#tomorrow might be something more depending on how quick I can get my assignment done

[miramisaki]

10 days until Charlie!!!

[shokobuns]

something sweet

maybe having someone to help you out in the stockroom wasn't so bad after all.

PAIRING: itadori yuuji x reader

GENRE: fluff, strangers to lovers

WORD COUNT: 2.5k

WARNINGS: almost stabbed, mentions of sharp things (boxcutters and broken glass), making out

it’s not like you had a problem with the same menial tasks everyday.

in fact, you would even say that it was a fun way to spend your free period. it was better than doing some complicated assignment or even having to talk to people with your lack of sleep and patience. coffee never allowed for a proper nap no matter how exhausted you were and your teacher wouldn’t allow that anyways.

it was an easy job that you could do with minimal help. all you had to do was put the beakers away, clean up the floor once in awhile, maybe pop some bubble wrap when new packages arrived. being alone in the stockroom was nice because you were able to turn on some music on your headphones, do whatever dances you felt like doing as long as you were still doing your job. no help was needed or wanted.

“where should i put this?”

you jump, nearly stabbing the blonde haired boy behind you with a boxcutter. luckily, he was quick, jumping backwards with a yelp as you took a deep breath in to process the situation. you didn’t accidentally hurt the boy in front of you, did you? your face falls and the initial rush of fear turns into guilt. “i’m sorry! i didn’t know you were there!”

“it’s okay,’ he responds with a smile, unphased by the fact his shirt had almost been slashed, ‘i understand. you’re probably here alone most of the time, right?”

“yeah, i wasn’t expecting for anyone else to be here,” you sigh before realizing what he had probably walked in on before the whole ordeal, “wait.. did you see me doing anything?”

“you’re a pretty good dancer if that’s what you’re asking.”

embarrassment. your cheeks feel unbelievably hot and your stomach turns while embarrassment settles in your body. this period was your alone time, your chance to flail about and having someone else witness it? definitely not preferable. although, he does seem nice and he hasn’t made fun of you. not yet, at least.

his voice brings you out of your train of thought. “so, where should i put that thing?”

he carries on as if nothing happened. thank god. “the flask goes in that cabinet, bottom shelf. you’ll see more just like it.” you reply, pointing to the space.

he mumbles a quick thank you before doing unloading more of the new flasks onto the cabinet. you work on your own, choosing to count the new magnets on the other side of the room, doing your best to avoid him considering you just embarrassed yourself in front of the stranger by nearly injuring him for asking a simple question. though, he looks slightly familiar, he’ll probably be gone tomorrow and that’s all that matters.

behind you, yuji takes small glances while he puts away the flasks, waiting for you to turn around and ask for his name. hell, he’s waiting for any type of question. after all, who sees a random boy in their work space and doesn’t question it at all?

when the next day comes, you’re proven wrong because he sits in the chair, awaiting another order from you. you curse under your breath before putting on a faux smile. “do you need help with anything?”

“do you need help with anything?”

“no, thanks. i’m good on my own. you can go back to whatever you do in this period.”

he scratches his head, eyebrows furrowing together. “i thought you needed help. that’s what my math teacher told me when he sent me here.”

“not really? i can usually get a lot done on my own. who told you i needed help?”

“gojo. i’m his teacher assistant, but i don’t know how to do the math he’s teaching, so i can’t really help anyone.” he explains

“oh, yeah! i had him for calculus last semester,” your eyes light up at the mention of your favorite white haired mentor, “weird guy. good teacher.”

wait. gojo’s teacher assistant?

you’ve heard your friends talk about him, given that they were in that exact class the blonde haired boy was supposed to be in right now. the one guy that pe teachers fawn over and coaches try to recruit? why did they put him in the math department instead of pe? what’s his name again? yuki? yugi?

“you’re yuji itadori?”

“yuji itadori.” he confirms and you’re relieved. good thing you didn’t mess up his name.

no wonder he looked familiar. miwa was fascinated by his physical ability, you distinctly remember her pointing him out during lunch and telling you about how he was ‘scarily fast’ and could probably ‘lift ten of her at a time.’ although, it was from far away and he was partially blocked by a girl with short brown hair and megumi, the intimidating spikey haired quiet boy in some of your classes.

but yuji didn’t look like someone who could lift ten miwas up close. maybe he was hiding behind the oversized hoodie he wore, but he was a kind looking boy with wide eyes and messy tufts of strawberry blonde hair. throughout the short time you’ve seen him up close, he always had a slight smile on his resting face. in short, he looked approachable and was seemingly friendly.

“so, do you need help with anything?” he asks again and you decide that maybe he can be of use to you. especially if he has the strength that miwa had described.

“actually, yeah. can you lift those boxes over there and bring them to the other side of the room? they’re kind of heavy-”

she was correct because he lifts the box, which is supposedly about thirty kilograms according to your teacher, with ease. now, you don’t have to constantly go back and forth around the room just to put the packaged metal away in a farther cabinet and he can probably just put them away himself, too. it goes that way for the next hour and a half, both of you staying in your respective sides of the room, putting away your own respective items.

“thanks, itadori.”

“call me yuji.”

“will do.”

over the next two weeks, you two don’t talk as much as yuji had hoped.

he still remembers gojo’s words of encouragement, his push to get his favorite student to talk to the person who drops off notes to the teacher across the hallway from time to time. he’s never talked to you and he doubts you would even know that he existed in the first place. in fact, he was perfectly content with just stapling the papers that gojo would give him, maybe getting his own homework done in the period, but he was insistent.

“i’ve seen you staring outside the window whenever they pass by, yuji. just talk to them.”

“it’s okay.’

“no it’s not. get to know her. what if they’re nice? hmmmmm?”

“i’ll talk to her myself at some point.”

that was all it took for gojo to leave him alone, not that he didn’t like gojo or anything, especially with gojo being his second favorite teacher in the first place, but he’s content with his little crush. and again, he doubted that you would remember him in your history class and from the looks of it, he was right.

he just didn’t expect to be sent at the very stockroom that you would be in. for the rest of the semester. gojo had definitely set him up for something.

yuji was in that conflicting position in which he didn’t know whether to start a conversation or not because he didn’t want to bother you. but he also wanted to get to know you up close. of course he can sense your exhaustion himself through droopy eyelids that threaten to close and your dependence on caffeine, something he had learned about you so far in these few weeks. the only thing, it seems like.

as for you, a short talk with your science teacher confirmed that he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon and though you will miss dancing around the stockroom by yourself, he wasn’t bad company. he mostly kept to himself, often being more rigid when you barely spared him a glance. at the times you would speak to him, he seemed more excitable and easygoing, listening to every word you say.

“yuji?”

“hmm?”

“come help me by unboxing these beakers, alright?” you patted the spot next to you before sliding the blade down the tape, “don’t worry. i’m not gonna stab you.”

“i guess i’ll help,” he snorts, “don’t you usually do these by yourself?”

“yeah, but since you’re spending the semester with me in here, we might as well get to know each other right?”

the whirring of the fan, the sound of your voice — it all seemed to fade into the background as his heart thumped hard in his chest. a million thoughts, both good and bad, race through his head as he formulated different questions, answers, and scenarios in his mind, all of them being a jumble of fantasy and panic.

you wave a hand in front of his face in an attempt to catch his attention. he seemed completely frozen, staring at you with dead eyes and it’s now that you realize you haven’t seen him up this close. honey brown eyes, the soft curve of his nose, and were those crinkles under his eyes, too? up until now, you only knew him as the ‘athletic man who was bad at math’, but he was also undeniably beautiful with his carved face and strawberry blonde hair.

“yuuuuuuuji?”

“oh! i’m sorry! did you say you wanted to get to know me?”

“yeah, we’re kind of stuck in this room everyday for an hour and a half together. i might as well find out what your favorite color is or something.”

“red! my turn! what were you listening to when you almost stabbed me?”

“hey! it was an accident!” he giggles, slicing the tape seal down the middle and opening up the package and pointing right at it. “you see that? that could have been me. i should at least know what i’m being stabbed to.”

“meg thee stallion..”

“nevermind. she’s beautiful and i wouldn’t mind dying to her music.”

you snort, thinking up another question. maybe you should ask him about why that megumi guy was so gloomy? nope, might get too personal. what about the reason he’s here? nope, you already know.

“why don’t you do any sports even though you’re literally physically gifted?” you ask curiously. there’s still a smile on his face, but his expression becomes more wistful. you didn’t accidentally hit a spot, did you?

“my grandpa is in the hospital,” oh shit, you think, “i visit him everyday and if i was on a team, i would have to go to practice at the same time.”

“i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to hit a sensitive topic, but that’s sweet of you.’

“i don’t mind. and i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable.”

“no, it’s alright. let’s just keep asking questions then, okay?”

he nods.

in one hour, you learn that yuji itadori also likes karaoke, rice bowls, and that he’s just as bad at science than math. ironic. and yuji enjoys getting to know more about you, falling into easy conversation, becoming less of a nervous wreck. the more you speak, the deeper he falls into the trance and he silently thanks gojo for letting him get a closer look because you’re even better than what he could have imagined.

but the period is coming to an end and it’s time for him to carry off the last box of beakers to his side of the room. at least there’s time for another question and it’s his turn to ask.

“what’s your type?”

you place your fingers on your chin as you think for a moment, finding a common trait in every crush for a proper answer.

“i guess my type would be sweet boys. with pretty faces, like you, i guess.”

the response is nonchalant and you don’t think twice about it. maybe you were a little too tired to process how he’d interpret it or maybe a little too tired to filter yourself, but it slips out of your mouth like butter and you’re completely unphased. shameless, even.

meanwhile, the box drops to the ground and like before, every other noise besides his own heartbeat fades into the background, even the sound of shattering glass. heat creeps of his neck into his cheeks until his face is burning, his feet stuck in their place and his palms becoming uncomfortably sweaty. his mouth is wide open, but no words come out.

“yuji! we need to clean this, hurry up!”

your voice brings him out of his thoughts as he realizes what’s been done and immediately snaps back to carefully, but quickly, picking up the shards of glass and placing them in this box. “i-i’m sorry!”

“don’t worry. just leave the box on the counter and we’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

maybe you didn’t quite realize what you had said or what effect you had on him during that time in the stockroom because you continue everyday as if nothing happened.

it’s been, what? a little over a three weeks? and sitting next to you still causes his mind to go to odd places, ones with you. he starts to notice little things about you, too. how your tongue peaks out of your mouth when you’re peeling another sheet of bubble wrap off of some glassware, how you only count in even numbers when you take inventory of the containers.

god, you were adorable.

“yuji?”

“yeah?”

“did gojo ever tell you that there’s no cameras in here?”

“no? i thought they had security cameras everywhere.”

“that’s only hallways and classrooms. there’s none of them here. do you know what that means?”

“what?”

his head is already turned in your direction, the perfect opportunity to lean in and catch his lips. it’s small and he’s hesitant at first, but before you know it, your hands tangle in his hair, bringing him closer to you. he tastes like something sweet, like cherries, and his lips are warm. one hand rests on your cheek, his thumb brushing against it endearingly. when he pulls away, both of you are panting for air, the packages long forgotten.

“this sounds bad, but i’m glad that you’re terrible at math.”

“thanks.” he laughs and admires the look of your heated cheeks and swollen lips before pulling you back in for another searing kiss.

sure. being in that room by yourself could be fun, a perfect break with menial tasks lacking human interaction. you were far too tired to be patient with other people. but there was an exception.

© this is a work of @crybabygumi, all rights reserved. do not plagiarize, copy, or repost.

[damn-stark]

Devil of the Scout Regiment

Erwin Smith x reader

Requested by @persephoonne “Can you write an Erwin x reader one shot where the reader is a nurse ? Maybe she became a nurse the same year Erwin joined the survey cops (or during his scout time) and they meet each other because she heals his wounds ect... :)”

A/N- I loved how it came out and I hope you guys like it too :)

Warning- mentions of a wound, fluff

———-

“Y/N, you’re being assigned outside the hospital today.”

You sigh, “okay, who will it be?”

The doctor turns around to hand you a small file, not showing any sign of an expression that could give away who it might be. Instead they just offer you a simple answer as they tap on the file. “You’ll see.”

How reassuring.

You open the file and read the name and can’t help but let out a surprised gasp. “Erwin Smith.”

When you look up to the doctor, you find that they’re gone and you have no chance to argue against your assignment. You have no option but go attend this intimidating man. After all the stuff you’ve heard about him from different people, it felt like you were visiting some legend, or some devil, it all depended on which stories you were trying to base him off.

Not like it really mattered, regardless of how you were trying to paint him in your mind, the man was still intimidating. And how can the Commander of the Scout Regiment not be.

When you stop at the outside of the room where he was supposed to be in, you lift your fist and hesitate on knocking and letting yourself be known. Instead you give yourself one last encouraging push, drawing in a deep breath and slowly releasing it as you knock lightly and wait. It takes a minute but you then hear it, a deep voice that knotted your stomach tighter. “Come in.”

You continue to wrap your hand around the doorknob and slowly twist to open it slowly, getting welcomed by the blinding light that casted through the open window; you cover your eyes and step inside before clearing your voice and announcing your intention and excuse for your interruption. “Hello, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m y/n, the nurse assigned to you for today. I’m just here for a quick check up on your arm.”

You take another step inside and in that moment before his voice broke the silence that had built after your introduction, your eyes are relieved by his tall figure standing from his seat and blocking the sun.

“Please come on in.”

You lift your eyes to meet his gaze and you freeze the moment you make eye contact. Your breath hitches and you feel as if your stomach was knotting tighter, you feel like all the breath was knocked out of your lungs and feel like your face was burning. In that exact moment you saw his eyes, saw the blue color of his eyes something flipped in your brain. Something strange you couldn’t identify.

You hardly had the mind to really read his reaction, but basing off the fact that he kept his eyes locked on you and had his lips parted as if in shock, it could be either bad or good. Hopefully good.

You couldn’t dare ask though.

Instead you break from your stupor and grip onto your bag tighter to close the door behind you and take one last step further inside, proceeding to break the silence that was now so tensifying. “Do you mind if you could sit on the bed for a moment. It’s much easier to work without a desk being in the way.”

The commander blinks and nods, “of course.” He moves and does as you say, averting your gaze as you move to stand before him.

“You know I would’ve thought that being forced to take a break would mean that you would take that as an advantage to step away from work for a while.” You dare to comment, taking out your needed equipment and meeting his gaze for a brief moment, noticing in that exact moment, after your comment, a faint smile on his lips.

“Being put on bed rest actually gives me a chance to work harder.”

You let out a small amused huff and feel your lips twitch; you continue to unwrap his gauze around his nub and continue. “Well I suppose the wary never rest. Your reputation does uphold then.”

“My reputation?”

You hum and nod, getting the alcohol to dab some on a cloth and then dab his wound. “Mhm, people talk, a lot. I’ve heard that you're a hard working and daring man. Just like I hear you’re intimidating and very serious, and...too daring.”

The Commander shifts in his seat and you feel his eyes on you. “What do you think of me?”

You stiffen for a moment and look up to see his blue eyes glued on you, you notice a thick, dark eyebrow slightly quirked as he waited. It takes you a moment but you decided to answer. “Does it matter what I think? I’m nothing but a simple, ordinary person trying to make their way through life.”

“It does.”

“Well,” you sigh as you begin to wrap his nub again, “on my way here, I thought I was going to meet the intimidating, terrifying man they call the devil of the scouts,” you swallow thickly and step back once you’re done to nervously meet his gaze. “But as I see you now, through the small interaction we just had, I see an intimidating man. But I also see a hard working man just trying to save humanity and not destroy it like many say. You lost your arm to prove that. You’re doing much more than what others are too scared to do.”

The Commander gives no reaction for a moment, he just looks at you and makes you feel your heart do hundreds of flips inside your chest, and the butterflies inside your stomach to increase. It’s not until he tilts his head down to tug his lips into a warm and kind smile do you feel some type of relieved. “Thank you for your honesty, y/n.” He looks back up and shows you that same smile, one that makes his eyes almost twinkle. “I appreciate it. It’s good to hear that you see what I try to do when many others can’t.”

“They’re just scared.” You assure him whilst you pack your stuff up.

“Hopefully not much longer.”

You offer him a kind smile and nod in agreement, “hopefully.” You keep your gazes lingering on each other before you clear your throat and take a step towards the door. “Well that was all I needed to do. Seems your wound is healing well, you have no fever, no sign of infection.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?” He interjections, making you blink in slight disbelief. “One last check up?”

You drop your gaze to the ground and smile wider, feeling the heat on your cheeks burn hotter before you nod. “Yes of course Commandar.”

“Erwin. Please call me, Erwin.”

You at look at him with the same warm smile and nod. “Of course, Erwin.”

[ashenpages]

Current Projects & Emoji Voting Key

Quick disclaimer: I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my works will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah.

This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.

Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.

You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍

Support my original work on Ko-fi and Patreon.

- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea.

Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes) (WIP)

Jigen/Lupin, but it's Jigen deciding to seduce Lupin while wearing his own Lupin disguise. The thief is waaaaay too into it, and some artistry is taken with the sex so that they don't mess up the disguise too much during their encoutner.

Jigen/Zenigata/Lupin where Jigen has some fantasices about Zenigata, but is pretty sure they'll never happen. Tells Lupin about them. Suddenly the fantasies are coming true, in the middle of a heist, and Jigen doesn't what to do except get swept up in the moment and enjoy. Plot twist, it's Lupin dressed up as Zenigata granting all his gunman's dreams. Plot twist again, Zenigata catches them at it.

Zenigata/Lupin, where Lupin keeps doing good things in illegal ways and Pops has to find a way to punish him for it. Good thing for Pops Lupin's a masochist?

Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.

The one time Zenigata caught Lupin in an alley and kissed him and it was Jigen in disguise. Things get sexy anyway, and Zenigata has crushes on two thieves now. Lupin and Jigen "kidnap" him later for an evening of taking care of their inspector.

The background plot of Jigen's Gravestone where we see Jigen think he's done for and try to leave Lupin. Our thief has none of it, and we get to relish in the inherent eroticism of Lupin sitting in sniper fire, knowing Jigen's got his back. This is the moment I think Jigen finally believes he can be with Lupin forever.

I love the idea of something longer and more plot driven like a Lupin special where Lupin ends up in hot water and Jigen and Fujiko have to work together to save him. Jigen and Fujiko have such an interesting relationship. They're both partners of Lupin, they don't really like each other, they constantly screw the other over, but when it really matters they take care of each other. I'd like to see that highlighted a little more and also give them space to call each other out and bicker. Nothing sexy between them, but maybe a really interesting threesome with Lupin and Fujiko in a strap on once they save their boy.

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐

Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.

This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.

- Sonic Blazamy, "Like the Sun": 💖🌸💎

Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.

Or has she?

When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?

This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?

This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!

Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!

Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.

- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌

Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈

Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).

- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏

This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.

- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘

The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?

This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.

Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.

- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡

I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.

It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.

[httpfandxms]

Exploring a New World (1/30)

Pairing: James T. Kirk x Reader

A/N: This is my very first fanfiction writing. I would really appreciate it if you would not plagiarize any of my work! Please give me your thoughts on this. I accept any suggestions or altercations for this series. If I’ve made mistakes or if something doesn’t make sense please let me know.

Important: The reader is Pike’s daughter, but I did NOT specify if they are biologically related or not (step daughter or adopted). I don’t ever intend to specify because I want poc!readers to be comfortable while reading

This series is based off the Star Trek: Alternate Original Series with actual scenes from the films.

You pushed open the doors to the club which allowed you to hear the full extent of the blaring music. You walked in making your way towards the very back looking for your friends.

As you made your way over to your group of friends you asked, “have any of you seen Uhura?” One nodded and pointed towards the bar. She was talking to a man, but with someone between them seemingly trying to ignore their conversation.

You walked through a small crowd, bumped into a few people on your way to Nyota. You placed a hand over her shoulder as you said, “hey, I figured I’d help you bring everything over.”

She smiled and responded, “thank you,” as she gave you a quick yet comforting hug.

“And who might you be, gorgeous,” the man she was speaking with said just before he pushed himself off the counter. He made his way towards you, but stopped once you were inches apart. You smelled the alcohol coming off his breath as he said, “I’m Jim Kirk.”

You glanced up to Jim realized that the man was actually blond and had the most alluring blue eyes. You along with anyone could get lost in those eyes. Your thoughts were interrupted as Nyota said, “she happens to be way out of your league.” She placed a hand on his chest to add some distance between you two.

“Oh, so that makes you in mine,” he teased as he turned to face Nyota.

“Please you are not her type. You seem more the kind to have sex with farm animals,” you scoffed.

“Well, not only,” he joked which resulted in you and Uhura to whole heartedly laugh. He took a step towards you and leaned forward as he whispered into your ear, “you definitely look like my type and I think I might be yours.”

Your eyes met his and you opened you’re mouth, but no words came out. Four officers approached you. The bald man in the middle ask, “this townie isn’t bothering you right?

“Beyond belief,” Nyota said then finished her drink.

“But its nothing we can’t handle,” you added whilst you waved them off.

“You both could handle me. That’s an invitation,” the blond quipped.

The bald officer barked, “hey, you better mind your manners. Do you have any idea who you’re trying to get with?”

“Relax, cupcake. It was a joke,” Kirk said as he patted man’s chest. He turned back towards you.

The man grabbed Kirk, spun him around to face him and snapped, “hey, farm boy. Maybe you can’t count, but there are four of us and one of you.”

“So get some more guys, and then it’ll be an even fight,” Kirk replied then tapped the man’s face.

The officer grabbed Kirk again and punched his across the face. He fell onto the bar groaning.

“Stop it,” Nyota growled.

Before the officer could hit Kirk in the face again, the blond kicked him in the stomach making him fall over a table. Another man came at Kirk, but he blocked his punches. Kirk got the upper hand and knocked the man out.

“That’s enough,” you pleaded.

A different officer came in and hit Kirk in the face making in spin onto Nyota with his hands on her breast. She pushed him off, but you stepped in and punched him in the face to wipe off that cocky smirk.

The men slammed the blond onto a table and beat him with one punch after the other.

“Guys, he’s had enough,” you yelled.

The man punching Kirk finally dropped him once a whistle was heard. Your eyes widened as you turned to the source of the noise only to see your father, Captain Christopher Pike.

“Outside, all of you. Now” he announced.

A chorus of “yes, sir” was heard as everyone made their way out of the bar. Your father saw you and shook his head as you gave him a shy shrug. Nyota wrapped her arm around yours and you walked out together.

~

The two men were sitting around a small table. “You know, I couldn’t believe it when the bartender told me who you are,” Pike chortled.

“Who the hell am I, Captain Pike,” Kirk mocked.

“You father’s son.”

Kirk ignored his statement and announced, “can I get another one,” to the bartender behind him.

“For my dissertation I was assigned to the U.S.S. Kelvin. Something I admired about your dad, he didn’t believe in no-win scenarios.”

Kirk took out the tissues out of nose and grumbled, “sure learned his lesson.”

Pike continued, “well that depends on how you define winning. You’re here, aren’t you? You know that instinct to leap without looking that was his nature too. And in my opinion, it something Starfleet’s lost.”

“Why are you talking to me man,” Kirk shook his head as he laughed.

“Because I looked up your file while you were drooling on the floor. Your aptitude tests are off the charts, so what is it? You like being the only genius-level repeat-offender in the Midwest?”

“Maybe I love it.”

“So your dad dies, you can settle for a less-than-ordinary life. Or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special? Enlist in Starfleet.”

