#yeah i definitely believe that’s possible

[willowsnook]

Only one bed??? (LN)

lando norris x teammate!reader

a/n: anytime i saw this trope on wattpad back in the day i went feral so enjoy me reliving my past

Raindrops were quickly streaming down the plane window next to you and your hands were gripping on the handrests, knuckles turning white. Because of a post race meeting going way over time, you and your teammate were the last to leave Monza and had not made it past the storms that headed towards Monaco. The jet was silent, just you, Lando, and the plane staff but no words were spoken. You wouldn't necessarily say that you and Lando were enemies but you definitely weren't friends. More like awkward teammates.

It bothered you though. It seems like Lando had a special relationship with almost anyone he had been teammates with besides you. You had tried to be outwardly friendly when you joined McLaren but were met with indifference. After the first few months you gave up and settled into this routine. The team was disappointed too, they had expected Lando to mentor you as a rookie but that hadn't happened. The sound of the plane's speaker turning on brought you out of your thoughts.

"Sorry guys, we are going to have to make an emergency landing in the next ten minutes due to this storm."

You felt your pulse quicken and you looked over to Lando who gave you a worried look. Tugging your seatbelt tighter you closed your eyes for what felt like eternity until the plane landed. Following Lando out and down the stairs, you both rushed to a car that was waiting, piling in the back seat.

"There's a hotel a mile from here, I'll take you guys there and we should be good to go in the morning to Monaco," the driver said and you both nodded. The world was raging outside and you wondered if the car would even make it to the hotel. It wasn't a nice building, very standard for a small town you imagined but at the moment you'd be happy with anything out of the storm.

Dragging your carry on behind you, the clerk blinked up in surprise at the sight of you both walking in, dripping all over the floor. You gave her an exhausted smile.

"Hi, we need two rooms please," you said and she looked to her computer.

"Unfortunately, I only have one available," she said and you laughed, refusing to believe it. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" You asked looking around at the dinky lobby wondering how it was even possible this place was filled up.

"Yeah, we had a lot of people stop to ride out the storm," she snapped back. "Do you want it or not?"

"Yes, we'll take it," Lando said, moving around you and laying down his card. He nudged you towards the hallway once she gave him the key. Taking the key from him you swiped it to the door pushing your way through. You stopped short once you saw the inside.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," you said and Lando ran in to the back of you. Things could really not get worse.

"One bed Lando," you said laughing hysterically. "One fucking bed! Amazing, just what I wanted."

You were losing it and you could tell he knew that by the wide eyed look he was giving you. A loud thunder crash boomed from outside causing you to jump into Lando who reached out his arms to steady you. You looked down at his hands and he quickly removed them before moving around you and unzipping his bag.

"What are you doing?" You asked warily and he didn't look up.

"Getting ready for bed," he replied. "It's one night, y/n, we will manage."

Sighing you kneeled down to unzip your bag, pulling out your pajama set and heading to the bathroom to change. Washing your face and brushing your teeth, you tried not to think about how awkward this whole situation was.

Lando looked up at you from where he had already situated himself and tossed his head back groaning.

"You can't be serious," he said and you gave him a confused look.

"What?"

"You can't wear that." he said and you frowned looking down at your clothes.

"Why?"

"I can see your whole chest in that top," he complained crossing his arms.

"Then close your eyes," you snapped pulling back the covers. You started moving the extra pillows in between you.

"What are you doing?" Lando asked.

"Making a pillow wall," you replied settling in.

"Are you really that scared of touching me?" He said irritably.

"It's more for your sake considering you hightail it out of any room I walk into," you bite back and he doesn't say anything, just looks away towards the window.

Snuggling into the sheets you watch tik toks on your phone for a while before trying to fall asleep. That task feels impossible due to the flashing lights and lack of heat in the room. Sighing you reach over for your phone to see that it's not even midnight. You let out a frustrated groan.

"What's wrong?" Lando mumbles sleepily.

"Nothing, I just can't sleep," you whisper back at him. The bed shifted and you turned to see Lando looking at you, propped up on his elbow.

"Are you cold?" He murmured, waking up.

"A little," you sighed and he started moving the pillows, scooting closer to you. "What are you doing?"

"Just come here," he said and you gave in, letting him slide behind you, his arm going across your waist. Warmth instantly flooded your body.

"You think the team would be shocked to see us like this?" You asked and he let out a little laugh.

"Yeah, I would imagine so," he said, tracing circles on your arm with his thumb.

"Can I ask you something?" You asked looking over at Lando.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you like me?" You whispered and he frowned.

"I do like you," he said looking sadly at you and you shook your head.

"I'm not stupid, I see how you are with everyone else," you said. "I just don't know what I did."

Lando sat up, pulling you with him until you were seated and looking in his eyes.

"It's not you y/n, I promise, it's me," he said and you rolled his eyes.

"Very helpful Lando," you grumbled and he shook his head.

"I got scared when they signed you because I knew the expectations that it brung for me," he said and you looked at him confused. "You are the rookie, I'm the veteran but I'm just not ready to be the veteran. I feel like I still have so much to learn but now I'm supposed to be teaching you."

"Why didn't you say anything? All of that is so understandable," you said, frustration growing. He looked down.

"It's just easier now to keep you at a distance," he said. "If you were a guy it would be so much better."

"Are you fucking serious right now?" You said angrily and his head snapped up, eyes filled with panic.

"No no I didn't mean it like that," he stuttered.

"Then how did you mean it?"

"Come on, y/n," he said gesturing his hands out. "You know you're hot, the whole grid knows you're hot. You distract me so avoiding you keeps me focused."

Lando looks sheepish as you glare at him not saying anything.

"You've made the first half of my F1 career borderline miserable just because you think I'm hot?"

"Yeah I guess so," he said eyes flickering down to your chest.

"And now you are blatantly checking me out," you whisper yelled at him and he put his hands up to cover his eyes.

"It's kind of hard when you are sitting here half naked next to me," he groaned.

You tried to move back to your side of the bed but another round of thunder boomed outside causing you to jump back. Your legs being tangled in the blankets threw you off balance and you landed down on Lando's chest. When you lifted your head up, your lips were inches from his lips.

He smirked and you tried to push yourself off of him but he held you tight against him.

"Lando," you warned and he smirked wider. "Don't even think about it."

He hesitated but you didn't move away. His eyes flicked up to yours questioning and when you didn't say anything he leaned forward meeting your lips.

The kiss started off soft but soon grew more aggressive. You slid over to straddle him and felt him harden under you, gasping into the kiss. You pulled back, breathing hard sitting back and he leaned up to kiss you again but you pushed him back.

"Promise me, things are going to change," you said and he smirked.

"I guess there are a few things I can teach you."

[humanitys-strongest-brat]

Kintsugi - ch. 2

Pairing: Coach!Levi x Injured fem!Reader

CW: major themes of injury, depression, and hopelessness. 18+ minors and ageless blogs dni.

wc: 3.2k

a/n: Reviewed and edited by the lovely @i-lev-you whom I am endlessly grateful for~

previous chapter

Heat radiates up from the pan over your wrist as you cook your breakfast, stirring mindlessly as you lose yourself in thought. The rattle of your phone against the counter interrupts you. Turning the stove on low you flip your phone over from its downward position to see Levi’s contact illuminating the screen. Immediately your chest tightens up. It’s only been two days since you last spoke to him. You let it ring for a few seconds before slowly sliding your thumb across the screen to answer. 

