.   I can say all sorts of things during the date, like how they get the caffeine out of decaf, or how the cappuccino machine works.    They'll think I'm super-sophisticated that way.   If I'm at a movie I'm totally out of my element.   You really need to read more  Sun Tzu, Zatte."  

"Sun Tzu?"   Zatte asked, bewildered.   "Are you trying to date a boy or kill him?"

"Never mind me," Keda said.    "I'll bet you're excited today."  

"About what?" Zatte asked.  

"About Luffa, dummy," Keda said.  

"Luffa who?" Zatte grumbled.   "You mean our ex-cook who walked out on us and barely ever stops by?"

"Oh, come on," Keda said.    "You know how busy she is, and she's on the road constantly."    

"And now that she just happens to be in the area, I'm supposed to be giddy about it?"    Zatte asked.    "It's not like she's coming to see me, Keda.   You're her biggest fan."  

"Come on, you miss her too," Keda said.   "She's your best friend."

"No, she's not," Zatte said.   "I mean, of course she's my friend, but not like... Don't you have homework to do?"

"Nope," Keda said.    

"Then shouldn't you be watching your show?"   Zatte asked.    

"It doesn't start until five," Keda said.  

"All right then, go bus some tables," Zatte said, and then tossed a washcloth at her.   Keda nodded with a shrug and then headed off to begin her assignment.

*******

Exactly two hours and fifteen minutes later, Keda had vanished from the shop.    Zatte was never sure if she was doing a good job raising her little sister.   It often felt like Keda was raising herself, and acting out just enough to make Zatte feel like she was involved in the process.    The girl was extremely smart for her age, and she helped out with the cafe, so it seemed unfair to criticize her for being nosy or presumptuous.   It was hard to tell whether she was being too strict on Keda or not strict enough.  

No, Keda wasn't what had her on edge.    It was Luffa.  Zatte did miss her, but not in a way she particularly cared to admit to anyone else.   And with Luffa away from the cafe, essentially out of their lives, it seemed pointless to admit anything now.   Better to go on like it hadn't mattered.   Better to be strong and independent, and hope that everyone accepted the image of Zatte as an independent, responsible shopkeeper.   It wasn't always a satisfying life, but at least it was her own, and it couldn't be taken away by someone when they moved on to other things.  

As much as she appreciated the new cook, she had to suppress a certain resentment towards him.   It wasn't his fault that he didn't have the same level of culinary talent.    Or that he didn't have that same wild look in his eye.    Or that the apron didn't frame the small of his back the right way.   Or (let's face it) that he was a 'he.'   So Zatte was never sure if she was too hard on the guy, or if she was too easy on him because she was trying not to be too hard on him.   Now that she thought about it, she had the same trouble with Luffa back in the day, for completely opposite reasons.  

It was distracting and depressing, and she wasn't sure how she would feel about it, and she just wanted some work to do so she could think about something else.  

*******

Gradually, more customers came into the store as offices started to close for the evening.   It always struck Zatte as odd that people would want coffee so late in the day, but she supposed that they were all trying to fight off the tiredness from the workday, even if it cost them a few hours of sleep later in the night.  

By 8:00 P.M., Zatte had convinced herself that she had nearly forgotten about whats-her-name, and she had settled into a steady routine of taking orders, making change, and handing out drinks.    Then a middle-aged couple threw off the entire rhythm.  The wife had been very concise with her order, but her husband was holding up the line while he tried to decide what he wanted.  

"Now, lemme see here," he said as he looked at the menu and thoughtfully rubbed his chin with his thumb.   "Oh, you've got pork fillet cutlets?   I'll take two of them, and.... the egg sandwich... and... hmmm.   Wow, you've got chili dogs?   That's awesome!   Three chili dogs, please!"

"Um... will there be anything else?"   Zatte asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.   His wife seemed to feel the same way.  

"Goku, you'll never be able to eat all of that," she groaned.  

"Sure I will!" he insisted.   "I had a light lunch today, so..."

The look on his wife's face suggested that this was not even remotely true.     Zatte decided it was better to just ring them up and get their money before she could talk him out of it.  

"It will take some time to prepare all of this, you understand," Zatte said to Goku.  

"Aw, don't worry about that," Goku said.    "Take as long as you need.   Me 'n' Chi-Chi will be so busy playing with the rabbits that we probably won't even notice!"

"Rabbits?" Zatte asked.    

"Where do ya keep those guys, anyway?" Goku asked.    He began looking around in every direction, which made all of the cowlicks in his hair that much harder to ignore.   "Oh, crap, we forgot to order lettuce so we'd have somethin' to feed 'em!"

Chi-Chi's face began to turn red, and Zatte finally began to understand what he was talking about.

"Sir," Zatte said, "This isn't a rabbit cafe."

"It's not?" Goku asked.   "Well, you've at least got a cat or something, right?"

"No, we just serve coffee and food."

"Goku, we talked about this on the way here..." Chi-Chi grumbled.

Goku crossed his arms and lowered his head, and it was hard to tell if he was pouting or contemplating his predicament.   "Darn.   Well, you still got chili dogs.   I guess that'll just have to do."

"I... apologize for the inconvenience," Zatte said.   She had never meant that sentence less than she did in this moment.  

*******

Ten minutes later, Keda was downstairs in the shop again, sitting at one of the booths and scribbling notes while she read from a textbook.    When asked, she would insist that this wasn't homework that had been assigned, and she was simply working ahead in anticipation of future assignments.   Zatte was too exasperated with this explanation to dispute it.   By now, business had slowed down considerably, with only a few stragglers coming in for quick to-go orders.    At one of the tables, Goku was still finishing the feast he had ordered while his wife played a game on her phone and tried not to look too embarrassed.  Finally, the couple got up to leave, and as they did, the doors swung open, and someone else entered the shop.

"Luffa!" Keda shouted.    She practically jumped out of the booth and ran up to meet her.  

"Hey, kid!" Luffa replied.   She had been holding a gym bag, but dropped it so she could return Keda's embrace.    

Zatte had been unloading the dishwasher when Luffa entered, and she looked over to see her.   Luffa was wearing a pair of zubaz--baggy gym pants with a zebra-striped pattern--and a satin jacket with a steakhouse logo printed on the front.    There was a smear of green around her lips, and even her teeth had a green stain on them.    Once, Luffa had worn her hair long, but now it was cut very short and seemed to stand on end.    And she had colored it an unnatural shade of yellow, far more vivid than blonde.  

"You beat Ribrianne!"  Keda said excitedly.    "That puts your score up to 10 points!"

"Hey, don't sound so surprised," Luffa said.  

"I thought she had you near the end," Keda said.   "You looked like you were nearly out of it, and then you reversed that suplex into a head-scissors... how did you do that?"

Luffa puffed out her chest and jabbed her sternum with her thumb.    "What do you mean how?    I'm the Golden Ace, aren't I?"

"Well yeah," Keda said, "but you lost to Hop last week."

Luffa grimaced like she had accidentally swallowed a bug.   "She cheated.    That doesn't count."

"Well, the tournament rules say it does count, but now that you've got ten points, you've got a strong chance of winning.   There's still some tiebreaker scenarios to consider, but personally I like your chances."

"Ugh," Luffa said.   "I'm glad you can make sense of the scores.   You know, these round-robin tournaments are great, right until you have to figure out whether you're winning or losing.   Is Kale still in the running, or did she get eliminated?"

Keda pointed to a group of armchairs at one corner of the cafe.    "Come on," she said, "I'll walk you through the scenarios."  

Luffa followed her, waving to Zatte as she passed by.   As she did this, she nearly bumped into Goku as he and his wife were on their way to the door.   They exchanged a look, and for a split second, Zatte was worried that it might become awkward.   Luffa almost looked like she was sizing him up for a fight.    She couldn't read Goku at all, but she assumed he was mostly intrigued by her loud costume.    

For some reason, the sound system in the store was playing a metal cover of "Carol of the Bells".    Zatte didn't know how that had gotten added to the holiday playlist.  

"Cool hair!" Goku finally said.  

"Hey, thanks," Luffa said.    

And then they went their separate ways.    

The music system abruptly switched to "Here Comes Santa Claus," perhaps the most tension-free Christmas song of all.

"Now then," Luffa said to Keda as she collapsed into one of the armchairs.    "Let's get down to business."

Keda was tapping a notepad with a pen, looking more like Luffa's accountant than a young fan.    "Right, well, obviously, if you can win all of your next matches, you'll be a shoo-in to win the tournament.   But even if you lose two more, there's still a chance of squeaking by.    The only thing I'm worried about is you tying with Hop."

"She cheated," Luffa grumbled.    

"It doesn't matter," Keda said.  "If you both tie on points, she wins the tiebreaker, since she has a win over you.   But if Ribrianne beats her, that'll set up a possible four-way tie with Videl.   Then you'd win, because you'd have the best record among the four of you."

"Sounds like I should just win the rest of my matches," Luffa said after digesting what Keda had said.  

"Just promise me you'll stay in the ring when you face Sorrel," Keda pleaded.   "She always tricks her opponents into getting counted out, and I know how much you like to fight in the crowd."

"What I like," Luffa said with a sadistic grin, "is having the referee out of my way.    If Sorrel thinks a twenty-count will save her from me, then she's already lost."

"But if you get counted out, you could lose the tournament!" Keda protested.    "Then you won't get a shot at the All-Pacific Championship!"

"Hah!   If someone like Sorrel can beat me," Luffa said, "then I don't deserve the title.    It's that simple.   Besides, she's not the only one with a trick up her sleeve."   She pointed at her mouth, which had smears of green dye around it.    

"When are you gonna teach me how to do the poison mist?" Keda asked.  

"I keep telling you, kid," Luffa said, "it's a sacred technique.    I can't just teach it to anybody."