“Enlist,” Kirk chuckled in disbelief. “You guys must be way down on your recruiting quarter for the month.”

Pike eyed Kirk for a moment the said, “you know, you remind me of my daughter. Always has a knack for trouble… and stubborn.”

“Then why aren’t you talking to her right now” Kirk answered back

“Because she actually got up and did something for herself. Rather than waste good potential,” Pike retorted. “Starfleet could use you. You can be an officer in four years, you can have your own ship in eight. You understand what the Federation is, don’t you? It’s important. It’s a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada.”

“We done?”

“I’m done,” Pike responded then stood up. “Riverside shipyard. Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow at 0800.” Pike gave a tight-lipped smile then continued, “your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother’s and yours. I dare you to do better.”

~

Kirk arrived on his bike and stopped near you and your father. He tossed his keys to a passing worker after they complimented his ride. He walked to your father and said, “four years? I’ll do it in three.” He then looked at you and beamed, “hello again, beautiful,” then turned around to enter the shuttle.

Your father tilted his head towards you, “you’ve met Kirk,” he asked with a raised brow.

You cringed as you responded, “yes, I did.” After a moment of silence of waiting for his response you chimed, “ok! I’m going to go and take my seat.” Then you went on the tip of your toes as you gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit!” He slowly nodded making a face as though he was deep in thought.

On your way up the steps to the shuttle your father stammered, “it wasn’t like a date or anything, right?”

You laughed and shook your head, “I punched him” you reassured. He slowly let out a long breath and gave you a thumbs up.

You giggled slightly and turned on your heels and entered the shuttle. You saw Nyota and went towards her, only to notice that there weren’t any seats available beside her. She gave you an apologetic look and mouthed, “sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you waved her off.

The only visible seats available were near Kirk. You sat beside him though leaving a seat between each other. “How’s your face,” you turned to smile at him. You watched as he opened his mouth only to be interrupted by a female officer and a man who were arguing as they entered the shuttle.

“I told you I don’t need a doctor. I am a doctor,” the man yelled.

“You need to get back to your seat.”

“I had one in the bathroom with no windows.

They kept at it until she said, “sir, for your own safely, sit down, or else I’ll make you sit down!”

That got him to keep quiet and sat down between you and Kirk. The man leaned over to Kirk and stated, “I may throw up on you. I’m choosing you over the beautiful girl beside me.” He motioned to you with his head. You looked down with a small smile as you pretended to not overhear the comment.

“Fair enough, but I think these things are pretty safe,” Kirk remarked.

“Don’t pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in 13 seconds. A solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait till you’re sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles. See if you’re still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.”

“Well, I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space,” you chimed in.

“Yeah, well, I got nowhere else to go. The ex wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I’ve got left is my bones,” the man said as he took out a flask and took a sip. He offered to Kirk who accepted.

“Jim Kirk,” he introduced himself as he raised the flask then took a sip.

“McCoy. Leonard McCoy,” the man said as Kirk passed it back.

Leonard offered you the flask which you took, “pleasure to meet you Leonard.” You took a sip and placed it into his awaiting hand.

“You going to tell me, us, your name or should we just keep calling you beautiful,” Kirk smiled.

“It’s Pike, Y/n Pike.”

[jalapeno-princess]

Feels Like Falling in Love

Mark X Reader

Genre: Cheesy fluff

Word Count: 6.5K

Summary: You are assigned to a science project with Mark and over the course of working on your project together, you end up falling for the soft spoken introvert and little do you know, he’s falling for you too.

A/n: (He has such pretty fingers wtf) Anyways, I’ve been wanting to write a story about nerdy Mark for a while now and I got the idea from my science fair in the 8th grade idk just the thought of Mark being a soft spoken and shy “nerd” is the most adorable thing ever ugh I miss Mark

“Alright class, for your next upcoming project, you and a partner; which I have already pre-assigned will choose a scientific research topic to work on for your last assignment before spring break. This project is work a huge percent of your grade so I want you all to put as much hard work and dedication in to this specific assignment as you’ve done for the last few months of this semester. Once I announce whose going to be working with you, you will spend the rest of class coming up with ideas and brainstorming with your partner. This is a three week long project and although I’m giving you quite a generous amount of time to work on this project, I expect nothing but grade A products. Okay, let’s start.” 

Your teacher began to call out the names and as you looked around the room, you soon grew nervous at the idea of working alongside someone who would be no help whatsoever during this entire project. There was nothing more you hated as a senior in high school than group projects. It seemed as if all of your classmates were well aware of how smart and hard working you were and how much time and effort you put in to every single assignment you had. In the past, you’ve found yourself getting taken advantage of because of how kind and selfless you could be and sometimes you’d end up doing the entire project by yourself. 

One thing you wished you could change about yourself was how much of a pushover you could be. Being the social butterfly you were, you made friends with practically everybody and anybody. Everyone knew they could depend on you for whatever it was they needed help with and they knew you would never say no. Unfortunately, it was never in your nature to ever tell someone no. The last time you told someone you couldn’t do something for them, you felt guilty the entire day and ended up going along with whatever it was that they asked of you. 

Soon everyone was being paired up and the only people that were left was your two best friends BamBam and Jackson, and one of the smartest people in your entire grade; Mark Tuan. Mark, in more or less words, was considerably the biggest nerd there could ever be. He knew the answer to any question someone had related to education. If you needed a calculus problem solved, the answer to who discovered North America or the summary of “The Great Gatsby”, Mark was your guy. He was known to be quite the introvert and had very little friends. 

You’d find him with his face buried in a book or playing video games on his Nintendo switch. Even during class, he never seemed to pay any mind to anyone and only spoke up in class whenever your teacher would call on him. As much as you loved your friends, you were secretly hoping your teacher paired you up with Mark. You were sure she was aware of the two class clown’s reputations and how they were both borderline failing. Knowing that information, you couldn’t help but feel as if she would give you one of them instead of the quiet boy in attempts to help both Jackson and BamBam with their grades. If they put as much time and dedication in to their studies as they did with sports and house parties, then maybe they wouldn’t be on probation from graduating. 

“For the final four, I’ve thought about this for a long time and although I know I’m making a mistake for obvious reasons, y/n, you’re going to be partners with Mark and Jackson, you’re partnering up with BamBam.” You let out a sigh of relief and had to stifle back a laugh when you heard Jackson begin to whine at your teacher’s decision. 

“But Mrs.Young, I cant be partners with BamBam—you might as well give me an F now—ow! I’m just telling the truth! It’s obvious our dumbasses aren’t capable of getting anything done.” Jackson and BamBam began to bicker but your teacher was quick in getting them to stop talking and went over some important information that would help you all with the project. Once she was done explaining what she expected of the class, she sent you to get in to your groups with the intent of having you and your partner get started on your planning. 

As you started to reach for your things in order to make your way towards Mark, he just so happened to take the seat next to you and quietly placed his things down. “I—um—hi y/n.” You gave him a soft smile before pulling out your notebook. 

“Hi Mark. So, do you have any ideas on how you want to find out whose mouths are dirtier; Dogs or humans?” He nodded in agreement before handing over notes you assumed he must’ve wrote down as your teacher gave out the topics. You knew Mark was incredibly intelligent; the teachers never failed to rave about how quick he’d solve answers and how he always turned in assignments the day they were assigned. Seeing his notes and all of his ideas made your head spin. There was no way you’d come up with any of these ideas and you were extremely grateful that your teacher put you and Mark together. 

“Wow—these proposals are amazing. How did you come up with these in less than five minutes?” He shrugged before looking around the classroom and sneakily taking out his phone when he noticed your teacher was busy talking to another group. 

“I just typed the question in to google. But I’ve actually done research on this topic in the past. I have a dog named Milo—he tends to lick me a lot and I was curious as to how dirty his mouth is—sorry. Too much information.” You shook your head to let him know it was okay. Although this was the first time you’ve ever interacted with Mark, you were pretty sure with the reputation he kept up as the teacher’s pet and “the most reliable geek in school” that this was probably one of the longest conversations he’s had with anybody and you couldn’t help but feel a little excited at the thought of him being comfortable with you. 

“No no—that’s really cool. I’d be interested too if I had any pets. I mean, they drink toilet water and eat their own poop, I’m sure their mouths are extremely dirty. Imagine waking up to them licking all over your face only to find out they were sniffing another dog’s butthole.” When you heard the soft giggle fall from his lips, you felt embarrassed at how you had no filter. You tended to talk a little too much about the most unnecessary things sometimes and you were sure you got that from Jackson. If you were having this conversation with one of your friends, you wouldn’t have felt as weird but seeing as how you and Mark hardly knew each other, you didn’t want his first impression of you being a bad one. 

“Sorry, now I’m the one giving out too much information. This all sounds really good by the way. Did you want to start scheduling when you wanted to meet up to work on the project?” He took out his planner and began flipping through the pages to this week and looked over the days. Seeing him use a planner made you happy for some odd reason. It was probably because you knew there was a possibility Mark was probably the only student who put the school’s planner to good use. Jackson lost his on the second day of school but he never used any of the past planners any way. 

“I’m free after school tomorrow if that’s good with you. Maybe we can use my dog as the experiment and then we can both test ourselves and compare the two? Would you mind coming over to my place?” You smiled and nodded in agreement and you began to feel something weird in your stomach as you started to think about spending time with Mark. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find him attractive. Even if he wore big, circular glasses and his wardrobe consisted mainly of khaki shorts and polos, he was extremely good looking and you were sure that if he were to join a sport rather than the math and robotics team, then maybe he’d embrace his looks just a bit more. But at the same time, there was something you liked about how he presented himself to everyone. He was quiet, shy and a very introverted person; however it made him well—him. 

You were sure he was content with the way he went about with things and nobody ever seemed to bother him in a negative way which you were grateful for. You never knew why, but although you didn’t know Mark personally, over the course of having him in this class, you couldn’t help but observe him every now and then and you’ve slowly grown fond of his quiet and gentle personality. You’ve also become very protective over him and whenever BamBam or Jackson would make jokes about what a nerd he was, you’d find yourself defending him. 

Once class was over, you and Mark exchanged numbers and planned to walk over to his house as soon as school was over. You couldn’t help but be excited to spend time with Mark. He seemed to be one of the only people you had yet to build a friendship with and you could only hope that he would want to become friends with you. For all you knew, Mark could be the type of person that was all work and no play whenever it came to his education and you were sure that was the reason for his good grades and the dozens of scholarships he received back in your junior year. 

When you began walking towards your locker, you weren’t able to even turn the dial once before you were joined by tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum and they both had the biggest frowns on their faces. Deep down, you knew exactly why they were coming to you and no matter how many occasions you’d find yourself giving in to them, this time was different. Not only did you want a good grade on this project and a partner you could depend on, but this was your only chance of becoming closer with Mark and you would shave your head bald before letting either of them get in the way of your desired objective. Before Jackson could open his mouth, you were already shaking your head in disagreement; earning yourself whines from the both of them.

“No. My answer is no.” Jackson crossed in arms in frustration as BamBam decided to take things another direction. As soon as you felt him wrap his arms around you, you quickly pulled yourself from out of his embrace and gave him a knowing look. 

“Y/n, you don’t even know what we’re asking for—“

“You want me to ask Mrs.Young to switch our partners. I’m not stupid. I knew this was going to happen as soon as she announced the pairings. My answer is no and there’s nothing either of you can do about it. I’m going to tell you both now, your puppy dog eyes aren’t going to work on me this time. Mark and I already planned out our project and instead of trying to get me to change my mind, which; is already set by the way, you two should start brainstorming on how you can stop bread from molding.” 

The three of you have been friends for over ten years, so you knew the many tricks they had up their sleeve and you had a feeling they would do whatever they could in their power to get you to rethink your decision. As much as you wanted to be able to help them in any way that you could, they were high school seniors who needed to be responsible for themselves. You were their best friend, not their mother and you weren’t going to sacrifice your grade and having a partner who’d actually do his share just to make your friends happy. 

The next day, your mind was too busy with thoughts of Mark and working on your project that you didn’t pay much attention in any of your classes. You’ve seen him in class every single day and you’ve known the soft spoken boy since middle school, why were you so flustered at having to work with him? If it were anyone else, you’d have such an easy time to interact with them. But something about Mark made you shy and you could only hope you wouldn’t embarrass yourself during your study session. When the last period came around, you walked in to class and saw that Mark was sitting in the seat next to yours. You gave him a small smile and found yourself warming up when he returned one back. 

“Hey, I actually started working on the assignment last night. Our topic is actually very interesting and I couldn’t help the aspiring biology major inside of me. I took some DNA samples from Milo after we came back from a walk but I wanted to save all the fun stuff for later. You’re not allergic to dogs are you?” You shook your head in disagreement and felt a smile growing on your face the more he went in to detail about his enthusiasm. If you already thought Mark was just by his quiet and extremely polite nature, hearing how passionate he was about science; a subject almost everyone in your grade seemed to hate made your heart flutter. 

The two of you haven’t even started working on the project just yet. How were you going to control yourself around him for the next couple of weeks? Throughout the lesson, Jackson and BamBam attempted to send melancholic looks your way as their final attempt to get you to switch partners with one of them, but you were too interested in what Mark had to say to pay any attention to either of them. You had a hard time understanding how someone could make different types of bacteria in dog and human saliva sound so cute. Once class was finally over, you and Mark began making your way over to his house. 

Luckily, he didn’t live all too far away from school because you felt like the walk would be extremely awkward and quiet. Sure, you were known to be outgoing and sometimes outspoken to the point where someone had to tell you to quiet down. But things were different with Mark. He made you feel flustered and intimidated just by his presence alone. 

“Can I be honest with you?” You looked up at him and nodded while motioning for him to continue his question. “I’m glad we’re partners. I uh—I was hoping Mrs.Young was going to pair us up together. I know we hardly know each other, but you’re the only other student in the class who genuinely seems interested in learning. You’re always giving her your attention unlike everyone else who seems to either fall asleep or go on their phones. I look forward to working with you y/n. I know I’m not the most outgoing or talkative person ever, but if it’ll make you feel more comfortable I’ll try my best in communicating with you.” 

Hearing that he was willing to go out of his comfort zone to make sure you felt comfortable sent warmth to your cheeks. You also couldn’t stop replaying what he said about observing you in class in your mind. For someone who didn’t seem to interact with anyone other than teachers and his friends, he seemed to have an easy time talking with you and you could only hope he felt like he could be himself around you. 

To your surprise, Mark was quite the conversationalist. He began talking about so many things and asked you questions that he claimed he was curious about. You would’ve never thought that Mark played both basketball and baseball in middle school nor did he seem like the type who enjoyed baking but he promised you his chocolate chip cookies were to die for and that he’d make you some once the two of you made it to his house. After almost twenty minutes of walking which literally seemed like five minutes with how much fun you were having learning different things about the handsome boy, the two of you reached his house and like the gentleman he claimed to be, he opened the door and allowed you to walk in first. 

“Please don’t mind the mess, my sister visits with her daughters every now and then and I think my mom mentioned something about them coming over today. Plus Milo has his toys scattered all around, but make yourself at home. I’ll get us something to eat and then we can head upstairs to my room—I mean, if you’re okay with that. If not, we can work down here.” Seeing him scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment made you giggle softly to yourself. It was a habit of his that you noticed he’d do every time he felt bashful or nervous. It was cute. He was cute and you were quickly finding more and more things about him that you liked the longer you stayed with him. 

“Mark sweetie is that you—oh hello! I’m Mark’s mom. You must be y/n. You’re right Mark, she’s extremely beautiful—I mean—you know what I think your dad needs me in the garden. It was nice meeting you dear! Don’t hesitate to ask me if you need anything.” You turned your attention towards the ground, trying your best not to make it obvious that her words made you feel as if your heart was about to jump out of your chest. It was one thing for his mother to compliment you, but to hear her agree with Mark on how beautiful he told her you were made you feel giddy inside. He thought you were beautiful? You wondered what else he must’ve told his mom but you decided to keep it to yourself because you knew with the way she practically bolted out of the kitchen that she wasn’t supposed to say that. Although, you were extremely happy that she did. 

“Uh, please don’t mind her. You know parents—they can be quite embarrassing sometimes. Can I get you something to drink? We have orange juice, lemonade, water, Pepsi—“

“I’m fine with water. Thank you.” He reached in to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water and some sandwiches before making his way to the cabinet and grabbing some chips. 

“Follow me.” The two of you made your way up the stairs and a smile began rising on your face at the sight of all his family photos. You didn’t know that he had three other siblings and it made you snicker at how much they all looked alike. Good looks obviously ran in their family. When Mark didn’t feel you following after him, he took a look to where you were and his eyes practically jumped out of his head when he saw you looking at photos of him when he was younger. 

“Oh God y/n—stop—don’t look at those they’re so embarrassing. Why didn’t I think to cover them up?” He briskly walked over to you and absentmindedly grabbed at your wrist gently and pulled you behind him in the direction of his room. You were thankful he wasn’t looking at you because you were sure your cheeks were as pink as they were warm at the skin ship. His touch was soft and it was quite feather like for someone who was trying to pry you away from childhood mementos. 

As the two of you entered his room, you were quick to notice just how much his room matched him. Although you had so much to learn about Mark, the multiple anime figurines on his desk along with a couple of action movies on his wall, his PlayStation, Xbox and a mini globe on his night stand emulated exactly what you’d picture his room to look like. His room was quite tidy for a guy; there was no where you could sit in Jackson’s room and you were sure there had to be a rat living somewhere in BamBam’s with the way you couldn’t even see the ground. He pulled out the chair from his desk and motioned for you to take a seat as he walked right back outside. Mark gave you no time to ask where he was going before he reentered the room with whom you assumed to be Milo. 

“Here is our test subject. Say hi Milo.” He placed Milo down on the ground and the little pup immediately made his way towards you. 

“He’s so fluffy and extremely adorable. Mind if I pick him up?” He shook his head and you allowed Milo to jump on to your lap before running your fingers through his hair. You were so in to playing with Milo, that you didn’t realize the look of admiration on Mark’s face as he watched you play with his dog. A toothy grin rose on his face watching you squeeze and play around with Milo and it made him feel warm inside. This was the longest he ever went spending time with a girl. Being the introverted person that he was, it was already hard for him to interact with other students. What more with girls? Especially girls he found very pretty with a bright and bubbly personality. 

If someone were to tell Mark that he would be in his room with the girl he’s had a crush on since freshman year, he would’ve laughed in their face but here he was; watching you holding and leaving soft kisses on his puppy while sitting at his computer desk. He had to be dreaming. The two of you came from different worlds; Mark hid himself in his books and spent most of his time in the library whereas you were constantly joining all these different clubs and befriending almost everyone on campus. He never thought he stood a chance with you; let alone being your friend. Watching you from afar in class, helping your friends and practically anyone in the class you had a hard time understanding the material on top of being the only optimistic student in a bunch of pessimists  is what got Mark to develop a little crush on you. 

He felt like it was stupid; how could he gain feelings for someone he hasn’t even talked to once in his four years of knowing them. But he didn’t have to know you personally to know how much of an amazing person you were. It was all he ever heard about from teachers, your fellow classmates and even some of your friends. You were the school’s social butterfly. Everyone who knew you wanted to be your friend and naturally gravitated towards you. It didn’t help that he thought you were the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen, and the fact that you had an equally beautiful heart made things even harder for him. 

“You have call of duty black ops 4? Where’d you get it? It’s been sold out everywhere for months!” Seeing you so excited over something he was also heavily interested in brought him joy. You were so adorable. “My uncle’s friend is actually a video game artist, so he got a few copies and gave me one. Did you maybe want to play once we finish—or we could play a little bit now and work on the project later. We have a few weeks to work on it so we should be fine.” 

Deep down you knew that you should’ve been starting on your project, it was the reason why you were currently at Mark’s house in the first place but you couldn’t help the fact that you’ve been dying to get your hands on the new installment of your favorite video game and like he said, you both had plenty of time to work on it. You didn’t mean to pout at the idea of waiting till later to play and you found it weird how natural it felt being around Mark, but you liked it and you could get used to it. He handed you the controller and you navigated through the game like a natural. 

To say Mark was in shock at how good you were was an understatement. Most girls Mark knew would never go near a game console let alone play such a difficult game with such ease. At one point, you were doing way better than he was and he found himself smiling like an idiot at your eagerness to kill all the bad guys. For the next few hours, the two of you took turns playing while snacking on the sandwiches and chips he brought up for you both. He even sneaked away to the kitchen to get you some of the cookies he mentioned earlier and your reaction was the most adorable thing Mark has ever seen. Your cheeks were puffy and you had a mouth full of cookies, but that didn’t stop you from telling him how delicious they were. 

The two of you were so focused on playing that you didn’t realize exactly what time it was until Mark’s mom knocked on his door and asked you if you were staying for dinner. Not wanting to intrude on his family, nor were you mentally prepared to meet all of them just yet, you politely declined and thanked her for her hospitality before calling your dad to come pick you up. While waiting for your parents to arrive, you and Mark continued your conversation from where you left off earlier before giving all your attention to his xbox. 

Listening to Mark talk about things that most people would consider boring felt like a breath of fresh air. He had to be one of the only people if not the only person you knew who preferred listening to classical music than to what was playing on most radio stations. In the few hours you got to spend with him, you decided that Mark Tuan was one of your favorite people and you couldn’t wait to learn more about him and bond with him for the next couple of weeks. When your mom let you know that they had just arrived, you said your goodbyes to the Tuan family and thanked Mark for being such a great host. As soon as you got in the car, the huge smile on your face caught your mom’s attention and she was quick to ask the question that’s been eating at her the minute she saw Mark walking you over to your car and saying hello to both of your parents. 

“He’s cute! And quite the gentleman. You like him don’t you?” Your eyes widened in shock at her revelation but your mom knew you better than anyone else. You didn’t need to say it out loud, your facial expression as he held the door open for you and walked you over to your car spoke for you. 

You were falling for Mark. 

Over the next few weeks, you and Mark were practically attached by the hip. After the first time he sat next to you in class, he never returned back to his actual spot and continued sitting next to you even if most of your classmates sat in their regular assigned seats. Then as soon as school was over, you’d head over to either his house, your house, the library or the coffee shop just a few minutes away from school. Most of your time together was spent working on your project, but there were a few moments where the two of you would take a break to eat, play some video games, watch a movie or just talk. 

Even during lunch, instead of hanging out with your usual group, you found yourself sitting with Mark and they didn’t seem to mind it. A few of your friends knew of your crush on Mark and in fact, it was your friend Jinyoung who suggested that you go and sit with Mark in order to “get to know your science partner better.” Once BamBam and Jackson caught wind of the feelings you’ve developed for Mark, they did not let you hear the end of it. 

“So this is why you were so adamant on not switching partners. You have a thing for Markie boy. I don’t blame you, he has the brains and he’s actually pretty good looking if I do say so myself. From what I hear from some of my teammates, apparently he has a big dick—what? That’s what I heard—well anyways, I think you should act on your feelings. Mark doesn’t seem like the type to tell someone he likes them so you’re going to continue wasting your time ogling over him if you don’t make a move—don’t look at me like that y/n it’s 2020 anything is possible. Equality for all.” 

As much as you hated whenever your friends would get involved in your relationships, Jackson had a point. Even if you and Mark have grown close in the last two weeks, he didn’t seem like the type of guy to confess his feelings for someone. Hell, you had a feeling you were the only girl he ever talked to which you were extremely grateful for. Mark seemed to be a very private person who enjoyed being mysterious and preferred to be to himself a lot; so you were honored to be one of the only people he genuinely seemed to trust. You’d like to consider you and Mark friends at this point and you’ve noticed in the last few days that he’s been more touchier and flirtatious than usual. 