“Hello?” You hold your breath, hoping he doesn’t notice. 

“Morning,” Levi starts, his tone causing your nerves to fray more than they already were. “I reviewed everything you sent over and drew up a recovery plan. If possible, I’d like to go over it in person.” It’s still overwhelming to know just who it is you’re talking to.

“Okay sure.. When?” You ask. 

“Today?” 

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Moving things along this quickly isn’t exactly what you expected to happen. “Yeah, I can make it in today.” You confirm. 

“Eleven work for you?” He asks. 

You glance over at the clock on the stove, seeing you had more than enough time to get ready “Perfect.” 

“Alright. Sina training center, left wing. My office is on the second floor. I’ll text you the address. See you then.” He hangs up and seconds later your phone buzzes with the address as promised. 

***

Sina Training Center is on the opposite side of town from the arena you trained at for Worlds. Having lived in this city for less than a year you’ve only ever seen it in passing. When you finally find a place to park it’s quite the walk before you make it inside, and when you do you’re shocked by the size of this place. It’s a huge lobby, different areas lead you to sport specific sections of the building. 

You head left and follow the signs that direct you towards the ice sports wing. On your way to the elevator you pass by the large window. Ice is on full display through this window, causing your stomach to tighten. You stop and observe as three girls train with their respective coaches on the ice. An ache grows in your chest as you watch them. 

When you step off the elevator onto the second floor and make your way into the waiting room, there’s a man standing in front of the door that leads to the offices looking down at an iPad. You walk up with the intention of politely getting past him, but when he looks up to face you your heart stops.

That scar is unmistakable. A clean cut that trailed from above his eyebrow all the way down through his lip. Small dots on either side from the stitches even after all this time, and a white glaze over his right eye. Even so, the man in front of you was breathtaking. It was definitely him. 

“Wouldn’t have made it very far,” he breaks the silence causing you to snap out of it, and you definitely feel like an ass for staring. 

“I’m sorry?” 

He quickly shifts to the left of the door revealing a key card scanner, “and I never mentioned which office was mine.” He sounds just like he did on the phone, so.. abstruse? If this wasn’t a professional setting you’d believe he already hated you.

 “Levi.” He states, extending his hand out for you to shake. You can’t help but stare. You’re standing in front of one of the most unrivaled skaters, even the accident couldn’t take that title from him. 

“Nice to meet you.” You finally muster up. He’s silent for a moment, seemingly observing you.  

“Likewise.” He finally says before looking back down and wrapping up whatever it was he was doing on the iPad. He holds it at his hip and digs through his pocket, pulling out a blue lanyard with the training center's logo lined across it, at the end hangs a small white card. “This is yours.” He says. You grab it from him and take a look. It’s a key card with a barcode and your name printed on it. “This will get you into any area designated for skaters, and past this door to my office.” You swear you can hear his voice lift at the second half of that sentence. “Follow me.” You nod as he leads you back into the elevator. Once you’re on the main floor again he points to the rink you passed on your way in. 

“That's the common rink, used for general training and classes.” He explains, leading you in the opposite direction down the hall and stopping at a pair of double doors. He presses his key card against the reader on the wall and quickly walks in as they open. When you follow in behind him, you’re stunned to see another large common area lined with equipment shops and a small snack bar section. To the right are two more ice rinks, one immediately to the right of the door you came in and the other’s entrance on the far wall straight across. “Those are the specialty rinks, I call them the rehab rinks.'' He starts, heading in that direction. “They both serve the same purpose though, one is generally used for the hockey team to train off-season. Eventually, we’ll be over there in the third one.” He gestures for you to follow him inside, scanning his card at the entrance. Your breathing nearly seizes. This is the closest you’ve been to the ice since February. 

“It’s our smallest rink. Reserved specifically for those recovering from injury who need a less congested area to work in.” He walks the edge of the boards with you in tow, eyes glued to the ice the entire time. “Locker rooms.” He says. You almost ran straight into him not noticing he had stopped to point them out. 

Circling back and crossing the large common area with you, he scans his key again. “This is the gym, and past that door is the PT area.” he points past another set of locker rooms. You’re already so overwhelmed, even for you this entire building was so high profile. You felt out of place. “For the next few weeks, we’ll be spending most of our time here.” 

You're so sick of physical therapy and just want to be back on the ice already.

As the two of you walk back out towards the elevators to get to his office, he looks over to you. “Do not use any facility without me there with you for now.” He says, and you can tell he’s serious.

***

Levi pulls a folder from his desk as you sit across from him. “Your current recovery plan is nauseating.” He says bluntly, dropping the folder onto the desk. 

You’re stunned by the quick change in his tone. “Excuse me?” 

“First of all, they set you up for failure before you even left the hospital.” He starts, pulling out printed copies of everything you sent over from the folder. “Ice? Really? Are we still living in the stone ages?” He scoffs “You should have been doing small movements for that ankle since day one, and I don’t see any recommendations here for that.” 

“There wasn’t..” You confirm, eyes so wide they could fall out of your skull. It was hard to believe how involved with your recovery he was, not expecting him to review your progress from day one. You figured he would just pick up along with where you already were. 

“Of course, and you weren’t referred to the proper resources. Standard physical therapy would never have gotten you back on that ice. It’s up to you but I think you’d do better full time here.” He says, shaking his head. “Christ, did your coach do literally anything for you?” 

You wince at the mention of Coach Tarasov, having ghosted her after she drove you home from the hospital. You haven’t reached out since, positive it’s too late now. Getting a new coach was just another thing you’d have to do to get yourself back up. “I didn’t really give her the chance to..” 

Levi hummed in response. “You moved on from basic balance too fast, that’s why you’re struggling so badly now. Balance is the most important part of this, you’re a figure skater. We’ll start our assessments there.” 

“I don’t have the time to start over.” You reply immediately. 

“Do you think you’ll have time when this happens again because you re-injured yourself?” He asks flatly and the question sinks deep. “You won’t, and we’re not starting over. I’m assessing where we are now.” 

We. 

“Okay.. you’re right.” You exhale and let yourself lean back into the chair. 

“I know I am.” He pulls all of the pages back together and slips them back inside your folder. “Three days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, seven to eight?” He asks as if it were a question. 

“Yes, that works.” You affirm. This was your only option and you had a feeling he knew that too.

He nods and pulls another packet out, sliding it towards you. “Review and sign these.” He says. Flipping through it you recognise it’s the plan he just went over with you, and you sign when prompted. He reaches his hand beside his computer and slides you another white card. “For the parking garage.” 

*** 

The next day you park in the garage and it’s a much easier walk inside, considering it happens to be attached to the skating wing of the training center. You scan your way in and head through the gym, and into the physical therapy room once you throw your stuff into a locker. 

When you walk into the room you see Levi talking to what you assume to be another employee. He’s tall, muscular, blond. It looks like he’s actually enjoying their conversation. The discussion seems to stop when Levi’s eyes find you, and he gestures for you to follow him. Racing to catch up with him, you see the man eye the both of you before turning to leave. 

“Who's that?” Curiosity gets the best of you. 

“Erwin, he’s a personal trainer in another wing.” Levi responds without delay. “Sometimes comes and bothers me between appointments.” As harsh as that sounded, you could tell it came from a place of adoration.

