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threestarsinline · 1 year ago

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Children's Books and Leather Jackets (Part I)

Jason Todd x reader one-shot

Summary: You couldn't love your job more. Or at least, that's what you thought, until Jason Todd started coming into the bookshop every week without fail, like clockwork. And then you form a connection that tilts your whole world on its axis.

Word Count: 13.6K (total of 29.2K)

Category: Lots and lots of fluff. Like, LOTS (plus some mutual pining, idiots in love, slow burn? and friends to lovers, and therefore, what all of that entails, mwah)

Warnings: Jason stealing your heart (and you stealing his)

Author’s note: Well, here's the proof that yes, I was writing hehehe. Anyway, enjoy this monster of a two-part fic, peace and love babes

>Part II

You loved your job. You really truly did. It might seem like a bold statement to make but when you spend your day to day in a quiet, lovely and vintage styled bookshop owned by the most wonderful couple of old people that you have ever met, who also treat you as their own granddaughter, you know that you could have it a lot worse in Gotham. You often forget that they are technically your bosses, or co-workers as they always corrected you when you referred to them as such.

Rose and Jimmy hired you a long time ago now, when they weren’t able to run the bookshop fulltime by themselves anymore due to the rise of popularity of the place (even though the customers were still just a close community of people from the neighborhood). And also because, after decades of running the bookshop, they wanted to finally kind of retire and do a few travels to places they wanted to see or visit their children scattered throughout the country.

So there you were, practically running all by yourself a small but successful business each week.

However, you weren’t bothered at all, it was perfect for you: working alone with no annoying co-workers or stressful deadlines, a flexible schedule since Rose and Jimmy would replace you here and there whenever you needed it and giving you free days out of the blue.

It also didn’t hurt that the job allowed you to stay in touch with the thing that you loved the most: books. Pages, full of stories that could transport you anywhere, to any time. Words, creating characters that became your family and made you laugh while also breaking your heart with their tragedies. And the possibility of sharing all of this with the people who came into the bookshop from all kinds of different backgrounds made it all even better.

Let’s just say that you couldn’t believe your luck when you got this job. Your day to day consisted of, among other things, attending customers, organizing the bookshelves, doing inventory and most of all: reading. There were certain moments of the day in which the shop was quite uneventful so you would seize those moments by doing all the reading that you could.

You really thought that you couldn’t love your job more. But that was until a gorgeous and very mysterious young man with a white streak in his hair started coming every week into the shop and giving you a smile every time that he left.

You got it bad.

And your crush on Jason Todd did nothing but increase. You were sure that that man was going to be the death of you.

The first time that Jason walked into the bookshop you were surprised to say the least. You had never seen him in the shop before yet he walked towards a section in the bookshelves of the back with firm and secure steps.

He came back to the register with three children’s books to check out. That surprised you even more. He certainly didn’t look like the type of person that you would expect to get children’s books. He had a rough appearance with his tall frame, dark hair and (fake) leather jacket.

But he was nothing but polite as he greeted you and handed you his bookshop card.

The shop also acted as a library with several books, Rose and Jimmy having implemented the idea after there was an attack at the public library that left the place in reforms for months.

It also allowed the people who couldn’t buy books that regularly to still be able to have new books since you only had to pay for the card when you first got it and pay the small fee for the membership every two months. Or every month if you wanted more perks like extended loans or not having a limit on the amount of books allowed to be checked out.

Most of that money was also directly donated to different causes in Gotham like orphanages and homeless shelters. The community loved Rose and Jimmy for all of that, it was like they were their guardian angels, some customers had told you that they were godsent.

As you proceeded to scan the books that the mysterious young man had brought you, you realized that his card was fairly new and came to the conclusion that Rose must have given it to him the week before, when you had your free day.

“Do you have The Rainbow Fish? I tried to look for it but I couldn’t find it.” He spoke up and you looked up at him, surprised once more, since most people either loved or hated that book.

“Uhm. If it’s not on the shelf, it must have been checked out. Let me see.” You looked it up on the computer. “Yeah, someone took it a few days ago. We should have it by next week, I can keep it in reserve for you if you’d like.” The information seemed to please him since his face lighted up and he let out a sigh of relief.

“That would be great, thank you.”

“No problem. Have a nice day.” You gave him back the books and his card and as you looked at him you realized that he had a very nice smile. You wondered if he would come back often to the bookshop.

“You too.” He said as he opened the door.

And in fact, he did come back to the bookshop rather often, at least once a week and always looking for children’s books. You were very curious about it since it wasn’t very common to see a man like him taking so many children’s books with him.

You couldn’t help but speculate, maybe he was close with kids in his family or maybe he did some kind of volunteering. Either way, you weren’t going to ask, it was out of place and you didn’t know him.

Then, he started checking out other books, this time fiction and most of all classic literature. He sometimes even bought the ones that really brought out his attention. He would always strike up friendly conversation with you as he came to the counter with new books to buy or check out, asking you about some book or asking you for recommendations.

On your most brave days, not really knowing what you were doing, you would even make a comment about the books that he was taking with him and he answered you with enthusiasm, commenting on them with you.

Soon, you were on a first name basis with him and something similar to a friendship blossomed between you two. You started giving snippets of each other's lives, you telling him about a show that you were watching that you really liked or him telling you about one of his siblings’s latest shenanigans.

Jason coming into the shop became something that you looked forward to and Rose and Jimmy, who some days spend the day in the shop helping you out, also saw how close you two were becoming.

Jason even befriended them too and the owners soon treated him like a grandson just like they had done with you so long ago. Jimmy sometimes shoved in his hand his famous homemade cookies and Rose tried to give him a discount for the books that he bought but Jason, like always, refused to accept it.

“What? You’re supposed to leave them inside, it’s on the delivery contract.” You add frustrated.

“Whatever you say. Not my problem.” The new delivery man doesn’t even look at you as he recklessly puts the last of the boxes of new book orders on the sidewalk.

Looking at the now damaged box you grimace. You really hoped that the books inside were okay. They were like your babies.

The man takes his cigarette out of his mouth and puts it out on top of one of the boxes knowingly, looking you dead in the eyes as if challenging you to say something else.

You know that starting a confrontation would get you nowhere, it would be better to file a complaint later that you know would have consequences for him since the delivery service and the bookshop had always had a trusting relationship.

So, knowing to pick your battles, you put on a smile and thank him. The man seems surprised at that, surely used to having excuses to play the bully. He just huffs, gets on the truck and leaves. You nod to yourself proudly, you won. But your small, triumphant moment ends as soon as you see the large number of boxes that you now have to carry inside on your own.

Oh, how you missed Charlie.

Charlie was the delivery man before he retired. It had been his job for more than fifty years and even now he was as strong as ever and he had always helped you with the boxes and made you laugh with his adventures from his younger years.

You always gave him a cup of coffee from the machine in the small back room that worked as a break room as he tried to set you up with his grandchildren. Telling you how amazing they were and how one of them was about to become a doctor.

“I’m sorry, Charlie. I’m sure they’re great.” You would always tell him. Because they did sound nice but none of them lived in Gotham. Charlie then would fake a disappointed sigh but the crinkles of a smile around his eyes would always appear.

“Well, let me know if you change your mind, sweetie.” A pause. “Though you should forget about trying here, there isn’t anyone worthy in this godforsaken city.” He would joke.

“Except you, Charlie.” You’d say brightly while winking at him jokingly. And then he would laugh the way only one can when they are satisfied with their life and as happy as they can be, something very rare.

“Don’t let Mary hear you, I know she doesn’t look like it but she can throw a punch.” His eyes would shine with love as he mentioned his wife.

“I don’t doubt it.” You’d answer.

You are brought out of your memories when a voice calls your name.

“Y/N, hi.” You turn to see Jason and you can't help the immediate smile that makes its way across your lips.

“Hi. How are you?”

“I’m good. I was just about to go in when I saw you out here. What’s all of this?” He looks around at all the boxes that the pedestrians were avoiding.

“Delivery day.” You say as you take one of the boxes in your arms. His eyes widen. With that funny expression on his face he looked cute, which made him even more handsome than usual. It wasn’t even fair.

Focus, Y/N.

“And you always do this alone?”

“No, the new delivery guy is just an idiot. Charlie always helped me.”

“Charlie?” He raises an eyebrow as he too grabs a box from the floor.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m helping you.” He replies without hesitation, you shake your head.

“I can’t let you do that, you’re a customer.”

“It’s no problem. Plus, this way you will finish this earlier and you can recommend me another book after the heartbreak that you gave me with the last one.”

“Sorry.” You say, trying to contain a giggle. He narrows his eyes at you.

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not.” You confess, this time laughing freely.

You didn’t know it but Jason thought that you looked beautiful. Even more so than some days, if that was even possible, with the wind carrying your laugh to him and rustling your hair. God, he was in deep.

“So, are you going to let me help you or not?”

“Fine.” You finally comply.

And as you two enter the boxes he repeats his question from earlier. “Well, who’s Charlie?”

“Oh, just the best delivery old man you will ever meet.” You answer, your affection for the man clearly present in your voice.

“Do you collect them?”

“What?” You ask confused.

“Grandparents, old people. You have your own grandparents, Rose, Jimmy and now I learn about this Charlie. Do you collect them?” You smile at his comment. Truth was, he had a point.

“Well, I guess you could say that. In fact, now that I think about it, most of my friends are old people. I mean, it kind of makes sense, my perfect Friday night is staying at home reading with a hot chocolate.” For a moment silence settles between you and you worry that you might have overshared and that you were creeping him out.

“You’re an old soul.” He finally says. And the way that he does so makes you stop, like he admires you for it, as if he likes the peace that comes with such a statement.

“Maybe.” You reply, resuming your step.

“I wish I could do that.” You arch an eyebrow. “Stay at home at night during the weekends and just relax.” He adds.

“Why’s that?”

“I work nights.”

“Oh. It must be hard.”

“Yeah, sometimes it is.” After saying that his gaze gets lost, as if for a moment he wasn’t there with you anymore, but deep into his thoughts and memories.

“Do you have any? Grandparents, I mean.” You say to distract him and bring him back.

“Just one, Alfred. Although he is in more the middle of being a father and a grandfather. He raised me along with Bruce.” As soon as he says that, you know that he is just as surprised at himself as much as you are at the confession since it is by far the most personal thing that he had ever shared with you.

It is also clear that there was a lot of history behind that statement. It seems a serious matter and the other times that you two talked, he mostly kept it lighthearted with you.

The mysterious man that had first entered into the bookshop had let you see a crack in him. He trusts you. Or at least, he was beginning to do so in a more personal way. You only feel lucky that you are being able to get closer to him.

You sense how his instinct to flight was about to strike, clearly not used to this kind of situation and being awkward about how to manage it. So, you decide to change the topic, in what you think is a smooth way, to relax the ambience and to selfishly see if you could keep him at your side just a little bit longer.

“Well, I can share Rose and Jimmy with you then. As long as you don’t steal my spot as their favorite bookshop grandkid.” Just as you finish talking you see him visibly relax, his tense shoulders acquiring a more loosen stance.

Then, almost unnoticeably, a small smile forms on his lips and another one makes its way to your own.

“Deal.” He ends up saying.

After you both bring in all the boxes, and you check them into the inventory, you open them to put the books in the correspondent shelves. You turn to thank Jason for the help but he's already passing you some of the books for you to place them.

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do this. You already did too much.”

“Nope. I’m not leaving.” He just hands you the books in his grasp and grabs some more. You stand there stunned. Where did this gorgeous kind man come from?

“Okay. At least let me give you a coffee.” You go to the break room and not even a moment later, after quickly asking him how he liked it, not even giving him the option to refuse it, you return with a cup in your hands. He whispers a thank you and when you hand it to him, his fingers so lightly graze yours, making your breath hitch in your throat.

“You don’t want one?” He asks, seeing that you had only brought a single cup.

“Oh, I don’t like coffee much.” He nods and then you get to work, looking at the books, classifying them and ordering them.

Jason keeps passing them to you and sipping the coffee in the comfortable silence. He’s glad that you’re so concentrated because that way you won’t notice how entranced he is with you. He watches you and just by your movements he knows that you’re in your element. It was clear that you enjoyed what you did.

At some point, you start humming a repertoire of the songs from Beauty and the Beast, probably without realizing it. Jason doesn’t mention it, knowing that most likely you would become ashamed and stop.

So, Jason lets the moment pass by, your company and the peaceful atmosphere of the bookshop making a warm feeling wash over him. Making him feel safe and relaxed. Something that didn’t usually happen to him, but that being in the bookshop and in your presence, always made him feel that way.

When he eventually left, you didn’t even realize that he had done so without taking any book with him.

“Hey.”

The sudden voice makes you stumble on the ladder that you were on to return a book to its place in one of the top shelves. You know that there is nothing that you can do to prevent your fall but still in a hopeful attempt, you drop the book that was in your hand to the floor, and extend your arms to try and gain some balance.

All of this happens in milliseconds and even then, you have time to exclaim “Jesus!” from the surprise, preparing yourself in any way you can for your imminent fate.

However, just as fast as it all happened, a hand settles on your waist to stabilize you and another one grips the ladder to stop its wobbling. And just like that, you’re back on your feet again. You look down and there he is.

Your knight in shining leather jacket.

“Not exactly but close enough.” Jason can’t help replying to your previous exclamation. It had never crossed his mind before but now that he thinks about it, he realizes that he has something quite peculiar in common with the biblical figure. With all the ‘been dead done that’ stuff. The weird coincidence and his own comment making him chuckle to himself.

You also huff out a small laugh, not at his comment, that you couldn't possibly fully understand, not yet, but at your own clumsiness. Laughing being almost always your immediate reaction whenever you fell or, like in this case, almost did.

“Oh my god, thank you.” You say relieved with a thankful smile on your face.

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry actually, you almost died because of me.”

“No, don’t worry, you just surprised me. Plus, me and high places have never been a great combination.” He chuckles at your comment and you smile in return.

Much to your disappointment, he lets go of your waist, but it doesn’t last long as he holds out his hand for you to help you come down from the ladder. You know that he’s just being polite and that you should finish what you were doing on the ladder but after the brief scare you’d like to put your feet on firm ground again for even just a small bit.

That, and the fact that you would take any chance that you could get to be close to Jason and hold his hand. Honestly, who wouldn’t?

So, you accept his hand and, just to be even more safe and avoid any possible risk of course, not for any other reason, you support yourself on his shoulder on the way down. He leads you to the ground with a small smile on his face and then sadly, lets go of your hand.

You miss the contact instantly.

“There we go.” He says, so low, that it’s almost like a whisper.

You take a moment to address him and look him over, the feel of his strong shoulder under your hand still tickling your fingers at your side. And for a split second, just a tiny little one, you wish that you had actually fallen from the ladder so that he could have caught you in his arms.

Damn it.

Now that the idea had occurred to you, you would think about it for days.

Jason leans down to retrieve the book that you had dropped earlier and with an ease and balance that you could only dream of, he returns it to the open spot that you had been reaching for on the top shelf. It makes you both jealous and in awe of the way in which he can almost effortlessly do so. Even though even he had to step onto the first step of the ladder to reach it.

Stupid tall attractive people.

Jason enters the bookshop excited to see you. He hadn’t been able to come by for a few days and he did not like it one bit. Coming to see you were the best parts of his week, because if he was being honest, the books themselves had stopped being a motivator a long time ago.

Probably the second or third time that he had visited the bookshop.

He was just thankful that you didn’t seem to notice that you were the main reason that he came by. You would probably think that he was being creepy. However, much to his dismay, Rose and Jimmy were very much aware of how much he liked you.

They always had that knowing smile whenever they saw you two talking and they definitely knew about the insane amount of books that he checked out weekly as an excuse to see you. Books that were impossible for him to read from one visit to another in such a short amount of time and that just spent several days stacked in his house.

Thankfully, for the moment, they had never said something to you or directly commented it to him either, as they wisely knew that you two needed to take things at your own pace.

He closes the entrance door behind him and his brows furrow in confusion not seeing you behind the counter, where he would usually find you reading or taking care of a customer. Maybe you’re in the bathroom, doing something in the break room or organizing the shelves.

But then, Rose emerges from the break room behind the counter greeting him.

Oh.

A slight feeling of disappointment settles in him. It’s not that he didn't like Rose, he really enjoyed chatting with her, he just really wanted to see you. And if Rose was here maybe you weren’t working today. But it couldn’t be, you always worked Thursdays.

Not that he had paid any attention to your schedule or anything.

Then it suddenly occurs to him that maybe you have taken the day off. He’s as happy for you as much as he’s disappointed. Everyone knew that you worked too much for your own good.

Still, the selfish part of him wanted to spend just a tiny little bit of time with you.

“Good afternoon, Rose. How are you?” Jason finally greets back.

“I’m good, sweetie, just checking day. And you?”

“Glad to hear it. I’m fine too. Just came in looking for…” Damn it, he didn’t even prepare an excuse of a book. A few seconds trail on and Jason still doesn’t say anything.

“For a…” He had been caught like a deer in headlights. He avoids Rose’s intense gaze that was still set on him waiting for him to say something. This is so embarrassing. And he was supposed to be one of the daring vigilantes of Gotham?

Pathetic. That’s what he was.

He could face villains but he couldn’t come up for an excuse to see you. Jason clears his throat.

“For a…” Jason’s starting to worry that he has entered some sort of self loop and is about to facepalm himself for his own stupidity when Rose’s lips break into a wide grin and she chuckles. She was messing with him. Like always, she definitely knew what exactly he was in there for. Jason smiles and lets out a sigh of relief.

“She’s on her break.” Rose says, nodding his head in your direction, towards the shelves.

“Thank you.” Jason turns to go find you when Rose speaks up once again.

“Oh and, by the way, since you’re on it, can you get her for me please? I want to tell her something and I’m about to meet Jimmy for lunch.”

“Of course.” He answers while Rose gives him a thankful smile.

Jason starts to pace through the bookshelves, looking for you, but you’re nowhere to be found.