You didn’t think Mark; the so called “nerdy and irritatingly intelligent gamer” was capable of such smooth pickup lines until he used one about you being made of copper and tellurium because you are “Cu-Te” and it might’ve been a scientific joke to him but it really set your bones on fire. Since there were only a few days left until your project was due, you decided that you’d tell Mark how you feel no matter what the outcome was. You both were practically finished with the project and spent most of your days having fun together rather than working. So if things went to shit, then you could pretend as if nothing happened and go about your life like how it was before this science project. 

Although, the idea of no longer having Mark in your life sent an unsettling sensation to your stomach. The two of you were currently at his house watching a movie and he had explained to you that both his parents and his brother were away at one of Joey’s taekwando tournaments leaving you and Mark all alone with Milo. The thought of actually being all alone with Mark both worried you and delighted you. As much as you enjoyed being around his family, it would be much easier to tell him how you felt about him without people around. When Mark first offered to put on a movie, you had to laugh when you noticed just how far he sat away from you on the couch. 

You knew he was trying to be a gentleman and that he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but you found yourselves on a few occasions practically cuddling up on his bed. While the movie played, you’d absentmindedly look at Mark every now and then mentally tracing his handsome features and wanting nothing more than to kiss his pretty pink heart shaped lips. The longer you analyzed his face, the more you began to find things that you never realized before like the cute little mole right above his lip or the scar right above his eyebrow. You also couldn’t help but imagine what he would look like without his glasses and soon you found yourself wanting to know if he ever went without them. 

“Hey Mark?” You could tell by the way his eyes were practically glued to the television that he was very interested in the movie so you felt bad for interrupting him, but he paused it in order to give you his full attention and nonverbally motioned for you to go on. 

“Have you ever thought about getting contacts?” He looked at you in curiosity and actually thought about the question for a few moments before shaking his head. 

“My optometrist asked me a couple of times but I always decline. I know you’ll probably think I’m a wimp for saying this but I have a fear of not knowing how to put them on and accidentally poking my eye out so I just stay safe and go with glasses. How come?” You shrugged nonchalantly although your heart rate began to increase at the thought of your next words. 

“You have really pretty eyes. I guess I just want to see them better but your comfort is the most important thing.” You began to pick at your fingers and Mark was glad your attention was elsewhere or else you would’ve seen just how crazy you’ve been driving him in the last few weeks having to do all these things with you and not getting to kiss you, hold you and do all these cute, romantic things that most couples did because all Mark wanted at the end of the day was to be the lucky guy who you called yours. 

“Oh—I—I’m—um—thank you. Maybe I’ll take contacts in to consideration just for you.” You let out a light chuckle and shook your head in disagreement. 

“No no, you’re totally fine. You look good with or without glasses. Please don’t feel like you’d have to do anything because of me—“

“I’d do anything for you y/n. Anything you’d ask me to do I’d do it in a heartbeat. Oh and you—you have a really pretty face and a really pretty personality. Hell, everything about you is really pretty—ah shit. That was weird wasn’t it? Please forget I said anything.” He began to reach for the controller as a way to distract you and to get you to forget what he just said but there was no way you could ever forget hearing him say that everything about you is pretty. Right as he was about to resume, you reached at his hand, took the controller and turned off the movie. He looked at you with the most adorable look of confusion and you decided it was now or never. 

“Mark.”

“Hmmm?”

“Can I kiss you?” The cough that fell from his lips was unexpected and you took that as a negative sign. You wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow you whole. When was breaking out in to a fit of coughs ever a good sign after asking someone if you could kiss them? You hid your face in your hands and tried your best not to look at him in fear of crying because you ruined everything. 

“You know what? Please forget I said anything I must be going insane it’s the lack of sleep and—“ he playfully covered your mouth in attempts to stop you from talking so that he could explain himself. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to kiss you. Trust me, I really, really want to kiss you. I’ve been thinking about kissing these pretty lips of yours for longer than I’d like to admit okay—and I hope by hearing that confession you now know that I like you. I like you a lot y/n. I’ve liked you since freshman year and I’ve always felt so dumb because we didn’t know each other back then but I knew enough to want to be someone special in your life. I—I’ve never kissed anyone before. Pathetic right? A high school senior who has never been kissed. I’m a fucking loser and I’m afraid of messing things up—“ the minute Mark felt your lips smash against his, his heart melted in to a puddle. 

You reached for his hands and brought them down to your waist as you wrapped yours around his neck, pulling him closer in order to deepen the kiss. He was still in shock for the first few seconds and you knew he was still hesitant on continuing the kiss because he had no clue what he was doing, but after a few moments, his lips melded  perfectly with yours. His lips were soft and tasted like butter from the popcorn and you couldn’t help but giggle at how rough and clumsy his kisses grew the longer the two of you made out but it didn’t matter. 

It was special and you knew there would be many kisses shared between the two of you later on and he had plenty of time to work on his kissing skills; although for a first timer, he was actually really good and you knew you were going to get addicted to the feeling of his lips on yours. When you needed to catch your breath, you pulled away earning yourself a soft whine and placed your forehead against his. 

“Wow—I uh—that was—you were—wow. Can we—can I kiss you again?” You snickered at his excitement and nodded; not being able to say no since you wanted it too. He cupped your cheek in his palm and reconnected your lips together. To your surprise and delight, he swiped his tongue along your bottom lip and brought it in between his teeth before shoving his tongue down your throat. You were shocked to say the least at what a natural he was, especially since kissing wasn’t the easiest thing to do. 

“Are you sure this was your first time? I don’t think anyone whose never been kissed before knows how to French kiss. You’re a cheeky one aren’t you Tuan? I like you too by the way.” His laughter filled the room before he pulled you on to his lap and hid his face in the crook of your neck. 

“Date me. Please?” Now it was your turn to laugh. God, how could someone be this cute yet kiss like he’s been doing it for years? What else was he hiding from you? When you quickly nodded and stole a kiss from the corner of his mouth, he released a content sigh and tightened his grip on your waist before turning the movie back on. 

“Wait—babe, humans have more bacteria in their saliva than dogs do. Ew!!! If this is what kissing entails than I better keep some mouthwash on hand because I plan on kissing you a lot.”

“Way to ruin the mood Tuan.”

[turbulentt]

hi for your music drabble how about day6’s I like you + Yeosang 🥺👉👈 pls

Every day it feels as if the world is making fun of you. Preying on your natural bad luck and treating you as a kid with a voodoo doll. It gets tiring, thinking that tomorrow might be just another bad day and the worst thing will happen. It gets tiring, but, somehow, you get through it.

“Hey, did you leave something in the oven?” your roommate asks “Something smells burnt.”

“My cupcakes!” you yell running from your room.

It’s common sense for everyone that knows you, nothing ever comes your way.

But not everything is a complete disaster, many days have come and made you happy. Those days when a smile would never leave your lips. Most of those days have one special person connected to them. Kang Yeosang, your long time crush.

“Ouch!” you cry out feeling the small burn mark on your skin.

Yeosang came around during a very difficult period. Your bad luck was at its peak and on a very despairing week when your pet cat passed away, you met the sweet and young veterinarian that helped you go through all the process of saying goodbye.

“It’s very unfortunate, but he won’t suffer anymore,” he says, releasing the syringe. “I know, thank you, doctor.”

And as you were walking through the door a sudden sting to the head hits you. Your body goes heavy and you feel the urge to fall straight to the ground.

“Miss?” is the last thing you hear before losing all your senses and collapsing in the middle of the animal clinic.

Lucky enough, Yeosang is a very caring person and he made sure to be by your side until you woke up that day. You eventually confessed that you hadn’t eaten anything since the night before because of the stress and, instead of lecturing you about keeping your body healthy, he invited you to go out and eat something with him.

“This way I can make sure you eat well and, of course, I get to have dinner with a very beautiful person.” he smiled.

That was probably it for you, when you fell for him.

“Did you finish your assignment?” one of your classmates asks. “Not yet,” you answer peacefully. “What? It was due today!”

“WHAT?” you almost grunt in desperation.

While Yeosang and you ate together the conversation flew graciously and for the first, you noticed how everything was going well for you. The surprised look on your face was rather amusing.

“Anything wrong?” he asked. “No, nothing. That’s why.” you laughed it off and Yeosang decided to do the same.

In the middle of it all, you decided to talk to him about how you stupidly were born with undying bad luck and every day is literal hell for you. Well, most days. You found out that the days you had beside Yeosang were the most peaceful ones you could ever experience, yet you never told him that.

But today, after burning your cupcakes, burning yourself, and forgetting the deadline for your assignment, you knew it was bound to be a disastrous day.

“Why are you in such a rush?” someone asks after you almost bump into them. “Oh Yeosang, hi!”

“Hey. Are you okay?” he looks up and down, making sure you’re not injured. “I’m fine, someone spilled juice on my shirt and I’m going back to my apartment to change, unluckily enough I don’t have a spare one here.”

“You don’t need to go back. Don’t you have a class now?” he ruffles through his bag in search of something “Here take my sweatshirt, I have one more in the clinic so I won’t need it.”

You look at the sweatshirt in his hand with the most flustered face you could ever have. This was a golden chance, using one of Yeosang’s clothes. You look back at him asking for confirmation and he extends it forward for you, mumbling a quiet ‘take it’. It was then when you noticed a slight hint of red on his ears, perhaps he was as embarrassed as you.

Then something in your head clicked and you decided to forget all your bad luck for just one second.

“Can you come to my apartment tonight? I was thinking of making you dinner.” you shyly ask “Then I can also return your sweatshirt.”

“You can keep it. It’s a gift.” he smiles “I’ll be there at seven, okay?”

“Sure.”

You didn’t even feel that afternoon going by, all that occupied your head was yearning and anxiousness at the same time. Were you going to confess your feelings for Yeosang like that? Even worse, on an unlucky day? You guessed it was it. Wearing his flower-scented sweatshirt wasn’t helping your nerves either, but it was far from you to hide your excitement.

You got to your place faster than the speed of light and did your best to cook a good and presentable meal, without burning it. You remembered how much Yeosang talked about Italian cuisine so you did your best to cook some delicious pasta and, surprisingly, in the end it turned out very tasty. Only to prove your theory that everything related to Yeosang gives you good luck. Perhaps ruining your clothes today was also a strike of luck, so you could use Yeosang’s.

You took a quick sniff at the sweatshirt while setting the table.

“How sweet.” you smile.

Yeosang takes no longer than five more minutes to arrive after you’re all done with the food and you both don’t sway much around the matter.

“It tastes amazing!” he hums in happiness, as if his taste buds are dancing inside him “Do you always cook like this? Or is it just a special treat for me?”

“I did put a bit more effort because you came here today.” you admitted, flushing red.

“I’m happy.” he retorts.

You were also happy, you wondered if he knew it.

“But is there anything special to why you called me here?” he asks casually, while munching on some pasta. “There is something I need to tell you.”

But then silence. Neither he or you say anything else in that moment. All the words got stuck in the pit of your throat and a sudden exasperation took over. Your breathing got heavier and you could only clench to the piece of fabric covering you, his sweatshirt.

“It’s okay.” he says “I have known for quite a while.”

You look up almost instantaneously, only to see him smile kindly. So he knew and never tried to mention it? How noble of him.

“I figured you would like to take your time.” he added.

“Now that you know.” you clear your throat and use every string of hope left in you to ask “Is this a good or bad luck moment for me?”

Yeosang laughs briefly, for moments your nerve wrecking thoughts go away and you even let out a shy smile.

“If it depends on me, you will never be unlucky again.” he takes your hand in his and places a gentle kiss “And I’ll be the luckiest man alive.”

Needless to say that was a very lucky memory to keep.

[shianhygge-imagines]

Sundown 勿忘草 [Reno/Reader]{Final Fantasy VII} Episode 2

AN: Here’s the next part of Sundown Wasurenagusa! I’m sorry that I’ve been slow on posting any new story material! I had a bit of a writers’ block, and I’m still trying to work through it!

I had intended for this to be much longer, but I felt like this part was a good length to post. The first part of this ‘episode’ is going to be formatted weird because I can’t get Tumblr to format a text conversation in the way that I want.

If you like the content I create, please consider donating to my Ko-fi! Please help me feed my tea addiction!

|Masterlist Link|

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

December 12

Reno {07:10}

[Good morning, sleeping beauty]

Me {08:30}

[Morning]

[Do you not need sleep?]

[You probably went to bed late last night]

[And while it truly does make my day to hear from you]

[Why? It’s so early ;.;]

Reno {08:40}

[Can you blame a guy for being eager to talk to you?]

[Lol, Sorry. I didn’t disturb you, did I?]

Me {08:59}

[>///<]

[No, you’re good. I gotta get up to get ready anyways.]

[Flatterer]

Reno {09:34}

[I mean, can you blame me? ;) ]

[So, I was thinking about taking you on a date outside of Midgar, but I realized that I should probably get your opinion on it first]

Me {10:01}

[I mean, that depends? How early do I have to get up on my day off? And how long will it take to get there?]

Reno {10:05}

[Um… well, it’s getting pretty chilly in Midgar, so I was thinking about taking you to Costa del Sol… beach date :P]

Me {10:30}

[…]

[Costa del Sol is pretty far, Reno…]

Reno {10:31}

[And?]

[I’ve got a way]

[Don’t sweat the details]

Me {10:32}

[You’re taking a company helicopter, aren’t you  -.-]

Reno {10:33}

[Ack! You’ve figured out my master plan!]

Me {10:34}

[Are Turks even allowed to take company assets out for joy rides?]

Reno {10:35}

[ TT^TT I told you not to sweat the details!]

Me {10:40}

[I just don’t want you to get into any trouble.]

Reno {10:50}

[Awww, don’t worry about me.]

[You have a party to attend later, so do me a favor and have fun, okay?]

Me {11:03}

[That reminds me…]

Reno {11:05}

[??]

Me {11:11}

[bluedress.jpg sent]

(The image is of you in a sapphire blue dress, the sleeves long and neck high. The dress itself ends just below your knees)

[This dress?]

[reddress.jpg sent]

(The second image is of you in a backless ruby dress that ends just above the knee. There are no sleeves to this dress despite the fact that it has a high neck)

[Or this dress?]

Reno {11:13}

[…]

[Y/N]

Me {11:15}

[Reno]

[???]

Me {12:01}

[If I don’t look good in either of them, just be honest ;.;]

Reno {13:05}

[Gah! Sorry, I got pulled away for something]

[The red one. For sure]

Me {13:06}

[Just because red’s your color… >.>]

[I hope you’re okay, Reno ;.;]

Reno {13:15}

[Hey, first of all, remember what I said about red being your color?]

[I don’t lie, k?]

[But also, yeah. Also because it’s my color, you should wear it ;)]

[Do you have a sixth sense or something?]

[image.jpg]

(Opening up the image file gifts you with a selfie of Reno, looking minorly roughed up and being supported by an infrantryman. He looks like he’s by the old church that Aerith likes to visit. Despite needing to be supported by the infantryman, the red headed Turk’s winking and holding up a peace sign)

[Just a few minor bruises ;P I’ll be fine]

[Unless….]

[You want to kiss me better? ;)]

Me {13:30}

[… Well. I’m sorry for worrying (¬_¬) ]

Reno {13:45}

[Joking, joking! :D]

[All patched up]

Reno {14:07}

[Y/N?]

(´༎ຶོρ༎ຶོ`)

[I’m sorry.]

[Please talk to meeeeeee]

Me {14:00}

[image.jpg]

(It’s a picture of you in the red dress. Your hair is done up with an attractive amount of make up. You’re wearing a sensible set of black flats.)

[The party starts in an hour, so I might be answering my phone too often.]

[And Costa del Sol sounds perfect for tomorrow ;) I’ve got my outfit all picked out]

Reno {14:15}

[Uh, yeah, that’s gonna be your new contact photo]

[I’m picking you up earlier than we agreed so that we can have more time to relax in the sun]

[Duty calls. Have fun tonight, okay?]

Me {14:20}

[And what? My contact photo for you is going to be this?]

[screenshot.jpg]

(It’s a screenshot of your mobile phone screen. There’s an edit with a red arrow pointing directly at the photo icon for Reno’s contact…it’s the photo that he sent earlier except you’ve photoshopped cartoon ‘uwu’ eyes and added pink anime blush to his cheeks)

[And don’t worry, I’ll probably have enough fun for the both of us.]

[We’ll have fun tomorrow, be safe, okay?]

Reno {14:30}

[I’ll try ;) But if not, I’ll have you to take care of me.]

[Also? That picture?]

[P.E.R.F.E.C.T]

Me {18:30}

[Hope you’re safe!]

[Message me after work to let me know you’re okay!]

[image-2.jpg]

(It’s a group photo of you and your friends in silly poses)

Me {19:21}

[image-3.jpg]

(It’s a close up shot of a delicious plate of food)

[I should have brought you with me ;.;]

|You called Reno| 20:58

[Unable to leave voicemail]

December 13 - 08:21

The morning after the confrontation with AVALANCHE at the Sector 7 Pillar, one would expect the medical bay in Shinra HQ to be jam packed full of patients. There should have been a horde of doctors and nurses, running around to treat the injured infantryman and civilian survivors. But there were only two individuals in the med bay, Reno and Rude. When the plate fell, only a handful of infantryman were able to escape the chaos. Many were left behind to fend for themselves.

Despite surviving a helicopter crash and the brawl with Tifa, Barret, and Cloud, Rude only sustained a few bruises and minor bone fractures. He had been assigned bedrest after being treated by the doctors, but the weight of what he and his partner had been tasked to do twelve hours ago felt like an overwhelming burden. Needing something to keep his mind occupied, the taller of the iconic Turk duo simply engrossed himself in a novel that Elena had brought over during her visit.

On the bed beside Rude’s, Reno groaned in pain as he sat up, eyes still not open and alert as he raised a hand to press against his pounding head. “Gah, what the hell.” Reno’s face stung at the cheeks when his face scrunched up at the pain that seemed to come from every part of him. Even the act of sitting up proved too painful due to his newly broken ribs.

Rude watched his partner sink back into the sheets from his own medical bed, sunglasses on as was usual of him. He wondered how long it would take Reno to realize that it had been nearly twelve hours since they had dropped the plate. He also wondered when his sassy partner in crime would realize that he had a date this morning. Of course, Rude didn’t think you’d get angry at Reno for missing a date when he was hospitalized, but the taller of the iconic Turk pair knew that Reno would never forgive himself for skipping out on you.

While Rude watched, Reno allowed his body to collapse back into bed, an exhausted and pained groan escaping his lips as he want, arms flopping onto the bed as he fought to remember what had happened to land him in such a pitiful state.

Oh yeah…Rude and I went to Sector 7’s plate… and we fought blondie’s group of self righteous freedom fighters… and then…I blacked out. Cracking both eyes open, Reno furrowed his brows and turned his head to examine his surroundings. Med bay back at HQ… The red head swiveled in place to stare at Rude, “The mission….” He trailed off with a questioning tone.

His partner merely grunted, “We finished it and escaped.” Lacking in detail, but still straight to the point.

Sighing in relief that his work track record wouldn’t have a stain on it, Reno flopped back down, “Whooo…” The red head cheered sarcastically, pumping a fist without any energy or cheer behind it. Gah, and I promised Y/N that I’d be safe… Reno’s eyes snapped open and he bolted to a seating position with an alarmed cry, “Crap! Y/N! What time is it?” Shit, I gotta message her to let her know that I’m going to be running late! The Turk second in command thought as he pat down his person for his cell phone.

When he couldn’t find it, Reno turned to his partner, who gestured towards the bedside table. “It was damaged during our fight with AVALANCHE, but it should still be working.”

Not paying any attention to the fact that he was now bleeding through the bandages wrapped around his abdomen, Reno grinned, “Whooo boy! Partner, you’re a life saver!”

The sheer amount of relief within Reno voice made Rude stop and stare at his partner. Hmm… maybe Reno’s serious about her after all.

Meanwhile, Reno quickly unlocked his phone screen, ignoring the fact that the glass display seemed shattered beyond repair. When he pulled up the chat room that he shared with Y/N, Reno cursed, “Five missed messages and one missed call.” Quickly reading through the text messages, and smiling at how much fun you were having at the party, Reno tapped out a quick message in reply to you before listening to the voicemail that you had left.

Yesterday

Y/N {19:21}

[image-3.jpg]

(Reno’s mouth watered at the sight of the food in the picture)

[I should have brought you with me ;.;]

|Missed call from Y/N| 20:58

[Click to listen to voicemail]

Today - December 13

Me {08:43}

[Gah, sorry Y/N, I may have bit off more than I could chew yesterday.]

[I just woke up in the med bay at HQ]

[I’m going to be a little late picking you up]

[And I’m a little roughed up]

[But nothing is stopping me from taking you on our date!]

[See you in an hour?]

When Reno lifted his damaged cell phone to listen to the voicemail that you had left him, the only sound that reached his ears was an error notification that the voice recording app had failed. “I’m sorry, but the voicemail recording that you wish to listen to failed to load properly. Please quite all applications before trying again. If the problem still persists, please contact Shinra Mobile’s technical support service to resolve this issue.” The phone recording informed Reno, pleasantly.

Knowing from experience that getting through to technical support at the current hour was next to impossible, Reno merely tapped out another message.

Me {08:47}

[Hey, the voicemail that you sent to me didn’t go through.]

[What was it about?]

Satisfied with the messages that he’d sent out, Reno shifted to get out of bed, an excited grin on his lips. “Welp! Time to get going! Got a wonderful day off with a gorgeous gal!”

Sighing, Rude lowered the novel to look in his partner’s direction. “Your date with Y/N?” When Reno only gave a sassy shrug in reply, Rude shook his head, “Just remember, you’re still injured.”

“Will do, partner!” Reno saluted the older man before dashing out of the med bay, dodging the nurses swiftly as he made his way to the elevators, itching to get back to the Turk dorms to change into something that would help him blend into the slum crowds of Sector 5. On his way to his room, the red headed Turk would raise his phone to check for any new messages, lowering it in disappointment every time there was no response.

“That’s weird, normally she responds by now.” Reno mused, sending out another quick text once he’d changed into dark jeans, a red hoodie, and a dark beige trucker jacket.

Me {09:12}

[I’m on my way to your place now.]

[Are you awake?]

Around twenty minutes later, on the helicopter ride down to the Sector 5 slums, Reno furrowed his brows and bit the inside of his lip when you didn’t respond again.

Me {09:32}

[Y/N?]

[Please answer.]

[I’m on a helicopter down now]

[Message back. I’m getting worried.]

When there is still no response, Reno taps on your contact and brings the phone up to his ear, trying to call you.

“Hey, this is Y/N. I’m probably away from the phone right now, so leave a message, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.”

Straight to voicemail.

Something wasn’t right, and Reno could feel it in his bones.

When the helicopter started to land in the Shinra barracks, Reno didn’t even wait for the helicopter to fully land before jumping out of the aerial vehicle, landing solidly before taking off in a sprint towards your apartment.

She’s not answer any of the text messages… Did she lose her phone last night? Did she accidentally break it?… Did she find out what I did yesterday? Is she ignoring me?

The worries and thoughts that raced through Reno’s mind became more and more self-depricating as he neared entered the main town area and brushed past the crowds of people gathered in the streets. I know I said it was too late to grow a conscious, but damn it, please don’t let this be the reason she decides that she doesn’t want me around.

