#waking up and immediately writing this shit is better than any shot of espresso

[johnslittlespoon]

https://www.tumblr.com/johnslittlespoon/744650714200113152/no-one-encourage-this-path-of-brainrot-because-i

THAT LAST BIT IM-

Anyway, Gale spanking John until he’s begging and then making him rut against his thigh like the good boy he is if he wants to cum so bad <33 John whining so pretty and holding onto Gale like his life depends on it bc he wants to be so good for him sooo bad

- @mangokittokatsu

(I’ve interacted w my main mangokitkats before but all my brainrot is on the tagged acc LMAO)

STARTING OFF STRONG. slappin' these together.

gale would for sure start off stern like that, bending john over his lap, flattening the palm of his hand on his lower back and reminding him "stay still and hands off." and most of the time john would listen, it doesn't take much for him to slip into that obedient headspace unless it's one of those days where he's really letting gale have it with the bratting.

but once he really starts begging nicely and gale feels like he's been sufficiently patient but also wants to watch him flush with embarrassment, he'd lean down and murmur "if you wanna get off tonight, you better do it now," and that's all it takes for john to start rocking his hips against his thigh with each hit, open–mouthed pants and whimpers tumbling out.

arms wrapped around gale's calf, blood rushing to his head, every hit bringing him closer. or, if gale's feeling softer, he gathers john into his lap and slots a thigh between both of john's and lets him rut against him like that instead, hand tangled in the back of his hair as john presses his face into his neck, murmuring out little thank yous while gale tells him how well he's done for him, "my good boy, you took it so well, there you go, take what you need."

(also HIII MANGO absolute legend <33)

[shurisneakers]

espresso [2]

Summary: In which your best friend’s brother begins to set you up on dates when you mention that you haven’t been in a relationship in years, but things don’t go as expected.

Warning: swearing

A/N: this is my entry for the ethereal @bithors writing challenge!  huge thank you to @samingtonwilson, queen of everything, for beta-ing this fic and adding her magic to it. ily sam taal.

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous part- Part 1 || Espresso Masterlist

If you could narrow your times of intense regret to two main circumstances, one would be when you allowed Bucky and Rebecca to convince you that a roller coaster ride after scarfing down funnel cakes was a great idea and the other would be the precise moment your alarm clock shook the walls of your bedroom an hour earlier than usual after a night of drinking. 

You hadn’t realized how early Bucky had to wake up to go to work until the morning you experienced the latter circumstance. The constant slump in his shoulders the days he had work and the dark circles under his eyes suddenly made more sense.

You grudgingly tugged on a hoodie and leggings and left a note for Natasha on your way out saying that you wouldn’t be there for breakfast.

Stepping out into the crisp, cold air would be great on another day but all you could feel today was Jack Frost’s wet dream. Campus wasn’t completely deserted and you could see people looking more lively than you did, forcing your already unpleasant mood to shift into a mix of anger and jealousy.

You walked briskly to the coffee shop, sighing in relief when you pushed open the door and were finally enveloped in the familiar smell that every coffee shop smelt like. Fucking coffee.

Bucky was behind the counter, his back turned to you as he pressed a few buttons on a machine and leaned on the counter while it filled up the cup. As he looked up for a second, his eyes spotted you standing near the doorway.

A smile grew on his face as he beckoned you over, “Gimme five minutes, I’ll be right over. Go have a seat if you want.”

“How are you so confident that I came here to talk to you?”

“Oh, sweetheart-“ he tilted his head at you, “- we all know how much you hate the coffee here.”

“Well, everything here tastes like a discount version. It is morally wrong to drink this soulless donkey piss.” You made a disgusted face when you thought of the last time you put that shit in your mouth. Never again.

“Not everyone can afford Starbucks every day like some people I know, Mario,” he sang, putting a lid on the cup before handing it to the guy who looked like he could use a couple of years’ worth of sleep.

You furrowed your eyebrows. You didn’t know if he realized that his comment stung a little more than expected.

“Besides, you’ve never tasted my coffee.”