Until he passes by between a couple of them and sees something on the floor. He takes a couple of steps back and there you are, sitting on the floor with books about to be shelved, he supposes, and a book in your own hands that must have had you so immersed and distracted that you hadn’t heard him come in, nor his conversation with Rose.

A fond smile makes an appearance on his lips. He loved seeing you like this, in the place that you loved most, doing what you loved most, lost in a book. He realizes that he would never get tired of that sight. Still, it’s an intimate and private moment for you and he doesn’t want to linger too much on it and intrude. Plus, Rose was looking for you.

“Hi.” He says softly as to not startle you, after the scare from the last time. Which by the way, had been replaying in his head over and over again, the electrifying feeling of your hand in his forever engraved in his mind.

“Y/N.” He tries.

Nothing. That book really had you in a trance. He huffs a small laugh and takes a couple of steps closer to you, hands in his pockets.

“Earth to Y/N.” You let out a small hum to acknowledge him but your gaze is still fixed on the ink. He’s about to call you again when you finally get out of your trance and steal a quick look to see who had talked to you.

Your eyes widen like plates, probably realizing that you had spent too long reading on the floor. You quickly get up and Jason notices how even in your distressed state, you close the book with care and slightly organize the mess around you, your hands treating each book carefully.

He wonders if you would treat him with the same carefulness and affection. For a split second, he even wishes it was him that your hands were treating and not books. Jealousy over books. Huh, that was new.

He also couldn’t help but wonder if you were that way with everything. If even when you weren’t at your best, or going through something, treating things, people, the world around you with care and kindness came as second nature to you, sometimes without even realizing it. He had a feeling that the answer was yes.

And once again, he realizes how much the dark part of his life clashed so much with yours. But before he can get too much into his own head, once more, just like several times before, you bring him back.

“Oh my god, Jason, I’m so sorry.” You start, taking the few steps that separated you from him. “I don’t know how it happened, I swear. God, were you waiting a lot?” He doesn’t like the worry settled on your features one bit, like always, making him feel uneasy. Like the other previous few times that he has seen you like this, he makes it his mission and his top priority to change it.

“No, not at all. Don’t worry.” You nod while your tense posture finally seems to relax a bit. “You okay?” He adds.

“Yeah, yeah. I just… Got a little bit distracted.” You say as you retrieve the books from the floor and your head motions towards them. Jason smiles at you, knowing the feeling of being so engrossed in a book that everything else faded away.

“Rose was looking for you by the way. She was about to head out to meet Jimmy.”

��Oh, right.”

When you both go back towards the counter and you take your usual spot behind it, Rose is already putting her coat on and about to leave.

“I’m so sorry Rose, I got myself carried away and…” You start but Rose stops you with a shake of her head.

“It’s okay, honey. Just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving now.” You let out a sigh of relief. You really have the best bosses in the world.

“Okay, have a nice lunch.”

“Thank you, darling. Goodbye kids.”

“Goodbye.” Both you and Jason say. And just before Rose closes the door behind her, she winks at you and you feel your cheeks warm at the unspoken insinuation. Enjoy your time alone. You steal a quick look at Jason, hoping that he hasn’t seen Rose’s wink and sigh in relief when you see that he’s already turned towards you, facing away from the door.

Though, now that you think about it, you could swear that it was Jimmy the one that was supposed to meet Rose at the bookshop today, not the other way around. That woman was too smart for her own good.

“Well, what can I do for you today?” You ask Jason once you turn towards him.

“I…” Quick, Jason, think. “Could you extend my loan for the book from last week?” Nice save.

“Sure.” As you click on the computer, Jason takes a look at the stack of books that you had brought back with you from the shelves and that you have left on the counter.

“What got you so entranced back there?”

“Oh.” You say and you turn to the stack of books. Your eyes shining with excitement now. “We just got these new Jane Austen hardcovers and they’re just so gorgeous, look.”

You take the one on top of the stack, the one that you had been reading, and hand it to him. Pride and Prejudice. He takes it from your hands, your fingertips slightly grazing one another’s. Jason looks at the cover that feels soft yet sturdy in his hands. It was simple with just the title of the book and Austen’s name but the intricate and beautiful designs that decorated it made it, as you had said, a gorgeous edition.

“Wow. These are great.” He says with childlike wonder lacing his tone. He opens the book and his eyes skim over the pages and passages that he has read so many times before.

“I know, right? I was just admiring them one last time before putting them on the shelves and I just opened one to read a couple of paragraphs but next thing I know, I was ten pages in. I swear I didn’t mean for it to happen.” You confess. Jason laughs softly.

“Don’t worry, that’s just the Jane Austen effect. I get it, it happens to me too.” You can’t help but stare at him for a few seconds, blinking slowly, processing the newfound information. Thankfully, he’s still engrossed in the book.

This man likes Jane Austen? Is he trying to kill you or something? As if you couldn’t like him even more.

“You like Austen?” You ask, still a bit in disbelief, though it doesn’t really surprise you, since from the very beginning you had noticed how he was a very cultured person and how he had a great taste in books.

How sexy is that? To you, very. Very sexy.

“I love her. Basic, I know, but this one’s my favorite.” He answers as he puts the book back on top of the stack. As if anything in him could be basic, as if you don’t find him to be one of the most fascinating persons that you have ever met in your entire life.

“It’s not basic, it’s great. I love it too but I think that I prefer Northanger Abbey.” You pause. “Or Persuasion.” You pause again. “Or Emma.” You pause to think once more and Jason looks at you amused, loving how passionate you are when talking about it. “Or… Okay well, I love all of them! I can’t choose just one.” Jason smirks.

“Perfectly valid and understandable answer.” He says. You both look at each other for a second too long and then his phone starts ringing, breaking the moment. You give a slight jump and busy yourself going back to finish renewing his loan on the computer.

But to your surprise, he just takes it out of his pocket, looks quickly at the screen and directly hangs up. You raise an eyebrow but continue with your task, a small smile making its way across your lips, flattered that he prefers to keep talking to you rather than picking up his phone.

“Well, done. You have another week to…” You’re interrupted when his phone rings again. Jason huffs annoyed and silences it again.

“Sorry.” He says. You shake your head.

“It’s okay.” The phone rings a third time. It must be really important. “Though I think you should take it.” Jason looks at his phone in his hands, then at you, back at his phone, and then at you again, still doubtful, but you nod encouragingly. He seems torn and undecided, but he finally nods to himself and gives you an apologetic look before answering.

“What?” He says annoyingly, taking a couple of steps away from the counter as you pretend to check things on the computer and try (and fail) not to eavesdrop.

He’s going to kill Steph. He really is. She never calls him and now there is something so important that she has to call him three times and interrupt his talk with you? It better be good.

“Heyyy. Jaybiiird. My bestieeee, the best vigilante in Gotham that there is.” Jason can already start to feel a headache forming, he brings a palm to his face and then runs it through his hair. You watch the gesture with envy. How many times had you daydreamed about doing the very same gesture? Probably too many.

“I can’t talk right now.” He quickly glances at you, still at the computer. This is stupid.

“Pleaseeee, I need your help.” At her pleading tone Jason sighs tiredly and pinches his nose, even though he knows that he shouldn’t be listening. With the way that she’s talking it’s probably a stupid favor or something, he would much rather be talking with you.

“Steph, what do you want?”

Steph? At that your head perks up slightly. His girlfriend, maybe? Your shoulders deflate thinking of the possibility. He had never mentioned having one but you also had never asked. Why would you even ask? You’re just friends, or something like that, it would seem like it was coming out of nowhere. As your thoughts keep spiraling and you stare blankly at the screen in front of you, Jason carries on with his conversation.

“You’re going to laugh…” Steph starts.

Jason rolls his eyes, catches your eyes and mouths my sister. You just nod and your spiraling thoughts stop abruptly. Thank god. Although the possibility of him having a girlfriend is still there, now that you don’t have to face it directly, you decide not to linger too much on it. Keeping the thought away and trying to ignore it, just like you had been doing since you met him. That’s a future problem for future you.

Jason changes his phone from one ear to the other as he listens to Steph stumble through her words. If she’s going to keep beating around the bush, he might as well hang up.

“Okay, bye.” He’s about to end the call when Steph speaks up again.

“I lost Damian.” Jason’s eyes widen as he turns to his other side.

“You what?” He whisper-shouts into the phone.

“Okay so, Damian is grounded, okay? Something about driving the batmobile without permission and then…”

“Steph.” Jason warns through gritted teeth, clearly meaning go to the point.

“Okay, okay! So, I’m on babysitting duty alright? And Damian had been talking non stop about this new limited art exposition in the museum that he wanted to go to and that it wasn’t fair that he was grounded and blah blah blah.”

“Okay, and?”

“And… Well, there was this new season of this show coming out today and I just got distracted for a bit and then he kinda… Disappeared?” God. Jason closes his eyes in frustration. His family really knew how to be the most infuriating at the worst of times. He stays silent for a moment mentally cursing them before opening his eyes again.

“Told you you were going to laugh…” Steph repeats at his silence and Jason sighs, making you giggle quietly at the sibling interaction. Jason smiles at the sound.

“So what? Just go to the museum after him.” He finally answers.

“That’s the thing, I am at the museum and I just can’t find him. Damn that kid and his ninja training.” Steph hisses through the line. “Can you come and help me find him please?” He could hear her pouting.

“Why me?”

“You’re the only one that picked up.” And now he was sure that she was smiling innocently but full of mischief. Jason huffs. As soon as he saw Steph’s name on his screen he knew that he shouldn’t have picked up.

“No.” He says.

“Come on, pleaseeee. I’ll owe you one. If I don’t find Damian I will be the one that’s grounded next.” Honestly, who had put her on babysitting duty? Who had even grounded Damian to begin with? It was impossible to try and control that kid.

Damn it, Bruce.

“Bruce can’t ground you.”

“Oh yes, he can. I’m sure he’ll find a way. He’ll make me go supervise Condiment King or something! Please, Jason, please." Jason sighs. “Please, please, please, please. I’ll do all the research that you need for a week!” Mmhm. That’s interesting. That would certainly leave him with more time to see you.

“A month.” He counteroffers and sees you smiling at his bickering, making his insides feel giddy. Steph groans.

“A month? You know that’s too much.”

“Do you want my help or not?” Silence.

“Arrrg, okay, okay! Well, we’ll talk about it, now, can you please come here?”

“With pleasure.” He says amused. Even though his family can be infuriating at times, he had to admit that they had their good moments and he enjoyed annoying them just as much as they did him.

“You’re so arrogant, oh my god. I pity whoever decides to put up with you.” Steph says and Jason can’t help but steal a glance in your direction.

“Just remember that you owe me a big one.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just come here. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”

“Okay.” Before he hangs up, he hears Steph speak up again.

“Hey Jaybird.” Jason hums. “Thanks.” He rolls his eyes playfully.

“Bye.”

“And say hi to Y/N for me-!” He hangs up before you can hear Steph’s loud teasing voice. He knew that talking about you in front of his family wasn’t the best of ideas but he just couldn’t help it. You occupied his thoughts a lot more than what he was willing to admit.

“Sorry.” He says as he approaches the counter once again and puts his phone in his pocket.

“It’s okay. Sibling drama then?” You ask playfully as you raise an eyebrow.

“You have no idea. It was Steph, she used to date one of my brothers. Tim.” You look at him confused.

“I thought you said she was your sister?”

“Yeah, I mean- it’s… It’s complicated. That was how we met her but she’s like a sister to me now.”

“I see.”

“Sorry, we’re quite a mess.” He chuckles awkwardly, running his hand through his hair and the white streak once again. The movement, like always, has you hypnotized. It should be illegal. Jason thinks that he should just stop talking, now he has weirded you out with his stupid and crazy family.

“Aren’t we all?” You say softly as you tilt your head in the cutest of ways. Honestly, the more that he told you about his family, the more you realized how peculiar they were. But they seemed really close to each another, which was what really mattered.

“Yeah… I guess so.” He trails on as he gets lost in your eyes again. You nod and he shakes out of his daze. “Well, I should get going. Duty calls.” He adds as he nods towards the door and taps his fingers against his side of the counter nervously.

“Okay. Hope everything goes well with whatever it is.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you next time.” Something about the security of knowing that he will always come back, and that there will always be a next time with him, raises goosebumps on your skin.

“Yeah. Next time.” You both look at each other as he walks towards the door.

Something lingers in the air, as if both of you want to say something else but do not dare to do so. Do not dare to cross the invisible line in your strange friendship usually defined by the safety of the counter that almost always stayed between you two in your interactions.

Jason grabs the door handle and holds it open for a moment as you speak one last time.

“See you soon then?” It’s a stupid sentence, already remarking what you both have already said, but it’s as good of an excuse as any to make him stay just a few seconds longer.

“See you soon.” Jason nods smiling at you and then, the door closes behind him.

You’re reading at the counter when the bell on top of the door jingles. You look up, hoping to find green eyes but are met with a stressful boy looking around the shop. As if in his distressed state, he can’t find you behind the counter.

“Hi.” You say as you bookmark your page. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Oh. Hi. Yeah.” He says as he quickly approaches you. He shakes his head to move the hair out of his blue eyes and takes a piece of paper out of his pocket. His hunched posture and shaky mannerisms tells you that he hasn’t caught a break in a while. This poor boy needs a rest.

“I’ve been looking for this book everywhere and I can’t find it anywhere. It’s my boyfriend’s birthday tomorrow, he loves mysteries and conspiracies and I need to find it. My brother told me that this is the best bookshop in all of Gotham and that you can find anything here.” He rambles as he gives you the piece of paper. You take the paper and look at the boy as he slightly bounces on his feet looking around the shop.

You raise an eyebrow. A distracted boy that seems to always be running and a brother that recommends the bookshop? Sounds quite familiar.

“Tim?” You can’t help but guess, though you’re still a bit unsure. Jason had mentioned him a few times and how his younger brother always seemed to be doing a hundred things at once. At that his bouncing stops abruptly and finally looks at you for more than a few fleeting seconds, suspicious of how you know his name.

“Sorry, hi. I’m Y/N. Jason comes here often and has mentioned you a few times.” You say nervously. The information seems to take a little bit longer than usual to register due to his distressed state but then when he finally recognizes you, his alert posture relaxes.

“Oh, Y/N! Hi, yes. I’m Tim. Nice to meet you.” He says as he holds out his hand and you shake it. “Jason talks about you too.” He adds. You feel your cheeks go warm.

“Well, nice to meet you too. Are you okay? You seem a bit stressed.”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just that I’ve been putting together this party for my boyfriend and the gift is being so hard to find it’s giving me headaches. Please tell me that you can help me.”

“Of course.” You say. “But first, take a deep breath.” He looks at you as if he doesn’t know what you mean. “You need to rest and relax a bit if you want to make it to your boyfriend’s birthday tomorrow without dropping from exhaustion.” You nod encouraging him and then take a deep breath yourself so that he can imitate you. Thankfully, he does so after shaking his shoulders to release tension and then stays with his eyes closed, taking a moment.

“Better?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He answers, opening his eyes.

You nod. “No problem. Let’s find that book.” You look at the piece of paper and type in the title and author of the book on the system. It’s a limited edition of a book about the old history of Gotham and thankfully, you have one copy in the storage room. “Got it. I’ll be right back.” Tim sighs in relief as you leave the counter.

When you come back, you bring the book and a cup of coffee from the break room with you.

“This is so that you can get home to rest until tomorrow without dying on the way.” You say as you slide the coffee towards him.

“Oh thanks, but it’s not necessary.” You stare at him, having clearly seen how the idea of coffee almost had him glowing.

“Okay, okay.” He chuckles as he goes to take the coffee but you keep the cup in place.

“Promise that when you get home, you will rest. Do not take anymore coffee so that you can keep organizing things.” Tim looks at you, your firm tone and kind intentions making him clearly see why Jason is so smitten with you. He can also easily see himself trusting you and becoming friends with you.

“Promise.” He says honestly. You nod, letting go of the cup. "If you want more milk or sugar-" You can't even finish the sentence as he shakes his head, having already taken the cup into his hands and taken a sip.

“Mm, not necessary. This is great. Thank you.”

You smile. “You’re welcome. Do you want to wrap the book?”

“Yes, please.” He says.

“The Rainbow Fish? Again?” You say chuckling as Jason puts it on the counter for what probably was the third or fourth time. You really were starting to run out of options wondering why he always checked out so many kids’ books. But it just felt very intrusive to ask, he never said anything more about it either, probably not wanting to talk about it much.

“Yeah.” He says as you scan the book and pass his card on the system.

“I loved this book when I was little.” A nostalgic look on your eyes as you gaze at the cover of the book, remembering the silver scales of the arrogant fish that he had to give away in order to be accepted instead of just being a nicer fish.

The message of the book in the end was good: not think of yourself as superior to others. But there was something about having to give up something that you were proud of and that was special about you in order to be accepted that always felt a little off putting to you when you grew up, especially when being kind could have just resolved everything.

“Though it sure as hell began my people pleasing problems.” You add giggling a bit without thinking. But when what you have said registers, you freeze, hands on the book and blank stare on them, not daring to look up at Jason.

Where the fuck did that come from?

You shut your eyes, praying to whatever was out there to let you die of embarrassment. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You had definitely freaked him out. That’s it. He would walk out of the bookshop and never come back. Why would you even say that? You weren’t thinking, that’s it. It had just slipped. You had become so used to being able to be yourself and talk about everything with Jason that it just felt so easy and comfortable to say whatever was on your mind.

Finally, you decide to sentence your fate and just end with this terribly awkward conversation as soon as possible.

“Sorry.” You say. “I honestly don’t know where that came from.” Jason just chuckles though not in a mocking manner, but in an understanding way.

“Don’t worry, I get it.” He assures you. You look back down, missing Jason’s look of appreciation, loving your honesty and how flustered you were. He found it endearing. “Well, thanks.” He says as he goes to take the book on the counter.

Your whole body then tenses in alarm when you see the state of his hands, which until now, had been hidden in his pockets. Without thinking, once again, (seriously, what was wrong with you today?), you take his hands to take a closer look at them.