Levi has you sit down after taking your shoes off. You’ve been here before, it’s the same place you got assessments done the first time. You watch as he kneels down and sets the tablet beside him on the mat, gently pressing his thumbs into the front of your ankle and asking you to move your foot in several directions. He feels like a different person in this room than he was in the office or on the phone. He’s gentle and precise, jotting down notes in between every test he does, and making sure you’re comfortable. He's way more involved than your last therapist and you haven’t even gotten past the assessment. 

“Let’s try something.” Getting back onto his feet, he walks across the room and grabs an object from the ground. You immediately recognize it as a balance board. It’s a flat square board with a rounded bottom. He places it down on the floor and gestures you over. “Go ahead and step up here.” He reaches his hand out for you to grab. You nervously place your hand in his and step onto the board with your left foot, relying on Levi to support you while you find your balance. 

“Great.” He encourages, his tone setting off tiny flutters in your stomach as you attempt to balance yourself. He takes a small step back, seamlessly supporting the weight you’re pushing onto his hand. “I’m going to let go, see how you do here.” He says and waits for you to center yourself before slowly pulling away. He continues to hold his hands out in front of you, palms facing up so you can hover yours above incase you need help with balancing. 

Immediately after he retracts his hand your ankle shakes, a reminder of just how far behind you are. A few seconds later discomfort takes over, sending a sting up the inside of your leg. You let your fingertips fall onto his, your eye twitches as you try to avoid relying on him for balance. 

“How does that feel?” 

“It kind of hurts.”

“Stop.” He grabs your hand and helps you back down off the board. “Then we aren’t there yet.” He comments, jotting the notes down quickly. 

You let out a sigh, this is what you meant when you said you couldn’t afford to start over. “I should be on the board by now.” You think out loud. 

“Not if it hurts.” He quips, letting the iPad rest against his hip from the strap hanging off his shoulder. “If you can’t balance on that board you won’t be able to balance on a blade.” 

“I’ve been in therapy for weeks,” your thoughts quickly spiral, having the determination to recover means nothing if your body works so hard against you. “If I can’t get back on the ice by-“ 

“I’ll get you back on the ice.” 

Your thoughts lapse. The way he said it with such certainty makes you want to believe him that much more. 

“Look, I told you your last program was shit,” he sounds like he’s trying to be comforting “it’s not going to happen overnight, and definitely not with that attitude.” 

You don’t know how to respond to that. You know he’s right. Again. 

Levi leads you to the center of the room for mobility stretches, another exercise you’re more than familiar with. He watches as you shift your weight onto your right leg and tip your left foot outward, it doesn’t hurt but the pull is uncomfortable. You inhale harshly through your nose, pushing further against the strain. 

“Don’t force it.” Levi instructs, keeping a close eye on your form. 

You switch from stretching to the side to stretching your ankle forward. After going back and forth between the two for about 5 minutes Levi stops you again, moving on to the stationary board for heel lifts. You step up and let your heels hang off the back of the board, every raise has your ankle shaking. You watch Levi in the mirror in front of you, he has a peculiar look on his face. He slowly kneels down behind you to watch closely as you continue to rise up and down on the board. 

“Stop, get down.” Levi says firmly.

You oblige, immediately stepping back down onto the padded floor. Levi picks up the tablet and starts quickly swiping across the screen, eyebrows raised and lips pressed in a flat line. 

“Your old therapist,” he starts, still quickly filing through pages on the iPad, “did they massage that ankle.” 

“No.” You confirm his suspicions. 

“‘Course they didn’t.” He mumbles, rolling his eyes as he lets the iPad fall back down against his side. “It’s stiff.” He’s already walking back toward the tables.

You follow behind him nervously, sitting up on the table when prompted. You watch as he methodically washes his hands in a nearby sink. When he comes back he tells you to lay back. He stands at the end of the table, gently bending your foot toward him. You chew the inside of your lip as he slips his hand under your heel, pressing his thumb gently behind your ankle bone and guiding the pressure up. Your breath catches at the slight discomfort but it's slowly replaced by a sense of relief. He continues in that same upward direction, adding a gentle circular motion after a few moments. You turn your head away, fidgeting with your shirt as your heart rate seems to accelerate. 

You aren't sure what it is about him. From the moment you knew you’d be working with him it’s all you could think about. At first you chalked it up to admiration. Maybe it was the way he cared, even underneath all the dry conversation and formalities you could tell. Or maybe it’s the way he carries himself. Could be that he’s stunning, like a sunset that perfectly contrasts a clear blue sky. Even now, when he's right in front of you he takes up your mind. Just when you entertain it, imagine his hand sliding up your leg–

“Let’s try again.” His voice startles you out of your thoughts. 

You stand back on the board and Levi kneels down again. You lift up once more and your eyes widen slightly. Not only has the discomfort decreased but your ankle doesn’t shake as bad. It’s not perfect, you still feel the tightness and resistance. That last thing you expected was to make progress during your first session with him. You snap your attention to him, back on the tablet adding data. The corner of his lip upturned in a subtle smirk like he just found the last missing piece of an unfinished puzzle. 

“It was healing stiff.” He comments, switching you to another exercise. “You’re lucky we caught it when we did.” 

“It’s reversible?” You ask, but it comes out as more of a plea. 

“It is.” he confirms. You leave the session that day with a detailed print out of exercises from Levi, instructed to do them in the afternoon of your session days and twice a day otherwise. 

That night as you do them, his voice echoes in your thoughts 

I’ll get you back on the ice.

***

From that point on, your sessions start with a fifteen minute meticulous ankle massage. By the end of the first two weeks you can hold your balance on one foot for thirty seconds with minimal shaking.

Throughout your third week you make miraculous progress. You’re up to forty five seconds of balance on one foot, and painless single heel lifts off the floor and the stationary balance board. 

The last 10 minutes of your Friday session Levi has you balance on one foot and places a tennis ball down directly in front of you. 

“Pick it up.” 

You nod, extending your leg behind you as you slowly bend your knee. Once you have the ball in your hand you slowly rise back up, placing it back in Levi’s hand. He shifts over, setting the ball down to your right. Again, you lower yourself down and back up on one foot with ease. One last time he sets the ball down to your left. When you drop it back in his hand you bring your elevated foot back down to stay stable. He lets out a satisfied huff and walks away, returning with the balance board from a few weeks back and drops it down. He helps you up and this time you pull away from him, quick to neutralize your weight. You make it look easy now.

“Not bad.” His tone sounds indifferent but he has that same look in his eyes, he has it every time you hit a milestone. 

Like every win is yours to share.

On your way out, Levi stops to face you. He opens his mouth to say something but quickly closes it again, seeming to second guess himself. “See you next week.” 

Taglist: @amywritesthings @littlerequiem @humanitys-strongest-bamf @hideandgopeep 

@thechaoticarchivist @sixpennydame 

[arc852]

Childhood Friends

Summary: Jimmy always thought it was weird how close Grian and Joel were despite only meeting a month before he met them.

Turns out, Jimmy got the origins of their first meeting wrong.

Warnings: brief mention of feeling hurt

Word Count: 1498

AO3 Link

Sorry for not actually writing their first meeting but I liked the idea of Jimmy not actually knowing how they really met and finding out by them telling him. I may write their actual first meeting some day but for right now, I like how this reveals it!

I hope you guys enjoy!

