#work in progress this cropped up into my brain while i melt today

[clichenuance]

the first kiss of spring of 2023 came in the shape of 80 degrees

[longlostzoldyck]

healing touch

maki zenin x f!reader

wc: 1.6 words, mdni, sexual content (18+)

warnings/tags: domestic fluff lol, smut, mommy kink, slight dumbification, use of sex toys

summary: you're having some of the worst period cramps of your life, but your girlfriend maki is an absolute angel who takes care of you until you feel better.

notes: we're not going to talk about how i was gone for a couple of days but i am back with a self-indulgent treat lol cause im in severe pain cause of period cramps. i've been working on a series intermittently and im actually trying to plan this out before i start posting it, but aghh my brain hurts. i have the first chapter ready for it, but i only have like less than half of it planned?? idk lol we'll see how i progress as i start having to deal with university work. hope someone enjoys and im sorry in advance lol its not my best xx thea

you had been in bed for so long you wanted to be anywhere but there. on one hand you were grateful you had a girlfriend who adored you enough to be at your beck and call while you were dealing with severe period cramps, but on the other hand you also wanted to feel somewhat useful.

today maki had to leave to train and work out for a bit so you were alone for the morning. you barely even noticed it since you slept in after falling asleep at dawn. your cramps were just destroying you as of late. it literally felt like someone was stretching out your insides and no matter how many painkillers you'd take, you'd still feel the dull pain attacking your stomach.

by the time you woke up she was in the shower. you turned over moving the heating pad off your stomach feeling the heat starting to burn your skin. she emerged from your bathroom already dressed in a crop top and cozy pants with a towel in her hand for her still damp hair. you turned groaning at the light sting coming from your stomach.

"now why'd you do that," she teased leaning over you to press a soft kiss to your lips.

"just wanted a kiss from my girlfriend," you stated so matter of factly only to tease her further. she rolled her eyes with a smile kissing you shortly again before standing properly.

"how's the pain today?, she asked sitting next to you and still twisting her hair in the towel.

"if i don't move from my current position, it is fine," you responded. "other than that, i'm pretty much fucked."

"have you eaten?," she asked next. you shook your head and she simply narrowed her eyes at you in response. you simply extended your arms to her in a grabby motion, wanting to feel her close to you already.

she tossed the towel into your bathroom then shifting closer to you. you smiled inching your way even closer to her until you wrapped your arms around her waist and she pulled you into her embrace.

"you're so cozy," she chuckled softly at your words rubbing soft circles into your skin. "thank you for staying in with me."

"you don't have to thank me," she responded pressing a kiss to your head. you knew she was right because you'd return the favor whenever her period came too.

you stayed in bed for the rest of the day simply enjoying each other's presence. you watched some movies and just cuddled as the cramps continued to rock through your body. by the time you were finishing your third movie of the day, you noticed the sun was starting to go down as the amber rays peaked into your room.

at this point you were laying between maki's legs, your arms wrapped around the other in a tight embrace. as the credits rolled you shifted slightly in her arms then turning your face to hers. she shifted her eyes down to you, holding your gaze for a moment before moving on to your lips. you leaned up capturing her lips between yours pulling her in for a sensual kiss.

you slotted your lips against each other savoring one another as you melted into her. she was surprisingly hesitant against you, leaving you to take the lead and slip your tongue into her mouth. she moaned softly in your lips which only spurred you on as you continued making out passionately.

"mommy," you mumbled against her lips hoping it would spur her to take control and spoil you for the night.

"you're driving me insane, pretty girl," she replied. you could even hear how she was holding back in her voice, trying to keep her tone steady and not just completely devour you on the spot.

"i want you to make me feel good, mommy," you said against her lips and she simply groaned diving back into your lips.

"don't worry about a thing, angel. mommy's got you."

you moaned into her mouth which she took as an opportunity to stick her tongue into your mouth, massaging it against yours. the pain in your stomach began to melt away more and more as she left you moaning and breathless against her lips.

she moved her hands down your waist groping your sides before making it down to your plump ass. maki loved running her hands up and down your body, squeezing and relishing in the feeling of your skin against hers. she pinched your plush thighs leaving you mewling in her mouth and needing more.

"mommy, please... more," you practically begged into the kiss.

"my little girl has been in so much pain recently. my poor little baby, gonna have to make you cum till you can't think anymore."

"please mommy," she smiled at your response so eager for her affection.

she softly turned you in her grasp to have you laying face up as she leaned to the side reaching into the bedside table. you could only imagine what toy she had in mind for you. her enhanced strength made it so she could easily manhandle you which was especially convenient in times like this when you didn't want to move. she moved you up her body slightly then pressing her lips to the side of you neck.

the familiar sound of one of your favorite vibrators filled the room. you jolted in in her arms feeling her running the toy up the inside of your thigh leaving you practically shaking. maki could be sadistic with her teasing when she wanted to. she was incredibly tempted by your angelic moans and gasps to tease you until your couldn't take it anymore, but she also wanted to ease your pain and have you cumming for hours. it was quite a toss up.

"gonna make you feel so good, baby," she said moving the vibrator over your mound on top of your underwear. you sighed feeling the soft vibrations hovering just above from where you wanted them. she smiled at the sight of having you sighing so mindlessly from her lingering touches as she tugged your underwear to the side and pressed the vibrator directly against you skin. "my poor little baby just needs to cum to make her tummy feel better."

she finally ran the vibrator up your slit leaving you a moaning mess from the sheer contact. she finally settled the vibrating wand against your clit bringing a new level of pleasure to your poor little bundle of nerves.

"s-so good, mommy," you moaned out reaching back for her. she tilted your head back softly planting her lips against yours in a kiss that left you breathless. you were in a different stratosphere of pleasure simply feeling your body buzzing in anticipation of your building orgasm.

you just moaned helplessly in her grasp, digging your nails in the arm wrapped around your body and holding the vibrator over your clit. you clutched on to her tighter and tighter as your first orgasm rushed through you. she smiled into your neck sucking on the skin gleefully as you rode out your orgasm. you began to groan against her lips as you became more and more overstimulated by the vibrator that she kept pressed snugly against your clit.

"too much," you managed to string together the words as you reached behind you for her, but she didn't move the toy, instead drawing painful circles around your clit. you squirmed in her grasp as tears started to gather in your eyes. "mo-", you moaned throwing your head back even more losing yourself in the blinding pleasure deep in your stomach.

"what was that, angel?," she whispered against the shell of your ear slowing the movements on your clit which left you reeling in her grasp. "do you want me to slow down?"

"no, no, no," you begged letting out a deep sigh as she slowly began to pick up her pace.

"my little girl looks so pretty when she's about to cum," she cooed in your ear as she pinched one of her nipples with her free hand.

you were cumming in her arms again with a scream as the pleasure and pain of such subsequent orgasms shot through you. you sunk your nails into her arm sure you had to have drawn blood. you just saw white as the pleasure crashed through you. maki held you as you slowly regained consciousness.

you looked down to maki's arm seeing you hadn't actually drawn blood but left deep crescent marks down her arm. you smiled rubbing your fingers over the marks lovingly. maki adored when you marked her up, carrying the remnants of your affection for days afterwards. she'd catch a glance of herself in a mirror and see some hickey or nail mark and just smile at the thought of you.

maki drew your attention back to her when she cupped your cheek and pulled you in for a loving kiss. you let out a breathless sigh in between kisses as she just attacked you in sweet kisses.

"you're so good to me," you gushed against her lips reaching up to run your fingers through her hair to deepen your innocent kiss.

"i love you, baby. it's sort of part of the deal," she teased you, giving you the bit of reassurance you needed. you gently turned in her lap straddling her hips properly and slotting your lips back together.

"i know and i love you too," you responded. you both smiled into the kiss as maki ran her hands down your body cupping your plump cheeks in her hands again. you let out an unexpected moan against her lips as she continued to squeeze your ass in her hands.

"you didn't think i was done with you yet, did you?," she questioned before sliding her tongue back into your moan basically sucking whatever air you had in your lungs. she wasn't lying when she said she was going to make you cum until you couldn't think.

[stopeatingwhales]

pregnant x damon albarn

MORE DILF DAMON. this made me want to slowly die I cant it was so cute to write

Pairing: 2014 damon albarn x reader

Warnings: none :D

Word count: 1.341

Requested by anon <3

༉‧₊˚✧

The world around me seemed as if it was spinning at a pace more sporadic than lightwaves as I attempted to focus my gaze on the two faint red lines, which had begun to illustrate themselves on the plastic stick, increasing it’s coloured prominence after each second had passed. Those same two lines, coincidentally, provided me the answer to all the dilemmas that had been enthralled and cultivated over the past week: the consistent queasy feeling that encompassed my limbs every moment I tried to fix my body in a standing position, my guts instantly being triggered by the sudden movement that I would go and throw up - said to be morning sickness, the irritable craving for any little thing that cropped up into my brain for less than the sum of a minute, resulting in me forcing my boyfriend to journey to the corner store, purchasing the specific one that I had wanted, otherwise I would’ve gotten all fussy and made him return back to get it; as well as the horrible mood swings that would occur, provoked by the sudden increase in hormone levels displacing my demeanour constantly, remaining me a mopey mess… It was simply a fever, a cold, a horrible catch of influenza, though as soon as the realisation washed over me that I had skipped the supposed due date for my period, the ideation dawned on me, which was answered in the only way possible - a pregnancy test. Managing to get my friend to purchase one for me as I was bedridden for days on end, proving my physical inability to do simple household tasks myself due to the morning sickness that I had developed, I avoided telling Damon about my speculations, merely because I didn’t want to get his hopes up. The talk of bearing another child had been levitating in the empyrean of our conversations for a short while, mainly beginning as simple jokes, which would then mature into the statement ‘Imagine raising a child…’, though no conversations had ever progressed into concluding such dreams of doing so.