“Oh? You’re telling me your coffee can redeem this hell joint?” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I don’t redeem it. I make it what it is.”

“So… a complete failure?”

“Like you? Nope,” he fired back, making you laugh. “Do you want something or nah?”

“Give me my regular. You know how I like it.”

“Coming right up.”

You took a seat in the booth near the window, sliding in all the way until your shoulders were leaning on the glass. There was dew on the leaves of the fake plants outside while the logo of the coffee shop was starting to peel off. You couldn’t say you didn’t aid the small scratches inching away at the giant sticker.

As you waited for him, your fingers pulled at the loose threads in the musty couch, while your eyes remained trained on him as he moved around to make your order.

His hair was shoved under a black baseball cap and he wore a grey t-shirt that was covered by the apron. You knew there was an engineering joke on that shirt, some geeky thing that he was unnaturally proud of.

You watched as he scribbled something onto the cup, biting his lip in concentration. Probably his nickname for you.

As he continued to shuffle around, you let your eyes close for maybe a few more seconds of sleep. You had Strange’s class in the morning, followed by Foster’s. Blergh.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night?” he asked as he slid onto the couch opposite to you.

“I just don’t get how you can do this every morning.” You opened your one eye to look at him. In front of Bucky was a to-go cup with Mario written across the front.

“I don’t really have another option.” He shrugged, pushing your cup forward. You took it with a sigh, feeling the warmth immediately creep into your skin.

“So what’s your master plan, barista boy?” You tipped the cup back, sipping on the hot liquid. He was right. It was kinda great.

His eyes flitted to the cup in your hand before looking at you again. “It’s pretty simple, really.”

“Do enlighten me.”

“I know a couple of guys. I send you on blind dates with them. If you like any of them, go for it,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging.

“That’s all?” You took a pause from drinking to narrow your eyes at him. “You woke me up at this ungodly hour to tell me that you’ll set me up with a few guys?”

“Damn, don’t sound so excited and grateful, I can’t handle it,” he muttered, sending you a smile.

“C'mon, James. I know you can do better than that. Even Nat could set me up with guys.”

“Yeah, but can Nat make you the best damn coffee you’ve ever had?”

“Nat can do everything,” you answered without batting an eye. “I mean it. You ever seen that girl write? Shit, I’d date her just for the love letters she could possibly write me.”

“Point taken. Isn’t her film festival coming up? How’s she handling that?”

“Incredibly well. She’s sleeping a maximum of four hours a night and is running on nothing but Gatorade and spite.”

“Great.” His eyes shifted to the cup again, before looking back at you.

“What did you do?”

“What?”

“What did you do to my coffee cup? You keep staring at it.” You opened the lid to look inside, praying that you wouldn’t find a dead lizard or something.

“Nothing! I swear I didn’t do anything,” he said defensively, leaning back with his arms surrendering.

“I promise,” he added when he noticed your look wasn’t faltering.

“Alright, Barnes. Coming back to the topic at hand-” you waved around between the two of you. “I know you can do better than that.”

“What more dost thy thirsty ass wanteth?” Bucky asked, smirking when you rolled your eyes.

“How many dates are you planning for me?” you asked after a pause.

“Five. Why?”

“What if I don’t like all five?” you raised your eyebrow, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Are you questioning my matchmaking skills?”

“What credibility do you have, really?”

“I watched two seasons of The Bachelorette,” he said, making you choke on your drink. “I’m like, a certified Tinder employee.”

“My original question still stands.”

“If you don’t like all five, you don’t like them. That’s about it?”

“That’s so boring,” you whined. “Make it interesting.”

“Jesus, Mario,” he exhaled. “Okay, fine. Here’s the thing.”

“Ooooh, shits-“

“Say ‘shit’ one more time in plural and I’m leaving.”

“Shit-“ you said, making him nod. “-s,” you added under your breath.

Either Bucky ignored you or he didn’t hear you, but either way, he continued, “If you don’t like any of those five guys, I’ll do one thing you want me to do. It can be anything.”