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 There was something that Jimmy always thought was weird but never really brought up. And that was how Grian and Joel interacted with each other. They were obviously really close, especially with the way they were able to have silent conversations with each other, something that still freaked Jimmy out a bit whenever he noticed. But it didn’t really make any sense. If the two had met on the first day of school, that had only been a month or so before they met Jimmy. 

 It was a bit weird but Jimmy always just went along with it. After all, he got really close with Grian and Joel after only a few weeks. It was possible they just hit it off really well when they first met.

 That was what Jimmy chose to believe, up until one night when they were all hanging out and the topic of their childhoods came up. “And then Mr. Peters gave me detention on top of all that!” Joel exclaimed with a huff, wrapping up his story of how he got in trouble for pulling a prank that ended up backfiring on him. Both Grian and Jimmy laughed at the story, though Grian’s was a bit more subdued.

 “Oh yeah! I think I remember that happening. You probably should have done it in someone else’s class, Mr. Peters was always a stickler.” Grian commented. 

 Joel sighed, placing his chin in his hand as he leaned on his crossed legs. “Well yeah, but that’s why I did it to him in the first place.”

 Jimmy blinked, his laughter petering off as he glanced between the two humans. It was said so casually that Jimmy almost missed the implications of it. “Wait, you two…knew each other back then?”

 Grian and Joel’s attention fell onto him, sitting atop Joel’s nightstand. Joel’s eyebrows furrowed though he was still smiling. “Yeah? Grian and I have known each other since we were, like, 6.”

 Jimmy felt his entire view of the two of them spin on its head. “I…I didn’t know that.”

 “Really?” Grian asked, sharing a glance with Joel. “I kind of thought it was obvious.” They weren’t making fun or teasing him, Jimmy could tell it was a genuine thought. That didn’t make him feel any less embarrassed though.

 “Well I just-I just assumed you guys met at the start of college. Most roommates do. And besides, you two live like 8 hours apart! What was I supposed to think?” Jimmy said, trying his best to defend himself despite not being attacked on the subject.

 Grian hummed, leaning back against his desk chair. “I guess that’s fair. My family and I moved during my sophomore year of high school.”

 “Yeah, we were so sad when we found out. It was a hard goodbye.” Joel chimed in, thinking back on that time. It had definitely been hard, having his best friend move so far away. 

 “Oh.” Jimmy supposed that made sense. “So, what happened when Grian moved?” If they were borrowers, then something like moving would pretty much be the end of any sort of relationship. Borrowers had no way to communicate long distance and it was too dangerous to go and try to visit. But Jimmy knew humans had phones and things in order to keep in touch.

 “We kept it touch for the most part, although during our senior year we barely talked if at all.” Joel said.

 That was surprising to hear for Jimmy. “Really? Why?”

 Grian shrugged. “We were really busy. It sucks but we just really didn’t have the time to chat with everything going on.”

 “It’s actually really funny.” Joel said with a grin. “We had no idea the other was going to college here.”

 “Seriously?” Jimmy said with wide eyes.

 “Yeah, imagine our surprise when I walked into my assigned dorm and I saw Grian already there unpacking.” Joel said with an even wider grin. It was still crazy to think about even now, the coincidence of that even happening.

 Jimmy seemed to be thinking the same thing if his shocked expression was anything to go by. “That’s…actually insane.”

 “Right?” Grian said with a chuckle. “But yeah, we’ve known each other for years.”

 “I guess that does explain a lot.” Jimmy said. “I was always wondering how you two seemed so close for people who met a month before we did.”

 “Well, now you know.” Grian said and then moved his hand over to ruffle Jimmy’s hair with a finger. Jimmy let out a small screech of (fake) annoyance and tried to push Grian’s hand away. Grian, however, didn’t give in. Instead, moving his hand from Jimmy’s head to his entire body, scooping the borrower up. Jimmy yelped as his back was pressed up against Grian’s palm, fingers curling in.

 Jimmy gave one last push against the fingers around him before settling down. Grian brought him closer and grinned at him. “Giving up already?” Grian teased and Jimmy rolled his eyes.

 “No. For your information I wanted to be held, thank you very much.” Jimmy said with a huff.

 Joel watched this exchange with a smile, looking back and forth between his two best friends. “You know,” Joel started, getting Grian and Jimmy’s attention back. “I wonder what it would have been like if we found Jimmy as kids.”

 Grian blinked and looked down at Jimmy, all wrapped up in his hand. It was a weird thing to think about, meeting Jimmy way back when. Would things have gone down similarly? 

 Since Grian was watching Jimmy so closely, he noticed when Jimmy winced a bit. Confused by Jimmy’s reaction, Grian decided to call him out on it. “What’s wrong? Don’t think you could have kept up with us as kids?” Grian said in a teasing manner.

 “No, I just…” Jimmy trailed off, looking off somewhere in the distance as his grip around Grian’s finger tightened. Just enough where Grian could feel it. “Kids are dangerous to borrowers. More so than adults usually.”

 Joel’s eyes widened at what Jimmy was getting at. “So…what? You think something would have happened if we met as kids?” Joel tried not to feel hurt, knowing kids could be very careless, but it was hard.

 Jimmy shrugged, feeling a bit awkward talking about it. “I’m not saying for sure but…it’s possible.”

 Grian hummed, his eyes narrowed in thought at Jimmy’s words. He wanted to say he had been a pretty careful kid, that if they had met Jimmy way back when then nothing bad would have happened. But…he couldn’t. None of them had any way of knowing how things could have gone. And if Grian and Joel had reacted so poorly in the first place to Jimmy as adults then…

 Well, maybe it was best not to think about those what ifs.

 Grian stood up from his desk chair, pushing it back toward his desk as he all but fell onto Joel’s bed next to him, being careful of Jimmy still tucked in his hand. He brought said hand up to chest level and out enough where Joel could clearly see Jimmy as well. “Well, none of that really matters anyway. We’re here and we’re friends and that’s all that matters.” Grian said, trying to bring the subject down to a close.

 Thankfully, it worked.

 Jimmy smiled and nodded, his previous demeanor gone. “Yeah, you’re right.”

 Grian could tell Joel didn’t seem as quick to let things go. Still not really over what Jimmy had insinuated. But Grian gave Joel a look that said they would talk later, without Jimmy present, and Joel sighed. Grian’s sign that Joel wouldn’t say anything for the time being. Instead, Joel looked down at Jimmy and, despite his hurt, he gave a genuine smile. “Yeah.” Joel agreed with the two and then reached out his hand.

 Grian allowed Joel to take Jimmy from him, watching fondly as Joel held Jimmy close in the palm of his hand. “Besides, we act like we’ve been friends for years anyway. I don’t think it would have made much of a difference if we met earlier or not.”

 Jimmy blinked and thought that over. “Huh. I guess you’re right.” Obviously there were some things that would get even better with time. Jimmy still found himself a little nervous sometimes around Grian and Joel. The size difference was just…very big. But Jimmy thinks, eventually, even that little bit of instinctual nervousness would go away.

 Grian glanced back and forth between the two with a grin. “...Did I tell you about the time in junior year when I pranked the school council president by growing wild mushrooms in his locker?”

 Both of his friends’ attention turned to him, eyes wide with astonishment. “Wait, seriously?” Joel said with a grin.