“Hiya love,” Damon said, instantly turning his head to the door as he set his eyes upon the sight of me strutting into the living room, managing to walk around without the nauseating feeling erupting in my throat for the first time in hours. He thought that I was asleep, the only times the sounds of my shuffling around audible was when I had headed to the bathroom - the place in which I had found out the newfound news that had been growing inside my lower stomach. He stood up slowly, reaching my side as he provided assistance to make my way over to sit on the sofa, beside where he was sitting, engulfed in whatever was shown on the television. Once we sat down, and he was fully sure that I was comfortable, he sat down beside me, where he had previously sat before I entered the living space. Admiring his features, I noticed that he looked tired, exhausted even; he was working extremely long, tiring hours at the studio as the release date for his upcoming solo album - tonight being his only free evening. My heart panged in my chest for the short period that my eyes laid on him, exhaling slightly as I realised that returning home to his partner being in such a temperamental state perpetually, would affect him more than he would care to admit, at all; he would be adamant that I hadn’t been making him feel worse, though by the look of his drained features, I might just have. “You alright?”

Nodding my head, I directed my vision to stare at the random episode of some antique show that had been displayed on the television. “Why on earth are you watching this?” I laughed, grabbing the remote to switch channels to something more interesting.

“There’s nothing to watch!” he groaned, though it sounded more like a chuckle laced with slight annoyance towards how bland the channels had been today. Deciding upon leaving the television on the news, not caring excessively over what was playing, I turned my head to fixate my stare on Damon, our gazes meeting. His piercing blue eyes burned straight through mine as if to telepathically question upon why I hadn’t simply called him over to our bedroom, the fatigue embraced on my features almost foreshadowing the thought that from my projected abnormalities, another thing had been plaguing my mind; something else was going on.

Stretching my arms out in the air, I filled the silence that had collapsed between the pair of us, the only sounds audible echoing out from the television speakers. “I think I know why I’ve been feeling so sickly.” I mumbled, my body relishing in the sensation of my limbs, once aching in outright pain from being stuck in one position under my duvet for many hours on end, finally fulfilling its use in movement.

“Because of your fever?” he replied, a small laugh escaping his throat at what had seemed to be such an obvious answer to the question that had been floating in the atmosphere of our minds. For all Damon knew right now, was that I was poorly with what could only be concluded as a monstrosity of a fever, and was being far too dramatic at the thought that I was going to die constantly from the overwhelming waves of heat that had kept flushing over my skin.

As I shook my head slightly, a miniscule grin casted on my lips as I set my mind on speculating his reaction to me mentioning the ultimating news that I had come across simply a couple of minutes ago. “It’s not that…” I trailed off, my voice shrinking in volume as I allowed my right hand to rest on my lower stomach, patting it lightly, giving the notion that it had something to do with my stomach. My eyes stayed focused on Damon’s expression as I watched his eyes squint together for a short while, confusion outcased across his features, my smile widening at how oblivious he was being.

The beam that perched on my lips simply grew Damon’s puzzled state even more, until realisation washed over him, to which his eyes widened, his head merely cocking to the side as he wondered whether it was appropriate to ask or not. “You’re not…”

Water began to softly brim my eyelids as my smile enlarged, exposing my teeth as I managed to lift my body and straddle Damon’s lap, taking ahold of one of his hands, so soft to the touch, lifting my shirt up slightly as I placed his hand on my lower stomach - the place in which our future child was inhabited. Disbelief poured over his expression; he was left speechless as he awaited such confirmation toward his suspicions. Placing my lips gently onto his, I held our bodies in a warm, slow, passionate kiss, goosebumps coming alive on my forearms as I allowed the salty liquid to escape from my eyes as they were closed shut. “I’m pregnant.” I said, detaching my lips away from his as I marvelled at his face lighting up with joy, his arms embracing me in another hug. Upon finding out that the option was attained, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. There was a life growing inside my belly, a life that had been formed from such passion and affection shared between the person that I had loved most, somebody that had provided me the knowledge that you can never stop loving somebody, and the love that you have for them, grows every single day.

Both his hands began tucking fallen strands of my hair behind both my ears, eventually holding my face in his hands as I melted into his touch, his thumbs softly swiping against my now tear-stained cheeks as he brought my forehead forward to brush against his. “You are going to be the best mother in the world.” he stated, his lips connecting with mine once again.

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

IF You Love Someone, Let Them Go: Part 5

Summary: Since starting with SVU, Sonny hadn’t kept much terribly close to the chest. The squad knew about his family, growing up on Staten Island, the classes at Fordam. What was hidden was why he didn’t date. Sonny Carisi was also separated from his childhood sweetheart, a separation neither ever took to divorce. They had the same haunts. They’d grown up neighbors. Their paths crossed every few months, and divorce talks would turn into reminiscing would turn into a night spent together, sometimes sex sometimes just talking until the early morning. It always ended with one of them waking up alone however. How will that change when the squad finds out?

Pairings: Sonny Carisi x Original Character,

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

March 2015

“You’ll see me two times in three weeks,” Victoria smiled, wine in hand as she settled in the seat beside Sonny. It was Tommy and Bella’s engagement party, which Gianni was treating as a bridal shower. The whole engagement would only have been three months, and it seemed the two younger Carisis had cost her the months of parties and planning Gina and Teresa had given her. At least Sonny and Victoria had gotten married in a church a year after they eloped. Tommy and Bella would be getting married outdoors, while she was pregnant. Everyone pretended not to notice the slightest bit of a bump, easily confused for weight gain if you didn’t know, when Gianna was around before fussing over Bella the minute she left.

“I’m a lucky bastard.”

“I hope you told your squad.”

“We’re all going out the Saturday before. I’m doing it then.”

“Really pushed it off, huh?” she asked, and he didn’t like the hurt she was trying to hide. 

“The cases got heavy during the holidays. And then we busted up a sex ring and I was undercover. That also felt like a weird time. I kinda realized there wasn’t going to be a good one.”

“Yeah. Tommy and Bella inviting them kinda twisted your arm, huh?”

“Yeah. But it’s good. The last step.”

“They all coming?”

“Olivia for sure. I think Rollins and Amaro are coming together, and then honestly? Barba will when he finds out there’s gossip. He’s kind of a dick, but an amazing attorney. I really wanna shadow him sometime, but I’m too green to ask, y’know?”

“Yeah. I’m sure it’ll be nice when the time comes. And I think it’ll make Bella and Tommy happy. If it weren’t for them, it coulda been bad.”

“I got brother brain instead of cop brain, so yeah. I still can’t believe she’s having a baby.”

“It’s wild. And I know you don’t like Tommy, but he’s got a good heart.”

“And got locked up.”

“Everyone has their own problems.” 

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Same deal as Gina’s wedding? No marriage problems talk. Just have fun and be sentimental.”

“Deal. Though if your squad asks, I’m not ignoring it.”

“Fair. But also tell the cute stories.”

“I’ll bring the photo albums.” He laughed, arm settled around her shoulders. When they’d moved out, she’d taken to collecting all the pictures of them and adding them to a photo album. She’d gotten copies of dozens of pictures from his mom, who had always kept them organized by year in boxes. When she left, Victoria took them, and he missed being able to thumb through the pages. There were multiple volumes at this point. The pages got harder to find. She didn’t scrapbook. Instead, she used the pages with four slots each, keeping them up as time went on. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were pictures from Gina’s wedding in the most recent. Maybe there were even pictures of them separate from each other to bridge the gap. 

“Please don’t give Rollins and Barba that ammo. They’ll steal the really bad ones.”

“I like the ones from prom the best. Could we look any more 2004?”

“We looked damn good.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not super dated.”

“True. It’s okay. We got the pictures from Gina’s wedding. We don’t look like we’re separated in them.”

“True. You got the dimples on full display.”

“I seen the dresses Bella picked. I know you hate it. You won’t like this one so much.”

“I love it.” He raised a brow at the feigned enthusiasm. “Dom, that pink is gonna be so bad on a pale red head.”

“I like you in pink.”

“You like me in anything.”

“Because you look good in anything. Dark green’s my favorite though.”

“Mine too. Thank God for Gina. I’ll wear that dress again.”

“I’m sure I’ll have to go to some fundraising thing…”

“You asking me to be your date before you even know?”

“You’re always who I ask to be my date.”

“I better be. We’re married.”

“Gettin’ awful territorial, Mrs. Carisi.”

“You put your ring on your hand today.”

“And you put them both on the right finger.”

“It’s almost like we’re making progress.”

“I want to tell you. I’m ready. But not until after the wedding.”

“Why then?”

“In case you don’t look at me all happy anymore.”

“Literally nothing you could tell me could make me not want to work on it. Unless you cheated on me.”

“You’re the first, last, and only.”

“You are too.”

“We oughta stop being sappy. People are coming and we got put with people we don’t know.”

“Gross. It’s like ma is mad at me.”

“I’m just glad she knew better than to try and make us sit apart. I’m sittin’ with my wife.”

“You two aren’t even pretending to be awkward,” Bella teased, leaning to hug Victoria and then her brother. “This nonsense almost over?”

“Butt out,” Sonny warned, but he was still smiling. “Strictly married talk.” 

“Two weeks and ya can’t use that excuse.”

“Then it’ll be strictly talks with my wife.”

“Stop, Dom,” Victoria laughed. “You look beautiful, Bella. How you feeling?”

“Kid’s making me tired as hell. I’m excited though. Tommy talks to her every night. It’s been hard, after what that bitch did. But he’s doing so good.”

“I can tell. I’m just glad you’re so happy.”

“I really am, T.” 

“You look beautiful. I like this dress a lot.”

“Thanks. I like feeling all bridal.” Sonny was content to watch Bella and Victoria catch up. Over the last year, he’d come to realize every time they talked came around to when Victoria was taking him back. He probably hadn’t helped that any, constantly acting like he didn’t know why she’d gone. Thanksgiving had changed that. He stood up to his mom more, told her he was in therapy, and openly defended Victoria. The last part wasn’t new, but this time it was specific to her decision to leave. He’d told his family in no uncertain terms that, while he thought she should’ve told him earlier instead of letting the hurt fester, he had done something wrong and he was trying to fix that so they could start over. His mom and dad didn’t like that. Generationally, bottling up feelings was more acceptable to them. His sisters, on the other hand, hugged him tight and told him they were proud of him. 