All but flying up the metal steps to your apartment, Reno starts to bang on your front door, calling your name in the meanwhile. “Y/N!” Bang bang bang “It’s Reno!” Bang bang bang “You weren’t answering your phone. Are you ready to go?” It took another few minutes of knocking before Reno head a door open below and slow footsteps ascend the metal stairwell.

Turning and expecting to see you standing there, Reno’s shoulders visibly slumped when he came face to face with a tiny old lady. “Oh, uh. Sorry for causing a disturbance.”

“Are you looking for Y/N, young man?” The old woman inquired, tilting her head to look up at Reno through friendly old eyes.

Feeling as if he was being judged by the elderly woman, Reno stood ramrod straight and nodded, clearing his throat, “Uh, yeah. We had plans for today.”

The old woman nodded sagely, “I see, I see. Ah, to be young again. I’m sorry to disappoint you, young man, but Y/N hasn’t been home since yesterday afternoon. I think she’s still at her friend’s home.”

The first traces of alarm flashed through Reno’s head, and suddenly his Turk persona was back, “Do you happen to know where her friend lives, ma’am?”

The old woman shook her head, “I only know that dear Selene doesn’t live in Sector 5. I’m sorry, young man.”

Suddenly jittery, Reno only nods and descends the metal staircase again, “Thanks for the help. I should get going.”

Reno doesn’t hear the old woman’s reply because he’s sprinting back towards the Shinra barracks, ears ringing and vision narrowed as he contacts a friend in Shinra’s tech department for help tracking down your cell phone’s location and retrieving the voicemail you’d left him. And while his friend works on it, Reno decided to change into a clean set of his uniform, mind suddenly kicked into overdrive as he tries to recall where you said your friend’s party was.

Gah, Reno… you pay attention to everything else she says, but you can’t figure out where her friend Selene lives? Some Turk you are! Reno scolds himself as he paces back and forth in Y/N’s office, somehow trying to find comfort in familiar surroundings. Damnit, think! What has she mentioned in the past about her friends. I only remember her talking about living in Sector 7 for a whi- Reno pauses in his steps as dread begins to pool in his stomach. “No.” He doesn’t want to entertain the possibility that you had gone to a party at your childhood sector the same night that he was tasked with dropping the plate on top of hundreds. But the more that Reno thinks about it, the more likely the possibility is, and he sinks to his knees in the middle of your office, eyes wide with horror and denial. “No… I refuse to believe it. Gotta wait for-”

His phone chimes with a notification.

Pulling out his phone as fast as possible without fumbling the already hazardously damaged device, Reno unlocks the screen, only to see that a voice file had been sent to him along with tracking coordinates.

Clicking on the voicemail and tracker, Reno’s frown deepens and his face pales as he stares at the map of Sector 7 Slums with a red dot in the center of it, the sounds of your final message to him playing in the background.

No.

The voice recording loops until Reno regains his bearings, body shaking and eyes burning as his ears pick up the sounds of explosions in the background, of your sobs as you fought to leave a last message for the man who had thoughtlessly killed you, and of your fear and acceptance that you wouldn’t live past that moment. The phone slips from his hands and clatters to the floor as Reno’s fingers go slack. “No… I didn’t… Y/N…” A strangled sob escapes Reno’s lips as he raises a hand to grip onto his hair, trying to maintain his composure, “I didn’t mean to… If I’d known, I would have…” The Turk second in command paused and hunched in on himself, not caring if anyone could see him through the glass walls of your office.

M-maybe she left her phone behind when she ran? But… if she’s not there, then where would she have gone if not home?

There weren’t any excuses or any other reason he could come up with. Reno knew that. If he had known beforehand that you would be in Sector 7 Slums, he would have warned you, but you would have tried to evacuate as many people as possible from that sector, and AVALANCHE might have managed to leave, therefore ending in a failed mission. He would have done everything he could to make sure you stayed away from Sector 7, but in the end, he’d still go through with the mission.

“I killed her.” Reno sobbed in realization, biting his bottom lip so hard that he tasted copper, “Just like I killed all those people.” Shaking his head, inconsolable, Reno could only mourn quietly. “I’m just the worst. This is karma for all the shit things I did in life, isn’t it?”

Eyes dulled and slightly puffy, Reno hastily wiped at his face and sat down with his back against your desk, his phone ringing with notifications as Tseng and Rude sent him requests for ‘status’ updates. And the Turk second in command ignored his colleagues, eyes staring into nothingness as he wreaked his brain for what to do next.

I really was looking forward to the date. Reno’s thoughts trailed off, It’s sappy as hell, but I wanted to ask her to be my girlfriend. Tseng said that relationships for Turks never ended well, citing Veld as an example, but… gah! This is the worst situation for Tseng to be right!

It was only the early afternoon… maybe he could start a search party for survivors… it was probably too late, but Reno knew that he had to do something to look for you. With renewed purpose, Reno got to his feet and marched out of your office, blue eyes burning with fiery determination as he hung onto the faint hope that you might have survived.

December 13 - 12:13

You groaned in pain and shifted your body, eyes cracking open to be met with blinding industrial lights. The pain from the glaring lights startled you into closing your eyes again, turning until your body was facing away from them. For a moment, you wondered why you were laying on some sort of weird metallic floor instead of your soft bed, and then the memories of a falling sky sent your eyes flying back open as you took in your surroundings.

The floor was indeed cold and metallic because it looked as if you’d woken up in a maintenance passage. Despite most maintenance passages usually being dimly lit, the one you found yourself lying in was lit from both of the walls. The ceiling above your face had a hole in it, though it was covered with metal and concrete chunks. You assumed, as you clambered to your feet, that you’d fallen through that hole and rolled a few feet away due to the pile of rubble directly beneath the hole. Wincing slightly, you poked and prodded your person for bruises, broken bones, or fractures. Slightly satisfied with just a few small skin lesions, bruises, and maybe a fractured rib, you patted yourself down for your mobile phone, hoping to call for help. Frowning, you found that you did not have your cell phone on you, nor was it anywhere on the floor near you.

Since you hadn’t expected to live through a plate falling on top of you, you could only look on the bright side of things, turning to walk down the metal tunnel with determination set on your face. I didn’t almost die from a plate falling just to give up in an empty tunnel. Plus, a fond smile appeared on your face, I have a date waiting for me when I get back topside.

It seemed pretty simple to you. You’d falling who knows how far down, but you knew for sure that the way out was up. So the only thing to do was to keep walking until you found a passage up. Easy peasy.

December 13 - 15:35

There’s a fierce snarl on Reno’s face as he stands by several parked helicopters. All around him, emergency responders and Shinra infantrymen scrambled to load up supplies and equipment. The dark look on the normally sassy, easy-going Turk’s face seemed like a literal beacon for anyone not bearing good news to stay the away. Though, if some of the troops were to be honest, Reno had very good reason to be irate. The Turk second in command had called in an emergency rescue operation for survivors trapped among the plate wreckage nearly three and a half hours ago, and they were only just beginning to start the rescue operation.

After Tseng, the Turk commander, had authorized the mission to rescue anyone buried under the rubble, the mission had quickly been side-tracked by Shinra executives Scarlet and Heideggar. Scarlet had protested against the operation simply because of the notion that dogs living in the slums were of no use to Shinra, and therefore, the mission was a waste of resources. Heideggar, meanwhile, had agreed that while in times of disaster, Shinra’s army bore the responsibility of launching operations to rescue civilians affected, the members of AVALANCHE were widely unknown and could easily disguise themselves as regular civilians.

It took nearly two hours of careful negotiations and subtle ego inflating by Tseng and Reeve, before both executives agreed to support the relief effort. Viewing it as a strategic move to improve public opinion of the Shinra Company, President Shinra gave little to no resistance when Tseng forwarded the mission brief to be sanctioned.

Now, an hour after the mission was sanctioned, Reno felt the beginnings of a headache forming as he directed the flow of supplies to each helicopter before making sure that there were rotations of supplies and emergency responders that would journey to and from the wreckage of Sector 7 once he landed with the first round of helicopters.

When he had deemed all in good order to head out, Reno sighed and hopped into the helicopter cockpit, buckling himself in to the pilot’s seat. Plopping the headset on while he waited for the rest of the crew to load up into the helicopter, Reno busied himself with flipping switches to make sure that pre-flight and the ride down to Sector 7 would be as smooth as possible. When his co-pilot buckled himself in and gave Reno the thumbs up, the red headed Turk spoke as clearly and seriously as he could into the mic. “Alright guys and gals in all active units, hope you’re all buckled up with headsets on because I sure as hell will not be repeating this briefing.” After a brief pause, Reno continued to speak while directing the helicopter off the platform. “You all probably heard about what happened yesterday. The official reports from HQ state that AVALANCHE launched an attack to compromise Sector 7’s plate pillar. Despite all efforts directed to stop the terrorist attack, the plate still fell. Our job is to go down to the disaster zone to provide relief to all affected civilians. We will also be launching search and rescue operations for survivors.” Reno paused once more as helicopter gained enough air to safely fly out of the landing zone. “I’m gonna be real with you all. Someone important to me was in Sector 7’s Slums when the plate fell and I’m going to try my damnest to look for her. So if any of you fuck this up… not gonna lie, I’m gonna be pissed.” Nobody replied to Reno’s admittance… not that he really expected much of a reply after he dropped that bomb on them. Having enough of the silence, Reno exhaled, “Alright… good talk.”

December 13 - 16:03

It wasn’t easy peasy. Definitely fucking not.

The chrome walkways and exposed piping-lined maintenance passage that you had fallen into hadn’t been a simple few meters under the surface as you thought. No. It’s was more like several meters down with a layer of minor blocked off passageways right above. And, as if that weren’t terrible already? The maze of pathways that made up the layer above seemed to take joy in bringing you up a level, just to drop you back down a level because some asshole decided to seal off the passages at various points.

Your eye twitched in annoyance when you walked down a metal walkway only to be face to face with another fenced off passage lined with reinforced plating. To your surprise, you could see a man stumble around the corner of the opposite side. When you saw one another, your eyes widened. “Holy shit!” The man gasped, stumbling forward with a noticeable limp and sliced up arm. “I didn’t think there’d be another person down here!”

“This place is like a maze, so I’m not surprised that any survivors had yet to meet up. A-are… are you okay?” The blood leaking from the deep scratches in his left arm seemed to ooze a poisonous purple color.

The stranger bit his bottom lip as he hastily hid his injury, “Yeah… I’ll be fine. Listen, girl, you should watch out while down here. I think the rumors about the underground lab were true after all. There are monsters running around everywhere.” Your expression must have been one of utter dismay and despair because the man coughed and reached into his pocket to roll two materia under the fence. “Uh. Shit. Well, it looks like you could use these then. It’s a Cura and a Fira. Hopefully you won’t need it, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Anyways, I hope you make it out of here, girl. I gotta keep looking for other AVALANCHE survivors.”

When the man made to jog away, you called out to him, “Wait! You said that you’re looking for AVALANCHE members? Are you one of them? Do you know what happened?” You pressed yourself against the fence in order to see the stranger from around the corner.

The stranger turned around to stare at you with a grim expression. “Whatever you’re thinking, AVALANCHE didn’t cause this, okay? We were framed by Shinra.” At your confused expression, the man scoffed, “C’mon, you really think that Shinra was going to let civilians protest and riot against them? They couldn’t figure out who was a member and who wasn’t, so they figured they’d drop the entire plate on top of us to get rid of us all.”

“But that’s such a drastic move!” You protested, wanting to believe that your employers wouldn’t have such blatant disregard for human life. “They wouldn’t just sacrifice thousands to eliminate AVALANCHE!”

“Believe what you want, girl. But the reality is that my friends and I all went to the pillar to stop Shinra from dropping the plate, and it dropped anyways because two Turks were sent to finish the job.” The stranger didn’t allow you to retort as he limped away. Not that you would have responded anyways with how the stranger had said that two Turks had arrived to help ensure that the Sector 7 plate dropped.

Pulling away from the fence, you knelt down to pick up the two orbs of materia, the color of your skin taking on a sickly pale pallor. Two Turks were sent to the pillar to drop the plate on top of all of us. Your mind instantly supplied the first Turk pair that you could think of and you felt like you were going to dry heave. I don’t know Rude too well, but from what I know, he and Reno wouldn’t do something so horrendous. Surely, there must have been another pair of Turks who were sent to do it. But you did work in a different department as them, how did you know that there were more members of the Turks? And with Reno’s position within the group… He could have known what was happening…

You told Reno that you would be hanging out with your best friend… that you guys were having a party. He’s smart enough to deduce that your friends still lived in Sector 7… Did he forget? Or… Your stomach churned violently as you sank to your knees on the cold metal walkway. Did Reno just decide he didn’t care if I survived or not?

The edge of your vision burned with tears threatening to spill down your cheeks. A simple blink sent them trailing down your cheeks as you stood upon shaky legs. “Can’t worry about that now.” You muttered, eyes filled with determination as you gathered the excess fabric of your dress to gird up your loins. “I need to find a way out of here. The tunnels might not be able to hold for long.”

Lifting your arm, you pressed one of the materia into your forearm, like you’d seen a few SOLDIERs do before, marveling at how the orb of power sank into the flesh of your arm. Smiling at how seamless it was to merge flesh with Materia, you pressed the other faintly glowing orb into your other forearm, concentrating for a bit before casting Cura upon yourself.

Newly rejuvenated, you back tracked through the metal corridor to find the ladder leading down. “Welp, there’s no time like the present,” you mumbled to yourself as you descended further into the tunnels below.

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

[joshslater]

The Reformatory

A rewrite of jd07201990′s swimmer story. Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

T -1

Dear diary or however you are supposed to start.

So tomorrow is the big day. Dad and I are sleeping at a Holiday Inn at the other side of the state. Well, I'm obviously not sleeping. How could I? So I thought I should start a journal of some sort to document this experience.

Some background. Two months ago I was in a fight with Mark Samberg on the football team. It had gotten pretty bad between the football schmucks and us swimmers. The jockheads were constantly harassing us, calling us fags and prissy boys. It happened often and was getting boring. As the captain of the swim team I asked Mark to knock it off and get his players in line. Idiot as he is he tried to knock me out instead, and I lost it. In our scramble I managed to knock him down and was about to kick him in the shin when he shifted and instead I connected with his knee. Apparently it fractured. He'll be able to walk and even run, but he'll not be able to play again for years, so he lost his Scholarship.

His family sued everyone they could. Me, the school, the swim coach. In the end all the lawyers sat down in a room with a local judge and came up with something they all could agree to. Mark gets some study assistance to get his grades up, the school had this quickly brushed under the carpet, and could pretend I was never student there. Me not graduating wasn’t really a blow, as my college fund now went to pay for Mark’s education, as compensation. They were rich enough to afford it anyway, but they wanted to see punishment. I get the honor to spend the next 180 days at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center, where I will "participate in all scheduled exercises, activities, therapies, meals and medication programs". They can tack on some extra days for bad behavior without going back to the judge, but essentially I get 6 months at bad boy camp for standing up to bullies.

What will I do there? No idea. The website talks a lot about work ethics and responsibility and working together with the local community. Sounds like labor camp to me. I'll guess we'll know tomorrow. But first we have to visit the hospital for a check up. My first day in prison will mostly not be in prison!

Day 1, Monday

We started with a checkup at the hospital, and man did they do a thorough job. Our appointment was at 10, but before that I had to fill out a form with 100 questions. The doctor spent more than 30 minutes doing the most extensive check I've ever had. Not only that, but after the check we had to go to the sample lab to draw blood, and finally I had a CT scan at noon. After that, and a quick lunch, we drove to the actual reformation center, which was in a smaller town 2 hours away.

It's an old boarding school building that they've turned into this "Reformation Center", and it clearly looks more like a prison than a school. Just a heap of two story brick and concrete buildings out in nowhere. Not much of security, but then everyone was there "voluntarily", meaning that we all had a proper punishment waiting for us if we left. I hugged dad goodbye and was shown to Mr. Kerwin’s office by the entrance guard.

Mr. Kerwin was a lean, ripped man in his forties that oozed military discipline. He explained that he was responsible for my rehabilitation and that he wouldn't start soft. He would give me a packed schedule, and if I didn't pull my weight he would add more days for "noncompliance". If I didn't like it I could run back to judge Stephenson and ask to start over in juvie.

Perhaps that would be better, because the schedule he showed me was totally insane.

4:30-5:00  Breakfast 5:00-8:00  Exercise pass 1 8:00-12:00 Work pass 1 12:00-12:30 Lunch 12:30-14:30 School 14:30-17:30 Work pass 2 17:30-18:00 Dinner 18:00-21:00 Exercise pass 2 21:30       Lights out

He explained that my breakfast, lunch and dinner would be pre-portioned and I was required to eat all of it. The exercise passes would be lead by himself or one of the assistants. Again, I would have to follow every instruction. The work passes were done at local businesses that wanted an extra hand, and changed depending on demand. The school passes were done as a group on whatever subject Mr. Reed selected.

Next he ordered me to get naked and place all my clothes on top of my bag and move to the other side of the room. Having done so he pointed at a stack of clothes on the table and told me to pick my size and get dressed. I quickly dressed in one of the track suits from the table. There was a baseball cap also, which confused me, but was told that it was instead of sunglasses when working outdoor.

With that I was given a rule book to study and was led by an assistant to my room where a dinner was waiting. Turkey, rice, water. I was reminded of lights out at 21:30 and wake up at 4:30. The assistant left and locked the door. 10 minutes later he came back with my journal book and pen, and told me that they'll keep the rest for now.

Having eaten the dinner and having three hours (I'm almost sure 21:30 is 9:30 PM) to kill before the lights go out I'm now summarizing the day. I'm sitting in something very similar to a prison cell. Bed, toilet, sink. Everything is clean, though somewhat worn. Looking into the mirror is kind of depressing though. I look like some jailed gang member.

It's kind of weird that I haven't met any of the other inmates, sorry students, here. I saw some of them while coming in, but perhaps this is their kind of hazing, or they do an official presentation tomorrow. Anyway, I should study the rule book and go to bed, since I didn't sleep much last night.

Day 2, Tuesday

So much to write about, so little time. I might have to split this into several entries since lights out is in 20 minutes.

I was awaken at 4:30 and given a tray with a large bowl of porridge and berries and some chalky smoothie or shake or whatever to drink. After that an assistant lead me to the gym room where we went over various machines, mainly for cardio. Elliptical, bike, treadmill. Weird thing was that it was only us two in the room during all three hours.

Sweaty and a bit tired I was then taken outside to a bus where some of the other boys where chilling. Apparently everyone else had breakfast between 7 and 8. They had no idea why I didn't join them there. The bus then drove around town and the driver announced who should exit where. My group of four people exited at a farm before town, only about 5 minutes away. I don't know exactly since I haven't been given my watch back.

There we spent hours just moving hay. Don't they know about tractors? Sweaty, itchy, tired and hungry we were then picked up and driven back. At lunch was the first time I saw the real common area. To my surprise there were more boys there than had been on the bus.

Everyone else could pick what they wanted from what was served, but I was given a ready tray with an heap of salmon and pasta. I was starving though, so it wasn't a problem to eat it all. I didn't have much time to talk, but the guys at my table were nice. Somewhat rough, as could be expected. Apparently you were chosen for the different work assignments, and if you were not picked you stayed at the center for sports or craft or similar things.

After Lunch followed a session with Mr. Reed. The first boring hour was on English grammar and the second boring hour on US geography. I aced the quizz getting all 50 states and state capitols right, so I didn't learn anything new after that. Then Mr. Reed announced who had work assignments, and I was again selected.

This time I and Troy were dropped off at a different farm where we spent almost three hours helping with fencing. Mainly carry posts and sawing them to length.

For dinner I had some meatballs with roasted sweet potatoes while everyone else had meatballs with tomato sauce. Mr. Kerwin picked me up and led me to the gym. Unlike the morning session this was all about weight training. Most of it was on finding my limits for different exercises while Mr. Kerwin pointed out how I could improve my form. You could tell that this was what he liked to do, and encouraged me to push a bit further. Once we were done I had a bottle of post workout mix of some sort and a very quick shower before rushing back to my room.

Here's the thing. My room is on a different floor than the other guys. Also, my schedule appears to be different and much more rigid than the rest of the guys. I also

Day 3, Wednesday

I couldn't finish the last entry before they cut the light. My entire body is in pain right now. I woke up like that, and it didn't go away all day. Same schedule as yesterday, but different tasks and different dishes. The assistant really pushed today during the morning session, so I was exhausted already at the bus. Planting bushes at the city park all morning didn't help. I got some rest during Reeds rehash of elementary math. Then back to doing fences, and top it all off with weight training. I asked Mr. Kerwin about the schedule and why it was so different from everyone else’s. He said that everyone's schedule is individual and that he'll adjust mine as needed.

One more weird thing before I fall to sleep. Everyone else is using their normal clothes. I haven't gotten mine back yet.

Day 4, Thursday

FUCK! I was back on moving hay today again, with Sam, Trevor and Rick. I'm still hurting like hell and Rick is one lazy motherfucker, so old fart Farmer Joe decided to complain. The end result is that I am getting 2 days added for noncompliance. Sam, Trevor and Rick got nothing. WTF!

Day 5, Friday

We were carrying merchandise all morning and Troy heckled me on how I got more days because of the piece of shit Rick. But he then said that it was a weird coincidence that every work shift I've been on has been the toughest one.

Instead of going to class I met with the doctor from the hospital who made a visit. He asked me about how I felt, where I was sore etc. Then he gave me an injection which he said would ease things for me. I didn't feel much different, but I was getting really sleepy getting back to Mr. Reeds class, but it might just be that everything he did was too simple and boring.

Apparently while I had a check up Troy had shared his theory about me being a work magnet, so there were some groans from the guys placed in my group. God damn fence work again.

Man, I'm tired. I was tired even before Mr. Kerwin gave me the toughest weight pass ever. Fuck, I'm tired.

Day 6, Saturday

So the weekend schedule is different. There is still a morning work pass, basically only used by the local farmers. But the afternoon is free both on Saturdays and Sundays. Conditions and terms applies, apparently. Since I haven't done any cleaning or dishes all week (how could I?), I'm assigned washing clothes, sheets etc. Man, how much better it is to carry laundry than hay. Best job assignment all week. Lots of downtime. Only real drawback is all the humidity. It’s steamy AF here.

Still fucking 3h workout pass in the morning and evening. The other boys were pretty vocal in mocking me on my way to the gym.

Day 7, Sunday

So the day started out as any other so far. Woke up sore. Breakfast alone and 3 hour gym session. There are no work passes outside LARC on Sundays, so I was hit with cleaning, together with Kyle G. and Rick. Rick ghosted after like three minutes, but KG did a solid work. It took us all the time til lunch though to finish it.

Then my first free couple of hours all week. It’s insane. The other guys were low key avoiding me, so I did what Mr. Kerwin had suggested and had a walk in the forest. It was actually kind of nice, and for some weird reason I didn’t feel like sitting still.

Day 8, Monday

Same shit again. Mr. Kerwin gave me a shot in the arm this evening. Apparently I’ll have one each Monday from now on. Whatever.

Also I found out today that the others don’t have formal lights out. I’m on my own floor so they can lock me up and cut the power. What the fuck?

Day 9, Tuesday

That fucker Rick slacked off again, taunting me about another two days. Ha! I got 10. Mostly for kicking him in the teeth. They locked me in my room, so I had lunch there and sat in this boring ass cell during class and work. Fuck, I don’t know what’s worse. I had to do some body weight exercises to keep sane. Fuck this shit.