“Holy shits-“ he glared at you but you continued, “-If I asked you to strip your pants and walk around campus?”

“Yikes, but yes.”

“Do my homework for a month?”

“If I understand any of it, sure.”

“Tell me who the love letter you wrote years ago was to?” you asked deviously, making him freeze.

“What makes you think I still remember it?”

“So it was a love letter! Gotcha, you liar, liar, pants on fire.”

“Jesus Christ. How old are you again?”

“Irrelevant, move on. Will you tell me who it is to or not?” you waved off his question quickly, moving to the more pressing matters.

“I still don’t get why you want to know so bad, but yes. I’ll tell you,” he gave up, throwing his hands up. “But what if you like one of them?”

“Isn’t that a win, win? You get to keep your amazing matchmaking reputation and I get myself a guy.”

“Alright. Fine. You got yourself a deal.”

“Deal,” you affirmed, finishing what was remaining in the cup before reaching across the table to shake his hand firmly.

You pulled back soon after, gathering your phone and wallet, leaving him a five dollar bill on the table before he could argue. You adjusted the bag on your shoulder before giving him a short wave and a smile before wishing him a good day and walking out the shop in a slight hurry. You were already kinda late for class.

He sighed, picking up your empty cup and toyed around with it, reading the words he had written on it. He genuinely wondered how you didn’t see the letters in black ink across the front, but before he could worry too much about it the bell above the doorway rang, signalling the arrival of another customer. 

Making his way back to the counter hurriedly, he threw the cup into the dustbin before sliding under the counter and jumping back up again to greet the next person with a bright smile.

“Hi. Could I have a grande soy cinnamon no-foam, half caf, extra shot caramel macchiato?”

‘I fucking hate this job,’ Bucky thought, smiling and nodding to the customer in front of him.

PART 3

[fictionwriter26-blog]

The English Project

 Kat’s English teacher was going to kill her. She had a short story assignment due in two days and she didn’t even have an outline started. It was supposed to be fifteen pages of anything she could think of and all she had was a crappy title. “Coffee shops” she scoffed, what kind of title was that? Usually she was pretty good at this sort of thing. Today however, was not one of those days.

She had been holed up in her favourite coffee shop on Granville Street for at least three hours, her laptop mocking her. Her legs tingled from being bent up under her for so long. The chair she sat in was comfortable and familiar. It was her chair these days-she spent so much time here they might as well make a sign. The smell of espresso and baked goods wafted from behind the counter. Her mouth watered as a fresh tray of muffins appeared from the kitchens. An employee she did not recognize slipped them into the display case and posted the prices. Her eyes drooped again.

Four cups of bitter drip coffee had done absolutely nothing to wake her up and her laptop was almost dead. Glancing out the window at the constant, unmoving flow of Vancouver traffic, she heard the endless shriek of car horns, pedestrian chatter and whining cyclists. She pictured hailing a cab to take her away. Anywhere would be fine, as long as it wasn’t home.

After illness took her father last year, the house had become a dead zone. Her mom was intent on living life to the fullest and not wasting time, so she was always out doing something. Her brother was always working or out with friends so there was never anyone home. Not that it really mattered. It was just so quiet. Kat hated quiet these days.  

She was snapped out of her musings by an incredibly green pair of eyes and a smile. Her favourite barista, Chase.

“Long day?” he asked quietly, sliding a steaming mug of hot chocolate across the table toward her.

“The longest” she replied with a grateful smile, curling her hands around the warm, brightly coloured ceramic.

He grinned at her over his wide framed glasses. “What are you writing about this week?”

Wordlessly she turned her laptop toward him and raised her eyebrows.

“Ahh, it’s one of those days then” he chuckled. Kat just groaned and dropped her head to the table.

She heard Regan, the owner and manager, shouting obscure coffee orders and barking at employees over the white noise of the shop. Chase sighed, “I better get back to work before she goes completely insane.”

Kat laughed at that. “That’s probably a good idea.”