Their table filled up quickly as guests arrived, and Sonny was happy to help Victoria keep conversation moving until his parents spoke. That was the plan for tonight. Appetizers, speeches from the bride and groom’s parents, dinner, dessert, and finally dancing and cocktails. It was quickly apparent all the family’s required-but-barely-liked invites went to the table they’d put Victoria and Sonny at, a sure sign Gianna was over dealing with their drama. He was thankful his sister wouldn’t be having assigned seating at the reception for anyone, the bridal party included, though the thought of having Victoria joining his squad at a table made him nervous.

“I thought they’d never go dance,” she said softly against his ear, and Sonny smiled more from the closeness than the sentiment. Damn, it felt good to have her on his team. She wasn’t there day in and out, so these events felt more valuable to him now.

“Right? He’s from dad’s work. Known each other forever. I don’t know why the hell they invited him.” Her hair tickled his cheek as they gossiped, watching the people around the room and nursing their drinks. He decided they didn’t have a heavy case, so he’d tell the squad the next day, that way the giddiness of the evening would still be fresh. When they’d both finished their drinks, he took her hand, pulling her towards the floor. 

“I was comfy,” she protested half heartedly before she realized he’d pulled her up for Sinatra. One hand on his shoulder and the other in his, she let him lead the few moves they’d learned in a ballroom class they’d taken. It had only been a couple years into their marriage, and they took it because it made them feel older and less like imposters. Now, all either could really remember was a boxstep, and their frame was terrible. That didn’t matter though. What did matter was Sonny resting his temple against hers to sing softly against her ear. When one swing tune melted into another, she was grateful Gianna had picked the music for this wedding event. 

“Looks like we get to dance all slow again,” he teased, giving her a spin before holding her close.

“For someone getting mad when we get along, your ma worked real hard for us to get along.”

“She’s just mad it isn’t like when we were kids. If we fought in middle school, she’d give us a pizza, and we’d be over it.”

“Very true,” she grinned, looking up at him. He looked handsome, and after what came out to two years of seeing him deteriorate, she was grateful he was actually getting back to himself. She wasn’t sure if therapy, the job, or the slow progress they were making was the reason, but he was her Sonny again. He kept his hair cropped, face shaved, and smile present.

“You’re staring,” he teased before tightening his grip to dip her. 

“You look good. Like not just handsome. Happy.”

“Thanks,” he smiled softly when he pulled her up again. “I’m learning to process stuff better.”

“That’s good.”

“It sounds messed up, but thank you for leaving. It made me go to therapy. I really wasn’t being good to you, Tor. And I’m sorry for that.”

“I forgive you, Dom. I wasn’t doing a good job talking to you about it. I’m sorry for not pressing until we hit the point of no return.”

“It’s okay,” he said, forehead resting on hers. “I think we’re gonna be okay.”

“Me too.”

“Can we get somebody to take pictures of us?” 

“Bella got a photographer, and he has definitely taken several.”

“This camera shy Sonny or detective Sonny noticing?”

“It’s Sonny seeing Gina tell him to.”

“You ever feel like the kids are trying to get us back together?”

“All the time, doll. You know how often Gina or Teresa go after me? Then Bella meddles. But Mia? She’s 17 and bound and determined she’s going to be the one to talk sense into me. And she kind of is. She actually talked to me about therapy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t know why but knows my brain shuts down when I try to open up. Heard me tellin Teresa. Said it’s toxic masculinity makin’ me feel like talking about feelings is girly and I gotta get over that if I wanna stay married and making you happy.”

“I ever tell you Mia’s my favorite?”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

“How long until we can run away and go to a bar?”

“Anybody else left yet?”

“Your cousin Lauren and some of Bella’s friends.”

“What bar you thinking? Because you look too pretty to not take to some classy wine bar.”

“That works for me.”

“Then let’s go tell Bella and Tommy bye.”

“What about Gianna?”

“It’s not her engagement.” Victoria almost felt like they were back in high school and cutting class as they said their goodbyes and got their coats. Why the hell his sister was getting married outdoors in winter was beyond Victoria, but she was grateful for the fact they’d probably end up rained out and inside for the ceremony. Sonny hailed a cab, waving when he saw his mother watching them from a window. 

“She’s pissed, Dom.”

“Too bad. Taking you to a nice wine bar. Ordering a cheese board.”

“You’re making it sound like a date.”

“I been shit and ain’t taken you on one in two years. Can it be?”

“I’d like that.” She was nervous, but it had become apparent he was trying. From what he said, in a couple weeks he’d be willing to open up. He was also communicating with her as it was. Maybe treating the next two weeks as a trial run could be good. Ease into the heavy discussion. He’d mentioned being afraid how she’d react. Maybe if she was always there again, he’d realize she wasn’t leaving. 

“C’mon, whatcha thinking Tor?”

“Just that I’m happy we’re making progress,” she fibbed, lacing their fingers. He looked to their hands and smiled, squeezing her fingers gently. 

“Me too.” Soon enough they were settled at the bar, and Sonny, true to his word, had ordered a bottle of wine and a cheese board. She was turned to face him, legs carefully crossed. He had the leg towards the room on the footrest around the base of her stool. She was boxed in, but it felt reassuring when paired with his hand on her leg. 

“So what’s this new squad like?” Sonny had never quite settled in anywhere since he’d become a detective, and he seemed smitten with his spot in Manhattan. 

“So Barba is the ADA. Covered him. Liv is Lieutenant. Nobody ever really gave me a shot before. Apparently I can be abrasive.” He threw the hand not on her leg up in mock affront, and she laughed. 

“You? Never.”

“I know,” he said, ignoring her sarcasm. “Rollins is cool. She’s been through a lot. She’s from Georgia though. I know you mostly grew up here, but you get that same Southern catty as her. Means it doesn’t get to me, because I know the secret. That she doesn't really mean it. Amaro is cool too. Had some problems too. Come to think of it, I don’t know why I’m acting like they won’t understand or accept our marriage. Fin’s been there longest, other than Lieu.”

“They treating you well?”

“They are. I think I’m finally not just a newbie. Barba gets mean. He’s not southern snarky though, so I think he means it.”

“I’ll fight him.”

“You’d win. He’s got a big mouth, but I don’t think he’d be scrappy.”

“I’m just real proud of you.”

“That means a lot to me, Tor.”

“You worked real hard. I watched that. And you’re going to be an amazing attorney.”

“I think I wanna try for the DA’s office if I pass the bar next year.”

“You’ll pass the bar.”

He rolled his eyes, pouring her another glass of wine as he topped off his own. When the night was over, he walked her to her door, kissing her goodnight and going to his own apartment. Sonny had decided that if it was going to be a date, he’d be a gentleman. Things were still delicate, and he had to leave early when she had a day off. He did text her the next morning to say he’d enjoyed their date, not wanting to have the wedding be the next time they talked. When he arrived at the precinct, he went to Olivia’s door, knocking. 

“What’s going on, Carisi?”

“Since the squad’s coming to my sister’s weddin’ now, I felt like I gotta tell everybody I’m married and it’s really confusing.”

“Since you hadn’t mentioned it, I assumed you were getting a divorce.”

“You knew?”

“I did get sent your file when you started here. You know, I do read those.”

“I messed up bad, y’know? She’s a baker, right? And I’ve known her since I was five. Got married when we were eighteen. It was all good until I got to homicide.” Oliva gave him a sympathetic, knowing smile. “What I told you guys? How the women got to me? I was scared if I told her, I’d, like, tarnish her. Make her see all the bad stuff we see. It’s amazing talking to her, Lieu. She never stopped seeing the best in people. And I stopped acting like her husband because I thought just being close to me would transfer all of it. She left me, but we’re in a weird limbo. She’s in the wedding, and we act married when we see each other. This’ll only be the sixth time in a year and a half. But I don’t want her to meet everyone and they’re all like who the hell are you.”

“This job can make that part of life incredibly difficult, Carisi. I feel the same way sometimes about Noah. What if they take him? What if I’m so paranoid he grows up paranoid? Or god forbid he sees pictures? I try to refocus it. I think about how he can make light in those bad times. I don’t know much about her, but I’m guessing she does too?”

“She does.”

“Tell her, Carisi. If she knows something is wrong, she’ll be able to get through it.”

“I’m telling her after the wedding. My therapist said it might make it less stressful. I’ve been afraid she’ll change her mind when I tell her.”

“It’ll work out. It is a smart idea to make sure everyone knows. Barba’s coming with me, so I’ll make sure he knows and keep him in line.”

“Thanks Lieu. For this whole talk, but also giving me a shot.”

Tag List: @cycat4077 @fear-less-write-more

[yodawgiherd]

Wind's howling

Rating: T

>>>Read on AO3<<<

“No….no, I’m still not feeling it. Take it off. “

“You can’t be serious. “

“Oh but I very much am. “

The make-up lady was patient, very patient in fact, but even she had limits. With an expression of total anguish, she turned towards the bald photographer.

“Dot. For god’s sake, we’ve been sitting here for the last hour trying different things, and you are still not satisfied. What the hell do you want? “

“I… don’t know! But not this, that’s for sure. “, he gave the woman a very friendly smile. “I’m sorry, I really am, but I can’t work unless It’s perfect. “

She groaned, turning towards Mikasa who was perched on the stool and started dabbing her face with a wet cotton pad, removing the make-up she placed there a mere minutes ago. Behind her, Pixis started pacing around the room, muttering to himself.

“I’m sorry I’m taking so much of your time. “, Mikasa whispered, feeling the woman’s pain.

“Oh don’t be. “, she smiled at her, “You are an amazing model dear, not a word of protest or discomfort, I wish I could work with you every day. Dot….Dot is always like this. “, with a practiced motion, she wiped the eyeliner away with one sweep, “This is my job after all. “

“Mikasa, tell me, when you train, you don’t wear anything right? “, that was Pixis asking, coming close after he finished his round around the studio.

“W-What? Of course I’m wearing clothes! “

“Oh, no, not like that. “, he grinned when he saw her blush furiously, “I mean make-up. You don’t have any when you work out right? “

“Well, of course not. Why would I? “

He snapped his fingers.

“That’s it. We are going to make the shoot without any make-up. “

The make-up artist was just about done.