Back again. I still got to have my evening workout. Kerwin was pushing harder than ever. The order of exercises was different too. Apparently to make the major muscles tired so smaller muscle groups then get to work. Or something. I don’t give a shit.

Day 11, Thursday

They fucking work now, don’t they the little shits. They know I ruined someones career to get here and another one for slacking off. They better pull there weight

Day 14, Sunday

I think I’ll stick to just write on Sundays. There is only half an hour from evening gym to lights out, so there isn’t much time for writing. I’ve even skipped shower a few times. It’s not like it matters when you start every fucking day getting soaked with cardio. Not like there are any girls around to impress either. Sunday has a different vibe tho. Cleaning, running in the forest and taking a long shower.

Starts and ends with fucking gym time though.

Day 21, Sunday

I really fucking like the forest runs. Its like you don’t have to think and can just run wherever and grab whatever and smash whatever. Fucking love it

Day 28, Sunday

Yay! A full fucking month!

It’s crazy though how much stronger I’m. I have gone up one size larger track suite and 2 sizes larger sneakers. Working hard to make me the best I guess.

Day 42, Sunday

guess i forgot about writing last week. i think the monday shots make me angry or something because last week fucked up someone else on tuesday. at least they all give me fucking respect at least.

Day 92, Monday

i dont give a shit abot reeds borin ass lessons and they fuckin repeat on a loop or some shit. today he was back on gramr and the states. i most time dont fill out his shit but wanted to do it again today. fucking aced most of the states. not so good on the capitols tho

Day 203, Sunday

only 2 weeks left tomorrow lol then im gonna yeet the fuck outta here !!!! adios motherfuckas

Mr. Kerwin enters the room, carrying a folder, and walks behind his desk, not even looking at me. I am sitting in his precious fucking antique chair I pulled from the corner. He’s sitting his ass down, rifles through the papers in the folder and starts to read from one of them.

“John Hamlin agrees to 180 days of rehabilitation training at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center, where he will participate in all scheduled exercises, activities, therapies, meals and medication programs, with a possible extension of 30 days for noncompliance and a possible extension of 60 days for infractions as described by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Act (JuRA), section 1103 (b).”

He looks up at me. It sounded like easy shit when I said yes to it. I thought half a year in a bad boy summer camp, or worst case something like prison, but that would have been miles better than this fucking non-stop hard labor shit. And 180 days was a fucking joke. They never fucking intended that to be the actual time. Have someone else slack off and the slap another 2 days to the time. Kick a chair to pieces, 5 days. Punch a guy for being a cunt, 10 days. I’m close to having another fucking outburst again. It must be all that fucking shit they put in the food or shakes or whatever. I fight it. I don’t want to show any emotion in front of him. I don’t think he buys my shit.

“There is another document in the agreement that you haven’t heard. This one between Mark and judge Andrews.”

He pulls out another paper from the folder and read it.

“The state hereby directs Mark Samberg, or person(s) by him so designated, to design and oversee the rehabilitation program of John Hamlin to be administrated at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center. This includes physical exercises, physical therapy, education, consoling, dietary plan and medication, as long as it fulfills the positive development criteria (Appendix D), is within the available services at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center (Appendix A) and within the given budget (Appendix C). Additional services require external financing and approval from the Reformation Center management (Appendix B).”

That doesn’t make any fucking sense. Why the hell had the judge put Mark in charge of my schedule? I understand why he’d want to make the experience suck as much as fucking possible for me, by why had everyone agreed to it? Kerwin looks at me as if he can read an open book.

“You are wondering what has happened to you. What was the meaning of all this? Stand up.”

I jump to my feet. There are still weeks he can add to my time here, and I don’t want to give him any fucking reason to add some shit.

“Stand with your feet as close together as you can.”

He’s never asked me to do that before. I can easily tap me feet together, but I can’t really stand still with my feet right next to each other for long. What the fuck is this bullshit? My thighs are too massive for that.

“Sit down again.”

He leans back and watches me with a bemused smirk.

“Imagine that you’d been away from swimming half a year. Even if you kept in shape it would take you months to be back in good enough technique to clear the swim team tryouts. But you have not kept in shape, have you? You have a completely new shape.”

The blood is draining from my face. I understand where this is going.

“With your upper body build you can physically really only do butterfly strokes properly, but if you can’t bring your feet together the leg kick will just be a wild thrashing of water. You swimming medley would be a hilarious joke. We haven’t even talked about you almost doubling in weight, and how much more oxygen you would need to swim. Sure, you are much stronger now, but old you would swim circles around new you. And that is of course the point. If Mark couldn’t have his sports career, he didn’t want you to have yours either. And the judge agreed.”

I’m surprised that the chair doesn’t break, as hard as I’m squeezing it. I’m boiling with fucking rage. I have to really focus to not to act on it.

“Now the judge specifically set out that this transformation couldn’t be punishment in itself, but rather that you were trained in a way that just wasn’t optimal for swimming. We may have gone a bit overboard with the body building to leave you many options though. You’ll obviously never be competitive in anything with speed or agility, like football or boxing. The metabolic conditioning, hormone treatment and gene therapy have far to long lasting effects to change you back from where you are now. You could try wrestling or weight lifting though, unless you mind showing your erection through spandex.”

“What the fuck?”, I said, as much as a general question to all the things he’d said. What does metabolic conditioning mean? Gene therapy? Erections?

“The medical regimen that Marks family found for you kind of put the feet on both the gas and the break at the same time. It forces the body to grow a lot at the same time as we try to stop it, so it has to try even harder. By injecting stem cells with the right CRISPR-modified DNA we could get rapid, major and long lasting changes. Well, I say we, but all I did was to make sure you kept to the exercise regimen, for a little cash on the side… Surely you didn’t think you got larger feet and dick from eating much and working hard?”

I don’t understand exactly what they done to me, but the result is pretty fucking clear. There was no way I would swim competitively ever again, if I could even fucking swim at all now. I would come out of here looking like a fucking balloon animal muscle jock, and shedding the muscles back to where I were would take shitloads of years.

“The hormone treatment finished two weeks ago and last blood sample shows that your natural hormone levels will keep you muscled and pumped probably well into your forties. So this morning I also cut you off from all suppressive medication as well. That is going to spike your hormone levels and mess quite a bit with you, so we need to see just how badly fucked up you are before we can release you.”

“The good doctor say that you’ll be more irritable and have more excess energy than before. Both something you can work on with regular, hard exercise. But I want to see where you really are at now, so starting today you’ll have no required gym time and labor passes. You can wake up when you want, eat what you want and do what you want.”

“You said erections?”, I asked.

“Yeah, the suppression medication should have kept you limp. You haven’t jacked off while here, have you? Well, you heard what I said about gas and break and compensation. Your body has been pumping massive amounts of hormones into your blood, and will continue to do so. But now that you don’t have the suppressives anymore you should expect to be horny for the next decade or two. You’ll be nothing but a lumbering muscle dildo.”

There’s a crack somewhere inside the wood of the armrest. Fucking fourteen more days, I have to remind myself. Don’t fuck any shit up before then. If I let go of the chair I’m quite positive I will knock him the fuck out. Fourteen fucking more shit days.

[tweedlydumbtweedlydoo]

Off Limits (Spencer Reid) #3

Well, here is chapter 3. It is a little longer than the previous two. enjoy!! 

Previous Chapters: 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Tag List: @on-my-way-to-erebor​ ​, @haileymorelikestupid​ , 

NOT MY GIF

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Soon after Spencer and Ava’s conversation had ended (well had been interrupted), the group were packing their things. They received a case from Seattle, WA and would be leaving on the jet in half an hour. They didn’t know how long they would be out there. It all depended on when the case was solved. Spencer and Ava were both disappointed. They had no idea of when they would see each other again. It could be a couple days, to a couple weeks. Hotch had left another assignments list should she finish the first and they aren’t back yet. She would have plenty to do while they were gone. Plenty to keep her mind off Spencer.

One day went by.. then two… and three… Ava had been keeping up with the case through Penelope. She was the only one who stays behind to work magic at her computer. Being their eyes and ears. Ava sat in the chair situated in the corner of Penelope’s office, watching her work. She answered a call from Morgan, “What can I do for you sweet face?”

“Hey baby doll, we need a location for a lead. His name is Bryant Jameson.” She started typing really fast, clicking away and mumbling to herself before finally finding it, “Location is 143 52nd street.”

“You never fail me baby girl,” He hung up quickly after that.

“So, how’s the case going?” Asked Ava, hoping for a positive reply, that they would be heading home soon. She missed talking with Spencer. He and Penelope were the only ones she’s become closer to.

“They should be home tomorrow if this lead doesn’t fall through.” Penelope turned in her chair to face Ava. “You sure are concerned about the case.” She raised a questionable eyebrow, twirling her pen.

Ava blushed a little and played it off, “Just curious is all. I’ve never been around this kind of stuff.”

Penelope nodded, not fully believing her. “So, you and Reid, you guys have hit it off, haven’t you?” she pushed.

“Yeah, he’s cool to talk too. He helped with stacking boxes the other day.” She brushed it off like nothing, at least hoping she did. However, she failed. Penelope could see right through her.

“Oh girl, we know. We saw you guys in the file room, giggling and talking like high school love birds.” Penelope joked, smirking, only causing Ava to blush more. Then, Penelope went serious, pointing her fluffy pen at Ava, “Just be careful about all that, okay? Hotch doesn’t allow relationships between co-workers within BAU. It makes things complicated.”

Luckily, the lead didn’t fall through and they were back in the office the next morning. Ava wanted to talk with Reid about the case and hear all about it, but she kept her distance, remembering Penelope’s warning. Spencer had noticed Ava became more distanced since he arrived back at work. They were fine when he left, talking when they got the chance, whether in the kitchen, copy room, or just walking by each other’s desk, what had changed? She had been busy all morning, or at least looking like it. She finally took a break and headed for the kitchen. Spencer took this chance to talk with her.

“Hey Ava.” Spencer entered the kitchen and put his hands in his pockets. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard him. This whole distance thing was going to be hard.

“Hey Reid. How was the trip?”

He walked to the fridge, pulling out a water, “it was good. Glad we caught the guy.”

Ava gave him a quick smile and continued making her coffee. Something’s wrong. He could tell. He furrowed his brows, “are you okay?”

She looked back up at him and nodded, hoping to convince him, “Yeah, I’m great.”

A lie. He’s an intelligent man, he can read right through people. He knows somethings wrong but didn’t want to push her. “Okay… well I guess I’ll let you get back to work.” He solemnly left and walked back to his desk, grabbing his jacket and mumbling to Morgan, “I’m going out to lunch.”

Ava had a crush on Spencer. She knew this and knew she shouldn’t. Dating co-workers was off limits. He is just too cute though. How could she resist him?

It had been a week since the kitchen conversation, and nothing had changed. They talked less throughout the day. It was only short conversations here and there. Both of them hated it. Spencer still didn’t know what had changed or if he had done something wrong to upset her. So on Friday morning on his way into work, he stopped by his favorite coffee shop and decided he would pick one up for Ava. Two and half teaspoons of sugar and splash of cream.

He walked into the office, two coffees in hand, his tan messenger bag hung over his shoulder. She had glanced up when she heard him say good morning to Morgan, but looked back down at her computer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone approach her desk. “I stopped on my way in and figured you might want one too.” He set the coffee next to her, giving a small smile.

He had brought her a coffee. Oh, come on Spencer, you aren’t making this any easier for her. She couldn’t resist it; coffee was her weakness. And so was Spencer’s damn smile. She tried to hold back a smile and took a sip of the coffee, savoring the taste. It was made just the way she liked it. How the heck did he know? Finally, she caved and smiled up at him, “it’s made just the way I like it. You must keep tabs on me.” She teased, causing him to blush, “Thank you.”

He nodded, “Good morning by the way. That now-storm is supposed to be coming in this evening.”

“I had heard about that. Maybe we’ll get snowed in together.” She meant it as a joke, taking a sip of her coffee, but it made his heart flutter. The thought of being snowed in with her, alone, being able to talk to her for hours… Uninterrupted. She had to admit, the thought was tempting. Stop it Ava.

“That wouldn’t be so bad,” he gave a quick wink and headed for his desk. It was his turn to make her blush and heart flutter.

About 5 hours later, Hotch came out of his office and ordered everyone to go home before the storm got bad. Ava was in the middle of working on a spreadsheet. She couldn’t stop, nor could she take the work home. Number one rule. Nothing leaves this office. “Sir, I only need another hour. I’m almost done.” She pleaded, staying one more hour wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like it would be that bad. Hotch agreed to let her stay, “One-hour Ava. No spreadsheet is worth your safety.” He said sternly. She nodded and quickly got back to work. Everyone had headed out. Except for one person; Spencer.

Spencer had just started the paperwork for the last case, and he was behind. He decided to stay for another hour to continue working on it. He didn’t even realize everyone had left. He was in the zone. Ava was the only one left still at her desk working. She had been so quiet; he hadn’t even noticed.

“Fuck!” She whispered angrily, typing angrily on the keyboard. He chuckled quietly to himself. She was cute when she was angry.

“Hitting on the keyboard like that won’t make it work better.”

She jumped, startled. She had been zoned in on the computer and didn’t realize anyone else had stayed to work. “Geez Reid, I didn’t even know anyone else was here.”

He chuckled, “I decided to stay a little longer. I only just started on this paperwork from the last case and I am super behind.” He stood and headed over to her desk, “What seems to be the problem?”

“I can’t get the fucking thing to organize the information correctly. I need it in this order, but it won’t let me.” She slid back from her desk a little, letting him peek at the computer. He leaned down and started typing and clicking around. She watched as he worked, concentrated on the monitor. A little of his tongue stuck out in concentration. She got a whiff of his cologne, it smelled woodsy with a hint of pine and mint. Tempting.

“and… there you go. All done.” He smiled stepping back, proudly.

“How… how did you?” Ava looked at the computer confused. She had been working on this for the last 20 minutes and got nowhere.

“You didn’t have the tab clicked yes.” He laughed, crossing his arms “It has to be clicked to yes for it to change.”

She groaned and face palmed. “it’s been a long day.” She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.

“Why don’t you head home?” He questioned, pulling a chair up next to her.

“Because I want to finish this. I can’t leave things unfinished. I need to finish before I leave.”

He nodded and glanced at her desk, noticing the picture of the cat, “That is a fat cat.” He stated, laughing, causing her to laugh too. She grabbed the frame and handed to him. “That would be my cat Smokie. And yes, she is a very fat cat.”

He glanced over the picture, “you do know it is dangerous for cats to be overweight? Very unhealthy. It leads to a number of diseases.” He set the picture back where it was.

“Yes, which is why she is on a diet now.” She laughed and pulled herself closer to her desk, ready to get back to work.

“Good. Well, I will let you get back to work.” He stood and headed for his desk, getting back to work. He would work until she left. He didn’t want her alone in the building.

About half an hour later, Ava stood and stretched exclaiming, “Finally!”

“Done?” He asked, straightening the files on his desk.

“Yes, finally.” She started tidying up her desk, shutting down her computer. He had been done with his work for a while but didn’t want to leave her. He watched her start to put on her coat.

He looked out the window and saw the blanket of white snow falling. He stood to put his coat on as well. Come on spencer grow a pair, be a man.

“Ava, do you want to go get something to eat with me?” He blurted, before he had the time to chicken out.

It took her by surprise that she stopped putting on her coat and looked at him. Had he just asked her out? Had she really heard him right?

“What?” She asked, wanting to make sure she heard him right.

“Do you want to go get dinner... with me?” He glanced down and back up at her.

She grinned. She had heard him right. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of food, “Yes. I would love too.”

Both continued slipping on coats, hats, gloves and scarfs and headed out the door to brace the storm. He knew of a place close by. It was small hole in the wall, but they had great soup and soup seemed like the perfect meal to have with weather like this. He guided her to the restaurant, letting her wrap her arm around his, holding onto the crook of his elbow. He didn’t want her to slip on any snow. She still couldn’t believe he had asked her out to dinner and that she was holding onto his arm as he guided her to the restaurant.

Later that night after dinner, the snow fall had calmed.They managed to get a cab and pulled up infront of her place.

“Well this is me.” She smiled and turned to him, pulling her keys out of her purse.  

He nodded, “I’ll walk you to the door.” He told the driver to wait and they both stepped out and up the stairs to the door of her townhouse.

“I had a great time tonight.” He slid his hands in his pockets. He noticed her nose had turned a shade of pink from the cold.

She turned to face him and fixed her glasses back on her nose, sniffling, “Yeah me too.” She glanced back at her door, then at him, contemplating inviting him in for tea or coffee. Maybe she should wait. She didn’t get a chance to even make that decision before he spoke, “I would love to do it again. Go out to eat,” he smiled.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded, smiling, “I would love that..” They quickly exchanged numbers before saying goodbye. He walked down the stairs and got back into the cab, heading home.

Later that night before she went to bed, her phoned dinged. It was a text from Spencer.

Are you free for dinner tomorrow?

She grinned and slipped into bed, texting back: Yes:)

Soon after her phoned dinged again, Great. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 6:30. Sleep tight.

She couldn’t contain her excitement. She knew she shouldn’t be excited. They shouldn’t be doing this. But it was only dinner, what could it hurt?

He had finally found the courage to ask her out and that dinner tonight was amazing. They talked and laughed the whole time. Like old friends who have known each other for years, like they clicked with each other and like it was meant to be. The last week of barely speaking was a blur. He didn’t care. They spoke all night at dinner and now, he had another date with her tomorrow. He couldn’t wait. That night he slept soundly, knowing he would see her again.

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And we have an official date!! Seems like they hit it off pretty good at dinner. Wonder how the next date will go ;) 

Also, let me know if you’d like to be added to my tag list for future chapters! 

[suckitsurveys]

Do you know anybody who is ambidextrous? My dad is. He writes left-handed but does everything else right-handed. Have you ever been 4-wheeling? Nope. What’s the weather been like today? It’s currently 77F and rainy. What was the last exam you sat for? Like I remember that. Will you be attending any weddings in the near future? Possibly?

Do you currently have any unread text messages, and who from? Nope. Speaking of text messages, what colour is your cell phone? It’s blue. Do you live anywhere near the woods? Yeah, there are some forest preserves near here. Would you ever consider a career in the tourism industry? That might be fun? When was the last time you used q-tips? A couple days ago. How does your hair react to humid weather or rain? I’ve never noticed a difference honestly. What’s your favourite flavour of iced tea? I LOVE the green ice tea from Starbucks, which is Teavana Jade Citrus Mint. It’s got light hints of citrus and mint. SO yummy. Do you understand music theory? Maybe? I don’t know what counts as music theory.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Like 6ish. Are you expected to act professionally at your job? Uh huh.  Infomercials: entertaining or stupid? I don’t find them entertaining. What’s your favourite brand of energy drink? I don’t drink those. Do you have (or have you ever had) acne? Yes. Why did you click to take this survey? I wanted to do one and this one caught my interest I guess. If you have glasses, have you ever smashed them? Yeah. How do you get new music? Buy or download or what? I just use Spotify. Have you ever sent someone an abusive text message? No? Not intentionally, anyway.  Do you require a lot of time to do things or are you quick? Depends on the thing. What will be the next concert you attend? I don’t have any planned as of now. Turn the nearest television on, what’s on? We don’t have cable, so if I turned it on, I would have to choose something to watch. How often do you “wake up on the wrong side of the bed”? Eh. Can you rap? Nope. What do you usually order when you’re at McDonald’s? That’s one of the few fast food places I don’t have a typical order. I do always get fries and root beer, though. Are there any textbooks near where you are right now? Yeah, on my book shelf I have a couple of books I used in college. What’s the time? It’s 1:43PM. How’s your body temperature right now? I’m content. Do you use Celsius or Fahrenheit? Fahrenheit. What was the last thing you got a really good deal on? They had this 8 for 88c deal on a bunch of different items at the grocery store. At the end of my trip, I saved over $55. Have you ever studied any ancient societies? Yeah, for school assignments. Do you like to wear long, dangling earrings? Sometimes. What was the last reason you took medicine? I had a headache, Do you exercise regularly? I try to. What is your coffee of choice? (flat white, cappuccino, etc.) Lattes. Do you pay any attention to your country’s politics? For the most part. Are you feeling worried about anything right now? Sure. Are you a gossipy type of person? I can be, sure. When will your next meal be, and do you know what it will consist of? I’m going to have a snack in a bit but then for dinner we are making cilantro lime chicken soup. What’s your opinion on your in-laws, if you have any? On my husband’s side, I love my mother-in-law. She’s really nice and funny and we agree on a lot of things. I don’t have much of a relationship with my brother-in-law, but he used to not be such a nice person, so I am cautious around him. He has a really awesome little kid though. My sister-in-law is super sweet but she lives really far so we haven’t seen her in ages.

As for my brother-in-law from my sister’s side, aka her husband: I fucking hate him more than anything on this planet.  Have you seen your best friend today? I’ve seen Mark today, but not my other best friends. I wish! What can you smell right now? Nothing. Any important birthdays coming up? My sister’s is in a month. Fireworks: yay or nay? I love fireworks in a controlled setting. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day? I’m going to work out after work and try to get some chores done before dinner. Then Ellen and I are supposed to video chat. How about tomorrow? Any plans? Work, work out, chores, dinner, maybe go for a walk. Do you know how to do your own laundry or does someone else do it? I do it on my own. If you could eat or drink anything right now, what would it be? I’m good right now. What colour are your headphones? Purple. Think of the last long car trip you had, where did you go? Define long.

Do you have a Twitter account that you use regularly? Yes. I don’t really use it regularly though. Have you ever seen a horseshoe crab? They’re scary, right?! Not in person, I don’t think. What was the last movie you saw at the theatres? In a drive in, Hocus Pocus. Are there any new movies that you’d really like to see? Probably. If you could play one instrument flawlessly, what would it be? Guitar. Do you overthink a lot of things? Yepppp. Is there anybody you miss but can’t see again? Yes. When was the last time you had a hangover? It’s been a while.