 “Okay, you have to tell us this story.” Jimmy said, shifting slightly in Joel’s hand to get more comfortable.

 Grian hummed and thought back to that time. “Well, it really all started when Scar won the election…”

[rey-jake-therapist]

We better get some real good Saurondriel content in the finale, because if the showrunners have been trolling and baiting us all this time and we’ll get Galadriel outright resisting Sauron and cast him away with Nenya or some Marvel-type sh*t, a huge chunk of their audience will be pissed.

I don’t understand what they are playing at here. Yeah, the kiss was strategic and not romantic, but wtf would they have that happening on-screen? No one will be happy about this scene, not the shippers (Elrond x Galadriel will), not the (actual) lorebros, and even the casuals might cringe. I would have picked a kiss between Galadriel and Adar any day, over this.

Ok, you may have seen my opinion on the kiss already : I don't mind it at all and I think it was very well done, in a way that there was no confusion possible about its nature. Now I can see many are confused anyway and it's understandable, but I found it the most platonic that a kiss on the mouth can be, and Galadriel's reaction said it all : "bro what?" was what her face said. She looked as stunned as if her own brother had kissed her. If you look closely it's very clear that he's gving her something, so she was also surprised by the subterfuge. And Elrond says, "forgive me," before doing it. Of course he's asking that because he regrets how he treated her, but I think it''s also a pre-apology for what he's going to do. To warn her that he's about to do something WEIRD and that she must play along.

It's quite confirmed by Morfydd Clark in the BTS interview : she said that Galadriel didn't think Elrond would be so bold (in the sense: bold enough to risk it all to allow her to escape, I think); when the interviewer expressed her surprise, Robert laughed goofily (he's so adorable, I can't). Then they were asked what he was doing, to which they answered: "he was giving her a pin!". End of story. There was no reason to talk about it more because it was all that it was.

So to be clear, I didn't intepret it at all as "Elrondriel baiting". Are there really many shippers, anyway? Everybody knows that Galadriel will become Elrond's mother-in-law, even the showrunners ackowledged that fact in an interview. Since the beginning their relationship is sibling-coded.

Why making it happening? Because otherwise the audience wouldn't understand how he gave her the pin in the first place. He couldn't put it in her hands because there was no way to do it discreetly. Kissing her was the only way, truly.

Personnally, I would have preferred it if it had been the Orc who discusses Adar's orders who would have released her, but well, they went for that instead... There was definitely a desire to surprise the audience and see their reaction. I must say my first reaction was a big "yikes!" because it really felt as watching two siblings kiss, and I'm pretty sure it was how most people reacted.

I keep seeing this kiss being accused of "breaking the lore", but it doesn't break anything. They didn't get married suddenly because Elrond kissed her to give her a pin... I must say that when I've read about the leak, I didn't believe it because in my view, it would make their relationship awkward and ambiguous. But I didn't imagine that it would happen in front of witnesses, because there was no other choice! For some reason, I thought that Elrond would sneak into Adar's camp and kiss her to give her the pin while he could give it to her in a completely different way. In this case, it would have felt awkward and would have inserted some unnecessary drama into a plot that doesn't need that.

An Adar/Galadriel wouldn't make any sense whatsoever, imho. Shipping them is very cool and fun, I found myself imagining scenarios where a romance between them could actually work, but it's not at all what the show is heading for.

No one can say how episode 8 will turn out, if it will be satisfying for the Haladriel shippers or not... We can now be quite certain that the kiss that Morfydd hinted at was this kiss, so there won't be a Saurondriel kiss. But is it really that surprising? We talked so much about the possibility that I caught myself hoping for it, but tbh I'll be content if their scene is emotional and isn't limited at "I hate you! I hate you more!" and useless fighting.

The only hope I have for Haladriel in episode 8 is that Galadriel realizes that Sauron didn't fake it all with her. I don't know how they'll manage that, but it's the most we can truly hope for, imho. The showrunners said episode 8 would be emotional... Now we just can wait and see!

[oldbutchdaniel]

ever since i was a little girl i knew i wanted to speculate about the sexual and romantic undertones of celebrities’ professional relationships

[shima-draws]

My doctor: Hey yeah that's not normal I don't think it's an issue with your hip

Me: Oh?

My doctor: It's an issue with your spine

Me: OH

[theladyfae]

i think human nature/family of blood is a really good two parter in how it manages to show how full of shit ten is 🫶

[lususnatura]

i was talking about this a bit with ramone, but y'all know how i mentioned that it's likely that blamore has one of those 'special containment' cells that villains like killer croc and man-bat in arkham have as well? wellll... i can guarantee y'all that on one of the rare occasions that that they have let it into a common room (because it's basically treated as if it's in unofficial solitary confinement in arkham a majority of the time unfortunately), blamore was SO desperate to get out of there because they put a power dampener on him and because arkham is just terrible in general, that he pulled out one of the plants growing in his ribs (which is considerably painful for it to do, by the way) to give to ivy.

and she of course proceeded to break them all out of there because she can turn even just a little plant into something capable of tearing the asylum apart so... yeah JSJSJ whenever blamore is desperate, it gets inventive, and that may be even more dangerous than when it has it's powers because at least you kind of know what to expect with them — but whenever it's robbed of them... it can become particularly nasty, let's just say that ☠️

[steakout-05]

i was ranting to myself in a really disorganised fashion just now about how Barry has ADHD and like. dude. he absolutely has it. there's no way he doesn't. i myself am an undiagnosed ADHDer and i see so many traits in Barry. like.

in the rock opera 'The Very Last Minute', Barry spends the entirety of it procrastinating on training for the monster apocalypse and literally having almost every trait of ADHD ever. like when i watch this video and see Barry legitimately trying to do what he needs to but repeatedly getting stuck in a loop of jumping from task to task and struggling at actually get started on The Big Task™, i see me. like. that is me.

Barry tries to train. he really does. he really does try to take a crack at it, but he just can't focus on it. he just keeps getting distracted by it over and over and avoiding what he needs to do with other little tasks to keep him occupied at every single moment. and like he knows he really needs to do it. he knows that it's super important that he gets started on it as soon as he can. in fact, there are several lyrics to this effect: "Gotta keep focused, gotta keep training, but I just can't seem to stop procrastinating" and "I should probably stop working on this rocking theme song" are a couple that come to mind. but for whatever reason, he just can't focus on it properly and it ends up with him looking like he's "lazy" or "not putting in the effort". like, you see him get exhausted by doing a single skiprope jump, and that is how i feel whenever i try to do a big task when i'm not ready for it or focused at all. it's really really heard to focus on something that seems so big and overwhelming when you have ADHD, so you often kind of try to avoid it and ignore it because it's super daunting by doing smaller tasks. the difference between executive dysfunction and perceived laziness is that if you were being lazy, you wouldn't care and would likely be having a great time slacking off, even when you are reminded of the task at hand. but with executive dysfunction, you can forget about it for a while, but deep inside you likely still care and know you NEED to get the task done soon, and when you're eventually reminded or suddenly remember, you feel a crushing sense of dread. at least, that's how it is for me. and all the excessive task switching and getting everything else done except The Big Task™ you need to get done the most? i do that! i do that!!!