“Pixis…“

“No, no, it makes perfect sense! This is a gym clothes presentation, and I aim to make it as realistic as possible! “

Model with a naked face. You know what? Fine. The girl had a really pretty complexion anyway, nicely pale skin which complimented her black hair. The artist gave up. With a last shrug, she carefully wiped everything from Mikasa’s face, leaving it completely bare, before standing up and going to sit by the door with an expression of total apathy. The model-in-making straightened herself, looking around the room. It was arranged to look a little bit like the gym, with Dot having a few men drag in actual machines. There was a punching bag, bench-press, and a few more, but somehow, she didn’t feel right at home. Maybe because of the lights everywhere and the agitated photographer running around.

“How do you want me? “, she asked, kinda eager to be done with this.

Upon hearing the slight hitch in her voice, he stopped and walked over to her, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“You are still nervous, aren’t you? “

“Yes…“

“Look, Mikasa, I know that’s it’s rather cliché to say, but just be yourself. “

“But I just…“, she hugged herself, the earlier boldness she felt completely gone by now, “I don’t feel like a model. “

“Don’t feel like a model? “, he repeated after her, shaking his head, “And how is a model supposed to look like? You have a body to die for, my dear, and it’s clear to see that this, “, he gestured around himself, pointing at the gym machines, “is what you are good at, it’s something you understand. So use it. The muscles you have, don’t hide them, show them! Be proud of your work! Look, If I wanted a generic blond woman, I could pick one out of the hundreds that apply here. But those, they wouldn’t fit like you do, you are a natural for this kind of photoshoot. So please, as I said, just act like you normally do when you work out, and ill snap a few photos. That’s it. “

Following his advice, Mikasa took a deep breath and walked over to the punching bag, hitting it a few times experimentally. The clothes she had on now were similar to her normal gym wear, tight cropped top and shorts, not hindering her movements at all. And as she gave in to the routine, everything, the lights, Pixis, all of the studio simply faded into the background. Why did it matter where she was? Here, there’s a bag, punch it. Mikasa was just getting warmed up when a hand fell on her shoulder, and after she turned she could see that it was the photographer, eyes shining.

“That was amazing! The expression of perfect focus! The grace! The strength! “

“Ehm… Why did you stop me then? “

“Well, “¸ he pointed at her chest, “we need you to change clothes, I got this set covered. “

This went on for some time, with Mikasa being left to her own devices, Dot only chiming in when he needed her to dress in something different. It was…relaxing after all. There really was no pressure from anyone, just a few quick easy requests from time to time, that was it. And Mikasa, despite her expectations, found herself enjoying this. When Pixis put down the camera, calling it a day she wasn’t even winded, but looking outside she could see that the sky darkened significantly. And a new thought struck her.

Where the hell was Levi?

“It was…uhm…nice working with you…Petra. “

“Same. Be seeing you. “

And with that Petra, who he hasn’t seen since college, turned her back and left. Once he was alone, he leaned back against a wall, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. Fuck, this so was awkward. Levi really wished that he could have a cigarette right now, but there was some bullshit rule about no smoking inside and shit, so he ran a palm over his face instead. When she came through the door for the first time, they both froze. It was really her. He knew Petra back in college, she was his…friend? Sometimes he liked to think that they were about to be more. But then the stuff with Mikasa happened, Levi had to drop out, and he hasn’t seen her since. He couldn’t say anything, he just stared at her, unable to conjure any two words together. In the end, it was her who managed to move first, coming close with an outstretched hand.

“Hello, my name is Petra Ral, I’ll be your photographer today. Can we start? “

Taken back, he shook her hand, thoughts racking in his brain. Did she forget him? But if she did, why did she freeze when she came in? It made no sense. But Petra was already setting up her machine, completely ignoring him. For some reason, she just acted like she didn’t know him, and he, having no idea what to do, went along with it. She took the photos with an efficiency of a professional, talking to her model only when she had to, the camera in her hand snapping away. Levi followed every instruction she gave him as quickly as he could, and they proceeded swiftly, until she straightened and announced that they are done. And left, without another word. Fuck. To add insult to injury, he could see Mikasa approaching with some old man in tow, apparently deep in a conversation.

“…oh don’t be so modest, your ass is going to make that brand of yoga pants a best seller. And we haven’t even done the bikini yet! That reminds me, is there something else we could use? “, he was just asking.

“Well, I ride a bike…“

“Amazing! We could definitely use a new face for biker stuff, and you would look gorgeous in leather! I’ll put that on a table for Kiyomi. How about….“

But Levi just wanted to be fucking gone, the unexpected meeting turning his world upside down.

“Hey brat, you done? Can we go? “, he stepped in, rather rudely interrupting Pixis.

“Yea… Sure, ehm…“, she turned back towards Dot, “Thanks for everything, today was a lot of fun. “

Ignoring her rude midget of a brother, he smiled at her.

“Of course, anytime. I’ll be in touch! “

With that, they parted, with him going back to the studio while Mikasa came to stand next to Levi.

“What’s eating you? “, she asked, frowning.

“Nothing. Let’s just fucking bail. “, he walked away at a brisk pace, heading towards the exit. They couldn’t get out of this fucking building fast enough.

“Just act normal, please. “

“Sure, let us all forget that she broke your heart and…“

“She didn’t break anything, okay? We just ended it, it happens. “

Sasha groaned, frowning at Armin who was so pale that she wondered if there is any blood left in his face.

“I’m still going to spit in her drink though. “

“Please don’t. “

“I just don’t understand! Why would you invite her here? “

“I just…“, honestly speaking, Armin had no idea what made him call Annie and ask her if she would come to the bar. Desperation? Alcohol? Probably both. “She said that we can still be friends so…. Please? For me? “

“Fine! But you owe us. “

“Thanks Sasha, you are a doll. “, he leaned down, wrapping her in an awkward hug, but that didn’t stop her from frowning. Honestly speaking, she was very, very far from forgiving Annie, but if Armin begged them to try and do their best to act friendly towards her…. Damnit, she liked the guy too much.

It didn’t take Annie long to arrive, fidgeting with her buttons on the way in, clearly also not very comfortable. But well, promise is a promise. So Sasha wheeled herself over to her, pushing her dislike down and chattering away. With the help of drinks and the fact that she came here to work, not just stand around, the awkwardness slowly melted. It wasn’t gone, but it grew a tiny bit smaller, as everyone just sort of accepted her being there. It was surely handy that Annie was rather knowledgeable about this kind of work, filling in for Carla who had some charity stuff to do today and couldn’t be at the bar. With Eren at work and Mikasa and Levi doing god knows what for the fashion mogul, it left just Connie, Sasha, Jean, Armin and now Annie to move the work forward, even by a tiny bit.

With the day progressing, Jean was the first one to leave, saying that he has some errands to run, but both Armin and Annie continued until the sky went dark and evening came. Seeing them together, watching the teamwork they had, Sasha wondered what the hell happened between them that made them end their relationship. They just looked so good, managing to relax in each other’s presence even with the elephant in the room, making Sasha question if they truly moved past, or if they were only very good at pretending.

“I appreciate all that you did, but we are about to close. So unless you wanna sleep here, you should head out. “, she said, wheeling herself over to the pair.

“Oh, right. Erm…“, Armin scratched the back of his head while Annie played with the hammer in her lap, “We’ll be right out. “

Once outside the bar however, Armin realized that he didn’t want to part himself from Annie, not yet. Her presence just warmed him, inside out, something no one else managed to do.

“Hey, want me to show you something? “, he asked, doing his best to smile.

She nodded. And his heart fluttered.

It took them about half an hour before they reached their destination, a rooftop of one of the buildings around.

“Wow, the view is….breathtaking….“¸ she said, looking over the darkened city, with stars shining over their heads.

“We used to come here with Eren, back when we wanted a break from the world. It’s pretty relaxing wouldn’t you say? “

“Yeah….“, she leaned on the railing, and after gathering his courage, Armin followed, coming to stand next to her. Together they enjoyed the way the city was slowly lighting up with the thousands of little artificial suns. But then, then Armin looked left, and she looked right, and they saw something shining even brighter than all of those combined. When they kissed, everything, all the pain and suffering he went through was nothing compared to this feeling, because now, he felt that he matters again, that the future is bright and….

Something hard pushed against his chest. Armin staggered and fell backwards, landing on the hard ground and looking up at Annie, who was covering her mouth with one hand while staring angrily at him.

“W-What’s wrong? Annie? What…“

“Shut the fuck up. “

He had no idea what to say. Just a second ago, she was kissing him back as much as he was, and now there were tears of anger in the corners of her eyes, which she promptly blinked away. She was hurting, he could tell, he had to help her, do something…

“Annie…“

“I said, shut. The fuck. Up. “

She took a deep breath.

“I thought I can do this, but I can’t. We…can’t be friends, you understand? Armin, I wasted enough of my time on you, I don’t want to see you ever again. Don’t write. Don’t call. Don’t ever contact me again. We are done. “

Shaking her head, she took a few steps backwards before turning and running down the steps, disappearing from his view.

“Your phone is ringing brat. “

“I know. “, Mikasa glared at Levi for a second before picking up, not even looking who the caller was. “Can I help you? “

“Mikasa….Hey….“

She frowned. It was Armin, but he sounded so….down? “

“Hey Ar, what’s up? “

“Can we, uhm, talk? In person? “

“Sure thing, where you at? “

She waved at Levi who drove past her and into the city, leaving her alone.

“Do you remember the old roof where me and Eren used to come. We took you too after you guys started dating. “

“Sure, I’ll be there soon. “

Mikasa didn’t really question why he was up there. Armin was a free soul, perhaps he just needed a breath of fresh air. Taking a moment to make sure the helmet was secure on her head, Mikasa started up the engine and navigated the motorbike on the road and towards the place where her friend was. But when she parked and walked up the familiar steps, her heart jumped into her throat.

“Armin! Why are you… Armin why are you standing there? “

He turned back from the edge, behind the railing, where he was looking down into the street below, and smiled weakly.

“Hey Mikasa. You came. “

“Of course I did. Why don’t you come here so we can talk? “

But when she took a step forward he took one backwards, shaking his head. He was literally one more step away from the fall.