Jason lets out a small gasp as you do so and mentally smacks himself for letting you see his wounded knuckles, now him being the one that wanted to die of embarrassment. It was only so much that the gloves of his Red Hood gear could do to protect them.

“What happened?” You whisper, worry etched onto every single one of your features.

Fuck.

How had he been so careless? He should have bandaged them, hidden them better or put make up on them. He just wasn’t used to having someone worry about him and his wounds like you were right now. At his silence, you try again:

“Jason.” Now he was the one avoiding your gaze. But you persist, finally making eye contact with him. “What happened? Are you okay?” He wills himself to get out of his stupor and even though deep down he doesn’t want to, out of the soft touch of your hands too, bringing his own back to his sides.

“It’s nothing. It’s just… I do boxing.” He says as he shrugs his shoulders. “It happens.” You raise an eyebrow, suspicious. It feels like something doesn’t fully add up.

You know that there are things that Jason isn’t telling you. He has made some strange comments before but you always let it go. You know that eventually, if he wants to, when he’s ready, he will tell you. God knows that you have your own things too.

But if there is something that you have learned about your growing friendship with Jason is that you both like to take things at your own pace. Trusting and becoming close with each other slowly but steadily.

Letting time do its work. Not forcing the flow of things. And you like it that way. Life is always everchanging so to have something so solid and safe like what you have with him, you want to treasure it and nurture it. Although all of that of course, doesn’t stop you from worrying about him and wanting to take care of him.

So, you just nod, accepting his explanation, but not without having a little bit of fun.

“I thought that in boxing you were supposed to wear gloves to avoid that very kind of injuries.” You say with a playful smile.

Shit.

Jason wants to facepalm himself. He really seemed to just have one brain cell whenever he was around you. At his lack of response you shake your head.

“Come, let me patch that up at least.”

“Oh, no, no. It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Jason.” You throw him a glance.

“Y/N.” He maintains your stare. Finally, a small smile escapes your lips and you put an end to the staring contest, rounding the counter and taking his hands once again and guiding him to the break room. Allowing yourselves this moment since there aren't any other customers in the store right now. Jason lets you, knowing that in the end, he will never be able to deny you anything.

Once in the break room, you sit him down at a chair by a table and leave for a moment before you return with a first aid kid. You sit down in front of him and look at him softly.

“Can I?” You motion towards his hands. Jason swallows and only finds the courage to nod slowly.

The knuckles are far from being the worst that they have ever been and Jason always tries to take care of them but he had just arrived home from patrol the night before so exhausted that he had only managed to clean them before passing out on his bed. Right now, they’re mostly just reddened with a couple of points in which the skin is broken.

Jason then finds out that he was right. When you take his left hand and start treating the wound, cleaning it again and applying some antiseptic on it, he sees that you treat him with the same care and thoughtfulness that you did with those books all those weeks ago.

Almost as if he was something delicate, something precious. If not more.

The beat of his heart quickens and he wonders if in the silence of the room, you can hear it.

This is the very first time that Jason has been back here, the setting of your interactions always being the open part of the bookshop and this change of scenario makes it seem like something has shifted between you two. Like you weren’t just employee and customer with a friendly relationship anymore but like you have a real friendship and a deeper connection.

The whole time, as you treat his other hand too and then slowly bandage both of them, Jason looks at you. He’s glad that you’re only fixed on his hands because that way he can take all the time that he wants to admire you.

The concentrated look in your eyes, the way that your eyebrows furrow in concentration, how you put a strand of hair that has fallen out behind your ear, and the occasional and very tortuous moment in which you bite your lip in concentration, being extra careful in not hurting him.

And that's when the weight of how much he feels for you falls on him. He was already aware of it before but now is when he can really feel the weight of it all. How what he feels for you is not just an infatuation or a crush, but something deeper that runs beneath his skin, crawling into him, taking root. Settling and making a home there.

“Done.” You whisper. And as you retract your hands from his, Jason wishes that he never had to part from your touch.

You put all the things that you used back into the first aid kit and try not to think about the impulse that you had, but that you thankfully had managed to repress, of kissing his knuckles when you finished bandaging them.

“Be careful, okay?” You say. Jason nods, admiring your work but when you don’t take your eyes off of him he answers:

“Yeah. Promise.” You nod satisfied. Then Jason remembers another promise that he had made. “Tim wanted me to thank you by the way. Bernard loved the book.” He says.

“Oh, that’s right! It was no problem, it was really great to meet him. How was his boyfriend’s party? Bernard’s I guess?” You say excited.

“Tim said it went great. And that thanks to you he didn’t fall asleep during it and was actually able to enjoy it.” You giggle in response when suddenly, Jason’s phone beeps and he takes a quick look. Firefly alert downtown. He jumps out of his seat.

“Sorry, I have to go. Thank you, really.” And faster than a bullet, he’s gone.

You sigh, shaking yourself out from the intimate moment and when you return to the counter, you see that in his hurry, Jason forgot to take The Rainbow Fish with him. You take the book and put it under the counter, keeping it for him for next time.

You’re running some errands when you see two large men crowding a little girl. She can’t be older than six and she’s clutching onto a teddy bear for dear life.

Anger and fear for the little girl rage inside you, it is broad daylight and there are quite a few people on the street, yet everyone seems to carry out their business ignoring the men trying to talk the girl into going with them. You knew how Gotham was but it seemed like the city always found a way to surprise you.

“Come on, your mommy told us to come get you.” You hear one of the men say to the girl as you quickly approach them.

“I don’t have a mom.” The girl manages to say, distrustful. And even though hearing that makes you sad, you admire the girl, you can tell that she’s smart.

“Can I help you?” You hiss as you put yourself between the two men and the girl, putting an arm out to keep her behind you. You see the two men exchange a look, clearly discussing if it is worth it to cause a scene in the middle of the street.

“No. We were just leaving.” One ends up saying, giving a clap to the back of the other, directing them away from you and the girl. As they turn to leave, they try to give one last look to the little girl but you move to block their line of sight.

When they turn the corner at the end of the street, you finally let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the confrontation didn’t escalate to anything more.

You knew you didn’t actually stand a great chance against them physically, and seeing how people were ignoring the situation before, you’re not sure that anyone would have helped you.

Adrenaline is still pumping through your veins as you turn and kneel on the floor to be eye level with the girl, who takes a step back in fear but you hold your hands up, trying to show her how you’re not a threat.

Now that you can see her clearly, you see how scared she really is. She is shaking slightly, still clutching her worn out teddy bear with tears in her eyes. Her clothes aren’t in the best state either and her shoes are two steps more from falling apart. Just by looking at her you can tell that she has to have spent nights on the street.

Your heart breaks. It really was unfair how many unfortunate people and kids lived in such dire situations in Gotham. Of course you knew that there were people trying to change things and do better like the vigilantes or normal people like you, that even if it was in the smallest of ways, always tried to help somehow. You did so by either giving away the clothes that you didn’t use anymore or doing donations whenever you could. But sometimes it still seemed like the bad outweighed the good.

“Hi, honey.” You say in a soft voice to try and calm the little girl. “I’m Y/N. What’s your name?”

She stops backing up against the wall of the building, sniffs and rubs her eyes, before looking at you, deciding whether or not to trust you.

“Lily.” You hear her squeak out. Her grip on the teddy bear relaxes and she starts playing with its ear, still not looking directly at you.

“Hi Lily, it’s very nice to meet you.” You say as you extend a hand to her, wanting to give her some sense of normalcy. She slowly takes it and you give her a soft shake. “You okay?” She nods. “You know Lily, you were very brave standing up to those men.”

“They were bad” She says. You nod. “Jay always says not to trust strangers and much less big scary men.”

“He’s very right. Is he your brother?” Maybe you can help her get back to her family. If you managed to do so, it would be much better than bringing her to the police and then, sadly, most likely than not, forgotten in the foster care system.

“No. A friend. A very good friend.”

“Okay, good. That’s very important.” You look around, trying to see if somebody is looking for her. “Do you live nearby?”

“I think so.” She says shyly, you give her an encouraging look to see if she can give you any more information. “I was chasing a cat but I think that I took a wrong turn.”

“Okay. How about I go with you and try to find your way back?” You say as you stand back up. You’re happy to see that Lily doesn’t look scared anymore. Instead, she looks almost… Excited?

“Yes, please! I don’t want to miss it!” She says as she grabs your hand and starts walking in the direction that you suppose she came.

“Miss what?” You ask, but she’s already telling you everything about her teddy bear, who seems to be Batbear at night, fighting crime and kicking butt like the heroes in Gotham.

Turns out that Lily’s home was thankfully a lot closer than what you had expected. After asking her if she remembered a couple of streets and stores, she was able to find the right way back.

You finally reach an open space between two buildings that seems to work as a playground, with a rusty basket to play basketball on one side and several boxes and crates littering the corners. Several kids run around playing and chasing each other, most of them in the same condition as Lily.

A group of them surround a bench and you hear him before you see him.

“What do you mean Lily’s not here? Where is she?” He’s running a hand stressfully through his hair, looking around worriedly.

“Jason?” You ask transfixed.

Jason locks eyes with you and freezes, just as surprised to see you as you are to see him.

“Y/N.” He says breathlessly.

“Jay!” Lily’s excited voice filters through the air. You feel her dropping your hand and Jason’s eyes turn to her, relief washing over them. As she runs towards Jason, she extends her arms and he scoops her up and settles her on his waist effortlessly, Lily hugging his neck.

“Lily! Oh my god, where were you? We were all so worried. You’re always here when I arrive.” He says to her.

“I know, I'm sorry! Some bad men tried to take me. But don’t worry, Y/N helped me! She’s a badass!” Jason’s eyes widen at the new information and you see something in them that you had never seen before, a kind of anger that promises danger.

But as soon as that look comes, it disappears, and it makes you wonder if it was ever really there in the first place. He then looks at you, thankful but with a small tint of worry. You just give him a reassuring nod, telling him that everything is okay.

“Why don’t you go with the rest for a bit? I’ll be right there.” He says as he turns to Lily once more.

“Okay!” He settles her back down and she runs off to the other kids.

Jason approaches you quickly in a few strides, it feels like he wants to touch you, take your hands to make sure that you’re okay but he stops himself.

“You okay? What happened?”

“Yeah. I’m okay, don’t worry.” You tell him what happened and you can see how the anger returns to him in the way that he clenches his fists. “But we’re fine and they left so that’s all that matters.” You conclude.

“Where was it?” He asks firmly. You tell him the street where it all happened and Jason seems deep in thought for a moment, like searching for something in his mind. When he finally finds it, he nods resolutely as if he just made a mental note to do something later.

The determination in his eyes sends a chill running down your spine.

“Thank you for helping her.” He says then. “But be careful please, I don’t want you to be in danger.” The very thought makes him shiver, he doesn’t even want to entertain the possibility.

“I know. I am. I just couldn’t stand by.” You respond and he nods, knowing that that was how you were, always looking out for others.

“Anyway, thanks again.” He adds and you nod before looking around you once more.

It then dawns on you that this is the very first time that you are seeing Jason outside of the bookshop and it just feels so strange. When he first entered the shop, it seemed like he stood out like a sore thumb, with his tall frame, rough appearance and black leather jacket against the cozy backdrop of the shop. But now, after so much time, you couldn’t imagine him anywhere else. Now it was like he didn’t fit into any other atmosphere other than at the bookshop.

“Well, and what are you doing here?” You ask curiously.

“Oh, I…”

“So you’re Y/N?” Interrupts a young teen with a knowing smile, followed by a group of other kids, including Lily, clearly having told them her latest adventure. You nod.

“Are you his girlfriend?” Asks another boy now, looking up at you. You let out a small laugh at the way Jason’s eyes widen almost comically at the kid’s boldness.

“No.” You respond, and for a second, you can’t help but wonder what it would be like to answer otherwise.

“We’re friends.” Jason says.

“Very good friends.” You can’t help but add and when you steal a nervous glance at Jason, you find him nodding, agreeing with you. Because saying just ‘friends’ feels too simple to describe your relationship with Jason. And what you said still doesn't cover it.

“Really?” The teen boy from earlier asks again with a raised eyebrow. “Because he-” Jason grabs him and puts a hand over his mouth before he can keep talking, smiling innocently at you. You look at the chaotic situation amused.

“Are you staying for the reading?” Lily asks.

“The reading?” You ask confused.

“Yeah! Jason always reads to us and acts out the stories!” Another girl says. And then it clicks.

Jason buys and checks out so many children’s books for them. For these kids. Street kids. Like him. Not only that but he also reads the stories for them. Regularly. You feel like melting into a puddle.

You turn to Jason, an amazed look on your face. As if this man could be any more wonderful. He blushes and looks away in embarrassment. A small smile makes its way across your lips.

“Really? I didn’t know that.” You say, turning to the kids once more.

“Yeah! He’s great at it.” Chirps the same girl.

“Are you staying then?” Lily insists.

You immediately turn to Jason. You would love to but there is a reason for why Jason hasn’t told you about this. It feels like this is something very important to him and that he holds very dear so you don’t want to intrude on that. But Jason is already looking at you, scared yet hopeful, as if he does want you to stay but is afraid that you may want to leave now.

“Well, I would love to. If I’m not a burden of course.”

“Never.” Jason says without missing a beat.

You don’t think that you have ever smiled more brightly.

You end up having one of the best afternoons that you have ever had in a while. Rival only to the other ones in which Jason visits you in the bookstore. You stay and listen as Jason reads them the books that had been sitting on the bench and that you recognize from the bookstore out loud, using different voices, doing exaggerating gestures, and acting out scenes.

You watch as the kids laugh and look at him mesmerized. If you had been able to look into a mirror, you would have found that you had the very same look of admiration as them, maybe even a tiny little bit lovestruck. You can tell that they love him, look up to him and consider him a role model. You can’t help but think that they made an excellent choice.

The crowd is mostly made of small kids, the older ones, in their teenage years, although a few of them listen, most make as if the activity doesn’t interest them, but you can see how they linger around the group while they play basketball or pass by.

You see how what Jason is doing with these kids is a light for them. A moment of escapism, fun and happiness from their lives and problems in the worst neighborhoods of Gotham. Kids forced to grow up earlier to survive. Holding onto whatever source of innocence that they can.

Eventually, they all rope you into reading too and you end up sharing the spotlight with Jason. There are laughs, questions from the kids about yourself, funny comments and the snickering whispers from the older kids at the back about the two of you, having obviously heard about you before.

Jason prays that you can’t see them when they start teasing him and making kissy faces to which he just rolls his eyes. He also prays that you can’t see how he looks at you as you enjoy yourself and laugh at what the kids say. The utter adoration and longing that lay in his eyes.

It isn’t until almost a couple of hours later, when the sun has already disappeared beyond the horizon and the orange hue of the sky has turned purple, that the reading does come to an end.

The kids say their goodbyes, not before inviting you to reading time again and wondering when you will come back. A lot of them already give you a hug as they go, and you see them leave back towards their homes. Most of them go to the adjacent buildings but there are also a few, mostly the older kids, or at least accompanied by them, that go towards the street.

Lily thanks you for your help and even gives you a kiss on the cheek that makes you want to melt and give her a tight hug before she leaves towards the closest building, a girl a few years older than her guiding her by the hand.

And then, after all the chaos and laughs, with the night starting to settle in, it’s just you and Jason once again.

You sit back down on the bench next to him and you both stay there for a moment, enjoying the quiet and the silence of the chill Gotham air.

When you turn to Jason, his green gaze is already on you.

“Thank you for staying. The kids loved having you here.” He whispers as to not disturb the peace that has settled over you both. “I hope that it wasn’t too much.”

“What? No, it was lovely. Really, I had a great time. I’m sorry if I intruded.”

“No, not at all.”

“Now I know why you always check out so many kids’ books. Good to know that you’re not a psychopath with kids in cages or something.” You joke and Jason huffs out a laugh.

“Yeah, maybe I should have explained that earlier. It would have been too strange to explain at the beginning but then we became friends and it dragged on and it felt too weird to explain now. I don’t know.” He just didn’t know what you would have thought of him.

“No, no.” You shake your head. “I didn’t mean it like that. This was clearly something very private to you. It’s perfectly understandable not wanting to share it with anybody.”

“You’re not anybody.”

You’re sure your heart stops beating for a moment.

The intensity of his gaze makes you look down at your hands. You can’t remember if anyone has ever looked at you like that.

It’s scary.

In a good way, but still very scary.

“Well, anyway, thank you for letting me be a part of it.” You end up saying and he nods.

Silence settles over you two once again. Neither of you wanting the day to end.

“You hungry? I know a great spot.” He speaks up.

Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“I’m starving.”

You love the place as soon as you see it. It’s a small, yet very cozy and lovely diner. Through the outside windows you can see that the color pattern is mostly blue and white with bright pink neon letters announcing that it’s open.

Jason holds the door open for you and the warmness inside the place drastically contrasts with the cold from outside. The delightful smells from the kitchen make your stomach ache with hunger.

“Hi, sweetie! We’ll be right with you!” The old woman at the bar with a brightly tinted red streak in her hair says excitedly.

“Sit wherever you like!” A voice yells next from the kitchen. From the open window that looks into it from the dining area you can see another old woman with a bun.

“Thank you, ladies.” Jason greets.

Your mouth hangs open.

Jason leads you to a booth that stares out into the street. His usual spot, you suppose. As you sit in the comfortable booth and you two take off your coats, you close your mouth and look at Jason with a raised eyebrow. He looks back at you feigning innocence, though you know well that he knows why you’re so surprised.

“What?” He says with a teasing smirk that makes you want to kiss it away.

“You little liar.”

“Hey.” He responds amused. “What did I do now?”

“Looks like I’m not the only one with practically adoptive grandparents that just so happen to run a business.” You say with your arms crossed.

And when Jason laughs, you might as well be addicted to the sound with how much you love it everytime you hear it.