[fonulyn]

hi :) do you have any advice for new teachers? i suddenly got my first teaching position and i'm kind of freaking out O_O

ohhhh congratulations!! :D ah and try to take deep breaths and calm down, I’m sure you’ll do great! 

the advice kind of would depend on how old kids you’re teaching (if kids at all?) because it’s quite different working with the little ones and with the teenagers, so. personally I find the smaller children a little intimidating and I’m glad I work with 13-19 year olds, because I can handle them much better :’D

but in general what I find is the most important thing about being a teacher is being fair to everyone. it’s impossible to actually like everyone you teach, especially if you work with teenagers when there’s always one of two who try their best to piss you off. but you’ve still got to treat them all the same, and give everyone the same opportunities for guidance and help. they’re kids. i’m the adult. i’ve got to see past the spitting on floors and yelling at me how math sucks.

and usually the kids will notice you’re being fair and not playing favorites and they’ll respect that. 

another thing i’ve learned is that often even when you feel like screaming and stomping your foot and throwing things, the best thing can be to smile and brush it off with a joke. like... pick your battles? don’t make a huge deal out of everything, so then when you do make a big deal out of an actually important issue it then actually sticks with them. i’m not gonna yell at them for making a paper airplane out of their exam, because it’s not a huge deal. but i am going to give them a stern talking to about for example offensive and homophobic language. because i think it’s a more important life lesson for them in the end. 

most kids are really good kids. they might act tough, and act out, but in the end they’re good kids. and i love working with them. that moment when you actually get through to someone who has done nothing but give you troubles, even for a second? amazing.

some teachers have their teacher-me and private-me and that is absolutely legit, that’s valid, if you feel like you need the separation then it’s your choice. personally for me, i can’t make that distinction. i find it easiest to be myself. be as honest and as genuine as possible. it doesn’t mean i’m gonna open up about everything, god no. but like. they see when you’re particularly tired, so admitting to it usually is the better call than trying to pretend you’re not. 

i’ve gone into the classroom with red rimmed eyes after crying, and all I got was “O_O are you okay???” when i was afraid they’d make fun of me. usually when they sense it’s serious, they won’t make it worse. 

but like this is where your personality comes into play a lot? I know colleagues who are amazing teachers but who are very strict in the classroom and they need to focus on the subject at hand all the time. wherein me? i go off on a tangent all the time, we’ll talk about things that definitely weren’t in the lesson plan at all. i can laugh at myself, and i don’t mind if they laugh at me as long as it’s all in good fun and not mean. 

and if they piss me off i can honestly tell them that c’mon, you’re being little shits right now, can’t you see how there’s smoke coming out of my ears :’D usually it gets a laugh and they do behave better.

idk i just really love this job?? i’m getting all teary-eyed here thinking about all the amazing students i’ve had :’D

OH AND one thing i learned like two years into teaching; you don’t always need to have every answer at hand immediately! i used to stress about it a lot, and felt that it made me less respectable and less of a teacher if i couldn’t answer every single question they asked. i even tried to make up an answer on the spot sometimes, until i talked with my dad (who was a teacher too lmao, as was my mom), and he was all “you’re still the one who knows the most about this in the room. they won’t mind if you need to google something.”

and you know what? they won’t! nowadays if they ask me what the price for a gram of gold is I can say “i do not know. i will look it up!” and then i will inform them when i’ve acquired that knowledge. if it’s a quick search i can do it while they’re working on some assignments or whatever, if it’s a more complex topic i’ll tell them “we’ll talk about this tomorrow” and they always accept it. they always just nod and when we get back to it they’re glad they got the info they wanted.

it’s okay not to know everything. and it’s okay to admit to your flaws. in the end they will remember the countless things you did tell them without looking them up and a few “oh man i have no idea!”s in between won’t do anything. except maybe make you look more human, idk? 

and it’s good to be flexible if you can. if something you planned out for a lesson isn’t working, it’s always good to have a plan b. i once tried a different approach during a chem lesson but they hated it so we stopped halfway through and just played hangman with names of chemical compounds for a bit and it was good.

sometimes they just need an adult to be present so they can rant about something that bothers them, and if some physics has to be set aside for that? fine. we can learn newton’s third law tomorrow if today you need to talk about how our government is handling immigration.

and one important thing: go easy on yourself, okay?

not every lesson is a great lesson. sometimes it’s enough that you got them to do anything at all. sometimes nothing you plan will work out. sometimes there are lessons when everything goes wrong, no one learns anything, and all those great plans you made just flew out of the window. but it happens. move on. the next lesson will be better! the next day will look up. 

i had this one group of 14-year-olds once, and there were two kids who hated me. it took us literally three months where every single lesson was a struggle. but after that it got better. by the end of the semester, there were some absolutely great lessons too. once i had a lesson so bad i cried for fifteen minutes straight afterwards bc nothing worked out. but you know what? the next lesson for the same group was great. 

i love this job. it’s amazing. i wouldn’t want to do anything else. but there are bad days and it’s fine. it happens. don’t beat yourself up for it. talk to someone about it, or come tell me about it if it helps ;) but then move on and it’ll get better. you’re not a bad teacher if you have a bad lesson or a few.

and the good lessons? when you see how someone finally gets a particularly difficult topic? when a kid who has panicked every math lesson suddenly gets something right and gives you the biggest smile? when someone who thought they’d never pass a single math course gets through them all? i don’t think there’s anything as rewarding as that. 

and the lessons when you get to laugh with them, work with them, everything goes as you planned and they’re excited about the topic and you get to actually enjoy every second of the lesson? that’s. that’s why i do this, seriously. those lessons feel like they’re not work at all. and there are surprisingly many of them. 

have i mentioned i love this job?? because i do. 

i’m sorry i rambled so much i ...don’t know if any of this is actually good or useful advice for you?? but feel free to drop me a message anytime if you need some support!! you’ve got this! :D

[kusunogatari]

[ ObiRyū October | Day Twenty-Five | Pent Up ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Nohara Rin, Hatake Kakashi ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ Vulgarity, blood ]

[ Previous ] [ Next ]

Why, why, why is it so hard to keep ahold of his temper…?!

So much more seems to grate at his patience than it used to when he was younger. Sounds, touches, even smells can start chipping at his mood, making him more and more agitated until something has to give. It’s like his brain has turned into a ticking time bomb, randomly exploding when just the right criteria are met.

Needless to say...it’s made most people wary of him. And now that he’s starting his senior year back in the district he once hailed from, he’s especially wary of being labeled dangerous, unstable, a freak.

He’s already embarrassed himself once. The pool party, barbeque, whatever that Rin invited him to ended in disaster when he had one of his seizures. Right in front of everyone...they all just stared in horror as he seized up, plunging into the pool.

But then the girl who lived there had dragged him up, spurring the rest of them into action. The damage, however, had already been done. By now he’s sure everyone already knows about it before he even steps foot into the high school this morning.

...he just has to stay calm.

Finding his locker, he ignores the dubious looks he gets, the whispers that seem to follow him. Even at the reformative school he’d been transferred to after his accident had seen him an odd one out, mostly due to his appearance...but his breakdowns and spasms hadn’t helped, either. By now it’s all just white noise, fiddling with the combination lock on his locker door.

“Hey!”

Half a second late, Obito realizes he recognizes that voice, if only vaguely. A turn shows the girl from yesterday...Ryū? Admittedly he remembers almost nothing about her - only that she used to tag along with Rin when they were younger, and how much harder that made getting the other girl alone.

...of course that doesn’t matter now. Rin’s with Kakashi, for...some reason.

He just blinks at her, watching her approach with her books clutched to her chest.

In turn, she offers a smile. “So, you made it. How are you feeling today?”

The question earns a reflexive tick of annoyance. He gets really sick of people asking him that, but...there’s a genuine concern in her expression most people tend to lack. Usually they’re more exasperated than actually worried. “...I’m fine. Stiff, but it’ll pass.”

“Ah, good...that must have been so scary…”

“I’m used to it. It’s been happening for five years.”

Further sympathy wilts her brows. “...that must be really tough.”

He doesn’t have an answer, simply grunting and opening the door once the lock gives way.

“Well...if you need anything, let me know! Maybe I’ll see you in some classes?”

“I doubt it. Most of mine are pretty low ones compared to a lot of seniors.” And surely she’s not at his held-back level. She seems pretty smart, from what he can tell.

There’s a small awkward pause. “Oh...well, maybe a club…? I’ve been in the theater club since I was a freshman. It’s a lot of fun! But there’s a lot of others too, if you’re looking for something to do.”

Ugh, clubs...aren’t classes bad enough? “I’ll think about it.”

She seems to realize he’s getting annoyed. “Well...okay! I’ll, um...I’ll see you later, Obito. Have a good morning!”

He watches her go. Is she really one of those people that’s constantly peppy and good-natured? Isn’t that...exhausting? Well, whatever. He better get to first period. Last thing he needs is to be late on the first day. People are going to have enough reason to give him crap.

Thankfully he doesn’t have any confrontations on the way there, taking a back row seat and folding arms atop his desk to rest his chin. He’s barely been here ten minutes and he’s already sick of it.

...but he told his grandmother he’d try. She’s so eager to see him graduate from a proper school. All Obito can think is that he hopes she lives that long. She’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Out of everyone in his life right now...she’s his rock. The one person he never gets angry with, never gets upset by. Sachiko feels like the only reason he’s been keeping it together.

Even his old friends have clearly changed. Rin, while still friendly, seems a bit more...conscious about talking to him. Especially when Kakashi’s around. And Kakashi’s still quick to butt heads with him over practically nothing. Like yesterday with Rin’s invite to the party. It would have pissed him off...if Rin hadn’t rolled over for him so easily.

...he can’t expect them to be the same, but...he’ll admit, he’s not a fan of these changes. He knows things can’t be the same, but...even Rin no longer feels like a friend.

...maybe this whole ‘coming back’ thing was a mistake.

Morning classes pass in a bit of a fog, Obito in no way motivated to pay much attention. He just wants to check off this day from what will surely be a very long list of days until the year ends. The sooner that gets here, the happier he’ll be.

Come lunch, he’s realizing he’s now going to have to confront a few things. One being the crowds, and the noise. Another being trying to find a seat

Cuz he knows no one’s going to want to sit by -

“Obito!”

Jolting a bit with his tray in hand, he spots Ryū waving at him from a table. Nearby, both Kakashi and Rin seem to hesitate.

That narrows his eyes...but he decides to sit anyway. If they’re going to treat him like a stranger, he’ll just do the same. He doesn’t need them. He doesn’t need anyone. They want to distance themselves from him? Fine.

Instead, he sits next to Ryū.

“How were your classes?”

“Boring. But about what I expected.” He pointedly avoids looking at the other pair, working on getting his food arranged on his tray. “You?”

“I already have homework in two classes, but...hopefully it won’t be too bad.” There’s a mild silence, Ryū seeming to notice the awkward air between the three former friends. “...what about you guys? Any hard classes this morning?”

“I had three AP classes but that’s usual,” Kakashi replies, also obviously ignoring Obito. “Schedule’s pretty full, but it’ll be fine. Need them for my college apps.”

Across from him, Obito scowls at the casual bragging.

“Rin?” Ryū gives a bit of a strained smile.

“Nothing too, uh...bad. Pretty typical. One homework assignment so far. Also not sure what club I want to join...I liked gardening club last year but apparently the damage to the greenhouse from that storm over the Summer means it’s cancelled for this semester at least.” Rin’s mouth falls into a disappointed frown. “So I dunno if I should wait, or...join something else in the meantime. Cuz depending on repairs and stuff, it might not happen at all.”

“Aww! That really sucks...you could join theater!”

At that, Rin gives a short laugh. “I...don’t think so. Not really the acting type, and...it’d be weird being there just one semester or one year. You guys are a pretty close-knit group, right?”

“Well, yeah. But we welcome new freshmen every year!”

“Mm...I’ll think about it.”

“What about you, Obito?” Ryū asks, turning to him. “Want to join any clubs?”

“Or you could play a sport!”

“Not sure a sport is a good idea with my condition,” Obito replies, making Rin balk.

“O-oh...right. Sorry…”

“Well, doing some kind of extracurricular activity is good for your educational resume,” Kakashi offers nonchalantly.

“Not sure my educational resume is really going to impress anybody, given the circumstances,” Obito retorts, looking annoyed.

“Doesn’t mean you should just give up.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”

“Hey, guys, it’s fine,” Ryū cuts in, a placating hand rising. “Everybody does high school differently. APs or not, clubs or not, it’s whatever.”

“Yeah I only got into one AP this year,” Rin confirms with a nod before shooting Kakashi a look.

All the while, Obito tries to keep a hold on his temper. He can tell Kakashi is just trying to get a rise out of him. And while he already has pent up anger concerning the other boy, he doesn’t want to let it win.

So he instead focuses on deep, even breaths while the girls try to diffuse the situation. Now, if only it weren’t so loud in the cafeteria...it’s grating on his nerves.

“I’m gonna go get ready for class,” Kakashi eventually relents, standing and taking his half-empty tray with him.

“Kakashi -!” Looking a bit flabbergasted, Rin tries to call him back to no avail. “...I dunno what’s gotten into him today!”

“Just his typical asshole self,” Obito mutters. “Has to boss everyone else around, has to make himself look good when no one gives a shit.”

“I think he is worried about what you’re going to do after graduation,” Rin replies, looking a little nervous. “I mean...you’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you, given your...um...setbacks.”

Obito’s expression only sours, temper fraying further. “Well he doesn’t have to be such a shithead about it.”

“...it’s just...going to take some adjusting, y’know? Everyone...being back together. We’ve all changed, right?”

That does it. Appetite ruined, Obito stands without a word and dumps the rest of his food, tossing the tray into the wash pit.

Behind him, the girls both jolt in surprise. But only one gets up to follow him.

“Obito!”

He doesn’t stop, shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets as Ryū jogs to catch up.

“Don’t listen to Kakashi, he’s just -?”

“Just a massive prick and a pain in my ass,” Obito growls. He can feel the embers of his temper starting to flicker with flame.

“I’m sorry...you didn’t have to sit with them. I just figured -?”

“It wasn’t your fault. You -” You’ve been nothing but nice to me. “...Kakashi’s picked fights with me since we were kids. And...I’ve picked fights back. We’re just not meant to be around each other that much. Don’t worry about it.”

Managing to come around to his front, Ryū cuts off his path, expression guilty. “...still. I...should have read the room.”

“I didn’t have to sit there. It was my choice.”

“...well...tomorrow we’ll sit somewhere else, okay? That way it won’t happen again.”

Sighing, he stares at her. “...why are you being so nice to me?”

The question seems to take her aback. “W...why wouldn’t I?”

“Cuz no one else seems to want to.”

“Well everyone else are just a bunch of jerks. I know this is awkward...for everybody. And maybe Rin’s right, maybe things have changed, but…” She sighs. “...you still deserve to be treated kindly, and given a chance to meld back into things here. So I’m, at least, going to try to help you do that.”

It’s his turn to exhale, far more curtly than her. “...just pisses me off. Rin invited me yesterday, and then let Kakashi walk all over her. She just...abandoned me when she was the only reason I showed up! Then today she lets him say all that shit, and only stutters out excuses. She’s letting Kakashi blindside her.”

“...maybe she is. But...she might come around! You guys just...have to get reacquainted. And that’s not going to be easy. For now, I guess all you can do is...just try to be patient. See how things go. Maybe they’ll settle down, and...maybe they won’t. Only way to know is to try. In the meantime. I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment he scoffs. She’s not going anywhere, is she? The person he knows the least out of this group? But...then again, maybe that’s a good thing. Whereas he has soured memories and expectations for Kakashi and Rin, Ryū is...a blank slate. Known only briefly. Vaguely.

And already making a good impression.

So despite his original intention to blow her off, he sighs. “...guess you’re right.”

“...I think for now, you guys should give each other some space. Kinda...ease into it, you know? I mean...five years apart is a long time. Trying to act like all that time didn’t pass will only make this more difficult. Take a little while for yourself. Get settled in overall, then you can worry about anything else.”

He considers that silently.

...that is until a pack of unruly freshmen make their way down the hall.

Loud, obnoxious, and clearly not yet learning any respect, they push through between the pair. Ryū, slighter in frame, stumbles back and slams into the wall, head knocking with a hollow thunk.

Something in Obito clenches.

“Watch it!” the ringleader taunts, pulling a face. That is, until Obito grabs him by the shirt front. “Whoa whoa whoa!”

“Apologize,” the Uchiha growls, ignoring the sudden attention they’re getting.

“Jesus man, you look like you got into a fight with a weed trimmer and lost! What the fuck is wrong with your face?”

Clutching her head, Ryū looks up with a wince before panicking.

“Funny, I was just going to ask you that. Cuz you look like a little prick that just got decked in the nose.”

“Wha-?”

With a crunch, Obito reels back and...does just that. The freshman falls to the floor hard, clutching at his face.

“What the fuck, man? What the fuck?!”

“You hurt my friend. Seems only fair you get a taste of your own medicine. And I’m really tempted to teach you a second lesson…!” His heartbeat is rushing in his ears, his whole body hot with anger. All he can focus on is the blood on this little asshole’s chin...and how much more he’d like to see.

“Obito, stop!” Ryū pulls at his arm, trying to waylay him.

“You’re gonna regret -!”

“Stop!” Desperate, Ryū instead steps right in his path, latching onto him tightly. Face in his chest, she clings arms around to his back.

He freezes.

“...don’t. It’s not worth it. He’s just some little punk. You’ve done enough!”

Blinking, Obito feels the heat receding. His tensed form slowly goes limp.

And all around him are staring eyes, whispering mouths, pointing fingers. But what tops it all off is seeing both Rin and Kakashi. The former stares in horror. The latter glowers.

A shaking seems to overcome him. It’s too much, he - he can’t -?

Urging Ryū aside, he flees.

Not one to give up so easily, she follows even as the warning bell rings.

Ironically, his hiding place is the storage room for theater club props.

“...Obito?” Navigating her way around the odds and ends, she finds him crouched in a corner of set pieces. “...hey…” Carefully, she takes a knee beside him. “You all right…?”

“N...no…”

She sighs before just...sitting beside him. “...this has been a really shitty first day, huh…? I’m sorry. How about we just...stay in here for a bit? Let things...settle down?”

“I’m gonna get in so much trouble…! First day back and I’ve already fucked it up! I just...I wanted…” To Obito’s frustration, his voice starts breaking and tears sting at his eyes despite rubbing at them with the backs of his hands. “...I wanted...to get through this. F-for my...for my grandma. She wants me to…”

At that, Ryū softens, laying a hand gently on his arm. “...it’s gonna be okay. I’ll tell the staff what happened. Because to be fair...I did get hurt…”

At her sheepish smile, he looks over, sniffling. “...you okay?”

“My head kinda hurts, but...I’ll be fine. Freshmen are just...brats. Punching them might not be the best way to get them to shape up, but...it is a way,” she admits with a hint of a giggle.

“...I got angry. I shouldn’t have done that, but...I’m just so…!” His hands lift, to bury into his hair, pulling at it in frustration. “...I get so mad! I dunno why!”

Wilting again, Ryū leans against him softly. “If...I had to guess, it probably has to do with your condition. Did you...have any cranial trauma?”

“...yeah…”

“That can really mess with your emotions, depending on where it happened. People even develop new addictions or behaviors after they get hurt like that. But...you can get therapy for it. Maybe...that’s something you could look into?”

“We can’t afford it,” Obito counters bitterly. “...it’s just me and my grandma. She can’t…”

The thought trails off, and Ryū hums in response. “...well...maybe something will come along. But it sounds to me like this anger isn’t entirely your fault. A lot of it probably comes from the trauma you went through during your...your accident. But I bet you can overcome it…! It’ll just take time, and the right resources.”

Obito, knowing he can’t really access the latter, just stays quiet.

“...how do you feel now…?”

“...tired. Frustrated. But I’m not angry anymore. Not for now,” he adds with a sigh.

“That’s good, though! Think you can go back to class…?”

Another sigh, arms folded atop his bent knees to rest his chin. “...I dunno.”

“Then we’ll just stay here a little longer.”

“But you need to get to class.”

“This is more important.”

Obito’s brow furrows, watching as she stands up. More important?

“I’m really excited for the plays this year...we’re going to do Beauty and the Beast this Winter, and then Grease in the Spring! I hope I get good parts, since it’s going to be my last year…” Ryū looks over props from past productions, a fond smile on her face. “...it’s been a lot of fun. I’m going to miss it…”

“...can you do it in college?”

“Maybe. I dunno if I’ll have time, but...I’d like to. If all goes well, I’d like to go into nursing, like Rin. But theater and choir have made me really happy, too. They’re just...not really stable careers,” she adds sheepishly.

“...but they make you happy.”

“...they do.”

Breaking his gaze from her, Obito looks over the props around him. “...did you guys...build these?”

“Mhm. Well...I didn’t. We have people who work on props, or the lighting, or music. It’s not just actors, after all. But we all have a lot of fun.” She looks to him thoughtfully. “...I’d still say you’d enjoy joining us, if you want. Gives you a creative outlet, and you can make some friends! You don’t have to be an actor if you don’t want to. Maybe...stop in a few times, see if you like it? You can always quit if you don’t.” Ryū smiles at him. “But...maybe an outlet would be good for you. Something to think about and look forward to. Something...new. And fun!”

He mulls that over, looking unsure.

“...well, just think about it. We don’t have our first meeting until Wednesday - last period is cancelled so people can look at the clubs and pick one. Maybe you’ll find another one you can do instead, too!”

Almost immediately, Obito pushes that notion aside. If he’s going to do a club...it would probably be this one...if only because he’d already know someone in it. “...okay.”

For a while, Ryū finds some memorable pieces in the room, showing them off and recounting memories about them. Obito finds himself enthralled, glad for something else to think about.

...but all good things have to come to an end.

A knock sounds on the door, the pair of them looking up as the school secretary comes in. Her arms fold. “There you are. You’re both quite tardy to your next classes. And you’re to come to the office about a fight that happened during lunch period.”

Ryū tenses. “Obito wasn’t -!”

The woman holds up a hand. “A few witnesses said the freshman started things when he pushed you and injured your head, and that it ended when mister Uchiha punched the assailant. Both he and the freshman will be serving detention after school today. Guardians have already been called.”

Behind Ryū, Obito’s face falls. So...Sachiko already knows.

“Obito has a medical condition the school needs to take into account,” Ryū retorts. “Ignoring that will be grounds for discrimination for his disability!”

“You can discuss that with the principal,” the secretary retorts. “To the office. Both of you.”

To Obito’s surprise, Ryū glowers the whole way down, arguing quite haughtily with staff once they arrive. Jiraiya has already shown up, listening quietly to his daughter’s arguments.

“Obito shouldn’t be punished, he needs help! Punishing him won’t address the real problem and leave the possibility it happens again!”

“The school is not responsible for mister Uchiha’s health or disabilities,” the principal retorts, waving a hand. “If he has issues, they’re to be handled on his own time to ensure he attends school properly without resorting to violence.”

“And if he doesn’t have the means?”

“It’s still not the school’s responsibility. Obito’s job while here at school is to attend his classes and pass them, and refrain from poor behavior. If he can’t do that, we’ll have to remove him.”

Ryū bristles, but pauses as Sachiko is ushered into the room. Worry tightens the old woman’s face.

Obito’s head bows in shame.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Ryū looks pleadingly to her father.

Glancing between everyone present, Jiraiya heaves a heavy sigh. “...the way I see it, we have a student on our hands that lacks the resources to be able to attend school as he is. Which means we need to get those resources squared away, so he can use the school his granny’s tax dollars pay for, and that he should have the right to use.”

The principal perks a brow.

“If we get the kid into therapy and his behavior improves, he can stay, right?”

“...correct.”

Arms folding over his barrel chest, Jiraiya simply replies, “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Ryū’s expression brightens, Obito’s slack in shock.

“Oh, sir...you don’t have to -?” Sachiko lifts her hands, looking hesitant.

“Nonsense. Any friend of my daughter’s is a friend of mine. Friends help each other. We’ll get this little snag taken care of, and then everything’ll be fine.” He gives a cool, pointed look to Obito. “...right?”

“R...right.”

Looking exasperated, the principal waves them away. “Just...make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The four of them then leave the office, Jiraiya talking to Sachiko as the teens idle uncertainly.

“...is he serious?”

“Mhm,” Ryū replies, smiling. “Dad helps a lot with stuff at the school - admittedly he’s...made a good amount of money. So he tries to give back. The party yesterday? That’s one of his ideas. He’s been doing it since I started school. He takes a lot of pride in the community, and maintaining it. I think yesterday already made him realize you need some help.”

“...I don’t -?”

She cuts off Obito’s retort with a hand on his arm. “It’s not pity. It’s help. A tool you can use to succeed. Besides, I’m sure he’ll find a way for you to make it up if you want. I know he hates mowing the lawn, so...expect him to wrangle you into something.” Her expression softens. “...it’s gonna be fine.”