Barry literally does the ADHD thing where he sets an alarm that tells him to do what he needs to do, but the thing is that he was already doing something else on his phone beforehand and presumably forgot about the alarm, so when the alarm goes off, he just feels like he suddenly can't and that it's way too daunting to actually start because it feels like an intrusion. like. that's the ADHD thing!!! he's doing it!!!! he's doing the ADHD thing!!!!! his executives are NOT functioning!!!!!!

Barry also shows a lot of ADHD traits in 'Rainbow Barry' as well, as they're the most prominent in that specific short. in fact, he shows literally every single inattentive trait in all of the shorts together. impulsiveness, distractibility, impatience, forgetfulness, commitment issues, not following instructions properly, he's even got the emotional problems that come with it like being easily angered and frustrated. he EVEN shows the same traits in the JJ2 event dialogues!!! like!!!! look at the dialogues on the JJ wiki and tell me he isn't having ADHD traits!!!!! bro is clearly showing each individual ADHD symptom in everything he's in and either no one is noticing it or no one is talking about it and i'm just SO obsessed with this headcanon/theory of mine. Barry Steakfries is an undiagnosed ADHDer and nobody can convince me otherwise

[dreamedfyre-a]

i saw people the other day be like 'why wasn't hel.aena considered to be a.egon's regent she's his wife' and, on top of in the show's context it making all sense they'd go with ae.mond as he is ae.gon's heir, even if he wasn't, have you considered he.laena does not want anything to do with the throne. like, even with mae.lor, a scenario in which she'd be a viable (and likely) regent choice had she not been depressed and traumatized, she'd simply not want it <3

sb: hel.aena you're the prince's mother you should rule until his father can or he's of age hel: have you considered my brother instead. he'll make a great prince regent i know in my heart don't ask me to be regent again here's ae.mond bye

[blujayonthewing]

well I just spent an hour digging through my own dnd notes and social media and also almost cried because I mentioned, in passing, something justin had said about one of his NPCs and he, completely lightheartedly, was like '?? I don't remember that at all. [I mean I'm not making it up?] I think you might be making it up 😏'

[skrunksthatwunk]

"i'm not disabled" followed immediately by "i've got bad knees and a bad back" is certainly something to read 🤨 you know it doesn't have to be cripling for it to count, right...? it's not normal to be in pain after 15 minutes of standing. ableds can stand for, like, an hour at a time before they need to sit.

i know! i appreciate the concern, but i uh. dunno lol. genuinely i don't know. but i included the afaik ("i'm not disabled afaik" was the original phrase, though i'm not like mad at you for excluding it or anything) because i'm well aware that it's a possibility. it's hard to explain but there's a lot of little things that don't add up to much but are like. noticeable. like i would prefer to do most things sitting, if i could, as a matter of comfort. it would be easier for me. and walking isn't as bad as just standing. i've never been great at taking care of my body, and this has only gotten worse with time. it's hard for me to know what i should read as necessity and what i should read as preference, and how much weight to put on said preferences. like you said, i know it doesn't need to be "if i don't sit down i'm going to collapse" or anything, but where to draw that line between Definitely A Medical Thing That Affects Me More Than Other People and.. not that, i'm not sure. i kinda just thought i was a persistently slightly tired and low energy person, but it doesn't seem bad enough to be chronic fatigue, so...? is it related to the half-diagnosed. idk it's complicated depression (and yes in hindsight i probably should've counted that as disabling but whatever)? idk it's not a rabbit hole i've explored much at all is my point. but i know it's there and uh i guess this was sort of validating in a way anon so.. yeah? yeah👍

[aggravatedanarchy]

I fucking love video games that are buggy as fuck

Fucking around in Vault 3, helping those guys escape- I come back with the key and two of them are outside the cage and one of the Fiends is inside it instead. I'm like "wow okay," move on, unlock the cage.

And then I just. Get to watch them all crouch and "sneak" out of the cage, pushing up against and stopping in front of Fiends the whole way.

I genuinely don't know if they're supposed to just be fine once you open the cage? So like maybe that last bit is par for the course. But coming back to two of them just wandering that room, chillin with the captors? Incredible. 10/10 I recommend this game to everyone.

[coollyinterferes]

Today, I offer you...

🌟 he 🌟

[capybaraonabicycle]

Kiss 38 for Mels and Fugitive💔

Thank you so much for making me write for my AU the first time in half a year, love!

I had a blast coming up with a scene I hadn't planned on, because I had actually already written the grand final kiss with time running out in an earlier part of the AU. So, for context, this is the night before that part, when the Doctor already knows what will happen the next day but Mels remains oblivious (in order to improve the chances of their escape working). If you have more questions, just ask, I'll be very glad to talk about the whole situation more :)

But yeah, in a nutshell: The Doctor and Lee are planning to fake all of their deaths and flee Division with Mels and Karvanista (leaving Gat behind). The Doctor will turn herself human and hide on Earth with Lee. Mels and Karvanista are supposed to be sent to Leadworth where she will be instructed to wait on the bowtie!Doctor to be ready to kill him, should he ever come into existence. (Which is what they are trying to prevent by running away - the Doctor believes the Bowtie (who she knows about from Mels' tales) to be herself under Tecteun's influence.)

I hope you like it!

A kiss because time is running out

Rating: Teen

Genre: Angst that I somehow managed to weave some fluff into

Warnings: Necromancy, mentions of a siege, carelessness in regard to alcohol abuse, some swearing

Words: ~3500

The Doctor had seen many a beautiful sight in her life. Meteor showers were always a vision, or fogbows that stretched across the sky in milky glory, or a swarm of these tiny insects they had had on Mondas that shimmered in whatever colour contrasted the background the most, or – the point was, she could name a thousand beautiful things off the top of her head if asked. But the most beautiful thing in all of the universe, she found, were the traces of amazement blooming on a face. The innocent joy, the pleasant surprise, the immediate love for something you didn't quite understand yet – there was nothing that beat the sight of someone being hit by unexpected wonder.

So, when Lee asked her if there was anything else he could get her, there was really only one answer she could think of.

“Where are we going?” Mels was trailing behind and inadvertedly pulling at her hand, ever incapable of simply following, be it an order or literally walking after the Doctor.

The Doctor looked back for a second to smile at her fondly: “On a date.”

“At Division headquarters?” Mels frowned, but she did press her hand in silent gratitude. “Can't we sneak out?”

“Not tonight” the Doctor said.

'Not anymore' she thought. Not that they had managed to sneak out much at all in their time together; she could count the precious few times on one hand, actually. So many missed opportunities, so much lost time that they should have stolen back from Tecteun.

"We're going to need our energy resources for tomorrow" the Doctor said. Which was true, in a way, but mainly they needed to stay under the radar more than ever.

"Yeah right" Mels scoffed. "For a siege."

The Doctor frowned at her.

"There are people starving during that seige" she reminded her. "Nevermind the casualties when a shot does get through the defences."

A tender expression crossed Mels' face for a second, then she shook her head.

"You're as sentimental as they come" she claimed. "But even you can't deny that a siege is rather boring compared to what Tecteun usually throws us in."

"Which is why we need to be on guard" the Doctor said, and Mels' eyes lit up.

"Do you believe she has an ace up her sleeve?" she asked eagerly. "That there will be an unexpected twist and it won't be a pure stealth mission after all?"

"You sound awfully excited at the prospect" the Doctor snorted.

"Course I do, honey, you know me" Mels grinned and the Doctor grinned back.

"That I do" she agreed, stopping next to a door. "In here, love."