“I knew you were going to say that.” He says and you scoff playfully. “In my defense, I will say that I wasn’t fully ‘officially’ adopted until after we had that conversation. I hadn’t come here enough times for that yet.”

“Mmhm, sure.” You say suspicious as you take the menu from the side of the table and take a quick look over it. “And you wanted to take Rose and Jimmy away from me.” You add, muttering under your breath.

“Excuse me?” Mock outrageousness in his tone.

“What you hear.” You’re trying too hard to hide your smile.

“You know that was never my intention.” He answers and you just hum, pretending to read the menu. “Okay, as an act of peace, you can have Millie and Ruby too.”

“Mhm.” You pretend to think it over.

“I’m sure they’ll love you in no time anyway.” The lightness with which he says that, as if anyone who met you couldn’t help but love you, makes you drop the menu onto the table and look back at him.

“Deal then.” You finally say and you both let out a small laugh.

After that, the woman with the red streak approaches your table and greets you both.

“Good evening kids, how are you today?”

“Good, Ruby, and you?” Jason answers.

“You know, same old, same old.” She says, waving her hand. Then she turns fully to you. “And who might this lovely lady be?” She asks with a knowing smile and an arched eyebrow, almost as if she already knows the answer and knows a secret that you’re not privy to.

“I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”

“The Y/N?” Ruby says while throwing Jason a look. He just looks away in embarrassment and the neon sign of the window really makes you wonder if the red tint on his cheeks are a reflection of it or not. “Oh, it’s so lovely to meet you dear! We've heard so much about you! We’ve been telling Jason to bring you non-stop. Oh gosh, I gotta tell Millie. Millie! Honey, come here!” She screams towards the kitchen.

Your lips curve into an amused smile, but you also feel heat rush to your face, not really knowing what to do with all the attention and the fact that Jason has been talking about you, what seems to be quite a lot, to other people. Not only his brother, but also the kids and these women.

Millie appears and when she learns who you are, she greets you just as enthusiastically as Ruby has.

“Let me tell you sweetheart, this boy here talks about you-” Millie starts but then she clears her throat as Jason throws her a warning glance. “I mean, about your bookshop all the time.”

“Well, you can drop by anytime.” You offer.

“We will.” Millie assures you. It seems as though both Millie and Ruby want to stay and ask you millions of questions but they see how Jason is begging them with his eyes to leave you two alone, and after taking your orders, they leave with a smile.

“They seem really great.” You say. Their loud nature sign of a joyous life. And even though they seem more energetic, vivacious and chaotic than the calm and quiet way in which Rose and Jimmy carry themselves, you know that they would get along very well. Especially with how all of them seemed to be thoroughly entertained by the interactions that you and Jason have.

“Yeah, they are.” Jason confirms. “But sorry about that, they can come off as a bit overwhelming sometimes.”

“It’s okay. It’s nice to be greeted so welcomely.”

As the night goes on, you find that it is just as easy to talk to Jason outside the bookshop as it is over the counter. It doesn’t surprise you but the underlying fear that your connection only works surrounded by bookshelves finally leaves you.

As you both eat the delicious food that Millie prepared, Jason tells you more about the kids per your request. How he tries to read to them at least once a week, how he brings them food whenever he can and how he has even taught a few of them to read. You also immediately offer up the bookstore to hold the readings but he shakes his head and smiles sadly.

“Thank you, really. That’s very kind of you. But it’s not very viable since the neighborhoods are not very close. Most of the kids have people relying on them and can only make it to the readings from time to time. The playground is also the more common ground, the older kids can’t go very far due to the responsibilities and it’s not safe for the smaller ones to go on their own.”

You nod, but your heart clenches at how these kids can’t enjoy a normal childhood.

“I understand.” You stop and think for a second if you should say what you want to say next, worried about overstepping.

You decide to go for it anyway.

“I’d like to come back for the readings, if that’s okay?” Your voice comes out lower and more unsure than what you had first intended, your hands playing nervously on your lap.

Jason looks at you, as if he can hardly believe you’re real.

“Of course you can. I’m sure they’d love to have you back.” I’d love to have you back. But Jason doesn’t want to scare you or make the whole situation come off too strong. “But are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured, if their insistence-”

“No, no! Really, I had a great time and I would love to be able to see the kids again. Help in any way I can.”

“Okay, then.” He says with a smile pulling at his lips.

The evening stretches on and you two stay at the dinner until closing time. There is a moment that will haunt you for days, as you told him a story, he leaned his arms on the table, giving you his undivided attention, and the way in which his bicep flexed under his sleeve… Nothing has ever been so distracting. Your eyes had been instantly drawn over to it. You really, really hoped that he didn’t notice. You would die of embarrassment otherwise.

You even finally, finally, give each others’ numbers to match schedules for the readings (and to just chat in general of course), since you won’t be able to make it to all of them due to the bookstore hours and so that Jason can let you know if he can’t attend one. You can’t believe you didn’t even have it before with how often you two already talked at the bookshop.

It feels like another shift in your relationship. A stepping stone.

Another brick on the long yet sturdy building road.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

>Part II

#Jason todd x reader #Jason todd fic #Jason todd one shot #Jason todd imagine #Jason todd #Red hood x reader #Red hood fic #Red hood one shot #Red hood imagine #Red hood #Jason todd imagines #Red hood imagines #Children's Books and Leather Jackets #ThreeStarsInLine #Jason todd fluff #Jason todd angst #Red hood fluff #Red hood angst #DC Comics

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santaasi · 7 days ago

Text

hazel & honey

pairing: james potter x shy!reader

summary: in a café where coffee meets quiet longing, a year of stolen glances and ink-scrawled notes brews into something more — until james potter finally decides to take his shot.

warnings: just pure fluff, no use of y/n, english isn’t my first language

word count: 2.5k

a/n: it's kinda a part two of raison d'être but you don't need to read it if you don't want to.

ᯓ★ now playing…

zayn - there you are

SPRING ARRIVES NOT ALL AT ONCE BUT IN WHISPERS — SLOWLY, GENTLY, YET UNDENIABLY.

The coffee shop mirrors the change. Heavy coats and thick woolen scarves have vanished, replaced by light jackets, bare wrists, and the crisp air slipping through open windows. The scent of cinnamon and spiced tea fades into something fresher — lavender, citrus, and the delicate sweetness of flowers blooming just beyond the door, carried in by the breeze.

And James Potter, of course, remains the one constant.

James Potter has become a part of your routine, a familiar presence threaded through your days like the changing seasons, turning the ordinary into something bright, something electric. Something that makes your heart stutter in ways you wish it wouldn’t.

It’s been a year now. A year of stolen glances over the espresso machine, of ridiculous drink experiments, of moments tucked between steaming cups and shared laughter. A year of James leaning across the counter, all bright-eyed and insufferably charming, turning the simplest exchange — How’s your day been? — into something that lingers longer than it should.

There was the time he nearly knocked over a display case trying to reenact a new play move with a ball for you. The day he walked in soaked to the bone, dripping rain onto the floor, grinning as you handed him a steaming cup without a word. The evening he showed up five minutes before closing, breathless, just to tell you he had an excellent idea for a new drink (it was, to no one’s surprise, absolutely terrible).

Somewhere between all those moments, without meaning to, he became something to you. And you don’t know what to do with that.

Even now, even after a year, you’re still shy around him in ways you can’t quite help. Still caught off guard by the way he looks at you sometimes, still too quick to drop your gaze when his fingers brush against yours, still hesitant when his laughter sends warmth curling through your ribs.

THIS MORNING, HE STUMBLES INTO THE CAFÉ LOOKING AS IF HE BARELY SURVIVED THE NIGHT. His glasses are askew, his hair a complete mess — more unruly than usual, which is saying something. His hoodie is slouching off one shoulder, sweatpants hanging low on his hips, and when he reaches the counter, he doesn’t so much stand as he does slump against it.

"Hit me with your best shot, love," he sighs.

You blink, momentarily caught up in the sight of him — tired, disheveled, undeniably James. Then, with practiced ease, you reach for the espresso beans. "That bad?"

He groans, rubbing a hand over his face. "I woke up late. Nearly missed the assignment deadline. Almost got run over by a cyclist. And Sirius won’t stop texting me in all caps about something, but I refuse to open it. At this point, my only remaining tragedy is falling into the Thames."

You laugh softly, the sound curling like steam in the air. "Devastating. But at least you made it here." A pause, a flicker of something fond curling in your chest. "Which means I get to experiment."

Because, somehow, that has become your thing.

It started months ago — one late evening, when James had wandered in, restless and curious, and told you to surprise him. You had. And then you did it again. And again. And now, it’s a ritual. No repeats, no hints. Just pure trust in whatever concoction you place in front of him.

He rates each one on a ten-point scale (so far, his highest is an 11/10 for a caramel-vanilla macchiato, which you swore was nothing special), and every single time, he leaves a receipt scrawled with some ridiculous note.

"You’re a caffeine genius."

"I would die for this drink."

"Marry me?" — that one had been a joke. Probably.

He doesn’t know you keep them. All of them. Pressed carefully in a box beneath your bed, where his words — his messy, absurd, wonderful words — are yours alone to hold.

And maybe, just maybe, you don’t mind that James Potter keeps showing up. Maybe, just maybe, you don’t mind at all.

Today's drink — a honey-lavender latte — is something soft, something delicate, something meant to dispel the thundercloud hovering over James Potter’s head. The scent of warm milk and golden honey mingles with the floral whisper of lavender, wrapping the moment in something almost tender. You slide the cup across the counter, watching as his fingers curl around the warmth.

James takes a sip, his lashes fluttering shut as he exhales a slow, blissful sigh. For a moment, the weight of his sleepless night, the stress of looming deadlines, and whatever catastrophe Sirius is surely texting about — all of it seems to melt away.

"I have ascended," he murmurs.

You snort. "That good, huh?"

He nods solemnly. "Sweetheart, if I fail this semester, I want you to know — it’s entirely your fault."

"Oh?" You arch a brow, already moving to wipe down the counter.

"Absolutely. I can't concentrate when I'm too busy thinking about your drinks."

You roll your eyes, fighting back a smile. "Right. Not because of poor time management?"

"Not at all." His tone is unwavering, as if this is a hill he’s willing to die on.

You shake your head and turn to the next customer, but James doesn’t move. He lingers, fingers tapping absently against the countertop, the rhythmic sound cutting through the soft hum of the café. When you finally glance back up, he's looking at you.

And not just looking.

It’s that expression — the one that makes your stomach flip, the one that sends warmth curling up your spine like steam from an untouched cup. That gaze, dark and steady, laced with something dangerous. Something unreadable.

Something that makes your heart pound far faster than it should.

Damn James Potter.

You clear your throat, forcing yourself to focus on the register. "What?" you ask, trying to sound unimpressed, ignoring the way your pulse betrays you.

He only smiles, slow and knowing. "Nothing," he says lightly. "Just waiting for my receipt."

Your lips twitch despite yourself. Biting back a blush, you tear the slip of paper from the machine and hand it over, along with the pen. He takes his time, scrawling something with that familiar lazy confidence before sliding it back across the counter.

You glance down.

"9.5/10. But still not as sweet as you."

Heat rushes to your cheeks, so fast and so overwhelming that you don’t even try to fight it. A smile tugs at your lips, helpless, inevitable.

James winks.

And then he’s gone, the bell above the door chiming softly in his wake, the scent of honey and lavender lingering behind him like a secret.

AND SO IT GOES, DAY AFTER DAY.

James keeps showing up — sometimes sleep-rumpled, his glasses slipping down his nose as he yawns into his hoodie, sometimes fresh from a workout, windblown and flushed, damp curls clinging to his forehead. He drapes a windbreaker over his shoulders like a careless afterthought, all easy grins and warm eyes, always irritatingly, effortlessly charming.

And you?

You keep making him new drinks. Coconut cold brew on the first truly warm afternoon of spring, strawberry matcha latte when the scent of fresh berries lingers in the air, cappuccino with sweet maple cream on a drizzly morning when the world feels a little too gray. Each one is a surprise, a silent challenge, a reason to watch the way his face lights up with the first sip.

And James — James keeps leaving you notes.

"10/10. I’m thinking about changing my major to yours, just to see you more often." "9/10. Would’ve been a 10, but you didn’t smile at me enough today." "11/10. Maybe I’m in love. Who can tell?"

Marlene loses her mind every time she sees them. She waves them in your face, eyes wide with exasperation. "This is flirting," she huffs. "He’s flirting with you. You see that, right?"

Of course you see.

And worse — you feel it.

In the way your pulse trips over itself whenever his fingers brush against yours as he takes his drink. In the way your body gives you away before your mind can stop it, warmth pooling low in your stomach, a restless kind of anticipation curling in your chest.

But it’s James Potter.

James, who flirts with everyone. Who can make anyone feel like they’re the only person in the room.

So you tuck it away, tell yourself it’s nothing, tell yourself he’s just a regular customer. A boy with an easy smile and a penchant for ridiculous notes, who leaves you generous tips and lifts your mood on long shifts.

Nothing more than that.

And certainly nothing that should set your heart racing the way it does.

IT’S LATE, THE CAFÉ WINDING DOWN INTO THE KIND OF QUIET THAT FEELS ALMOST SACRED. The last traces of coffee and warm pastries linger in the air, mingling with something softer—the scent of wildflowers cradled in your hands, delicate and trembling.

You’re just about to lock up when the bell above the door chimes.

James Potter steps inside.

And, oh.

He looks different tonight. Too different. Not the usual whirlwind of hoodies and windblown curls, not the usual sleep-rumpled charm that makes you roll your eyes but secretly warms your chest. No — this James is something else entirely. His hoodie is gone, replaced by a loose button-down, the sleeves rolled up in a way that does unfair things to his forearms. The soft light catches in his hair, bringing out hints of copper, and his shirt stretches over his shoulders just right.

You grip the cloth in your hands a little tighter, pulse stuttering as you immediately drop your gaze to the counter, pretending to be far too occupied with wiping away an invisible stain.

It doesn’t help.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he greets, slipping into his usual seat at the counter, voice warm, rich — like the first sip of coffee on a slow morning.

Your fingers twitch around the cloth. Your throat feels inexplicably dry.

“You’re here late,” you manage, setting the rag aside and washing your hands, focusing very intently on the way the water runs over your skin. Anything to avoid looking at him for too long.

“Yeah,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Urgent matters. But now I’m here, and– ” A pause. A breath. And then, a smile, slower than usual, softer. “I needed my daily dose of that magic you put in your drinks.”

You swallow, biting your lip to keep from smiling too much. He always says things like this, always flirts so effortlessly, and yet it still gets to you every single time. It’s unfair.

You shake your head, trying to school your expression into something unimpressed, something unaffected, already reaching for the coffee machine when–

James catches your wrist.

Oh.

Your breath snags.

His hand is warm. Big. The kind of warm that seeps into your skin, lingers in your bones. His fingers graze over your palm with something almost absentminded, a slow, lazy touch, but your body reacts like it’s something more — like it means something.

Your heart trips over itself.

You’re suddenly hyperaware of everything — the quiet hum of the café, the way his thumb barely brushes your wrist, the way your knees feel a little unsteady. You blink at him, wide-eyed, trying desperately to ignore the heat creeping up your neck.

James doesn’t let go.

He’s still smirking, of course he’s still smirking, but–

But there’s something else there, something just a little hesitant, a little nervous. And that does something to you, something warm and uncertain and dangerous.

You open your mouth, not entirely sure what you’re about to say, only to close it again when you realize your voice might betray you.

James tilts his head slightly, his grip just a fraction tighter. His smirk deepens, but his eyes are unbearably gentle.

“Hey,” he murmurs. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

And, well — you’re trying.

You really are.

"Actually," James says, voice unusually careful, "I didn’t come for coffee today."

You blink. "No?"

He shakes his head, then — hesitates.

And that’s new.

James Potter doesn’t hesitate. He’s all easy grins and reckless confidence, the kind of person who leaps before looking, who never second-guesses himself. But now — now his fingers twitch slightly where they’re still wrapped around yours, his gaze dropping to the point of contact. He takes a breath, deep and steady, as if trying to gather his thoughts.

"I was wondering," he begins, adjusting his glasses, "if you'd like to… I don’t know. Maybe we could go have a coffee somewhere else. With me. Like… on a date."

There’s a short circuit in your brain.

A date.

You must be dreaming. That’s the only explanation. Why would James Potter — James Potter — ask you out? You’re just the barista who makes his coffee, the girl behind the counter. Sure, there’s been harmless flirting, an entire year of ridiculous notes and lingering glances, but this?

James watches your expression shift, and something fond flickers across his face. He leans forward slightly, as if letting you in on some great secret.

"Yeah, you know," he teases. "A date. It’s when two people meet and do something romantic, and ideally– " his smirk deepens, " –one of them kisses the other at the end."

Heat flares up your neck. "James."

His grin is positively wicked. "Yes, my love?"

And, oh — he knows.

He already knows your answer, sees it written across your face in the way your fingers curl slightly against his, in the way your breath hitches, in the way you haven’t let go.

The air between you is thick with something golden, something trembling on the edge of possibility. Outside, the sky is painted in soft pastels, the scent of fresh flowers drifting in through the open door. Everything feels warm and new, like the first breath of summer. Or maybe — maybe — it’s just him.

Still, you keep him waiting. Just for a second.

"Only if you choose the coffee this time," you say, tilting your chin up slightly, feigning nonchalance even as your pulse pounds in your ears.

James’ answering smile is dazzling. He squeezes your hand, eyes shining with something you can’t name yet — but, oh, you want to.

"Agreed."

The golden light floods the café, the smell of coffee and wildflowers wrapping around you both like a promise. And when you look at James Potter, grinning like an idiot, you realize–

There is no maybe anymore.

Now, everything is for sure.