Still looking conflicted, Obito just sighs. He’s not...used to this. How is he supposed to react…?

“Well, you two better get back to class,” Jiraiya then offers. “Sachiko and I are gonna hash some things out. You’ve still got your detention Obito, but that should be it. Just try and keep a lid on that temper until we get something figured out.”

“...yes sir.”

“Then off you scoot!” He ushers them down the hall.

“Well...guess I’ll see you later,” Ryū offers. “Think you’ll be okay?”

“...I guess.”

“I can wait after if you -?”

“No,” he cuts in firmly. “You...you’ve done enough.”

“...okay. Well, I’ll see you after class, then.” She gives a little wave, branching off down another hallway.

Obito watches her go.

“...thank you.”

     Oof, this is very late OTL Almost finished it last night but I just...had a really bad day and an even worse night so I call it quits. Came back with a fresher mind and got it done. Still not 100% sure about it, but it’s done kjdfgjkdhfg      I always struggle with modern and this one felt really hard to write, idk why. I’m not very good at writing grumpy characters kjfdjdhfg but I tried :’D      Anyway I’ve got irl stuff to do so idk if I’ll get more done tonight or not, but I’ll try. Thanks for reading~

[ashenpages]

Current Fic Ideas & Emoji Voting Key

Quick disclaimer that I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my fics will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah. This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.

Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.

You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍

- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea. 

Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon always play rock-paper-scissors after a big heist to decide who’ll give the group a striptease, and who will get showered with money. Based on a piece of fanart that is basically this sequence of events in a 4koma (except in their version Jigen loses and in mine, it’s Goemon). (written, just needs editing)

Zenigata cuffs Lupin four times, and Lupin steals his heart. Very NSFW conclusion. Zenigata is the most caring lover you’ll ever find. Lupin is as thirsty as usual and twice as intense. (written, just needs editing)

Jigen protects Lupin from poison darts during a treasure hunt in an Aztec temple, and Lupin nurses him back to help--forcibly, since Jigen is a horrible patient. Born from my desire to spoil Jigen and talk about what ridiculous domestic husbands these two are. (WIP)

Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes)

Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐 

Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.

This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.

- Sonic Blazamy: 💖🌸💎

Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.

Or has she?

When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?

This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?

This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!

Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!

Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.

- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌 

Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈 

Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).

- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏

This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.

- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘

The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?

This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.

Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.

- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡

I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.

It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.

[tardistimes]

Change: Chapter 3

Summary:  In the aftermath of X-Men: First Class, Moira MacTaggert struggles to regain her memories but perhaps with the help of Nick Fury she may come closer to discovering the truth.

Fandoms: X-Men (Prequels), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Comics), Agent Carter

Word Count: 2,200

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | TBC

Mr Stark (Howard, as he kept insisting), Dr Wilkes, and Dr Samberly had taken more scans than Moira could count, more blood than she would have thought possible to live without, and asked more questions than she could recollect. When they were done, she was shepherded into one of the standard bunks for on-site personnel members, after being told it was too late – or more accurately too early – to travel home. It was also wise not to drive back to the city given the last test had involved Samberly shining lights into her eyes for several minutes. Bright spots still flashed behind her eyelids when she blinked.

Thankful to have a room to herself, Moira dropped onto the bottom bunk and leaned her head back against the smooth stone wall. There was a short thrill when the situation stirred a feeling of familiarity but it quickly disappeared, offering no flashes of forgotten memories.

Moira took a deep breath as she contemplated the day ahead. She was going to be an agent again. Going through another induction and more training. Hopefully, unlike last time, the new S.H.I.E.L.D recruits wouldn’t spend the whole course at the academy tormenting her for having her reproductive organs on the inside. In response to their jibes that the closest she would ever get to agent status was to sleep with one of them, she went and got one of the highest scores on record. Much to her team’s displeasure.

She stood up to take off her suit before settling under the covers. Dr Wilkes had offered to find her some clothes for tomorrow but, in case he forgot, it wouldn’t do for it to get wrinkled. As her mother always said, first impressions are the most lasting. Agent Carter had told her on the journey down to the labs that if she was willing she would need to go through an induction tomorrow, originally scheduled for some entry-level scientists, which she would need to complete before she could be assigned to a superior officer.

“It’s nothing too complicated.” Carter had explained. “Just some routine history on the organisation, an explanation of the various divisions and what to expect during your training.”

“How long will my training last?”

“Given your experience with the CIA there should be some areas you are already adept at – but you should be prepared for it to last a while. We’ll make sure it’s worked around whatever the doctors come up with. I’m sure if we gave them their way you’d be down there all the time. They do love their tests.” She sighed, well familiar with their antics. “I’ve worked with Howard since the war and when he’s confronted by something of a conundrum he really does devote himself to it. He’ll have you in the lab fairly regularly until he’s found a solution.”

Lucky me, Moira had thought idly. She’d had her fair run of physical examinations, both at the academy and during her time as an agent; despite the regularity, she had never grown to like them.

“What does S.H.I.E.L.D training entail?” Moira asked as they turned into a maintenance stairwell and proceeded downstairs.

“For a field agent you’ll receive relative strength training, language tuition – although Fury informed me you already speak proficient Russian, so that may not be necessary – then there’s instruction in weapons handling, martial arts or boxing are also common options. Although that really all depends on your superior officer and what they advise. Your test scores from the CIA prove you’re already efficiently trained in the basics so, personally, I’d move you straight into more specialised fighting styles.”

“Being a field agent involves a lot of action then?” She inferred.

Carter stopped at the entrance to the laboratories. “If that’s something you’re opposed to, we could move you into reconnaissance or into a team, something less physically demanding?”

“No, no I’m not opposed to that. And I’m glad of the opportunity to learn more, I just...” Moira breathed, “I’m just wondering how peaceful an organisation you are if your standard training programme involves martial arts or boxing?”

“The CIA offers boxing electives.” Carter defended.

“Yes, but they are elective.” And something she wasn’t given access to as a female agent.

“S.H.I.E.L.D will never force you to do something you don’t want to. But we do want to ensure that you are prepared and capable of keeping yourself, and those around you, safe.”

Carter held the door open for her and ushered her into a lab that must have spanned half the length of the first floor.

“I suppose boxing could be interesting,” Moira admitted.

Tossing onto her side, Moira took a deep breath before flipping the light switch by her head off. It didn’t make much of a difference to the brightness of the room; the yellow streetlights outside the barracks streamed through the uncovered window. She turned over to face the wall. Her eyes were closed for half a minute before they opened again.

As ridiculous as it sounded, she felt like it was the first day before school. Except, instead of school, she had signed up to work for yet another intelligence agency. An agency where she would be working on more cases like the Hellfire Club. Encountering, what? More mutants, more people with powers – natural or manmade?

She was effectively forced out of the Mutants Division. For what, her humanity? At least S.H.I.E.L.D was run by and populated by her own species who didn’t expect her to have powers and fight psychopaths determined to start a new world order by killing all humans. Well, she might still be expected to fight psychopaths.

Carter made it sound like she would have the opportunity to learn some incredible things. Moira had always been jealous at the academy by the men who went into the boxing club. Her superiors had argued she couldn’t partake as there were no other women for her to fight, and it would be unfair to pit her against a man. Now she could learn it. Maybe another language too, something she had long wanted to do.

Yet there was still something that didn’t sit right with her. A feeling that worried away at her, twisting in her gut. A feeling, much like she had experienced when she’d entered the bunks and had experienced a moment of familiarity with the situation. Was it possible a ghost of memory was enough to make her feel this way? That, despite missing the memory, something about her time in the Mutants Division was enough to leave her apprehensive about joining S.H.I.E.L.D?

Another question she would have to leave unanswered until – if­ – she got her memories back.

She tried to think rationally. What was it about S.H.I.E.L.D that worried her? There was the fact that she still didn’t really understand much about the organisation or what her part in it would be. Was it also possible that even without her memories she still felt a loyalty to Xavier and the other mutants? And was that loyalty even her own or something that had been implanted in there when he’d rooted through her mind? To stop her from doing what she potentially would. To inform an intelligence agency about the mutants. To give away their secrets.

Shuffling until she was on her back, Moira’s eyes clenched shut as the yellow light crossed her face again.

She could still walk away.

“Moira?”

Eyes snapping open, the yellow light had been replaced by soft sunlight, slightly shadowed by Agent Carter who was hovering next to her bed.

“I did try to wake you by knocking. You’re due in the conference hall in half an hour.” She apologised.

“I don’t even remember falling asleep.” Moira murmured, sitting up.

“I guess we should put alarm clocks in here. I’ll just leave you to get dressed. There are some toiletries in the drawers if you need it. Meet me in the hall when you’re ready.” Carter said before taking her leave.

Wilkes hadn’t lived up to his promise to get her some fresh clothes. Evidently, Carter was right. Give scientists a puzzle to crack and everything else falls by the wayside. Thankfully after brushing her hair through and putting her suit back on she still looked presentable, if a little ruffled.

Carter passed her a bagel when she opened the door. “Howard had them flown in from New York.”

“Thank you,” Moira said. Agent Carter didn’t seem to find that strange, so such luxury must be fairly commonplace which she found quite amusing.

“Are you giving the induction?” She asked. Moira found it rather strange that the co-founder of the entire organisation was not only escorting her to a routine induction for new recruits but was also waking her up and giving her breakfast.

“No, someone else will.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure I can find the room if you have something else to...” she trailed off under Carter’s scrutinising gaze. “Is something the matter?”

“Once the session is over Howard wants you in the lab again. Apparently, he had some equipment brought in from Stark Industries to run more tests with.” She replied, looking forward again.

“All right,” Moira said unsurely, making quick work of her bagel to fill the rest of their silent walk. Despite her offer, she doubted she could get to the conference room alone after the number of corridors they turned down to get to there. Without Carter, Moira was positive she would have lost her way. The S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters were impressively large. It really was incredible their organisation managed to remain secret.

“Pay close attention,” Carter said as means of goodbye, leaving her at the door. “I’ll be testing you later.”

Eventually, eleven other recruits joined her. As promised they were all scientists but the induction was generalised and covered the scope of the organisation. Specialists – which, after hearing the outline of training Carter had provided, appeared to be Moira’s career trajectory – were entry-level three. According to this structure, there were six levels in total, although, given the command structure Moira had seen so far, she was positive there had to be higher clearance levels. Evidently so high no one could know that they existed.

The lecture involved a loose history about the S.S.R, Super Soldier’s Initiative and Hydra before progressing onto the establishment of S.H.I.E.L.D and the roles played by Stark, Carter and Phillips in its foundation and current operations. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Rick Stoner, was touched on but there was no mention of Agent Fury. If he were a simple liaison as claimed, it would make sense no references were made to him, but Moira felt that his responsibilities in the organisation were more complicated than that, given his role among the other powerful players during her interview yesterday.

Carter’s role in the establishment of S.H.I.E.L.D surprised her immensely as the speaker went into depth about her role with the S.S.R, Howling Commandos and working alongside Captain America – who was real, with a picture to prove it – to defeat Hydra. By all accounts, she was a highly skilled field operative who did the majority of the groundwork in building the organisation after Stark and Phillips came up with the novel concept. The three of them quickly promoted S.H.I.E.L.D from a U.S. to an international agency, coming under the authority of the United Nations, giving it near global authority. Frankly, it was a complete wonder how she, an ex-CIA agent, had never heard of it. To function on that scale, the operation must be enormous. 

By the time the lecturer had finished, Moira was feeling that her reaction when entering the meeting yesterday was decidedly inadequate.

Letting the scientists, who were already discussing their upcoming work, pass before her she found herself sharing half smiles with the other female recruits who walked past her. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D was the place for her after all.

Agent Carter was sitting primly in one of the armchairs outside in the waiting area. Moira almost felt star-struck and, judging by the double-takes from the other recruits, she wasn’t the only one.

“Now then,” Carter began, a wry grin crossing her face, “what does S.H.I.E.L.D stand for?”

“Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division.” Moira replied slowly, doubting her answer the entire time she gave it. It really was a ridiculously long name.

“Who created the Super-Soldier Serum?”

“Dr Erskine.”

“Who was the first person to take the serum?”

“Johann Schmidt… also known as Red Skull.” She added, trying to score extra points.

Carter pursed her lips, satisfied with Moira’s answers. “Be warned, I’ll keep testing you.” She said, rising from her seat.

“Are you here to take me to the lab?”

“No, I will let you find your own way today. I dare say you need to get familiar with this building, you’ll be spending a lot of time here. What I am here to tell you is that I expect you to meet me at the training facilities, that’s just beside the eastern gate, at 0800 hours tomorrow. I would make it earlier but you need time to commute from home. Just be sure to set an alarm, I won’t tolerate tardiness.”

Moira frowned and hastened to follow her as she started marching ahead. “I don’t understand. You’re training me?”

“Yes. As of right now, I’m your superior officer. Do not let me down.” She said, her warm tone undermining the strictness of her words. “I don’t undertake personal training of new recruits often so I expect the best you can give me, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Not ma’am. Agent.” Carter corrected.

“Of course, Agent Carter.” Moira said, her lips twitching into a slight smile before she hastily corrected it.

[jade4813]

A Lie, Told Often Enough, Chapter 9

Author Notes: Inspired by @fallinginloveinaflash‘s AU prompt. All credit for the idea goes entirely to her.

Title: A Lie, Told Often Enough

Rating: NC-17

Synopsis: Iris just landed her dream job at a PR firm and her first assignment is reforming the bad boy image of celebrity artist Barry Allen. He’s overly cocky and well-known for being a playboy, but Iris has never met a challenge she couldn’t handle.

Chapters: 9/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Iris was deliciously sore when she woke up the next morning, and she smiled as she stretched, trying to work out the kinks in her muscles. She could still taste Barry on her lips, smell him on her skin, and she let her eyes drift closed as she savored the memory. She imagined it was his hand drifting across her stomach, down her hip, sliding between her thighs.

She kept telling herself that she would get him out of her system soon. Just one more good, hard fuck, and maybe she’d get over this strange addiction she seemed to have formed for him. One more time. One more night.

What would he do if she called him now and told him she needed him? If she whispered that she was wet and ready and had awoken with the need to have him inside her? Would he come to her, help her drive away the need that filled her?

Or would he think she was being clingy, wanting more from him than he wanted to give? Like so many other sad, sorry women he’d left in his wake as he was carried away by the brightly lit chaos that was show business. Would he feel sorry for her? Apologize for her mistake in holding on to a promise he’d never intended to make?

The thought was like a bucket of cold water, driving away the memory of his touch. Her eyes opened in more ways than one, she climbed out of bed and turned her attention to preparing for the day ahead.

Calling him to her would be breaking the rules, she reminded herself as she stepped into the shower. She couldn’t afford to forget that.

A couple hours later, she was sitting at her desk, trying to focus on work, when her phone chirped with an incoming message. “I saw Allen’s interview this morning. Good job. Keep this up, and we may get you back to work sooner than we thought.”

Frowning at Mason’s message, Iris did a quick search for the interview in question. Linda had called her afterwards to update her on the situation, but it hadn’t sounded like that big of a deal. If it got Mason’s attention, however, Iris thought she had better check it out.

As she clicked on the link and waited for it to load, she heard a knock on the door and jogged to answer it. Instead of Barry standing on the other side, however, she found Cisco. He smiled as he handed her a small package, explaining, “Barry said you were coming by the studio today and asked me to give this to you. I was in the area, so I thought I’d drop it off and save you a trip.”

“Oh,” she replied, a slight frown marring her brow. “He asked me to stop by to go over our next steps.”

Cisco’s laugh was wry and apologetic. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. The thing is, he’s in meetings all day, working on his upcoming tour. He always thinks he’ll get done a lot faster than he does, and it always takes all day. And that puts him in a bad mood, so he goes home to crash for a while.”

Iris laughed. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Sounds like something he’d do. Thanks for the warning.”

“No problem,” Cisco replied with a cheery smile as he turned away. “If you come by tomorrow, he’ll be back to normal.”

“Isn’t that still grouchy?” she called after him.

He laughed and retorted over his shoulder, “Well, sure, but at least it’s the endearing kind of grouchy! You get used to it!”

With a chuckle and a shake of her head, Iris closed the door behind him and tore into the package, wondering what Barry had left for her. Her heart fell into her stomach when the key slid out of the envelope and into her palm.

Moving slowly, as if it was a vicious animal that might bite, Iris walked to her kitchen table and placed the key in the center of its empty surface. Leaning forward, she rested her chin on the back of her hand and stared at it, wondering what it might mean. It looked like a house key. For his place? Why was he giving her a key to his place? Because he had misread her intentions and felt obligated? Or because he wanted to provide his fuck buddy easy access?

She honestly didn’t know which would be worse.

Before she could decide on a course of action, her phone chirped again. When she saw Barry’s name on the screen, she bit her lip and pulled open the message. “Meeting’s running behind. Not sure when I’ll get out. Come by about 10 tonight instead? If I’m not home by then, kill me.”

Tilting her head to the side, Iris pondered his message, wondering if it had some sort of hidden meaning. Uncertain how to respond, she chose her words carefully as she typed out her message. “That’s okay. Cisco said you’re always later at these than you think you’re going to be, so I was prepared.”

Ellipses appeared at the bottom of the screen, and then he replied, “Traitor. He’s not supposed to tell on me like that!” Then, a moment later, “One of these days, they’ll believe me when I say I don’t care what kind of towels they stock backstage, and these meetings will get down to a manageable level.”

That didn’t seem to have any kind of hidden meaning, so she smiled and sent back, “Don’t you know? It is VERY IMPORTANT that you choose the right towels. Your ENTIRE CAREER depends on it!”

“Honey, I honestly couldn’t care less about the towels. Unless you promise I’m going to find you backstage in a towel and nothing else. Then I’d reconsider.”

Her breath caught in her throat, uncertain whether she should be turned on or alarmed by his message. After a minute, she rolled her eyes at herself and muttered, “Don’t be a coward, West. Ask him.” Her fingers trembling a little, she typed out her message. “Oh, Cisco dropped off a key. ??” So she was too scared to actually type out the question. “Sue me,” she muttered.

She could see those damn ellipses again and held her breath until the next text came through. “Oh, yeah. I was going to give you a head’s up about that, but it slipped my mind. Everyone on my team has a key to my place. My schedule can be unpredictable, and I don’t want you to have to wait in the car if I don’t get home on time. Or if I’ve worked too late the night before and oversleep. If we have an appointment and I don’t answer the door when you knock, you can let yourself in and send me a text that you’re waiting if I’m not there.”

Her breath left her in a whoosh, and she had to laugh at her foolishness. Of course. Remembering how Cisco had let himself in to Barry’s place during their dance and how she’d found Harry there the other day, it made perfect sense. She felt so silly about how completely she’d mentally missed the mark that she felt comfortable teasing him in response. “So I should only use the key during regular business hours?”

She smiled as she waited for his response and then chuckled when she saw his return text. “Unless you want to prove your point about the towel…”

Shaking her head, she slipped the phone in her pocket and turned back to her work. As she sat at her computer, her gaze drifted to her folder labeled Relationships. It contained all the information she’d compiled about Barry’s prior romances, which she used as research when planning her current strategy. Pulling it out of the stack of papers on her desk, she put it on top of the pile. It wouldn’t hurt to have it nearby for a while, a silent reminder of why she shouldn’t let herself read more into whatever this thing was between the two of them.

Iris knocked on Barry’s door that evening, shifting her weight back and forth with indecision when he didn’t answer. When she tried again and received a similar lack of response, she pulled the key out of her pocket with shaking fingers. Even though she knew it was a byproduct of his rather unpredictable lifestyle, it still felt strange to let herself into his place. Like she belonged there.

So it was with an excess of caution that she stuck her head into the front door and called out, “Hello? Barry? You here?” Receiving no response yet again, she sighed and let herself inside, closing the door behind her.

She was headed to the couch to wait for his return when curiosity overcame her. It was possibly her best chance to get more insight into the mind of Barry Allen, without him catching on to her curiosity. So instead of sitting down, she meandered through the living room, pausing to look at the photographs on the walls. There were a couple photos of Barry playing on stage; from his appearance, she thought they were likely taken early in his career. Most of the photos, however, were with his family. Iris paused and stared at the faces of the people she assumed to be his parents. With one fingertip, she traced the lines left by a lifetime of laughter in their faces and decided they looked kind. Perhaps she would enjoy meeting them, after all.

Then she moved on, letting her hand trail absently along the top of his television. After a moment’s pause, she headed towards the nearby hallway. She didn’t want to cross the line with her snooping, but surely he would understand if she used the restroom in his absence?

The problem was, she wasn’t sure which room led to the bathroom. Opening the first door she came across, she a coat closet. Behind the next door, she found an empty guest room. Iris closed the door firmly without giving in to temptation to investigate. At the end of the hall, she found two closed doors. She chose one at random and had opened it just a crack when she realized it led to the master bedroom.

Feeling guilty enough already, Iris started to close the door when she heard a sound inside. Curious, she paused and glanced into the darkened room. It was then that she realized Barry was stretched out on top of the covers, snoring gently.

Without stopping to second-guess her actions, Iris crept into the room and approached the bed. Though his body lay in shadow, the light from the hallway fell across his bed, illuminating his face.

There was something so gentle and pure about his face while he was sleeping. This wasn’t the face of a serial heartbreaker or one of the sexiest men alive. He looked peaceful and untroubled, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth as he turned his face away from the light.

Unable to resist temptation, Iris reached out and trailed one gentle fingertip along the curve of his cheek. He didn’t move, so she bent and brushed a soft kiss against his forehead. She didn’t want to disturb him when he was sleeping so soundly, but she knew she would hold on to this memory, long after their peculiar arrangement had come to an end.

As she straightened to go, however, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist, holding her tight. She watched his eyes flutter open as his mouth curved into a lazy grin. “Hey, you,” he murmured, his voice roughened from sleep. “I wanted to stay up and wait for you.”

“I can tell,” she responded lightly, her voice amused. “It’s okay. We can talk tomorrow.”

“Mmmm…no, it’s okay. I can get up,” he argued, even as he dragged her into bed.

Iris laughed as he pulled her down next to him and tucked his cheek against the curve of her neck. “Well, you’re off to a great start!”

Barry’s breath was warm against her neck, making her shiver when he whispered something that sounded like, “My Iris.”

Her heart skipping a beat, Iris sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”

“Mmm?” Three seconds passed, and she wondered if he’d drifted off again when he mumbled, “I said I promise.”

She relaxed in his arms again. “I should go,” she suggested, though not entirely without regret.

He sighed, pressing a kiss on the sensitive skin beneath her ear. “God, you smell good,” he groaned. Then, in a whisper, he demanded, “You know, you could stay here with me tonight.”

Turning in his arms, she brushed back the lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead. She knew he was too sleepy to think clearly, so she tried not to take his words to heart as she dropped her gaze to his chest and responded in a lightly teasing tone, “And break one of the unspoken rules that define our relationship? I don’t dare.”

When she pulled her gaze back to his, she found him watching her silently. As though unable to keep still, he ran his hand along her side to her hip. He pulled her closer and then bowed his head to kiss the curve of her neck again. His lips trailed down her chest to the swell of her breasts over her shirt. Massaging her ass with one hand, he sucked slightly on the soft skin of her breast, just hard enough to leave a mark.

At her soft moan, Barry raised up and moved over her, pinning her down with the weight of his body. Meeting her eyes, he murmured, “Would that be so bad? To hell with the rules. Stay with me.”