"The kitchen?" Mels asked in surprise when they entered and a pleased and teasing smile grew on her face. "Doctor, you haven't cooked for me, have you?"

"No" the Doctor flinched.

Of course! That was what she should have done, wasn't it? What was the romantic thing to do? What she wouldn't have given for a little more time now. Just so she could make a mental note to cook for Mels another time, to live up to her, be the partner she deserved.

She made the mental note anyway and it felt like defying her fate. Maybe she would remember, eventually. Maybe they would meet again, someday. Maybe then she would be able to fulfil the unspoken promise. It was about as likely as Tecteun suddenly deciding to sent her into retirement and springing for a pension. But, as Mels would have pointed out if the Doctor had been able to tell her any of this, minuscule chances literally were their daily bread. So who knew? Maybe this would actually all end well. Now she only needed to find the hope she had lost somewhere and to start believing in that.

"Maybe for the best" Mels teased. "I doubt you can make an omelett without burning down the kitchen."

The Doctor huffed. "You're one to talk. I remember when you tried mixing Gat a drink and she said it tasted like pure absinthe."

"Who says that wasn't by design?" Mels smirked. "She was the most fun I have ever experienced with her that night."

"The drink was literally burning" the Doctor pointed out. "I don't believe that was by design."

"It's called a 'flaming drink', darling" Mels deadpanned. "It's totally a thing, my grandpa even orders those."

"Brian orders flaming drinks?" the Doctor echoed. It didn't quite fit the image she had formed of the man from the memories she had seen in Mels' mind.

Mels groaned. "Okay, fine, his mates do. The point is, I am a legit cocktail-connaisseur. And I could also cook an omelett. Probably. Possibly. If I had to."

The Doctor's mouth twitched amusedly. "Let's just stay away from the stove, maybe, what do you think?"

"Good call" Mels pressed her hand, curiously peering around her back when the Doctor approached the fridge. "What are we doing instead?"

"I'll blow your mind" the Doctor boasted, taking a glassbowl with a translucent liquid out the fridge.

Mels' eyes grew wide.

"Is that vodka?" she asked. "Are you actually getting drunk with me, honey?"

"I should not have mentioned the Gat incidence" the Doctor winced. "Now your mind is set on booze, isn't it?"

"I could go with ginger tea instead" Mels grinned, obediently taking the bowl that the Doctor handed her.

"Now there's a thought" the Doctor hummed.

If desperation clawed any harder at her hearts, she might let herself be convinced to go for ginger; hangovers were hell but she much preferred getting drunk on the root than the disgusting drinks that went for 'alcohol' around the galaxy. Not that she had planned on getting wasted on her last night with Mels, but forgetting what she was about to do the next day did sound tempting. Then again, it might increase the probability of spilling the beans and she could not, should not, had not to do that. Not this close to achieving their aim.

"So?" Mels was looking at her expectantly over the rim of the bowl, one eyebrow raised and instantly, the Doctor lost her track again, staring at that achingly familiar face.

How could she think she would be able to bid her goodbye? Mels had become a constant in her life, one of the few gleams bringing light into existence under the Division. For the last years, the Doctor had been leaning on her, more than she cared to admit. Separating from her would feel like giving up a part of herself. Except that it wouldn't, not instantly at least. Couldn't feel like losing a part of yourself when you weren't yourself anymore.

"Follow me." The Doctor pushed past Mels to hide her troubled face from clever eyes with eyebrows that threated pulling together.

She didn't look back, knowing that Mels was bound to be on her heels. Maybe she was excellent at following orders after all – the truth was of course that she always knew which orders were necessary. Or maybe it was that the orders Mels deemed necessary inadvertedly became the important ones. It didn't matter. It was all over now anyway.

The dining room of Division headquarters had a balcony protected by an airbubble. It wasn't like the Doctor had a key, but she had a Lee and that was basically the same thing.

"Sneaking out after all, are we?" Mels hummed, when they stepped outside and the Doctor shrugged and sat down on the stone floor.

"Just a bit."

"You're pulling out all the stops, I see." Mels sat down next to her, their shoulders brushing.

"Always for you" she couldn't help that her voice sounded way more serious than the banter demanded.

Mels cocked her head and the Doctor could tell she was slowly but surely growing concerned. And who could blame her, really? "Are you alright, Doctor?"

"Of course I am" she lied. "You know me, I am always alright!"

Which was precisely the wrong thing to say to Mels, of course, but the Doctor distracted her before she could argue. She tapped the bowl that Mels had set down in front of her knees. "Any idea why I gave you that?"

"Some" Mels smirked. "It's not vodka, I've smelled it."

"It's Polarfreyan oil" the Doctor explained. "Mind you, it's not actually from Polarfrey. No one knows where it comes from, but since it appeared to have come from far away, ancient Gallifreyans called it after the most distant planet they were aware of."

"If no one knows where it comes from, how come you have a whole bowl of the stuff?" Mels pointed out and the Doctor grinned.

"You can buy it at any good gift shop on Reave."

"Of course." Mels rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Nothing as irresistable as a gift shop, is there?"

"I love a little shop!" the Doctor said defiantly. "There's no need to tease me about it."

"Aw, but it's too easy" Mels cooed, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm so glad you spent your money on something as valuable as a bucket of oil, honey."

It hurt terribly to be mocked by her like this, when her voice slipped into that tender undertone and her eyes twinkled merrily, that cheeky smile pulling at her lips that always seemed to be reserved for the Doctor. It hurt when she knew that it meant Mels loved her, when she knew that it was all but over, when she knew that she was lying to her by not warning her of what awaited them the next day, when she knew that she was about to hurt her and she had been planning to do it for a while. The fact that there was no other way did not make it any better.

The Doctor swallowed all of those thoughts in one big gulp and managed to smile at Mels.

"You know, everytime you mock me like this" she started, "I suspect you are trying to get a rise out of me, dear, just so I give in and kiss you to shut you up."

"Oh no, my ulterior motives have been discovered" Mels hummed contentedly.

"I have been called a genius before" the Doctor said, righting her lapels.

Mels' hand wound around her neck, tipping her face into her direction from behind.

"Go on then, you genius" she taunted. "Shut me up."

Their faces were so close now that the Doctor thought she could see the stars reflect in Mels' eyes. Or maybe that was just the light from the kitchen. She tried imprinting the image into her memory, never to lose. Oh, but you know you can't keep your memory anyway, not where you are going, Doctor.

"Shut you up?" she echoed, her voice soft and husky. "And miss out on all the remarkable things you say? Why would I do that?"

"Of for fucks –"Mels hauled her in, guiding their lips together and pressing herself against the Doctor's body. Automatically, the Doctor's hands wandered to her back, holding her tightly and she let herself get lost in the familiar feel of how their bodies fit together.

She tried to blend it all out, just be in the moment, just enjoy the kiss and it worked surprisingly well. Apparently, it was difficult thinking of disaster when Mels Zucker kissed you, slowly, lavishly, like she didn't have a care in the world, like they had all the time in the universe at their disposal.

All too soon, Mels pulled back. Of course it was for a smug remark, what else would have distracted her?

"Want something done, do it yourself" she commented and made a move to dive back in.

The Doctor wanted to let her, too, it was incredibly tempting. But she had had plans for tonight and if they kissed any longer, she knew they would end up postponed. And as things were, they couldn't very much allow themselves any postponing, now could they?