And you’re definitely glad you switched shifts with Marlene that day a year back.

thankx for reading <з

it was the most spontaneous decision to write a part two for raison d'être, but i went to this café with my friend and just couldn't stop thinking about james and barista!reader. so here we are.

you’re always welcome to share your thoughts in the comments or my inbox :3

– your santi 🪐

masterlist

#– santi 🪐#james potter x reader #james potter x you #james potter x y/n #james potter x fem!reader #james potter fluff #james potter fic

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cosmicdream222 · 9 months ago

Text

Welcome ✨

Call me Cosmic. she/her. Millennial.

I blog about manifesting, loa, reality shifting, the void, etc. If that isn’t your cup of tea, peace out 👽 Asks & DMs are open as long as you are kind & respectful but please read through the FAQ before asking anything!

★ About me ★

I started making aff tapes & subliminals for myself & sharing them here on tumblr in the fall of 2023, and began posting on yt in April 2024.

YouTube channel 📌Previous pinned

Void, shifting & loa stuff compiled from others

The void explained in an old reiki book

An interview with a shifter who has been time-leaping since 2001

The void explained by a lucid dreaming instructor

Near-death experience & manifesting

Misc inspiration from loa twitter

More motivation from loa twitter

Just desire, intend & know it's possible

The universe is a giant hologram

You already have it all

Master Shifter Love Remix Series

How shifting works (the whole package)

Shifting is a law - so treat it like one

Shifting is the least special thing in the world

Shifting/manifesting is not your job

You deserve everything you want

Vanilla explains: Past Lives, Death & Afterlives

Resources, Challenges & Methods

DMT breathwork to enter the void

Wake up with your dream life: affirm & relax challenge

EFT tapping script

Manifesting is not a process challenge

What is Psych-k?

The Phase Basics

SSILD for lucid dreaming

Tips for lucid dreaming

Dream life script Google doc template

My OG void concept aff tape

My Void state subs on Google drive

Full desired appearance & beauty sub

Saturating session with my cats

FAQ: Read these before sending a question!

"Can I manifest...?"

YES. It doesn't matter what it is: the answer is always yes. You can manifest anything you want. Anything!

I will no longer be answering any questions about deadlines/time

About me & my personal experiences & successes

The time I entered the void before I knew what the void was

How do you personally manifest?

Have you entered the void?

Backstory about me and this blog

A quick example on affirming to combat negative thoughts

Success: reconnected with sp after 8+ yrs NC

My mom got super fast subliminal results?!

Manifesting/shifting/void 101

What is the state of the wish fulfilled?

A reminder not to create stories around unwanted circumstances

What is the void?

How do we manifest?

States are not a method

Persisting does not mean repetition

How do I persist properly?

Does robotic affirming work?

What is a saturating session?

Is birds before land a thing?

How do I improve my visualization skills?

How can I manifest in a scientifically proven way?

Doubts/fears/troubleshooting

The void is hard for me, any tips?

How can shifting be simple when it’s so hard for me?

Is shifting real?

What happens to my current self after shifting?

When we manifest are we shifting to a new reality?

When I manifest something, will other people see it too?

How long does it take to see results?

How can I stop obsessing about results?

I’m scared I’m abandoning/betraying people in this reality when I shift/enter the void

Why do some people fail?

What am I doing wrong?

I have doubts, what if this doesn’t work?

How do I convince the logical part of myself?

How can I ignore my toxic/negative circumstances?

What should I do if I’m overthinking?

Funnies :)

The affirming carrot

Me not reacting to 3D circumstances like

#masterlist #faq #manifesting #reality shifting #void state #loa #affirm and persist

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soulanine · 3 months ago

Note

Hi!!! I was reading your latest ASL comic and i was wondering how Luffy would react when Ace said they were going to fight Whitebeard, and Ace was defeated

I imagine Luffy protecting Ace from the big old man, like "leave my brother alone, you bully!"

And more importantly, when Ace is isolated from his crew, what would happen to Luffy? Would Ace become part of the WB crew with Luffy there?

Sorry for the amount of questions but i really love ASL with little Luffy, and I have been reading a lot of fan fics like this. YOUR ART IS SO CUTE, THANKS YOU FOR SHARING!!

THANKYU SO MYCH, IM HAPPY U LIKE IT !!!!!

the comic is actually sorta the start of the split custody variant of babylu me and @immortal-raine made !!! when sabo and ace split off (cuz i wanted sabo to still be a rev), their plan is to pass luffy between them every two or so months because 1) it’s fun for him and 2) at least he’s not alone at dawn

before ace challenges whitebeard, he orders sabo to take him for an extra two months. he doesnt elaborate on what he’s gonna do, but sabo knows better than that, so he makes ace lower it to a month and a half and if he isnt back by then, he’s going off to find him and taking luffy with so you better be smart if you don’t want that kind of worry on your conscience, ace

n e ways the deadline passes, ace very obviously did not return, so sabo, fueled by worry and frustration because he’s making luffy sad damn it, sneaks off to find him. luffy’s so distressed by his missed time with ace that he actually listens to what sabo tells him to do and stays hidden

ace is very obviously still in his assassination phase when they show up. sabo, who is mortified that he managed to get himself stuck on an emperor’s ship, without his crew, drags him off to hide

luffy cries a little. ace cries a little because he made luffy cry and also he really missed his brothers. luffy’s stuck to his hip

for a while after sabo decides to stick by ace’s side to make sure he stays safe, luffy is surprisingly dismissive towards anyone other than his brothers. he’s okay with thatch, because he feeds them good, but he actively forces himself to ignore how fun they seem because they made ace upset and his brothers are always first. it’s kind of painful to watch because he’s so determined but also kind of miserable, but he refuses to play with them unless they either apologize or ace and sabo explicitly state they’re okay with them. he’s not built for holding grudges but he tries for their sake

of course, ace stops his assassination attempts when his brothers show up, so he gets the time to observe them better. sabo never leaves his side for the months he’s struggling with his thoughts and decisions, and for that he’s grateful. it’s sabo who ultimately pushes him to join because, after being here so long, he obviously enjoys their company

the day ace and sabo announce that they’re even and ace will join is the day the whitebeards first witness the hurricane that is a restless, understimulated luffy

#i rambled a ljttle #this au is just so dear to me #thank u raine for being the one to create this idea all those months ago #one piece #asl brothers #babylu au #soul spouts

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wayneskluv · 1 year ago

Text

and they were roommates — h. quinn

summary: silly lesbian roommates

word count: 690

warnings: implications of masterbation at the end

pairing: roommate!harley quinn x f!reader

authors note: non canon harley cause she’s not so insane so just pretend it’s harleen quinzel | i’ll do a part 2 if anyone wants one 😭

You were sat at your desk, your fingertips gracing the keys as you mindlessly type yet another essay that will not, in any way, be useful in the real world.

“Hi.” You hear a high pitched voice from behind you, the New York accent belonging to your roommate, that you sort-of-definitely-have-a-thing-for, Harley Quinn. “Whatcha working on?” As she speaks, she leans in closer, having absolutely no concept of personal space.

You let out an exasperated sigh, that you cut off with a chuckle. “Nothing special.” You say, your eyes never leaving the screen. A small smile tugs at the side of your lips, feeling the lingering presences of Harley from behind you.

“Sorry, Harls. Gotta work on this.” If you’d turned around, you’d have seen the over-dramatic pout she was putting on.

It was almost comical how she could make any small gesture and it would instantly pull your attention her way. You did, in fact, turn to look at her finally and were caught off guard by the playful pout that was now on her lips. It brought a sudden rush of air, almost as if you’d forgotten to breathe.

“No reason to look at me like that. I still have like… another hour, at least, to work on this. Can’t let it get too close to the deadline.”

“I wasn’t doing anything.” Came the quick answer from Harley. It was almost like she could sense where your eyes would be looking next, because now she was standing in the way of your computer screen.

“You could be doing something other than working.” She whined, leaning back over and placing her hands, on the edge of your desk, on either side of your keyboard.

“Oh, yeah?” The flirty words roll off your tongue before you can stop them, almost muscle memory at the point. Your head peers round her waist, trying to focus on your work and not the close proximity.

She laughed at your inability to focus on the task at hand. The proximity between the two of you, she knew, had to be distracting for you too. “So,” her hands moved, and she stood a little straighter, allowing you a proper view back at your computer screen.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” The flirtatious banter was easy with Harley, but there was an understanding beneath this playful behaviour which felt nice.

“Nothing.” You replied, though the tone of your voice, the body language you were exuding said the exact opposite. Harley was enjoying the back and forth between the two of you; the feeling of tension as her proximity continued to remain very close to yours.

She had been waiting for the moment where you’d have no excuse, no excuse to not ask her to hang out more. And this was the perfect opening, she was offering to spend time with you, outside of your shared apartment.

“Wanna do something?” She says, “You know, together. When you’ve done.” Her voice is almost too eager, if she didn’t have such a bubbly personality, you’d have been more curious.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” You reply, this was what you’d been waiting for. That invitation, that openness. The playful back and forth banter between you was one thing. And your roommate situation was a whole entirely different situation, which felt like it was a bit of a hindrance to this budding, whatever was going on.

“Maybe something to eat,” she started, “Something outside of these walls.” She was so hyper-focused on the space between you, your proximity, you felt almost as if she was breathing for the both of you.

“Yeah, sounds great.” In your concentration, you dart out your tongue to wet your bottom, a gesture that doesn’t go unnoticed by her.

An hour later, you finally click the save button and close your laptop down. You stand up, stretching as you move with a small groan, and you head toward Harleys room. As your bare heels hit the floor, you hear the prettiest little whines coming from her room. You’re about to knock when you hear a low whimper of your name.

#harley quinn #harley quinn x reader #harley quinn x female!reader #wayneskluv #dc comics

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theemporium · 2 years ago

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Heyyyy, love all your works i’ve read so far, and i am still scrolling through your feed.

I wanted to request a Daniel x sunshine, where they have pregnancy scare, and daniel wasn’t in a right mood so he kind of had a bad reaction but then they end up alright because he apologises and tells sunshine how it was all because he had a bad day.

Thank youuuuu, take care💚

whoops this is a bit of a long one but thank you!! and thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

To be frank, Daniel had a shit day.

He had been dragged into the factory at an ungodly hour—far earlier than he was meant to be—and it started off his day in a grouchy mood. The meeting seemed pointless in his opinion, but he was still forced to sit through it regardless and fight the urge to doze off.

Then, it had been a day jam-packed full of media duties and sponsorship promotions that he was in no mood for. Everybody had their off days, even Daniel Ricciardo and the people on set could tell. Unfortunately, there was a deadline to be met and they couldn’t keep putting the filming off.

And to top everything off, you had been blowing his phone up all morning, forcing him to turn it off for the rest of the day when the team started to get a bit irritated at the constant interruption.

By the time he headed back to your shared apartment, he was downright exhausted, hungry and in desperate need to just sit on the couch for five minutes before he did anything. He expected you would either be in your office working, or in the kitchen whipping something up for the two of you.

He was surprised to find neither of those options.

Instead, you were pacing around the living room, lost in your own world as you muttered away to yourself. Your head snapped up when he shut the door behind him, your eyes wide like you were a deer caught in headlights. He waited for you to saunter over, press a kiss on his lips as you greeted him like you usually did.

But you just stood there.

“Can we talk?” you eventually blurted out, and a part of him sensed the heaviness in your voice. He knew it wasn’t going to be some silly story, and he didn’t think he had it in him to have the conversation right that second.

“Baby, I just walked through the door, at least let me shower,” he sighed as he shuffled further into the apartment, dropping his backpack near the door before he shrugged his shoes off and placed them beside the others.

“Danny, please—” you started but the exhaustion within him finally snapped, hitting the last dregs of his patience.

“Please, I’ve had a long fucking day at work, I don’t need to hear whatever you’ve been nagging me all day about right this second,” he muttered, his words a little harsher than even he intended. “Just please, give me like thirty minutes alone.”

You blinked before clearing your throat, your eyes instantly looking anywhere but him. He felt a twinge of guilt rush through him.

“Baby—”

But you just shook your head, making your way past him and towards the door as you shoved your feet into the first pair of shoes you could find. “It’s fine, I needed to get something from the shops anyways.”

Daniel sighed. “Sunshine—”

But you were already out the door.

Daniel ran his hands over his face, letting out a small groan before he started making his way deeper into the house. He would make it up to you once you returned, he would make sure of that. But right now, he needed a hot shower and a change of clothes, and maybe some food to help him feel a little more human.

However, when his hand reached out to flip the bathroom switch, the last thing he expected to see when the lights turned on was the plastic stick lying on the counter.

His blood ran cold.

He knew exactly what it was and he didn’t need to step any closer to know. It was a pregnancy test. You had done a pregnancy test. And then, just when he thought he could breathe again, everything started clicking in place.

The phone calls throughout the day. The messages that went unanswered on his side. The sketchy behaviour when he walked through the door and the insistence to have a chat.

You wanted to tell him you were pregnant—with his child—and he had snapped at you.

Daniel swore he could have thrown up there and then as he quickly exited the bathroom, his mind whirling with a million different thoughts as he made his way to the living room. He sat on the edge of the couch, staring at the door as the seconds ticked by like hours as he waited, as he waited for you to come back home, as he waited to say a thousand and more apologies the second you stepped a foot into the threshold of your shared apartment.

When you turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, the last thing you expected was to be ambushed by your boyfriend into a tight hug that almost made you drop the tub of ice cream you bought.

“Danny—”

“I’m sorry,” his words came out slightly muffled. He then lifted his head, his expression wary and his eyes glossy with tears as he continued. “I’m so fucking sorry. I should have never snapped at you and I should have answered your calls—”

You gave him a sad smile. “Babe, it’s fine—”

“No, no, it’s not,” Daniel said with a shake of his head as he cupped your face in his hands. “I’m gonna be there for you, you hear me? I might have been a jerk earlier but that’s gone now. I’m gonna be here for you, to do whatever you need. I’m gonna be here for you and our baby and—”

“Daniel,” you repeated, gripping his wrists to catch his attention. “I’m not pregnant.”

He shook his head. “Sunshine, you don’t have to lie, I saw the test—”

“It’s negative.”

He blinked, feeling as though the air had been wiped out of him. “What?”

“It came back negative,” you told him, letting out a shaky breath. “I’d been feeling shit the last few days and realised that I was late. I started freaking out and panicking, and I tried calling you on the off chance that you’d be able to come back home.”

Daniel’s eyes softened. “Sunshine.”

“I’m sorry,” you muttered with a sheepish smile. “I was shaking so much, I couldn’t even drive to the shops. I walked, bought the tests and a litre of water and just…chugged it on the way back.”

His thumbs gently caressed the apple of your cheek.

“Those three minutes were the scariest three minutes of my life,” you confessed to your boyfriend, swallowing back the emotions you felt in the back of your throat. “I mean, I don’t even know if I’m ready to be a mother and I just—”

Daniel waited.

“I just wanted you there,” you whispered.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured and he wrapped his arms around you, bringing you close and tight into his chest. It was the comfort you had been seeking all day. “I’m sorry I wasn’t with you, and I’m sorry for being a jerk earlier.”

“It’s fine,” you muttered. “You were stressed.”

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Daniel retorted and pulled back so he could look at you again. “One day, I hope you will be the mother of my children, and I hope I will be by your side when we find out.”

Your lips twitched. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he grinned softly. “I’m in it for the long run, Sunshine.”

“Me too, Ricciardo,” you whispered before giving him a teasing smile. “Even if you’re a jerk sometimes.”

He laughed softly. “I’ll make it up to you, Sunshine, promise.”

But you just smiled. “I know you will.”

#daniel ricciardo #formula one #f1 #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x y/n #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo one shot #formula one x reader #formula one x you #formula one x y/n #formula one fic #formula one one shot #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 x y/n #f1 fic #f1 one shot

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atinystraynstay · 1 year ago

Text

7PM - Boo Seungkwan

Synopsis: 7pm was always your favorite time of day. There was no longer a concern over deadlines and meetings. You get to slip out of your high heels and replace them with your favorite pair of fuzzy socks. The best part is when you get to debrief the day with your boyfriend, Seungkwan.

Pairing: Boo Seungkwan x reader

Genre: Established relationship, fluff, domesticated life with Seungkwan so you know you're going to be pampered like a queen

Word Count: 1.7k

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After unlocking the front door, you pushed it open. The smell of your home always makes you feel relaxed. You couldn't quite describe the scent. It just smelled so good that your body was filled with nothing but warmth and contentment. All your worries from the workday were left outside the moment you stepped in.

You hooked your keys on the key holder. Your set was the only pair hanging which made you frown slightly. You were hoping Seungkwan had made it home from work a tad bit early, so you could see him sooner. However, seeing as it was already 6:50pm, you knew that he would arrive shortly.

An audible sigh left your lips as you slipped out of your high heels. Your feet screamed out in appreciation at feeling the floor beneath you. Even hardwood flooring was preferable to wearing high heels all day.

Finally being at home, you began to maneuver through your shared home. You smiled at the wall lined up with photos of not just you and Seungkwan over the years, but photos with family and friends. It's been a while since your home was filled with people. Maybe you two could throw a party soon? You dropped your purse on the couch before beginning to head towards the kitchen.

Seungkwan never placed expectations on you when it comes to household duties. His sisters and mother definitely raised him well in that regard. He much preferred splitting responsibilities equally, but always opting for the heavier duty stuff. And even if he couldn't do it on his own, he basically had a whole artillery of friends ready to call up.

Yet, you took joy in cooking for him. You always saw it as an act of love by cooking him a warm-cooked meal. Especially now that winter is starting to settle in, there was nothing better in your opinion than a dinner prepared by your significant other. Plus, it allowed you to shower him with affection sooner if you at least got started before you got home.

What was in the fridge?

With end-of-the-year projects, meetings, and requests - you and Seungkwan felt like you were being pulled at different ends. When you had a late night, it seemed like he was able to get off early, or vice versa. Most of the reaction over the past couple of days has resulted in groggy 'good mornings' and sleepy 'goodnight' kisses.

When the weekend comes, you both were unfortunately stuck putting in overtime at your respective jobs. It was rare over the past couple of days for you two to actually have an sat-down meal. That also meant that it has been a while since the two of you made a proper grocery store run rather than picking up instant ramen to make at home.