“See you tomorrow?” he asked, seeming hopeful.

“Most likely.” she said with a smirk. “Who else is going to polish off your entire caramel mocha stock?” All she heard was a sharp laugh as he walked away. Chase had been dubbed by the regulars as the “caretaker” and Kat had always understood why. He had an impulsive need in him to make sure that every single customer was well looked after and smiling.

Turning back to her laptop with a sigh, Kat realized that her battery had finally decided that she wasn’t going to be writing anything worth while and died. Contemplating how to tell her teacher that her fish, had eaten her homework. Kat admitted defeat.

 Stepping heavily into her bedroom, she dropped face first onto her bed, exhausted. Her mom was out doing yoga and James was at the movies with some friends. She was alone. It was quiet again. She figured that some music would fix that problem at least. She fumbled with her phone, her body like lead, eventually she managed to find the play button and soft melodies filled the silence. She could have fallen asleep then and there but she knew she had to plug in her computer and try to get some work done. Even if it was just a rough draft. Problem was, she had no motivation to move. Eventually, hunger won over and she got up. Fiddling with the charger, she managed to plug in her laptop and left it to scavenge for food. She returned twenty minutes later with three slightly stale pop tarts and some milk. Attempting to dislodge pop tart from the roof of her mouth, she dropped unceremoniously into her desk chair. Once again in front of her crappy titled blank canvas. Only…it wasn’t blank. Gaping like her fish, Kat stared at the computer screen, unmoving.

There on the screen was fifteen pages of short story. She read through the pages, trying to remember writing any of this. She couldn’t. The entire document had a consistent flow and it read smoothly. A well-crafted plot, clear, definitive details, characters that seemed relatable and a decent conclusion. It seemed to be about a girl having trouble writing an assignment for English class, who ended up whisked away to another universe similar but different than the one she had left behind. All through the back room of her favorite coffee shop.  It even included Kat’s signature reference to pears, which she always included into her stories because Billy Coleman had dared her once in eighth grade that she couldn’t reference a fruit during her persuasive argument essay assignment.

Kat couldn’t believe it. Her story was finished, except she hadn’t finished it… Hell she hadn’t even started it. She had been worried about this project for weeks because it was the replacement project to her final exam. Every other assignment she’d had all year had been handed in on time and fully completed. This one had terrified her due to the sheer size and depth of it. She had never done anything of this size before. Usually with her writing, she got in, wrote a few pages and got out again. It worked best for her that way. It was part of the reason she had been having such a tough time with the project, she didn’t know how to keep going. Yet here it was, fully completed with her name in the top corner. Still utterly bewildered and slightly scared she would get caught for magical plagiarism, she printed two copies of the story and emailed one to her teacher just in case.

Kat frowned suddenly, the title had been altered only slightly.

“Coffee shops, and Their Caretakers.”

She thought immediately of Chase but she couldn’t figure out how he had done it. She knew she had to speak to him before she made any assumptions, of course that didn’t mean that she wasn’t completely freaked out by the whole thing. Sighing slightly, Kat lifted her phone to check the time. White numbers glared at her from the overly bright screen, 10:30. “Late enough for bed I guess.” she murmured, closing the laptop with a resounding click.

      It was the slamming of the front door that woke her. James must’ve just left. Groaning, Kat reached blindly in the general direction of her phone. 9:02 glared back at her from the too bright screen. “Shit!” She practically flew out of bed and across the room. She had to talk to Chase before opening at 10 so he wouldn’t get distracted. Though she knew Chase often unlocked the door before officially opening in case some of the local homeless population wanted somewhere warm to sit for awhile. She also knew about the hot chocolate he offered

them, payed for out of his own pocket so Regan wouldn’t know.  Throwing on clothes, grabbing her phone and laptop bag, Kat ran for the SkyTrain platform.