Zatte approached them and cleared her throat to get their attention.    "Sorry to interrupt this strategy conference, but I thought the 'Golden Ace' might be hungry."     She held up a chicken salad sandwich and a to-go cup of coffee, which Luffa accepted with relish.  

"You're a lifesaver," Luffa said with a smile.  "I haven't eaten since before the show started."

"You'd think SPARKING! could afford catering for their events," Zatte said.    

"They do," Luffa said as she unwrapped the sandwich.   "I just don't like to eat so close to bell time.     Makes me nervous.   Too many stories out there about guys pooping their pants during matches."  

"Ewwww!" Keda said.  "Really?"  

"I've never run into it myself," Luffa said, "but you hear about it.    I almost threw up during a match, so I believe it."

"Was it because you swallowed posion mist?" Keda asked.  

"Huh?  Oh, no way," Luffa said with her mouth full.    "I... well, I built up an immunity to that a long time ago."

Keda began scratching her chin thoughtfully.   "Immunity... so that's it."

"What do I owe you?" Luffa asked Zatte.    

"It's on the house," Zatte replied.    

"Oh, come on," Luffa said, "I'm making halfway decent money these days."  

Zatte pointed at Luffa's yellow-and-black striped pants.     "Then why are you dressed like you're doing your laundry?"  

"Hey, these are high fashion in my line of work," Luffa said with a smile.    She propped her black boots on the ottoman in front of the armchair.    There was an image of a playing card printed on the sides of each boot.     "Check it out," she said.    "They liked my match in Osaka so much that they paid me a little extra, and I used it to get these babies.    I can afford to live it up at the Emerald Eye Cafe."

"Don't worry about it.   Half my regulars keep asking if you'll ever come back to the kitchen," Zatte said.    "You did such a good job while you were here that I'm still making money off of it now."    

"How's the new guy working out?" Luffa asked, glancing toward the general direction of the kitchen.

"He's fine," Zatte said.   "He's not as good as you, but who could be?"

"You know, that's what I think about you," Luffa said as she took a swig of her coffee.    "I mean, there's a cafe near the dojo.   It's just not the same."

"Right."  

"Yeah."  

There was a long silence, and then Keda nudged Luffa in the arm.    "Hey, do you really think you can beat Kale next Saturday?" she asked.    

"Are you saying I can't?"   Luffa asked in a haughty tone.    

"I'm just saying you can't take her lightly," Keda said.    "That running knee she does is nothing to sneeze at."  

"Running knee," Luffa scoffed.   "Let me tell you what I'll do about that running knee..."

"I need to get back to the register," Zatte said, though she doubted anyone was listening.    

*******

Closing time at the Emerald Eye wasn't for another hour, but the kitchen shut down at nine.   The cook was saying his goodbyes to Zatte before leaving, when he happened to notice Luffa and Keda chatting.    

"Is she some kind of celebrity?" he asked.  

"Huh?  No, that's Luffa," Zatte said.    

"Oh.  What's with the hair?" he asked.    "She looks like a pop idol."

"She's a professional wrestler," Zatte explained.   "She quit working here to go work for the SPARKING! promotion.   They did a show tonight in Okazaki, so she came by to visit."

"Huh.   I thought she became a famous chef or something like that."

"No, as good a cook as she is, she only worked her to make ends meet until she could break into the business," Zatte said.   "And she's done pretty well.   I read on the internet that they're planning to make her the next All-Pacific Champion."

"I thought you have to win the championship in a match," he said.  

Zatte turned and gave him a dirty look.   "It's fake," she said.   "They decide who wins and loses ahead of time."

"Oh!   Right," he said.   "I guess it's like getting a promotion at an office job, then.   You must be happy for her."

"I don't know that it matters," Zatte said.    "This is the first time she's come back since she left.    If Keda wasn't such a big fan of this stuff, she probably wouldn't even bother.   She's moved on.   I heard she's dating some referee there.    She's got a whole new life on the road now."

"Well, I'd go over and pay my respects, but my parents are pretty upset that I haven't called home in a while, so..."  

Zatte nodded and waved.  "Yeah, sure.   See you tomorrow, Trunks."

Less than five seconds after he had walked out the door, a man walked in and asked for Christmas cake.    Zatte stifled a groan and explained that the kitchen was closed for the night.    This was spelled out on the cafe's front door, but no one ever really read that as they walked in.    

*******

At 10 P.M. Zatte switched the sign in the window to "CLOSED", and began turning off several of the lights in the store, until only the section above the armchairs was illuminated.    The Christmas lights on the trees outside were easier to see this way, and they lent a pinkish, purplish tint to the inside of the cafe.    Finally, Zatte walked over to Luffa's chair and took a bottle of soda out of her apron.    She slung the apron over the chair opposite Luffa's, then collapsed into it with a heavy sigh.    

"Long day?" Luffa asked.   It wasn't until she saw her up close that Zatte noticed how tired Luffa looked.   Keda had gone to bed a half-hour earlier, leaving Luffa by herself.   She looked like she wanted to fall asleep in the chair, but was too excited from the day's events.

"I've had worse," Zatte said, "but that was back when I had you on the staff."    

"Well, I'm off for a few days," Luffa said.    "I could give you guys a hand."

"Tempting," Zatte said.   "Keda would be thrilled, but I couldn't impose on you like that.     You've probably got plans for Christmas Eve."

"Not really," Luffa said.   "That's why I came here.    I've been touring for so long that I'm not really sure what to do with this much free time."

There was a hiss as Zatte opened the bottle on her soda, and she raised an eyebrow at Luffa's words.    "I thought you and that referee..."

Luffa looked confused for a moment, then she threw back her head and laughed.    "No, no, no," she finally said.    "That was an angle.   Part of a storyline to make people think I had an unfair advantage.    It was kind of dumb, but sometimes you gotta do what the office wants to show 'em you're a team player."

"Oh," Zatte said, somewhat embarrassed.   "Well, it looked so convincing..."

"Well that's the idea," Luffa said.   "Wait, have you been watching my matches?   I thought you didn't go for that stuff."

"Well, Keda watches them all the time anyway," Zatte explained.    "And she's got that subscription to the on-demand service on the internet.    It's about the only time we get to see you anymore, you know?   Even if it's while you're spitting green stuff all over people."

"Keda asked me to teach her how to do the poison mist," Luffa said.   "I told her I couldn't, because the recipe for the poison is too dangerous.  Merry Christmas."

"Thanks," Zatte said.   She glanced around at the walls, imagining what they would look like with green food coloring on every surface.  "When are you gonna tell her the truth about all that stuff, anyway?"

"What, that it's fake?" Luffa asked with a smile.   "I dunno, she's still pretty young.   I'll tell her next year."

"That's what you said last year," Zatte said.   "I'd do it myself, but she wouldn't believe me.    She's a smart kid, you know.   Sooner or later, she'll figure it out on her own, and that might be kind of awkward for you."

Luffa settled back in her chair and looked down at the empty cup in her hands.    "I don't know, it's cool to have someone I know who believes it's all real," she said.   "I'll have to give that up eventually, but it's tough to let go.    You saw how excited she was when I came in."

"Yeah..." Zatte said.   She took a swig from her soda and propped her feet up on the ottoman that lay between their chairs, so that their ankles alternated in an orderly row across the cushion.

"So are you really winning the title?"  Zatte asked after a long pause.   In spite of Luffa's exhaustion, her eyes lit up at the question.

"Keep it under your hat," Luffa said, lowering her voice as though worried someone might overhear, "but maybe.    That show's six weeks out, and a lot could change before then.    If someone gets injured or something, they might have to call an audible and change the card around.    But they definitely want to put the title on me at some point."   She held up both hands and crossed her fingers for emphasis.

"That's great," Zatte said.   "I mean, it is, right?   If the matches are predetermined, does the championship even matter?"

"Oh, it's a big honor," Luffa said, visibly excited at the chance to explain it.  "I mean, it's a secondary belt, and SPARKING! isn't that big a promotion, but still.   It's kind of like an actor winning an award.    The people in charge are saying they think I'm good enough to deserve that spot on the show.    I mean, two years ago I was still helping the crew put the ring together.    I still can't believe it."

"I can," Zatte said.   "You always put everything you have into whatever you do.   I always saw it when you worked here, so it doesn't shock me that other people can see it in you now."

"I've missed this place,"  Luffa said wistfully.    "That's the only trouble with being on tour so much.    I don't get to cook as often.     I saw a place selling Christmas cakes on the way here and you've probably been selling them all month without me..."

"Well, if you really want to," Zatte said, "you could give us a hand in the kitchen tomorrow.   I mean, if you really didn't have any other plans for Christmas Eve..."

"Nope, I got nothing," Luffa said.    "What about you?   Keda and I could keep an eye on the place so you can leave early."  

"We're closing early anyway," Zatte said.   "Business usually drops off pretty sharply on Christmas Eve night, so we might as well.   Besides, I can't have you waiting tables with that crazy hair.    You'd scare the customers."

"Huh?   Oh, right," Luffa said.   "You know, I've been wearing it like this for so long I'd gotten used to it.    You don't like my look?"

"It's just... very bright," Zatte said.    "It's not so bad up close, when I can see your face better, but it almost doesn't look like real hair.    It looks rough, like hay."

"It's really not," Luffa said.   She tugged on some of it to demonstrate.   "I don't even put much stuff in it to make it stick up like it does.     Here, feel this."  

Zatte shrugged and moved to the seat beside Luffa's, where she reached for the same part of her hair that Luffa was holding.   Their fingers brushed against each other, and neither of them seemed entirely sure how to react to the sensation.  

"Huh..." Zatte said as she gently touched Luffa's head.    "That's not at all what I expected."  

"Yeah," Luffa said, somewhat awkwardly.   "It's not so different from that red streak you've got in your hair, I bet."

She reached out for the side of Zatte's bob, and rubbed a strand of it between her fingers.   "Why are you blushing?" Luffa asked.    