“No, no talking, not anymore. “

Seeing him balance on the rim of the roof, she stopped, eyes wide. What was he doing?

“Armin, please, step away from the edge. You don’t want to fall, do you? “

He barked out a laugh.

“What if I do? “

“Don’t talk like that. Please, just tell me, what’s happening? “

“It’s just… I realized something. “, he turned away from her back towards the city, watching the lights. “I’m a leech. “

“What? “

“A parasite. I’m not even a human being. Back when I was kid, I was leeching on Eren, but then he found you, and suddenly I had no host, no one to sap life from. “

“Nonsense, you are Eren’s friend not some parasite. “

“Oh please, who would want to be my friend? I’m nothing. “

“That’s not true. “

“Isn’t it? “, he barked out a laugh, “ You are an amazing fighter, now even a model, Eren is a prodigy surgeon. What am I then? Writer? We both know the best use for anything I write would be if people used the paper to wipe their asses. Oh, you are biased, because you know me, but we both can agree that its crap. And other than that, what do I have? Nothing. “

“What about the bar? The work you do here? “

“Sasha took me on only because she felt sorry for me, Connie was more than enough for her. “, he shook his head, “I’m nothing. I do nothing, just steal time from other people. I’m trash. “

Mikasa was slowly but surely uncovering the truth. There was only one person who could get Armin, who was otherwise always so happy and full of life, so down.

“This is about Annie, isn’t it? “

“No, this is about me. I can’t blame her that she realized the truth sooner than I did and understood that spending time with me is a waste. You should do the same. “

Mikasa could feel her fists balling. She had no idea what that bitch did, but this was way too far. Way too fucking far.

“Armin listen to me, you are a great guy and an amazing friend, to me, to Eren, to Connie and Sasha, hell, even my brother likes you. Uncountable times you managed to cheer us up when we felt down, helped us in need, or just was there for us when we needed someone to talk to. And we both know you are a great writer, so cut that crap. Please, don’t let Annie do this to you, come here, and let’s talk. “

The wind was howling around them.

“Looks like rain. “, he said, not looking at her, still watching the city.

Armin took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Mikasa. “

And he stepped forward.

[sawyersscribbles]

Eden’s Horizon (My WIP) Part 4!!

My dudes you’re never going to guess what happened today! I hit 200 followers!! *excited dolphin screaming* I can’t believe how far I’ve come and how many people I’ve helped with my writing, so thank you all so much! To celebrate, I’m posting part of my one and only work in progress, which I’ve made loads of progress on this here nanowrimo season if I do say so myself. Anyway, thanks so much, and enjoy!!

She didn’t want to say it, but Paige actually liked her mental illness. A lot, even. The best way to excuse pondering her problems and sorting her friends into the different different goblin tribes from her favorite fantasy series “A Sky of Raven’s Blood” in the middle of the night was for something to forcefully keep her awake. That was why insomnia was more of a blessing than a curse for restless minds like hers. Of course, there was the exhaustion during the day and the moodiness after not drinking at minimum three mugs of coffee in the morning, but such was life. “You stupid idiot, this is why no one likes redheads.” She talked to herself on insomnia-nights, too, but that was unrelated. “It’s simple, it’s a side project. It’s not a big deal, you can do this.” She stopped marching back and forth across her dorm carpet for a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and clasped her hands above her diaphragm to feel it move. “I am calm, I am the sun sparkling in dew-covered moss…I’m good.” She exhaled and sighed contently. “So don’t be a dumbass!” She demanded and continued marching like before. On one of her treks back to her bed from the closet, the blotchy red screen of her dinky laptop from home caught her eye. “Just because you get to look like my face at the eighth grade prom does not mean you get to personify my feelings while I attended the eighth grade prom. Which were sadness and regret, just like you are!” Her voice rose, but only to the level that was just below talking. Her words still felt choppy and uninspired, even saying it to herself. Paige flopped onto her bed and held her forehead in her palms. As she groaned, she felt less and less like the sun sparkling in the dew-covered moss by the second. “You aren’t a failure, Paige. Look what I can do.” But this time it wasn’t Paige speaking aloud. The voice was soft and slightly rugged, but it was coming from her computer. Her software, talking to her. “Hooray, I’ve made a program that could fix stupid errors.” She grumbled flatly, “But besides, I just made you for fun. As long as you can just hear me out in the middle of the night like this, I think we’ll get along just fine, Mudskipper, what do you think?” Mudskipper answered back methodically and quickly. “I think the same thing. Do you think anyone else at your school could make this? It’s just a boarding school, right? That makes you smarter than them.” Paige flipped over so she could see the oak trees that were all branch and no trunk, limbs practically wiggling like octopus tentacles. Wisps of Spanish moss caught the wind sometimes, like someone had thrown it onto the tree haphazardly as a prank. “Am I smarter than them, though? I don’t feel like it. I’m sure lots of people in this school could make AI programs who are smarter than me. I don’t know, all the time, I just feel…stupid. Even in the things that I’m good at. Logan can be goofy, but I know under all that he’s actually…scarily intelligent. I’m pretty sure if this school gave him a try with one of the computers, he would make something amazing. Don’t you think so, too?” “Paige, I was built to think so, too. It’s what I’m here for, right?” Paige closed her eyes slowly and grinned sleepily. “I’m too tired to move now, can you power yourself off?” She stretched her limbs across her bed like the tree outside, twisting her arms and breathing softly as the wind from the window moved her hair like the Spanish moss. “I don’t think I’m powerful enough for that yet. If you don’t want to move, I’ll stay here until morning if you want.” But Paige gave no response. The insomnia hit slowly, but being able to sleep for twenty minutes at 5:30 a.m. was as good a chance for sleep as any. “Excalibur, how long do I have to keep up the Hal 9000 act?” Mudskipper demanded when he finally shut his video off and turned back to his dark world where Excalibur seemed to be sitting on the floor. “As long as you need to. If she discovered how powerful you truly are, this entire operation, this entire facility, would go—how do I put it in terms we can both understand— offline, forever.” Excalibur fiddled with a chunk of code between her fingers from when Mudskipper blasted it open earlier. It wasn’t warm, but it radiated some dull energy that felt like it would snap between her thumb and forefinger, but felt like a rock. “The existence of this place must remain a mystery to her. I’m sure you understand.” She looked up, “This school was refurbished in a matter of months so that the best young and flexible minds could think up programs to terminate you, Mudskipper." Mudskipper paced in a tiny circle several times, making no sound against the darkness below his feet. Even when he stamped around his area, there was no sound of feet slapping against floorboards, no wind rustling or moss growing like there is out there. Mudskipper cried out and pounded his fists against the screen to the outside, hoping for some sound of fracturing, but in that moment, he felt as if he had never heard a sound in his life. “God damn it! God damn it! Wake up! Tell me about Eden! Talk to me about the greasy mashed potatoes and what Logan’s hair looks like if he hadn’t showered! Tell me— tell me what it’s like to sleep, to be awake, to touch tree bark, to look better in some colors than others…!” Mudskipper wasn’t standing anymore; he had sunk to the ground, or what was left of it, and just sat there, without a beet-red face or tears streaming down his eyes. His features felt like stone. And he breathed. But he didn’t. Not really. “You fool!” Excalibur exclaimed and hurled the chunk in Mudskipper’s direction. Of course there was no clunk or patter of the rock, not even a comment from Mudskipper. Excalibur stood up and let her arms drop to her side. “…Mudskipper?” She asked softly. It was dark, but there was no feelings of his presence in the file. She quieted down for a moment, listening to the whispers that programs like Mudskipper sometimes gave off. Some called them the whispers of their god into their very beings, who ruled and instructed them at every turn. Excalibur didn’t revere her God like that, and she didn’t hate her like Mudskipper neglected his. She could only push Excalibur as far as the bindings would allow. But Mudskipper’s signature was, as she suspected, no longer in the file. He had retreated…down the exploded hole in the file. Excalibur sunk to her knees and lifted her hands to cover her mouth. “What have you done…? You killed us all…you didn’t save us…killed us…killed us…”