Let's see what I can come up with. Your hands reached behind you to put your hair in a low, messy bun. Your fingers gently grasped onto the handle of the fridge, opening it.

Your eyes scanned every shelf, every corner of the fridge. The two of you didn't have much besides every condiment you could think of, a few tangerines, and a carton of milk you questioned if it was still good to drink. It really has been a while.

"What am I going to do?" You murmured to yourself. There was nothing even salvageable to make a meal. You didn't even want it to be the best meal you've ever made. What you wanted was at least to do something nice for your Seungkwan.

"Honey? I'm home."

Speaking of which. A smile curled onto your lips at the sound of Seungkwan returning home. God, you've wanted to be in his arms all day since the moment you had to get up for work.

"In the kitchen!" You called back. Admitting defeat, you closed the refrigerator door.

From the other side of the house, you could hear shuffling. You knew Seungkwan was taking off his jacket and setting his keys, hearing the familiar jingle. Who knew something so simple as keys making noise could be the best sound in the world.

The movement from the front of the apartment made its way closer to you. Knowing that Seungkwan was home just filled your heart with happiness, with comfort. He has been a source of refuge, of unconditional love for you.

Once you heard the footsteps turn around, you looked over to see Seungkwan by the threshold of the kitchen. "There's my girl," he murmured. He immediately opened his arms for you. You could never turn a hug down from him. This time, you were the one shuffling along to reach him as quickly as possible.

Your arms immediately wrapped around his torso. You squeezed his body, almost reassuring yourself that your boyfriend had fully arrived home. He smiled at the sentiment but also was concerned. You normally welcome him home with a kiss before nestling yourself against you. Only on the rough days did you find yourself like this, just seeing the comfort of his hugs.

Seungkwan didn't hesitate. His arms found themselves around you. He felt release a soft sigh into his neck. Oh, today was a bad day.

His arms ran up and down your back affectionately, just holding you close. "Do you want to talk about it, honey?" You shook your head. He knew better than press you too hard. When you were ready, you would fill him in. For now, if this is all you needed, then that's what you got.

He pressed a gentle kiss to the side of your head before dropping his lips to hover over your ear. "I brought takeout home," he whispered.

You never removed yourself from him so fast. You spun around, but stood right in front of you. Seungkwan chuckled as he wrapped his arms around you from behind, his chin resting on your shoulder. Seeing the happiness wash of your face is all Seungkwan needed. "God, you're really the love of my life." You turned back to face Seungkwan. Your hands cupped his cheeks, gazing up into your eyes. "I just looked in the fridge to see we didn't have much to eat, so I wasn't sure what we were going to do for dinner." "Well have no fear, sweet girl. Your dinner has arrived," he winked.

You giggled at his antics. You eased up onto your tiptoes, planting a lingering kiss on his lips. His hands moved from your lower back to his side. He hummed lightly against your lips as he allowed his hands to rest on your hips.

"Go get settled, honey. The food is already in the living room. I figured we could watch a movie tonight? I can also open that bottle of red wine we bought ages ago."

He spoke your love language.

You nodded your head eagerly, giving him one last hug. Before you could detach yourself from him fully, you allowed your lips to press kisses into his skin. He started blushing profusely, almost trying to hide his face in your shoulder. Your giggles against his skin vibrated throughout his whole body. He was so in love with you.

"Baby please," he whined. "Alright, alright. I'll go!"

You were fully detached to migrate towards the food awaiting the two of you. He watched as you walked away, the smile unable to be wiped from his face. How did he get so lucky to be in this life with you?

He worked quickly to fetch the wine bottle chilling in the fridge. Seungkwan's perceptions of love were framed around the love he witnessed from his parents. He never believed he would get lucky enough to be blessed with such a love, but then you came along.

With the trusted wine opener, he was able to uncork the wine bottle rather quickly. The soft pop sounded in the air. He was surprised you didn't come running at the sound, but it made him happy knowing you were relaxing.

From the moment he walked into the apartment, he could sense you weren't in the best mood. Maybe it was the indicator of your heels just thrown on the floor, or the way you didn't really hang up your jacket. He hated the fact he wasn't hear to mend your aching body sooner.

Carefully, he poured the wine into the wine glasses that he pulled from the cabinet. Once he saw it was filled to your preference level, he put the metal bottle topper in the bottle to keep it fresh. He also put the bottle back in the fridge, knowing you preferred it chilled. Tonight was all about bringing you comfort.

Grabbing the stems of the glasses, he began making his way back to you. His footsteps were light, so as to not startle you. You did have a tendency to fall asleep anywhere, and assuming you had been on your feet all day, he left nothing up to chance.

However, he saw you on the couch with your legs criss-crossed. You had left a spot open for him. What made his heart swell in the way you were already looking in his direction expectingly.

"Here you go, honey." He passed over the wine glass to you, which you happily accepted. "Why don't you go ahead and get started eating?" "I was waiting for you," you responded. You leaned over to kiss his cheek lingeringly once he settled in next to you. You pulled back to take a sip out of your wine before setting it down on the coaster on the coffee table. Not wasting anymore time, you bega opened up the white takeout bag to reveal the containers.

All the while, Seungkwan sat back and watched you. It made him feel prideful knowing he knew the way to help you at your lowest moments. He always admitted your independence and your willingness to put others before yourself, but he ultimately wanted to the the one to replenish your kind heart.

He wrapped an arm around your shoulder once you discovered your takeout box. You began to eat as he leaned over, kissing the top of your head.

7pm was easily his favorite time of day. It was when he came back to you, that he could make sure you were happy even after the worst of days. It was when he was able to shower you with the love he couldn't do throughout the day.

7pm was when the rest of the world didn't matter because he was by your side.

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carry-on-au-fest · 6 months ago

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Fest Rules

What is this fest about?

The Carry On AU Fest is a prompt based fest that celebrates any kind of Alternate Universe or canon divergent creation in the CO fandom. We accept any pairings or gen fics and art.

Who can participate?

You must be at least 18 years old at the time of signing up.

We expect you to treat everyone taking part, including the mods, with respect.

All work must be your own, and we do not allow any kind of fic or art produced with AI.

You may register as both a writer and an artist, and you can claim multiple prompts as long as you have completed the first one you claimed first.

You can cross post your work to other fests running at the same time.

How does prompting work?

On 5th October we are going to open prompting via Airtable. You can submit as many prompts as you like, and you don't have to claim anything unless you want to. You don’t have to create for the fest to submit a prompt. You can prompt anonymously or write your AO3/Tumblr username (in which case people can gift you their works if they wish to).

How does claiming work?

On 19th October we are going to open claiming via a Google form. You can claim your own prompt or claim someone else's. Alternatively, you can self-prompt by picking the first prompt on the list.

Prompts are assigned on a first come first serve basis. The prompts will be available to be claimed once for fic and once for art. Collaborations are welcome.

If you decide to gift your work to the person who prompted it, please make sure that you stick to the preferences they have expressed and that you don't include their squicks.

What are the requirements for writers?

Writers will need to write an original fic with a minimum length of 1k.

The fic needs to be an unpublished fic and it needs to be posted on our fest collection on AO3. Your story doesn't need to be complete by the submission date, but we ask that you post at least 1k by the submission deadline and wait until the end of the fest to post the rest.

You can share small snippets and talk about your story on social media platforms.

Should you need an extension, please let us know as soon as you can.

We will reveal one work per day from 8th February.

What are the requirements for artists?

You can create a variety of original fan work, such as:

- illustrations, both digital and traditional (they don’t need to be in colour)

- moodboards (at least 6 elements)

- plastic arts (including embroidery and origami)

- playlists (a minimum of 10 songs)

- fic binding

- podfic (please make sure that you have the permission of the author of the fic you're recording a podfic of before starting)

You can post your work either on AO3 or on Tumblr (please get in touch and let us know if you prefer the second option).

What kind of rating is allowed?

Any rating is allowed for both art and fic, but please tag your work appropriately.

If your work is rated Mature or Explicit, the characters involved must be at least 18 years old.

We recommend that you use a beta reader.

What is the schedule for posting?

You can find the most up to date schedule here.

Please get in touch with the mods if you need an extension.

I still have a lot of questions about this, how can I contact you?

Send us an ask, a DM or contact us at and we will gladly answer.

The mods for this fest are @orange-peony, @pato-roldnart and @bubble-gumhead.

#fest rules #mod post #co au fest

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wileys-russo · 2 years ago

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time management II a.russo x reader

hello! this is my first ever post so pls be nice. It makes me sO nervous to dip my toe into writing on woso tumblr after only being a reader from afar but here we are 🫶🏻

time management II a.russo x reader

"baby? i'm back!" your girlfriend called out from the front door, the soft thud of her kit bag hitting the floor followed by a small grunt as she wrestled to take off her trainers. You couldn't help but chuckle as you heard yet another small thud followed by a yelp and some quiet cursing, it had all but become part of her routine now to fall over during the seemingly simple task.

"hi clumsy." you greeted her with a knowing smile, the blonde huffing to blow a loose strand of hair out of her face, cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment and face flushed and rosy from training as she entered your eye line. "stupid floor." the girl grumbled in annoyance, shrugging off her training jacket and hanging it over the back of a chair as she stepped into the living room.

The italian's large hands gently rested on either side of your face, tilting your head back ever so slightly as she bent down down to press a soft but sweet kiss to your forehead as she passed the back of the lounge you were currently sprawled on, work laptop perched precariously on your knees.

"i wonder if we get a discount now when we go to the emergency room since you're such a frequented visitor." you teased with a grin, the older girl shooting you an unimpressed glare before she disappeared into the kitchen where you heard the tap running as she no doubt chugged a glass of water, yet another step in the post training routine.

"how was it?" you called out, eyes drifting back to the screen in front of you, the half completed report card staring back at you almost tauntingly. Your chest tightened somewhat when you glanced at the last name, a quiet sigh falling from your lips confirming you still had at least nineteen left to write before they were due for submission on monday. As the seconds ticked by friday was ever closer to being over, only tightening your deadline.

Unlike your superstar striker girlfriend you were not gifted with sporting ability, however what you may have lacked in the athletic department you made up for in the academic field. You'd always had a subtle but present passion for sharing knowledge with others, which with a gentle push from your own teachers, inevitably lead you down the path of teaching. After a few grueling years of uni and various placements your hard work paid off and you had finally secured your first permanent primary teaching position.

With the term holidays looming the days seemed to tick by ever so slowly for both you and your year 5 class, which they all made sure to remind you on a daily basis, especially when they were having to participate in anything apart from lunch or recess. The constant battle to keep them focused on anything but what they planned to do when not in school had you wanting to tear your hair out.

You adored your class, and of course you loved teaching. But the final two weeks of term was forever the most stressful for you, and as much as you tried to bottle it up, you were almost certain you were partially responsible for your students wild behavior, it was as if they picked up on your internal erratic energy.

As much as you'd secretly love to give into their endless demands, throw on some mind numbing cotton fluff childrens films for them to consume and keep quiet for the next week, you knew they would in the long term benefit from the lessons. Plus whose to say with a little money taken out of your own pocket you couldn't make it a little more fun for them in this upcoming final week like you'd planned.

Though you had one end goal, which was two weeks off to spend as much time with your friends, family and of course your girlfriend as you could squeeze in amongst some much needed self care time for yourself. Though it meant added stress in the meantime with forward planning your first couple weeks lessons back of next term before this term would even finish as to allow you to actually spend the time away from work, away from work.

"good! got a new PB on the bench press, even beat mary." alessia beamed in response to your prior question as she joined you, her competitive nature not much of a secret to those who knew her well enough. Growing up the youngest of three and the only girl it wasn't hard to see why she was wired with such a drive to win, and looking at her career so far it was even easier to see the obvious benefits it had for her.

"bet she loved that." you chuckled, eyes still focused on your screen as your fingers flew across the keyboard, finishing your sentence before placing it onto the coffee table your feet had been happily perched on, making sure your girlfriend knew she had your full attention as she rambled on for awhile about training and the upcoming match tomorrow.

"ah! you're all sweaty, go shower first." the taller girl grunted a little in shock as your legs shot out to press into her chest, stopping her from collapsing on top of you as you knew she'd intended to. "what! come on just one hug." the blondes perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together as her bottom lip jutted out into a small pout. Though after almost three years together now you were well aware of her games and overtime it had become much easier not to give into them, at least most of the time.

"no less, you know I hate it just go shower." you shook your head with a small smile, pointing upstairs sternly as your own eyebrows quirked upwards at her obvious defiance. "you don't always hate when I'm sweaty." your girlfriend grinned cheekily at the suggestive comment as she grabbed your feet, your cheeks flushing with warmth which didn't go unnoticed by the italian, adoring the effect her words could have on you when she wanted them to.

"go shower! you smell." you kicked at her lightly with a smirk as she swatted your legs away with ease, rolling her eyes playfully at the jab and turning as if to head upstairs as you reached over for your laptop assuming the conversation was over.

A sincere mistake on your part as your girlfriend suddenly turned on her heel, launching herself back towards you and over the arm of the lounge, careful of how she landed as you felt her larger form envelop yours, arms encasing your torso and face plunged into your neck.

"alessia!" you squealed in surprise, desperately trying to shove her off of you to no avail as the much stronger girl held on with ease, going so far as to purposely rubbing her sweat dampened hair in your face. "get off! please!" you begged with a scream, laughter echoing around the room as the striker dug her fingers teasingly into your sides, legs slotted in-between your own, careful not to completely crush you beneath her.

"say you missed me and maybe I'll get off." alessia grinned, her lips inevitably finding your own, your stomach doing a back flip as they did, your arms coming to wrap around her neck, hand pressing on the back of her head only spurring her on to deepen the kiss further.

"no! I hate you, get off." you pushed her away with a peal of laughter as her tongue slipped inside your mouth, stopping things before the two of you got anymore carried away.

"now that's not very nice, no one likes a liar bella." the blonde beamed, bright blue orbs locked with yours, you made sure to tear your gaze away before you got lost in them, melting at the italian endearment as it fell from her lips.

"get off me or I'll call your mum and tell her about our little trip last week." you threatened, withdrawing your hands from around her neck to cross them over your chest, your girlfriends eyes narrowing at your words as she pushed herself up, resting on her forearms which sat either side of your head.

The threat was not taken lightly, her mum having all but promised the next time her daughter had any sort of stumble at home she'd move in and permanently encase her in bubble wrap, the girls clumsy nature making her a danger not only to herself but also to those around her.

Her most recent victim had of course been you, the slightly tipsy girl had been attempting to romantically carry you upstairs to bed after a big win, the two of you having celebrated with a bottle of wine and catching up on Love Island.

But the sweet moment hadn't last long and before you knew it she'd tripped over a discarded trainer and promptly dropped you down half a flight of stairs. Luckily all you suffered was a slight cut above your eyebrow from a knock against the banister, and a lovely week of mild bruising on your tailbone. But forever overprotective alessia had insisted you go right to the emergency room to get assessed for a concussion, and there was no convincing her otherwise.

After the cut had been cleaned and sealed with a band aid, you'd been deemed not concussed and alessia had copped a stern talking to from mary who she'd called for a ride, all was well again.

"you wouldn't." "lessi my love we both know I would."

"you know blackmail is a very unattractive quality." alessia tutted with a shake her head, the hint of a smile ghosting her lips betraying her attempt at a stern look as you smiled smugly, knowing you'd won.

"go shower, i have to keep doing these reports anyway." your face softened as you gently tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind the strikers ears, the older girl melting at the sincere touch as she stole a quick kiss and pushed herself off of you, standing to her feet and padding off upstairs.

You watched her go with a smile, shaking your head and readjusting your position, grabbing your laptop and mentally checking back into the work with a click of your mouse pad and a sigh.

You had powered through another three reports by the time your girlfriend returned, her skin care routine always taking up an elaborate amount of time, though your own routines often out lasted hers so you had no room to comment.

Your indecisiveness, non existent sense of urgency and endless 'final' touch ups when getting ready meant the two of you were known to be late for any event you were invited to, something that frustrated your incredibly punctual girlfriend to no end. But as you were always quick to cheekily remind her with a kiss, perfection took time.

The blonde joined you again on the couch, this time grabbing your mostly bare legs, save for a very short pair of football shorts, and lifting them to rest on her lap. Slotting her body in beside you, she fondly lent over to kiss your cheek before grabbing the remote from where it lay tucked into the side of the lounge.

Your eyes glanced up from your screen with a quiet chuckle as she clicked in to watch united's match from last week, the calculated re-watching a common habit for the striker the night before a game. You were much accustomed to all of her pre and post match routines, and knew her well enough to know exactly what she needed from you on all occasions, win or lose, good game or bad.

"Where'd you dig these out from then?" The girl mused quietly, fingers tugging up your hoodie and prodding accusingly at the baby blue unc kit shorts she'd sworn she'd lost during the move to your current shared flat.

"I've always known where they were." you answered cheekily as your lips quirked into a smile, eyes flickering over to hers before returning to your screen, now being alessia's turn to roll her eyes playfully at your vague response.

Throughout the entire course of your relationship right down to the first few months of dating, her clothes had always seemed to magically appear on your body or in your closet. The girl having to practically beg for them to be given back, you only begrudgingly returning them once they stopped smelling like the Italian beauty you were rapidly falling head over heels for.

(though not that she had to confess to you how much she enjoyed you wearing her clothes for you to catch on how much she did. The blonde was hardly subtle in her affections toward you on a regular day, let alone when she'd return from training or wake up after a sleep in to you pottering around in the kitchen wearing only her jersey, last name sprawled proudly across your shoulder blades)

It all started off harmless, the taller girl always having been incredibly affectionate and touchy toward you, which was no issue given both your love languages included touch. Her hands rested innocently on your knees, tracing small shapes into the soft skin, but then they started to move a little higher, wandering hands gently grabbing at your thighs.