"Oh... uh, I probably stood up too quickly," Zatte said.    

"Oh..."

They heard someone outside walking past the storefront, and suddenly became very self-conscious of holding onto each other's hair, so they quickly let go, and looked away from each other.    

"So uh..." Luffa said.    "If you're not doing anything tomorrow night..."

"I mean, I've got a reservation at Kentucky Fried Chicken, but that's it, really," Zatte said.    "Keda talked me into it.    Said I ought to do something, even if I was alone.   But if you wanted to come along..."

"Sure," Luffa said.    "I haven't had KFC in ages.    And you know, it'd give me a chance to see the lights around town."    

"They've got a new thing at the mall," Zatte said.    "Well, not new new.   It was there last year, but you wouldn't have seen it then."

"That sounds fine," Luffa said.   "Yeah."

*******

Behind the front counter, Keda observed her sister and Luffa through the glass of the display case.    It wasn't an ideal vantage, and she could barely hear what they were saying, but it was enough for her to get the gist of things, and so far things looked promising.  

There were still a lot of things that could go wrong.   Long distance relationships were always a challenge, and the professional wrestling business wasn't exactly known for fidelity, but these were factors Keda couldn't control,  and at some point it would be up to the two of them to make things work as best they could.    It was enough that Keda had gotten them to this point-- studying Luffa's tour schedule, playing the eager fan, and providing Luffa a useful excuse to visit right before a romantic holiday.    Really, the only thing she had been worried about was that the two women would have seen through Keda's "wrestling-is-real" act, but they were grown-ups, and they didn't know an eleven-year-old from an seven-year-old, not when you really got down to it.

Keda noticed Zatte reaching for Luffa's hair a second time, and decided that was her cue to withdraw.   She was playing matchmaker, not spying on them, after all.     Besides, Keda would have to rest up for tomorrow so she could help out in the store tomorrow, in order to make sure neither of them were too tired for their date.    

Quietly, Keda made her way back to the door that led to their second-story apartment.     As she  ascended the stair, she imagined how great things would be next Christmas, with a SPARKING! All-Pacific Champion in the family.    Maybe then, finally, Luffa would teach her how to spit Poison Mist.

[THE END]  

[nana-lew-rp]

Whoops!|| Youni Advent Day 7: Skiing

Shawna smirked at her boyfriend and their Samoyed puppy, Shiro. She was so happy to be with him and them starting something with someone. He was much more wealthy than her parents, even though they were well off. He had a winter house in the mountains at the resort. She had such fond memories of the place. From the school field trips to her greek house frolicking, it felt so warm and exciting for her. She felt this trip was gonna lead on to something special.

While taking her dog for a walk in the village down where the regular people come up to stay for 3 days or less. She still wasn't used to living in high-end luxury and so the walk was to get away from all the stuffy people.

PJ had saved up all year for this. He wanted JP to experience something that had brought him joy for many years, and he was so glad he was ready to see it all. The smile on the boy's face at all the snow and that he could do anything he wanted up there. Ice skating, skiing, snowboarding; there were even things to do inside for the other little kids, but he was special. He was going to do anything his...told him to do.

JP walked up to the dog that was laying down outside and turned its head side to side. Why was the dog so big and fluffy? How was it still white? Wouldn't its owner get it lost up here? Isn't it cold at all? The boy only could think before the dog jumped up and started sniffing around him, wrapping him in his leash. "PJ?"

Shawna came out with her cup of Irish coffee, surprised to see her dog tangled with some kid. PJ heard the boy and went over to see what was the fuss. He saw the woman he assumed to be the huge monster's owner taking the tangle apart. He went and began to help and saw the face. That face. Here? At this time of year? It felt like a Christmas special. "Ana?"

"Oh, I'm so- *gasp* PJ?! Oh my god I haven't seen you since college! Is this your son?"

"Uhhm...something like that," he chided, hugging the girl and being pulled away because JP cut between them.

"I'm not his son..I’m his..."

"Oh!" Shawna's eyebrows raised, "Well that's great! I’m not one to judge.”

“You’re blonde now,” PJ pointed out smiling warmly.

Shawna was caught in his eyes against the snow, “And your hair is bigger and..curlier than ever..” she subconsciously bit her lip, looking down at her dog and the boy, “Uhh JP, why don’t you go play in the snow with Shiro? Your dad and I are gonna catch up.”

PJ had wanted this trip to not have the same memories from his time at school, but here he was in the most ideal conditions. Shawna, looking as beautiful as she ever could, definitely still capable of falling under his spell. Her sweetness and intelligence towards her dog and his boy made his head full with ideas. 

They went on with one another about what happened after the “happily ever after” of graduation and release from the YouTube Youniversity treatment program. They had grown so much closer towards the end, both as friends and as colleagues. However, they both knew that they needed to know what was outside of this school, hence, they moved on and saw the world alone- unaware it would still bring them back together.

Hours passed and Shawna’s boyfriend- soon to be fiance- had called her to ask where she had been, they had a huge dinner had been planned, as per the agenda of the weekend. The view overlooking the snow-covered resort in their winter best, and the engagement ring bigger than her eyes. Even Shiro had a role. However, when she answered, he instantly grew concerned.

“Hah..hello?”

“Sweet nookums, where are you? Shiro doesn’t need a 4 hour walk,” he said, giggling.

“Uhh...oh fuck, it’s been four hours?” she breathed, pulling her phone away and looking at the time, then putting her phone back to her ear, “I was..uhh..hitting the slopes for a little and I..I guess I lost track of the time.”

“Sure, but the slopes closed early today for the upcoming snowstorm. Did you go to the resort down the mountain?”

She feels a hand rub her back and kisses being planted on her shoulder and neck, “Uhhm...I..uhhh..” As she drops her phone, PJ picks it up and continues massaging her shoulder and rubbing her back.

“Hello? Shawna? Baby? What’s going on?”

“Ah yes, is this Andrew?”

“Yes, and may I ask who this is on my girlfriend’s phone?”

“Oh this is her masseuse for the night, Nevil. She went to the spa and was talking about how this night might be something special for her, so she’s getting a massage to get her...loosened up and ready for what she might think will be one of the best nights of her life. Wouldn't you want your woman to be relaxed and pampered to enjoy you and her night?”

“Ye-yeah, you’re right..uhm..just uhh charge the bill to the Braveners. And tell her that she needs to be at dinner at 9. I’ll send her clothes down with the stylist and a ride back up the mountain.”

“Will do. Have a nice evening, sir-”

“And I’ll throw in three times the tip she gives you if you can get her to glow a little, if you get me....”

“I will see what I can do, sir.”

Shawna sighed once he hung up and looked at PJ with concern, “Where’s JP?”

“Probably playing in the leftovers with Shiro...”

“And where would that be?”

“Downstairs..”

“Oh my god..I’m getting engaged...tonight! And I just...”

“Don’t worry..He’s probably what you need, I was just glad to see you again.”

“I’d hate to disappoint everyone..and I mean everyone, but he’s too rich. He’s awfully nice, but..his solution to anything is just..throwing money at it, and I just..hate having everything that I wanted and no effort, there’s no resolution, we don’t fight about anything because he can buy it out. He wants to brainwash me into his perfect little fantasy of being middle class..”

“He’s not very creative.”

“And you’re one of the most creative guys I’ve ever met.”

“We can do this again, next year, if you like..”

“What if I get married?..”

“Invite me to the wedding.”

“Peej..”

“It’ll be like old times..and that’s what I love about coming here..”

“Alright..you’ll get an invitation and a plane ticket to the wedding and the bachelorette party. And outside of that..I’ll see you next year?”

“Next year it is.”

[inaheartbeat-phff]

Chapter 6

Friday, January 9th, 5:00am  

Arabella could feel her sides burning.

What happened yesterday? She asked herself. She tried to remember the past day's event. Arabella remembered that she was at Amersfoort visiting the Centre for Safety and Development. It was Harry's first engagement in the Netherlands with her. He was a bit nervous but the engagement ended well. They were greeting the crowds when something reflected on the sun. A gun? No it was small and sharp. A knife? Yes, that must be it. She didn’t remember getting stabbed, Finn had been quick and pulled her away from the scene as possible. Then why is her sides burning so much? Thinking back, she remembered the guy holding a knife lunged at her before Finn pulled her away from the scene.

That son of a bitch sliced her!

Groaning, Arabella squinted her eyes open. Turning her head to the side, she could see Harry's peaceful sleeping face and the sight made her smile. Reaching up, she put her hand on Harry's cheeks and kept it there for a while. Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry gave a deep sigh before opening his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Arabella smiled up at him.

"hm, good morning love." Harry groaned before turning his body to face hers. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I could've been better." Arabella smiled softly. "Did Dr Haven cleared me to go for my birthday retreat?" She smiled cheekily at him.

"Yes, she gave you some pain medications and advices you to not do any strenuous activities that might re-open the stitches. The cut itself isn't too deep so you only needed 4 stitches. You should be fine by the end of next week." Harry said lightly kissing her head.

"Okay then, is everything ready for the weekend?" Arabella asked once she have changed her clothes and got herself ready for the flight to the Alps.

"Yes everything is set up. The house is prepared and all that’s left to do is to go there. We all will arrive there at more or less the same time. Relax babe, it's your birthday retreat." Harry smiled.

With that, the couple left Huis ten Bosch palace and went off to Arabella's weekend retreat.

Arabella knew she wouldn’t get any skiing done as she couldn’t do any strenuous activities but she could just be lazy, shop around town and just relax. She is turning thirty anyways and what best way to do so than to spend it with people she loves?

The car went through the private entrance and on to the tarmac. There, Arabella's jet plane was waiting for them to board. The pilot, co-pilot and cabin crew were waiting in a line to greet the pair.

"Good morning everybody! Is everything ready for the flight?" Arabella asked as her hands intertwine with Harry. This isn't an official business, but Arabella is still the crown princess, therefore she gets to shake hands first.