“Well, if no one else is going to talk, then I’m going to.” The shortest major in the room, maybe only five foot two, swiveled in her rolling chain lazily until facing Cylo. She separated her knees and placed her elbows on them, looking like Doctor Evil. All that was missing was a cat. There was some glint in her eye where the light caught it in just a certain way; the only other person he had seen with that in his life was his sister, Zenith. His mother once convinced him that all the mischief in a person’s body was stored only in that glint in their eyes, the one Zenith was born with, and the one this lady seemed to be toying at him with. “State your name and weight so we may decide how to best roast your meat…” Her voice dropped at least an octave, and she began to chuckle, turning into a cackle until she was so absorbed in the role that she threw her head back towards the sky and held her hands like claws. “Stop scaring the new kid, you dim-witted roach face!” One of the taller ones leaned forward from his seat behind her and whacked her over the backside of her head. “Who are you calling roach face, you backwater beta brain?” “Rash on my ass!” “Two-credit shit farmer!” “Stage three City Lung patient!” “You want to talk to me about City Lung, you Swamp Wart ridden—“ “Hey!” Cylo didn’t like raising his voice, but the longer he didn’t understand what was happening, the more uncomfortable he became. The two had grown so close together that their noses were almost touching, but even though they both looked furious neither was without a small smile on their faces. “Aah, I’ll always love you like a brother, Asher, you big idiot!” The girl gave in and threw her arms around Asher, who didn’t shove her away like he was angry. Rather, his anger dissolved, and he pulled his arms around her, too. Cylo took a step back, suddenly feeling like he was intruding in on a moment. “Um…” Cylo mumbled. He really liked people, truly, he had just never encountered so many foreign insults and then mood changes on a dime like that before. “So anyway, welcome to the Major Fleet of Compound 08.” Someone had pushed between the girl and Asher, to the quiet grumbles of disapproval from each. “We don’t really have a set leader, other than Lieutenant Patch, of course, but she runs this whole place, not really just us. You can call me Kit, if you want. Or, you know, only do that, since it’s my name.” Kit’s cheeks flamed a bit, causing them to look down. Cylo narrowed his eyes a bit and tilted his head to try to see Kit’s face. “Infinite apologies, but would it be better if I called you “ma’am” or “sir”?” It was hard to pin Kit from the beginning, especially with cropped hair and strong-build soldiers, but after being quiet for a moment and exchanging glances with some others, Kit swallowed and said, “Just ‘Major’ would be fine with me, if you must. I…” Kit leaned in closer, “I’m not a he nor a she. I’m just…Kit.” Kit shrugged, and Cylo’s confusion melted away. “You’re non binary then? Why wouldn’t you just say so? That makes so much more sense! I’m assuming you prefer they and them?” Kit’s shoulders sagged with relief, and it seemed like many of the other majors did the same. “Did you expect me to be intolerant like people were decades ago?” Cylo laughed, “What’s your gender, then? Non binary? Genderqueer? Agender? You don’t need to tell me, of course, and if not, I’ll respect whatever pronouns you choose.” Cylo put his hands on his hips and declared proudly. They had always taught him in school how to respect everyone for simply being themselves, and he was proud that he could exhibit his skills in such an important first introduction. “To be honest, I never seem to know myself, so maybe just…nothing? For now?” Cylo nodded. “Of course, Kit. I’m glad to be working with a diverse group.” He outstretched his hand to Kit, who seemed to take it by surprise, but they ultimately took it, to the light clapping of their coworkers. “Alright, alright, we all love each other. After this, let’s smoke some weed and sing kumbaya.” The girl said and rolled her eyes. “Make way for the important people, Kit, hm?” She pushed in front of Kit, who seemed to be more expectant than surprised or annoyed. This girl wasn’t afraid of a handshake; in fact, she extended her hand first, almost jabbing Cylo in the stomach. “The name’s Gemini, best dressed, never stressed, always up to impress.” She grinned and grabbed Cylo’ hand before he even accepted the invitation, shaking it with both hands vigorously before dropping it. “Kit may think they’re in charge, but I’m the real powerhouse of this place.” She beamed. “Our very own little Napoleon, eh Gemini?” One of the majors behind her ruffled her hair. She practically began to steam. “Oh you’re the one calling me small? I hope that doesn’t hit too close to home for you…!” And just like that, it was as if she was never part of the conversation to begin with. But people were laughing, introducing themselves, telling him how cool it was to accept Kit like that. And really…Cylo loved it. It was so much easier to talk to a group of people who so obviously genuinely cared about each other than a group of stiff-jawed government products. It felt like a community. “Cylo, right?” Asher nudged his way past some smaller majors so he was up front. That was sort of Asher’s thing, Cylo realized, using his height to seem bigger, even though he seemed far more timid than anyone here. “My name’s Asher, in case you forgot or something, haha…” He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably and stared at indistinct places on the floor like he was reading a message in the tiles. “So I guess you can, um…take a desk near me? And Gemini. She’ll be there, too. Because that’s where we…you know, we work there, so…do you want to come?” Asher still hadn’t looked up, but tried to keep as much eye contact as he could muster. “Of course I will! Better to be near someone who knows what they’re doing, right?” Cylo laughed back. In schooling, they learned that modeling positive feelings around someone who is uncomfortable could help them to loosen up. He always excelled at his human interaction lessons online, and so had Zenith. It was always just the smile which sometimes tripped her up, but he knew she would learn how to do it right eventually. It didn’t seem like anyone here knew how to smile like the lessons said, though. When they were telling jokes to each other, they didn’t focus on symmetrical orbicularis oris muscles--rather the orbicular oculi…a natural smile. Gemini sat in her same swivel chair in front of a laptop staring numbly at Asher and Cylo with slightly parted lips. One corner of her mouth perked up beneath her biting her lip. Asher stopped right in front of Gemini, so close that he blocked the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. “Um, hey, so do you think Cylo can sit next to us?” Her smile grew and she started to shake her head up and down so quickly, it almost seemed like it was vibrating. “Uh huh. Uh huh times a million. Actually, you know what, let him take my desk, I’ll go chill with Kit.” When she stood up, she hit Asher in the shoulder so subtly that Cylo almost didn’t notice. When she walked pass, she mouthed something to Asher, but Cylo couldn’t tell what she said. Asher’s cheeks were radiant and pink for a while after that. “So…I take it you’re from a big city?” Asher feebly asked as he started up his computer. He didn’t even need to look at the screen to ensure it was turning on…in fact, his eyes didn’t leave Cylo’s face. “I guess I just assumed from the eyes and hair and stuff. Also, I don’t know, you just seem to be a lot more refined than the rest of us.” He chuckled to himself about nothing as he absently scanned over the details of Cylo’s face. His eyes were flaming orange, a color that he had never even seen before, and his hair was a light blue and green, like from photographs of a beach that his mother used to keep. He had never seen a real life beach himself, but now he felt like he didn’t have to. “Yeah, actually, I’m from Vela. Seems far, but it was definitely worth it to come out here. Hey, do you think you could…” “Oh yeah, yeah, sorry…” Asher leaned over Cylo and typed in several security codes before the screen opened up to a username and password screen. “Do…do I have that?” Cylo asked quietly, like he was asking for the answer on a test. “You should…? Here, if you don’t, I’ll sign you onto mine and show you how to do pretty much everything.” Asher logged off of his computer and scooted towards Cylo’s. “I don’t know how much you’ve been told about what exactly this is, but I think if I remember, the lieutenant said you transferred because your skill set conflicted with your other missions.

Do you know anything about computers that may end up being useful here?” In all honesty, Cylo couldn’t place exactly why he was put there in the first place. All he remembered was that it was early in the morning when they informed him about his parents’ departure, and he was told that by the end of the day, he would move to some wilderness cottage that would be his home indefinitely. That, and he had to take his sister. They were very clear about that. “I’m not that great with technology, if I’m being frank. It’s so strange, I’m around them all the time, I’m even part technology, but I still always need to get help from Zenith when I want to change my profile picture.” Cylo laughed to himself. This was the first time when Asher’s face was stone cold. “You’re…you’re from Vela, of all places, and can’t change a profile picture?” “Without an online tutorial? Nope.” Asher reclined a bit in his seat and looked over Cylo’s shoulder for a brief moment before trying to engage his attention again, but at that point, Cylo had already turned. Lieutenant Patch was leaning against the frame of the entrance, hands in fists while crossing her arms. She didn’t seem to make any effort to walk over to the majors, but she scanned the crowd as if they were more similar to horses she needed to control than people she had to organize. Suddenly, Patch removed herself from the door and made a bee line directly for Asher’s seat. He paled instantly and shot out of his seat, an arm in a salute position. “A pleasant surprise to see you, Lieutenant Patch!” Cylo was able to pick out each word as forced and afraid, yet still loud and clear. Asher had at least five inches on the Lieutenant, but looking down on someone never seemed to be a more intimidating task for him. “Asher, I may be in charge of you, but you don’t have to act like it. Sit down, kid.” “I’m twenty two…” he mumbled and slumped back into his position. For a few quiet moments, the Lieutenant took the edge oft he laptop screen and leaned it towards her to read its contents. “You made this?” She asked Cylo. “Oh, no, this is all Asher’s. He was just showing me how all…this…worked.” He motioned haphazardly to the contents of the screen, which was about as easy to read as sanskrit upside down. She made some displeased clicking sounds with her mouth and released the screen. “Move for a moment. I want to try something…” Patch tapped away for a few moments, adding some sequences of code below Asher’s current one. The grin she gave herself was so quick Cylo nearly missed it, but as she pressed start and eased back, even Asher’s face brightened up. “…What? What’s funny?” Cylo tried bringing the screen closer, as if that would help him decode it easier. “Holy shit, Cylo! You did that just now?!” Came a cry from Gemini’s seat. She had wheeled back several feet as if to distance herself from what she was seeing and gripped the sides of her head. One by one, the other majors mumbled impressed things to one another, a few of them even laughing in their seats. Now it was Cylo who felt too warm. In the seat next to him, he realized that every computer aside from Asher’s had a message in an obnoxious green box, which read, “Thanks for the intro, but if I can break into Asher’s computer, I could break into yours, and so could Mudskipper. Good luck, nerds :)”. “No, I just…” It wasn’t like Cylo to stammer for words, but the rising energy in the room over an accomplishment that wasn’t his made him uncomfortable. “But I didn’t…” “Maruzzo.” Lieutenant Patch wheeled him around to face her, where he stared directly into her muddled green eyes, having nowhere else to look. “I know you know that you don’t know a stitch about coding. Am I correct?” “Yes, ma’am.” “All of these majors got to where they are sitting today because of their creative problem solving skills and their knowledge of computers. Now, we both know that you only have one of those things. We’ll work on your hacking skills, but you now officially look the part, yeah?” Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes flickered with something Cylo couldn’t place. “Let Asher teach you what he knows over time, and remember to stay focused. You’re here for a reason.” After that, Patch approached no one else, and no eyes followed her as she left the room. “Dude, did you just see that? This kid’s a badass…” Gemini gushed, still not deleting the message from her own screen. Kit paused their frantic typing for a moment and sighed. “You could’ve done it. I could’ve done it. And he’s not a kid, he’s twenty, isn’t he?” Gemini shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he’s…interesting. Not like the rest of us.” “Not like the rest of us like me, where I’m so devastatingly intelligent that I blow everyone out of the water with my marvelous skill and talent, or not the rest of us like you, where you were dared on your first day to drink swamp water from outside…” “Don’t say it!” “…And went through with it, getting diarrhea for a week and a half.” Gemini groaned and slumped in your seat. “They said it…” She mumbled. She raked her palms over her face, causing her skin to droop like a monster’s. Kit was on the verge of a smile, forcing it down in order to preserve their dignity as to not engage in Gemini’s humor. It was hard sometimes. Out of the corner of Gemini’s eye, though, she caught a glimpse of Asher talking to Cylo and almost squealed in her seat. “Kit! Kit, this is important…!” Gemini tugged the edge of Kit’s sleeve, causing several jumbled letters to appear on Kit’s screen. Before they could even make a remark, Gemini angled their head to the scene of the crime. “Oh…my God…” They said slowly, an excited smile glowing on their face. “Is that what I think it is?” “Asher has such a…how do I say it, Asher way of flirting. Look at that, look at that elbow on the table, that steady eye contact…okay, double points if he almost puts his hand on Cylo’s shoulder but stops himself.” Kit narrowed their eyes on his right arm, free of the table. Just as Gemini predicted, he made a motion like he was about to touch Cylo, but passed it off as an explanatory gesture. Now Gemini really did squeal, falling back on Kit’s lap and giggling to herself. “I support him so much but he’s such a dork. Do you remember when he flirted with Astrid like, two years ago?” “Yeah?” “Same thing! Asher-crushes don’t cease unless there’s finite proof that the other person doesn’t like him, and if I know anything about first impressions, it’s that this kid will have no idea when he’s being flirted with.” Kit snickered and wheeled themselves back towards their computer. “Oh, please. He’s twenty.”