      She burst into the blessedly still closed shop with a gasp. “Chase, I need to-” she stopped cold at the sight before her. Two large men in suits stood in front of the counter. Something was off about them though. She studied them blankly. Suddenly she saw it, they were shimmering! It wasn’t Edward Cullen in twilight (thank god). It was more like the one of the holograms from Star Wars. Chase was facing the shiny suit guys from behind the counter, a dishtowel thrown over his shoulder. The men turned upon hearing her entrance. “Hey, your business is with me not her” Chase stated in a cold, sharp tone she had never imagined he possessed. “Chase what-”

“You need to go Kat.” He cut her off.

“No, I’m not just going to leave you here with these goons.” Her spine straightened in defiance as she glared at him, though terror spread through her veins.

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” He replied, finally meeting her gaze. There was fear in those green eyes she knew so well and that scared her more than any thugs could.

“Whatever this is about.” She stepped forward hands raised slightly. “Let me help you fix it.”

“These matters are none of your concern little girl.” One of the suits finally spoke, his tone empty.

“He’s my friend, that makes this my concern.” she shot back, hoping she sounded braver than she felt. Both suits turned their full attention her and neither one saw Chase reach for the coffee can tip jar. Without warning he swiped it off the counter toward the floor. As it fell he vaulted the counter and dove to the left. The tip jar shattered at feet of the suits. Shards of glass flew in all directions and Kat stepped back, shielding her face with her arms. Chase didn’t hesitate as he ducked between the distracted men, and ran right at her. “Run!” he grabbed her hand as he bolted for the door.  He pulled her out the door and into the crowd on the street.

    He finally slowed a few minutes later in a needle-littered alley that smelled heavily of marijuana and garbage, which were probably not the only things in the large city dumpster beside her.  She turned to him once she could breathe without choking. “What the hell was that?! Who were those guys and why were they glowing?” She demanded, glaring hard at him.

He studied her for a moment, stepping back slightly to lean against the gray brick of the wall across from her. Eventually he spoke, his tone even. “Those men aren’t from here, the rest you wouldn’t believe if I told you. Or you would and I’m pretty sure that would be worse.”

“Try me.” She jumped up to perch on the closed dumpster lid and raised an eyebrow. Finally calm enough to want answers.

He regarded her carefully. “Why did you come to see me this morning?”

He was avoiding the question and she knew it, but she would let him have this one. “The story.”

His eyebrows pinched together. “What story?”

“Oh, come on don’t play dumb. The story that you somehow wrote on my laptop.”

He stared at her, a genuinely bewildered look across his features. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. I never wrote any story.”  

She paused, listening to the white noise of traffic and waiting for him to admit he was kidding. Realizing that he was being truthful, she continued. “Then how and why is my assignment finished when I didn’t finish it?” Shaking her head, she met his eyes, looking for any sign of answers. Scratching at the back of his neck, he stepped towards her and gestured to her bag. “You have it with you?” wordlessly she slipped the strap from her shoulder and held it out to him. He sat back in a crouch, balancing on his toes and pulled her laptop from its messy pockets. He held the device against his knee, ensuring that her computer stayed off the sticky, trash covered pavement. She stayed silent as he opened the document and read through it. He swore softly to himself as he finished. “We need to go.” He said suddenly, springing to his feet.

“What?” her eyes widened as he shoved everything back into her bag and started fiddling with his watch. “They know about you. That I care about you at least, and they probably think you know more. We need to get out of here before the bureau finds us.”

“Know more about what?” she shouted, getting angry now. “What bureau? Chase seriously, what the hell is going on?”

“There’s no time. Do you trust me or not?”

“what do you mean do I-”

“Do you trust me” he cut her off again.

She gawked at him, trying to gauge how serious he was. How serious could he possibly be in an alley in Vancouver where nothing ever existed except rats and homeless addicts. She searched his face for the hint of a laugh trying to escape. She found nothing but a sort of pleading worry on his face, that was the reason she agreed then and there. “Ok.”

“Ok?” he seemed stunned.

“yes, now before I change my mind, what do you need me to do?”

“Just stand back and don’t scream.” He threw a smirk over his shoulder as he spun to face the wall he had leaned on.