"Everything is set and ready to go ma'am." The pilot said smiling. "It's a pleasure to have you on board with us this morning ma'am."

"Well let's get this show on air shall we?" With a twinkle in her eye, Arabella stepped onto the stairs and into the plane leaving Harry behind her shaking his head.

The three hour flight from Rotterdam airport to the Alps was a smooth one. Both Harry and Arabella fell asleep inside the bed room. Once they touched down, the pair quickly went to their designated car and went to the place where they were staying for the weekend. With snow all around them, Arabella leaned into Harry and sighed happily.

Reaching the house, Arabella and Harry got out of the car and went inside. Their bags was being brought in for them and put into their room. Taking off their coats, jackets, scarfs, gloves and boots, the pair went to the main living room and greeted their friends who was already there.

There were 5 couples who are on this trip, including Arabella and Harry. It was truly a retreat for couples as well as to celebrate Arabella's life. One of the attendees of the weekend getaway are Will and Kate. As Harry's brother, Will have gotten closer to Arabella and as it was their wedding that introduce the two pair together, Arabella felt as if she owes it to the both of them. As the years pass on, Kate got close to Arabella as Kate would often call Arabella if she was in need of advice. The two now share the bond of sisters and Arabella knows that no matter what, she will always try to be there for Kate and the other way as well.

Other than Will and Kate, Arabella's god siblings and her oldest best friends, Madeleine and Guillaume was present at the retreat as well. Madeleine and Guillaume have been there for her since she was a young girl. Going through major periods of her life, she couldn’t think of a day where Maddie and Guy wasn’t there for her and she for them. The three of them was often called the three musketeers during royal engagements if they were ever together and had a lot of fun. Arabella have spent a lot of time with them as their parents are Arabella's godparents. In this retreat, each of them have brought their significant other. Arabella have gotten to know Chris, Maddie's husband and Stephanie, Guy's wife quite well. Arabella went to their weddings and was even the maid of honour to Maddie's wedding in 2013. Even though Maddie and Guy are years older than her, she still considers them her best friends.

Last but not least, a close friend of Arabella is Charlotte Casiraghi. She is the Princess of Hanover's daughter and is a year younger than Arabella. Arabella met Charlotte in the early 2000s while on an engagement with their parents. The pair had found each other and have been close ever since. Charlotte brought along her beau, Gad on the retreat.

"Well lookie here Mads, our Queen have arrived." Guy, short for Guillaume, joked.

"Took your sweet time did you?" Mads, short for Madeleine, joined in the fun.

"Sod off, guys." Arabella smiled before going forwards and hugging her two best friends. "I missed you guys."

"I saw you earlier this week you nimrod." Guy smiled before hugging his friend tightly.

"How are you darling? We heard what happened yesterday, awful isn't it how someone can go so far because of hate?" Mads said to Arabella, worried about her close friend.

“I’m fine. Just no skiing for me this trip.” Arabella said before greeting Charlotte next.

While Arabella went around the room catching up with her friends, Harry went to say hello to everyone briefly before going to talk to his brother. It was thanks to them after all that Harry and Arabella met. He couldn’t help but reminisce about the time. Arabella has attended Will and Kate’s wedding as a representative of the Dutch Royal Family.

Harry was getting ready for his brother’s wedding in his old bedroom back at Clarence House after his mother passed away. He straightened up his Blues and Royals uniform and took a deep breath before going next door to his brother's room. "You nervous?" Harry asked as he entered the room to see Will playing with his cuffs.

"Yeah. Big day today." Will mumbled before fixing his uniform.

"Miguel said that we need to leave Clarence in a few minutes. Pa and Camilla are downstairs getting ready to go." Harry informed him the plans. William then nodded and took a deep breath before going downstairs to talk to his Pa before they leave to Westminster Abbey.

The two boys gave each other a smile before heading downstairs to meet their father, step mother and Will's private secretary. When the two stepped into the drawing room downstairs, the Prince of Wales and their father, Charles gave them a big grin before greeting them and asking Will how he felt. When the pleasantries were done, Miguel cleared his throat to give the final briefing to the soon to be duke and his family.

"Guests have started to arrive half an hour ago, that includes celebrities, your friends and members of your patronages and charities that were invited. Heads of state and Prime ministers started to arrive fifteen minutes ago. The Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima of Netherlands are unable to attend, but they have sent their eldest daughter, Princess Arabella to represent them. As she in Her Majesty's goddaughter, Princess Arabella is walking in together with The Queen and she will be placed right behind Her Majesty next to The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, her other set of godparents. Ms Middleton will leave her hotel five minutes after you leave Clarence house." With that, Miguel nodded at the both of them before leaving the room.

"Ah, Arabella is coming instead of Willem-Alexander and Maxima. What a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen her since her twenty first birthday celebrations. I tell you, if you think how the UK love their monarchy, you should see the Dutch. Amazing. She's the Heir's heir like you are William. A beauty too." Charles sighed as he remembered the young Dutch princess.

"How did granny became her godmother, Pa?" William asked, trying to think about anything else rather than what is currently happening.

"Her late mother and your grandmother were friends. Despite the big age difference, her mother and your granny were quite close. Her mother looks up to ma and would always go to her if she was in need of advice. Such a shame what happened to her. She passed away from cancer. The poor girl." Charles shakes his head before an idea sparked in his mind, he would have to tell his mother of what he thought. "Hey, Arabella's only a few months younger than you Harry, now that I think about it. She's quite the looker she is."

"Pa, I don’t know what you're trying to do, but I just got out of a relationship, I don’t feel like going through another. One with another royal might I add." Harry said shaking his head. "Let's just enjoy Will's wedding day yeah? And no setting me up with anyone, please pa?"

"Fine." Charles said nodding his head begrudgingly. He would inform his mother later. He thinks that they'll be a good match those two. Free spirited yet with a sense of duty. Of course Harry's are more free spirited and less duty, but Charles thinks that Arabella will be good for his son.

Not a moment after that conversation, they were asked to get ready to leave Clarence House. Charles and Camilla will go first and five minutes later, Harry and William will leave.

Once they have arrived at The Abbey, Harry and William looked around at the crowds. There is a lot of people there. The two of them then waved at the crowds as they erupt in cheers before heading inside the Abbey.

They both greeted some of the guests and went to the front to wait for the Queen's entrance before Kate arrives and the wedding to start. A few minutes later, the fanfare rang and the two boys looked at each other knowing that their granny is here. Which also meant that Princess Arabella is here too. Harry wouldn’t deny that he was curious of what she looked like.

When their granny walked in and into her seat, the two boys bowed their heads in respect. When they raised their heads, Harry couldn’t help but gape at the beauty in front of him. She's beautiful, Harry thought. I wouldn’t mind being set up with her to be honest. As Harry continue to stare at her, she turned her head and looked back at Harry. Harry couldn’t help but gasp at the beauty and get lost in her eyes.

After the ceremony, which Harry thought was beautiful, Harry followed the Queen and the rest of his family out to wave goodbye to the newly weds before going back to Buckingham Palace for the Reception held by the Queen.

After they waved goodbye to the newly weds, the next to leave is the Queen. Looking around as her car came into view, she asked very loudly. "Where is Arabella? We need to leave soon."

"I'm here Aunt Lilibet. Not everyone is Queen and get to leave the Abbey first you know." Harry heard a feminine voice called out behind him. He have never heard anyone joke with his granny in public. Ever.

"Well hurry up will you, we have to get to Buckhouse before the newly weds. And the guests can only leave after I leave. You know being Queen and all." Harry's eyes widened. His granny never joked back. Not in public and not where everything can be recorded.

The lady in orange walked past him and into his granny's car, but not before saying, "I still don’t see why I have to ride with you. I could've gotten my own car." She grumbled.

"Will you just get in." The Queen said exasperatingly. "Kids these days." Shaking her head, she went in the car next to the lady in orange while his grandpapa sat on the front seat. As the doors closed, you can clearly tell they were sharing a joke as they threw their heads back and laughed away. The car then moved forwards in direction of Buckingham.

"That was Princess Arabella of the Netherlands. Her grandmother is Queen Beatrix and her father is Prince Willem-Alexander." A voice next to him said. He turned his head to the side and saw his cousin Beatrice. "Rumour has it, Queen Beatrix is abdicating the throne in a few years and handing it down to prince Willem-Alexander. Rumour also has it, that she's currently single and available. Go on Harry, go get her so you can be king." She nudged him jokingly.

"I haven't even been introduced to her yet. I don’t know how she's like. She's not a bad sight for the eyes though." Harry said, as his ride came around and he got in, heading towards Buckingham Palace for the balcony kiss and the reception.

When Harry was finally behind closed doors and away from the public eye. He gave out a sigh and went to the ballroom where the reception is behind held. This was the first reception and there will be another one tonight for more closer and intimate part of the celebrations. Harry did his rounds, greeting foreign heads of state as well as celebrities. He also went around talking to the different members of charities and making small talk. He had to excuse himself from his conversation with the Prime Minister as his grandmother's PA leaned over his ear and said, "Her Majesty would like to speak to you Your Royal Highness."

Charles have went and talked to his mother about the possible pairing of his son Harry and Arabella. Elizabeth agreed that the two of them would make a great pair but first she needs to know that they get on well. With a twinkle in her eyes, she asked for both Arabella, who was somewhere in the room talking to dignitaries and Harry, who was talking to the Prime Minister.

"Granny." She heard someone said behind her. Turning around, she saw Harry standing there with his hands by his side. Bowing his head as a sign of respect, he asked, "You summoned me?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth and was about to reply him when another voice spoke to her from behind, only this time, the voice had a more exasperated tone to it rather than curiosity like Harry's.

"Aunt Lilibet, what is it this time? I have been introduced by many bachelors from you and uncle Henri that my cheeks are numb and my hands feels as if it was about to fall off."