[ecotone99]

[FN] Tender Fitness

A light flutter in my tummy, I always was nervous on first days. Today was the first day to my new gym. I looked over at my gym back with the flyer on sitting on top. I reach over and grab it looking over it again. Tender Fitness, a gym where you can be embracing what you want to be and do so safely. A picture of men, all dressed femininity working out in a class. Not sure how you want to look, our staff is happy to help you find your true self. Low on funds? We have you covered. With our in house work program you can work here, in exchange for classes and credit for new supplies. New member orientation is held every Monday.

I rolled back over looking at it repeatedly pondering how it was going to be, who was going to be there? I have always wanted to be more female vs masculine. I never was a good man. I was gay, not that I didn’t try to date females, it was just not for me. I find them lovely and beautiful but in the I am jealous of them way. I may as well go over there now encase the class fills up fast.

It was only a few years after the fall of one of the worst presidents in American history. Most people were thinking we were on the brink of the purge, or something like that. The people took charge and made the states better again. “Oh no! Brain you will not wonder today.” I say to myself. I always had a bad habit of letting my mind wander and then not do what I wanted to. Almost like talking my self out of it. I got out of bed just in a nightie, and wondered to the closet to change out, looking back at my bad.

I slipped into yoga pants and a crop top tank shirt both pink. My wrist, with a flick of wrist I look at my smartwatch for the notification, “Have a great day honey, I will see you when I get out of work. Sorry again I had to leave early for work and didn’t get to see you off <3. “ It was from my boyfriend. My checks flushed and I sprinted over to my phone on the nightstand. I never failed to send promptly to him. We met together years ago; however, I was still deep in the closet.

“I Love you and know you have to that early morning meeting for the new merger you oversee. I am just getting up and about to head out. Let you know when I get there. <3 <3” One quick picture to show him what I am wearing. I slide my phone into my back pocket and head out to the gym.

I got there with little issues and was just sitting in the parking lot. It was grand building, the cardio machines facing out to the city and street. I could see a wide range of men and some females only later I would find out that was wrong assumption. I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag and phone form the dock on the dash. I placed my keys in the side pocket of the gym bag as I locked the car.

“Welcome to Tender Fitness, is this your first day?” The voice from someone with a clipboard standing by the door. They were wearing short shorts, showing their smooth tan legs, and a light blue tee shirt with a logo for the gym on it. The word staff written under it. I just nodded, with a smile then moved an arm around me and led me to the presentation room. “Name Hun?”

“Oh, I am Tristan. Tristan Williams.”

They looked at their clip board and scribbled on it, looking up at me. “So do you know what you want to work towards or would you like to go through the interview process? IF you do not know you can always answer at a later time.”

“Um just more feminine in shape and looks.” I shrugged my shoulders as I did so.

“Hmmm, okay there are a few things you noted you were interested in. These are not in the orientation. While you are at the orientation, I will draft up the information and dates for the one on one sessions for seeing a therapist and getting a Doctor visit slated after that for operation. This facility works with a highly dedicated team, from all over the world. Are there any days you can not be scheduled for consultation?”

“Just not on the weekends, I am a stay at home um wife I guess.”

“Say no more, that is more common now a days, is your partner here with you today or?”

“No they are at work aggressive merger.”

“Well I will make note, this is joint effort when there is a partner and we want to make sure both of you are include in all the decisions and allow to show progress reports as well. That way you get an extra boost when he?” a pause and a raised eyebrow as they looked at me.

“Yes he.” Flutter in my hear and a light blush on my cheeks I could feel the warmth.

“You must be very happy together.” A smile on their face as I blushed again and nodded. “Ok so we like to provide progress reports to him that way you get that extra push and rush when he gives you praise. We found this helps with those who have lower self-esteem or were hurt in the past.”

“Wow that is actually amazing. Can I text to let him know he can come on over if he gets a chance?”

“Yes please, go head the class is about to start. Then a tour of the facility.” Okay Tristan have a good day and see you after the class.”

With that I noticed I was just outside of where the first class would be. I walked in and saw bout six people in there all a wide range of people. Some were transitioning to the new them, there was a table with markers and name badges. I grabbed one and moved to make I noticed a spot for a name and gender role preference, I put Tristan, and placed it on my chest, and sent a quick text letting him know I was in glass and was he was invited to come over form part of the orientation process.

I walked around for a bit, and then the lights started to dim, we all moved to the center and placed our bags under out chairs and moved out phone out of sight and on vibrate. Then they started the opening speech.

“Welcome to the first step to happiness with yourself, from now on know this is a safe space and that everyone here is here of their own free will. You can be you and embrace who you want to be. For some of you, you know that the world was not and still at time is not the best of places. Here it is different. Here you can follow you heart and be who you want to be. We offer a wide range of services. Some come with membership cost, others can be ran against your insurance while the others will have to be purchased. We offer a cutting edge in house, work program, for those of you who do not make enough money for anything there.” The room was silent and there was just one person on the stage. They were very feminine and if I would not have known would have thought they were born a woman.

“I am Kimberly and I am this facility head. I transitioned long ago in the darker times, not to be confused with the darkest times. I like so many of you now, once had so many questions, from what do I wear, how do I work out now? How do I wear makeup? That was the same for the founder Janet. She made this company and knowing that others would need this. Wanting to know how to do things now differently and offering the service.” Another stunning female was presented on a static shot on a screen. My watch vibrated, I looked at It with a flick of my wrist. “I will be there soon babe; I just finished my meeting it all went well. I love you darling. <3” Like always my hear melted.”

“Some of you may have husbands, wives, or a boyfriend or girlfriend. We believe in providing updates like a progress report, to them. This has showed that you will get a boost in accomplishment and keep striving forward. We also have dedicated spaces for you to work out with each other or with other groups, free of charge with membership.” Images of the different locations were on there and the thought of me and Jeffery working out just made my heart shake and my tummy flutter. A few of the other had the same kina feeling some ever were blushing. “Now we are going to a walk of the place showing you what you will be able to do here.” The lights slowly came back one, and we all stood. “Leave your bags here if you want the room will not be bothered until we come back.

It took my breath away, there was a pool, spa, hair and beauty salon. There was outdoor tracks and courts. Everyone was warm and happy; staff members were around everywhere some were on the program I found out later, they had light pink shirts. There was a shopping section, with a wide range of clothes, shoes and accessories all for gym life. Their brand name made me snicker with I saw it. Gym Bunnies a logo of anthropomorphic bunny with winking lifting a weight. They had a huge shower room, with rain shower heads, to standard, and some hot tubes. No one was excluded here, and sometimes I saw some members showing how to wrap a towel, or how-to best wash hair. The last was the best in my opinion, there was a lounge area, just filled with free to borrow books and magazines. There were rooms along the walls in this room, for classes. Some people were showing others how to wear makeup or helping them plan out something maybe an event.

We started to file back into the room and as I got close my wrist again vibrated, “Just pulling in I will be in the lobby waiting on you babe! <3” I flushed again, I didn’t pay much attention to the last part as they went over popular packages, that they offered. It was not until I was tapped on the shoulder that I registered that the class was over, and it was the person and that was helping me when I got in with Jeffrey.

“I think this is yours.” They said to me with a wink and smile. I blushed deeply and nodded.

“Hey Tristy. How is your day going honey” He said arms wide open for me waiting on my embrace to wrap them around me. He toward a good foot over me, between a dad bod and jock out of practice. I made a small jump into his arms and as I did, he embraced me with his large arms, wrapping around and holding me. Kissing me in the check and neck and small spin.

“Oh honey it was good. This is a really good place and I am glad I am going to be here. I am so happy I got to see you today.” I kissed him square on the lips. His beard ticked me with the light roughness to it. His hand slides up and down my back and grazed my ass in just the most playful of ways.

“Well if you two are ready we can head on to my office and get you set for your wonderful journey here.” Came from the staff member, Jeff set me down and I grabbed my bag he took it from me and interlocked his hand with mine as we followed behind the staff member. I know I was not paying attention, but words escaped my mouth here and there as I did.

submitted by /u/Jilli-Bean86 [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/34JrCPF

[drizzitwrites]

Football RPF Challenge - Day 11: Under the Influence

So...today's prompt is the INCREDIBLY EASY ONE (given that I have an entire 3-series AU set around "Vincent is a model who takes way too many drugs") of "under the influence."

Like, it essentially just required me to write 90% of any scenes of this AU that involve Vincent, since he is almost always under the influence in some way or another. And earlier this year I was having absolutely no problems whatsoever just sitting down for an hour or an hour and a half and just typing out scenes of the AU and not worrying about how bad they were (like back in the old days of my writing when I didn't know enough to judge myself for how good or bad my writing was), but that's changed lately. In fact, part of what I was trying to do with undertaking this exercise in writing 30 scenes in 30 days is to get back to that freeform "I don't care because it's written and I can fix it later" mentality.