“why would I scream?” She hopped from the dumpster to stand at beside him.

He grinned at her familiar and easy, then raised his wrist toward the gray brick of the wall in front of them. A whiteish beam of light came from his watch as Kat stared in shocked silence. It looked like something from a bad eighties sci-fi movie and it was even stranger when it began to widen into an archway. she stepped back and nearly tripped over her own feet. Chase lowered his arm, but the strange white arch remained. “what the hell is that and what are you not telling me?”

“you said you trusted me.” She could hear the smirk in his voice.

“with getting us away from the suit guys! Not with some freaky portal thing.”

“This is how we get away. Now let’s go.”

“you want me to go through there?” she said in utter disbelief.

“Yes. Now let’s go” he grinned again.

“fine. But this better not end with me losing a hand. Or a head for that matter.”

“Don’t worry I’ve got you.”

She stepped toward the arch tentatively. “So, I just walk through?”

“Yeah. Just relax.”

She inhaled slowly, trying to ease the terror clawing its way up her throat, and reached out to grab Chase’s hand. “If I’m going we’re going together.”

“Ok. Together.”

“Together.” She said again.

He clutched her hand tightly as they stepped through the arch, into what she wasn’t sure.

Kat still wasn’t entirely sure how much she actually understood about what was happening. She was even less sure how Chase was going to explain it. She wondered the most about what this all had to do with the short story from her computer. Kat realized two things at once. Her eyes were still squeezed shut and she still had a death grip on Chase’s hand. “you know you can let go now right?” she heard a soft chuckle pull itself from his chest. Slowly her eyes crept open.  Confusion was the only thing she could feel. She turned slowly on the spot, and she felt her shoulders tense. She turned to look at Chase, noting the amused expression on his face. “Is this some weird prank?”  They were standing in an alley that was nearly identical to the one they had just left. The needles on the pavement, the dumpster to her left, even the gray brick was the same. To Kat, it looked as though they hadn’t moved at all, though she vividly remembered stepping into the freaky, glowing white portal thing.

“This is no prank trust me”

“Then where are we?” She snarked at him “because by the looks of things this, is some sort joke.”

“It’s not a joke I promise. we aren’t in Vancouver anymore.”

Yeah, alright Dorothy, whatever you say” She scoffed at him as his grin widened.

“This place doesn’t have a name. I usually just call it the other.”

“The other what exactly?”

“the other plain, the other dimension, the other universe, you get the point I’m sure.” Chase watched her carefully, possibly waiting for her to laugh or maybe experience a mental breakdown, but she did nothing, just held his eyes. Finally, she dropped his gaze and sighed heavily.

“you don’t believe me huh?” he said before she could tell him as much.

“you really expect me to believe that we’re in some sort of alternate reality?” Her eyebrows raised as she contemplated how to get the hell out of there.

“Not right away no.”

She watched his cheeks flush as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Let me prove it to you. Then I’ll explain what I can.”

“Explain things how?” she was still skeptical. His lips pulled into a smile again and he held out his hand again. “Walk with me.

She had only followed Chase to get away from the shiny suit guys. Now she was apparently trapped in an alternate universe, (not that she believed that) and Chase was giving her no clear answers whatsoever. She knew that she should have second guessed following him, but for some unexpected reason she trusted him. she just hoped she was right and this wasn’t some elaborate kidnapping scheme. She hesitated a moment longer then took his hand and slipped out of the alley onto the street.

 “Ok so I need you to keep an open mind about this.”

“what do you call not screaming and running?” she tried to sound casual, but her voice shook slightly, and she knew he caught it. “shock.” He replied with a wide smirk.