Turning around, Elizabeth spoke to Arabella. "Bella, I want you to meet my grandson." Beckoning Harry forward, she introduced the pair. "Harry, I want you to meet Arabella. Bella, this is Harry." Smiling at herself she then slipped away unnoticed in the crowd.

"Hi. Sorry about that, I didn’t want to come off as rude or anything. It's just all day she's been keeping me at her side and introducing me to young men, creepy men, I might add." Arabella said looking at Harry.

"No worries. She would usually do that to me, but since you're here, I probably should thank you for getting me out of it." Harry laughed.

He has a nice laugh, Arabella thought.

"Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you Harry." Arabella said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you too." Harry replied, but instead of shaking her hand, he brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"Oh." Arabella gasped as she did not suspect that to happen, blushing.

"How long are you in London?" Harry asked, he doesn’t want the conversation to end. Not that it was actually a conversation.

"Until Tuesday. I've got an engagement here in London with Aunt Lilibet on Monday before I could go back to Amsterdam." She replied.

"Why do you call granny Aunt Lilibet and not your majesty?" Harry asked curious.

"She asked me to." Arabella said. "She wouldn’t reply me otherwise if I called her anything else. Besides, I used to come here every few weeks to spend time with her. Out of all my godparents, I am most closest to her." Arabella said. Which was true.

"Are you free on Sunday?" Harry asked, his heart beating quickly and his palms start to sweat.

"I don’t have anything planned at the moment. Why?" Arabella asked back, her head going thousand kilometers per hour trying to figure out if he was going to ask her out on a date.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Harry blurted out. Widening his eyes, he quickly added, "you don’t have to if you don’t want to."

"I would love to Harry." Arabella said softly, smiling at him.

"I'll pick you up at eleven am then, I can show you around town. Are you staying here?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I'll be staying here for my visit." Arabella replied before leaning up and kissing his cheeks quickly. As she pulled away, she whispered, "I'll see you then." Before walking away back to her seat.

Harry couldn’t help but think that this will be the start of something new.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry and Arabella laid in bed later that night after having dinner and played some board games with her friends. This was her inner circle. People who she trusts the most. There literally is no one else she would trust other than those who are currently on this trip. It doesn’t matter that they are all of royal blood or not, they keep her grounded and sane.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Harry asked Arabella as she laid her head on his chest.

"I did. I'm glad everyone is here to celebrate my birthday. I don’t have that many friends outside of this circle." She said sighing. It was true. She never properly went to school. She did her elementary and secondary schooling at the Palace where tutors will come and teach her. She would then sit for the exams and get her certificates. She then went to Leiden University to do her Bachelor's degree in International Relations and Organisations. During her university years, of course she has friends, just not those she would trust with her life. Sure she would go and keep in touch with them, but she wouldn’t rant to them or open up to them.

"I know love. I hope you still get a good night's rest and a good day tomorrow. Even though you cant ski or do any strenuous activities." At strenuous activities, Harry wiggled his eyebrows.

Giggling, Arabella slapped his chest lightly before closing her eyes. "I love you Harry. Thank you for being with me. Even though I know you don’t like this life or want to be king." She whispered against him, his heartbeat loud on her ear.

"I would go to the ends of the world for you Arabella. I love you too much to let you go." Harry said as they both fell asleep on each other. Thinking how much they loved each other and none of the two would do anything to jeopardize this happiness they were feeling right now.

Next Chapter 

[golfnomad]

Holiday Trip 2017, Part 2: Washington in Winter

After playing in Sacramento on Thursday, I continued up the I-5 on Friday. I actually stopped and played a very special round at Eugene Country Club that day. However, I am saving that review for last for various reasons.

Instead, we’ll skip ahead to feature the two courses I was able to play in Southern Washington while visiting my brother in Vancouver. 

As expected, winter weather was definitely a factor in the Pacific Northwest and limited how often I could play on this trip. Saturday, however, turned out to be a decent day and I was able to get out for an afternoon round...

Lewis River Golf Course • Woodland, WA • 12/23/17

There were a few options I was considering playing this day, including some courses back across the river in the Portland area and a handful on the Washington side. My brother ultimately recommended Lewis River as one of the more scenic courses nearby, so I called ahead. They were open, uncrowded and the price was reasonable enough ($30, cart included).

As I left Vancouver and headed north, the skies cleared up beautifully and ended up making for picture-perfect conditions. Now “picture-perfect” refers more to the blue skies and great afternoon lighting that illuminated the course during my round. I got so many excellent pictures on this day. 

I should note, however, that the temperatures never got above 40 degrees and it was quite windy, as well. It was brutally cold out there. Fortunately, there was hardly anyone on the course. I played through one other single and zipped around as quickly as I could. I probably spent more time taking pictures than hitting shots, but that’s nothing new.

Lewis River was designed by Ralph Stading, who is not an architect I am familiar with. In fact, this is the only course listed under him on GolfAdvisor, so that would explain why I’ve never heard of him. One part of the course might suggest he got some design inspiration from Ted Robinson, Sr. or maybe Pete Dye.

There aren’t any significant changes in elevation on this course. Much of it runs back and forth in a parkland style, with tall evergreens and other mature trees lining the fairways and shaping your shot angles. Many of the holes feature doglegs to emphasize positioning and shot shapes. 

There wasn’t anything overly exciting about the front nine except for the par-3 7th hole. This one features a slightly elevated tee hitting across a hazard to an elevated green. It is framed very nicely with the trees and natural elements around. The 1st and 6th are also nice holes on the front nine.

Ultimately, the back nine really perks up. The holes become more and more interesting as you go. More water hazards come into play and the scenery also gets more appealing. The par-3 11th offers one of few limited views of nearby Mount St. Helens behind the green. I was actually hoping to have more mountain views out here (Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood can be seen from the freeway as you drive up here from Vancouver). Some of the final few holes also play along the Lewis River.

The coolest part of this course is undoubtedly the sprawling complex that is centered around the side-by-side 16th and 17th greens. The 10th green, 13th green, 14th tee and 18th tee are also nearby, so you get many glimpses of this beautiful complex throughout the back nine. The greens are surrounded by water hazards, wood-planked walls, nice landscaping and deep bunkers. It has a great look.

The 16th is a short, dogleg right par-4. After you turn the corner, you have a downhill shot over water to the well-protected green. The 17th comes back the other way over another water hazard to a similarly styled green. Both holes look great and are fun to play. Being side-by-side and basically connected by the landscaping features only adds to the appeal.

Despite the near-freezing temperatures, the course was actually in really nice shape. It was lush and green from edge to edge, so it really lit up with the sometimes perfectly clear and sometimes partly cloudy skies overhead. There were definitely some wet/soft spots throughout, but nothing too bad. It was cart-path-only. Some of these Southern Washington courses benefit from volcanic ash in the soil from the famous St. Helens eruption. This helps improve natural drainage.

The greens were just okay because they aerated fairly recently. They were very soft and quite slow, though I could tell they are generally well-maintained. I would imagine they are already great by now since the aeration should be mostly healed already. The bunkers were interesting because they had really dark sand. It looked like it was going to be super wet and compacted. It was damp, but surprisingly soft and nicer to play from than expected. I wondered if the dark color is also related to the volcanic silt/ash of the area. 

In my eyes, Lewis River is the true definition of a “hidden gem.” It’s not a course many people outside of Southern Washington know about and that’s too bad. It really is an enjoyable course in a very beautiful setting. I would highly recommend it if you happen to be in the area.

Some pictures from Lewis River Golf Course (12/23/17):

I was hoping to maybe play Sunday, as well. However, the weather had different plans. We knew even colder temperatures and maybe some rain/ice were in the forecast, but nobody expected it to snow all day and stick! My car was covered with about three inches of ice/snow by the end of the day. That obviously killed any golf plans for Sunday or Monday, but it sure was cool to experience a white Christmas this year.

On Tuesday, I left down to work my way down the coast. I was on my way to visit one of my best friends who lives in the Newport, OR area. I knew I probably wouldn’t likely be playing any golf while I was there for a few days with a ton of rain in the forecast, so I was hoping to get some in on the drive down.

I decided to take the scenic route, which would also help me avoid Portland morning traffic. My drive actually took me further north into Washington, where I then cut back across the Columbia River and drove across to the northern coast of Oregon. Then, I drove all the way down the coast from there, which is a slow, but very neat drive.

I was actually able to play two courses along the way, but I will just feature one of them in this article...

Three Rivers Golf Course • Kelso, WA • 12/26/17

Three Rivers is one of the courses I considered playing on Saturday because it has the best reputation for good drainage during the rainy winter months of Southern Washington. After the snowstorm, though, I expected most everything throughout the area and around Portland to still be covered with ice.

I was going to take this driving route either way because I knew my best way to avoid icy conditions was to take the coast, where there are still a number of short courses I haven’t played. 

I decided to stop by Three Rivers on the way, just to take a look. I saw that they were open and there was no frost/ice on the grass. Naturally, I went ahead and played it. The pro shop guy was nice and charged me $27.50 (cart included), which was actually the twilight rate. He gave me the rate over an hour early because it would normally not start until noon. I got the sense they were happy to welcome any business this day, though it seems a fair number of people eventually showed up.

I actually jumped ahead of a threesome on the first tee and then didn’t run into anyone else after that for a very quick round. 

Three Rivers was designed by Robert Muir Graves. This was obviously a familiar architectural name to me, though this course is actually much more plain than Lewis River. It’s fairly open and forgiving with just some minor changes of elevation in play. What you see is what you get throughout much of the course. The greens are medium-sized, not overly protected and don’t have too much undulation to contend with. This is a relatively simple design.

The 9th hole is probably the most interesting on the course. It’s a mid-length par-4 that doglegs slightly left and requires a demanding approach with a creek that cuts across right in front of the green. 