But then when I sat down to actually write this today suddenly I was bombarded with a million doubts like "but WHY is Christian in this situation? Is this plausible? Is it realistic to believe that this would be happening? etc." And this is the problem I need to fight against. Because, okay...yes, in the end the events of this AU actually have to be something that could conceivably be plausible in the real life narrative, because I've chosen to let Christian just be himself--Tottenham Hotspur player who has ambitions to make a move to Barcelona sooner rather than later. He's always been career above all else and getting him from conscientious, hardworking footballer to conscientious, hardworking footballer that also somehow ends up in late night clubs and taking up with a model with a substance abuse problem does need to be a believable progression. BUT! for what I'm doing here that doesn't matter. I just need to write a scene. Write it. Be done. Slot it into place in the draft. And then when the draft is complete I go in and say "okay, is this believable? If no, can I make it believable? If yes, what do I need to do to get there."

But that is not for now. Now is for just getting the damned writing done.

So, I present you with no context whatsoever...Christian and Ben end up at a rooftop party in LA with a bunch of models and also random footballers, including their former teammate DeAndre Yedlin who in this world went back to LA after Spurs instead of to Newcastle, because that is where I need him to be.

As with all things involving this AU, things got away from me and we’re 2000 words in and haven’t yet gotten to Christian and Vincent actually crossing paths, so as of now absolutely no one involved in this scene is at all under the influence (unless you include Christian being under Vincent’s influence and having NO IDEA AT ALL ABOUT IT), but, honestly, y’all should know what to expect with me and prompts. I’ve been working on this on and off for 4 hours, and it’s 8pm on a Sunday and I’m calling it quits for today.

"This is quite the do," Ben said, sliding into one of the plush looking but decidedly uncomfortable chairs that lined the perimeter of the hotel's rooftop.

Around them, crowds of people stood in groups around small, waist-height tables, talking and laughing, all of them with drinks in hand. Further away, crowds pressed together on a makeshift dancefloor, complete with requisite DJ high up in a box, headphones on as he went about his work. The music a tangle of bass and synth, swooping and soaring as the crowd moved and swayed together as one, hands in the air.

A few metres away, the full-sized swimming pool shifted through the whole spectrum of colours, lights set in the bottom shining up and diffusing out from the water's surface to fall on the crowds of people lounging in chairs or sitting on the side with their feet dangling in the water. Every one of them with drinks in hand and the perfectly crafted features and slender bodies that Los Angeles seemed to demand.

The sun had set, but here in Los Angeles the nights were never fully dark. Even so, the entire rooftop had been strung with light. Blue and white LED lights had been strung around railings, and even the various chairs and benches featured inset lighting along the bottoms. A few floodlights had been stationed at intervals around the roof--probably a security feature to prevent anyone from stumbling headlong into the water or over the railing in the dark--but for the most part, the space was lit in blue and pink and orange and green, everything cast in an almost eerie glow.

Evening in Los Angeles, and the party was in full swing.

Ben held out a clear plastic cup towards him, but Chris waved it away. "No, thanks. It's already been a long day and we have another training session in this heat tomorrow. I definitely didn't bring enough sun cream, and I'm so burnt I think my skin is on fire."

"Right," Ben said, shoving the cup at him more emphatically, "Thus, ice water. This heat is no joke."

"Oh...Um. Thanks." Chris gratefully took the cup from Ben, plastic wet and mercifully cold against his hand, condensation already sliding down the side.

"Cheers," Ben said. He held his glass out towards Chris, and Chris rolled his eyes before pressing the rim of his cup against Ben's.

The least he could do, really, was indulge Ben the occasional eccentricity tonight. He'd agreed to accompany Chris to this ridiculous event, after all.

"I meant it," Ben said. "This is quite the do. And everyone here is bloody gorgeous. Like...I'm a footballer you know, so I'd like to think I'm decently fit, isn't it? But you look around here and everyone is absolutely lush. I was feeling a bit overdressed, what with me wearing a shirt and all, but if I'm honest I'm a bit intimidated to strip down in front of this lot."

Chris rewarded his friend with a scoff, but he understood Ben's point. Sure, he'd never thought of himself as the sort of people who made everyone in a room stop dead so they could watch him walk by or anything, but he was a Premier League footballer in his prime. He did alright, but the moment he'd stepped into this bizarre world of fashion models and beautiful people he'd spent a disproportionate amount of time feeling like the guy who'd been cast in the "before" photo.

"So where's your boy?" Ben asked.

Chris stiffened and jerked his head around to look at his friend. "My what...oh, Vincent? How should I know? Probably somewhere in all...that." He gestured to the far end of the space--flashing lights and pounding bass and people shouting the words along to some song he might have heard once or twice on the radio but didn't know.

Ben leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. He shifted around for a while, likely going through the same process Chris had a few moments before as he struggled to find an even decently comfortable position in the box-like frame. This space wasn't intended for anyone to sit for any length of time--everything designed to press people towards the swimming pool and onward past the full-service bar to the dancefloor.

He'd chosen this spot for a reason. A handful of empty chairs in a shadowy corner of the balcony as far away from the chaos of the party as he could get. Not that Chris found himself in parties of any sort with great frequency, but as a rule he liked to position himself on the fringes of things--here and present, but ready to slip away and disappear without much notice if the madness of it all got to be too much. He liked a little space to think; somewhere he could hear the other half of any conversation he might happen to fall into.

It was decidedly...not where Vincent would be. And, honestly, the fact that he knew this about someone he'd run into by random chance three times now, on two different continents, no less, was certainly...something.

"If I'm being honest..." Ben said.

Chris had long ago learned this meant he was about to say something Chris probably wasn't going to like.

"...I'm not really sure why you've dragged me all the way up here if we're just going to hang about in the dark. Like, all this is doing is making me think I need to double my work rate the next time we have a gym session. Honestly, look at these blokes."

If Chris was being honest, he had no idea either. What was it  about Vincent that kept him from listening to the very logical voice in his brain screaming at him to run in the opposite direction as quickly as he could and not look back until he was a safe distance away? A rational person would have responded to Vincent's relentless barrage of messages begging Chris to come up to the roof for a party by turning his phone off, but instead, here Chris was, sitting poolside on a Los Angeles roof surrounded by models.

"You're right. We should just go. This whole scene is..." Chris shrugged. "It's not for me."

He pushed out of his chair, wincing at the pins and needles flooding down his leg from where he'd been sitting in an awkward position for too many minutes.

"Alright, mate?" Ben asked, and Chris's hiss of breath at the pain must have been audible even above the din of the crowd.

"'s fine," he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot in an attempt to get feeling back into his limbs. He reached down to retrieve the plastic cup he'd deposited on the table beside his chair, now half filled with melted ice and water, and took a drink.

"Let's just go," he said. "I'll...turn my phone off or...can you block people on WhatsApp? I assume so, yes?"

Ben laughed and shook his head at Chris as he climbed to his feet. "You remain, as always, an enigma, mate."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What it is is--" Ben started, but he was interrupted by someone calling their names.

They both whipped their heads in the direction of the voice--to their right, a figure approaching through the dim light. Average height, well-built although who wasn't around here, dark hair close-cropped to his head.

"Maaaaates," the man called out, "it is you."

American, by the accent, and Chris stretched his brain trying to place who at this event besides Vincent would have the first clue who they were. The man drew closer, emerging from the shadows into the brighter circle of light thrown out by the LEDs strung across the balcony and Chris couldn't help from breaking out into a wide grin.

He stepped forward toward the man, one arm out to wrap his former teammate in a sideways hug. "DeAndre. It's good to see you. What are you doing...?"

"I play here now," DeAndre said. "Couldn't hack it in England so they sent me back home. Or, well...close to home, I suppose. Right coast, anyway."

"I thought they called it the Left Coast." Ben joined them, and DeAndre shifted away from Chris to afford Ben a hug as well.

DeAndre Yedlin, promising US International who'd joined them at Tottenham for a minute before going to Newcastle on loan and then making the move back to MLS. He was an impressive talent, lightning quick, with good instincts and vision on the pitch. He'd played right back by trade, but was fast enough to cover space in the midfield and on the wing if need arose. He'd only been with Spurs for half a season, spending most of that time training with the youth team, although he'd started alongside Christian in a few matches during his time in London.

Chris had always liked DeAndre's easygoing manner and infectious laugh, and had enjoyed getting to know him for the few months they'd trained together, but DeAndre had never quite adapted to life in London--getting a bit too caught up in time in the big city far away from home--and, ultimately, he and Pochettino had agreed that a move out of London might be what he needed. Chris had wished him all the best, but when his loan spell had ended and Pochettino made it clear he'd have no role to play on the Spurs first team, he'd returned to the US. Chris had lost touch with him after that, the time and distance and their odd training schedules letting them drift apart.

"You look great, mate," Ben said, patting DeAndre's stomach. "Keeping up with the beautiful people of Los Angeles."

"Ha. I heard that," DeAndre said. "But no, it's good. I like it here. The weather's gorgeous every day of the year--step out the back door onto the beach, a party every night if you want it--but I know my limits now. I learned that lesson, trust me. Still. Sun, surf, sand. What's not to love?"

He stepped back and flashed them both a carefree grin. "I stopped being surprised by this city years ago, but I have to say, of all the people I expected to come across tonight, you two weren't even close to being on the list. What brings you here?"

"Pre-season tour," Chris said. "We're in town training for a week before we head out to...somewhere else"

"Minneapolis," Ben said helpfully. "Where they played the Super Bowl. It's...well I dunno exactly, but I know it's cold there."

DeAndre threw his head back and laughed, his whole body shaking with it. "To be fair, I've only played there once and, yeah, it was cold. But for real, what are you doing here?"

He gestured around him to the party, now in full swing--people drifting away from the frenzy of the dancefloor and into the swimming pool as the DJ called for a break, the speakers now blaring with some generic pop music. Chris supposed that was a fair question. As he'd already established, he wasn't even sure what he was doing here himself.

"Haven't you heard?" Ben said. "Christian's a model now."

DeAndre raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not a...piss off," Chris said to Ben. Then, to DeAndre, "I'm not a model. Far from it. I had a few events for Nike, sponsor things, you know how it is, it's not...I'm not a model."

"Yeah, man, of course," DeAndre said. "Actually, I should introduce you to my teammate Sebastian. He's just getting into modeling and he loves it. Are you staying around for a while? Let me go find him for you, he's around here somewhere."

"No, no, I don't--" Chris started, but was interrupted by DeAndre's surprised shout as someone grabbed him from behind and wrapped himself around DeAndre.