Glancing away, Iris bit back a sigh. He spoke like someone with nothing to lose. But, then, she knew she was the only one of them who was risking everything. Gathering the threads of her composure, she forced a laugh and attempted a teasing tone when she asked, “And how many girls have you said that to?”

That got his attention, and he froze, his eyes wide as he looked down on her. She watched as one corner of his mouth curved up in an arrogant smirk. “Not that many. You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who will fuck me but won’t sleep with me,” he pointed out in a dry tone.

Iris struggled to keep her tone light as she chose her words carefully. “Well, I already said I’m not one of your groupies. At least this way, when I wake up in the morning alone, it’s all part of the plan. I don’t have to worry about you –” She broke off, pressing her lips together to stop the flow of words from leaving her mouth when she realized she’d been about to say, breaking my heart. Realizing she had to finish the sentence somehow, she concluded lamely, “um, worrying that I’m going to misinterpret things. Fucking each other is less messy than sleeping together, don’t you think?”

Barry’s eyes slid to the window, and she felt the movement of his body as he inhaled deeply. When he met her eyes again, his eyes were guarded, hiding his thoughts from her view. “Baby, who said anything about sleeping?” he drawled.

It was, in a sense, confirmation of what she had assumed. His suggestion that she stay had been thoughtless. The implication behind his words had been unintentionally implied by a man who promised nothing just as he risked nothing. It did not matter, she promised herself. He could not hurt her. He could not hurt her.

But part of her wondered if she should be concerned at how easily the thought he might break her heart. Was it already more at risk than she wanted to believe? Perhaps it was already too late, and she should leave now, before her heart really was at risk. But then Barry shifted, pressing against her, and all thought of leaving fled from her mind. Putting her misgivings aside, she lifted her hand to scrape her nails gently down his chest.

One more time. One more night.

Barry relaxed into her touch, but she could swear she saw a flash of sadness in his eyes. In a blink, it was gone, making her wonder if she’d imagined it. Bowing his head, he grabbed the front panel of her blouse in his teeth and tugged, slowly popping open the buttons. This was all it would ever be, she knew, but she swore to herself that this was all she wanted anyway.

To avoid acknowledging the sudden sorrow that weighed her down at the thought, Iris poured herself into him, into this moment together. When he reached for her, she arched to meet him. Their lips met, and she inhaled his breath, imagining she could hold it deep inside her. Like a talisman to ward off future pain.

Barry deftly helped her out of her clothes before quickly removing his own. And then he was leaning over her again. He explored her body with his hands, his lips, his tongue. He brought her to one shuddering climax after another, until it was all she could do to mindlessly chant his name.

But still he didn’t come inside her.

Frustrated and aching, wanting to feel him thrust into her, Iris pushed him off her and stumbled to her feet. “Water,” she mumbled. When she caught sight of the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was after midnight. “I need water.”

Shameless in her nudity, she left the bedroom and turned towards the bathroom – the only room she had not discovered during her earlier investigation. Throwing open the door, Iris flicked on the light before bending over the sink, drinking in mouthfuls of cold water as she plotted her revenge.

When she straightened, however, Barry was standing behind her. She smiled at his reflection in the mirror, his hair tousled from her fingers running through it a hundred times over the past hour. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” he asked her as their eyes met in the reflection.

Iris felt herself blush. It was an inexplicable reaction, considering that he had spent the last two hours exploring every inch of her body. “You might have mentioned it.” She reached for the light switch, but he grabbed her wrist.

“No,” he demanded, bringing her hand to her stomach. “I want to watch. I want you to watch.” With his hand covering hers, he nudged her head to the side so he could kiss her earlobe. After scraping it gently between his teeth, he whispered, “Show me how you touch yourself when I’m not there.”

Iris froze. Even with all the things they had done to each other, there still seemed to be something particularly wicked about his suggestion. He wanted to watch her as she touched herself? But his body was so warm and solid behind hers, and she closed her eyes, remembering the fantasy she’d had of him just that morning. Sucking in a deep breath, she started to move her hands slowly, caressing the soft skin of her stomach.

His hands moved with hers, covering hers completely. Everywhere she went to touch, he touched first. There was something particularly erotic about the realization, and she lifted her hand to her breasts, to stroke and tease her nipples.

“Open your eyes,” he breathed, and when she did, she saw his gaze was locked on her face in the reflection. “That’s it, baby.”

It had been her fantasy, and now Iris gave in to the reality of it. She watched his quick intake of breath as he helped her tease herself, felt him stiffen behind her when she moaned. Then she grabbed his other hand and brought it to her waist, sliding her own fingers beneath his. Slowly, tantalizing him and heightening her own anticipation, she slid her hand to the apex of her thighs.

Barry breathed a curse, pulling her back against him hard enough to momentarily hold her hands in place. Then she felt the slight tremor in his fingers as he relaxed the pressure. “Go on,” he groaned, pressing his erection into the small of her back. “Show me what you do next.”

Her eyes locked on his face, she teased the outer folds of her lips, drawing out the torture for them both as she murmured, “I imagine it’s you when I do this, you know. Your hands. Your lips. Your tongue.” At her words, he exhaled suddenly, and she took advantage of his surprise as she slid one finger inside her folds to stroke her clit. With a low moan, she bucked against his hand, pressing against him as his fingers, longer than hers, slid inside her.

“I’ll never be able to touch myself without thinking of this. Of you,” she panted as their hands moved together, pressing inside her, making her ache with need. “Come inside me, Barry. I need you.” Turning her head, she slid the hand on her breast out from under his and grabbed his hair, dragging his lips to hers, repeating her demand against his mouth. “I need you.”

Her words seemed to break something inside him, because he growled, “Damn it, Iris.” Releasing her breast, he pressed against her shoulder blades until she leaned forward to brace her weight against the mirror. “Don’t look away,” he ordered as he grabbed her hips and thrust inside her. “This is what you want, isn’t it? You want me to fuck you?”

She didn’t even have a chance to reply. He had teased her for so long, she came almost immediately when he thrust inside her, but Barry didn’t stop. He was merciless as he pounded into her, bringing her to orgasm again and again, bracing her hips in his hands when her knees buckled.

Finally, with a shout, he climaxed and collapsed against her back, almost taking the two of them to the floor when Iris’s legs proved too shaky to support them both. “Oh, Iris,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to her temple as he helped her find her footing. Then he opened his mouth as if to say something more, paused, and shook his head. Releasing her, he stepped back and turned away, leaving the room without a word.

Iris took a moment to catch her breath and followed him back into the bedroom, only to find him splayed out on the bed again, his arm thrown over his eyes. “Um…I should…I should go,” she said softly, breaking the silence between them as she bent to scoop up her clothing. Barry didn’t respond. Holding her clothes to her chest in a strangely self-conscious gesture, she tried again. “We should, uh, we should probably touch base tomorrow about our schedules. I have some ideas about what we should do next.”

At that, Barry lifted one shoulder off the mattress in a halfhearted shrug. “Sure,” he mumbled. “I agreed to do everything you say, remember? Just give me a call whenever. I’m free all afternoon.”

She nodded. This was what she wanted, sex with no pretense of emotion. So she couldn’t explain why she felt so hollow inside as she darted back to the restroom to get dressed before sneaking out his front door without so much as a goodbye.

On her way out to her car, she saw a flash of light, and her stomach sank. She knew she should be grateful for the paparazzi who had undoubtedly just taken her picture. This kind of press would only serve her purposes. Her relationship with Barry wasn’t real; it was never intended to be private. But as she dove into her car and pulled away, she wished it could have remained private, anyway.

She didn’t know how Barry lived like this. She wasn’t sure she could do it.

“Looks like things are getting interesting between you and Barry.” Iris wasn’t surprised to see the text from Linda the next day. “How late was it when you made your walk of shame, anyway?”

“Very funny, Lin. I was too wiped to drive, so I crashed in his guest room for a while. It was nothing.”

Any hope that her friend would accept her lie evaporated when she read the response. “Oh, yeah. I remember thinking you were definitely sporting some ‘slept in the guest room’ hair in your picture.”

Iris groaned. “Well, we wanted to make it look good for the cameras,” she lied again.

She didn’t delude herself into thinking Linda had bought her story, but she at least seemed willing to pretend for her sake, as she didn’t press the point. Unfortunately, her next text was hardly comforting, either.

“So, have you figured out how you’re going to end it when this is all over? The way things are going, it’ll be mission accomplished before long.”

Ignoring the sinking sensation in her stomach, she forced herself to type her response. “I haven’t finalized a plan yet, but I’m working on it. Any ideas?”

Several minutes passed before she received Linda’s response. “You’ll need to be the one to end it, you know. At least that’s what people will have to believe.”

The thought had occurred to her, though the prospect gave her no joy. She told herself fit was only because she dreaded what how her image would be eviscerated in the press when it happened.

But Linda wasn’t done. “And you’ll want to be thoughtful about who he’s seen dating next. It should be someone who helps reinforce his reformed image. If he’s willing to do it.” Iris stared at the text, reading it again and again. Rationally, she knew that there was wisdom in Linda’s advice. But the thought of watching Barry publicly engaged in a relationship with someone else after this was all over, even knowing that it would be no more real than her own relationship was…she couldn’t bear the thought.

Would he kiss that unnamed woman the way he kissed Iris? The thought made her want to cry.

“That’s not going to be a problem, is it? I mean, it’s not like you’ve fallen for him or anything,” Linda asked.

Grateful her friend wasn’t there to see the look on her face, she typed out her response. “No, of course not. It’s not a problem at all.”

“I’m not saying you owe me because that would be rude. I’m just saying that in fairy tales, what I am about to give you would warrant the promise of a princess’s firstborn child. And I think you should bear that in mind when Christmas rolls around this year.” Joanie said with a smug smile as she slid an envelope across the table at Iris.

“That good, huh?” she asked skeptically as she nudged her coffee cup out of the way so she could scoop it up, “You were able to get those movie premiere tickets for me?”

“Better.”

Iris had started to make a skeptical sound, but it broke off abruptly as she flipped open the lip of the envelope and saw what was inside. “Holy shit, Jo. How’d you manage this?” Pulling out the embossed invitation, she skimmed the elegant cursive text once and then again, unable to entirely believe her eyes. “This is…it’s an invitation to Walter Prescott’s birthday celebration tomorrow night. Everybody who’s anybody in Hollywood is going to be there. I’m pretty sure people have offered to pay millions for a ticket. And you’re giving me two?”

Narrowing her eyes in feigned suspicion, Iris asked, “Who did you have to kill for these? I’m not saying it wasn’t worth it. I just want to make sure I have my story straight when the police come knocking on my door.”

Joanie laughed. “No hit squads necessary…this time. Alex’s girlfriend somehow got her hands on a couple of tickets. I think her dad’s some sort of diplomat or something. They were planning to go, but then Alex got the flu. They offered the tickets to Kara, but you know she’d rather jump off a building than go to this kind of thing. So she gave them to me.”

“Jesus,” Iris breathed, putting the tickets safely in her purse. If Barry wanted to break into Hollywood, he was going to need connections. There was no better way to rub elbows with the right people than Walter Prescott’s annual birthday bacchanalia. “I – You’re right. I totally owe you my firstborn child.”

Her former sorority sister laughed. “I actually am not in the market for kids right now, so I’ll pass. But if you wanted to get me a berry mocha muffin, I wouldn’t turn it down.”

Iris stifled a yawn behind her fist as she reached for her glass of water. She would have expected that an event people were willing to pay millions to get into would be less…dull. Though she supposed the festivities hadn’t really gotten underway yet. She and Barry were seated at the birthday dinner at an upscale hotel in the heart of the city. After a few hours of dinner and dancing, the party would move to Prescott’s private estate, where the biggest and most important names in Hollywood would drink and party the night away.

She would have thought Barry would be enjoying the festivities, but he had been withdrawn all evening. He had barely said a word to her from the moment she showed up on his doorstep in a dress the color of champagne that had a slit nearly to her hip and hugged her every curve. Though he’d murmured a compliment and kissed her on the cheek after escorting her to the limo – for the benefit of the cameras, of course – he had been distant ever since.

Even now. She glanced at Barry out of her eye and saw that he was engrossed in conversation with the person on his other side. Quickly wiping the scowl off her face, she sighed. She couldn’t exactly fault his behavior. He wasn’t being rude – or even cold, per se. He made sure to engage with her enough to satisfy the cameras and ensure no inconvenient rumors would hit the headlines in the morning. But he was still…distant.

When he smiled at her, it didn’t reach his eyes. Every time he leaned down to murmur in her ear, she was painfully reminded that this was nothing more than an act. Of course, she’d always known that was true. But tonight, it felt true. And she didn’t know what she could do about it – or even if she should.

Bored, Iris found herself praying for the first time that her evening with Barry would end. She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye just when he turned to look down at her. When their eyes met, he threw her that same polished smile she’d seen all evening, pulled her into a one-armed embrace for the sake of the cameras, kissed her temple, and then turned his attention back to his previous conversation.

Iris clenched her teeth in reaction to the irritation she couldn’t let herself convey. Apparently, she was going to have to do something drastic to get his attention. She took a quick glance around to make sure the tablecloth was long enough to cover her movements and then reached for the line of her underwear under her dress. Shifting back and forth slowly, using conversation with the other couples at the table to cover her movements so as to not draw attention to what she was doing, she nudged her underwear down her hips.

Drawing her panties out from under her ass was the tricky part, and she feared for a second that Barry had caught on to what she was doing when he shot another glance her way. But, no, he paused only long enough to throw her another hollow smile, and then his attention wandered once more. Iris bit back a curse as she pretended to drop her napkin and used the motion of bending down to pick it up as cover to pull her panties down to her thighs.

After that, the task became infinitely easier. Rubbing her legs back and forth slowly, she slid her silky thong down her legs to her knees, where they hovered for a moment before falling easily to the ground. Iris carefully scooped up the tiny scrap of fabric with one foot, fighting back a devilish smile as she casually reached under the table to retrieve her underwear.

Then, when she was sure Barry was well and truly distracted, she slipped the thong, still warm from her body, into his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as a slight frown of confusion flickered across his face. Then he jumped, slamming his knee against the underside of the table as realization sunk in. He spun to face her even as he muttered a sheepish apology for his clumsiness, but Iris met his wide-eye astonishment with feigned innocence.

Let him ignore her now.

Reaching for her hand under the table, Barry gave it a squeeze as he leaned in and pressed a kiss against her lips, playing to the audience. Nuzzling her ear, he whispered, “You know I’m going to get you back for that, right?”

Iris smiled. “I know you’ll try,” she dared him in return. He snorted and straightened, seemingly turning his attention back to his previous conversation. However, underneath the table, his fingers pushed the fold of her dress aside and tickled the skin just above her knee.

Iris bit back a smile as she accepted the glass of champagne placed before her by a passing waiter. Barry, however, shook his head at the offer. “Can’t stand the stuff,” he offered in explanation. All the while, his fingers traced a slow path up her leg to her hip, the folds of her skirt falling open under his touch.

He stroked her hip with the outside his fingers as he laughed at something someone else at the table said and leaned forward in a pretense of getting the waiter’s attention to order another drink. Iris caught her breath when he used the motion to cover his movements as he slid his hand over her thigh to her inner leg, stroking the soft skin there.

When Iris glanced over at him, she saw that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. Reading his silent challenge, Iris slowly spread her thighs as she took a sip of her champagne.

Barry grinned, and Iris had to catch her breath when he slipped his fingers inside her. She was gratified to see that he was not entirely unaffected by what he was doing to her. When she put her hand on his thigh, he was so tense it was like touching corded steel. She shifted slightly in her seat, pressing against his hand, and watched a muscle jump in his jaw.

When she let her hand drift towards his inner thigh, however, he pulled his hand away to grab her wrist instead, holding her in place. Leaning in, he murmured in a gravelly undertone, “Not a good idea, Princess.”

Iris grinned and turned her attention to the woman sitting on her other side, picking up an earlier thread of conversation. But her momentary sense of victory was short-lived; she was just asking about her companion’s children when she felt Barry’s fingers enter her again. Surprised, she sucked in a sharp breath and jerked, biting back a moan just in time.

“I – I was crossing my legs and I hit my knee on the bar under the table,” she lied when her companion asked if she was okay. She wanted to murder Barry when she heard his soft snort of laughter next to her, even as he slid two fingers inside her and flicked her clit with the tip of his thumb. Iris had to grip the side of the table with both hands and focus on her breathing to keep from giving herself away.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the older woman asked. “You look flushed.”

“I’m-I’m fine,” Iris panted. “It’s just a little warm in here. Anyway, you were saying? Something about –” She let her voice trail off since she couldn’t have said what her companion had been saying if her life depended on it.

Barry was ruthless, sliding his fingers in and out of her, tickling her inner walls. When Iris lifted her champagne glass to her mouth with one trembling hand, he leaned in and whispered, “I want to be inside of you right now.”

“We should dance,” Iris blurted, interrupting the older woman’s story about her oldest son’s girlfriend. Pushing away from the table, she twitched her dress back into place and stood, hoping her trembling legs weren’t noticeable. “Barry?”

His smile was entirely too smug as he followed her to his feet. “Of course,” he agreed, stepping slightly behind her to block the evidence of his arousal from view. “Lead the way.”

Iris stepped towards the dance floor, even as she scanned the room for the nearest exit. A dance had been a convenient excuse to get away from the table; what she really wanted was to get him alone. Finally spotting a door leading outside, she started to skirt the crowd until Barry grabbed her hand and gave it a tug, pulling her into his arms.

“I didn’t really want to dance,” she mumbled as his arm went around her, pulling her close.

“I know,” he whispered, nuzzling the side of her neck. “But if we just disappear, people will ask questions.”

Leaning in, she pressed against him, feeling the hard line of his erection through their clothing. “And if I take you inside me right here in the middle of all these people? Will they ask questions then?” His chuckle was pained, so she pressed her advantage.

Standing on her tiptoes, she whispered in his ear, “I can feel how hard you are. I want to take you into my hand. My mouth. Stroke you slowly. You’ve already felt how wet I am. I’m so ready for you to slide inside me and –”

“Let’s get some fresh air,” Barry blurted, spinning her around again and nudging her back towards the door. Stifling a laugh, Iris made her way to the exit, stopping only long enough for Barry to grab a half-empty bottle of champagne from a waiter as they passed.

“I thought you hated champagne?” she teased, her voice full of feigned innocence as he held it in front of his crotch, blocking his erection from view.

Barry just glowered at her out of the corner of his eye, directing her towards the line of limos by the curb, waiting to take the esteemed guests to the real party. “Come on,” he grunted.

“We’re supposed to head over to the Prescott Estate soon,” she reminded him as she climbed into the back seat.

Pausing only long enough to give the driver his directions, Barry followed. “Yeah? Well, we may be a little late.”

As the driver pulled away from the curb, Barry pushed Iris gently back against the seat and lifted her leg over his shoulder, letting the folds of the dress slide off her thigh to pool around her waist as she spread herself open for him. Massaging her calf, he stared down at her with a look of awe. “This is never going to get old.”

“Keep frustrating me like this, you’re not going to grow old,” she growled.

Barry laughed and lifted the bottle of champagne, carefully pouring it down her leg. Iris shivered as the bubbly liquid poured over her and then shuddered when he turned his head and licked the rivulets of alcohol off her warm skin. He moved the bottle over her knee and poured more champagne down her thigh, quickly following with his mouth.

“Oh, my god, Barry,” Iris breathed, wrapping her legs around him.

Iris’s breath was ragged as she snatched the bottle out of his hand. Pushing down the straps of her dress, she met his eyes in challenge as she tilted the bottle over her breasts. The liquid was cold as it ran over her nipples, but Barry’s breath was hot as he followed with his mouth.

Iris groaned, running her hands through his hair as he sucked her nipple between his teeth and flicked his tongue against the nub. He licked the underside of her breast, increasing suction to leave a mark just under its curve.

“More,” she breathed as he kissed his way down her chest to her stomach and then down to the open slit of her dress.

“You know what? You were right. I could get used to the taste of champagne, after all,” he joked, his mouth pressed against her skin. “But I like the taste of you even better.” Pushing her thighs wide, he ducked between her legs, running his tongue along her outer folds.

Iris sighed and arched her back, her hands fisted in his hair, holding him tightly to her. She moaned as his tongue teased her with smooth strokes. He scraped her with his teeth and thrust his tongue deep inside her until she was mindlessly panting his name. “Please. Barry, please.”

“Come for me,” he breathed, nipping her inner thigh with his teeth. Lifting one hand, he teased her breasts as he licked his way to her opening again. Pinching her nipple, he speared her again with his tongue, pressing hard against her clit.

Iris screamed as her orgasm washed over her, shuddering against his mouth. Before her shudders could subside, Barry lifted her off the seat, rotating to pull her down on top of him. In one swift move, she guided him to her entrance and sunk down on him, taking his cock deep inside of her.

Her breath catching in her throat, Iris rolled her hips against his in strong, steady strokes. He slid his hands under her ass and squeezed before slipping his long fingers between her thighs to tease her even as she rode him. With a soft hiss, Iris grabbed his wrists and lifted them to the back of the seat, pinning them on either side of his head. He had teased her long enough. This time, she was calling the shots.

Lifting herself off him, Iris fell to her knees in front of his seat. Barry groaned as she took him in her hand, running her fingers along his erection in steady strokes. Taking him into her mouth, she swirled her tongue around the tip of his penis, savoring the taste of their juices on his skin. Iris took him deep in her throat, pressing her tongue against the vein on the underside of his shaft.

Increasing suction, she hummed softly as she bobbed up and down on his shaft. “Iris – god, Iris,” he groaned, his fingers clenched into fists at his sides. She knew he was close to climax, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she cupped his balls in her hand, pressing her thumb against the base of his shaft as she sucked him as far into her mouth as she could, swallowing quickly as he came.

Iris swirled her tongue against the tip of his penis as she lifted herself off him and smiled as he pulled her on top of him once more. Guiding her lips down to his, he sucked her tongue into his mouth. She rocked against him until she felt him grow hard against her once more.

“Again?” she asked with a gasp.

“Baby, you’re gonna kill me,” he growled as he thrust inside her. She rode him hard and fast, her fingers digging into his shoulders as he brought her to orgasm once more. She pressed her mouth against his, swallowing his shout as he shuddered and came inside her, his arms tightening around her waist, holding her against him almost hard enough to take her breath away.

Iris collapsed on top of him, her head pressed against his shoulder as they fought for breath. Bracing herself for what she would see, she glanced down at the dress bunched around her waist, noticing with chagrin that it was irrevocably wrinkled and covered in champagne stains. Barry looked to be in a slightly better state, since his black tuxedo covered most of the damage, though his shirt would be completely unsalvageable.

“Oh, my god. I can’t possibly go to the party like this. What are we going to do?”

With a grin, Barry rested one palm on her leg. “Well, if we can’t go anywhere anyway…”

Iris laughed and shook her head. “Steady there, tiger. I didn’t promise away my firstborn child for you to skip this party. I have an idea. Call Harry and have him bring a white dress shirt to my place. I’m sure I find something else to wear. Though I’m not quire sure how we’ll explain it.”

Feigning a disappointed sigh, Barry pulled his phone out of his pocket. After glancing at the screen, he threw her a sheepish smile. “So, uh…is this a good time to mention that my parents just texted? They want us to come visit them this weekend.”

Iris looked down at the state of the both of them – covered in champagne, her dress in complete ruins where it pooled around her waist, the two of them completely exposed – and hid her face in her hands as she let out a disbelieving bark of laughter. “Of course they do. Oh my god.”