Parts of the back nine play along the edge of the Cowlitz River, but the setting isn’t quite as pretty as Lewis River. Of course, it was overcast and dreary on this day, so any nice background scenery was obscured. Kelso-Longview is more of a mill/industrial kind of area. It’s funny that the name Three Rivers reminded me of the old stadium in Pittsburgh because this area does have kind of a Western Pennsylvania blue collar feel like a lot of mill/port towns you’ll find throughout Oregon and Washington. 

The Cowlitz River is one of the Three Rivers referred to in the name, along with the Columbia and I believe the Coweeman River. 

The marketing was sure true about the draining properties of this golf course. There were a few small patches of ice still sitting on a couple of the greens, which signified they got some snow and ice up here. However, there weren’t many signs of it anywhere else on the course. There were definitely some wet spots, but no cart restrictions. In addition to the volcanic ash, I am sure the primarily fescue-based turf also improves drainage. It’s commonly used throughout the Northwest because of all the rain. The greens were receptive and rolling smooth at medium speeds. I was not in any bunkers here, but they looked pretty wet and compacted from what I observed.

Though not the most exciting or scenic course in the region, Three Rivers is certainly a good option for a bad weather (or post bad weather) round because it drains so well. If you want to get out in the winter and tee it up at a reasonable price, you could do a lot worse than Three Rivers.

Some pictures from Three Rivers Golf Course (12/26/17):

[writemywalks]

Letters to the piece of my heart: Ushuaia

After last year events I haven’t flashbacked much, in fact, they cured me of all the drama-related crap and now I barely whine or regret about trying new things like  i rarely feel that out-of-nowhere sadness. Sometimes true sad things set life priorities for you and you just chill the hell down.

Ergo, with that mindest I left home (aka new home/grandma house) a day after Christmas to the airport with a clenched butt, since my budget for the actual trip was very low and I had no credit card to back me up. But in spite of it, with a whatever comes attitude, me and my friend took off and myself finally enjoyed a flight for the first time, since the last two i did, I had a bad time being suspended on air in a locked-up plane.

For the first time in my life, I made this trip with zero expectations, like I wasn’t daydreaming or creating likely scenarios in my head. The only thing that was at the back of my brain was that, this Plan B was going to be made in honor of what Plan A should have been about. Even though our flight was delayed for almost three hours, everything was fine and we made it safe and sound.

Outside the airport while looking for a taxi, we came to realize that it was very windy and that in fact, there wasn’t a drop of the heat we left back in Buenos Aires. We were kind of insecure about the hostel we booked, since it looked too good to be true, but at this point we were already free falling. Once we checked-in and settled in our rooms, we saw that, in fact, everything was just like in the booking page pictures, and we had a plus: our shared bedroom had a dreamy view with mountains that seemed to be 5′ away. 

Gotta say I love having anecdotes of roomates farting in the middle of the night, or people having smelly feet that make you almost pass out, you really hate it when you’re there but I look back laughing now.

I think our first tour was “The end of the world” train that is basically a comfortable train with big windows indeed that takes you throughout dreamy landscapes while you’re being told the old prisoners stories that used to work in the mines located there.

It was a nice ride and bet my life that must be a whole dream on winter, with all those mountains and landscapes full of snow. There were some waterfalls, little lakes, and some good scenery that a movie would do.

On the same day we also booked a tour to the “Canal Beagle”, a channel where there’s the iconic “end of the world lighthouse”, sea lions and pinguins. This was the tour which worth every penny we payed. When we took our sits inside the catamaran, the view from the window of the city from afar looked similar to the Niek Engelschmanbrug buildings in Amsterdam. Once the city landscape was out of sight, we decided to approach the bow of the boat and there are no words to express how much freedom, feeling like singing and all that carefree crap i felt right there. I was like, living in the present is the moto one should live with.

After our first tour we went back to the hostel and spent the following two days boring the hell out of us. Me neither my friend are what we would call antisocial but we are really laid back people, so we weren’t having much sucesss regarding making new friends in the hostel, so we spent the time drinking mate, laying down in the sofa listening to music and scrolling down IG (and with our friend scolding us from her own beach vacation through FaceTime for being lazy asses).

The following day we woke up very early since we had to go to Laguna Esmeralda, a 2 hour and a half trekking to a Lake with a emerald color with white-peaked mountains as far as eye could see. I must have lost almost four pounds walking up and down those muddy paths where I baptized half leg after my friend pulled me down when she almost slipped herself.

Even though you stop to take some pictures, none of them does justice to what your retinas and brain keep for the rest of your life. The most I remember was being eager to reach the lake, the wind against my face, feeling so small in front of those enormous and even more majestic mountains, Indeed some things that a snapshoot would never show.

The first thing we did when we arrived to the lake was devouring our ham and cheese sandwiches, we were starving like mad after such long walk. Then well-fed and full, we decided to take a 5′ nap in front of this movie set-like place. I tried FaceTiming my family but we were so far from everything that we didn’t have any signal at all. I remember trying to capture a lot of videos of my camera and there’s some pictures on my cellphone with my ass laying near the lake trying to capture some good shoots from below. Some other people were icing their beer amongs the rocks since the water was quite cold and there were people gather here and there chatting and with the same wide-eyed gaze we probably had.

When we had enought rest, we walked beside the lake and tried to find some another view closer to the white-peaked mountains. Whatever we looked, it looked dreamy and sadly, we only had 40 minutes to record that in our minds before the truck came to take us to the city again. Our way back to the entrance seemed to take hours, since we were completely out of air and our legs were already giving up. 

Since my budget was low, I just knew these were about to be the only three tours and experiences I would have in the whole trip. They weren’t THAT expensive but I didn’t have much to spend around and we still had to buy our New Year’s Eve dinner. 

On December 31th, me and my friend woke up with the idea to just walk around the city since even walking the streets was a dream. Don’t ask us how but we ended up taking another tour since I remembered I had the hostel deposit left, I made my last bet and we made our way to Glaciar Martial.

The way to the Glaciar was non-stop uphill, we would stop once in a while to catch some air because contrary to the Lake, the path never went downhill. But as we got closer to the peak of the mountain the air was not only more fresh but we saw from afar people playing in the peak of the mountain full of snow?

Let me tell you, my experience with snow is ZERO, I never had a winter holiday and I never seen it falling down and played like in a Christmas movie. I remember watching some vlogs of people playing with snow before I left for the trip but I knew it wasn’t winter season so there was no chance of seeing snow. I remember reaching the summit with my friend and walking over it with my trainers and since we had left with the idea of just walking around the city, my boots were sleeping in the hostel room and I told my friend “I feel I’m walking over my freezer” and my friend who already went to the South in winter said behind me “girl, this is what snow feels like” and I remember sliding down the hill and sincerely having the time of my life. 

And again, a picture never captures your ass freezing, the back of your mind singing that new song you just listened to and feeling the world is so full of wonder and a lot yet to be seen. The view from the top was outstanding. On our way back down, turning to the entrance some grief came out of nowhere and I started tearing up again. That’s how it works, I guess.

.While we were walking down, we were talking with my friend how much of a dream the ski center must be on winter, since there were some chairlifts hanging there and a winter place off service and my longing to see snow falling increased a bit more. Someday.

My wet ass and my friend came back the hostel and some guests were just chilling so we decided to call our Chilean friend we had made two days earlier and fetch some dinner, since the supermarkets closed at 6 pm.

Wish I could tell how much fun I had that night. Meeting a group of Russians, making Italians taste some Argentinian homemade beverages, eating different Chinese dishes made by a guy from Hong Kong who talked in a spotless british accent, laughing with the tall German guy who suggested picture poses and laughed everytime. I bet he barely spoke spanish or english but we understood each other. And ending up dancing with all this people. Duuuude, it’s so odd seeing foreign people dancing to local music but we laughed and man, the beer made in the South, let me tell you, it’s the best I’ve tasted in a while.

The countdown was such a thrill, that’s when I knew I wanted to spend every NYE ahead at places I haven’t seen yet. The rest of the night we spent it, chillin with the only people awake in the hostel: the Argentinians. Everyone else were already sleep by 2 am. Extremely odd for our culture.

I wish I could tell how much I learned from this trip, how people who traveled on their own encourage us to do it, how safe I felt walking around the city at night with the friends we made there, that if you’re open enough, chances can be infinite.

I’m looking forward to more adventures like that.

It’s never too late to wake up to life.

[perksofbeingamaineiac]

January 23, 2017

Things are going to change. I fear for the worst. 

Keirstin and Daryl broke up. Which means anything planned has to be without one. It isn’t like we do much anyways. If they want Tyler to go to Western or to party with them, no girl there and I won’t be invited either. Not like I was before, but at least there was a chance. I didn’t expect Keirstin to tell me either, I just thought we had made enough progress that I would have been notified eventually. I feel like I was there for her every other time she needed someone to talk to because Daryl was hurting her. When she isn’t at Western she calls me. When she is at Western she has other friends. I didn’t see her for Christmas, I planned to, but after hearing what Jody had to say I had no reason to. Now all of Tyler’s friends are single and they’re going to do single things and expect Tyler to join them. I am going to have to find a way to be okay with it. I am actually terrified.  Me and Tyler hung out with Celine today. It made me realize something, I said that if we want to do Cyprus this year that we have to book soon. She said she doesn’t want to go because she has seen it before. I think she doesn’t want to go because not everyone is together. When everyone was together everyone is excited to do something. We used to be a family and Celine even called it that today even though its dead. I wish she would understand that. She is holding onto it and trying to please everyone. It just isn’t like that. No one cares for one another, and she saw if first hand who has her back and she still calls everyone else her family. It pissed me off that these shitty people have better friendships than I do. I try so hard to make people happy and fight so hard for whats right and I am still lonely and unappreciated. Maybe I am the shitty one, its the only way anything makes sense. I know I haven’t been 100% recently, not even 50% to be honest, but thats because I am tired of giving myself. I am tired of being used and getting hurt and not being apart of things. If I am going to be alone its going to be under my terms. No one else’s. 