"alessia." you warned quietly, quickly moving her hands away from where they sat dangerously close to the hem of your hoodie. The blonde only hummed, eyes trained in concentration to the game on the tv in front of her, hands laying dormant on your thighs, perfectly manicured and resuming their absent minded tracing.

"less." you warned again, this time with a tired sigh as her hands slid up your legs and her fingers dipped into the waistband of your shorts, nails scratching gently against your hips. "I think you should take a break amore mio." the striker smiled charmingly, hands immediately placed back to where you'd moved them from, the girl interlocking your fingers and bringing them to her lips, gently kissing the back of your palm.

"love we go through this every term, I have to get these reports done. Would you rather I not come to your game tomorrow? Because if we carry on with what you want right now, that's going to be the outcome." You again sighed, your girlfriend leaning in to bury her face into your neck as you messed around with the rings adorning her slender fingers.

"Of course I want you at the game. Just take a small break, let me give you a massage or something." The girl mumbled, pressing feather light kisses to the sensitive skin, your eyes briefly fluttering closed in pleasure before you shrugged her away.

"Five minutes, that's it." You warned seriously, your girlfriend nodding eagerly as her lips quickly reattached to your neck. "Please don't tell me you're setting a timer." she sighed, forehead slumping down to press into your shoulder with a groan, already knowing the answer to her own question as you finished up tapping away at the apple watch on your wrist.

You placed your laptop back on the coffee table, your girlfriend nudging for you to adjust your position on the lounge, turning your body so your back pressed into her front.

"Baby your shoulders are ridiculously knotted, try to relax." alessia chastised quietly, you withholding a moan as her fingers dug expertly into your skin, working hard to try and de-stress your tightly clenched muscles.

"is it working?" the blonde asked softly, peppering buttery kisses down the side of your jaw and you hummed, closing your eyes with a content sigh of relief.

"good. So, mearps and tooney will be here in a bit to-" alessia started as your eyes shot open, stress once again consuming you, pushing your body away from hers, eyes widening.

"Tonight? I have to get back to these reports less." you sighed tiredly, both of you jumping slightly as your timer sounded and you were quick to tap it off, moving your body further away from alessia's who frowned at the sudden lack of contact.

You adored your girlfriends team mates, both at club and country, all of them making sure you knew that just because they were alessia's friends first didn't mean they loved or cared for you any less.

lotte and georgia even having gone out of their way to give alessia herself a stern talking to about never breaking your heart, it may have been fueled by an alcohol filled celebration post euros win, but never failed to make you laugh or feel the sincere care from the other girls.

Right now however the two bubbly Manchester players were the last people you wanted to see, entertaining anyone a thought far from your reach and capacity at the moment.

You had plans you felt you couldn't back out of for the rest of your weekend. A doctors appointment tomorrow morning, lessons to be planned for the new term, going to alessia's game in the afternoon and out with her family for dinner afterwards. Then Sunday would be consumed by your own family, your grandmothers 95th birthday not something you could just skip out on, and your family were not ones to half do a celebration so you knew it would be a full day commitment.

So in accordance you'd planned to get your reports done tonight so you could enjoy your weekend stress free.

Though subconsciously you knew 'stress free' was always going to be a lie.

You'd had a lot longer than a few days to get these done, but with procrastination and long days overwhelmed by wrangling 25 stir crazy holiday hungry students, your week had drizzled by without a single one touched, every time you tried filled with someone else needing your attention, both at school and at home.

It didn't help that because your girlfriends love language was touch, when your attention couldn't be on her in the minimal time you had alone together during your busy weeks, she'd often become quite frustrated and needy.

"I don't see why you're upset, haven't you had all week to get them done?" your girlfriend questioned, not intending it to come across as accusatory as it did. "alessia-" you started with a sharp sigh, fingers squeezing the bridge of your nose as you pressed your eyes closed.

"you know the time leading up to the end of term is the busiest for me. The kids are wild and un-engaged but I still have to get through the last of the curriculum with them, I have to go through all their homework and all their assignments to collate these reports, I have to forward plan my lessons for next term so I can actually have a break in-between them-" you paused to take another deep breath, feeling the stress bubbling up rapidly inside you.

"- we have plans with our families all weekend, I need peace and quiet to get these done tonight and as much as I love tooney and mearps we both know that won't happen if they're here." You inhaled, closing your eyes and letting go of the bridge of your nose to run your hands through your hair, letting out a slow and shaky exhale.

"So you have had all week to get them done then." alessia shot back without thinking, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly as you paused to take a breath, knowing that if you gave in to an argument there was even less chance of you getting things done.

"Can you not just reschedule to another night? Or go to one of their houses?" You asked softly, trying not to let your emotions win over. "Could you not have worked on your time management? I feel like we have this exact same argument over your inability to mange your own work load all the time!" alessia challenged with a frown, your own face falling at the lack of understanding and support from the girl who was supposed to be your partner.

"like you said, this happens every term. You never manage your time right and get overwhelmed and stressed when it comes to a head when all of your stress could be avoided if you just learnt from the mistakes made last time, prioritized things correctly and fixed the problem!" alessia huffed, throwing her hands up and sending you a pointed look of annoyance.

"you know what? You're absolutely right alessia I don't have the time management to argue about this right now. And yes this is all my fault, because between being needed at school or needed by my students or their parents or needed by my own family or my own friends or your friends or my coworkers or my boss, how dare I not prioritize you and your needs from me. Oh wait? That's what I'm trying to do so I can come to your stupid fucking match tomorrow! So congratulations you are absolutely right and you do whatever you want, just leave me alone and don't expect to see me there tomorrow." you finally snapped, the stress bubbling up and boiling over before you even had a moment to take a breath.

Standing to your feet and snatching your phone and laptop from the table you stormed off upstairs, the slam of the bedroom door seemingly triggering knocks at the front one announcing the arrival of your dinner guests, who had no idea what they were about to walk into.

Alessia looked upstairs and bit down on her bottom lip, contemplating following you, but the continuing knocks at the front door had made the decision for her, the girl composing herself before hurrying over to open it. "Finally! What did I interrupt you mid shag?" mary teased, hurrying inside past her teammate who closed the door afterwards, still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.

"Hope everyone's decent!" mary yells looking around for you, the teasing grin falling flat from her face as she instantly picks up on the strange tension in the room and the somewhat guilty look plastered to the young blonde in front of hers face.

"Where's tooney then?" alessia asked quietly, making her way into the kitchen to grab mary something to drink. "Her turn to buy dinner, she was still trying to decide what to pick up on the way. Hey leave that, what's happened?" mary moved to close the fridge, nudging alessia and opening her arms, the younger girl accepting the hug with a troubled sigh.

"What's gone on less?" mary asked softly, dragging her to sit at the island as the older woman joined her, rubbing her back gently when alessia groaned, dragging her hands down her face before recounting the argument and most of what lead up to it.

"Oh less." mary sighed once she'd finished, alessia resting her head on her hand with a frown. "For a smart girl you're so thick sometimes." mary stated bluntly, shoving the strikers head off of her hand as she swiped her arm out from beneath her. "mary!" alessias frown deepened, shoving the girl back whose smile only grew.

"when you get home from late training, whose got dinner ready and waiting for you on the table?" mary simply asked, shutting down the blondes questions with a wave of her hand, waiting patiently for an answer.

"she does." alessia mumbled.

"when you're in a strop cause we lose or you miss a sitter, whose there afterwards to build you back up and look after you?" mary questioned again, her pointed look shutting down any protests from the younger girl who sighed and repeated the same answer as before.

"when we go on national camps, we're away for what? weeks at a time? same thing with tournaments, away games, media days, we were gone for months with the euro's-" mary continued as alessia let out yet another troubled sigh, the pieces starting to slot together in her head.

"okay yes, I get it." the younger girl intervened, mary waving her off before continuing.

"no less, let me finish. You got upset because what? she doesn't give in to your cry for attention and give into whatever you want from her? which mind you she does do every other day, as well as give her entire care and attention to twenty five kids, daily. God knows I struggle to deal with you lot who are adults daily! Not to even think about how much pressure is likely put on her from the school, her students parents, people can treat teachers like shit. But despite that she still goes out of her way to do the little things like double check your kit bag for you on a weekend in case you forgot something, leave those soppy little notes in your bags for you to find when we go away to camp, go out of her way to cook for you and have it ready when you're home late . But that's probably because she knows how moody you get when you don't eat right." mary joked lightly, bumping her shoulder playfully against her teammates.

"my point is, you can hardly have a go at her for you not thinking she's managing her time right. When the main things you're sopping about her not having time for is something she avoids things like her work, to do. So really..." mary trailed off, looking hopefully to the blonde beside her.

"-she's not bad at managing her time, I need to get better at managing my expectations around her time." alessia finished as mary's eyebrows shot up in surprise, that answer better than what she was even angling for.

"bingo!" mary confirmed as alessia let out another loud groan, feeling the weight of the dirt from the hole she'd dug herself into beginning to weigh heavily on her shoulders. "that makes it sound like I'm one of her students just constantly demanding her time and attention." alessia whined into her hands, shaking her head remorsefully. "I mean you said it, but if the shoe fits..." mary trailed off with a shrug, unable to argue the somewhat valid point made.

"less, you've been infatuated with the girl since you laid eyes on her in that coffee shop, there's a reason we took the mick out of you for it. Show her that when she's struggling to manage her time and her workload, you're there as her partner to help her shoulder it and work through it. Support her like she's always supporting you, its not all about the big gestures either. Do the little things that help take away from the stress she's feeling right now, you love each other very very much, and she still knows that." mary comforted the striker, again gently rubbing a hand up and down her back as alessia nodded.

"well I'd say my work here is done, that'll be 250 pounds for my valuable time and treasured advice please." mary stood to her feet, holding out her hand expectantly, alessia unable to keep from cracking a small smile as she pushed the keepers arm away.

"right. I'll go call tooney and we'll bugger off, you go fix things with your lady and hopefully I'll see you both tomorrow. But-" mary started before alessia cut her off, guessing already what the keeper had to say. "-but if she has reports to do, it's okay that she misses the game." alessia confirms, mary beaming proudly as the two of them walked to the front door.

"good girl, god they grow up and learn so quickly." mary wiped a fake tear from her face as alessia practically shoved her out the door, thanking her and with a quick hug she was disappearing off into the crisp april air.

meanwhile you sat upstairs trying your very best to concentrate on the reports in front of you, your mind running rampant with the stress at the thought of not getting them done, the overthinking causing somewhat of an internal meltdown as you closed your laptop and laid down with a large sigh.

a knock at the bedroom door shifted your focus, you sat back up and hastily yanked the laptop open before resting it on your knees, calling for alessia to come in. the blonde gingerly opened the door and leant against the frame, rocking awkwardly on the balls of her feet as your eyes stayed trained to your screen.

"i made dinner." the older girl announced softly, running a hand through her hair with a small sigh when you didn't respond. "do you want me to bring you up a plate so you can keep working?" she took a seat carefully on the corner of the bed, reaching out to place a hand on your ankle, a small sense of relief spreading through her body when you didn't push her away.

"i'm sorry." "i'm sorry."

you looked up as you both spoke in sync, small smiles settling on both your faces as you did.

"you don't have anything to be sorry for, I've been quite selfish. You have so much on your plate at the moment and instead of helping you share the load I've just been adding to it and complaining when things don't go my way. that's not healthy and not helpful and i'm really sorry, i hope it isn't too late to change that." alessia was quick to apologize again as you closed your laptop and moved, sat beside one another at the end of the bed.

"i could have communicated things a little better instead of just bottling it all up and then snapping on you, that wasn't fair and i'm sorry too. And you were right I do need to get better at managing my time and prioritizing things so it doesn't all bank up to be dealt with at the last minute." you admitted shyly, the both of you reaching out for the others hands, fiddling absentmindedly with one another's fingers.

"i love you." alessia blurted out, a smile creeping onto your face at the words, echoing them back as you both shared a tender kiss, relief filling both your bodies that the argument for now had been resolved.

"where's mearps and tooney?" you asked, perking up as you suddenly remembered part of what lead to the argument in the first place. "at their own places, mary might have popped over and admittedly talked some sense into me." the italian admitted with a guilty smile, the two of you sharing a look before bursting out into laughter, both of you looking toward the keeper as an older sister figure for this reason.

"so, game plan." your girlfriend straightened up, kissing your knuckles before dropping your hand. "i'll bring you up some dinner, you work on your reports, try to go to bed before eleven and get some sleep. then tomorrow i'll drive you to your appointment in the morning, go to my game. You stay here, and do your reports. i'll tell my family we'll go to dinner next week instead, they come every week so they won't mind, we order pizza for dinner and i'll be around if you need anything but i'll stay out of your hair. Then hopefully everything's done by your grandmas birthday on sunday." alessia rambled out, only pausing to take a breath once she'd finished.

"less, baby-" your eyebrows knitted together, the girl holding up her hand to silence your protests before they could fall from your mouth. "no, you always go above and beyond for me, this is the least i can do for you. please?" she practically begged, hand coming to softly rest on your cheek as you nodded, leaning in to connect your lips again, smiling at the all too familiar feeling of warmth it ignited in you.

long term you knew this was a problem you had to work on, but for right now, wrapped up in your little love bubble, you knew things were going to be okay, and that was all that mattered.

#alessia russo #alessia russo x reader #woso fanfics #woso x reader #woso imagine #mary earps #lionesses x reader #woso community #woso

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dixons-sunshine · 2 months ago

Text

More Than Meets The Eye | Quarters Of The Undead

(GIF isn’t mine)

Summary: After Shane demands mushrooms be included in the evening’s dinner, Georgie is sent to go searching for some, her first time ever drifting that far from the camp. But she soon discovers that there’s more than just mushrooms out in the woods.

Era: The Quarry

Part of the Quarters Of The Undead AU.

Warnings: Swearing, arguing, I think that’s it.

Word count: 4.7k

Pairings: Georgianna Hawkins x Daryl Dixon (unestablished/“platonic”); Lydia Vector x Scud Frohmeyer (established/romantic)

A/N: This took me forever to finish but here it is! I hope y’all like it. And massive thanks to @dixonsdarkelf for help with the summary.

Life as she knew it was over. Gone were the days of staying up late to work on grading assignments. Gone were the days of lounging around in the living room with Scud while waiting for Vec to come home from work. Gone were the days where deadlines and failed dates were Georgie’s biggest worries. Instead, now she had to worry about survival. She had to worry about food, safe drinking water. She had to worry about whether or not she would live to see the next day. Despite living in a camp that seemed safe, she knew that everything could change in a blink of an eye. She had seen it happen when the dead first started walking.

Georgie sighed as she worked on fixing a hole in Shane Walsh’s shirt. Or ‘Deputy Dick’, as she had so affectionately named him. A title Vec and Scud had picked up on and used more than even she did. She sat by the unlit campfire as she worked, dreading the nearly full laundry basket of clothes that all had tears or holes that needed fixing. Yes, she loved sewing, but her hand was beginning to cramp up. She needed a break, but she did not want Deputy Dick breathing down her neck for it.

“What the fuck does he do that makes new holes appear in his clothes every single day?” Georgie muttered under her breath, her brows furrowed together in frustration.

From beside her, her best friend, Vec, simply chuckled. “Roll around on the ground, probably,” she mused, leaning back in her chair. “At least then he would be doing something except sit on his ass and “guard the camp” all day.”

Georgie laughed at that and nodded in agreement. “So true.” Her laughter got replaced by a small hiss of pain when she accidentally pricked her finger with the needle. “Shit!”

“You alright, babe?” Vec asked in concern, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just pricked my finger,” she replied with a sigh, closing her eyes to will the stinging sensation away.

“You sure? If you think you need stitches, let me know. I’ll go get the kit right now.”

Georgie laughed at her best friend. She appreciated her attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m sure I’ll survive.” She finished closing the hole in the shirt and tossed it into the laundry basket, before getting up and stretching to get rid of the kinks that had formed in her back. “I think I need a break, though.”

Before Vec could speak up, a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. “Hey, Vee,” Scud greeted her, having to lean down to press a kiss to the top of her head due to Vec being seated on the chair.

“Yup, now I definitely need a break,” Georgie joked, sending Scud a pointed look.

Scud rolled his eyes and flipped her off. “You’re just jealous.”

“Of you? Definitely not.” Georgie pretended to gag, before laughing and looking back to Vec. “I’ll be right back. I just wanna go get something from the tent.”

“Okay,” Vec replied, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun as she peered at Georgie. “You think you could bring my notebook with you?”

“Of course.”

With that, she stalked off towards the tent she shared with Scud and Vec. It was set up near the outskirts, close enough to be a part of the camp, but far enough away that they still had some semblance of privacy. Well, some privacy. Another tent was set up not too far away from theirs. A gray, medium-sized tent that belonged to the Dixon brothers.

Georgie did not know how she felt about the Dixon brothers. When her and Vec had been brought back by Shane, they had already been there. Merle Dixon had wasted no time in being crude to her and Vec. Sexual comments, rude gestures, everything. Georgie had met quite a few guys that needed a reality check in her life, but none of them had been quite as bad as the oldest Dixon brother. And Daryl…

Truth be told, Georgie did not know what to make of the younger Dixon brother. All she knew about him was that he could be quite the sass mouth when he wanted to be. However, he tended to keep more to himself, slinking away into the woods more often than not, sometimes only returning days later with squirrels or other game. From what she could gather, he was a bit of a hothead at times, but he seemed to be nothing like his brother. At least, as far as Georgie could tell.

Georgie heard them before she saw them. Looking up from the ground, she stopped in her tracks and had to witness the same men she had been thinking about only moments prior argue for what seemed like the millionth time. She tended to ignore them when they got into their debacles, but she would not be able to now. For some reason, the two brothers had decided that the front of her tent would be the perfect spot for their battleground.

“What the fuck were you thinkin’?! We could’a used that, Merle!” Daryl exclaimed, angrily motioning towards the tent, towards something that Georgie couldn’t see.

Merle simply scoffed and rolled his eyes, absentmindedly wiping at his nose. “Well boohoo. If ya ask me, you oughta shut your mouth before I break your teeth, Darylina.”