“Ok, ok but seriously start talking.” Just as she said this, a loud shriek pierced the white noise of the city. She stared at sight coming right at her, but no one else seemed to notice. Barrelling down the sidewalk towards her was a man dressed in mud coated chainmail armor wielding a sword and clutching a badly dented medieval style shield. He raised the blade toward her as he approached, pulling his arm back to swing. She opened her mouth to scream. Rough hands tugged her sideways sharply. Chase. The knight in not so shining armor, bolted straight into a familiar looking white arch placed right there in the middle of the sidewalk. She tensed as she looked around, waiting for somebody to point out the anomaly. No one did. They all remained glued to their phone screens or in deep conversation, not a single one even glanced at it. Stepping out from behind her, Chase closed it as quickly as he’d opened the one in the alley. Kat turned to him expectantly once again.  She was starting to think that confused and slightly scared were going to become her default emotions soon. “Ok now you really need to start talking.”

 He pulled her up the rusted, creaky metal staircase without pause. They had ducked into what appeared to be an old warehouse because Chase had told her that the mysterious bureau had surveillance everywhere. She had only believed him after seeing large robot-like droids flying overhead, weaving through the crowd every few minutes. Sliding to the floor, Chase busied himself by picking at a piece of chipped concrete next to him. “What do you want to know first?” He still wasn’t looking at her.

“First off, why were those guys glowing this morning?”

“They work for the bureau and the glowing was because they weren’t disguised by bureau tech, as they usually are in your world. they wanted to be sure I knew exactly who they were. The glowing just happens when agent’s cross through the Keygates. Nobody knows exactly why.”

Who or what, is this bureau you keep mentioning?”

“They’re government organization from this universe, tasked with fixing things like what you saw in the street today.” His answer was honest, that much she could see.

“You mean the really dedicated cosplayer?”

“He wasn’t a cosplayer.” Chase chuckled nudging her leg with the tip of his shoe.

“Ok, but the only other explanation I can come up with is crazy.”

“After all you’ve seen today you still think something is crazy?”

“Ok fair but it is pretty crazy. Just tell me before I embarrass myself.” She reached out to smack his arm, cheeks pink.

“Fine.” He smirked. “The bureau deals with historical inaccuracies due to a broken timeline. People and other things from different periods of history have been accidentally scattered through time and the bureau was formed to fix things.” Chase shrugged “That’s not to say they actually do their job well, but no one can see the inaccuracies anyway, so it really doesn’t matter.”

“Hold up, if no one else can see them then why can I?”

“You’re not this world. You were never put under the veil.”

“The veil is what exactly?”

“A type of technology used to disguise any abnormalities a person might notice. They are enacted when children turn nine. So that no one notices the time paradoxes around them. Kids don’t realize that what they are seeing is real when they’re still so young, and if they do, they get put under the veil early.”

“How are people put under the veil then?”

“Parents take their kids to the doctors for a check-up and doctors inject a microchip with the tech under the guise of mandatory vaccinations. The parents are non-the wiser and the kids each get a dinosaur sticker.”

“That my friend, is some comic book type shit right there. But I have to ask, dinosaur stickers? Seriously?” A disbelieving laugh pulled itself from her throat.

Chase looked affronted. “Hey dinosaurs are cool!”

He grinned at her, oddly pleased. “I suppose you’re right though. It is like something out of a comic book.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Haven’t you been doing that all day?” His eyebrows lifted, lips pulling upwards.

“Don’t be a smartass, I’m serious!” She laughed, swatting at his leg.

“Alright what’s on you mind?”

“The two bureau guys from the shop this morning, what did they want with you?”

Chase froze. His eyes darkened, his hands clenched, and his shoulders curled inward as he hung his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean-” she started.

“It’s fine.” His tone was flat and emotionless as he let a sigh pass his lips. “I’m not from you’re world.

“I think I got that.” She smiled softly, “you weren’t exactly subtle.” His answering smile held a bitter edge.

“No, I suppose not. Anyway, I was an intern in the Charting Department of the bureau five years ago. The guys in Charting map out history so that the field agents know where and when to return each paradox.”

“What does that have to do with you making espresso in downtown Vancouver in another universe?”

“I was getting there, be patient.”

“That’s not a strong suit of mine.”

Chase gave a real smile at that. “No, it really isn’t. anyhow most of history is hard to pinpoint here. Our universes are very much the same save for a few things. One of those being our incredibly poor record keeping throughout time. My father ended up stumbling onto something. I was never told what it was but everyone knew it was big.