I really want to see Nicole, but we are both so busy. I am the only one at work that has two shifts this week, which kind of makes me happy. I am so tired though. I am scared I am going to fall behind in school. I have a new goal of becoming a teacher, but I don’t know how possible it is. I learned the alphabet in sign language, which I am very proud of. I talked to Steven about what happened with Tyler on the trip and how I feel in general. Why I think I am reacting so badly to everything. He said  I need to try harder to make Tyler happy because that is what a relationship is about, working with the other person. Tyler tries hard to make me happy and he deserves the same back. Even if I am tired and think I should just sit back and take it for a while. Something Steven said stuck with me because I feel a lot more, like I said I am getting better everyday, but I reached something sexually. I am horny and we did have sex. I was in the mood, just wasn’t that great because I was on my period. I have been masterbating every night trying to hold onto this horniness because I don’t want it to go away. I think I may just be horny because I am on my period, but that end today so hopefully it stays.  I got my Skis back from Sport Chek. Now I have to wait for it to snow and someone to teach me. I am peeling from vacation and am sad about it. 

I have been getting Tyler to take me to the gym. Three days in a row and I feel good. I have been trying to eat healthier and it is a work in progress, but it is coming along. I am taking pictures of Tyler for his new fitness Instagram page tomorrow. Going to borrow a 50mm lens from Raushawn. I hope it goes well. I told Tyler to ask Matt if it was okay that I come in and take pictures and that lead to an argument because Tyler didn’t see the need. Hopefully he will ask anyways. 

I redecorated Phoenix’s cage. I added live kale plants and a new hammock that is pretty big but it looks really cool. Her cage would look better i with sand, but the newspaper is the safest option and easiest to clean. I re-arranged Jinx’s cage and added a fake leaf plant. I want to add more for him to climb and hide under. I want to add maybe another piece of driftwood to Phoenix’s cage too and give her some more climbing and basking space. I have been wanting to change their cages forever and I am finally getting around to it. 

Pre-ordered the Maine’s CD and got a pre-sale code. Nicole agreed to go to the concert with me as tickets are inexpensive. Which is great I get to spend time with her and get to enjoy good music. She is also such an amazing sport at trying out new things. Once I get the CD I am going to make sure she listens to it with me so at least she knows some of the songs and in the meantime I will get her listening to some older stuff. Maybe I will let her borrow my Forever Halloween vinyl because I know she will find that awesome. I am very excited about it. 

Also I am noticing Tumblr isn’t what it used to be, which makes me sad. I went onto formally known tumblrplug, now known as blogplug to promote my blog as its been a while and its a great way to find new blogs and meet new people. Its basically dead. The lists used to be twice as long, twice as many people playing the prom game. Tumblr used to be a tight knit community of people who were misunderstood, but tried to understand one another. They stood by one another and helped one another. Now it is a bunch of people who are self absorbed and only care about themselves. I have had Tumblr for over five years and I have seen it change. I don’t like it. 

Deep Breaths. Hopefully things will be fine. 

[maggiedsadventures-blog]

5.10.17, Lucerne (Luzern)

Finally, a nice, warm, sunny day! We saw that the weather was going to be nice today, so we got up early to do some things in Salzburg that we had been saving for a day like today. We went to the castle fortress that overlooks the whole city and surrounding countryside. What a view! It was totally worth waiting until we had good weather and clear skies to go see it. The castle itself is interesting enough - built in the 11th century, it's expanded over the years. We saw everything from ancient furniture to torture tools. But the view! I can't get enough of these mountains. It was so special to actually be up in a mountain - and literally IN a mountain - yesterday, but to see the whole mountain range on the horizon... It was incredible. It was just like in the movies (yup, we watched the Sound of Music!) but better. We even got the nicest family photo of all us that we've had in years! Okay, now that I'm not exhausted, I can actually think clearly and write about our journey yesterday. Like I said in my earlier post, it was another cool rainy day. I had read about the ice caves online, and vaguely knew that the ice cave was in an actual mountain. Although I knew that, I guess I had never really sat to think about the scale of it all. The rest of my family was on board for an adventure, but Pat admitted that he hadn't actually realized that the ice cave would be within a mountain. As we were driving, it was grey skies and clouds that covered most of the mountains and landscape as we were driving in. We could just make out the shapes of the hills and mountains, like looming giants just beyond your sight. It was beautiful and eerie in its own way. As we get closer to the mountain itself and the mountain ranges, we start to have better visibility. The mountain itself is HUGE. None of us except for Dad, who went to college in Utah, are familiar with mountains, so we were all really excited. The countryside surrounding the mountain is worth noting, too. So much lush greenery, rolling hills, and quaint Swiss chalets. Like something from a postcard! The entrance to the ice cave was a deep hole in the side of the cliff. Dad's has a lot of pain in one of his calves, so he decided to sit this one out and wait for us at the restaurant. But don't feel too bad - he had a fantastic view of the valleys and mountains below, and was able to sketch and drink Austrian beer on an Austrian mountain while he waited for us! There were about eight other people in our group (not including me, Mom, and Pat). Our tour guide would speak in German first, then English. He warned us that we would be walking a kilometer into the mountain, and that there would be about 700 steps - both up, and down - the equivalent of climbing a high-rise building. He said that during the off-season he usually does this tour (and all the climbing) 2-4 times a day; an in the height of the tourist season, can do up to 7! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and were given gas lamps to light our way. He used magnesium flares to light the path ahead, and it definitely cave the tour a really authentic vibe. It was so dark inside the cave, and cold! He had warned us that it would be freezing temperatures, and we had prepared as best we could. At the end of it though, Patrick and I couldn't feel our toes! I had never realized ice could be so beautiful. The tour guide said this was one of the largest ice caves in the world. The ice formations ranged from swells of ice, to jagged stalagmites and stalactites, even to huge blocks, one that even used to be called 'The Elephant'! Our guide explained that the ice formations are ever growing, so it doesn't look much like an elephant before, but did in the early 1900s when the cave was first becoming a popular tourist destination. At times the ice was over 20 meters thick. Sometimes we had to duck to avoid hitting our heads on the sparkling ceiling (our guide explained that the ceiling was glittering because it was still so cold in the cave that the ice was still freezing over; but in the summer, the thin ice will melt!). And other times, our feeble lights couldn't even reach the top of the cave. It was truly awe-inspiring. And the ice was colorful, too! What rock we could see was both gray and orange, a product from iron in the stone rusting. And the ice!!! We saw black ice, orange from the rust of the stone, and even aqua blue. It was just... Incredible. Our walk up through the cave was exhausting, and our guide said that the cave went on for another 40 kilometers! Crazy. After our tour of the caves, we met up with Dad. We took the gondola back down, and really got to enjoy our walk down the path, along the side of the mountain. One of the best parts is that it's the off season right now, and we were the only ones on the path. We had the mountains to ourselves! Of course Dad and Pat threw rocks, and we would all listen for several seconds until the rocks hit on the distant ground below. I wish I could engrave every detail into my mind. But Pat said something interesting - since you can't remember everything you see, you should hold on to how you feel. I've never felt like I was in the presence of something so... No adjective seems good enough to describe it! I guess that will be my feeling I have to remember. And of course, having an amazing afternoon with my family, too! We got back to Salzburg, and then that evening we met up with some Braceland cousins who happened to be in the city while we were! It was so nice to see them. Then we packed up and headed out for a 6 hour drive to Lucerne this morning! And what a drive that was! Dad's such a champ for driving the whole time. We drove out through the Austrian mountains and hills. The ice and snow at the top really gives them some definition. And it was a perfectly clear day too, so we could see for miles and miles! A couple hours outside of Lucerne, we drove by the Alps. We just stared outside our windows the whole time. It's amazing to look out your car window and see the whole right side filled with snow-topped mountains, as far as you can see. Switzerland is SO beautiful. So many blue lakes and green hills! And while we were driving, we saw an actual waterfall falling off the side of a cliff, into the clear waters of a lake below. I mean, really??? How incredible is that? We didn't know too much about Luzern before coming here. I've heard good things about it, and had figured that it would be a good place for us to end our trip. Not to mention it's about halfway between Bern (where I'lll be going next), and Zurich, where Mom, Dad, and Pat are going to go this weekend. Like Geneva, it has an incredibly clear and blue lake, but surrounded by huge jagged mountains. And they're so close! We went out to dinner at night, and pretty much just stared at the scenery the whole time. Then the sun set, and cast a pink hue over the mountains. Pat and I went to take pictures, and saw the full moon rising over the mountain tops. I mean, could things even be more perfect?! Oh, wait, there were like 20 beautiful white swans floating in the lake - so yeah, pretty much perfect! Sorry this is such a long post. There was just so much to write about what we've seen and done, and I know I haven't done it justice. I plan to post pictures tomorrow, which have definitely captured more accurately what I've been trying to describe! Tomorrow is our last full day together. Then I set out for Bern, and the rest of the family goes to Zurich for the night, before Patrick heads out to France via Italy. Mom and Dad are flying home to Boston from Zurich, and while I'll definitely miss them, I'm looking forward to traveling by myself for the first time! I know it will be stressful to navigate and explore new cities on my own, but I'm up for the challenge! Here's to new adventures!