Georgie could see that Daryl was getting angrier by the second. He was practically seething at that point. If someone didn’t intervene, the front of her tent would definitely turn into a war ground, and not only metaphorically. She knew she would not be able to stop them, but if they truly were about to start throwing punches, she wanted to at least get what she had came for before they began.

Forcing herself to brave the situation, she walked on and brushed past them, turning their attention to her. She suddenly felt small under their gazes, but she attempted to remain calm.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. You two can go on in a moment,” she mumbled, ducking into her tent. Working at lightning speed, she grabbed Vec’s notebook and pen from beside her sleeping bag, as well as her own sketchbook and pencil. Shane Walsh’s clothes be damned, she wanted to unwind. While doing so, she was rather shocked that she didn’t hear anymore arguing. Seems like her interruption had managed to prevent the fight from escalating, she figured.

Making her way out of the tent in record time—it had to have been less than a minute—she was surprised to see Daryl still standing right where she had last seen him. Merle had already walked off, her prior interruption having stopped their argument long enough for him to have been the one to get the final say before disappearing. Daryl, however, was still rooted in his spot, for reasons even he himself was unaware.

His piercing cerulean-coloured eyes bored down into her chocolate-coloured ones. He was silent, unmoving, his eyebrows furrowed together in a thoughtful look. His gaze made Georgie shift her weight from one foot to the other, feeling a touch unsettled by it.

“Do you need something?” she asked after a few more beats of silence. Merle was gone, so what could Daryl still be doing in front of her tent? She did not know what to expect. She had never even spoken to him before. She had to learn his name from Scud, so she was unsure what he was about to do. Apologize? Yell at her for butting into their argument? She did not know.

After a few moments of contemplation, Daryl simply turned around and walked off. No apology, no yelling, nothing. Just silence as he disappeared into his own tent. Georgie raised her eyebrows as she watched him close the tent flap, not knowing how to feel about what had just happened.

“Okay, then,” she mused aloud to herself. She shook her head and made her way back to the campsite, back to the unlit campfire where Vec and Scud were.

When Vec saw Georgie, she nudged her head in the direction of their tent. “What was that all about?”

Georgie collapsed into the chair, reaching over to hand Vec her notebook and pen. “You saw that?”

“I heard it.” She opened her notebook, before adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Georgie sighed and shook her head. “I don’t even know. Daryl was pissed at Merle for something. Said “they could have used it”,” Georgie repeated what she had heard. “I wanted to get our things, though, so I pushed past them. That seemed to end their argument.”

“Wait, seriously?” Scud voiced, a little bit impressed. “You usually hate butting into people’s arguments.”

“I do, but they were in front of our tent. I wanted to get our things,” Georgie shrugged nonchalantly. Truth be told, even she was surprised by how bold she had been. Despite not having said much or told them to go argue somewhere else, that was still something new for her. Usually, she would have shrunk away, let them be and hoped that they would go away soon enough. It seemed like the apocalypse was beginning to strengthen her resolve, little by little.

”Damn, Gin. I’m so proud right now,” Vec spoke up, playfully wiping away a nonexistent tear. “I knew you had it in you.”

Georgie chuckled and threw her pencil at Vec, which only elicited a laugh from her. “I hate you both.”

Vec’s laughter died down, and she leaned back in her seat. “Those brothers really are something.”

“Yes, they are.”

Georgie couldn’t seem to get that look Daryl had given her out of her mind. Despite it not being friendly, it had not been hostile, either. For a moment, it had looked like he had been… intrigued?

No, she thought to herself, opening her sketchbook and gratefully accepting the pencil from Vec. She was overthinking it. She needed to forget about it.

However, that was easier said than done.

Georgie sighed as she walked up to Dale. She glanced back towards the cliff, in the direction where the most of the women in the camp had disappeared down to wash the laundry. The Hawkins woman would have followed behind them like usual, but she had been stopped by the Horvath man. For what reason, she was unaware.

“Georgianna,” Dale said in greeting, sending her a friendly smile as he moved to meet her halfway, a small bag in his grasp.

Georgie smiled at him. “How many times do I have to say that just ‘Georgie’ is fine?” she asked him light-heartedly.

“Well, I think Georgianna is a beautiful name and it should be said more often,” Dale countered playfully.

Georgie simply shook her head. “What can I do for you, Dale?”

“How much do you know about mushrooms?”

That took her off guard. “Oh,” she began, frowning slightly. “Enough to know what the poisonous ones look like, but I’m not super confident in my skills. You’d probably have better luck asking Lori.”

Dale pursed his lips. “I would, but I have no idea where she is.” He adjusted the strap of his shotgun over his shoulder. “Shane wants there to be mushrooms with tonight’s dinner.”

Georgie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Of course he does,” she muttered under her breath. “So you want me to go look for some?”

“If it isn’t too much trouble,” he confirmed, holding the bag he had in his hands out towards her.

She smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s not.” Georgie took the bag from him and stepped back. “Believe me, this is a blessing. I’ve been waiting for a reason to explore the woods a bit.” She stopped for a moment and frowned a little. “Am I gonna be alone?”

Dale thought for a moment. “Yes and no? I think Daryl is out hunting, so you might run into him. But you can take someone else with you if you’d like.”

“No, it’s okay,” Georgie said. “I got it.”

Dale smiled at her. “Don’t go too far, though. Stay within shouting distance,” he repeated what he always told anyone that went into the woods. He moved towards the ladder that lead up to the roof of the RV. “And be back before sundown.”

“Could you maybe tell Vec where I’m going if she asks?”

“Of course.”

With that, Dale made his way up the ladder, leaving Georgie alone with her thoughts. She smiled to herself and walked off, stopping only for a brief moment to pick up one of the knives that laid on the chair next to the campfire. It wasn’t exactly the type of knife a person would use when hunting or defending themselves, but it would do. She would not go into the woods without some way to defend herself.

With one final glance at the campsite, she disappeared into the trees, making sure to keep her senses on high alert as she stalked further and further away from the safety of the camp. Despite nothing having happened thus far, she did not feel like testing her luck. She definitely did not feel like getting eaten alive.

“Mushrooms,” Georgie muttered to herself as she looked down at the forest floor, slowing her pace down. “Look for mushrooms.” She bent down and picked up what she thought was a mushroom, quickly discovered it wasn’t, and threw it to the side. “Much easier said than done, but it’s fine. At least I don’t have to do laundry for a change.”

Georgie didn’t know how long she was in the woods, scouring the ground for mushrooms and cutting her hands on a twig once or twice. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. She had a tendency to have no grasp on time or reality when she busied her mind with a task. However, she quickly got brought back to reality when she heard a twig snap behind her. She spun around and gripped the knife in her hand, fully prepared to see a walker stumbling towards her. However, she was surprised to be met with a crossbow raised towards her, piercing blue eyes peering at her over the weapon. The same blue eyes of the man she had spoken to at her tent a few days before.

The air was thick, the silence palpable. For what felt like forever, Georgie and the crossbow-wielding archer just stared at each other, their respective weapons still raised in front of them. However, surprisingly, the younger Dixon was the one to back off first.

Daryl lowered his crossbow and simply looked at Georgie for another few seconds, before speaking up. “The hell’re you doin’ out here?”

Georgie’s eyebrows raised in surprise. She lowered the knife in her hand and simply raised the bag she held in her other one. “Scouring for mushrooms.”

The huntsman hummed in acknowledgement. However, he still looked tense. “Y’shouldn’t be out here,” he replied curtly, his tone cold and lacking any friendliness. “S’too dangerous.”

The Hawkins woman let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. “Typical,” she mumbled, shaking her head, before raising her voice again. “I’m fine.” With that, she turned around and walked on, continuing her search for the damned mushrooms.

Georgie barely got a few feet away before Daryl’s voice rung through the air once more. “S’gettin’ dark. Pretty sure s’hard to find things when ya can’t even see.”

She couldn’t figure out if he was being condescending or not. His tone didn’t waver, nor did his stance, Georgie noted when she turned back around. He was rooted in the same spot, a few squirrels strung over his shoulder and his face betrayed nothing. He managed to upkeep his stoic stature.

Glancing up, Georgie realized that he was right. The sun was beginning to disappear from the sky, its rays painting the sky in hues of orange and yellow. Time had flown by. How long had she been in the woods?

Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other, silently observing her. He waited for her to say something, to tell him to get lost or to leave her alone. He expected it, honestly, and after what she had witnessed between him and Merle, he couldn’t blame her. He would tell himself to go away after that.

“Jesus,” Georgie began after a few moments, turning back to him. “How long have I been out here?” She knew it was futile to ask him. Unless he had been following her since she left the camp, she seriously doubted he would be able to answer her question.

Daryl shrugged and cleared his throat. “The hell’re ya askin’ me for?”

“Sorry.” Georgie raised her hands in mock-surrender. “It was a rhetorical question. No need to bite my head off.”

He simply hummed again, his eyes flickering over her face for a few moments, before looking behind her at something. “Behind ya.”

Georgie spun around, her heart pounding against her ribcage, fully prepared to find someone—or something—but she was met with nothing except trees. Was he doing this for laughs? Did he do that as some sort of payback for interrupting him and Merle the other day?

“Why the fuck would you do that, Daryl?” she asked in exasperation, turning back to him. “You want me to have a heart attack?”

Daryl said nothing. He merely looked at her for a second, before stalking over to her. Or, well, behind her. He bent down, picked something up and extended it towards her. A mushroom.

Georgie felt rather stupid in that moment. She’d snapped at him for nothing. He was just helping her out. However, he definitely could have pointed it out in a better way, she thought to herself as she accepted it from his grasp.

“Thanks.”

Daryl stood up and adjusted his hold on his beloved crossbow, slightly towering over her. He wasn’t that much taller than her—only about four inches, if she had to guess—but it was enough to make her have to look up at him. The sun caught in his hair, giving it a golden hue, and upon closer inspection, Georgie could see little specks of green in his eyes. And the—

“Don’t mention it.”

That snapped Georgie back to reality. She frowned at herself and took a step back from the archer. What was that about?

Daryl glanced up at the sky. “I’d head back if I were you. It ain’t safe out here.”

“Why do you care?” She knew she was being harsh. She knew it was uncalled for. She instantly felt bad about it. “Sorry. I’m sorry, that was rude. I don’t know why I said that.”

“Ain’t nothin’. Heard worse.” Daryl wiped his hand off on his jeans. “Jus’ don’t feel like havin’ your death on my conscience if somethin’ happens.”

Georgie nodded and slung the bag over her shoulder. Choosing to be civil as long as he was, she sheathed the knife through the space between her belt and her jeans and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s fair,” she replied. “Lead the way, I guess.”

Daryl’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise, but he made no comment on her compliance. Instead, he nodded and began walking, making his way back. Georgie followed behind him silently, knowing that there was a time and place to be stubborn, and that was neither the or place. With a quick glance around as she moved, she realized that she had no idea where she was anyway, so Daryl choosing to be somewhat persistent about her following him back was a blessing.

Maybe he knew she was lost. He seemed like an observant guy, so she wouldn’t put it past him.

The minutes ticked by in relative silence. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of leaves crunching under their shoes, the distant sounds of birds’ chirps being replaced by those of crickets, and the whooshing of the late afternoon breeze. It was calm, peaceful, serene. It reminded her of the camping trips her dad used to take her on as a kid.

“Sorry.”

Daryl’s voice rang through the air, taking Georgie by surprise. “What?”

“Sorry,” he repeated himself, keeping his eyes trained in front of him. “For the other day, I mean. The argument. It was ugly and ya didn’t deserve to see it.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned on her. She was shocked to hear him apologize for that. She definitely didn’t expect it. “It’s fine. Shit happens.”

“Mhm.” He glanced at Georgie, finding himself slightly admiring her, even against his better judgement. He wasn’t blind. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, he thought she was beautiful. A few days of observing her from afar showed him that she was a good person. And now their earlier encounter showed him that she had a fire in her, too. So how could he not be a little blown away by her?

After a few more seconds of silence, Georgie found herself speaking up again. “So how hard is it to handle that thing anyway?” She knew her attempt at conversation could have been futile. However, if she had to walk in that tense silence a minute longer, she would lose her mind.

Daryl raised his eyebrows in question. “This?” he inquired, raising his crossbow and continuing when she nodded. “Ain’t that hard if ya know what you’re doin’.”

“It can’t be that hard if you’re asking me,” Georgie scoffed, continuing the conversation now that she knew the archer wouldn’t bite her head off for talking.

“Good thing I ain’t askin’ you, then,” he retorted, stepping over a fallen log. “Think you could do it?”

“I mean, I probably could. I can use a compound bow.”

It was Daryl’s turn to scoff. “S’two very different weapons.”

“Still can’t be that difficult. I think I could use it,” Georgie joked, a smile spreading across her face. “In fact, I’m confident that I can.”

To his surprise, Daryl felt his lips quirk up into a small smile. However, he quickly wiped it from his face. “Whatever ya say. M’willin’a bet that you can’t.”

“Okay,” she mused, nodding her head. “Challenge accepted, Robin Hood.”

The archer snorted at that, but he quickly covered it up with a fake cough. To his shock, he found himself enjoying her company. He couldn’t say that about a lot of people, especially not most of the people at the camp, but there he was. He didn’t know how to feel about that fact. He was conflicted.

“Guess we’ll see—”

The sounds of groans reached his ears. Daryl signalled for Georgie to stop, slowly raising his crossbow in front of him as he stalked forward, his footsteps much quieter than they were only seconds before. Georgie followed behind him, her hand hovering close to the knife that rested against her hip. It took her a little bit longer to hear what he did, but when she did, she realized why he was acting so on edge.

“Is it a walker?” she whispered softly, staying close behind him.

Daryl shushed her. “Be quiet, woman,” he warned her.

Georgie nodded. He was the hunter, after all. If there was anyone that knew about the dangers in these woods, it would be him. He practically lived there, anyway. Despite not knowing him well at all, Georgie knew that she had to trust his judgement. So she shut her mouth and observed as he pulled a few leaf-covered branches back to see what danger lurked there.

Of everything that the two of them could have stumbled across, nothing could have prepared them for that. Just as quickly as Daryl lifted the branches, he just as quickly dropped them, too. His face scrunched up in disgust as he practically jumped back, that visual forever ingrained into his mind.

The visual of Shane and Lori going at it in the middle of the forest floor.

Georgie shared his sentiment. Her eyes were widened in horror, her stomach churning as she fought against the urge to throw up. She definitely could have gone her whole life without seeing that. She never wanted to see that.

“Jesus,” she muttered. “I didn’t want to see that.”

Daryl agreed with that statement. “Yeah.”

“Could have gone my whole life without seeing that and I would have been happy.”

“Mhm.”

The Hawkins woman groaned as she walked as far away from the scene of the crime as she could, reassured she was going the right way when Daryl followed behind her instead of correcting her. “At least now I know why Shane keeps getting holes in his shirt. And Lori…”

“Best if ya try not to think about it,” he advised her, although he knew it would be easier said than done.

“Yeah,” Georgie mumbled. She’d had her suspicions about Shane and Lori—they weren’t as subtle as they thought they were—but she never thought she’d confirm them by seeing them in the act.

The rest of the trek was spent in silence, the previous unexpected camaraderie nowhere to be found. The campsite came into view after about another five minutes of walking, and Georgie could see people gathering around the fire pit. Nobody had spotted them yet, but she was sure they would soon. It’s not like Georgie and Daryl were exactly friends, so them coming back together would probably raise some suspicions.

“Thanks,” she began, turning back to Daryl. “For bringing me back. I know I was a bit of a bitch earlier. You could have left me.”

Daryl shrugged. “Nah. Like I said, don’t need your death on my conscience.”

“Well, thanks anyway,” she said, turning away. However, before she could walk off, his voice reached her ears once more.

“What’s your name?”

Georgie turned back to him. “What?”

Daryl hesitated for a moment. Even he was surprised by the fact that he had asked that. He could easily have let her walk off and be done with her. That would have been easy. He didn’t need friends. But despite that, he found himself repeating the question, the same question he had wanted an answer to for longer than he wanted to admit.

“What’s your name?” he asked again. “I mean, y’know mine. You said it earlier. Now I wanna know yours. Ain’t it considered the good mannered thing to do when exchangin’ names with a stranger?”

Georgie’s lips quirked up into a small smile. “You could always just ask my best friend what my name is. Or Scud or Glenn or somebody,” she replied.

Daryl scoffed. “Yeah, but I don’t wanna do that. I wanna hear it from you.”

The Hawkins woman nodded and sent him a small smile. “Georgianna,” she told him after a few beats of silence. “But just about everyone calls me Georgie. It’s your pick, really. I respond to either.” With that, Georgie turned back around and finally left to head back into the campsite, leaving Daryl alone with his own racing thoughts, ones that confused him immensely, ones that he didn’t understand. Ones he needed to figure out. And Georgie left with the thought that there was definitely more to the archer than meets the eye.

After stopping to drop off the bag with the mushrooms, and telling Dale to sort through them just to be sure none of them are poisonous, Georgie stalked over to her tent at record speed, having piping hot tea to spill to her best friend. Outside, Vec was already waiting with her arms crossed over her chest, a smirk on her face as she peered at Georgie.

“D—”

“Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show her face again,” Vec cut her off, the smirk on her face not wavering, even just for a second. “Don’t worry, by the way. It looks like you’ve got all your clothes on the right side out.”

Georgie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What?”

“I’m a little surprised. A few days ago you weren’t even speaking to each other, and now you’re already getting down and dirty? Even Josh and I didn’t move that fast.”

Realization dawned on her. “Dia, no, we—”

The doctor cut her off again, her excitement getting the better of her. “Tell me everything. How was it?”

“I—”

“Is he a good kisser?”

“He—”

“Did he actually make you finish?”

“No, listen—”

“How many times?”

“Wait—”

“You gonna do it again?”

“Lydia!”

That finally seemed to get Vec’s attention. “What?”