So she caught Mel's jaw in her hand, tenderly cupping her cheek. Mels pulled an adorably cross face, but it softened, when the Doctor brushed her thumb over her cheek.

"Let's have your surprise first, love, what do you say?" she offered.

A smirk curled around Mel's lips. "I thought that was that pretty bowl of mysterious oil you got me?"

"Shut up" the Doctor said fondly and Mels' eyes lit up.

"Make me? This time?"

The Doctor ignored her in hope of getting somewhere tonight. Before their time ran out.

"It's not just any oil" she explained, picking the bowl back up from in front of Mel's knees. She held it out to her again and Mels' fingers deliberately brushed against hers when accepting the glass. "They also call it 'the oil of life'."

"Because...?" Mels indulged her, not without taunt.

With great flourish, the Doctor produced a stone from her pocket. "I have got something else for you."

Mels shifted the bowl into her lap in order to take the stone from her. With a frown, she regarded the gift, but it gave way to a smile when she recognised the fish skeleton that had been caught in the mineral.

"It's a fossil!" she realised.

"Thought you might like that" the Doctor teased. "Archeologist."

"Paleontologist" Mels corrected, eyes still on the fossil. "Paleontology is the study of fossils. Archeologists care about humans exclusively, or intelligent alien lifeforms eventually, I assume. Whatever, you secretly love my passion for archeology."

"I do" the Doctor admitted softly. "It is beautiful to see you passionate."

Now Mels looked up, slightly confused. "No arguing, really?"

"You will become an excellent archeologist some day" the Doctor said earnestly, not letting herself be discouraged. "People will be lining up for your talks."

"Yeah, right" Mels snorted. "Hate to inform you, love, that I can scarcely study archeology, stuck as I am with you at our beloved Division."

That, at least, was a pleasant secret the Doctor was keeping from her. That she wouldn't be stuck for much longer, that she would get to study archeology. The hard part was that she wasn't stuck with the Doctor either, much as both of them wanted that. It was quite the contrary, really.

The Doctor forced yet a new smile onto her face. "Would you like to see what the fish looked like, before it got fossilised?"

"Sure" Mels nodded. She looked expectantly at her, like she waited for the Doctor to produce a photo.

So, this was where the good part started, then. Suddenly, the Doctor's smile felt genuine again.

"Drop the stone into the oil" she ordered and the understanding and hopeful anticipation in Mels' eyes was already gorgeous enough to take her breath away.

Gingerly, Mels lowever the fossil above the oil.

"Maybe don't touch it with your bare skin" the Doctor said hurriedly. "I'm not sure what it would do to a living being."

Mels raised an eyebrow at her, stopping mid air. Then she gently let go of the fossil, pulling her hand away from the small splash of oil that the impact produced.

The stone sunk slowly into the liquid and Mels watched with fascination, how the skeleton started glossing over, colourful scales growing over bare bones, sprouting wavy fins and a sparkling eye, until, all of a sudden, the fish started moving. Mels gasped in delight, when with a decided flick of its tail, it shoved its encasing stone away and started swimming through the oil. The feeble light reflected off its scales in hues of brilliant purple and blue as it wound itself towards the surface of the bowl in tight circles.

"What's it doing?" Mels whispered excitedly, when already, the fish brust through the surface, swimming up into the air as easily as it had traversed the oil.

Mels let out another soft gasp and watched with a bedazzled smile how the fish swam up to her face. It hovered there for a while, looking like it admired itself in the reflection of her eyes. Or maybe it admired Mels herself, just like the Doctor had been doing the whole time. She had been correct: No wonders of the universe could measure up to the sight of bliss on her face.

Mels reached out with her hand, as if to let the fish sniff it – did fish have noses? - and immediately it turned around and took off, flying away in the direction of the stars. There was a soft 'plop' when it crossed the air bubble and then they were watching how it quickly disappeared in the dark depths of the night sky.

Mels' gaze dropped to the rest of the fossil, taking in how the bones had disappeared.

"How is this possible?" she muttered. "Did we turn it alive again? And how can it swim in air? How can it breathe in the vacuum? This is bonkers!"

"They don't call it 'oil of life' for nothing, dear" the Doctor quipped smugly.

"Nothing like a bit of necromancy to brighten up the evening" Mels snorted.

"That wasn't just any fossil" the Doctor told her, leaning over and dropping her voice so Mels understood the gravity of the tale. "It came across the Karax Rift from an alternate universe a few thousand years ago, and it is supposed that the corresponding fish species must have died out wherever it came from. That fish had been extinct for thousand of years in another universe! And now it is crossing our sky."

She smiled in awe at Mels, but for some reason, Mels was looking thoughtful.

"What will happen to it now? Will it ever die?" she asked and there was a strange strain to her voice.

The Doctor frowned. "I don't actually know. I suppose it must, some time. Everybody dies eventually."

"So, it will continue travelling the universe all alone" Mels concluded. "Perhaps indefinitely. The last, the only one of its species. And it doesn't even know whether there's hope it can ever find the way home."

It sounded like she wasn't talking about the fish anymore.

"Mels -" the Doctor started. I will take you home. I can't bring your people to you, but I will bring you back to your parents. Sooner than you can imagine. So much sooner.

She couldn't tell her. Couldn't tell her that travelling the universe was over for her now. Couldn't tell her that they would have to part. Couldn't even think of what she'd have to ask of her. How she would hurt her. And she couldn't say goodbye either.

"Betcha it's seeing some beautiful stars though, on its way" Mels tried a smile, when the Doctor couldn't go on. Her eyes were looking very shiny now, tears waiting to fall when she cupped the Doctor's cheek. "And visiting new worlds, making new friends. I bet it is making the most of its freedom."

"I'm sure of it" the Doctor promised.

"And at least it got to fly away" Mels mused. "What wouldn't I give if I could just – take your hand and go. Away from here, towards everything. Just you and me and the whole universe."

The Doctor had to gulp. "Now that would be something."

And it could be so good. Their imminent escape. It could be so liberating, it could be a reason for celebration. If only they got to stay together. If only this wasn't their last evening of knowing each other. If only time wasn't running out.

"Doctor?" Mels' voice sounded very far away, but the Doctor managed to return to her, when her other hand came up to her cheek as well, cradling her face from both sides. There was concern evident in her eyes, stronger now, but she soldiered on, like she always did, reassuring the Doctor. "Honey, hey. Don't give up on me now. We will get out of here someday. I promise."

Too soon. It's too soon.

Mels was wrong. And she herself was wrong as well: She did not kiss Mels to shut her up, she kissed her to shut up that desperate voice inside her head. Maybe it would content itself if she allowed herself to be as close to her love as possible.

Maybe, when Mels lips slotted against her own, soft and alive and insatiable and when her hands wandered from the Doctor's cheeks to her neck and the fabric of her shirt to pull her ever so much closer, maybe then the voice would finally stop reminding her of the end. Maybe, if she focused strongly enough, on the warmth growing in her stomach, the silk of Mels' skin against her own, on her smell permeating the air, her taste on her lips and tongue, maybe then she could stop time, just for a second, call it back one last time while passing the exit, make it stop in its tracks for just a moment, before it was gone. At least she would try her very best.

Thank you so much for reading!

[clownattack]

Whenever i am told thangs abt the leech i just go. What an embarrassing person gosh