“Again, what does that have to do with-” She started to ask, but was cut off again as Chase was lost to the tale he was spinning.

“My father was taken into the higher offices of the bureau a few weeks after he found whatever it was and I never saw him again. I tried looking into his disappearance but never found anything except dead ends and agitated bureau snobs.

“What do you mean?”

I mean that they didn’t need to threaten me for me to understand that asking any more questions would have gotten me killed. There’s something the bureau wants to keep hidden. That’s why they offered me a chance to learn about history in its entirety. By sending me through a gateway to your world, they got me out of the way. They didn’t say it but I knew that if I went through, I wouldn’t be allowed to return to this world, and if I did I would be treated as a hostile and executed.”

“Why hell would you leave everything behind if you knew you couldn’t come back?” Kat asked arms waving madly as she tried to comprehend why he would leave everything he had known.

“There wasn’t anything left here for me.” He snapped, eyes ablaze as he jerked forward and wrapped a hand around her wrist. His grip was tight but not painful and she realized that he was simply desperate for her to understand his actions. She wondered if this was because he didn’t understand them himself.  Chase continued. “Gateway travel was new and exciting, as was more of a chance to study history.”

“Gateways are the white arch things, right?”

“Yes, they are also referred to as Keygates. At the time they offered me the trip there was only one open. We didn’t have the tech for the portable ones yet.” He gestured to his watch.

“If you left before the tech was out, how do you have one?” A wide infectious grin lit up his face. “I got tired of being a rule following sheep destined to do the bureau’s bidding. I intercepted a field agent’s gate and slipped back over. Snagged one while outrunning a few agents after they realized I had returned. Problem is that no one has worked out all the kinks yet so each watch can only open three gates before they need to be replaced.” Chase stopped suddenly a panicked look crossing his features.

“What is it?”  Kat whispered, the look on his face making terror once again claw it’s way up her throat.

He met her eyes, white as a sheet. “I’ve already opened three gates with this one. I can’t get us home.”  

Kat sat stunned until an idea came to her. “you’ve only opened two with that one! One to get us here and one to save my life!” Chase shook his head sadly, “I had to open one to get to your world right after I grabbed this model. So saving your life earlier makes three. I can’t get us home.” His shoulders slumped again and he rubbed his hand over his face. He looked much older in that moment, weary and tired as if all the hope had left him. “If the bureau finds us we’re dead. We can’t run forever.”

“We have to find a way to get home.” Her voice shot from between her lips in a choked sob. The harsh reality of his words settled over her like a blanket of tar. Thick and heavy, suffocating her.

“There isn’t one Kat. Even if we manage to avoid detection, somebody will realize that you’re not from here and report us. So what else do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say that there’s another option. that we’re not just trapped here until the bureau finds us.”

“I don’t think there is.” He shrugged his shoulders as she stared hopelessly back at him.

“What do you suggest then, running from the bureau forever. Never able to relax because they might be just behind us?” She looked up at him expectantly. He paused and she saw an idea cross his face.

“What? What are you thinking?” Brilliant green eyes met hers, and just by that look she knew there was hope for them yet.

“I think our only option is to break back into HQ.”

She stared at him, waiting for the punchline to what had to be the worlds worst joke. Chase just held her gaze. “Your joking.” She scoffed, “Please tell me your joking.”

“I’m serious! They leave the base Gate up all the time. All we need to do is get to it and we’re home free. We wouldn’t need one of the watches!” She could see he wasn’t going to let this go. She knew he was right. She certainly couldn’t come up with a plan to navigate a world she didn’t know. There was no other way. She nodded stiffly. “Alright fine, but if we die in there I’m going to kill you.” She warned him. He laughed lightly, almost seeming to bounce. “I’ll be sure to hold you to that.”  Sighing, she stood and stretched, holding out a hand to pull him up. “So, what’s the plan?” He smiled again, that same comforting smile, and together they got to work.