[chicagopdlover]

A look at a terribly reviewed television show | KNSS 98.7/1330

A look at a terribly reviewed television show | KNSS 98.7/1330

As the 4th of July approaches, what is your favorite part of the festivities? Just enjoying a day off Hosting or attending a barbecue, picnic, or cookout Attending a fireworks display Fire off your own fireworks Watch a Fourth of July parade A look at a terribly reviewed television show Steve and Ted sample ABC’s “The Proposal” on The Blur 00:13:29 Download Transcript – Not for consumer use. Robot overlords only. Will not be accurate. He came in as the future of the morning Steve back into Ted Woodward at 830. The leader of Starbucks makes his drug days exit today on its feet and even your. For the coffee company Starbucks founder and executive chair 64 year old Howard Schultz officially steps down. Shields is seen as the architect of the modern Starbucks having overseen its expansion from a single coffee shop. Opening in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1971. In overtime. Growing the brand to more than 28000. Locations worldwide. In 1982 shall it’s becoming director of operations and marketing of Starbucks and is responsible for the company’s huge financial success. Schultz is known for being socially conscious and politically vocal on tripping York. In fact there has been speculation specials will run for office shields will now become chairman emeritus Hillary bar ski Fox News. Stuff fire department leadership is getting criticism from the firefighters union. Wichita fire department and aerial platform that was assisting in a fire at Saint Joseph Catholic church and and dale Sunday. Was recalled to Wichita before the fire was considered to be under control. In a social media post to the union said in part. The Wichita professional firefighters deeply regret the unfortunate situation to abandon our Brothers and sisters. Other Sedgwick county and surrounding volunteer fire companies during a difficult firefight. Here’s Wichita fire chief Tammy snow. We did not provide the service that we normally do to the citizens and then we regret that. And extremely sorry about that we’re still investigating as to hit the further details on. That’s like it’s been in the papers. Chiefs those said the incident was an error in judgment by staff members and they will be reiterating policies and procedures to staff the leadership. When it comes to offering mutual aid to other departments. Health and human services says they’re working to connect children separated from families of the border to their parents. And get unaccompanied minors with family members or sponsors. Immigration attorneys and advocates say they’re trying to learn more about house separated children will be reunited with their parents. Mark Webber with health and human services says all children apprehended at the border are in their care in shelters that. First thing we do when they come and HHS shelter and then 24 hours isn’t sure they are connected to a parent or family up why. And before their place for the sponsor or other family members he says the parent has to approve I have 32 parents here we’ll Satan. That is categorically. Untrue. Ruben Garcia director of annunciation house translated for a group of parents Monday who’s spoken El Paso about their difficulties contacting their children. Jack skip Rosenthal Fox News. Which are managed file the lawsuit against pizza house alleging the food companies delivery practices or at least partly responsible for a crash. That killed his mother had injured his grandmother Wichita eagle reporting Michael Capps filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against Pizza Hut earlier this month. The lawsuit alleges a pizza chains promised to give customers hot pizza quickly. Is responsible for workers driving when he rear ended Karen and Juanita caps. A soldier who fought in World War II is set to posthumously received the medal of honor. After twenty years in this Stanley fighting for the upgrade army first lieutenant Garland Merle Connor will be honored at the white house with the medal of honor Connor Kentucky native who died in 1998 at age 79. Earned four silver stars won bronze star three purple hearts. And the distinguished service cross for his actions storing 28 months in combat tours in World War II. He’s being honored for his bravery on January 24 1945. When he volunteered to run 400 yards through an intense concentration of enemy artillery and France. He’s credited with stopping more than 150 German troops. And preventing heavy loss of life in his own unit Connery is said to be the second most decorated soldier from World War II. At the White House Jon Decker Fox News. Snell forecast with K innocent staff meteorologist Dan Holliday can morning Dan. Good morning we could see an isolated shower or thunderstorm popped up early on but most of those will be toward north and east. This afternoon breezy and warm with a high 92. Tonight becomes partly cloudy are low 73. And the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory from Wednesday through Friday tomorrow’s high 101. Triple digit heat may continue through much of this week. I’m KM SS meteorologist Dan Holliday now partly cloudy 75 degrees on southwest wind gusting to 24 miles per hour. 835 now Stephen 10 in the morning here on K and it says it’s cyber entertainment news. The cooler with deliberate and it just are off today with a obituary now one of the fan favorites on History Channel upon stars. Has passed away the old man from pond stars has died at the age of 77 Richard Harrison. With the navy veteran and open the gold and silver pawn store in Las Vegas with a sonogram tell. Your rookie of the year is sure I’m a wonderfully old man because he doesn’t always crowd for very operative word slump don’t. Potency over ponds FaceBook page posted their fans will remember and. As these sometimes grumpy always loving however often wise cracking and of course most notably. Always the voice of reason on the history reality series Paris and was surrounded by loving family this past weekend and died peacefully. We shall we know Fox News. Let’s get a little celebrity news from the world of music the fox celebrity profiles. The siege for a country singer Craig Campbell recently released a new leave piece called see you try and. I’ve read new music sales so. 1 PM crazy excited about it. Get the new music yeah okay let’s fans know what ability known. He says a lot happened during that time that delayed the news and. It’s also on the ground. We don’t record label then close. Sounds of another record company and I and haven’t a couple of singles. Lay of the land James and his sister this time. He’ll be heading out on your friend is grateful to all those who buy a ticket. On this I feel like country music and somebody there to listen I’m one in 101000 in a matter will come have a good time. It’s. But I’m glad. To see. Actually the door again. Fox News. Former white house Press Secretary Sean Spicer working on a new gig if he was on the receiving end of a lot of questions during his six month tenure at the White House. Thank you thank you. Question now former Press Secretary Sean Spicer would be the one doing the questioning and a new TV show Sean Spicer is common ground which has aid pilot episode in the works according to syndicator Dan Maher Mercury. The plans first reported by the New York Times which says the show would feature Spicer inner viewing public figures chatting respectfully on topics ranging from the media to sports to marriage Michael love and not the attorney for porn star stormy Daniels says he was approached to be a guest on that first episode but declined. Lilian woo Fox News. Party B the sad to rise of X accessed and hostility and Sheryl Crow teams up with saint Vincent. I’m Michelle Marino’s Arabian Al Sadr officially married but act yellow wrapper tweeting and a confirmation Monday. That big TMZ story. The two have been married for awhile was true saying that you want to keep that moment private. Announced that wanted to give her proper engagement. So they did it at a later time on staying in marriage was star of the moment the public he and happened in October at that point. Need to marry. XXX tens this year and it was shot and killed last week at the age twenty. As most popular song in the country it’s sad to lead single from his last album rocketed to the top of the billboard went into this week. After an outpouring of grief following his death. According to Nielsen said was streamed nearly fifty million times this week. Anemia and Sheryl Crow recruited saint Vincent for her latest single what I wanna be like you which rails against political corruption. That’s fox rocks on Fox News. The latest round of performers at farm aid has been announced. Chris staple and the latest to join the performers for the 33 annual farm made in Connecticut organizers just announcing Monday the benefit for farmers being held that the extended. 22. Stapleton won a Grammy for best country album in February and he’ll be joining farm aid regulars Willie Nelson John Mellencamp Neil young and Dave Matthews. Other performers include Casey musgrave stirred Jill Simpson and Margo price farm aid is raise more than 53 million for grants to aid family farmers and lobby on their behalf wanna go tickets go on sale Friday through live nation I’m directly Carl Fox News. Twenty years ago on this night was the TV finale series finale of the TV shows step by step. You watch the show Steve Miller who I’m problem but did not who’s on the air for seven years. Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers as parents try to. Have a blended family all of it pretty much Brady Bunch of events for the late 1990s again. Hey it was on things on the air for seven years. And the series finale was twenty years ago on this night and they NB Davis on their high noon. You go step by step finished up twenty years ago. Steve fifteen years ago today it came out in Wichita movie theaters the Thomas crown affair. Yup they think at this point ample I enjoyed it. A father doesn’t domino is a big Steve McQueen for me alone. Of them and bullet. And this movie. It is a little bit and we’re pretty much came out same time bull in Canada and in a weird little rich guy alone. Electro Thais stayed in a way. The make up the dress she wore that was the sixties. He looked gorgeous. Gorgeous. Directed by Norman juiced Leah good movement. The book and it did didn’t they did deal that really hadn’t been done a whole lot of these is split screen yeah honestly I hear they would do a split screen so something’s going on the other analyzing the tired dollars and lives and dune buggy or whatever you do this and kind of use that which was pretty revolutionary times. McQueen did all his own stunts playing polo driving a dune buggy along the Massachusetts coastline. Now the moment and Jack Weston and it yeah. But it gas. And gothic Colorado now Jack Westin gases if people missed course good music I’m kilogram. Now he he wanted to he won a couple Oscar for that to renewals in your mind reels of your mind is that famous I know the movement. Pago Steve McQueen Faye Dunaway the Thomas crown affair that came up fifty years ago today. Finally Steve last night on ABC you had the proposal. Show that is just being ruhr ripped by the critics. This is the same people that came up with the bachelor. This is a deal where you got. Of some a woman or man introduced ten contestants trying to win them over. In some in and there’s a mystery person whose identity is concealed. It’s not getting good room in fact it’s getting pummeled. Said one revealer for bolster ABC kicked off this solely pageant and an episode where nearly naked women descend the staircase and painfully high heels. I feel confident than in the pro rained department’s ability to start they showed exactly the by the intended to create. Begging viewers to ignore the ego and another viewer said it. This thing has no dramatic through line the proposal trying to manufacture romances like the chef trying to make me a lot of half of a rice crispy streets. Here’s some of the men such goings on last night on the proposal. Thanks and load lately you know amazing how. This is so high and it really ends. I did this I have to go in I. I. It’s. I feel the intelligence being sucked already are now. Air X I feel dumber by the minute I’m Nicole and I added that. I took about 35 seconds out of that boy whose. Thanks out. Dude the proposal out. The vapid programming that ABC you may not crank out for the summer. Entertainment news in the blurs brought to you Larry good friends at pizza John indoor arena here’s something. Little satisfy you and read time event and on down McKay fifteen and stop in at 208 south Baltimore. And yourself let tasty pizza fire right there at pizza John did nerdy 44 Steven did give an airport. Editor bill Roy that was our business journal new contract for Boeing’s. 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